Prologue (III)

5 whole days had passed since the beginning of the experiment with no major complications. The current gauge had leaped up to a whopping 75% as the Demonic Energy within the capsule slowly condensed itself to become stronger and thicker. The strands of dark purple, yet almost black Demonic Energy could visibly be seen radiating from the man's body. Even his appearance had changed quite a lot to mimic the appearance of a demon; His skin had become two tones paler, his nails sharpened to a point and his canine teeth had also grown by at least a centimeter and a half.

The assistants were all sitting behind their pieces of equipment, carefully and meticulously managing every mole of oxygen that traveled through the breathing tubes, their eyes radiating with excitement because all previous attempts had failed before even reaching a mere 50%, this could be the experiment where they could finally witness a once-in-a-lifetime miracle.

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As days passed, the gauge slowly crawled up, and by the 7th day, the monitor displayed a large 99% on its screen. The Demonic Energy from within the tube seeping out and slowly reached every nook and cranny of the lab, sending chills down the spines of those too weak to handle the pressure it was emitting.

The man's appearance had changed once again. His pale hair extended down below his shoulders, bleached to an almost white shade of blonde, a long black triangle-tipped tail extending out from behind him and an intricate black patterned tattoo etched on his skin from his right arm to his right leg.

The metal double doors behind Rean suddenly swung open as Heliro stepped in, wearing a royal black gown decorated with elegantly placed red lacing and a matching black cape with the Demonic Royalty Insignia etched in the middle with deep crimson threads.

"Your Majesty," They chanted in unison, as the assistants and Rean instantly got down on one knee and waited for their orders,

"Rise."

They rose as a collective.

"How is the experiment going?" Heliro asked, peering over at the giant green tube, his interest peaked.

'It's going extremely well, Your Majesty. The fusion is currently at 99%. Within the next 30 minutes, he will be fully synchronized with your Demonic Energy." Rean replied respectfully.

"Good," Heliro sat himself down on a bench towards the back, observing, "Continue with your work,"

Rean and the assistants instantly dashed back to their workspace, nervously and mindlessly fiddling with their equipment.

As the next 30-minute mark approached, the small dial in the gauge slowly crept its way towards the next mark, finally producing a 100% reading.

A loud hissing sound echoed out as the capsule automatically opened up, draining out the green liquid into a specially made chute below. With nothing suspending the man in the middle of the tube, he instantly began toppling out the capsule, the electrodes ripping from his skin and the breathing tube retracting back up to the roof of the machine. A nearby assistant instantly began rushing over, catching him and gently placing him on the ground with a cloth covering his body.

"Y-Your M-Majesty! It's a success!" Rean exclaimed, acting like a child on Christmas who just received the gift he had asked for all year. The sparkles in his eyes glistening brighter than before.

Heliro slowly rose up from his seat, walking towards the man. The experiment had indeed succeeded; the dense feeling of the Demonic Energy could be felt from miles away.

Heliro grinned, grabbing the man and tossing him up on his shoulder with one hand before heading out of the lab.

"Y-Your Majesty! We still need to complete the check-up and write up a repor-" Rean exclaimed, before stopping in his tracks as the sudden fierce glare he just received from His Majesty vibrated his soul. The piercing red slitted eyes, peering straight into his own, silencing him before he could continue.

"No need. You will never speak of this experiment ever again." Heliro's deep voice resonated throughout the room, his gaze swept across the room, sending a chill up everyone's spine as they immediately remembered how His Majesty had got his hands on their country's Royal Crown. If they didn't obey, they would end up just like the previous Royal Family.

"Yes, Your Majesty," They all replied, getting down on one knee whilst Heliro walked out the door.

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Heliro gently placed the man onto the hay bed within the dungeon cell. Grabbing the chains attached to the adjacent walls, he secured the man's arms and legs before walking out, the metal door slamming and bolting shut behind him.

"Ring it 3 times when he wakes," Heliro said, tossing the cell guard a small silver handbell as he walked away.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The guard replied, straightening his back and presenting a salute.

The treacherous cries from nearby cells haunted the dungeon as bloodied arms reached out from within cell bars in dying hopes of grabbing the attention of anyone naïve enough to show them pity within the torturous home of the demons.

