"Ahhhh!" a high-pitched scream escaped Margaret's mouth as Blackthorn's severed head came tumbling down in front of her, splashing her with his blood.

"N-no...this wasn't supposed to happen. Were we not strong enough?" Margaret choked out in disbelief. She looked down at her trembling hands, now covered in crimson from the person she admired.

"Oh, but it did, and you're just now realizing that? You poor thing," The Demon King mentioned as he walked over to her. His voice was enough to send shivers down her spine, reminding her that the fight wasn't over yet.

Margaret forced her shaking limbs to support her weight as she stood up. Determination flashed in her eyes as she clenched tightly onto the key she held in her right hand.

She sucked in a shaky breath. The temperature around her began to increase into a scorching wave of heat. It swallowed up the surrounding air, attempting to suffocate anyone in its path.

"My, that's quite the spell. But it's useless to keep fighting when you have no hope of winning," The Demon King said with a wide grin on his lips as he appeared next to her.

Margaret attempted to leap back to give herself enough time to summon another spell, but tears welled up in her eyes when her right wrist was gripped tightly, nearly crushing her bones.

The Demon King leaned his face close to hers. "I'm done with the games already. Surely you understand, right?" he said. He pried the key out of her hand and threw it behind him.

Clank!

Margaret's heart dropped as she watched her lifeline fly off into the distance and clatter to the ground. Her eyes locked with his when she felt him playing with a strand of her brown hair between his fingers.

"With that out of the way, you won't be attempting anything else unless you're stupid, but I don't think you're that stupid," The Demon King said with an amused grin. He stroked under her chin with his index finger and slowly slid it down to the front of her neck.

"You honestly should be relieved that I didn't break each of your fingers," The Demon King announced before he wrapped his fingers around her throat slightly, squeezing gently.

"Q-quit playing with me and just kill me! I already know that's what you want to do!" Margaret spat out despite her quivering lower lip, causing him to frown.

"Now, why do you think I would do something cruel like that to you? There's no fun in that," The Demon King declared ominously with a twisted smile.

A gasp left Margaret's lips when he dug his finger right into her throat. The sharp pain caused her eyes to water and briefly shut.

"Relax, I haven't even started yet," The Demon King teased. A black liquid crawled from his fingertips and seeped into her wound.

The searing pain brought Margaret to her knees. She wheezed and clutched her throat, begging for even a little piece of air to fill her lungs.

"Don't worry, it won't kill you; it's only a tiny fragment of my blood," The Demon King stated as he reached forward to grab her chin to force her to look up at him. He tenderly stroked her jaw, "From now on, you're my little puppet."

When Margaret felt her airway clear up, she hungrily sucked in a breath of air. She choked before her breathing stabilized. Her eyes flickered over to him when he leaned close to her ear.

"I'll let you know a little secret. If you don't do what I say, then my blood will make your head pop like a grape, and you don't want that to happen," The Demon King pointed out as a soft chuckle left his mouth, clearly entertained by the situation at hand.

"Oh, and one more secret," The Demon King carefully whispered to her so she would be the only one to hear it. The second those words left his lips, her eyes widened in bewilderment.

"The best part is, you won't be able to tell anyone anything. But, now that you're my little puppet, I'll tell you exactly what I want you to do next," The Demon King announced as he moved away from her with a smug look on his face.

—--

"Lady Lena, there is someone here to see you," a man said with fluffy snow-white hair as he rushed through her office door, nearly out of breath. His lavender eyes screamed with sadness despite his best efforts to hide it.

"Alright, I told you to stop calling me that, Daniel. Lena is just fine," Lena grumbled. She grabbed a book on the top shelf before she turned out. A puzzled look washed over her features as she looked over at him.

"Why do you look like that?" Lena asked with concern as she placed the book on her desk. She never saw Daniel on the brink of tears before.

Daniel shook his head from side to side. He swallowed before he opened his mouth again, "I'd rather not be the one to tell you the news."

Daniel kept his emotions at bay the best he could. "Also, she requested that you two talk alone, so I'll step out," he said softly.

Lena's heart pounded against her chest. She didn't know what to expect after Daniel's performance. But she smiled despite her nerves crying out to her that something wasn't right and nodded her head for him to leave.

After he left, terror overtook her features when an injured Margaret wandered into the room holding something.

Lena's face twisted up when she took a closer look at the thing that Margaret delicately cradled in her arms.

It was her father's severed head.

Lena's face went pale. Her entire body started to shake as her emotions kicked in. "W-what happened!" she sobbed out, unable to keep her tears in any longer.

"I'm so sorry," Margaret cried out. She sank to the floor as everything hit her all at once. "We failed to bring down The Demon King, and this was all I was able to bring you back of your father," she sobbed.

Lena swallowed the vomit that crawled up the back of her throat. "T-this isn't real, it can't be," she shook her head before she gripped onto her scarlet hair as if it was keeping her sane. Panic coursed through her veins like a virus, threatening to destroy her entire existence.

With the death of my father, that would mean...I would be the sole person in charge of the Souls of Exorcists Organization. I-I'm not ready for that yet, Lena screamed inside her mind. She slumped back against her desk to prevent herself from falling to the ground because reality felt too much for her to bear anymore.

"I-I quit!" Margaret blurted out as tears streamed down her cheek.

Lena looked over at her in disbelief. "W-what do you mean? I need you; I can't do this on my own. W-with my father gone...who will I rely on..." she choked out.

"You can find so-someone better than me. I'm useless after all," Margaret said as she sniffled. She walked over to Lena's desk and gently placed his head down. She looked at Lena one more time before she bolted out of the room.

"M-Margaret, wait!" Lena screamed as she attempted to run after Margaret but nearly stumbled over her own feet.

Daniel was dumbfounded when Margaret nearly bumped into him as she ran down the hallway. A look of concern crossed his face when he saw Lena in the distance, tears staining her cheeks.

"W-what happened, and why was she in such a hurry?" Daniel asked as he ran over to Lena. He bit his lower lip when Lena shook her head, barely able to say anything as she buried her face in his shirt and cried more.

Daniel gently wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. He reached up and gently rubbed the back of her head to offer her any form of comfort.

"I-I really lost everything today," Lena choked out. She soaked his shirt with her tears as her feelings spilled out of her. "H-how can a nineteen-year-old like me..." she wailed and struggled to form a full sentence.

"Shhh, don't worry about that right now," Daniel whispered softly as he soothingly patted her back. "I'm afraid I can't really offer you much comfort to ease your nerves," he said with disappointment in his eyes.

"If you feel up to it, you can tell me what she told you. Also, I'll do my best to help you in any way I can," Daniel said. He offered her a gentle smile to try to make her feel slightly better, but he knew that was impossible.

Lena sniffled as she moved away from him. She reached up to wipe away her tears. "I-I need some time by myself, but I appreciate you trying to comfort me," she said with a forced smile.

Lena turned on her heels as she headed back to her office. Once inside, more tears fell as she slid down the door to the floor and buried her face in her knees.

Can I really handle all of this? Lena thought to herself.