Author's note: Let the Game begin!

#####################################################################################################

The first few days after the war ended pretty quickly with no particular events worth mentioning. The demons in Ragna were busy to prepare for the reception of the many leaders of Astora while other countries were still stuck in a transition period to accommodate themselves with the new world, especially with the idea of a new race now able to join the primes as part of the recognized living beings of this world. Willing or not, they would have to accept it if they did not want to be erased from the courses of history. It would take time for the process to be imprinted in the mind of the people but the results so far were quite plausible.

And yet, there were still those who did not accept this result of a peace treaty between all races and now they were on the move to make sure that the peace talk would not go as planned.

However, their story was destined for later as a certain event took place the night two days before the peace talk. An event that no one was even aware about, not even when it concerned the one person that many was looking for, the person who was responsible for the tragedy a decade ago.

While everyone in the castle was preoccupying themselves in order to finish the preparation in time, no one had time to pay attention to the lonely celestial who spent her whole day locked up in her chamber, for her own safety according to them. Because of her handicaps being both blind and deaf, she was unable to communicate normally and therefore had a lot of trouble to talk with anyone, not to mention her damaged mind which was that of a child. But there was no need to feel pity for her. For recently, she has gained a new friend who would come and see her every now and then. Thanks to his special nature, not even Alastor could detect his presence unless they were in the same room or very close to each other. Still, the Lord of Oblivion was lucky for Alastor has been busy with his ‘nightly adventure’ so he has paid no heed to some fluctuations of mana around him. And that was a big negligence on Alastor’s part, a mistake he might have wished he has done differently.

With no one around, Sinforma decided to bring Ingrid out of her cage for once, not just because he wanted her to have some fresh air after being copped up in that room for days but also because he had something in mind. After a long research, the leader of the Reapers believed he has finally found a way to cure Ingrid or at least reconstruct the lost memories of the celestial. But could it really be done? For a task that even the creator of the soul itself claimed to be impossible, would Sinforma be able to accomplish such unfeasible thing?

After bringing the impaired woman to a lake far from the castle, hidden by the tall trees surrounding it, Sinforma placed Ingrid against a tree as he asked for her permission.

“May I?” he inquired. It was a bit odd for someone like Sinforma to care about someone.

If it was anybody else, he would not have hesitated for even a second to claim what he desired. Yet this youngest child of Alastor somehow was very patient with the broken hero. Up until recently, the only person the phantom would care for was his own sister Odium. In a way, his relationship with her, from his side of view was rather abnormal, to the borders of obsession. What he really felt about her, admiration, adoration, idolisation or even love, no one would ever know. The only thing that mattered was how he felt when Odium died. On that fateful day, he came too late, unable to help his beloved sister when she needed him the most. Alas, he set out a new goal for himself that day, a goal that would later bring on a new age.

“Will this hurt?” asked Ingrid reluctantly.

“No! I promise that you won’t even feel a thing. You trust me, right?” spoke Sinforma in an inhuman voice but with a gentle caring tone.

“I do…Alright!” she exhaled deeply. “I am ready!”

“Here I go!”

Reaching his hand inside her chest, Sinforma grabbed her soul into his hand before pulling out a blue flame of her body. Unlike an intact soul, this flame was so tiny and seemed to dwindle as if it would go out any moment now. As the life began to drift away from the celestial, Sinforma used his other hand and froze her body in an unique ice that would put her in stasis, keeping her alive until he finished the ritual.

The reason the soul could not heal was because it was not nurtured in a proper environment that would allow it to heal. So what or where it would? If we talked about the soul, the most infamous place linked to it would be the Abyss itself. One look at the demon lords already showed how well the souls were preserved even after millennia without any sign of deterioration. Could it be that the Abyss possessed a special propriety that could allow such thing? And more importantly, what about damaged soul? Aside from storing it, could it help in the reparation of the soul too? The only way to find out was to test it.

