Whoosh—!
A wind howled past us, not from the sky... but from Alma.
Invisible blades sliced through the air.
Ssshhk!
Thin cuts opened across my arms, legs, and cheek. Blood trickled down in thin lines before I could even blink. My body froze.
"Ugh... What was that?" I staggered back, eyes narrowing at Alma.
He hadn't moved an inch.
That wind… no, that was pressure. Aura so dense it sliced.
And it felt familiar—a dark familiarity, the kind that clawed at your instincts like an old nightmare.
Isaac stood next to me completely unharmed, eyes scanning the damage.
"Is everyone alright?" he asked, calm but tense.
I looked back—and my heart sank.
Ronald was down.
He clutched his stomach, blood leaking from a deep gash. His arms and legs were littered with smaller cuts. He grunted and writhed, his breaths short and sharp. Rona knelt beside him, tears streaking her cheeks as she held his hands tight.
Tiny Slime sat faithfully atop Ronald's chest, a soft glow pulsing from its small body. Healing Ronald.
But the healing was weak. Barely enough to close scratches.
Isaac cursed and dashed to their side, aiding Ronald.
I took a shaky step forward. "Ronald? How…?"
Before I could process more, Rona screamed—
"Lil! In front of you!!"
My senses kicked in half a second too late.
WHAM!
My vision blurred.
A crushing impact slammed into my face, sending me hurtling back.
CRACK!
My body hit the wall with a dull, echoing thud. Pain exploded through my chest. The air was punched out of my lungs. I collapsed to the ground, coughing and choking as blood spilled from my mouth.
"Khah… kahh! Aghh!"
My arms trembled as I pushed myself up.
That was… a punch?
My vision wavered.
I flew nearly ten meters from a punch… That's not normal. That's not even human.
I wiped the blood off my lips, only for another scream to pierce the air.
"Rona!!" Isaac's voice cracked.
I looked up—and my heart stopped.
Alma was holding Rona off the ground by her neck.
His fingers wrapped around her throat like iron chains, tightening every passing second.
"Haah… Haah…"
Rona clawed at his hand, legs kicking uselessly in the air. Her face turned red, then pale.
She couldn't breathe.
"HEY!!" I roared, staggering to my feet. "Why don't you fight someone your own size, you oversized SLIME?!"
Tiny slime flinched. "Blu…?"
I froze. "No, not you—not you. You're perfect. Sorry." I gave a shaky bow toward tiny slime.
"Bluu..." It blinked with teary eyes, still glowing faintly over Ronald's chest.
Alma's gaze snapped to me.
His grin vanished.
Slowly, he released Rona, and she fell to the ground with a thud. Isaac caught her, gently helping her sit up, his eyes wide with panic and fury.
Alma turned, step by step, walking toward me.
No smile. No pretense.
Just silence and a growing pressure that made it hard to breathe.
I looked at Isaac… then at Alma… then back at Isaac.
Yeah. This… is not looking good.
A laugh escaped my lips. Bitter, shaky. "Hahaha… figures."
Then it happened.
Time stopped.
No—the world stopped.
The wind froze mid-rustle.
The blood in the air stilled like paint on glass.
Alma, Isaac, even Rona—everything halted.
Huh? Did time… stop?
My pain dulled. My body felt lighter.
Cool!
Naturally, I did the first thing anyone would do in a time-stopped world.
I pointed at Isaac and yelled—
"Isaac is stupid!"
No reaction.
He remained frozen mid-worry, mouth slightly open.
A voice echoed in my head. Calm, sharp, and unmistakably familiar.
"I knew you were nothing but trouble."
I spun around. "Lyndall? Where are you?"
"No use looking around. I'm in your head."
"...My head?"
"We don't have time for this. I'll lend you a fraction of my power. Use it wisely."
My eyes narrowed. "Why are you helping me?"
"Because only a priestess—or another demon—can kill a demon."
"Demon? Alma is a demon?"
"No." His voice darkened.
"The aura from the soul is human. But the entity inside him now? That's a demon. They've formed a contract."
I clenched my fists. "How do you know that?"
"I can see it."
