Meltasensei

Demon Prince Protector

Deep in the Nether Realms, silence stretched on for eons. The quiet wasn’t one of peace, but rather of tense apprehension. The treaties had been put in place generations before, but to this day required an overseer to maintain them. From the Kingdom of Ash, sat atop the throne of bones Meltarashi sighed. Since obtaining their demon form life had been so tiresome. They longed for some excitement, a small morsel of entertainment. The Nether Realms had been so boring over the last century. The Demon Prince had thought by conquering the realm there would be more fun to be had. And yet, here they languished on the throne, dozing slightly, waiting for something, anything, to happen. Hours, then minutes, the days, then months, then years passed with Meltarashi overseeing the realms. Even their two companions could not hold his attention. “Come play with me,” Belladona, the playful kitsune begged. “Let's cause some trouble,” Iris, a boisterous dragoness laughed. Still the days dragged on and on and on. There was a strange smell in the air one evening, if time could be perceived here. The smell was earthy, smoky, and slightly sweet - and completely unknown to Meltrashi. They stood, and what first was a slow walk soon became a log and then a sprint. This was it, the excitement they needed. Their feet slapped on the stone floors as they raced through the halls of the palace, echoing through the corridors. With each twist and turn, Meltarashi knew they were getting close. There. Down the last corner, tucked away in a small alcove. The wall seemed to shimmer. An almost indiscernible sheen lingered on the wall. But that was where this strange smell was coming from. Nerves flooded them for a brief moment, replaced by excitement as they reached a hand out to the glimmering wall. A gasp escaped their lips as their hand passed through. The air on the other side was cooler, if a little humid. Taking a deep breath, Meltarashi closed their eyes and before they could second guess themselves, they rushed forwards. The darkness was oppressive, and true. Like nothing they had ever seen or felt before, completely foreign to the Nether Realms. They couldn’t tell if their eyes were open or closed, if they were falling or floating, if the air was still or rushing. Cold radiated through their robes, their back pressed to the floor. A warm hand pressed against their throat as a body straddled them. “Who are you, and why are you in my temple?” a feminine voice echoed, domineering in power. Meltarashi opened their eyes, meeting the Satyr’s gaze. They said nothing, unused to being the person in a weaker position. “I said, who are you, and why are you in my temple?” The hand began to tighten around Meltarashi’s throat. The satyr began to raise their free hand, fingers clawed. Metlarashi glared, before shifting into the form of a slime and slipping from the Satyr’s grasp with ease. Once free, they shifted back into their humanoid form into a defensive stance. Sword in hand. “I am Meltarashi, overseer, subduer and Prince of the Nether Realms.” They glared at the satyr, but their eyes began to drift to the unfamiliar architecture. Fear began creeping up their neck. The shimmering portal had vanished leaving them trapped. “Where am I? Who are you?” The satyr stood, turning at the fear in Meltarashi’s voice. “Tokyo, Japan… Earth. A temple to the moon specifically,” they walked closer, tone softening as they continued to speak, “My name is Vitska, Goddess of the Moon. You’re in one of my temples here. Did you… did you not mean to come here?” “There was a strange wall, a portal I guess…” Meltarashi sank to the floor, their head in their hands. “I wanted adventure, excitement. But I can’t sense the portal anymore. How do I return?”

