Chapter 133: “Day of the Divine Advent” and the Girl
Long ago, the Ice Demons, though few, had been more than just a single descendant.
At their peak, their numbers had never exceeded three digits, but their rarity had spared them the constant strife and bloodshed that plagued other demon races.
They had lived in peace, in the frigid lands of the Abyssal Demon Realm, uninvolved in the constant power struggles.
While other demon races saw fratricide as a common occurrence, the Ice Demons treated even their long-lost kin as family.
That was why Ice Lily had been so kind to Bai in Vikarn Port.
The Ice Demons had never participated in any of the Abyss’s wars, and were, on Solor, considered the most… benevolent of the demon races.
And with their powerful bloodline, their Demonic Runes and Authority ranking among the top ten in the Abyss, no one had dared to challenge them.
So, Ice Lily had grown up in a world of love and protection, until that fateful day.
“Fire, darkness, light, cold…” an ancient Abyssal poem described that day. “And then, ‘she’ came, bringing the past and the future, despair and hope, destruction and rebirth… and then, everything fell into silence.”
—”The Day of the Divine Advent.”
Countless demons had vanished on that day, including the Ice Demons. In the great destruction, only Ice Lily had survived.
But her beautiful, peaceful world had been turned to ash…
No one could understand her despair, her helplessness, the last of her kind, her homeland destroyed.
And without the protection of her clan, her status as the last Ice Demon was not a blessing, but a curse, attracting endless greed and pursuit.
So, the young Ice Lily, still in her juvenile state, had fled the Abyss, and, after much wandering, had stumbled into the territory of the ancient empire.
She had eventually found her way to what was now Vikarn Port, then Vikarn City—a fortress built to guard the Vikarn node.
And then, through the deliberate machinations of the young Nisha, she had entered Vikarn, the heart of the ancient empire.
(Volume 1, Short Story: “Vikarn, Bai, and I”)
“So cute!” a cheerful voice had said, a slender figure appearing before the bewildered Ice Lily, pinching her cheek without ceremony. “What’s your name?”
“Ice… Ice Lily…”
Perhaps because it had been so long since she had encountered someone without any ill intent, she had answered instinctively.
“A beautiful name. I’m Nisha,” the girl had said, ruffling her hair.
“Nisha… is also… a beautiful name.”
Although Nisha’s forwardness made Ice Lily uncomfortable, she was at least talking to her, not trying to capture her.
“You look like a demon…” Nisha said, stroking her chin, examining Ice Lily. “Let’s make a deal. I hear you demons love deals.”
“…What’s a deal?” Ice Lily asked, confused.
“I’m not sure myself. I think it’s when you exchange your most precious things… right?” Nisha scratched her head. “That’s what it said in the book I read.”
Ice Lily looked troubled. “But… I don’t have anything precious… to exchange with you.”
“Neither do I,” Nisha said matter-of-factly. She looked at Ice Lily, then nodded. “How about this? You give yourself to me, and I’ll give myself to you… that should count as a deal.”
“Huh?” Ice Lily was still confused.
“Just like this,” Nisha said, taking Ice Lily’s hand and linking their pinkies. “Repeat after me. Pinky swear, one hundred… wait, is a hundred years too short for a demon? Then a thousand years, no changing!”
Ice Lily, bewildered, repeated the words she didn’t understand, then looked at Nisha, her eyes wide. “Is… is that it? The deal…?”
“Of course. Now you’re mine, and I’m yours,” Nisha said, winking. “See? Even though we’re different, we’re still the same.”
…
“Now, Nisha and I are the same, yet different.”
Ice Lily pushed aside the memories. That had been a brief, happy time, after the destruction of her clan.
But then, with the fall of the ancient empire, the loss of Vikarn… Nisha had disappeared, and Ice Lily had been unable to find her.
Until now. They had met again, working towards the same goal, yet for different reasons, another “deal.”
Ice Lily wanted to find information about the Abyssal Lord in Vikarn, information that hadn’t been erased by the Abyss. Sasha wanted to bury her past mistakes, along with Vikarn, in the endless void.
“Nisha… Sister Neily…” Bai murmured, then, her expression hardening, she looked at Ice Lily. “Regardless, I can’t let you succeed.”
Not for the Empire, but for… Ara.
Ara was now asleep in the carriage, Lilia having moved it to a safe distance, away from the [Frost Calamity] domain.
“I see a similar power in you,” Ice Lily said, looking at Bai’s determined face. “But you are not her. And you are not me.”
Bai knew what she meant.
She knew her power was connected to the Abyssal Lord, but she wasn’t her.
And unlike Ice Lily, who had gained a fraction of “her” power after the great destruction, Bai’s power came from within.
“Even if I have to kill you, I won’t hesitate,” Ice Lily said, her figure floating into the air, her long, silver hair swirling around her, her golden eyes fixed on Bai, her aura a crushing weight.
At the same time, the [Frost Calamity] domain, which had been more of a control-based field, now turned violent, a maelstrom of swirling ice and snow, the sharp shards easily cutting through Bai’s skin.
