'What the hell is that?! It actually said something,' Tino was frightened by the appearance of the horned individual.
He was not the only one as Angie too was shocked beyond belief.
This was something far more terrifying than a summoned demon.
'Is it another kind of demon? Just why was it able to cross the portal?'
"Tino! Quickly erase the summoning circle," Angie shouted while reaching for the blood on the floor.
Snapping out of his daze, Tino went to work quickly to smear the blood that made up the summoning circle.
"Oh, you want to shut me out, do you? Well not today you runts."
The foreign demon swiftly grabbed the edges of the portal and made his way through to the other side.
"Shit! What do we do now?!"
"I don't know," Angie panicked, "I don't know!"
"Fuck me!"
Tino figured it was time to test out his newfound strength after absorbing the power of the demon.
He roared as he went to claw and bite at the smirking horned demon.
"Oh please. I've met children who have way more bark and bite than you, kid."
The demon spoke, but Tino did not understand his words.
Words were unnecessary though as the horned demon simply flicked Tino on the forehead.
Bam!
The impact sent him tumbling on the floor next to Angie.
"Brother! Tino get up," Angie held the unconscious Tino in her arms.
"Ego, do you mind helping me out here? I find it a bit ironic to have to deal with children all the time given my past profession."
Inside his mind, a watery figure sighed and assessed the situation.
'Let me enter the boy's mind and everything will be resolved quickly,' Ego spoke, 'Also I'm technically younger than these two, so you're really just sending a child to do a grown up's job.'
"Just do your thing," the demon— or Devil rather— went to press his hand against Tino's head.
Yes, he was none other than Edmond who— despite the futile efforts of the scared Angie to keep him away— managed to send the wisp of consciousness that was Ego into the slumped child.
It took only a few seconds for Ego to return to Edmond's mind with the whole story of the two kids with them.
'... And that's the gist of things,' Ego finished retelling what they found out about Tino and Angie from start to finish.
"It's hard to believe you can read minds. Does that mean you've read mine already," Edmond was genuinely curious.
'It's who I am at this point. Every piece of information I can find could prove to be useful for Null in the future.'
"So, were you born with this infatuation for Null or did he do something to capture your heart?"
Ego seemed to be unfazed by the question, but deep inside they were seething, 'Just you wait, old man, I'll get you back for that.'
"Haha! I'll hold you to that. But first things first, it's time to get serious about this whole ordeal."
Edmond turned to the twins who were both awake at the moment kudos to Ego.
With the information on them along with the knowledge of their language, Edmond could interact with them without the need for a translating device.
"Ahem! I know I might not seem trustworthy given the place I came from to meet you two, but I will go ahead and explain my reason for scouting you out. Understand?"
With nothing else to do but listen to and come to terms with the situation, the twins turned to each other before nodding, allowing Edmond to speak.
It seemed that at least for now, the mood had calmed and things were peaceful.
"I'm not sure where you procured these books on witchcraft, but the ritual you used was somehow connected to my Demonic Realm, hence why I was able to track you down so fast."
'His Demonic Realm? Are you telling me we accidentally let the freaking ruler of the demons find us out,' Tino thought regretfully.
Angie was less afraid now that she saw Edmond remaining so cordial, 'He speaks as if he knows more about us than he lets on. I wonder if it has to do with whatever he did to make Tino wake up.'
Edmond continued, "This must not be your first time performing this ritual. Am I correct?"
The twins nodded once more, still shaken by the Devil before them.
"The first time you did your little chanting, I must have felt it through my connection to the demons in my realm. I was able to pinpoint the demon you took over and ascertain that something was happening outside of my control."
For the first time, Tino spoke up, "You mean to say that you are connected to every demon in your realm? Then how strong are you?"
"Strength is relative, child. I can tell you crave it but know that becoming a monster has its own demerits. I should know. I am the Devil after all."
'How does he know I said that? Did he read my mind or something?'
"Um. Mr. Devil? We promise to not do something so reckless again, so can you please leave us alone," Angie rejected whatever reason Edmond had for staying with them.
After all, he must have done some horrible things as the ruler of demons.
But all Edmond did was flash a sharp-toothed smile, "Unfortunately, I've found you more interesting than I first thought. Rather than leave you to your witchcraft, I am rather inclined to have you join me."
Ego had previously informed him of the special nature of the twins, particularly that of them being two of the new wave of flames.
The new flames were colored forest green, indigo, wenge, stone grey, and saffron.
With the connection Ego had to Null, they could sense that Tino was the forest green and Angie was the lilac.
"Join you? Why would we do such a thing?"
"Wait a minute, Angie? Let's hear him out first."
Tino still felt that there was much to gain from the chance meeting with Edmond.
"Forgive me for not mentioning this earlier, but my name is Edmond Zolial. You might not know me, but there is someone you do know that allowed me to understand who exactly the two of you are."
"Someone we know? But we have been stuck in this house for the entirety of our lives," Tino said confused.
"I'm talking about the past you. Taz and Ava to be exact."
As if they were struck by lightning, both Tino and Angie stood silently still.
"B-but that's impossible! How do you know about that?"
They refused to believe that Edmond had the ability to tell that much about them without some sort of help.
He might be the ruler of a realm, but souls outside of that realm should be out of his jurisdiction.
"I know that this may come off a bit touchy, but the one I'm talking about happens to be the one who sent you here. And before you-," Edmond started, but was met with another attack.
"Don't you fucking say another word you piece of shit! I'll fucking kill you!"
Tino was not playing around as he tried fighting Edmond once more.
The thing about becoming a monster was not a lie in the slightest, but unfortunately for Tino, he was far from becoming the very thing that fueled his passion.
Angie merely held her stomach with a pained expression on her face as if she was reliving the experience on Planet Barter.
"Hold on a minute, will you?"
He held Tino, who was gnawing and scratching him all over, while trying to explain himself.
"You're not the only ones who were reincarnated after dealing with Null's shit! You think I liked being a lowly imp wandering through a hellish land while living in total isolation!"
The fighting did not cease, but at least the two were listening to Edmond's words.
"I was one of the first to become victim to the tragic events that surrounded Null. My entire planet was devastated in an event that was tied to him. Don't you think I understand what you must feel?"
His words stopped Tino from fighting back and caused Angie's pale face to return to its rosy state.
"Trust me, alright? Null might do things that lead to others being hurt, but it isn't entirely his fault. He was given something that was greater than any talent or ability could match. Now I don't know the entire story behind it, but what happened to the both of you wasn't entirely his fault."
Midway into his plea, the front door rattled as someone was unlocking and opening it.
"Shit! It's Mom!"
"What are we going to tell her?!"
Before they could come up with anything, the door opened as Estoria carried with her some grocery bags.
"Kids! Can you come help me with the groceries!"
She had yet to notice that across the house, her children were bloodstained and talking to a stranger from another plane.
After taking off her shoes and hat, she looked towards the living room and dropped everything she was holding.
"I must be dreaming. It looks as if the Devil has come to greet me in my very own home."
Her words shocked all three as it seemed she knew of Edmond's existence or rather someone similar.