"So you're not leaving?"
"Is that really important right now?"
Mark diverted his gaze away from Elisa.
Was it important?
He wasn't sure, even though a Demon Lord was waiting.
"What did you mean by Link? Why would there be a Link between me and the Demon Lord?"
Mark asked, even though he already had a hypothesis.
The Demon Lord holds the Deadly Sin of Sloth.
He holds fragments of two Deadly Sins.
'That could be the Link...'
The Deadly Sins could've been the Link.
But there was no way for this to be what Elisa meant.
After all, she did not know that Mark's Titles had actually been made using fragments of the Deadly Sins.
"It's simple really. We entered the Demon Lord's Territory as soon as we walked into Sloth. There's already a Link there." Elisa's eyes narrowed. "Your Link is different somehow... Since he was notified as soon as you stepped in."
"Right..."
"He knows that you are inside his Territory. He's aware of your presence, but that's probably as far as the Link goes."
Mark listened silently.
"Agreeing to meet him or to have a conversation would strengthen that Link by a landslide. Get it?"
"I guess. I would go from... Trespasser, to a Guest or something."
"That's right. A Demon Lord's Guest. Or meal, depending on how the meeting goes I suppose."
"Huh. You seem pretty detached from all this."
"I am."
Mark scratched his head.
"Demon Lord's Guest... Sounds like it could be a Title." He whispered.
"Could turn into one. Will you take that chance?"
"What chance?"
"Will you meet the Demon Lord?"
Mark felt like his heart had been gripped.
'Meeting...' His hands twitched. 'A Demon Lord...? That sounds-'
Elisa sighed.
"You'll risk your life. Either die, or survive and become the Demon Lord's Guest... Or... Anything else he might desire."
"So the Link is like a Title?"
"Huh? More like Titles are Links. Do I really have to explain everything?"
[The Demon Lord Of Sloth yawns.]
[The Demon Lord Of Sloth warns you that he won't wait much longer.]
"He won't wait much longer."
"Then decide."
"What if..." Mark could feel chills all over his body." What if I want to meet a Demon Lord?"
"I guess you can do that."
"That's not..." He scratched his head. "What I'm asking."
"What are you asking?"
"If I were to...?"
Elisa's eyes widened.
"Would you come with?"
Her hand found a small stone on the ground.
She felt like throwing it to his face.
"Why?" Elisa muttered. Mark was puzzled by the question, and his facial expression made it obvious. "Why are you asking?"
"I'm not sure."
Elisa stared silently for a bit.
"Tsk." She clicked her tongue as she looked away. "I can't leave my Knight before I get to where I'm going, can I?"
"If you don't want to, it's-"
"You know..." Her voice dropped. "The Princess is supposed to put the Knight in trouble. Not the opposite."
"So-"
"So yes. I'm staying with you. Even if you go see a Demon Lord."
Mark's heart started beating faster and faster.
A Demon Lord in the flesh.
The probability of actually following through and going there was as low as they come.
Still, the thought of it was enough to spark something inside of Mark.
His gaze moved towards the words he had been ignoring.
[Do you accept?]
Just beyond those words, a Moonlit Feline stared with wide eyes.
"Would you say that the Demon Lord is stronger than Raven?"
"Mhm." Elisa nodded.
"How much stronger?"
"The difference between a Demon Lord and that Vampire is probably..." She brought a finger to her chin. "As vast as the one between you and the Vampire."
"Ha!" Mark chuckled nervously. "So you're saying we have no chance of survival?"
"Huh? Did you hit your head or something? No chances of survival? That goes without saying. If the urge to kill us hits the Demon Lord, we're done."
"How can you say you'll follow me when you know that?"
"Well..." Elisa placed a lock of hair behind her ear." It's-"
"WHAT?!"
"What? What happened?" She suddenly stood up at his shouting.
"He... He just..."
[The Demon Lord Of Sloth has grown tired of waiting.]
[The Demon Lord Of Sloth takes away the possibility for a conversation.]
"He... Doesn't want to talk anymore."
"Well, shit. Shouldn't have made him wait this long."
"So? What now?"
"How would I know? Maybe he'll send a General to deal with you. Maybe he'll ignore you from now on. I don't know."
