Chapter 16 Help The Demon Queen?

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“You’re able to possess my body and make my soul d-disappear?” Zerha asked nervously. The soul didn’t answer her and suddenly possessed her body.

Huh? Where is this place? Zerha thought. She suddenly appeared in a place where there was only darkness. She tried to wander the area in search of a way out, though it seemed like an endless path.

Fear and panic crept into her heart. Zerha hated darkness, especially when she was alone. It brought back memories of the past. No! No! No! Please...I don't want to remember it anymore...please...Zerha begs no one and holds her head, and suddenly bits of memories from the past flash before her eyes. She started to panic more. She knelt and looked into the darkness with a vacant expression. Tears spilled from her eyes as sobs racked her body.

“Zale...” She uttered.

“G-get me out of here…”

“I-I’m scared…”

“I don’t want to be here...”

“Help me...”

“Zale, where are you? It's...it's not my fault...”

The demon queen suddenly felt pity for Zerha. She didn’t know that she had trauma. Her heart softened, and she brought her soul back to Zerha’s body. The demon queen sighed. “Stop crying. I did not mean to take over your consciousness. I did not know that something happened to you in the past…”

“Z-Zale? H-huh? I-it’s not dark anymore?” Zerha said and wipes her tears.

“That place is a part of your heart, and I am trapped in this place, in this dark place!” The demon queen sighed again. “But it is fine since I am used to it.” Though is her heart covered in blackness? She was puzzled.

Zerha took a deep breath and tried to forget what she suddenly remembered moments ago. “You took over my body and put me in a dark place. Why would you do that?!”

“If you do not want me to take over our body and put your soul in that dark place again, obey me! Help me get my revenge!”

Zerha was still hesitating as to whether she would help the demon queen or not. Though she also considered the fact that if she refused to obey her, the demon queen would take over her body, and on top of it, she would put her soul back in that dark place again. And she didn’t

want to remember her traumatic experiences from the past. She hated it.

“You do not have any other choice.” the Demon Queen said in a serious tone.

“F-fine! So what do I need to do first?” I guess I will just obey her for now but at the same time, I will find a way to get her out of my body, Zerha thought.

“You are a very weak demon. How can we get my revenge if your power is too weak? First, I need you to be strong!”

Did she just call me weak? I have acquired abilities! Zerha thought, and an idea popped into her mind. “Hold on… Do you know where your original body is?” Zerha asked.

Zerha was thinking that if she would help the demon queen find her original body and transfer her soul back there, she would no longer need to help her get her revenge. She remembered from the fantasy novels that she read, that demon queens were powerful. Hence, if they found the demon queen’s original body, she could get her revenge without Zerha’s help.

“Now that I think about it...I forgot where it is located… Why do you ask?”

Zerha slapped her palm on her forehead at these words. How can she forget where her body is? “May I ask first if you’re s-strong?”

“Huh? Did you just ask me, the Demon Queen, if I am strong? Of course, I am! I am not a demon queen for nothing!”

“I-I’m sorry! Then how strong are you?”

“You know nothing, do you? If you want to know how strong I am, then all I can say to you is, I can wipe out hundreds of thousands of humans! Why do you keep asking? Tell me, why are you asking about my body?”

Zerha was shocked upon hearing her response. Is she that strong? I should avoid messing with her, then. “Well, I was thinking… What if I just help you find your body? If we find your body, you can take your revenge by yourself, since you are that powerful, right? Since you think I am so weak, then I don’t need to help you. Maybe I’ll be a mere burden, and you wouldn’t like bringing a burden along with you…”

“Hmm...That makes sense. Where do you think our powers came from?”

“Uh...Our body?” Why did she suddenly ask me that question?

“You are wrong; it came from our souls. We are merely using the body as our vessel to be able to hold our powers. If you force yourself to use your powers without a body, then your soul will explode.”

“E-explode?”

“Ordinary demons who have already died cannot come back to their original body. To live again, they must find another body to possess, but it has to be the body of a human. After the demon consumes the soul of a human, it will immediately take over their consciousness. After they possess it, the human will no longer be human; they will turn into a demon. Their characteristics and appearance will turn into those of a demon."

“What?! They can do that?!"

“There are also cases where ordinary demons choose to fight the soul of a human who is stronger than them. Unfortunately, they always fail, and the demon soul perishes forever as a result. They cannot withstand the soul of a human who is more powerful than them. Therefore, whenever they are looking to possess someone, they should find a human that is not stronger than them, so that they can possess a body and be reborn.”

