Chapter 48: Chased
Demonic Capital of Lescatie
...
"My dear friends... don't you see the marvellous achievement that I've done~?"
...
Francisca stared at Wilmarina with a frown and below the balcony of the Royal Castle, over a hundred Dark Warriors marched in a file formation through the castle courtyard. The way of their marching style was used to express the sways of their hips and bodies since Lescatie became a Demon Realm to accommodate their new lustful lifestyle. After the coup, their marching style returned to their disciplinary ways from the Pre-Demon Realm Era.
The march of the knights stopped and turns their direction to the left, then faced up to the balcony, where the Dark Hero and the Roper Queen were present.
Primera and Mimil were helplessly watching as the mamono of the new Noscrim faction slowly took over the castle. Even the Royal Guards were forced out while being stripped from their positions and replaced by the newer ones.
"I have taken everything we had here and put our efforts to get rid of our enemies."
"... Why would you do this...?"
"... Hm?"
Wilmarina turn her gaze to Francisca and saw the Queen shakingly clenching her fists.
"Y-You... do not see what you're doing... Do you?" The Roper Queen's voice quivered. "You're bringing back the old days... but this is much worse!"
"... What do you mean, worse?" Wilmarina scoffed with a dark glare. "You can't see how I've been suffering?... My suffering... that my husband was stolen from me and never come back? If that happens to you... then what will you do if you were at my place?"
"Th-That's not true! There are other ways to bring your husband back! But doing this... the people will despise us!" Francisca cried out while her eyes pleaded with tears. "Please! I beg you to stop this! Are you risking their lives so that you can bring him back?! Then how many do you sacrifice our kin for this?! Ten?! A hundred?! A thousand-"
*SLAP!*
Primera and Mimil were stunned to see Wilmarina smack her palm across the face of the Queen. Francisca fell speechless as she felt a hard slap across her left cheek within a blink of an eye and the pain that was left behind. Wilmarina still held her hand up as her eyes gave no sympathy to her heed.
"... You talked too much..." The Dark Hero snarled. "... and know your place, pawn."
The Roper Queen knew Wilmarina was her closest friend since childhood and remembers the time when she spent her younger days playing with Elt.
Her two closest friends had been with her despite the sickness she was born with. After Lescatie became a Demon Realm, she was happy that she became a monster, and everyone recognises her as the Queen of Lescatie once her parents stepped down from the throne and took their new positions as diplomats.
She gained more friends than ever before... until a tragedy that will befall their new lives. After the siege of Lescatie, their enemies left behind bloody corpses that saw no happiness for their end... that incident after the siege led to the events of the Fallen Tower where many more Knights of the Dark Ice Flower failed to defeat the Silver-Blue Knight and fell to their eternal deaths. But it got worse when her friend's honeymoon trip to Dragonia, a disaster struck as the Knight and the Holy Maiden in their disguises, stole away Elt from Wilmarina's bond. From those results, Francisca's only friend was suffering more severely than ever from the loss of her husband and her beloved friends within her Knights Order.
From what it seems is that the reality of tragedy has never left. Francisca was there to comfort her childhood friend's well-being and planned to bring her husband back to heal her heart. Yet little did she know, Wilmarina was out for retribution in a short period and roused the widowed monsters to instigate a coup to topple over the Radical Faction.
The Roper Queen didn't understand, and she knew Druella was trying her best to bring Elt back to their hands. However, it seems like living as a monster was prone to being obsessive with their beloved partners, and this is the result once experiencing the losses from their failures. The Dark Hero spiralled herself into a madwoman as if her exiled father, Priest Noscrim, looked tame compared to their previous time as humans.
"Mary... w-we've been best friends since our childhood..." Francesca wept in tears while mentioning the Dark Hero's nickname. "We share our cherished moments in our lives... until now..."
"That's right... we are "best friends"... from now on." Wilmarina said, while closing her eyes in disappointment. "It's unfortunate that our time is changing and... there's a reason I did this coup. Not because I want my husband back... but to avenge the lives of our dearest friends who died under the hands of that bloodthirsty human."
Wilmarina has a point. Many monsters knew their relatives and their lovers had their lives from their previous incidents were wasted and she knew their lives wouldn't be brought back to life as if Fate had never interfered with their unexpected deaths.
"We won't join you." The Dark Hero turn her gaze around to the Werewolf Elf Archer, who stepped forth in defiance. "We are going to leave and tell everyone about this."
"Leave?... Who gave you the right to leave?" Wilmarina raised her brow, unamused by Primera's threat. "If you're going to do that... then you'll end up like those traitors."
The Dark Hero then slowly points her finger at a specific area in the castle courtyard as Primera, Mimil and Francesca followed their gazes where she was pointing at. Once the three looked down, they were horrified at what they were seeing... was beyond humane.
"Please! Let me go! I did nothing wrong!"
"Sarah! Unhand her! Let her go!"
Primera, Mimil and Francesca stood frozen to see a monster couple, one is an incubus, and the other is a Lamia. Both were restrained by the Dark Warriors until they were thrown into the wooden table and their necks were locked by the lunettes. The monsterized heroes and the roper queen felt pressure while seeing an awfully familiar device that was meant to be kept away.
A guillotine.
It was an execution device to behead nobles and commoners alike if they were tried for petty crimes to treason and heresy against the Church of the Order. After the Fall of Lescatie, it was kept away and branded it as a device of tragedy.
