Chrysalis Heart

by Yincira

AU. What if the story was about the plight of the demons? Nina's more heroic, Azazel doesn't disappear, Belphegor doesn't die, Kaisar's more self aware.

18. Catechumens

· · · · · · ·

The unicorn's gate spun open to a barren wasteland all to familiar to Jeanne. On this very spot, she once had held camp in Bahamut's shadow.

Once again the scene brimmed with power, albeit a very different, subtle kind. No fierce winds or rising spirits, but a sharp teal pillar of light that ended in the very spot Bahamut had once vanished to. A star pulsed below the low, dark clouds, pulling them in endlessly. Underneath it lay a crater lined with blue lights.

She got off and crawled closer to the edge. The pillar rose from a man made hole in the ground.

Jeanne tried to sense anything that indicated Bahamut, but there wasn't the slightest sign. The power of Dromos had to be blocking it. All she got was a strong sense of illness from the unicorn.

"Could you—"

"No no no!I'm not going in there!" Coco said.

Jeanne petted the dog's head. "That's alright."

Upon returning to the unicorn, she folded her hands and prayed one line, Lord Michael, can you enter?

That was far more to ask than the usualy vague support or even directions she was used to request. It didn't feel natural at all to use her god for spying, but it had to be done. And perhaps it shouldn't feel strange.

The impression of yes existed, and then nothing for a while.

He couldn't enter.

Something about this whole set up prevented the radiation of Bahamut's power to reach into the world.

"It's blocked even to spirits. I really think we should warn heaven," Jeanne said.

"And I really think you need to realize you can't give that Odin guy such fodder," Coco said, before taking on as fancy a voice as a tiny dog could "Oh would thou not see what a bad leader Gabriel is she didn't put any guards up around the site of Bahamut's exile! No checking in for ten years either? Give him some time to fail to think about it as well. You could tell a few angels you trust though."

Sofiel of course, and perhaps Reinier, Urlain and Schwertleite. Michael expected at least Urlain would ally nurself with her. Did she interpret that right?

Chiron and Mirin waited in the inner churchyard, both prickly for having to wait.

Jeanne explained them what she could about Dromos, with Chiron just barely being courteous enough to hear her out before declaring, "That's not possible! There is no way a human could invent something that would block out the very senses of the gods."

Up close, divine certainty was a lot more annoying than impressive.

Coco recognized Mirin and wanted to rant at her about social things. Jeanne would have accompanied them at any other time, but was too exhausted now. Not physically, it seemed impossible to tire with the unicorn at her side, but mentally. It never felt like it got better.

She retreated to her room, a simple cot with enough room for the unicorn. With just a candle and no prayers, she tried to think.

On top of everything, now they had to deal with Bahamut, and Charioce potentially being the only stronghold against Bahamut if his intent was indeed to fight it. Jeanne had not been keen on going to war with Anatae outright, but now it had such a complication she wasn't even sure what the right answer was.

The unicorn nudged her, and opened a small vision circle before her. It opened to a welcome face.

"Jeanne! Is something the matter?"

"Yes, but first I would like to hear how all is going in heaven."

"Oh, we have a great deal of dull political concerns." Judging from her frown, it was the head achey kind of dull. "Odin is gathering the members of his old pantheon around, but heaven is divided. It leaked that Ninati was attacked by Dione and there's footage of Azazel giving up during his attempt to flee, which raises questions of its own. I may have let it slip that Azazel and El had a positive connection. Odin's words do not find good weather everywhere. But there's enough storm that we consider sending Qhispe home in secret. She's been able to transform back and lady Gabriel's worked on healing her, as far she can work with a demon. As you can imagine, that is also raising questions. She's playing up the ascended demon angle."

"No. Lady Sofiel, we cannot afford to alienate the demons further."

"This is the best we can do. Eons of beliefs do not just go away. Ninati and Qhispe are more like deviations that confirm the rule when we had Azazel going all out with the darkness."

"Surely lady Gabriel can steer things back in the right direction? Did she not only adapt the incarnate evil views recently?"

Sofiel shook her head "Getting lady Gabriel to admit mistake in such a time will be even more difficult now that Odin jeapardizes her position. Jeanne, why do you sound so urgent? You understand this all will take time."

"We may not have much time before something much more drastic happens. I must tell you something in private, not using heaven's channels. Please, I know it will be difficult, but can you come down to earth?"

"Alright, I will round up a few things and join you."

She wished to see Sofiel again in person, too, but that seemed inappropriate to say, so she said, "Thank you, lady Sofiel."

· · · · · · ·

When Azazel found Belphegor she was sticking metal in plants for some reason and attaching those to wires that went into the walls. A few of the larger demons carried in parts of a mecha dregged from the river.

"What is this about?"

"We have less magic casters, but no loss of magic itself," Belphegor said. "Cerberus asked me to figure out a way commoners can use magical energy without being advanced casters like us. This will be heating the rooms. If that works out I'm thinking about woodless hearths too. Imagine, we can get through the winter without anyone losing their last strength to the cold!"

She threw herself at the mecha and gave rushed instructions to take it apart before rattling on, "Sometimes I wonder what I could have done if I wasn't so occupied with humankind, but I don't have much time for that. I have a busy schedule : working with Rachel and Tris to figure out what the zommorods are, laying a magical infrastructure — I had no idea so much could be improved on a society with technology — and making sure society itself is in order. Cerberus knows what to do but she doesn't always care and, well, I'm busy. You see—"

"You can stop, I changed my mind."

And there was the starstruck gazing. "Really? How?"

How. Not a why. Good question. He expected himself to make stupid mistakes, but then he had to tell Nina why her mistake was stupid, so he wasn't that universally blind and maybe it was also kind of ... jarring. She would go ahead despite everything, and he didn't?

"I figured we'll just plan ahead with me and Nina's liablities better mapped. Charioce needs to die, I never went back on that."

"I knew you wouldn't be able to abandon us so easily!"

Dammit, Nina was already accusing him of being a good influence and now Belphegor got all glowy about his reliability. Once all of this was over, any reputation he had in the court of Lucifer would lay in the same ashes as Charioce's reign. Assuming they survived.

Since Eligos hadn't survived, Rita might be their best shot for ideas, but of course, she was captive (and better not have helped Charioce too much). Favaro and Cerberus were pretty smart too, if they wanted to be. They just had to get them to use it, which Azazel didn't expect Cerberus to be very cooperative with.

He followed Belphegor to Cerberus's home anyway, what else was there to do?

The human Cerberus kept around stood just outside the place, wringing his hands and nearly jumping out of his shoes at their arrival.

"Nils, what happened here?" Belphegor asked.

"Olivia came by again," he said. "I'm supposed to not let anyone enter. We have a protocol now, she keeps coming by—"

Azazel pushed into the room.

