"With you by her side..."
Lailah's eyes returned to Rei Ao, her smile tinged with both helplessness and relief.
"I guess... there's nothing more I can—or need to—change."
"As for seeing her..."
Her gaze grew distant and gentle.
"She's my daughter. Of course I want to see her. I think about her all the time."
"I want to know if she's doing okay, hear her voice... hug her."
Her voice caught slightly, a trace of emotion slipping through.
That long-held, quiet motherly love came through clearly in that moment.
"But now's not the right time."
"She's in the center of everything—leading change, bringing people together."
"If I showed up, no matter what role I played, I could mess up that fragile balance. It might create problems she doesn't need."
"Besides..."
She paused, her violet eyes flashing with resolve.
"There's still something really important I need to do."
"Oh?"
Rei Ao raised an eyebrow, like he already knew what was coming.
"You're planning to head to the Demon King's castle, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
Lailah froze.
She stared at him, stunned—like he could read her mind.
With a bitter, wry smile, she sighed.
"Of course. I can't hide anything from you."
"You're right. Deep inside Satan's castle, there's a critical fragment—something tied to the very foundation of this world. I need to retrieve it. It's connected to an ancient promise… and the balance of the future."
Rei Ao just smiled even more.
"You're talking about this, right?"
He slowly raised his right hand, palm facing up.
The air shimmered—
And a glowing violet fruit appeared out of thin air, shaped like a heart and formed from countless particles of light.
The moment it appeared, space rippled around it.
The divine and magical energies in the air reacted instantly—drawn to it, growing restless yet strangely gentle.
It gave off a powerful aura—one that felt like creation and destruction woven together.
The Tree of Life's gem—Yesod's fragment.
The Tree of Life is the foundation of world order, made up of ten divine spheres.
In essence, it's the same concept as the Kabbalah Tree from Tohka's world.
The powers of Demon King Satan and the fallen angel Lucifer are both tied to it.
Yesod is the ninth sphere—
It represents foundation, the subconscious, and acts as a bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds.
It symbolizes hidden strength and secrets.
Even a fragment of it holds overwhelming creative power.
The second Lailah saw the violet fruit, her pupils shrank. She gasped out loud.
"The Yesod fragment?! How… how do you have it?!"
This was exactly what she was risking everything to search for at the Demon King's castle—
One of the long-lost fragments of the Tree of Life's gems.
She had once entrusted it to Satan as a seed of potential.
It held the power to connect to the world's core—possibly even more important than the Sacred Evolution Sword, One-Wing.
Rei Ao casually twirled the glowing fruit in his hand.
To someone unaware, it might've just looked like an ordinary red apple.
"There's nothing in this world I can't get if I want it," he said, sounding completely nonchalant.
He paused, then looked at Lailah again, his tone calm but firm:
"And since it's in my hand now… that makes it mine."
Lailah tensed up.
She stared nervously at him, unsure how he planned to use something this important.
"As for what I'll do with it..."
Rei Ao's expression softened. He glanced toward the Holy Capital.
"I'm planning to give it to Emilia—as a gift."
"This fragment holds the power of foundation and connection. It might help her better understand this world... and it could be something that helps her protect Ente Isla in the future."
He looked back at Lailah, a hint of a question in his eyes.
"You don't mind, do you, Lady Lailah?"
Lailah stared at him—then at the glowing fruit in his hand, still radiating that primordial energy.
She was beyond stunned.
This man was powerful enough to take what angels considered sacred—
And now he was just... giving it to Emilia like it was no big deal.
His affection and support for Emilia went way beyond anything she could've imagined.
Snapping out of her shock, Lailah quickly shook her head.
"N-No... I don't mind."
A complicated but sincere smile spread across her face.
"Like you said, it's yours. What you do with it is your call."
"And giving it to Emilia... honestly, that might be the best place for it."
Most of her earlier concerns melted away in the face of Rei Ao's overwhelming strength and his completely unexpected generosity.
She even felt a little relieved.
Relieved that Emilia had someone like this—someone powerful and fiercely protective—at her side.
Her gaze toward Rei Ao softened even more, filled now with curiosity and wonder.
This man was like a cosmic mystery—bottomless, unknowable.
Unbelievably powerful.
Able to see through everything.
Acting on his own terms, but with a strange internal logic.
And the way he cared for Emilia—it touched Lailah deeply, even as her mother.
"Rei Ao-san..."
Lailah finally asked the question that had been weighing on her heart.
"Forgive me if this is too forward… but what exactly is your relationship with Emilia?"
She needed to understand. She needed some kind of answer to explain everything he'd done.
Rei Ao's usual playful grin faded a little. In its place was something softer—more genuine.
He met her violet eyes and spoke clearly, each word deliberate:
"Relationship? Hmm… pretty much engaged. Lovers, you could say."
"W-What?!"
Lailah gasped again—
This time more shocked than when her own identity had been exposed.
Her usually calm and graceful expression cracked just a little. Her face went blank with disbelief.
Engaged? Lovers?
Her daughter… Emilia… was in love?
With him?
With this mysterious, all-powerful man who could practically rewrite the world?!
~~~
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