Sirius didn't say anything after Lord Morningstar's words. His moon-shaped blue eyes were simply fixed on him, thoughts dancing erratically inside his mind.

In all accounts, he hadn't expected those words from Lord Morningstar. Not because he hadn't considered the possibility, but because he never believed anyone would be bold enough to ask him, Sirius MoonLune Asterion, to marry anyone.

Behind him, he could sense Luna's erratic and murderous emotions, and if he could feel them, then certainly Lord Morningstar and his knight could as well.

So it was no surprise when the knight's cold gaze settled on her, daring her to do anything or say anything against them.

Lord Morningstar didn't even acknowledge her, his yellow eyes fixed entirely on Sirius, waiting for his decision.

Sirius rolled his tongue inside his mouth a couple of times before finally parting his lips.

"Now," he said, his voice still casual despite the irritation bubbling in his veins, "that's an interesting offer, Lord Morningstar."

"You know well enough the nature of a man, for giving me a woman to marry is indeed the easiest way to make it quite difficult for the moon to stop shadowing the stars."

Lord Morningstar grinned, his round body quite a sight. "A pleasure, indeed, to speak with someone who has awareness," he said.

Sirius returned the smile, though edged with a hint of coldness. "But does your daughter agree with this… interesting arrangement?" he inquired.

Lord Morningstar burst into laughter, so loud the walls of the meeting room quivered as though an earthquake were rumbling through them.

After nearly a full minute, during which Sirius only sat there with a small smile on his lips, Lord Morningstar finally stopped.

His face was drenched in sweat.

"Please, Lord Sirius," he said, waving his hand as he took a napkin to wipe his face, "I doubt there is a woman who would ever refuse your embrace. Mind not my crude words, but even a man might rethink his orientation if it meant being with you."

Luna struggled to keep her face neutral.

Lord Morningstar stared deeply into Sirius's moonlit eyes, licking his lips softly. "You are the most beautiful man I have ever seen in my entire hundreds of years of life. In all accounts, I find it quite a shame to let my daughter marry you."

"You see, I am single and—!"

"Lord Morningstar." Sirius interrupted briskly with a cold smile. "I am sorry, but I am not one of them."

He rose slowly from his chair.

"As for marrying your daughter for your support," he said with a smile, "let me meet that daughter of yours first, okay?"

Lord Morningstar's face fell slightly. "A shame," he muttered. Then, with a smile,

"I shall indeed let you meet. I am sure," he nodded, "you will certainly like each other."

Sirius nodded, then turned to leave, Luna following closely behind. "I truly hope so, Lord Morningstar."

An instant later, they were out of the mansion, walking toward the carriage situated at the foot of the descending steps before them.

Once inside, Sirius sat quietly, Luna taking her place at his side with a cold expression.

The carriage departed, and after a few minutes of silence…

"Ah well," Sirius said, smiling coldly.

"I guess plan B, then."

Luna's eyes began to dance with cold murderous blue fire.

…

While events were unfolding in Morningstar City, Silver City was no exception. Though in a completely different manner.

The whole Silver City looked like a graveyard of swords, with hundreds of black blades lodged deep into the grey, corrupted ground, the bodies of both soldiers and unfortunate civilians sprawled limply across it, their blood painting the once-silver soil into a deep crimson.

You could hear the whining, the cries of woe and anger from those unable to move, their limbs severed with eerie accuracy, some with their eyes gouged out, others with their entrails spilling across the ground, making them witness the work of nature.

Though it was not the kind of admiration they wished to give.

In one corner of the city, a titan of a man was kneeling on the ground, his eyes pierced by black swords, his arms severed cleanly, his entire body grey and cracked like stone as if corrupted by something harrowing.

Amidst all this merciless slaughter stood two beings.

One with a sword, his whole body covered in blood, his bony greatsword drenched in the blood of the fallen, planted deep into the earth where a soldier's head lay.

The other was pristine. No blood touched her, an odd disharmony against the scent thick in the air.

And yet… when Vaela looked at the scene around her — the crumbled houses, the dead bodies — something inside her stirred.

Her face behind the mask split into a soft, peaceful smile. "Say, Ruined," she said, making Ruined turn his head above his shoulder to look at her, "do you think I would be good at painting?"

Ruined raised an eyebrow, surprised by the absurdity of the question, but he didn't need long to answer.

"You won't," he said dryly, his sky-blue eyes filled with rare amusement.

Vaela's lips twitched. She then raised her head to the sky, where someone stood effortlessly, magnificent silver wings spread behind him, each flap scattering frost-starlight to the ground like falling rain.

