Chapter 22 - Demon I have become

"It's from the scouts. The Royal army is heading fast to the bait location. The trains with the Noble families too are coming from each domain. Everything is going as planned. They should arrive by the morning of Tifari." Cislo announced.

"Lovely." I smirked as I felt a hand on my head. I looked up and saw Zazie and I smiled at him before turning back to Norman.

"Vincent, what about that?" Norman asked.

"It's complete. We made it in time. It's already here. Come see it later." Vincent replied.

"Awesome! It's all going without a b*tch!" Barbara yelled.

"It's without a hitch" I giggled as I corrected her. Zazie continued to pat my hoodie.

I only wear my hood up if I'm going hunting or if I'm going on a mission, pretty much I wear it up if it means going outside.

"Medicines?" Norman asked.

"We all had our pills!" Cislo exclaimed.

"And we got plenty of spares!" Barbara exclaimed as she fist-bumped the air.

"Good. We must be all the more cautious when all seems well. Now get proper rest. That's important for your health too." Norman instructed.

"Thanks, boss! It's good to be here." Cislo thanked Norman.

"We're only alive because of you, boss, and Ruthless. And it's thanks to you both that we can do this." Vincent said.

"After what they did to us, we ain't got much time left, y'know. But thanks to the two of you, we get to change the world! Before we die, we get to blow up this worthless trash of a world!" Barbara smiled.

I frowned from under my hood. I was having such a great time that I have forgotten about the side effects of their condition.

"It doesn't matter if this is our end, you and all the children will get to see a whole new world. That's all we could hope for. Doesn't get any better than this!" Cislo exclaimed as Barbara and he had a sad smile on.

"Stop this foolishness. Did you forget that I don't want any blood spilled? I want a full victory. No deaths will be allowed." Norman sternly said.

"You can save your gratitude after we win. We're indeed happy that you're thankful. We're building a new world and everyone will get to see it, together." I said as I stood up and stood beside Zazie.

"We deserve to be free!! The horror of a thousand years will come to an end! Right here, right now!!" Norman yelled and everyone cheered.

I smiled under my hood and started to walk away from everyone. I walked around in the forest and found a tree and in front of the tree was a cliff.

I sat down under it and closed my eyes. As I relaxed, I felt my head start aching.

"Argh!" I groaned as I placed my hand on my head and stood up and leaned my back against the tree.

"Damn it!" I gripped on the tree and I felt my horns growing bigger. I felt tears run down my cheeks and I tried my best not to scream despite the pain. No human could stand this.

"Awahhh..." I heard. I quickly wiped my tears and covered my mouth. Until I felt a presence from beside me.

I looked at Zazie and smiled. The pain went away as soon as I covered my mouth.

"Awaaah?" he asked. I smiled and shook my head.

"No, I wasn't crying. You should go rest. I'll be fine." I reassured him with a smile. He nodded and patted my head before leaving.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

"Do it" Norman ordered and an explosion was made.

"Huh? What was that?"

"What's going on?"

"AAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Look! What are those?"

"Something's happening!! I-" before the demon can continue, a girl with a side ponytail kicked her in the face.

"Here's the West Side team. We're inside the castle and got all the lookouts. You're welcome!" Cislo said.

"East Side here, same! Bashed their heads out. My pleasure!" Barbara said as she rested her bat with sharp things around it on her shoulder.

"And we're in control of their security lines. So far so good. Everything went as expected. You can come in, House of Gilan Squad." Vincent said.

"Locking all gates" Vincent announced as he pressed the button that will lock all gates.

"Cislo. Barbara. That's enough, leave the rest to them." Vincent instructed.

Gilan stood in front of Norman. To the left of Norman is Zazie and on the right was Y/n, holding her ax.

"A splendid performance, William Minerva." Gilan complimented Norman.

"Please enjoy your vengeance." Norman smirked as he gestured to the door.

Norman started walking away which made Y/n and Zazie follow behind him.

"Norman." Y/n called out. Norman hummed in reply.

"There's only two left." Y/n informed as she used her hearing ability that the scientists forgot to take away.

"I understand. Now move in, but don't attack them" Norman ordered Barbara and Cislo who was watching the situation from a hole that they have made in the ceiling.