But surely there was no way Sinforma could just bring Ingrid to the Abyss. Not only he could not, Ingrid would die there because of the thick miasma. The dark mist destroyed all signs of life, meaning all life essences and vessels, the two elements linking to Eden and Lilith. In short, miasma was bad for all living beings and being in its proximity would kill anything. However, what about the soul? The special quality of the Abyss was that it contained, or rather filled with miasma. Could it be that the reason for its unique capacity for storing souls actually came from that black mist? If so, that would explain why the Soul Forger Magnus chose that place as his hideout. It would be the perfect place for a God that controlled souls.

All that was only speculations and outrageous ones at that. However, that was the only way Sinforma could think of and he was prepared to do it. But would he risk Ingrid’s life just for his own goal? Even though he cared so much about her? What was his goal anyway? And why was it so important to him?

Holding a blue flame in his hand, the lord of Oblivion released a thick layer of dark smoke below him and plunged the soul in the middle of it. Within seconds, the flame enlarged and restored its once glorious form: a large lively flame.

“So it works! Time to read her memory!......

………….

………….

………….

WHAT? IMPOSSIBLE! So that’s the killer??? But why?”

Suddenly, Sinforma sensed a presence far from him and dodged to the side. Normally, with such a special body, he would have no need to evade any attack. However, what almost struck him was special as well and he was right to dodge it. Else Sinforma would have been pierced to death by now.

Looking at the ground next to him where he used to stand just second earlier, a blue translucent spear was impaling the ground before turning into dust without a trace.

“Who is there? Show yourself!” shouted Sinforma.

From the shadowy dense vegetation, a pair of blue crystal eyes flashed in the middle of the darkness, staring straight at the dark body of Sinforma as if it was peering at his very core, revealing all his secrets.

“So you are able to restore that broken wench’s memories…I assumed you were just playing house with her but who would have thought that you actually did it…I guess it’s my mistake for allowing her to live till this day after all.” a female voice spoke from the shadow. “But what are you exactly? Even I have only noticed your presence until recently while you seemed to have been around this place for a bit longer. What is your goal?” The tone was so gentle, unlike the actual contents of what was being said. That emotionless voice simply sounded too distant, reflecting the mind of the perpetrator.

“…I know this presence….But…Why do you also share that same presence? ……I see now…so that’s how you avoided all the attention after all these years. That’s how no one ever found out who the killer was.

It was you! You were the one responsible for what happened at the demon lord’s castle ten years ago.” Sinforma shouted menacingly.

“So you know who I am? Good! There is no need to play games anymore then. But first, why are you so interested in that affair? You and your shadows should have just continued reaping souls instead of poking your nose in matters that don’t concern you.” The female voice echoed through the wind, accompanied by a volley of translucent projectiles consisting of multiple types of weapons, ranging from spear to swords of many different forms, all coming straight at Sinforma. “I am afraid I cannot let you wander around any longer. Die!”

“” the child of Alastor raised a large wall of miasma around him to protect himself from the projectiles. He could have dodged with his incredible speed but the problem was what lied beyond him: the frozen body of Ingrid still remained motionless, with her in a slumbering state, unaware of what was happening outside the thick layer of ice.

That attack was deliberated on the stranger’s part to target the defenceless celestial, making Sinforma unable to just run away even if he had the chance. But could he? Whoever this interloper was, this was the person who managed to kill both Asgore and Lakyus despite them being the strongest at their time. Sinforma could not afford to make a single mistake if he wished to remain alive from the assault.

In addition to the relentless onslaught, these weapons being thrown were all soul weapons, meaning they could pierce through all types of defence and even fatal to a Reaper. That was right: soul magic was the only thing that could hurt a Reaper and from extension, Sinforma who was their creator. This meant that not only could he not let himself be hurt from those projectiles, he must defend Ingrid all while being unable to run away just like that. In short, the phantom was in quite a predicament.

With each impact coming at the barrier, a crack appeared on its surface and expanded further until the whole thing shattered like glass.

“Well done! It’s impressive how you survived my first attack. But what about this? ” the female voice declared.

