Vitalis Side

This is bad news. I was able to listen in on the meeting of the alliance to kill the demon queen and found out that they plan on invading the Demon Continent very soon. But I could not stay any longer than I already had, because I instinctively knew that the people who were there are incredibly powerful and very dangerous. I am sure they would have detected me sooner or later, so I did not want to take the risk and be caught in vain.

"They have already left the academy and are most likely moving towards the Demon Continent. I was unable to determine the route they took, so it is safe to assume that they are using transportation magic." I conclude my report. The moment I returned to the abandoned farmhouse we have made our new base after our escape from the Lost Tombs, I immediately called over Miss Senka and Miss Hestia to tell them this worrying development. They share a serious glance with each other and then turn to Miss Tarragon.

"It seems that they have decided to make their move before anything else unforeseen happens..." She states and scratches her head. Ever since she was convinced to come along with Miss Hestia, her behavior has been surprisingly casual, considering her well-known strictness at the academy. "Maybe they fear that Miss Marcott is going to return?"

"Now that it has come to this, I shall tell you this. Chloe will certainly come back." Miss Hestia states with a determined expression and catches Miss Tarragon by surprise. We did not tell her that all three of us are harboring that hope - no, holding that conviction in our hearts, that Miss Marcott will return.

"... I see..." Miss Tarragon does not say any more than that and looks away in silence.

"What shall we do now?" I ask, turning to Miss Senka. She has always been the one to make the decisions since Miss Asoko left for the Demon Continent with Lenoly, and she has shown to be very capable in planning our actions.

"We need to warn Asoko." She states without hesitation and her eyes turn completely black. I shirk back and stare at her in instinctual fear. What is that appearance? The blackness spreads to the surroundings of her eyes in a pattern that reminds me of a butterfly. Miss Hestia is just as perturbed as I am, and we watch the doll-like girl in silence, as she ceases all her movements. A moment later, the blackness retreats towards her pupils and she looks at us with concern. "Damn, she's outside my range."

"Then..." I begin, but am immediately interrupted by her again.

"We have to get closer. Hestia, bring me across the ocean." Miss Senka jumps up and grabs the winged girl's arm.

"You want to get farther away from the capital? What if Chloe comes back during our absence?" Miss Hestia makes a good point and while I do not agree with abandoning Miss Asoko without a warning, the same can be said about Miss Marcott, if she returns to find that we are not in the capital anymore.

"What if Chloe comes back and both Asoko and her mother are dead?" Miss Senka's harsh rebuttal surprises me, but Miss Hestia is even more taken aback by it. "We can at least make it so it's not a surprise attack." Her expression is firm, which makes her look even more ghastly than she already does with her scars and the dark rings under her eyes.

"... I understand. Just in range for you to contact her." Finally, Miss Hestia concedes. Then she seems to realize something and turns to Miss Tarragon. "You carry her towards the Demon Continent, Dregana. You are faster."

"I refuse. I am following you now, but I will not betray the academy, and jeopardize their lives to save the demon queen." She responds without a moment's hesitation. "Even if she is the mother of your beloved Miss Chloe, she is still the enemy of mankind." Her piercing golden eyes are clear on the fact that she will not yield on this matter.

Miss Hestia glares at her, a scary glint in her eyes the kind of which I have never seen before. A shiver runs down my back and I feel honestly glad that I am not at the receiving end of it. Wordlessly, she turns away and rushes out of the barn. Miss Senka stays a moment longer and looks up to me.

"Please keep an eye on the academy. We may not be travelling too far, but I'll be concentrating on Asoko, so I won't be able to detect Chloe if she returns at that time. You'll have to let her know that she can contact me if she puts her mind into it." She gives me this important task and leaves. I understand and turn to immediately go and perform it, but then stop dead in my tracks.

What happens to Miss Tarragon then? We cannot just leave her here alone, can we? When I look at her, I see that she has demonstratively lain down on a pile of hay and is preparing to take a nap. For a moment, anger rises up inside me and bubbles form in my body, but I suppress it and quickly leave to carry out my duty. There is no point in worrying about this now, if neither Miss Hestia and Miss Senka are putting any thoughts into it. It just means that keeping the former instructor here is not as important as what each of us has to do now.

