Chapter 41: How a Queen is Made (Part III)

The walls on both sides of the corridor were adorned with intricate relief carvings, bearing the heavy traces of time. Little Mountain’s footsteps sounded particularly abrupt in the silent hallway.

We passed through the corridor and entered a pitch-black tunnel where not a single glint of light could be seen.

With every step Little Mountain took, I felt myself drawing closer to some unknown place; somewhere in the void, it felt as if something were calling to me. A faint sense of unease rose in my heart, and I instinctively turned back to look for Alastor.

He was just to the right behind Little Mountain. As soon as I turned my head, I found those deep blue eyes.

"Don't be afraid, this is the path leading to the altar." Alastor looked at me. His lips didn't move, yet I heard his voice.

Seeing that I was still staring at him expectantly, he suddenly winked with his left eye, and the corners of his handsome mouth curled up slightly. He was smiling.

Was he laughing at me? I felt a twinge of annoyance and indignantly withdrew my gaze, not realizing that after his playful distraction, that sliver of unease in my heart had vanished without a trace.

Reassured, I couldn't help but glance at Albus on the left. He walked looking straight ahead, like a flawless jade statue devoid of life.

Somewhere in my heart, a weeping sound began again. I sighed.

In the darkness, I looked around. In the black tunnel, a dense mass of bats could be seen hanging upside down from the stone carvings overhead; as we passed by, not a single bat was startled.

Before a wooden door carved with the pattern of a cross, Little Mountain stopped.

The wooden door was easily over ten meters high. Upon its ancient and heavy surface was carved a massive cross, with every edge of the cross inlaid with silver.

Sitting on Little Mountain’s shoulder, I stared at the door. For a moment, I had a sense of displaced time and space. The cross and the vampire have always been two contradictory and opposing entities—and wasn't silver supposed to be the bane of vampires?

With a "clang," the door suddenly swung open slowly.

The sounds of clamor and laughter drifted out along with the opening of the door; it seemed the soundproofing of this door was quite excellent...

Behind the door was a remarkably spacious hall with a hemispherical dome. Aside from paintings, the ceiling also featured reliefs, appearing extremely magnificent.

Inside the hall, a dense crowd of demons was drinking and making merry. There were enchanting ladies and valiant swordsmen; from their appearance, they were undoubtedly very easy on the eyes.

Little Mountain lifted his great feet and walked in along the marble floor.

The hall fell instantly silent. Hundreds of pairs of eyes, fierce as wolves and tigers, converged upon the main entrance.

Is this what it feels like to be the "focus"? I felt like I was about to be scorched by those burning gazes...

Little Mountain strode forward with his head held high, like a proud knight. I sat high on his shoulder, chin slightly raised. Under the protection of Alastor and Albus, I endured the gazes from all sides like a truly arrogant Queen—gazes of awe, of doubt, of desire, and of ambition...

Among those demons, there were a few familiar faces: Nazga of the Serpent Clan, Orlando of the Elf Clan, Usan of the Wolf Clan. Rose was actually there too, as well as a few others I had seen back when the Inquisition invaded the Demon Realm.

Rose winked at me and suddenly bowed. "Rose of the Healing Clan greets Your Majesty. I hereby offer you my loyalty."

I smiled and raised my hand in a gesture. The movement was so fluid, as if it had been rehearsed countless times years ago. Retracting my hand without a trace, I looked down upon the assembly of demons.

One after another, demons bowed to offer their loyalty, but they were only a scattered few; the majority remained in a state of observation.

"Bastards! How can you be so disrespectful to Her Majesty!" Little Mountain clenched his fists indignantly, his face flushed red and the veins on his hands bulging as if he were about to explode.

I lowered my hand and lightly pressed it against his shoulder. He loosened his fists and instead stepped onto the deep red Persian carpet, walking up to the high platform.

Albus and Alastor stood silently on either side of the platform. I leapt lightly down from Little Mountain’s shoulder and sat upon the high throne.

"It has been four hundred years. Is everyone doing well?" I looked at the demons with a grin.

Total silence. Not a single reply.

"Are you very disappointed to see me?" I didn't feel embarrassed; I lightly stroked the jade-carved throne with one hand, still wearing a grin.

"Why does Your Majesty say such a thing?" Someone finally spoke. I looked sideways to see Usan; his dark, bright eyes were looking at me with a half-smile.

"Rumors spread through the realm that the Queen had vanished. You all came here full of expectation, yet now you see me still entrenched in this seat. Won't you feel even a little bit of disappointment?"

Upon hearing this, the crowd of demons broke into an uproar.

"Perhaps... you could all rise up and attack me, joining forces to cut off my head," I raised my hand and stroked my neck, which was as cold as jade, casually offering the suggestion. "I heard that the only way to seize the throne is to remove the previous King of the Demon Realm—that is, me, who is currently sitting in this position..."

From the side of the platform, Alastor turned his head to look at me, a faint smile in his deep blue eyes.

Usan’s dark eyes grew somewhat profound.

"You might as well give it a try; please, don't be polite," as the words fell, the smile vanished from the corners of my mouth, and my voice sounded incredibly somber. "This is my way of treating guests."

Dark energy slowly began to brew around me. Those dark auras spread rapidly. The demons looked at each other, yet no one dared to make a single move.

The hall was as silent as death.

Albus, who had been standing like a jade statue with his back to me, finally had a small reaction. The index finger of his right hand moved slightly—that was his preparatory movement for an attack.

Regardless of anything, he had left his back to me.

Regardless of anything, at least at this moment, he was standing on my side, even if it was because of the woman inside my body named Aurora.

A long, long silence.

The dense dark energy surged around me, forming a thick black mist that enveloped the entire hall.

Just as the tension reached its peak, servants with stiff expressions filed in from a side door carrying trays. The rich fragrance of food and fine wine drifted through the hall.

Taking the crystal glass handed to me by Alastor, my pale fingers appeared cold and translucent like jade against the backdrop of the crimson liquid inside.

Taking a light sip of the liquid and licking away the crimson staining my lips, I raised the glass. "...Or, do you prefer a more moderate approach? After all, a gathering that happens only once every four hundred years would be a terrible waste to squander like this."

As soon as the words left my mouth, Little Mountain was the first to raise his glass.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." A gentle, slightly childish voice—it was Orlando.

He fluttered his transparent and beautiful wings, smiling as he raised his glass to me, appearing incomparably obedient and cute.

Alastor raised his glass with a grin; Albus raised his with a blank expression. Rose, Usan, and Nazga followed suit, one after another.

Sweeping my gaze around, when the last demon finally raised their glass under my pressure, I tilted my head back and drained the crimson liquid in one gulp.

I set down the crystal glass. As my expression softened slightly, the dark energy surrounding the room vanished in an instant.

The hall became lively once more.

Those who were drinking drank; those playing drinking games played; those flirting flirted.

"How was that for a 'survival after a desperate gamble' move?" The corners of my lips curved into an arc as I looked silently at Alastor.

Alastor winked at me, and with his hands behind his back, he quietly gave me a thumbs-up.

And so, the smile at the corners of my mouth slowly widened.