บท 6: The Man With The Imperial Horns

"Then, who?" She heard Ella ask her, but she was unable to speak as she noticed how the surroundings gradually changed by the moment she observed it.

Earlier, the sky was dark... yet calm. The trees were dancing to the cold, strong wind, and the street lights looked so exquisite, the same as the full moon that she could see from where she was standing.

But now, the sky looked in rage as the darkness went doubled— tripled, to be exact. The moon was covered up by a black-colored sky with red highlights on it.

The trees suddenly withered as their dried leaves were winding in her direction. It turned onto her, like covering her from something dangerous— or more like, marking her on something she didn't know.

The street lights went off and the place was covered in darkness. She couldn't see or feel anything besides the strong wind blowing onto her body. She shivered as she rubbed her arms using both of her hands.

"Ella?" She called her friend. "Where are you?" She tried shouting for the second time, but the only thing she could hear was her voice echoing in the whole place.

Louisanna couldn't move as she couldn't see anything. Who would have known if there was an abyss in front of her?

'I knew it,' she said at the back of her mind as her head went from left to right, probably trying to look for something she could use to know whether she was dreaming, or maybe, summoned to the afterworld.

Louisanna was naturally observant as she grew up in a complex environment. She was a child back then when her mother suddenly got a cardiac arrest while cleaning their home.

She took her mother to the hospital when she was seven years old, and until now, the doctors couldn't determine what type of sickness her mother has.

At a young age, she needed to work for herself and for her studies. Having no father who left them for years, the only thing she can do is to be strong, although, at that time, she felt like dying. Being alive felt exhausting.

"What do you want from me?" she asked as a ball of fire went and flew in front of her.

When she tried to reach it using her index finger, the fire immediately vanished as the wind went colder, and the place became quiet. In contrast, the silence made her deaf.

"Hey!"

Louisanna jumped in shock as Ella snapped her back into reality. Little did she know, her friend was just observing as her face went from being emotionless to being shocked— And now, jumping out of fear as she intended to shock her because she wasn't listening.

"What?!" Louisanna's adrenaline was at its peak as she almost punched Ella in her face. Lucky girl her friend may be, she was able to dodge.

"Gosh! Since when did you become so violent?" Ella exclaimed as her eyes widened while staring at Louisanna who seemed not to be in her right mind. "Ah, don't mind me. You're spacing out."

Louisanna couldn't answer her as she was thinking about that ray of fire. When she looked at her surroundings, everything went back to normal.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? My bus is coming," Ella told her as they saw a bus approaching. "Get some rest and sleep a lot, okay? You need that!"

"Fine. Just go."

After that, Ella went inside the bus, while Louisanna sat in the waiting shed for a bit while waiting for the bus that will travel onto the residence where she was staying.

It's late midnight and it's dangerous for a woman like her to be alone, but the good thing is that her city has high-security protection and punishment for violent crimes. Although the place was quiet, she knew she was safe.

"Here it is," Louisanna told herself as she saw an orange bus approaching. She didn't waste any time as she went inside so she could go home.

As soon as she went inside the home where she used to live with her mother, she immediately locked the door and threw herself on the couch. Her body felt weak as the ray of light coming from the fluorescent started to hurt her eyes.

With that, she suddenly remembers the red eyes she saw earlier in the dark, and the ball of fire as well.

"It wasn't my imagination..." she whispered as she sat on the couch as cracked her bones in the neck. "It was real."

She can still remember how intensified she felt as the astonishment and fear consumed her at that time. Louisanna closed her eyes for a second and hugged herself as she felt a strong wind blow in front of her. It even winded her hair a little, even the electric fan wasn't turned on.

And when she opened her eyes, she almost jumped as she saw a man in front of her, wearing a black polo shirt, black pants, black leather shoes, partnered with his newly black trench coat, and with a devilish smile on his lips.

"Hey there, the little girl with the authentic white hair," he told her as he waved his hand, chuckling a bit as the woman in front of her had her eyes widened and tried to move onto the edge of the couch.

"Heck!" she exclaimed, frightened, as she immediately got one pillow to serve as her protection. "W-Who are you?"

