The day after Gil had defeated the Goblin Lord, Karem called three other demon emperors and told them to witness the event. They were Carrius, the ruler of Tiger, the feline nation; Sun, king of Aurora; and Lyra, the ruler of Dragonia. Every one of them was fascinated by what they saw, especially Lyra, who jumped up and down. "Wow! That sentinel's pretty amazing! And that vampire is adorable too! They look like they're going to be a lot of fun to play with!"
Karem gave a sly smile. "I see you're just as excited about the arrival of the pulsar in Tenebris. So, what would you like to do?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to check out those new toys! Also, I need you guys to promise not to interfere with my plans." Karem nodded. "Yes, and it would be wise if we approached this sentinel at separate angles. It would be a bother to fight amongst one another."
"Glad that's over with!" Lyra turned back to the other demon emperors one last time. "Well, I'm going to have fun with my new toys! Try not to get in my way, Carrius, Karem, and Sun!" She sprang into the air and gleefully flew her way towards Tempestas.
Gil leans behind a tree, Maria at his side. She feeds him with a spoon, happy that Gil seemingly enjoys her cooking. Gil remembers the recipe and evokes the time they cooked this together, which makes Maria laugh. She reminds him of how much she teased him for messing it up and how his mother laughed at him. Gil mock sulks, claiming Maria had an unfair advantage because she already knew how to cook back then when he didn't. Maria pats his head. "Don't be so down. I bet Holly would have done an even worse job."
"Hey, don't say that out loud," Gil timidly whispers. "What happens if she hears that? Then she'll stuff our bellies with poison!"
"Oh, relax. I made Alyyiah in charge of supervising her cooking."
"That's inhumane! One mouthful and Alyyiah could die, you know!"
"I'm not that cruel. Alyyiah's only going to be giving tips to Holly on how to cook better. More importantly, do you think my cooking is better than Alyyiah's?"
"Well..." Gil didn't want to offend Maria. Her cooking was superb, but Alyyiah had the skill of a master chef. She taught all the leprechauns how to cook, along with Andromeda. "Sorry, but Alyyiah's tops your's, Maria. I have to be honest."
"Oh, is that so? Well, then I honestly think you don't want my food anymore, so I'll eat the rest now."
"Hey, don't be like that! Your food is incredible too, Maria. I didn't mean to insult your cooking. Aside from those two, I think you cook better than anyone else here in Tempestas!" Early in the morning, a cooking competition was held. The winner would be granted one wish if it was feasible. Gil was to be the taste tester. Alyyiah and Andromeda participated in it as well as Maria, and she barely won. Looking back on it now, Maria was amazed by the elaborate cakes Alyyiah and Andromeda made. She knew had they made anything else, she might have lost, but Maria had fortune on her side, and she made her best dish for Gil, who declared it was the best. Maria wished to spend the whole day with Gil, essentially hauling him on a date.
Gil smiled at her. "It's not like I won't eat what you prepare. If you made something for me, I'm not going to turn it down, not when you made it. Even if Alyyiah gives me something better, I'll still enjoy what you make because you're a good cook, Maria." Maria was somewhat dissatisfied by his answer, recognizing her cooking wouldn't win his heart. However, she still had the whole day, and Maria had devised plenty of other methods in her effort to charm him. "I appreciate it, Gil. Come on, there are plenty of other things I'd like to do."
"Ok." The two stopped when they sensed a frightening aura approaching them at lightning speed. Maria looked up and saw a pink light beam through the air, crashing into the ground next to her and forming a crater. She heard laughter. "Nice to meet you! My name is Lyra, the dragon also known as the Destroyer!" Lyra had the appearance of a petite brown-haired girl. She possessed a child's cast. Lyra wore a white T-shirt, black pants, and brown boots. Maria sighed, muttering how her day was ruined. From her aura, Maria could tell Lyra was not joking. Despite her appearance, Lyra was indeed the real "Destroyer" and perhaps the most famous demon emperor currently active. Maria read fables about her; how she had the power to obliterate an entire country in one go. Just before she awoke as a demon emperor, she wiped the Kingdom of Legrasse, the most powerful nation at the time, off the map. As a demon emperor, Maria knew Lyra was even more powerful now. If Lyra was even the slightest bit irritated, Tempestas would become a pile of rubble.
Lyra stretched Maria's cheeks. "You're adorable, you know that? I really wish I had a pretty Count to be my servant." She analyzed Gil, which made him uncomfortable. "Um... what are you doing?"
