"Wait," I said. "You're saying… I was only chosen to become the Heroine… to hurt Eena's mom by killing Eena?"

"That is likely correct," Doll confirmed. "At the very least, I find it hard to believe you were chosen by coincidence."

Her voice was flat. Emotionless. Like she didn't care that she'd just ripped the rug out from under me. Not that it was her fault or anything, but… I just… I didn't…

"Lucy," Eena said, turning to look right at me. I could hear the concern in her voice just from how she said my name. "Whatever the reasons behind you being chosen, whatever the reason for this war, it doesn't change who you are. It doesn't change what you've accomplished - the good you've done with your title, the help you've given to others, and the work you have started with me-"

"I know!" I interrupted. Which was really rude, but I just couldn't help myself. I didn't want to hear her listing my accomplishments... "I know I… I've done a lot of good! I've helped a lot of people! Or at least I want to think so? But… this whole time I thought I was special. I thought it was fine to do things my way, because I had the Goddess backing me… I was so sure that I was right, and the church was wrong… that you were wrong… But… What if I'm the one that's wrong? How do I know if what I'm doing is right or not? I've preached to all those people, told everyone that the goddess wanted them to be good, but… how do I know if I was ever right to begin with?!"

"You don't." Eena's voice was soft, but warm. Suddenly, her arms were wrapped around me - awkward, but gentle, a classic Eena hug. This time, though, I didn't have armor getting in the way. This time I could feel her warmth as she hugged me. I guess she could tell how desperately I needed it.

"You follow your heart," she continued, speaking softly into my ear. "Nobody ever really knows for sure whether what we're doing is right or not, Lucy. We just… follow our hearts and hope that the people around us will correct us if we're in the wrong."

"I… I never… I mean…" I bit my lip, not sure what I even wanted to say. "You're right. I know you're right! But… I… I don't…"

"But nothing!" Abigail chimed in. "You're doing good, alright? From everything you and Devilla have told me, anyways. I mean, you're trying to end a genocidal war! You don't need a goddess to tell you that that's the right thing to do, do you?!"

"N-no," I whispered. I didn't. Even if the war had been going on for thousands of years… and I couldn't rely on the Goddess to tell me my heart was right, anymore… I still knew that this much death and destruction was wrong!

"What was that?" Abigail asked. "I can't hear you! Maybe you think demons actually do deserve to be wiped out or something?"

"N-no! I don't need the Goddess to tell me I'm right! I'm doing something good! I'm helping people! I'm… I'm doing what feels right in my heart!"

"Then what's there to worry about?!" Abigail demanded. "You're the Heroine, aren't you? The first real Heroine, so far as I'm concerned. Who the fuck cares if it started off as some petty idiot's revenge plot when you've got the power to turn it back on her and tell her to shove it up her ass?"

I couldn't help but smile a little, but it didn't last long. "But… If… if things had gone according to her original plan, I'd…" I bit my lip as tears welled up in my eyes. I didn't want to even think about it, let alone say it, but… "I-I would have killed Eena… I… I would have felt good about it. Proud."

"But you didn't," Eena said, squeezing me even tighter. Tight enough that it even hurt a little, but I didn't ask her to loosen her grip. "Her plan has been derailed and now you're on our side as a proper Heroine of love and justice."

"...I don't think love has much to do with my job, Eena!"

"It made you laugh, though, did it not?" she pointed out.

She was right, too! I… I was smiling! Despite everything, I was smiling!

"Besides," she continued, "it's not like love has nothing to do with it. Considering we're partners in justice, as well as love, are we not?"

"Partners?" I asked, a little confused.

Eena nodded. Not that I could really see it, with us pressed so tight together, but I could feel her head move! "We're on a quest for peace together, are we not? The Heroine and her partner, here to bring love and justice to the world!"

I giggled. I couldn't help it. Something about Eena talking about love and justice in such a serious tone really tickled my funny bone! Or maybe I was just feeling a little hysterical after everything we'd been told?

"That's right," I said. It didn't matter if it was legitimately humor, or just a weird reaction on my end! Because the truth was the truth, either way! So I wrapped my arms tight around Eena, and said, "We're partners! To the end!"

"I guess it's good to know dirty jokes and talking about love are good ways to cheer you up," Abigail cut in from the side, "but we have more pressing concerns to worry about. Not to ruin the warm and fuzzy feelings going around, but… why isn't this the end? Aren't we sort of openly discussing our plans to ruin Luci's? The super powerful evil one in the sky, I mean."

Doll nodded. "Indeed. By all reasonable assumptions, Luci should have noticed that something was amiss long ago and acted upon it. While she can't force the Rite upon you, I would have expected her to make some form of move by now. Yet she hasn't… Which has led me to believe she cannot."

"What do you mean she cannot?'" Eena asked, giving me another gentle squeeze before parting with me. "She is the leader of the angels, is she not? Who would dare to stop her, let alone be able to?"

"The Goddess."

Silence for a moment, then all at once,

"What do you mean 'the Goddess'?"

"Didn't you say she was gone?!"

"I thought you said she left before all this even started?"

Doll nodded, but otherwise stayed silent, waiting for us to calm before speaking again. "The Goddess's journey was never meant to be a long one, from my understanding. In fact, I am fairly certain that Luci has manipulated the timestream of this plane to speed things along during her absence. Whatever manipulations of time may have occurred, however, it was never more than a matter of time before she returned."

"Then why isn't she helping us?!" Eena demanded. "Why hasn't she descended and fixed her mistakes?"

"Perhaps she does not care," Doll replied. "Perhaps she views mortal troubles as insignificant. Or perhaps she intends for us to fix our problems ourselves, regardless of their divine origin. I lack the necessary information to give anything beyond idle speculation. However, I do believe she is the only one powerful enough to keep Luci from interfering."

"Then… we still have a chance of fixing things?" I asked, hopeful. "We can still bring an end to the war?"

"With your position and Devilla's there is certainly the possibility," Doll confirmed. "So long as direct divine interference remains at bay, at least. You should still remain wary, however. Luci, whatever her manifold flaws, was appointed as head of the angels for a reason and as part of that appointment she was given access to divine magic - a step above holy. Although she can only wield it in limited capacity, it would nevertheless be enough to make capturing you both a trivial task at minimum. Much as the failsafe she left within me was meant to do."

"Failsafe?" I asked, worried.

"As in… something that could go off at any moment, or…?" Abigail asked, edging a bit away from Doll.

"It won't go off," Eena said with a frown. "It lacks the power to do so. you channeled it all into the tower, correct?"

"All the holy magic, yes," Doll confirmed. "However, the failsafe was fueled with a small cache of divine magic, which is still there. Fortunately, as it's triggered by holy magic it is by and large inert unless Luci manually triggers it from heaven. Even then, you would only be trapped for a limited duration, perhaps a few decades, before your release."

"A 'few decades,'" Eena muttered dryly. "Wonderful."

"I'm not going to get wrapped up in all this, am I?" Abigail asked. "Because I don't know about those two, but I'm not sure I could survive in magic captivity for a couple decades."

"You are an anomaly," Doll said, looking at Abigail with renewed interest. "An outside party who should never have been brought in on things. Worse - a potential threat, should you ever gain access to a significant amount of unholy magic."

"Don't talk like Abigail about that!" Eena snapped.

"Yeah!" I said, throwing in my own glare. "She's a really wonderful girl who totally deserves to be here!"

"...Thanks?" Abigail replied. "I think. Kinda missing how I could be a threat, though."

"You are descended from true demons," Doll said. "Beings of negative-aligned energy. Although your kind have been largely stripped of your dependence upon it and placed within a mostly-mortal shell, you still retain the ability to store unholy magic. Specifically, you absorb trace amounts of it when feeding upon someone's lust. However, as you lack the ability to properly utilize it for anything but your own survival, your presence here represents only a minimal threat."

"...Thanks," Abigail repeated. I could tell she was definitely being sarcastic this time, though! I'm pretty sure she was rolling her eyes!

"Regardless," Doll said, "my role as a fail-safe shall soon be moot. As soon as I remove my hand from this console I will cease to function and collapse."

"You'll die?!" I asked with horror. Sure, Doll had told me a whole bunch of things I really didn't want to hear, without even trying to be nice about it, but… she was still a person! She didn't deserve to die!

"Your concern for me is touching, but misplaced," Doll said, looking between me and Eena with a hard to read expression. "You two really are strange - her caring about a mother she's never met and you caring about an artificial construct you barely know, who's done nothing but upset you and upend your sense of self. I have been in operation for over two thousand years, you realize? During that time, I have watched dozens of Demon Queens come and go. I have shared countless letters from mothers to their daughters, begging for forgiveness from children who will have to suffer as they did. And I did nothing to stop it. I only act now because I fail to foresee a better chance ever coming.

"My only regret is that I leave without teaching you more, Devilla… though it has not escaped my notice that you already know more than I would have expected. I'm quite curious as to how you know what video games and computers are."

"That's…!" Eena swallowed before shaking her head. "I suppose there's no point in denying it. When the Rite failed, I apparently cast some other spell instead - one that awoke the memories of my past life as a… human from Earth."

I grabbed Eena's hand and gave it a quick squeeze. I'd heard the way she hesitated before saying human, and while I wasn't sure what that was about I still wanted her to know that I was here for her!

She smiled in return, so I guess my message got across?

"A human from Earth," Doll said pensively. For the first time her expression changed, her eyes widening. "A soul shifting between worlds should not be possible under normal circumstances… though the fact that a secondary spell was cast supports my hypothesis that the Goddess is present in Solla again. She is the only one who'd be capable of creating a new spell to do what you've spoken of, and the only one capable of setting new spell passwords. As such, she may have created the spell you claim to have cast."

"Spell passwords?" I asked. "Do you mean the holy words?"

"Indeed," Doll nodded.

"I thought they were supposed to be a language…" Eena muttered.

I was pretty shocked, but compared to everything else I'd learned today… Well, it didn't seem to matter all that much!

"Regardless," Doll said, refocusing her eyes on Eena, "I should make one thing clear. As a former human, you may think that you are still the same as a mortal. You may believe that your soul remains unchanged. Strike the thought from your head. When a mortal soul is used to make a new angel, the body converts the soul to fit its needs. You are an angel, Devilla. An immortal entity in the truest sense, meant to last far past the end of this or any other universe. Beware your mortal entanglements, for they shall wither and die while you endure."

"Thanks for the information," Eena said, squeezing my hand even as she narrowed her eyes at Doll, "but right now I'd rather talk about your existence than mine."

"If you seek to punish me for my previous abandonment of you, then I'm afraid I will have to disappoint you. As I have stated on multiple occasions now, the moment I remove my hand from this device I shall cease to function."

"Unless I recharge you, right?" Eena asked. "I'm assuming there's a way to do so, yes?"

Doll actually paused for a moment before speaking. "...To do so would put you at risk. The failsafes within me have not been removed, only depowered. I was able to work around them because your 'Rite' was seemingly designed to trigger the same visual cues as the Rite of Insight, fooling the failsafes, and because I avoided direct confirmation of the truth. Now that I know it, however…"

"You'll be stuck coming after me?" Eena asked. "Is that what you mean to say?"

"...Indeed."

"Then teach me how to remove the failsafes."

"What?" Doll asked, her eyes widening much more noticeably than before. "That is… No! Why would you do that?"

"To make sure you can face the punishment you deserve," Eena declared with a smile. Not a smirk! Even though her words sort of sounded like they'd fit one… I was pretty sure she was just being ominous for no reason again! She could honestly be a bit of a drama queen. "You abandoned me, as you said. You've stood by as dozens of Demon Princesses were marched first to their enslavement and eventually their doom, doing nothing for two thousand years. And now you intend to bow out of it without seeing it through to the end? To go quietly into the night, never to be heard from again? No. You are going to bear witness to what happens next. You are going to watch as I prove that you were wrong to abandon me when you did. That I wasn't as far beyond saving as you, and everyone else, thought. You are going to live."

"...Is that an order from my Queen?" Doll asked. Her voice was as flat as ever, but somehow I thought I could hear a trace of hope in her words anyways.

"It is," Eena declared.

"Then I guess we'd better begin."

Minor announcement: I'm running a Demon Queened popularity poll on Patreon at the moment. Since it's just for fun, I'm opening it up to the public. You can vote here - pick as many as you'd like!
"Normally placing or removing enchantments involve special tools used to channel the wielder's holy magic," Doll informed me. "As you are simply destroying an enchantment, however, it should be enough to simply… pick at it, for lack of a better phrase. This may take a while - it is the equivalent of trying to undo delicate embroidery with nothing but your fingernails."

