The Damned Demon

Ravina’s heart pounded like war drums in her chest as she exchanged a tense glance with Naida, their plan now horrifyingly clear. The reality of attacking her father—even if it was to bait Aira—filled her with pain and guilt, but there was no turning back.

“Are you ready, Ravina?” Naida’s voice was cool but heavy with a quiet tension, her ruby-red eyes locked onto the unconscious Cedric chained at the far end of the chamber.

Ravina swallowed hard, forcing down her trembling hesitation. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she whispered harshly, her dual dark blades igniting fiercely with dark green flames. With a grim determination, she sprinted forward, her movements blurring into a streak of emerald fire.

Aira, observing this from the center of the ruined chamber, erupted instantly in furious disbelief, her voice sharp and piercing, “What are you doing?! You claimed you were here to save him—yet now you try to kill him directly?! I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed me your true face!”

But Ravina ignored her, gritting her teeth as she closed in rapidly toward Cedric. Yet just as her swords neared his helpless form, Aira raised her glowing white staff, screaming, “Stop!”

Reality buckled violently around them as time froze in a harsh ripple.

Ravina’s eyes widened as she found herself standing exactly where she had started, blades poised again mid-charge, Cedric untouched and Aira standing furious but slightly weakened, breathing heavily.

“Did you really think I’d let you touch him?!” Aira spat, her voice trembling with rage and exhaustion. But the strain was already visible: her youthful skin had now grown more pallid, lines of age crawling across her forehead and around her eyes.

Ravina exchanged a quick glance with Naida, the brief realization dawning clearly upon her face—Naida had been right all along.

No matter how crazy or monstrous she had become…she never forgot or let go of her sole motive to protect Cedric.

Ravina took another deep breath, clenching her swords tighter as she bolted forward once again, a blur of speed. Naida also stepped in from the opposite direction to put pressure on Aira.

“Yargh!” Aira screamed, again freezing time, her form flickering violently as she reversed events, placing Ravina and Naida exactly where she’d begun moments ago.

Again, Ravina charged. Again, Aira forced back time, aging further, skin wrinkling deeper, strength waning more and more with every forced reversal. But not without dealing severe counterattacks to Ravina and Naida.

Each cycle was like torture. Ravina hated the feeling of helplessness—moving forward only to get struck by Aira who obviously knew what she was going to do, trapped in an endless loop.

But both she and Naida took on the brunt of Aira’s attacks, desperately doing so to weaken her.

And each time she reset, Aira’s once-youthful face grow older, hair turning stark white, body trembling visibly as time exacted its cruel toll.

“We’re close, Ravina,” Naida whispered urgently, sending a wave of reassuring energy toward her, “We must keep pushing her limits.”

“How many more times?” Ravina breathed heavily as she switched back to her original form to conserve mana, sweat pouring down her face, muscles aching from the endless charges. Her mana was draining rapidly, each reset fraying her nerves further.

“As many as it takes,” Naida answered solemnly, her face sickly pale, “Don’t stop.”

Gritting her teeth, Ravina surged forward again, flames trailing behind her. This time, Naida put even more effort in her assault at the cost of exhausting her mana, multiple illusions materializing instantly, each replica of herself attacking simultaneously, flooding Aira’s senses.

“No!” Aira shouted desperately, her voice hoarse with panic. Again she reversed time, forcing them both back. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her trembling hands barely able to hold onto her radiant white staff. Her figure now stooped, aged to a frail woman, her once-lustrous hair brittle and white, skin almost translucent with age.

Aira stumbled, breathing painfully, eyes filling with tears of frustration. “Why can’t you leave him alone… Just leave us alone…” she whispered in a broken voice.

But Ravina knew they couldn’t relent now. “Forgive me, Papa,” she whispered painfully under her breath as she charged again, slicing viciously towards Cedric, her heart twisting with guilt.

Aira reacted on sheer desperation, reversing time once more, but this time she crumbled to one knee, coughing violently, blood dribbling from her lips. Her aged hands shook violently, knuckles white against the staff, her entire form now fragile and brittle like porcelain.

“One more, Ravina,” Naida commanded firmly, sensing the breaking point.

With renewed purpose, Ravina lunged again, her blades arcing swiftly toward Cedric. Aira forced herself upward, screaming defiantly, the burst of time reversal weaker yet still effective, the strain causing her legs to buckle again, a painful cry escaping her lips as she fell forward heavily.

Ravina growled, frustration mixing with guilt as she struggled to maintain composure. “Why won’t you stop?! Can’t you see you’re killing yourself?!”

Aira raised her tear-filled eyes defiantly, her voice barely above a whisper but still resolute, “Never! I’d rather die than lose him again.”

But determination filled Ravina’s gaze, tempered by sorrowful understanding. “Then forgive us for this.”

Both Ravina and Naida rushed in tandem, blades and staff striking fiercely from opposite directions. Aira attempted to freeze time once more, but her body violently rebelled, the radiant light of her mana flickering erratically, sputtering weakly before fading out.

“No…not yet…” Aira gasped desperately, eyes wide in disbelief as her final power fizzled away completely. Her staff fell from her hands, shattering upon the stone floor as she collapsed weakly to her knees.

Ravina, blades poised inches from Cedric, stopped, chest heaving heavily. She turned slowly, her eyes softened with immense relief as she saw Aira finally defeated, utterly drained of strength, no longer able to reverse time or fight back.

