Hestia Side

"She's blocking me out." Senka comments as she turns around to me with a grave expression. "I didn't even know people could do that..."

"Then Onee-sama is still alright?" All I care about now is her well-being. I can feel empathy for the death of her mother later, when I know that she is safe.

"The situation looked pretty dire, and it's clear that she's not in her right mind after..." The doll-like girl trails off and looks down in silence. There is no point in wasting any more time here, then.

"We have to go help her." I state and move towards Senka to carry her once more. She looks at me with a blank expression, then I see a hint of disapproval in her eyes. It is clear that she will argue against flying to the Demon Continent to go to Onee-sama's aid next, and I already know what my answer will be.

"You do understand that the capital of the Demon Continent is still at least two days away, right? By the time we arrive, thing will be over already, and-"

"So you think that Onee-sama will lose." From Senka's description of what is happening over there, even I - with all my faith in Onee-sama's strength and resourcefulness - have to admit that she will most likely not be able to defeat them. But what kind of person would I be if I did not try to go to her aid nonetheless? And of course... "I have no doubt that she will survive."

"... I see." Sighing, the doll-like girl shakes her head with her eyes closed in resignation. "Let's hope you're right."

I hope so, too...

Rolan Side

It is done.

The demon queen is defeated, her remains scattered to the winds. Chloe came moments after, but was taken away by the double agent Mithra, who betrayed the gods and returned to aid his queen in the end. None of the gods seem to care for chasing after them and are preparing to leave with the attitude of a job well done.

But I feel empty. I cannot forget Chloe's reproachful glare before she showed her demonic appearance that was so similar to her mother's. I was reminded of the fact that she is the daughter of the demon queen once again, but her emotions were too human. Just like those of the Nightmare farmers. Just like those of the innocent civilians killed in the massacre. Just like humans...

"Come, we are leaving. We should return to Kongenssoevn with Master Thorvadis." Runa comes up to me and breaks me out of my downward spiraling thoughts.

"Oh no, I thought you were coming to study with me, young lady." Lord Alverost approaches her with his usual frivolous attitude.

"R-right now?" She is surprised by the suddenness of it. "I thought-"

"The lives of humans are short." A mischievous glint appears in his eyes as he glances at Runa's ears knowingly. "And those of half-elves are not that much longer." Spreading his arms in an inviting gesture, he continues. "This is an opportunity few have been granted in over a thousand cycles."

"I..." Runa turns to look at me, as if seeking my decision.

"I think you should go." I say with a smile, but her expression changes to one of shock. But before I realize what I have just done, she has turned to Lord Alverost without another word and they disappear into nothingness together. Speechless, I open my mouth, but then close it again without making a sound.

Huh, what just happened?

"What now, big man?" I hear Sigurd talk to Gram, and turn my head towards them.

"I think I'll go to Chandra's fortress." The latter responds after some contemplation. I'm surprised to hear him say that, but at the same time, I feel that he actually enjoyed his time with her.

"How will you get there? The journey will be dangerous." Sigurd asks with a concerned expression.

"Lady Shelnir offered to send me there through the transportation network. I'll be able to find my way back from the exit." Gram scratches the back of his head and states sheepishly. It seems that he simply cannot get used to the gods walking among us. "What about you?"

"I shall return to Kongenssoevn, and weave a tale of our journey and its conclusion." Sigurd responds with a difficult smile and lifts his lute demonstratively. I am once again reminded of the fact that we have killed the demon queen - the reason for our group to remain together has disappeared...

"What about you, Rolan?" Gram comes over to ask me.

"I don't know." I respond after a pause. "I think I'll go on a journey... I need to process everything that happened here..."

"I see. Then that means our ways part here." Sigurd states with a knowing expression, the shadow of sadness in his voice. The big man turns to him, not taking this farewell too hard.

"Don't make it sound like we'll never meet again. You and Sigurd will forever remain in my heart!" Beating his chest with his fist, Gram booms in laughter. I feel like he forgot something, but I cannot recall it either. "After all, we took down the demon queen together."

I feel a pang of guilt at being reminded of it once more. Was it really the right thing to do? Will the demons not suffer without their leader? Without her blessing?

"That we did." I respond and return his grin with one of my own, despite not feeling any joy about our victory.

What have we done?

Thorvadis Side

I was shocked to see that Miss Chloe somehow made it back from the heavens; I believe everyone was, especially Mistress Ninlil, who seems to have been afflicted with a considerable trauma at her hands after her disappearance. Everybody was already prepared to fight another Crawling Chaos who may be almost as strong as its mother, but the traitor Mithra transported her away, utilizing space magic apparently beyond even the understanding of the gods.

