I finished Elden Ring. The break is over.

-break

Previously:

"Of course I'll be your friend." She said while looking her in the eyes with a genuine smile.

Ahko just stood there for a moment with a shocked look on her face. Then, she closed her eyes and tilted her head with the biggest smile Luna seen on the girl yet.

"That like, makes me sooo happy!"

Affection Rank gained!

Affection Rank up!

[C] (D)

'Wait what?'

-Three Hours Later-

SLAM!

"Oi! Why haven't you answer any of my phone calls Kedarui?! If I learn you crashed again even though you were supposed to take care of the intern I swear-!" Behemi burst into the designer's room only to see two teenagers talking over a design for one of the costumes. They were surrounded by a bunch of paper sheets neatly placed all around the table as well as a ton of crunched up paper balls under their feet.

'I'm getting a feeling of deja vu. Well, at least this office being full of paper isn't necessary a bad thing.' She mused to herself.

"Oh! H-hi Behemi-san? Is there a problem?" Lucas turned around to face her with a cautious look. He was wearing the same t-shirt and shorts from when they first met.

"I guess I like, got too distracted, sorry Behemi-san!" Ahko apologised with her hands put together.

"Sigh. Whatever. As long as you two spend that time working, unlike some people, I don't care." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "How's the progress on the costumes for the next episode?" She walked up to the desk to look over at what the two managed to come up with only to blink at the amount of sheets with what seemed to be finished design concepts.

"He-he." Ahko rubbed the back of her head before explaining herself. "Luca-kun and I got kind of like, carried away I guess? We were kind of done with the costumes for the next episode an hour ago, but we like, kept going anyway? It was sooo fun!"

Lucas fixed his glasses a little before taking his turn to explain.

"As Ahko said. We were satisfied with what we came up with and then just started to brain storm random ideas. I don't really know how to sew, so we decided that Ahko will do that part when I'm not around, and we can focus on the design process when we're working together, since I know how to draw." He shrugged.

"O-k. Well, get whatever is relevant to the next episode and have it approved by the Boss. Even if she's going to say yes, as long as it's cute." She murmured the last part. "Anyway! I'm taking girly-boy for the rest of the day. Don't fall asleep before finishing your work for today Kedarui."

Ahko laughed awkwardly under Behemi's imposing glare while waving lazy goodbyes towards Lucas who was being dragged away by the large businesswoman.

"Em… W-what's this about?"

"Hm? What? You thought I wasn't gonna' do my part of the deal? Ha! First fun fact: Devils take their deal very seriously. They used to be like the monkey's paw, but once the Old Satan faction got shafted the devils started really working on their PR to not look like the spawn of evil in everything they do."

Soon they arrived at a large empty storage house, apparently one of two this filming building had connected to itself. The only thing there was a table in the middle with three books on it. A quick observe showed him the titles.

["Hell's Society"]

["Haven High and Low"]

["Magic of Men"]

"What are the books for?" He asked, feigning ignorance.

"This, is going to be your homework. Now don't even look at me like that. I'm not going to sit around and explain to you how the world works like some middle school teacher. I have better and more important things to do than that so take it or leave it."

"Thank you. I'll be sure to read them." He nodded slowly. "Stupid question, but is there anything I shouldn't know in there? Besides knowing about the supernatural as a whole?"

Behemi snorted in amusement and smirked. "These are children books girly-boy. Noble children books, but children all the same." Lucas blushed a little in embarrassment as he put the books in his inventory.

"Ku ku ku." Her chuckle sounded like something you would hear from a hyena but deeper. "Anyway~. I promised you some fighting tips, haven't I? Well that's what we'll be focusing on after your shift is over. At first, I was just gonna tell you the 'dos and don'ts', but since you clearly done such a great job on your first day, getting Kedarui to do her work on time, I decided to get a bit more… practical."

Lucas started to take slow steps backwards as Behemi rolled up her sleeves in a casual yet deeply palpable way.

"I have to stress again that I'm not your teacher. Don't expect me to explain much girly-boy. That being said, let me ask you a simple question before we begin…"

It was a pleasure working with you. Just sayin'. Monika bid him farewell.

Lucas could feel the pressure slowly choking him despite making more and more distance between them.

"What is... the most important in a fight?" She bent down and plucked a piece of the floor out of the ground and started to play with it by tossing it in the air a little as she waited for an answer.

"E-Em… K-knowing your opponent?" At this point it was only thanks to Mental Armor that he wasn't diving for cover. Not that he would find any in an empty storage.