Splatters of blood covered the walls. Every fabric was singed. Cerberus hunched up on her couch, maimed but strangely calm as she held out a letter to him. "She left without trying to kill me this time."

A formal seal that radiated power to be reckoned with. Slicing it open with a claw,revealed perfect paper with demonic script.

Respected lord below the Morning Star

My profound apologies for targetting your dog, but she did not inform me she operated under your command. May I presume she was a little rebellious in your absence?

Regardless of such misshaps, I would like to extend an invitation for a political meeting. I wish to assure the Morning Star I have no hostile intentions and would like such relayed to him through you. In addition, we have much to discuss regarding the demon realm's predicament. You shall find my intentions are mutually beneficiel to our tribes.

You are cordially invited to our refurnished amphitheater at sundown two days from now. I would invite you tomorrow evening already, but the king expects company and I wish to prepare should this be an assault. I advise you to have similar vigilance.

With utmost regard,

Olivia of the Sacrament.

"She's going to play a game with you," Cerberus said. "She'd been doing that with all the humans, even the king."

"She doesn't want to provoke lord Lucifer, or so she says."

"So she says, but doesn't do. She can teleport better than even me," she said. "Nothing stopped her from contacting lord Lucifer for all those years that she's been at it. It is not hard for her to figure out he is in Helheimr, but lord Lucifer hasn't said a word about her. He's still of the opinion we should wait for a good opportunity."

"How do you know?"

"I have a beacon in the hills," Cerberus said. "You don't think someone of my rank would come here just to entertain humans, do you?"

"And you didn't tell me this why exactly?"

"No point," she said. "He won't act."

He couldn't argue with that, unfortunately.

Besides, how would he break the new situation? Lucifer might be willing to ally with the gods again, but the gods themselves? Then there was Mugaro. Lucifer would demand him to be put right into the war.

Cerberus didn't push the idea, so he brought it to Olivia's sources.

She rejected the idea of insiders, swore up and down she would be able to smell them. Perhaps Angra Mainyu had weird powers.

"Favaro should be here soon," Cerberus said. "I am so racking up his guard duty, and maybe he'll have some smart ideas on how to take Olivia down."

"I'll tell Nina," Azazel said.

"The one who was slobbering with Charioce?" Cerberus said. "Can we trust her at all?"

Tensing up just a little meant his hand cracked the fragile door handle, and getting himself covered in splinters.

Cerberus stared for a beat, before continueing with, "It bet there was tongue."

"Shut up!" And there went the door out of its hinges.

"You're dealing so well with this," Mimi said.

"What about you?" Cerberus asked Belphegor.

Belphegor's face twisted and distaste. "I find myself having to remind myself she's on our side over and over. Let's just keep it with that. I know she means well, but ... "

"Till next time she gives king genocide a pass?" Cerberus said.

"She gave her word she won't plan anything with Charioce without my knowledge." Azazel let the bite go uncontrolled at Charioce's name. "She meant it. "

Favaro arrived and whistled at the door. "What did that poor wood do to you?"

"Tch."

"Anyway, heard you all worry. How about Amira just keep an eye on Nina whenever she leaves? Happy with that?"

"I'm going to be happy when I sleep," Cerberus snarled. "But yes. Once Mimi's awake, I'll have her look around for whatever Olivia's setting up."

"You can sleep now," Azazel said.

"No," Cerberus growled. "If she catches me too long, she can kill me. Get rid of her first."

"I'll try." That would've been I will once, but he couldn't take those risks anymore.

· · · · · · ·

"It's the best we can do," Durahanem said as she handed Nina the bowl.

The food was a little more colorful due to being harvested from hellish plants, but as scarce as ever. This time Nina had no money to contribute, and there was nothing to be bought anyway. People only did not starve entirely now because there was nobody to punish them for having gardens.

She took a spoonful of saltless broth and tried to mean it when she said, "Nice."

Durahanem already walked away.

There also was some bread, and lacking anything that spoiled easily, olive oil was the only thing to flavor it with. Nina's attempt to eat this got her choking up, almost hurling.

After the good food of home and heaven, this was too close to the miserable food of her time as a slave.

She let it be and went to her new room, a quiet trek.

Anyone of the inner circle kind of avoided her. Belphegor had been informed and told her friends the truth. It didn't spread beyond that, but other demons certainly picked up on the tension around Nina.

At least it was better than at home. No fake smiles, or chains hidden in the bushes in case she lost herself. It wasn't the dragon that caused the distrust now. It was her boyfriend walking away again, back to his lavish castle, because she let him.

Cerberus had assigned her a cave close to her house to sleep in, big enough in case she would accidentally transform. It would be within earshot of Cerberus's home, in case she needed something.

Or felt like running off unsupervised to bring in any enemies. Spirits, it'd be so easy to just blame this all on fate, but she knew it wasn't just that.

Nina went to bed on a growling stomach and struggled to fall asleep. Can't do that, her psyche insisted, she had to relive all of today and was very insistent on how nice it felt to kiss Chris, at the same time as it dragged her back to being trapped underground thanks to him.

The danger she had brought to everyone felt so unreal, so irrelevant compared to the fantasy. How could she solve this, if it came so naturally?

And on top of all that, Azazel now knew.

What did he expect from her? What did try again mean exactly? Absurd as it was, he felt like half the problem she had to face now. He wasn't the rebellion, not even the main face of it, but he was she constant of her involvement in the rebellion. Her new life.

She wished she could take that life into her dreams at least, but this night was no different. Once more, her time belonged to the enemy and her friends were missing or icons of suffering.

Unable to control anything, she followed herself through the dream as a dragon running through the world, never flying. Far off mountains merged into the hills of Anatae until she stomped through the gates.

Chris waited for her in the park, bowing to take her hand and kiss it. She was a naive girl for him, blushing and eager.

"Do you want to dance again?" And he swung her around while she wore rags and iron around her bare foot.

Do you want to be my slave again?

The juxpaxion of sweetness and the iron weighed on her ankle as he softly asked, "Are you enjoying prison life?"

Are you enjoying the pain I put you through?

Nina wanted to curl up and roar it away, or lacking that, pretend nothing was wrong, but she wasn't supposed to just smile things away.

Chris had never been anything but courteous when it came to immediate interaction, so in her dreams they danced through the corridors of the island, and she answered his smile with one of her own, as well as she could with chaffed, dried out lips and hollow cheeks.

Waltzing right into the slums, she changed into a dragon. In the rush of feelings nothing but them was real, but she was a monster more with each pulse of her heart.

The heat against her jaws before she bit down and cried out, now a girl again to learn he really would die without the bracelet. Crying over him, while people all around died and Bahamut rose to finish the rest of them.

As an afterthought came, What if he really was the world's best chance? but it was only an afterthought, because first and foremost she missed him.

She couldn't even tell what about him she missed. Her best memories of him boiled down to just dancing.

