Perspective: Celia
Date: January 19, 2018
Time: 10:30 AM
Location: Sylvaris — Central Medical Bay
Demon Lord Lucifer had been sitting beside my bed for 20 straight minutes without blinking.
He had his legs crossed, sipping dark tea from a tiny porcelain cup like he owned the entire clinic. His white hair and crimson eyes made the drafty medical bay look like a joke, but I didn't care about his royal cheekbones.
I just want this giant bastard out of my face.
"I told you already," I said, pulling the coarse hospital blanket up to my chin. "I'm taken. Find another continent to play emperor in."
Lucifer set his cup down without making a sound.
"Taken by a human," he said, his deep voice carrying that infuriating, effortless calm.
"A nobody who dumped you in an unfamiliar clinic while your lungs were burning with dead ash. If you're going to reject me, Celia, at least replace me with a higher-tier demon lord. Settling for a human is an insult."
An insult? To who, you arrogant prick?
I glared right into his face. "What can you give me that Kaiser can't?"
The lazy smirk vanished from his lips.
Lucifer leaned in fast, closing the distance until his crimson irises were inches from mine. The raw pressure of his demonic aura dropped over the bed like lead, heavy enough to rattle the glass medicine jars on the counter.
"Eternal loyalty," he said, his voice dropping into a low, unyielding rumble. "A heart that belongs entirely to you. No other woman will ever come near my side, and I'd drag you into every royal court on this continent just to tell them you're my Queen. Everything I conquer, you own."
My chest tightened.
A Demon Lord offering his entire empire on a plate.
I hated that it shook me. For 1 second, the sheer conviction in his voice hit me right in my gut. Kaiser had pulled me out of the dark without asking for a reward or a name, but he never made grand, sweeping declarations like that.
He never claimed anything.
Across the room, Lucas was scrubbing a copper beaker in the sink. He didn't even turn his head.
"Heavy delivery, bro," Lucas muttered. "Little intense for a hospital room, but solid 8 out of 10."
Lucifer didn't spare him a glance. His eyes stayed locked on mine.
I gripped the bedsheet, the Ring of Empty Chaos digging cold into my knuckle.
"Keep your power to yourself," I snapped. "You're still not—"
"Room 4... yeah, should be right here."
The voice outside the door stopped my heart cold.
Kai.
The stinging ash in my lungs, the cold sweat on my skin, Lucifer looming over my mattress—every bit of it vanished. A massive grin broke across my face before I could stop myself.
"KAI!" I yelled.
I kicked the blankets off and threw my legs over the side of the bed.
Get up. Hug him. Right now.
My knees buckled the instant my bare feet hit the floorboards.
Damn it—!
My legs were useless jelly. I pitched forward, barely catching the wooden bedpost with both hands before crashing down.
The door clicked open, and Kaiser walked in.
Worn travel coat, messy black hair, tired eyes. But he was walking on his own 2 feet, breathing, and completely alive.
You're alive. You're actually here!!
The second he saw me clinging to the bedpost like a stray cat, his mouth curved into a warm, familiar smirk.
"Look at you," he said, his voice raspy and grounded. "Already trying to pick a fight."
He crossed the room in 3 quick strides, caught my shoulders, and eased me gently back onto the mattress. His hands were warm against my skin—real, solid, and safe. I grabbed his sleeves with both hands, refusing to let go.
"Where were you?!" I demanded, my voice cracking before I could tighten it. "I woke up and you were gone!"
Before he could answer, Lucas tossed his rag into the sink and raised both arms to the ceiling.
"YO! The legend returns!" Lucas yelled. "Where were you, man? I've been running this entire medical wing by myself!"
Kaiser turned, raising an eyebrow at the messy counter. "You actually finished the antidote?"
Lucas puffed his chest out. "Of course I did. You're looking at a certified genius chemist."
Kaiser gave him a flat look. "What's the formula for water."
Lucas didn't hesitate for 1 second. "Hydrochloric acid and—"
Kaiser closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and let out a long, exhausted breath.
"Okay bro," Kaiser muttered. "We get it."
"See?" Lucas grinned. "Too smart."
He's going to poison us all with bad tea 1 day.
Kaiser shook his head, reached for a wooden stool—and stopped dead.
In the corner by the tall window, Lucifer was staring down at him. 7 feet of pure royal demonic arrogance, towering over the clinic furniture like a statue carved out of marble and malice. White hair, glowing crimson eyes, and an aura that could choke an army.
Kaiser looked at Lucifer.
Then he looked at me.
I looked at Lucifer, then back at Kaiser.
Kaiser looked over at Lucas.
Lucas pointed an index finger straight at Lucifer, then dragged his thumb across his own throat in a violent slashing motion.
Kaiser turned back to Lucifer, completely deadpan.
"...Bro," Kaiser said flatly. "We're not playing 'Who's the doctor?'"
Lucas and I shook our heads in unison.
Kaiser glanced toward the open 4th-floor window, then back at the giant demon.
"Where did he even come from? I heard demons aren't allowed here..." Kaiser asked.
"Did he climb through the window?"
"Yeah," Lucas said.
"Yes," I muttered.
"We're on the 4th floor..." Kaiser pointed out.
"That's what I told him!" Lucas threw his hands up. "He broke in while you were gone!"
Kaiser stared at Lucifer for 2 long seconds, taking in the white hair, the regal coat, and the lethal condescension radiating off the Demon Lord.
Then Kaiser pointed an immediate finger straight at him and yelled:
"He's a thief! Guys, watch your pockets! He's gonna take our money!"
Lucas slammed the alchemy counter with both palms. "I SAID THAT! I SAID THAT EXACT THING!"
"Me too!" I chimed in.
Watching Kai point at a calamity like a common pickpocket almost made me choke on my own breath.
Lucifer slowly dragged a gloved hand down his face, his royal dignity splintering in real time.
"Why does every single 1 of you call me a thief?!" Lucifer snapped, his crimson aura flaring in raw irritation. "I rule the demonic continent! Why would I climb through a dirty clinic window to steal?!"
"Because only thieves climb through windows," Kaiser shot back, completely serious. "Normal people use the door."
"I used flight magic."
"That just makes you a fancy thief."
Pffft.
