After being teleported back into his domain, the demon lord of wrath had no clue as to how he was back in Scorchen Gaia. And while he struggled to grasp what had happened, a whiff of Asmodia's presence trickled into his nose.
Michael on the other hand, having lost all memories about the incident laid in a militaristic facility with countless healers cycling through continuous shifts to make sure their general was in good health while recovering his youth.
As for the man cursed with slumber by the mistress of darkness, he lay on his bed inside the Frost castle. Surrounding him from all angles around the bed, not only the ones present at the battlefield, but even Moriyana, and Margarette were worried sick because of his strange condition.
"It's mother's doing, I can smell her presence all over him," running her hand over Haruki's body, Moriyana created a glistering block of light right above him. "See? Some of her mana is slowly escaping whatever curse she puts on him!"
Witnessing a fluid-like motion in the glistering block, they were easily convinced by Moriyana's assessment.
"The widow said a demon lord was hiding in the army, but what exactly did Asmodia do to him?" Worried sick, Rose bit down on her nail.
"We didn't find anyone on the battlefield either, just him," Her eyes sunken with deep dark circles, Asuka could barely keep herself from exploding in tears again.
Being the only one who was unconscious throughout the ordeal, Riley only looked on in horror, hoping that Haruki would wake up as soon as possible. The room echoing with worries had been a hub for all the inhabitants of Frost castle to come out and check up on their master, that is except Athena and her daughter who were left behind at Lamenia to continue helping the elves to find the library of heroes.
"Ughhhh!" Frustrated out of her mind, Moriyana grabbed her hair and pulled tightly on them in a moment of insanity. "What the fuck?!"
Stepping away from her, everyone who'd been surrounding the bed watched her fail yet another attempt to pull Haruki out of the illusion.
"By Melicia! I wanna kill Mother!" Cursing out Asmodia had become a sport for her while trying to dispel her curse on Haruki's body. Instead of doing any harm to the mistress, however, her fury only made shattered fragments of her illusions overwhelm the bedroom with their countless eyes crawling on everyone's skin.
Noticing the eyes appearing all over their bodies like pimples, the entire room filled with women burst into screams and cries, calling for someone to help them. And as if that wasn't enough, their insanity fed more power to their fears, and soon enough bursting out of those eyes came limbs of hairy men and monsters.
"Moriyana!" Raising her voice against the crazed illusionist, Rose grabbed her by the arms and shook her violently to pull her out of the maniacal frenzy. "Stop this!"
Despite her own skin riddled with deformities, Rose pushed through the discomfort and brought Moriyana back to her senses.
"What?" Looking around, she witnessed the grotesque sight that she'd brought forward. "Fuck…I used Melicia's name, didn't I?"
"Yes, you used that witch's name to curse Asmodia, now end it!" Rose exclaimed, urging her to end the suffering of everyone around them.
Shutting her eyes tight, she forcefully expelled all her mana out of her body to no longer be able to fuel the curse. Finally, as the illusions of madness subsided, the maids and Haruki's servants exchanged nervous glances while questioning reality.
A moment of silence followed the whole incident. It served as a reminder of just how dearly they were in dire need of a leader. Shooting scornful looks at Moriyana, everyone wanted her to leave the room before she caused any more chaos. Taking responsibility for her mistake she offered no rebuttal and simply left the room without another word.
"Nobody does anything now, just go back to your station and work!" After that chaotic experience, Rose was back to her authoritative demeanor as the headmaid of the castle.
Even Asuka and Riley were made to leave Haruki's side so he could rest inside his room in lonesome. However, who stuck around till the very last, didn't want to leave him alone. In her mind, the man laying on the bed was no longer just a mere demon, but a father to a child, and the man who'd saved her brother from certain death.
"You better wake up soon, I don't want you to abandon your daughter like this," leaning over to his forehead, she planted a brief kiss before finally leaving.
Left alone inside the room, Haruki was stuck in a state of limbo with no sense of self or even the slightest hint of his existence. He had no dreams, no nightmares, no meets with the devil, or the usual tea parties, instead what he was experiencing in his slumber was a state of soulful respite.
Being the mistress of illusion and a practitioner of time magic, Asmodia had made sure he wouldn't wake up until his mind was finally back over his shoulders and his actions reflected some semblance of sanity.
"I'm done with this stupid place…" Breaking the peaceful moment Fay walked in through the bedroom door and gazed over at Haruki laying on the bed.
Her eyes bawling out tears were darkened by clots of blood. Walking over to the bed, she towered over Haruki and just stared at him for a moment. Right behind her came Rose, the only one who'd noticed her storming into the room.
"Fay, what are you doing?" Standing by the door, Rose asked in a mellow tone. "Can you get away from him please?"
"No…" She replied, and the wolves from her scarf let out a growl.
Gradually turning to face the headmaid, Fay had her wolves baring their fangs as a threat in case she tried to come closer.
"We're sitting ducks waiting to be slaughtered here," with a heavy heart, she voiced her concerns about staying in the castle any longer than they needed to. "I don't care what happened back at Aria, but if Michael showed up there, then surely the emperor will figure out what's been happening in this kingdom! And despite that, you guys still want to live here?! It's suicide! I don't care if it's his kingdom or whatever, we need to leave, all of us!"
Although she was acting hysterical, her words of concern were enough to make Rose reconsider their plan to lay low in Laria. After all, Michael only moved on the emperor's command, and since she'd not seen him die at the hands of the king of wraths, she was led to believe that he'd returned to the emperor with every ounce of information about Haruki's kingdom.
"You're right, we need to abandon this place," hearing that from Rose, Fay finally let down her guard.
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