"Nina, why did you kill him too?"

"I didn't ... "

There stood her mother, staring at Chris's corpse with such horror and sorrow, Nina wanted to die on the spot.

The slums fell away and she was awake in bed, staring at the ceiling and struggling to understand that the ceiling was too high for her cell.

Her eyes brimmed with tears, but she couldn't move — sleep paralysis. It wasn't the first time. There would be apparitions. Usually it was knights and demons she saw, but this time her mother stood at her side, still looking down sadly.

"Why don't you learn, Nina? You need to stop killing the people you love. You can't keep going. When you run out of friends here, will you end it with me?"

She couldn't answer, nor was there anyone to answer to.

Yesterday she had set two Onyx Knights on fire. It hadn't been difficult to do, but the scorched bodies and the scent lingered and mingled with surfacing memories of other she had scorched in the past. Worse, the blood on her foot set her before her father. Probably the enemy, some corpse already dead, the streets were empty, but still, still ...

"He didn't die for you to do it to the next man in your life."

The death of her father and the blood of millions mingled with lust. She longed to be oblivious again, but that would just get people killed too, like she would kill people now and ...

Wait, would it?

She was awake, so why the surreal droning go on like a nightmare? She didn't actually believe that.

Something felt wrong. She let the dragon power rile herself up a little, feeling anger and everything else. With the expanding force, her demonic magic awakened and her mother was only an overlay on someone else, the way Rita's mist could pull on her. She gathering the pulse up and saw through.

Over her loomed a sickly deer head. "Human blood yet so much more magic, and you stepped out. What are you?"

Nina's power flared and at once she could move. Her hand latched onto an antler to pull him closer.

"Listen up. Fate's manipulating people. You're making it harder to defy it," Nina hissed, fangs out. "I already have enough problems without you, and they will be your problems if fate keeps going. You and Olivia need to stop. We have a common enemy, don't you understand?"

He shoved against the bed and she lost grip. Scuttling back, he said, "We might have a common dinner table, but only if Azazel evolves. A common enemy? We don't need to fear Charioce."

Nina sat up.

What kind of a demon was he, having white feathers on his wings?

The haze of illusion strengthened, this time pulling a mirage of Chris into place.

Oh that did it.

"Are you truly—" the demon started in Chris's voice.

"Drop it, I know that's fake!"

Nina kicked a nearby rock at the demon, who dodged. Probably, it was hard to tell with Chris and her mother in the way, and the environment pretending to be her home.

Her mother started, "Why don't you sit down and—"

"No. I've had it with you!" She let the dragon's power rise. "First Angra Mainyu starts poking at me, and now you're taking a shot? Well guess what, you're not going to throw me off! At least Angra Mainyu said something vaguely useful. You're just rehashing my nightmares. You're not even good at it, so why don't you stay away?"

But then he'd go torture someone else.

She spread her wings, hoping to urge on the transformation while holding onto her mind. The demon crawled further back, but couldn't go anywhere. Nina made sure to stay between him and the exit.

"What do you want? You're Furfur, right? The torturer? What's the point? You're bringing every stereotype about hell to the surface and making it all the harder for people to change their opinion on demons!"

"It is for demonkind that we do this," Furfur hissed.

"Well we don't want this kind of help! We never asked for it!"

"Who are you to even speak for us?"

He didn't know, eh? Angra Mainyu knew all kinds of things, but this one was just wearing blurs from her nightmares.

All he had was illusion of the senses. While the image of her mother and Chris smiled, Nina went up in fire because the one behind it made a mockery of her and every other demon.

She lost herself in the dragon.

When she came to, the cave was empty save for herself. Some of the walls had cracked, and at the entrance someone had left new clothes. The door was singed by fire.

Nina piled up the torn blankets and huddled up, too exhausted to even care the door didn't close. This time she slept with her normal nightmares.

· · · · · · ·

At a little over three days after Jeanne got herself a unicorn and was back to earth, the forces of heaven still hadn't caught up to her. Jeanne having a unicorn joined to a whirlwind of discource and distrust in the government, and Sofiel now had the thrilling job of being PR manager to both Gabriel and Jeanne.

Hamsa sat on her desk, properly sober at last. He was a strange sight now, having a more serious demeanor made his absurd body stand out. They'd gone over what Hamsa remembered from the old days, and Sofiel tried to match this to existing pieces of history and release this to the public. The intent was to deviate the public away from a political system based on the validity of physical strength — if it come to a fight between Gabriel and Odin, the former was at risk of losing.

A fight would be inconvenient for Odin though, since the support of the population was so important. Heaven was composed of multiple pantheons that could easily break apart. The laws that controlled its very magic might even reset, or at least adapt in inconvenient ways. They could not have a divided heaven right now, everyone knew that.

Or rather, if heaven was divided in the right way, that would help.

According to Hamsa, Arbiter Mortis was the first ruler of heaven. Once the alliance of pantheons had been established and earth united under her reign, she had been called Absolute God Arbiter. She had five ministers : Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, Michael and the one now known as Lucifer. Arbiter Mortis died during the war against Satan and Lucifer, after which we had an election among the five most powerful gods, who might have both the wisdom to lead the the strength to resist hell, Zeus, Odin, Shiva, Isis and Aether. The lot fell to Zeus, while Mortis's inner circle continued on in an advisory role. So Odin had a claim within the recognized system.

When asked about the power balances, Hamsa said, "Over time, the world changed and so did religion. Zeus and his pantheon mingled with earth while the angels advanced spirituality. Faith grew, and so did the powers of the four archangels. Once Zeus became the god key, Hera held government in his absence, but lacked the strength to go to war. The four archangels were of enough united strength to outbid the others as leaders, and had the benefit of thriving on faith so well. Odin, Shiva, Isis and Aether were no longer quite as versatile in their magic, not to mention, Zeus had a troublesome legacy with many monstrous nephilim. There was something to be said for how angels were purer descendants of El Elyon than those with more human forms."

In other words, older gods had something to fall back on, if the angels were discredited, but Gabriel also had something to tell her recent purity model on.

"Lucifer's attempt to destroy the world is well known, but poorly documented," Hamsa said. "We're not sure whether it's in the same vein as Bahamut, just that he despises the world as ruled by gods. What's important is that this helped create the idea that a god tempted by the dark would be an enemy, and enforced an isolationist culture."

Isolationist, eh? It gave a word to something that had always bothered her, that she always ignored.

Sofiel sat back, and wondered about those strange inclinations she sometimes got. How she could tell things about people, and see the nature of relations. What she'd seen between the strangers in heaven recently, between Qhispe and her tribe, and between Gabriel and her country.

Maybe she'd start acting a little more on what she felt about those.

She opened a gate into the prison again and set Hamsa down. Bacchus was grouchy as hell without his liquor. Good.

