Chapter 15 - "So it was successful."

Act 1 - Death

The empty void dimension was now tearing apart bit by bit. The cracks had spread throughout the invisible borders, showing glimpses of the outside world. Rain seeped through the roof, dripping down ever so slowly to the floor of the confined space.

After escaping from the blades of the hero, Baracciel backed away to recover from her wounds. She disappeared into the walls of the breaking dimension. However, her escape was only made possible as the person pinning her down was running away from her, or rather, he was running towards someone else.

"Karis!" Ren screamed in a shaky voice as he went towards his beloved who was impaled with a giant lightning lance on her chest, pinning her down onto the cracking ground.

"Karis! Speak to me!" he called out once again as he knelt beside her body, touching it as his hands violently shook.

"R-R-en..." she called out weakly as she coughed blood out of her mouth.

"Don't worry! I'll get you out of this!" Ren said. He then went and tried to grab the lightning lance. However, it was not solid enough to touch. In fact, the moment Ren tried to at least hold it, he felt a shocking pain coursed through from his palms to his body.

"Gh! Again!" he grunted, attempting to do the same thing. Normally, if one was impaled by something that pierced through their body, it was advisable not to remove it. However, the thing impaling Karis was no mere metal, or anything like that. It was straight up an object made of pure electricity.

As Ren was trying his best to get the thing out of her, she could feel a burning pain from within her body. It was so painful as she felt like her chest was being fried from the inside. However, she no longer had the strength to react to such an intense sensation.

"R-en..." Karis called out again.

"Don't worry! I'll get this out! Gaaah!" Ren then tried to make use of mana particles, similar to what his sword had that made it attract electricity to see if he can hold the lance with it. Fortunately, it seemed to work as the edges of the lightning lance snapped to his body. He then began pulling it out, ignoring the pain caused by it electrocuting him. After a few strong tug, he finally managed to pull it out.

As soon as the lance left Karis' chest, it evaporated into nothingness.

"Karis!" Ren cried out as he caressed her head with his hand. He observed the damage done unto her. The lance made quite a serious hole that punched through Karis' body. Ren could see the cracks forming behind her, and the areas surrounding the hole sizzled as the smell of burning flesh invaded Ren's nose.

"Don't worry. Just... just try to hold out okay? Once we make it out, I'll ask Kurumi to go and heal you, so just... just stay awake okay?" Ren tried to make a smart suggestion, however his shaking voice revealed his panicking state. Tears start to form in his eyes for the first time in a while.

Karis weakly reached out her hand to wipe the tears off of Ren's eyes. Ren held them with his own in response.

"Don't cry..." Karis said.

"Ple..ase, I don't want t-to see you cry..."

"Don't speak right now, save your energy!" Ren tried to scold her, but then again, his tearful voice was showing how he really felt.

"I know! I'll slow down time again!" Ren said, remembering his ability. He closed his eyes and repeated the visualization he always imagine when activating his time control. He opened his eyes, expecting everything to slow down, but it didn't.

"Stop," he cried out.

Nothing happened.

"Stop!" he said, louder this time.

Again, nothing happened.

"STOP!" he said again, his tears began flowing out uncontrollably.

For the fourth time, nothing happened.

"I SAID STOP DAMN IT!!!" he screamed.

Nothing.

The cracking of the void dimension continued, along with the breathing of Karis growing slower as every second passed.

Damian sat up from his position as he looked at them. Even though he was aiming for Karis' death before, somehow, seeing her slowly lose her strength made him tear up as well. At the end of the day, his connection with her as a family came out on top, and for the first time in his life, the Demon Lord shed a tear. Not even during his parents' death that he felt like this.

"Karis..." he whispered weakly as tears flowed down his cheeks.

"Healing magic... there must be some sort of healing magic! Come on, memory, don't fail me now! Where is that spell!" Ren exclaimed as he searched his borrowed memories for any possible magic he could use to at the very least patch up Karis' body. However he couldn't find anything. No spell in his memory could ever heal the injury that Karis had. Kurumi's blood was really the only solution left, but the dimension they were trapped in was taking its time to break open.

"Ren, it's fine..."

"No, it's not! What are you talking about! Do you want to die?!"

"I don't... I don't want to die. I want to spend more time with you, grow old with you, have the family I always yearned for with you..."

"Then shut up and stay alive!"

