After Pestilence finished her long-winded explanation, Death chuckled as he rose from the broken pillar, his body dissolving into smoke before stitching itself back into human form. The ruby pendant sank deep into his chest and vanished beneath his skin.
"Sister, you are quite the comedian, I'll give you that."
Concerned, Pestilence rose from the broken pillar, her clouded eyes locked on him.
"Brother, this is no laughing matter. Azazel's seal was meant to last five hundred years, but Lucifer, the Demon of Pride, shattered it fifty years too soon. Since then, Azazel has walked free in Hell alongside the Seven Demons of Sin, plotting their revenge against you. I couldn't stand by and watch everything rot away, I had to act immediately."
Sasaki summoned his regular scythe and glanced back at his sister, a worried look crossing his face.
"So, it's true then, what Beelzebub said... Damn it, I really thought that was just a lie to provoke me."
Pestilence tilted her head, a puzzled look crossing her face.
"You met Beelzebub the Demon of Gluttony? Is this why my sacred altar looks like a battlefield?"
Sasaki grinned, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yeah, I ran into him. He tried dragging me back to Purgatory… so, you know, things got a little hectic."
Pestilence laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Ah, is that so? And where is he now? You didn't actually kill him, did you? That would be reckless, brother. Using your death scythe on Beelzebub would practically announce to the unseen realm that you're walking the earth agai—"
Her laughter faded as her smile thinned, eyes narrowing.
"You didn't… actually kill him, right? Brother?"
Sasaki's eyes went wide as it hit him.
"Eh…"
Pestilence blinked, then closed her eyes and smiled, shoulders trembling as she tried not to laugh.
"Oh… you actually killed him."
She dragged a hand down her face, shaking her head as she smiled.
"Now Beelzebub's gone for good. The Seven Demons of Sin will know it was you. Only Death can erase both body and soul and you just proved you're definitely in the mortal realm. You've made quite the mess, brother. Tell me, how do you plan to crawl out of it now?"
Sasaki shaked his head as he got back his focus.
"Enough. It will not matter. By the time they arrive here, it will be too late. You've already set my plan in motion and now all that's left for me is to trigger it when I see fit."
Pestilence scoffed at his words.
"And how does Mazikeen feel about this? Has she not formed a close bond with Ayano? She may not be willing to carry out such an act anymore."
He laughed, covering his face with his hand.
"She doesn't go by Mazikeen anymore. Maybe she did under Lucifer, but with me, she goes by Sayuri Kanzaki."
Sasaki's hand fell from his face, his smile fading.
"And if she wants to return to Hell, back to Lucifer Morningstar, she'll have to fulfill the contract she signed in blood."
He extended his hand toward her.
"Now, before I go, give me my ring back. I need it now more than ever."
She pointed toward the mouth of the cave.
"I left it inside the Guardian's eye. But Brother, Is that really all you came here for?"
Without answering, he sprinted forward, slashing the barrier ten times in a blur before slipping through it. He then looked back one last time as Pestilence was already fading, her form dissolving into the circular altar without a word.
While marching within the cave, a thought passed by him.
The veil between the unseen realm and the mortal realm had thinned to the point where powerful demons, once held back by its weight, were now slipping through with ease. Each disappearance fed the growing cracks, weakening the divide until eventually the spawns of Hell could pass through it.
Once outside the cave, a thunderous crash echoed through the forest. Trees split and toppled as flames tore across the clearing. Sasaki's eyes widened at the sight of the destruction. He ran at full speed, weaving through burning trunks, with every step pushing him closer to the heart of the destruction.
***
Sorcerer King Daigo stood drenched in his own blood, cuts lining his muscular body. He breathed hard, sweat running down his face. His flaming seven-toothed sword was buried in the ground, and he leaned on it keeping himself upright.
When he lifted his head, he saw Sasaki running towards him, stopping just a few feet away. There was a sharp concerned look in his eyes, the kind that cut deeper than any wound.
"Who did this to you? It couldn't have been just anyone. Tell me!"
Sorcerer King Daigo laid on the grass, the forest around them burning in waves of orange light. Sasaki knelt beside him, the heat rippling against his suit.
Daigo's breath hitched as he coughed up blood, his half-lidded eyes dimming, his body trembling from exhaustion.
"I…i was attacked."
Sasaki's eyes burned with fury, his hands tightening into fists.
"By who!!"
