Demon Queened

[PrincessKay]

Lucy​

I couldn't really fall asleep that night. Usually I was out like a light, safe in Eena's… Devilla's arms, but this time… I just kept going over all the information she'd given me. It was a lot!

Like, apparently she'd been taught about the war very differently than I had. The church told me that it was a holy war instigated by the goddess, so that humanity could overcome their sins and in the process expand to cover the land, and while I'd never fully believed that… Well, Eena's… Devilla's… I was just going to have to ask for permission to keep calling her Eena, wasn't I? Either way, her version was very different!

Apparently the demons said that the angels had started the war without the Goddess's permission, while she was away doing… something. Except Eena couldn't really fill in what that something was, or what could possibly make the Goddess leave heaven. Supposedly, though, the angels were just siding with the humans of their own accord, except for one particular angel named Luci - like my name, but with an i - that came down from the heavens to lead the demons… and defeat the Heroine.

Also, apparently Demon Queens are actually fallen angels? Which did sort of make sense - I mean, she showed me her angel wings, and all! They were super pretty! Though I guess the black color could potentially fit with the Church's explanation, which was that they were a 'mockery of the angels.' There was also the fact that she could cast holy magic, though! Not a perverted version of holy magic, but actual holy magic! I heard her say the words of a healing spell, and I felt the flow of it. I knew that magic better than anyone else alive did. Anyone except her.

Which meant an angel definitely did come down to lead the demons. Which meant the church version had to be at least partially wrong, but did that really mean the demons were right? Just because one angel thought that other angels shouldn't interfere with mortal things didn't mean that the other angels were working against the Goddess's will. It could just be one rebellious angel, instead of a whole bunch! I mean, why would all the angels but one go renegade to begin with…?

Eena didn't have any answers. She said that she might have been able to tell me more if she'd completed the 'Rite of Insight' - which I guess was a really big deal for Demon Queens? It was supposed to give them knowledge from their ancestors, but she kinda messed it up somehow, and got memories of a past life instead. Which might actually be for the best, since it helped her to realize that she'd been behaving really badly and had to clean up her act!

Though I was kind of confused about what she did that was so bad? Like, she was apparently a really bad boss, and I understood that she made some people's lives miserable by pushing them into things? She made a really terrible bluff about not turning slime girls back to flesh, too - that's why she needed the depetrification spell, actually. She thought she might be able to free the slimes by mimicking the magic of the cockatrice, but she wasn't sure.

There were also a bunch of other details I didn't really understand- something about vid-ee-oh games that held knowledge of our future? Which is why she knew that she could trust me from the moment she met me… She still struggled a bunch, though, because apparently I did something really horrible in the game and enslaved her with a magic collar. There was no way I could imagine myself doing that in real life, though!

…I mean, maybe if she wanted to do something special for a night we could pretend, but I really wasn't into the idea of making her kiss my feet or anything like the video game version of me seemed to be! Which meant either something really strange happened to twist my personality, or else the game itself was suspicious… I was leaning towards the latter. No matter how bad Devilla was as a ruler, could I really have convinced all of her generals to turn against her? And by sleeping with them?!

There were enough questions to keep anyone up at night… and that wasn't even getting into all the little things we'd discussed! Like her mother's sword. I tried to give it back to her, but she said she'd rather I wield it. She said she knew I'd use it to bring peace to both our people… and she didn't know how to wield it, anyway. Which was just like her!

The dramatic speeches where she did really nice things and cared about everyone around her, I mean. Not her lack of skill with a sword… Though I guess that's also like her, since she didn't really need one, being the Demon Queen and all. A foe so powerful only the Heroine could defeat her. A being so incredibly strong it was said no Heroine ever survived facing her in battle - not even when they won.

Yet here she was just… sleeping. In my arms. Totally innocent, totally defenseless! Because she knew I wouldn't hurt her… That was also pretty like her. Trusting me, despite all the history between past Demon Queens and past Heroines.

Then again, she always said she didn't trust me because of my Heroine status, didn't she? If anything, I bet she trusted me despite it! Because of the game she'd played, she said, but… she'd admitted it was more than that, too. That every minute we spent together had reinforced her idea of me, made her believe in me. I mean, the fictional version of me apparently enslaved her, and yet here she was laying in my arms, head against my breasts, silky hair under my fingers as I gently stroked her head…

She was really pretty when she slept. And when she first woke up. And when she walked and talked. And when she just… existed. She was always so amazingly beautiful to me. From the moment I met her, I thought that… and then she'd offered to have sex with me! Which… maybe she wasn't entirely serious about it at the time, looking back at it? But she did it anyway! We slept together, and I started to think about her all the time, and… at some point, I just started to fall for her. A crush, I guess? But I wasn't sure it really qualified as one, anymore. I mean, it felt so much more solid now than it once had. I knew so much more about her! I knew she was the Demon Queen. The one who'd supposedly had Mom killed - even if I no longer really believed that - and yet… I still loved her…

I still wanted to hold her.

To kiss her.

I really wanted to kiss her… Maybe I could ask for permission when she woke up? Who knew how long that would be, though? I didn't want to wait… which meant there was only one choice for me.

I had to go to sleep, so that she'd wake up first, and I could ask her the moment I got up!

Assuming I could even sleep with all the things bouncing through my head... but I was going to try! I was just going to close my eyes, and drift off to… slee…

***​

Feyra​

***​

I glared at the journal in my hands. If looks could burn, this thing would be ashes by now. Better yet, if looks could wish things out of existence, then… Well, I guess I wouldn't even be here, because I'd have banished Devilla out of Lucy and I's lives already. Not that I was entirely convinced that was a good thing anymore… I mean, she was the Demon Queen, but she did care about Lucy. …And maybe the church got a couple things wrong?

Maybe… Maybe they didn't know as much as they claimed to. Maybe they weren't the be-all and end-all source of knowledge on what was right and wrong like I thought they were… Maybe they could make mistakes. About who the Demon Queen was.

About who I was…

Devilla had told me her theory- that I had a demon - or a monster girl, I guess? - in my family tree at some point. It did make some sense. It kinda fit in with the whole 'cursed bloodline' thing, even if it wasn't exactly what the church taught, but she was pretty sure the 'blessed bloodlines' came from the same type of source, and as much as I wanted to call her a liar… I mean, I was friends with Amessa. Amessa wasn't exactly what I'd call a bastion of blessings. There was nothing particularly angelic about her. Nothing that made her good or me bad. Nothing I could name, except our blood, and if Devilla wasn't bad… If Devilla was even maybe by some stretch of the imagination good… Then didn't that mean my blood wasn't bad, either?

Blasphemous thoughts. Heresy. They could get me killed if I said them to the wrong person, and that… that wasn't even the worst of what I was thinking. The worst of what I was thinking was about the journal in my hands… Well, it was found in something that at least claimed to be a monastery, and was clearly written by a religious fanatic who seemed to think he was doing the Goddess's will.

Of course, Lucy had pointed out that there wasn't any proof the church as an organization was behind all this. Rightfully, too - anyone could put up a plaque, but as cover stories went, wasn't it a bit flimsy? Couldn't someone just… check with the church as to whether such a monastery existed? Unless they got permission to set it up, but lied about the purpose…? Hopefully it was just that. I definitely preferred to believe someone fucked up whatever oversight procedures were in place over… over the church being involved with this…

Lucy clearly didn't know what to think. She kept saying she wanted to gather all the facts, to check in with the head of the church and figure out what was what for herself… She was always big on thinking for herself, but she also had a bit of a blindspot - she didn't want to believe that the church was bad. That the people who'd helped raise her might have purposefully lied about who killed her Mom. That the church might be up to dubious things…

Not that I believed any of that, per se. I mean, I didn't know any more than Lucy did - not enough to reach any conclusions. Not even about the journal in my hand…

The one written by religious fanatics. Found in a monastery, in a monster infested woods that church guards helped to keep people out of… Supposedly just out of worry of an early Monster Movement going off and causing issues for everyone, but… was that really it?

Maybe I was overthinking things… At least we'd solved the fucking Monster Movement mystery. We found some paperwork on the final floor about monster behaviors, and apparently cockatrices were super territorial during their mating period. Not that there was anything for this particular cockatrice to mate with, they apparently needed at least a normal chicken to manage that, but the dumb clucker didn't seem to know that there was nothing around to fuck her. Or maybe it just didn't care when mating season came…

Guess we were just lucky a cockatrice's mating period was an every-few-years type of thing, or the Monster Movement could have been so much worse. Much, much worse. As it was, the fucking thing started stoning and eating everything that it came across when it was like this… and the amount it could eat was insane.

Insane… like me, for trying to keep Devilla from telling Lucy the truth? Or insane like me for thinking the church might not be involved…

Fuck it. The life-ruining questions could wait until morning. I was going to bed.

***​

Bailey​

***​

I stared at the skies. Stars bright. Moon bright. World bright above, but dark here. Everyone in tents. Everyone believes in Heroine's alarms if bad things come. I keep ear out, too. Listen. Keep listening. Make sure nothing comes back, now that cockatrice gone.

Not sure why anything want to come here though. Bad place. Not that I know much about it… but Mother… Before dying, Mother used to talk about Bad Place. Bad Place, with iron bars. Kept in cage, force fed strange meat… Not that she say in words. She not know words. Only impressions. Iron bars were hardness and containment. Strange meat was odd taste and flesh. Forced was feeling. Unpleasant feeling.

Concepts I can only put together because now know full truth. Now know where Bad Place is…. Don't like it. Don't want to stay. Don't want to be here. But will stay, anyway. Will stay for Queen. Will protect Queen. Will help Queen.

Because Queen good. Queen help me, when not need to. Fed me.Washed me. I know just felt pity… but she gave warmth. Care. Things not felt since Mother's death. Things never thought feel again…

Queen deserve those things, too. Deserves warmth. Love. Holding. Being told she is good girl.

That's why I will protect Queen and Queen's love. Protect Heroine. Protect Maid.

…Also protect bitchy green girl, since Heroine sad otherwise… and probably put self in danger again to protect her.

Failure on my part. Letting her be hurt, instead of me. Letting her be bit, instead of me… even if Queen fix.

Won't let happen again.

Won't let anyone be hurt again.

Will protect.

Not dumb enough to think can do on no sleep. Have to sleep.

Just… not too deeply.

