"The citadel has fallen."

An ominous headline sprawled across the bottom of the screen. A possibility that never occurred to him, shown in bold red letters on screen. The news report didn't get any better, demons burning the homes and churches, wreaking havoc on the streets, all in a small town he hadn't heard the name of in decades.

The reported rattled off about the different fights and their gruesome consequences. The demons appeared seemingly out of nowhere, honed in and smashing through the meager defenses in 3 adjacent villages. As if the earth itself one day spat them out from the depths below.

Disasters like this were considered top priority. Picking the switchblade off the ground, he blew the dust off that'd settled on the floor.

A moment later, a knock on his door.

***

"And, like what you see?"

Yasou sat baffled, mouth agape, eyes threatening to bulge out. The sheer carnage on display one he'd never seen before.

"And you... you did all this?"

"Huhuu~ a group effort."

The demon gave a relaxed smile, rather pleased at the display.

"You were the leader of it."

Ominous words spilled out her mouth.

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"Those few meager kills, it created a butterfly effect of sorts."

"The hell does that mean."

"Us demons... harbingers of sin sense the loss of divinity. To us, divinity is like what would be smoke for you. Thick, misty, unbearable to breathe through. We purified it, using your envy and wrath."

Her finger ran down to his heart, circling it like a marking as she wrapped her arm around him.

"Now that we could breathe, we fought."

The absurdity had yet to hit him, as he kept staring in disbelief, looking at the corpses, sliced in half, hung off from the rooftops of churches, or sprawled out on the street.

Some he faintly recognized, or at least thought he did. It was hard to say from whatever disfigured remains were displayed.

"Yet, the fog will soon reappear, and with it the party will end. If we were to run, the root of sin would weaken, it would be over just... like... that."

She inched her face close, whispering to him.

"Or... we could truly show revenge. No one will stop us, no one can."

He felt suffocated, this being is what he led inside his house, made a deal with. Bloodthirsty enemies as friends and enemies alike, just from a single decision. A world that was hidden in plain sight all this time revealing its ugly face.

Yet at that moment, he felt no remorse.

"...I have saved you once before, and you have saved me." He kept his eyes downcast. "Though don't get me wrong... your plans, your friends, your war, they mean nothing to me. I'm not a demon. Humanity, virtue, sin, it's all noise."

Even hearing these words, her smile didn't dissipate.

"I promised no harm would befall you. Yet, I cannot save a martyr from hanging himself on a cross. If your remaining purpose ends here, all that remains will be atonement, soon followed by death."

She put the palm of her hand on top of his as she spoke, feeling the tremors he couldn't suppress.

"You can see such a fate right before you."

"..."

He silently stared back up at the tv, the broadcast soon ended, being cut off abruptly by the tv network.

"I'm going to go outside for a bit, stay here and don't follow me."

An urge had welled up within him. An urge he couldn't tell why he felt it.

He wished to see it for himself.

"Be safe, dear." The demon waved at him, as she sat back in the couch, a self-satisfied look on her face.

Just in case, he took his trusty knife with him.