Berane held the phone to his ear. It had begun ringing just a minute ago, leaving Kieran to pick it up. He was the closest one to it, after all. The one on the other side of the line was Osdohrne, immediately proclaiming the call was for Berane.

And without a second thought, he passed to phone to the young demon.

They were three, nearly four hours into their journey, leaving only minutes and miles before reaching their destination.

Berane stared out the window as he spoke and listened through the phone. The rolling hills of dark desert sand had already faded away, turning to green plains. Far and away, there were mountains in the distance, although some seemed like castles to him as he thought of Osdohrne.

The Governor of Zeyrlan described the situation to his slave. Then, he described what had to be done. "Kill that boy... and you shall be rewarded."

"Do you... Do you mean that, Sire Osdohrne?"

"Earn your reward, Berane. Keep our home safe. That's all you must do."

Berane swallowed his dry saliva. Beads of sweat began to form at the edge of his forehead as he pondered his future. He could... kill the man that claimed to be the Prince of Sin. And if he did, he would gain everything. He would lose the shackles that burdened him and he would earn a new life.

A free one.

All he had to do was kill one man.

That was a task he had done far too many times. Surprise attacks, assassinations, swift kills in a single moment- They were his specialty.

He hung up the phone, his eyes glancing over at the red button across the train car. Pressing it would cause an emergency stop, halting the vehicle immediately. In that confusion, the man is sure to stand and move on his own.

In that confusion, Berane would drive his blade through the man's guts.

He sped towards the halt button in silence, his eyes focusing on the floor. He couldn't bear to stare up, only managing to avoid the man and Esila. It was a matter of seconds before he reached the button, pressing it lightly and forcing the train to skid to a halt on its tracks.

The scenery around them fell flat and the grasses stopped rolling. "Berane, what are you doing?" Alexander asked, furrowing his eyebrows as he stood up, staring at the young boy and then around the train car as they reached a dead stop.

Berane remained silent, only taking slow steps towards Alexander, his eyes fixed on the floor to avoid him and Esila. Five meters to the target.

He grit his teeth and prepared himself for what was to come. Three meters.

He coiled his fingers around the wooden hilt of his makeshift weapon. One meter.

Berane yanked the knife from behind his belt and gripped it with both hands. He thrust it right out at Alexander, driving it towards his stomach. Alexander gripped Berane's wrist and halted his attack with one hand, his eyes widening.

"This again?!"

"I don't know who you are, but... Please... Please die!"

Alexander's grip lifted Berane's arms to the air and disarmed him from his blade. He grabbed the knife and tossed it into his other hand before tossing Berane back to the floor.

Two sounds came next. The thud of Berane's body impacting the steel floor of the car and the shattering of the glass window. Alexander had punched a hole through it with his fist, leaving shards and specks of the crystal to explode around them, leaving the grand window to collapse entirely, inside and out of the car.

As soon as he did, he launched the boy's knife outside.

It was a matter of a single second before the small weapon disappeared from plain view.

Berane slowly pushed himself up as he stared at Alexander. Confused cries rang out from both Kieran and Esila. His sister was already rushing to his side, but before she could reach him, he threw himself up and lunged at Alexander.

The force knocked them both out of the window and onto the grassy ground.

Alexander hit the ground first, with the demon above him. With a rapid blur, a fist rained down and crashed into his nose. Before another blow landed, however, he grabbed the demon's other arm and tossed him back and away.

"Berane, we don't have time for this!" Alexander yelled out, clenching his fists and his teeth as he inhaled the droplets of blood back into his nose.

Berane was thinking before he fell back to the ground. He was still a slave. The man was lying about being Lucifero. But... If he killed this man, he could earn freedom for himself, for his sister. Osdohrne promised a reward. A reward...

Once again his mind brought him back to the thought he had the day before, and in the morning when they set out: 'This could be the day to change our lives.'

He crashed into the thin layer of grass, leaving dust and dirt knocked into the air with his impact. Berane would force himself to get up again.

