052 LUSIFAR AND ROSA

052 LUSIFAR AND ROSA

The hellhounds froze mid-attack, their fierce eyes glazed over as twisted thorns emerged from their bodies, retracting and merging back into the rose scepter. One by one, the hellhounds collapsed, their forms shifting back into harmless unicorns, helpless without their demonic thorns.

Leo hacked the magic in Madame La Rosa's scepter to use its magic.

"This can't be! How can you wield my scepter's magic?" Madame la Rosa screamed, her voice filled with disbelief.

But that wasn't the worst of her worry.

The blood spilled from the fallen mercenary mages slithered across the ground, converging in a dark, rippling pool around Leo before being drawn into his aura, each drop intensifying the darkness that surrounded him.

Then, in an instant, the blood scattered across the ashen battlefield surged toward him, gaining speed as it was pulled into his body. He absorbed it willingly, the surge of raw power transforming him, cloaking his form in a dense, demonic aura.

Leo transformed into the demon, Lusifar.

"You,… my master. You have returned", Madame la Rosa said suddenly to their shock and horror.

Lusifar was really Madame la Rosa's master.

----

[Many years ago in the Realm of Lust]

"I will destroy every last one of you!" Lusifar roared, summoning the remnants of his dark magic. A vortex of energy spiraled around him, drawing in all the lust accumulated within the realm, channeling it into his body.

"This is bad," King Amara shouted, realizing the horror unfolding before them. "He's channeling everything for a final realm implosion!"

"We have to kill him now!" a female warrior cried out, brandishing her weapon, but it was already too late.

The Realm of Lust began to collapse, its energy unstable and uncontrollable.

King Amara turned to the Battle Angel by his side, his eyes filled with sorrow. "This realm will kill us all… but I can save you, my love, Lorelei."

In a desperate final act, King Amara cast a spell, shielding the Battle Angel just as the realm imploded, consuming everything within it. Only the Battle Angel Lorelei was saved that day sent away by a rift in magic.

The explosion left the realm in ruins, an empty and desolate wasteland—nothing but ashes and silence for years to come.

Many years later, a woman fleeing from a brothel stumbled upon the entrance to this forsaken realm. She was desperate, lost, and exhausted. Drawn to the strange ruins, she ventured inside, finding temporary safety from her pursuers.

As she explored the eerie landscape, a voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

"Rosa… Rosa, you are finally here?"

Startled, Rosa looked around, but there was no one in sight. "Who… who are you? And how do you know my name?"

The voice replied softly, almost as if it were coming from within her own thoughts. "I have been watching you for some time. I was there when they dragged you into the brothel… and when you endured your first night of violation. I have been with you all along."

"Then why didn't you help me?" Rosa demanded, pain and anger lacing her words.

"I lacked the power then," the voice replied, calm yet distant. "But now I have just enough to bring you here… to offer you a purpose."

"What is it you want from me?" she asked, both wary and intrigued.

"I want you to rule this realm," the voice answered, resonating with a dark promise. "And to await my resurrection."

Rosa hesitated, yet a strange feeling began to stir within her—a hunger, a sense of possibility. "I'll do it," she said at last, "but you must teach me how."

The voice chuckled softly. "I will teach you all you need to know. There are beings in this world who can serve us well. Their minds may be simple, but their essence is potent. You must capture them, extract their essences, and offer them as tribute to me."

Rosa shivered but held her ground. "I don't have that kind of strength—I'm just a girl."

"Not anymore," the voice said, its tone growing colder.

"You will have power, and I will guide you to others who will help. You will turn them into my offerings… and they will be known as the Roses."

-----

Rosa approached a girl on the street.

The young woman was clad in tattered clothes that barely covered her, her skin smeared with dirt and grime. But Rosa's gaze wasn't on her disheveled appearance.

She was focused on the tattoo etched on the girl's shoulder—a delicate rose.

"Madam, can you spare a coin?" the girl pleaded, her voice thin and weary.

Rosa smiled softly. "Oh, my dear, I can offer you far more than a coin. I can give you a chance to claim vengeance against the world that cast you aside. Would you accept a new fate?"

The girl looked up, her eyes filled with a mixture of hunger and desperation.

"I'll accept… if you give me something to eat," she replied, wiping her hands on her ragged clothes and extending them, palms up, waiting for a gift.

Rosa noted the blue stains on her hands, perhaps from ink or paint spilled on the street. She reached out and gently took the girl's hands on her own.

"From this moment forward, your name will be Blue," Rosa said, her voice solemn. "You are my Blue Rose."

The girl nodded, her lips curving into a hesitant smile. "Yes, madam," she answered, her voice now laced with new purpose.

-----

"Master, have you returned to me?" Madame la Rosa asked, her voice trembling as she addressed the demon within Leo.

"Yes, my dear Rosa, I have returned," Lusifar responded, his voice dark and consuming.

Rosa laughed, casting a triumphant look at Leo's allies. "You tried so hard to destroy my realm, to kill me—but all along, you were merely pawns in my master's plan!"

"Lilleo, kill her now! You have the demon's power now!" Dassa shouted desperately.

But Leo was struggling. "This demon's too strong. He's taking over my mind and body," he muttered, barely able to resist Lusifar's control.