In a pool of blood, two figures, one black and one white, intertwined.
Although Salavira had successfully captured the demon, he was clearly at the end of his strength. After confirming that the demon was incapable of resisting, he didn’t even have the energy to push away the demon’s hand. It was as if his bones had been removed, and he collapsed into the demon’s embrace.
The demon then withdrew the hand he had raised in the air and placed it on Salavira’s back. Just moments ago, they had been trying to kill each other, but now they seemed like inseparable lovers.
As the “prey” captured at the moment, Asmodeus was unexpectedly in a good mood. He looked up at the blood moon hanging in the sky through the window and felt like having a chat.
“Salavira, breaking the seal and releasing me, that was your doing, wasn’t it?”
Salavira didn’t respond, only weakly gasping for breath in his arms, seemingly unwilling to waste his energy on such a pointless conversation.
But even without an answer, Asmodeus was quite sure of the answer to his question.
He should have realized it earlier.
The seal that imprisoned him was so intricate and complex that even if humans studied it for another three thousand years, they might not be able to break it. Therefore, the only one who could tear such a large hole in the seal was the one who set it up in the first place.
“But I’m curious, why did you go through so much trouble to release me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll just kill you?”
Salavira moved his head slightly, but the movement was so small that Asmodeus couldn’t tell if he was nodding or shaking his head.
After a while, when Salavira had regained some strength, he chuckled softly, “You’ll find out soon enough why I did it.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Asmodeus felt something warm and soft press against the side of his neck, followed by teeth biting down, causing a mix of pain and itchiness.
The sensation was so much like an intimate caress that it took Asmodeus a moment to realize that the other was simply biting his neck.
But because Salavira had just suffered numerous injuries, he was almost powerless and couldn’t break the skin for a long time, only leaving a wet sheen on it.
Asmodeus heard the person in his arms let out an angry hum from his throat, then watched as Salavira took the dagger and unhesitatingly cut a bloody gash in the spot he had been biting. Then, the soft lips returned, and a tender, slippery tongue began to suck and lick, causing a strange tingling sensation that made Asmodeus’s throat tighten.
Along with the blood, his magic power was also being drained.
Now, Asmodeus finally understood the answer to his question—
Power, that was Salavira’s goal.
Although he didn’t know what had happened over the years to make Salavira so weak, even imprisoned by humans, it was clear that Salavira didn’t want to sit idly by. In his desperation, he had set his sights on Asmodeus.
Reckless and regardless of the cost, it was very much in line with this guy’s usual style.
As his magic power was gradually siphoned away, Asmodeus experienced “weakness” for the first time, a feeling of emptiness… and even a bit of helplessness. Everything he controlled began to dissipate, including the shadows he used to bandage Salavira’s wounds and weave clothes.
The silver-haired youth in his arms gradually revealed his fair skin, and the wounds that had never stopped bleeding once again flowed, carving winding blood trails on his porcelain-like body.
The contrast of the naked person and the fully dressed demon was striking, with the red, black, and white creating a powerful visual impact.
But Salavira himself seemed oblivious to the seductive scene, continuing to focus on sucking the sweet blood. In contrast, Asmodeus felt the smooth touch in his palm and the warmth so close, making his own wounds seem less painful.
Salavira continued to feed for quite a while until the power of this demon’s avatar was nearly depleted before he finally stopped to rest.
He wrapped his arms around Asmodeus’s neck, hanging onto him in a comfortable position, closed his eyes, and quietly waited for his body to adapt to the sudden influx of immense magic power.
“Salavira,” Asmodeus said, caressing the smooth, delicate back beneath his hand with a teasing smile, “It’s quite dangerous to be so close to your enemy.”
But Salavira didn’t move, lazily replying, “Enemy? No… you’re just my prisoner now, or rather, the dog I finally caught after much effort.”
His voice rose at the end, clearly amused.
Asmodeus was momentarily speechless, feeling a surge of shame and anger. He used his only free hand to slap Salavira’s back with a “smack,” then, feeling it lacked impact, moved it down to deliver another “smack” on the firm backside of the person in his arms.
The effect was immediate. Salavira jumped up, his ears turning red, eyes wide with disbelief as he stammered, “You, you, you…”
Asmodeus raised an eyebrow, pleased to have regained some ground.
But soon, his smile faded—
Salavira reactivated the power in the dagger, binding him tightly with invisible chains, including his restless arm.
Then, he adjusted his position, using the demon as a human pillow, and comfortably embraced him again.
Asmodeus felt utterly frustrated.
But in truth, he wouldn’t be frustrated for long. This avatar, without magic power, would soon dissipate and return to the seal.
Before disappearing, he remembered a question he had forgotten to ask: “By the way, Salavira, where did you get that dagger?”
It contained such powerful energy, yet he hadn’t noticed it before.
That shouldn’t be possible.
“Where did it come from?” Salavira seemed to chuckle softly, sitting up straight, “Naturally… I carved it out of my own body.”
As he said this, Salavira’s face bore a cruel smile, as if he didn’t find his words shocking at all.
Hearing this, Asmodeus frowned, instinctively looking at the fresh wound on Salavira’s body—
The wound was precisely over the heart, and although it had been some time since he was injured, there was no sign of it stopping bleeding.
Perhaps finding Asmodeus’s reaction interesting, Salavira explained a bit more.
He took one of Asmodeus’s hands and pressed it against the wound.
Blood flowed through the fingers, the hot liquid making Asmodeus’s heart tremble slightly. But aside from that, no matter how close his hand was, he couldn’t feel the lively beating that should have been there.
“Do you feel it, Asmodeus?” Salavira’s eyes were filled with amusement, “It’s empty here.”
“—I have no heart.”
In his chest cavity, there was only a sharp blade forged from his soul, capable of piercing anything.
Indeed, this life, Salavira was not as powerful as in his previous life, and his body couldn’t contain even a bit of holy power.
But without holy power, he still had his soul.
His soul, unlike that of mortals, contained immense power.
During his imprisonment by the church, Salavira had gradually split his soul, forging a sharp blade in the void of his chest, hiding it within his flesh until today, when he once again subdued the demon.
—Even if he hadn’t said it, Asmodeus quickly guessed the gist of it.
As he was about to dissipate into light, he suddenly laughed, “Salavira, I take back what I said earlier. You have changed, becoming more ruthless than before. Truly… corrupted by those humans.”
If he didn’t have to return to the seal this time, he would definitely tear it open with his own hands, crawl out of hell, and bring back his dear nemesis from those lowly humans, making him endure the thousand-year-old hatred he couldn’t unleash, and let his body finally rest in that beautiful palace.
…………
The black and red light gradually dissipated, being reabsorbed by the distant silver seal. The crack in the seal began to heal bit by bit, and it wouldn’t be long before it was restored to its original state.
Salavira closed his eyes, carefully feeling the flow of magic power within him. Mimicking Asmodeus, he used shadows to re-bandage his wounds and wove a new set of clothes.
The whole process was smooth, with no hindrance in the flow of magic power.
This was a pleasant surprise.
In fact, long ago, Salavira had discovered that although he couldn’t contain the power of the Holy Light, he could easily manipulate the magic power from hell. But even so, the power from his enemy was surprisingly docile within him, as if… it was perfectly integrated with his body.
However, Salavira didn’t intend to dwell on this matter. Since the power was usable, he should leave this hellish place beneath his feet.
He looked up, gazing in the direction of the Gate of Hell—
A sliver of dawn from another world seeped through, accompanied by a cool breeze that brushed against Salavira’s face.
In the human world, dawn had arrived.