Lilith is the daughter of the Demon King that the Regulus Empire is hunting.
The demon's royal family have different appearance to the common demons that has massive horns or excessively ugly faces.
They look almost like humans but, their innate talent in their entire bloodline have always been godly the moment they are born.
The royal bloodline have the ability to control the lesser demons in the Desolate Zone. Lilith's father has that talent.
But, that talent to lead the demons were, if compared to Luce's talent, a child's play.
The moment the lesser demon generals summoned him by using the blood of tens of thousands of humans and star beasts, he quickly knew what his purpose was.
Luce has knowledge about different species in the continent and how to strengthen the power of their bloodlines, even the lesser demons.
Lilith was just fifteen years old when Luce was first introduced in the royal family of the demons.
She felt that there was something dangerous about him the moment she met him but, there's this feeling that the more she's closer to Luce, the more she will be safe.
Luce became a demon general in just a month and that picked his father's interest in him. He decided to marry Luce to Lilith and have them give birth to the child that will bring peace to the continent.
The demons never wanted to use the humans for a sacrifice if it weren't for them attacking first. Their so called 'Heroes' attacked the army in the outer ring in different fronts with just five commanders on each side.
The higher level demons became bothered by it and suggested that the demons should fight back. But, Luce ordered them to retreat, bringing confusion in the head of the other generals.
"Why are we retreating now? We can just wipe them out if we attack them one by one.", Lilith asked Luke that day when he ordered the retreat.
"The humans are doing their best in attacking us in the outer ring and they're treating us like a training dummy. They say that they are nuisance but, I say it's an opportunity. Let them come in the middle ring then we will see what are really made of.", Luce looked at Lilith reassuringly and kissed her forehead that day and began ordering the lesser demons to retreat.
Two years passed and Lilith was already pregnant by that time. She needed to absorb a beast core to reinforce her own core. Lilith just became [Level 60] and Luce received a report that one group of the heroes got themselves into trouble battling a [Black Rank] Savage Grizzly Rhino.
They both go into the scene and they saw a bunch of kids running away from a monstrous creature that was unscathed by their attacks.
Luce acted as a decoy to grab their attention while Lilith jumped in the air and killed the beast. She then hid behind it, concealing herself while Luce took the beast's core for her.
The heroes thanked them and invited them to dine. Lilith kept quiet beside Luce while looking at the heroes intently.
'They were all just kids!', Lilith thought, these kids are the ones who attacked them but, were now struggling at the middle ring.
The heroes, by Lilith's observation have different strong personalities and the one she found most annoying was the girl who kept asking them questions.
Lilith hid her urge to kill this annoyance in front of her and acted normally, answering questions that are irrelevant.
By then, they conversed and dined together but, someone spoke with an arrogant tone to Luce. The oldest in the group perched his chin proudly at them and asked if Lilith were a slave.
'A slave?! Me?! I'll kill you right now!', Lilith exclaimed in her mind but, Luce grabbed her hand tightly.
Lilith tried to complain to Luce but, she saw him staring daggers at that young man. He was just suppressing his anger by acting like he was embarrassed about it.
The others were enraged by what he said to their savior and just apologized on behalf of him. Seeing that things weren't going anywhere, Lilith decided to go kill them and stood up.
But, Luce also stood up and looked at her while shaking his head. Lilith gave up by that merciful attitude of Luce and whispered him by the ear to go home.
When they got back to the camp, they immediately layed on the bed and stared at each other's eyes.
"Why did you not kill them? We could've ended them right there. Especially the one with a foul mouth.", Lilith said to Luce, anger still lingering in her.
"That bastard with the foul mouth was not with them.", Luce shook his head while slipping his fingers on Lilith's cheeks.
"What do you mean not with them, he's definitely the leader of the group.", Lilith asked him in a irritated tone, she's not fond of Luce's riddles.
"Lily, that golden piece of turd with them is their prince. Based on the other's respective tone while talking to him and his fucking arrogant demeanor, he's definitely a prince.", Luce also became irritated when he remembered the young emperor at that time, he never forgave him from insulting his beautiful wife.
"Then we found a jackpot! Let's take him as a hostage and kill him if the empire should not retreat.", Lilith seated up in excitement.
"No, it will just make them attack us more, with great vigour to save their prince!", Luce gently pulled her down.
"If they continued to struggle in the middle ring, I will help them in my own way. I know you're gonna be mad at that but, hear me out. If I obtained their trust, I can infiltrate the empire and bring back information to the army."
"But, how are you going to do that? You can't say that you're going to join them suddenly, right?", Lilith spoke in the bare chest of Luce, Luce is embracing her.
"I'm meeting their other groups and have them join up in one place and finally introduced myself. I'll first join with the group with the lowest possibility of surviving. I'm friends with one of them, actually. He is an Imperial guard and the son of a Grand Duke. You should meet him, he's a great man.", Luce made a smile when he remembered his friend from the battlefield.
