_________________

Name: Haell Zharignan

Species: Archdemon

—Mutations—

Curse Heart: Level 40

Demon Brain: Level 40

Demon Skin: Level 40

Evil Eyes: Level 40

Demon Flesh / Demon Bones / Demonic Musculature(synced) : (All) Level 40

Demon Arms: Level 40

Demon Hooves: Level 40

Resentment: Level 40

Demon Horns: Level 40

Mana-infused Blood: Level 40

Regen Heart: Level 40

Demon Wings: Level 40

Hellfire Heart: Level 40

Unbreakable Memory Core: Level 40

Extradimensional Demon Blood Storage: Level 40

Demon Tail: Level 40

Localized Dimension Scanner Matrix: Level 40

Rapid Combat Nervous System: Level 40

Blood Heart: Level 40

Blood Eater: Level 40

—Soul Feats—

Reincarnator

Progenitor

Imp Progenitor

Progenitor II

Demon Progenitor

Demon Harbinger

Progenitor III

Archdemon Progenitor

Slaughter of the Astro Manor

Pandemonium

Mark of The Beast

_________________

I took a deep breath of the dirty air once the cocoon finally fell apart. Pieces of stone, metal, and flesh fell to my hooves, before being reabsorbed by the ground. The flames had died down some, at least in the area where I stood. But the hellfire still blazed high around the borders of my domain, to rebuff any attempt at retaking the manor.

"Calm down," I smiled, and scraped my hooves a little on the ground. No one was actually trying to gain any sort of forceful entry into the manor anymore, because the city had already been captured. Just as I killed everyone here, so had the soldiers of Astro been slaughtered. The people who were waiting outside were all of New Granderan origin, and among them was one in particular who made all four of my hearts tighten after so long.

Pandemonium rumbled its agreement, and the curtain of flames parted to grant me safe passage. I walked confidently out of the main gate that looked so much shorter than when I'd last seen it. My guests were father still, for a ring of burnt houses surrounded my home. Some fires still raged, actually, and even now people tried to control the spread.

I should help them out later.

"U…uu…uhhh……"

"Damn."

"Hoooooly—"

"Is that… Haell?"

"The Demon?"

"Yes!"

"SHE LIVES!"

"HOOOORAY!"

I reached the soldiers, and they cheered upon finally recognizing who I was. I towered over almost all of them as they rushed towards me, but one was ahead of the pack. Moonwash crashed into me and tried her best to crush me into a hug. She was so short now, barely coming up to my chest.

I struck her and pushed her away.

I was breathing erratically before I'd realized it. My teeth were clenched so hard I feared they might break. I was squeezing my fists tighter than in most fights, and I had to deliberately loosen my grip once I realized. It wasn't just my fists, however. My entire body was ready for a fight. Three elements of mana were already drifting out of my skin.

I finally looked back at my girlfriend who was now staring at me as she nursed… a broken shoulder.

"NO WAIT SORRY!" I screamed, yet the sound sounded just as angry as it was horrified. "FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK! I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAME OVER ME! WHAT'S COMING OVER ME! DON'T FUCKING COME NEAR!!"

Why? Why? I was fine just a few seconds ago. No… I was already tense, but I always was. I could control myself. I was more than used to it. But the moment Moonwash actually touched me, my heart rate suddenly spiked even harder. Even now, they hammered powerfully inside my chest. I was seeing red, where I should only be seeing friends.

"I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY. I CAN FIX THIS! I'M JUST– I'm… I'm freaking out. Fuck."

But why?

Genuinely, why?

I stepped back and removed myself somewhat from the situation. I tried to reexamine myself with a critical and impartial eye. I… came up with a running theory. Maybe I had snapped and swung at anyone who came near for so long that I could hardly react in any other way. And my most recent additions had only exacerbated the issue further. This was pathetic. I needed to be in control.

"It's okay," Moonwash said, straightening a little bit more now. "I'll be fine." She began to heal herself, and I could hear the crunch of bones being reformed. "Do you hate me now? Do you still love me? Are we still a couple?"

"...What?" my mind struggled to keep up. I could do naught but force the answers out as they came. "I… I think so? Maybe? I don't know what's fucking going on!!"

