◇◇◇
Remilia was running, holding Ed's hand; she could see how the demons were destroying the city.
"Why are they here?"
She wondered, but she cared about taking Ed to a safe place.
A huge piece of building fell near her, blocking the way.
"This way."
Further ahead, another path was blocked.
"Let's go this way."
It seemed the demons were guiding them along a path.
◇◇◇
Stephania ran at great speed to the top of a building where the barrier was.
"Why isn't the barrier working?"
"I checked it when I arrived, and it was perfectly fine."
She climbed the stairs at great speed, and when she finally reached the top of the tower, she realized the reality.
"Impossible…"
An object like a lighthouse but with a blue stone was inside.
It was destroyed and scattered on the floor.
"The barrier… someone destroyed it from inside…"
"That only means one thing…"
She heard a powerful crash and saw from afar Remilia and Ed running almost near her.
"Someone planned this to lure them."
Stephania thought that perhaps someone knew Ed would be the next hero and planned to kidnap him so that there would be no other hero.
A hero is always born when one dies, even if hundreds of years pass.
If suddenly that cycle, like the saint's, stopped, it would be the end of this kingdom.
Stephania jumped from the place to run across the rooftop to quickly approach them.
When she descended to the ground, she saw a white demon throw something at her.
She dodged it and, realizing what it was, said:
"Keithwood!"
Keithwood was seriously injured.
"I'll heal you right away!"
Stephania proceeded to heal him.
"Huh? Why isn't the wound closing?"
Despite using healing, his wounds would not close.
"Saint-sama… please run…"
"I can't leave you here, Keithwood."
"Run!"
He shouted.
Stephania, with tears on her face, obeyed him and prepared to flee.
(Forgive me, Keith—)
Before taking another step, she felt an intense burning in her body.
She turned and saw a sword stuck in her rib.
The sword was withdrawn, and she fell to the ground.
Blood gushed out.
Her hands trembled; she went into nervous shock.
Stephania had never in her entire life experienced pain, let alone one like this.
That's why she didn't know how to react.
But with all her might, she healed her wound.
"H-heal."
After doing so, the wound closed; she slowly rose onto her knees.
But as she did, she saw some familiar feet; she continued forward and saw none other than…
"Keithwood?"
Keithwood, who was perfectly fine.
He tore off the necklace he was wearing and filled the air with a stench like that of demons.
He was smiling with enormous happiness on his face.
With a slight movement, he moved his sword and cut Stephania's corneas.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!"
She screamed as she felt her eyes cut and then the intense pain from the gushing blood.
Added to the blindness she was experiencing.
"My eyes!"
"Instructor! Help me, please!"
"Instructor!"
"Remilia-san! Ed-kun!"
Stephania didn't know where to go; she crawled on the floor, soaking it with blood and tears streaming from her eyes.
"Instructor… help me, please."
The image of the saint who fought against demons had vanished.
What stood before Keithwood was an injured woman crying for help.
"Please… help me…"
Keithwood began to approach.
"Haven't you ever wondered, Saint-sama: why must humans fear demons?"
"I was always curious, because we are smarter, stronger, and more numerous than them."
"One day I found out when my entire platoon was massacred before my eyes."
"The silver and crimson demon devoured them while I heard them scream in pain."
"The silver demon used magic that kept them screaming while being devoured. Only when only their bones remained did they fall silent because their souls had left their bodies."
"The crimson demon abused me several times before it was about to devour me."
"Then I said to him: spare my life."
Even though my anus bled like my torn genitals, I wanted to live at any cost.
"He offered me his flesh, blood, and bones to put inside me in exchange for absolute obedience."
"That's why I later understood that we were stupid."
"Humanity cannot defeat demons."
"The demon kings are reviving and growing stronger."
"We are finished; the best we can do is surrender and submit to them."
"They would treat us like pets, but it's better than nothing."
"Humanity is doomed, and I carried out this whole setup to eliminate you."
"It was unexpected that the hero would revive now. But I'll kill him later."
Keithwood finally reached where Stephania was.
She was trembling like a puppy, helpless as a baby.
She was in such a vulnerable situation that, despite no longer having a human heart, Keithwood felt pity for her.
"Stephania-sama, you could be a half-demon like me, but as long as you have that disgusting power of the goddess, you will never be."
"I just want you to know this."
He approached the cowering Stephania.
"Mom… Dad… Ed…"
(Ed, huh? I heard you had a little brother who died years ago because of demons. Surely you saw that boy as your deceased brother, poor girl.)
