NOVPUBThe living room was bathed in the soft golden-orange light of the afternoon sun, which added a profound hue to the entire wooden cabin room through the windows.
A gentle breeze slightly moved the curtains, bringing in the fresh air from outside along with the faint scent of summer flowers, constantly flipping the pages of books.
The subtle sound of turning pages had become very clear at this moment.
It was a while before anyone spoke.
"Is that professor of yours telling the truth?"
Talia watched Lanci with an even tone.
She had never heard such a claim back in the Demon World.
Of course, the card making approach of the Demon Race was completely different from that of modern human cardmaking techniques.
"I don’t know either."
Lanci shook his head.
Although Professor Bolao sometimes liked to play pranks, as one of the exceptionally reliable seniors at Ichrite Academy, it was essentially him propping up the school, and he had never played Lanci for a fool before.
Talia seemed to fall into thought at his words, without a reply.
"..."
Both of them seemed to become especially awkward, not knowing what to say.
"You two are going to the Poseen Kingdom, why don’t you make more dates along the way? Consider it an essential part of card making, a training to improve mutual understanding, it’s surely more enjoyable than bickering all day long in the house."
Cat Boss interjected from the side.
This made the room even more silent.
"I have no objection."
Lanci glanced at Talia and murmured to himself.
"Then I also have no objection."
Talia said.
The two of them seemed reluctant.
"Meow sigh."
Cat Boss shook his head and sighed.
Clearly, the two of them must have enjoyed themselves yesterday. But asking who would initiate a suggestion to play together was probably more painful than killing them.
Both of them had particularly strong pride in this respect.
"Let’s rest for today. Also, we need to make a trip to the Magic Engineering College tomorrow. You need to confirm your personal information as an accompanying person, and the Southern Continent Card Maker Association will help us book the itinerary."
Lanci stood up, pushed the chair back under the table, and said to Talia.
Tomorrow would be the new week’s Monday, and the Magic Engineering College would resume work. He and Talia were to set off for the Poseen Kingdom next week, and certain things needed to be reported in advance.
"What time?"
"Around nine. I’ll come to find you at Boss Cat Restaurant."
"Okay."
Talia was actually curious about that old man at the Magic Engineering College who suggested they date—the one whose magical engineering textbooks Lanci would often read when they were in the Nanwantina Border. She was quite impressed with the name, "Bolao."
"Right, didn’t Hyperion give you Epic Earrings?"
Just before leaving, Lanci remembered something and asked, resting his hand on the back of the chair.
"Yes, I’ll be making her an Epic Card later."
Talia rarely looked as if she remembered something that pleased her, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly as she chatted with Lanci.
Lanci watched Talia, whose aura seemed to soften, and he wasn’t sure what to say.
She treated Hyperion so differently from how she treated him.
But the thought of Talia treating him in the same way made him shudder.
"In most cases, this magic card that costs you six card slots is basically of no use, although fusing with Antanas or Sinola will make you stronger, but you would still lose a member of the Great Demon Clan."
Lanci said.
"..."
Talia looked at him.
She knew this Epic was a bit useless in the present day.
But it was given by Hyperion, so she cherished it.
It would have been more suitable as the Power of Tyranny, forcefully subjugating weaker demons, compelling them to hand over their talents to herself. If used on a friend who was already wholeheartedly with her, fusing might not necessarily be stronger than fighting separately.
Unfortunately, there were not so many demons in the world anymore.
"Have you tried fusing with Great Love?"
Lanci took out the golden-orange Magic Card, asking with curiosity.
The compatibility between [Pity Poetry] and Talia should be higher than with him—after all, another prophecy of Talia’s strength made him feel incredible.
What if the fusion of two primitives made a father figure?
"Does she agree to it?"
Talia was not opposed to the idea.
She was clear about the value of [Great Love Poet].
But she felt Lan Fu was also a personality type she did not enjoy interacting with, much like Lanci.
Before Lanci could reply, the Magic Card in his hand started to dissipate into light and shadows, and Great Love Poet appeared in Talia’s home with a laugh.
A girl, like a fairy among flowers, landed in the center of the wooden cabin living room. Her red dress fell like rose petals, her figure was graceful, carrying a faint scent of flowers, and her eyes sparkled with joy.
"I don’t mind at all. I always thought you would be a better host. It’s just unfortunate that Lanci is the one who made the contract with me. If your desires were a bit deeper, your anger a bit more fierce, your obsession a bit stronger..."
Great Love Poet circled around Talia, her fingertips lightly resting on Talia’s shoulder, leaning down and whispering in her ear occasionally,
"To let me manipulate you, control you, until I turn you completely into my puppet... OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH!"
Before Great Love Poet could finish speaking, she was subdued by Talia, pressed down on the table, and began crying out for mercy.
"..."
Lanci silently shook his head.
Lan Fu, you’re really brave.
To dare to provoke Talia.
Talia wouldn’t indulge you.
"Alright Tata, let her go. She actually wants to be close to you since she was born because of you, it’s just her mouth that’s tough."
Lanci explained from the side.
"Wu wu wu, you’re always so mean to me, I don’t even dare to get close to you,"
cried the Great Love Poet.