"I've hired some gremlins to refit some parts with Titanite, so they won't escape by using their mere strength and magic alone," Wilmarina explained as she gleefully smiles at their cries of despair. "Ah~! Can you hear it~?... A pair of wailing pests who want to escape their fate... They had their chance~"
At the guillotine, the monster couple tried to struggle to free themselves from the execution devices. They were horrified to see that none of the soldiers of Noscrim bear no sympathy for them.
"No! Don't do this to us!"
"Help! Help us!"
While the collaborators cried out for help and begged for mercy, the Dark Warriors wait for their orders until Wilmarina drew her thumb across the throat, signalling the execution.
Francisca knew that gesture and reached her hand to stop, but it was too late. "Wait! Don't-"
Without hesitation, the blades fell with a sickening crunch. Heads rolled into the buckets and their blood flowed into the soil. Primera and Mimil flinched as they looked away from the gruelling sight as the soldiers of the Noscrim faction dragged their corpses away. Francisca just stood there, watching helplessly while her hands were shakingly clutching the railings of the balcony.
"... Y-You m-monster..." Francisca uttered.
"Uaah~!... How ironic, since we are monsters already." Wilmarina yawned with a bored look as she shrugged off her shoulders, not bothering their deaths. "After all, those two from the Public Relations Office deserved it for telling my knights that everything will be fine before heading off to the Fallen Tower."
"Then why would you let them involve in this...?" Francisca grits her teeth in fury while in tears. "They weren't related to your matters!"
"Collaborators are Collaborators. They're traitorous cowards full of deceit and nothing more." Wilmarina hissed at the Queen with spite. "How long will you allow them to spread their propaganda by not showing off the actual picture behind it?"
"You are mad! Lescatie will be hated because of you!" The Queen shrieked out. "There is no solution to our problems through this! Not everyone will accept your cause!"
Once the Queen vented out her outrage, Wilmarina stood still and her red eyes were without emotion as if they were blank, full of emptiness and then anger twisting within her. Thus, the Dark Hero slowly strolled towards the Roper Queen.
Until Wilmarina jabbed her free hand to strangle Francisca within a blink of an eye and forced the Roper Queen to kneel. Her actions shocked Primera and Mimil and the two monsters stepped in to stop the Dark Hero's attempts to strangle the Queen to death. But they were blocked by a pair of Dark Knights who held them down.
"Wilmarina, stop!"
"Stop it Wilmarina! You're killing her!"
The Werewolf Archer and the prodigy cried out while trying to barge their way to stop her. Francisca gasped for air while trying to pry off Wilmarina's grasp from her neck. Yet the strength of her grip never wavers.
"Ugh! Gah! W-Wil... ma..!"
"You know what? Let's end our friendship here. From here and now on... Also... I would like to tell you something, without giving a crap about your so-called status of a Queen." Wilmarina snarled as her eyes dilate and then her face leaned closer to Francisca. "You know what you are? Do you? Yeah? Alright then... I'm gonna tell you how much more pain I've suffered than you've never imagined. As I went deeper into that rabbit hole... I've become like this to express my pain to others to let them know to fight for my cause as I shared their pain as well. But you..? You just stood there and watched me slowly dying inside... Then you. Are. Nothing. But. A piece. Of. A useless. shitty. GARBAGE!"
Then Wilmarina threw the Roper Queen to the floor. Francisca gasped for air as she felt her right shoulder swell in pain. Once she tried to get up. The Succubus then grabbed her hair, forcing her to stand, and come face to face with Wilmarina once more. The Queen is in tears. Never in her life had she experienced this physical abuse inflicted on her by her friend she had admired since childhood.
"You... are indeed useless... Like you, from that time with a sickness of yours before you were cured as a monster." Once Wilmarina said these words. Fransisca froze and immediately remembers that painful trauma her older sisters used to call her. "Even as a monster, your title is nothing of worth. A sham that was given by Druella and makes you believe where you can have overall authority... but couldn't do anything about it."
"Wilmarina, th-that's enough!" Mimil pleaded as she trembled in tears. "Don't say that! You're hurting her!"
"Silence, you cur!" Wilmarina barked, forcing the young prodigy to reel back. Then the Dark Hero let go of the Queen's hair and Francisca was dropped to the floor, dishevelled. "From now on... I will declare the disbandment of the Six Princesses of Lescatie and replace the nation's leadership with my peers!... Knights, take them to their chambers!"
The Dark Knights saluted her orders without question. "Yes, ma'am!"
The three princesses were distraught and left speechless as they were taken away. After they were escorted back to their chambers like prisoners. Wilmarina was left alone standing on the balcony until she turned her backs on her former friends and faced down at her new army marching into the courtyard. Then her knights hoisted the flags above the walls of the Royal Castle, bearing the Emblem of the Noscrim Nobility.
The Noscrim Coat-of-Arms shares a striking resemblance to that of the old emblem. But it was redesigned to fit the views of the new demonic realm.
"All hail Lord Noscrim!" One of the Dark Musketeers shouts out while raising her fist. "The liberator of our people!"
The army then erupted into cheers while raising their fists and weapons highly in their celebration.
"UWOOH~!"
"Lady Wilmarina~!"
"Lord Noscrim!"
"Liberator!"
Wilmarina stared at her new army as her lips slowly flashed an evil smile.
'Heh... Hehehehe~!... All according to the plan. Now with the Princesses were disbanded... We can take over everything and find anything useful that will boost our efforts!' Her mind speaks out malevolently. 'Then... we will incite chaos on the Federation from within and destroy Sasha Fullmoon and her wretched Knight from Astora... Elt, I may know you might not like this. But it leaves me no choice... I will come and get you back to restore the bond of our love~!"
...
