"Sirene, you know you shouldn't have gone to him," the voice of Kaim was somber.

Atop a ledge overlooking their designated warriors, both he and the harpy commander stood. Below the devils fought and practiced with one another, displaying impressive skills and natural abilities, that dominated one over the other. Sirene had a present frown on her face and a calculating stare.

"What are you speaking of?" she responded in a deadpan tone.

The dinazo seemed in discomfort now with the conversation, but he knew this would be the outcome, and he knew he had to persist. He knew for the sake of Sirene he needed to bring to light the concerns he foresaw. Taking a breath, Kaim started once more.

"I overheard last night. I overheard what he had done to you, and how he weaseled his way out of it. I don't care how great and powerful he is, the level of disrespect he showed to you was-"

"None of your business," the harpy spoke firmly.

Kaim's mouth drew open, but he couldn't utter a word. He knew she was right and felt ashamed of his intrusion. However, he couldn't ignore his adverse feelings. Sirene was beautiful, powerful, anything a demon could want in a mate. It infuriated the dinazo that Amon disregarded that.

It took some moments but soon the demon found his voice again, "I know that, and you're right. I apologize for stepping in where I shouldn't, but I felt it important you hear. You are worth so much more than how he treats you, surely you must realize?"

The harpy stayed where she was, the only movement to her person was the wind ruffling her feathers. She seemed closed off and unhearing, but Kaim had seen this before. He knew now more than ever she was listening.

For a split second, there was a hesitation to her, "You do not know him the way I do. Our relationship is as strong as the both of us, he is just under much stress. He is the savior of our kind after all," she excused.

Gently, Kaim's face drooped. He knew she was lying to herself, but he also knew her feelings were certainly strong, stronger than that of Amon. There was little the demon could do, and as much as he hated that fact, he was forced to live with it. Even still, he stayed by her side as she stood there spinning herself beautiful lies.

The loud claps of wings could be heard across the surrounding land as Amon contacted the ground. His form was deflated as he walked back to his base. The bounce in his step and his usual jovial airs were absent. Even seeing his troop coming to greet him, while warmed his chest, couldn't bring about his outward joy.

"Amon! we heard what you did!"

"You dog you!"

"Only a god among devils could be so lucky!"

They all cheered and sang his praises. Nix detached himself from the others, coming to greet the great devil much more personally.

"Amon, you are the wildest Demon I've ever met, and we're all the better off for it!" Nix spoke up, giving his commander a playful slap to the shoulder. "Let's hear it for the best commander out there!"

Amon's ears were filled with the sound of his army collectively celebrating his name. He allowed a timid smile to show on his face, but his apprehensions kept him from reacting further. It took several minutes of enjoyment before Nix started to catch on to his master's depressive mood.

"Hey, Amon, what's the deal? You should be proud of yourself, you look miserable," the frigid demon tried to bring him out of his slump. It wasn't extraordinarily effective, however, as the red devil simply turned to him with a solemn look.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd prefer to discuss it with you privately," he murmured so only Nix would hear.

That immediately changed everything for the sleeker devil. His mannerisms became much more serious as he and Amon continued through the crowd of gallivanting men. The ice devil's interest was peaked, and he could only imagine what might actually be going on. Maybe there was an important mission, or an attack Amon knew about and would only share with him.

When they finally made it to the empty war room chambers, all outward appearances of Amon's composure fell away. He sat back into his chieftain chair with a vocal thump as a long and desolate sigh escaped him. His hand was pressed against his forehead, as if the weight of his thoughts were far too much for his neck alone to bear.

Steadily, Nix took his seat next to him, as he perplexedly looked over the demon.

"Amon, what is it? What's wrong?"

The beastie didn't immediately respond. He slowly took his hand away from his face. The grave look to his face nearly morphed him into a person Nix couldn't recognize. He had never seen the great devil look so sober.

"Nix, I fear for the safety of you and the rest of my devils, for demonkind at all for that matter…"

The smaller devil perked up, "What do you mean? We have you, and through your guidance, we have already become far more than we could ever hope to be."

The crimson beast took another long breath, "I did something very wrong… I've been doing this all wrong. I have underestimated the king and his council, and only now do I see the real threat as it is."

Nix seemed a bit awestruck by the severity that weighed on the acclaimed beastia. His features soon calmed however, and looked back to his commander sympathetically.

"Oh, don't beat yourself up too bad. What you did was a long time coming, most of the higher-ups never looked outside themselves. All you did was give them a bit of a wake-up call. You know none of the rest of us could ever get away with something like that, that's why we're so happy you did. I wouldn't let the king get to you that much, surely he knows your power and wouldn't want to be on your bad side."

Amon still had not made eye contact with his friend. It was like he was staring into a separate world, being completely lost in his thoughts. One could easily mistake him for some kind of thoughtful monument with how still and contemplative he was.

"I'm not so sure Nix. I wish I could be. He knows he needs my power, but whether he cares all that much for me is another story. It could only be a matter of time before he might use something important to me against me," he explained.

The aquarian's brow dipped, "Do you really think the king might threaten our lives?"

"He didn't like any of you being here in the first place. I worry by my actions I could only put you all in worse danger. I know he promised me we'd find better means for the weaker devils, but something about that still just worries me…"

Nix absorbed the severity of his commander's woes and somewhat they even began to sink within his own heart. However, he did not allow it to wane on him as he lifted his chin.

"Well, I guess in that case, it's just like you said. We'll fight like the brave warriors we are. And with you around, I worry more for those who try to oppose us," the cold devil smirked.

The upbeat nature of Nix was enough to wipe off on Amon very slightly in the form of a mild smile.

