Pandora refused Agramon's invitation to leave.
"Why? Do you have a reason to stay in this hell?" Agramon asked.
Still holding the baby in her arms, Pandora replied, "Yes. I have a reason."
Agramon was truly confused. He couldn't understand her decision.
Paimon, who had been silently observing, suddenly felt a massive surge of magical energy.
He turned quickly—toward the queen.
"Damn it! Everyone, stop the Demon Queen!" She shouted.
Everyone immediately charged, but their attacks were effortlessly deflected.
"It's too late. You can't stop me now," said the Queen, slowly floating into the sky.
"Hey! Brother! Hurry!" Paimon yelled at Agramon, urging him to return quickly.
Agramon looked back at Pandora one more time.
She looked dead serious. Her unwavering gaze sent chills down his spine. Agramon ran.
Paimon erected a barrier. "The Queen managed to finish chanting a powerful spell while we were distracted by that girl's answer."
Paimon surrounded everyone in a magical shield.
"I'll help," Rusalka said, placing her hand over Paimon's. The barrier grew stronger.
Vivian realized the Queen's true intention. She held Pandora and the baby. "Let's go see for ourselves, Princess."
Pandora didn't understand.
Vivian said, "Remember when I told you this incident might change your opinion of the Queen?"
Pandora nodded. Vivian told her to look closely.
Agramon and the others saw Vivian flying.
"Where are the Queen and Vivian going? Isn't the Queen about to unleash a massive attack? Why are they flying so high?" Ivan asked.
Paimon and Rusalka were sweating. Their hands trembled as they dispelled the barrier.
Agramon swallowed hard. "Her target… isn't us. It's… all the people who fled the city. Damn it! I… I can't do anything."
Ivan's eyes widened. "Then why are we just standing here?! We have to stop her!"
"Don't. It's useless," said Paimon.
Ivan gritted his teeth, unable to bear watching innocent people die.
He looked at Agramon. Even Agramon had lost hope. "Commander..." he muttered.
"We have to go," said Paimon.
With ease, Paimon conjured a teleportation circle. He took out a pearl—Sear's Pearl, a long-range communication tool—and contacted the Kingdom of Candrania.
"They're preparing the teleportation circle," he said. "We're leaving before the Queen strikes."
Zura and Zuri clung to the injured Velmora. Agramon bowed his head, torn with guilt. Rusalka clutched her sword tightly.
Ivan clenched his fists.
In all his life, he never imagined he'd have to sacrifice innocent lives to save his own.
"Damn it all!"
Ivan screamed and surged forward, launching himself with wind magic at full speed.
Agramon shouted in disbelief. "IVAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"You idiot! What are you thinking?!" Paimon yelled furiously.
Pandora and Vivian saw it.
"Master, what is he trying to do?" asked Pandora.
"Foolish human… what is he thinking?" Vivian muttered.
Agramon kept calling Ivan, even trying to chase after him.
Rusalka and Paimon held him back. "Don't! Come to your senses, brother!" Rusalka cried.
The Queen glanced down, spotting Ivan approaching with wind magic. She calmly raised her left hand—
POOW!
A direct hit to the heart.
"IVAN!!!" Agramon screamed, losing another comrade.
Grief, anger, despair—all emotions swirled within him. He remembered their past talks. How happy Ivan was talking about his wife and daughter.
THUD!
Ivan's body fell before them. They could do nothing.
---
From above, the Demon Queen hovered like a moon illuminating the dark sky. Her voice rang out—calm, cold, and commanding.
"This world's truth is cruel. We are but puppets in it. Our fate was sealed from the beginning. I exist to be hated," she declared.
Agramon and the others gritted their teeth, fists clenched until their bones creaked.
The Queen stared down at them, eyes cold.
"Yes… that's the look. That's true hatred," she said.
She raised her hand. A radiant light formed. The night turned bright.
Demons below looked up. The blinding light illuminated the entire city, the forests, and the mountains.
---
Far away in Yudia, on the battlefield, everyone came out of their tents. A bright light shone beyond the mountains.
"This feeling… the Demon Queen…" Prince Agul muttered.
---
In Candrania, people also witnessed the light. They rushed out of their homes.
Terrified, they prayed to the Goddess for safety. Fearful murmurs filled the air.
---
In Yudia's capital...
A woman lay in bed, holding her baby. An elderly woman stood beside her.
She saw the light from the window.
"Waa… waa…!!" the baby cried.
"Oh, hush… it's alright, sweetie," she whispered gently.
The woman looked out the window. "Ivan… please, Goddess, protect my husband," she prayed.
---
Mammon and Azil realized their fate.
"Damn it. Just when I thought I could finally leave this cursed place," Mammon muttered.
And then—
…
Silence…
KABOOM!!!
A massive explosion rocked the land. All of Ijdornia felt the shockwave.
"Ugh…!" Pandora shielded the baby with her arms.
The force was overwhelming. She couldn't see anything.
Whooshh…
Silence… Was it over? Pandora still had her eyes shut.
"Princess… open your eyes…" Vivian whispered.
Slowly, Pandora did. Her heart pounded, breath uneven. She was stunned by the hellish scene before her.
Vivian turned her face away, her expression grim.
The Demon Queen stood still, emotionless.
Pandora's face turned pale. The baby in her arms cried, but she didn't react.
---
That day would be etched in Pandora's memory forever.
Everything was burned to ashes. Nothing remained.
Only the baby she carried had survived.
Agramon, Rusalka, Paimon, Velmora, Zura and Zuri made it out safely through teleportation magic.
Pandora gritted her teeth and held the baby close. She remembered her mother on Earth.
"Mom… What should I do?"
---
> ItsJustDafa: Volume 1, First Arc of PANDORA | Re:write has ended.