The World's most Overpowered Side-Character

"....." A pool of blood beneath his head, and hundreds of teeth around his face, Sol stared dead-eyed at the ashes of what remained of Griffon's body.

"On to the next one then?" The sword demon asked, and Sol's mind snapped like a suspension cable, before the sword demon could touch Jun who had been unconscious all this time magic began pouring out of his body, waves and waves of it, startling the Demon King out of his boredom when the tail that had skewered Sol and suppressed him for hours was torn off.

More demons appeared, the other three generals, Bile, Dagon, and the wind demon Syth. And all three of them along with the sword demon caught Sol and pinned him again. "Imagine if you had led with that strength, I suppose it makes sense, after all this woman is precious to you...

Right?" The demon King walked pass Sol, regrowing his severed tail as Sol was impaled by the burning arms of the sword demon while the others stood on his hands.

"I want to motivate you properly." The Demon King knelt over Jun and slapped her, waking her from the trance he had left her in.

"No..." Sol hoarsely cried, staring as Syth caressed his cheeks and raised his head toward them, angling him so he was unable to look away.

Jun arose with a scream as she was thrown on her stomach and forced into a submissive position by the demon king who cackled as she tried reaching out for Sol who was right before her. "Stop, please, stop!!"

There the unimaginable happened right before his eyes, and when the demon king and his generals had all cruelly sated their lusts, the sword demon stabbed her through her heart and tossed her onto Sol while the others released him.

He was defeated, too defeated to do anything other than hold her, her tears had already dried up, and even after everything she had just been through, her body bloodied and abused and her insides torn and serrated beyond healing, she still smiled at him when he held her.

Raising her shaking hand, Jun caressed Sol's cheek and smiled sweetly at him, while he stared at her speechlessly.

"Am I finally dying, Sol?" Jun asked weakly, unaware of her own state after going numb to the pain halfway through her abuse. "Is it finally my time to die too?"

"Jun-"

"I'm so happy, that the sun is shining again, we lived a long life after that horrible war, didn't we?" She smiled and rubbed her fingers across his cheeks.

"Darling, why are you crying, we promised each other we would not mourn our deaths, our beautiful children, and Griffon's children, they would be so sad, do not let them see you cry..." She wheezed after speaking while Sol's expression became less sad and more shocked.

After all she had been subjected to, Jun's mind had been completely shattered, and her brain in an attempt to protect her had created the scenario she wished for the most, she had already by definition died.

"I'm sorry...."

"Sol, you know, there is one thing you never said, when I asked you if I could love you, you never said yes, even though we lived our whole lives here on this farm, so far away from everyone else, and enjoyed so many good years in each others' embrace." She kept speaking, and more tears started flowing down his cheeks again.

"Tell me, husband... Did you ever truly love this little lovestruck woman, or did I love you all these years in vain, Sol, do you love me?" She asked, and his mouth quivered and opened, but his voice never came, he just held her and stared at a loss of words as he saw the last light of life leave her eyes and watched her hand fall limply to her side.

"There-there, little hero." The Demon King rested his hand on Sol's head in condolence. He had already sent the others away, but had remained behind to see Jun's final moments.

"With this, you are truly alone, aside from the demons, there is nobody left on Atla, nowhere left to go..."

"...dead."

"Hm?" The demon leaned in closer to Sol's shaking lips as he hoarsely whispered.

"... Going to kill everything, every demon, I'll kill them all dead, I'll murder, I'll destroy, I'll erase everything, I'm going to devour them, I'm going to destroy..."

"Perfect." The Demon King nodded and stood again, walking through his portal and leaving Sol by himself. "There is no greater enemy that a corrupt one, morally, mentally, psychologically, I will remain and watch how you choose to go about this task, I will entertain your revenge, Sol, I will see you on the other side of this crusade."

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***

"Dear..." Ikaris timidly approached Sol as he laid on the roof staring up at Hāl. "You have not said a word since you woke up from your sleep, are you sure everything is-"

"I'm fine, Ikaris, drop it." Sol answered sharply causing her to wince and take a step back.

His voice was devoid of hatred toward her, but it felt like he remembered something horrible that had taken his mind back to Atla, after saying he was thinking of "home" it seemed like he was stuck there, unable to move past it.

"... Okay." Ikaris turned to leave him be, but paused and turned around again. "Master..." She went on her knees and hands, pressing her forehead to the roof. "Please remember, I am at your mercy, whether you decide to kill or toss me aside, I will not blame you."

Her intuition was sharp, she had caught on since he mentioned Atla, but now she was sure that he was in a bad place, having never dealt with his trauma before and having no idea of what that trauma was, she was unsure of how to go about it.

From her perspective she left and intruded earth's domain and wandered across the world for two years seeking knowledge on how the humans there interacted, to her it was a mere fraction; a second in the grand scale of time.

She had no clue what happened on Atla in those two years, other than the entire population had fallen from over two billion to just him.

And he never once responded to her call after her return, he just fought, until the blood of his enemies fused his hand with his sword he fought, for the next three years before he eventually faced the demon King, Sol did not rest once, he never slept either, he grew stronger with every fight, with every kill, and he never spoke a word.

The cause was unknown, and she was afraid to ask him, so she could only present herself in her weakest state and hope he would find a way to vent, because despite his adoration toward her, she never got over that lingering feeling that he had a lot of animosity hidden behind his smile, it showed when he met the gods on Arkadia, and it was showing now once more, a coldness that not even his warmth was able to reach, disdain toward all forms of divinity be it demon or otherwise.

Sol stared at her, waiting for her to get up, but after several minutes, she was still bowing to him. "Don't you think that's enough?" He asked her sitting up and staring concerned.

"I have failed you, I do not know what to make of or how to unburden your troubled heart." Ikaris answered him without hesitance. "I ask that you punish me, Master." She added, though this time her tone, her language and suggestion lacked any kind of sexual undertone, she meant it literally.

"Seriously," Sol stood and walked over to her, taking a seat again and crossing his legs before her. "I'm not doing that."

"But... Clearly-"

"No, stop being stubborn," Sol retorted, "get up."

"Yes." She sat up immediately and found him with his hands spread inviting her. "Oh." Ikaris crawled on all fours toward him and stopped short of his hug and then slowly leaned and sat in his lap with her legs to the side and hugged herself as he embraced her.

"Ikaris."

"Yes."

"Don't call me master anymore, I know you do it endearingly, but everyone else is calling me master, you're not the same as they are."

"As you wish m... Dear." She sunk into his embrace and sighed sadly. "I only wished to satisfy and rid you of this sadness, truly." She looked at his thumb on her arm slowly caressing and kneading her skin.

"If that's your goal, then staying by my side is enough." Sol rested his palm against her cheek and raised her face to his. "I don't want to lose you, never, you're my happiness, Ikaris, I can't express that enough."

"Then..." She smiled at him and balled her fist in his t-shirt. "Why does it sometimes feel like you hate seeing me?"

"I don't, but a lot of times when I wake up, I forget where I am; enough time hasn't passed yet, I may be physically here, but in contrast I'm always getting dragged back to Atla. "He admitted.

"Why not remove the memories that plague you?"

"Because I want to remember." Sol answered. "These are precious memories that keep me going, they remind me that I'm not done, not until every demon is dead, not until they're all beneath my feet."