Chapter 1052: BEARER OF THE BAD NEWS

THE BLACK OCEAN.

It was the damned place where Nero’s mother, the Mona Roseheart, was stuck for many years.

But it wasn’t only that.

The Black Ocean was also an ’ocean’ made of Impure Mana and Darkness.

Is it really something that you can really ’dry up?’

WOOSH.

Tsk.

A sudden gush of water flooded the entire room when Aruna and Arche de Moonasterio’s physical bodies had melted and turned into water.

Yes, the ancient twins’ bodies were made of ice that Nero made himself.

But I can’t keep it forever, so it melted.

No wonder the ancient twins had returned to the palace.

But...

"Where’s the older Nero?"

"He insisted on staying on the island to investigate how the Black Ocean had dried up," Arche de Moonasterio explained. "We also found a small island with a house that seemed to belong to a Black Witch."

Ah.

The Black Ocean.

A small island.

Belongings of Black Witches.

Nero massaged his temples when he remembered something.

I think Neoma once mentioned that she visited Dahlia’s old home with our mother before.

"Ah, she’s waking up," Aruna de Moonasterio said excitedly while the small unicorn was opening its eyes. "Look, Nero. A living, breathing unicorn is right in front of you!"

So what?

Nero turned to the door where he knew Melvin Luchessi, and his other knights were awaiting his orders. "Summon Dahlia and my mother."

***

WHEN Dahlia arrived in the room where she was summoned, she immediately realized why Emperor Nero suddenly called for him.

First of all, the matter was obviously confidential since even the emperor’s knights were standing outside. Yes, including Melvin Luchessi, who barely left His Imperial Majesty’s side (but, unbeknownst to her, Melvin Luchessi simply didn’t enter the room because the Imperial Chamberlain was afraid of the ghosts that were Aruna and Arche de Moonasterio).

"Miss Charlotte..."

"So, you recognized the unicorn?" Nero asked Dahlia. "Apparently, Aruna and Arche de Moonasterio found the unicorn in the dried-up Black Ocean."

Dahlia’s eyes widened in shock. "The Black Ocean has dried up?!"

Impossible!

The Black Ocean wasn’t made of water— it was made of Impure Mana and Darkness!

"Little Black Witch, I understand that you are shocked by the unfortunate news, but can you check on the poor unicorn first?" Aruna de Moonasterio asked. "Since we’re practically a ghost now, our divine power doesn’t work on that child. She woke up for a moment earlier, but she fell unconscious again."

Dahlia nodded politely, bowed to Nero while excusing herself, and then she immediately knelt down next to the bed. "Miss Charlotte, please forgive my impertinence, but I need to touch you in order to heal your wounds."

The small unicorn couldn’t give consent because she was unconscious.

And, so, Dahlia apologized in advance before placing her hands on Charlotte’s wounded body.

Poor Miss Charlotte...

Thankfully, Dahlia’s healing power worked best on mythical creatures like the Elemental Guardians and the unicorns.

The problem was Charlotte’s injuries didn’t end with just physical wounds.

Something was blocking Miss Charlotte’s lungs, making it hard for her to breathe.

Dahlia’s eyes glowed as she looked straight into the insides of the unicorn’s body.

To be precise, she checked what was blocking Charlotte’s lungs.

As expected, it was a blob of Darkness mixed with Impure Mana and something else.

The blob of Darkness wasn’t only blocking Charlotte’s lungs, but it seemed to be melting the poor unicorn’s internal organs, too.

Oh, no.

Dahlia tried to use her ability to purify Impure Mana, however...

Argh!

She felt like she was electrocuted when the Mana that she sent to purify the Impure Mana inside Charlotte ricocheted and flowed back to her body— shocking her quite literally.

It stung a bit, forcing her to remove her hands from the unicorn’s body.

Dahlia tried to touch Charlotte’s body again, but...

"Stop," Emperor Nero said sternly. "You were hurt just now, weren’t you?"