Keithwood smiled mercilessly as he said:
"I'm not enjoying this at all."
◇◇◇
Marceline was fighting a white demon, but due to its enormous body, she couldn't do much.
It gave her a strong kick and sent her flying against a building.
"Damn, white demons are weak but have huge bodies."
After getting up, she went straight back to fighting the demon.
But she heard a dry sound, like something being pierced, accompanied by dripping.
She looked both ways for where the sound was coming from, and what she found left her frozen.
"Sue…"
She found Keithwood pulling out the heart of Stephania's inert body, who in her last moments was begging for mercy while she could feel her chest open and her heart torn out.
"Instruc… tor…"
Those were her last words, and they were heard by Marceline.
Keithwood noticed her presence and smiled as he squeezed Stephania's heart and blood fell into his mouth.
Soaking his face, hair, clothes, and the ground in blood.
When the heart looked like a dirty, dry rag, he threw it to the ground.
"It was delicious."
"Keiiiiiiith!"
Shouted Marceline and went straight for him at full speed.
She attacked like a wild animal without thinking about her movements.
"Keith!"
"How dare you do that to Sue?"
Her anger was evident; Keithwood took advantage of it.
"I'm sorry to say, but I don't intend to repeat what I said. You just need to know that I was the one who broke the barrier, brought the white demons, and had to kill the saint for my transformation to be complete."
"Kei— what's that?"
Her anger faded when she noticed that Keith's eyes were turning completely red.
A lock of his red hair turned white, and strange bruises appeared on different parts of his body.
His left arm was turning dark as if it were tanning.
Marceline was the one who had the reins of the fight, but now Keithwood was pressing the situation in his favor.
He kicked Marceline and went after her.
Keithwood's sword had gained so much power that it could cut a house in two.
Marceline was cornered while he went mad with pleasure.
"Hahaha, I would never have obtained this power if I had continued being a disgusting human."
"I sold my humanity for power, and now I can finally eliminate you."
"I always hated you. I still do."
"That a woman is better than me, that everyone praises you but not me."
"I hated all that, but it's over!"
Marceline dodged Keithwood's slash by jumping onto a building.
Or so she thought.
After putting one foot there, her right leg was cut off up to the thigh.
She fell to the ground along with her leg.
Keithwood took her leg and bit it.
"Let me show you how terrifying we demons can be."
◇◇◇
Remilia was running with Ed through an alley.
The demons were throwing debris, and she was following a strange route.
She could feel they were guiding her somewhere, but she didn't understand why.
Then in the distance she saw something that made her shudder.
"Stephania-sama."
She saw Stephania's lifeless body with a huge hole where her heart was.
"Nooooo!"
"Stephania-sama!"
"Stephania-sama!"
She tried to close the wound thinking it would help, but she couldn't.
Her magical power was small compared to the saint's.
Now she understood why they were throwing debris at her.
"They wanted you to find her."
"They wanted you to see how the saint was murdered and thus mark the beginning of an era of total chaos."
Remilia no longer shed tears.
But total despair.
Her will to live had disappeared.
Ed was on the ground, having collapsed; he had also lost the will to live.
The side wall collapsed, and a white demon approached.
Seeing it, she didn't want to run; she just gave up.
"It doesn't matter anymore…"
"I don't care anymore."
She stood up and with an empty gaze approached the demon.
"Just kill me already. Nothing matters anymore."
The demon crouched and opened its mouth.
"I want this to end."
Remilia was about to enter its mouth when someone pulled her away.
The demon closed its mouth and got angry.
It raised its fist and lowered it to crush her.
Remilia realized the fist was stopped by someone.
It was Ed, who was protecting her.
"You're not like that!"
For a brief moment, he had recovered his will.
Remilia, seeing him, instead of feeling happy, was just puzzled.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Just let it eat you. Nothing matters anymore."
"We're all going to die sooner or later from the demons."
"I'm… tired of this…"
Tears finally flowed from her eyes.
"I want this to end."
"Curl up in my bed and wake up saying: it was a nightmare."
"I don't want to experience this every day of my life."
"Stephania-sama is dead. Humanity can't win anymore."
"Shut up!"
Ed shouted at her.
"Just do what I say, you fucking coward!"
Remilia felt no emotion at being insulted.
"You've always been a spoiled girl who hates being number two. This is your chance to be number one."
"There's no saint? Who cares about that!"
"Humanity managed on its own before the hero."
"I don't want to die yet before achieving my dream."
"And when I do."
Ed looked at Remilia, and with those words, he revived the will to live in her eyes.
