After cutting the cake, Lawine picked up the knife and cut a small slice before feeding it to Kondo. Sam did the same. One after another, everyone took turns feeding him cake until his cheeks were stuffed full.
Shin burst into laughter at the sight.
Kondo looked at her, then grabbed a piece of cake and shoved it into her mouth.
The hall immediately filled with laughter.
Kim also cut a small slice and fed it to Kondo.
And just like that, Kondo's birthday party officially began.
The guests soon scattered around the hall, busy enjoying the food and chatting with one another.
Meanwhile, Sam led Kondo toward King Veld.
As the king noticed them approaching, a smile appeared on his face.
"So this is our birthday boy."
Sam bowed slightly.
"Your Majesty is too kind. Your presence alone has made this celebration far more lively."
King Veld laughed.
"What are you saying, Sam? If a king doesn't attend his ministers' celebrations, then where should he go? Besides, it's your son's birthday. Aren't you going to introduce him to us?"
Sam smiled and gently pushed Kondo forward.
Feeling a little nervous, Kondo bowed.
"My name is Kondo, Your Majesty. I'm happy that you came to my birthday party."
Standing beside King Veld were Alice, Yen, and Kiora.
Alice wore a yellow shirt with white pants. A sword hung at her waist, and her curly hair made her stand out even more.
Yen was dressed in a completely white suit, a sword resting at his side, with simple glasses sitting on his nose.
Kiora wore a black suit.
"For someone his age," Kiora remarked, "your son has excellent manners."
Adjusting his glasses, Yen smiled.
"So your name is Kondo. It's nice to meet you."
Kondo looked toward him.
Before he could respond, Alice suddenly stepped forward and gently pinched his cheek.
"You're pretty cute."
Kondo gave an awkward smile.
At that moment, Lawine walked over from behind Sam.
"Kondo, come here for a moment. I want to introduce you to some of my guests."
Kondo turned around, then looked back at King Veld and bowed respectfully.
"I apologize for leaving so suddenly, Your Majesty. My father will stay here with you. Please allow me to take my leave."
After receiving no objection, he turned and followed Lawine.
Watching him leave, King Veld smiled.
"Sam, your son is truly a sensible child. He'll take after his grandfather. One day, he'll become just as strong."
"You're giving him too much credit, Your Majesty," Sam replied.
King Veld stepped closer and lowered his voice.
"I saw Rose earlier. Bring him to the room upstairs. There's something I wish to discuss with him."
Sam nodded.
"I understand."
Meanwhile, Lawine led Kondo toward a woman standing nearby.
"This is Ishita, an old friend of mine. We've been friends since our college days. She's also a Holy Knight."
Ishita glanced at Kondo before looking at Lawine.
"That's a terrible introduction."
Kondo looked at Ishita carefully.
She was beautiful.
And somehow, she also gave off the feeling of someone incredibly strong.
Feeling slightly nervous, Kondo greeted her.
"U-Um... hello. My name is Kondo. It's nice to meet you."
Ishita smiled.
"Such a good kid. Though he definitely didn't get that from you."
Lawine's eye twitched.
"Sounds like somebody wants to start a fight."
Ishita laughed.
"You really haven't changed at all."
Even Lawine couldn't help smiling.
Kondo looked between the two women, sensing some strange tension. He was about to say something when Shin suddenly appeared beside him.
Without warning, she grabbed his hand.
"Lady Lawine, can I borrow Kondo for a bit?"
Before anyone could answer, Shin started dragging him away.
"K-Kondo!"
Lawine didn't even get the chance to stop them.
Watching the pair disappear into the crowd, Ishita chuckled.
"Let him go. We still have plenty to talk about. Besides, he'd rather spend time with his friends."
Elsewhere in the hall, Kim sat quietly beside her father at one of the tables.
Most of the guests weren't paying much attention to them.
A moment later, Sam approached.
"Your Majesty, King Rose."
King Rose looked up and smiled.
"Oh, Mr. Sam. What brings you here?"
"Am I not allowed to visit a friend?"
Rose laughed.
Looking around, he asked,
"By the way, where's Kondo? I don't see him anywhere."
"He's probably with the others. Actually, King Veld wishes to speak with you."
