Is it her?

Days seemed to gradually settle into a calm routine.

Vivian spent her days handling the daily reports as usual, along with the tedious yet increasingly organized governance tasks.

Reviewing documents, listening to reports from captains in various regions, examining reconstruction charts, adjusting resource allocation plans… these matters occupied most of her time.

Though still busy, the entire Evernight City had gotten on track, without the previous crises of life and death. Gradually, she adapted to this lifestyle, and instead began to find it rather pleasant.

She started getting used to this rhythm. Even on a certain afternoon, when she held Luna—who was growing heavier by the day, waving her tiny fists and babbling incoherently—standing high up and gazing at the distant farmlands taking shape, the wisps of cooking smoke rising, and those camps that were still rudimentary yet brimming with vitality, a strange feeling quietly welled up in her heart.

Watching her child grow, while her territory rebuilt day by day into something more beautiful, Vivian felt that her current life was actually pretty good.

…Pretty good, huh?

The thought flashed by, and even she found it somewhat unbelievable.

As a former player and now the Demon Lord, this near-“idyllic” steady reconstruction should have been a boring backdrop.

But at this moment, witnessing the shattered territory extending bit by bit under her hands, feeling the little life in her arms growing stronger day by day, an indescribable, weighty sense of fulfillment and tranquility actually brought her a thread of comfort.

However, looking at Luna who was growing bigger by the day, Vivian couldn’t help but feel a touch of emotion.

Demon children really do grow fast.

It felt like she had only been born a few days ago,

yet she had already grown so much.

Her face was rounder and more moist, her features clearer, and those crystal-clear eyes began to show a vibrant curiosity about everything around her.

Before, she spent the whole day either eating or sleeping. Aside from tending to the little one’s food, drink, and diapers, there basically wasn’t much else to worry about, and no need for much interaction.

But now, Luna was awake for at least two or three hours a day. She would open her big eyes and look around, trying to grab anything swaying in front of her, including Vivian’s dangling hair, and make all sorts of meaningless yet exploratory babbling sounds.

During this time, Vivian needed to properly accompany her daughter—or rather, hand her over to Aria or Luna Te for care.

Both Aria and Luna Te were quite fond of the little princess, and though they were a bit flustered at first, they gradually adapted to the daily task of childcare.

Vivian was relieved about this; she didn’t have to handle the baby full-time herself—it seemed choosing to return and rebuild the territory had its perks.

At least there were more hands to help with the child.

But just when Vivian thought her days were steady and calm, waiting only for the Angeist inspection from the Goldmelt Caravan to finish and make a decision, Aria hurried in with a report in hand, appearing before Vivian.

“Demon Lord, this is the emergency intelligence shared on the demon network today—”

Aria’s voice lost its usual calm, even carrying a slight tremble.

She clutched tightly a communication parchment whose edges still emitted faint mana, “This is the highest-priority emergency intelligence just relayed through the demon network node!”

“What could cause you such great panic?!”

What could be so urgent… hmm…

Vivian was about to pick up her cup for a sip of hot tea to relieve her work-weary spirit. As she casually glanced over Aria’s report, she saw a line in bold, enlarged font.

【Hero Lucia Suspected to Have Revived and Appeared】

She nearly spat it out.

“De-Demon Lord!”

Aria couldn’t help but exclaim; she had never seen Vivian so composure-lost—

“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”

Upon seeing the title, the only thought in Vivian’s mind was this.

Lucia should definitely be dead! Otherwise, the holy light power sealing her wouldn’t have lifted so easily. That power was completely beyond Lucia’s control; to undo it required her personal presence, or the annihilation of the power’s source.

So although Vivian had later pondered whether Lucia was truly dead, she herself leaned more toward believing Lucia had indeed died—which was why seeing this title still gave her a shock.

But after the initial shock, Vivian immediately flipped open the report, wanting to see exactly what was written.

…

In summary, the 【Ashen Territory】, somewhat distant from the Evernight Territory, had suffered an attack from the human 【Holy Empire】 and dwarf allied forces. The battle was exceptionally brutal, with the demon armies of the Ashen Territory suffering heavy losses.

And in this, it was said that the figure of the former Saintess of Light, Lucia, had appeared.

According to the accounts of the few demon soldiers who fled the front lines, they saw in the human allied camp a “mysterious woman radiating light.”

“Squinting holy light,”

“wielding a long sword seemingly condensed from light,” a female figure extremely similar to the legendary Saintess of Light!

It was precisely this figure’s appearance that crushed the Ashen Territory demon king’s front lines and resistance with overwhelming force, displaying power far beyond ordinary holy knights or priests.

But due to the chaotic battle, most eyewitnesses were panicked and flustered, with descriptions full of vagueness and contradictions. It was impossible to fully confirm if that was indeed Lucia herself, or her state—was it a complete revival? Or some form of undead or holy light construct? Everything was unclear.

The intelligence’s end emphasized that this news had not yet been verified by multiple sources, but due to its potential major impact, it had been escalated to highest priority for transmission.

Vivian’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

This intelligence… was too vague.

Like a fog, only a rough outline visible, with no details.

“Suspected,” “it is said,” “similar”… these words were filled with uncertainty.

A misidentification? A new rising powerhouse in the human allied forces with power attributes similar to Lucia’s? Or some new holy icon or divine descent technique concocted by the Holy Church?

Or… was it really her?

All sorts of possibilities flashed rapidly through Vivian’s mind.

If it truly was Lucia revived… what was her goal? Why attack the relatively remote Ashen Territory first? To what extent had her power recovered? Did she know about the Evernight Territory’s existence? Did she know… that she was here?

Countless questions surged like a tide.

She set down the report, her fingertips unconsciously tapping the desktop, producing dull thuds.