“What’s wrong?”

Sivrit had stopped in her tracks to look at the first snowfall, followed by Attila’s realization.

“It’s winter,” said Sivrit

“...It’s been a while since I last saw snow,” said the Goddess “Well then, we should continue faster to the next town before the snow piles up!”

“Gah! Can’t you just use, I don’t know, teleportation or something?” asked Attila

“Stamina and patience are important qualities of a hero. Come on now, or you’ll fall behind!”

Attila and Sivrit picked their pace and jogged toward the Goddess. They weren’t sure when they would finally return home, but they would miss the holiday season this year.

…

“Ooh, what is that?” asked Reina

“I suppose it’s the first time you’ve seen it, huh? Well, that’s snow” replied Siege

The two were inside their apartment, looking out the window overlooking the capital. The streetlights began to flicker on in a pattern as the sun slowly set.

“Snow…?”

“Well… They’re like rain, but made of ice” said Siege “That reminds me, we’ll be having Wundermastenn soon!”

“Wundermastenn? What’s that?”

“It’s a week of celebration where we bring each other gifts as the harsh coldness brings people closer together”

“Do I get a present?”

“Of course, you do, Crimson too!”

“Yay!”

Her eyes reflected the bright snow lit by the moonlight, Siege unable to guess what she was thinking about. Reina’s mind was a unique one, created under special circumstances. However, she was already approaching mental maturity just around a month since her ‘resurrection’.

“...Do I have to give a gift to everyone too?”

“If you want, sure”

“I guess I’ll have to prepare one for the people at the academy, and Dad and Crimson… Maybe the heroes too”

“Do you remember the names of your friends?”

“Hm… Remembering things is hard”

“...Well, I suppose we should work on that”

As it was already late into the night, Siege brought the Anti-Demon Lord to her room to tuck her in. It was a long day for her, her first day of school. Well, it was a long day for him as well. After flickering off the light, the hero gently closed the doors, inviting total darkness.

…

At the castle, Order-Citadelis, Liliya checked her Eins-Chat account just in case on her computer, its blue light dimly illuminated the room. The only other source of light was the moonlight, brighter than ever away from the street lamps.

For now, her only contacts were her butler, mother and father. She had been homeschooled to be taught the manners and philosophies of a royal, and she was only allowed to attend the Royal Gladiatorial Academy after negotiation on the condition of extra studies. The princess wasn’t particularly sure how to make friends and was afraid if she came on too strongly.

Liliya mentally noted what topics to talk about tomorrow; the Wundermastenn, about computers and… She couldn’t think of a third thing, which bothered her to bits. She sorted through various reminders on events and required attendees on her computer before shutting it down for the night.

Suddenly, she was greeted by a quiet knock on her bedroom door. It was probably her mother, Queen Roza. Liliya swiftly answered the door and invited her in.

The first thing the Queen did was embrace her beloved daughter, her favourite person in the world.

“I missed you so much, Liliya!”

“T-thank you, Mother”

“So how was school? Was it fun?”

“It was indeed. I made a lot of new friends”

“Really? I’ve never been to a school before so tell me about everything!”

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“Well…”

Liliya illustrated her day, from her introduction to the class, the lessons themselves and the friends she had made. Now that she thought about it, it was a long day.

Meanwhile, her mother silently listened, mostly just watching her daughter’s beautiful face. Perhaps it was strange to everyone else, but to Roza, her daughter was the greatest masterpiece in Avangarden. Kind, intelligent, caring and photogenic, the Queen loved her daughter more than she loved the King.

The Queen subconsciously touched her daughter’s cheek and caressed her hair, the golden strand flowing like a divine river. To most Liliya was an attractive girl, but to her mother, she was perfect.

“...You look even more perfect day after day”

“T-thank you, Mother” replied Liliya shyly

While she was used to being doted on by her mother, the princess never got used to the compliments. Liliya knew that her mother loved her, perhaps too much, but she was glad to have such an attentive mother. Heavens knew that the same could never be true between her and her father.

“My princess is the Goddess’s favourite. You told me that a hero chose you as a ‘hero candidate’ or something, right? Well I’m sure you’ll be a great hero, and even if you don’t, you’ll be a great King”

“I’ll try to be as great as you, Mother”

“Aw… And humble too!”

After the conversation, the Queen realized that it was already late into the night and left her daughter to sleep for her health and well-being.

“Well, if you need or want anything, make sure to tell me okay? I know you want me to stop making frivolous purchases but, if my princess doesn’t tell me what she wants, I have no choice but to guess! Anyways, I love you and have a good night!”

