Second Part of the New Year double release. In truth, I wanted to do a triple release, but then got distracted by animes….h-hey, even if I hadn't, three chapters in that amount of time would have been impossible for me! Writing fanfiction is actually kind of hard, you know! D-Don't look at me with those scornful eyes! *Ahem* Anyway, Happy New Year's folks, enjoy and review (or don't).

Chapter 23

"Well then, let's get started" Rubia declared, staring at Kamito over the black coffin.

"Hold it. How dare you show such disrespect before our hierarch?" A beautiful girl with striking blue hair stepped forward. She was scantily garbed, like a dancer, and had a thin veil covering her mouth.

"Even if you are the Calamity Queen, we of the Alphas Theocracy won't permit such irreverence to his highness" As the girl said this, several of the people present suddenly drew daggers from hidden sheathes.

"Humph, don't test me Sjora Kahn" Rubia said, the air around her swirling like a heat haze. The atmosphere tensed as the two woman glared at each other. Then—

"Onii-samaaaaaaa! Sorry we're laaaaaate!"

-The strained atmosphere dissipated as Kamito was tackled from behind by an ash-grey blur.

"Ah, Muir! You've got to stop doing that! It's unbecoming of a lady" A young, blonde-haired girl with emerald-green eyes admonished, following behind Muir. "Oh, it's been a while, sir. How have you been?"

"Get off, Muir. And it has been a while…Ymi" Kamito said, prying off his sworn younger sister and giving both the girls a pat on the head. 'Huh, under closer expression, Ymi, no Judia, really does look similar to Rinslet'

"Eh, we're the last ones? To think I'd be later than Muir…" Lily said despondently as she entered the room from a different passage with Velsaria and the Sentinels of the Queens. "Sorry I'm late sempai, I was wringing these girls for info regarding the Grand Shrine's security."

"It's fine, there's still another three minutes until the official meeting time" Restia said from across the room. "Well, Rubia wanted to start early though"

"Restia, it's good to see you, as always" Kamito deliberately refrained from asking why Restia's 'chair' looked so familiar.

*Rumble, Rumble*

Sjora began emitting a dark aura as she glared daggers at the scene of so many girls acting intimate to her king right in front of her.

"Onee-sama, there's no point in restraining yourself. Go to him" The Alphas Theocracy's second princess, Saladia Khan whispered to her elder sister.

"S-Saladia!? W-What are you saying? I would never do something that disrespectful to his highness!" Sjora whispered back

"Oh, come now. Did you really think I don't notice how doe-eyed you get whenever you see him? Even you your subordinates know all about your little crush." At her younger sister's words, Sjora looked at the members of Snake present, who all nodded in agreement.

"E-Even so, I couldn't possibly inconvenience his highness like that!" Sjora hissed back.

"Inconvenience? It's just a simple greeting. Go for it!" With that, Saladia pushed her older sister towards Kamito.

"U-Um…h-hello your highness…y-your humble servant sends her greetings…" At the sight of their cold-blooded cult master acting like an innocent, rosy-cheeked maiden, the attending members of Snake let out a collective 'Aww'. Nearby, Muir mimed a retching motion, causing Ymi to giggle.

"Oh, Sjora. Long time no see" Kamito said, putting a head on the blue-haired girl's head. "How many times do I have to tell you, there's no need to be so formal with me"

"B-But y-your highness—!"

"Sjora. You are someone that I have entrusted with not just one, but two of my treasured spirits. Would you insult my trust in you by insisting I treat you as any other servant?"

"Of course not your….K-Kazehaya-sama!"

"Just Kamito is fine"

"T-Then K-Kamito-sama…"

"Hah, that'll work I suppose" Kamito said with a defeated sigh "Oh, Saladia! How have you been?

"My greetings, your highness. I trust you're doing well?"

"You too? This could be a long meeting…"

After Kamito finished greeting his friends and vassals, Rubia was finally able to start the meeting.