"But... I also don't want to leave with any regrets, so please... hear me out," Karis said, mustering all her remaining strength to deliver her parting words.

Ren closed his eyes as he held Karis' hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it while the tears flooded down his face.

"Thank you. Thank you for coming into my life," Karis began.

"I'm glad to have met you, and fell in love with you. All the memories we shared together, all the times that I felt your love. I'm truly grateful for it."

"Please tell Kurumi-san to take my place and have my share of your love. From here on out, it's going to be just the two of you, so please. Treat each other well."

"Also, you should be more kind to other people. I don't know what you've been through but please you should at least not always show hostility to others. This includes the king, and that monarch, and if possible, my brother if he had changed his ways as well."

"You're just being unreasonable," Ren replied, forcing a smile on his grieving face.

"That was my wish, can you do it for me?" Karis smiled back.

"I-I'll do my best..."

"Good. That puts me at ease..."

Karis took one deep breath through the mouth as she tried to summon more of her strength for one final message.

"Thank you. Really, thank you so much for loving me. I-I love you," Karis said, raising her lips, and closing her eyes.

Ren knew what Karis was asking for as he bent down and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. Karis brought her arm behind Ren's neck, pushing him a little more closer onto her as she savored the remaining time she had.

The kiss went on for quite some time...

Until Ren felt the hand holding his neck lost its weight. Karis' arm fell down lifelessly at her side, and her lips became motionless.

Ren raised his head, setting his eyes on the lifeless body of his wife. She left one satisfied smile on her face as she passed on peacefully.

In the meantime, the void dimension had already deteriorated massively. Two people became visible on the other side as the borders between the secluded space and the outside world broke apart.

After a short while, the space had crumbled completely, letting the two spectators from the outside witness the crying hero before them.

"Ren!"

"Senpai!"

Kurumi, and Arthur called out as they rushed towards the two. However, what they saw was a truly heartbreaking scene as Ren embraced Karis' lifeless body within his arms as his grieving eyes were wide open, almost as if they were gonna pop out at any second. Kurumi, and Arthur saw the hole punching through Kurumi's chest and realized immediately what just happened.

"No way..." Kurumi said, her voice becoming teary as well.

"Senpai... what happened?!" Arthur asked.

However, Ren didn't give any replies. He just sat there quietly, in the rain.

Arthur caught a glimpse of Damian, standing on the side. He immediately withdrew his blade and pointed it at him.

"What the hell did you do!" he called out. He tried to put on a brave display, but his voice was still shaking before the demon lord.

"I am not... the enemy... anymore..." Damian said, his voice was shaky as well, but he was able to suppress the sadness from his voice.

Just then, a bolt of lightning struck nearby. As the flash subsided, Baracciel had appeared once again. The girl was once again, in perfect condition, spreading her wings before her enemies.

"What the hell, isn't that one of the heroes?!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Demon. Killed. New Target. Acquired," Baracciel spoke out.

Baracciel raised her staff to initiate her attack. However, she stopped as her eyes went wide in surprise, seemingly looking at something that caught her attention. It was a crack in space, suspended in midair. However, the fake dimension she had created was already long gone, therefore whatever that crack was, she was not familiar with it.

Just then, she noticed an ominous aura surrounding her target, the hero, Ren. Ren turned around, and the two met eye to eye. And as she saw the look on his eyes, the angel...

Despite being a soulless killing machine...

Felt fear.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Act 2 - Dystopia

"What are those?" Arthur asked, spotting a few set of cracks appearing seemingly from out of nowhere. Kurumi followed his gaze and saw them as well.

The cracks kept on spreading around with no proper behavior for their progression. They just appeared randomly, either in the air, some on the ground, and up over in the sky. It was as if the whole world around them was being torn apart.

Ren stood from his seat, carrying Karis' remains in his hands. His eyes were intensely focused on one person, giving her a murderous gaze that instilled fear in the heartless angel's mind.

"You two..." he called out, his voice sounded extremely calm despite the enormous killing intent that he's giving off. Kurumi, and Arthur felt chills ran down their spine as they heard Ren's dead calm tone. Even though they were allies, they could feel the fear as if Ren was after their lives. They couldn't even look at his face, afraid to see what expression he currently had.

"Take her and that guy over there, and head back home," Ren commanded.

"Right..." the two replied without resistance. They knew that arguing right now was not in their best interest.

