Chapter 335

I tumbled out of the portal, rolling to a stop in another chamber. It was another enormous room in which the ceiling was too high to see. Broken and toppled statues of a fearsome demon giant were strewn all across the ground. Fiery braziers from on tall columns illuminated my surroundings. The others were nowhere to be seen. Instead, I was in the company of dark elven cultists.

At a guess, about 50 Shades were arranged in an outer and inner ring. All of them were cloaked in black robes and chanting in an unfamiliar tongue. But between the gaps of dark elven ritualists, I saw Nyra in the center of them. She was unconscious and asleep.

A pang of relief hit my chest.

"The Demon King was very keen." Maeyene was sitting on an unlit brazier above me. "He confided in his closest servants several contingency plans for a resurrection in the event of his death. Queen Elendir knew one of them, but she would never bring him back. Queen Beatrice knew a second, and she made a desperate attempt to achieve this in another world. Since you're the succubus queen now, it is safe to presume she failed. There existed a third method which he shared with no one but himself due to how risky it is." She pulled out from her person a silver banded journal bound in black leather, emanating with a foul mist that made my aura recoil in disgust. "That is this. An artifact he calls Anamnesis. By binding a piece of his soul to this, the Demon King allowed Anamnesis to record every waking moment of his life, memories, and actions. All contained and condensed within these pages. By extracting that soul fragment and implanting it on this child, I can effectively recreate the perfect copy of him."

"You're insane… but thank you for telling me. Now I know exactly what I need to do to stop you!" I growled.

"Do you? I tell you this, Queen Saeko, because despair is a key component for Anamnesis to work. I want you to know you failed. I want the child to see you defeated. The both of you will despair!" She cackled with unhinged laughter.

"Not if I have anything to say about it, you lunatic!" In a burst of speed, I flew right for the ritual circle.

Maeyene appeared in a portal above me. Her leg came down like a guillotine. It knocked me into the ground, and I skidded right up to a robed dark elf. I seized her with my aura, only for Maeyene to grab my neck and fling me away.

I channeled magical energies to my fingertips. They ran down my arms like electricity surging across a wire. With a snap of my fingers, an enormous fireball roared forth. Maeyene and several dark elves broke from the circle to conjure a barrier. The fiery conflagration exploded against the shimmering shield, leaving everyone behind it unharmed.

As I was about to cast another, Maeyene stepped out of a portal to my side with the mirror artifact and dragged me through another. We emerged into another world in the dead of night, the moon and stars glinting above us. A forest blanketed the uneven surface, but I recognized the Shinto architecture specific to temples of my country.

"You… You brought me to Earth? How would you know this place without having come here before?" I asked.

"I wanted to see it for myself. The demon child has fond memories of your home. So, this is where you defeated Queen Beatrice. It's pretty. Maybe I will conquer it for the Demon King." Maeyene sneered.

"Don't even think about it!" I took a swipe, but she ducked from my blow and kicked me away.

Pain rippled outward from my abdomen. Between us, the dark elf was definitely the better fighter. Selene had taught me how to fight, but there was a difference in decades of skill. Watching Erma's tournaments also only gave me a superficial understanding of combat sports, too…

"It only just occurred to me, but… Why do you not summon the Blade of the First Temptress? I refuse to believe you lost the weapon, as it isn't something you can really lose in the first place," Maeyene said.

"Wouldn't you like to know? I destroyed it," I said.

The Shades leader stared at me aghast.

"You discarded the Blade of the First Temptress, an artifact weapon of immense power, yet still call yourself queen? You could have been strong. Strong enough to defeat the Shades singlehandedly. No one would have questioned your rule. This is only further proof that we need the Demon King's guidance," Maeyene taunted from afar.

I shook my head. "The sword was never what made me strong. Countless succubi swore their fealty to me even without it. Because they care that I treat them as equals, not just subjects to use. Why are you so desperate to bring him back? He'll only subjugate you all again!"

"Yes, I expect him to. I want that. Perhaps, since the new succubus queen cast away his very gift, I can rise to the occasion of his queen." She flourished her staff, creating screeching balls of electricity that fired my way.

They were easy to dodge. I darted to the side, and their electric lashes carved into the ground like an excavator. Trees toppled from Maeyene's attack, and some leaves ignited. Thankfully, it was winter. The burning debris quickly went out.

Being back in Japan gave me something of an edge. If I could just get in contact with Selene and the others. Having additional greater succubi to fight alongside me would turn this battle around in an—

"What are you doing spacing out?" Maeyene appeared in front of me again, and with the mirror artifact, opened a portal to shove me through.