"I'll shut you up forever using my lips because you're insufferable. What good is it that you're so pretty when you're a stone in my shoe?"
Upon hearing that, a vein appeared on her forehead, then several.
"This ill-mannered servant… saying degrading things to his mistress, including that you'll steal my lips…"
"How dare you talk to me about that before even taking me on a date, you enormous idiot!"
Remilia used her power to push the demon back.
But something happened.
The mark on Stephania's back disappeared.
Now it appeared on Remilia, and with it her power grew to such an extent that the demon was pulverized by the holy power.
"Leah… your eyes."
"Huh?"
Remilia approached a puddle of water dripping from a destroyed house.
There she could see that her eyes had turned amber.
"Impossible. My eyes."
"Those are the same eyes the saint had?"
"Yes."
"Hey, does that mean that…"
Before finishing their dialogue, they heard something fall near them.
Among the falling debris, they could see their teacher beaten and bathed in blood.
"Sensei!"
They both shouted and approached her.
"Impossible."
"Her leg."
They saw that Marceline had lost her right leg.
"Today is a day of surprises after surprises."
They heard Keithwood's voice.
Turning around, they could see something sinister.
His white skin had turned dark, his eyes red, and his hair white.
He had strange black veins running through his body.
"First the hero reappears, and when I kill the saint, it turns out another appears."
"This seems like a very bad joke told by a drunk."
"But well, what can you do? Work is work."
Keithwood approached them.
Ed lunged to fight him, but his sword was useless.
He had no power.
Keithwood quickly pushed him aside.
When he approached her, Remilia used a barrier.
But the barrier wasn't for her but for him.
"Protection."
The barrier locked Keithwood inside.
Remilia mocked him.
"You should know, but protection takes care of shielding its user from the malignant energy of demons."
"What do you think will happen to you now that you are one?"
"I see. By containing me, I won't be able to get out."
"It's a prison until reinforcements arrive."
"It's an excellent plan coming from an island girl and a woman."
"But I'm afraid you're wrong, girl."
"How so?"
Cracks began to appear in his body.
Remilia was expelled by the shockwave, and she saw a cloud of smoke.
"Your plan would work against low-ranking or mid-ranking demons."
"But not against high-ranking demons like me."
She saw something inhuman.
"Impossible… a gray demon."
Keithwood had evolved into a genuine demon of the highest type.
His skin was gray like ash, scales covering part of his body.
Horns emerging from his forehead, small wings on his back, and black eyes with gray pupils.
His voice was distorted.
"A gray demon, huh?"
He examined his body, squeezing his hands with his long nails.
"I expected a higher rank, but this is fine."
He began to approach her.
Remilia used an attack spell now.
"Shooting star!"
Various rays of light struck him, but had no effect.
"You may have become a saint, but you don't have the power of one yet."
He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air.
"I'll give you one last look before I kill you."
When he reached the highest point, he said:
"Do you know what a person looks like when they fall from the height of a reef?"
"It's not pretty at all. Hahaha."
He released her, and she began to fall.
◇◇◇
Ed was lying on the ground.
His body wouldn't respond.
(Move. Come on, move.)
Suddenly he heard a familiar voice.
"Hahaha, pathetic human. You've pushed your body to the limit."
"It can't move anymore."
"Accept your end."
The demon spoke to Ed, of whom only his willpower remained.
(I won't give up.)
(I'll save Remilia and sensei.)
(I'll kick that guy's ass and yours too.)
"Me? Good luck with that, especially the last part."
(What do you mean?)
Using the eye of his red hand, he showed him what he saw.
There Keithwood was with Remilia at the highest point of the sky and was about to throw her.
(Leah!)
"Hahaha, that human female will be a red stain on the ground. Want to see it?"
(Shut up. I'll save Leah no matter what.)
"Hahaha. You can't do anything; you're just a useless human."
"Demons are superior to you."
After hearing those words, Ed devised an improvised plan.
(You're right. We will both die.)
"…"
The demon fell silent to hear him.
(Leah and sensei will die. I will too later, which means at least you will also die.)
"I won't die. I'm a superior demon to that."
(Of course you will die. You're connected to my body, which means if I die, you die.)
(So you won't be able to boast to anyone that you're a great demon or that crap.)
(Because deep down you're a mediocre, weak demon who can only manipulate a demon.)
The demon was getting angry.
"You say I'm a weak demon?"
(You are.)
"Take that back!"
(I will if you prove how strong you are.)
The demon understood Ed's plan.
"Damn human trash, you think you're very clever to play with me?"
