Yuuta and Erza entered the zoo.
With Elena, of course.
As if anyone could forget about the little tornado of chaos currently bouncing between their legs, poking at everything that moved, and generally causing the kind of adorable mayhem that made strangers smile and parents wince.
"Papa! Papa! Look!"
Elena pointed at a massive mascot—some poor university student sweating inside a panda costume, waving at passing children.
"This beast is TALKING! Which clan is it from?! Are they Madravans Tribes from Nova?!" She giggled wildly. "It looks so fluffy but also weird!"
Yuuta blinked.
Madravans Tribes? Nova?
He had no idea what those words meant.
But he recognized the situation.
"That's not a beast, Elena." He knelt beside her, voice calm. "It's a human inside a costume. They wear animal outfits to welcome visitors. Just like your bunny outfit."
Elena's eyes sparkled.
"A HUMAN IN A BEAST SUIT?!"
"Basically, yes."
"I WANT TO TOUCH IT!"
Before Yuuta could respond, Elena had already launched herself toward the unsuspecting panda.
The panda, to its credit, handled the situation with grace.
It waved.
Elena screamed with joy.
Yuuta smiled.
Then—
"What in the seven hells is wrong with your species?"
Erza's voice cut through like a blade.
Yuuta turned.
She was staring at the mascot with an expression of pure disgust.
"Humans," she said slowly, "dress up as beasts? Voluntarily? For entertainment? "
"It's... it's a family-friendly thing."
"It's weird. "
"It's fun for kids."
"It's degrading. "
"It's—" Yuuta stopped. Sighed. "You know what? I'm not going to win this argument."
"Finally, you learn."
Yuuta puffed his cheeks out.
But said nothing.
Can't argue with royalty, he reminded himself. Especially not royalty who can freeze my spine.
They walked deeper into the zoo.
Elena had returned from the panda, clutching a cheap balloon the mascot had given her. She was now distracted by a family of meerkats, pressing her face against the glass.
"Papa! These beasts have tiny hands!"
"They're meerkats, sweetheart."
"MEER-KATS!"
Yuuta smiled.
Then he noticed Erza had stopped walking.
She was staring at something.
Not an animal enclosure.
Not a food stand.
Not a map.
People.
A couple, specifically. Young. Newly married, probably. They were walking hand in hand, laughing at something, completely absorbed in each other.
"Mortal."
Yuuta tensed. "Yes, my queen?"
She pointed.
"Why are those humans holding hands like that? Like they'll disappear if they let go?"
Yuuta followed her gaze.
A couple.
Young. Newly married, probably. They walked hand in hand, laughing at something one of them had said. The woman leaned into the man's shoulder. The man squeezed her fingers gently.
They looked... happy.
Complete.
"That," Yuuta said softly, "is a sign of love, my queen."
Erza's brow furrowed.
"Love sign?"
"Holding hands." Yuuta smiled at the couple. "It's a way of showing affection. Trust. That you don't want to lose the person beside you."
He paused.
The words came easier than he expected.
"It's more than just touching. It's... connection. When you hold someone's hand, you're telling them: I'm here. I'm with you. Whatever comes next, we face it together. "
The couple laughed again. The woman kissed the man's cheek.
"It makes ordinary moments beautiful," Yuuta continued. "Walking. Talking. Just... existing. With that one person, everything feels more meaningful. More real."
He glanced at Erza.
"It's a unique experience. To have someone whose hand you want to hold."
Erza stared at the couple.
Her expression was unreadable.
Then—
"Pathetic."
Yuuta blinked.
"What?"
"Pathetic theory." She crossed her arms. "Who would hold hands and trap themselves like that? It's like slavery. Total slavery."
Yuuta stared at her.
Then—unexpectedly—
He laughed.
"You know what?" He grinned. "You're right. Love is a type of slavery."
Erza's eyes narrowed. "Are you mocking me?"
"No, no—listen." He gestured at the couple, now disappearing around a corner. "It is slavery. But it's the only slavery people choose. The only chains they want to wear."
He shrugged.
"Because when you love someone—really love them—being bound to them doesn't feel like a cage. It feels like... home."
Silence.
Erza said nothing.
But her eyes—
Her eyes stayed on him.
Longer than necessary.
"...Tch."
She looked away.
"Ridiculous."
But her voice was quieter.
Less certain.
And as she walked past him, Yuuta could have sworn—
Was her face slightly pink?
Nah.
Probably the sun.
They walked through the zoo side by side.
Well. Sort of.
Elena bounced ahead, her tiny hand clutched firmly in Yuuta's. The rabbit costume's floppy ears swung with every step. She pointed at everything—the trees, the signs, the distant roar of something big and feline.
"Papa! Papa! What's that sound?!"
"Probably a lion, sweetheart."
"THE ONE-HEADED KITTY!"
"That's the one."
