My Dad, the Demon King, Is a Big Problem-Chapter 88

“Tears of loyalty, huh? How touching,” I said with a sneer, my lips curling upward instinctively.

The idea of demons and their unwavering devotion disgusted me.

This wasn’t just any ordinary demon serving the Demon King. For someone to spend nearly 500 years creating a potion to bring him back? This one was utterly obsessed—a lunatic entirely consumed by loyalty to the Demon King.

Was there any demon in the Demon Realm more unhinged than this one?

I’d noticed the laboratory looked old, but five centuries old? That level of fixation would even make the Demon King himself sick of it.

My chest felt like it was about to burst, and tears prickled at the corners of my eyes.

I had to clench my eyes tightly to stop them from falling.

“Then why didn’t you stay in the Demon Realm? Why pretend to be human and stay near me?”

This demon had taken my only family from me.

And there was no way it was mere coincidence that he ended up at the same orphanage as me. He had to have had a reason—an agenda.

“Crescent.”

He called my name with a tone full of regret.

Hearing him speak my name made me want to burn it off his lips.

“The Demon King’s only child is you. I wanted to see what kind of person the child of His Majesty would grow up to be. You are, after all, the most noble lifeform born in the Demon Realm.”

“That’s disgusting. Don’t talk about me like that.”

What?

The Demon King’s child?

Born in the Demon Realm?

“I’m the child of Lloyd, my father, and I wasn’t born in the Demon Realm.”

“I thought you’d be proud to be the Demon King’s daughter.”

Cyrill let out a hollow laugh, his expression genuinely crestfallen.

It was absurd.

“Do you even hear yourself? You thought I’d be proud to be the Demon King’s daughter?”

“Even His Majesty, after his return, rejected you. He even tried to kill you. That, I didn’t foresee. I thought he’d cherish you as the princess of the Demon Realm.”

“Of course not. That bastard’s not my dad!”

“You’re right. It’s all my fault. I didn’t anticipate Lloyd’s soul clashing with His Majesty’s. And I completely miscalculated when it came to you.”

“I don’t have time to listen to your nonsense anymore.”

I raised my sword again.

The more I talked to him, the more my anger swelled, layer upon layer.

A demon who stole my father had hidden among us, pretending to be my friend.

How much must Cyrill have laughed at me, treating him like a friend while knowing nothing?

“You ruined my life and turned it into a tragedy. Do you even understand what it feels like to lose the only family you have? And it’s not just that. You’re the root cause of all suffering for humanity. If it weren’t for you, the Demon King would never have returned!”

Whoosh!

My sword ignited with holy power.

It burned blue, bright and fierce.

I poured every ounce of energy I had into it—more than I’d ever managed before.

The light illuminated the entire room, casting sharp contrasts across Cyrillote’s face, his shadow stretching long.

The attack power surged rapidly, almost overwhelming me.

This was like when Meteor had pushed too far and lost consciousness, wasn’t it?

Ding!

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<“Dragon Slayer Sylvester” warns you: Overexerting your holy power will cause damage to your body!>

The system window barely registered in my mind.

The once-dark laboratory now shone as if the moon itself had burst inside.

“Crescent.”

Cyrill’s low voice called my name as my body lunged forward.

My blade cut through the air, slicing upward with an arc that seemed to pierce reality itself.

I knew I couldn’t beat the third-ranked demon in the Demon Realm. But when it came to murderous intent, I would overwhelm him completely.

Swish!

A massive trail of blazing light streaked toward Cyrillote, aiming to cleave him apart.

“Crescent....”

But Cyrillote’s voice was all that remained; his body was gone.

I quickly spotted where he had dodged.

My holy power blazed hotter, engulfing my sword entirely as I swung toward him again.

“My lady.”

Dodged again?

Why do these damn demons only ever toy with me?

My heart burned, and the intense brightness of my own power blurred my vision.

I pierced through the radiance to locate him again, dashing like lightning and slashing upward.

“Until next time, Crescent.”

Clang!

This time, my blade clashed against another—a metallic sound that reverberated through the room.

The holy power wrapped around my sword revealed a blurry figure.

“Both of you, return to the human realm.”

“...?”

For a moment, I was confused.

The voice didn’t come from Cyrill, but from somewhere else entirely.

Then who was I crossing blades with?

And why was someone talking about “both of us” returning?

“Stop, Crescent.”

Another voice rang out, and suddenly, I was flung backward by an unseen force.

My sword lowered weakly as the holy power surrounding me began to subside.

The blinding light faded, and I could finally see clearly again.

Before me stood a figure with snow-white hair like a fresh snowfall and piercing blue eyes that shone like the sky.

It was someone I knew well—someone who absolutely should not have been here.

“...”

Meteor.

As the last of my holy power faded, I was overcome with chills.

Why are you here?

How long have you been here?

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

Meteor lowered his sword and approached me.

I wanted to step back, but I couldn’t. My breath caught in my throat.

His unwavering blue eyes locked onto mine, their intensity binding me in place like chains.

This couldn’t be real....

My head spun.

The aftereffects of overusing my holy power began to hit me like a tidal wave.

My vision blurred, and all the strength drained from my body.

Was my soul slipping away?

The lab tilted violently around me. The walls shifted, and then the ceiling loomed above.

A firm arm caught me, supporting the back of my neck as I collapsed.

It felt like my heart had been burned to ashes. I couldn’t breathe.

The last thing I saw before my vision went black was shimmering white hair and a pair of serene blue eyes gazing down at me.

***

Splash.

A bird broke the surface of the water, wings beating as it rose into the air. Ripples spread out across the once-still pond.

In the distance, the faint chirping of insects and the calls of birds drifted through the night.

The gentle rustling of leaves brushing against one another in the breeze reached my ears.

All these subtle sounds brushed against my senses as I slowly opened my eyes.

Above me stretched a star-studded sky.

A full moon glowed with golden light.

Had I returned to the human realm?

How much time had passed?

Startled, I tried to sit up.

“You’re awake.”

The sudden voice froze all my thoughts in place.

I couldn’t move a single muscle, lying there as still as a statue.

Even without looking at the speaker, I knew it was Meteor.

The events that had unfolded in the Demon Realm before I lost consciousness rushed back to me. Every detail, vivid and clear.

Even the moment when Meteor intercepted my attack.

My eyes wandered aimlessly across the night sky, filled with confusion.

“...Why were you there?”

“Sorry for following you.”

What?

Following me?

Meteor had been following me? Why?

I couldn’t make sense of his words.

Had he just happened to see me on the street and decided to tail me? But how had he ended up in the Demon Realm?

“I saw you leaving the house late at night, so I followed. You went to Cyrillote’s weapons shop. I waited nearby, but then I saw the carriage you boarded speeding off. That’s when I noticed an unusual Magi. I followed it and found you there, so I went in.”

The unusual Magi—was it the Demon Realm transfer stone Cyrillote had mentioned?

I hadn’t sensed anyone following me. Not a hint.

My voice came out low, almost a whisper.

“Why were you following me?”

Did he already suspect something about my identity?

If so, where had I slipped up?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out.

Could it have been back at the Winterly Duke’s frozen domain? Had I done something there to raise suspicion?

“Now it’s my turn to ask, Crescent. The things I heard in that lab—are they all true?”