Welcome to Hell

What was this bastard up to?

Unable to fly with a single wing, it fell down at the place where Trikeus had just been at; right in the centre of the formation, above the symbol.

Not taking any chances, Trikeus swiftly swooped down and landed above the crow, her paw pressing down on its body as her claw drove straight into the crow's stomach and nailed it to the ground.

｢Did you truly think I would not kill you if you dared to ruin my plans?｣ She snarled.

｢On the contrary, I was counting on you to do it.｣ The crow monotonously replied as it stared at her with its cold, unapathetic eyes.

｢What?｣

What?

Just then, the sparks- which had now turned into streaks of lightning- dancing on the formation shot up and assaulted the rift in space, binding it to stop its expansion.

After a small battle, the lightning arcs managed to close the rift and danced about, as if celebrating their victory.

Suddenly, they stopped in their place, then headed towards a single point, coalescing into a chillingly sharp orb of extremely dense lightning.

The orb whirred and instantly absorbed all the remaining mana in the room, thus doubling its size.

Shit.

｢You twisted basard!｣ Trikeus belatedly realised what that orb was.

She flapped her wings again to get away, but the crow grabbed her claw with its remaining wing and stopped her from taking off.

｢Not so fast.｣

In the air, electric arcs lashed out from the orb and formed eight pillars of purple lightning. The pillars dropped down and surrounded the still struggling Trikeus.

"Why hasn't she retreated yet?!" My heartbeat thundered inside my chest.

It should have been easy for her to shake off the crow's grip and fly away.

"Looks like it wasn't just a flesh wound." Viben replied calmly.

Lightning sparked out from the eight pillars, connecting them together and forming an octagram. Just then, Triekus managed to free herself and tried to fly out, but-

｢Aagghh!｣ She screamed and fell down on top of the crow as a lightning arc from the octagram attacked her.

｢It's too late.｣ The crow muttered in a matter-of-fact tone.

Following his words, the orb in the air turned into a large spear, aiming at the two figures beneath.

"NO!"

My body instinctively moved as I left my chair and appeared above them. At the same time, the spear descended with a non-sensical speed.

I took the best stance possible to grab the spear and divert its trajectory, but what happened next was what I feared the most.

The spear passed through me, as if I didn't even exist, and continued on its treacherous path.

｢Guh!｣

That groan, that damned groan, came out from the mouth it should never have.

The world slowed down to a crawl as I turned my head back, only to find that spear jutting out from an awfully familiar back.

"Trikues!"

I darted down and tried grabbing the spear to take it out, to no avail.

｢Why…｣ Trikeus muttered powerlessly.

Move, move, move! You fucking bastard, just MOVE!

However, my hands continued passing through the spear, as if I was a spectre who wasn't allowed to interfere with the mortal realm.

I tried to use <Life Exchange> to share my lifeforce with Trikeus in order to keep her alive, but it was useless; I couldn't use any mana here.

｢It *cough* was necessary…｣The crow spat out blood.

｢But I… just wanted to see… Anthasia…｣ Trikeus also coughed out blood.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

｢...I'm sorry.｣ A hint of grief flashed through its eyes.

You're sorry?! You're fucking sorry?!

｢Hah!｣ She snorted as her head drooped.

Only now did I realise that I had fallen on my knees right in front of Trikeus. With tears streaming down my face, I tried to touch her, embrace her, and reassure that everything was going to be alright.

But my hand passed through her like mist every damn time.

'Don't worry, for I am here.' I had always reassured Trikeus with a toothy grin whenever she was worried. Time and time again, we had landed into situations where our very lives were at risk, and I had comforted her every time that it was going to be alright as long as I was with her.

Yet here I was, together with her; right in front of her, but all I could do was cry helplessly as her life faded right in front of my eyes.

