Part 43

The door to the cottage was pushed open abruptly, startling the both of them. Talia looked over her shoulder only to see Lukas walking in, confused lines marring his face. He had an arrangement of flowers gripped in his fist, eyes widening the moment he saw Li Changying. The Demon King took in the destruction she caused to their little cottage, his loyal guard lying on the floor, helpless.

A menacing growl ripped his throat. "I told you to stay away."

Li Changying flustered, quickly chanting some spell under her breath and making Ajaxson appear in front of them. The female demon pointed towards him. "Fight him if you can!"

"Oh, I will", Lukas cracked his knuckles as his eyes turned black, not returning to their normal state because, oh, he was going to have some fun. He saw fear flicker briefly in Li Changying's eyes. As a Demon King, Lukas wasn't exactly known for having the ability to forgive quickly or show mercy to filthy rats like the female demon in front of him.

Talia watched in fascination as her mate started to change. His complexion started to become into a deathly pale colour, an almost blueish tint to the skin. The veins in his body began to glow red, a bright contrast to what his skin looked like. A growl ripped through his throat as black wings started to tear his back, morphing into a metal almost. His clothes were burnt off, replaced by something darker and sharp, jagged teeth pressing into his lips. His nails started to elongate into talons, black and sharper than a hellhound.

Lukas was in his proper demon form. He looked utterly unrecognisable. This was the Devil.

Talia's eyes clashed against his. Those eyes were the ones Lukas showed to her while proving to her that he ruled Hell. Red, glowing against his pale skin, digging into her flesh and leaving goosebumps behind.

"I will kill you this time." Ajaxson huffed, producing a sword as well. "And Talia," His eyes flickered to hers. "She won't be able to save you."

***

Talia had been fleetingly wondering about all the explosive booms and shock waves that kept rolling their way down from Lukas fight. She couldn't ignore it anymore when one shook the ground so bad that both they wobbled several times. Ajaxson challenged her mate for a fight, and they were on the other side.

Said fight with Li Changying had been going decently smoothly; they'd both disarmed each other pretty early on and settled for regular old fist-fighting, and she was preferring that a lot. The demon had even had two more kunai knives hidden in her clothing, but the pregnant woman had gotten rid of those too.

Talia turned her attention to the ridiculous crash that had put a pause in their fight, and Li Changying smirked. "Ajaxson is pretty strong. I have seen him fight with Lukas before." She noted with a sneer.

Talia scoffed. "Yeah?" She challenged her enemy, not at all impressed by the stupid remark. That was in the past. Lukas was stronger now, a true Demon. "I still think he can take him. The same way I will do with you."

Li Changying's eyes darkened, and her anger bubbled in his stomach, beyond offended at such a disrespectful insult. "You little bitch," She barked, clearly upset. "I will end you!"

"Keep it classy!" Talia paused, dashing quick as lightning, the glow in her feet to the demon and gripping her. Before she could make sense, the pregnant woman shattered her nose with a punch. It was enough to send the female demon shouting and dropping to the ground.

"That's enough!" Li Changying yelled, producing a sword by her side, the tip of it glinting in the light. The moon goddess chanted under her breath before doing the same, taking a step forward. Their swords met with a screech of metal against metal, her arms straining and the veins on her body becoming more prominent as she used more and more of her energy.

A cry tore out of her throat when the demon did a twist and slit a deep cut into the back of her wrist. The pain was striking and hot- blood spurting from the wound. She looked so pleasured by Talia's pain, grinning at the woman with a set of pearly white teeth.

"Now, how's that?"

Talia set her feet wider apart when the demon started to circle her again. Her hands shook from where they were gripping the sword tight. As the demon tried to attack, the pregnant woman sidestepped, hitting the back of her head with the hilt of the blade. She was surprised as the demon wobbled forward at the force, her body plastering against the wall.

The moon princess tried to forget about her bleeding wrist, putting all her attention and focus on her stomach, on her child, needing to protect it at all costs.

