The Price of Salvation

Dense, calamitous mist surged through the gaping hole in the hull, billowing downwards to engulf the three young women below.

Within the heart of the purplish-black haze, the figures of a male and a female demon stood poised.

The male demon idly twirled his staff, his concentration fixed on manipulating the swirling mist around him. In contrast, the female demon stood with her hands clasped, a faint, enigmatic smile gracing her lips. Her striking black and gold eyes remained unblinking, their golden pupils slowly drifting downwards, a playful, cat-and-mouse amusement glinting within them as they settled on Saranya.

“So, you’re hiding here, little one…”

That gaze, sly and predatory, felt like a sharp blade tracing her skin, sending an icy shiver down Saranya’s spine.

An unconscious terror, etched deep within her genetic memory, began to surge. Saranya found herself unable to suppress it, letting out a shrill cry like a cat whose tail had been abruptly trodden upon.

“Shut up! Shut up!! You monsters… stop trying to play mind games! You can’t affect me!”

“Tsk.”

In response to Saranya’s trembling voice, the female demon merely clicked her scarlet lips, a sound imbued with the casual indifference of a colossal giant encountering a minuscule ant.

The demoness’s demeanor towards Saranya was utterly nonchalant, bordering on dismissive. She didn’t even deign to show a hint of contempt.

“We have encountered you before, stubborn little one. When the servants of Lord Baroang first set foot upon this land, you and your kind proved to be quite a nuisance. You are such a humble and pitiable, weak race, yet you were… remarkably memorable.”

The female demon extended a slender, forked tongue, tracing it languidly across the corner of her lips.

“’Lord Baroang…?’”

‘The person they spoke of, was he the leader of these demonic invaders? If two ordinary demons possessed such power, then their lord… what monstrous form would he truly take?’

Saranya swallowed, her throat tight and dry. The demonic energy swirling around her grew ever denser, yet it offered her no solace, no sense of security whatsoever.

“Sniff… sniff sniff…”

In the next moment, the female demon’s nose twitched subtly, her gaze still fixed on Saranya as she took a deliberate sniff.

“And now, your scent… it has taken on a new nuance.”

“You were the ones who allowed those monsters to invade the Olavi Empire! This entire demonic catastrophe, you orchestrated it!”

The realization that the individual before her was the architect of her homeland’s suffering sent tremors of rage through Saranya. In her grief and indignation, she tightened her grip on the hilt of her broken sword.

‘If this demonic catastrophe was truly orchestrated by their enemies, then her unwavering faith in the Empire’s anti-magic doctrine, which led her to hunt down so many innocent witches… wouldn’t that mean she had committed an unforgivable sin?’

“You bastards… you utter bastards…”

“I know precisely what troubles your mind. Perhaps you should even be grateful, for I shall tell you this: your killings were not entirely devoid of purpose…”

Saranya remained silent.

“Even if they hadn’t been slain by your hand, they would ultimately have become mere servants and playthings of Lord Baroang—”

A crimson light flared in the female demon’s eyes as her right hand’s five fingers began to dance elegantly through the air, purple electric arcs crackling and leaping from her fingertips.

“And you, foolish resistor, your fate shall be no different from theirs.”

“Urgh!”

No sooner had the female demon’s words faded than her finger twitched, and a searing arc of electricity instantly shot forth, leaping directly towards Saranya!

Saranya’s pupils constricted sharply. Her only immediate, desperate reaction was to squeeze her eyes shut.

The crackling sizzle of electricity filled her ears, and the acrid stench of something scorched assailed her nostrils.

Yet, no impact came. Saranya’s eyes snapped open, revealing the shimmering magical barrier that had just dissolved before her. Simultaneously, Kaelan’s outstretched hand fell limp.

“Cough… hack…”

After this second perilous casting, the young witch violently coughed up a mouthful of warm, crimson blood. Streaks of red also began to weep from the corners of her eyes as her petite form lost its balance, gently slumping to one side.

“Kaelan!!”

Saranya rushed to support Kaelan, finding her master’s eyes barely open, her gaze unfocused and vacant. Her limbs were unresponsive, indicating she had fallen into a temporary state of profound shock.

“Oh… how utterly pathetic…”

Unhurriedly, the female demon flicked her fingertips, then slowly curled them into a fist. All the crackling electric arcs on her palm coalesced, condensing into a terrifying, spear-like bolt of purple lightning.

Despair clawed at Saranya’s heart. She could only desperately cradle Kaelan close, shaking her head vehemently at their enemy.

“Don’t… please don’t… You can’t do this…”

The demoness, poised to unleash her lightning, suddenly faltered, as if a new thought had crossed her mind. After meticulously savoring Saranya’s desperate struggles, she finally spoke, her voice laced with a slow, condescending generosity.

“Therefore, you should have realized long ago that all your current resistance is utterly futile.”

“Yes… yes…”

“To be frank, I find myself rather uncertain of the precise force required to incapacitate you without entirely destroying you, so…”

Saranya gasped, her breathing ragged with tension, like a condemned prisoner awaiting a judge’s final verdict.

The female demon deliberately lingered in silence for a considerable moment. Then, her feet slowly lifted from the deck, and her voluptuous form began to drift upwards, gradually closing the distance to Saranya.

“I wish to offer you an opportunity—”

The demoness ascended directly above Saranya, forcing the young woman to crane her neck back, gazing upwards in a posture of complete subjugation.

“Are you willing… to seize this chance?”

“What is it…?”

“I distinctly recall that you are but a mortal. Yet, your master performed extraordinary feats upon your otherwise ordinary flesh, transforming you into an adorable, compliant, and subservient spellcaster—or, in your own lexicon, a ‘demon s*ave’…”

Saranya swallowed hard. This demoness’s words bore a striking resemblance to what Lenix had revealed earlier.

‘It was her master’s modifications to her body that had made her so desirable…’

“It is no exaggeration to declare you a masterpiece. I believe Lord Baroang would find you immensely intriguing. If the techniques employed upon you could be widely disseminated amongst your kind… hmph hmph.”

The female demon’s composure finally wavered, a subtle shift in her expression. A corner of her mouth curved upwards, and she let out a sound of pure, delighted derision.

These demons intended to inflict upon others what Kaelan had inflicted upon Saranya herself. The implication was clear, even bearing a disturbing resemblance to Kaelan’s own current endeavors.

They sought to forge an army of spellcasters, endowed with ample intelligence yet possessing an absolute, unwavering obedience.

However, Kaelan had only ever employed such a method of creating a demon s*ave on Saranya alone. The young witch typically acquired other followers by corrupting and dominating existing witches.

In contrast to Kaelan’s more nuanced approach, the demons’ ambition was far more brutal: to mass-produce an entire army of subservient beings from ordinary mortals.

“Your Lord Baroang will be interested in me… So I…”

“Provided you return with us and cooperate fully, we might just spare your master and that priestess, you know.”

“I…”

Saranya lowered her head, meticulously examining her own hands. Somehow, the longer she scrutinized her demonized form, the more she felt… indistinguishable from these very demons.

‘If only she returned with these two demons, Kaelan and Paresha… both could be saved.’

With that thought, Saranya’s trembling slowly ceased. A somber shadow fell across her cheeks, and her lips parted, barely audible.

“Vero…”

“Hm?”

“Beyond the two of them, if you also spare Vero City… I will go with you…”