"A General... Like Nia?" Mark whispered to himself.
"He probably doesn't know where we are exactly though."
"Gonna have to keep a low profile then."
Elisa nodded.
[The Demon Lord Of Sloth dislikes you slightly for making him wait.]
"Shit-"
[The Demon Lord Of Sloth forgives you.]
"Oh."
[The Demon Lord Of Sloth says that he was too lazy for that anyways.]
"G... Good?"
"What's good?"
"Apparently he was... To lazy to meet or talk."
"Why did he even ask then?"
"Not sure. Guess he wanted to do it but then changed his mind."
[The Demon Lord Of Sloth has decided to keep an eye on you.]
[The Demon Lord Of Sloth says that he needs a nap.]
After that, they silently stood unmoving for a bit.
But no new messages came Mark's way.
"Guess he went to sleep."
"He...?" Elisa slowly brought her hands to her face, massaged her eyes, and remained with her hands covering her face.
It didn't take long for her body to start shuddering.
Mark stared at her for a bit.
So did Krista.
Was she about to, for some reason, cry as she had a couple of days earlier?
Mark didn't know.
"Hey, are-"
"Pfff..."
"Huh?"
"Pfahahahaha! He went to sleep? Are you serious? You're talking about a Demon Lord and you're... Bwahhahaha!"
Elisa laughed so hard that she lay on the ground, gasping for air.
"I mean it's not really-"
"Wahahaha! Demon Lord going to sleep! What kind of... What kind of hot-headed dumbass are you?"
"It's not like he can hear me." Mark argued, slightly embarrassed.
"Oh, really?" Elisa asked as she wiped her tears. "How do you know that?"
"Huh?" He froze.
"Bfahahahha!" Which made Elisa laugh even harder.
For a minute, Mark remained silent.
He watched her silently, as she laughed out loud.
From time to time, he looked away.
In the middle of a forest they had never entered, in the middle of the night, Elisa was laughing like she had never before.
Perhaps because she had never been Linked to a Demon Lord this way before. Because she had never felt such tension or stress.
And while she was feeling that tension and stress, Mark was...
"Bfahaha. Going to sleep. Good one. Oh my, That was too funny."
"It really wasn't. And it's probably time to stop making so much noise."
"Right... Right... True." Elisa whispered. "No need to get mad though."
"I'm not mad. Just don't bring unnecessary trouble." He whispered.
"Can you really say that after bringing a Demon Lord into the equation?" She whispered while hiding her mouth with a hand, clearly stopping herself from bursting out in laughter.
"Just..." Mark started walking. "Shut up."
"Pfaha. Wait... Where are you going?"
"We should go away from here. Since it's the place where he was talking to me."
"Yeah. Let's do that."
They walked silently and cautiously for a while.
"I think about here would be fine."
"Maybe. Though the whole place is his Territory so..."
"You wanted to meet him, but now you're scared of him?"
"It was just a thought. I wasn't going to do it." Mark said as he stared at the Moonlit Feline who was playfully biting down on a thin branch Elisa had thrown its way.
"Really?" Her eyes narrowed. "Your eyes said otherwise."
"My eyes?"
"Yeah. The look in your eyes."
Mark sighed.
"The look in my eyes..." He raised his gaze towards the sky.
Dark and devoid of any light.
None of the stars that were visible that time could be seen.
That time when the Olga had taken him high up above.
"What?"
"Nothing. It's just..." Mark scratched his head. "The Fire Spirit used to say something like that. Or rather, we talked about it."
"That's... Unlikely."
"Why do you say that?"
Mark's gaze did not divert from the dark sky above.
Elisa looked at him
Or rather, it.
At the monstrous creature in front of her.
"A Spirit caring about the look in a Monster's eyes... I wouldn't say that it's unheard of, but it's definitely..."
"Definitely...?"
"Intriguing."
"You think?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "What do you think he saw in your eyes?"
Mark thought for a bit, before chuckling at the question.
"The reflection of his own flames, probably."
"Bahahaha! I didn't know him too well, but he was pretty in love with himself."
"That he was..." Mark whispered as he sat below a tree.
Elisa remained silent for a bit.
"Get up."
"Why? Krista is half asleep and you-"
"We're not sleeping down here."
"Huh?"
