"So you hated me in the end, huh?"
Die. Die. Die.
"You want me to go away?"
Disappear. Disappear. Disappear!
"Then make me."
The child's grip around Mina's neck tightened.
"It's simple enough. Kill me, and I'll disappear."
Die! Die! Die!
"Kill me. Go for it. You're not weak anymore. You don't need me."
I'm a Demon King Candidate!
Mine.
I can do whatever I want! With whatever I want! Mine!
"What's yours?"
Everything!
"Is it?"
I'll make it! I'll make everything mine!
"That's the way. Take. Take from others. Take from the world. You who had nothing..."
Die! Die! Die! So I can have a new beginning!
"Make the whole world yours. Make everything bend to your will. Make everything kneel in front of you. Forget about who you are. Forget about everything. Focus on your will. Your hunger. Your greed."
Die!
"Let them carry you. Your greed. Your hunger. Your lust. Your pride. Your wrath. Your sloth. Don't think. Don't worry about doing things the right way. There is no right way in this new world. Don't let the past drag you."
I won't!
"You said it already, didn't you? That you would become King. That you wouldn't care about your past. About your past misconceptions about right and wrong. Then prove it. Prove it now."
Die! Die! Die!
"Kill me. And kill your past self with me."
The child's arms shook and it pulled away.
The suffocating woman could finally breathe.
"What are you doing? Kill me. Me, the one who took care of you every day. The only one whose face you remember. Kill me. You hated me, didn't you? Just like you hated all those doctors. Remember them? Every few months, a new one. A new doctor, a new room. Same hospital, same me. And same old you. Now, do it!"
Mina.
Mina.
"Oh. This is what you want to? It's no wonder, after all this time. Do it. You can reach me now. You can walk by yourself. You're not weak and pathetic anymore. Reach me. Pin me to the ground. Kiss me. Fuck me. Kill me. Your lust. Your wrath. Your greed. Your hunger. Let them guide you. Freely."
Mina.
***
The white-scaled Monster pulled back slightly, and Elisa could finally breathe.
"Mark! Mark! Listen to me!" She shouted between her haggard breaths.
***
That's right.
Your lust. Your hunger. Let them guide you.
Don't listen to anything else. Only you matter. Only what you want matters!
I am a Monster...
That's right! You have the perfect excuse!
Excuse?
It's not an excuse, it's your right! Your birthright as a Monster! Do what you want!
What I want?
What do you want?
I want... Her.
Then take her!
I don't... Want her to reject me.
She won't! Don't let her!
I...
***
The white-scaled Monster pressed its hand against her breast, making her gasp as she was pinned to the ground.
"Mark! Don't let this...!"
***
You're not Mark anymore, are you?
I'm not?
Mark is a cripple. A crippled Human who couldn't do anything. That's not you anymore, is it?
It isn't.
Who are you now?
I... I am...
You're a Monster.
I'm a Monster.
***
The white-scaled Monster breathed heavily as it brought a hand to its crotch.
The next second, the scales and skin that covered that crotch started twitching.
It filled Elisa with disgust and horror, as something the white-scaled Monster didn't have previously, started taking shape.
Completely covered by white scales except its tip.
Big. Too big.
Disgusting. Ugly.
Quivering. Pulsating. Throbbing.
The white-scaled Monster's breathing grew heavier.
With each passing second, 'He'll stop now. He'll stop. He'll fight back. He'll come back. He won't take it further. Not without my...' Elisa thought to herself, again and again.
The Moonlit Feline, Krista, was a couple of steps away.
Its body was shaking violently.
Its gaze moved from her to him.
Who to choose?
Who to protect?
Which side?
Krista couldn't decide.
This was wrong. The situation had gone wrong. The Moonlit Feline could feel it.
The look in her eyes. The look in his eyes. He was at fault.
He... Why did his eye look that way?n)/0Velb1n
Krista had studied eyes for a while.
It was the one way she had to determine whether someone was on the side of -Them- or on the side of -Us-.
Right now, the look in her Master's eye was different.
Right now, her Master wasn't part of -Us-.
But then, what did that mean? What to do? How to act??
'He'll definitely...!'
He'll fight back-
Fight back against what?
His past? His Titles? His Lust? The Demon Lord's Influence? The Shard of the Deadly Sins inside him? What was he supposed to fight back against?