An insurmountable surge of mana manifested itself from the stranger and a blue ray of light fired itself in a straight line, sending all its might again the Lord of Oblivion. Everything on its path was obliterated to nothingness.

“Don’t underestimate me!” Sinforma shouted while standing still on the path of the beam. Holding his ground, the shadow took on the beam with his hands, stopping it from touching the block of ice behind him. “Arghh….” The energy quantity of energy was being contained in the hands of the phantom as he condensed it back to the form of an orb. “Take this back!”

From his hands, Sinforma fired the back at the figure hiding in the dense vegetation, forcing them to jump out of the way to avoid it. From the smoke left behind, a silhouette jumped out, wearing a brown cloak and hood and even gloves that covered their entire body in order to hide their identity.

As the person in question landed on the ground and revealing themselves under the moonlight, they looked back at Sinforma, again with those blue eyes but this time with a hint of annoyance. “You are starting to become a thorn in my eyes…”

“Then let me snuff out whatever life that remains in you!” Sinforma shouted as he passed to the offensive side. “Phantoms of the old, answer my call! Destroy my enemies! ”

Dozens of white ghost sprites manifested themselves around Sinforma before lunging themselves at the figure. Each of them shrieked a horrifying scream, a testament of their sufferings when they were still alive.

“Insects!” the figure pulled out a blue luminescent sword and destroyed all the souls coming at them in a single slash. “My turn!” Dashing in light speed toward Sinforma, the figure plunged its sword into the shadow, piercing him. “Now, have a taste of what true death feels like!”

A strike from a soul weapon would be fatal to anything. This was especially true and the perfect tool when confronting a being like Sinforma.

“ *heavy breathing* No…you are the one who will die!” Sinforma proclaimed as he extended his arms and grabbed the figure closely to his body. “”

From his shadowy shape, Sinforma released a dark smoke that engulfed the entire surrounding in an instant. Miasma was toxic to all living beings, no matter how strong they were. And yet, the figure seemed to be doing perfectly fine, even mocking Sinforma.

“Is this thing supposed to hurt me? Because so far, it has not done its job properly if it is the case.” Spoke the figure.

“How? Why is miasma not affecting you?” uttered Sinforma in pain because of the sword impaling him.

“Don’t worry! You will have plenty of time to find out in the after world. Though I doubt it is the case since there won’t be a single trace left of your soul after I am done with you.” The hooded individual plunged the sword deeper. “And after that, it will be her turn too. It’s natural for me to finish what I started right?” the female voice spoke coldly.

Blue fissures appeared on the phantom’s shadowy body as they began to spread from the wound caused by the sword. As expected, Sinforma’s plan to kill the stranger has failed and now he had to pay the price for that failure, one that would cost him dearly.

“Arghhhh…No…this…can’t…” uttered the Lord of Oblivion with the cracks reaching all his body.

“Goodbye!”

Bright light shined from Sinforma’s body before he exploded into rays of light as nothing of him was left at the scene. The Lord of Oblivion has been reduced to dust.

“An interesting encounter! But in the end, they all died…” The figure turned to the block of ice containing a sleeping Ingrid. “Now it’s your turn! Because of the damned old man, I couldn’t finish you before. That old man died in the end. So did your protector just now. What a sinful little creature you are, Ingrid, just like everyone else! But fear not since I will let you join them soon!” Raising the sword high, the figure slashed down at the celestial.

…..

‘I told you, not to underestimate me!’ a voice rang inside the figure’s mind.

“What?”

“”

A black portal appeared and from it, a coffin rose from the shadows. It was not the coffin Sinforma would usually have on himself but a smaller obsidian one made from a special material that looked like iron but it was actually not. A locking mechanism that shared the similar appearance as a clock was embedded at the front before the needles starting to turn in a counter clockwise direction.

