305. To My Sister
305. To My Sister
- 1 -
Opening a passage from the human world to the Demon Realm didn't have to be done solely through the Mammon Trading Company.
Dungeon Lords of elite grade or higher could create a path by establishing a residence in the Demon Realm, and even without that, one could enter through the periodically opening passages between the human world and the Demon Realm.
The passage I used today was the latter.
However, this passage was never fixed in the same location.
Some days it lay beneath the deep sea, other days under a volcano, and occasionally it settled between the deep mountain ranges.
Its position shifted again and again according to the Demon King's will and the flow of mana between the Demon Realm and the surface world.
"It is here."
"Let us go."
Today's passage was a cave at the foot of a high mountain on the border between Elieniesi and Hinnes.
Ttok-gak. Ttok-gak.
I walked through this cave, accompanied only by Shue.
The cave was dark, but that darkness posed no obstacle to us.
By human standards, it was like walking an endlessly long distance, as if through eternity. And after the two of us 'walked' through it 'in an instant,' we sought the dark light at its end.
Hwaak—
When I found that light and pushed through it, an alien landscape unfolded before my eyes.
The Demon Realm.
A red sky covered the world, and the crimson light cast by the sun poured down overhead.
The ground beneath my feet was less like soil and more like shimmering fragments.
With every step, blue, violet, and black light swirled together like paints.
"Hoo..."
Even the air was far denser than on the surface, making each breath feel slightly stifling.
This was my body's true homeland, the place where my roots began.
However, I had rarely actually set foot on this land.
That was because I had been born as a Dungeon Lord after the seed of this world was sown in the human realm.
So this place was both familiar and foreign to me.
We walked out from the foot of the high mountain just as we would on the surface and headed for the nearest city.
"Could you tell me where this is?"
"Are you a noble who has been to the surface? This is the domain of the Duke of Envy!"
"Thank you. Take this."
"Aigoo! I merely answered one question... Thank you!"
Leaving behind the orc who received the gold coin and faded into the distance, we walked on.
"The Duke of Envy... that's not exactly a fated ally..."
"Indeed."
In days past, there had been a dark scheme regarding my half-sister.
It was already more than half a year ago.
The former First Demon Queen, Semiraniel Ishtar, had envied the Second Demon Queen, who received the Demon King's visits as frequently as she did.
And the Duke of Envy, Schadenfreude Leviathan, had wanted to raise his own daughter to the position of Demon Queen.
That was why the two of them had colluded to slander my sister.
That scheme had been ongoing for a very long time, and the complacency born of that had created a gap in their plan.
I did not miss that negligence.
"Even though the Archduke isn't around, the mood in the territory is bright..."
"So it was."
The villages we passed through had been full of vitality.
I might describe it as the atmosphere of a world city—the unique prosperity of a world without war, something I'd once felt even on Earth.
A unique atmosphere lingered—one where an aristocratic system existed and those with powerful strength reigned, but ordinary people paid no mind to those above them and simply lived their own lives.
"Master. I caught an air carriage."
"Good. Let's go."
Riding the flying carriage, I cast my gaze beyond the open window, through which not a single draft entered.
'I wonder if Sonia is doing well.'
My disciple, currently carrying out her mission in Uland, came to mind.
When I had visited her through magic for a brief meeting not long ago, the loyalty brimming in her eyes had warmed my heart.
Her sincere devotion always moved me, and the time we had spent together had made us both stronger.
It had been a short reunion, but it was enough.
I trusted my subordinates, my blood-bound subjects.
Haisen and Orbis were now being ruled stably without territorial issues, and Leophere was also being well-governed under the care of Elena and Adelaide.
The minor kingdom of Kiza was finding stability, turning its wastelands green with the help of the Dryad race and Evangeline.
'The Grakheisen Alliance is now effectively in the palm of my hand.'
But why was I here now?
I took out the jewel case inside my bag.
I had chosen this journey to temporarily block the gifts someone kept sending, and to obtain crucial information.
"Agares..."
After murmuring the name of the contract's principal, I moved my steps.
Across the borderlands, toward the deep interior of the Demon Realm.
I still had much work left to do.
- 2 -
The palaces lining Pandemonium in the Demon Realm were magnificent and grand.
The blue ice palace of Dantalion, the Archduke of Secrets.
The fortress of Eligor, the Archduke of Violence, which looked like something out of a horror movie.
