The Demon Queen paused.
At that moment, the two shadowy figures that had been acting out her tale within the chandelier’s crimson light began to speak.
The hunched figure, her hair hanging in disarray, looked at the tall figure in the distant sky and asked in a shaking voice.
"What’s the meaning of this?"
An indifferent reply came from the other figure, who was already so high above.
"Don’t be so naïve."
He sneered with disdain.
"It’s exactly what it looks like."
The child in his hands, who had started crying, was casually handed to another angel behind him as he straightened his sleeves and turned to enter the portal that had opened with a wave of his hand, leaving behind words that chilled her.
"Spirit Queen, if you know what’s best for yourself and your race, don’t do anything impulsive... and forget about the child."
The woman, watching her newborn child being taken away, dropped to her knees. A faint mutter escaped her lips as she stared blankly at his retreating back. Everything that had once been clouded by love suddenly became painfully clear.
"So... everything was planned from the very beginning?"
Her words didn’t sound like a question, but a truth she had finally accepted. Yet there was one thing she still couldn’t understand.
Why...?
What great cause could possibly justify the Leader of the Angels playing with her heart and emotions for so long?
Knowing he would never answer her, she slowly lowered her head.
Then, just when everyone thought it was over, a furious scream erupted from her, shaking the entire world around her.
"You dare...!"
"You dared to play with me like this! And you think you can still take my child away from my domain? The domain I rule?"
"Hahaha!"
Her crazed laughter echoed throughout the Spirit Realm. A deafening rumble followed as the entire realm began to tremble before sealing itself under her command. After all, while the angels were powerful, the people of the Spirit Race were no weaker.
The Leader of the Angels stopped in his tracks and looked back, fury flashing across his face.
"Have you lost your mind?! Do you truly not know what’s best for you?"
The moment those words fell, war erupted.
The sky split apart as angels and spirits clashed without restraint. Countless lives were lost as both sides fought desperately to decide who would own the crying child, whose wails echoed through a battlefield drenched in blood and littered with corpses.
Ultimately, a powerful dark sword slash descended from a distant place, killing countless beings as another tall, dark figure stepped into the fray after sensing the chaos. The sword this figure wielded, along with the dark army that followed behind him, was enough to overwhelm both sides.
However, before the spirits and angels could retaliate against this newly arrived enemy, they noticed that the massive dark sword had accidentally struck the very place where the angel holding the crying child was hiding.
The crying finally stopped.
All that remained was endless darkness and destruction.
The Spirit Queen cried out.
"NO!"
The moment her voice echoed, many large and small crimson lights burst out from within the darkness, scattering in every direction at a speed impossible to follow.
The Spirit Queen only managed to catch one of the lights, even after using all her remaining power. The Leader of the Angels also captured one crimson fragment. He chased after the remaining ones but failed to catch more. And under everyone’s eyes, the rest vanished into the shattered sky.
The newly arrived dark figure stood frozen in place, stunned by what had happened.
After a brief silence, he retrieved his sword, clicked his tongue in annoyance, and turned to leave, leaving behind only two words.
"How annoying."
Isaac and the others watched silently as the figures beneath the grand chandelier, within the crimson light, scattered. Seeing that no more figures appeared to continue the story, Yuris couldn’t help but ask.
"Who was that dark figure?"
The Demon Queen chuckled. Still standing behind Skyler, playing with his hair, she spoke as if it were the most casual thing.
"The God of Extinction. The one who will soon show up to devour your entire world."
Yuris shuddered at her words, simply swallowing the rest of his questions.
Austin, Isaac, and Charles—didn’t dare to ask anything in the first place. Only Zack remained lost in his thoughts, replaying the scene of the scattering crimson lights that had brought the story to its end over and over again. Finally, he raised his head and swept his gaze across the mermaid sitting beside Skyler, then the white snake on his shoulder, and finally the Demon Queen.
A complicated emotion flickered through his silver eyes as he lowered his gaze, silently reaching a conclusion in his mind.
’That child... it’s her.’
But what scared Zack into lowering his gaze wasn’t the fact that the child was her.
It was Skyler’s current expression.
He looked as if he wanted to kill someone. His eyes were pitch black, with dark lines crawling across his skin. It was a wonder that no one else had noticed his condition.
The suffocating silence in the hall was finally broken when the mermaid sitting beside Skyler gently poked his waist, her curious gaze silently asking why he had suddenly become so quiet. Grabbing her hand, Skyler closed his eyes for a moment to calm his turbulent emotions. He looked toward the Demon Queen with a serious expression, as if he had made a decision.
"I will leave them with you."
The Demon Queen grabbed his hand and naturally sat down on his lap. Her eyes were downcast, filled with reluctance.
"You won’t stay?"
Skyler held her waist to steady her and brushed back the stray hair from her face.
"Not yet. Otherwise, I won’t be able to kill the ones who made you suffer so much."
She blinked, stunned by his words. But in the end, she couldn’t help but laugh. After all, what he meant was that he intended to kill both the Leader of the Angels and the powerful God of Extinction, the strongest dark being in existence, with his hands.
Staring into his eyes, she murmured.
"Very bold. But what if I don’t let you go?"