The ground is… so cold. And hard… I didn’t know dirt could be this hard.

The useless thoughts running through my head soon made place for other thoughts, related yet different, and significantly more melancholic.

But, if I’m lying here, then… That means I’ve failed you all, haven’t I? Sorry that I was such a useless leader. Sorry I couldn’t prevent her from…

“Are you… alright?”

Her voice interrupted my self-loathing, snapping my attention back to reality. Though her voice lacked even a shred of compassion or concern, it still felt much more comforting, more genuine than Lady Luciel’s fake smile and almost deriding tone ever had.

“Are you… alright?” the voice repeated, prompted most likely by my lack of a response. I couldn’t see it well, but her face seemed just as lacking in emotion as her voice.

“I, uh,” I responded, “yeah, I think I’m fine.” I tried to get up, but found myself rather hampered by a gaping hole where my stomach should have been.

“Are you, sure?” she asked, eyeing the hole. “That looks, painful.”

I chuckled stupidly and scratched the back of my head. “Guess not, huh,” I said, “but don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt.” Despite the size and severity of the wound, I felt nothing more than mild discomfort: for only the second time in several months, I felt grateful towards Lady Luciel.

“Your soul is… untouched, pure, clean,” the white-haired girl said, looking at my chest—no, looking through my chest, at something else. “She failed… That’s, the first time I’ve…”

“ ‘Soul’... ‘She’... Are you talking about Lady Luciel?” I asked, looking at the girl standing over me. I couldn’t prevent a slight bit of hope from entering my gaze.

“Yes,” she said, “I am. You’ve noticed, haven’t you? About how she’s, been trying to… but in, your case, the Azalyth hasn’t attached, properly. I wonder why…?”

“Even so,” I said, shaking my head, “she got my friends. And then they… Well, you can see what’s left of them.” I gestured around as well as I could with this kind of wound as I turned my gaze to the floor. “Even if I haven’t been brainwashed, what can one Hero do against all the rest?”

“On your own,” she said, “not much. But…. your ability is, strong. If you join me, I think… we can probably, win.”

“You won’t kill me? I’m not sure, but you’re Lady Luciel’s enemy, right? Wouldn’t that mean you’re the Heroes’ enemy, too?”

“Well,” she said, “I am Luciel’s enemy, but I don’t hate, the Heroes. If anything, you all are, just as much victims, as anyone else.”

“Hmm. I see. Kind-hearted, aren’t you?” It only struck when I tried to say her name that I didn’t know it, nor had I ever seen her before. After all, she’d felt familiar, the whole conversation through. “By the way, uh…”

“Ah. I, haven’t introduced, myself.” It was as if she’d read my mind—well, not really. My question was rather obvious. “I am… the Godde- no, I am, Goddess of Darkness, Entropy. What about, you?”

“ ‘Entropy’... so you’re the one called the incarnation of malice, then. My name is Arth- no, I don’t deserve that name anymore…” I spent a few seconds running through some names in my head. “Then, my name is Astaroth,” I decided. “Still, though… for the Goddess of Darkness, you sure are kind-hearted.”

“Astaroth, Astaroth,” she mumbled, rolling the name around her mouth a few times. She turned her attention back to me when she realised I was talking. “I don’t, like, ‘Goddess of Darkness’. Use, my name. What about my, question?”

“Then, should I call you ‘Entropy’?” I said, nodding to myself. “I’ll-”

“Over-familiar. Are you… always like this?”

I cleared my throat, deciding not to mention her interruption. “Then, Lady Entropy. Our desires are the same. Therefore, I will gladly join you. It’s just…” I gestured to my stomach.

“Ah. Leave that, to me.” She raised both of her hands in my direction and, within a few seconds, raised an amount of mana that would take a professional mage at least an hour. “Don’t move,” she said, forming the mana into a circle around me.

“I couldn’t if I wanted to.”

Before I could hear her response, I blacked out.

I woke up from my dream of my past with rather an undignified groan, and for a few seconds, stared with no real intention at the roof of my four-poster bed. As I sat up, the bed’s black covers slid off of me.