I pressed a hand over my mouth to choke back the laugh.
In my shadow, Crownless was curled into a trembling ball like a kicked puppy:
[ My Queen... please make him stop... that man can vaporize this entire city with a thought... why is that gamer treating him like a common burglar?! ]
Kaiser crossed his arms, looking Lucifer up and down. "So what are you actually doing here? Strangers don't get visitor passes."
Lucifer's irritation vanished, replaced by smooth, unyielding pride. He stepped right beside my mattress, looking down at Kaiser with sovereign contempt.
"I am her future husband," Lucifer said coldly. "And the man who loves her more than anyone else ever could."
The temperature in the room plummeted 10 degrees.
My stomach dropped straight through the floor.
No, no, no.
"Kai, wait!" I waved my hands in a panic. "He broke in! He's completely crazy, I never agreed to—"
Kaiser shrugged.
"Cool," Kaiser said casually. "You go at it, King. You got this, bro."
Total silence dropped over the room.
Lucas froze mid-step. Lucifer blinked, his royal brain completely stalling out.
And my jaw hit the floor.
...What?
Did he just tell another man to shoot his shot with me?!
To my face?!
I lunged forward, grabbed Kaiser by the collar of his travel coat, and shook him with everything I had left.
"YOU GO AT IT, KING?!" I yelled, rattling him back and forth until his head wobbled. "YOU GOT THIS, BRO?! Are you out of your mind?! Why are you giving me away like spare change?!"
Kaiser didn't even try to push me off. He just looked at me with that maddening, unshakeable calm.
"Celia," he said. "You can make your own choices. If you don't like him, tell him to get lost. You have cursed thorns that can tear a person in half. Why would I get in the middle of your dating life?"
"MY DATING LIFE?!" I shrieked. "HE BROKE IN THROUGH A 4TH-FLOOR WINDOW!"
Lucifer was staring at Kaiser like he was looking at a broken machine.
"What kind of man are you?" Lucifer demanded, his deep voice thick with genuine disbelief. "You claim her affection, yet step aside the moment another male challenges you? Have you zero territorial instinct? Zero pride?"
Kaiser looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Territorial instinct?" Kaiser repeated. "She's mature enough. If she wants you, that's her call. If she wants to stay, that's her call. Fighting over someone else's free will is stupid."
Lucifer opened his mouth, but nothing came out. The concept was so completely foreign to his demonic worldview that his mind couldn't even process it.
Right then, Lucas pulled a black styling comb out of thin air.
With an absurd, sweeping flourish, he dragged it through his messy bangs, leaning against the counter like a cheap model on a billboard.
Why the hell is he combing his hair right now?
A soft, squeaky voice drifted from the open doorway:
"Um... Kaiser...?"
A girl peeked into the room.
Soft pink hair tied with delicate ribbons, massive round eyes, a ruffled lace dress, clutching her hands against her apron like a nervous woodland creature.
"I'm sorry..." she squeaked, her face turning bright crimson. "I got lost in the hall..."
Kaiser's expression softened immediately. "It's fine, Eve."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Eve?
Pink hair? Big doe eyes?
And he spoke to her in that gentle, patient voice.
That bitch?!
WHY IS SHE LOOKING AT HIM LIKE THAT?!
Black thorns prickled beneath the skin of my palms, itching to tear something apart.
Lucas snapped his head toward the door. "EVE?!"
Eve gasped, her face lighting up with pure delight. "LUCAS?!"
Kaiser looked between them, surprised. "You 2 know each other?"
Lucas slipped the comb into his pocket, smirking like an emperor. "Of course. She's my most loyal disciple."
Eve clapped her hands together, practically bouncing on her toes. "Yes! He's the 1-Eyed Trickster! The Shadow Gambler! The Poker Emperor of the Western Territories!"
Kaiser and I turned our heads in unison.
"The 1-Eyed WHAT?!" we yelled together.
Eve leaned forward, completely starry-eyed. "He took down Lord Vincent! Vincent was undefeated for 6 years, but Lucas brought cards made of phoenix feathers, blessed by the gods! He pulled 3 royal flushes in a row and broke the entire gambling syndicate!"
Phoenix-feather cards...?
Lucas can barely count to 10 without forgetting.
"Phoenix feathers?" I asked, looking at Lucas like he had grown a 2nd head. "Where on earth did you get phoenix feathers?"
Lucas crossed his arms and looked at the ceiling. "A true legend doesn't reveal his sources."
"Source: 'Trust me bro,'" Kaiser muttered.
"Slander!" Lucas gasped, clutching his lapels. "The cards chose me, Eve!"
"Lucas," Kaiser said, stepping closer. "You don't even know Go Fish."
"I know cards!" Lucas yelled. "Test me! Go ahead, ask me anything!"
"Cards in a standard deck," Kaiser demanded.
Lucas smirked with supreme confidence. "52. Easy."
"Wrong. I meant the Uno deck."
Lucas's smug grin instantly vanished. His face went chalk-white. "Bro?! How am I supposed to know WHICH GAME YOU MEANT?!"
"108," Kaiser said coldly. "Gamer's instinct. You're a fraud."
Lucas collapsed backward onto his stool, clutching his chest like he'd taken a crossbow bolt through the heart.
Eve blinked, her small hands hovering in total confusion. "B-but... the 1-Eyed Trickster..."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I am trapped in a room with clowns.
"Fascinating," Lucifer's voice cut through the air, sharp and heavy as an executioner's blade.
The Demon Lord stepped away from the window, his massive shadow sliding across the floorboards. He looked at Kaiser, then down at me, a cruel, mocking smile curling his lips.
"While you were lying here swearing your loyalty to this human... he was out wandering the city streets with another woman. Is that your idea of devotion, Celia?"
The words hit like a bucket of ice water.
The comedy died instantly.
My blood went cold, then ignited into blinding, white-hot fury. Cursed black shadows crawled across my knuckles, twisting into razor-sharp thorns. I turned my head slowly toward Kaiser, my eyes burning crimson.
"Kai," I said, my voice dangerously quiet. "Why is she here?"
Eve flinched, terrified by the sheer murder pouring off me. She squeaked, scrambled backward, and ducked behind Kaiser's back, using his travel coat as a shield.
