Chapter 71
“What…?”
“Let go!”
I tried to push the Demon Lord’s hand away, but it was useless. I exerted all the force I could muster, but to him, it probably felt like the flutter of a fly’s wings, as he didn’t even react.
The Demon Lord muttered, as though he had lost his mind.
“Daughter…?”
I had no time to pay attention to him. All of my focus was on Kaiden, who was lying on the ground. I couldn’t help it.
Blood was pooling on the floor like a puddle.
A wave of fear suddenly gripped me. What if he dies like this?
For a brief moment, Stella flashed through my mind. She could heal the wounded with her divine power. I remembered how white light emanated from her hands, healing the wounds.
‘I need to bring Stella.’
That was the only way to save Kaiden.
I quickly surveyed the surroundings. In the distance, I could see Stella and Lucas helping people near the fallen rubble.
It was quite a distance, but for me, a Swordmaster, it wasn’t that far. If I made up my mind to run, I could bring her back in under five minutes.
The problem was the Demon Lord, who was muttering like a madman while holding my wrist.
“He was alive… but I didn’t recognize him? Me?”
He asked himself in disbelief,
“But the human child is under Nyx’s jurisdiction… Rose resembles Charles more… so…”
He seemed to come to his own conclusion.
I slowly opened my mouth, looking at him.
“…Please save him.”
“……”
The Demon Lord’s muttering stopped abruptly. He looked at me.
As a mere human, all I could do was beg. My entire body was shaking like a leaf. I was so scared.
But what terrified me more than anything was that Kaiden was dying.
“Please save him.”
I summoned what little courage I had and pleaded again in a shaky voice, tears falling from my eyes.
The fear of Kaiden dying, and the fear of the transcendent being in front of me who could take his life without even blinking, mixed together.
The Demon Lord just stared at me. I wished he would say something.
How much time passed? After a few minutes, he shifted his gaze to Kaiden. My heart sank. I couldn’t breathe properly, fearing he might cast some magic on Kaiden again.
“…Where did you get this bracelet?”
Thankfully, he held up the bracelet in front of me. I looked at it with trembling eyes.
What had the Demon Lord said earlier?
“This is my wife’s bracelet.”
Right. He had said it was his deceased wife’s bracelet. And what did I answer?
“Where did you get it from?!”
“Am I your daughter or something?”
A chill ran through me.
Seeing Kaiden’s blood-soaked body, I had said something without thinking.
The moment I spoke the truth, that
“this bracelet was a gift from Kaiden, and I’ve been wearing it since two days ago,” Kaiden and I would no longer be considered living beings in this world.
I couldn’t speak the truth, no matter how much I wanted to. I racked my brain, slowly opening my mouth.
“I… I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
I could see the Demon Lord’s mood darken instantly. I desperately squeezed out a lie.
“I… I’ve had it since I was little…”
Think, think!
“…I’ve had it for as long as I can remember, but I don’t know when I started wearing it.”
The Demon Lord’s mouth slightly opened.
“…Did your mother give it to you?”
It had only been two days, but mother? My heart seemed to freeze, but this time, I decided to tell him the truth.
“I… I don’t know. I’m an orphan.”
“An orphan…”
As soon as those words left my mouth,
Boom! Boom!
The lava stones that had been floating in the air all fell to the ground at once. My heart seemed to drop with them. I could hear the startled screams of humans from far away.
But there were no more lava stones falling.
Instead, the rift in the sky began to heal. The sky, which had been a deep red, turned blue, and the warm sun began to shine through the clouds.
In an instant, the world became peaceful.
He stared at me intensely. His gaze seemed to be judging whether my words were true or not. I tried my best not to look away.
It seemed that gods couldn’t read human minds after all. But I was still terrified, trying to keep myself from thinking anything that might give me away.
The Demon Lord slowly released my wrist. I immediately collapsed to the ground and pressed myself against Kaiden. His blood was spreading all over the floor.
“The blood…”
Kaiden’s face had turned as white as paper.
“No, no…”
I tried to press his abdomen with my trembling hands, but the blood kept pouring out. I had to stop it.
But how? Where was Stella?
I looked around but could only see the wreckage of the fallen royal palace. Panic set in. The blood kept coming, and Kaiden was nearing the point of no return.
“Do you want your companion to live?”
The Demon Lord’s voice came from above me.
I couldn’t speak and had no answer to give.
“I asked if you want your companion to live.”
I weakly nodded. I couldn’t open my mouth, fearing that only choking sounds would come out.
At that moment, the Demon Lord made a light gesture.
A red light surrounded Kaiden’s entire body and then disappeared. I looked between him and the Demon Lord and realized that the bleeding had stopped.
“D-Duke…!”
Joy surged briefly,
“If you want to save your companion,”
The Demon Lord gestured once more. Kaiden’s body lifted into the air.
“Bring me proof that you are my daughter, and come to the Fernandi Marquis’ estate.”
“W-Wait…!”
I scrambled to my feet. The Demon Lord spoke in a cold voice.
“Until then, I will keep your companion.”
“Wait, please!”
“You must be my daughter. If not, not only your companion but all humans will vanish.”
A chill ran down my spine.
“Please…”
I tried one last desperate plea, but they disappeared in an instant.
My hand, still stretched out toward Kaiden, hung helplessly in the air. A light breeze brushed past my fingertips.
I let my hand fall, feeling empty.
“Duke…”
My legs gave way, and I collapsed to the ground.
I stared blankly at the spot where the Demon Lord and Kaiden had vanished, clenching my fist tightly.
‘That’s right, Kaiden is still alive.’
Though his face had turned as white as paper, the Demon Lord had guaranteed his life, so I knew he was still alive.
Kaiden is alive.
A sense of relief washed over me, and with it came a new purpose. I had to save him from the Demon Lord.
As I focused on the task ahead, my mind cleared.
But… how would I prove that I was the Demon Lord’s daughter?
What kind of evidence could there be for something I had said in a panic? I’m human. There’s no way I could be the Demon Lord’s daughter.
As the tension faded, I began to realize what I had just done.
“…What should I do?”
My helpless voice echoed through the ruins of the fallen royal palace.
The wind blew. Diamond shards were carried in the breeze, glittering in the sunlight.
Once the site of noble coronations, the Diamond Palace now lay in ruins.
As the source of the Demon Lord’s descent, no trace of the building remained.
In the middle of the wreckage, a rat scurried, squeaking near a decapitated body.
Crunch!
Suddenly, the body’s hand grabbed the rat and crushed it. The rat didn’t make a sound before it died instantly.
The decapitated body stood up.
Dust and debris that had covered it fell away.
The body, lacking eyes, walked forward as if it could see, moving without hesitation.
A head lay on the ground nearby.
The body picked it up and placed it on its neck. A dark, ominous energy wove the separated parts together.
The wind blew again.
Soon, the resurrected sorcerer, or rather, the demon Feless, cracked his neck, moving stiffly.
He lifted his face to the clear sky and muttered.
“The king who abandoned us is no longer a king.”
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