He couldn't win. But he had to.

Even if it cost him his life, he had to set her free. Freedom. That was what he fought for his whole life. That makes it worth dying for. For her, for her future, for her life, he was willing to kill, to die, to suffer as many times as needed.

That was his resolve.

"Stay out of this," Alexander told Kieran as he noticed his friend climbing out of the train car. At the same time, Esila's palm began to glow with purple light. She jumped onto the seat and jumped again, running towards Alexander as he took a step toward her brother.

Sparks flew and heat grew from her hand, but before she could make another move, a first attack, Kieran stopped her, grabbing her by the hand.

Her magic exploded into nothingness, almost as if it had flown into Kieran's body as soon as they made contact, the same instant he transmuted it.

"You little runt, what are you doing?!" he yelled out, pushing her to the ground.

"Don't hurt her, Kieran!" Alexander yelled out as he dodged another attack from Berane.

But with that distraction, Berane lept onto Alexander's back and climbed his way up until he could wrap his legs around the Human-Born's neck and squeeze.

"Get off of me!" Alexander shouted as his lungs lost their ability to take in air. He stepped back and wobbled, struggling to stay upright.

Berane had no time to focus on anything other than his incantation, his magic to make his heart beat faster, to make his blood burst and boil.

After all, a demon's heart is the root of its entire being.

That statement sounds meaningless, but they are, in fact, the only beings in existence to operate this way. Worldly beings are complex structures of DNA and cells, with life existing in each drop of blood and genetic strand.

Even those of the OverWorld exist beyond simply their physical state.

Demons exist only physically, only through their heart. Through the destruction of the heart, they perish.

Only a handful of beings in the entire UnderWorld can perpetuate their lives after their deaths. They are the Essences. They are beings that have lived for millennia and can survive through pain and death, precisely through the strength that lies in their heart. Within a demon's heart lies their magic. Their energy. Their very life force.

But for beings that don't exist in that category... Their heart is all they have.

"I'll do it! I'll kill you!" Berane howled.

"Berane! Don't!" Esila screeched.

Kieran stared at Berane. The boy's eyes were gleaming with fervor and magic. Whatever was coming, it was nothing good. He gripped Esila's hand and held her back again. "Stay away from them!" he told her.

'For you, Esila!' his thoughts rang out as he bit into Alexander's hair and kept him from moving further. His body's heat was pulsating, his heart burning, and his eyes beginning to burn with a purple glow.

'For your future, for your freedom,' he thought. 'For you... I'll fight and kill and die, as many times as needed. Until my heart stops beating for you, until my blood stops boiling.'

Berane's magic didn't stop growing. It flared, bringing a cyclone of dense energy around them and trapping Alexander's movements. This demon... Alexander finally understood what would happen next. Berane was planning to self-destruct.

He gripped Berane's arms and tried to rip him off, but... Berane's strength had skyrocketed. He raised Alexander's arms and bit into them with his new fangs. Blood gushed from the wound but evaporated in the heat, his wounds cauterizing instantly.

Through the intense storm of magic that galed around them, Berane spoke through his grit teeth and muttered out: "Until my blood stops boiling."

"Wait!" Alexander screeched.

"I told you I'll kill you!"

Berane burst into a flash of light, exploding into the winds and turning them into nothingness, his near-infinite energy turning into a negative existence.

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The explosion was first. A black flash of dense energy burst with a deafening growl, a rumble that shook every cell in Alexander's body, every atom in the air, and disintegrated everything in a ten-meter radius. Jagged rays of black erupted into the sky, a sight of direct and dark lightning.

And then came the heat. A scorching blaze of energy, burning Alexander's lungs in an instant. And only an instant. The air moved back and flooded the crater in which Alexander stood, although barely standing as scalding magic continued to burn at his skin.

A cloud of dust and dirt rapidly streamed into his field of vision.