Kaiser held up a calm hand. "Celia, chill. Eve saved my life."
My chest seized. "What?"
"I caught the necrotic ash in the crater too," Kaiser said plainly. "Made it to the outer district before my organs locked up. Passed out in the alleyway. I was unconscious for 7 days."
My stomach dropped out from under me.
He was poisoned too? Unconscious for 7 straight days?!
"Eve found me," Kaiser continued. "Dragged me to her lodging, bought medicine, and nursed my fever until this morning. She only walked over with me because she was worried I'd collapse again."
The facts clicked into place in my head—and every drop of relief was instantly incinerated by raw, possessive hatred.
She found him.
She bought medicine.
She nursed his fever.
In her lodging.
FOR 7 STRAIGHT DAYS IN HER BEDROOM.
She touched him...
She was alone with my Kai for an entire week while he was helpless! Did she touch his bare skin?! Did she take his shirt off to cool his fever?!
I will rip those ribbons out of her hair and tear her into 1000 pieces.
...
But... she did save him.
He would have died without her.
Behind Kaiser's coat, Eve peeked out.
She was trembling, pale as a ghost, terrified of the cursed aura rolling off my bed.
But for 1 split second, her pink eyes didn't look down.
She met my murderous glare with a quiet, stubborn stillness that stopped me dead.
Then—
A sudden, searing pulse flared against my left hand.
The Ring of Empty Chaos flashed bright crimson and cobalt!
Across the room, beneath the lace cuff of Eve's sleeve, a twin light flared to life, pulsing with the exact same rhythm.
...Her ring?!
Eve gasped, clutching her wrist, and dove completely behind Kaiser, burying her face into his back.
Lucifer took in the entire scene—Kaiser standing casually in the center, a frightened girl clinging to his coat, and me trembling with homicidal fury.
He curled his lip in absolute, sovereign disgust.
"Pathetic."
The word dropped like lead, and the room froze in suffocating discord.
*
Lucifer's crimson eyes slowly pulled away from the glowing rings, locking onto Kaiser with lethal, aristocratic contempt.
"Is this the pinnacle of humanity?" Lucifer asked, his voice dripping with disgust. "A coward who lets a strange woman cower behind him and clutch his clothes, while his sick, devoted lover watches from a hospital bed?"
Kaiser didn't step away from Eve. He kept his stance relaxed, his hands resting easily in his coat pockets.
"She's scared," Kaiser answered plainly. "She's a healer who's never seen an ancient demon in her life. What do you expect her to do, challenge you to a duel?"
Lucifer took a single, deliberate step forward. His 7-foot frame cast a massive shadow across the floor, swallowing Kaiser completely.
"I expect a man to possess basic dignity," Lucifer snarled coldly. "Celia rejected a continent for you. She swore her soul to a man who abandoned her in a strange city—and you repay her devotion by walking through that door with another woman hanging off your arm? It is sickening."
Damn it.
I pressed my back against the pillows, my teeth grinding together.
I hated Lucifer. I hated his arrogance, his white hair, and his ridiculous royal pride. But every single word coming out of his mouth felt like a physical slap to my face.
I had rejected a Demon Lord for Kai. I had ripped beasts apart with my cursed thorns for Kai. And now I was lying in a hospital gown, watching him protect a girl with pink ribbons.
"I didn't abandon her," Kaiser said, his voice flat and unshakeable.
"I collapsed in an alley with dead ash burning through my organs. Eve dragged me out of the dirt and spent 7 straight days keeping me alive. When someone saves your life, you don't shove them into the dirt just to look tough."
"Besides, I certainly am not the type to change faces depending on the person I'm with."
"An excuse," Lucifer snapped.
"You use gratitude to disguise your weakness. A true man does not parade another female in front of the woman he vows to be loyal to."
Kaiser raised an eyebrow. "And what's a 'true man' to you?"
Lucifer stood tall, his demonic presence filling the room with suffocating authority.
"A true man proves his devotion," Lucifer declared, his deep voice carrying the unyielding weight of an emperor.
"A true man knows what he wants—and when he chooses his woman, he chooses her completely," Lucifer declared, his deep voice carrying the unyielding weight of an emperor. "He does not love halfway, keep backups, or disappear when things become difficult. He gives her loyalty so absolute that she never has to question where he stands. He protects what he cherishes, takes responsibility for his choices, and has enough pride to fight for what matters to him."
Lucifer looked down at me with burning intensity, then turned his sneer back onto Kaiser.
"If he truly values her, he won't stand idly by while someone else takes what he claims to love. If you won't fight for what matters to you, don't call your indifference love!"
Kaiser raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Lucifer's smirk deepened. "Yes. A true man makes his woman feel chosen. She should never have to compete for his attention, wonder where she stands, or question whether another woman could replace her. If she's his, he makes damn sure she knows she is the only one he wants."
Lucifer's gaze hardened, his voice dropping into something dangerously calm. "And when the world reaches for what he loves, he doesn't become insecure—he becomes certain. He protects, provides, leads, and stands between her and anything that means her harm. Not because she is weak, but because she is precious to him."
Lucifer stepped closer, his eyes burning with absolute conviction. "A woman doesn't want a man who merely says, 'I love you.' She wants the man whose actions make those words undeniable—the one who chooses her when it's easy, chooses her when it's difficult, and makes her feel like there is nowhere else in the world she'd rather belong."
My chest seized up so hard it felt bruised.
A man who fears losing his queen.
God, I hated how deeply those words struck me. When my village threw me into the dark as a child, when my own family betrayed me, that was the exact fantasy my broken heart had starved for. I wanted someone to claim me so violently that I would never be abandoned again.
And Kaiser... Kaiser just stood there with his hands in his pockets.
Kaiser let out a quiet, tired sigh.
"If that's your definition of a true man," Kaiser said simply, "then I'm no man at all."
Total silence dropped over the room.
Lucas's jaw hit the floor.
Behind Kaiser's back, Eve peeked out, her round eyes wide in raw panic.
"K-Kaiser... no!" Eve squeaked, her voice trembling. "That's not true! You're better than ev—"
Lucifer cut her off with a single, murderous glare.
