This is not gonna end well for Miya so if you love the bitch better skip to the next rose (🌹). Also Mistress here means a woman in a position of authority or control. It's a respectable way to address a woman.

Tortured screams reverberated throughout the chambers of the Abyssal dungeon. New elf prisoners are being played with by cruel and sadistic demons with a twisted sense of humor. Most of the male elves are being tortured while some of the females are being raped or devoured by the vicious and bloodthirsty fiends.

Miya groaned and winced as her body throbbed in all places. Her hands are bound by shackles tied on two opposite columns. She moaned, trying to remember what happened. Her head throbbed in pain as she remembered getting knocked out after striking down the prince. She had never felt more victorious in her entire life. She actually pulled it off. She killed Dyrroth. She saved her people!

Her eyelids were finally able to lift themselves allowing her to survey her surroundings. At first, she only saw dirt and then fire, and then shadows began flickering on the walls before something unknown collided against her face. Her head flew sideways as someone just punched her cheeks making her hiss in pain.

"You... Stupid... Loser... BITCH!!" yelled a familiar voice before another punch was delivered to the other side of her face. Her head spun due to the powerful blow. Her nose had cracked due to force and it bled profusely making her cry out.

"R-Ruby? Is that you? W-what are you doing here? Please... Please help me." she begged as she finally recognized the blonde girl standing in front of her.

Her mind is too weary to understand the situation but she recognized this girl. This is the sweet innocent girl who plays in the forest like a beautiful fairy. This was the kind and warm girl who helps everyone in need. This is Ruby the sweet summer child.

Oh, how wrong she was as the girl laughed at her pathetic state. Right, this was also the girl whose love life she had stolen. Ruby was her love rival with Alucard and since her painful rejection, it seems that she has fallen in love with someone else. The very person she had killed. But perhaps all of that was just hearsay, it couldn't possibly be true for a hero like her to fall in love with a villain like Dyrroth. If anything Ruby should be thanking her for killing her captor and giving her a chance to escape. So why is she doing this?

"Do you really think that I would help you? After what you've done to my husband? To the person who protected me and loved me in this shit hole? And did you really think that I would side with a whore like you?" The girl scoffed, laughing sarcastically at her.

"Husband? It can't be true, right? How can you fall in love with a filthy demon like him?! He's evil! He destroyed our homes! He killed my people! How can you side with him?! And punish me for protecting the world from his evil!! Wouldn't you have done the same?"

"You have a lot of nerve talking shit to me." Ruby mused menacingly. Miya suddenly felt fear like she's never felt before. Ruby exuded a dark aura and from this Miya can see something terrifying. Crimson eyes watched her with no warmth nor mercy. It had the shape of a great wolf and it's not coming from the girl, it is the girl.

"I don't give a fuck about your people. I don't give a single fuck about your home because I care a lot about this demon who's been with me when the world abandoned me and allowed me to rot in this hell hole!"

"For a time I was his prisoner. For a time I was his pet. But now, I am his queen and it is my duty to avenge my husband from scums like you."

"You... You would betray the world for a mere demon? You would betray your kind for him?" Ruby didn't answer the elf and merely stared at her as if she was the most insignificant thing in the world.

"You. Soldier. Exactly how many demons died in your campaign to take over the Moonshire?" Ruby asked the guard standing outside the door.

"I--I heard that approximately 5,000 died."

"I see. And how many survived?"

"About 10,000, mistress." replied the demon obediently. In normal circumstances, he wouldn't be taking any shit from a puny human like her but this girl certainly exudes a malevolent energy that may rival even Dyrroth's fury. The low-ranking demon can only gulp as he watched her circle the elf like a predator about to devour its prey.

"Good. Bring a healer here and have them tend to her. Feed her three times a day and have her drink the thing demonesses drink for fertility. And then have her recuperate the numbers you have lost by having her breed with the 10,000 that survived. I believe that elves live a long life. I'm sure there's plenty of time for her to bear 5,000 Demonic children and more. I'll leave everything to your hands then. Please take care of this new livestock and breed her properly." Ruby smiled ominously as the demon licked his lips understanding her order.

