Some time during the past three years of the Holy War, as it was named…

The monster-like beast of a man had evolved from the endless battles. He had someone he wanted to protect. Even if this was just a set up for those petty humans and rebellious demons to end his life, he would fight until the end. His blood-soaked figure was at least 10 feet tall now with black fur covering his entire body with horns that sprouted from the side of his head, turning into a monster. His muscles were bulging with veins and covered in scars as his razor sharp claws ripped through his enemies mercilessly. His eyes were dyed red.

“Demon King!” a voice resonated through the air.

All of the knights and Holy Church people halted their movements and moved away from the monster, encircling him to the center. Hovering up in the air was a person Rius was quite familiar with,

“Merlin Weiss,” Ruis’ low voice growled as blood spilled from the corner of his grotesquely canine-filled mouth.

Behind Merlin was the calvary from Yvaris. All the knights were riding on pegasuses, observing the horrific battlefield. The sky was dark and gloomy as the once beautiful, lush green prairie had been transformed into a barren wasteland. Beside Merlin was King Aslan and his three sons. Elena had also tagged along, urging Prince Callum that she deserved to be on the battlefield because of her past ties to the demon king, but this reminder only fueled Prince Callum’s anger and hate for Rius even more.

“Give up. Your beloved wife has returned to our side. She wishes of no longer keeping ties with you,” King Aslan announced.

Rius shifted his gaze down to the grounded, remaining locked in place.

“That’s right. She’s betrayed you,” said King Aslan. “You’ve lost everything; your wife, this war. There is no need to continue this meaningless war. If you surrender now, you will be given a merciful death.”

“... Meaningless war? You think this war is meaningless? This war has given the right excuse for humans to settle a score with me, and I, the same,” his low, gurgling voice vibrated through the air.

“So you’ve chosen a merciless death. It was a good thing Iris left you. Look at your disgraceful self. She did the right thing. Although that child is not worth much, she served her end of the stick as loyal citizen of Yvaris - getting close to you in order to break down all of your walls. To leave you weak and vulnerable!” a councilman spoke arrogantly. “She told us to bring the calvary, so here we are!”

“... Shut your mouth,” Rius mumbled.

He looked up to the calvary with murderous bloodshot eyes, sending chills down their spines. “You have no right to speak her name.”

“Y-you don’t believe us?! Then ask Merlin for yourself!” the councilman directed the attention to Merlin.

“Hah… Ahahahahahaha!!!!!!” Rius busted out laughing as his laughter thundered throughout the air, causing everyone to still. “Did you really think I’d believe that?! You think I don’t know her?!?! How naive, human!! What?! Did you think I’d fall into despair and give in easily?! Well, think again!”

The air around them became extremely heavy, as if gravity was pulling them towards Rius, causing the pegasuses to flail and neigh in terror. Then all of a sudden, the bloodlust that was surrounding all of them were lifted, as if it was just an illusion. The next scene shocked Merlin. The tenderness that was reflected in Rius’ eyes could not be ignored.

“However, even if she did betray me, I would not blame her. I don't mind if she walked all over me and used me as a stepping stone in life. I don't regret falling in love with her, and I never will," Rius remarked, his voice filled with love and warmth; his words coupled with his tender expression was unfathomable. “The times I spent with her was the best part of my life. Iris is all I have to thank for that.”

Suddenly, where Rius once stood was a trail of dust.

The bloodthirsty aura filled the air once again. The councilman who spoke out was clenched by his throat, gagging for air, trying to fight the monstrous fingers that were grasped around his neck. 

“I won’t forgive anyone who tries to sully her name or use her against me,” Rius stated in a horrifyingly calm tone with bloodshot eyes.

Next thing, the councilman’s head was ripped clean off by Rius’ jagged canine; the war has resumed.

***

Five years have passed since the day Rius left… and Iris kept her promise - the promise that she would not go to the battlefield until 5 years have gone by. Rius has not returned.

Iris leaned down and gave the small toddler in her bed a kiss on her temple. Their daughter, Joy Solece, had her purple-iris colored eyes and Rius’ black hair. Tucking in her daughter, Iris gingerly brushed Joy’s hair aside.

“I’ll see you in your dreams, my love,” Iris whispered softly to the sleeping child.

Iris exited out of the cottage to where Maru was standing. Once again, Maru was to be entrusted with a very important task, and it always involved one party leaving.

“Be sure to take care of both of them when he returns,” Iris gave him a sincere smile.

Although Maru wanted to ask what about her, he knew what her answer was going to be

“... Is there no alternative?”

“... I wish there was. Bye, Maru.”

And just like that, Iris disappeared from their little cottage.

***

For those on the battlefield, there was no telling how much time has passed by, only a matter of decreasing or increasing enemies was more important than the passage of time.

“How are our troops holding up?!” General Tezu hollered as he was tending to his own wound in their main camp.

Gotoh was there as well, assisting in offering replenishment for the demons.

“We have incoming reinforcements from the Dune region,” one demon reported to the burly demon-like man who had horns protruding from his forehead.

“General! There is a human woman here! She says she’s our King’s wife!” a minion came rushing into the tent. 

An amused light flickered through General Tezu’s eyes. “Well, if she’s who she claims to be, let’s not keep her waiting!” he said and marched out of his tent.

“Miss Iris! It’s a miracle you’re alright,” Gotoh cried as he gripped her hands in his.

“You as well. I am quite surprised that you’re here of all places,” a soft voice spoke.

Tezu could see a small figure sitting by the fire by Rius’ most trusted servant. The small figure had on a cloak that obscured her appearance, leaving one to wonder how she looked like. 

Quite impatient, Tezu walked over and plopped himself right beside the small figure.

