Leila's lips curved as they reached the trunk. She ran her fingers along it like it was a lover's chest, voice soft and teasing. "Mm… here we are. The heart itself. Go on, Ezraphor, begin. Show me that power within your soul."
Renny obeyed, pressing his hands to the bark and reciting the words she had made him memorize. His voice shook. Midway through, his throat convulsed, and with a horrible choke, a root-like tendril forced itself out of his mouth, plunging into the trunk.
His body snapped back, veins darkening green, skin splitting in jagged lines. He screamed as his flesh warped, half-man, half-wood.
The earth groaned, the garden shook. A wild wind swirled around them, trying to lift Leila off the ground, but she only laughed, hair whipping, dress clinging to her curves.
"This is too much Leila, help me!" he cried, eyes wild with terror.
Leila's reply was a velvet purr. "Oh, my sweet Ezraphor… this is exactly how it's supposed to be. Don't fight it. Just give yourself to it, bring forth the true power of the Ezraphor."
"I can't..." he gasped, thrashing.
"Yes, you can," she crooned, tilting her head as though savoring his agony. "And you will. You're far too beautiful when you break."
The trunk pulsed as if it fed on him. A young branch shot out, glossy and alive, a single fruit swelling from its tip.
The garden stilled. The quaking earth hushed, the wild winds choked into silence. Renny crumpled, trembling in the dirt, steam rising off his skin like smoke from burnt offerings.
Leila stepped close, hips swaying, eyes locked on the fruit as though it were a diamond ring. "Mmm… after so many years. Finally. Velzira will be proud of me." She licked her lips slowly.
Her hand reached out, caressing the fruit before plucking it delicately.
Renny stirred, coughing, dragging himself upright. "What… are you doing?"
She turned to him, smile wicked, "What does it look like, darling? I'm about to taste it."
"No... no, why would you do that," he croaked. "I am the Ezraphor. The fruit is mine... "
Her laugh was sensual. "Oh, poor Ezraphor… still so naïve. You? Eat this?" She pressed the fruit to her lips, lingering, eyes glinting like a cat with a caught mouse. "The only thing for you now, is to join the rest of your dead lineage." Her voice dripped like honey, cruel and playful. "Did you really think your arrival here was chance? No, love… it was always preordained. After the massacre, it was only a matter of time before Ezraphor crawled back to this place. And now…" she licked the fruit, savoring his helplessness, "…through you, Dominion is finally ours."
Renny swayed where he stood, his legs unsteady beneath him, but he forced himself to stay upright. His breath rattled as he glared at her.
"I knew something was off with you," he croaked, voice rough. "I suspected it wasn't a coincidence we met in Krovanis's room. This was the plan of the royals all along… to use me, to get the Ezra fruit?"
Leila tilted her head, eyes glinting with wicked amusement. "Of course… our meeting, every little twist so far, it was all a trap to claim the one thing keeping the Royals from total control over Hell. And you... " she leaned closer, her smile wicked, "...you walked right into it. So eager… so desperate."
Then she straightened, her voice dropping into a mocking imitation of his tone."I won't be desperate when I come for the key, or however you said it that day," she mimicked with theatrical exaggeration, eyes dancing with delight.
"Ohhh," she laughed, throwing her head back slightly, "how adorable. Really."
Renny's hand clenched into a fist. "Damn you…" he hissed, and with what little strength he had left, he lurched forward, reaching for the fruit.
Dark markings appeared around he eyes as she whispered a spell, "Baiser Ardente"
Renny tumbled to the ground, breath ragged. Crawling shapes skittered over his skin, writhing beneath his clothes, biting, burrowing. He slapped wildly at himself, frantic, as if trying to crush invisible insects.
"What… what is this?" he choked out, terror cutting through the pain. "What have you done to me?"
She bent low, whispering against his ear, her breath hot. "They're lust-bites, my love. Hungry little things. They feel your desire for power, for control… and in return, they'll make you weak, feeding your desire even more."
Renny screamed as invisible mouths tore into him, blood streaking down his skin while his body convulsed in agony.
Leila's laughter rang out, low and sultry, curling around his pain. "Oh, Ezraphor… did you really think you could touch me? I'm a Grade Five demon, love. You should've known better. Now look at you… poor, foolish Ezraphor."
She rose smoothly to her feet, hips swaying as if this were all a performance meant to delight her alone. A slow exhale slipped past her lips, her eyes burning with hungry triumph. "Mm… now for the main event." Her teeth sank into the fruit. Juice dripped down her chin like wine. Her whole body shivered with delight. She arched her back slightly, a sultry moan slipping from her lips. "Yesss… uhhhg…" She drew out the sound like it was ecstasy, she raised the fruit high.
