Kyrie's feet came to a complete stillness in that instant. She was walking slowly before, but the stop still look sudden and surprising. A normal person's body would have swayed a little after they stopped walking, but she didn't. As if time came to a stop and she became a statue.

Her beautiful long eyelashes rose as her silvery eyes opened wide. Her soft pink lips trembled and opened slightly. Yet no word came out. Her tongue froze like a stone. "U-u-u-" that was all the sound she produced.

Her feet moved again. Her stoic mask that she never takes off crumbled. "U-u-uncle." She closed the distance between them in an instant and hugged him. Her embrace carried the force of a battering ram, yet Barney's body moved not a step from where he stood.

He hugged her back and smiled. "Good to see you, Lady kyri-" he stopped and looked under him. His shirt was wet with her tears and the finger that dug into his back carried with it a pained desperation.

"Here, my lady." Barney gave her a cup of hot tea. The tea and cup were brought by Kyrie's slave as it was her favorite choice of drink, but Barney was the one who made it as requested by her. He didn't claim to be the finest at making tea, unlike coffee, but he was still a fine tea-maker.

"Thank you, Uncle Pluto." She took the cup and thanked him. Traces of tears were still clear on her cheek. She had told him all the burden, all the worry, and all the misery weighing her down. Before coming here, she was already burdened by the civil war in demon realm, and her concern about the safety and whereabouts of Myre, the next demon queen and one of the people she had sworn to protect. And now, she lost Sarah, one of her dearest friend, and one of the very few she could call a true friend. Then she burdened herself further by swearing to protect Lyanna, Sarah's little sister.

She cried all the way through. It was the culmination of all the stress and frustration building up inside her that she never let go even for a second. All that emotion, that stress, that sadness. Seeing her like that sliced his heart, but that was the burden she chose to carry and refused to share with another. Even with him. By lending his ears to her, he hoped he it would lessen her burden even for a little.

"I go by the name Barney now, my Lady." He said with a smile. He sat on a stone chair that she conjured when they first come here.

"Uncle Barney, that'll need some time to get used to." She said with a smile. Her otherworldly beauty and charm were on full display now. She removed the veil that covered her face when she started telling her stories. If there were still animals inside this tower, no doubt they would swarm her without any regard to their safety or life, even crashing themselves to the tower walls if that's what it takes to get even a little bit closer to her. This was also the reason her slave was not in the same room, her slave couldn't handle it.

"Then, my lady. You have a lot of things to do tomorrow and the coming days, you still have a long journey. Please rest and conserve your power." He took a handkerchief, wet it with magic and wiped the traces of tears on her cheek.

She smiled. "Uncle, you remember that I'm a demon lord, right? I'm not a kid anymore, you said so yourself."

Barney raised his brows, but his blood-red right eye was still closed shut. "Do I need to remind you again of the story of Demon Lord Lex Duracc, the Lord of Wrath?" Lex Duracc was a demon lord who lived during the Great Holy War some three thousand years ago. His death of exhaustion after fighting for thirty days and thirty nights without rest was one of the most famous legends in the Demon Realm. Though most scholars agreed the story shouldn't be taken too literally.

"Uncle, I came to this part of the world yesterday, there's nothing to be worried about. And I still have some work I need to do. Speaking of resting, you should rest too, uncle. You must be tired after cleaning this huge tower."

Barney and Kyrie stared at each other, their gaze fierce and unyielding. Neither one wanted to back down before the other agree to take a rest.

Barney sighed. He knew how stubborn she can be when it comes to telling him to rest. "Fine, I will rest." A broad smile appeared on her face. No doubt it would drove most creature to insanity. But the smile disappeared once he raised a finger. "But only if you promised to rest too."

Kyrie sighed and massaged her forehead. "Okay, fine. But I want to take a bath first." She finished her tea, stood up, and waved her hand. The solid stone chair under her moved and softened, transforming into a clay-like lump before hardening again into bathtub shape. Hot water poured from thin air and filled the bath to the brim.

"Should I call Faryn?"

"No, that wouldn't be necessary." She unfastened her robe and let it slide to the ground. "I'd like you to help me, uncle, wash my hair just like when I was little."