"I filed a petition for your release. Appease Gabriel, but once you're free, pretend to support Odin. And make a fool out of him. I'm going to earth, Jeanne needs to talk to me, but I will contact you again."

"What the crap? That sounds like exactly the sort of thing you need to be around for."

Sofiel shook her head. "She'd never ask me for this unless it was crucial."

· · · · · · ·

Cerberus had a roll call for her closest workers each morning. No sleeping in for her, or sleeping at all. She looked miserable, but also made it very hard to sympathize when the first thing she told Nina was, "Oh look you well this morning, had good dreams of your boyfriend? Honestly, with his global bloodbath I wonder whether it's your demon nature or your human nature that finds him so delicious."

"Just give me something to do, okay?"

"No, you're sparing your strength to help take down Olivia. Go hang out with Azazel's kid, in case the enemy catches wind of nur. Ne's with Adva in the inner caves with the blue water."

That was a long way. Not physically, just, was she going to run there and maybe knock someone over, or walk slow and risk being recognized? How many people here knew she'd been involved? Would she run into someone who'd gotten hurt, or lost someone, during the chaos yesterday?

She decided to walk, rather than avoid.

Maybe Cerberus had kept the truth contained to her little circle. Nobody said anything. Or perhaps years here had just made them very good at not being heard in their hatred.

Divesepid's reanimated corpses were all recent murders by Olivia's court — he used them to ransack homes and bring in stuff the slums needed. Right now they'd lined up with some food and clothes, all meager gatherings. Because of Chris.

For all the starvation and poverty that remained, a lot of things had changed in the slums. It wasn't just the gardens and the aquaduct, but the community itself. People started decorating the houses with engravings like in hell, a practice once forbidden. Fear for congregation in the tunnels leading to arrests no longer dominated, so there were few people wasting away on the streets even with escaped slaves from above joining in. Some areas started being paved. Dances were organized, art invented from rock and plant, and most notable, there were schools now.

She met Mugaro in the tunnel to the springs.

"Nina, good morning."

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes! You didn't?"

"Nope!"

"I bet you had nightmares about Charioce coming in, right? I had too, a little."

Oh spirits how was she going to break this? It felt almost more difficult than Azazel and all his rage.

"Cerberus says I can't go outside or too close to important appearing people. And Azazel's gone scouting cause he can teleport, so I'm just going to class. Want to come?"

"Yes! Maybe I can learn something too. I'm getting better at dragoning, you know. I can progress."

That was so stilted even Mugaro, young as ne was, raised nur eyebrows, so Nina quickly added, "Actually I'm your guard. Sorry, you're not allowed to wander."

Thankfully that killed the topic of her awkwardness about yesterday, as Mugaro explained her something ne'd learned yesterday.

Mugaro's promise of tutorship in vocal magic had leaked, so when they arrived at the class cave, they found it packed with demons of all ages and a rather overwhelmed Adva.

Nina stayed at the door while all eyes fixed on Mugaro — suspicious, hopeful, grateful, fearful all at once. Perhaps to these demons, gods were as fearsome as hell had been in her home town. Would Jeanne see this too, over and over?

Favaro showed up too, raising a lot of eyebrows. As a ward he could not learn new demon magic. "Bet we can make me better at what I've got though. I'm told my voice is a problem, maybe we can unlock that somehow?"

Adva pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright, you may try, but please understand Mugaro is the priority. Okay?"

Favaro leaned to Nina. "You on guard duty too?"

Nina nodded.

"No mentioning Amira. We don't want the enemy knowing we've got a spy."

Nina nodded again.

"You're quiet today."

Before she could think up an excuse, Adva clapped her hands. "Attention, everyone! I'm really new to teaching, but we have a cranky dark lord who wants me to tutor his kid, and who am I to argue too loudly?"

A few shuffled uncomfortably at her irreverent tone, while Mugaro and nur friends snickered.

"Everyone has specific strengths or weaknesses in magic, which training can exalt and proximity to powerful demons can increase the potency of. We can siphon off of the power of hell through the magical nexus they are. I'm allied to a fairly powerful demon, lady Belphegor, who as a scientist often asked for more precise magic than cleaning, so now ... " Over the last few words, he tone drifted off into sing song. She waved her hand across her breath and formed a floating aquatic sphere.

"I didn't summon this, mind you," she said quickly, quelling some awed gasps. "It's just water from the air, and it's much easier since miss Rita's mist spell still resides over the city. But I can keep it even without outright song, which is something lady Belphegor had me train in."

Even now, there was a whole lot of stuff that went on without Nina's notice, but this she'd heard of in heaven. Aurora's talents were with souls and memory.

"You know, there's elementals who can summon their element, I bet you can learn that too," Nina said.

"Elementals?"

"Your specialization. You're already embracing nature," ne said. "And there are lots and lots of gods who have nature themed powers! Fire and ice and frost and plants and wind, even though that's got little to do with holiness. There's even a god for hangovers, and there's me for healing. It's really exhausting though, and I need different eyes for different stuff. Gabriel said that to focus, I should ..."

Nina barely kept up with the spiritual stuff that followed. Picking a fight with wannabe philosopher's in a park was easy when all they said was nonsense, but just enough made sense about this magical stuff that she understood how much she didn't understand. Mugaro had this whole thing about seeing into the veils of the world, and putting together little pieces to heal people, and imago magic and regenerative magic. She didn't get a clue about how to do any of that, while Adva and a few others could seamlessly talk along about magical resonance.

Nina leaned to Favaro. "Hey, teacher, are you keeping up?"

"Not one bit. This stuff wasn't covered in your own school?"

It took Nina a beat to say, "No, we didn't learn magic at home."

"Oh, I thought you just didn't go to school cause of your dragon problem."

Nina bit her lips and tried pushing away everything that summoned. It worked, for the most part. It wouldn't do to get emotional in class exactly for the reason Favaro had assumed what he did.

The topic of telekinesis came up when Adva questioned Mugaro about other powers. Azazel was outright telekinetic and could use it without effort, but didn't have much range. Mugaro apparently also had telekinesis and could explode things, but not maintain it for more than a few minutes before exhaustion set in. Adva also professed to have limits, and they were ready to just skip this one.

Favaro subtly raised his hand, and Amira ghosted up to the class front. Horns grew and she unfolded two sets of wings, one demonic and the other angelic. She brushed her hands over the heads of Mugaro and Adva.

Right away, Mugaro's red eye blazed and Adva's barrel exploded. Everyone in the room was lifted by Mugaro's force and got soaked, unable to dodge the strings of water.

Cold as the water was, the force didn't feel bad. Kinda tickly, really. It was strange thinking it'd be so bad to the Onyx Knights.

"Really serves to have an archangels as a father, no?" Favaro said quickly.

"An archangel?" Arai asked.

