11 Chapter 11 - Alexia Midgar

As they made their way through the dark corridors, Millia gazed at her savior's back in admiration. She then shifted her attention to her new outfit, which fit her perfectly - a white dress with a slightly frilly top, a black skirt with puffed sleeves, and a frilled white headband above her long white hair that reached her waist.

Once again, Millia was amazed by her savior's powers as he just uttered the word 'Iris' under his breath, and the next moment she found herself fully clothed. The only sound echoing through the halls was the clack and click of her long black and white shoes on the hard floor as she matched the Demon King of Tyranny's confident stride at the front.

"Millia," suddenly called the Demon King of Tyranny, startling her.

"E-Eh?!" Millia's heart raced as she looked around in confusion before quickly lowering her head and responding, "Y-Yes, Anos-sama."

The Demon King of Tyranny turned his head slightly to look at Millia. "Do not be afraid," he said in a calm voice. "I just wanted to make sure you were keeping up."

Millia nodded, feeling relieved that she had not done anything wrong. Her years of enduring torture in this accursed place had left her with a perpetually composed disposition, but being in the presence of the Demon King of Tyranny made her nervous. She knew that he was an extremely powerful individual. A figure of immense power who could erase her with a mere wave of his hand.

As they continued their short journey through the dark corridors, Millia could not help but wonder why the Demon King of Tyranny had saved her. She was just a lowly experiment, after all. But she dared not ask him. Instead, she kept her gaze fixed on his back, following him wherever he went.

After what felt like a few minutes, they finally arrived at their destination - a small room hall that was lit by flickering torches. Looking at the place that served as her prison for the past few years, Millia's expression hardened.

The Demon King of Tyranny noticed the change in her expression and spoke again. "Do not worry, Millia. You are safe now. I have brought you here for a reason."

Millia looked up at him in surprise. "For a reason, Anos-sama?"

"Yes," he replied, his eyes scanning the room. "I need your help with something." He said as he looked at the sleeping white-haired girl strapped to the operating table. It seems that she has fallen asleep in the short time that they were away.

Millia's heart skipped a beat in both fear and anticipation at the thought of being of use to the Demon King of Tyranny. "W-What can I do, Anos-sama?"

As the Demon King of Tyranny approached the operating table, he scrutinized the young girl's body closely. "This one is the Second Princess of this human kingdom. She was abducted recently, and her father is currently attempting to locate and retrieve her," he stated, his voice laced with a chilly detachment. "However, they had the audacity to harm and interrogate a member of my family in the process."

"…but why would they do that?" Millia asked, her curiosity now piqued. What could be the reason that someone would attempt to harm the family of someone as powerful as the Demon King of Tyranny?

"Because they believe my family is responsible for the kidnapping," replied the Demon King of Tyranny, his expression darkening. "But that is beside the point. What I require of you, Millia, is to use your new abilities to heal this human girl."

Millia's eyes widened in surprise. She had never been given any kind of healing powers before, and she didn't even know where to start. But she trusted the Demon King of Tyranny and knew that he wouldn't have asked for her help if he didn't believe in her abilities.

"I will try my best, Anos-sama," Millia said, taking a step forward towards the operating table.

"Good," the Demon King of Tyranny said, stepping back to give her space. "Take your time and focus your energy on her wounds. Let your magic flow freely and… let it do the work for you."

Millia closed her eyes, encouraged by his words, and took a deep breath. Her focus was on the sleeping girl's body, visualizing the wounds and injuries she had suffered during her captivity. When Millia opened her eyes, a faint white light radiated from her body and surrounded the girl on the operating table.

Unaware at the time, Millia's eyes glowed, and a strange symbol formed around her pupils.

Millia concentrated all of her energy on the light, directing it towards the girl's wounds. As she did so, she could feel the demonic energy coursing through her body, responding to her every thought and command. Automatically converting itself into white light, and then flowing into the girl's body. The wounds on the girl's body slowly began to close, and her breathing became steadier and more regular.