Trikeus wasn't just my friend; she was my sister, my parent, and even my daughter. We weren't related by blood, of course, but she was the first one who considered me a part of her family. She was the one who brought colours to my grey, monotonous life. She was the one who taught me the warmth of another living being.

She was the one who… made me a human.

Yet, here I was, too powerless to even be with her in her final moments.

"Anthasia…" Viben approached me from behind.

He crouched and embraced me from behind, and I surrendered my body to his tender hold.

"Tell me, Viben, where did I go wrong?"

Why did this happen? How did this happen? Just where did I go wrong?

Was it a mistake to erase mana? Was witnessing Trikeus' meaningless death my punishment for going against the World?

Or was it a mistake to let humans and demons live? Should I have used all my power to wipe them from the face of this world? It was them who arranged all this, after all.

Perhaps, I was in the wrong for using <Grand Orfei>. If I had died on that battlefield, Trikeus would never have trusted that piece of shit crow, and would not be dying in vain.

Maybe, it was just my fault. If not for me, Triekus would have never involved herself with humans and demons, and she would have never fallen in today's trap.

"What should have I done, Viben? Please, tell me, what should have I done?"

Aaah, it's over, it's all over.

｢Anthasia?｣

Huh?

I looked up, only to find Trikeus staring straight into my eyes.

｢What? Have the delusions started already?｣ The crow grumbled.

Delusion?

"Trikeus?" I called out to her.

｢It seems… my time has come…｣ Trikeus smiled derisively as she continued to look at me.

"No, Trikeus, it's me, Anthasia!" I left Viben's embrace and leapt towards Trikeus.

I was sure of it. This was no delusion; Trikeus was looking at me!

Hopeful, I tried to touch her again, only for my hand to pass through her again.

｢Haha.｣ Trikeus chuckled. ｢It's so life-life *cough*｣ She coughed out blood once again. ｢I'm… sorry, Anthasia.｣ She suddenly eked out with much difficulty.

"W-what are you sorry for, you stupid idiot?!" I burst out in tears again.

｢For… not protecting you.｣ A single tear rolled down her face.

"No, no!" I shook my head. "It's me who failed you! You trusted me, and I failed you!"

This situation was all a result of my own actions. In the end, Trikeus had died because of me.

｢Heh, you're still the same…｣ She smirked as another tear rolled down her eyes.

"You- you fucking idiot!"

Only I knew what I was ready to give just to get the chance to embrace the dying Trikeus. If I could, I would readily exchange my own life for hers, but I simply couldn't, because this stupid world wouldn't allow me to!

｢Thanks you, Anthasia…｣ Trikeus' eyes drooped as she abruptly thanked me. ｢Thank you… for being with me in my… final moments…｣

"W-wait, Triekus, oi, wait! You cannot do this to me!"

However, my screams fell on deaf ears.

Trikeus closed her eyes with a content smile, never to open them again.

"Oi, Trikeus, wake up, please, wake up." I tried shaking her, but once again, my useless hands could do nothing but pass through her.

"Anthasia." Viben put his hand on my shoulder.

"V-Viben, do something, please. You are the mighty Demon King, right? Trikeus is all I have left. I cannot lose her, I just cannot. So, please, please."

However, he only gripped my shoulder firmly.

Ahh…

"UWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

WHY, WHY, WHY!?

Ahh. Trikeus, my precious Trikeus… why did they do this to you? Why did they kill you? For their selfish desires?

I cannot stand for it, I will not stand for it!

Just then, the scene playing in front of us trickled away like sand being blown away by wind, and what appeared in front of me was another landscape.

It was a battlefield.

The breeze brought with it the scent of blood as the cacophonies of scream and shouts, grunts and groans, assaulted my ears.

As I stood up, my feet squelched across the sea of blood formed on the ground, and as I looked at the battlefield in front of me, another scene caught my eye.

Why, it was my remaining friends, fighting against a horde of demons.

"Ha, haha, hahahahahahahaha!"

It seemed my hell had yet to end.