"Now then, let us discuss the plan of—"

"Hold it" Restia interrupted, pointing to the coffin in the middle of the room "We have yet to discuss that"

"Oh yes, how forgetful of me" Rubia said, looking to Kamito. "Kamito, if you would"

"Right, right. I'll see if I can use this to make a Nepenthes Lore" Kamito said, walking up to the black casket. "Are you sure this is one of 'my' bodies? All of them should have been stored in the Demon King's Burial Chamber"

The Demon King's Burial Chamber was an isolated dimension for the exclusive use of the Demon King. It had the property of storing the Demon King's belongings, which included his former selves' bodies. (It also meant it was impossible for Kamito to lose anything that belonged to him or have anything stolen from him.)

"Yeah. I couldn't believe it myself, but I confirmed that the power of the Demon King once resided in this body" Restia answered "I don't recognize this particular one though, so it must have been one of 'you' that I never got to meet"

"Well that narrows it down a bit" Kamito said as he pried the coffin's lid open "Where did you say found this body Rubia?"

"The catacombs of my family estate" Rubia answered "I broke in a few months ago to see if there was any family heirlooms that might prove useful, and stumbled across that in a sealed off section. I presume some ancestor of mine was tasked with containing it, and the seals in place prevented it from returning to the Burial Chamber."

"…." Kamito didn't answer, staring silently into the coffin. Inside was a perfectly preserved corpse, which had very similar features to Kamito.

"Kamito?"

"…Heh, so that's how it is…" Kamito murmured with a far-off expression.

"Kamito? What is it?" Rubia asked again, starting to get worried by Kamito's behavior.

"Oh, do you not remember this one?" Kamito asked, turning to Rubia with a slight smirk on his face.

"!" Rubia started, then glanced at the assembled company "…Sorry, but it seems that my memory isn't quite as good as yours"

'Right, unlike the Demon King, which is made from the power and psyche of Ren Ashdoll, the Sacred Queen was just made of some energy the other Elemental Lords threw together and put into a human host to oppose the Demon King. Sacred Queens have very few memories of their past selves…' Kamito reminded himself. "Ha, ha, my bad. It wasn't anything particularly important."

'Then why even bring it up?' Was written on Rubia's face upon hearing that, but she refrained from saying it aloud after considering the current circumstances. "*Ahem* Well then, is the body usable or not?"

"Ah, let me check" Saying that, Kamito put a hand on the corpse's forehead.

Several impressed murmurs broke out among watching Organization members as an ominous, black aura engulfed Kamito and the body. Shrouded in a gloom darker than black, the attendees eagerly waited for Kamito's assessment.

Eventually, the dark aura receded, revealing Kamito, standing in the exact same position, once more.

"Well?" Rubia questioned.

"Hah, as expected, this one won't do" Kamito said with a disappointed sigh.

"Ha, once again you show your incompetence Calamity Queen!" Sjora declared with an arrogant expression "If I were the one assigned this task, I would have never failed! Why his highness puts so much trust in you and that wench is beyond me…"

'Wench?' Kamito looked at Rubia questioningly, but it seemed that the redhead had lost the patience to deal with the blue-haired princess.

"You may berate me for this failure, but whose fault is it that we lost all of our original Nepenthes Lore in the first place again?" Rubia asked with a cold tone as she glared at Sjora. Before the red-haired girl's withering gaze, Sjora cringed.

"T-That was…"

"The result of your own incompetence, yes"

"Enough" Kamito said in an almost bored tone. Despite his seeming nonchalance though, everyone in the room felt as if an immense pressure was being put on them.

"M-My apologies for my impertinence, your highness" Sjora exclaimed, bowing low to Kamito.

In response Kamito rolled his eyes muttering "Just when I finally got her to call me by name…well this time it was pretty much my fault"

"Hm, I guess I went a bit overboard" Rubia admitted "But anyway, why can that body not be used to make a Nepenthes?"