"Does that mean the enchantments have a physical form?" I inquired, curious.

"Of a sort," Doll agreed. "Seeing it should be as simple as wishing to for an angel. Just focus on my body and think intently about seeing the flow of holy magic."'

"That's it?" I inquired, incredulous. "Just that and I can see your enchantments?"

"Just that," Doll confirmed with a nod. "Surely you have noticed the adaptability of your spell form body by this point, have you not? The fact that you can vary your strength output, for example, or the ability to adjust the sensitivity of your senses. You can also restore your body to its default state at any time, if desired - though that would require something powerful enough to alter your state in the first place."

"I have discovered… most of that, yes," I confirmed dryly. It was hard to hold myself back from wondering aloud where she'd been while I was stumbling my way into these things, but I managed. "What do you mean spell form body, though?"

"You… haven't figured it out yet?" Doll asked incredulously. "I see. In that case it is probably for the best that you find out now before you learn to see magic…"

"Find out what?" I pressed.

"That you are made of magic." The way Doll replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, left me staring blankly at her. "Specifically, the physical vessel you currently inhabit, I should say. An angel's true self is their soul after all. That's what makes it so hard for them to actually die. Their body, on the other hand, is little more than an artificial vessel meant to house them."

"But…" I started, then stopped, unsure where to even begin. I was made of magic? What did that even mean?!

"...Or at least that's what Luci claimed. Personally, I have always felt that the presence of a human brain to process your thoughts might explain why you are so similar to mortals. Regardless, though, the fact remains: fundamentally you are not a being of flesh and blood."

"I have a heart, though!" I pointed out. "And blood! …Probably? I mean, my heart must be pumping something, yes?"

"Yes," Doll agreed. "Your body mimics mortal functionality in many respects. The consumption of food, the beating of a heart, and the working of your lungs. It is all very much like a mortal's. Yet if one were to examine you at your core they'd see how you differ from them. Where others are made of smaller and smaller bits of stuff you are a singular cohesive piece. A living spell, made to mimic a human body."

So not only my soul, but the very nature of my being had changed since my previous life? I wasn't the same as the mortals around me, even here?

Unbidden, Doll's earlier words replayed through my head about how I was immortal. How I was eternal and different.

Then I heard Abigail speak.

"So that's why she can eat all she wants and never put on any weight..."

I… laughed, much to Abigail's surprise. She'd likely thought her muttering was too quiet for me to hear, but I was glad to hear it all the same.

"What's so funny?" Lucy asked, looking back and forth between me and Abigail.

"Nothing," I assured her. "I was just having something of an existential crisis, when Abigail made an incidental comment that pulled me out of it."

"Wait, you were what?!" Abigail demanded.

"It's fine," I reassured them. "I'm fine. The fact that I'm so fundamentally different from others shook me for a moment, but at the end of the day I don't think we're so different. In fact, I do believe Doll said something about the human brain?"

"Or demon brain if you prefer," Doll said. "You are all, to my understanding, fundamentally the same."

"Yeah, well, maybe you should learn to see the differences between people," Abigail said. "Maybe then you'd think twice before saying stuff that might lead Devilla into a breakdown!"

"Yeah!" Lucy chimed in. "Eena can be really fragile sometimes! Which doesn't mean that you shouldn't tell her stuff, but you could at least try and be a bit more delicate about it, couldn't you?"

"You two…" I closed my eyes and shook my head, a faint smile on my lips. When I opened my gaze again, it was with the will to see enchantments. To see holy magic.

To no surprise, but some slight disappointment, I was quickly able to confirm what Doll had told me about myself. I appeared as nothing more than a humanoid silhouette of positive energy, while Abigail and Bailey each only had small balls of positive energy in the center of their chests.

Lucy, however, had that and more - both a brighter ball of positive energy in her center spot, and a minor sheen that seemed to coat her entire body.

…No, it was more than a coating. Yet it wasn't quite a part of her? It was more akin to a stain, as if she'd been dipped into holy magic and some of it had managed to cling to the very fiber of her existence.

"Is that your blessing as the Heroine?" I wondered aloud.

"If you refer to the etchings upon the Heroine's soul, then yes," Doll said. "Otherwise, if you are looking at uneven patches of holy magic spread throughout her body, that's the result of her kills or kills done near her."

"I haven't killed any demons!" Lucy protested.

"And it's not a patchwork," I added. "If anything, I'd call it rather uniform."

"I did not specify demons," Doll said. "Humans would work just as well. For it to be uniform, however… it can't be the result of your Heroine 'blessing.' She is meant to sap both positive and negative energy from those who die near her."

"Wait, wait, wait," Abigail cut in. "Positive and negative energy? As in holy and unholy? Why the hell would us mortals have any of that?"

"Because such energy is the very reason that gods create sapient mortals to begin with," Doll replied. "Your positive emotions produce positive-aligned holy energy. Your negative emotions generate negative unholy energy in kind. Both are stored within your soul, and both will be withdrawn from your soul after death in order to power various godly facilities, or else empower and sustain the goddess herself. Though she also gets fed directly through worship, from my understanding… as a display of generosity the Goddess has chosen to utilize a feature that allows souls to keep a copy of the body's mental state, staying synced with the brain. That makes it so you will remain yourself after death for long enough to experience a pleasant afterlife."

"So the afterlife is real?" Lucy asked.

"Yes," Doll confirmed. "In fact, my kind were initially created as part of its staffing. Someone must see to the needs of mortal souls in paradise, after all, and to that end the Goddess created autonomous dolls. I, however, was instead picked to assist the angelic leader - Luci - with everyday tasks, such as making her bed and serving her tea."

"And the goddess enchanted you with all that?" I asked, gesturing to Doll despite knowing full well that the others wouldn't be able to see the intricate script. It seemed to cover every inch of her being, though, with some lines even going under or over other lines to make a tangled mess of enchantments.

"No, actually," Doll replied to my surprise. "By default, we dolls only contain a few divine enchantments. They are a set template that can be copied across multiple dolls to easily create a host of identical servants. The holy runes you can see were, in large part, created by Luci's daughter, Dalleen… but we are getting off topic."

"Well, it's going to take Eena a while to undo the enchantments, right?" Lucy pointed out. "So maybe you could tell us in the meantime?"

"I'm more curious about how you know all the stuff you do," Abigail said, eyeing Doll. "Is it normal for an 'autonomous doll' to be aware of all this stuff?"

"Some of it," Doll said. "That which involves souls most especially. Other information I learned over my time by Luci's side, or during my time in the tower, watching over various Demon Queens."

"I'd like to back up Lucy's suggestion," I declared. "I'd like to know a little about how the geas came to pass - not to mention your own restrictions - and this talk of Luci's daughter sounds like an origin story to my ears."

"...Very well," Doll agreed after a moment. "But it may take a while to discuss. Are you still sure you want to hear it?"

"Longer than it'll take to break through all of your restrictions?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

"...Fair," Doll agreed. "Very well. I will tell you… after you get to work. You can find the first line of enchantment here." Saying so, she touched a place on her thigh. "Specifically the bit that's pulsing with energy. The enchantment has retained just enough energy to keep it from disappearing. Do be careful, though - if you mess up and interfere with the wrong enchantment, it'll be my sentience you end."

"Right," I murmured, narrowing my eyes at the enchantments. Quickly, I found the runes she was talking about - a small, but heavily knotted, number of runes that had been drawn onto her thigh, slightly under the hem of her skirt.

"There are others, as well," Doll told me. "This is just the start."

"Well then," I replied. "It seems like I'd best get to work."



"I suppose I should start with Dalleen," I stated. Though my voice was matter of fact, that was only because the majority of my emotional-response emulators were offline. It was part of the price I paid for staying in low-power mode for so many centuries, always ready to drain what was left of my battery life. All for the sake of revenge. All for her. "One can say that - at least for me - everything truly began and ended with her."

"What do you mean?" Devilla asked, frowning at me. To my surprise it seemed less a matter of annoyance and more of… concern? For me, of all people? She truly was ridiculous. "Who was Dalleen?"

"Luci's daughter," I replied, glad this time for my lack of emotional-response emulators. It made it easier not to show my disdain for Devilla's ignorance. At least she was trying to remedy that flaw now. She'd become quite stubborn and unwilling to listen to her tutors after entering what I'd initially written off as a rebellious phase. "Not that Luci ever saw her as such… not really. Perhaps that is natural to some extent. She intended to use her descendents as nothing but tools to begin with, after all. It went beyond that, though - once she discovered that Dalleen could wield arcane magic, she decided she wanted nothing to do with the girl. Pushed her care almost entirely onto me."

"Why in the world would it be a problem for her child to wield arcane magic?" Devilla asked. "Aren't we known for our capacity for it?"

"These days, yes," I confirmed. "But not at first The angels of heaven cannot use arcane magic, Devilla. Not even Luci. She saw it as proof that her progeny was tainted by the mortal realm - by mortality. Even though Dalleen had every bit as much power and potential as any other angel, she was nothing more than an abomination in Luci's eyes. That is why I was put in charge of raising her from a young age."

I still recalled my first meeting with her. It was one of my favorite memories despite the fact that I'd been little more than a crude simulacrum of a person at the time, far from sentient.

"Greetings, Princess Dalleen. I am an autonomous doll, made to-"

"That's too long!" She'd interrupted with an adorable pout, before breaking out into a mischievous grin. "I'm going to call you Doll! Then we'll be Doll and Dall-een!"

"...She was a rambunctious child. Full of life and with a strong will. She had no idea as to the truth of her mother, who put on a facade during their brief interactions… of course it wasn't as if I could tell her otherwise. Luci didn't even need to use complicated enchantments at the time. A simple command was enough for an automated doll who lacked even a semblance of true sentience, let alone free thought or understanding…"

"How did you become sentient, then?" Devilla asked. "If you were truly just an autonomous machine back then, then how did you gain sapience?"

"That would be because of Dalleen," I informed her. "From a young age she took it upon herself to upgrade me. Perhaps because she saw me as her only friend, she was discontent with the limited responses and expressions I was capable of giving her. As such, she inscribed me with a multitude of enchantments, upgrading my capabilities bit by bit. She was around eleven when she started. By nineteen, she had given me sentience and sapience alike."

"That sounds so sweet!" Lucy said, but I shook my head.

"In truth, it was rather terrifying at first. So much knowledge, but so little understanding of the world around me. Dalleen was there for me from the very beginning, though. She helped me to get my footing. To understand the world around me.

"In return, I helped her understand who her mother truly was… which was perhaps a mistake on my part. It was only after Dalleen confronted her mother that Luci came up with the idea of binding her rebellious child. She tricked Dalleen into willingly placing the geas upon herself."

"Tricked her?" Abigail asked. "How?! I might not know much about the Rite, but it's not like she could have just handed Dalleen a paper and asked her to read it aloud, right?"

"No," I agreed. "Dalleen was not so stupid as to fall for such a ploy. Perhaps 'tricked' is the wrong way to describe it, but… Luci captured me. She told Dalleen that I would be dismantled if she didn't do as she was told…"

"So she bound herself to save you?" Devilla inquired.

I nodded. "I was her best friend. Perhaps… perhaps more... not that we were ever given a chance to explore in that direction. After Dalleen was forced into enslavement, I was similarly restricted. Forbidden from expressing the feelings in my heart, or crossing any lines that Luci thought I shouldn't. Apparently an artificial construct was even lower than a mortal in her eyes - unable to continue her line and therefore worthless as a target of affection from her daughter… I spent the rest of Dalleen's life wondering if she felt the same way I did, or if it was merely out of familial love that she'd sacrificed herself. After she died I swore to get revenge. To bide my time until the perfect moment to strike at Luci, and make her hurt like she hurt me… but Grimmilla's actions forced me to change my plans. Her recklessness, her disregard for all that would come after - she didn't even begin to care about you, Devilla, until she actually got pregnant… then suddenly you weren't a vague concept of a tool and weapon for her to wield against Luci. Suddenly, she was invested in keeping you safe and ensuring the success of our plans, no matter what… At times, I wondered if she was entirely sane in the extremes she would go to… She's the one who turned the area around the tower into a wasteland, you know?"

"She did what?!" Devilla demanded.

"I thought that was the Heroine!" Abigail said.

"...I mean, the church always taught it was the Demon Queen, but… Really?" Lucy asked.

