"Worthless thing!" Chiffon's father, Luciel, kicked the little girl until she slammed into the wall.
Chiffon fell on the ground, unconscious. Blood flowed out of her mouth and dyed the floor red.
"Husband, you should just get rid of that girl," Natasha said. "If you like, you can just give her to one of your generals as a plaything. She's still young, but she still has a pretty face. Give her a few years and she will serve well as a bed warmer to one of your loyal men. I'm sure tha–"
A resounding slap echoed across the room. Natasha wasn't able to finish her words before she, too, slammed into the wall.
"Do you think I don't know that it is you who schemed behind April's back?" Luciel took a step forward. "Did you not think that I would find out? Or were you confident that because you have the backing of your family, I would not lay my hands on you?"
Luciel sneered as he stomped on Natasha's hand, breaking all of its bones.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Natasha screamed, and this screamed made all of Luciel's other wives back away in fear.
"Mother!" Felix shouted. Just as he was about to come to her aid, a pair of blood-shot eyes froze him in his place.
"You want to save her?" Luciel sneered. "Go on. Come. I dare you to save her."
Felix felt all the hair on his body stood on end. His survival instinct was telling him that if he dared to take a step forward, his life would come to an end. His pants became wet as he lost control of his body functions.
Such was the fright he received from his own father who was not looking at him as a son, but a mongrel that he could kill any time he pleased.
Luciel waved his hand and Felix was pulled towards him. He then grabbed the boy's neck and raised him in the air.
The boy struggled, for he was unable to breath. Seeing that Luciel was serious about killing her son, Natasha begged and pleaded for forgiveness.
If she only knew that Luciel's feelings for April were this strong, she wouldn't have schemed against Chiffon's mother, causing her to die.
The pink-haired girl who was lying on the ground opened her eyes and came upon this scene. This was the first time that she saw her father this angry.
Chiffon's injuries were slowly starting to regenerate. Although it wasn't as fast as the regeneration ability of Hydras, Mountain Trolls, and Trollhounds, it was still good enough to help her recover from the injury that she had received earlier.
When April sacrificed her life to heal Chiffon's injuries, she used all of her powers to imbue her body with a regeneration ability. If her life was in great danger, this regeneration ability would activate, healing her injuries at a faster rate.
Luciel glanced down and noticed Chiffon was already awake. It was then when an idea came to his head. He released his hold on Felix's body allowing the boy to drop to the ground.
The eldest among his sons gasped for air, and Natasha hurried to his side, protecting him with her body.
"Forgive me," Natasha said. "I am willing to compensate for my wrongdoings. Just say the word, I will ask my family to surrender half of our wealth to you!"
Luciel ignored her and grabbed her hair, making Natasha scream in pain. He then pried Felix out of her grasp and tossed the young boy aside.
"Only one of you will get to live today," Luciel declared. He then looked at his son who was looking back at him in fear and sneered. "Boy, do you want to live?"
"I do!" Felix replied. He was afraid that if he didn't reply right away, his father would crush his neck, ending his fifteen years of existence.
Luciel then threw Natasha in front of his son with indifference.
"Kill her," Luciel ordered. "I will only give you fifteen heartbeats to do it. If you still haven't killed her by then, I will kill you."
Felix looked at his mother with a complicated expression. Natasha looked back at her son in tears. She understood that Luciel wasn't joking. One of them would die today, and if it was not her, it would be none other than her son.
"You monster!" Natasha summoned all of her strength and attacked Luciel with everything she had.
Rather than having her own son kill her, she would rather die by Luciel's hand. She was still his mother, how could she possibly allow Felix to bear the burden of killing his own mother?
Luciel snorted, but he didn't move from where he stood. Natasha's dagger drew an arc in the air with the intention to cut off her husband's head. However, before her dagger could even make contact, a sword blade pierced right through her chest.
Natasha stared at the blade on her chest in disbelief before looking at her husband's face who was looking at her with contempt.
She didn't need to turn around to know the identity of the person who stabbed her in the back. How could she possibly not know?
Bitter tears streamed down the side of her face as she fell on the ground.
"F-Father, I did what you told me," Felix stuttered. "I killed Mother. This is what you want, right?"
Luciel gave his son a brief nod, "Good. You did well, Felix."
Felix wanted to smile, but his face distorted in pain as he looked at his dying mother. Natasha didn't know how brutal her husband was because she had never seen that side of him. However, Felix did.
