In a wasted plain that bears the scars of a fierce battle stands two horrific figures, one of them is a monstrous red Demon that emits no lesser aura than the strongest Demons. There was a glowing mark on his forehead, containing a power of ancient damnation.
His hand rested above the mark as his eyes widened in horror.
Realizing that the Slave Mark branded onto him was activated struck his demonic soul.
ραndαsnοvεl.cοm Without the presence of higher beings, the mark should've remained dormant.
Even then, the reality that the Slave Mark was somehow activated couldn't be denied, and his eyes unconsciously shifted back to Flunra who was already putting on a devilish look, enjoying Demon Lord Kirgil's petrified expression.
Flunra's smirk clearly indicated that he was the one responsible for this weird occurrence.
Turns out, the experiment he was talking about is not nonsense.
Demon Lord Kirgil stands rigidly and utters in a whispering tone, "What's the meaning of this...?"
But then, he suddenly fell to one knee.
Coming from the damn energy of the Slave Mark, a sudden electric shock traveled inside his veins and forced him to one knee. A powerful surge of invasive energy boiled within him, able to statued his entire being on the spot.
It was without a doubt, this effect belongs to the Slave Mark.
"Like I said, I'm here for an important experiment. Now I see that it's working" Flunra replied.
Gulping harshly, Demon Lord Kirgil forces his body to stand up.
Even though he is the most powerful Demon Lord of the Rastrikan Demons, he knows the grave danger of this situation. If there was a way out of this, then he would fight back, but there was absolutely no chance he could reverse this effect.
Demons lost to the Ancient Humans were not without a reason.
Blitz!
"Kaarghhk!" Demon Lord Kirgil grunted as his power was negated when he tried to stand up.
Panting heavily with his eyes fixed on the ground, a shiver coursed through his body as his mind was propelled back to the time he wanted to forget, the time when he was first branded with this cursed Slave Mark.
~
"Trial for Kirgil, an entity of the Supernatural Force"
"Estimation of transgressions surpasses 10,000 souls, with over half among them being civilians. By the decree of the Supreme Law, within Chapter 11, Section 6, it is proclaimed a Capital Offense. In the name of the Supreme One, Kirgil is hereby marked with a Capital Slave Mark, bound to callous servitude until death"
Inside a tall spiraling spacious structure, a trial is commencing.
At the center of the circle platform near the peak of the building, encircled by a precipitous, abyssal ring leading to the base of the structure, a sheer vertical drop awaiting any who dare defy gravity is a Demon, chained on the limbs and neck.
Holding these chains are four mythical knights clad in gleaming golden and blue.
Each one of them holds the chain with one hand, and a spear on the other, exuding grace and power that could make anyone refer to them as Demi-Gods. In addition to that, their nonchalance as Demon Lord Kirgil struggled to break free shows that they were used to this kind of situation.
Standing at the podium, reading the decree from a golden scroll is a revered priest.
Arrogance in their position of power.
"Release me this instant! If you don't, the Origin will come and ransack this entire place and kill each one of you!" Demon Lord Kirgil roared, pulling the chains in order to break free to no avail as the four mystical knights were unmovable like a rock.
But the esteemed priest only smiled, cruelly, "Is that your last words?"
Chuckling in hubris, taking the threat as nothing but a child's threat, the esteemed priest walked down the podium into the stone stairs, his golden boots clanking against the ground as he made his way down.
Still adorned in a mocking grin, he approaches Demon Lord Kirgil and stood before him.
"Supernaturals' time has reached its end, your demise has arrived. Currently, the Supreme One is hunting you Demons, and that includes your Origin" The esteemed priest stated, he then leaned down to stare straight at Demon Lord Kirgil's eyes. "If your precious Origin is not dead already, he soon will be. So don't waste your breaths on pitiful threats, you won't scare anyone here..."
Upon hearing this, Demon Lord Kirgil tries to bite the esteemed priest's head off.
