Chapter 1: An Odd Cordiality
19XX.
In a church in a small village, a group of men is beating a helpless priest. He is on the ground and cannot move anymore, but the group is not stopping. It seems like they really want to kill him.
“God, please..!” The priest prayed, his tears rolling from his eyes, clutching the rosary in his hand. “Help me, please!”
“How dare you ask for God’s help, you disgusting twat!” One of the men howled before kicking him vigorously on the stomach.
The strong impact from the kick made him cough. His mind is starting to go blank. His consciousness… fading.
“Anyone… help..!”
The beating suddenly stopped. When the priest opened his eyes, he saw a tall man in a black cloak talking to the group of men who were beating him earlier. He cannot hear what the man is saying though. But whatever the man said, it made the group leave the church. Then the man approached him and helped him to be seated in a chair nearby.
“Thank you for—” He cut himself off when he saw the appearance of the man that saved him. The man has pale skin, long black hair, and scales under his pair of violet eyes. “Y-You’re no angel! Nor a man! What… what are you?!”
“That’s funny. You really thought that an angel will save you,” the man said, his voice full of sarcasm. “You already know what I am. I guess I don’t deserve your gratitude anymore.”
“Oh… n-no. I’m sorry,” the priest apologized. “I… I just never expected a demon to save me. What do you want in return?”
“Nothing.”
The priest is dumbfounded. “You saved me and you want nothing in return? But you’re a demon, right? Shouldn’t you want my soul or something?”
“Your soul?” The demon asked, annoyed. His brows are almost touching each other. “Why would I want it?”
The priest looks up at the demon. His face is filled with curiosity and confusion. “You’re a demon. You’re supposed to be evil. You’re supposed to want my soul. Don’t demons desire to drag as many souls as they can to hell with them?”
“No, not at all.”
“Huh? Then demons are not evil?”
“Not all demons are evil. Just like how not all humans are good.”
“Then you’re not one of the evil demons because you saved me, is that what you want to say?”
However, instead of answering, the demon just stared at him. But he stared back.
“If you’re not evil and you’re not here for my soul… then what are you doing here? I do not mean to offend you but I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that you, a demon, saved me without asking for anything in return.”
“You asked for my help. I am nearby. So, I decided to help you. I just wanted to save you. That’s all.”
“But I did not ask for your help.”
“You did.”
“I did not.”
“You said “anyone”, right?”
The priest froze. The demon is right. “B-but why did you decide to help me? You can just ignore me.”
“I just don’t want you to die.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m curious,” the demon replied. “You’re the priest in this small town, yet they are trying to kill you. What did you do?”
“Well…” the priest swallowed, looking a bit uncomfortable. “I didn’t do anything, I swear. I serve God and the people in this small town with all my heart and soul. It’s just that… the people here… are very old fashioned. They don’t really like me for my sexuality. I am attracted to both genders, you see. So they think that I am bad news. I guess that just pushed them over the edge.”
“I see,” the demon said before turning his back to the priest. “I’ll go now.”
The priest’s eyes widened. “Wait!”
The demon faced him again. “What?”
“My name is Lukas. Thank you for saving me. Can I know your name?”
The demon hesitated before answering, “You can call me Benuar."
Lukas saw the hesitation on Benuar’s face before answering. “Why did you hesitate to tell me your name?”
“That’s because…” Benuar hesitated again. He is not sure if it is right to tell the priest the truth. “That’s because I can’t tell you my real name.”
“I see. So, Benuar is not your real name,” Lukas noted, nodding. “But why can’t you tell me your real name?”
“If you know my name, then you can control me. Naming something, or knowing its name, means having control or power over that thing. You’re a priest. You should know that. Especially, when it comes to exorcism.”
“Oh?” Lukas raised an eyebrow. “That’s interesting. I don’t specialize in exorcism, so I don’t know why it requires an exorcist to know the demon’s name. I guess it’s good for everyone if you will keep your name a secret, then.”
Lukas approached Benuar. He extended his hand towards him for a handshake. “You saved my life, so I hope we can be friends. I think that would be very nice.”
“You, a priest, want to be friends with me, a demon?” Benuar scoffed. “That’s funny.”
But Lukas did not even flinch at his words. He kept his hand extended towards him. When Benuar saw the priest’s response, his face turned serious. He revealed his hand with his long and sharp nails, and reached for the priest’s hand.
“We’re friends, then. I’ll come and visit you again.”
Lukas looks a little bit surprised when the demon mentioned that he will visit again, but a smile formed on his lips. “Really? You’ll come again and visit me?”
Benuar gave him a nod.
“That means a lot to me. Thank you so much, Benuar.”
“I’ll go now.”
“Goodbye, Benuar!”
The demon winced at the priest’s words before leaving the church and disappearing from the priest’s vision.
