The ruined square of Castella was quiet now, covered in a thin layer of dust that slowly settled. The fires had burned themselves out, leaving behind nothing but glowing embers.
Bel stood with his claw extended, tip resting lightly against the fading outline of Regulus's forehead.
"Then, let save you. Regulus, beco one of mine. A dragon under my command."
The words landed like a stone dropped into still water.
Regulus's ghostly face went completely still. The only sound was the soft wind whistling through the broken pieces of the wrecked place around them.
Then his expression changed, first shock, then sothing stronger. Even though his body was barely solid anymore, he leaned back a little.
"No."
Bel blinked once, genuinely surprised. His hand remained outstretched.
"You want to keep fighting," Bel said. "You said it yourself. 'No matter what. All the way.' This is the only way that promise survives past the next few minutes."
Regulus gave a short, careful laugh, then caught himself.
"Sorry. That ca out wrong. I didn't an to sound… dismissive." He corrected his tone quickly, as if rembering who he was speaking to. "But I can't accept that. I won't."
Bel lowered his hand just a little bit. His face didn't change, staying completely still like stone. But if you looked close, really close, you could see sothing flickering in his eyes, confusion, maybe? Like he didn't understand what was happening.
"I don't understand. You're dying. This body is already gone. Why refuse the only path that lets you continue?"
Regulus's form flickered. His chest was nearly transparent now. He looked down at his dissolving hands, then back up.
"Because it wouldn't be continuing. It would be sothing else wearing my face. A dragon. One of yours." He paused, choosing words carefully. "I respect your offer, Demon Lord, truly. But my humanity… it's all I have left. The Sacred exist to protect people as humans. Not as monsters."
Bel tilted his head slightly.
"Monsters," he repeated, testing the word. "Sienna made the sa change. She is stronger now. She kept her mind. Her choices. Why assu you would lose yours?"
Regulus hesitated.
"Because she's not , and you're not exactly the poster child for—" He stopped himself mid-sentence, shaking his head. His careless side had almost slipped out again.
"I apologize. That was rude. What I an is… I believe in the others. The remaining Sacred. This generation still has fighters. They'll step up. They'll handle the rest of the Lords. I've done my part. Letting go now… that's the honorable end."
Bel was quiet for several seconds. The wind carried the sll of smoke and wet stone between them.
"Honorable," he echoed. His voice remained even, almost gentle in its logic. "You died once to a single general. One subordinate. Not even a Lord. And you barely managed to return on borrowed ti. The others… they are as weak as you were at your peak. I've seen them. Felt their strength. They won't survive what's coming."
Regulus's eyes narrowed, but he kept his tone respectful.
"With respect, Bel… you're underestimating us. Humanity has always found a way. The Sacred have evolved before. We'll do it again."
Bel shook his head slowly.
"No. Not this ti. The demons have already reached the royal castle once, and you didn't realize until they started to move. If it wasn't for , you'd all already be dead. aning that right now, with all of us here... You might have already lost what you're dying for."
The words hit like a physical blow. Regulus's fading form wavered violently.
"What?"
"While we fought here, forces moved on the capital and others location," Bel continued. "Your defense had been breached by the fool and the weakest demon Lord, and now, now that the others know they can't count on their 'hero', they will act themselves. The royal guard is scattered. Your fellow Sacred are spread thin, so still recovering from this battle, others too inexperienced. They have no answer for what's coming. Six Lords remain, and the strongest among them are far beyond what even I can face. I'm not lying, and the one who gave that information is special enough to convince to think before acting from now on. You know this. You felt the King's threat. Multiply it."
Regulus opened his mouth, closed it. For the first ti, real doubt crept into his expression.
"I… I can't believe that. If that's true, then—"
He caught himself again, forcing calm.
"Even so. Becoming a dragon under you… that's not the answer. It would an abandoning everything I fought for. My people would see as a traitor. A monster wearing the skin of their hero."
Bel watched him closely. Internally, sothing stirred, sothing he hadn't expected.
He clings to his humanity so fiercely. He refuses even at the edge of death?
Bel had been human far longer than he had been a Demon Lord. Yet standing here, he felt strangely distant from that part of himself. Why did Regulus's stubbornness feel so alien? Why did it almost… impress him?
"If I had lived longer as a human," Bel said quietly, almost to himself, "perhaps I would understand this better. The Sacred are unique. You care about what you are, not just what you can do."
This was the second ti this had happened: a Sacred truly impressed him with their humanity alone. Seeing Bel's reaction, Regulus managed a faint, tired smile.
"Thank you. That ans sothing, coming from you." His voice was growing thinner. "But I have to stay true to what I am. Even if it ends here."
The dissolution accelerated. His legs were gone. His torso faded into glowing threads. Only his head and shoulders remained, flickering like a dying lantern.
Bel felt a rare pang of frustration, not anger, but genuine confusion.
"You're choosing to disappear. For pride. For an idea. While your people face extinction."
Regulus's eyes t his. They were still sharp.
"It's not just pride. It's… who we are. Humans are weak. We can't regenerate like you. We break. We die. But that weakness is what makes us fight so hard. We don't have endless power or immortal bodies. So we hold onto our souls tighter. If I beco a dragon, I lose that. I beco sothing that never had to struggle the way we do."
He laughed softly, then corrected himself again.
"Sorry. I'm rambling now. I just… I don't want to offend you. You've been fair to . More than fair."
Bel stood motionless. The respect he felt for this man deepened. Regulus was not reckless. He was careful even in death, mindful of the one who could end everything he fought for in an instant. And yet he still refused.
This is the power of humanity in its weakness, Bel thought. Not the strength of dragons or Lords. The refusal itself. The willingness to vanish rather than compromise what they believe.
It was earnest. Inspiring, in a way Bel had never encountered. Or maybe... wasn't Novaria just the sa? Her tears seeing Dusteria, her anger when she faced the Crimson Bloom.
Wasn't this fire a form of human pride and emotion?
A quiet fire that burned brighter because it had a real aning, as strong as the loyalty of his dragons toward him.
Maybe even stronger?
Regulus's face was almost gone now. Only faint outlines remained.
"I'm sorry, Bel. Truly. I wish… I wish things were different. But this is my choice."
The last threads of his form began to scatter into bright, sparkling motes of light. They drifted upward like fireflies in the dusk.
Bel did not move to stop them. He opened his palm.
The sparkles converged slowly, drawn toward him. They coalesced into a single, shining mana core, pure, radiant, trembling with residual energy.
The core of a Sacred, Regulus's final essence.
A faint echo of Regulus's voice lingered in the air, warm and resigned.
"This is my last gift to you, Demon Lord. Use it for your goal. As a replacent for myself. Maybe it can help you save them… even if I couldn't."
Bel closed his fingers around the core. It pulsed once, despite his defense shielding him from the outside world, it felt warm against his skin.
The square fell into deeper silence. Novaria lowered her head. The other dragons watched without sound.
Bel looked up at the sky. The clear blue felt strangely heavy. He had expected acceptance. The man wanted to fight. He had said it so many tis. Why refuse when life, real, continued life, was offered?
The confusion sat in his chest like an unfamiliar weight.
I was human longer than I have been demon. Why does this feel like my mories and feelings belong to soone else entirely?
That day, Bel had gained a new understanding.
The power of humanity in its weakness was not sothing to dismiss.
It was sothing to respect.
And perhaps, one day, sothing to learn from.
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