Lescatie, Residential District.
...
"Don't let her get away! Stop her!"
Mila was running through the alleyways while a pair of Dark Knights belonging to the Noscrim Faction were chasing her down from the ground and air. The Ratatoskr took a sharp right as she tries not to stumble to the ground before they would hound her down to death.
She knew her status was of no importance. The monster girl was only a news writer and nothing more. But Mila was sure some monsters who joined the Noscrim Faction knew she worked for the Demonic Newspaper Company, a company who have good terms with the Radical Faction.
And she doesn't understand why was she a part of their problem.
"Is there an exit?!" Mila panicked as she took another path to the left. "Help!"
As she kept running, her head was bumped into a wall. Mila fell her butt to the ground while groaning in pain. As she looks up, it was a dead end. Her heart froze in fear once she heard footsteps coming from nearby, which belonged to the knights of the Noscrims who were persecuting her.
"This way! She shouldn't be that far!"
'Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap! I'm dead, I'm so dead!' The Ratatoskr quivered in panic while searching for another way to escape. 'If they found out that I'm here, I'm screwed!'
"Psst! Hey! Down here!" Mila felt a shiver crawl through her skin when someone called out for her. "Hey! Over here!"
Mila turns around and saw another Ratatoskr on the ground, who appears to be holding up an entrance of a secret passage leading to the underground.
"Come with me if you wanna live." The Ratatoskr lends her a hand. "You don't want to lose your head once they brought you over to the royal castle.
Mila accepted her offer, and the fugitive jumped down into the hole while her fellow Ratatoskr closed the entrance before the knights of the Noscrim arrived and only what they've seen was a blank area. Left with no traces, one knight drew her sword and smashed a wooden barrel nearby, only it reveals to be an empty husk.
"Find her! She's hiding here somewhere!"
...
"... Where are we?"
"Underground... at least we're safe from being spotted on the surface."
Mila followed the Ratatoskr through the tunnels of the old sewer system. The underground used to be a place under the capital city where all the filth and stink were common, yet unbearable. After the nation became a Demon Realm, the underground sewer system became cleaner from filth, the water was free from bacteria and faeces. Also, the air was sweet, as fresh as new.
Nowadays, it became a place as extra space where monsters can live underneath the city and establish new homes... after all, almost everyone never used toilets because the citizens turned into monsters who can hold their release more than humans would and toilets were used as displays for erotic entertainment in theatres.
"Ugh... I remember the smell when we infiltrated the city before the siege." Mila shuddered in disgust. "At least it became a better place... so what's your name?"
"... My name?" The Ratatoskr raised her brow as she turn her gaze to Mila. "The name's Cask, a member of the Public Relations Office."
"Wait... Cask? As in the actual Cask? The girl who was monsterized and took the role of manipulating information before the siege?!" Mila widened her eyes in surprise. Cask nods at her, prompting Mila to jump in excitement. "Whoa! I never thought I would meet a famous Ratatoskr who saves my life~!"
"Yeah... but we have to keep moving or else they will find us here," Cask said as she moved on. "Lescatie used to be a tragic place where everyone suffered a lot. As it became a Demon Realm, I thought our happiness would last eternally... but I was wrong. I never knew she would make the place even worse."
Mila raised her brow in question. "... Who?"
"Wilmarina Noscrim, the Dark Hero of Lescatie... the Lord of Governor of Salvarision, instigated a coup," Cask explained with a sigh while looking down with anxiety. "They topple over the Radical Faction and seized power. Now they're here to kill anyone who collaborates with Druella... that includes us, who we're now part of their kill list."
"Why us?... they could've left us alone, and I was never involved with their matters," Mila spoke meekly in grief. "The company I've worked for is in ruins... my friends and manager were killed..."
"... What company do you work for?" Cask asked curiously.
"The Demonic Newspaper Company, it's placed in the Commercial District," Mila answered. "I was left speechless when I heard their reason to burn down was that Wilmarina doesn't want to spread out our news about them."
"I see... the same thing which happens to ours." Cask closed her eyes with a painful sensation. "The Public Relations Office came under attack without warning... killing off everyone and burning down every paper worth as evidence."
Mila gasped. Cask's emotions in her explanations weren't false. She didn't know the Knights of the Noscrims also targeted her company as well. However, there is only one thing that worries Mila and is about Cask's husband.
"Wh-What about your husband? Is he alright?"
"He's fine. My husband is currently in the newly formed Demon Realm of Polove to collect some stories there." Cask replied with a relieving sigh. "He's out of harm... and unaware of what is happening here. I fear he might get caught if he ever gets back using a portal."
Mila saw Cask was extremely worried for her husband. Upon his return to Lescatie from his trip to Polove, might get him into more than trouble.
"What happens to anyone if they get caught?"
"... They will be executed without question... and it will happen to us." Cask frowned with spite in her eyes. "I've seen what they were doing, and they want to silence us with their new tools to ensure that we stay dead."
"How terrifying... But why? Why would Wilmarina do this to us?." Mila slumped in fear. "Wh-what about the monster from other demon realms?"
"Foreign monsters from other Demon Realms were subjugated as well, and they were being heavily monitored as the entire city is becoming more of a prison," Cask answered while giving out a heavy sigh. "Hah~... As for the so-called Dark "Hero", I could've known that she got even worse than Priest Noscrim from our old days. I heard one of her peers speak out about how Wilmarina expressed her pain to her knights after losing her husband after their small trip from Dragonia. Some may say to be the sole cause of why Lescatie falls into this current state."
"Wilmarina lost her husband, and that is the sole cause of it!?" Mila dropped her jaw.
