Chapter 106

"I am a Narf?" Ceres repeated, staring at Azura, the Narf Queen, in disbelief.

If she were still on Earth, the Narfs would be what humans called mermaids.

Except, unlike the myths, they could shift between tails and legs whenever they pleased.

"A halfling," Azura corrected gently.

"That is why you cannot control or even detect mana, because we do not use it."

She studied Ceres with a knowing gaze.

"You have high water magic affinity, do you not?"

Ceres blinked.

The host Ceres, the previous owner of this body, did indeed have high water affinity.

She nodded.

"But if I don't need mana," Ceres frowned, "then why can't I use it?"

Azura sighed.

"Because you never underwent the Bloodletting Ceremony."

Ceres's brows furrowed.

"A ceremony?"

"Yes," Azura explained. "It is performed when a halfling reaches their eighteenth summer.

"It is the moment the water recognizes their blood. Only then do they gain the ability to control and wield it."

A silence fell over the tent.

Ceres exhaled slowly, absorbing the information.

"Then why," she asked, her voice sharper, "was I never told about this?"

Azura's expression darkened slightly.

"A thousand years ago, the kingdoms of Vaelundis and Azur were like sisters," she said.

"Our kind have always had the unique ability to create life with a Vaelundian.

"The halflings would stay with their human parent until they turned eighteen.

"Then, they were given a choice, to remain human or to return to Azur to embrace their Narf heritage."

She paused before continuing.

"This knowledge should have been passed down. But it seems after the Great War, every record of it was lost."

Ceres's gaze sharpened.

"The Great War?"

Azura nodded.

"It was a world war, the most catastrophic conflict in history," Aurelian answered.

"Each of the six kingdoms turned against one another."

Ceres stilled. 

Ori had refused to answer her questions about it before, always repeating the same response:

"I cannot answer that question, Your Highness."

She turned her gaze to Aurelian.

"You said six kingdoms," she said slowly. "Which ones?"

The people inside the tent shifted, confusion flashing across their faces, except for the Narfs.

Azura's lips curved into a small smile.

"The human kingdoms," she answered.

At that, Baron Aldric spoke, sounding perplexed.

"But… Your Highness," he said, hesitating slightly, "there are only six kingdoms in Solmara."

Ceres raised an eyebrow.

The baron stiffened, thinking he had offended her.

He quickly bowed his head, but Ceres merely smirked. 

"So," Ceres said, shifting the conversation back, "can I still perform this ritual now?"

Azura shook her head.

"I am sorry, Empress of Aquilonis," she said.

"But it can only be performed on a halfling's eighteenth summer.

"You are already twenty-two."

Ceres sighed, nodding in understanding.

So that was that.

She had water magic but no way to use it.

Unfortunate.

"Aside from telling me I am your halfling," she said, leaning back, "why exactly are you here?"

Her cold blue eyes flicked to Prince Azul.

"And why did your prince try to attack my personal maid?"

Azura smiled, as if amused.

"There was a misunderstanding on that part," she said.

Her gaze flickered toward her son, who suddenly looked embarrassed.

"My stupid son, Azul, was simply too happy to be unfrozen after a thousand years."

Azul winced at his mother's blunt words.

"He wanted to give the Saintess a reward for freeing our kingdom from the freezing spell."

Azura chuckled lightly.

"You see, long ago, humans wished to enter our kingdom, but only those invited could find their way.

"Because if a human descends into the deep without one of our kind as their guide,

"They would surely lose their way, and perish in the depths."

Ceres arched an eyebrow at Azul.

The prince's face reddened slightly, clearly mortified by his mother's words.

Ceres turned her head slightly.

"Do you wish to visit their kingdom, Delphine?" she asked casually.

Delphine, standing just behind her, immediately shook her head.

"No, Your Highness," she answered quickly.

Azul's lips twitched, but he didn't seem offended.

Instead, he crossed his arms.

"Then tell us what you want, Saintess," he said, studying Delphine.

"We Narfs always pay our debts."

His blue slit-pupiled eyes gleamed.

"It is because of you that we are free again after a thousand years.

"If it is riches you desire, we can offer you gems and gold, we have plenty."

"Thanks, but no thanks, Your Highness," Delphine replied swiftly.

"And besides," she added, "you shouldn't be thanking me."

She turned, looking at Ceres.

"It was the Empress who told me to do it. I didn't even know I could do that."

Azul glanced at Ceres, his expression unreadable.

But it was Azura who spoke next.

"We know you could ask for almost anything from Seiryu," the Narf Queen said.

"But if there is something we can give you, please grant us the honor of fulfilling it."

Ceres smirked.

"This Lizard is useless to me," she said, motioning to Seiryu, who remained silent beside Delphine.

He knew Ceres appreciated him, but still, he was used to her mockery.

"I do want something," Ceres admitted.

"But he can't grant it.

"Maybe you can?"

Azura tilted her head.

