Was she afraid of death? No, if she was, then she wouldn't have dealt such a fatal blow to herself. Then he must've been too frightening.
No...if he was, she wouldn't have dared to laugh in his face...
Iblis paced around the pool of blood, his crimson-dark orbs fixated on the woman as he internally mused to himself. Hours had passed since the servants left, but there was no news of their return. He found himself growing increasingly restless as the night deepened.
Insolent woman!
Foolish woman!
"Bold woman, since you dared to challenge me, don't even think about dying so easily!" Iblis hunched down and forcefully gripped her chin, hissing in her blood smeared face with a vengeful edge. He was so riled up that he didn't even notice the blood foam seeping into his body through his pores.
"When my servants return with the dragon's heart blood, I'll show you the consequences of going against me!" Loosening his grip, he rose back to his feet, and resumed his pacing.
Another hour passed, and seeing no sign of the little demons, he strode to the door and hollered at the guards stationed in the corridors. "Are they back?"
"No, My Lord!"
"Useless trashes! What's taking the lowly creatures so long!?"
The guards only lowered their heads, and didn't dare to comment. The Isle of Eve wasn't an ordinary land. Surrounded by water on all sides, the small island was home to most of the mythical beasts known in the present world through fantasy novels and movies.
Dragons, gargoyles, black phoenixes, wyverns, winged tigers among other legendary creatures took turns to guard the place against the invasion of werewolves, faes, and vampires, making it near impossible to set foot on the land.
The guards would be more than impressed for the servants to enter that place and return unscathed in a week's time. For them to do so within 6 hours was unthinkable.
As such, they wisely kept their mouths shut and didn't dare to voice their thoughts.
Iblis snorted disgustedly. This was why life was no longer interesting. Each and every one of them tucked in their shoulders and shrunk their necks. No one had the courage to look him in the eye and answer his question or talk back to him.
This was why he couldn't let her die. He was afraid he would die of boredom.
Clasping his hands behind his back, he threw a kick at the nearest guard and coldly commanded. "Go! Inform the Prime Guard to send a squad of patrols to rush them! Even if they squander their lives, they must get me a dragon's heart blood! Understand!?"
"Yes, My lord!" Scrambling to his feet, the guard turned and fled.
Iblis returned to the room and resumed his vigil.
This night was one of the most intriguing nights of his life. Sitting on the edge of a bed, he watched a dying woman with unblinking eyes. Even on the days he exterminated a pack or slept in a woman's embrace, he had never performed either task with such devotion.
Right before the strike of midnight, the squad of servants returned covered in blood. Some lost an arm or a leg, while others were completely disfigured.
A female servant with a severed arm still dripping with acid blood stumbled into the room and presented a golden flask with a silver liquid slushing inside on one knee. "My Lord, the dragon's heart blood."
Ignoring the nauseating stench of her rotting flesh, Iblis took the flask and waved dismissively. "Hmm...inform the Healer."
With the appearance of the dragon's heart blood, the healer was rudely dragged to the little palace room again. Under the intense gaze of the servants and the Demon Lord, he dripped the silver liquid on the torn piece of flesh that was once a heart, and began his treatment in solemn silence.
This night, not a single servant of the Jabril Palace got any sleep. They were too afraid of closing their eyes and waking up to the news of the woman's demise. If that happened, they wouldn't even get the chance to say goodbye to their families before meeting the Lord of the Underworld.
As such, a night that should've been like any other night where the Demon Lord slept with a new mistress in his quest to get an heir turned into a palace vigil in which everyone in the palace, except for the Demon Queen, stood outside the little palace room in trepidation.
And the one because of whom the entire Jabril Palace was awake was counting sheeps in her sleep.
"One sheep, two sheeps, three sheeps to hell, life is nothing but a big fat scum! Four sheeps, five sheeps, six sheeps to heaven, the Moon Goddess is nothing but a heartless Queen. Seven sheeps, eight sheeps, nine sheeps for freedom, I haven't got a penny to redeem myself..."
Floating in a white void, Shamsiya chuckled mirthlessly. She didn't hope to be redeemed for taking her life. She didn't anticipate the Moon Goddess welcoming her into her abode.
Most of all, she didn't expect to escape hell by a fluke.
20 years of misery taught her the heavens were cruel, and they didn't give a damn about anyone's suffering. After years of insecurity and wistful thinking, she finally found the courage to do what she had always wanted.
The truth was, the years of name-calling and blatant discrimination had caused her to develop a mild case of depression.