"Oh, Royal Velzira! I can feel it… I give myself to you... I present Dominion to you!"
The garden answered in fury. Roots tore free from the soil, the ground split open with a violent crack, and the sky shrieked as black winds ripped it apart. Hell itself roared, a chorus of rage and betrayal that shook every leaf, every stone, every drop of air.
Just as Leila hovered, her body rising slightly as if the garden itself bowed to a terrible presence, something went horribly wrong. One of Leila's eyes fell from its socket. The quaking stopped. She froze, a strangled, shocked whisper escaping her lips. "Huh…?"
Her knees gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, her body unraveling slowly, piece by piece, as if the very essence holding her together was dissolving. She stared, bewildered, unable to comprehend what was happening.
Renny staggered upright, wobbling but steadying himself. The rending sky stitched itself shut, the torn ground sealed, the furious winds silenced. All the grandeur and fury bled away like smoke in rain.
"It was all… just an illusion," he said confidently, his voice cutting through the quiet.
Leila, broken on the ground, gasped. "Impossible… you're an Ezraphor."
Renny's lips tugged into a faint, weary smile. "Luckily for me, I made a good friend, Morrin Omekro. Cheerful enough to lend me a demon seed of Expectation. It feeds on what the target believes should happen, twisting it into a false reality… showing them exactly what they wanted to see."
Her brow furrowed, confusion and disbelief warring on her face. "Love… but why use it on me? You didn't know anything."
Renny's gaze sharpened, cold and unwavering. "A rotman of my lineage once told me he was the last thing who truly knew what I was, the only one who could help me become what I was meant to be. And not long after, the royals came for him. So it only made sense that if anyone else claimed to know this much about my family, they had to be tied to the royals. No?"
Leila's features twisted as she staggered, her body trembling violently. She froze for a moment, her lips parting in surprise at his words. Then, slowly, a smile crept across her bloodied face. "Huh... So that's why… you used the illusion on me. But when did you even manage to plant it?"
Renny's faint, knowing smile returned. "Remember when you complained about the dust?" He tilted his chin toward her shoulders. "When I brushed it off… that's when I planted it. Right there, while you fussed."
Leila's eyes widened, then a delighted laugh spilled out of her. She even clapped her hands once, as though applauding a performance. "Oh, my love… I knew there was more to you than you let on." She rose unsteadily, cracking her neck with a languid stretch, her smile sharpening into something cruel. "You've done well. But this illusion seed is a grade-one trick. Not enough to bring down a demon of my caliber." She closed her eyes as the seed dissolved.
"Sure," Renny said steadily, lifting the fruit. "But not before I eat this."
He bit deep, juice spilling over his lips. The true transformation began, dark clouds rolled overhead, rain cutting through the garden, soaking the soil. Light pulsed across the ground, sprouts bursting upward.
Leila steadied herself, glare fixed on him. "My dear Ezraphor… that won't save you. I'll rip the fruit from your body if I must."
"Remember what you told me?" Renny grinned. "Gardens are family bound. You're here only because I allow it."
Her eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."
Renny only looked back.
A thick branch shot from the trunk, curling toward her. She struck wildly, claws and power ripping against the bark, but the branches were too strong. They coiled around her, dragging her close. She dug into the ground, resisting, muscles straining.
Renny stood tense, this was his only way to deal with her. Even the tree struggled to subdue her.
Then he moved, lunging forward and shoving her with all his weight.
"What are you doing?!" Leila spat, thrashing harder.
"Lending a hand," Renny said coldly.
Together, he and the tree overwhelmed her. The trunk opened, pulling her in as she shrieked.
"Ezraphor! You can't do this... let me go!"
"Not a chance."
"Krovanis will tear you apart for this! And the Royals will come for you! They'll end you before you even step outside! Don't think… don't think this is over… I'll be..."
But before she could finish, the branch yanked her inside the trunk. Her voice cut off, swallowed by the tree as she was devoured.
A sudden, searing pain lanced through Renny's left eye. Jagged crimson marks tore across his skin, crossing diagonally to form a perfect X over his pupil, spreading outward across his brow and lids. They pulsed with raw, bleeding energy, each beat thundering in his skull. He crumpled to his knees, hands clutching his face, sweat and blood mingling as it dripped down, staining the dirt beneath him.
He panted, gasping for air, each breath a battle. When he forced open his left eye, Hell lay stripped bare before him. Every hidden network, every channel of power, every mechanism keeping the infernal realm in motion revealed itself with blinding clarity. Not as a mere demon sees, but as a Royal.