“Then what do you plan to do?”

Laila raised one eyebrow and stared into space for a moment.

It had been several days since Deceptor had shown himself. In the process of cleaning up after the war and returning, Jymius Kun died, unable to overcome the physical and mental burden.

The devil she had directly accepted into her body became a fatal poison and took her life.

“Still… I think it’s fortunate that I could repay at least some of my parents’ sins… with my life…”

Those were the only words she left behind. After that, Deceptor disappeared, but Laila thought he must be hiding somewhere. Her final task was to forcibly draw him out and settle things.

After a long silence, Laila spoke while still staring into space.

“My abilities won’t be equivalent to Your Majesty’s soul. Human souls are surprisingly cheap. Do you know?”

A short, faint laugh was heard. It was the first time Laila heard Ord laugh like that, but she wasn’t surprised.

Ord Hyanmorik had become indifferent in the face of death. How could she not understand the relief of someone who had finally achieved their goal?

“Yes, that may be so. But don’t you think that’s to your disadvantage? If that devil you mentioned… the one who became like your father, decides to take away your abilities, wouldn’t that be your last chance?”

His words cut off for a moment. Laila quietly waited for Ord’s words to resume. His eyes were now closed.

His breathing had become faint, and his body seemed to have fallen completely asleep. Only his consciousness remained awake, conveying words to her.

Eventually, Ord spoke:

“…I mean your last chance to live as an ordinary human.”

Laila replied:

“Yes, that’s right. If he takes away all my abilities, I will no longer need to see unnecessary things or hear their chilling words that make me shudder. If I succeed in persuading Deceptor to exchange Your Majesty’s soul for… my abilities, I will return to how I was before. Like before I met Eustar. I’ll only be able to see and hear them, but not call or control them.”

“Then why are you giving up that chance for my sake?”

When Ord asked, genuinely puzzled, Laila finally lowered her gaze to him with his closed eyes.

“Because that’s the only way Eustar’s life won’t be miserable. When Your Majesty passes away, if he knows your soul has fallen into Deceptor’s hands, do you think he’ll stand idly by? He would try to free Your Majesty’s soul, even if it means summoning Deceptor again. But I can’t allow that. He has already suffered enough, and no more pain is necessary.”

Laila’s two fingers, index and middle pressed together, touched Ord’s forehead again. She could feel his consciousness filling with a pleasant coolness.

She could sense the heavy drowsiness filled with anxiety and uneasiness retreating. Only then could Ord finally fall into a peaceful sleep.

Laila looked at Ord’s sleeping face and whispered softly:

“Before, Badin, my father, told me. That I had inherited his blood most strongly and that I was the closest being to him. And that I owed him a debt.”

“The closest being to me is you, and you owe me one debt. So now, listen carefully to my story. Don’t take my words lightly.”

Laila closed her eyes, recalling Badin’s words that flashed through her mind.

Just as Laila was doing now, back then, Badin also pressed his two fingers together and placed them on Laila’s forehead. And he poured his ‘words’ into her mind.

“Because you are the closest being to me, I can help you anytime, wherever you are. When you need my help, you don’t need to search for me or call out to me. I will be by your side. Also, I did not hold onto your mother’s soul.”

“What do you mean? Mother’s soul?”

“Originally, a witch’s soul belongs to me until her daughter gives birth to a new witch. That was also a promise with Lilith, but when your mother’s soul left her body, I let it go as it was.”

“Why?”

At that time, Badin smiled bitterly in a way that made it hard to believe he was a devil.

“For you. And because I was fond of your mother’s audacity. She had something about her that reminded me of Lilith.”

That was the ‘debt’ Badin spoke of. If Laila did not continue the witch’s bloodline, her mother’s soul would have had to wander forever in Badin’s empty space, having lost her sense of self.

Perhaps even after Badin disappeared, she might not have been able to leave that place.

“So you, my daughter who inherited my blood. You must surely set me free. Only you can break the promise between Lilith and me. You will be the last witch born from the beginning.”

Laila’s body, with eyes closed, trembled as if shuddering. She inhaled deeply as if to fill her lungs with air, then exhaled in a very short, rhythmic sound before speaking.

“It wasn’t my intention, but to set him free, I need Eustar. From a certain perspective, I’m using him too. If only for that reason… I will save the soul of the one you love.”

