DEMON KING'S Love Redemption

Chapter 30

"We're only in the outer zone, Kael. Save your mana," Freya said as she walked over to Vann, her eyes scanning him for injuries. "Are you alright?"

Vann put on a slightly pale, trembling expression. "T-thank you, Lady Freya. Those wolves... they looked terrifying."

Kael snorted in disgust. "Look at the dead weight we're carrying. He's actually scared of low-level monsters."

"Freya, why do you still care about him?"

Freya didn't answer Kael. Instead, she fixed her gaze deeper on Vann. "Vann, ever since we entered this place, your heartbeat has been perfectly steady. Far too steady for someone who’s supposed to be terrified. Who are you, really?"

Vann’s heart gave a sharp thud. This girl... her senses are too sharp, he thought. He immediately forced a cough, trying to mask his nerves. "That... it’s just the breathing exercises Professor Elara taught me, My Lady. So I wouldn't faint from the fear."

Freya narrowed her eyes, but she didn't push him further. "Let’s move. We need to clear the Crystal Forest before this artificial sun sets."

They descended the cliff, entering the silent woods. Beneath the canopy of black crystal trees, the glow from Kael’s sword was their only light. The sound of their footsteps echoed against the cold, crystalline trunks.

Every few minutes, a pack of monsters emerged. Kael always charged ahead, flaunting his destructive light techniques. Freya provided precise long-range support. Vann? He stayed back, pretending to stumble occasionally or ducking in feigned terror whenever a stray attack whistled past.

Behind the scenes, however, Vann was busy. Whenever Kael or Freya were pushed into a corner without realizing it, Vann released a microscopic amount of his aura—just enough to make the monsters sluggish or lose focus for a millisecond.

A giant crystal spider dropped from above, nearly landing on Freya. Vann snapped his fingers inside his cloak pocket. Mysteriously, the crystal branch above the spider snapped first, sending the monster off-balance and landing it right within the reach of Kael’s blade.

"Look at that! Even luck is on my side!" Kael shouted after cleaving the spider in two.

Freya frowned, glancing back at Vann, who was busy tying his shoelaces. "That branch... it shouldn't have just broken on its own."

"It was probably the vibrations from Master Kael's powerful magic, My Lady," Vann replied without looking up.

As they went deeper, the atmosphere of the simulated dimension shifted drastically. The purple sky turned a thick, blood red. A foul-smelling black mist began to crawl across the forest floor, swallowing the light from Kael’s sword.

"Something’s wrong," Freya said, coming to a halt. She drew a silver dagger and touched it to the ground. "The holy mana in my blade... it’s reacting negatively. This isn't simulation magic anymore. This is the residue of pure darkness."

Suddenly, a raspy human laugh echoed from the depths of the forest. It wasn't the sound of a monster, but a man.

"Three star students... all on one beautiful platter," the voice said. It belonged to the Demon Cult leader Vann had encountered at the festival.

Kael spun around, his face flushed with rage. "Who’s there?! Show yourself, you coward!"

A man wearing a goat mask stepped out from the shadows of the crystal trees. Behind him, dozens of black-robed cultists stood with their arms crossed. In their midst, a small, jagged dimensional rift bled out dense, suffocating energy.

"Professor Mordred was kind enough to let us 'borrow' this exam to come fetch our Sovereign," the masked man said, bowing toward Vann.

The world seemed to stop for Freya and Kael. Both turned simultaneously to look at Vann, who still stood quietly at the back of the group.

"Vann... what do they mean?" Freya’s voice trembled. Her bow was drawn, but her arrow wavered between the cultists and Vann.

Vann closed his eyes and let out a long sigh that sounded like the low roar of a restrained storm. This charade had to end now, or they would both die at the hands of this Cult. He looked up, and for the first time, he no longer hid his gaze.

His black eyes flared into a burning crimson, radiating an aura of dominance that instantly snuffed out the light from Kael’s sword.

"They’ve decided to ruin my date for the second time," Vann’s voice was now heavy, deep, and filled with the absolute authority of a Demon King. He stepped forward, walking past Freya and Kael, who stood frozen by the sheer weight of his mana.

Vann fixed the goat-masked man with a stare that could burn a soul. "And I really... truly dislike being interrupted during an exam."

The black mist around them suddenly froze. The air pressure plummeted so sharply that the ground beneath the cultists began to crumble into dust. Vann raised his right hand, his fingers poised for a snap that would end it all.

"Kael, Freya... close your eyes," Vann commanded. "I don’t want you to see what I’m about to do to this trash."

Suddenly, the artificial dimension shuddered violently. Cracks appeared in the air like shattering glass. Someone had sabotaged the dimension far more than Vann had anticipated. Mordred’s voice crackled through a magical transmission, but this time it was distorted.

"The real test... has only just begun, Vann. Show me... can your love protect them from your own darkness?"

A blast of dark energy erupted from the rift in the center of the forest, swallowing Vann’s entire team into total darkness.

Vann, Freya, and Kael were hurled into the deepest reaches of the now-shattered dimension. Before them, amidst a fog of blood, stood an entity that mirrored Vann’s past—the Demon King in his full, black-armored glory.

"Welcome to your own memories, Your Majesty," the entity whispered.

Vann must now fight the shadow of his own past to save Freya, while Freya is forced to confront the bitter reality that the man she was starting to like is the very monster she hates most. Kael, pushed to the brink, begins to lose his mind. Will Vann fully release the seal on his power and risk his own soul?