(You decide. Either we die here…)
(Or you live another day with me?)
The demon had no choice but to accept.
"Very well. Human trash."
(I'll give you all my power.)
"Hahaha, you'd better be able to assimilate it all."
"Receive the enormous power of—"
◇◇◇
Remilia was released by Keithwood.
She tried to grab onto him because she wanted to live.
But she couldn't, because in the heights, unless you fly, you can't do anything.
That's why he took care of Keithwood.
She saw in the distance a black whip approaching that crossed the sky.
"Ed!"
She shouted as she saw Ed, with his arm completely red and wings made of darkness, approaching her.
He took her in his arms without releasing his rusty sword, and they moved away from there.
"How is it possible that he moves?"
"Don't tell me… he managed to dominate the demon?"
Keithwood's surprise was brutal, but Remilia's was even greater.
She watched as Ed, with his usual confident look, approached the outskirts of the city.
"Leah, let me handle this."
"Ed, wait a moment."
Ed stopped flying when Remilia called him.
She asked anxiously:
"You are Ed, aren't you?"
He smiled at her as he did when they were children.
"Of course, Leah."
Remilia was glad that he was back to being the same.
"Let me show you my best heroic moment."
Ed flew into the sky like a comet.
He approached one of the white demons and cut it in two.
The remains were absorbed by the sword, and he didn't stop there.
He continued cutting and absorbing the demons nearby.
Keithwood was horrified.
"Impossible…"
"He defeated the white demons easily."
"He managed to dominate the demon while I had to sell my soul to one."
He got so angry that his face distorted with rage.
"Damn islander who dares to scorn me!"
Keithwood flew at great speed towards him.
Ed stopped to watch the last demon fall.
Keithwood used a sword made of darkness and tried to cut him.
But Ed's hand was faster and blocked the attack without even looking.
"Hello. See you again, whatever your name is."
Being mocked by a child,
Keithwood approached and attacked Ed savagely.
The aerial battle was impressive; the villagers could see how Ed easily blocked the attacks with one hand while Keithwood used both hands to try to wound him.
He hit Ed to send him to the ground, but at the last minute, his wings increased speed and he touched the ground lightly.
Keithwood's face, deformed by rage, reached a point where his appearance had changed into that of an eastern ogre.
"Don't mock me!"
He went against him, and before reaching the ground, Ed did a spinning turn like a tornado.
Keithwood wondered: what was that attack?
Before touching Ed, he realized what had happened.
The attack had taken effect.
Keithwood had been cut like a slice of meat.
He stuck his remains together with demonic power and, upon reaching the ground, Ed stood up, placed his hand on his head, and, being on top of him, gave him a strong kick and finished burying him.
Then he jumped to a house.
He touched his left arm, which was becoming redder and redder.
"I must finish this quickly; I can no longer feel my arm."
"Damn islander!"
Keithwood went against him, but Ed was faster.
He used the center of the sword and hit him hard.
"Get out of here, nuisance!"
He said that, and after hitting Keithwood hard, he was thrown to the outskirts of the city, eventually hitting a hill and destroying it.
Ed flew against him to finish this.
"I can't feel my arm anymore. I must end this fight now."
Upon arriving at the place, he saw Keithwood flying out and, instead of attacking him, went to the city.
To the top, rather.
"It's clear I can't beat you with my own hands."
"That is why I will make sure to eliminate witnesses and that new saint."
"Dark nebula."
He cast his spell, and black snow began to fall from the sky.
A villager pointed it out; those who hadn't yet fled watched that black snow falling.
"What is that?"
Said one of them, and when he touched it, a dry sound was heard.
His entire body turned dark as if a bucket of black paint had fallen on him.
The black snow fell throughout the city; the buildings it touched turned black, including the ground.
"No one will get out of here alive."
He said.
Then Ed arrived, who could touch the snow without darkening.
"Apparently, this doesn't affect those with demonic power."
"Then…"
Ed pointed his sword at the sky.
"Swallow it…"
Blood vessels and flesh surrounded the sword.
"Everything!"
The sword turned into a monstrous dragon that sucked up the falling black snow.
Keithwood continued throwing that snow until after a while he stopped.
Ed had made his sword devour the snow.
But by doing so, he accelerated something.
He fell to the ground, and you could see his skin becoming redder and redder.
His nails grew into claws.
His teeth became fangs, and his eyes turned yellow.
Keithwood descended and grabbed him to throw him in a certain direction.
◇◇◇
Remilia couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Ed had saved her using the powers of a demon.
After that, he easily defeated the white demons.