"I knew of him. He's the one who snuck inside the Sanctuary together with you when you were just a platoon leader, right? And he fathered the first half-demon child in the village and there's still another one coming.", Lilith said while looking at Luce with a glare.
"Yeah, about that, please don't tell father in-law. I'm gonna in a heap of mess if he finds out."
"No need to think about that, he already knew. He is not our king if he hadn't heard about it. Let's just focus on making him happy about the news of him having a grandchild, he will surely be happy."
They happily slept that night without anything to talk anymore. They embraced each other to feel warm and fell into deep slumber.
Months came and Luce immediately proceeded with his plan. He pulled all the lesser demons from the middle ring and made them camp in the borders of the inner ring.
He helped the army build a castle while going to the middle ring every other day to guide the heroes.
And finally, the day that they were all waiting for came, Lilith gave birth to a baby boy in the Sanctuary with the other women with a royal descent.
Luce suggested to Lilith that she will have to pull back to that place in the last month she's supposed to have to give birth. They prioritized the baby's safety before others. She gave birth to a future demon king that day. Lilith's father was so happy, he told Lilith to give the baby one of the treasures of the demon royal family, The Godly Elemental Bead.
Luce hurriedly came to the Sanctuary as soon as he heard the news of Lilith birthing a child.
"Let's name him Luke. He has your looks, and I know he will be a strong kid.", Luce said while carrying his son gently, tears filled his eyes.
That was the first time Lilith saw him cry. Luce has been a cruel man while battling the soldiers of the humans, his grim smile never left him even once when they are sent to the frontlines back then.
But now, seeing him like this also made Lilith tear up. Luce knelt beside the bed and gave Luke to Lilith. She held her child beside her while Luce is looking at them both.
They really looked like a family at that moment. But, the Demon King coughed lightly and caught their attention.
"As a father to my child and as a king to my people, I thank you, Luce. This day has been a monumental moment for the demons and I'm sure the other races will also remember it If we make peace with them someday."
"That will be you're legacy, father. We will make it happen so that we can live in peace and not hide in the shadows anymore."
Luce stood up and bowed to his father in-law but, the
Demon king supported his shoulders and made him stand straight. He patted him on both the shoulders and looked him in the eye.
"It will now be yours, Luce."
"But, father-"
"No buts."
Luce knew what's gonna happen and looked at every people in the room and saw them nodding in agreement. He then looked at Lilith, who also nod at him. He just gulped and accepted what will happen to him.
"I, Vladimir Elrod Morrighan, pass my crown to my son in-law for he, became worthy to carry it! None shall hinder my decision and all the people here and the heavens shall be my witnesses!"
He spoke loudly and all the people there, together with those who heard the king's voice outside bowed to his decree.
"I, Luciel Dolos Amrita, accept this crown, for shall I serve with whole will and carry all of it till the day I die! I will make peace to the world and lead my people eternally! I swear to the heavens above that should my will diminish, a thousand death is not enough for my punishment!"
Luke knelt in one knee in front of the king then the king put his crown, two inches in height, enough to hide it in the hair, in Luce's head.
"Long live the King!"
The former demon king shouted and the other demons in there followed immediately.
The cheering continued for a whole minute and they immediately started preparing for the banquet, the meat of star beasts were quickly put inside a pot to make many dishes with them.
"How does it feel?", King Vlad talked beside Luce while they are watching the people dance and drink merrily.
"Heavy...I think it's supposed to be a little lighter on the left side.", Luce jest, King Vlad laughed at that.
"You should use that sense of humor in many occasions. I'm leaving everything to you. I will seperate myself from the rest of you. Find me in the deepest parts of the Desolate Zone if you need help.", King Vlad patted Luce's shoulders.
"You must be reaching the limit, huh? You'll get there someday. Maybe I will send Luke to you if he needs some discipline if we spoiled him too much.", Luce shrugged his shoulders. He knew that he's going to be a doting father to his child.
"I will leave my grandson and Lilith to you. Cherish them, always.", King Vlad said and drank a bottle of wine.
"Yeah leave Luce to me, he's hopeless without me.", Lilith butted in sarcastically, making both of them choke from their drink.
"Daughter, I didn't know you were there.", King Vlad wiped the wine in his mouth.
"So, you're leaving just like Mom, huh?", Lilith asked with a sad look.
"I'm going to find your mother. I can still feel her, I know she's in there, somewhere.", King Vlad looked at the sky with a melancholic vibe..
"Go ahead then. We'll wait for you here. But don't come back too late. You will never get to see your cute grandson run around and greet you.", Lilith hugged Luce behind and swayed repeatedly.
"Well, good luck then. I'll come by some time if I have to see my grandson.", King Vlad waved a hand to them while walking outside the barrier.
