(Yuuta POV)
After Erza beat me like shit, we were finally ready for the Marriage test.
According to the invitation from the Gilgal New Life Church, the test was meant to judge our worthiness. They would probably ask questions about scripture verses, morality, faith—maybe even about God, our way of life, and trust.
Honestly, I wasn't worried at all.
I had studied scripture from a very young age. It was practically the first book I ever read. Compared to everything I had gone through in my life, this test felt easy. That realization made me excited—almost eager—to prove ourselves.
I was thinking about all of that while standing in the courtyard of our new home.
That was when reality hit me.
We couldn't reach the place by car anymore, and booking a flight wasn't an option either. The church was located outside Libeus, on a private island—what people called the Holy Land of Earth.
To reach it, you had to book a ship well in advance or take a scheduled flight. Either way, it was a six-hour journey.
That was exactly why Erza was furious.
If we had left in the middle of the night, we would have arrived by morning without any trouble. But now, we were just standing there in the courtyard of our house, with no ship, no flight, and no way to reach the island.
I swallowed and muttered quietly,
"…Yeah. She's definitely going to hit me again."
That was when Erza came.
She was holding a suitcase in her hand.
The moment I saw it, my heart sank.
She didn't know. Not even a little. She had no idea how far that place actually was.
I quietly began accepting my fate.
Behind her, Grandpa walked in with slow, measured steps, like a wise old man straight out of some ancient Chinese story. His hands were folded behind his back as if he was simply enjoying nature, completely at ease.
Elena sat on grandpa shoulder, giggling to herself, unaware of the tension building in the air.
Allen followed last, carrying the remaining luggage. Watching all of them together, it honestly looked less like we were about to take a marriage test and more like we were heading out on a family vacation.
Erza placed the suitcase on the ground.
Only then did she look at me.
"So," she said, her voice calm, "how far is this place?"
She paused for a moment, then added,
"This Gilgal New Life Church."
I didn't look her in the eyes.
Knowing full well that she was probably going to kill me, I answered quietly.
"It's about two thousand three hundred kilometers away from here."
I swallowed.
"If you want the exact distance."
For a while, Erza said nothing.
No anger.
No reaction.
That silence was worse than any explosion. I already knew it was over.
This is it, I thought. I'm done.
But instead of lashing out, she let out a slow sigh.
She looked at me then—not with rage, but with a strange, tired expression. It was the kind of look a mother gave her foolish son, knowing he was hopeless, yet still hers.
That was the look in Erza's eyes.
"You mortal," she said softly, "you've doubled my work again. Now we can't even reach that place using your human technology."
"Of course we can't," I replied. "We've already lost too much time."
Erza didn't say anything.
She remained where she was, her gaze resting somewhere beyond the courtyard, as if she were looking at a place far away. The wind stirred the edge of her coat. She neither moved nor reacted.
For a moment, I wondered if she hadn't heard me at all.
Then she spoke.
"…Fine."
That was all.
She didn't raise her voice. She didn't look at me either.
"You should have told me earlier," she continued after a pause. "If I had known, we could have prepared properly."
Her eyes lowered slightly.
"Now it's too far. We've lost the best place to be married."
I looked down at my hands. They felt strangely cold.
"I didn't expect us to be called in the first place," I said. "When the invitation arrived… I honestly thought it was a mistake."
My thumb rubbed against my palm.
"And I handled it badly. I should have told you everything right away instead of putting it off."
The silence returned, heavier than before.
I tried to break it.
A weak laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
"Maybe this is just how it was meant to be," I said lightly. "Maybe we weren't destined to receive that blessing."
The words were meant to ease the mood.
They did the opposite.
Erza stopped breathing.
Not literally—but everything about her went still. Her shoulders stiffened, and slowly, she turned to face me.
I hadn't expected the look in her eyes.
It wasn't anger.
It wasn't disappointment.
It was fear.
Something fragile flickered beneath her usual composure, something she rarely allowed to surface. I realized, a moment too late, what I had touched.
"No," she said.
The word came out quiet, but absolute.
She took a step closer.
"We will reach it," she said, as if convincing herself as much as me.
Her gaze didn't waver.
"For sure."
"How?" I asked, panic slipping into my voice. "That place is outside Lebuis Country. We have less than an hour to reach it. That's impossible."
Erza didn't answer immediately.
She simply stepped in front of me and tilted her face toward the sun.
