Leon stood at the edge of the battlefield, his robes tattered and bloodstained.
The air was thick with the stench of burning flesh and charred earth, the cries of the dying drowned out by the thunderous roars of battle.
At the center of it all stood the Demon Lord, a towering figure of blackened muscle and fire, flanked by his demonic minions.
The ground shook with every step the monster took, each rumble sending a fresh wave of despair through the ranks of the heroes.
But Leon wasn't focused on the Demon Lord.
His eyes were on the people he had once called comrades—the so-called "heroes" who were meant to save the world.
The hero himself, Hiroshi Ardentblade, the black-haired champion of the gods, stood tall at the front, his sword gleaming with divine light. And beside him, Luna Silvergale.
Her silver hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall, her beauty as striking as ever, but now it was tainted by the cruel twist of her smile.
Leon's heart twisted at the sight of that smile—a smile she had never shown him.
Not during their years of training together, not during the nights when they laughed under the stars, not even when he had confided in her.
That smile was reserved for Hiroshi, the man who had everything Leon had ever wanted—power, respect, admiration—and who had taken the one thing Leon thought was his.
"Leon," Luna's voice was soft, almost soothing. She stepped forward, her hand reaching out toward him. "Come. We can still win this, together."
Her eyes, which once held warmth and friendship, now gleamed with a predatory light.
Leon wasn't fooled. He had seen the whispers, caught the stolen glances. He knew what they intended for him—sacrifice.
His death would be the key to victory, and they would reap the glory while he would be forgotten, discarded.
They wanted him to use his magnum opus to obliterate the demon race from existence, but the cost was his own life.
It was something that should only be used as a last resort—if they cared about his well-being, which they didn't.
"I'm done," Leon said, his voice cold and firm.
He wasn't helping anymore. He didn't need to. He was an Archmagus; he could bend reality, revive the dead, reverse time itself.
The only reason he had kept following them while they plotted behind his back was his faith in humanity, which was now gone.
Hiroshi stepped forward, his sword still glowing with divine power. "Leon, don't be foolish. You were always meant to play a crucial role in this battle. We need you to finish this."
Kaelen Duskshadow, the elf rogue, sauntered over with her usual smug grin. "Yeah, Leon, don't be so dramatic. You're the key to all of this. Without you, none of us make it out alive."
Seraphina Glimmerveil, the fairy mage, fluttered her wings as she approached, her tone condescending. "Think of it as your final act of heroism, Leon. Isn't that what you've always wanted? To be remembered as a hero?"
Leon clenched his fists, the pressure of their words digging into his already wounded pride. They were trying to manipulate him, to sweet-talk him into accepting his fate. But he wasn't the naive fool they took him for anymore.
"You don't care about me," Leon said, his voice low but filled with a growing rage. "You never did. All of you... you're just using me."
Luna's smile faltered for a moment, but she quickly recovered, stepping closer. "Leon, you're wrong. We've always cared about you. But this is bigger than any one of us. You understand that, right?"
Hiroshi nodded, his golden hair shimmering in the dim light of the battlefield. "This is your chance to do something truly great. To save the world. Don't throw it away."
Leon's gaze hardened. "Save the world? Or save yourselves?"
The shift in their demeanor was almost palpable. When they realized their words wouldn't sway him, the tension in the air grew thicker. Hiroshi's hand tightened around his sword, his eyes narrowing.
"Leon," Hiroshi said, his voice no longer friendly but commanding. "Don't make this difficult. We don't have time for this. We need you to do your part. Now."
Kaelen's playful smirk faded into a cold sneer. "Don't think you can just walk away, Leon. We're all in this together, whether you like it or not."
"Enough talking," Seraphina hissed, her wings fluttering in agitation. "If he won't do it willingly, we'll make him."
Leon could feel their magic gathering around him, the weight of their combined power pressing down on his shoulders.
They were done with words—now they would force him into compliance.
But Leon wasn't going to let them dictate his fate. Not anymore.
"You want to control me?" Leon spat, his voice sharp with defiance. "Good luck with that."
As their magic closed in, Leon's eyes found the Demon Empress.
Like the God powering Hiroshi as their champion, Demon Empress is the one behind Demon lord.
Her crimson eyes locked onto his, and in that moment, a silent understanding passed between them.
They were both at the edge, both staring into the abyss.
With a flick of his hand, an indestructible barrier blocked all of incoming attacks, only cracked by the might of Hiro's divine blade.
This showed the difference between them—there were only three important figures in this part of the battle: the Hero the Archmage, and the Demon Empress.
