Splash, splash, splash—
Via stood in the bathroom, head lowered, letting the warm water cascade over her long pink hair.
She picked up the soap, lathered it into foam, and rubbed it over her soft, delicate skin, washing away the grime on her body.
I’ve gotten stronger…
Via murmured to herself.
Ever since she chose the extreme method of using abyssal aura to unlock her potential and broke through from Bronze-rank to Silver-rank, her strength had improved at an alarming rate—far faster than in her previous life.
It was almost like a bloodline awakening.
Before arriving at Kado City, she had already reached the peak of Silver-rank and was touching the bottleneck.
During the battle in Kado City, she used the Demon King Armament to defeat many demonized individuals and abyssal aura-corrupted magical beasts.
She hadn’t wasted the magic cores either. Using the assistance of the Demon King Armament’s system, she had absorbed all of them.
Even demonkin normally needed quite some time to digest this energy after absorbing abyssal aura.
But the current Via seemed to ignore those limitations entirely, converting all that difficult-to-process energy into her own power.
As a result, she had advanced from the peak of Silver-rank all the way to the peak of Gold-rank.
She was now only one step away from Diamond-rank.
If she continued progressing at this pace, Via could clearly sense that she would soon reach Diamond-rank and break through to the Transcendent tier.
It was even more exaggerated than in her previous life—and this had all happened in less than half a year.
Returning to the Legendary rank of her past life was now only a matter of time.
If the world were to learn that the saintess candidate who had always been looked down upon was improving at such a shocking speed, everyone’s jaws would drop in disbelief.
However, even with such an exciting achievement, Via felt no excitement at all. Her mind was preoccupied with what had happened between her and Sophie, and what her next steps should be.
“Meow~ Meow~”
After finishing her bath, Via changed into her pajamas. When she came out, she saw Stella sitting on the bed, playing with Little Ha.
The blue-haired girl was pinching the little yellow cat’s cheeks and rubbing them playfully.
“Via, you’re done showering?” Stella looked up.
“Yeah.”
“Why did it take so long?”
“I got injured back in the city. I just took the time to treat the wounds.”
Via gave a casual excuse.
“Do you need to see a doctor? I remember you don’t have holy power, so you probably can’t use healing sacred arts, right?”
“No need. They’re just minor injuries.”
Via wasn’t in the mood for much conversation. She climbed onto the bed. “Anyway, I’m a bit sleepy. I want to sleep first.”
Just as she was about to lie down, Stella grabbed her wrist.
“Via, here. This is for you.”
Stella put Little Ha down and took out a cross necklace.
Via felt a momentary daze upon seeing the cross necklace.
Back in Kado City, she and Stella had gone to the City Lord’s Mansion. Before they separated, she had taken off the cross necklace and given it to Stella to take with her.
“I probably don’t need to keep carrying it anymore, right?” Stella asked.
“No.”
Via took the cross necklace.
She had suspected for some time that Sophie was using something to track her location.
After returning from the Demon King’s Castle ruins to Avalon Academy, Sophie’s words during their conversation had made her suspicious.
Then, during the disaster in Kado City, Sophie had been able to find her almost immediately. Her vague explanation at the time had only confirmed Via’s suspicions.
It was most likely because of this cross necklace.
That was why she had handed it over to Stella.
With Stella carrying it and leaving Kado City, and Via then activating the Demon King Armament, Sophie would be unable to sense her.
Who could have guessed that Sophie’s previous life was Selina? The two of them had fought a life-and-death battle without knowing each other’s identities, only to reveal them to one another in the end.
It was truly absurd and tragic.
“Via… are you going to throw the necklace away?” Stella asked, confused.
Via got off the bed and walked over to the trash can.
She remained silent.
Looking at the cross necklace felt like looking at Sophie.
These unnecessary emotions would only make her weak.
As the Demon King, she should be ruthless.
She had had the chance to kill Sophie, but because of a moment of soft-heartedness, she had given her opponent an opening instead. She failed to deliver the fatal blow, which led to the current situation.
If she had hardened her heart back then and killed Sophie, she wouldn’t have to worry about her identity being exposed at all.
She could have easily pinned everything on the Demon King or Abyssal Eye.
Yet she had failed to seize that opportunity…
I am the Demon King. I should cast aside these superfluous emotions. I can’t let them affect me any longer.
“I don’t need it anymore.”
The cross necklace slipped from Via’s fingers and fell into the trash can under gravity, discarded.
Stella said nothing. She didn’t know the full story behind it and offered no comment, though she could tell there was a lot more to it.
Little Ha lay on the bed, staring at the trash can.
“Alright, time to sleep. I’m really tired.”
Via put on an indifferent expression, slipped under the covers, and closed her eyes.
However, she still didn’t feel any sense of relief. Her heart remained heavy.
After a night of rest, Via’s mental state had recovered considerably.
The next morning, when she opened her eyes, she found Stella already dressed and about to head out.
“Stella, where are you going?”
“Hm? You’re awake, Via?”
Stella turned around, pinning a hair clip into her hair.
“I’m going out to replenish the magic crystals for the navigation artifact. The energy is almost depleted. Without it, we won’t have navigation.”
“Do they sell magic crystals in town?”
“I asked the boss. He said they do. I’m going to take a look.”
“Alright.”
Via didn’t say much else.
She noticed that Stella really hadn’t tried anything last night and had simply slept quietly beside her. Although the Ninth Princess of the Saint Luo Empire seemed quite eccentric, she knew when to act appropriately in important moments.
Spending time with Stella was at least more comfortable than with most other people.
“Via, I’ll probably be back around noon. If you’re hungry, you can go downstairs for breakfast. I’ll pay for it later.”
After giving these instructions, Stella left the room to buy the magic crystals.
Via threw off the blanket, put on her slippers, and walked over to the window.
She opened it and breathed in the fresh air, her drowsiness gradually fading.
I can’t keep muddling along like this. I am the Demon King who will one day rule the world as the king of demonkind. I need to think about my next moves and start carrying them out.