I blink with self awareness. I never wanted to be a demon, but this is the first ti I am ashad of what I am.
"After all that the demons have done on our continent? Look around you. They brought us here. Only heavens know what is left of the continent". His voice has a helpless and distraught undertone.
"Not just the demons. The emperor gave you all up".
"Because his spirit is corrupted and hypnotized by the demon queen".
I, of all people know that that is not true.
The emperor was a very vile creature. He ordered to kill every single mber of the imperial army because they would not bow to his brutal rule. The female leaders of the army were forced into his harem. No one was safe from him. He is every bit as evil as the demon queen herself. But, I can’t tell Xian Xi that without exposing myself.
He might eventually find out. Han and Arigana know who I am. They might have told the others.
"I am a demon".
He looks at from head to toe, taking in in a single solid glance. His eyes are no longer warm and smiling, they look as hostile and hard as ice.
"No kidding". Is all he says.
I wait patiently for him to say sothing more.
"You don’t emanate the aura of a demon".
I didn’t know that.
"That’s because I was once a Gorhm like you. I had white flowing hair, but, my body was taken from , and the body of a demon was given in its stead".
My story has many loopholes, only the necessary parts have been told. Mostly because, I choose to leave it buried for my own sanity.
"I see. Is your body the one the demon queen possesses?"
My eyes widen as I stare at him blankly.
"You’ve t the demon queen?"
"Multiple tis. She seems to have taken an interest in and so other diamond rankers I know. She cos whenever she wants to our private lounge".
My stomach sinks.
"Oh". I mutter.
He has no idea what it ans for the demon queen to take an active interest in a creature.
"You have not answered my question. Is it your body? It has the image of a snake on its lower back".
My eyes flash to his.
"And how would you know that?"
His eyes take on a mischievous look.
"Because she does not leave very much to the imagination on her visits".
"I thought you swore off won".
"Looking at them is different. I have enviable self control".
I scoff.
"But, now that I have been raped, I may take her up on her offer. Back to what I asked, is that your body?"
I glare at him with indignation.
"If you call saving your life rape one more ti, I’ll cut your head off".
"Don’t change the subject".
"Yes. How did you guess?"
"I’m not as dumb as you. You escaped this place once, according to the tales I heard from the demon queen and her comrades, and she possesses the body of a Gorhm. Plus, you just told your story. It all adds up."
"Nice maths".
He nods in self appraisal.
"Do you want your body back?"
"What’s wrong with this one?"
My mind flashes to a man I know on earth. Even if I can’t rember him, I know that this is the body he recognizes. If I ever do see him again, I want him to recognize .
"No".
"But, she is defiling it".
"That’s exactly why I don’t want it back. I don’t want a body that has slept with everything in skirts and trousers. The body would rember and I don’t want that".
"You are from my clan. You are the girl that could see dead spirits. How co you never died?"
So he knows ? I always believed I was invisible.
"I wish I did, believe . How did you know ?"
"I was there when they were hanging you. You were just too pretty to be treated like that".
"You didn’t know before that?"
"No. But, you beca popular after you died. A mob ganged up and killed the clan chief and his entire family. Not even his daughters were spared".
Justice for ? Instead of feeling happy that so people rose up for , I feel emptier than I did before.
"Why didn’t they stand up for when I was alive? Necromancy is not very uncommon."
"Yours is unheard of".
"What is so special about it. I raise the dead".
"You have the eye of death, the demon eye. You can see souls. Not every necromancer can do that. The gift or rather, curse, is very rare".
That’s also new.
"That still does not explain why they thought I would be better off dead".
"Everyone with your curse eventually ran mad and either killed themselves or killed others. When they started killing others, they never stopped".
"And how do you know so much about it?"
"Because I did my research after you...died".
I look away. The mory is still painful.
We just stand, a hand’s length apart from each other in awkward silence.
"Now, what happens? We’ve both defeated out nightmares"
His eyes twinkle.
"The clock doesn’t answer to my scholarly thods, darling. It only responds to bloodshed."
"What does that an? Are we stuck here?"
He sees the horror in my guarded eyes and has the guts to chuckle. I want to take him by the arms and throttle him.
"As much as I would love to be left alone with you, we are not stuck here. We simply have to wait until the clock runs out".
"Then we return back the usual way?"
He nods. "How do you think I’ve survived this long. Trust a little. I’m not your enemy," his eyes flash darkly, "for now". He adds as an after thought.
He suddenly does not seem so weak to . I start noticing the lean muscles beneath his coat and his air of authority.
If he wants to kill , he could.
"System, how much ti do I have left?"
The system displays the remaining ti on the holographic screen.
The clock strikes zero with a chi.
He grabs by the waist and pulls to him as a portal opens beneath our feet.
This is quite unusual. The portals are not usually like this.
I feel like we’re falling into a bleak oblivion. Then, my feet touches solid ground just before I topple over.
We are back in the Vault.
Our limbs and clothes are all tangled up. This man has a lot of nerve.
I look around my surroundings. This is a very posh and well furnished room. It has a fire in the hearth and floor to ceiling windows that overlook the barren lands. There is a stuffed bookcase beside the window. A low stooled tea table lies by the wall with mats to match it.
I struggle to get up.
"Where did you take ?"
"This is my room".
"Why did you bring here?"
"If I did not hold you, the portal would have split us apart. Non- mbers can not get into this area. This is the only way I could bring you here".
"Is this what mbers of the diamond rank enjoy?"
He nods and pulls off his scarf.
The screen lights up with the new ranks. As expected, my na is nowhere significant. He is still number one.
There is a knock on the door.
For a reason unknown to , my blood runs cold. I start to shiver in the warm room. No. No. No.
The door opens and the demon queen walks in.
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