"No... While I was sneaking around Salvarision, it was later revealed that seventy percent of the Dark Ice Flower Order were decimated." Cask dreads while clenching her fists. "All of those incidents were related to the Silver-Blue Knight. Even the Dark Hero of Lescatie could not defeat him."
"So... that means...?"
"That means her main motive right now is purely made for her bloody revenge against the Silver-Blue Knight," Cask stated as she growled. "Losing seventy percent of her Order and coupled with the loss of her husband... They're dealing with someone, a human that no one else could able to pull off such a feat."
"I-I thought we monsters are protected by Fate!" Mila was flabbergasted in disbelief. "Is the Silver-Blue Knight an actual Chosen Hero like Artos, the Hero of the Federation!?"
"I don't know who Artos was, but share our talks later on. We're almost to the exit." Cask then rushed forth, followed by Mila. "Up here, this one will lead to one gate nearby."
"But why aren't we heading for the portals?" Mila asked curiously. "I mean, it's faster to reach for another Demon Realm."
"All gate portals were guarded by the Noscrim Knights," Cask replied with a sigh. "Their security is impossible to breach. Then we'll escape Lescatie by riding on horseback."
Cask and Mila climbed up to the manhole entrance and pushed the cover aside. Once the Ratatoskr exited the hidden passage and took a right turn to the corner, Cask immediately stopped while Mila bumped into her back.
"Ouch!" Mila rubbed her forehead in pain. "H-Hey! What's going on?"
Cask didn't say a word and stood still. Mila was perplexed about what was going on until she turn her head to the side and gasped in terror. In front of her stood a row of demons and succubus. The Demons were being held down by Titanite Cuffs while the Noscrim Knights held their spears at the nape of each member of the Radical Faction.
"WHY?! WHAT DID WE EVER DO TO YOU?!" One demon prisoner yelled out in rage. "ALL WE DID IS TO LIBERATE FROM YOUR SUFFERING AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US!?"
"Your so-called "Liberation" has led us to fight for your illusion." One Noscrim Knight-Captain hissed while brandishing her sword, grimacing at the demons. "Our sisters tried to bring our enemy to his knees, but all failed and perished... and this fault... all belong to your wretched Radical Faction."
"P-Please! Spare us! We were not involved!"
"We did nothing wrong!"
"I have a husband and a daughter at home! Please, don't-!"
"Execute them! No mercy!" The captain roared out, and her knights smiled wickedly as they plunged their blades through their necks.
The sounds of tearing flesh and bones, coupled with the blood-curling screams of the Demons. Mila and Cask felt their skin shiver with terror. As for Mila, never in her life had she witnessed a bloody execution in her entire life as a monster. All she could do was helplessly stand and watch as the killing unfolds before her very eyes until one knight noticed someone standing behind them.
"Hey! Who goes there!?"
"Oh, shit!" Cask snapped out and held Mila as they ran past the executioners and took to the nearest corner. "We have to run!"
"They're Collaborators! After them!"
Mila and Cask ran as they can until they noticed several shadows loomed overhead. Cask gazed up and cursed herself for seeing some Dark Knights flying over with their demonic pegasus mounts. One of them drew a bow and arrow, and then let it loose.
"Duck!" Cask warned as she pushed Mila to the ground.
The arrow missed her head by mere centimetres and came smashing down on the ground, causing an explosive blast which sends a pair of Ratatoskr flying and crashing into a pair of wooden barrels. Cask wipes off the blood from her nose and helped Mila to stand on her feet.
"Come on! Hurry!" Cask ran and saw the end of the alleyway. "Over there! The exit!"
When the two fugitives reached the end of the alleyway, they were relieved to see that no one was guarding the gates. That is, not until three Dark Knights landed at their surroundings, brandishing their swords at the two fugitives.
"Stop where you are, Traitors!" One Dark Knight warned. "No one is leaving this city alive."
"Oh, no... C-Cask! What are we gonna do!?" Mila shrieked out in panic. "W-We're surrounded!"
Cask looked around to find another means to escape. As seemed hopeless for the two fugitives, a single cloaked person landed behind the Dark Knight Captain. The succubus noticed someone behind her and then turns her gaze around until her throat was sliced off by a single blade. The other two knights were shocked to see another individual who could draw blood.
"Wh-What the-!?"
"How dare you-"
*SHING!* *SLASH!*
In a single flash, the silence was deafening as the winds blew the dust, then in a mere fraction of seconds, blood sprung out from their bodies before their corpses fell to the ground. Cask and Mila stood speechless and in awe to see the mysterious cloaked individual who had just saved their lives.
"Looks like you two need some help, nya~?" The individual smirked under her cloak while exposing her fangs.
Cask was the first to say a word while raising up her finger. "Y-You're..."
"A werecat?" Mila finished while standing in confusion. "But how...?"
"We have no time to talk. I'm stuck in the same position as you guys." The Werecat said in a serious tone while looking up at the skies. "Looks like those mad hookers on their pegasus are busy finding some traitors... come on and get the cart ready!"
Without another word, Cask and Mila nod. They went to the nearest stable and mounted the carriage. As there's no time to explain where the owner was. The Werecat drew her throwing knives and cut the ropes, opening the gates as the lever went up and the Agent jumped into the transport before whipping the leash, causing their horses to run into the dark outskirts of the city to escape the takeover of the capital.
...
Capital of Lescatie, Royal Castle.
...
"Lady Wilmarina, we've subjugated the entire city with every nook and cranny." A Heavy Dark Knight reported to the Dark Hero with a salute. "Our soldiers also took over the underground into our control."
