Krom, the Imp

When the smoke of Dante's second summoning dissipated, the group was able to see a small humanoid monster standing in front of him.

The creature had two horns on its head, dark red skin, a height that reached Dante's waist, and deep black eyes.

"It's been a long time, Krom," the warlock greeted the demon.

"Dante, where the hell did you bring me?" the demon replied, taking a more stable stance and looking to the sides suspiciously.

"We aren't in Terra anymore," Dante replied.

"Yeah, I can see that!" said the creature.

The group kept staring with a bit of shock as the small demon looked more like what they were expecting to come out of the summoning ritual. However, they were more surprised about how eloquent he was.

Dante gave the signal for everyone to enter the testing room, and while Paige went in hastily with her notebook in hand, the rest of the group was more apprehensive about greeting the monster.

"Everyone, this is Krom. He is an imp," the warlock said, introducing the creature to the group, who gave their names one by one.

Imps were demons that were relatively weak compared to others, but they had the ability to teleport anywhere and had a strong sense of demonic activity, making Krom a great companion when hunting demons.

"Krom can detect a demon up to 10km away from him. I can't reach that far…" the warlock explained.

Moreover, the fact that he could teleport anywhere could be helpful if they ever wanted to infiltrate a place without much effort, and Camille showed her interest in the monster's abilities.

"Hold on. What makes you guys think that I'm gonna help ya'?" the imp asked pridefully.

"What was that?" Dante asked the demon, gazing at him and producing an intense pressure around Krom that froze him in fear.

"I-it was a joke, calm down. Jeez…" the imp nervously said while innocently waving his hands to the sides.

Dante told Krom about his situation but kept his explanation somewhat vague by saying that Aamon was the one who sent him there, and the imp instantly understood what he meant.

Paige brought the demon's blood sample to Krom after Dante requested it, but the imp didn't even have to take a closer look to inspect it.

"I don't know whose blood this is…" Krom said as he crossed his arms.

The group thought that his answer was useless since they weren't expecting him to recognize the specific demon. Nevertheless, Dante corrected them by saying that it was vital information.

"If Krom recognizes the blood, then our problems would be much greater. Not recognizing it means it's just some small fry…" the warlock elaborated.

"Yeah, small fry compared to you!" the imp clarified.

Dante wanted to bring Krom with him to his next raid on the Scarlett Bullets' base, and Camille didn't see a problem with it as long as he could control the little demon.

When Krom gazed at the handler and saw that she was happily carrying Cerberus in her hands, the imp took a cautionary step back.

"Ahh, hah, ha… Cerberus, you are here, buddy!" the imp nervously said, making the puppy bark heartily.

"Oh, you know each other?" Camille inquired.

"He is scared of Cerberus…" Dante interjected with an indifferent tone.

"Of course I am. Look at that beast!" Krom shouted, pointing his little arm at the puppy, who looked even cuter than before to the group.

"It's you people who are weird for bringing the guardian of the Abyssal Gates here, not me!" the imp continued.

Dante covered his face with annoyance and told the imp to relax, saying that he knew that Cerberus wouldn't do anything to him as long as he didn't mess with his gate.

Paige asked if she could dissect Krom for her studies, and the warlock considered it for a moment, making the poor imp freeze in fear. However, he said that it would be a waste since Krom was the only imp he knew personally.

Later that night, the group returned to their apartments after Camille told the warlock that she would soon give him the details for the next raid, taking Cerberus with her as she was in love with the puppy.

"You can come out, Krom," the warlock said after entering the apartment with Zac.

*Poof* A puff of smoke appeared in the center of the living room, materializing the imp, who started curiously inspecting his surroundings.

"This is your new home?" Krom asked.

"For now…" Dante replied.

As the imp kept looking around the rooms, he stopped in front of the TV and spotted the GameStation console, giving him a feeling that it was something "fun."

Zac, who wanted to be a bit friendlier with the demon, turned the console on and explained to the imp what a video game was, and twenty minutes later, the three of them were competing with each other in an intense match.

Sophia and Megan visited their apartment a few hours later to have dinner with them, and the girls were perplexed at seeing them playing video games with the imp, who seemed to be really into it.

Dante could feel that Megan wasn't completely comfortable with the imp around, which was normal for someone who had experienced being attacked by a demon. However, her indifferent expression didn't show it.

When Sophia served everyone's plates, she gave one to Krom without asking, and the imp seemed confused at first.

"What's wrong? Do you guys not eat meat?" Sophia asked the imp, seeing the creature hesitating to eat the pork bowl.

"Can I eat this?" Krom answered with another question directed at the warlock.

"Oh, right—Yeah, you can eat anything that Sophia gives you," Dante replied casually, prompting the imp to dig into his plate aggressively.

"Why did he ask you like that?" Zac wondered aloud.

Imps were considered to be annoying since they were known for stealing things, and they were able to teleport away with a single 'poof,' making them hard to catch.

One time, after Krom stole and ate all of Dante's food, the warlock threatened him and told him that whenever he was summoned, he wasn't allowed to eat anything without his permission.

Sophia believed that was a bit cruel at first, but the warlock doubled down, saying that she didn't know how annoying it would be if she got home and there was nothing to eat or drink because the demon ate everything, swaying her opinion a bit.

"It wouldn't even be just you who he steals from. It would be all of the apartments in the building…" Dante continued.

Nonetheless, Krom wasn't bothered by his comments, devouring the pork bowl in seconds as he stuck his face inside it.