Behind them, Erza walked alone.
Her strides were measured. Regal. Perfectly composed.
Her eyes were not.
They kept drifting forward. To Yuuta's back. To the hand holding Elena's. To the easy way he laughed at her questions. To the patience in his voice when she asked the same thing twice.
Why does he treat her so differently?
The thought arrived unbidden.
Why does he smile at her like that? Why does he hold her hand so naturally? Why does he—
She caught herself.
Stop it. He's a mortal. He's nothing. He's—
But the thought wouldn't stop.
He walks ahead without me. He doesn't wait. He doesn't look back. He doesn't care if I'm here or not.
Does he... not care about me?
The question burned.
She didn't want it to. She hated that she was asking it. She was the Dragon Queen. She didn't need validation from some pathetic human who slept in chairs and talked to cars.
And yet—
The feeling persisted.
That strange, uncomfortable, jealous feeling.
Jealous?
No.
Absolutely not.
She was not jealous of a child. Her own child. That was ridiculous. That was—
"Whoa."
Yuuta shivered suddenly.
An ice-cold chill ran down his spine.
Not literal ice—though with Erza, you never knew. Just... instinct. The same instinct that told you when someone was staring. When danger lurked. When a predator watched from the shadows.
He glanced back.
Erza walked alone.
Expressionless face. Perfect posture. Eyes that could freeze oceans.
But something in that expressionless face screamed danger.
She's angry, Yuuta realized. Really angry. But why?
He looked at Elena.
Looked at their joined hands.
Looked at Erza walking alone behind them.
Oh.
Oh no.
"Hey, Elena," he said quietly. "Let's slow down a little, okay? Your mom seems... uh... upset."
Elena glanced back at Erza.
"Okay, Papa!"
Without hesitation, she slowed her bouncing pace.
Yuuta matched her.
Within moments, Erza drew alongside them.
Her face was still expressionless. Still cold. Still absolutely unreadable.
But Yuuta had spent enough time around her now to recognize the signs. The slight tension in her jaw. The way her eyes avoided his. The almost imperceptible tightness in her shoulders.
Definitely angry.
Definitely at me.
Definitely don't know why.
They walked in silence.
Yuuta's mind raced.
Should I say something? No, that's dangerous. Should I ignore it? Also dangerous. Should I—
He glanced at her.
She wasn't looking at him.
She was looking ahead. At the couples. At the families. At the people walking hand in hand, laughing together, connected.
Her eyes lingered on their hands.
Why do they hold hands? her expression seemed to ask. Is it really a new experience?
She glanced down at her own hand.
If I held Elena's hand, would I feel it?
No. I've held her hand many times. It's different.
Then why—
"Erza."
Yuuta's voice cut through her thoughts.
She turned.
Cold eyes. Guarded face.
"What do you need, mortal?"
Yuuta coughed. Lightly. Nervously.
"If you don't mind..."
He trailed off.
This is a terrible idea.
She's going to kill me.
But she's clearly upset about something, and if I don't do something, she might freeze the entire zoo.
He took a breath.
"Will you hold my hand?"
Erza stopped walking.
Completely stopped.
Her eyes went wide—just for a fraction of a second. Then they narrowed.
Yuuta felt his soul try to escape his body.
Oh no.
Oh no oh no oh no.
Did I just—
Did I just ask the Dragon Queen to hold my hand like some middle schooler at a dance?!
Is this how I die?!
Sweat poured down his face.
His heart hammered.
His brain screamed RUN but his legs refused to move.
"I—I mean—if you want—we don't have to—it was just—you were looking at the couples and I thought maybe—"
He was babbling.
He knew he was babbling.
He couldn't stop babbling.
"—and walking together is nice, right? Like, it's a thing people do, and Elena's already holding my other hand, so it's not weird, it's just—I mean unless you think it's weird, then it's definitely weird and I take it back, I didn't say anything, please don't kill me—"
Erza stared.
For one long, agonizing, eternity-length second.
Then—
"Well."
Her voice was cold.
"If you insist. If you're begging. I suppose I can accept your pathetic request."
She reached out.
Her fingers brushed his.
And then—
She took his hand.
Both of them turned crimson.
Instantly. Completely. Like someone had flipped a switch.
Erza's face burned. Her hand felt like it was on fire—not literally, but something was happening. Something she couldn't control. Something that made her want to snatch her hand back and hold on tighter at the same time.
She looked away.
Anywhere but at him.
"If you crush my hand," she said coldly—or tried to say coldly, but her voice came out strangely breathless—"or try anything funny, I swear I will crush your hand with my power."
Yuuta looked in the opposite direction.
Also red-faced.
Also breathless.
"Yes, my queen."
They walked.
Hand in hand.
Neither looking at the other.
Neither letting go.
---
In the distance, Elena bounced ahead.
