"Cough, cough, cough..." Allen raised the gold coin, gazing at it quietly. The room was serene, perfect for rest.
Gloria, Mana, Allen...
"Cough, cough, cough..." She sat up, her body scorching hot as if rolled in boiling water. She refused to stay under the covers—it was too stifling...
Barefoot, her white feet stepped onto the soft fur rug, warmth spreading under her soles.
She grabbed the cold medicine cup from the bedside table and pressed it to her forehead.
"So cold... so soothing..." Allen mumbled drowsily, making soft "hmm" sounds.
Her nose caught a faint whiff of bitter medicine... No drinking that awful stuff...
She opened her half-lidded eyes, staring at the medicine.
"Cough, cough, cough..." She lifted the cup and walked toward the window...
Below lay lush bushes. Midsummer meant they were blooming and fruiting. She’d picked berries there before—she loved those sweet-sour little fruits.
She poured the entire cup of medicine out the window, watering the flowers below...
So hot...
Aching spread through her body. Walking felt impossible. Burning invaded her lungs, as if a phantom flame blazed inside.
Burning... burning... burning...
She felt like she might ignite.
For two days straight, she’d refused medicine—not a sip. She’d fed it all to the bushes downstairs...
Medicine-flavored berries... hehe, not bad. Allen thought vaguely.
She turned on the tap, filling the wooden tub with cold water. Fully clothed, she climbed in...
Icy and refreshing, like instant autumn.
But the lung-burning didn’t fade. Instead came violent coughs and bloody phlegm...
"Cough, cough, cough..." She spat into a nearby container. Drowsily, she glanced—blood stained it...
Death wasn’t far off now... She thought silently.
Dizziness crashed over her. Allen lost consciousness...
...............
"Crush these lifeless things!" Sared roared. Riding his Wind Demon Wolf, he led the army rushing into the canyon, chasing the skeletons.
"Agh!!" Chain-hammer soldiers, shielded by hammer-shield troops, smashed a wave of skeletons into dust.
They’d repeated this endlessly. Skeletons seemed infinite—fearless, already dead. Endless... Exhaustion neared. Swings slowed, gathering strength took longer...
Finally, a chain hammer snapped. It flew apart, smashing two skeletons—but armless ones kept coming.
"Lektor, watch out!" he howled at the demonkin holding a broken hammer. He raised his tower shield, crushing the armless skeleton.
His name was Dode. Lektor was his only family, his younger brother...
"Fall back! I’ll hold them! Trust me!" Lektor and Dode were surrounded. Retreat was urgent—he’d cover his brother.
"Hmm..." He wanted to stay, but retreat was necessary. They began falling back.
The Demonic Race line slowly shrank, near collapse.
"No deserters! Back to fight!" Sared bellowed. Drawing his saber, he slashed fleeing soldiers.
"Charge! Crush them with your bodies!" He leaped off his wolf, saber drawn, leading the charge...
Dode watched helplessly. His brother ran toward the canyon exit to replace his hammer—but the commander’s saber cut him down...
...............
"Awake now?..." Kaliana whispered. Her head still ached, but awareness returned...
Allen opened her eyes drowsily. Fever made them sore.
She blinked repeatedly, easing the sting...
"Be good. Drink your medicine... you’ll heal..." Kaliana murmured.
Yesterday, she’d searched the library for Allen. No luck. She scoured the mansion. Only overflowing water revealed Allen, fully clothed in a tub.
"No medicine. I won’t drink that bitter stuff..." Allen made an excuse. Only she knew: she’d lost the will to live...
"I added a neutralizer. It’s strawberry-flavored now. You must drink it..." Kaliana stroked Allen’s head like a white cat.
"No... I don’t want to..."
"Are you trying to die?..." Kaliana asked.
"So what... I have no family anyway..." Allen muttered self-pityingly. Kaliana heard every word.
She stopped stroking and went downstairs...
Has even Kaliana given up on me?... Allen closed her eyes, lying still...
The apothecary’s house hosted the ill Grand Duke too. He’d lived here 18 years. Kaliana and he were like uncle and niece. She told him about Allen. After thought, he’d help—Kaliana would be his daughter-in-law...
At the banquet, Allen said the Grand Duke resembled her father. Kaliana planned to use that...
...............
"Lotus... wake up..." Kaliana called again.
Allen opened her eyes impatiently.
The sight stunned her. Before her stood her birth father, Grand Duke Mana—alive, real...
He smiled warmly, kindly...
Allen’s heart skipped. Her insides melted like butter...
Years... she’d yearned for this. Once, she’d begged for his comfort in her despair... Impossible then...
"Wahhh... waaah!" Allen threw her arms around Mana, sobbing. "Father... wah, Father! It’s me... wahhh!" she wailed.
Mana understood. He hugged her tight, stroking her head and patting her back.
"Shh... Daddy’s here. Drink your medicine first... okay?..."
"Mhm mhm mhm...!" Allen nodded fast.
She took the cup and gulped it down.
"I... so much... cough cough... to tell you... I... don’t blame you... wah... I... cough cough cough" She coughed hard. Mana heard her muffled words, pity deepening...
"Rest first. Tell me later. Sleep now." He saw her coughing from excitement.
"Cough cough... okay... Daddy, stay... I want... cough cough... to talk... so much... cough cough..." Allen clutched his hand.
"Promise. I’ll stay." Mana stroked her forehead.
...............
No one noticed Dode’s absence. He was just one insignificant soldier among twenty thousand...
"The Dark Lord? Nothing special..." Sared sneered at the bone-filled canyon, smug.
"If it were me, I’d ambush the cliffs. Hahaha!" he laughed at his deputy.
He wiped his bloodstained saber with a cloth.
Skeletons had no blood... this wasn’t theirs...
"Rumble rumble..." Ominous tremors shook the cliffs.
"Commander, could this be—" the deputy warned.
"Run! Full retreat!" Sared roared. He mounted his wolf, racing to the entrance—faster than all.
"Am I really that foolish..." Lilith muttered. She’d watched from the cliffs, waiting for them to enter...
Her turn now...
Dark purple armor replaced her black dress. She stood like a proud, solitary flower high above—bloodthirsty, beautiful...
Foolish man... nothing special...
Phantom swords hung in the air, swaying as she moved. Ready to reap lives below...
Easy prey...
Flying swords shot down, piercing the canyon floor. Lilith fell with them, no slowdown...
"Thud thud thud..." Swords hit flesh with dull thumps. Ten thousand blades tearing air jangled demonkin nerves.
"Demonkin... nothing special..." Lilith grinned at distant Sared.
Victory came by chance—finding the old lord’s secret art. But now, her mind buzzed like mosquito bites. She’d heard too many dead voices... This curse’s deadliest flaw. Ordinary minds would shatter. But Lilith wasn’t ordinary. She was the Dark Lord. She endured—the skeletons were dust, their wails gone.
Skeletons drained 90% of Demonic Race forces. Only 2,000 wounded remained. Elite mages waited outside. The main force would die here... The Dark Lord... won...
The lone king’s pilgrimage... She was that king... No companions... for she was the Dark Lord...
"Boom!" A blast knocked the Dark Lord down. Sared held a strange staff-like device. It fired weird magic...
"Cough... careless..." Blood seeped from her mouth. Dizziness washed over her... sleepiness...
"Whoosh—" A feathered arrow shot through air, killing Sared...
"I’m late..." Cangqing said leisurely.
"Thanks for coming..."
