Until just before dawn arrived, it was Creis who stood watch through the night.
She kept her eyes open, guarding the Demon King until the daylight of the next day.
However, many powerful and special demons did not need long periods of sleep or rest.
In the corners of the Demon King’s Castle’s inner city district, those individuals usually remained on duty twenty-four hours a day.
She stood guard just like the “Heavenly Kings” Isabella had invited a few years ago.
However, Gabriella was not particularly interested in these Heavenly King-level guards and even scoffed at them.
It was precisely because of these guards’ betrayal that Lady Isabella had fallen into a dangerous situation.
At first, Creis kept her eyes open, but later she simply closed them.
If one had to describe it, she resembled the blind swordswoman Gabriella had once seen sitting alone on the ground guarding a tomb—except this was not a tomb, and she was no swordswoman, but rather the powerful Celestial God lady clad in a maid uniform.
Of course, none of this was what troubled Gabriella the most.
From a while ago, it seemed Creis’s “prophecy” had come true.
Gabriella began to feel unwell.
The sensation of complete exhaustion, which had eased after she regulated her magic power, once again descended upon her like a ghost.
Even the slightest breeze made Gabriella’s body feel cold, even causing her to shiver, as if her body was actively pulling its power back inside for some reason.
“Gabriella, I have something to take care of outside.”
Creis walked over to Gabriella’s side.
“Hmm, how are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
Gabriella shook her head.
If there really was a problem, it wasn’t serious—at most, it was no worse than a minor cold.
“Do you need my help?”
Creis sat down on the edge of Gabriella’s bed, turning her head to look at her.
“In two hours, Isa will come to take over the shift. I’ll keep a close eye on her for you.”
Gabriella glanced at the time.
It was already ten o’clock at night.
Two hours later would be midnight.
“I still suspect she is an apostle of the Evil God.”
“Hmm?”
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going first.”
Creis’s right hand moved slightly.
She was about to touch Gabriella’s arm but stopped midway.
As if suddenly remembering something, she stood up, turned around, and left the room, closing the door with a thud and leaving behind only the unique scent that clung to Creis.
Gabriella turned over in bed, her breathing growing somewhat rapid.
She sat up and immediately switched to her demon form.
Her heart-shaped tail slipped out from under the covers, and her wings spread open powerfully, laying flat across the bed before retracting back under the blankets.
At that moment, Gabriella noticed the sword pattern on the back of her hand emitting a crimson-purple glow.
It was Loli helping her control the chaotic magic power inside her body.
Suddenly, Gabriella felt a little better—at least not as cold as before.
Only then did Gabriella crawl out from under the covers.
She discovered that her body was covered in a thin layer of fragrant sweat, but it quickly dried and felt refreshing in the dry air.
However, her body felt even softer than before.
Switching to her demon form did make things much better than earlier, though it was only addressing the symptoms, not the root cause.
Huff… Huff…
Gabriella changed positions once more.
She didn’t know when Creis might return, but she wondered what kind of change in attitude there would be if she saw a restless little demon.
She remained alert to any sounds from outside at all times.
Closing her eyes, her body felt exhausted, yet she was completely without sleepiness.
These two hours felt exceptionally long.
Soon, Gabriella heard footsteps.
A source of magic power was approaching her bedroom.
Although the visitor was still concealing their presence, Gabriella sensed it clearly.
However, she did not switch to her holy form.
After the door opened, a young girl entered with light, graceful steps and hurried to the side of Gabriella’s bed.
Isabella looked at Gabriella lying there with her wings hanging limply over the bed and furrowed her delicate brows in heartache.
She had originally arranged with Creis to switch shifts precisely at midnight.
However, she remembered the physical condition the other her had sensed while absorbing Gabriella’s power. It seemed rather unusual.
So she had come a little early.
Conveniently, Creis was not in the bedroom at the moment.
She advanced slowly, hesitating. It was not out of fear of Creis, but because she was thinking about Gabriella’s condition.
The current her had already recovered her holy form and had likely regained a large portion of her memories.
The Evil God still remembered how Gabriella had endured pain and come to her seeking help to “alleviate” it.
Back then, Gabriella had only been pursuing her inner goals.
Over time, their encounters had gradually become like two pitiful little beasts licking each other’s wounds.
The Heavenly Oracle Envoys’ cruel crusade against humanity had been the direct cause of Gabriella’s psychological trauma.
There were many, many other reasons besides that.
Additionally, the Evil God Isabella very much wanted to know whether Gabriella liked her.
Not just liking her as the Demon King, but also loving her as the Evil God.
This was a very complicated question.
She could foresee that Gabriella might like the Demon King she spent her days and nights with, yet hate the capricious Evil God.
If the conflicts of the past were merely misunderstandings, would those happy memories touch her heart, which had been left full of holes and scars?
She harbored the same concerns.
Carrying her doubts and a probing intent, along with genuine concern for Gabriella, she had come to the bedroom.
The moment she saw Gabriella’s frail appearance, her heart leaped into her throat.
“You’re not okay! Your eyes…”
“My eyes?”
Gabriella tilted her head. Was there something strange about them?
Her tail twitched slightly with nervousness.
The Evil God Isabella said nothing more.
She rummaged through the vanity drawer, pulled out a small mirror, and trotted over to the bed to hand it to Gabriella.
Only then did Gabriella notice that within her pair of beautiful sapphire-blue eyes—eyes as lovely as gemstones—there were glowing cross-shaped patterns.
The crosses were silver-white, very similar to Creis’s eyes.
In that instant, she understood everything.
It was because her holy form was fusing with her demon body, causing her magic power to fall into chaos once again.
Just like before—with the silver-white magic power, the shadows, and now the child that was absorbing her power.
The moment Gabriella figured it out, the chaotic state of her magic power eased considerably.
Yet now the chaos had returned, as if the past two days of her body feeling normal had been nothing but an illusion.
She placed her two weak little hands at the corners of her eyes, wiping away the crystalline tears that welled up.
“Sniff… Sob…”
Her tear ducts were far more active than she had imagined.
Gabriella absolutely hated appearing weak like this.
But the moment she saw Isabella, she didn’t know what came over her.
She just felt so wronged.
Her heart kept repeating the same thoughts over and over.
It was her who got me pregnant.
It’s all because of Isabella that I’m suffering so much because of the child.
It’s all her fault.
Gabriella had tried to hold it in, until she accidentally let out her first choked sob.
“You… you have to take responsibility… for me.”