“Liliaaaaaaaa!”

*Bang*

With a shout and a painful crash, the current Demon Queen was forcefully ripped from the land of dreams. Glaring at Mefi, her personal maid, Lilia rubbed her head painfully. No matter how many times Lilia told her to cut it out, Mefi could never seem to keep that fact in her empty head.

“It’s time to get to work, Lilia!” Mefi told Lilia with a smile, her golden hair shining resplendently in the light leaking in through the curtains. Even the small dragon scales next to her eyes seemed to glitter like priceless jewels.

Seeing that guileless smile took the wind right out of Lilia’s sails; she could never remain angry when her childhood friend gave her that innocent look.

“Come on, come ooooon,” Mefi said childishly as she shook Lilia’s shoulder, like a kid desperate to wake their parents up on a holiday.

The constant jostling caused Lilia’s ruby hair to sway bewitchingly in the air, like fire dancing in the wind. If a man had been present to see the two girls frolicking on the bed, he would likely have ended up a drooling heap on the floor. To be fair, most women would end up the same way as well. It would be difficult for anyone to retain their senses before two of the greatest beauties of the Demon World.

“I’m up, I’m up!” Lilia said while pushing Mefi off with enough strength to turn an average human into dust. Lucky for the little maid girl, dragonkin were awfully sturdy folks, so it just felt like a gentle push to Mefi.

“Hurry up, let’s get you dressed. You have quite the full day ahead of you!” Mefi said as she brought Lilia the revealing traditional garb of the succubus, as popularized by Lilith hundreds of years ago.

*Sigh*

Lilia couldn’t help but sigh, dreading the thought of wearing those clothes as well as the busy day ahead of her. She had slept so well too, dreaming of a princess appearing to swoop in on a white horse - sweeping Lilia off her feet and solving all her problems. Unfortunately, a queen had no time for such a ridiculous fantasy, so she had to shift gears and get to the work that would keep her nation running and protected from outsiders.

“What’s wrong, my lady?” Mefi asked with concern visible in her glistening eyes. She could feel Lilia’s subdued mood radiating from her body.

“It’s just…… I had the strangest dream.” Lilia said hesitantly.

“What’d you dream about?” Mefi pressed her best friend.

“I dreamt that a gorgeous black haired girl would ride a mythical beast over the Lilith Mountains, accompanied by two humans…… and……” Lilia hesitantly said to Mefi.

“And what??” Mefi asked curiously, eyes shining with curiosity.

“And…… I dreamt that the Goddess of Darkness would return along with her.” Lilia continued, her voice practically a whisper at the end.

“Henna’s coming back?!?” Mefi screamed in shock.

“No, no, no, of course not! That would be ridiculous…” Lilia quickly denied. “That’s why, I didn’t want to say anything. It’s just a silly dream. One that certainly doesn’t suit an old woman like me, especially the Demon Queen.”

“That’s not true!” Mefi said emphatically. “You look even more beautiful now than you did 100 years ago, so don’t talk like that. You get hundreds of marriage proposals every year. The entire country thinks you’re charming! If only you didn’t put out that ridiculous marriage condition…… Who requires their potential suitors to beat them in a fight?!”

*Snort* “I only did that to keep those filthy pigs away. All they care about is my body, or my power. No way am I accepting someone like that.” Lilia said with a hint of derision.

“One day, my lady, you’re going to fall in love. Hopelessly, irresistibly, helplessly in love…… You have to leave yourself open to the chance, but until that day, I’m going to keep you all to myself!” Mefi said as she suddenly gave Lilia a hug, burying her face in Lilia’s bountiful chest.

Pushing the nuzzling Mefi off her body for the second time in five minutes, Lilia opened the door to her room and walked out into the palace hall - heading out to begin her day.

Lilia’s first appointment of the day was with the army, so she quickly made her way to the terrace together with Mefi. Once there, Lilia opened up the cute little bat wings on her waist while Mefi sprung large dragon wings from her back.

The two gently held hands as they flew into their, making their way towards the parade ground - where her people were currently preparing for war.

As she flew through the cool morning air, Lilia could only daydream. She imagined the day when war was no longer a constant threat, when her people could wander the world without fear, and when the Lilith Mountains would no longer be serve as shield and prison.

For fifteen years, Lilia had always had this nagging feeling - that change was coming to this world. As of the last few days, that feeling kept growing stronger and stronger.