“Let’s go back~ Let’s go back~ Murmur-nim! Let’s go back~! Become our Demon King!”
“Murmur…! No!”
Leviathan was playfully swinging tentacles and a magic sword at Murmur, which had sprung from the ground.
Every time the tentacles swung, a purple magical energy tore through the air. Murmur barely managed to block the attacks with an old sword while summoning spirits, but Leviathan’s playful smile gradually twisted, and the attacks grew fiercer.
Watching the walls of Piglet House crumble and the floor split apart, Nicasia froze.
‘The… kind Leviathan?’
A battle between demons.
Overwhelmed by the bizarre scene, Nicasia staggered as if her organs were twisting in pain.
‘Why does Murmur know about the Seven Sisters of Paradise?’
In the midst of Leviathan and Murmur fighting, Nicasia was so stunned she couldn’t move a step.
The Seven Sisters of Paradise.
Nicasia had heard about these terrifying demons who loved to toy with human emotions from her sister.
The image of the ‘Silver Dawn’ boasting that they would surely punish them was still etched in Nicasia’s mind.
‘Those who know the story… those who can understand…’
Nicasia was so confused she clenched her teeth.
‘Murmur… might truly be the flesh and blood of the Demon God.’
It wasn’t just because Murmur knew about the Seven Sisters of Paradise that Nicasia doubted her.
Magic skills unimaginable for a fifth-grader in the Elementary Section.
The ability to fluently speak the ancient Demon Language and transcribe magic books.
Colette Bloodberry’s final cry.
The sweet scent emanating from Murmur’s body.
‘Thinking about it, Murmur always knew the exact location of the magic circles. She always explained why, but…’
Once doubt began to rise, it didn’t seem to end.
All the stories seemed plausible, and all the evidence pointed to one fact.
‘And…’
Nicasia looked at the ‘kind Leviathan’ with a pale face.
“Murmur-nim! Let’s go back to Maleficium~ Huh? Sister Lucifer will treat you well! Sister Belphegor’s cookies are super delicious~!”
“Murmur doesn’t need that! I prefer the pancakes I made with Esme!”
Murmur instantly created a ‘Fusion Spirit’ with both hands.
Leviathan, trying desperately to take her away.
The more Nicasia watched their relationship, the more confused she became.
‘Leviathan is trying to take Murmur away… You know, Nicasia. You know this is the truth.’
Nicasia felt a bit disgusted with herself.
Why would the Silver Dawn want to kill the Seven Sisters of Paradise?
What is their goal?
Nicasia knew the answer. She never wanted to know, but being forced into an adult’s life, she knew.
‘…The Seven Sisters of Paradise are demons who desire the resurrection of the Demon God more than anyone. And now, they want Murmur.’
Holding the completed puzzle in her hand, Nicasia barely held back a gag.
Murmur being the flesh and blood of the Demon God.
‘Then, the cute appearances she’s shown me so far…’
Feeling a chill that made every hair on her body stand on end, Nicasia stepped back, unable to swallow.
In a normal situation, she would have thought it was ‘excessive imagination,’ but she couldn’t help it.
The beings who exploit a mother’s longing for her daughter for 50 years are the ‘demons.’
“Murmur-nim~ Hey, hey? Let’s stop playing friends and meet your real friends!”
“Nicasia and…! Esme! Citrine is Murmur’s real friend!”
Leviathan lightly blocked the massive fireball Murmur created with tentacles that sprang from the ground.
“Ugh, ugh…”
Looking down at the puzzle formed in her heart, Nicasia broke into a cold sweat.
‘Nicasia… snap out of it.’
She must protect the people from the evil demons.
As a member of the royal family, born with a noble destiny to be revered, Nicasia had one duty she must fulfill with her life.
Kill the evil demons.
Kill Murmur.
She didn’t know why Leviathan and Murmur were fighting.
That didn’t matter.
If Murmur was the flesh and blood of the Demon God, she had to be killed.
‘That is my duty… the fate of being born into the royal family…’
Clutching the puzzle in her hand, Nicasia stepped back.
Leviathan didn’t matter.
What mattered was Murmur.
What tragedy would unfold if Murmur met the ‘Gatekeeper Demon Gabriel’?
What disaster would occur if the Demon God descended upon this land?
Nicasia knew the answer.
The adults had told her for a long time.
‘But…!’
Nicasia felt her heart tearing in agony.
She still didn’t clearly understand the emotions she was holding, but she knew one thing.
It hurt.
The fact that she had to kill Murmur was too painful and agonizing.
Because Nicasia…
“Nicasia!! Don’t space out!”
Murmur deflected the massive tentacle swung at Nicasia with hastily summoned spirits and shouted.
“Murmur…”
“Nicasia!! If it’s too painful and hard, run away!”
Leviathan, not being a fool, cackled and threw a skull staff radiating evil from her fingertips.
Once again, Murmur barely blocked the attack with her body and pushed Nicasia back.
“Mu, Murmur?!”
“You’ve been looking troubled since earlier! Murmur knows! Murmur’s not a fool! Nicasia is struggling because Lady Jepar, whom you wanted to save, is dying, right?!”
That wasn’t the reason.
“Murmur doesn’t plan to lose today. So run away!”
Murmur summoned another spirit with both hands and spoke with her small back turned.
“Nicasia has been through a lot already. You don’t need to suffer today too. It’s okay to run away! Murmur will be fine.”
Nicasia’s fingers trembled.
The rune that had been etched on Murmur’s cheek just moments ago had disappeared.
This small, cute demon, this precious friend with magnificent horns, had used up her chance to save her own life just to make Nicasia step back.