"I-It didn’t hurt that much, sire. I can still try again—"

"Don’t be stupid. Why would you sacrifice yourself for a mere unicorn?"

Dahlia could only bite her lower lip, too afraid to talk back to the emperor.

"Unicorns are the greatest beings in the world," Arche de Moonasterio "whispered" to his twin sister. "Is Nero really a de Moonasterio? Why isn’t he fascinated with unicorns, then?"

"Well, Nero’s heart belongs to Neoma," Aruna de Moonasterio "whispered" back. "Forbidden love affairs are like bad habits that are hard to break—"

Emperor Nero glared at the twin ghosts, effectively shutting them up.

Dahlia was starting to feel scared because of the tension when, finally, they heard a knock on the door, followed by Melvin Luchessi’s polite voice.

"Her Majesty, the Imperial Mother, is here, sire."

Thank goodness!

***

MONA had just sent off Nikolai, who left the Imperial Palace to visit the Quinzel Mansion, when she was summoned by her beloved son.

When he arrived at the room where Nero’s personal knights had brought her too...

"Charlotte?" Mona asked, surprised, when she saw the white unicorn lying down on the bed. "Is that you?"

She couldn’t greet her son because she was shocked by the unexpected guest.

Seeing the small unicorn was more urgent than seeing the ghosts of Aruna and Arche de Moonasterio there.

And she wasn’t the only one whom Nero summoned for that matter.

"I’ve confirmed that it is, indeed, Miss Charlotte, Your Majesty," Dahlia, who was standing beside the bed, said worriedly. "I’ve already healed her physical wounds, but she’s rejecting my healing Mana. There’s a blob of Impure Mana mixed with Darkness blocking her airway. But there’s something sinister mixed in it. And that thing is melting Miss Charlotte’s organs."

"Oh, dear," Mona immediately headed towards the bed, but Nero blocked her way. "Son?"

"Dahlia got hurt while trying to heal that thing, Mother," Nero said, frowning. "What if you get hurt, too?"

Oh, dear.

Mona smiled and gently pinched her son’s cheek.

Even though she was the emperor’s mother, touching the emperor’s body was still frowned upon.

However, their family didn’t care about that.

We’re close, after all.

"Thank you for worrying about me, my Baby Pumpkin."

Nero’s face turned red. "Mother, please don’t call me that."

She just laughed softly before letting go of her son’s cheek. "It’s fine, Nero. I won’t get hurt."

"Mother..."

Mona just smiled and patted Nero’s shoulder before walking past her son.

She headed straight to the small unicorn and sat on the edge of the bed while observing it— her pale blue eyes glowing.

Dahlia did a good job healing Charlotte’s external wounds.

But, just like what the Black Witch said...

The problem lies within.

Mona carefully injected her Mana inside Charlotte’s body, but as soon as she did...

COUGH.

Charlotte coughed up what seemed like a blob of Darkness— and it flew straight at Mona.

Before Mona could move to defend herself, her son moved faster.

Nero grabbed the blob of Darkness with his hand covered in Mana and divine power, and then crushed it effortlessly.

Not even a trace of Darkness was left— it simply vanished into thin air.

What the young emperor did was far from purifying, but his divine power was so strong and pure that it had the same effect.

My son is really amazing.

"Disgusting," Nero said, frowning, while looking down at his hand. There was no traces of the blob of Darkness left in the young emperor’s skin, but he was probably talking about the lingering feeling left after touching something evil. "And Neoma eats those things?"

Right?

"W-Would you like me to help you clean your hand, sire?" Dahlia asked awkwardly. "I can help you get rid of the disgusting feeling after touching Darkness mixed with something sinister."

"Alright," Nero said, extending his hand to Dahlia. "Do it."

Mona was about to scold Nero and tell her son to be more polite, but she got distracted when Charlotte’s body suddenly exuded blinding lights.

And after that...

Oh, she transformed into her human form.