"Just watch," she said calmly, as if she were about to prove something trivial. "Watch how I protect our blessing."
She stretched her back.
At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.
Something moved beneath her skin—like a living shadow crawling under flesh. Then, with a sharp, tearing sound, two enormous wings burst forth from her back.
White as freshly fallen snow.
Thin like paper, yet impossibly strong.
Magical dust spilled from them like drifting stardust—rainbow-colored particles shimmering in the air, wrapping her wings in light and making them look nothing short of majestic.
My mouth fell open.
"So… cool," I muttered.
Beside me, Elena gasped, eyes sparkling.
"Mama… your wings are beautiful!"
Erza straightened proudly, clearly enjoying the praise. For a brief moment, she looked less like a Dragon Queen and more like a mother basking in her child's admiration.
"Now," she said, folding her wings slightly, "let's go. We don't have time to waste."
"Allen" Erza command
Allen immediately knelt, understanding without a single word. Dark energy rippled as he rose, unfurling his own wings—black, demonic, and pulsing with a dangerous aura.
Then Grandpa stepped forward.
He spread his wings as well—bat-like in shape, but pure white in color, aged yet dignified, as if they carried centuries of experience.
Elena, not wanting to be left out, stretched her back too.
She made strange noises while flapping awkwardly, wobbling on her feet as she tried her best.
"Mmm—ngh—hup!"
I stared at the scene.
Only then did it hit me.
All this time… I had been surrounded by monsters.
No—by beings so powerful that calling them monsters felt insulting.
And somehow, I hadn't even realized it.
Grandpa bent down and lifted Elena into his arms. She let out a small gasp of surprise, then giggled when his wings unfolded behind him with a soft whoomph.
Cold wind brushed my face as he stepped forward—and then the ground simply… fell away.
With a single, powerful flap, Grandpa rose into the sky.
"Elena, hold tight," he said gently.
"I'm flying! Papa, I'm flying!" Elena laughed, her voice echoing through the air as they climbed higher. Her laughter sounded free—lighter than the clouds they were already passing through.
A moment later, Allen picked up the luggage. He didn't say a word. His black, demonic wings spread wide, pulsing with a faint, ominous aura before he launched himself upward. The air trembled as he followed after them, as if gravity itself hesitated to stop him.
Then… Erza stepped forward.
She paused for a moment, letting the sunlight fall across her back. Slowly, almost deliberately, her wings unfolded—white as snow, thin like delicate sheets of glass. Magical dust drifted from them, shimmering in soft rainbow hues.
For a second, the world felt unreal.
Erza lifted into the sky with effortless grace, as if flying was simply another way of walking for her. She followed Elena and Grandpa, her gaze never wavering, calm and confident.
I stood there, frozen.
My daughter sat proudly atop Grandpa's head, laughing as the wind played with her hair.
My wife flew behind her, radiant and untouchable.
And our servant followed them through the sky, casually carrying our luggage like this was an everyday chore.
The scene was so beautiful that I forgot to breathe.
So this is my family, I thought.
Monsters, dragons, demons… and somehow, me.
I kept watching them rise higher and higher—until a sudden, horrifying realization crashed into my mind.
"…Wait."
I blinked.
"…Wait, wait, wait."
They were already far above me.
My chest tightened.
"Erza?" I called out carefully, hoping—foolishly—that she'd hear me.
No response.
Panic crept in.
"Hey! Erza!" I shouted, waving my arms like a man drowning on land. "How am I supposed to get there?!"
Still nothing.
They kept flying.
My heart sank.
"Don't forget me!" I yelled desperately.
Then, with every ounce of strength left in my lungs, I screamed—
"ERZAAAAAA!!"
(Narrator POV)
Atlantis Kingdom — Location: Prince's Chamber
The Atlantis Prince had locked himself inside his chamber.
Moonlight slipped through the tall crystal windows, painting the room in pale silver. Yuri sat alone near the balcony, his gaze fixed on the distant stars, unblinking. The same way she used to look at the sky whenever confusion weighed on her heart.
Yesterday's words refused to leave his mind.
Pino's voice echoed endlessly—
"My mother was raped by a human."
The rumor had spread like poison through the Atlantis Kingdom—spoken openly, carelessly, under the Queen's very shadow.
Yuri's fingers tightened against the stone railing.
Without his mother, respect meant nothing.
Even with overwhelming power flowing through his veins, fear no longer followed his name. They whispered instead. They calculated. They would gladly use him—or kill him—because the Queen was gone.
