After beating Igris until he couldn't even lift his hand, Scarlett carried him on her shoulder and took him back to DreadHaven. She walked calmly through the night, her purple hair fluttering behind her, her mismatched eyes—one blue and one crimson—glowing faintly.
When she entered the royal palace, everyone she met stared in surprise. But Scarlett didn't care. She walked straight inside and met Lunatic and the others again.
After half an hour, Igris's eyes slowly opened. His head felt heavy, and everything looked blurry at first. When his vision cleared, he realized he was sitting in a large white room. There were no doors, no windows—no way out.
In front of him, an old man was tied to a chair with heavy chains, unconscious. Igris then looked down and saw that he was bound in the same way—his wrists, ankles, and chest locked tightly with glowing chains.
"Where am I?" he muttered as the dizziness started to fade from his eyes.
Then he looked up and froze. Scarlett and several others were standing in front of him.
Scarlett stepped forward and lightly slapped his face, just enough to wake him up completely. The moment Igris saw her standing there, he quickly shut his eyes tight and turned his head away.
"Don't you dare use your charms on me!" he shouted, his voice trembling with both fear and anger.
Scarlett's lips twitched in annoyance. "I don't have any charm skills!" she snapped, feeling the urge to punch him again but stopping herself.
She sighed and said in a calm tone, "Let's get to the point. Why did you come to kill me?"
"No reason," Igris said quickly, his voice firm. "It was all my idea. I just couldn't bear to see demons getting along with humans. This has to be a huge scam!" He gritted his teeth tightly.
Scarlett sighed again, this time sounding more disappointed than angry. "What a dumb reason. At least learn to lie properly," she said coldly.
"I'm not!" Igris suddenly opened his eyes and shouted. He tried to use his magic or even one of his skills to break free, but nothing happened. The chains glowed brightly, keeping him locked in place.
Scarlett looked at him and said, "How about we make a contract? If you tell me everything, I'll let you go. Of course, you can't come back for revenge."
But Igris immediately refused without thinking. "I'll not make any contracts with you people!" he shouted angrily.
"This guy! I feel like giving him a punch!" Reiza said, cracking her knuckles and stepping forward.
But Scarlett raised her hand to stop her. "Lunatic, do it," she ordered calmly.
Lunatic nodded softly and walked closer to Igris. She placed her hand gently on his forehead. She was going to use her Perfect Dream to pull information from his mind.
The moment she started, her palm began glowing in shades of orange and yellow, like it was burning. Igris's body had reacted, resisting her power.
But Lunatic was the succubus queen of this generation, a being strong enough to stand equal to a demon king. Naturally, she was far stronger than Igris.
After a moment of struggle, her power completely overwhelmed him, and she began extracting as much information as she could.
A few minutes later, Lunatic took her hand back and looked at Scarlett. "It seems there was already a barrier placed on him—just in case he fell into this kind of situation. I could only extract a little bit of information, but I think it's enough."
"So what is the situation?" Scarlett asked, her tone calm but sharp.
Lunatic took a deep breath, her expression slightly tense. "Umm… where should I start?" she said softly. "The mass human disappearance—it's their doing. I mean, the Holy Knights' doing!"
Scarlett's eyes widened slightly, and even the others standing behind her looked shocked. The Holy Knights were supposed to be the ones protecting humanity, the force that kept balance between humans and demons. Hearing that they were behind the disappearances was hard to believe.
"Why?" Scarlett asked, her voice quiet but heavy.
Lunatic shook her head. "I don't know for sure. Maybe it's world domination. But they're working with the King of Mystveil—Vladmir. Every Holy Knight has been ordered to kill the leaders or any important figures of each kingdom. That's why Igris came here. For you."
Scarlett's expression darkened. "Every leader… Darwitz too?" she muttered under her breath. She immediately thought of Aoto and Irish. Irish was probably safe, but Aoto… as the representative of the king, he would definitely be in danger.
"But how are we supposed to predict which kingdom will be attacked next?" Scarlett murmured, frowning.
Lunatic lowered her eyes. She could only extract a small part of the information from Igris's mind. None of them knew that the Holy Knights had already started attacking multiple kingdoms at once—and many of their missions were already complete.
Cryptus crossed his arms and spoke in his calm, idol-like voice. "Gwarga is the closest kingdom to here. They might have attacked already."
Scarlett nodded, thinking carefully. "Then the next targets must be Victoria, since the Kingdom of Victoria borders Gwarga. And Darwitz borders Victoria. If that's the case, they'll soon be under attack too."
She turned her gaze to Reiza and Lunatic. "You both go to Gwarga. See if he got any chance to live or not"
Even though Leonidas, the King of Gwarga, was known for his greed and bad personality, he was still useful. His greed had limits. Once he became king, he seemed content and didn't desire more power. To Scarlett, he was like a puppet ruler—a pawn she could use for her own goals.
Losing him wouldn't cause major damage to DreadHaven, but it would still be a loss of a valuable ally and future advantages.
