Volume 3, Chapter 100 – The Conflicted Marquis Xiumu

Yuan’er’s powerful attack tore through the prison guards’ defensive lines while simultaneously blowing the internal facilities to pieces. The moment the barrier shattered, a raging fire erupted inside the prison, and thick black smoke mixed with Shadow Essence instantly incapacitated many of the guards. The continuous explosions also rendered the prison’s previously airtight security almost entirely useless.

In this chaos, Marquis Xiumu and his wife, who had been bound by magic in the innermost part of the prison and were nearly unable to move, found an opportunity to break free thanks to the series of explosions. As the magical restraints weakened from the erosion of the Shadow Essence, the elderly couple seized the moment to exert their strength, destroying the formation that had suppressed them for so long in one final push.

Immediately after, Marquis Xiumu led his wife, Afnora, as they rushed toward the prison’s perimeter. The dense Shadow Essence in the vicinity had indeed stripped countless guards of their fighting spirit, but it had little effect on the Marquis and his wife.

After all, though the battle aura in their bodies was suppressed by Xue Tian’ao’s Soul-Suppressing Spikes, their seventh tier physiques remained intact. Their resistance to Shadow Essence was far beyond what ordinary fifth or sixth tier soldiers could compare to.

Dragging his tortured and scarred body, Xiumu carefully led his wife through the ruins while gazing solemnly at the sky, watching the dense swarms of black monsters filling the air.

‘A swarm of Abyssal Demons? How could they… how could they appear here?’

Xiumu’s voice unintentionally took on a slight tremor. “Moreover, this aura… it belongs to Yuan’er…”

Because he had once come into contact with Yuan’er in her Abyssal Demon form, Xiumu quickly realized that the owner of this aura was his granddaughter, and the explosion in the prison was her doing. In an instant, Xiumu’s expression became more solemn than ever before, and his calloused fists clenched tightly.

“Wait?! Did you just say Yuan’er?”

Before the old Marquis could say anything else, Afnora excitedly grabbed his hand. “Yuan’er?! You said Yuan’er is here?! Is this black aura Yuan’er’s power?!”

Although learning from her husband earlier that their granddaughter had turned into an Abyssal Demon had left Afnora shocked for a long time, that shock was quickly replaced by pure joy. To Afnora, as long as Yuan’er was alive, she could accept her no matter what she had become, even if she had turned into an Abyssal Demon, the very thing she loathed most.

Upon hearing news of Yuan’er, Afnora paid no mind to the hideous Abyssal Demons scurrying around or the chilling nature of Yuan’er’s aura. The Marchioness only wanted to know exactly where her granddaughter was.

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“Where is Yuan’er?”

Faced with Afnora’s excited questioning, Xiumu pressed his lips together and wore a bitter expression. “My lady, that child is now an Abyssal Demon… she is no longer our granddaughter…”

However, before Marquis Xiumu could finish his sentence, a flash of black light suddenly streaked through the nearby ruins. Afnora, who had been scanning the surroundings with the corner of her eye, suddenly changed her expression as her brows furrowed and the veins on her forehead bulged. Then, gritting her teeth and catching Xiumu completely off guard, Afnora lunged forward and delivered a punch directly to her husband’s head.

Clang!

“Aaargh!!”

Following a sharp, loud thud, Xiumu was struck squarely in the head by Afnora’s iron fist, sending him flying until he slammed into a nearby wall. Before Xiumu could even recover from his dizziness, Afnora’s angry reprimand arrived on the wind.

“So what if she’s an Abyssal Demon? If Yuan’er turned into an Abyssal Demon, does that mean she isn’t your granddaughter anymore?! Even if she is an Abyssal Demon, Yuan’er is still Yuan’er! She is still our precious granddaughter!”

“But… but Abyssal Demons are bloodthirsty monsters. That kind of creature, even if it is Yuan’er, once she loses control…”

“Lose control my foot!”

Hearing Xiumu’s words, Afnora completely abandoned her usual noble composure. She flickered next to Xiumu in an instant and yanked her rigid, old-fashioned husband off the ground.

“There are exceptions to everything! Even for Abyssal Demons! Yuan’er is an Abyssal Demon born from a human; how can she be compared to those mindless monsters? Besides, you said yourself that Yuan’er had a normal conversation with you! That proves she can maintain her sanity!”

