The Demon King's First General
Chapter 112: Parade of Souls

Chapter 112: Parade of Souls

In a river filled with blood-colored liquid, there were hundreds of leaves drifting in silence on its stream. Each of them contained a glowing blue orb, but despite its radiance, the place was dim.

It was silent, and the stars were hanging above the sky, forming patterns to create different shapes and figures. The river had a long, narrow way, and at the end of it was a waterfall with a floating rock and a man sitting in a crossed-leg position.

There was one noteable thing about him: his arms. He had one on the left and four on the right.

His eyes were closed at that moment, but after a second, they opened, and he began to whisper a few words.

"One had to dare interrupt the parade of souls," he said, and then he looked at the leaf with a missing blue orb.

. . . . .

A few minutes earlier, inside the dungeon, Heaire called out Allesanah’s name.

"Allesanah Von de Viance, do you hear me?" She asked.

"Allesanah, where are you?" She added.

The shadows on Alles’ body turned into a giant blanket that wrapped around her from head to toe. Then a golden bell that was made from light appeared at her side, and it rang once, but nothing happened, so Heaire spoke again.

"Allesanah, you’re still right there, aren’t you? Follow my voice and come back here," she said, and the bell rang twice this time, but there was no response.

"Allesanah, I know you’re still there; follow my voice," she repeated, and the bell made three consecutive chimes.

Afterward, a portal that was the size of a fist appeared between the santelmo and Allesanah. Then a blue orb emerged from it and floated a few inches away from the body, wrapped in shadows.

"Human, hold this orb as well and fuse it with the santelmo," Heaire commanded.

Jez knitted his brows upon hearing the order.

"How am I supposed to do that?" He asked without any knowledge of the thing that the woman wanted, though he still grabbed the soul with his other Legacy’s hand.

"The core! You need to insert this soul in the santelmo’s core," Heaire replied.

However, Jez was still confused; the psychopomp’s explanation was vague, and he was contemplating whether he should just shove the orb into the ball of fire.

"What are you doing? The soul will dissipate once more any time soon; put them together!" Heaire shouted, irritation present in her voice.

With confirmation of what he needed to do, Jez slammed the orb towards the santelmo.

"You should tell me sooner!" He yelled as well afterwards.

His action created dust that flew up and a massive shockwave that almost sent everyone away if not for Rye’s timely casting of a barrier in front of them, while Heaire used her wings as a shield and Tencent just shrugged off the burst of wind.

"What was that?" The Ruby-class mercenary exclaimed, asking, but he received no answer from his companions.

They were all staring and waiting for the dust particles to diminish, and a few seconds later, the santelmo appeared bit by bit; it was still the ball of fire that they saw earlier.

Nothing had changed from their perspective, but from Heaire and the demon lying down at Tencent’s back, a smile appeared on their lips.

’So it is possible for that creature to contain two souls at once,’ the demon commented inside his thoughts.

He was observing the whole scenario with Eliana’s Legacy; he preferred to observe it this way than to witness the whole act with his own two eyes.

"Success!" Heaire exclaimed, and it brought joy to the group of people, especially Royle.

However, the resurrection was still incomplete, so they didn’t dare to celebrate too early.

"Human, I need you to lower down the santelmo," Heaire ordered once again, and Jez abided by it.

Then, the moment the santelmo came within the reach of the shadows, it was devoured along with its brilliance. The shadows extended and wrapped it along with the woman’s body.

Silence continued for a while; no one was saying a word; they were all waiting for the outcome of the resurrection.

Seconds passed, but Allesanah’s body remained the same, still covered with shadows, until Heaire stood up and retracted the shadows.

She sighed afterward, which made Rye gulp in fear.

"I-is it su-succesful?" She asked, stuttering.

Tears were forming at the corners of her eyes.

’Please say yes,’ she repeated inside her thoughts.

However, the psychopomp shook her head, and Rye fell onto her knees.

"I’m sorry," Heaire whispered.

Jez crouched down and patted Rye’s head before looking in Royle’s direction. Devastated was the only word that could define Royle’s well-being right now. He just stared at Allesanah’s body. The hope of seeing her again alive was crushed, and this was more painful than her actual death. They were only one step behind in resurrecting her, but the odds were against them.