"Thank you, Nix. I'm glad your prospect on the situation is hopeful. It's just like all this time I've been playing a stupid game, but they've been playing war, and only now do I see the real threat they pose."

Amon returned to his statue-like means as his companion looked upon him with compassion.

"Don't blame yourself so much Amon, you couldn't have known. I mean, did you ever see yourself ending up here?"

A touch of enlightenment glowed from his deep yellow eyes. His hand came down from his head to set in his lap as a more relaxed posture came to him.

"No, I didn't. In all honesty, I don't know how any of this really happened. I know I was born to be this god-like entity amongst demons, but I've never felt like I've ever, or even could, live up to such a mantel. I guess now, I only hope I can…"

The room grew wordless, as the two demons stayed in each other's comforting presence. There wasn't much his subordinate could add, for he knew nothing of Amon's prescribed destiny and all it entails. All he knew was that he would be there for him, not just as a soldier, but as a friend.

As Nix's gaze wandered over the massive behemoth of a demon, he couldn't help but see him in a differing light. He somehow seemed so wise in a way he just couldn't describe, and while his body was there, he just seemed so distant and unearthly. It was such a strange viewpoint, but the smaller devil just couldn't shake it.

"You know Amon, sometimes you don't seem like a demon at all to me," his voice snapped Amon out of his thoughts.

Questioningly the devil's winged ears rose, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean you don't think like a devil, or not always. I can't think of a demon that would care so much about others weaker than himself, if not for maybe some ulterior motive."

"You think so?" the beastia's head tilted.

"Yeah, it's not a bad thing though. If anything it makes all those grand stories about you seem all the more plausible, but in a strange way. In many of your legends, you are like a force of nature; conquering as you please, which you can be, but at the same time, you have this odd moral compass. I don't think I've ever heard of this type of honor you speak of. I'm not sure where you got it, but maybe we demons could benefit more from having it around," Nix finished with an almost proud look to him.

The encouragement from his friend brought upon a warmness in his chest and once again stimulated his recollection. He thought back to the origins of these thoughts he had, he never could exactly pin it down. Thinking back as far as he could he found himself reminiscing on the very night of his birth. He remembered the one he had chosen, it was such a fuzzy instance having taken place so long ago, but it was coming back to him. The main one he had merged with, creating who he was, the more he thought of him the more he felt as though he was slipping into a dream of some kind.

He found himself in a vision, one he didn't recognize but felt all too familiar. He stood leading a charge of soldiers that looked nothing like any demons he had ever witnessed. They wore identical black armor and seemed to serve the same master. It was such a strain to reach so far back, but the last glimpse he could reach answered just what he was asking.

"Our shields defend the innocent, and our swords vanquish evil! We stand together, tried and true with chivalry and honor to all our fellow knights!"

Upon hearing that it was like he was cut back to the present moment. He wasn't even sure if that was a complete memory, but he knew this was what made him, unlike the others. He had never merged with a demon; he had merged with something far from it. He was the embodiment of a devil in form and spirit, but his morale was far unlike any demonkind could have ever perceived.

"Amon? Amon, what is it?" Nix asked with a furrowed brow. Suddenly Amon shook his head and seemed to become alert once again.

"Huh? Oh, my apologies, I think… I think I remembered something, but it didn't exactly resemble my life…"

"What's that mean?" his friend prodded.

Amon's ears pulled back as he shuffled in his seat. He wasn't exactly sure how to describe it, but he felt compelled to make an attempt.

"You know the original legend I was born from, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Well, when I chose the being, I would merge with, it wasn't exactly another demon."

The smaller devil rose in interest. He seemed as if he were genuinely stunned to hear that.

"Really, well then, what was it?"

The beastly demon took a moment to view his friend as he opened his mouth once more, "In all honesty, I don't really know. I think he was a knight of some kind. A knight that was born from another god. It's hard to recall everything that happened that night, but I do know what made me choose him."

"What was it?"

"He was such a small thing. Fragile-looking and yet he powered through, all the way up that mountain with a barrage of enemies coming for him and pulling his subordinates along with him. He appeared as though he could have collapsed at any given moment, but he never did. And the real kicker was, he wasn't even doing this to get to me."

Nix recoiled slightly, the astonishment being written on his face, "What was he doing there then?"

Amon smirked a bit at his amazement, "He was there to save a friend of his, ol' lord Satan himself."

The blue devil gapped, "No way, you mean he actually attempted to merge with you?"

"Yeah, but that's back when he went by his holy name. I didn't see anything I hadn't seen before from him. Yeah, he had powers I had never witnessed before, but that knight caught my eye more than anything. Something about him, there was a strength there that looked more powerful than any I had ever been offered before. And so, I merged with him…"

Nix was unblinking, being practically hypnotized by the story. When a few moments had passed the demon was finally able to allow himself to relax.

"So that's why you're different, that's very interesting actually, and I'd say me and the rest of the men have all been thankful for it. You're a demon, but you're somehow even more than that too!"

The devil smiled humbly as he nodded his head. He was pleased by the wonder and excitement Nix gave off.

"Yeah, I just wish it aided me more often too," he laughed. The thin demon caught the humor, and slowly they both died down.

"So what do we do for now? Now that everyone's mad at us and you caused all your signature trouble?" Nix questioned playfully, but deep inside Amon could tell he was also serious.

Lightly the acclaimed demon shrugged, "We just do our best to please whoever we must, to get what I want and ensure everyone's safety. I guess I'll have to play by the rules."

An ornery look came to Nix's eyes, "Do you really think you can manage?"

The beastia smirked, "I suppose I'll have to."