"Damn it..."
Amelia struggled to get back on her feet, her body refusing to cooperate at first.
After several minutes of effort, she finally managed to stand.
The wound inflicted by the Hero's holy sword was still interfering with her system, disrupting the flow of her demonic energy.
It took her more than fifteen minutes to completely expel the lingering holy energy from her body.
Only after that did she regain enough control to circulate her demonic energy and begin healing her injuries, mending broken bones and torn flesh alike.
By the time she finished, her younger sister Aria had regained consciousness as well.
"Those fucking bastards... they should be called dog shit, not heroes..."
Aria muttered bitterly, spitting to the side as she sat on the ground.
She began circulating her demonic energy, and within seconds, her remaining wounds closed up.
"What the hell happened? Did you kill them yourself?" Aria asked, turning her gaze toward Amelia, who was already walking toward Zyel.
That was when Aria noticed him.
He lay on the ground, his body writhing in pain, jerking and spasming uncontrollably as if his very nerves were rebelling against him.
Aria's eyes widened in alarm. Ignoring her own condition, she hurried to his side.
"What the fuck happened to my Zyel? Did they hurt him?" she demanded, lifting his head into her arms.
The agony etched across his face was impossible to miss.
"It's... it's actually the other way around," Amelia said with a sigh.
She had remained conscious the entire time.
She had seen everything Zyel did, the way he fought, and the brutal way he killed the heroes.
She went on to recount everything that had happened after Aria had lost consciousness.
"Oh? So my darling killed them himself?" Aria let out a soft chuckle. "I suppose that is only natural for the man I have chosen to spend eternity with. He is not only unfairly beautiful, but also talented and simply extraordinary."
She gently rested his head on her lap, cradling him as she began to stroke his hair with quiet affection.
"Really, that is all you have to say? Darling has not even fully completed his transformation into a demon yet, and his power level was barely within the inhuman range. But just now, his strength reached the peak of Rank 2. His strength is on par with mine. That is not normal," Amelia said, crossing her arms.
"Well... maybe my Zyel awakened a demonic ability when you performed the demon reincarnation ritual on him. The chances are very small, but it is not impossible, right?" Aria shrugged, clearly unconcerned.
"It is possible... but even if he did, he should not be able to use his demonic ability until he completes his transformation. I wonder if Darling's demonic ability was awakened prematurely... I have a bad feeling about this."
Unlike Aria, Amelia was deeply concerned.
She knew very well how the demon reincarnation ritual worked.
It was a process used by high demons to turn humans into lesser demons, both to increase the demon population and to convert humans with supernatural potential into loyal servants, strengthening their forces.
She understood the profound effects it had on a human body.
When a human underwent that transformation, countless incomprehensible and mysterious changes took place.
The process released an immense amount of energy, and in rare cases, that surge could trigger the awakening of a unique demonic ability within the individual.
Such an ability could eventually evolve into a bloodline trait, passed down through generations, just like those possessed by noble demon houses.
These abilities were known as personal demonic abilities. When inherited over generations, they became what were known as bloodline abilities.
Amelia had suspected this ever since Zyel began fighting the heroes.
Despite having no prior strength or combat experience, he had managed to kill three heroes who were far stronger than him.
She believed he might have developed a demonic ability that allowed him to overcome that overwhelming gap.
The problem was that even if Zyel had developed such an ability, it should not have manifested until his transformation was complete.
But Zyel had not completed the process yet.
If he truly had awakened a personal demonic ability, then he had done so prematurely, and that was deeply concerning.
"I already sent an alert to Mother. We have to bring him back to the manor and have him examined. I do not like the fact that he is unconscious and in pain," Amelia said, her voice filled with worry.
"Relax. It is pretty obvious that whatever ability he used pushed him beyond his limits. His body simply could not handle it. All he needs is rest. He will wake up like nothing happened. Besides, we have more important things to worry about," Aria sighed.
"Like what?" Amelia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"How are we going to deal with Mother? We both know how proud she is. She would never allow us to be with Zyel," Aria replied.
