Chapter 326: He Has My Husband

Isvarn’s expression remained still, but his mind was anything but calm.

The Law of Deity was not something that should have been spoken so casually.

It had been created to maintain the balance of power within Nova, a necessity born from the existence of individuals whose strength had grown far beyond anything the world could reasonably contain.

Among them were the dragons who had reached the rank of Sage Dragon, beings possessing enough power to turn the world upside down if they acted without restraint.

There were only seven dragons who had reached that realm, and upon attaining the Sage rank, each had accepted the Law of Deity and the restrictions that came with it.

Isvarn was one of them.

His hand slowly tightened.

How does he know?

Only a handful of beings knew the true nature of that law. The secret was guarded so carefully that even most dragons remained unaware of its existence until they themselves reached the Sage rank and became subject to it.

Yet this demon knew.

Not only had Allen recognized that Isvarn was a dragon, but he had known exactly which law could prevent him from interfering.

This isn’t knowledge some pitiful demon should possess.

Isvarn stared at Allen’s golden eyes again.

That feeling returned.

He had seen those eyes before.

He was certain of it now.

His memories raced backward through ages long past, searching for the source of that familiarity. Then something finally connected, and Isvarn’s eyes widened slightly.

Those golden eyes.

That presence.

The way Allen spoke to a Sage Dragon without allowing fear to cloud his judgment.

Isvarn’s expression became serious.

"Are you... a Primal Demon?"

Allen’s smile widened.

"Yes, Great One."

He straightened slightly, no longer attempting to hide what he was.

"I am one of the Primal Ones. My class is Nefraion, without any title."

"Nefraion..." Isvarn repeated quietly.

Recognition immediately followed.

"I see."

His eyes moved across Allen once more, but now he was looking at the Demon King differently.

"One of the true sacred bloodlines of the Demonic Realm."

Allen placed one hand over his chest and bowed his head respectfully.

"I am honored that the Great One remembers us."

"No wonder."

Isvarn’s immense dragon presence still surrounded the area, yet Allen had never completely lost his composure before it. He had shown respect and caution, but not the blind terror an ordinary demon should have displayed before a Sage Dragon.

"No wonder you were able to maintain your composure before me."

Allen gave a small smile.

"I wouldn’t go so far as to say I don’t fear you, Great One. I simply understand what stands before me."

His gaze briefly moved toward Yuuta before returning to Isvarn.

"Now, if the Great One intends to respect the Law of Deity, may this insignificant demon leave this place quietly?"

Allen bowed again.

Isvarn said nothing.

He wanted to stop him.

Every instinct told him not to allow this demon to take Yuuta anywhere, especially after everything he had just learned. Allen knew too much. He knew about dragons, Sage Dragons, the Law of Deity and secrets connected to an age that should have been buried long ago.

Yet Isvarn couldn’t simply attack Allen and take Yuuta by force.

The Law was already in effect.

The very power that placed beings like Isvarn above almost everyone else was also the reason restrictions had been necessary in the first place. Once the Law of Deity had been properly invoked under its conditions, even a Sage Dragon couldn’t simply ignore it because the situation was inconvenient.

Allen could see that realization in his eyes.

The Demon King’s smile became slightly more relaxed.

He bent down and carefully lifted Yuuta into his arms again. Yuuta remained unconscious, unaware that his fate had just been decided by a law he didn’t even know existed.

Allen then looked toward the empty air ahead of him.

His lips moved.

A whisper escaped them.

The world answered.

The ground trembled as two enormous black pillars emerged several meters ahead. Ancient markings crawled across their surfaces as violet-black energy gathered between them.

The space separating the pillars twisted.

Then it tore open.

Darkness churned beyond the enormous gate like a bottomless night, while thin strands of violet energy crawled around its edges.

Isvarn watched silently.

His fingers tightened again.

He could stop Allen physically.

He knew that.

But the Law of Deity held him more effectively than any chain ever could.

Allen stepped toward the portal with Yuuta in his arms. He had nearly reached it when he stopped and glanced over his shoulder.

"Well then, Great One. It appears our conversation ends here."

His golden eyes met Isvarn’s.

"Perhaps we’ll meet again."

Isvarn slowly closed his eyes.

"I’m afraid that won’t be possible."

Allen stopped.

Isvarn remained perfectly calm as he continued.

"Because the moment you leave this place with that boy, a true calamity will begin hunting you."

Allen’s smile weakened.