However, he was pulled back like a leashed dog.
Finding the attempt pathetic, the revered priest erupted into hearty laughter, causing his ample belly to undulate with mirth. A golden formation then swiftly appeared before Demon Lord Kirgil when he shaped his hands into a triangle and pointed at his target.
Swish!
Radiating brightly with power, the intricate formation's aspects dance majestically.
Putting his index finger at the center of the formation, the esteemed priest condensed the formation and branded it on Demon Lord Kirgil's forehead, causing an enormously painful sensation beyond imagining.
"KRAARRGHHH!!!" Demon Lord Kirgil roared in agonizing pain.
As the branding process continued, forcing Demon Lord Kirgil's eyes to roll back, the esteemed priest took his time to elucidate, still with his mocking expression. "The Capital Slave Mark will be etched not only onto your flesh but into the very essence of your soul. Its reversal rests solely within the Supreme One's purview. It shall negate any powers within your being when summoned and render you incapable of harming humans, the holy race that sits at the top, as you shouldn't have done from the start until the end of your life"
It was the highest degree of the Slave Mark, reserved only for the worst of Supernaturals.
Even the Origins wouldn't be able to erase this Slave Mark.
The esteemed priest retracted his hand after two minutes, when the branding was finished.
Gasping for air, Demon Lord Kirgil was glad that the pain ceased.
Now, his body hung by the chains as his body was rendered completely powerless, devoid of the demonic energy that once had. Then, the esteemed priest slammed his staff and crouched in front of the weakened Demon Lord Kirgil.
"Additionally, I also add a few other special effects to your Slave Mark" He mused.
In response, Demon Lord Kirgil raised his gaze with knitted eyebrows weakly.
Panting heavily from the pain that was forced onto him, he asked, "What did you do...?"
Upon hearing this, the esteemed priest's countenance twisted into one of grim satisfaction as he eagerly responded, "Now, for whenever this mark is invoked, you shall endure the very agony you now bear, and the more wrath consumes you, the more excruciating it shall be. Moreover, I also added an effect that would grant you an insurmountable urge to slay your own kin the stronger you resist, similar to the urge you have when you want to kill us..."
Demon Lord Kirgil's expression is ashen at the news of this.
Standing up and turning around, the esteemed priest walked away in satisfaction.
"Of course, you may ask why would I do this when the Capital Slave Mark shouldn't be this vicious" the esteemed priest mused, but he then glanced over his shoulder with his piercing eyes, glowing golden. "My answer is... Why not? Hahahaha~"
"Hahahaha~!"
"HAHAHAH~!"
~
A breeze of memory flashed in Demon Lord Kirgil's mind.
Slave Marks were only present to those who had killed an Ancient Human.
Other Supernaturals that don't have their hands stained by the blood of Ancient Humans were spared from this mark. Additionally, those who were branded differed into levels depending on the severity of their crimes.
Compared to the others, Demon Lord Kirgil was at the top, the Capital Slave Mark.
It was even worse when his Slave Mark was tampered with.
Due to the vicious priest, a Magus of the Ancient Human, the Slave Mark branded to his forehead is more lethal than the others. He was utterly terrified remembering his trial in the Ancient Human's territory before being enslaved for thousands of years.
Throughout those years, not once had he experienced the full effect of the Slave Mark.
So the prospect of feeling it right now smeared dread to his heart.
"Make- Make this stop!" Demon Lord Kirgil glared at Flunra, his eyes bulging in fury.
However, Flunra was far from intimidated by such a sight. Instead, he responded with a sardonic grin, thinking to himself, 'This marks a significant breakthrough, I can now activate the Slave Mark. It's a resounding success, and Rex would need to know about this'
Despite being eager to inform Rex, he would need to deal with the matter at hand.
Focusing back on Demon Lord Kirgil, he charged at him again.
Not being in the state of fighting due to the negation effect of the Slave Mark, Demon Lord Kirgil didn't realize that Flunra was already right before him, cloaking his claws with the powerful energy of the Banished Dark Moon.
