Three days later. The inner courtyard of Gloom Castle.
It was surrounded on all four sides by high walls of black stone, with no dome overhead, opening directly to the eternal dark sky of Abyss City.
There was a faint, dry smell in the air, like the residue of burnt stone after it had cooled.
Lonia leaned against a stone pillar at the entrance of the inner courtyard, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched the center of the grounds.
Rafina had said that the Demon King specifically requested her to come along, and since she had already planned on keeping Rafina company anyway, she had simply tagged along.
Right now, Rafina stood in the center, with the Demon King standing three paces away, facing her.
His right hand was held flat in front of him, palm facing up, with a ball of deep purple light hovering above it, slowly spinning.
“Gather your mana. Like tying up your hair, draw those threads together, and then let them flow out naturally.”
Rafina reached out her hand and closed her eyes tightly until a ball of white light emerged above her palm.
“Now, imagine these threads spreading out, flowing through your body like a stream.”
A faint white light then circulated through her body.
In stark contrast to its visually underwhelming appearance, a nearly suffocating pressure emanated from it.
The aura leaking from Rafina made Lonia feel almost unable to breathe.
But it was fine... she could bear it, she could handle it.
Besides, the Demon King's teaching style was completely different from what Lonia had imagined.
It was a bit... strange?
At any rate, he was very different from the old man back home; he was very patient and gentle.
The training lasted for about an hour. A thin layer of sweat broke out on Rafina's forehead.
“That's enough, draw it back.”
Rafina opened her eyes, and the white light retracted.
“That's about it. Practice on your own using this feeling. Lonia, you're next.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
The Demon King adopted a very serious expression.
“I asked about your training methods over there. You focus on physical combat, right?”
“Uh, yes.”
“High-ranking vampires can manipulate and release the blood inside their bodies?”
“That's correct...?”
“And you can convert mana into blood?!”
“My sister can do it too...”
The Demon King said solemnly, “Do you know what your kind of ability is called back in my hometown?”
“The Sovereign of Eternal Night...?”
“Choso!!!”
“Who's that?”
“That's not important.”
The Demon King clapped his hands together forcefully, startling both Lonia and Rafina.
“Come on, do exactly as I do.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
“Concentrate your blood, gather it in the palm of your hand.”
Lonia obediently clapped her hands, then manipulated the blood inside her body to gather and compress.
“This is called Convergence. Now, try to shoot the blood out.”
“Eh? Just like that?”
“Give it a try.”
Swoosh—
Bang.
The high wall of black stone was struck, leaving a small hole behind.
“Ho, you've got some talent too. I thought that with such a brief explanation, the most you'd manage would be a water gun.”
“Ah, this...”
Lonia could tell that the quality of this wall was much stronger than the protective wall at her home.
And yet, back then, she had to expend a tremendous amount of effort just to damage those things...
“When you use this move in the future, remember to shout 'Piercing Blood.' Do you know about Wald's theory of word-souls? Shouting out your move name really does strengthen it.”
“Lord Demon King... that kind of thing seems to only apply to high-level mages...” Rafina weakly added, her tail gently swishing back and forth as if in confusion.
“Shh, don't rush. Lonia, this next move is called Flowing Red Scale...”
Blood Meteorite, Flowing Red Scale, Supernova, Blood Blade, Canal...
For some reason, while teaching her, Lonia felt that the Demon King was even more focused and earnest than when he was teaching Rafina.
Furthermore, some of the techniques he taught were recorded in her family's ancient texts, while others were completely unheard of.
It made sense; being able to freely convert mana and blood was originally a unique ability of the Catori family. If other vampires tried to use their blood this way, they would probably easily become anemic.
“I've seen enough. I'm satisfied.”
The Demon King spoke such incomprehensible words while wearing a satisfied smile.
What a strange person...
But... the things he taught were actually quite useful.
Lonia snorted.
“Thank you...”
“No need for thanks, it was just impromptu anyway. Ah, I need to get back to working overtime.”
The Demon King waved his hand, just about to turn around.
Then, his expression changed.
The faint weariness in his eyes was instantly replaced by something else.
Like a tree chopped down at its roots, he pitched forward and collapsed to the ground.
Lonia's body froze, while Rafina stared in daze for a moment.
Then, Rafina sprang into action.
Supporting the Demon King's shoulders from both sides with her hands, she helped him backward so his back rested against her knees. Her movements were a bit clumsy, but it didn't seem to be the first time she had dealt with this situation.
“This is wrong... Why did it happen without any warning... It wasn't like this before...”
