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The Demon lord was taking a stroll in his castle, walking through the long corridors that were adorned with statues and columns, giving an elegant and classy vibe to the place. The afternoon was so quiet, no other demons roaming around as it seems like they were busy on daily chores. Same with Joseph and Raven, who were busy on their on work; the first one with paperwork, while the other was in his daily training with the ex-captain.
He stopped for a moment to think. Something that crossed his mind recently was how his life has changed in the course of the last year. Back in the days, his actions were limited to spend the vast mayority of his time in his throne, alone with his two royal guards, scrolling through weiibo, reading books about the human world, evading Raven's killing attempts and getting rid of humans that intruded to attack him. But now, Sapphire, a human, was living with them. In a cell, yes, but he somehow got to be part of their circle and be part of his life with a really active role. Thanks to him, adventures seems to always be around the corner, the knowledge and love he has for his culture is inmense, which has helped to understand a little better what the books do not tell him, and he even got him to try new experiences, like going out and perceiving said world through the human gaze.
If he was honest, interacting with Sapphire was fun. No only it was new to hold a conversation with someone that didn't patronize him as his subjects did, but he was able to joke and laught around the ex-captain, almost on a daily basis. Sure, most of the time was at the expense of Sapphire's patience, but his reactions were something that for the demon were irrepleaceble. Truly enjoyable moments.
Truly joy brought by a simple ex-captain. By a simple human.
Despite all that joy and fun, it also brought him worriness. The way he was starting to perceive the world was changing due to the knowledge he was gaining. For a moment, he got worried that he may consider ceasing his intentions of dominating the world and the humans due to Sapphire's pacificist ideals, but after much thought he came to the conclusion that this was still a goal for him. No matter what the blue-haired man told him about the good points of humanity, he could not see it nor understand it as Sapphire himself does, hence why, he could only focus on what he could do for his own kingdom benefits.
Still, what actually worried him was Sapphire himself, and his circumstances. Because of said peaceful ideals his own people exiled him regardless of his service to his community and own people. If it wasn't for the demon lord proposal, where in the Earth could have this man went to? How could he survive? What could he do?
Is true that this invitation had his own personal interest on wanting Sapphire to ditch his own people and past, to join him in his forces, but the man made real clear that he still loved his town and considered himself very much human. Not only that, but even to this day Sapphire didn't align with the idea of a sole party winning this conflict, he genuinelly yearns for both sides to coexist and understand mutually. The Demon Lord clearly doesn't understand how Sapphire expects him to coexist with such frightning and scary creatures, not only in appearance, but in attitude.
Sure, thanks to Sapphire casting Ally on him he could see temporally how the humans saw each other. There wasn't much difference in how he saw his own people back in the castle, but of course, he also couldn't forget his first impression of them back in this "Christmas" human holyday. Ugly creatures with a nasty personality, who also in many years showed him how violent and idiotic they were. The Demon Lord was not one to forget easily about what he considered humanity's constant behaviour.
Despite this, Sapphire despite being a human -with his own flaws, of course- has demonstrated many sides that he didn't expect. And with such, there were many emotions that said human caused in him. Yes, thinking about Sapphire caused him joy, fun, intrigue, worriness, curiosity, yearning, even a little bit of admiration. Before he could realize it, most of the time, the ex-captain was in his mind the mayority of the days. Every time Sapphire tried to convince him on his beliefs, the Demon Lord was just expecting to hear him to tease him and get the most reactions from him. Sure, he probably didn't believe in Sapphire's idea, but to witness his dedication constantly was sure something he liked to see and tease.
Truly something fun. Something that the he always looked forward. So much he can recall the many times he put effort to get the ex-captain like a blushing mess.
Like when they went to that holyday in his town to eat and drink while they were in incognito. He sure managed to mock Sapphire that day, getting to see him raise his voice in protest or to see him get red tones in his skin with toppics related to this "kissing" ritual. Apparently for humans, kisses were something delicate and/or intimate, and by Sapphire's reaction this was no exception. What started as a joke about leveling up through kissing, scallated to the green haired demon actually stealing one of those from him. If he was honest, besides of wanting to see his reaction, he wanted to try it as well. How could that phenomenon feel? If there was an opportunity to know using the supposed magic of the mistletoe, it was now or never.