When King Vlad were outside, he looked back from where he was a king but, now he is just a man finding his lost wife.
'It is for the best.', King Vlad said while sighing sadly.
He was just about to go when someone hugged him from behind, he knew who it was and tears began to form in his eyes.
"I'm going to miss you.", Lilith said while crying. Luce looked at them from behind.
"Me too."
A drop of tear run down the smooth cheeks of King Vlad.
Even though he was old enough to look like a middle aged man, he still looks like someone with the age of twenty five.
That's what happens when you're in the [Demi-god Rank]. When your level reached ninety, your body will retain its looks when you're at the peak of your youth and stay like that until you run out of gracia or die naturally.
Although it will take a thousand year before someone at the [Demi-god Rank] dies of old age.
Their last embrace lasted for five minutes. And when they are done, King Vlad gave his goodbye to them. His dark purple hair, reaching his back was tied up and swayed as he ran towards the deepest part of the Desolate Zone.
That was the last time they saw him.
And after that night, Luce parted with Lilith to carry out his plans. Luce gave his son a kiss before he left them.
Two years later, the castle in the inner ring that the army built, collapsed overnight.
Only one battalion of mid level demons and one battalion general was sacrificed in that battle.
Luce's plans worked, he made it look like that castle is the last stronghold of the Demon King's army and made a battalion general act like a king in there.
A month passed and Lilith is managing the army of high level demons, ready for bloodline change when a letter for her came.
She read it and saw Luce's handwriting. She was happy and quickly opened the letter.
"To Lily:
How are you in there? How's Luke? I'm sorry I didn't write a letter immediately. I'm still being watched in the court. I met their emperor and found out that he was weak now, he only have three years to live, from what I observed. The weather is nice but, it's still not as good as my home when you're in there. And also, my friend, the imperial guard, he died that night in the castle. Someone casted a curse on him and I didn't find out who can cast a spell that strong. I will make arrangements with his father, "The White Dragon", and find out what caused his death.
I will keep sending letters to you in a few months but, don't send back a letter. It will be suspicious.
Please keep Luke healthy till the day I come back.
I love you, Lily."
Lilith burned the letter immediately in her hands as soon as she finished reading it. She stilled her will and new determination to keep forward.
Just like that, Luce kept sending her letters for three years, bearing information about the empire and it's allies.
But one day, the letters stopped coming and she became worried.
So, she packed the things necessary for the journey and was about to set out when a scout reported that a group of strong humans were heading towards the barrier of the Sanctuary.
She gave the orders to get ready for battle and sent out a messenger to contact the demon generals that have camps hidden outside the barrier.
Lilith walked fast to anticipate them when she Luke running and playing with Mizu.
When her son saw his mother, he quickly ran towards her gleefully.
"Mommy, where are you going? Can I come?", Luke's speaking was distorted because of a missing front tooth.
That made him cuter in the eyes of his mother.
Lilith then gave him a kiss in the forehead and handed him to Nora.
Her look became fiercer thinking about her son crying because of those strong humans attacking them.
She made her way right at the cliff just behind the entrance of the barrier. And as soon as she saw the people with detailed clothes and hire soldiers with polished armors, she released all of her pressure on them.
The middle aged man leading them bowed immediately and pleaded to loosen the pressure for the children that was with them.
Lilith released her pressure and asked who they are and what's their purpose.
The leader of the group felt relief and unfurrowed his grey brows. He then threw a ring towards the high grounds.
Lilith watched it fall them saw that it Luce's ring. Lilith felt depressed and find clues about his previous letters for why would these people suddenly throw their marriage ring in front of her.
Then the man introduced himself to her, although he can't see her.
"The White Dragon, the father of Luce's friend and grandfather of the two half demon kids in here."
That last introduction made Lilith remember all the letters Luce previously sent to her.
'He always write 'The White Dragon' in his letters. Maybe he had this planned and repeatedly introduced this man to me.', Lilith thought.
She then ordered the soldiers who are high levelled enough to match the guards with them to take them to her house as guest.
That's the start of them becoming the Elders with conditions attached with them for Lilith to recognize them as one of her own.
She arranged the children without parents to have foster parents, the selected individuals are the strongest people in the sanctuary who wanted a child, but never had one.
Two years quickly passed, the Sanctuary became more developed and the future of the children are becoming brighter every passing day.
And now, Lilith found herself sitting in a throne while the Elders are sitting below. There were six chairs below and three above.
The other two chairs beside hers are for the Grand Elders but, their seats are both empty, because Lilith made it for the two most important men in her life, her father and Luce.
The agenda they are discussing today is about the star soul awakening of the children in this village.
The star soul of every living being are determined the moment they are born. They can get different varieties or types of star souls depending on their bloodline and parents' star souls.
