Chapter 45: Change.

Dawn gradually broke.

Sylvia was the first to wake up.

She groggily opened her eyes and immediately spotted the dark circles under Merorin’s eyes.

She was startled.

“Merorin?” She sat upright at once, her voice full of concern.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Who did this to you?”

Cassie was also awakened.

She rubbed her eyes and, upon seeing Merorin’s appearance, immediately scooted closer.

She chimed in innocently.

“Yeah, yeah!”

“Sister Merorin, what happened to you?”

“Who bullied you like this?”

The two of them stared at her from left and right.

Their eyes were filled with worry.

Merorin looked at them and was momentarily at a loss for words.

Should she say it was you two?

That last night you pressed me until I couldn’t breathe, one of you licking my face while the other wrapped her tail around my leg?

How could she possibly say that out loud?

She fell silent for a few seconds.

In the end, she merely raised a hand and gently pressed her temple.

She put on a tired yet gentle smile.

“I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“I guess I was just too tired.”

“Oh—” Sylvia suddenly understood.

She nodded and said sympathetically.

“If you’re tired from last night, do you want to rest a bit more this morning?”

“I can stay with you.”

“No!” Cassie jumped up immediately.

“If anyone’s staying, it should be me!”

“Mom said she’s taking me to test a new invention today!”

“Sister Merorin, you should come too!”

Just then—

“Knock, knock, knock.”

A soft knocking sounded at the door.

From outside came a low, steady voice.

It carried a faint stiffness.

“Lady Merorin, are you awake?”

The moment Cassie heard it, she sprang up excitedly.

“Oh!”

“It’s Mom!”

“Mom’s here!”

Only then did Merorin realize.

The voice belonged to Irena.

“I’m awake,” she replied.

“Please come in.”

The door was pushed open.

A tall figure stood in the doorway.

Irena wore a simple black dress.

Her red hair was neatly tied behind her head.

Her expression was as wooden and respectful as ever.

“Lady Merorin.”

She lowered her head slightly in greeting.

Cassie bounced over like a little rabbit.

She dove straight into Irena’s arms and acted spoiled.

“Mom!”

“Good morning!”

“I’m so happy I get to see you first thing in the morning!”

Irena’s stiff body trembled slightly.

On her usually expressionless face, a faint trace of warmth appeared.

She raised her hand.

Somewhat awkwardly, she patted Cassie’s head.

Her voice remained calm.

Yet it carried a bit more warmth.

“Mmm, good morning.”

“Today, let’s have breakfast together with Lady Merorin.”

Merorin watched this scene.

Something stirred in her heart.

She looked at Irena and couldn’t help asking.

“Irena, why was it you who came to wake me this morning?”

“Where’s Lilith?”

At her words, the softness on Irena’s face instantly faded.

She returned to her rigid, respectful demeanor.

“In reply to Lady Merorin,” she answered evenly.

“Lady Lilith is unwell today.”

“The Demon King has therefore ordered me to attend to you in her stead.”

“Unwell?” Merorin’s heart tightened.

Thoughts churned in her mind.

She looked at Irena’s impassive face.

Though doubts filled her heart, she did not ask further.

She simply nodded lightly.

She offered a calm smile.

“I see.”

“Alright, I understand.”

At the demon race’s borderlands.

A hidden underground council chamber.

Heavy stone doors were sealed shut.

Candlelight flickered along the walls.

It cast vague yet imposing silhouettes of numerous demon commanders seated on both sides of a long table.

Bane sat at the very end of the table.

His skeletal frame glimmered with a dark sheen.

Blue flames burned quietly in his eye sockets.

Like undying ghostly fires from the abyss.

He slowly swept his gaze across everyone present.

The corners of his mouth lifted into a faint smile.

His hollow eyes seemed capable of piercing straight into their hearts.

“Everyone present,” his voice was low and hoarse.

Yet it reached every ear clearly.

“You are the elite of the demon race.”

“The living strength we have built over a thousand years.”

“I did not summon you today for a battle report.”

“But for the future of the demon race.”

“And for the future homeland of the next generation.”

He raised a bony hand.

He pointed toward the center of the table.

“Please, take a look.”

A ghostly blue magical projection suddenly appeared.

It revealed a red-haired woman with her hair loose.

Her mouth was split into a grin that stretched to her ears.

It was Ravina.

She stood amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

A crazed smile hung on her face.

In her hand, she held a still-beating heart.

“Ravina,” Bane said slowly.

“A madwoman sealed by the human empire.”

“A monster that grows stronger by devouring life and souls.”

“A pure killing machine.”

The projection shifted again.

Demon soldiers fell in droves.

Limbs were torn apart.

Souls were ripped out alive.

She licked her enemies’ blood.

She laughed wildly as she reduced an entire patrol to ashes.

She smashed a demon general’s chest with a single punch.

She tore out his heart and began to savor it.

Bloody.

Brutal.

Chaotic, unrestrained slaughter filled the images.

Like a nightmare replaying again and again.

Among the commanders present—

Some turned pale.

Some clenched their fists.

Some even turned their heads away, unable to keep watching.

This was no longer war.

It was a one-sided massacre.

A death banquet led by a madwoman.

Bane observed their reactions with satisfaction.

He waved his bony hand lightly.

The projection vanished.

“Everyone,” his voice sank low.

“You’ve all seen her cruelty, haven’t you?”

“Recently, although our demon race has held the advantage on the main battlefield against the human empire…”

“It is precisely because of this madwoman that our flank lines have been steadily collapsing.”

“There are even signs of a retreat toward the main front.”

He slowly rose to his feet.

His bones emitted faint cracking sounds.

“To resolve this problem swiftly, I have decided to draw elite forces from your respective war zones.”

“They will be concentrated and deployed to the western front.”

“We must crush this individual in the shortest possible time.”

“Otherwise, she will carve straight through our defenses.”

“She will advance directly toward the Demon King’s castle.”

“When that happens, it won’t just be us who suffer.”

“All demons, from top to bottom, will be doomed!”

Before he finished speaking, a wolf-headed commander abruptly stood up.

His face was filled with fury.

“Bane!”

He slammed his palm onto the table.

The candle flames trembled violently.

“Does this arrangement of yours violate the Demon King’s strategic deployment?”

“Any troop movement on the front lines requires the Demon King’s personal approval!”

“What authority do you have to issue orders on your own?!”

The blue flames in Bane’s eye sockets flickered softly.

He slowly turned his head to look at the wolf-headed commander.

A mocking smile escaped him.

“The Demon King’s arrangements?” he chuckled.

His tone carried a hint of playful contempt.

“But right now, the highest commander on the front lines is me.”

“As a subordinate, you only need to obey orders.”

“Isn’t that right?”

“When a minister is in the field, even royal commands may be ignored.”

“You—!” The wolf-headed commander was furious.

His eyes burned red.

“Bane!”

“Don’t push this too far!”

“If you insist on defying the Demon King’s will, I will report this matter to Her Majesty at once!”

“Hahahahaha—!”

Bane suddenly threw his head back and laughed.

The laughter echoed through the sealed stone hall.

“Report it to the Demon King?” his voice was low.

It brimmed with ridicule.

“Then you’d better find your commanding officer for approval first.”

“Otherwise…”

“I’m afraid you won’t even get the chance.”