Lonia stared at Rafina's tail, which rested on her knees, for a long time.
She was starting to recover.
Then she raised her right hand and gripped the middle of the tail.
Rafina's body stiffened slightly.
“...Nia?”
Lonia didn't answer. She held the tail, not with great force, but her fingers trembled. Her crimson vertical pupils peeked out from her scattered hair, fixed on Rafina's profile.
“You lied to me.”
“I didn't...”
“You lied to me.”
Lonia's voice was hoarse, unlike anything an eight-year-old should produce.
“I asked you what Rank you were, and you said you didn't know. I said I was stronger than you, and you said 'probably'. I said I'd come for you when I got stronger, and you said 'mm-hm'.”
Each word was heavily emphasized, as if she were grinding pebbles with her teeth.
“You knew you were stronger than me the whole time. Didn't you? Even without using that power, you were stronger than me.”
Rafina didn't speak, her tail curling gently between Lonia's fingers.
“...I really don't know what kind of power I have.”
“Then what was that just now?”
“It's never happened before.”
Rafina's voice was soft, but every word was clear.
“At Gloom Castle, no one taught me how to use magic. No one tested my Rank. I just... read books. Ate. Slept. Sometimes, when I moved bookshelves, I felt a little lighter than before, but I thought it was because I'd grown taller.
Just now... I felt you hurting. Then my mind went blank. My legs just ran. When I got here, I saw that man crouching in front of you, holding an iron rod... and then something exploded inside me.”
She looked up, meeting Lonia's gaze.
“I don't know what it was. Really.”
Lonia stared into her eyes.
She thought she knew Rafina well enough.
She knew what books she liked, what food she hated, how her tail circled when happy, knotted when nervous, and pressed against her leg when sad.
But she didn't know this.
This power that poured out of Rafina, capable of killing everything.
Lonia released her grip on the tail.
“...Come here.”
“Huh?”
“Come here. Closer.”
Rafina hesitated, then shuffled closer to Lonia. Their knees touched, and the fabric of her skirt rustled against the fallen leaves.
Lonia grabbed Rafina's wrist with her right hand, lowered her head, and pressed her forehead against Rafina's palm.
“...Nia? What's wrong?”
“Shut up. Let me lean on you for a bit.”
Rafina's fingers stiffened for a second, then slowly, carefully closed, loosely cupping Lonia's forehead. Her fingertips brushed against Lonia's hairline, feeling the dampness of sweat and dust mixed together.
Lonia closed her eyes, her forehead resting in that palm.
The burning pain in her left hand surged upwards in waves from her fingertips, the scorch marks on her shoulder gave a subtle itch in the autumn wind, and the teeth marks on her lips were still seeping blood. The lingering scent of the aphrodisiac left her head fuzzy.
But the palm was cool.
“...I trained for two years.”
Her voice was muffled, coming from beneath Rafina's palm.
“Every day. I practiced Flash-step until my ankles swelled so much I couldn't wear my boots. I punched until my knuckles bled. All to get stronger. To be stronger than my sister. Strong enough to protect you.”
Her shoulder trembled.
“Turns out you're stronger than me, much stronger. Do you think I'm ridiculous?”
Rafina's fingers moved slightly.
“...I'm sorry.”
“You really think so?!”
“No... no, I don't...”
“...”
Lonia sniffled.
“But I still have to get stronger, not to protect you.”
Her right hand gripped Rafina's fingers, tightly, until her knuckles were white.
“It's so I won't hold you back when I stand by your side.”
Rafina looked at her.
“...Okay.”
Lonia glared at her.
“Are you laughing at me again?!”
“No.”
“You clearly are! You haven't stopped!”
Lonia stared at Rafina for two seconds, then snorted and turned her face away, wiping her nose with the tattered sleeve of her cloak.
In the distance, the noisy chatter of people drifted from the direction of Maple Town. It was probably people from the Adventurer's Guild rushing this way.
Lonia struggled to stand, her knees buckled, and Rafina caught her arm from the side.
“...Let's go. We need to find the attendant sisters. They must be worried sick, and it'll be trouble if anyone sees us.”
“What about the bodies?” Lonia asked in a low voice.
“The people who hurt you will disappear immediately.”
Rafina gently pulled up Lonia's tattered cloak hood, covering her face full of burns.
The two little girls' figures vanished into the depths of the maple forest. Behind them, the red leaves returned to their original color and fluttered down, covering the cracks in the ground, the scattered silver threads, and the three bodies that had completely dissipated in the wind.
————Wind.
The wind blew from the depths of the maple forest.
It was a clean, utterly cold current, cutting straight from the heart of the maple forest, sweeping up the fallen leaves before them, forcibly clearing a path.
Lonia instinctively reached for the hilt of her dagger at her waist.
Then she felt it.
Completely different from Rafina's earlier burst of power. She felt a restrained and precise aura, perfectly confined within an extremely small range.
Because of this, its density was suffocating. Like someone had compressed an entire mountain into a marble and then placed that marble in the maple forest.
Lonia's knees went soft.
It was an instinctive urge to kneel.
Just as commoners would feel breathless when Rafina released her aura.
