性瘾者

[A while ago…]

"DOMINIC, have you grown taller?" Mochi greeted the saint cheerfully while floating in front of him. To be precise, her wind was carrying her to meet Dominic Zavaroni's eye level. She wasn't surprised to find him there because she was already aware of Princess Neoma's plan. "You look so different now, huh? I almost didn't recognize you."

On the other hand, Dominic looked surprised to see her.

And she understood why.

Well, she knew that the saint wasn't surprised by her "bunny" appearance. He was probably wondering why she had a black eye patch covering her left eye.

Scratch that. Dominic doesn't know that I was already freed from House Exton.

Thus, the surprised look on his face.

Anyway, a while ago, she felt Dominic's divine presence in the rooftop of the Castillo Hall. But he moved along with the fox boy. When she followed the traces of their Mana, she found the two in the man-made forest near Blanco Palace– the royal princess's official residence.

They probably stayed away from the Castillo Hall to hide the presence of the three-headed hell dog from the guests.

"Miss Gale," Dominic greeted her by her real name. Ah, right. This boy hadn't heard of the new name yet. "Welcome back."

"Thank you. I appreciate that you didn't ask how or why I'm here," she said, then she looked at the fox boy who didn't even look at her.

Lewis Crevan, isn't it?

The fox boy was looking up at the floating three-headed hell dog in front of him. Behind the "cursed" dog, a silhouette of a huge gate was starting to get a solid form. The more the gate turned clearer, the more the hell dog turned translucent in return.

Humans thought that the hell dog was the guardian of the Hell Gate. It was sort of true. But what most people didn't know was the three-headed dog itself was the gate.

"I have many questions for you, Miss Gale," Dominic admitted. "But this isn't the right time for that. We have to save Princess Neoma first."

"I know that," she said, then she turned to Lewis Crevan. "Young fox."

Lewis Crevan ignored her.

"Lewis Crevan, Princess Neoma's gallant knight."

Only then did the fox boy turned to her.

But he still looked disinterested. The way his two white fox tails were lowered also told her that he was anxious.

It's good to know that he can hear me.

Princess Neoma couldn't hear her voice yet. But since Lewis Crevan came from the Silver Fox Clan, it's only natural for him to hear a Spirit like me. 

"I already met Princess Neoma a while ago," she said, surprising both Dominic and the fox boy. "I helped her snap out of the trap that the demon black cat set her up with."

"Then, why didn't you bring the royal princess back with you?" Dominic asked her, confused. "Even in that form, I'm certain that breaking a demon territory is easy for you, Miss Gale."

"I have two reasons," she said. "First, I wanted to check first if the outside world is safe for the royal princess or not. And second, I want Princess Neoma to have her revenge. She's Mona's daughter. I'm sure she's as quarrelsome as her mother."

"Did you make the right decision?" the saint asked him, obviously disappointed by the fact that she left Princess Neoma in hell instead of bringing her back with her.

"I believe so," she said. "The Castillo Hall is a mess now, Dominic. The Devil is manipulating Prince Nero to kill His Majesty."

Dominic's eyes widened in shock. "No… that means Prince Nero is the Second Star and not the First Star?"

"That doesn't matter anymore, does it?" she told the saint even though she really didn't quite get what he was worried about. Then, she turned to the fox boy who was looking up at her with a blank look on his face. "Lewis Crevan, tell me. Are you willing to sacrifice your life for Princess Neoma?"

The fox boy nodded without hesitation.

"The only way for the royal princess to get out of the demon's territory is to beat the demon who owns it. In this case, it's the black cat," she explained. "While I trust that Princess Neoma is capable of beating the black cat, I'm afraid that it might take too much of her time. She needs to come back here as soon as possible." When she didn't get a reaction from the young fox, she continued speaking. "Give me your hand, Lewis Crevan. I will give you an item that will bring Princess Neoma back."

Lewis Crevan extended his hand to her without questions.

It was a little gross but she had to spit out a pink orb on the young fox's hand. Thankfully, the boy didn't complain. The blank look on his face didn't even change.

