Tears welled up in Margaret's eyes as she felt her body collide with the hard ivory flooring.

Crunch!

The rubble scattered across the ground dug into her skin, gradually tearing apart her flesh each time; the Demon King whipped her around like a ragdoll by the binding vine she refused to let go of.

I-I can't let go of this vine. If I do...the impact will surely kill me. But I don't think my body can handle much more of this. I have to think---, Margaret barely had enough time to think before a pained groan left her lips when her body slammed into the sturdy surface beneath her again.

The Demon King's lips curved downward into a frown before he yawned. "You're boring me. Should I end our playtime early so I can play with the rest of your friends? I feel almost bad for giving you all my attention," he declared with a crazed look in his eyes.

"I already know I'm not the best fighter here, but I believe in Blackthorn's plan to take you down, and I'll do everything in my power to help him reach that goal!" Margaret shouted despite her body shaking from pain mixed with anxiety.

The Demon King's eyes widened in surprise. Unable to contain himself, he burst out laughing. "You believe in him?" he remarked as he pointed behind himself. "I think he's struggling to accomplish that goal, wouldn't you agree?" he mocked.

Margaret took in a sharp breath as her body got yanked to the right. She reached up with her other hand to grip the gold key hanging at the end of her necklace before ripping it off.

The warmth of Margaret's blood spread across her lower lip as she sank her teeth into it.

Rumble!

The Demon King's eyes shifted away from Margaret, and to the vine, he held in his hand when he felt it shake.

A pained gasp escaped The Demon King's throat when multiple spikes shot out from the end of the vine and pierced into him, causing black blood to splatter everywhere. In the process, he released it, sending Margaret flying backward.

A bright light surrounded Margaret's key as it transformed into a gun that she swiftly aimed at The Demon King. I'll make my death count, she thought as she pulled the trigger.

The bullet gracefully soared through the air. The Demon King's head snapped back slightly when the metal dug into his left eyesocket, causing him to reach up toward his face.

"Help Margaret!" one man shouted to the person who was closest to her.

A slight pained groan left Margaret's lips when she hit the wall behind her.   

Her eyes widened in shock. I-I'm still alive, b-but how? she thought in disbelief as she glanced down at her trembling hands.

Margaret let out a shaky breath of relief to ease her nerves to the best of her abilities. The soft texture of the patch of flowers behind her made her realize that someone had cast a spell the best they could to reduce the damage she took upon impact.

Crack!

Margaret's body froze with fear. Her eyes anxiously darted to the left, where a red spike pierced through the wall, nearly taking off her head in the process. She gritted her teeth as she forced her body to comply and rolled over to avoid another incoming spike aimed at her.

"Damn, I can't believe I missed," The Demon King grumbled to himself as he ripped out the last spike from his body and slammed it into the ground. He placed his hand over his face, staining it with his inky black blood. His body eventually shook from wild laughter.

The Demon King wiped away the tears in the corner of his eyes. "I'll admit you caught me off guard with that trick; looks like you can entertain me after all," he declared with a wide, amused smile that sent shivers up Margaret's spine.

"Blackthorn, are you alright, sir?" a woman asked as she knelt down next to him with worry in her eyes when he coughed up more blood.

Blackthorn reached up to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, causing the blood to smear a bit onto his cheek. "I'll be fine. Besides, we don't have enough time to worry about it.

"What's the plan?" a man asked. Panic welled up in his eyes since he knew they had a short time budget.

"We're going with Plan B!" Blackthorn ordered as he stumbled back to his feet.

The woman's mouth hung open in surprise. Her eyebrows furrowed when she realized he had no intentions of changing his mind. "Are you insane! There aren't enough of us for Plan B to work, and that would mean you would be in the front line with us supporting you from the back," she fumed.

"Don't worry yourself. Plan B will work. Stick to the same strategy we discussed before," Blackthorn announced as he rushed toward The Demon King.

"Hmm?" The Demon King said lowly as he tilted his head back. His face scrunched up in disappointment when he saw Blackthorn heading toward him like before. "Please don't tell me you're going with the same strategy as before. Surely that internal injury of yours taught you that it won't work," he mentioned as the rest of his blood slithered back into the wounds, forcibly closing them up.

While Blackthorn was charging toward The Demon King, a woman transformed her gold key into an axe. Using all of the power in her arms, she brought it down. The floor split open from the impact. The fracture raced toward their enemy with lightning speed.

The Demon King looked down at the floor when he felt it suddenly move. He closed his eyes, focusing on the movement underneath his feet. He swiftly danced around the multiple crystal spikes ripping through the floor tiles. One of the sharp tips managed to gouge his left cheek.

Blackthorn kept his eyes locked on The Demon King and raced forward. He drew his arm back and threw his sword using all his might.

"You're kidding, right?" The Demon King mocked, unamused by the pathetic attempt of an attack heading his way. He thought that Blackthorn would've taken the time to think of something more unique, but it seemed his toy had finally run out of batteries.

The Demon King was about to move out of the sword's path before his eyes widened when he felt scorching hot heat crawl all around him. He looked up to see purple flames looking down at him as if it was mocking him as they took away all means of escape.

The Demon King's breath hitched when the sword glowed, transforming into a barrage of swords that he wouldn't have enough room to dodge in time. The blades sank into his flesh, sending him flying backward. Each struck into the wall he landed into, keeping him in place.

The Demon King's head slumped forward. His black blood streamed down each of the swords' handles.

"I won't be making the same mistake as I made before!" Blackthorn roared. A burning determination raged in his eyes as he clenched his right fist, causing the swords to dig further into The Demon King's body.

A pained hiss left The Demon King's lips when he felt the weapons dig further into his flesh, attempting to sever him into pieces. With shaky hands, he placed them on the wall behind him. From his fingertips, his blood bolted up the wall in streams.

Margaret's eyes grew wide when tiny spheres of black blood pelted down from the ceiling. The color drained from her face when the liquid started to dampen her clothing and skin.

"You really think I'm going to give you a chance to recover!" Blackthorn shouted as he removed one of the swords from The Demon King's sides and slammed it straight into his heart. A stream of blood dripped from his mouth and trickled down to his chin.

A sense of dread washed over Blackthorn when he pushed the blade deeper into The Demon King's heart, only for him to be met with a lopsided grin.

"The taste of victory must've been sweet, right? But surely, by now, you realized how delusional you actually are. Someone as weak as yourself can't beat me," The Demon King smugly declared as his crimson eyes eerily glowed.

Blackthorn angrily shoved his weapon even further. His eyebrows furrowed when The Demon King only laughed at him.

Terror took control of Blackthorn's body when he heard a bloodcurdling scream come from behind him, soon followed by more screams of terror. He briefly turned his head around, only for his eyes to widen in fear.

The woman who had briefly assisted him dropped her axe to the ground as the black liquid consumed her whole. The man who had created the fire collapsed to the ground as the darkness swallowed him up into the floor.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

A shiver crawled up Blackthorn's spine when the sound of bones cracking sang in his ears sweetly, begging him to take a look. Blackthorn choked on his spit when two hands cupped his face, forcing his head in the direction of The Demon King.

An index finger playfully stroked underneath Blackthorn's chin. "Looks like our game is finally over; it's unfortunate. But, it appears my toy is too broken to continue on," The Demon King declared with a dark look in his eyes.

With a swift motion of his hand, it sliced through Blackthorn's neck with ease, like a knife cutting through butter. Blackthorn's body collapsed to the ground while The Demon King held onto his head.

"I wonder," The Demon King softly spoke to himself before throwing the head in a random direction. A wide grin appeared on his lips when he heard a terrified scream.