"It can’t be! No, you’re lying!" Royle’s emotion exploded; his hope turned into despair, and he moved to check on Allesanah’s pulse, but there was no such thing.

"S-she’s alive! She’s warm!" He exclaimed, rejecting the reality before him.

Heaire shook her head before explaining the situation.

"That’s the result of absorbing the santelmo’s core; her body obtained its unique fire, giving her short-term warmth," she replied.

"Then tell me what happened." Royle paused as he looked into the psychopomp’s eyes.

"If you’re telling us that her body successfully absorbs the core, why is the ressurection a fai-" he continued, but the giant snake’s voice chimed in on their conversation.

"It’s not as simple as you think it is, young man," Tencent stated, then he came closer and spoke once more.

"There would be three reasons for this failure. One, the santelmo’s core was not enough to ignite her life. Next, the soul was rejecting the body despite being fused to it, and lastly, your friend didn’t want to get resurrected," he said.

Upon hearing the Fallen Commander’s explanation, the humans couldn’t help but wail the second time around for their friend’s death. Jez comforted the priestess while Royle embraced Allesanah’s body. Tears were flowing down his cheeks; he lost his will to argue.

’Is there no other way to revive her?’ He thought while feeling her warmth.

Afterward, he remembered the silver-haired demon.

"Maybe he can do something," he uttered, looking at the man lying on Tencent’s back.

"What are your thoughts regarding this?" He asked while gently placing the woman on the ground.

"I know you have a way to save her right now. Her soul is here, and her body is fine," he said, but the demon kept his silence.

"You’ve already done great in helping us until now, and I can’t thank you enough, but can you do it one more time? Please!" Royle begged.

He kneeled and touched the ground with his forehead, but the demon’s answer made his heart skip a beat.

"Why would I?" Zeno asked.

Then he opened his eyes and stared at the crystals glowing on the ceiling.

"Are you willing to give up your life for her to live?" He asked again.

Royle contemplated for seconds; he didn’t expect the demon’s question. Her life in exchange for his’, a world without him.

’Would she be happy if I died because of her? Would she resent herself upon knowing this?’ Questions started popping into his mind, and he tried to outweigh every possible outcome of his decision.

Then he glanced behind him, and a smile filled with sadness flashed on his lips after seeing Allesanah’s face.

"Yes!" He answered while still looking back.

"Royle!" Jez and Rye cried out.

Then Royle stood up and looked at them.

"I only have a few months to live, so her life has more worth compared to mine. Please take care of her," Royle stated.

Upon hearing their friend’s statement, Rye burried her face into the duke’s chest and cried a lot, while Jez nodded and closed his eyes to prevent the tears from dripping down.

Meanwhile, Zeno stood up and jumped down. He walked in Allesanah’s direction. Then, the moment he passed through Royle, he spoke.

"There’s a lot of free things in this world, but life is an exclusion from the list," he stated.

Afterward, he crouched down and examined the woman’s body.

’So that’s what happened,’ Zeno thought, then turned around.

"Forget about it; you can keep your life; she’s already alive," he said, looking at Royle.

This time, it was the psychopomp that replied, clueless about the demon’s words.

"What do you mean?" Heaire exclaimed.

"You’re mistaken; there’s been no pulse or any signs of life until now, not because the thing you did was a failure but because the two souls within this body were still fighting for supremacy. The santelmo wants to take over, but this little fella here has a stubborn personality," he explained.

As soon as Royle heard the demon’s explanation, he felt that the thing that struck his chest had been pulled out, and he let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Impossible... Santelmos were docile beings," Heaire stated.

Then Tencent joined in their conversation.

"Yes, they are, but I can’t say that when it comes to a human whom they deem an inferior race," he said.

"Don’t let your hopes get too high; we still don’t know if your friend will come out victorious," he added.

"No, she would! Alles won’t let herself lose against some ball of fire," Royle reassured, denying Tencent’s claims.

Afterward, Allesanah’s fingers began to twitch and her chest grasped for air, then her eyes started to open.

. . . . .