The Demon’s Bride

Esther couldn't hold it back anymore. With her eyes flaming in blue color, she raised her hand too deliver a slap across Beelzebub's cheeks sharply. He could have avoided it but he didn't and Esther was glad he didn't as he truly deserve a slap on the cheek.

"Should I be happy? Happy that you feel sexual attraction to me?" Esther held herself together. No tears! She reminded herself. It was annoying how tears could fall from her eyes but then again, she didn't remember when the last time she had cried, her tears had somewhat dried on her that she could never cry no matter how painful the ache on her heart was.

"Beelzebub, is it fun for you?" Esther was faced with silence from Beelzebub who continue to stare at her. Somewhere the mischievous glint on his eyes slowly disappeared as if he regained his normal self. But Esther had to say what needed to be said. "Tell me was it fun?!"

Beelzebub frowned while looking at her, "What was fun?"

"Playing with me!" Esther slammed her fist on his broad chest. Even if she was to try hitting him as hard as she could, she know she wouldn't be able to do so.. First he was stronger than and second, she didn't have it in her to harm Beelzebub. 

"You don't like me the way I do to you. I haven't explicitly told you about my feelings toward you but I won't let you claim you don't know with what emotion I am looking at you. Yet—" Esther ruffled her black hair, "—You treat me kindly at times, so sweet and tempting. Other than wanting to see my reactions as your source of amusement, I can't see why you would still tease me."

Beelzebub found how the rim of her eyes were slightly red. His hand reached out before his thought but Esther had swatted his hand harshly. 

"Don't be kind to me," she stressed her words, meeting Beelzebub's eyes with a flaring flame. "It's painful and I hope you would still spare me some heartache by not being kind to me."

"Esther," Beelzebub called when the latter had left the place, leaving away from Beelzebub's side.

Beelzebub cursed at his own action and slammed the nearby window. As the glass shattered, he could see his own reflection who was holding a wide smile on his face. 

'Why the anger? I helped you, didn't I?' His reflection spoke, only pouring more oil into the fire. 

"Helped?! You ruined everything!" Beelzebub gritted his teeth. Usually his 'greed' would take over his body. This wasn't the first time. While other people's greed remain in their heart, his curse had enhanced his greed so much that it could manifest into another personality in him. 

Beelzebub had tried to keep down his 'greed' by being in less contact with things that could interest him as his greed would turn obsessed with it. He thought he had been careful this whole time and indeed, his greed rarely manifested as another self of his.

But being with Esther, the source of his endless greed and obsession it became more and more difficult for him to tame his greed, causing it to even act on its own using his body. 

'What did I ruined exactly?' Chuckled his greed. 'I simply had given her your real thoughts which you felt last night. What a shame. If she had asked me and confessed her love to me; unlike you I would have agreed. My Esther.'

Beelzebub quickly snapped his finger for blue fire to ate the last pieces of the glass shards, grinding them all to dusts.

"I am protecting her from you," Beelzebub knew what his greed tried to do earlier to Esther when his hand hovered around her neck. Thinking what he might have done when his greed took over his body send both anger and chill over his body. "Protecting her, from me."

Esther composed herself and pulled herself together. Once she did, she realized the one thing which she noticed was off in Beelzebub was not her illusion. 

Indeed, there was another side in Beelzebub in which he had tried to hide. Does that mean the kind and sweet self of Beelzebub was one side of him and the usual Beelzebub who given her a cold shoulder was the real Beelzebub?

But she remember the way kind Beelzebub's eyes looked at her which was fierce and fearsome regardless of his kindness toward her. 

Esther decided that being separated with Beelzebub was a wrong idea. If her guess was correct about Beelzebub having two personalities, it was better to keep him near her sight. To add, being together was much safer, she thought. 

Though her legs felt heavy when she forced herself to meet Beelzebub again, she didn't want to feel awkward after the fight but then, she did have the right to stop Beelzebub who had gone too far on playing with her heart.

Esther went back to the place in which she had left Beelzebub at when she saw blood on the ground. Her eyes widened at once and in haste, she searched for Beelzebub.

She wouldn't be so worried if the blood which she had seen was simply a small drop. But what she found was stream of red blood filling the ground, turning it deeper in the curling crimson color. 

Even though Esther was able to differentiate demons from the scent of their blood, she could only tell whether or not they are high demon. From the scent, the blood didn't come from a high demon but she could see the sight of fight here. 

Esther dashed when she found a man who cowered behind the wall. She stopped near the man, "Did you see what happened here?"

The man didn't answer her. His body was curled at the corner of the wall and his hand shielding his face as if to protect himself. She could see how he appeared to be so much in fear that he couldn't hear her. 

Esther didn't have time to be kind. She pulled the man by his collar; her blue eyes shining when she demanded, "Did you see a blonde demon fight here?"

The man flinched in fear but he was scared of saying no and denying the truth. His head quickly nodded up and down in response. "T… there!" The man pointed one side of the street that led to the forest which she had passed earlier with Beelzebub before arriving to the town. 

Esther released the man and followed the path that she had been told to. Her mind frantically searched for where Beelzebub was. What if due to his two personalities, a part of him was affected therefore weakening him? Esther asked to herself, unable to stop from thinking of the side effect of his two personalities. 

When she ran she heard a low and chilling growl near her. Esther stopped her track at once. It sounded like a wolf. If there was a wolf in Hell, there is.

She had called the forest to be one when in truth in the barren land of Hell there was barely any tree to make up half a forest that human had. It was called forest because the wild life lived there. 

The wild life she meant was, the demonic animals. The demonic animals was far fierce and deadly in Hell. They won't only eat humans as their food but they are so smart such away where they would play with their prey until they were satisfied with it. 

Esther knew the growl wasn't directed to her. It was too far to be directed at her but their hiss and growl only meant there was another person near there. 

Without sparing another second in thinking, she had rushed to find where the source of the sounds came from.

Following the noise, as she expected she found Beelzebub standing with blood on his hands. Bodies of demons and the wild demonic animals were near him, scattered in pieces while most of them was burnt to ashes. 

"Are you okay?" Esther asked quickly once she arrived. She noticed that Beelzebub was standing at the edge of a cliff.

"Nothing too terrible. Seems like they have been following us since we enter the city," Beelzebub kicked one of the demon's head.

"Perhaps they came only to steal from us," Esther said. It wasn't a rare occurrence for thievery and robbery in Hell. 

"No," Beelzebub objected. "They wouldn't be so dumb as to steal from a high demon. There's only one reason. They must have come after being offered with some money. We should leave this place. The demonic animals enjoy the smell of blood and they would come soon here."

Esther nodded in agreement. She followed him from behind, walking only two steps away from him when all of a sudden she felt her feet was pulled back. 

Esther's view tilted as she fell down off the cliff, realizing that the hand that had pulled her ankle came from one of the demon whose should have died with the amount of blood they lost. 

Esther didn't have time to scream when she felt her heart stopped as she begin to free fall. Beelzebub noticed her falling a bit late. 

"Esther!" He shouted, reaching out his hand to grab for Esther's as she fell backward.