Seraph

"Neith is the closest to him," the demon stated simply.

"Yes," came the reply from the pot of boiling oil.

"Do you think she can do it?"

The sizzling oil paused, considering the question.

"We'll have to wait and see. She did manage to get rid of the interloper, and quite efficiently. He'll be back in his realm, and hopefully he'll keep the other 'wizard' of wires and magnets too distracted to interfere with our plans."

"Other... Wizard?"

"There are other realms than this, some of them closely linked to each other. To ours. Some of these worlds have eerie similarities... And others blaring differences. But a pot of oil isn't the best place to discuss these matters."

"Can we agree to discuss this after the current 'issue' is over with?"

"Of course, dear Seraph. When everything works out the way we want it to, we'll discuss whatever you want. You've proven your loyalty countless times. That alone deserves reward."

Seraph bowed his head, even though the Wizard couldn't see him through the pot of oil. Old custom, he supposed.

"Thank you, master. You have granted me power beyond my imagination. My loyalty is the least I owe you. And after Azrael, the other demons will not dare to cross you. They suspect."

"I know. Just like I wanted," the pot said smugly.

"You are so powerful and knowing, master."

"I know. Now leave me. I'll watch over Neith, make sure she captures them. Let's hope she doesn't get too carried away with her 'hunt'."

"Of course. Seraph, out."

The sizzling pot of oil slowly settled down. A drop of hot oil splashed onto his sleeve, but the demon didn't even flinch. He absently wiped it away. Fire and heat couldn't hurt him, a generous gift from the Wizard. His master had granted him so many gifts, had chosen him to trust among many others. Seraph wasn't the strongest or fastest or even the smartest. But he was the most dangerous. He combined deadly accuracy with checked ambition, and he had always been one to see opportunity in chaos. He wasn't smarter than Furia, which meant the Wizard didn't see a threat in his intelligence, wasn't stronger than Azrael, wasn't faster than Neith, and was slightly less unpredictable than Lucifer but much more reliable.

Through all that, the Wizard had chosen him to trust. Had made him his closest advisor.

Yet, for Seraph, it wasn't enough.

He wanted to be as strong as Azrael had been, wanted to be as fast as Neith, wanted to be more knowledgeable than... Than the Wizard. Not Furia. Not anymore. Poor woman.

That meant he was willing to do whatever it took to become the new Wizard. He'd be more careful than Azrael, of course, would keep his head low and play it smartly. If the Wizard could change demons however and whenever he liked, then it was only fair for the old man to get replaced. Then, his seat of power safely secured, Seraph would deal with the 'other wizards'.

Soon.

Seraph's lapis blue eyes gleamed brightly in the dark of his little hideout cave.

:÷:÷:÷:÷:÷:÷:÷:÷:÷

Hands down my favorite chapter so far.

Ever since I was a kid and I started writing short stories, I wanted to build a connected universe.

When I grew up and discovered Stephen King and The Dark Tower series, I hungrily gobbled up book after book. Riordan did it as well, and the MCU, etc. but for me King is, well, the King when it comes to interconnected stories.

Anyway, back to Bounty Hard. If you've read Cilyber and/or Bloodstalk, you definitely should understand what I'm talking about in this chapter. If you haven't read either of them, you can still read on and understand this story. This isn't a sequel or spin off. It's simply linked to my other stories with little details.

I hope you enjoyed this week's entry. Exam season is upon me, so I won't be updating often.

Please vote and/or comment if you liked this chapter. I'd really appreciate that.

As always, have a wonderful day/evening.