Chapter 28: When the Demon Smiled

Star shot towards Dante with a speed that felt almost unreal. In the span of a heartbeat, a massive crimson double-headed battle axe had already formed in his hands, both curved blades angling upwards towards Dante’s chin in a brutal swing.

’I can’t let him win... Not anymore.’

Star’s eyes burned with fury.

’So... I will show him what too much feels like...!’

The axe was almost at Dante’s chin.

His eyes widened.

But at the last second, those thick metallic restraints shot forward with frightening speed and wrapped around Star’s body, pinning both his arms tightly against his sides.

The force of them caught him mid-swing and ripped him backwards before he could even finish the attack. His body slammed down in front of the Davonchi who had caught him, and before he could recover, a sharp current of electricity tore through him.

"AAAGH!"

Star’s entire body convulsed. Every muscle tightened at once. His back arched against the restraints as the current ripped through him. The pain was everywhere, inside his bones, beneath his skin, even behind his eyes. For one terrible moment, he was certain his heart was going to give out.

But then, the current stopped.

Star collapsed against the ropes, dragging in a thick, ragged breath.

"No!" Zuru cried from where he lay, still bound and breathing heavily.

Cirella covered her mouth with one hand, giggling as though she was trying not to let Dante notice how entertained she was, while Cindella remained cold and still. But even she couldn’t hide the satisfaction in her eyes.

The smile on Dante’s face, however, had vanished.

He glared down at Star and marched towards him with heavy steps. Star was still struggling to recover from the shock. His vision spun so badly that, even as Dante approached, he could barely make out two blurred figures where there should have been one.

Dante grabbed him by the collar and pulled his face upward before driving a forceful fist into it.

"RAAH!"

Star’s head snapped violently to the side. Blood burst from his mouth and splattered across the ground.

Dante hit him again.

And again.

And again.

Each punch drove Star’s head further back until Dante finally released his collar, leaving the prince to collapse heavily back unto the ground.

Star coughed, choking on the taste of blood as it poured from the corner of his mouth.

Every part of him ached, but his face was something else entirely. It burned with such savage intensity that he nearly forgot where he was.

Dante stepped back so angrily it looked like a complete stagger. Now, he could no longer contain all the rage inside of him anymore.

"You call me a pest?" he roared. "Yet you’re the real pest! Running around with that old mage, playing with fate, and now running around with these two puny thieves! Evading every attempt I’ve made to capture you!"

Star barely managed to raise his head.

Dante rushed forward and drove his foot into his stomach.

"Ugh!"

More blood spilled from Star’s mouth as he recoiled in pain.

Dante, however, gestured towards the other side of the village, where the ruins of Yunbuck still stood like the bones of something that had once been alive.

"You think I intended for any of this to happen?" Dante continued, his voice trembling with fury. "I never did! But you kept ruining my plans over and over again. And let me tell you how that feels."

He rushed forward and kicked him again.

"IT!"

He kicked him again,

"FEELS!"

Yet another painful kick,

"VERY!"

And another, harder this time.

"FRUSTRATING!"

The final kick sent Star’s body skidding against the ground.

By now, it was almost as though Star could no longer feel the individual blows. But that was only because the pain had already spread through every corner of his body, leaving no room for one wound to stand out from another.

Zuru was already too exhausted to do anything but lie there and watch, tears still streaming down his face. Sarah, on the other hand, blinked weakly, looking as though she would die at any moment. Yet the worry in her eyes remained unmistakable.

"HIT IT AGAIN!" Dante ordered.

The Davonchi holding Star immediately pressed the button in the palm of his glove.

Another heavy torrent of electricity surged through Star’s body.

His body shook violently as the current surged through him. His muscles locked as the electricity tore another scream from his throat.

Dante laughed, but there was little amusement in it. It was the sound of pure anger wearing the mask of laughter.

He crouched before Star’s battered body.

"I can’t believe I went through all that trouble when it was this easy," he said. "Truly, I regret it."

Star was too exhausted, too overwhelmed by pain to properly process the words. But something about them caught in his mind, it felt like it had a deeper meaning that Dante himself didn’t even know.

He replayed them slowly. Then it hit him.

’Dante had been afraid to come after me himself...

But why?’

His eyes suddenly widened.

’No... He wasn’t afraid of me.’

Then he remembered the golden ring around his finger.

’That’s it!’

He had finally connected everything.

Slowly, and as calmly as his battered body would allow, he forced his other hand towards the finger wearing the ring until his fingers curled around it.

’This is the only way. I’m too weak to do anything else, so it’s time to take this off—’

The thought never finished when his eyes suddenly shifted towards Sarah.

’Damn. She doesn’t know... She’ll freak out, and then...’ His thoughts faltered, as though the final word itself was painful to pronounce.

’Then she’ll call me a...’

’Demon.’

Star swallowed.

The sting of that word travelled through him all over again. It still hurt, especially knowing that he could have been something more. Something better. Something pure.

