Death’s mimic shattered the Crooked Devil’s sword before the demon had a chance for one blow.

  “How in the name of the gods are you my fear?” Carithiel snarled, fleeing to the skies. “I don’t even know what you are! How can I fear what I don’t know!”

  “You’ve forgotten what fear is, but your soul hasn’t,” the mimic snarled. “You are not in control. My mind, body, and soul cannot be separated even in the Dark Void. I am Death. I know what I am. I will never fight myself.”

  The mimic cast the demon down from the abyssal sky of the Dark Void with a thick spear that rained down above him. He fell quick, like a bird struck by a marksman’s arrow.

  Carithiel ripped the dark spear out and aimed for Death’s heart. Using his sword, he deflected it effortlessly.

  “This is impossible!” Carithiel grunted. “Never have I seen someone in line with the Dark Void, it’s not possible!”

  “Give him a sword,” Death snarled at the mimic. “I don’t kill wounded dogs.”

  “Do not give me commands,” the mimic scoffed. “I am a conqueror. I do not take orders from any, not even the true form of myself.”

  A shadowy sword formed in Carithiel’s hand. He gave a smug chuckle, spreading his wings and taking a two-handed grip on his new weapon.

  “You fool,” he said. “A sword is my specialty! Playing by the rules will get you nowhere!”

  The mimic struck first with a precise swing of the scythe. The demon parried it, sparks of black flying as dark met dark. He slapped the mimic away with the wing and then met Death’s blows. They fought for a while with no extremely blows landed, only a few nicked knuckles, deep cuts on the shoulders, and bruises from pommel strikes the temple.

  The Dark Void began to rumble again, a Sentinel tower burst through the darkness, aflame with red, blaring the sound of a deep war-horn. The city of Vatanil manifested itself as their battlefield.

  This means that one of us is scared of that city… it can’t be me, Death thought. I see his eyes wary of the Sentinels. Are they truly that daunting?

  “Scared of a couple of structures?” Death taunted. “As if my opinion of you couldn’t get any lesser.”

  “Only a fool neglects the strength of the Sentinels.” He flicked his wrist and landed a quick burst of fire to Death’s face, scorching his face and blinding his left eye.

  Death raised the sword as he saw Deilon once do, then slammed sent an infernal crack at Carithiel through the manifested floor of the city. It caught the demon’s ankle and snapped it in two.

  “Sword, do not obey that pretender!” Carithiel yelled. “I know you sense me, but I don’t wield you! Deny his will!”

  Speaking to a sword? Death thought. How humorous.

  Carithiel ignored his snapped bone and took flight, a single flap of his wings sent him straight for Death like an arrow.

  The mimic burst through a wall and cut off Carithiel’s wing with the scythe. Death summoned his Choking Chain and threw it into the path of the demon’s crash, breaking his jaw.

  Death got a sudden scent of lavender and roses. He felt a hand brush against his ear, seeing the woman from his memories tease him from an alley, waving shyly.

  That woman again… how can I possibly be in fear of a woman so small? He took a step towards and she ran away giggling, a hand pressed against her backside, bidding him to follow with a wave. That mimic is keeping that devil busy for now… do I have to time to chase? Why would I even chase? He felt his heart beating fast and faster. I’m supposed to be a conqueror. I’m supposed to want to fight this demon and kill him… but I can’t shake the urges to follow.

  Death followed the woman, sheathing his sword. The Dark Void felt homely, inviting—he didn’t want to leave, he didn’t want to end the fight with Carithiel, as that would mean saying goodbye to the one place he’s felt at peace.

  I could find a way to restrain the demon, stay here for a while, he thought. That woman’s smile relaxes me the same way Snow does when she puts her hands on me in my moments of weakness. Is this place dulling my mind? No. It’s not. This is something different.

  He followed her through alleys, swapping from walking to a light jog, then a full sprint as she kept her distance, all while giving him laughing glances to ensure he’d followed her.

  She stopped at a random door, waiting for Death. Weirdly, he felt like he hadn’t run at all.

  “Who are you?” he asked her. “Why are you plaguing all of my memories? Who are you to me?”

  “Plaguing? That’s not very nice.” She opened the door and went inside. Shadows danced in circles, casting white glows on the walls. She took his hand and guided him through them, bringing him to a painting of himself sitting on the edge of a cliff.

  “Why are you showing me this?” Death asked.

  “Not the finest works I’ve seen,” she said, pointing at the empty space next to him. “Maybe I should get a brush and add Snow, or maybe even that little demon girl.”

  “I asked who you are.” Death grabbed her shoulder. “I’ve seen you in the Void; I’ve seen you in my dreams; now you’re here. Who are you, what do you want from me?”

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  “I can only answer what you remember,” she squeaked. “Your mind created me from what it remembers of me.”

  “So why do I fear you?”

  “I’m not a fear,” she said softly. “This place torments those that fear the Dark Void. You are not scared of this place. It welcomes you. It just… the struggles of a mind can bleed into fondness.”

  Death looked at the dancing shadows and felt calm. The deep pit constantly in his stomach had gone, leaving him feeling calm.

  I feel… happy, Death thought. This woman says this is not a fear, but am I supposed to believe her? Am I afraid of… happiness?”

  The mimic brought his battle to Death, ripping off the roof and throwing the wingless Carithiel into the woman, crushing her into a broken pile of flesh which then turned to black sludge.

