Chapter Interlude Sigrid's Dream

Demon King's Castle, Nakaris.

Dawn.

A biting blizzard howled through the city streets, burying rubble, severed limbs, and pools of blood beneath a vast expanse of white.

Indoors.

The deep rumble of the wind and the sound of snowflakes pelting the glass swirled around her.

She felt goosebumps rise all over her body and woke up from her slumber.

This was the top floor of the McCarthy Palace restaurant on리스 Island, where Sigrid resided.

Outside the room, it was dim, or rather, a vast expanse of white, and nothing could be seen clearly.

"Strange, I dreamed again."

Sigrid covered her forehead, as if trying to grasp the last bit of reluctant peace.

She dreamed that she was a cardinal of a church, loved by her subordinates, and had someone she longed for.

So, after talking with the small elven sister in the afternoon and being kicked out of the office by the elf, she happily embarked on her journey.

It was just a dream after all...

"Sigh."

Sigrid sat on the edge of the bed and sighed, looking down.

It was clearly just mundane, ordinary daily life, yet it felt unattainable to her.

The cold was relentless, deeply cutting and tightening around her body.

She had been sent back to the Demon Realm to study alone for a long time now.

The war between the Horning Empire and the Allied Forces had reached a fever pitch, and a victor could be decided at any moment, potentially leading to one side flourishing like fireworks before quickly collapsing. Only the Demon Realm was the safest place for her.

Even if they really lost, the Demon Realm would be the last place the Blood Clan attacked.

The northern human kingdoms could fall at any moment, and several orc city-states had already been slaughtered by the Blood Clan. Even the Land of Eternal Night had become dangerous, and communication with the human nations was impossible.

Although Sigrid was extremely worried, she didn't know how the Poland Empire was doing.

The only thing she could do now was to become stronger as quickly as possible.

In this era with ninth-tier powerhouses, she had to reach at least the eighth tier to have enough influence on the battlefield of a full-scale war that would engulf the entire world. If she really wanted to become a decisive hero, she would have to become the top-tier ninth-tier, like the Fallen Lord Kaliella.

Outside the window, the piercing alarm sounded again.

She had clearly been awakened by the alarm in Nakaris City.

On this snowy night, Demon King's Castle Nakaris was shrouded in a cloud of panic.

The once bustling Nakaris Central Square was now deserted, and the merciless snow buried all evidence of crime, as if the screams of these lost souls would also fade away with the wind, never to be mourned again.

The alarm sounded again, indicating that the Blood Clan's attack had arrived again.

Sigrid didn't know how many times this had happened.

The only thing she knew was that even Demon King's Castle had become like this, so the situation on the front lines could only be more severe.

She wondered... if he... was still alive.

She didn't dare to think further, but an ominous premonition haunted her heart like a nightmare.

Lord Thunder had been defeated by the Eighth Progenitor Somerset, Lord Mist had given her life to seal the Ninth Progenitor Bernhard, and Kaliella had been severely injured by the Third Progenitor and was unable to fight again in Demon King's Castle in the short term.

But in order to defend Demon King's Castle, Kaliella had resolutely gone back into battle.

It seemed that no matter where Sigrid went, she brought misfortune to those around her.

The nicer someone was to her, the faster they would die!

The despair, self-blame, and heartache she had experienced in the snowy mountains in the past resurfaced vividly in Sigrid's mind.

The Blood Clan's merciless violence, cruel bloodlust, and naive mockery.

These made her body stiff, her throat tremble with fear, and her hands clench.

However, there was a definite warmth in her left hand.

Someone had protected her.

In that dark and gloomy night, the image of that person fighting flashed through her mind, and she truly saw the sun.

"I don't want to die... you gave me this life..."

Sigrid hugged her head. Whether she could survive depended on whether Demon King's Castle could hold out tonight.

Tonight would be the coldest and darkest night in the Demon Realm.

That was what Kaliella had told her.

The Blood Clan isolated the Land of Eternal Night, cutting off the connection between the Demon Realm and the northern human kingdoms at all costs, and fully attacked the Demon Realm, wanting to plunge the Demon Realm into panic, making the demons unsure whether the human front had collapsed and whether they could receive reinforcements if they held on.

This war of attrition must be fought, it must be fought to the end, and they must not give up until the last moment!

But that black shadow, his back, was already very far away.

Abandoned in loneliness, she was trying to live as usual, waiting for the day he could return.

Opening her empty palm in front of her, Sigrid took a trembling breath.

Although she didn't feel like complaining about anything.

But gazing out at the apocalyptic blizzard outside the window, she vaguely felt this way—

If she really reached the end of her rope, he would definitely come to save her.

