First Encounter, and Becoming a Spoil of War

At that time, Lucia lowered her gaze to look at Vivian, who was kneeling on the ground.

Her clear blue eyes seemed to hold not a shred of pity, nor the joy a victor should possess.

She simply looked calmly at the Demon Lord who had once struck terror across the lands, as if observing a bug struggling in its death throes.

“Demon Lord of Evernight, Vivian, do you think a simple ‘spare me’ can wash away your sins?”

Lucia’s voice was like a gentle breeze skimming a lake—soft, yet allowing no room for doubt.

A chill spread from Vivian’s spine throughout her entire body.

“The lives that died tragically at the hands of you demons once begged you for a way to live, but did you give it to them?”

“I…”

Vivian was desperate to defend herself, but she didn’t even know what she had done before.

No, she did know, in a way.

But in the end, she was just an unlucky soul who had only been in this world for a week, completely ignorant of the former Vivian’s deeds.

But she more or less understood.

What else would demons do?

Burn, kill, and plunder, of course!

And besides, she hadn’t had time to do anything! This was just too unlucky, wasn’t it!

“You know, I was planning to give you a quick end, just like any other evil being. But I’ve suddenly changed my mind.”

“…Phew, can we reconcile?”

Hearing her opponent’s words, Vivian shrank her neck.

And then, suddenly, the corners of Lucia’s mouth turned up slightly.

To Vivian, this smile was filled with a dangerous meaning.

“Death is too cheap for you, Demon Lord of Evernight—you will atone for your crimes in another way.”

Before Vivian could comprehend the meaning of these words, she felt a sharp pain in her chest.

Looking down, she saw that Lucia had thrust the silver Sword of Holy Light into her chest.

“Ugh—”

Pain spread from her chest throughout her body.

At the same time, Vivian discovered with horror that all the power within her was being eroded and sealed away.

The mana she had just gotten used to was being sealed by that irresistible power of Holy Light, and she was utterly powerless to stop it.

And what good would resisting do anyway?

Faced with the overwhelmingly powerful Lucia, the current Vivian could only wait for death, couldn’t she—

‘But no matter what, at least I kept my life.’

Though unwilling, Vivian still comforted herself with this thought.

Nothing in the world was more important than being alive.

At the very least, Bai An, who had just transmigrated into the body of a beautiful Demon Lord, did not want to die just like that.

She’d at least try to survive for a while…

“From this day forward, you will be my property, until I deem that you have fully atoned for your sins.”

After completing the sealing of her power, Lucia slowly withdrew her longsword and sheathed it.

As the Holy Sword departed, Vivian could feel the wound on her chest beginning to heal.

It seemed that although her mana was sealed, her body’s self-healing ability was not completely lost.

“…Wh-What do you want me to do?”

Vivian gasped for breath, temporarily unused to the loss of her mana.

She looked up at the other woman and asked with some trepidation.

Vivian was both very familiar and very unfamiliar with this legendary, strongest Hero.

In the game, traces of this strongest Hero were everywhere; many dungeons were even opened under Lucia’s lead.

The unfamiliarity, naturally, stemmed from their different identities and positions now.

“Hmm… I haven’t decided yet.”

Lucia unhurriedly sheathed her holy sword, a faint smile still on her face.

“But in any case, we’ll have plenty of time to think about it later, won’t we?”

With that, Lucia suddenly bent down, extended her hand, and lifted the still-dazed Vivian into her arms.

“Eh?”

Vivian, now being held, froze for a moment before she reacted.

Lucia held her and, with a light leap, jumped high into the air, carrying her off into the distance.

“Waaah! What are you doing?!”

Unable to adapt for a moment, Vivian couldn’t help but scream in a panic—she couldn’t be blamed.

For a transmigrator who had just gotten used to a new body, the feeling of weightlessness and falling from being suddenly carried high into the sky and then plummeting back down was truly a bit much.

“Oh ho, is the great Demon Lord of Evernight, Vivian, a coward?”

Hearing Vivian’s sorrowful wails, Lucia couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

And Vivian, being held princess-style by Lucia, was trembling.

She was just an ordinary person before, for crying out loud.

To suddenly be subjected to such a thrilling, superhuman act without wetting herself was a testament to her self-control, okay…

After all, her courage and mental fortitude had no connection to the previous Demon Lord’s power.

By the time Lucia, carrying Vivian, had left the vicinity of the Demon Lord’s castle and landed in the distant wilderness, Vivian felt like she was about to foam at the mouth and pass out.

…It was a bit too intense, like a roller coaster.

Oh, even more intense than a roller coaster.

After all, a roller coaster couldn’t leap hundreds of meters up and down in an instant.

“Hmm? Why is she still alive? Lucia, what are you…”

“This is the Demon Lord of Evernight, Vivian?”

“Lucia, what are you planning to do?”

Just after they landed, Vivian instantly felt several other gazes lock onto her, their auras exceptionally powerful.

She raised her head slightly and saw several other humans standing nearby, looking down at her with expressionless faces.

They looked like predators observing a sheep in a pen.

And Vivian recognized who these people were at a glance—

They were all Heroes, second only to Lucia, and among humanity’s top combatants.

‘Oh, wow. Might as well just kill me now.’

Looking at the group of human Heroes before her, Vivian’s heart sank completely.

What kind of sin had she committed?

So many Heroes coming to subjugate her at once?

Vivian’s heart was filled with despair.

She knew she was truly doomed today—even without the Hero Lucia, if these other Heroes attacked as a group, they should have been able to take down a Demon Lord like her.

Of course, she wouldn’t have been defeated as pathetically as she was by Lucia.

“I have my own considerations. Besides, isn’t this a rare specimen for observation? What’s more, I subjugated the Demon Lord of Evernight by myself. She is my spoil of war. I can do with her as I please. Any objections?”

Facing the other Heroes’ doubts, Lucia responded with a light laugh, but her tone held an undercurrent of unquestionable authority.

In response, the other Heroes exchanged glances and could only nod.

Might makes right.

If Lucia could defeat a Demon Lord single-handedly, then the others truly had nothing to say.

And so, the former Demon Lord of Evernight, Vivian, was reduced to the Hero of Light Lucia’s captive plaything.

And with that, Vivian’s memory of her first encounter with Lucia came to an end.