Her words brought back pleasant memories within him. A time where everything was simpler and more peaceful. A time during the height of her father's rule, when all demon realm was united under one banner. When demon and other races don't concern themselves with each other. "My lady, should I remind you that you are a lady. You shouldn't reveal your bare body in the presence of men that's not your husband."

She chuckled. "Oh, uncle, but you're not just some men. And don't try to pretend that this is the first time you saw me naked, uncle." Kyrie took off the last of her clothing, showing him the flawlessness of her being. Her pure white skin, her shapely features, no words could even begin to describe what he saw. "And ... is that the culture in this side of the world, not showing your skin unless to your husband?"

"I have to admit that residing here for forty years have slightly changed what I call normal and proper." He rubbed his chin. "I have to change my mindset a bit then. But still ..."

He clasped his hand. Runes appeared on the floor, the walls, the ceiling. It moved and stretched, intertwining and binding with each other, then overlapping six times over. "Six-fold isolation." A sixth-tier spell, no less than this could contain Kyrie's exuding charm. No less than this could protect anything in one-kilometer radius from being maddened with lust. "You should be careful, my lady, this is not your castle. The walls and floors aren't warded with magic."

"Tell me more about the custom and culture this part of the world, uncle." She dipped her toes into the water before soaking her whole body. Water that spilled out from the tub vanished into thin air while a constant stream of water made sure the tub was filled to the brim no matter what. She washed her body while playing around, sometimes submerging and re-emerging, sometimes spraying water all around, sometimes at him.

Barney watched her from the side, eagerly telling her all the things he learned about human's norm and culture. She was intrigued by human culture.

Once he was done telling her, he moved behind her and helped with her hair. "You have a new scar." He didn't realize it before. He was too distracted by her beauty to notice the long scar on her back.

"Oh, yeah! It was a gift from lord Deadeye from ten years ago."

"You didn't heal it?" Higher healing spell wouldn't leave a noticeable scar. The existence of the scar itself proved she wished to keep it for one reason or another.

"Father always said to take pride in my own scar. It's a proof of my struggle and hard work. Is it ugly?"

"Only a complete decimation of your body could reduce your physical beauty in any meaningful way, my lady. Though that complete decimation would only immortalized your beauty in the beholder's memories." That was an honest opinion of his and in no way exaggerated. He wholeheartedly believed anything would fit on her, even a scar. Even an untreated wound would heal beautifully on her body.

"You and your flattery, uncle." She smiled and chuckled. "I've heard all kinds of compliment from all kinds of people, but yours is always a special one. Praising me while talking about the complete decimation of my physical body."

He chuckled back. "Well, that's who I am. Speaking of your fight, did old deadeye finally kicked the bucket?"

"How I wish that to be the case. He forced me to retreat with his anti-life magic, but I also managed to destroy his main body. Depending on your perspective and definition of a fight, you can say I won or I lost. Though I chose to take it as inconclusive."

"Hmm." Barney massaged his beard. "His anti-life magic sure is annoying."

Kyrie looked over her shoulder. "You know about it, uncle?"

"Yes, we fought many times in the past. But never even once was the fight ever resulted in something meaningful. If that was the case either I wouldn't comb your hair now, or you won't have that scar. Though in retrospect, your father strictly forbids serious fight between demon lords. So a fight with meaningful conclusion might actually be the worst possibility."

"Let me guess, lord Deadeye always the one starting the fight? Saying that he's the supreme magical being and that you are nothing but a feeble creature that merely borrowed magic?" Barney smiled, that was exactly the Deadeye that he knew.

The went on with their little talk for some time. Reminiscing about the past and filling on each other of what they missed the last few decades. They also talked about all the interesting stuff they encountered as they lived apart.

"Good night, Kyrie." He turned his body and walked towards the exit. Kyrie was laying on a stone bed with soft upper part. "And don't just pretend to sleep, okay? And don't wake up before 4 AM. I will know and if you do, I'll wake up too." This was what they came up with after a lot of compromises.

"Sheesh!" She inflated her cheek like a child.

While walking out, he wondered. When was the last time she acted like this? When was the last time she express herself so freely? when was the last time she could be herself, the last time she was free of her self-imposed burden. He wondered whether Racar, her father, ever imagined that his decision to not name her as his heir would cause this much trouble for everyone.