"That crystal is my eye," she told the young fox who didn't react, as expected. Even Dominic didn't look surprise because he was already aware of that technique of hers. "Tell Princess Neoma to simply attach the crystal on her left eye. Once she does that, I will use a teleportation spell to bring her back to where I am. She could also see what I see with my other eye. In that way, it will be easier for her to understand what's going on."

Since Princess Neoma couldn't hear her voice yet, it would be better for her to see what was going on in the Royal Palace instead.

"But Lewis Crevan, due to my sealed power, I can only use my teleportation spell on the royal princess," she warned him. "To get out of the demon's territory, you have to beat the demon black cat. Is that okay with you?"

Lewis Crevan closed his fingers around the pink crystal, then he nodded firmly.

"May the lady luck smile on you, young fox," she sincerely said, then she turned to Dominic. "Return to the Castillo Hall after you send Lewis Crevan to the Hell Gate, Dominic. We need your divine power to hide the Devil's presence. And…"

She trailed-off because she hesitated. When she took a peek inside the hall a while ago, she saw that the Devil was the supposedly dead Princess Nichole. If Dominic finds out about the Princess Royal, he might lose himself again.

I'm sorry, Dominic, she thought to herself. You can't find out the Princess Nichole has somehow turned into the Devil. Not yet, at least.

"What is it?" the saint asked. "Why are you looking at me…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence because the Hell Gate was finally completed.

The three-headed hell dog disappeared in a burst of black lights. Then, the Hell Gate – big, dark, with ominous carvings on the leaf– finally appeared. The doorknob was, not surprisingly, the three heads of the hell dog.

"Lewis Crevan, it's time for you to go," Dominic told the young fox. "Be careful."

Lewis Crevan only nodded as a response.

"I need to go as well," Gale said, her body already turning translucent as she used her teleportation spell to return to the Castillo Hall. When Dominic turned to her, she smiled faintly at him. "Hang in there, Dominic."

***

NO, Nichole thought to herself when she felt the hesitation in Nero's heart. My nephew is hesitating to kill Nikolai now.

Hanna Quinzel's use of the Shadow Clay Technique was already good for her age.

Gavin, look at your niece, she thought to herself. She inherited your family's technique. And she has the potential to be as great as you.

The Marionette that Hanna Quinzel summoned was strong enough to use Nero's shadow as its own puppet. She could clearly see that her nephew was struggling to get out of its control. This wasn't in any way invalidating Hanna Quinzel's skill– she was good, really– but she had to say that if Nero really wanted to do, he would have snapped out of the Marionette's control.

But the royal prince was hesitating now.

Her thoughts were cut-off when the annoying princess from the neighboring country tried to shoot her again.

She growled and created a barrier to protect herself from the bullets. That was the only thing she could for the meantime because she couldn't move. From the corner of her eye, she could see Rufus Quinzel controlling his shadow to seal her movements.

And it's working.

Well, Rufus was Gavin's brother.

The duke wasn't the only one annoying. His wife, Amber Quinzel, was also messing with her "demon power" by trying to "erase" it. Amber had the power to nullify one's Mana as long as she could contain it in her territory. And in that situation, the duchess was using the whole royal parlor as her domain.

Their family's power is really annoying.

Even the Hazelden Princess was getting on her nerves by firing her special and seemingly endless bullets again and again. Her consistent attacks were starting to crack her barrier.

To be honest, the Hazelden Princess wasn't using ordinary bullets. Each one was infused with Mana. If an average Mana-user was hit by it, they would die on the spot. It was also enough to heavily injure an above average Mana-user like a member of the White Lion Knights.

A Favor, huh? she mused to herself, referring to the special pistol that the Hazelden Princess was wielding. Their kingdom has come a long way thanks to the Lender stones they produce.

But her major concern was Hanna Quinzel's Marionette.

At first, the young lady was having difficulties controlling the Shadow Monster that was too much for her little heart. But when Madam Hammock assisted her, the young lady's Mana control became stable.

