All Dhein could do was watch in horror as the demoness said those words. She walked towards him with pure, bone-chilling malice.
'Should I run? Can I even escape?'
A creepy smile crossed the demoness' face.
"What's wrong? Use your unrivaled strength to defeat me if you're not a fraud. Do it."
He couldn't move at all. He had already accepted death. But when the demoness was about to slash him into pieces, something massive just tore off the roof of the warehouse completely. But instead of revealing the afternoon sky, what they saw was completely different.
Floating above them was a giant spherical creature, stalking them with its huge single eye. Slithery tentacles were attached to its rough, disgusting skin.
The colossus abomination loomed over them, casting its shadow across the building. It spoke with a voice that resonated through their bones.
"What the fuck is taking you so long, Krushe? I'm fucking hungry, so hurry up."
Shina desperately crawled backwards, terrified of the abomination she just saw.
"Oh be silent you useless oaf. I'm about to give this fraudulent man the most humiliating death."
***
...
.....
'I am a god.'
'I may have lost the war, but I'm still a god.'
'For eons, I have wandered this planet. This disgusting, repulsive place they call earth.'
'The cowards who defeated me, they are up there in the heavens, rejoicing as if there is honor in betraying a perfect god like me.'
'One day, I will return. One day, I will usurp the heavens once again.'
'I have to search for a vessel.'
'A body I can use to regain my powers.'
'It doesn't matter who.'
'I just need to find someone with a wavering heart. A soul who wants to give up.'
'Then, I can go in and take over.'
'What's this?'
'A queen of a falling kingdom... a wife of a fool."
'She is perfect.'
'With all the pain in her heart, I can easily banish her from her own body!'
'Why... why is she resisting?'
'But you wanted to give up. Why are you fighting now?'
'You think you can win against me in a battle of will?'
'I am a god, you worthless mortal. You don't stand a chance.'
'So why can't I take over?'
'Your will is just that strong?'
'It seems that I made a mistake. Fine, you can have your body back. I'll just search for another vessel.'
'What is this... You won't let me leave.'
'You'll imprison me in your own body to prevent me from harming someone else?'
'How ridiculous! You'll suffer all your life just to take me to death with you?'
'No, you can't do this.'
'Let me out... LET ME OUT!'
'I still need to extract my revenge. They need to pay!'
'How long can you suffer for another's sake? Let me go and you may finally rest.'
'You stubborn woman...'
'Wait... something else has entered your consciousness.'
'A spirit... an ancient spirit.'
'Isn't that the Soul Liberator?'
'It will forcefully separate my soul from yours... I can finally be free!'
'And my luck just doesn't seem to stop here.'
'I found the perfect vessel.'
'Someone with a weak soul was already a great subject for me.'
'But this man... he has no soul at all.'
'How could this happen? How could a living human have no soul?'
'It matters not. What's important is I can take over his body whenever I want.'
'However, I must wait for his heart to waver. When all his hope is lost, it will be far too easy for me to take full control. I will then claim his body as mine!'
'Splendid. I'll be waiting for you, human.'
***
The demoness turned back to Shina, her lips curling upward.
"Watch carefully, princess. Watch as the man you expect to save you cries and begs as I slowly skin him alive and tear his flesh."
The giant spherical monster with a single eye, hovered above the building like a corrupted, dark moon. On the surface of its disgusting skin, countless snake-like tentacles wriggled repulsively.
Shina didn't know how it was talking without a mouth, but when it did, it vibrated every muscle fibers in her body.
"Oh! Is that the princess?" the eye demon asked.
Her blood ran cold when the giant eyeball concentrated on her. It felt like she was being watched by all the monsters in her nightmares.
"She looks so beautiful! Compared to her, you look like a fucking wet rug, Krushe."
The walls creaked and the pillars of the warehouse bent when the giant lowered itself, trying to reach Shina with its tentacles. She immediately crawled away in fear, her blood running cold.
"Look at her face... her hair... her skin! Oh... I'll play with you a lot when we're done here."
The princess whipped her head in Dheinyrus' direction, her heart racing.
Could it be that... what the demon said was true? What if Dheinyrus was indeed powerless?
He was still not doing anything.
A seed of doubt began to creep in Shina's heart. Along with it was immeasurable fear. If what the demoness said was true, then what awaited her was perhaps a fate worse than death. Shina began praying that it wasn't true. There's no way. Dheinyrus cannot be that kind of person.
Dhein realized that the best course of action in this moment was to tackle the demoness and scream the word "run" to Shina. But before he could do just that, a strange sensation grew inside his head, preventing him from moving a muscle. It was like his consciousness was slipping away even though he was fully aware.
'Why can't I move, damnit. I need to buy Shina some time to escape! It doesn't matter if my lies are exposed, I need to save her!'
Yet his body was betraying him. He couldn't so much as blink.
He didn't know that a god was slowly taking over his body.
The demoness approached and then extended her hands forward. She was about to dismember Dhein with her invisible force.
Swinging her arm to command the unseen force, the demoness yelled.
"Scream and beg for mercy!"
In the split second before the invisible force could reach its target, Cyreth, the god of the crimson star, had made Dheinyrus Theocheirós his vessel.
The ground trembled upon the collision of two forces. Shina coughed from all the dust that exploded from the mysterious impact. When the dust settled on the ground, her eyes widened from shock.
Dheinyrus' eyes turned from golden to bright yellow. He was standing still, his arm was extended and his hand seemed like it was holding something invisible.
"W—What?" Krushe the demon muttered, stunned by what she just saw.
When Dheinyrus tightened his grip to the invisible object, Shina heard desperate wails of pain. Seconds later, the invisibility gradually cracked, revealing a giant floating insect, akin to a mosquito's shape, with strings attached to its legs and stinger. Those strings were connected to Krushe's fingers.
"Hey Krushe, what's wrong? Finish the fraud already," the floating eyeball nagged.
Ignoring his words, Krushe hurriedly pulled her giant insect away from Dheinyrus' inescapable grasp, causing one of its legs to snap and stay in his hand.
"You damned divinity's scion... you're not powerless."