Stella

A small girl was walking right in front of me.

She looked exactly like Stella, but as a child.

“Stella…?”

When I spoke, the girl turned around. Her innocent features definitely carried the shadow of the Stella I knew.

“Has she… turned into a child?”

The small Stella approached me.

“Hey, Stella—”

Ignoring my call, she walked straight toward me. And then—

“Eh…!?”

She passed right through my body. It was as if she had no physical substance. Was this small Stella some kind of phantom image?

…Mother.

She whispered. Simultaneously, something flowed into my chest.

Loneliness.

A sense of isolation.

Anxiety.

And—love for her mother.

“Is Stella’s heart… flowing into me?”

I was bewildered. Was this because we were inside a world of dreams?

“Stella… my beloved daughter…”

A beautiful, refined woman embraced the small Stella. This time, an intense joy surged through my chest. This, too, must be Stella’s emotion. Neither of them paid me any mind. No, perhaps they couldn’t see me at all. Disregarding my confusion, the two of them continued to speak.

The scene before me shifted, changing from inside the castle to a well-kept courtyard. There, too, the small Stella and her mother were talking and laughing.

“Is this perhaps… a memory of her childhood?”

—And then, I witnessed it. Stella’s past.

Stella di Arselvain was born as the eldest daughter of the Arselvain Ducal House, one of the Five Great Noble Families of the Demon Realm. The Arselvains were a kin known as “Eyes of Chaos” (Ganma). Demons possessing “Eyes” that see through all things—hence, Eyes of Chaos.

“You live to serve the Demon Lord, Stella.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Her beautiful and dignified mother—Marcella di Arselvain—was Stella’s idol. Stella honed her own strength, wanting to be just like her mother, who held the title of “Vision Eyes” and worked as a Demon Commander.

She honed her power as an Eye of Chaos.

Marcella spent her days busy as an aide to the Demon Lord. The days she spent at home in the castle could be counted on one hand throughout the year. Stella had almost no memory of being embraced by her mother.

Yet, even that mother showed interest in Stella’s hidden “power.”

“If I polish my strength, Mother will be happy.”

Clairvoyance and remote viewing.

Paralysis eyes and poison eyes.

Cursed grudge eyes and heavenly slaughter eyes.

Stella trained in every ocular art, mastering them with terrifying speed.

“Look, Mother. I’ve become stronger again.”

Every time she learned a new technique, Stella would joyfully report it to her mother.

“Praise me, Mother.”

Stella was hailed as a genius, the likes of which the clan had never seen.

“Mother, my ocular powers have grown stronger again.”

She was proud of it. She wanted her mother to see her that way.

“Please, look at me. Praise me. Love me. Mother—”

Stella’s ocular arts grew more advanced by the day. However, her mother, who had been praising her up to a certain point, gradually began to change her attitude.

“Stella, it’s time you ended your training.”

“Eh? Why…?”

“Excessive power calls for calamity. I didn’t realize your talent reached this far… I failed by leaving you to your own devices.”

“I… I don’t understand.”

“You have already gained sufficient power. You have already surpassed me. Eventually, you will inherit the seat of Demon Commander.”

Her mother’s smile felt strangely cold in that moment.

“Me… like you, Mother?”

“Yes. Therefore, there is no longer any need to polish your strength.”

“But I want to get stronger and stronger. I want you to praise me more, Mother.”

“At this rate, you will reach that power. If that happens, I—”

Her mother’s words were difficult, and for the young Stella, they were hard to understand.

“Amazing, Lady Stella is a genius.”

“No one in history has been able to master the ‘Eyes’ to this extent.”

“Marcella-sama must be so proud.”

The surrounding demons continued to praise her. Yes, surely her mother would praise her too. Stella continued to train in secret from her mother. Her power increased further, and she acquired new ocular arts one after another, and then—

The day of parting arrived suddenly.

“You have acquired a power that must never be awakened.”

A voice of rage echoed.

“But… I just wanted you to praise me.”

“When did I ever say such a thing? I ordered you to stop polishing your strength.”

Her mother’s face twisted into the expression of an ogre.

“But… but…”

Stella was bewildered. She knew no other way to get her mother to look at her. The ocular arts were the only thing that made her busy mother pay her any attention. If she stopped her training, her mother would never look at her again—.

Driven by that anxiety, Stella had been unable to stop.

“You should have just done as I ordered. You’ve done something unnecessary.”

Her mother’s eyes emitted an eerie glow. That light turned into lightning, striking Stella’s entire body.

“Kyaaaaaaaaa!”

Exhruciating pain ran through her body. Her consciousness was stirred, faded, and became clouded. A sense of terror and despair took hold, as if she were ceasing to be herself.

“This ‘curse’ is your punishment,” her mother stated coldly. “From now on, your mana recovery will be slower than that of an average demon. Your ocular powers will also drop significantly. That power which is awakening—the ‘Eyes of the Apocalypse’—can never be used again.”

“Ah… aaaaaaah…!”

“To have produced an ‘abomination’ in my generation. I must face judgment. Farewell.”

Her mother turned her back. The clack, clack of her footsteps grew distant.

“Eh? Where are you going, Mother…?”

“I must face judgment. I shall never see you again.”

“Wait, don’t go! Don’t leave me alone, Mother…!”

Shedding tears of blood from her third eye, Stella screamed—.

“Ah… aaaaaaah…!”

In front of me, the small Stella was suffering. Her form gradually grew larger, eventually returning to her usual appearance.

“Aaaaaah…!”

The pained cries continued. Was this the curse I had just seen in the vision?

“Stella!”

I rushed to her side. I reached out gently. Apparently, this wasn’t a phantom like before, but her real self.

“Pant, pant, pant…”

“No… no… don’t disappear, Mother…”

“Stella, pull yourself together.”

“I’ll listen to everything you say… I’ll obey your orders… just stay by my side… Mother…”

There wasn’t a shred of her usual coolness left. Stella was terrified and sobbing like a little girl.

“I’m by your side. It’s okay.”

I removed my mask and spoke to her.

“Fried…-sama? I—”

Stella looked up at me with a stunned expression. Her eyes, wet with tears, stared at me.

“Stella.”

“I… I…”

Stella clung to me, weeping.

“Fried-sama…”

“It’s okay. I’m with you.”

I gently embraced her as she trembled in my arms. Her body was soft and felt smaller than I imagined. She felt so slender that it seemed she might break if I applied too much strength.

I held Stella as if she were something fragile—.