However, it seems that none of them felt any gravity in their escape. The demon queen was incredibly powerful, and only with the combined strength of six gods were we able to bring her down. Miss Chloe can learn from this battle and return with a vengeance one day, possibly far stronger than even her mother. We will have to prepare for that, so I cannot help but not be in the mood for celebrating.

When I turn to Basarab and Miss Crux, I see that they appear to be of a similar opinion as I am. The former nearly died at the hands of Miss Chloe, so he has all the reason in the world to feel the urge to finish the Crawling Chaos lineage as soon as possible. The latter must be thinking about the corruption that this surviving child of the demon queen can spread from now on, and if she is able to ascend to the throne, we would have a repetition of what we lived through today.

Therefore, I wonder why the gods are leaving one after another, to return to their domains, despite the fact that the Demon Continent is still not pacified. Maybe they only perceived the demon queen as a threat to the world, but now that she is no more, the following affairs should be resolved by humans themselves. The truth of the matter is that the Empire of Terminus is preparing another expedition with the sole intention of subjugating and exterminating all of demonkind, so that there will finally be peace for mankind.

How long that may take, I do not know. What I do know is that it will be a bloody war which will generate many casualties among the humans. But it is a cautionary measure, so that no demon lord may ever rise again and spread corruption and suffering in the world. No matter how fascinating I find individuals among the demons, I cannot let this cloud my judgment when it comes to human survival.

Lord Zylos and Lady Kanundra have already left, their power made very clear during the battle against the demon queen. Without their help, we would not have been able to hold her back, but it seems that they are either very humble or just aloof about their involvement in this monumental achievement.

Lord Zenlith, who only appeared for the final confrontation, is floating above the castle, watching over the soldiers still dispersed within the city. He reminds me of Emperor Lucianus V, and it is possible that the latter may enjoy the Lord of the Sky's blessing in one way or another. It would only be natural for him to look out for the young emperor and his troops.

Lord Serent is speaking to Lady Shelnir in a language I do not understand; its tone is completely different from any human language or dialect. I was astonished to find that the Liberator of the Dead looked like an undead himself, but his divine presence is undeniable. Lord Alverost takes Miss Sigint with him after a short discussion. It seems that the decision came easily, considering the fact that it was offered by the Lord Creator himself.

I will return to the Royal Academy and reevaluate my understanding of magic after seeing the feats performed by the gods. It was very instructional to see how they cast effects similar to ones humans have access to without the need for incantations or catalysts. In that regard, I envy Miss Sigint for having the opportunity to learn from Lord Alverost personally. I studied under his previous student, whom I surpassed quickly, but was not able to meet the Lord Creator before I reached an age at which my mind is no longer as quick-witted as it used to be.

"Come, let us go home." I clap my hands and speak to Basarab, Mistress Ninlil and Lady Crux. Of course, I will help transport whoever wants to come along, although it would seem that Rolan and his partners will not travel together from now on. The hero chosen by the gods wishes to go on a journey on his own, and while I have my apprehensions of letting him wander the Demon Continent, I can only trust in the man into whom the gods put theirs. He should be able to defend himself against any assailant, when he has the power to kill the demon queen in a single stroke.

For now, the death of the demon queen means that the spread of corruption has been halted. Cursed humans and corrupted beasts will cease to come into existence for the time being. As long as the Empire of Terminus succeeds in preventing another demon lord from ascending to the throne, mankind's territories will see peace. Yet, when I look towards the future, I cannot help but think that our actions today will have grave consequences.

I just hope I am overthinking things.

Lenoly Side

When I regain my senses, I find that I'm enveloped by warmth. My eyes are still unable to see after the intensity of the light from the woman of fire's explosion, but maybe it's because I have died and am in the afterlife now. Yet, I can feel my body and I can certainly move it, and most importantly, I can feel pain.

It's the pain of lying on top of hard and pointy rocks, with some kind of weight pushing me down onto them. When I try to push myself off the ground, I notice that this weight is much larger than I anticipated. I groan from both the pain and my labored attempts at moving, but it's impossible to exert much force from my awkward position.

"I apologize... I must be heavy..." A familiar voice speaks and I try to turn my head to look at its source. The weight on top of me shifts and then slowly moves away. Light falls into the darkness and I find that I'm surrounded by rubble. When I look up, I see Rewera's face gazing down on me with a gentle expression. So she was lying on top of me.

