What the hell was that? I could feel something flying into me. What did that Giant do to me? Could it be some kind of trap that activated when he died? But I didn't feel anything in particular. Aside from this incredible fatigue due to all the mana I used during the battle.

I was breathing heavily. My entire body felt sore. My legs were trembling so much I could not even stand properly. I never knew that crystal magic was this consuming. To think that Stella was able to wield it without a single sign of exhaustion...but then again perhaps it was because she was a doll.

I needed to find Alice. At the moment it was the only thing in my mind. Where was Sinforma? Did the undead giant crumble? How come no one was around?

I tried to take a step forward but my eyes were becoming blurry. Damn it the pain....it hurt!!!!

No I could not fall unconscious now! I needed to find her.

"Ali...ce...A..li" I tried to shout but I could barely open my mouth.

Without paying attention, I tripped on a rock and fell down on the ground. My body felt so heavy. I pushed up against the ground to stand up but past midway I fell again. I could not feel my legs anymore. If I could not stand then I would crawl.

Slowly, one hand forward, then the other one, it didn't feel like I have advanced that much.

Then I saw...a shadow running toward me from afar. The sun was so bright I could barely see....

"Alastor? Wake up! Wake up!" the person was shaking my body.

That voice...I recognized it. It was Alice. So she was safe after all. I was glad.

Ah ...my mind.... started to turn blank. I felt....sleepy. Was I hallucinating? Who were these other shadows behind Alice?

"NO let him go! Let my brother go!" Alice? Was that you? Who were there? Let her go!

"Bring him back to our camp! Take the girl too!"

I was being lifted away. Then...this agitation...was I only a horse? But I wasn't bluntly put on the horse. Someone carried me very carefully on the way. Even on the horse I was on that person's hands. I felt....warm and safe. Why? Who were you?

No..No I must not...I must.....

.....

.....

.....

How long have I drifted out? What was this place? This softness under me, was I on a bed? It was quite comfortable.

Suddenly I heard footsteps. Someone was coming in. I should probably fake being still unconscious for now. Just to be safe.

"Go to bed, Alice! It's late now!" a female voice spoke to Alice? I didn't recognize the voice. Who was that? Was that person the one who brought me here? She said 'late'. Was it night already? Has I been unconscious for the whole day?

"But I want to stay!" that was Alice. So she was still safe. Perhaps this person wasn't a bad one. A survivor of Caelum who found us perhaps? What happened to Sinforma and the undeads?

"I promise to call you when he wakes up! Now go to sleep!" the voice changed from a gentle then stern voice. Almost reminded me of Morgan whenever she told Alice to go to bed. When was the last time I even thought of her? Looking back at that now, it has been so long....so many things have happened.

"..Ok!" wow she managed to make Alice go to sleep that easily. I could hear her footsteps walking away. The sound of curtain being pushed away...were we in a tent? I did remember talks about bringing back to their camp. So there were others than just this one woman. I probably should be careful with what I did here. In my current state it would be better to avoid any unnecessary conflict.

I didn't hear anything anymore. I tried to use to detect the presence of someone inside the room but there was none.

Was she that scary? Her voice didn't tell me much and I did not dare to open my eyes to see her face. But now that she was gone I could maybe take just a little peek, at least to know where I was.

I slowly opened my eyes.

"Hum already awake are you?"

What lied in front of my sight was a beautiful woman with tied up golden hair. I could see nothing but her face. Why? Because she has put her face right in front of mine, staring at me with her green eyes. We were so close now that our noses have touched.

What was she doing? She removed the cold towel from my forehead. She kept getting closer and closer.

"You seem ...hot! Your cheeks are so red. Do you have a cold?"

No! That was me sweating because you were too close. Then she pushed her face even further and touched my forehead with hers.

"Doesn't seem like you have a cold! At least that's good news!"

Finally, she distanced herself from me. That was so ...unnerving. The woman took the towel from earlier and bathed it in a basin of water next to the bed.