Then he fought the demon and now saved the city.
She was lost in her thoughts when she noticed something approaching, and she narrowly dodged it.
Ed had been thrown her way.
Keithwood had arrived.
"I'm tired of your childish games!"
He approached him to kill him first.
Remilia used protection once more, but he destroyed it using only his body.
"Ed!"
She shouted for him to run, but Ed didn't respond.
Keithwood was no longer angry; he felt that emotion was too human for him.
"Get up, I know you're awake."
He said those words and brought his hand to him.
When he was about to touch him, it was cut off and flew away.
Keithwood looked at his hand and then, using the black blood running through his veins, went to catch the arm and stick it back as if nothing had happened.
"You gave me trouble, but that doesn't mean you can win."
"Low-ranking demons have one or three hearts."
"Mid-ranking demons have five to seven hearts."
"But high-ranking demons like me possess twelve hearts and five brains."
"Killing me will be the hardest thing you can do in your miserable—"
His head was cut from the top of his mouth.
It fell to the floor, but he recovered it to put it back on.
Ed stood up, but this time something was different about him.
"High-ranking demon, you say?"
A sinister voice that was not his was heard by all present.
"Trash like you saying you're a high-ranking demon?"
"Demons have fallen too low since I was not there to guide them."
"What do you say?"
Keithwood was puzzled by Ed's words.
But when he raised his head, his face had disappeared, replaced by that of a demon.
Seeing his face, for the second time in his life,
Keithwood felt fear, but this fear was different from the one he felt that time.
(Every cell in my body tells me: Run! Get out of here! Don't look back!)
(I don't understand what's happening, but this guy is even more dangerous than those two demons.)
He pulled out his wings and got out of there.
After a few moments, "Ed" did the same.
Remilia could only see from her position how two comet-shaped objects moved away from her.
"Don't come near me!"
Keithwood said to "Ed," who didn't say a single word.
"Stay away!"
The fear in him was evident.
He threw attacks, but they were all dodged or cut.
Keithwood, who had done everything to survive, found himself in the true critical situation he had so wanted to avoid.
Closer and closer "Ed" came, and Keithwood felt it.
That's why he used his ultimate attack:
"Perfect cube."
He locked "Ed" inside and launched a huge number of magical bombs to destroy him.
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
Keithwood shouted desperately without rest.
When he stopped, he realized that "Ed" was still there.
Intact and staring at him.
Making a perverse smile, similar to that demon's.
"He's enjoying it."
Said Keithwood as he watched the smile from cheek to cheek of that demon.
Then a certain memory came to his mind.
He shared past memories with that demon.
He was in hell.
There a multitude of demons was watching a show in a destroyed coliseum.
The sky was black with red clouds forming swirls.
The floor of the coliseum was bathed in blood, and there was someone responsible for it.
That someone was known as the Champion of Demons.
The most dangerous of all.
He who was feared by the demons themselves; just hearing his name generated a fear that even the Demon King himself avoided him.
"You are…"
Keithwood began to cry.
"Among the high-ranking demons are the royal demons with yellow eyes."
"Ed" destroyed the cube with a slight movement.
"I'm bored," he said.
The remains of the spell fell to the ground, and Keithwood, with an expression of horror, said the name that was forbidden to speak in hell:
"The most vile and cruel of all demons, banned from hell for being extremely dangerous to everyone."
In a blink, "Ed" disappeared.
"Zelk, the Red Devil."
"Bingo."
Said Ed—Zelk, smiling as he split Keithwood in two.
The lower part was devoured by the sword that was tied to his soul.
The other part fell to the ground, crashing, generating a cloud of dust and an enormous crater.
Remilia was amazed to see Keithwood lying there lifeless.
She saw Zelk descend and plunge his sword into him.
He was quickly devoured, and then he turned around.
"Ed!"
She shouted.
Zelk turned around.
Remilia was frightened by that horrible ogre face smiling perversely.
(No. The one there is Ed.)
"It's over, Ed. Time to go back."
She said.
Zelk began to approach.
"I had forgotten about you."
"I said I would rape you. So you'd better beg for mercy while I tear your womb with my sword."
His words were horrendous and terrifying, but she didn't back down.
Only she could save Ed, and she stood firm in her decision.
"I said it's over, demon."
"Release Ed this instant."
Zelk raised his sword and lowered it to threaten her.
The power used left a huge crack in the ground.
Remilia glanced at it and was frightened but remained firm.
She was face to face with Zelk.
"You already defeated the demon, return to Ed."
"Zelk."
"Huh?"