He exited the room and was greeted by Faryn, Kyrie's slave, who bowed. "Thank you for taking care of my master."

He placed his left hand on his chest and bowed in return. "I should be the one thanking you for being at her side all this time." He raised his face and examined her from top to bottom. She was a very beautiful woman on her own right. Though compared to Kyrie she was nothing, like everything else. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but are you her apostle?"

The slave's cheek turned red. She shook her head with all her might to deny it. "N-no-no! T-that's ..." She hung her head. Even though blindfold wrapped her eyes, her depressed face was clear for all to see. "I'm-I'm not. I-I'm just her servant."

He walked next to her and tapped her shoulder. "You should be proud. Many wished to serve her, for one reason or another, yet she only allows a select few. Even I could not serve her as you do. You should take pride in your servitude, relish it, be grateful about it."

"Yes." She nodded her head.

He walked towards another room to fulfill his promise with his niece. He stopped.

Chain coiled around his chest, strong enough to dig into his flesh. A blade of pure aura, condensed and compressed into a thickness invisible to the eyes, rested on his neck. Its sharpness and strength were out of this world, he could tell that much from seeing it. And the handler was an exceptionally talented person.

"Who are you, really?" Faryn asked. Her left hand held the blade while her right pulled the chain. "You call yourself Lady Kyrie's uncle, but I never knew Demon King Racar having any brother, by blood, in law, adopted, or else. And I've never heard nor seen any mention of you in any record she possessed, nor does she ever told me anything about you." She gritted her teeth, clenched her fist, and tightened the chain over his body. "And I've never seen Lady Kyrie behaving this ... this ... carefree. What kind of spell did you cast on her?"

"Is it okay to doubt your own master that much? Kyrie, the strongest of demon lords, do you really think that such a spell can affect her? And if a spell can affect her, do you really think I would stop at making her relaxed?"

"SILENCE!" She put more force on the blade, just the tiniest bit. Enough for the blade to push his skin but still not cut anything. "If it means my lady's safety I ... I'm ready to face any punishment."

Barney turned his head. His position, the blade, and the chain only allowed him to look from the edge of his vision, but it was enough to give him a good look at her. "You truly are an exemplary servant, worthy of her. But I think-"

The chain that bound him shattered like glass.

This was not enough to surprise Faryn, but it was enough to delay her reaction, which gave him enough time to put his finger between the blade and his neck. He lightly pushed the blade away. "Let's end this little farce here. I'm going to sleep to keep my promise with the lady, you're free to follow me if you still have some questions."

He walked away without minding the dumbfounded and flabbergasted slave. She fixed her appearance and followed him with great weight and uncertainty in each her step. "I still don't trust you."

"Good, that's fine. I'd be disappointed if you don't. I appeared out of nowhe-"

"That's not what I mean." She cut his words. "I don't believe, can't believe, and won't believe someone can be unaffected by lady Kyrie's charm and beauty."

"Oh, but I do find her beautiful and charming."

"Yet even after you saw her exposed face and b-bare body." Faryn took a deep breath. Talking about something usually entailed imagining it in your mind, the images of Kyrie's naked body must have been a bit too much for her. "You act indifferently. And, forgive me for saying this, your body does not react at all."

He chuckled after getting what she meant. "Well, there's a possibility that someone has a sexual dysfunction."

He felt her sharp gaze piercing his back. "Don't try to fool me, old man."

Barney chuckle turned into a laughter. He had no reason to fool her or answer her in a roundabout way. He also felt no need to test Kyrie's chosen servant. He wanted to tease her a bit. He seldom did this to anyone, much less anyone he just knew. Was this the product of his jealousy? Envy? Or something else? He wondered.

"You are correct, even a dysfunctional body or mind could not remain indifferent in her presence. Charm talent is truly a most terrifying talent. Do you know how many thousands of men and women died from her charm alone? I wonder how you can keep your sanity after all this time around her."

