The Crown's Obsession

The demon tried to heal himself, but the fumes only continued to escape from his leg as if the wound was melting. The demon turned angry, "Seems like you aren't an ordinary vampire."

Theodore removed the glasses that he was wearing on his face and placed it in his pocket so that it wouldn't break. When his eyes looked back up at the demon, his eyes had turned black, and the other demon narrowed his eyes.

"So that is how it is," chuckled the demon while looking at Theodore, "You are a demon yourself, but a lower demon from this world. How pathetic," he commented. The demon raised his hand to the side as it turned hot and red, "We have no time to play around, but others seem to be busy so why not."

The demon came right at Theodore to attack him with his burning hand that looked nothing less to an iron rod that had been heated until it was red. He went on to punch Theodore, his hand swinging left and right to get a hit at Theodore, but Theodore kept dodging it before the demon's hand got stuck in the pillar wall.

Theodore clutched on to his dagger in one hand, and in the other, he held the demon's head before severing the demon's head from the body. Black blood fell on the ground before it splashed into a heap of liquid-like smoke.

Instead of finding Lady Elizabeth, he went to look for Madeline as the demons had come here to get her, while also believing that Raphael would look after Lady Elizabeth as he could hear her growls from where he was.

When he entered the inner part of the castle, he caught sight of the guards who were fighting with the demons, while some of the guards had fallen dead on the ground. After killing some more demons and the half-angels, Theodore finally caught sight of Madeline, who was fighting with two other demons, while icicles appeared on the floor.

"Lady Madeline!" Theodore called to get her attention.

The girl who once had appeared nothing but as a normal human now wielded control on the ice where she was transforming the nearby snow into sharp weapons.

As expected, the dead bodies in the castle were only piling up one after another, and the Salvette Mortems who had made home in the Hawthrone castle started to take the souls of the people to take them to the next world for their judgement.

Theodore pulled out another gun that he had picked up on his way that belonged to one of the dead men in the corridors, aiming it at the demon and the demoness who were trying to harm Lady Madeline.

He had seen the demon's face before when the High House member had drawn the picture of one of their latest cases regarding Hanima's jewels. It was Walter, the demon who had worked with senior Mr. and Mrs. Harris.

Madeline took the chance to escape from there quickly, and before Walter could follow her, the bullets in Theodore's gun were quick to shoot at the demon, forcing the demon to jump behind. The demoness followed the lady, while Theodore was able to stop only one of the demons.

"Theodore, is it?" asked Walter. "Why are you working for someone who is on the losing side? You should be smart enough to join us. I have heard so much about you."

"So have I," replied Theodore.

Walter was not like the other previous demons, and instead of attacking Theodore, he first assessed him before both of their weapons clashed against each other with sparks flying under the dim light of the corridors.

"If you have heard about me, you should know that you are not in the winning team. Why risk on something so worthless," commented Walter in a calm voice.

Compared to the other demons Theodore had fought earlier, this demon seemed far more powerful in his speed and strength. Theodore put his full strength while trying to fight with the man, but he only ended up being pushed backwards and punched.

"I heard you had a fight with my fellow men over the princess. I was quite surprised when I realized there was a demon serving the King," said Walter. His movements relaxed, and Theodore took the opportunity to attack him relentlessly.

"I didn't know he was with you," responded Theodore. He had let go of his gun while using his hands to get a hold of Walter so that he could thrash him back. He had to get back to see Madeline's safety, but right now, it was hard to follow her as Walter wasn't letting him look away even for a second. One wrong move and it would cost his life as Walter's hand had suddenly transformed itself into sharp metal knives.

Theodore could only hope that Madeline would be able to stand her ground without being caught by the demons.

Walter chuckled at Theodore's attempt, and he went back to attacking him. Theodore had picked up a crossbow that had been lying on the ground that belonged to a dead guard, using it to defend himself to stop Walter's attacks.

Both the demons continued to attack each other at every possible opportunity, and Theodore could hear the crashing sound of things and people screaming and the gunshots that echoed all around the castle.

When he heard a woman's scream, Theodore was distracted for a second, worried, and this allowed Walter to slice Theodore's chest with the help of the sharp metal hands.

In a split second, Theodore tried to dodge the attack, but the metal had successfully grazed across his chest, and he flinched in pain. His jaw tightened because of the pain, but he didn't stop. The demons who had entered the castle had powers he had never seen before. He spat the blood on the ground that had risen in his throat.

Walter smirked before kicking Theodore to have him fall flat on the ground, but Theodore stood up on his legs, keeping his eyes on the demon.

"Time is up," stated Walter, and he came back at Theodore, who looked weak as if he was about to fall on the ground.

Theodore, whose eyes were on Walter, sensed the person who was nearby, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. Soon the wall that was not too far away from them blew up into dust. "I guess it is too late for you people to run now," muttered Theodore under his breath when he caught sight of Calhoun.

Walter was surprised, and he went to attack Theodore again. The look in Theodore's eyes changed, and he raised one of his long legs to kick Walter's body. The demon went flying against the air before his body hit the wall, and its surface cracked because of the impact.

The demon looked more than enraged by being beaten by Theodore, his eyes turning completely black. More demons poured in the vicinity as they tried to bring Calhoun down, but every demon who came in contact with the King died one after another.

On Calhoun's arrival, the corridors that had been dark turned bright as the flames in the torches on the walls lit up one after another.

Theodore, who had been fighting with Walter, now was on the ground, trying to push the demon away from him as the demon tried to strangle his neck. One of his hands was below Walter's jaw to break the demon's neck while the other on the demon's shoulder. Suddenly Walter was shot, and Theodore switched position by pushing Walter to the ground.

"How unfair the royals play in the game of fight," chuckled Walter through his gritted teeth.

Theodore wanted to break this demon's neck, but he knew Calhoun wanted to do it more than him, considering Walter was the man who had torn Madeline's wings. He waited for Calhoun's order while his hands were ready to snap the demon.

Calhoun then said, "Theo, go and check how others are doing. Get them into a safe zone. I have some scores to settle with this one." When a smug smile appeared on Walter's face, Theodore dropped a blow on Walter's face before getting up and leaving the demon to Calhoun's mercy.

Theodore quickly made his way around the castle, looking for people to take them to a safer place while also noticing the werewolf was not in the tower anymore, nor could he hear its howls. On his way, he met Lady Monique, who had a gun in her own hand.

"What in hell's name is going on in here?" questioned the vampires while standing in front of a demon's dead body and blood splattered on her dress.

"Do you know where the other people are?" Theodore asked her.

"I have gathered some of the people in the room. I was going to read my book when I heard the crashes," said Lady Monique. "Where are Calhoun and the others?"

"Calhoun is fighting the demons," when Theodore revealed this information, the woman's eyes narrowed.

"I knew something was off with this one," she kicked the dead demon with her foot. "What about Lucy?"

"I asked her to not get out of her room," replied Theodore, and the woman nodded her head. "I am looking for Lady Madeline and the others. Will you be able to keep guard here?"

"What do you take me for, boy?" asked Lady Monique with her eyebrows raised. "Go get the others to safety. I will be here."