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Chapter 838  Dumb Move

"Seriously, you need to tell me these kinds of things before springing shit on me. Did you take even a single second to think about the repercussions of your words?" she growled at him.

Astaroth sighed heavily.

"You may think I didn\'t. But that isn\'t true. Listen, I know you think I\'m ruining your efforts. But I realized something in the last few days. Anyone can die."

Phoenix looked at him with anger.

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do!" Astaroth shouted.

Phoenix took a step back, startled by his sudden explosion.

*Sigh*

"Look. Can you tell me how you would react if a demon suddenly appeared and killed me? No fight, no running. Just instantly killed me."

Phoenix looked at him incredulously.

"But that can\'t—"

"Just answer. Don\'t think. First thing that comes to your mind," Astaroth interrupted her.

"I… I…" she stammered.

"That\'s the problem. If you froze like that, you would be dead in an instant, too. And that is a normal reaction, Phoenix. But we need to break that. And not just in our combatants.

"We need to ensure everyone in this city can react, even when their bodies refuse to obey them and their instincts are screaming at them to flee. They need to act on autopilot. No thinking, just acting. If they don\'t, they die."

She understood the point he was trying to make, but still had trouble wrapping her head around his decision.

"Astaroth, we can\'t just…" she said, her shoulders lowering.

But before she could finish her sentence, her face was suddenly against the wall behind her, and claws were on her throat, an acrid breath brushing against her face.

"What if I were to tear into you? Right here, right now. What would you do? Do you think anyone would have time to react if they took even a second to think?"

Phoenix\'s brain froze up, realizing Astaroth had demonized in a split second, and her life could very well be in danger. But her body refused to react.

A feral fear rose in her.

\'Am I going to die?\' was her only thought.

Feeling her start to shake, Astaroth returned to normal before spinning her toward him.

"I\'m sorry. I didn\'t want to frighten you. But I had to make you understand. It\'s human nature to think before it acts. We can\'t afford this against the enemies we are going to face. A single wasted second can and will mean death."

He took the shaking Phoenix in his arms, trying to hug her, but she twitched and stepped back.

Her eyes pained him as she looked at him in terror.

"Phoenix, I—"

Before he could finish, she darted away, not looking back.

\'Fuck… I shouldn\'t have done that…\' he realized.

His need to prove a point had made him act before thinking in a situation where thinking would have been better. And now, he wasn\'t sure how long Phoenix would take to recover.

***

After leaving the room, Phoenix ran outside the palace and burst into flame, launching into the sky and disappearing over the tree line. Her mind was in shock, and her body navigated the way on autopilot as the thought of death lingered on her mind.

By the time she snapped back and realized she was flying away, she was already almost out of the eastern edge of the Elven Forests. Somehow, she had gotten away from Bastion City, her brain associating it with demon Astaroth.

Landing on a sturdy-looking tree, Phoenix extinguished herself before crumpling on the branch and erupting into tears.

In the pit of her stomach, this fear just refused to leave. At that moment, she felt like there was no respawning, no second chance, just death.

It broke her hard facade, making her remember things she had buried deep inside her. Things she never wanted to think about again.

***

In the meantime, in the palace, Astaroth sat there, in the back room of the throne room, feeling like an idiot.

He was stuck in self-loathing when a blue portal opened up next to him.

He saw it from the corner of his eye and turned his head away.

"Not now, Aravelle. I\'m in no mood to talk."

He knew the old mage could hear him, as Aravelle could hear everything in this palace, and hoped he would leave him alone.

But instead of disappearing, the portal suddenly jumped toward him, swallowing him whole. And before he knew it, Astaroth was back in the room Aravelle called his home.

"Don\'t turn me down when I call for you, boy. I don\'t care what mood you are in."

"Tch!" Astaroth clicked his tongue.

"Although I disapprove of your methods, I believe the point you were trying to make was valid. But you have to revisit your methods. That poor girl sat in here every day for over a month, thinking only about your safe return, and you traumatize her like that," Aravelle admonished him. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I don\'t want to hear it from you, Aravelle. What do you want?" Astaroth asked, looking annoyed.

Aravelle glared at him.

"I can see that little devil inside you has corrupted your manners. Maybe I should beat some into you."

Astaroth\'s eyes narrowed.

"How did you know?" he asked, his tone low.

"Did you think you could come into this tower and hide such a thing from me? Stupid of you to think that way. I\'m older than this forest, boy, and I\'ve seen demons many times before. I could smell him the moment you reappeared in that room of yours."

Astaroth became vigilant.

"Is that why you called me? To take care of the lingering threat?"

"You? A threat? Hardly. No. I called you because I heard your statement, and think I can help. Your methods may be barbaric, but your intentions are noble and come from a good heart. Now sit down, so we can speak like civilized people," Aravelle said, waving his hand, making a sofa appear.

Astaroth looked at it and wondered what kind of help Aravelle could even offer. But he sat down nonetheless.

"What now?"