Gen tore his gaze away from Nøx’s wandering hands and turned his attention to the real problem.
The two jackasses kneeling on the ground with their tails tucked between their legs (literally) and their eyes wide with fear.
He walked over to them with slow deliberate steps while his bare feet pressed into the cool grass and his shadow fell across their trembling forms.
The fireplace was crackling nearby and he reached out to grab a stick from the edge of the flames.
The end was glowing red hot and the heat radiated off it in waves that made the air shimmer around the tip.
He brought it close to Ozin’s face so the cat could feel the warmth on his fur and then he spoke one single word.
“Talk.”
Nyobin broke first.
His composure shattered like glass and the words came tumbling out of him in a flood of tears and snot and desperate pleading.
His voice was high and reedy and it cracked with every other syllable as he tried to get the words out fast enough.
“Please please please please please please don’t kill us please don’t kill us I’ll tell you everything I’ll tell you everything just please don’t kill us nyaaa I don’t want to die I don’t want to die I’m too young to die and I haven’t even gotten to see the ocean properly yet and I know that sounds stupid but it’s true and hell sucks dude like Nyaa all we have are lava fallls and that sucks and I just want to live and please please please don’t hurt my master he didn’t do anything wrong it was all my fault I was the one who suggested it I was the one who said we should find a way to get your magic I was the one who said we should lure the aspen dryad here my master just went along with it because he trusts me and I betrayed that trust and now we’re going to die and it’s all my fault nyaaawaaaahhhhh~~.”
He was sobbing so hard that his words were starting to blur together while his chest heaved with the effort of getting them out.
He kept going and his voice rose and fell in a desperate rhythm that made him sound like he was about to hyperventilate.
“We’re demons from the demon realm. We fled here because my master’s brother tried to kill us. He wanted the throne and he would’ve done anything to get it so we ran and we ran and we ran until we couldn’t run anymore and we ended up here. We thought if we could just get enough power we could go back and take what was rightfully ours but we didn’t know how to get that power. Then we sensed you and your magic reserve was practically infinite so we thought if we could just take it we would be powerful enough to go home. We didn’t think about the consequences. We didn’t think about what would happen to you. We were just desperate and scared and we didn’t know what else to do nyaaa waaaahhhh I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I know it doesn’t mean anything but I’m so sorry please don’t kill us please don’t hurt my master I’ll do anything I’ll do anything just please let him live nyaaa waaaaahhhhh~”
He collapsed forward with his forehead pressing into the dirt while his body was wracked with sobs that shook his entire frame.
His single tail was limp and lifeless behind him and his ears were flat against his skull.
Ozin was still kneeling beside him with his golden eyes fixed on Gen and his expression completely unreadable.
He did not say a word.
He just watched and waited.
Gen stood there for a long moment with the hot stick still in his hand and his face completely unreadable.
He did not look angry or scared or anything at all.
He just stared at the two demons with an expression that could have been carved from stone.
The only movement was the slight twitch of his fingers around the stick.
And then slowly a small smile crept up his face.
It started at the corners of his mouth and spread outward until his whole face was lit up with it.
His eyes were gleaming and his shoulders were shaking and he looked like he was about to burst from the sheer force of whatever was building inside him.
“Ohhh really now.”
He started shaking with so much giddy excitement that his internals might as well have been strapped to a bomb.
His whole body vibrated with barely contained energy and he was grinning so wide that his cheeks were starting to ache.
He dropped the hot stick back into the fire and stood up straight.
He started pacing back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back and his chin held high.
He was trying to look like the toughest anime character he had ever seen and trying to channel that cool effortless confidence.
He was probably failing but he did not care because this was too good to let pass him by.
“Oh really now,” he repeated while his voice dripped with smug satisfaction.
“So not only am I amazing which I already knew but I also have infinite magic. That means I gotta be able to hit a kamehameha before next year. That is just basic math. But ignoring that there is a demon world. A whole demon world. And they are all trying to get you guys.”
He stopped pacing and spun around to face them with his arms spread wide.
“So if I negotiate your capture for let’s say protection I would instantly be goated as fuck (his words not mine). I would be the most powerful human in this entire world. I would have demons owing me favors. I would have connections. I would have leverage. Do you understand what that means? It means I win. I win everything.”
Nyobin’s head shot up and his amber eyes were wide with a new kind of terror.
His voice came out as a strangled whisper.
“No…
no please…
you can’t…
you can’t send us back…
if we step foot in the demon realm we will die…
my master will die…
Solkin will kill him…
he will kill both of us…
please…
please don’t do this…
I’ll do anything…
I’ll do anything just please don’t send him back nyaaa.”
He bowed down again with his forehead pressing into the dirt while his whole body trembled like a leaf in a storm.
“I’ll be good.
I promise.
I’ll be so good.
I’ll never try to hurt you again.
I’ll protect you.
I’ll do whatever you say.
Just please don’t send my master back.
I love him too much.
I would rather die than let him be hurt.
Please.
Please.
I’m begging you.
Please.”
Gen’s smile widened until it was almost predatory.
He stopped pacing and turned to face them with his hands on his hips and his voice low and smooth and full of dark amusement.
“Anyyything?”
Before Nyobin could respond Nøx appeared behind Gen with his hand already reaching for Gen’s waist.
His golden eyes were gleaming with mischief and his voice was a low purr that carried across the yard.
“I think he means anything. Like literally anything. You could make him do all sorts of fun things with that kind of leverage.”
Gen swatted his hand away while his face flushed red.
“Nøx not now. I’m in the middle of something important.”
Nøx pouted dramatically with his lower lip jutting out.
“You’re always in the middle of something important. When are you ever in the middle of something fun?”
“I’ll be in the middle of something fun when I’m done being in the middle of something important.” Gen turned back to the demons while his voice regained its smug edge.
“Now where were we? Oh right. You were about to agree to my terms.”
Ozin finally spoke with his voice low and rough and completely devoid of emotion.
“What terms?”
Gen grinned with his teeth showing and his eyes sparkling with barely contained glee.
“We’ll negotiate that later. For now I just need to know that you’re willing to negotiate. Are you willing Nyobin? Are you willing to do anything to keep your master safe?”
Nyobin nodded frantically while his tears still streamed down his face.
“Yes yes yes anything anything I’ll do anything just please don’t send him back.”
Gen clapped his hands together while the sound echoed across the yard.
“Perfect. Fantastic. This is going to be so much fun.”