The Heavenly Demon drifted in and out of consciousness.
She felt herself being lifted and the world tilting and swaying as she was carried.
What was happening?
"It’s okay. You’re safe now. I’ve got you."
Cipher’s reassuring voice reached her.
She wanted to respond, but her body simply wouldn’t let her.
She felt herself being placed onto something solid.
The wooden bed? She could feel the rough planks against her back.
Then darkness claimed her again.
Cipher observed her, his brow furrowed with concern.
What had she gone through?
He had just wanted her to kill a few low-level monsters. He already had over half the experience needed for the next level up. It should have been simple.
She didn’t go back to pick a fight with the crimson demon, right?
He shook his head.
No way. The Heavenly Demon couldn’t possibly be that stupid.
He placed a hand on her abdomen and activated Battery.
The skill allowed him to recover someone’s HP to a level similar to his current HP. Although he had just revived, his body’s condition was pristine, so his health was full.
It seemed the Heavenly Demon had closed his wounds while he was dead. Otherwise, he might have revived with a hole through his chest and died just as fast as he’d recovered.
Now that he thought about it... did the Immortal King have his entire body eaten before reviving as a skeleton? But how could he survive as just bones?
He shook the thoughts out of his head as he noticed the Heavenly Demon wincing and struggling beneath his palm.
Was Battery not working?
"Are you there? Can you hear me?" he asked, shaking her gently.
She opened her eyes, glanced at him with a hazy expression, then lazily shut them again.
Maybe the rank of Battery was too low.
After all, it was just a C-rank skill, while the Heavenly Demon was SS-rank. The small amount of HP it provided was probably even less than her current HP, even when injured.
Then what should he do?
Ah. He had an idea.
He transformed all his mana into demonic qi. His current 1,570 mana was worth 157 demonic qi. It wasn’t much, but he hoped it would help.
After transforming it, he transferred the qi to her through the unique skill.
Slowly, she seemed to calm down. Her breathing steadied. Some of the wounds on her body began to close, flesh knitting together as the qi worked its way through her system.
She opened her eyes.
He smiled down at her.
"Hi. Did you miss me?" he asked with a bright grin.
She just looked at him expressionlessly.
"What? Is there something on my face?" he asked.
"How could you act like that?" she asked.
"What?"
"Act like nothing happened," she continued, her voice weak but sharp.
"If I could hold my sword, I’d cut you down myself," she muttered.
"It can’t be that serious, right?" he asked nervously.
She just stared at him.
So it is, he thought.
He knelt beside the bed and then bowed, his forehead touching the ground.
"I apologize for my wrongdoings," he said.
He wasn’t even sure what he was apologizing for, but he decided to do it anyway.
"You think I’ll forgive you just because you apologized?" she asked, her body trembling.
She began coughing violently, and he rushed to support her, helping her sit up slightly.
"Do you have any idea what you made me do?" she demanded once the coughing subsided.
Cipher wondered if he had hurt her pride as the Heavenly Demon by having her kill low-level monsters so he could revive.
He scratched his head awkwardly.
"You made me perform infiltration missions," she began, her voice rising despite its weakness. "Sneaking around like some common thief. Hiding behind trees. Waiting for patrols to pass."
His expression started to change.
"You made me sneak up on weak disciples. Choking them out from behind. Stealing their belongings like a petty criminal."
Wait.
"You made me kill low-level creatures..."
"Alright, that’s me," he admitted, nodding.
"...and then fight a demon lord, nearly die, and run away from an opponent."
"And now you’ve lost me again," he said.
He looked at her incredulously.
This old lady was really blaming all of this on him?
Still, seeing her expression - he decided to swallow the blame.
Besides, it was all because he wasn’t clear enough in his plan.
"Come here," she whispered.
"What?" he asked.
"I said come here," she said, her voice rising to a shout, though it was still weak and raspy.
"Okay, okay."
He moved closer, leaning in toward her.
She raised her hand.
He wondered if she was going to hit him. He closed his eyes and braced himself.
She was still injured, so it shouldn’t hurt all that much, right?
Suddenly, he felt her hand grip onto his sleeve.
He opened his eyes.
And froze.
The Heavenly Demon was... crying?
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her lips trembled. Her grip on his sleeve tightened.
"You even made me cry," she murmured, her voice cracking. "You bastard."
He was so surprised that the only thing he could say was...
"I’m sorry."
"Stop saying that," she retorted.
"I’m sorry," he responded automatically.
Seeing the Heavenly Demon like this, a sharp pain pierced through his heart.
"I’m sorry... Heavenly Demon... I..." he stammered, unable to find the right words.
She seemed to get her emotions under control slightly after hearing her title. She turned her head to the side, refusing to meet his gaze.
"Don’t call me that," she muttered under her breath.
"What?" he questioned.
"The Heavenly Demon doesn’t cry," she said quietly. "I’m no longer worthy of such a title."
He looked at her, wondering what to say.
The silence stretched between them.
"What’s your name?" he asked finally.
"What?" She turned back to him, confusion evident on her tear-stained face.
"I mean your real name. If you’re not the Heavenly Demon anymore, what do I call you?"
"I... I don’t have one," she said.
"What? How can you not have a name?"
"The name I had..." She paused, her gaze growing distant. "It was just something given to me as a servant. I never wanted it. When I became the Heavenly Demon, the title replaced everything else."
She looked down at her hands.
"I’ve been nothing but that title," she murmured.
"Then... can I give you one?" he asked.
She looked at him, surprised.
"Lyra. What do you think?" he proceeded without waiting for confirmation.
"...Lyra?" she muttered, testing the word on her tongue.
"It’s a constellation. In my world, it represents the lyre - a musical instrument." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "The myth says it was placed in the heavens to commemorate something beautiful and eternal."
He met her eyes.
"I thought... it suited you."
She stared at him.
For a moment, it felt as though the entire world had gone silent. The wooden shack. The forest outside. Everything seemed to fade away until there was nothing but the two of them.
Then slowly, a smile spread across her face.
Not the usual smug smirk of the Heavenly Demon.
But a normal, genuine smile.
"I like it," she said softly.
"Lyra it is then," Cipher said, returning her smile.
[Congratulations! Heavenly Demonic Sword Art (Ultimate) has advanced to Will Of The Absolute (Transcendent)]
...
A/N: FMC finally unlocked.