The Record of Unusual Creature

The night was still long but the castle was calm and peaceful—it seemed so, at least.

One would have remained calm only if one did not see the spectacle in the castle.

The five-meter tall demon sat with its legs crossed and still looked overly gigantic. Flame and lava spattered out constantly from it, turning the area within its ten-meter radius a glistening red. The stone under its butt had melted into lava; it was like sitting on a lake of magma. The demon and Hao Ren had verified each other’s identity. Hao Ren even reconfirmed the result with the MDT. With that, the goal of their thrilling mission was finally accomplished.

However, Hao Ren felt that the ordeal was rather surreal.

“My name is Y’zaks,” The demon lowered its body as it spoke. It was a polite gesture on its part but Hao Ren had to bounce about to avoid being burned and splattered with the demon’s super hot lava. The demon’s thunderous voice was constantly intertwined with sounds of bursting lava. Its language sounded like a mouthful. It seemed complicated. If not for the powerful interpreting brain of the MDT, Hao Ren would have given up talking to the giant. The demon was heard speaking Chinese in a Japanese-English kind of accent. “The first time we meet, it’s important to be talkative—it’s said that this is the way to greet someone you meet for the first time here.”

Hao Ren was sweating profusely because the temperature around the demon was f*cking hot. It was not known how Raven found the strange creature. Nonetheless, he gasped at the demon’s ability to converse in a civil manner. He politely nodded towards the demon which called itself Y’zaks. “Nice to meet you too. Just call me Hao Ren. Did Raven 12345 brief you about us?”

The demon replied with a wry smile, “Yes, I have been informed. I know what’s going on. Please don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt people. I know demons aren’t exactly welcomed creatures in most worlds but there’s no need for overreacting. You’re an agent.”

“Looks like you know about the word ‘agent’ more than I do. In fact, I just signed up for the job.” Hao Ren glanced at the demon curiously. “Actually, I’m not afraid. It’s just that you’re too hot to be around…”

The demon guffawed. “Ahh ha ha, that’s interesting. In fact, I’ve made contact with the Xi Ling Celestials and ended up owing them a favor in the process. So I’m totally aware of you. By the way, let the two maidens come. No need to be always on your guard. I’m not dangerous at all. All I ask is to live in peace and have a roof over my head.”

Hao Ren stared wide-eyed at the demon. Under the skin of its obsidian-like, rugged face seemed to lie a less grim personality, he thought—but it was terrifyingly ghastly at first sight. The demon sounded depressed though; if the favor he owed the Xi Ling Celestials was anything to go by, something might have happened to it. However, Hao Ren did not care at that moment. He turned around to speak with Vivian and Lily. “Okay. You two, please step forward. Vivian, could you please tuck your bats away. And Lily, please put down that damn rock; it’s not your usual brick. It’s a stone wall and it’s over a meter long, mind you!”

Lily tossed the huge, one-ton stone on the floor with a big thud before cautiously pulling closer to Vivian. The two maidens spoke no demon language but they roughly grasped the meaning as Hao Ren and the demon spoke. Vivian stared marvelously at the huge burning lump. “Please tell me this thing isn’t our new housemate.”

“Bingo! His name’s Y’zaks. It speaks no human language. So, I’ll ask Raven if she can provide translation machines for you guys as well when I’m back there. By then, you guys will be able to communicate with ease.”

The demon had taken note of the introduction. It gave Vivian and Lily a million-watt smile. Lily’s tail instantly puffed up.

“…Is it speaking in demon language?” Vivian glanced at Y’zaks with a weird look on her face. “I’ve had numerous encounters with demons but none spoke this way. It’s speaking like a tape that’s playing backwards—totally illegible.”

Speaking of which, Hao Ren also felt how bizarre its language was. Compounded with the accident that happened when Vivian tried to seal the Demon Stone, his curiosity for Y’zaks was piqued.

“I come from another world,” Y’zaks spoke matter-of-factly. “A world not of another planet but of a different universe. My world shares the same physical constants as yours yet, it is very far from here. The planet where I lived is a little bigger than Earth so its gravitational force is a tiny bit stronger. But that’s okay. It doesn’t affect me much.”

Hao Ren was keeping mum. So the demon added, “I was supposed to be assigned to another settlement which was roughly two billion light years from Earth. However, I wasn’t fond of the high-oxygen atmosphere there. Hence, I was reassigned to your planet.”

For over 10 seconds, Hao Ren stared at Y’zaks with his mouth agape before being perturbed by the demon’s discorded way of speech. He said with an odd look on his face, “Well… I get what you mean but why did you describe it in such a way? I mean, you should have said that you came from another dimension or space; that you were summoned to this world by Raven with her mystic magic or something; that the force of the elements from both worlds are almost the same… I just think this should be the natural way a demon speaks. Aren’t you a demon, the legendary creature…”

Y’zaks scratched its head in bewilderment. “Why should I? It sounds weird. Plus, it isn’t at all scrupulous; like the conversations found in popular, heroic novels of humans in my world 1000 years ago.”

“…It feels out of place when a demon speaks in terms of planets and light years,” Hao Ren said.

Y’zaks shrugged. “But we already found out that we lived in a spherical planet 1000 years ago.”

Hao Ren was even more speechless.

It seemed there was no point in carrying on such a conversation. Hao Ren thought that he had to resign to the Xi Ling Celestials’ crazy settings for everything!

Hao Ren turned to Vivian to explain the origins of Y’zaks. The vampire maiden was wide-eyed with astonishment as she listened. The idea of extraterrestrial life was something new to her. So much more, an alien from outer space in real life. Her perspective was broadened like never before. Lily on the other hand was unfazed—she was completely clueless.

Hao Ren was in fact, as amazed as Vivian. Although an employee of the Space Administration, he never made it to the other side of an alternate reality. In spite of this, Hao Ren forced himself to act calm as he wanted to be seen as a professional or cool person. He was not plain anymore, he had become an agent of the Space Administration, he thought.

“I think this isn’t the best place to chit chat.” Hao Ren rose to his feet and said. Although he would have liked to carry on with the conversation, he realized they had lost track of time. He saw the light of dawn appearing across the horizon. They would risk being exposed and draw unwanted attention.

He was particularly concerned that they were being watched. After all, they caused a racket with the arrival of Y’zaks and Vivian’s exaggerated actions. However, he did not have the time to think over the trivialities. He needed to get Y’zaks out and back home fast!

Hao Ren looked up. His heart sank when he saw that Y’zaks was already taller than a house even in a sitting position. He looked at the two maidens with a crying face. “How do I get you back home?”

Raven 12345 did not tip him about the fact that the new tenant was a five-meter tall volcano! He was not sure if he could buy his way home with a little help from the international smuggler. Provided of course, if he could pack the giant in a jumbo shipping container and ship it across the seven seas. Even if he could have pulled that off, considering the ground under Y’zaks’ butt had already melted into a pool of lava, what kind of special container was heatproof enough to carry it?

Y’zaks was cool and he just smiled. “It’s simple.”

As Y’zaks spoke, it’s body swiftly shrank and the burning flames as well as hot lava drew in and died down. Right on the spot, Y’zaks had shrunk and transformed itself into a two-meter burly man.

“Now, how about this?”

“…You didn’t say you could shapeshift!”

“Yeah, you didn’t ask either.”

Hao Ren was again speechless.