‘Even though I learned last time that witches might not exist…’
Nicasia smiled faintly.
“Really! Princess Nicasia! You’re so oblivious! Murmur-nim and I need to return to the Demon King’s castle, so could you please leave quickly~?”
Leviathan clapped twice, and another massive tentacle sprang out.
The huge mass of flesh swung towards the ‘inner strength pillar’ supporting Piglet House. If this pillar collapsed, the roof, unable to bear the weight, would surely cave in.
“Don’t interfere with Murmur-nim and my fun time!”
As the inner strength pillar shook violently, Nicasia held her breath.
She made her choice.
She kicked away the bloody, cruel outcome of killing Murmur on the spot.
“Murmur! Be careful!”
Nicasia chose to walk the thorny path filled with the scent of innocence and overflowing affection.
She might regret it in the near or distant future.
She might be pointed at for generations as the princess who consorted with demons.
Knowing this, Nicasia still used both hands to lift the nearly collapsing inner strength pillar.
“Nicasia!!!”
“It’s, okay…! I, I’m strong…! Because I’m royalty!”
Even with strength far surpassing that of a human, Nicasia was overexerting herself.
Her legs trembled so much that her knees touched the ground, and her pale arms were pitifully convulsing.
Lifting the massive roof, bearing the entire weight of the building, was absolutely not something a human could do.
But Nicasia was doing it.
To protect her friend.
To revive the small spark of miracles her friend had worked so hard for until today.
“Wow… Royals are scary because of this. Aren’t you too strong~?”
Leviathan covered her mouth with her right hand and sneered.
“But it’s meaningless~ Silly princess! Soon, Murmur-nim will return to Maleficium with me!”
“That, won’t… happen, I know.”
“What do you know to be spouting such nonsense? Huh? Murmur-nim is our hope? The flesh and blood of the Demon God? It’s only natural to stop playing friends and return.”
Looking at the sneering Leviathan, Nicasia smiled.
“That, can’t be right? Murmur is…”
Nicasia felt like her heart would burst.
“…an incredibly precious being to me!”
“A royal can say that~?”
“Of course! Murmur thinks the same of me, right?!”
Murmur nodded and pointed her old sword at Leviathan.
“Nicasia is right. Murmur has no intention of going back. Everything precious to Murmur is here.”
“Hmm, that can’t be~ Murmur-nim. There are more precious things in Maleficium!”
Leviathan swung two tentacles towards Nicasia with a flick of her hand.
Murmur skillfully blocked the attacks using summoning magic and elemental magic.
This young demon, having blocked the tentacle attacks two or three times, was using her magical energy with surprising efficiency to counter the tentacle strikes.
By now, Leviathan was starting to realize that not a single one of her attacks was getting through to Murmur.
“Ugh, annoying…! Annoying! Annoying! Annoying! Murmur-nim! Why are you being so stubborn?! Leviathan is being kind and explaining!”
Leviathan swung her magic sword at Murmur with brute force.
“Stop playing friends! Let’s go back to Maleficium!”
“Murmur has no intention of going back!”
“No one here will understand Murmur-nim!”
“Murmur doesn’t care! Cosmos Academy is Murmur’s home!”
Barely deflecting the magic sword, Murmur protected Nicasia with her small body and spoke.
“Murmur has been saved. That’s why Murmur could come to Cosmos Academy. And there’s so much Murmur wants to protect. So much has changed.”
Murmur, radiating a level of magical energy that made Leviathan flinch, raised her old sword high.
“So. Murmur will say it clearly.”
“Stop! Don’t say it!”
“Murmur will become a hero. Murmur will stop evil demons like Leviathan from hurting people, devouring dreams, and toying with them.”
Leviathan gritted her teeth and stepped back.
The spirit emanating from this small demon was truly that of the ‘flesh and blood of the Demon God.’
“Why? Why?! Why are you saying such things! Murmur-nim is the flesh and blood of the Demon God! You should become the Demon King, not a hero!”
The Seven Sisters of Paradise.
The youngest among them.
The kind Leviathan fiercely wagged her tail and pulled out all the hidden tentacles from the ground.
“It’s meaningless! It’s meaningless! Kind Leviathan will tell you! Murmur-nim is just confused right now!”
“…”
“You’ve gone mad playing friends! Haha! So I’ll tell you the truth! Murmur-nim! Once the Gatekeeper Demon Gabriel is summoned, it won’t matter anymore!”
Leviathan clasped her hands together, her eyes gleaming. For a brief moment, the shell of Fenex she wore shook violently.
She was blatantly showing off her ‘true power.’
“Murmur-nim will eventually… receive the Demon God’s blessing, and we seven sisters will finally complete our pilgrimage! Ahhh…”
While Leviathan wore an expression full of ecstasy, Murmur briefly smiled at Nicasia, who was desperately holding up the inner strength pillar.
In this moment, the small-bodied Murmur looked like a hero to Nicasia.
“Leviathan, you’ve been saying Murmur is amazing, but you’ve actually been ignoring her all along.”
“What are you talking about? I truly think so!”
Murmur shook her head and pointed her old sword at Leviathan.
This small demon had an astonishing secret.
A power never shown in her battles with Leviathan.
The magic gained from defeating the executioner Rowan.
“Murmur can control demons. Didn’t know that, did you? So give up. I’ll give you a chance to run away.”
Even as Murmur made another dangerous statement, Nicasia didn’t worry.
Because witches might not exist.
Even if you hold many bug cards in your hand, you can still be a ‘patissier’ making desserts together.
