???: [Yoo-hoo! Devi!]

Barging through the throne room door of the regal castle had been an energetic woman with mauve colored hair and tanned skin. She was adorned in a beautiful white dress, like she had always worn. To many who would lay their eyes upon her, they would likely find that her beauty was unmatched. Against the woman’s wrist was a bag, shuffling of papers could be heard as she continued to wave.

She walked into the large throne room without a single other person accompanying her. She merely entered this sacred location on her own volition. Across the room sat a woman with red hair. Red like blood. Her skin was a rich light blue that only became more elegant with the glare of the sun. Her clothes presented a beautiful pattern of red and black, with the collar and arms receiving a gold outline to them. In the middle of her chest, past the see-through black cloth on her chest, against her aqua skin, was a demon birthmark that resembled two long blood red horns.

The woman looked towards the energetic guest with an emotionless expression resting on her face. This was not to say that she had no emotions to provide, but her focus was often as hard as steel.

Devi: [I have mentioned this before, Tequi. If you are to enter my castle, I would advise being escorted by one of the guards.]

Tequi: [I know, I know! But I just couldn’t contain myself! Hurry up and set up the chess game! I brought something interesting this time!]

Devi: [Very well. I assume this “something” is a new tea flavor that you have found?]

Tequi: [Hehe! Nope! You’d assume it would be, but I can promise that it’s a hundred times better! It’s not even a treat of any kind!]

Devi: [Your original statement now seems to be rather odd, but I shall listen.]

Their board was set up. Time and time again the two had played a game of chess while speaking to each other. It was a custom for them at this point. Along with that custom, it had always been Devi who would win the chess matches. This result had not changed even once since the two had first met.

Tequi: [I heard you got a new assistant!]

Devi: [Yes. He’s rather noble, which aligns with what I need in my force. The name I have provided him with is Night.]

Tequi: [Ooooo! Night! He matches perfectly with Sol and the others!]

Devi: [Indeed.]

Tequi: [Well, before I talk about all the juicy info I have, I’ve had some crazy stuff going on in the family. My grandson seems to be entering a rebellious phase, which makes it a bit difficult to talk to him. I’ve mentioned it to Albeera, and she’s been trying to give him a good talk as well. Unfortunately, neither of us have been able to properly get through. It really is a pain, you know? I just wanna speak to my grandson but he has to act in a way that he thinks is cool! I guess we were all like that when we were young, but it still isn’t great! I wish I could find a way to get through to him, but all the options I’ve tried don’t seem to work super wel–]

Devi: [Tequi.]

Tequi: [Hm?]

Receiving a firm halt from Devi’s words, Tequi stopped the long speech about her family that she had provided.

Devi: [You mentioned you had some sort of info, did you not? Minor family matters are far less important than something such as that.]

Tequi: [Ah! Right! Sorry, Devi! I know how much you like to get to the main dish, so let me move on! Did you hear that Yoro of the Sand was apparently defeated?]

The chess piece in Devi’s hand paused in the middle of the air for a few seconds, before once again moving to its desired position.

Devi: [Yoro has been defeated?]

Tequi: [Yeah! It even got confirmed and everything! Her castle is in ruins, and she herself is nowhere to be seen! Many are assuming that she’s just flat out dead!]

Devi: [That…is peculiar. Are we aware of how this happened?]

Tequi: [Don’t worry! I’m getting to that! Did you also hear that Daroma got taken down?]

Devi’s focused gaze had lost its mighty power. While keeping her face directed at the board in front of her, her eyes moved up to meet Tequi. A sight that Tequi herself had rarely ever seen.

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Devi: [Daroma…as well?]

Tequi: [Yep! Most of his remaining troops were supposedly taken into custody. As for Daroma himself, we don’t have a trace on him either. Him and Yoro are alike, in that they never leave their castles. So if he isn’t there, that probably means he’s dead.]

Devi: [...Tequi. You’re sure all of this has happened?]

Tequi: [A hundred percent!]

Devi: [There wasn’t a single piece of falsified information?]

Tequi: [Oh, it’s all real! I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet! Is it okay if I take out a camera?]

Devi: [No, but what do you mean by the best pa–]

Tequi: [Awwww! Way to be a party pooper! I bet your reaction to it is gonna be super good!]

Devi: [Tequi, what are you going on about?]

Tequi: [You seriously doubted it, but it actually happened, Devi!]

Devi: [I must ask again, what are you speaking of?]

Tequi: [The impossible became possible!]

Devi: [This answers nothing. Please, speak of what has occurred.]

Tequi: [There’s a reason those two got taken down all of a sudden, Devi.]

Devi: [Tequi!]

A shout was given by Devi to the playful Tequi. As Tequi jumped up in shock, she slowly settled down and began to smile.

Tequi: [It finally happened, Devi.]

Devi: [What did?]

Tequi: [...We have new gods of the world!]

