Dumas had moved into the royal suite with its own throne, its own reception room and its own garden.

It revolted me to have what looked like a 'thinking cancer' right next to me. It reminded me of the old film 'The Cry of the Ice Cube' where a bourgeois was sipping a cocktail by his large swimming pool when someone arrived, dressed in an unseasonably warm suit.

He shook his hand and said: "Hello, I'm your cancer, and before you die, I'd like to meet you".

The thought alone made me vomit my lunch.

Then tears came and I didn't know what else to do...

I was out of ideas, out of arguments.

The monster was there, in the building next door, just waiting for a gesture, an event or an excuse to release its fibres, tentacles or spores to zombify the whole planet and remodel flesh into living nightmares.

I flew alone to Winter Fort to meet up with the 'Old Man' and Romas.

The welcome I received was cold and when I approached the fortress, the doors were down.

I wasn't welcome, but I was alone.

I shouted in my big dragon voice: "ROMAS...!! we need to talk!

Ten interminable minutes passed and on the wall, a black knight in dragon hunter's clothing.

The fortress had the flags of the ancient dragon slayers and not those of the empire...

I saw the flags but it was just another thorn in my heart.

"ROMAS I must speak to you in private.

The Black Knight replied: "There is no more Romas for you, for you are nothing but a vicious and devious monster. "

"Mercy, Romas."

"An arch-demon who begs for mercy!???"

"ROMAASS" GROAAARRRR "I want to talk to the OLD MAN"

A few moments later, an old man appeared in the courtyard and beckoned Romas to calm down.

The large doors were closed and only the small service door was open.

I had to shrink down to enter.

And, as soon as I stepped through the door, a runic net was thrown over me, blocking all my powers.

But I let it.

Romas lifted the bag with me inside and threw me at the Old Man's feet into a dungeon specially reserved for me.

It was a trap, but it was easy for me to get out.

I played along.

Romas thrust his sword through the net, "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you for what you've done!

"I've done what? The bomb wasn't me!"

Romas raised his sword in interest. "That's not what I'm talking about... You're a marquis from hell, a monster from the apocalypse, and I really have to make superhuman efforts not to skewer you with my sacred sword.

Then I started to cry

"Oh, how moving, a demon crying..."

The Old Man signalled Romas to stop.

"Forgive Romas, but he can't bear to see his niece mutilated in this way in what he hates most. So before we go any further I want to know why you did this to Chlorophylle. It shocks me too, and my heart just won't listen to reason."

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"I love and adore Chlorophylle. She's my wife!..."

"Mir, you have violated taboos and human understanding... Do you realise that you've forced the girl to marry an animal? That's bestiality and punishable by death!

If you've cast a spell or something, undo it and give Chlorophylle back her appearance."

I cried.

"I love Chlorophylle, I love her!"

Romas kicked me.

"OOWWWW"

"That's not what we asked you to do. We asked you to protect her, not fuck her!"

"Romas... I'm married, and she's willing... She's still herself! "

He picked me up and shook me.

"I ORDER YOU TO GIVE HER BACK AS BEFORE!"

The old man patted Romas on the shoulder. "Calm down... that's not how it works."

Me: "Help! "I said, whimpering.

The old man spoke: "Neither Romas nor I can forgive you for what you've done.

"But I didn't do anything! That's what I'm here to tell you... I am a Wyvern, not a demon lord. I'm not a bloodthirsty beast! It's the system... it's crazy!

He made me a demon lord! He changed my colour and corrupted Chlorophylle! He wants to turn me into a god of evil... I'm struggling not to turn into an abomination... He wants me to become the Hydra! The Hydra of the Apocalypse...

And the earthlings.. I never called them that! They are monsters! abominations. They're going to turn flesh into a kind of paste and reshape everything into nightmares! They've got terrifying weapons, worse than I can conceive... they want to take over the whole planet and turn it into some kind of chimera culture... Yes, they're demon chimeras... that's right. and I bet it's the system that's got it all mixed up. Sniff."