Arthur grabbed Karis from Ren's hands, holding her in a princess-carry as gently as he could. Meanwhile, Kurumi went over to Damian and wrapped his arm around her shoulder to assist him to walk. Normally, Damian's pride as a Demon Lord would have made him refuse such a gesture, but even he could not defy the will of the hero before him.

"Demon. Kill," Baracciel raised her staff, attempting to attack Kurumi, and Damian as they were walking off. However, as her spell came out of her staff, it immediately evaporated into nothing. Baracciel's eyes went wide in surprise but she tried again. Same as before, the spell dissipated not long after leaving her staff. She tried again for the third time, however before she could do anything more, Ren suddenly appeared in front of her.

Ren quickly grabbed Baracciel's staff with his left hand, and grabbed her neck with his right. The angel wasn't able to react in time and so failed to eject her electric barrier. She shifted her eyes onto the man before her, and what he saw was a face deadset on taking her life.

Baracciel tried to break free from Ren's grasp, but his grip was too strong. Not long after, she observed some cracks forming near Ren's hand.

"Attack. Unidentified. Response. Escape."

"..."

Just then, the space around Ren's hand holding her neck distorted. Baracciel violently coughed blood from her mouth as she received a mysterious attack that seemed to have mutilated her insides. Ren then made a swift turn in mid-air and kicked Baracciel into the ground. As his enemy was falling, Ren set his foot in the air, as if stepping on an invisible wall. He then kicked himself off of that spot, and followed the angel as she fell down.

Baracciel landed on the ground with a loud crash with Ren falling behind, driving his foot on her back. Ren then pinned her down with his left foot, grabbed tightly on her wings, and pulled them straight off with his hands as if ripping the wings of a bug.

However, Baracciel's regenerative ability healed her wings back up, which Ren then ripped off again. And then another came, and was ripped off again. The cycle of Baracciel regrowing her wings and Ren ripping them off right after continued for a while. Ren's companions watched in the sideline as they saw their friend brutally dealt with the enemy.

"Ren..."

"Kurumi-senpai, hurry up with the portal! We won't be safe if we stay here much longer!" Arthur reminded.

"Ah, right!"

The three then walked off into the nearest wall of the crater area where Kurumi set up a portal with the mark on her palm. The view of Ren's mountain house greeted them on the other side of the portal, along with the faces of the villagers that they had rescued earlier. Kurumi, Damian, and Arthur all went into the portal, leaving Ren, and Baracciel to fight alone in the rain with the cracks in the sky. After the three had all made it through, the portal began to close down.

"Ren... don't lose yourself..." Kurumi prayed as the view of the other side grew smaller in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Ren was still hellbent on ripping off Baracciel's wings that it it could no longer be counted how many sets of six did he pull off. The ground Baracciel was laying on had been flooded with her blood from her broken wings. Little by little, as the damage she was suffering had been coming non-stop, even the emotionless angel started flinching.

After a while, Ren had ceased on the wing ripping and stepped back for a bit. Baracciel stood up immediately as his attacker had finally let go of her. As she turned her eyes into the sky, the cracks had already grown so much that it went as far as the eye could see.

The area surrounding them seemed to have degraded so much. The sky was raining violently, with the sound of thunder roaring with the flash of lightning which even she cannot control. The surrounding ground had also started eroding, causing the rocks to break down into smaller rubbles. She caught a glimpse of the greenery outside, but saw the grass, as well as the trees, began to wilt rapidly. Along with the lack of any other source of life from the surroundings, the island were as if it were in the middle of a world-ending phenomenon.

"What madness is this..." Baracciel remarked, speaking with a slight hint of emotion for the first time.

What answered her question was Ren appearing in front of her in the blink of an eye. He once again grabbed her by the neck, and raised her in the air. Baracciel struggled as hard as she could, flailing her legs, as she grabbed Ren's arm to counteract the pressure he was exerting on her throat.

Ren then brought her closer to his face, imprinting his murderous expression to his victim's mind. Ren then stopped as Baracciel's face was mere inches away from his own that they could feel each others' breath, as he said in the coldest voice possible...

"Die."

After his parting words, Ren tossed Baracciel away with all his strength, letting her thrash around violently, unable to control her flight. As she flew away, Ren knelt a bit, and then sprung his legs forward, moving in a speed unperceivable by the human eye. He then appeared a few distance away towards the direction of Baracciel's flight. He then jumped up into the air, just in time for the angel's body to cross him in the sky. He winded back his arm, then extended it as his palm crashed onto Baracciel's back.

