LIFE OF THE DEMON OF TYRANNY

The man walks down the busy streets of PATA as his sword and gun dematerialize, leaving specs of Kantar behind. He walks down the streets for a while, then takes a turn into an abandoned street, where he meets up with a shadowy figure.

The shadowy figure wore a long, black, draped coat, black clothes, a mask that looked like that of a doctor, and a top hat. He stood in the darkest corners of the street as he said in an ominous voice, "Did you complete your mission?"

The man responds with a slight smirk as he brings out his phone and shows the shadowy figure an image of two demon carcasses. "Those were the last ones. Now pay up. I don't have all day."

Seeing all the evidence he needs, the shadowy figure snaps his fingers. A puff of black smoke appears over the man's outstretched hand as a sack of money materializes from it. The man grins as he counts it but immediately frowns.

"The money isn't complete, jackass," he says.

The shadowy figure, who had already turned to leave, turns back to face the man. He speaks in the same ominous voice, now completely devoid of emotion. "The fifty million Riis was contingent on one of the demons you killed possessing any of the flame sword fragments. Since they didn't, I'll leave you with just two hundred thousand Riis."

"You never mentioned that in the agreement," the man yells. In the blink of an eye, he covers the distance between himself and the shadowy figure, both eyes glowing yellow as he threatens, "Either you give me my money, or you die a horrible death. I'll even sell your organs."

The shadowy figure doesn't seem the least bit threatened. "Think wisely about your next choice, Leon," he says in his cold, detached voice. "One more foolish statement and you won't live to see tomorrow."

Leon doesn't back down or flinch. Instead, he materializes a Desert Eagle out of thin air and shoots at the mysterious figure's head at point-blank range. The figure moves back a few inches as blood gushes from his forehead. The blood seeps through the mask and down his shoulder, but he doesn't seem to pay the wound any attention.

"Let it be in the books—I warned you," the figure says. He then moves faster than the speed of light, grabs Leon's head, and smashes him into a nearby wall with enough force that the structure breaks into pieces.

Leon responds by materializing his sword and, with a quick slash, strikes the figure's hand. Blood gushes from the arm where the sword made a deep cut. The figure leaps away, holding his wounded arm and staring at Leon. He wipes the mixture of the mysterious person's blood and his own blood from his face, smirking.

"I was aiming for your entire arm, but you dodged at the last second, escaping with only a deep wound," Leon says. "You're fast. I'll give you that."

With that, he jumps and kicks against the air as if it were a solid surface. A red glow emerges from the empty space, and with insane speed, he propels himself toward the mysterious man, preparing to cut off his head. But before he can, the mysterious man dodges at the last second.

Not wanting to give the mysterious man any time to recuperate, Leon coats his blade in Kantar and swings hard. A crimson Kantar crescent emerges from the blade and hurls toward the man with intense speed. But to Leon's surprise, the man doesn't move.

Instead, the man takes a deep breath. When he exhales, cold air floods out, and everything within twenty centimeters of him turns to ice, including the crescent energy wave. He then creates icicle projectiles from the air and shoots them toward Leon, all of them hurtling at speeds that could break the sound barrier.

Leon uses his blade to deflect each and every one of the icicle projectiles with ease. He then creates a missile from thin air and shoots it at the man. It explodes at point-blank range, and when the smoke clears, Leon sees the carcass of the mysterious figure.

"That serves you right," he says with a grin. But before he can salvage his victory, he feels an icicle knife pierce his neck. The mysterious man's voice echoes in his ear: "You're strong. What else was I to expect from the demon of tyranny?"

Leon stares at the carcass, and everything clicks into place as he sees it turn to Kantar. "A Kantar double," he says to himself. "I should've guessed." He then grins at the man. "Well, I guess you're more cunning than I thought. Either way, playtime is over."

His eyes glow yellow, and red lightning surrounds his body, electrocuting the man and forcing him to back away. Leon then turns to face the man directly, his body surrounded in lightning and a smile on his face. He raises his hands to the sky, shooting Kantar into the clouds.

The man stares at the cloud, not knowing what to expect. But before he can think or react, rods made of Kantar stab him all over his body, covering him in holes. Leon snickers to himself.

"Who says I can't be cunning? That lightning was just a light show to divert your powers from what I was actually planning."

Leon draws his sword and stabs through the heart of the man. "Maybe in the next life, you'll remember not to mess with me," he says.

After confirming the man is dead, Leon slips into his worst-case scenario mindset. "Well, I pierced his heart, so I can no longer sell it," he says to himself. "But I made sure not to injure any other organs badly, so I can still make some money out of that."

He pulls out his phone and dials a number as he sits on one of the emergency staircases. The phone rings for a while before the person picks up. A female's voice can be heard on the other end.

"Leon, I'm busy right now, so whatever you want to say, say it fast."

Hearing this, Leon speaks in an oddly serious voice. "I've found a new potential donor. I need you to check the body out. We have a woman on the other end."

There's a pause on the other line. When she speaks again, her voice is hushed. "I'll be there in twenty minutes. Just send me the location."

Leon gives a faint smile and ends the call, using his GPS app to send his exact location to her. "She's something else. Such a good person, dropping everything for me like that," he says to himself.

He waits for a while, and exactly twenty minutes later, a red-headed woman with shoulder-length hair, emerald green eyes, and a slim, tall physique enters the alley. She wears a lab coat over a black cordurouy vest and a red blouse. She scans the alleyway, and when her eyes land on Leon, she strides toward him, her heels clicking against the damp pavement.