Spoiler: Author's Notes

First off, sorry for posting so late - my proofreader has been a bit busy of late, and I have been sick, myself. (It is blech, and likely to remain blech for some time, but it'll get better.)

Second, I know I sent some people into a panic when I called this chapter the volume 3 epilogue, so I just want to reassure you all that volume 4 is already underway on Patreon! I've written rough drafts up to chapter 47 so far. (48 may or may not end up delayed due to sickness, but I should be able to update properly for at least the next couple weeks.)

With that out of the way, I do hope you enjoyed these differing PoVs - I feel like most (if not all) the conversation held after the Big Reveal would be repeats of information we already know, so I figured it would be better to skip the telling and just show everyone's reactions to different bits of news.

Feyra's view of the journal surprised even me, though... I kinda expected her to be dismissive of it. But she's too skeptical and jaded to not question things a little, so here we are!

Bailey, meanwhile... I'll be honest, it was partially for the word count. This is a short chapter even with her. But also we found out her backstory! It would have felt wrong to skip her entirely, no?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Do let me know what you think, if you're up to it?

Thanks as always to FallingLeaf for the proofreading, and Lulla for beta reading!

PS: I'm putting up the "Ask Me (or my characters) Anything" answer post in a couple days - tentatively Friday. If you've got any last minute questions to ask, now's the time!

 

[PrincessKay]

Devilla​

"Are you sure this is what you truly desire?" I questioned Lucy, unable to conceal my nervousness as I toed the ground of our tent's floor. "It's… I mean… it's a bit soon, don't you think? We've just barely begun dating…"

"I mean, we don't have to if you don't want to!" Lucy promised. There was no anger, frustration, or even a hint of manipulation in her voice - she truly meant what she said. Yet I could see the hunger in her eyes. Just because she wouldn't force me to take this step, didn't mean she held no desire for it on her end.

"It's… not as if I'm entirely opposed to the idea," I confessed, my cheeks bright red. "It's simply… well, it's… it's my first time! Outside of sex, at least."

"Then we can wait!" Lucy declared. "I don't want you to make you do anything you're uncomfortable with."

I nodded slowly, appreciating her understanding. Yet, for all that my head moved, my eyes stayed locked upon Lucy's lips. My girlfriend's lips… Was I truly not ready, I wondered? Or was I simply scared? Maybe I could push myself to-

"Don't worry about it, Eena," Lucy said, her voice firm. "I don't want you to do this because you feel pressured! There's no way it would taste as sweet if you weren't willing."

I nodded again, a tension I'd been unaware of dissipating from my being. It wasn't as if I didn't want to kiss her. In fact, the way she respected my boundaries only made me wish to kiss her more. Still, it was nerve wracking to declare my feelings for her in such a way. For demons sex was casual, little more than a pleasurable activity - I could literally name boardgames that felt like more of a commitment - but kisses? Kisses were romantic. They were declarations of love and affection. I… the mere thought of messing it up frightened me, almost as much as confessing my identity once did.

"Why don't we talk about something else?" Lucy suggested. "Like your upcoming meeting with General Sallina and the others!"

I grimaced, my mood instantly shifting from romantic to reluctant. "You're still intent upon coming along, I take it?"

"You're the one who suggested making peace between demons and humans with my help," Lucy pointed out. "And the meeting is all about trying to figure that out, right?"

"It'll be dangerous," I warned her. "I've gotten Abigail on board, and I think Chloe and Nivera have more or less come around to it, but I still haven't told Sallina about you. If she reacts violently to your presence-"

"Then you'll be there to protect me!" Lucy interrupted. "Though it's not like I can't handle myself! I might not be as strong as you, but I am strong - and I feel like I'm getting even stronger, lately!"

"Strong you might be, but Sallina's the General of the seventieth floor. She's…" I paused. Was she actually stronger than the Generals of lower floors? She certainly was in the game, but it wasn't like I'd picked my Generals in ascending levels of strength. At least not purposefully… In fact, my little scuffle with Mifa was the closest I'd come to seeing any of them fight. "Well, she's strong," I finished lamely, unable to properly quantify her level of power. "And she might hurt you before I can react."

"You can just heal me, then!" Lucy declared. "And it's not like I'm unwilling to go into danger, you know? I'm the Heroine! It's my job to take on things others can't!"

"I know," I admitted. "I just… don't want you to be hurt. I don't want either you or her to get hurt, if I can avoid it…"

"We can't make peace without some risks!" Lucy declared. "I mean, we're trying to end two thousand years of warring! How can we ask your people to trust me with that if I won't even show my face?"

"...Fine," I conceded, sighing. "But you're going under a disguise."

"But-"

I held up a hand to forestall her complaint. "I'll still introduce you properly," I promised her. "But I don't want any random maids noticing a human in the tower, whether they realize you're the Heroine or not."

Lucy nodded, albeit with obvious reluctance and a slight pout upon her lips. It faded quickly, however, as she moved towards me and wrapped me in her arms. "I can't wait to meet your friends and family!"

"That makes one of us," I muttered in return, shaking my head even as my arms made their way around her form. "How is it that you're literally walking into enemy territory and being introduced to the closest thing your girlfriend has to family, and yet I'm the one who's nervous?"

"Because I believe in you more than you believe in yourself," Lucy declared with a smile. "That's okay, though! We can work on your self-confidence issues together!"

"Hah… You're not wrong," I confessed, running a hand through my hair. "I just… After what happened with the cockatrice I suppose I'm a little extra wary that things might go wrong…"

"I told you that I don't blame you for that," Lucy reminded me, frowning.

"But if I'd been willing to trust you with everything - if I'd told you everything from the beginning, then-"

"We'd still be in the exact same spot!" Lucy interrupted. "If we were lucky, anyway! I mean, if you'd told me too soon, there's actually a chance I wouldn't have believed in you… but as things stand, everything worked out ok! You depetrified me, shared your story, and we worked through everything together!"

"The end results are good," I conceded, "but that doesn't change the fact that the road was wrong. You could have been permanently maimed or killed due to my negligence. Due to my fear."

"Would it help if I forgave you?" Lucy asked. "Not that I think you need forgiveness, but…"

I shook my head. "I just… don't want to make that same mistake again. Yet the people we're dealing with today… I don't know how to protect you without hurting them."

"I can protect myself!" Lucy protested. "At least long enough for you to intercede. Hmm, maybe I should give you some fighting lessons later?"

"Fighting lessons?" I questioned, arching an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh! So you can learn how to take people down safely!"

"I'm… not sure how well human methods would translate to demons," I admitted. "The body types can differ rather dramatically… but fighting lessons in general might be nice. If nothing else, I'd appreciate it if I could stop getting caught in my head during decisive moments."

"We'll work on something, then," Lucy promised me. "Later. Right now, we need to go to your meeting!"

I nodded, a touch reluctant, but ultimately unable to deny her request. "Come on, then, I'll set up the teleportation circle."

***​

Lucy​

***​

Eena's teleportation was really interesting to see up close! Also to experience, for that matter! I mean, she'd basically filled me in on what she was going to be doing, but being wrapped up in someone else's holy magic was still pretty novel to me. It only lasted a second, though - first my vision went white, then there was this feeling of sorta being stretched and then it was just… over! Everything was different!

Sorta. The circle I was standing on still looked the same, and I was still wrapped in Eena's arms, all warm and safe, but everything else was different. We were standing in a room, instead of a tent, with carpet under our feet instead of dirt, and there was another person here. A demonic person! With black wings and a thin tail tipped by a spade. She had blonde hair, cut right above the shoulder, and pitch black eyes that were staring at me in what I thought was maybe shock? It was kind of hard to tell, actually.

"You must be Abigail!" I said, gently pulling away from Eena's grasp so that I could hold out my hand. "It's nice to finally meet you!"

Abigail didn't say anything for a moment. She just looked from me to Eena, and back again. Then, when she did speak, it wasn't to me. "You… brought the Heroine?! To the tower?!"

"Her name is Lucy," Eena said, the corners of her mouth pulled down into a frown. "And she insisted. She wants to be an active participant in the discussion we're about to have, and, considering said conversation is partially about utilizing her influence to bring about peace between our peoples, I couldn't bring myself to reject her."

"She did try, though," I pointed out. "Really hard! Is she overprotective with you, too, or is it just because I'm her girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?!" Abigail demanded. Still ignoring me.

"Girlfriend," Eena confirmed, blushing a little. A lot less than the first time she said it, though! "It's… new. It came up after I told her everything…"

"Girlfriend…" Abigail muttered again. There was something weird in the way she said it, though. Like, there was exasperation, and a little annoyance, but also kinda… hurt? It reminded me of how Bailey had first brought her up to me as another girl who was interested in Eena.

Maybe we needed to have a talk later? I didn't mind sharing Eena - there was nothing wrong with polyamory, after all! Though… I guess I'd need to experiment and see how it actually made me feel in practice? Either way, it was something that needed talking about if this relationship was going to work! Which meant that the first step was to get her to pay attention to me…

"My name's Lucy!" I declared, deciding that the best way forward was just to dive in. "Bailey told me a bit about you already, but it's nice to actually meet you!"

"...Same," Abigail replied, finally turning her gaze towards me. Or at least I think she turned her gaze towards me? Again, it was really hard to tell without individual eye-bits like pupils and stuff! "Though I got my info from Devilla. She mentioned you were interested in dating her, but I never really thought… I mean… She did tell you who she is, right?"

"Devilla, the Demon Queen!" I confirmed, nodding. "But she's also Eena, a sweet girl who I really like! That'sd more important to me than her title."

"Well, that's good," Abigail muttered. She sounded a tiny bit irritated, though. We definitely needed to have a talk later! Maybe when Eena wasn't there to hear it? She seemed sort of oblivious to Abigail's feelings.

"Anyway," Abigail continued, turning her head more towards Eena again. "What's the plan? Please tell me you aren't just going to spring the Heroine on everyone the moment they walk through the door."

"Of course not!" Eena scoffed. "I'm going to cover Lucy in an illusion. At least until after I introduce her properly."

"I could do it myself?" I pointed out. "I mean, I know I don't have as much magic capacity as you do, but I can at least keep up an illusion for as long as needed! And it'll be less obvious that way since there won't be any threads of magic between us for anyone to stumble across."

