Meteia, The Sun Of The Dusk

"Within the divineness of suffering, yield the end for the expected result." The high priest with a tall mitre hat began to swing her hand as the rest of the X-church warriors re-branded their strength. Blood coated in green hue was scattered in a sharp yet beautiful arc as they flowed out from the self-dealt wound on her wrist. "Spread and conquer! Purify the filth of tainting blight withins this demolished land!"

It was a signal for the holy army to charge forward, while also a form of spell that was used to analyze the battlefield in detail. Many soon passed through, and into Lothair's view—rushing in zealous, sometimes festive galore.

While Lothair didn't really identify most of the demons that surpassed him in the frontline, the bigger picture began to rush inward for his stressed mind.

Lothair pondered the image he once took when he was thrown into the atmosphere, "The world sure feels small sometimes."

For one more time, he mustered his breathing to calm his heart and mental fatigue, making sure that this would be the proper, less annoying kind of reunion. With that, he cast out the mask of red gaze from his face, replacing it once again with his old yet genuine smile of content.

In his view, an individual immediately kneeled in respect and reverence, jousting a wide smile on her face.

This demon's appearance was almost non-demonic, with only the trait of sharp ears and shark-like teeth like those of Daiyan's could be used to determine her constitution.

Still, one would definitely capture more of an impression from her long straight hair of burning red passion caressed by the courageous wind.

Her gaze was so gentle that wouldn't even seemed to hurt a fly, which reminded of with a grimace so demonic it could sent a flaming chill into one's spine

"Master, your Meteia have come to your aid."

It was around the time where Lothair started his fake seclusion.

Back then, Lothair didn't really leave any gap for the rest of the Headless Ichthys' members to keep track of his position, so that he could exit and enter the Poison-King Forest without alerting them.

He would often explore the rest of the world by himself while still focusing on tempering the healing magic he possessed. Within one of his visits, he encountered a city so torn that even calling it a wasteland wouldn't be apt for description.

There, he encountered a confused child with a soulless gaze that was forever wandering in the distance. Wondering how this tragedy came to be, Lothair decided to gently heal this poor lass to be asked for many things about this place.

Within that dreadful process, Lothair noticed that the child didn't gain a single side effect of a demon that was being healed. She didn't throw her insides onto the ground, not a single part of her body twitched from the disgust, nor was there a sense of filth that was invading her mind.

It was a brief train of thought, but Lothair saw an opportunity to ease his pain and loneliness for the time being until he could fully rely on his conscience and mind again.

On the other hand, the idea of raising a youngling properly without manipulation and malice should be enough of amusement and challenge to preoccupy his interest for a while, especially after the amount of sanity he gained after using his Overheal in experiment.

With a grin of excitement, Lothair decided to take her in as his first—still experimental kind of apprentice under his wings.

"Give me your name, child."

"I don't… deserve one? Or so, what they often told me."

"Do this 'they' you're referring to were your parents?"

"Yeah, I think."

"Hmm, to think that there are demons who would conceive a child that they wouldn't name."

"How about you, miss, I mean, uhm, mister?"

"Lothair, that is the name I've been wearing from the start, and probably until the end of the time."

"Your name sounds very noble!"

"It does! In the tongue of my tribe, it means a 'honored warrior'. While it didn't really do justice to my current way of life, a name is a neat message that your venerated left for you."

"I don't have one, does that mean nobody wants to give anything to me?"

"Do you want to have one?"

"It doesn't really matter, but having one will surely make the introduction easier to perform an introduction, I guess."

"You're the methodical one, huh."

"Methodical?"

"A careful, thorough, and sometimes systematic demon."

"You sound like you know a lot of things, Lothair."

"With age comes wisdom. You just need the right effort to utilize it."

"Answer me this then. Will I ever get a name in the future?"

"Oh, you will. Right now, actually."

"Really!?"

"Of course, I will teach you what I know, give you a name, and provide a foundation for you to thrive within this demonic continent."

"That doesn't sound very profiting on your side of the deal, Lothair-named miss or mister."

"Funnily enough, a profit doesn't always need to be actualized and materialized.. It could also be gained rather superficially with no real meaning to it. Like how some demon enjoys watching the sunset, for example."

"I see, so that kind of deal is also possible to achieve, hmm. Wait, there are demons who do something as pointless as watching the sunset?"

"Yep, I met with one of them. They even those who enjoy a higher degree of action that carries less meaning than that."

"Hmm, I wonder if the hue or the particular observation location affects the enjoyment to some extent… But I'm intrigued on what factor should someone achieve a sense of satisfaction with little to no proof-"

"You really think a lot for a demon of your size…"

"I find thinking thoroughly to be fun and useful."

"Heh, do your best then, little one. Now, to see your inner gears at work, think of whether you need this deal of mine or not-"

"Yes! I'll accept it!"

"That is quite the spontaneous reaction—in contrast to your earlier mindset."