I looked around and noticed the curtains on the right side of the bed were open. I locked gazes with Lady Entropy’s expressionless, rainbow-patterned eyes, staring at me from the other side.

“Good morning,” she said, her voice flat as ever.

“Good morning, Lady Entropy,” I responded before I had the chance to think about it. Once I did, I raised an eyebrow. “You were watching me sleep?”

She nodded. “I don’t sleep,” she said, “so I was bored.” She turned her head away from me in a not-so-subtle attempt to avoid my gaze.

I narrowed my eyes. “No, no,” I said, “I was aware of your reasoning. This isn’t the first time you’ve done such.” I shook my head and, for a moment, contemplated using [No-Attribute Magic] to make her face my way.

I decided not to.

“The reason I questioned it,” I continued, “was that it’s been a while since you’ve done this. Well, regardless, do you think it might be possible for you to leave the room? I’d rather like to change…” I gestured towards my pyjama-clad body.

Despite the complete lack of a verbal reaction, she was gone in seconds.

I walked through the castle’s halls, dressed in my standard outfit—a military-like uniform with black as its base, decorated with no small amount of gold. A black crown, decorated with dark blue gemstones, adorned my head, my hands were covered by a pair of dark red, satin gloves and a single ring sat on my right thumb.

Within a few minutes, I reached the dining hall, and even from this side of the large, black doors, I could hear the shouts and barks of merrymaking, produced by the army on the other side. For a while, I listened to the voices of my dear underlings, before swinging the doors open using [No-Attribute Magic].

Although the Living Armours standing guard by the door inside the room were startled enough to clatter, they still managed to perform their task. “Demon Lord Astaroth has arrived!” they shouted in unison, saluting.

Quickly, the room quieted down, and most of the monsters imitated the Living Armours. I looked over them—to put it simply, the word ‘heterogeneous’ wouldn’t begin to describe my army. Perhaps the only noticeable pattern was that the Living Armours, spread as guards across the hall, and the Ghost Maids, serving food to anyone who asked, each outnumbered any other specific race.

“At ease,” I said, and the soldiers soon returned to their previous volume.

I strolled between the rows of monsters eating food I couldn’t help but find unappetising—things such as dark purple steaks, broths with ingredients I didn’t even want to look at and twisted vegetables that looked vaguely like those I recognised. The only real pattern was the more humanoid the monster, the more human-like their diet.

I made my way to the throne in the back of the room, elevated several steps off the ground. Near it were, most of all, a number of chairs—and a rather large dragon, feasting on some pinkish meat out of what was basically an oversized dog bowl.

«Good morning, Master!» Davna said, though she didn’t bother to stop her jaws—she didn’t need to, given the communication was telepathic.

The seats were placed in a circle around a round table—of course, breakfast was already on the table. Perhaps of note was that the several plates of breakfast were all unique, to account for the different needs of my Demon Generals.

In addition, there were two seats that were normally unoccupied, for guests or such.

“Good morrow, M’lord,” Charlotte said the moment she noticed me, raising from her seat and curtsying in my direction. On her plate were several small, as good as raw pieces of meat, and even from this distance, her wineglass smelt strongly of iron.

Next to her sat Lilith, leaning back in her chair. She raised a hand in my direction with a “Mornin’, Master,” which was less defined than it could have been, probably owing to the food already in her mouth, which she must’ve snuck in while Charlotte wasn’t looking. Her food looked mostly like human food, though some of the colours were off.

Tempest, opposite Lilith, also did not stand up, but she did bow in my direction with the words “Good morning, Master.” Her hat hung on the back of her chair—though, of course, she was still wearing her lab coat. Her food looked… well, just like a human’s breakfast.

“Navillus says good morning!” Her position was perhaps the most interesting, given her chair was rather unlike a normal chair, instead closed on all sides except up. She roughly imitated the motion of a wave. Her breakfast, too, was the most unusual, given most of it wasn’t necessarily food. It was high-quality material scraps, whether those were from the kitchen or the forge. After all, slimes needed a lot of nutrition, and she possessed the [Omni-Digestion] skill.

