Chapter 74: Questioning Nova

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Questioning Nova

The room remained silent.

Nova sat before Theon, body restrained, movements limited by the glowing bands around his wrists and ankles. The arrogance he had shown earlier was nearly gone.

Theon leaned slightly forward.

His eyes stayed on the primordial demon.

"What do you mean," he asked, "by everything changed?"

Nova stared at him for a moment. Then he lowered his head.

"The moment the Dark One disappeared from the primordial demon realm... everything began to fall apart."

Theon frowned.

Nova continued.

"Before his disappearance, the primordial demons had something that could almost be called peace."

"Almost?"

Nova gave a dry laugh.

"Calling it peace would be generous."

He shifted in the restraints.

"We were never peaceful creatures. We simply knew better than to start a war that could destroy everything around us."

Theon listened.

Nova’s expression grew more serious.

"The Dark One was the reason that balance existed."

Theon glanced toward Ifrith.

Ifrith said nothing. Nova went on.

"When he was there, every primordial demon knew there was someone above them. Someone powerful enough to punish even the strongest among us."

He paused.

"But when he disappeared..."

Nova’s eyes hardened.

"That restraint disappeared with him."

"Old grudges returned," Nova said. "Demon clans that had hated one another for thousands of years finally stopped pretending to tolerate each other."

"The first conflicts began with small territories."

"Then those conflicts became wars."

"Then those wars became something far worse."

Theon narrowed his eyes.

"How bad was it?"

Nova looked straight at him.

"Kingdoms fell."

Theon blinked.

"Wait."

He sat up a little.

"The primordial demon realm has kingdoms?"

Nova gave him a strange look.

"Of course we have kingdoms."

He paused.

"We don’t live off garbage, you know."

Theon stared at him, then sighed.

"All right. Go on."

Nova continued.

"Some kingdoms were swallowed by other kingdoms. Some rulers were killed. Others disappeared. Entire demon clans were erased from existence."

His voice grew quieter.

"And some of the strongest primordial demons simply vanished."

Theon frowned.

"Vanished?"

"Some were sealed." Nova raised one finger.

"Some escaped into isolated dimensions where no other demon could find them."

He raised another.

"Some fled into the human realm."

Theon looked at him at once.

"The human realm?"

"Yes."

Nova nodded.

"They came here looking for somewhere to survive."

His expression darkened.

"Others came here simply because they wanted to cause chaos."

Theon leaned back.

"So the demons that appeared in the human world..."

"Some of them came from that period."

Nova’s answer came without pause.

"The wars in our realm forced many demons to flee. The human world became one of the places they could hide."

Theon said nothing.

Nova’s voice dropped.

"And the longer the wars continued, the worse everything became."

The Great Primordial War

"The conflict eventually became known as the Great Primordial War."

Nova’s eyes looked distant.

"As the war continued, the realm itself began to change."

"Entire territories were destroyed, Mountains disappeared, Rivers were replaced by seas of demonic energy, Some regions became impossible for even primordial demons to enter."

Theon listened as Nova continued.

"Thousands of years passed."

"Thousands?"

Theon repeated.

Nova nodded.

"Thousands."

He looked down at his hands.

"I survived through most of it."

Theon raised an eyebrow.

"You?"

Nova shot him an annoyed look.

"Yes, me."

"I survived some of the worst battles the realm had ever seen."

"Then how did you end up sealed?"

Nova’s expression changed.

His confidence was gone.

"The Dark One."

Theon looked toward Ifrith.

"What?"

Nova nodded.

"He was the one who sealed me."

Theon’s eyes narrowed.

"Ifrith actually sealed you?"

Nova looked at Ifrith.

"Yes."

Theon turned to Ifrith.

"Why?"

Ifrith was quiet for several seconds.

Then he answered.

"He killed a human."

Theon’s expression froze.

"What?"

Ifrith’s voice stayed calm.

"He killed a human."

Nova lowered his head.

Theon looked between them.

"Well, that’s fair."

Ifrith nodded.

"During my time as the Dark One, I established a rule."

His gaze hardened.

"No demon was allowed to kill a human."