Before the explosion, Kieran had jumped on top of Esila to protect her. But with the blinding light and the rushing shockwave, she had slipped out and ran towards her brother. While his thoughts were racing, he couldn't conclude a single thing, only ask himself more questions.

'Why would... Why would that boy do that?!'

'There's no way Alexander survived that!'

'Why are all demons like this?'

'Alexander's dead, isn't he?!'

'That boy killed himself?! He made himself explode?!'

At the same time, Esila rushed over to the crater where Alexander once stood. Where Berane was once alive. Tears were already welling up in her eyes. But it wasn't as if she could see anyway. Smoke had begun rising into the air from the center of the crater, with dust breathing onto the land around her.

'Berane... There's no chance he survived his own doings! They should both be dead! Please, Supreme One, don't let Berane's sacrifice be in vain!'

That quick prayer wasn't enough. Esila couldn't do anything but gasp.

The Demon-Born was alive, although struggling to get back on his feet. His flesh was blistered and burned apart, with streams of steam leaving through his exposed skin. Blood surged down from each appendage, even his head.

Alexander coughed out a clot of blood from his burning lungs and still-beating heart. His pants were heavy, his breaths labored. Ash began to drizzle down from the sky and onto his skin, onto the blasted ground where he stood.

He understood what those ashes were. The only remains of Berane's existence. But even as his heart sank in that understanding, his vision remained fixed on the ground as blood dripped down and puddled the ground. His eyes remained glowing with starlight.

Esila fell to her knees, just as dust began to fall onto her as well.

Alexander forced himself onto his feet and slowly, painfully, began to climb out of the crater.

While she cried, while her eyes watered and trembled with the cascade of tears, she began to mutter to Alexander. "Are you..." She stared at the Demon-Born in fear. "Are you immortal?"

A sigh left his lips. "If I was... I wouldn't be here in the first place."

Once again, her hand began to glow with dark light.

He stared at her as she readied an attack. "Please. Just stop this," he muttered out, unable to remove the image of Berane's fearful face from his mind and the cries of rage and courage he managed to spew out in the face of his own death.

"You killed Berane!" she cried out.

Alexander shook his head. "What killed him... was love. It was his urge to protect you. He wasn't acting only under orders. He saw me, a Human-Born that will uproot the very fiber of his life. He saw me, a threat, a danger to your safety. To him... Killing me was the only way to keep you safe. It was the only way to set you free."

"You killed Berane!" the girl shouted out once again, falling to her knees and weeping once more. Her throat was sore, her voice hoarse. And yet, she screamed and wailed into the endless sky of her world.

Alexander stared at her as she cried. It was a sight that pained his heart, but he knew there was nothing he could do to help her. Any word or touch would only pain her even more.

Though his heart was shrouded in sadness and sorrow, he dug even deeper and realized what he truly felt. It was rage.

It wasn't difficult to determine what that call from Osdohrne was. Berane operated on orders to kill Alexander, no matter the cost. That was the power he held over them, that was the burden they bore as slaves.

Something like this...

It cannot stand.

Alexander stared at his clothes. They were scorched with magic and coated with dust and ash. If it hadn't been for his own magic, constantly circulating in and around his body, he probably would've ended up naked. His sheath was blasted apart, too, leaving only a single strand of leather hanging by his hip.

In the crater, it had fallen off his side and dug itself into the ground. Now, he tore off the leather at his hip and wrapped it around his hand, tying it to his sword as well. And as he coiled his fingers around the sword's hilt, he spoke. "Kieran, get to Purgatorio. It's only a couple miles west of here. Take Esila with you."

"Huh?!"

Alexander couldn't quell his anger. But he still managed to look her in the eyes. He knelt before her and gently placed his hand atop her head. "My name is Alexander Lane," he told her. "I'm a Human-Born, and... I'm going to set you free. I'll kill Osdohrne. No matter what, I'll destroy that demon and I'll make sure Berane's death wasn't in vain."

"What are you talking about, Alexander?!"