"I'm just curious, is all. I saw you fight the Goblin Lord through Karem's orb. You're a lot cuter up close. I want you as a servant, too." Maria faced away, grinding her teeth. There was no way Gil was becoming Lyra's servant, but she couldn't say that out loud. "So, what exactly did you come here for?"
"Oh, I came to say hello." Maria cocked her head. "That's it? You didn't come here to avenge Alnod Marsh or something like that?"
"No. Why would I do that?" Suddenly, Volpes grabbed Gil and Maria with his mouth. "I have come to rescue you, my Lords!" He carried them away as the Onis fought Lyra, who smiled. Holly was the first to charge, and Lyra promptly broke her sword and tossed her aside. Jaco created a cocoon of threads that wrapped around Lyra's body. "You may be a demon emperor, but even you won't be able to escape this."
"Now you die!" Nova threw a ball of dark energy at the demon emperor, and Volpes shot a high-energy beam from his mouth. Alyyiah joined in, hurling a yellow spear made from quanta. Everyone except Maria was surprised when Lyra came out unharmed and cackling. "That was amazing! If I was a mere demon lord, you guys would have killed me for sure! It's too bad, but your pathetic attacks won't work on me!" Explosive pink energy surrounded Lyra's body, and the crater she stood on grew exponentially bigger, dragging the Onis and Alyyiah down.
Maria and Gil jumped down to the bottom of the crater. Gil handed out potions to the Onis and Alyyiah, who was bleeding. He readied himself to challenge Lyra, but Maria stopped him. "Take care of everyone here, Gil. I'll be the one taking Lyra on. Alone."
"That's crazy!" Gil cried. "You'll be killed, Maria! Even together, we have little chance of stopping her."
"No, I have an idea that just might work. If it fails, make sure our friends get back safely, and Tempestas is still standing." Lyra sized Maria up. "Are you sure about this? Your sentinel friend is much stronger than you. He stands a better chance, even if it's only little."
"Sure, but you've never actually seen my attacks, have you? I might just be able to beat you." Lyra laughed. "Well, I do like a good challenge. However, if you fail to make a mark on me for some reason, then your whole town must agree to serve me!"
"Agreed." Maria roughly estimated Lyra to be at least twenty times stronger than Gil, making Lyra forty times more powerful than her. Maria acknowledged she was too weak to inflict real damage upon the demon emperor. However, there was still reason to be optimistic. According to the stories she heard, Lyra had a childish disposition, being very whimsical. That was something Maria planned to take advantage of. In her hand was the sugary treat every child loved dearly.
Maria shoved her palm into Lyra's mouth, who was puzzled as to what Maria was up to. However, that became an afterthought when she tasted what was forcefully lodged in her mouth. "Yum! What is this? I've never had anything tastier in my entire life!"
Maria was relieved to know that the first part of her plan was a success. The thing she put into Lyra's mouth was candy, specially manufactured in Tempestas. "Demon emperor Lyra, if you surrender to me right now, I'll give you the rest of this delicious bag of candy."
"I want it so badly!" Lyra restrained herself. "But I can't just admit defeat so easily. I am a demon emperor, after all."
Maria grinned. "Well, fine by me." Maria began eating the candy by the mouthful. "Ah, darn it all the heck! It looks like I'm running out! If I don't stop eating, there will really be no candy left! Mmm, so tasty! I could eat this for days!" Lyra seized Maria's arm. "Wait, wait! I'll surrender, so give me the candy!"
"Is that all?" There was one more response Maria's ears wanted to hear, one that would decide the fate of Tempestas.
Lyra shook her head. "Of course not! What if I promised that I would have a peaceful relationship with your nation, and I'll never attack it?"
"Never?"
"Never! Can I get the candy now, please?" Lyra folded her hands and made drooly eyes. Maria triumphantly smiled, handing over the bag of candy. With Lyra out of the way, she had one less demon emperor to worry about, which mattered especially in this case considering Lyra's power. Maria saw her as the most powerful demon emperor currently alive. If Lyra kept her promise, Maria could establish a relationship with the demon emperor and possibly an alliance, one too good to pass up.
Gil, Maria, and Lyra sat on a bench as Lyra gobbled up all the candy. "This is so good! Do you have any more?"
"Back at home," Gil nodded. "We can go get them for you if you'd like."
"Please do just that!" Gil asked Volpes to grab the stash in his drawer. "So, Lyra, what are you planning to do now?"
"I've been really bored for the past thousand years, and when I saw you, I thought you would make things fun for me!" Gil contemplated whether his supposed entertainment value was a good attribute or not. "So, you want to hang out with us?"
