CHAPTER THREE : THE REAL EVIL (3)

"Oh dear, why are you standing here alone my cute little bunny?" Her warm hands ruffle through his black hair. A woman wearing rags is sitting down while peeling the potatoes. Unlike him, people seem to hate that woman.

The smells of fire and the dirty ashes on her face were visible. He knows that woman.

'Mother!'

'Wrong, wrong, wrong.'

'Cold, cold but it's burning!'

"You bastard! Dirty humans! The fact that I gave birth to you is my greatest sin!" The woman is kneeling in the middle of the small room. She cried, so hard. She weeps in despair. The marks on his left cheek are visible. No longer a bunny who she used to adore, but a mistake she wished to destroy. Her hand is no longer warm. The boy pleads, he shouts and screams.

'Don't abandon me.'

The bruise never stops reappearing. The laugh and mocking voice of the one who leads to her misery. Her burning face was coated with flames drawing a hideous scar. She no longer wished to stay. So alike, they are so alike, the face that resembles hers looking back at her. The child stops screaming, fighting against something that he can no longer control.

'I love you, dear.' It's a lie.

An empty mantra that keeps repeating in the child's mind. The child holds onto the simple chant and ends up getting hurt again. The cruel fate awaits them as God refuses her wishes. Her child is no longer there. Taken to a safer place.

'Goodbye, be happy. I love you.' It's a broken promise.

The flower that brings light to the room is long-wilted. The boy wished to see her once again and the father granted it. As he walks toward the old palace, he plucks a bunch of red roses so that his mother to see her smile. Only to find a bloody figure cursing him until her final breath.

'I love you.' A lie

'I hate you. You are a monster! You took everything from me. I hate you.' A truth, final truth comes to light as the child realizes he killed his mother.

*****

The nightmare that haunts him once again resurfaces. Liam wakes up in a cold sweat. His mother's bloody figure coated in the kitchen knives is something he can never forget. Liam took a deep breath and looked at his surroundings. The ceiling that was decorated with gold and diamonds sent him to reality as he realized he was not dead.

He wore white pajamas and lay on a king-sized bed. The room is extremely luxurious. The paintings that worth millions and trillions. A large window next to him. The sun shines brightly. There's a sofa next to the bed.

A boy is sleeping without care holding a bunch of roses. The child is belittling him as he converses with the knight. Is he going to be a hostage? Such ridiculous remarks appear on his mind. Liam sneaks and looks toward the scars on his chest. The sight of the staff, the woman who he loves…

The sounds of the falling bouquet direct his attention to the small boy. 'Roses, red flaming roses are his mother's favorites Liam talks to himself silently. He glances at the blue-haired boy. He is rubbing his eyes. They were red and puffy.

"You're awake. I'm glad it works. You need to stabilize your body first." Yawning, the boy leaves the room. Liam is climbing down the bed. He can sense it. His body temperature is lower than normal. His heart beat as well. His body feels light and cold. He tries to remember the child from before.

"…" A weird boy.

Liam tries to move his legs and looks toward the mirror. His appearance slightly changes. Luckily it's not too distinct. He looks so much similar to his mother now. The deep emerald forest eyes are getting darker. A knocking sound caught his attention. A small child, a succubus is sneaking behind the door. The older woman is looking at him trying to let the child leave. Unfortunately, the child wishes to help her mother. Sister? Liam silently laughs.

Humans and demons are not that different. He knows he might die today. The fact that Triane attacked him witnessed by his party members makes him realize that he was never part of the team. If not because it was the royal decree that the child of Velathor would marry the firstborn, they might never meet.

"Do you need something?" The woman looked at him with a hardened face. It's not disgust but akin to longing and nostalgia. Her brown hair was tied in a bun shape. She is wearing a black and white outfit. If his conclusion is correct, this woman is a maid. A maid, a luxurious place, and a large scenery, real scenery outside the windows. He should be at the Demon lord's palace. The child he met before is a prince? Maybe the demon lord child?

Liam looks again at the woman. This time she looks like she is going to break down. The child is hiding behind the mother's skirt. Her voice is hoarse. "Young master, do you need something?" Liam looks towards the woman and glances worriedly. Young master. A human a young master. Does he get kidnapped to somehow become the demon's personal night servant, a bride, or an adopted son? Elden slapped both of his cheeks as he realized he was being crazy.