Demon Lord was just an avatar, a token of hatred.
The others were merely foot soldiers, a pieces that will be forgotten in history, their worth no more than the dying troops around them.
Hiroshi's party mates were present only because of their beauty.
With a single teleportation spell, Leon crossed the battlefield in an instant. The battle raged around him, but he moved with purpose, ignoring the screams and the clashing of weapons. His former comrades watched him go, their confusion quickly turning to panic.
"I know your pain, Demon Empress, being force into such position and still manage to made it this far is impressive."
Leon learned about the truth of Demon race long before the final battle, but that time he still naive and watched them as enemy, but not anymore, just like him, they also fought for their survival.
"What are you doing?" Luna demanded, her voice rising in alarm.
Hiroshi's eyes widened as he realized what Leon was planning. "Leon, no! Stop this madness!"
But Leon didn't stop. When he reached the Demon Empress, he extended a hand.
"Demon Empress," he said, his voice steady despite the chaos swirling around him. "Let's make a deal."
She looked down at him, a flicker of surprise crossing her face before it was replaced with cold calculation. "A deal?" she echoed, her voice laced with suspicion. "What do you propose, human?"
"We'll both go back in time," Leon said, his words deliberate. "You do your thing, I'll do mine, and whatever happens, happens. Deal?"
Hiroshi lunged forward, his sword raised high. "No! Don't do it, Leon!"
Kaelen and Seraphina rushed toward him as well, their magic flaring as they tried to stop him. But it was too late.
Demon Empress look around the battle field, she already knew this is as far as she could go, their opponent came fully prepared for everything, and she suspected it because the person before her, this man, is truly dangerous.
"Deal." She agreed to his offer.
The moment the Demon Empress's hand touched his, a surge of power coursed through Leon's body. The spell had already been cast.
The Demon Empress began to chant in a language older than time itself, her voice weaving a spell that reverberated through the very fabric of reality. The heroes' attacks were swallowed by the raw, untamed time magic now enveloping Leon and the Demon Empress.
"You're dooming us all!" Luna screamed, her voice filled with desperation and stretching to infinity. But her cries were drowned out by the roar of power that surged around them.
Leon closed his eyes and focused, tapping into the wellspring of arcane energy within him and help the demon empress to manifest the time reversal on never before scale.
He poured everything he had into the spell, channeling his magic into the Demon Empress's power, stabilized it. The air around them crackled with energy, and the world began to blur, the battlefield fading into a swirl of colors and light.
"Exacly, see you soon." Leon muttered, a twisted smile creeping onto his face as the world around him dissolved.
And then, everything went black.
When Leon awoke, the first thing he noticed was the silence. No more clashing steel, no more cries of pain. Just an eerie, oppressive silence.
He opened his eyes and found himself standing in a place that was both familiar and strange—this is Luna family's castle.
He looked down at his hands and saw that they were covered in strange, glowing symbols—marks of the pact he had made with the Demon Empress.
He could feel her power inside him, mingling with his own, twisting and reshaping it. But there was something else, too.
Something darker. He could feel it lurking in the depths of his soul, a hunger that hadn't been there before.
And then he realized what it was.
Fate.
The pact had given him more than just raw power. It had given him the ability to steal the fate and vitality of others.
To absorb their talents, their essence, through a dual mana transfer—through sex.
It was a power that went beyond anything he had ever imagined, a power that would allow him to reshape the world to his will.
A twisted smile crept across his face as the weight of his new reality settled in.
He was no longer bound by the rules of morality or the expectations of others.
He had been betrayed by the very people he had trusted, and now he would show them what true betrayal looked like.
"Thank you," Leon whispered to the darkness, feeling the power pulsing through his veins. "For giving me the strength to be who I was always meant to be."
The shadows around him seemed to shift, and for a moment, he thought he saw the faint outline of the Demon Empress, watching him with a knowing smile.
Leon would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
He would conquer everything in his path, and anyone who stood in his way would either fall or serve. His new power made him invincible.
The apex of magic? No. He was more than that now.
He was sovereign.
With newfound determination, Leon mind already working on his next move.
He would need allies, pawns to help him build his empire. And there were plenty of people with talents he could use. He would find them, take what he needed, and discard the rest.
But first, there was someone he needed to deal with.
Someone who had always been a thorn in his side.
"Luna," he whispered, the name leaving his lips like a curse.
Leon's smile widened, a mixture of bitterness and anticipation. It was time to pay his former comrades a visit.
And this time, he wouldn't be playing the human side.
He would be playing his OWN side.