Dante, however, was still crouched in front of Star, continuing to speak, but Star had already drifted deep into his own thoughts. He barely heard another word from him.

Well, not until...

"...However, nephew... Before I kill you, I’ll make sure you watch your friends die in the most agonizing way possible."

Dante stood, an evil smile spreading across his face as he turned towards the Davonchi holding Sarah.

"Starting with her," he added coldly.

Heat suddenly rushed through Star’s body. For a heartbeat, he couldn’t breathe.

His eyes locked onto Sarah, and suddenly every other sound in the village seemed to disappear. All he could see was her... and of course the hand resting on the Davonchi’s glove.

Dante didn’t hesitate. No trace of emotion crossed his eyes as he simply pressed the button in the palm of the Davonchi’s glove.

Another heavy torrent of electricity tore through Sarah’s body.

Her body snapped violently against the restraints.

"AAGH!"

The cry ripped through the village.

Star flinched as though the current had struck him instead.

"No..." Star gasped weakly as he stared at Sarah.

Somehow, her pain felt even more unbearable than the pain tearing through his own body. He looked up at Dante. The man was laughing... actually laughing.

He was savoring it. Savoring her pain. Savoring his helplessness.

He turned his gaze back towards Sarah. She was breathing heavily, her body barely holding itself together.

Slowly, she lifted her head.

Her eyes found his.

"St-star..." she mumbled.

The word was barely audible, carrying little more than a dying whisper.

That was it.

Star couldn’t bear it anymore.

He was too weak to fight. Too injured. He wasn’t even a quarter of the man Dante was. But there was something within him that might, somehow, be capable of matching Dante’s power.

With that thought, Star tightened his grip around the golden ring.

He looked at Sarah one last time.

"Whatever happens next..." he whispered weakly, "Sarah, please forgive me."

Then...

He pulled the ring from his finger.

And his eyes closed.

Silence.

It was as though the entire world had suddenly stopped.

Star could hear nothing. All he could feel was the calm air gently brushing against his skin.

It was peaceful.

Very peaceful.

But then the sky churned.

A sharp crimson bolt of lightning tore across the heavens, trembling through the air below with a thunderous crack.

Everyone froze.

The sky had been clear only moments ago.

Dante slowly looked up at the crimson lightning before lowering his gaze towards Star.

And for the first time, something appeared on his face that neither Cirella nor Cindella had ever believed they would see.

Horror.

He stared at Star’s battered body as though he had suddenly forgotten how to move. The laughter had completely vanished from his face.

Star’s body began to grow in mass and weight. His fingers stretched, the bones shifting as deadly claws emerged from them. His once pure, silvery-white hair darkened and lengthened, spilling across the ground and falling over his face.

"B-but..." Dante stuttered only for a deep laugh to echoe from Star.

The laughter began quietly, like a breath escaping from somewhere far too dark, before slowly rising in volume and resonating into the heavens.

Zuru had been so weak that he hadn’t even noticed the crimson lightning. But that laughter snapped his attention towards Star.

His breath caught.

His eyes widened.

Even Sarah, who had barely been able to keep her eyes open, suddenly stared at him.

Star’s laughter rose higher and then—

*KPAA*

One of the thick metallic ropes wrapped around his body suddenly snapped.

The sharp crack made Sarah and Zuru flinch.

Another snapped followed, then another and another.

The Davonchi holding Star stared in horror as the restraints kept breaking one after another. But he nearly peed his black pants when he saw the reason behind it.

Frantically, he pressed the button in his palm.

Electricity exploded across Star’s body, but Star didn’t move.

He didn’t even flinch nor blink.

The electricity crackled violently, the sparks danced over his body, illuminating the darkness of his hair, yet instead of forcing him down, it seemed to be feeding him while he simply continued laughing.

The Davonchi pressed the button harder, as if that would make any difference. If anything, the electricity seemed to vanish into Star.

Dante could swear he heard the electric current screaming. Yet Star remained completely unaffected.

Then...

"Hihihi."

Star slowly lifted his head.

The dark strands of hair slid away from his face as he stared directly at the person standing before him.

Dante.

His blue eyes were gone.

In their place burned a pair of crimson eyes, glowing with a sinister intensity that made even Dante’s breath catch.

But it wasn’t only his eyes; That handsome face Sarah and Zuru had come to know had twisted into something far more terrifying.

Demonic markings stretched from above his eyes, down below them, while crimson veins cracked across the skin around them like fractures spreading through old stone.

Since he was laughing, his elongated fangs where visible and they were stained with the blood already covering his lips, giving him a far more sinister look.

Zuru’s body went rigid. He couldn’t even bring himself to speak. He simply stared at Star. His lips, No, his entire body trembled. Slowly he dragged himself backwards across the grou

nd.

Sarah was no different. Her eyes remained fixed on Star’s monstrous face, and despite the weakness weighing down her body, a different kind of fear had taken over her expression.

This wasn’t the Star she knew.

This was a demon.

And she was staring directly into its eyes.