Chapter 654: An Elvish Tradition
Levia didn’t take long after Asmodeus accepted her. His gentle and loving words were enough for her to accept everything. “Dear Husband…” She stroked his cheek with a faint smile, tears staining her cheeks.
“Hm, what’s wrong, Levia?”
“I’ve never been happier than this moment.”
“Really, I think you’re wrong.”
“Eh? How come?!”
Asmodeus looked back to the altar, where their two children watched with bright smiles and gleaming eyes. “Silly girl, what about the day our children were born.” He lifted the corner of his lips and smiled brightly at the dumbfounded paladin.
“Hahaha… I mean, you’re not wrong. But you ruined the moment husband~ Ahaha, yet why does it make my heart pound like this.” She pulled his hand against her breasts, squishing them flat with a blush on her cheeks as her heart pounded. “To know you think that way makes me so happy.”
“I can feel your little heart racing, are you that overjoyed?”
“Of course.”
Around them, the voices and conversations rose to create a noisy atmosphere, and yet they didn’t care. It was their moment together, and neither of them rushed to end it. In their own little world, Asmodeus and Levia spent a short time reminiscing and flirting.
“I think you should greet your next bride, husband.” Levia whispered while hugging his chest tightly. “I can enjoy our time together all I want now, hehe.”
“As long as you’re happy, today is your moment too.”
Asmodeus caressed her cheeks and found the warmth of her skin comforting.
“Then one last kiss.”
“…Just one?” He smirked, their lips pressing together one last time.
***
Levia skipped off the altar with a slight bounce in her step and a brilliant smile. She peeked back at Asmodeus, who gave a mischievous wink while wiping his mouth. Thier kiss lasted quite some time and took King Avandar to cough to disrupt them.
‘I’m glad she acts more clingy and honest than before.’
There were only a few more women to marry, and the night was closing with the sun slowly descending on the opposite side of the plaza. Many people started making dinner on the portable stoves.
That’s when he took the magical device, his golden eyes sweeping across the sea of hopeful faces, young and old and spoke to his people.
“My people, I hope you are all enjoying the celebrations,” he began with a warm tone. “Today is more than a celebration of love. It is proof that we have built something greater than any of us thought possible. Once, we were scattered tribes, kingdoms, and enemies with nothing but blood between us. Now, with these unions… we stand together as one. Stronger. Prouder. Unbreakable!”
A cheer roared through the crowd, but he lifted his hand and the noise fell again, the drunken orcs and goblins hanging on his words like kittens jumping for salmon on a fishing line.
“Yet strength is not forged by isolation. The empire we dream of will not rise by our hands alone. To shape the future, we must open our hearts and our arms. Not just to our kin, but to those beyond our walls. Allies who once watched us, enemies that almost broke us. However, now we stand as equals.”
The tone of the music switched, and the vocals of the elven singers became more passionate and carried an ethereal tone. The deep drums softened to a symphonic rhythm, light and melodic. Even the air itself seemed to hum through the plaza.
“Tonight,” Ryuji continued with a faint smile, “we celebrate not just bonds of love… but bonds of trust. And there is no greater symbol of that trust than the one who approaches now. The bridge between our world and the timeless forests beyond.”
All eyes shifted towards the grand aisle, now lit by magical lights as the sky became dark orange.
There, stepping into the glow of the altar lights, came a procession unlike the others. Tall, elegant figures clad in robes of woven silver and emerald walked in perfect rhythm, their movements so fluid they seemed to glide rather than step.
At its centre, beneath a canopy of flowering vines, walked a woman whose presence silenced even the wind.
Her skin glowed like polished bronze under the lantern light, her hair a deep green like the colour of nature, braided with living ivy and moonlight blossoms. Her long and pointed ears framed a face of ageless grace. A proud, serene and utterly enchanting woman.
Ciela, Princess of the Elven forest, heir of the World Tree and the woman who joined Asmodeus from his earliest days as a companion and gave him the determination to become the Demon Lord.
Now she walked the path to becoming his bride.
“All rise, and welcome Princess Ar’Ciela of the Elven Empire.”
The crowd held its breath as the elven procession advanced, their every step a dance of grace and centuries-old tradition.