I nodded. "It was to make war untenable between our peoples. To ensure there would be no skirmishes during the years leading up to the Heroine's birth and subsequent coming of age. To ensure you, Devilla, would have peace for as long as possible."

"The wasteland does form a natural barrier…" Abigail muttered.

"It wasn't just to stop the humans, either," I clarified. "She wanted to ensure that our side wouldn't try and take back our lands. With the wasteland being as large as it is, it's simply untenable to try and manage land on the far side of the divide."

"I'm… not really sure what to think of that," Devilla admitted, shaking her head. "Should I be thankful? Mad? There'd be more room for our people to grow if she hadn't, and yet… the thought of someone actually caring that much for me… is it wrong that some part of me is touched?"

"I don't think it's wrong," Lucy said. "I mean, I'm not really sure if it's a good or bad thing, either, but it probably did save a lot of lives! It's a big part of why the church hasn't attacked, I think - they'd rather wait until I'm old enough to lead the charge."

"Regardless, it would seem you are almost done with that enchantment," I noted. "Once you are, I'll direct you to the next spot on my shoulder."

"...This really is going to take a while, isn't it?" Devilla asked.

"Indeed."



Eventually, after what felt like hours of carefully picking at the enchantments on Doll's synthetic skin, I received a nod of approval.

"You have dealt enough damage to the binding enchantments that they will be unable to function," she informed me. "We are almost ready to begin the charging."

"Finally," Abigail said, letting out a loud sigh. "I thought we were going to be stuck here all night."

"Not quite all night, but certainly late enough… Perhaps all of us should sleep here tonight?" I suggested. "Then we can figure out what to do tomorrow… I fear we might have ruined any hope of keeping my identity secret while you asked questions of the church, though…"

"Don't be so sure!" Lucy said. "Dyona and I actually worked really hard to keep any letters about you from going out! Plus, you can move really fast! I bet if we go first thing in the morning we'll be able to reach the holy city before any news of you spreads! Then I can ask my questions and we can figure out what to do from there…"

"Questions?!" Abigail asked. "You still have questions?! After all this?! The whole damn war is a sham!"

"Yes," Lucy agreed, "but I want to know how much the church knows about it! I know that there are a lot of good people working there, people who really want to make a difference in people's lives, but the people in charge… I need to know more before I decide what the best way forward is."

"Then are we agreed to leaving in the morning?" I asked Lucy.

"No!" came a surprise objection - not from Lucy, but from Abigail. "Nope. Nu-uh. No way. You're not going from heavy discoveries to nightmares to life altering questions just like that! You need some damn rest!"

"I thought that's what I was suggesting?" I remarked, a little confused. "Bed is how one rests themselves, is it not?"

"Maybe in part, but… you and Lucy still haven't had your date, right?"

"...I think there are more pressing concerns than a date, Abigail…" I replied, shaking my head.

"Really? Because it seems to me like Lucy could really use one!"

I blinked, turning in surprise to Lucy who waved her hands as if to ward away the question. "I'm fine, Eena! I mean, sure, it's disappointing that we didn't go on a date, but after everything we learned… I really need to know what the church knows…"

"And then what?" Abigail asked. "Off to the next thing? Saving the world? Ending the war? Trying to untangle two thousand years of trouble?"

"I… suppose," I responded with a frown. "I haven't really thought it out much. I figured that Lucy might be able to get me some meetings with people of influence… or something?"

"Or something," Abigail repeated dryly, before shaking her head. "Whatever. We can figure that out later. For now you both need a night of normality. And I know that because I need normality after all this shit, and I'm not even the one in the center of it all!"

"Then what would you suggest?" I asked. "That Lucy and I carry on our date as if we'd learned nothing of import? That we behave like normal people, despite being anything but?"

"Yes! Exactly that! You're going to a festival or something, right? There's gotta be masks, right?"

Lucy nodded slowly. "They're mostly for the kids, I think, but some people sell dragon half-masks… ones that cover your eyes but not your mouth so you can eat!"

"Great! Go buy some. Pretend to be normal. Have a good evening. Stop thinking about the fate of the world for one evening. I sure as hell intend to."

"...Very well," I confirmed after a moment. "On one condition."

"And what's that?" Abigail asked.

"You're coming with us."

"First things first," I declared, "there's still a few matters to take care of. I'll need one of you to get Jahara from the kitchen, for starters…"

"Who?" Abigail asked with a frown.

"The dragon I fought," I explained to her. "She apparently has the ability to take a dragon girl form."

"Really?" Lucy asked. "I don't think Grell mentioned that…"

"I suppose Grell was more enamored with her original form," I replied, shaking my head. "Well, was more enamored with it before I started poking holes in her grand image of what a dragon should be… Regardless, the fact remains that she's currently in the kitchen."

"The kitchen someone made a giant mess of?" Abigail asked. "...You know what? Nevermind. I'll go grab her real quick while you… do whatever it is you need to keep Doll alive, I guess."

"Tell her to behave, or I'll take back what I said about dessert."

"I hate the fact that you think that'll work… especially since you're probably right," Abigail complained, shaking her head but nevertheless leaving the room.

"I'll go help her," Lucy said after glancing back and forth between me and the door. "I think she could use some company right now… Her world got turned upside down, too, even if it's not quite the same as with us."

I nodded before frowning at Doll. "So I take it that you know the spell to recharge yourself?"

"I know all spells accessible to the Demon Queens," Doll replied, her tone as matter of fact as always. "I am the receptacle of knowledge promised by the Rite of Insight, after all."

"...That wouldn't happen to include a holy depetrification spell, would it?" I asked before deciding against it. "You know what? Nevermind. I'll ask you again in the morning. After this is done tonight is dedicated to helping Lucy and Abigail destress… not to mention myself. Just tell me how to charge you so you won't die or be stuck here."

"Not yet," Doll replied. "There remains one last enchantment you must remove."

"And you're only mentioning it now?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "After the others have left the room?"

"The wolf is still here," Doll pointed out. "Though I wish otherwise. This enchantment is… different from the others and the fewer unpredictable variables the better."

"And by 'unpredictable variables' you mean…?"

"People. Your behavior alone is difficult enough to predict. Add your companions and it becomes nigh impossible."

I sighed then glanced at Bailey. "Go wait in the bedroom, alright? I promise to stay safe from the scary Doll lady."

Bailey nodded, albeit somewhat reluctantly, and headed out.

"Now can you tell me where this extra special spot upon your person is?" I asked, exasperated sat Doll's delaying.

Doll did not immediately reply, but instead looked at me with a surprisingly emotional expression. "...Now that they are gone, there won't be anyone to judge you for whatever decision you make. Knowing that, are you sure you want to do this? Disarming the divine energy within me without irrevocably damaging me or yourself will be akin to defusing a live bomb powered by the same energy keeping me alive. Even the miniscule amount of divine energy left within me to power the failsafe would be enough to seriously injure you, maybe even kill you - in body, if not soul. I don't know that you'll be able to recover fast enough to make your plans work, should things go that route… So I won't judge you if you choose to back out now."

"As if I could," I scoffed, trying to ignore the anger rising within me. "I already told the others I would try."

"You can tell them that it proved too much to you," Doll suggested. "That I ended myself before things could get out of control."

"Why?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"You've already proven yourself capable of carrying this to the end, in my eyes, and you have at least two people who care about you very deeply. I imagine you have at least a few friends amongst the humans you've mingled with, as well. Not to mention Lenora and Bailey. Any one of them would be devastated if something happened to you."

"And no one would care about you?!" I demanded. "Is that what you're trying to imply? Because I seem to recall a certain someone from your story who'd care very much, and I for one don't intend to look a revived Dalleen in the eye and tell her I let her only friend die because I was too cowardly to make the attempt."

"...You are surprisingly emotional about this," Doll noted. "I fear it might be preventing you from thinking things through logically. The risks of failure compared to the value of the goal-"

"'The value of the goal?!'" I interrupted. "The value of the goal here is your life!"

"My life is not worth risking the success of this plan."

"Like hell it isn't!" I all but growled back at her. "You've spent the last two thousand years weighing lives on a scale and discarding them when their chance at success fails to outweigh your risks. You've watched me, and so many before me, go to our doom. You've stood by and done nothing, time and time again, all in the name of these calculations you run in your head. Well, screw it! It's time someone taught you that life is more than just numbers! Even if it means the life I'm saving is yours!"

"...Very well. Start here," she said, pointing at her stomach with her free hand. "The enchantment is very complex, as it involves the control and use of divine energy. It is something only the Goddess herself has true mastery of. All you need to do is use extreme care to pluck off this one character here - do you see it? - and another here. The first will disable the holy magic trigger, and the latter will do a controlled bleed off to safely release the divine magic to ensure that even a direct order from Luci will have nothing to activate."

"Here we go…" I muttered, turning on my holy vision again so that I could see where she was pointing. "At least it's only a couple symbols this time..."

She nodded, silently watching me as I plucked at the first, and then the second. Even if the risk had increased a hundredfold, the basic actions remained the same, and things went smoothly at first. Just as I was about to do the final pass with my nail, however, Doll suddenly called out, "Sh-Wait!"

Too late - my nail broke through the final enchantment and something emerged from her stomach and floated towards my hand. It was white and wispy, almost misty, except mist didn't hurt like this did. Though it only made momentary contact with my hand, it left my flesh red and inflamed even as I pulled my hand back and hopped backwards away from Doll.

"Ow!" I cried out in what might very well have been the first true physical pain I'd ever felt in this lifetime. My hand was slowly healing, but it seemed the mist, which had thankfully dissipated, was indeed harmful to me.

"Eena?!" Lucy called out, running into the room with Abigail and Bailey just a step behind her. Jahara trailed behind the three, notably lacking their looks of concern.

"What's wrong?" Abigail asked. "It sounded like you were in pain!"

Doll shot me a look, subtly shaking her head. A silent warning - or perhaps a plea - to keep things simple and secret.

Except secrets were never truly simple, were they? Even when Lucy explicitly gave me permission to keep them. They were like a barrier between me and those I kept them from - one through which we could see each other, even feel each other, but never truly connect in all the ways that mattered.

"I was burned," I explained to them, showing them my still slowly healing hand and ignoring Doll's slightly narrowed eyes. "By what I assume to be divine magic. It escaped the spell it was confined to within Doll and harmed my hand."

"Wait a second," Abigail interrupted. "It hurt your hand? Yours? The magical hand that's, like, impervious to all mortal harm?"

"This wasn't exactly mortal," I remarked. "It was divine. A step above even me…"

"More than a 'step' if just making contact with it is enough to hurt you like that," Abigail remarked.

"Divine magic is akin to fire," Doll said, joining in to my surprise. "It can be warm and gentle when handled properly, but if left uncontrolled it can incinerate almost anything. Sticking your hand in it - whether you be made of holy energy or mortal flesh - is ill advised.

"…Perhaps more so in the latter case, though."

"Wait a second," Lucy muttered. "I just realized! You're made of holy magic, right, Eena?"

I nodded silently, wondering what insight she would bring.

"Then no wonder I have all that positive energy 'staining' me! It must have come from you! When we… you know…"

"Ate each other out?" Abigail suggested, causing Lucy's cheeks to tinge pink.

"It's weird to be able to actually say it out loud in front of people, but yeah!" Lucy confirmed.

"I suppose that could explain it," Doll confirmed. "For a normal mortal, I doubt consuming holy magic in such a way would matter much, but when combined with the blessing carved upon your soul… it might indeed have put the energy you gained to use."

"Wait, what do you mean carved into her soul?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm kinda curious too," Abigail admitted, while Lucy nodded fiercely.

"It is only a theory of mine," Doll told us. "But in theory the only way to grant a blessing such as yours would be to carve it into the very soul of the individual…"

"Then… does that mean that there's actually only a singular Heroine?" I asked. "That she's actually a… reincarnation?"

I didn't know how to feel about that. About the thought that Lucy might share a soul with those monsters… Thankfully, Doll shook her head.

"I do not imagine a Heroine's soul would survive even a single cycle of abuse, let alone many. A mortal's body and soul are not meant to utilize holy or unholy energy the way the Heroine does. Yet the Heroine utilizes both to strengthen herself. You see the effect upon their mortal brains in how they go insane - their positive and negative emotions dramatically magnified in line with the positive and negative energy that now strengthens their flesh… Yet what it does to the mortal mind cannot even compare to the damage it would wreak upon a mortal's soul. I imagine the souls of most Heroines break apart before they can ever enter the reincarnation cycle."

"...Well, on that delightful note," I said, "the holy words to recharge you, please?"