There were many faces of Devi that Tequi had seen. However, no matter the scenario, there was never a sense of surprise riddled across her face. Perhaps this was due to her philosophy regarding fate. She was the one who many considered “Braveheart” after all. She likely did not feel a trace of shock within her veins. Maybe the entire Bloodfire bloodline was gifted with such a strong sense of courage.

At that moment, however, Tequi saw it.

The Devi who had a heart of steel.

The Devi who was considered “Braveheart”.

The Devi who never lost her way.

That very Devi…widened her eyes, her mouth now hanging open.

Devi: [That…Surely you are just making a jest–]

Before she could wipe away the feeling that captured her soul, Devi watched as Tequi quickly shuffled her hand into the bag she was carrying. As the sounds of paper bending and folding filled the room, the very same feeling Devi had tried to defeat began to revive itself within her. She then gazed upon the papers that were laid out onto the table beside their chess board.

Tequi: [There they all are! All eight of them!]

Devi: [Ei…Eight?!]

Tequi: [Yup! Oh and, Devi?]

She did not audibly respond, but looked away from the papers to once again view Tequi herself. She witnessed Tequi’s gleaming smirk as the beautiful woman began to speak.

Tequi: [...I think a few names on there should interest you a whole lot. Especially considering they interested me as well!]

Devi rushed to look back down at the stapled pieces of paper that were laid out in front of her. She looked at the details of each paper, skimming through as she flipped through each. None of it made sense to her, but everything was a reality. There had never been a single change in this process for over a hundred years, yet somehow, things were different this time. Without even noticing, she subconsciously continued to play chess with her unoccupied hand as she gazed at the contents of the papers.

Devi continued to trace the papers with her eyes, before landing on a name of interest that Tequi had spoken of.

Devi: [Kōkatsu…Kurami?!]

She looked back up at Tequi, who had begun to sway left and right with her arms taking an almost crescent moon shape. Her eyes were closed as she joyfully continued to cheer.

Tequi: [Yoi,Yoi,Yoi,Yoi!]

Devi: [Are you saying–]

Tequi: [Yep! It’s her! Though as you can probably tell, she got an interesting name change. I kinda like it though! The almighty has a good ring to it even if it doesn’t flow perfectly as a name!]

Devi looked at the photo attached to the paper. She had not seen the girl’s face before, but she had remembered her long orange hair. The kimono was not the same, but she had certainly worn a kimono the last time she had seen her. Everything had perfectly matched up with the photo. This had been the same girl she had seen nearly three years ago, without a doubt.

She flipped onto the next page, and once again noticed another interesting name.

Devi: [Nero…Virtuoso?! As in the Virtuoso family?!]

Tequi: [That one really surprised me. Well, there was another one that kinda surprised me even more, but you’ll get to that. But it’s crazy that one of their family members showed up there, right? Not only that, but now they’re a god!]

Devi: [I…I don’t understand…How…]

Tequi: [He even looks like the photos of Lupo that we’ve seen, right?! Huh? Oh wow! I actually did it! Yeaaaaaaaaaah!]

Devi’s confusion only strengthened as she looked towards the celebrating Tequi. Her answer would soon arrive however, as she looked back down to the chess board she had not focused on moments prior. Like many times before, she had almost no pieces left, while Tequi had many. There was a difference between now and then however. No matter the play that was provided, Devi had always found the clear path to an absolute checkmate. This time was a completely separate matter. Without thought, she continued to play. But such a simple method however carried her to an expected and conclusive result.

Devi: [I’ve…lost…?!]

Tequi: [I finally get to say it! Checkmate! I did it! It only took forty two tries!]

Tequi punched the air above her in celebration of her victory. Devi continued to remain seated, unsure of what had even happened. As Tequi began to calm down, she prepared herself to leave the castle.

Tequi: [Well, I really only wanted to talk about this stuff, so that’s why I barged in! It was nice chatting with you again, Devi. I’m glad I even got to win this time! You can keep the papers, I can just ask for more myself. Oh, and I recommend checking the name on the last one. I’m sure both me and you have a really strong connection with that family name!]

Tequi waved her farewells to Devi as she exited the room, closing the door on her way out with an excited thud. Hearing the words she had spoken, Devi hurriedly skipped past the remaining papers and stopped at the final page. Her eyes grew even wider at the sight of it.

She looked back where the door in front of her was, only to a higher angle now. Above the door stood an enormous painting of a woman. At the bottom was a name written in cursive.

Morina.

She gazed at this woman, before looking down at the name on the page.

Devi: [Shiro…Fuloreen…]

Her body began to shake upon seeing the last name written into the report.

Devi: [Her face…Without a doubt…She’s…]

Sitting on her throne, trembling with shock, sat the ruler of the world, Devi Bloodfire.

As she gazed at the paper in front of her, she shouted out to her royal guards to enter her room. Sol, Night, and Estrella. The three of many who were close to the throne room all rushed inside, surprised by the yell their Lady had given.

A phenomenon like never before was beginning to fill the depths of Devi’s mind.

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