"I… suppose that makes sense," Eena confirmed. She sounded reluctant, though. More of that overprotectiveness?

"Don't worry," I told her, reaching around her for a hug. "I can take care of myself." Saying so, I drew on my magic, deciding to go with a relatively subtle illusion - maybe just a couple small horns? I probably needed to cover up my armor, too… I probably should have asked Eena for demon forms that I could turn into, actually, but if my first idea didn't work out I'd just change it after the fact!

At least, that's what I was thinking originally, but the moment my magic started to form into an illusion it suddenly just… fell apart!

"Huh…" I muttered, before trying something else - namely, forming an illusion in front of me. That fell apart, too, but this time I had a better idea of why. I could feel something in the air - so light that I hadn't even noticed it before. Something holy. "It looks like there's some sort of holy magic keeping me from casting illusions!"

"Really?" Eena asked, arching an eyebrow. "It never stopped me…"

"Well, you are the Demon Queen," Abigail pointed out as if that explained everything.

Which maybe it did? If the holy magic came from the tower, and the tower belonged to her…

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts, causing Eena to send a panicked look my way. A wave of her hand sent her magical energy towards me, coating my body in what I guessed was an illusion. I couldn't really see what she'd done to my face, but my armor was definitely different - it had turned into a green tank top and a red skirt, neither of which covered much of me. In fact, it showed more skin than I'd ever shown anyone outside Eena before! Even if it was illusionary skin… Not that I really minded showing off my body, though? I mean, it was a little embarrassing, but only because I wasn't used to it!

"That should cover you, for now," Eena said as Abigail moved to open the door.

"Nivera," she said to someone out of sight. Probably at least partly for our benefit, so that we'd know who to expect, but also possibly just to be polite. "Chloe. And you must be General Sallina?"

"Just Sallina is fine, dear," came a warm voice, moments before its owner slithered her way inside. She was a lamia from what Devilla told me - not that I couldn't have guessed, anyway, since they were a species the church had taken care to warn me against. Between the fact that their wild magic made them incredibly difficult to detect, and the fact that they could paralyze people they met eyes with, they were a pretty big threat to low level Heroines! If you kept your cool, though, you'd realize you could still use your magic, even paralyzed.

This one didn't really scream danger at me, though. At least not in that way. I mean, sure, her bright red scales were sort of flashy, and I was pretty sure she could crush me in her thick coils if she really wanted to, but… something about the confident way she moved made that feel more like an offer than a threat…

She had big hips, right where her flesh melded with the scales, and big breasts, which seemed to sort of strain against the green breast band she was wearing. Which was all she was wearing… Thankfully the only thing on full display was her toned stomach - if she had a visible vagina, I probably would have ended up blushing worse than Eena did when kissing came up!

"You're staring," Abigail whispered in my ear, causing me to flush anyway.

"Sorry," I whispered. "I'm not used to seeing people show… so much…"

"Right…" Abigail muttered, parting from me as two more guests came in. One of them was another lamia, this time with green scales and a slender build. She was wearing a pitch black breast band that left her just as exposed as Sallina. The other was a kitsune in a black and white dress. Both of them were staring at me - the former with her eyes narrowed, and the latter with her eyes wide open and her tail swishing rapidly back and forth.

"Queen Devilla," Sallina said, drawing my attention. Her voice sounded a little… stiff. Uncertain. "It's… good to see you…"

"And you as well, General Sallina," Eena replied with that same stiff tone. She looked to the side, then, where Abigail was standing and mouthing the words 'go on.' "I… It occurs to me that I haven't really been the best with keeping contact. I more or less cut you off after you took Nivera in, after all. A mistake on my part. If… If I hadn't… If I'd listened to you…" She trailed off. I could see the tears building up in her eyes and I really wanted to go hug her.

Before I could, however, Sallina swiftly slid forward and snatched up Eena in her arms, burying my girlfriend's head against her chest. "It's not all on you, dear," Sallina whispered, her own voice suddenly hoarse. "You were a child. Alone, and feeling betrayed. If I'd handled the circumstances with more tact… been more careful about bringing you two back together… It was stupid of me to think I could make you two get along again just by forcing you into the same room."

A soft sound came from Eena. Then it repeated, again and again, until I realized she was sobbing. I'd seen her cry, before, a little, but I'd never seen her break down and sob.

"At least you tried something," she choked out. "I'm the one who made that idiotic law about not saying Nivera's name in my presence… who cut off all chances of us rebuilding our bonds. Who snubbed you, at every turn, when all you wanted was to include me… Blaming you for taking her side, as if it was ever a choice. She needed you, after all, and you're family…"

"You both needed me," Sallina said, stroking Eena's back with the tip of her tail. "And I wanted to be there for the both of you. It wasn't a matter of priorities, dear, nor family. I just went after the child in front of me first - when her parents told me she wouldn't need tutoring anymore… When they started talking about her the way they did, right in front of me, I couldn't help myself. But that doesn't mean I ever gave up on you."

"Even when I was a total brat?" Eena asked, sniffling. "When I'd chased everyone away, and convinced myself I didn't need them? When I ignored your every word, just because it came from you, and pushed my ideals and desires onto others without a care in the world?"

"Even then," Sallina insisted, backing up a little so that she could kiss Eena on the forehead. "Even then, all I've ever seen is the little girl who used to cry whenever she got a question wrong during our lessons, because she was worried today was the day I wouldn't praise her for her efforts…"

Eena didn't say anything. She just continued to cry, tears streaming down her cheeks as Sallina embraced her again, face full of motherly affection.

It was… eye opening, to be honest. I mean, I already knew Eena was a good girl, and I already trusted her, but… well, maybe some hidden part of me had still worried about how Eena claimed that she was terrible all the time. Worried whether she'd done something that actually deserved all that self hatred.

She hadn't. I still didn't know the full story, of course, but I could at least tell that much… She wasn't a ruthless tyrant, who'd come to regret her actions far after the fact. She was just a girl who'd been hurt to the point where all she had left was regrets… and maybe some of them were there for a reason, but I was more and more sure that the reasons weren't anywhere near as bad as I'd once thought.

"Sooooooooooo," the kitsune drawled after a long moment. "I'm Chloe! And you're…?"

"I'm Lucy!" I replied, forcing a smile to my lips. It was important to smile when making new friends. "The Heroine!"

Spoiler: Author's Notes

So, bad news - as some of you may already be aware - I'm sick. It's been interfering with my ability to write, so Patreon is currently only one chapter ahead - or one rough draft, rather, since it still needs proofreading. Unsure if I'll be able to release a chapter properly next week, but we'll see what I can do. Future chapters are almost definitely going to be delayed. Hopefully this sickness doesn't last too long, and I'm back to writing sooner than later. In the meantime, I just hope you enjoy today's update.

As far as the chapter itself goes... Well, it definitely didn't go as I expected. For one thing, I thought I'd be able to cover the whole meeting in one go... and for another, I honestly expected it to be more immediately focused on Lucy? But then Devilla and Sallina came face to face, and there were emotions. More than Devilla and I were prepared for... It kinda makes me wonder if I should have done it from her perspective? But at the same time, I feel like Lucy's reaction to it is pretty invaluable.

Next chapter continues from her PoV for that same reason - these chapters are less about Devilla explaining her plans, or even building new ones, and more about Lucy seeing another side of Devilla and finding out how other people view her. And maybe learning how demons view the Heroine, too, for that matter...

Thanks, as always, to FallingLeaf for proofreading and Lulla for beta reading! And thanks to you all for reading, in general. Hope you enjoyed!

 

[PrincessKay]

(Note: All usernames are made up, both to protect anonymity and to let me have fun. Many thanks to FallingLeaf for proofreading!)

Lucy_The_Heroine (Lucy): So we just have to read the words on the glass wall and answer the questions?

Demon_Queen (Devilla): The words on the screen, yes. I've set up text-to-speech, so everything else should take care of itself.

Slithering_Suspicions (Nivera): I don't know about this. Giving people free information on us doesn't feel like the smartest move.

Maid_This_Way (Abigail): I hate to say it, but Nivera has a point. Devilla's too open with her secrets already…

Foxxy_Fun (Chloe): Come on, you two! It's not like this is canon or anything! We're just having a little fun with our readers.

FeyFey (Feyra): Right. Readers. Because that's a thing I want - people from another world, following my every move…

Demon_Queen: Not your every move. Just… the most interesting ones.

Lucy_The_Heroine: I'm not sure that helps, Eena… but Chloe's right that this isn't canon! So we should just have fun with it, right?

Foxxy_Fun: How about we just take a look at the first question and go from there?

~~~

Monster_Girl_Enthusiast: You've definitely mentioned this before, but it's been a while - could you go over how monster girl reproduction works again? And this might be a spoiler (unless you mentioned it and I've forgotten), but how does it work in human/demon couples?

Demon_Queen: …Well, I suppose there's worse questions we could start with. I must admit to not being entirely certain, though, beyond the fact that there's magic involved.

Maid_This_Way: Right… Guess this one falls to me, huh? Never thought I'd need to be giving this thought until after I had kids of my own, but… Well, when a demon loves another demon very much, they'll sometimes choose to use a special ability that we all share. I guess it's kinda wild magic? Except there's no potions for it, as far as I know. Maybe because we can all just… sorta do it.

Basically, we take a bit of our magical essence, and combine it with our partner's, and voila a baby!

Princess_Kay: Okay, so it's actually a bit more complicated than that, but you'll have to forgive Abigail for not knowing all the anatomical details. Demons - both monster girls and true demons like succubi (whose ancestors actually came from hell) - have a special ability that's intrinsic to them. It's a sort of wild magic, where they sort of fuse a bit of their 'essence' to another girl's genetic material. Specifically their eggs, which they produce via ovaries in much the same way humans do. The magic essentially takes the place of sperm, encoding within it all the genetic information of the donor/dam (which automatically adapts to fit the birth mother's species), and the combination forms a zygote. From there, the process is basically identical to a human pregnancy.

It would work the exact same with human/demon couples, though the human would have to be the one to get impregnated in this scenario. There's also a magical flower that allows humans to more or less replicate this process, though, and using it would theoretically allow a human to impregnate a demon as well

Maid_This_Way: …Do I even wanna know who this Princess Kay is? Or why she knows so much about our 'anatomy'?

Demon_Queen: She's the author of our series. Think of her as the bridge between our Solla and her Earth - she's the one who records all our actions for the sake of readers in her own world.

FeyFey: So she's basically a voyeur who enables other voyeurs? Great… just what I always wanted… someone to report on my private life…

~~~

Monster_Girl_Enthusiast: So, what determines who is the mother and who is the 'father'/dam?