Charm talent was indeed terrifying. It directly affects and rouses the soul, targeting areas related to pleasure, mating, and reproduction. Being around them is like constantly taking drugs that make people want them more and more. But charm is much more dangerous than drugs as the person affected couldn't get desensitized to this type of arousal. The soul didn't create immunities or resistance, unlike the body or mind. There are ways to block or reduce the effect, but it wouldn't come naturally. And someone with Class 5 charm talent like Kyrie charmed both men and women and transcend any boundaries. Her charm affected anything including undead, automaton, or items for as long as they possessed a soul.

And at level 200, her charm was like a maelstrom. So powerful and massive in scale, it bent and pulled everything towards it. Any that tries to resist the effect were crushed under its overwhelming might. And any who were too weak get swooped and met the same fate.

Faryn opened her mouth, but Barney cut to her first. "But it's another case if the problematic part is the soul." She closed her mouth. "I'm sure you realized there's more than one type of love. Erotic love, familial love, self-love, to name a few. I can love her as her uncle, as her old friend, as someone who knows her, but not more. I can appreciate her beauty and charm, but no more than I can appreciate the beauty of a statue or the sunset. And my soul has no want to mate or reproduce or seek sexual pleasure. It's all behind me now."

He sat on one of the remaining intact chairs inside the tower and leaned his back on the backrest. Faryn stood next to him, staring and observing his every movement. "Is there something still bothering you?" He wasn't disturbed by her presence. Even if she stared and observed him all night while he slept, it bothered him not.

"No. I still don't fully believe you. You're not lying but I can't be sure whether you're hiding something from me or not. So I will observe you, for my lady's sake."

"Fine by me." He closed his eyes and relaxed his body. "But don't forget to take some rest too. Your body and health aren't yours, they're Kyrie's."

"Here, my lady, mister Barney." Faryn offered a cup of coffee to both of them. He was planning to serve his best coffee to Kyrie and Faryn, but the latter forbade it. She said he wasn't a servant but her relative and friend, he shouldn't act like a servant. He relented.

They sat on the balcony, overlooking the vast forest between Aeston and Redmound. The dawn painted the green leaves, grey sky, and snow-capped mountain with red and orange. The cold wind from the south rustled the leaves and woke up the birds from their slumber, which sung their morning song to the delight of his ears.

"So, you are searching for this 'Lyana', a demon girl that ran away?" They reminisced their past yesterday but today was time for work and business.

"Yes, green hair, green eyes, here." Kyrie took out a paper from under her robe. On it was an almost perfect colored drawing of Lyana. "And she's not just any demon girl that ran away from the civil war. She's the daughter of Virgil, his prized daughter and his to be main wife. I've even heard she already received the engagement ring and had gone through the engagement ceremony, though the fact that she ran away proved she had no say in the matter."

"To think Virgil's next main wife could escape his Valhalla, who helped her?" The city fortress of Valhalla was impregnable, from outside and inside. For two thousand years since its first brick was laid down, no major break in or break out ever happened. There was no way someone from one side of its wall could get to the other without both sides' effort.

"That, I do not know. I never knew about Lyana until very recently when I got this job."

"So you're trying to get Virgil's support by tracking her down? You remember what I and your father always said about that man don't you?"

Virgil was one of the oldest, smartest, richest, most cunning, and most powerful demon alive. Though despite all his achievements, he was most famous for marrying his own daughters and turning all his male descendants into eunuch slave-soldiers. Despite not being a demon lord, the influence and power he commanded rivaled and even exceeded some. Every faction had tried to gain his support through deals, promises, and sometimes even threat. Yet he chose to remain neutral, waiting and weighing until he could ascertain who would come on top before pledging his loyalty.

"Yes, I must tread very carefully. But I already procured a contract with him, both verbal and written."

He squinted his eyes. "There's something you're hiding from me, isn't it?" Neither her speech nor her intonation was from her usual self. Her body language and movement weren't deviating either. There was nothing that gave it away, but he had a hunch.

Kyrie sighed. "There's no hiding anything from you is it, Uncle?"

"Do not take Virgil lightly, Kyrie. He might not be able to kill you, but he very well can assure you a mutual destruction. You might be able to kill him and all his daughters, but you'll lose all your life's hard work and all you hold dear in the process if you cross him."

Kyrie averted her gaze downward. "It's ... too late."

