That great valley was called death.
Countless of demons roamed there. They numbered like sands on the beach and stars in the heaven.
They flew in the sky, buried underground, crawled on the plain, slithered among the chasms. Everywhere and everywhere in that valley the demons made their dwelling.
They howled, screeched, roared, hissed, and groaned. All the time did the evil manifestations performed the symphony of horror in that valley.
It was the scene of true nightmare that should not have existed in the world.
Looking down at this valley from a great hill was a silver pegasus.
Its sight was majestic, but its rider was even more exceptional: A raven-haired woman cladded in dark armor and purple cape. Nestled on her head was a silver crown. Belted on her hip was a beautiful silver sword.
"Why did you follow me here?" asked the raven-haired woman.
That question was addressed to the four figures behind her: a gigantic man about as tall as three people wearing a lion's head helmet, a tuxedo-wearing fairy, an elf in an eastern robe, and a beautiful-looking woman with shining shackles on her hands.
"We wanted to fight alongside you, Princess!" said the fairy.
"Why do you want to fight alongside me?"
"Because you're our leader!" said the elf.
"Why did you make me your leader?"
"Because you're strong!" said the shackled woman.
The raven-haired woman shook her head.
"Each of you are stronger than me in some ways. So why did you make me your leader?"
"Because you brought us to victory." said the gigantic man. "Every battle you led us in always resulted in victory, never defeat!"
"And you think the battle that will take place in this valley will result in victory as well?"
"Yes, because you're the one leading the battle, Princess!" said the fairy.
The raven-haired woman gazed upon the countless demons that spread from below her unto the horizon ahead.
"This great valley has never been conquered before. Many tried but failed. Some claimed it's simply impossible to conquer."
"You've led us to achieve the impossible before!" said the elf.
"The world was supposed to end long ago, but you've prolonged its life!" said the shackled woman.
"We are certain this valley will be conquered because we know it's YOU who will lead the charge." said the gigantic man. "You're our beacon of hope within this dark world where everything seems impossible."
The raven-haired woman smiled at their words.
"Do you really have that much faith in me?"
"Yes, Princess! Just like how Einsof, Himself, has put His trust in His Chosen One." said the gigantic man. "All four of us will follow you even to the depths of hell. And so does the countless soldiers behind you."
Princess Mariana whipped the pegasus's rein. The magical horse expanded its glorious wings and flapped them till it hovered in the air.
Seeing this, the tuxedo-wearing fairy flew up and took out a tiny silver horn from his pocket.
He blew on the horn and from the miniscule instrument came out the sound of a million horns that could be heard by the entire valley.
The fair woman with the shining shackles began stomping her foot. Though gentle was every time she pressed her foot on the ground, each stomp created a thundering booming sound that spreads to the end of the great valley.
Princess Mariana flew her pegasus higher and higher until she got the whole view of the demons-infested valley and the army of millions standing behind her on the hill.
The Princess then drew her sword and spoke.
"For many times we were faced with the impossible and for as many times we were able to overcome the impossible. And now we are faced with another impossibility once more."
The Chosen One raised her sword to the air.
The silver pegasus she was riding suddenly burned up in flame, turning its silver snow hair to charcoal black. Burning steam came out from its nostrils. Its wings, tails, and hooves were raging with glorious fire. Its eyes glowed like the sun.
Seeing this magnificent sight, all the soldiers behind the Princess readied their weapons.
They all heard the Chosen One's call.
"March with me, o ye servants of Einsof! Raise your weapons against Satan and together we will conquer this valley in the name of our God!"
The gloomy clouds above parted open.
Descending from the sky were hundreds of thousands of griffin-riding soldiers.
Countless fairies flew amongst the heavenly cavalry like trailing shooting stars.
Numerous enormous magic circles flashed behind the Princess, amongst the army of millions. Summoned from those magic circles were titanic magical golems which heights reached the clouds above.
Through the woman's rally, millions of Einsof's creations standing behind the Princess erupted with courageous aura.
With her army at the ready, Princess Mariana pointed her sword to the valley and whispered.
"Now then… let's go kill some demons."
The Princess's whisper was followed by a thundering unison roar by the millions of soldiers on the hill with her.
"HOORAH!"
Evelyn reminisced that moment from her past life as she made her way to the training hall alongside Bryce and Hannah.
Having lost the mock battle, Bryce and Hannah complied to Evelyn's request and instructed all the knights to gather inside the private training hall.
There they would announce the gargoyle extermination quest that would be led by Evelyn.
Before the three entered the hall, Bryce and Hannah talked to Evelyn once more.
"Darling, are you sure we can't change your mind?" asked Hannah desperately.
"No, mother. We had a deal, remember?"
"Please, Evelyn! I know you're a very good mage as how you've proven to us in the mock battle earlier." said Bryce. "But leading twenty knights on an extermination quest is an entirely different thing."
Evelyn only smiled at her father's words and walked right into the hall.
Earlier inside the hall, the knights were already gathered. Having seen the result of the mock battle, all of them shared their opinions.
"Is it true that Lady Evelyn will be the one who will lead us to Stonewall?"
"That's what everyone is saying."
"Hmm… I don't know if I'll be comfortable being led by her."
"Well, you've seen her fight, right? She's pretty skilled."
"I don't deny it. But leading an army is a different thing. You remember the story about Count Julliard's son from the Hiddekel Province?"
"Ah, yes. The count's son led an army of 100 knights to raid a dungeon. They said despite being a very good swordsman, the count's son was arrogant and poor in judgement"
"And because of his arrogance, he decided to go to an uncharted parts of the dungeon despite warnings from the Imperial Magic Tower. Eventually they got lost in the dungeon with no supplies and ended up losing 87 men, including the count's son himself."
"You think Lady Evelyn is like the count's son because she's a prodigy like him?"
"Who knows? We'll soon find out whether our fate will be in the hands of an arrogant noble or a true leader."
The Leonardo family entered the training hall.
All knights immediately set their gaze upon Evelyn. Knowing very well she was the reason they were summoned there.
Evelyn stared back at them in her usual composed expression.
"(One of the things I need to achieve early on is acquiring an army.)" thought Evelyn. "(To begin accomplishing that goal, my intention is to make my parents give me full control over the Leonardo knightage.)"
She gazed at her parents and the knights around her.
"(Through this gargoyle incident, I'm planning to win the faith of both my parents and all the knights in the barony.)"