No matter how much the figure tried to look for the source of the voice, she could not find it anywhere. Unknown to her, her attack earlier has only managed to destroy the corporeal body Sinforma lived in but not his true form. Simply because he had no form at all to destroy in the first place. What seemed to be a handicap at his birth, a lack of being to interact with the physical world turned out to be what saved him from impending death. Or was it his plan from the very beginning?

Suddenly, just when the needles finished a full turn, the door of the coffin opened, letting out a familiar individual walking out. With his blond hair, the man showed his six wings spreading widely in front of Ingrid as if protecting her. One odd thing was that he was missing a hand, a result of his encounter with a certain young demon lord.

“I don’t know who you are but you will not touch her!” said the man.

“!!! You are …Mikael! But you are dead. How?” the figure uttered her surprise and her concern was justified. How was it possible that one of the dead heralds who lost his life during Merkabah’s assault could be standing in front of her now? Necromancy? If that was the case then this must be the highest form of necromancy since she has never seen such an undead capable of retaining their full consciousness just like this celestial.

Keeping his sight on the mysterious figure who was still a bit shocked from his sudden appearance, Mikael whispered closely to an invisible entity by his side. “Bring her out of here! I will buy you some time!”

“…My apologies for this blunder on my part! Be careful! This person is capable of destroying souls…And if your soul is destroyed, I cannot revive you like last time….You won’t be able to see yours sister again.” Said the disembodied voice of Sinforma.

“That is fine. I am already dead. It’s against nature for me to even speak with my sister again…But I thank you for giving me that chance. I have no regret now!” said Mikael.

“You are prepared to die for your sister….again!”

“She is everything to me. And I failed to protect her…not this time! God has granted me a second chance to do it now and I shall embrace it. I don’t expect you to understand but…”

“No…I do. I know what it feels it too well….” Sinforma spoke in a sad tone. His thoughts about Odium were rekindled by the brave act of Mikael.

“Now GO!” shouted Mikael.

Dark smoke appeared from nowhere and engulfed the block of ice together with the formless one.

“Goodbye, Mikael!” Finishing his sentence, Sinforma vanished with Ingrid, leaving the undead celestial with the figure who was trying to get to them in time.

“NO!” the figure shouted as they lunged at Ingrid but was parried by Mikael’ sword.

“You shall not pass me! Not that easily!” the herald declared.

“Get out of my way!” in a single slash, the woman cut off the last arm of the undead. It was too late. The couple was already gone.

But even without his weapon and armless, Mikael did not flinch back even a bit. Charging blindly at the figure who was clearly in an emotional state of bewilderment, Mikael did a body blow on the stranger, knocking her down to the ground.

“What you did to my sister, I will make you pay for that!” Mikael roared as his body illuminated itself.

“What? You intend to…?” said the figure after realizing the intention of her foe.

“You will die with me, right her right now! You have spread too much blood and tragedies for the world already. It’s time for your punishment!”

But before Mikael could commit his suicide attack, a sword has appeared from his figure’s hand and pierced through his heart.

“DIE!” the figure raged.

“ARGGGHHH!” blue light shined from the sword before the soul and body of the undead turned to dust.

“…..” Clenching her fist in anger for the first time after so many years, the figure felt a rising urge to kill everything around her. Her failing to eliminate the witness as well as their protector was an excruciating blow to both her plan and pride. This could not be tolerated, not after all those preparations. “I need to accelerate the plan. It must be done now or never!” the figure uttered before vanishing from the site.

But that was not the end of this fateful night. The gears of fate have started to turn and no one would be able to stop it. The main event of this night had yet begun.

* * *

Castle of Galahad, Old Kingdom of Malatas

“Where is our lord?” a Reaper asked the others who have already been waiting for their master’s return.

“He has not returned yet. Last time we heard he was going to interrogate that celestial in….”

Suddenly, a portal appeared and a large dark shadow with two bright crimson eyes, the only thing visible on his body while holding a one-winged celestial wearing white cloth in his arms in a princess carrying position.

“Milord, you have returned! …. Are you injured?” the Reapers uttered upon seeing the collapse of the Lord of Oblivion as he kneeled to the ground, all while keeping Ingrid firmly in his hands.

