Chapter 9
After all the battles, The Devil stood before Cinder, who smirked with confidence. She believed she had the advantage. Unlike Johnny, she wasn’t a hero—she had no mercy, no weakness. She was sure she could win.
"You won’t defeat me," she sneered, summoning flames around her.
But The Devil had learned his lesson. As she lunged, he sprouted a second pair of hands, each gripping a flaming sword. His movements were precise, effortless. Every one of Cinder’s attacks met an impenetrable wall of skill.
"You really think you can best me?" The Devil’s voice dripped with mockery. "Johnny was WAY better than you. You’re just a sad copy."
Cinder’s fury boiled over. She tried to strike again, but in an instant, The Devil’s swords sliced through her defenses. Before she could react, his claws tore into her chest, ripping her soul free.
As the battle concluded, King Dice stood at a distance, arms crossed, watching closely. He had seen The Devil fight countless times, had witnessed him rip souls from their hosts with ruthless precision—but never had he seen this.
After The Devil rejects Cinder’s soul and it vanishes from existence, his second pair of hands disappears as well, returning him to his normal form.
The way The Devil recoiled. The way his face twisted in sheer disgust. The way he let the soul go.
Dice’s green eyes narrowed. Something wasn’t right.
As The Devil turned away from the empty space where Cinder’s soul had once been, Dice approached. “Boss… what the hell was that?”
The Devil wiped his claws against his furr, as if trying to rid himself of something vile. His usual smugness was absent. He didn’t even look at Dice when he muttered, “I couldn’t eat it.”
Dice raised a brow. “Couldn’t or wouldn’t?”
The Devil exhaled sharply. His shoulders tensed. “It was rotten. Vile. Not in the way souls usually are. This… this thing had no taste, no weight, nothing. It was already dead.”
Dice frowned. He had never heard The Devil talk about a soul like that before.
The Devil was silent for a moment before finally meeting Dice’s gaze. “There was nothing left of her to damn.”
Dice let that sink in. He had seen people beg, scream, and fight to keep their souls. He had seen The Devil consume the worst of the worst without a second thought. But this…
He reached out, placing a hand on The Devil’s arm. “You all right?”
The Devil scoffed, shaking off the moment of weakness. “Please. As if this means anything.” But there was no real arrogance behind his words.
Dice smirked, but his eyes held something softer. “Uh-huh. Well, whatever it was, she’s gone now. And if you ask me?” He leaned in slightly, voice lower. “You did her a favor.”
The Devil didn’t respond. He simply looked at the empty space where Cinder had been, then turned away. “Come on. I need a drink.”
Dice chuckled, following him. “Now that’s something I can get behind.”
And just like that, they left the battlefield behind. The souls trapped in Hell watched in silence, unsure whether they should feel relieved… or terrified.