“I won’t be returning to the Underworld, so it’s irrelevant.”

Axen Arc smiled like a painting. Despite not having spent much time with this devilkin, Chrys felt she understood the meaning behind this smile. It was the expression he made when drawing a line.

“If returning to the divine realm or Sedition seems distant, you’re considering going to the Underworld, as you were initially planning to do so. You’ll need a guide, won’t you? Do I seem useful to you?”

Hearing Axen Arc calmly lay out his thoughts, Chrys felt a headache coming on.

“…You really did hear everything from start to finish.”

However, she had somewhat expected him to eavesdrop. After all, she had planned to reveal everything to him later anyway.

That was if the devilkin were to continue accompanying her.

“That’s not it. I’m not trying to ask you for anything…”

The fact that she had grown somewhat fond of this wayward devilkin was terrifying.

“You really have nothing to do with me. You just got involved by chance.”

“Do you think so?”

“Yes. Naskan is part of the divine realm and has thought it natural to protect me since we were children. Sol Noctis, being a fairy, is inevitably tied to this situation, whether siding with the Parent Tree or pretending to. But you’re different. You can step away now and live as if you had nothing to do with this.”

“Hmm.”

“You can leave now. You must have plenty of ways to get yourself out from being briefly entangled with me, being a devilkin.”

“After asking me to take your side, have you changed your mind?”

“It seems more serious than I thought.”

“Is it different with Naskandeolux and Sol Noctis?”

“Apart from what I said before, both have been known to me since childhood. Plus, Sol Noctis is a fairy; stepping away now would only put him in more danger.”

“…So they’re different because you’ve known them for a long time. Chrys.”

She gazed up at him sharply. His expression seemed deeply hurt.

“What about our First Light?”

In an instant, Chrys pressed her forehead, swaying slightly.

Ah, was that the issue?

“…You, you’re really fixated on that, aren’t you?”

“Chrys also said it was because of me.”

Honestly, she was surprised that the name came up here. It seemed like the name First Light had solidified into her pregnancy.

“No… Honestly, it’s not that important.”

“You’re telling me to ignore it when the fact that the pregnancy was because of me, like it’s trash?”

“It’s weird hearing you talk so sensibly.”

Axen Arc laughed lightly. His friendly laughter filled the tranquil forest night with warmth.

She always thought his laughter was inscrutable, but this time, his emotions seemed visible in his expression. The emotion beyond his laughter was as tender as when the Lord of the divine realm looked at her, almost making her believe she was facing long-accumulated affection.

“If it hadn’t been for First Light, I would have returned to the Underworld by now, probably engaged in some other task. Standing by your side was my choice, not a coincidence.”

During his time in Sedition, Axen Arc had known only her name and face. If not for the unexpected pregnancy turmoil, their paths should have already parted.

Would he have met her if he had left for the Underworld as planned?

“Axen Arc, does it not bother you that I could be a disaster?”

Her question was out of pure curiosity, not a joke or sarcasm. The blessed races living in this world always had the potential for destruction in mind.

The rifts were a harbinger of destruction. It was even more pressing for those closest to them. Thus, the topics of destruction or its causes easily became the easiest rationale, especially since the Parent Tree itself was making the claim this time.

With the Parent Tree’s branches already reaching into Sedition, it was only a matter of time before Twilight was accused of high treason, and a full-blown war erupted. The Lord of the divine realm, who could mediate, was unreachable.

The situation was dire in many ways.

But why? Was it because everything happened so suddenly? Certainly, the Parent Tree had threatened, and the fairies had pursued. Communication with the Lord was unsuccessful. Yet, in such a crisis, she didn’t feel the expected tension.

“That’s because I am a devilkin.”

“What’s different about devilkins?”

“Where there is a beginning, there must be an end. As long as we devilkins reside on this land, we always contemplate the end.”

The blessed races devote themselves to mending rifts because they each hold a share of divine power. After a battle that led to a truce, the divine power was divided among them. Among these, devilkins harbored the wisdom that pierces the essence of the world.

While dragons and fairies used their divine power to mend rifts, devilkins honed their wisdom and reached a conclusion.

That the ‘end’ must come.

The devilkins identified the cause of rifts: the divine power of the blessed races, which they wielded to their heart’s content. This became a justification for war.

The devilkins wanted the extinction of all blessed races. They didn’t hesitate to start slaughtering the fairies of the Parent Tree and dragons. The madness of the devilkins didn’t end until the divine realm and the realm of spirits stripped them of their divine power.

At the end of the war, the most damaged, the divine realm, took away the devilkins’ divine power, and the Parent Tree went into hiding in a highly secluded place.

The devilkins, having lost their domain, the Underworld, became beings unwelcome anywhere.

It was ironic that the Parent Tree now used a similar pretext.

Axen Arc looked up at the sky. His gaze wasn’t fixed on the vast dark blue expanse but seemed directed towards something far beyond.

“The end will be reborn from the beauty of twilight.”

This was a saying the devilkins always had during the war. Axen Arc spoke very much like a devilkin. Once an enemy, now an ally.

“If you are the destruction, then you are indeed my light.”

His romantically crazy statement, with the moonlight behind him, made him appear even more enveloped in madness.

“My destruction would be quite beautiful.”

Chrys chuckled.

“Dawn said the same thing. Whether it’s irresponsible or not…”

“You’re laughing. Then, you’re accepting me as your companion.”

“…Do as you wish. But don’t regret it later.”

“An excellent choice.”

Axen Arc put his hand in his coat pocket and pulled something out. Then, he started fiddling with his left ear.

“What are you doing?”

“To go to the Underworld, we need to appear human-like. The devilkins find it hard to conceal their magic, so we rely on magic tools for help. Dragons, on the other hand, might find transformation easier.”

“…No, it’s difficult for me too. I’m not good at magic.”

“Then, you might want to use this. Take it. I’ll make a new one for myself.”

“Thank you.”

Axen Arc offered the magic tool he was about to wear. The cool metal touched her palm.

The Underworld, where the displaced devilkins have hidden, was originally a domain of humans. Axen Arc likely knew the natural order of the Underworld better than Naskan, who often visited for leisure. There must be various reasons why one needs to move around there to appear human.

As she pondered these thoughts, Chrys spread her palm to examine the appearance of the magic tool.

“…Axen Arc.”

“Yes, Chrys.”

She looked at his face, then back down at her palm. In her trembling palm lay the silver ornament Axen Arc had just handed her.

The white metal, glistening as if absorbing moonlight, was clearly made for a functional purpose but looked quite sophisticated. The crafted light purple gem within the white metal seemed to mirror Axen Arc’s magic-filled eyes.

And it was.

“You…”

Chrys’s voice trembled uncontrollably.

It was that earring.

“Who really… are you?”

The very earring she had clung to, even while being subdued by the Lord Naskan in her dreams.

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