"Mmhm. We've only been together for a short while, and it felt like we were friends." Gil disagreed with that, and he turned to Maria, who expressed the same disagreement. Nonetheless, he made an offer. "So, would you like to become friends with us, Lyra?"
"Sure! Why not? I'm already enjoying my time with you two. Oh yeah, not to be rude, but what are your names?"
"Oh, I'm Gil, and this is Maria. That's Nova, Atticus, Holly, Andromeda, and Jaco, and she's Alyyiah. What should I call you?"
"Simple. Refer to me as Lady Lyra since I'm a demon emperor and way stronger than you."
"If we're calling you Lady Lyra, you need to greet us as Lord Gil and Lady Maria, respectively."
"Screw that! I'm stronger than the two of you put together, so it makes more sense for me to be addressed as a superior because I am!"
"How about we call you Lyra, and you can call us Gil and Maria, respectively," Gil compromised. "I think that's fair, and it's a lot simpler."
Lyra nodded. "Normally, I'd only let another demon emperor talk to me so casually, but since you guys are my friends now, you're exempt from that rule."
"Good. Um, so are you really bored?"
"Well, no, I get to fight strong opponents all day. Being a demon emperor is fun sometimes!"
"No, it isn't," Maria disagreed. "Life gets much more complicated when you're a demon emperor, and there's not much fun to be had. Also, if you're just fighting people all day, doesn't that just mean you have nothing else to do?"
"U-um, no!" Lyra pointed at Maria. "What do you do all day?"
"As Gil's second-in-command, I'm often busy with paperwork and bureaucracy."
"So you're bored too, right?"
"No. It's challenging, but it's never boring. So, what else do you do?"
"Well, I get to boss jinn around all day," Lyra smirked. "It's also fun!"
"Doesn't that just mean you got bored of fighting people all day?" The expression on Lyra's face depicted a clear yes. "Doesn't sound like life as a demon emperor is all that exciting."
"But it is! You become much more powerful, and you can do new things!" Lyra turned to Maria. "Have you ever thought of becoming a demon emperor? You seem capable of pulling it off."
Maria shrugged. "I've thought about it, but I have no clue how to actually become one, and I'm so swamped with other issues that I need to solve that I don't have time to find out. Perhaps, later on, I might change my mind."
"Well, we should head back," Gil got up. "This has been a delightful chat. Safe travels and all that - hey!" Lyra had coiled her arms around Gil and pulled him back. "What, aren't we friends? Why are you leaving so soon? You're doing something more fun back in your town, aren't you?"
"No!" Lyra violently shook Gil. "No fair! Not fair at all! I want to play too! In fact, I wanna go visit that city you live in right now!"
"But I'm not playing!" Gil freed himself from Lyra's clutches and was exasperated. "Ok, fine! You can come back with us, but you have to promise to be on your best behavior!"
Lyra laughed. "No worry there! I'm always well-behaved!" Jaco left to inform Hagas and Conall of their new visitor. Holly, Andromeda, Atticus, and Nova smiled. Their lords had done the impossible again, taming a demon emperor like it was a piece of cake.
Maria introduced Lyra to all the inhabitants of Tempestas. "She's an honored guest here. Make sure not to disrespect her-"
"Well, actually, starting today, I'll be living here! A pleasure to meet you all!" Lyra grinned from ear to ear. "I hope to have a lot of fun!" The audience roared in approval, and Gil was amazed by how popular Lyra was. Whether it was because of admiration or fear, everyone seemed to know her. "Well, Lady Lyra has decided to live with us. As my friend, I won't tolerate any impertinence she may receive!" Gil sighed, partially regretting his offer. Initially, he knew Maria wanted to sway Lyra to their side and thought proposing a friendship would be a big step in that direction. However, it also meant they would constantly have to keep Lyra satisfied, which was already turning out to be a chore. He questioned if he even thought of Lyra as a "friend."
"Yeah, you're right," Lyra faced Gil. "We're not friends."
"Oh, you can read minds? What are we, then?" Lyra hugged Maria and Gil. "We're best friends!" she exclaimed. The crowd roared even louder, and both Gil and Maria were taken aback. Best friends?
Lyra looked at the both of them. "We are best friends, right?" Tears began to well in her eyes, making Maria hastily shout, "We are best friends! In fact, we're BFFs for life!"
The crowd repeated BFFs as Lyra beamed. "You two had me worried there for a second, Gil and Maria!" Maria sighed, and Gil sympathized with her. Their life would not be the same again after this encounter with demon emperor Lyra, a powerhouse with the heart of a little girl.