"You swine! How dare you make a ruckus in the presence of His Majesty! Take her out and give her another 300 whips!' The prison warden exclaimed following closely behind Heliro as he took out his sword from within its sheath, instantly slashing off the poor woman's arms then nodding at a nearby guard.

"I apologize for the unsightly behavior today, Your Majesty." The Warden bowed, in hopes to gain the favor of the Emperor.

Heliro simply looked around with an apathetic expression as he headed towards the entrance, ignoring the Warden rambling on about the disgusting nature of their prisoners; clearly trying to suck up to him.

As the duo disappeared from the previous dungeon corridor, the lower ranking guard quickly moved from his position; dragging out the poor, now armless soul from within the cell, leading her towards a flight of stairs. Her unbearable wailing grew louder as the guards gripped her hair and flung her down into the unimaginable hell-like basement. From above, the cries for help and terrifying screams of the prisoner could be heard for a whole 5 minutes before going eerily silent. Shortly after, the guard slowly sauntered back up the stairs, wiping off his bloodied hands onto his uniform,

"The bitch died before I could even reach 200 whips." He complained, walking back to his post.

"Of course she did. With your strength, you could beat 100 humans with a single slap. What did you expect to happen?" His colleagues replied, slapping him on the back,

The sound of laughter filled the narrow corridor as the guards continuously joked with each other while the prisoners shivered in their tiny cells in fear.

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A small rustle echoed from within a particular cell. The guard which stood outside instantly turned around, fumbling his way to the hand-bell within his pocket, nervously ringing it 3 times.

A dark shadow quickly formed behind him as a figure emerged.

"Your Majesty!" The guard saluted after stepping aside to allow Heliro to enter, "He's awake,"

Heliro nodded, unbolting the metal cell door and entering.

The man had sat himself up on the makeshift hay bed, his eyes were misty with no emotions present on his face.

"How are you feeling?" Heliro asked, staying by the door with his arms folded, cautiously assessing the man's condition.

The man remained silent.

'What's your name?' He continued to ask,

Still no reply.

'Is this a side-effect of the seal?' Heliro pondered, glancing over at the man who also seemed to be assessing his situation.

Suddenly, the dark purple demonic aura from the man filled the cell, cloaking the small room in complete darkness. In an instant, the man appeared behind Heliro with two fingers directed at his throat, ready to pierce right through. The metal chains which had restrained him to the wall had been easily snapped in half.

'[Stop]'

The man stopped in his tracks.

'[Fall]'

A thud could be heard from behind him.

A smirk appeared on Heliro's face, "Hoh, it works,"

Heliro turned around to see the man face down on the ground, his arms laid helplessly beside him. He slowly knelt down to see his face closely. The man's eyes had shifted into the same blood-red vertical slitted pupils common for demons to possess. However, the moment the Demonic Energy dissipated, his eyes returned to their original blue human-like eyes.

"Impressive, utilizing Demonic Energy in your first try. I wonder what's your true identity." He pointed a finger on the man's forehead, '[Memory Search]'

He felt his vision warping as he felt himself entering the man's memory, however, no matter how deep he delved, all he could see was the playback of the last couple of minutes. The rest seemed to have been chained behind a thick door, bound by unbreakable chains.

"How interesting." He muttered, exiting the spell.

"Let's try something else," He continued, clicking his finger and causing a bright violet light to resonate from his hand as his palm touched the man's forehead, causing him to flinch as the energy entered his head and his eyes rolled back.

"Let's see...now…" Heliro gave a quick thought, "With the command of the [Mark of Absolute Control] I shall name you, Alastair. You are a loyal demon who serves me, The Demonic Emperor, Heliro. You have pledged your loyalty to me and to me only. You will not lie, doubt nor betray me. And finally, you will remember nothing of this conversation nor anything prior.' He ordered, slowly removing his hand from Alastair's forehead.

The violet light slowly faded as the black seal etched onto Alastair's chest pulsed twice, registering the command, causing him to instantly collapse onto the ground.

Heliro picked up Alastair's body and teleported away, a huge grin appearing from his face. He finally found a solution for his 1000 year problem.