Early the next morning.
"—And so,"
"That's how things unfolded."
From the towering ceiling of Professor Landry's dining hall, hundreds of crystal pendants on the chandelier refracted dazzling sparkles in the light, while the mirror-like marble floor reflected the figures seated on either side of the dining table.
They sat around the table, recounting the events of the past few months while waiting for Boss Cat to finish preparing breakfast.
With the mansion's doors shut tight, the world seemed to have quieted down; even the patter of the morning drizzle and the murmur of the brook beyond the courtyard had grown faint.
After several dozen minutes of recapping the situation:
"I tried to convince Miss Unity that I was on their side—Talia witnessed the whole thing—but for whatever reason, she simply wouldn't believe me and treated me like an imperial agent. I had no choice but to work with her under the guise of an imperial subject, which conveniently allowed me to integrate seamlessly into the Imperial Special Operations Division. And then came last night, when you showed up to assassinate me."
Seated at the table, Lanqi summarized the crucial turning points from the City of Flowers all the way up to their arrival in the Creti Empire for the four Greater Demons.
"Mhm, I see."
The dining hall drifted with the sweet aromas of toasted marshmallows by the hearth, white mint lattes, and hot cocoa topped with cream.
Antanas and Sinora held mugs in their hands, sipping their drinks as they listened to Lanqi's tale.
Almis and Pranay appeared far more composed, listening quietly.
"Leave it to you, as always."
Pranay remained in awe of Lanqi's uncanny talent for playing opposing roles.
Just like back in the northern Protos Empire, not a soul had ever suspected that Rocky McCarthy was an outsider; they had revered him as the visionary leader destined to realize a new imperial dream.
"I have a question,"
Antanas raised her hand.
"Go ahead,"
Lanqi gestured for her to ask.
"Why is Iphatia here?"
Antanas glanced toward the drowsy little darling sitting beside Lanqi.
She still found it unbelievable that Lanqi had already managed to find Hyperion's mother.
This efficiency bordered on the miraculous.
Helping Talia retrieve three of her old demon comrades from the Northern Continent had already proved Lanqi's absurd talent for finding people. Now, seeing it verified again with her own eyes, Antanas felt it was downright ridiculous.
At this rate, all that remained was finding Hyperion's father, Duke Migaia, and Lanqi's main quest would basically reach its grand finale.
"Iphatia... er, Miss Iphatia has actually been hiding deep underground with the Brierda Mafia, waiting for the right moment to strike back against the vampires. Since both of our goals involved rooting out the vampires lurking within the Creti Empire, an accident brought us together."
Only after saying Iphatia's name did Lanqi quickly tack on his customary polite honorific.
Having spent time with Iphatia lately, he had gradually grown accustomed to addressing her directly by name.
"So you two didn't end up fighting when you met?"
Antanas probed nervously.
She knew Iphatia's temperament well.
While Iphatia might seem harmless enough to her fellow demons,
she was utterly ruthless toward enemies.
Running into Iphatia out of nowhere without earning her trust first would normally mean coming to blows without a second word.
"Brot— It was a misunderstanding. Lanqi brought Sister Talia to find me, so after a brief clash, we recognized that we were on the same side."
Iphatia tried hard to correct herself, but she still reflexively wanted to call Lanqi "big brother."
"*Cough*, thankfully Talia was with me that day, or I really might have been captured,"
Lanqi said with a slight cough, a chill running down his spine.
Fortunately, Iphatia hadn't said it out loud, which spared them both a terribly awkward moment in front of their old acquaintances.
By now, Iphatia had surely gotten a clear briefing from Almis about the current interpersonal relationships in Ikerite.
"Ah, I see."
Sinora and Antanas nodded in realization.
"Thank goodness Talia was with you. Otherwise, Iphatia might genuinely have strapped you to an operating table to remodel you,"
Almis remarked with feeling.
Talia truly lived up to her reputation as the most dignified and reliable demon princess, proving indispensable at every critical turn.
"Y-Yes, indeed,"
Iphatia chimed in, her feelings hopelessly tangled.
"Don't fret, Iphatia, it's really no big deal. We almost attacked Lanqi back then too, and he doesn't hold grudges."
Antanas naturally assumed Iphatia's unnatural expression stemmed from embarrassment over how she and Lanqi had first met.
