Vol 3. Chapter 101: A Family Finally at Ease
“Grandpa...”
Even though she possessed enough strength to easily crush the Royal Knights, Yuan’er at this moment looked just like a timid child. Most of her body was hidden behind Avnora, with only her little head peeking out.
She looked toward Xiumu with those pitiful little eyes...
Faced with Yuan’er’s expression, Xiumu unconsciously bit his lip.
“Yuan’er...”
“Grandpa, those Abyss Demons... I really don’t know what happened. I... when I arrived... they had already surrounded Skyvault. I... I... I only wanted to save... save you... because I heard that the new emperor planned to kill you...”
“...”
Seeing Xiumu fall silent, Yuan’er hurriedly spoke again to emphasize herself.
“I... I’m not lying!”
The girl’s voice was filled with grievance.
Yuan’er knew her grandfather’s personality very well. If she really had deliberately brought the Abyss Demon horde to the Imperial Capital and caused this scene of rivers of blood, Grandpa would probably never forgive her...
The moment she thought of that, Yuan’er’s heart filled with panic, and she hurried to explain.
However,
after she finished speaking,
Xiumu remained silent.
That made the little girl increasingly uneasy. Large tears uncontrollably welled up in her beautiful heterochromatic eyes...
“I... I really didn’t... I kno......??! Hm??”
Just as Yuan’er was starting to lose control of her emotions, Xiumu’s broad yet gentle hand lightly stroked the little girl’s head.
Yuan’er immediately froze. Somewhat at a loss, she raised her head and looked at the old man before her, who was now smiling.
“You don’t need to say any more, Yuan’er. Grandpa believes you. I believe those Abyss Demons weren’t brought here by you.”
“G-Grandpa? You believe me?”
“Mm.”
Xiumu nodded slightly and revealed a kind smile filled with relief.
Of course, the reason Xiumu smiled in relief and said those words was not because of the murderous look his wife Avnora was giving him (although that had influenced him to some extent).
The main reason Xiumu did this was because he had noticed something different about Yuan’er.
Her aura was different.
Compared to the Yuan’er he had seen previously in Wind Facing City, the aura surrounding this child was now incomparably calm. There was none of the violent, bloodthirsty feeling from that day. If he did not sense carefully, he could barely even perceive the presence of the Shadow of Silence Power.
Furthermore, his wife Avnora was currently releasing an intense battle-aura presence. The aura of such a high-level powerhouse was undoubtedly what Abyss Demons hated most. Under normal circumstances, once an Abyss Demon sensed this kind of power, it would without question launch a frenzied attack on the owner of that power.
Back in Wind Facing City, Yuan’er had also shown disgust toward the aura emitted by Xiumu and the members of the Blizzard Knights. Hidden within that disgust had even been a faint murderous intent.
But now?
At this very moment, Yuan’er was hugging Avnora around the waist from close range, yet she had never shown the slightest disgust toward Avnora’s aura, nor any sign of losing control because of it.
Her eyes—
although they had turned into somewhat uncanny red-and-blue heterochromatic eyes, they were still filled with innocence.
Exactly the same as before...
All these signs showed that
perhaps Yuan’er truly could control this power, rather than having her mind corroded by the Shadow of Silence Power and turning into a beast that drank blood and ate raw flesh.
As for whether Yuan’er was deceiving him?
Xiumu naturally rejected that possibility. It was not merely because she had not displayed that habit of secretly pinching the corner of her skirt whenever she lied. More importantly, Xiumu chose to believe his granddaughter as her grandfather.
Since that was the case,
how could Xiumu bear to keep a stern face and remain silent toward the granddaughter who had been missing for so long?
And so, just as Yuan’er’s tears were about to spill uncontrollably, Xiumu raised his hand and rubbed the pink-haired little girl’s head, saying gently:
“I’m sorry, Yuan’er. Grandpa believes you.”
As he spoke,
Xiumu slowly knelt down on one knee in front of Yuan’er and pulled the tiny child into his arms.
And after embracing Yuan’er, Xiumu seemed no longer able to sense the aura of an Abyss Demon at all.
The only thing he could feel was Yuan’er’s warmth.
Recalling how he had attacked Yuan’er back in Wind Facing City, thick guilt unconsciously entered Xiumu’s voice.
“I’m sorry, Yuan’er. Back in Wind Facing City, Grandpa was wrong. Grandpa was too stupid. I shouldn’t have treated you like that... I’m truly... truly very sorry. Can... can you forgive Grandpa?”
“Wuuuu...”
