“Miss Snowlight!” Crow’s expression alternated between panic and fear. Indeed, he seemed more candid in front of Snowlight’s appearance, making Infierno chuckle.
“It’s me, Infierno. Constantly being called ‘Miss’ by you, doesn’t it get annoying?”
“Stop kidding around! Think of a solution quickly. Aren’t you nervous about turning into this?”
Infierno chuckled once again. He instinctively felt that his time was running out. After triggering the miracle, it was evident what form he would take to continue living. He could no longer maintain human form or move freely like before.
“Crow, let’s get serious for a moment. It seems like I won’t be able to take care of you anymore in this state. From now on, you need to be careful of the pursuers of that rebellious minister.”
Crow didn’t understand what Infierno was talking about at all, but he soon received a further explanation.
“When I said I was a descendant of the royal family, it was a lie. You are the true last descendant of the royal bloodline. I deliberately spread many false rumors to confuse the pursuers and pretended to be the princess myself. My true identity is the legendary Sacred Beast of this country.” Infierno deliberately changed everything from gender, hair color, eye color, to age, to completely dissociate Crow from any suspicion.
Crow remained silent, unable to digest the truth Infierno had just revealed. The concept of being a descendant, a Sacred Beast, all seemed too surreal. Infierno knew that further explanations would be futile, so he decided to leave a clue and let Crow explore on his own.
“If you’re not ready to accept the truth, then focus on staying alive for now. That’s what matters,” Infierno said calmly, mentioning the keyword ‘staying alive’ caught Crow’s attention.
“If you really are Miss Snowlight, then no matter what happens, I’ll stay by your side,” Crow rejected, setting aside the talk of being a legendary Sacred Beast. He sensed that this was a moment of separation, and he intuitively felt that if he turned away now, he might never see Snowlight again.
“You, you’re such a lolicon,” Infierno muttered, regretting his decision to transform into Snowlight. Despite feeling somewhat helpless, he couldn’t help but feel a little happy. Ever since this country began its decline and he started caring for this somewhat foolish prince, life had become fulfilling and comfortable. Despite the tension and worries, it wasn’t much different from his thousands of years of freedom.
“Hey, let’s make a promise, okay?” Snowlight moved the sand beast’s paw towards her chest, bringing Crow close to her. She planted a kiss on Crow’s forehead. “If, in the future, you, as the last descendant of the royal family, can bring this country back to its former glory, I’ll come find you again. How does that sound?” The girl’s demeanor was no longer delicate or elegant like before, but rather spirited and mischievous, reminiscent of the fiery and rebellious youth she once was. At that moment, Crow still didn’t know how to respond. Countless thoughts and questions swirled in his mind, leaving him speechless.
“Oh, forget it, forget it. Is your head really that empty?” Snowlight sounded impatient, but her face was filled with contentment as she left behind her final confession. “Sometimes I can’t help but wonder, instead of protecting this country, wouldn’t it be nice to be your Sacred Beast and spend my life protecting only you? However, a thousand years ago, when I made that choice, you hadn’t even been born yet.” With that, she suddenly thrust Crow’s huge hand into the sky, lifting him high above the entire country’s summit. Her entire paw and arm transformed into a tower, with many spikes extending from its body.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Vcbk… Pcolfgcb!” Aera jr Jgbk yilcxfv, atf ulgi’r olcji oluegf njclrtfv yfobgf tlr fsfr, jcv Jgbk mtbrf ab mjii bea tfg agef cjwf.
Mgbw atf tlutfra qblca bo atf Blcuvbw, ibbxlcu vbkc, wjcs cfk abkfgr ilxf atlr bcf mbcalceberis fwfgufv ogbw atf ugbecv, fzafcvlcu rqlxfr ab mbccfma klat fjmt batfg, obgwlcu cfk yglvufr.
The entire appearance of the country changed, and the people surviving below, like Crow, couldn’t believe the sudden transformation of their homeland before their eyes, thinking it was all a dream.
Crow gazed at the reborn Iron Gray Nation. Reviving this country sounded simple, but in reality, he had no idea where to begin. However, if he wanted to see the girl he admired again, or if he wanted to grab that inexplicable young man by the collar and demand answers,Crow had to pull himself together.
He was atop the tower at the highest point of the country, yet there was no way down from this tower. While he pondered his situation, golden sand particles gathered before him, forming stairs descending step by step. Crow found it somewhat miraculous. With a shift of his thoughts, he wished for these stairs to disappear, and indeed, they promptly dissolved into sand and merged back into the structure.
He was not without anything, nor would he be unable to ascend to the throne. The sacred beast that protected the country seemed to have secretly left him a personal desire.
‘From here on out, you must walk your own path, Your Majesty.’ It was as if he heard the final whisper of the girl.
—
Amidst the cacophony of screams around, only two individuals remained unscathed from start to finish.
Thrett and Ellyad, suspended in midair, stood atop a crumbling landscape of iron-gray. All the soldiers before them plummeted into the unfathomable darkness below along with the shattered rocks; the destructive force would soon spread throughout the entire country. With the bridges collapsing, it was uncertain whether the abyss below led to a River or straight to hell.
“Thrett, stop it!” Ellyad shouted desperately, but Thrett seemed utterly unresponsive at this moment.