“I..am fine…*heavy breathing* But more importantly, take this soul and put it back in her!” Sinforma gave the bright flame in his hand to one of the Reapers.

“But won’t she die if we revive her in the middle of miasma?” asked a retainer.

“No. Not at this level of miasma. I have fused a small quantity of miasma in her soul so she should be able to tolerate the level of this place when she wakes up.” Sinforma explained. “Just do it now!”

“Yes sir!” said the Reaper as he crouched down and began putting the soul back where it came from.

“I….need to rest…That woman was too strong…Recall all the Reapers back to the castle! We must find a way to deal with her before things get worse.” The phantom said. “How many are still out there?”

“Aside from us, there are still five others currently in Eiseinheim, your Reverence!”

“Five? At the same place? I don’t remember giving such order.” Claimed Sinforma.

“No, milord! They did it on their own will.”

“Why?” shouted the Lord.

“Because…..”

* * *

Somewhere in Ragna, a couple of devils were talking to their servants through a crystal ball as they gave their final instructions about the plan.

“That’s about it. Remember that I don’t allow failure! This is your final chance to redeem yourselves after the humiliation brought to me by your comrades!” Diablo spoke in a menacing voice.

“Yes, sir!” the voice echoed from the crystal orb.

“According to my intelligence, there will be not many guards as most of them are already dispatched elsewhere. You cannot miss this opportunity.” The devil woman Milim spoke.

“Of course, madam! We promise that at the end of this day, Morrigan will die!”

* * *

Eiseinheim, Capital of Valhalla

The High Empress of Valhalla was currently sitting in her chamber by her desk with only a candle on the table, finishing all the leftover paperwork that needed to be done by today. For someone at her position who ruled upon the biggest kingdom of the world and probably in history itself, there was no time to rest. But she took on this job willingly and happily. For it would grant Astora a new future. And most of all, it would give her dear son the peace he deserved. The boy has suffered too much already. As a mother, or at least through her own point of view, it was something natural to do. If she could somehow relieve him of his burdens, even a tiny bit, that would please her greatly. For what kind of mother would not want to give her child the best of everything?

Suddenly, Morrigan could feel an odd sensation inside her. Her instinct as an experienced warrior was telling her that something was odd. Dropping her plume pen in the table, the Empress took on her scabbard resting on the table and pulled out her sword.

“” Instantly, she could sense the presence of multiple hostiles coming her way. These assassins were able to pick out the moment when her security has been lowered the most and decided to target her at that moment.

“….Intruders….five….ten of them….” She muttered.

All of a sudden, men in cloak rushed into the room and charged at her with their weapons. Being by herself without any possibility to call for help, Morrigan decided to take her final stand in this place. Wielding her sword skilfully, she took on the horde of assassins coming at her.

“” Five blue shields appeared around Morrigan and started to rotate around her at amazing speed, pushing the assassins back. If one dared to jump over them, the shields would simply move in front of them and stopped the attackers from getting anywhere close to her.

“Kill her!” shouted one of the assassins as he threw a dagger at the woman through the small gaps between the shields, only to be caught by Morrigan before she threw it back right at his head.

But while it might seem that Morrigan had the upper hands, the assassins had the numbers and their skills were not bad at all. As Morrigan managed her attackers in hope that the guards would notice the loud noise coming from her chamber and would send help in time, the Empress slipped up because of as an assassin coming from behind and paid dearly with a sword from one of the intruders perforating her arm before another slash making a cut in one of her legs.

“Aaaaaa!” Morrigan panted, falling down on her knees. Blood began to spill on the floor, soaking her azure cloth with a deep crimson dye.

“Finish her!” ordered the chief of the assassins.

“Ha…ha…ha…*panting sound* you won’t stop me…” uttered Morrigan in pain.

“Give it up now and we will give you a quick death!”

