Brain bloom

Otherwise, how could that kiss have paid such a price?

Unless, of course, it's a kiss from someone you love.

“You’re quite pitiful, Ancient Demon King.” Mori felt genuine sympathy and smiled again.

“Don’t pity me! I’m not pitiful at all! On the contrary, I did something wicked and childish…” it sighed again, “In short, the other party has already paid a sufficient price.”

Sen Shi heard the regret in the voice and couldn't help but stop laughing.

She couldn't help but ask, "It seems like this is going to be a boring and clichéd love-hate drama?"

"That was certainly true before the birth of the will."

……

(P.S. Some time ago, in order to avoid being criticized for incomplete chapters and to improve your reading experience, I added 2-300 free words to each chapter to explain the suspense.)

But I still get killed every day... Anyway, no matter how I write it, I'll be called a dog, so from now on I'll just write according to the rhythm required by the plot.

Volume 1 #167 Birth Under the Dawn (Part 3)

The ancient demon king at that time did not know that he had fallen in love with the other person, nor could he understand that he might fall in love with a human.

Every time it makes a deal with humans, it looks at these lowly creatures troubled by love with a mocking gaze. Some men would even summon demons just to see a fleeting glimpse of a beautiful woman again, willing to pay the price of their souls.

How ridiculous.

Love is a sad thing. It's nothing more than a means to continue the family line, yet it always comes so abruptly, making everything lose its rationality.

At least that's how it seems to the devils.

Some speculate that love might be a seed sown in the human world by an unknown ancient demon, intended to strip humanity of its rationality and give the demon more opportunities for trade.

The ancient demon king was unaware that he too had fallen in love.

It was only anger and sorrow caused by the embrace of the two people in front of it. It couldn't even understand why it felt angry. The only thing it knew was that it wanted to cherish the girl's unique soul.

She was so special... yet a filthy human male was touching her with his hands!

The ancient demon king was enraged—this would be yet another deal.

Just as it is summoned each time, it obeys the other party's request, giving them what they want in exchange for a price. But the transaction is not just this one case; there is another, more cruel one.

It felt immense anger; this was what it received. For this, the other party must pay a price; this was a deal that had to be struck.

In order to demand a price, it stood before this group, positioning itself as their enemy.

The overwhelming presence of the ancient demon king brought this farcical human battle to a halt. Standing atop a corpse, radiating an intensely sinister killing intent, it abruptly interrupted the two lovers' tearful embrace.

He threatened the young knight, vowing to have a real fight, in a masculine way.

If the other party loses, it will steal his lover.

The young knight, unwilling to leave his lover, drew his longsword. But to the ancient demon king's surprise, the entire battlefield set aside its national hatreds, unanimously raising their weapons and aiming them at the suddenly appearing demon.

People hate demons and monsters to the extreme.

"A fierce battle was about to begin, and at that moment—"

"Excuse me for interrupting you. Actually, I'm not that interested in your love life or your battles. Can we skip to the conclusion?" Mori said with a troubled expression. "I just want to know whether Yuan was adopted by you or... you killed this little knight, and then... well, you know what I mean."

The ancient demon king was dissatisfied with Mori's patience, and also felt that the other party's thinking was indeed quite human-like.

From the perspective of the demon realm, the question that should be asked at this moment is the result of the battle... The ancient demon king's feathers were all fluffy, and he looked very annoyed - he had wanted to write tens of thousands of words to describe that battle.

For example, how to beat a hundred people to the brink of death, and then force them to make a deal, exchanging their souls for power to continue fighting it.

The many wonderful details of this battle are an unforgettable masterpiece in the realm of demons, and all demons who aspire to complete ten thousand transactions will find encouragement and enlightenment in it... But this girl from the Four Seasons was not interested at all.

The ancient demon king was still not giving up: "True God of the Four Seasons, I know you must have many wonderful stories to tell. But I rarely want to share this less-than-glorious memory with anyone. Are you sure you don't want to hear the rest?"

"...Should we just not listen?"

"I can invite you to the realm of demons, where we can drink fine wine and talk about our glorious past."

Mori shook his head in distress: "I'd rather hear your daughter's story, because she's already my good friend."

She would occasionally come over for a meal, went shopping with Morishige, and even fought with him once.

Although they haven't known each other for long, Mori has never felt any distance between herself and Yumi. They are already familiar partners and good friends.

"Alright then, I won the battle." Mentioning his daughter, the Ancient Demon King forgot all about the details of the battle.

"You're really something, hmm." Mori Tokiho noticed its smug expression. "So, after you won, you stole that girl?"

The ancient demon king's tone turned somber: "No."

"That?"

"She... before I abducted her, actually made a deal with me!" The voice of the ancient demon king was filled with regret and despair. "Demons cannot refuse any deal with an equal price, so I was unable to take her away."

The girl's proposed deal was simple, containing only one rather poignant question: "How can I stay with the one I love?"

Mori saw, in the illusion in the ancient demon king's memory, a man defeated and dying—but a girl resolutely stood guard in front of her lover. Everything about her left a deep impression on Mori, because she was very similar to Wan.

