“…Alright, let’s organize the current intelligence and my thoughts.”

Vivian took a deep breath, using the time while her mana recovered to contemplate her current situation.

Keeping this child would, in the short term, certainly conflict with her goal of survival.

But the problem was, what about the future?

The script of the entire world was definitely in chaos now, but the general theme likely wouldn’t change—and that was war.

Endless war, and everyone’s determination to climb to the top.

With Vivian, the Demon Lord of Evernight, as her starting point, surviving the early and mid-game shouldn’t be a major problem.

But in the late game, during the stage where all sorts of monsters and demons come out for a chaotic free-for-all, she probably wouldn’t be enough.

Vivian hadn’t wasted her time in the past; she had read many books and was still clear on the developmental trajectory of the entire world.

All in all, the history of the past was no different from the world-building in the game’s settings.

The major races united to fight against the collective entity known as the Demon Clan, while simultaneously harboring their own ulterior motives internally.

In the end, few of them were good people—or rather, a purely good person would only be eaten clean.

And now, from a big-picture perspective, there were two paths laid out before Vivian.

One, abort the child in her womb.

This would make it easier to get through the immediate future, and she could figure out what to do later.

Two, increase the difficulty and give birth to the child in her womb.

She suddenly had a premonition that perhaps the child in her belly could influence the entire world—after all, it was the offspring of the strongest Hero, Lucia, and also the offspring of a Demon Lord.

Logically speaking, combining two SSR (Super Super Rare) character cards should, at the very least, guarantee another SSR, right?

It might even produce a UR (Ultra Rare)!

Therefore, perhaps giving birth to this child and raising it to be healthy and normal was the key to breaking her predicament.

“…Alright, it’s decided then.”

Vivian took a deep breath and, after a short while, made her decision.

She would give birth to this child.

She was only just now experiencing morning sickness, and during the past day of her escape, there hadn’t been many particularly severe spasms or stomach pains.

She was gradually getting used to it—there was still more than half a year until a normal delivery, so she should be able to move about in a relatively relaxed state for a few more months.

This amount of time should be enough for Vivian to find a safe area to await childbirth, and it was more than enough time to return to the Demon Clan’s sphere of influence.

“I’ve recovered enough… Time to press on.”

As a Demon Lord, Vivian didn’t need much food intake as long as her mana was recovering.

After making her decision and resting sufficiently, she dropped down from the tree and continued on her way.

Right now, Vivian’s goal was to reach the Demon Clan’s territory, but during this time, she needed to cross a significant amount of human territory—and she might even have to face pursuit from other Heroes.

So Vivian was very discreet along the way, occasionally engaging in petty theft near human towns to replenish some supplies before quickly leaving.

Her mana had recovered to about sixty or seventy percent, so it would be a fool’s errand for ordinary humans to try and catch her now.

And during these few days of her escape, Vivian also learned a lot of news from other humans.

Following the sudden death of the strongest Hero, Lucia, the Demon Clan had once again launched a large-scale offensive on the human frontlines.

Even attacks on towns by wild monsters became more and more frequent.

Many commoners living in the countryside who had a bad premonition had even begun to flee to the cities.

A week after Lucia’s death and her own escape, Vivian arrived at the border region of the Human Empire.

She changed into a simple brown robe, hiding her long purple hair under the hood, and mixed into a group of refugees, following the party towards the city.

She needed to get some supplies, as well as the latest intelligence.

The city before her was a frontline fortress city named 【Faro】.

It was humanity’s main base of operations in the fight against the Demon Clan, and it was also responsible for taking in nearby refugees during times of war.

Beyond here, she would get closer to the Demon Clan’s territory, but the number of patrols and guards on the road would also increase, and it would become harder to obtain resources—so before leaving to return to the Demon Clan’s side, Vivian needed to gather enough intelligence here and prepare the food resources she would need.

Of course, there was definitely a risk in entering the city now.

She didn’t know the recent deployment of Heroes.

Who’s to say there wasn’t a Hero lying in wait for her in the city?

After all, the news of the captured Demon Lord Vivian’s escape must be known to everyone by now.

But Vivian had no choice now; she could only brace herself and enter the city to see.

“Look, it’s Lady Lucia’s statue.”

Vivian, who was following in the refugee group, suddenly heard these words.

She then saw, standing ahead, a seemingly unremarkable full-body stone statue of a person.

That was, without a doubt, the strongest Hero who had defeated her not long ago, Lucia.

The statue of the young woman looked very plain and unremarkable, but her facial features were carved with lifelike detail—she held a sword, her face maintaining a calm and kind smile.

In a daze, Vivian felt as if she had once again seen that holy and immensely powerful Hero, seen the other mother of the child in her womb… Hmm?

That should be the right way to put it.

“…Lucia, are you really dead? Did you foresee something?”

Gazing at Lucia’s ordinary marble statue, Vivian’s heart was filled with all sorts of questions.

Did she foresee her own death?

Did she know the true nature of this world?

And why did she ask the Gilded Hero, Anis, in advance to return and save her life…

“Sigh, I really wish I could ask you face-to-face.”

Vivian couldn’t help but sigh.

She somewhat regretted being too cautious when she was imprisoned by Lucia as a canary wife, thus failing to communicate much with her.

And now, there would never be another chance.

The refugees bowed to Lucia’s statue, most of them appearing exceptionally respectful.

Vivian followed their example and made a prayer-like gesture before continuing to follow the group into the city.

Everything seemed to be normal, until the moment Vivian stepped through the city gate, when a crimson magic circle suddenly lit up.

“!”

When Vivian saw the glowing magic circle, her entire body couldn’t help but freeze.

‘This is bad, it’s a trap!’

Vivian reacted instantly, subconsciously wanting to turn and run, but she soon found herself blocked by refugees both in front and behind.

If she wanted to get away quickly, the refugees on either side would have to suffer being trampled and ravaged by her.

Absolutely few would survive.