“Huh….That won’t do…I still have to be a home he can return to…I can’t die today. He needs me…”

“Just kill her quick already! The guards can be here any moment now!” said an assassin.

“You are right! Rest in peace, Empress Morrigan!” the chief assassin charged forward.

“Hehehe! Got you now!” grinned Morrigan. “” The floor began to shine as swords of light came out of the floor and destroyed the whole group of assassins all while creating a protective barrier around Morrigan.

With all the assassins jumping around, it would be difficult for even an experienced fighter like Morrigan to take them all on. However, if she could somehow get them to stop and just gather around her without doing any of those dodging techniques, it would be a whole different story. And her plan worked.

With all the assassins now lying on the ground motionless without a sign of life, the Empress slowly stood up and leaned against the table behind her as she tried to catch her breath. Her wounds were not life threatening but she needed to stop the blood from flowing out now before she lost consciousness.

“Ha…ha….ha…..How could I be this negligent?” she panted heavily. But facing all that pain she was feeling, the Empress was smiling, smiling about the fact that she was still alive, that she could still see her son again. Maybe tomorrow, she would drop by the castle in Ragna and pay him a visit. Maybe making him a pie or just holding him in her chest for the whole day.

…..

“Indeed you are!” a female voice echoed from behind.

“What? Who….!!!!!”

A flash of light slashed through in an instant as a line of crimson liquid dripped from the neck of the Empress.

“A….A….” Morrigan tried to cover her slit throat with her palms to keep the blood from pouring out. Showing a dreadful expression on her face, the Empress of Valhalla struggled hardly while holding on the table to keep herself standing. How could this hooded figure appear from behind me without her knowing even though she had her on? Who was this person? And why? Those questions were haunting her mind as she reached out her bloody hand to the figure.

“Oh poor little Morrigan! Struggling to the bitter end!”

“Wh…o….a.rre..y…o..u…?” the Empress did her best to utter these words despite her opened throat.

“Why don’t you come closer and see who I am? Don’t worry! I won’t bite!”

The wicked voice invited the Empress to come closer. It obviously sounded like some kind of trap but why would you want to trap someone who was already on the verge of dying? At the very least, she wanted to know who her attacker was. Step by step all with one grabbing her throat firmly to hold back the blood dripping out, Morrigan approached the motionless figure. Reaching her hand and grabbing the hood violently, Morrigan removed the veil and saw the identity of that person to her own shocking realization. The person who was responsible for the tragedy more than a decade ago, the person who started everything, it was….

“Yo…u….it..w…as…y..ou… t…he…wh..ole…ti..mme!” Morrigan stunned in shock as she walked back the desk before tripping onto the ground. Paying no heed to the wound on her neck, Morrigan tried to use her hands to crawl away from the figure.

“What’s wrong, Morrigan?” asked the female voice.

But it wasn’t herself that Morrigan worried about in that moment but about her son Alastor. ‘I must warn him..I must warn Alastor of her…I must…’

“Pay for your sins, Morrigan!” The figure grabbed her head from behind as they laid the Empress violently on the table. “Do not worry! I will continue to take care of Alastor for you, just as I did before you two even met….Goodbye!” Using a dagger of one of the assassins, the stranger in hood plunged the blade deeply into the heart of the Empress, pinning her to the table. It was all over in seconds.

The grand Empress of Valhalla, a woman who sacrificed everything she had for the noble goal of a united world, has just drawn her last breath in this world. A pool of crimson liquid circulated on the surface of the table, expanding to all corners as it leaked down to the floor. Her hands which were waving violently earlier have stopped and fell down onto the table on both sides. Her eyes, still opened, stared at the familiar face who has just ended her life. In that lifeless reflection of those mirror-like balls, the figure was grinning. Morrigan’s death was the catalyst that would set out a chain of events leading to the destruction of the world, something this person was desperately seeking. For what reason, no one knew, for now.

But it seemed that killing her was not enough as the mysterious figure was drawing their hands into Morrigan’s chest before pulling out a blue flame: her soul. To make sure that there would be no evidence left behind, even the soul must be obliterated and this method has been a favourite of this individual, her trademark.