"Besides, Hyperion is actually an angelic, wonderful girl. We all adore her. Yesterday she only turned out like that because she tapped into the desecrated power of the ancient demon lord Melogas. She doesn't remember a single thing that happened, so you don't need to worry at all,"
Sinora explained Hyperion's situation to Iphatia.
As Hyperion's closest friend these days, Sinora leaped to her defense at every turn.
"Don't worry, I already explained everything to Iphatia this morning,"
Almis, the Witch of Ice and Snow, added.
"Mhm, mhm."
Iphatia nodded repeatedly, avoiding eye contact with her old friends.
The good news was that her daughter hadn't gone bad.
The bad news was that her daughter and her sister had fallen for the very same man.
If Lanqi ended up becoming her son-in-law, what on earth would Hyperion think if she accidentally slipped up and called him "big brother" in the future...?
Yet after spending time together, she had genuinely come to regard Lanqi as an immensely dependable older brother. If she were forced to speak to her "brother" with the attitude of an elder, she simply couldn't bring herself to do it; even addressing Lanqi by his bare name felt overwhelmingly disrespectful.
"All right, let's move past this topic for now,"
Lanqi clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention.
He had noticed Iphatia's unease.
"..."
This made Iphatia swallow her words all the more.
Even now, Lanqi was considerate of her feelings.
It only made her yearn for an older brother like him even more.
After a brief silence,
"I have a question too,"
Sinora raised her hand.
It felt as though the Creti Empire branch of the Boss Cat Restaurant was officially open for business,
with all the veteran staff members gathered in the dining hall.
"Please, go ahead,"
Lanqi gestured to Sinora.
"How did Sigrid get here?"
Sinora asked Lanqi in bewilderment.
Even if Sigrid, the Cardinal of Dominance, had finished her business in the Northern Continent and crossed over to the Southern Continent to hang out with Lanqi, she should have arrived at the Boss Cat Restaurant in Ikerite first.
In that case, she either would have run into their group earlier or arrived somewhat later; there was no way she could have beaten them here to join Lanqi in the Creti Empire, especially while he was in disguise.
After all, even they hadn't known that Professor Landry was Lanqi, yet Sigrid had pinpointed his location as though she had his exact coordinates.
"That brings us to Yabo. You should all be familiar enough with him,"
Lanqi glanced back toward the kitchen.
"He used spatial teleportation magic to send Sigrid directly to Brillda."
This morning, Sigrid had uncharacteristically volunteered to help Boss Cat in the kitchen.
Hyperion was still resting upstairs while Talia watched over her, which meant the cooking duties fell back to Boss Cat.
Reuniting with its beloved staff members after several months—and hearing that a new resident singer would be joining them—Boss Cat was overjoyed and insisted on preparing the meal personally.
As for Sigrid, she claimed on the surface that she wasn't close to Hyperion, but Lanqi knew full well that Xigelei in the Shadow World was Sigrid. Deep down, she cared about Hyperion immensely; she simply didn't know how to approach her, and so she chose to quietly help prepare a nourishing breakfast for her.
When Sigrid took it upstairs later, she certainly wouldn't let Hyperion know she had made it.
"Yabo? You don't mean our surrender-faction demon general, do you?"
"He's in the Creti Empire too?"
Hearing the name Lanqi casually tossed out, both Antanas and Sinora set down their mugs in shock and stood up.
"Once I call Yabo over in a bit, you'll understand everything. He is currently the Cardinal of Dimensions, and his real name is Toriardo."
Lanqi nodded, pulling out a sacred communication magic card to contact Toriardo.
Only the Cardinal's Proof would reflect a person's true name.
In his imperial mansion, Lanqi had also asked Abigail, the Saint of Dimensions, to install a spatial barrier device.
Using Toriardo's spatial magic to connect the Brillda Opera House with the dining hall of his home wouldn't be difficult, and they wouldn't have to worry about the God of War detecting Tier 8 spatial magic.
"..."
Pranay's expression shifted slightly at the mention of Yabo's name.
"To think Yabo is actually still alive. All these years, and he still hasn't managed to get himself killed,"
he muttered to himself.
"Do you two not get along?"
Lanqi looked up at Pranay while waiting for the communication to connect.
