“What about that golden thread? After devouring the Demon King’s power, can it be cut?”
Lu Mo asked.
And this time, the woman’s voice was silent for a long time.
It was only after a long while that she finally answered. Her tone was complex and lost, no longer carrying the earlier frivolity and mockery.
“I… don’t know.”
‘I don’t know—’
Lu Mo subconsciously wanted to say it, but quickly caught herself and spoke coldly.
“There are things even the Primordial Demon Emperor doesn’t know?”
“I am merely a consciousness born from a fragment of her authority, possessing only some very fragmented memories,” the woman replied. “And in those memories, it seems I… once fought against such powers as well.”
“I don’t know if I defeated those beings, or what happened afterward…”
“The only thing I know is that I ended up like this in the end.”
The Primordial Demon Emperor was the most ancient emperor of the entire demon realm.
Standing at the apex of the demon realm, her power surpassed all Demon Kings—she could be said to be at the pinnacle of the entire world.
But even so, such an emperor still fell.
Her soul scattered, her authority shattered.
In the end, she became what she was now—the vessel spirit of the Original Sin Divine Weapon.
If she had ended up like this after fighting against the beings behind that thread…
Then the horror of those beings was self-evident.
“Those beings are the gods you have always praised.”
“Existences above the world, transcending the origin itself, the ones you humans look up to…”
“What are those beings?” Lu Mo asked.
‘It was as she expected.’
Long ago, Lu Mo had already speculated about this.
What stood at the end of the sky?
What kind of existence could casually manipulate others’ fates with a single thread?
Combined with the laws of The Holy Sanctuary and the doctrine of the Saintess, she had finally… pointed her answer toward The Gods.
Perhaps because she had already mentally prepared herself, Lu Mo did not react much.
This caught the woman by surprise.
“Hey, doing this means you’re blaspheming against the gods. Even so, you don’t care?”
“Ah… as expected, you were born to become a Demon King, to sit upon that ancient throne.”
The woman initially wanted to say something tempting to lead Lu Mo astray, as she had before.
But when she felt that Lu Mo’s will had not wavered in the slightest upon learning the truth, a tremor stirred in her heart instead.
“That thread… is what you ultimately want to cut, isn’t it?” the woman asked.
“Yes,” Lu Mo answered with unwavering determination.
“Even if it’s nearly impossible for you?”
“Even if it means… you will stand against the entire world, even against The Gods themselves?”
“You will swing a mortal sword under the gaze of The Gods?”
After the woman’s words fell, a long silence ensued.
She no longer appeared in Lu Mo’s mind.
And Lu Mo simply nodded lightly.
“Cecilia.”
Lu Mo walked out of the deep pit and showed a smile to the girl who had been obediently waiting.
Cecilia had regained much of her senses by now.
“Miss Lu Mo—”
She struggled to stand up and stumbled over to Lu Mo.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Not at all, it was only a few minutes.”
Cecilia shook her head, and at that moment, that cowlick of hers perked up slightly, gently swaying.
“I was… controlled by something just now.”
“Yes, it was Solaris and the others. They also wanted to slander you here, put you on trial, and…”
“They went too far…”
“It’s okay, Cecilia,” Lu Mo said. “No one will try to control you anymore.”
“And they… won’t appear before us ever again.”
They were dead.
That was the truth.
But Lu Mo didn’t want Cecilia to see such a bloody scene.
She simply stated that cruel result in brief words.
Cecilia understood her meaning.
“Mm.”
She didn’t blame Lu Mo, nor was she afraid.
She just nodded with a smile.
“That’s fine, then.”
She always stood by Lu Mo’s side unconditionally, no matter what Lu Mo did.
From deep within the Demon King’s Throne, another intense surge of energy erupted.
Lu Mo turned around and looked toward the direction of Rumina and the Demon King.
“Cecilia.”
“Yes?”
“Do you still have the strength to keep moving forward?”
“Of course.”
“Then let’s go.”
“Where to?”
“To the deepest part of the Demon King’s Throne—the end of this expedition.”
“We’re going to… kill the Demon King and end this era.”
So the two took each other’s hands again.
They headed toward the destination.
Along the way, they encountered no more obstacles.
They were already very close to the depths of the Demon King’s Throne, and the auras of Rumina and the Demon King became increasingly clearer in their perception.
In their field of vision, the pitch-black palace was closing in.
Cecilia watched Lu Mo’s back in silence.
Lu Mo had saved her once again.
Just like every time before.
Wresting her from Solaris’s clutches.
Freeing her from the confines of the Saintess’s rules.
Driving away the children who bullied her.
Teaching her what love was, what sorrow was.
Giving her a heart that could laugh and cry freely.
Leading her out of those walls.
And now, Miss Lu Mo was about to face the Demon King and end everything.
But what about her?
She hadn’t been able to help at all.
She wanted to help Lu Mo too.
With her own strength.
With… her own will.
But what else could she do?
Or rather, she didn’t just want to do something.
She wanted to convey something.
The deepest emotions in her heart.
The words she had never been able to say.
“The Sacrifice of the Saintess.”
Cecilia suddenly remembered that painting.
It was the Pope’s favorite.
In the painting, the Saintess fell into the Hero’s arms, dedicating everything about herself to the Hero and the divine artifact.
And the Hero, wielding the awakened divine artifact, faced the endless demonic horde alone.
At that time, she had accidentally slipped in front of the massive painting.
And Lu Mo had caught her.
For some reason, at that moment, their posture mirrored exactly that of the Saintess and the Hero in the painting.
And now, Lu Mo was leading her toward where the Demon King resided.
The sacrifice wouldn’t cause her to die.
It would only cause her to lose part of her talent and realm, transforming them into the other’s power.
In that instant, Cecilia seemed to suddenly understand what she had to do.
“Miss Lu Mo—”
Just before the destination, she suddenly called out to Lu Mo.
Lu Mo stopped.
The moment she turned around, Cecilia suddenly rushed forward.
Rising on her tiptoes, she hugged Lu Mo tightly.
And then—
Kissed her lips.
It all happened too fast.
In that moment, time seemed to slow down.
The chaotic energy fluctuations in the distance faded away.
The world-ending momentum also quickly fell silent.
The two of them felt the world shrinking around them.
Shrinking until it seemed only a single song remained.
Until it seemed only one eternal kiss remained.
Some ancient ritual began silently at this moment.
At that instant, Lu Mo seemed to hear a voice from the depths of Cecilia’s soul—
“Therefore, I dedicate everything that constitutes me to you.”