"Hmm... So this is what Druella has been doing to refine our city." Wilmarina said while sitting on the royal throne. The Dark Hero raised her brow, unamused when she reads a document that belonged to the Lilim Druella. "I suppose we should cancel these projects and replace them with a more productive approach."
The Dark Hero rips off the document and threw it over to her side. One kikimora maid stepped in and sweeps away the trash before a dark musketeer came in while holding a bunch of folders in her hands.
"We found more stash belonging to Druella." The Dark Musketeer saluted. "These papers came from her office."
"What were those documents are for?" Wilmarina asked.
"They're documents containing construction projects." The Dark Musketeer replied. "All of which are mostly for entertainment purposes and sex commercials."
"Tch! Throw them away. Who needs those?" Wilmarina scoffed while rolling her eyes, and then she sighed while massaging her temples. "I can't believe Druella would raise those projects while we're trying to deal with The Maiden of Lescatie and the Silver-Blue Knight!... What was she thinking!?"
"L-Lord Governor!" The Dark Hero heard someone rushing in and a dark esquire came into the throne hall. The alp then bowed to the Dark Hero. "A-Apologise for my intrusion, Lord Governor! An urgent report from the city!"
Wilmarina raised her eyebrow in question, realising something was off as if the Alp raised her emotions, showing off fear.
"What is it?"
"Th-Three Knights were slain at the gates of the former slum district!" The Alp speaks out, causing the Dark Hero to freeze. "There were further reports that three individuals escaped the city, two of which were members of the Radical Faction. The third is of the unknown!"
"... Get me the mirror..." Wilmarina demanded evidence, and the Alp handed out the magic mirror. "What is going on out there...?"
As she activates the magic mirror, she saw the recordings of two Ratatoskr being confronted and surrounded by three dark knights. The scene changed when one cloaked figure jumped down from a nearby building and sliced off the throat of a knight captain. The two knights were startled by its sudden appearance, and the mysterious figure silenced them without warning.
The individual revealed her paws and tail, showing that she's a mamono with werecat features. The trio then proceeded to open the gates and escape the city by riding a carriage. Wilmarina didn't sense this mamono having mana, but she knew a few individual mamono who don't have and they belonged to the Party of Ash Cyrus and Sasha Fullmoon. Some rumours are spoken by travellers that the Federation is known for having mysterious monster girls who didn't radiate with mana.
"... They were here... all this time, right under our noses," Wilmarina uttered in disbelief until she grits her teeth in anger. Making a feral snarl as her hand squeezed the magic mirror and broke it. Then proceed to throw off the object across the hall, causing her knights to stand in fright from her sudden rage. "Send out the Subjugation Force and sweep across the countryside! Find them and let no stone unturned...!"
Then Wilmarina's eyes glowed bright red underneath the shadows of her face and her rage made the floor quake.
"LET NONE OF THEM SHALL LEAVE THIS NATION ALIVE!"
...
Underwater City of Queen Diana.
...
It's been a couple of weeks since that human convinced Arial to follow his advice." Asura Mythra bit her thumb in frustration while slithering around in a circle with her tentacles. "We can't let one of our islands transform into Lescatie. Then what will Difina will think about this?"
"Well, they don't have other choices." Meivia shrugged off her shoulders. "Dealing with an otherworldly enemy is something that we're not prepared to deal with."
"But there are ways to corrupt them, I am sure of it." Asura Mythra scoffed while crossing her arms. "Mana is supposedly the primary force within these realms of ours. There's no way those creatures can withstand it."
"Perhaps there was something else that prevents them from corruption," Meivia suggests while in deep thoughts. "Since it is confirmed, there are other parallel worlds created by the original Chief God. My other hunch says that there is something out there that ignores the system."
"Is such a thing possible?" Asura Mythra raised her question in incredulity.
"I am not sure." Meivia shrugged her shoulders once more. "That's a conclusion which I've come up with."
As the two representatives of the Court Alf shared their talks about their concerns for the Theocracy of Al-Mar, something lurks deep within the oceans. A small, yet insignificant entity, slithered through the ocean floor, making its way to follow the lights that shine under the darkness.
The infectious Puss saw the lights and swam it over to the source. That is not until a shark nearby swallowed the small entity whole. Little did the predatory creature know that the puss slowly took over the body like a ravenous current. The Great White crumbles itself as if it was torture until the mind and body were taken over by the puss.
The Puss, which is controlling the predatory creature, spotted a submarine nearby and swims toward the metallic transport while raising its abyssal tentacles. Soon, the shark crashed into the submarine, causing the crew and monster passengers inside to be startled by the sudden crash.
"What was that?"
"Did something hit us?"
In the submarine cabins, the passengers were confused by the sudden quake, as if the transport was being hit by something. One of the crew members came in and informed the situation.
"Calm down, everyone! There is no need to be afraid." A crewmember speaks out calmly. "The submarine might hit some whale, so be calm and-"
*SHRAK!*
Within a sudden, black tentacles tore through the interior without warning and a crewmember was impaled by the abyssal puss. Soon, more tore through and the passengers screamed in panic as they ran for their lives. Soon, the Puss of Man seeps into the transport while sealing off the water, then infecting the abyss into the passengers and crew alike while they scream in terror. As they cried out for help, no one can hear their screams underwater and the submarine still makes its way to the aquatic City of Queen Diana.
...
Kingdom of Gaul, Town of Gerth.
...
Once the rooster made its morning call as the sun rises, some people in the town slowly opened their shops and doe their daily lives at work... until one particular house in the town, a maiden shrieked out.
