My Family in the Novel?

Arriving in front of a small hill, the scene that met the Duke's eyes was one of devastation. Fires crackled amidst the rubble, casting eerie shadows over the lifeless bodies strewn about.

Despite the horror before him, the Duke struggled to keep pace with the demonic lady leading the way. She moved with an unsettling swiftness, as if driven by a force beyond mortal comprehension.

With each step, the Duke's breaths grew labored, his muscles protesting the exertion.

Yet, driven by a mixture of fear and determination, he pressed on.

The demonic lady glanced back at him, her eyes betraying a hint of concern.

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry you, Duke?" she inquired, her voice tinged with a strange mixture of compassion and mockery.

The Duke hesitated, briefly considering the offer. The thought of relinquishing control to this otherworldly being was tempting, especially considering the toll the journey had taken on his battered body. However, a sense of pride, coupled with a deep-seated mistrust of the demonic lady, held him back.

"Yes... I'm sure," he replied, his voice strained with effort.

Though it may have seemed foolish to refuse assistance, the Duke couldn't ignore the ominous aura emanating from the demonic lady. Even the briefest contact with her had left him feeling tainted, as if her very presence threatened to consume him from within. Any further intimacy could prove fatal, particularly in his weakened state.

Moreover, there was the matter of honor. As a nobleman, it was his duty to maintain a certain level of dignity and self-reliance, regardless of the circumstances. To be carried by someone of her ilk would be a mark of shame, a concession he was not willing to make, even in the face of adversity.

"Well, if you say so~," the demoness replied with a casual shrug, her crimson eyes flickering with a hidden agenda.

Despite her nonchalant demeanor, she maintained her brisk pace, mindful of the Duke's noble status.

She couldn't afford to let him succumb to exhaustion before presenting him to her lord; his role in their plans was far too crucial.

Surveying the desolate landscape around them, the demoness could sense the impending collapse of the once-mighty empire. It was only a matter of time before the remaining soldiers either surrendered or met their demise at their hands.

With the empire's leadership decimated, including the presumed demise of the Duke, there was little left to challenge their dominance.

As they approached their destination, a massive, ominous-looking birdcage loomed in the distance.

Within its confines awaited a sight that stirred conflicting emotions within the Duke's heart.

There, imprisoned behind bars of steel, was a face he had both loved and loathed, a figure he had once believed lost to him forever – Adrian, the empire's sole hero and the son he thought he had lost.

"Adrian?" the Duke murmured, unable to suppress the flood of memories and emotions that washed over him at the sight of the familiar figure trapped within the cage.

The demoness observed the Duke's reaction with a mixture of amusement and curiosity, her lips curling into a sly smile. She had expected this moment to be significant, but the depth of the Duke's emotional turmoil intrigued her. It was clear that Adrian held a special place in his heart, despite their complicated history.

With a graceful flourish, the demoness approached the birdcage, her movements fluid and deliberate. She could feel the tension crackling in the air as the Duke and Adrian locked eyes for the first time in what felt like an eternity. There was a palpable sense of longing and regret lingering between them, a silent acknowledgment of all that had been lost.

The demoness then knelt before the familiar individual, her movements fluid and respectful despite the ominous atmosphere surrounding them.

"I have brought the Duke, my lord," she announced, her voice carrying a mixture of deference and confidence.

Turning his attention towards the Duke, Adrian's smile sent shivers down the Duke's spine. The warmth of familiarity was replaced by a chilling sense of dread as Adrian's human form contorted and twisted into a grotesque monster, a manifestation of pure darkness and malevolence.

"It's been a long time, Father," Adrian's voice echoed with an otherworldly resonance, his words dripping with a sinister edge. His mouth, filled with razor-sharp teeth, curved into a macabre grin that sent a wave of terror coursing through the Duke's veins.

For the first time in his life, the Duke was confronted with something so hideous and incomprehensible that it defied all logic and reason. It was as if he was staring into the abyss itself, and it was staring back at him with a hunger that chilled him to the core.

