Cucking The Demon King
Chapter 144: It’s okay now

Chapter 144: It’s okay now

Eva’s hands trembled slightly at her sides, and her lips parted like she was about to speak—but then she hesitated again.

Her heart was pounding so hard it was beginning to drown out her thoughts.

Liam hadn’t moved, hadn’t looked away. He was still right there, holding her gaze as though she were the only person in the world.

Why did it feel so safe?

That thought echoed through her, unexpected and soft. Warm, even.

She lowered her gaze for a moment, trying to pull herself together. But every time she inhaled, she caught the faint scent of his skin—calm, earthy, and inexplicably comforting. Her knees felt weak.

’Why do I trust him so much?’ she thought, biting the inside of her cheek.

It wasn’t logical. She had spent most of her life learning not to trust people. Not fully. Not completely. Even now, there were things she never told the others—things she could barely admit to herself.

But when she stood in front of him... when he spoke in that gentle tone, when he looked at her with those unwavering crimson eyes... her walls cracked.

’I barely understand him... and yet...’

The corners of her lips tugged upward slightly, just the faintest bit.

’And yet... I don’t hate it.’

Her fingers slowly curled around the edges of her robe as she drew in a steadying breath.

"I want to tell you something," She said, her voice soft but more certain than before. "It’s... something I’ve never talked about. Not to anyone here."

Liam didn’t interrupt. He simply nodded once and waited, his eyes never leaving hers.

Eva’s gaze flicked downward.

"Unlike most other heretics and even holy mages, I... was actually born with my blessing," she said quietly. "A curse from the moment I took my first breath... the blessing of darkness."

As soon as the words left her mouth, the air seemed to thicken. The shadows in the room shifted subtly around her, flickering like they were listening.

"I’ve always been able to perform illusion magic," she continued, eyes darkening with memory. "I can also hide myself within my illusions."

Liam blinked once.

He had heard of elemental blessings before. Light. Fire. Wind. Ice. But in Lumeria—the supposed sacred land of light—it was almost unthinkable for someone to awaken a darkness attribute.

In fact... he had always assumed that those born here only awakened light-aligned blessings. That was what the clergy always said. That Lumeria was the land chosen by the gods, and only the holy blessings were passed down here.

But she was living proof that wasn’t true.

And what shocked him more—what made his jaw subtly tighten—was what she said next.

"We weren’t just ignored because of it," she said, her voice growing bitter. "We were cast out."

Her hands tightened into fists.

"The church—the same church that preaches love and guidance—they called us abominations. Children of the demon lord. Cursed by evil. They said we were born as omens of disaster."

Liam’s expression darkened.

He shouldn’t have been surprised.

Not really.

He’d seen the church’s hypocrisy before. But hearing it like this—from her lips, raw and pained—made it all the more disgusting.

"They didn’t just abandon us," Eva continued. "They excommunicated us. And once the church had turned its back, the village followed."

Her voice grew quieter, but more venomous. "We were seven... seven who awakened darkness blessings from birth in this village. And they threw us out like we were monsters."

She turned her head slightly, her eyes glossing over with distant memory.

"I remember the names they called us. ’Demonspawn.’ ’Void children.’ People spat at us as we passed, and some threw rocks. But through it all... she was there."

"She?" Liam asked gently.

Eva nodded slowly.

"My sister. My twin."

Her breath trembled again, but this time it wasn’t hesitation—it was the weight of something else... guilt and pain.

"She was stronger than me. Not just in magic—but inside. She was the one who always stepped in when the villagers got too bold. She took the beatings. She shielded me with her own body."

A faint, wistful smile touched her lips. "She used to say, ’Let them talk. One day, they’ll regret every word.’"

Liam could picture it—a pair of small girls, wandering through a hostile world, clinging to each other like the last bit of warmth in a cold storm.

"We survived for years outside the village," Eva continued. "Living in ruins. Feeding off scraps. Training our blessings in secret."

But then, her voice turned darker. Sharper.

