It's coming, it's coming, it's coming!!!!

Adeline, she could no longer endure it.

The brilliance of the Star Tear had begun to shimmer, the massive astral body was about to fall!

"You forced me to do this! Mohe! I don't care what you plan to do using my hand! Since it's in my hand, let it be!"

In that instant, the starlight was incredibly dazzling.

And then—

It exploded.

A display of unprecedented brilliance, dazzling and luminous, causing everyone to involuntarily look up, entranced by it, a stunning and magnificent firework.

"...Huh?"

Adeline gazed at the sky in a daze, her face filled with confusion, panic, and helplessness, along with a touch of withered weariness.

Mohe snapped his fingers gently.

Dense—Gargoyles, one by one, began to climb up from every corner of the city, interconnecting like stacked cards, eventually forming a huge semi-circular shield encompassing the entire city.

These gargoyles then turned transparent.

The radiant "firework" fell upon the wall formed by the gargoyles, once again bursting into dazzling brilliance, creating a second breathtaking tableau.

Adeline was speechless; she could only gaze at the sky, at that splendid scene.

"Please admire, 'Such a Splendid Night Sky'."

Mohe's melody played once more, and this time, it was serene and lofty, as if it bridged the distant sky, matching the splendid beauty before her eyes, as if it spanned ancient times, carrying a call from far-off past days.

It unexpectedly made one want to shed tears.

"To activate something like the Star Tear, you must harbor compassion and sadness; otherwise, it results in this~ Such a beautiful view, so lovely it brings one to tears... Only the brutal and unemotional can witness this tearful beauty, while those with compassion and sadness bring destruction. I told you from the beginning."

Mohe, however, did not mock Adeline at this moment; she looked at Adeline with an expression Adeline could not comprehend.

Adeline could not describe her feelings at this moment.

Could it be, from the beginning to end, this Demon King was always telling the truth? Could it be, she really—harbored subtle feelings towards all beings, towards the world? But she clearly did not care about human deaths, nor Demon Race deaths; during the war between humans and the Demon Race, the generals and leaders of the Demon King's army fought for her to the death, and both humans and their allies strived for themselves... She watched everything happen and waited for the Hero to come before her throne.

She couldn't possibly care.

But what on earth is this?

She is an alchemist; because she is an alchemist, she understood the true essence of this matter the moment the Star Tear lost control. No matter how absurd and laughable this truth is, it was just as the Demon King had described when handing her the Star Tear.

"That is a perfect artwork created with a heart full of sadness and compassion."

Not a shred of falsehood in her words.

What's in it for her?

No—she was wrong.

She remembered what the Demon King had said earlier.

All things should entertain her; she detests dullness.

Benefit? Profit?

Judgments made from human thoughts are meaningless to the Demon King—profit means nothing to her.

Humans have always thought that since the Demon King could not truly dominate the world, she existed to dominate it, so various races united to confront her... But the World Tree?

Perhaps, long before the birth of humans, before elves and dwarves, the Demon King's footprints had already spread across this world, an eternal life...

Humans underestimated the weight of eternity.

Humans always depend on their narrow judgment to believe whatever truth they want, presuming that the Demon King exists to dominate the world.

But what if, from the beginning,

the world was already the Demon King's possession?

As if human etiquette, art, civilization—all can be traced to reflect the Demon King's style, her shadow, perhaps these were willingly taught to humans by the Demon King from the start.

How does she see humans?

As if watching over the pigs in her sty, feeding them, healing them, watching these piglets grow bit by bit, observing their ridiculous jostling with a smile of gratification, in her eyes, perhaps—the flourishing of humanity is akin to the thriving of a sty.

So she can always smile at everything.

After all, whenever she desires, she can simply kill one for meat.

So she only cared about A·Gedora, the only person who possessed the power to kill the Demon King. Only that person was considered human; others—like the actions of Adeline—were like disobedient pigs trying to kill each other so as not to be slaughtered and eaten.

She did not tolerate such threats.

She looked with mockery at the foolish pigs calculating their petty schemes, anticipating their expressions of despair. Once her desires were satisfied, she would arbitrarily feel pity.

