Hyperion Never Imagined Tata Was Her Aunt

Although the space inside Antanas's cell was not particularly vast, its pure-white walls created an illusion of infinity. Light filtered down from high above, casting dappled, complex patterns of illumination and shadow over the three figures. The Poet of Great Love adopted a relatively relaxed posture. Without a word, she seemed to be silently conveying a message. At this point, Hyperion could make sense of nothing. Lanqi glanced smugly at her, as if asking: *I've accomplished what you asked for, haven't I? Antanas is easy to talk to now.* "Please rest assured, I will have a proper discussion with you," Antanas added with a faint nod, having understood the Poet of Great Love's intention. "This..." Hyperion needed Antanas's help, yet Antanas seemed to have a request for Lanqi, while Lanqi took his cues from Hyperion. Without realizing it, another daunting hurdle had been bypassed. "Miss Antanas, if we want to ask you to leave with us and assist us, please state your terms first," Hyperion said hurriedly. Unbeknownst to them, the tension in the cell had shifted toward a delicate balance. "I... want certainty regarding Talia's whereabouts. Once I have that, I will go with you." Antanas looked once more with mixed emotions at the unmasked Poet of Great Love. "Could you let me see your original appearance? Are you also of the demon race?" By all logic, a pure human could not naturally resemble Talia so closely; at the very least, she should carry some demon bloodline. It was very likely that she, like Hyperion, possessed disguise magic capable of deceiving the Protos Empire, allowing her to slip into Herrom Prison disguised as a human. "Sure." Lanqi did not hesitate. He deactivated [Poet of Great Love Polymorph: Human], returning her to the Poet's original form with gray hair and a crimson dress. The only differences between her and Talia lay in slight variations of hairstyle and fashion, along with the Poet's blue eyes compared to Talia's gold. Furthermore, with Lanqi directing her consciousness at the moment, her demeanor diverged drastically from Talia's. "You... actually!" At that moment, Antanas became entirely certain that the demon before her was connected to Talia! She even carried the distinct aura of demon royal blood. The Poet of Great Love nodded, about to explain that she was a creation personally crafted by Talia and that Lanqi was Talia's provider. "Are you Talia's daughter? How is Talia doing?" Antanas asked with intense concern, her voice brimming with emotion. "...?" This left the Poet of Great Love thoroughly bewildered. Why on earth did this demon jump to that conclusion? "No, I am not Talia's daughter. But she is living very well in the Southern Continent—please rest assured on that point. The fact that you can see me is living proof that she is well," Lanqi replied. He began to understand. After a whole century apart, even a great demon might not fully remember Talia's exact appearance. Upon seeing the Poet of Great Love, Antanas's immediate reaction had been that she *looked like* Talia, not that she was *identical*. "...That's wonderful, truly wonderful." Antanas pressed a hand to her chest, as if years of despair and grief had condensed into joy and anticipation in an instant. The flame that had nearly died out in her heart flared to life once more. Promptly, Antanas looked back at the Poet of Great Love. "But why do you say Talia isn't your mother? Could she be your grandmother? Great-grandmother? Even across so many generations, how could you still look so much alike?" "..." Very logical, yet completely wrong. "No, none of the above. This thing isn't Talia's descendant at all." The Poet of Great Love pointed at her own body and patiently explained, "In truth, this is an extremely lifelike summoned entity, and my true body is on the other side of the Imperial Capital Herrom, controlling this form to speak with you." Lanqi placed great importance on honesty when dealing with great demons. He genuinely wanted Antanas's assistance and hoped to reunite her with Talia; he had no intention of deceiving her about anything. "A summoned entity? Do you really believe that a dignified great demon like me cannot distinguish between a summoned entity and a living being? Herrom Prison completely severs communication magic, making it utterly impossible for anyone to direct you right now. There is no need for you to deny your connection to Talia like this." Antanas looked utterly unconvinced. "..." Lanqi had not expected the Poet of Great Love's unique traits to work against him like this. From Antanas's perspective, the Poet of Great Love indeed appeared to be a living creature in every conceivable way; after all, even Herrom Prison had failed to see through her. Yet Lanqi could hardly stage an immortality demonstration for Antanas right now. If he killed off the Poet and resummoned her, she would temporarily seize control of the body. Using the Poet's body to commit suicide always infuriated her to no end. He would have to talk her down before regaining control, and who knew if the Poet might stir up trouble midway through? Given the Poet's personality, she was bound to make the situation far more tangled. "Well, I haven't lied to you. When you learn the truth later on, just don't think I was trying to fool you." In the end, Lanqi could only spread his hands helplessly. "Who was your father? Did he make Talia happy? How did he meet your mother? Was he outstanding enough?" Antanas seemed remarkably invested in this topic, firing off questions in rapid succession. She was now convinced that since this demon looked so remarkably like Talia, she had to be her daughter. But if the girl refused even to acknowledge Talia, was Talia truly living a good life? "..." Lanqi was at a loss for words. "She never got married." He simply could not fathom why this great demon would rather believe Talia had actually managed to find a husband than accept that this was a summoned entity. "...!" Antanas gasped, instantly clapping a hand over her mouth. In that single second, she seemed to connect an immense number of dots. "..." The Poet of Great Love pressed a hand to her forehead, sensing that this great demon's thoughts were drifting further and further astray. Now Talia had apparently had a child out of wedlock. He could not let the explanations continue; Antanas was an absolute gossiphound with a runaway imagination. While the Poet of Great Love and Antanas conversed, Hyperion stood off to the side, completely stunned for quite some time. "What... what are you two even talking about?" Hyperion felt like a total outsider. She could roughly follow the words being exchanged, yet could not make head or tail of what they meant. A few faint conjectures stirred in her heart, yet they seemed so absurd that she dared not believe them. Why had Antanas taken one look at the Poet of Great Love's face and adamantly declared her to be Talia's daughter? Didn't the Poet of Great Love look identical to Miss Tata? And why was Lanqi able to speak of Talia with such absolute certainty, as if the two of them had known each other for ages? Could it be... Miss Tata, who had been by her side all this time, was that great demon—and the elder sister of her birth mother—Talia?!