I have a child?
This sentence fell like a meteor from the sky, crashing heavily into the still lake of Vyea’s heart, instantly stirring up stormy waves.
Th-this is impossible!
Vyea’s mind shook violently, the roar of that heavy rain three years ago still echoing in her ears, while waves of intense dizziness assaulted her thoughts.
Why didn’t Flavail say a single word to me back then?! Why? Why! Why!
“Oh… Looks like you’ve finally realized something.”
Anna, now possessed by the Evil God, watched Vyea’s clearly stricken face, and added with a sweet smile:
“It’s a girl with half human blood, half demon blood, you know. Hehe, she’s very cute and well-behaved, and she inherited both your and Flavail’s resilience and gentleness…”
The Evil God smiled, but her tone grew sorrowful, like a tragic clown crying behind a painted mask:
“But you know, a Mixed-blood like that will never be welcomed by either the Human Race or the Demon Race. Oh, that little one is truly pitiful, just a poor cabbage that neither parent loves. Hehe, how did that Human Race nursery rhyme go again?”
The Evil God wore a pained expression, thinking for a long time, then suddenly broke into a bright smile as she watched Vyea’s face grow even paler,
“Little cabbage—yellow in the field, two or three years old—lost her mother. Speaking of which, your daughter is only about three years old, isn’t she? By the way, you should know a certain Demon King was overthrown recently, right? Want me to help jog your memory? Heehee…”
“That’s enough…”
If not for the Balance Authority still maintaining the equilibrium of Vyea’s bodily functions, she might have already collapsed to the floor like a puddle of slime.
Why didn’t you tell me… If she’d only told me this back then… Vyea felt as if her heart were bleeding.
There was once a documentary about the Meiya Mixed-bloods searching for their families after the Vietnam War.
During the war, many American soldiers fathered children with Vietnamese women before withdrawing. Afterward, these Mixed-blood children suffered discrimination and lacked family identity during the most formative years of their childhood, leaving a void in their hearts.
Just like those who spend a lifetime healing from childhood misfortune.
When grown, they searched for their birth fathers through the Organization for Public Welfare, hoping to mend their inner wounds and emptiness.
Among them, there was a Daughter who found her father in another country through DNA matching at age fifty. Upon learning this, her father wrote a long letter of remorse: “You are both my lifelong regret and my redemption.”
Heh.
Back then, Vyea only wanted to sneer after reading that news, even mocking those fathers fiercely in her heart.
Regret now? What the hell were you doing all those years ago?!
How ironic.
The bullets once fired had once again, after so many years, struck straight into her own brow.
Pain gnawed at Vyea’s heart, like a hedgehog dwelling inside. She had never tasted regret before, but now, it was taking root and sprouting in the cracks within her soul.
If only all of this were just a lie spun by the Evil God.
If only it were a lie…
“You… were lying to me just now, weren’t you?”
Vyea suddenly looked up, glaring fiercely at Anna in her possessed state, her eyes like those of a wild beast, savage and ready to bite.
Anna only smiled nonchalantly, raising both hands in a show of surrender, clearly having no intention of resisting.
Vyea’s grip began to tighten, trying to force the Evil God’s soul out of Anna’s body, as if erasing this damned soul could make everything a lie, so she could keep hiding in her own world.
But after a few seconds, her strength slackened again, realizing her actions were as childish and willful as a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum.
Unfortunately, this willful child had already forever lost the person who could tolerate her tantrums.
What meaning would there be for the other party to lie to her about this?
And besides, she and her wife had not done it only once. They were married after all…
Not to mention, before the Last Battle, Flavail had repeatedly asked her, in a probing tone, about children.
Back then, Vyea had been full of spirit, completely blind to Flavail’s forced smile and the sorrow hidden in her eyes:
“When this battle is over, we’ll go home and find a quiet, warm Southern Small Town, just the two of us…”
Idiot!
Vyea wished more than ever that she could travel back and curse her former self.
Damn, how could I have been so oblivious?!
Her head was filled only with slaying monsters, leveling up, and those overpowered stories of another world, naively thinking she was the main character and there’d be no more wars—what a fool!
When it comes to self-criticism, no one does it better than herself.
“Why aren’t you denying it?”
Vyea asked in a low voice, her tone leaking away like a deflated ball, “Why aren’t you denying it…”
“If I hadn’t shot my mouth off and agreed to an old friend’s promise, do you think I’d have come looking for you?”
The Evil God rolled her eyes—she considered herself a reasonably decent, chaotic-neutral Evil God, not one who found pleasure in deception. “Do you really think there’s anything for me to gain here? If I lied to you about this, what could I possibly get except your hostility? Think before you act, young one!”
“I… I… I’m sorry.”
I’m sorry.
I really do regret it…
Vyea’s hands began to tremble, her retinas still holding onto the last smile her wife showed while cooking, even as the Evil God’s words cut her memories and reality to shreds—
It turned out what she should be mourning as a husband was not only her wife’s death, but also the fatherhood buried under lies.
“Your child, your daughter, inherited Flavail’s Demon King’s Crown…”
The Evil God no longer tried to provoke the mentally shattered Vyea, sighing softly as she continued to fulfill the promise made to Flavail—After I die, please, the moment you find ‘him’, tell ‘him’: you and ‘he’ have a daughter…
“Then, where is my daughter now? Is she doing well?” Vyea asked.
“I don’t know.” The Evil God shrugged, “Don’t get mad, but I do know that among the Demon Race, where strength rules, your daughter definitely isn’t doing well. More than ninety-eight percent of the time, she’s locked away in the Black Room.”
“But she inherited the Demon King’s Crown…” Vyea choked, her chest tight with worry.
The Evil God sighed, “But she’s only a three-year-old child, a Mixed-blood cub with neither full power nor any inherited knowledge.”
“…” Vyea opened her mouth, struggling to speak, “Then, my daughter is still alive, right?”
“Well, at least she was alive yesterday.” A Gift from the Abyss is not so easily destroyed. The Evil God answered unhurriedly, though she kept the last sentence to herself.
“That’s good.”
Vyea turned immediately, running toward the exit of the sewer without a backward glance, no longer interested in that circle of strange altars.
Right now, all she could think of was to find her daughter as soon as possible.
Hurry!
Faster!
“Power, Fourth — Hare’s Divine Speed.”
Like a breeze, her petite white figure vanished in the blink of an eye.
Beneath the altar, the Evil God withdrew from Anna’s body.
“Wake up.”
Dong!
The ancient bell tolled again from the center of the altar.
Anna slowly regained consciousness, her pitch-black eyes returning to their usual azure blue.
“What… happened to me?” Standing amid the mist, Anna’s eyes were full of confusion; she clearly didn’t remember anything from just before.
Suddenly.
A voice, as ancient and thunderous as a great bell, pierced through Anna’s bewilderment like a sharp blade:
“Hey, Anna, you’re not a medal, so stop hanging around my neck all day. This isn’t the place for you—go back to the human world and make a living, will you…”
And so.
Anna was sent back to the surface, at a complete loss. Had she just been personally expelled from the cult by the Evil God?