As fellow high-ranking members of the Holy Sanctuary, the head of the Kalis family and the head of the Helovit family—Lu Mo and Cecilia’s fathers—also received this message.
“The Demon King is dead?”
“Little Cecilia also… survived in the end?”
The head of the Helovit family kept muttering, the long-suspended worry finally releasing.
“It’s wonderful, truly wonderful…”
His voice grew a bit choked at this point.
“Father, are you… crying?”
A girl beside him asked.
“No, not at all… just a bit of sand in my eyes.”
The head of the Helovit family said, turning his back.
Seeing this, the girl fell silent and did not press further.
Originally, the head of the Helovit family had mentally prepared for the possibility that something might happen to Cecilia.
After all, at the final moment, the hero usually made the saintess perform a sacrifice, offering her life and soul completely for the divine artifact.
But Cecilia had escaped such an ending.
And the one who assisted the valkyrie in killing the Demon King was not Solaris, the hero.
It was Lu Mo.
The head of the Helovit family still remembered this unique young girl.
“Lu Mo…”
She was different from her peers—quiet, lacking the talent for holy power, yet she always crushed the geniuses of her generation.
Later, the girl returned to the Kalis family. Even in the great battle of prodigies across the domains years ago, she defeated numerous powerful enemies head-on.
Because she lacked holy power talent, she was ultimately assessed by the Holy Sanctuary as a knight.
She stood guard by Cecilia’s side.
“Let Lu Mo become Cecilia’s knight, how about that?”
—It had originally been a casual remark exchanged between the two family heads.
But they never expected that sentence would become reality many years later.
And what the knight did was not merely protect Cecilia.
She entered the Imperial Firmament realm.
And even… replaced the hero, at the very end, killing the Demon King alongside the valkyrie!
A knight killed the Demon King.
In the entire history of the Holy Sanctuary, this was unprecedented!
***
The scene shifts to the Kalis family.
The head of the Kalis family’s reaction was clearly more dramatic than the head of the Helovit family’s.
He was genuinely shocked by this news.
“Lu Mo, my daughter… survived to the end?”
“And she even helped the valkyrie annihilate the Demon King?!”
He opened and closed the message several times, confirming that it was not a transmission error or a system malfunction.
After confirming the truth, he stared at the message, silent for a long time.
His emotions were actually very complicated.
It was a very good thing that Lu Mo had survived.
Whether it was when she first entered the Holy Demon Barrier, when the barrier was breached, or when the human expedition entered the mist region…
At every stage, he worried about Lu Mo’s safety.
There was even a period when he couldn’t sleep well.
Every time he opened the casualty list in the communication crystal, he had to mentally prepare himself.
What comforted him was that Lu Mo’s name never appeared on that list.
The next time he saw her name was when she stepped into the Imperial Firmament realm.
Lu Mo had broken through to the Imperial Firmament realm and killed a severely wounded Grand Duke of the demon race.
As the news spread, both the head of the Kalis family and the clan elders were struck dumb with shock.
Imperial Firmament realm?
But Lu Mo… was just a knight!
Could the two words “Imperial Firmament” and “knight” truly appear together?
And now, at this moment, he saw that Lu Mo’s name was actually listed alongside Rumina’s!
Also present to see this message were several clan elders and high-ranking members.
After reading it, they were silent at first, then erupted in continuous praise.
“Miss Lu Mo is truly the glory of our Kalis family!!”
“Heaven blesses our Kalis family! Miss Lu Mo single-handedly killed the Demon King alongside Lady Valkyrie, ending this tragic era!”
“Our Kalis family… has raised a legend!”
They lauded Lu Mo’s great feat.
But before this, when Lu Mo was found to have no talent for holy power—
Those who sighed, snorted, and cast cold glances… were the same people.
Amidst this blazing chorus of praise, the head of the Kalis family only grew more silent.
He knew that the clan, and he himself, had given nothing to Lu Mo.
It could be said that Lu Mo had reached where she was today entirely on her own.
He had missed most of her childhood.
He had missed her entire youth.
He had always… been indebted to his youngest daughter.
And yet, despite all that, Lu Mo, in her mortal body, had killed the Demon King alongside Rumina.
The glory of the Kalis family?
No.
“Perhaps… it is the Kalis family that is unworthy of you.”
He murmured.
His tone was filled with deep guilt.
***
“Lu Mo?”
“A knight? How is that possible?”
“Am I going crazy, or is the world going crazy?”
“Is Miss Rumina too tired and sent the wrong message?”
Faced with such news, the reactions of the Holy Sanctuary’s various families were different.