"My name is not 'demon', you fucking bitch."
"It's Zelk."
"Zelk, huh? That sounds very stupid. Surely your parents didn't hate you and gave you that name to remember it?"
She mocked Zelk, but he was not someone who tolerated jokes.
"You're not afraid?"
(Of course I am.)
(I want to wet myself and run away.)
(But…)
She showed her determination on her face.
"Ed, come home."
After hearing those words,
Zelk's mouth moved to say:
"Leah…"
Zelk noticed it and tried to stab Remilia.
"My arm… won't move."
His left arm was stopped by his right.
"Leah… run."
Ed's voice came from inside him.
"This guy wants… to kill everyone…"
"Kill me now…"
"Damn human, this wasn't part of the deal."
"Hurry up, Leah!"
Ed's and Zelk's voices alternated.
Remilia wanted to stop him but didn't know what to do.
(Remilia-san.)
She heard a familiar voice.
"Stephania-sama? Where are you?"
Stephania was dead, but Remilia could hear her voice.
(The only way to save Ed-kun is by using this.)
A shroud fell from the sky to her.
(Use it on him; it will seal his arm with the demon.)
(But you must make Ed-kun be conscious, or it won't work.)
"Be conscious."
Remilia clenched her fists and approached him.
She took his head and brought her face to his.
She looked at him with moist eyes.
"Ed. I want to show you how much I care about you. Come home with me."
Next, Remilia kissed Ed.
It was like kissing a crocodile on the mouth.
But that simple kiss made Ed's will grow to the point that the red skin was torn from his body like paper.
Zelk was returning to his left arm.
"Damn you… how dare you do this to me?"
Remilia, seeing that Ed had returned to normal, took the shroud and placed it on his arm.
It wrapped up to his shoulder, and Ed regained his sanity.
Remilia hugged him, both on the ground.
"Welcome home, Ed."
"I'm back, Leah."
And that tragic day ended with humanity's victory.
But at what cost?
◇◇◇
A few days passed after that incident.
The port city was received by the order of knights after a while.
They took control of the situation along with the church.
After Marceline, who was severely injured, told them the details of what happened, they left Remilia and Ed alone.
Now they were in their room.
"How are you, sensei?"
Asked Remilia, who now wore the same clothes as the deceased Saint Stephania.
Marceline was lying in bed, but her leg had been devoured and could not be regenerated.
She was now disabled; the strongest knight in the kingdom had lost part of her mobility.
"You mean this?"
"Don't worry. Sooner or later I had to retire; besides, I'm waiting for a prosthesis right now."
"But still…"
"I said it's fine."
"More importantly, Ed. How do you feel since then?"
Ed was at the window watching the city being rebuilt.
"I'm fine, sensei. But sometimes it itches."
He said, pointing to his left arm.
Remilia sealed Zelk with a shroud, which turned red as it absorbed much of his power.
"It bothers me a lot; I can't feel things, but I can move it thanks to heaven."
Ed removed some of the bandage to show what happened.
A slight but intense pain came to him, with veins coming out of his shoulder and embedding into his body.
He quickly put it back, and the veins returned to his arm.
"Apparently, that guy completely took over my arm."
"But I swear I will recover it and get rid of him."
The firmness of his conviction pleased his teacher.
"Ed, what you say is magnificent."
"But what you do says otherwise."
"Huh?"
Ed looked in the direction his teacher pointed.
When he turned to look:
"You have guts, don't you?"
"You take advantage of the situation to do your thing."
His hand was touching Remilia's chest.
"I-I-I-I'm sorry!!"
Shouted Ed, terrified because his hand was firmly groping that large breast.
When Remilia was touched, she didn't feel it because she thought it was a mistake on his part, but his hand remained firmly touching her.
She was as embarrassed as she was angry.
Ed tried to remove his hand but couldn't.
Remilia got so angry that she hit him.
"How long do you plan to touch?"
Ed fell against a piece of furniture.
"Goodness, Ed-kun, you really are a pervert."
"It wasn't me!"
"Fufufu. Is that so?"
"I'm telling you it wasn't me!"
"Ed, who are you talking to?"
Marceline asked who he was talking to.
Ed pointed above him.
"To Stephania, who else?"
Above him, floating like a ghost, was Stephania wrapped in white clothes.
"Hello, instructor. I'm alive as a ghost. Yay!"
She made a peace sign with her fingers.
Marceline looked apologetically at Ed.
"Sorry, I can't see her."
"You really can't see her?"
"Can you, Rem?"
"Yes."