Splash!
In one quick movement, his claws pierced through Demon Lord Kirgil's chest.
Grunting in pain, the two crashed back and rolled on the ground.
Realizing that he was cheaply attacked by Flunra who was not someone near his level of power, Demon Lord Kirgil recovered and was furious. But in that second, the veins across his body bulged and his eyes widened.
"Kraaghh!" He coughed a disturbing amount of blood, falling to his knees.
Sensing anger that builds up inside of him, the Slave Mark glows golden once again.
The additional effects of the Slave Mark from the esteemed priest were activated, replacing the sensation of anger within Demon Lord Kirgil with excruciating pain that had the power to incapacitate even a Demon Lord, vividly illustrating the agony he endured.
Even Flunra was surprised, it takes a huge amount of pain to put Demon Lord Kirgil down.
Not stopping at that, Flunra sends a barrage of attacks.
Moving like a blur, he traversed the battlefield with lightning-fast steps, attacking Demon Lord Kirgil at the center from all sides and leaving a trail of scratches across his body. Each strike also propelled Demon Lord Kirgil around the battlefield like a ping-pong.
Swoosh!
Appearing behind the propelled Demon Lord Kirgil, Flunra garner his energy to his claws.
Compared to before, the energy he draws is far greater.
Seems like he was about to cast something but frowned and stopped mid-way due to the excessive force it brought to his body. He decided to refrain from doing this attack, and instead do a vertical slash.
In that second, Demon Lord Kirgil turned around but had his neck grasped instantly.
With his claws raised high, Flunra swung down powerfully.
Swoosh!
CRASH!
The ground exploded as Demon Lord Kirgil crashed, producing a vast crater.
His attack slammed Demon Lord Kirgil to the ground again.
Landing outside of the crater, Flunra gazed at the devastation he caused with his arms crossed. He felt pain across his body, but he endured it with a straight face. 'With the Slave Mark activated, he's no match for me'
From the looks of it, there was no need for him to stall for time.
Since the Slave Mark's effect was more powerful than he initially thought, Flunra decided that he would kill Demon Lord Kirgil right now and offer his head to Rex as a surprise when he arrived later.
But as he was about to do that, his attention was drawn to the center of the crater.
Demon Lord Kirgil struggled to stand back up, his body viciously trembling at his attempt to regain his standing. It was obvious that he was on the verge of defeat, as his body wasn't able to recover from Flunra's relentless attacks.
Had he still retained his demonic energy, he would've been fine.
Now that his demonic energy is negated completely, he has no healing powers anymore.
Screeching down into the vast crater, Flunra rubbed the Herald Mark on his arm while he strode towards Demon Lord Kirgil nonchalantly. Despite his body being wounded, it was starting to heal albeit slowly.
It was the end of the fight, and there was nothing that Demon Lord Kirgil could do.
Just as he strode closer to Demon Lord Kirgil, Flunra frowned at the sight of demonic energy starting to seep out once again. 'Hmm...? How did he regain his energy? It shouldn't be happening. Did the Slave Mark wear off?'
Responding to this, Flunra immediately becomes alert.
Getting into his battle stance, he squinted his eyes to search for any cues of an attack.
However, his eyes caught sight of the Slave Mark's golden light glowing slightly brighter, and the energy from it also permeated like a golden mist and devoured the reddish hue of Demon Lord Kirgil's eyes.
A bizarre sight and Flunra didn't know what was happening.
ROAR!!
Suddenly, Demon Lord Kirgil unleashed a powerful roar, shaking the entire place violently.
Flunra became even more alert, and his eyes widened when Demon Lord Kirgil vanished from his spot, dashing with incredible speed. But then, he tilts his head in confusion when Demon Lord Kirgil dashed out of the crater instead of to him.
"What? Is he trying to escape?" Flunra mused with a frown. "Not on my watch!"
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