Foxxy_Fun: Well, the mom's the one who gives birth and the dam's the one who provides the magic/essence. Species wise, the child always looks like the one who gave birth, by the way! Which is also the main reason for the distinction.

~~~

Monster_Girl_Connoisseur: What about demons/monster girls who are entirely artificial in nature (like that golem girl that got mentioned), can THEY reproduce? Not to mention the question of couplings of demons/monster girls + human males...


Maid_This_Way: …Is it just me, or did their username change?

Demon_Queen: Assuming it's the same person? I suppose they had an upgrade of some sort.

Slithering_Suspicions: Does it matter? Let's just answer the question, already!

Foxxy_Fun: Sorry about her, she's a little testy about this whole handing out free information thing… it might be better to try and focus, though?

Demon_Queen: Right… I'm actually unaware of the answer, though. Are there actually any artificial monster girls, outside of Doll?

Slithering_Suspicions: …No, actually. She's one of a kind. Luci made her, I think. Or brought her down? Not really clear on the details, since Doll doesn't like sharing. Pretty sure she can't reproduce either. I'm more concerned about the 'male' question, though. I mean… who asks that? Who'd want to try?

Maid_This_Way: The same sort of people that ask if we can reproduce with humans in general, I guess? Seeing as how they even know what men are…

Foxxy_Fun: You don't know what men are?

Maid_This_Way: I mean, I've got the basics down, I guess? Human, but more alien. No boobs, barely any ass, and a tendency towards bulk, right?

Demon_Queen: It's a bit more complicated than that, I'd say, but I suppose it'll do in terms of the question at hand… Males, at the end of the day, are nothing but an abstract concept to most of us. An enemy only seen in the field, for the rest. Reproduction might be possible - whether through magical means or otherwise - but I doubt any here would be eager to try. I think it's best left at that.


~~~


Pregnant_With_Questions: Can Devilla get Lucy pregnant?

Demon_Queen: …

Lucy_The_Heroine: …Can you?

Demon Queen: I… suppose it's not inherently impossible? I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. I mean, I'm technically an angel rather than a demon or monster girl, so who knows if I can use the same magic they can…?

Princess Kay: She totally can! Though the baby would be an angel, rather than a human - Devilla's 'essence' is too overwhelming to allow for a mortal child.

~~~

PolyShipper: Do you think there is a chance that Abby and Lucy eventually end up together too? After getting to know each other properly, of course! Forming a triangle with Devilla?

Lucy_The_Heroine: Well, I don't really know Abigail that well, but I wouldn't be opposed to getting to know her!

Maid_This_Way: …Not sure how I feel about dating a Heroine. Or a human, for that matter… I mean, no offense to Lucy, but Heroines have always been abstract monstrosities to me. I guess it's not impossible? I'm going to need to get used to her, anyways, if she's dating Devilla, right?

~~~

Fall_For_Me: Devilla - how do you deal with the shame you've brought upon your ancestors?

Demon_Queen: …By working one day at a time to make up for it. I know I've made mistakes, and have caused issues I'll never fix, but-

Fall_For_Me: That's right. You have. You're a spoiled child who can't even fulfill the few expectations people have of her.

Maid_This_Way: Yeah, okay, no, banned. Can't you see Devilla's having a hard enough time without you making it harder?

Demon_Queen: It's fine, Abigail. I deserve this and worse.

Maid_This_Way: No, you don't.

Lucy_The_Heroine: I can't say I know the full story, but I know you're trying your best!

Foxxy_Fun: How about we move onto the next question…?

~~~

Food_For_Thought: Devilla - what is your favorite food that is *not* potato based?

Demon_Queen: A tough question. Truth to tell, it's quite difficult to list my favorite foods - many of the flavors have grown dull from repetition, while others I can only remember through Jacob's memories… I will say I've grown rather partial to venison skewers, of late.

~~~

Food_For_Thought: Lucy - What would a perfect date with Devilla look like to you?

Lucy_The_Heroine: I think my first date was pretty perfect! Until Eena started freaking out at least… But still! I really like the idea of just eating and talking and showing each other things that matter to us! Even the part where she freaked out wasn't that bad, because it helped pave the path towards better understanding one another!

~~~

Fall_4_Me: Does it bring you joy to derail the hard-laid plans of others? Your story was meant to go quite differently, you know.

Princess_Kay: I mean, I for one don't really mind how it changed…

Maid_This_Way: And I had as much to do with it as Devilla, anyway. I'm the one who encouraged her to go after the Heroine and actually try to make a difference.

Lucy_The_Heroine: Me showing up early didn't help either! Not that I regret it.

Demon_Queen: For once, I can say with some certainty that I have no regrets, myself.

Foxxy_Fun: Also, didn't we ban you once already? You just changed 'for' into a 4!

Princess_Kay: Gimme a sec and I'll do an IP ban. In the meantime, have another question from Food_For_Thought!

~~~

Food_For_Thought: Feyra - What are you looking for in a partner, romantically/sexually?

FeyFey: I don't know. Someone accepting, I guess? Someone who doesn't mind being with a cursed partner… though I guess the whole 'cursed bloodline' thing might be bullshit, but still. Most people aren't going to know that, and I need someone accepting, anyway, what with my whole 'potion problem.'

I guess maybe another person in the same boat? Not necessarily cursed and in need of mirror lilies, but like… on the outside, looking in? Someone who gets what it's like to be different from everyone around you.

Looks wise… I don't know if I really have a type. Girls, I guess? Fuck if I know.

Goodest_Girl (Bailey): Green hair find someone

FeyFey: It's Feyra! Not Green-Hair! And when did you even get here?

Goodest_Girl: Been here. Not my fault Green Hair not pay attention.

~~~

IShipIt: I'm curious if Feyra might eventually get a romantic partner.

FeyFey: …

Princess_Kay: There's always a chance! Though none of the characters I'm actively planning to introduce would be right for her, so we'll have to see.

~~~

Questionable: Do you have a favorite character?

Princess_Kay: Ooooo, tough one! Probably Devilla, if I had to pick? She's my baby… but so is Lucy… the same could be said for most of the characters, really… I love them all so much!

~~~

Questionable: Do you have a least favorite character?

Princess_Kay: Didn't I just say I love them all so much? …I guess if I had to pick, though, it would be Alira. She hasn't even shown up on screen yet, but I'll never forgive what she did to Devilla! (Also Nivera's birth parents.)

~~~

Questionable: What got you into writing in the first place?

Princess_Kay: This one feels mildly embarrassing for me, just because there's so little to it, but… My dad praised my ability to write an essay? And encouraged me to try writing for fun.

I had fun, so I just kept doing it… I especially like sharing the ideas I come up with.

~~~

Questionable: Which character has derailed the most from your original intention/vision of them?

Princess_Kay: Probably Sylvanna. I was not expecting to be so angry and abusive. She just sorta came out that way when I started writing her…

~~~

Mother_Grimm: So, what are your plans for children, anyways, Devilla?

Demon_Queen: …I… Haven't really given it much thought…

Lucy_The_Heroine: I think I'd like to have at least one, eventually! But maybe only after things settle down?

~~~

Endless_Curiosity: Have we actually gotten a full list of the demon generals yet, which floors they oversee, and what their official duties/roles are yet?

Princess_Kay: I'd rather not reveal the duties of generals we haven't met yet - partly to give myself some leeway, if I'm being honest - but I can definitely give you a list of generals, and a refresher on what we already know! (Also some of their kinks, because why not?)

Please note that any general we haven't seen is subject to change - Sallina and Sylvanna are dramatically different from my initial plans, and I can't rule out the same thing happening with the other generals… I never truly know what a character will be like until I start writing them.

Floors 1-10 - General Yara, a goblin! She's in charge of agriculture/food production, alongside the growth of trees for lumber. (Dryads can make any plant grow at rapid speeds, while goblins can speed up the mating cycle of animals, alongside upping their fertility.)

She doesn't have any particular kinks, beyond an appreciation for muscle. Very straightforward, brash, and bawdy.

Floors 11-20 - Araina, an arachne! You know her as our friendly neighborhood spider girl/spymaster! She's a big fan of bondage and roleplaying! (She really likes being the one who gets tied up, but most of the time she's stuck on the other side of it.)

Floors 21-30 - Nella! She's a spirit - a being capable of possessing others, and moving them as she wills. She's more or less immune to physical damage, but weak against magic! Her staff is largely full of people with a possession kink, and she herself has an oral fixation! (She loves chewing on peppermint leaves, among other things.)

She's a bit of an airhead in day to day life, but leads her people well.

Floors 31-40 - Mifa, the harpy! She got a sharp eye and a blunt tongue - never afraid to tell you exactly what she thinks. She likes mid-air sex where you struggle for dominance, but failing that she's also a fan of suspension play.

The main role of harpies has generally been aerial scouting, but within the tower they're also in charge of public transportation - ferrying people who can't travel by air between floors in big baskets.

Floors 41-50 - Willow, the weretiger! She's lean, mean, and very well toned. Likes to punch things out when there's a problem. Sex with her can get a bit rough, so be careful. (Lots of wrestling for dominance.)

Floors 51-60 - Erin, the vampire. Eternally bored. The best way to move her to do anything is to make it seem like it might be entertaining. She rarely forms attachment. She's a bit of a sadist in bed - she doesn't actually take pleasure from pain, though. It's more about seeing how much punishment people will willingly take and finding some entertainment in it.

Floors 61-70 - Sallina, a lamia. She's Devilla's surrogate mother figure. She's large and in charge - as in, her snake parts are a lot larger than the average lamia, and her body is scaled up to match. She's hot, and she knows it - and revels in it - but she's also got a maternal vibe to her? She'll call you 'dear' and give you forehead kisses and ask you about your day. The only kink I'll mention is wrapping people in her coils and playing with them - as well as making sure her partner's needs are always met to the fullest.

Floors 71-80 - Belle, the minotaur. Big, strong and stubborn. She has a tendency to break things, and make loud demands. Deep down, though, she wouldn't mind being beaten down and played with... Tender domming would probably be best, though.

Floors 81-90 - Sylvanna, the slime. You know her and probably hate her. She's the administrator of the tower. Also a hedonist. Her body is usually split into multiple parts, some of which are working, others of which are eating, fucking, and sleeping, and all of which are merging with one another as they come into contact and then splitting again. By swapping out which parts of herself are sleeping, at any given time, she can stay awake 24/7 as she watches over the tower.

The smaller she splits, the stupider she gets… She's got a bit of a bimbo kink, actually, and enjoys it when she's a little too dumb to worry about anything but sex.

Floors 91-100 - Doll, the artificial construct! The de facto leader of the generals. She used to be in charge of tower administration, but Devilla stripped her of the role… She was mad that Doll never made use of her position to stand up for her.

While Sylvanna manages the day to day affairs of the tower, Doll goes around soothing egos, while also trying to keep them in check. She's something of a mediator, these days…

She seems to struggle with emotions, her voice often coming out cold and without much feeling behind it, but Devilla knows that's just a facade. No one emotionless would look at her with the level of anger and disappointment Doll does…

Slithering_Suspicions: Sylvanna's the worst of the lot, if you ask me. Yara isn't much better - she says she hates politics, but she's not actually willing to get off her ass and do anything to fix things, despite the power she wields. Willow's… mostly just a meathead. Easy to work around, at least. And Erin can be brought on board with nearly anything if it's entertaining, but I don't trust her as far as I can throw her. She'll drop a plan if it's too boring. Nella and Araina aren't too bad - though I think the latter's a bit too easy to push around… Mifa and I don't get along. We can't go two minutes without arguing about Illa.

Not entirely sure what to think about the fact that she took Illa's virginity, either.

