The boy did as told and looked around. He shrugged and smiled. "Seems pretty nice to me. If we placed an evil castle here, we would totally have evil cred."

The Imaginal twisted her lips as she stared confusedly at the boy. It was like he started speaking a different language at the end there.

"I don't--"

"ANYWAY!" the boy loudly said. He clapped his hands and then opened his eyes wider. "Hand over the one that hides behind you."

"No."

"Oh, come on, I want to play with him, Miss!"

The woman felt the hidden Imaginal shake behind her.

"These must be one of the ones who were chasing you..." she whispered. "I'm not leaving you."

She delivered her message confidently and without fear. The Imaginal that hid behind her--their heart found comfort in her voice.

"Hey, please remember what hangs over your head," the evil boy said.

She looked up quickly and grimaced at the ball of fire before turning her gaze to the boy.

"My *Neo-Demon Techs* will definitely overpower you here, Miss." He snapped his finger and purple streaks started flashing across the surface of the flames like tiny fish swimming beneath the surface of a moonlit ocean. "Fighting just isn't worth it... And I really don't want to fight you since you remind me of all my friends--"

She spat in disgust. "Don't insult me so casually." Then, she lifted the corner of her lip in irritation. "Stop pretending to be a child."

The child dropped his smile.

She sneered. "It's creepy."

He switched fingers, sticking his middle finger up at her. One second later, he pointed his finger downward. The fire reacted and fell.

The Imaginal stuck her hand up quickly; the flames burning on the four ashen protrusions grew slightly bigger, and blue flames surged out from her raised hand. The volume of the outpour was as wide as a whale and engulfed the black and purple flames.

With her eyes still fixed on the boy above, she pointed two fingers on her free hand at him. The vibrant flames on her protrusions flew out, parallel to the ground, and then abruptly turned upward when they were below him.

He hovered one foot backward and watched as the two streams of blue fire flew past. He watched as they rose a few feet before abruptly altering their trajectory to target him again. Once again, he hovered a few feet out of the way, this time hovering to the left. The blue flames flew past for a few feet and adjusted their trajectory again, twice, to target him.

"Do these just go on forever?" the boy asked, genuinely curious, his mouth twisted to the side.

They flew past him and up, and he kept watching them. Then, two more streaks came from below him--streaks he hadn't seen. The Imaginal rejoiced inwardly when they made contact with his feet and engulfed him in a blue explosion.

"Yes!" she yelled. She put her hands together, and the flaming streams pouring out from the tips of her protrusion ceased. The balls of flames glowed as they built up energy, and in the next second, projectiles in the form of flaming bullets flew out from the ashen tips, all aimed at the blue magic-cloud in the air. The bullets hit something within the cloud, each contact marked by the boom and burst of an explosion.

It was like a rapid-fire thunderstorm, how often those bullets hit. Forty-eight bullets later, the flames burning at the tips of the Imaginal's protrusions waned, and the bullet storm ended.

Her eyes were still on the large cloud. Her bullets hit their mark for the entire duration of the attack. In other words, her enemy was still there. Unless her enemy was one that died while floating mid-air and could not be moved, he was still well.

Dark masses moved within the clouds, and in the next instant, a forceful movement dispersed the cloud, revealing the child with giant demonic wings sprouting from his back.

The boy stared at the Imaginal with a neutral look.

The jewels set on the Imaginal's horns shimmered.

"So, that was an Imaginal's power..." He sneered. "It wasn't too interesti--"

A brilliant pink beam tore through the sky and at the boy. His eyes went wide as he jerked his head to the side. The beam tore through his skin, leaving scorch marks around the wound and a surprised boy in the sky.

His hands trembled as he touched the edge of the scorched gash on his cheek.

"What the--" the boy stammered.

Down below, the Imaginal, with her horn jewels darkening, took her turn to sneer. "Still not interesting?"

His smile grew wide--the widest the Imaginal had ever seen, but the boy's perverse glee was gone.

"I'm afraid not," he said, his eyes burning with anger and the corners of his lips twitching. The air rumbled as flames manifested around him. The flames became fuller until the animal they were trying to mimic became clear. "Your powers are basic."

He lifted his arms as he revealed the eight large snake-shaped black-and-purple flames emanating from his back.

"They're so basic I can copy and improve them!" he yelled.

The air kept rumbling, and the Imaginal below snickered. The boy noticed the snicker as the atmosphere kept rumbling.

"Hold on..." he said. "Where's the child?"

The Imaginal smiled and placed a slender finger against her lips. "I'll never tell ♥"

The Imaginal relished the changes the boy's face went through, going from surprise to confusion, to shock, and finally, to seething rage, that seemed to split his skin and reveal nothing but black.

Sebas_Guzman

For the record, these two are shouting at each other every single time. The wind is very noisy. Hope you liked the art. The artist is overworked again, so I'm getting creative with some other sources. At least it will be a visual experience.

Also, Neo-Demon Techs... dear god man. Anyway, keep an eye on the kid's speech patterns.