NOVPUBThis tradition still seemed to be preserved.
Hyperion passed through the long corridor, its sides lined with ancient, thick stone pillars.
She quickened her pace, wishing to return to her room, that still somewhat familiar abode.
At last, she arrived at the second floor of the royal palace and pushed open the grand doors of her sleeping quarters.
Inside the spacious bedroom, the purple-red sunset filtered through the light gauzy curtains onto the soft carpet.
The heavy curtains obscured much of the light from outside.
Hyperion quietly gazed around the room, with a view of the palace gardens and the distant barrier outside the window.
Her gaze penetrated the translucent barrier screen, gazing far into the Royal Capital’s inland bay.
Last time,
it was in the restaurant across the bay that he had found her.
Then followed a dreamlike, unforgettable midsummer.
But she had not expected that upon her return to the Demon World, everything had changed; Calila was no longer in the Demon King Palace, and Lanci was no longer in the mansion across the bay.
Hyperion leaned wearily against the door, took a deep breath, and felt her tense nerves slightly relax as she fully drew the curtains.
However, just then, she sensed some faint movement beneath the dressing table.
Hyperion tensed up, instinctively summoning her dagger.
But upon closer inspection, she saw that it was merely a gray furball.
Confused, she took a couple of steps closer and squatted down.
By the faint light of the sunset, Hyperion saw clearly, it was a small gray kitten, curled up in the corner’s shadow. 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
It seemed to dislike the light, and her earlier action of drawing the curtains had startled it.
Hyperion curiously squatted in front of the dressing table.
The shadows of a woman and a kitten faced each other on the carpet.
The gray kitten was thin, with scars on its body, its eyes dim and solitary, filled with wariness.
The more Hyperion looked, the more she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with this little gray kitten.
That familiar Magic Power of the Demon Race confirmed it for Hyperion, this was not a kitten, but a small child of the Demon Race disguised as a kitten, curled up in the corner.
Around its neck hung a pendant, engraved with the Demon Race Script "Tamisha."
Hyperion tentatively reached out her hand.
The gray kitten backed away.
But further retreat was blocked by the wall; it had nowhere to hide.
"Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you," Hyperion said softly, slowing her hand as it neared the kitten.
Finally, she gently picked up the little gray kitten.
At the moment of contact,
Hyperion felt a familiar Magic Power.
Like a warm current, it began resonating along her fingertips.
As if it was the last spark left by Calila.
Without a doubt, this child of the Demon Race had inherited a part of the very essence of Calila’s power.
"That’s wonderful... it’s the life you protected."
Tears streamed down Hyperion’s fair cheeks as she tried to muster a smile.
Hyperion held the kitten close to her chest, her eyes bitter yet filled with contentment and emotion.
Pained by the sight of wounds on the little gray kitten, she quickly placed it on the mattress and began searching the cupboard for medicine.
The Blasphemy Lord seemed to despise this kitten with Calila’s aura so much that he relished tormenting it, yet due to some concerns, had not yet killed it, causing the already small gray kitten to become completely withdrawn; now seeing Hyperion, it was exceedingly hostile.
When Hyperion turned back with the medicine box,
she found the little gray kitten had jumped back under the dressing table, staying alone in the shadow.
"So, you really hate staying here, huh?" Hyperion spoke, her eyes downcast with sorrow yet understanding.
No wonder, in this cage-like royal palace, the little gray kitten might only be waiting for Calila, hoping that one day Calila would return to find it.
But Calila would never return.
Continuing to stay here could indeed be dangerous—the unpredictable Blasphemy Lord might soon start to clear out everything Calila left behind.
"It’s okay, let’s leave together."
Hyperion again picked up the little gray kitten from underneath the dressing table.
She glanced at the information of the Shadow World.
[Mission objective 1: Protect the Small Spark left by Calila.]
[Mission objective 2: Understand the emotions of Black Sun Lankros: 0.13%. (Incomplete)]
Without looking for a while, the second mission objective had changed.
Although she still didn’t understand what mission objective two was, mission objective one had become clear to her.
The safest place must surely be the Demon Ancestral Land in Purgatory City Pasquale.
As the only legitimate member of the Royal Family currently, as long as she stayed in the Demon Ancestral Land, no Demon Race could threaten her.
Thus, her mission objective could also be understood as successfully reaching the Ancestral Land.
"Shall we leave together?"
Hyperion murmured to herself, her tone full of reassurance,
"To a safe place where no Demon Race will bully you."
She closed her eyes, her cheeks touching the gray kitten infused with Calila’s Magic Power.
"..."
The little gray kitten ignored Hyperion.
It used its paws to forcefully push her away.
It disliked this young Demon Race female pretending to be a motherly figure and even refused to shift back to human form in her presence.
No one could tame it.
It would never surrender the treasure of Calila.