She bends to meet his eye level. "Hey Leon, you okay? You're looking kind of pale."

Leon gives a grunt as he stares up at her. His sclera is thick and bloodshot, while his retina glows a very strong yellow. Page freaks out immediately.

"Oh my god, oh my god!" She reaches for her purse and digs out a strange jelly capsule, dragging it to Leon's mouth. "Leon, eat this."

Leon obediently swallows the drug. Slowly, his eyes return to normal, and his breathing, which had been jagged, gradually normalizes. He looks at Page with a kind smile.

"Thanks, I owe you one." He gets up from the emergency staircase, his face showing visible signs of fatigue. Page sees this and folds her arms crossly.

"I thought we agreed on not using any devil powers."

Seeing Page angry, Leon chuckles, trying to downplay the severity. "I only used a glimpse of it. Nothing serious."

Page's voice raises. "Don't you understand that using even a bit of your devil powers triggers the curse? Your body is hanging on by a thread. I don't know why you agreed to continue with this celestial curse, knowing full well the curse that plagued him would transfer to you. To make it worse, you never even told the others why you killed him. Until now, almost two decades later, they still don't even know that Atreus requested that you kill him."

Leon sighs when Page finishes venting and sits down on the steps again. "I did what I had to do. The curse would have turned Atreus into a demon, and it would be nearly impossible to stop a celestial if he turned into one—especially one you have a bond to."

He pauses, collecting his thoughts. "That's why I killed him and inherited his curse. I'm weaker than Atreus, so when I turn, I won't be as much of a threat as he would have been. By making the others believe I killed him out of selfish intent, they won't hesitate to kill me when the time comes. They won't be affected by the curse because of their Kantar mastery. The curse is only strong enough to affect those with mid to slightly high-level Kantar mastery. As for Shu and the others, they've already unlocked their Kantar manifestations—something only Kantar users with complete mastery over their Kantar can achieve."

Tears come down from Page's eyes as she hears Leon's reasons for keeping the truth hidden. She hits his chest, but not with any force. Her voice is broken.

"Dumb brother, do you think your big sister will just let you become a demon? Never. I've already found a way to slow down the process. Just hang on a little longer, and I'll be able to find a thorough way to stabilize you. If possible, I might even give you the ability to use the demonic powers that come with the curse without any drawback—like a second-generation demon hybrid."

Leon holds his sister close and comforts her. "I believe in you, sis. I know you'll find a way to cure me. I was just speaking about worst-case scenarios. Hopefully, we won't have to come to that."

He then gives a smile. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I got a new body you can use as a potential donor."

He points at the body of the man he fought earlier. Page's interest is piqued. She wipes her tears and moves to the body to observe it. She squats beside it and opens a black hand bag, bringing out various small pieces of equipment.

After running a small test on the body, she gives a grin. "Yup, his organs are good. We can sell this for at least ten trillion Riis. More than enough money to fund the next phase of my experiments to stabilize you."

Barely able to contain her excitement, Page coats the body in her Kantar and activates her Kantar technique, causing the body to shrink to the size of an action figure. She places it in a bag and puts it in her black bag.

She turns toward Leon. "With that drug I gave you, you should be stable for about three weeks. But please, I beg of you, try as much as possible not to use demon-related powers. They strengthen the curse and weaken the effects of the drug. I'm going back to work. I'll head home later in the evening. See you then."

Page looks at Leon one more time, as if inspecting to see that he's actually okay, before turning around and leaving.

After ensuring Page has gone far enough, Leon stands up and speaks to what seems like nobody. "You can come out now. I know you've been watching me."

A faint purple light glows right in front of him as a figure appears. It's Hannah. She asks casually, "How did you know?"

Leon shrugs. "I just had a hunch. Wasn't really sure if there was anyone there." He pauses. "How long have you been watching exactly?"

"Since your fight with your client," Hannah answers.

Leon stares at the ground. "Before you ask—yes, what I said about your brother is true."

Hannah doesn't look shocked. She simply gives a faint smile. "I already know that. Normally, all the celestials would have been after you for killing one of their own, but Atreus already gave us the breakdown and made us hide the information from Shu and the others to make sure what needs to happen happens."

Leon stares at Hannah in shock. She continues, ignoring his expression. "Leon, you're not going to die—at least not from the curse. The reason Atreus asked you specifically to kill him was because the celestial of time had already seen your future. He saw what would happen if Atreus gave you the curse, and you will survive. For the sake of not altering events too much, that's all the celestial of time permitted me to say regarding your curse."

Leon feels a huge weight lift from his shoulders. He grins. "Thanks, Hannah. You just made my day."

Hannah gives a faint smile. "Keep that knowledge to yourself, though. For your own sake."

Leon nods, understanding what she means. "So is that the reason you came all the way here? To tell me I'll survive?"

Hannah's face gets completely serious. "Sadly, no. I came here to ask for your help. It's Hanz—the version that exists in this time. He's been captured by the demon lords, and we need your help to get him back."

She pauses. "Keep in mind that these events weren't seen as part of your future, so I understand if you decide to decline. We plan to go to the demon realm a day before the full moon—that's the period when all the barriers between the three realms are at their weakest, making it easier to create and regulate a portal between realms. You can meet up with us during that time if you agree to go with us. If you don't, just keep on living your normal life. I'll understand, even though I don't know what your sister would do if she lost you, her only family."

With that, Hannah teleports away, leaving Leon to process everything he's been told and make his decision.

Will he decide to help the others or not?