"Ruthless, go out and report the situation to me." Norman instructed. Y/n nodded and left after replying with a nod.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Earlier that day before the explosion started...

"The festival has already started." Emma informed Ray.

"Yeah. The timing was much more strict than we thought. Y/n and Norman must be at the heart of ceremonial grounds, inside the castle." Ray mentioned.

"We have to hurry." Emma whispered.

"What is it?!" Emma whisper yelled as an explosion suddenly was made which made Emma and Ray stumble.

"Aargh!!" Ray groaned as he shielded himself from the explosion.

"We took too long! Y/n and Norman had started the attacks!!" Ray shouted.

"Emma? Ray?!" they heard. They turned around.

"Don! Gilda!!" Emma exclaimed.

"So you made it back from that place!" Gilda suddenly hugged Emma.

"Oh, I'm so glad!!" Don hugged Ray as Ray's mouth went agape and he seemed to dislike the hug.

Ray is okay with hugging but not when he's the one being hugged. It made him feel uncomfortable unless it's with Y/n then he would even allow himself to be hugged to death by her.

"Hi, Hayato! So you were traveling along, right?" Emma asked and Hayato nodded.

"And this is Aish and also." Gilda introduced and gestured to Mujika and Sonju.

"Mujika! Sonju!" Ray exclaimed with a smile on his face. Emma suddenly got quiet as she looked at Mujika.

"Emma?"

"It will be ok." Mujika comforted Emma as Emma embraced her.

"Thank you. Thank you for doing this for us. I'm glad you're doing well!" Emma smiled.

"You too Emma." Mujika smiled.

"We'll stop Y/n and Norman whatever it takes!" Emma released from the hug.

"But Emma...if you and Ray are here, then it means that you made it?" Don asked with a smirk.

"Yes! The promise is redone." Emma replied which shocked Mujika and Sonju.

"But it's not in effect yet. For now, it's on hold." Emma said.

"Right! Just like we planned!" Gilda exclaimed.

"What about Oliver's team? They said they wanted to bring you guys on horseback. Did they go back already?" Don asked. Emma then explained what happened.

"That is why we only arrived right now, we gotta hurry up!" Emma said.

"But it was a good thing in the end because we got to find you. There's one more big problem to deal with." Ray showed them a paper.

"A note? What's..."

"This is Norman's handwriting, oh..."

"It's the formula to the poison that Norman had them develop." Ray said as they were stunned. They then started walking.

"He must be planning to use it not only on the nobles but on the whole population of the castle town. His first goal is to genocide the entire population of the Royal capital. There's no sign of it yet. But I know him. Everything will already be in place. Should anything happen to the city when we come back, I would like to limit the damage as much as possible. All the more so with Mujika here. It makes the prospects much more likely, I think." Ray explained.

"But of course, our top priority is your safety. If you catch even a hint of danger. Run away please!" Emma exclaimed.

"Emma, go make your move." Sonju said as he handed Emma an object.

"What's this?" Emma asked.

"A communicator. We seized it from this fellow and his comrades. Go infiltrate the castle. Should you be in need of help, use this device to call. I will come to you at once." Sonju replied.

"When you press it, it makes a noise and you can tell the current location." Don explained.

"I see...so if anything happens, tell us in Morse." Ray said.

"We'll take care of the city." Mujika reassured them.

"Still, if you face danger, call!" Sonju said.

"Thank you, we'll be back soon!" Emma thanked them.

"Ah yes, there's one more thing, Emma." Gilda said but paused when they heard a giggle.

"Who's there? Come out." Sonju ordered and they see the same hooded figure.

"It's you!" Mujika said in surprise.

"Indeed. It's so lovely to meet you, Mujika, Sonju. I'm Ruthless." the hooded figure bowed.

"Y/n?" Ray called out. Y/n looked up and smiled.

"Indeed. Now I shall report this to the boss." Y/n got ready to leave before someone yelled at her.

"Why are you doing this? I thought you were a demon too! Why are you doing this to your own kind?!" Don yelled.

Y/n growled as she grabbed him by his collar and pushed him against the wall.

"I'm human! So shut up." Y/n whispered the last part before running off to report to Norman.