"[Dystopia]"

As he declared his attack, the cracks in the spaces around his palm scattered rapidly. The sound of glass breaking was heard all over along with the sounds of the apocalyptic environment that was created. Streams of lava spewed out of the ground, the earth quaked so violently, and the sea, little by little, found its way onto the land, as it slowly swallowed up the archipelago.

A massive space distortion occurred just where Ren casted his mysterious spell, creating a hole in reality that generated a strong gravitational pull that sucked up everything with such a strong force. Rubble began flying into the distorted space, and soon, larger pieces of land got attracted as well. Every matter in the area was consumed by the space distortion, destroying the entire archipelago in the process.

The intensity of Ren's spell was so great that it was felt all around the world. Citizens of Ironblade's capital held on for dear life as the ground shook beneath them. The coastal city of Warspite was also in a state of panic as waves of varying sizes crash onto their wooden docks. This caused the people who lived near the shoal to run away in a panic. Sinkholes had also begun appearing in Sahnper's deserts as the roof of underground cave systems were ripped open and sand seeped through the deep caves.

However, the most damage done onto all was at the center of the disaster. The western archipelago had been reduced to nothingness, wiped clean off of the map as if it had never existed. It's surrounding waters were left wide open as well, creating waterfalls that led to the bottom of the ocean floor. And at the center of that massive hole in the ocean, there stood in the air, a grieving man.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Act 3 - Despair

"Please calm down everyone! The quaking had subsided!"

"Ahh! It's the end of the world! We're all gonna die!"

"The gods are about to deliver their final judgment!"

Feeling the effects of the global disaster that had just occurred, the evacuated villagers of the western archipelago were brought into a state of hysteria. Even after the disaster had ceased, the villagers were all still panicking, running around, the beach, kneeling on the ground while giving their prayers, or just simply submitting into despair as they curled themselves up and lied on the sand.

Kurumi, and Arthur did their best to calm everyone down, however their voice wasn't reaching any of them.

"What do we do?" Kurumi asked Arthur.

"I don't know, I've never been in this kind of scenario yet. Still what was that just now. It really felt like the world was ending," Arthur replied.

"Do you think it has something to do with what we saw earlier?"

"You mean with Ren-senpai?"

"Yeah, those cracks in the sky, and then the sudden earthquake... I don't think it's a coincidence."

"That's him alright, this power can only be done by him," Damian chimed in as he walked towards the two, carrying Karis in his arms.

Seeing Karis' body once again made Kurumi tear up. She still can not get over the fact that someone who she already viewed as family was nothing more than just a lifeless corpse now.

"Karis-san..." she sobbed.

"I'm sorry about your loss. Ren-senpai too, his fury was just too scary. My knees always feels weak whenever I imagine his face back then."

Just then, the three felt a sudden disturbance nearby. They turned their head around as they saw a distortion of space happening in mid-air. The affected area, stretched and contorted in an unpredictable manner. The strange phenomenon occurred for a good while, until it finally stabilized, and Ren emerged out of it. Kurumi, and Arthur both ran towards him as he descended gently onto the ground. The villagers also noticed his sudden appearance and turned their heads over to him.

"Ren!"

"Senpai!"

The two called out, however Ren didn't react one bit. He just stared silently with an empty look on his face. Kurumi went and gave him a kiss on the lips, but then again, he didn't give out any form of reaction. Kurumi pulled her head away and gave a concerned looked at Ren. Depression cannot even begin to describe the look on his face right now.

After a short while, Ren turned his head and looked all around. He then stopped as he spotted Damian, carrying the body of his wife. He slowly went over to him with Kurumi and Arthur quietly moving at the side to let him through.

Ren then simply looked at Karis silently. Damian already knew what he wanted to do, so he gently passed Karis' body over to Ren. After receiving the body of his wife in his arms, Ren then began walking silently towards the entrance of his home. The villagers all tried to approached him, but were pushed back seemingly by an invisible wall that Ren put around himself. Any incoming villager that tried to touch him were hit by a weak electricity but was enough to send them away. Ren entered his house, then closed the door behind him, disappearing from everyone's sights.

Kurumi, and Arthur exchanged worried glances. Damian took a seat at the nearby bridge, silently grieving the loss of his sister.

