The Duke's Passion

Hell's Gate.

There was only one person Lilou knew who could unleash such power. It was an ability Tilly used back on the mainland, and out of curiosity, Lilou bugged Tilly to explain to her this ability's real nature. According to Tilly, Hell's Gate was akin to blood and darkfield. The difference was that the bloodfield mostly controlled the blood that was within it. If the caster of the bloodfield was stronger than his opponent, they could control their opponent through their blood. A darkfield, on the other hand, was a level higher than a bloodfield. It didn't have much difference, but a darkfield was more like a dimension. The caster of a darkfield would have the upper hand as its caster would enhance its caster's ability, strength, agility, and so on. It was a double edge though because if the person who could cast a darkfield met a formidable opponent, the darkfield would only suck the life out of its caster. The hell's gate was like both that leaned more on the side of the darkfield. However, there was one thing that made hell's gate different. Just like its name, Hell's Gate, everyone who was within it was hovering at death's door. It was an ability that could take everyone to a different dimension that wasn't affected by time, or the occurrence outside, and could weaken everyone who was within it. If one was not strong enough, being inside the hell's gate was guaranteed death. In other words, Tilly said that if she didn't want to bother the rest of the world, she would unleash hell's gate, so no one would bother her as well. It was an ability that only a few could do, like Tilly. Even Samael and Fabian just started learning it back on the mainland out of boredom. And what Lilou could say was that Samael and Fabian — those two who were no doubt excelled on the battlefield — had a hard time learning and maintaining a small hell's gate. But Zero…

Lilou held her breath, gazing far away to where her eyes could reach. 'How can Zero unleash such a huge hell's gate?' she slowly shifted her dilated eyes back to Zero, only to see him smirk. "You… just what are you trying to do?"

"Isn't it obvious, my fiancee?" Zero cocked his head to the side, his arms spread wide open. "I am ending everything and starting anew. As you can see, everyone in this place was a… disaster. If there were no people, there was nothing to rule over, wasn't it?"

Lilou's entire body shook in anger, realizing how Zero could unleash such a powerful ability. "No wonder you…" she trailed off, grinding her teeth in anger, unable to continue her realization. That was right. Zero couldn't unleash such powerful hell's gate all by himself. Even though Zero came from a powerhouse clan, Moriarty, his blood wasn't on the level of the king on the mainland or the damned clan Grimsbanne. Compare to the Grimsbanne and the royalty on the mainland, the Moriarty could be called exceptional but not to that level. For Zero to pull this off, he sacrificed hundreds of thousands of people for this power. And that sacrifice?

The people of Spade Kingdom. All those undead… were nothing but victims in all of this madness. They were forced to battle in the front lines to become fodders, and when necessary, Zero would steal their life forces, energy, and every bit of their strength for his own. "How sickening," Lilou spat out through her gritted teeth, feeling her stomach churn at the thought. "Zero. Just how far will you take this for power?"

"Far beyond your limit called morality, my fiancee." His grin stretched wickedly, malice swirling in his glinting pair of golden eyes. Her heart thudded uncontrollably at his sickening answer. She was aware Zero would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, but this stretched far beyond her expectation.

This was real madness.

"You…" Lilou gripped her scythe tightly until her fist trembled. Her olive and red eyes glinted until her green eye slowly turned red to match the other. "... I had always been scared of myself, Zero."

"Sometimes, I get so terrified of myself that I avoided looking at my reflection. Do you know why?" her voice turned softer as she assessed the wicked grin plastered on his face. "Because every time I see my reflection, I do not recognize myself. That look in my eyes… that bloodthirst, that wickedness… I don't like them."

Lilou slowly lifted her chin and when she blinked, the green eye was no more. Both of her eyes shone with crimson red, making the corner of her lips hooked up into a sinister smirk.

"She… was evil, Zero," she breathed out. Her tone sounded different from a moment ago, as it reeked of lust for blood and madness. "But now that we are in hell's gate, I don't see any reason to stop this demon from coming out."

Zero's eyes narrowed, witnessing how her expression, tone, and aura changed. It was not like her face and body changed, but now, he could feel the blood of Bloodfang taking control of her instead of the blood of the virtuous Crawford from her mother's line. "Lilou Bloodfang." His lips stretched until his fangs were showing. "You won't deny that name anymore, huh?"

Lilou didn't speak, tilting her head to the side. "Moriarty…" she blinked ever so tenderly, listening to the countless voices screaming in her head. "... right. They were the ones who were at fault, huh?"

Lilou closed her lips into a thin line, gazing at him from head to toe. Her lips curled up subtly, eyelids drooping, but the dangerous glint that flickered in her bloodthirsty eyes was apparent. "Was the core —" Zero's breath hitched when Lilou suddenly appeared right before him. She was fast — faster than the wind. His eyes dilated as time slowed down for him, watching her, cocked her head without blinking. "I guess a clone isn't as capable as the original, huh?" her chilly and monotonous voice sent dread down his spine, and before he knew it, the tip of her scythe plunged deep into the center of his abdomen. Without a second hesitation, she pulled her scythe to the side, slicing half of his body from the center of his abdomen to his waist.