The Devil's Betrothed
Chapter 785: Talk With Father

Chapter 785: Talk With Father

As the four of them settled, Yorian looked at Oriana. "Go ahead."

Oriana looked at her father, the previous Demon Lord, "I want to know about you and my mother first and how you ended up in the mortal world. Also, where have you taken my human mother’s body?"

"I, Valeron, used to be the Lord of the Demon realm after my father," the man’s heavy and authoritative voice reached her, "Your mother, the deity of wind, was married to me as a peace pact between Heaven and the Demon realm."

’Valeron, so this is his name,’ Oriana noted and asked as she realised she never truly asked for their names, "What’s her name?"

"Etheris," Valeron answered. "Her name was Etheris, which meant the purest air around the top of sacred mountain Aramis from where she originated in the heaven realm." He sounded respectful when he said that name, with the tinge of longing for the woman.

"How did you come to the Mortal realm?" Oriana asked as this story she had already heard before, but didn’t stop her father from telling it again.

"During the last war, when you were protecting the demon realm by sacrificing yourself, I was already gravely injured and could not be of any more help. We were almost defeated by gods but then you decided to seal the demon realm to protect it and asked me to protect that golden lotus your mother had passed on to you.

"Tharzimon had been scheming behind our back and his betrayal caused us to lose that war back then. You didn’t want that lotus to fall into his hands as it was a powerful artifact created by your mother. Before you sealed the demon realm entirely, you pushed me out of it, handing me that lotus so I won’t be sealed there. Then, I happened to fall into the mortal realm along with that golden lotus. Since then, I had lost my true powers and had been reduced to the state of earthly supernatural, a warlock with darkness."

Oriana concluded and asked, "So you were the one to pass that golden lotus to my human family’s ancestors?"

He nodded and explained, "Though you sacrificed yourself, you were a powerful demoness, and your existence could not be vanished just by sacrificing your powers. According to the rules, you were meant to be reborn and it’s always a human realm where any deity or demon is reborn.

"When that lotus was with me, it had started losing its strength in the human realm and I didn’t know what to do. One day I came across a wandering human and that lotus reacted to his presence and bloomed again. So I passed down that lotus to a human, who the lotus itself had chosen. And then one day when you are reborn, you could claim it again. I had been keeping watch on that human family since the start for many generations of that family and they didn’t disappoint me."

Oriana hummed and asked, "Were you aware I would be reborn in that same family?"

The Demon shook his head, "Not initially but after so many generations of that family when I saw your human mother, I knew you would be reborn in that bloodline."

"My mother?" Oriana was surprised, "How?"

"Your human mother looked the same as your mother from the previous life, Etheris. And I was sure it was truly your mother who was reborn in human form."

"Then why didn’t she have powers in her human form just like I did after I was reborn?" Oriana asked.

The other two sitting there were surprised as well as curious to know just like Oriana.

"There is a difference between how you and she were reborn in the human realm," the Demon began. "Etheris’ divine soul, her divine core, was entirely destroyed by the hellfire when she ceased to exist, while your soul was not destroyed. You, your soul just lost its powers to create a shield around the demon realm, but the soul still existed.

"When the divine soul of any deity is destroyed, never to return ever again, they have a last chance of being reborn as a human and experience an ordinary human life without any power or memories from the previous life before they vanish entirely from this universe. It’s the last stage of their existence. Your mother was going through that last phase before she was gone forever."

Oriana was shocked to hear it. Her mother from previous life was the one in this life as well.

Her father continued. "When I got to know what happened to that lotus, I went to seek for the one who was responsible to protect it. When I saw the protector was none other than your mother, I knew what to do. I offered her to have a child with me as she failed her responsibility. That was the way to bring you back to life, to let you be reborn. That way you could also be with the soul that was transferred in the human boy’s body. It was the reason you were betrothed to him after you were born."

This last part Oriana and Arlan both knew. They understood it was the idea that came from this man itself.

"Was she aware who she was? Have you ever told her?" Oriana asked.

"I didn’t tell her as there was no use. She was in the end just an ordinary human and I didn’t want to burden her by telling her anything."

"So, did you just use her to bring me back to this world?" Oriana sounded sad.

"You can say that." The man replied with no hesitation at all.

"You didn’t love her when she was human? Just because she was just a weak human you didn’t care?"

The Demon simply looked at his daughter. He could see in her eyes that she was blaming him for certain things.

"I heard my grandpa saying that she loved my father."

"I tried to be good to her, but I couldn’t let her get attached to me as we both had our parts to play to bring you back. But I didn’t expect she would leave us so soon just after you were born."

"If you had stayed by her side, you might have been able to protect her. Have you ever thought about it?"

"Your human mother would have left us sooner or later, and protecting you was the priority. I had to stay away so I could continue to cultivate my powers before planning to come for you and take you back to the Demon realm. But everything has gone the other way with so many unexpected things happening."

"I would rather you had saved her than thinking about my future," Oriana sounded disheartened.

"Sometimes, great things need sacrifice," the man said, remaining unaffected and continued, "When she left us, I returned to your grandfather and took her away."

"Why bother when you don’t care about her?" Oriana’s tone was hurt and sarcastic.

"I do not need to explain what I felt towards her," he said, "She was my wife and my child’s mother. I had responsibilities towards her even when it was in the last moments of her life."

"She was dead when you came for her. You missed the last moments of her life anyways."

"She didn’t. She talked to me the last time before she left me. She asked me to protect you."

It shocked Oriana. "Was she not dead? Could she be saved if we had treated her?"

He shook his head. "She was dead as per human’s standards and could not be saved. But using my powers, I borrowed a few more moments of her life so I could talk to her. Even at the last moment of her life, her thoughts were about her daughter and protecting her."

Tears rolled down her already moist eyes. Arlan coaxed her and looked at the Demon. "What do you plan now? She has already been to the Demon realm and rules it now."

"I am willing to help you all against the Heaven realm," Valeron replied, his tone resolute, "Also, that shield around the Demon realm needs to be removed so the gods won’t act arrogant and keep doing as they wish. Though the Demon realm has also made mistakes due to the power struggle between two realms, its existence is necessary to keep the heaven realm in check. Having no powerful rivals against them, must have already turned them arrogant," he met Oriana’s eyes, "It’s also our home and our people who have a right to freedom. We have to free them and guide them on the right path."

Oriana nodded silently.