Vieya’s lifelong dream was that this fragile, knife-edge existence of hers could sohow have a good ending.
That was before she beca a monster girl.
“Vieya, you destroyed my life. Don’t think you can ever get rid of again...”
Flaviel’s arms pinned Vieya in front of her, sunlight-gold hair spilling down her waist... yet her whole body radiated violent anger, refusing to yield even an inch.
So much for the “greatest and kindest Demon King in history.”
All Vieya saw now was a furious lioness.
This is bad.
Flaviel must have left behind a fragnt of her power here at Mount Aisa. Vieya didn’t know what that power was ant for, but clearly—
That power was resonating with the lingering spirit of Flaviel still clinging to her own body.
It was like a middle-aged man with a round belly returning to his old school after many years: even if life’s polish had made his soul smoother and tougher, the mont he saw a short-skirted junior walking by, a part of him couldn’t help recalling his reckless youth, lanting the days that would never return.
Flaviel was facing sothing similar now. The rage and despair of her death three years ago were crossing the barriers of ti to infect the faint, candle-fla remnant of her spirit.
Vieya could only try not to provoke her.
In truth—
Ever since learning she had a daughter, much of Vieya’s hatred for Flaviel—born from being deceived until her dying mont—had faded away.
She also understood: if what had happened between them back then had been entirely calculated on Flaviel’s part, there was no way she’d have left her a daughter now.
“Maybe... we shouldn’t have ended up like this,” Vieya murmured. “You should have told earlier, not waited until the very end.”
“Are you blaming ?” Flaviel asked.
“I’m not. You’re right.” Vieya sighed, rubbing her temple. “It seems this place—Mount Aisa—has too much of an effect on you. Maybe we should talk about all this later.”
“As if I’d let you off that easily!”
Flaviel gritted her teeth. “Promotion, fortune, dead wife—so many blessings—why should you get all of them?”
“How is that a good thing?!” Vieya’s whole sli body went slack in disbelief.
“No promotion or fortune could ever compare to you...”
“I’m not that little girl you could trick with a candy stick. I am the Demon King—the strongest Demon King.”
Rejecting the familiar pull of the surrounding magic, Flaviel steadied herself, breathing hard. “If you want to keep living the life you have now, then listen to . Don’t remove the Hero’s Sword.”
“That sword... you made it the core of a formation?” Vieya’s eyes widened.
“I’m not certain.” Flaviel’s tone grew urgent. She {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} looked straight at Vieya. “You shouldn’t have co here. Rember this—never let them find out you’re still alive.”
“What do you an?”
Vieya’s heart skipped. “You an I can’t let anyone know I’m a Hero? Soone wants the Hero——dead?”
“Yes.”
Having refused the magic in the air, Flaviel’s form began to flicker between light and shadow. Yet suddenly she reached out and seized Vieya’s arm.
Huh? You can... touch ?
Surprise flashed across Vieya’s face.
But just as she was marveling at it, a sharp pain shot through her arm.
A small bite mark appeared on her pale wrist. Vieya stared up at Flaviel, wide-eyed, wordlessly asking, What was that for?
Flaviel just smiled faintly, shook her head, revealed her sharp little fangs, then released her and stepped backward into the dark.
That’s it? She’s leaving?
“Hey, wait!”
Vieya panicked—she still had so many questions to ask!
She’d managed to awaken the Demon King for only a brief mont thanks to Mount Aisa’s conditions—who knew when such a chance would co again?
“Don’t go...”
Vieya rubbed her face in frustration.
Then, suddenly, hands gripped her shoulders hard from behind. She jumped.
Flaviel’s voice whispered right at her ear: “I really miss you.”
“?”
What’s wrong with you?!
Her heart pounding wildly, Vieya spun around—but all that remained was a soft glow as Flaviel’s form dissolved, scattering like a handful of golden fireflies.
“Tch. Seriously.”
So weak and still acting tough? You used to be the one begging back in Egypt, weren’t you?
Sigh...
The thought brought a pang of lancholy.
It seed she’d have to find another way—sothing to help Flaviel recover faster.
After all, the world was vast: across the Four Seas and Eight Desolations, and even beyond, in the uncharted demon territories—if she kept searching, surely there was hope.
At least... she’d t her again this ti.
Vieya lifted her arm. The bite mark remained vivid.
After a mont’s silence, she let her arm fall, hands on her hips, sighing. Looking around the pitch-black surroundings, she suddenly rembered—she was still at the bottom of a well.
Damn it!
She quickly looked up toward the opening. Her pupils shrank.
A silver moon hung in the night sky. Moonlight poured down, illuminating the well’s mouth—quiet and empty.
Already this late?
“Where are they?”
Don’t tell they got caught by monsters and turned into soup?!
It was just one little mont of distraction, co on!
Don’t let my very first commission end in total failure! I even planned to ask for extra gold!
Vieya bent her knees, preparing to leap out.
But the bricks beneath her feet suddenly gave way—the entire wall of the well crumbling down with it.
Rumble!
Rumble!
Dust, cracking stone, a sudden rush of weightlessness—
“Cough, cough! What kind of ancient, shoddy construction is this?!”
Coughing hard, Vieya pushed away the rubble above her and crawled out from the debris. Dust filled her mouth and nose, making her wince and hack again.
Suddenly—
“Huh? Who are you? How did you end up here?”
A soft, girlish voice—bright, youthful—spoke from ahead.
Vieya looked toward the sound. A petite girl with a ponytail and a beret stood not far away, eyes wary yet curious.
“nesis, what’s going on over there?”
A gray-haired middle-aged man hurried over at the noise. But when he saw Vieya crawling from the wreckage, he froze—then quickly dropped into a combat stance.
“Who are you? Why did you fall from above?”
“It’s fine, Rakaide,” nesis said, smiling. “She’s not an undead trapped here. Maybe we can actually get so information from her.”
“Information?”
Rakaide frowned, studying the soot-covered sli girl. “Are you sure? She doesn’t look very bright... and she’s definitely suspicious.”
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