Demon Lord Shapeshifting System

Harker had pulled her all the way into that planetary exhibit outside. The sun was going down, and fewer students were roaming around, most of them taking night classes. 

"Alright. How much did you hear?" He asked, his eyes glowing for some reason.

Artea yanked her hand away, and looked away almost sheepishly. "Barely anything comprehensible. I heard you yelling to him about your father, and then you two started talking about gods and monsters and otherwordly things…. Theories about the meteor, all that…. I can't understand a single thing. Then there's this vertigo. What was that?"

Harker rubbed his face. "You really heard more than you should."

Artea crossed her arms. "And how much exactly is 'more than I should'? Up to the point where you were talking about dinosaurs?"

"Everything. You shouldn't have been listening in, and you shouldn't have heard us talking at all." Harker slumped on a park bench in exasperation. "But of course you'd know. Of course you would, fate likes playing tricks on me this way."

"Then can I get a proper explanation?" Artea sat beside him.

"No. You heard your father. The less you know and understand, the safer you will be. And I agree with that statement 100% from first-hand experience." Harker said. 

"Because I'm in danger from whatever, right? Or was it because you all think I'm just some weak little sheltered princess that had to be protected?"

Artea couldn't keep her patience any longer from these men that liked to keep her in the dark as 'protection'. She had experienced that already before…. With that man who brought her to this world. Who forced her to live a childhood full of fear and confusion, not knowing anything and merely answering things like 'You'd be okay'.

She had a glimpse of the usual conversation they had, with him carrying her in his military uniform and covering her tiny head:

"Papa, what's happening? What happened to our house?"

"It's okay, hija. We'll be safe. I'll get you and your Mama out of here."

It's the same thing all over again. She disliked being blinded from what was going on in this world as a child, and she disliked it right now. 

"Harker Jones, whatever danger is facing me, I'd rather face it head on knowing what was happening than be under your flimsy protection. If you can't even keep my 'innocence' within a minute of promising it to my father, how else could you keep everything else?"

Harker groaned. "It's not my fault that you got nosy!"

"Because why wouldn't I— Hmph!"

Harker suddenly covered her mouth. He then pointed somewhere. 

"Aight. You want to know things, right? Well, that's also what I want. And that man over there….. He'st eh main source of your danger along with his friends. That's why I'm trying to investigate him, because I still don't know what they're up to."

He was pointing at Kian Shaw, who was going to some building with a book in hand.

Artea pushed his hand away in disgust. "Was that really necessary? And what exactly makes Kian Shaw a danger to me? What, he's planning to kill me just to win the elections?"

"You know what? Maybe. Now keep quiet, we're going to follow him. I need to know what he's planning with that book." 

Harker then took her hand, and they went to chase after the shadows of this man. Or the lack thereof. Artea only now noticed that while everyone else had their shadows cast onto the ground by the pale, sinking sun…..

This man didn't. 

Now, that could just be a trick of the light but…. Hearing what she did just now and the strangeness of the whole affair, she's starting to think that trying to deny it's abnormality would be pointless.

Fine, monsters exist. Gods exist. She didn't care, as long as she didn't have to be the blind one again. 

She'd easily accept it as long as she knew the full picture, and the options that she had.

Harker felt very much conflicted with this new development. But what's done was done, and he can't change it anymore so no point in dwelling on it. 

Mistakes were made, and he had been stupid. Whatever. People can just eat his balls if they bother complaining about how he never gets his shit together, because they sure as hell were not in the same position as he was in.

It's easy to believe what you would do in a certain situation and claim that you would do better than who you were watching. That's why so many backseat coaches exist, screaming in their TV screens or the bleachers when watching sports like football or basketball.

Yet they were not in the moment. They keep sitting on their fat asses and pot bellies complaining and complaining, yet they will never fare better than the one who's actually on the field.

But Harker digressed. He just can't help but be annoyed for some reason with that thought of people judging and mocking him in the sidelines without considering what it's like in his shoes. 

Ever since Legion mentioned an audience, he always had that annoying feeling in his head of eyes following his every move and criticizing him.

But he needs to focus on the present, and ignore those judging eyes. 

Kian Shaw went inside an unfinished building in the more remote areas of Holmwood University. It had quite a large land area and was constantly in the state of renovating older facilities or building new ones. The marking shows that this was to be one of the observatories, specifically for telescopes and astronomical observations. 

It was to be the tallest building in the area, just a tower with a dome and a large telescope inside. 

Kian Shaw went in, walking mechanically now that nobody was looking. Or he assumed so. 

He set down the book, and began to read. Harker and Artea hid behind the walls, and he squinted his eyes on what Kian may be reading. 

He couldn't control the guy to come closer using the Succubus skill, as he expected. None of his skills would work on it. The best he could do was snatch the book from him to read it himself. 

Kian continued reading, and seemed to nod thoughtfully to himself. 

"The Queen of Deception, heed my call." He said, and then started speaking in gibberish.

Harker could tell it was gibberish because of the sounds he made that no human could. He continued to 'speak' faster and faster…..

Until his body sheds the skin that it was wearing, and reveals his true form. 

It was…. beyond hideous. Something just purely revolting to look at, but not in the same sickening way as one would look at beetles or vomit or anything like that. It was sickening because it was impossible. It was absolutely wrong in all ways that it was impossible for any human to not have a strong reaction from staring at it. 

And Artea already did better than most who would have lost their minds upon witnessing it. 

She just screamed.