Resurgence

"Why would you-"

I wiped tears from my face. The daemon king, unmoving, floated in his main, solid, gaseous body.

"I... Did not mean to do that..."

"Then why did you-"

I put my face in my hands and fell to my knees as the daemon king spoke again, voice quiet.

"To be fair, it was either you or him. I'm trying to keep a 50/50 record. It leaves the perfect amount of people to tell tales of my destruction. They'll keep each other close that way."

"You killed- You can't just do that!"

"...I didn't feel good about it. Moreover, I didn't mean to do it. Did you do any training at all?"

"..."

"You did train before coming here, right?"

"Why am I even talking to you. You killed my friends."

"You're not answering my question."

"If you care so much, you wouldn't be killing people and trying to overthrow the natural laws! You killed Heather, you killed Frederick, you killed Jack, you killed Kira, you killed the Great Dryad Tree, and now you've killed Elm! How can any living creature be so cruel. I don't understand..."

A long pause followed.

"Death is what brings people together, isn't it? Hardships make people closer. They rely on each other more, and friendships grow stro-"

"Shut up! Stop spewing your twisted up ideals, or I'm going to say some words!"

The daemon king's eyes glinted with a confused red.

"You're saying words right now. Besides, my ideals aren't twisted, I simply wish to bring more love to this world."

"...You did so many bad things, and you still consider yourself a hero..?"

"Of course. The people who come here aren't villains, however, they're just pawns."

I slid my daggers from their sheathes, rising from my knees. The tears kept flowing, but despite my blurred vision, I didn't try to stop them.

"You should retreat. I'm not going to try to stop you. I'd rather not have you dead. Your revenge isn't as important as your life. Besides-"

He quickly went silent as I ran towards him, daggers drawn.

"You've always been passive, but you're attacking me? What's gotten into you, kid?"

I threw one of my daggers at him as my feet refused to move.

"I'm... I don't get it."

"What don't you understand? I'm being translucent."

His inner body twitched as I flung my other dagger into it.

My legs refused to work.

"Why do you think you're so superior."

"I don't think I'm superior. I just want to fix the world."

His body was crushed in thick, wooden roots.

Not he. It. People couldn't be so cruel.

He popped like a bubble as the roots turned him into slush.

Then, I was stiff and numb.