"Tell me."

Ceres's voice remained steady, her words calm but firm.

"I need 600 HP to cast a Dream Spell, " Her fingers curled into fists. "to talk to someone not of this world."

A tense stillness filled the tent.

Aurelian's hand clenched into a tight fist.

His knuckles turned white.

Azura exhaled softly.

"I am sorry," she said, regret in her voice.

"But we Narfs have naturally long lifespans.

"You could say that one human year is merely one day for us.

"So there is no way for me to grant your wish." 

Ceres lowered her gaze, disappointment flashing in her eyes. She understood all too well that if even the Holy Beast couldn't grant her wish, then the Narfs likely had no power over it either.

But upon seeing the desperation in Ceres's eyes, Azura decided to speak the truth.

Even though it could risk reigniting the Great War.

"But I do know someone who can give you what you need," Azura said softly.

Ceres's eyes widened with sudden excitement.

"Is it another Holy Beast? Do I need to subjugate him?" she asked eagerly.

Azura shook her head, amused.

"No. No Holy Beast can give you what you need. Although they can grant immortality, they cannot increase your HP. They only freeze a human's HP at its maximum, so you could say, the immortality they grant is nothing more than an illusion."

Azura continued calmly, "But you do need to awaken the five remaining Holy Beasts. You will need them to locate the being who can grant your wish."

"Who?" Ceres demanded. "A Celestial?"

She couldn't help her skeptical tone. After all, wasn't it the Celestials who had placed her soul in this body? She doubted they'd help.

Azura offered a small, cryptic smile.

"No. Although he possessed Celestial blood, he is not a Celestial."

Her smile widened.

"He is the Demon Lord."

"Lucifer?!" Ceres exclaimed, her voice breaking into a shout. Everyone in the tent gasped.

"Lucifer?" Azura repeated, confused by the name.

"You said Demon Lord, right? That is Lucifer," Ceres explained, her voice still tinged with disbelief.

Azura frowned thoughtfully, then her expression brightened as though realizing something.

"By any chance, are you referring to the Celestial being Samael?"

Ceres froze, recalling that Samael was indeed the angelic name for Lucifer.

"Yes. That's him," she muttered.

Azura smiled.

"Very few humans know of the Celestial Samael. Most only know him as Solmara."

Ceres's eyes went wide.

"What the fück?!" she burst out, swearing loudly.

"Empress!" Aurelian scolded her at once, appalled that she would curse.

But Ceres ignored him, too stunned to care.

"Lucifer is Solmara?" she repeated in disbelief. "That devil created this world? No wonder it's so messed up, this place might as well be Hell!"

Azura and the others winced at her bluntness.

"I'm not sure why you have such a deep grudge against the Celestial Solmara," Azura said gently, "but he is not the Demon Lord. Though I did hear rumors that the Demon Lord was his descendant."

A long silence followed.

Finally, Ceres inhaled slowly.

"All right. Tell me everything I need to do to speak with this Demon Lord," she said, her voice firm with resolve.

If this was the one who could grant her wish, she would do anything to meet him.

Azura nodded.

"You simply need to awaken all five of the remaining Holy Beasts. You don't have to subjugate them. Once all the Holy Beasts are awake, the balance of mana in the world will return to normal, and that will disable the Blinding Mist."

"Blinding Mist?" Celion asked, frowning.

Azura folded her hands.

"It is an incredibly powerful spell that currently envelops this world. So potent that even 'true sight' cannot pierce it. It's a spell that keeps humans from seeing the other five kingdoms, the demi-human kingdoms."

"Are you referring to the kingdoms of dwarves, elves, demons, night dwellers, and shape-shifters?" Ceres interjected, remembering what Ori once told her, then saw Azura nod.

"Yes," Azura confirmed. "Apart from us Narfs, who have a neutral stance between humans and demi-humans, there has always been racial discrimination among the races. Unfortunately, humans have always believed themselves superior. Because only humans can subjugate the Holy Beasts.

"Demi-humans naturally live longer lives, but their populations grow very slowly. Humans, though they live shorter lifespans, reproduce far more easily. And the larger their numbers grew, the more land they required. Thus, kingdoms waged war against one another. 

"Demi-humans could not afford to go to war, fearing total annihilation. No matter how powerful they were, small numbers could be overwhelmed. Some humans captured them, enslaved them, or worse."

Azura sighed, letting the weight of those words settle in the air.

"So one day, the Demon Lord proposed something to the other leaders of the demi-human races: to surrender to him. In return, he would ensure that humans would never harm them again."

"How do you know this?" Lady Layla asked, breaking her silence for the first time since the Narfs entered the tent.

Azura met her gaze steadily.

"Because he offered us the same deal," she admitted. "But I declined. As I said, Vaelundis and Azur were once sister kingdoms. I promised that we would not interfere in the conflict between the demi-humans and Vaelundis, but I refused to submit to the Demon Lord."