She muttered to herself, pressing her right hand against the Demon King's chest.
Her palm pressed against the fabric of his old robe, her fingertips sinking slightly into his chest.
White mana seeped from her palm, passing through the fabric and spreading outward along the Demon King's breastbone.
The Demon King's face was ash-gray, like stone. The curved horns on his head had lost their luster, their surfaces marred by fine cracks like a dried-up riverbed.
Lonia stood by the stone pillar, watching it all unfold.
She watched as Rafina knelt on the stone slabs, her knees soaked in spilled water, her hands pressed against the chest of a Rank Nine existence.
Using her own power to do something Lonia completely failed to understand.
Time passed slowly. The mana continued to flow into the Demon King's chest for about fifteen minutes.
His complexion slowly warmed, losing its gray pallor. The cracks on his horns did not disappear, but they stopped expanding.
Rafina removed her hand from his chest.
The light in her palm faded. Her fingers were trembling slightly.
Her seemingly bottomless mana had been mostly depleted after fifteen minutes of continuous output.
Rafina gently laid the Demon King's head on the ground, untied her coat from her waist, folded it twice, and cushioned it behind his head. Then, she stood up and turned around.
The vampire's eyes met hers.
“What happened...?”
Lonia's voice was quieter than she had expected.
Rafina did not answer immediately.
She walked over to Lonia, her tail drooping listlessly behind her against the side of her leg.
“...There is a curse on the throne of the Demon King.”
Her voice was very soft. Even softer than usual.
“The body of whoever sits on that throne will slowly be eroded. Their mana circuits will break down bit by bit, like a riverbank collapsing under a torrent. As time passes, the rate of collapse will only accelerate. He has held out for a very long time, but...”
Her eyelashes drooped, veiling the light in her eyes.
“...He doesn't have much time left.”
Lonia stared at her.
She stared at that small face, which was paler than usual, at the sweat still wet on her forehead, at the trembling fingers hanging by her sides, and at the listlessly drooping tail.
“...The Demon King's failing health in recent years is something everyone in the demon city knows... The first time I trained with him, he told me about the curse. I've also seen it flare up... He said it feels like a fire starting in his stomach, spreading until it covers every inch of his skin, burning it to a crisp before it heals, only to burn again...”
“So you learned how to treat it.”
“It's not really a cure, just a delay. It temporarily stabilizes the collapsing parts. Like plugging a crack in a dam with a finger.”
“How long can you plug it?”
“...I don't know. With each flare-up, the crack becomes a little wider than the last. And before it happens, there are usually obvious warning signs, like him feeling unwell... A sudden collapse like today's... is a first for me too...”
Lonia's fingers clenched tightly in front of her chest.
“So that's why he took you as his disciple...”
“Yes.”
Rafina looked up. Her crimson eyes gazed straight at Lonia.
There were no tears, no fear, only a clear-headed resolve that was completely unbefitting of her age.
“I am his successor.”
The inner courtyard fell silent for a long time.
The runes on the ground had completely dimmed, and the gray stone slabs looked exceptionally cold under the dark sky.
Lonia loosened her clenched hands.
She walked over to Rafina, reached out her right hand, and grabbed Rafina's still-trembling hand.
Her palm was cold. Colder than usual. The drop in body temperature after depleting her mana made her hand feel as cold as a stone freshly pulled from water.
Lonia clasped that hand in her own and squeezed it tightly.
Rafina did not speak, but her trembling subsided slightly.
“So he wants you to die in his place.”
Just like that day when Rafina had shown a side of herself that was unfamiliar to Lonia,
at this moment, Lonia also made Rafina feel a sense of strangeness.
Her eyes were already brimming with tears.
Rafina opened her mouth, but Lonia gave her no chance to speak.
“Did he force you? Has he actually been treating you badly?”
Lonia took a step forward.
“It's always like this in the books we read together, isn't it? A talented girl gets deceived by some sanctimonious scum and ends up losing everything.”
“Nia.”
“You can't become it, you...”
Her throat choked up.
Lonia's shoulders slumped.
Her chin trembled, her lips quivered, and her small fangs bit into her lower lip, leaving fresh marks.
“...Please...”
Her voice cracked.
“Can't it be someone else...? Don't follow him anymore... I can talk to my sister... and get you everything you want...”
Rafina stood before her, silent.
Her crimson eyes gazed at Lonia's lowered face and her black hair.
She raised her free hand and gently patted the top of Lonia's head.
“Nia.”
Lonia did not look up.
