Flying High

Raum had not disappeared for more than a half second before Adam felt Leila hugging him tight and burying her face into his chest.

"Oh darling~," said Leila. She started to speak quickly in barely contained panic. "You were so…so wonderful out there! At first, I was going to fight Raum and teach her a lesson, maybe burn an arm or two into ashes with my Shadowflame, but then you said you would fight, you stepped in, and at first, I was scared for you, but then I believed in you, but I was scared of losing you, of not having you with me-,"

Adam pulled Leila out from her hug and before her surprised expression faded away, planted a kiss on her lips.

"There," said Adam, smiling. "That should be more than enough proof that I'm here with you, right?"

He reached down and clasped Leila's hands in his, squeezing them tight.

Leila blushed and looked away. "O-of course, my darling."

Leila withdrew from Adam for a bit and coughed into her hand, steadying herself. She tried to cross her arms together and look prim and proper like a calm princess again, but it was hard to believe her considering just how genuinely emotional and worried she was a moment before. "I-I always knew you would win, my darling. Yes, yes, mhm. I was never really worried."

Adam smiled at how cute she was and decided to tease her a little more. He swept her off her feet, holding her princess carry style, and she let out a cute little yelp of surprise.

"D-darling, what are we doing? Are you going to take me? Right here? In the open? Oh, but what if a lowly human sees us?" said Leila.

"I'm going to try something, Leila," said Adam as he took in a breath. "Something new."

"O-oh?" said Leila shyly, though she still licked her lips expectantly.

Adam closed his eyes and channeled his strength. Ever since he had awakened Shadow Magic, he had felt stronger. Much stronger. His body was adapting and evolving with the Royal demon blood inside of him, and he could feel that the blood had synchronized with him even more.

The flesh on Adam's back rippled in two protruding mounds before bursting apart and growing into two wings, tearing through the fabric of his already battle torn and burnt suit. The wings were bat-like and comprised of black flesh with dark red membrane.

Unlike Leila's developed wings that were armored in what looked like carapace and tipped in claws, Adam's wings seemed more fleshy, more raw, and it was evident he still had a ways to go before he fully adapted to his body.

But Adam would try. He would train and get used to this body and grow strong, because he only had twenty days before his life would be on the line to fight for both himself and Leila.

That meant figuring out new things about his body.

For one, learning how to fly.

"Sorry about the suit, Leila," said Adam sheepishly as he flexed his wings, tearing the remnants of his suit apart. "I tried to keep Raum from damaging it, but looks like I'm not at that level yet."

"Oh darling, no need to worry about silly little scraps of fabric like that," said Leila as she hung her arms around Adam's neck and gazed at his wings with pride. "Soon, when we enter Hell fully wed and recognized, you will have a proper suit. One knitted from Hellbeast cloth and weaved in with the crystallized agony of damned souls. Oh, even imagining how ravishing you look is making me feel so very hot inside."

"I feel the same way when I imagine you in one of your royal dresses," said Adam, and Leila blushed heavily. He started on a quick sprint before leaping into the air with a powerful stomp. He flapped his wings, and he started to soar high in the air.

Adam tossed and turned a little bit as he found himself floating in the air, unused to moving through space without solid ground beneath his feet, but he quickly adjusted.

Within seconds, he managed to sort of fly.

Or rather, he glided, flapping his wings once or twice to get altitude, then fanning them out to glide.

"Sorry for the turbulence, Leila," said Adam. "Just getting used to things."

"No, my darling, you are learning quickly," said Leila. "So very quickly. Raum is right. You are special, and I cannot have chosen a more perfect man to be by my side. To be…by my side, hm."

"What's wrong, Leila?" asked Adam.

Leila paused for a few seconds, biting her lower lip in deep thought. She blushed before she shyly looked up at Adam as the wind whistled past them. "I-I always knew that as a princess, I would have someone to be by my side eventually.

But before, when I imagined someone being 'by my side', I imagined them standing away from me. I imagined us sitting in separate thrones and staring down at a sea of subjects.

But when I imagine you being by my side…I cannot imagine you apart from me. It hurts to even think that. I feel warm when I'm with you. I want to share everything with you. I want to sit on your lap together on one throne. I want to look at you, not at masses of lowly subjects, and…and…I want to h-h-hold your hand."

Adam adjusted his hold on Leila, carrying her with only one arm now as he used his free hand to clasp one of hers. "Like I said, Leila, I'll always hold your hand. I'll always try to be one that holds it tight to let you know you aren't alone."

"O-oh darling," said Leila quietly as she held Adam's hand tight and drew close to him, taking in his scent. "You always speak to me with warm words, and this warmth… I don't know if I am worthy of it. Whether I truly deserve it or not."

Adam felt a twinge of hurt in sympathy for Leila. She truly had never felt an ounce of genuine warmth, of genuine appreciation and understanding, throughout her entire life. She might have had the pride of a princess, but beneath that, there was a lot of neglect and hurt and striving to feel worthy of her position and the expectations placed on her.

All of this had made her run from Hell and even now made her feel undeserving of true appreciation, of true love.

"What do you mean, Leila?" said Adam. "You're a princess. Of course you deserve it. And more. Much more."

With that Adam reached down and they shared a long kiss as they soared through the skies, looking down at the sunset-kissed city and forests swaddled up in oranges and ambers before the dark of night took over.

==

Raum sat in a swiveling chair in her laboratory in Hell, a lengthy white labcoat draped around her. She wore crimson red goggles that concealed her eyes, though behind them, she had the same tired look as ever.