"Alright. Then we should figure it out–"

"--Later," someone interrupted. She placed a gentle hand on Moonwash's shoulder to get her to back off. The ogre woman approached me instead.

"Angerly…" I said in way of greeting.

"Haell," she stopped an arm away from me, and made no moves to get any closer. "Hey. It's been a while."

"...Sure has," I replied. I couldn't help a small smirk at how casual she sounded, if a tad forced.

"You've been through a lot, huh?"

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"I would. If you tell me."

There was a long pause. The bystanders did not wish to get any closer, but they certainly weren't leaving.

"Therick's dead. I killed him."

She swallowed hard, but otherwise kept her face level. "That's unfortunate. But, we knew he was a traitor. I understand."

I didn't give a reply to that. I couldn't. I definitely agreed, but the hidden pain in her voice prevented me from venting out all the lingering anger here.

Without another word, Angerly began to strip. She took off her medium armor, leaving her upper half covered only by a simple tunic.

"Here," she said. Angerly held out the piece of clothing in front of me, but made sure not to touch anything. "You're stark naked."

"...Am I?" I laughed, even more of the tension bleeding out. "I guess that makes sense." I took the offered leathers and draped it over myself. It fit, because we were almost the same height now. The plated vest was a little loose though, for my friend was still a fair bit wider. "You should've warned me I was naked!" I complained in a louder voice.

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"I did. You just didn't give me a chance–" Angerly's words died in her throat when the border of hellfire behind me suddenly grew hotter, and the dark walls of the manor shook. It was not her who I had addressed with that last sentence.

I laughed. Pandemonium didn't really understand what I meant, and it sulked. At least the fires were weaker now, after that brief demonstration. I didn't understand shit about how the newly remade manor worked yet.

"What?" Angerly finally said. "Haell, what's going on?"

"Oh," I chuckled. "How rude of me. Allow me to introduce you to Pandemonium!" I spread my arms wide. "Welcome to my new home!"

"Huuuhhhh…?"

"You must tell me everything right now." Moonwash popped back in, and I smiled. That curiosity still warmed my hearts. Maybe there was hope for us yet.

"Sure. Though I'm just about to find out myself."

I walked towards the new manor whose halls I did not yet know. Almost by some sleeping instinct, my friends followed behind me. Granuel had shouldered through the crowd, and looked like there was so much he wanted to say. Berry, on the other hand, was too quiet. She just radiated sadness. I thought I had an inkling as to why.

I hesitated for a moment when we reached the gates. I looked back at my friends, and questioned whether I should really invite them into my home. I remembered just how badly I'd been burned before. This time, I wanted to be the one doing the burning.

I shook my head. That was stupid. They'd come all this way to rescue me, as unsuccessful as they'd been. Not everyone was out to get me, just because Therick was. Skulking and scurrying and hiding like the rat that he was until it was time to pounce.

I led them through, content to let those issues lie. Pandemonium objected at first, but I calmed it down with a few taps. My friends were spooked by the walls that grew spikes and fangs, but they followed me in once those retracted, along with some of the flames and curse that had almost surged towards them.

The army behind us were even more spooked. Those who were previously just staring dumbly at us now stood a lot further behind. And the few who had the fucking gall to try and follow wisely retreated upon that quick demonstration.

Good. I hadn't invited them into my home. I didn't know what I would do if they trespassed upon my domain. Please, o leader of these forces, keep your idiots in line.

"Uggghhh," Angerly groaned the moment we crossed through the gates. The grounds of my manor came into view, especially now that the hellflames covered only the walls outside. It was an empty sight, almost abandoned, yet even the dust did not wish to settle in this place. The buildings were literal husks of what they once were, of dark halls and walls made of stone with a more skin-like texture. "Suddenly it's so much worse."

"What is?" I tilted my head. I was actually feeling a lot better now that there were less people around. I really didn't like being swarmed, now more than ever. And what I did with swarms, was to eradicate them.

"Uh, the curse? It's worse than the nest of a goblin!"

"Oh. Right. That's a thing. I hardly noticed."

The ground shook. It asked me if it should hold itself back. I could understand Pandemonium so much clearer now, perhaps because of the mark that we shared.