"Until the Holy Knights came."

Liam’s brow furrowed. "Holy Knights?"

She nodded.

"They found us just after we turned twelve. I don’t know how. Maybe someone from the village reported us. Maybe the church was always keeping tabs. But they came... fully armed. Radiant armor. Silver swords. All that holy righteousness."

Her jaw clenched.

"And they didn’t come to ’bless’ us. They came to capture us, claiming they would purify us... but we knew the truth... that they were only trying to kill us."

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

She looked up at him, expression unreadable. "They don’t see us as children. Not with our blessing. Just threats. Weapons to be tamed or destroyed."

"I’ve seen what they did to the ones they caught... they were all publicly executed, and everyone somehow cheered."

That was too much, even for him.

Liam had long since given up on the light goddess, and the preachings of the church after he couldn’t awaken a blessing even Agee praying fervently.

But this? He thought he’d seen the worst of their arrogance. Their hypocrisy. But to go after two little girls—frightened, abandoned, and alone...

His hands tightened at his sides.

’I’ve never heard about this, chances are... the church buried everything about it.’ He thought.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

Eva stared down at the floor, her voice quieter now.

"They surrounded us. Said we were to be taken to the capital. For purification."

"And?" Liam asked.

Eva’s eyes shimmered.

"She unleashed it."

There was silence.

"My sister," Eva continued, "she tapped into her blessing fully for the first time. I had never seen her like that. The air turned cold. Shadows crawled like tendrils, ripping through armor. The sky above us dimmed. And all of it... all of it was for me."

Her lips trembled.

"She told me to run. Said she would hold them off. That I was the one who had to survive."

Liam didn’t speak.

He couldn’t.

Eva exhaled shakily. "I didn’t want to leave. I screamed. I cried. But she pushed me with the shadows and forced me to flee."

Her voice cracked. "I ran."

Another pause.

"And I never saw her again."

She looked up at him, finally meeting his gaze again.

"Sometimes... I think she’s still out there. Still lost in that darkness. And other times, I wonder if she died that night. Or worse... if they took her. If they twisted her."

She drew in a deep breath and looked down at her trembling hands.

"I feel like if only I had stayed with her... if only we had fought together that day, then she might still be here with me."

The pain in her voice was not fresh—but it was still raw. Still bleeding.

Liam stepped forward.

And this time, when he reached for her hand, she didn’t pull away.

His voice was low, steady. "Whatever happened is not your fault, Eva."

Her breath hitched.

"You’re not the past. You’re not your fears. And if there’s a part of you that’s struggling, there’s no point in fighting it alone."

Eva stared up at him.

That warmth again.

That impossible warmth.

Her fingers slowly tightened around his.

And for the first time in years, she felt it—hope.

Not the fragile kind that flutters and fades, but something sturdier. Something real.

Maybe... just maybe...

She could trust him after all.

The silence lingered between them—not awkward, not uncertain, but warm. Soft. Like the hush that came after a storm had passed and all that remained was the distant echo of thunder and the quiet drip of lingering rain.

Eva didn’t know how it happened, only that it felt natural.

Her head drifted forward, gently resting against Liam’s chest.

She could feel the slow, steady beat of his heart. Not racing like hers, not frantic or trembling. Just calm. Steady. Like it had all the time in the world.

And when his arms came up to wrap around her waist, drawing her closer, she didn’t flinch. Didn’t question. Her hands gently gripped his robe, fingers curling against the fabric like she was afraid to let go.

Liam didn’t say anything at first. He simply stood there, holding her as though she was something precious. Something breakable.

Then, quietly—so quietly she barely heard it—he mumbled against her hair:

"...It’s okay now."

Eva’s breath caught in her throat.

His voice was deeper like that, when he wasn’t trying to be strong. When the weight of emotion sat in the cracks between his words. It reached somewhere she had buried long ago—somewhere fragile and aching.

Her grip on his robe tightened.

And slowly... slowly... she tilted her face upward.

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