Of course, Scarlett couldn't risk sending Lunatic alone. If another Holy Knight appeared and turned out to be stronger, she wanted Reiza to go with her.
She then turned toward Li Feng. "You'll go to Darwitz," she said. "Tell Aoto about the situation and stay with him for the next two days. Help with whatever happens."
Finally, she looked at everyone else in the room. "I'll go to Victoria. The rest of you will stay here and protect DreadHaven."
Her voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.
Scarlett had no intention of leaving her kingdom unguarded. Especially not now. There was one time in the past when she had lowered DreadHaven's defenses while she was away—and she regretted it deeply. She wouldn't make the same mistake again.
As for going to Victoria instead of Darwitz, it wasn't because she didn't care about her friend. It was because of logic. If their guess was right, Leonidas of Gwarga might already have been attacked. Victoria would be next. Darwitz would come after that.
That meant if she went to Victoria, she might arrive right in the middle of the fight—and maybe even catch the attackers red-handed.
And if she could capture one of them alive, then with Lunatic's Perfect Dream skill, they might finally uncover the more truth behind everything.
But then Li Feng casually raised his hand. "I don't personally know Aoto or how he looks. How am I supposed to find him?"
"This guy…" Scarlett's lips twitched in irritation.
"I'll go with him," Xao Feng said, stepping forward calmly.
Scarlett nodded once. "Good. Let's go, then."
They didn't waste another second. Igris was still sitting there, eyes closed, looking as if he were lost in a deep dream. Scarlett glanced at him one last time before turning away.
Soon after, everyone split up. Lunatic and Reiza headed toward Gwarga, while Li Feng and Xao Feng flew toward Darwitz. Scarlett spread her six wings and took off toward Victoria, cutting through the night sky like a streak of purple light.
The air around her grew colder as she flew higher. The moonlight reflected off her purple hair and mismatched eyes—one blue and one red—giving her an almost divine glow.
Meanwhile, Lunatic and Reiza, being the closest to Gwarga, arrived first. They landed directly inside the royal palace courtyard.
The atmosphere was tense. Dozens of soldiers and maids were gathered around, whispering nervously. Fear was written on everyone's faces.
Lunatic sighed softly, then raised her hand. A faint dark pink light spread from her palm, and one by one, every person in the hall collapsed—fast asleep. "It's better this way," she murmured.
Together, she and Reiza walked quietly down the long corridor toward Leonidas's room.
When they entered, both stopped immediately.
Leonidas's body lay motionless on the bed—completely naked. His head was gone, blown apart, and the walls were splattered with dried blood. The air smelled of iron and decay.
"He's dead," Reiza said quietly, letting out a small sigh.
But Lunatic shook her head. "Not really," she replied softly. "It seems whoever did this underestimated Leonidas and forgot to destroy his soul completely."
Reiza frowned, her green eyebrows arching. "What do you mean?"
"He made a pact with Scarlett a long time ago," Lunatic explained. "As long as he stayed loyal and useful, Scarlett promised to revive him if his soul ever survived death. Even if his body aged or was destroyed, she would reincarnate him in a new one."
That was the reason why Scarlett had said, 'See if he has any chance to live,' instead of 'See if he's alive or not.'
Lunatic knelt beside the bed and pinched her fingers together. A blood-red magic circle appeared under Leonidas's body, glowing with a faint deathly aura.
The body began to sink slowly into the circle, as if melting into liquid shadow. Then, a moment later, another form emerged from the magic light—alive and gasping.
"Ahhh! Save me! Someone—save—" Leonidas screamed, clutching his head in panic. But as soon as he saw Lunatic and Reiza standing there, he stopped shouting and froze.
"Wha—what's going on?" he muttered.
Lunatic smiled faintly, her expression calm but seductive. "Don't ask questions. Just tell us everything you remember," she said, her voice smooth but commanding.
Leonidas swallowed nervously and nodded.
---
A few hours earlier, in Darwitz—
The battle had already ended.
Orihime sat on top of Aoto's lifeless body, her dress stained with blood. His stomach was ripped open, his organs coming out of his stomach, and the stage soaked in crimson.
Orihime smiled, a crazed and satisfied smile. Her eyes gleamed with madness as she stood up and turned around, her long hair flowing behind her.
She looked at the silent audience of her Domain—and licked the blood dripping from her sword of lust.
"It's time to kill that old man," she whispered to herself. She was talking about the King of Gwarga.
She raised her hand, ready to dispel her Domain Expansion and move to her next target.
But then—
A calm, cold voice echoed through the stage.
"Not so fast, bunny girl."
Orihime froze. The voice was too familiar. She turned her head slowly, her eyes widening in disbelief.
It was Aoto.
He was floating in the air, his wounds completely gone. His stomach had healed, not even a scar left behind. His face was calm, his eyes sharp, and his lips curved in a confident smile.
Orihime stared at him. "Impossible…" she whispered.
Aoto looked down at her and raised his fingers, pointing them at her like before—confident and steady. The soft light around his body shimmered like threads of fate weaving through the air.
"It seems even fate doesn't want me to die,"