Feels Like a Fever Dream

"Hey, hurry up, he's in poor condition!"

...So sleepy. Snore.

"Ah, his life is in danger! Hurry!"

Snooore.

"I think he's waking up!"

SNOOOORE.

"Wait, really, he's waking up now!"

SNO- AH- ACHOO!

My body jolted upright on the infirmary bed as a forcefully loud sneeze managed to wake me up. Surrounding me were a gathered bunch of Nurses in their white uniforms, staring at me with confused eyes.

Aha... looks like those voices I heard were from the Agency.

"H-how... are you up already?" A nurse called out to me.

My eyes examined my bare chest and torso, covered in bloody cuts and dirty white cloths wrapped around my body to stop some of the more serious wounds from gushing up blood.

"Oh... sorry, you guys can continue," I wasn't surprised at the sight of the wounds because they weren't anything new. In fact, they were better than expected, despite being covered in all sorts of new cuts and marks.

"You're in critical condition! How could you even be awake?"

"...I'd appreciate it if you guys could wrap some bandages around my other injuries," a few nurses began wrapping my other cuts in white cloths. Another few placed their hands on my chest, healing the wounds while they activated their spells.

My mind lingered to the thought of Rin. Where the hell did she go? She might seem like an innocent bystander in the eyes of the Agency, but I can't imagine she'd let me go that easily.

I'm getting the feeling that we'll reunite, eventually...

A man barged into the room, wearing a black and white trench coat, long dress pants and black dress shoes. He wore a commander's hat with the Agency's logo, a golden upright sword plastered in the middle of the hat. Underneath his hat rested his long, silvery hair that dangled down to his chest. He had stone cold green eyes with a sword resting on his hip. His entrance immediately caught the attention of all the nurses.

"Ahem... is #47 here?" The man had a soft, gentle voice of an autumn breeze.

"He's right here," one of the nurses directed the man to my bed and added, "But he's in poor condition."

The man took one good look at me and decided I was alright. "Good enough. I'm afraid I'm going to have to borrow #47 for a while."

A while for what? Wait... Ah, nevermind. It makes sense.

"B-but Commander, there's no guarantee that-"

"I'm alright," my voice cut the nurse off from finishing her sentence, "I'll go with him."

"Perfect," he said with a slight smile, "I'll meet you outside. Get dressed."

With that, the man left the infirmary room. My legs dangled off the floor until they plopped onto the cold ground.

A nurse brought me a pair of socks and my shoes, along with a grey loose shirt. I slipped into the clothes and the shoes, thanking the nurses for their service as I head out the door. Though, they looked quite uneasy for letting me go early.

"The lead captain wants to speak with you," the man said, leading me down the carpeted hallway and upstairs.

Just as expected. She wants to know how much I know about the incident.

We walked for a few minutes before we stopped at a tall, double wooden door with fancy engravings and symbols carved into the wood. He opened the door and led me to sit at a chair, numerous eyes of unknown people watched me as they all sat beside and in front of one another in long, separated tables. Behind these tables stood a woman sitting on a silver throne, overlooking the gathered bunch of people.

"Ah... #47 is here. We can start now," the woman called from afar, having a loud and stern enough voice to reach all the corners of the room.

The first daughter of the King, also the lead captain for the agency, Captain Zaturna is a loud, confident woman who isn't afraid to take risks or pull off risky situations for the agency. She's the type of person well fitted for leader, and hence is why she has gathered a bunch of other warriors like me to discuss details about the incident. Very admirable.

Ah... I'm still a bit sleepy from earlier, I thought to myself as a yawn escaped me.

"So," Zaturna began, clearing her throat, "I'm afraid there's not a lot of you Elite Soldiers here in the capital."

The soldiers all looked around at each other and silently counted how many were present there. 27 in total, out of a hundred Elite Soldiers promoted by the agency.

"However, just because all of us aren't present in this very room doesn't mean that the rest are gone. In fact, we have made contact with several of the missing members," Zaturna said, giving hope to the elite soldiers in the room as their lips formed into slightly hopeful smiles.

"There seems to be a few problems, though. Firstly, a bunch of our agents are scattered throughout the land. Establishing a safe route from the Demons would help greatly so citizens of other cities can escape to our stronghold capital, along with our agents. Secondly, we need to figure out the cause of the demon invasion and a way to defeat them," Zaturna paused for a moment and took a sip of her tea, letting everyone reflect on what she said.

"I've spoken with the head of the army. Arrangements are still being made, but we are planning to capture a few fortresses' East of here. However, we need a few soldiers capable enough to go ahead and scout out the fortresses. That is where a group of you come into play," Zaturna verbally explained and locked the attention of everybody's eyes.

Sigh... this was all great and all, but I'm no good at dealing with long speeches. Man... I haven't had good sleep for days.

Ahaha... maybe nobody will notice if I... sleep... just a bit.

...

"And that's about it!" Zaturna proudly yelled and finished her cup of tea.

The rest of the warriors cheered and clapped, as if the captain's voice hadn't waked me up already.

Luckily, it seemed as if nobody had noticed I dozed off. Haha, niceeee.

"You are all dismissed," Zaturna permitted the soldiers to leave, "Except you, #47 Aurath. I must have a quick word with you."

