[Syliar’s point of view]

“DIE!” shouted the rotten demon.

Alas, weakened, at the end of my breath, and with my host just a step away from actual death, there was nothing for me to do but go back quietly to the realm of demons. However, that very thought annoyed the hell out of me. It fueled me with rage and hate! I wanted to grab Severus by his smug face, sink my claws into his flesh and then bash him into the ground until there was nothing left of him!

But why didn’t I do this?

Because he won?

Because I had no more power left?

Power...

Thinking about it, I realized something funny and at the same time… annoying. All that time, I fought bound by the laws and rules of a demonic entity possessing the body of a mortal, while he played the big boss without any breaks on. Maybe I was the foolish one. I forgot my place. As a Demon Queen, why did I need to worry about playing by the book? Causing chaos and darkness was my purpose and even if I didn’t see it then, maybe all of these mortals were actually waiting for me to unleash it. Maybe their souls desired to taste it, otherwise, why else would they happen to be right here at this point in time and space?

Yes, their souls… their wretched delicious souls… they were not denying either my presence or existence here. Only God could do such a thing, however, although His presence was everywhere around us, His desire to act against me was not.

Was I really so foolish… so stupid now to not even realize such a simple yet profound existential law? I wondered as I became aware once again of something so simple, so basic, yet often ignored by all manner of beings and creatures in this Universe.

I smirked to myself and then relaxed as I looked in the eyes of my killer, the Demon Lord Severus.

Time slowed down up to the point where he looked like a wax statue. With a single attack, I could end his miserable existence, but why let him off so easily? I had some questions for him, and I knew he held the answers I sought.

As time began to resume its normal flow, I closed my eyes and turned the key to the portal of power inside my soul. I did not dodge his attack, but for me, it was like being bitten by a pesky mosquito, nothing more and nothing less.

Believing he won, Severus pulled his sword out of my chest and took a step back. Without a doubt, this bastard thought that he finally managed to stand victorious over me. For millions of years back in Hell, this oversized idiot together with all those other spit pots Demon Lords tried time and time and again to drag me off my throne. It was how they trained, how they maintained their authority in that place, how they tested me as well, but each and every time they lost miserably before my might!

Winning in battle against a Demon Queen like me? Hah! That was not going to happen until he viciously ripped my soul right out of my body and then sent it down to Hell with a kick! And even then, he would still have to fight me again and again until I admitted my defeat in front of him! A process that would take no less than a million years at best.

With the door of power opening deep inside me, an unbound demonic energy flowed out like lava spewing out of an erupting volcano. If let loose completely, this whole planet… no, this whole local cluster of galaxies would have felt its dreadful might, so with sheer will alone, I managed to barely contain its devastating effects to a one-kilometer radius around me. All in all, but I didn’t wish to destroy this world, yet.

Opening my eyes, I let the energy flow through the remains of my mortal body, taking place of all my missing or broken parts. The host was dead, her soul had left the world, but as a demoness, I couldn’t let myself be dragged alongside with it. I was the ruler of that demonic kingdom; I was the one in charge and so I took hold of my power and manifested myself in the world of mortals.

My presence, my power, everything grew exponentially. I smirked.

What I felt was nothing more than the raw power of my demonic soul coming back to life and flooding into the world of mortals.

Clenching my fists, I looked up and simply let my power explode within that contained area.

“GRAAAH!” my roaring growl silenced all the noise around me.

A shock wave was released from my very presence. It shattered mirrors and glass, pushed back the mortals, and disabled or destroyed all the devices around me. Pure demonic darkness enveloped the entire area, bringing every single human being to their knees and filling them with terror and madness the likes of which the Demon Lord Severus could never have unleashed inside of them. They went mad and that madness was oh~ so delicious, so pleasant, so beautiful. I savored it like a child would a cone of ice scream.

“SEVERUS!” I shouted as countless tendrils of blood-red darkness dashed forward from within my shadow, coiling around the arms and legs of the pathetic demon who dared to even think of the possibility that he held the upper hand in my own kingdom.

“S-Syliar... I...” he mumbled, but I smirked.

There was nothing this putrid excuse for a demon could say to me. I dashed forward at lightning speed and grabbed him by his throat, then I flew up into the sky. Time stood still as I did this. For mortals, we simply vanished, but we were just moving too fast for them to see.

