A frightening song echoed through the castle.

                "Death to you," Bartholomew Roared.

Crash!

The Demon General leaped at me with his great sword. His weapon created a crater on the floor and I tumbled away. There was no talking to him anymore, the rage in his voice and body shook with every step he made. The black armor he had on started to steam but the room was deathly cold. Liz wasn't here and I been caught in a hard place with a Demon General and one of my former companions.

I was worried and the devil in my mind wanted me to use the black ring again.

Bartholomew pointed his great sword at me and mana swirled in the air. I quickly ran away as the temperature dropped and icicles shattered around where I used to be. This Demon General was proficient in ice magic and boldly used it in the room. There was nowhere to hide from the old general and I tried running for the exit. A song played and the Demon maids quickly blocked my path.

"Oh, Demon Lord, where are you going?" Silvia snickered for a moment before continuing her song.

My exit was blocked by the Demon Maids being controlled by Silvia.

There was no life in their eyes but I didn't want to hurt them in the chance that they could be saved.

                "No, I can't!" I said. "I won't shed innocent blood!"

                "Have you gone crazy already?" Bartholomew said. "Prepare yourself! And fight me!"

Bartholomew jumped in the air and landed in front of me as his presence shook the ground. More steam seeped out of the black armor. The General swung his great sword landing a hit to the walls behind him. His blow collapsed the exit in a rubble of smoke and stone. Some of the Demon maids hadn't moved and laid motionless under the pile of stone. I stared at the General in disbelief at what he had done.

                "Why!!" I yelled. "We don't have to fight! You're killing your own people! There's a war that's coming! We must work together against it!"

                "I will not work with you, for the Demons to be in such disarray as to have you as Demon Lord, I would rather die," Bartholomew said. "All these Demons were dead the moment you murdered our true Lord."

What could I do now? Must I always depend on the black ring!? Must I always fight my former friends!? I blindly moved down my path only to get in such drastic circumstances. No, I won't give in to the devil nor will I choose to lay down like a dog. I have done this old Demon General wrong but I won't die for him. I grasped my sword and held it up in defense.

                "Fine, so be it General!" I said. "Let it be known that when you die, I gave you fair warning."

                "Ha, so the usurper, dares utter his words to me," Bartholomew said.

                "Do well in killing each other," Silvia said as she continued another song while sitting on the throne.

The Demon General rushed me quickly and I flash stepped behind him instead. I lunged my sword into his back but the tip of the blade was halted by the armor. The black armor the General wore was not ordinary, to say the least. I jumped back before the General could swing his fist towards my face. I glanced down at my blade to see that small amounts of frost built up.

                "Magic armor!?"

                "My Lord gave me this armor to serve the will of the Demon Race," Bartholomew said. "With it, I will help the world be rid of you!"

Blue light filled my hand and I tried to steal the great sword from the old General. But the music from Silvia intensified and the blue light disappeared from my hand. I glanced over to see Silvia who was still playing her flute. She was using her magic with the flute to disrupt anything I could do. Now I could understand why Liz always had a hard time with anti-casters like Silvia. 

The old General kicked me away and I rolled around the floor as I tried to get my bearings.

The Demon General grasped his greatsword in both hands and made heavy swings for my body. I dodged the numerous blows as the cold air became more intense. If I was caught by one of those heavy blows, it would leave me in two. My breathing caused some hot air to fill the area around me as I avoided the blows. I put some distance between myself and the old General to see some hot vapor slowly come from my mouth and the steam coming from his black armor.

Then I realized why there was steam coming out of his black armor.  

The black armor he wore was magically enchanted with frost magic. The sword I was using wouldn't be enough to put a dent in the armor at all. The steam out of his armor was from his natural body heat coming into contact with it. Magic armor has great properties and are excellent for protection but have glaring weaknesses. The armor is hard like ice but is probably seeping away at the life of the old General.

I didn't need to attack the General at all to beat him.

The magic armor he wore was going to kill him as long as he had it on. Then that means the only one I needed to fight was Silvia. I glanced over to see the black-haired woman sitting on the throne. The song she played had grown faint for some reason. The General slashed at me but I avoided it with a duck and roll. I flashed towards Silvia when suddenly the ground erupted with ice around me.

                "You should pay attention to me!" Bartholomew said   

I was caught in a cage of ice but my sword arm was still free. Using my free right arm I threw my sword towards Silvia who was still playing her flute.  As the sword reached her, dark shadows vaporized where her body would've been. Silvia's body transformed into a shadow as my sword was stuck into the throne chair.

                "Shadow magic…" I muttered.

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The shadow started to wane and disappear.

                "Of course, Demitri, I already left with my flock," the disappearing shadow of Silvia said.  "I wouldn't stay here for you. Oh, and before I forget, I destroyed the ward that protected the fortress. Enjoy your time with the General…"

The castle started to rumble as I heard the roar of a monster echo.