The ancient demon king could not refuse the deal; he controlled all equal costs in the world and could easily give the correct answer.

That answer didn't bring their love to fruition; instead, it destroyed everything... It was an extremely vicious curse.

"You have angered the ancient demon king, and your love is destined to have no happy ending! Your lives will be filled with hardship, bitterness, and pain, and you will not even be able to have offspring. If you can endure this pain, you can stay and stay by his side."

As the price was stated, the ancient demon king prayed in his heart, hoping she would refuse.

However, it knew very well that it was precisely because she could accept the price with a smile and offer a "thank you" that it fell in love with this trading partner whose name it did not even know.

She thanked the ancient demon king, then helped her dying lover walk away into the distance.

This expression of gratitude is not surprising; she should have died in some forgotten corner. And her lover should have died here as a hero.

But the ancient Demon King still helped them.

Although the price will be extremely painful, at least they can hold each other's hands and continue walking for a while longer...

The ancient demon king of that time, the demon king of today, and the bystander Sen Shi all silently gazed at the backs of the two companions until its story came to a temporary end.

The story took a different turn than Mori had imagined.

Before watching the film, she had mentally prepared herself for the worst. She had a nagging feeling that she would see a rather graphic adult film in the memories of the ancient Demon King. After all, the things demons do are often incredibly filthy and evil…

However, even after finishing the book, Mori felt uneasy and even began to sympathize with the ancient demon king.

"King of Ancient Demons, stop being sad and continue. Since your curse is so insidious, causing someone to be childless and without descendants, then... what happened? And where did this curse come from?"

"Because...they changed their fate."

Volume 1 #168: Born Under the Dawn (Part 4)

Mori heard a familiar phrase from the ancient Demon King; in her world, the trope of love conquering all was timeless. In films and literature, love is often portrayed as the greatest thing.

So, Mori Toki spoke up, taking it all for granted.

"I understand, it's because of love. Their love turned their fate around! It defeated the curse! Right?"

“Hmm…” The ancient demon king spoke vaguely.

“I understand, their love is so strong, it must make you very sad… That’s love. But, you old owl, you have to talk about it when you’re sad. How can I comfort you if you don’t?” Mori wanted to hear more gossip.

For some unknown reason, the ancient demon king became filled with grief and rage, suddenly summoning some kind of magic, which startled Mori. From the side, a dark hand reached out and opened before Mori. She clearly saw a copper coin lying in its palm…

"This is?"

"That woman summoned me again! She wanted to make a deal! She asked me, 'How can I resist your curse and have a child with him?'"

Even Mori was extremely surprised by this turn of events.

She was so shocked that her voice trailed off as she asked, "You helped them?"

The ancient demon king nodded.

This girl's brain must be very special, and it's no wonder that the ancient demon king took a liking to her—Sen Shi thought to himself, it's so sad that they were a match made in heaven but couldn't be together.

It continued, "At that time, they were tormented by the curse and had only about a year left... That's why they wanted to use their pure new lives to prolong their love. Unfortunately, this is my curse, and no one in the world can break it, not even them."

Having said that, it let out a gloomy sigh, which was probably the umpteenth time today.

The curse, which was supposed to end with this generation, however vicious and difficult to resist, would only torment the two of them. But they hoped to break free from their fate, at least to leave behind new life to reverse this tragic destiny…

They naively made a deal with the devil.

The ancient demon king paid the price he deserved.

The price remains a curse, but it has become far worse. The cursed will die the moment they have offspring... This curse will accompany their family for generations until enough souls have been harvested.

It would probably require the souls of twenty generations; the ancient demon king couldn't quite estimate the future.

When enough souls are available, the curse will transform from a slow-acting poison into a deadly one, instantly ending their bloodline in the most agonizing way...

This is the price to pay for wanting to prolong life.

Neither side could stop the deal because the cost was equal, they could both afford it, and it was something the other side desperately wanted.

It should have explained the seriousness of all this, but the smile of its beloved when she was happy made it hard to speak, so it reluctantly kept all the answers that should have been made clear to itself...

So, when its beloved woman asks it, "What is the price?", this is how it answers—

Please tell me your name.

"Matilda".

"Alright, I've received this price. You... will have a healthy child."

Even without the ancient Demon King recounting it, Mori could vaguely guess what happened afterward. The devil's deal was built around "souls," and the curse caused the two to die immediately after giving birth to their child, their souls becoming the devil's power.

In order for the soul to have enough power to be used by the devil, the curse is disguised as a kind of blessing, making the lives of each newborn happy, destined to be tainted with a lot of worldly dust, and continue to give birth to offspring—death, the young soul dissipates.

These descendants never experienced parental love; they were all orphans.

Therefore, no one can learn the true destiny they bear from their parents.

Death keeps repeating itself...

Generation after generation, people die at the height of their glory. Before they die, their lives are fulfilled, their love is sweet, and they hear the healthy cry of their children in excited anticipation. They should be embracing that adorable little one, enjoying the most unparalleled happiness in life.

However, death always arrives as scheduled.