Chapter 31: Against all odds

Izaya had expected a lot. Another trail, made of earth like the Serpent's. Destructive and broad, cutting the landscape with unimaginable force. Seeing how the crab carrying the demon lord's stronghold was much grander in size it was the only logical conclusion.

And yet there was no destruction to be found.

Heading on without wasting another second Shizuo had simply walked ahead and Izaya followed quickly. Stones obstructed Izaya's view and he was about to call out Shizuo's name, asking him to stop or wait for him as he was gradually losing vision of his guide.

But upon emerging between a set of stones the need for such an action diminished.

Shizuo had stopped, and with him the landscape.

A ledge presented itself before them and down below a lush forest. Green of the kind only poisonous frogs should own sprouted freshly in abundant plant structures. Izaya would have liked to call them trees, but they lacked the main characteristics of such.

Instead he found himself looking at sheerly oversized plants. Farns, vines and flowers infesting the curled leaves made up the forest ahead.

Buds stuck to every nook and corner and translucent petals colored in white rainbows presented themselves in the few that did blossom.

But the flora and fauna presented ahead, no matter its unique character, was not what caught Izaya's attention the most.

Izaya could see the mountain up ahead, and finally he recognized what Shizuo had described as the crab.

It was huge. On a scale he couldn't even measure.

Heaven above and its borders seemed awfully close and on the brink of brushing the top of its shell as it advanced almost imperceptibly.

Two eyes, set on the side, were left to white blindness and a low humming noise filled the air which he suspected came from the guardian.

But it was not the crab that captured his gaze either.

It was the water.

Livid, like someone had angered it, chains of water protruded the sky. Colors of azure, emerald and the brightest phthalo blue mixed in streaks all across the liquid as it moved.

Yes, moved.

Because this water was far from stale and stagnant.

Almost like the body of a snake the water formed swirls and shapes all across the area. Blinking softly, Izaya could also make out a few droplets traversing the sky, floating along as if gravity was a nonexistent constant.

"Crysteria's trail," Shizuo spoke and only topped the amazement in Izaya's eyes.

"Crysteria leaves a trail?" Izaya asked, having long given up to question anything he was seeing before his eyes.

"The crab does. Its strength is equal to its size. It doesn't hold animosity against anyone, but it also can't control the power seeping from its shell," Shizuo answered and jumped down the ledge.

It took Izaya a small moment to follow his route and notice that the leaves below cushioning Shizuo's fall were just as oversized as the rest of vegetation around.

Taking a heartily leap he followed without hesitation.

Droplets of water met his skin and the fall shortly reminded him of his earlier slip.

But as soon as the recognition came it faded as Izaya's back touched the leaf below.

A few droplets had sunken past Izaya's shirt and he shuddered at the unimaginably cold sensation it brought.

These droplets were colder than ice.

"Basically it enriches the area it traverses with an overflow of that power and creates all sorts of irregular appearances," Shizuo explained further and Izaya's gaze followed up ahead.

He could tell.

From the way the plants had massively grown to the fact that gravity seemed to have a hard time fighting whatever it was that overruled it.

He had thought Shizuo was powerful, but imagining something was creating these kinds of aftereffects from simply walking set the bar of strength higher than he could have ever imagined.

It was then that the softest hint of movement forced his attention to the side. He could hear them before he could see them. Elongated shapes of fur. Striped, fluffy and expelling sounds of birdly chatter they weaseled along the ground in slithering motions.

Six short legs attached to their sides barely lifted their furry stomachs off the ground and a pair of pointed ears twitched as they looked at Izaya in unmasked curiosity.

Tension ruled Izaya's body for a moment as he recalled their previous encounters of creatures inside hell. A flower had almost spelled his end by calling forth that spider like monster that was out to eat his guts alive. So who was to say what these were capable of.

But a single glance towards Shizuo told Izaya it was safe to let his guard down. He seemed awfully relaxed and satisfied with their progression towards Crysteria.

Leaping onto Izaya, a soft yelp escaped his lips as the creature climbed up his chest and settled around his shoulder.

Eyes void of doubt or fear looked at Izaya as it nuzzled his cheek and he snorted.

"Don't they know fear?" he asked aloud and lifted his hand to brush across the soft fur.

