“I’m here,” April held Chiffon’s hand as she channeled her power towards her daughter’s body.
April had dual abilities. She could control the Earth Element as well as Spiritual Power. She harnessed the power of nature and used it to heal Chiffon’s injuries.
She rarely used this power because this was not her specialty. However, after seeing how much her daughter was suffering, April decided to heal her injuries with utmost care.
As she used her powers, the miasma that had remained dormant inside her body resurfaced. This was the reason why she was ill all the time. Her strength was slowly being sapped away by the miasma, and all she could do was to hold it at bay.
After seeing Chiffon’s state, April ignored her own hardship and used her power to heal her daughter, allowing the miasma to rampage inside her body.
Chiffon’s injuries were slowly recovering, and yet April’s own injuries were getting worse.
Natasha saw this scene and laughed internally. She knew that April was barely keeping the miasma in her body at bay. If she were to use her powers again, there would be no turning back. This was the plan that they had concocted, so that they wouldn’t be blamed if anything happened to her.
Black blood spilled at the corner of April’s lips as she endured the pain in her body.
Chiffon was not aware that her mother was currently suffering. Right now, the pink-haired little girl was being cradled by the Spirit of Nature that specialized in healing.
It was easy to mend broken bones, and flesh, but treating miasma wasn’t something that Healing Magic could cure. Only powerful Oracles could use the power of Restoration to drive the miasma out of a person’s body.
Unfortunately, the Demonic Continent didn’t have an Oracle that sided with Lucien. All of them rejected his request to cure April many years ago. What Lucien didn’t know was that Natasha was responsible for this rejection.
She couldn’t allow April to regain her health and threaten her position as Lucien’s first wife. Fortunately for her, the most powerful of the Oracles was part of her family’s faction. The other Oracles belonged to the factions of Luciel’s other wives.
None of them wanted to see April’s rise, so they all united together to strangle her chance of survival.
After the healing ended, April spat a mouthful of black blood. Several black marks appeared on her skin, and they wiggled like little snakes that were crawling all over her body.
April gritted her teeth as she endured the miasma that was tearing her body apart. Chiffon’s injuries were now fully healed. She was about to thank her mother when she noticed that April’s expressions were very pale.
Also the black lines that were appearing on her body were slowly increasing.
Alarmed by what was happening, Chiffon clung to April and cried. April gathered all of her willpower and forcefully suppressed the miasma inside her body.
Several minutes passed and the black lines on April’s body disappeared. However, her complexion was as pale as a candle. Chiffon supported her body and took her back to the house where April stayed.
“Mama, we’re here, you’re going to be fine,” Chiffon said while sobbing.
April was too weak to say anything. Instead she just squeezed her daughter’s hand firmly to show that she was fine.
“Mama, I read books in the library and found out about what marriage meant,” Chiffon said. For some reason, something was telling her that she needed to keep her mother awake at all cost. She remembered what her mother mentioned in passing, so she used this topic to talk to her.
April only smiled and weakly nodded her head.
“I’m still too young to marry, so Mama needs to watch over me and pick my future husband,” Chiffon said. “Help me find someone better than Papa. Someone who will not leave me alone and toss me to the side.”
A tear escaped April’s lips as she squeezed Chiffon’s hand. She could feel her life force slipping away from her body, and knew that her time had finally come. She looked at her pitiful daughter and felt her heart ache, not from the pain of the miasma, but the pain of leaving her behind to fend for herself.
“Mama, how many grandchildren do you like?” Chiffon asked. She was too young to realize that her mother was already at death’s door. However, her instinct was telling her that she had to keep talking. She had to keep her mother awake at all costs.
“Two is good,” April forced herself to reply to her daughter’s inquiry.
“Okay! I will have two children.”
“I can’t wait to meet them.”
April wasn’t able to stop the tears from falling. As her life was about to reach its end, she prayed. She prayed to any God that could hear her to have pity on her beloved daughter.
William who was watching beside them felt his heart breaking. Somehow, he could hear April’s prayer that came from her heart.
“Chiffon…”
“Mama?”
“I love you.”
“Un! I love you too, Mama!”
April then turned her head to the side.
“Take care of her,” April said. “Please, take care of my daughter.”
William didn’t know if this was just a coincidence, but April was facing him. You could even say that April was looking straight at him. It was as if she could see William’s soul.
“I… I will take care of her,” William replied with uncertainty. “I promise.”
“Thank you.” April smiled before she closed her eyes.
William and Chiffon felt a gentle breeze pass through them.
Suddenly, the black lines on April’s body resurfaced. They covered her entire body until all of her turned pitch black.
“Mama?” Chiffon felt the grip of her mother’s hand slacken and immediately realized that something wasn’t right. “Mama, what’s wrong?”
The pink-haired girl looked at the black lady who was lying on the bed. Chiffon shook her mother lightly, but April no longer reacted. Only the smile on her face remained. Perhaps it was due to William’s assurance, or perhaps it was her last attempt to assure her daughter that everything was going to be fine.
She remained smiling, until the end.
It was at this moment when the door of the room suddenly opened.
Natasha and her cohorts entered with gloating faces. They had sensed April’s passing, but they still decided to take a better look to ensure that their rival was indeed dead.
After seeing the black, dead, Dwarf on the bed, Natasha sneered and even spat on her body.
“Good riddance!” Natasha said with contempt. “Guards, take Chiffon away and lock her up in her room. I will deal with this dead body myself!”
Chiffon, who was suddenly grabbed on both arms, panicked.
“Let me go! My mother is not dead!” Chiffon cried out. “She’s just sleeping! She even said that she wanted to see her grandchildren!”
Natasha ignored her and went towards the bed. She then kicked April’s body, causing the deceased Dwarf to fall off from the bed.
“Noooo! What are you doing?!” Chiffon shouted in anger. “Mama! Stop kicking Mama!”
Natasha and Luciel’s other wives kept on kicking April’s body, as if they were venting all the frustration they had held back all these years.
“Stop it!” William roared in anger. “Do you not have any respect towards the dead?!”
William even attempted to kick the ladies, but his attacks just passed through them. Although he knew that it was useless, his anger didn’t allow him to sit idly.
“Nooooooooo! Mama!” Chiffon shouted.
She struggled and struggled, but the guards held her firmly in their grasp. A few minutes later, Chiffon stopped struggling as she lost consciousness. She wasn’t able to take what Natasha and her cohorts were doing to her mother, all she knew was that, at that point in time, her anger reached its limit and her world descended into darkness.
In the real world, the glow inside the crystal that was floating above Chiffon’s chest increased. Her Heart Devil was slowly taking hold of her heart and body.
The old woman who was observing her and William chuckled.
“A few more days, and this little girl’s heart will reach its limit,” the old woman said with a devilish smile on her wrinkled face. “She will be the final sacrifice that we need to gain our freedom. Finally, we can leave this wretched place.”
Up above the heavens, a sinister chuckle was heard. The Guardian of the floor agreed with his subordinate. It was only a matter of days before his thousand-years of waiting would meet its end.
As long as he succeeded in absorbing Chiffon’s heart and Divinity, no one would be able to stand in his way.