Cue a flood of words from Mugaro to really catch everyone up. Ne had no reservations about what was and wasn't safe to tell, but Nina was too tired to reign nur in.

The conversation somehow ended up about why, if Mugaro was so powerful, ne didn't just teleport right to the king and took him out. Lower class demons weren't really aware of how teleportation or gates worked, and Mugaro knew scarce little, except that ne didn't have the education to do either.

Hey, wait ... the memory was dim, but very much herself as a dragon. Why this specific one? They were in the hills around Anatae, Dante and Eligos were alive and Hamsa, Belphegor and Azazel were there and — oh spirits had she really been that embarassing around Azazel?

Nesting. No wonder he was especially upset about her thing with Chris, it'd look like she was just driven by some stupid dragon instinct of the type he knew she could control.

Oh, and something about teleportation.

"Hey, you know. Azazel can't teleport when he's really close to me. So I heard," Nina said. "Is there anything that explains that?"

"Displacement," someone else in the class said. "You're a shapeshifter, right? You've always got magic at work that teleports in or away the ichor that composes you, which uses the same field that teleporters use to displace their own mass."

"I worked with that when I healed Odin," Mugaro said. "I can't do it myself though, does anyone—"

Almost the entire class grew their smaller wings into larger ones right away.

"Oh, just wings work too?" Nina said.

Demons were really good at quickly banding together, even for a holy one. Was that training or need or nature? Chris had a lot of ideas about that, but very little proof. She didn't either.

Amira settled in the middle of the group, spreading what little of Satan's power that she could. All perked up, almost like they could see her, but it was only renewed energy. A conversation among elders began on blocking magic. Mugaro joined them, trying nur best to keep up.

Somehow this all made Amira both smile and tear up.

"Can you ask her why she's sad?" Favaro asked. Nina did so by moving away from the group on the excuse of testing range.

"They're like family," Amira said. "I didn't think I'd have any when I returned."

Stories about Satan's power had been anything but that in Nina's home, but Amira wasn't him. She might as well be family to all the demon tribe if she returned, and wanted it so badly. Nina's gut twisted, knowing fate might have other plans. Chris was to fight or exile the very being she was trapped in, after all.

· · · · · · ·

"You need to take some demon students in the main class," Jeanne said to Chiron.

He sighed, like he was a wise old sage before a troublesome student.

"We need to take this slowly. And there is a notable different between a fallen angel who only got a few horns while retaining much of her innocence despite the dark taint, and a true demon."

Take things slowly. That sounded like a sad obstacle rather than a reason to not do anything yet.

Mirin was a glorified guard whom everyone pretended had authority. Chiron was more interested in revival of his old life. Urlain and Reinier didn't show up unless at formal scenarios, she hadn't gotten a single private word it. And humans only had so much use for a saint and a unicorn. Jeanne couldn't deny she was bitter that her reputation was no longer the way it was. Finally she had a use for her fame, only to find it wasn't enough for her new goal.

And on top of that, outside the walls stood a protesting crowd, composed of purists and others who were not keen on the gods, or demons, or both.

During Jeanne's absence, these had apparently become more frequent. El Mugaro's disappearance had not helped either. The unicorn could heal, but could not be seen as more than a beast. Those who came late for healing were those either from far away, or with less faith, so now presentation slipped right when they needed the best.

The crowd silenced a little at the stomping of giant feet, some ran. Soon giant shadows fell down.

The two ghouls in the city both arrived and sat down in the small open areas between church and outer walls. Demons crowded on to the giants, hauling up beams and ropes.

"Alright, let's get a move on it!" Arligau called. Ve had a small group around vun, among them the very architects whom had helped design the cathedral expansions. They had a map, one not depicting buildings but something for the back of the ghouls.

What had been going on when she hadn't been here?

"What are you doing?" Jeanne asked.

"Getting some transport for moving out. The mayor offered us some abandoned town in the hills."

"What? You can't leave just because of some protests. It will get better over time."

Arligau already shook vun head. "You know what lynchings are?"

"Of course I do."

"No, you don't. You know what it's like to be chased down and face death, but not what it's like to live with every moment fearing the next you have to run, or how the crowd gathers not just with ropes and knives, but their disgust. When you know your corpse may be a public reminder to your kin to stay quiet and obey, and bear with the jeers and sabotage because at least you're alive."

"We can still unite—"

"Ten years ago, they floated hundreds of meters apart for a shield. They did not have to interact, let alone fight side by side. There's no, what's the word? Precedent?"

"I want to avoid there being a separation for how else will our tribes ever grow closer?" Jeanne said.

"You've been hopping all over the place to say pretty things, and it's gotten some of us freedom. It's not that we're not grateful, but you gotta understand we're not here just for you to save."

Jeanne looked down, ashamed. They were right, of course. There wouldn't be a glorious overhaul of society. Her ascent into knighthood hadn't opened the position to other women, and it might be eons yet before demons and humans would know true peace.

Arligau's stern look softened a little. "You mean well, I know. For what it's worth, if you weren't there it'd be worse. But we have to go pack now. Will you be there on our way out?"

Jeanne nodded.

She went about arranging things for the road. Chiron would stay with his school, Mirin could only be persuaded to come if she got to keep a few fancy gifts she'd gotten from humans — her looks and feathers were a benefit where it wasn't for others.

The clergy didn't even try hiding how relieved they were that the demons would move out, she already heard whispers of what they'd do with the fancy church they'd gotten out of the deal.

Just as Jeanne was on the way to the road management officials, Coco popped up on her shoulder. "Soooo ... have you been paying any attention to the demon social sphere?"

Jeanne steeled herself for more bad news.

"Cause I checked out Mammon, and chaos, is she busy. Her owner's decollared her at some point, they have a pact, and she's also gathering demons around her. I can promise you she's not doing your kiddy glove thing."

Of course.

"For now I'll just focus on resettling this group," Jeanne said. "I will see about that later."

"You might have a better shot if you had more angels on your side, you know. Come on, lady, be a little bit more rebellious."

Jeanne thought that between hiding godforsaken Azazel and breaking her house arrest while giving humans the impression she still worked heaven's will was already quite rebellious enough. Should she take that further? She quelled the inclination to ask Michael for guidance, she herself had to decide now.

And she had no answers again. Hopefully, El Mugaro and the others would fare better. Should she get in touch with them? Maybe the unicorn could bring her close?

But to this the unicorn didn't really respond, unless the impression of the concept of wall meant anything.

· · · · · · ·

Okay. Mugaro, Belphegor and even Nina might have a point. If he'd gone to hide somewhere he wouldn't have been able to sit back for long, not while Charioce ruled. Just, this time there was failure in his own wake. How can this backfire, it whispered. And for good measure, it insisted he couldn't even have a coherent idea. The more he did, even if it only was scouting, the louder it became.

