Dark Path to Heaven [Demon Romance]

Chapter 39

Chapter Music: "Lumberjack of Redfire Forest" by Derek & Brandon Fiechter

That was it. That was what euphoria felt like. Her mind and body belonged to him and everything he took was his in the first place. That desire to so roughly manipulate someone according to his own whims, that thrilling idea of absolute obedience, that moment when the id had become his ego and superego, everything had now become reality. He felt utterly fulfilled, just as it would be expected of the Demon King.

The human he was now clasping was literally in the palm of his hand –and it would take little effort to crush her. He really was a puppeteer. She had given him so much control that the abundance of positive feelings in her soul wouldn't prevent him from devouring her into nothingness. She had always been so willing to die for him, after all.

Astaroth forced his eyes shut, the warmth of her oversized body getting to him. She was the one who didn't mind his frightening soul. Why would he have to show her anything less than what he wanted?

But was consuming her what he truly desired?

It was not just her body getting to him. It was her mind. It had always been her mind. Sophia Black was finally offering her everything to him, only wishing to please him. So why didn't he feel pleased?

I'm crying, he suddenly realized. This isn't what I want.

He was a moment too late though.

"Sophia, no!" All at once, Astaroth snapped out of his reflections and stared in shock at the place where his most precious person in the world had once been.

He thought he had stopped in time. He was sure of it.

"Then where are you?!" he madly screamed from the top of his lungs, surprised at how many tears were running down his face.

"Sophia!" he cried again, wishing that he could reach her conscience.

But to no avail. It was not that she didn't respond. He couldn't feel her presence at all through the necklace he had given her. His mind turned blank and his voice went hoarse as he kept screaming her name among sobs. How quickly had a man like him transformed into such a pathetic creature!

There was no way he couldn't feel her existence somewhere. There was no way unless... she had left that world.

"I didn't kill her, I didn't kill her–" he started murmuring to himself, maniacally. Her remains would be here. But she vanished completely. Is this how she would die since she wasn't born in this world? Are her remains back into her world, left for her friends and family to see?

"No!" he screamed to himself again. "I didn't kill her. I didn't kill her. I didn't kill her!"

He could feel the little sanity left to him at that state slipping away, so he tried to get rid of that form and become 'normal' again. However, the best he could manage was turn back into his semi-demon form. Somehow, he was unable to return to that human body again. In other words, it was impossible for him to fully regain his rational thinking anymore, a condition that left him imprisoned by his passions –something he had always been afraid of.

But what he had never fully realized was that by avoiding living as a demon, he was creating a clear border between rationality and passions. By continuously evading living up to his full potential, determined by his nature, he was merely ignoring –and not facing the problem head-on.

At least, a fragment of his old mentality returned, allowing him to try and think of the best solution at that crucial moment. Because if Sophia wasn't dead, there was a probability she would soon leave her last breath, wherever she was. The state he had left her in was hopefully reversible –but only if he was there to give her his own energy to keep her alive. Otherwise, the awakened dark energy within her would continue to eat her up until there was nothing left to save. That wouldn't be the first time he would try to snatch her away from death.