Minutes passed as Millia worked on the girl, and eventually, she opened her eyes to find that the girl was completely healed. The Demon King of Tyranny looked at her with an unreadable expression on his face, nodding in approval.

"Excellent work, Millia," he said. "You have a gift for magic that is rare and precious. You will be a great asset to me in the future."

Millia felt a warm feeling in her chest at the Demon King of Tyranny's praise. She had never felt so useful before, and it was all thanks to him. She knew that she owed him a debt of gratitude that she could never repay, but she also knew that she would do everything in her power to serve him faithfully.

"Thank you, Anos-sama," Millia said, bowing deeply. "I will do my best to serve you."

The Demon King of Tyranny smiled at her, his eyes gleaming with a fierce intensity. "I have no doubt that you will, Millia," he said. "You have a bright future ahead of you."

As Millia stepped back from the operating table, the white-haired girl on it suddenly woke up with a start. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked around the unfamiliar room before finally settling on Millia and Anos.

"Wh-Who are you?" she asked, her voice shaky and hesitant. Especially when her limbs are chained with Magic-sealing chains.

"I am Anos Voldigoad, and this is Millia, one of my subjects," he replied, his voice calm and collected. "You have been abducted and were being held captive in this place."

The white-haired girl looked at him in confusion before realization dawned on her face. "Ah, yes… I remember now," she said, sitting up cautiously on the operating table. "Thank you for saving me… I guess?"

Anos nodded. "You are welcome. However, I must warn you that the ones responsible for your kidnapping will likely come after you again. You should stay with us for the time being until we can ensure your safety."

After a moment of hesitation, the girl slowly nodded in agreement. However, her trembling eyes betrayed her suspicion towards them.

Anos noticed her suspicion and spoke reassuringly, "You don't have to be afraid. We will protect you and ensure that you're safe. What's your name?"

The girl blinked for a moment before answering, "...my name is Alexia." She looked down at her chained limbs and added, "Can you please remove these chains? I promise I won't try to escape."

"Millia."

As Anos gave a nod towards Millia, the short and beautiful girl standing beside him cautiously advanced towards Alexia and closed her eyes. She focused her energy and concentrated on breaking the chains, envisioning them shattering in her mind. Suddenly, a brilliant glow emanated from her eyes, startling Alexia, who observed in silence.

However, this time was different. Instead of a beam of light, a blade of wind materialized from Millia's palms and struck the chains with force. But to her surprise, the moment the blade touched the chains, it dissipated into the air, leaving the chains unscathed.

Millia frowned in frustration, wondering what went wrong. She tried once more, this time with more concentration and focus. She closed her eyes again and envisioned the chains breaking apart. As she opened her eyes, the blade of wind materialized again, striking the chains with even more force than before.

But once again, the blade of wind dissipated into thin air, leaving the chains untouched. Alexia watched blankly, her eyes looking questioningly at the white-haired girl in front of her.

"Umm. Millia-san… was it?"

Alexia's mouth opened slowly, catching Millia's attention. With a cute tilt of her head, Millia looked up at Alexia. However, Alexia couldn't help but feel scared by the strange glowing symbols in the girl's eyes. Despite her fear, she gathered the courage to speak.

"Right… in case you didn't know already. Those are Magic-sealing chains. So obviously, Magic will not work on it…"

As if she finally realized something important, Millia's expression brightened and then she promptly closed her eyes again. This time she envisioned Magic-sealing chains instead of normal chains in her mind.

Anos watched knowingly as he noticed the black aura that spread out slowly from Millia's hands and started to surround the chains. Then to the surprise of both girls, the chain instantly eroded and disintegrated into ash.

