17 Le Maléfique

Salazar's eyes narrowed as he heard the sounds of someone approaching the clearing, his hand clutched his ebony wand as he angled himself for the best shot just in case.

His narrowed eyes opened in surprise as he saw the two figures exit the forest and come into view, the first thing his eyes were drawn to must be the large Lion with white fur, its size easily rivaled that of a horse! and it didn't have the golden fur that was typical of the Nemean Lions in Crete, but it didn't have any other distinct features that could help him place the Magical Creature's danger levels.

This was already turning into a potentially dire situation when his focus shifted to the humanoid that the lion seemed to be following, and just gazing upon the figure made the hair across his body stand up.

He couldn't make out the figure's exact features from how far he was up, but he could easily tell that the figure was taller than even Godric, and his figure was barely covered in what seemed to be crude clothes of red fur.

Salazar took a deep breath as his incessant need for as much information as possible beat out his cautiousness, so he started to steer the broom closer so he could make out the figure better.

After descending towards the figure, Salazar could feel that damned wrongness in the air strengthen as he came closer to the figure. His heart started pounding against his chest as he held his breath as he could finally catch a proper look at the figure.

That same breath escaped him as he saw a man of beauty that made even Veela look plain, his beauty gave off a sense of regal grace, and the way the man softly smiled made him seem even more ethereal.

Salazar could only silently lament that magic had its favorites, if he only had half that man's beauty it would have been an invaluable asset in his plots and schemes!

After the distraction of the beauty of the figure faded, Salazar noted a few tiny details that made his loosening guard tighten right back up!

The man seemed to be no man at all, as at the sides of the man's head were a pair of elegant arching dragon horns. They were of the deepest black color Salazar had ever seen, the feature almost seemed to be a crown of danger on the mysterious man.

But it also easily denoted the man's status as something Magical, something more than just a wizard as he had previously assumed.

Salazar now took in the man´s features more keenly as he noted the creature had snow-white hair that fell to its shoulder, contrasting well with the ebony horns strutting out of its head. Its eyes were also of a deep crimson, something that even vampires notorious blood eyes paled in comparison to.

The Creatures skin was of a pale white with what Salazar as a Master Healer easily could see was the most perfect Physique that he had ever seen, and with it on the figures towering height of what he assumed was 7 feet made its figure and indomitable figure indeed.

'With that kind of body, it is most likely a physical fighter. so if I keep my distance and bombard the beast and creature from my broom, I should be safe' Salazar started musing as he started to finger his wand in contemplation.

Lucifer was on edge.

He had been feeling the familiar sensation of a predator viewing him as prey ever since he and Shiro had stepped into the clearing, But the thing that truly put him on edge was that he couldn't make out any sort of clue as to what was stalking him and Shiro.

He looked down to his right and met Shiro´s ruby red eyes with his own crimson, and upon seeing the clueless look on his familiar he knew he was dealing with something way beyond what he had faced so far.

Shiro seemed to sense his unease as its body went from the relaxed and lazy gait it usually adopted when it was with its master, into every single muscle in its body flexing in combat readiness as its face twisted in a snarl as its ruby eyes started roaming their surroundings on the lookout for what made its master feel uneasy.

Lucifer upon seeing Shiro going into combat mode swiftly summoned his wand in hand, holding off on going into his Demon form before he could get an overview on their foe.

Salazar´s elegant brow raised as he saw the creature summon the most peculiar wand he had ever seen, his experienced eyes measured it to be 20 inches but what it was made of was definitely no type of wood he had ever heard of. If he didn't know better, he would have assumed it to be made out of pure light.

The creature seemed intelligent as it instantly reacted to what he assumed was a suspicion that something was watching it by alerting its companion and going into a defensive state. but it was unrefined as he could see several flaws in the creature's stance, easily telling him that the creature had no experience fighting a wizard.

Salazar started weighing the situation as he tens of plans and scenarios sped through his head, and the final plan that he realized would be the most beneficial would be to see if he could hold some form of favor with the being. as a native to this land may hold knowledge or resources that he could benefit from.

And if Plan A didn't work out?

Then he had Plan B-Z to fall back on, He wasn't known as the founder of the house of cunning and ambition for nothing!

So it was with a steeled heart that he undid the disguising charms he had cast, exposing himself to the Being and its companion with adrenaline rushing behind a calm facade he had forged through decades of politics and combat.

"Greetings, I am Salazar Slytherin founder of the Prestigious Castle Hogwarts and professor of the noble arts of Potioneering and mysterious Esoteric arts. I apologize for my intrusion and lack of manners, but may I ask what your noble name may be stranger?" His silver tongue rolled out the best intro to gauge the Being´s intelligence and stance

Lucifer snapped his head up towards where the greeting had come from, his eyes wide as he heard the name that he had heard the voice introduce itself as.

As he saw the man sitting on a broomstick, flying about 10 meters up in the air, his eyes narrowed as he took in the man's features and compared it to the few photos he had seen of the man back in his past life.

Bald head? check.

Nefarious goatee? check.

Snake motif? Lucifer took in the emerald green travel cloak the man dressed in with what seemed to be a snake embroidered on it. Check.

Lucifer took a deep breath as he realized the man floating before him was one of the most renowned wizards of all time, but most importantly his ticket to civilization!

"Greetings Lord Slytherin, you are forgiven from your poor manners with the circumstances being as they are." Lucifer paused as he peered into the steely green eyes of his surprise guest, observing how the man's well-crafted mask never once failed except for a slight widening of his pupil upon hearing him speak

"My name is as simple as Lucifer, may I ask you to descend so we may speak of equals?" lucifer finished as his crimson eyes gained a cunning glint in them as he found enjoyment in power games with the supposed master of them.

Salazar's face didn't expose the slight shock at the Being speaking with such eloquent pronunciation, something no commoner should be capable of. but if the Being was no commoner, then why didn't it introduce its Noble last name?

"I will be glad to descend to further our talks, but I wish to first hear your Noble last name so we truly may speak on equal grounds"

Lucifer was slightly amused as he knew that the snake lord wouldn't immediately accede to his request without establishing it on his own terms, not even something as simple as descending would be done without him gaining something for it.

The only issue was that he had no last name, and he wouldn't take something as tacky as Morningstar as his last name. not only because Lucifer already meant Morningstar but also because it would most definitely create issues if he had the same name as the big bad in the bible.

His mind raced as he started to run through countless names and he for some reason thought of Voldemort and Le Fay, both names of powerful figures but also names that defined them in french.

Vol de mort, flight from death

Le Fay, The Fay

Thinking of this gave him an idea that appealed to both his pride as a devil but also his morbid sense of humor. Because of how he looks and how his magic acts, he would easily be seen as a powerful figure in the future, and with his beauty, many would see him as some form of idyllic being. so why not give them a little hint in his name?

Something for only the learned and observant to notice?

Something that would hint at what hid behind his beautiful form and melodious voice?

Lucifer looked into the stern green eyes with a devilish smirk tugging at his pink lips,

"My name is Lucifer Le Maléfique" as the words left his lips, he felt the name brand itself into his very soul, resonating in a way that truly felt right.

Lucifer was so lost in the feeling of establishing his name that he didn't notice the smirk on Salazars face as his eyes glinted in approval at the name of what he hoped would be his future ally.