You backed out of the room, you turned, you ran. Ran as far away as you could from that horrifying creature that lived within the shell of your dead lady's body. Even though you knew that you would have to eventually return to bring Lyon his meals, your mind completely and utterly rejected the thought of ever again being in the same room as that thing.

You took to leaving the meals outside the room, sprinting away after you had set the tray down. You dared not enter the room, dared not see those empty and soulless eyes again. Though you had only seen them once, they had been burned into your brain, and many nights you awoke, covered in a fearful sweat.

But Lyon sought you out, and cornered you in a hallway. You thought he looked paler, more gaunt and drained, than before.

"Lyon," you said. "You realize the creature you have revived is not my lady Monica, do you not? This…this vile puppetry…is nothing like the holy resurrection you claimed you could perform."

He nodded, gulping for air. Surprised, you had thought that he would protest or offer an explanation. You opened your mouth, planning on telling him to end this perverted farce, but he beat you to words.

"….Kill me…"

"What?" Your head reeled from the sudden shift in conversation.

He wet his pale lips and nodded resolutely, committing himself to his words. "Kill me."

"Why?"

He was sweating profusely now. The words that came out of his throat seemed choked, forced out against his will. "I was a scholar, searching for knowledge. I only wanted to help prevent disaster. Instead, I went too far. I am no longer in control now. It is – it is the D-demo-" he stopped, a spasm racking his entire body. His form went rigid, and when he spoke again, his mouth did not match up with the words you heard.

"Please ignore everything dear Lyon has said. He's not feeling very well," the creature in front of you smiled widely, revealing too many teeth.

"W-what are you?" Even though Lyon had said that your silver cross was useless against the occult, you grabbed for it, its heavy and cool form comforting to the touch.

"Oh, nobody worth mentioning," Lyon's eyes turned red, glinting in the eerie light. "…just the Demon King, that's all."

You were speechless.

"That's right. He never knew it, but he was talking to me all this time. And this puppetry is my doing. His words were useless. He said them all right, but the gods weren't listening to him. The ones he called to stopped caring about mortals a long time ago. Since the humans took up worshipping a new god, they don't care what happens to Midgard anymore. No, I am the one giving this doll life, and when I am powerful enough, I can overpower this man's weak character and control this body myself instead of merely manipulating his mind."

You shuddered in fear and disgust. "I'll…I-I'll kill you!"

It grinned. "Will you now? Well, go ahead and try."

You had no dagger, you had no sword. You leapt for its neck, wrapping your hands around Lyon's – no, the Demon King's frail throat.

The eerie redness began to fade from his irises, and his pupils dilated. "Janx! What are you doing?" he squeezed the sound from between your two hands.

Your voice shook, but you did not loosen your grip. "You told me to kill you, did you not? I am merely fulfilling your request."

"What are you talking about?" his eyes were full of fear. "I never said that!"

You merely shook your head and held on tighter. His face was beginning to turn blue. Then, his eyes turned red once more and he grinned.

"Never thought you'd be so heartless, killing a man with your bare hands. But it takes more than that to kill me."

He jabbed a hand into your gut. Startled, your grip loosened and he twisted out.

He turned and walked out. "Well, I guess this is goodbye now," he waved a hand carelessly, leaving his back completely exposed. "Take good care of the girl, after a bit she should be able to walk on her own. She needs to be fed three times a day – nothing too hard, mind you, her gums aren't very strong yet."

"And what if I refuse to feed her?" you retorted angrily.

"Then she'll die, and your poor master will be very sad indeed. He might kill you for it."

"My master trusts me. I will say that you failed in your quest to heal her, and that you fled, fearing his wrath."

"Very well…you go ahead and tell him that. He has served his purpose already anyways." His head tilted slowly to the right. He appeared to be listening to something you could not hear, you thought. "Though my spies tell me that he has failed to destroy the stone…nevertheless, he is no longer useful to me anymore. Do what you will."

A shimmer in the air – and then he was gone.

And you were left alone again in that giant crumbling castle, devoid of all beings save for the twisted reanimation of your lord's late wife.

You stepped into the room where it was kept.

Its skin was the color of porcelain, and for a brief second you imagined breaking it into millions of tiny shattered fragments so that this creature would no longer defile Lady Monica's memory. But then you remembered it was made of flesh and bone, and that impulse faded away as quickly as it had come. Its head slowly cocked to the right with a sickening crack, and it jerkily turned to meet your eyes.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the lips pulled back a little too widely to reveal a set of gleaming teeth.

A/N: In Taiwan right now! terrible internet, x.x