Power without protection was nothing.
Outside the Prince's chamber stood two figures.
The first was Den—a man of rare blood. Half demon, half dragon. A mixed existence born from two apex races. His presence alone bent the air, heavy and oppressive. He was the most powerful caretaker in Atlantis, appointed personally by the Queen herself.
Beside him stood Dina, silent and tense.
She had reported everything.
Every word Pino had spoken.
Every insult.
Every moment that shattered the Prince's peace.
Den crossed his arms slowly.
"Did the Prince kill the goblin?" he asked.
Dina shook her head.
"No. Vaelor executed him the moment he disrespected the Queen."
Den let out a low breath and tilted his head.
"So that's it," he said calmly. "His Highness is furious because he couldn't kill Pino himself."
Dina hesitated before answering.
"Yes. He was enraged… but when Pino died so suddenly, it was as if something inside the Prince collapsed. Since then, he's been lost. Completely."
Den remained silent for a moment.
Then—
He laughed.
It was not loud.
Not wild.
It was slow. Sharp. Evil.
Dina frowned instantly.
"Don't laugh like that," she snapped. "It disgusts me."
Den glanced at her, amused.
"I know exactly how to cheer up our Highness."
Dina's eyes narrowed.
"…Really? How?"
Den's smile widened.
"Just watch," he said softly. "I'll make the Prince smile again."
He stepped forward and knocked on the heavy chamber door.
Once.
Twice.
"My Prince," Den called, his voice smooth and respectful.
"It's me—Den."
The moonlight trembled.
And inside the chamber, Yuri slowly turned his head.
"Come in."
Yuri's voice was calm, almost indifferent, yet it carried an authority that allowed no delay.
The door opened immediately.
Den stepped inside.
He was dressed in a formal suit of black trimmed with deep crimson, the colors favored by Atlantis' inner court. A pair of thin glasses rested on his face, hiding neither fear nor loyalty—only discipline earned through years of survival.
He walked forward, stopped at a respectful distance, and bowed.
"My Prince," Den said carefully. "I found myself relieved upon hearing of your arrival."
Yuri did not answer.
He stood near the tall window, his back turned, gazing at the frozen horizon beyond the palace walls. The storm outside moved endlessly, as if the world itself refused to rest. His reflection in the glass looked distant—detached.
Minutes passed.
Den remained frozen in place.
Finally, Yuri spoke.
"Den."
The single word made Den's spine stiffen.
"Yes, my Highness," he replied at once.
Yuri turned slowly. His eyes were sharp, unnervingly calm, as if he had already reached a conclusion and was merely testing the world around him.
"Tell me something," Yuri said. "Do you truly believe my mother would allow a human to have his way with her?"
The question landed like a blade pressed against Den's throat.
For a moment, he forgot how to breathe.
This was not curiosity.
This was a test.
The rumors had existed for years—whispered behind sealed doors and spoken only in shadows. Most believed the twins, Yuri and Elena, were born through divine will. A miracle. Children shaped by fate itself, no different from the ancient bloodlines of Seraphina's descendants.
But a minority believed something else.
Something unforgivable.
They claimed the Dragon Queen had been violated by a human, and that the twins were born of that sin.
Den swallowed.
The theory was absurd.
Atlantis stood in the southern region of Nova, buried beneath endless glaciers and storms that tore the sky apart. No human could survive that journey. Even if one did, breaching the defenses of Atlantis—reaching the Queen's chamber—was beyond impossible.
And Erza…
She was not a queen who yielded.
She was not a dragon who submitted.
She was power itself.
She would never allow her blood to be mixed, especially knowing how merciless the world could be to those born between races.
And yet—
Den's thoughts hesitated.
When the palace maids had spoken in secret…
When officials had quietly investigated…
They found something they could not erase.
A human scent.
Faint, but unmistakable.
That single truth shattered certainty on both sides.
If Den denied the rumor, he risked insulting Yuri's doubt.
If he confirmed it, he would be accusing the Queen herself.
Either answer could cost him his life.
If I answer wrongly, Den thought, the Prince will kill me.
And if I refuse to answer…
He raised his head slightly, forcing his expression to remain calm while his mind searched desperately for a path that did not end in death.
But none revealed itself.
How do I satisfy him… without sealing my fate?
The silence in the room stretched, heavy and suffocating.
Yuri waited.
---
To be continued