The Damned Demon

The abyss swallowed them whole.

Rowena felt the crushing embrace of the outer area of the Forbidden Waters as she plummeted deeper, the dim glow of the crimson sky fading into complete darkness. The pressure wrapped around her like a tightening fist, the silence absolute.

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She did not flinch.

Narissara glided effortlessly ahead of her, her eyes glowing faintly, cutting through the shadows like distant stars. Her long, flowing garments rippled, merging seamlessly with the ocean’s endless void.

Rowena followed in sharp, precise movements, her raven hair billowing like spilled ink in the currents.

They descended further, the waters growing colder, darker. Then, without warning, the shadows moved.

A serpentine figure lunged from the gloom, a massive Wicked Leech, its elongated maw lined with rows of needle-like teeth. Its slimy black skin reflected no light, making it almost invisible until it was too late.

Narissara didn’t falter.

With a flick of her wrist, dark tendrils erupted from her hands, weaving through the water like liquid shadows, wrapping around the leech’s writhing body and snapping it in two.

A sudden, sharp pulse in the water signaled another attack.

Rowena turned, her crimson eyes locking onto three more that shot toward her with blinding speed.

Without hesitation, she extended her hand, her veins pulsing as her blood ignited—a devastating explosion of crimson detonating in the depths.

The force of the blast sent ripples through the water, a shockwave of carnage, the heat momentarily boiling the abyss around them. The creatures stood no chance, their obliterated remains dissolving into the void.

Narissara spared her a glance, feeling surprised by the ease at which she took down those three creatures. Even she who knew how to fight these creatures couldn’t have done it with such ease. Did she get stronger despite recovering from serious injuries just recently?

But then she shook away that thought and gestured forward.

Rowena followed.

They fought their way through the murky depths, shadowy abominations lunging from unseen trenches, but neither faltered. Narissara’s dark water coiled and crushed, while Rowena’s volatile blood erupted in bursts of destruction.

Usually, she would feel alive when fighting, but now, no matter what she did, her heart just continued to become heavier.

After what felt like hours of swimming through the unrelenting darkness, Narissara suddenly stopped.

Rowena hovered beside her, her expression cold but questioning.

Narissara pointed toward a vast rock formation, where an enormous crevice lay open like the mouth of a sleeping titan. She turned to Rowena, her voice resonating through the water, a talent only her kind possessed.

“We stop here.”

Rowena narrowed her eyes, but Narissara continued before she could object.

“The Cursed Wraiths are most active at night. If we push deeper now, we won’t make it out. We need to wait. We are lucky we didn’t come upon one yet.”

Rowena stared at her for a moment before nodding once. She was not one to argue without reason.

Narissara waved her hand, and the waters obeyed.

The darkness within the cave parted, swirling upward into a massive water bubble, shimmering with a faint azure glow. It stabilized, creating a pocket of breathable air within the abyss.

Rowena floated inside, finally feeling the weight of exhaustion press upon her as her boots touched the rocky surface of the cave floor. She inhaled deeply, her first true breath since they dove into the Forbidden Waters.

Narissara entered the bubble, the water parting effortlessly around her as she stepped inside.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

The sound of dripping water echoed in the vast cavern, accompanied by the distant groans of the deep, creatures lurking just beyond their reach.

Rowena sat down against a jagged rock, resting her arms over her knees, her face blank, detached, but her crimson eyes held a storm of emotions buried deep within.

Narissara studied her for a moment before finally breaking the silence.

“I know what you announced to us earlier about Asher’s disappearance. But something tells me there’s more to it which you never told us. You must know why he still hasn’t returned to us…don’t you?”

Rowena’s expression froze.

The cavern suddenly felt smaller, the air heavier.

She lowered her gaze, her voice quiet but sharp as a blade.

“I banished him.”

Narissara’s eyes widened in shock, her composed demeanor momentarily cracking as she stared at Rowena.

“You banished him? Am I hearing you right? Why…Why would you do that to him?” she asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

Rowena, sitting with her back straight, her posture rigid, pressed her lips together. A silence settled between them, thick with emotions unsaid.

She never intended to speak of this. Not now. Not to Narissara. And yet, she couldn’t endure keeping it all to herself anymore. Maybe it was okay to tell her. After all, she was Isola’s mother.

A cold, exhausted breath left her lips before she finally spoke.

“Because he lied to me.”

And just like that, the dam broke.

Before she even realized it, Rowena was explaining everything.

From the moment she found out Asher had deceived her to the truth of who he really was—the Golden Prince, the Hunter sworn to exterminate demons, the very man who had killed her father in another life…the very man she had sworn to destroy.

Narissara listened in complete silence, her shock only deepening with each word.

At first, her brows furrowed slightly. Then they began to slowly rise in disbelief. By the time Rowena was finished, Narissara’s eyes were wide, her expression unnervingly still.

She wasn’t a woman easily shaken. She had lived long enough to learn the horrors of war, to bear witness to unimaginable cruelty. But this?

“He was a Hunter? And my daughter knew all this time?” Narissara whispered, almost to herself, as if she were still trying to process it all.

Rowena slowly shook her head, “I don’t know… nor does it matter anymore.”

Her cold mask of indifference wavered, revealing a deep, painful storm beneath the surface.