"It's a bit complicated…do you know how creating a Nepenthes Lore works?" Kamito asked

"? Isn't it when power is injected into the body of a former Demon King, which reanimates it into an undead revenant? I believe it's quite similar to the Death Knights you create using Black Sarcophagus"

"Hm, that's quite close. Unlike Death Knights though, a continuous source of energy (i.e. me) isn't required for a Nepenthes Lore to function. They are self-sustaining because they can feed off their own 'hatred'. While most of 'me' died full of resentment of their situation, this one was a rare case when 'I' died without any hate, so the body can't be used to make a Nepenthes." Kamito explained

"I see…then there's nothing we can do about it I suppose" Rubia sighed "What should we do about the fifth member of Team Inferno, then? Do we elect one of us as the fifth?"

'As if it were that simple…' That was the thought that ran through the head everyone present. The four current members of Team Inferno had been painstakingly chosen to maintain a balance of representation of the various factions of the Organization.

Nepenthes Lore, a direct extension of the will of Demon King, was a team member that no faction could oppose participating. However, if it were impossible to create a Nepenthes, then the factions would all seek to nominate their own members as the fifth participant in order to curry Kamito's favor.

As these thoughts ran through the minds of each faction representative, glares began to be exchanged among the attendees. The atmosphere became increasingly edgy, until—

"Elect a fifth? That's unnecessary. There's still another we can use to make a Nepenthes Lore, right Kamito?" Restia said lazily.

"Eh?" Even Kamito was surprised by Restia's sudden declaration.

"Don't tell me you didn't realize. Come on now, think." Restia said, tapping the side of her head lightly "Body similar to that of a Demon King? Contains an enormous amount of hatred?"

"…Oh! You're right!"

"Kyaaah!" Fianna shrieked involuntarily as a small swarm of insects crawled by her legs. Besides bugs, the vast cavern that Fianna was traversing was full of massive cobwebs and swarms of bats.

"I... I am the esteemed second princess of the Ordesia Empire... H-How can mere bugs scare me... Aaaaah!" Despite trying to recompose herself, Fianna couldn't help but let out a scream as a bat got tangled in her hair.

"Geez, Reicha! Draw a better map next time!" Fianna complained as she once again consulted the scribbles that the Fire Queen had drawn on her letter. "If Rubia-sempai hadn't shown me the way all those years ago, I'd have gotten lost in a heartbeat!"

"…Rubia-sempai….I wonder what she's doing now…" Fianna's expression suddenly darkened and grew lonely as she thought about her traitorous friend. 'Former friend, that is…Rubia-sempai, why did you—'

Fianna's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of voices.

"…Nothing…do….a fifth?"

"…Unnecessary….another….use"

Because of the way the cave walls reflected sound, there was no way of telling how far she was from the speakers. However, Fianna was certain that she had heard the voices somewhere before.

'Who could it possibly be?' Fianna wondered 'Maybe if I was a little closer…'

Just as the young princess considered approaching whoever was speaking, she suddenly felt a very sinister presence all around her, making her hair stand up on end.

"T-This is…ritual magic!? A-And not just any ritual either...t-this is really powerful dark magic!" Fianna exclaimed aloud, her shoulder's quivering in fear.

'Could this be why Reicha called me to the Grand Shrine? I better hurry!' Fianna worried for her friend as she began running away from the direction the sinister presence was coming from.

After several months of intense torture inside the Demon King's prided torture spirit, Jio Inzagi was surprised to be not waking up to the feeling of excruciating pain.

"W-What th-the hell i-is going on…" Jio stuttered out, struggling to regain use of his tongue after not speaking for months.

"Get up already, Jio Inzagi" At the he sound of that cold, familiar voice, Jio directed a hateful gaze upward.

"K-Kamito Kazehaya! ! !" Jio tried to lash out at Kamito, but had his legs knocked out from under him by a pair of blue-haired girls.

"Humph, you should be glad that you've even been permitted to breathe the same air as his highness." The younger girl, with waist-length cobalt hair, declared coldly.

