Chapter 36 – Gamble

Moments before the bell struck midnight, the sky in Teralis had changed dramatically. Heeding the call of an invisible force, clouds formed and traveled from the distance, converging into a dark tempest that blotted out part of the night with its foreboding grey.

After the first lightning bolt had struck Aien, it didn't end with that single white lightning. Immediately afterwards, without the slightest delay, a torrent of red followed.

What should have been just a brief flash of red lightning turned into an unceasing flood that rained onto a single target. Accompanied by waves of thunder that traveled far beyond the small village, the world abided by its laws, granting the reward the devil deserved for completing its contract.

After Aien had officially been reborn as a devil, he understood his own power on an instinctive level. His entire existence was meant to guide death. He would know when a regular person died from old age. He would know how long a poison needed to circulate through that person's body until it ended their life.

This new power allowed Aien to control death. Using this, he converged all of his contracts to be fulfilled at this very moment. He used this method because what he needed was not power or mana itself. It was a constant influx of it – an unending stream of new mana.

Since Aien was able to control the death of others, it was only natural, he could control his own. More than anyone else, he knew what could kill him. Thus, he also knew what was necessary to ensure his survival. Those years of experience of a lifetime would never be forgotten and supported the instincts he'd gained.

As the fire from the heavens continued to burn away at his flesh to erase him from existence, he rebelled against it with all of his might. His mana was used to reconstruct the parts of his body that were burned away. That was part of his power he gained as a devil to control his own death.

However, those reconstructed parts were once more turned into nothingness within an instant.

This created a loop of destruction and reconstruction that raged a devastating war within Aien's body. Naturally, his mana would eventually run out as the eternal fire continued its duty. That flame could never be extinguished. On this day, he was already fated – judged by the world – to die. His death sentence had already been delivered.

And yet, Aien struggled against it, taking control of his death himself. He endured the outrageous amount of suffering of being burned from within by a fire that was fiercer than any other. He controlled the mana to reconstruct what was needed. Endlessly. Without pause, he persevered.

And for next minute, he'd never run out of mana as one lightning followed after the other.

The world had to provide it to him. With each fulfilled contract, his container for mana was increased as the world granted it to him. Even if it had already announced his inevitable death, it could not refuse to abide by these rules.

Because such was the law of this world. The devil had to be rewarded. Disregarding the unavoidable punishment, his reward was just as inevitable.

With this, Aien used the laws that chained the world itself to his advantage. That was his gamble. Whether this would work out as he'd planned it out, or whether this minute was enough, he couldn't know. But it was his only chance. He couldn't depend on Cath's whims to stay alive a little while longer. There was no telling when she would kill without batting an eyelash.

Therefore, his preparations amounted to a meager two years with over fifteen-thousand contracts. All of this would amount to a window of a single minute before his life was fated to end.

That was his only path. To continue living under Cath's mercy wasn't a choice. So, he would instead take this chance and fight for his freedom, even if it could lead to his death.

Cath was taken off-guard as Aien had hoped for. When she saw the white lightning, she'd already evicted him from her mind as a maddened man that was sick of living as a slave. A case like this wasn't too far fetched. But the flashes of red that had followed after left her bewildered. In an instant, she understood what was about to happen and realized his plans, but it was too late.

Aien's palm headed straight towards her chest. Directly below the ribs, a natural weak-point he knew like the back of his hand. Effortlessly, his hand tore apart her lungs and were about to take hold of her heart that was pounding in trepidation. At that moment, however, Aien's movement slowed down.

No matter how good Aien could control the death of people, every single contract couldn't be fulfilled as they were meant to be. Thus, some of them would bring with them another round of punishment that fanned the white flames inside of him, tearing his body to pieces. It was something he'd willingly accounted for. It was another way to bring chaos to the world that was governed by these contracts whose punishment was supposed to be instant death.

In spite of being prepared, Aien cursed at himself for flinching at the unexpected increase in pain even he found hard to endure. On top of that, he had to account for the short lack of energy that was needed to keep his body intact, even if that was only a mere instant until the next reward arrived.

Obviously, Cath used this moment to gain some distance between them. Her body was no different from a human's, and if her heart was crushed, she would die. Unlike Aien, she wasn't a devil under the Law of Death, and it was hard for her to reconstruct in the same manner he did.

When she saw the crazy man that was engulfed in a white ball of fire that seeped into the depths of his body, she felt another wave of fear wash over her body. It was unimaginable for her, who had lived thousands of years, to understand how the man in front of her was still alive, much less able to move.

There was no need to mention his clothes, as parts of his body were already missing, unable to be reconstructed in time. Hair, lips, finger-tips, and toes were only the minor things missing from the burning corpse staring at her.

“Wa-!”

Her short words were interrupted by the acceleration of the flaming ball charging towards her. When Aien pushed himself off the ground, his leg that was used couldn't endure the impact. But as fast as it was destroyed, it reappeared and was set aflame again. All the while, the waterfall of lightning followed his movements in a mix of red and white, intertwining punishment and reward. His nerves were needed to guide his movements. Still, Aien was no longer restricted by the additional pain as he fixated his mind of steel on his target.