It was easier if it was just Mugaro asking him to do things, but Mugaro had to stay hidden whenever he wasn't around. Far from Cerberus and as inconspicious as possible when by now all of the slums had heard rumors of a 'very amazing doctor'. Who knew what Olivia would think of that.

A flash of pink shot by on an intersection, just to skit to a halt a dozen meters on. Nina rounded the corner. "Hey, Azazel. Class is fine but boring and uh ..."

She gestured him closer. Even when she stood on her tiptoes he had to bend over. He feared she'd grab a horn to pull him closer, but she didn't touch him as she whispered in his ear, "Mugaro's still learning stuff and Amira can make everyone stronger, and we can block teleportation there. Neither Furfur nor Olivia are anywhere near, so I figured I could go fetch more water for Adva and Tipa. Still no idea how they keep finding out where Cerberus is, though."

Nina looked all wrong wearing only drab brown and gray, but it was the circles on her eyes that were worst.

"Did you even sleep?"

"Not much. Some freaky deer thing haunted me for a while," Nina said.

"What?"

"Anyway, Malphas said she's got a new idea and I'm going to help her with some stuff later."

He put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her from just running off. "Nina."

"I'm fine, I broke through the spell."

"That was Olivia's right hand. Details, now."

"He came by this night and wrapped me up in some kind of waking nightmare," Nina said as she stepped out of Azazel's hand. "I couldn't see the walls that well, it was a little like when Rita's mist makes me see zombies as living people. To be honest, it took me a while to get out of the illusion, and it kept going. He wouldn't listen when I tried to tell him fate's doing bad stuff."

"Illusion?"

"Just sad stuff and Chris stuff, but that's not important. Actually, I don't think they know Angra Mainyu's doing anything behind their back. Anyway, did you find anything while scouting?"

"Olivia's founding a court of her own, and she's expecting to use hostages. If I am going to face her, I need back up."

Nina nodded knowingly. "And I bet you want me to fill in for your godawful recruitment skills."

Okay, admittedly he might have been heading towards where he'd heard she'd be.

Water was the one thing available plenty now, so Nina raced two barrels to the classroom and Azazel threw in another two. After that, the plans were finding allies because dammit, it just turned out Nina was vulnrable to Furfur through her human heritage. That made her unfit to be a good guard, so he got some of Rachel's people on that job.

Belphegor, Favaro and the Smaragd Knights would help against Olivia, but none of them would be able to just walk up to the amphitheater.

There were a few strong demons, but not many, what with most being slaughtered in the arena or as cannon fodder for the Orleans Knights. Cerberus's girls were the only group outside of that whom really packed a punch, she'd gone out of her way to keep close the most useful ones. Cerberus was, as usual, not interested in an outright fight, and they stuck with her. Malphas outrighed refused the association, and Divesepid stuck with her.

Pacting with random humans meant they had no time to get experienced with magic, which inevitably led to Nina asking, "Why don't you count Trismegistus? She's got a pact and is experienced with it."

"She doesn't like me."

"That's all? Let's go ask her," Nina said. "Hey, I pacted with you and that turned out alright!"

Trismegistus had a lot to say to Nina that. "Look, I'm sorry, but you're missing the point. He's an asshole. I didn't have the same bad experiences or dark heart as his other wards, but only because he needed me to flourish up his deals. Really needed; he's never been the type to sit down and learn how to access all kinds of magic, or I imagine he could've stood at a parade, possessed the your boyfriend's clothing and strangled him that way. I got respect out of need only. Why would that have changed? See what happens when need runs out. I'm not making any deals with him if I can help it."

"So you're not helping even if this isn't for him?" Nina asked in a tiny voice, not at all like herself.

"That depends on whether you're putting my new pact master in danger, but alchemy will have little use against a fallen god, their immunities and regeneration. I can't stop Belphegor, but I can stay away from him."

Cerberus and Belphegor had a much easier time getting humans to work for them, which their next stop drove home even further.

Walfrid was now pactless, left an ordinary human. Favaro kept touch with him to get drunk together whenever he got a bottle of wine from the Red Troupe, otherwise he lived with a commune of humans in the slums. According to Favaro he'd wanted to join the Red Troupe, but Athos had joined the Orleans Knights and might recognize his voice. They didn't want any risk.

"Why'd you bring me back anyway?" Walfrid slurred.

"You were within reach range, you knew mechanical things."

"Pfffft," Walfrid said. "I'm a captain, that doesn't mean I can do the same stuff as Paracelsus. Give me a skyship or give me nothing."

"I can give you a new pact," Azazel said.

Walfrid burst into uncontrollable giggling before emptying his glass. "Fat chance. I bet you'll send me off to another fight."

"I though you wanted to be immortal?" Nina said. "We don't need a front fighter, just a little backdrop to protect some hostages."

"Listen here, girl. I figured it out. He kills the kind people, he empowers the jerks," Walfrid muttered. "So I made sure I was just bad enough that he wouldn't kill off me, but that just got me a bounty on my head. So no, not that guy. Gotta see first whether the sciency or the architect ones want wards. Maybe the architect of the necromancer. I got options now."

He wouldn't say any more, to Nina's obvious disappointment that got voiced with, "That's all you're going to do?" as soon as they were alone in a tunnel.

"No, I'm going back to scouting," he said.

"What else is there to find out? We need a better rebellion."

"Then figure out how to make Cerberus more active."

She grit her teeth together, which meant ... something.

He tried figuring out a non awkward way to ask that, but someone had to butt in. "Something the matter?"

Behind them stood Favaro, all obxious swishing his new tail.

"Who's watching Mugaro?" Azazel asked.

"Amira is. Mugaro's in touch with her, and we figured out how to prevent teleportation in the area, so don't sweat it."

"What's the matter is that we're trying to bolster our back up, but Azazel's not really trying," Nina huffed.

"You heard them, why bother? I'll try when it's worth the effort," he grumbled.

Favaro jumped between them, one arm over Nina's shoulder and — he had the absolute nerve to put an arm around Azazel's shoulder too. It left him hanging all lopsided, so throwing him off without throwing Nina to the ground needed finesse.

"Come on, we'll figure something out. How about—" Azazel lifted him up by snake and tossed him back.

Dissapointingly, Favaro just landed on his feet without looking like he took the hint. "How you guys tell me why you got that idea all of a sudden, rather than this morning. Something new happen?"

Oh fuck it. He'd forgotten to tell the others about his scouting and Nina's problem.

Nina caught Favaro up, which inspired Favaro to take a level in absurd, "Furfur leaves the barrier sometimes, so maybe the Onyx Knights can deal with him. We'll just tip off Kaisar. He's in on stuff. Hell, he could pass on a message to your boyfriend."

"The guy whom I knocked off his horse, right? Does he even know who I am?"

