"AH, YOU'RE friends are here."
Neoma removed her sunglasses after hearing what Drystan had said. She felt bad for the King of Hell because the dude looked really offended that his territory had been infiltrated. "It's not because the security here is lax or something, Your Majesty," she said, trying to console the king. "Trevor and Ruto are just too passionate about me. They won't even let Death himself take me away from them."
Drystan looked at Neoma as if he couldn't believe her "bullshit."
"Thug princess, is that supposed to make the king feel better?" Tteokbokki said while shaking his head. "You're just giving him more trauma from being overpowered and disrespected by a bunch of kids."
The King of Hell glared at the Soul Beast. "You're actually making it worse, dragon."
"He's not a dragon," Neoma said, correcting the king. "He's just a silly ketchup-colored donkey, Your Majesty."
Tteokbokki glared at her. "That's so old, thug princess."
Neoma just shrugged. "You still react so cutely, so I guess it's still worth it."
They were bickering and were only brought to a halt when they heard a loud crack above.
It was as if someone had literally kicked and broken the fake sky.
And, soon, a portal appeared.
No one was really surprised when Trevor and Ruto fell from the sky.
But instead of landing right away, the two young (and handsome) men were forced to hand in mid-air literally.
After all, demons suddenly began attacking Trevor and Ruto while shouting "intruders!"
"Your Majesty, shouldn't you stop your demons from attacking Trevor and Ruto?" Neoma asked worriedly. "They'll die."
"Let them do their jobs," Drystan said, scoffing. "Those gentlemen aren't my official guests anyway."
[Poor demons. Their boss is too lazy to manage them properly.]
"Anyway, you should ask them for their hearts immediately, little princess," Drystan said. "I'll fix your Core from here."
"Huh? Is it possible?" she asked, surprised. "But my physical body isn't here."
"The Core isn't really a physical thing," the King of Hell explained. "You can think of it as a ball of life force stored in your heart. Normal people die as soon as their Cores get shattered because the broken pieces of the Core tend to "melt" whenever the heart that was supposed to protect them stopped functioning."
"Ah," Neoma said, nodding. "So, it was a good call to have my body frozen with his ice."
"It wouldn't have worked if it wasn't Nero Roseheart de Moonasterio's ice," Drystan said firmly. "You have to know that even if the greatest Ice Spirit froze your body, it wouldn't have stopped your Core from melting."
"Is Nero's ice special then?"
"Of course it is," the king said. "The Crown Prince's ice is made of divine power that he inherited from the Moon God. Moreover, his Roseheart Blood has healing properties. Hence, he didn't only freeze your body to stop it from rotting– he also froze the broken pieces of your Core. That's why it's still possible for you to be revived."
Hmm.
Hmm???
Hmm?!
"Ah, I get it now," Neoma said, nodding. "Lord Yule knew I was dying, so y'all were already preparing for me to be revived even before I peace out."
"When a very important person like you who can't die yet is suddenly scheduled to die, of course, we can't just stay still and do nothing," Drystan said. "We have to interfere."
That automatically brought a smile to her (beautiful) face.
Heh.
[I'm a very important person, as expected.]
Neoma's mini-celebration was only interrupted when Trevor and Ruto finally landed after getting rid of the demons that tried to kill them.
The two young men didn't even break a sweat.
"Stop," Drystan said to the remaining demons that still tried to attack Trevor and Ruto. "They're my guests."
Only the demons listened to their king.
Ruto was busy checking up on Neoma from head to toe as if he was looking if she was injured anywhere despite not having a physical body.
[Aww… my ex-man is worried about me.]
Trevor, on the other hand, was taking in the sight around him. The demon particularly looked pleased when he probably realized that the flame burning the city down was Tteokbokki's red flame.
[Only Trevor will find arson pleasing.]
Trevor grinned while approaching Neoma. "Yep, there's no way my Moon Princess would change her behavior just because she was dragged to Hell."
[Yep, even if I burn the world to ashes again, Trevor will still find it cute.]
"You're late," Neoma complained while looking back and forth between Ruto and Trevor. "By the way, the King of Hell said I need a heart."
"Why do you need someone else's heart when you already have mine, my Moon Princess?"
Neoma, who was already used to Trevor's cheesiness, didn't bat an eye.
But the people around her had a mildly "violent" reaction.