As a demon king with infinite life, emotions were as naive as a newborn calf’s. Therefore, when he truly grasped the moment of ‘death,’ fear robbed him of his sanity.
“Thrett, please, stop this. Don’t destroy this place anymore. I hate seeing you like this,” Ellyad pleaded.
“Hate?” The word echoed in Thrett’s mind, and suddenly he realized.
With a loud thud, his towering figure shrunk into a round, chubby doll-like form, and the upheaval around them came to an abrupt halt. Ellyad, finally free, quickly reached out to catch little Thrett. He saw the tiny Thrett clutching desperately at Ellyad’s index and middle fingers, shaking his head vigorously, expressing his fear of being hated. Somehow, when Thrett turned into a miniature version of himself, even his personality seemed childlike. Though Ellyad was angry, he didn’t want to scold the tiny Thrett in his palm. Moreover, if they were to delve into the cause of this incident, it couldn’t be separated from Ellyad’s refusal to heed Thrett’s proposal to leave the Iron Gray nation. If he hadn’t insisted back then, perhaps they wouldn’t be in this situation now. Unfortunately, everything had already happened, and it had come to an end.
For Ellyad, human life might be precious, but once lost, it couldn’t be reclaimed. That’s why, in the beginning, when he encountered Thrett in that small town, he could look at the entire burned-down town with indifference.
However, since spending time with Thrett, he had rekindled the warmth in his heart. He now felt deeper sorrow for the deaths of others, much like he mourned for the nameless little girl. Though he felt a heavy ache now, he wasn’t willing to hold a grudge against Thrett for it.
Finally, Ellyad sighed deeply. “Thrett.”
“Hmm.” Even though Ellyad was just calling his name as usual, little Thrett seemed startled, clinging even tighter to Ellyad’s fingers, as if afraid Ellyad would let him go.
Seeing Thrett like this, Ellyad softened his tone. “Could you please put me back on the ground first?”
Little Thrett immediately nodded, and Ellyad descended to the opposite bank of the River.
“I mean… Thrett, I won’t abandon you. You don’t need to be so nervous.”
“Mm.”
“Thrett, I appreciate that you value me so much. But I don’t want you to harm others just to protect me.” Ellyad understood Thrett’s intentions and felt happy about it, but the thought of indiscriminate killing and destruction, causing innocent people to suffer, left Ellyad feeling anything but happy. He understood the pain of losing someone important, so the death of anyone would bring immense sadness to those left behind.
“But if we don’t do that, people will hurt you.”
Perhaps it was difficult for Thrett to easily let go in his heart, so Ellyad went further to persuade him.
“I promise you, this is the last time. I have enough ability to protect myself. Even if it happens again next time, please believe that I will fight to stay alive just to see Thrett again.”
Seeing Thrett still tightly holding onto his finger, Ellyad couldn’t help but smile and recklessly poked Thrett’s head and soft cheeks with his finger.
“Ouch!” Almost pushed off his palm by Ellyad’s poking, Little Thrett quickly stood up, forcefully pushing away Ellyad’s finger, but instead lost his balance and fell back, sitting on Ellyad’s palm. Angered, Thrett jumped up and nibbled Ellyad’s finger.
“I think I’ve already trusted you, Thrett. That’s why I call out your name whenever I encounter danger.” Rather than the faith of the world, rather than the goddess of creation, Ellyad would rather place his complete trust in a demon. Even though Ellyad knew he bore the blood-red Hero Sword, he would defy the ancient laws of millions of years and use this sword to protect Thrett.
“Mm…”
“Can’t you trust me?” Ellyad said with a gentle smile, gently stroking little Thrett’s round head with his finger once again.
Little Thrett, giving up resistance, simply sat down with a squishy sound, squinting his eyes, allowing Ellyad to freely stroke his head. Finally, he spoke softly, “I do believe you, but I don’t want there to be a next time.” He always felt himself becoming more and more inclined to yield to Ellyad. Whenever Ellyad showed him a smile, Thrett would compromise because he couldn’t bear to refuse.
“Yeah, I promise you,” Ellyad replied.
At this moment, Ellyad suddenly noticed that the collapsing Iron-Gray Nation was engulfed in a golden sand mist. The sand continuously gathered on the broken bridges, reconnecting them as if it were trying its best to save the country.
“This is—” Ellyad had heard of the famous legend of this country. The Iron-Gray Nation was a country protected by a sacred beast, and when the nation faced danger, the sacred beast would trigger miracles. The golden sand gradually formed into magnificent towers, one after another. Among them, the tallest tower stood in the center of the nation, as if declaring it to be the domain of the reigning king.
This scene marked the beginning of the country’s rebirth, and for now, Ellyad felt reassured by it. Despite the many painful memories associated with this place, he didn’t want to witness the destruction of a nation right before his eyes.
“It seems that guy finally realized his own power,” Thrett remembered hearing Infierno complain about how powerless he was as a sacred beast. But in Thrett’s eyes, that wasn’t the case. Hadn’t he just saved the country that the Demon King had destroyed?
“What did you just say, Thrett?”
“It’s nothing, not important,” Little Thrett sat in Ellyad’s hand, letting him continue to play with him like a doll, and Ellyad seemed to be getting more and more addicted to it.
‘As long as Ell is happy,’ Thrett, who was being overly spoiled, secretly planned in his heart to maintain this appearance for a while longer.
Doll Thrett is too cute.