9 The Last Joyous X-mas

It didn't take much time for Terma to overcome his trauma, as if he was sending a paper plane filled with the unnecessary emotion away into the open sea. He then stood up before cleaning the dirt on his uniform with a wipe of his hand. Some of the damaged fabric was immediately repaired as he did that. He was probably using Overclock for it, but the reason for his obsession to cover most of his skin remained to be unknown.

As he gazed at the current overactive Lothair, he noticed that some streaks of his silver hair began to shift into darker gray.

"Overheal!" Lothair shouted with an open arms. His face was beaming with excitement and a forgotten satisfaction. "Also, I'm surprised that you can get up already."

"Well I did get referred to as the most resilient one amongst my peers."

"No, I meant that." Lothair put on an innocent smile. "I already made sure to break your psyche through and through, how come you still know common sense."

"So that's what you're aiming for." Behind the forced smile, Terma had the insatiable urge to just kill the person in front of him. But for some reason, he decided not to. "No wonder you're always opting for the most painful composition in your spell."

"Because it's boring after the early part, you know." Lothair sighed as if the crazy thing he spouted was making a normal sense. "You started to accept the idea of being healed faster than I thought, I had to improvise to keep the experiment more interesting."

"... You're talented at scaring people." Terma attempted to derail the conversation at all cost. "Also, this might just be a hunch, are you one of those demons who possessed an innate photographic memory?"

"Photographic memory? What makes you think so?"

"Well, as far as I remember, the Unjust Algoritm series is so dense and complicated that it took me a year to be able to fully absorb its knowledge. But a complicated book is still a complicated book, I didn't even remember what page I found the subject of research for Overclock."

"I see. I won't blame you, that series really took me my entire month for something that I would never put to use in practice."

"A mere month…"

"As for your question. How do I explain it… It's not necessarily a photographic memory, as I did forget some of the details that I should have a complete grasp on, but that's not denying the fact that I do indeed still remember every moment since the day I was born."

"That is a photographic memory then…"

"Although, it's not only on sight." Lothair raised his index as he unconsciously bragged. "It was the same case for my sense of hearing, sense of smell, and sense of touch. With the more pain-inducing that something is, the more vivid and easy to be replayed and replicated as if I'm reciting that very moment once again."

"Every incident of pain? Every wound?"

"Every pain and wounds." Lothair nodded. "Even now, I can consciously reenact the sensation of my melting skin and flesh like opening an album of the past."

"... Does that bother you?"

"I don't know, I'm mostly fine with it though."

"You're scaring me even further…"

With an enthusiastic smirk, he opened his palms as he shrugged, presenting the trauma-inducing green hues so casually it was worrying. "Regardless of it, in a sense of accomplishment, I actually gained more benefit than I was supposed to today, in contrast to you.

"Now that both of us have sinned, let me be undemonic for now and offer you all kinds of favor!"

Seeing how his partner-in-crime regained his usual eccentric attitude, Terma couldn't help but play along. Albeit, he was still extremely terrified of him.

Amidst the shrouding mist of why Terma was fixated with bringing Lothair to the forbidden section library to begin with, both Lothair and Terma felt a strange bond that only those of competing yet caring siblings had.

A bond that was supposed to be the result of building it for many years, those two were able to create it in less than a day.

"If you're that willing, then it would be a demonic of me to refuse them, aren't I?" Terma chuckled.

"Say it, my fellow sinner who has sinned because of this sinning me." Lothair tilted his head forward as he closed his eyes as a sign of trust with a smug grin arching so sharp. "No matter the valley or canyon it might take, as long as it is worth your unpayable merit."

"Now you're just exaggerating the whole thing."

"You're the one who said it." Lothair playfully opened one of his eyes. "Demon should coat their tongue with many layes."

"Aren't you supposed to act undemonic now."

"Hurry up, my brother-in-arm, Terma! We don't have a whole day."

