[Sirella’s POV—Imperial Palace—Moonlit Corridor]

CLENCH—!!!

CHOKE—!!!

My feet left the floor. My back hit the wall. Air vanished from my lungs as invisible fingers crushed my throat. My hands clawed desperately at the nothingness tightening around my neck.

"L-leave... me..." I gasped, voice shattering.

But the thing before me wasn’t Crown Prince Arden. No. It was the devil wearing his skin. A slow, horrifying smile stretched across his face—too wide, too calm for anything human.

"You..." his voice layered, echoing like a thousand whispers under water, "because of you... I lost that angel... I lost my way to gain power."

His eyes glowed. Crimson. Burning.

"Because of YOU" —the grip tightened, my vision flickering—" I HAD TO SETTLE FOR THIS USELESS BODY. "

Pain exploded in my ribs. I coughed, choking on breath that never made it into my lungs.

But I didn’t look away.

I glared at him through spots of darkness dancing in my vision. "I... WILL NOT LET MY FAMILY... SACRIFICE... FOR YOU!"

Something changed in his expression.

A slow tilt of the head.

Amusement.

"The promise..." he murmured, voice dripping like poison. "Your brother promised me—the Imperial Bloodline will serve me, that means... you have to serve me too."

He leaned in closer, his lips brushing my ear, his voice dropping into a chilling hiss—" Are you trying to run from that oath... human? "

I forced the words out between strangled breaths. "That’s... Crown Prince Arden’s promise... not mine... not my father’s... NOT my brother Caelum’s."

The devil chuckled.

Low.

Satisfied.

Predatory.

"Oh... so NOW" —his eyes narrowed, glowing deeper— "you grow affection... admiration... for that little angel boy?"

Anger flared hot through my choking lungs. "Because... I didn’t know... my own brother would BETRAY THIS WORLD... and summon a monster like YOU!"

His smile sharpened—wicked, beautiful, and terrifying. He leaned close—so close I felt the cold of his breath on my cheek.

"I see..." he whispered. "You’re one of THOSE women, hm?"

His hand twisted. My throat burned.

"Those who believe," he hissed into my ear, "that your noble sacrifices... your brave words... your trembling courage..."

The grip tightened—

"...will SAVE this world."

My vision exploded white.

"Spoiler," he whispered, lips curving into a cruel smile, " it won’t. "

He lifted me higher—my body spasming as air slipped away.

"You humans," the devil continued softly, lovingly, "you BREAK so beautifully."

My fingers curled weakly.

Darkness crept in.

"And I," he whispered, voice purring like a blade sliding across silk, "cannot WAIT to break you all. "

I felt my lips curl despite the pain—the last spark of defiance I had left.

"You can break us..." I rasped, blood pooling under my tongue, "...but don’t forget... there is someone born to crush you."

His eyes narrowed—curiosity flickering briefly.

I hissed the words out like poison, " YOU DEVIL BASTARD. "

The temperature dropped instantly. His fingers tightened. Veins bulged. His smile widened into something monstrous.

"Then..." he hissed, "let’s break you first."

My feet kicked helplessly, strength draining from my limbs.

"Let’s end you, princess." His voice slithered around me, cold and intimate. "Let’s see... how that Seraph King of yours... can save you."

My vision blurred—Not from fear. From the feeling of my soul being pulled out , thread by thread, like he was unraveling me from the inside.

A cold suction pressed at my chest—my essence being drawn toward him.

My lungs convulsed. My scream never reached the air.

Then—

" WAIT!!!! "

The voice wasn’t mine.

It thundered through the hall. My head jerked weakly toward the sound— And there he was— My father. The Emperor.

Running toward us in a panic I had never seen in him—not in war, not in crisis, not even when two of his sons left him.

"Father—! Step... back..." I wheezed, vision swimming.

But he didn’t listen. He walked straight toward the devil—Straight toward the thing wearing his son’s face.

The devil’s grip didn’t loosen.

He just glanced at my father... amused. Smiling like this was a fun little show. Father’s hands shook as he approached. But he lifted his chin—even while his voice trembled.

"Leave my daughter," he commanded. "Killing her won’t... get you anything."

The devil chuckled.

A sound like metal grinding over bone.

"Anything?" He tilted his head. "She insulted me. That alone is worth snapping her like a twig."

His grip tightened—My head fell back, a strangled cry trapped in my throat.

"Sh—she’s just a child!" Father stepped forward again, voice cracking. "I beg you—leave her. Have mercy."

The devil’s eyebrows lifted.

"Mercy?" he repeated slowly, tasting the word. "Asking a devil... for mercy ?"

