Vol 4. Chapter 85: Yumo’s Warning

In the central region of the Great Winter Forest,

Inside a gigantic crater with a radius of roughly three thousand meters, a terrifying scene resembling hell itself had appeared. Everything had been swallowed by a scorched world, while countless shriveled corpses of Abyss Demons lay scattered throughout the crater. Their miserable deaths were enough to make anyone shudder.

Not a single intact corpse could be found on the ground. Most of them could not even be recognized in their original forms.

Clearly, the majority of the Abyss Demons had been forcibly crushed to death by some overwhelmingly powerful force. Blood, chunks of flesh, and fragments of internal organs were everywhere.

The thick stench of blood, the scorched smell in the air, and the suffocating, terrifying pressure of the Shadow of Silence Power filled the surroundings...

...

“W-What the hell happened here?!”

After sensing the abnormality in the central region, Miss Yumo, who had been in the eastern part of the Great Winter Forest, hurriedly transformed her consciousness into countless blood-colored butterflies and rushed toward the central region at the fastest speed possible—the very place where that intense clash of power had just occurred.

And after seeing the miserable scene before her, Miss Yumo could not help letting out a cry of shock. Countless blood-colored butterflies began fluttering about restlessly in every direction.

However,

Before Yumo could figure out exactly what had happened here, she suddenly sensed a familiar scent of blood and the aura of Shadow of Silence Power.

Although that aura was extremely faint, nearly imperceptible within this crater overflowing with the mixed scents of countless Abyss Demons, Yumo still caught it instantly.

And the moment she did, an intense feeling of unease surged into her heart.

This...

This aura is?!

Following the aura, Yumo immediately noticed the purple-haired boy lying in the distance upon the scorched earth, his entire body covered in wounds, barely clinging to life.

“P-Piere?!”

As she cried out in shock, scarlet light flashed.

The blood-colored butterflies symbolizing Yumo’s consciousness instantly rushed to the purple-haired boy’s side and surrounded him completely. Scarlet Shadow of Silence Power hurriedly surged forward, wrapping around Piere as Yumo examined his body and did everything she could to suppress the loss of blood.

...

And the loss of life force...

“W-What... happened?”

Staring at the dying boy before her, Yumo fell into an unprecedented state of panic and fear. Anxiety and dread completely consumed her heart. If Yumo had possessed a physical body right now, she probably would have already begun shedding anxious tears...

Although the boy in front of her was constantly causing trouble for her under normal circumstances, he was still the very first child she had ever created.

He occupied an indescribably important place in Yumo’s heart.

Seeing her child barely breathing, with almost no breath leaving his body, how could Yumo, as his parent, possibly not panic?

Even the voice Yumo transmitted carried the hint of a sob.

“Hey, Piere, you little brat! What the hell happened?! Answer me!”

The blood-colored butterflies continuously nudged Piere’s mangled body, trying to make him respond.

However, the gravely injured Piere had long since lost consciousness and was completely incapable of answering her.

Seeing this,

The unease in Yumo’s heart reached its peak.

“No... no... don’t... Nothing can happen to you! You little brat, I won’t allow anything to happen to you!!! Hey!”

The entire reason she had raised Demon King-class existences was to send experience points to the protagonist group in the future.

If they got hurt, then they got hurt.

If they died, then they died.

None of it was supposed to matter...

But when she truly saw this Demon King-class existence, one connected to her by blood and who had spent day after day by her side, lying there on the verge of death like this, Yumo inevitably and instinctively felt sorrow.

Strictly speaking, this was also the first time Yumo had become aware of some of the emotions buried deep within her heart.

However,

At this moment, Yumo had no time to think deeply about that.

Because while examining Piere’s condition, Yumo, unsurprisingly, noticed the aura of Shadow of Silence Power lingering within his wounds.

At that instant, Yumo’s heart violently trembled.

An unprecedented blaze of fury erupted from within her.

The next moment,

Scarlet light suddenly exploded outward.

Yumo’s consciousness abruptly locked onto the enormous, hideous monster standing at the edge of the crater...

“You bastard! What the hell did you dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo?!!!!!!!!!!!!”

...

...

--

Back to the present.

After hearing the name ‘Youlan’ from Yuan’er, Miss Yumo involuntarily recalled certain events from the past.

And as those old memories surged into her mind, the black-haired girl’s emotions slipped slightly out of control.

“Yuan’er, where did you meet that woman? What exactly happened? Did she do anything to you?!...”

Yumo suddenly grabbed Yuan’er by the shoulders and anxiously began questioning her.

“Mother??”

Yumo’s sudden change in attitude naturally caught little Yuan’er completely off guard.

The pink-haired girl froze for a moment, looking somewhat helpless as she stared blankly at her mother.