He had been with his father on a few expeditions and fully understood what kind of man he was. If he really hesitated to kill his mother, his father would not only kill her, but kill him as well.
That is the character of the Demon who stood above all of the others. The one that ruled the Demonic Continent.
The one and only Demon Lord, Luciel Hal Gremory.
"She's still alive," Luciel frowned. "Finish her."
"... Yes," Felix replied. He didn't want his mother to suffer, so this time, he imbued his blade with magic power and stabbed her chest.
Natasha didn't resist as she stared at her son. As the last vestige of her life seeped away from her body, she regretted everything she did.
She was Luciel's Main Wife.
The Lady of their household.
Her position had already been secure, so why did she have to bother with a dying woman? Even if she hadn't schemed against April, the dwarf would, at most, have only lived another two to three years. She died with her eyes open, filled with regret and unwillingness.
Felix sobbed as he kneeled beside his mother. He pressed his palm over her eyes and closed them. This was the last thing he could do for his birth mother.
The other women who were holding their children close shivered in fear. They had also participated in April's demise. If Luciel were to really investigate the matter, they would also be punished for being her accomplice.
Luciel looked down at the dead woman under his feet. Without any respect for the dead, he kicked Natasha's corpse towards Chiffon.
"Eat," Luciel ordered.
Chiffon looked angrily at the dead woman who had killed her mother. Even though Natasha was already dead, her anger didn't decrease. Instead, it had increased. The pink-haired-girl angrily bit the corpse's hand.
She devoured it like a wild animal who feasted on the prey that it had caught. Natasha's arm followed next. After that it was her head. Chiffon devoured her with anger. Her eyes glowed in hatred as the tears in her eyes flowed like rain.
William watched this scene while gnashing his teeth.
Right now, he was only an observer. He was powerless to do anything because he knew that this event had already transpired. It was a memory that Chiffon had locked deep inside her heart.
It was quite unfortunate that the Heart Devil was making these painful memories rise to the surface, in order to break Chiffon's willpower.
In the outside world, the floating crystal hovering above Chiffon's chest increased its radiance. It was vastly different from William's, whose crystal had remained dormant.
Although the old woman and the Guardian of the 51st Floor found this strange, they didn't think too much about it. Their target was Chiffon, so regardless of what happened to William's Heart Devil, neither of them cared.
After Chiffon finished eating Natasha, Luciel walked towards her and picked her up like a puppy. He then carried her daughter towards the house where April used to stay.
Coincidentally, Luciel arrived half a day after April died. His wives panicked when he arrived, so they didn't have the time to dispose of her remains. They just left April on the floor, and locked the door of her room. They hoped that Luciel wouldn't bother to look for her, so they kept things as it is.
What they didn't know was that Luciel was in possession of April's Life crystal. The moment she died, the Demon Lord rushed back from his hunt. Although he had left her alone for so many years, she was still, after all, the first woman he loved.
It was impossible not to feel anything after the first love of his life had died.
"Eat her," Luciel ordered as he dropped Chiffon beside her mother's blackened corpse. "She can't be buried in the Demonic Continent because her body will corrupt the land. Eat her, so that her remains will not be harmed by anyone ever again."
Chiffon looked at her beloved mother. She kneeled on the floor and hugged the corpse. A moment later, her sad cries permeated inside the room.
Luciel became irritated and threatened her that if she didn't eat April's body, he would have her corpse chopped to pieces and thrown in the sea to feed the fishes.
Because of this threat, Chiffon decided to do as he ordered. But, she didn't devour April like she did to Natasha.
Chiffon opened her lips and sucked April's body inside her mouth. She didn't chew, and just swallowed her mother's whole body.
This was one of Chiffon's saddest memories, and the Devil that was slowly corrupting her heart laughed out loud.
It fed on her despair, anguish, sadness, loneliness, and fears.
The moment Chiffon finished devouring her mother, the scenery around her changed.
She found herself in a familiar place, staring at a red-haired teenager who was standing in the center of a crowd. Chiffon's eyes became a bit dull, as part of her memories were taken away.
The little girl had a feeling that she knew who the young man was, but no matter how much she searched her memories, she just couldn't remember his name.
In the outside world, a cracking sound was heard.
A small crack appeared in the red crystal that hovered above Chiffon's chest. It was the sign that her heart would soon reach its limit.
And when it does, her consciousness, and all of her memories, would also be erased completely.