11 Chapter 11: Meeting the Lord of Shadows
“Oh, yes, he’s the devil.” Lily’s lips formed in a tender smile when they mentioned her husband. “Um, I prefer to call him Samael, his angelic name, but yeah, I know you East Landers refer to him more as Yanluo… He warned me about that so I wouldn’t get confused when I heard that name.”
The girls couldn’t understand how she could talk so calmly about the terrifying being such as the devil was. After all, Yanluo was known as the merciless archdemon who ruled over the Land of Shadows, also known as the underworld – the miserable realm where all the worthless souls would go and get tortured to pay for their crimes in the living world.
“Unbelievable…” Lucy and Sandy mumbled, while Sam fearfully clutched Sandy’s dress.
Lily froze as if receiving a telepathic message. She rushed towards the door with extreme joy:
“Speaking of which, he’s come now to greet our new guests! So amazing! I haven’t seen him in the human realm for many days!”
“Huh? Wait, how do you know? No, wait!” the girls got frightened – Yanluo had just arrived? He was really here, and wished to meet them?!
“We’re toast…” Sandy gulped.
“No! I don’t want to die!” Sam began crying.
“Aww, no, no, Sam, darling! I swear I’ll protect you, dear! No one will dare touch you!” Sandy pressed her little hostess to her chest.
“But Lily said it was her husband… I’m certain she’s on good terms with him. It’s impossible he’d hurt us…” Lucy shrugged.
“I’m his son but he beats me every time when I’m in hell.” Incubus’ cold voice sounded. They all gasped and glanced at the boy who was sitting on a sofa and reading a newspaper as if nothing.
“Duh, thank you! We needed exactly that to calm down!” Lucy grew irritated, “How can you talk in such a tranquil manner about such things?!”
“I’m a demon, don’t forget.”
“Hmph!”
Heavy steps thudded onto the floor, and Lily’s talk reached their ears from afar:
“Come in, darling. I’m so happy you found time to arrive! I’ll present you to my cousin right away…”
All of the girls trembled, especially Lucy, for Lily was talking exactly about her to that gruesome Lord of Shadows. Sam shivered and hid behind Sandy’s leg.
Lily returned with her husband. It was a tall, thirty-year-old pale man (no matter the girls expected him to look older, considering he lived for eternity), with long black hair and shimmering icy blue eyes. The right bang of his hair was covering his right eye. He wore black robes and had thrown a long red coat onto his shoulders. His feet were bare just like Lily’s and Incubus’ ones. The most horrifying was still the tiny skull belts he had strung onto his waist as if adornment, yet, in fact, truly horrifying… at least for simple humans and squirrel spirit such as them. Sandy shuddered, struck by the man’s abhorrent dark aura. It was so strong that even Sam and Lucy, simple humans, perceived the man as mystically ominous and dangerous. Sam’s eyes filled with tears. She clung to her mommy squirrel’s leg, seeking her protection.
“Well, this is my husband, Samael,” Lily presented the young man to the girls and then turned to him: “Sammy, these are our guests – my cousin, Lucy, her best friend, Sam, and Sam’s guardian spirit, Sandy.”
“Pleasure,” the man spoke in a quiet, stern, but benevolent tone. It sent shivers down the girls’ spines.
“It’s… a pleasure to meet you as well, sir…” Lucy finally managed to mumble.
“Just call me Samael, or Yanluo… or whichever of my names you wish.”
“Um, alright… Yanluo.” Lucy murmured. She was more used to refer to the devil as ‘Yanluo’ as she was raised in the East Land.
“I… I never expected Lucy to have such strong ties with Lord Yanluo’s wife!” Sandy mumbled. “Truly amazing…”
“No big deal,” Samael answered rather coldly. He glanced down at the quivering Sam hiding behind her squirrel spirit’s leg: “No need to fear me, child. You are perfectly innocent in all terms, and after all, you’re Lily’s friends. I’d never permit myself to hurt Lily’s feelings.”
“Sam, no need to fear him, he’s not evil.” Lily smiled at Sam. This latter, feeling Sandy’s reassuring touch, finally got persuaded that the ominous man meant no harm, so she came out of her ‘hiding-place’.
“Try to hide some of your dark aura, father, you’re scaring the hell out of them.” they heard Incubus’ cold voice from the sofa.
“Put your dirty feet off the table if you haven’t missed the hit of my scythe, dumbass!”
Incubus instantly took his feet off the table and sat in a perfect manner as if a schoolboy in class. Seeing his fearful motions, the girls laughed, as well as Lily. When this latter was finally going to invite them for dinner, Samael walked up to Lucy, glanced down at her with his stern gaze, and touched her Yin-and-Yang necklace:
“You, child… Where did you get this?”
“Um…” Lucy shivered – why had he suddenly turned even stricter than before? Was something wrong? Did he… Did he actually know somehow that this Bond Item belonged to a malevolent spirit?!
“Huh? What’s wrong, Sammy?” Lily looked at them with surprise.
“Your cousin has interacted with that blondie redhead, Lily.”
“What?!”
“W… What do you mean? Who’s ‘blondie redhead’?” Lucy raised an eyebrow.
“The Celestial fox of Nine Heavens, Huli Yuehong.”
Lucy froze – they knew him?!
