Dark Path to Heaven [Demon Romance]

Chapter 35

Chapter Music: "Stormfrost Manor" by Brandon Fiechter

Despite having reverted to his semi-demon form, Astaroth was on the edge of insanity. If only he hadn't succumbed to her challenges. If only he hadn't acted like a mindless beast. His desire to intimidate her had skewed his judgment, rendering him blind to his surroundings. Sophia had been taken away and he was currently too powerless to use almost any kind of black magic since transforming into his true form had called for a massive amount of energy. The two most unfortunate scenarios had occurred at the same time. The only solution was to trust his daggers and wish he could find her in time.

Of course, she won't use her necklace this time, he assumed. This is the perfect chance for her to leave me. But there's no way I'm making this easy.

He used up the remnants of his mana to locate the nearest living soul so that he could devour it. Running around in that vast territory should be avoided at any cost. He only had his physical skills to rely on. After a while, he spotted a human with low levels of dark power on his far left and a demon in the opposite direction. Drastic situations called for drastic measures. He would go for the demon, even though they would be much harder to defeat. To him, nothing could be too difficult.

Only a demon can provide me with the power I need to save her, he thought knitting his brows. He would never think twice about sacrificing anyone for the purpose of securing her well-being. Whoever it is that has to die, she's worth so much more.

Since there was no way he couldn't make a sound when he was in a hurry and out in the forest, he decided to run straight to his victim. And so he did.

The other demon, certainly, wasn't late to discover that she'd been targeted and chose to counterattack instead of trying to make a run for it. She was rather confident in her skills and could use a new source of power that would strengthen her. But before she charged at her attacker, she recognized his familiar figure.

Why is the Demon King hunting in such an inefficient way? She wondered in agitation and did her best to ignore the sharp chill down her spine. She had to renew her shaken resolve and fight him with all her might; it was too late for her to go back. If she was lucky enough, whatever it was that prevented him from making the most of his full potential could be used to her advantage.

Astaroth was not surprised when the female demon vanished into thin air. He could tell that was meant for a surprise attack and not for her to find a way to escape. Pretty reckless, he thought and the only thing which kept him from smirking was the memory of his lover being abducted by that demon. Teleportation would be her wisest choice if she was capable of performing it.

For a few moments, nothing disturbed the dead silence of the forest yet the mutual malicious intent rendered this silence especially thunderous. The man was sure that she was somewhere near him but couldn't yet tell where she would appear and launch an attack from. Thus he stood seemingly stoic but always alert for the moment she would choose to be 'the right time'. Hurry up, idiot. I don't have all day.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. A few seconds later, the female demon who had climbed on the trunk of a tree right above him made an appearance and aimed for his head. She wouldn't use any physical violence, of course. It was just that spells were most effective when cast directly onto one's head.

She should have expected, though, that no matter how swiftly she attempted to strike, her opponent's skill was simply unmatched. He was able to spot her exact location –even before she took a solid form– and thrust one of his daggers straight into her forehead, pinning her to the tree. Not giving her a slight chance to react, he swiftly used his longer knife to tear through her torso and chop off her arms to prevent her from attacking again. The King stared icily at the creature he had just butchered and grabbed her face with his free hand.