“You who claims to be our King’s wife, the one I never got the chance to see because he hid you from all of us, how will we know you’re telling us the truth about who you are?” Tezu asked, leaning on one muscular arm.

“Gotoh is enough of a verification,” Iris spoke as she turned to look over at Tezu.

Only the light from the fire illuminated a few of her facial features while the shadows kept her mysteriously concealed. 

“Hm~, fine. Let’s say you are his proclaimed wife, what are you doing here?” asked Tezu.

“I am here to find him. However, his presence has been sealed away, as if he had vanished like air. I couldn’t find him on the main battlefield so I came here, to where the next largest amount of demonic energy was located,” Iris answered. “Do you have any idea where he may be?”

“Understandable as to why you can’t find him. He was taken,” Tezu hummed.

“Taken? Taken where?”

“Well, not really taken, but he headed off to the Main Cathedral, or the Vatican as some may call it, to fight off the forces there while I’m stuck here, dealing with the rebellious faction and any other humans who dare to join the fight,” Tezu gnashed his canine. “But then I head that about ten days ago, they placed a barrier around my King, in hopes of weakening him and making him submit. But he’s not dead, if he was, we’d know. Because he is our King, we have a link to him. But he is gravely injured.”

Iris clenched her fist tight as she stood up abruptly.

“Miss Iris?”

“I’m going.”

“Where to?” Tezu asked lazily.

“Where else? To where Rius is.”

Tezu languidly stood up, towering above her as he stretched his neck. “Listen, human. Unless you can get through me, there is no point of you going, got it?”

Before Tezu could say anything else, a piercing pain shot him in his lower abdomen, sending him meters away. He went soaring off into the distance, causing an explosive shockwave to resonate through their camp, distinguishing the fire. 

“Is that enough for you?” Iris asked.

When Tezu finally gained conscious, he busted out laughing like a maniac, “AHAHAHAHAHA!! I like you! There’s no doubt you’re the wife of our King!”

When Tezu returned to camp, Gotoh and an additional guide was given to Iris, and that additional guide being Tezu himself. He left his stronghold to one of his commanders. There was no way he was going to miss the fight Iris was leading him into. 

***

Within the large, dome barrier that stretched across a diameter of 110 meters, inside were several Holy Bishops, Archbishops and mages; all trying to attack the demons inside. And at the center of it all was a pile of corpses, both humans and demons, and resting within this pile of body was Rius, who was trying to recuperate. The pile of bodies became his burrow. The longer he fought on, the more unstable he became and the more unstable the demonic energy inside him was; he knew that the mist demon was ready to emerge. But he was not ready to give in yet. There was still someone he wanted to see. Not knowing how long time has passed, Rius could only hang onto his sanity through the memories of Iris.

However, the longer the battle prolonged, the weaker the demon forces within the barrier became. Soon, it will just Rius by himself, burrowed deep within the pile of corpses. Watching from outside of the barrier was the Pope of the Holy Church. He was the one who placed this Holy barrier upon Rius. Surrounding the dome barrier were many Holy Priests who were absorbing mana from the demons from inside the dome barrier.

Standing next to the Pope was Merlin, King Aslan and his royal sons. They watched from the top balcony of the cathedral as everything played out. They've been fighting this battle for the past two years, and it was obvious that none of them would come out unscathed. Each had their own serious injury to attend to but they wanted to witness the final moments of this Demon King. 

“You’re certain that this barrier will hold him?” one of the princes asked.

“Of course. Not only does this barrier keeps him contained, but it also sucks away his mana. The Demon King’s probably wondering as to why it’s taking him for such a long time to recover. And the purpose of this barrier is exactly why - to prevent recovery,” the Pope smiled.

Watching this dragged out battle, Merlin was the first to notice something was amiss as he looked off in the distance. “Something’s approaching.”

Everyone looked in the direction in which Merlin looked. Entering with an explosive landing, Tezu, shattered the ground, but the barrier array remained intact. The Holy Priests and knights charged toward this new threat that has arrived. The Pope then looked over to Merlin and bowed his head. “I give you the honors of finishing off this eyesore.”

Merlin said nothing and flew up into the sky, hovering above the commotion. Chanting a spell, he lifted his wooden staff into the air as a spell array appeared above him. The spell array glowed brilliantly as many sensed the surge of mana flowing towards this blessed mage. He made many tremble at the mere sight of his power. Appearing in the sky was a blazing transparent phoenix that had manifested from his power. It was overwhelmingly large in size and could very easily devour a mountain. When Merlin was done with his incantation, he motioned his staff downward to attack the pile of corpses and Rius in it. The Phoenix soared, its cry pierced through the sky as its transparent wings unfurled elegantly before charging down toward the burrow!

RRRRROOOOOAAAAAARRRRR!!!!!!!!

Merlin gasped. In an instant, a flurry of mana was shot back the Phoenix! A dragon!! A mana-manifested dragon met the phoenix head on in mid-air, cancelling each other out, which caused a massive explosive shockwave. As soon as Rius sensed the familiar presence, he peeked his head out from his burrow. His right eye widen in shock when he saw the familiar red flaming hair flowing gracefully in the air, looking as if it had been lit on fire. Her petite figure stood up tall and was unwavering, shielding the one behind her. 

“The barrier has been broken!!” a Holy Priest cried out in alarm.

Noticing the stirring presence behind her, just as she was about to turn over, two large, strong arms pulled her into a strong yet gentle embrace. Rius gingerly buried her small figure into her arms, holding onto her tight but also carefully, afraid that he might break her. Iris felt his warm and heavy breath on her neck as his trembling voice whispered, “There was not a single day that went by that I stopped thinking of you.”