1 Last Breath

Iris staggered, finding it difficult to keep her balance. Her breath was heavy. Her vision was blurry. She forced herself to hold on a little longer. Her goal wasn't achieved yet.

Shing!

She stabbed her sword onto the ground, using it as a tool to keep herself from collapsing.

Her blazing red eyes glimmered with madness. Her jet black hair flowed in the wind. Severe wounds were scattered all over her body. And yet, there was nothing but happiness plastered on her face.

"..You can still smile in this situation?" The man gritted his teeth. "What a.. monster."

In front of her was the Holy Palace's strongest Paladin, Kieran. The man she had been fighting for hours ever since they arrived here. In this barren wasteland, where no one would be able to find or disturb them.

"Me, a monster? You aren't that far off either. The amount of lives we've taken, the so-called 'sins' we gathered.. how different could it be? Don't pretend to be so innocent. We're the same kind of people. So.. Just talk with me for a second. You can't move, right?"

Kieran could no longer stand. He was down on one knee. It took him every drop of strength he had to look up at Iris' beautiful face.

Memories of their previous fights flowed into his mind. No matter how many times they clashed blades, it never ceased to happen. No one came out as the victor. The war between the Light and the Dark kept on going.

Kieran became silent. Perhaps it was because he had already accepted his defeat.. But he began to pity both of their fates.

There was an unspoken policy that everyone shared. Both Light and Dark.

That the strong needed to fight.

The two of them, the strongest of both sides, were henceforth pitted against each other.

Iris, the Demon Queen, representing the Underworld.

Kieran, the First Paladin, representing the Holy Palace.

It was as if they were born to become mortal enemies. It wasn't personal enmity, but rather.. an action 'for the greater good'.

Iris took one last look at Kieran before forming a deep cut on her arm, making it drip a heavy stream of blood.

Kieran stared at Iris, wondering what she was up to. He guessed that she was trying to perform a final, grand magic spell to finish this battle and incinerate him until not even ashes would remain.

Indeed, Iris started to walk slowly, drawing a path with her blood.

"You know.. I don't hate you. I never did. In fact, I admire how you can stay put with those fellows for so long." Iris laughed.

"They were the ones who started everything. They hated how we were innately stronger than them. How we shared different beliefs. How we were prosperous even though we didn't play into their stupid games of monopoly. How we didn't bow down to them." Iris dug her nails into her palms, taking a deep breath.

"Because of that, the Underworld was painted as the 'evil' side. We were despised, discriminated against."

"Violence was not our first option. We retreated. Formed a powerful base. Made a new home."

"And what did they do at that point?"

"They attacked us! They attacked innocents from the back! Burned entire villages down.. and for what?!" Iris couldn't take it anymore. Tears began flowing down her face.

Kieran was bewildered. This was his first time seeing Iris shed tears.

In his mind, Iris was an all powerful being, the omnipotent Demon Queen that never seemed to crack no matter how much pressure she was put under. A steadfast ruler that anyone would be happy to have.

Kieran fully knew that the Holy Palace wasn't all that holy. If it was, how could they approve of such wars, which costed thousands upon thousands of lives? Desecrated the homes of many? Caused countless pain and tragedies?

Like Iris, he also disliked their method of doing things, but he was too deep in the business to do anything.

He was a powerless hypocrite. Criticizing those people inside his mind while still doing the dirty job and eliminating the Holy Palace's enemies.

"Say, could you picture a world where.. none of this happened? Where humans and demons live in coexistence, where war is regarded as a foreign concept, where.. we didn't have to be enemies?"

Iris' one-sided dialogue continued. The longer it went, the closer she was to completing the magic circle she had been working on.

"This world desperately needs change. But I don't think it can happen in our time. I've fought for so long, yet all my efforts yielded zero results."

"I'm tired, Kieran. I give up."

Iris stopped in her tracks. The magic circle was finished. She healed her wound, and proceeded to jam her hand straight into her chest.

Within seconds, she pulled out a glowing red crystal which emanated a ton of magical energy.

Kieran's eyes widened.

"You- What are you doing?!"

Obviously, he recognized the item Iris was holding in her hands. It was her heart. The so-called 'core' that every demonic creature possessed.

Iris' core carried a unique aura. It was bewitching. One would find themselves entranced if they looked at it for long.

"Kieran Neiryn, if there is a next life, I hope we can start over as something other than enemies." Iris smiled, starting to grip her core tightly. Small cracks began to form on its surface.

Immense pain travelled throughout her body. She withstood it all to fulfill her plan.

The magic circle below her shone in response. It was filling up to the brim with magical energy, all sourced from the strongest demon's core. Sparks of red lightning appeared in the air.

Iris just stood there, accepting it all. She just had to hold on a bit longer, and it would all be over.

"IRIS!"

"Goodbye, Kieran." Iris flashed one last smile towards the man, who had unconsciously stretched out his hand to try and stop Iris' decision.

Alas, it was already too late. Her spell was complete.

Thus, within a blink of an eye, her mana spread everywhere. Hundreds of meters. Anything that came across her outburst was destroyed.

The end of the story... Or is it?