  Desperate to win, Carithiel managed to kill the mimic by shoving the sword into its belly and sliced out through the shoulder.

  “Bastard,” the devil mumbled. “Thought you could run off? This place has tendencies to bring everyone together.”

  Death met Carithiel’s sword without turning his head to look. He stared at the sludge decaying and felt a wave of anger.

  He cut off Carithiel’s hand and disarmed of him of his sword, then beat him violently until the demon feigned defeat by falling to his knees with a puppy-like whimper.

  “Let me out of this place,” Death ordered. “I’m going to cut your head off in the real arena.”

  Carithiel entered a cackle, summoning fire to both hands. Before the flames could release, black tentacles seized his wrists and neck, dragging him outside and ripping off his arms.

  Death sauntered out into the street with a raised arm. The Dark Void heeded his requests and brought Carithiel to his knees.

  “You weren’t a very strong opponent,” he scoffed. “You must have climbed your way up to a high rank by allowing the Dark Void to kill your opponents for you.”

  “This is impossible,” Carithiel claimed. “I have never—”

  “You said that already,” Death sighed. One of the tentacles came close to Death’s face, greeting him. “I see now what I did not see to start with… I was fighting your fears, not mine, my mind tried to soothe me, but you ruined that.”

  “What in the name of the gods are you on about?”

  My connection to this place must’ve been severed when my powers were stolen by the scarred man, Death thought. “I’m not entirely sure myself,” he admitted. “I feel it in my soul… the Dark Void likes me. I must know, is your connection to this place a part of your gifts?”

  “Fuck you.”

  “I’ll take that as a no. Where do you get it from? Is the power you use on your sword even yours?”

  “I said fuck you.”

  Death removed Carithiel’s head with a clean blow from his sword. The arena returned, both challengers at their original place.

  Carithiel’s body curled in pain, black smoke leaking from his mouth as he entered an inescapable paralysis. No time passed for those that watched, an eruption of confused mumbles came from all directions.

  I really thought this devil was going to be strong. I thought if I killed him and drained his powers, I’d get something of use. This was not a fight worthy of my time.

  “Carithiel has been caught cheating!” the arena’s announcer said. “Look at that smoke! The Crooked Devil has been caught using the powers of the Dark Void! By the ancient laws, the human may draw upon the power of his sponsor through the power of the Elder Devil!”

  The crowed booed. The Elder Devil prepared to give the powers of Ashlereina to Death.

  “The human caught out the Crooked Devil?” Agadeira said. “I did not think he had it in him.”

  “My husband always wins!” Snow boasted. “Give me a knife, I’m taking your horns!”

  Agadeira stormed out of the stall.

  “I’m impressed,” Vuna said. “But the battle isn’t over.”

  “Yes, it is,” Ash whispered. “The Elder Devil should’ve given my strength to Death by now… his advisors have a better view of it than we do. Carithiel isn’t moving.”

  Death paced in a circle around him. “Can you even hear any of my words? Ah, your eyes are following me, good. Very good. That Elder Devil up there said you didn’t fight at the Battle of Human Hell. It’s obvious why you never did. I think you were cast out by the angels because of your weakness… whoever was foolish enough to give you the powers you claim yours is a fool. I would guess it was the Elder Devil himself, Ashlereina said he can bestow his own powers onto others. You’re a leech.”

  “Kill him!” he heard Vera and Snow scream. “Cut off his head!”

  The spectator’s erupted into the same chant. The Elder Devil sat back in his chair, a nod of approval from Death choosing not to accept the strength of his sponsor.

  “Put a coward in godsteel plating and they are still just a coward in armour. That’s what you are. You faked your way to a title,” said Death. “I’ve already shown you how I plan to kill you.”

  He cut Carithiel’s head off with one swing then threw his sword down. He raised his arms, gathering cheers.

  “The human has killed Carithiel!” the announcer roared. “The Crooked Devil has fallen!”

  The jester demons whipped out their violins and performed a discordant tune of despair and agony. Carithiel’s body shook without a head, hands reaching for ears that weren’t there, then died.

  Death didn’t feel any stronger.

  “The human did well,” the Elder Devil said to his advisors. “I want Carithiel’s corpse paraded in the arena for a long time. I knew he did something in this arena… I never suspected he was using my own power to benefit himself.”

  “This is unprecedented!” the announcer said. “Human. I have given your voice to the arena. What do you have to say?”

  Hm… what do I have to say?

  Death took a deep breath. “Among you hides a succubus!” he shouted. His words brought confusion. “One of you in the crowd must know where she is! So, I will make a promise to you in exchange for your help when I fulfil my end of my bargain. I will kill the Kan family!”

  The crowd erupted into support of Death’s claim.

  “I will burn their blood into ashes! I will march upon their nation without mercy and kill every last one of them! If I do this, you will give me this succubus! And if you don’t, I will kill every last one of you! So come, will you join me against the Kans when the time calls for it?”

  Every present cambion gave their support.

  “Are we sure he’s a human?” Moleira joked. “I’ve never seen a human inspire demons this way.”

  “He’s a conqueror,” Vera said. “He’s gonna fuck those Kans up when he’s done with Valan.”

  Snow leaned on the railing and swooned over Death, falling more in love with him.

  I feel tired, Death thought. So very tired.

  He fell limp in the arena, falling into a deep slumber as the rest of the cambions chanted his name.