Eve choked on her breath, squeaking in terror, and ducked completely behind Kaiser, clutching his travel coat with both hands.
Kaiser reached back, giving her shoulder a gentle, reassuring pat, before turning his gaze back to Lucifer.
"We're not in a romance story," Kaiser said, his voice steady, cold, and razor-sharp. "And I'm no romance hero whose entire life purpose is chasing a heroine, guarding her attention from other men, and pursuing her just so we can live happily ever after."
He took a slow step forward, looking Lucifer dead in the crimson eyes.
"I have a life beyond Celia. I have goals, duties, and battles that exist completely outside of pursuing women. My world doesn't stop spinning because someone else thinks they can make an offer."
Kaiser gestured loosely toward Lucifer, his expression completely calm and unshakeable.
"Everything you just described isn't manhood," Kaiser said, his voice quiet, steady, and razor-sharp. "It's performance. You think being a man means staging an exhibition of certainty—claiming, posturing, and constantly advertising your devotion so the room knows you're the dominant male. That's not being a man. That's anxiety."
Kaiser leaned slightly forward, his eyes locked onto Lucifer's without a flicker of fear.
"A man who actually knows who he is doesn't need to put on an act to feel like a man. I don't need an audience to validate my loyalty, and I don't have the insecurity to turn love into a cage just to soothe my own ego. If someone wants to be with me, they'll choose to be with me. If they don't, threatening the world won't make it real. I have no need to show off something I already am."
The words hit Lucifer like a hammer to the jaw.
Across the room, my heart fluttered in violent, painful contradictions.
He doesn't have the insecurity to control me...?
...
I have a life beyond Celia.
I knew what he meant. He likes to keep everything to himself, and trying to keep us all alive. He wasn't some poet sitting by my bed weaving flower crowns.
He wants me. I know he wants me. He wouldn't have carried me out of that poisoned crater if he didn't.
He just... doesn't show it...
Silence hung heavy between the 2 of them, stretched tight as a drawn bowstring.
Then, from across the room by the sink, Lucas raised a hand high in the air.
"Excuse me," Lucas announced, stepping forward with total, unearned confidence. "You 2 are both completely wrong."
Every head in the room snapped toward him.
Lucifer narrowed his eyes in dangerous disbelief. Kaiser gave him a slow, exhausted blink.
"Neither of you knows what a real man is," Lucas declared, pointing a finger between them. "A true man... is a man who has multiple girlfriends."
Dead silence swallowed the clinic.
Kaiser stared at him. Lucifer stared at him. Even Eve peeked out from behind Kaiser's coat, blinking in sheer confusion.
"Why multiple?!" I blurted out, gripping my bedsheet.
"Hear me out!" Lucas said, spreading his arms wide like a holy prophet. "It's all about repopulating the continent! The world is suffering! I will be the Messiah who repopulates Celestine with greatness! That is what a true man does for his people!"
"Lucas, shut the hell up!" I snapped.
Kaiser rubbed his temples, letting out a long, weary breath. "Yeah, bro. Exactly what we needed right now. Relationship advice from a 16-year-old virgin."
"Virgin?!" Lucas gasped, clutching his chest like he'd taken an arrow to the heart. "You don't know my life! You're just jealous of my vision! Watch me! I'm going to get 17 girlfriends and prove both of you wrong!"
Lucifer stared at Lucas, then looked back at Kaiser, his features twisting into profound, sovereign revulsion.
"Disgusting."
Lucifer raised his right hand.
Snap.
His fingers clicked.
An ocean of demonic mana detonated inside the clinic room.
The air turned into solid lead. The glass tonic vials on Lucas's counter violently shattered into 1000 sparkling shards. The floorboards beneath our feet groaned, splintering under the invisible gravity, while the 4th-floor windowpanes rattled so violently they spider-webbed with cracks.
Lucas grabbed the wooden edge of the alchemy sink with both hands, his knuckles turning stark white as his knees shook under the crushing pressure.
The suffocating weight dropped onto my mattress like a collapsing roof. My scorched lungs seized up, the dead ash flaring into hot agony, and I collapsed back against the headboard, gasping for air.
Inside my shadow, Crownless let out an ear-piercing shriek of primal terror:
[ MY QUEEN! HE'S GOING TO CRUSH US ALL! HE'S GOING TO VAPORIZE THIS WING! ]
In the center of the storm, Kaiser didn't even shift his footing.
He stood completely still, his travel coat fluttering against the gale of crimson mana, looking Lucifer dead in the eyes with absolute, unbothered calm.
"Pretty cool," Kaiser said, his voice cutting through the roaring pressure like a blade through water. "Reminds me of your father, the former Demon Lord, Asora Aeralurea... and Sylaphine Blossom."
The roaring mana abruptly hitched.
Lucifer's white eyebrows shot up, genuine shock breaking through his royal mask.
"You've stood before all 3 of them?" Lucifer demanded.
Kaiser gave a faint, casual shrug.
"Yeah. Particularly your father. Give him my best regards."
Lucifer stared at Kaiser like he was looking at an impossible riddle. "How do you know my father?!"
Beside Kaiser, Eve couldn't endure the terror anymore.
Tears spilled over her lashes. Her knees gave out, and she let out a muffled, trembling sob, burying her face into Kaiser's back.
Kaiser looked down, his sharp expression instantly softening into genuine concern.
He looked back up at the towering demon lord.
"Tone it down," Kaiser said firmly. "You're scaring her."
Kaiser turned around completely. He wrapped an arm around Eve's shaking shoulders, pulling her gently against his chest to steady her. With his thumb, he gently brushed the tears from beneath her pink eyes.
"Hey," Kaiser muttered softly to Eve. "It's okay. You're fine, Eve."
Eve shivered, clutching his coat lapels with white knuckles, her voice cracking in pathetic, stuttering apologies:
"I'm s-sorry... I'm so sorry, Kaiser... I-I didn't mean to cry... I'm sorry..."
Lucifer crossed his arms, letting out a venomous scoff. "My point proven. A man consoling his mistress while his Queen rots in bed."
Kaiser didn't even look back at Lucifer. He just kept his focus on calming Eve down, his fingers lightly resting against her shoulder.
Across the room, my vision went completely, blindingly red.
He's hugging her.