“You too, Mother”

As the door slowly closed, Roza watched Liliya until the last second, the princess lay in her bed contemplating the future. It always seemed too far away, but she could become a King at any moment. As soon as her father was decapacitated, she would be instituted as the new King and the kingdom would enter a new era under her control.

Liliya wasn’t sure if she could handle such responsibility, and wondered how hero-kings of the past could even juggle such great tasks at the same time.

She could only pray for her future self, as she entered dreamland.

…

“It seems that they’ve taken the bait, Gilgamesh,” said a shadowy figure slowly emerging from the dark.

The two were at the top of a tower of the demon lords’ castle, the wind whistling through the open area through all windows. Zealot did not turn to look at the demon lord and rather continued to watch the night sky.

“Oh, you mean the small present I’ve left for my friend Enkidu? I wouldn’t say it was a trap… It’s more like a warning!”

“It’s a bluff, that’s for sure. However, everything is going according to my grand narrative so far”

“Whew… How does it feel, being so smart, Merlin?”

The figure fully submerged itself in the light, revealing a human girl dressed in a heavy wizard’s robe, weighing more than double her body. A wicked grin decorated with alarmingly sharp teeth slowly grew on her visage as she was filled with contentment.

“Very, very good”

“Then I supposed projects Archdemons and Protodemons are both online?”

“It’s clear as day that we are simply outnumbered, outpowered and outreached by the heroes. However, that doesn’t mean that Sonosis will go down without a fight. With God’s interference on our side, we just need more demon lord equivalents on our side to even the playing field”

“Hm… Maybe we’re playing right into the stranger I met, Viktim’s hand”

“It is no use worrying about matters outside of our realm. Even if the hero under him can see the future, who is to say that fate is not in our favour?”

“...The demon lord of the current era had a talent similar to him… The ability to see fate. Perhaps that is something worth recovering, her corpse may still contain mana and other information that can be extracted”

“But it’ll be dangerous to dig her grave in the backyard of the heroes’ headquarters”

“Well, I’ve got just the person for that”

“Who?”

“Well… I’ll tell you about her later. It’s not something we should worry about right now with the heroes on alert. We need to retrieve the corpse when the heroes are in disarray, you just focus on the projects”

“How do you know they will be in disarray?”

“...Let’s just say that being a horseman feels very, very good”

Zealot faced Merlin to reveal his eyes, to which she realized that one Zealot wasn’t seeing the stars or her, his vision was somewhere else entirely. Merlin could barely make out the image from the reflection in his eyes, and in his sight was Reginn, training deep underground with Har-Meggido.

Zealot currently possessed the visions of a bat by utilizing his authority as the Horseman of Conquest, the ability to have control over every organic creature. This way, he was able to see everything any living creature was seeing in an almost unlimited radius as well as control those creatures. The only drawback of the ability was that he could only control a single creature at a time.

“...Heh, perhaps we are not so outmatched after all”

The sound of slow clapping echoed throughout the tower, a tall man emerging from the staircase step by step. Only Zealot recognized the figure, from back during his encounter with Viktim.

“Bravo, demon lord,” said the man with a gentle smile on his face

“...Prometheus, my friend. What brings you here so late into the night?”

“Another prophecy, to put you onto the right tracks. I bring good news”

“Let’s hear it!”

“Two years. In two years, Avangarden will be ripe for picking. I recommend patience and lay low for now”

“What happens then?”

“I cannot tell you that much. All I can say is that the heroes will be divided and unready. This will be an important event in history to destabilize the nation and to shake it to its roots”

“...Whose side are you on?”

“I am on my master’s side”

“No, I mean do you want us to win, or are you leading us to our deaths? You are a hero after all”

“A hero?” interjected Merlin

“... my roots may indeed make you question my sincerity, but let me make myself clear,” said Prometheus, ignoring Merlin “I am on neither the heroes’ nor the demon lords’ side”

“Then how do you want this eternal war to end?”

“...I wish for the defeat of both sides”

Zealot let out a roaring laughter at the statement to Prometheus’s annoyance.

“Well, thanks for evening the playing field then. I don’t believe your master is greater than my God, and I won’t be taking your prophecies into account”

“...Do as you wish, but know that I never lie”

“I’m sure you don’t. I’ll just take the fate you foresee and… adjust a few things”

“Very well then”

Prometheus walked back down the stairs before disappearing into the shadows. Merlin had many questions, but Zealot assured her that everything would be answered soon.

Everything would be decided in a faithful battle in two years, and the new era would begin then.