Stray

The Ramones run the only hotel in town.

Piper Ramon is the titular boss, but his son does almost all hotel-related work. Although not yet fifty years old, old Ramon has already made himself an old man - soaking in the tavern during the day, listening to the adventurers chatting and bragging, and playing with the homemade ukulele and singing a few words when he is up. Occasionally, he would go to the library where Nemo was doing odd jobs to read for a while, and as soon as the sun went down, he would rush back to his hotel in a hurry.

However, his reputation in town has been good. I don't know if he is too enthusiastic or simply stupid. No matter who is in trouble, he will help two. If the adventurers are seriously injured, Old Ramon will even set aside a special room from the hotel to give them free rest. This kind of ignorant and good-natured behavior directly led to the hotel's revenue just enough to feed the father and son.

It's hard for people to hate a real warm-hearted person, not to mention that old Ramon has a tough and good appearance. Although he often made a mess of himself, he couldn't hide the remaining sharpness in his eyes. It's a pity that his son Oliver doesn't look like him - Oliver Ramon is more like a serious innkeeper, handsome and gentle, with a smile on his face.

If it wasn't for the fact that father and son had the same green eyes, Nemo would have suspected that Oliver was also picked up by old Ramon.

Strictly speaking, Nemo is also a beneficiary of old Ramon's warm heart. If old Ramon hadn't picked up the five- or six-year-old Nemo from the frontier forest more than ten years ago, he would not have lived to his current age.

So he didn't want to see this scene at all.

Piper Ramon straightened his slightly hunched back like a drawn sword. He smiled at Oliver, as if he was not leading a giant demon, but a harmless young deer.

Oliver looked completely stunned. From the moment he was attacked by the monster, the confusion and helplessness that he had accumulated finally exceeded his tolerance limit. The young man shook his head and took a step back.

"Uncle Ramon..." Nemo whispered, but he didn't know what to say. The grey parrot slipped to his feet, grabbed Nemo's clothes with difficulty and climbed up on his shoulders, but Nemo didn't care about it at all—

Old Ramon doesn't look good.

The golden thread-like spell was still swimming on his left hand like a living thing, but his entire right arm was almost nothing but bones. The poisonous gas of deadwood jellyfish is consuming this man who is no longer young. His flesh gradually melted and dripped down the bone, like a wax figure too close to the fire. But he still had a smile on his face, and he didn't frown, as if he didn't know what pain was.

Old Ramon apparently heard Nemo's self-talking greeting, he turned his head and nodded, his eyes seemed to stay on the gray parrot for a few seconds.

"Oli." Then he turned his gaze back to his son. "I am really sorry."

This time, Nemo took a few steps back. He didn't like what he saw in front of him, and he didn't dare to imagine Oliver Ramon's mood at all. He had lost a family member before, Patrick Wright died on the soft bed, and it was not painful to walk, but the moment the old man closed his eyes, he still felt that someone kicked his feet hard in his abdomen, and his internal organs were smashed into flesh. Sauce.

Not to mention…

"I have a short sword on my belt, but unfortunately I can't pass it to you." Old Ramon said, and the white bones began to show from his right shoulder. "I have to control this big guy."

Oliver's Adam's apple twitched, as if he had lost the ability to speak. He stared at the bones of his father's shoulders, and saw the flesh and blood running down the bones like hot wax - he didn't dare to move, not even to take a deep breath, as if worried that the turbulent airflow would make the flesh crackle and fall faster.

"I don't have time to explain to you, kid." Old Ramon grinned, "It's all my responsibility... I'm sorry."

He doesn't seem to be trying to explain anything at all, just apologizing repeatedly.

"But you've grown so big." He muttered, and the ribs could be faintly seen under the melted flesh. "When I see your mother, at least I won't be scolded too badly by her... Come on, my son."

he urged gently.

"It's too late."

Nemo couldn't take it anymore. He was a little breathless, and only felt that he had stepped into a nightmare that was about to run through other people's lives, and even standing quietly felt like stepping on the other's wound. This knowledge made him a little unbearable, and he wanted to escape from here, but his legs were too soft to obey.

As he tried to move, Oliver moved.

He drew the dagger sharply, and then gave his father a hug with the tip of the blade. He didn't ask anything, and he didn't seem to care whether the melted flesh would affect him. The young man held the hilt of the sword in his right hand, and his left arm tightly embraced his father, as if trying to disperse the pain of the other party in this way.