Watching her standing next to me and washing the towel, I could finally take a good look at her. My guess was that she was in her thirties and human, judging from her features. I realized that her cloth was odd, not in a weird way but it was just an uniform, I thought, I have never seen before. Her garment was a mixture of blue cloth and light armor that cover her shoulders and legs. The lower part of the attire was a dress with some iron plates attached to it. The dress itself had a golden line that trailed the extremities of the dress. From here I could see two iron gauntlets placed on the table on the other side of the tent. She must have removed them previously.

Not just her garb seemed luxurious but also the tent I was in even had an expensive looking chair with some elegant ornaments being displayed in the room. Who was this woman? Could she be some kind of noble? Her garment suggested she was a warrior or something similar. But as I pondered these questions in my head, she started talking to me.

"How do you feel?"

"Hum thank you for saving me and my sister, kind lady!" let's take out the 'kid play' again.

So far they had nothing to suspect me to have anything to do with what happened at Caelum. I was in beast form and only reverted back after the fight. Unless they had someone who saw me at that moment, but so far taking the account the treatment I had, I would bet that no one saw what happened between me and the giant.

"You have such good manners!" she patted me on the head. I knew this role would work. "So what happens with the giant, Alastor?"

Oh shit it didn't! How did she know my name? Perhaps Alice told her my name since she did tell her hers? Time to switch to 'the ignorant kid'.

"W...what? What giant? Me and my sister just run as fast as we could from the undeads until I tripped and fell unconscious..." technically I wasn't lying. I did trip and I did run. The truth was always relative for each person after all.

"I see! My report says that there were two giants fighting each other right outside the southern gate. In fact at the location you were in. But when we actually got there both of them were gone, together with the landscape outside Caelum. And you didn't see any of them?" the woman started to interrogate me. The fact that she still kept a smile on her face creeped me out even more.

"I....I didn't see anything! I swear! * hic hic*" when the 'idiot play' didn't work, time for the final play 'crying baby'.

"There there it's alright! I am sorry for asking you these questions when you haven't even recovered yet. It must have been traumatizing for you!" she decided to hug me this time, patting me on my back.

Aha 'crying baby' never failed. It was actually quite comforting. Her skin was so smooth and soft, even better than Ikarus's.

As she embraced me tighly, perhaps to reassure me, I sensed a sweet aroma from her. It was ...refreshing and sweet. It was strangely familiar... I felt like I recognized this smell but where?

Ah I remembered: in the courtyard of the demon lord's castle, there was a small part of the garden that was planted with only one kind of flower. It had white petals and only bloomed during the spring season. That flower smelled exactly like this. Theoron once told me about its name. If I was correct, it was......

But then suddenly she put both her hands on my cheeks and looked at my eyes intensively. Her face showed a slight sorrowful expression but I knew she was hiding it through the smile she was making. And then she put her face close to mine again and whispered softly to my ear.

"You have your mother's eyes!"

Immediately I pushed her away from her grips on my shoulders were so strong. I intended to cast a fireball in her face but she caught my arm. I could feel my mana....disappearing from my body. How? How did she do that? If only I wasn't so weakened after the fight with Gnome.

"Shhh! It's night time now! Go to sleep!"

And that was the last thing I remembered before I passed out.

.....

.....

.....

I woke up again. I still felt heavy and tired but it was much better compared to yesterday.

My memories started to come back to me. That woman, what did she do to me?

"Good morning, Alastor! You are an early bird aren't you?" a female voice spoke to me.

I opened my eyes and looked to the side, only to see it was the cryptic lady sitting next to the bed, crossing her legs as she observed me thoroughly. Did she watch me the whole night I passed out?

"...Who are you?" I asked her.

"My...you don't know who I am?" she smiled at me.

"If I know I wouldn't have asked didn't I?"

"My name is not important right now. I promise I will tell you later. But to be honest I expect more of the future demon lord!"

She knew! She freaking knew who I was! Now that I recalled, she mentioned my mother yesterday. So did it mean she also knew about my lineage and my parents? Has she been observing me? I needed to get out of here! I needed to find Alice.