Even after gathering her wits, Cath was on the retreat. She kicked the ground to jump back, trying to increase the distance. Her forte wasn't fighting but deciding matters before they broke out into the use of force. Any form of her charms had no effect on a person under constant suffering that provided a lifeline for Aien to connect himself to reality. But in the end, time was on her side. As long as she survived his assault, Aien would undoubtedly die.

After several large lunges, Aien caught up to the fleeing devil. Reaching out his arm, he used the remaining parts of his hand to form half of what resembled a fist and struck her. But when his fist reached her, it passed through without resistance. With no time to waste, Aien looked around him and saw dozens of Cath's fleeing in various directions. There was no telling which was real in the short frame of time he had.

Taking one last breath to fill his body with this necessity, his lungs were erased from existence. Then, a red light flashed within his eye-sockets, creating a gust of wind that passed through the surroundings. It took only the time of a breath before the illusions around him ceased to exist, leaving behind a single coughing woman in the direction of the church.

Since he was supposed to control and induce death, the world naturally granted him the means to do so. For his primary method had been to use poisons, accordingly, the world had given him a fitting ability hat was strengthened with each passing contract.

There was no longer any need for Aien to concoct poison. The air itself was as poisonous as everything else when certain elements were removed or its components disproportionally increased.

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Cath continued to flee, no longer taking in any air, but the damage was already hindering her own abilities. She sought refuge in the church that had once been his home. Aien followed after her, continuing to teeter on the verge between life and death as he was used to doing. Finally, he closed in on her again within the halls of the church. Approaching the back of the fleeing nun, his third strike was no longer as accurate and swift. The muscles in his body began failing as his reconstruction slowly lagged behind the fire. Still, the fist found its target.

Cath turned around in a haste, using one of her arms to block his attack. That arm was crushed with a bone-shattering sound, dangling off her shoulder and no longer responding to her calls. As Aien thoroughly harmed her a second time, the fire increased in its might, making Aien howl out in an agonizing roar that was devoid of any sound.

From their rooms, children walked out to see the commotion together with their caretakers. Terrified, they watched the monstrosity that invaded their home, hunting after their dearest and injured mother. As they watched the lightning piercing through the ceiling of the church, they saw the incarnation of their worst nightmares among the falling rubble.

They wanted to cry out to their mother, but a sudden weakness overwhelmed them. Together with the fear taking root in their bodies, they fell on their behinds and remained unmoving.

“Help me!”

A desperate cry of help echoed within the hall that carried the gentle plea of a mother. In response, all luster that resembled life vanished from their eyes as they began charging towards the lightning monstrosity. Caretakers and children alike flung themselves inbetween the hunter and the hunted, but it was devoid of any meaning. The lightning alone was enough to end the existence of these bystanders that had been forced to intervene.

They posed no threat to Aien, and neither did they make him hesitate in his movements. Regardless of the innocent victims, Aien continued chasing without any form of remorse.

With a sweep of his leg that headed towards her head, Aien sent Cath flying against the walls of the church that crumbled beneath the impact. She had used her remaining arm in time to protect her head, but it was rendered useless after a single use. Again, the fire scorched Aien's insides as he continued to break the contract that was not meant to be broken. But Aien endured as the lightning that provided him with the necessary means to stay alive had yet to cease.

Outside, a flood of people rushed from the village towards the church. But as they closed in on the gates without regard for their well-being, they collapsed to the ground before reaching the entrance. The poison in the air had already been increased in response to these Cath's helpers. In exchange for that, Aien lost the energy to keep one of his arms intact, and more organs that weren't necessary for his immediate survival ceased to exist.

Paying no heed to that, Aien closed in on Cath, who was struggling to stand up.

“Mother!”

All of a sudden, Zeristin Wezlak stormed through the walls of the church. He seemed to ignore the poison in the air, and after taking a short glance, directly headed towards Aien. When Zeristin noticed him, an unbridled hatred and rage erupted within him that had nothing to do with the mother that was in danger.

Aien took note of the unexpected appearance of Zeristin but ignored his charge. It was outside of his calculations, but fortunately, Zeristin had yet to initialize his construct. Taking that into account, Aien rushed towards Cath that leaned against the wall in a coughing fit. Both of her arms dangled uselessly from her shoulders. Her lungs functioned to harm her instead of sustaining her, leaving her in a state of powerlessness.

She could only watch as Aien charged towards her, Zeristin directly behind him. Before Zeristin could reach him; for a second time, Aien's hand pierced into her chest, taking hold of her heart.

At that moment, the world trembled in a seething rage. As if space itself raged against the shackles of itself, the tremors spread across the entire world. Every being from every corner of this planet could feel as the ground and air quivered restlessly. The mortals watched in fear as the unknown vibrations increased dramatically, shaking the very foundation of this world.

“Michael! Please stop, my dear!!”

