The Damned Demon

458 Destined To Destroy

Luna, her eyes now a chilling shade of blood red, raised her gaze to meet Lupus's gaze. Her voice, usually so full of life and pique, now cold and indifferent, delivered her accusations like daggers, "You are no grandfather of mine. You caused my father to die and did nothing to prevent it. You made my mother suffer and become an outcast. All for a key which could end up destroying our world."

Lupus, unshaken, met her gaze with a solemnity born of conviction, "Or end up breathing new life into our world. Can't you see? Our world is dying, and it won't be long before the Hunters finish us off. They have continued to get stronger over the ages, while we have continued to get weaker. The emergence of someone like the Golden Prince himself struck terror into our world. Can you imagine if, in the future 2 more like him rise? Or 5 or 10?" Luna's glance towards Asher, fleeting yet laden with meaning, made him wonder why she shot him such a glance. Does she know something?

He continued, "So you have to understand the sacrifices I had to make... Most of it was for you, even if it was hard for me. You are my successor, and I must pave the path for you to walk."

Luna shook her head slowly, her glare boring into Lupus, "No. You just want the key to reach newer heights and attain higher power at the cost of our world. You already know your time is almost up."

"Not exactly, Luna. We will be the ones helping our world be reborn. We can't do that without having the power we need," Lupus countered, his voice calm but firm.

In a surprising turn, Luna raised her hand and pointed at Asher, who was startled to be pulled into their heated conversation, "There is no need for our world to be reborn. We have him," she stated, her eyes briefly softening as they met Asher's, laden with a faith that seemed both profound and perplexing.

Asher's brows raised, not expecting to get pulled into the heated conversation between them, while Luna added, "He will soon become strong enough to save our realm. You need not do anything."

Asher's brows furrowed, confused by the weight of her words. Why was she talking as if she knew what would happen in the future? Can she also see glimpses of the future?

Lupus's eyes narrowed, his gaze flickering between Luna and Asher, "Or he will end up causing the destruction of our world. I may no longer be able to see visions of the future. But I am sure you already saw what I saw. Didn't you?"

Luna's lips pressed into a thin line, her expression betraying her inner turmoil. Her silence was all the confirmation Lupus needed.

"You see?" Lupus said, addressing both of them, "We cannot risk our entire world on a mere possibility. The key is our only chance at survival, and I will stop at nothing to protect our kind."

Luna's eyes crackled with determination as she glared at Lupus, her brows furrowed into a deep frown, "You don't know him at all. He is more than what he appears to be. I will see to it that he becomes our savior, not our destroyer. But until then, I won't let you have the key." Asher, caught in the maelstrom of their confrontation, felt an unexpected weight upon hearing Luna's vow of protection and faith in him. Her confidence was both uplifting and bewildering, sparking a silent question within him about the true nature of the woman who stood so fiercely before them. Was she truly the Ceti he knew, or some alter ego?

When he looked at her eyes, he couldn't see Ceti but felt as if a stranger was looking at him.

But why did it seem like the future involved him causing the destruction of this world? Why would he ever destroy it when this world has become his home now and everyone he loved was living within it?

Lupus, however, remained unimpressed by Luna's stance, his dismissal evident in his tone, "You know the key is going to end up in my hands one way or the other. You are the last person who should bother trying to prevent the inevitable."

"I don't care," Luna retorted, her voice unwavering. "I will keep trying as long as you are alive," she declared, and with a snap of her fingers, the air around her pulsed with a blood-red light as it rippled outwards from her form.

Time itself seemed to slow to a crawl, the world slowing to a standstill around her as crimson lightning streaks began to dance around her body.

She was moving so fast that Asher and Lupus appeared as if they were caught in a temporal stasis, their expressions locked in a moment of suspended animation.

Her figure then streaked toward the unconscious Rowena, Isola, and Flaralis. With a grace that belied the urgency of her actions, Luna's figure was a crimson streak as she moved through the frozen space and effortlessly carried Rowena, Isola, and Flaralis to a safe place, far from Lupus.

