Daemon rested his sword casually on his shoulder, a lazy grin stretching across his face.
He pointed to himself, eyes wide in mock innocence.
"Wait, are you talking about me?"
"Yes, you bastard!" the king bellowed, his face twisted with rage.
Daemon clicked his tongue. "Ohh, I see. So now you finally know what it feels like—the sweet, heavy weight of betrayal."
"You filthy demon—!" Marquis Rufus Ansel shouted, spitting venom. "I should have skinned you alive the day you lied before the court! Pretending loyalty—you were a snake all along! No wonder your blood—!"
SHUNK.
A flash of silver. A sickening wet sound.
Everyone froze.
Rufus's eyes bulged as he looked down. Nyxtriel's blade had pierced straight through his gut, crimson staining his ornate robes.
He staggered, coughing blood.
Daemon caught the dissolving sword as it reappeared in his hand and shrugged, smirking.
"Oops. I thought I heard a mosquito buzzing. Had to squash it."
The Marquis collapsed, his body twitching once before going still.
A chorus of rage erupted from the royal army.
"You dare kill one of my men?!" King velrick roared. "Daemon, you've declared war on your own kingdom!"
Daemon swung the blade lazily through the air, splattering blood across the marble floor.
"Oh, please. Hearing you screech like an old crow is exhausting."
The king's face twisted, but he forced himself to breathe, steadying his fury.
"Fine. If words bore you... allow me to introduce your executioner."
From behind the king, a figure strode forward.
A man—tall, imposing, with wild Red hair and a thick beard. His robes, black and deep crimson, fluttered around him like shadows. Pinned to his chest: a symbol. A circle enclosing a single star.
Daemon's eyes narrowed instantly.
A mage. From the Arcane Dominion of Vaelthar.
The king's voice rang out, proud and loud.
"This is Caius Steele, a Ninth Circle Mage. One of Vaelthar's best. He's agreed to test your so-called demon strength."
Caius licked his lips, his yellow eyes glowing. "Ah, so it's true... the Demon King's soul reborn. How beautiful. How tragic. I'll make you scream, little devil."
Duke Elias cursed under his breath, gripping his sword tighter.
"A mage?!" he muttered. "The coward's weapon..."
Daemon didn't reply. His aura boiled, leaking into the air like smoke, thick and suffocating. His blood burned with the thirst for battle.
"I'll crush you first," Daemon said calmly, "then deal with the king."
At his side, Duke Elias raised his blade high and roared:
"REBELS! SOLDIERS! KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM! NO MERCY!"
The rebel army let out a thunderous war cry, the ground trembling under their fury.
Angela, protected by a handful of knights, was pulled away from the front lines.
"Stay back!" Duke Elias barked at her. "This is between us and that bastard Velrick !"
The battlefield cracked open.
Velrick's forces surged forward—steel against steel, shields slamming into blades, arrows blackening the sky. The air filled with the clash of metal, the screams of the dying, and the crackling hiss of magic from Caius's staff as spells ripped through stone and flesh alike.
A hiss split the battlefield. A sickly green mist swirled around Caius Steele's body as he raised one hand, veins pulsing with unnatural light. His yellow eyes locked onto Daemon like a predator tasting blood in the wind.
"Come, demon prince," he smirked. "Let's see what tricks the next 'king of hell' has up his sleeve."
Daemon clenched Nyxtriel's hilt as the blade pulsed with anticipation. "You want tricks?" His shadow curled around his boots like smoke. "Fine."
"Eclipse Claw."
With a low growl, Daemon's shadow snapped free from his feet, stretching into the air like a serpentine demon. Three enormous talons ripped through the dusk, screeching toward Caius.
But the mage only raised his palm. "Venomous Control."
Green clouds burst from his sleeves—thick, noxious, alive. They wrapped around the claws mid-strike, corroding the shadow talons with sizzling gas. The Eclipse Claw hissed, faltered—then burst into inky vapor.
"What...?" Daemon took a step back, teeth gritted. He dissolved my shadow?
Caius laughed. "You think you're the only one who's danced with forbidden power?"
Suddenly, vines erupted from the cobblestones. "Poisonous Plant Manipulation." They slithered like serpents, thorns dripping acid, aiming to entangle Daemon's legs.
He slashed through them with Nyxtriel. The cuts burned, even through the aura of his weapon.
"Tch—what kind of poison is this?"
"Custom brew," Caius said smugly, pulling a flask from his coat. "One touch and your aura decays. You're already slower, aren't you?"
Daemon didn't answer.
"Inverse Divinity."
A red glow burst from his chest. His wounds closed, but his body trembled. It was working—but slower. The poison was stalling even his corrupted divine healing.
He charged anyway, disappearing in a flicker of shadow.
CLANG!
Nyxtriel clashed against a barrier Caius conjured mid-swing—Poisonous Alchemy, crystallized into a jagged shield. The force of impact cracked the stone beneath their feet, but the mage only smiled.
"You hit hard," Caius said. "But I don't need to win quickly. I just need to outlast you."
Suddenly, Daemon's arm burned.
Caius had gripped him.
"Toxic Touch."
Daemon staggered back, steam rising from his skin. His blood ran slower. His vision blurred. He's infecting my nervous system... through contact?
He swung wildly. Nyxtriel cut deep across Caius's chest—but the mage didn't flinch. No blood. Just a hiss of green gas.
Passive Skill: Shadow Ember kicked in. The wound smoked, cursed to never heal.
"You'll feel that soon," Daemon growled.
Caius wiped his mouth, now bleeding faintly from the lips. "Cute trick. Let's see if you can survive the next one."
He raised both arms. The ground shattered.
A wall of venomous flowers bloomed—each petal lined with tiny spines, and at the center of each, a glowing sack of gas.
Daemon's instincts screamed.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
They detonated in sequence, covering the battlefield in blinding green flame and choking mist.
Nyxtriel's voice echoed in his mind: "My lord, fall back—this isn't normal poison—it's devouring the air itself!"
Daemon coughed hard, blood running from his mouth. Still, he smiled.
"You're strong," he whispered. "But if you think this is over..."
His aura exploded.
Black tendrils shot out from his back, cracking the ground.
"...then you haven't seen me angry yet."