The Broken Demon Lord.

"Hngh..."

Ouch. This pain.

"Huh? Oh... they took me to a bed. This is comfy but it's unsettling too." I say.

The bed is nice and all but all the curtains around it are torn and the wood is going kinda black. You can see that the room hasn't been in care since who knows when.

[Awake?]

Hmm.

[How's the pain?]

Somewhat fine.

[That's good then. I was a tiny bit worried. Only a tiny bit because I knew what had happened.]

What did happen?

[Well. The first thing is you are dumb. You are dumb for a good reason so I won't blame you for the thing you did back there.]

Hey! Not blaming me is good and all but why am I dumb?

[Well you are an idiot for using a skill when you didn't know what it was. Many skills could be used in its place.]

But you didn't tell me that!

[Well I was panicked too so that is why I said I won't be blaming you. I partly blame myself for what happened.]

Oh..hmm.

[To put it in easier words, you had a Sub-skill under your angelic skill that allows you to take any injury or any illness from a person upon yourself and destroy it within your own body.]

Oh... so that is what [Reversal] is...

[Yeah and don't you dare use it again.]

O-Okay... I won't...

[Good. Now I'll activate a healing spell. It should eliminate the pain and heal the traces of the illness completely.]

Do it please. This pain in my chest is a bit uncomfortable.

[I know. I can feel it too.]

What...?

[Oh. Nothing.]

Wait...

['Light's Cure"]

What was that? There was a bright light above my head just now...

[It's a type of healing spell specifically meant for illnesses.]

You say an illness but what was it? I haven't seen anything like that before.

[Well... it's Mana Poisoning.]

What's that?

[It happens when you are exposed to High Amounts of mana. She must have Mana Overload and when she exposed herself to mana again... She fell ill.]

That could explain the Mana Oversaturation inside the barrier. Remember? I said that the barrier was breaking apart. Could it be that she was trying to fix it from the outside?

[It's possible. It's also possible that she doesn't understand how it works. It seems that she is a kid. She must be a bunch of years old but if you think according to human standards... you could say that she's 12.]

12 you say?! And she's handling the Demon Realm?!

[To state the cruel truth... There isn't much left here. This world will be destroyed.]

Is that really true? I don't want it to...

[Don't go getting any reckless ideas. You won't die but don't dare put yourself through pain.]

I-I know...

[As for the time left till this world completely collapses... it is uncertain but... about a month?]

So we have a month....

[For what?]

Oh, nothing.

[Well not exactly a month. You remember you talked about that... Time Dilation at the Castle? Well... there is time dilation between these realms as well.]

There is? How?

[I called Albart and everyone else through the SoulBridge and found out that 1 hour here is approx three hours there. If we calculate the time according to that...about three months if we stay in our realm.]

That's good. We can think of a measure there.

"Hngh.. the pain is gone," I say.

I stand up and get out of my bed. There is a big window just as I get up, in front of me, on the left side of the bed.

I walk towards it and look outside. The world in turmoil... do I leave them like this? My heart says the opposite. I don't want to leave the people that are trying to survive so hard. And when I know that they will die if I leave them, there is nothing else I can do but help them with my strength.

[Measure? What are you thinking?]

Well... we will think of one when we have the time. First, we have to ask that if the Demons other than the demon lord have the same illness.

[It is possible since there is so much mana here.]

Where are they anyway? Shouldn't they be crying by my bedside?

[You're not dead you know.]

You don't cry at a bedside only if someone has died!

[Master...]

What?

[Someone is behind you...]

Someone is behind me...?

I turn around to inquire swiftly. I see a Girl. Barely 20, standing and staring at me with confusion and nervousness.

"Hey-?" I try to greet her but she turns around quickly and darts out of the room.

"What was that...?" I say.

[Was she afraid of you?]

"That is possible..." I say.

I walk toward the blackened wooden gate and place my hand on it.

"To think even wood is mutated because of the mana oversaturation..." I say.

I push the door outwards and it opens with a faint creak. I step outside the room and see that I am in a big hallway. The hallway is lit up by torches lined on the wall. It gives the vibe of a dungeon but it isn't. This is the Demon Lord's castle.

"Hmm?"

I hear some people running. The sound seems to be coming closer from my right. Just as I start walking towards it,

"Oh!"

"Velkra!"

Felia and Carmine pop out of a corner. They stop while raggedly breathing so it looks like they were the ones running.

"You are okay?!" says Felia.

"Yeah, Yeah. I'm fine now. Don't worry." I say.

"Don't worry?! What the hell! You just collapsed out of nowhere, Didn't wake up for two days, were covered in black spots, looked like you were about to die from suffocation and you tell me to not worry!" says Carmine.