Vaela smiled.

"What do you think about it?" she asked. "Will I be good at painting, Lord Silver?"

The man — Lord Silver of Silver City — did not answer. He looked at the destruction of his city, his silver eyes growing colder and colder, gravity thickening all around them.

He then fixed those silver eyes on Vaela, his silver hair dancing wildly in the howling wind.

"Not quite a polite thing, entering someone's home and destroying it," he said, voice eerie calm.

Vaela shrugged.

"We asked politely to see you," she said, pointing at the dead body of Titus. "But this big guy over there refused our politeness."

"So we chose the next option we had."

"And that means killing?"

"Naturally."

Lord Silver clenched his jaw, his power swelling and condensing, surpassing Grandmaster rank and even the Epithet Realm.

It went beyond that, yet not enough to reach the next level. Vaela could sense it, and so she did not back down. Ruined only shifted his stance and stood before her.

He feared no death, for he would never die unless his master did.

"Who are you? And what are you doing in my home? Speak clearly, and I shall grant you a swift death. Act in any other way, and you shall beg for a death that will never come." He growled, the earth beneath the duo cracking and splintering beneath the weight of his power.

The gravity had grown unbearable.

Vaela fell silent for a moment, then slowly parted her lips.

"We are the Death's Envoy," she said, her tone thick with a smile. "And why are we here?"

She shrugged.

"I had a dream lately. One where someone whispered to me a name… hm… let me recall it. Ah! Yes… was it…"

Her smile widened.

"Doundous?"

Lord Silver's face went completely blank.

An overwhelming killing intent tore open reality around him.

And yet Vaela continued calmly,

"This dream led me here, so I was wondering, maybe you know where I can find those things? I am quite curious."

She grinned, her blue eyes shimmering like stars.

"Will you tell us? Or do we have to turn this whole city upside down?"

Lord Silver said nothing. He simply spread his arms the same way his wings unfurled and…

"I guess I have my answer," Vaela chuckled.

Lord Silver's voice echoed, cold and absolute:

"Domain — Inverted Silver Sky."

…

BAM!

"I will not repeat myself, you fucking whore." Knight Tib growled, looking at the orange-haired woman crawling at his feet in pain. "The Lady of Stars will come to visit this house. Make me look like a fool, and I will fucking kill you and your bastard sons."

He crouched down, grabbed her hair, and yanked it upward, ripping a choked cry from her throat and revealing her face.

She was beautiful — or had been — but her beauty was worn thin by the numerous bruises and the hatred-filled black eyes glaring up at Knight Tib.

Her face was bloodied, her lips swollen and torn apart, her blood pattering freely onto the floor.

Knight Tib couldn't care less about her state.

"Look at me however you want, but mark my words, whore. One wrong step and you are deep in the ground. And with my influence, you know no one will care about the death of the likes of you." He growled, then spat on her face in disgust, throwing her toward the wall with a wrenching force before rising to leave the room, his voice cold and murderous.

"You better not forget. And hide those bruises, fucking whore."

He finally stepped out of the room, leaving behind a whimpering woman with tears streaming down her face.

Yet even in pain, her eyes only grew colder and colder.

"I will kill him," she muttered, her face twisting in deep, seething hatred. "I will kill him. I swear I will kill him. I will. I will."

She repeated the words again and again, her voice growing more demonic with every breath.

She wished only for the strength to kill him. Only that. But it didn't matter, she would find a way.

"No matter what. No matter the price," she growled, trying to move her broken body.

"No matter the price, you say?"

A voice sinful as the devil echoed above her. The woman snapped her head upward and saw a strange man. His entire face was licked by crimson-gold fire with hints of pink, blue, red, and white swirling inside like stars.

Only his eyes were untouched, showing deep crimson eyes churning like an ocean of blood.

The woman instinctively opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Her heart began to pound faster in dread, fearing the worst.

The man appeared before her in a heartbeat, his finger lifting her chin. Warmth. So warm, she thought instinctively amidst the fear.

His crimson eyes bored into her black ones, forcing visions into her mind…visions that would haunt her forever.

"Tell me," the man said, his voice slow and low like a whisper, "no matter what?"

The woman nodded vehemently, tears still falling.

The man grinned. "Tell me your name, woman."

"Estella," she said, her voice cracking "Estella FireBorn."

The man — Kaden Warborn — smiled even wider, his mouth like the maw of a beast from Hell.

"Estella FireBorn," he echoed, tasting her name. Then…

"Perfect. You will do."

—End of Chapter 325—

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