But suddenly, a great scythe slashed down her position, making the figure drop the soul and fall back to keep a distance from the unknown attacker.

“That would not do at all. All souls are precious. I will not allow one to be destroyed just like that.” A creepy voice consisted of a mixture of an old man, a woman and child uttered from the wielder of the scythe: a Reaper.

“….You people again!” uttered the stranger in an annoyed voice. Just before, her plan has been disrupted by the leader of the Reapers and now one of them was messing around with her again. Clenching her fist, the figure seemed to have reached a whole new level of anger.

“We don’t care about the lives of the living but your actions are a danger to us.” Four other shadows appeared from the dark smoke. “Even if you are a friend of Alastor, we won’t tolerate this. Kill her!”

“You trashes! Be gone!” A bright blue light shined from the figure body as everything around her began to crystallize. “”

“What the….” Uttered a reaper as he saw the scale of that immense power in front of him. Suddenly, his four other comrades stood between him and the incoming wave at energy. “What are you doing?”

“We can’t harm her. But at the very least, you must bring that soul back to our Lord. We count on you!” the four spoke as the light engulfed them, turning them all into blocks of crystal but in return formed a wall to protect their last standing brother in arms.

As the light subsided, realizing what he must do, the Reaper quickly dashed toward the soul before grabbing it. Meanwhile, the spell has left Morrigan’s killer paralyzed for a short moment, giving the Reaper enough time to disappear into a dark smoke and escape.

“….So one rat escaped.” The figure looked at the frozen Reapers. “I thought you were just mindless undeads. To think you still have emotions….fools! But no matter! I have accomplished what I have come here for. None will stop the coming storm now!”

With a single snap of a finger, all the crystal shattered before turning into fleeting dust, leaving nothing of its traces behind, along with the figure. All that was left were the dead bodies of the assassins and the Empress, left alone intentionally.

The spark of the end has been lit.

* * *

The sun has begun to rise. The warm morning light began to shine upon the castle of the demon lord as a figure just returned to her home after what could be called a busy and hustling night. That was right. The mysterious figure has been hiding in this very castle where everything started since more than ten years ago, wandering around in broad day light without anyone even suspecting a thing.

After getting rid of the bloody cloak soaked in the blood of the Empress, the figure was walking casually yet solemnly through the hallway with large windows on one side, shining upon her white dress. Usually, she would not show any emotion but today, especially after what happened, she gave off a strange yet eerie smile to herself. By now, the people of Eiseinheim must have realized the horrifying thing that has happened but there was no way that the news could have reached Ragna yet. At least not for a couple more hours.

Suddenly, one of the doors to a personal chamber opened and a small boy walked out in a half awakened state. Swiping his dizzy eyes and yawning widely, he saw the familiar figure outside and called out to her.

“Good morning!” Alastor cheerfully saluted.

“Good morning, Alastor! How was your night?” asked the figure.

“It’s perfectly fine…though a bit tiring if you know what I mean. I never thought that Ikarus was such a….beast….”

“I am glad for you.” Said the figure.

“What about you? For some reasons, I feel like you seem a bit more…happy ? I think…” inquired Alastor upon noticing the faint smile on the figure’s face, which he found odd because of her natural state but didn’t pick it up as a strange thing.

“Like yourself, it has been a long night and tiring for me too. Some rats came up and I had to dispose of them….But it all worked out in the end.” Spoke the figure.

“Rats? Our castle has rats? You may want to talk to Azureus about this. He might have some monsters who can take care of that quickly.” Advised the young demon lord.

“It’s fine. I have already solved the source of the problem. Everything will be okay now.”

“I see. Then I will leave it to you then. I will just take a quick bath and will join you and the others at the breakfast.”

“Of course! See you later, Alastor!”

“See you later, Stella!”

#######################################################################################################

Author's note: So ...... a bit strange :). How was it? Did anyone expect this?