"Ha! Good one. No." Behemi shook her head. "Let's play a little game girly-boy." She put the rock in her jacket's right pocket and smirked. "If you can break or steal that piece of rock in the next, let's say, three hours. Then I'll see about getting you some actual training material. Well, the timer begins now and I better get back to work. Buh-bye~!"

"W-wait what?!" Lucas called out but it was too late as his 'not teacher' disappeared from right in front of him.

Quest added!

["Hunt For The Behemoth!"]

Objective:

Steal the piece of rock [o]
or
Break the piece of rock [o]

Condition:

Do it in the next three hours
(2 hours 59 minutes remaining)

Failure:

No further training from Behemi

'Oh shit!' He bolted out of the storage house and began searching for his target.

"This- huff- is so- huff- unfair!" Luna was running all around the show's set.

(1 hour 46 minutes remaining)

'I've been trying to catch her for the past hour, but every-time I find her she gets away faster than I can blink! The one time I finally had a chance to set up some illusions when she talked with a scriptwriter she just ignored them and teleported! How am I supposed to take the stone away from her if she won't even give me enough time to ready an attack!?' She gritted her teeth in frustration.

Come on! You can do it! Monika cheered on.

"Sigh. Thank you. But I think I need to change my strategy here." Luna paused to think about her next move.

Well. If you ask me, there's clearly some lesson she wants you to learn. Right?

"I get what you mean. The whole thing is very similar to being a Naruto rip-off. The problem is that I don't see what I'm supposed to learn from this. I don't think the Behemoth is trying to teach me that 'There's always someone stronger than you' stuff. I don't have any teammates and I'm just not fast enough to attack her at all… Do you think she's just expecting too much from me?"

Maybe? Would be very anticlimactic if the answer was 'Behemi is shit at teaching' though. Monika pointed out.

"You right. Hm…" Luna tried to not think about the looming time limit in favour of figuring out this conundrum. "She asked what was the 'most important' in a fight. Given the kind of person Behemi is, I'm pretty sure the answer must be any mixture of brutal and simple."

That crosses out her wanting you to predict her movements or other big brain stuff.

"Yeah… Wait. What if it's the opposite of that?" Luna reasoned.

What do you mean? You think she wants you to stop thinking all together or something? Wait! Actually-!

"It would make sense why she never lets me prepare any illusions. She wants me to stop overthinking things! Argh! That's why she gave me a time limit and why she's making me waste time by running after her. She wants to see if I have the guts to face her under pressure instead of wasting time on plans that I don't have the time to set up." She facepalmed.

Sooo… We just. Rush in and aim to break the rock? That's it?

"Hm… If we're right, yes. But, you know what? I'm kind of tired of running, and you talking about 'predicting her movements' gave me an idea." She smirked and turned towards the closest staff member she could find, she needed some directions first.

"Welp. I guess girly-boy gave up." Behemi looked at her watch and saw it was still fifteen minutes until the agreed time limit, but the fact that Luna stopped any attempts to even find her, one and half an hour ago, was evidence strong enough for her.

"At least I don't have to bother with them anymore. Hell knows I have too much work on my shoulders anyway. Speaking of…" She scanned her tablet to see what was next on the list.

"Right, it's that time already." She breathed out before focusing on teleporting to the array inside her Boss's office. It was time to 'update' her King about today's progress. While in truth it was more like a daily check-up to see if her Boss isn't slaking off, again.

'Would it be in poor taste for a devil to pray for her Boss to take paperwork seriously?' She wondered before vanishing in a flash of light.

The very first thing she saw was of course the great Serafall Leviathan gushing over a very familiar crystal ball.

"Soooo-tan~ so cute~!" Her Boss was squishing her own cheeks with a smile on her face. Not bothering to even acknowledge the frustrated secretary in front of her causing Behemi to facepalm.

"Oh for fuck sa-"

Right

'Oh. Would you look at that.' The next thing she heard was a guitar smashing into her right pocket shattering the rock within.

In truth Behemi could have easily dodged the attack or even kill her opponent before the attack connected. However, it was rather obvious who her attacker was at that time, and she'd rather not be forced by her Boss to reincarnate girly-boy because she killed them by accident.

'Well played. Well played… Still gonna' have to rip into my King for slaking.' She sighed. 'My job will never get easier, will it?'

Quest Completed!

'Ha! Eat Shit! I win!' It was an ironic insult all things considered. It was Luna who had the most shit eating grin after all.

"Yeah, yeah. You got me. I genuinely thought you gave up on me, girly-boy. Didn't know you cared so much~." Behemi smiled with her eyes closed.

"H-huh?" Luna was oddly certain that Danger Sense was telling her to run, but it was too late as her 'teacher' grabbed her and proceeded to try to suffocate her in her impressive bust while slowly applying more pressure to her spine.