"I bet he knows more than you like. Kaisar didn't even blink when I mentioned dragon years," Favaro said. "I didn't tell him anything about you other than that I have a student named Nina, so I bet the castle is already swirling with rumors about the king and you."

"Wait, you know about my dragons years? Did mati tell literary everyone but me?"

"Nah, that was the purple haired guy." Favaro snapped his fingers. "I think he was family?"

"Ladislao," Nina said. "My father's brother.

"I thought you were the sole money earner for your family?"

"He sometimes pitches in, but he's looking to start his own family so it can't be much," Nina said, but her voice drifted off before she switched back to perk attentiveness. "Anyway, the one problem is whether we can get a hold of Kaisar before the meeting with Olivia."

Favaro snapped his fingers and soon, Mimi appeared. When asked whether she could drop a message to Kaisar, she vanished.

Upon reappearing, she said, "Nope, he's in the castle and I can't go there. They've got this huge anti demon thing powered by Dromos going on, and they're preparing for some kind of feast. Olivia was right about the special guests."

"Dammit, that means no leave for the knights," Favaro said.

Depending on Charioce.

He might as well hand himself over to Olivia.

Was there any way he could take out Furfur himself, when he couldn't predict where he'd be? They didn't have enough manpower to take on a teleporting illusionary demon in a way that wouldn't tip off Olivia somehow. It had to be during the confrontation or she'd know and adjust.

... they didn't have to let him in, if he caugfht Furfur just outside. The confrontration with Olivia was inevitable. He was short on allies. He still needed Nina's help even if it didn't involve Dromos, but she was useless if Furfur could rob her sight with illusions or worse, outright reduce her to the tormented mess the humans above were in.

And there was another way to get into the castle.

"Find me an isolated room. I'm already inside," he said.

"You mean—"

"Of course."

Favaro knew a place with an old door from Arachna that still worked, Azazel left the explaining to Nina.

Once there Nina lit an old torch, while Azazel found a corner that seemed solid enough not to send the roof down. Favaro stayed only on the premise that if an enemy appeared while he was out, it'd be extra defense.

Azazel sat down slowly. It was like surrendering to weakness now he knew what would happen : his body here would go slack and he would be in chains under Charioce's power.

Nina pushed a rock closer so she could sit before him, but he refused eye contact.

"Are you ready?" Nina asked.

"Just get on with it."

He held out his arm, expecting nothing to happen for a while, like before, but Nina had barely messed with his flow or he lost himself.

Double awareness set in. One set of eyes stared into the bright light of the sun, fighting another useless drill with the knights. The other lay still in a cage of black metal as a tube went into his leg painfully, draining blood.

"Azazel?"

With difficulty, he focused on Nina. She was still visible, but the sensation of the connection overtook the sight.

"Azazel, stay here." Nina's voice was clear at least.

The fight demanded attention even as the body had an inherent instinct driving it — he could do better while thinking and he had to — but it wasn't as overpowering as before. Still quiet in the caves, even as snakes started pouring out of him.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Favaro said, trying to shove some of them away as they crawled over him.

"The snakes were there before," Nina said. "He's actually doing a lot better this time. Azazel, is there anyone you can talk to over there?"

"I can't ... speak ... in that ... form ... " The words came only in phases as he kept falling back into the castle.

"Can you write somehow?"

He nodded, and didn't tell them he'd be using blood from one of the goats — the caged on in the laboratory couldn't manifest enough snakes to reach the brittle walls.

Between the next hazes, Favaro produced his papers and pencil. He and Nina muttered and scribbled something before Favaro held up a paper. "This one's a request to bring Charioce to you. Don't worry, it's worded to sound like you."

Nina bent over. "I dunno, he doesn't evil cackling that much."

"You sure?"

Nina gave Favaro a look. "I've known him him for like three months, more if we count me chasing him. No evil cackling."

Favaro struck through something and held the paper up again.

The caged one could manifest barely a single serpent, which faded before he got more than one letter down. Using blood for drawing didn't phase him, but it degraded that he had to do this.

The one engaged in combat didn't have a chance to stand still and write in the sand, he tried anyway. His opponent didn't notice, but some in the crowd started to comment how the fighting suddenly got smarter.

Azazel stopped trying to write and focused entirely on taking off the arm of his tormentor. Feigning an attack to the left, he went by the right — the fool had no proper reflexed and was within range of the chains.

Unlike ordinary goats, this one had the teeth of a serpent, and the flexible neck to match. He drove his fangs into the sword arm, twisted and tore the arm guard off along with skin. The fighter howled and Azazel was pulled back by the chain.

It gave him a moment of reprieve, during which he put all focus on writing.

"Back off!" Kaisar called. Of course Kaisar again, teaching his precious knights how to better kill demons.

The recruits did as ordered, and Kaisar walked up. Kneeling down he inspected as Azazel wrote.

"Azazel, is that you? You need to stop this, it's a bad time," Kaisar whispered.

"How do I tell ... Lidfard's son ... to get lost?"

Favaro grinned. "Man, are you kidding me? Do you have fingers over there?"

"No."

"Spit?"

He considered that, but Kaisar already backed away. Some other guy approached — familiar somehow. Before Azazel could get a good look, he'd already ran away.

The battle didn't resume, so Azazel finished the letters in the sand.

Nothing happened in the daylight, but someone entered the laboratory and started lowering the seal below his body there. The shackles were loosened, allowing him to shift so he could lay with his head raised.

The man stood there waiting. Azazel didn't expect them to offer paper any time, so he forced out a snake and nicked at his leg, drawing more blood to write with.

"I see," the man said. "He will be told."

A long time passed before Charioce appeared before him; he entered the dark laboratory.

All Azazel's hatred boiled up, so close to yesterday's relentless drive to kill him at all costs — but he was in chains now, unable to even crawl back one inch as Charioce approached.

"I had no idea that I still had some you." There was the infernal self satisfied smile again, and just like before Azazel couldn't even move away.

"It surprises me that you returned to Anatae," Charioce said. "After all, what is there for you but more of the same? Or perhaps you figured you could not get away. I wonder, were you aware of this here all along?"

He didn't relay any of that to Nina and Favaro.

"So, what is this message?" Charioce asked.

The sight of Nina and Charioce blurred together, he had to look away from her. "Next one."

Only when Nina held up the paper did he look back, blending her with Charioce's impassive stare.

Azazel wrote the next lines.

"I see. Tell Nina to arrange that that birds may pass the barrier. There is a posthouse near the slums. Keep the windows open and restore the den."

Azazel repeated that to Nina, and just gave Charioce a nod.

"If that was all, I have one thing to discuss too. Only with you," Charioce said.

He didn't nod, but did stay just out of morbid curiosity, even as any second of this disgrace wore him down.

"Did she tell you what my final goal is?"

He nodded.

"Can you afford to fight against me, when I will fight for the whole world?"