Nimo couldn't see his face, only heard his steady voice.

"It's okay, Dad," he said, his voice clear and firm. "I do not blame you."

“…I don’t blame you.”

The huge demon gradually became transparent, and the pale figure completely melted into the air. The town is still burning, but the air is less oppressive. As if centuries had passed, Oliver slowly bent down and carefully placed his father's body on the grass.

Nemo stepped forward tentatively, staggering. He wanted to pat Oliver on the back, but felt that this comforting gesture was completely inappropriate for the current occasion, so he had to withdraw his outstretched hand angrily. He didn't know what to say, but he just couldn't leave Oliver alone.

The town was still blowing thick smoke in the distance, Oliver was half-knelt in front of the corpse, motionless, like a human-shaped tombstone.

Nimo has no heroic complex, nor is he hard-hearted. Seeing others sad but not doing anything always made him feel a slight tingling sense of guilt. It's a pity that even if he can skillfully laugh at his younger siblings, he can only be speechless before the truly unsolvable grief.

"Sir—!" After some time, a scream came from not far away. "Murder!"

Nimo was a little stunned, and didn't realize who it was. Until an arrow flew past Oliver's cheek and almost hit him who was standing behind Oliver.

I can explain. Nemo thought, I'm a witness, I can prove—

The long-neglected grey parrot makes a roar that is not a bird. An ominous light lit up, radiating down the ground like lightning, leaving some conspicuous traces of corrosion in the night.

"Abyssal magic."

"...is Abyssal Magic..."

There are more vocals, mixed with the increasingly clear sound of armor rubbing. The garrison arrived late, and the steel armor reflected a vague firelight, with an orange-red bright edge. Nemo couldn't see their faces.

"There are demon believers here, we have to report..."

Nemo glanced at the arrow stuck to the ground. Help, he thought instinctively, help. As long as it is explained well, they can be saved and it will all be over.

They still have time to go back to their old lives, Oliver will definitely be sad for a while, and then they can talk...

A hand suddenly grabbed his wrist with astonishing force, Nemo hissed and gasped. Oliver stood up at an unknown time, blood on his hands. He tugged at Nemo's wrist tightly, turned and ran towards the road they had come from.

Nimo was almost dragged forward, and his mind hadn't turned a corner.

However, people who are running are not easy to speak, not to mention their speed at the moment is closer to frantic escape than running. The Grey Parrot was thrown off as Oliver dragged him, wondering if he was still following. The two of them stumbled towards the border forest like this. Fierce shouts and shouts were faintly heard from behind, but they were all blown away by the wind in my ears, and I couldn't hear the content clearly.

When they got into the forest, the sound of the chasing soldiers finally disappeared completely.

Oliver's pace slowed down, and Nemo simply collapsed to the ground and began to cough for his life. Although his physique is considered to be sturdy, he usually only manages bookshelves, and he is completely unaccustomed to such intense exercise. After accumulating a night of fear, confusion and unease, Nemo found himself almost unable to think normally - he was exhausted and wished to fall over and pass out.

After coughing for a while, he finally raised his head and looked at the young man in front of him.

Oliver stood there, his back tense. He was breathing heavily, too, without making much noise. He just stood there upright, the dim moonlight leaking through the branches, and Nemo could see the tears on his face.

"You..." Nemo subconsciously wanted to ask if you were okay, but thought it was a complete nonsense. So he decided to change the subject, trying to distract the other party. "Why are you running?"

"You made a wish, right?" Oliver grinned, as if trying to force a smile, but without success. "That thing uses abyssal magic. Whatever it is, you'll be treated like a demon believer..."

Of course Nemo knew what a demon believer was. There are always some boring guys out there who like to use magic to drive demons, but they yearn for the abyss even though they are under the sky. However, his understanding was only at the level of "the law stipulates that collaborating with demons is a capital crime". Listening to Oliver's tone, this "handling" might be worse than he imagined.

"Then...you don't need to run with me." He stammered, "and we can prove to each other, you see..."

"I'm a murderer, it's a fact." Oliver said softly, "No one will believe what the devil believers say."

I wanted to distract the other party's attention, but turned around. Nemo was a little discouraged. "But you're his son, and they can't—"

"So after I killed my father, I have to abandon the man who saved my life from the devil?" Oliver finally showed a wry smile, "I don't want to be such a jerk."