The splendid mansion of Agares, the master of lust and corruption.
And even the palace of Asmodeus, which seemed to have transplanted a fortress of the Eastern style—called the Western Continent style in this world—exactly as it was.
The residence of the current First Demon Queen, Bellastella, was one of the most elegant structures even in Pandemonium, where such palaces lined the streets.
The Black Iris Palace, shining solely even in the darkness.
"Rita. Come in, dear."
At the end of the corridor I entered secretly to avoid others' eyes, she was waiting for me.
Bellastella.
The Demon King's first queen, and the daughter of the Gluttony Duke, one of the Archdukes of the Seven Deadly Sins.
And my half-sister.
"My little sister."
She was smiling.
Her black hair, resembling mine, flowed over her shoulders as if absorbing all light, and her skin, gleaming subtly like a pearl, emitted a faint light like a star in the night sky.
Her lips held a hint of peach, and her violet eyes carried a slightly redder hue than my own.
She resembled me, yet a far more mature beauty resided in her features.
"I was feeling a bit hurt, you know, since you only ever received my gifts and never came to visit."
Her words carried reproach, but affection seeped through them.
This was my relationship with Bellastella.
Officially, we were half-sisters who shared a father—a Demon Queen and a newly risen Dungeon Lord.
But in reality... it was a relationship far more special and complex than that.
"You know that if I come too often, people's attention will be drawn."
"Yes. That's a pity."
Though we perhaps shared a father who was worse than a stranger, the affection we held for each other ran deeper than that of an ordinary family.
She harbored special feelings for me, and she was the only older family member in this world whom I had accepted.
"And that child?"
My sister's gaze quickly turned to my side.
It was merely a formal question.
After all, I had already informed her about my closest confidants.
Even so, I answered with a smile.
"This is my trusted aide, Shue, Sister."
"I am Lin Xue. It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Your Highness, the Demon Queen."
Shue treated my sister with a level of tension and courtesy that even I rarely saw.
That did not mean she treated me carelessly.
Her 'comfortable' attitude toward me was merely an expression of extreme affection, not rudeness.
"Yes. I've heard much about you from Rita. It's a pleasure to meet you."
As her gaze swept over Shue's entire figure, Shue immediately met her eyes head-on with a straight posture.
Perhaps finding that pleasing, Stella lightly lifted her chin and smiled.
"Let's go inside. I have a gift for you."
As I followed her inside, the reality of her having become the First Demon Queen unfolded before my eyes.
The room was cozy.
Unlike the cold and solemn splendor of the exterior, the interior was filled with warm light and the scent of irises.
It was a different atmosphere from her days as the Second Demon Queen, when she had been growing cold and isolated.
"I knew you would come."
She guided me to an armchair.
Beyond the stained glass of the Queen's Palace, the landscape of the Demon Realm came into full view.
The earth that seemed to flow beyond the castle walls, the sky where clouds reversed their course, repeating ascents and descents, and the colossal fortresses visible in the far distance.
"I felt the same. I knew you would know, sister."
I turned my gaze back to her and smiled.
'After all, casting blood magic between direct bloodlines to recognize each other is one of the common methods in the Demon Realm.'
Just as it was for Saya of the Cheoneungcheongu clan on the surface.
"How are things progressing on the surface?"
Bellastella asked as she offered me tea.
At her gesture, a sweetly fragrant tea filled the previously empty cup as if on its own.
"I've bloomed five flowers, and am nurturing one."
I slowly began to speak as I accepted the tea.
About my territories. The lands that had fallen into my grasp.
How Hilsa had broken free from the Norn Empire's pressure and joined my alliance.
That Leophere was preparing to attack Zenota under Elena and Adelaide's command.
That Haisen and Orbis were maintaining a stable state, and Orbis's preparations to occupy Aririt were underway.
The matter of stabilizing the minor kingdom of Kiza and practically seizing control of it.
And even the fact that I was currently conducting operations against Uland.
I revealed everything without concealment.
After hearing all of it, Bellastella's reaction was unexpected.
"You must be careful."
"Pardon?"
"No matter how close we are, you shouldn't be so confident that I can perfectly protect your secrets."
Stella spoke with a gentle smile.
But there was no need for hesitation here.
"If that were to happen, you would simply take your own measures anyway, so what would it matter?"