'Fuck! Behemi decided to kill me after all! What do I do?!'

Not the worst way to go, if you ask me. Monika sounded amused.

"Behemi-chan! You're distracting me from looking at lovely So-tan! Stop it this instant!" Serafall pouted in frustration.

'Really feeling the concern for my well-being Levi-tan.' Luna whined, but was fortunately released from the death-grip all the same.

"So. You decided to get my own Boss to help you win? Surprisingly ruthless of you. I'm almost impressed." She narrowed her eyes.

"Cough- cough- Well, I wouldn't really call it 'help' to be honest." Luna shrugged.

-One hour ago-

We found the place all right. What now? We just go in and ask for Behemi's schedule or something? Monika asked curiously.

"Well. I haven't really thought this far ahead. It will all depend on what kind of person 'The Magical Girl Levi-tan' is in normal setting. She can't be the bubbly, little girl she acts as on television, so we better play it safe." Luna took a deep breath.

Somehow I doubt that. She mused.

Luna knocked on the big door that leads to the office of the main Director/star of the show. The answer came immediately.

"Come in~!" Small exited voice rang out from beyond the door.

Okay! Now just go in and remember- Don't think about the fact you saw her having tentacle sex on a TV screen!

'Shit. Glad I'm in my female form. This talk would've been impossible if I had to fight with a tent in my pants. Damn you Monika!' She gulped while opening the door.

Inside was a fancy looking office which contrasted heavily with all the magical girl memorabilia lying around. Behind the single desk sat the Magical Girl herself in a nice formal wear. She had her elbows on table and her head supported by the palms of her hands. A curious smile on her face.

"Ahko-chan told me aaaall about you~. It's so cool to finally get introductions out of the way! Come on! Sit-sit." She beckoned impatiently.

"R-Right! Thank you…" Luna shyly took the offered seat.

"Little Ahko-chan didn't lie! You're soooo cute~! I want to squeeze those cheeks so much." Her expression turned serious as she leaned forward.

"Pleasedon't." Luna blushed and straightened in her seat to hopefully increase the distance between the two of them.

"Hehehe. No promises~!" She winked playfully. Her eyes sparked with something dangerous.

'This is worse than I thought. I feel like this woman feeds on making me squirm.' Cold sweat run down Luna's back under the look she was getting.

"Anyway. It's a good moment to introduce myself. You have the fortune of looking at The Magical Girl Levi-tan~! But I'm obligated to tell you my mane's Serafall Leviathan…" She pouted and her shoulders slumped as she mentioned the last part like it was the end of an ad for prescription drugs.

Name [Serafall Leviathan]

Title [Magical Girl, Satan Levi-tan]

Race [Devil]

Power Level [SS-]

'It's higher than Behemi's... by two ranks.' Luna's mind short circuited.

Cough cough- Introduce yourself- Cough cough.

"Oh! Em- My name is Luna. Utsushimi Luna. Though Ahko calls me Luca because of my… you know." She decided to forget about what she saw. For now.

"Mhm-Mhm." Serafall nodded along. "So! Ahko-chan shown me all the adorable outfits the two of you came up with. I even heard that you became her first friend! I've never seen Ahko-chan so happy before and I'd like to thank you for that." Her smile was smaller but felt more genuine as a result.

'Now that I think about it, her smiling felt... weird up to this point. I just can't put a finger on it.' Luna contemplated.

"Ahko-chan always struggled with connecting with others. I know, I know. She doesn't exactly show it very well, but It always made me sad just looking at it. A cute girl her age should have tons of friends!" She crossed her arms over her chest in frustration. Like a child that just learned the world is unfair.

"If you don't mind me asking… Why didn't you two became friends? It's pretty obvious you have… similar taste." Luna spun her hand around trying to come up with the right words.

"Hm? Oh-! Well… That's…" Serafall mood dropped lower the longer it took her to answer the innocent question.

"Em- Sorry! Y-You don't have to answer if it's a sensitive-"

"Of course I want to be friends!" Serafall suddenly burst. "B-But then I'd have to make friends with all my working staff! And I want to do that too!"

"O-Okay, then what's the-"

"But I can't DO that! It's always 'work this' and 'work that' when I'm not acting out scenes for the show I'm stuck in this paperwork purgatory! I just want to see my cute little So-tan but I can't even do that most of the time…" She sniffed with teary eyes.

'Oh dear. I'm pretty sure she's playing up the emotions here, but it still makes me feel like shit just by looking at it." Luna sighed internally before approaching her new Boss from the side to gently pat her shoulder in sympathy.

"Wow!" That caused Serafall to latch onto Luna's midsection like a sad koala, her shirt being used as an incidental handkerchief.