He's wiping her tears.
HE IS TOUCHING HER FACE WITH THAT GENTLE LOOK.
The burning in my lungs vanished. The crushing demonic pressure didn't matter.
"LET ME GO!" I roared.
I kicked the blankets off and threw my legs over the edge of the mattress. Living black thorns exploded from the wood, whipping through the air like razor wire. I lunged straight for Eve's throat with bare hands, ready to tear her into bloody ribbons!
Lucas dove across the floor like a madman, tackling my waist and slamming me back against the mattress post.
"RELAX, CELIA!" Lucas whispered to her with a panicked expression.
My teeth ground together so hard I tasted iron. I glared at Eve over Kaiser's shoulder with pure murderous intentions.
Lucifer watched our chaotic struggle, a dark, cruel smirk returning to his lips.
He took 2 slow strides toward my bed, looking down at my thrashing form.
"You're going to regret ever loving a man like him, Celia." Lucifer said, his deep voice slicing cleanly through my screaming.
I froze, pinning him with my burning crimson eyes.
"He has zero loyalty," Lucifer continued, his tone heavy with absolute conviction. "If he can parade another girl and wipe her tears right in front of your face, just imagine what he does behind your back."
Lucifer leaned down slightly, holding my murderous glare.
"I love you. And I will give you my entire, unyielding loyalty with just 1 chance. If you ever realize your mistake and think of moving on... come to me."
Without waiting for a reply, Lucifer turned toward the 4th-floor window.
Dark spatial light warped around his massive frame, and in the span of a single heartbeat, the 7-foot Demon Lord vanished into the sky.
The suffocating demonic aura instantly collapsed.
Lucas let out an agonized wheeze, sliding down the side of my bed onto the floorboards. "God... my ribs... she almost took my ear off..."
Eve was still trembling, wiping her nose with her frilly lace sleeve.
Lucas flicked his fingers, using a tiny spark of water magic to fill a clean copper cup from the basin, and shoved it toward her. "Here. Drink this before you pass out, kid."
Eve took the cup with both shaking hands, gulping the water down greedily.
Kaiser looked at her, his voice quiet and calm. "Eve, go wait outside in the lobby. Sit on the bench, finish the water, and relax a bit."
Eve looked up at him, her huge pink eyes shining with lingering fear as she clutched his sleeve again:
"C-can you... can you come with me, Kaiser? I'm scared..."
Kaiser shook his head, refusing gently but firmly:
"You're safe now. Lucifer is gone. Just wait outside for a few minutes, rest your legs, and once you feel better, head on to your apothecary work."
Eve hesitated, her lips parting as if to plead—
Then she glanced past Kaiser's shoulder.
I was sitting on the edge of the mattress, held in place by Lucas, staring right through her skull with enough cursed bloodlust to level an entire district. Black thorns were slithering over my knuckles like starving snakes.
Eve swallowed audibly, her face turning pale as paper.
"O-okay..." she whispered.
She scurried backward toward the doorway, stopping at the threshold. She clutched her apron, looking back at Kaiser with a small, timid, adorable smile:
"Let's see each other again soon... at the party quests."
Kaiser smiled back, nodding once. "See you there."
Eve turned and hurried down the hallway.
Kaiser reached out, grabbed the heavy wooden door, and pulled it shut.
Click.
He turned the brass lock.
He stood there for 1 second, facing the wood, before slowly turning around to face the room.
I was still sitting on the edge of the mattress. Staring straight through his soul.
Total, dead silence hung in the air.
Kaiser raised an awkward hand, scratching the back of his neck with a weak grin:
"Hey... I'm back. Haha."
My glare didn't waver. Razor-sharp thorns slowly pushed through the wooden floorboards beneath my bare feet.
Lucas slowly backed toward the sink, pointing a finger at Kaiser:
"Yeah, you're cooked."
Kaiser looked at my glowing red eyes, sighed, and let his shoulders drop:
"Yeah. I'm cooked."
The heavy silence stretched between us. Lucas stayed glued against the alchemy sink, holding up 2 fingers like a referee who wanted 0 part of the incoming violence.
Kaiser took a slow, cautious breath, walked across the floorboards, and sat down on the edge of the mattress.
I immediately dragged my knees up to my chest, scooting back 2 feet until my spine hit the headboard. I crossed my arms, puffed out my cheeks, and stared at the wall.
Lucas watched from across the room, a teasing smirk plastered across his face.
Kaiser looked at the space between us, scratching his cheek. "Celia... look, I'm sorry for being late. I wasn't off wandering around. I caught the dead ash in the ruins, collapsed in an alley, and Eve saved my life. I was genuinely indebted to her."
I snapped my head toward him, my crimson eyes flashing.
"That doesn't mean you get to wipe her tears!" I yelled.
My chest burned with frustration. The sheer jealousy churning inside me felt like a swarm of wasps.
"You were unconscious for a whole week in her room!" I sputtered, gesturing wildly with my hands. "And then you walk in here holding her, and you touch her face, and you speak to her in that gentle voice right in front of me! While I was lying here sick!"
Kaiser blinked, holding his hands up placatingly. "What can I do to make you forgive me?"
"Nothing," I snapped, turning my face away with a sharp hmpf.
"You're dead to me."
Kaiser glanced over his shoulder at Lucas.
Lucas gave him a thumbs-up and mouthed: You got this, bro.
Kaiser let out a quiet sigh. He scooted a few inches closer on the mattress.
"Don't come close to me," I ordered, narrowing my eyes.
Kaiser stopped immediately. He placed his hands on his knees, looking at me with those steady, dark eyes.
"Alright," he said calmly. "Then you come close to me."
My heart betrayed me with a sharp, traitorous flutter.
"W-what are you gonna do to me?" I stammered, hating how my tough voice cracked.
I hesitated for 2 seconds, biting my lip, before reluctantly shuffling forward across the sheets until I was sitting right in front of him.
The second I stopped, Kaiser reached up with both hands, grabbed the lobes of his own ears, and bowed his head slightly.
"I'm sorry," Kaiser said, his voice earnest and completely sincere. "Okay? I'm sorry you felt bad seeing me do that."
My jaw slackened.
