Chapter 6 - Incubus's Blood

Hearing her, a wave of dread swallowed him. "M-Master..." The notion of enslavement sent shivers down his spine, but with a desperate plea to avoid death etched on his face, he played along.

In that moment, he couldn't. The Natsu blood coursing through him wouldn't permit it. Upon hearing that he'd be spared but forced into slavery, he exploded, "Slave?! Like hell I'd ever serv-"

In a flash, he hot-headedly sat up, yelling defiantly. The witch's gaze shifted towards him, and with almost supernatural speed, she materialized in front of him, delivering a powerful kick that sent him crashing yards away against a sturdy tree.

"Sorcerers, you won't ever learn that you're not special..."

Her cold gaze fixated on him, reconsidering the option of ending his life. Meanwhile, her devilish companion grew excited as it observed Hiro. Smirking, she remarked, "Okay, you go have fun, Lilith."

Stepping away, the devil approached Hiro, who was teetering on the brink of unconsciousness. A sinister snicker escaped the witch's lips.

Yet, as she reveled in her amusement, a surge of energy emanated from Hiro. Turning back to him against the tree, a light wave of red and black energy manifested, strands voraciously absorbing the surroundings.

Perceiving this anomaly as strange, she turned around. A sudden recognition dawned upon her—the unmistakable aura of demonic energies, the kind found in the tomb of an elder demon. A mischievous smirk played on her lips.

As the unexpected spectacle unfolded, Hiro, blinking back into consciousness, felt a peculiar pain within his mind. The world around him shook, and he found himself transported to a mysterious room adorned with white stones.

Coughing, Hiro noticed an absence of pain that had plagued him moments before. Perplexed, he struggled to comprehend the situation.

Then, the voices of his best friends reached his ears. "You abandoned us, left us for dead when the lich hit."

Turning towards the voices, Hiro faced Tina and Peter, accompanied by a boy who bore a resemblance but exuded an aura of charm, standing shorter yet more monstrous. Ram-like sheep horns adorned his head, and a tail swayed with an annoying rhythm.

Accusations were hurled, and the boy, revealing himself as a devil, proposed trivia instead. Despite Hiro's attempt to warn them, he found himself silenced and immobilized.

The devil continued, recounting Hiro's original timeline and unveiling his own harrowing experiences. The revelations shattered Hiro's understanding of his own past. Frustration and confusion welled within him as he clenched his fist.

Turning to Hiro, the devil wore a wicked smile. Under his breath, he laughed, "So this is another change with our fate, huh? Whatever the case, I will still be born, but I wonder how this one plays out."

Shrouding himself in mana, he shifted back into Hiro's form. As Hiro looked up, the devil's counterpart erupted in anger, blaming everyone for his transformation.

In a calm yet intense voice, he recounted the dark chapters of his past, seeking answers from those around him. The room shifted, and everyone vanished. Opening his eyes amid intense pain, Hiro found the witch staring at him, and the hungry devil closing in.

Realizing this was one of those pivotal moments the other him had warned about, Hiro, fueled by fury, refused to let it happen. The witch raised her hand, uttering a cryptic incantation, halting the devil. A sinister grin crossed her face as she sensed a potent and dark power awakening within Hiro.

Her eyes gleamed with malevolence. "He's a demon too."

The grin widened, and wicked thoughts danced in her mind. "I can make do with this~"