The Demon Lord Is An Angel-Chapter 498: Home

It was a bright, sunny day that Kir entered into, the moment he left Aeleas behind, arriving at the edge of the bubble that surrounded the City of Mages. He arrived alone, but he could distantly sense the most powerful of his loved ones in random directions.

He turned, testing the space behind himself and finding a wall there. Invisible, and comprised of mana shifting in such intricate formations that it appeared to truly be the surface of a watery bubble in manasight. Only it did not show the outside world through itself, but a blurry reflection of where he stood, in which he did not appear.

He sensed that beyond it, time was moving far faster than within the sphere. Aeleas had been true to her word. She was slowing time within the sphere... and perhaps even doing so for other cities. But that was neither here nor there as far as Kir was willing to explore.

He was already standing on the road to Norneau, so he decided with a sigh to walk the rest of the way and see what state this small piece of the world had been left in.

It felt like years since he’d been back, rather than months.

The forest was showing stronger shades of green. Snow was still melting in shaded areas. The crystal tower of the inverted dungeon rose like a pillar holding up the sky. And in a way, that was exactly what it was. Out in the fields, confused travellers and refugees were huddled in groups, but Kir made no attempt to approach them as he followed the road.

What should I say to them? What do I do now? he wondered. I’ve already failed... There’s no point... Kir struggled with his thoughts as he searched for a way forward. The very idea of a billion dead, even with Kiryu’s memories of Earth, were unfathomable to him.

What will they think when they learn I failed? A part of him desired to face some sort of justice for it. Even if he knew the outcome had been rigged from the start by Aeleas and Luda, he had been made to believe he was in a position to avert the catastrophe, and part of him had needed it to be true.

He realised that Luda had forced his evolution so he could "stand a chance" against Aeleas... but they’d never said when he would need to. What else had the god lied to him about through omission? Was Luda lying to Kiryu and Aiko as well?

Kir ground his teeth as he felt the knowledge that he would never know sink in.

Luda was gone.

Aeleas had won.

Kir stopped and clenched his fists, letting out a frustrated burst of mana that cracked the cobblestones beneath him as he suppressed a scream.

He’d failed. He’d gone from one trap to another like a fool... and now...

Now...

A sudden rumble broke Kir from his self-recriminations as instinct prepared him for an attack.

Over the outer wall of the city, a massive monster stepped, charging down the main street as pedestrians leaped out of the way, screaming.

But it wasn’t a monster. It was Amarena in her Leviathan form, coming at him fast. He realized she must have sensed his outburst of mana, and that he’d failed to keep it suppressed.

A moment before she reached Kir, Amarena returned to her true form with a sudden clap of air, falling from the sky with everyone from the constellation and more. Amarena, Stella, Rain, Kordia, Ferro, Malzkael, Cassiel, Lapins and Sin. Char, Sam, Moshui, and Encke. They fell from the sky to greet him.

Rain landed first, pulling Kir into a massive hug before Amarena, Stella, and Kordia joined them.

Amidst the excited touches and cries, Kir was jostled too and fro before he was let go of.

Anko tried to show off a new scar until Kordia noticed Kir’s downturned face and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Kir couldn’t stop his tears from flowing. Even if they were made of mana along with the rest of him, they were a manifestation of his feelings. "I failed..." he said. "All those people... because I couldn’t..."

Quietly, the others gathered to embrace him once more.

There was little talk as they made their way back to the city. Lumin was waiting at the gate with Heaven’s former Ambassador standing behind her. Char parted with the group to speak with the Chancellor as they loaded onto a bus and rode into the city.

They drove up to the Academy, Kir letting the others take the lead as he simply followed, the events of his struggle cycling through his mind over and over again.

When they arrived, it was to one of the floors that had been formed from the broken towers that once floated in the sky when the Academy had done so as well. The space had been converted into a suite of sorts, overlooking the docks and the lake as it stretched toward the barrier, the true state of the outside world hidden by blurry reflections.

A truly massive bed had been arranged, and Kir sat on its edge, staring out at the waters as one by one, the members of the constellation furthest from Kir left him with those who knew him best.

Kordia, Rain, Amarena, and Stella stayed with him until well after the sun set.

They stayed until he found the words to speak.

To tell them everything that had happened.

Everything he’d learned.

They listened quietly.

Gave him comfort and embraces.

Told him it wasn’t his fault, even when he refused to believe them. Until at last he stopped protesting.

When the silence dragged, they told him of their battles in Araqlun. How Stella had rallied the Aaruites while Rain and Amarena led the charge against the Black Tower. And of the fight that ended with the capture of Vinam Victoriam.

Against his desire to brood on his failures, Kir found himself feeling sparks of joy at their success. And from those sparks, he found a smile. One that Rainier seized on to kiss him, pushing him towards the bed, before Kordia and Amarena did the same as Stella straddled his waist to wait for her turn.

"I’m sorry if I’m too tired for more," Kir said after Stella finally withdrew. "I just... don’t know what to do anymore," he confessed.

"It’s fine," Rain assured him.

"We still love you," Kordia added.

"I love you all," Kir affirmed.

Together, they lay there until the dawn.