Byron started reminiscing back to the first time he saw Yumi...
Byron was in the headquarter of the Tartarus Sect. He was called in by the sect leader that day.
The entire banquet hall he was in was quite spacious and luxurious. Its design was quite gloomy as it incorporated the use of darker shades to all of its furniture. The enclosed space was field with dark jewelries, trophy heads from rare mystical beasts and demonic statues.
"Byron Everdark announces his arrival!"
He sat in the left side of an especially long banquet table made from an dark obsidian rock which had twenty-four seats. He was sipping a glass of wine that was prepared beforehand.
Then, shadows appeared one after the other that occupied the previously vacant seats. Different figures appeared one after the other. All assuming various forms, some were humans, humanoids, demi-humans, demons and even demonic humans.
But the one that stood out was the one seated at head of the table. At the very front of everyone, it was just a completely black humanoid figure.
The figure had no face at all except for a pair of teeth. It was wearing a heavily decorated dark robe with a silver chains and shoulder pauldrons of demonic skulls on each side. He also wore a black-gold crown that all had dark gemstones.
"May I know the reason as to why I was supposed to be summoned personally, Sect Leader?" Byron asked.
The faceless Sect Leader spoke. His voice seemed to be countless voices overlapping with one another, "As per the tradition of Tartarus, each elder will be assigned to rear a demon king candidate for the succession rights. The demon spawn you will be entrusted to has arrived, Undead King."
"I see." Byron acknowledged.
This was also something that happened to him. He was one of the 24 candidates back then to become the Demon King the title rewarded to the individual who would soon become the Sect Leader of the Tartarus Sect
The door behind the faceless individual opened. There came a thin eight-year old girl with black hair. She was literally skin and bones while standing barefooted. It seemed like she had not eaten for an extended period of time.
Her face seemed lifeless as her eyes had visible blood stains that came from her eyes as though she cried blood. What seemed like a lovely dress were dirty and messy. On her hands were a pair of marionettes, one was a princess which had a beautiful dress and the other was a knight in metal armor.
This was Yumi who had been brought in after awakening her powers.
'A human girl... She must be traumatized... How bothersome.'
Byron indifferently thought. He approached the little girl and without so much as a word. He made a grasping motion which wrapped a mass of darkness around the girl.
Then, he snapped his fingers and the mass of darkness disappeared.
"If that is all, then we should proceed with the other matters at hand." Byron said after going back to his seat.
Everyone nodded, "Let us first discuss the matter with the Beast World and the Church of Nirvana."
....
In the Undead Kings Castle,
Yumi had reappeared and Byron only looked at her once and said,
"Little girl. From this day forward, I am your Master. You shall heed all of my commands. My authority is absolute. Should you disobey, I can simply kill you."
"I don't care. Kill me already, old man."
"Tsk, I shall let this offense pass since you are still adjusting here. But remember there will not be a next time!"
Then, he assigned maids and butlers to tend to her.
At first, Yumi continued to be lifeless for a few weeks. Until she showed the tendencies of her obsession with finding a knight and shining armor, she wrecked the castle as she showed her Essence Soul Fusion and Necromancy!
"Liars!! My parents said my knight will come for me no matter what?!" Yumi became hysterical as she exploded! Her energy was exploding at a dangerous level for a kid her age.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH" Yumi screamed as her Hell Puppeteer went berserk as Hell threads penetrated the castle walls and the dead started rising up one after the other!
"Essence-Soul Fusion at this age?! Unheard of! And, she possess Necromancy on top of that?!"
Byron saw the reason why she saw selected as a demon king candidate and was impressed with the level of madness that she showed.
"What unbridled potential!"
"I'm going to kill you, you kidnapper!!" Yumi charged at Byron.
But, of course, she was easily subdued with an attack.
"I shall let your insolence pass. Time to cultivate you, demon spawn."
Finding the enthusiasm to finally train Yumi, Byron then started beating up the lessons to Yumi even if it meant hurting her physically! But she was unresponsive and reverted back to being lifeless.
"She makes no effort to comprehend. Terror has lost its utility against her; it appears her threshold for pain has been utterly blunted by past trauma."
Then, Byron remembered her fixation and started manipulating her.
"I hate you! I will never learn from you. Kill me now, you worthless old man!"
"Little girl, a knight will not come for you unless you have the qualities like strength to attract or seize one."
"What? A knight is someone who will protect you no matter what. You worthless old man, how can you not know that?!"
"That is indeed true. However, why should a knight protect you? Are you worthy of his protection?"
"I..." Yumi had no answer for that. After a few moments of thinking, she said, "What do I need to do to be worthy of my knight's protection, worthless old man?"
"You need beauty and strength! Of course, you can only attain it if you are willing to learn."
"Understood." Yumi nodded.
"Little girl, do you have a name?"
"It's Yumi."
"A great name. You must live up to your name and be beautiful!"
It was only then that Yumi did not want to simply just die as she now had a new goal to work towards.
...
Weeks passed, Byron was in absolute disbelief by how quickly Yumi was learning and comprehending techniques. In a matter of days, she is able to master any combat arts or movement techniques that he teaches her!
