"IT'S the Kiss of Death," Skylus said after inspecting Neoma noona's horrible condition, his eyes glowing brightly. "It's the technique that the God of Death would use to slowly claim the life of the people who are about to die."
When Skylus arrived in the palace with his father and Lord Manu, everything was a mess.
Both Neoma noona and Prince Nero were in serious condition.
[But noona's condition is worse…]
Skylus couldn't help but compare the royal twins' conditions to each other because Neoma noona and Prince Nero were lying on the bed side by side.
"Is there a way to stop that damned thing from eating at my daughter's lifespan?"
Skylus flinched after hearing the emperor's voice.
He was aware that His Majesty wasn't mad at him, but the emperor's angry voice scared him a little.
"Nikolai, calm down," the empress, Neoma noona's kind mother, said. "You're scaring His Royal Highness."
The emperor just let out a sigh.
"It's okay, Prince Skylus," Lord Manu, who came with him and his father, encouraged him. "You can tell His Majesty what you know. He's not mad at you."
Skylus nodded before he spoke. "Either the God of Death or his agent could stop the Kiss of Death from completely taking Neoma noona's life."
"The God of Death has been missing for a long time now," the emperor said, then he looked at the red orb enclosed in a glass box on the bedside table. Then he turned to the Moon Priest. "That eye that Neoma stole from Helstor… it belongs to the God of Death, doesn't it?"
"That's likely the case, Your Majesty," Lord Manu said politely. "I can sense the God of Death's divine power from the eye."
The emperor frowned. "Then does it mean the God of Death is already gone?"
"We cannot be certain yet," Skylus said when the Moon Priest remained silent because he was unsure about how to respond to the emperor. But unlike Lord Manu, Skylus was certain of his gut feeling. "I cannot confirm whether the God of Death is still alive or not, but I can confirm that he has left an agent in this world."
The emperor and the empress looked relieved by what he said.
[I'm glad to have given them hope.]
"Prince Skylus, do you know where we can find the God of Death's agent?" the empress asked kindly. "We need them to help my daughter live, don't we?"
Skylus smiled and nodded. "The agent is already headed this way, Your Majesty."
***
"ARGH. You totally knew we were coming for you, don't you?" Trevor complained as soon as he and Lewis received a 'warm' welcome. "You're so boring. You could have at least pretended to be surprised by our arrival."
"You used a terrifying power and forced a warp hole to appear in my backyard," Ruto said indifferently. "Did you not expect us to notice your arrival?"
One of the perks of inheriting the Ancient Devil's power was having the ability to force a teleportation port anywhere the Ancient Devil had stepped foot on.
Fortunately, that old bastard had already been to the Solfrid Estate.
"We don't have time," Lewis said impatiently. "Come with us."
Ruto was about to open his mouth to speak when…
"Daddy."
Huh???
A toddler, who seemed to be at least a year old, suddenly appeared behind the damned chef.
[The baby's eyes are closed even though he's awake…]
Then the baby crawled up Ruto's leg until he reached his torso. In the end, the baby boy clung to the damned chef's neck while the latter carried him in his arms.
[That baby… is a newborn god.]
Wow.
A powerful god was reborn at this time?
"Daddy, are we going to where Mommy is?"
That snapped Trevor out of his trance.
[I have a bad feeling about this.]
Only a newborn god would be able to speak coherently like that, so that confirmed his initial thought.
"Hey, kid," Trevor said nervously. "Who's your 'mommy?'"
"Princess Neoma," the baby said in a monotone voice as if he was already fed up with everything even though he was just "newly" born. "Princess Neoma is my mommy."
[I knew it!]
"Hey, kid. If Princess Neoma is your mommy, then you're calling the wrong guy 'daddy,'" Trevor complained, then he pointed at his face. "I'm going to marry Princess Neoma in the end, so I should be your father."
"You can't be my father," the kid said while shaking his head. "My daddy is stronger than you."
Ouch.
Trevor's pride was hurt, especially when Ruto smiled smugly.
[This punk…]
"It's already closed…"
It was Lewis.
The fox's words were too vague, so they could only look at him while waiting to finish what he was supposed to say.
Lewis glared at the baby. "Princess Neoma's adoption center is already closed, so you can't be her baby. Greko is and will always be our youngest."
The baby just looked at Lewis as if he was bored. "You're weaker than me, so your opinion doesn't matter, fox. I only listen to people stronger than me."
Lewis looked shocked by the baby's attitude.ραпdαs `n?ν?| сom
Trevor could only frown.