The Monster's quivering tip stood in front of her lower lips. Inches away.
Its whole body was shaking.
It was about to-
"MARK! LISTEN TO ME!"
Elisa shouted as she reached for the Monster's head.
Her shouting. Her moving. Her squirming around.
It was a bother.
The Monster grabbed her left wrist.
It wanted to Devour her.
In more ways than one.
It wouldn't take no for an answer.
And it wouldn't accept being interrupted.
Elisa's wrist broke under the pressure sending a strident scream through the darkness that was slowly fading away.
That's right.
Take. Break. Destroy!
Do anything you want!
She's yours! She was given to you! Everything is yours!
Fuck! Kill! Destroy! Devour!
Hit! Slash! Pierce! Penetrate!
Take her! Force her! Break her!
Destroy her! Make her yours! Force her to be yours! If the wrist isn't enough, break the legs! Make her unable to leave you!
I... No! I...
Break her! Tear her apart! Don't let her say -no-! Never take -no- for an answer again!
I don't want to hurt her-
Don't want to hurt her? Who cares about that? She's yours! Even if she breaks, even if she dies, even if she doesn't want you anymore...
The white-scaled Monster's body shook violently.
You can bring her back anyways, can't you? Bring her back. She's yours. You would be doing her a service. Bring her back. A new version of her. A better version of her. A version that would never leave you. A version that would stay with you forever. A version that would remain by your side. A version that wouldn't be scared. That wouldn't reject. That wouldn't wince upon seeing your ugly face! A version that would be unable to do any of that! A version that would live for you! For you! For you only! Break her! Tear her apart!
No!
Do it! Do it again! You've already done it many times, haven't you? Tear her apart! Have your fun with her! Then bring her back as a docile Underling. Do it again! Just like you did to Levi! Just like you did to Light! Fiery and Gray! Force them to be by your side! Break them, and build them back better! That's the only way they'll remain with you!
No! That's not true-
Death is always with you! It has been by your side your whole life! You've waited for it a looong time, but it took you in the end. How unfair, right? But now, it's different! Now, Death is on your side! Death is your ally! Death is your friend! So give it to others! Let them know Death! You have nothing to worry about! Even if you hurt them, they'll remain by your side! Even if you break them, build them up again! They'll stay with you forever! Kill her! Force her! Pierce her! Penetrate her! Tear her apart! Devour her!
The whimpering Elisa shut her eyes.
In a second, she could see all her time by the Monster's side pass by.
It was all going wrong. It was all fading away. Her trust, her feelings, everything.
How long did it take for her to trust the Monster? How long did it take for the Monster to trust her?
It was all going up in flames.
That trust she had spent so long cultivating, was the one thing that had kept her enduring and resisting.
All that faded away, as a tear went down her face.
The World isn't as kind as she had assumed it to be.
A Monster is a Monster.
And what he had been fighting against was himself.
A Monster will forever be a Monster. It only takes one moment of letting loose for that to become clear. A Monster is a Monster, no matter how much it tries to act like something else.
How difficult it is to build trust, and how easy it is to lose it.
All her fears about him were confirmed.
All her anxiety. Her instincts which, many times, screamed at her to get away.
Corruption. Berserker. Monster.
Cannot be trusted.
Elisa shed a tear, and her trust in the Monster.
The latter's shaking had ceased, as its tip was about to enter. About to pierce. About to penetrate. About to tear. About to-
Its tip pushed against her.
And with the first light of dawn, Elisa swiftly took hold of one of her Timeworn Elven Daggers, and pierced the white-scaled Monster's right eye. The eye hidden by a wrapped piece of cloth.
The white-scaled Monster jumped back.
She rose to her feet.
With a dagger deeply embedded in his right eye, all the darkness that had filled his left eye faded.
Leaving him only with its result.
A result that the light of dawn made clear.
With the torn and ragged gown, she hid her naked body with a broken wrist.
With her other hand, she pointed a dagger at him.
Her facial expression, a mix of sorrow, hatred, and wrath.
What had happened? What had gone wrong?
What was she naked? Why was her wrist broken? Why does she look like she has been crying for a while?
Why is one of her daggers currently through his eye and skull?
He took a step forward.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Elisa shouted as she swung her dagger.
His body froze.
"Get away from me... Monster!"