Pranay didn't quite know how to describe his feelings toward Yabo.
"Their relationship is actually quite good. Back then, Pranay believed the Demon Realm had slim chances in battle, which was treated as cowardice and demoralizing the troops. Out of all the generals, Yabo was the only one willing to believe him,"
Almis, the Witch of Ice and Snow, recounted old Demon Realm history.
"It's just that Yabo is far too reckless, while my brother is far too cautious, so my brother would occasionally get dragged down by Yabo's antics,"
Sinora said, spreading her hands.
"So that's how it is."
Lanqi could understand that.
When facing danger, Pranay would likely flee as far as possible, whereas Toriardo would rush in as close as he could get.
When it came to life and death, the two Greater Demons stood at polar opposites.
"Do you remember that associate professor of history at Protos Royal Magic Academy named Sido? That was Yabo. Ever since then, he had been planning to break the three of you out, but he seemed rather terrified of the Greater Demon Trial on one of the prison floors, which is why he delayed infiltrating the prison to find you."
Lanqi glanced with slight confusion at the communication card, continuing his explanation to the friends around the table.
Normally, Toriardo would have picked up by now.
"Yabo really is a great pal. I knew he wouldn't forget about us!"
Antanas laughed heartily, clapping her hands.
"Back then, I never imagined that there was another Greater Demon in the Protos Empire,"
the Witch of Ice and Snow remarked with an expression of wonder.
Thinking back, she realized that based on the intelligence from that period, the Cardinal of Dimensions should have been heavily wounded. Even if he had wanted to aid the Cardinal of Dominance, he couldn't have done much. Yet in the end, it was indeed Associate Professor Sido who stalled the ambitious Duke Morotian and delivered the decisive blow against him at the Parliament Building—submitting evidence from Duke Bernhardt's family to the military.
"Regardless, Toriardo can always be relied upon at the crucial moment,"
Pranay said with a sigh of relief.
With Toriardo, the last demon general, backing them, their combat strength in the Creti Empire gained another substantial pillar.
The option of storming Blood Moon City, which had previously seemed hopeless in his eyes, had now soared past the minimum threshold of operational feasibility after rendezvousing with Lanqi.
Right then, the communication magic in Lanqi's hand finally connected.
"..."
No voice came from the other end of the line.
There was only an unstable, buzzing hum.
"Toriardo, I've got fantastic news,"
Lanqi spoke into the sacred communication magic card at once.
Usually, whenever he called Toriardo over, the man would arrive almost the second they hung up.
"Hold on... If it's not an emergency, I'll come see you tomorrow,"
Toriardo whispered, his voice lowered as though he were in an extraordinarily dangerous place.
He shouldn't have answered a transmission like this in the first place.
Yet because it was Lanqi calling, he had taken the risk anyway.
"It's not urgent,"
Lanqi replied, surprised to hear Toriardo sound so dead serious for once.
Tomorrow was the Moon God Festival anyway. By all rights, Toriardo would likely drop by Saint Creti Monastery to check out the festivities; after all, his personality dictated that he would always gravitate toward wherever things were liveliest.
Hearing that, Toriardo promptly terminated the connection.
"Uh, so he can't make it?"
Antanas looked slightly disappointed.
Among the surviving Greater Demons of the old Demon Realm, only she, Iphatia, and Yabo had extroverted personalities, while the other four were far more reserved.
Consequently, the three of them had always gotten along splendidly.
"Who knows where he ran off to. Either way, we should be able to meet up with our other companions in the Creti Empire tomorrow,"
Lanqi shook his head with mild regret, putting away the communication magic card.
Toriardo might appear cynical and frivolous, but with the decisive battle at Blood Moon City approaching at the end of the month and their side still lacking sufficient manpower, it wasn't surprising that he was rushing around on business.
When it came to incidents like Maguire's badge being stolen, one could never tell whether Toriardo was throwing a tantrum or executing a deliberate scheme.
"Tomorrow is the Moon God Festival. Feel free to stroll around the academy. This will probably be our only chance to rest and regroup before the decisive battle at the end of the month. Praying for divine blessings is also a necessary preparation... May our final battle go smoothly. I'll likely have to attend to energy research duties for the empire tomorrow morning, so just go enjoy yourselves and don't worry about me,"
Lanqi told the other Greater Demons.