“That was… only temporary…”

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“Even if Yuan’er lost control before, what about after? Did you see Yuan’er lose her damn control after you met her?!”

“…No…”

Hearing this, Xiumu lowered his head helplessly and fell into a temporary silence under his wife’s scolding. Afnora patted Xiumu’s back while continuing to persuade him.

“Isn’t ‘no’ the right answer? No matter what, Yuan’er is your granddaughter. Old man, you have to believe in her; she can control herself. We are her family; if even we don’t believe in her, who will? Besides, that child took such a huge risk to save us. If we treat her with that guarded and hostile attitude, imagine how heartbroken she would be…”

“…”

“So, no matter what happens, we will face it together. Don’t use that attitude again, and especially don’t draw your sword against Yuan’er like you did back in Windward City. Do you understand, old man?”

“…Mm.”

After a moment of internal struggle, Xiumu finally nodded slightly, accepting Afnora’s words. He then looked up at the sky with some bitterness in his heart. “But this swarm of Abyssal Demons…”

Gazing at the black monsters filling the sky, Xiumu remained conflicted. His Duke Family had guarded the border for generations, and fighting against Abyssal Demon invasions was their greatest duty. Now, a member of the Duke Family, who should be fighting them, had become one. If she hadn’t done anything heinous, Xiumu might have been able to accept it, but if this large-scale invasion of the capital was also Yuan’er’s doing, he would find it hard to approve, even if her goal was to save him and Afnora.

a massive Abyssal Demon attack would undoubtedly lead to widespread suffering and the deaths of countless innocent people. Xiumu could not accept that reality. Although he was utterly disappointed with the current imperial family after realizing Xue Tian’ao’s true intention was to destroy the Duke Family and wished to teach that arrogant Chosen Son a lesson, he did not want innocent civilians to be sacrificed in the process. If saving him required such a price, Xiumu would rather have died during the interrogation.

“Sigh…”

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Xiumu could not help but let out a long sigh toward the heavens as he grappled with his inner turmoil. At that moment, as if seeing the cause of her husband’s distress, Afnora shook her head helplessly.

“Old man, are you thinking about the problem with this swarm of Abyssal Demons?”

“Yes…”

Xiumu nodded slowly with a heavy heart. “If these Abyssal Demons are truly attacking the capital and ‘slaughtering’ civilians under Yuan’er’s command, I really don’t know… what to do.”

“I believe it wasn’t that child’s doing. She might have been a bit willful in the past, but it’s impossible for her to do something like this.”

“I know that, but if she has become an Abyssal Demon, would the nature of a demon…”

“I still believe she wouldn’t,” Afnora said without hesitation. “If you’re worried, old man, just ask the girl yourself. You know Yuan’er wouldn’t lie to us.”

“I want to as well.” Xiumu covered his face and gave a bitter laugh.

“Then just ask.”

“Sigh, my lady, there’s no one around since we came out. Only these lingering auras remain. Ask? Where would I ask? Who knows where that girl has gone?”

“As for Yuan’er, she is right here beside us.”

“Beside us? My lady, stop joking…”

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“No, I’m not joking.”

“Not? Not joking?”

“Wait? Beside us?! What do you mean by that?”

Xiumu’s expression changed instantly as he realized what she meant, and he looked at Afnora, who wore a strange smile, with utter bewilderment. “My lady? You’re not joking? Beside us? What does that mean?”

“It means exactly what I said~”

Afnora set aside her serious expression and allowed a long-absent, kind smile to appear on her face. Then, the Marchioness slowly lowered her head and looked toward her side. “Don’t worry, come out, Yuan’er.”

“Yuan’er??”

Upon hearing this, Xiumu’s eyes widened like lightbulbs, filled with astonishment. Then, under Xiumu’s breathless gaze, a cute little girl wearing a white dress with heterochromatic red and blue eyes timidly poked her head out from behind Afnora. With a pitiful expression and watery eyes, she looked toward the bewildered Xiumu.

“Grandpa…”

“Yuan… Yuan’er…”

“Grandpa, these Abyssal Demons… I really, really didn’t bring them. I don’t know where they came from either…”