"[Seal of Myroldred]," the demon king's empty voice then said.
In that instant, an amulet materialized on his neck, shaped like a mouth.
The flames began to be swallowed by the amulet while the demon king's body joined back together.
"You... why?" Alexander asked, his voice trembling with contained rage. "Why did you have to destroy their souls?"
It wasn't the first time his companions had died. In fact, he had died once himself.
At first he had been scared, had suffered, however Sylvie's ability to resurrect people was very convenient.
So much so that death stopped having as much importance.
However, now death regained its importance.
Now he knew he couldn't get his friends back.
"Isn't it obvious?" the demon king asked. "It wouldn't be convenient if they came back to life, right?"
His voice remained inexpressive, sincere.
What he was saying was obvious, too obvious, but Alexander couldn't accept it, or rather, didn't want to.
"Hahahaha... I suppose you're right," he said with a broken laugh, almost seeming to have lost his sanity. "But I suppose then you won't mind if I destroy yours."
The demon king blinked in confusion, still sunken into his throne.
"Soul?" he wondered. "Do I even have a soul?"
What was a soul in the first place?
It was the immortal substance of a body, the identity of a being, something that granted it the right to be alive.
But him.
He didn't even have a real name... only a purpose.
"I suppose not," Alexander responded, hatred corroding his words. "Very surely no one will mourn your death either. You're just a pathetic being that was born to destroy."
The demon king looked at Alexander with curiosity.
Were his words true?
He didn't know.
When he was born he still remembered those words, that first order: "You are the demon king, you must fight against the hero and let him kill you. Only then can the world be saved."
He didn't know what those words meant, he simply knew he had to obey.
However, for the first time, he was truly reflecting.
Did he have no other option?
Couldn't he choose another path?
"I'll start releasing the seal, you buy time Alexander," Sylvie's hoarse voice then said. She had lost her voice while repeating the resurrection spell over and over.
Alexander nodded. His expression was calmer now, however, there was a gleam of intense rage in his eyes.
"[Armor of Sheoldred]," the demon king said as armor that seemed to be made of insect shell and metal materialized over his body. "[Ebony Sword]"
In his hand materialized a sword made of a material similar to dark-colored wood that smoked with shadows.
"Die!" Alexander exclaimed, lunging at him.
The demon king jumped upward, dodging the hero's first attack which cut the throne in two.
"[Banshee's Bell]," he said while still in the air, as a pale white bell with several disfigured faces embedded in it materialized in his free hand.
Upon ringing it, it emitted a heartbreaking scream that resonated throughout the hall, making the stained glass window explode into thousands of colored pieces.
The demon king continued while descending, launching a downward attack with his sword, which was easily blocked.
"Huh?" the demon king managed to say as the hero pushed him with his sword and launched him against one of the columns.
That bell should have driven the hero mad, or at least unbalanced him a bit.
However, the hero had the [Blessing of Aziayej], a dwarf star that embodied a god of the same name.
This blessing made him immune to mental attacks of that type.
"Is that all? Do you only know how to do cheap tricks?" Alexander shouted as he lunged at the demon king.
The latter, still embedded in the column, extended his limb.
"[Heads of Skaal and Haster]," he said as suddenly his arm deformed and split in two.
From one side emerged the head of a dragon with black scales, and from the other the head of a dragon with gray scales and purple horns.
They were Skaal and Haster, two dragons that had each eaten a demonic core, becoming infernal dragons.
The first spat a black mist, the mist of death, a powerful poison capable of killing cells and causing necrosis with a simple touch.
While the second spat a thick purple miasma.
The two deadly mists joined into one that engulfed Alexander.
But he didn't flinch. Thanks to the [Blessing of Hustel] he was immune to any form of toxin.
The hero pierced through that mist and made an X-shaped cut, severing the heads of both dragons as he continued accelerating toward the demon king.
"Eat this!" the hero exclaimed as he threw a powerful punch at his chest.
The attack was so strong that the [Armor of Sheoldred] shattered.
It had the ability to transfer the power of a blow to all insects within 5km.
The demon king himself had a room full of them to make it more useful.
They were demonic insects with runes inscribed on their shells. They could easily withstand a high-level fireball without even a scratch, and there were millions of them.
However, that blow was strong enough to destroy them all at once, including the armor.
The demon king pierced through the column and slammed into the floor, adopting a liquid consistency.
It was like a puddle of darkness on the ground.
"Pathetic!" the hero affirmed as he propelled himself with his legs off the ceiling, shooting toward him.
From his body began to emerge hundreds of projectiles made from his own body, like black rain.
However, each attack was blocked by the hero who cut each projectile with ease.
The remains of the projectiles joined back together behind the hero, forming a net that trapped Alexander before he could land.
"Heh, still with these pathetic tricks? Fine, I'll finish you in one blow," Alexander then announced, trapped among black cords.
The golden flames of his body turned blue. These were expelled from his body in a wave that incinerated the cords.
Meanwhile, the demon king slid across the floor to reform his body far from Alexander.
"This is the power of a star, try to survive it if you can," he said as the flames that had spread gathered again on his sword's edge.
Alexander raised the sword in the air. All the fire had already gathered there, surrounding the silver blade with blue and silver flames.
Then his sword descended with force, aiming directly at the demon king.
"[Supernova]!"
With a roar, the sword released a powerful blue radiance against the demon king.
In the end, he wouldn't even have to release the seals to defeat him... or so he thought.