The Gaze of Thunder

Early the next morning, before the first rays of dawn could fully chase away Evernight City’s chill, Vivian finished handling a stack of urgent decrees.

A magical communication from Moggs arrived.

“Vivian.”

Moggs’s voice was grave, his skeletal face unusually solemn in the projection.

“I have intercepted some rather unpleasant movements. I felt it necessary to inform you at once.”

When even this ancient Demon Lord opened with such words, Vivian’s heart sank.

Anything Moggs personally labelled “unpleasant” was never trivial.

“…Please speak, Lord Moggs.”

Vivian steadied herself and answered in a low voice.

Though they had clashed upon her return, their current relationship was, at least, cordial.

“The Thunder Church—those lightning-worshipping fanatics—have turned their eyes toward your territory.”

Moggs’s soul-flame flickered darkly.

“My little spies scattered across human lands just reported that during a recent secret conclave of their high bishops, your Evernight Territory and its abnormal state were mentioned repeatedly. The tone was anything but friendly.”

Vivian’s brows knitted tighter.

The Thunder Church.

One of the most powerful and radical religious organisations among humanity.

They worshipped the God of Thunder and preached the annihilation of all evil with lightning—naturally, in their eyes, demons were the greatest evil of all.

“What exactly are they focusing on?”

“They are alarmed by the development speed and order your territory has displayed in such a short time—far beyond what a ruined Demon Lord domain should be capable of.”

Moggs’s soul-fire pulsed.

“Those… highly organised measures of yours, so unlike traditional demon ways, have aroused enormous suspicion and hostility.”

“In their dogma-clogged minds, a chaotic, fractured demon race is the natural order.”

“A unified, efficient, ever-strengthening demon power is far more terrifying than any single mighty Demon Lord—and a calamity that must be strangled in its cradle.”

He paused, his voice growing darker.

“And there is worse.”

“Multiple sources confirm that Charles—who should by all rights be half-dead—is maintaining secret contact with the radical faction inside the Thunder Church through unknown channels.”

“He is sparing no effort to paint you as an unprecedented threat that must be eliminated at any cost.”

Vivian’s eyes sharpened instantly.

“Charles? He still has the ability to scheme from the shadows? Has he recovered?”

“No. His body remains crippled and confined.”

Moggs explained.

“Yet he can still reach the outside somehow. He is like a rotting scab, endlessly oozing poison.”

“Intelligence shows he has been relentlessly feeding the Thunder Church’s upper echelons warnings, claiming you are a threat that must be eradicated.”

“Damn it…”

Vivian cursed under her breath.

Letting Charles live had truly been a mistake.

“Vivian, prepare yourself.”

Moggs said earnestly.

“Once those lunatics of the Thunder Church designate something as ‘evil that must be purified,’ their response is swift and merciless.”

“They will not be satisfied with mere scouting or harassment.”

“They may send full Holy Knight legions—or even…”

His tone carried unmistakable dread.

“The Arbiters.”

Vivian’s breath caught.

The Arbiters.

Walking avatars of divine punishment, the Thunder Church’s deepest and mightiest force.

Each one possessed strength approaching—or rivalling—a Demon Lord.

Masters of thunder divinity and ruinous combat arts crafted specifically to hunt the highest demons, blessed by faith itself.

If they were deployed, her troubles would become truly dire.

Vivian fell silent, thoughts racing.

Charles still alive and stirring trouble from the dark.

The Thunder Church watching Evernight, ready to strike at any moment.

Disgruntled nobles within, and Gulaim circling like a hungry wolf without…

The board was growing ever more complicated.

“Thank you for the warning, Lord Moggs.”

Vivian said at last.

“I will prepare accordingly.”

“Good. If you need anything, contact me at once.”

The ancient lich’s skull in the projection seemed to reveal a trace of approval.

“Remember, Vivian—you are not fighting alone.”

