"How much is your attack power worth? How much?" Franmalth's voice echoed through the Cube, and Kyouka couldn't stand it. Sure, his constant blabbering alerted her on when he was going to attack, but even so-
"3000 souls!" the one-eyed demon yelled, stretching out his arm and trying to pull the other demon to himself so he could absorb her soul as well. Unfortunately, Kyouka was nimble as well as smart, and she easily evaded the attack. The claws on her handlike appendages extended, and she stabbed one through Franmalth's center, finally getting him to shut up.
The round demon disappeared into a flurry of particles that dispelled into the air, and Kyouka knew she had won. "Marde Guille was impressed with your performance." The King of Hades spoke this time. He had been observing the tactical skills of each of the Nine Demon Gates, and it was obvious that this one had surpassed them all. "It will be your duty to direct the other demon gates in their operations and take on apprentices as needed. Are you ready for that task?" he asked, looking down at the helmeted demon's smug face.
"Of course, King of Hades," she replied calmly. She had known from the start that she was far above all the other demons in skills, and she was confident that she would be the first of them to meet Zeref face to face. How she longed for that day...when she would finally see her maker with her own eyes and present her vast list of accomplishments before him. It was almost like she was stuck in a dream.
"Then Marde will present you with your first trainee." Kyouka's thought process was cut off when a tiny bunny scurried forward and glared at the demon gate who had won the favor of the King of Hades.
"This is a woman..." she grumbled, crossing her arms and glaring at Kyouka with the beadiest eyes she had ever seen. "But I'll work under her...I just won't like it..."
Marde waved both of them off and suggested that they begin training right away. "Marde has given her the name Lamy," he told both of them before shooing them down to Hell's Core.
In truth, Kyouka wasn't very pleased with having to work with this wretched girl on such a close basis. She drove her crazy the minute she saw her, and there was nothing she wanted more than to smack her into oblivion. After a couple days of getting to know each other, however, Kyouka realized that they actually got along very well. Lamy was passionate about her work, as was she, and this passion formed a sort of secret bond that they shared. Kyouka sent demons out on missions, and Lamy patched them up when they came back injured so she wouldn't have to. That just gave her more time to collect humans-her favorite hobby. Lamy always asked for hunky boys, and sometimes, Kyouka actually gave in and found some for the little rabbit to gawk at before she brought each of them to an untimely end. It wasn't until the day she found a mage from Succubus Eye that she wanted to hang onto a human longer.
"Kyouka-nee...you want me to make this one into a demon?" Lamy asked, frowning in disapproval. Kyouka mrerely nodded and patted the girl on the head. This woman was going to make a great demon. She could tell.
"Continue with Operation Face as planned!" Kyouka yelled as she paraded through the Cube. Being in power meant she was never wrong, and that was something she wanted to preserve. Not to mention, she wanted to flaunt her prestige in front of the other Demon Gates. She was selfish, and she knew it.
"The council members come next," Franmalth reported, walking up behind Kyouka. He acted as her right-hand man now. It was funny...they were rivals for her leadership position not that long ago. Now he seemed content to work underneath her.
A dark-haired man walked in next, and Kyouka barked more complaints. "You weren't supposed to be snooping around the Sun Village!" she snapped, but Silver paid her no mind. "And you!" she pointed at Tempesta this time. "You need to start with the former council members before word gets out about our attacks!" Said demon nodded gruffly and pulled up his hood before heading out.
Lamy trotted back in next, dragging her favorite of the Nine Demon Gates behind her. "Kyouka-nee! I brought Jackal-kun so you could tell him about his job!" She grinned proudly from ear to ear, while Jackal looked like he was ready to punch her to the moon.
Kyouka laughed and pried the tiny demon off of him. "You get the honors of destroying the Magic Council...consider it an honor," she told him with a smug smirk. He just scowled and stomped out. She knew he would like the job once he was able to blow the building up, but until then, he would probably be too worried about finding a way to get the Lamy germs off of him. She enjoyed watching the two interact. That was all part of being leader, right? She strode back into her room and lit a few candles before collapsing in her red velvet seat, one fit for a demon queen. That was what she had become, after all, and she loved every second of it.