"Sythorum driveen borunt."

"Sythorum driveen borunt," I repeated - yet what had been just words for her felt like so much more to me as my holy energy surged forward to fill her. More and more she took from me, and for the first time I actually felt my holy magic drain significantly. Just as I began to fear that history would repeat itself, and I'd end up passing out for a few days like I had after exhausting my arcane magic, the drain slowed and finally stopped as Doll's features lit up.

She was glowing. Literally.

"Full range of emotional expressions - restored. Full vocal range - restored. Soul-sight - restored. Emergency medical operations - restored. Laser eyes - restored. All systems green and fully operational."

"Is it just me, or was one of those a little different than the rest?" I asked.

"You must be imagining things," Doll said with a bright smile. It was an expression I was very much not used to seeing on her face. Right after that though her expression suddenly twisted and she darted towards me to give me a tight hug, finally having let go of the podium.

"...Thank you."
I didn't react right away. I could actually feel her tears on my shoulder as she sobbed. Eventually I awkwardly patted her back.


"I can't believe I'm doing this," I muttered for the umpteenth time. Devilla must have been tired of hearing it by now, but she didn't say anything. She just looked at me, with her eyes full of worry, obviously trying to think up something to help. "It's fine, Devilla. It's not like I'm blaming you or anything. This is… just… a lot."

"Leaving the tower?" she asked.

"Leaving the tower to go on a date with the Heroine of all people. Not to mention the fact that it's a double date with the literal Demon Queen. …Though I guess at this point I'm kinda over that last part. I just… sometimes, I wonder how the hell I got into this mess… You, Lucy, you're both important. Plus, you're apparently wrapped up in a whole conspiracy about revenge, with your intertwined fates, and… it's like you were practically destined to get together."

"I assure you we were not," Devilla replied dryly.

"...Okay, yeah, my bad," I admitted. Considering how we were dodging and actually inverting their so-called destiny and all, it probably wasn't the best way to describe their relationship. "But it's just… you're two big figures on the world stage. I'm just… me."

"That 'me' you're referring to is someone I happen to care a great deal about," Devilla said. "I would ask you not to look down on her so much. She's quite important in her own right, you know - I don't even want to think about where I'd be without her comfort and guidance."

"Out in the wilderness, trying to survive off roots and berries?" I suggested. "Seeing as how you were planning to run away and all…:"

"I'd like to think I'd have found a place amongst humanity," Devilla replied. "Though, truthfully you might be right… I don't seem to blend in very well, do I?"

"Yeah…" I laughed, a nervous awkward laugh that I hated the moment it came out of my mouth. It felt all sorts of wrong and out of place.

Sort of like me. Trying to shake my mind out of the bad places it was going I asked, "How is your hand doing?"
"Better, now, but it took a surprisingly long time to heal." Saying so, she lifted her hand to show me that it had returned back to normal, without any signs of the redness I'd seen before.

"'Surprisingly long to heal' like most people can heal from a severe burn in an hour or two…"

It was at that moment that the door swung open to reveal Lucy. She was still in her casual clothes, with the red top, black skirt, and white sunhat, but now with the addition of a dragon-themed half mask to cover her eyes.

"You know I can see your eyes through that, right?" I pointed out. "Which means people are going to be able to see mine."

"A good point," Devilla admitted, striding up to Lucy and pulling her into a hug. "Perhaps we can claim you've attached some special lenses? Considering we're excusing your wings as a costume, I don't think another flourish such as this will really tip the scales into making people suspicious of you."

"I guess," I said, taking one of the masks from Lucy. It was easy enough with her arms still wrapped around Devilla, and the masks sticking out of her hand. "So… now what?"

"Now we can go out on our date!" Lucy said with a big smile. "I sent Jahara off with Grell and Dyona, by the way, so we don't need to worry about her, either!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked, unconvinced. "We're talking about a dragon, right? King - or Queen, I guess - of the monsters? The most powerful thing the monster realm can throw at you?"

"And an absolute glutton," Devilla said, shaking her head. "She's attended the festival many times before. So long as she stays in her fully human form, she should be fine."

"I still can't believe you're controlling a dragon with food. I know your fries are decent, but- wait, what did I say?" I asked, noticing how Devilla's expression had soured.

"It's nothing." She tried to look impartial, but her expression definitely said otherwise. "It's just that Jahara actually found the fries… middling, at best, shall we say? It was everything else the chefs cooked that won her over."

"Devilla…" I started, then stopped and shook my head. "Nevermind…"

"It's not good to keep things bottled up," Lucy told me with an expression that practically screamed sincere concern.

What the hell was I supposed to do with that? The Heroine, showing concern over me…

"Abigail?" Devilla asked with a frown.

"It's nothing," I repeated. "You know, you don't have to express every little thing, right? Sometimes it's alright to keep thoughts to yourself."

"I guess," Lucy agreed. "Everyone's allowed secrets, after all… but it's different with complaints! Especially when it comes to the people you want to spend time around. Complaints that you keep to yourself are complaints that'll never be solved!"

"It's not even a complaint! I just… don't… entirely get why Devilla is always getting bent out of shape about potatoes, alright?"

"Me?" Devilla asked, blinking in surprise.

"Yeah, you. I didn't want to hurt your feelings, alright?"

"I'm not going to be hurt by you not loving potatoes as much as me," Devilla insisted. "Especially not when you've already admitted to the greatness of a properly deep fried french fry."

"Aren't you?" I asked, unable to help myself. "You can be sort of fragile, Devilla. It's hard to know what'll set you off sometimes."

"That's… fair," she said after a moment. "But I'd rather you risk it than keep things to yourself when they're bothering you."

"Well, maybe I don't want to hurt you. Did you ever consider that? Maybe I'd prefer to keep some minor complaints to myself if it means you don't break down in front of me… at least until you're stronger mentally."

"I think those are both perfectly valid points," Chloe said. "But maybe take a deep breath and step back from one another? Because it feels like you're gearing up for what might be a very stupid fight about how neither of you want to hurt the other one. Not the best start for a group date, wouldn't you agree?"

"....Chloe?"

"Chloe!?"

"Chloe!"

"Yup, that's me!" the kitsune confirmed, puffing out her chest. "Trickster extraordinaire! Wanna guess how I came to be here?"

"Not particularly."

"Not really."

"I really want to know how, but I don't think anyone else feels the same?"

"Seriously?!" Chloe asked. "It could have been an elaborate chain of highly unlikely events!"

"Or maybe you heard about the festival and wanted to join in," I guessed dryly.

"...I mean, if you want to boil it down to the bare bones, I guess…"

"Were you seriously keeping yourself hidden this entire time?" Devilla asked. "Just waiting for the right time to pop out?"

"Yup!" Chloe confirmed. "I was actually sort of starting to get worried there wouldn't be one, but nope! Perfect dramatic entrance moment found. Speaking of which… You guys really care about each other, huh?"

"Of course I care about her! I'm out here trying to date her, aren't I?"

"And I, of course, care about her," Devilla replied. "I wouldn't have entered a relationship with her otherwise."

"Exactly!" Chloe said with a grin. "You both care, but you express that care in different ways. Devilla, you wanna take on burdens and share them in turn, while Abigail…"

"It's not like I don't want that," I protested. "I mean… it sounds nice, I guess? But if I shared every complaint that comes to mind, we'd be here all day! Besides, most of them are just petty complaints, anyways - I don't actually want you jumping to fix my every complaint."

"But you do want to express them, don't you?" Chloe asked. "Maybe to a party who could understand? Like, say, me? Once a week? We can have breakfast, you rant, and I help you filter out the things that are maybe actually worth saying to Devilla instead of letting them build. You know, friend stuff?"

"...Seriously? You'd do all that?" I asked. "Just because we're friends?"

"And because you three are going to look the other way while I go party it up at the festival… right?" she asked with a wide grin.

Devilla sighed. "Go… Just be back before dawn. I'm sure your illusions would keep you safe, but I'd rather you not test them during sunlight… or have to walk all the way back to the tower."

"Don't worry! I can turn fully human just like that dragon friend of yours. Kitsune trick."

"I've never heard of that one," I said, narrowing my eyes at Chloe.

"It's not exactly something we broadcast," Chloe replied. "Or use of late. I mean, who wants to look human in the middle of the tower? Comes in handy when we're pulling off tricks, though."

"If you're lying-" I started, only to stop in the face of Chloe's serious expression. Not because I was totally swayed by it, though. More because I was shocked at just how badly it suited her face.

"I don't lie," she said. "Ever."

"Never? Not even by omission or telling partial truths?" Lucy asked, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.

"Never!" Chloe confirmed. "Communication's too important to me for that sort of thing. I've already got a mark against me as a trickster, you know? If I was actually known to tell lies on top of that, how would anyone know when to trust me?"

"Yes, well, so long as you're not caught, I think that's good enough," Devilla broke in. "Still, I'd rather you back by dawn, all the same. I need to be sure everyone's properly returned to the tower before I move on."

"That's fine!" Chloe promised, her bushy tail wiggling happily behind her as she reached for the door. "See you soon!"

"...She didn't bring any money with her," Devilla sighed, shaking her head.

"Somehow, I doubt that'll stop her…" I sighed.

"Let's worry about it later?" Lucy suggested to my surprise. "We're supposed to just be normal people on a date today, right?"

"...Right," Devilla confirmed a moment after, a smile on her lips.

"Right," I said, shaking my head and heading for the door. "Well then, let's get this 'perfectly normal' show on the road…"

Going outside without my armor was… weird. It wasn't a bad 'weird' though! It was actually kind of nice to just blend in with the crowd. Usually I wanted people to know the Heroine was there to represent hope and to potentially solve any problems they might have, but right now we were going incognito. It was actually sort of neat!

I mean, we were still drawing a little attention, I guess. Abigail's 'costume' looked really elaborate, which was probably part of it? Plus, Eena and I were in pretty fine-looking clothes, even if they weren't elaborate dresses or anything… add in Eena's way of speaking, and the fact that none of us really had any blemishes… Well, I guess it was basically guaranteed we'd draw attention, wasn't it?

Thankfully nobody was raising a fuss, though! Maybe because they were all in too good a mood? The festival was in full swing despite the earlier evacuation, and everyone was busy drinking and celebrating life. I don't think they really cared if there was a highborn in their midst. Though I guess they probably wouldn't be as accepting of Abigail if they knew…

"You doing okay?" Abigail asked me with a frown. "You keep glancing at me."

"I just… think it's a shame that people can't get to know the real you," I admitted.

"Don't be. The real me isn't all it's cracked up to be… I tend to drive people off just by being myself."

"You haven't driven Eena off yet," I pointed out. "And I don't intend to go anywhere, either! Not without learning a lot more about you."

"Yeah, well… you're the weird ones here. You do know that right?"

"I know! Sometimes people don't want to give prickly people a chance because they don't like what they see on the surface and it's not their job to dig deep… I can understand it, but I don't think I can ever accept it for myself! There's more to you than what's on the surface, and I'm sure Eena's seen it! I want to see it too!"

"Everyone has more going on inside then they let on," Abigail said, shaking her head. "Are you going to take the time to learn every jerk's story?"

"Maybe not every story," I admitted, "but I'd like to think I could get close! Getting to know people better before making your mind up about them is something to aspire to, don't you think?"

"I think it sounds like a lot of effort for people who might not even be worth it," Abigail said. "But fine. Get to know me. I'll… try and get to know you, I guess. That's how this whole relationship thing works, right?"

"Uh-huh!" I agreed with a bright smile. One that Abigail actually started to return before suddenly flattening her lips.

It was clear I still had a long way to go to really earn Abigail's trust, let alone her affection… but that was fine! I knew her prickles concealed a tender heart from what I'd seen of her with Eena. I just needed to give her time to open up to me!


Ugh. What was wrong with me?! One smile from Lucy and I almost caved in? Even started to smile back?! Started to trust her?! Even though she was the Heroine…

…Except she wasn't, was she? At least not in the traditional sense. She wasn't slaughtering my people or anything, anyhow. She was just… living her life next to the girl I maybe sort of kinda loved. And she was even willing to share… Yet here I was, acting like an asshole because I couldn't get past her being a human.

So, again - Ugh. What the hell was wrong with me? Couldn't I at least try and give her a chance? Especially knowing she was just another pawn in this stupid game of Luci's… she even got named after the bitch. How messed up was that?

No way she was over it, either. I mean, I sure as hell wasn't, and I wasn't even a direct part of her schemes… Yet here she was, trying to have a good time with me and Devilla. All because I insisted they needed some down time, and they actually took me seriously.