King Rose fell silent for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"Very well."
At the same time, Kim noticed Shin dragging Kondo somewhere through the crowd.
"Father, I'm going to walk around for a bit."
Without waiting for a response, she stood up and left.
Meanwhile, Shin pulled Kondo toward one of the food stalls and excitedly pointed ahead.
"Kondo, look! There's so much good food at your party!"
Kondo lowered his head and looked at Shin.
"Seriously, Shin? You dragged me all the way here just for food?"
"Huh?" Shin puffed her cheeks. "What do you mean 'just for food'? It's your birthday, and there's so much delicious food at your party. I wanted to eat it together with you."
Seeing her genuinely upset expression, Kondo couldn't help but sigh.
"Alright, alright. Let's go."
The moment she heard that, Shin's mood instantly brightened.
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind them.
"Looks like you're having a lot of fun without me."
Both Kondo and Shin jumped in surprise.
" Kim,Don't scare people like that!" Shin complained.
Kim walked over with a smile.
"Sorry, Shin. I only came to talk to the birthday boy. Though I didn't expect him to be this free on his own birthday."
The two girls immediately glared at each other.
Kondo looked between them and rubbed his forehead.
"Can you two stop fighting for five minutes?"
Both girls fell silent.
Kondo turned toward Shin first.
"Shin, tell me honestly. What exactly did you say to Mom that day?"
Shin blinked innocently.
"What are you talking about? I don't remember anything."
Kondo stared at her.
Under his gaze, Shin quickly gave up.
"Fine..."
She nervously scraped her shoe against the floor.
"What was I supposed to do? Kim suddenly brought up marrying you."
Her face turned red.
"So... I said I wanted to marry you too."
Kondo immediately placed a hand over his face.
"You too..."
Shin only smiled shyly.
Kondo then turned toward Kim.
"I wanted to ask you something as well."
"Of course," Kim replied with a calm smile.
Far away from the celebration, six demons walked through the empty streets toward the hotel.
Except for the others who had taken human forms, Dolt still had the two small horns protruding from his forehead.
The guards standing outside noticed them approaching.
Thinking they were entertainers hired for the party, one of the guards called out,
"Hey! Who are you? No more guests are allowed inside."
The demons ignored him and continued forward.
The guards lowered their spears in warning.
Snap.
Dolt casually snapped his fingers.
The guards immediately collapsed onto the ground.
Yina frowned.
"Did you really have to kill them? They were only talking to us."
Dolt glanced at her.
"Did you actually care about them?"
He shrugged.
"Whatever."
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small black box.
Yirina's eyes narrowed.
"Is that the one?"
Dolt smiled.
"I knew you'd recognize it."
"An old friend gave it to me."
Yokzo chuckled.
"Sounds like a very close friend."
Dolt simply smiled.
Then he tossed the black box into the air.
Instead of falling, it stopped in midair.
One by one, eyes opened at each of its four corners.
The box slowly rose above the hotel and began expanding, forming a massive circle over the building.
Inside the hall, Kondo looked at Kim.
"I wanted to ask you something."
Kim nodded.
"What is it?"
"The dish you made at my house that day."
Kondo's eyes narrowed.
"Where did you learn it?"
"I don't think that dish existed in this world before."
Kim released a long breath.
"I didn't think I'd have to reveal the truth this soon."
"The truth is—"
Suddenly—
Her body trembled.
A terrifying pressure crashed down on her.
Kim's eyes widened.
Her knees slammed against the floor.
She could feel the strength leaving her body little by little.
"K-Kim?!"
Shin stared in confusion.
Kondo immediately moved to help her stand.
Elsewhere, Ishita and Lawine felt the same strange sensation.
Ishita's expression changed.
"I know this feeling..."
"But something is different."
At another table, King Rose and King Veld suddenly felt their bodies weaken as well.
Outside, Dolt grinned.
"Watch carefully."
"This is how I evolve into Aarisu."
He snapped his fingers.
A strange sensation spread through his body.
His grin widened.
"Hahaha..."
"I did it."
"I evolved."
Back inside, Kondo helped Kim to her feet.
But suddenly—
A sharp pain exploded inside his chest.
His eyes widened.