The head of the Liat family stared at the message, his expression strange.
“A knight killed the Demon King… How could I receive such absurd news?”
He was Solaris’s father.
In his view, after Rumina’s name, it ought to be Solaris.
The once-in-a-century genius of the Liat family and the Holy Sanctuary.
The first-ranked hero chosen by the Slayer Sword.
“Where is Solaris?”
Soon, he also saw Solaris’s name—
On the casualty list.
Solaris was confirmed dead.
“How can this be—!”
The head of the Liat family’s pupils contracted.
The next moment, his emotions completely spiraled out of control.
His Imperial Firmament power surged uncontrollably outward, causing the entire room to violently shake, nearly collapsing!
That day, all members of the Liat family felt the sudden, overwhelming pressure from their patriarch.
The terrifying pressure turned their faces pale and made it hard to breathe.
And within that pressure, they felt—
Extreme anger, and extreme grief.
“The knight and the saintess are both still alive…”
“But why… why did Solaris have to die???”
The head of the Liat family’s eyes were bloodshot.
Clearly, he could not accept such an outcome.
***
No matter how the various families reacted.
On Lu Mo’s end, she was unaware of it.
At this moment, she was walking along the road back.
With the Demon King dead, the Demon Emperor’s Eye had dissipated, and the mist in the corrupted lands gradually thinned.
The magic power of the demon realm was decreasing day by day.
Even so, it would still take a long time for this region to return to normal.
After the battle at the Demon King’s Throne, only one Grand Duke of the demon race remained.
The elite forces and armies of the demon race had been reduced by seventy to eighty percent.
With the collapse of the Demon King’s Throne, they scattered and fled in disarray, completely routed.
They no longer dared to confront humans head-on and instead fled deep into the mist.
But where could they escape to?
The Demon Emperor’s Eye had vanished; they had completely lost their way back to the demon realm.
One wounded Grand Duke, plus a group of routed demons, was destined to cause no further trouble.
Next, humans would continue to send powerful warriors into the corrupted lands to eradicate the remaining demons one by one.
Their defeat was a foregone conclusion.
Time passed.
Soon, they left the mist region and returned to the Holy Demon Barrier.
After a short rest, the various forces and family members bid each other farewell and returned to their own homes.
At the moment of parting, many felt a touch of reluctance.
After all, they had fought side by side for so long.
Such an experience would be hard to come by in a lifetime.
And this memory was destined never to be forgotten.
“Goodbye, Miss Lu.”
The girl in glasses stood before the Holy Demon Barrier and spoke respectfully to Lu Mo.
“I have received your care during this time.”
“Goodbye, Miss Rozali.”
Lu Mo waved in response.
A breeze blew past.
Soon, the girl in glasses turned around and joined the returning procession.
Jingle-jingle—
At that moment, she seemed to hear a faint, indistinct bell sound.
She looked up again toward the Holy Demon Barrier.
After a moment, she smiled gently.
“Goodbye as well… Miss Yuxia.”
***
Lu Mo and Cecilia were, of course, returning to the Holy Sanctuary.
On the way back, they passed through several towns.
By now, the human high command had announced to the public—
The Demon King was dead; the era of demonic invasion had officially ended.
As for the specific details, they had not yet been disclosed.
To the townsfolk, the Holy Sanctuary’s team had naturally become the heroes who saved the world.
Each place even prepared grand celebrations for them.
Flowers lined both sides of the streets, and the air was filled with the aroma of food.
The crowds stood along the roadsides, warmly welcoming their return.
“Great heroes!!”
“Thank you, Holy Sanctuary adults, for saving us and ushering in a new era!”
“When I grow up… I want to become someone like the big brothers and big sisters!”
The people shouted, cheered, and praised.
Rumina smiled and waved to the crowd.
Cecilia, seemingly facing such a scene for the first time, blushed slightly at being praised by so many and looked a bit nervous.
Just then, Lu Mo gently patted her shoulder.
She turned back and saw Lu Mo smiling at her, signaling her to relax.
So Cecilia smiled back.
At some point, she slowed her pace and took Lu Mo’s hand again.
The two walked through the bustling crowd, under the petals fluttering in the wind.
The Demon King was dead.
The demon race would no longer invade.
‘This world… should usher in peace, right?’
Lu Mo thought to herself.
‘I hope so. If the world could remain peaceful forever, that would be wonderful.’
They continued walking forward.
And right at that moment—
Lu Mo suddenly froze.
Because in the crowd, she accidentally caught sight of a figure.
A figure of a girl with purple hair.
That figure… was very familiar to her.
‘She seemed to have seen it in the first simulated reincarnation.’