Vlad Leonardo: I can't really respond to that without spoiling. You'll just have to wait and see ;) I will say you're usually on-point with your guesses though.

lychee-ran: I haven't forgotten, I just feel like with the way Rin's personality is portrayed in this story, having -nya at the end of her sentences didn't seem like it would fit.

*Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!

The room was silent after the battle had ended. Destroyed remains of pictures and vases were scattered around the large room. The walls were marked with burns and tears from spells and blades. It was quite the mess, and for a certain maid, it was proving quite difficult to resist cleaning. But she managed to keep herself in check. She sat off to the side of the room, waiting for something more important than cleaning the room in a place she doesn't live in.

"You look as calm as ever, Maria," the young mage said as she walked up to the maid.

The maid smiled up to her. "Hello, Maki."

"Mind if I join you?"

Maria patted the spot next to her. Maki accepted the invitation, and Maria waited for Maki to find a comfortable sitting position before continuing.

"Is there any reason not to be? We did win, after all."

Both looked to the middle of the room. The rest of their friends were gathered there, idly chatting amongst each other. Included in their conversations were Yui and Mira. Despite their clothes being torn in a few places, they were both smiling and laughing with the others.

"Mercenaries sure are strange," Maki commented. "Ready to fight you to the death if told to, but the moment you beat them, it's like you've been friends forever."

"They follow orders. And when they have none to follow, they do what they want. It's not that much different from how I am. Or Eli or Rin, for that matter."

"You may have a point there. But anyway, aren't you worried at all?"

From the corner of her eye, Maria could see Maki look toward the door they sat near. The door to the ritual room.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't even a little doubtful. But I have faith that everything will be fine."

"What makes you so sure?"

"There's a mysterious force, capable of miracles, which Kotori recently discovered for herself."

Maki tilted her head. "A mysterious force?"

A smile crept onto Maria's face. "You'll understand someday, I'm sure."

Just then, the door nearby them opened, causing the two to look over. Kotori and Honoka emerged from the room, their new weapons still held in their hands. But what made Maria smile a little wider was seeing them walking hand-in-hand.

"I told you they'd be fine," Maria said to the maid as she rose to her feet. She wasted no time in reaching the two. "See? I knew I could trust you."

"Yeah, yeah," Kotori replied. "It was lucky timing. A few more seconds later and it would've been too late."

Maria just smiled before looking to Honoka. "Congratulations, Honoka-sama."

"Thanks Maria," the princess replied, red sneaking onto her cheeks.

Kotori held her hand a little tighter, feeling the princess relax quickly. She noticed the group talking in the middle of the room. "Looks like everything's fine out here as well."

"You missed a great fight," Maki said enthusiastically as she joined them.

"It was quite a sight watching her and Yui go at it," Maria said. "Most of the room is destroyed thanks to them. Sorry about that, by the way."

Kotori shook her head. "Don't worry, it'll get cleaned up at some point."

"How about we join the others?" Honoka suggested.

The four of them wandered over to the middle of the room. The others looked over from their conversation when they noticed, smiles appearing on their faces upon seeing them.

"Welcome back, Honoka-sama," Rin greeted first.

"Glad to be back," Honoka responded, smiling.

"Good to see you're okay," Umi said.

"You're not hurt too badly or anything, are you?" Hanayo asked, a hand already reaching for her wand.

Honoka shook her head. "I'm feeling better than ever, actually."

"I can see why." Nozomi said. "You know, from the moment I met you two, I thought you were cute together."

A little red graced the pair's faces. "T-thanks," they both responded.

"I still can't believe it took you two this long, though," Nico said.

"Hey, at least it worked out in the end," Umi pointed out. "And more importantly, they're both safe and back with us."

The others all nodded in agreement. Although she didn't really want to, Kotori let go of Honoka's hand so she go around and hug everyone as they each took turns welcoming her back. While she watched, she felt something touch her hand. She looked down, finding it to be Mimi in her wolf form touching her nose to Kotori's hand. Once she got Kotori's attention, Mimi turned her head to look at something. Kotori followed Mimi's gaze, a little surprised.

There was a door along the wall that she never remembered being there. She remembered that part of the wall just being some fancy design. In fact, now that she looked at it again, that design was missing, almost as if the door replaced it.

Just then, the mysterious door opened, spilling a lot of dark mist out of the room. A figure slowly stepped out from the room as well, but Kotori couldn't tell right away who it was because the black mist covered them up. Though as the mist faded, and she could now make out who the person was, Kotori couldn't believe her eyes.

