Beyond His Evil

SIXTY.

Devon wasn't fighting back.

He didn't even try. He was letting Zethar win. Blood coated his body, dripping onto the cold stone floor, and every time it seemed he might resist, he proved otherwise.

Kira's throat felt raw, her screams hoarse, but she could not stop pleading.

"Please... help him," she begged, voice breaking, her eyes darting to the half-demigod lurking silently in the corner.

He met her gaze for a moment. Then looked away.

"Please!" she cried, louder this time.

Nothing.

Zethar's lips curled into a cruel smile. "Knowing my blood runs through your veins disgusts me," he snarled. His knee slammed into Devon's face, the sickening crack echoing through the room. Devon crumpled to the floor.

"Stop!" Kira screamed, but her voice was swallowed by the chamber.

"You're weak," Zethar continued, his tone venomous. "Just like your mother."
Another blow. Another groan of pain from Devon.

"Please... stop," Kira begged, tears blinding her. She turned to the other creatures in the room, demons, vampires. "Help him! Please!"

No one stepped forward.

"I'm done with you," Zethar said, voice cold and final. "You deserve to die, just like the pathetic woman who brought you into this world. Get me a stake."

Hesitation flickered through the room. Devon had been one of them, above all, Devon was good. To beat him was one thing, but to kill him was a whole other thing. However, one demon stepped forward, holding a long, pointed stake.

Kira's scream shattered the air. "Stop! Wait! Devon, what are you doing?!"

His head stayed low. He did not move. He accepted defeat.

Zethar seized the stake, and then, without warning, plunged it into the heart of the demon who had brought it. Blood exploded across his face. The demon's eyes went wide in shock before he crumpled to the ground.

"That's for hesitating," Zethar spat. The stake rose again, glowing faintly with dark power, and flew from his hand and into their hearts, impaling each of them. Silence followed.

And then he turned back to Devon.

"No..." Kira's scream was a raw, ragged sound as she struggled against the chains that bound her.

"Pathetic being," Zethar hissed, raising the stake high.

Everything slowed. Fire surged through Kira's veins. She let it consume her. The chains melted like wax, and the half-demigod in the corner leaned forward, curiosity lighting his cold silver eyes. Kira didn't care. Her goal was singular: Zethar. He had to die.

But her body was weak, trembling under the strain. She fell to her knees.

Devon lifted his bloodied face toward her. Tears ran down his cheeks, streaking red through the grime. He mouthed words she could barely read. I love you. I'm sorry.

Tears blurred her vision.

"Come on now, healer," Zethar mocked, voice sharp, cruel. "Stop me."

The stake rose, poised to strike.

"No!" Kira screamed.

Pain consumed Devon as the stake plunged into his chest. He heard her scream, but it was distant and hollow, as if it belonged to someone else. The earth shook.

Zethar staggered back as Kira moved toward him, her figure glowing with a terrifyingly powerful energy.

"You did it," one council member whispered. "She has her powers."

Before anyone could react, Kira's hand shot out. Bones snapped, bodies crumbled, and the remaining council members were nothing but dust and echoes. Life and death bent to her will.

Her eyes blazed gold, fixed on Zethar.

But then she glanced down at Devon. His bloodied chest, his pain, they shattered her fury into shards of desperate love. She rushed to him, contemplating pulling the stake free.

He groaned. He was still alive.

"You idiot," she whispered, pressing her hands to his wounds. "Why would you do this?"

"You... got your powers," he croaked.

He has sacrificed himself for her. She understood too late. Her hands glowed as she tried to heal him. Again. And again. Nothing.

She couldn't heal him. She couldn't.

"No... Devon. Look at me," she begged.

His crimson eyes met hers. He lifted a trembling hand, brushing the tears from her face. Then it fell, lifeless.

Devon's eyes glazed over.

"No!" Kira screamed, shaking him. "I'm sorry! Please don't leave me!"

Zethar's voice slithered through the air, a chant of dark power:
"Tafka grum hytik aren... Tuyi frolp eqruj kutyi... Hyu gutyio dewpop rara... Cuyt yanem kutly..."

Pain exploded behind Kira's eyes. A voice whispered inside her mind: "We will be one, Kira."

Zalas. He had no body. He needed hers to escape from hell. He needed her to survive.

Kira's legs wobbled, but she forced herself to stand. Her hands shot forward, blazing with golden light.

Before Zethar could finish the chant, her fingers plunged into his chest.
"No!" the disembodied voice screamed then silence.

Blood spurted. Zethar coughed and spat it across the floor. "Kill me, and you die. We are one," he rasped.

She did not falter. She wrenched his heart free. He crumpled. Lifeless.

Kira fell to the ground, chest heaving, vision darkening with blood and exhaustion. She crawled toward Devon, hands trembling, blood streaking her cheeks. She laid head on his chest and intertwined their fingers.

Darkness crept over her vision, but she clung to him.

This was where she would stay. This was where she would die, if death came. But for now, at least, she was with him.

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