With the cab nearing the city, with only a few miles left, Nur and Sariu chatted to their heart’s content.

“Mister Nur, after finding your master, what are you going to do?” Sariu curiously asked.

“I will go back home with her, this is enough adventure for me for a lifetime. I don’t wish to get entangled into anymore messes this messed up kingdom in this crazy land throws at me.”

“I see, so we shall part soon, are we not? In that case…” Sariu’s expression looked like a smile trying to disguise a sad face that was about to break down in tears. “I really don’t understand you, Mister Nur. You sound so selfish, but everything you do contradicts what you say. If your goal was to find your master and get back home, why did you bother saving Aida and me? Wouldn’t it have been easier to abandon us to fate rather than interfere? Why risk your life for ones this world considers inherently worthless? Human beings never had any good intentions to begin with, I know that, so why would you…”

“Well, for starters, I am not a human, I am a demon. Secondly, it was my choice, nothing more. Once you make a choice you stick with it, you don’t abandon it. Saving you was my choice, so I chose to stick with it till the end. After we reach the city, we indeed shall go our separate ways. As you witnessed before with the werewolves, if it wasn’t for your contract I doubt I would have made it to here. But when we enter the city, we shall part. I will give you money and clothing to disguise yourself so that you wouldn’t get outed. This is the least I can do.”

“Will you not regret it? Helping a witch? Every life I have ever touched I have taken away, I….I don’t wish to do that to you. To me, you are someone….” Who I love. She wanted to say the last part but she couldn’t bring herself to utter the words.

“My motto is to live life with no regrets, so no, no matter what happens afterwards, I will not regret my action.”

“You should be more hesitant than that, Mister Nur. What if I told you that by my hands, my loved ones, my friends, and even the one who was supposed to be my master have perished? I know you are not trying to use me, Mister Nur; you are far too kind to do that. But I fear that kindness might be your undoing.”

There was a reason for this statement. She felt that she didn’t deserve help, especially from someone as wonderful as Nur. Ever since he met her, he only wanted to help her, asking almost nothing in return. She was extremely perplexed by this side of him. He might seem cold and aloof, but she knew he had a bigger heart than anyone else she had ever met. He was someone who had a bright future ahead of him, despite bearing the same curse as her, at least in her mind, but instead of succumbing to despair, he continued to move forward. That was the reason she started to admire him, seeing him as a guiding light inside the dark tunnel that has become her existence.

“Indeed, it might be my undoing, but that is the only way I can stay true to myself” Nur replied.

Then, she noticed, they were holding hands.

“Mister Nur, how come you are ok when I touch you?” She asked out of curiosity.

“Whatever could you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean; my touch is lethal to anything living so how come you are not even slightly bit discomforted.”

“To that I would have to say I don’t know, I suppose I am just lucky then. If you don’t like it, I can just…” he was about to take his hand off hers, but instead she squeezed it, preventing his hand’s escape.

“Uhm, Sariu?” Nur hesitantly asked, seeing that Sariu was slightly trembling.

“Do…do you know …how many times I prayed…to be able to touch someone without killing them…So many times…”

“I suppose your wish came true then.” Nur smiled.

“It did. I…I just can’t thank you enough!!!” She jumped in and gave Nur a hug. “Thank you…Thank you…Thank you…” She muttered while sobbing.

“It’s all right, it’s all ok.” Nur patted her back.

“We both know that isn’t true! You rescued me twice from death; you even got injured because of it! You risked your life to save my worthless self, even if you had no reason to do so. I shall not forget your actions, I swear, one day I will repay your kindness!”

“I don’t wish for you to think you owe me any debt, I will be content if you live out a long and happy life.” Nur replied.

“But that would just make me someone who does not know gratitude, I can’t do that!”

“Sariu, after we part, just forget about me, and move on forward. Think of me as just a ghost that fades away into the mist, like I wasn’t even there. I feel like if you keep thinking like this, you would be making a huge mistake of living for someone else’s sake instead of yourself. I don’t wish that for you.”

“But Mr. Nur…”

“I know very well that you can’t take back things lost in the past, but you still can have a future, don’t throw it away for the sake of making amends.”

A moment of silence followed.

“What would you wish, Sariu?”

“I…I wish not to part with you” She ended up muttering.

“In that case, how about coming with me, to my master’s domain? That place is roomy enough, like a whole other world inside small space. I am sure Desolai wouldn’t mind, and Kunjarik would have a new friend. None will hurt you there.”