They had traveled thousands of miles across rugged terrain to reach the heart of the Creti Empire, bringing critical reinforcements at a decisive moment. Lanqi felt deeply grateful toward them,
appreciating how hard they had worked.
"No, no, we haven't done much these past few days. You and Yabo are the ones who've truly had it rough,"
Antanas waved her hands dismissively.
Counting from the day Lanqi arrived in the Creti Empire, even while assuming Landry's identity, he must have worked day and night without a moment's rest to secure their current strategic advantage.
In this world, those who knew what they wanted to do were fortunate, for such people would never feel the misery of labor. Yet there were others—a very rare few—about whom one couldn't tell whether they were fortunate or not: they had found something they had to do, something that consumed them entirely, something that would drive them mad if they left it undone.
And Lanqi was unmistakably one of those people.
In the end, this smooth ride was paved by their driver pouring out his very life. He was the leader who needed rest the most.
"I promised you that I broke you out not to make you suffer, nor to put you in harm's way. Don't worry, I'll handle everything. Just focus on fighting with an easy mind,"
Lanqi answered with a smile, showing not the slightest hint of fatigue.
"By the way, Lanqi, I have one more question,"
Antanas fell silent for a long moment with her head lowered before gathering the courage to look up at Lanqi again.
Even though asking such a thing now might seem ill-timed,
she felt that since she was Lanqi's friend—rather than merely a partner bound by a contractual deal—she needed to ask it.
She was doing it for her other friends as well.
"Go ahead,"
Lanqi replied casually. With the decisive battle on the horizon, he had no intention of withholding anything.
"How exactly do you view Hyperion, Talia, and Sigrid?"
Antanas fixed her eyes on Lanqi and asked.
Hearing Antanas ask such a blunt question, the other Greater Demons turned in surprise from Antanas to Lanqi, instantly struck dumb, holding their breath.
Sooner or later—or perhaps long ago—they had all sensed the tangled romantic undercurrents among the three of them.
Furthermore, combining what they had learned about their past lives in the Shadow World, all three women were destined loves that the Black Sun had once missed. Not a single one of them had reached a happy ending with the Black Sun; all had perished in the era of the Blood Moon Ruined World.
"Once the turmoil in the Creti Empire is over, I will give them an answer,"
Lanqi replied without the slightest evasion, looking the Greater Demons in the eye with utter sincerity.
"Right now, the only correct thing for me to do is to pierce through Blood Moon City and put an absolute end to this vampire calamity."
This was Lanclos's unfulfilled wish, and the most important work of his life.
"If we cannot even achieve this, we will only repeat past mistakes."
"Repeating the same history, committing the same errors, over and over again."
He softly murmured the words he had heard in the past.
His expression was half sorrowful and half joyous, brimming with mercy and compassion.
"So you really knew all along..."
Sinora came to her senses in a daze.
Previously, none of them had known whether Lanqi was playing dumb or truly oblivious. He seemed too much like a deity, devoid of mortal desires, beyond anyone's reach.
Just like his perpetual composure and detachment, as if understanding or not understanding made no difference to him.
Now, having journeyed across the long road from the Northern Continent to the Southern Continent, spanning tens of thousands of years across the era of the Blood Moon Ruined World, he seemed to have finally cast off the mantle of divinity, becoming a being of flesh and blood within arm's reach.
"We'll see this through with you to the end,"
Pranay told Lanqi, gently pressing a hand to his shoulder.
Pranay rarely made decisions with such resolve.
Even though his instincts told him that the odds of successfully storming Blood Moon City were far lower than projected, perhaps with less than a fifty percent survival rate,
he would give it his all this time.
Success was not the end, and failure was not final. They had to forge ahead; compromise with the enemy was out of the question.
If they did not defeat the vampires, they would never attain a peaceful afternoon. It was Lanqi, always charging at the very forefront, who had taught him the courage of a true leader.
As for what came after—whether triumph or sacrifice—he believed Lanqi possessed the strength to handle it, until they forged an endless world, a relatively perfect world.
"That's right, we'll help you! We'll always be your best companions,"
Antanas slapped the table, flashing Lanqi a wide, promising grin.
She couldn't wait to return to Ikerite and throw a grand celebration banquet with everyone.