The howling blizzard outside made the windows rattle, as if a pair of invisible hands were pounding and striking, making her shudder.

What frightened her even more was the undulating sound of fighting and screams coming from afar, each one like a sharp blade piercing her heart.

She didn't want any more demons to die. She had long regarded the demons as her own kind, just like the night the Moon Holy Land was slaughtered.

In her memory, what she saw most was the corpses of her fellow demons.

Suddenly, a deafening roar came, followed by the earth trembling, causing the tableware and porcelain to rattle.

Sigrid looked up in panic and found that the luxurious crystal chandelier above her head was also swaying precariously, making a harsh creaking sound.

She didn't know what was happening and moved tremulously to the window, looking out through the glass covered with icy patterns.

This palace restaurant had the last barrier of protection left by him. It was common sense that she couldn't run around, especially at this time.

But if even the barrier was breached, she couldn't just sit and wait for death.

If worst came to worst, she could only give up here and jump out of the window to escape.

Outside the window, in the swirling snow, the buildings along the coast around the palace restaurant seemed to be covered in silver, looking desolate in the night.

The bodies of many Demon King's army soldiers in armor lay scattered on the ground, and the snow stained with blood stung Sigrid's eyes.

Before she could make a judgment.

"Found you, you little thing that should have died long ago."

A chill suddenly pierced through her thin body, as if the whisper of the Grim Reaper rang in her ears.

Sigrid turned her head stiffly and saw a figure flickering with scarlet light in the darkness approaching her step by step through her blurred vision.

The other party had already stood in the room without her noticing.

The newcomer had a pair of bottomless blood-red eyes, and their gaze cut through the chaos like a blade.

That terrifying demonic power made Sigrid feel like her breathing was about to stop, as if an invisible hand was strangling her throat, and her life was starting to drain away bit by bit.

She had become much stronger now.

If it was a Blood Clan Earl, she might still have a chance to escape from them.

But the Blood Clan enemy that appeared here was by no means comparable to an Earl.

"What, what happened to Kaliella?!"

Sigrid swallowed and shouted in disbelief.

"Heh."

The female Blood Clan Marquis simply chuckled.

The skin around her eyes was as pale as marble, and a bewitching tear mole was dotted under her eyes, adding a touch of charm.

She wore a shapely black dress, and her black hair fluttered in the wind, as if the night had descended, devouring all the light around her.

The other party's answer, replaced by laughter, made Sigrid's heart beat wildly in her chest, almost breaking through her ribcage.

Sigrid opened her mouth, but found that her throat was hoarse and could not make any sound.

And no matter whether she wanted to resist or escape, her limbs felt as heavy as lead, and she couldn't move.

The Seventh Progenitor, Marquis Helithiel, saw through Sigrid's intention. She stretched out a pale and slender hand and easily permeated the last remaining barrier of the palace with her demonic power, spreading it on the ground until it climbed up her body along Sigrid's feet.

Sigrid felt a bone-chilling force eroding her spine, and her consciousness gradually became blurred.

...

On a cruise ship from the Northern Continent to the Southern Continent.

Silver moonlight shone through the porthole onto the soft carpet of the top-floor suite.

"No!!"

Sigrid woke up with a start on the large bed, letting out a short scream.

She struggled to sit up, her slender fingers clutching the silk sheets tightly, her chest heaving violently, gasping for breath.

Sweat soaked her smooth long hair, sticking tightly to her pale forehead.

After a while, Sigrid seemed to suddenly wake up, closing her eyes in annoyance, taking a few deep breaths, and trying to calm her wildly beating heart.

The quiet surroundings and familiar furnishings reminded her that it was just a nightmare.

"Phew."

Sigrid shook her head.

The life she was living now was Sigrid's beautiful dream, while the world Sigrid was in was her nightmare.

Although she had never seen a Blood Clan in reality, she only felt that the Blood Clan was extremely terrifying.

Ever since she separated from the Holy Son, she had always been summoned by this kind of dream, or rather, it was like an endless dream.

She lifted the quilt and got out of bed, walking barefoot to the window.

The cold marble floor sent a chill through her, making her shiver.

Through the window, the dark blue sea was endless, and faint moonlight danced on the waves.

Occasionally, faint lights shone through the windows of other rooms, like fireflies floating on the sea.

Sigrid stared blankly at the peaceful night outside the window, and the fear remaining in her dream finally slowly faded away.

She realized that she was on a luxurious cruise ship, enjoying a wonderful vacation.

The nightmare had passed, and she had returned to the beauty of reality.

Until a long time later.

"Even in my dreams, I believe you will come to save me."

Sigrid did not hesitate to let her cheeks bask in the silver moonlight, murmuring with certainty.