His smile stretched into something inhuman. Father swallowed hard—And then— He dropped to his knees.

Right in front of the devil.

"I have already lost two sons..." His voice broke. "She is the only child I have left... Please..."

The devil stilled.

Then—slowly—he leaned down.

His crimson eyes glowed like burning pits.

"I like this," he whispered. "People begging. People kneeling." His grin sharpened."This is the respect devils deserve."

And just like that—He released me.

No warning.

No care.

I fell like a stone—CRASH—onto the marble floor, air slamming back into my lungs in a violent gasp.

My father was already catching me, pulling me into his arms as if he could shield me from everything.

"Sirella—Sirella, look at me—are you alright?" His hands trembled against my back. His voice cracked.

I coughed—hard—Clutching his sleeve as burning air finally filled my chest.

"I’m... alright..." I rasped, though my vision still swam.

The devil chuckled darkly behind us.

"Oh, don’t worry, Emperor," he said, stretching his stolen body as if nothing had happened. "I’ll let her live."

His grin widened—Cruel. Cold. Certain.

"For now."

He turned his head, crimson eyes gleaming with hunger.

Slowly— very slowly —he leaned toward me again. Close enough that I could feel the heat of Arden’s stolen breath against my cheek.

"Because..." his voice slithered down my spine, "...you will help me end that Seraph King."

My blood froze.

"What?" I whispered. "No. I—I won’t do anything like that. I WILL NEVER DO SUCH THINGS!!!!"

He didn’t blink. Didn’t snarl. Didn’t even raise his voice. He just lifted two fingers. And shadows—thick and oily—LASHED OUT like living serpents.

A black thread wrapped around my father’s throat.

Tightened.

CHOKE.

His body jerked violently.

"F—Father!" I screamed.

His eyes bulged. Veins strained. His fingers clawed at the invisible noose—But the devil only smiled, watching him suffocate like one watches theater.

"Then..." he murmured, tilting his head, "...I’ll kill this Emperor."

My heart stopped.

"NO...no...NO STOP!" I cried, scrambling toward them. "STOP, STOP—PLEASE!"

The devil’s grip tightened—The thread constricted—Father gagged, dropping to one knee. His face turned red. Then purple.

"PLEASE!" My voice cracked, breaking into sobs. "I’ll do it—I WILL DO IT! I WILL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!!!"

The shadow-thread loosened. My father collapsed, gasping, coughing violently as tears burned down my cheeks.

"I’ll kill Leif..." The words tasted like blood. "...I’ll kill him."

The devil’s smile sharpened like a blade.

"That’s the spirit... princess."

He turned away from Father—As if the suffering of an Emperor was beneath his concern—and began pacing leisurely, hands clasped behind his back.

"Tomorrow," he said, stretching the word into a purr. "is his wedding, isn’t it?"

My stomach twisted.

He glanced over his shoulder—Eyes glowing like molten rubies.

"What a perfect time..." He smirked. "...to end the Seraph King. Turning a wedding into Funeral....What a perfect Auspicious day for a Seraph Bearer."

He slipped a hand into his cloak.

The air thickened. Cold crept up my arms. What he pulled out was a vial.

Small. Red. And glowing with an unnatural pulsing light, as if it contained a heartbeat that wasn’t mine.

"This," he whispered, lifting it delicately, "...is not ordinary poison."

He brought it to his lips, inhaling the scent with something close to reverence.

"One drop..." His voice lowered to a hiss, "...and not only will it kill that human—"

He leaned in until his lips nearly brushed my ear.

"—it will shatter his soul."

A tremor ran through me. He placed the vial in my palm— Cold. Heavy. Humming with wicked power.

My fingers shook around it.

"Take it," he murmured. "When you arrive at that wedding..." His grin split wider than any human face should allow.

"...end that seraph king."

The room dimmed, shadows pulsing with his laughter.

"And then..." his voice rose, echoing through the chamber like a chilling prophecy.

"THIS WORLD—" A gust of demonic aura exploded around him, rattling the windows, making the ground vibrate.

"WILL BELONG. TO ME. I WILL BE THE GOD OF THIS WORLD!!!!"

His laughter followed, low and thunderous.

I clutched the poison to my chest. My father lay trembling beside me. And tomorrow... Tomorrow I would have to walk into Leif’s wedding—with a vial that could kill him permanently.

Forever.

Without a chance of rebirth.

Without a soul left to save.

My fingers tightened, knuckles white.

"Leif..." I whispered, voice shaking, "I apologize. I apologize, Leif...I have no other choice."

Because tomorrow... Either I kill you—Or the devil that was summoned by my own brother will kill everyone.