Parallel Memory

Chapter 703: The Girl in the Ruins

The dust thickened the farther Mia and Amelia walked into the destroyed throne chamber. Each step sank slightly into broken marble and scorched stone. The air was still warm from the aftershock of the Unison Raid, carrying faint trails of frozen mist and patches of thick, oppressive darkness.

Zero's mana signature was nowhere.That was what terrified Mia the most.

Zero's mana was like winter wind—crisp, sharp, unmistakable. Even when he tried to hide it, she could sense it if he was close enough. But now? Nothing.

"He has to be here," Mia whispered, sweeping her aura through every shattered corner.

"Not has to be," Amelia corrected softly, "is. You and I both felt the center of the clash. Right there."

She pointed deeper into the ruins, where the throne had once stood. The area was buried under slabs of obsidian-black stone, remnants of the devil king's power.

As they moved closer, Mia's heartbeat hammered harder.

Every emotion clawed at her chest—Fear.Hope.Helplessness.And something unfamiliar… sharp and painful.

She didn't want to name it.

They reached what remained of the throne platform—a crater carved into the ground, deep and jagged, as though a star had fallen there.

Amelia took a shaky breath.Then—

Her eyes widened.

"M-Mia… look."

Something moved.

A silhouette curled at the center of the crater—small, slim, trembling. Dust shifted around it. And in the girl's arms—

Mia's heart plummeted.

Zero.

He lay limp, his hair matted with dried blood, his clothing torn from the blast, his skin paler than snow. Barely breathing. Barely alive.

And the person holding him…

Not human.

A girl with long ivory hair and faintly glowing red eyes—not demonic like Aamon's wild frenzy, but softer, deeper, tragically calm. Her skin carried the faint traces of devil markings. Her arms wrapped protectively around Zero like she had been shielding him with her own body.

A devil girl.

A devil girl holding Zero Elea.

Mia froze.

Amelia's breath caught in her throat.

For a moment—just a moment—they forgot how to stand, how to think, how to breathe.

Because this wasn't just unexpected.

It hurt.

Deeply.

◆◆◆

Mia had tried for years to get closer to Zero.Small kindnesses.Training together.Moments where she hoped he'd finally see her—not as a comrade, not as a council member, but as someone who cared in a way that went beyond duty.

Amelia too… though she hid it behind her saint-like calm.

Zero was oblivious, indifferent, almost stubbornly uninterested in romance.

They thought he simply didn't care about anyone that way.

But now—

Seeing him unconscious, protected in the arms of a girl neither of them had ever seen… a devil girl no less…

It stabbed something inside them.

Mia's fists clenched so tightly frost cracked across her gloves. Amelia's fingers twisted into her robe, knuckles white with emotion she rarely allowed herself to feel.

Was this the reason?Was he uninterested because someone else already had his heart?Was this girl… another rival? Or… worse… someone he had chosen?

The questions came like blades.

And neither had answers.

Zero wasn't conscious.And even if he were, Mia doubted he would explain. He never explained anything about himself.

Amelia swallowed, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Who… is she?"

Mia didn't answer. She couldn't. Her throat felt blocked by something she refused to call jealousy.

The devil girl noticed them slowly. She opened her eyes fully, revealing irises the color of dried blood and midnight.

She didn't flinch.She didn't show hostility.She simply tightened her hold on Zero, lifting his limp body gently so his head rested against her chest.

Mia's chest stung.

The girl spoke softly, her voice like a quiet echo through broken halls.

"…Don't come any closer."

Her accent was strange—soft yet dignified, as though she hadn't spoken in years.

Mia inhaled sharply. "We're not here to fight you."

The devil girl watched them warily, her aura flickering between exhaustion and instinctive protectiveness.

Protectiveness of Zero.

That stung too.

Amelia stepped forward with open palms. "We only want to confirm his condition. We have healers—"

"You can't heal him."The girl's tone was firm, but not cruel. "Your holy magic would harm him in this state."

The saintess flinched.

She was… right.

Zero's body was saturated with Yin energy and devil-tinged shadow residue. A healing spell could forcefully reject the mana and injure him further.

The devil girl gazed down at Zero's face, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead with a tenderness that made Mia's stomach turn painfully.

"He overexerted himself," the girl murmured. "Far more than a human should be capable of."

Mia stared.

How did she know that?How long had she been watching him?How much did she know about Zero that they didn't?

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"…Who are you to him?"

The question escaped before she could stop it.

It was raw.Unfiltered.Too vulnerable for someone like Mia Frostine.

The devil girl didn't answer immediately. She looked at Zero—really looked—like he was someone she had known for a long, long time.

But that made no sense.Zero didn't know any devils besides Aamon and Aaron.

Did he?

Before Mia could press further, the girl whispered,

"…You don't need to worry."

Mia's chest tightened painfully.

Worry?Worry about what?Zero's safety?Or… something else?

The devil girl continued.

"I am not his lover."

Mia froze.Amelia's head jerked up in surprise.

The devil girl met their eyes calmly.

"I know what you are thinking. Humans wear their hearts too openly, even when they try not to."

Mia's face burned with humiliation.

The girl gently shifted Zero, cradling him as if he weighed nothing.

"But I do care for him," she said quietly. "More deeply than you might believe."

That didn't make Mia feel any better.

Before Mia could speak again, Amelia whispered, "Then… who are you?"

This time, the girl finally lifted her chin, revealing a quiet strength beneath her frail appearance.

The dust cleared around her like the ruin itself acknowledged her presence.

"I am Lilith."

The name echoed eerily in the destroyed chamber.

Mia blinked.Amelia stiffened.

Lilith continued, voice steady despite her exhaustion.

"Daughter of the previous devil king."

The air became razor sharp.