~~~

Burning_Questions: What does the harpy general (Mifa) think about the most recent political developments and movements, and what has she been up to since we last saw her? She seemed to be starting to lean more towards 'ally,' last time we talked with her, though with tower politics being more complex than we thought, are there other considerations we don't know about that might keep her ... talons tied concerning what's going on?

Demon_Queen: You know, I'm not entirely sure what she's been up to… I know she was of great help in keeping the peace while I was away and unconscious, but I haven't really seen her since giving her a share of the salt I brought back.

Princess_Kay: Mifa has taken a 'wait and see' approach to the whole thing. She appreciates the changes to Devilla's personality, but that doesn't mean she's going to go out on a limb for the girl. (She did help keep the tower from panicking when Devilla was absent, but she's tried to paint it less as a favor and more as something she did in return for salt.)

Slithering_Suspicions: The harpies are pretty insular. Their floors aren't exactly accessible for anyone without wings, and even if you've got them there's nowhere to land if you can't handle a perch like a bird. They tend to do their own thing. Which isn't the worst, I guess, compared to some people in the tower - but then they badmouth Illa for doing nothing to help the tower, like they actually have a right to complain, when they're always sitting out of politics every chance they get.

~~~

Infomaniac: Goddess - which method of making french fries do you prefer?

Princess_Kay: The answer has been redacted, on account of a certain someone not being able to keep her mouth shut and avoid spoilers

~~~

Questing_For_Answers: How did Lucy become the Heroine? We know her mother was killed, so the Church may have seen her as a ready mark, but is it scouting for The Chosen or training a promising candidate?

Lucy_The_Heroine: Heroines are actually born, not made! Also, don't you think you're being a bit harsh on the church…? I know they get a lot wrong, but they also do a lot of good for people! I'm sure they're just… misguided in some of their actions.

Princess_Kay: Like Lucy said, Heroines are chosen while still in the womb, and the church gets a revelation from the heavens when they're actually born so that they'll know where to look. The fact that they have clearly superhuman strength, even as a baby, makes it easy enough to tell if a little girl is the Heroine.

Lucy_The_Heroine: It went a bit differently for me, though…

Princess_Kay: More on that later! Don't spoil anything for now!

~~~

Ditzy_Divine: Lucy X Devilla X Abigail forever!

Demon_Queen: …Not really a question, but I suppose you have my gratitude? Though I suspect Abigail would have something to say about being added to the equation so unilaterally.

Maid_This_Way: Yeah… unilaterally…

~~~

Toughia: To Devilla - What was the Rite of Insight supposed to actually do? Like... do you have every memory of your ancestors shoved into your head?

Demon_Queen: I'm… not entirely sure, to be honest. So far as I'm aware it's only knowledge that's passed down to us, but considering how things went when I mispronounced a word… It's a little disconcerting to think about.

Then again, I'm not sure how the game version of me could have held onto her sense of identity if that's the way it was meant to go.

~~~

Toughia: To Lucy - Why do you believe everything anyone tells you? Have you never had anyone lie to you before?

Lucy_The_Heroine: I don't believe everything, though! I mean, I know there's lots of bad people in the world who wouldn't mind lying, even to me… Most people wouldn't even think about doing that, though, so I guess I do have a certain level of trust from that?

More than that, though… I think I'd rather believe a lie and try to help someone who doesn't need it than ignore someone who's actually in need of help because I think they're lying!

~~~

Toughia: To Feyra - Why are you so into following a church that has been treating you like a cursed outsider your whole life?

FeyFey: What am I supposed to do? Give up my one slim shot of not going to hell? Or should I act like one of those crazies who likes to claim the goddess isn't real, like we don't have a literal chosen one to lead us into battle against the forces of evil?

….Though, seeing how maybe the forces aren't so evil, I guess I gotta add that to my list of things to question now.

~~~

Toughia: To Abigail - Aside from whatever Devilla tells you, what do you actually do as a maid?

Maid_This_Way: Uh… Sometimes I clean around the bedroom, a little?

Honestly, I'm not all that sure what my official duties are. I think I'm mostly just supposed to keep Devilla satisfied?

~~~

Toughia: To Lucy (again) - Super important final question! Do you like cats?

Lucy_The_Heroine: I do! Though I'm not sure it's mutual? I think cats mostly like taking things at their own pace, while I do everything at a super fast pace…

I still pet them, though, when they let me! Thankfully my skin is too tough for cat scratches!

~~~

Territorial: How much land does 'The Tower' actually control? Is it completely self-sufficient?

Princess_Kay: The tower is basically just that - the tower. They're surrounded on all sides by wasteland for miles and miles. It was a side effect of the battle between Devilla's mom and the prior Heroine… It makes actually trying to take control of outside territories something of a logistical nightmare. Though it also keeps the humans from camping outside their door.

As for self-sufficiency... yup! The tower produces everything it needs in-house. Thankfully, various demon species have various bits of wild magic that help make this possible.

~~~

Enthusiastic_Inquistor: For Devillia - how do your past life's memories interact with your specific type of memory? We know (or at least I think we know) that the current life's memories still have primacy, with past life adding new knowledge and context to moderate the influence of current life, but can past life's memories still be accessed as you access current life's and to the extent of them? Or are they marred by the ephemeral nature of human memory?

Demon_Queen: Jacob's memories work a little different than my own - though it wasn't entirely obvious to me at first. I more or less received the contents in his head at the moment of his death. That means the moments leading up to his death are the clearest, and the ones further back tend to be more faded… Still, it was only when I tried to search for details that the problem showed itself. I know that Jacob used to play catch with his father, for example - I remember that, quite clearly - yet I cannot recall how the ball felt in his hand, what expression his father made when he caught a hard throw successfully, beyond 'happy,' or even how long ago they last played together.

My own memory works the same on the surface - details I don't pay attention to fade, things I avoid thinking about seem more distant. Yet, with my own memories, those details can be recalled, and brought back to the surface. His… can't be.

~~~

Enthusiastic_Inquistitor: Lucy - How does it feel to be the Heroine? Is it a feeling that is all consuming and ever present? Something that you get used to and fades into the background? Something that only comes up when using holy powers?

Lucy_The_Heroine: I mean, I've been the Heroine ever since I was born, so it feels pretty normal to me? I guess there's this sort of warmth inside me that I'm pretty sure is connected to my holy magic, but I'm not really sure beyond that!

~~

Enthusiastic_Inquistitor: Amessa - Apart from the obvious societal implications and society's reactions, do you actually care for where your powers come from? Or is the origin irrelevant compared to what they allow you to do? You strike me as too easy going to really care, but I could be getting a wrong read.

A_Mess_Yeah: Hmmm… I mean, not really? I use my plants to make potions, and I use my potions to help people! They're my powers, no matter where they came from - and it's not like I did anything special to get them, you know? I don't owe anyone anything for having them, so what does it matter where they came from?

~~~

Enthusiastic_Inquistor: Finally, a question for Princess Kay: - Now that the story has spiraled beyond what you ever planned, and apart from the moments of burnout and such, are you enjoying writing it? You put a lot of thought into the characters and how they interact or evolve in reaction to each other and it has made the story quite enjoyable to read, but I want to know if it is enjoyable to write too.

Princess_Kay: That's… a hard question to answer. I guess the short answer is yes…? At the very least, I don't not enjoy it… The truth is, though, that it's sometimes hard to decouple the idea of 'writing' from the concept of 'work' and just let myself have fun, especially when I'm trying to keep to a schedule.

That said, I love the characters themselves and I love sharing them with others. I love seeing people's reactions to these characters I love, and this story I've put so much of myself into. So even if the writing itself is sometimes more work than fun, the ability to share that hard work with others makes it worthwhile for me.

~~~

Anonymous_Cat: Why are all demons girls?

Princess_Kay: Spoilers

~~~

Princess_Kay: And on that note, it looks like we'll be wrapping things up here! Everybody wave goodbye!

Demon_Queen: Take care!

Lucy_The_Heroine: Stay safe!

Slithering_Suspicions: Maybe don't invite me next time?
Foxxy_Fun: Or do!

FeyFey: Whatever. I'm just going to go lay down over there and have an existential crisis about the church, alright?

Princess_Kay: Bye bye!
…

Foxxy_Fun: So, Cuz, you and Lucy are totally dating, right?

Demon_Queen: …Yes, why?

Foxxy_Fun: Sooooo, how far have you gone? Cuddling? Kissing? Holding hands?

Lucy_The_Heroine: Oh, I can answer this one! We've-

Demon_Queen: Hold on! The stream is still running! It's picking up everything we're saying.