"Human souls are bright. Vivid. Full of life. One soul alone is enough to amplify a demon's power tenfold. That's why demons devour them. For power. For time. To keep from rotting."
The air around me grew colder.
"Eventually, demons lost control. They feasted on hundreds of thousands of souls. So, the Law was made—contracts only. A demon could only feed on a soul if the human willingly wished for something in return."
"And the soul… gets chipped away."
"Exactly. The bigger the wish, the bigger the bite."
A shiver ran down my spine. "Eww…"
"Alma's soul... it's barely a flicker now. That body you're fighting isn't one born strong. He traded for power. Bit by bit. That's how he became the 'strongest Devo.'"
"...Oui…"
"A pity, really. Of all demons… he made a deal with that one."
"What's wrong with that demon?"
"He's cunning. Manipulative. Would slit his own kin's throat to climb higher. Hates humans more than anything else. So he tempts them, makes them think they're special. And once they've drained themselves dry… snap. Gone."
"Wait... you said Alma should've died at age five?"
"Born with a weak constitution. No chance of surviving. But that demon... he 'healed' him. Then tempted him to wish for more. And you know how humans are—the greediest species."
I stared at Alma's towering form, watching that monstrous aura pulse like a black sun.
Weak? This guy?
I squinted. "…Hard to believe."
"Belief doesn't matter. Power has a price. He paid it with his soul."
I exhaled. "You said the demon hates humans, yet he's using one. That's ironic."
"More like poetic."
"Oh, and—how did you stop time earlier? That was so cool."
"Stop the chitchat and focus."
Suddenly, a crushing dizziness overtook me.
"Ugh..." I staggered, clutching my temples.
Memories not my own flooded in.
The feeling of death.
The scent of rotting blood.
The sight of dismembered corpses littering a scarlet battlefield.
It made me sick.
I fell to my knees, trembling. "Ack—what… is this?"
Lyndall's presence pressed into my skull like a vice. "Focus. If you want your friends to live… embrace it. These memories will guide you."
Isaac. Rona. Ronald.
Their faces flashed in my mind—injured, desperate, cornered.
My breath steadied.
"…Fine."
I closed my eyes—and let go.
[MEMORY DIVE INITIATED]
[Synchronization Rate: 62%]
My eyes opened.
Everything was red.
Blood rained from a pitch-dark sky. It pattered on ash-covered dirt. My boots splashed through crimson puddles.
...Where is this place?
Corpses. Everywhere.
Torn limbs. Hollow eyes. Severed torsos.
Ugh…
My stomach churned.
The battlefield stretched endlessly. Nothing moved, not even the wind.
Tick. Tick.
It wasn't rain. It was dripping. Something overhead was still bleeding.
And then—
"HEY! Are you even listening to me?!"
I jerked my gaze forward.
A demon stood before me, chest rising with fury. Skin like molten obsidian, veins glowing gold, and horns twisted like knives.
"I'm going to destroy you! I'll become the next Demon King, and make all bow before me!"
...Dramatic much?
I tilted my head.
Wait—maybe I can just ask him where I am—
I opened my mouth to speak.
Nothing came out.
Huh? My mouth... sealed?
"YAAAH!!"
The demon roared and lunged forward. His massive fist swung toward my face with devastating speed.
Not another fist to the face! I just recovered!
I braced for impact, but—
My body moved.
On its own.
At the very last second, I tilted, side-stepped, and twisted around the punch like water flowing through cracks.
Before I could process it—
CRACK—
My fist slammed into the demon's skull.
Hard.
Bone shattered beneath my knuckles like glass under a hammer.
The demon's head exploded, his crown spraying into a red mist across the battlefield. Flesh and bone scattered like confetti.
The silence afterward was deafening.
I stared at the mess.
Did I just… kill him?
I expected the metallic tang of blood, but—nothing.
No smell. No nausea. No weight of guilt or fear.
Right. This is a memory. But why does it feel so real?
I clenched and unclenched my fists.
I had felt the tension in my muscles. The heat of impact. The blood spatter on my face.
This isn't just watching a memory. I'm living it.
The world around me began to ripple.
My vision blurred, the battlefield fading into static.
[Memory Sync Rate Falling]
[Disconnecting...]