"Handle urgent matters first, then important ones,"
Iphatia repeated the school motto Lanqi had taught her, putting it to use on the spot.
"May the Goddess of Fate watch over you. May your martial valor endure forever, and may the names of heroes echo across the world,"
the Witch of Ice and Snow closed her eyes in prayer as well.
Though the drizzle continued to patter outside, the ground floor of the mansion within Saint Creti Monastery was bathed in an invigorating, lively warmth today, as if capable of dispelling all dampness and chill.
...
Meanwhile, in the second-floor bedroom.
A soft click sounded as the door closed and the latch slid into place.
The curtains were drawn halfway, allowing the faint light of a winter morning through clouds and drizzle to filter into the room.
Hyperion slowly opened her eyes.
She looked around at this unfamiliar yet reassuring environment.
Turning her head, Hyperion found a pair of eyes watching her intently.
It was Talia, the person she knew best.
Talia had placed two chairs beside the bed and was watching over her, having likely waited for her to wake for a long time.
"Hyperion, how are you feeling?"
Noticing that Hyperion was awake, Talia asked with concern in her voice.
"I..."
Hyperion gave a slight nod and struggled to sit up.
Her waist-length hair was slightly disheveled. Her muscles throbbed with intense ache, and her entire frame felt on the verge of falling apart.
According to the brief explanation the Witch of Ice and Snow had given her before she fell asleep yesterday, Melogas's rampaging power was absurdly potent—strong enough to forcefully elevate her strength to a degree where even Sinora and Antanas couldn't easily restrain her. In exchange, wielding that power exacted an immeasurable toll.
Even with her poison resistance, she couldn't fully master that power the way Melogas did.
Looking back now, Hyperion realized that Melogas had possessed an extraordinarily formidable mental willpower; Melogas's obsession had remained unbroken from beginning to end, capable of commanding madness itself.
"Don't force yourself. Just lean against the headboard,"
Talia said, understanding Hyperion's condition at a glance.
Last night, Antanas, the Demon Realm doctor, had already examined Hyperion's body.
Fortunately, Hyperion was born with extraordinarily high poison resistance and a physiological constitution attuned to Melogas, the Lord of Blasphemy, allowing her to endure Melogas's power. Had another demon subjected themselves to Melogas's lethal toxin, a single use would likely have killed them.
After all, a reinforcement technique capable of forcibly elevating someone from Tier 7 to the Tier 8 realm was something Talia had witnessed only once before—
with the fragment of the legendary flower-capital magic tool, [Palroni's Record of Resentment], which likewise demanded a toll that nearly cost one's life.
The reason their good friend Nigel from the City of Flowers had survived after Perlman embedded the legendary magic tool fragment into him was twofold: on one hand, as Perlman's adoptive son from childhood, Perlman had secretly modified him into a successful test subject, granting him a degree of adaptability to [Palroni's Record of Resentment];
on the other hand, Nigel possessed an iron will far beyond ordinary people and an unyielding determination to protect the City of Flowers at all costs.
Only by truly possessing both could one wield power that defied conventional reason.
"Xiubao, my Xiubao..."
Talia looked at the recovering Hyperion, then couldn't resist wrapping her in a tight hug, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes, terrified that Hyperion might have been gravely injured and fallen into an endless slumber.
Hyperion froze at first. After a moment's hesitation, she gently rested her hand against Talia's back.
"I'm really all right, Tata,"
Hyperion murmured softly.
She probably wouldn't use [Melogas's Blasphemous Regal Authority] again unless it came down to a dire emergency where she truly had to wager her life at all costs.
She didn't know why Talia was experiencing such an emotional upheaval, but she knew that right now, she ought to comfort Tata.
"How long was I asleep?"
Hyperion asked, letting Talia hold her.
She seemed to have had a hazy dream.
She had dreamed of her faux aunt, Melogas, the Lord of Blasphemy.
Melogas had looked down on her, telling her that she wasn't qualified to wield a demon lord's power just yet. This blasphemous demon lord authority that bridged all things beyond life and death was not something a half-baked little demon princess could wield casually. If she didn't possess the absolute resolve to face certain death, she might as well surrender her body to the Lord of Blasphemy instead.
"Just one night,"
Talia replied, slowly releasing Hyperion.
She hadn't slept a wink, beside herself with worry, staying by Hyperion's side the entire time.
