The light was blinding. Too pure, too painful.
Like a light, my body instinctively wanted to avoid.
From within the radiance, light footsteps could be heard hitting the cracked stone floor.
I squinted, but I knew... I recognized that silhouette.
Long, flowing silver hair, golden-white armor glowing softly, and the sacred staff in her right hand glowing like the first dawn. Her eyes were sharp—and filled with rage.
"Demon King," she said in a trembling voice, "how can there still be a Demon King? He should have died at Niel's hands."
Celes.
The strongest woman among humanity.
Possessor of advanced light magic, magic that, to demons, is pure poison.
And once...
She was my ally.
My friend.
Perhaps the only person who truly cared for me among the heroes.
The light from her body slowly burned my flesh. The red veins in my demonic body throbbed with pain.
Zareth growled behind me. "Light magic! My Lord, step back! Your body isn't completely stable yet."
I raised my hand, stopping him.
Celes advanced slowly, staring at me with eyes filled with hatred.
"Who are you? How can a demon king be reborn?"
I didn't answer. Within this body, waves of emotions collided.
Anger, longing, and deep-rooted hatred.
She pointed her staff at the prisoner on the ground.
"I will take him home. And I will summon my friends to kill you."
Light magic began to envelop the prisoner's body. His wounds began to heal slowly.
But seeing that, something inside me roared. Not this body and not logic. But revenge.
My hand rose, filled with a black aura glowing red. My mouth opened, a mix of demonic and human voices.
"No one returns from this hell, Celes."
Celes froze for a moment.
Her eyes widened, as if in disbelief.
"You…you recognize me?" she whispered.
But I didn't answer. I simply stared at him through these demonic eyes, eyes that now glowed a fiery red, yet held a shadow of the past that never truly faded.
The light around her body grew brighter.
Wings of shining golden light sprouted from her back, forming an aura of protection and power.
Veins of light pulsed along her skin, coiling around her arms and legs like streams of pure energy.
Her holy aura pierced my demonic skin like a thousand hot needles. But I stood still. I accepted it.
"Let him go!!!"
Without warning, her body shot toward me.
WHAM!
A blast of light magic exploded from beneath her feet as she lunged forward, leaving a trail of light that scorched the floor of hell. In an instant, she was right in front of me.
Her holy staff blazed like a heavenly spear, and she swung it toward my neck.
My demonic reflexes reacted.
I ducked quickly. The wind from her swing cut the skin of my cheek
SSSSKKKRRR!
And the mark immediately burned, blistering from the power of the light magic.
But I didn't retreat. Instead, I stepped forward.
CLANGG!
My sharp nails blocked her staff. The blast of power rippled around me, cracking the stone pillars and sending hellfire shooting up to the cave ceiling.
Celes pushed me with all her strength. Her beams of light enveloped my body and tried to burn, purify, and destroy.
My body smoked black. My flesh peeled off. But I looked her in the eye and smiled cruelly.
"Your light... won't save anyone here."
I pushed back hard.
Celes was thrown backward, her body crashing into the cave wall with a loud thud, but she flipped in the air and landed lightly like a war angel.
Blood flowed from her lips. But her eyes were still filled with confidence.
"A newly reborn Demon King shouldn't be this powerful," Celes hissed, blood dripping from the corner of her lips.
I slowly stepped toward her, each step leaving a scorch mark on the already burnt-black ground. Smoke rose from my body, from the wounds cauterized by her holy light. But I pressed on.
Unwavering. Unstoppable.
"You are so weak, Celes." My voice was low and cold, echoing in the silent cave. "Your magic is only useful to low-level demons."
I stopped a few steps away from her, our eyes meeting.
"And now, I will make you realize that you are no protector of the light. You are merely a weakling hiding behind its rays."
CRASH!
I shot towards her faster than she could catch me. The ground exploded beneath my feet, and before she could cast another spell.
TARAAAKK!!
My sharp nails struck her left chest. Blood sprayed into the air, and her body bounced against the wall. She groaned loudly, but didn't fall.
She tried to get up, raising her cracked staff. But I didn't give her any chance.
SHRAAAAKK!
I clawed at her right arm from the shoulder and, in one violent motion, ripped it off.
"AAARRRGHHHHHH!!"
Celes screamed, blood gushing out, soaking the stone floor beneath her. But she still struggled to her feet, dragging on one leg, her face a mix of scars and determination.
But her eyes remained fixed on me, not with fear, but with hatred for the demon race. That was what turned me on.
"You're still looking at me like that?" I growled. "Do you think you can win?!"
I jumped on top of her, and
CRACK!!
My foot slammed into hers brutally.
It broke.
The bone protruded. Celes screamed, her body writhing weakly, now only able to lean on her last bit of strength. Her body trembled. Blood poured out.
I crouched in front of her, bringing my face close.
"Still believe you can win, Celes?" I whispered, my voice almost mocking.
She smiled weakly, blood dripping from her lips.
"…I… still believe…"
I froze for a moment. But only for a moment.
"Your belief will be the last thing I kill."
My hand rose, ready to rip out her heart.
But something held me back.
No, killing her like that would be too easy.
Too fast. Too honorable for someone like her.
For the human who once stood beside me, raising swords with me, then leaving me to fall alone.
I stared at her scarred face, blood dripping from her temple, her lip split, her breath gone.
Her eyes still stared at me with hatred.
That's what turned me on.
I gripped her hair hard. Pulled her face toward me.
And without warning, I kissed her lips.
Fierce and Rough.
The blood from her mouth mixed with the putrid fluid from my breath.
She screamed, but it was muffled. Her body shook in my grip, trying to push away, to resist. But she had no strength left.
The kiss wasn't affectionate.
It was humiliation.
A declaration: that she was no longer a hero, just food.
I pulled my face away and whispered the final words in her ear.
"Look at you now, Celes. You once stood above the heavens, and now you're just a corpse I haven't killed."
My hands lit up, a dark aura gathering in my palms. My fingers pulsed with pure power—not magic, but pure hatred taking form.
She sobbed, but not from fear.
But from disappointment.
"Demon…king."
Her soft voice came out, full of pain.
"…my friend…will kill you."
I smiled cruelly. "I'll send your friend to you, too."
My hand pierced her chest.
SHLUKK!
Blood spurted from her mouth. Her body stiffened, then slowly went limp.
I could feel her last heartbeat shattering within my grasp.
The light from her body vanished.
The sacred glow that once terrified the heavens was now extinguished forever.