"Oh, for goodness' sake!" Tteokbokki complained while rubbing his arms as if he had goosebumps. "I'm getting second-hand embarrassment here. You should pay for my therapy, Trevor Kesser."
"Children these days say the most embarrassing thing with their whole chest, huh?" Drystan mumbled while shaking his head. "I'm glad I don't have children. I would have punched my son in the face if I heard him say something like that to the lady he fancied."
Even the demons around them began "whispering" among themselves.
"Are humans that over-romantic these days?"
"No, I think that child is just particularly strange."
"Right? He didn't even look ashamed after saying something so embarrassing."
Pfft.
It was true.
There wasn't an ounce of shame in Trevor's face despite the pouring complaints he was receiving at the moment.
The demon even looked proud.
Neoma then turned to Ruto, the only person there who didn't react "violently" to Trevor's cheesiness. "Hey, this is your opportunity to tease Trevor."
"Why would I tease him for that?" Ruto asked, genuinely confused and curious. "I can't make fun of Trevor when I would have said the same things to you, Neoma. After all, you didn't have to ask for something that you already own."
Tteokbokki, Drystan, and the other demons all let out a groan as if they were physically hurt by the second-hand embarrassment that they felt from Ruto's words.
Pfft.
[I wonder what happened to the Ancient Devil when Ruto's feelings for me are already this strong again?]
Neoma wondered if the Ancient Devil already dropped dead somewhere.
"Right?" Trevor agreed with Ruto, ignoring the complaints of everyone around them. "But why do you need a heart, Princess Neoma?"
"King Drystan said he'll fix my Core," Neoma said, then she turned to the King of Hell. "Though I haven't heard the full details yet."
"Follow me," Drystan said in a tired voice. "Let's have a proper conversation this time."
"Ah, Trevor. King Drystan tried to scam me with his half-assed offer earlier," Neoma said. Was that snitching? Well, whatever. She needed to let her Contractor know everything so he could help her properly. "He wants me to save the world, but the conditions are shitty. That's why I burned the city as a warning."
"Good job, my Moon Princess," Trevor said proudly, then his sharp eyes turned to Drystan. "Don't worry, Princess Neoma. Now that I'm here, I'll make sure you won't be trapped into an unfair contract."
Right?
That was why she needed Trevor there.
Neoma then turned to Ruto. "Hey, you're not in your physical body. Did you die?"
"I'm neither alive nor dead," Ruto explained. "But don't worry, Neoma. I left my physical body with my divine father. He won't let me die."
Of course.
She was relieved to hear that.
"But how did you "die?"" Neoma asked, knitting her eyebrows. "It wouldn't have been easy to "kill" you. And I don't think you would have killed yourself."
Ruto pointed at Trevor. "He did the job, and he did it as painfully as possible."
Trevor let out a gasp as if he was betrayed. "You snitch!"
"Gosh, why would you do it when you could have "killed" Ruto painlessly? You're so petty, Trevor," Neoma scolded the demon, then she turned to Ruto with a worried look on her face. "Did it hurt so much?"
"It did, but it was worthy," Ruto said while looking at Neoma warmly. "After all, I get to see you worry about me, Neoma."
Aww.
Neoma thought it was cheesy, but it was Ruto who said it so it was fine with her.
"Aigoo," Tteokbokki complained again. "Are you trying to kill me with second-hand embarrassment, huh?"
***
<"YOUR MAJESTY, half of my men have lost their Mana after getting in contact with the strange miasma that emerged from the ground.">
Nikolai clenched his jaws after hearing Rufus' report.
He was talking to his cousin using a communication device in the form of a small crystal ball. It didn't have a camera function, though.
"You must retreat now, Rufus."
<"But my men, along with Duke Hawthorne's troop, are in charge of the first life of defense, Your Majesty. How could we retreat?">
"That's exactly why you need to return," Nikolai said sternly, getting up from his seat. "Half of your men have already lost their abilities to fight. That means you're vulnerable to an ambush right now."
After all, why would the miasma attack the troops in the vanguard?
<"I understand, Your Majesty–">
<"Your Grace, run!">
And the call was suddenly cut off.
Nikolai felt a shiver down his spine when he remembered the blood-curdling screams that he heard earlier before the call was disconnected. "Rufus…"
***
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