“Puerta Research Center and the Otherworld researchers protect the kingdom. We must protect the kingdom from demons who’ve strayed from the right path! We’ll catch up with you two soon! Go on ahead!” Jahala called.
Prince Faisal and his four-winged Ares flew straight through the path that Jahala and Lambda’s men had created. He was headed straight for Shesif. I can’t be scared now!
“Mr. Julius, let’s head for Salim!” I exclaimed.
“Yeah, I know,” came his reply.
Helios chased after Ares. While a few soldiers blocked our way, we managed to fly through the skies towards our goal. As a former general of Dystiana, Mr. Julius boasted the strength to single-handedly dominate an entire kingdom. The Dragon Knights, who, according to Lambda, had never fought in a battle before, were no match for the former general.
He proceeded to cut down numerous soldiers as they fell into the desert. Even so, it looked like he was giving Helios commands to avoid battle as much as possible. Right, because of the contract around his neck, Mr. Julius has started to think about things that I might dislike. That was the only contract he had—don’t do anything I dislike. I wanted to take the collar off him, but he stubbornly wanted to keep it and didn’t listen to my request. And so, the contract remained as well.
Mr. Julius had stated that without the contract, he might be unable to suppress his urge to destroy everything in his path. It seems like he views himself as a cold-hearted human…but I think he’s changed quite a bit since we first met.
The Mr. Julius right out of the Slave Arena would’ve mercilessly cut down anyone blocking his way.
“Brother, we’ve committed crimes. We were manipulated by Salim, expelled Puerta Research Center and their staff, though they only showed goodwill, cruelly treated dragons to create magical beasts, and chased our long-time loyal Dragon Knights from the holy city. All the while, a countless number of people have lost their lives,” Prince Faisal shouted. His voice reverberated through the air.
Shesif gazed coolly at Prince Faisal.
“This is all the result of turning a blind eye to these incidents and pretending not to hear about anything because I believed in you. I don’t want to be wrong anymore. Shesif, please!” the prince begged.
“I’ve told you before, Faisal. Talking with you is a waste of time. If you point your blade towards me, then you must be prepared for the ramifications,” Shesif replied.
“But…!”
“Salim!” Shesif called out, cutting Prince Faisal off.
Salim’s dragon stood between the king and the prince. While we were confronting them in the air, Ruto caught up to us on Orpheus.
Ruto’s voice echoed into our heads. “My brother simply wanted to save Princess Minne. How could this have happened? It’s my duty to defeat you, who takes on the form of my brother. I’ve cooperated with him and brought back demons from the underworld. And for that, I must atone for my sins!” She glared at Salim. He must’ve heard her words because his lips curled up into a faint smile.
“I’ve got memories of you. They’re the memories of this man. You’re Seal Master Ruto, who brought back low-ranked demons and treated them like slaves. And…you’re my sister,” Salim said.
“You’re not my brother! Leave his body at once!”
Her heartfelt cries fell on deaf ears. That body no longer contained the personality of Salim, the passionate older brother whom Ruto had talked about. There was something else instead—something that had been controlled by a demon.
When I confronted Aliza, she was able to spout her own words while being manipulated by Mephisto. This wasn’t so for Salim.
“I’m your older brother, Ruto. Look closely. We’ve got the same face, don’t we?” Salim said as he removed his hood.
He took off his robe, which fluttered in the wind and fell to the ground below. Underneath was the slender body of a man. He was wearing thin sorcerer’s attire, and four wings sprouted from his back. His face resembled Ruto’s with tanned skin, slightly curled hair, and gold eyes. His jet-black wings resembled a bird of prey—similar to Mephisto.
“Just kidding. Since you’ve already found me out, guess it makes no sense to hide it anymore,” the demon said, flapping his four wings and taking to the skies.
He slowly put his hand over the dragon that he’d been riding just moments before. That simple gesture severed the dragon head, as though it’d been sliced by a sharp blade. The poor dragon didn’t even have time to process what had just happened as its body plummeted towards the desert. It flapped its wings a few times, but that was all.
I gulped, and I felt Mr. Julius’s body grow tense with fury.
“Hello. Ah, now I feel much better. I shouldn’t do something as despicable as riding the illegitimate child of God. I shudder at the thought,” the demon said casually.
“You bastard!” Mr. Julius roared.
Yeah, he sounds really angry. I was of the same mindset. I felt something ugly well up from within me.
“No need to get so upset. That was simply an imitation of a dragon, so to speak. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe this dragon is a hybrid of an Ulama. It flies very well and can lay many eggs. I’m not quite sure if it’s a dragon or a bird anymore,” Salim said.
“Those that have been created haven’t sinned. And yet, you…” Mr. Julius growled in a dangerously low voice.
“Anger, hatred, love, joy…humans are indeed interesting. I didn’t have this feeling when I didn’t possess a body of flesh, but perhaps Salim’s memories have changed me. I’m closer to a human than ever before. Hence, I understand your feelings very well. Julius, Chloe, and Ruto…I’m familiar with you three.”
The demon flapped his wings and approached us. His face drew close, and just when I thought he was going to touch my cheek, Helios swiftly flew back and gained some distance. Cold sweat ran down my back.
“I believe you’ve met Mephisto. He couldn’t kill you it seems, Chloe Sagrid, child of Celestia,” the demon said.
Mr. Julius clicked his tongue.
This demon knows my mother too… The demon playfully twirled in the air before outstretching both his hands. Shesif must’ve known the demon’s form—he didn’t seem surprised or shocked by the transformation.
“I’ve been called Samael, the Serpent of Death,” the demon said.
“I don’t care. You’ll die here anyways,” Mr. Julius said, pointing his spear towards the demon.
Ruto used both her hands to create some sort of symbol, and Faisal raised his weapon as well. I pointed my Thousand-Year Tree staff at Samael, who proceeded to bend over laughing. He found humor in this situation.
“Humans are desperately pointing their blades at me?! I’ve never experienced this before! No need to be so anxious. Now, why don’t I tell you all an interesting story?” Samael said.
“Silence!” boomed Prince Faisal. “I’ll destroy you, demon that plagues our kingdom!”
Samael stared at the prince coolly. “Don’t you understand why Shesif listened to me? It’s so simple that you’ll surely find the answer with a bit of thought. Salim, who came to the underworld, formed a contract with me. He wanted to save the life of a woman he loved. In exchange for that woman’s life being spared, Salim followed my orders and offered his body to me.”
Samael’s words were a continuation of Salim’s journal. The journal didn’t state what happened to Salim’s body. Does this mean that he went to the underworld, met Samael, and died?
“After I obtained a body of flesh, I came to this world and saved Minne. It’s all very simple, you see. Minne’s life is in my hands. If you kill me, Minne shall perish as well. And so, out of love for his younger sister, Shesif, though realizing that I’m a demon, pretended not to notice,” Samael finished.
“…I guessed as much. I had that feeling ever since I realized that you’re a demon,” Faisal replied in a soft, hoarse voice.
“He chose his family over the fate of this world. I suppose that’s an emotion called ‘love,’ which foolish humans seem to have. I can understand that feeling, of course. And because I can, destroying this world is all the more delightful for me.”
Samael continued to laugh. Before I knew it, I’d clenched my staff so hard that my hand had started to grow numb.