Seeing the most calculating, dangerous man on this continent sitting on a clinic bed, holding his own ears like a scolded child, hit me right in the center of my chest.
Damn it.
How am I supposed to stay angry when he does that?!
I fought back the smile threatening to break my face, quickly flicking my head to the side. "Hmph."
Kaiser lowered his hands, his expression shifting from playful to grounded, quiet masculinity.
"I did what was necessary in that moment, Celia," he said, his voice deep, calm, and unyielding. "A girl who saved my life was sobbing in terror from a Demon's aura. If any situation arises like that, I'm not going to turn into a callous jerk just because of jealousy. I'd do the exact same thing for you. I'm not changing who I am."
The conviction in his voice made my throat tighten. He looked so steady, so entirely himself, that my defenses crumbled like wet chalk.
Still, my pride refused to surrender without 1 last shot.
"But... you still wiped her tears while I was lying sick here," I mumbled, looking down at my hands.
Kaiser didn't argue. He didn't offer another logical point.
Instead, he leaned forward, wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me flush against his chest.
His scent—cedarwood, faint ash, and clean winter air—wrapped around me completely. His heartbeat thumped solid and rhythmically against my ear.
All the poison, all the rage, all the icy resentment that had gathered in my blood melted away into pure, warm mush.
God, I missed him so much!
I buried my face into the crook of his neck, wrapping my arms tightly around his shoulders, breathing him in until my lungs stopped aching. The old, sweet warmth fluttered back into my chest, and I let out a tiny, contented sigh.
Across the room, Lucas cleared his throat loudly.
"Alright, lovebirds," Lucas groaned, waving a glass pipette. "As heartwarming as this reconciliation is, can we discuss the fact that we have an entire raid deadline hanging over our heads?"
I pulled back slightly, resting my chin against Kaiser's collarbone, though I refused to let go of his coat.
"He's right," Kaiser said, his hand resting comfortably on my lower back. "Let's go over the plan. The Avalon Island raid is scheduled in 3 months. To get the independent charter and qualify for the Leviathan hunt, we need to clear 50 guild quests."
"And right now, we're stuck in neutral," Lucas said, hopping onto a stool. "Celia's necrotic ash is almost neutralized, but we've lost an entire week while you 2 were off sleeping."
"I wasn't sleeping by choice," I shot back, poking Lucas with a glare. "The second Lucas finishes the final cleansing dose, I'm locking in. Lucas and I will take every high-volume quest Marcus has at the front desk."
"And I'll be operating with Ren's party," Kaiser added, his eyes sharp. "Staying registered as an E-rank lets us move under the radar without drawing attention from the royal factions. We'll clear suburban and perimeter bounties, gathering intelligence on the Leviathan's movement patterns."
I tightened my grip on his lapels, looking up into his face. "Fine. But on 1 condition."
Kaiser raised an eyebrow, amused. "What condition?"
"You have dinner with us every single night," I demanded firmly. "No disappearing for 7 days in strange girls' lodgings. The moment your quests are done, you come straight back to the inn."
Kaiser smiled, a soft, genuine curve of his lips. "Deal... with conditions."
I turned my head, fixing Lucas with a glare. "And you. Starting tomorrow, you're waking up at 5:00 AM so we can clear 4 quests before noon."
Lucas recoiled in horror. "5:00 AM?! Are you insane, woman?! I'm a nocturnal genius! I don't operate before 10:00 AM!"
"You've been slacking off for weeks while Kai and I nearly died in a crater!" I snapped. "You're waking up early, or I'll drag you out of bed by your ankles!"
"Slacking off?!" Lucas yelled, offended to his core. "I have been grinding non-stop! I completed dozens of quests!"
Kaiser looked at him, genuinely skeptical. "Really, Lucas? How many guild quests did you actually turn in to Sylvia?"
Lucas puffed out his chest, completely unbothered. "I completed personal quests, bro! Not guild quests!"
Silence dropped over the room.
Kaiser blinked. Then he raised a hand and slowly dragged his palm down his entire face.
I pressed 2 fingers to my forehead, letting out an exhausted groan.
"What on earth is a 'personal quest'?" Kaiser muttered through his fingers.
Lucas crossed his arms proudly. "Classified. You wouldn't understand."
Kai doesn't know Lucas has that bizarre blue system screen hovering in his head.
I guess I'll have to wait until Lucas finally grows the courage to tell him. Until then, we just have to laugh it off.
Kaiser leaned back against the headboard, stretching his legs out with a quiet chuckle. "Well, since we're stuck here until Celia's final dose settles, we might as well pass the time."
Lucas snapped his fingers. "Yo! We should play Ludo! A battle of pure strategy!"
Kaiser smiled. "Actually, that sounds great. Go grab the board."
"Say no more, bro!" Lucas said, bolting toward the door. "Give me 1 minute! I stashed it in the storage closet down the hall!"
Lucas pulled the door open and vanished into the corridor, his footsteps fading quickly.
The clinic room fell quiet.
Golden morning sunlight slanted through the cracked 4th-floor window, warming the sheets. Kaiser was sitting right beside me, his arm resting lightly across my pillows.
I looked at his profile—the sharp jaw, the messy black hair, the quiet calm that always grounded me no matter how insane the world became.
Lucifer's words echoed in the back of my mind.
A true man fears losing his queen... He stakes his claim...
I bit my lower lip, shifting closer until my shoulder pressed against his.
"Kai...?" I asked quietly.
"Yeah?"
I hesitated, fidgeting with the hem of my blanket. "Why aren't you possessive of me?"
Kaiser turned his head, looking down at me with thoughtful, dark eyes.
"Because I have no reason to be," Kaiser answered softly. "I trust you, Celia."
My breath hitched.
"Possessiveness isn't love," he continued, his voice calm and warm. "It's control. You spent your whole childhood trapped by other people's expectations to be an angel. I'm never going to cage you like they did. You have the freedom to make your own choices, to stay, to leave, to do whatever makes you genuinely happy. I don't have conditions for you to fulfill."
He reached out, his warm palm resting gently atop my head. He ruffled my hair with a soft, affectionate pat.
"Always do what makes you happy, Celia. That's all I want from you."
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes.
I leaned my forehead against his chest, clutching the front of his coat.