"He's really devastated," Arthur remarked.

"Well, she was the one who had been beside him the longest. Even I can't compare to the time that they had spent together," Kurumi replied.

"Isn't this kinda bad though? He looked like he lost his will to live. At this rate I'm worried about what's going to happen to him."

"Me too. However, I don't think my words would reach him at this point."

"It wouldn't hurt to try right?"

"Hmm..." Kurumi pondered for a bit as he took into consideration Arthur's suggestion. Even though she claimed that her bond with Ren was not as deep as his bond with Karis, surely her words might still have even a bit of impact. Nonetheless, things weren't going to get any better if she just stood around doing nothing. Ren was at his most dire need of emotional support.

"Got it. I'll try to talk to him at least. Knight-san, I'll let you handle things out here."

"Yeah, sure thing."

Kurumi then made her way towards the mountain home door. Arthur made sure that none of the villagers would stop her on her way. Meanwhile, Damian just remained at his seat, setting his eyes on the place that Karis called home.

*knock* *knock*

"Ren?"

*knock* *knock*

"Ren are you here?"

Kurumi knocked a couple of times on the main bedroom door. This was the first place that came into her mind on where Ren would be. After not receiving any answer, Kurumi took her chances and turned the doorknob, and pushed open the door, letting herself into the room.

"Pardon the intrusion."

As she made her way in, she saw Ren, sitting on the bed while embracing Karis in his arms. The same empty look that he had earlier remained on his face. No words could describe the state of grief that he was currently having. The tears were gone, and the exasperated breathing had calmed down as well. However, the calm was in fact the most worrying part of it now.

"Ren... I..."

"Stay away."

Kurumi tried to approach him but was told off in a dead calm tone.

"But..."

"Just stay away. I don't know how much I can keep with my sanity," he warned.

Not even getting the chance to speak, Kurumi merely stood there. Silence dwelled between the two as Kurumi could not even deliver her comforting words. She stepped one of her foot back one bit, attempting to leave in order to respect Ren's wish. After all, she really couldn't do much if she wasn't even allowed to speak.

Kurumi turned and started to walk away, but stopped. She remembered the time they spent in the old world. In some way or another, Ren had slipped back into the same state as he was back then. Kurumi remembered how, despite knowing of his circumstances, wasn't able to do much for him in the first place. That memory prompted her to turn towards him once again. She quickly made her way over to Ren and embraced his head without thinking about the consequences.

"No, I won't stay away! I won't stand by and leave you all alone again while you're in pain. I won't repeat the same mistake!" she said as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Ren, even though he was sending her away earlier, didn't do anything about it.

"I'm not letting go! So please, don't let go of yourself as well!"

Kurumi was bawling her eyes out, but Ren still didn't give out any reaction. The same expressionless face remained as he silently grieved.

'Please tell Kurumi-san to take my place and have my share of your love. From here on out, it's going to be just the two of you, so please. Treat each other well.'

Suddenly, Karis' words as she was dying flashed into Ren's mind. The short glimpse of the memory brought a bit of life back into him. He turned his eyes around to meet the face of his crying wife that was still embracing him. He then reached out his hand, and began wiping away the tears on Kurumi's face. The girl was surprised at the sudden gesture but allowed Ren to do his thing.

Ren then reached out his hand behind Kurumi's head and brought her closer. He remained sitting at the bed as he embraced the body of the two people that were precious to him. And then, the tears finally came through.

Kurumi heard the sniffling of Ren which then made her embraced him even more tightly. She extended her hand around to include Karis' head, and now the three were brought together in one tight hug.

"I see, so this is Karis' home. It's wonderful," a voice suddenly spoke as the three were having their moment.

Ren, and Kurumi turned around to see the Demon Lord, or rather former Demon Lord Damian standing by at the bedroom door. He looked all around the place, inspecting every part of the room from the walls, to the corners, and then to the furniture.

"It's not as gaudy as her room, but it is quite nice," he remarked.

"Yes, it is a wonderful room indeed. We spent many great memories in this place, but more so the two of them," Kurumi replied.

"Hero," Damian called out but Ren was already looking at him.

"You really loved my sister with all your heart do you?" Damian asked.

"Despite the fact that she's a demon, or even the fact that she's a Demon Lord candidate, your feelings for her didn't waver. Is that right?"