"Huh...?"
He grabbed his chest.
The pain intensified.
Then, without warning—
His body collapsed.
"Kondo!"
Shin's voice trembled.
"Kondo, what's wrong?!"
"Why are you lying on the ground?!"
No response came.
Shin immediately knelt beside him.
Fear filled her eyes as she shook his shoulders.
"Kondo!"
"Kondo!"
Kim stood frozen.
Her mind refused to accept what she was seeing.
But deep down...
She already knew.
Kondo was dead.
Lawine's eyes widened.
She could no longer sense Kondo's presence.
It was as if he had vanished from existence itself.
Panic appeared on her face.
She desperately searched for him.
Then she heard Shin's scream.
Everyone in the hall turned.
People rushed toward the commotion.
Lawine pushed through the crowd and arrived.
Kim stood motionless in shock.
Shin was crying beside Kondo's body.
Lawine fell to her knees.
Her trembling hands turned Kondo toward her.
His eyes remained open.
As though he had seen something horrifying moments before his death.
Tears filled Lawine's eyes.
She couldn't understand what had happened.
Vold, Hina, Shila, Gemi, and Vain arrived moments later.
None of them could believe what they were seeing.
Albert and Meena pushed through the crowd as well.
Albert froze.
"No..."
"This shouldn't be possible."
He immediately checked Kondo's pulse.
Nothing.
Lawine looked at him with desperate hope.
One final hope.
But Albert already knew the answer.
Slowly, painfully, he shook his head.
The last bit of hope disappeared from Lawine's eyes.
Elsewhere, Sam was still upstairs.
King Rose looked uneasy.
Just as he was about to speak, the door suddenly burst open.
A man rushed inside.
He hurried to Sam and whispered something into his ear.
Sam's face instantly turned pale.
"What?!"
He grabbed the man's collar.
"Are you telling me the truth?!"
The man nodded.
"It's true."
Sam staggered backward.
Yen quickly supported him.
Tears had already appeared in Sam's eyes.
Before anyone could ask what happened, Sam ran from the room.
Everyone followed.
They rushed downstairs.
The moment they reached the bottom—
BOOM!
The hotel's main entrance exploded.
Smoke filled the hall.
Everyone froze.
Six silhouettes slowly emerged from the smoke.
Ishita immediately recognized their presence.
Lawine did as well.
Her eyes filled with burning rage.
She handed Kondo's body to Albert and stepped forward.
Ishita moved beside her.
Sam's expression darkened.
He instantly understood who they were.
"Get His Majesty out through the back entrance!"
"We are under attack!"
One terrified guest noticed Dolt's horns.
"D-Demons!"
"The demons are here!"
Panic erupted.
People rushed toward the rear exit.
Alice drew her sword.
"Yen, take His Majesty and leave."
Yen nodded.
He quickly escorted King Veld and Kiora away.
Meanwhile, King Rose searched for Kim.
He found her standing motionless, staring at Kondo.
King Rose looked at the boy's body.
Sadness flashed through his eyes.
He gently shook Kim's shoulder.
Only then did she return to her senses.
Nearby, Shin continued crying.
Kim placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a hug.
There was grief in Kim's eyes.
But there was also fury.
"Vain."
"Get her out of here."
Vain nodded immediately.
King Rose looked at his daughter.
"We need to leave too."
Kim shook her head.
"No, Father."
"I can't go home."
"If you force me to leave..."
Her fists clenched.
"You'll only be taking a corpse home."
"I want revenge."
King Rose tried to reason with her.
"We can't defeat them."
Kim's eyes hardened.
"I don't care."
"I'll fight."
At the back exit, Vold was helping everyone escape.
Most of the maids and guests had already gotten out.
Vain grabbed Shin and ran.
Albert carried Kondo's body while Meena followed beside him.
But just as Albert reached the exit—
Black smoke surged forward.
The doorway was sealed shut.
His path was blocked.
The demons looked ahead.
Standing against them were only a handful of people.
Sam.
Vold.
Alice.
Ishita.
And Lawine.
Yirina gaze settled on Lawine.
A smile slowly appeared on her face.
"What's wrong?"
"Aren't you going to welcome us..."
"The Last Queen"