A TSUNAMI.

That was the last thing Glenn remembered.

A tsunami suddenly appeared in the middle of the office while he was busy fighting the Dark Elf. But before the tsunami hit him, a blue whale swallowed him.

Honestly, he thought he already died.

[What a shameful death.]

He was willing to fight whatever it was that he needed to fight in the afterlife in order to come back to life as soon as he opened his eyes.

But, much to his shock and confusion, he woke up in the infirmary.

To be precise, it was the infirmary that they built next to Brigitte's bedroom. Since his wife's pregnancy was sensitive, he decided to bring the infirmary close to her. Rosel, the queen's royal physician, stayed in the infirmary with Dahlia.

[What am I doing here?]

"Ah, you're awake."

Glenn blinked in confusion when Manu, the Moon Priest, suddenly appeared in front of his bed. "Your Eminence…"

"Dahlia released her Elemental Guardian, hence the tsunami that destroyed the main palace," Manu, with his arms crossed over his chest, explained. "Lapiz, the blue whale, swallowed you in order to protect you. You were knocked out, though."

He flinched because it was true, and he was embarrassed that he was knocked out in the middle of an important fight.

"How about my wife and Miss Dahlia?" Glenn asked worriedly. "Are they both fine?"

"Dahlia is fine. She brought you and your wife here with the help of her Elemental Guardian," the Moon Priest explained. "The crows that you fought were already dead, and Lapiz threw their bodies outside the kingdom. However, the Dark Elf escaped."

To be honest, he couldn't care less because he didn't hear what he wanted to hear the most.

"Your Eminence, I asked about my wife," Glenn asked nervously, then he stood up. Every inch of his body hurt like hell, but he swallowed the pain. "My wife is safe, isn't she?"

"The queen is in her bedroom," Manu said, avoiding his gaze. "You better see it for yourself."

He didn't need to hear another word.

The infirmary had a connecting door to Brigitte's room that would only open up for him, Brigitte, and Dahlia.

As soon as he put his hand over the door, it lit up while scanning his Mana. After the door recognized his Mana as him, only then did it open up for him. It was Princess Neoma who designed that door for his wife's protection.

"My queen!" Glenn exclaimed as soon as he saw his wife lying down on the bed while Dahlia stood next to it. Then he felt his heart stop and sink to the floor. "Miss Dahlia, what happened to my wife?"

Brigitte was unconscious, and the entire bed was inside a cube that looked like a fish tank. The "water" inside didn't look like ordinary water, though. It looked like crystal blue Mana in its liquid form.

[Ah, it must be Miss Dahlia's Mana.]

"Your Majesty, I put the queen in a medicine-induced comatose," Dahlia said politely. "I can wake her up anytime, however…"

He gulped before he asked. "However…?"

"Once Her Majesty regains consciousness, she'll immediately give birth to the new saint."

He gasped, surprised. "But my wife is only eight months pregnant. Wouldn't it be dangerous for my wife if she gives birth to a premature baby?"

"It's dangerous for both the queen and the new saint," Manu, who appeared beside him, said sternly. "The Black Witch has been stealing the new saint's divine power all this time. If the new saint is born prematurely, then he'd be weaker than an ordinary child." The Moon Priest clicked his tongue. "This is why I told the crazy de Moonasterios to let the new saint be born normally…"

"And just let my wife die?"

He didn't mean to be snarky towards the Moon Priest, but he couldn't help it. Especially since his wife and his child were both in danger at the moment.

However, he had to remind himself to be calm in order to have a clear mind.

"I apologize for my rudeness, Lord Manu," Glenn said, bowing slightly to the Moon Priest. "I said harsh words."

"No, I was harsher. If Neoma de Moonasterio was here, she would have called me scumbag," Manu said, then he slightly bowed his head towards him. "I'm sorry for my harsh words, Your Majesty."

He just smiled and nodded politely.

Then he turned serious again when he turned to the young Black Witch.

"Miss Dahlia, will it be too risky if we let my wife stay in a comatose state until it's time for her to give birth to our child?"

"I will be honest with you, Your Majesty," Dahlia said solemnly, her lavender eyes clear. "Putting the queen in a medicine-induced comatose state can't be one hundred percent safe. However, it is safer than letting the queen give birth to the new saint this early."

He didn't like seeing Brigitte in a comatose state.

However, he also thought that it would be safer for his wife to stay in that state instead of letting her give birth to their baby prematurely.

Moreover, he had faith in Dahlia.

[The Black Witch may be young, but she is highly skilled. Most of all, Princess Neoma trusts her. I have faith in all the people that Her Royal Highness chooses.]

"Your Majesty, I will do my best to keep Queen Brigitte safe no matter what choice you make," Dahlia said firmly. "You also don't have to make a decision in this instant. After all, both options are risky."

He smiled gratefully at the young Black Witch, then he turned to Manu. "How about you, Lord Manu? May I hear your opinion about this?"

"You already know what I feel about all of this. However, Neoma de Moonasterio already took away my right as the Moon Priest to decide for the new saint's fate," Manu said, shaking his head. "I am here right now not as the Moon Priest– but as Neoma de Moonasterio's representative. If you know the royal princess well, then I guess you already know what she'd say if she was here."

He smiled because the Moon Priest was correct.

[Princess Neoma is the type of person who respects other people's wishes.]

"I already made up my mind," Glenn declared firmly, then he bowed his head to the young Black Witch. "Miss Dahlia, please take care of my wife until it's time for her to give birth to our child."