"I don't. But may I ask you for what purpose am I being detained here? The last thing I'm aware of is the fact that I almost died." Holding his hand to his chest, Liam asked the woman.

"Ah, Lord Claude didn't tell you anything?" Liam shakes his head. Claude, the child's name should be Claude.

"I see. Don't worry too much. Most of the demon kins are beyond sadistic. They used to instill chaos and wreak havoc, but no one would harm you inside the lord's palace. Especially if they see your eyes." His eyes again. He overheard some of the child's sentences with the knight.

"If anything, please rest and continue your sleep. Your body needs time to recover. I guess the scar that you got will also give you some moment to think." Liam looks towards the woman who is walking away. He is now alone again. She was right. The most important thing for him to do right now is to think and keep a calm mind. Triane just smiled when she said that she wished to become the crown princess. Is she being threatened by someone?

Did the Royal family somehow get the weakness of the Velathor family? He needs time to think. Of course, twenty years of a relationship cannot be gone just like that. Liam steeled his heart. He needs to find the truth.

He has another visitor. A familiar man that he will always see especially in the demon's subjugation council. The guild master of Cardine, Theoris Gilheart is looking at him with a mocking eye. The youngest top three guild masters of the Empire. His cold grey eyes locked into his emerald green eyes. Never once did he think about the fact that the third strongest person in the Ellcra Empire was wearing a demon noble robe.

"She finally killed you huh? Nothing unexpected though." Theori's voice is calm. Too calm to his liking as he expected that his party would betray him. It sends a goosebump to his spine. Did Triane never love him? Those haunted smiles. No, before that, he needs to find out about this man first.

"What in the world are you doing here? With the demon clan? Are you the traitor?" Theoris smirked and closed the door behind him. Grabbing the man's wrist, Liam was pushed onto the bed. Theoris caressed the man's face as his eyes looked at the pair of emeralds.

"Traitor… it's a great name though. No, it's the goddess of Luminaire who abandoned me first, little prince. She abandoned her, that woman." Theoris pinned both of Liam's hands and whispered in his ears. Liam was shocked. He tried to deny everything that he heard from the man. No matter what, he simply can't find a voice to refute it.

Theoris let the man sit up from the bed and sit opposite of him. He conjures a spell and puts all the documents on the table. The goddess prophecy, his mother's death, the fall of the demon empire, and her death. Looking through the documents, Liam clamps his mouth shut. He can't say anything.

"We lost her, we lost Santhiana! Because of the goddess who wished to increase her stupid followers! Do you get it?" Theoris is covering his face with his hand. "We need to destroy them all. We need to destroy the world, Liam! Only with that humans can be free. Only by burning and turning everything to ashes, the humans can finally find their salvation as the goddess can no longer have any followers!"

"The goddess choose humans. She chose them and abandoned us, demons, sirens, dark elves, and the other dark creatures." Theoris noted to the silent Liam. "We need to destroy them all, we have to kill all of them, Liam! We need to show them that we are not weak. We can fight back."

Liam still looking at her mother's portrait. Does this mean his father married his mother for the sake of the prophecy? His relationship with Triane is fake, she wishes him to die so she can be with his half-brother.

Franz who been keeping all the secrets and silently assassinating some of the villagers to make sure his influence never grew far more than the Crown prince. Heion keeps using him as a vanguard despite his lack of ability with training. Callisto sent and tampered with his information to the public mocking his mother who killed herself.

For the first time since her mother died, the man shed a tear. He cries and weeps for a mother who he failed to save and grieves for himself who was stupid enough to be deceived. Revenge. He needs to punish and give them back what they sow.

Theoris hugs Liam tightly as he comforts the man. At first, he looked extremely sad but a moment later a dark glimmer can be seen in the depth of his eyes. Only Theoris notices the sight of the demon king who is smiling and approving his word.

Claude knows that he is forcing Liam to do something that he never wished for. This is the only way he can do it. As long as Liam hates humans, he won't end up like Arkaine or Santhiana. The flower bud will bloom into the darkest shade of blood. The person who holds the torch to destroy the world will be the man that been abandoned by the world.

'Revenge, kill Santhiana's murderer and fulfill his vengeance.' Claude and Theoris nodded to each other and steeled their heart. 'We shall guide this child.'