Princess Of The Skulls - Chapter 74: Chapter 74

The word of banishment hung in the air like a blade suspended over reality itself, waiting for my will to give it the force needed to sever the demons' connection to our realm permanently. But speaking it would mean condemning myself along with them—the binding ritual had made me as much a creature of their dimension as of the mortal world.
"Seraphina, no!" Kael's voice cut through the supernatural chaos, understanding immediately what I intended to do.
Around us, the battle had devolved into something beyond conventional warfare. My thirteen bound demons rampaged across the field with increasing independence, their hunger for destruction overriding the control I could no longer maintain. Lord Cassius's forces fought desperately against creatures that existed partially outside physical reality, while our soldiers tried to avoid being caught in the crossfire of otherworldly violence.
"There has to be another way," Aldric insisted, fighting his way through the carnage to reach me. "Some method of regaining control without—"
"Without sacrificing myself?" I finished. "Perhaps. But not quickly enough to save anyone else."
Through my transformed perception, I could see the truth of our situation with devastating clarity. The demons were growing stronger by the moment, feeding on the death and chaos around them. Soon, they would be powerful enough to tear permanent rifts between dimensions, allowing their kin to pour through in numbers that would overwhelm both kingdoms completely.
The mathematics of survival was brutally simple: either I condemned myself to banishment along with the demons, or I watched everything I loved burn in otherworldly fire.
"Your noble sacrifice is touching," Lord Cassius said, emerging from the battle with wounds that flickered between dimensions, "but ultimately pointless. Even if you banish these demons, others will take their place. The barriers between realms have been too badly damaged to heal naturally."
"Then I'll make new barriers," I replied, feeling the banishment word pressing against my consciousness like a caged beast demanding release. "Stronger ones, built from my spiritual essence."
"You'll die," he said bluntly. "Not just in body, but in soul. Complete obliteration, with no hope of resurrection or spiritual continuation."
I had already reached that conclusion myself, but hearing it stated so plainly sent a chill through my transformed nature. Death I could accept—but the complete erasure of existence was a more profound terror than I had anticipated.
"Perhaps that's what the world needs," I said, surprised by the steadiness of my voice. "A princess willing to pay any price for her people's safety."
"Even the price of leaving them alone to face whatever comes next?"
Through our bond, I felt Kael and Aldric's desperate determination to find an alternative, their refusal to accept that my sacrifice might be necessary. Their love was an anchor in the storm of otherworldly chaos, reminding me of what I would be giving up.
But love, however strong, couldn't alter the fundamental laws of supernatural reality. The demons had to be stopped, and I was the only one with the power to stop them permanently.
"I won't let you do this," Kael said, positioning himself between me and Lord Cassius. "There has to be another way."
"Move aside," I commanded, but he remained stubbornly in place.
"No. I've followed you into darkness, stood beside you through transformation, and watched you become something beyond human understanding. But I won't watch you erase yourself from existence."
"The choice isn't yours to make."
"Then make a better choice," Aldric said, joining Kael in their protective stance. "Find another way to save everyone without destroying yourself in the process."
"There is no other way!" I snarled, feeling my remaining humanity strain against the demons' influence.
"Look around you! The barriers between dimensions are collapsing, otherworldly entities are pouring through in increasing numbers, and conventional weapons are useless against threats that exist partially outside reality itself. Either I end this now, or we all die slowly as our world is consumed by chaos."
A roar of otherworldly fury interrupted our argument as one of my bound demons—a creature of living shadow and crystalline teeth—broke free from the last vestiges of my control. It turned toward us with predatory hunger, seeing three sources of spiritual energy ripe for consumption.
I raised my sword to defend against its attack, but the effort of maintaining even minimal control over the remaining demons had exhausted my reserves. The creature's claws raked across my chest, tearing through both flesh and spirit with supernatural sharpness.
As my blood hit the ground, something unexpected happened. The earth beneath us began to glow with soft, golden light—not the sickly radiance of demonic power, but something pure and clean that I hadn't seen since childhood.
"The royal bloodline," Master Dorian breathed, understanding dawning in his eyes. "Your blood carries traces of the original Guardian magic that created the dimensional barriers."
"What does that mean?" I gasped, feeling my strength ebbing from the demon's attack.
"It means," Lord Cassius said with something that might have been admiration, "that you don't need to destroy yourself to save the world. You need to transform it."
The golden light spreading from my spilled blood was having a visible effect on the rampaging demons.
They slowed their attacks, their forms becoming less solid as the pure energy interfered with their connection to the otherworld. Not banishment—purification.
"The Guardian's Binding wasn't meant to give you power over demons," Dorian continued, pieces of ancient knowledge falling into place. "It was meant to restore your bloodline's ability to strengthen the barriers between realms. Your ancestors were guardians, not conquerors."
Understanding flooded through me like ice water. The skull relics, the necromantic abilities, the power to command otherworldly entities—all of it had been preparation for this moment, when I would need to choose between domination and protection.
"If I channel all my power into barrier restoration instead of demon control," I said slowly, "what happens to me?"
"You become what you were always meant to be," Lord Cassius replied. "A true Guardian, existing partially in both realms but serving as an eternal protector rather than a temporary ruler."
"And the demons?"
"Trapped permanently in their dimension, unable to cross barriers reinforced by Guardian magic."
It wasn't the sacrifice I had expected to make, but it was still a sacrifice. I would lose my human form, my ability to live a normal life, my chance for a future with the men I loved. But I would remain conscious, remain myself in some fundamental way.
"Do it," Kael said, understanding the choice I faced. "Save everyone, including yourself."
"We'll find a way to be together," Aldric added. "Whatever form that takes, we'll make it work."
I looked at both of them—my assassin and my prince, my heart's choice and my political necessity—and felt something that had been twisted by demonic influence straighten back into its proper shape. Love, not as possession or power, but as connection and acceptance.
"Stand back," I warned them, raising my sword toward the chaotic sky.