“Listen to me.”
“I won't listen!”
“Listen to me.”
Lonia fell silent.
Rafina's fingers slid down her hair, resting gently against her cheek.
“He didn't force me.”
“No... he must have...”
“He gave me a choice. The first time we trained, he told me everything. What the curse was, what inheritance meant, and what price would be paid. Then he told me, 'If you don't want to, it doesn't matter. You will still be my student. Louis will become the next Demon King. You can continue living in that room with the window, and find Lonia to read your books with.'”
“Who is Louis...?”
“The prince of the Demon Court, a guy with a terrible temper. He was the one responsible for delaying the Demon King's collapse before...”
Rafina's eyes dimmed slightly.
“If he were to inherit the curse, he wouldn't even survive three years. That's why he works harder than anyone else, only hoping that he can hold out for a few more days when the time comes, so as not to disappoint the Demon King.”
That guy who never attended any gatherings, whom she had barely even heard rumors about.
Rafina withdrew her hand from Lonia's face and let it fall to her side.
“But some things... cannot be changed no matter how hard he tries. If it's me, I can hold out for a very long time. Much longer than the Demon King. That time will be enough to accomplish many things. The Demon King told me all of this, and then let me decide for myself.”
“Then you should have just refused him... Who cares what happens to that Louis guy anyway...”
“Lonia, I want to become the Demon King.”
Lonia finally looked up.
Rafina's face was calm, like the soft light in the old archives.
“I lived in the old archives for many years. Aside from Uncle Librarian, who would occasionally toss books at me, no one ever came to see me or talk to me, and no one cared if I was there or not. So, I read a lot of books, reading them over and over again. The books wrote about many people doing many things—building cities, fighting wars, carrying out reforms, making sacrifices... Sometimes I wondered why they did those things.”
She looked at Lonia.
“And then you came.”
“You became my friend, brought me honey-preserved blood oranges, and even helped me change into dresses. You came to Maple Town every week, even when you were sick, and you wouldn't leave even when your skin peeled from the sun just to keep me company. You also kept training. Even though you're a princess, you still pushed yourself to the point of collapse every single day, just for...”
She paused.
“...for me.”
Lonia's eyelashes trembled.
“So now I understand why those people in the books did those things. It wasn't just for some grand cause, nor was it just for nobility. Most importantly, they had someone they wanted to protect. They wanted that person to live a better life, and they wanted to see that person smile to their heart's content.”
“You...”
Lonia's voice squeezed through her teeth, muffled and nasal.
Rafina looked at her.
“Nia, I want to accomplish the goal that the Demon King couldn't achieve, and bring about true peace. Do you know of Utopia? I've read about such a nation in books. A country where elves, the winged race, and even believers of Radiance or knights of the Empire can all laugh together without any prejudice, living in perfect harmony. When that time comes, we can go together to the sea of forests of the elves to see the fields of moonlight flowers in full bloom, admire the duet of wind and clouds at the very peak of the Sky Crown, listen to the whispered teachings of the holy spirits in the City of Holy Radiance, and rejoice in the glory of the knights in Avalon. I want to live like this with you... in a Utopia free from war and pain. So, I must become the King of the demons. For... the important person I want to protect.”
The tears that had been building in Lonia's eyes for so long finally spilled over.
She wept.
“...You jerk.”
Her voice was muffled and indistinct.
Rafina did not say anything more. She quietly opened her arms and drew Lonia into her embrace.
Her tail slipped over quietly, wrapping around Lonia's waist and gently patting her over and over, as if to comfort her.
Lonia cried for a long time before she finally raised her head.
Her eyes were swollen like two cherries, the tip of her nose was bright red, and the tears and snot on her cheeks were completely smeared together.
She sniffled, then messily wiped her face with her sleeve.
“...I didn't cry.”
Looking at her face, which was now even dirtier after being wiped, Rafina couldn't help but smile.
“Mm. You didn't cry.”
“I really didn't cry.”
“Yes. You didn't cry.”
“...Am I being very childish?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you have to be so blunt at a time like this...”
Lonia carefully wiped her face, then continued, “...I still can't accept it.”
“I know.”
“But I can't stop you.”
“...Mm.”
“So I will watch over you.”
“...Hm?”
“If you're going to be the Demon King, I'll watch you from right beside you. If anything happens to you, I'll drag you down from that stupid throne myself. Even if the Demon King crawls out of his grave by then, it won't do any good. You have to be safe and sound, understand?!”
Rafina gazed at her.
“...Okay.”
Rate on N.U.