***

YOU'D think that a Forbidden Zone like the Leoflor Island would be empty.

Of course, it wasn't.

Although normal people would be discouraged to visit the island that not even the authorities would dare to step foot on, that wasn't the case for some.

There were people desperate enough to escape to the island.

And most of them were outlaws.

[The reason the jungle in the Leoflor Island is called 'Lawless Jungle' is because it became the home for the most notorious criminals in the world.]

Neoma and her children had already encountered some before they reached the town proper.

"You can't fucking cross the gate unless you pass the damned test," the drunk man– tall, burly, full of scars– dressed like a pirate said in one of the less spoken languages on the East Continent. "And these fucking kids look like damned nobles. What the hell are these kids doing here? Well, not that I fucking care. We'll just screw them up later. Not that you understand what I'm saying."

The other men behind him laughed.

Neoma's children looked a little concerned because it was obvious that they couldn't understand what the drunk man was saying.

Even Paige, who traveled the East Continent before, looked confused.

[It's understandable because the language that the drunkard speaks is rare even among the natives of the East Continent.]

However, Neoma understood the drunkard clearly.

"Fuck you all," the drunkard said while pointing at Neoma and her children. "I hate nothing more in this world than fucking nobles who–"

"Fuck you, too," Neoma said in a clear and firm voice, speaking the same language as the drunkard fluently. "Is 'fuck' the only curse word you know in this language? Gosh, you should be more creative. Do you want me to teach you how to cuss out people properly, huh?"

The drunkard and the men behind him dropped their jaws to the ground.

But she wasn't done yet.

[I didn't study all the curse words used on the East Continent for me to just stop here.]

"You fucking piece of shit should cut your tongue off and donate it to someone who can use it better," Neoma hissed, stepping forward. "Fuckface. Douchebag. Shithead. Jizzstain. Dickhead. Asshole. Son of a bitch. Bastard. Motherfucker. There are a lot of curse words out there, so why are you only using 'fuck' and 'damn?' So fucking frustrating."

She even thumped her chest with her fist because she was really frustrated.

"I don't speak that language," Juri "whispered" to her siblings. "But our lady just spewed out a string of profanities, didn't she?"

It was decided that her children would address her as a lady instead of a royal princess while they were on the island.

"That, she did," Paige said. "Splendidly, at that."

"Eomma is really good at speaking other languages," Greko said cheerfully. "I should learn how to speak other languages, too."

"You should start with swear words," Jeno said. "It's okay for a child like you to learn swear words as long as you don't use them on innocent people."

[These kids…]

Trevor, who was draped over Jeno's shoulder, laughed. "My Moon Princess, what the hell did you teach our children?"

She ignored the demon boy who was already awake, but still too weak to move on his own.

Her thoughts got distracted when the drunkard let out a loud hiccup.

"Oh, right," Neoma said, then she crossed her arms over her chest. "What were you saying about the test again?"

The drunkard, who flinched at her words, pointed to the arch behind him. "It's not visible in the naked eye, but there's a barrier under that arch. Your group will only be able to get through that gate if you offer the 'Scent of Blood' to the barrier. If the barrier isn't fed first before your entire group enters the town, then the barrier will strike you–"

"Scent of Blood?" she asked, cutting off the drunkard. She was being rude on purpose because she was asserting dominance. After all, the island was the kind of place where the weak and the meek were trampled on mercilessly. "What kind of bullshit is that?"

"Leoflor Island is for the outlaws, and the barrier here gets stronger the more Scent of Blood is offered to it," the drunkard explained. "Only people who have taken at least a hundred lives by their own hands have the Scent of Blood, though. If none of your group could offer that, then you must pay ten gold coins each…"

The drunkard trailed off when Neoma stood under the arch without hesitation.

Scent of Blood, huh?

Neoma smirked while touching the arch made of wood. "I've taken more than a hundred lives by my own hands, so get drunk with the scent of a murderer all you want."

***

THE DRUNKARD let out a hiccup once again.

He had been guarding the 'Arch' for more than a decade now.

And thanks to that, he had seen all kinds of criminals who had stepped foot on the island to hide from whoever it was that was hunting them down. Since he had been dealing with hardcore criminals every single day, it wasn't new to him to meet a criminal who had killed more than a hundred people.

However, this was the first time that he met a CHILD who had taken so many lives in her own little hands. And it didn't end there.

[Death…]

The hair at the back of his neck stood up when an image of a Death Reaper flashed behind the child for a moment.

It only meant one thing.

[The child didn't only kill humans– she has also killed beings from other races.]

For the first time in a long while, the drunkard felt FEAR once again.

[I shouldn't mess with this kid.]

After all, the little girl was as deadly as she was beautiful.

He should have known that the child was dangerous as soon as she opened her foul mouth.

[Kids these days are terrifying…]

Well, speaking of terrifying kids, the drunkard was reminded that there were other kids (just a little older than the beautiful girl) on the island that scared the living shit out of him, too.

And that made him wonder while looking at the girl with pink hair...

[Is she a Crowell, too?]

***

NOTE: Hi. I posted some Nero-Neoma phone wallpapers on my k/o-fi account that you can download and use. You may visit my page: k o-fi .com/sola_cola (just remove the space). Or simply G*ogle k o-fi sola_cola. You may or may not buy me a coffee (donate). Thank you!

***

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