"Heh, writhe and squirm in the dirt, like the worm you are" The older of the two girls ordered, stabbing Jio in the arm with a dagger.

"Sss…" Jio let out a slight his of pain, but his hateful glare at Kamito continued uninterrupted.

"Oh…yes, that's just the kind of 'hate' we need" Kamito said, turning to Restia.

"Need? You need me to do something for you? Well too bad! I'd never do anything to help the likes of you!" Jio shouted at Kamito.

"The likes of me, huh? This coming from the brat who oh-so-desperately wished to be me?" Kamito sneered.

"I don't want to become like you! I am the true Demon King, far superior to trash like you!" Jio screamed back. At this bold declaration, everyone present broke into laughter.

"Ahahaha, you!? Superior to his highness? It's a pity I can't keep you worm, you'd have made an excellent jester" The girl in dancers' cloths chortled out.

"Y-You! You'll all regret mocking me when I obtain the true power of the Demon King!" Jio shouted.

"Ah, that's right. We should be getting back to the main objective" Kamito said.

"Main…objective?" Jio asked with a puzzled expression, getting to his feet.

"That's right. I'll be giving you the power of the Demon King that you covet so much"

The instant Kamito said that, his right hand pierced Jio's chest

"Gah!" Jio grunted in pain, and kneeled back down on the floor.

"Well, whether or not you can handle it is another matter entirely" Kamito said coldly.

"What did you do to me!?"

"I merely injected a little of mypower in you. Isn't that what you wanted?" Kamito said dismissively.

"Ah...guu...gaa, ahhhhhh!" At the same time, a tremendous pain assaulted the interior of Jio's body. An ominous black pattern began to form all around his skin.

"Well, I'm done here. If there's nothing else, shall we begin discussing how to deal with the Queens?" Kamito said, turning back to his subordinates.

"GUAAAAAAAAAAAAH! ! !"

"….AAAAH!….GAAAA!"

"Eek!" Fianna trembled behind a stalagmite.

A few minutes after Fianna had resolved to go to the Grand Shrine as fast as possible, a great amount of screaming began echoing throughout the whole cave system. Fianna had instinctively hid herself, and was now too frightened to continue on.

The screaming had been going on for what seemed like hours, and if Fianna weren't absolutely terrified, she might have commented on how whoever screaming must have had an impressive set of lungs.

"…."

"I-Is it…over?"

"….UAAAAAAH!"

"Eep!"

"AAAAH!….GAAAAH!"

"T-The voice…i-it's changed…"Fianna said with a terrified wonderment. As young princess said, though initially the voice had been of a person screaming in agony, it was gradually becoming a noise no human could human could possibly replicate.

"UAAAAaaaaah….OHHHHHHHHHH!"

"AH!" That last sound was a haunting, unearthly moan that made Fianna shriek in terror.

"…."

"…"

"…"

Several minutes passed since that last, grotesque groan, but no further sounds followed it.

"….Whew, it looks like it's finally over…" Fianna sighed, wiping her brow.

"Oh, what's over?"

"Ah, that ungodly din! Didn't you also…hear…it…" Realizing that there was man behind her somehow, Fianna took in a breath to scream but—

"Calm down" Her mouth was blocked by the person's hand.

"MMPH!?" Fianna desperately struggled, but man's grip was like iron.

"I said calm down, Fianna"

"?" Being called by name, Fianna stopped struggling. 'That voice, I know it…'

"Okay, I'm letting you go now" As soon as she was let go, Fianna whirled around to identify her captor.

"Who…?" It was a fairly tall boy with a somewhat feminine face, and black hair and eyes. Though is features and voice were familiar to Fianna, her panicked mind was unable to place a name.

"Eh, you forgot me already? We were conversing no less than an hour ago." The boy said with a wry grin "If you forget your teammates that easily, we might have some problems later down the line…"

"Eh, teammate? …..Kami—I-I mean Ren-chan!?" Fianna shouted in a shocked tone.

