"Yes, Aku," the fairy repeated. "If I'm not mistaken, Alex told me that Akuma means 'demon' in his world, so I thought it convenient to call you that."
Sylvie answered while crossing her arms.
Aku raised an eyebrow skeptically.
Having his name mean demon when he wanted to become a hero wasn't too encouraging.
However, it was still a name. It felt strange to have one, but he didn't dislike it either.
"I see, you didn't rack your brains too much from what I can tell," he replied, trying to return in some way the mockery she had made of him.
Instead, Sylvie just shrugged.
"Be grateful I thought of one in the first place," she responded with genuine disinterest.
Soon, the silver light of the moon and stars was blocked by storm clouds.
Thunder began to roar, and rain to fall.
Aku raised his gaze, watching as raindrops began to fall.
Feeling the cold drops fall on his skin, Aku experienced something new. It was a strange sensation, but not necessarily unpleasant.
The demon king closed his eyes, feeling the raindrops fall, the breeze caress his skin, and the chorus of thunder resonate.
For some reason, he felt himself relax.
However, his companion wasn't as enthusiastic about the rain.
"Tch, I need to hurry," she said hastily. "[Light Shield]"
Upon saying that, a dome of solid green light surrounded the fairy.
"[Telekinesis]," the girl then said as she extended her arms.
Three domes of greenish light began to glow in that instant.
The bodies of Luna, Mei, and Aleida began to levitate.
"I suppose I can at least bury their bodies," the fairy said as she began to move away, leaving Aku alone with his thoughts.
The demon king kept his eyes closed, feeling the rain fall on his body.
His breathing was relaxed, calm. It was the first time he was breathing. In fact, it was the first time he felt cold.
In itself, his previous body lacked many senses. Things like pain were meaningless to him.
The only knowledge he had about these things was what he had read in books, however, it was very different from feeling it directly.
Even if Aku had really researched a lot about living beings, the truth is that now he realized that "living" something was very different from reading it on paper.
His theoretical knowledge of the world didn't come close to the level of awareness that an experience could offer.
Now he was aware of it.
"Mmm, yes, I want to experience more things," he said.
As he did, he felt a drop of water filter into his mouth, a different experience from simply feeling it on his skin.
"Huh?" The boy opened his eyes confused.
What had that sensation been?
The boy wanted to experience it again and decided to open his mouth to feel more drops fall in his mouth.
"W-what the hell are you doing?" a voice then asked. It was Sylvie. She had already returned.
Aku tilted his head to see her while responding with complete naturalness.
"Tasting the rain," he said as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
The fairy raised an eyebrow.
"I see. Now I regret suggesting you open a comedy show," the fairy affirmed very seriously. "I think yours would be more like the circus."
Aku didn't respond to that. He was already starting to get used to Sylvie's comments.
"Mmm, I suppose I'll have to return it," the fairy then said as she looked at a spot on the ground behind Aku.
The latter turned curious to know what the fairy was looking at.
On the ground lay the hero's golden sword with a silver blade.
An artifact that had managed to corner the demon king himself. Without hesitation, he stretched out his hand, intending to grab it.
However, Sylvie was faster.
"No way, that doesn't belong to you," the fairy said as she stretched her hand toward the sword. "[Store]"
The weapon glowed wrapped in a green light and subsequently disappeared.
Aku gave the fairy an annoyed look.
"What's that supposed to mean? Why won't you let me keep the weapon?" Aku asked.
He felt very curious about the weapon. He wanted to investigate it thoroughly.
However, Sylvie didn't seem to want to share it.
"It's not yours. Besides, you couldn't even use it. Only the hero can," she responded with annoyance.
Aku frowned.
"I don't care if I can't use it. Besides, you guys destroyed all my treasures. It's only fair I keep something. I could only save what I had in my subspace," Aku complained, annoyed.
The fairy raised an eyebrow, as if she couldn't care less.
"Idiot, do you think you're going to make me feel sorry or something? I told you no and that's final," the fairy answered firmly.
In that moment, Aku considered the idea of getting rid of the fairy so he could keep the sword.
However, it wasn't a very good idea, especially if he wanted to become a hero.
Besides, he didn't know where the sword was. Perhaps getting rid of Sylvie would make the weapon disappear.
"Fine," Aku finally said, somewhat annoyed.
Seeing how he gave up, the fairy drew a victorious smile on her face.
Something that annoyed Aku, but before he could do anything about it, thunder sounded.
It was a much more powerful lightning bolt than the previous ones, especially potent.
Suddenly, the sky split as if it were fragmented glass.
Both Aku and Sylvie fixed their gazes on the sky. There, a pillar of white light descended, joining heaven and earth.
An angelic chorus began to resonate as time seemed to stop.
In fact, it had stopped. The raindrops remained static in the sky, as if time had frozen.
Then something began to descend through that column of light.
A gigantic creature with large white wings on its back and an imposing halo on its head.
"What's happening?" Sylvie asked in consternation.
Aku just kept watching.
"I have no idea," he responded.