The Laughing Swordsman

Apollo furrowed his eyebrows.

"Eh? So what is the weirdest thing about me?"

The five-horned demon smiled, giving its face a silky look.

"Although subtle, you have the marks of a warrior. This much is obvious from how your muscles have developed. However..."

The five-horned demon's eyes narrowed.

"While you are human through and through, from your bones to your organs..."

The five-horned demon's strikingly white tongue peeked out.

It licked its lips.

"...You have evolved like a demon. It's practically a miracle."

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"Wha... Am I a human or a demon?"

The five-horned demon leisurely shrugged his shoulders.

"Perhaps human, perhaps demon. Perhaps both, perhaps neither."

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"I'm confused."

The five-horned demon chuckled.

"That is why I addressed you as strange, after all."

Layla giggled.

"Strange is cool!"

The five-horned demon nodded.

"Indeed."

Suddenly, the smile left the demon's face.

"So what do you believe I intend to do when I find two strange individuals at my doorstep..."

The five-horned demon held his chin with his thumb and forefinger.

"...And these two individuals present an unknown threat?"

Apollo and Layla appeared to be oblivious to the sudden change in atmosphere.

Apollo simply put his head down while rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger.

As for Layla, she tilted her head to the side.

"Um... invite them in!"

Apollo gasped.

"Wow, you already figured it out! Layla is smart!"

Layla giggled.

"Naturally!"

The corner of the five-horned demon's lip twitched.

...This was the response?

In reality, the five-horned demon was doing a test. It genuinely did not know or understand the origins of Apollo and Layla. As such, The five-horned demon wanted to test how they would react to hostility.

The demon expected them to either be aggressive or peaceful.

He envisioned that their muscles might tense up in fear, or they may take on a fighting stance.

He also believed they may have become respectful or apologized for their actions.

...Yet, that was not the case.

The five-horned demon was confused, though it did not let the confusion show on its face.

After a small period of deliberation, the five-horned demon laughed.

"You are correct. Now, come on in."

Layla and Apollo cheered.

Layla poked Apollo.

"Hehe, call me smart again."

Apollo smiled.

"Layla is smart!"

A booming slam reverberated throughout the forest.

The gates to the city abruptly fell to the ground like a domino.

Layla grabbed onto Apollo by his wrist, dragging him along.

"Come on! Let's go."

The two made their way forward. A grand city was revealed before them.

There were countless houses lined up next to each other. The walls of these houses were similar to the walls of the city. The main difference was the size.

While the veins on the city walls were larger than the average person's arms, the veins on the houses were at most the size of a small snake.

The streets were wide and made of stone. Unlike the cobblestone path of the majority of human cities, these roads were so smooth, it was weird.

Quite a few demons were going along their way on these streets. Almost all of them had either one or two horns. If you searched hard, you could find one with three horns.

However, they appeared different from the demons Apollo had previously encountered.

The demons he had previously encountered were all cold killing machines that looked the same. Even the one-horned demons had a decently muscular figure.

However, these demons appeared to be on the verge of starving and all had unique appearances. Their skin wrapped around their bones tightly while their clothes consisted of animal fur that was carelessly draped on.

There were two demons with one horn running across the street.

"Why are you so fast, Blake?"

"Hehe, I'm not fast, Robert. You're just too slow!"

They ran past Apollo and Layla, laughing along the way.

Layla put both hands on her cheeks in excitement.

"Wow, I want to play too!"

Apollo pouted.

"We have to resist! We still have to ask about we both know you!"

The five-horned demon appeared behind them like a ghost.

"Haha, this is Black Scar City. As for my name, you can address me as Serosh. In terms of human terminology, I am a male."

Layla giggled.

"Friend's name is Serosh!"

Apollo raised his hands in the air.

"Hi, Serosh!"

Serosh smiled. Normally, he would've found the fact that the pair didn't introduce themselves disrespectful. However, their childish attitude let him gloss over that fact.

"Yes, yes. Now, what are your names?"

Apollo smiled.

"My name is Apollo!"

Layla's furry ears twitched.

"My name is Layla!"

Serosh snapped his fingers.

"Well then, welcome to my city, Apollo and Layla. Why don't I show you around?"

Layla pouted.

"Eh? Friend doesn't want to show us?"

Serosh rolled his eyes.

"Perhaps I should say it differently. I wish to show you my city."

Layla perked up.

"Ah, yay!"

Apollo waved his hand in the air.

"Hi people!"

A one-horned demon looked over at Apollo. It ran over to him.

"Hi there! Why do you look so weird?"

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"I don't look that weird... I think?"

The one-horned demon scratched its cheek.

"But your skin is so pale and your horns are gone! You have to go get help!"

Apollo pouted. He pointed towards Layla dejectedly.

"What about her?"

The one-horned demon turned to look at Layla, who had a big smile.

"What do you mean? She has two horns right there!"

The one-horned demon pointed towards Layla's furry ears.

Apollo gasped as though he was enlightened.

"Ah! I thought those were ears... So they were horns this whole time."

The one-horned demon laughed.

"Of course! Why would ears be on the top of someone's head?"

As Apollo nodded fervently, Serosh sighed.

"Don't mislead our guests, child."

Serosh put a hand on Apollo's shoulder.

"Pretend you didn't hear what this child said."

Apollo looked up at Serosh.

"Oh, ok!"

Before Apollo could ask further, a womanly voice rang out.

"Owen! Get away from those two right this instant!"