                "Damn it!"

The Demon General looked at nothing else but me as I was trapped in his ice cage.

                "Death for all the lives you stole," Bartholomew said. "Finally they can rest in peace."

                "No," I said. "I will not die so easily."

I used my free arm to reach for the black ring and I pulled it out.

                "The Demon Lord's ring!" Bartholomew said in shock as he stared at the black ring I pulled out.

The darkness of the black ring converged over my body and started to transform it. My body broke free of the Ice cage I was in, and the rumbling of the city fortress continued. My body grew immensely and black shadows became chains that rattled on the floor. A white mask covered my face and my cloak became tattered like rags. The General backed away from me in disbelief at what I had become.

                "This…this is the Demon Lord's power! but something else!..." Bartholomew said. "Something horrible."

                "Yes, I am a monster," I said.

The black ring turned white as the eyes of the devil appeared out from it. Chains wrapped out my arms and littered the floor. I signaled my hand as the chains whipped around and attacked the old general. The old demon quickly used his great sword to fight off the chains as it struck him from all sides. Steam poured out from his armor and the chains shattered as they turned to ice. It didn't matter how many chains the magic armor froze as more chains appeared.

The chains poured out of my tattered cloak like black darkness and continued its onslaught at the Demon General. The chains chipped away at the great sword which the old Demon used to block my attacks. The magic armor was using more of his life as it protected him from the continuous assault. Steam poured out from the black armor of the Demon General.

                "Why! Why did that ring choose you!" Bartholomew screamed. The black armor of the Demon

General was battered and his great sword was on the verge of breaking.

Bartholomew stared at the portrait of the former Demon Lord.

                "My Lord! Why did you choose him!"

Blood sprayed the air as the General was being beaten senseless by the numerous chains.

                "…My…Lord..f-forgive…th..i..s…old….man…"

The old General was a bloody pulp of armor and flesh as the cold embrace of death finally took over his body.

I looked at the Demon Lord's portrait which became ruined with the blood of the old General. The blood from the old demon dripped down the Demon Lord's face like tears. The Demon Lord seem to stare at me with a face full of sorrow. I could see the black ring covering one of his fingers in the portrait and I knew the weight it had on him. There was no turning back for the weight of the things I've done.

The castle continued to rumble as I felt something monstrous attack the city fortress.

I used the power of the chains to destroy the side of the castle wall and came to see what had become of the city fortress. Numerous gigantic Frost Wyrms were attacking the city fortress and eating the mindless Demons down below. The Demons didn't move and became easily devoured by the monstrous creatures. I felt empty as a sickening feeling welled up in the pit of my gut.

Silvia and her blackbirds have done their work in wrecking havoc for the Demons that lived in the northern territory.

                "These Demons, they looked up to me like a savior."

                "I couldn't save them."

                "I should save the ones that I can."

                "I must save them."

I tried to move forward but my steps were heavy. My body became numb as I started to get disoriented. It became harder for me to breathe and the white mask on my face turned red. The Devil laughed in my mind and I couldn't move my body anymore. I could only watch the destruction being caused by the monsters.

                "WHY!"

                "We had a deal!"

I remembered the bargain we had and a feeling of dread came over me.

                "With who!?"

                "Liz!? What!? She wouldn't!"

                "You're lying! She would never!"

                "Why?…No!…No!…Stop trying to deceive me!"

An ache convulsed throughout my body and I shook like a mad man. Darkness poured out from my body but was excruciatingly painful. I reverted back to my normal state and I vomited blood as sweat dripped from my face. The black darkness concentrated at one spot in the air and became the devil known as Nyarlathotep.

The black devil sneered at me and slowly vanished in the air.

                "NO! NO!"

I fell to the floor writhing in agony and heard the roar of monsters echo the sky. The castle started to crumble and my body had become weak from separating with the devil. I could barely move as I laid on the floor in pain. My face stared up at the portrait of the Demon Lord and I could feel his jeering. My eyes filled with water as I felt my heart and body had been ripped apart.

I was being used by the Devil and it was my own fault. But Liz? Why? What did she do? Didn't she help the Demons? Wasn't she helping me? Or was that all a lie! Or is that Devil lying to me? I just don't know anymore. I can't trust anyone, not anymore.

My teary eyes looked down to see the Demon Lord's ring on my finger. It was still there but now the darkness was gone. The ring was pure white and I looked at the ring to pray that my future would be different in another life. The castle continued to shake and crumble as the monsters roared.

Debris fell down from the castle ceiling and it looked like my life was over.

I closed my eyes to accept whatever comes next.

But, I didn't die.

The white ring on my finger began to glow and covered me in a white light.

The white light enveloped me and I vanished from the crumbling fortress.