The Afternoon After the Rainy Night.

Drip, drip… splash…

The rain gradually soaked the half-open window of the tower.

A faint breeze gently brushed the tender green leaves of early spring.

They rustled softly, sounding comfortable and alive.

The night at the Demon Castle was extraordinarily quiet.

Apart from the faint whispers of wind outside the window, there was nothing but silence.

The teakwood floor reflected a faint glow under the moonlight.

Tonight, the moon was especially round.

Inside the small room, there was only a bed and a few pieces of furniture.

“Small” and “warm” were the most fitting descriptions.

Aren felt extremely uncomfortable.

Every fractured part of her body ached as if knives were scraping against her bones.

The pain had lasted far too long.

Unable to endure it any longer, she was awakened by the agony.

In her hazy state, she instinctively rubbed her eyes with both hands.

However, she still could not see anything.

She pressed her hands over her eyes carefully.

She could not see her fingers at all.

“It’s really dark…”

Aren thought dully.

She was still half-asleep.

Everything had been forgotten.

She touched her slightly sweaty cheek.

“It hurts…”

She thought silently.

Her hands were wrapped in bandages.

The moment she touched her face, pain shot through her.

That pain forced her to wake up a little more.

She could see nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Broken bones.

Severed tendons.

Blinded eyes.

Aren recalled everything at frightening speed.

“That’s impossible!”

Holding onto that thought, she endured the dull ache in her bones.

She forced herself upright by gripping the bed curtain.

“Ah… ha… I… I can stand… ha…”

She gasped for breath.

Leaning against the curtain, she muttered to herself.

Encouraging herself.

Just standing had already exhausted all the strength she had.

A faint pain came from her ankle tendons.

Yet her feet felt nothing at all.

Rather than feet, it felt as if they did not exist.

“It won’t be… it won’t…”

Aren whispered with a choking voice.

Her voice was still clear and pleasant.

But it was filled with grievance and disbelief.

Her eyes felt sore.

As if something was about to overflow.

“Light… slowly…”

She repeated in her heart.

She gently lifted one foot.

Carefully touching the soft surface of the bed.

She felt nothing at all.

The stabbing pain in her foot gradually intensified.

That meant she had made contact.

Slowly, she put weight on it.

Step.

Down she went.

“Ha… it works… really… I…”

She comforted herself in a whisper.

“Ugh…”

Before she could finish, she fell suddenly.

Caught completely off guard.

Her body collapsed back onto the soft bed.

The bed let out a dull groan.

A heavy sound spread through the air.

Her legs were broken.

Without a doubt.

No matter how she deceived herself, it was useless.

Reality struck her like a fist.

Crashing directly into her face.

Leaving her dazed.

“Boom———”

A heavy sound rolled across the sky.

Spring thunder.

On the Emil Continent, spring arrived especially fast.

Once the Ice and Snow Festival passed, it took less than a month for temperatures to become comfortable.

At this time, spring arrived together with the Awakening of Insects.

This was the continent’s peculiar climate.

Before her eyes lay endless darkness.

Because she could not see, her hearing and sense of touch sharpened unnaturally.

They became extremely sensitive.

That thunder startled Aren badly.

Even though it was dull and distant.

Her fragile heart was shaken.

The deaths of friends.

The departure of comrades.

To Aren now, these were secondary.

What truly broke her was the silent night.

And the terrifying thunder.

Every slight sound felt like countless venomous creatures gnawing at her nerves.

Her nerves had already been worn thin by torment.

The soft bedsheet brushing against her skin felt like writhing snakes.

It terrified her into a cold sweat.

Nothing around her could be trusted.

Even leaning against the edge of the bed brought no comfort.

Instead, it felt like lying inside an icy coffin.

Aren had no thoughts left.

But the terror born from touch and sound was steadily eroding her sanity.

Perhaps this meant she had already broken.

Already gone mad.

She wanted to scream.

But she did not know what name to call.

Mother?

Perhaps the root of everything was her mother.

