Muriel THE Demon Lord

As the passage slowly opened from the wall, revealing Muriel with a smile on her face, Melania sat motionless. She wasn’t sure if what she saw was an illusion, a prank by a student, or if it was really the Demon Lord standing before her. It had been an eternity for Melania since she last saw one of her old friends. She rose from her chair, unable to believe her eyes, and walked toward Muriel.

“What’s with that face. Is that girl’s blood still on my face?”

“Muriel, how, how is this possible?” Melania, looking down at Muriel for a moment, then knelt and embraced her immediately.

“Ah! If you’re going to hug me like this, at least give me a heads-up. I can get startled too, you know.” Muriel was a bit surprised by Melania’s sudden hug, but she gently patted Melania’s back.

“You- you should have died back then. How. How are you here, Muriel? I thought Aito killed you.” Melania slowly released Muriel from her embrace, speaking with confusion.

“Well, About that, Oh, you guys put me in that cave after that, right? Thanks a lot for that.” Muriel responded, dodging the question and releasing her hand that had been patting Melania's back.

“The cave? What are you talking about, Muriel? After Aito killed you, your body disappeared in a burst of white light.” Melania contradicted with bewilderment.

“Oh… that… I don’t understand it myself. I remember Aito stabbing me in the heart with his sword, then I heard a woman’s voice. After that, all I recall is sleeping for a very long time, without dreaming. I only woke up recently, Like, an hour ago” Muriel explained, still puzzled by the events that had transpired long ago, sharing what little she knew.

“Hmm, it has been a long time. It’s been 500 years since then. But never mind that, I’m just glad you’re alive. Thank Syra. If Peter finds out about this, he’ll be overjoyed.” Melania hugged Muriel again before getting up and returning to her desk.

“Papa.”

Muriel’s voice trembled slightly as she spoke, clutching Melania’s sleeve tightly. Hearing Melania mention her father brought back memories. 500 years ago, her father had disappeared not long before Fumiko died. When she needed him the most, he vanished without a trace. But despite everything, the dragon still missed the man she considered her real father. Tears threatened to fall as she held onto Melania, her voice shaking.

"Papa. Did papa come back, Melania?"

"....." Melania looked down at her desk, remaining completely silent and not responding at all.

"Melania...?" With Melania's silence, tears started flowing from Muriel's eyes immediately. She didn't know what kind of answer she would get.

"Peter... Came back a year after you died. When we asked where he had been, he wouldn't answer. All he said was that he went to visit you when you died, that's it." Melania carefully chose her words and slowly turned to tell Muriel, who was still confused.

"Papa came to see me? That's terrible. Where were he." Muriel, realizing she was crying, slowly used her sleeve to wipe her face.

"But, I don't know everything Peter said back then."

"Huh?? What do you mean?"

"Peter went off to talk with Chiaki privately, without letting me hear. When I asked her, Chiaki said Peter wouldn't allow her to tell me. But Chiaki's face at that time seemed like she felt guilty or something."

"No way. Normally, Chiaki would follow Papa's orders without feeling anything."

"But after they finished talking, Peter told me that if I found you before Chiaki did, to ask you to immediately go ask Chiaki about what happened that day."

"Uh... Oh! That's right, I was going to ask since I came into the room just now. Since I couldn't detect Chiaki's magical energy, where did she go?" Muriel, after wiping her tears, remembered and quickly told Melania.

"About that, Muriel, About three years ago, something happened at this magic academy."

"Oh, yeah. I heard about that from a mage who found me. What happened?"

Melania told Muriel before sitting down in the Headmistress's chair and gestured for Muriel to sit in the chair in front of her desk. Muriel then sat down in the chair opposite Melania. Not long after, a plate holding a self-heating teapot and teacups floated over and placed itself on the table in front of them. Melania thought for a moment before pouring tea for Muriel and herself. Muriel remained silent, not touching the tea in front of her at all.

"Those students, It's like, how should I say, they were led by an other-worlder." Melania started. "But since he kept it quiet all along, we had no idea. Still, he managed to gather more than 20 allies both inside and outside the academy to join his plan."

"Yeah, that mage told me it seemed like they stole some stuff from the academy, right?" Muriel listened and thought as she slowly picked up the teacup in front of her and took a sip.

"Yes, they stole mostly magical equipment, artifacts mostly. Besides that, they took several skill crystals, magic tomes, and money as well." Melania leaned back in her chair, looking at Muriel.

"Ah, that's tough. And then? Were they caught, those students?"

"Well, no. We couldn't. They managed to escape, and they even killed tw-… one of the staff members."