"What did you do?" he didn't want his voice to come out as reprimanding, but old habit dies hard. Which earned him a piercing stare from Faryn.

"Virgil was ... very unstable when I met him. Lyana running away must've been a really big shock. After all, none of his daughters ever rejected his love before. While this makes talking to him very hard, it's also a golden opportunity. He's careless and desperate. I made some loopholes in the contract."

He stroked his white beard. "Why? If he realized this-"

"He won't. He will only get more and more unstable as time goes without getting his prized daughter back. And he won't. Not to mention he won't break a contract he himself made, you told me that yourself."

He raised his brows. "You don't intend to give Lyana back to him?"

"No. The contract is all about tracking her down. I have no obligation to bring her back. And I won't, I've sworn to protect her. He might get furious when I come back without Lyana. But contract is contract."

"Well ..." He knew how his niece was, trying to talk her out of it was not an option. He took a good look at the drawing of Lyana. "I've heard ... rumors and sighting of green-haired woman. The first is three or four months back, when a group of thirty guards and a hunter suddenly disappeared in the forest. Then in Redmound, a few traveling merchants saw a very beautiful green-haired woman residing in one of the inns."

"But it's just rumor and sighting right?"

"Yes. But green-haired human is very rare. And have you heard about the recent invasion of fire elemental?" She nodded, though from her hesitant and slow movement he assumed she didn't know much about the detail. "Well, the man who stopped this invasion has a companion, though many suspected their relationship to be much more than that. A green-haired woman by the name of Lyana. From the description of those who had seen her, she fits perfectly with this drawing."

"Where's she?" Her hand gripped the armrest tightly. Her impatience and worries started showing up on her face.

"I can't be so sure, but most likely still around Mount Etna, and will stay there for the next few weeks."

He tapped the stone table in front of them. The table shook and tremble while the dust and dirt moved around in a wild swarm. Slowly but surely, the dust formed a detailed map of Amaryn with rivers, village, and small settlements all shown. It was a simple earth magic of moving dust and dirt, but the detail could only be produced by someone who had memorized the map of Amaryn with the highest level of detail.

"We're here." His finger showed where they were. "And mount Etna is here." His finger moved to the north-eastern edge of the map. "There's a military encampment somewhere around here, Lyana should be there."

"If not?"

"You should head to the Eternal City, that where they are going next. That's what the rumor said." He put down his finished tea on the table. "But there's something you need to know, two things actually. First, she should be traveling with a man, blue-haired, blue-eyed, and with an appearance of a twelve or thirteen years old child. Do not try to discern his true nature, don't try to gauge his power, do not appraise or scan him. And please, keep him from harm's way."

Kyrie had a look of confusion. It was no wonder, he had a very specific order and warning. Asking her to keep him safe was one thing and understandable. But telling her not to appraise or gauge his power was something unusual. "Someone important to you?"

"Very. His name is Edmund, Ed for short. He's like a grandson to me, the son of the man I served now. Though he ran away from home a few months back. I don't want to see my niece's crusade and oath rob him of his future."

"Of course, I'll keep that in mind. I won't let Cass or the other harm him during this ordeal."

He closed his eyes and smiled, relaxed. Then he opened his eyes again, only his left. His gaze was sharp and serious. "But here's the second thing, the complication. The man I told you about, the one stopping the invasion, the one in relationship with Lyana, and the one Ed following around. His name is Theo Gladium." Her body tensed, her eyes sharpened, her grip tightened just by hearing his name. "He's the son of that Theo Gladium, and Ryo Akimoto."

"So he's their son. I have no qualms with him, he shouldn't pose a problem." She averted her gaze. She always did so when the topic of the conversation touched something she didn't want to.

"Is he? You did to him what his parent did to you. If even you became that vengeful after what they did, wouldn't he felt the same way towards you? Hatred bred hatred, vengeance bred vengeance. You might not have anything against him, but what about him against you?"

She gritted her teeth. It was an old wound, old hatred that she thought she already buried six years ago. But what goes around comes around. "Is he strong enough to challenge me? I doubt it. there should be no problem." The stone armrest broke under her grip.