"KYAAAAAHH~!"
Inside this residential house, Elt and the Orphans woke up from a blood-curling cry. The young knight brandished his sword and went downstairs to see the commotion. He heard noises with words full of distraught coming from Sasha. Elt sticks his back against the wall and peeked in, and then his eyes widen in disbelief at seeing the Red Dragon from before.
'Wait, what is she doing here!?'
"Wh-Wh-What a-are you d-d-d-doing here!?" Sasha screamed in frustration while pointing her finger toward Dracolinde while clenching Ash's left arm. "Y-Yo-You c-can't just i-intrude into our house like that!"
"Oh, relax Sasha~! It wasn't so severe~!" Dracolinde smiled mischievously while holding to Ash's right arm. "It wasn't my fault but my instincts led me here~!"
"Y-You monster whore...!" Sasha growled while tightening her grip on the Knight as she frowned at the Royal Dragon. "I won't let you...!"
"Oh? Are you challenging me~?" Dracolinde then grinned malevolently while striking her glare towards the Maiden of Lescatie. "Let's see who's gonna get his heart first?"
"Ahem."
Sasha and Dracolinde stopped once they heard a serious tone coming from the knight and turn their glances to Ash. The knight of Astora was sour that the two women at his sides caused a loud ruckus from his sleep and expressed his deadly look, which caused the two to let go of his arms.
"O-Oh! S-Sorry for the ruckus Ash!"
"W-We apologised for waking you up in such a manner!"
The two women hugged each other as they stepped back in fright from the knight until his temper slowly culled down before letting out a sigh, massaging his temples from the stress.
"Ugh... Dracolinde... what are you doing here?"
"O-Oh? W-Well, I just came into your house at night~!" Dracolinde smiled nervously with an honest answer and then looked down with shame while pressing her fingers together. "I... I couldn't sleep well at night. So I just came here for comfort."
"... Looking for "Comfort" huh..." Ash grunts while frowning. "And you couldn't even knock on the door first. Then that could've been a home invasion."
"S-Sorry about that, dear." Dracolinde apologised, while nervously scratching the back of her head. "B-But I feel happy when we sleep together on the same couch, right?"
Sasha then pouts while glaring at the Red Dragon until Ash felt a rumble in his stomach.
"Huh... I didn't even eat dinner yesterday." Ash said.
Dracolinde and Sasha shared their glances with each other before smiling at the knight.
"Oh~! We'll make breakfast for everyone~!"
"Me too as well~! And I'll help!"
"Wait... you're "helping"?" Sasha slowly turns her dark gaze to the dragon and then she bit her lips in frustration as she turns away from her rival. "Tch!... Fine, then let's head to the kitchen, anyway."
"Ufufu~! I'll prepare the tables and bread~!" Dracolinde sang while following the former priestess. "Make sure we'll make our beloved man happy~!"
Sasha couldn't help but feel an angry tic forming on her forehead as they walked into the kitchen. Elt went out from his cover and greeted Ash. After an hour of preparing the table, the children went downstairs from their dorms until they were awed to see a Dragon Monster Girl working with their big sister.
"Aright children, let's eat." Elt smiled as he led the children to their seats.
Shortly after Sasha made her prayers, they dined in. Ash dined in to taste Dracolinde and Sasha's cooking, two of which were unique of their own. Sasha made an omelette for him with grilled onions and sliced ham fillings, covered with melted cheese and basil leaves. Dracolinde's breakfast was also impressive for the knight. It was a pair of egg benedict on top of some sliced toasted bread, rucola leaves, grilled ham and mayo underneath the boiled eggs.
"Ash~, Does it taste good~?" Sasha asked innocently, with a smile. "You do really like it~!"
"It seems my cooking has taken a liking~!" Dracolinde smiled as Ash was enjoying her breakfast. "I remember the last time that you weren't fond of tasting monster food, so I make some practices to do some human cooking."
"It's impressive, no doubt," Ash said while wiping off the yolk from his lips with a blanket. "Nevertheless, You and Sasha are both good at cooking."
"Dear me~! Thank you~!"
"Ahn~! Telling me such praises pleases me dear~!"
The two women blushed in their dreamy demeanour, yet their antics made Ash uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he never minds about it and shrugs it off before finishing their breakfast. After their short brunch, Ash, Sasha and Dracolinde left the house while Elt stayed inside the house to take care of the children.
"You three, take care!" Elt waved as the orphans bid them good luck.
"So... about those Hero Hunters of whom which they were trying to track you down..." Dracolinde then speaks up while turning to Ash and Sasha. "Does Druella knows what she's up against? From my hunch alone, you seem to be stronger than her."
"W-Well, it's not the first time Ash had encountered a powerful enemy," Sasha replied with a nervous smile. "I mean, he has been a lot lately."
"Oh? Then what other monsters did he go up against?" Dracolinde questioned quietly, which piqued her interest and try not to get his attention.
"Hmm... From what I recalled, Succubus, Orcs, Ogres, Demons, Arch Demons." Sasha counted her fingers. "Minotaurs, Dark Heroes, Devils, Arch-Devils, Wights and Baphomets."
"Eh...? I-Is h-he that strong!?" The Red Dragon stuttered out, speechless. "D-Did he also... go up against Dragons?"
"Umm... hold on. Oh! He can kill Wurms as well." Sasha spoke up and Dracolinde dropped her jaw. She knew Wurms were aggressive draconic monster girls with brutish strength which can shake the entire earth, and yet hearing it from Sasha proves he was more than a capable monster slayer. "Even a Dragon, although you're his first."