"What about Chiaki? If it's Chiaki, she should be great at dealing with students like that, right?"

Muriel felt a bit puzzled and brought up her younger sister again. From what she remembered, besides her father, Chiaki was the most powerful skill user she knew. She was confident that if it were Chiaki, she would have been able to handle the situation without much trouble.

"....."

"Muriel, follow me for a bit, will you?" Melania said, immediately standing up and grabbing her staff next to the desk.

"Huh? Where are we going? The tea’s not even finished." Muriel asked curiously, standing up and drinking her tea in one go.

"We're going to the library hall. Chiaki is in there. She hasn't gone anywhere." Melania said, walking towards the door. Her expression, however, was one of sadness, but Muriel didn't notice it as she walked past her.

"Oh, really? That's great! I didn't run past the library hall earlier. No wonder I didn't find Chiaki. Let's go, then," Muriel said, following Melania immediately.

As Muriel and Melania walked from the headmistress's office, students and teachers along the way showed surprised expressions and stepped aside to let them pass. Normally, Melania was rarely seen outside her office unless she was teaching a class, but what was even more surprising was that she was walking alongside Muriel, who had just been seen running through various parts of the school. The students and teachers who saw this assumed that Muriel had been caught by the headmistress and was now being escorted by her.

"Isn't that the girl with the black hair who ran by just now?"

"What kind of punishment will she face for being caught by the headmistress herself?"

"She'll probably get expelled, caught by the headmistress like that."

"Walking like this feels uncomfortable, Melenia. My hearing is so good I can hear every word these idiots are saying behind our backs..." Muriel walked so close to Melania that she was almost clinging to her. If she got any closer, she might as well have hidden under her clothes.

"Muriel, you've only been back at the magic academy for less than an hour and you've already caused trouble?" Melania responded to Muriel while continuing to walk, not turning to look at her, just keeping her eyes on the path ahead.

"Ah, I punched someone in the face and broke their nose. What's their name... Thalium…. Thalie??? Thalia! I think... Her face was a mess. It'll probably take an hour of healing magic to fix it back to normal." Muriel puffed out her chest slightly with pride at having injured another student.

"That girl is the daughter of a duke who governs a region. You know you might have trouble later for harming someone like that." Melania said with a smile.

"Let them. If she tells her father and he sends soldiers, I'll burn them all to ashes." Muriel replied as if it were just a joke.

"Your way of thinking is always the same, Muriel." Melania said, looking down and smiling at Muriel.

"Of course, I'm a dragon." Muriel replied, smiling back at Melania and raising her head proudly.

"You're just like your father." Melania remarked with a grin.

"Papa raised me from an egg, you know." Muriel said, her pride evident in her voice.

Melania smiled for a moment longer before her face fell into sorrow once again. She looked straight ahead, not speaking or acknowledging Muriel anymore. Her expression was as distressed as it had been when she walked out of the headmistress's office. Muriel, seeing Melania's face, grew increasingly worried. What could Melania be so upset about? Could it be about Chiaki? But what could possibly be wrong with her sister?

Finally, they exited the main school building and reached the library outside. Inside, the library was vast, filled with more books than Muriel could count. The shelves towered high, nearly reaching the ceiling, a size comparable to her large dragon form. Muriel, upon entering, was surprised, having thought Chiaki worked as the librarian. Yet, the person behind the counter was not Chiaki.

"Melania? Where’s Chiaki? I thought that tin can of a maid worked as the librarian."

"She’s… in the depths of the library, sleeping." Melania replied, leading Muriel into the labyrinth of books and shelves.

"Sleeping? Really? She likes sleeping in quiet places, huh?" Muriel joked, trying to ease her growing anxiety, but Melania remained silent.

At last, they reached the inner sanctum of the library that Melania had mentioned. It was a spacious area with many tables for reading, surrounded by potted plants. At the centre stood a pedestal with the statue of a child in a maid’s outfit. As Muriel looked up, a wave of despair crashed over her.

"Chiaki… no… it can’t be true!"

"How could this have happened!?" she cried out.

The statue was not just a statue—it was Chiaki, standing motionless, head slightly bowed and eyes closed. What broke Muriel's heart was the large hole in the middle of Chiaki’s chest. Her maid outfit was torn around it, revealing an empty cavity where her core should have been. The sight was unbearable, and tears streamed down Muriel’s face uncontrollably.

"Muriel, one of the key artifacts they stole was Chiaki’s Lucentail core." Melania said, her voice heavy with sorrow.

"No, Chiaki…"

"My sister… why…”