I'm sorry, Hanna Quinzel

, she thought to herself while summoning her Soul Beast. You're the biggest threat here.

Nichole raised her hand, her palm facing Hanna Quinzel. "Lady Raven," she summoned her Black Phoenix. Her Soul Beast liked being addressed as a lady thus, the name. "Burn the young lady to ashes."

Raven, her Black Phoenix, came out of her chest howling.

Due to Amber Quinzel's domain control, her Soul Beast couldn't get into her normal size. Raven was reduced to a size of an average eagle. But the amount of black flame that she breathed at Hanna Quinzel was enough to burn the child's whole body– making the poor young lady scream in anguish.

Amber and Rufus Quinzel yelled at the same time. "Hanna!"

Even Madam Hammock and the Hazelden Princess were affected by the black flame.

"Keep an eye on them, Lady Raven," Nichole ordered her Black Phoenix, then she turned her back on them to go to Nero. "It's time we end this, my dear nephew."

***

"WHAT the fuck?" Neoma asked in disbelief after Lewis told her that Nero was trying to kill Emperor Nikolai. She had so many questions but she knew that her son couldn't answer them all. Plus, she didn't have time for that. "Lewis, can I leave you here?"

Lewis nodded firmly.

"Promise me that you won't die," she told him. "I want you to return to my side as fast as you can."

He nodded again. "I promise."

"I hate people who can't keep promises, okay?"

Once again, he nodded as a response.

"Good boy. I'll wait for you," she said, then she turned to the pretty pink crystal in her hand. "What do I do with this, Lewis? What's this anyway?"

"Mochi's left eye."

She almost choked on her saliva at what she heard. "Huh?"

"Mochi said that it's a teleportation device," her son explained. "She said you just have to attach it to your eye."

"Are you really talking about my Mochi?" she asked in disbelief. "She can talk?"

He nodded. "You just can't hear her," he said, then he paused for a while. "The saint calls her 'Miss Gale' and not Mochi."

That only meant that her white bunny wasn't an ordinary pet. Well, she already knew that Mochi was a Wind Spirit–

Wait, a Spirit?

She suddenly realized that her mother could apparently summon Spirits. If the saint was acquainted with Mochi, then it could possibly mean that Mochi was related to her mother.

Gosh, I can be so dumb sometimes.

It seemed like it was time for her to seriously study how to use her power as a Roseheart.

She was distracted when from the corner of her eye, she saw Gin got up already. Knowing how sly the black cat was, she knew that he would attack them right away.

"Lewis, beat the shit out of Gin," she told her son, then she kind of slapped the pink crystal on her left eye. Much to her shock, the crystal was absorbed by her face. But it didn't hurt. It just felt itchy so she blinked several times. After a few moments, the itch disappeared and she could see just fine. But her body began to turn translucent. Ah, the teleportation spell took effect right away, huh? "Make your mother proud, Lewis."

Lewis let out a deep sigh. "I'm not your son, Princess Neoma."

Neoma laughed and waved at him. "I'll wait for you, Lewis."

***

NEOMA was surprised when she found herself flying above the Royal Palace. The gentle breeze around her seemed to be carrying her. Based on the direction that they were going, she could tell that they were headed to the Castillo Hall.

Oh, I'm flying.

She didn't miss the chance to copy S*perman's most famous flying pose. Yeah, she even raised her right fist and all.

Too bad she already returned to her appearance as a child.

I could have been S*pergirl if I retained my adult form. But since I'm back to my eight year old body, I guess I should call myself 'Superbabygirl.'

"What are you doing, Princess Neoma?"

 Neoma flinched when she heard a soft voice of a woman in her head. "Omo, that surprised me."

"Can you hear me now?"

Her brows furrowed in confusion, then she gasped. "Are you Mochi?"

"Yes, I am," Mochi said in an excited tone. "I'm so glad that you can finally hear me, Princess Neoma!"

"Me, too," she said. "I have a lot of questions for you but for now, I want to know what the situation is. Can you tell me what's happening?"

