When the two arrived at Nix' home, they both got down on their knees and took a deep breath.

"Hell, oracle, because of you I have just aged thousands of years! Why did you mess with a hell prince? You can't just blackmail Sereph for good luck," Lyric said angrily.

Nix replied with a laugh that became louder and louder. "Oh come on. That was exciting. He was really the hardest nut I've ever cracked. But we were successful," he said, as if this was a coffee party and not an almost painful death on their part.

Lyric still couldn't believe it. He is insane, there is no other explanation. He got up and put his hand on his eyes and sighed. What should I do with my little maniac? Before Lyric could deepen his thoughts, however, Nix hugged him and snuggled up to his chest.

"How about something that is... more relaxing," he said, licking his lips invitingly.

"I'm afraid you don't have time for that," a voice interrupted Nix' advances.

He turned his face and grumbled, "What happened, Dayan?"

Dayan looked pitifully at Lyric. He knew Nix for centuries and knew about his unpredictable mind. But in Lyric's presence, this trait seems to blossom just right. "I have a clue to the sixth object," he said, telling them to follow it.

As is so often the case, they sat down in the small meeting room. But the scene was fundamentally different from all the previous ones, because now he wasn't sitting opposite a thoughtful oracle, but a happy oracle. Nix snuggled up to the rune demon who put his arms around him, as Dayan often did with his mate. At that moment, his suspicion that Lyric was Nix' heart was reinforced even further.

He purged himself to get the attention of the two and placed a parchment with a very scraggly handwriting on the table. "One of my informants found something. It is a tale of a hidden temple in Behemoth's area to be protected by a guard. They guard the comb of the Phoenix, which is supposed to comb the hair of the dead. So it could be the object you are looking for."

Nix read the writing attentively. Thoughtfully, he looked at Lyric and said, "It could actually be it, but not much is mentioned about its guardian or its exact location."

"This sounds like a legend told to us as children," the rune demon said.

Lyric added: "It's more of a children's fairy tale that you tell to keep children from playing in unknown places.

Once upon a time there was a little boy who was full of adventure and courage. He climbed into every hidden corner, every dark cave and did not shy away from the heights. So he wandered through the forest in search of an adventure, which he had already explored many times, and stopped in front of the bridge. Crossing this bridge was strictly forbidden to him, because the dead rested on the other side. But curiosity agonizingly drove him to break this rule. Stone by stone, he wandered across the river that separated the living from the dead. As soon as he crossed the bridge, he heard a strange noise. Following this, he went undeterred into the darkness of the forest and disappeared. All around were only trees and branches, until he completely lost himself in them.

He wandered around, the way back disappeared until a mason greeted him. A guard stood in front of this temple, the king of birds, to protect the treasure – the comb that combed the hair of the dead so that they could find their peace. The guard asked him what he was looking for in this place and the boy remained silent, too afraid to say a word. The guardian felt sorry for him and showed mercy to the innocent soul who had simply succumbed to curiosity. "Go my little one and be careful, next time you won't be able to leave this place." With a flapping of his wings, the demon ignited a hurricane that gripped the boy and before he knew it, he was back on the bridge. Never has he returned, never had he crossed the bridge and disturbed the dead again."

The two looked at him.

"The bridge to the realm of the deceased? Is there such a bridge?" Nix asked.

"I don't know. As I said, it was a fairy tale that you tell children."

Dayan remained thoughtfully silent. "I've already done some research, but with the fairy tale we now have a real clue," he said.

Lyric nodded and replied, "Since this is a treasure hunt, I would know a demon who is well versed in this profession."

Nix and Dayan looked at him and Lyric grinned.

"Let's visit the Master of Treasures."

Zack and Lucan lay together on the bed while Zack played with his demon's hair.

"I love your hair, Yalo," he said to his mate, who only smiled at him. He pulled his succubus to him and kissed him.

"I love everything about you, not just your soft hair," he said, biting Zack's ear. His succubus groaned and looked at him with glowing eyes.

Zack's smell became deeper and he knew that his beloved was beginning to entice him, to seduce him. Zack let his succubus tail appear, which he could now consciously call, and let it wander under Lucan's top. The tip of the tail moved deeper down from Lucan's abdominal muscles.

They kissed and Lucan drove under Zack's top to caress his back. He stroked the area where his wings were hidden. With one movement, he took off his top and nibbled on his neck. "Show me your beautiful wings, Nyiam," he whispered into his beloved's ear.

