The Oracle of the Villainous Baby - Chapter 76

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 76
“Me too!! Bunny, when I grow up big and strong, I’ll make Daddy rich and powerful!!”
At the child’s innocent words, spoken with eyes flushed red and a radiant smile, a faint smile played across Kiriel’s lips.
“That’s something to look forward to. And let’s make one more promise with Daddy.”
“Okay!”
“From now on, you won’t hide anything from me.”
At Kiriel’s words, Bunny’s eyes widened.
Gulp.
Bunny, who had sealed her lips shut, fidgeted with her fingers for a moment before opening her mouth in the tiniest voice.
“Actually… Bunny isn’t a great sorcerer, but a young Demon Clan Member who dreams of becoming the Demon King…?”
As she whispered the secret close to his ear, speaking as if sharing something clandestine, Kiriel’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
“The Demon King?”
“Yes…”
At Bunny’s unexpected words, Kiriel blinked once and furrowed his brow.
‘Is it similar to how children want to become heroes when they’re young?’
Seeing a young Demon Clan Member wasn’t a common occurrence for Kiriel either. In fact, “young Demon Clan Members” were rare in themselves.
He had heard that since they were a species that didn’t love and instead indulged in pleasure, it was uncommon for them to properly care for their offspring.
“…As a father, I wonder what the Demon King would be like. And you mustn’t tell anyone else about this besides me.”
“Okay!”
Kiriel exhaled a sigh while holding Bunny in his arms.
“Clean this up.”
As he issued the command to empty air, figures wearing pristine white masks and black robes appeared silently.
“Wow…”
Daddy really is cool and powerful.
Bunny bounced her legs excitedly and giggled, then eagerly began recounting what the bad men had done.
“That’s right, Daddy will punish them.”
As he responded in agreement, before long she fell asleep nestled in his embrace.
[What a nostalgic presence.]
The moment the child’s head drooped and she fell asleep, a voice suddenly pierced Kiriel’s mind, causing him to slowly lift his gaze.
A colossal Azure Dragon hovered around him, undulating gracefully as it followed at a leisurely pace.
The Divine Beast Azure Dragon.
A being that commanded water, its entire body covered in blue scales. Moreover, as one of the highest-ranking Divine Beasts, it was capable of communication.
“A nostalgic presence?”
[Yes, it’s a presence I felt once, long, long ago. I never thought I would encounter such an existence again…]
“Are you speaking of a Demon Clan Member?”
At Kiriel’s words, the Azure Dragon regarded him with a peculiar gaze.
As the silence lengthened, Kiriel’s eyes narrowed.
[I see. You don’t know of such an existence. Time has indeed passed.]
The Azure Dragon’s voice echoed softly within his mind.
[While it’s true that Demon Clan Members are rare to encounter, they are far more precious than that. You might understand if you trace back the origins of your Udiah Duchy.]
The Azure Dragon’s words, laden with meaning yet incomprehensible, caused Kiriel’s eyes to narrow.
The Azure Dragon suddenly thrust its face forward, gently rubbing the tip of its snout against the back of Bunny’s head.
Whether it was catching her scent or seeking to feel her warmth, the Azure Dragon—behaving like a petulant beast—finally withdrew its face after a long moment.
Even Kiriel faltered at the Azure Dragon’s bizarre behavior, a creature that always carried itself with such lofty dignity as a great Divine Beast.
“What are you doing?”
[The Phoenix has been born. It comes again. The age of gold and verdure returns.]
The Azure Dragon murmured these weighty words before vanishing without a trace.
Kiriel, his brow furrowed, gazed down at Bunny’s face as she exhaled in soft, trembling breaths like an innocent child untouched by the world.
After a long silence, he finally departed the musty Underground.
Not long after, a massive fire broke out in the vicinity—a story that made headlines in the newspapers the following day.
* * *
“How troublesome, this interference.”
The red-haired man, watching Bunny recede in Kiriel’s arms, licked his lower lip.
“This lukewarm state of affairs cannot continue indefinitely.”
I know not what Luriel saw in Bunny, nor what she sought to arrange….
Too soft.
Far too soft.
If she remains among these humans of the Udiah Duchy, she will never become a true Demon King.
The seed was indeed excellent. Yet if I wait much longer, it will absorb unnecessary moisture.
“This will not do.”
The Demon King is the heart of the Demon Realm.
The source of the Demon Clan’s power.
Only by completing her awakening as Demon King can the Demon Clan reclaim their true strength, and only then can they exact their vengeance upon this tiresome Human Realm by sowing chaos and discord anew.
The Demon Realm is the night sky, and the Demon King is the moon.
And they are the beings that fill and orbit that night sky.
‘If only I could place her in circumstances far more extreme….’
A situation so unbearable that she cannot endure it without losing control.
What the Demon King requires are dark, profound emotions.
Resentment, hatred, suffering, rage.
Such emotions will make their king strong. And a king perfected in this manner shall become the great ruler of the Demon Realm.
Belial, leisurely licking his lower lip, smiled with an expression of rapturous delight.
“Luriel, you were wrong. Growing up among humans will never bring happiness to the king.”
If left as is, she will merely harbor useless emotions and learn them, only to suffer when she becomes Demon King.
The Demon King had no need for such trivial sentiments.
Yet I shall forge this young seed into a magnificent Demon King.
Stronger than any other, more powerful than any other.
“That one has potential.”
I realized it in that moment when she warned me before.
She possesses the qualities of a true ruler. There was reason the Previous Demon King went to such lengths to keep her alive.
Luriel’s desperate protection must stem from this very peculiarity.
If that seed blooms magnificently, it would be no difficult feat to overturn the Human Realm and bring it under my dominion.
A world where only the strong survive.
A world of the survival of the fittest.
A world where flowing blood and ecstasy are most beautiful.
“Ah, merely imagining it makes me feel as though I’ll lose my mind.”
His spine tingled with delight, and pleasure coursed through his vertebrae as he trembled and smiled with rapturous abandon.
“I must become a perfect king who will never fall again.”
Unlike the Previous Demon King—never foolishly enchanted by humans.
Not like that beautiful, foolish Demon King of theirs, who became so bewitched by the Human Hero that she could no longer raise her blade against humanity, leaving the Demon Clan in such misery.
“No, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to let them remain happy for a while longer.”
After all, despair cuts deepest when one falls from the heights of happiness.
Besides, they were still far too young. Though blessed with exceptional talent, it would be better to wait until they matured further rather than act now.
When that time comes….
Hehehehe.
Belial’s mouth stretched into a grotesque grin, his eyes wide and glazed with ecstasy.
That would be the time to harvest the perfectly ripened fruit.
“Hey, Barrian. What are you doing up there? The commander is calling.”
“Ah! My apologies! I was just so, so, so worried about whether the Young Lady is alright!”
At the voice calling from below, Barrian suddenly broke into a bright smile as though nothing had happened, waving his hands wildly like a loose screw and bouncing down to rejoin the Knight Order.
Now was the time to hold one’s breath and wait.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————