"And that's why we should let Luke be awakened by the leader. If she do it herself, the potential of the star soul will skyrocket and Luke's future is guaranteed to be great.", The burly man wearing a sleeveless leather explained to the rest.
"But, we can't the other children being jealous because the queen personally awakening only one person.", said the man with a black mustache seated on the left.
"They are mother and child, their parents will get the point of doing it.", the burly man said, raising voice.
"You're just being unreasonable, Second Elder. We're talking about the unity of everyone in this event. We can't show them that the queen is partial in treating her child.", the mustached man brushed his mustache using his fingers.
"I get your point, Fifth Elder. Thank you for your opinion. But, we can also show them that the council is not partial towards their family but, partial in those who show exceptional dedication and talents.", the middle aged man in the front said to all the members of the meeting. His silver spiky short hair was the most recognizable aspect he has.
"I agree to what the First Elder said. It's reasonable and we can show that the children we trained have produced talented kids to help us develop the Sanctuary.", Lilith voiced out her opinion and seeing that all the Elders nod at agreement, she began to proceed with the next issue.
"Now let's talk about the-"
"Wait! Please, let me in! Luke's in danger! I need the Elders' help!", Feng shouted at the guards and interrupted the queen's sentence.
"Feng! What are you doing here?! Didn't I tell you that kids are not allowed in the court?! Leader, I'm sorry for the disrespect that my grandson had showed.", the First Elder bowed and apologized to the queen.
"It's alright, First Elder, I think Feng's talking about Luke. Let him come.", she ordered the guards to let Feng pass. His red is tied behind his shoulders, leaving a little tail in the end of it.
"I'm sorry, Leader, Grandpa, and the elders for my disrespectful behavior but, we have no time talking in here. You have to check on Luke, Mir said he suddenly became unconscious when they were playing with an elemental affinity bead they found in Luke's room", Feng reported the situation quickly while bowing.
And when Feng lifted his head, his the only person left in the courtroom.
'Where are they?', Feng thought, confused.
Then, in Luke's room seven people suddenly appeared beside his bed. The children didn't even hear them knocking or even opening the door, they were all shocked.
"What happened hear? You can tell me, Mir.", the Second Elder asked his crying daughter. He can tell she was scared.
"We're just playing with the bead that Luke said his mother gave to him. We checked our elemental affinity with it like I always do but, when it was Luke's turn, dark shadows became to fill the entire room and darkness filled us. And when the shadows subsided, we found Luke lying on the floor with the windows' glass shattered but, I swear I didn't hear them breaking.", Mir said with teary eyes, the other children are also crying beside them.
Hector, the Second Elder watched the queen and the First Elder check Luke's vitals. The queen used her gracia to check on her son's condition.
"There's nothing wrong with his veins and the internal organs are fine too", the First Elder sighed in relief. He also checked Luke's body before the queen.
"His body seems to be fine but, his star soul isn't. Someone opened it before me.", Lilith said with a low voice.
She then released her cores and the room was suddenly filled with killing intent. There were nine of them, three blue, three black, and three red.
"And if I find him, I will grind his body to dust and break his so that he will never reincarnate again!", she said furiously, her aura made the whole room, no, the whole house vibrate.
"Calm yourself, Leader. That someone must be in the vicinity and still running away from here.", First Elder calmed her down while protecting the children from the killing intent.
They will immediately faint if they were exposed by it.
While Lilith calmed herself down, she closed her eyes and didn't notice that the body of her son is seating up, shocking the elders.
"Wow, honey. Your aura became stronger. What beasts did you kill to get it strong like that?", Luke talked to her but, with a tone of someone familiar to her, someone she loved the most.
"L-luce... is that you?", tears run down in her cheeks as she approached the of his son.
"In the flesh, I mean, in the dagger, is that it? Ah, anyway, I'm the one who awakened Luke's star soul. It's super strong, I'll tell you that.", Luke spoke to her but, with a matured tone.
"So where are you now, Luce? Tell us! We'll find you we're stronger now!", the Second Elder shook Luke's small body.
"Easy there, tiger! It's my son's body, not mine. And you're looking fine, in your standard. Oh, and old man! I'm not surprised you're still not dead. Found a reason to live longer, huh?", Luke said to them like they're old pals.
"So, it's really you. You're finally home.", Lilith embraced Luke with tearful eyes.
"Yeah, I'm home now. And Luke's grew up a good kid. He's fearless just like his mom and smart too. Ah, I got no time now. I'll meet you when I get better. Must nourish my soul in a while.", Luke said while taking out an ethereal dagger from his chest and falling unconscious again.
"Is Luke alright now, Grandpa?"
Mizu approached the bed where look is peacefully sleeping.
"Yeah he's fine now. We're fine now."
As they watched Lilith laying beside Luke and the other elders leave the room.
They left the two of them in there, sleeping. The queen and the little prince, together.