Like Beethoven

The 'Trailing Rosé' bar was lively. People sang, ate, danced, and enjoyed themselves. It truly was a night to remember and that was all because of the man who manned the piano. He struck the keys with such elegance and grace that the rowdy bar turned into a smooth dance floor.

Ladies admired his looks and men admired his skills, he played and played creating music that would soothe the ears of the gods. He finished a song and rested his fingers.

"Shut up you bastard." A seemingly drunk customer shouted as he punched another.

A fight, he hated violence for all it was worth. Yes, he could agree that sometimes it was necessary to reach a specific result but in cases like this. He abhorred it.

He stood up from his seat and stopped moving, someone called him from the upper rooms. He could feel his presence but only his presence, meaning something went wrong.

Calmly and gracefully he walked up the stairs, the fight was still going on downstairs but he would attend to that after his meeting. He opened the door and shut it as he walked through. "Hello, Osiris."

Prostrating himself on one knee, Osiris stayed in the middle of the room with sweat running down his face. "Good day Master Ivan."

"Please call me Merlo when we are alone, now tell me Osiris. Where's the child." Merlo sat down on a chair and poured himself a glass of wine.

"It seems the S rank hunter Liric caught a hold of my plan to capture him, he interfered before I could get the kid." Osiris explained.

"How many hunters have you eaten, no need to tell me the entire number just tell me the grades."

"Thirty-one D ranks, Twenty four C ranks, fifteen B ranks, Five A ranks, and one S rank."

"Seventy-six hunters, and about twenty or so humans. You should be able to cast a spell up to the forty-fourth act. So how did you waste time, allowing the S rank to arrive." Merlo gulped his wine down and walked toward Osiris, glass in hand.

"I'm sorry sir, it won't happen again. Just please give me another chance." Osiris begged as he heard Merlo's footsteps approach.

"Lift your head, young Osiris." Merlo said.

"I am not worthy of that my master."

"It's not a request."

Slowly lifting his head, Osiris saw Merlo. He truly was beautiful. His red hair was magnificent, his eyes shone like garnets, and his attire was made from the best materials money can buy.

Standing directly in front of Osiris, Merlo struck him with the glass. On contact with the leviathan class daemon the glass shattered instantly and although he had not made a noise. The arm of Osiris was on the floor.

"You know what's so special about daemons," Merlo took a seat. "Until our heart is destroyed, we are incapable of death."

Osiris didn't say a word, his cut-off arm was the least of his worries. Merlo granted him the humans he ate on a silver platter, essentially giving him his power. Power that Merlo has reminded him on many occasions he can easily take.

"You want to know another thing about daemons? If a daemon eats another daemon any mana he had accumulated is also transferred." Merlo crossed his legs and stared deep into the eyes of Osiris. "I remember when I first found you, a daemon rampaging on the streets of Gaza. I fed you an S rank and you gained an intellect. Oh, that reminds me congratulations on becoming a Leviathan class."

"Your words are too much for a meager object like me."

"Maybe they are," Merlo took a deep breath as he heard something break downstairs in his bar. "I'll make this quick Osiris, I'll send you to bring the kid again. You can take any amount of tiger classes you want but get the job done. I will terminate you if you fail me again."

"Yes, master."

"Leviathan class hmm, humans of the past always graded daemons based on how many humans they have eaten but now it's possible to identify a daemon's class just from the mannerisms it exhibits." Merlo crunched his face again as he heard something break on the lower floor. "Tiger, lion, dragon, Titan, destroyer, leviathan, arch-fiend, and death god. These are the classes of daemons the humans gave us.

"Titan class daemons and above can shape shift and are capable of speech." Osiris helped out.

"Yes to date there has only been one death god and two arch-fiends. There are numerous leviathan class daemons if you get my drift."

Osiris didn't say anything.

"Get out of my bar Osiris, I'll send you the date and coordinates for the next mission and remember if you fail. Run." Merlo got up and walked toward the door. "If you come back here empty-handed I'll murder you."

Seeing Merlo slam the door as he walked downstairs gave Osiris relief, his nerves calmed down and he got up. "Igor Dragonstead, it's you or me and I choose me."

"Regenerate your hand and clean up the blood on my floors!" Merlo shouted at Osiris through the walls.

Walking down the stairs to the bar below Merlo thought to himself. "Liric Titanfall has been a thorn in my side for a while, am I strong enough to take him on myself? Maybe I'll send Albatross if Osiris fails."

A glass broke as it collided with the ground and Merlo decided that he's had enough, blood and glass had covered every corner of his bar and he was slightly aggravated.

Alas, this would be another situation that would require violence. He cracked his knuckles and smiled. It's been a long time since he killed humans he had no intention of eating but still once in a while it's nice to indulge yourself in pointless manslaughter. After all, he was the death god.