New Sky

The two arrived at the core of the seal without any resistance.

In the center stood a massive sealing formation—twelve thick chains interwoven in a crisscross pattern, pulsing with fading light.

When Xiya raised her palm, a soft glow emanating from her hand, the space around them collapsed into a swirling vortex of light.

By the time Bai Ci regained his senses, the surging elemental energy had already vanished.

Only Xiya remained—panting heavily before the broken seal array. She collapsed into Bai Ci’s arms, utterly spent.

“Hehe… that’s it, we’re done,” Xiya managed a weak smile, though her pale face betrayed how terrible she truly felt.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Bai Ci held her, a strange emotion stirring within him.

Was it concern?
Or something deeper?

“Staring at a cute girl like that… really is chuuni behavior, you know?” Xiya teased weakly, leaning against his chest.

“Miss Xiya… you’re lonely, aren’t you?”

“Lonely? It’s not that bad…”

“Then become my ally.”

Huh? I don’t remember asking for a sidekick~

Xiya turned her face away. Her expression hidden, her true feelings unreadable.

……….

“Xiao Ci… you’re really sneaky…”

Silence fell between them.

In a world on the brink of chaos, the youth from Earth and the last remaining Demon Lord became companions.

……………

Three days had passed since the demon seal was shattered.

Though the Yundu Empire had dispatched every available soldier to the site immediately, by the time they arrived, it was already too late.

The seal was destroyed. The culprits gone.

The rebirth of Heaven-Born Demon Lord Garuda was now an irreversible fate.

Upon hearing the news, the nobles in the imperial city wailed and panicked. These once decadent, indulgent elites suddenly began doing charity, praying that when Garuda returned, they might be spared a painful death—for the Saintess’s sake.

Yet the two who had caused it all—the masterminds behind the disaster—faced the coming storm with surprising calm.

In fact, they weren’t even thinking about Garuda.

As thanks for Xiya’s help, Bai Ci had agreed to her request:

To play with her.

How could he say no when Xiya looked at him with those sparkling, pleading eyes—

even calling him “Big Brother”?

That was just unfair.

And so, Bai Ci accompanied Xiya across the continent, visiting one fascinating place after another.

In return, he gained a deeper understanding of this world.

****

One week later, Bai Ci and Xiya stood before a modest city.

“This is the place you said… where Garuda’s vessel will appear?” Bai Ci asked, puzzled.

“Mm-hmm. And I can already taste it,” Xiya said with a mysterious smile.

Two days earlier, Bai Ci had asked Xiya:

“How much time until Garuda returns?” Honestly, he’d assumed breaking the seal would trigger immediate resurrection. Yet days had passed with no sign.

“At earliest, one month. At latest, no more than three,” Xiya replied.

“One month…” Bai Ci frowned. His time was running short.

After breaking the seal, Xiya had explained: what was sealed was only Garuda’s soul, memories, and power.

His physical vessel—the body to host his rebirth—could manifest anywhere in the world.

When Garuda revived, his essence would return to that vessel, reclaiming existence.

Bai Ci had asked if killing the vessel before revival could stop Garuda’s return.

“The vessel is indistinguishable from a normal human. Unless you kill every possible candidate, you can only delay it—briefly.”

That was her answer.

Now, standing before this city, they had reached the place Xiya sensed as Garuda’s destined vessel.

One month.

In just one month, Bai Ci would face one of the roots of the demon race—Heaven-Born Demon Lord Garuda.

It felt surreal.

He had just arrived in this world—and already completed his mission to save Earth.

Thanks to this lovely Demon Lord beside him, the door between worlds was closed. The Extinction Species crisis on Earth was over.

But at a cost: Garuda, sealed on Earth, would return to this world.

And terrifyingly—no one else knew.

The Yundu Empire had chosen to conceal the truth.

The wrath of dragons and elves was beyond what a mere human nation could endure.

And other human kingdoms watched greedily, eyeing Yundu’s fertile lands.

If news of the broken seal leaked, the empire would face annihilation—not from demons, but from its own kind.

Had he become the criminal of this world?

The only comfort was having this beautiful, seemingly carefree Demon Lord by his side.

“What are my chances of killing Garuda?”

“About 0.01%.”

“You’re serious?”

“Of course. Don’t question my professional assessment.” Xiya yawned, idly twirling a strand of hair.

“If killing a Demon Lord were easy, they’d have been wiped out centuries ago.”

“Just to seal Garuda once, humanity lost thirteen Seventh-Tier Sorcerers, hundreds of Sixth-Tiers… countless knights and lower-tier sorcerers.”

“And that’s just humanity. Add the other races, and the number becomes horrifying.”

So this is the power of a Demon Lord?

Hearing this, Bai Ci finally grasped the scale of their strength.

Xiya had never shown her full power before him. When she destroyed Garuda’s seal, she’d merely flapped her wings once—yet the entire site disintegrated instantly.

She was actually being kind by not saying zero percent.

“That 0.01%? Only because of your strange power. But you can’t fully control it, can you?”

“Do you think Demon Lords are weak? The seven of us stood against all the races of this world.”

“Dragons, elves, Sky Demons… even those born with supreme magical bloodlines trembled in our shadows.”

Xiya spoke proudly, unable to contain her enthusiasm.

Watching her chatter on, Bai Ci couldn’t help but sigh.

I wish Garuda were a cute girl too.

“But you’ll help me, right?”

“Well… maybe.”

Bai Ci hadn’t expected her to not outright refuse.

“But it depends on your performance~” Xiya winked with her large pink eyes.

“It’s not like he brings me any benefit alive. Garuda hates me, you know?”

“To be honest, if it weren’t for your request, I’d have kept him sealed until the end of time.”

Xiya gave him a slightly resentful look.

Bai Ci didn’t know what to say. Since his arrival, Xiya had helped him far too much.

When he asked why, she simply said: Because you carry an aura that makes me feel safe.

Regardless, the first step was entering the city to gather information.

Bai Ci didn’t know it yet—

this unremarkable little town would become the beginning of everything.

Nor did he know—

the blade meant to pierce the heart of a god…

would first stab through the throat of the one person he cherished most.