I watch Miss Hestia take off into the skies and fly towards south-east, then I quickly take my true shape and slither towards the north-west, in the direction of the capital.

Rolan Side

After the man named Oinos won our freedom, he stayed at Chandra's fortress for the night. Needless to say, when the husband of a ravenous sex demon returns, nobody will be able get even one wink of sleep that night. I cannot believe that he is the god known as the Walker in the Wild, but judging by his overwhelming power, even I have to admit that it may be the truth. I have never been particularly religious, but he does not look as eminent as I always imagined the gods to be. At the same time, I would never think of doing something that would cause him offence or even outright anger him; regardless of whether he is the real god or not, it is never a good idea to get on the bad side of someone who could very well be able to level an entire city with his bare fists.

The next morning, Oinos guides us to a transportation network circle, a short walk away, never explaining where we are going. There, he leaves us with a black-haired woman who has perpetually sleepy looking droopy eyes and is wielding a sickle moon staff. She activates the magic circle and transports us to a forest where a camp has been erected and a small army is standing by. I am led into the largest tent in its center, where a group of people are sitting at a round table and discussing what seems to be an important matter. Among them, I spot the principal of the Royal Academy, as well as the Saint of Luminosity.

"Rolan?" A familiar voice exclaims and I spin around. "It really is you!"

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Runa jumps into my arms. I am surprised for a moment, but at this point I do not care anymore. I strongly embrace her and we only separate to share a deep and loving kiss. How I longed for her all this time. Even before we were transported to the Demon Continent had I not seen her for two weeks, so it has been almost two moons since I was last able to hear her voice and smell her hair.

"Runa, you must've been so worried all this time. I'm so sorry that we disappeared like this, but we couldn't do anything-" Runa puts a finger on my lips and shakes her head.

"No, it does not matter anymore. You are safe, and that is all that counts." She says with a lovely expression, and I am overwhelmed by my feelings for her. Before I can revel in another kiss with her, the big man clears his throat right behind me. Runa immediately separates from me, her face flushed when she remembers that we are not alone. "... I am glad that you are all safe." She adds and greets Gram and Sigurd with a sheepish smile. The old group is back together.

Now that I look around more carefully once again, I see that the uniform ornamental armors of the guards standing at the walls of the tent are of a very high quality and clearly enchanted. Opposite of the entrance sits a man who would be about as tall as Gram if he stood up, wearing a perfectly polished silver armor that looks to be made of the famed dwarven steel only kings are in possession of these days. In other words, this person is royalty, and considering the fact that I have seen the king of Lares and he is not him, it must mean he is from the Empire of Terminus. His facial features are sharp and proud, and it is obvious that he is a straight-laced man.

"That is the Emperor of Terminus, Lucianus V." Runa whispers when she notices my gaze. I very nearly shout out my surprise, but hold myself back from doing so. There is a young elven girl wearing a crown of redwood sitting beside the emperor, who can only be Princess Evelyn Adrasteia Velia - or rather, the new queen of the elves, after the death of her mother at the hands of the demon queen.

"So this is the hero?" Lucianus V states and scrutinizes me with a hint of disapproval. I return the gaze, blinking a few times in confusion, before looking around to see that all eyes are on me. What does he mean, I am the hero?

Runa Side

I am finally reunited with my beloved Rolan - as well as Gram and Sigurd - but these are not the proper circumstances to express my joy over that fact. After all, we are gathered at this staging post to conduct our attack on the demon queen. I am still wondering why our group has been brought along, considering the fact that eminent figures such as Thorvadis, Lady Crux, Emperor Lucianus V, and even the gods are involved. Our powers could never even hope to measure up to theirs.

"So this is the hero?" Lucianus V asks when he gazes at Rolan with an almost disparaging expression and I blink in confusion. What does he mean by that?

"Indeed, he is the chosen one to defeat the demon queen." The woman with the droopy eyes responds with a smile. In a moment when I was able to do so without her hearing, I asked Thorvadis who she was, and he responded that she is Shelnir, the Guide of Tomorrow. In other words, she is the goddess who watches over the future, possessing power over the fates of people. When she says that Rolan is the chosen one, she means that the gods have chosen him to be their champion in this battle against the demon queen.