"If a demon violated that rule, they would be sealed."

Nova’s expression turned slightly bitter.

"But I didn’t listen."

Ifrith looked at him.

"And that was why I sealed him."

Theon nodded slowly.

"That makes sense."

He looked at Ifrith again.

"It’s true, Master."

Ifrith’s eyes shifted toward him.

"You really are the Dark One."

Theon paused.

Then Silver cut into the tension.

"None of us would be able to withstand his aura if he released his full power."

Ifrith shook his head at once.

"Master, you have nothing to worry about. My powers are already suppressed."

He lowered his gaze. "I will not release them."

Theon frowned. "But you need to."

Ifrith looked at him in surprise.

Theon continued.

"We don’t need another Demon Blight situation."

His expression grew serious.

"If it happens again, I might not be able to save you."

Ifrith lowered his head.

"Understood, Master."

Theon nodded and turned back to Nova.

But Nova was no longer looking at him.

His eyes were fixed on someone else.

Lazaria.

Nova’s eyes narrowed. Lazaria noticed and her expression changed at once.

"What are you staring at?" she asked.

Nova gave no answer. He kept staring.

Theon noticed the change.

"What is it?" he asked.

Nova stayed silent as his gaze moved slowly across Lazaria.

"There is something strange about her."

Lazaria’s expression hardened.

"What are you talking about?"

Nova didn’t answer her.

Theon looked at him.

"Explain what you mean."

Nova finally looked toward Theon.

"I can’t."

Theon frowned.

"You can’t?"

"Or perhaps..."

Nova’s eyes returned to Lazaria.

"I don’t want to."

Lazaria’s expression grew colder.

Theon noticed at once.

"Nova."

Nova remained silent.

Theon leaned forward.

"You’ve already started talking. Finish what you started."

Nova sighed.

"Her aura..."

He paused.

"It’s strange."

Theon looked toward Lazaria.

"What about it?"

Nova didn’t answer right away.

He kept studying her.

Then something seemed to click.

His expression changed.

Theon saw it.

"You know something."

Nova’s eyes narrowed.

"Her aura resembles something I’ve felt before."

"What?"

Nova stayed quiet.

Lazaria folded her arms.

"Stop staring at me."

Nova ignored her.

"The aura around you..."

He paused.

"...isn’t normal."

Theon looked at Lazaria again.

He couldn’t sense anything unusual.

To him she looked exactly as she always had.

He remembered something Silver had said before.

Theon turned toward Silver.

"Wait."

Silver looked at him.

"You noticed it too, didn’t you?"

Silver’s expression shifted slightly.

Theon continued.

"You once told me that Lazaria’s aura reminds you of the Demon King aura."

Silver nodded slowly.

"Yes, Master."

Nova’s eyes widened a little.

"The Demon King?"

Theon nodded.

"But there was something else."

He looked at Lazaria.

"I remember your words."

Lazaria’s eyes moved toward him.

Theon went on.

"You said her aura didn’t completely resemble the Demon King’s own."

Silver nodded.

"There was another quality mixed within it."

Nova’s expression darkened.

He stared at Lazaria again.

Then he slowly stood.

The restraints around him tightened.

Lazaria stepped forward at once.

"What are you doing?"

Nova didn’t answer.

His eyes stayed fixed on her.

Theon watched carefully.

"Nova."

Nova finally spoke.

His voice was quieter than before.

"There is something about you that doesn’t make sense."

Lazaria frowned.

"What doesn’t make sense?"

Nova’s gaze sharpened.

"You shouldn’t exist."

Silence.

Lazaria’s expression froze.

Theon turned toward him.

"What?"

Nova didn’t look away.

"A being like you..."

He paused.

"...shouldn’t exist."

The room went completely silent.

Even Ifrith’s expression changed.

Lazaria stared at Nova without a word.

Theon looked between them.

For Once since Nova had begun explaining the history of the primordial demon realm, he looked genuinely disturbed.

And whatever he had sensed from Lazaria...

It clearly frightened him a lot. Because for her to so casually seal a primodial demon soul meant. there was more to her than being just a demon.