The golem tried to take another step but couldn't move an inch. It tilted its head back and saw its body was entirely covered by a shadow, struggling as much as it could. This was due to a fire that had been ignited, perhaps by the blow Kira had delivered earlier. The light had automatically activated Arturo's ability. He gripped the golem as tightly as possible.

"You're not getting away this time!"

The golem tried to thrash, letting out a roar. Arturo's shadow expanded, immobilizing its arms as well. He gained complete control over the golem; under Arturo's will, the golem's arm rose. As the flames were dying down, Arturo focused his power on maneuvering the golem. He fully raised the arm and, once he had total control, delivered a punch to its forehead. The punch struck the gem, shattering it.

0%

The golem crumbled into a thousand pieces, like a landslide.

YOU’VE REACHED: LEVEL 10

Arturo slid away, dragging Kira along the path leading to the next level. The room was filled with the remains of the golem. When Arturo returned to his physical form, he coughed up several liters of blood and then smiled, looking at Kira who had just opened her eyes.

"Kira, we did it! I defeated it!"

In disbelief, Kira got up and was shocked to see all the blood coming out of his chest and mouth.

"Arturo!"

"I-I'm fine!" Arturo sat down on a rock. "Let's rest for a moment..."

Kira approached and spread her palms.

"I should be able to help you; I've recovered some mana while I was asleep."

Suddenly, a green light emerged from her palms, enveloping Arturo's wound.

"What are you doing? Is that a healing spell?"

W-what's this, it feels like something soft is touching my wound.

The wound healed, leaving only a tear in the clothing.

"Kira, if you want, we can rest."

"Not a chance! We've come this far."

They walked through the corridor, climbing a long spiral staircase. As they ascended, they began to see cracks through which fresh air seeped. They were getting closer to the surface.

“How did you defeat it?"

"I used my shadow ability; I discovered I can control my opponents' movements too."

"The Slave?"

"He got away!"

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted him."

"The path seems to be the right one after all."

Bats fluttered around the room, and from the bottom, they could tell they had reached a considerable height. Arturo had fallen many steps behind and stopped to catch his breath. Kira turned and looked at him.

"Do you want me to carry you on my back?"

"Who do you think I am? I'm a man."

"Then why are you struggling to step on the ladder?"

"Um..." Arturo averted his gaze.

After that, Kira ended up dragging Arturo up on her shoulders.

"How heavy you are!" Kira exclaimed, almost dropping Arturo.

"What's wrong with you?" Arturo asked.

"Arturo, look!" Kira pointed towards the upper floor, where a gate awaited them. "We've made it!"

They climbed the last step of the staircase and finally reached the top. After getting through the long and abyssal catacomb, they managed to reach the last level, where Archeas was waiting for them.

"Now it's just the final boss, and we're done!" Arturo commented with determination.

Together, they approached the gate. Arturo gave Kira a serious look.

"Are you ready?"

Kira nodded. They both pushed the gate forward. The doors opened, and they stepped into the throne room. They had reached their final destination. The chandelier bathed the entire hall in light, with soldiers collapsed on the ground, Purply was standing on only half of its legs, the others had been amputated. Despite the difficulty, it strained to push forward, its eyes widening completely as soon as Arturo passed by.

"Master!"

"Purply, what happened!"

"The slave, she rebelled, she killed everyone!"

"Where are the royal family members?!"

"All dead…"

Arturo's eyes widened, unable to believe his words, he grabbed Purply by the pointed ears.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Hey, are you kidding me? Where's Scarlet?"

"Master Arturo…"

Suddenly, the images became clear, and Arturo began to vividly perceive the scenario of the battle in the castle. When Archeas made her appearance, Scarlet defended herself with all her might to safeguard her life, but the power of an angel queen was superior to that of a demon queen. The fight was brief but intense, understandable considering Arturo knew Scarlet well: when she was in a rage, she was reckless, and Archeas took advantage of this trait to defeat and kill her. Scarlet's body, along with those of the other royal members, lay scattered somewhere, silent witnesses of the fierce battle.

Arturo quickly headed to the castle exit, letting Kira take care of Purply. Arturo went outside, where Archeas hovered majestically above the castle, her luminous wings slicing through the air while the soldiers on the battlements furiously launched their arrows. However, every arrow that came too close was gracefully deflected by the angel's protective wings. Archeas, calm and serene, slightly lifted her wings, forming a shield that enveloped her in light. She flapped her wings and unleashed a whirlwind that turned into a tornado, sweeping the soldiers off the battlements.

The other angels had been killed by the air demons in an aerial clash, where the angels stood no chance of victory in a large numerical confrontation. Archeas flew low, catching a glimpse of Arturo's appearance on the entrance arch. She landed in front of the king.

"You managed to survive?" asked Arturo.

"You killed my mother."

Archeas appeared behind Arturo, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"She came at me, what was I supposed to do? I couldn't just let myself be killed."

The girl brought her tongue close to Arturo's neck.

"Come on... don't dwell on it too much."

Her wings spread out.

"Now, your life is over."

Archeas launched her spines directly at Arturo, but just as they were about to hit him, they were reflected toward her. Struck by her attack, Archeas was thrust backward, pierced by a barrage of projectiles; the spines perforated every part of her body. She fell to the ground, blood soaking the earth beneath her. Arturo walked past her pitiful state.

