A part of the trial races had always bent the knee to its enemies.
From the very beginning of the demon invasion, there were those who chose submission over resistance, offering themselves to the demons in exchange for power. These contracts were not new. They had existed for generations, refined again and again to grant greater strength to those willing to pay the price. For the contractor, it ant power beyond their natural limits. For the demons, it was a way to sink their claws into the ranks of the trial races from within.
That was why it ca as a shock when the contracts were improved once more, even after the demons had already gained the upper hand. They no longer needed stronger agents. The war was already tilting in their favor. And yet, they pushed further.
That decision gave birth to the Lords.
The demonic worshippers were ecstatic. A new tier of contracts ant a new ceiling of power, sothing bordering on absurd. But the cost was no longer symbolic or shared. It was personal, absolute and cruel.
Sakura Yakomoto was proof of that.
To obtain her contract, she had been required to sacrifice every one of her siblings.
Sakura had been the first to fall. After her confrontation with Leon, sothing inside her had broken. Her mind unraveled quietly, hidden behind incoherent muttering and distant eyes. No one in the Yakomoto family realized the truth until it was far too late. By then, Sakura had already lured her brothers out one by one, handing them over to the ritual without hesitation.
When the contract was complete, Sakura erged reborn.
A Lord.
One of the demons’ highest enforcers, forged not just by power, but by betrayal soaked in blood.
Sakura tilted her head, smiling as if she were chatting with old friends.
"You know, you were hard to find. I had to scour the whole area for a while, and lo and behold, it turned out I was chasing ghosts. A complete wild goose chase." Her eyes glead.
"But luckily, a little birdie told where you were hiding."
At that mont, one of the trial takers of Unit Alpha stepped forward. He dropped to his knees in the blood pooling across the floor, blood that had once been his comrades. Darian, Luke, and Selena stared in stunned silence, the realization sinking in too late. The demons’ influence had reached deeper than they ever imagined.
The middle-aged man bowed his head low. "Lord... I fulfilled my role. Please, release my family."
Sakura’s smile softened, almost kind. "Sure."
Relief washed over the man’s face. He barely had ti to breathe before Sakura leaned down and kissed him.
The kiss lingered, intimate and grotesque. No one moved as his body began to shrivel, his flesh sinking inward as if his very life was being drained away. When she pulled back, he collapsed to the floor, a lifeless husk.
"Now you can join them," she said lightly.
Her gaze shifted to Darian and Selena. "You know, your son really did a number on . I went through all that trouble just to pay him back, and in the end he dies, after all the praise, he falls in a D-rank trial. Truly pathetic."
She paused, savoring their expressions. "But I suppose you two will do. I’m sure by the ti I’m finished with you, he’ll be rolling around in whatever grave he’s buried in."
Thick vines erupted from the floor beneath her feet, twisting and writhing as they surged toward the three marshals.
"Now," Darian said sharply.
A reinforced tal container slamd down around Sakura, sealing her in. It wouldn’t hold her for long.
Almost imdiately, controlled explosions set off by the mbers of Unit Alpha who weren’t in the control room detonated beneath the spot where she stood.
The blast tore through the container and hurled everyone in the control room backward.
They recovered quickly. As Unit Alpha began evacuating, the marshals followed close behind, ready for the inevitable counterattack.
Behind them, the lights flickered violently, and through the smoke, vines continued to spread, creeping across the ruined control room like living shadows.
The remaining mbers of Unit Alpha sprinted ahead of the Silver Marshals, boots pounding as they fled down the corridor. Before they had gone far, thick vines burst through the walls, tearing tal apart as they surged after them.
"Don’t stop!" Darian shouted.
He glanced at Selena and nodded. She understood instantly.
Selena activated her Extraordinary Talent, [Angel’s Embrace]. A warm surge of power wrapped around Darian as buffs layered onto him. He pulled his axe from his inventory and skidded to a halt, planting his feet.
"Battle Axe Art," he roared. "Seventh Form: Radiant Severance!"
The axe ca down in a brutal arc. A blazing aura slash tore forward, ripping through the pursuing vines and severing them in clusters. Darian didn’t linger. The mont he bought them space, he turned and ran again.
They reached the exit monts later. Without hesitation, the mbers of Unit Alpha triggered the explosives planted throughout the hideout. The structure behind them erupted, swallowing Sakura and the control room in fire and debris.
"Teleportation talismans, now!" Darian ordered.
Every mber tore theirs open.
But at that mont nothing happened.
Shock flashed across Dayton’s face.
And in the next instant, a vine burst from the ground and punched straight through his chest.
Ti slowed.
Selena and Luke watched in horror as Dayton was lifted off the ground, blood spilling from his mouth.
From the collapsing rubble, Sakura erged fully demonized, her form warped and monstrous.
"I can’t believe I started monologuing," she said lazily.
"That could’ve ended badly if you escaped."
A barrier shimred into existence around them, sealing the area completely.
"But luckily," Sakura continued, smiling, "you’re not the only ones with fancy toys."
Darian coughed, blood soaking his lips. He forced out one word, barely audible.
"Run."
Selena didn’t hesitate. She pushed [Angel’s Embrace] to its limit, buffing herself instead. A magic staff flashed into her hands as she aid it at Sakura, mana surging violently.
Luke activated [Mad Tyrant], his body twisting into its crimson demonic form as he charged.
The remaining mbers of Unit Alpha followed.
There was no escape now. Only one option remained.
Fight.
Sakura’s smile widened.
"Rushing to your deaths. How touching."
She raised her hand to summon more vines.
But in that exact mont a blinding light exploded between the two sides.
The world froze.
As the light faded, a man stood there. White hair. Violet eyes. Black robes that seed to swallow the light around him.
Everything went still.
Sakura frowned.
"Who are—"
She never finished.
As an overwhelming killing intent crashed down, so dense it beca lethal. Sakura clutched her neck, eyes wide, even though there was no wound.
For a single heartbeat, her focus slipped.
In that instant, Darian vanished from her grasp.
He reappeared in the arms of the stranger.
The man looked down at the impaled marshal, then lifted his gaze to Sakura.
And he looked furious.
****
-Authors Note-
19-Day Challenge: If we stay in the Top 50 of the Golden Ticket rankings until the 19th of this month, I will do a mass release on that day.
To make the conditions easier: If the book receives one thousand or more power stones before the 19th, the mass release is guaranteed. I believe we can pull this off, let’s go!
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