She gritted her teeth, suppressing that urge.
Rafina stood beside her, motionless. Her silvery-white hair floated gently in the unnatural wind.
Between the maple tree trunks, a figure emerged.
A man.
He appeared to be in his early thirties. Long, dark purple hair was loosely tied back, with a few stray strands falling on either side of his cheekbones, framing a soft-featured face with a hint of weariness.
His eyes were a deep purple, so dark they were almost black, like two bottomless wells. On each side of his forehead were curved, dark gray horns.
Their curve was elegant, their surface smooth as polished stone.
He was dressed simply. A dark gray robe, unadorned, without insignia, its cuffs and hem frayed. He looked like an ordinary traveler, a little tired from his journey.
The man stopped in front of the two little girls.
His gaze first fell on Lonia—a quick glance, as if confirming something.
Then his gaze shifted, settling on Rafina.
It stopped there.
Those deep purple eyes lingered on Rafina's face for three seconds. Then they moved to the crystal horn on her head, to her tail, and to the maple forest behind her, which had returned to its original color.
“Is it you?”
His voice was not loud, carrying something worn smooth by time. It was hard to call it steady; it felt more like a leisurely ease.
Relaxed?
But entirely contrary to this demeanor was an almost unbearable sense of oppression.
Rafina's tail curled behind her.
“...Yes.”
Lonia took half a step forward, shielding Rafina.
“Who are you?”
The man looked down at the little girl, covered in scars, shorter than his waist, pointing a still-sheathed dagger at him.
“...Standing in front of someone stronger than yourself, or standing in front of someone who just saved you. Quite interesting.”
Lonia's face flushed red.
“I asked who you are!”
“I've forgotten my real name, but in any case, I am the current Demon King.”
A Transmigrator.
The strongest demon of the current era.
One of the few Rank Nine beings in the world.
The Demon King who implemented benevolent rule.
Ji Ye. In countless records, he called himself this. His true name was unknown.
Rafina's breathing quickened. This was natural. Lonia understood.
Rafina's idol was the man before them.
The man took a sip of water from a copper flask at his waist, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve. His movements were as casual as if he were resting in his own backyard.
His gaze passed over Lonia's head, returning to Rafina.
“How old are you?”
“...Eight.”
“Eight.”
The man repeated the number. The faint weariness in his deep purple eyes dissipated somewhat, replaced by something brighter, sharper.
“That's incredible. I was in elementary school at eight. You're already showing your potential at eight.”
He said something Lonia couldn't understand, then crouched down.
He knelt on one knee, bringing his gaze level with Rafina's. This action made Lonia pause.
A Rank Nine being, kneeling before an eight-year-old girl, just to meet her eyes.
“What's your name?”
Rafina's fingers curled on her skirt.
“Rafina Thun.”
“Thun?”
The man repeated the surname. His deep purple eyes narrowed, as if searching through his memories.
“Do you, do you know my parents?”
“No recollection. Do you live in Gloom Castle?”
“...Yes.”
“Manage the old archives?”
Rafina's eyelashes fluttered.
“...You know?”
“I know everyone in Gloom Castle. Including those others pretended not to see.”
His tone remained unchanged.
Lonia spoke.
“You always knew she was there, but you did nothing?”
Her voice was sharp as broken glass. Her eyes burned with a fury unbefitting her age.
The man glanced at her.
“Yes. Because I am very busy, and many things more important than helping a fallen child were waiting for me to do.”
Lonia's hand gripped the dagger hilt until her knuckles were white.
She wanted to curse him, to question him, to throw every single day and night Rafina spent alone in that small room for two years right in his face. But her lips moved twice, and nothing came out.
Because Rafina's hand touched the back of hers.
Very lightly. Her cool fingertips brushed it once and then retreated.
Lonia turned her head and saw Rafina looking at her, gently shaking her head.
The man turned his gaze back to Rafina.
“I came to ask you something.”
“...What?”
“Would you be my student?”
The maple forest fell silent for a beat.
“Your power is very strong, but if you don't learn to control it, you will eventually hurt yourself, or those around you.”
His gaze briefly swept over Lonia.
“I can teach you. How to perceive magic, how to guide it, how to make it obey you.”
Rafina's lips parted.
“Additionally, if there's anything you want, you can tell me. Consider it a belated welcome gift, and compensation for the past.”
Lonia stared at the man.
Her mind was a mess.
She wanted to grab Rafina's hand and turn to leave, but her feet were rooted to the spot, because she saw Rafina's expression.
Her crimson eyes shone like two polished gems. A living, warm light.
In the ancient texts chronicling demon history. She had read about his benevolent rule, about Maple Town that he established, about his efforts to bring peace between demons and humans. She had mentioned him to Lonia more than once in their mental communications.
Lonia released the dagger's hilt.
“...Fina.”
Rafina turned her head.
Lonia looked at her. At those impossibly bright eyes, at the tail excitedly circling behind her.
At the complete, unreserved smile she had spent two years trying to make appear, but had never succeeded in bringing forth.
Her chest ached.
Then another emotion flooded her heart.
Fear.
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