Yet she understood her father and her brother.

Her brother?

All of this was also caused by his inhuman cruelty.

Father?

If not for his inaction, she would not have ended up like this.

Looking around in her heart.

Aren realized she had no one to rely on.

These thoughts raced through her mind.

Making her feel even more helpless.

Thunder and rain raged together.

Aren quickly curled into a small ball.

She lay on her side on the bed.

Her arms tightly hugged her legs.

She wrapped the blanket tightly around herself.

Skin pressed against skin.

Only this gave her a sense of security.

Everything.

It seemed that the one truly at fault was herself.

If one were to count it properly.

Aren’s very birth was a tremendous mistake.

She ruined her father’s, mother’s, and brothers’ lives.

This suffering was merely atonement.

The heavy pressure crushed her chest.

She felt like she was suffocating.

Tears burst forth like a broken dam.

Uncontrollably falling.

Soaking the bedsheet.

The pain was too much.

Her entire body went limp from crying.

A warm current flowed from her brain.

Through her bones.

Then throughout her body.

Every place it passed felt numb.

Comfortably numb.

Her consciousness grew increasingly hazy.

Yet this freed her from the hell of sound and touch.

“Hiss… hu…”

Gradually.

Even her breathing seemed anesthetized.

Slow.

Very slow.

“Maybe… dying like this isn’t so bad…”

Aren thought.

Even as she slipped toward unconsciousness.

Her tears refused to stop.

They forced their way out.

Endlessly.

Endlessly.

“I hate this world… I’m so angry…”

She muttered weakly.

But who could hear her?

No one.

…………………………………………………………..

“Water, rise and scatter!”

Luna silently chanted.

The low-tier Water Sphere she released instantly dispersed.

It broke into countless tiny droplets.

Falling like rain.

Moistening the soil below.

This improved magical irrigation method made watering plants extremely convenient.

Each droplet infused with water element acted like fertilizer.

Nourishing the plants even further.

In less than a single morning.

Luna had irrigated the entire flower field.

This was incredibly fast.

Given the size of the area.

It would normally take at least a full day for one person.

Besides.

No one would usually plant such a vast sea of flowers.

Because Lilith once complained that the Demon Castle felt too gloomy.

Luna planted flowers all around the outer walls.

Flowers of different seasons intertwined.

From spring to winter.

At any time of year.

The castle exterior was covered in blossoms.

A faint floral fragrance always drifted in.

It was almost ironic.

A Demon Castle.

Yet so beautiful and fresh.

Inside the castle was a small flower garden.

Beside the botanical garden.

Which was Luna’s home.

Rare plants were stored only in her garden.

For Lilith’s alchemy.

Beyond the flower fields lay patches of wheat.

Scattered among the forest.

These were planted after Aren arrived.

That was why the castle began making bread.

The wheat required little care.

Occasional watering with water magic was enough.

It grew vigorously.

Beyond the wheat fields were small vegetable plots.

They grew quickly.

There was no worry of shortage.

Altogether.

The outside of the Demon Castle resembled a massive farm.

Self-sufficient.

“That should be about it.”

Luna thought.

“Grr~”

Her stomach protested unwillingly.

Since Aren escaped.

Luna had been filling herself with green fruits she grew.

These fruits were miraculous.

Two were enough to fill her up instantly.

But eating too many tasted awful.

They were far too sour and crunchy.

Right now.

Luna desperately wanted meat.

She was originally a carnivore.

She had even eaten humans before.

For example.

When cleaning up the battlefield of the Holy War.

Most corpses were eaten by Luna.

Because she absorbed cultivation through consumption.

She reached Saint-tier the moment she transformed into human form.

Yet she barely knew how to use it.

Compared to sword skills and magic.

She preferred simple brute force.

If the Mage Association ever found out.

A Saint-tier mage using Water Sphere to water flowers.

To fertilize fields.

To farm.

People would vomit blood in rage.

After all.

Saint-tier mages were treated like treasures.