"But... I met the demon queen a few days ago. I've seen her power first hand, so I know that I would never stand a chance against her." Rolan replies, an expression filled with frustration on his face. I am confused once more; how was he able to meet the demon queen? He disappeared into the Lost Tombs, and then was brought here by Shelnir. "I'll explain to you in detail later..." Noticing my questioning gaze, he whispers to me.

"Worry not, for the gods are with you." Lady Crux says to him with a reassuring smile. She is able to convey so much warmth and security with just that, even when her eyes remain closed. I would trust her without a moment's hesitation.

"Have more faith in yourself." The old man next to Thorvadis adds. He was introduced to me as Alverost, the Mage of the Beginning, who is the very god who created all life in this world. His voice has a comfortable reverb and it soothes the soul just hearing it. But at the same time, I cannot help but think that the "faith" implies a belief in the gods, rather than what his overt statement meant.

"The gods, huh? Then why is Lord Oinos not fighting?" Rolan asks, directing his question at Lady Crux. She raises her eyebrows slightly and turns to Alverost, who strokes his beard and laughs heartily.

"That son of mine does not meddle in the conflicts of man and demons. He is the Walker in the Wild, after all." As if that explains it sufficiently, he leaves it at that. Of course, the very fact that there are even some gods helping us is already a miracle; they would normally have no reason to get involved, considering the fact that this balance of powers between mankind and the demons has continued for over a thousand years now. If they had chosen a side before, it could have ended much earlier.

But this just makes me wonder why they decided to take to the stage now, of all times. Maybe Rolan has something to do with it. After all, there has never been a chosen hero before. All heroes in history were those who rose to the task at hand and performed deeds befitting of the title, given to them by the people. That means he is different from those traditional heroes, someone who may tip the balance all on his own. So maybe, the war against the demons can finally come to an end?

"Let us finalize our strategy." Lucianus V interrupts my train of thoughts and gestures towards us, a straightforward expression on his face despite the hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I have high hopes in the hero chosen by the gods."

Asoko Side

This is awkward. I don't want to deny who I actually am, but at the same time, I'm not who they think I am. In other words, I'm actually Chaos, or at least I was reincarnated as the one Crawling Chaos, so aptly named 'Chaos'. But then I split off my other half and now there are two of me; we both have the same memories from before being reincarnated, and we have the same personality in almost all regards. Well, I think I'm a little more promiscuous because I'm the lower half or something like that. I mean, I don't really mind that I have a sheer insatiable libido, and as far as I can tell, the maids who were able to get a taste of it weren't averse to it either.

Alright, my thoughts are going off-track. It's the moment of truth; I have to tell them now, or it'll end in a misunderstanding. But I'm having a hard time trying to come up with a way to explain it without it becoming confusing. And how can I even prove what I'm saying?

"Mama, there's something I'd like to talk to you in private." For one, I don't want to let the maids know. Then again, nothing changes about the fact that I'm maou-mama's daughter, so my relationship with them shouldn't be any different even if they do know about it.

"This appears to be an important matter. Leave us." Realizing my seriousness, maou-mama orders the gathered maids to vacate the audience hall. I think it would have been faster and easier to just leave for a private room with me, but I guess as a ruler, one can be selfish like this. I signal for Kamii that it is alright for her to stay with me, and pet her hair again. This could become a habit... "What do you wish to talk to me about that my loyal maids should not hear?" Once it's just us three in the hall, which now seems really wide all of a sudden, maou-mama turns to me and asks.

"Do you remember when you first sent me through the transportation circle, on the day I gained my consciousness?" I start at the very beginning. She reminisces for a moment and then nods, ascertaining that she knows what I'm talking about.

"I accidentally sent you to the Dark Continent and came to your rescue, when a Harvester was about to eat you." So that's what happened to my other half, huh? Seems to be much more eventful than what I experienced right from the start. Kamii looks between us in confusion, but this is going to get even more confusing in a moment.

"No." I get right to the point. "That's not what I-" Before I can say it, Senka's ghostly form appears before me.

"They're going to attack soon! You need to prepa-" She starts, but is cut short by the sound of an explosion coming from outside the castle.