The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 236: Would you like a coffee with a sprinkle of divinity?

Chapter 236: Would you like a coffee with a sprinkle of divinity?

When Valen fearlessly told the Elder to move away, Natha had to hold himself back from coming over and kissed the man right there and then.

But when Valen took the first step into the lake, he also had to hold back from yanking Valen away, taking the man into his embrace. He even gripped the little elemental bird tightly because of that, but the bird was also tensed from the atmosphere that it didn’t feel it or let out a protest at all.

That was why he brought Eruha along; to hold his body. The vampire, from the moment Valen walked toward the lake, had stepped in the Lord’s shadow to lock Natha’s movement.

Because Natha, above everything else, had no confidence he could hold himself back from jumping into that lake and taking Valen away.

Especially when he saw Valen shudder, and then stumbled, and immediately, Valen walked really, really slowly, as if his legs were made of lead. He knew then that the trial had started, and he could see that Valen used every ounce of his mana to keep his legs from getting stuck in place. The small figure, which got even smaller and smaller as the lake swallowed him bit by bit, tensed under the pressure.

He heard the little bird chirp in a short, airy sound, as if gasping; and he could see Valen stopped for a bit, jaw and fists clenched. It was clear that Valen was in pain, because Natha knew that feature very well. He had seen it when Valen was still Valen, and later when Valen was in Valmeier’s body.

It was when Valen felt pain but tried to hold it in so the nurse wouldn’t sigh and gave an exasperated gaze. It was when Valen felt pain in Valmeier’s body but just held it in because no one cared.

--I don’t want them to worry about me

Natha recalled what he accidentally heard yesterday; Valen’s confession. He thought it would be painful and kind of scary but didn’t want to make others worried about him. Didn’t want to make his fiance worried about it.

And so here he was, biting his lips and clenching his jaw so he wouldn’t make a sound.

[He doesn’t want to give those old demons the satisfaction of seeing him struggle] the Salamander whispered inside his mind.

"Oh, sweetheart..." Natha whispered under his breath, keeping the trembling little bird closer to his chest.

Just this once, Jade was clutching onto him desperately, weakly. The little bird wanted nothing but to fly toward its Master, but Valen had clearly stated it should be good and stayed with the Nightmare till the end.

But slowly, and certainly, Valen’s steps became steady, and he walked faster than before after getting used to whatever painful things were being inflicted on him.

And Natha had no idea what his heart was feeling then. It felt painful, seeing his beloved in pain, and yet, seeing how bravely Valen went through everything, he couldn’t help the swelling pride. Valen was so, so brave, so tough, so wonderful.

But why...why did he hear the stifling sounds of crying? No, it wasn’t Valen. He looked down and found out the little bird was wailing softly--so softly yet heartbreakingly, trying hard to suppress the sound because Valen told it to be good and quiet.

[Valen is very...very sad, right now]

Even the Salamander’s voice was quiet and disheartening.

--there might be something else that...you know...I might not be able to stand...

God--my Lord! Natha bit his lips when he saw Valen wipe his cheek; once, twice, and then it just happened continuously as he walked with heavy steps.

Valen was strong, but he was also weak. And that had always been his beauty. But now Natha prayed to his God to have mercy on his beloved.

Please...please just spare my beloved’s pure soul from another heartbreak. Please...

"He gets faster," suddenly, Eruha said quietly behind him, and yes, Valen did quicken his pace; wiping his cheek for the last time and marching through with back straightened and strength coursing through his body.

Steadily, Valen walked straight to the Altar and when the man reached it, Natha had to hold himself back again--this time from wanting to yell and exclaim proudly, to jump and scream Valen’s name, to crouch down and sob in relief.

Because it wasn’t over yet.

"How odd, the torches aren’t lit at all," one of the Elders commented in a mix of anxiety and mockery.

Thankfully, Eruha stepped on Natha’s shadow with everything that he got, preventing the Lord to smack the living shit out of the Elder. And thankfully, as Valen stepped into the stairs, the torches lit. First step, one torch lit...second step, two torches blaze...third step...fourth step...seventh step...

And the Altar was bathed in the sacred fire of Lord An’Hyang.

The bird chirped loudly, vividly joyfully, and Natha wished he could do it too--not the chirping part. But his delight couldn’t get out yet, because Valen was still up there, and he still couldn’t be completely relieved before Valen was safe in his arms.

