Sin nodded at Karyan's command and turned on his heel, "Fine, I'll fetch the girl."
He moved with supernatural speed, vanishing from sight.
"Sin?" Nedeira asked while she was fixing her top.
"I'm sorry, you don't have to forgive me."
"What?"
Before Nedeira was able to react, Sin smacked her neck and she fell onto him.
Moments later, he reappeared with Nedeira, who was unconscious in his arms.
"Done. She won't remember a thing," Sin said, laying her down gently.
Karyan looked at Nedeira, then at the cursed dagger in his hand.
"I know that I promised to save you…after this, you will be free from this pain and slavery."
He lifted the blade high into the air, his face set in a grim expression.
With a powerful yell, he brought the sword down, shattering the dagger into pieces. The fragments glowed and then turned to dust, carried away by the wind.
Sin watched, slightly impressed, "Quite the show."
Karyan ignored the comment, "Take her away, somewhere no harm can reach her."
"As you wish, snake," Sin replied, picking Nedeira up once again.
He walked away, grumbling to himself, "I should ask for a raise, dealing with all these humans and their drama."
He ran fast, as fast as a prey avoiding being hunted.
Suddenly, as he tried to teleport, a force stopped him. He stumbled, nearly dropping Nedeira.
"What the...?" Sin looked around, alarmed.
A bright light appeared before him, and an invisible barrier seemed to hold him back. He couldn't pass, and he couldn't understand why.
"This wasn't part of the plan," Sin muttered, trying to probe the barrier with his dark energy, but it repelled him.
Sin scowled, "There's a new power source here. It's blocking me."
Sin shifted Nedeira in his arms, trying to keep her comfortable, "Something or someone has erected a barrier. I can't get through with my usual tricks."
Sin closed his eyes, focusing. "It's... diffuse. Everywhere and nowhere. This isn't typical magic. It's something else."
He glanced around, trying to find the problem.
"I can walk, but it's like being in thick mud," Sin said out loud as if he was talking to someone, taking a step forward with effort.
"Humans and their problems. Why did I bother to help?"
As he searched for a way through the barrier, Sin kept a watchful eye on his surroundings. He knew that with new, unknown powers at play, he had to be more cautious than ever.
Sin, burdened by a strange power source and an unconscious Nedeira, couldn't help but feel the irony of his situation.
"Underpaid and overworked," Sin murmured under his breath, "Story of my eternal life."
But then, Sin's head began to pound with an intense pressure, the sensation boiled within his skull.
He stumbled, his grip on Nedeira loosened, and she slipped from his arms onto the ground.
A voice started to echo around him, "How dare you, Sin? How dare you assist a human?"
Sin looked up, his vision swimmed as he tried to locate the source of the voice.
There, standing above him, was a figure cloaked in darkness, its presence felt heavy and oppressive.
The figure looked down at Sin with disdain, its eyes looked like burning coals.
"Why do you bow to these mortals?" the figure taunted, pressing a finger against Sin's chest and forcing him to the ground. "You are a demon. You should be feared, not playing nursemaid to human whims."
Sin tried to rise, but the figure flicked him down again with a simple push, as if he were nothing more than a bothersome insect.
"I serve no one!" Sin spat out, unable to muster the strength to stand.
The figure laughed, the sound was cold and sharp. "You serve yourself, Sin…? Don't you remember who you are. You are darkness. You are chaos. You should not be helping; you should be destroying."
Sin glared, "ttttsschh…sure."
But he knew he was outmatched, trapped under the influence of this weird power.
"I do what I want," Sin growled, his tone was low against the weight pressing down on him.
"Pathetic," the figure sneered, "You have become weak, Sin. You have forgotten the thrill of sowing despair, the joy of chaos. That's why you should be destroyed."
Sin felt the pressure increase, the air thickened around him. He struggled for breath, his demonic lungs constricted as if bound by invisible chains.
"You will remember your place," the figure declared.
Sin's resistance crumbled as the figure's power wrapped around him, a dark shroud that threatened to extinguish his own.
He lay there, subdued and humiliated, "eh, it's a beautiful view, isn't it?"
The figure loomed over him, its body grew more defined, it looked like a shadow given form. "You are mine. You will not forget again."
"I must admit, I'm a popular demon everywhere, so you can't technically have me."
"The human I serve, you will serve him too or choose to die now."
"Ah, that fallen king, what was his name again?"
"A lowborn demon, with little powers…you're a disgrace to the dark magic."
"And your creators should be very proud of you…just slaving around as if you have nothing better to do."
"You can talk, but your time will be over on earth soon."
"Heh, bold of you to assume that I was planning to get land and start gardening on earth. My time was already counted, but yours soon will be too."
"Empty threats…"
"No, the snake…he will actually kill you."
"Not before the human kills him first, goodbye, Sin, the demon of deception."
"That's not my real nam-"