Rio descended upon the shores of Noctara.
His eyes immediately found her.
The girl with white hair and crimson eyes.
Lucinda.
Her eyes widened the moment she saw him.
They were red.
Swollen.
As if she had spent hours crying.
For a moment—
Rio simply stared.
Then a small smile appeared on his face.
A warm smile.
A genuine one.
Lucinda blinked.
Almost as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"R-Rio...?"
The moment she spoke his name—
Rio let out a soft laugh.
The sound made her flinch.
After everything that had happened...
After everything she had done...
He was still smiling.
Rio shook his head lightly.
"Don't worry."
His gaze slowly shifted toward the distant Royal Kingdom of Astryx.
"It should all be over now."
Meanwhile—
far within the Royal Kingdom of Astryx—
a woman walked through the ruined streets.
Soldiers lay dead everywhere.
Bodies littered the stone pathways.
The kingdom had become a battlefield.
She walked through it all without stopping.
White hair.
Amethyst eyes.
A face so beautiful it almost seemed unreal.
Yet blood continuously ran down the side of her forehead.
Helena Valen.
Step.
Step.
Step.
She continued forward until finally—
the doors to the royal throne room came into view.
BOOOOOOM!
The massive doors exploded apart.
The entire throne room shook violently.
Helena entered.
Her killing intent instantly flooded the hall.
At the far end of the room sat a man upon the throne.
Green hair.
Cold eyes.
King Caelion Astryx.
The king slowly looked toward her.
"Helena Valen."
His voice remained calm.
"To what do I owe this disobedience?"
Helena's eyes were devoid of warmth.
Only hatred remained.
She laughed.
A mocking laugh.
"Oh, dear King Caelion."
Her voice dripped with contempt.
Then her smile disappeared.
"No."
"Caelion died a long time ago."
The temperature inside the throne room dropped.
Her gaze sharpened.
"So tell me."
"Should I call you..."
"Demon Zariel?"
Silence.
Then—
the king smiled.
His body slowly twisted.
Cracked.
Changed.
The human disguise shattered.
And standing there instead—
was a demon.
Tall.
Elegant.
Monstrous.
Golden eyes glowed with amusement.
Zariel.
"I see."
His smile widened.
"So you've finally uncovered the truth."
He rested his chin upon his hand.
"I'm curious."
"How?"
Helena's hands trembled.
Not from fear.
From rage.
"It took me over a decade."
Her voice shook.
"Over a decade to understand why."
"To understand the curse."
Her eyes reddened.
"To understand why I hated my own son."
The throne room fell silent.
Then Zariel laughed.
A calm laugh.
An amused laugh.
"As expected."
"I underestimated you."
Helena took a step forward.
The ground beneath her feet froze.
Lightning crackled around her body.
"Before you die..."
Her voice became quieter.
More dangerous.
"Answer me."
The entire throne room trembled.
"For what reason?"
"Why?"
Zariel leaned back.
Almost casually.
"As simple as it sounds."
His smile widened.
"Lucivar Valen."
"An anomaly."
"The strongest human talent I have ever seen."
"Even among the Devildom."
"He was extraordinary."
His golden eyes gleamed.
"But every weapon possesses a weakness."
"And Lucivar's weakness..."
The demon laughed.
"...was emotion."
Helena froze.
"So I decided to take it away."
The smile on Zariel's face became grotesque.
"I placed a curse upon the Valen bloodline."
"A curse meant to slowly destroy every member of the family."
"To strip away warmth."
"Affection."
"Love."
"Everything."
His voice became colder.
"But something went wrong."
"For some reason..."
"Rio Valen was unaffected."
The room trembled.
"He should have broken like the rest."
"He should have hated everyone."
"He should have become useless."
"But he didn't."
Zariel sighed.
"So I decided to eliminate him first."
"And afterward..."
His smile widened.
"I would turn Lucivar into the perfect weapon."
Helena never heard the rest.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Lightning erupted.
Ice exploded.
The throne room vanished.
A single strike.
A single attack.
The King's vessel was erased completely.
Not even ash remained.
Silence followed.
Within Helena's mind—
a familiar voice echoed.
Nox.
"That was only a vessel, Helena."
"A weak one."
"The real Zariel is elsewhere."
Helena stared at the empty space where the demon had stood.
Then Nox spoke again.
"But it was enough."
"The curse has been broken."
The words hit harder than any attack.
Broken.
The curse was broken.
Which meant...
Every hateful thought.
Every moment of disgust.
Every cruel word.
Every time she looked at Rio with those eyes...
None of it had truly been hers.
Helena's body trembled.
Then—
she fell to her knees.
And for the first time in years—
the strongest woman of the Valen Family cried.
...
Lucinda's eyes slowly began to close.
Confusion filled them.
"H-Huh...?"
She tried to fight it.
Tried to stay awake.
But her body had already reached its limit.
I slowly knelt beside her, letting her head rest on my lap.
My hand gently moved through her white hair.
A small smile rested on my face.
Soon—
a portal opened beside us.
Aurelia Lioren stepped out.
The moment I saw her, my eyes widened.
Her normally composed appearance was gone.
Her body swayed unsteadily, barely managing to remain upright.
"Master?"
Aurelia forced out a weak smile.
"Yes... I'm fine."
She paused, holding her side.
"Moon suddenly disappeared in the middle of our battle..."
Before she could continue, her knees gave out.
I immediately caught her.
She let out a tired sigh.
"I should be fine..."
Her dark eyes slowly met mine.