Charlotte, in her human form, was a young woman with platinum blonde hair, blue eyes, and a pink glass horn on her forehead.

Mona closely observed the unicorn once again with her glowing eyes.

The blob of evil Darkness was already gone, but the poor child’s organs hadn’t recovered yet.

But now we can properly heal her internal wounds.

Mona lifted her head and turned to Dahlia, who had just finished washing Nero’s hand with her unique water element. "Dahlia, dear, can you help me heal Charlotte’s internal wounds? I can’t do it alone since Charlotte is a unicorn, and you know more about unicorns than I do."

Dahlia immediately turned to Mona, her face beaming. "I-It will be an honor to assist you, Your Majesty."

***

HUH?

Something pleasant is here.

As soon as Neoma landed on the Imperial Palace— after Veton dropped her off— she immediately felt a welcome presence.

But before she could figure it out...

"You’re back?"

It was Nero.

Of course, her twin brother would greet her first.

"Yeah, I’m back. But I’ll leave again soon," Neoma said. She needed to go to hell (literally) and wake the sleeping Sorcerer, after all. But, before that... "I feel a pleasant presence here. Do we have a guest whom I’ll be happy to meet?"

"Well, you’re obsessed with unicorns, so maybe you’ll be delighted to see it."

"A unicorn?!"

"Yes, a unicorn. Aruna and Arche de Moonasterio rescued it from the dried-up Black Ocean."

Okay, Neoma suddenly felt a splitting headache incoming. "There’s a lot to unpack there, Nero."

A rescued unicorn from the Black Ocean?

She immediately remembered the unicorn that she met there before.

So, the guest is Charlotte.

She was happy to see Charlotte again, but the most pressing matter at the moment was...

"The Black Ocean, made with Darkness and Impure Mana, had dried up?" Neoma asked, already feeling tired. "How the fuck do you dry up an ocean that big?"

To be fair, it wasn’t really an ’ocean’ per se.

But it’s still a huge body of ’water!’

And, if the ’ocean’ had dried up...

"It might ’rain’ heavily soon," Neoma said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I can already see the world ending."

***

NEOMA immediately visited Charlotte after they heard that her mother, assisted by Dahlia, was done treating the unicorn’s injuries.

Ah, she’s in her human form.

Tsk.

It broke her heart to see the ’child’ in such a bad state.

"Miss Charlotte had a lot of external wounds before I healed her, Your Imperial Highness," Dahlia reported after bowing to Neoma. "Miss Charlotte’s body was full of cuts. But it seems like the cuts were self-inflicted."

Neoma wasn’t surprised to hear that.

After all...

"Unicorns use their blood to purify the evil type of Impure Mana, so that was probably why Charlotte cut herself," Neoma said, sighing. "The question is what kind of opponent she faced while trying to protect the Black Ocean."

The Black Ocean was made of Novak’s blood— the blood of an ancient unicorn— and Novak was Charlotte’s master.

That was probably why the unicorn put her life at risk to protect it.

And that posed a bigger question in Neoma’s mind.

All the evil beings in the world had left the Black Ocean alone all this time. Even in the previous timeline, no one dared to touch it.

Not even Neoma— even when she died while drowning in the depths of the Black Ocean.

So, why touch the Black Ocean now?

What changed?

No— what did I change?

"Argh..."

Everyone in the room— Neoma, Dahlia, and Mama Boss— immediately turned to Charlotte, still in her human form, who was stirring back to life.

And, moments later, the unicorn finally opened her eyes.

"Charlotte, do you recognize me?" Neoma asked when her eyes met Charlotte’s. "There’s no way you can forget a face as pretty as mine, right?"

Charlotte blinked slowly, and then she suddenly burst into tears. "The Absolute Darkness has come, Princess Neoma..."

Ah, that confirmed it.

The world is really ending, huh?

***

Please ADD my story to your LIBRARY to be notified when an update is posted. Thank you! :>