She tried to stay strong, and instead of dwelling on her sad life, focused her attention on the little miracles she created growing plants.
In the aftermath of World War Three and the Demon Lord's conquest, bellowing smoke and destruction cloaked every land the eye could see. The drastic dip in population resulted in a shortage of able men, causing packs to become overwhelmed with widowed women and orphan children who could barely feed themselves.
Those days, lucky children got adopted by pack members who encountered difficulties in having their own children, while the unlucky batch, like her, ended up in pack orphanages. When food and resources became scarce, infighting naturally turned into a norm.
Being a hybrid, Shamsiya lacked the natural strength of pure-blood werewolves, which usually resulted in her going to bed on an empty stomach. While her peers grew tall and strong, she became skinny and weak. This went on until the night of her 13th birthday, when she awakened the ability to grow plants.
In those years, she kept herself alive by growing carrots and greens with her little ability.
After getting married, she used all the money she earned from her part-time jobs to feed and support her bastard husband. Even the Alpha of the pack had a hard time getting two meals a day. But she lived thanks to the plants she grew with her ability.
During those days, she thought about taking her life numerous times to escape the nightmare. Not only because of the exclusion from her peers, but also because of her mild depression.
Sadly, she had the thought, but lacked the courage to do the deed.
No matter how hard living became, how deeply the loneliness ate at her core, and how much she hated her existence, she could never gather the courage to slit her wrist and end everything.
No confidence to live, but also no courage to die. Too cowardly. That's what she thought of herself until today.
From the moment Nick Jackson sold her to a stranger, something seemed to change within her.
To her great surprise, she discovered she still had a backbone and wasn't completely a lost cause. She still cared about something, and still had something to fight for.
Though death was an enticing lover that followed her all her life, it wasn't until she faced the threat of dishonor that she found the courage to voluntarily jump into its embrace.
Death before dishonor.
At the moment when she faced the Demon Lord, this phrase resonated in the depth of her soul with a might and force far greater than the pain of betrayal. Stronger, powerful, and far deeper than the phrase, 'as long as there is life, it will never be too late to exact revenge'.
Because she knew. There would be no point in revenge if she tarnished her body, and became a mere shell of herself. Hatred and revenge only ruined a person. And for once in her life, Shamsiya decided to love herself instead of expecting others to love her by refusing to be treated like a whore.
However...even though she had no regrets, why was it that she still felt bitter?
All too suddenly, a crack splintered through the white void. Shamsiya covered her eyes against the sudden brilliance as a splitting headache pounded through her skull, and distorted her thoughts. The crack widened, then shattered into a giant explosion. A powerful force descended, and she flew with it as it yanked her consciousness out of the void of nothingness."How is she?""Demon Lord, the woman is now out of danger.""Hm. You did well. Stop by the Treasury for your reward.""Thank you for the grace, My Lord.""Alright, you can all disperse.""Thank you, My Lord!"Shamsiya groaned painfully. Her ears throbbed from the enthusiastic shout of those around her. Creasing her brows, she tried to open her eyes, but found the task excruciatingly agonizing as a stab of pain pierced through her chest.Curses! It hurts like hell!The pain, without a doubt, was a clear sign of her failure to commit suicide. And by the sound of it, the damned Demon Lord had a hand in it.At the thought, a sens
The dungeon was an underground jail-like cell built on the back side of Jabril Palace. It was dark, damp, and smelt foul, embodying the misery and hopelessness of the days after the world war. The loud, boisterous sound of intense quarrels and curses entered her ears before her eyes adjusted to the darkness.And when it did, Shamsiya felt a sinister chill slither down her spine at what she saw."This...what the hell is this!?"Earlier when she heard the word Lawless from Iblis Jabril's mouth, she had an inkling of what was waiting for her, and prepared her heart for the worse.Or so she thought.However, at this moment, she realized no preparation would be enough to prepare her for the desperate battle awaiting her.Unaware of her shaken mentality, or just not caring, the squad of servants led her through the dungeon, which immediately fell silent at their appearance, and roughly shoved her in the darkest cell on the farthest corner.With a bang, she was locked in the cage."Woman, yo
As she stood in front of the body-length mirror in a wedding dress, Shamsiya felt like she was making a deal with the devil. She doubted this was what the orphanage matron meant when she said good women would be treasured by good men.Her hands were stained with blood. Yes, the blood of vile creatures who reveled in the act of rape, but blood nonetheless. As a murderer, she was no longer a good woman, so it wasn't surprising that she was marrying the demon.But whether it was a good man or a demon, Shamsiya realized she no longer cared.After escaping the hands of death and spending a week inside a decadent cell, her perception of good and evil had already morphed. In that cell, she watched women get raped repeatedly without moving a muscle to help them. Her entire focus had been on herself and her safety.She used her ability to protect herself, while ignoring the cries of plea. She poisoned and killed with a ruthless edge she never thought she had it in herself.But most of all, she
The Ballroom Hall was decorated in white and pink flowers. A giant crystal chandelier swayed in the center of the room, showering a resplendence of radiance and blue petals on the guests below."Damn! Who is the whore lucky enough to marry the Demon Lord? Is she the princess of the Fae?""I heard she was pregnant. Knowing his desperation for a child, the Demon Lord might just marry her.""No, no, you're all wrong. I heard from a palace servant close to my cousin that the Fae Princess miscarried. This woman is a purchased good.""Purchased good!? Fuck! Who's the slut!?"Separated in groups of threes and fours, the female guests huddled together. The shrieks of disbelief and venomous denial couldn't be suppressed even under the threatening glares of their mates as they animatedly exchanged gossip.Seated on bronze chairs a few feet below the wedding dais, the mistresses of the Demon Lord exchanged inscrutable glances and sweet smiles."Lady Irene, you've known our master for 200 years.