We plummeted wrestling from the high ceiling of the Demon King's palace. Maeyene headbutted me, locked her legs behind my back and wings, and laid into me with a flurry of punches. She shoved me off and opened a portal behind herself to slip into. I stretched my wings out to slow my descent, but it wasn't enough. I braced for impact instead. The cold stone floor cracked when I hit the ground. Pain wracked my entire body.

Maeyene emerged from another portal, grabbed me by my hair, and dragged me towards the center of the ritual circle. Shades, the dark elven ritualists, moved aside to let us through. She let go as we neared the center, only to press her foot to my head and grinded it to the floor. I struggled to lift my gaze at Nyra, who was still lying unconscious a few meters away from me.

"My lord." Maeyene pulled out the Anamnesis. "With this sacrifice, I will usher your return to continue the conquest that was denied to you. Elza will be yours, and once we have taken this world, we shall seize Earth next."

"Don't you dare… touch Earth…" I grumbled as Hatsumi and all my friends flashed in my mind.

A Shade handed Maeyene a crooked dagger. I noticed Nyra's eyes fluttering. She was slowly coming to consciousness.

"Any last words before I dethrone you, Queen Saeko?" Maeyene asked, brandishing the eerie journal in one hand and dagger in the other.

"To you? No. To Nyra… It's playtime. Go wild!" I shouted.

"What?" She turned to the middle of the circle.

Nyra pushed herself up. The corners of her lips curved to reveal a wide and fanged smile, just like the one I'd seen back when we first met. She vanished in a blur, destroying the dome barrier containing her and knocking Shades down in one section of the circle. They rubbed their heads and groaned in pain, utterly confused at what had just hit them… until several pointed out that the girl was gone.

"Break rank! Capture the Demon King!" Maeyene yelled, then turned furiously to me. "The hell was that?!"

"Nyra is a demon at heart after all. She's a lot stronger than your average person. We had one helluva time trying to keep her in check on Earth. But now that we're in Elza, she gets to let loose and fight things more up to her speed." I sneered.

Maeyene let out a bestial snarl of pure frustration. She raised her right arm high. The sleeve slipped down enough to give me a glimpse of the black-jeweled bracelet. Servus had worn it previously to control demons to fight for him. Willed by the enchanted item, demons came crawling in from every direction.

Meanwhile, Nyra continued sowing chaos among Shades desperately trying to keep her under control. Like a beast unleashed, she mauled anyone that tried to grab her, bit hands and fingers, and was small enough to evade capture.

Maeyene twirled the knife and stabbed downward. I snatched her wrist with my tail, and the tip came within an inch of the back of my neck.

"Just… die!" The dark elf right hand glistened with a magic orb that grew bigger with every second.

With every ounce of strength left in me, I pushed off with my elbows. Maeyene, who still had her foot on my head, lost balance. It was enough for me to get up, grab her right hand, and point it away. A powerful concentrated magical beam emitted from her palm, carving through the ceiling of the palace. It almost sliced through an enormous column on the far side of the chamber, and the entire building began to shudder.

Behind me, the large double doors burst open. Mio, Elendir, Kana, Shayle, Tirnicia, Dolanna, and a cell of dark elves and beastkins rushed in. Demons ran to the front to meet them in battle, only to be pounced on by furious beastkins.

"Shit. Saeko, the whole upper chambers are coming down! We need to get out of here!" Tirnicia shouted from afar.

Not all of us were going to get out alive without the—

Both mine and Maeyene's gaze fell to the mirror artifact lying on the ground. It must have fallen from her person during our scuffle. We let go of each other and dove for it at the same time. The cold blade of her twisted dagger sliced the back of my leg, but I snatched the mirror artifact first. I kicked her square in the face, then flew to the others.

"You all go first! I'm going to grab Nyra!" I pictured the surface of Morharst just past the fortification is, and a portal opened wide.

"Saeko, behind you!" Kana dashed in front of me.

A dark elf's sword glanced off the metal buckler he wielded. Mio zipped through the battle and kicked her in the back.

"Fucking bitch. Peh!" Mio spat on her.

"I'm staying to help," Elendir insisted.

"No! Like Tirnicia said, the roof is coming down. I can fly. I just need to grab Nyra. Please!" I begged her.

Elendir bit her lip and relented.

"Shades!" The dark elven queen stepped forward. "The battle is lost. The Demon King's return has been foiled. You can either escape with us now, live another day, and endeavor to make amends… or be buried under this palace along with Maeyene's lofty ambitions!"

The solemn plea worked. Dozens of Shades laid down their arms and staffs. The remaining fighting force were the fiercely loyal ones and demons controlled to obey. They made a mad dash to jump through the portal as rubble fell around us.

"Stay and fight, damn you! Arghh! Demons, the portal!" Maeyene howled.