Ren didn't respond.

"I want to hear your answer. Hero." Damian pressed on.

"Karis... she is the only reason why I continued living on in this world. Everything I do was to make the world a better place for her. Everything I do was for her wishes. Nothing else mattered to me as long as she's happy. However, now that she's gone... I- I don't know what..." Ren responded with tears still gently flowing down his cheeks.

"I see. Everything for her, and the world that she desires," Damian repeated.

"Then, allow me to help you."

Ren's eyes went wide a bit, wondering as to what Damian was talking about.

"Allow me to exchange my life, for my sister's," he declared.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Act End - Decision

"What... are you... saying?" Ren replied as a slight hint of life could be heard from his voice.

"I meant what I said. I'll exchange my life for my sister's, reviving her from the dead," Damian replied.

"Is such a thing... possible?" Kurumi asked.

Damian then stepped further into the room and closed the door behind him. It seemed he didn't want the conversation to leave the place.

"It's an ancient art of demonic magic, only capable of being done by someone with a demon lord status."

"I see, but, why go so far?" Kurumi replied in Ren's place as he was still refusing to talk much. Although he listened attentively to the discussion of the two.

"I've already said it before but let me say it again. I have lost. The warmongering faction is no more. All of my men have been annihilated as well by that angel from earlier. I no longer have a place in this world, therefore I would like to surrender my life in place of Karis' life," Damian explained.

"Besides, it was partially my responsibility as to why Karis had grown weaker in the later stages of that fight. She sacrificed most of her demonic essence to me, which made me more powerful than I was doing our duel. If only she were not weakened, she could've dodged that attack that killed her no problem," he added.

"Are you sure about this?" Kurumi asked.

"Yeah, I've decided, and there's nothing you could do to stop me from going through with it."

"I see. However, how can you revive her?"

"The souls of demons do not leave their body even after death. However, the soul of a demon in a 'dead state' is so weak that it cannot breath life into its vessel. The souls gather their energy from demonic essence. I guess you could compare it to a fire, needing fuel to continue burning."

"However, there are three conditions that must be fulfilled in order to proceed with this. First, we already have it, the presence of a demon lord that will do the ritual. Second, the body of the 'dead' demon must be in perfect condition, a revived soul means nothing if the body is torn apart. Lastly, I, as the conductor of the ritual, must be at peak condition so that I may transfer my essence to the recipient body without fail."

After hearing of the explanation, Kurumi exchanged glances with Ren. She then looked at Karis' body, which still had the hole in it that the attack had created earlier. Part of the heart was chunked off, along with some part of her lungs. The second condition would have been very difficult to fulfill. Luckily, someone in the room was capable of regenerating body parts without issue.

"Demon Lord-san, cut me," Kurumi offered as she raised her arm to Damian.

"Huh? Why? I don't get," Damian replied in a confused tone.

"My blood has the power to heal any type of wounds. Karis-san may be dead, but I believe my blood could still fix her body up," Kurumi explained.

"I see. That's good to hear."

"Also, I would like you to drink some of my blood, and eat a few chunks of my flesh."

"What?!"

"Kurumi!" Ren suddenly called out, speaking in a loud voice finally.

"It's fine Ren. I'll do anything for Karis-san, and you. Even if I have to relive that pain once again. Besides, I just got sliced into pieces earlier so this is nothing," Kurumi replied, letting out her determination to Ren.

"Still I don't get it, why are you urging me to eat your flesh?" Damian asked.

"Well, you said you need to be in peak condition right? Swallowing both my flesh and blood will both heal your body, and revitalize your energy," Kurumi replied.

"You're crazy."

"I know I am but that won't stop me. Now please, get on with it!"

"Well whatever, if you insist!" Damian brought out his blade and transformed it into its chained form. He then made a small cut on Kurumi's arm which she then quickly brought over and sent the dripping blood onto Karis' open wound. As expected, the wound quickly sealed up, and Karis' body was now in perfect condition. That's one of the requirements cleared.

"Now then, where do I take a bite out of you?" Damian asked.

"As close to the heart as possible where the blood flow is plenty. I bet this place will do," Karis said as she stretched her neck to the side.

"There's a carotid artery here as well so you'll have plenty of blood to drink," she added.

"This is... Hero, are you fine with this?" Damian asked but before Ren could answer Kurumi, had already cut in.