"You are very intelligent, mistress. The legion would be very happy with your gift." The demon bowed respectfully as Ruby left the room.

"A tip: demons may be excellent in battle but their true power lies with how potent their sex drive is. Please be sure to satisfy them or else they get pretty violent."

Screams filled the dungeons as the demons began having their way with the pitiful elf. Miya cursed out the girl's name as the demons tore down her clothes before ravishing her body as if she was some cheap whore. If this is the outcome of defending her people then perhaps she should have just ran away when she had the chance. None of this would have happened if she didn't shoot down the prince. And now she wished that she had killed that little bitch before she grew the fangs to be this ferocious.

🌹

Dyrroth woke up to the sound of rolling thunder. A raging storm roared above him and the wind screamed like a banshee making the trees bow in terror. Fierce droplets of water struck his face as he opened his eyes before being greeted by the lashing of lighting on the grey clouds above. The smell of wet earth and trees reached his senses and he pulled himself up to witness a familiar sight.

He was in the forest again and piles of dead wolves littered the ground creating nasty puddles of red. The rain had dulled the pungent scent of blood but still, it lingered like a persistent reminder of death and decay. In the middle of it all, a girl stood like a crimson flower blooming in a sea of blood.

It was Ruby on the night of the murder of her family. Her adopted family that is. Her mouth is red with blood. She had just finished eating the heart of the wolf king but her eyes are blank and devoid of life. If she wasn't breathing, one can mistake her as one of the corpses that litter the ground.

"So you died. What a useless thing." Dyrroth heard someone utter mockingly from somewhere he couldn't identify. The sound seems to be reverberating from every direction yet there's no one there to utter them. He frowned. How dare this bastard mock him? He should blast him to pieces for his insolence.

"Now, now, the dead do not get angry."

"Who the fuck are you?"

"You wound me. How can you not remember an old friend?"

"You again. You're Ruby's dog. Fenrir, right?" Dyrroth mused as he recognized the deep and terrifying voice that barely affects him now.

"What a grave insult. Ruby is more like my human than I am hers." The wolf said as he manifested behind the girl and circled her like a predator.

"She belongs only to me and not to some old stupid dog. So what do you need and where am I? Is this hell? I expected it to be more fiery and not... A memory."

"Not quite. This is the purgatory. You're on the border between life and death. Here you are not alive yet you are neither dead. It's like... You're just a concept. Yeah, something like that."

"I feel like you are guessing. But aside from that, I have one thing to clarify." This seems to pique the interest of the wolf who raised a brow at him.

"Go ahead. Speak."

"Ruby's family... You were the one who killed them, weren't you?" Fenrir smiled.

Dyrroth is extremely bothered by the beast's humanish grin as if implying that he's smarter than him in every aspect and based on the length of his existence, perhaps he is. This beast is devious, cunning, and manipulative, he couldn't guess what he was thinking even if they're made from the same cut of evil.

"What gave it away?" The wolf answered, chuckling sardonically.

"It was pretty obvious from the start. You are the father of wolves, I suspect that you have an amount of control over your children's actions. But, you won't even deny it, would you even if it's just a shot in the dark?" Fenrir's tail began brushing against Ruby's legs, going up to her thigh while he rubbed his face against her chest. The sight triggered the prince but he restrained himself knowing that this Ruby is merely a fake one.

"Why should I deny it when we both know the truth? I killed her family, destroyed her home, and took away her youth, so what?"

"So how can you pretend to be her friend when you've taken everything from her?! Her true parents, her family, her home, her innocence, and her fate. How dare you pretend to be her friend?!"

"That's where you are wrong. I have given her everything she needs to survive in this cruel fucking world." snarled the wolf.

"Without a family, she will never be abandoned, without a home, she will never be lost, without her innocence, she will never be miserable. All my efforts were made to ensure that she will be strong. I have made her unbreakable."

"But at what cost?"

"Hmm, a price that I won't be paying. She may loathe me for it and you may scorn me for causing her all this heartbreak but in the end; didn't my actions put her in your path?"

"What do you mean?"

