"Alright… you know where to come," Dereus said.
"I know, I know," Celea replied.
"Wait, how are you alive if you were killed?" Deon asked.
"Long story, and I don't have the energy to tell you," Celea said.
"Celea, you are his mate…?" Zela asked.
Celea frowned at her words.
"Don't curse me like that, Zela," Celea said.
"Curse?" Claus asked.
"Anyway, back to our discussion," (Celea)
"As I was saying, the reason he needed my death is because… I am his one and only weakness," Celea continued.
"But how are you his weakness?" Deon asked.
"Have any of you ever seen the Devil's face?" Celea asked.
"Yes, we did see his face," Zehn said.
"I also saw it," Dereus added.
"Does he have golden eyes?" Celea asked.
"Yes…
"Yes…"
sigh
"There is a prophecy that is over 1,000 years old," (Celea)
"It says: between the darkest place and the holyest place, between black blood and pure blood, when the sky falls for the underground, two words that should have never mixed... there is a child who should have never been born. The child who will save humanity but is doomed to sacrifice her parents. The mothers eyes are closed and the golden eyes are waiting for its turn, for his very blood running though his daughters veins is want is able to kill him....
"It still doesn't explain how you are his weakness," Deon said.
"Damn, you are slow," Celea replied.
Celea's eyes then turned golden.
"WHAT?!"
Everyone was shocked.
"Celea, is he your father?" someone asked.
"He is most likely my first biological father, but I only have one real father, and he's no longer around,"
——-
"How long did you know he was your father?" Deon asked.
"I just realized it," Celea replied.
"I will never call you stupid in my life," Deon said.
"So you are a devil?" Zhen asked.
"No, I can't be 100% devil. Something doesn't add up. I must be a hybrid," Celea concluded .
"Do you have any idea who or what your mother is?" Zela asked.
"I have an idea of what she might be, but I can't say for sure. I'll need to document more about this whole situation myself," Celea replied.
"Her identity will be the last piece of my puzzle to figure it all out," she whispered.
Dereus knew she was talking about her curse and didn't know how to comfort her.
"Alright, that's all for today. The meeting is over. We got a lot of useful information today. Good job, everyone."
"Uncle, you can sleep here if you want," Celea added.
"Celea, as much as I want to be next to you, I know that if I stay here any longer, I'll end up fighting that guy," Dereus replied honestly , referring to Claus.
"Alright then, have a nice flight back," Celea understood. She herself was finding it hard not to kill him herself
Dereus gave her a hug and left. The others left too, except for Claus.
They were now staring at each other in silence.
"You have a spy in your council," Celea
"Is that so…?" Claus
"Yes, and I think you're smart enough to figure out which one it is."
She was talking about the one who kept asking obvious questions to get more detailed information.
"That's all. I'll leave now," Celea said before leaving the room.
Claus remained staring at the door she had just gone through, absentmindedly.
***
"Selene, come out."
Silence.
Celea was now on the palace rooftop.
"I know you're listening, and I also know why you're hesitating. You'd better come out now before I find other ways to learn the truth — and you may not like how I do it."
Selene appeared before her.
"The Devil is my father, isn't he?" Celea asked.
"Yes," Selene replied.
"And my mother is — she's related to my curse, isn't she? Is she related to you?"
Silence.
"Selene, answer me. I know I'm not completely devil. If I were, there would be no need for me to keep being reincarnated when I could help my father rule Hell like his other children," Celea said.
"Even a hybrid would still get to live in Hell, but I don't — which means someone was very angry about my existence. Tell me."
"It's true. You're not completely devil, nor a normal hybrid," Selene said.
"Celea, you are my niece."
"Are you saying I'm your sister's daughter?" Celea asked.
"Yes."
"Is she also a goddess?"
"Yes."
"What kind of goddess?"
"She is the Goddess of Stars."
"Let me guess — she had an affair with the Devil, got pregnant with me, and died giving birth?"
"To put it simply, yes."
"It's more complicated than it sounds," Selene sighed.
"She isn't really dead. Gods can't die. It's more like a coma. She's been asleep ever since you were born."
"Were you angry that your sister got into that situation, so you cursed me?" Celea asked.
"No. Not me — my mother did. The Goddess of the Sun. She cursed you."
"I see…" Celea murmured.
Celea was now in her room, staring at the countless stars in the midnight sky through the long window, absentmindedly.
"Did you ever love me? Do you regret my existence? Do you regret having me?"
she was wondering about the woman who gave birth to her
***
"So how did you meet my brother?" Deon asked.
"You are very curious," Celea said.
"Well, I get bored easily. It's a long way to the fairy territory. I need gossip to survive," Deon replied.
"Well, this play goes both ways, mister. I need gossip to survive too "
The mood shifted to a serious one
"Deon I think the devil is hiding your mates, he definitely tried to make the curse more plausible so you may get to meet your mates now both you and your brother "
" I don't know about that….I've been waiting for such a long time that I forgot how to hope I'll ever find her "
" one thing I learned was that no matter how big the world is people who are meant to meet will meet eventually no matter who tries to stop that from happening even if that person is you yourself "
Celea never intended to meet Claus but in the end she had nowhere to hide
"Alright now back to my question, how did you meet my brother ?"
"I attacked his palace."
"WHAT?!" Deon exclaimed.
"Yeah, the side you saw under construction was my doing."
"Wow, my new sister is so cool!" Deon laughed.
"Sister? How am I your sister?" Celea asked.
"Well, you're my brother's mate, which of course makes you my sister."
"Call me his mate again and I'll punch you so hard you'll forget your name," Celea threatened.
"Haha…" Deon laughed nervously.
"You're a little aggressive, you know that?"
"Okay, my turn now," Celea said.
"Why were you all so sure you were cursed to never have a mate back then?"
"You sure know how to ask the right questions," Deon replied.
"Of course."
"Well… back then, we were mercilessly killing everyone who went against us — even the innocent ones. Behind all that land, there was blood and tears from those who had to be sacrificed for us to gain territory and power. When I heard of the curse I thought haa…. So this is the price I have to pay "
Celea studied his facial expression.
"Do you consider yourself a monster, Deon?"
Deon stayed silent for a moment before answering.
"What else would you call someone who did monstrous things like we did?"
"You know, Deon, no one is born a monster. A monster is always made. So who made you a monster?" Celea asked after a brief pause.
"Did you enjoy killing them?"
"…No…" Deon said, as painful memories resurfaced.
"Then you're not a monster, Deon. You were just a scared kid."
"How so…?"
"You grew up in a world where you had to kill or be killed."
"You're quite wise for your age, Celea."
"My age? You know how old I am, Deon?"
"Aren't you, like, a teenager?"
Celea laughed.
"I'm actually older than you, kid."
"WHAT?!"
Celea left him behind, and Deon ran after her.
"Celea, did you also grow up in a world like that?"
"The game is over. We arrived."
***
"KING, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!"
"EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"
"ALPHA, THERE ARE DEMONS ATTACKING US!"
"Julius, Sebastian — get everyone ready to defend!" Claus ordered his Beta and Gamma.
****
"KING, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!"
"WHO DARES ATTACK MY LANDS?!"
"SIR, IT'S THE DEMONS!"
"GET EVERYONE READY TO FIGHT!" King Dereus exclaimed.
****
"Zela, there are too many of them. I don't think I can keep up…"
"We will get out of here alive, so stay with me a little longer, okay?"
The witches were also fighting the demons.