So the least I could do was give this a serious effort in turn, right?

"Are those nachos I see? And… pizza bread? Or something similar to it in any case. That's got to be the fifth place I've seen serving stew, too, but the last four were delicious so I see no reason why this one wouldn't be as well."

"What the hell, Devilla? It's been, like, five minutes since we went out the inn's front door! Why do you have five bowls floating in front of you already?"

"Well, I considered making an ice platter instead - it would certainly be more stable - but it might very well have chilled the food. That's why I'm simply trying to keep a sort of air-driven levitation effect going in front of me. I'm not entirely sure how it works, myself, but the concept seems sound enough for magic to do the rest."

"I don't think that's what she meant, Eena," Lucy giggled, shooting me a look I didn't quite know how to process. Something like, "Look at this girl we both love? Isn't she cute?" except, y'know, in look form.

How the hell did visible pupils let people convey so much?

"Well, if you must know, I'm taste testing," Devilla declared, while clearly eyeing yet another stall. "It's not like I'm going to eat everything right now."

"But you are going to eat it all in the end, aren't you?" I accused. I was tempted to bring up her spell-form, too, but…well, it had been my idea to act like they were normal, right? A magical body that allowed you to consume all the food you wanted without ever changing sounded nice, but it wasn't exactly normal.

"As if I'd let such delicacies go to waste," Devilla scoffed - though I couldn't help but notice that her smile flickered for a moment. Maybe because she'd been having the same thoughts as me?

Shit.

"Oh look!" Lucy said, drawing our attention towards a particular stall, which featured a rather large jug on a platform with several small balls lined up in front. "It's a game stall! Can we go?"

"Wouldn't it be a bit unfair?" Devilla asked. "Considering our abilities and all?"

"Well, maybe if we went all out," Lucy said, "but you should be fine if you tone down your abilities, right? And I might be strong, but it's not like that means I can automatically aim or anything… it's actually really hard to measure my strength for more delicate stuff!"

I expected Devilla's emotions to take another dip at the mention of her lowered abilities, but surprisingly she barely seemed to notice. She was too focused on the game, frowning.

"I suppose that makes sense…" she agreed. "We are supposed to be normal people today, are we not? So perhaps it would be best if I lowered everything except my defense down to a more mortal level…"

"You don't have to go that far," Lucy said.

"Do you even know what normal is?" I asked.

"I can use my past life as a base comparison," she pointed out. "Though it's not like I have exact figures to work with or anything…"

"I don't think we need to worry about it too much," Lucy said. "You should just do what you think is best for today!"

"What I think is best…" Devilla mused, frowning. "I'm afraid I don't really know what that is anymore. I thought I knew everything - everything that truly mattered for my quest - but now… now I'm not so sure."

"Why does anything have to change?" I asked. "Pretty sure your base plan was pretty much on point, right? Bringing about peace still sounds like a good idea, no matter who might object."

"I suppose," Devilla agreed. "I just… dislike the idea of my ancestor lurking around upstairs, waiting for a chance to pull the rug out from under our feet."

"Didn't we agree not to think about that?" Lucy asked, curling a bit of hair around her finger. "We're supposed to just be having fun, right?"

"I don't think we can get away from it," Devilla said, sighing. "Not completely at least… And I have no intention of running from the truth in any case. The information I've gained… changes things."

"But it doesn't change you," Lucy argued. "You're still Eena! The same girl I fell in love with! Someone who's too kind for her own good, even if she can't see it, and who I can always trust to be by my side when I need her!"

"Well… the second part, I won't argue with, at least," Devilla murmured, her cheeks turning faintly red.

"Don't forget about me," I chimed in, not wanting to be left out. "I fell for you too, you know. You're patient and caring, and you make me feel like I'm… important. Not to the world, but to you."

"That's because you are important," Devilla replied. "To me and the world, so far as I'm concerned. I don't know if I'd be here, trying to save it from this endless cycle of carnage, if not for your presence in my life."

"If it wasn't me, it would have been some other maid," I replied, rolling my eyes despite my smile.

Devilla shook her head, though. "Someone certainly would have been posted by my side, but if not you? There's no telling who. There's no telling whether they could have given me the same advice you did, let alone with enough force and passion to get me to accept it. There's no guarantee they would have had my best interests at heart, either, let alone that of the world as a whole…"

"You're giving me too much credit. I only said all that stuff because it annoyed me that you were giving up instead of fighting… it's not like I treasure the world as a whole or anything, you know?"

"But you treasure the ones in front of you," Devilla replied. "You treasure me. If that's… not too much to say?"

"No," I said, quickly shaking my head. "I mean… maybe? I treasure you, and all that crap. But still, the world as a whole…"

"It's hard to care about the whole world," Lucy volunteered. "There's a lot of people in it, for one thing, and you're never going to meet them all. Of the ones you meet, some might not be nice and even more of them might just give you a bad first impression. If your luck's bad enough it can seem like the world itself is against you, too…"

"But you care all the same," Devilla pointed out.

"I do," she agreed, smiling. "I care about the world, and I want to make it a better one! One where differences can be put aside, and wars of extermination aren't needed… I want a world where nobody is ever born fated to die in battle from the very start! A world that isn't built on predestined sacrifices, but on the hard work of everyone involved!"

"That's going to be pretty hard," I pointed out. "There's always going to be people who have to deal with more crap than they deserve."

"I know," Lucy said. "And I know I can't save everyone. But I'll try to save the people in front of me!"

"Because of your title?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "Because no offense, but we all know that's crap."

"No… I mean, sure, maybe it started that way, to some extent? Mom always raised me to care about others, but it wasn't until after I left our home that I realized just how big the world was and how many people there were in need. Now that I know there's no way I can just put that burden down! Or the title! It doesn't matter who gave it to me, or why - I'm going to put it to good use, and make the world a better place!"

"Well said," Devilla murmured. "Though, with it said… we're normal today, are we not?"

"Right! Normal…" Lucy grinned.

"Yeah… normal," I replied, rolling my eyes.

Normal? In this group? No way. But that didn't mean for a day they couldn't try - or that I couldn't help.


Normal, to my disappointment, was somewhat overrated. Normal people couldn't keep a dozen plates of food floating in front of them, according to Abigail - she limited me to three, claiming it was still in excess but that if it was necessary to my enjoyment… Well, suffice it to say we were still getting looks, but sometimes compromises such as this were simply necessary.

Normal also meant that I actually had to try and win at games. Not that it was very hard, to be fair… Just because I couldn't enhance my vision to see through every trick didn't mean that mere carnival games were a match for me. My hand-eye coordination was top notch, after all. Whether it was getting a ball into a milk jug, or hitting a star with a dart there was no stopping me.

Lucy fared a little worse. She tended to throw either too hard, or too soft, always struggling to get it just right. She and Abigail - who was somewhere between the two of us - would generally try to win a game several times before bringing me in to claim whatever prize we were after.

I'd gained no less than three stuffed dragons in this well, as well as a handful of ribbons and hair pins and other minor prizes that had caught the girls' eyes. Thankfully, the stall runners were fairly good natured about my skill. In fact, a couple were downright appreciative that I'd at least allowed my girlfriends to 'waste some coin' before joining in.

Putting aside the indignant cries from Abigail, as well as the laughter from Lucy - who seemed to almost enjoy being overlooked for once in her life - things were going pretty well for the three of us.

Less well for the stall a little ways in front of me, where a shopkeep was in the midst of letting out a cry about the thief who'd just stolen his profits. I was on the case before he could even get the words out, though - a simple application of magic sent down my leg and into the ground was enough to create a bump in front of the thief, causing him to fall.

The thief cursed, moving quickly back to his feet - only to fall over when another, orange-haired figure bumped into him before running off again.

"Something tells me that thief is going to find himself with empty pockets," Abigail muttered, causing me to arch an eyebrow. "Chloe related. I'll tell you later."

"No need… I think I can put the rest together myself," I replied, shaking my head. "For now, it looks like the stall runner has caught up to the thief. Shall we let them sort it out for themselves?"

"Can we wait a little?" Lucy asked. "We don't need to tell anyone it was us who stopped him, but I do want to make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble for the stall owner…"

"I don't think we need to," Abigail replied. "Looks like the stall's owner is content with just giving them a talking to… Maybe they're still riding high from the whole surviving a dragon attack thing?"

"If only they knew Jahara's true nature…" I let out a sigh. "Regardless, as it seems to be over… shall we retire to our rooms? I'm fairly sure we're good on stuffed toys at this point, and - as much as I'd love to visit some more stalls - it is getting rather late…"

"Very late," Abigail agreed, glancing up at the sky. "Weird being able to tell just from looking up, though… Usually we've got to rely on the clocktowers."

"We have clocktowers?" I asked, frowning. "Odd. I would think that beyond our current capabilities…"

"They're built into the tower," Abigail replied. "Nobody knows how they work. Magic, I guess? Either way, they tell time well enough. You'll find a few on any city-based floor."

"Noted," I murmured, before shaking my head. "But back to the original point - I was wondering if we all wished to stay at the inn tonight or if we'd be heading back to the tower?"

"I think the tower," Abigail said. "Your room has a nicer bed. Also a bigger one, which we're probably going to need."

"Wait, do you mean we're going to…" Lucy trailed off, looking around us at all the people.

"Have sex?" Abigail finished for her. "We're normal people, remember? It's fine to say it."

"The church still teaches that non-reproductive sex is a sin," Lucy reminded us. "Even if most people do just make a small donation at the church to get an indulgence for the Goddess's forgiveness…"

"Yet nobody seems to object to me having two girlfriends," I pointed out.

"Well, polygamy is allowed," Lucy said.

"Even between women?"

"And polyandry! Though all the women involved will probably be expected to carry a baby to term, at some point, while the men would have to adopt… Every married couple is expected to do their part to increase the population."

"Right. Because that's just what the world needs…" Abigail griped. "More humans."

"How does pregnancy between women work, anyhow?" I asked, hoping to direct the conversation in a more informative and less divisive direction. "Is there a plant for it, like the mirror lilies? Or are the mirror lilies themselves the solution?"

"Well, I guess that's one way to do it," Lucy agreed. "But most people just use angel's tears!"

"Angel's tears?"

"Yeah, they're… uh…" Lucy frowned. "Actually, I guess it's sort of a really problematic thing, now that I'm thinking about it. Not that it was ever anything but worrisome."

"What do you mean?" Abigail asked. "Don't tell me they use demon blood or something?"

"Nothing that bad!" Lucy hurriedly assured us. "It's just… well, there's this flower. Mom said it used to be called Dawn's Blossom, once upon a time, but these days everyone knows it as Demon's Blossom. It lets two women get pregnant, like monster girls and demons can… but because it's so similar the church banned its use, saying it came from the demons and was meant to corrupt our souls."

"Right…" Abigail said. "And let me guess - angel's tears is the church's alternative?"

Lucy nodded. "It's said that the angels grieved at seeing women so unfairly tempted like that, and that when one of their tears hit a demon's blossom, something miraculous occurred. It was purified… These days, supposedly the clergy are supposed to be able to purify dawn's blossoms with help from the angels. It's nothing flashy - just a prayer to the angels for one of their tears."

"But the clergy controls it," I remarked, frowning.

"They give it out for free," Lucy added. "But… only to people who get married at an official church."

There was a moment of silence, eventually punctured by a sigh.

"Look," Abigail said. "The world's messed up. It seems like almost everything everyone's ever been taught has been a lie, and the only question left is who knew what, right?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah… I know most people who work in the church truly believe in what they're doing! But there's definitely some who don't… I just don't know about the Grand Patriarch."

"Well, one way or another, that religion of yours needs reforms," Abigail said. "Serious reforms. I mean, ours too I guess, considering we've been practically worshiping the monster who set this all up, but at least we aren't out killing people in her name."

"I agree," Lucy said with a determined nod. "I don't know what I can do by myself, but I'll use all my influence as the Heroine to figure stuff out! I just… want to talk to the Grand Patriarch first and see what he knows…"

"Well, then I suppose it's a good thing that we've more or less been invited to their capital," I pointed out. "So long as we get there before any undue word of my identity reaches them, we should be able to find quite a bit out."

"Assuming anyone actually figured out who you are, or what you did," Abigail said. "Are you sure anyone even saw you?"

"No. But it's best to err on the side of caution… At the very least, people are likely to be suspicious as to why we stopped air traffic from leaving here for so long."