"Oh, that... we just need to come up with something," Amelia said, letting out a quiet sigh as she began thinking of ways to deal with their proud and impulsive mother, who might kill their man without hesitation if they were not careful.
"I already married him through the soul ritual. At the very least, she should be willing to listen..."
"Yeah, and speaking of soul marriage, I am doing mine right now," Aria said as she stood up.
"Wait, seriously?" Amelia asked, surprised.
"Yes. Why is that surprising? We agreed long ago that we would share him. Do not think for a second I would let you have him all to yourself just because you married him first,"
Aria snorted, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
"I am still not over the fact that you went behind my back and turned him into a demon without telling me."
"Hey, give me a break. If I had not done it when I did, he would have died. And I was going to tell you, but I was so happy about getting married that I spent the last two days with him in bed," Amelia shrugged.
"Fine. I will let it go... for now," Aria said, shifting her attention back to Zyel.
A few minutes later, Aria completed the ritual, binding her soul to his and forming a connection just as Amelia had done.
Through that bond, she claimed him as her husband.
Now, both sisters, Amelia Astaroth and Aria Astaroth, were wives of the same man.
Just then, a purple transportation magic circle appeared a few feet away, and a maid stepped out of it.
She wore a classic black and white maid uniform, her long skirt reaching her feet and her sleeves extending to her wrists.
Her crimson hair was tied into a long, curly ponytail, and her eyes were a striking shade of mint green.
She cast an indifferent gaze over the two women standing before her.
Their clothes were torn, drenched in dust and blood, and their hair hung in messy, dirt-filled strands.
Her eyes then shifted to the three human corpses scattered across the ground.
One had a gaping hole in his chest, another's head had been pierced clean through, and the third, a woman, had her face grotesquely mangled as if crushed by overwhelming force.
"Hmm. You were certainly busy," the crimson-haired maid muttered.
Only then did her gaze fall upon the man lying on the ground in front of them.
Her expression stilled.
It was as if she were staring at something that should not exist.
Something alien.
Something impossibly rare.
Her eyes lingered.
Then lingered again.
And again.
As if she needed to confirm, over and over, that what she was seeing was real.
The man lay there, covered in dirt, his clothes torn, yet none of it diminished his appearance.
If anything, the disheveled state of his hair and the pain etched across his face only made him seem more striking, more dangerously attractive.
Time passed without her realizing it.
She simply stared.
"Hey, you slutty maid," Amelia called out, her patience finally snapping.
"W-What?" the maid jolted, snapping back to awareness.
"Had enough of staring at my husband? Then bring us back to the Astaroth Palace," Aria said coldly.
The maid blinked, then glanced back at the man.
"Wait. That extremely handsome man is your husband?" she asked, disbelief clear in her voice.
"He is. Why? Can't believe it?"
"It is hard to believe," the maid replied with a faint smirk. "Why would someone like him choose to be with two good-for-nothing women like you? How did he even agree to marry you?"
"We never asked," Amelia said with a proud shrug. "We married him while he was unconscious."
"Yeah, that makes sense. If he were awake, he would have rejected you both," the maid snorted.
"I am really going to kill you one of these days, you red-haired bitch," Aria said, her voice dropping into something dark.
"Well, you are too weak to do that," the maid replied casually, crossing her arms. "Now, care to explain what happened here? Who are those three? And why do you both look like you crawled out of a sewer?"
"First, take us back to the Astaroth Palace, Mira," Amelia said quickly. "We can explain everything in front of Mother."
Mira tilted her head slightly, her lips curling into a sly smile.
"Hmm... want me to carry the young man? I promise I will be very gentle."
"No need," Amelia said firmly. "I will carry him. Just focus on transporting us to the underworld."
"If you touch my darling, I will remove your arms," Aria added coldly.
"Fufufu... look at you two, fawning over the same man. Such bold words for weaklings," Mira chuckled, though she did not press further.
With a flick of her hand, a glowing transportation circle formed beneath them.
In the next instant, all of them vanished from the battlefield.