As Li Changying turned to face her, she roared in outright rage as Talia pinned her against the stone wall. She made a first careful attempt at moving her hands, but the moon princess pierced two blades from earlier into her arms.

"T-Talia", She started, thrashing against the blades holding her in place.

The moon princess took a step back and prayed to her mother again. It sent a strong bright glow emerging from her body, blinding her as it took over. She coughed from the indescribably sizzle that echoed before the light consumed Li Changying, leaving no traces of her whatsoever.

Talia staggered back, the glow disappearing when she finally sighed in relief that the fight had finally been won. She did it!

The pain in her wrist quickly became the most prominent thing again, and she stumbled back, falling onto her side and gripping it helplessly.

Just then, she heard a commotion from the other side.

"Talia, please. I love you. I was the first person you told your story to. You still feel something for me. I know it!" Ajaxson was begging, face bloody and eyes swollen. Did Lukas do that to him?

The Demon let out a roar that rattled the walls of the cottage.

"I do feel something for you, Jackson." She walked closer to him, her eyes flickered, remembering how much she loved this man in front of her. Platonic love, of course. How hard it was on her when all he did was trick her into believing that the moon princess could trust him. Even in her current life, she opened up to nobody else the way she opened up to Jackson. Talia cried on his shoulder for hours because of her parents and because of how she lost. He was there through all of that and still dared to hurt her.

"It's a pity! I feel sorry for you." She spat. "You never understood the meaning of friendship and true love. Not in your previous and not now." Blinking back her angry tears, she turned to Lukas. "Do it!"

Suddenly, the veins in the demon King's body started to burn brighter and brighter. She knew what was coming, holding her breath.

Lukas growled, and his eyes dissolved into a black abyss before he plunged his hand into Ajaxson's chest, tearing the skin with his talons and gripping onto his heart. The Greek God's scream reverberated in the cottage and beyond. He retracted his bloody hand before dragging Ajaxson into the middle of the room and crouching over him.

"I hope you rot in Hell every single day knowing that you will never have Talia!" Lukas said before crooking his talons into the layer of skin of his arm, dragging them down at a snail's pace, watching as the skin ripped off deliciously. Blood poured out of rips, but the demon King could care less. He looked possessed at that moment, the inner demon craving to see his enemy bleed out.

Finally, Lukas threw the strips of skin off to the side, relishing the fact that he could see his bones and veins visibly before Ajaxson closed his eyes.

***

The blood flow was too much. Talia could feel it getting to her, head spinning as she tried to hold her ground. Before the moon princess could stable herself, darkness flooded in front of her vision, and she lost her footing. Her knees gave up, landing on her back with a dull thud, even unconscious, gripping the round tummy.

"Talia." It was the first thing she heard when the pregnant woman slipped back to reality, no longer floating in a black abyss. She had never been so relieved to listen to that very familiar voice. Blindly, her limbs move off of their own accord, wanting to touch her mate. To make sure that he was alright. Painfully, her mind went back to how lifeless he looked minutes ago, trying to fight Ajaxson. A part of her felt proud of him. Lukas made her proud by managing to get rid of that Greek God forever.

Her hands caught an arm, and Lukas enclosed his palm over hers, watching as her eyes blinked open, adjusting to the sudden light. He let out a deep breath, a soft smile overtaking his face.

"Wake up, my love." He crooned, voice gentle as he placed a hand on her stomach, rubbing over the clean skin with the pad of his thumb. She tensed at the touch, eyes blinking open and focused on everything around her. Talia placed a hand over his that lay on the roundness of her stomach.

It immediately made her eyes widen as she imagined the worst. "Is our baby okay?"

Lukas bobbed his head. "I believe it to be. Don't worry; the fairies will be here to check on you soon."

A sigh escaped her lips as she prayed for their child, hoping it was safe and warm inside her. Talia fell on her back, so nothing to worry about; still, it didn't help curb the anxiety building in the pit of her stomach.

"Hey", The Demon King softly whispered, his cold breath fanning her face as he inched closer. "We are free now. Don't worry about anything else. Good things are waiting for us."

"Okay," She breathed.

***