Chapter 3
Syrilotte.
He was a boy named Syril, who entered the orphanage one day after me.
His bright blue hair was, as always, disheveled. He approached with his pitch-black eyes gleaming.
“You’re a coward too, huh? I heard a demon appeared near here during the day, and now you’re hiding, right?”
“I am not. The holy knights are taking care of them anyway.”
I didn’t care what else they did—as long as they got rid of the demons, I was grateful.
Demons appeared as swirling black smoke.
Anything that touched that smoke—people, animals, or even plants—would be corrupted and die.
If it only appeared in smoke form, it was a relief. That meant it was a low-grade demon.
High-grade demons, however, dragged people into dungeons.
Inside those dungeons, wicked devils would appear and steal lives in countless cruel ways. That was their entertainment.
Before Baal appeared, low-grade demons only occasionally showed up in the northern regions.
But now, even high-grade demons were appearing all over the continent, and the Holy Temple was overwhelmed dispatching holy knights.
It was literally a hellgate.
The tragedy that had been dormant in the Xientri Empire for five hundred years was playing out again.
Syril plopped down beside me and stretched out his legs.
“Doesn’t matter, we’ll all be devoured by the demons anyway. We’re all going to die.”
“Want to try dying for real?”
“The Demon King Baal exists, you know. I eavesdropped on the holy knights earlier—they said there’s no holy knight stronger than Baal.”
“Hmph.”
So that means my dad is the strongest being in both the human and demon realms, huh?
Whether that was true or not, I still wanted to find my dad again.
Maybe his body had been unfairly taken over by the Demon King.
How could I bring him back? Could I even meet him again?
“The Pluto family, who killed Baal five hundred years ago, probably wouldn’t even dream of subjugating the Demon King now. They’ll just keep wasting their efforts on killing demons until they’re overwhelmed.”
“If that’s how you feel, why don’t you go live in the demon realm already?”
I snorted, and Syril chuckled.
But my thoughts were different.
Even if the holy knights were at a disadvantage now, someday they might become strong enough to kill Baal.
Just like they did hundreds of years ago.
But there was one problem.
‘That can’t happen. My dad would die…’
My dad, who had left me behind, deserved a scolding. Even if I sulked for a week—or even over a month—he wouldn’t have an excuse.
But for him to die with the stigma of being the Demon King? That was unacceptable.
Then I’d lose him forever.
I had to find a way to turn him back, no matter what.
“I’m going to bed now.”
There was, in fact, a way to meet my dad. There were places that connected to the demon realm.
“Suit yourself.”
Syril used his own arm as a pillow and lay back on the grass.
Was he planning to stargaze?
I looked at the face of the only decent boy in the orphanage for a moment, then turned away.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard where Crescent had vanished.
Syril slowly sat up.
He walked deeper into the forest. His young boy’s body seemed to melt into the darkness.
Then he grew—his height, now two heads taller than Crescent’s, towered like a full-grown adult.
He was taller than most grown men, his slender frame mesmerizing.
And his face—still the same handsome boy’s face—only now matured into that of a striking adult.
The only noticeable difference was that his lips looked even redder, like they had been painted.
In the dark, his pitch-black eyes sparkled like light.
“Heh. This is getting interesting.”
What was so interesting?
Syrilotte’s laughter echoed through the forest before he vanished into the shadows like a wisp of smoke.
“I heard the Demon King’s daughter is hiding somewhere in this country!”
“Where exactly?”
“No one knows. The holy knights have been searching the entire continent for years now.”
“I hope they come to our village too!”
“Let’s just write to the Holy Temple. Maybe they’ll start the search here first?”
“Good idea! Let’s write the letter right away!”
Two more years passed at the orphanage. I was now twelve.
I overheard this conversation while at the market—it was a sign.
That was why I was secretly running away in the middle of the night.
‘Four years is a long time, after all.’
If the holy knights were to raid this village, the orphanage would be the first place they searched. I didn’t want to meet them.
Because they would kill me.
So instead, I prepared to meet my dad—and waited for a demon to appear.
I wandered around on purpose every night.
If I could encounter a high-grade demon, I would be dragged into a dungeon and meet a devil.
Then I’d threaten the devil and say, “I am the daughter of the Great Demon King Baal. Take me to him.”
That was the only way I could think of to meet my dad.
Fortunately—or maybe unfortunately—no demons ever attacked me. I hadn’t even seen one in years.
“Haa, this is exhausting.”
I paused to catch my breath and looked behind me. As expected, there was nothing but silence—no signs of pursuit.
Leaving the orphanage I had grown attached to for four years made me sad. But the fear of my identity being discovered scared me more.
…They would come to hate me, just like the people of Neverland village did. The people who once cherished and loved me would change in an instant.
I didn’t want to disappoint them.
Where should I live now?
I didn’t know.
All I wanted was to encounter a demon and be dragged into a dungeon.
‘It’s been way too long since I last saw Dad.’
Dad was a doting father—but I was just as obsessed with him.
Just as I turned around—
My whole body froze. A wave of tension and goosebumps swept over me.
What was that?
I moved only my eyes to look around.
Something darker than the darkness caught my eye. It looked like a tear in the air.
And at the center of that tear, a small vortex spun.
A high-grade demon!
Everyone knew that only high-grade demons had vortexes in them. If it didn’t have one, it was low-grade.
The vortex grew larger and started to approach.
I couldn’t move.
My body was being dragged against my will.
This was the demon I had waited for—but I couldn’t help feeling nervous.
What if the devil didn’t take me to the Demon King? What if Dad kept denying me?
“I don’t have a human daughter.”
Those cold words from the Demon King wearing my dad’s face were still stabbed deep in my heart.
But this was the only way I could think of to meet him.
Just as I closed my eyes—
Whinny!
I heard a horse cry nearby.
A flash of light pierced my closed eyelids.
Startled, I opened my eyes. The swirling black vortex that had filled my vision was completely gone.
Instead, someone was reaching out their hand to me.
“You okay?”
“…?”
Dazed, I looked up.
The black vortex had vanished, and in its place stood a boy with snow-white hair and jewel-like blue eyes.
My heart dropped.
His face was so stunning it was impossible not to be surprised at first glance.
Blinding, yet I couldn’t look away—his transparent eyes sparkled with light.
With soft eyes and long white lashes like silk, his presence itself felt sacred, like he was purifying my soul.
While I was still stunned, the boy gently pulled me to my feet.
“Good. I got rid of the demon before it opened.”
“Wh-Who are you?”
“I’m Meteo Pluto. Demons appear more frequently at night, so be careful.”
“…?”
Pluto?
No way. Could it be the Pluto family that erased Baal five hundred years ago…?