"No need to ask him for permission, now do it!" she exclaimed.

Damian grabbed Kurumi's shoulder and brought her closer to him. He then gently let down his head towards Kurumi's neck.

"Are you ready?" Damian asked.

"Yes, dig in anytime," Kurumi asked while closing her eyes to brace for the incoming pain.

"Well then, here I go."

Damian opened his mouth and sank his teeth into Kurumi's neck. With his sharp teeth, he easily made his way towards Kurumi's artery, making blood violently gush out of her neck. Damian tore a chunk off and proceeded to drink the flowing blood. Kurumi bit her lip to fight off the pain as Damian's teeth began to withdraw from her neck.

After the ordeal, Kurumi sat on the ground, holding her neck that had already recovered. Her regeneration time was certainly extraordinary as she was able to heal such a serious wound in mere seconds. Damian then wiped the blood smear off of his mouth as he went over to Ren.

"Please, put her down," he asked.

As told, Ren had let go of embracing Karis and placed her body down straightly on top of the bed. Ren opted to stay over Karis' head, holding her dearly as Damian began the ritual.

Damian then closed his eyes, and placed his hand on top of Karis' chest, exactly where he placed them earlier when he took her essence. Kurumi weakly stood up from the ground as she rubbed away the throbbing pain on her neck.

Damian focused all of his energy as his palm began to produce black flames. The flames then began seeping into the corpse of Karis. Soon, the black flames started branching out all over his body, converging at his palm. As the ritual continued, Damian felt himself getting weaker and weaker over time, however, his strength kept coming back up for some reason, and he could also feel his essence returning back to normal.

It wasn't that the ritual was failing, but the lingering effects of Kurumi's flesh and blood kept returning him to peak condition, therefore he ended up giving Karis more essence that what he normally have. However, he had no intention of sparing anything to himself. He was committed to giving up his own life at this moment, even when he realized that he had been given the chance of surviving the ritual himself.

As the remaining effects of Kurumi's flesh burnt away, Damian had stopped feeling the sensation of his body restarting at peak condition. However, the overdose of his demonic essence seemed to have did something as Karis' body began to shake on its own, and black flames started spewing out of her mouth, and her eyes suddenly opened but instead of her normal eyeballs, it was all black. It was as if the girl was being possessed.

"Kh! I gave her too much essence! Hero! Quick! Seal her up! Make sure nothing leaks out, else her soul might escape her body like this!" Damian commanded.

Ren looked a bit worry as to what was happening with his wife's body, but he followed through and started to bent his head down. He cupped Karis' face with his hands as he went down further.

"Please, wake up," he said as he finally sealed her mouth with his own. The black flame that was leaking out of her earlier now had no way out, and was forced back inside. Meanwhile, Damian's lethargic feeling was getting worse as every second passed, however, that was a good sign since he was now sure that the rest of his essence was being transferred to Karis.

Soon, the feeling on his limbs was starting to go away as his body started feel numb. Damian was forced to kneel down, and grab onto the edge of the bed for support.

"Take it all! Karis!" he screamed. And then, the black flame suddenly erupted and engulfed the room in a quick flash. Both Damian, and Kurumi were pushed back but Ren held firm and continued pressing his lips on Karis.

A few moments after the flash had subsided, Kurumi stood up from her position. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the demon lord beside her who was now like a wilted tree. His limbs were so thin like twigs, his cheeks had sunken, and his body had lost almost all of its meat, leaving behind a nearly skeletal remain of the once proud demon lord.

"*huff* *huff*" Damian panted, catching his breath in his severely weakened form.

"H-how is she... Hero?" he struggled to speak as his voice sounded dry, and raspy, almost like a dying old man.

He turned his gaze towards Ren, who had already lifted his face away from Karis. Kurumi looked over as well and what he saw was the face of a man with tears, and snot streaming down uncontrollably on his face. His lips had also curled upward, opening and closing as he tried to sniff back all the overwhelming tears that he was letting out.

Kurumi stood up to see for herself, and sure enough, Karis, who was deceased not too long ago, was now awake, smiling as she saw the face of her lover right over her, ignoring the fact that his tears were dripping down onto her.

Kurumi's eyes filled with tears as she saw the heartwarming scene before her eyes. Damian looked up at her from the ground, and after seeing the expression on her face, he made a satisfied smile.

"I see..." he said

"So it was successful."