Chapter 13: The Day Hell Opened Its Gates
Pandora refuse Agramon's offer to leave.
"Why? Do you have a reason to stay in this hell?" Agramon asked.
Still holding the baby in her arms, Pandora replied calmly, "Yes. I do have a reason."
Agramon was completely confused. He couldn't understand Pandora's decision.
Paimon, who had been observing them, suddenly sensed a massive surge of magical energy.
He quickly turned his head toward the queen.
"Oh no! Everyone, stop the Demon Queen!!" he shouted.
The group sprang into action, but their attacks were effortlessly repelled.
"It's too late. You can't stop me now," the queen said, slowly ascending into the sky.
"Hey! Big Brother! Hurry up!" Paimon yelled, urging Agramon to return quickly.
Agramon glanced back at Pandora one last time.
Her eyes were unwavering. That firm gaze made Agramon break into a cold sweat. Reluctantly, he turned and ran.
Paimon erected a barrier.
"She managed to cast a powerful spell while we were distracted by that girl's answer," he said.
The barrier enveloped everyone.
"I'll help," Rusalka offered, placing her hand on Paimon's. The barrier grew stronger.
Vivian realized the queen's intent. She grabbed Pandora and the baby.
"Come. You need to see this."
"I… don't understand," Pandora replied.
"Remember when I told you this might change your view of the queen?" Vivian asked.
Pandora nodded.
"Then watch closely," Vivian said, flying upward with her.
Agramon and the others watched them ascend.
"Where are they going? Isn't she about to unleash a huge attack? Why fly that high?" Ivan asked.
Paimon and Rusalka began sweating, their hands trembling as they let down the barrier.
Agramon gritted his teeth.
"She's not targeting us... She's targeting everyone who fled the city. Damn it... I can't do anything."
Ivan's eyes widened in shock.
"Then why are we just standing here?! We have to stop her!"
"Stop it. It's useless," Paimon replied coldly.
Frustrated, Ivan couldn't bear the thought of innocent lives being sacrificed.
He looked at Agramon—his commander—who also seemed to have lost hope.
"Commander…" he whispered.
"We have to leave," Paimon said.
With ease, Paimon conjured a teleportation circle—the most powerful mage among them.
He pulled out a glowing orb—Sear's Pearl, a long-distance communication device—and contacted the Kingdom of Candrania.
"Prepare the circle on your side. We'll evacuate before the queen unleashes her magic," Paimon said.
Zura and Zuri clung to the wounded Velmora. Agramon lowered his head, filled with guilt. Rusalka gripped her sword tightly. Ivan clenched his fists.
In his entire life, he never thought he'd abandon so many innocent lives to save his own.
"Damn it all!!"
With a furious roar, Ivan launched himself forward, wind magic propelling him into the sky at full speed.
"Ivan! What are you doing?!" Agramon shouted.
"You fool! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Paimon screamed.
Pandora and Vivian saw everything.
"Master, what is he trying to do?" Pandora asked.
"That reckless human… What is he even thinking?" Vivian muttered.
Agramon shouted his name again, trying to go after him.
Rusalka and Paimon held him back.
"Don't go! Please, come to your senses!" Rusalka cried.
From above, the Demon Queen looked down and noticed Ivan charging upward.
With a single motion, she pointed her hand toward him.
POW!!
A beam of magic struck directly through his heart.
"IVAN!!!" Agramon screamed—another comrade lost before his eyes.
Grief, rage, and helplessness overwhelmed him. He remembered their last conversation, how Ivan had spoken so fondly about his wife and daughter.
THUD!!
Ivan's lifeless body hit the ground in front of them. No one could move.
---
From above, a chilling, authoritative voice echoed.
The Demon Queen hovered in the sky like a moon illuminating the night.
With arms spread wide, she spoke:
> "The truth of this world is cruel.
We are merely puppets dancing on strings.
Our fate was decided long ago.
I exist to be hated."
Agramon and the others could only glare in silence. Their clenched fists and gritted teeth were the only response.
The Demon Queen looked down at them with cold, emotionless eyes.
> "Good... That's the look of true hatred," she said.
Then she raised her hands.
Light radiated from her palms, bright enough to turn night into day.
All the demons looked up. The blinding light engulfed the city, the forests, and even the mountains.
---
Far away in Yudia, on the battlefield, soldiers stepped out of their tents.
A bright light shone from behind the mountains.
"…This feeling... The Demon Queen," Prince Agul murmured.
---
Back in Candrania, people emerged from their homes, gazing at the same light.
Fear spread across the city. People fell to their knees and prayed to the Goddess for salvation.
---
In the Yudia capital, a woman lay in bed, cradling her baby, an elderly woman at her side.
The blinding light shone clearly through the window.
"Wah... Wah...!!" the baby cried.
"There, there... Don't be scared," the mother whispered, trying to soothe the child.
She looked outside and muttered,
"Ivan... Please, Goddess… protect my husband."
---
Elsewhere, Mammon and Azil knew what was coming.
"Damn it... Just when I thought we'd finally escape this cursed place," Mammon growled.
And then—
Silence…
BOOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion shook the earth. All of Idornia felt it.
"Ugh…!" Pandora shielded the baby in her arms.
The shockwave was overwhelming—she couldn't see anything.
Whoosh...
Silence again. Had it ended?
Pandora kept her eyes shut.
"Princess… open your eyes," Vivian said.
Slowly, Pandora opened them. Her heart pounded wildly. Her body trembled with fear.
What she saw was nothing short of a nightmare.
Vivian turned away, her expression somber.
The Demon Queen stood still, expressionless, atop the skies.
Pandora's face turned pale. The baby in her arms cried, but she couldn't respond.
---
That day would never be forgotten.
Everything was gone. Nothing left.
The only survivor from that inferno was the baby in her arms.
Agramon, Rusalka, Paimon, Velmora, and the two children managed to escape using teleportation magic.
Pandora gritted her teeth and held the baby tightly.
She remembered her mother back on Earth.
"Mom... what should I do now?"
---
> ItsJustDafa:
Volume 1, first arc of PANDORA | Re:write is now complete.
Thank yo
u so much for reading until the end.
This is just the beginning.
Volume 2 — coming soon.