"They should," Shizuo sighed, having found his own share of curious animals. "They are at the bottom of the food chain. Only serving as sustenance for creatures like the Serpent."

Being reminded of the way that giant snake gobbled up the monster that had tried to kill Izaya he couldn't help but shudder at the vivid idea of how these little fellows were meeting their ends.

"Sounds unfair," he mumbled quietly while letting his fingers graze the top of their heads. A soft humming sound filled the air and as if to emphasize its satisfaction the spots Izaya touched lit up in light gold.

It was fascinating. Just as everything in hell actually.

Looking up, Izaya glanced towards the raging currents. Moving up and down, fast and unforgiving they moved in the sky with no regard for gravity or anything else.

The light passing through them reflected in the most beautiful ways and like water slides without the slides they rushed wherever they pleased. Almost like a hydra's many heads, searching the ground for something they lost.

"Don't touch the currents. They are dangerous." Shizuo suddenly said, and Izaya couldn't help but snort.

"I figured as much."

As much as he had seen of hell right now he was wise enough to not trust anything no matter its appearance.

Watching Izaya quietly Shizuo jumped down from his elevation and joined his human and his newly found best friend.

He seemed to have calmed down and that fact relieved Shizuo more than it should.

"... are you feeling better now?"

Surprised, Izaya blinked.

"Never felt bad to begin with," he tried, but forgot how useless it was to bring up false pretenses in front of the demon.

"You know I can smell your lies, right?" Shizuo pointed out and Izaya stilled.

… right.

"I was just slightly unsettled," he mumbled softly, not quite sure whether he should be appreciating the fact that Shizuo had noticed his earlier panic or not.

"So are you less unsettled now?" the demon inquired once again, and Izaya sighed after a short moment of silence.

"Yeah. I am."

A short pause, caused by disbelief or care followed up on Shizuo's expression and for a moment Izaya thought he wouldn't believe him.

But a nod was all he was given and a single word. "Good."

Pulling the fluffy creature that had crawled up Shizuo's leg off his body he placed it on top of Izaya's head instead. "They are called Anilas by the way," he informed and let his body drop to the ground in a leisurely seat.

A bit confused as to why he received

the creature Izaya blinked at the demon on the ground.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking a break."

Simple as if it were the most natural response, Shizuo gave that answer and Izaya rose a brow in light fascination.

"Are you tired?" He had thought the demon to be insufferable to the signs of exhaustion. And Shizuo confirmed that idea with a shrug.

"Of course not." Only furthering Izaya's confusion.

Looking towards the mountain ahead Izaya sighed.

"Good. Neither am I. And we are almost there, right?" he announced and motioned to move.

But a hand grasping his wrist from below firmly kept him in place against his will.

Encircling his wrist carefully as to not cause any damage the demon was clearly holding him back.

"...what are you doing?" Izaya asked but the answer didn't really make him any wiser.

"Stopping you."

Izaya snorted, "I can see that, that's not what I meant."

A soft breeze caused by the movement of the many streams combed across the surface of their surroundings and Shizuo sighed.

"Say, do all humans tend to overwork themselves or is that just you?"

Surprised, Izaya blinked. Of course he was in a hurry. And he also learned Shizuo was willing to keep him safe from various dangers inside hell.

But care of this degree wasn't quite what he had expected. "There is no need to rush. Whether we arrive today or tomorrow makes no difference," the demon continued and Izaya's head turned to face the mountain ahead.

"It's that close?" He had expected three more days of traveling at least. Hearing how close they were to their goal was equally unsettling as it was exciting.

"Even if it keeps going at full speed we will catch up to it by tomorrow night," Shizuo confirmed and somehow that idea caused Izaya's guts to sink.

That was fast.

Too fast?

Of course not. His whole goal had been to meet the demon lord.

Abd yet he couldn't help but feel a certain kind of dread fill his mind.

… what was the demon lord really going to say?

What if he killed him on the spot?

Merely seeing him or speaking might aggravate him and speed up his death only.

The goddess could be a friend of his or worse his lover for all he knew.

Perhaps they created heaven and hell together. Would make sense considering how close he had learned they were.

