Face of Eternity : The Little Angel

The demon fortress was situated at the highest part of Dream Island, which presumably was an inactive volcano. Samael, now that he was like a dragon, was able to fly us all the way up to the summit of the mountain where the fortress wall had been built up. Had there not been a barrier of energy encompassing the whole inner portion of the demon's home, we would have simply flown inside and continued our campaign against him.

Instead of going over the wall, a large castle-like door gave us a path through it. This time we hoped there wouldn’t be any more games or tricks to keep us from our goal.

It took all of the combined strength of our party to get the door open, allowing a sudden gust of dark energy to flood past us like smoke in a burning building. As it faded, we were allowed to peek through the egress and see what dreamland awaited us next.

Beyond the archway was a checkerboard floor of black and white marble that seemed to stretch far off into the unrealistically distant horizon. A tame fog wistfully passed across our vision, leaving in its wake a small precipitation across the tiles that made the floor.

“What is this?” Indena uttered. “Is this another dream?”

I shook my head, seeing two large regal thrones not far across the way from us, both surrounded by an invisible dark aura.

“No.” I shook my head and began sauntering forward. “This is it.”

*Click clack* went my heels as I closed the distance between us and those thrones. This land appeared larger than what was possible from an outside perspective, but the logic was sound enough at this point to allow me to finally confront Belphegor.

Something told me he was just as ready for the confrontation and set the table just right for us to play one final game in his dream realm. He was a host that had a good sense of taste to drum up hype for a final boss battle.

The others were right behind me, following closely with a variety of feelings ranging from nervous, to serious, to even confidence. I was the one who was all three.

When he wasn’t more than sixty meters from us, the second throne next to his became a clear queenly complement to his kingship. A girl in a black wedding dress was slumbering soundly in it, comforted by plush cushions and pampered by small night hags, who did her nails and dressed her hair nicely. That girl was definitely Yamin.

Mella’s feline brow furrowed and her claws scratched against the marble tiles as her gate became more aggressive.

“You fools,” she uttered to us. “Had you let me kill her, this would not have happened.”

“We’re not letting you kill her, stupid cat witch,” little Indena scolded.

“We are here to save her and our town, no?” Marek said as he loosened his cuffs and necktie. “That means nobody will die today.”

“Nobody but a demon lord,” Uncle said.

They were all prepared in their own way. Even Samael followed just a few paces behind with a passion to protect us.

Around fifty meters away, I stopped when a pressure filled my mind and caused me distress.

“You amaze me to have made it this far into my domain.” Belphegor spoke telepathically, staring at me with his glowing red eyes. “I put every obstacle in your way, yet it wasn’t enough to keep you from pressing on.” His elbow rested on his chair's arm and his fist held up his weary looking horned head. “Perhaps I underestimated your creativity.”

He looked tired, even more so than any other time we’d seen him.

“Sorry if we're boring you, but we weren’t just going to let you take over the world,” I replied.

A grin cracked on his face. “On the contrary, this is the most entertainment I’ve had in all of eternity. I’d set so many defenses, only for the walls to come down on top of me. You truly are a challenge I wish to overcome, not one to be underestimated. I see that now.”

Did he think of us as nothing more than entertainment? Of course he’d underestimate us then! I couldn't find it in me to appreciate his view. He was just a jerk who saw reality as his game.

“Give us back Yamin. And go back to Heck…” I struck the bottom of my stardust spear down on the marble, sending a shockwave of light scattering outward and scaring away any lesser demonic fiends, “or we’ll send you back ourselves!”

His grin faded as I announced my demands. Then he lazily gestured over to her in the seat next to him.

“You seek to steal away my bride, even as she rests so peacefully?”

He was trying to marry her? I would have never thought that was what he was after.

“Why is she so special to you? She’d never agree to be your wife.”

“You should have heeded the words of that witch, but I am glad you did not,” he said. “Within her is a prize many would like to claim. Unlike the more uncouth seekers, I see the true value of that treasure and wish to preserve the vessel that carries it too.”

“And what treasure is that?” I asked.

“Deep in her soul is the means to ascend from a mere prince to the King of Hell. Only by marriage to her will anyone claim that title.”

“Ain’t no way that Sparkle Face is a princess of Heck.” Indena uttered, censoring herself due to being a child. “I don’t see it.”

Indena might not have been convinced, and I definitely wouldn’t consider my mind concluded either, but a lot of weird stuff happens around Yamin. Not only has Mella tried to kill her for being considered ‘The Evil One,’ but this demon lord was after her too. Neither really had much reason to lie about something like that.

“Is that why you took over Verrenville?” I asked. “To get Yamin?”

“That’s correct. The mana vein beneath the church and mental exhaustion of the entire town made it quite easy to rise to power.

One thing didn’t add up though. How did Yamin escape his clutches? She and Marek teleported into the Urnan valley along with Marek’s car. Something had to have triggered that and caused her to escape, right? Oddly, her Manona crest wasn’t working, so it couldn’t have been what teleported them.

Regardless, we needed to get this over with. He’d delayed his own demise long enough.

“Well, my name is Yalda Asamo, and I’m here to kick your demon butt out of here,” I told him, holding my spear in a cool power pose. “So let there be light!”

“I am the Lord of Peor. Refer to me as Belphegor. And I accept your challenge.”

-Demon Lord identified-

-Demon Lord Belphegor tagged; Foe-

The tiles under our feet shifted around and scattered each of us across this checkerboard land. We all received a different square tile to call our own, unable to step out of them, but arranged in such a way that we were next to one another.

“We shall play a game… A favourite of mine known as chess. If you can beat me in it, I shall concede to your demands. However, if you lose, your souls will be mine forever.”