Foxxy_Fun: Well, now that that's taken care of - Lucy, you were saying?

Lucy_The_Heroine: Well-

Goodest_Girl: Fox still recording…

Foxxy_Fun: Look! The audience wants to know - how'd her hand feel in yours?

Demon_Queen: I should never have agreed to this…

Maid_This_Way: That's what you're regretting? Not giving Chloe a camera?

Slithering_Suspicions: You know you're never getting that back, right?

FeyFey: Do you think if I close my eyes and pretend none of this is real, it'll all go away?

Goodest_GIrl: Not canon means not real.

Foxxy_Fun: Alright, everybody, for real now - so long until next time!

Spoiler: Author's Notes

This was actually supposed to go up before chapter 46, but there were a few last minute questions and then I got sick... I can't say I'm 100% better. Still miserable, actually. But I'm well enough to write, and the lack of it has been driving me crazy! So. Hopefully there will be new chapters to look forward to, soon?

You're definitely getting 47 on Weds. Beyond that... We'll see how long it takes me to write 48 and 49, I guess. Hope you enjoy this silly extra in the meantime!

 

[PrincessKay]

Lucy​

Salina moved faster than I would have thought possible, rapidly wrapping her body around Eena, and then holding her arms out wide in front of the girl. Her tail continued to move, too, piling coils higher and higher up around Eena's form.

"That's not funny, young lady," she said, her voice firm. There was a faint tremor to it, though. And the look in her eyes… There was anger, but also fear and determination. Lots of determination. Like she was ready to give her life, if necessary, to protect Eena.

To protect her from me.

"I'm…" I hesitated, unsure what to say. That I wasn't joking? I wasn't! It's just… I never really considered what my role was like on the other side. How demons viewed me… I always saw them as just people, like humans, but I never really thought about how they must have viewed us. Viewed me…

It suddenly occurred to me that I didn't really know much about the war, or what it looked like from their side.

"It's fine, Sallina," Eena called out. Her voice was a little muffled, though - I couldn't even see her past the coils that had built up. "She's not like the abominations who came before her."

I tried not to flinch at the raw hatred I heard in Eena's voice when she described my fellow Heroines. She's… she always said her trust in me wasn't about me being the Heroine… I guess it was in spite of it. My predecessors did kinda kill all her ancestors, after all…

Sallina's face hardened. "You mean she's actually…?!"

"The Heroine?" Abigail supplied from the side. "Yeah. Devilla has this crazy idea of actually working with her to bring about peace."

"You're the one who encouraged me to try!" Eena protested, her voice still muffled.

Abigail shrugged. "I said it was crazy, not bad. We're kinda backed into a corner here, in case anybody failed to notice. You die without having a kid, and not just the tower, but all demons are screwed… And also you'd be dead. Kind of a fan of any plan that doesn't inevitably lead there, one day."

"If it helps, I really don't want to kill anyone," I said. "I mean, I've never really believed that all demons are evil like the church teaches. I guess I did believe it about Eena, but I don't anymore!"

"...Eena?" Sallina asked, frowning. It wasn't an angry frown, though, which was progress! She mostly just seemed confused, with maybe just a hint of anger still lurking in the background… But also her arms weren't outstretched anymore! So, again, progress!

Sorta?

"It's my pet name for Devilla," I told her, deciding to push forward regardless. "It's how she introduced herself to me, when we first met, back before I knew she was the Demon Queen."

"When you first met…" she repeated, looking between me and Eena. Or I guess between me and the pile of coils that were currently surrounding Eena, since it was really hard to get a good look at her when she was all wrapped up like that. "How long have you two known each other?"

"A few weeks," Eena admitted. "I got to know her while pretending to be human. Which is why I can tell you, without a shred of a doubt, that she's different. She doesn't view us as monsters to be slaughtered, but as people who are on the opposite side of an altercation. One she's more than willing to bring an end to."

"An altercation?" Sallina asks, her voice flat. "Is that how you want to define the genocide of our people?"

"I think-" Chloe started, only to stop when Sallina glared at her.

"Not right now, dear. I know you want to play peacekeeper, but… not this time." Her red eyes turned back towards me. It was really hard not to flinch when they met mine, but I managed to keep her gaze. "You claim to see us as people. Perhaps you even do, but I can't say I return the favor. Not when I've seen the things your people have done… the towns you've brought to ruin, the families you've slaughtered. And that's just the common soldiers… Trust me when I say the Heroines are far worse."

I wanted to speak up, but I couldn't think of anything to say. The church's claims painted the demons as being the bad ones - they said that demons torch human villages and kill children. Maybe it was even true, to some extent, but we weren't the ones at the brink of extinction…

Sallina glared at me for another moment or two, before letting out a tired sigh. "That said… I'm quite sure Devilla's had enough of her elders deciding who she can and can't be friends with. Far be it from me to repeat the mistake of my predecessor. Especially when it's part of a plan to save our people…?"

"If it helps," Eena said, as Sallina's coils slowly loosened, "she's quite harmless. I don't doubt anyone in this room could match her for combat, and several of you could likely run circles around her."

"You shouldn't lie, Eena! Even if it's to make people feel more safe about me…"

"I'm not. Lucy… I know you're used to being the strongest human around, but that's essentially the baseline for a demon. Or… at least I believe it is? I suppose I'm not entirely sure, outside of the game…"

"Why don't we have a friendly spar, then?" Chloe suggested. "That way we can see how she matches up!"

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Sallina says, looking back and forth between me and Chloe. "For one thing, she has a sword."

"We can fight bare handed!" I suggested, then flinched when Sallina glared at me again. "Not that I really want to fight? But if it helps you see how strong I am, I'm willing!"

"Why in the world do you think showing me your skills at killing demons would make me happy?" Sallina asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Because as strong as I am, I'm still really weak compared to Eena! She could crush me like a bug, from what I've seen, and I'm pretty sure she hasn't even shown me a fraction of her full power!"

"It's true," Eena agreed. "And I'm rather curious myself, how she'd fare against my cousin…"

"...Your cousin?" I ask, blinking. "Wait! The one your childhood friend is engaged to?" Come to think of it, Eena hadn't mentioned exactly who'd be coming to the meeting. She was probably going to, before I interrupted her by insisting on coming along.

"That would be me," the brunette lamia said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Nivera. And if you so much as think about drawing that sword against Chloe, I'll-"

"Do nothing," Chloe interrupted. "I can defend myself! And also, it's been forever since I had a good spar. All our friends are too easy… I've actually been thinking of asking if Devilla could introduce me to some soldiers!"

"I can put the sword aside, if you want?" I offered. "Or just promise not to use it?"

"A promise not to use it is good enough," Chloe replied, lacing her fingers and stretching her arms above her head. "Now, if everybody would back up a bit - maybe go sit on that massive bed? - me and Miss Heroine here can begin!"

Sallina sighed, shaking her head and slithering over to the wall beside the bed. Eena frowned, but a quick smile from me had her shaking her own head and going there as well. Abigail looked like she wanted to say something, but she settled for just sitting on the bed and giving Eena's hand a squeeze. Something Eena seemed to appreciate, I noted.

Nivera was the most confusing one, though. The look she gave me was a mix of annoyance and… pity?

"Alright then!" Chloe declared. "On the count of three, we go!"

"Is it really the best place for this?" I asked, looking around the nicely decorated room. "I don't want to break anything…"

"We won't, if we're careful! And I don't think Devilla's particularly attached to anything in this room, anyway… Except maybe the bed?"

"I'm not," Eena confirmed, blushing a little.

Seeing something so normal - and cute! - helped to relax me a little, and I smiled at her before doing my own stretches.

"Three!" Chloe declared.

"Two," I replied.

""One!""

Chloe shot towards me like an arrow, head lowered, body bent slightly forward. I prepared myself to catch her, and maybe throw her towards the bed, but at the last moment she suddenly jumped in the air. I thought she was trying to do a flying tackle, but then suddenly she was a fox instead of a person, and she was sailing over my head. Her paws hit the back of my skull, and I spun around, finding her standing in human form again with a cheeky smile on her face. I punched forward, expecting her to block, but my arm went right through her, and her body disappeared.

I caught sight of a fluffy tail hidden behind the illusion, and then she was running between my legs. I spun again, to face her, only to find myself face to face with her human self, her face an inch from mine. A strong push against my shoulders had me flailing backwards, but I managed to right myself in time to block Chloe's kick.

It hit hard - way harder than any of my trainers had ever managed - but I held firm against it until she backed off. This time, I kept my eyes on her. Not only that, I borrowed a page from Eena's book and spread my magic power out around me to try to detect her.

"Good trick!" Chloe complimented me. "But not without its flaws."

Suddenly there were two Chloe's in my senses. I knew one of them had to be an illusion, but my magic couldn't tell the difference between them…

"Illusions are wild magic for us kitsune," Chloe explained. "You're not going to see through them with such basic detection magic."

Both Chloes walked towards me. I was pretty sure which one was fake - I mean, one of the illusions had popped up from nowhere, after all! But that was assuming either of them were real.

I wasn't going to take any chances. Instead, I drew my magic inward, towards me, and then blew it out again, forcefully moving the air. The hair and clothes of one Chloe - the one I'd been certain was fake - rustled, while the other stayed perfectly still.

I hesitated a moment, wondering if I should try to hit both… only to flinch when I felt someone tap my shoulder. Next thing I knew, my legs were swept from under me and my butt was on the ground.

"Good try!" Chloe declared with that same cheeky grin on her face. She held out a hand, but I hesitated. "It's real this time! Promise!"

It was. Also strong - her grip was almost crushing as she lifted me up to my feet.

"How did you manage to do that?" I asked her. "The illusion, I mean - when I tried to put an illusion on myself, earlier, it wouldn't work. Eena had to do it for me."

"That's because Devilla's floor is spy proof!" Chloe said. "Lots of magic is off limits! But illusions are fine if they don't cover up your body."

"...Spy proof?" Abigail asked. For some reason her voice sounded a bit stiff. "As in… you can't spy on people here?"

"Not magically!" Chloe confirmed.

"So you couldn't, say… watch someone's actions through a bunch of spiders…?"

"That's an oddly specific thing to ask about, but nope!" Chloe confirmed. "Araina can't spy on this floor at all!"

"...Ah…" Eena muttered, sounding guilty for some reason.

