Becoming the Demon Lord: Taming the Demon Queen Begins

A powerful surge of sword energy tore through the air, slicing past the edge of the Bridge of Souls and plunging into the River of Oblivion.

The seemingly endless River of Oblivion was split open, leaving a massive rift that stretched far into the distance.

Waves scattered to either side, gradually rising into towering swells.

The river, which had flowed for who knows how long, was now severed down the middle.

The sheer destructive force of that sword strike was terrifying.

The seven strings of the zither had snapped completely, swallowed by the sword energy. Supreme Emperor Verena watched as her soul began to fade away.

But as the blood-red hue in her eyes disappeared, the hatred in her gaze softened, becoming calm.

Looking at Timothy and Sylvia, who were playing the zither and piccolo together, a faint smile appeared on her lips.

A fragment of her soul's consciousness transmitted memories to Supreme Emperor Verena, reminding her of what had happened in the Sepulcher of the Sacred.

She knew, without a doubt, that she had been utterly defeated.

At this moment, the music from the zither and piccolo didn't seem to be meant to obliterate her completely.

Instead, it felt like a farewell gift from the two of them.

If it weren't for this beautiful music, she might have remained lost in a chaotic, violent rage until her soul was completely destroyed, unable to regain her clarity.

But it was these two melodies that had brought her back to her senses.

As her soul gradually dissolved into specks of light, the blood-red in Supreme Emperor Verena's eyes cleared.

Looking at Timothy and Sylvia's figures, a satisfied smile tugged at her lips.

Because she could see it clearly—whether they were fighting side by side or playing music together, the bond between them was pure and sincere, always connecting them in a subtle way.

She had once experienced that feeling too, but it had slipped away so quickly, so fleeting that even recalling it now felt difficult.

Supreme Emperor Verena vaguely remembered the day she died for love. Even though no one in the world could understand her choice, she had willingly, even joyfully, embraced death.

After her soul drifted to the Netherworld, she had no regrets. She only learned that her lover had already entered the cycle of reincarnation ahead of her.

Upon hearing that news, Supreme Emperor Verena had been deeply saddened, lamenting that she had been just a step too late.

But soon after, she found peace with it.

To wait for her lover, she even chose to take the place of the Keeper of the Soulbridge, the one who handed out the Draught of Forgetting to the souls crossing the Bridge of Souls to the afterlife.

Supreme Emperor Verena firmly believed that if she stayed there long enough, one day, she would see him again.

However, reality wasn't as kind as she had hoped.

She stood guard, watching countless souls pass into the afterlife.

But ten years passed. A hundred years. A thousand years. And still, she hadn't seen the one she was waiting for.

Perhaps he had already reincarnated in another world's Netherworld. Perhaps he had become a powerful Holy Emperor with a lifespan of ten thousand years. Maybe… he even had a family by now.

But no matter what, Supreme Emperor Verena knew she would never see him again.

During those long millennia of waiting, her mindset began to change.

She was no longer as calm as she once had been. Doubts crept in—would she ever really see him again?

She grew anxious, even irritable.

Despite her Supreme Emperor strength, her emotions didn't cause her to lose control completely.

Until that day…

On the River of Oblivion, Supreme Emperor Verena picked up a crimson blood pearl.

To her shock, she realized it contained something ancient and feared by countless practitioners—the Dragon Blood Formation.

This ancient formation, created from the blood of true dragons and countless sinister rituals, was undoubtedly an evil thing.

At first, she only intended to seal the Dragon Blood Formation away forever, so it would never see the light of day again.

But just before sealing it, she felt the immense power of reversal within the formation.

And she realized that if she used this strange formation, she might just find a way…

At first, Supreme Emperor Verena had no real intention of carrying out such a ridiculous plan, but she kept the blood pearl containing the Dragon Blood Formation with her.

Over time, as it seeped into her day and night, its influence and corruption slowly eroded her soul, subtly warping her mind. She became increasingly violent and bloodthirsty.

Eventually, her desires spread uncontrollably.

Her consciousness was completely overtaken, and she began to pursue that absurd idea without regard for the consequences—slaughtering countless beings and throwing the balance between the two realms into chaos.

If it hadn't been for the harmonious music drifting through the air, she might never have woken up.

Looking out over the River of Oblivion, Supreme Emperor Verena let out a bitter smile, her gaze filled with a sense of weariness.

Her wish would likely never come true. But at least, in her final moments, she had the chance to glimpse what she had longed for most.

"Babe, I gotta say, your piccolo playing has really improved," Timothy teased as the song came to an end, glancing over at Sylvia.

"Hmph, of course! I've been practicing a lot, you know!

Wait!"

Sylvia, who had just been smiling proudly, suddenly froze. Her face flushed bright red as she pointed a trembling finger at Timothy. "I-I mean playing this piccolo, not the other one! Don't get any weird ideas!"

"Huh?"

Timothy blinked, clearly confused, before it finally dawned on him. "Wait, no way… babe, do you know the other meaning of playing the piccolo?"

"I know—no, I don't know!

Aaaah! It's not my fault! You kept saying those two words over and over, and I got curious, so I went to the library to look it up.

And then I found out it has another meaning. And it's… it's that kind of embarrassing meaning!

Ugh, I can't believe you've been tricking me this whole time!"

As Sylvia recalled all the things she had said in the past, completely unaware of the double meaning, she felt a wave of shame and frustration wash over her.

What kind of ridiculous things had she been saying before?!

"You tricked me! That's so unfair!"

Overcome with embarrassment and anger, Sylvia started chasing after Timothy, now too flustered to even look directly at the piccolo in her hand.

"Babe, have mercy! We're still on the Bridge of Souls! Can't we wait until we're back in the palace before you start hitting me?"

"No way!"
Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire

Though Timothy tried to talk his way out of it, Sylvia, her face flushed with embarrassment, had already raised her piccolo and was charging after him.

The way she was coming at him, it looked like she was about to give him a serious "domestic beating."

Laughter, shouts, and Timothy's pitiful pleas echoed along the Bridge of Souls.

Watching the two of them, Supreme Emperor Verena's lips finally curled into a contented smile.

As her body slowly faded away, she whispered her final words: "Thank you."