She spun around in her chair aimlessly, looking up at the rocky ceiling of her lab with crossed arms.

"....Love, is it?" said Raum to herself. She remembered how happy the princess had looked with that mortal and tried to wrap her head around it.

Certainly, she had an idea of what love was, but she just knew the dictionary definition of it. Did she truly KNOW what it was?

The answer to that was a resounding no, considering she had been too busy and looked far too scary, downright tired, and unapproachable for anyone to ever consider trying to woo her.

"I wonder what it is like...," contemplated Raum before she shook her head and focused on the task at hand.

Idle thoughts like this were unbecoming of her.

She looked ahead instead at her pride and joy: her laboratory.

Raum's laboratory was a cave of bare rock and shrouded in darkness. The perfect spot for a shut in demon to stay.

The laboratory itself was comprised of rows of work tables littered with alchemical beakers, cauldrons, and vials bubbling with strangely colored liquids. There were flesh pods containing liquid preserved samples of specimens ranging from infant dragons to strange masses of eye-dotted tentacles.

Strange, dozen meter tall engines made of both pulsating, tumorous raw flesh and mechanical pieces buzzed with electricity and crackles of Hellfire. Circuit -patterns of solid red energy emanating out from the engines attached to various spots in the cave, acting like electrical wires that powered everything.

Tall, lanky men in white labcoats with the heads of crows moved about the lab, adjusting beakers, checking specimens, writing notes, and doing most of the grunt work.

These were Raum's Crowmen, her personal lab assistants created by her and beholden only to her for she did not trust any other demon with her work.

Raum did not concern herself with the buzz of the laboratory behind her. Instead, she gazed at a mirror comprised of a dozen floating, rainbow colored glass shards levitating in front of her.

"[Link 22113]" said Raum in Helgot, the tongue of Hell demons. This chant caused the floating glass shards to start swirling around rapidly, their surfaces buzzing with static as they established a magical connection.

Once the connection was established, the shards fused together to form an unbroken, oval shaped mirror surface. The mirror created a two way link that allowed two parties from separate locations, even separate dimensions, to contact each other.

Here, Raum contacted a certain someone from the Overworld where she had just been to deal with the princess and her new Bond.

Raum lingered on that thought for a moment. She had spent two years searching for the princess, and when Raum realized that a mere human had become her Bond, Raum had resolved herself to kill the lowly mortal and take the princess back.

But that human, that Adam of the Park, had proved himself, but even beyond that, it was the princess – the look on her face when she was with that Adam. It was happiness that Raum had never before seen with the princess.

That happiness was the greatest reason why Raum entrusted the princess to the mortal.

That happiness though…was that…was that love?

Raum sighed, wondering what that felt like before the mirror crackled, finalizing its connection.

The mirror glossed over in complete darkness, showing what it looked like on the other end. In that darkness, two ghostly white, glowing eyes emerged as did a set of gleaming, sharp fangs. Other than these, nothing else was visible.

"I am calling off the contracted assassination against the mortal," said Raum curtly.

Prior to engaging with Adam of the Park and the princess, Raum had hired various assassins to take out the mortal for she did not like to leave her laboratory much.

However, Raum figured that it would pay the princess much more respect if she herself came to try and convince her to leave her Bond, but in the end, it was Raum that got convinced to let them stay together.

Funny how fate worked.

But now there were these assassins to deal with.

Assassins she had hired beforehand because there were so many practical issues involved in leaving Hell.

It was difficult for a being of immense power such as a Great Royal like Raum to so easily leave Hell.

Traveling between dimensions was always a hassle. Raum had to do so with avatars suitable for staying in the Overworld, and none of these avatars lasted long at all for very few of them could contain her strength properly.

Most of them were like the ones she had used to battle the princess's bond. Simple constructs using mundane physical anchors associated with her like crows to create a 'shell' she could pilot for just a few days.

This was not to mention that any prolonged absence on her part would be noted by the other Royals.

And that would be a death sentence.

Currently, Raum kept the fact that she knew where Leila was hidden from her mother Lilith - the Queen of Lust herself - to protect Leila and give the mortal Adam of the Park more time to grow.

But if ever Lilith suspected Raum knew, then that would lead to a cataclysmic conflict that Raum wanted to avoid at all costs.

"I'm already in the city. I'm right. Here. I have caught his scent. I will have him soon," came the voice from the other side. A young woman's voice, though underlined with a guttural, throaty growl.

Raum sighed again. This was the last of ten assassins she had hired that she needed to call off.

Ten because the princess Leila was an unstoppable firestorm of destruction when she let loose, and Raum had not wanted to take chances even if the princess was weakened. "I will pay you for the full amount of your time. If you desire more compensation, I am open to negotiating something."

"I want him," came the voice from the glowing white eyes.

"Excuse me?" said Raum.

"I want him. The man. The contract. I want his flesh and blood."

"That simply will not do," said Raum. "I warn you-,"

"Then bye," said the voice before the mirror broke apart again into its shards, indicating the connection had been severed.

Raum sighed again and slouched back in her seat. She took in a deep breath, easing her flaring anger. This was yet another stupid loose end to take care of.

"Number 3," said Raum, and a Crowman with a 'III' branded to his forehead approached Raum with bowed head.

"Make me a messenger crow for the Overworld," said Raum. She herself could not leave Hell for now, but messenger crows would suffice to warn the princess and her Bond.

And besides, thought Raum. This would be a wonderful trial for this Adam of the Park to use to get stronger.

"Now," she finished, an edge in her voice that made the Crowman jump a little before scurrying away, quick to work.