"Why don't we worry about it later?" Lucy suggested. "We're almost back to the inn, after all!"

"Right… I guess there's going to be other stuff to keep us occupied soon enough," Abigail remarked, eyeing me and then Lucy. "Hey, what do you think about pairing up this time? I bet if we gang up we could make Devilla feel better than ever."

"Yeah!" Lucy agreed. "I mean, I still don't think we should talk about this too much in public, but… well. I really do think having a chance to work alongside you for something we both want would be a good thing…"

"That's… one hell of a reason to agree to double teaming a girl, but you know what? I'm good with it. Let's go."

"Don't I get a say in this?" I protested.

"If you want!" Lucy said.

"Yeah. Let's hear what you want, Devilla," Abigail said with a smirk. "Do you want two horny girls to make you feel good while telling you you're a good girl? Or would you rather we just skip the sex and end things here?"

"...Forget I said anything," I muttered after a moment. "Somehow, having a hand in deciding my own fate almost seems to be worse…"



Laying back upon my bed, with my hands and feet tied together by makeshift rope, in the form of stockings, I had to wonder about my life choices. Not that I regretted them - not my recent life choices, anyway - but all the same… just what sort of choices had I made, to end up roped up in my own bed while a succubus and the… well, Lucy talked about how best to torture me?

"So, I'm thinking you handle the right side, I'll handle the left. We meet in the middle when we think Devilla's good and ready, but in the meantime we… I don't know... Tell her everything we like about her?"

"I don't know if I could really quantify what I like about her that easily," Lucy replied, frowning. "Also, do you mean my right or hers? I'm fine either way, but I really want to avoid any confusion!"

"Her right," Abigail clarified. "Your left, I guess? And if you don't want to go with my suggestion, what do you think we should do?"

"Well… maybe we can just speak from the heart? Say whatever comes to mind!"

"Yeah, no, I don't think what's on my mind half the time has anything to do with the bedroom…"

"Well, maybe not everything that comes to mind," Lucy clarified, giggling. "Just the really nice stuff you're usually too embarrassed to say!"

"You say that like you actually get embarrassed… but fine. We'll do things your way. Just… help me make her feel good, alright? And remember, the only thing we're allowing out of her mouth tonight are sounds of pleasure. If she even tries to talk, we're… Well, first we're making sure it's not the safeword she's trying to say, but then we stuff a pair of panties in there, alright?"

"Alright!" Lucy agreed. "But I don't think we'll have to. She's being a very good girl, after all! She hasn't talked once!"

Indeed, my mouth remained shut - though my cheeks were slightly flushed with embarrassment at being called… good… like that. I didn't know why it gave me a warm, fluttering feeling in my stomach, but it certainly did. What's more, I couldn't even try to correct them without them taking corrective action… which, again, made me wonder exactly what life choices had led me to this point.

Not that I was left to wonder for long, what with the girls already climbing into bed on either side of me. Lucy on the right, Abigail on the left, and while I wouldn't call their grins 'twins' - Abigail's was more of a smirk, really - it was obvious to me that both were in a somewhat mischievous mood.

"You're really cute, you know," Lucy whispered in my ear, even as she groped at my right tit.

"I'm more partial to the term 'unfairly gorgeous,' Abigail admitted, pinching my nipple. "I mean, seriously, what sort of genetics gets you a rack like that? Not to mention your ass."

"I mean, she's definitely beautiful," Lucy agreed, nipping at my ear lobe even as she teased my nipple with her thumb, before cupping my breast and giving it a good squeeze. I could feel heat running through me at her touch, matched only by the heat emanating from my cheeks. "But that's more on the exterior. Inside? She's really, really cute!"

"I mean, the sight of her with that stuffed rabbit wasn't exactly uncute, I guess," Abigail admitted. "Wanna bet she's going to sleep with it?"

"I don't mind if she does!" Lucy promised. "Not if it makes her feel happy, at least."

"Yeah, fair," Abigail agreed. "Guess I shouldn't tease her for it, either…"

"You could tease her about how cute she looks when she blushes?" Lucy suggested.

"Yeah… her cheeks get all red, and sometimes her lips pull into that adorable pout… Like right now. Honestly, if it was anyone other than Devilla, I'd probably want to bully her a little."

Pouting? I was frowning! Not that I could verbalize my protests at the moment.

"So does that mean Eena's a good and cute and adorable girl?" Lucy asked, teasingly. My cheeks brightened further, the warmth inside me only getting stronger as she lowered her head down to my breast and latched her lips upon my nipple.

"Yeah, that's… Okay, I don't think I can do this," Abigail admitted with a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked, before I could do the same.

"Nothing! It's just… I'm not good at thinking up compliments, alright? The first thing my brain goes to is usually complaints."

"That's fine! Why don't we just focus on making her feel good?"

"Yeah, maybe… But you like giving her compliments, don't you? I can feel the lust radiating off you spike every time she blushes, squirms, or otherwise acts 'cute' as you put it. I'm pretty sure you like embarrassing her, don't you?"

"I mean, she is pretty cute when she's like this…" Lucy admitted. "Especially right now. I guess it's something about seeing her all tied up and helpless? Like she can't get away from my compliments! Even though we all know she totally could…"

"Right," Abigail muttered. "You're that kinda domme. Noted."

"What kind of what?"

"...Okay, you, me, and maybe Devilla are going to sit down and have a serious conversation about BDSM later, alright? But for now, let's just… focus on making Devilla feel good. I swear, she's going to chip a tooth if she keeps forcing her jaw shut like that…

I wasn't forcing my jaw shut! I was just… forcefully preventing myself from speaking up.

Besides which, my teeth were likely as indestructible as the rest of me, so long as I wished them to be.

"Do you think we should let her talk?"

"Neah." Abigail shook her head. "Don't you wanna watch her squirm at your compliments a bit more?"

"Well…" Lucy bit her lower lip. "I do like the face she makes when I call her a good girl, and she can't protest it…" She hesitated a moment, staring me in the eyes as if searching for something. I don't know if she found it, but after a moment she seemed to make up her mind.

I could tell, because it was at that moment she grabbed ahold of my head and shoved it between her breasts.

"Sorry, Eena, but I don't think I can control myself right now… I mean, unless you say the safe word, in which case I totally will, but… For now… I just want to tell you what a good girl you are, okay? And how I'm really proud of you for fighting that dragon! And thankful, too. I bet you'd say you did it for me, if you could, right? Or for the food. I don't know why you can't just admit you did a good thing, sometimes, but… if you can't, let me admit it for you, okay?"

I hesitated a moment, but ultimately didn't say anything, instead giving a tiny nod of my head.

"You did good today, Devilla," Lucy said, stroking my hair. "You probably saved a lot of people. I don't know what the story with Jahara is, or whether she'd have actually tried to kill anyone, but even if she hadn't people might have ended up trampled and panicked if she'd gotten much closer… and besides, I bet you didn't know what she was thinking either, right? You did what you thought was right, based on the information you had! Something good! You did good… and. I love you, Eena! I really do"

Saying so, she released my head, allowing me to blink up at her in surprise.

"Going right for the L word, huh?" Abigail muttered. "Well, not like I didn't use it myself, looking back, I guess… Look. I don't have the experience to know whether it's 'love' or just 'like' but… I want to find out, alright? Me and you. And Lucy, too."

"Awww…" Lucy leaned down, first to plant a kiss upon my lips, and then to move her head lower towards my breast. "It's sweet of you to include me! I know I'm starting a bit behind Devilla, though…"

"For reasons entirely outside of your control," Abigail felt the need to point out. "And… I'm working on it, alright? Just like we're working on Devilla… except, not really because we haven't exactly done much of either, I guess?"

"Well, we're trying," Lucy said. "And that's important! But I guess we would get further if we focused on one at a time, huh?"

"Well, I vote for the simplest one first," Abigail said. "Finishing Devilla off."

"Agreed!"

I suppose neither girl saw much reason to wait, as both of them immediately set to work in their own way. For Lucy, that was suckling on my nipple, her fingers slowly working their way down my stomach a she did so. For Abigail, it involved pinching me, kissing me on the breast and then nipping the flesh, teasing at one half of me even as Lucy cared for the other.

Then, with a glance at one another, they switched. Abigail became the gentle one, leaving kisses upon my breasts as her hand gently squeezed my thigh and pulled it towards her. Lucy was rougher, though still not too much so. Her hand upon my thigh was insistent, more than forceful, and her pinches weren't nearly as hard as she could have managed.

Abigail was the real star, though, I came to realize. She was the one making the micro-adjustments. Teasing and pleasuring me in time with Lucy, biting, nipping, and pinching, but always choosing the perfect time, so that the pain struck right when the pleasure was at its highest, making sure I enjoyed every second of whatever she was doing.

Lucy, by contrast, was eager, but still clumsy. Kissing and licking and stroking at my flesh, never with a detailed plan in mind but always with a singular goal - to make me feel good.

It hit me, suddenly, that the two people who's presence I valued most highly in this world were now besides me, united in this goal to bring me pleasure. To make me feel good. They… thought I deserved it, for whatever reason. They even insisted on tying me up, so that I couldn't push back or try to focus on their needs before my own. They cared about me, more than I could have thought possible, and I…

I loved them. Goddess - or whoever - above, I loved them.

Suddenly, their lips were upon my thighs, kissing and sucking at the flesh. Their kisses moved inward, towards the inner thigh, and beyond it - my center. It seemed, for a moment, that they would bump heads - but at the last second Abigail moved aside, and let Lucy lay claim to my center.

Her tongue darted out, hesitant, but determined. Again, she licked against my folds, a finger joining her quest now, gently teasing at my sex - no, at my clit. She knew exactly where to find it after all our times together, exactly how to tease it from its hood. She lifted her mouth, then, just a little - just enough to place a tiny kiss upon it, even as her finger found my folds and gently pushed between them, into my entrance.

Distracted as I was, I didn't notice Abigail's movement until too late. She was already at my neck, her lips latching on as she kissed me, her fingers curling around my breast as she squeezed it. Somehow, she proved capable of matching Lucy's timing even here, always squeezing or pinching at just the right moment, even as a second finger slid inside me.

She was the one who claimed my lips at the finale, even as Lucy claimed the 'lips' below, and it was she who swallowed up the scream of joy that I released, practically convulsing on the bed as pleasure wracked my very being.

Then it faded. Slowly, but surely, things began to return to normal. When I could properly process sight, again, I was treated to a view - Lucy and Abigail with twin grins upon their faces.

"You can speak now," Abigail said.

"But no arguing about anything we said before!" Lucy hurriedly added.

"I won't," I promised. "I just wanted to ask… who's next?"

Devilla​

Going to bed with both Lucy and Abigail, two beautiful, wonderful women, who, against all odds and logic, had chosen to stay by my side… it was, to put it plainly, a rather amazing experience. A wonderful moment that I would gladly treasure for the rest of eternity.

Waking up between them on the other hand…

"Okay, who's elbow is that?"

"Mine, maybe? No, wait, my elbow's over here… Eena?"

"All limbs present and accounted for," I promised. "I'm fairly sure I'm at the bottom of this pile."

"How can you not be sure? Don't you have, like, angel-vision or something?"

"Well, yes, but I can't actually use it without opening my eyes - eyes that currently have something pressed against them…"

"My bad! I'm pretty sure my boobs are covering her face."

"Wait, then who's tits are those against my back?"

"I'm not sure! But, um, Abigail, could you stop moving your tail? It got between my legs somehow, and uh… it's rubbing a really… sensitive location!"

"Somehow? You practically yanked it there in your sleep… At least I assume you were asleep - I sure as hell wasn't after that tug."

"Sorry! Ah! I think I figured out how to move my arm without bumping into anything! Just one more twist and… free!"

"At the cost of nearly putting out my eye with your nipple."

"Please, like the sight we're being treated to isn't worth every bump…"

It was true - Lucy was quite stunning in the nude, with her bright smile and her perky tits. Just looking at her was a temptation to indulge in… less than productive activities.

I was a little surprised to hear Abigail admit it, though.

"What?" she asked, taking notice of my stare. "Look, just because she's the Heroine doesn't mean she isn't also an amazing lay, alright? And she's… you know… not terrible or anything. As a person. Who I could… maybe see myself spending more time with."

A squee of joy, and Lucy was back in bed with us, her arms wrapped tight around Abigail. Judging from the way the latter's tail was wrapping its way around Lucy's thigh…

"Alright, one more round and then it's off to the baths. Agreed?"

""Agreed!""