Faced with Xiumu’s embrace, Yuan’er said nothing. She merely buried her head silently against her grandfather’s chest, completely unconcerned about his tattered clothes, or the dirt and bloodstains covering his body...
A moment later,
the little girl finally began muttering quietly into Xiumu’s ear:
“Stinky Grandpa, bad Grandpa... stupid old man who needs a beating...”
“Hehe, yes, yes.”
Listening to Yuan’er’s grumbling, Xiumu chuckled in relief and gently patted her back.
“Yes, yes, Grandpa is stinky, Grandpa is bad, Grandpa is a stupid old man who needs a beating... Everything Yuan’er says is right...”
“Wum... good that you know...”
“Mm, Grandpa knows.”
......
Silently watching Xiumu coax Yuan’er and feeling that rare, warm atmosphere, Avnora could not help revealing a moved smile, even though the timing was somewhat inappropriate.
The Abyss Demons wandering nearby also seemed to receive guidance from some unseen force. They directly ignored the two powerful Saint-Class individuals within the prison grounds and very consciously flew away from the area.
It was almost as though they were deliberately giving the Duke Family grandfather and granddaughter some private space...
——
Meanwhile, elsewhere,
a certain white-haired girl who had used magic to conceal her aura, avoided the detection of the nearby Abyss Demon horde, and arrived at this place,
could not help revealing an astonished expression.
She’s that Abyss Demon?
She really was transformed from a human...
Although she had already heard quite a few things about this young lady of the Duke Family, when she personally saw this Demon King-Class little girl whose body contained a dense aura of Shadow of Silence Power,
the white-haired girl—White Yama—still could not help showing disbelief.
According to the duty of an Apostle, she had to eliminate Abyss Demons, especially terrifying Demon King-Class existences.
The little girl not far away was undoubtedly also one of her targets.
However,
after seeing the other party display such deeply human expressions, White Yama still hesitated somewhat.
She...
was only a child...
But very quickly,
White Yama violently shook her head and rejected the thought in her mind.
‘What are you thinking, Bai Xiaozou?!’
No matter how adorable that girl appeared on the outside, she was still a Demon King-Class existence.
Madness and bloodlust were their nature!
Even if she looked harmless to humans and animals right now, once her true nature emerged, she could still bring devastating destruction to human society!
Even if she did not lose control, the aura of Shadow of Silence Power surrounding her would still contaminate this world...
More importantly,
this girl might be the true culprit behind this Abyss Demon invasion.
If they wanted to stop the Abyss Demon horde from continuing its attack, then they had to eliminate her or bring her under control...
At that thought, determination gradually emerged in White Yama’s eyes.
Dense, pure-white sacred battle aura began surging rapidly through White Yama’s body before gradually overflowing from her skin. Her personal sword, enhanced by that pure-white energy, began emitting waves of dangerous pressure. The surrounding space started to distort along with it.
White Yama was gathering power.
Faced with a Demon King-Class existence, this Heavenly Apostle intended to launch a charged sneak attack and decide the battle in a single strike, minimizing the scale of destruction as much as possible. It was somewhat underhanded, but she had no other choice...
‘Brilliant Thrust — Radiant Light...’
Silently reciting the name of her strongest sword technique, White Yama’s eyes abruptly narrowed.
However,
just as this Heavenly Apostle prepared to release her concealment magic and launch an attack on Yuan’er, a girl’s voice—soft and soothing like a secluded orchid blooming in an empty valley—slowly entered White Yama’s ears, instantly making her entire body tremble as her eyes contracted sharply.
“Um, could you not disturb that child while she’s reuniting with her family?”
?!!
Who?!
Who’s behind me?!
Although the voice was gentle and pleasant, it caused White Yama to feel an indescribable sense of oppression, making the white-haired girl’s body tremble slightly.
Yet while feeling that intense sense of danger, White Yama also could not help frowning.
‘Why does it feel like... this aura is a little familiar?!’
Sensing the overwhelming threat, as well as the blood-red butterflies that had appeared around her at some unknown point, White Yama had no choice but to set aside that confusion.
Gritting her teeth, she immediately abandoned her plan to attack Yuan’er and assumed a defensive stance, drawing all the sacred battle aura originally gathered for offense back into herself and reinforcing her defense with it.
Then she abruptly turned around, trying to see who exactly had appeared behind her.
However,
before White Yama could clearly identify the newcomer, a knife-hand strike suddenly enlarged at terrifying speed within her vision.
‘Eh?!!’
In the next instant,
a tremendous explosion erupted across the ruins...