He shuddered and summoned them. The tip of his tail slowly ran into Lucan's pants, which only turned the demon on even more. A soft knock caught their attention.

"We don't want to be disturbed," Lucan shouted, puzzled as to why one of his employees bothered him despite his warning at the door.

The door opened a crack and a nervous voice sounded. "Kuro, I apologize a lot, but you have visitors," his employee said.

"I don't receive any- "

"I'm afraid you have to move your lovey-dovey time," he was interrupted by a demon with black hair and red eyes who simply entered their room unabashedly.

Nix looked at the couple, who lay in front of him without anything covering their upper body. Then he noticed Zack's succubus tail in Lucan's pants. "Wow, that's what I call hot. If I had such a tail, I would probably play with it day and night on myself or on others," he said bluntly.

Zack hastily pulled in his tail and wings back, and a slight redness covered his skin. Lucan looked grimly at him as he stood up.

"Hell, Nix, you can't just run off and go to someone else's room... oh."

Lyric stood in the door and saw the scene. He hit the oracle's head with his hand, grabbed Nix by the upper arm and pulled him with him. "Sorry for the disturbance. We'll wait downstairs until you're done," he said, disgustingly dragging the oracle with him.

The couple on the bed could hear Lyric's ranting for a while and looked at each other in amazement.

"Lucan, since when have Lyric and Nix... What are they? Are they anything at all? Hell, I'm confused."

Lucan sighed and stood up. "I have no idea, but we'll find out soon. Go, Nyiam, get dressed."

Zack looked at him red. "I need some time until, well, until it calms down."

Lucan smiled. "Then I will help you calm it down. "

Zack shuddered and looked at his demon expectantly. He laughed and closed the door.

Nix and Lyric sat in the lobby for two hours. About ten minutes ago, the oracle had started nervously tapping with his finger, which slowly got on Lyric's nerves.

"Hell, Nix, stop it. They will come soon."

As if they had heard them, the door opened and the couple entered. Zack's skin was literally radiant and he had a rosier skin than before.

"Did it taste good?" Nix asked, and in response, Lyric hit the back of his head.

"Hell again, what's the point? Why are you beating me?" he asked angrily.

"If you have to ask that, you'll catch another one right away," Lyric replied with a look that clearly conveyed to Nix that he was on very thin ice. "I think you need to say something to them," the rune demon said with a serious undertone.

"Do I need-? Ok, yes, I do," said the oracle as Lyric raised his hand again. He sighed and looked at Lucan and Zack, who were snuggled up to each other and sitting opposite them. He cleared his throat and began, "I apologize for the inappropriate question."

"And...???," Lyric said.

Nix glared at him with a devastating look. "And I apologize for the unauthorized intrusion into your bedroom. After all, I didn't spoil the mood for you, otherwise you wouldn't have left us waiting two hours... Ouch!" A second blow had landed on the back of Nix' head. He growled in Lyric's direction, but he only snapped unimpressed against his forehead.

Zack and Lucan watched the spectacle and watched each other. What the hell? both thought in unison.

Zack moved close to Lucan's ear and whispered, "Do you think they are an item?"

"If not, then they should get it over with as soon as possible," he replied to his mate.

"Don't worry, we've already passed that stage," Nix interjected, "how endearing to worry you about our physical well-being. Do you also want to know who bangs who or-" A third blow silenced him.

Lyric's menacing aura clearly showed his displeasure, he said only one sentence that put Nix in his place: "Tonight you will wish you had thought before you spoke."

Hell... that's hot. Will he punish me? I can't wait.

Zack and Lucan looked at each other again questioningly. The scene was just bizarre, too bizarre. "Um, I don't want to disturb, but why did you come here?" Zack asked with a confused expression.

Lyric leaned forward and placed a piece of parchment on the table in front of them. "We are looking for an object, the comb of the bird. We have clues about it, among other things, a children's fairy tale of the boy's visit to the realm of the deceased," the rune demon began.

Lucan looked at him and asked, "Do you mean that by the boy who walks across the bridge into the realm of the deceased and meets the king of birds?"

Lyric nodded. "How do you know it?"

"My mother told me as a child. But that's just a fairy tale, isn't it?"

"Maybe, maybe not. We hope it isn't," Nix said.

Zack looked thoughtfully at the parchment. "Can you tell me the fairy tale?" he asked.

_________________________

Zack has a cameo appearance and a small spoiler, it won't be only one ;D.

Is the fairy tale just a fairy tale, or is there more to it?

Your Mouse Goddess