After a few seconds, the Sorcerer King reached out and grabbed Sasaki's black tie, pulling him closer.
"A demon… a demon named Azazel. They wanted…"
He broke into a violent cough, blood spilling from his mouth and splattering across Sasaki's suit, yet he forced the words out through the pain.
"They demanded to know your whereabouts. I kept...my silence, and this was the result."
He let out a weak, rasping chuckle.
"Hah… even then, you should have seen it... I... I made them bleed at the very least. Their power…it reminded me of you, Death. The gap between that demon and myself was staggering, yet somehow I still drew blood. Something I doubt I could've done… if my opponent had been you."
Sasaki's eyes widened at the revelation. Azazel had made it into the mortal realm, slipping through the veil. And now, the Sorcerer King had met the one demon who wanted him dead for over centuries, the very one he had condemned to imprisonment long ago.
To make matters worse, she had made her presence known through a cruel joke, leaving his old friend broken and bleeding from their fight.
Sorcerer King Daigo grabbed Sasaki's black tie with a firm grip, then reached into his pocket pulling out the yellow sapphire crystal.
"I… I was told by some old hag from the village…that this was meant for you. She said it's the only thing that can fight back…against those trying to end the world. So here… take it. I kept...it safe for you."
The yellow crystal rested in the Sorcerer King's hand, its surface dim under the firelight.
"Forget it. You're bleeding out. Stop talking or you'll definitely won't make it. Take my hand, I'm getting you to the mansion."
Sasaki reached out, covering the crystal with his palm, his grip firm over the old man's trembling fingers. However, The Sorcerer King slapped his hand aside and turned his body to the left, revealing a deep hole torn through his liver. He managed a faint, prideful smile as he said,
"I'm… already dea… Just…promise me this...protect my daughter… would you, old frien—"
He coughed again, the sound harsh and wet, cutting the words from his throat.
Then, in that same second Sorcerer King Daigo fell silent. The rise and fall of his chest stilled, and the weight of his final breath lingered in the air like a dying flame. For a moment, even the raging fire seemed to slow, as if bowing in respect. His eyes, once fierce and defiant, dimmed into lifeless calm.
Sorcerer King Daigo was gone.
Rising to his feet, Sasaki retrieved the seven-toothed sword from where it lay, securing it at his side before lifting Daigo's body into his arms.His expression stayed unreadable, yet something inside him cracked, almost like glass under pressure.
He carried Daigo through the burning forest until he found a patch of grass untouched by flames. Without a word, he manifested his scythe and drove it into the soil and began to dig. Each strike of the blade grew harsher and harsher with every swing. Blood ran from his bitten lip, but he didn't stop swinging. Not even once.
After some time, he finally dug a grave large enough for Sorcerer King Daigo to rest. He lowered his body gently and covered it with soil until the grave was filled to the top. When it was done, he planted the seven-toothed sword into the earth like a tombstone, then sat beside it, his fists clenched against his thighs.
He told himself these feelings weren't his, that they belonged to the deceased human he inhabited, and that in his true form none of this would have mattered anyway. Yet even with that knowledge, the weight in his chest refused to fade. These human emotions, fragile and fleeting, had taken root all the same.
That was when he heard the snap of a twig and turned toward the sound. Out from the shadows came a pack of black wolves, their jaws slick with saliva as they crept forward, driven by hunger and ready to devour not only him but the Sorcerer King's corpse as well.
He rose from the ground, his eyes fixed on the yellow sapphire crystal in his hand. Without hesitation, he crushed it in his palm, the shards driving deep into his flesh. Blood streamed down his fingers as the wolves howled and ran towards him.
However, within the shattered sapphire crystal was a black ring. He slipped it onto his middle finger, and immediately a dark aura began to rise from his body, spreading in rippling waves that rolled across the forest and toward the advancing wolves.
The wolves lunged at him with full force, but the dark miasma swept through them before they could reach him. Their flesh peeled away in an instant, leaving only bone and ash scattered across the ground.
Sasaki's body remained unchanged, but his strength surged, as fragments of his true power awakened within him. He summoned both of his Death Scythes and leapt into the air, hooking them into the sky one after the other, moving as if climbing invisible footholds. Each swing pulled him forward, the blades propelling him through the burning horizon towards the Sorcerer Mansion.
"Enjoy your freedom while it lasts, Azazel. I'm coming for you!"