The intensity of Adrian's gaze bore down upon the Duke like a weight, crushing his spirit beneath its suffocating pressure. Every fiber of his being screamed in primal terror, instinctively recoiling from the sheer malevolence emanating from the monstrous form before him.

"Despite everything that's happened, I'm quite happy you are still alive, Father," Adrian said casually as he slowly approached the Duke, his footsteps echoing ominously in the tense silence that enveloped them.

The Duke's heart clenched at the sound of his son's voice, a mixture of relief and apprehension flooding his senses. He couldn't shake the feeling of unease that gnawed at him, even as he watched Adrian draw nearer with each measured step.

"You... who are you?" the Duke couldn't help but mumble, his gaze locked onto the figure before him. Despite the striking resemblance to Adrian, there was something undeniably off about the creature standing before him, something that sent a shiver down his spine.

"What are you talking about, Father?" Adrian's voice held a hint of amusement, his eyes gleaming with a dark intelligence that belied his human guise. "Or should I call you Duke now, since the family is already lost and I'm not exactly part of it anymore in the first place?"

The Duke recoiled at the implication of Adrian's words, a cold dread settling in the pit of his stomach. It was true that their family had been torn apart by betrayal and tragedy, but to hear it spoken so casually by the creature masquerading as his son sent a lance of pain through his heart.

Before he could respond, Adrian's form began to shift and contort, morphing back into his human guise with an unsettling fluidity. Despite the gentle smile that graced his lips, the razor-sharp teeth that adorned his face only served to accentuate the grotesque facade.

With a touch that felt like ice against his skin, Adrian reached out and rested his hand on the Duke's shoulder, his gaze piercing through the Duke's defenses with an unnerving intensity.

"We have much to discuss, Father," Adrian murmured, his voice a chilling whisper that sent a shiver down the Duke's spine. "But first, let us attend to more pressing matters. There is a Light looming on the horizon, and we must be prepared."

Confusion clouded the Duke's mind as he struggled to comprehend Adrian's cryptic words. "What are you talking about?" he asked, his voice betraying his bewilderment.

Before Adrian could respond, the night sky erupted into a dazzling display of radiant brilliance. Thousands of spears of light rained down upon them, illuminating the darkness with an otherworldly glow. The Duke's breath caught in his throat as he beheld the awe-inspiring sight before him.

Turning back, he saw them – hundreds upon hundreds of angels, their celestial forms glowing with a divine radiance as they brandished their spears and bows, poised to unleash judgment upon them.

Adrian couldn't help but smile, a hunger gleaming in his eyes as he beheld the approaching host of angels. To him, they were not harbingers of salvation, but rather an opportunity for conquest, a chance to claim dominion over the heavens themselves.

"Intriguing, isn't it, Father?" Adrian remarked, his voice tinged with a sinister delight. "It seems our adversaries have finally revealed themselves. How fortunate for us."

Still confused, the Duke stared at the skies, his mind reeling with questions.

Why had these bloody angels chosen this moment to descend upon them, when the battle was already over, when everyone lay dead?

And why were they raining down spears of judgment upon the very humans who had praised and prayed to them?

"I know, it's quite hypocritical, right?" Adrian mused at the Duke's reaction.

"Not only were these fuckers late, they even have the audacity to wipe out anyone who comes in their way... to think that the gods would use these doves just to get away with things they were too afraid to act upon themselves. Don't you think the goddess is quite silent right now, Duke?"

The Duke looked at Adrian in confusion. Wasn't Adrian supposed to be the hero? So why had he turned into that monster just a while ago, and why was he now disgracing the goddess?

"Hahaha, well, even if all of these doves flock like this, they're all just food," Adrian said, his voice tinged with a dark amusement.

As he spoke, dark lightning crackled around his body, wrapping him in an ominous shroud of power.

Suddenly, the oppressive pressure that had weighed down upon them lessened, forcing the white angels in the sky to descend as if gravity itself was pulling them towards the earth.

Dark miasma seeped through the air, suffusing the atmosphere with a malevolent energy as demons gathered around their lord, eager to bask in the power emanating from him.

Finally, a holy war was about to unfold, a clash of celestial and infernal forces that would shake the very foundations of the world.