"Mindreading," Shizuo suddenly said, snapping Izaya out of his thoughts.

"What?"

"You always say how I'm strong and undefeatable, but you know what sucks?" the demon sighed, and the grasp on Izaya's wrist tightened just slightly. "Not knowing what to do."

Tilting his head to the side, Shizuo's eyes narrowed. "I could crack your head open with ease, but would it tell me what's going on inside?"

A gruesome idea.

Not one Izaya fancied and yet he couldn't feel a hint of fear at the words.

"Sounds like it would hurt, please don't," he snorted.

"That's why I said mind reading. That's what I would really like to have so I could find out what's going on in your head."

How awfully considerate.

Sighing softly, Izaya's eyes closed for a second.

"Why would you bother with what I'm thinking?" He was a demon. Izaya a human. There was no reason for him to care.

And yet-

"Why should I not?" With eyes void of doubt and a stance full of confidence the demon shrugged. "I like you."

Easy. As if he had just announced the sky's color, those words flew off his lips and Izaya blinked in mild surprise.

"You barely know me," he pointed out, seeing as they had traveled only a couple days together and barely even talked about anything substantial at all, and yet-

"So?"

There was no doubt in Shizuo's words, no shame in announcing what should have been awkward, and somehow Izaya couldn't help but laugh.

Brilliant and clear his voice was carried beyond the streams of raging water and to the infinite number of Anilas.

Shizuo was just so refreshingly simple, so easy to read and even better to understand. There was no hidden meaning in his words, no sarcasm or attempt to garner Izaya's favor and it was incredibly pleasant.

"You are an idiot," Izaya chuckled, and his eyes met Shizuo's mildly perplexed ones. "But I admit I like you too."

Easing into satisfaction the demon seemed to not understand what exactly had caused Izaya to laugh, but he accepted the end result for what it was.

"Is there anything I can do to make you relax?" he asked, referring to Izaya's behavior upon learning of heaven residing inside hell. And the unavoidable meeting of the demon lord.

It was funny.

He had looked forward to nothing more than to finally meet the most powerful being opposite to the goddess and yet he couldn't help but feel the dread choke his throat.

Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes for a second.

"... in case the demon lord wants to fry me alive," he started quietly, "Could you deal a merciless blow instead?"

Because that was what he feared. A demon. Unkind. Not like Shizuo, but more fitting to human assumptions was nothing Izaya liked to face. Torture and demise might as well be this lord's kinks and he didn't want to have any part in a excruciating painful death.

Lifting his gaze he looked at Shizuo. And for a moment he expected to spot offense in his eyes. Because he was a demon too and assuming the demon lord was going to cause him nothing but pain was probably an insult to him as well.

But instead of being offended he seemed to take him awfully serious instead.

"You won't die." Shizuo announced, and Izaya felt the corners of his lips tug upwards.

"Easy to say for-"

"You won't die," Shizuo interrupted quicker than Izaya was able to finish his complaint and his gaze softened. Unwavering confidence radiated off the demon and for a second Izaya found himself wondering just how he could be this sure of their unknown fate. "I will make sure of that." Shizuo announced again, trying to crush Izaya's lingering doubt.

"Against a demon lord?" Izaya asked with a meek smile, and the demon didn't even hesitate a single second.

"Against god and what makes the world move."

Izaya wasn't sure what to make of words carrying as much weight as these. Shizuo obviously wanted to assure him. Of course he would choose words of heavy impact nevermind their actual truth.

And yet- Izaya actually felt a little less anxious.

Another Anila had crept up to Izaya's leg and softly nudged his ankle as if it were asking for permission to ascend his body and a smile, much lighter than he should be holding, grazed Izaya's lips.

"So we are taking a break?" he repeated what Shizuo had said earlier, and the demon nodded.

"We are taking a break."

to be continued~

Now isn't our demon a sweet one? xD C: And slowly but surely this nostalgia is really becoming a "problem" xDDDD Who knows who knows what this might lead to hehehe

By the way I decided I will be dishing out the updates on Friday evening from now on instead of Saturday xD Cuz most of the time I have them fresh and ready to be served, and anything I didn't get done I won't get done on Saturday anyway xDDD
So yeah 3 Just so you aren't confused xD