"If it's fine," I smiled, and the miasma of the place lessened… but I could tell that what was left was still hostile to normal living.

"Okay, we really need at least a small explanation. You are talking to the manor right? And what's up with that? I liked that piece." Her fingers were pointed at my chest, and I looked down. It was covered now by the armor that she'd lent me, but the symbol etched on my skin had somehow transferred over to the armor.

I moved my clothes around, and found that the mark 'projected' itself unto whichever part of the fabric or metal was right above… my new tattoo. That was… interesting. And nice. "I don't think it's permanent, don't worry. It's just one of my new things. Or well, it is permanent on my skin, but I'm pretty sure it's more of just an illusion over your armor." Because the Mark of The Beast cannot be hidden.

"Oh! That sounds nice and badass."

"Doesn't it?" I grinned. I did like the design I and Pandemonium were somehow able to come up with on the fly.

"But… eh, it also would give you the same style for everything you wear. I think I'd prefer to have different things over my clothes."

"That… is true," I admitted. It really did have its downsides when it came to aesthetics. But the Mark of The Beast wasn't here to look pretty. I cared far more about how it helped me kill and slaughter all my enemies.

"And what about the manor?" Moonwash reminded. Her eyes were always on the prize. "And you. What happened to you? I can tell that something's deeply wrong. Can you please talk to me? What about us?"

"...Fine," I decided. "I wanted to tour Pandemonium a bit more, but you guys deserve an explanation. You came all the way here, to rescue me. Thank you, by the way. I appreciate it."

