The Duke's Passion

862 The real curse of the Grimsbannes

Many stories come with the name Grimsbarne. Most of them were stories of how exceptionally cursed they were, powerful, and born to stand at the peak of the blood hierarchy. These things weren't secrets, especially for those who were born and raised on the mainland, for they grew up in an environment where they were overly aware of the Grimsbanne's existence.

However, there was one minor detail only a few had heard about.

Samael had long accepted that they were cursed, connected to a demon, or what others called descendants of evil. Only today, as he stood before a real demon, had Samael realized all those accusations and rumors were true. But it was much more tragic than horrifying.

Tilly mentioned Samael's children's chances of becoming demons some time ago. Everyone knew Tilly and her antics; she would say one thing but forget about it, leaving everyone hanging. She constantly told Samael about the dangers of their blood and the reason he and his wife, Lilou, left the mainland to seek help from the rest of his clan. It was that time the reversal of time occurred and now he was stuck in this land, standing before this monster with only one thought in mind: to win.

"That is why I patiently waited for this day"

BOOOGSH!

Samael raised his sword, Catharsis, to block the demon's fist, only to realize the force was too great for him. Thus, Samael jumped away upon his sword's contact and created a distance. between himself and his opponent.

"For this day?" he repeated as soon as his feet landed on the broken ground, sneering, "Ah... everything is clear now I see.

The demon grinned from car to car, pulling its dark fist from the cracked floor where it landed. "Back in the day, there was a saying only a Grimsbanne can end the Grimsbanne. Somehow, I agree. Just look at us now."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Samael took a deep breath, relaxing his shoulders as he stood straight.

"It's clear now," mumbled Samael, gazing at the colossal demon before him. "This is what Tilly meant when she said my children were in danger."

"There are only two fates for those whose only purpose is to reproduce until a perfect seed is born. "The first one was to force themselves into eternal slumber once they fulfilled their duty. The second one was..."

"Was to turn to someone like you" Samael guessed the rest of the demon's sentence, making the latter grin from ear to ear. His lips parted, letting out a sharp yet faint breath. "This is the true cursed this blood has."

"And it will continue to plague anyone who carries this blood." The demon's voice was echoing, the mockery in his tone was apparent.

"I guess that's the second curse. Samael sneered, gripping his sword tightly until trembled. His smile lines were twitching, gathering all the other options he could think of as fast as he could.

The Grimsbannes were born at the highest level of the blood chain. People assumed the reason the Grimsbanne didn't reproduce that much unlike other clans was because reproducing was hard. Little did they know, it wasn't the case.

The Grimsbanne - those whose footsteps had long disappeared were simply aware of the dangers of birthing someone with this blood. If the child was not a chosen seed, that child only had two fates: first was to enter eternal slumber voluntarily, or second, was to submit to the curse in their blood and turn into an actual demon.

Samacl already guessed what sort of methods the previous members of the Grimsbanne had resorted to prevent the worse from happening. Even the most effective method was not perfect. There were still circumstances or turns of events that were beyond anyone's control.

For instance, the existence of this demon- and those captured demons Tilly mentioned.

These demons weren't born the way they were now.

They were born just like Samael and everyone else.

They were members of the Grimsbanne Clan who didn't choose to enter an eternal slumber. "I had long accepted this world was never fair. That is why when my brother subdued me, and chained me underneath the palace underground; I pledged that when the day comes, I will break free from these chains. And once that day comes, I will judge this world the way it judged me!" The demon's chuckles sent a chill down Samael's spine, giving the latter goosebumps all over his body.

"That day is today... the moment you stepped foot in here, Pride." the demon roared along with its chuckle, only to stop abruptly as it added, "I will take every single seed there is and snuff out all the light of the living. So... fret not for I ought to use every single one of you to good use." The demon didn't waste a second as it slammed its palm against the already broken floor. Seeing its action, Samael instinctively leaped. To Samael's surprise, just as he leaped to avoid the turbulence, the demon swung its arm, hitting Samael to his side with the broken chain around its wrist.

Boogsh!

"Ugh..." Samacl crashed into the wall, landing on the floor along with the rubble. Blood instantly flowed from the side of his head, dripping down his right cyc. Having only one eye open, he watched the gigantic demon slowly face his direction.

"I am only starting" said the demon as it launched another powerful jab in Samael's direction.

BOOGSH!

The demon was wide and large. Stretching its arm was enough to reach the wall of the underground space of this residence. And thus, Samael received that second assault without any time to block it.

Blood spurted out of Samael's mouth, feeling his lungs constrict while his entire body went into shock. The attack didn't stop there as another punch came even before Samael could breathe. The demon launched continuous attacks, making the entire underground space shake.

Cracks all across the place crawled and spread like a spiderweb and within seconds, the underground place and the building above it collapsed.