Muriel stood before the white pedestal, Chiaki's coreless shell looming above her. The first thought that crossed her mind was to embrace her little sister, but she understood the truth—the real Chiaki was not there. Despair filled the young dragon's heart. She had awakened only to find she was too late to save her beloved sister.

“How could this happen? Melania, you must be playing a cruel joke on me.” Muriel's voice trembled with a mix of hope and denial.

"Muriel, Without the Lucentail core, I can't fix her." Melania replied gently.

Muriel forced a smile. It couldn't be true. There was no way an other-worlder would defeat her sister. She turned to Melania, who did not share her forced smile. Reality slowly crept in, and Muriel found herself gripping the hem of Melania's cloak.

"Tell me! Tell me this is just a joke!" Muriel screamed, tears streaming down her face. Her outburst drew the attention of the students who were reading in the library around them.

"It's not a lie." Melania answered, looking up at Chiaki before meeting Muriel's tearful gaze. "They really took her core."

"Lies! Nonsense! Disgusting! I'll burn them all!" Muriel shouted. Her outburst caused even more students to turn and stare.

"Muriel, calm down. Everyone's watching us." Melania whispered, quickly kneeling and wrapping her arms around Muriel.

"Unhand me! Let me go... please." Muriel struggled weakly, but she clung to Melania for a moment, crying softly.

"I understand your pain, Muriel. I feel the same way," Melania said softly, holding her tight.

"And I need your help, Muriel."

“What?”

"What do you mean?" Muriel asked, releasing her grip and wiping her tears with the sleeve of her school uniform.

"Let's go back to my office. This is important." Melania said, standing up and holding out her hand.

"But, what about Chiaki?" Muriel looked up at the motionless shell of her sister and hesitated.

"Chiaki can't die, no matter what. If we get her core back, we can restore her back to life. And I need your help to do that. Let's discuss this further in my office," Melania explained.

Melania gently pulled Muriel along, her hand clasped around the dragon girl's in a silent, reassuring grip. Muriel, emotionally weakened, followed without resistance. Her eyes, however, remained fixated on Chiaki's lifeless shell until they exited the academy's library.

The walk back to Melania's office was a quiet one, with neither of them uttering a word. Muriel stared at the ground, lost in her tumultuous thoughts.

Once inside the office, Melania guided Muriel to a chair opposite her desk and took her usual seat. She picked up a teacup, sipping slowly while observing Muriel, who was now staring at the tea set without a word.

"You're so cold, Melania. Since when did you start hating me?" Muriel tried to smile, but it failed, her face reflecting her sorrow.

"You... you're the type who won't believe anything unless you see it for yourself. Especially about Chiaki losing her core, I knew you wouldn't believe it without seeing her." Melania said, collecting her thoughts. Despite knowing it was harsh, she believed it necessary for Muriel to understand the gravity of the situation.

"At least you could've told me, you undead wretch..." Muriel muttered, lightly kicking the desk in frustration.

“……”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry this happened. Chiaki was a good person, a very good one. Both the students and other teachers agreed she was the best instructor here at the academy."

"So, we were all shocked that someone would hold such a grudge against her to the point of doing this. I’m truly sorry we couldn’t stop those brats in time.”

Muriel, irritated by Melania's repeated apologies, looked up. She saw Melania bowing deeply, her head almost touching the desk. Seeing this, Muriel's anger began to dissipate. Despite everything, Chiaki's core was still missing, and no amount of apologies could change that.

“So, what’s next? What do you want from the demon lord sitting in front of you, Melania?” Muriel wiped her face with her sleeve, regaining her composure.

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“Emm… Sorry. Let’s get to the point. Ahem…”

“You’ve been ‘dead’ for 500 years, Muriel. During that time, other demon lords have emerged every hundred or two hundred years, but none claimed dominion over the continent like you did.”

“Uh-huh. I’ve heard about that from those adventurers who woke me up. So what? They’ll kneel before me either way.” Muriel responded, crossing her legs and lifting her chin defiantly.

“I expected you to say that… So, what do you know so far? That way, I can fill in the gaps.”

Melania leaned back in her chair, studying Muriel. The evening light cast an orange hue across the room, and from the window behind Melania, the two moons of this world were faintly visible. Muriel, meanwhile, pondered over the words spoken by the adventurers who had awakened her.