The demon decided to react fast and get close to the other man's face to press his lips on him, trying to mimic a bit what the toddlers did before to him. However, he found himself enjoying the closeness of the contact, thus staying there for more seconds than he actually planned originally. Plus, Sapphire was too stunned to actually react in retalation or in anger until they actually separated, in which he started attacking him and chasing him off from the store they were in. The demon thought to himself that despite the horrendous decorations of the place, and how dreadful and frightening it looked, fooling around with this cute man was worth his visit here. If it was for Sapphire expressions, experimenting things from a supposedly "human" perspective, was worth a shot.
Considering how much he had thought about him and his expressions, how could he not do something to get more of it? Petting his head apparently had a similar effect as well as constantly getting physically closer, yet it didn't had the same impact as the so called kiss.
And just like that he tried it again one night in which he left or scorted Sapphire to his own cell after a training session. He doesn't remember what they were chatting about, since he decided to abruptly end it by stealing a kiss. Ah, there was the pleasant sensation again, this warm and joyful feeling. It was interrupted by Sapphire this time, who got away from him forcefully.
"What's wrong with you? Why would you do that?!"
The demon only smiled "It's fun to see your flushed face, these approaches make it easy for you to make them."
"Don't make fun of me!! And don't approach to me like that!" And with that he closed his door, leaving the demon in the corridor softly laughing as he went away to his own chambers.
No matter how much he thinks about it, he could never imagine his life without Sapphire. Whatever the future holds for them and humanity, he just hopes to keep having him by his side... and to rule over humans, obviously.
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The door of the cell opened letting a radiant green-haired demon enter.
"Mr ex-knight, why won't we go on an adventure? Or going to train? What about a fire cream?" Asked the demon visiting the blue human in his designated "room".
But there was no answer other than some coughs and frail movements towards the Maou. Even if his slime form hasn't changed in the eyes of the ruler of the castle, the way that each day Sapphire had less and less energy was something he noticed and was starting to worry him.
"D...Demo..n... Lord..." There were some more coughing from his part "I'm sorry... but I think... I cannot move from here anymore..."
He sure didn't understood. "Why is that? Are you feeling tired? Didn't sleep well despite being here for so long?"
No reply, just a sigh. The green-haired demon swears he heard a faint 'no way he hasn't realized...' from Sapphire.
"My time... i-is coming close."
"What do you mean... time?"
"...I'm dying, your highness..."
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There was a silence. Despite reading so much about this world, the Demon Lord didn't process how long can a human live. Sure, he knows that humans can die from aging, that's one of the fundamental differences with demons. And also the reason to why they were not used to this concept.
So, to see it right in front of his eyes... with Sapphire.
Sapphire.
One of... if not the only human that has been so close to him until now.
The one with irrealistic ideals of peace.
The cheerful, brave, shy, cute Sapphire.
The one that has touched his heart so many times.
For humans dying means that you will no longer be in this world. Wherever there is a special place for their souls to go or not, it's true that it means that others will no longer be able to interact with him.
It was a goodbye. A farewell.
While he was processing this information, Sapphire kept coughing from time to time, observing his surroundings as he slowly started to close his eyes.
"Mr. ex-knight...?" He didn't know what to say, or how to even react. Despite his usual slyness, this was a whole new territory to him. He needed to hear him, even if is just a little.
But he wasn't responding. Not even coughing now. He looked at him, realizing how his eyes were closed. No movement, no nothing. He panicked.
"Sapphire? Sapphire?!" He sat on the bed besides him and started to shake him, trying to get a reaction from him. Surprisingly it worked, he weakly opened his eyes, his expression was lost, as if he could barely recognize or process what was going on. "Hey! Please stay awake!"
"...I-I'm sorry... I'm... too tired... my eyes... feel too heavy..."
