Bell Cranel
Huh, this place again.
Surrounding me was a crowd of faceless masses, all of whom held a look of pure fear on their faces. And as a group of demons descended upon them, the massacre ensued.
A multitude of body parts, several hundred liters of blood, and whole people were thrown about like ragdolls. Unrestraint chaos followed as it was every man for himself, children were carelessly left to the wayside, the elderly pushed down and trampled. Worst yet, none of it was of any use as they were only prolonging their deaths.
And finally, came the main guest, a demon of Bel. No, this was not supposed to happen, not this early at least. Yes, I can't fret too hard when the only visions I have received came from earlier today, absolutely not.
Feeling a set of fingers tracing my face, I shoot my eyes open, staring straight into the eyes of the worried Napaea, who had crawled on top of me in my sleep. Right, it was just a dream, nothing to worry about.
"Are you okay, Bell?" She whispered, laying her head on my chest. "You were shaking in your sleep, is there something wrong? Perhaps a vision that came as a result of my trial? I know they can be… troubling. But it can't be that bad, right?"
Propping myself up against the wall, I groaned, feeling the ache in my back. Sleeping on the floor was a bad idea. Keeping a hand on the nymph and the other on my head, I replied back groggily. "The situaaation~ was worse than we believed. People are going to die, and I feel like there's nothing I can do to stop it. Even with the gains in power, there's still a part of me that feels it's not enough."
Letting out the rest of my yawns, I go to stand up, picking up a pile of neatly stacked clothes on the couch without so much as a thought. Surprisingly they were cleaned, not a stain on them. And then an idea hit me, where was Lilim? Or Izanami for that matter.
Turning to scan the room urgently, I found nothing new about it. She left, the contract failed and it wasn't satisfactory enough. Maybe she wanted more? Draining the essence of strong beings seems to be her species' goal after all. So why not stay with me? It would make more sense than leaving after a one-night stand.
Pondering these possibilities, I put the rest of my attire on, though leaving the thin jacket I had grown accustomed to wearing, it was for the best. I picked up my still opened COMP from off the floor, only to find it still functioning, blaring the idle animation for the summoning program.
Tapping through a few menus, I blankly breezed through all the random notifications on my screen, eventually landing on a contract request from "L239990".
Stipulations in the contra- blah, blah, blah. You are hereby- blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah, here we go. "You have become this demon's master via process of seduction. Please sign below to fulfill the terms. May another demon lay claim to the contractee, the owner will be decided in trial by combat." I read aloud, astonished at the number of rules in a lawless land.
Dragging the stylus out of the device, I wrote down my name on the bottom screen. And in that instance, a familiar face materialized into the human world, a smirk adorned for all to see.
Lilim was back, and unlike before, in more visible lighting. Her sun-kissed face, the otherworldly features of her body more pronounced, and the reveal of her wings and tail. Both of which were an odd sight to see, but something I quickly adapted to, veering my eyes off her.
"So, you gonna tell me where exactly you went off to while I was asleep?" I puzzled, bringing a hand to her shoulder.
"Hm! Hm!" She hummed, moving closer to said hand like a cat would. "Mother well… let's just say there was an emergency back home." Analyzing her features brought no more to the surface than what was shown. She's either a good liar or genuinely telling the truth. "She rarely calls for any sort of occasion outside life-changing decisions that would affect us greatly, so I went along with my sisters."
I nodded with keen interest as she continued. "That apparently meant her involvement in the upcoming war, or lack thereof. As for us, we had free reign on who to support. And at that moment, I felt like I had just landed on a jackpot."
"I assume that's because of me? Or perhaps you didn't want to be dragged into this stuff in the first place?"
"Technically. The main goal of a Lilim is to grow strong enough and eventually transform into a being similar to mother. Sadly, only one of us has managed to accomplish that goal, running off with 'heetosura' or something, I don't know."
"Then, you mean to tell me…"
"Right on the dot, master. You scratch my back, and I scratch yours. I get stronger from draining the essence of men, and you get stronger from slaying the other competitors. We aren't very different in that regard." Stating this, a thoughtful look appeared on my face.
She was correct on that aspect. Besides, I just signed the contract, ripping it now would symbolize mistrust and my terrible ability to keep this girl restrained. "Alright, there's nothing much I can do now anyways, so I'm glad to have you aboard my party." She clapped in the middle of my words, but there was still some stuff left to say. "For now, you'll stay inside the COMP until I get out. You can't really be seen out in the open unless I want people getting scared of me, the attention would be troubling."
"So soon? Are you sure you don't want to- ehem- partake in bodily pleasures before doing that~?" She flirted, winking at me.
"Yes, and it would be best if I didn't start the day tired and late in my preparations." I deadpan, flipping the COMP open and sending her back from where she came
"Interesting. That is the only word I could describe that conversation." Napaea reacted, lifting her head off the hard ground.
"Precisely. Though, know I'll do the same to you, right?"