"Don't worry! Alice is in good hands! Deep in slumber!" was she threatening me?

"What is that supposed to mean? What did you do to Alice?" I shouted at her.

"I mean she is still sleeping you idiot! The sun hasn't even rise yet so be quiet!" the woman smacked me in the head. "And if I want to kill you I would have done it long ago. So lie down!"

Why was I doing what she told me to do? Was I afraid of her? Fear indeed but it wasn't that kind of fear. I could not understand myself.

"...What do you want?" if I could find out what her goal was, I might be able to do something about this predicament. Or just burst my way out of here and take Alice with me. Unlike yesterday I was almost fully recovered. And even if she used that weird thing I could just stay out of her reach.

But I decided to stay for a little longer. She was the first one I met outside that actually knew about my parents. Perhaps I could gather more information from her.

"What I want is not relevant. The question is what do you want? I am sure you must have your reasons for attacking Caelum, being a demon lord and all but what do you get from that? Was this simply because you hate the world so much that you want to destroy everything? Tell me, I am curious!" she said.

"How did you know that I was responsible for Caelum?" I asked.

"I didn't know. I just take wild guess and you just admitted it." The woman grinned.

"Hum... I don't like you!" I told her off.

"Well I do like you so tell me!" that smile again. A scheming woman she was.

"....I don't know!"

"You don't know? So you kill thousands of people, destroyed half of a city, for a reason you don't know? Don't you think that's a little irresponsible?" she asserted.

"Are you lecturing me? What do you even know about me to have the right to do that?" I grunted.

"I know nothing about you! It's true! But that's why I am asking am I?" she replied.

"Shut up!" I yelled at her.

"Listen to what an adult tells you!" she raised her voice.

"OLD HAG!"

*slap*

She slapped me in my face. This woman hit me again.

"You..." but I could not use my powers. She sealed my mana again. What was it?

"Where are your manners? Apologize when you did something bad! Who do they even teach kids these days?" she started to scold me.

"Not to you!" I grumbled.

*slap*

Damn it she slapped me again!

"What's wrong with you?" I screamed.

"I will beat the crap out of you until you apologize! Say 'I am sorry'!"

"NEVER!"

*slap*

.....

"I am sorry!"

My cheeks were becoming swollen as hell. I could not even feel anything on my face anymore. It hurt!!! How many times did she hit me?

"See? That wasn't so difficult was it? Though you could try to sound sincerer next time. I guess this would have to do for now." She smiled mischievously. This woman was dangerous. I had to get away from her.

"What did you do to me? How come I can't use magic?"

"Soul magic! The soul in itself is mana. If you can control the soul then you can control the mana flow inside you. At high ranks you can even control the mana flow inside your opponents!" she explained. "And you can also do this!"

She touched my swollen cheeks with her palm. In an instant, they started to heal and turned back to normal. I was sure that was no healing magic, not that I was aware of. Just who was this woman?

"You claim to be an adult and yet you beat a kid like me?"

"You are not a normal child like the others aren't you? But frankly speaking if it was another child, I would still beat the crap out of him. Manners make proper adults!"

"You are evil!!! You still treat me like one! That's exactly what you are doing now!"

"Thanks for the compliment! As abnormal it is, you are still a child. So I will treat you like one!"

I raised my hand trying to hit her but she managed to hold me down with ease. If only I had magic....

"You are really a naughty one! I wonder who did you take from? Lakyus or Asgore? .....Nah probably Asgore! Lakyus isn't like this!" the woman spoke as she restrained my arm.

"What..How do you know them? Who are you? Tell me!!!" I cried out.

"Where is the 'please'? I thought I told you to keep your manners!" she pressed my head against the bed.

"NO!"

All of the sudden a voice came from outside, interrupting our squabble.

"Milady, is everything alright? I hear shouting."

