Damien pov:
I was at the academy—an ordinary place for ordinary people. For me, though, everything here felt painfully easy. After all, I wasn't like them. I was hiding a secret far darker than anyone could imagine. Beneath this human shell, I was the Demon King, ruler of flames and shadows. No one knew. No one could know why a Demon King had descended into the human world, pretending to be one of its fragile inhabitants.
They'd ask, "Why would a villain walk among heroes?" Maybe because in every story, the hero kills the villain—that's how the tale is supposed to end. But not mine. This time, I won't die by some hero's sword. I'll take everything from him—not through power, not through bloodshed—but through the one thing even demons can't resist: love.
That's when I saw her.
A girl walked past with two friends, and the world fell silent. Her eyes were wide, warm brown that shimmered like molten earth. Her hair flowed freely down her back, catching light with every step. A mole near her bottom lip drew my gaze, and I felt something shift inside me—a pull I couldn't name.
"Skyla," someone called. The name fit her like a secret spell.
But then I overheard something that made my blood still. She had no powers. How could someone without power set foot in this academy? Only those with magic are accepted here. Unless... she was hiding something too.
My friends whispered about missions, demonic duties waiting for us, but my mind was lost in her presence. Skyla. Her name kept echoing inside me until it started to feel dangerous. I shouldn't care. I shouldn't even look at her. Yet the more I tried to pull away, the deeper I sank into the thought of her—her smile, her fragility, her fire.
I wanted her.
Not just for now, but forever. To hold, to protect, to make her mine. The same way I once claimed the Demon Kingdom, I wanted to claim her heart.
And as that forbidden desire unfurled within me, a dark thought crossed my mind—
What if she was the hero fated to destroy me?
As night deepened, the academy fell into an uneasy calm, but the darkness outside my window felt alive—thick with whispers and unseen eyes. I wasn't the only shadow lurking tonight.A sudden disturbance tore through the silence. Distant screams echoed from the eastern wing of the academy, where Skyla's dorm stood. The sound wasn't human—something raw, unnatural. My instincts snapped into sharp focus.I moved faster than light, coursing through corridors, a phantom in human flesh. When I reached the scene, it was chaos. Students scattered in panic, terrified and confused. Near Skyla's door, a faint glow flickered—a circle of strange runes burned into the floor, pulsing with dark magic.Skyla stood at the center, trembling but defiant. Her eyes, wide as ever, held something new: terror mixed with an unexpected strength."Who would do this to her?" a voice whispered behind me. My closest friend, sensing the shift in the air, appeared beside me, eyes darting to the runes.I clenched my fists. This attack was no accident. Someone was testing more than her—they were testing me.Suddenly, from the shadows, a figure emerged—a cloaked silhouette radiating power sharp and cold. "Demon King," the voice hissed like poison, "your secret bleeds through these walls. Leave now, or watch everything fall."The game had escalated. Protecting Skyla was no longer desire—it was survival. And I was ready to fight.