Sasha then makes a mischievous smile. "Fufu~! Consider yourself lucky that you're still alive... if you weren't a royal dragon in the first place~!"
The Priestesses' words struck the Dragon's nerve. "Grr! Why you-"
"That's enough." The two rivalling women stopped their bickering once they heard Ash call them out. "You two toss your quarrels aside. We have important matters to deal with."
"W-We apologise! / Sorry, Ash!" Both Sasha and Dracolinde bowed in apology.
Ash tilts his head in disappointment and gave out a heavy sigh. "Right, let's go."
...
"Uaah~! It's not fair~!" Jane cried out in tears while looking at Daniella in a fit of jealousy from the kitchen window. "Daniella~! The backstabber is having fun with our enemies while we're spending our time working in the kitchen~!"
"It's no use, Jane. As long as our loyalty to Druella remains, we're stuck." Sandra said depressingly while leaning her back against the wall. "I could've found a husband from now and then... yet that Onion Knight still keeps us as prisoners!... What about you, Alameria?"
"... I still have no words..." At the other side of the kitchen, Alameria was busy peeling off the potatoes until she exhaled deeply in regret. "I am not sure why am I still like this? After having talks with Olivier... It seems like my new life in the new demon realms has been a lie."
"A lie?" Sandra raised her brow in question. "What do you mean by that?"
"Yeah, what do you mean living in the new demon realm of Lescatie bothers you?" Jane placed her hands on both of her hips. "I mean, Druella has good intention to give us new lives to be with our future husbands~!"
"That's... That's not what I meant!" Alameria stopped peeling and turn her gaze to her fellow dhampirs. "When Lescatie became a Demon Realm, everybody simply accepted me as their friend without being questioned about my actual nature!... All I met is only their gazes full of surprises and died down quickly as they acknowledge me... without being bothered as if... anyone I've met was not the same as they used to be."
"So you're saying that your friends who became monsters... are different people?" Sandra questioned in concern.
"That's what I've been thinking for the past few days... " Alameria then stared at the floor in depression as her shoulders slumped. "Olivier did not remember what she was doing as a monster... Even Vermut... and Luciana as well. Those three recognised nothing for what they did."
Jane looked down in worry as if Alameria's explanation was true. "So you're saying...?"
"All my new friends... were nothing but lies in front of me..." Alameria stuttered as tears rolls down her cheeks and her hands were shaking. "What Druella did something to them is worse than we realise... she made them as someone else rather than being themselves!"
Jane and Sandra shared their gazes with worry as Alameria wipes off her tears. "I'm sorry for telling... but this prison makes me want to redeem myself... and I... I wish to have the courage to join them."
"... Who?" Jane asked.
"The Silver-Blue Knight, Ash Cyrus and his fellowship... they knew more about what's going on with us than we knew." Alameria declared with regrets. "If I had the courage to join them... then it proves the Radical Faction wasn't liberating us from our suffering but making us pawns from our own free will."
"Alameria! What are you saying?!" Sandra speaks out in disbelief. "Are you saying Druella is imprisoning your friends in the shackles of the Demon Lord?"
"Yeah...? So what are your answers?" Alameria then glared at the two dhampirs. "Tell me... is it right to imprison human souls?"
"Alameria... We..."
"Uh... we didn't talk about that..."
"... I knew it... so the Church wasn't lying all along... other than their lies when they brought me in." Sandra and Jane stepped back in fear once they heard Alameria snarl in disdain. She dropped the peeler to the floor and groggily walked towards them. "You're telling me... that my so-called "friends" claimed they were themselves... only that it turns out they're completely different people!?"
"A-Alameria, calm down-"
"Shut the fuck up! No wonder my friends are acting differently without bothering themselves about who they actually are!" The dhampir musketeer shrieked out in rage. She clenched her knuckles as her fangs grit, ready to punch one of them. Jane and Sandra quivered as they stepped back once the Dhampir Musketeer raised her fist. "You freaks of the Radical Faction... all of you were nothing but full of greedy and perverted liars!"
"Alameria, stop it." Alameria stopped and slowly turn her gaze to the left and saw Siegward without his helmet. "That's enough... it seems you've vented out your anger... and it is proof when you realise the truth behind your peers."
"... Sorry, Chief." Alameria apologised while lowering her fist. "I got way too overboard on this."
"Oh, there's no need to apologise further." Siegwards smiled as he dismissively waved his hand. "Why won't you come out from the kitchen and meet my good 'ol friend and his companionship? Perhaps it will be your chance to redeem yourself from your wrongdoings."
At this moment, Alameria blushed from the warm sensation of his words. Only to her realisation that this is her chance to seek the truth and liberate her friends from their mental prison.
"My parents will be disappointed when they see me doing this... but I have no choice." Alameria then smiled while turning to Sandra and Jane. "Girls... Sorry, I have to do the right thing."
With that, the two dhampirs stood speechless as Alameria left the kitchen and the door closes, leaving the two behind. They were distraught that another member of the Dark Ice Flower was taking sides with the enemy against Druella and her Radical faction.
...
Royal Makai.
...
"Please, no! Spare me!"
"I don't want to die! Leave my husband alone!"
"Help! Help us!"
Lilith saw the bloody massacre throughout the Capital of Lescatie unfold in her magic orb. She saw many citizens dying in this madness she is seeing, and most individuals who were executed were members of Druella's Radical Faction. Although, there are some who denounced their membership, and joined with the Noscrim as a means to survive.