Talia had also found Side very strange: clearly no one was guarding Side last night, which presented a golden opportunity to monopolize Lanqi, yet Side had insisted on keeping her promise to Tata, staying right here to watch over Hyperion together. Then, the moment morning arrived, Side went downstairs to help Boss Cat.
Talia couldn't figure out whether Side and Hyperion had known each other before, or whether their relationship was good or bad.
While musing, Talia picked up a foil-wrapped breakfast from the nightstand and handed it to Hyperion.
This breakfast had originally been given to Talia by Side. Since they hadn't known when Hyperion would wake up, Side had brought the breakfast up and then immediately headed back down to continue cooking.
Yet the moment Side stepped out of the room, Hyperion had awakened.
Unwrapping the foil revealed a golden-toasted bacon and pineapple bread, steaming hot and sprinkled with chopped scallions and melted cheese.
"Say ah,"
Talia hovered her hand beneath it, offering it to Hyperion's lips.
"I'm not a child anymore,"
Hyperion said, her cheeks turning slightly red. Even so, she took a bite from the end, her expression gradually turning peaceful.
The crust was crisp, the inside piping hot and tender, the dough wonderfully chewy, permeated with the sweet aroma of baked cheese, the tangy sweetness of pineapple, and the savory chew of bacon.
At this moment, Hyperion truly felt brought back to life.
So this was how cozy it felt when Tata had leaned against the headboard being hand-fed back then.
Question Tata, understand Tata, become Tata.
Perhaps this was a path every Demon Realm princess was destined to walk.
"..."
Talia inexplicably caught Hyperion's train of thought.
Why was even Hyperion starting to complete these "quests"?
Puzzled, Talia poured a cup of honey lemon tea. In between feeding Hyperion bites of breakfast, she offered her sips of the warm tea.
"Here, Hyperion."
Talia offered the lemon tea, and Hyperion took a sip from the rim of the cup.
"Mhm,"
Hyperion sipped, beginning with the gentle, mellow sweetness unique to granulated sugar, followed by the wonderfully refreshing zest of lemon. When the bread soaked up the moisture in her mouth, the warmth washed down her throat and spread from her stomach throughout her entire body, banishing the morning winter chill.
Although Hyperion had grown up without a mother's care, she found that having lived with Talia for so long, Talia cared for her with effortless grace. Talia knew exactly what she liked and what she needed—perhaps understanding Hyperion's body even better than Hyperion herself did.
Before long, Hyperion was nearly full.
Talia tidied up the foil wrap,
then sat back down in her chair.
When she looked at Hyperion, no words came out.
Hyperion sensed Talia's hesitation.
Surprisingly, she understood Talia's feelings at this moment quite well.
It was a sort of shared wavelength,
born from their long-standing mutual understanding.
Or rather, there were things between them that should have been laid bare long ago.
"..."
Talia rested both hands on Hyperion's pristine white blanket, averting her eyes from Hyperion's gaze, falling silent for a moment.
She waited while the drizzle outside continued for a while longer.
Exhaling softly, she finally looked up at Hyperion.
"Hyperion, when Lanqi and I were in the City of Flowers, many things happened. Because of that, my impression of him changed drastically. We even went through life-and-death crises together, sharing hardship and peril. Because of that..."
When Talia reached this point, the words seemed to stick in her throat.
"Because of that, what?"
Hyperion gazed into Talia's eyes.
Talia appeared calm on the surface, but her embarrassment was impossible to hide.
"Tata, don't worry. No matter what, I will trust you. My father taught me that even if you're deceived, you must still choose to believe, and strive to clear up misunderstandings. If neither party is willing to trust first, true faith can never exist; one will constantly be plagued by doubts, making decisions they regret for the rest of their life."
Hyperion took Talia's hands, letting the warmth flow through their palms.
"Mhm."
Talia's voice carried a hint of guilt, yet was filled with gratitude.
Having spent so much time with Hyperion, Talia had long since come to trust her completely:
her grace, her sharpness, that temperament blending melancholy and resolve, rigor and boldness; that pure innocence, which in no way hindered her from possessing a wealth of wholesome and sound wisdom.
"..."
For a moment, Talia didn't reply, slowly lowering her head.