"I was so scared," I whispered, my voice trembling. "When I woke up in this clinic... and you weren't there... I was terrified you had left me behind."
"I'm here now," Kaiser murmured, his hand gently stroking down the back of my hair.
"It's okay."
I looked up at him, my heart hammering against my ribs, burning with that fierce, childish devotion that only ever belonged to him.
"I want more than just you being here," I said boldly.
Kaiser raised an eyebrow, a small smile teasing his lips. "What do you want?"
"A kiss."
Before he could answer, I tightened my grip on his lapels, looking straight into his eyes.
"And... promise me you won't be close with that Eve."
Kaiser's expression softened completely. "Celia, there's nothing like that between us. Eve saved my life when I was dying in the alley. I'm grateful to her, and I respect her. That's all it is."
I puffed my cheeks out in a stubborn pout. "I still don't like it."
"I know," Kaiser chuckled softly. "I promise. You have nothing to worry about."
He leaned down, tilting his face to press a soft kiss against my cheek—
I immediately caught his jaw with both hands, turning his face back.
"No," I demanded, blushing furiously. "Not here. Here. On the lips."
Kaiser let out a quiet giggle, his chest shaking against mine. "Haha... you're never going to change, are you?"
I beamed, my eyes sparkling with pure, triumphant joy.
"Nope. I won't," I said proudly. "I'm your dear wife."
Kaiser smiled—that rare, breathtakingly fond smile that made my stomach turn to liquid—and leaned down.
His lips pressed against mine.
Soft, warm, and sweet. The kiss was gentle, lingering just long enough to wash away every lingering trace of jealousy, fear, and pain that had haunted me all morning.
When he finally pulled back, his dark eyes were full of amusement.
"Happy now?" he asked.
"Very happy," I whispered, throwing both arms around his neck and hugging him so tightly he let out a choked laugh.
BAM!
The door kicked open.
Lucas strutted back into the room, holding a brightly colored cardboard box over his head like a championship trophy.
"Yo! Couldn't find the Ludo board!" Lucas shouted triumphantly. "The storage room was a wasteland! But behold—Snakes and Ladders! Bet on it!"
I buried my face in Kaiser's shoulder, giggling into his coat.
Kaiser looked over at Lucas, a competitive spark lighting up in his eyes. "Yeah? Come on, let's go. Loser has to do 100 push-ups. My favorite bichu game."
"WHAT?!" Lucas and I screamed in unison.
Lucas nearly dropped the box. "100 push-ups?! Are you trying to kill my upper body before the raid?!"
Kaiser smirked, completely merciless. "Joking. 150."
Lucas slammed the board onto the small table beside the bed, rolling up his sleeves with theatrical fury. "You're on, lil bro! Yeah, you're finished! My dice luck is blessed by the heavens!"
Kaiser slid off the edge of the mattress, pulling up a wooden stool with a confident grin. "Let's see who wins then."
Lucas grabbed the plastic dice cup, shaking it aggressively, while I propped myself up against the pillows, laughing as the dice clattered across the board.
The dark discord from before was completely gone, replaced by loud, chaotic warmth.
Nah I'd win.
*
Perspective: Lucifer
Date: January 19, 2018
Time: 11:15 AM
Location: Sylvaris — Central District, Outside Clinic
The cold morning air in Sylvaris was stale, smelling of coal dust and cheap street food.
I leaned against a stone pillar across from the clinic entrance, arms crossed over my tailored coat. Being born as the strongest Demon Lord in this world meant that everything had come easily to me. Rebellions were crushed before noon, rival houses knelt without hesitation, and complex magical formulas unraveled at a glance. My power far surpassed anything roaming this continent.
Now, I had reached the age where a sovereign takes a Queen.
In my past life, I had played enough romance games to understand exactly how women operated. A woman like Celia—traumatized, fierce, and desperate for safety—craved absolute devotion and unyielding strength. She wanted a man who claimed her so violently that the rest of the world ceased to exist.
Kaiser's passive, enlightened nonsense was a joke. I would be the exact sovereign she needed, and I would win her heart no matter who she fancied right now. In the end, it would conclude with my victory, just as I had always won since the day I was born.
[Hades: The encounter inside has concluded, Master. Why are we still waiting out here?]
We're waiting for her to exit, I answered mentally.
A moment later, the clinic's front door pushed open.
Eve stepped out into the sunlight. She was clutching her small canvas tote bag with both hands, looking around like a frightened doe. The instant her pink eyes landed on me standing across the cobblestones, she visibly recoiled, her entire body trembling.
[Hades: Alert. Deep diagnostic scan complete. The target is actively suppressing her magical presence.]
I raised an eyebrow, straightening up from the pillar.
Suppressing it? A human healer?
[Hades: Affirmative. The suppression ratio is 56,780 times her displayed output. To ordinary senses, she appears completely mundane. In reality, her internal density is absurd.]
I flared my demonic mana just a fraction, sending an invisible pulse across the street.
Eve flinched violently, tears instantly welling in her large round eyes. She backed away toward the clinic wall, shaking like a leaf.
"W-what do you want with me...?" she stammered, her voice thin and terrified. "P-please... let me go..."
She's really hiding that much mana?
[Hades: Confirming. 56,780 times. It is a total concealment shroud.]
I stepped forward, closing the distance between us until my shadow swallowed her whole.
"Who are you?" I asked coldly. "And why are you pretending to be a fragile little girl with all that power hidden mana inside you?"
Eve blinked rapidly, shaking her head in frantic confusion. "M-mana...? What mana...? I-I don't understand..."
She took a panicked step to the right, desperately trying to dart past me toward the crowded marketplace.
I flicked my gloved fingers.
A ring of crimson gravity snapped around her ankles. Eve gasped, her feet catching on empty air, and she pitched forward onto the cobblestones, scraping her hands. She curled into a trembling ball on the ground, tears streaming down her pale cheeks, on the verge of sobbing again.
Pathetic.
Disgust churned in my gut as I looked down at her.
This was the girl Kaiser had chosen to comfort over Celia.
A fragile, pink-haired child who broke into hysterics the instant a breeze blew. Celia was regal, lethal, and fiercely loyal—yet that man would rather wipe the tears of this stray than claim an empress. What could he possibly see in her that I couldn't?