"I can show it to you, Your Royal Highness."

A few moments later, the vision of her left eye turned blurry. But it only lasted for a while. Although when her vision returned, what she saw in her left eye was different from what she was seeing with her right eye.

It's like my left eye became a CCTV.

The scene that she saw in her left eye was very shocking to her.

In that scene, Nero was holding the Death's Scythe and was running towards Emperor Nikolai. She was pretty sure that her father had a barrier around them. Still, she felt uneasy.

"Mochi, move me faster," she said in an impatient tone when she saw the Death's Scythe had transformed into a spear. She could easily tell what Nero's next move would be. "Bring me in front of His Majesty now!"

Mochi cursed under her breath, then she heard the bunny perform an incantation that she didn't understand.

She closed her eyes when she felt the wind around her turn violent.

And then, all of a sudden, there was a sharp pain in her chest.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the face that resembled hers. Then, the spear that was pierced through her chest. Ah, she made it. She was glad that she was able to stop Nero from attempting to kill His Majesty.

Nero, on the other hand, looked like his world had crumbled in front of his eyes while looking at her. "Neoma…"

She smiled at her twin brother despite the pain in her chest, and the blood trickling down the side of her mouth. Plus, it seemed like the curse that was transferred to her was reactivated because all of a sudden, she felt like the insides of her body were being burnt once again. "Long time no see, Nero," she said as her body began to fall down.

To be honest, she already expected that she'd fall and get hurt even more.

But much to her shock, she fell in the arms of the person she least expected to move and save her– and it was none other than Emperor Nikolai.

 "Neoma," Emperor Nikolai said, then he pulled out the spear and carefully laid her down on the floor. Then, he put his hand on her bleeding chest. It felt warm, and so was the Mana that was entering her body. Ah, he must be using his power to close the wound in her chest. "Hang in there, Neoma."

She slowly nodded, the pain all over her body getting worse by the minute. "Okay, Papa Boss…"

"Neoma!" Nero said after he got over his shock. Or would it be more correct to say that he finally snapped out of whatever was controlling him? Anyway, his brother got down on his knees and held her hand. "I'm sorry," he said under his breath. "I really am."

She smiled to assure Nero that she was alright but much to her shock, she felt her body move as if she was snatched away.

Then, much to her shock, she found herself on the other side of the room away from Nero and their father.

Princess Nichole was now attending to her wound.

"You're as crazy as your mother!" Princess Nichole scolded her. Was it just her imagination or was she really worried about her? "I told you that I'm going to make you an empress, so you can't go dying on me!"

She smirked and was about to curse at her aunt when all of a sudden, Princess Nichole's head was detached from her body. The next thing she knew, her head rolled down the ground while Emperor Nikolai stood behind her now headless body.

Yes, her Papa Boss just decapitated Princess Nichole right in front of her.

There was a thin barrier around her that prevented her from getting blood on her. Her Papa Boss probably did that for her sake.

When she looked up at her father, chills went down her spine when she saw the anger on her father's face. He even looked more intimidating because of his glowing red eyes and the blood on his cheek. Of course, the blade that her Papa Boss used to behead his own twin sister was bloody as well.

Shit, he's really angry.

"I told you before that you can have your revenge on me," Emperor Nikolai said while looking down at Princess Nichole's head. The look on the Princess Royal's face was a mix of fear and disbelief. "But hurting my children is unforgivable."

Tears silently flowed down Princess Nichole's eyes.

The pain on her aunt's face squeezed her heart painfully. Yes, Princess Nichole did bad things to them. But she wasn't a fan of overkilling.

And maybe it was because she could see her old self in her aunt's pitiful state.

Dying by the hands of your own twin brother hurts.

When Neoma saw Emperor Nikolai took a step closer to her aunt's decapitated head, she grabbed him by the ankle. When her Papa Boss looked down at her, his face softened up a bit. It almost seemed like seeing her face brought him back to his senses. "Papa Boss, you're scaring me."

***

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