"I did it again, old bastard!" Yumi rejoiced!
"A genius, I say! Her miraculous instincts for combat are also praiseworthy: Daring and Ruthless! She does have the making of becoming the next Demon King!"
Drunk on the joy of teaching his disciple and in awe of the talent that Yumi posses, Byron devoted more time on developing and raising aside from his personal cultivation.
"She is an absolute rarity of a talent!"
Yumi continued to grow to the point where she was now talking back to Byron especially once she reach her teenage days. She would now speak against what Byron said and would even insist that they go with her ideas.
A year passed since Byron was training Yumi:
"Old bastard, I don't want to do this! It sucks!"
"Little girl, stand up! If you continue on like this, no one will want to be your knight! Haha!"
"Arrghh! Fine, again!"
Three years passed,
"Let's do this instead, worthless Master!"
"I believe we have had this discussion numerous time already! Spears are incompatible and unsuitable for you! Focus on mastering the art of bow and arrow rather than waste your time. That's where your talent is, Yumi!"
"No, I will do it, worthless Master! I'll prove you wrong!"
Five years...
"I think this offensive technique suits me better, Master! Stop being so idiotic!"
"How cute of you, my dear disciple. Hmmm... if that's your wish, let's see if it truly is suitable for you!"
But the more he did for Yumi, the more he found himself to change. He got used to being called by names by Yumi. The him from before would simply kill anyone who has disrespected her. Yet, now, he was simply accepting the cursed from Yumi.
Of course, it was the same for Yumi. But Byron did not notice it himself, but Yumi had gradually called him "Master" quite comfortably.
He enjoyed seeing Yumi grow. She was bit by bit finally forming her own personality. Every time she grew not only in cultivation but also physically and mentally, indescribable feelings had started appearing inside him.
'What is this feeling? Am I proud of her? No, it is due to my teachings that she is able to progress astronomically. Yes, that's it.' He tried his best to deny it but the feelings kept growing.
However, as years went by, he could notice that he was growing more affectionate towards Yumi calling her "my dear disciple." It was then that he noticed that Yumi had changed his life for the better.
'Is this what you call parental affection...'
Then, when Yumi had grown so strong that she was finally able to make herself known to the sect, she finished third in a recent competition for the youth of the Tartarus Sect.
"Aaargh! I could have won! Damn it!"
"Calm down, my dear disciple. Hahaha. You have done quite well already. Stand proud!"
"Tsk, If I won, people would acknowledge that our Undead King Faction is the superior one!" Yumi looked pissed as she remembered her loss.
"You want the sect to acknowledge that I am the best master of them all?! You can surprisingly sweet when you want to, my dear disciple!" Byron proceeded to try and hug Yumi.
But Yumi deflected it by using her arms, "Eww, disgusting! We would have been number one if you were doing your work properly, worthless Master!"
"Hahaha, it is indeed due to my shortcomings!"
===
"Master, I am sorry for the way I treated you... I... wish I was kinder to you... I should have been kinder to you... You can nag at me all you want... I will train like you wanted me to... Please don't leave me too..." Yumi could not stop crying.
The thoughts that she had kept in her heart kept flowing out because she was scared to admit it and she was afraid that it would once again hurt her. This was because she knew that this could very well be the last time she could say all these words she hid in her heart.
"You are like a father to me... I don't want to lose another dad again. I have already lost my parents once. Please..."
"That..." Byron choked up as tears started to flow from his face as well. "That thought alone made my entire life worth living..."
Byron's arms were also breaking down. He used all of his strength just to divert the decay from his head so that he can continue talking. He need to leave him advice on what she needs to do in the future,
"Yumi, heed my words. Within my treasury lies the Saint Blessing Pill; consume it, that you may ascend to the Half-Saint Realm."
"Yes, it was an asset I intended for my own ascension. Yet, it serves a corpse no purpose now. Your immediate decree must be to reach the middle stages of the Half-Saint Realm and secure my vacant seat upon the Council of Elders. Only then can you rightfully inherit the breadth of my influence within the Tartarus Sect."
"Master, why..." Yumi tried to speak but Byron kept on.
"Yumi, the other aspirants will descend like vultures upon my position the moment my breath ceases. If anyone is to stand as the rightful successor to the Undead King, it must be you."
"Ascend to the very pinnacle of the sect. Sit beyond the reach of their malice, where none may touch you, and you may taste true sovereignty. Live only as your own heart dictates." Byron chuckled weakly, a raspy, fading sound.
"Forgive an old man his pedantry at the threshold of death. Grant me this final indulgence. hahaha"
"I will do everything that you've said!" Yumi reached out and hugged Byron for the first and last time. Tears continued flooding her eyes as she felt the life force from Byron slipping away.
Using his final breath, he whispered into Yumi's ears. "Like... how you regard me as your father, I too consider you as my own. I love you... my dearest daughter..."
Those were Byron's final words as his body became ashes...
Yumi stood there, still hugging the empty air which used to be where her father's figure existed.
*Sob* *Sob* *Sob*
In the large halls of the Undead King's castle, only the sobbing sound of a mourning daughter could be heard echoing through the dead of the night.