Remilia nodded while watching the ghost of Stephania dusting Ed's head.
"I don't understand what happened, but since that day we can see her."
"Surely because you are the saint and he is the hero."
Marceline looked around the room, trying at least to feel her presence.
"I don't feel anything. But I believe you that she is here."
"Sue, I'm very sorry for not—"
"You have nothing to regret, instructor."
Said Remilia, looking at the corner where she was.
"This happened to me because of my own weakness. You are not to blame; you should not take responsibility for anything."
"I'm glad to know that you are alive and will continue living for me, like them."
"She says that."
"I see…"
Marceline began to cry.
"Leah, it's time."
Said Ed, getting up.
Marceline wiped away her tears.
"You're leaving, aren't you?"
"Yes."
They both replied.
"You have been summoned to the capital to evaluate whether you deserve to be the new hero and saint."
"Remember this, you two."
"The capital is not like the island. Even if there are no demons, there are very perverse humans there."
"Highlander is a place not suitable for innocent kids like you. But Princess Jess will help you, since, like me, she was a close friend of Sue."
They both smiled upon hearing her.
"We're not kids anymore, sensei."
"We know how to take care of ourselves."
She remembered when she met them.
The children who followed her everywhere were gone; now they were almost grown adults.
"I trust you. Win over those hateful old men."
"We love you, sensei."
They both went to hug her goodbye. Marceline hugged them and didn't want to let them go, but she knew that sooner or later they would leave the nest.
After that tender moment, they said goodbye to her, who could only pray and hope for the best for them.
◇◇◇
Ed and Remilia left the city. There were no carriages, so they had to use a map.
Remilia was the only one who knew how to read them, so she was in charge of directions and money as the daughter of a noble.
"Let's see, to go to Highlander we must…"
"Huh? The capital is a floating island inside a bubble?"
"What kind of bad joke is this!"
"That's right. The kingdom was built like that centuries ago."
Stephania was floating above them.
"I still can't believe Stephania-sama is a ghost."
Stephania herself got angry at being called that.
"I'm not a ghost. I'm a cherub."
"I asked the Goddess Elis to let me accompany you, and she turned me into a minor goddess."
"So only you can see me."
"I'll help you in any way I can."
They both couldn't believe what they heard, but it must be true.
Stephania wanted to laugh at them; as a spirit, she needed entertainment.
"By the way, Ed-kun. Do you want me to tell Remilia-san what you asked me to tell her after your death?"
"What?! Don't do anything unnecessary!"
"Really? You seemed really eager for her to know."
Ed turned red for some reason, and Remilia enjoyed teasing him.
"What thing did he say about me?"
Remilia approached, thinking Ed had spoken ill of her in his last moments.
"It's nothing!"
He said, denying it.
"That's suspicious."
Remilia came closer and closer.
"I told you it's nothing!"
Ed ran away; Remilia chased him.
"Stop, Ed! Tell me what you said about me!"
Remilia chased Ed. The image of them running, throwing chestnuts at each other, superimposed on their current image of two young people chosen by the goddess to fulfill a specific role.
Stephania followed them, murmuring:
'Tell Leah to live for me and to know how much I love her, even if she loves someone else."
"Even if you say that, I think she doesn't love anyone but you."
"But you're both so silly that you can't see the obvious."
"Fufufu, this journey will be fun."
And so the three set course for the capital.
◇◇◇
Prince Lancelot was reading the information that his uncle Tristan brought him.
"So a demon attacked the port city."
"The birth of a new hero."
"The death and resurrection of the saint."
"Without a doubt, it's a very unique sequence of events."
"What do you propose we do?"
In the room, there was a huge mirror for Prince Lancelot's personal use.
Reflected in that mirror was Tristan.
But what it reflected was a silver demon with gray eyes dressed in human clothes.
"Do?"
Said Prince Lancelot as he removed the newspaper from his face.
His skin had turned crimson, and his eyes golden.
"We will do nothing. We'll let everything proceed as planned."
"Humans don't realize that we are among them in every strategic place."
"My father was killed, but I, the son of the Demon King, will destroy humanity once and for all."
The demons were inside the humans.
The war against them this time will be much bloodier than in the past.
◇◇◇
A dark abyss was forming inside Ed's left arm.
The ground was full of blood.
There were thousands of scattered bones.
A destroyed pillar, and at the top was a throne.
On the throne sat a huge red demon, nearly two meters tall.
The demon had white hair, marks on his body of seals like those used when he was expelled from hell.
Above his horns, a crown of fire surrounded his head.
He had black eyes and yellow pupils.