“At least in the eyes of us Demon Lords, a new power capable of resisting humanity serves the interests of the entire demon race.”

“We will not sit idly by while humans casually snuff out a promising… colleague.”

****

At the same moment, within the Thunder Holy City—Storm Spire.

Deep inside a towering spire that pierced the clouds, eternally wreathed in thunder and lightning, a secret high-level meeting was underway.

In the solemn Thunder Cathedral’s main hall, five cardinal bishops clad in deep-blue robes embroidered with golden lightning sat around a massive table of electrum stone.

At their head sat Archbishop Saint-Regil—an old man with white hair and beard, his eyes as sharp as a hawk’s.

“Regarding the latest assessment of the Evernight Territory and its ruler, Demon Lord Vivian—I assume you have all read the reports.”

Archbishop Regil’s voice was low and authoritative.

“We have.”

Inquisitor Malus answered heavily.

“Intelligence shows this Demon Lord’s behavioural pattern deviates significantly from every recorded Demon Lord.”

“The speed of territorial reconstruction, the degree of social organisation, the rapid rise in military standards—all far exceed the norm.”

“She has implemented a series of social reforms that imitate, and in some cases surpass, human civilisation.”

“This is not something an ordinary demon could achieve. There must be some vast conspiracy—or an evil power we do not yet comprehend—behind it.”

Another bishop added.

“Moreover, secret reports from within the Rhine Holy Church state that the former Saint Charles continues to issue dire warnings, claiming this witch is a far greater chaotic threat than any traditional demon!”

“We must treat this with utmost gravity!”

“An orderly, evolving demon civilisation is a hundred times more dangerous than a hundred mindless hordes of destruction and slaughter.”

Archbishop Regil concluded, his bony finger stabbing down on the map at the Evernight Territory’s location.

“We cannot allow this ‘Evernight Territory’ to continue growing into the cornerstone of a demon resurgence!”

“What, then, shall we do?”

Regil rose and walked to the enormous strategic map on the wall.

He pressed his finger hard against Evernight’s position.

“First, dispatch an observation team to verify the intelligence.”

“If the Evernight Territory truly is as the reports describe—”

His finger ground down as though to crush the map itself.

“Then, before this tumour can metastasise, we shall invoke the Thunder God’s authority and erase it completely and utterly from the face of the world!”

“No matter the cost!”

“The glory of the God of Thunder shall suffer no stain from evil!”

“For the glory of the God of Thunder—purify all evil!”

The bishops responded in solemn unison.

After the meeting adjourned, Inquisitor Malus approached the strategic map.

He took a dark-red metal marker wreathed in lightning runes—symbolising “Priority Annihilation Target”—and drove it savagely into the spot marked “Evernight Territory.”

****

At the same time, deep within the Court of Radiance of the Rhine Holy Church—in a sealed chamber.

On a treatment table saturated with dense life-energy, Charles’s broken body lay submerged in healing fluid.

His eyes were closed, his face deathly pale, his breathing faint.

Yet deep within his consciousness raged venom and madness.

“Vivian… you damned anomaly!”

He screamed silently.

“Just wait… those fanatical idiots in the Thunder Church have taken the bait!”

“They’ll come for you soon enough!”

“And I… I will recover!”

“I’ll reclaim my power—become even stronger!”

“Then I will personally destroy you and everything you hold dear!”

“I’ll make you kneel and beg before me!”

At the peak of his frenzied thoughts, a cold, emotionless system prompt rang clearly through his mind.

【Mission Update: Threat of the Demon Lord of Evernight】

【Description: The existence of Demon Lord of Evernight Vivian severely threatens player development. She must be eliminated.】

【Rewards: Massive experience, rare equipment, special skills】

【Warning: Target is extremely dangerous. Party challenge recommended.】

This mission prompt did not reach Charles alone.

In every corner of the world, every player who had reached a certain level received the exact same notification.

Demon Lord of Evernight, Vivian.

She had officially become a target for the players.