Her gaze settled on the stunned Asher, and with a gentle hold on his shoulder, she whispered, "Go to them and keep them safe while I handle this," Saying so, with a swiftness that was nothing short of supernatural, she transported him towards Rowena and the others before immediately getting back to where Lupus was.

Facing Lupus, who remained a statue in the eerie stillness, Luna's resolve hardened. Her hands, alive with the dance of crimson lightning, became the forge of her attack. A bolt of energy, crackling with the promise of destruction and defiance, coalesced between her palms. With a motion that bridged the gap between desperation and hope, she hurled the lightning at Lupus, a strike meant to shatter his tough body.

But just as the crimson bolt descended toward him like a blazing comet seeking its target, Lupus's eyes suddenly shifted from its seemingly frozen state.

In a flash, he transformed into a crimson blur, evading the electrifying onslaught effortlessly and reappearing beside Luna in a heartbeat. His arm moved with lightning speed, aiming to deliver a devastating blow.

Yet, anticipation danced within Luna's gaze as if she had predicted it. As swiftly as starlight meeting dawn, her fist met his in a thunderous collision.

*BOOOM!*

The impact resonated through space, shaking the very foundations of their surroundings. Shockwaves exploded outwards, tearing apart the earth beneath them and causing the skies above to shudder violently.

A storm of energy swirled around the pair, giving rise to miniature tornadoes and tempests. Cracks raced across the land, threatening to swallow everything whole. And yet, despite being at the epicenter of this cataclysmic event, neither of them faltered; they remained locked in their fierce struggle, muscles straining and willpower unwavering, defying gravity as their feet held fast against the chaotic turmoil unfolding around them.

Lupus, his eyes alight with a mixture of pride, acknowledged Luna's burgeoning strength, "I am proud to see that you are becoming strong so fast. No wonder I am becoming weaker. That is how it is, right? The stronger the successor of the Moon Guardian, the weaker they would become."

Luna's glare hardened, her voice icy cold, "What? You want to kill me to preserve your strength? I won't be surprised, considering you had no qualms about getting your own son killed."

Lupus's expression clouded over, "The visions you see are because of the future I've carved. One day, you'll understand why I had to do what I did. Until then, I'll try to correct your path, no matter what it takes, even if you come to hate me more," his commitment unwavering, even in the face of Luna's growing animosity.

"I will kill you before I let you take anything more from me," Luna's voice rose to a roar, her blood-red eyes burning with a murderous intent.

The air crackled with tension as Luna, her form seizing in a convulsive transformation, adopted a cloak of ethereal white fur, her body reshaping into a manifestation of her true power. Her slender figure became a harmonious blend of muscle and grace, power etched into every line. The delicacy of her features gave way to a countenance that was both ferocious and captivating, a mirror to the duality of her soul. Her eyes, pools of blood red, shone with a ferocity that was as beautiful as it was deadly.

Lupus, not to be outdone, initiated his own transformation. A growl tore from his throat as his skin, once a reddish hue, was overtaken by white fur, thick and bristling with raw strength. His form expanded, muscles bulging under the dense fur, a stark contrast to Luna's more slender silhouette. The two werewolves stood on their hind feet, their blood-red eyes clashing with each other, both their gazes differing from a calm ferocity to a murderous one.

With feral growls, they both transformed into streaks of crimson lightning, unleashing a torrent of relentless attacks, their claws and lightning combined.

The air around them became a battlefield of its own, charged with the energy of their confrontation. The two streaks of crimson lightning tore through the air and space, leaving trails of destruction in their wake. The very fabric of reality seemed to strain under the intensity of their relentless attacks.

Meanwhile, Asher, abruptly displaced from the epicenter of the conflict, blinked in confusion. The sudden shift in his surroundings left him disoriented for a moment, but the sight of Rowena, Isola, and Flaralis, unconscious and vulnerable, brought a sharp focus to his mind.

But feeling the earth beneath him shaking and the skies rumbling, his brows raised upon seeing two crimson lightning streaks clashing against each other dozens of kilometers away.

"Who are you really, Ceti…"

What's going on with Ceti?