The Ring

When Vivian’s fingertips touched the so-called [Rhine Holy Ring],

There was no burning of Holy Light.

No corrosion.

No divine backlash.

Nothing at all.

All her expectations of searing pain, divine repulsion, or any sign of sanctified rejection simply… did not happen.

The touch of the ring was smooth, cool, and oddly serene—so tranquil it was almost unsettling.

It rested quietly in her palm, its silvery-white band glimmering with a subtle inner luster.

The ancient runes engraved along its surface were exquisite and intricate.

And beyond that, there was nothing remarkable about it.

No overwhelming aura.

No holy energy oppressive enough to suffocate.

Not even a trace of lingering divinity.

It was as if this so-called relic of the Rhine Holy Church was merely a skillfully crafted piece of jewelry—no different from a charm trinket sold in a back-alley market, meant to bring pilgrims good fortune.

“How strange…”

Vivian frowned slightly, her crimson eyes glinting with uncertainty.

She turned the ring over in her hand again and again, extending her Demon Lord senses into it, probing for hidden seals or buried enchantments—

But her magic faded into nothingness, like pebbles dropped into a bottomless pond.

“This is supposed to be a sacred relic of the Rhine Church? The one that bound three Demon Lords at once and summoned a full-powered ‘angel’? A [Legendary] artifact?”

She had discarded Charles’s severed hand earlier.

Now the ring sat alone on her palm, still and silent, as she examined it carefully.

There was no reaction—nothing divine, nothing sacred.

Could this really be the [Legendary] relic from the game world she once knew?

Vivian found it impossible to reconcile the dormant trinket before her with the reality-shattering power it had unleashed moments ago.

Her head tilted slightly in perplexity.

Beside her, Molly crept closer—curiosity sparkling in her pale golden eyes.

She rose on tiptoe to peek into Vivian’s palm, watching the ring with the same unguarded fascination reserved for glittering objects.

Without realizing it, she extended a claw now healed and covered in fine iridescent scales, as though desperate to touch it.

“Gugu gaga?”

“You can touch it,” Vivian sighed, amused, “but you’re giving it back afterward.”

Her tone carried helpless fondness.

In many ways, the Azure Sky Demon Lord’s mind was strikingly childlike—simple, direct, and moved by pure curiosity.

After a brief pause, Vivian decided to hand the ring over carefully.

She had to admit, the contrast that was Molly never failed to surprise her.

On one hand, Molly possessed the might, cruelty, and authority befitting a true Demon Lord.

In that earlier battle, if one made a “DPM chart,” she would have easily outperformed both Vivian and Sylvester combined.

And yet, in moments like this—her curiosity, her fascination with all that sparkled—she was more like an excitable child than a ruler of demons.

Still, she was at least obedient—and easy enough to communicate with.

“Gugu gaga.”

Molly nodded earnestly and pinched the ring delicately between her clawed fingers.

She treated it like an impossibly fragile treasure as she lifted it before her eyes.

Under the dim light of the shadow realm, she examined it in silence—so intently it bordered on reverence.

As an artwork, it was indeed a masterpiece.

The silvery-white metal—neither gold nor silver, yet somehow both—felt warm to the touch, perfectly weighted.

The sacred engravings traced elegant curves, patterns so beautiful they seemed to breathe history and timelessness into the object.

Aside from its beauty, however, there was nothing special about it.

“Gaaah.”

After turning it over again and again—

Even channeling a trace of her mana into it, to no effect—

Molly’s interest faded.

She handed the ring back with a disappointed pout.

To her, shiny things that couldn’t sparkle, sing, or be eaten lost their worth quickly.

“This really is one of the Rhine relics? Because it doesn’t feel like it,” she said in a playful tone, switching from her usual chirping speech to actual words.

Her head tilted mischievously.

“Don’t tell me you grabbed a fake while I wasn’t looking?”

Vivian smirked at the teasing.

“We were together the whole time. When would I have swapped it? And even if I could, what would I gain from stealing a human holy relic? Demons can’t exactly wield these.”

Molly blinked, then gave a conceding nod.

“Gugu gaga.”

That, apparently, was logic enough for her.

“Well then,” Vivian said with a slow exhale, “the troublesome one’s dealt with, the strange ring’s in our hands… I suppose this little partnership has gone rather well.”

“Gaga!”

Molly’s delighted cry answered her.

The Azure Sky Demon Lord spread her enormous wings wide, their edges shimmering faintly in the shadowed air.

With a powerful thrust, she shot upward, the air around her swirling in tight currents as she vanished into the misty skyline of the shadow realm, heading back toward her dominion in the Skydrift Territories.

Vivian stood in silence for a long moment, watching the place where Molly’s silhouette had disappeared.

Then she turned the ring in her hand again.

Her fingers brushed lightly across its cool surface as her mind wandered—to its secrets, to its maker, to Lucia’s twin-winged ornament still tucked safely against her chest.

“…Well then, I should head back too. And make my report to Mogus.”

She inhaled slowly, steadying herself.

It was finally done—the mission was complete.

Charles was dead.

The greatest immediate threat removed.

Her thoughts turned homeward.

To Evernight City.

To Aria, faithfully awaiting her return.

And to Luna—her daughter, her heart.

A deep longing welled inside her chest.

‘Please,’ she thought as she glanced toward the distant horizon of shadows, ‘let there be peace in the Evernight Territory… just for a little while.’

No humans.

No demons.

No crusades.

No war.

Just her, her child, and a quiet life to rebuild what was lost.

To raise her daughter—

And maybe, finally,

To grow something of her own.