"Sniff- You'll be a good friend for Ahko-chan for me, okay?" Levi-tan looked up with a mixture of hope and sadness, and whatever that weird feeling Luna noticed before was back again too.

"O-Of course! I mean- She's kind of... my first friend too." She blushed despite herself. 'Why am I embarrassed about that?!'

"Sniff- Really? But you're so young and cute. What about your classmates?" Serafall was slowly coming down from her sudden outburst in favour of inquiring about Luna's lack of a social life.

"W-Well… How do I put this. I'm kind of a shut-in? I was home schooled my entire life and only left my home when I learned of the supernatural. Socializing is kind of… new, to me." She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"...Hm." The Leviathan scanned her with a mysterious gaze before putting her biggest smile back on display.

"I'm happy to hear that! So-! What brought you here to my office? Nothing bad I hope." She released Luna from her hug and essentially reminded her that there was a reason for her coming here.

(38 minutes remaining)

'Oh shit!'

"Right! Sorry- It's about Behemi! You see, she kind of gave me this task and-

-Present Time-

"So you just told girly-boy about my schedule and allowed them to hide next to the door for a surprise attack while you distract me with not doing your work?"

"Technically that last part had nothing to do with-" Luna was interrupted by Serafall with a nervous laugh.

"H-Hey don't sound so cheated Behemi-chan! They won fair and square under your rules. Besides~. We both know that you were just testing Luca-chan. Now you'll congratulate your cute little student by giving them a reward like a good teacher, right~?" She motioned towards Luna impatiently, clearly wanting to change the subject.

"I'm NOT a teacher…" Behemi growled at her Boss. "And we'll talk about your work ethic- or lack there of- later." Leviathan slumped in her chair, depressed at her own failure in avoiding the consequences of her actions.

"And you." The large woman turned to Luna making her stiffen like a deer in the headlights. "Did fine." They sighed in relief. "Your 'reward' will be actual training. If you have anything planned for after your shift tomorrow, too bad. Your ass is mine." Behemi enjoyed the way the little human began to sweat bullets under her gaze and smirk. She'll see how far she can push the definition of 'training' with this one. She might have to, to be honest, Luna was way too scrawny for her taste.

"You can go now." At Behemi's dismissal their new intern almost bolted out of the room.

-break

The two left in the room stood in silence for a moment to ensure Luna was a good distance away from the door.

"So. What do you think?" The Secretary spoke up.

"Shouldn't I ask you? You already took them under your wing after all." Serafall sounded amused despite her face loosing a lot of its expressiveness. Her 'serious mode' at full display.

"Bah! The whole 'reading people' thing was never my thing. I can tell they want to get stronger and have the willpower to back up said desire. That's enough for me to acknowledge them as not a complete waste of my time."

Serafall rolled her eyes. "Sure. I bet they only meet your minimal requirement." Behemi frowned at the sarcastic tone.

"They have potential. They're not hiding how weak they are now, that's for sure." The larger woman summed up all they thought about their new intern.

"The chances of them being a spy or even affiliated with another faction are slim." Serafall nodded before pulling a particular file from her desk, 'Utsushimi' being the only thing written on the outside.

"Still bothered that you couldn't find anything about them?" Behemi raised a brow.

"Cases like this aren't that rare when the supernatural is involved. But they usually lead towards some secret project or benefactor. If we can't find any trace of the latter…" Serafall trailed off in thought.

"Are you sure they're not related to some trickster god or a yokai? Maybe the blood is really diluted and left them with only the ability to change their gender." Behemi reasoned.

"Could be. What I'm most curious about is how they know to use illusions so easily if they have no connection to the Mage's faction." She made it sound like she had a theory already.

"You think they have a-?"

"Who knows. What I do know is that Utsushimi is genuinely new to the supernatural and could use a friend or two. They and Ahko-chan already seem to have found a common ground." She put the folder back.

"So… We act normal? Girly-boy's just another intern?"

"Just be on look out for any information about where they're from or about their past." Her Boss shrugged before she looked like she remembered something.

"What? You thought of something?" Behemi looked intrigued.

"No, it's just… You told her the studio is in the Underworld, right?" Serafall turned towards her secretary.

"…Shit."

"Where the fuck are we!?" Luna shouted while looking at the purple sunset.

And done. To be continued-

I got really sick the same day as Elden Ring's premiere. It took me a month to get things back on track but here we are.

That being said. Writing is a very new hobby, hobby I need both time and desire to pursue over my other ones. It might take some time to get myself back into the mindset I had when I started writing this story (being able to sit down each day and write 1k words and not feel like I'd rather do anything else basically.)