"Oh, when I'm like this, feel free to call me Kamito" Kamito said, pointing to himself "…Or rather, calling me 'Ren-chan' would just be weird"

Sighing in relief that it was just Kamito. Fianna sat down and—

"Kyaah!" Screamed and jumped back up, realizing that she had just sat on a small swarm of insects.

"Are you alright Fianna?" As the princess let out a shrill scream of fear, Kamito grasped her hand tightly.

"K-Kamito? Wh...?"

"It's a man's duty to protect a woman... Or do you mean to say you dislike holding boys' hands?"

"N-No, it's not that... It's just..." Fianna's eyes were starting to swirl at the unexpected (but not unwanted) contact.

"Your shriek just now was actually quite cute, you know."

"... I-I hate you! You're so mean, Kamito..." At Fianna's pouting expression, Kamito couldn't help but laugh. Though the princess enjoyed teasing people, once she was given a taste of her own medicine, she would immediately reveal her pure and shy side.

"Oh, that's right... Why do you know of this place?" Fianna asked. The secret passages hidden throughout Ragna Ys were a secret known only to a few select members of the Divine Ritual Institute, so Fianna was perplexed by how Kamito came to be here.

'After meeting with some of the most heinous people on the continent, I decided to exterminate a rat, which turned out to be you…as if I could say that' Kamito thought as he tried to come up with an excuse.

"Just say you got lost."

"Doesn't explain how I ended up in the caverns"

"Woo her! Say you felt a connection made by fate with her and followed her here!"

"That's something a stalker would say…"

"You said you were visiting your family right? Tell her your family are mole people"

"What is that, I don't even….wait, these could work"

"The mole people? I was just joking you know."

"…." Ignoring the comment about mole people, Kamito eventually thought up an excuse.

"Well…while I was going to visit my family's hotel room…I got lost…and saw you. Yeah, then I followed you, hoping to ask for directions, then ended in this cave."

"I see…it must have been tough on you" Though the random pauses in his explanation were suspicious, Fianna couldn't think of any reason to denounce Kamito's story.

"Yeah, it was scary…actually where are we? And why are you here?" Kamito questioned.

"Ah! We're…" Fianna began to explain, but then remembered what Reicha had said in her letter.

'Come quickly to the Grand Shrine! Tell no one, and make sure you aren't followed'

"…We're in a cavern system underneath the Grand Shrine that's used by members of the Divine Ritual Institute. I'm visiting one of my old friends there, the Fire Queen, Reicha Alminas" Fianna said, deciding to tell Kamito the truth.

"The Fire Queen, you say?" Kamito asked. For a brief moment, Fianna thought she saw his eyes glimmer dangerously.

"Yeah, Reicha was a friend when I was still with the Divine Ritual Institute. She sent me a letter, telling me to visit her at the Grand Shrine." Fianna answered.

"I see…say, could I come along too?" Kamito asked

"Eh? Why?"

"I've always wanted to visit the Grand Shrine, but entry is extremely limited so…" Kamito looked at Fianna pleadingly.

"O-Okay then…"Fianna stammered, her face inadvertently flushing at being stared at point-blank by Kamito. "B-But you have to turn back into a girl! If a man were found within the Grand Shrine, I don't even know how much of a riot it would raise…"

After quite a while, the two girls (Kamito had turned back into 'Ren') finally arrived at the secret tunnels just below the courtyard of the Grand Shrine. The path overhead was blocked by a giant stone slab with runes carved into them in the spirit language.

"Ren-chan, may I climb on your shoulders?"

"Sure, no problem." Nodding, Kamito bent to allow Fianna to get up.

Speaking spell words in the spirit language, Fianna unsealed the entrance. The runes on the stone shone a bright blue, and the entire slab split cleanly down the middle and opened outwards.

Bright moonlight beamed directly into the dark cave. Night had already fallen upon the outside world, and a bonfire was burning to light the enormous courtyard.

