My Journey with the Demon King

6 - Knight and Villan

Feeling sick, I squeezed my eyes shut even more.

The next eternity went on. I had no idea how long we were all forced to stay in the trap Zane had created. I didn't know what was happening, but by the sounds, that was a blessing.

When Zane finally told me in a very soft voice that I could look, all the men were huddled in terror on the ground, looking completely unharmed...Physically, at the very least. Slowly, the golden cage dissipated. Looking around, I could see nothing wrong with the world. In fact, it looked like no time had passed since Zane first summoned forth the cage.

"So. Now that all of you have come to realize just how powerless you all are...Having your own mortality served to you on a silver plate must be quite shocking."

He paused. "I hope you've all realized exactly how much I have no need for your tiresome antics. If I truly wanted to go around slaughtering others, destroying civilization, I could very easily do so alone. But I do not, and all the idiocy you and your lot do just causes me even more problems. I'm the Demon King, yes. It doesn't mean I have to act like a ruthless, barbaric, crazed brute all the time. Sure, sometimes, but not to the extent you all believe I should."

The men were silent, shuddering, still huddled on the ground.

I felt Zane grow closer. "Come, we are no longer needed here. They have realized their sins. Every single one they have ever committed in their lives. I made sure of that," he said cryptically, matter-of-fact. His arm reached out and grabbed my hand. I was too numb to feel anything, so the vow didn't stop him.

I stumbled after him, not sure what I should be feeling or believing right now. He stayed quiet and I let out a low breath. We had walked nearly three miles by the time I found my voice again. "D-Demon King?" I asked. With everything I had just witnessed, I wasn't sure if I could see him as Zane right now. He paused, but didn't turn to me. I licked my lips nervously before forcing myself to continue. "Why...Why did you kill that man? Why did you kill the man at the lake?"

"When...when we first met, I thought perhaps you weren't the villain that the world sees you as. Maybe you were just a normal man, with a completely unearned reputation. But...Now I'm not sure. Sometimes, you seem like I thought you were. Then other times you...you go c-crazy. You'll transform into another person. Someone I don't recognize. Did you really, truly, have to kill those two men? And if you did, did it have to be in such...such horrible ways?"

He was quiet for a long time, growing completely still. When he spoke again, his voice was firm. "Ana...Murder is only a sin of the flesh. Whereas sexual crimes are a sin of the soul."

I frowned. "I don't...I don't quite understand," I admitted hesitantly.

He turned, making sure to still keep a firm grip on my hand. His eyes were dark, serious, and fierce. "The first man was about to rape you. The second was a rapist as well. I looked into his mind and saw what he had planned to do in that village. When he saw you, a small part of his mind thought to do the same to you, lusting after you. Those are sexual crimes. In my mind, just killing someone is not nearly as bad as violating, or wanting to violate, another's body. To ignore their freewill, to try and take their choice away from them. That is much worse to me, than to simply end their existence."

He let out a shaky breath. "Why do you think I even mentioned that I could be bound by my word? Why do you think I would willingly, and knowingly, agree to a vow I would never be able to break? A vow that would mean I would not be able to touch you, to take you, as I have wanted to since I first laid eyes on you. Hell, I even made sure to phrase it so that I would not be able to touch you in any way at all, if you did not want me to. I gave you the ability to have the choice, to have your freewill. We both know, that if not for that vow, I could have easily overcome you, just as the man at the lake would have."