I raised my right hand, manifesting 3 floating crimson barrier circles above her head.
With a silent pulse of will, I expanded a temporal disruption field across a 20-meter perimeter.
The bustling street around us ground to an absolute halt. Falling leaves froze mid-air. A passing horse-drawn carriage locked in place. The noise of the city died, leaving only Eve and me inside the dilated pocket of time where outsiders could neither see nor hear us.
Eve looked up at the floating execution circles, her breath coming in ragged, terrified gasps.
"P-please..." she sobbed, pressing her back against the clinic brickwork. "D-don't hurt me... I-I haven't done anything to you... please...!"
"Answer the question," I commanded, my crimson eyes glowing.
"I-I don't know what you're t-talking about!" she cried, curling her knees to her chest. "I'm j-just a healer! I only know the basics! P-please let me go home...!"
"A talentless healer hiding who knows what?" I countered coldly. "Drop the act."
"I-I'm not acting...!" she wept, pressing her forehead against the dirt. "I-I swear it... I'm scared... p-please don't kill me...!"
I watched her closely.
That's not her trigger.
If she was an assassin sent to monitor the Demon Realm, facing death in an isolated temporal pocket would have triggered a counter-strike. But she just kept weeping on the ground, shaking from head to toe.
Then a memory from the medical room surfaced.
When I mocked Kaiser's manhood, Lucas had stayed silent, and Celia had burned with internal conflict. But this girl—this frail little rabbit—had raised her voice to defend him.
She had tried to say he was better than everyone else.
She respects him. Deeply.
A cold thought clicked in my mind.
Was she clinging to him because she feared my presence... or was she positioning herself so that if I struck Kaiser, she could strike me back?
[Hades: The temporal barrier is stable. However, her mana suppression remains locked. No leakage detected despite extreme psychological stress.]
"Very well," I said, lowering my hand from Eve. "If your life isn't enough to drop the mask, let's see how much his is worth."
I rotated my wrist.
The 3 floating crimson circles dissolved, replaced by a massive, blood-red ritual array that expanded instantly beneath the clinic, encircling the entire 4-story building.
Eve's eyes went wide. "W-what are you doing...?"
"I'm going to kill Kaiser," I said flatly. "Right now. His life ends in this clinic. No matter how much you beg, you won't be able to save him."
Eve scrambled up onto her knees, clutching the hem of my coat, pure terror written across her face.
"B-but... w-why...?! W-why would you...?" she cried, tears pouring down her cheeks. "H-he hasn't done anything to you...!"
"Because he is a weak, talentless man," I sneered, looking down at her pleading hands.
[Hades: Re-scanning subject Kaiser Everhart. Confirmed: 0 ambient magic, 0 mana channels detected. A completely ordinary human.]
"He is a pathetic symbol of mediocrity," I continued, my voice dripping with venom. "And both of you are troublesome roadblocks in my pursuit of Celia. Once he is erased, she will have no one left to love. She will turn to the only sovereign capable of protecting her."
Eve stared at the glowing red circle devouring the clinic walls.
Her small hands began to shake violently against my coat—not from terror, but from something deeper.
"N-no..." she whispered.
She swallowed hard, her chest heaving, pushing the words out through choked, fractured breaths:
"H-he is n-not... a-a weak man...! H-he is b-braver... a-and s-stronger than you will e-ever be...!"
My crimson aura flared with lethal heat, the cobblestones scorching black beneath my boots.
"What did you just say to me?" I asked softly.
Eve looked up into my glare, crying openly, but her small jaw tightened:
"H-he is n-not... weak...!"
She's still defending him. Even now...?
Hades. If I pulverize the building, Celia won't realize it was my magic, correct?
[Hades: Affirmative. The strike can be disguised as a secondary explosion from the necrotic ash residue. Lucas can be kept alive; Kaiser will die in an unfortunate accident without trace.]
Good. Let's see how her devotion holds when his corpse is ash.
I raised my palm, channeling a torrent of high-tier demonic mana directly into the ritual circle.
The blood-red runes flared blindingly, ready to collapse the clinic into dust—
Snap.
My mana stopped.
Not dissipated. Not redirected.
It was cleanly, surgically severed at the root, cut like a thread of silk.
[Hades: CRITICAL WARNING! EMERGENCY! CELESTIAL MANA DETECTED IN IMMENSE COUNT!]
My breath caught in my throat.
On the frozen cobblestones, the girl stopped crying.
Slowly, deliberately, she raised her right forearm and wiped the tears from her face.
Then she stood up.
Every trace of fear, trembling, and pathetic weakness vanished from her frame. Her shoulders squared, moving with effortless, ancient grace.
She turned and looked me dead in the eyes.
Her irises were no longer pink.
They were burning with pure, starlit, radiant blue.
I narrowed my eyes, stepping back half a pace. "Oh? Showing your true face then?"
[Hades: WARNING! The target has seized control of your time disruption! She is expanding an independent domain—the entire city of Sylvaris has been frozen in time!]
A tidal wave of celestial pressure detonated from her tiny frame.
It didn't destroy the buildings. It didn't crack the stone.
It simply swallowed reality itself, painting the sky in shimmering starlight, expanding across the clouds until the entire continent seemed to hold its breath under her absolute presence.
My heart hammered violently against my ribs.
The creature standing before me was not an apprentice. She was not a mortal. She was a calamity that defied classification.
I forced a sneer onto my face, drawing upon my royal demon pride.
"Hiding behind the pretentious mask of a frail girl, huh?" I said, my baritone steady despite the howling pressure.
"Though that doesn't really matter. As a Demon Lord, you surely know I won't be showing you any mercy."
The blue-eyed girl looked at me.
She simply tilted her head, and let out a soft, mocking giggle.
"Demon Lord, huh?"
Her voice was no longer high-pitched or timid. It was melodious, and laced with chilling, effortless disdain.
She looked through me like I was trash, her starlight eyes gleaming with amusement:
"You're nothing but a talentless nobody born with power, thinking you became strong from the pet food you were given, and believing your nepotism grants you the title of Emperor. It's just hilarious that people like you still exist in this world."
Elfie said as the entire city was frozen in time.