"Of course, it would be idiotic not to do so." She replied, digitizing back into the gadget.
Now where to find the other one?
…
"Are you going to quit staring anytime soon? I still need to finish wearing my clothes. Besides, didn't you see enough last night?" Haru asked, her clothes stripped down enough to where it would only need a gentle breeze to reveal her lewd spots. "Could you also not be so loud next time? I know that it was by my choice to forfeit control, but since my consciousness still lives on, can you maybe tone it down a bit?"
"So I wasn't hallucinating." I muttered before addressing the matter. "Yeah, sorry about that. Something in my mind just switched and I couldn't think for myself. Anyways, meet me outside when you're done, there's some stuff you need to know."
With that being said, I calmly walked out the room, further moving down to the lower bar area to find Gin sitting on one of the seats. "Yo, what's up?" He greeted with a quick wave.
"The ceiling." I shot back causing the man's expression to sour. "Any news on the lockdown? Maybe even news on the government allowing water to run again? I could really use a cold bath right now."
"No, I don't think we'll be allotted such luxury." He added. "One of the military personnel leaked some information. And with how people are today, it spread like wildfire, devolving into theory work and hear-say. Though from what I was able to gather, this thing won't be resolved for another five days, leaving us all stuck here until then."
"I won't get much better either. With all this cult stuff going around, this place will quickly become a hellhole." A few seconds passed in silence before a thought popped in my mind. "You wouldn't happen to have a COMP, would you? It would most certainly be terrible if this place got ransacked by people wielding demons all because you couldn't reliably defend yourself."
"This thing?" He inquired, pulling out one of his own from his vest's inner pocket. "Never really saw much use in it. One of my regulars simply let it to me saying it would come in handy when the time came. Rarely use it, if at all. But from the way he delivered those lines, it was very ominous and cryptic, like something straight out of a horror movie."
"Indeed." I nodded, stepping closer into his range. "At least now you have something to defend yourself with. Wouldn't want the person who was kind enough to lend a helping hand die before I could return the favor, now would I?"
Chuckling at my words, Gin went behind the counter to pick out an inexpensive liquor that he seemingly had in droves, pouring a shot out for himself. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know where Haru is, would you? She's rarely around long enough to stay the morning, but I did see her a bit later than usual."
"Yep." I answered. "Kinda, sorta, accidentally walked in on her while she was changing."
The man was stunned for a moment, then he broke in a fit of laughter. Right on cue, the woman in question walked down the stairs, her steps echoing throughout the empty bar. "Haru!" He welcomed, immediately stopping once her head peaked out the door. "Didn't sleep much? You look pale. And what's with the new outfit? You haven't busted that out since six months ago."
"What do you mean? I always looked like this. Maybe these clothes just emphasize my features." Flashing herself in front of us. My eyebrows raised in amusement, appreciating the view. She changed from the creamy white dress, over to a red tank-top along with a partially opened black leather jacket, though, it looked a size or two too large for her. Next were her lower garments, which, were just simple black pants with gaps around the ankle area.
Damn, I think I'm starting to realize why she hasn't worn it since that long ago, she's going to melt in the summer. Whatever floats her boat I suppose.
"So, what'd you need? I'm pretty much free for the rest of the day, hit me with it." She questioned, taking up one of the main bar seats.
"Nothing much, I'll be roaming around, looking for a person who sells mistletoes. I know, I know, pretty out of season, but why not?" Hearing my answer, she seemed satisfied, all until Gin perked up from behind the counter.
"I think I still have some in stock. However, they might have gotten mixed up in the back, so finding it will take the whole day alone. Still, if you don't find whoever you're looking for, you could come by around and fish it out of the attic."
A live saver, truly. Absolutely wonderful. "I'll take my chances with the buyer first, just in case you don't have enough for the project I'm building."
"That's understandable." He nodded. "Wouldn't want to suddenly run out in the middle of work, so it might be best to buy more than needed."
"Thank you, Gin. If that's all, then I'll be off. Until next time then." Casually walking out of the bar, I stood just under the sign. The wind breezed through the air with an ominous wind, the emptiness only amplifying that fact. Over the corner of the street were groups of demons strolling up and down, waiting patiently to run into a human.
*ring*
The chime of the doorbell clanged behind me as Haru followed suit, hands stuck to her pockets. "You have a general idea of where to find this man? Or are we supposed to simply wave our hands in the dark?"
"No. That's why we have the entire day to search."
The only response I got back was a tired groan, draping her hands outward and slouching to show emphasis.
"Come on, it isn't that bad. Besides, the worst that will happen is certain death if we fail to do so. Now let's start already. I can feel some demons eyeing us like a piece of high-class wagyu beef."
[A/N: Nothing much happened this chapter, more light banter here and there. Anyways, I've entered hell once more, Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei isn't as hard as I thought. Better than smt 2 with its endless dead-end hallways.
Oh right, I have discord, join or perish. discord .gg/fcSjtrTvBR]