I wanted to ask more, but Chloe gave my hand a squeeze to draw my attention and shot me another grin. "So, how about another spar? Now that you know my abilities…"

"Is that really necessary?" Sallina asked from her space by the wall. "I think I've gotten a good view of her capabilities… Honestly, though, she seems roughly on par with the average demon soldier. If this is the best humanity can come up with, I have to wonder how we've been pushed back so far…"

"I think it's a good sign," Eena declared. "It's proof that she hasn't killed any of us, so far - hasn't grown in strength beyond her baseline. And I don't think she ever will…"

"Well, I have been feeling a bit stronger of late," I said, unable to help myself. "But that's probably just the result of hard work! I don't want to fight in the war, or kill demons, or anything like that! I just want to be strong enough to protect people."

"Well, you are pretty strong," Chloe admitted. "That punch you threw looked like it would have hurt if it had actually connected."

"It will hurt this time, then!" I promised. "...But not too much! I mean, it's just for fun, right?"

"Yup!" Chloe confirmed, releasing my hand and spreading her feet apart and settling back into a fighting stance.

I stood up, too. "On the count of three again?"

"Three!" Chloe replied.

"Two!"

""One!""

***​

Feyra​

***​

I stared at the horned wolf laying on the forest floor. She stared back. Silently. Awkwardly. Not that I would have found it awkward if this had been just a day ago. Hell, if anything, I'd have called it creepy. But now that I knew she could actually talk if she wanted to…

Well, it was still creepy, but it was also fucking awkward.

"Sooo…" I started, deciding that maybe a conversation was the best way to go. "You're a demon, right?"

The wolf stared at me for a moment, before slowly nodding her head.

"Right… So… why exactly are you taking wolf form, still? I mean, it's not like you're fooling anyone. Unless you just prefer it, or something?" Devilla had said something about her being born from wild horned wolves. The ones from the monastery's experiments, too. It sounded kinda insane to me, but so did everything that came out of Devilla's mouth…

I mean, she was the Demon Queen, but she actually cared about the Heroine? And was sleeping with her. Which would normally make me think she was trying to seduce said Heroine to the dark side, but I hadn't actually seen her do or encourage any evil… Hell, rather than seducing the Heroine, it was more like she was getting seduced by the Heroine, from what I'd seen.

Honestly it felt like my world was being turned upside down. I mean, the greatest evil in the world wasn't supposed to blush the moment kissing came up!

Just like the church - institution of the Goddess - wasn't supposed to be involved in experiments to produce fucking demons.

I was distracted from my complaints about the world order by a growl from the resident wolf demon. She stood up, and seemed to stretch for a moment, arching her back… except then she kept stretching, her body growing longer and thinner as her front legs lengthened into arms, and her paws turned into hands with fingers. Her hind legs kinda bent, growing sideways and shifting position as she gained knees and her legs divided properly into calves and thighs. Her chest first became thinner, then started to grow out as two breasts came into existence, hanging beneath her form, while her snout scrunched inwards, reshaping into a face. Before I knew it, I wasn't looking at a horned wolf but a horned woman, kneeling on her hands and knees, with her long black hair trailing down towards the ground, not quite managing to hide her breasts from view.

"Green Hair think too much."

I hastily looked away, my cheeks bright red as I realized that maybe - just maybe - the girl had been staying in wolf form because she didn't have any clothes!

…Wait. "Green Hair?! My name is Feyra!"

"My name Bailey, but Green Hair call me Wolf," the horned woman - Bailey, I guess - pointed out. "Not mind, though. Titles and roles easier to follow than names."

"How is Green Hair a role?" I demanded, turning back around to glare at her. Which was a mistake, because now she was standing up and her breasts were right there and I was just… nope! Turning my head away from that shit.

"Green Hair sounds better than Complainer," Bailey replied. "Or Doubter. Could call you Looker instead, since you see magic."

"Yeah, no. How about you call me Feyra, and I call you Bailey?"

"Names usually hard to pronounce," she repeated, frowning. "...But yours simple enough. Fey-ra."

"It's…" "I shook my head. "You know what? Good enough. Better than fucking Green Hair at least…"

"Could go for Complainer after all," Bailey said. She sounded completely sincere when she said it, but I wasn't fooled - a sneak peek at her face showed a smug smirk.

"You got a problem with me?" I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest and turning back towards her. Careful to keep my eyes on hers, of course.

She shrugged. "Not really. You bad to Queen. But everyone bad to Queen… Everyone but Heroine and Maid."

"Well, yeah, of course humans are going to talk bad about her," I scoffed. "I mean, she's the Demon Queen."

Bailey shook her head. "Not say humans. Say everyone."

"Wait, you don't mean… demons? What the hell? Isn't she, like… your Queen?"

Bailey tilted her head, like she didn't understand the question, and I sighed.

"You know, the Queen! The one in charge? Who makes all the rules? Couldn't she… I don't know… order their heads all chopped off for disrespect?"

"Queen could," Bailey confirmed. "Queen doesn't. Queen act like she not notice. Act like it not hurt, like she not care. Say Queen deserves it…"

"...Yeah, that tracks with what I've seen," I said, thinking back to all the times she'd insisted the Heroine would grow tired of her. I'd just sort of… thought it was an act, or something? I don't know - I mean, that made more sense than her actually regretting her actions… Or at least it used to make sense.

Nothing made any fucking sense, these days.

"So what do you think of Quee- I mean, Devilla," I asked. Not that I really cared. I mean, she was probably just going to spin some fluff about how great Devilla secretly was, and how she didn't deserve all the bad crap people said about her, but… I don't know. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing to hear the perspective of someone on the other side…

Bailey didn't say anything, though. She just sort of stared at me for a long, awkward moment. Then, when she finally opened her mouth, she just replied, "Queen too kind."

"Too kind?!" I frowned. "Come on, you've got to give me more than that. I mean, don't you demons, like, worship the ground she walks on or… wait, no, you said the other demons badmouth her, so I guess not… and it doesn't exactly sound like they're being ruled by an iron fist. At least these days… But come on, you've got to have more to say about her than that!"

"Fey-ra not understand," Bailey said, shaking her head. "Queen too kind for own good. Spare me, when I attack. Clean me. Clothe me. Feed me… bring me to warm place, tell me I am Demon, and being Demon is good and not bad. Try to teach me, so I can stand on own. So that not need Queen. So that I can leave Queen… because Queen expect everyone to leave her. Expect everyone to come to hate her. To hurt her. Can Fey-ra do that? Help someone, expecting them to hurt you? Spare someone, expecting them to run from you? Befriend someone, thinking they will never love you…? Look the other way, no matter how many times people hurt you…?"

I didn't say anything. I couldn't say anything. All I could think of was when me and Devilla first met - when she got me out of trouble, and all I could think about was surviving long enough to get away…

I wondered what she thought of me that day.

I wonder what she thought of me now.

Bailey didn't say anything after that. She went back to her wolf form and started staring out into the darkness. Keeping watch, I guess. Like Devilla had asked her to. Keeping me safe, like Devilla requested.

The silence was even more awkward than before… but… this time I couldn't bear to break it.

Spoiler: Author's Notes

Anyone else remember the "Brawl in the Family" comic? No? Oh well... (Hi everyone! Still sick, but I can't stand the lack of writing any longer so here's hoping I can get 48 done sooner rather than later...)

It's worth noting that most of the people Devilla has interacted with are from her own generation - a generation where the war has more or less been on pause, with the demons all confined to the tower and the Heroine too young to take the battle to them. Older generations are going to be a lot harder to win over… Thankfully, Chloe was there to diffuse the tension! In her own way…

Don't let this chapter fool you into thinking that Lucy is weak, by the way! Her physical strength is about on par with the average demonic soldier at this point - having never killed any demons to grow in power - but she's been trained well in combat, and can handle herself just fine under ordinary circumstances. By human terms, she's… well, superhuman. Especially if you throw her arcane and holy magic into the mix. At the same time, though, she's still ultimately a level 1 character… Maybe edging on level 2, if her claims of gaining strength are to be believed.

Chloe, meanwhile, is just a fucking force of nature… One that does not fight fair. (If you think this is bad, you should see her with a weapon. She's got this set of retractable metal claws, and you can never tell if they're actually out or not. Really puts people on edge.)

As far as the second half of this chapter goes, it started with me just wanting to see what Feyra was up to, and ended with me crying a little… "It'll be cute," I thought. "Bailey and Feyra will bond a little," I thought.

Instead we got this… ;;

Anyway, I want to thank FallingLeaf for proofreading and Lulla for beta reading, as always! And thanks to all of you for reading!

 

[PrincessKay]

Devilla​

"Is it normal for kitsune to fight like this?" I questioned Nivera, speaking in a whisper so as not to disturb the ongoing spar. They were on their third match and Lucy was trying to find the real Chloe among not only three demonoid figures, but two foxes.

Not that the exact numbers meant much when even Chloe's illusionary selves seemed capable of changing form, and the whole lot of them were constantly mixing up their placement.

"Nobody fights like Chloe," Nivera replied, pride evident in her voice.

"Though she is technically copying your dam's fighting style," Sallina chimed in, drawing my attention. She met my gaze with a warm smile, which I hesitantly returned. I was admittedly unsure how to feel about her recent display of protectiveness. I wanted to be upset that my girlfriend had been treated so harshly, yet I was also grateful that she would go so far for me… It had almost felt as if she were ready to die for me, ridiculous as that thought was.

"More like resurrecting it," Nivera corrected, thankfully giving me an excuse to break eye contact with Sallina. "She built her fighting style off tall tales and rumors, as much as anything - stories about how Issa turned back a human army by making them think she had an army of her own, and how she made the Heroine herself so dizzy she started throwing up and had to flee the battle… Your dam was extremely popular back in her day, from what I can tell. About on par with your Mom."

"More popular with some people," Chloe chimed in, somehow standing right next to us despite the fact that Lucy was still battling three demonoid Chloes and two foxes. "I'm not actually sure what's true and what wasn't, so I've just focused on recreating everything I can in my own way! I think she'd have approved, though."

"I'm sorry," I interrupted, "but are you actually talking to us in the middle of a fight? Or is this just another illusion?"

"Why not both?" Chloe shrugged before suddenly just… disappearing.

I double checked to make sure there was no fox on the ground.