Her eyes water up to show that she is on the verge of crying. Maybe this was a traumatic experience for them.

[Not just them.]

Really?

[Yup. The folks back in the Kingdom were in distress too.]

Wait. How did they know?

[Come on. I told you the ones with your blessing are equally connected to you.]

No. Did they feel the pain too?

[Not the pain. Not them but what they felt was extreme despair and uneasiness. From that, they knew that there must be something wrong with you. They were ready to jump into this realm but I stopped them.]

Really? I guess I need to be careful...

Now to calm these girls down...

"There!"

I leap towards them and grab both of them. I hug them hard with their heads on my chest. Carmine and Felia both blush. The blushing wasn't because of embarrassment but of severe Relief and Warmth of Love. Like the feeling, you get when you are hugged by your mother...

Wait... how do I know that,,,? I thought I couldn't remember... anything... Ow!

My head! It hurts...

But I don't wanna worry them... I'll hold them for a bit until it gets better...

Ow! There is that pain again! Wait... what is this..?

{Come on Fu-chan... You don't have to cry that much... Come here... I wasn't hurt that much. See? It's just a small cut. You can get these if you aren't careful with knives. You should be careful too when you grow up. Got it? You won't worry Mom if you are careful. }

What was that? A Flashback...? Why...?

"Umm... Velkra... Can you let go now? It's been a while..." says Carmine.

"Uh... huh? Oh. Okay. You guys okay now?" I say.

What was that...?

"Yeah. We're good. Looks like Felia got what she wanted too..." says Carmine as she teases Felia.

"Seriously Carmine!" she says.

I guess they are frank with each other when not in the mansion.

"Hmm...? Who's that little girl that's hiding behind you Felia?" I say.

I say that because I notice that there is someone behind Felia, Peeking out. She hides behind her completely just as I say that.

"Umm... You don't recognize her...?" says Felia.

I haven't met her, have I? Unless that illness took away my memory.

"I'm afraid that I don't," I say.

"O-Oh you don't need to be so sad Anikia!" Says Felia as she turns around to console the girl.

"Velkra... I guess it can't be helped because you didn't see her that time... This is the Demon Lord." Says Carmine.

What?! This cute girl with big red eyes?! This girl who has a doll-like face?!

"U-Uh I'm sorry... But isn't this a huge change in attitude...?" I say.

"I was... t-talking to you as the demon lord at that time... But I'm not here as the demon lord today..." says the girl with an unbelievably sweet voice.

She is a girl that was definitely doted on. She must be loved by her parents but it looks like circumstances can drive you to a corner you didn't want to be in.

I wonder how she handled her parents' deaths. And the fact that she took responsibility for the realm after that.

"You don't need to hide. Come out I won't be doing anything you know?" I say.

"O-Okay..." she says and she pops out.

She stands in front of me with her hand tied below while she looks down.

"You can ease up you know?" I say.

At that, she lets go of her nervous hands and looks up at me with teary eyes.

"W-What is it?!" I say in a panic.

"Are you alright Anikia-chan??" says Felia.

"Is something wrong??" says Carmine.

She is looking at me with weary eyes. Those eyes are the eyes of a kid that say they are fed up or tired. I feel bad for her.

"I-its nothing... It's just that... You remind me of my mother... that is all..." Says Anikia.

"Your... Mother?" I say.

"Now that I think about it... she did say something like that when she saw you..." says Carmine.

"Your face... it's very similar to my mother's... aside from your scales and teeth... it shows great resemblance..." says Anikia.

I think I get it now. She sees me and remembers her Late mother,

I get on my knee and open my arms. I look at her with a gaze that says she can come and hug me.

"*Sniff* Mother!" says Anikia.

She runs up to me, leaps into my arms, and starts crying rivers. She is shivering too. Her legs give out and her arms lose strength. I hug her with my arms and hold her to my chest.

"I'm so... Tired! I'm so alone!" she says as she cries.

She sniffs and snuggles in my arms. She must be so desperate.

"But I have to... Fulfill my duty! I am trying to save them but I can't!" she says.

"You can. You don't have to worry." I say.

She has been evidently trying to save the subjects of her rule. After her parents died, it is obvious that she was the one who had to take the throne.

"Hmm... Okay... I miss you, mother... Father..." she says.

She clings to me, still crying. But now she is a bit calmer. I wonder how much she has suffered and missed her mother to the point where she can break. She definitely was going to die if I didn't come here.

"I gave up. I was going to die. My loneliness wasn't a factor when I was about to die. I just had to make sure that they survived... *Sniff*" she says.

Her crying has stopped but she is still hugging me. I get the idea that she won't be letting go any sooner.

"You don't have to give up. I am here now." I say.

