3 years have passed since the first day I arrived in Stellaria. The humans were pushed back and the Mazoku regained their former borders. And now it was finally time to meet the Hero. To answer his invitation and discuss peace.

I exchanged blows with the Hero once and I am pretty confident that I can take him on even if this turns out to be a trap. So we went to the designated meeting spot. As we got closer, something about the Hero seemed off. His aura… is weaker than I last remembered. When we got closer I saw that they were only mannequins.

I immediately thought this was a trap, but never expected what followed. 

Woosh! A sharp shock ran through my body. 3 pillars of green light pierced my stomach, my chest my left shoulder. When I turned around to see where the magic was fired, I couldn't find my words.

"Are you… fucking kidding me!?"

"Geez. I never thought you would drop your guard that much."

The one that fired that attack was non other than Byron himself. My trusty companion who stood to protect the Mazoku alongside me. And that wasn't all. Everyone had creepy smiles on their faces. 

I immediately tried to heal, but that wound…

"It's no use. That attack was a curse specifically designed to counter your absurd regeneration."

"Why…"

"Huh? You still don't get it? Hanging around you, we got the chance to develop our own skills and take them to great lengths. Our power combined is enough to handle the Hero."

I don't get it. I don't get it at all. Why are they attacking me? We all have the same goal, don't we?

"Let me make this as easy as possible for you to understand. The great Yurishia was lured into a trap by the Hero and was killed. We, her party members, managed to escape and swore to carry out your will. We will mourn your death and become your successors, gaining fame and power in our factions. That should be good enough of a story."

For the last 3 years… they were plotting to kill me? My trusted companions planned this from the start? What kind of twisted fate is this? Am I really just supposed to die again?

"Li… Liliana… our promise..."

"What's that Yurishia-sama? Promise? You mean to make a world without war? HAHAHA! That's freaking hilarious. I never cared about that to begin with. You were the only one who believed that empty dream. But now your role is over. All we wanted is to get stronger learning from you and become famous. Don't worry. Since we know each other for so long we won't make you suffer. Letting the curse erode your body is too painful. We'll end this quickly. You can go sleep and dream whatever you want. Farewell…"

All 3 of them gathered their powers. Byron fired a destructive fireball, Volmund unleashed a lightning attack and Liliana shot a volley of magical arrows. If all those connect in my current state I will die. Screw this!! I'm not letting this end here!!!

*KABOOM*

"Heh. We are stronger than I thought. We managed to vaporize her. Now let's head back and act sad. Our time has finally come."

------

I didn't have much power left to oppose them. Before the blast hit I managed to activate my teleportation skill. But I didn't know where I ended up. My body was burning. This curse was spreading fast. If I don't do something about it, my escape would be pointless. 

As I crawled my way I happened to stumble across a human girl. She was badly injured and probably abandoned. This was my ticket. With all the remaining powers I had left, I took control over the girls body. I possessed her. Like wearing a skin suit I absorbed her and took her form.

This confused the curse and stopped it all together. I was saved. Or so I thought. The girl was human. When I was found, they detected that I had a demonic aura. I was called a spy. A conspirator working for the Mazoku. 

The penalty for that is clear. Death. But some officials pulled some strings. They never saw a human that had demonic powers before. So for research purposes I wasn't killed. I was sent to Titania Prison Island instead. 

And I've been stuck here in this pit for 10 years. The girls conscious died long ago. So it was just me now. Because of the curse and because of the human body absorbed, I lost my former powers. I wasn't completely weak, but I was nowhere near strong enough to break the 3 holy seals placed on my cell to prevent my escape.

Your probably asking why do I keep on living. I haven't given up for one reason only. Revenge. I won't say that everyone in this world is bad. But those 3 are pure evil. Someway… I will escape from here. And when I do, I won't rest until I make them pay.

I still don't have a plan. But I refuse to give up. This 2nd life is mine to live as I want. You deprived me of that. You took so many years from me. I still plan to live this life as I see fit.

You drag me into a war I don't want to take part in, pretend to be my friends and then backstab me? You want the world? Well fuck you. I'll conquer the whole world if needed just so that you guys don't get it. I don't know what happened in these 10 years since I've been in here. But mark my words, I won't rest until I kill you 3. Byron, Volmund… and especially you Liliana!

I'll find a way to torture you just like you toyed with me. This… is a promise!