No matter how badly they had failed.

~~~

We sat right in the middle of the 'courtyard,' with the familiar feeling of a sound barrier suddenly encasing us. It had been so long that even something so mundane felt nostalgic. The whole of my manor was visible here, especially with the hellfires only raging in the borders of this place. It did look so desolate, but at least there was one piece of decoration… repeated everywhere. Just a little off-center in the central wing was the Mark of The Beast painted in solid red. The other wings shared the same bloody symbol just above their main entrances, as did every building, down to the smallest sheds. The walls were similarly adorned, and perhaps the innards of every structure as well. Even the courtyard we sat upon had a massive one drawn right next it, as if to call down the most eldritch of helicopters to land.

"Where do I begin?" I wondered. The time for admiring the scenery was over. There was no better way to start than from the beginning.

I talked about what happened immediately after my capture, and my friends remained quiet. I mentioned how my captors had successfully brainwashed me once, and they were horrified. I got to the part where I turned the tables on Duke Astro and his shepherd kin, and my friends cheered. As did I. I couldn't help the smile that came floating back whenever I relived that memory. I'd stared at that same blank and convulsing face so many times over the months through the help of my perfect memory core, and I had not grown tired of it yet.

They grew quiet again once I reached the torture that followed. The silence was deafening, even with my own voice to fill it. I didn't want to burden them with all the details, but Angerly suggested otherwise.

"Haell. Talk only as much as you want. Whether it's no details at all, or everything that happened. Don't worry about us."

I raised a brow. Everyone else nodded. I shrugged and did just that.

I still didn't tell them all the gruesome details, of course, but I did reveal more than I otherwise would've. From how I had been stabbed and skinned in places, to how my arm had been taken at one point. My horns too had been stolen from me, but not a single trace of that remained now. I had been fully heal, in body if not in soul.

"Those bastards!" Granuel cursed.

"That's terrible!" Berry echoed.

"I…" Angerly was put off balance. "I'm glad you survived all that."

"We'll take revenge on them," Moonwash declared.

I smiled. It was… nice, to be sympathized with. I'd missed this, and I hadn't even realized. I had not thought about what came next other than vengeance for so long. "It's done." I gestured around myself. "I've already taken revenge myself." The ground near us cracked and spat out one tentacle, before healing back up. "And this is the result of that."

I continued my story in order. I reached the part where Therick appeared before me, and I quickly worked through all the details as my friends struggled not to interrupt. Hellfire began to sporadically flare in our surroundings as everything shook, and I had to calm Pandemonium down. All four of my hearts were broken, beating uncontrollably from the pain. I clutched my chest as my breath continue to rasp like a broken thing, but the recounting was done, and I settled myself down as best I was able.

"FUCK!" Granuel cried. Tears streamed down his face as he clutched his head. "I thought maybe he'd just defected! That's fucking bad enough! But I held out hope! But to think he'd actually sold you out! Put you through all of that…! I'll fucking kill him if you haven't already!"

"Likewise," Moonwash agreed.

Naturally, I felt the same way as the one who actually did the killing. But while perhaps ever so slightly cathartic in the moment, the wound in my hearts remained fresh. I too, allowed myself a small tear.

My friends almost jumped to comfort me, but Angerly held them back for good reason. Fuck. Even that had been taken from me. I didn't want everyone and everything to be my enemy anymore.

"I didn't notice anything," Angerly lamented. "If I'd only been keeping a better eye…"

"He always seemed so normal to me too," Berry choked. "I never imagined he could have ever done anything like that. And… and… and now I've lost another friend…"

"YOU'RE STILL CALLING HIM A FRIEND!?" Granuel snapped as Berry wailed, and she only shrunk into herself further. "That traitor is no friend of ours!"

"I… I-I-I—"

"Granuel…" Angerly placed a massive hand on his shoulder, and gently pushed him back down. I might have had a similar outburst, had Granuel not beat me to it. But, well, they could see the dead guy as their friend if they wished. I had already cursed and damned him to oblivion. He was fucking dead.

We took a little break for everyone to process their grief and the massive betrayal. It wasn't just me who Therick had tried to fuck over. We were surrounded back then, and had I not sacrificed myself so they could escape, they too would have suffered a terrible fate.

"I said too much," Granuel eventually mumbled.

"No… no, I get it," Berry sighed heavily once she had calmed down. "What happened to Haell is too horrific. He's… he's really not our friend anymore. Was it all just a lie…?"

"I don't know," Granuel shook his head and hugged his knees. "I really fucking thought he was my friend. I knew him since forever! I was… closer to him than anyone here. I owed him. He let me achieve my dreams in a land that was hostile to it. Which is why I just cannot understand. Why would he sell us out to that very same nation?"

The rest could say nothing after that. Pandemonium gradually, finally took down the hellflames on the border. They only flared back up in short bursts, when some stupid enterprising soul thought it wise to try and sneak in.

"I finished the ritual that I'd been building to for so long. There was nothing left for me to do then. Nothing left. Hell on This World, I called it." The environment subtly reacted to those spoken words, even now. "It set my prison on fire. The entire building. This whole manor. Everyone but me died in that conflagration. Innocent or guilty. I didn't care to determine. Everyone was my enemy. It felt like everyone was out to get me. It feels like everyone is out to get me. Even now. Even now. I killed them all, when I totally could have been more merciful. I had that much control. I was planning at some point to spare at least Therick so we could make our escape, after all. Before I learned that he had betrayed me. Betrayed all of my fucking trust. So I killed everyone. It took a while, but I saturated this entire place with my mana, and my blood seeped inside and spread no matter how tightly packed the stone. This whole manor was the catalyst of my ritual, and it didn't disappear like my blood would. It became something else. It allowed me to evolve, somehow. Sorry about all the materials I had you guys gather, by the way. It's all useless now. I've already evolved. And that evolution was entirely different from before. I used part of it, to give life to this manor. To Pandemonium. Yes, the ground you stand on, the weird buildings, it is all the same entity. It's one singular entity. That's what I meant when I introduced you to Pandemonium earlier. I have no idea how it works, but that is how it is."

"I see," Moonwash said. I was sure she had so many questions left, whether I had the power to answer them or not. "Can I hug you?"

…

…

"...Yes."

My girlfriend wasted no time and buried herself into me in a big hug. I did the same and embraced her tight. Tight enough to hurt, no matter how I tried to control myself. But at least I did not outright attack her this time. I cried into her shoulder, and it felt cathartic to just let it all out like that. I asked her if I should stop many times, but she always answered 'No.' Moonwash never once complained about the strain in her bones that I could audibly hear.

I needed that. I really needed that hug. No matter how badly both my body and mind may disagree.

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