# Chapter 74
A chilling sensation ran down the man’s spine as he gripped his sword tighter, raising it high.
“Hey, don’t kill her!
Just hurt her!” one of his companions shouted.
“Who cares?
The phoenix can supposedly resurrect anything anyway!” the man sneered, bringing his sword down toward Bunny’s arm.
Shhk.
Clang!
Thud.
Something was severed, the sword clattered to the ground, and something else fell heavily to the floor.
“Huh…?”
The man’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“A-Aaaaagh!!”
A scream of agony erupted from his mouth as he collapsed to the floor, writhing.
At his feet, a small hand lay motionless—no, not a hand.
It was his sword hand, severed cleanly from his arm.
“That… those eyes… no way…” the man stammered, staring blankly as he tilted his head back to look at the child before him.
“Bunny doesn’t like bad humans,” she said, her voice calm and cold.
A pair of tiny horns emerged atop Bunny’s head, and delicate, petite wings unfurled from her back, perfectly sized for her small frame.
“A demon…” the man whispered, his voice trembling.
“You’re a bad human,” Bunny declared, raising her small hand and pointing her index finger at him as though marking him for judgment.
“Bad humans shouldn’t exist.”
“W-Why is a demon still alive?
They were all wiped out… The Yudia family… didn’t they exterminate them?
Does this mean the Yudia family hid a demon…?”
The man’s mumblings grew incoherent, his face contorted in terror.
It was as if he were trying to rationalize the impossible before him.
Stories of demons were abundant, but very few had ever seen one.
Demons were said to devour humans, tear them apart with a flick of a finger, and display monstrous ferocity, even as children.
After the Holy War, rumors spread of demons razing entire villages.
Some spoke of those who approached seemingly innocent demon children, only to be slaughtered.
Demons weren’t human—they were monsters.
“A m-monster…”
Bunny raised her hand, forming a gun shape with her thumb and index finger.
Under different circumstances, her pose might have looked like the harmless play of a child, even cute.
But here, it was anything but.
“W-What are you doing?
Kill it!
Kill the monster!”
Bunny pursed her lips tightly.
Human Bunny was weak, but real Bunny was not.
“Does Daddy hate demons?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“So much that I’d destroy every last one in the world if I could.”
If Bunny revealed she was a demon, Daddy would hate her.
She wouldn’t be able to stay with him.
She wouldn’t grow into a fine adult.
That couldn’t happen.
But…
“Hic…”
If Bunny didn’t act now, if she didn’t become the strong Bunny, Loel would be in danger.
“…Daddy is stupid.”
In the fairy tales, dads always came to save their children quickly.
“Bad humans hurting Loel get punished,” she muttered, clenching her fists tightly.
Just as she opened her mouth to cast magic—
Boom!
The sound of something shattering outside reached them, followed by the rush of water cascading into the building.
Bunny’s eyes grew round with recognition.
Within moments, a torrent of water surged into the cramped room, sweeping up the bad men like debris.
“Bunny.”
The voice came from beyond the door, startling Bunny.
Her shoulders jerked, and she jumped, her hand still raised.
Slowly, she turned her head toward the voice.
As her gaze lifted, she saw it first—a massive, serpentine creature coiled protectively around a familiar figure.
A great dragon, its body covered in glistening sapphire scales, loomed in the dim light, its enormous form wrapped around Kiriel.
‘A big dragon…’
Bunny’s wide eyes traveled down from the towering creature to meet Kiriel’s gaze.
His fiery red eyes stared back at her, their sharp intensity softened with surprise.
His furrowed brow and slightly widened eyes revealed his shock.
“…Ah.”
She needed to run.
Her horns and wings—she hadn’t hidden them yet.
Panicking, Bunny glanced around, her lips moving soundlessly.
She spotted Alan’s discarded robe on the ground and immediately scurried toward it, wriggling inside to hide herself.
‘What should I do?’
Bunny’s face crumpled into a teary pout.
‘Bunny’s totally doomed…’
She tried desperately to pull her power back inside, to hide it completely.
Luriel had told her not to use her abilities today, but she had failed.
If only she had been the only one hurt, it would have been fine.
Bunny was strong, especially in her transformed state, but Loel was a fragile human.
He could die so easily.
Her heart pounded—thump, thump, thump.
She squeezed her eyes shut and mumbled softly, “Go back inside.” Beneath the robe she had pulled over herself, her small body trembled, the edges of her little bottom wiggling as she squirmed to hide.
Kiriel looked down at her, remaining silent.
The sight was unexpectedly endearing: the tiny figure under the oversized robe, trembling like a leaf.
Yet, the trembling wasn’t from the cold but from fear.
Hic.
Small gasps escaped her, the sound of someone barely managing to hold themselves together.
Bunny’s hiccuping breaths only added to the weight of the situation.
Kiriel’s gaze drifted from her to the crown prince, lying in a disheveled heap on the ground, and then to the group of men trapped in the swirling water he had summoned.
The men flailed helplessly in their watery prison, their breath fading as oxygen escaped their grasp.
‘…Was Bunny a demon?’
Kiriel had sensed faint traces of demonic energy from her before, but never the full, distinct aura that marked a demon.
Not until now.
‘Should I kill her?’
Demons had no place in this world.
Even a child could grow into a monstrous threat, so it was better to uproot them before they became a problem.
That was how Kiriel had always lived.
If this had been shortly after meeting Bunny, he wouldn’t have hesitated.
‘If I end it in one strike, it won’t hurt, right?’
But what had she done, really?
The ones who deserved to die were the men trapped in the water.
They were the ones who caused harm.
Bunny had only tried to protect herself.
‘But she’s a demon.’
So what?
Even if she was, could he kill her?
“Daddy, Bunny’s number one, so will Bunny grow super big now?”
“No, you’re still a baby, so you’re super small.
Even the phoenix is still small.”
“…Hmph.
When will Bunny grow super big?”
“When you eat well, stop being picky, play hard, and study diligently.
Then you’ll grow tall and become as big as Daddy.”
“Do you want to grow up fast?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because… maybe Bunny can grow super big slowly…”
“Good.
Grow up slowly, Bunny.
If you grow up too fast, Daddy might feel lonely.”
The memory surfaced, and Kiriel clenched his fist tightly.
But if he didn’t kill her, what would it mean for all the demons he had slain before?
What about his mother, who had died giving birth to him due to a demon’s curse?
What about his eldest brother, who had been taken and likely killed by demons?
If he spared this child, would all of that lose its meaning?
Yet even with all those thoughts weighing on him...
Drip, drip, drip.
The deeper his conflict ran, the more his nails dug into his palm, until droplets of blood began to pool and fall to the floor.
Could he kill her?
***
After the expedition, Kiriel had returned to his estate to find an urgent message from Rebon.
The child was missing.
She might have been kidnapped.
The terse report, no longer than a few lines, had been enough to summon his divine beast and rush back without hesitation.
When he returned to the estate, the phoenix—clearly distraught and searching for its master—guided him to this place.
It was here that he had found her.
He had come so far, acted so recklessly, all to save this child.
So could he kill her now?