Trigger Warning: Strong Violence

Chapter 2: Face Of An Angel

"Don't think that you've won yet, demon!" Blackthorn yelled. His eyes burned with a fiery rage. His blood was fueled with determination to stop The Demon King once and for all so he could no longer harm anyone.

"You say that, but my blood isn't the one staining the floor," The Demon King snarkily remarked before ducking to dodge a fire blast attack. The heat of the flames softly brushed against his face.

Margaret's eyes darted around the room in a panic, as if she was figuring out something within her mind. Taking a final shaky breath, she raised her clammy hands with lightning speed. A vine emitted out of her palms and shot out toward The Demon King.

The vine coiled around his right wrist before the thorns sank into his skin. It continued to wrap tightly around him. A chuckle left his lips as he watched the blood trickle from his wrist and drip onto the floor.

"So, you've decided to play, too, instead of being a coward in the corner~?" The Demon King mentioned. Amusement was clear in his voice as he watched her body continue to shake like a leaf in the breeze despite trying to appear tough as she sent an attack at him.

A gasp left Margaret's lips when she felt her body get slightly tugged forward.

Her eyes flickered over to where The Demon King reeled his arm back to tighten the vine around his wrist to force her to move toward him. She bit into her lower lip to try to ease her growing fear.

Her throat gradually felt more dry with each passing moment. The walls of the room felt like they were vipers closing in on her, waiting for her to slip up so they could claim their prey. She shook off the anxiety, slowly chipping away at her nerves as she sent another vine to wrap around his other wrist to force him to stay in place.

Blackthorn kept his eyes solely focused on The Demon King while he pulled out a platinum key with a diamond-shaped handle. A blinding light danced around the key before it grew in size.

Once the light dissipated, it revealed a magnificent platinum sword with golden designs etched into the surface. A brilliant blue diamond rested in the center of the gold handle.

The other remaining exorcists straightened their posture and prepared themselves for the final push in this battle. They confusingly stalled the moment Blackthorn raised his hand, signaling for them to halt.

"Sir, you can't take on The Demon King by yourself; you'll---" one man spoke up but was cut off when Blackthorn interrupted him with a shake of his head.

"No. None of you move a muscle until I give you the signal," Blackthorn said before he raced off toward The Demon King with confidence in his steps.

I don't want to lose any more of you, Blackthorn briefly thought to himself.

"Trying that strategy again, it didn't work so well for your comrades," The Demon King smirked as he tilted his head to the side. A surprised look flooded his eyes the moment he realized he wasn't able to move an inch.

His eyes murderously narrowed at Margaret, who was keeping him in place with her binding spell. "Little pest, it seems I'll have to get rid of you first," The Demon King threatened in a low tone.

Margaret paled when his gaze fixed on her. She tightened her jaw to stop her teeth from chattering. "R-regardless of what you do or say. I'm not l-letting go," she declared despite her trembling lower lip.

An annoyed hiss left The Demon King's mouth when he saw her reinforce the vines with extra strength, causing them to latch onto his skin much more deeply. He shapely turned his head back around when he heard the scraping sound of shoes grazing the floor.

"You're through!" Blackthorn roared. He gripped the handle of his sword and swung it upward. The blade ripped through the front part of The Demon King's throat and the skull mask. A fracture traced up the center of the mask until it reached the end.

A gentle trail of black blood ran down The Demon King's chin. A steady flow of obsidian droplets plopped onto the floor.

"Did...did we do it?" Margaret mumbled. She nervously looked over at The Demon King; he hadn't spoken a word after Blackthorn's sword tore through him.

"I-I think that we might have actually done it," a man spoke out. A sigh of relief exited his lips. However, the fear consuming his features hadn't erased itself from his face as he nervously looked over at the corpse of The Demon King, not believing for a second that the fight was really over.

I don't want to take any chances. It's better to be safe than sorry, Blackthorn thought as he raised up the sword he was holding. He swung it at an angle to swiftly cut off The Demon King's head.

The second the blade plunged into the flesh of The Demon King's neck, Blackthorn's eyes widened in fear. Regardless of how hard he tried to drive the sword forward, it wouldn't budge a single inch.

Blackthorn dove backward and forcefully removed his weapon from The Demon King's skin, which was nearly keeping the sword as its prisoner. His eyebrows snapped together in confusion when The Demon King's body vibrated slightly as low snickers escaped his lips before he threw his head back, laughing out loud hysterically.

"I-impossible you nearly split his face in t-two," another man spoke in a shaky voice as his eyes were wide in disbelief.

"I think this might be the most fun I've had playing with exorcists," The Demon King burst out between his laughing fit before it gradually died down.

Blackthorn gnashed his teeth together. With lightning speed, he cast a fire spell that swallowed The Demon King up whole. The light of the flames licking the air danced around in Blackthorn's eyes as he watched him burn alive.

Blackthorn's breath got caught in his throat when something quickly dashed out of the flames. He didn't have time to respond when a blurry image of The Demon King appeared on his left.

"Argh!" Blackthorn wailed out when a boot harshly struck his side, sending him tumbling back into a wall. His body trembled as pain wrecked through his body, and as he coughed up a small amount of blood that stained his lips red.

The Demon King cracked his head to the side to remove the tension from his muscles. "I'll admit that hurt quite a bit," he said with a wicked smile behind his mask.

The black blood dripping from his chin stopped and instead started to form into tiny bubbles. The small spheres seeped back into the wound he had sustained, and once the final droplet entered, the gash closed up completely as if it were never there.

"If you ask me, I don't think your plan is going to work since our playtime is almost over," The Demon King pointed out darkly. He reached up to remove the skull mask adorning his face.

Clack!

The sound reverberated through the room as the mask tumbled to the ground from The Demon King's right hand.

His lips curved up into an amused smile when he saw the stunned looks from the exorcists around him. "I think my face was getting a bit sweaty under that mask," he playfully stated to snap them out of their dazes.

H-he has the face of an angel. How can someone like him be The Demon King? Margaret thought in disbelief as the man before her didn't seem like the type that took pleasure in spilling blood from any exorcist who stood before him.

"You're not looking too hot? Is the pain catching up to you? I should've tried to be more gentle," The Demon King mentioned as a twisted, amused smile crawled onto his face.

"You said you wanted to kill me today; where did that enthusiasm go? You'll try harder, won't you?" The Demon King said with a charming smile as he clapped his hands together. He strode toward Blackthorn with a graceful swiftness in his steps like a jaguar prowling toward its prey, not hesitating in the slightest to aim for the kill.

The Demon King blinked when he felt his right arm get jerked backward, preventing him from taking another step toward Blackthorn. He glanced downward and noticed the same vine as before, but this time, it was coiling much more tightly around his skin.

"I-I won't let you take another step toward him," Margaret stammered with determination despite her wobbly legs struggling to keep her upright.

"Oh, is that right? How about you and me play for a bit? Entertain me, won't you?" The Demon King said with a smug smile and a wild look in his eyes.

The Demon King gripped onto the vine with his left hand, causing blood to ooze out from his skin.

A panicked gasp left Margaret's lips when she was harshly yanked forward. Her feet left the ground where they were planted.