Vitska sat on the floor next to them, placing a hand on their shoulder. “From one lost soul to another, we can figure it out. But first, why did you come through the portal?” “What?” “There must have been one deciding factor that was the push you needed, surely?” Meltarashi was silent for a minute, thinking back to the strange aromas they’d followed to get to the portal. “It was sweet, but smokey and nothing like the smell of brimstone. It was like nothing I’d ever smelt before, and I had to know what it was.” With a laugh straight from her belly Vitska laughed. “Food. You left your realm because you smelled food? No judgement, like, I’d get up and leave everything for a bowl of udon. But what are you, a cat? There aren’t many who would leave their realms for smell alone.” Meltarashi’s eyes shifted, pupils narrowing and elongating as they stared at the satyr in front of them. Vitska laughed, “holy shit, you can shift into a cat as well?” Surprised at the outburst, Meltarashi laughed, feeling their walls crumbling down. It was easy with Vitska, her smile infectious and kind and unlike any he’d known before. She stood, holding a hand out to him. “Come on then. You smelled food, so let's get you some. We can talk whilst we eat.” This land was strange, Meltarashi thought they walked. It was dark, clearly late out. And yet, these humans were smiling, even giving Vitska a slight bow as they passed. People were respectful, they were kind to each other. Meltarashi was used to demons tearing each other down for a scrap of food, for power. They walked through the streets wide eyed. Vitska seemed unphased by all of it, merely walking a path she seemed to know like the back of her hand until they stopped at a small, quiet stall on the street. Vitska smiled at the older woman behind the counter before taking a seat, and within minutes there was a steaming bowl of soup in front of both of them. Meltarashi took a small spoonful, dabbing their tongue into the broth before looking to Vitska. “Was this made by the gods? This is incredible!” “Worth jumping through a portal to a new realm, right?” She smiled in response. For a while, they sat in companionable silence, just eating the soup. Once they had finished Vitska began telling her story. She was a traveller, a collector of stories. But all the travelling was wearing her down. Now she stayed on this planet, Earth, collecting human stories. Meltarashi shared their story, or what little of it they had. The Never Realms had been at war for centuries. When the peace treaties were signed, their bloodline was assigned as overseers, although many referred to them as royalty. Queue more centuries of boredom, assigned companions, and managing powerplays from lower level demons. They explained their bloodline started as mere slimes, before engulfing and consuming other forms. Before their tenth birthday they could become small cat, which allowed him free reign of the castle. “The warm stone beneath paws is really a feeling you’d never forget,” they said wistfully as they reached for a small cup of something called Sake. They talked all night, only stopping briefly when the stall began to pack away for the night, at which point they moved back to the temple. They watched the sunrise before Vitska explained she needed to go, there was another story to be collected, but encouraged Meltarashi to stick around on Earth. “Maybe our paths will cross again, and you’ll have new stories for me?” she asked with a sly grin. “Who knows, you may even find you enjoy the company of humans.” Meltarashi began wandering the planet, still undecided. They slay any demons they encountered. The opportunistic beasts saw this world as weak, whereas Meltarashi saw it as naive. There was a part of them which wished to conquer it and claim it as their own, but something stopped them. In comparison to the Nether Realms, Earth was still new, still finding its feet. Yes, from the histories they had heard there had been some humans who’d tried to conquer the planet. But they were nothing but children playing with swords and guns. They realised this planet couldn’t be taken by force. On their travels they met many different people, all still trying to find their own place in the world. So many souls were still lost. One woman stuck in their mind as they traveled. She had long velvet ears and a kind demeanour. She had explained the different kinds of trees to them, and showed them simple magic and tonics they could use if ever they found themselves injured or low on mana. “You are a very skilled witch,” Meltarashi had said, praise warming their voice. “Who me? No, a child could make these under the right instruction,” she chuckled. “Besides, I left my druid circle after the incident. I refuse to be a cautionary tale for children on the dangers of shifting forms. My knowledge is limited at best.” Her voice had drifted off as she stroked her ears with fondness. The trees had whispered something to her, not long after she had packed them a small bundle of tonics. “This is where I leave you,” she had whispered, “good luck, little slime.” Before her form was encircled in a cloud of petals and she was gone. Meltarashi didn’t recall telling the druid they were a slime. They kept travelling, but their mind drifted back to that first