It was Zelk, the Red Devil.
Known as the Hero of Demons for having killed hundreds of gods and having exterminated 15% of humanity thousands of years ago.
"No matter what you idiots do."
"I, one of the former thirteen demon kings, was born to plunge all worlds into the deepest despair."
"Hahaha!"
Zelk was just waiting for the moment to come out into the world and plunge it into the most horrendous of nightmares.
The End.
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Final Words:
The last of my original stories that I have planned for the future, and it's better to do them like this for now.
This story felt short because it's just an introduction to its world, and believe me when I tell you that it's just an introduction – it's barely the first page of what I have written.
I would say that its world is on the same level as Razel's, but here there are no limitations due to a lack of continents.
Here, the most interesting character is undoubtedly Zelk, since he is partly based on Desmond from my otome novel. And if you have read it, you should know that he is the character readers love the most.
What both have in common is that they haven't been allowed to unleash all their savagery yet, but when that happens, it would be the end of everything.
Therefore, only when the moment comes, both will have their golden moment to demonstrate why they are the most dangerous living creatures on the face of the earth.
Keithwood has nothing to say that hasn't already been shown.
Stephania was added very late and had a short relevance, but I think I managed to make her a good character, an interesting one with good development, right?
Believe me, I didn't plan to turn her into a spirit, but I felt so sorry for her death that I wanted to bring her back to life.
Marceline was an inflated character in my opinion; she almost did nothing, but it can't be helped. Her role was to be a maternal and spiritual figure for them.
I also wanted to include a redhead. I am satisfied with her role in the story.
Something curious happens with Remilia and Edward: Edward is the protagonist and Remilia is the co-protagonist, but here it seems more like Leah is the main heroine XD. She really has all the spotlight for herself.
Not much could be expected from her since she was a spoiled rich girl, and that's why she spent her time crying. That's why she later developed a pair of well-placed ovaries.
A curiosity about her personality is that she has two personality types in development. The first is that of a sweet and pleasant girl, which is why Edward ends up as he does. The other is that she would have a princess-like personality and feel like the last coke in the desert, something that was seen a little here.
Her design is based on a girl with the same hair color from the manhwa "Circles" or "Love Quest", so Remilia is a beauty (has the era of overshadowing blondes with flower colors arrived?).
What happened with Edward was curious. He was the protagonist where we were supposed to see all his misfortunes until he overcame the demon's possession, but for some strange reason he seemed like a side character XD. Believe me, I didn't plan this.
Anyway, I hope you liked this story.
One last detail before finishing: the hierarchy of demons is as follows:
-Weak demons: those that are ocher, cobalt, green, and orange; they are characterized by having black eyes.
-Intermediate demons: characterized by having blue or white skin and black eyes with violet pupils.
-Superior demons: characterized by being silver and gray; their eyes are black with gray pupils.
-Royal demons: all of them are red with yellow eyes, but thanks to Zelk, who massacred almost all of them, a new type was born: crimson demons. And all demon kings have crimson skin.
Thank you for reading.
____________________
Characters:
Edward Hartford
A young man with dreams of becoming a legendary hero; he wants to eliminate demons and therefore wishes to join the knight corps. He has feelings for his childhood friend and understands that she lives in a different world from his.
Remilia Ehnleit
The daughter of a noble who lives on an island that belongs to her family. Due to her luxurious environment, she grew up with an arrogant attitude, but she studies healing magic at the temple and is one of the best at it. She has a childhood friend whom she treats as her servant, but she doesn't know how to tell him that she is interested in him.
Marceline Drew
Former captain of the knight order of the kingdom of Grace. She is Edward's sword master and also Remilia's magic teacher. She can be considered an older sister to both.
Stephania Cecile Hope
A miraculous existence known as the Holy Maiden, the one who will help the hero save the world from demons. She is very altruistic and always seeks to help everyone; a faithful believer of the Supreme Goddess, who turned her into a seraph to accompany the new saint and hero on their journey.
Keithwood
The captain of the holy knights; he loved his job but grew older each year. That is why he sold his soul to demons to achieve immortality.
Zelk
One of the most dangerous demons in the world and one of the thirteen demon kings. He is so ruthless that even demons fear him, also nicknamed their hero because he killed the gods and several heroes. He will not rest until he devours every living being in the world.
____________________
I'm leaving you the link to the PDF where you can read it, with the character designs at the end. And there are also some extra images I made, and if you're interested, I already have a new background: https://mega.nz/folder/6w5jCB7C#SKFXUfEw0JkwCYrhAqGdvw