At this point the devil couldn't help himself and hold onto his body, trying to get him to be awake. In his mind he was trying to remember all of his spells to see if something could help, but there was nothing of that sorts. Sapphire was dying and to his remorse, there was no stopping it.
"Demon Lord..." Anything happening in his brain stopped once he heard him again. "I know... this is too insolent from my part... but if it can help you... please take my life and my experience"
"...uh?" What was he hearing...
Sapphire tried to chuckle a bit, which turned into coughing "Aren't you the one... that always joked about me looking tasty?... or that you were the one that explained that demons... eat other demons to grow their magic?"
"I-It was indeed me"
"Then before I *COUGH*... I would like you to take my life."
"...you're sure about that...?"
"I won't ask you to eat me if you don't want... After all *COUGH*, you also said that was a way for demons to express their love...
'He is wrong', thought the demon. He would gladly eat Sapphire. Sure, he wasn't sure what exactly is, but there is something that pulls his mind towards this man. Feelings? What kind? No idea, but they were enough for wanting to devour him if that could be a form to show him his appreciation. He would... but right now... seeing him like this, understanding that this a goodbye... he didn't know what to do.
He didn't know how to feel about doing this.
"It's okay... Demon Lord... I......"
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He wakes up in his bed, hugging his cat plushie.
It was a dream.
It was a dream but he knew. Oh he knew.
Sure, it was not an specific premonition, but it was something that eventually will happen. And it didn't matter if he managed to conquer the humans, or to co-exist with them. It didn't matter if he and Sapphire stayed all their lives in the castle or going on adventures. It didn't change the fact that Sapphire was not going to be there all the time. He is a human: someday he will die, leaving him behind in this world.
He hated to admit it, but he was not ready to see him go like this.
It was really late in the castle, his guards probably sleeping or busy on their own. He observed his cat plushie one more time before taking it in his hands and standing up to leave his room.
He was just 'making sure' he tells himself, as he goes to the prison cells area, stopping at the knight's cell. He took a moment before knocking at the door.
'No need to worry, that was just a dream. Right now, when I open the door, Sapphire will be there, either sleeping or waking up and fumbling about why am I here' Thought the demon trying to mantain himself calm. After several seconds, he decided to just open.
As he thought, Sapphire was there, sleeping profoundly in the bed, with a pleased expression. He sighed in relief as he closed the door and got closer to the bed, eventually sitting there. He wasn't sure if to just sleep right besides him or if to wake him up and tell him. Either way he was going to sleep there for tonight, end of discussion. Plus, thinking about the blue-haired possible surprised expression was fun enough, so he went by slowly moving the sleepy man towards the wall and making a space in the bed for himself, covering with the single and delicate matress. 'How the fuck did Sapphire not freeze with only this matress?' He thought. This was nothing like the bed in his room. While he would not improve the whole bed section in the cells, he could consider changing Sapphire's conditions.
After all, if there's something he remembers reading is that good health equals a longer life for humans. If he wanted this man besides him to survive for longer, he would need to take care of himself more. And the Demon Lord was going to make sure he did.
He rolled over towards Sapphire and stared at his sleeping face. He was relieved. While he couldn't make sure in the dream beacuse he saw him as a slime in there, this Sapphire here didn't look pale or sick, he was the definiton of healthy. This observation enough made the demon smile to himself.
Suddenly Sapphire rolled over facing towards the wall, still asleep. The demon was still feeling restless and with his dream still on his mind. He couldn't help himself and hug the man from the back, in a way to feel that, yes, the captain was here alive, healthy, breathing. Oh, how is that he didn't know before how calming can it be to hold him close like this? Sure, his plushy cat was made of a more soft and pleasant to touch material, but the warm in Sapphire's body gave a special feeling.
His bliss didn't last much as the ex-captain woke up surprised by the hug.
"D-D-Demon Lord?!! W-What are you doing?! Get off!" Confronted the human who broke the hug, more flustered and surprised rather than angry.
"I had a bad dream and couldn't sleep, so I thought that relying on you could help me to feel at ease" He decided to be honest, he didn't have nothing to hide after all.