"It looks like no one's around, let's go now." Fianna reached out and placed a hand on the ground, then slowly climbed out. Kamito leaped up in one bound, and followed closely behind her.

After climbing to ground level, the two of them hurried to the stone corridor in front of the courtyard.

"This way." Fianna, who was walking in front, gestured with her hand. Nodding, Kamito followed Fianna down the corridor.

The pair reached the end of the lengthy corridor, where there were a set of grand doors decorated with intricate carvings. Unlike the other doors along the hallway, inlaid on the frame of this door were several very bright and valuable-looking spirit crystals.

Fianna knocked smartly on the door thrice, and after a while the grand doors gradually opened, revealing a young girl. The girl had glossy black hair neatly done up in braids, and cute eyes like that of a small animal. Dressed in bright red ritual clothing, she briefly looked at Fianna, before breaking into a smile.

"Ah, Fianna-sempai you made it" Though Reicha was speaking in a happy tone, Fianna felt incredibly uneasy for some reason. Were she more trained in observing people, she would have noted that Reicha was looking at her rather like a cat staring at a cornered rat.

"A-Ah yeah, long time no see, Reicha. How have you been lately?"

"Much better now that you've come. Now the Fire Elemental Lord's plans can be completed…" Reicha said, breaking into a rather unpleasant grin.

"Plans? What are you talking about? In your letter you said—"

"Oh, you'll see…" Reicha said secretively "Ah, but who's that with you? I'm afraid I don't recognize you…are you new to the Divine Ritual Institute?"

"Oh, it's natural that you don't recognize me. It's the first time we've met" Kamito said with a pleasant laugh "My name is Ren Ashbell"

"I see, Ren….Ren Ashbell!?" Reicha let out a shocked shriek, then jumped back.

"Hi there~ You're the Fire Queen, Reicha Alanis, are you not" Kamito said, giving the small girl a smile.

"How!? No it doesn't matter, I'll just take this chance to kill you now! Ragnaros, Sulfuras!" Reicha held out her hand and an enormous, spiked hammer made of incandescent fire manifested. She brought the hammer down. However—

"Far too slow"

—Her chest was suddenly pierced from behind, and an incomprehensible feeling could be felt near her heart. Reicha's Elemental Waffe dissipated harmlessly as she fell to the ground clutching her chest.

"Hm, one down, four to go" Kamito declared cheerfully.

"K-Kamito-kun…why…?" Fianna asked, staring horrified at the sight of Kamito standing over her former underclassman.

"Sorry you had to see that Fianna" Kamito said a bit regretfully "But don't worry…"

Suddenly, Kamito's voice was coming from behind her.

"By the time the sun rises, this will have just been a nightmare" That was the last thing Fianna heard, before falling unconscious.

"It's becoming quite the trend, you rewriting you friend's memories that is"

"Dully noted" Kamito replied with a sigh. "The sad thing is that this probably won't even be the last time…"

"Hah…hah…" Still kneeling on the ground, Reicha panted unevenly. However, a close inspection would reveal that she had sustained no wound

"Well then Miss Fire Queen, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance" Kamito said, turning to the downed girl.

"You…Ashbell? I…kill…no…what?" Reicha was unable to speak coherently, but her eyes held only confusion, none the murderous rage that had occupied them moments before.

"Calm down. I just freed you from the influence of an ancient power, so you're bound to feel a bit confused" Kamito said, offering the girl a supporting hand. "Take a few deep breaths"

"Thank…you…" Reicha said, clinging to Kamito's arm. She dully noted that her heart seemed to be pounding for some reason.

"Well, how are you feeling? Any overwhelming desires to kill me?" Kamito asked.

"…No….and…Sorry…."

"Oh, so then you remember your previous desires to sabotage me?" Kamito asked "Good, it looks like it worked; you kept your memories"

"Worked…?" Gradually, Reicha began to feel the fog clear from her mind. However, she still felt something was amiss. Whenever she looked at the black-haired girl (?)'s face, she felt her body heat up and her heartbeat increase.