"If her home was never destroyed, Ruby would never have met you. She would remain happy in the Dark Forest and marry a man named Granger. You would go on as you were before you met her and you would never know what love is for the rest of your life. In the end, you would end up killing her as a casualty of your war. Now that's not something hard to guess, is it?"

"So I'm supposed to be grateful to you?" scoffed the prince.

"Oh, I don't care about your gratitude nor any of your feelings but what I care about is this girl walking the path I have paved for her. Rest assured that it won't be merely for self-gain but also for her well-being. I've already fallen in love with her." Fenrir said before kissing the lips of the fake Ruby.

"Once I find my way to your island I am totally killing you." muttered Dyrroth with gritted teeth.

"I'd like to see you try. But as much as I hate you I still need you as a player on my chessboard. Death won't be ferrying you across the Underworld just yet."

🌹

Ruby sat beside Dyrroth's bed while holding his hand. The two of them are left alone in his room as the healers and alchemists finished their work. Dyrroth's wound has been tended to. It was cleaned, disinfected, and wrapped with clean gauzes and yet her prince hasn't woken yet. There was no movement nor response from him and it's been days since she took her place by his side. She even gave him some healing runes Fenrir had taught her. They were successful at mending his wounds and closing them but they don't seem to be enough to wake him up. The curse Miya put on him was so potent. Every breath that he takes is a battle that only keeps him one step away from death's doorstep.

No more tears were left for her to shed. No more prayers were left for her to say. She has been begging the God of Death to postpone his visit to Dyrroth and it seems to be effective as her husband still drew shallow breaths.

Ruby noticed something glinting in his hand and she gingerly took it to inspect the object. His hand was clenched really hard around what seems to be a pendant but with some persistence, Ruby was able to pry it from his hold. She opened the locket and smiled as she saw her face smiling to her. So that's why he won't let it go. In a way, he's holding on to her to the very last moment. Perhaps he was saying his farewells or perhaps he was professing his undying feelings. Whatever it may be, Ruby merely smiled as she kissed his forehead.

"So even if you're already dying I would still be the one you think of."

The door to Dyrroth's room suddenly opened and in came Sorca fully armored while wearing a cloak she rarely wore. Ruby was suddenly alarmed by the number of guards that entered the room and surrounded her.

"Sorca, what is all this? What are they doing here?"

"We've come to transport you back to Devas. With Prince Dyrroth out of commission, the Abyss would see this as an opening for his position. Alice and Thamuz wouldn't care if he was replaced by someone new and powerful since demons only follow the strong and given Lord Dyrroth's current condition, he isn't in any shape to defend his position. A battle will rage on to decide a replacement prince once Dyrroth dies so naturally, assassins would be teaming to hasten the process. But you, being his wife that houses the power of a God of destruction, will become a target since you are eligible to be his princess regent." Sorca explained as she made her way to Ruby's side, kneeling to her.

"Before he passed out, Dyrroth ordered me to do everything in my power to protect you. He doesn't care what happens to him, he only gave me orders to protect you and as such I will protect you no matter the cost."

"But what about Dyrroth? Who will take care of him? If what you said is true then his life is in grave danger! All the more reason that I should stay with him!"

"Dyrroth had protected me in this place for as long as I can remember. I won't turn my back against him now that he needs me more than ever." Ruby declared as she held his hand tighter.

"My legion will protect the prince. It is our job as his vassals. But Ruby you must understand, I took an oath to protect you. Dyrroth would want you safe more than anything else. Please." Sorca begged.

Ruby closed her eyes as a single tear fell from her cheeks.

"Okay..." She turned her attention to Dyrroth who breathed weakly beside her.

"I will return to your side again. I..." Ruby hesitated searching his face for any alternatives to her words but none came so she decided to just come clean.

"I love you... you ugly piece of eggplant shit. Even though we're basically a shitty version of beauty and the beast, I will admit that my time with you is... a fairytale. And once you wake up, I'm gonna give you the hottest kiss in all the universe and also the hardest face slap for letting yourself be beaten by such a weak and simple bitch."

"...I love you." Ruby whispered before leaving a final kiss on his lips.