No wait, that's wrong. I remember now. Rewera jumped before me during Kanundra's explosion and shielded me from it with her own body. She lifts herself off of me and then kneels by my side, smiling weakly. Her uniform flakes from her body and reveals toned shoulders, well-rounded breasts and prominent abdominal muscles underneath. It explains her physical prowess, but not how she was able to withstand the immense heat that could burn even me, even though I'm a Capra demon.

I stand up onto unsteady feet and look around me. The entire side of the castle has been melted away in the heat explosion and the molten rock has come down all around us in an infernal rain of destruction. There's not a hint of the maids who fought against Master Thorvadis and Alverost, but where they had been moments ago, only smoldering slag remains; they must have been incinerated.

Outside, I can see the burning city. No human soldiers in their shiny silver and golden armor can be seen in the streets, but instead demon warriors swarm in from the open gates and scour the houses for survivors. The fact that there is no battle means that the humans retreated before the demon army arrived. This means that they either succeeded and the demon queen is dead, or they failed and had to leave before they would be routed.

Next to me, Rewera loses consciousness and before I can react, falls forward and onto her face. Only now do I see the grievous burns on her back. Strangely enough, her hair is still intact and completely unscathed, but these wounds must be causing her incredible pain. To care for my comfort even under these circumstances drives tears into my eyes.

Why would she go so far for a lowly girl like me? With her strength and speed, she could have avoided the explosion by running out of its area of effect. And she's the sister of the previous demon king; she's of royalty, an existence on a completely different level from mine. But she saved my life, so I need to do my best to repay her as best as I can. I need to bring her to the infirmary and have Ruwl look after her.

Mustering all my strength, I lift her up and carry her on my back, her legs dragging across the ground since I'm much smaller than she is. I'm sorry, but that's the only way I can even move you at all, so bear with it. Grinding my teeth, I slowly set one foot before the next, walking through the ruined corridor of the fallen castle.

When I reach the corridor leading to the infirmary, the first thing I notice is Xaggavea leaning against a wall, crying. Around her several bodies in maid uniforms lie on the ground bleeding, unmoving and most likely dead. Among them, I spot Ruwl, her open but lifeless eyes telling volumes about her fate. My heart sinks at the sight and my knees give out under the weight of the situation as well as Rewera on my back.

Xaggavea notices me and turns around, the corners of her eyes swollen and reddened by her crying. She turns to me and reveals that she is missing her right arm and several of her legs, but even then, she attempts to move towards me, clearly intent on helping me with my load. The sight is so heart-rending that tears fill my vision, but determination fills my body with newfound strength.

We are still alive. And we will survive.

Chaos Side

I'm being teleported.

And who could, under these circumstances, do that to me? Of course, it was Mithra. He's actually floating next to me in the stream of light, the bandages and heavy robe hiding his features completely. What kind of face is he making, I wonder. It's clear that he was on my mother's side in the end, but she most likely ordered him to not interfere with her battle. Is he sad over her death? Is he secretly celebrating, since he may have been a traitor after all?

I can't help but feel a certain disassociation with my situation right now. I just lost my mother, but why am I able to stay so calm? I remember being enraged when I got separated from Kamii, and when I learned that she had been teleported somewhere out of reach when I almost found her again. So why am I not sad right now?

"Why did you transport me away?" I ask Mithra in a low and calm voice.

"... do you really need an explanation?" He replies with a question of his own. His tone is as composed as mine, and there's not a hint of mockery in it, even though his words may sound like that.

"You think that I would have lost." It's not even a question and I'm not expecting an answer.

"No, I know that you would have lost." His response is delivered in a very direct manner, which shows that he doesn't fear any repercussions for it. I don't really care for his opinion, though.

"So, what's the plan, then?" If he says that there is no plan, I'll kill him right here, even if it means that I'll be stuck in this teleportation forever...

"Gather strength." In what sense? "You cannot defeat the gods on your own." He makes a valid point. I can only imagine how it would have gone, if I had fought alongside my mother. But at the same time, I have to wonder why he didn't help her. Or anyone else in the demon castle, for that matter. She was alone when I found her fighting a group of more than ten people.

"Go on." That's all I say, since I'm curious to hear whom I should enlist help from.

"Gather those who wish to overthrow the gods. Other powerful beings, both human and demon." Now, I'd only need to find people who are strong enough for that. Easy, right? "And become stronger yourself."

"Where should I start?" I assume our destination is a place where I can do either of those two.

"With yourself." Mithra states. The stream of light around us is instantly replaced by a gigantic prairie filled with thousands of cow-like animals. "Eat."