Reborn as a Devouring Dragon with a System-Chapter 139: The Abyss of Pain and Suffering (9)

"And also... the Demon Emperor is leading them."

It felt like an explosion detonated in her heart. Her mind reeled. Without another word, she vanished from the hall in a flash of divine light, appearing at the place where Daniel had promised to wait.

But there was nothing.

Only a faint lingering aura remained, fading slowly with the night wind—proof he had left over an hour ago.

Her heart threatened to collapse. Had he forsaken her? Had everything between them been a lie? frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

She shook her head violently. No. She refused to believe that. She would not allow herself to be so naive.

The news spread like wildfire across the Human Realm.

Younger warriors were incensed, their blood boiling with fury. The older generation sighed with a heaviness borne of war and sorrow.

"I told you... the Demon Emperor could never truly love our Heavenly Empress."

"He was just toying with her."

"How dare they..."

"Massacre those demons!"

"Massacre those demons!"

"Massacre those demons!"

One by one, voices rose in unison. Battle aura surged like tidal waves. Killing intent saturated the air.

And just like that, peace shattered—replaced by the thunderous drums of war.

"Your Majesty, everyone is waiting for you to lead us to war," one of her subordinates said softly.

Lyla remained rooted in place, frozen for the past thirty minutes, her expression unreadable.

When she heard those words, her eyes flickered. She didn’t want to go to war with him. But she needed answers.

"Tell all armies to gather. We are going to Battle Gorge," she commanded, her voice resolute, yet heavy.

The subordinates who heard her order rejoiced and moved quickly to carry it out.

Within an hour, at the heart of Battle Gorge, both armies stood face-to-face—unmoving, tense.

The Demon Army stood tall and terrifying, a legion of all kinds of demons, dark and overwhelming.

The Human Army, in contrast, was a united front of Humans, Beasts, Beastkin, Elves, Dwarves, and other allied races—diverse, determined, and burning with righteous fury.

Lyla’s gaze locked onto the man standing before her.

He looked like a stranger—no warmth in his eyes, only cold emptiness.

She struggled to recognize the Demon Emperor she had known in the man who stood there now.

Then, his eyes turned to her, his voice slicing through the silence.

"Heavenly Empress... are you prepared to submit—yourself and your people—to the Demon Clan? Or must war be the only answer between us?"

His tone was low, calm, but brimming with killing intent.

Lyla’s heart trembled. But she stepped forward, staring directly at him.

She and the Demon Emperor now stood one-on-one beneath the grim sky.

"Drakion... can you explain what’s going on? Tell me this isn’t real!" Lyla roared, her voice trembling with disbelief.

"What’s there to explain?" Daniel replied, his tone utterly devoid of emotion. "This is war, Heavenly Empress."

Lyla’s hands trembled, her voice rising with anguish.

"Then what about everything you told me? Everything you promised me!

You said we’d hold a grand wedding... you said you’d find a way for demons and other races to coexist...

You told me I’d bear your child—that you’d stay with me... to the end.

So tell me, what is the meaning of all this!"

Her voice broke into a sob as tears streamed down her cheeks.

The armies behind her were stunned.

They saw their Empress’s pain, and their hearts ached with helplessness.

But when they turned their eyes to the Demon Emperor, they found no trace of regret—only the same cold, lifeless stare.

"So you believed me?" Daniel said with a dark chuckle.

"All of that... was just a game."

He laughed bitterly, as though recalling a cruel joke.

Lyla’s world shattered. She staggered back, nearly collapsing.

Her heart felt like it had been ripped apart—yet Daniel’s face showed no remorse, no feeling at all.

The Human Army was enraged.

Many of them had seen the tender moments between the two... now betrayed, they glared at Daniel with blood in their eyes.

Several surged forward, ready to attack—but Lyla raised her hand, halting them.

"I don’t want to fight you, Drakion," she whispered, hoping—praying—that what she was seeing was a mistake.

"Then I will force you," Daniel replied coldly.

He raised his hand—and in the blink of an eye, a hundred soldiers from her army were erased.

No screams. No remains.

Just silence—and a sudden, deafening void.

Terror swept through the battlefield.