He reached out to Nemo as if to pull him up. In the dim moonlight, the blood on his hands was almost black and extremely dazzling.

Oliver looked at his hands silently, and suddenly began to vomit. Nemo was so frightened that he quickly got up from the ground and slapped each other on the back in a hurry. Oliver seemed to spit out his stomach. He didn't cry or sob, but his whole body was shaking violently.

Nimo sniffed and looked away. He looked at the familiar forest in front of him—he had come and gone countless times, getting some mushrooms or bird eggs to feed the cubs in the orphanage. At this moment, it was terrifyingly strange, as if someone had pulled them out of the world that relied on common sense and threw them into a magical realm with the same scenery but full of danger.

"Let's escape together." He whispered, his hand still on the young man's back. Oliver wiped his face and turned his head slightly to look at him.

"I said, let's escape together." This time Nemo raised his voice, and this sentence almost used up all his courage. "Or do you have a better idea?"

"You are here!" Before he could adjust his mood, a voice rudely interjected. The two of them subconsciously looked at the source of the sound - the skinny grey parrot trotting over. "How dare you leave me—"

Niemo immediately threw the topic of escape out of the sky, squatted down and licked its neck, his anger directly overshadowed the fear and pain. "What spell did you just mess around with!"

"Didn't you see someone shoot you with an arrow?" The grey parrot replied in shock, "You don't want to live anymore?"

"...that's none of your business." Nemo gritted his teeth.

"How come it has nothing to do with me!" The gray parrot's hair exploded instantly, and the voice was an octave higher. "I haven't asked you to settle the account yet - where is my power, where is my power? I thought things would be normal after the contract was completed, hurry up and spit out my power-"

It finally realized that it had wings now, flapping wildly in Nemo's hands.

"'Things will be normal'...?" Oliver finally stood up straight.

The grey parrot is no longer fluttering.

"Yes." Nemo grabbed it by the neck, but managed to pose with pride. "I got his wish, he gave me his body, what's the problem?"

"Is this thing really a demon?" Nemo finally recalled, "...Are you talking about the demon contract?"

"Superior Demon Bagelmoru." The grey parrot raised his head vigorously, but due to the shape problem, this move did not bring it any deterrence.

"I don't think so." Nemo hesitated for a few seconds before speaking his mind. He let go of the grey parrot's grip and let it thump to the ground. "It's too..."

Compared to the legendary powerful and mysterious superior demon, it is too stupid.

"...I understand." This time his attention was successfully diverted, and Oliver looked alive. "It's very common for demons to lie."

The grey parrot let out a sneer. Although such a movement from a bird is imposing, even a little comical.

"You'll know if you try it." It snorted angrily at Nemo, "Parts of my flesh are inside you, although I don't know why you can't control them...you should be able to use them now. The spell of the superior demon."

Then it pronounces a long string of obscure syllables. Nemo looked at it awkwardly.

"It's hard to remember." He frankly admitted that he didn't want to torture his brain in such a bad situation.

The parrot rolled his eyes and changed to a shorter one. After repeating it more than ten times, Nemo finally managed to remember the tongue-in-cheek pronunciation.

He hesitantly stretched out his uninjured left hand and quickly recited the string of syllables. Oliver on the side took a few steps back and held his breath—

Nothing happened.

"It's impossible!" screamed the parrot, "You must have pronounced it wrong!"

Nemo sighed and repeated it clearly—still nothing happened.

The grey parrot, who called himself a superior demon, was stunned. It stared blankly at Nemo, looking a little inexplicably pitiful.

"I don't have the talent for magic, I can't even activate the most basic lighting magic." Nemo shrugged, feeling a little relieved - now this thing doesn't seem to kill him. "You lied to the wrong person."

"Let's go." Oliver wiped the blood on his hands and stared at the ground. "It's better to walk through the woods tonight...after crossing the border, they can't catch us directly."

Although Nemo felt like he was about to collapse from exhaustion, he nodded forcefully. But what about after crossing the border? He thought bitterly.

I'm afraid none of them know where to go or what to do.

"Okay, let's go." He said, ignoring the grey parrot who was still in a daze.

"Wait! That stinky boy over there—" the Grey Parrot shouted suddenly behind them, "I still have proof, don't you want to know what your dad just did?"

It sounded happy and vicious.

"Don't you want to know? Why did your father use the 'domination' of a superior demon?"

(m..=)