Tears continued to stream down Esila's face as her eyes widened at Alexander's words. He smiled at her, with his gaze as gentle as always and his thin, peaceful smile.

"Alexander, I can't do this alone! You can't leave now!"

"This is just... something I have to do."

"What?! You have to do it?! Alexander, it's nonsense. You're meddling with things that don't concern you."

Alexander stood and turned to Kieran with his weary eyes and heavy eyelids. He was tired of this. He was tired of the bubbling rage he could never shake. He was tired of the urge to protect and fight whenever it was remotely needed. He was tired of the killing. "That's what I've been doing all my life, Kieran," he uttered.

That was who Alexander was. It was already too late for him– he had already decided he would bear that burden, that he would fight until his life gives out. He had to move.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. Get to Purgatorio, but wait for me." He took a second to think, pondering on the time. "Give me five hours and I'll be there. If I'm not... Well, you'll have to go in yourself."

Kieran furrowed his eyebrows, his face so characteristically twisting in worry and stress. But none of his words would mean anything to Alexander's brimming heart. The boy decided to fight.

He nodded, just as Alexander embarked on the train, letting the sliding door and window close behind him. Alexander turned back and stared at Esila and Kieran giving them another reassuring nod.

The Human-Born input the destination of the castle and set the train car for maximum speed. It would only be two hours before he would arrive, leaving three hours to get to Purgatorio.

Alexander took in a sharp breath and began his journey back. It wasn't long before he found himself once again entering through the front doors of the stone castle. Again, Osdohrne spoke without a second thought.

"Who are you?" he asked, still sitting on his black throne, still dressed the same way. "I don't recall setting any appointments for now."

"Get off your throne." Alexander glared up at him as he stepped forward without ceasing. "I think you'll be close enough to see me that way."

Osdohrne stared at the silhouette. He recognized the voice. "So it's you."

"I told you to get off your throne."

"Or what?!" the governor said with a smile and a cackle. "The demon lord is going to kill me?! Put me in my place?!"

"That's right." Alexander raised his sword and gripped it with both hands. "I'm going to kill you."

Before Alexander had finished speaking, before he had even raised his sword, the guards had already moved in, their quick steps accompanied by their loud footsteps. They were dressed in plate armor, the metal painted in purple and yellow.

Before either of them could attack with their polearms, Alexander drove his sword through the first one. His sword tore through the armor like paper and split it apart with its single thrust.

He pulled back his sword and raised it to the air, before cleaving it down onto the next guard. His armor cracked immediately with the single hit, until his very heart was sliced apart.

Less than a minute after arriving, Alexander's sword was already dripping with blood. Sweat and blood were already accumulating on his forehead, bringing his curly hair to cascade down barely over his line of sight.

For better or worse, it wasn't his own blood.

"Get off the throne."

Osdohrne stood up and shot down the steps with rapid fury, his talon-like fingernails stretched out as he lunged at Alexander. Just as Alexander swung his sword, the governor wrapped his hand around the blade, a trick all too familiar with the Demon-Born.

He fight his instincts and kept his attack, ramming the sword downward and slicing through Osdohrne's fat hand, blue blood and ivory bones bursting outward as he yelped and screeched. Four of his fingers and half of his palm had been diced away in one motion.

Alexander didn't let up and slid his sword across Osdorhne's pale gut. His stretched skin burst open, gelatinous glycerin plopping out before a single drop of blood. Thick, putrid, and colorless fat overflowed outward and spilled to the floor.

One after the other, neurons and synapses and neurons again fired off in every corner of his brain and sent pain down his spinal cord and every cell of his body. He dropped to the floor, to his knees, only managing to raise his head at Alexander.

His crown finally slid off the back of his head as he stared up and met the gaze of a white-eyed demon. His eyes were glowing with pale light, bright enough and pure enough to be considered the 'Morning Star'.

The same fear he held of the Prince, the First Devil... That didn't begin to compare to the fear his heart drowned in right now. He slowly raised his severed hand at Alexander, his eyes beginning to water.

