Belis was overwhelmed by the woman’s aura, her throat frozen as if solidified, unable to utter a single sound. Her slender jade legs shifted into a seductive yet somewhat dignified pose, resembling a fallen deity toying with her own voluptuous figure.
The woman’s eyes sent chills through anyone who met them. Vast magic gradually coalesced around her body, forming one obscure and incomprehensible rune after another, like some extraordinarily complex revival ritual. As the black aura slowly dissipated, the woman opened her eerie eyes once more.
Though Belis was several thousand meters away, the woman effortlessly locked onto her. Trailing black mist, she flew over, her sky-obscuring wings instilling terror at a glance. Belis dropped to one knee—not just because awakening this woman had drained nearly all her remaining magic, but because she understood that one must show utmost sincere respect to a being stronger than oneself.
The more ancient the demonkin seemed, the more they cared about face.
“It was you, descendant of the Blood Clan. You awakened me.”
“I never imagined that Lady Dark Angel was truly slumbering on our territory.”
“What is your purpose in summoning me?”
The woman flew right up to Belis, their eyes suddenly mere finger-widths apart.
The Black Amber.
Legend had it that before the Demon King was first sealed, she had a servant nearly as powerful as herself assisting her, helping her carve out her dominion. Like the Demon King, that figure couldn’t be truly killed. She hadn’t even been sealed; instead, after defeat, she fled to some place to hibernate, awakening at the right time to continue serving the Demon King.
The method to awaken her was remarkably simple—though it existed only in theory. This mighty demonkin had left fragments of her power scattered across the world. Through meticulous calculations, if these amber fragments were activated in a certain form, she would awaken.
And those fragments were called “Black Amber.”
Just like the name of the woman before her eyes, named “Amber.”
“I’ve searched for you for many years and finally awaited your arrival. Now, the Blood Clan faces utter annihilation. We suffer torment and oppression, trampled underfoot by the Stan people.”
“…”
Amber glanced sideways with her peripheral vision toward the direction behind her.
“Clearly, now is not the time to awaken me. Didn’t I say in the Legacy that I could only be awakened if the Demon King and the Saintess clashed? Otherwise, death without mercy.”
Amber seized Belis by the throat. “Nameless pawn, tell me where the Demon King is and where the Saintess is.”
Belis thought that at her peak, she might have traded a few blows with the one before her, but now she didn’t even have ten percent of her power left.
“She… is in the Demon King’s hands. I, I can’t get close to her…”
“Hmm?”
Amber revealed a meaningful smile. “What do you mean, ‘in the Demon King’s hands’?”
She released Belis, letting her drop straight to the ground, then looked down at her.
“The Saintess was captured by the Demon King… Now, she has become her puppet…”
Belis tried her best to speak clearly.
She had originally planned to deceive her a little, to guide this demonkin nearing S-Rank strength, but the moment her throat was gripped, she instinctively knew that lying would result in immediate death. Thus, she revealed the unvarnished truth.
She even began silently reciting her last words:
Sorry, my Blood Clan comrades… Make the Stan people pay in blood.
But Amber’s expression grew complicated. She even muttered to herself, “Impossible. Who could it be?”
Then she crouched down, looking at Belis with a smile.
“How will you prove your words? Before I verify it myself, give me a reason. Tell me what exactly happened here.”
“…The Saintess married the Demon King.”
“…” Amber’s eyes widened.
“Not only did they marry—now, the Saintess is pregnant.”
Visible emotion flickered across Amber’s face—not the earlier anger, but a kind of delight.
She cupped her chin, her gaze wandering, then smiled radiantly, deliberately feigning nonchalance.
“Interesting intelligence. You know, many have tried to awaken me using amber, but out of fear or greed, they deceived me. I killed them all… You don’t seem to be lying, though?”
“Here’s the deal: take me to the Demon King, and I’ll grant you one wish.”
“I need power.”
Belis lifted her head, stating firmly, “I need the power to seize the Seal. I will give that power to the Demon King in exchange for the Stan people’s destruction.”
“What a bold demand. Your body won’t hold out much longer, you know. Heh, Blood Clan runes, alchemy, and your scant remaining blood—you’ll be dead in days, forgotten by all.”
Belis opened her mouth, an image of a demonkin flashing in her mind. Tears welled from the corners of her eyes, streaming to the ground.
“I want these Stan people to die.”
“I understand, pitiful Blood Clansman. In your final moments, watch as the Demon King’s strongest servant slaughters these defenseless humans.”
As Amber rose, she suddenly sensed a magic fluctuation in the distance and turned her head.
Her pupils contracted sharply, the corners of her mouth curving up as she murmured softly:
“So that’s how it is. What an intriguing era.”
“Let me see what form you’ve taken, my dear daughter.”
—
Towering mountains rose majestically, peaks rolling endlessly, lush trees cloaking the range in green. In this desolate wilderness, a giant dragon streaked across the ground.
Its body gleamed with crystalline luster, its form nearly a kilometer long. Wherever it passed, trees were uprooted, mud and dust whipped into a tornado-like devastation, like an apocalyptic calamity.
Before it, an even vaster mountain cliff trembled faintly, as if fearing the dragon would smash it to pieces. The Crystal Dragon abruptly veered, its massive body agile in the air, like a butterfly flitting through the woods.
When the Crystal Dragon halted, magic enveloped its form amid deep blue miasma, gradually shrinking to a fraction of its previous size before transforming into the silhouette of a young girl.
“Ophitia, if you’d gone any faster, I would’ve passed out!”
Avira was holding her hand at that moment, though earlier she had been riding on the Crystal Dragon’s back.
“You’re going so fast—how is Molly supposed to keep up? Are you an idiot?”
Ophitia turned around, her face full of apology.
“I, I thought Avira wasn’t scared…”
“There’s a baby in my belly now. You got me pregnant and that’s it? No more caring about the child?”
Avira didn’t know what had come over her. Though it wasn’t the first time she’d scolded the Demon King, this reason felt particularly forced.
True, she could normally handle flight pressure with ease, but pregnancy made it impossible to be as carefree as before. She even felt a bit afraid.
After some thought, her anger faded. She tugged at Ophitia’s sleeve, saying shyly,
“You promised to protect me. D-don’t go back on your word.”
Huh, I wonder if the angels (or a group of them) were originally partnered with the demon king