Demonbound

9

Smoke rose in thick, curling plumes ahead of them.

Corvin noticed it first.

He slowed, brow furrowing, eyes lifting toward the dark smear staining the sky.

“I told you not to follow me,” Scott said, glancing sideways. “You were hurt badly.”

“I’m perfectly fine,” Corvin replied, not breaking stride.

“Oh really?” Scott said.

He stepped closer and drove a playful fist straight into Corvin’s stomach.

The impact sent a sharp, blinding jolt through Corvin’s ribs.

Pain exploded.

Corvin doubled over with a hiss.

“You—” he snarled.

Scott was already running.

Laughing.

Corvin straightened with a growl and took off after him, boots pounding against the dirt road as they chased each other like children instead of hunters.

“Get back here!” Corvin snapped.

Scott glanced over his shoulder, grin wide—

And stopped dead.

So did Corvin.

The air changed.

Heat rolled toward them in suffocating waves. The scent hit next. Burnt grass. Char. Smoke thick enough to sting the eyes.

They turned slowly.

Fire spread across the grassland ahead, stretching unnaturally far, flames devouring earth in wide arcs. Smoke billowed into the sky, dark and heavy.

The laughter drained from Scott’s face.

Corvin’s jaw tightened.

“I knew there was a reported sign of demon activity in this place,” Corvin said slowly, eyes scanning the destruction. “But I didn’t expect this.”

He swallowed.

“Just what type of demon is capable of this?”

Scott’s expression hardened.

“A very high-tier one,” he said. “We can’t handle this alone.”

He pulled out his phone, already dialling.

Corvin walked ahead while Scott spoke in low, urgent tones. He crouched near the scorched ground, fingers brushing blackened soil.

He sniffed.

His stomach sank.

“This is stronger than anything I’ve ever faced,” Corvin muttered. “This isn’t reckless fire. It’s controlled. Focused.”

Scott finished the call and joined him.

“Reinforcements are on their way.”

Minutes later, the air shifted again.

Figures emerged from the road behind them.

The commander arrived first.

Three hunters followed, their sigils faintly glowing as they took in the devastation.

Scott straightened immediately and bowed.

“Commander Zayer.”

Zayer’s gaze swept the burning land before settling on him.

“Scott. What’s the status?”

“This demon is high-tier,” Scott said. “It has an affinity for fire magic.”

Zayer’s eyes narrowed.

“Just like the Eredins?”

Scott nodded. “Just like the Eredins.”

A pause.

“Should we request their expertise?” Zayer asked.

Scott hesitated. “The patriarch won’t like that. We have to resolve this ourselves.”

Zayer exhaled slowly.

“How did a demon this powerful stay hidden for this long?”

“No clue,” Scott replied. “Is there a way we can track it?”

“Unless it uses its power like this again,” Zayer said, “we have no chance.”

“So we just wait until it strikes again?” Scott pressed. “People could get hurt. We have to find a way to locate it before then.”

Zayer turned to him fully.

“Scott, I know you want to help,” he said calmly. “But right now, there’s no way to track it. The demon is long gone.”

His gaze flicked briefly to Corvin.

“If you want to help, take your brother home and report to the patriarch what just happened.”

Scott muttered something under his breath but nodded.

He walked over and clapped Corvin’s shoulder.

“Come on,” he said quietly. “Let’s go.”

---

Lumi walked alone.

The road back to the mansion stretched long and empty, flanked by trees that whispered softly in the evening wind. Every step felt heavier than the last.

His body still buzzed.

Not with pain.

With something else.

He kept his head down, breath shallow, mind racing. The fire. The exhaustion. The way he had blacked out.

This isn’t possible, he told himself.

This can’t be real.

[Now that was fun.]

Lumi froze.

The voice was smooth.

Amused.

It didn’t come from ahead.

Or behind.

It came from nowhere.

Lumi spun around.

“Who’s that?” he demanded.

Silence.

Then—

[You still don’t know?]

His heart hammered.

“Come out this instant and face me,” Lumi said, turning in slow circles. “Show yourself.”

[As much as I’d love to do that, I’m stuck in your stupid, weak body!]

Pain threaded through the voice.

Frustration.

Lumi’s blood ran cold.

“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked.

[Can you stop spinning your head? It’s getting annoying. I’m inside you. You can’t find me outside.]

“No,” Lumi said sharply. “This is a trick.”

[So not only was I bound to a human,] the voice continued, dripping with disdain, [I was also bound to an incredibly stupid one? I can’t believe my luck.]

“What’s going on here?” Lumi whispered.

The voice sighed.

[Well. Let me start over. I’m Ashen. The demon you summoned. I wish I could say it’s nice to meet you—but it definitely isn’t.]

Lumi’s steps slowed.

Stopped.

“The spell worked?” he asked. “It wasn’t a dream?”

[Of course it worked,] Ashen snapped. [I don’t know what you summoned me for, but the moment I appeared, you started wiping the circle like an idiot. You destabilised the ritual. It dragged you in and bonded us.]

Lumi’s throat went dry.

“So you’re… inside me?”

[Unfortunately. I’m stuck in your world. In your body.]

“Is that even possible?” Lumi asked weakly.

[I’m talking to you now, aren’t I?]

“…Can’t you just go back?” Lumi asked.

[No. We’re bonded. I don’t even know how to break demon bonds. I skipped demon classes in the underworld.]

“The underworld,” Lumi repeated faintly.

[Stop being overly inquisitive,] Ashen said. [I’m bored. Let’s go burn something down.]

“Absolutely not,” Lumi said. “I can’t get into trouble with the Blackwells.”

[I don’t know what a Blackwell is,] Ashen replied, [but we can burn them too.]

“We’re not burning anyone,” Lumi snapped. “Stay put. I need to get back to the mansion and lie low.”

[Fuck this. I’m coming out.]

Heat surged.

Lumi gasped.

His vision blurred as gold flooded his sight. Pain rippled through his skull as pressure built behind his eyes.

He felt it—

Horns pushing outward.

“Nope,” Lumi said through clenched teeth.

The pressure vanished.

The horns receded.

His vision cleared.

[What is this?]Ashen said, stunned. [I can’t assume control at will?]

Lumi exhaled shakily.

Looks like you can’t.

He smiled faintly.

“I own this body,” Lumi said. “And I summoned you. That must count for something.”

[You don’t know how demon summoning works, do you?] Ashen asked.

“Is it that obvious?”

[Well,] Ashen said, voice sharpening, [two is my lucky number.]

Power surged again.

But this time, nothing happened.

Lumi kept walking.

“You’ll need to find another lucky number,” he said calmly.

He slipped back into the mansion unnoticed, returned to his room, and shut the door quietly behind him.

He lay down.

Closed his eyes.

It had been a long day.

[What are you doing?] Ashen asked.

“I’m trying to sleep.”

[What’s that like?]

Lumi didn’t reply.

[Are you sleeping already?]

No answer.

Night settled.

Ashen waited.

Then pushed.

Lumi’s eyes snapped open.

Gold flared in his pupils.

Ashen smiled—

Finally, Ashen thought, stretching within borrowed flesh.

Now let’s see what breaks first.