"I don't think so!" Dolanna weaved through the battlefield as if she was on ice skates, slaughtering each and every demon that got close. The beastkin skidded to a stop with her claws dripping with blood. Demons laid still and twitching in her wake.

As everyone poured into the portal, Mio was the only one to stay behind. Tirnicia and Dolanna were the last two, and they nodded to me before jumping in. The portal closed shut, unable to stay open any longer as a crack formed on the glass.

Infuriated, Maeyene picked up a discarded short sword and laid into me with a frenzied display of attacks. She was getting sluggish, not as accurate compared to a few minutes ago. Mio willed dark portals into existence and seized hold of her with chains that shot out of them.

"Whoa, whoa, shit! Guys, I didn't get a chance to go through the portal!" Kana exclaimed near a hole in the palace as he tried to fight off a demon.

"Kana!" I cried.

Kana tipped over the ledge.

"I'll get him! Make sure you get out alive with Nyra!" Mio shot forth and out of sight.

"Nyra, that's enough! Come to me!" I yelled.

"Saeko!" Nyra jumped into my arms and buried her teary face into my chest.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you sooner. Are you okay?" I asked, smiling softly.

Nyra sniffled. She shook her head.

"I'm… okay now." Nyra looked up and grinned.

With Nyra and the mirror artifact in my hands, I backed away from the crumbling palace through the hole Mio and Kana left from. Maeyene broke free from the chains and grinded to stop. A few pieces of rubble stone clattered off the side and plummeted. She recoiled from the sheer height. Her shoulders sank.

"One day, that child will become the Demon King. You cannot change fate, Queen Saeko. They will raise an army greater than even that which ravaged Elza. If you want to stop that from happening, there is only one answer!" Maeyene shouted.

"That's very narrow-minded of you. There will always be another way. I'm going to raise Nyra, and with everyone's help, we can give her a different life. One that's filled with love, then she can overcome her nature," I explained.

"Pft. How lofty." She snorted.

Deep horizontal fissures snaked all the way up to the top. The entire upper spire of the palace was giving way.

"Elves live long lives anyway." I extended a hand to Maeyene. "I'll never forgive you for as long as I live. But it doesn't have to end here for you. Maybe in time, you'll come to understand that you can serve better people than the Demon King."

"You're naive, Queen Saeko. Just as you will always be a succubus, so will the child always be the Demon King." She slinked away from the hole and back into the depths of the palace.

I tried to follow after Maeyene, but she was nowhere to be seen despite moving with a limp. As large rubble crumbled down the side of the palace, it became much too dangerous to stay near. The world shuddered as the last remnant of the Demon King collapsed. I put some distance from it. Down below, everyone was fleeing past the outer fortification as giant stones crashed into the ground.

Like the falling rubble, I descended to the surface where the others were waiting. Mio, Elendir, Kana, and Erma raced up to me, their faces awash with relief.

"Saeko! Nyra!" Mio threw her arms over me first.

"Mio!" Nyra shouted out and hugged back

"Holy shit, you actually called me by name, you little brat." She pinched the demon girl's cheek.

"Thank goodness. When you shoved us through the portal, I feared we would never see you again." Elendir heaved a sigh.

"Sorry. I wanted to get you all out just in case. With the palace falling apart, we were cutting it close. Everyone got out safe, right? What about Tirnicia and Dolanna?" I asked.

"A little pissed off about Maeyene getting the better of them. They will live." Erma gestured to a group of elves healing Tirnicia, and Dolanna licking her own wounds.

They had both sustained some nasty injuries during the fight but were otherwise well and alive. The light elven airship, Break of Dawn, was just now touching down. Princess Amira's soldiers descended from a ramp to help the injured.

"Speaking of Maeyene… what happened to her?" Elendir asked, seeming prepared for the worst.

I shook my head and said, "I… tried to convince her to take my hand. She didn't. I'm sorry."

Elendir's arms wrapped around mine and Mio's shoulders, pulling us into her warm embrace. Even Nyra faceplanted into the dark elven matron's chest.

"I see. I wish we could have saved my old friend's granddaughter. But what matters now is that you're all safe," Elendir whispered and shedded a tear.

"Saeko, what of the mirror artifact?" Shayle came running up to ask.

"Oh, it's cracked." I showed it to her. "I think we overused it by keeping a portal open long enough for everyone to escape.

"Well, shit. Guess we might need to make another visit to the City of Everlight. Think you can leverage your friendship with Princess Amira to get us on the Break of Dawn?" she suggested.

Glancing past Shayle's shoulders, I saw not just Amira heading to us, but also the twins Raniel and Arniel. The only thought that crossed my mind was thank goodness I made so many friends.