"Sorry... I won’t hit you again next time."
As Lanci said this, Talia began to soften in her hesitation.
Feeling embarrassed to scold the Great Love Poet any further, she let go of him and said with some guilt.
"Then give me those earrings."
The Great Love Poet extended his palm to Talia, eager to see the Epic Card equipment she was wearing.
Talia took out a pair of black metallic earrings that looked as though they had been refined from the ancient abyss of the Demon World’s purgatory, absorbing and reflecting the faintest wavelengths of light in the room, revealing a deep red to dark purple, unstable coloration under the noon sun.
The surface of the metal earrings was covered in a thin, flickering layer of Demon Race curses, with both earrings asymmetrically shaped.
Pushing back the hair by her ears, Talia put on the one resembling a sharp metal fang, akin to a Demon’s Horn.
The other was long, with a graceful curve, almost like a Demon’s Tail.
Wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes, the Great Love Poet took the earrings from Talia and hung them on his left ear.
The usually solid Boundary Magic Power in Talia’s room began to fluctuate like ripples, as if touched by a supreme force that caused it all.
In the midst of these magical fluctuations, the figure of the Great Love Poet gradually faded, becoming blurry and indistinct, with the boundaries of her body beginning to vanish as ink disperses rapidly in water, spreading through the air.
The frequency of the Curse Marks on the surrounding walls flickered more rapidly, enshrouded in a layer of hypnotic black mist.
"Meow meow?"
The Cat Boss was startled by this sudden change and jumped onto Lanci.
The air around began to twist as if even space-time was going to shatter, with black fog and deep blue tides gathering, enveloping Talia.
It was not just a physical merger but also a union of power, consciousness, and even souls.
In that moment, Talia was protected by an invisible force, with the surrounding magical power forming what seemed like an isolated realm.
The magic power gathered and wove through the air until it cocooned, then dissipated, until after several breaths, she slowly opened her eyes again.
...
Talia looked down at her hands in confusion; it seemed there was no change to her physical appearance following the merger.
Their appearances had already been identical.
Only her eyes had one gold and one blue heterogeneous pupil.
"Meow meow!"
The Cat Boss was shocked to see Tata.
For some reason, it felt a kind of indescribable Demon Race majesty in front of Tata, causing all of its fur to stand on end.
Talia remained silent for a moment, then went to the wall, took out paper and pen from a cabinet, wrote something down, and showed it to Lanci—
"I feel like I’ve learned the Demon Sound of the Great Love Poet."
That’s why she didn’t dare speak.
It seemed that due to the 100% fusion rate, Talia’s attribute, together with the Great Love Poet’s minor attribute, multiplied by one hundred percent, was still almost her own original attribute.
"Try this ring, it will allow you to speak through your thoughts, helping you to talk without using the Demon Sound."
Lanci observed Talia and took out a metallic ring from his pocket, handing it to her and instructing her on how to use the intention vocalization ring developed by Professor Bolao.
As one taught and the other listened and slightly understood, she nodded.
"I feel really strange right now, as if I’ve contracted a Destined Familiar, and..."
Talia finally spoke confidently, murmuring.
Suddenly, as if realizing something, she grabbed Lanci, dragged him into her bedroom, tossed him in, and locked the door behind her.
"I... I’ve become your Destined Summon?"
Talia leaned against the door and asked with a trembling voice.
This odd feeling was like being able to communicate with him through heart voices without speaking.
"...Yes."
Lanci closed his eyes and sensed for a moment, feeling the same.
He could now clearly sense that his soul was connected with Talia’s.
Under this state, Talia had replaced the Great Love Poet and became his new Life Card.
[Mad Love Demon King - Talia]
[Category: Summon Card]
[Grade: Orange Epic]
[Order: 8]
[Effect: Influence all beings with the demonic rhythm, causing emotions to erupt by an unknown multiple, and possessing all the original abilities of Demon Princess "Talia."]
[Note: A new miracle demon born from the merger of the Poem of Pity and Demon Fusion.]
"So, undo it quickly, our heart thoughts are connected now, and it feels really weird."
Lanci, feeling his mana draining rapidly, promptly suggested.
Maintaining the Eighth-order [Mad Love Demon King] summoning state, the mana consumption was far greater than that of the First-order [Great Love Poet].
If she were to enter a combat state, he couldn’t even imagine the rate at which mana would be consumed.
But the problem wasn’t just the power drain.
Talia could now hear his heart voice without needing any mind-reading magic.
He could normally communicate with the Great Love Poet through thoughts, as true childhood sweethearts, so there were no inhibitions.
But Talia was different; being in mental communication with her, he might die!
Thinking about her over a hundred times a day, even if she was in Boss Cat Restaurant, she’d come to Ichrite Academy to kill him!
"I can’t undo it..."
Talia said, standing there in a daze.
This equipment had a separation cooldown after each use, and the higher the fusion rate, the harder it was to separate.
Her fusion with the Great Love Poet had reached an improbable level of perfection, and now she could hardly feel how to separate from the Great Love Poet.
"What?"
Lanci became petrified, cracking apart.
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Today’s chapters are big ones, with six thousand words updated, begging for your early-month votes!
