Shall We Call It a Tie? (1)
'Why the hell is this demon here?'
Raban's mind filled with question marks. Of course, given how long he'd been contracted to Inian, it wouldn't be hard for her to track down a black mage if she really put her mind to it and poured in some power. The problem was that "really putting her mind to it" part. She was already leaking mana just to maintain her manifestation in this world—would she really waste it all just to grind his face into the dirt? Especially when she was in no condition to go far after getting hit by that freaky Mother Fairy beam?
The Inian that Raban knew wasn't the irrational type. There had to be a proper reason...
"First, stick out that snout of yours, sawayo!"
"Gah!"
A sharp kick flew at him. For someone who'd shrunk to the point where she could barely reach his solar plexus, her movements were viciously quick. Raban coolly assessed Inian's combat prowess. No raptor talons on her toes anymore, no sign of deploying that poison or death gaze she pulled out when she meant to kill...?
Huh?
Something was off. Inian's fighting style was ruthlessly thorough, if not perfectly precise. Normally, when she threw a kick, she'd at least activate her death gaze to slow the target's movements and maximize lethal damage. But none of that here?
A very, very ominous hypothesis bubbled up in Raban's mind.
"Hey!"
A sudden shout. Inian's movements froze. She had the look of someone debating whether to listen to whatever bullshit he was about to spew.
"You a mana cripple too?"
"How dare this filth spew nonsense at a lady, sawayo!"
There it is. Raban was certain now. Inian was out of mana too.
***
The staff dorm assigned to Raban was plenty spacious for one person but way too cramped for two to chase each other around in a proper brawl. At least since neither was using mana and they were relying purely on physical prowess, they managed to avoid trashing the place completely.
Raban panted heavily.
"You crazy demon bitch... If a noise complaint comes in and we get kicked out of the dorms, you taking responsibility?"
"Hoo, haa... I already checked it all out before coming, sawayo. At least in this building wing, you're the only human living here, sawayo."
"You're insane, for real. No people doesn't mean it's fine. There's a ton of surveillance spirits watching this place?"
Inian crossed her arms and tsked. In her true form, it would radiate the intimidating otherworldliness befitting a demon lord, but a pint-sized kid on the verge of mana blackout trying to act tough just looked pathetic.
"Those weird guardian fairy blobs aren't in the physical realm right now, sawayo. That command unit called Papirun took them all away, sawayo."
"...You know the last sentence didn't even make grammatical sense, right?"
"Damn it, sawayo. What am I supposed to do when 'sawayo' keeps sticking to everything, sawayo."
After a few minutes of bickering, Raban confirmed his hunch. Inian really was out of mana.
"No way a demon lord of your caliber ends up like this. Don't you guys auto-return before you burn through your mana?"
"Don't talk like that, you black magic scum, sawayo. Or do you want a hole in your skull, sawayo."
Inian sighed and began explaining. Raban pieced together the context of her stranding here, but the sequence was off. It wasn't that she'd failed to return and then run out of mana—it was that she couldn't return, so her mana had evaporated.
To Raban, it made no sense. She'd only been jumped by one croc beast, and the magical girl and Heavenly King beating it down hadn't been hostile to her, right? No reason to hold her back from going home.
"After we took it down, the door was shut, sawayo."
"Ah."
Right after felling the croc beast. The moment she spread her wings to return to her home dimension, Inian realized something had gone seriously wrong. The interdimensional rift she'd come through was already gone.
"That goddamn thing, sawayo. Coming in from outside was easy, but trying to punch out from inside? The dimensional barrier was tough as hell—couldn't tear through it, sawayo."
"...What, like an antlion pit?"
Raban muttered in disbelief. Did the Mother Fairy have a hobby of turning intruders into magical girls and then sitting back to watch the show?
"I get the gist of the situation."
A being on the level of demon lord could rip open a dimension even if the rift closed behind her. Normally. But this insane world let you in easy but blocked escapees like a fortress. Having burned through her mana trying to break out, Inian had switched plans and come to leech off her contractor. Obviously.
Raban bellowed triumphantly.
"But what can you do about it!"
Normally, a demon's summoner had to supply mana to the demon. But Raban was a black mage famous for his (selective) thriftiness.
"Until we settle this duel, you're footing your own mana bill! Hahaha!"
He laughed, dropping all pretense and caution. Opportunities to mock a demon lord didn't come often. And with those annoying mascots mysteriously vanished, as Inian had said, Raban could laugh without a care.
"You think that's so funny, sawayo?"
But Inian flashed a smile of her own. A chill ran up his spine. Raban didn't even think to nitpick her weird grammar this time. A demon's smile was an ill omen among ill omens.
"What if I forfeit the duel? What can you do then, sawayo?"
It was his own taunt thrown right back at him. Terror flooded Raban's eyes.
"W-Wait a sec, Inian. We're intelligent beings..."
"A black mage daring to demand human treatment, sawayo?"
"...We're intelligent entities. We can talk this out."
The terms Raban had offered when dragging Inian to Hikarius City: she'd cover her own mana until the duel ended. In other words, once it did, he had to start supplying it.
Of course, if he won, she had to work off the mana she'd spent on dimension-hopping. But since their original demon-mage contract predated this one...
"Please! Chances to claim a black mage soul like mine don't come every day!"
By paying Inian's upkeep now, it'd turn into him fronting costs and her mining mana to reimburse him later.
"Think again, Inian! You could exploit my soul and torment me for eons! You really gonna throw that away?"
Worse: if she promised to pay with "mana crystals I have stashed back home," he'd be stuck footing bills without even getting mana unless he opened a portal himself.
"Don't forfeit! Fight me fair!"
Inian's smile deepened.
"Who gave you leave to speak casually, sawayo? This is the presence of a grand duke—mind your etiquette, sawayo?"
"Your Highness! Show mercy! You're plenty capable of sourcing your own mana!"
Despite the black mage's desperate flailing, Inian kept her alluring smile without a word. She didn't whine about descending in true form to dice his ass into 17 pieces, only for things to go tits-up—demanding he take responsibility. Negotiations with this bastard required watching every syllable. Raban was a vulture. Masterful at latching onto weaknesses.
'This body's adapted to the world since transforming, so mana drain's way down, but...'
If real combat kicked off, things changed. She'd need a black mage or two as emergency mana batteries.
"Bring tribute, sawayo."
"I got no cash... The severance I was gonna get from you all went into that dimension hop."
Hmph. Infuriating. Inian breezily ignored Raban's grumbling as he put on his pitiful puppy act. She'd take an angel's sermon over listening to a black mage beg.
For a demon, she was having a rare experience—and it came with a clear demand.
"It means bring food, sawayo."
She was hungry.
***
Raban came back with triangle rice balls. Inian griped, "Hmph, bringing mass-produced junk like this? Looks like you wanna win the bet, sawayo," but sighed and nodded when even he planned to make do with them.
Tired of watching her fumble with the plastic wrap, Raban peeled one open himself and asked as she chewed.
"Does eating food even do anything for you? Don't you gotta sneak into some sheep farm, rip out a lamb's heart, and sacrifice it under a full moon or something?"
Inian shot him a disgusted look, like he'd suggested something gross, then spoke.
"This body's close enough to human that digestion can fuel it, sawayo."
"Huh? For real? You can process a demon body that's basically a mana lifeform like that? Mother Fairy... way more impressive than I thought."
"Impressive my ass. If you hadn't called me, I'd be snoozing in my warm, full belly of a bedroom, sawayo."
Raban shut his mouth.
"So if you hadn't gotten greedy for my soul, none of this would've happened!"
...And earned himself a whipping.