The malice that seeped from the creature was thick enough to stain bone, to corrode will. Andre swung his blade, attempting to sever the smoke that coiled through the air, but it was no use. No blade, no matter how swift, could cut what could not be touched.

This was the danger of demons.Had it been a troll or an ogre, the fight would have been easier. Consciousness slipped. Strength faltered.

Yet in the haze of despair, one thought surfaced, The prince

A small mercy that he was not here to witness this. Let this failure die submerged in filth, while the prince remained untouched. As the muck and smoke of the demon’s will swallowed him whole, 

“Foolish, foolish knight. Ignorant commoner. Struggling alone while your lord does not even come for you.”

A voice, unmistakably clear, carved its way through the mire.

“Your Highness…?” Andre turned toward the sound.

There he stood, platinum hair radiant even amid the gloom, a posture aloof, noble, bored.

…

The prince had come.His lips curved in a lopsided smirk.

“Told you to find the flame. And yet here I am, having to come to you. How will you atone?”

Ah, that’s right.

‘If ever you see the flame in the darkness, come. I’ll be there.’

He had spoken those words before Andre left. Had he foreseen this?

In this pit of despair, filled only with stench and evil, ’s crimson eyes blazed with madness.

Drums echoed, deep and loud, shaking the very courtyard. The sound alone was enough to weaken the malice coiling around Andre’s mind.

“Still able to lift your sword?”

“Yes!”

“Then I’ll light the way. You break through, with my flame.”

“I will obey!”

The daze vanished from Andre’s eyes. Clarity returned. …He had a path…               A command.

 slowly drew his sword.

“Burn.”

From deep within his chest, a clean , furious,clear flame rose. It traveled through his limbs, wrapped around the sword, then licked upward into his hair.

The incarnation of fire stepped once more into the swamp of hatred.

He watched the battle briefly. The conclusion was clear, that the fire was enough. The creature could be burned. The first heart of Flame Vein, the Crimson Flame, purifying fire. A flame that grew by consuming malice.

This thing wasn’t even a true demon, just a discarded scrap of evil. It wasn’t a matter of swordsmanship, nor of strength…It was affinity.

His flame consumed the creature’s nature.Only one regret lingered, 

“Should’ve practiced my swordwork more.”

Getting close would be troublesome. Then he saw Andre, fighting with desperate ferocity, and a thought came.

Why should he struggle?

His sword was already there …fighting ahead of him.

He gave the order, then released the flame.

“Shhhhrrrrk!” The flame roared forward, devouring smoke and swamp, the deep malice that had drenched the ground began to burn away.

“Out of the prince’s way!” Andre’s shout rang out.

He wasn’t yet a flash of lightning, but his blade moved fast enough, slicing through ash and forging a path.

“Faster.”

To light the way for his knight, the fire in his chest turned fiercely. Through the body he had tempered in the past days, through the breath honed by the Flame Vein technique, he guided the fire. Following the records of Flame Vein, the stream of flame snaked out like a serpent, then surged like a river.

“Faster. Hotter.”

The fire from his body and blade burst forth.

“Fwoooosh!” It devoured the reek of narcotics and poison.

What had once been a courtyard of despair was now bathed in crimson, and there, Andre swung his blade through the last shadows.

Malice vanished, all that remained was fire. Through that burning path, the prince walked, with arrogance. With ease.

“The path is cleared, Your Highness.”

“Well done.”

Andre, breathing heavily, stepped aside,  nodded and passed.

Then came the scream, 

“Skreeee!” The director, the failed demon was thrashed, flailing its grotesque limbs against the flame.

“How hideous.” The comment slipped unbidden.

“So many died… for this?”

“You! You’re the prince! You ruined everything! I could’ve become a real demon! I could’ve had mystic power, if not for you!” 

The rage was answered with a curl of the lip…Contempt took shape.

“So what?” He looked down on the creature.

“What a joke.” Harsh words followed.

“Your plan was garbage. You lacked the power. You failed. You’re blaming everyone else because you can’t accept that. All that work, just to become this filth. You were trash from the beginning.”

…Silence…

Stunned? Offended? Either way, the creature paused, then screamed and lunged.

As expected, no retort. Just rage.

That meant the words had landed, the amusement shone brighter. It flailed. Smoke and shadow burst from its holes. But the fire read fate.

“No malice may touch this body.”

His eyes, sharpened by destiny, saw the truth. The creature could not harm him.

They danced.

The monster flailed, he evaded, It stretched its twisted limbs, opened its gaping face-holes in desperation, He simply dodged, as if mocking, and swung.

Slice by slice, he cut away its shell.

“Skreeee!” the creature howled, but the blade, imbued with Crimson Flame, left no wound that could heal…Only pain.

When its strength finally failed, it crumpled.

“Is that all?”

He stepped forward to end it, as the creature whimpered.

“Spare me. I can help you. I can make you emperor!”

“Emperor?”

“Yes! I know demons who can help! I’ll connect you. You want the throne, don’t you?

“Disgusting.”

That was enough.

“Slash.” The sword fell. The head rolled.

Then he slashed again, and again. When there was nothing left but scraps, he unleashed the flame one last time.

Ashes.

A whisper, too soft to be heard, 

“Don’t need help from some wretched demon.”

The throne would be claimed by his own hands.

The laugh that followed was wild, and triumphant.

[You have devoured a Major Fate: Demon. Mystic Point +1. Convertible to Transformation Points.] 

[Lower Fate Reward Pending.]

[Lower Fates Devoured: Death, Corruption, Addiction, Cowardice. Large Transformation Gain.] 

Your Flame swallows the demon’s darkness. It burns brighter. Flame Vein reveals new abilities.] 

[Fate Eyes have evolved. You now glimpse the threads of human fate.]

The rewards were rich, and then, 

[You have defied a Major Fate: Demon. You twisted the destined usurpation. Transformation Points acquired.]

[Core Fate Inheritance has been disrupted.]

The shape of a tyrant’s fate had begun to reveal itself.