The next day rolled by like usual—training, some magic casting, Lyra accidentally lighting her shoes on fire again… nothing too crazy. But by evening, the sun dipping low and the sky bathed in orange, Lili clapped her hands together.
"Okay, Leo! Ready for your gift?"
Leo perked up immediately. "Finally! Yes! Wait, let me call Lyra too!"
Lili's expression shifted slightly. "No."
Leo blinked. "Huh? Why not?"
"She can't come."
"…Is this… is this the kind of gift that explodes or something?" Leo asked, narrowing his eyes, lips twitching into a frown. "You're not planning to kill me, are you?!"
Lili threw her arms in the air. "Hell nah! Are you crazy?! What kind of 'thanks for trusting me' murder arc are you imagining right now?!"
Leo stared at her suspiciously.
"…That's exactly what someone planning to kill me would say," he muttered, stepping back half a step.
Lili groaned. "Ugh, you're such a drama king!"
They made their way back to the cave, still bickering.
"Wait," Leo said before stepping inside. "You sure it's safe to leave your clown alone with Lyra?"
Lili waved a hand lazily. "Yeah, yeah, she's basically me. But, like, slightly goofier."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "So... she is dangerous."
"LEO!" she snapped.
He chuckled and stepped inside with her.
Once they were in the main chamber, Leo looked around curiously. "Alright, so what's the big gift?"
Lili didn't answer right away. Instead, she smiled slowly and snapped her fingers.
Suddenly, the chairs vanished with a soft poof, and the floor where they had sat just moments before rumbled open—revealing a dark, spiraling staircase plunging deep underground.
Leo took one look and instinctively leaned back. "We're going down there?"
Lili nodded, grin growing wider.
"…Is this the part where I accidentally discover your evil lair?"
"Nope," she said with a wink. "This is the part where you get your real gift."
"…Still feels like the evil lair path," Leo muttered, staring into the deep shadows below.
"Move it, chicken," she said, already stepping onto the first stair.
Leo exhaled deeply, following her with hesitant steps.
"Note to self," he whispered. "Never trust gifts that require a stairway into hell…"
As they descended, the stairway got darker and colder, the stone walls pressing in closer. Leo squinted into the black.
"Should I use light magic?" he asked. "I can't see anything down there."
Lili paused, smirking faintly in the dimness. "Okay. But... at your own risk."
Leo blinked. "Risk?"
She just kept walking.
"Great," he muttered, ignoring her and casting a small orb of light magic into the air.
The second the light ignited, the staircase trembled, and suddenly—the stairs kept extending further down. An eerie wind howled up from below, chilling Leo's spine.
"…Of course," he muttered. "Of course that would happen."
With a tired sigh, he continued down the never-ending staircase. "She can teleport. Teleport. But nooo, let's take the demon stairway from hell."
Just as he was about to complain, something hit him.
An aura.
Not just one. Multiple… stacked together. So dense, so heavy… it crushed the air around him. His eyes widened in horror. His legs trembled.
"I can't… breathe…"
It was the kind of pressure that could obliterate a city without trying. Leo stumbled, barely staying upright. "Lili… what is this?"
"Come on," Lili said softly, not looking back.
"I SAID TELL ME!"
Lili let out a sigh—and then in a blink, she snapped her fingers.
Suddenly, they were teleported.
Leo gasped, blinking fast as his feet hit solid ground. He looked up slowly—and Lili turned around.
"We're here," she said, but her voice caught when she saw his face.
Leo looked like he'd seen a ghost. Or ten. His face was pale, his eyes hollow, his expression frozen with terror.
"Leo…?"
"…I can't… I can't even think," he whispered. "This aura… it's like my soul was punched out of my body—"
Suddenly, he felt it.
A presence. Right behind him.
He spun around, heart racing. "Lili—someone's behind me!"
"Wait, wait—"
FWOOSH!
Hundreds of ice shards shot into the air, sharp and lethal, floating around him, ready to strike.
"LEO!" Lili waved her arms. "Hey! Stop! He's my friend!"
Leo froze. "Friend?! That's a friend?!"
Lili snapped her fingers. Lights exploded across the chamber—soft glowing orbs illuminating the massive space.
Leo's eyes adjusted slowly… and then he saw him.
A towering creature sat cross-legged on an obsidian throne.
Black and red armor lined with jagged, demonic designs. Horns curved like a crown. His eyes glowed like molten lava. His entire body radiated a dark pressure that made the air tremble. A long black cloak flowed behind him like shadows come to life.
He looked like a king who ruled nightmares.
Leo stumbled backward. "W-Who the hell is that?!"
Lili beamed. "That? That's the Demon King."
"…"
"…"
Leo stared at her. "You brought me to meet THE DEMON KING—without warning me?!"
"He's retired!" Lili said cheerfully.
"RETIREMENT DOESN'T REMOVE HIS AURA, LILI!"
The Demon King slowly opened one eye, raising a brow. His voice rumbled deep like thunder:
"...Is this the boy?"
Lili grinned. "Yup! That's him!"
Leo turned to her, pointing. "I'm gonna pass out. I swear I'm gonna pass out. I was not built for this."
"Relax," Lili giggled. "He's not gonna eat you. Probably."
"PROBABLY?!"
Leo's expression hardened as he stared at the being in front of him—the former Demon King, a creature whose name was buried in legends and feared across the world.
He finally broke the silence, his voice calm but sharp.
"…Didn't the hero kill the Demon King in the past?"
Lili smiled faintly, the light in her eyes dimmed with memory. "No. He didn't."
Leo's brows furrowed. "What…? But the stories—"
"I saved him," Lili said, voice quiet but firm.
Leo turned to her sharply. "Are you insane?! Why would you save him?"
"Because," she said, her eyes locked with his, "this Demon King… isn't evil."
Leo froze. The words didn't make sense. "What do you mean 'not evil'?" he asked, voice rising. "He's the Demon King. The destroyer. The one who—"
"He was forced," Lili said. Her tone was steady, serious, and filled with pain. "By her."
Leo went still. "…The Goddess?"
Lili nodded slowly. "Yes. Just like she manipulated our lives… she twisted his too. He was once a king—of his people. A guardian. Until she corrupted him. She wanted war. She needed a villain."
Leo's voice was barely a whisper. "And she chose him…"
Lili glanced at the Demon King, her face filled with a strange compassion. "He's a victim. Just like us."
"But," Leo said, struggling to piece it together, "the hero… the stories say he defeated him…"
Lili shook her head. "Lies. The hero was powerful, yes, but he was not knowledgeable. He only knew how to strike with the sword, not how to see through the truth. He hurt him—severely. The battle left him near death."
She looked back at the Demon King, her voice softer now.
"He's been hiding here ever since. Seventeen, maybe eighteen years. Dying slowly… in silence."