Nevertheless, I was well aware that my beloved Michael was somewhere out there. Although still hidden by the bastard Demon Lord, if I wasn’t careful, the shock waves and energies released from my upcoming fight would have certainly killed him, so I released a spell canceling field around. It was meant to disrupt Severus’ hidden spells, including the ones around my beloved.

Again, a simple spell I could have used a few moments ago, so why didn’t I?

When the protective dome around Michael shattered, I quickly sent another spell. This one was meant to protect him from my overwhelming demonic presence and energies running amok. The second thing it was meant to do was protect my beloved from the other mortals and falling debris, it was similar to an invisible energy shield.

 No matter what we did around him, as long as I was alive, he would be safe.

“Syliar... I beg of you!” the runt tried to beg, but I was not in a mood to listen.

When we reached the edge of space, I threw him back to the ground then launched myself at him. My claws slashed at his chest as he tried to protect himself with his hands. My strength and savagery were of no match, and his healing slowly failed to keep up. At around 5000 meters in the air, I grabbed his wings and then pulled as hard as I could. They snapped like twigs, and his screams filled the sky with such a wonderful sound.

I kicked him in the chest, throwing him into a nearby area where Michael stood. The building turned to dust under the pure force of the impact. The released shock wave would spread throughout Tokyo, causing further damage, panic, and fear. All of that negative energy, those screams of terror, the horror experienced by the young and old, all of those fed me and nurtured me.

“KYAHAHA!” I laughed with a sadistic and maniacal pleasure.

I had to ask myself Was there anything else capable of soothing my thirst for havoc and destruction?

There was, but I did not have the time to go to the nursery, thus I flew after my target.

“Ugh... I won’t let you!” he shouted and then released a concentrated beam of dark-red demonic energy from his palm.

I dodged it with ease then used his own wings to stab him in the guts.

“AARGH!” he screamed in pain as he tried desperately to push me off.

Hissing at him, I grabbed his hands and broke his bones in seven places. When I released him, I quickly formed a seal in midair and activated it on his chest. The spell was one often used by demons to torture all those who dared to cross their paths, or to punish mortal souls. It amplified existing pain and turned all of their other senses into pain. Thus, no matter what Severus saw, heard, or felt, it would all turn into an agonizing and excruciating pain. One of the fun parts about this little spell was that the stronger the demon who made the seal, the more powerful the seal placed on him would be. Seeing how I was a Demon Queen, and he was a Demon Lord, this bastard of a demon would end up feeling a pain far beyond any possible human tolerating levels.

“AAARGH! NO! IT HURTS!!! AAARGH!” he screamed.

“I know! Isn’t it wonderful?” I asked as I pushed and twisted the ripped off wings in his guts.

“Please... it hurts...” he told me with crying eyes.

“I know!” I said and then laughed like a sadistic maniac right before I stabbed his eyes with my fingers.

He screamed, but I was not done yet. I broke his legs. I stabbed him in the heart. I punched him and slashed his flesh with my claws. All of my anger and desire to harm others, I released all of it on him.

When I was done, he could barely even breath. I grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up. With a single flap of my large demonic wings, we flew up in the air.

“Now, Severus, be a good boy and tell me why did you decide to make my Soul Mate’s life a living Hell?” I asked him.

“I-I didn’t...” he lied.

“Hm?” I looked back down at him and then squeezed harder until he was screaming in pain.

“NO!!! PLEASE!” he begged, but I would never listen to one such as him.

“Look at this place, Severus. It’s wrecked! Countless humans are dead, buildings destroyed, and dare I say their very society will soon change for the worse! All of these just to torture a fallen?” I asked as we stopped right in front of the old apartment building where this whole battle started.

In all due honesty, I did not care much about what happened to this world, especially if the souls reincarnated here wanted to experience such things. My only interest was in my Soul Mate. Compared to some of the things I did before entering this Universe, this much was considered just the tip of the iceberg, but I had to nitpick on every little reason to torture the pathetic excuse for a demon in front of me, although, not having a reason was also fun.

Looking to my left, I let time resume its normal flow just to show my beloved Michael a gentle and loving smile. Afterwards, I slowed time again.

“Answer me!” I ordered glaring at him.