Alexia stared at her now-free limbs in disbelief, and then looked up at Millia with a strange look. "Thank you, and umm… I'll pretend I didn't see that," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

With a smile, Millia opened her now normal violet eyes and replied, "You're welcome." Millia felt a wave of relief wash over her now that she had finally been able to offer aid. It was the first time she had been able to assist one of the poor girls who were brought to this miserable place. Finally, she possessed the power to assist them rather than simply watch them suffer and perish helplessly.

Anos stepped forward and patted Millia on the head, impressed by her quick thinking. "Well done, Millia. You have a sharp mind and strong intuition," he said with a proud smile.

Millia blushed at the compliment and nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Anos-sama. I'm just glad I could be of help."

Alexia, still in shock from the sudden turn of events, looked at the two of them with a mix of admiration and fear.

"Just who are you?" she asked tentatively, her voice shaking slightly.

Anos chuckled at the question as if amused by Alexia's nervousness. "We're just two people passing through, isn't that right Millia?" he replied, his tone light and nonchalant. Before he looked at Millia beside him.

"!"

Millia's intuition kicked in, and she sensed that there was more to Anos's words than what met the eye. At that moment, she realized that he was concealing his true identity as the feared Demon King of Tyranny, as well as his and her connection to the Cult.

With a slight smile on her face, Millia stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on Alexia's shoulder. "We're here to help you," she said in a gentle voice. "We want to make sure that you and the other girls are safe."

"...other girls? What do you mean?"

When she heard the sharp tone in Alexia's voice, Millia froze and she quickly realized that she screwed up.

"U-Umm. N-No. T-That's not–."

As Millia kept stuttering and looking repeatedly at Anos with a panicked look on her pale face, Anos shook his head and decided to help his helpless subordinate.

Anos clarified Millia's statement, explaining that Alexia was the last girl to be rescued from the facility. "To be more specific," he said, "there were other girls who were kidnapped with you, and we have already rescued them. You are the final one, Princess Alexia Midgar."

"!"

Whatever Alexia was thinking about, has all quickly but disappeared from her mind as she snapped her head towards Anos with a surprised look on her face.

"You know who am I?"

Anos nodded, his expression neutral. "Yes, we know who you are, Princess. Your father, the King of Midgar, has been searching for you tirelessly ever since you were taken. He has spared no expense or effort in trying to find you and bring you back home."

As Anos spoke, Alexia's eyes grew wider with emotion. Being held captive for so long had made it difficult for her to imagine that someone was actively searching for her, especially her own strict father, the king. She had assumed that he would only order a brief search for the sake of appearance before disregarding her entirely.

"I... I had given up hope," she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't think anyone cared about me anymore."

Anos's cold expression softened a bit as he looked at Alexia. "Your father cares about you deeply, Princess. He has never stopped searching for you, and he will be overjoyed when he learns that you have been rescued."

Alexia's eyes welled up with tears as she realized the truth of Anos's words. She had been so lost and alone for so long that it was hard to imagine anyone truly caring for her, let alone her strict father.

"I... I don't know what to say," she stammered, her voice choked with emotion.

Anos nodded at her. "You don't have to say anything, Princess. We are just happy that you are safe now. Come, let's get you out of here and back to your–"

"What about Onee-sama?" Alexia interrupted, her voice shaky.

At the mention of the First Princess, Anos's facial expression instantly became stern. He shut his mouth and narrowed his eyes a bit, causing both Alexia and Millia to shudder terribly in fear as they anxiously awaited his response.

"Your sister was also looking for you, but perhaps a little too obsessively. Too much in fact, that I would like to have a 'long' chat with her about her methods."

Upon hearing the mention of her sister's obsession in such a cold tone, Alexia felt a sinking feeling in her heart. While she was aware of Iris' overprotectiveness towards her, she had no inkling that it had escalated to this extent. So much so that her savior would wear that expression while discussing it.

"Is she... is she okay?" Alexia asked hesitantly.

"Humu. She's fine at the moment. But soon… it all depends on her words and actions."

As Alexia gazed at Anos's indifferent expression, she gulped.

'What on earth did you do, Onee-sama…'