"Said the one who wasted an hour and a half to torture me." Terma sighed in defeat, only to replace it with a rather, uncharacteristic, genuine smile of hope.

He moved his mouth, stating his request of favor.

It forced a surprised look on Lothair's face.

"That is quite depressing, don't you think…?" Lothair tried his best to hide his wry reaction with his usual snicker. "Don't bring the buzz down by saying something like that."

"I do mean every word that I say, though."

"Regardless, regardless, don't have such a dreary mind for today. After all, tomorrow is X-mas! It's obliged for all demons to remain in high spirits to participate in one of the blessless nights…"

Tears started streaming unknowingly across Lothair's cheeks. Lothair was dumbfounded, but most importantly, he knew that it was all because of the dagger-stabbing pain that he had on his chest.

He hunched his head forward, trying to let all of the moisture on his eyes leak faster. But no matter how long he waited, the tears kept flowing. He started to wipe his eyes with one hand. It didn't work. He began to use both of his arms, using his wrist for he was scared to look at his own palm.

Maybe if he tries to hide it all with a smile, the tears will stop, just like how it usually does. So with great hope, Lothair forced a wide smile across his cheeks.

The tears still didn't go away.

"Why?" A pitiful whimper slipped from his cries. "Why does the pain need to show up now? It didn't resurface last year."

It all started when Lothair was still a 6 years old cub.

"Papa! Papa! Lookie here!"

He still remembered it vividly, the rundown shack that he once possessed. His weak mother who lay in bed all day, not able to play with him.

And the wide back of his father, filled with muscles and bruises.

The small Lothair placed a finger on his cheek as he tilted his head. He surveyed his menacing father from up and down. He then saw a couple of annoying mosquitoes circling above the newly regenerated wound of his father's shoulder.

The small Lothair then began to hold his hands in front of his chest.

"N-none compassion shall be shone upon ye!"

It was a bug repellant spell that he self-learned when watching a passerby casting it in front of his house.

The father immediately turned and faced his son in shock. Not because the mosquitos that kept bugging him were exiled away by his son, but because of the fact that his son was capable of casting a spell at such a young age.

The face that his father made immediately after that was that of a proud and genuinely happy parent.

"Lothair! Did you just cast that spell??"

"Yes!"

"Can you do it again in front of me??"

"Uuuuh!"

This time, not even with chanting. The very same spell, the very same flow of Ayin that was processed by the soul of a demon child. His father immediately picked him up and raised him high to the ceiling.

"Such a strong aptitude for Ayin! Your mother will be proud!"

"Mother will be proud!"

"Let's go meet with your mother!"

"Let's meet with my mother!"

The father presented Lothair in front of his sickly wife like he was the most prized possession that he could ever have. Right after Lothair was prompted to do the same spellcasting, the same immaculate proud joy appeared on her pale complexion.

"K-Kaire…?" The mother faced his husband as if she was seeking confirmation.

"You're not hallucinating, Villa."

It was the most joyous moment in Lothair's life that didn't include harming or torturing a stray beast and insect near his house.

It was, until the end of time, his most prideful and joyous day.

"You see, Lothair." His father placed him on top of his lap. "As the leader of this tribe, your father had to sacrifice a lot of his possessions and money to support a faster development for our village.

"Because of that, not many of the neighboring tribe supported your father. Of course, all of those sacrifices are temporary! Until our people reap the seed they sow on the ground, we shall live humbly."

"Live humbly!"

"But to be honest with you, my son. I regretted that I couldn't spare a single penny to focus on what I truly held close." His father's eyes were shaded with despair and self hatred. Just a second after, he went back to his cheery way as if nothing ever happened. "You know, after I regained all of my wealth, we will be living in a grand mansion!"

"Grand mansion!"

"With ten floors!"

"Ten floors!"

"Many maids!"

"Many maids?"

"And most importantly, more time with the both of you."

"Yay! More time with papa!"

"Now that I think about it, tommorow is X-mas! come, son! We need to immediately decorate our pole!"