Lyla’s heart raced. She couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed.

Grinding her teeth, she raised her hand.

With a burst of divine energy, the Demon-Killing Spear appeared in her grasp.

"You really forced me..."

The skies roared.

The heavens twisted in fury.

And then the clash began.

The Empress and the Demon Emperor collided, and their power cracked the very sky.

Even as they fought, Lyla held back—suppressing her true strength, unwilling to go all out against him.

"You know..." Daniel sneered, laughter bubbling from his lips, twisted and manic.

"It was fun... playing with you all this time."

That was the last straw.

Lyla’s fury exploded. Her divine aura surged like a tidal wave.

With a cry that shattered mountains, she channeled her full power into the spear—

—and struck.

Straight at Daniel.

PUCHI!

The sound pierced the silence like a thunderclap.

Lyla and everyone else froze, eyes wide in disbelief—

The spear had driven straight through Daniel’s chest.

Lyla trembled as she tried to withdraw it, but Daniel’s hand clamped down, holding it in place.

She looked up—and saw them.

Those eyes.

The same familiar eyes she once knew—no longer cold, no longer distant.

Warmth swelled in them, inviting and sorrowful.

And in that instant, realization struck Lyla like a bolt of lightning.

"Why?"

Tears cascaded down her cheeks as her voice cracked—raw with sorrow and dread.

Daniel reached out and gently wiped her tears.

"Sorry... for making you go through such pain," he whispered.

"But you know... I’m not worthy of you. I carry too much karma. I can’t let my loved ones... or my children bear it.

And in this world... only you have the right to end me."

His sad smile broke her heart even further.

He wouldn’t deny it—seeing her devastated, those sorrowful eyes, the way she looked at him earlier with disbelief...

It tore at his soul.

But he knew—if she had known, she never would’ve followed through.

With a wave of his hand, the hundred warriors believed to be dead reappeared—unconscious, but alive.

A gasp of shock rippled through the armies.

Daniel glanced down at the growing pool of blood beneath him.

He had sealed part of his healing ability—intentionally hastening his own death.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t give you that grand wedding...

Or be by your side forever.

But I intend to keep my promise—to unite demons and humans.

The former Demon Emperor will return to the throne and fulfill that mission."

The more he spoke, the more Lyla wept.

Every word—each syllable—cut deeper than a blade.

The crowd looked on, confused at first, until the truth began to unfold with each sentence.

They realized they had all misunderstood him.

Daniel’s voice grew softer as his life force flickered like a dying flame.

"The time I spent with you... it was the best moment of my life.

But you deserve someone better.

Someone worthy of your love.

I only wish... I had met you sooner."

Tears now streamed from his eyes, mixing with blood.

Then, suddenly—Lyla did something no one expected.

She turned the spear—and pierced herself with its opposite end.

The entire battlefield was thrown into chaos.

Cries of panic erupted, especially from the Human Realm.

"And where do you think you’re going, darling?"

Her voice trembled, yet it was full of love.

"Have you forgotten?

We promised we’d stay together—even to the ends of the earth.

Even in death... I’ll follow you."

Daniel’s breath caught.

He stared at her—shocked beyond words—as her life force began to unravel alongside his.

"What are you...?"

Before he could finish, she leaned forward and kissed him.

His eyes widened—then softened—as he melted into the kiss, savoring it like the last drop of water in a dying world.

And then it happened.

Their bodies...

They began to disintegrate, particles of light breaking away like stars fading from the heavens.

Soon, only their heads remained, yet they were still locked in that eternal kiss.

As the final moment came, they parted their lips—just briefly.

"If a next life exists," they whispered in unison, "I wish to fall in love with you all over again."

They kissed once more.

And then—

They vanished.

Nothing remained.

Only the Demon-Killing Spear, soaked in their mingled blood, bore witness to their story.

From that day forward, harmony between demons and other races became reality.

A new contract was forged: if vampires or other beings required human blood, it could be obtained by agreement—through trade, never force.

And in the heart of the New Dynasty, a statue was raised.

Side by side, the Demon Emperor and the Heavenly Empress stood in stone—forever immortalized.

Their legend would never die.

Their love would echo... for all eternity.