"Ignore her," Nivera grumbled. "She's just showing off. Like she doesn't have enough of a handicap with not being able to use illusions directly on herself…"

Sallina laughed, a full hearted sound that had one hand on her stomach and the other on her mouth as she tried to hide her smile.

"I'm sorry, dear," she said, answering my questioning gaze. "It's just… it's hard to believe that I'm watching Chloe lead the Heroine around by the nose… Not to mention the jovial attitude you girls are all taking. It almost makes me feel like I'm the crazy one here…"

"Chloe isn't exactly a fair metric to judge anyone by," Nivera pointed out, a touch of pride in her voice. "She's basically a force of nature."

"But Lucy's hits still connect sometimes, don't they?" Sallina challenged. "And when they do, Chloe isn't being sent hurtling away… if that's all the power she can manage, then I find myself more worried about what she'll do to 'Eena's' heart than what she'll do to Devilla's body."

"...You noticed, then?" I asked, unable to prevent the blush that climbed my cheeks. "Our feelings for one another?"

"It was fairly obvious once I was calm enough to look," Sallina confirmed, drawing a snort from Abigail and a nod from Nivera.

"You're not exactly great at hiding your weaknesses, sis," Nivera tacked on.

"I'd hardly list Lucy among my weaknesses," I protested, unable to help a frown. "If anything, she'll be of great help with taking my offer of peace to human lands… not to mention the emotional boon it is simply having her in my life, for however long it'll last."

"Yeah, yeah, love's a strength," Nivera replied, rolling her eyes. "Look, I get it. I'm in love too, remember? But I'm serious. You're going to need to wade into the political sphere if you want to get the whole tower behind this nonsense, and you dating the Heroine? Isn't the best look. There will be people claiming she found some way to charm or seduce you into a trap, or that you're giving us all up for the sake of sex."

"That's ridiculous," I scoffed. "Anyone who spends five minutes with Lucy can tell she's sincere."

"So what?" Abigail asked, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed. She was a bit cross with me - probably because I'd kicked all this off to begin with by sending her on a hunt for peppermint oil, when the room didn't even need spider protection to begin with… "You just want to just line everyone up and have them meet her?"

"Well…"

"Don't act like you're actually considering it!"

"I'm not!" I protested. "Not exactly anyway… I was just trying to think through how it would go, and what might go wrong…"

"That's the same thing as considering it!"

"Good luck getting any of the bloodliners to change their minds, whatever you do," Nivera interjected, with a snort. "I doubt most of them will care whether they're right or wrong about her, anyway. They'll just see an excuse to argue and a chance to gain concessions."

"What Nivera isn't saying," Sallina interrupted with a frown, "is that she's already mentally volunteered me, Chloe, and herself to help with keeping things calm. If you could keep your relationship secret from the rest of the tower for now, though, I do believe that would be best."

"I thought us helping was implied," Nivera muttered by way of answer, a faint tinge of red upon her cheeks.

"And are you alright with that?" I asked Sallina, arching an eyebrow. She might be laughing now, but I couldn't forget the venom in her voice when she addressed Lucy before. "With all of this?"

"If you mean Nivera's plan, then of course I'm all for helping you," Sallina began, giving me a warm smile before letting out a tired sigh. "But we both know better. You want my thoughts on your relationship with Lucy, don't you?"

"I don't need your full opinion," I replied, tensing a little. I was vaguely aware of Abigail taking my hand again, giving it a reassuring squeeze from her place atop the bed. "I simply wish to know if you object to me being with Lucy."

"Object? No. I know better than to tell a young lady who she can and can't date. Especially when that young lady has already gone through so much at the hands of adults like me."

"I'm an adult myself," I pointed out, unable to resist frowning up at the woman. Though I fear it may have come across more as a pout, from the way it caused her frown to turn into a smile.

"That you are," Sallina assured me. Despite my fears, her tone wasn't patronizing, but the warm look in her eyes somehow still managed to make me feel like a child before her. "But you're also a young lady, who's got many mistakes to make and lessons to learn still ahead of her. I only hope this isn't one of them…"

"It isn't," I declared, crossing my arms and turning my attention back to the fight. Lucy had just punched her way directly through the chest of one illusion, who replied with a cheeky grin before fading out of existence and reappearing elsewhere. "You've seen what Lucy is like. She's different from the others."

"So it would seem…" Sallina let out another sigh. "But you know, it isn't like every Heroine is cut from the same cloth…"

"What do you mean?" I questioned her, arching an eyebrow as I reluctantly turned my attention away from the fight. "You can't mean to tell me we've had anyone like her before, right?"

"No," Sallina admitted. "Not like her. But I've read a lot of firsthand accounts from those who've survived interactions with Heroines. Soldiers who were lucky enough to avoid being targeted directly… The early reports vary quite a bit from Heroine to Heroine. Some seem terrified during their first battles. Others are filled with righteous fury. One person reported that the Heroine seemed almost regretful to cut them down - they speculated that she might have even let them escape…"

"What happened to her?" I asked, unable to help myself. Nivera's gaze, too, was on Sallina, as was Abigail's. I suppose this was news to them as well. "The one who seemed regretful?"

"She went on to turn an entire species to stone."

"...You can't mean Jodeyne?" I whispered, my mind flashing to the Heroine who had killed my mother. "There's no way. The soldier must have been mistaken."

"That soldier was your dam, you know?" Sallina replied, her voice almost a whisper. "And she wasn't the only one who saw it, either. Other soldiers were willing to back her up when questioned. The statistics back her up, too - many more demons survived their first encounters with her than normal… At least up until a point."

"A point?" I asked, nervousness threaded through my voice.

"A point," Sallina repeated, nodding. "I'm not entirely sure when, but the reports about her started to change. She became less nervous. Less and less of our people survived - and those who did claimed she let them go, much like the early survivors, but this time they were let go so that they could report what she'd done. She wanted us to know that she was the one wiping up our forces…"

"So she changed," I said, trying to act nonchalant. "War does that. I don't see what it has to do with Lucy."

"She didn't just change," Sallina warned me. "She went insane. She started torching innocent villages. Slaughtering civilians. And yet every time, she'd let at least one person go, to let us know exactly what she was up to… And before you say anything, dear, you should know that she wasn't the first. Every Heroine has gone that route, no matter where they started out. At some indeterminate point, they all seem to just… go crazy."

She turned her gaze away from me, and towards the fight, shaking her head before slithering forward to put her hand on Chloe's shoulder. The real Chloe's shoulder, judging by the way the illusions disappeared - including the one who'd spent the last half a minute or so dodging all of Lucy's attacks.

"I won't speak against your relationship," Sallina declared, staring at Lucy. "I won't interfere from the shadows, or do any of the other political nonsense people get up to in this tower. I just want to know - what makes you different from the other Heroines? What makes you think you'll be the first and only one to stay sane?"

***
Sallina
***​

I stared down at the Heroine, trying my best not to tremble as I met her orange eyes. She didn't look angry or even irritated, but to me it still felt as if I were staring into the eyes of a hungry monster. One who wanted nothing more than to devour me and everyone I cared about…

I couldn't let that show, though. Not in front of Devilla. Not when she clearly cared so much about this girl. Not when she'd only just begun to heal from the last time someone interfered with one of her relationships.

"Um… To be honest…" She hesitated, and for a moment I thought I must have misread the situation. That she hadn't been paying attention to my conversation with Devilla, and that I'd just embarrassed myself in front of my two pseudo-children and their loved ones… but then she spoke. "I've um… never really heard of Heroines going insane before? Not that I'm doubting you! I… get the feeling there's a lot of things the church hasn't told me, actually… Still, I can definitely say I'm different from past Heroines!"

"Because you haven't killed any of us?" I asked, dryly. "It's true you won't grow in strength until you do… but are you sure that's the key to maintaining your sanity?"

"Not at all!" the Heroine admitted. She sounded… surprisingly chipper about it. "I mean, like I said, I really don't know anything about it in the first place! But as long as I'm weak, Eena can just step in and help, right?"

"So you'll put it on her to keep you from doing anything wrong?" I questioned. "To keep you from killing us all?"

"Well, part of being in a relationship is depending on each other during times of trouble, right? But don't worry, I'm not planning to put it all on her! I've actually been thinking I should take a trip to the holy capital to get answers, so I guess I'll just add this to my list of things to ask about! If Heroines really do go insane, maybe they'll have a way to stop it?"

"And if they don't?" I persisted, even as I felt Devilla's glare burning into my back. This was important! Even if it broke my heart to think that Devilla might come to treat me as an enemy for it… "What will you do then?"

"Then Eena and I will figure it out, along with any other friends who want to join in!"

"That…" I wanted to call her out on her naivety, but… she was young, and in love, and willing to do what was right… Maybe that was just what we needed to make progress. Besides which, I'd repeatedly promised that I wouldn't object to their union, and I was already pushing the boundaries of that. "Very well…"

"Don't worry!" Lucy declared, still smiling. "Even in the worst case, I know Eena will keep me from killing anyone - demon or human!"

"...I'm sure she will," I agreed, trying not to think of what that might entail. What that might require from Devilla… I only hoped they'd find a solution, before any drastic measurements were needed.

A knock at the door saved me from my thoughts, drawing my attention to Devilla, who frowned as she moved towards the door.

It would seem we had an uninvited guest.

Spoiler: Author's Notes

And we're back! This chapter's a lot shorter than I originally intended. Mostly because I didn't originally intend to end it here... but I wanted to switch the PoV back to Devilla, and I didn't like the idea of sandwiching Sallina's part between two of Devilla's, so... Here we are! (49 and 50 are a bit longer, at least, with both breaking through the 3k mark at least. Both are on patreon, though the latter still needs proofreading.)

In other chapter-related news, a part of me wanted to have this whole chapter from Sallina's PoV? Mostly because there's so much that Devilla's missing. Like the fact that Chloe totally (secretly) signaled Sallina to let her know which 'her' was real. And the fact that Sallina only read about Heroines because she wanted to know what Devilla would have to deal with…

Ultimately, these little details don't matter that much. Not enough to rewrite what I already had for Devilla, at least. Especially since I'm sick, and I'm already worried about my ability to create a new first person voice on the fly... (Hope Sallina's voice comes across as unique/hers? Please do let me know in the comments!)

Many thanks, as always, to FallingLeaf for the amazing proofreading!