And then, suddenly, the joyful chirping turned into dreadful screeching as the little bird saw Valen slumped down and stopped moving; still as a statue, not even his chest moving to show he was breathing. The little bird shot forward to fly over the lake, ignoring its Master’s order, but a pair of cold hands caught the bird and pulled it back.

[No! Master!]

"It’s fine," Natha whispered to the little bird, unusually gentle, stroking the colorful plume just the way Valen usually did. "It’s fine, Jade. Valen is talking with Lord An’Hyang,"

At this time, all the little bird could feel was the severed connection with its Master, and the panic hindered it from realizing that the Master’s mana system was still in full force, pumping and pulsing, keeping the soul anchored as Valen was sucked into yet another divine abode.

But that explanation did nothing to the clueless little bird who didn’t even realize Natha called its name instead of the usual ’brat’. [Who?]

"It’s the demon’s God," Ignis answered the question, proudly announcing that he was more knowledgeable.

[Who is god?] the little bird tilted its head in confusion--but at least it got calmer.

"Hmm..." the little gecko swayed its head in contemplation. "He’s like our Mother to the demons."

[Oh!] the little bird perked up. [I see! Mother is good. Is God good?]

For that, the Salamander looked up and flicked its tail to the Demon Lord’s shoulder. "Is your God good?"

Natha blinked at the unexpected question, but answered it without hesitation. "Yes," he said, without averting his gaze from the Altar. "Because Lord An’Hyang was the reason I could meet Valen in the past."

* * *

You know...don’t you think it would be nice if these Gods gave me a warning first before dragging me to their place?

Sighing, I instantly recognized that I was inside a divine abode, probably because it felt like my neighbor’s backyard now. The intense mana flow that felt like it was playing with time and space was all the same.

But at least, this time, I wasn’t stranded in the middle of a dark space or strange forest. It was, surprisingly, a coffee shop.

Yep. A modern coffee shop. You know the one; where they charged a ridiculous price for a single cup of coffee? Yeah, that kind of coffee shop. Counter, stools, monochromatic style, minimalistic decoration, espresso machine...the whole thing.

But hey, I had never been to a coffee shop before, so it was nice.

"Can I get a real coffee, here?" I muttered while looking around the empty place.

"You do know that this is not your real body, right?" a voice came from behind the counter, and when I turned my head to take a look, there was a kid, probably around eight to ten years old, in a modern formal suit and shorts; unarguably cute, the kind that could compete with Natha once he got older, with a styled short white hair and blood red eyes. His skin was pale, kind of like Eruha, but paler. and there was a single beautiful horn at the top of his forehead.

Below the horn, in the middle of the forehead, was a slit that I suspected to be an eye. A third eye. Thankfully, it was closed for now.

So this was the Demon God An’Hyang?

"But...you have coffee..." I pursed my lips in protest, watching him take a seat at one of the tables. Despite being a kid--I mean, in a kid form too...

He looked at me and sighed while rolling his eyes. "Fine, what do you want?"

I grinned and ordered while taking a seat in front of him. "Something with chocolate and caramel and ice cream,"

He narrowed his eyes and looked at me like I was his annoying little nephew who liked to destroy his figurine collection--despite him being shorter and looking younger than me. "You said you want coffee,"

"I don’t want to eat bitter things ever again," I huffed, remembering all the oral medication I had to take--aside from the Amrita, of course.

Again, he sighed and got me some frappe with ice cream float. Superb!

Hmm? Do you think I got too cozy with the Demon God?

Maybe. But perhaps because I felt so comfortable with Mother, and at ease inside my future child’s abode, I just kind of naturally felt like I was in my neighbor’s house or something. This kind of thing only gets surprising after the first or second time. After that, it was just routine.

Or maybe because he looked like a kid. Kind of unexpected, I had to admit. But then Mother was cosplaying a farmer, so...

"Enjoy your illusionary taste," he shrugged.

Eh--flavors were made up by brain chemistry anyway. So I picked up my spoon and happily scooped up the vanilla ice cream drizzled in caramel sauce floating above the drink. Mmh--it was cold and sweet and everything I imagined it to be. It didn’t matter if the real thing didn’t taste like this--I wanted it to taste like this and that was all that mattered.

It took me a while to realize the kid--I mean, Lord An’Hyang was observing me. Oh, right, there was something I had to say first, wasn’t it?

"Umm...so does it mean I passed?"