"But are you okay?"
For a moment—
I simply smiled.
"Yeah."
Aurelia stared at me.
Then a genuine smile appeared on her face.
"I see."
"It's over."
I laughed softly.
A few seconds later—
she fell asleep as well.
The exhaustion had finally caught up to her.
Then—
another presence appeared.
Golden hair.
Crimson eyes.
A man standing silently before me.
I didn't even need to look up.
I already knew who it was.
A smile formed on my face as I continued patting Lucinda's hair.
"Father."
Lucivar stood silently.
I carefully rested Lucinda against a nearby tree before slowly rising to my feet.
Soon—
both of us ascended into the sky.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I looked at him.
Those eyes that had always looked at me with indifference...
With coldness...
Were now filled with something entirely different.
Concern.
Regret.
Sadness.
An awkward smile appeared on my face.
I honestly didn't know how to react.
Then Lucivar finally spoke.
"I failed, Rio."
His gaze drifted toward the ruined Kingdom of Noctara.
The destroyed battlefield.
The countless dead.
The remnants of war.
"I failed the family."
"I failed the nation."
Then his eyes returned to me.
And for the first time—
his voice trembled.
"I failed you, Rio."
Slowly—
he lowered his head.
Silence followed.
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
"I suppose the curse is gone now?"
Lucivar nodded.
"Yes."
"It seems Helena took care of everything."
His gaze shifted toward the distant royal palace.
"I see."
Outwardly I remained calm.
But inwardly—
I was completely panicking.
How was I supposed to talk to my father now?
Before I could think any further—
a familiar voice echoed inside my mind.
[W-Welcome back, Rio.]
A grin immediately appeared on my face.
Did I hear a little tremble there, Astarax?
The Chaos Dragon immediately responded.
[N-No! Shut up, Mortal!]
[Hmph]
My grin widened.
She really had been worried.
Lucivar glanced toward me.
"Rio."
"Do you want to meet your mother?"
I blinked.
A family reunion, huh?
After everything that had happened...
It sounded strange.
Yet somehow—
not unpleasant.
A smile appeared on my face.
"Sure."
And for the first time in a very long while—
Father and son walked forward together.
...
Soon enough, we reached the Royal Palace.
The capital was completely ruined.
Collapsed buildings littered the streets.
Smoke still rose into the night sky.
The aftermath of war had left its mark on every corner of the kingdom.
As we approached the throne room, two familiar figures emerged from the corridor.
William Astryx.
And Anastisia Astryx.
Their eyes were red.
It was clear they had been crying.
The moment they noticed us, both froze.
Their eyes widened.
"Lucivar Valen...?"
William's voice carried clear disbelief.
Before either of them could speak further, I stepped forward.
A smile appeared on my face.
"It's been a while, you two."
Both of them frowned.
Confusion immediately appeared on their faces.
It was obvious.
Neither of them recognized me.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha, I suppose a proper introduction is needed."
I placed a hand on my chest.
"My name is Rio Valen."
Their eyes widened slightly.
"Though to you two..."
"It should be Zio Norken."
"The assistant professor."
Silence.
Their mouths slowly opened.
Neither seemed capable of processing what they had just heard.
I laughed at their reactions.
Honestly, they looked like someone had just shattered their entire understanding of reality.
"We'll have a proper conversation later."
Both of them slowly nodded.
Still completely stunned.
Without another word, they stepped aside and left.
Meanwhile, Lucinda remained asleep in Lucivar's arms.
Together, we continued forward.
The doors to the throne room stood open.
And inside—
a woman sat on the floor.
White hair.
Amethyst eyes.
Tears endlessly flowed down her face.
Helena Valen.
My mother.
The moment I saw her—
a warm smile appeared on my face.
Helena slowly looked up.
Then she saw us.
Saw Lucivar.
Saw Lucinda.
Saw me.
For a moment—
she simply stared.
As though she couldn't believe her eyes.
Then—
the tears began falling even harder.
And she started crying all over again.
I slowly knelt before her.
"Mother—"
Before I could finish—
she pulled me into a hug.
No.
Not just me.
All of us.
"R-Rio..."
Her voice broke.
"R-Rio..."
Tears streamed endlessly down her face.
"I-I'm so sorry, my son."
"H-How could I..."
Her body trembled.
"S-Sorry, Rio."
I froze.
The warmth of her embrace felt unfamiliar.
Strange.
Yet comforting.
Then another voice joined us.
"M-mother..."
Lucinda.
At some point she had awakened.
Tears filled her crimson eyes as she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around us as well.
The three of us were pulled together.
A broken family desperately trying to hold itself together.
Then Lucivar stepped forward.
His voice was low.
Heavy.
"No."
"It wasn't you, Helena."
For the first time, his composure shattered.
"I failed all of you."
His eyes slowly fell on Lucinda.
"My daughter."
Then on me.
"My son."
His voice trembled.
"I'm sorry."
Slowly—
he joined the embrace.
And for a moment—
nobody spoke.
I opened my mouth.
"I..."
Nothing came out.
My throat felt tight.
Why?
Why couldn't I speak?
Then—
something warm rolled down my cheek.
A tear.
Ah.
So I was crying too.
I laughed weakly through the tears.
I couldn't remember the last time I had cried like this.
And so—
I cried together with the Valens.
Not as the Retainer of Chaos.
Not as Subject 082.
Just Rio.
Finally—
after more than a decade of pain, hatred, misunderstandings, and loss—
the Valen family was together once again.