Brain bloom

What are you saying?

"Only true gods or beings of equal rank can move freely in my domain. Stop pretending." After saying that, it chuckled. "Besides, didn't you already sense me last time? There's no need to hide it anymore."

Sen was completely bewildered. Did he notice it?

Being exposed as a true god was already surprising enough... but now Sen Shi began to suspect that the other party might have mistaken her for someone else. She had never seen the Ancient Demon King before, so how could they have noticed?

While Sen was racking his brains, the ancient demon king spoke again.

"Very well, as long as you are not my enemy, I am willing to coexist peacefully with you. As for the matter that you 'darkness' left long ago and gave me the realm of demons... the hatred has dissipated, and I do not hold a grudge against you."

"...Huh? Oh...I see."

Mori gave a few perfunctory replies, trying to say only what he could understand:

"In short, I get along well with your daughter; she's very cute."

"That's good...that's good. So, unknown true god, it was you who removed the seal on the Thunderstorm Cloud Worm, right?"

"Just pulling it out for fun," Mori said casually.

This answer startled the ancient Demon King, who then let out a muffled, bitter laugh: "Truly a willful and capricious true god. I think I know which one you are now."

“It’s definitely not what you guessed,” Mori said confidently.

"Never mind, this thundercloud worm made a deal with me before it was completely sealed... That was a thousand years ago. It wanted me to break the seal, but it couldn't afford the price."

"so?"

“I think that’s why you added the seal again. Am I right?” The ancient demon king’s tone was equally confident, as if he were stating the truth. “You negotiated the price with it, but you weren’t satisfied with the offer, so you added the seal again.”

Sen remained silent, but secretly he was convinced that it really was the one who raised him.

However, these speculations of the ancient demon king are still somewhat reasonable.

Mori neither answered nor denied it. In this situation, it was most advantageous to pretend to be an unfathomable and profound true god.

"Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?"

"What is your purpose?"

"Help Princess Dandelion restore her kingdom."

"The Kingdom of Flowers... Well, that's none of my business. Well then, may the Queen of Roses fulfill her wish, and may your flowers remain as vibrant as ever."

Its words made Moritoki feel that it knew many mysteries. For example, what was Eden Bank? This peculiar place name had always puzzled Moritoki.

“For the sake of our peace and friendship…” she began tentatively, “If I ask you a few questions, will you answer them?”

Volume 1, Chapter 164: The Past of Father and Daughter

Before Senshi could even ask a specific question, the Ancient Demon King shook his head, indicating that the matter was not so simple.

"For the devil, there is no human touch; everything requires an exchange of equals."

What's the price for asking you questions?

The ancient demon king did not answer immediately. It first stood up, then plucked a feather from its wing with its beak and waved it in the air, as if it were a bird that could paint, using its own feather as a brush.

At the base of the black feather, stroke by stroke, intricate magical patterns were left in the air.

At the same time, it explained, "Since you've proposed a deal to me, let me calculate the cost first..."

"But I haven't said what I want to ask yet."

“I am not one of those vulgar and clumsy contemporary devils, but a true ancient devil. I don’t need to hear your questions at all, and that doesn’t stop me from assessing the cost. You know, that is my power, the domain I control.”

Its quill pen continued to draw in the air.

To Mori, the patterns etched on its feathers resembled a series of mathematical formulas, culminating in a peculiar equal sign that appeared in the air as a black imprint.

That represents the weight of the price.

"The answer to the question you want... Oh, I can give it to you—but at a price..."

"What is it?"

"You can't give it to me."

"Ha, what you said! It's really irritating! It makes me sound like a penniless wretch..."

After scoffing, Mori gave a cold laugh. Once she took over the damned Holy Coffin Kingdom, she would soon be rich... and she would definitely become the world's richest person in one fell swoop.

She is a debt collector.

The Holy Coffin Kingdom is destined to pay back everything, including interest.

Moreover, she was to build the greatest temple in the world for herself to reside in. All people were to prostrate themselves before the temple, welcoming the revelation of the true God with the utmost devotion.

After becoming convinced that he possessed the divine status of a true god, Mori seemed to become increasingly arrogant...

“No, this isn’t about having money or not… The question you’re asking involves a very profound field. Perhaps I can give you the answer… but…” The Ancient Demon King’s eyes became complicated, and his tone was shrouded in mist, “Some truths, just by being spoken, require a great price to pay.”

"Tell me, what do you want me to give you?"

"Request a quote? Unfortunately, quotes aren't free."

Sen Shi stood there, stunned. She was secretly worried about the weight of Eden Bank and hesitated, wondering if this ancient devil king was trying to raise prices and do some unscrupulous business...