“Is that really ok…for someone like me…to receive such a blessing?”

“I told you already, a friend is always welcome guest in my home.” He took her hand and squeezed it lightly. “I promise.”

Sariu couldn’t help as her eyes once again filled with droplets of tears. All her life she was considered trash by those who didn’t know she was a witch and those who knew wanted her dead. The only person who showed her any measure of kindness died in her arms. Her heart had frozen since then, but now his warm words seemed to make her heart warm once again. It wasn’t because he promised to take him to his master’s domain; it was much simpler than that. It meant that he wouldn’t abandon her, he valued her life, in his eyes her life had value. This simple fact alone was enough to shake her to her very core. In her heart she realized, she wanted to stay by his side.

* * *

As they kept nearing the Holy City, the cab driver saw three shadows in the sky, rapidly approaching them. Convinced that he was seeing things he kept moving the cab forward.

Instead of disappearing the shadows kept following them, and they seemed to advance closer and closer.

And then three shadows dropped from the sky, creating an impact that can only be described as a small earthquake, destroying everything within their radius. The roads ended up being pulverized, the trees shattered, and so much gravel and dust spreading everywhere.

The cab was thrown and the people inside of it were thrown out of it. Then, the three shadows proceeded to move towards their prey.

* * *

When Nur woke up, on the ground, disoriented, and not quite sure of what just happened. Somehow, it was like sky fell on them all of a sudden. The cab driver mentioned black clouds or shadows as he called them, following them, but Nur thought it was just a joke.

But now, those black clouds dropped to the ground, throwing everyone inside the cab to the outside. Those clouds, they were not simple shadows, they were attacked.

He had to find Sariu, their lives were still linked. If she dies then he would end up following her to the grave.

As Nur moved forward, he found the cab driver’s body, his skull shattered, almost as if it was crushed under foot. It was a cruel way to die, head split open like a watermelon with a blunt stick. All of his brains were scattered on the ground. Nur couldn’t suppress his urge to vomit.

No, Sariu was still alive, he was still feeling fine and alive, so she must be alive as well.

As dust cleared away, he saw three shadowy figures surrounding a gigantic blue crystal. And within the crystal was Sariu’s body, sealed within the rock.

“Greetings demon kin, we are Demon Lords, here in order to make an offer to you. I am afraid refusal is not an option.” One of the shadowy figures took off his hood revealing a beak and feathers, with head resembling an eagle. “As much as it pains me to say this, we will have you do a few things for us, and we will hold the girl as insurance for that purpose.”

“What are you going to do if I don’t comply? Kill me? I am not afraid of death.” Nur stated clearly.

“You are of no use to us dead. No…What we can do however …” a spark of electricity appeared within palm of a Demon Lord that resembled a crow. He looked familiar. Nur had seen him before.

To his horror, Nur realized that this was the same crow demon that once killed him in one of his previous loops. His power was no joke.

The crow Demon Lord proceeded to touch the crystal with electric palm, sending jolt of lightning bolts into it.

Suddenly, Nur felt an undeniable sensation of pain, as if he was being cooked from the inside. Such an unbearable pain that seemed to only increase the more it lasted. The pain was intense, and his body, numb with pain, fell over.

“You know, this wouldn’t be happening if you hadn’t taken the witch before us. You really ruined our plans of taking a contract for ourselves. A witch can only give one contract to a demon, you certainly derailed our plans. Luckily, there happened to be an advantage for us as well. As you might be already aware, your lives are linked, but so is your pain. Any damage she sustains will reflect upon you as well. If you don’t comply with our demands, I will guarantee that we will give you both a long and painful death.” The crow Demon Lord approached Nur’s body and proceeded to lift him up by the collar before punching him, sending Nur flying.

Nur felt a clear sensation of pain and blood in his mouth. This was a physical attack, so why didn’t the contract activate? He shouldn’t have taken any damage.

Seeing Nur’s dumbfounded expression, crow Demon Lord laughed out and said.

“Surprised? The crystal the witch is sealed in prevents any mana leaks. I guess you didn’t know, but without her mana being supplied to your body, you are just as flesh and blood as the rest of us. The clincher however, is that your life link still remains. Meaning, comply or die.” The crow Demon Lord said with a smirk on his face.

With three powerful Demon Lords advancing on him, with Sariu hostage, and with him currently being unarmed and at a clear extreme disadvantage, Nur thought one thing.

‘Can someone please kill me?’