The Devil's Betrothed-Chapter 682: Ready For The Battle

The next day finally arrived.

Oriana was anxious the entire time Tharzimon brought her back from the mountain. She was thankful that he didn’t keep her in his own chamber. She was given food, new clothes, and female demon servants to attend to her, but she noticed none of these. She could not have a wink of sleep and the night felt longer than ever. All her thoughts spiralled around Arlan and his safety. Without a wink of sleep or even a bite of food, she was eager to see Arlan.

Xyron came to her and dismissed all the servants. "Greetings, my Lady."

Oriana, who was sitting quietly at the edge of the bed, felt relieved to see him. "Take me to my husband."

"I can’t, my Lady," Xyron replied. "After I brought you to the mountain yesterday, Lord Tharzimon ordered me not to take you anywhere without his permission. He will be the one to escort you to the battlefield."

Oriana gritted her teeth. "I just want to meet him. I am not running away with him."

"Still, I can’t follow your wishes, my Lady," Xyron said. "If I go against his orders, he would never allow me to visit you again and would appoint Everton to look after you."

Oriana understood the implications. She needed to keep Xyron on her side at all costs.

"Xyron, could you somehow help them defeat your lord?" Oriana asked worriedly.

"I did advise something, but it’s up to your husband’s abilities, my Lady," Xyron replied.

"He must still be weak, and Tharzimon is more powerful in the demon realm," she expressed her concern.

"You should leave it to your husband, as there is nothing we can do now. We would be fortunate if Lord Tharzimon doesn’t send your husband to the Valley of Eternal Abyss. If that happened, everything would be over for him."

Oriana clearly knew what the Valley of Eternal Abyss was. Her voice grew sadder as she spoke. "Did I make a mistake by having them fight for me? I don’t want to lose Arlan. If something happens to him, this demon realm won’t have any princess anymore." She looked at Xyron, hoping to hear something reassuring from him, but there was only silence. "Xyron?"

"Yes, my Lady?"

"Is there no one else who can control the Valley of Eternal Abyss?"

"Only the ruler can control it. It obeys the most powerful one," he answered.

"Was I powerful enough and able to summon it in the past?" she asked.

"Yes, my lady."

"Can’t I do it again? Will you teach me how to?"

"You are not powerful enough, and it can’t be taught, my Lady. With the power to rule this realm, everything comes to you on its own; everything here follows the wishes and commands of the ruler," he spoke straightforwardly. "At this moment, even an ordinary demon here is more powerful than you. You are nothing but an earthly supernatural. Moreover, given this human body, it would take you more than a human lifetime to become the demoness you were."

Oriana looked dejected. "That means I can do nothing at all to help him?"

"I am afraid you can’t," he replied. "My Lady, I suggest you keep calm, eat your meal, and get ready to leave with Lord Tharzimon," Xyron suggested. Oriana was still in the same clothes she had worn during her marking ceremony.

She could only nod, and Xyron left the chamber to give her privacy.

Oriana freshened up, had her meal, and dressed in the dark clothes that were provided to her. Standing in front of the mirror, Oriana noticed her dress matched Tharzimon’s dark clothes, with the same pattern of fine, almost invisible red lines on the dark fabric, which shone in the light like shadows.

’That jerk,’ she frowned and looked at the golden robe she had been given before the marking ceremony. She picked it up from the bed and put it on, almost covering her dark clothes. ’My clothes should match my mate’s colour, not this jerk of a lord’s.’

Once she was ready, she looked at her reflection, her eyes full of determination. ’If today Arlan can’t defeat him and if that lord goes back on his words and he pushes Arlan into a valley of eternal abyss, I will follow him as well. Let both our souls be perish together. Even if not mates, we would at least be together in death. There is no way I would ever be that Lord’s Demoness.’

Soon, Tharzimon arrived at her chamber. A servant opened the door for him, and he saw Oriana standing there, clad in a golden robe over the dress he had sent. His eyes clearly showed displeasure at the sight. "It seems like you are carrying that robe to later put on your defeated husband’s body."

"Feel free to think whatever you want," she replied, her gaze full of hatred. "You said if you defeat him, you will let him go. If you go back on your word, I will have your body covered with a well-tailored robe to hide your ugliness. But then, I know, you will be the one to be defeated."

Tharzimon’s lips curled into a slight, wicked smirk. "I do plan to let him go." He walked towards her and offered her his hand. "Shall we, my Demoness?"

Oriana instead walked towards the door, not intending to hold his hand.

"Well, then I can’t take you there," she heard him say, "You might not be able to see your husband even for the last time."

Oriana stopped and turned to go back to him. She quietly put her hand in his, having no other option and then disappeared from the place.

------

Arlan was also ready for the power battle with the Demon Lord.

"Arlan, remember to fight with your divine powers and save the power of darkness for the end. Without darkness, you will lose in the end," Drayce instructed.

Arlan nodded as he adjusted his attire.

Draven added, "You have a divine power from the angel who was considered the deity of the divine power of the air element. That divine power should be strong enough to counter Tharzimon’s darkness."

"I will stick to our plan," Arlan assured them.

"There can be variables, and things might not go as we have planned," Drayce reminded him. "You have to find your way out, but the priority should be protecting yourself. Do not fall into the Valley of Eternal Abyss. None of us can bring you back if Tharzimon’s plan succeeds. Do not fall."

"I won’t. I can’t let Oriana fall into his hands. I have to do it for her, for us," Arlan replied, his expression turning serious. "But if things go differently, I want you two to take her away from here, even if it means without me. You two have to protect her."

Draven and Drayce felt conflicted, not wanting to accept the possibility of losing Arlan.

"I give you my word," Drayce said. "Now, don’t worry about her and focus on what you have to do."

Draven put his hand forward, and an elixir appeared in the air above his hand, surrounded by darkness. "Use it when the time comes."

Arlan accepted it, and it disappeared into his hand. The three then disappeared from their place, arriving at the battleground.