"I thought you could become my partner, I just wanted to spend time with you, walk under the moonlight, make out, but now I see you're an enemy."

"Master Arturo... w-wait!"

"What am I waiting for?"

"Master!"

"No, Archeas, I don't have to wait for anything."

A sinister aura enveloped Arturo's eyes, his slender pupils dilated. He reached out and grabbed her wing.

"This is for my mother."

He yanked her wing, tearing it violently from her back. Archeas's screams were deafening; nothing could calm her now. Her plan had completely crumbled; no one could support her anymore, half the army of angels gone, her wing gone, and her thirst for vengeance was shattered by the cruelty of the demon king.

Archeas looked up and saw Arturo in all his majesty, his cloak billowing in front of that apocalyptic backdrop, against a sky painted with the redness of the heavens. As Archeas crawled on the ground, face up, she even ended up licking the earth.

"Forgive me..."

"Master Arturo, let's go back to how things were before."

She even took off her clothes, revealing her shoulder.

"Look, Master Arturo, you like this, don't you?"

Archeas completely removed her tunic, exposing her chest to the wind.

"Please spare me, look, I'm your slave!"

Arturo grabbed Archeas by the neck, lifting her up, and then landed a punch so powerful it sent her sprawling on the ground.

"Why did you kill her!?"

Arturo took a run-up and continued to hit her with fierce punches, reducing Archeas to a useless rag. She tried to rise, attempting to soar into the air, but to no avail; the loss of a wing prevented her from flying, and the more she looked at the sky, the more melancholy wrapped around her until it suffocated her.

Arturo stopped, though his fist still trembled, wanting to continue punching the cursed angel. But in the end, he decided to lower his arm, to endure, because that sight was already enough for him, an angel forever separated from heaven.

Suddenly, the air demons arrived, surrounding the angel. They left her no escape route; it was like a rat in a trap. Archeas continued to lick the ground, in such a humiliating manner unbecoming of a queen.

"Master! Look how pathetic I am! I will be your slave for eternity," Archeas pleaded.

"I will have sex whenever you command it."

The demons snickered at seeing her reduced to such a state, missing a wing and begging for mercy on the ground. Arturo advanced through the crowd. The pressure from the soldiers instantly halted them, and they stood still as if waiting for orders.

"Subjects, I see a certain temptation in your eyes."

The subjects looked at each other.

"I know well, even though she's an angel, Archeas is a splendid queen, isn't she?"

Arturo raised his arms.

"Well then. You are free to satisfy your needs!"

The demons crowded around each other, while Archeas tried to move away, but she couldn't, because they grabbed her arms and spread her legs. Arturo stepped back satisfied, proudly waving his cloak as black as night. With a sharp smile on his lips, he proclaimed in a powerful voice:

"And another mission comes to an end, here in the realm of demons!"

Following that disaster, the people were thrilled that the king had ended the war. Arturo stood atop the castle, visible to everyone. Everyone praised the king's success; he had indeed done an excellent job, wiping out the remnants of that species that had opposed the dominion of demons for many years. He declared to all that the danger was over because he had defeated the queen. What became of Archeas? She wasn't killed, because Arturo ordered her to be chained in an underground prison. Naked and bound by chains that prevented her from moving.

In that dark and damp underground passage, Archeas screamed over and over.

"Whore!"

The demon guard wearing a helmet whipped her.

"In the end, after all that fuss, you've come back to me, eh eh!" he said, licking his lips.

The queen had become a slave again, humiliated in front of her people and the enemy; there was no worse punishment.

"Master, forgive me! I shouldn't have rebelled!"

The demon with the helmet gave her another lash, scratching her back.

"I'm not Master Arturo, are you blind?"

"Eh.. eh... thought you could escape me!" the demon with the helmet yelled.

"Now I'll show you who your master is, whore!"

"N…no! No! No!!!"

All that could be heard was the echo of her cries, fading through the underground passage. Arturo had given free rein for anyone to see the slave or to abuse her; that was how a true demon king behaved. He wouldn't go himself because he didn't want to see Archeas's face anymore, but he thought killing her would be less cruel. Somehow, she had to suffer for the evil she had done.

Meanwhile, in the castle, as Arturo walked through the center aisle, all the demons beside him bowed in his presence. No one disrespected the king: if he was sad, they were too; if he was fierce, the others followed suit. Arturo's will control everything.

Everyone attended the funeral of his mother, and he himself didn't understand why he placed so much importance on that event. Perhaps because he still clung to a maternal figure, the only one he had ever had: after all, a mother always remains a mother. Whether good or bad, in such a degraded world, the mother represented the only lifeline.

The idea of funerals was new to demons; they were not accustomed to shedding tears for the dead, as they knew only tears of joy, not those of sorrow unless they had fallen in war. The mother's corpse lay in a wooden coffin; the ceremony was similar to that of humans. Arturo had the fire lit, watching his mother's figure burn and disappear among the flames.

After that scenario, Arturo understood everything, that in that world he could make a difference, he mattered, he was the one who laid down the law, not others, and this would not just be in Abylissilum, but he could go well beyond. His influence could extend to the surface world, subjugating humans and having everything under his control. If he truly dominated everything, he wouldn't need to worry about threats that might interfere with his routine. For Arturo, the routine was crucial; he completely abandoned Arturo's identity and identified even more with his new reality, that of Artoris.