“It seems I’m not the last to arrive,” I said, making my way around the table. My breakfast was what you might expect in a high-class noble household. “Regardless, good morning, everyone.”

I didn’t touch my food—not yet, for I was expecting more. Guests, that is.

As expected, after a few minutes, our three guests appeared—of course, Evyna, Philia and Richard. The latter had gained light blue skin and dark blue eyes, and lost the distinction between ‘iris’, ‘pupil’ and ‘eye white’. The pair of Ghost Maids that had taken them to the dining hall pointed them in the direction of our table before leaving, joining the crowd of busy others.

“Good morning to you three as well,” I said as they approached. “Did you have a good night’s rest? Please, by all means, join us.” Although my words were cordial, my tone left very little room to refuse.

“Um… Mister Astaroth,” Evyna said, attempting to begin a sentence. I could roughly guess what she was going to ask about, so I pointed towards my plate.

The concern on her face melting like snow before the sun, she took a seat.

“Oh, how sad,” I said, turning my attention to Richard and Philia. “There aren’t enough chairs.”

The Ice Queen’s jaws chattered with a sound that pretended to be laughter. “What a surprise,” she said, “in a dining hall as messy as this one, my liege.”

I looked at her with narrowed eyes. “For the duration of this meal, you will be silent,” I said, snickering to myself. “And I find eating with my army raises their morale at little to no cost.”

Richard gestured for Philia to sit, but she shook her head, so he sat down instead. He didn’t look very happy about it. “Good morning, Demon Lord,” he said, sparing me a single glance before looking back to Philia.

Evyna looked like she had a question, but I stopped her by raising my hand. “For now, just eat. Leave your questions for later.”

Casting her eyes down, she obeyed and shut up.

Richard and Evyna received food from the Ghost Maids. Although Evyna’s was nothing special—I couldn’t imagine it was much different from the breakfasts at the Heroes’ headquarters, if a little lower in quality—Richard’s was quite special, indeed, as it was a plate full of ice.

He didn’t complain—logical, since he didn’t need to eat, but did need to cool down, as his new range of habitable temperatures was a fair bit lower than the castle’s standard environment.

During the meal, there was what might be considered mundane small talk. Davna boasted to me about how many soldiers she had defeated, almost like a child showing off its handicrafts to its parents. Lilith showed a breach of etiquette, and was admonished by Charlotte. Navillus made vague movements, of which I’m not sure anyone understood them. Tempest watched all of this with a silent, tired smile.

The atmosphere, accompanied by the background noise of my army, seemed to loosen up Evyna, if only a little. After everyone had finished eating, she raised her hand, looking away.

“There is no need to raise your hand,” I said, shaking my head. “If you want to say something, say it.”

She lowered her hand, but her gaze remained firmly locked on the wall, to the side. “Then, uh…” She blinked, waited a few seconds, then continued. “I can understand why you’d give t, these two a bed an, and even food, b, but why me? I’m a, a Hero. Aren’t I, your, your enemy?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “A Hero? You? Do you still want to affiliate yourself with Lady Luciel, then?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Listen. Not many monsters outside of the ones at this table know this, but my status still says I’m a Hero, too. After all, why would I throw away a useful blessing, even if it’s from an enemy? You are the same as me, just with less… quality.”

She looked a little insulted—well, rightfully so—but didn’t refute my words.

“And then, is it not basic etiquette to feed a guest? Well, those were just basic rations, though. But, truth be told, I have another objective in feeding you.”

“Objective…?”

“Yes. In simple terms, it is to tempt you. You’d be an invaluable ally.”

“Someone like me?” She pointed to herself, still refusing to meet my gaze.

“I’m sure you possess knowledge I do not.” I chuckled. “After all, it’s been a long while since I was a Hero.”

“In addition,” Tempest said, “I do believe we could use another high-powered rearguard. And I’d love to take a look at that grimoire…”

Evyna pulled back a little, but her words contradicted her actions. “You all seem like good, uh, people, so I’ll, uh, I’ll think about it.”