“Meat…”

Her stomach complained endlessly.

But she did not know how to cook.

Luna once tried.

She held a Fireball as a heat source.

And pressed beast meat against it.

The result.

A lump of black charcoal.

Luna simply could not comprehend cooking.

Lilith, being a Demon King, did not need food.

And she despised cooking.

As a result.

Luna was driven nearly mad by her craving for meat.

She stuffed a few green fruits into her mouth.

Then it was time to clean the castle.

Cleaning was easy for Luna.

She combined Water Sphere and Fireball.

Turning water into steam.

Filling rooms and corridors.

Then compressed the steam back into a mass.

And dried it.

All dust gathered instantly.

Running back and forth like this.

She could clean the entire castle in an afternoon.

After that.

She could accompany Lilith in the study or lounge.

Then check on Aren.

Stay with her briefly.

And return to the botanical garden to sleep.

This was Luna’s daily life.

Boring.

Yet full of energy.

As usual.

Luna came to Aren’s small room.

She gently lit the magic crystal lamp.

She deliberately softened her footsteps.

So the teak floor would not wake Aren.

“Although Master said she wouldn’t care anymore…”

“She still rushed to save her during the fever…”

“Clearly unwilling to let go…”

“So why won’t she be honest…”

Luna thought.

Three days had passed since the high fever.

During that time.

Lilith never once visited Aren.

As if Aren did not exist at all.

Lilith had always been stubborn like this.

Luna understood her less and less.

As she turned on the light.

She saw the blanket rolled into a small ball.

Aren was gone.

“She changed her sleeping position!”

“That means she woke up!”

Luna immediately realized.

She carefully lifted the blanket.

The sight made her jump.

Aren was curled tightly.

Her face flushed red.

Her breathing was extremely heavy.

As if her lungs might burst.

“Li… Li… Lilith!!!!!!”

Luna screamed.

Calling Lilith by name without restraint.

She rushed to the lounge.

Pushed open the door.

Lilith was sitting calmly on the sofa.

Drinking the red tea Luna had brewed.

A book in her hand.

“What happened?”

Lilith asked calmly.

“A… Aren is dying!!”

Luna cried in panic.

Too flustered to explain properly.

“…”

Lilith fell silent.

She slowly closed the book.

Placed the teacup onto the saucer.

Without a word.

Black light surged around her.

In the blink of an eye.

She vanished.

Teleportation.

When Luna reached the top floor.

Pushed open Aren’s door.

Aren had already been laid back properly.

Her breathing had returned to normal.

“I told you to study magic properly…”

“You wouldn’t listen…”

Lilith said faintly.

A hint of reproach in her voice.

Luna scratched her head awkwardly.

Unable to argue.

Lilith seemed to rest.

She sat on a sofa chair.

Propping her head with her elbow.

Watching Aren from afar.

Luna sat by the bedside.

Gently touching Aren’s sweat-drenched forehead.

“Who’s there…”

In her haze.

Aren felt warm hands touching her.

She did not want to let go.

She did not want to be alone.

Driven by obsession.

She used all her strength.

And grabbed that hand tightly.

“Ugh… don’t… let go…”

She murmured unconsciously.

Tears welled up like beads.

They woke her.

Aren struggled upright.

Clinging tightly to that hand.

Whose hand it was did not matter.

It was like the only light in darkness.

“Don’t… go…”

Aren cried loudly.

Luna froze.

Then smiled softly.

She used her other hand to stroke Aren’s head.

Comforting her.

This only made Aren cry harder.

Tears poured endlessly.

After crying enough.

Aren leaned against the bed.

Still sobbing quietly.

Luna sat there.

Not knowing what to say.

She glanced at Lilith.

Who remained silent in the distance.

Sitting stiffly.

“Do you… want to hear… my story…”

Aren asked hoarsely.

Luna froze slightly.

She looked back at Lilith.

Lilith nodded.

Giving permission.

“Mm… go ahead…”

“I………………”