“What is stopping me from killing you where you stand?” I said, my fingers twitching at my hilt.

“Is it too much to ask that you don’t kill a man already on his deathbed?” he rasped, clutching at his chest. “Wouldn’t be much of a fight, would it?”

“Enough. Let him in the guest room,” said Asmodeus. “He’s not here to fight.”

She led him up the winding stairs, to the “guest room.”

In actuality, it’s just an unoccupied room left over for quiet meetings. Walking in sent a cloud of dust flying from the carpets.

He paced in the guest room, tracing his fingers on the table. He frowned, rubbing the dust between his fingertips.

He turned around, settling down on a chair. “Ah, so you must be the new Demon Lord.”

Pope Lucius. Despite being a frail-looking elderly man, he has this confident, wise air around him. Instead of his usual white flowing robes embroidered with golden filigree, he wore nondescript clothing, a simple brown tunic with a black cloak draped over his shoulder.

He motioned for Asmodeus to exit the room, which she obliged with a nod.

“I’m here to complete my part of the contract. My job is done.”

He pulled out a sack, revealing blueprints and an orb.

It whirled to life, filling the room with a low hum. Runes etched into the orb glowed with a dim, blue light, occasionally crackling.

“This is one of the prototypes of the miasma purifier. Soon, it will be ready for mass production. Soon, the world will finally know peace.”

He leaned back into the chair, smiling to himself.

“For millennia, popes before me and Demon Lords before you worked together. For the world is a terrible place, and we need a common enemy to unite the races.”

He stood up with a wide flourish. “Everyone is equal under the goddess. We will make peace with demons. I may not see it in my life, but my successor or my successor’s successor may see it. And for that, it is a noble goal to work towards, even if it costs my life.”

Lucius chuckled to himself, turning to me. “Tell me, what is the duty of a leader?”

“The duty?” I echoed. “To lead, and to make decisions no one else can.”

He murmured in approval. “A pragmatic approach.”

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Pope Lucius clasped an amulet into my hands. “The end is in sight. Will you be the unsung hero, the common enemy of humanity, to save these wretched souls?”

It all made sense now. Why there was always an escape route, why the war lasted for so long.

He stared into my eyes with a piercing gaze. “It is all for the greater good. Yes, the greater good. They were all criminals, murderers, of that ilk. They all deserved to die. If you accept my terms, you may be hunted for the rest of your life, or until you find a successor, but you will be a hero. My successors will know that amulet.”

[Covenant Seal]

An amulet passed down from generation to generation, since the first pope and Demon Lord. It is a symbol of trust and a mark of your contract.

* Power grows in proportion to your infamy

* Aging will slow dramatically

The skill ‘Oathkeeper’ will be generated*

The skill ‘Edict of the Covenant’ will be generated*

The skills will be active as long as you are in possession of the seal and follow your contract

I stayed silent, processing what he just said. I, a hero? What difference will it be from my last life?

…

No.

I’m just being selfish.

She broke, but she still took on the burden. But not me. It ends with me.

“I accept.”

A contract materialized in thin air. “I knew you’d accept. Now, cut your finger.”

With a sharp prick, we both pressed our thumbs into the contract.

“By blood, the contract is forged. May the goddess strike down whoever breaks it,” he proclaimed.

The ominous sound of thunderstruck in the distance, though it was daytime.

“You must faithfully serve by the contract for at least a hundred years. If you find a successor and would like to quit, you may seek out mine. That is all.”

He put on his hat and dusted himself off, preparing to leave. “Now, be careful, don’t die on me. I must depart, and hopefully, by the end of your contract, you will see this purifier in every city, a world united.”

Before he left, Pope Lucius gave me some words of advice.

For example, you need a symbol and a name. People may deny, but one thing is eternal—fear.

For Asmodeus, she debuts her rise to a Demon Lord with a crimson eclipse. It is said that wherever she treads, it turns the battlefield into a wasteland laden with corpses drained of blood, frozen into grotesque crimson statues.

Fortunately, she is lazy and there is rarely a blood moon, but the fear runs deep. There are countless stories about what happened during an eclipse, even if unrelated, like people dying from a mysterious illness.

Now, it’s seen as bad luck to be out during a total lunar eclipse, if nothing else.

Asmodeus stomped up to me. “Pick something unique,” she whined. “Why does there have to be two consecutive vampire Demon Lords? Don’t you dare copy me!”

“Oooookayyy…” I said, averting my eyes and raising my hands. “I’ll think of something else.”

“Ahh, ahhhh!”

[Status : Saturated]

For weeks I had been running a “blood drive,” collecting massive amounts of blood for [Crimson Regalia].

My first stop is the port just south of the kingdom.

“A lawless city, they engage in illicit activities such as human trafficking, slavery, drug peddling, and mostly detestably: piracy.”

A city that had grown wealthy from illegal activities and plundering neutral ships. Though technically belonging to Calarin, the government turned a blind eye due to the danger of suppression and the massive amount of tax revenue it brings in to fund their wars.

“This will serve two objectives. Halt their war with the elves and of course, destroy a key outpost for pirates.”

[Status : Diminished]

The sky darkened. At first, it seemed like just another night. The mercenaries are bored, playing cards instead of guarding their patrons.

The first drop fell. Then another. Then another, and another. Until the sky started to bleed.

“...?”

In moments, it's absolute chaos.

“Th- the goddess… Is she punishing m- me..?”

The day of reckoning has come, for all of my crimes.

The wind carried the sharp smell of iron, as ships sank in the distance.

Thick, heavy blood spilled from the heavens, flooding the streets. It was vicious—almost alive.

Screams echoed in the air, as bodies got sucked into the rivers of crimson.

Each drop landed with a meaty thud, rivulets of scarlet bleeding down the walls.

A distant boom rang. Lightning flashed, the brief streak of light revealing her.

His right hand trembled, reaching out for her.

‘Is this really divine punishment? If there’s a goddess out there, please… Help me…’

In his last moments, her eyes, unfeeling, seemed to bore right into his. Her presence alone made him tremble in fear, the words stuck in his throat.

His life flashed before his eyes, and finally, he was dead, just another lifeless corpse.

Only the distant, steady, ceaseless pattering of blood remained.