Naida lowered her elegant red staff, sweat glistening on her forehead, relief evident in her gentle yet exhausted expression. “It’s over.”

Ravina nodded slowly, a deep sigh escaping her lips as she sheathed her blades, rushing quickly toward Cedric. “Papa,” she murmured softly, reassuring herself he remained unharmed.

Even though she might have killed him dozens of times, she never really saw those instances happening due to Aira reversing time, making her feel less bad about what she had to do.

Naida knelt slowly by Aira’s frail form, checking carefully for any remaining mana. “She’s out completely,” she said quietly, her voice tinged with sadness. “She won’t trouble us anymore right after I seal her mana circuit just to be safe.”

Aira lay unconscious, her breathing shallow yet steady, her form aged yet finally peaceful.

Ravina turned to Naida, shaking her head weakly, her voice weary and thick with emotion. “I can’t believe we finally stopped her.”

Ravina knelt softly beside the unconscious Cedric, her armor clinking faintly as she settled onto one knee. Her eyes—normally fierce and blazing with confidence—softened instantly, carrying a tenderness that few had ever seen from her.

She reached out tentatively, her hand hovering just inches from Cedric’s youthful, serene face. A doleful smile spread across her lips, tinged with a sorrowful sweetness.

“You look so innocent like this, Papa,” she whispered gently, her voice thick with emotion. Her eyes traced the contours of his young face, the face of a father she’d never known in this form—vulnerable, peaceful, untouched by the horrors that would shape him later. “I never even imagined you like this. Not even in my wildest dreams.”

Asher felt confused as he listened to her. He remember showering love and affection on Ravina. So why was she talking as if he something far worse?

Her gaze softened further, distant memories flickering in her eyes, fragments of stories she had heard from her mother, tales of strength, pain, and resilience that built the man he had become—the father she knew.

With a quiet, contemplative sigh, Ravina murmured softly, “Maybe… maybe I should wake you up, even if it’s just this once.” She paused, her voice trembling slightly with hope, but also fear of rejection. “I want to at least talk to you… just once… as you are now. This might be my only chance, after all.”

Before her hand could fully settle on his cheek, however, Naida’s calm yet firm voice echoed gently from behind her.

“Ravina… That’s not a good idea.”

Ravina’s hand froze mid-air, her breath hitching slightly. Slowly, she turned her head to face Naida, confusion and mild frustration flashing in her golden eyes. “Why? What’s wrong with that? Can’t I at least speak to him? I won’t get a chance like this again.”

Naida’s ruby-red gaze was steady, tinged with a faint sadness. She took a slow step forward, gently resting her hand on Ravina’s armored shoulder. “Tell me something, Ravina,” Naida asked quietly, her voice patient yet pointed. “Would you want to be the one to tell your father that your mother was responsible for the death of his own mother?”

Asher sighed to himself, knowing she was right. If this Cedric woke up to a demon sitting before him, he would surely become hysteric and whatnot.

Ravina visibly flinched at those words, her confident expression rapidly dissolving into one of pain and hesitation. Her voice cracked slightly as she responded, barely above a whisper, “No… of course not. But I don’t have to tell him about that. I just—”

Naida gently squeezed her shoulder, cutting her off softly but firmly. “Even if you don’t tell him, Ravina, think about how he will see you. This Cedric—he is not yet your father. Right now, he is a young man who has hated demons his entire life because of what happened to his mother. Can you imagine how he would react if a demon, no matter how sincere or kind-hearted, suddenly claims to be his daughter?”

Ravina’s gaze dropped to the floor, her heart heavy with the painful truth in Naida’s words. Her eyes began to sting with unshed tears, frustration building within her chest.

“I…” she whispered, her voice shaking. “I never wanted it to be like this. I just wanted a moment with him, even if he never knew who I was. Is that so wrong?”

Naida’s voice softened further, full of understanding and compassion, “No. It isn’t wrong at all. But some truths are too painful to reveal, and some wounds are too deep to risk reopening—even with the best intentions. Anyway, we are only here to talk to Aira. This timeline along with us is already doomed.”

Ravina lowered her head further, her dark hair shadowing her eyes as a single tear rolled slowly down her cheek.

Her voice, thick with emotion, barely rose above a whisper. “I understand… I just—I wish things were different. It’s unfair…”

“Me too…” Naida mumbled as her eyes briefly weighed down with a deep sorrow.

Watching all this, Asher felt a crushing sadness for Ravina, helplessly seeing his daughter bear the weight of guilt and sorrow over circumstances she couldn’t control. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her though he couldn’t understand what Naida meant by saying that this “timeline” was doomed.

He was getting more confused the more he saw all this. Most of all, he didn’t what to feel about Naida, especially after seeing all this and her working with his daughter or a adult version of her.

Just then, a faint groan echoed through the chamber, instantly snapping their attention away from Cedric.

Ravina swiftly stood, brushing the tear away as she spun around, her dark golden eyes immediately wary, her hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of her sword.

Aira stirred slowly on the cold floor, her ancient body twitching slightly as consciousness returned. She let out a pained, weak groan, her eyes fluttering open slowly, confusion and disorientation briefly filling her gaze.

Naida and Ravina exchanged a tense look, silently preparing themselves, fully aware that the battle they’d fought might not yet be completely over.

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