He was going to beg, wasn't he?

Alexander grit his teeth, staring down at the demon. The thrusts and slashes of his sword didn't quell his anger. But that's irrelevant to justice, to virtue, he reminded himself.

"Plea-"

His sword cleaved through Osdohrne's head. His blue blood exploded onto Alexander before the demon managed to let out his first word. His massive head crashed onto the floor, and the next, his colossal body did the same, letting out an echoing thud into the stone hall.

Alexander's eyes continued to glow as he stared down at the corpse. It wasn't fading into dust like he had grown accustomed to. This was Hell, after all.

He wiped his face with his black sleeve.

But no matter how much he scrubbed his face with his sweater or how much he told himself the blood was gone, he couldn't shake the feeling of disgust. He felt dirtied, as if the demon's blood was still on him. Tainted, as if he had been changed in it.

A demonic baptism.

He had never gotten someone else's blood on his face, he realized. His own blood had dripped down his face countless times through nosebleeds in his childhood, and the beatings he endured in the past year and a half.

And now, a demon's blood... He shuddered at the thought again.

He turned around and stared at the dim hall. All the candles and some torches had been blown out in the clash. Now, the only light came from the bright sun, its golden glaze gleaming from the still-open doors behind them and soaking the stone.

The grand hall had been ruined, stones and bricks in the ground cracked, broken, sliced apart, and shattered.

Two guards and a governor. For a moment, Alexander was thankful they were the only ones in the hall at the time, but that changed as soon as he felt a disgusting presence rising into the air from the room in front of him. The hall held two exits past the throne, and one of them was shrouded in darkness and a putrid scent, something so wicked Alexander could only describe as 'scum'.

"Come out of there," he said without hesitation. "If not, you'll end up the same way your boss did."

The wooden double doors creaked as they were pushed open, a thin, old demon approaching oast them. He was dressed in verdant, lavish robes that reached the floor, trailing behind him as he stepped forward to Alexander. He had a shaggily red beard that swayed with each of his unsteady steps along with greyish-blue skin, or rather, scales.

His eyes were twisted with fear as they met Alexander's stale gaze. Still, he kept his approach and didn't stop until he stood just one meter from him. "I had no involvement in the doings of the governor! I was his advisor, yes! But his actions were his own. I claim no responsibility in-"

Alexander raised his sword and, on reflex, Midora flinched, shutting his eyes and taking a step back.

Alexander understood. His reaction was genuine; fear was overflowing from his heart. But at the same time, the words he spoke were lies. 'Advisor'. Singular. In that case, Osdohrne would have no use for one advisor if the advisor wouldn't agree with his actions and ideas.

Regardless, Midora held some responsibility. That was all.

"Look at me," Alexander said with a smile, lowering his sword. His teeth flashed in the low lights just as his eyes began to glimmer with a dull glow of white. "It's okay."

"Look at me," he repeated, until Midora's fearful gaze met his smile.

Faced with that image, Midora forced himself to drown out the paralyzing fear within him and forced himself to smile.

It wasn't a second, only an instant, before Midora felt warm.

He stared down and met a silver blade in his chest. The same sword that was soaked in the blood of his master had pierced his heart and been driven out. Blood began to flow out from his blood vessels and organs and showered his other innards, spilling from both sides of the wound. His eyes grew red with his blood, just as that crimson forced its way out of his open mouth.

Not a single word left his blood-soaked lips. Instead, he only raised his arm and opened his hand and tried to grab at Alexander. His arms gave out, dropping to his side as his body lost all strength. The only force that kept him standing upright was Alexander's grip on his sword.

He tried to curse him, but he couldn't speak. He couldn't touch the boy. He couldn't...

Even as rage piled up in his diced heart, he couldnt do a thing.

Alexander yanked his sword from Midora's heart, leaving his body to collapse onto the already-bloodied floor. The light of his life had faded before he hit the ground.