Strange

After playing with her daughter and wrapping up the day’s affairs, Vivian finally claimed a moment of true rest in the quiet of the night.

“Whew—”

She exhaled and lay down in her cozy little nook.

Though Evernight City’s reconstruction was now on track, with many simple yet sturdy houses already built, Aria and others had repeatedly suggested constructing a more secure residence for Vivian. She had refused, accustomed to tent life, leaving only a modest cleared space around it as a buffer and barrier. She continued handling her governance from within the tent, at ease.

…Truth be told, it was just Vivian’s laziness kicking in.

Glancing at the fully arranged sections inside the tent, then at the parchment scrolls and planning charts piled on the stone desk, and thinking about the time to reorganize everything after moving, Vivian felt a headache coming on and simply abandoned the idea.

Normally, few dared approach anyway—mostly demon captains coming to report.

“Whew… sleep, sleep.”

Vivian changed into sleepwear, lay down on the bed with the soundly sleeping Luna, and slowly closed her eyes, ready to sink into a good night’s rest.

Sleep is the most tranquil cradle for all living things.

No dreams, only boundless, reassuring darkness.

But after an unknown time, Vivian suddenly felt a burning sensation in her sleep.

At first, it was mild warmth, like the temperature of an item kept close to the body, not alerting her slumbering consciousness.

The next second, the heat surged! Like red-hot branding irons slamming down precisely on their target, straight toward her chest!

That strange burning swiftly turned to stinging pain!

Hiss!

Jolted awake by the pain, Vivian sucked in a sharp breath, instantly alert, and sat up.

“Luna?”

Her first thought was that her daughter was up to some restless mischief, or perhaps a sign of danger or enemy attack—after all, this little one had surprised Vivian plenty even from the womb.

But she quickly realized the stinging burn came from her undergarments.

She immediately fished out a small item she kept on her—the white-feathered double-wing accessory Lucia had given her.

This token representing Lucia herself glowed with pure white light, gradually dimming along with the heat until it faded completely into silence.

Even after the light vanished, the accessory still radiated residual warmth in Vivian’s palm, confirming that what just happened was no illusion or phantom pain, but a real singe from holy light power.

Vivian turned to her daughter and saw Luna still fast asleep, with no energy fluctuations or trace of holy light—and Vivian was intimately familiar with the power that burned her.

It was undoubtedly Lucia’s holy light, no mistake.

“…So you really came back to life? Or did you never die at all?”

A chill ran through her.

After that, sleep was impossible. Even forcing it would be futile; she simply sat up, got out of bed, walked to the stone desk, and placed Lucia’s token-cum-accessory on the surface.

She stared at the seemingly unremarkable white-feathered double-wing ornament, lost in thought.

“Could the rumors of Lucia’s revival actually be true?”

Vivian glanced at the intelligence report from the Ashen Territory on the desk’s edge and sank deeper into contemplation.

First, the accessory emitting holy light proved two things: one, Lucia was highly likely still alive with active power; two, some connection still existed between her and Vivian—or at least her possessions!

But then again, was this thing really just Lucia’s token and ornament?

Vivian eyed the white-feathered double-wing, resisting the urge to tap the desk—it might wake Luna.

Truthfully, Vivian now felt like heading straight to the Ashen Territory to investigate.

But she couldn’t leave, and that was frustrating.

Territory development needed her planning; Luna’s growth needed her presence.

And if it really was Lucia… wouldn’t going be like walking into the tiger’s den?

“…No.”

During her musings, Vivian realized something.

If it truly was Lucia—that unrivaled Hero, Daughter of Light—she wouldn’t appear on the front lines slaughtering demons en masse.

Her power was reserved to ensure victory against Demon Lords, not wasted on small fry. This matched the game’s plot progression: players cleared trash mobs along the way to the Demon Lord, then Heroes like Lucia joined as raid mechanics, ultimately defeating the boss alongside players for dungeon victory.

In the current context, it followed the 【soldier vs soldier, general vs general, king vs king】 rule.

But now, the Ashen Territory’s first defense line had been crushed effortlessly—meaning the game rules were broken.

If so, Demon Lords no longer needed to abide by the previous 【game rules】.

“…That’s a terrible move.”

Vivian inhaled deeply, exhaled heavily, and muttered with furrowed brows.

Though she didn’t know who was behind this suspected 【Lucia】—the Rhine Holy Church, or perhaps another 【player】—it was undoubtedly a blunder!

Because this was an open declaration of war! Announcing that future conflicts would have no bottom line! Demon Lords and Heroes could act freely, assassinating each other’s innocent civilians!

This wasn’t what normal Heroes or factions wanted—it would only spark another all-out war between demons and other races! Even now, while still hostile and clashing, conflicts remained localized campaigns, not escalated to total war!

“…Something’s off.”

Vivian rubbed her chin, beginning to ponder how to respond to this drastic world shift.