Ceres leaned back in her chair, intrigued. "So what happened next?"

Azura smiled faintly. "For the first time since the beginning of time, the five demi-human races came under one ruler. And then, the Demon Lord challenged the humans. He demanded an end to the war and proposed that the fate of their races be determined by a single trial, a question."

Ceres raised a brow. "A question? He wanted to decide everything with just… a question?"

Azura nodded. "Yes. He challenged the Holy Beast Masters, the champions of humanity, to answer it. If they failed, humans would be forbidden from waging war against the demi-humans ever again or harming a strand of their hair. Since the Holy Beasts could see through lies, they were confident that the Demon Lord would not cheat. However, the humans set a condition: though there would be only one question, each of the six Holy Beast Masters would be allowed to answer."

Ceres let out a sharp laugh, shaking her head. "So they wanted six chances. As long as one of them got it right, they would win. And if they answered correctly, what then? The Demon Lord would bow to them? Seriously, humans can be so damn manipulative sometimes."

Azura chuckled. "You're close. The Demon Lord said that if he lost, he would bow, and so would all the demi-humans, to the strongest Holy Beast Master."

Ceres froze. Her smirk disappeared.

She narrowed her eyes. "Let me guess… the Demon Lord deliberately lost, and the Great War began."

Azura's lips curled into an amused smile. "Yes." 

"Your Highness, you're mistaken," Sir Cedric said, brows furrowing. "The Great War was fought between the human kingdoms."

Ceres slowly turned to him. Then, she looked at Azura.

"Are you absolutely sure there's no way for me to undergo the Bloodletting Ritual?" she mused, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Because the more I listen to humans, the less I want to be one."

Aurelian shot her a warning look, but she ignored him.

"Your Highness!" It was Delphine this time, looking genuinely troubled. "How can you be so sure the Demon Lord lost on purpose? The fate of the demi-humans was at stake."

Ceres smiled, this time, it was genuine.

"If anyone else had asked me that, I'd be disappointed," she admitted. "But because you asked, Delphine, I'm actually glad. It means you still have your sense of reason, I haven't corrupted you yet."

Then, she turned back to the table, eyes glinting.

"Let's say the Holy Beast Masters of that time were Xul, Baron Aldric, Count Revan, Sir Deon, Sir Cedric, and High Court Magician Celion."

She gestured lazily at the individuals around the tent.

"The Demon Lord's condition was that if he lost, he and all demi-humans would bow to the strongest Holy Beast Master. Now, let me ask you, out of the six of them, who is the strongest?"

A long silence followed.

And then, the realization hit.

The Demon Lord had played the Holy Beast Masters like puppets.

Because one of humanity's greatest flaws, was pride.

None of them, especially the ones wielding Holy Beasts, would ever acknowledge someone else as stronger than them.

And to prove it, instead of uniting under one victor, they turned on each other.

Allies became enemies in an instant.

Azura picked up the story from there.

"You see, Holy Beasts, though powerful, are forbidden from harming each other directly. Otherwise, they would be no different from ordinary beasts. If they did break that rule, it would trigger a Binding Spell, placed upon them by Celestial Solmara at the beginning of time."

Ceres listened, eyes sharp.

"The moment they broke the rule, they would forget who and what they were… and they would slumber, only to awaken once a new Master appeared to claim them.

"That's why, when Seiryu fell into slumber, he returned to his original home, Azur Deep.

"And in doing so, he accidentally froze our entire kingdom with him.

"And with the Holy Beasts asleep, the world's mana was thrown into chaos.

"And in that chaos, the Demon Lord cast the Blinding Mist."

A heavy silence filled the tent.

Ceres leaned back, arms still crossed.

"Let me guess," she drawled. "The Holy Beast Masters never realized they were played like fools until it was too late."

Azura chuckled.

"They didn't realize at all," she corrected.

Ceres rolled her eyes.

"Of course they didn't."

Then, after a moment, her gaze sharpened.

"What was the question?" she asked. "If he wanted to ensure they wouldn't suspect his plan, it had to be a question they wouldn't dare to doubt."

Azura's lips curved into an amused smile.

"Who is the most beautiful woman in all of Solmara?" she revealed.

Silence. 

"Mother fuuuuuuckerrrr!"

Ceres's curse rang through the tent, making some flinch while others stared in horror.

"Empress!" Aurelian scolded.

But she wasn't listening.

Her face was a picture of disgust and disbelief.

"Those arrogant bastards got tricked by a goddamn beauty pageant question?!" she exclaimed.

Azura's smile widened.

Ceres groaned, burying her face in her hands.

And this was the same Demon Lord she had to seek out for help?

A being who effortlessly manipulated humanity into destroying itself with nothing but a single, loaded question?

Ceres lifted her gaze, staring at the ceiling.

"I'm so screwed."

Because if the Demon Lord hates humans, then what were the chances he'd actually help her?