[It's the kind of attitude that Princess Neoma would love…]
"Aegiya, that's enough."
It was Ruto, and the term 'aegiya' meant 'baby' in the Korean language.
Trevor raised an eyebrow at the damned chef. "The baby doesn't have a name yet?"
"I'm not confident in my naming sense," Ruto admitted, and he looked quite embarrassed. "So, I'm thinking of letting Neoma name the child."
"A horrible decision, I must say," Trevor said while shaking his head. "I love Princess Neoma with all my heart, mind, body, and soul, but her naming sense is… not it."
Lewis nodded in agreement while looking at the baby with a look of pity. "Poor child."
***
NIKOLAI regretted allowing Rufus and Glenn to accompany him in the tearoom as he tried to calm himself down.
[These crybabies…]
They were still waiting for the agent that the God of Death had apparently chosen.
He left the room where Neoma and Nero were at because his bloodlust was leaking.
But he was just next room.
Moreover, Mona was there to guard their children. Neoma and Nero's knights were also guarding the entire palace.
Skylus, on the other hand, was sleeping in the guest room.
The young saint had exhausted his divine power, so Manu let the child rest while they were still waiting for the agent to arrive.
[I asked Mona to rest, but how could we do that when both our children are in danger?]
"I can't believe this," Glenn whispered in a cracked voice. "Princess Neoma has only less than four years to live?"
Rufus sniffled, and it was obvious that he was trying his best to hold back his tears. "That damned God of Eternal Darkness. If I could turn back time, I would stop my ancestors from worshipping that bastard."
It was surprising to hear Rufus, who was usually calm and eloquent, curse that much.
[Well, that's a testament to how much Rufus cares about Neoma. If I remember correctly, Rufus was also a good father to Neoma in her first life. And I can see that.]
"If only there's something else we can do to help…"
"The fact that your son gave us hope is more than enough help, Glenn," Nikolai said, trying to console Glenn whose eyes were already red and puffy from crying. "If it wasn't for Skylus' assurance that not all hope was lost, Mona and I would have already lost it. Your son's vision is helping us get by."
And it was the truth.
Fortunately, Glenn looked relieved by that. "I wonder who the agent of the God of Death is."
"Me, too," Rufus said. "But whoever they are, I hope they come quickly."
Nikolai nodded in agreement. "They have to or else, I'll completely lose my mind."
***
RUTO bowed his head to Emperor Nikolai and Empress Mona.
None of the leaders from the Eastern Continent was invited to the royal wedding, but the news of Emperor Nikolai's marriage to Empress Neoma had reached their continent. He was pretty sure that it reached the entire world since the Great Moonasterion Empire was currently the strongest empire in the human world.
To be honest, his uncle and cousin (the Crown Prince of their kingdom) were pissed that they weren't invited to the royal wedding. His cousin also tried to stop him from coming with Trevor and Lewis to the empire.
But, of course, he had to go.
[My divine father wanted me to turn my back on the empire, but doing so will only help Helstor succeed in diving the continents apart.]
"Ruto hyung!" Skylus greeted him cheerfully. "The new agent of the God of Death."
To be fair, Ruto hadn't formally accepted the position yet. But he didn't get the chance to correct the young saint because the emperor opened his mouth.
Emperor Nikolai looked at Ruto with knitted eyebrows. "What is that thing, Ruston Stroganoff?"
"A baby, Your Majesty," Ruto said proudly. "He grows quickly every day."
"It's a baby god," Empress Mona said in disbelief. "A god was reborn out of nowhere?"
Not "out of nowhere," but Ruto didn't have time to explain.
Lord Manu, the Moon Priest, looked shocked. "That divine aura…"
"Daddy, let's hurry," Aegiya said while tugging at the collar of his jacket. "Let's kiss Mommy Neoma before it's too late."
Ruto almost choked on his saliva because of what Aegiya said.
Worse, he was almost crushed by Emperor Nikolai and Empress Mona's bloodlust as the royal couple glared at him– demanding him to explain.
Ruto cleared his throat. "Your Majesties–"
"Three years and seven months," Aegiya said, cutting off what Ruto was about to say. "That's Mommy Neoma's new lifespan."
The room instantly grew cold.
Even Ruto was shocked.
[The last time I heard, Neoma has still five years left.]
"My eye," Aegiya said, pointing at the red orb enclosed in a glass case on top of the bedside table. "Daddy, that's mine!"
***
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