The world was dark, and the wind was whipping around the pair of them wildly.

“I have to say… I’m impressed. I’ve never been pushed to this state before.” Even his voice came out raspy and inhuman. “I will take great pleasure in resurrecting you all and torturing you for all eternity.”

He bared his teeth in what might have been a smile if he had any flesh to speak of. It was a bloody and horrifying smile. Miki’s legs were shaking, and it was all she could do to remain standing. She still did as she had been ordered through. She put everything into locking his soul in his body.

Although it had looked like she had only stood there since the beginning, from the moment she had locked down the demon lord, they had been in just as viscous of a struggle as any of them. Normally, Miki could lock down a person’s soul, and it would remain locked for some time. However, the demon lord was able to break against that wall, tearing it down and freeing his soul.

After so many times fleeing his body, keeping his soul in there was like trying to hold a fish underwater. Miki had to maintain her control every second, and if she slipped for a moment, his soul could leave and jump to someone else nearby and hide. Finding out who might be impossible, as he would use all of his power to hide.

Thus, she had nothing left. She couldn’t cast a single spell in defense. She was as helpless as a lamb for the slaughter. Still, she held his soul, keeping it in his body and praying for a miracle. She did as her Master had ordered her until the very end.

“Do you have any last words?” He responded.

Now that victory was assured, his madness had subsided, and his arrogance had resurfaced. He wanted to savor this moment of victory.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“You’re going to die,” Miki declared with a defiant stare despite her own shaking.

Feeling something off, Aberis looked up, and then made an irritated noise. “Another meteor! When had he summoned that? Your Master was truly an irritating bastard!”

It was only going to hit in about twenty seconds. It didn’t matter though. Aberis had long since over-drafted his soul. What was one more meteor? It would be thousands of years before he regained his former strength. That was the level he was damaged. That didn’t mean he wasn’t a patient man. Why, if a man went into a time-dilated dungeon, he could cross a thousand years in ten if he wanted to.

He lifted his hands and began to summon another beam to destroy the meteor. Miki’s expression fell. She had been certain he was out of mana now. How had he managed to have so much power and strength? She could only look over the battlefield of her fallen comrades to realize that perhaps they were the arrogant ones. They had been convinced of a certain victory. For all the strength Deek and his companions possessed, they were weak in the grand scheme of things. The Demon King would be even stronger than this demon lord, and he was ultimately too much for them. Her eyes fell down, and then hope surged through her.

Just as the beam was about to shoot out and destroy the meteor, a hand grabbed Aberis’s ankle. He instinctively looked down, where I was laying. I had crawled there, a stream of blood in my wake. Our eyes met.

“Self… Destruct….”

Y-y-you… Nooooo!”

He kicked, but I held on to his ankle like a vice. Carmine jumped between Miki and the pair. She had managed to use all she had left to stand up. With the last of her strength, Carmine grabbed Miki, turning and shielding her just as the explosion erupted. Carmine’s armor was destroyed. This was the powerful Light Armor from the Twilight dungeon, and now it was scrapped. The explosion had also burned most of her back. Miki rolled her over as Carmine coughed-up blood, death overtaking her. She had used her own body to save Miki. That was because Miki still had a job to do.

“This isn’t fair at all…” A voice caused Miki’s spine to tingle.

She turned to see Demon Lord Aberis still there, but he had no legs, and half of his body was gone. He was looking up at the sky now, not at her. He was watching the meteor descend on him, a strangely calm expression on his face.

“I was… supposed to be a god.” These were the last words he spoke at the meteor hit.

The Demon Lord Aberis died.