Louisanna wanted to bang her head on the wall when she stuttered. She wanted to make the man see that she was a woman full of courage, but her body movements and even the tone of her voice doesn't show it.

"You're thinking about me, isn't it?" the man asked her in a teasing tone. He tried to read her mind, but it was to avail.

He didn't move from his position. Domhall was still leaning on the couch, crossing his arms onto his chest as his gaze went darker on the woman in every second that had passed.

The woman in front of him is the same woman he had been finding for a long time. He didn't know why, but back in the human world— Earth, as he was doing his favorite pastime which is to absorb negative energies from every person, he suddenly felt strong energy in this place... which is so pure and delicate.

And as the demon king, it annoys him as his skin feels itchy. Every second, it was unbearable.

'How can someone like her be innocent, sinless, and pure in this cruel and chaotic world?'

"What the fuck?" Louisanna replied instantly as she raised her right eyebrow before frowning. She was giving him a deadly gaze.

'Or not?'

"Ooh, how feisty!" Domhall couldn't believe what he had just heard as he laughed hard. His laughter filled the place. "I thought an innocent angel like you shouldn't be cursing someone, right?"

"I am no angel," she said in a cold tone before her stares intensified.

Domhall nodded as he immediately believed what she had said. It's impossible for an angel to curse someone as they were prohibited from doing the things that were pretty much normal in hell.

'But why was her aura so pure? I couldn't even sense a sign of evilness in her heart. If she's not an angel, then what is she?' Domhall asked in the back of his mind.

"Now tell me, who are you?"

This time, it wasn't a pillow Louisanna was holding. As soon as the guy became distracted, thinking about something, Louisanna took the chance to rummage in her bag and look for one of her greatest protectors— her fake gun.

"Answer me!"

"My name's Domhall," he immediately answered as the side of his lips rose. "And I am the demon king."

Louisanna stopped moving, even breathing, as she's literally seeing a black fog surrounding the man in front of her. He has heart-shaped eyes, thick eyebrows, a strong jawline, a pointed nose, and a strong body built to die for. However, that's not the time to admire someone who trespassed onto her house.

"How did you get here—" she stopped speaking as she realized something. Louisanna pointed to the window closed with glass and white curtains as she asked, "Did you break my window glass?"

Domhall raised a brow before smirking and said, "Why would I do that if I can do this?"

In just a second, moving even faster than the wind, Domhall was already in front of her. His right hand was placed on her waist, while his hand traveled onto her slightly parted lips.

"Don't—"

She stopped speaking as she felt his warm and soft thumb caressing her lower lip. Louisanna gasped as she felt how close they were to each other, especially when she can even feel his warm breath that was hitting her skin, and his masculine scent lingering on her nose.

For an unknown reason, she felt like the man in front of him was familiar... But what she was getting confused about is while he was touching her skin as his dark red eyes tend to read onto her soul, she felt nothing.

She didn't feel her energy getting drained. In fact, it was the opposite. Her energy increased as she felt revitalized because of his subtle, gentle touch.

When it felt euphoric for Louisanna, it felt horrific for Domhall, not because his energy was being sucked out, but because of the scorching heat building inside him as his gaze went onto Louisanna's neck.

It was still delectable— Just like the first time he saw her in the bar. Domhall breathed heavily as he didn't want to commit a sin.

'A sinner who didn't want to commit a sin? Fuck.' Domhall laughed at his thoughts, but he was immediately stunned when he felt Louisanna's fingers travel onto his cheek, up to his head.

He felt shivers sent onto his spine. Little did he know, one of the parts of his body that should have been only visible to the inferno was starting to appear— His horns that were equivalent to a crown in their place.

"What are you doing, woman?" he asked as his gaze went darker. It felt like Louisanna was seducing her in a subtle, naughty way.

"Your horns... Imperial horns to be exact..." she said as she tapped onto the horn on the right side.

It grew. The red light from it intensified as Domhall closed his eyes as he felt something strange in the woman's presence. It was still itchy on his skin, but he was amused to see the astonishment visible in her facial expression. He can see how her eyes shine like a fire burning in the dark.

"They were beautiful."