"Uh, I um- I appreciate the trust, but why didn't you rely on Mr. Joseph or Mr. Raven? I assume that this could not be your first bad dream right? Sure they would be able to help you too."
"Usually I don't need assistance when I have bad dreams, I'm not that weak."
"It was not my intention to call you that or imply that"
"Regardless of that. There's also the fact that I am the Demon Lord. Is true that I have their support, but as a king is better to not show many weaknesses. That way my own people can feel at ease."
"Uhh... I didn't expect to hear that. Isn't that tough on you though?
This question surely did leave him wondering "To be completely honest, I never gave it a proper thought. As long as I'm doing fine I guess that I don't trouble myself with how I feel."
"That's not very helpful in the long run, you know?" The demon shrugged in response. Giving up on the topic, Sapphire decided to ask something else. "Wait, you mentioned before that you don't need assistance for this things. So why me?"
"Well, for starters you don't have the same regards towards me as the others. You don't mince words when it's about critizing me or telling me things as they are. Even if it's fun to go against you for your reactions, I appreaciate having someone like you around."
Sapphire couldn't help but blush to the comment. It was rare to have the Demon Lord himself to thank him, or to rely on him this openly.
"The other reason for me coming to you is well... because you appeared in it"
"Me?! Why?"
"You were in this same room, as usual. I came for you to go out but..." He needed to pause for a bit, preparing the words to come out of his mouth. "...you we're dying. You had no much time left. Heck, you even asked me to eat you before dying."
There was a silence between them. The demon waiting for a reaction or a response. Sapphire processing what he just heard.
"Uh... first off, I'm sorry you had such a bad dream, I imagine it must have been... painful to watch". The Demon nodded. "Second, if I may ask, what did make you worry like this? Are you perhaps afraid that I was going to die tonight?"
"Not tonight, but... I am aware, that the years will come by and someday, I will have to say goodbye to you. We demons do not die of old, so I've never feared of living that, or having someone close to live that. However... you are a human. The first human I get to know this close, and probably the first that I'll have to see die from this. I'm... not ready for that.
"Demon Lord..."
Again silence. Sapphire could see an expression that he never expected to see on him: sadness with a tint of worry and fear. He couldn't help but feel his own compassive heart acting. He didn't like to see him like this. He decided to stop asking further and this time, he was the one hugging the green-haired man.
"Sapphire?"
"It's fine to not be ready for that right now, but don't worry. Until the very end, whatever the future holds for us, I intend to be with you to the very end. I promise."
"Humans are well known for not being good at keeping their promises. How can you guaranteed you will not?
Sapphire looked him directly in the eyes, with conviction "I will. I can't leave you on your own to destroy humanity. If there is a place where I belong, is right besides you, doing my best to keep you on check, showing you that humans and demons can coexist together."
"Fufu, like right now~?" Asked the demon with a playful tone as he reciprocated the hug that Sapphire initiated, making him realice what he has been doing and turning him into a blushing mess.
"Y-yeah. T-that's right."
The Demon Lord laughed softly as he acted on impulse and kissed the blue-haired man in his hair. "Thank you for listening me."
"N-No worries..."
"Now, I do find your face really funny to just go to sleep. Maybe there are ways to make it more cute and yummy~?" He asked as he started to caress Sapphire's cheek, which caused him to start pushing him from the hug, already a bit pissed.
"Listen, if you're going to make fun of me, you're out of this room"
"But this is my castle"
"I don't care, this is my room now"
"More like a your cell, pfft"
"Shut it!" He sighed and looked at him "I let you stay if you promise to stop teasing me for the night. We need to sleep, tomorrow is also a busy day."
"Hmm fine. However, I demand to hug you from the back."
"W-Why?"
"Because you are comfortable, I think it can help me to relax and sleep well"
"Ugh... you... fine".
And so, they move towards the wall, the demon hugging Sapphire while leaning his head on his neck, looking really comfortable already. Sapphire was feeling nervous for the closeness, but he was tired regarless. He decided to take the king's hands into his from the hug as reassurement, slowly starting to get back to sleep.
"Good night, Demon Lord."