The Duke's Passion

813  The source of it all

"What am I doing? Even if I go on and on here, preaching about family values, you will not understand the concept of family. You don't have one. You killed all of them. Poor guy."

Zero maintained his smile despite the continuous taunting from Samael. Well, he couldn't get angry because one, what Samael said was nothing but the truth. And second, he felt no shame in massacring the entire Moriarty lineage. "They were all nuisance," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "But anyway, I did my best, Samael. I tried giving you the option to end this chaos rather peacefully. But alas, it seemed I can't change your mind."

"I hope you will not regret this," Zero added, smiling confidently. Samael's eyes fell on Zero's hand, which had now almost recovered as if it was good as new. Surely, this ability was something that posed a threat to Samael. This Zero wasn't the real Zero, but he acted, speak, and fight like the real one. The only abnormality about him, aside from his twisted train of thoughts was how Zero appeared so invincible right now.

Even if he severed Zero multiple times, he would just regenerate a lost limb.

"This will be a fucking long night…" mumbled Samael, his voice had a tinge of exhaustion. "Why can't nights with my wife be this long?"

He closed his eyes ever so slowly, stretching his neck from one side to the other. When Samael reopened his eyes, his lips parted as he breathed out through them. The silent whisper of the wind caressed his ears, causing the withered and dry leaves to roll on the grass they were standing on. Both of them held each other's gaze; Zero bearing a triumphant smirk while Samael's expression was plain. In a blink of an eye, both of them disappeared from their vantage point. They never reappeared, or rather, they did, but only sparks were seen, flashing from different directions. The black threads would come at Samael from time to time, but he would efficiently dodge them. Holes appeared on the ground because of the black threads, but the sparks in the sky continued flashing. An intense battle between Zero and Samael. This time, the two of them were aware there was no point in talking anymore. The only time they could have a rest was if one of them fall to the ground, dead. At this point, Samael didn't know how long this battle would last. However, what he was certain of was that this battle would only end once the sun rose. And by that, he meant once this hell's gate disappeared, for they were trapped in this endless darkness, distorting time, for there was only darkness without a chance to have a glimpse of the elegance of the light. Meanwhile, somewhere in the Spade Kingdom…

"Tilly…" Law called under his breath. His pupils were dilated, staring in a particular direction in horror.

Previously, Law and Tilly were just standing on a roof in the capital. They met up with Rufus, but the latter didn't stay long with them, heading to the borders to assist Heliot in entering the Spade Kingdom. After that, Law and Tilly simply skipped from roof to roof. Unlike Tilly, who wasn't counting how far they had gone, Law was aware they already reached the outskirts of the capital. Thankfully, they didn't encounter any enemies since they were on the roofs and they had concealed their presence. Their goal was simple, and that was to take down Zero. By that, each of them was tasked to cripple his arms and legs — the people and places that made Zero invincible. Law and Tilly's task wasn't anything like Rufus, Heliot, Stefan, or just like his father and mother. Law and Tilly's task was simple, and that was to look around.

Yes. To look around and figure out something that could help everyone stop Zero's madness. However, Law didn't expect that by looking around, they would discover something horrifying.

Law walked closer to Tilly, holding her skirt as if that would ease the dread crawling down his spine. They just entered a separate castle, which was one of the king's vacation homes on the outskirt. He didn't know why Tilly wanted to go here, but now he understood why. Tilly sensed something he hadn't.

"Tilly, what is that?" he asked, gazing up at that horrifying thing right before them. "I've never seen such a thing before."

Tilly kept her expressionless front, but her eyes had been glued on the thing right before them. She stood motionless, blinking silently.

Over there, several meters from them in this vast underground space was a gigantic creature hanging. Its shiny skin was black, and gigantic chains that were bigger than an average human were bound on its large wrists. Some spears and even anchors were linked to the massive chains attached to the walls and were also plunged deep into that monstrous creature.

Aside from its horrendous appearance and colossal body that was definitely not human or any other creatures that were sighted before, what caught Tilly's attention was the dark fluid dripping from it to the ground. Naturally, the fluid should crawl on the floor, but it wasn't. The dark fluid was stuck in the same area as if there was a hollow in it. But that wasn't the case. Tilly was certain of it. "The ground was sucking its blood," whispered Tilly, making Law flinch as he raised his head to her. "And thus, the reason for these repulsive powers."

"Tilly?"

"That's where he got his ability." Tilly blinked ever so tenderly, showing no sign of any emotion at this terrifying discovery. "Lives lost, sacrifices, tragedy, madness, and everything that is happening in this land and its people. This is the source of it all."

"Tilly, what is that?" asked Law, studying her side profile and figuring out she knew this thing. At least she was aware of its existence. Tilly didn't respond immediately as she just gazed at it. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Demon." Her voice was quiet, but somehow, Law felt like it echoed. "The one they would call a real one — how insulting."