"She does not respect the Law of Deity as I do."

Isvarn opened his eyes again.

"And when she discovers that you’ve taken him, she won’t care about your bloodline, your plans, your title as Demon King or whatever preparations you’ve made."

A faint smile appeared on Isvarn’s face.

"She will come directly to your home."

For the first time since revealing his identity, Allen felt something cold move through him.

He knew exactly who Isvarn meant.

Isvarn continued watching him.

"And I am quite certain you’ll end up dead by her sword."

Allen remained silent for several seconds.

The fear had appeared immediately. He couldn’t completely suppress it, because he understood the kind of being Isvarn was warning him about.

Yet eventually, Allen smiled again.

"Thank you for the warning, Great One."

His voice remained polite.

"But I’ve already made a few preparations for dealing with that particular problem."

Isvarn’s eyes narrowed.

Then understanding slowly appeared on his face.

"I see."

Allen waited.

"So you’ve already calculated that far ahead."

Isvarn looked toward the unconscious Yuuta in Allen’s arms, then toward the portal waiting behind him.

"You know you cannot win the coming war."

Allen didn’t deny it.

"Yes, Great One."

His answer came without hesitation.

"I am aware."

There was no arrogance in those words. Allen wasn’t pretending his forces were stronger than they were, nor was he foolish enough to believe strategy alone could erase the difference between him and the beings standing against him.

"I know exactly what kind of opponent I’m facing," Allen continued. "I am going against one of the most powerful beings in existence."

Isvarn studied him carefully.

Allen knew he couldn’t win.

He knew taking Yuuta would bring disaster directly to his doorstep.

He knew a Sage Dragon stood before him, and he had still willingly stepped into this situation.

That meant only one thing.

"You must be chasing something much greater than victory in this war."

Allen’s golden eyes shifted toward Isvarn.

"For you to know the consequences and still risk everything..." Isvarn continued, "whatever you’re trying to achieve must be worth more to you than your kingdom, your army... perhaps even your own life."

Allen said nothing.

He merely smiled.

That silence was enough of an answer.

With Yuuta still unconscious in his arms, Allen turned away from Isvarn and resumed walking toward the enormous portal.

Isvarn remained where he stood, bound by the Law of Deity, watching silently as the Demon King carried his Student away.

__________________

Location: Atlantis Ocean

The enormous iceberg descended from the sky like a frozen mountain.

Compared to its impossible size, even Leviathan’s colossal body suddenly appeared small. The monster raised its head as the shadow of the iceberg swallowed the ocean around it, and the light gathering within its jaws intensified until a brilliant solar beam erupted upward.

The beam struck the descending ice with enough force to illuminate the entire ocean.

Leviathan continued pouring energy into the attack, desperately trying to destroy the massive structure before it reached him. Steam exploded from the point of impact, and fragments of ice scattered through the air, but the iceberg itself barely seemed affected. Even as the solar beam burned against it continuously, it couldn’t penetrate more than the outer surface.

High above the ocean, Erza watched without moving.

The difference in power was obvious.

Leviathan’s beam had been capable of tearing through almost anything placed before it, yet against the enormous mass of ice Erza had created, it could barely scratch the surface. The monster finally seemed to understand that as well. Its attack weakened, and its massive body twisted violently beneath the water as it abandoned any attempt to destroy the iceberg.

It tried to escape.

The ocean exploded around Leviathan as it forced its enormous body forward, attempting to dive away before the descending mass could reach it. However, something of that size couldn’t disappear quickly enough.

The iceberg struck Leviathan directly across the head and upper body.

The resulting impact shook the ocean.

A tremendous shockwave spread across the surface, forcing the surrounding water outward in enormous circular waves. The sea rose and collapsed for kilometers around the impact point as Leviathan’s gigantic body was driven downward beneath the iceberg.

For several seconds, its silhouette remained visible beneath the disturbed water.

Then it disappeared into the depths.

Erza remained hovering above the ocean, watching the place where Leviathan had vanished. A faint smile remained on her face at first, almost as though she had enjoyed finally having something durable enough to release some of the frustration that had accumulated inside her.

But once she became certain Leviathan was finished, that playful expression disappeared.

Her face became cold again.

It was the familiar Erza that few people dared approach carelessly—the composed, distant woman who buried almost everything she felt beneath an unreadable expression. Yet beneath that cold exterior, there was finally a sense of relief.