After leaving the king’s quarters, Laila headed straight for the royal library.

It was still dim and cool there, and no one was visiting. The air felt drier than before, and among the smell of books and dust, there was a hint of an acrid stench as if something were burning.

Laila closed the door and locked it from the inside.

Then, looking around the dim space, she sat down in an empty spot behind the bookshelves. Using the slate pencil she had brought in her pocket, Laila began to draw a circle smoothly. As she placed her two fingers in the center of the circle, she whispered.

“You who do not echo sound, respond to my call and come forth. You who dance hidden in the shadow of fire, I desire you, so come into the light.”

Suddenly, the air throughout the library gathered to a single point. Even in the midst of pain that felt like suffocation, Laila only slightly furrowed her brow, enduring with her fingers still on the circle.

The tips of her nails cracked with a sound. When the drops of blood that began to seep out slowly rose into the air, Laila quickly grasped her own blood with her other hand and drew across the circle. The air writhed.

Laila spoke:

“The brass soldier is at the window, the broken spoon is in the fireplace.”

The floor of the library vibrated and the air heated up. Laila strongly grasped her consciousness that seemed about to break at any moment. Like pulling on a string.

“I ask if everything that should be is in its place!”

As she shouted, a gust of wind arose throughout the library. Books that had fallen from the shelves hit the ceiling and walls, and struck Laila’s head and body.

Now blood was flowing from her lips as well. Without uttering a single groan, Laila glared at the scene before her eyes that was shimmering like a summer mirage.

With a bang, Deceptor revealed himself.

He had a human form but could not be called human.

Like a tree burned black after a forest fire, his entire body was charred, and through the cracks, the flow of boiling flames and lava could be seen. Ridiculously, that heat seemed to torment even Deceptor himself.

“The young witch girl has quite some skill. How did you know that incantation?”

Laila’s lips curled up crookedly.

“It’s the incantation Eustar used when I first met him. I found out later. That other Tentinella members don’t recite that incantation. So I guessed it must be part of your retinue.”

A growling sound came from Deceptor’s mouth—if those charred marks could be called a mouth. Amidst a noise similar to wood splitting, flames dripped down.

“What do you want?”

“You don’t have to put on airs, Deceptor. I know full well that you’re being punished for making a double contract with Jymius Kun.”

Deceptor growled again like a beast. It was a penalty for violating the rules that he, born from fire, was now consumed by the pain of eternally burning.

If he had been a devil governing fire, the result might have been a little different… But he was one of fire’s retinue. The punishment was harsh, and he would now, perhaps for eternity, suffer in boiling heat.

Laila found it increasingly difficult to breathe. With each movement Deceptor made, thick black ash flew, and she felt a heat that seemed to melt her skin.

“Don’t you put on airs, young witch. Send me back immediately. Otherwise, I’ll scorch all your flesh.”

Laila twisted the corner of her mouth up and bit her tongue to pull back her consciousness that was trying to drift away.

“Go ahead and try. I’d like to see what becomes of you afterward. But before that, it would be beneficial for you to listen to what I have to say.”

Deceptor was silent. He couldn’t think deeply because of the pain.

Laila said:

“You’ve already broken the rules once. What do you think will happen if you insist on taking Ord Hyanmorik’s soul in that state? Aren’t you curious? I’m very curious.”

“If you dare to interfere with my contract, I will kill you right here.”

“Interfere? Not at all. Think carefully, Deceptor. You cunning liar. I’m giving you an opportunity. If you’re satisfied with taking part of my ability as a medium instead of Ord Hyanmorik’s soul, you probably won’t suffer any more than you already are. You know that, don’t you?”

Deceptor widened his torn eyes. There was a crackling sound, and ash flew again. Inside the eyes that covered about half of his face, red boiling lava could be seen.

“Don’t talk nonsense! You know nothing about my contract with Hyanmorik…!”

“You’d like to believe I know nothing.”

Laila cut him off firmly.

“Unfortunately, your belief is wrong. That’s what you get for mocking me by imitating the head servant when I was walking around here. You thought I wouldn’t find anything here, but you were wrong. I am Laila Kristrad, daughter of a witch. Witches are beings who are naturally obsessed with exploration. Beings who spend their lives exploring nature, magic, and strange things, that’s who I am.”