Li Wei rarely felt such emotional turbulence. Whether facing Annihilation in the past or being ridden by Tsukika yesterday—barring that one unexpected incident—nothing compared to what churned within him now.
"I thought you’d stay perfectly calm," Tsukika said with a faint, enigmatic smile, eyes locked on him.
Li Wei took a slow, deep breath.
"Where is she?"
"For your convenience, my Chosen Hero—she’s right outside," Tsukika replied cheerfully, pointing toward the door.
Li Wei’s gaze trembled again.
Moments later, dressed and composed, he was led from the bedroom by Tsukika, now in a fresh, vivid crimson gown. His thoughts still swirled uneasily. Had Tsukika merely claimed they had a daughter, he wouldn’t have faltered. But the moment he questioned her, she’d acted without hesitation—telling him to dress and follow. Clearly… he’d walked straight into her meticulously laid trap from the very start.
What was tied around his neck could never bind him. Yet he never expected she’d prepared a bond he couldn’t escape.
Until the bedroom door opened, a sliver of hope lingered. The moment it swung wide, that hope shattered against the scene beyond.
In his modest dining room sat a silver-haired little girl alone at the table, head bowed as if studying something intently. As Li Wei looked her way, she noticed them emerging and lifted her gaze—fixed squarely on him.
"This is your father. Starting today, you’ll get along well," Tsukika said warmly, stepping over and taking the girl’s small hand.
Standing together—disregarding height—they gave the uncanny impression of twin sisters.
Why not mother and daughter?
Only a lawless outlaw would see it that way.
After all, human law held no sway over demons, and a demon’s age couldn’t be judged by appearance alone.
Li Wei’s lips felt dry.
The instant he saw her, he sensed it—an unshakable blood connection.
In his former world, such intuition would be dismissed as superstition.
Here, in a realm woven from myth and magic, it was undeniable proof.
The girl inherited both her mother’s ethereal beauty and his own sharp features. Even young, her potential for breathtaking elegance was clear. If her growth wasn’t limited by her mother’s petite frame, and she one day became Demon Lord… she might earn a title like [Pure Beauty].
*Daughter… so this is your true revenge?*
He glanced at Tsukika, catching a cryptic glint in her eyes. Words like that couldn’t be spoken before their child.
Just then, the girl—who’d been sizing Li Wei up—jerked as if her tail had been stepped on. She stiffened her delicate, softly rounded face into a fierce scowl and declared with defiant innocence:
"I don’t have a dad!"
"Pfft~"
Tsukika covered her rosy lips and laughed outright under Li Wei’s stiffened stare.
No battlefield wound ever struck this deep. Her words hammered his chest—a dull, suffocating ache.
"You shouldn’t say that," Tsukika chided gently. "Yes, this man is heartless—always bullying Mom, neglecting home, gallivanting outside. But he *did* play his part in your birth. He *is* your father."
"And didn’t Yue Lin used to beg daily to find her dad? Why deny him now that he’s here?"
Uncharacteristically, Tsukika stood by Li Wei. He was stunned—but more so by the name she’d spoken.
—Yue Lin.
His daughter’s name.
Born nearly seven years ago… and only now did he see her, learn her name.
He didn’t know what to feel.
"I never said that! Only babies whine for dads—I’m not a baby!" Yue Lin shot back. Her silver ahoge, previously lying flat, shot upright. She stepped back, ruby eyes narrowing at her mother’s smile. *Too sweet. Too suspicious.*
Then she glanced at Li Wei—like he was a monster—and turned sharply to flee.
*Slam!*
She vanished into the kitchen, door shut tight.
Clearly, while her unreliable parents were… occupied in the bedroom, she’d memorized every corner of the house.
Tsukika smiled at the closed door. "Mommy’s stepping out. Be good with Daddy, okay?"
"He doesn’t *want* to be good with some stranger!" came the muffled reply.
Unbothered, Tsukika turned back to the frozen man.
"Well. You’ve met her. She’s in your care now. I have identity matters to settle—necessary for our family’s future peace."
"I trust you’ll get along wonderfully while I’m gone."
Her rosy lips curled; her crimson eyes glinted coldly.
"Even demons… wouldn’t harm their own blood."
"My Chosen Hero…"
"You wouldn’t do something *worse* than demons, would you?"
"After all… your daughter has never spilled a single drop of innocent human blood."
Li Wei closed his eyes. Silent. Weary. He sank into a chair at the empty table.
*Kill his daughter?*
Not even a flicker of that thought had ever crossed his mind.
Tsukika saw his dazed silence—and knew her goal was met.
"Take good care of our daughter."
"I’ll give you a reward when I return~ ❤"
With that, she melted into the shadows at his feet and vanished.