The stress that had been building inside her wasn’t merely because of the invasion. Much of it had come from Yuuta, from the things he had said to her and from the uncertain state of their relationship. Those words had remained buried in her thoughts even while she fought, creating a pressure she hadn’t realized had grown so heavy. Leviathan had at least given her somewhere to release a portion of that frustration, and now that the creature was finally dealt with, she could think clearly again.

Erza released a slow breath and lifted her gaze toward the sky. The full moon hung above the ocean, its pale reflection stretching across the violently disturbed water beneath her.

She stared at it for several seconds before her expression tightened.

"I wasted too much time."

There were still demons inside the cities. Even if the Agency had managed to contain most of the invasion, she had no intention of assuming everything was fine until she saw the situation herself.

More importantly, there was someone she needed to return to.

Yuuta.

Whatever happened between them afterward, whatever arguments were waiting for her, she wanted to see him first.

Erza was about to move when something shifted.

Her entire body froze.

The change was so sudden that even the ocean beneath her became irrelevant. Erza sharply turned toward the distant land, her violet eyes narrowing as she focused on something far beyond the horizon.

"What... is this aura?"

She couldn’t see its source from such an enormous distance, but she could feel it. Somewhere far beyond the ocean, concentrated around one particular city, something had entered this world.

Erza’s hand slowly tightened.

A faint line appeared across her forehead.

It wasn’t ordinary aura.

It wasn’t demonic energy either.

Erza knew demonic energy well enough to recognize it immediately. Leviathan’s presence still lingered throughout the ocean beneath her, while countless demons had spread their energy across the invaded cities throughout the night. What she was sensing now was fundamentally different from all of them.

There was only one word that came close to describing it.

"Death...?"

Erza’s expression became completely serious.

It felt less like someone possessing an aura associated with death and more as though death itself had briefly entered this realm. There was something deeply unnatural about the presence, something ancient and suffocating enough that even Erza couldn’t dismiss it.

Her violet eyes focused on the distant city.

Darkness.

That was all she could perceive.

An enormous darkness had swallowed the entire area around the presence, preventing her from seeing what was happening inside. Whatever existed there was hidden behind that black veil.

No matter how deeply Erza extended her senses toward the city, an unnatural darkness obstructed them. It wasn’t ordinary darkness. Something had concealed that entire region from her perception.

Erza’s wings immediately spread.

With a powerful flap, the air exploded behind her as she rose higher above the ocean. She concentrated harder, trying to see through the darkness and determine exactly what kind of being had appeared.

Then the presence disappeared.

Completely.

Erza stopped in midair.

"Huh?"

Her violet eyes widened slightly.

There had been no gradual weakening. No trace of the aura moving away and no lingering presence suggesting that its owner had simply concealed themselves.

One moment, it had been there.

The next, it was gone.

"What was that...?"

Erza remained motionless above the ocean.

She had encountered powerful beings before. She understood what overwhelming strength felt like, and she certainly knew the difference between an ordinary aura and the presence of something that stood on an entirely different level.

What she had just sensed belonged to the latter.

Yet it had vanished as casually as though it had never existed.

Erza’s eyes remained fixed on the distant land until the unnatural darkness surrounding the city finally began to disappear. The black veil shattered, allowing moonlight to return to the streets beneath it.

And with the darkness gone, Erza could finally sense what had been hidden inside.

Her expression changed instantly.

The cold composure disappeared.

Her violet eyes widened as a familiar presence reached her.

"No..."

Her heart seemed to stop.

Even across such an enormous distance, there was no possibility of mistaking him. She knew that presence too well.

"Yuuta...?"

He was there.

For one brief instant, relief almost reached her face. Yuuta was alive. After everything that had happened tonight, she had finally found him.

But that relief lasted less than a second.

Because Yuuta’s presence wasn’t the only one she could feel.

There was something else beside him.

Something demonic.

Erza’s eyes widened further as she concentrated on the distant city. The demonic presence was powerful enough that there was no possibility of confusing it with one of the ordinary invaders. Worse, it was right beside Yuuta.

Her heartbeat changed.

"No..."

Erza focused harder.

Through the enormous distance, her vision finally found him.

Red hair.

Two straight horns.

Golden eyes.

And within his arms..

Yuuta.

Erza stopped breathing.

She knew that demon.

"Demon King..."

The name left her lips barely above a whisper.

The Demon King was standing beside her husband.

And he had Yuuta in his arms.

To Be Continued...