"PAPA! MAMA! COME FAST!" She pointed at something massive and striped. "THERE'S THE BEAST SLEEPING!"
Neither of them heard her.
They were too busy not looking at each other.
Too busy feeling the warmth of palms pressed together.
Too busy wondering—
What IS this?
Meanwhile, on the same side of the zoo...
The luxury van sat parked near the VIP entrance, black and gleaming like a polished tombstone. Tinted windows hid everything inside from prying eyes.
Not that anyone would want to see.
Aaron Muru lounged across the back seat like a king on his throne.
Around him—pressed against him, draped over him, desperate for his attention—were women. Five of them. Beautiful. Expensive. And every single one wore an engagement ring on her finger.
Married women.
Women who had vowed themselves to other men.
Women who had thrown those vows away for a chance to touch the face that launched a thousand magazines.
Aaron didn't care about their vows.
He didn't care about their husbands.
He didn't care about them.
They were tools. Vessels. Empty shells waiting to be filled with his presence.
And when he was done—
They would be empty in other ways too.
The van rocked gently.
No one outside noticed.
No one outside could notice.
The windows were tinted. The van was secluded. And Aaron's assistant—Allen—stood guard outside, golden pupils watching the crowd with casual disinterest.
Inside, Aaron finished.
The women slumped against the seats, unconscious. Their faces peaceful. Their bodies drained.
Aaron stretched.
"Done."
The door opened.
Allen slid inside, closing it quickly behind him. His golden pupils gleamed in the dim light.
"Excellent work, my master."
He reached out.
Placed his hand on the nearest woman's forehead.
And pulled.
From her body—from all their bodies—a dark mist rose. Black. Thick. Wrong. It coiled around Allen's fingers like living smoke, then vanished into his palm.
"Ahhh..." He closed his eyes, smiling. "Sin. Beautiful, delicious sin."
Aaron watched without interest.
"Is that enough?"
"Almost." Allen licked his lips. "A few more. A few more sins, and I will evolve into something... magnificent. "
He looked at his hands.
At the darkness still fading into his skin.
"Nefarious," he whispered. "I will become Nefarious."
Aaron yawned.
"Just don't take too long. I have a magazine shoot in an hour."
"Of course, my master. Of course."
---
Outside the van, the zoo continued its normal operations.
Families walked past. Children laughed. Couples held hands.
Including one particular family.
Silver hair. Rabbit costume. Black hair. Crimson eyes.
The Konuari family walked side by side—literally side by side now, hands still clasped together, faces still red, neither speaking but neither letting go.
They passed the luxury van without glancing at it.
Why would they?
It was just a van.
---
Inside the van—
Allen's head snapped up.
His golden pupils dilated.
His body went rigid.
"What..."
A wave of something washed over him.
Something ancient. Something terrifying. Something that made every sin he'd ever absorbed feel like a drop of water in an endless ocean.
"That aura..."
He scrambled to the window.
Peered through the tinted glass.
And saw them.
A woman in white. Silver hair. Violet eyes. Walking with the bearing of royalty.
A child in a rabbit costume. Tiny wings. Tail. The same silver hair.
And—
"No."
A man.
Black hair.
Crimson eyes.
Eyes that glowed faintly even in daylight.
Eyes that Allen had only seen in ancient texts. In forbidden scrolls. In the nightmares of demons who had survived the last great war.
"Sons of Disaster."
The words escaped him like a prayer.
Like a curse.
Like worship.
"The Sons of Disaster... on this planet..."
His hands trembled.
His smile returned—wider now. Sharper. Hungrier.
"My true awakening..." He laughed softly. "It's here. It's finally here."
Behind him, Aaron stirred.
"Allen." His voice was annoyed. "Can you shut up? Some of us are trying to rest."
Allen's expression smoothed instantly.
He turned.
Bowed.
"I apologize, my master. I should have noticed you were sleeping."
His voice was respectful. Subservient.
But his eyes—
His eyes burned with something else.
He turned back to the window.
The family had disappeared into the crowd.
But Allen knew.
He knew.
"Just a little more time," he whispered to himself. "A little more sin. A little more power. When I awaken as a true monster..."
His smile widened.
"I will never bow to a human again."
He looked toward the sky.
Toward something only he could see.
"Hell is on my side today. To spot a Son of Disaster here, on this miserable little planet..."
He laughed.
Softly.
Darkly.
"I am truly blessed."
The van fell silent.
Outside, the zoo continued its happy, ignorant existence.
Families laughed.
Children played.
And somewhere in the crowd, a man with crimson eyes held hands with a dragon queen, completely unaware that something ancient and evil had just marked him.
---
"I will remove your Crystal from your heart , Son of Disaster."
Allen's whisper faded into darkness.
"Stone by stone."
---
To be continued...
---
Chapter Eighteen: The Lion's Gaze
(Coming soon)