Seeing the faint unease on Yuan’er’s face, Miss Yumo quickly realized what her daughter was thinking.

After shaking her head, she calmed herself down.

Her usual gentle and loving expression returned.

Patting the little girl on the head, Miss Yumo patiently asked,

“Yuan’er, you said you met her before... um, that you met ‘Big Sister Youlan.’ What exactly happened?”

“Um, well...”

As she spoke,

Yuan’er lowered her head in hesitation, her heterochromatic eyes filled with uncertainty.

After all,

Big Sister Liyu had specifically told her before not to mention Big Sister Youlan in front of Mother...

Yet she had actually...

Accidentally let it slip... Wuwuwu...

Seeing Yuan’er hesitate, Yumo asked in confusion,

“What is it, Yuan’er? You can’t tell Mother?”

“N-No... It’s not that I can’t.”

“Then can you tell me?”

“Wu...”

Faced with Mother Yumo’s question, little Yuan’er struggled internally for a moment, but in the end, she chose not to hide anything.

She truthfully told Mother Yumo everything she had seen and experienced after leaving Wind Facing City, as well as everything that had happened while she was together with that honey-haired big sister.

Although Big Sister Liyu had warned her before, since she had already let it slip, Yuan’er did not want Mother to think she was a dishonest child.

Besides, from the little girl’s point of view, there was nothing wrong with telling Mother about Big Sister Youlan, right?

Mother looked pretty anxious about it now, too.

“Big Sister Youlan? She...”

...

...(Yuan’er animatedly telling her story)

...

Because the little girl’s ability to explain things was not exactly ideal, Yumo could only understand roughly half of what she was saying.

However,

As Yuan’er continued talking, Yumo gradually narrowed her eyes, and her expression became increasingly complicated.

Clearly, Yumo had already realized that Liyu’s previous claim that Yuan’er had been looked after by the Ghost Star Flame Group during that period had been complete bullshit...

But right now, she had no time to worry about why Liyu had lied to her.

Instead, she focused all her attention on her youngest daughter’s movements and expressions.

Yumo only understood Yuan’er’s explanation of the events in fragments, but judging by Yuan’er’s enthusiasm while speaking and her lively gestures, it was not difficult for Yumo to tell that the little girl genuinely liked and deeply trusted this ‘Big Sister Youlan.’

After realizing this,

Mother Yumo’s expression became even more serious.

And beneath that seriousness, there was even a faint trace of indescribable anger.

Although Yuan’er’s description suggested that Youlan had taken meticulous care of her during that period—not only protecting the starving Yuan’er, but also teaching Yumo’s youngest daughter some basic methods of controlling the Shadow of Silence Power—the serious expression on Yumo’s face showed absolutely no sign of fading.

Finally, after Yuan’er enthusiastically finished recounting everything that had happened, Yumo took a deep breath.

“Hm? Mother?”

“Yuan’er.”

“What is it, Mother?”

“You... really like that ‘Big Sister Youlan’?”

“Mhm, yes!!”

Yuan’er nodded repeatedly without even thinking about it.

“Big Sister Youlan was really nice to me! She fed me tasty food, taught me how to control my power, and every night before I went to sleep, she would always tell me nice bedtime stories! I really like Big Sister Youlan!”

“Haah...”

“What’s wrong, Mother? Why are you sighing?”

“Yuan’er.”

“Mm?”

“Although this may be a little cruel, Mother has to tell you something now. Your Big Sister Youlan... isn’t nearly as good as you think she is...”

“Eh??”

The little girl blinked and looked at her mother in utter confusion.

“Mother, what do you mean?”

Faced with that question, Yumo took a deep breath.

She met Yuan’er’s confused eyes with an incomparably solemn expression and warned her in an extremely serious tone,

“Some things can’t be judged by appearances. That Big Sister Youlan of yours is a lunatic. She was never sincerely treating you well! The only reason she took such good care of you must have been to trick you into liking her! And then use you! Yuan’er... you need to understand that woman is insane. She’s extremely dangerous! You absolutely cannot trust her so easily... You might see her as your big sister, but that doesn’t mean she sees you as her little sister! Who knows when she’ll reveal her true nature and hurt you!”

“M-Mother?”

“In short, listen to Mother. Stop thinking about some Big Sister Youlan. That woman... isn’t your sister at all... If you ever meet her again, stay away from her. Absolutely do not believe anything she says. Understand?!”

“B-But...”

“No buts. Listen to Mother. Do you understand?!”

Faced with her youngest daughter staring at her blankly, Yumo uncharacteristically emphasized her words in a stern voice.

However,

Hidden faintly within the girl’s voice

Was a trace of bitterness...

“You might not understand why I’m asking you to do this... but no matter what... you need to know that Mother is doing this... for your own good.”