Her hands tightened around Hyperion's in turn, letting the warmth in her palms convey every thought she couldn't put into words.
"Hyperion, I think... I probably love Lanqi,"
Talia bowed slightly toward Hyperion, speaking each word with deliberate care.
"So I will no longer avoid him. To me, he stopped being just a disciple long ago."
Talia looked straight into Hyperion's eyes, confessing with total sincerity.
"So that's it."
Hyperion's face showed only relief.
"I'm so glad you could be honest about it."
On the windowpane not far from the bed, the profiles of Talia and Hyperion were mirrored.
In those naturally cool eyes, the surge of emotion could not be concealed; the chasm of ice melted away.
"Loving Lanqi isn't a crime. I love a good man like him too. I suppose all it means is that our tastes are very similar, Tata."
Hyperion didn't know where her courage had come from to speak so directly, but she no longer wished to hide anything.
How could she not fall for a man who constantly risked his life to protect her? She could lie to herself, but she couldn't deceive anyone else.
"Then... that means we're going to fight over the same man..."
Talia's eyes shimmered with tears, as if the final knot in her heart had finally unraveled.
"No matter what becomes of the relationship between the three of us, we will always be family,"
Hyperion reached out, embracing Talia tightly.
Outside the bedroom door,
Sigrid leaned against the door holding a tray. Hearing their conversation, her heart settled, and she prepared to leave.
After bringing breakfast to Tata earlier, she had noticed the stirring in the room indicating Hyperion had awakened, so she had lingered for a moment to check on Hyperion's condition.
To be honest, she envied Hyperion, and she envied Tata as well,
envying their ability to hold onto each other like this.
This was something she had never possessed since the day she was born.
It was something she could experience only in dreams.
...
Inside the room, Talia rested her hand on Hyperion's back.
"Hyperion, since you asked me to be completely honest with you, there is one more thing I need to tell you."
Sitting on the chair beside the bed, Talia parted her lips near Hyperion's ear.
"Actually, we met in the previous Shadow World. I'm sorry that I deceived you back then,"
she said once more.
Then, she told Hyperion everything she had witnessed in the central chamber of Purgatory Corridor Academy:
the many karmic threads left behind by Caliera's tiny spark,
and how Caliera had sacrificed everything, kindling the final firefly light that guided Lanclos toward victory and providing the key that ultimately saved him.
Since she had promised never to deceive Hyperion again,
and since they had returned to the real world,
there were certain truths that could finally be shared with Hyperion.
"..."
After hearing Caliera's true fate,
Hyperion sat frozen in place,
unable to recover her senses for a long time.
"Is that so..."
Tears streamed down Hyperion's face.
The clear tears on her cheeks, accompanied by choked sobs, held both sorrowful reluctance and quiet acceptance.
"I knew it... I knew Caliera was already gone back during the Blood Moon Ruined World,"
Hyperion said, clenching her hands tightly.
Fate was simply like this.
Unforeseeable before it came to pass, unalterable once it did.
Caliera had historically been destined to become the Greater Demon Trial, the Falling Gentle Slumber; it was merely a matter of time. Hyperion had already understood this reality the moment she visited the fourth basement level of Helrom Prison in the Northern Continent.
Even if Caliera had seen her own future in the Mirror of Tyberius, she would still have chosen to go to her death with open arms.
Caliera was truly Caliera after all.
"Hyperion, I believed that if Caliera were still alive, she would definitely have asked me to use the Falling Gentle Slumber on you, pretending she was still here. So... I disguised myself as her back then,"
Talia murmured, unsure whether she had done right or wrong.
She had spent a long time working on the problem of integrating into human society.
By now, she didn't even know how much of her was human, and how much was demon.
"Thank you for always protecting me, Tata,"
Hyperion said, enunciating every word clearly as she looked at Talia through eyes clearing of tears.
Her voice held no clumsy hesitation; it flowed like a gentle stream, tender yet intense.
Crystal clear, reflecting the pure truth of her heart.
"..."
*Clatter.*
The sound of a plate crashing to the floor echoed outside the room.
"Huh?"
Talia and Hyperion looked toward the door in confusion.
"What happened?"
"I'll go check."
Talia stood up.
Walking over to open the door, Talia glanced left and right down the hallway, only to find the corridor completely deserted.
Chapter 823