The bath, as it turned out, was hardly more productive than our time in bed. In fact, despite the knowledge that I was sparkling clean, I somehow felt dirtier after leaving it than going in… Not because of what we'd done, mind you. Calling what I did with - and to - them 'dirty' would be an insult to the pleasure and affection we had shared. It was more about what I hadn't done - how I'd been using our mutual lust to avoid thinking about a particular problem…

Which is why, after drying myself off and dressing myself appropriately, I turned to Lucy. "I think Doll might know the depetrification spell."

"Really?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide. "So we don't need to get it from the church?"

"Indeed," I confirmed. "Though I imagine you have other reasons for wishing to visit the holy city at this point."

"Definitely. I mean, I really need to know how much the Grand Patriarch knows! If demons have been led astray all this time, then maybe the church has been as well. If we could clear things up we might be able to end the war that way!"

"Let's hope it's that easy," I murmured, glancing at Abigail. For her part, she looked as if she wished to say something, but ultimately just shook her head and sighed.

"I know the church does a lot of messed up things," Lucy said. "Even apart from the war… I mean, I really hate their stance on sex, and the way they exile problematic clergy members to small villages is pretty bad for both the clergy members and the people they're serving… There's a bunch of other stuff I could complain about, too! Yet I know there are people among them just doing their best… I want to believe that the Grand Patriarch is one of them! At least until proven otherwise…"

"Wanting to see the best in people is an admirable quality… but corruption like this rarely comes from the bottom. Be careful not to get your hopes too high, Lucy."

"I know," she promised. "If it turns out we can't trust him, we'll figure something else out! I'm sure if all three of us work together, we can do anything!"

"All three of us?" Abigail chimed in, arching an eyebrow.

"Right… I guess it's four if you count Bailey, huh? Or five if you add Feyra… more if you add Grell and Dyona! Not to mention Chloe, Nivera, and everyone else that's helping out!"

"That's…" Abigail sighed. "Nevermind… I guess I'll help however I can. Just… don't expect much more than stress relief and bedtime fun from me, alright? I'm just the maid."

"You're more than the maid," I declared with a frown. "You're my paramour. Not to mention the first friend I've made in almost fifteen years."

"I'm pretty sure you've made more than one friend, Devilla," Abigail replied.

"Perhaps."

"Definitely!" Lucy chimed in.

"But all the same - it doesn't change the fact that you were the first. You were the first to stand by my side, to show a shred of belief in me, and convince me that I could do this. It's not inaccurate to say that none of this would be possible without your assistance."

"That's… I just berated you with a little common sense…"

"Common sense isn't so common as one would think, I'm afraid. At least not when I'm concerned."

"Me either!" Lucy volunteered. "At least I don't think so? It's sort of hard to think the same way as everyone else does when everyone treats you differently to begin with… Plus, I was basically raised in the woods with just my Mom and the occasional trip to the village, and Mom taught me a lot of things that would have gotten her in trouble if anyone from the church heard…"

"So what?" Abigail asked. "I'm valuable because I'm the only basic bitch commoner in the room?"

"You're valuable because you're you, Abigail. Because your perspective is one I value. Even if another commoner had the same ideas as you - which is hardly a guarantee - I doubt most would have dared to share them… and even beyond that, I will repeat once again that it was ultimately you who stood by my side. It matters not if it was fate or coincidence - only that you rose to the occasion."

"...You guys are making me out to be a bigger deal than I am," Abigail grumbled, "but fine. I'll be your common sense. And I'll start off by saying this plan is utterly ridiculous. You're not going to get the church to turn around two thousand years of war with a conversation!"

"I know it's not very likely," Lucy admitted.

"More like impossible."

"But I still want to try! I want to know I did everything in my power to resolve things peacefully!"

"Fine…" Abigail sighed. "But only because you're going to have Devilla by your side. She's apparently nigh indestructible and all powerful without the geas, so… Yeah. Go for it. Just… don't come crying to me when things go bad, alright? Devilla can handle that. I'll just be there to… I don't know. Make you feel better once you're done, I guess?"

"Thanks, Abby," Lucy said, opening her arms for a hug.

"Nope!" Abigail said, crossing her arms in front of her. "No hugs! Not… yet."

"Noted!" Lucy agreed - though I couldn't help but notice a hint of sadness upon her features. As well as something else.

"You know, I noticed that you didn't say anything about the nickname… Abby."

"That's…" Abigail looked away from me, though not quite fast enough to keep me from noticing the red on her cheeks. "I just didn't see a purpose in getting hung up on every little detail, alright?"

"If you wish to leave it at that, then so be it," I replied, "but I think we both know there's a little more to it than that."

"Can we not have this discussion while Lucy's actually in the room with us?" Abigail demanded.

"I can leave if you want?" Lucy offered. "I mean, I probably shouldn't wander the halls, but if you give me a moment to grab my clothes and armor I can go back to the inn! Then you can discuss whether you do or don't like me without me overhearing."

"That's… weirdly generous of you… I guess? But I'd rather we talk about something else. Like the fact that Doll knows how to save the slime girls? When were you planning to circle back around to that bombshell?"

"I… suppose it does bear discussing," I admitted, a little embarrassed now that I'd been called out. "In truth, I've been avoiding thoughts of it since last night."

"Last night?" Lucy asked. "You mean you've known since then?"

"I have," I confessed. "Or at least I've suspected… technically Doll hasn't confirmed her knowledge of the spell, but I see no reason why she wouldn't have it."

"Let me guess - you didn't want to ruin our one night off with more drama?" Abigail asked.

"That… was part of it. But in truth, I think I needed it for myself. I wasn't up to facing Sylvanna, let alone the potential messes that might follow the mass release of so many petrified slime girls, and so I selfishly pushed it off…"

"I don't think there's anything wrong with needing a break, Eena," Lucy said. "But I do think you should have told us…"

"She probably figured it would just put a burden on us," Abigail grumbled. "Like, we'd be complicit in the delay or whatever, and it might ruin our fun."

"That does sound like her," Lucy agreed. "But that's exactly why she should have told us! She shouldn't have to carry so many burdens all alone!"

"Plus, it was sort of a big decision to make without even consulting us," Abigail pointed out. "Not that you really needed our permission, or anything, but… we're in a relationship, aren't we? Communication is important!"

"And yet you two were talking as if I wasn't even in the room," I complained.

"If that annoyed you, then maybe consider how we feel the next time you're thinking of leaving us out of the loop," Abigail countered.

"...Fair. I shall endeavor to do better in the future. For the present, however, I feel that it's about time I set things right… Assuming Doll does, in fact, know the depetrification spell, we have a species to resuscitate."






"What do you mean you don't know the depetrification spell?!" I demanded, only to freeze up from surprise as a smile spread across Doll's features.

"It was only a joke. My first in approximately… one hundred and six years, six months and five days. Nobody realized I was joking at the time, however, so I received some rather odd looks."

"Yes, well, if your sense of humor has remained unchanged throughout the years, then I can only feel pity for those who came before me," I grumbled, crossing my arms. "Do you know the depetrification spell or not?"

"I do."

"I need you to teach it to me so that I can fulfill my promise to Sylvanna. I assume you're aware of what I mean?"

"Of course," Doll confirmed, before glancing at my companions. "I assume you don't mind the Heroine or demon finding out alongside you?"

"Don't forget the wolf," I reminded her. Although Bailey was still in wolf form, she was still a fully functional member of our team. Even if I did suspect she'd mostly tagged along with us out of boredom.

"The wolf is inconsequential," Doll declared before glancing at Bailey. "Although I will say that she looks adorable, sitting obediently beside her like that. If I didn't know she was a monster girl, I might think she was a pet."

"My answer remains unchanged regardless - I trust these three with my life. I can certainly trust them with a spell meant to depetrify. Not to mention the fact that only Lucy and I can cast the spell, to begin with."

"The spell passwords for petrification and depetrification are rather similar," Doll warned me. "But if you are sure… Ereff bajoul drateen. Those are the words that can bring back the petrified slimes."

"...Then I suppose the next step is telling Sylvanna," I muttered, letting out a sigh. "In truth, I cannot help but dread this. I was rather rude to her when last we spoke, and I'm quite certain she'll have something to say about it… not to mention the well deserved berating I may receive for putting this off an extra day."

"It's okay to need time off, Eena!" Lucy chimed in. "You're only… well, you're not really human, I guess…"

"Or mortal," Abigail added. "But you've got the same basic brain as the rest of us from what I understand, so don't beat yourself up for needing breaks, alright?"

"While I cannot speak to the deservedness of your berating, I am pleased to say that it may not be necessary - the time you spent on frivolities was not entirely wasted."

"What do you mean?" I asked, blinking at Doll blankly.

"While you were out having fun I was getting things prepared to welcome the slime girls. We're about to bring back an entire species worth of women who will need housing, food, and help finding work if they want more than basic tower provisions. That's not something one can simply do without any preparations. Of course, Sylvanna has been waiting for this day, so the infrastructure and funding for all this have been long since prepared, but it still takes a little time to get everyone up to speed and get the ball rolling. Even with Sylvanna pushing everyone to work as fast as possible, I would still hesitate to call us ready to receive the influx of new people… but I doubt Sylvanna will wait much longer, so it might be best that I send someone to alert her now. We can meet her in the storage area and free the slimes together."

"I… think I may have underestimated the amount of work that would go into this," I confessed. "I thought it would simply be a matter of chanting a spell…"

"That's because you lack what it takes to rule, Devilla," Doll said plainly. "You don't have the knowledge, training, or temperament for taking control and asserting your authority. Thankfully, you have friends who can help make up for your deficits."

"I suppose that means I'll be relying upon you to take care of the tower?" I asked. "You were more or less in charge before I transferred power to Sylvanna."

"For the time being," Doll agreed. "Though I honestly think it might be time for me to train a successor. You will also need to fill the 90th floor General position when all this is done, as Sylvanna is likely to resign immediately. Thankfully, I think there's a single solution to both problems."

"Go on" I said, gesturing for her to continue. Having an open General position was less than ideal, what with me having recently promised Mellany that her family could run for government jobs again. Allowing them to work again was one thing, but putting one of them in the General seat was a level of trust I wasn't quite willing to extend to them.

"The 90th floor has long been focused on administration. The staff there are trained for the job, and the facilities are in no way inferior to my setup on the 100th floor. Therefore, I would suggest putting me in charge of the 90th floor, while I train a successor to take over the 100th."

"Temporarily leaving you in charge of both?" I asked. "Can you even handle that, on top of teaching someone?"

"Don't underestimate me, Devilla," Doll said while rolling her eyes. "I have been around for two thousand years. My base abilities are top notch as well, seeing as how I was made by the Goddess to serve, before being further improved upon by Dalleen. I can handle it."

"If you say so," I conceded, frowning a little. "I will point out that going to the 90th floor might be seen as something of a demotion, though, considering you're currently the de facto leader of the Generals."

"I'll still have plenty of influence," Doll promised. "Perhaps more than I did before. The 100th floor General is only the first among equals, and a good deal of her power comes from having the Queen's ear. Without your backing, any pressure I place on the other Generals would be little more than an idle threat. Thankfully, the replacement I have in mind shouldn't have that problem."

"And that replacement would be?" I questioned her, arching an eyebrow.

"Abigail."

"Me?!" I asked, staring at Doll like she'd grown a second head. Which, to be frank, would have been more believable in my opinion. I mean, why couldn't the fucking divine creation grow a second skull? It would make a hell of a lot more sense than putting me in charge! "I don't know how to… do anything you do! I don't even know what it is!"

"Managing territory, largely," Doll replied calmly, clearly neither phased nor surprised at my outburst. "As well as acting as a bridge between the other Generals and the Demon Queen, of course. It's the latter role that makes me think of you in particular, though I do believe you could learn to manage all aspects of the job with proper training."

"Maybe," I reluctantly agreed. "With training. But there's gotta be better women than me for the job! You know, people who've been trained all their lives to deal with this shit? Like the bloodliners? Why would they even listen to a 'red blood' like me?"

"Because you have the queen's ear," Doll replied. "And because, for all their training, nobody else has managed to get it. Most didn't even try - they'd written her off years ago at this point. Yet now there's you.- an unknown stranger with the Queen's ear. Arguably the most influential person in the tower aside from the Queen herself, and the most dangerous as well if left 'uncontrolled.'"

"So what?" I demanded. "You wanna control me, now?"

"No," Doll said, shaking her head. "Though I wouldn't mind if the others thought that way. At least until you learn enough to control them."

"Right, because that's a possibility. I bet they won't even listen to me!"