"Ah, in order to free you from the Otherworldly Darkness' influence, I used a rather…unconventional approach." Kamito said with an uncomfortable expression on her face.

"? Unconventional…?" Reicha tilting her head slightly.

"Basically I…" Kamito was starting to feel very awkward "…well, I made you fall in love with me…sort of"

"….What?"

(A bit earlier)

"Well then, let us finally get to the main topic at hand: how to deal with the Queens" Rubia said. Though she was trying to be serious, she had a happy grin on her face; it seemed that she was glad to be able to talk without being interrupted. Jio was still screaming in agony as he gradually turned into a Nepenthes Lore, but everyone ignored him.

"I say we should just kill them" Sjora boldly submitted her proposal.

""""HELL NO!"""" Came a simultaneous protestation.

"Even if my loyalty currently belongs to Kamito here, I still won't allow it!" Nine declared.

"Do you know how much a commotion that would cause? We're a secret organization, remember?" Lily asked.

"Are you an idiot? If we killed all the Queens the whole Blade Dance might be canceled" Rubia said, face palming.

"Sorry Sjora, but I can't accept that method" Kamito stated.

"Ugh…" Against such a unified objection, Sjora couldn't help but cringe. Saladia patted her back reassuringly.

"Huh, why don't you just stab them, like you did with Ymi? You know, with the Darkness Spirit" Muir asked curiously.

"That might erase their memories as it did with Ymi, a risk we can't take" Rubia declared. "In a way, it could cause even more of a commotion than killing them would"

"Hm, in the first place, why did Ymi's memories get erased?" Nine asked curiously.

"I may have an answer to that" An Elfim woman said.

"Do explain, Vivian Melosa" Rubia said

"Basically, when the Otherworldly Darkness possesses an individual, it weakens the victim's memory centers. When it is suddenly exorcised from the victim by force, such as with the Vorpal Blade, it damages the fragile memory centers, resulting in amnesia" Vivian explained.

"W-Will my memories ever return then?" Ymi asked anxiously.

"Yes, the damaged memory centers will eventually recover, but it could take a year or two" Vivian answered.

"Well we don't exactly have that long. Any other ideas?"

"Hm…theoretically, the Otherworldly Darkness' influence could be overwritten by a stronger influence. Since it wouldn't be a forceful expulsion, the memory centers would remain relatively untouched" Vivian answered.

"A stronger influence? Like what?"

"…Like love…" Everyone turned to the person who declared that. Surprisingly enough, it was Rubia.

"If Kamito uses a Waffe to make the Queens fall in love with him, it could overpower the Otherworldly Darkness' influence"

"I suppose that's possible, but I don't have a Waffe that has that specific ability" Kamito said

"Hm? I thought you did? Legends of the Demon King said that he was contracted to a spirit called Asmo-something, which had an effect like that."

"Huh, are you perhaps talking about Asmodeus' Instrument of Worldly Desires? That can certainly create lust, but not love"

"? Isn't love just the psychological response to lust?"

"…."

"…"

"…"

Even Sjora was taken aback by this blunt declaration.

"Um, Rubia-sama? Love is more…" Ymi floundered for an explanation.

"Even a researcher like me thinks that was a bit…" Vivian said, unsure whether to laugh or facepalm.

"Do you not have a romantic bone in your body? There's no way they're the same" Seven said.

"You all seem to be objecting to my statement, but I'm hearing nothing that proves my statement false." Rubia said.

"Well…" As most of the people present were people of war, they couldn't think of anything concrete to actually differentiate the two.

"See? There isn't anything unsound about my line of thought" Rubia said triumphantly.

"I guess I can try it…I still think it won't work though…." Kamito said

(Present)

"I cannot believe that actually worked…" Kamito mumbled, seeing that Reicha had been freed from the Otherworldly Darkness' influence with all her memories intact. "There's still something wrong with the idea of stabbing all the Queens with a d**d* though…"

"What did you say Ashbell-sama?" Reicha asked, glomping onto Kamito.

