After 20 years of fighting for humanity, I, the saviour, realized which side I had to choose. The angels were oppressive, treating us as lower beings, but the demons were better, giving the humans who had no chance left an opportunity to survive.
And I took it.
I was given the spot of the 56th demon king. As a demon king, I saved humanity and the demons from destruction. Together, we had the chance to suppress the angels and banish them from Earth.
But fate played a joke on me.
Ezekiel Gavi. He was always supportive yet unsupportive, an admirer and mentor. I could never truly understand him.
Ezekiel was always in my memory. Since I could remember he was together with me, as a child, an adult, and later a follower. We went through thick and thin together. During the good days, we were up in the trees, dreaming about being heroes and adventurers. On the bad days, we sat alone from the rest, keeping each other safe.
The man was pale looking, so pale that you would believe he wasn't even alive, yet he had more vigour than anyone I know. On the frontline, he fights harder than anyone else. In meetings, he maps strategies better than anyone else. It was something to be prideful about.
But he keeps to himself. Despite showing confidence, he never reveals his inner thoughts to anyone, not even me. The night before any important event, I see him standing alone in the night, looking at the barren sky devoid of any stars. His dark silhouette covered the artificial moon.
And it was the night before he killed me when he did the same thing again.
Perhaps it was my subconscious looking out for him, a man who works his hardest yet receives nothing in return, but for the first time, I walked to him on that night and patted his shoulder.
"It will be alright"
His shoulders stiffened. My voice had changed since the demonic ritual. My hands were slightly cold, scaley, and reeked of blood. But to me, I had not changed. To others, I had not changed. I was their saviour, the king destined to lead them.
Yet, Ezekiel's attitude had changed. The face looking at me that day was not encouragement or fondness.
No. It was almost pity.
I should have realized it earlier when he gave me that look. Ezekiel was gone most of the next morning when we took the dimensional portal to the demon lands. We didn't think anything of it as Ezekiel was often away carrying out his plans. That day, our plan was to integrate the city where the last sanctuary was situated into the demon lands. This way we would be under the protection of the demons.
Delade was the last human city I created. Together, the city housed over 150 million people, everyone who was still human. As the founder of Delade, I naturally held the city's dimension-moving ring. Although the demon land was not a place that normal humans could handle, the city's protection bubble would keep the demonic environment at bay. Although I was no longer human, it was a small price to pay to save the rest of humanity.
I arrived at the demon hall in the "afternoon". There is no sense of day or night in Hell, but time still flows in direct correlation with Earth. I was here to pledge my allegiance and finally end the struggle after 20 years. Although it was difficult, I held no regrets as I kneeled before Baal, the first Demon King. The stress and weight put on me since the beginning had finally ended.
However, before I could finish my oath, the sky opened with a bright light, contrasting with the barren and red landscape. Multiple angels flew down with spears, swords, lances, and wands. Small and large angels alike. Some with two wings and some with four wings. It was a sight never seen before in Hell.
Among the tens of angels floating towards us, one stood out from the rest.
A familiar face. One that had been my joy, pain, and friendship.
Ezekiel Gavi. His back now had two wings protruding from it. A soft-golden halo above his head. In his hands was a sword surrounded by that disgusting yellow light.
He was an angel. It was as if he was the saviour, not me. That appearance disgusted me.
He looked down at me, and I looked up from my kneeling position. The situation was so ironic I laughed. I was the king who led humanity. I was the one who became the light. I was the chosen one.
And yet, when I looked into the eyes of the only person I considered a brother, his eyes were devoid of emotion. His betrayal, his lack of emotions, his position in the sky. It was like an omnipresent god staring down at a mere mortal. The look from the night before was nowhere to be seen.
For the second time in my life, I felt an unimaginable pain in my heart.
Silence came across Hell. No sound of any whispering or talking, no ripples of magic power or movement. It was almost... peaceful.
Ezekiel unwaveringly pointed his sword at me. Still looking at me dead in the eyes, he whispered:
"Kill"
The next moment Hell fell apart (literally). The clash between angels and demons shook the dimension. It was at a level unimaginable to humans. A single swipe could wipe out cities on earth. This was the power of the strongest among demons and angels.
Ezekiel and I, however, were no longer humans at this point. It was safe to say that his actions were a direct betrayal. I pulled out my demonic sword Tyrfing (which was from the previous 56th demon lord) and faced my old friend.
I was no match for him.
I always thought I was the strongest human. With all the benefits I've gained and the numerous blessings, I had outrageous strength, rivalling that of the middle-tier demon kings.
But despite that, I was completely suppressed.
Ezekiel perfectly countered my sword techniques. My ultimate moves, and hidden abilities, some of which I had never shown anyone, were perfectly mitigated by that ugly yellow sword. As for how he knew all of my abilities to such a degree, even I don't know.
The fight was brief. I lost my sword in the third clash, his strength was monstrous. It flew behind him, out of my reach. As he stood in front of me, I tried to use telekinesis to pull the sword through his back, but he knew it would happen... as if he could read my mind like a book.
His hand reached behind him and grasped the shaking Tyrfing. My mental power could not resist his strength at all.
Then, with a swift slash, I was beheaded by my own sword.