Page 100 of The Misfit Mage and His Devilish Desires

“While I very much prefer you in your own flesh, this suit is awfully cute, too,” he said with a light cackle.

“Motherfucker.” I shot up in the bed where I lay, tails out and piercing Corson’s wrist, his throat, and his heart. I should’ve aimed for his crotch. “You handsy prick!”

“I was a total gentleman.” He puckered his lips. “I just needed you to wake up before I headed out.”

I retracted my tails, coiling them back inside this mortal body where my essence continued recovering. Getting dragged out of Oblivion often left demons drained; I recalled several occasions where Beelzebub had pulled me out and thrown me back onto the battlefield of some war. And while exhausted for certain, I usually wasn’t this busted up.

“Guessing three makeshift devils don’t know how to bring back a demon the right way.”

“Is there a wrong way?” Corson cocked his head. “You’re alive again. Yippee. A little worn down but nothing some R&R inside a tight little body won’t fix up in no time.”

He wasn’t wrong. This actually felt a lot like when I broke free from the Diabolic orb. That required a few weeks of restoration inside the mage body I possessed. Who did I currently possess? I stared at the pale hands, focusing on the energy of this host. There was mana for certain. Some unfortunate mage, it seemed.

My heart raced. A mage? I was inside a mage’s body.

“Where’s Wally?”

“He’s nearby.” Corson tiptoed his fingers along my thigh. “Closer than you think.”

No. This wasn’t the case. Wally wouldn’t. He was never a fan of me possessing folks, but he didn’t protest it either.

“Wally.” I shoved Corson off and crawled out of the bed, searching for a mirror, something to prove the worst hadn’t happened. “Fuck.”

I sighed, instinctively exhaling frightened breaths. This host body belonged to someone I didn’t recognize. Though, part of that could’ve been the composite already taking effect, manipulating the features to slip into my aesthetic.

“What’s your deal?”

“I thought…” I laughed a little to myself. “I thought something very silly happened.”

“I’m gonna miss you, pretty boy.”

I scowled, letting my horns stab through the head of this host and ruffle the brown hair I’d need to darken with a glamour soon enough. Chestnut brown wasn’t for me. Black and orange all day, please.

“You’re leaving?” I asked, making my way back to bed because exhaustion had settled back in.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d lay here recovering, but I wanted to sleep for another few days, a few weeks, maybe a solid year.

“Yes. I find this dead town boring,” Corson said. “Satan and Orias are dragging their feet about it, claiming this place merits some interest, but I’ve assured them the rest of the dimension has much more to offer.”

“So, you’re staying here?” I asked, referencing the world, not the Diabolic Oasis, which I gathered from context meant the city had survived—even if left as nothing more than rubble.

“We weren’t the only demons Lilith dragged through the doors of Hell in her wake as she fled from Beelzebub.” Corson shrugged. “Maybe I’ll find some of them. Play a game. Kiss, kill, or recruit. See where that takes me.”

The rest of the world must be somewhat intact, too. Not that three demons would complain about exploring a dying hellscape. Who knew what Lilith and Beelzebub had done to this world before they were dropped into Oblivion? Gods, Beelzebub was locked inside a Diabolic orb and dropped into Oblivion.

Oblivion.

Beelzebub was truly gone. He was a defeated devil, bound in the void of nothing until the end of time itself. He was gone forever.

I smiled. Genuine and relieved. There was this hidden weight on my shoulders that eased. This tension I carried at all times, so constant and aching I’d grown accustomed to it. Numb to the pain. And yet, with Beelzebub forever out of my life, truly gone and no longer a looming threat in the shadows, I found relief.

“Did you even hear what I said?”

“I wasn’t listening.” I chuckled, still musing over Beelzebub’s absence. His torment. The horrors he must be experiencing. Not at the hands of the many enemies he’d dropped in that void over the eons. None of them could hurt him as much as he hurt himself.

It must be awful for him, locked in that orb with his shame of failure, failure for all to see, failure he’ll never escape.

My chuckle transformed into a vindictive cackle of delight. I only wished I could mock the bastard. But I’d have to settle for living my best fucking life forever and ever with my mage.

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