CHAPTER 593: CHAPTER 594: THE END

There was pain in every corner of her body, but alongside it lingered a faint feeling of euphoria.

However, that wasn’t the first thing she sensed. The very first thing Abellona noticed was the faint scent of sweat, her own, mixed with the scent of a man clinging stubbornly to her skin.

The scent of that man... Damian.

She slowly opened her eyes, fully aware of what had happened. There was no need for doubts, no room for hesitation.

Abellona was alive. She glanced down at her own body. Her breasts carried a faint, almost imperceptible swelling, likely because a man she barely knew had squeezed and touched them. That was why his scent still lingered.

Looking further down, her naked skin bore faint bruises but nothing serious. She squeezed her legs together as if to preserve her modesty, only to realize there was no one around.

Her last memory rose from the broken chaos of her mind—his body pinning her down, his lips against hers as she pulled him closer, her legs crossing around his waist while her body opened to receive him.

There was no need to speak, no need for words. Her disheveled appearance, the faint pain radiating through her body, and the undeniable fact that she was still alive were proof enough.

"I have been made a woman." She whispered with a reddened face.

When those words slipped from her lips, Abellona was unsure of what she should feel. All of it... had been necessary to save her life.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself not to dawdle. Her gaze fell to her finger, searching for her spatial ring. For the first time, she noticed it was gone.

Only then did she realize she had been draped in a soft blanket. Her eyes moved again, and she found not her own clothes, but garments left behind for her—his clothes.

Male clothes.

She bit her lip. There was nothing more to hide. He had already touched her most intimate places. Still, she refused to bare herself further. At the very least, she had to appear modest.

In a daze, she pulled on the clothing. It clung too tightly at her chest but hung loosely elsewhere. Slowly, she walked to the edge of the platform, her heart pounding. She was alive, the cavern was silent... Did that mean Ashcroft had found them? Did that mean the man who had deflowered her was still alive?

As she looked down, her senses caught it immediately: an acrid scent, overwhelming and thick, the stench of blood and death.

The scent of a battlefield.

From where she stood, she saw nothing but ruin. There were no corpses, no trace of the demons or monsters that had once filled this place. All that remained were shattered remnants. The most striking was what appeared to be ground zero of a destructive force so powerful its lingering aura made her knees tremble.

Her hands shook as a terrible possibility clawed its way into her mind.

Spreading her wings, she descended in a glide. Her trembling fingers touched the earth as she lowered herself to her knees. And there she found it.

A single arm.

Her throat tightened, making it difficult to swallow. Her eyes burned red with tears she could not hold back.

It was evident.

"That arrogant bastard... you arrogant bastard... you can’t... you can’t do this to me..."

He had slain Ashcroft... but he had perished with the fragment of the Demon Lord of Domination. That arrogant man had sacrificed everything to protect her, and now he was gone.

"Come back! You can’t die... you have to take responsibility... you have to..."

Abellona hugged the severed arm, tears streaming down her face. This wasn’t the first time she had mourned a death, but why did this one cut her so deeply?

If he had lived... she would have caused him trouble, but she would have lived with him. She would have kept her promise. She would have wanted the moment they shared to turn into something more.

Why did she only bring death to those around her?

Her chest tightened with grief. She reached for a crystal shard, raising it to her throat, the weight of her indignation, loss, and yearning pressing down on her heart.

As the sharp edge touched her skin, she froze.

"Huh... wait... where is my spatial ring?"

If it had been destroyed, she would have sensed it. But it wasn’t destroyed. She simply couldn’t sense it.

"Then... he might... still be alive."

Her thoughts turned to him—a materialistic penny pincher who would risk his life for money. And she still owed him five billion.

"He’s alive... I know it... damn you bastard..."

Abellona’s lips trembled, curling into a smile even as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"You foul, deplorable scum... I hate you... I hate you so much..."

Her laughter mingled with her sobs as she clutched the arm tightly to her chest. The proud princess of the empire swore she would find Damon.

Meanwhile, at the edge of Ashcroft’s barrier, Damon stepped free. With the Demon Lord of Domination dead and his powers flowing into him, it almost felt as though he had originally set it all up.

The barrier itself bent to his will. After some thought, he attempted to send the lesser demon into his shadow. To his surprise, it worked. But the creature consumed an immense amount of space within his shadow storage.

With that done, Damon crossed the threshold. The moment he stepped outside, his aura spilled into the open world.

He walked away leisurely, melting into shadow.

Far away in the city of Lumos, the Grand Duke narrowed his eyes. A faint tremor shook the hall. Beside him, Duke Cassian’s expression darkened.

"What was that?"

The Grand Duke inhaled sharply, his face heavy with realization.

"Ashcroft."

In the capital of Valtheron, a figure jolted upright on his throne.

In the Holy Empire, a man with golden hair stirred in a coffin, opening his radiant golden eyes.

Across the world, from the coldest peaks to the hottest deserts, all those of great power felt it.

On the demon continent, a woman with batlike wings, dressed as a humble nun, stepped from a temple with a soft smile.

"The Dominator..."

"Ahh, you have returned, Demon Lord of Domination. Some will not welcome your return."

"I suppose war is upon us once more."

"Mosbeck... begin preparations.... To welcome the Dominator."

And deep within a place bound by countless rattling chains, a gathering of strange entities, some human and some not, all sealed in ancient bonds, stirred restlessly.

The most dangerous among them had a single thought.

"The end has begun..."