"It's nothing! I am just changing the kid's bandages. He can't hold the pain that well you see! Hahaha!" she covered my mouth to silence me. I tried to writhe as hard as I could to escape her grasp.

"Our Lady shouldn't bother with such task. Please let me do it!" the person outside tried to move the curtain to the side to enter. But he was stopped before taking even a step inside.

"Don't come! If you let anyone in I will have your head!!!" she sternly ordered the person outside. So perhaps she was the one in charge here.

"My apologies, milady! I will return to my post immediately!" and he was gone. Damn coward! There was a child murdering woman right here!!!

"Alright, sorry for the interruption! Where were we?" she removed her hand from my mouth.

"Get off me!"

"Not before you say please!"

......

"Please!" I muttered quietly.

"What's that again? I didn't hear it clearly."

"PLEASE!" I shouted.

"Now that's a good boy! Have a candy!" the woman handed me a box filled with sweets.

"Just who are you? What do you want from me? Surely you didn't do all this just to torture a kid like me. Or are you that kind of person?" I clamored.

"I want a lot of things, Alastor. But that doesn't mean I can get it, at least not that easily. The same can be said for you." She then changed a tone and looked at me with sad eyes. "Your parents may have been murdered. You may have lost the ones you love. But you can't continue like this.

I won't say that I understand your feelings and your losses nor I will pretend to. We all have a unique experience of our life. Some may enjoy one thing, others may not. Losing one close to you is not the same from one to another. I am not that pretentious to claim that I know how you feel.

And I am not judging nor am I accusing you for what happened. The result of last night was the accumulation of many events that led you to do that. And the destruction of Caelum would arrive sooner or later. You are simply the catalyst.

Look, I am not telling you to stop killing people or seek peace or any of that bullshits. However at least find a reason before you do anything! Make sure you are the one who takes the decision to do it and it will be worth it!" she gave her speech.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"Have you ever thought of conquering the world? Being a demon lord, you must have at least once thought about it! And now after what you did to Caelum, that was your first step! If the world is in your hands, you can shape it to your will.

The current world is a mess. The common people are weak and their leaders are corrupted. Most claim that the common threat is the demon. But I say we are our own threat, our worst nightmare. We kill ourselves much more than demons and monster kill us. Our pointless wars and conflicts with each other have made the world this way. Either you follow the crowd and join them or you will be shunned by the rest. Some decide to stay ignorant, to keep their neutrality as they say but in the end does that matter? They won't do anything anyway.

Which is why I will create a final war: one that would stop this madness and create a new order together with a new world.

And I want you to join me, Alastor! Join me in my conquest!"

This woman was crazy! I knew she was dangerous. At this point I was not sure who was the demon lord anymore.

"You ask me to join you and yet you won't tell me even your name. How can I trust you?"

"Trust is a difficult thing to gain. Words alone are not enough. I will show you what I mean shortly. Come with me!"

Indicating to follow her, I went outside of the tent. The camp was much bigger than I thought. There were at hundreds of others smaller tents around here. And the soldiers, wearing a blue uniform with light armor in a similar fashion to the woman I met.

But most important of all, everywhere I went, people bowed to her. I knew she was someone important but not like this.

The woman approached a female knight who was shouting at a group of soldiers.

"Cartrina, how is the situation in Caelum?" the woman asked.

"All of the undeads and spiders have been neutralized by our troop milady. To make sure that there were none left, we have stationed three hundred soldiers patrolling the city for now!" reported the knight lady. Something about her was odd. She looked human but her smell....it was like....NO! That can't be....A demon?

What was a demon doing here working for a human? She didn't seem like a slave. Now that I paid more attention, I could sense multiple demons the area. They were among the soldiers!

"Well done! Prepare my horse! We are moving out!" said the noble woman.

"Of course milady! And what about this kid?" asked Catrina.

"He will share my horse with me!"

Oh no! I did not want to. I wanted to stay away from her as far as I could.

"Can't you just give me one? Look how many you have!" I complained.

"Do you want to ride a donkey? Because that's what you are going to get!"