Beyond the Virge

Chapter 26: My Crown

A few months have past and I have continued my work as a demon lord, murdering adventurers, ruining the lives that were innocent and to those I know that were against me and my way home. It was no longer a secret of my face all over Mongolia. My mask, my weapon, and my status was not spread all over the country like a wildfire.

We decided to take a break on a vast valley within the center of Mongolia where only travelers from other countries cross. Down one of the hills, a pond of water glistens on the bright sun that shines on the eastern side. I took a handful of water and splashed it against my face.

Within the pond, I started to see my reflection. A demon's reflection. I looked at it for a while, realizing what I have become, and smirked. I know what I'm doing. I know what I must do. I have one goal and one only.

"Clover." A voice called out.

My only goal is to get out of this hell hole of its the last thing I do.

"Clover!" the voice yelled.

I jumped as I heard the sudden shout to my name.

"Kiara? What's the matter?" I ask.

"You have to come quick! Someone is holding Trarkoz captive!"

I followed Kiara up to the hill where we stayed. Before me, it was a man dressed in black. A black suit, a red dress shirt inside. He was tall and had a muscular stature. His horns were sharper than a sword's tip and his claws were as rough as charcoal, holding Trarkoz' neck.

"How dare you betray your king for someone as low as a human!?" he yells.

Trarkoz struggles to speak, "I-I know his potential. I-it may even be stronger than you!"

With a dull face, he gave Trarkoz a hard punch, having her skin and entrails blown off. All there was now, was a corpse.

"Trarkoz!" I yell.

The demon looked at me. "So you're the one that's been causing so much trouble?"

"And you must be my next target." I return.

As we walked towards each other, I formed a spear out of Haywire and threw it at him. I could start to feel my rage come in. Although the demon caught it, I manipulated the string to cover his hand and crush it, cutting it off in the process.

That did not stop him. Within a second, he regenerated another arm.

"Who are you to kill one of my allies?"

"Dragovich Mellman. King of the demon, destroyer of all worlds. If you are here to protect it, I am here to destroy it."

"Clover Imaizumi, your replacement." I say creating a halberd.

"Clover!" Yuki yells as the girls prepare for battle.

"Stay back, this is my fight."

"Then let's have no distraction." Dragovich crossed his middle and index finger and the world around us turned back. "If you are going to kill me in order to take my throne, let's make sure we release our inner demon."

"Speaking the same words," I say, putting my foot back, getting Haywire ready.

It was a stare down between us demons. The king and its replacement. Little did I know we started circling each other. I felt like this has happened to me before. One of us is going to start attacking and I have to make the first move this time.

In a flash I charged my attack towards him and he was prepared to defend. I created a sword out of Haywire and aimed for a jab into his chest, but he was quick enough to clash with his sword. It dawned a dark aura around it with sharp spikes all around it.

"This sword I call Dullahan has killed many men and candidates to my throne y'know," he says, standing tall. "And you'll just add another number to my kill count."

Retracting the sword, I pulled out my guns. I had a plan. If I were to combine a bullet with Haywire, with a good enough shot, I could redirect the lines to his heart.

"A gun? Really? How uncivilized."

"If it wins me this fight, it doesn't matter."

Dragovich cracks his neck, then dashes towards me, getting ready to slash his sword towards me. Dodging, I was able to shoot him a couple time on the arm, causing him to gawk in pain.

"Fuck!" he hells. "Bullets aren't supposed to hurt! How?"

I stand my ground. "Thanks to a priest I got my bullets blessed."

"Does it even work that way?"

"It did hurt you after all." I scoff.

The demon king huffs, then charges again. I dodged his attack from below and shot him in the back multiple times, but behind him was a spell that led to an explosion, knocking me back. I quickly got back on my feet, but he was faster than I anticipated. The next thing I knew was that he was right on my face.

"You are no fit for a demon king. You have a lot to learn." he says.

I started to feel a sharp pain in my chest. His sword pierced through my armor and into my lower abdomen. Blood started to splatter all over his sword and I put my hand on his chest.

"You see, that's where you're wrong." With my hands I clawed into his chest, activating Haywire. The wires started to surround his heart. As he pulled out his sword, a line of wire between my hands and him where visible. With all the breath I have I looked at him with my hand spread. He looked down and gasped. As I made a fist, I gripped hard and his heart exploded. Blood started to come out through his mouth and nose and fell to the ground.

With that the king was dead. The black area turned back to normal and I fell to my knees. The only thing I heard were the calls of my name again.