"Compared to you? no. But realize that you are searching him to look for Lyana in the first place. If they were lovers, think about the ramification of your action. Would he let you anywhere close to Lyana. And if you somehow ended up killing him, what would Lyana think of you. Even if they were not, she follows him for a reason, out of her own free will. Picking a fight with him would end up badly for you no matter the result."

Kyrie leaned forward and massaged her temples. Faryn moved closer and offered her service, but she declined. "Why does this suddenly become so complicated?"

"People say that the world is small, and also say that fate is a fickle mistress. Be careful, Kyrie and think how to solve this problem before you lead Cass to them."

She quickly finished her tea and prepared for her departure, not like she brought much in the first place. Barney accompanied her to the outside of the tower, where she gave him a hug.

"I hope we meet again not too far in the future." He hugged her in return. "Using human's time reference, of course." They both laughed.

But their laughter was cut short by the realization of their parting. They both had a longing expression on their face, their suffering written clearly. They had waited this reunion for decades now, and both wanted it to last forever. Yet reality was different, and it lasted less than a day. He had many more stories he wanted to tell, jokes to give, feats and items to show, games to play, and a whole lot more he wanted to do together with her beloved niece.

Will they ever meet again after they parted, he didn't know. Will they survive until their next meeting? He didn't know. Will they even have the chance to meet again? He didn't know. Half of demon realm wanted her dead. No matter how powerful she was, it was a war she couldn't win alone. Would she be able to hold it until they meet again? He didn't know. Would she stop her stubbornness and share her burden with others? He didn't know.

It was vexing. People around him always applaud and praise him for knowing so much. Yet he always felt he knew so little, so little of the things that actually matter.

Her finger dug into his back."I don't know when I'll see you again, Uncle. But we needn't say goodbye."

"We don't." He tightened his embrace.

They stood unmoving for some time, embracing each other. They didn't want to let go. But alas, the world didn't wait for them.

They released their embrace at the same time. Neither speak nor talk nor make any sound after that. She turned away, heading towards the forest and Cass' camp. Her figure getting smaller and her diminishing footsteps saddened his heart greatly.

If only ...

If only she allow him to help, he could and would help her with all his might. And this parting wouldn't feel so heavy on his heart. But ...

But what ...

What exactly stopping him ...

"Lady Kyrie!" He shouted her name and went down on his knees.

Her legs stopped and she turned around.

He prostrated before her, slamming his head on the ground. "Please, let me help you. Let me atone for all my inaction. I'll make everything right again. I will fulfill your every wish. I don't care anymore even if you refuse the seat of demon king. I'll accept your decision. But please let me help you!" He shouted out all the feeling weighing him down.

He couldn't see her, but her footsteps were getting louder. "Raise your head, uncle." He did as he was told. She crouched in front of him. "I'm happy that you want to help me, uncle. I'm sorry, but I can't accept it. All this problem, all this suffering, and this war, all because of my own stubbornness and selfishness. You should not burden yourself with my mistake."

"Why?" His gaze went to the ground. Anger and disappointment raged fiercely in his heart.

"I should be the one asking you, uncle. Why? Why do you have to ask me first?" His eyes went wide open, but his right was still closed. He lowered his jaw, yet no sound came out of it. She grabbed his cheek and raised his gaze until it met hers. "You have more power than most, uncle. Yet since the very first time I know you, you've never serve yourself. You jump from person to person, serving them but never yourself. I know you had your reason, and a good one at that. But please, serve yourself from now on, don't ask for permission, just do whatever you want. Please."

She gave him a kiss on the forehead.

He retained that position for a long time. Neither the wind nor sun moved him. Animals, insects, and monsters, none could wake him.

Ah yes ...

In the first place, there was nothing ...

There was nothing stopping me but myself.

And I never even realize it.

When he finally raised his head, the sun was half set on the horizon. And Kyrie, long gone and far away. Neither her scent nor footprints were left.

He stood up and cleaned his clothing. "Thank you, lady Kyrie." He opened both his eyes. For the first time in decades, determination to fulfill a goal filled his eyes. And not a goal for other, but for himself. For his own good. For his own selfishness and pride.

He took a deep breath. It was refreshing. A great weight had been lifted from his soul and mind.

"I'll make you the next demon king."