"Father?"

The others didn't notice at first. It wasn't until Kotori ran that Honoka had looked around for her. The others looked after Honoka seeing Kotori just as she reached the other figure and threw her arms around him.

"Father, it is you!"

"Owe. Yes, it's me, Kotori," the man replied. He noticed the tears in his daughter's eyes. "Hey, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

"You just disappeared suddenly. We were told that you were dead…"

"What? But we just celebrated your birthday yesterday…"

That was the last thing Kotori was expecting to hear. She looked up at her father as he looked around the room.

"Come to think of it, what happened here? Why is everything broken?"

"Father… My birthday was a month ago…"

It was her father's turn to look down at her, surprised. "…What was that?"

"You went missing right after my birthday. It's been a month since we've last seen you…"

It took a few seconds for this new information to process. The confusion on his face was replaced with a slightly dark one.

"I probably know the answer already, but I want to hear it from you. What happened to your mother?"

Upon hearing the question, Kotori let go of her father. She took a couple steps back, dropping her gaze to the floor.

"She… she's dead," Kotori managed to reply.

"She's not an easy woman to kill. Tell me, how exactly did she die?"

He kept his voice even, and although Kotori couldn't see, his expression was also very neutral. After a couple of seconds, Kotori felt a pair of hands grab hold of her left hand. She didn't need to look to know whose they were. Composing herself, she finally looked back up to meet her father's gaze.

"It was me. I killed mother."

Her father nodded slowly, letting out a sigh. "I see."

He stepped forward and closed the distance between the two. Kotori felt Honoka grip her hand a little tighter, and she could tell the princess was a little nervous but ready to react to anything. Kotori held her ground and let her father step in front of her.

Her father placed a hand on her right shoulder. And to her surprise, a smiled formed on his face.

"Well done, Kotori. I'm so proud of you."

"… Huh?"

"I'm sure by now you've found out what your mother really is, right?"

Kotori nodded. "She's a demon."

Her father nodded. "Aside from shadows, she's also able to control minds."

"She… she can?" Honoka couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, it's an ability unique to her as a demon. But it's very limited, as she's unable to use it in most cases."

"Then… when is… or was, she able to use it?" Kotori asked.

"She had to implant a seed within her target, and after a certain period of time, she would have full access to them. Although, there were times where her control would fade."

"So… did that mean she was controlling you?" Maria asked. Kotori only became aware then that the others had made their way over during the conversation.

"Very perceptive. That's right, she was controlling me," Kotori's father answered. "It's been this way since we met. I wasn't aware of it at first, obviously. I only realized it by accident. Asriel was in the ritual room, contacting whom I believe to be her father, and I overheard some things. That's when I realized I was being controlled, but before I could do anything else, she had regained control."

"Wow… So mother could do something like that… " Kotori said.

"Although she didn't do it right away, she had also taken control of your brother."

"… I guess that would explain why he had suddenly changed and became attached to mother."

"That's right. She was getting ready to control you as well." He moved his hand from her shoulder to her head. "But looks like you put a stop to all of her plans."

"Yeah… Although, I sort of wish she could have been stopped another way…"

"Hey, it's for the best in the end, right?" Honoka said. Kotori glanced over and saw her giving a reassuring smile.

She smiled as well. "I guess so."

"Ah, forgive me for not properly introducing myself sooner. I'm Minami Wingul, Kotori's father."

"I'm Kousaka Honoka. I heard you used to be friends with my father," Honoka said.

"Kousaka, huh? That name takes me back." The smile faded a little from Wingul's face. "I wonder what he thinks of me after Asriel made us attack him…"

"He's never said anything bad about you before," Honoka said reassuringly. "Although… I can't say the same about your wife..."

"Heh, I wouldn't be surprised if he knew what was happening all along. Well, I suppose I'll have plenty of opportunities to catch up with him again thanks to you two. Anyway, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, sir."

"Looks like you were raised well, but you don't have to be so formal. Just take care of my daughter, alright?" He said with a playful smile.

"R-right…"

Wingul couldn't help but chuckle as the pair's faces grew red. After, the others went around introducing themselves.

"Nice to meet you all," he said after everyone was done. "And thanks for helping my daughter."

"It's more like she helped all of us," Maki said, to which the others nodded.

"Heh, I see." Then he turned to Kotori. "So, what do you plan to do now?"