She didn't give her a friendly look: "Want to know the price of the price? How much is it...? That's so hard to pronounce."

"Ideally, it would be made from Pinot Noir... fermented in oak barrels for more than twelve months... and then, with the highly poisonous leaves of the Four Seasons God, it would probably be delicious."

"Is this the price you're paying? I guarantee you'll die."

"Death? I couldn't ask for it."

As it spoke, its expression was one of profound sorrow, its eyes filled with apology as it looked at Yuan. Considering Yuan's search for its final resting place, Mori vaguely understood something, and couldn't help but feel a little less disgusted with the Ancient Demon King…

She nodded: "Then I'll give you a verbal promise, and I'll give you a bottle later."

“I accept this promise, the deal is done. I'll also give you the answer in advance—the answer to that question.”

Sen put aside his many distracting thoughts and listened attentively.

"The price to pay is to purify the world of primordial evil."

"As expected... this is going to be difficult." After all, Mori Toki doesn't even know what this primordial evil is... Could it be lust? Or appetite?

To keep up with the conversation, she searched her memory, though not expecting much. If only her experiences from the gaming era could help… Mori was surprised; she actually remembered something.

In the side quests related to demons during the game era, there is a special library in the Demon Realm.

Mori had heard this word mentioned in the books there. If she remembered correctly, it referred to something indifferent to joy or sorrow, yet utterly insane, capable of easily taking any life, no matter how much resistance the victim offered…

That's all she knew.

"Alright, since the deal is done, let's call it a day. Since you and I are not enemies, there's nothing else to discuss. I'm tired, I should go back and get some sleep."

"You're leaving already?"

"Yes, I'm tired. And I owe the Thundercloud Worm. It's one of the few deals I could never make in my life... The longer I stay, the more guilty I feel. Alas, it must be grieving and angry now, after all, the seal was broken, and then it was sealed back in..."

"Then it seems we should wait for it to calm down further."

"Alright, remember my wine... Also, please spend more time with Yuan, try to make her happy... and hopefully leave her with fewer regrets," it said sincerely and humbly to Sen Shi.

"Is this the deal you proposed to me?"

"It was just a request... the only thing an incompetent father could do for his beloved daughter."

Its attitude and words were as gentle as an autumn breeze. They stirred up many of Mori's thoughts… She wasn't a child who had received love from her parents since childhood; on the contrary, she had never received their love. She didn't even know what they looked like.

Perhaps it was this inexplicable deficiency that made Mori reluctantly accept Melia.

At this moment, she also wanted to explore the story of this strange father and daughter...

One is the current ruler of the realm of demons, an ancient demon king who is equal to the true god.

One of them was an innocent human girl...

Mori asked, "Since it's a request from the devil, shouldn't there be a corresponding price to pay?"

"Heh, indeed. So what do you want?"

"I want to know your story with Yuan," Moritoki continued with a sincere smile. "Why was she destined to die? And why did you adopt a human?"

The ancient demon king was surprised, his eyes widened, but he quickly closed them, and a long, drawn-out sigh escaped his throat.

"Then I'll go back later, as long as you promise not to tell anyone... and that we can be friends."

"I promise."

It silently agreed.

As it said before, some truths come at a great cost just to be spoken. So, the cost of telling this story is probably the sorrow it feels itself... Mori can feel that the whole world is filled with sorrow.

The ancient Demon King flapped his wings, stroked Yuan's long hair with deep affection, and slowly spoke, uttering the opening line of the story—

“I killed her parents… out of revenge.”

"Venting anger?"

"Not only that, her grandparents, her great-grandparents... twenty generations back, were all sent to their graves by me. They always thought they could escape my killing and even had a happy life—but in the end, they all died ugly... without exception, they all died at my hands."

"...why?"

"The cause of all this? It was just a very naive idea."

Volume 1 #165 Birth Under the Dawn (Part 1)

Before he could speak—the ancient demon king summoned darkness and flew into it.

Sen Shi realized she'd been tricked and was about to yell at it to stop running when she found herself swallowed up by layers of black domain. Fortunately, she didn't sense any malice from it; it was just the domain of the Ancient Demon King.

Her consciousness wavered at first, but she quickly regained it.

Opening her eyes, she felt a touch on her shoulder, a light, living thing. It was indeed the ancient demon king, who folded its wings and perched on her shoulder, experiencing with her the long, time-distorted process in the darkness.

Sen Shi found all of this bizarre and fantastical to be quite wondrous, feeling as if he were gradually entering a dream, yet remaining perfectly lucid.

"This is?"

"I intend to show you my memories."