The delicate click of heels on marble sounded behind him. Iblis turned and sucked in a gasp of surprise.His new bride was dressed in silver. The lacy fabric hugged her curves, and enhanced her slender waist, showcasing the exotic flare of her hips and the swell of her bountiful breasts bound in the bodice of her dress. The front half of her ink-black hair was braided with tiny pearls and clasped behind her head in a crown that held up her white veil, while the rest pooled down her back and swayed at her knees in thick curly waves. As she walked towards him with a bouquet of flowers in her hands, the light from the chandeliers showered her with a luminous radiance that took his breath away.Beautiful.How could there be such a beautiful creature in this world?She had been in his palace for over a week. He saw her in clothes and without clothes. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be possible for someone to undergo a complete makeover in a jail. And it was even less likely for that to h
The crowd was beyond astonished at this moment. Their minds went blank, and they stared at the couple with vacant eyes. They could no longer comprehend what was happening.Shamsiya's heart skipped a beat.The Demon King was proposing to her. With a diamond ring.She had prepared herself for his deception. Expected him to treat her with superficial propriety to get into her skirt. Hell, she even expected this entire wedding farce to be sham, a fake marriage where they would take vows before a fake holy man for show. Then after a few days or weeks of acting as husband and wife, a big expose would occur, where their wedding vows would be declared null and void because of the fake holy man.Since the day the demon asked her to marry him, she expected a lot of things.However, she never anticipated this marriage proposal.As a woman without family, without friends, and a bastard husband that took her home by signing a piece of paper, without even holding a celebration feast, she had long c
The crowd of spectators returned to their senses upon hearing the Demon Queen's words. A strange expression appeared on their faces, as their gazes swiveled between the husband and wife in silent contemplation. Iblis sighed and grabbed the rings on his bride's thigh. He felt conflicted inside, as he wasn't able to determine whether he was more relieved to be interrupted, and hence, saved from losing control, or more disappointed that the wonderful feeling in his heart disappeared with the sudden interruption of the moment.Suppressing the complicated emotions, he held out his hand, palm up, for his bride. She placed her palm in his, and he slid the ring on her ring finger.Iblis caressed her finger, admiring the silver band with an unexpected flash of satisfaction. "Now, it's your turn." He passed the other ring to her and held out his hand, completely ignoring the presence of the Demon Queen.Queen Nymrit uncomfortably shuffled her feet. The burning stares of the guests made her flu
Shamsiya gaped in disbelief. This demon...he really accepted her as his wife? Even after hearing the words of the holy man, and what she said?Did he understand the implication of such a vow or...Her mind wandered as it churned with multiple possibilities. A flash of memory floated in her mind. Of her first marriage, her expectations and dreams for the future, and the betrayal that brought her to this point.Nick Jackson had never treated her as a human being. In his eyes, she was a spare tire, a free maid, a free laborer to clean his clothes, cook his meals, pay his living expenses, and cover his singing courses. Because he never considered her his wife, he sold her when he found a better use for her.And now, her second marriage was also happening with a man who held ulterior motives for approaching her.Internally, she wondered if this meant she was destined to be used, and felt saddened at the thought. "Shamisya Moore, taking this holy scripture as witness, do you accept Iblis J