HAH!? Oh no... I'm gonna get scolded.

One by one, the warriors left the room, until it was just me and Captain Zaturna.

"Yes, Captain?" I faced her, stood upright and saluted with the side of my hand to my forehead and elbow pointing out, preparing for the worst.

"Oh, not much. It's about that girl we found you with, though," Zaturna mentioned a girl. It couldn't be anyone else but Rin.

"Uh, yes, what about her, Captain?"

"She is... an excellent fighter. Despite not being a fighter, she moves swiftly and as gracefully as a #30 ranked soldier!"

Somewhere, somehow, I could tell Rin was watching me and every word I said. The fear from way earlier couldn't escape me. It was now trapped in my heart as my stomach dropped into a bottomless pit.

"Oh... aha, I guess so," I forced those words to come out my mouth.

"Yes, yes. She'll be your partner for the dungeon raid."

AH... dungeon raid? Partner?

...RIN!? Out of all the people, anyone but her. I'll figure out the details later, but this is what snoozing gets me into!

"I'm trusting you to keep an eye on her, though," Zaturna's voice had gotten low as if she was warning me, "It's possible she's no good, either."

All I could manage to do was a light nod.

"Ah, alright. I have good hopes, even in the situation we are in now. You are dismissed."

"...Thank you, Captain," I bowed towards her and left the room.

Immediately as the door shut behind me, I dashed straight to my dorm inside the agency's headquarters. I could just barely sense Rin's divine energy there.

I barged into my old room, expecting to see Rin somewhere. My eyes glanced around, and I shut the door behind me, but she wasn't there.

"Rin!" I yelled out, unsheathing my sword. "Come out!"

"Boo!" A voice suddenly yelled behind me, causing me to drop my sword in panic.

Rin plopped out into the floor besides me. She was hiding on the ceiling, that brat...!

"Heyy," she walked over to me, "Do you like my new haircut? I think it suits me better."

Rin's long, black hair had been neatly trimmed into shorter hair that barely reached her chin, her bangs covering her forehead. She wore an oversized black shirt, and... nothing underneath!? At least from my taller angle, her oversized shirt was covering whatever shorts she was wearing.

I refused to respond and ignored her. "What more do you want?"

"Ahaha, dear, what do you think?" She suddenly got close to me, cornering me into the wall as the spiritual golden chain appeared in her hand. "I want to be with you."

"...What is it that you really want?" I backed away and tried to keep distance.

"Oh sweetie, don't look so down. You're still my pet, after all."

I bit my lip and cursed her out in my mind for putting me into this helpless situation.

"Do you really want to know? Well, you might start listening to me more if I do. Oh well, it can't be helped," Rin's black eyes suddenly turned red, a sign of being part of the Demon race.

"You..."

"Relax! We're on the same side, for now," she giggled at my frustrated face, "To be honest... I used to be the demon lord. Until... some stupid brat stole my throne!"

"...Yeah, right," a scoff escaped me. How stupid. She thinks I'll believe that?

"Fine. Watch this, then," Rin suddenly made a few demons appear in my room and commanded them at will, to which they listened. Then she managed to make them disappear in the blink of an eye. "Happy?"

"...That's absurd, but whatever. What does all that have to do with me?" My mind was starting to hurt just from the plain sight of her.

"Sigh... you stupid human. Demons can't fully kill each other, only injure them for a very long while. On the other hand, humans can easily kill other demons. You're gonna slay the demon lord for me."

If that was true and if it was her motive, then, "...Can't it be anyone else but me?"

"Sure... it could. But you've got something nobody else has."

"?"

"Divine Potential. It radiates so vibrantly from you... it even attracts all sorts of powerful demons from you. With that smell, you could even become the Demon King," Rin said with a mischievous smirk, "Plus, you're pretty cute."

"Damn... you've got me in the worst situation possible, you demon witch!"

"Oh dear, don't call me such a rude name, it hurts my feelings. But if it makes you happy... if you kill that brat for me, you'll earn your freedom," she teased me with a mocking remark.

My ears suddenly perked up. How much of what she said was true? Probably not much, but there's got to be something I can do to convince her. Maybe... that's it!

I've got no intentions of dying this early yet, so I'll slay a demon lord if I have to!

"What do you say, darling, how about we make it an official deal?" She asked with a flirty voice, a glaring stare on her eyes.

"Y-yeah... whatever. As long as you keep your side of the deal," I responded.

A pair of soft, silky lips suddenly pressed against mine. Rin's face was all up against me, pinning me to the wall as she placed her small hand on my chest and held the chain in her other hand. I fell to the ground.

"A-AH!"

"There there," Rin's fingertips went through my hair as she caressed my head, "Think of it as a pinky promise, okay?"

This is... a succubus demon! She's trying so hard to manipulate me and use me...!

"Ah, it's past your bedtime, isn't it?" She peeped at the window in the wall, it was completely dark outside. "Let's get you to bed."

She dragged me by the chain and forcefully put me on the bed.

"Oh honey, it seems like I don't have a bed. Let's share one."

She plopped right beside me onto the bed. Before I could say anything, get out the bed or argue, she messed with my brain and pulled a heart string with the spiritual chain that made me lose consciousness.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," were the last words I heard before I fell forcefully asleep.

This... feels like a fever dream!