"H-Hey that tickles! And don't sniff me, I haven't taken a bath yet" Kamito complained.

"Oh? But you smell absolutely wonderful…" Reicha sighed with pleasure.

"ANYWAY, can you help me get to the rest of the Queens or not?" Kamito asked, a bit exasperated.

"Of course. Your loveliness shouldn't be monopolized by me. I'd love to share your sublime allure with the rest of the Queens."

"Ugh, did it work too well? This feels more like mind control than freeing her…" Kamito said feeling a bit guilty.

"No, it wasn't just due to Asmodeus' effect. As an Elemental Lord, princess maidens instinctively wish to please you. This is especially true for the Queens, who are very sensitive to things related to spirits"

"Ha ha, as expected! Even Queens submit to our master!"

"Okay then, where are the rest of Queens?" Kamito asked

"Hm, Helena should still be in her room. Haqua, Lux and Elyssa are all still training to master their Ancient Weapon spirits."

"Ancient Weapon spirits? Was the spirit you used one of those?" Kamito asked curiously 'Oi, oi, Nine never said anything about this in her security description'

"Yes, I contracted with Ragnaros the Firelord, the fire-element Ancient Weapon" Reicha said "What do you intend to do next Ashbell-sama?"

"I see Ancient Weapons…I guess I should 'persuade' the Earth Queen first, then go after the other three. Reicha-san, please call Helena to your room" Kamito said, forming a vague plan "Until she gets here, tell me whatever you can about the other Ancient Weapons"

"Let's see…on the third pillar, take a left, then continue until…" Kamito stared the scribbles on a piece a paper "…Reicha-san really is bad at drawing maps…"

Helena, the Earth Queen, had been rather easily subdued. Escorted to Reicha's chambers by a servant, she had naively stepped into a trap and was stabbed from behind by the Instrument of Worldly Desires. Though she behaved a bit more shyly than Reicha, the Waffe had much the same effect.

'Sneak attacks may be looked down upon, but they sure are effective!' Kamito thought as he stealthily made his way to the Queens' personal training room.

Though Kamito wanted to bring Helena and Reicha with him, in their current state, they would hinder more than help. Sighing at that thought, Kamito entered the training room.

It was a massive, open room with walls of white marble. Lit by hundreds of light crystals, the vast, tiled room left nowhere for Kamito to hide. Though Kamito may have been able to conceal himself against normal opponents, under these circumstances, hiding from the Queens would be impossible.

'In other words, the worst possible situation for an assassin…' Kamito thought to himself as he boldly strode to the three figures in the middle of the room.

"Ren Ashbell, it's been three years, huh?" The severe looking Water Queen said, pointing a spear made of swirling water at Kamito. Next to her, the green-haired Wind Queen also leveled her weapon, a scimitar made of crackling, blue lightening, at Kamito.

"Hm, it has been a while Haqua" Kamito replied simply, summoning the Vorpal Sword and the Demon Slayer. The two blades caused the air around them to tremble as Kamito took a stance.

"It was foolish of you to come here. With the Ancient Weapons at our disposal, you don't stand a chance" The Holy Queen declared, a simple looking wooden cross appearing behind her in a ray of light.

'Damn, I can't tell what it does from its appearance…' Kamito said, eying the cross warily. Of the five Queens, Lux had been the only one who hadn't been able to manifest their Elemental Waffe before both Reicha and Helena retired to their rooms. Kamito had no idea what it could do. 'This could get hairy…'

In a lonely corner of the Grand Shrine, the battle between three Queens and the Strongest Blade Dancer was about to begin.

Ugh, double releases are way harder than I thought. I feel like I'm going to die of exhaustion and I didn't have enough time to edit as much as I'd like... No post content stuff since it's a double release.

Well, enough of my complaining. How did you all spend your New Years? (Don't feel bad if yours was lonesome, mine was probably much worse!)

Anyway, thanks for all your support this year, and let's have a good time next year as well!