The Old Man raised his hand.

"Mir.. Calm down. "

"No, I haven't finished. Sometimes I want to rip my stomach open... I want to fuck all the time..all the time, all the time...I'm going crazy.... and the Wyverns, I've fucked them all...no exceptions...even my mum...well, I don't know, I hope not...I want to fuck every human I see and even my little brother....

And if I don't do that, I'm going to explode.... Help... please... help... I don't know what to do. Xayda doesn't know either... nobody knows. it's as if they're doing it on purpose to see their emperor indulge..."

Romas let out a sigh...

"At least we know why Mir is going mad..." he said to the Old Man, ignoring me completely.

Romas threw down his sword and pulled me out of the rune bag.

"I still blame you for Chlorophylle."

"I'll protect her and be a good husband"

"It's the least you can do and take responsibility...but if there's any way you can make her like she used to be, you must do it...and I'll know if you haven't tried!"

Old man: "Romas. Chlorophylle looks happy and that's all that matters at the moment. She's alive and doesn't want to run away from Mir. So that can wait.

On the other hand, the danger is very real and manifold.

An entity is behind the system, which is corrupt. I even wonder if Mir's system is the same as ours and that's what worries me. I think Mir should be judged by the gods. Only divine intervention could interfere with the system unless it's the same gods who run the system."

Me: "On Earth, there is no system.

Old man: "There must be or have been one. It's possible that you activated it!"

"If I go back to Earth, I'll lose my system and I'll be free?

Old Man: "Yes, but you risk becoming a wild wyvern again... without your conscience! Do you understand?"

At this point... I'm not afraid of becoming an animal again. I'd just be afraid for Chlorophylle".

Romas: "Mir...let's be clear... Chlorophylle is staying here! She's the Empress now and away from you, maybe she'll regain her appearance!"

"I don't want to lose Chlorophylle"

Old man: "If you really love her, then you must understand: If you become a deity, what will become of her?" Her people and her world are here.

You, as a wyvern, your world is here, but you must leave for Earth and only return if your system resets itself.

Maybe you don't have to go far, but just a little bit of this world...

"Me: Going into space, in the ship?"

Old Man "Yes. It's the only way. But have you been praying at the temples?"

"I don't stop... the gods... none of them react."

Old Man "What's amazing is that you don't burn and you don't have any pain or punishment inflicted on you. It's like they're happy you're the demon lord".

"Normally I slow down monsters as much as I can..."

Old man: "You should be rewarded for that... but it's also worrying... their silence... Why don't the gods say anything any more? It's not their habit. They communicate via high priestesses or priests when times are hard..."

"Are you saying they're afraid?"

Old man: "Probably... if you feel an entity or a nightmare, it's because there's something there. And their silence is unnatural. For all the gods to be silent, there must be a valid reason, a danger... Maybe they're scared of you???"

Mir cried harder. This was too much...

SKWWWEEAAAAKKKKK!

I was like an angry, sad jar in the courtyard, flapping my wings stupidly and crashing into a wall, disorientated, haggard and like a bird caught in the hands of a human, terrified, my mouth open and my tongue out, my breathing quickened...

Romas picked me up and stroked my head.

"Poor thing! I feel so sorry for him, he's such an overburdened animal...".

I was put in a dungeon with straw but the door was left open until I calmed down.

I was like a computer stuck, frozen and absent. Maybe it was a self-defence reflex.

Blanche arrived in flight with...Chlorophylle flying and Kroa being ridden by Sacha.

Romas greeted them.

"Mir...where is Mir??? "Chlorophylle asked.

Romas : "He's in the dungeon, he's losing his mind... you can go to him, it's not locked..."

"Thank you Godfather" said Chlorophylle, worried about me.

Old man: "You see... She loves him, but she still loves you."