Chapter 353: I AM NEROTH VHALZARYN! YOU CANNOT—!

The pull strengthened, Neroth tried to resist as he felt the pull on his arm, he tried to pull his arm back but then—

The arm stretched into a long black thread and...

Then disappeared into the void.

Neroth stared at the sight in absolute disbelief, but his nightmare did not end. He felt another pull, this time, on his other arm.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

He screamed in rage.

Lucian frowned at that.

"I told you, nothing."

He shrugged again.

"I am not doing anything, I don’t even know what’s happening, dude."

And that—

That only terrified Neroth more.

"No..."

He looked at Lucian, then at the void.

"No!"

He raised his hand, an endless amount of demonic power exploded from him, a black storm filled the inner world.

Suffering.

Enough suffering to break minds, to turn even ancient supernatural beings insane, to crush one’s very identity itself.

And as this dangerous black storm descended into the darkness—

Nothing happened.

There were no signs of resistance, reaction, struggle, or even mild discomfort.

The storm just... disappeared.

Neroth’s face changed.

"No."

The paralysing fear he just felt became even stronger.

"NO!"

He screamed again, this time much, much, much louder than before, even Lucian was forced to cover his ears.

But the void didn’t care, it only pulled harder and this time—

Neroth didn’t feel the pull on his arm, no, this time, the void was pulling his entire body.

The Archdemon felt his feet slide.

"I WILL NOT LET YOU!"

He roared as his body expanded, massive wings tore from his back, his horns grew, clear dark markings covered his entire body as his Authority filled the space.

He looked every bit like what he was.

An Archdemon.

A being powerful enough that about a thousand years ago, several of the world’s strongest forces had needed to unite just to kill him.

And yet—

The void did not care.

His remaining arm vanished.

Then, the left wing disappeared.

His entire body started to stretch apart, his blood, bones, energy, Authority, all of it turned into strands, dragged downwards—

Devoured.

"WHAT ARE YOU!?"

Neroth screamed in absolute disbelief and horror.

Lucian stared at him.

"Dude, I just told you.

I have no idea.

What makes you think asking again would change anything?"

He just shook his head.

His answer seemed to have offended the Archdemon.

"YOU IMPUDENT BASTARD!!"

He screamed and attacked again.

This time, with everything he had. His Authority, his Will, his Energy, it all exploded into the void.

He put his all, his very existence, into it and for a short second, it felt like it was working. The entire space was filled with his darkness, covering even the void beneath Lucian, overwhelming it maybe.

But then—

That darkness began shrinking.

It started being... devoured.

"No..."

Neroth stared in horror.

His body began falling apart, pieces of him peeled away, his shoulders, his wings, his chest, every piece of him stretched into countless threads before disappearing into the endless absence beneath Lucian.

"NO!"

The Archdemon tried to retreat.

He couldn’t.

Because there was nowhere to retreat to, his Heart, his Blood, his Will, it was all inside Lucian, he himself had pushed more of himself deeper, trying to overwrite Lucian, trying to take everything.

And now—

Whatever lived beneath Lucian—

It was pulling him in.

"NOO!"

Neroth roared.

"I AM NEROTH VHALZARYN!"

His name shook the inner world.

"ARCHDEMON OF SUFFERING!"

He screamed as more of him disappeared.

"I SURVIVED DEATH!"

Another section vanished.

"I WAITED NINE CENTURIES FOR THIS!"

His voice cracked.

"YOU CANNOT—!"

His jaw disappeared and his scream distorted.

The Archdemon’s memories began spilling out, Lucian saw fragments of them. A battlefield beneath a blood-red sky, Ancient Vampire Houses, Witches chanting around enormous formations, Hunters dying by the hundreds.

It was all jumbled.

He had to search through it to find anything coherent.

He also saw a younger Aurelia, though she didn’t look very different from how she looked now. The style was different, for sure, or maybe that was because the Vampire was covered in blood.

He also saw the exact moment when the Vampire beheaded Neroth. Perhaps it was one of Neroth’s stronger memories, considering how clear it was.

There were also images of Varek but Lucian couldn’t really make anything of them. There were needles, a bed, maybe it was the time when experiments were being done on Varek? Might also be his life after he left the Arcelis House.

It wasn’t clear.

Whatever it was, Lucian could only watch it for a few seconds, then—

It all disappeared into the void, consumed along with other pieces of the Archdemon.

Neroth did try to hold onto himself, his name, his memories, his Authority, anything he could hold onto really—

But the void didn’t distinguish between them.

For it... all of it, his power, his memories, his Will, his identity...

It was all like food.

Food it could consume as much of as it wanted.

Neroth’s remaining eye widened in sheer terror. It was trembling violently, if he still had a mouth, he would still be shouting.

He was... frightened.

Deeply so.

And that made Lucian stare into that remaining eye as he realised something.

Death didn’t terrify the Archdemon, he had already died once.

But this...

This was different.

As long as something remained, Blood, Heart, Will, Pattern, or a Memory, the Archdemon could always return.

But this time—

He couldn’t.

Because there was nothing left.

Everything from which Neroth Vhalzaryn could ever return, it was all devoured.

"No..."

Just then, Lucian heard the Archdemon’s voice again.

That surprised him, he looked down and noticed a thread barely escaping out of the void. That thread hovered right in front of Lucian’s face, then, it coiled around and... formed what seemed like a face.

"What..."

The mouth spoke.

The voice wasn’t even recognisable now, because this time, there was no amusement, superiority, or confidence in that voice.

There was only terror.

Sheer, endless terror.

Neroth looked at him.

"What are you...?"

The Archdemon asked, and before Lucian could give an answer.

The face turned back into a thread and was pulled back into the void, the only part of him that managed to escape was caught and devoured again.

Neroth disappeared.

This time, completely.

And the space...

It turned completely silent and Lucian stood in that silence, completely alone.

No Neroth, no Presence, no Voice, no Heart, even the Void beneath him disappeared, as if the work was done and it was no longer needed.

Now, it was... just him.

Then—

Lucian’s eyes snapped open, he returned to reality and—

"GHAA—!"

He screamed in pain as his body folded.