night in Japan. Annoyingly, it kept drifting back to the food. Nothing they had eaten since matched. Almost subconsciously, they found they had wandered back to that temple almost a hundred years later. The world had changed so much in that time, the land outside the now run down temple was overgrown and forgotten. Meltarashi smiled, thinking back to the strange druid they had met. She’d have liked this, nature reclaiming her land. They kept walking, heading into the busier city districts, where the link between realms felt thinner somehow. Captivated by the neon jungle before them, concrete buildings captured in the glow of nighttime in the city. They knew this would be the weakest point, where otherworldly threats would attack. As they walked, their form shifted to match the humans. By day, he became ‘Matt’, an overworked office worker, drawing in emails and spreadsheets. By night, she became ‘Mara’, a book girl finding local speakeasies and poetry slams. As the days and months drifted into the next, Meltarashi as Matt and Mara settled down. They rented a small two bedroom apartment to keep up that illusion of two individuals. On weekends, they found entertainment in painting miniature models before breathing life into them to enact tiny battles. When there was time, Matt gathered human friends to play tabletop games, telling the stories of their home and the Nether Realms wars veiled as a game for players to defeat. For a time, life was pleasant. Quaint. But life never stays that way for long. It happened one Saturday, as Matt, Meltarashi was trying to have a lie in after Mara had been out late at a nearby bar when the shift in the atmosphere happened. Meltarashi awoke to the smell of brimstone lingering in the air. The locals seemed on edge, but no one knew why. The morning was quiet enough, with Matt doing their grocery shop before settling in for the day before a Dungeons and Dragons game later in the day. They dozed on and off throughout the day to be woken by screams. This was it. Meltarashi could feel it in their old bones. They stood on the fire escape of their building watching people run. The ground shook. Buildings seemed to rock on their foundations, as a monstrously tall red form began to appear on the horizon. With a stretch, Meltarashi shook off their human form before leaping into the street. “This realm is under my protection, Oni.” They called out, summoning their katana to their side. The oni paid them no heed, tearing buildings in half, advancing slowly. “Did you not hear your Prince?” Meltarashi tried again. “Remember the treaties extend to realms claimed by the overseer. By attacking here, you risk war again. You risk calling dishonour upon your clan.” Still the demon advanced, glowing eyes locked on Meltarashi. Its voice was pure malice. “You abandoned your post, overseer. War has already come to the Nether Realms. And now war is coming for this realm as well.” The red skinned demon lept, landing with an earth shaking crash. Debris and dust lingering in the sky, the city holding its breath. Meltarashi called on their power, shifting into their slime form to slip between the demon's fingers as they attacked. They shifted and swung their blades, before shifting and slipping away again, summoning all of their power. The oni threw car wrecks with ease, trying to pin down the elusive shapeshifter before following up with a barrage of spells. As a car sailed past their form, they slid back into their slime form once again, sinking into the bushes on the streets. Only they weren’t retreating. They were getting closer, biding their time. The oni, suddenly cocky with belief they’d won, puffed out its chest. “This world bows to me now,” it screamed to the empty streets of Tokyo. It beat its chest with a rhythmic drum beat, the force shaking Once Meltarashi was certain the oni believed it had truly won, they leapt up, shifting mid jump. Summoning chains emblazoned with the flames of the Nether Realm they bound the oni. And with a quick thrust, they sank their blade into the giant's chest. “Incorrect,” Meltarashi panted. “This realm is its own - but under my protection.” With a cry, the flames captured the demon's screaming form before dragging them back to the Nether Realms. Sinking to their knees, Meltarashi hung their head. Had their realm truly fallen without them there watching over it? They sat in the now ruined streets breathing heavily, mana running low. A small ferret nudged their leg with its nose, pawing a small pouch on Meltrashi’s hip where they kept the druid's tonics from all those years ago. As local people cautiously began appearing on the streets, Meltarashi pulled a corked bottle free, unstopping it and downing the aged brown liquid inside. Mana flooded back into their system and the small ferret made a small approving noise before climbing onto their shoulder staking claim. The Demon Prince stood, sword still in hand, before turning to face the now gathering crowd. As they gazed up at the face of the prince, their saviour, a child stepped forward. Small hands clapping. Slowly, others joined, until Meltarashi stood amongst thunderous applause and cheers. With a smile, they sheathed their blade. This would certainly make for an interesting story to share with Vitska when they next met.