“I just…” she exhaled sharply, her crimson gaze darkening with emotion, “…never expected him to be hiding such things from me and still embrace me like that. I always trusted him blindly, even when my instincts told me that he was hiding something. But I never wanted to probe him because I loved and believed in him.”

She swallowed, the words tasting bitter on her tongue.

“If only I had known earlier…”

Narissara’s gaze softened, though her expression remained unreadable. She studied Rowena, seeing the battle raging in her heart while processing everything she had told him, including the fact that her own daughter also hid the truth from her.

“What if he and Isola never told you because they were trying to spare you the pain you are feeling now?”

Rowena’s entire body tensed.

Her crimson eyes snapped toward Narissara, a coldness returning to them.

“Are you saying that it was better for me to remain an oblivious fool? That not knowing everything would make it fine?” Her voice was sharp, edged with unspoken hurt.

Narissara didn’t flinch.

“No,” she answered plainly, her voice strong but not unkind.

“I am not saying it would. What they did wasn’t right or fair to you. But I am saying that they love and care about you enough to hide such truths from you out of fear of losing your love. If Asher truly had any nefarious intentions or plans to betray you, he could have easily done so long ago. Why would he risk his life so many times to help and protect us all?”

Rowena clenched her fists, her nails biting into her palm, but she didn’t refute it.

Narissara took a step forward, her voice measured yet pointed.

“I know you know this as well. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have ended it by just exiling him or-” Narissara glanced at Rowena’s belly briefly before adding, “-keeping his child. I know it’s not only because you haven’t grown to care for that innocent soul.”

Rowena’s jaw tightened.

Narissara continued, “You didn’t even spare your aunt when she tried to usurp your throne. If you truly wanted to erase him from your life, he would be dead, not walking free. But you couldn’t do it, could you?”

Rowena’s eyes flickered, a storm of emotions she refused to acknowledge swirling within them.

“That doesn’t change the fact that he killed my father, our people in the past, and slept with our enemies,” Rowena countered, her voice dropping to a whisper, as if saying it aloud would solidify her own anger.

Narissara exhaled through her nose, crossing her arms.

“You are right. What he has done in the past can’t be changed.”

She paused before adding in a quieter tone, “But as a senior who has lived for a while, I’ve learned that people can change and that not all humans are evil. Just like how I have changed and how some of these humans don’t want to fight the good ones among us. Isola briefly tells me from time to time that she has met humans who sympathize and understand us…especially how we have to literally fight and kill to survive.”

Rowena’s eyes flickered toward her in curiosity.

Narissara’s expression turned somber, reflective.

“He may have been a Hunter who had taken a vow to annihilate demons like us, but something must have happened for him to have a change of heart. Maybe after living a new life as a demon and meeting you, he could have come to understand and care for us.”

Rowena’s breath hitched just slightly.

“You are the first woman he fell in love with,” Narissara went on, her voice gentler now.

“Isola always tells me how much Asher cares about you—to the point he would even go to the depths of Tartarus if it meant keeping you safe. She is better at knowing one’s true self more than any of us. That is why I am confident that Asher’s love is true and boundless to those he cares about. Isn’t that why you also fell for him?”

Rowena’s lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

Narissara’s gaze softened even further.

“A man like him is very rare to see in a world like ours.”

Rowena’s hands trembled.

She knew that. She knew that more than anyone.

Yet she mumbled, almost too softly to be heard, “It still doesn’t make it hurt any less…”

Narissara sighed, stepping closer, placing a gentle but firm hand on Rowena’s back.

“Even though we started off on the wrong foot, and our kingdoms went to war with each other, you are like a daughter to me now. You should know that Asher is the one who taught me, Isola, and our people that people can change.”

Narissara’s expression became distant, lost in the memories of a time when she held unwavering hatred for the Bloodburn Kingdom.

“We carried so much resentment toward your kingdom that we didn’t stop to think that we were going to war against people who weren’t responsible for the massacre of our ancestors and trapping us in darkness.”

Her gaze sharpened as she looked back at Rowena.

“So even if it isn’t exactly the same, he is no longer the Golden Prince. He was literally given a second chance to become a better person. You don’t have to feel guilty for loving him because you fell in love with the demon named Asher, not the Hunter who killed your father due to a quest.”

Rowena’s breath hitched, her vision blurring slightly.

Narissara gave a soft, wistful smile.

“Take it from someone who has a lot of regrets… I never gave Isola the love and care she deserved out of misplaced beliefs and archaic traditions that almost made me lose her. I also was never able to properly express my love towards my husband…I regret it more than I ever thought now that he is no longer with me.” Narissara said as her eyes flashed with a doleful light before she turned to look at Rowena and added, “I don’t want you making the same mistake as I did.”

Rowena blinked, her chest tightening.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Rowena had no words.

The weight of Narissara’s words settled over her like an anchor, sinking into the depths of her heart.

“I don’t know what to feel or think now…It hurts to think…” She finally admitted in a low voice.

Narissara nodded with a look of understanding, “I know. I know I can’t tell you to forgive Asher because he did wrong you. But I hope one day you will be ready to understand why he did it and get some closure. What you do after that is up to you, and no matter what choice you make, it will be the right one.”