Seeing this tragedy alone should've caused her to take action to stop the hatred inflicted on their conquerors who liberated them from their suffering and cease Wilmarina from controlling the new Demon Realm. And yet, in a strange sensation, she couldn't. She was aware that Wilmarina was not the only concern. There have been a lot of troublesome events that were happening lately other than the incident that happened between her and her thirteenth daughter.
It all started with the appearance of mysterious dungeons.
Pimor was now under the control of the Demons of Chaos.
The Fall of Pandemonium and the death of the Fallen God, the corrupted shadow of the Chief God.
Some Islands in Court Alf experienced dangerous anomalies which wreaked havoc on Al-Mar.
Dragonia faced near destruction from their mysterious enemies and then declared independence from her influence.
Then now, a coup is happening in Lescatie and the Dark Hero is leading her rebellion against her daughter's faction while she was away.
The Demon Lord saw this is more concerning than she thought and none foresee the warning. Not from the Gods, Hel or even Fate. The anomalies just merely happened without taking notice and her vision of victory to overcome the world became bleaker.
Thus, in her realisation, the world was now against her... but how?
"How is this possible...?" The Demon Lord uttered as she slumped down, gripping her temples. "This shouldn't happen...! Why?! Why did it never tell me about this?!"
And thus, she remembers her last dreams from several weeks ago, her meeting with the Cindered Knight within her dreams.
"If... you still insist on spinning their fates... nothing will be gained through your efforts. No matter what."
Those were his words and the Demon Lord grits her teeth. She knew there was something out there, far beyond her reach, and it was watching her from afar as if she was a hopeless clown in a theatre and this entity was just a spectator to see her fruitless attempts to create her paradise full of love.
"Whatever you are... you will not take my goals away!" The Demon Lord snarled while slamming her fists on the table. "If so... then be it!"
Lilith then swapped her vision to a particular individual, a Dark Hero, standing on the balcony of the royal castle. The one responsible who was shedding the blood of her enemies to rid Lescatie of the illusions of her fourth-born daughter.
"Wilmarina Noscrim... I see you were hurt and spiralled down to madness after they took away your beloved husband." Lilith spoke with a sympathetic tone and then her lips forms a malicious smile. "But don't fret. It is time to restore our Fate... by shedding the blood of the old ways... and your Order... I will make you of great use."
...
Town of Gerth, Outskirts.
...
"So, this must be the Town of Gerth, huh..." Druella, in her human form, mused to see the town from a distance. "The town that humiliated the Demon Realms... It's a surprise that it hasn't changed for a few decades."
"Druella! Our scouts have arrived!" One of her demons called out while a pair of Hero Hunters arrived at their encampment.
"Greetings, your highness." Aurola greeted the Daughter of the Demon Lord with a polite bow. "It is an honour that we meet each other again."
"Likewise, Aurola." Druella smiled with pride before asking. "So, did you find any traces of the Silver-Blue Knight?"
"We... didn't find him yet," Aurola replied while exhaling. "We also tried to find Sasha Fullmoon, but the wild mana in that town is swirling. Then it's even hard to trace her scent."
"I see... then we should integrate into the crowd without showing off our suspicions."
Once Druella and her small group vacated the area, Lucena peeked out from a nearby tree and cursed to see one mamono dared to step into the Federation. It was another Lilim, like Ilassa, and she posed some big trouble. Not just she can monsterize the vulnerable townsfolk of their own will, but it will incite another conflict between the Demon Realm and the Federation.
Lucena then left as she sprinted out from her hiding spot without letting them notice her. Druella heard some unusual noises that came from her left and saw a bunch of leaves flying in the air.
"Strange... I swore I heard footsteps." Druella muttered in concern. "Whatever this place was... then it must've been full of surprises."
...
Chapter 48: Ends
...
AN: New Sketches were added to QQ The Knight and the AO3 Version.
The Knight: Side Info.
...
Noscrim Dark Knight
Dark Knights of the Noscrim Faction shares a similar appearance to those of the short-lived Demonic Dark Knights. Wilmarina Noscrim was the sole individual to ratify their military reforms after their coup against the Radical Faction. This reform led their military to revert back to the old ways of the Pre-Demonic Era.
These knights were trained diligently with discipline and cooperation before their deployment in Blighttown as the last test to complete their training. This ultimate test should mould their mentalities and spirit to harden, seeing how the world will inflict pain on them without mercy while it teaches them how to kill their enemies properly. The succubi who survived these tests became actual soldiers, but it came to an ultimate price of losing their friends and relatives. Then, of course, the chances of becoming widows were high.
Those who survived the distorted dungeon promptly receive their graduation day and then enlisted in other battalions within the new Demonic Army of Lescatie.
Uniform:
Their uniforms differ from the old Dark Knights, which wore mainly bikini armour. After receiving their lessons from the Fallen Tower and Blighttown. Full head-to-toe Armor was of utmost importance within the new army, which proves that enemies with Titanite and the toxic acidity of Blighttown can scratch a bloody wound into the skins of Mamono and Succubus.
Helmets were issued. Bikini armour was replaced by plate armour and knights used combat miniskirts with armoured plates to balance defence and mobility.
Their weapons, which were made by Demon Silver, were replaced by armaments using Titanite to eliminate their enemies. Overall, their weapons and armour were forged by Titanite while the lower layer of their armour was made of soft materials intended to prevent the user's bare skin from touching Titanite.
It is shown that Titanite weakens a Monster Girl with a slight touch of their bare skin.
Nevertheless, these knights, in no doubt, were very deadly soldiers within their army to be reckoned with.
...
Side Info: Ends