Lazry dragged his feet across the wooden floor as if the entire weight of the night had latched onto his back.
His broken apartment door clicked shut behind him, muffling the faint hum of the city outside.
He stood there for a long moment, staring at nothing, feeling the exhaustion settle into his bones. His mind was a scattered mess, buzzing with images of curses, missions, and a six eyed dog that should not exist.
"Young master, please rest well. Good night. I'll call someone to fix the door in the morning… But are you sure about this? You might get attacked again?"
Lazry blinked slowly. "Yeah… There's a saying, the best place to hide was out in the open. I'm sure they would not come and attack me again and I have protection anyway… plus, I'm sure they won't try again… After all, I found them out…" He turned his gaze toward the clock on the wall. The glowing red digits read 2:00 AM.
Winston hesitated but ultimately nodded. "Just call me anytime, young master…"
Lazry nodded. And sees him leave.
Suddenly, after Winston left, he turned to the clock. And was surprised.
"Two? It's only been two hours?" Lazry rubbed his temples. "What the hell… I swear it felt like a whole day."
In those two hours he had survived his first mission, gotten a pet demon dog, fought for control over it, and somehow lived.
Now all he wanted was to fall face first onto his bed and vanish into unconsciousness.
He didn't even make it to the couch before a sharp chime rang in his ears.
[ System notification.
[ The host's pet is hungry. Hunger level at 30 out of 100. If not fed, the beast will enter a rampage state for several weeks. Though it will not harm the host, it will cause widespread destruction. ]
Lazry froze.
"…You gotta be kidding me."
He stared blankly ahead for a moment, then slowly sank to the ground, clutching his head.
"It's not done? It's really not done?"
The demon dog sat nearby, black fur shimmering like liquid shadow, six glowing eyes blinking at him with eerie patience. It tilted its head as if waiting for him to figure it out.
Lazry let out a long sigh. "Alright. Fine. Okay. Hungry. Food. I can do that. Yeah. Feeding a demon dog. Easy."
He scrambled to his feet and rushed to the refrigerator. He yanked the door open and cold air washed over him.
"Okay buddy," he said, glancing at the dog. "Let's… let's see what you like. You're a dog, right? So you must eat… something? I guess?"
He grabbed a leftover pizza slice.
"Pizza? Everyone likes pizza. Even cursed dogs maybe?"
He crouched and presented it like an offering. "Here. Eat."
The demon dog sniffed it, lifted its head slowly, and shook it side to side. All six eyes glowed in disappointment.
"No? Seriously? You don't like pizza? It's good pizza."
He shoved it back into the fridge and pulled out a container.
"How about chicken? Dogs love chicken."
He held it out. The dog leaned in close, sniffed, then quietly pushed the container away with its snout, shaking its head again.
Lazry groaned. "Come on. Chicken is like the universal food."
He kept going.
"How about beef? This is prime beef. Human food, top grade. You better appreciate this."
He unwrapped the meat and held it toward the beast. It sniffed, stared, then shook its head.
"Are you serious? You're turning down beef? You… picky little…" Lazry dragged a hand down his face. "Okay. Next."
He pulled out vegetables. "No way you want this but I'm trying everything."
The dog didn't even sniff. It merely tilted its head, all six eyes narrowing, almost offended.
"Yeah, yeah, I figured."
He tried cereal.
"No?"
He tried eggs.
Still no.
He tried an entire container of leftover spaghetti.
The dog looked at it like Lazry had just presented a bowl of garbage.
"You're doing this on purpose," Lazry muttered. "You're messing with me. I know it."
He went deeper.
He tried fruits. Yogurt. Bacon. Raw fish. Cooked fish. Frozen dumplings. Ice cream. He even held up an unopened jar of peanut butter.
The dog shook its head each time.
"You're gonna kill me. You're actually gonna kill me," Lazry said, slumping. "What do you even like? You're a dog!"
He sat on the cold floor, staring hopelessly at the demon beast that had curled its tail around its paws like a regal little emperor.
Lazry rubbed his face with shaking hands. "Think. Think. What does a dog eat? What do normal dogs eat?"
He paced back and forth across the kitchen, muttering.
"Dogs like meat. But he didn't like the chicken or beef. Maybe because it's cooked? Maybe he wants raw stuff? But I tried raw beef! Okay what else. Bones? No, those were cooked bones. Maybe fresh bones? No, that doesn't make sense. He's a demon dog. He might like weird stuff. But what did normal dogs like back in the day?"
He paused in the middle of his pacing and snapped his fingers.
"Dog food!"
He turned to the demon dog. "Dog food! You're a dog! Right? You'd eat dog food!"
The demon dog blinked all six eyes at him.
"I don't have dog food," Lazry muttered. He trudged toward the door. "I need to get some. It's 2 AM but whatever. I'll find a store. Convenience stores always have weird stuff…"
He reached for the doorknob.
Then a darker shadow rose behind the door.
"Wha…?"
Instinct kicked in. Lazry's heart jumped in his throat.
"Defend!" he yelled mentally at once.
The demon dog's eyes snapped open, flaring with light.
The door creaked as something pushed from the outside. A skeletal hand reached in, gripping the edge. A gaunt creature leaned in, bony fingers stretching toward him.
The demon dog unleashed a burst of bright, concentrated energy.
A sharp blast of light exploded, shaking the entire apartment.
Bang!
The intruding creature disintegrated in an instant. What remained collapsed on the floor in a rain of bones that clattered across the hallway tiles.
Lazry stood there wide eyed, trembling. "What... What the hell was that? Someone really wanted to kill me!"
Before he could process anything else, the demon dog trotted forward and began sniffing the bones. Then, without hesitation, it grabbed one with its shadowy jaws and bit down with a loud crunch.
Lazry's jaw dropped.
"You… you eat bones? Seriously?"
The dog ignored him, happily chewing as if it finally found the food it wanted all along.
Lazry stared at it for several seconds, then laughed breathlessly.
"You picky monster… you wanted bones? All that time, and you wanted… bones?"
The dog wagged its tail slowly, chewing away.
Lazry let out a long sigh and collapsed against the wall. "I'm going insane. I swear I'm going insane… But seriously, someone is really against me!"
…
Far away, in a cold and dim street illuminated only by flickering streetlights, Ravikus sat in front of a ritual circle in the middle of the street. His skeletal summon was supposed to be back now, scouting, collecting information, and returning with great news.
Instead, as he meditated, a sharp pain ran through his chest.
He coughed hard.
Blood splattered onto the stone floor.
"What…?" Ravikus gasped, clutching his chest. "Why… why am I suddenly…?"
He tried to catch his breath, but another cough shook him, forcing more blood from his mouth.
His eyes widened. "Impossible. My summon… my summon shouldn't be damaged like this. It should be safe. It should be returning. So why… why do I feel…"
He coughed again. More blood dripped from his lips.
His heart pounded.
Something was wrong. Something had gone horribly wrong.
He pushed himself up, gripping the edge of a table for support.
"No. No, this reaction only happens when… when a summon is completely destroyed. But who would… who could…"
He froze.
A horrible thought clawed into his mind.
"Don't tell me…"
His face turned pale.
His heartbeat hammered against his ribs.
He stared at the dark corner of the room, horror creeping into his eyes.
"Don't tell me that brat… killed it."