"Uhm… Well…"

"She should come back to Zenethra with us," Maria answered.

"Eh? Why's that?"

"The procedures for when I succeed the throne," Honoka answered distantly.

"You don't make it sound all that great," Kotori commented.

"Well, the biggest thing is finding a partner," Maria explained. "The King wouldn't mind that it's you, Kotori. But Honoka-sama is a princess, so he isn't the final say in this case. That would be-"

"Her mother," Kotori finished, to which Maria nodded. Kotori looked to Honoka beside her. "Does she hate me that much?"

"It's not you," Honoka answered. "It's just… well, Mother is very traditional about these kind of things…"

"I see. Well, let's see if we can't change her mind and show her I'm the best choice for you."

Honoka's usual smile returned as she looked up to Kotori. "I'd like that."

Then eleven of them left Dahngrest the next morning. Yui and Mira decided to stay and help Wingul in rebuilding Aselia, as well as all of Dahngrest, to get rid of Asriel's influences on their structures. Richter, who had returned to normal like Wingul after the fight with Asriel, needed time to recover from their fight with him.

With Wingul's help, they were able to have a ride arranged for them to get back to Capua Torim. There were three vehicles for them, plus two escorts. Kotori, Honoka, and Maria rode in the lead vehicle. Mimi changed forms into a cat so she could sit with Nozomi without taking a lot of space in one of the back vehicles.

"Hey, Honoka?" Kotori said.

"Yes? What is it?"

"During our fight with my mother, did you feel anything different?"

"You mean with my magic? Yes… It's felt a lot different than it used to."

Kotori nodded. "Part of it feels familiar, but the other part of it doesn't."

"Same with me. Ever since my powers came back after you kissed me. It's a weird feeling…"

"Your father is one of the strongest mages in history, right? Maybe we can ask him about it."

"It couldn't hurt to ask," Honoka greed.

"Hehe, you two have already kissed," Maria said beside them.

Honoka honestly forgot that her maid was with them and listening. Her face started turning red again as she realized what they had just admitted.

"Now, now," Kotori said. "There's no need for teasing, is there?"

"Whatever you say, Kotori-sama."

And now it was Kotori's turn to silently turn red, causing Maria to chuckle.

"I'm going to take a nap, don't mind me. Just don't get too affectionate while I'm out, please."

With that, Maria got herself comfortable with the armrest on her right, and drifted off to sleep. Kotori regarded the maid for a few seconds, unsure of what to think.

"Thanks, Maria," Honoka said.

"Thanks?" Kotori asked, confused.

"This is the best she can do to give us privacy other than stopping everything to switch vehicles."

"Hmm, and you got all that from being teased and then her taking a nap?"

"Well… the nap, yes. The teasing was just because she wanted to."

"Heh, well I guess that all makes sense."

"Maria can be subtle when she wants. You'll get used to it over time."

"I hope so. It'd make things easier if I can understand our maid most of the time."

Honoka didn't say anything. She just kissed Kotori on the lips, smiling after as she rested herself comfortably along Kotori's side. Kotori wrapped her arm around Honoka to help her feel more comfortable.

While they didn't take much advantage of the opportunity, Maria did nap most of the ride to the port city. Though the warm silence was all the pair needed to be happy, for now.

Hey everyone, nobodD here!

So, my goal in this epilogue was to reintroduce Kotori's father as well as explain what was happening in the background within their family. Also the other goal was to present a few of the things to be covered in the next arc. I actually had the scenes planned out differently, but after rewriting most of this chapter about five different times, I eventually settled on this. I'm pretty indecisive, if you couldn't tell X3

On that note, congrats on finishing the first arc of this story! As always, I'd appreciate if you could review (or PM) and let me know your thoughts on the story up until this point. As mentioned we have at least one more arc planned out, and I'd definitely like feedback on any improvements moving forward.

Also, not really related to this story but I've lately been thinking of ways to keep you all updated on things, as well as interact outside of fanfiction, and was wondering if anyone would care for me to have some kind of social media account for that. I feel bad when chapters take as long as this one did to get posted, and was wondering if it would help to have a way to update you all without it having to be a fanfiction post. Just an idea. If you don't like it then we can ignore this part of the notes X3

Anyways~ I may or may not take a day or two off of writing. I kind of want a bit of time for myself to watch an anime or two, as well as get some rest from busy work schedule. I'll try not to take longer than 2 weeks to start the next story arc though.

Thanks to those sticking with this story. Bye for now~