Mother Catherine had enough time to utter those last pleading words, trying to tug at the strings of his heart. But that human heart was long no more, even before Zeristin had arrived to crush it with his hands. That heart was no longer needed, neither for his survival nor his future. As a result, Zeristin was forced to step backwards as his hand caught on fire as the white flames burned away at his own existence.

On the other hand, Aien's disfigured body barely stood tall as he watched the pleading mother in front of him. Without lungs to give voice to his thoughts, he flashed her a cold smile that told everything that was needed.

“You! You!! You will regret this!!!”

Realizing her pleas fell on deaf ears, her desperate words changed into threats.

“They will not stand by and watch! They won't allow your existence and the entire world will refuse to accept you!”

In response to her threats that appeared meaningless to him, Aien remained undisturbed. Instead, he enjoyed the burning sensation that desperately tried to wash away his existence. He reveled in her folly that had yet to realize what she'd caused. And he relished in watching the impotent world trembling as it was left to watch the events unfold without being capable of changing anything.

'Then let them come!'

The illusion of his impossible laughter resonated with the thunder in the sky, basking in the ridiculousness of it all. The laughter in his heart seethed into the world that refused to accept his existence. The same world that had treated him as a mere jester. Together with the last remaining strikes of lightning, his hand that had taken hold of her heart was about to crush it without mercy.

This was the greatest harm to any living being. As he was about to break the contract in the most harmful way, the world could no longer delay the inevitable.

This could not happen. Under any circumstances, the contract absolutely couldn't be broken.

Thus, it had come to the point where there was only one option left. Its last resort. Above anything else, the world would enforce that which stood in the Primal Contracts. Therefore, as Aien was without a doubt about to extinguish Cath's life, one last lightning strike fell from the sky. This pitch-black lightning dispersed the remaining clouds, and at that moment, it appeared as if the world had been torn apart by this bolt that came from the farthest reaches of the void.

When the lightning hit Aien, he could feel the fire within him being extinguished. At the same time, he lost his connection to his mana. All of the accumulated Yzra he'd gained over the two years and had made him stronger disappeared without a trace. With it disappeared his connection to the Law of Death and the powers that came with it.

Aien returned to the powerless state he'd found himself in as a human. But as the Yzra disappeared from within him, his body returned to normal. One by one, the missing limbs and organs reappeared as the lightning repaired his body. From the outside, it appeared as if nothing had happened. But Aien had changed in a way that hadn't been seen for millennia.

The pupils in his eyes had been shattered into smithereens, appearing like the countless stars in the nightsky. Within his eyes, they made up a world of their own and as Aien took the first breath with his newly formed lungs, he was filled with a sense of strength that shouldn't exist anymore. It was then when he realized that with each passing breath, his body was being filled with additional power.

When he'd further studied the interior of his body while it had been reconstructed, Aien realized that almost everything was back to where it belonged, without leaving any flaws behind. But there was one difference - no longer did he have a beating heart.

In its place, there was a black vortex that rotated around its axis, greedily absorbing the mana that entered through every orifice of his body.

Around Aien, the mana of the world that held together the structure in its surroundings disappeared, devoured by himself. The ground Aien stood on, lost its consistency, making him appear as if he floated in the air. It turned into an indistinguishable mixture of liquid gas, yet being solid at the same time, and with each breath he took, the air became slightly thinner.

That's when Aien realized, that from that point on, he was truly free.

With no other option left, the world had evicted him. He was no longer a part of this world. Not a devil or any other being. Therefore, he no longer had to abide by its laws. Consequently, it was no longer a contradiction for him to have killed Cath.

Because he was reborn as a demon.

Free from the laws that governed this world, he could break them as he wished without destroying the structure and the principles behind them. In such a manner, the paradox of what shouldn't have happened was solved.

But as a result, Aien could take away anything he wanted and never return it. The mana he'd accumulated as a devil was able to escape him in his transformation, but for the future that would no longer be the case. What others needed to earn or borrow, he could simply take for his own. Each breath he took, made him all so slightly stronger and if one day the time arrived when he died, the mana he'd accumulated wouldn't return to the world as it was usually the case. Together with him, it would disappear into nothingness, weakening the world forever.

His existence was no different from a tumor – a parasite that robbed from its host without paying attention to its well-being.

Achieving this goal, which plan had been a gamble based on a children's rhyme, Aien howled out in a burst of crazed laughter. With the countless stars glittering within his eyes, he looked around his surroundings. He indifferently studied the ruins of the place that had once been his home. There was no trace of Zeristin, and only Cath's corpse remained on the side.

They will not stand by and watch!

Aien didn't care about the meaning behind her words. In his manic laughter that heralded the impending apocalypse, he remembered the sworn oath he'd made to himself – His sole obsession.

Whether it was the gods that would come for retribution.

The devils that would come for revenge.

The mortals that would come to protect their home.

“They will all realize that there is nothing they can do to prevent the inevitable.”

On this day, through a vow that was filled with eternal hatred, the world received its Final Judgment by the demon. He, who would become known as the demon Ai'En, wouldn't stop at anything until he reached his goal – Even if that was the last thing he'd do.

End of Arc 1 – The Beginning of The End