Emilia, too, grappled with memories she wished to expunge, recollections of her own materialistic desires that had led her to forsake Viktor, her former love.
She had succumbed to the allure of wealth, leaving Viktor behind in pursuit of opulence.
"Isn't it the way of the world? In this day and age, as living standards soar, no woman is willing to endure a life of hardship with a destitute man. I'm sorry, Viktor, but I couldn't condemn myself to a life of misery alongside you."
Malphas's grand mirror acted as a window into the car, projecting the image of the two lovers en route to their lavish, upscale abode.
Hearing Emilia's innermost thoughts, Viktor, her former lover, was overtaken by an intense surge of anger.
"This woman will come to understand the true meaning of suffering. Embrace every misfortune that befalls you, you heartless creature," Viktor muttered.
The immensely powerful entity, Malphas, responded with a sly grin. His plan to gradually coax out the darkest aspects of humanity was unfolding precisely as intended.
"Hahahaha. Isn't it agonizing to be a 'good' human, patiently enduring all manner of injustices? Look closely, my child. I will ensure you have no cause to regret your decision to embrace the hidden darkness within you," Viktor proclaimed.
With these words, Malphas unfurled his formidable wings, akin to the skeletal framework of a colossal bat.
His horns grew sharper and longer, as did his obsidian-black nails, and his entire form underwent a sinister transformation.
"Hey, my child. It's not proper to touch my form without decorum," Malphas chided when Viktor abruptly halted his retaliatory gesture.
Viktor's response came in the form of a meaningful smile. "Don't I require evidence of the power you so proudly boast? Lead the way; I wish to witness firsthand how your abilities unfold."
"Human beings are the most vexing of creatures. Their desires are boundless, but fear not. I shall reveal to you the horror and satisfaction you crave!" Malphas declared with an air of ominous finality.
The night itself seemed to shudder in response to the unfolding drama, as if it, too, recognized the magnitude of the secrets held within the depths of the human soul.
Under the shroud of the night, Viktor and Malphas ventured toward a bustling thoroughfare, their destinies converging with every step.
Viktor positioned himself serenely on the roadside, mirroring the unwavering calm before a tempest, and by his side stood Malphas, orchestrating his formidable arsenal in preparation for the imminent clash with Jansen's guardian monster.
As the unfamiliar incantation's eerie chant echoed through the night, it synchronized seamlessly with the ever-evolving metamorphosis of Malphas.
This enigmatic transformation painted a vivid portrait of Viktor's night, a night imbued with the fiery tempest of vengeance and unrestrained anger.
Among the various denizens of this midnight realm, one figure stood out—an unassuming truck driver whose routine often entailed the transportation of a lengthy and menacingly sharp piece of metal.
In this realm of the mundane, he frequently danced on the precipice of disaster, engaged in minor accidents that seemed to beckon him like an ominous harbinger.
The truck, charging forth in the opposite direction of Jansen's vehicle, surged with relentless velocity, heedless of the perilous trajectory it embarked upon.
Its mechanical heart, the brakes, failed utterly, leaving the truck driver powerless in the face of this runaway juggernaut, hurtling relentlessly toward the ill-fated path of Jansen's car.
Emilia, in a desperate attempt to evade the impending catastrophe, veered sharply to the right.
However, ill fortune intervened once more as another vehicle, careening from the right flank of Emilia's car, mercilessly collided with Jansen's vehicle in a cataclysmic collision that shattered the serene night.
The impact was seismic, propelling both automobiles into a violent rendezvous with the unyielding embrace of the roadside barrier.
Then, an odious metallic scent began to permeate the air, piercing through Viktor's senses with the acrid tang of impending doom.
His wide eyes bore witness to the sinister machinations of Malphas, who steered the massive truck with malevolent precision directly into the path of Jansen and Emilia's vehicle.
The moment of impact birthed chaos as the lethal metallic shards, once a part of the truck's cargo, became frenzied projectiles, propelled by the fury of the collision.
The truck, losing its battle for control, careened into an inescapable overturn.
Viktor gasped, his lungs seizing in disbelief at the ghastly tableau that unfolded before his very eyes.
Never had he fathomed the extent of Malphas's violence, nor the depths to which it would plunge.
The helpless forms of Jansen and Emilia bore the grotesque imprint of their merciless fate, their bodies pierced through and through by the jagged and unrelenting metal shards.
A gruesome tapestry of despair and agony unfolded as their entrails spilled forth, entwined with the grotesque sight of Emilia and Jansen's eyeballs, now severed from their sockets, rolling listlessly from the shattered car.
Viktor reeled in shock, his faculties overwhelmed by the grotesque panorama before him. "Th-This can't be... Is this real? Th-They? Ugh!"
The remnants of his earlier meal, a humble bowl of instant noodles, were violently expelled from his stomach, a visceral testament to his nauseating descent into the abyss of horror.
Cold beads of sweat drenched his pallid brow, his once-immaculate attire now clung to his trembling form, and his breath rasped in ragged, desperate gasps.
The world itself seemed to blur, mirroring the tumultuous turmoil that roiled within his very soul.
"Really, wasn't that what you desired? To witness this gruesome spectacle? Where's the satisfaction you craved?" Malphas inquired, his voice dripping with a sinister amusement that chilled Viktor to his core.
Viktor felt as though his body remained rooted by the roadside, tethered to this nightmarish scene.
After regaining his focus, he observed Emilia and Jansen, still cocooned within the confines of their car, with Emilia navigating the vehicle with an eerie calmness.
A sigh of relief briefly escaped Viktor's quivering lips, only to be abruptly swallowed by the yawning chasm of disbelief as he witnessed two cars from the adjacent lane careen into each other with a deafening, destructive collision.