As I said that while staring directly into her eyes, she slightly averted her gaze and looked away.
Then she placed a small box in front of me.
"In that sense, I prepared this for you."
"This is?"
Inside was a set of rings made of pure silver set with amethysts.
There were over twenty rings inside, and I soon realized that one of those rings was already fitted on Stella's finger.
"They are communication artifacts. Unless a being with greater magical power than mine attempts it, no one will be able to eavesdrop on communications made through these rings."
It was an excellent gift.
Bellastella's magical power was comparable to a Demon Realm Archduke and slightly below that of a Demon World Great Duke.
In other words, unless a Great Duke or a powerful being of similar caliber deliberately tried to spy on the communication, no one could intercept conversations made through these rings.
"Regrettably... I cannot accept this right now, sister."
If not for the one circumstance that had arisen, it would have been the perfect gift.
"Yes. I heard that rumor only after I obtained this as well."
Dalkak, the box closed.
Stella smiled, saying, 'Still, I wanted to show it to you.'
Fine wrinkles had formed at the corners of her eyes, and the tips of her lips trembled slightly. It was an expression that understood the situation but could not hide her regret.
And soon, her face grew serious again.
"Rumors about you have been circulating among the nobles who support the Duke of Corruption. They say he proposed a test?"
I calmly nodded in agreement.
"That's right. He told me to fend off Dantalion's attack alone."
A dark shadow fell over her face.
"It's a dangerous contract. Agares is someone who only looks after his own interests."
"I know. But this is also an opportunity."
She raised an eyebrow.
"The situation where Dantalion and Astaroth are keeping me in check. This isn't something meant to show the Archdukes on the surface. It's meant to show the nobles of the Demon Realm."
Stella pressed her lips firmly shut, but understanding lingered in her eyes.
"Because even now, you are receiving requests from nobles who want to place you beneath them."
"Yes."
I intended to inform those who sought to devour me.
That all you can send my way is applause and support.
A warning that if you try to dominate me, you will be the ones eaten.
"If that's the case, I'll just publicly announce that I'm supporting you... no, no. Forget I said anything. I spoke out of turn."
Stella shook her head from side to side.
She, too, knew that wouldn't be a fundamental solution.
I held my sister's hands in both of mine and wore an expression filled with understanding.
She bit her lower lip and whispered.
"The interest of the Seven Deadly Sins towards you is also growing. In particular, Wrath and Pride will try to reach out to you, even if it means disregarding Father."
Naturally, there were differences in power even among the Grand Dukes of the Demon Realm.
Among them, Greed stood overwhelmingly at the top.
Wrath, Pride, Gluttony, and Envy were the middle four, though Envy had now fallen out, and the remaining Grand Dukes were treated as being about half a step weaker than them.
Lucifer and Satan.
I couldn't call either of them hostile since I had never met them, but as they would also know I was the child of the Gluttony Duke, they likely wouldn't be friendly either.
"And on top of that... Dantalion, of all people."
Bellastella caressed my hand. Repeatedly, as if expressing her reluctance to let go.
"I heard he is a noble born around the same time as me. Someone who has lived that long will certainly not be easy to deal with. Do not underestimate his wisdom."
I grinned.
"Even so, he will soon witness the sight of his ice castle melting."
I slowly raised the corners of my lips.
"And then everyone will know. That I am your beloved younger sister who receives your affection and interest. And that I am the one who will claim the Demon King's throne."
A tone of confidence, one I rarely used in ordinary times.
And at the same time, a voice tinged with a hint of playful affection.
Knowing it well, she smiled as if she had taken the smile from my lips and placed it onto her own.
And without hesitation, she raised her hand and stroked my head.
"Yes. I believe in you."
Her lips touched my forehead once.
Her lips were cold, but the sensation was warm.
I closed my eyes slightly, then returned a kiss to the bridge of her nose.
"Do you have more business in the Demon Realm?"
"I plan to further assess the nobles' movements before returning."
"I see. Take care."
Meeting her eyes, I spoke with firm intensity.
"The next time we meet, I will show you a form that has grown even stronger."
I deliberately refrained from adding the words 'in order to claim you, sister.'
It was a fact I had already declared to her long ago.
"I'll be waiting. As long as it takes."
Her expression was a mixture of the regret of parting and affection.
The curve of her lips was slightly distorted, yet her gaze alone was warm.
Like moonlight embracing the night.