Kai stood still, Sazar and him looked at each other in silence.
Kai raised his right hand and then sent it down in a chop to release one spear as a test.
The weapon, forged of shadow and hardened essence combined with several elental magics, tore through the air with a whistle like a banshee's scream.
Sazar responded instantly, his claws beca infernos each of burning chaos, each one swirling with jagged fragnts of so sort of void fire. He slamd the fragnts together, forming a roiling blast of unstable mana that knocked the spear off course and shattered the earth behind him.
Kai tilted his head.
"Okay, do it with four, then. I dare you."
The four spears floated around him, humming with restrained energy. He inhaled, narrowed his eyes, and then loosed them in an instant. They streaked forward, cutting arcs through the smoky battlefield, each one set on a different path that converged toward a single point from several angles.
Sazar roared and struck out with everything he had left.
A chaotic blast detonated against two of the spears, shattering them into nothingness.
But the third slipped past, driving straight into his leg. For a split second at least, after that, his limb simply ceased to exist, erased at the point of contact.
He stumbled, off balance, rage flashing across his scarred face. That hesitation and imbalance cost him.
The fourth spear ca screaming down from above, and before Sazar could even look up fully, it struck.
Kai saw his head crumple like an aluminum can stomped flat. The body followed, collapsing inward before being consud in a burst of obliterating force. When the shockwave faded, nothing remained.
No ash, no fragnts, not even blood.
Sazar was gone.
The battlefield froze.
The demons locked in combat with Vepice and Kai's undead faltered, then backed away in unison, their snarls cut short, their eyes darting toward the only one among them who mattered now.
High above, Seyren spread his vast wings. The mbranes crackled with chaotic energy as he raised his claws. Then, with a single downbeat, he released a rain of power, searing bolts of warped magic that fell like teors.
One after another, they struck the retreating demons, obliterating them without hesitation. Screams echoed, cut short by burning silence, until only ash and scorched earth remained.
Seyren descended slowly, his boots crunching against broken stone as he landed. His expression was unreadable, though his crimson eyes held sothing between weariness and irritation.
He sighed. "Sazar was one of my top generals. A sha, that. Maybe it's ti for to leave Muderan after all."
Kai's gaze narrowed. "And do what?"
"Live in Iria? Kill these gods of yours? Rule over your world?" Seyren chuckled darkly. "The choices are endless. Staying here, in this empty husk of a world, with nothing but arcane beasts and demons, is getting boring."
Kai folded his arms. "Ruling Iria might be a little much, but I'll let you co with under one condition."
Seyren arched a brow. "What?"
"Beco my subordinate."
The demon king's lips curled. "You're asking the demon king to-"
"The demon king who was beaten to a pulp and begged for rcy?" Kai interrupted coldly.
The silence stretched. Then Seyren smirked faintly, the edge of pride bending just enough to let practicality in. "…Point taken."
Kai extended a hand. "I'll engrave orders upon your soul. We can discuss terms, but in the end, you'll obey ."
"With limitations, I would assu. I wouldn't enter into such an agreent by fully handing control over myself to you."
"Of course. I'm not that much of a monster."
They stared at each other for a long mont, the shadows and flas of the battlefield flickering between them. Then Seyren gave a dry laugh. "What, am I supposed to hand you my soul sohow?"
"No. The crystals, please."
Seyren turned, returning to the ruined throne that still lood at the heart of the chamber. He plucked the dark crystals from its armrests, their glow muted, and handed them over to Kai.
"Good. Now…"
Kai's voice dropped into a whisper that resonated with power.
'Soul Manipulation.'
The world dimd. Kai reached inward, threading his magic like hooks through a sea of fire. Resistance slamd against him, Seyren's will, vast and monstrous. The demon's body convulsed, his wings twitching violently.
"Don't fight it, Seyren," Kai warned.
Kai's soul buckled under the pressure of the task.
"It feels like you're ripping apart!" Seyren snarled, clutching his chest.
"It only feels like that because you're not giving in!"
The pressure mounted and then slackened. Seyren exhaled raggedly, the fight slipping out of him.
Kai pulled, like hooking a fish the mont it nibbled on your bait.
A shape erged, trembling in the air between them: a soul. It was dark as the deepest abyss, its form barely coherent, but waves of red light coursed across its surface, shifting like solar flares on a black sun. It radiated a terrible majesty even in Kai's grasp.
Seyren's body trembled, but his eyes lifted to et Kai's. Even stripped bare, his pride had not entirely died. His voice rasped but carried conviction.
"I won't kill myself. I won't let you use my body or force to use it for carnal desires. I will not, under any circumstances, team up with a god, or accept their surrender."
Kai studied him. "That's all? Nothing more?"
"I also won't be a slave. Anything you can do easily, I won't be forced to do it. I want at least one day a week to be excused from the rules of the contract."
Kai smirked faintly. "Done, so long as you will not do harm to or those I care about on those days."
"I can agree to that."
He raised a finger. Dark script of soul-forging magic spiraled around the writhing soul, each rune burning deep into its surface. The rules etched themselves in permanent scars, like chains wrapping a star.
When it was finished, Seyren's soul was bound, his will shackled, but his demands preserved.
Kai closed his hand, the glowing fragnt sinking back into Seyren's chest.
Now the demon king stood before him, part of Kai's increasing number of soldiers.
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