Petals of silverleaf flowers drifted down from above, guided by soft winds that carried the faint scent of blooming groves. Even the stars seemed to pause, peering down through the deepening twilight to witness the union of two worlds.
Ciela stepped forward.
Her emerald eyes locked on Asmodeus, and though her face remained calm, the disturbance in her aura was clear to him. There wasn’t any hesitation or a shy smile. Tonight, she faced him as a princess and the envoy of the Elven Empire, which meant more than a simple marriage.
‘She’s so different from usual.’
When she reached the first oft of the altar, she slowed. Each movement was deliberate as if performing a ceremonial dance: the lowering of her hood, placing her palm over her heart, and the slight bow of her head. And then she spoke at last, her voice carrying clearly across the silent plaza, strong, confident and yet melodious like a song.
“On behalf of the Elven Empire,” Her tone didn’t match the usual Ciela. “I stand before you not only as a princess, but a bridge between our races and the future our union shall create. Our people have watched one another, fought one another and saved one another over the centuries. But today… let us forget the fear, the resentment and step beyond those old shadows.”
The elves in the crowd clapped, while many humans from Grigor seemed to be tentative, but they didn’t boo or jeer at her.
Her gaze softened as it returned to Asmodeus. “I once walked beside you as an equal, a mere ranger and a cute little berserker. I saw something in you, and with each step you took, the world shook and learned your name. I believed in you and fell for you. And now, before gods and mortals alike, I pledge myself to the very man I hoped you would become.”
Ciela shifted closer, her hips swaying enough to make her robe flutter with the soft jingle of her bracelets. The crowd shifted, mesmerised by her presence. Even the youngest children listened in rapt silence as she approached him. Her voice grew quiet and became one for him alone.
“Asmodeus. My comrade. My Partner. My Demon King. The greatest challenge and deepest comfort. I vow to stand beside you, not as an ornament to your throne, but as one who clears a path so you can keep striving forward with those beautiful eyes of yours. I will speak truth when silence tempts you, offer mercy when wrath consumes you, and fight beside you when the world dares to rise against us.”
Her hand extended toward his, and he accepted it without hesitation. Their fingers interlocked, and she took out a small vial that shone brilliant white in the darkness. Inside the bottle was a small seed.
“This is a seed from the world tree.” She smiled gently. “When a princess is born, the world tree drops two seeds. Although these will not become a replacement, the royal tree’s in the garden of my homeland are made with these.” Ciela shook the vial with a little tingle. “One is planted when we are born, a tree of life, rumoured to be linked to our lifespan and mortality. The other… is kept by the mother until their daughter marries. This second seed named the tree of union planted in the daughters new homeland… to form a connection between the two trees.”
Asmodeus brushed his fingers against the ornate vial, understanding that this was Ciela’s Tree of Union. “But… the seed should be planted by the couple, otherwise it carries an ill omen. Do you mind?”
“Ciela. No. Ar’Ciela… Alicia. There is no universe where I reject you. For without you I would never have taken the first step. If not for you I would have lacked that decisive desire to grow stronger, to improve and protect.” He stepped closer, wrapping an arm around her hips and smiled. “You… are special to me as a woman regardless of your status.”
“Ah… I see.” Tears spilt from the corner of her eyes.
“Why do you cry, did you think I would reject you here?”
“N-No, it’s just I am so happy and that… Ahem, let’s finish the ceremony first, okay?”
“Haha, anything you desire.”
Ciela’s eyes glistened with determination as she took off the lid and placed it with the dirt she had requested in the centre of the altar. She guided Asmodeus to the opening and looked back. “With this seed, I swear,” her eyes unwavering, “by the roots of the World Tree, by the blood of my ancestors, and by the life I choose to share with you. Now and forevermore.”
A gentle hush followed as the pair buried the seed in the gold-flecked dirt, both of them using earth magic to send it deep into the ground.
Then, as if the world itself accepted their union, the seed germinated rapidly and grew. Then, with a ground-shaking quake, both of them held hands as another tree beautifully shot into the sky with a pristine white bark and silver leaves.
Stunned as it spread across the altar.
Then became a dazzling, snowy tree of their union.