Alas! What pitiful swine? Their difficult plans were easily undone by her; even their resistance seemed so pathetic.

Thus she arrogantly viewed everything in this world.

She showed not the slightest hesitance in her compassion.

In the shift of thought, Mohe had already arrived beside Adeline, her right hand moved away from the Celestial Scale, gently placing it on Adeline's face of despair.

"Good night~ Miss Adeline. Having witnessed such beauty, I suppose you have no regrets. Rest in peace."

In this instant, a pitch-black curse assailed Adeline, and she suddenly felt herself plunging into an infinite abyss. She didn't want to fall—but it was the Demon King's curse, a curse from which no one in this world could escape.

Mohe's music had ceased.

The World Tree stopped growing, and the Earthly Heaven made of Adeline Metal turned into a giant sculpture like stone along with Adeline.

Petrification curse.

In this world, it was a common curse, but it was a difficult question as to who would wield it.

A gigantic gray-black statue, leaves of brilliant fiery gold, radiant starlight.

At this moment, Butuo City held a beautiful sight that could never be seen elsewhere.

Mohe contentedly descended to the ground, leaning gently against the World Tree, placing the Celestial Scale aside, looking up at the still lingering spectacle.

"Lord Mohe, is this what you wanted?"

Mohe smiled helplessly: "This isn't the first time you've seen such a scene. I always await that moment with great anticipation, but when it truly arrives, it feels pitiful and compassionate, uninteresting. Feeble excitement. Seeing it doesn't bring joy."

"I used to not quite understand, but now I seem to understand a bit. I don't know what you expect, or what you're disappointed in, but when I'm within the story, I can sense some emotions—though this time, it feels slightly different?" Lisidorwei said something intriguing.

Mohe lowered her head, looking steadily at Lisidorwei: "What different do you mean?"

Lisidorwei smiled.

Doro and Rose fell from the sky.

Pieces of the Sky Fortress continuously fell onto the barrier formed by Gargoyles in the sky.

Lisidorwei was clearly concerned about the situation of the two, and at the moment they fell, the barrier formed by Gargoyles opened a gap to let them in.

"You say different, is it them? They aren't particularly special…"

"Really?"

The two landed in front of Mohe.

"Mohe, this isn't what we agreed on."

Mohe stepped away from leaning against the World Tree: "Don't say it like that~ Hero~ wasn't I preparing a surprise for you? In fact, nothing bad happened, right? Also, don't you think this scenery is beautiful?"

"Rose and I were very close to the explosion of Star Tear, and at the moment of the explosion there was a terrifying force that seemed to want to pull us in and grind us to pieces… Do you have any idea why?"

"Allah? Was there such a situation? Maybe it was a design flaw in Star Tear? You weren't hurt, were you, Mr. Doro?"

The young girl had a face refusing to admit anything, she looked with concern at Doro: "You're not hurt? Come here, let me take a look, I have ways to heal… Ah, are you acting spoiled towards me, Mr. Doro? Such things are more suited to Lisidorwei, right? If you ask, maybe you'll get a lap pillow to sleep on~"

"You…"

Doro seemed like he wanted to lash out, finally shook his head helplessly: "How do you plan to handle Adeline?"

"Petrification curse~ I added some conditions. If the Church wants to forcibly wake her, they'll need to pay a huge price. If they want her to wake gracefully… it needs your kiss~"

"Huh?"

Doro was directly stunned.

"Are you joking?"

"Allah~ Do you think I'm joking? You absolutely wouldn't kiss her, right? Isn't that a good condition? But if you think you would kiss her, I wouldn't mind either." She smiled mischievously as always, "This condition, I suppose no one expected, right? Unless those present don't mention it."

Doro seemed like he wanted to say something.

"Mr. Doro, you probably have more important matters to deal with, right? The Church's people have already arrived—but it seems some aren't too willing to meet you… Charlette didn't come even though she knew what I'd do to Adeline… You can't like such a cold-blooded woman~"

"…I'll talk to them."

Mohe nodded, she suddenly said to Lisidorwei: "You're right, it is indeed somewhat different."

"Yes."

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