“They told me that many have claimed the title of demon lord of this continent in my absence, but from what I understand none have matched my authority.” Muriel began, recalling the conversation. “Looks like there are currently other three demon lords in the Western Continent, right? If those people weren't lying to me.”

“Correct. Currently, in this world, there are ten demon lords spread across three continents, including you. Skill Activation [Strategic Map].”

Melania raised her hand above the table and activated her skill, then swiped her hand to the side. Immediately, a light blue magic circle appeared on the table, transforming into a 3D map of the world for Muriel to see. The map depicted the three continents: Feulia, Doria, and Tessaria, commonly referred to as the Western Continent, the Eastern Continent, and the Southern Continent respectively.

“The Southern Continent is entirely controlled by Demon Lord Guoyin and his two subordinates.” Melania started, pointing at the Southern Continent, which was divided in half by a central mountain range.

“In the Eastern Continent, Demon Lord Crudea is waging a war to unify the continent under her rule. She appeared around the same time you died and has three subordinate demon lords.” Melania moved her fingers to the Eastern Continent, separated from the Western Continent by a vast white desert to the far north and an ocean in between the two continents.

“And finally, our Western Continent has four demon lords, including you.”

“The first is Vampire Queen Reyona. Her domain spans from the southern part of Alderia Bay to the Whispering Wind Mountains and down to the southern coastline.” She pointed to the southern part of Alderia Bay, dragging her finger down to the coastline and circling the territory.

“A vampire, huh? Disgusting. I’ll drive a silver knife through her heart.” Muriel muttered.

“The second one is Thorren. His territory is in the Malicia Magic Forest.” Melania pointed to the large forest northwest of the continent.

“The Malicia Magic Forest? Who could live in a place overflowing with magical energy like that?” Muriel asked, her face showing genuine confusion.

“He’s a dark elf, and he commands an army of dark elves from that forest.”

“Dark elves, huh? No wonder… mostly only they can live there. Pitiful…”

“And the last one… Samwell Baker.” Melania pointed to a kingdom near Alderia Bay on the western side.

“Samwell...? What kind of name is that?” Muriel tilted her head in confusion, having never heard such a name.

“A name from another world.”

“Huh…? Explain…”

“This is just my theory, but the one who took Chiaki’s core might be him.”

“What do you mean, Melania!?”

Muriel slammed the table so hard that the table broke on her side, demanding an immediate explanation. Melania looked at her carved mahogany table with grief for a second as the table was almost broken in two. Melania let out a pensive sigh, she could use magic to repair the table but it was her favorite table.

“It‘s an alias. According to my research, the only person from another world currently is the student who took Chiaki’s core. His name is Hagiwara Satoru, but at the academy, he uses the name Finel Uranua.”

“Finel?? But that’s a girl’s name, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I found it odd too, a man using a girl’s name. I thought his parents wanted a daughter initially.”

“If I had figured it out sooner, I would have known he was from another world.”

“So what now…? Can I storm the city and kill them all now?” Muriel stood up, looking at Melania with clenched fists, ready to crush whoever took her beloved baby sister.

“You won’t find them that way. They operate like a… how should I say it, an underground secret society.”

“An underground secret society?”

“Yes, their hold over the Kingdom of Veridia near Reyona’s territory is because they took over without anyone noticing. While Veridia still has a king, they largely control the governance.”

“Wait a minute, Melania. How do you know so much about this secret society?”

“……”

“A secret society with its leader aiming to become a demon lord can’t stay secret for long. I have my own spies within their ranks.”

“I see… So all I have to do is find their leader, this Finel, and tear him apart to get Chiaki’s core back. Simple.” Muriel concluded, turning to leave Melania’s office.

“You’re determined to kill him, aren’t you…? Well, there’s one more thing you need to know, Muriel.”

“What is it?”

“In the past 500 years, there have been several attempts to revive the slave trade. Currently, it’s mostly a taboo, even in the black market. But in the last decade, the Kingdom of Veridia has started reviving it, capturing and selling people domestically and to other continents. It could spread across the continent soon.”

“The fuck did you say?” Muriel turned back to Melania, staring at her without blinking.

“This is why I need your help. You, the Dragon of Freedom.”

“Muriel, stop them and reclaim Chiaki’s core. That’s what I’m asking of you.”

“Disgusting… The slave trade…” Melania could hear Muriel’s utter disgust for slavery as she was muttering but then Muriel nodded.

“You don’t need to ask. I’ll destroy it again, Melania.”

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