The way that demons worked made Zerha flabbergasted. She was sickened by their cruelty, that they would consume a human soul just to be alive again.“Can the demon's soul possess a human even though the demon hasn't died yet?"

“I cannot believe I am explaining these things to you, a demon. As a demon, you know nothing! Also, I am a demon queen!” The soul sighed. “Whatever… They can possess it if they want. Demons can leave their bodies anytime and anywhere they want and possess humans that have the potential on becoming powerful after they are possessed."

Zerha did not respond.

“If we ever find my original body, then it would be great. But what if we do not find it? I do not know what those high-ranking demons did to my body. What if they already burned it using their pathetic magic? Just in case, you need to get stronger for your body to be able to handle using my powers. We do not know, what if we encounter a powerful human? Or beasts? You should feel great. Since I can possess your body, you can feel the greatness of the Demon Queen!” She gloated.

“You’re right. Also, maybe your body has already turned to ashes since it’s been 99,999 years since you died---“

“Huh? Do you think that the Great Demon Queen is an ordinary demon? My body will remain as it is because I am powerful!”

“Is that so?” Zerha frowned. Then she remembered something. She hadn’t transformed into her demon form ever since they entered the Haria Kingdom. She was confused about how the demon queen was able to identify her as a demon. Can the demon queen see that I am in human form right now? “Hey, how did you know that I am a demon?”

“After you touched your big horn that day you were in the cave. I am also the one who helped you to kill the serpent in that place. But I passed out afterward and only woke up the day you passed out. Perhaps it has been too long since I used my powers; that is why I passed out. Also, if you were a human, I would not have chosen this weak body to possess.”

“The time I passed out? You mean when I was in the cave?”

“What? Do you pass out as well? You truly cannot handle my power which is why you pass out. What I mean is earlier, I think that was the forbidden forest, you got attacked by a demon, which rendered you unconscious. That was the time I woke up, though I fell asleep again after you woke up. And I woke up again when you started laughing like a witch earlier. You were so loud. The Great Demon Queen was resting!” she explained.

What? She just woke up earlier? Was she unconscious for that long? And if she fell asleep again when we were heading back to Haria, does this mean she doesn’t know that I am now in the Haria Kingdom where humans reside?

“Hold on! Why are you talking so casually? I am the Great Demon Queen. You should speak to me with respect.” The soul sighed. “You know what, you are such a pain. Are you a demon? How could you not know about those things?”

Zerha let out a fake laugh. “Ha-ha. I’m curious. If you saw a human, would you eat their soul? Or do you have any grudge against humans?” Zerha was thinking about the fact that they were in the Haria Kingdom, which was packed with humans. What if the demon queen suddenly possesses my body without telling me and starts attacking the humans?

“What a strange question.” The demon queen started to remember what happened in her past.

“They are our natural enemies. In my past--"

“Wait!! Why are you suddenly telling me your past?!!"

“Just listen! In my past, they joined forces with the Beast Kingdom and made war. We demons did not do anything wrong, but they started a war! And of course, the demons lost the war. I was still a little demon back then when I saw my grandfather return to our home with lots of blood on his body. No more than ten minutes after arriving, he died! My father was the heir to the throne; he was expected to fulfill the responsibility of leading the army. But unfortunately, we failed again. When I became old enough, I led the army, and for the first time, we won!"

“But upon celebrating our victory, ha, I cannot believe that my father and the other demons that I trusted the most would end up betraying me. They gave me to the humans, and those b*st*rds tortured me day and night to the point where I just wanted to die already. But one night, my father came to the place where I was being held. I thought that he came to rescue me from that hell, but it turned out that he would be the one to end my life. I just cannot accept that my father whom I cared about the most was the one who would kill me. I despise them all! It is not only my father and the demons that have betrayed me, I will also take those lives of the humans!”

Zerha gulped upon hearing these words from the demon queen. She’s not joking at all. She’s serious about killing the humans. She also couldn’t help but pity the demon queen after hearing her story. Humans can be cruel sometimes, Zerha thought as she reached a decision. I don’t know if this is a wise choice, but there’s only one thing on my mind. I need to help her. But at the same time, I will protect the humans that need to be protected. I just can’t let the demon queen take away innocent lives.

The only problem was, could she protect the humans? And will the humans she's going to protect will trust her?

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