"Don...that was wrong." Emma said.

"Wha-wait, what was so harsh about it?" Don looked confused.

"You just called her a demon! " Ray shouted as he grabbed him by the collar.

"That's not right. After this, you're going to kneel in front of her and beg for forgiveness!" Ray yelled.

"I'll make sure you will" Ray threatened with a deadly glare which sent shivers down his spine.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

I ran and went back to the castle and headed to where Norman and Zazie were at before I left.

When I saw them, I immediately embraced Norman which surprised him.

"What happened?" Norman asked as he patted my head. I felt a tear escape my eye.

"Th-they called me a demon." I whispered.

"What was that?" Norman asked. I wiped my tear and released from the hug.

"It's nothing! Just felt like it. The demons are panicking. Ray and Emma are here." I reported. Zazie patted my head and I smiled at him.

"So what's happening?" I asked.

"2 are left. It's time for you and Zazie to head in. Good luck." Norman patted my head.

"Stay safe" Norman placed his lips on my forehead and smiled at me. I nodded.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

'This assault and burglaries. Have a separate mastermind. Who is it? These are the masterminds?' The queen thought.

"You're humans?!" they yelled.

"Urgh, arrghh!" Zazie groaned as he held his twin swords.

"Indeed." Y/n smirked as she rested her ax on her shoulder. Zazie and Y/n began to walk towards the Queen but Y/n had a different mission.

Zazie then jumped at the Queen and he was so close to getting her eye. Y/n was busy killing the ones who are alive. Zazie managed to cut her cheek.

༻✦༺ ༻ 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤༺ ༻✦༺

"You will break out, then try to attack as quickly as possible. Both Gilan and the Queen is powerful. Even with you, Lambda subjects. We have absolutely no chance of beating them in a head-on battle. But if both groups worked together and attack, you can chip away and exhaust them." Norman said.

"Regeneration, mutation, the ability to reinforce their bodies. These abnormal abilities all display themselves through cellular division. Demons expend an enormous amount of energy." Y/n added.

"Experiments can't entirely replicate the conditions we'll face. But when their expenditure goes past a certain threshold, their effectiveness in combat will plummet dramatically." Norman said.

"Demons are living beings too. They have a limit. Consecutive battles are their glaring weakness. They are creatures that specialize in instant, explosive force. They aren't able to keep fighting if they don't eat food to replenish." Norman said.

"Don't let them eat any of the meat. Not even a single piece of the corpses. Don't give them any time to recover. Just keep attacking and attacking. That's how we humans will win!" Y/n exclaimed."

༻✦༺ ༻ 𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 ༺ ༻✦༺

'I can see it. Her movement...it's fast but it's definitely duller than before. Just like what Ruthless and the boss said. She's severely exhausted' Barbara thought as she attacked.

'And also earlier, from when we were watching from the ceiling, I grasped the feeling of things. Using Gilan to exhaust her was a huge success.' Cislo thought as he smirked.

'In this battle of to the death. Us humans will be the winners!' Barbara thought as she attacked the Queen but Zazie managed to leave a cut on her cheek.

'I won't let them hurt my family! I won't fail again! I've become stronger, quicker, smarter, with this I can save my family and never fail again! They are my happiness!' Y/n thought as she finished the core of the last demon she had to kill.

It took her a lot of energy and time to finished it off. Once she was sure it was dead, she dropped on her knees and started panting.

She had never exhausted herself this much in a fight. Instead of resting and taking a breather, she gripped her ax and stood up and looked at the Queen.

'They're not letting up. Insolent! No matter how I tempt them. They're not being rash and jumping in. Even a torso will suffice.' the Queen thought as she dodged an attack from Zazie.

'Don't get impatient. Look closely and calmly. Right now, she's just fending us off.' Cislo thought as he watched the Queen while attacking.

'The Queen seems strong, but she indeed is getting duller. With this, we can win!' Y/n smirked as she held onto her ax and forced her legs to stand up.

'Zazie will attack and we'll protect him' Barbara thought as she swung her spiky bat at the Queen.

'Zazie can pull it off. He can do it.' Cislo thought.

'You can do it, Zazie! No matter what, I'll always support my children.' Y/n thought as she watched Zazie go in for the strike.