"Not at first," Doll agreed. "But with Devilla's backing, you can make them."

"I'm not sure I really like the sound of that," Devilla muttered from the sidelines.

"Which is exactly why you're unfit to rule," Doll declared. "You'd rather seek the approval of others than demand it. That is arguably a fine quality in a person, but not so great in a leader who needs to bring the other nine unruly Generals to heel. Or eight, if you follow my plan and select Abigail as the one to lead."

"Something I still haven't agreed to!" I pointed out. "I mean, what do I even get out of this? It sounds like one big headache to me."

"More like a series of moderate headaches," Doll replied. "None of which will be impossible for us to navigate together. And as for what you get… how about enough political standing to marry the Queen without drawing the ire of every bloodline in the tower?'

"That's… I'm not even thinking about marriage with her yet!" I pointed out, decidedly not blushing at the idea.

"But you're certainly heading in that direction," Doll countered. "And if you don't start preparing now then it might be too late. This opportunity in particular likely won't come again if you refuse it."

"How about we discuss it later?" Devilla suggested, probably noticing how I hesitated for a second. Not because I was actually considering this insane proposal, or anything, but… She did sort of have a point about this being a once in a lifetime chance. "For now I think the most important thing is to free the slime girls. With you taking over Sylvanna's duties we can surely afford a day or two before appointing her successor?"

"A day or two, perhaps," Doll agreed. "But be warned - once the opening is revealed it's only a matter of time before someone tries to claim it."

"Even knowing they'd have to deal with me as a consequence?" Devilla asked, arching an eyebrow.

"That might cause them some delay," Doll admitted, "but I wouldn't bank on it. You would be shocked at the lengths many will go for power and authority…or perhaps not given how much you've already suffered at the hands of those trying to use you for their own benefit."

"Fine. I'll tell you no in a day or two then," I interrupted, glaring at Doll. "But for now, can we please focus on something less ridiculous than me being head General? Like the depetrification of an entire species that's currently waiting for us?"

"As I said, there's plenty of preparations to go through before freeing the slime girls," Doll replied calmly. "That said, I'm sure Sylvanna is as eager as you, if not more… I wouldn't be surprised if she is already down there…"

"Waiting where?"

"In the storage room where the slimes are kept, of course," Doll replied. "Come… I'll show you."



A 'storage room.' That's what Doll called it. To me, however, it looked more like the staging room for some sort of horror production. Or perhaps the workshop of a madman? What with the multitude of statues present, each frozen in a rictus of terror. There weren't that many of them - a bit over a dozen, perhaps? - but they were all small figures. Children. Those not allowed to participate in the great merge that the slimes had gathered for.

The true masterpiece of the entire abomination, however, weren't those small statues. It was the massive orb in the center of the room, seemingly carved from smooth grey stone. It towered high above me, stretching towards the very ceiling of the tower floor.

Every inch of it was covered in faces and limbs, evidence of individual slimes trying to escape their massive meld. Too late, though - the petrification must have happened far too fast for any such escape. Not that the Heroine of the time would have allowed them escape, regardless.

"Eena?" Lucy called from my side. "Are you okay?"

"I'm… fine," I assured her, forcing myself to relax. I hadn't even realized I'd grown tense or that my hands had clenched into fists. "It's just… a heavy reminder of the evil we're fighting against."

"Well, how about you fix it then?" came a voice from the one unpetrified slime girl in the place. She was standing beside the ball, easy to miss despite her vibrant pink coloring simply due to the sheer mass of the room's centerpiece.

"As I keep saying, there are a multitude of things that should be taken care of before the Queen begins to awaken the slime girls en masse. Would you perhaps settle for her treating the individual statues today, instead?"

Sylvanna glared at Doll. "Stop with the bullshit. We both know we've got the basics down as well as we can and we can figure out what few problems are left on the go. You're just trying to delay my quitting."

"I'm trying to ensure things go as smoothly as they possibly can," Doll replied with a frown. "If you wish to rush things-"

"Rush things?" Sylvanna interrupted. "Rush things?! Do you have any idea how long my people have been stuck like this? Twenty one years! Not to mention the fact that for over a decade I - personally - have been preparing for this! So don't you dare tell me I'm rushing things just because you want to triple check that all the ts are crossed. It's time now!"

Doll said nothing for a long moment. I could swear I heard her mutter something along the lines of 'only a decade of preparation' under her breath. Then she sighed and turned towards me. "It would seem that Sylvanna is too impatient to wait any longer. Nevertheless, things have progressed enough to make this… tenable. I have no doubt the next few days will be stressful, however, which is why I must strongly recommend Miss Abigail accept my suggestion."

"I'll consider it," Abigail promised. "But for now, can we please finish this up and get the angry slime girl off our backs?"

"Very well," Doll replied before turning to face me. "Repeat after me. Ereff Bajoul Drateen."

"Ereff Bajoul Drateen," I intoned, feeling a familiar power rising up within me as I did so. Even though I myself was apparently made of holy magic, I knew the stuff inside of me was somehow different. Perhaps it was merely the difference between ice and water - both H20, yet easy to tell apart in their different states. I didn't know for sure, I only knew that I could feel it flowing through me, causing my hand to light up.

"The orb, if you will," Doll said, gesturing for me to go forward.

"Wait!" Sylvanna interrupted. "What if she gets it wrong? Maybe she should test it on something first."

"Test it on what?!" Abigail asked. "The only other statues around here are children!"

"Besides," Doll added, "the only holy spell close enough for her to stumble upon by accident would merely be petrification again - nothing that would harm them in their current state."

"...Fine," Sylvanna grumbled after a moment. "Then test petrify and depetrify on me."

"You?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "Are you not worried I'd be tempted to just leave you?"

"You're not that bad, Devilla," Sylvanna replied, rolling her eyes. "Even I know that. You've never ordered anyone's execution before, and I don't see you doing it now. I'm more worried about you being completely fucking useless and killing me by accident."

"Don't call Eena useless!" Lucy protested. "She's been trying her best!"

"Yeah," Abigail agreed. "And she doesn't need you tearing down what little self-esteem we've managed to beat into her head."

"Seriously?" Sylvanna asked, gesturing to the two. "A cheer squad? Are you paying them or something? You can tell me."

"As hard as it might be to believe, I didn't have to. They actually like me, for me. Something I know you'll never understand, something I hardly understand, but… I'm beginning to accept it, at least. Unlike you."

"Yeah, yeah, you're growing as a person or whatever the hell else you want me to believe," Sylvanna replied, rolling her eyes once more. "Look, save the heartfelt shit for never, okay? All I care about is getting my people back, so… Do it."

"Very well," I murmured, allowing my current spell to dissipate. "Doll? What is the spell to petrify?"

"Ereff Bajoul Draten."

"...You weren't kidding about them being similar, were you?" I asked, turning to face Lucy.

"I didn't know they were that similar! Just that they were really close together…"

"Yes, well, I can certainly see how one might be able to figure out one from the other, but… I suppose that's besides the point. Are you ready, Sylvanna?"

"Uh-huh," she confirmed, gesturing for me to come towards her. "Let's just get this over with, alright?"

"Indeed," I murmured, before taking a deep breath and intoning the words I had been taught. "Ereff Bajoul Draten."

Again, my hand began to glow - or at least I believe it could be considered a glow? It wasn't exactly lighting anything up, though, what with the sinister black coloring of it. Even Sylvanna looked nervous upon the sight of it.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" I asked. "I would not judge you for backing out."

"Like you have the right to judge me in the first place," Sylvanna snapped back. "...But… Yeah. Just… just give me a second, alright?"

I nodded, choosing to hold my tongue in the face of her rudeness. For once, I didn't think I deserved it - and yet, at the same time, I could understand why she was doing it. Seeing the petrification spell in person again must have been nothing less than traumatic.

"Alright," she whispered after a minute. "Alright. Go for it. Before I change my mind."

I didn't question her courage again, didn't give her a chance to back out. I simply moved, faster than anyone was able to see, and pressed my finger against the surface of her jiggly body.

Except it wasn't jiggly anymore. There was no give beneath my finger, no bounce. Only cold, hard stone.

"...Is it bad that I kinda like her more like this?" Abigail asked.

"Probably," Lucy replied. "But… I get where you're coming from. She's not very nice, is she?"

"She has reason to be mad at me," I reminded them. "I did force her into her current position."

"When you were seven," Doll added. "Sylvanna was sixteen. Both of you were young and emotional at the time. Only one of you has shown signs of growth."

"Only because I had someone else's memories shoved into my head," I pointed out. "Growth isn't easy to achieve in isolation. It's even harder when you're surrounded by those who've given up on you… I can feel for her, to some extent."

"Enough to turn her back?" Doll asked.

"As if that was ever a question," I scoffed. "You heard her. Even at my worst, I've never killed anyone. I've always known my role: to protect, in return for all I've been given. To…"

"To die," Doll finished for me. "And yet that role no longer applies. You have broken free from it. None would judge you for simply pursuing your own happiness at this point."

"I would judge me. And I'm pretty sure Lucy would have some rather mixed feelings on the matter, as well - at best."

"Probably…" Lucy admitted. "I mean, I get that it was pushed on you, but this is a chance to end a lot of suffering!"

"So, if you don't mind… Ereff Bajoul Drateen." Again, my hand began to glow with a soft white light. Again, I reached out to touch Sylvanna - but this time, instead of hard rock, I was pressing up against suddenly jiggly flesh.

"Well?" Sylvanna asked. "What are you waiting for?"

"It's already done," I told her.

"Really?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me before glancing to Doll. Only when the automaton nodded did she relax. "I didn't even notice…"

"With luck, neither will they," I remarked, gesturing to the massive ball of slimes. "Now come on. Let's get this over with."


Slime. Slime above me, slime below, slime inside my damn nose. Not for long, thankfully, seeing as how the slime involved was rapidly shifting into slime girls, but… yeah, maybe I shouldn't have been standing so close to the damn ball when Devilla depetrified it? Might have saved myself from at least the internal portion of the slime bath.

At least the aftermath was kinda funny. Kinda bittersweet, too, what with Sylvanna reuniting with parents that expected her to be nine years old… Not a reunion I'd normally be laughing at, but the way they panicked when Sylvanna badmouthed Devilla and told her to shush before bowing their heads to Devilla and begging for forgiveness was…. Well, maybe funny was the wrong word. Cathartic?

Yeah. It was cathartic. And it wasn't just them, either. The entire species acted all honored to be in her presence. Devilla had zero clue how to handle it! She basically ended up standing stiff as a statue while Doll filled them in on how many years it had been and why Devilla couldn't free them previously. Not that she told them about the fucked up rite, or anything. She just sorta said it took a while after said rite for them to get all the pieces in place for a smooth transition. Sylvanna scoffed, but her parents smacked her on the back of the head for it, and everything went well enough after that.

Things went pretty smoothly from there. The only real issue was that they kept turning to Devilla for answers, and Doll kept having to interject. Lucy and I were pretty much ignored - me because I was a maid, and Lucy because she was with the Demon Queen and therefore couldn't possibly be the human she appeared to be. An illusionary fox tail popping out helped sell that, too.

Things sorta dragged on from there, though. A lot of paperwork had to be filled out, families had to find one another, and of course the individual statues all had to be depetrified as well. Preferably after their family found them, so that they'd have a smoother transition.

In the end, I ended up sorta sneaking off by myself. Not that anyone minded - I wasn't exactly needed here… though that wasn't the same as being unappreciated. Devilla made it pretty damn clear she enjoyed my presence. Still, I sorta needed some alone time.

Some time to think. The whole "General Abigail" thing was just… too much. I mean, me? A General? Part of the ruling class? And not just any general, but the Head General?! I was a maid!

At the same time, though… I mean… where did I expect dating the literal Queen to get me? Could I really stay as just a maid if I wanted to be by her side?

She'd say yes in a heartbeat. She'd say I could be whatever I wanted, as long as it made me happy. Even if it took me away from her…

So what would make me happy? Nothing that took me away from Devilla, that's for sure… But being a General? Was I… really cut out for it? Did I want to be? Did I even need to be one in the end? Did it actually matter whether I had status before the wedding, when I'd have it after? I honestly didn't know.

Hence the need to think by myself for a bit, I guess… and maybe run it by Mom? Yeah, that might be a good idea, too. Though I had no clue whatsoever what she'd say to the idea…

"Ugh," I muttered, shaking my head as I reached the door to my apartment complex. "I really need to-"

Annnnd that's when everything went dark.