"Hmm... I know." She says.

Felia is looking at us with a hand to her mouth and tears flowing out. Carmine is facing away backward. She turned away a while ago so it seems that she is crying back there too.

"There!" I say and I get up with Anikia in a princess carry.

She holds me with her face buried in my shoulder, still sniffing. She sure was looking for love and care all this time.

I turn back.

"Felia, Carmine. What were you guys doing before coming here?" I say.

"We were... Treating other people.." says Carmine.

"Treating? Ah. I see, they are sick too. Well then, you guys can continue. I'll talk to her for a bit and put her to bed. You guys don't need to come." I say.

I nod my head. It seems that they understand my intention. I want to talk to her alone. She might not be able to open up if someone is watching.

I wonder why I'm doing this? I get no benefit from doing this but doing this puts a warmth in my heart. It's a nice feeling.

"O-Okay then we'll go back..." says Felia, looking a bit worried.

"Good," I say and then start walking to the room I previously walked out of.

I open the door with one hand and go towards the bed to put her down.

"You can lay down here," I say.

I try to put her down but she won't let go.

"Um... Anikia? You don't want to lie down?" I say.

"Please..." she says.

"I guess it can't be helped. I'll lie down with you." I say.

"Hmm...*sniff*" she says while she sobs.

I lie down after quite a struggle because I haven't dealt with kids before. Or even if I have, I don't remember. Once I get down on the bed, I put her head on my arm. Just as I do that, she closely clings to my chest with her face buried in there.

It's a warm feeling. I don't know why but I feel quite happy and loving.

"You know something?.... I'm not that strong mother. I put up an act so that everyone doesn't get worried. But they see through it even after that. They try to bring as much less trouble as they can but I can't do anything... then they said that they wanted to go to the human realm so that they can get a cure for me... instead, that filthy man caused a huge seen there and it seems that he was quite beaten up after that..." she says.

"Don't stop. Keep talking. Let it out." I say.

"HE did all those things and killed the humans there and he got severely punished by someone. After he came back he went insane as he talked about the person but anything he said wasn't clear. *Sob* I'm not strong. I can't do anything for them." She says.

"You actually don't know how strong you are. It's because you haven't fought anyone. You know that you are stronger than the hero in the human realm? It's pretty amazing" I say.

"It is not that... I am not strong of spirit or mind *Sob* I'm powerless and I can't do anything for them. The chance that I had was ruined by that filthy demon. I miss Mother and Father...*Sob* they would care for me so much. It isn't that they don't care about me, it's just that..." she stops.

"It's okay. Everyone goes through many things but turns out that yours was a bit harsher. There are even harsher conditions people have had to go through. There might be someone out in the world who lost everything, has no home, doesn't have anything to eat, nobody to take Care of them. At least, you have a home even if it's a broken one. You have your people that dearly care for you. I don't know about food but there must be something you can eat right? That in itself is a blessing. You going through all of this means it makes you strong. Stronger than a normal person out there. But now you won't have to worry. I'm here." I say after talking quite a bit.

She goes silent for a while. Then she looks up at my face with swollen eyes.

"Can I call you... Mother? From now on...?" she says.

"Um... What??" I say, confused.

"You know... you look a lot like my mother and you're caring... So I just thought if... uh I'm sorry for saying something weird. I won't call you that..." she stops seeing that I was confused.

"No, No! I mean... Wouldn't it be... but your real mother is..." I say.

I can't explain it. Wouldn't it be unfair for her mother if Anikia called me that?

"If you are wondering about... My mother, then you can rest easy. My parents would be happy if I found someone like you to be doted on by..." she says.

"I see..." I say.

"Then, Can I?" she asks.

"U-Um... O-Okay?" I say in a confused tone.

"...Mother..." she says.

"...Y-Yes?"

"Mother!" she says and she hugs me tightly and buries her face in my chest.

"I'm going to sleep for a bit... can you stay with me? I have nightmares if I sleep... it's very unusual..." she says.

Just how much has she gone through? I said all that to state the truth but even I think that she has endured too much. A girl this broken, who can cry in someone's arms who just looks like her mother. She must have been exhausted after all this time.

Being called mother... somewhat warms up my heart. Is this what other women feel when they have kids? I wonder...

"I'll stay. You don't have to worry anymore. I'm not going anywhere." I say.

After that, she goes to sleep in several seconds. She was that much tired.

I have to do something about her situation. What she wishes for is the survival of her people. Then she will get it. That is a promise I make to myself.

Her peaceful face when she sleeps. A cute and frail girl like her took responsibility for her people and I can't imagine how many died under her watch. I can't. I'll do everything.

That is a promise.

I guess we have another member in my Family. A daughter that is.