“I say, don’t you think this is quite unreasonable?”
That was many years ago, when the Demon Realm had yet to be unified and the various demon tribes were still at war with one another. During that time, the Blood Race Empire remained independent from the rest of the demon races.
Because the Blood Race Empire possessed the largest territory and was the largest, strongest power in the Demon Realm, it had not only separated itself from the other demons but even showed signs of swallowing them up in turn. Consequently, the empire became the greatest threat to the other demon races at the time. In response, the Blood Race was equally hostile toward the others, leading to constant small-scale conflicts.
Even so, the Blood Race maintained its original size and stood firm.
All of this was thanks to the current Blood Queen. Even when compared to the past kings of the Blood Race, her strength was peerless. There were even rumors that the only one who could possibly be compared to her was the very first of their kind, the origin of the race—the Blood Progenitor.
Unfortunately, the Blood Progenitor had long since passed away, leaving the current Blood Queen as an almost invincible existence.
However, contrary to this immense strength, the Blood Queen did not choose to use her overwhelming power to flatten the Demon Realm.
Although other members of the Blood Race had some objections, they knew that while they stood at the peak of the Demon Realm on the surface, they were not yet capable of taking on the rest of the realm alone.
After all, while the Blood Race was strong, other powerful races and individuals existed among the demon kind. There was the leader of the Devil Race, known as the “Ability Crusher,” as well as the Yaomo and Flame Demon Tribe. Although the latter two seemingly disliked each other, they were surprisingly in sync; they rarely participated in wars but held powerful weapon technology. There was also the Underground King, who controlled a vast amount of intelligence through the abilities of the Shadow Demons. If the Blood Race were to make enemies of these powerhouses all at once, they would find themselves in an extremely dangerous position.
However, only the Blood Queen herself knew that there was another reason besides these—or rather, a reason of her own.
—
“Who… are you?”
Watching the white-haired girl who had suddenly appeared, sitting on the windowsill with her back to the moon, Egrette immediately raised her guard to the highest level.
Even with her strength, she had not sensed the girl’s arrival at all. Even face-to-face, she could not sense any presence from her. However, her instincts were screaming, telling her that the girl before her was incredibly dangerous.
‘If she had chosen to attack instead of speaking, I might have died without ever knowing what happened.’
“Me? I am just an unknown person.”
The mysterious girl gave a sweet smile, yet she remained impossible to read.
“Unknown? With strength like yours, it is unlikely you could remain unknown.”
The current era was chaotic. The weak had little value and could only wait for destruction; they could only survive by attaching themselves to the strong. But even the strong had to fight constantly to live like normal people, which in turn drew the attention of even more powerful figures.
In other words, if she were weak, she could not have appeared before Egrette. If she were strong, it was impossible for Egrette not to know of her.
“Only for now. That won’t be the case in the future,” the girl responded plainly, as if everything were within her grasp.
“Very well then. Miss Future Star, is there something you want from me?”
Egrette did not coddle her. Since this person’s strength far exceeded her own, it would only take an instant for her to act maliciously. Since she was still unharmed, the girl likely wanted something from her.
Hearing Egrette’s question, the girl seemed very satisfied. The corners of her mouth curled up as she spoke.
“It’s nothing much. I just came to ask you about that sentence from before.”
“That sentence from before?”
Egrette recalled the first question the girl had asked.
“Unreasonable? What are you asking about being unreasonable?”
“What else could it be? Isn’t it exactly what you were agonizing over just now?” the girl answered casually, causing Egrette’s heart to skip a beat.
“…You know?”
“Isn’t it that you want to change the current chaotic state of the Demon Realm… or rather, stop the conflicts between the demon races?” the girl said, propping up her head while looking at Egrette.
The Demon Realm had experienced war for a very long time. Countless demons had suffered under the flames of conflict, and thus, there was an urgent need for someone to stand up and end the Great War.
However, such a thing was easier said than done. Currently, more than one demon possessed the strength to qualify for the task, and none of them were willing to submit to another. Even if they used their strength to decide a winner, the small gaps in power were not enough to make them fully acknowledge a superior.
Furthermore, there was an even more important issue: even if the long-standing war ended, the demons at the bottom would not simply let go of their years of resentment. This was what troubled Egrette the most.
Unlike the other members of her race, she did not intend to invade the other demons. In fact, if possible, she hoped that not just the Blood Race, but all the demon races and even different species could live in harmony.
However, while ideals were grand, reality was cruel. The members of the Blood Race under her command were extremely hostile toward other demons.
“Speaking of which, I am curious. Why are you keeping this hidden? As the Queen, shouldn’t you be able to force the other members of the Blood Race to obey?”
“…It is not that simple. I can only forcibly compel the bodies of a few members of the Blood Race to obey; I cannot completely control their will. Moreover, once the range expands to the entire race, my power becomes negligible… But more importantly, there would be no point in doing that.”
As she spoke those last words, Egrette raised her head and met the girl’s eyes.
Seeing her determined gaze, the girl’s smile deepened.
“Very well. I am very satisfied with you. Choosing you was indeed the right decision.”
With that, the girl reached out a hand toward Egrette.
“My name is Ai Yue. My current small goal is to unify the Demon Realm. To that end, your strength is indispensable.”
The girl named Ai Yue smiled beautifully. Behind her was the bright, clear moon, yet it could not compare to her holy whiteness. The moonlight sketched a silver outline around her, but it was outshone by her cold, blue-white eyes and enchanting smile. This exquisite figure left Egrette stunned in place for a moment.
“I will rule the entire Demon Realm with absolute power. Before me, all shall be equal, and people will be able to interact on equal terms. That part requires the assistance of others. So, come, become my accomplice.”
Facing the hand reached out toward her, Egrette thought for a brief moment.
The conclusion she reached was—no thinking was required.
Immediately, Egrette reached out as well, grasping Ai Yue’s hand, which was much more slender than her own. As she did, endless strength welled up within her heart.