"Zazie! Leave your back to us. Give it everything you've got!!!" Barbara yelled.

"Don't get carried away..." the Queen sighed as she stabbed one of her nails in Barbara and she pushed Zazie away.

With Y/n's speed, she ran and caught Zazie before his head made contact with the ground. She turned to the Queen and saw that she was about to snack on Barbara.

Y/n gripped her ax and threw it at the Queen, cutting off her arm. Y/n panted since that throw was a bit far.

Before Y/n could take a step forward, she realized an attack was about to counter her so she tried her best to dodge but she didn't make it in time since she had a cut on her cheek.

Zazie looked at Y/n and saw that Y/N's blood started leaking out. Zazie's eyes widened and he glared at the Queen. Y/n held her cheek and realized there was blood.

Her hood was also ripped off harshly by the nail of the Queen. Y/n gasped as she tried to cover her horns.

"Ruthless? Why are your horns like that?" Barbara asked as she laid on the ground while bleeding.

"Oh? What's a non-human doing here, fighting against her own kind?" the Queen smirked. Y/n covered her forehead as she realized that her hood has been removed.

Zazie looked at the frightened woman whose large horns have now been exposed to the people she had been hiding it from. Zazie felt anger building up inside him as he saw Y/n, who he sees as a sister, shocked and desperately trying to cover her forehead.

"AAAGGHHHHHHH!!!" Zazie yelled as he began to run to the Queen. Y/n gasped as she looked at Zazie.

"Zazie! Don't do it! Keep your cool!" Y/n yelled but Zazie didn't listen since he had cut through the Queen's palm. Her nails started to wither.

"We did it! Is it working on the Queen too?" Barbara whispered as she looked up with a relieved smile on her face.

'She can't extend her claws anymore. I won't let this chance slip away. She made Ruthless sad! She hurt Barbara! I won't miss this!' Zazie thought as he went in to strike her but instead, he had his paper bag sliced.

Y/n refused to look weak despite her horns being 4x larger than her usual ones. She stood up and used her speed to grab her ax.

She looked at him and her eyes widened as she saw Zazie without his mask. Y/n knowing him, he was about to get carried away and miss the shot.

"You can do it, Zazie!" Y/n encouraged. Zazie got himself back together and held his sword tighter as he sliced the eye of the Queen.

Norman smirked as he approached the eye that had been dismembered from the body of the Queen.

"Pleased to meet you, your highness." Norman greeted as he looked at the eyeball.

"I see, so you were the puppet master." the Queen said. Y/n slowly approached the eye while dragging her ax along with her.

"Y/n? What happened to your horns?" Cislo asked but Y/n ignored him. She couldn't hear anyone anymore. She couldn't understand what they were saying.

"N'wl mbmoi mjhld he lmh oep ie apsr! rlj n rlmgd bmafdm mi imscld mjd fpgjld, n beih aoilbz nj gmvl! (I've always wanted to eat you so much! When I heard Lambda was sacked and burned, I lost myself in rage!)" The Queen started to speak in the demon language.

Norman looked at her confused, not knowing what she was saying anymore. He heard an approaching figure and he looked up to see that Y/N's horns have grown larger than it should be.

"N irmj'h flihe oep he mjoejl. Oep mgl ao almh! anjl mjd anjl mbejl!! ( I shan't bestow you to anyone. You are my meat! Mine and mine alone!!)" the queen yelled.

Y/n held her ax and glared at the eyeball before picking it up. For some reason, she could only understand what the Queen was saying but not anyone else.

"Jejl ez ao srnbdglj nbb lwlg fl almh he iealhrnjv mi rndlepi mi oep. (None of my children will ever be meat to something as hideous as you)" Y/n glared at the eyeball.

"Do it, Ruthless." Norman gave permission. Y/n nodded and crushed the eyeball with her bare hand.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

"Y/n! Norman!" Emma called out. Y/n turned to the direction of the voice. Who's that?

"I'm sorry. It's too late, Emma."

"Look at the monster we've become. The Demon I've become."

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

(A/N: Eyoo! It's actually been a while since I've done more than 3000 words! Anyways, that's 3203 words for you. Peace out!