When Kaiden returned to his kingdom, the five devil children knelt before him, as they always did heads bowed, silent and proud. But when their eyes lifted and fell upon the fragile human girl walking beside him, their composure cracked.
A human? Inside their sacred halls?
Not just one but two, including her maid?
It was unthinkable. Insulting. Unforgivable.
They stared, stunned and appalled. Hatred brewed behind their eyes. Humans were the enemy. Filth. Creatures, they were born to crush underfoot. And yet… their father the Demon King walked beside one as if she were an equal.
They despised her.
She was weak. She was strange. And worst of all… she was human.
But time is a patient sculptor.
Mari did not beg for their approval, nor did she flinch when confronted by their monstrous forms. She treated them not as beasts, but as children. She scolded them when they fought. She praised them when they learned. She hugged them when they cried yes, even they, the terrifying devil children, had tears they never knew they were capable of shedding.
Kaen, the wielder of cursed black flames, once known for incinerating armies without blinking, hesitated when she called his name with warmth.
Serine, born of blood magic and destruction, found herself holding back her rage when Mari placed a gentle hand over hers.
Draven, Malrik, and Lyra too slowly, cautiously they softened.
For the first time, the fortress of the Demon King echoed not with screams, but with laughter.
The bloodstained halls grew warmer.
Kaiden himself, once an embodiment of ruin, found peace beside Mari. Her presence washed over his weary soul like the first sunlight after centuries of storms.
He, the destroyer of empires, had become something he never dreamed of.
A husband.
A father.
Not by blood, but by bond.
And he vowed to protect it all.
But peace… peace is fragile.
And fate… is cruel.
The Betrayal and the Fall of the Demon King
Far away, the remnants of humanity watched with growing unease. The Demon King had stopped his conquest. His wrath had calmed. And yet, they feared him all the more.
For a Kaiden in love… was a Kaiden with something to lose.
And so, they struck where it would hurt most.
On the day of remembrance for the fallen demon kings, Kaiden departed the fortress to honor his predecessors. His five devil children now eight years old stood guard, entrusted with protecting their home.
That was when the humans came.
Disguised as relatives of Mari, they arrived bearing gifts and smiles. Their voices spoke of peace, of reunion, of forgiveness.
Mari, ever hopeful, believed them.
She welcomed them into the fortress.
But it was all a lie.
The moment she opened her heart, the human King's right hand stepped forward, placing a sacred dagger to her throat. The children surged forward ready to unleash hell but stopped dead as divine weapons were drawn and aimed not at Mari…
…but at them.
"Surrender," the king said, his voice like venom. "Or she dies."
They had no choice. For the first time in their young lives, they felt helpless.
They surrendered.
When Kaiden returned and found his children bound and his beloved missing, something inside him snapped.
He tore across the lands, through the gates of the human kingdom, cutting down every soldier who dared to stand in his path. And then he reached the throne room.
There they were.
His children, chained. Their heads bowed. Mana suppressors clamped around their necks. And the human king, smiling with victory already in his hands.
"You want them?" the king said coldly. "Then give me your horns. Go to the holy field if you want to see her alive."
Kaiden understood the cost.
His horns were not mere ornaments. They were the source of his immortality his power. Without them, he would be no more than a fading shadow.
But for his children… for Mari?
He broke them off.
The pain was unbearable. The world blurred around him. His soul cracked. But his eyes, his eyes burned with a single purpose.
He ran.
He found the holy field, pulsing with sacred energy, encased in divine magic meant to weaken all who were dark-born.
He told the children to guard the path. To let no one through.
Then he stepped into the field.
Inside, four summoned heroes awaited him. Their blades are blessed. Their armor is gleaming. Their purpose is his end.
The battle was savage. His strength, limited. His body, failing. But he endured.
He slew them all.
And then, he saw her.
Mari.
Lying amidst the wreckage, her breath shallow, her body trembling.
He rushed to her, gathering her in his arms.
Her blood stained his hands.
"Kaiden…" she whispered.
He begged the gods, fate.. anyone.. to let her live.
But Mari smiled through the pain. A smile that still held warmth.
"Promise me," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "No revenge… live… stay with them… be happy… no more fighting, okay?"
And in that moment, the Demon King—Kaiden, destroyer of kingdoms, broke.
He held her as the light faded from her eyes, and for the first time since he was born…
He wept.
And as her final breath left her lips, the world he built, the power he ruled, the war he waged, none of it mattered.
All that remained… was sorrow.
To be continued...