The afternoon sun filtered through the trees, casting long shadows over the improvised training field. Lusian swung Dainslein again and again with brutal precision. Each strike made the ground tremble; dark cracks opened beneath his feet while bursts of mana ran across the soil like living veins.
He could feel it.
Umber's power still lingered within him, burning through every muscle, accelerating his reflexes, feeding each movement with monstrous strength. And yet, that power felt more like a wound than a gift.
Another slash.
The air exploded.
Another one.
The sword roared with violence, tearing chunks of earth away.
—You're pushing yourself too hard.
Emily's voice came from between the trees.
Lusian hadn't even heard her approach.
She walked up to him and, before he could react, took his face between her hands. Her fingers wiped away the tears that were silently running down his cheeks.
—Lusian... are you okay?
He closed his eyes for a moment. Emily's warmth held him together just as he felt everything inside him breaking apart.
—No —he admitted, his voice cracking—. I'm not okay.
He clenched his teeth.
—Umber died. Elizabeth suffered because of me. And the more power I gain... the less capable I am of protecting the people I care about.
His gaze drifted into the distance.
—What's the point of all this if I keep failing?
Emily held him firmly.
Emily didn't let go of him.
Instead,
she pulled him a little closer, as if afraid that if she let him go, Lusian would completely fall apart.
Her fingers were still on his face, but they were no longer wiping away tears.
Now they were holding him.
—Look at me, Lusian —she said in a low, firm voice… impossible to ignore.
He hesitated for just a moment.
—You don't have to carry everything alone… I'm here —she repeated, softer now—. You can lean on me.
Silence stretched between them.
Lusian was about to respond when a roar shook the air.
BOOOOM.
A wave of demonic mana exploded from inside the palace. The trees shook and the ground vibrated beneath their feet.
Emily's eyes widened instantly.
—The princess's room!
Another blast shook the entire palace.
And this time, Lusian could feel it.
Something monstrous had just awakened.
The explosion didn't end there.
The impact kept traveling through the palace, tearing through the air like an unstoppable wave.
In the corridors, the heroes were already running before the echo had finished. There was no need for orders. The energy was too clear, too violent. Everyone felt the same thing at the same time: something inside the palace was out of control.
They ran.
They crossed cracked corridors and structures still trembling from the shockwave. The demonic mana in the air grew heavier with every step, as if it were guiding them toward the center of the problem.
Deidara didn't hesitate for a single second and took the lead, heading directly toward the princess's room.
Elizabeth was floating in the center of the room while demonic mana wrapped around her body like an out-of-control storm. Her eyes slowly began to open, and Lusian felt fear tightening his chest.
He didn't know who would be looking through those eyes.
Elizabeth?
Or the Demon Queen using her body?
—Elizabeth... —he whispered, his voice filled with fear—. Please... still be you...
Then Elizabeth opened her eyes completely.
For a few seconds, she only looked around, confused and frightened, as if she didn't understand where she was.
But the moment she saw Deidara, her expression changed instantly.
Fear turned into rage.
—You...!
The explosion of demonic mana shook the entire room.
Several heroes immediately raised their weapons.
Lusian moved forward before anyone could attack.
He walked with steady steps through the bodies and chaotic energy filling the room, never taking his hand off Dainslein. When Elizabeth saw him, her expression shifted again: fury and confusion collided with something deeper—pure relief.
As if she had found her only anchor, she ran toward him and clung to him desperately.
She was crying uncontrollably.
It wasn't strange or inhuman. It was real. Too real.
And that hit Lusian harder than any attack.
The fear he had been holding mixed with overwhelming relief. Every sob from her was proof that she was still there, that they hadn't lost her yet.
The heralds arrived at the edge of the room, alerted by the explosion of mana, but Lusian kept them at a distance with a firm gesture and his sword pointed at them:
—Don't come any closer! —his voice grew lower and more dangerous—. If you touch even a single hair on her… I won't be responsible for what I do to you.
Emily appeared behind him, breathing heavily, and extended a hand over Elizabeth, channeling her light to contain the demonic mana.
Lusian held the princess firmly, feeling the tension of the moment: the line between danger and hope was extremely thin.
The room vibrated with the power building up. The battle hadn't even begun yet, but Lusian already knew one thing: as long as Elizabeth was there, even if she was only a thread of who she used to be, he would never leave her alone.
When everyone withdrew, Lusian stayed beside Elizabeth, watching her cautiously. His heart was pounding; he was far too familiar with cases of demonic possession to trust easily. He knew that when a demon takes over a body, the memories can still remain… even if the person is already gone.
So he didn't trust immediately.
The confirmation didn't come from her voice or her face, but from memories.
Lusian began with simple, almost trivial questions, but designed with a very clear purpose. Intimate things. Moments that couldn't be known without having lived them.
Their first kiss. Their first time. Details that couldn't be deduced, imitated, or faked easily.
Far too personal for any impostor.
Elizabeth answered without hesitation.
There were no doubts in her tone. No strange pauses or gaps in her memories. She described everything as if she were still there, as if she were reliving it while speaking.
She even managed to joke in some answers, and that faint, awkward blush appeared on her face—the exact same one Lusian remembered. That genuine embarrassment that couldn't be fabricated.
That was when Lusian truly began to believe it.
The weight in his chest slowly loosened, but it didn't disappear completely.
Because even when something seems real… in that world, no one could afford to trust completely.
Lusian felt the tension in his chest finally break.
He exhaled deeply.
She wasn't possessed.
It was her.
Emily had stayed nearby the entire time. She listened to every question and every answer in silence. Her expression mixed emotions that were hard to hide: relief for Elizabeth's safety, confusion about the situation… and something else she preferred not to name.
Elizabeth, now calmer, explained what had happened with Deidara. She said he had been the one to restrain her first and that everything had happened too quickly for her to fully understand.
Lusian nodded slowly, processing the information while understanding the gravity of what had just occurred.