Azazel had a lot to rage about that, but lacking words, he just spit at Charioce. It was a miss, Charioce just stepped back.

"Hmm." Still that insufferable smile. Charioce approached from the side, and ran a finger down his forehead. "You're truly—"

Azazel severed the connection with all force he had, until there was only the weak glow of the torch and two worried faces.

Breathing came heavy. He pushed his claws into the rock, crumbled them. Here. Not imprisoned in the castle, not as powerless as then.

"Are you alright?" Nina asked.

"I am now."

He got to his feet, and ... Nina backed away immediately.

That just did it. He went through that and she just left?

She didn't even look at him anymore, she was with the dog. "Mimi, could you please go there?"

With her back towards him, it finally hit him what was wrong. She hadn't touched him since he fell out at her on the riverside.

Nina was never sparing with touch otherwise. Was ... was she done with him because of that? Seriously? What was her problem? Just because he'd yelled? It wasn't like that was all about her. He'd done worse.

He'd gone centuries without being touched by anyone outside of combat, he didn't need it. But Charioce had done beyond worse to her and she still wanted to be near him. This was an insult.

· · · · · · ·

In the light of the cave's hearth, the latter was golden, the letters ornate, light in her hands yet heavy to open.

What did she want out of it? Something loving, she hoped and feared. Confirmation would make it harder to fight.

To make it worse, Mimi had handed the letter right when she was with Azazel and Favaro.

To the red dragon,

It appears we have a mutual enemy, so your request falls in good earth. I will be there.

Any information you can send me on this enemy will be put to good use.

I regret that there cannot be more to the crossing of our roads.

Greetings,

Chris.

That was all? She scourged the words for any indication of the guilt he professed to have, but there was nothing.

"He has agreed," was all Nina said.

Azazel's eyes bore into her.

"Do ... do you want to see it?" She held out the paper, but he didn't take it.

Favaro snatched it away.

"Hmmmm ... well, there's the big secret of a grand total of one line of mush." Favaro waved it before Azazel's face. "Want to have a crash course in the human alphabet?"

Azazel shoved him away, glaring daggers.

Nina burned with shame as she grabbed the paper back, only to be unsure what to do with it. Keeping it was her first thought, but then what? Pour over it when nobody watched? Hope to figure out something deep and meaningful from it? Something that proved ... something? That he loved or that he wasn't that bad?

Azazel and Favaro watched her.

She had to get rid of it, but she couldn't get it over her heart to tear it apart casually when it'd been composed with such care. What he felt for her was a lot of complicated, painful things, but it wasn't crude.

So she laid it in the fire.

Not wanting to face anyone else, she watched it burn until Favaro declared, "Right, how about we brainstorm? I'm going to need to hear absolutely everything about everyone's powers. The kid included."

"We're not including Mugaro," Azazel said.

"But the healing—"

"Mugaro doesn't get onto this scene until Olivia and Furfur are dead. Understood?"

While the last bits of paper burned, Nina tried hard for her affection for Chris to burn along. Mugaro, a child sentenced to death for an inconvenient power. Azazel and Favaro would be dead too.

It didn't stick well enough to bring out hatred, especially now the words she tried to burn were a promise of help.

"So first things first, what advantage can we give Charioce to get a hold on Furfur?" Favaro said.

"He said something. I think ... he might have someone from my tribe on my side," Nina said. "We'll tell him transformative magic can block teleportation."

Azazel gave her a look she couldn't read, and wasn't in the mood to. It'd just make things more uncomfortable between them. Chris claiming he'd met another of her kind was one thing, but he'd also known she'd been with Jeanne. Azazel already had trouble trusting her, she didn't want to make that worse right now.

· · · · · · ·

"You must behave this afternoon, alright? This is more important than usual." Kaisar told Rocky before pulling a glove over him. The index and middle fingers 'nodded'.

The Joyous Advent of the king of Manaria was today, for which Kaisar had a lot of fretting to do. He had to look good not for his desired duties — leading the Orleans Knights — but as a token.

As nobility and sole survivor of the Lidfard family, recently awarded for saving the king and now a member of the inner circle, Kaisar was a pretty face to add to a party. He was also one of the few Onyx Knights who was still presentable without covering up.

Other kingdoms expects knights to be the most honored warriors, so Charioce's decision to surrounded himself with black armored men of no name who never showed up at formal events hadn't gone without notice. Kaisar's job was to portray the Onyx Knights as an order more like monks dedicated to the king's protection, who were typically involved in intense magical training to resist demonic influences. His own presence despite years of rigorous training was to be explained as an extreme honor. Charioce wouldn't have cared much for misconceptions over his protection before, but now he had had open war with the gods pressing on his reputation.

The private docks of the castle had been filled with a mixture of Manaria's purple and Teutoiskas's green. Kaisar and Rocky arrived at the lane between those docks and the castle, also decorated with similar colors. Rocky carried the Lidfard banner. It was to be planted along a line of holes along the lane.

His own depicted a unicorn, crest and long striped banner, honor to the old chivalric heritage of the Lidfard family.

Allesand planted the Visponti banner next to Kaisar's banner; his a writhing serpent devouring a child.

"So captain Lidfard, how is working for the Onyx Knights?"

"Very solemn," he said. "Straighten your back."

"Hmmph." The young man hadn't stood off much, and ended up puffing his chest out without another attempt to converse.

The advent came by river : colorful boats surrounding a large central barge, upon which a lavish arched imitation castle had been crafted out of red wood.

The royals passed to meet Charioce on the other end, the representatives of the nobles followed.

Custom dictated the royals would retreated into the castle to rest, but that had been old times when such a journey tooks weeks. Nowadays Charioce sold pieces of levitating rock harvested from hell; implenent those within a boat and the trek went much faster even if one didn't have enough magic for air navigation. The royals would have a much more elaborate welcoming party, one which served an extra purpose : assurance.

The hostage situation left many doubtful of security, even with the demonstration of the anti demon fields that were now (mostly) active on the premises of the castle.

They gathered within a rich garden within the outer walls of the castle right under the arches. Here lay a wide open field usually used for recreational sports of the nobility where Merlin would give a demonstration of her magic.

She was late, but Charioce had no difficulty keeping the royals of Manaria at word. They were separate from the others, on a pavilion that needed no barrier.

When one saw him like this, the tales of him being the best Charioce felt so true. He wasn't his oily father by far, and his legacy was one of prosperty. He was almost distracting.

Kaisar went over frivolities with nobility whom he never had had the chance to know well. He could not keep up with the banter well, Kaisar's touch with ongoing aristrocratic matters were outdated, limited to the stories of his family, but his tales of heroism were a good substitute. More than a few nobles received promises of expansive tales at the incoming ball. Other expressed the desire to visit the old Lidfard mansions, and he had to explain in vague terms that those, including the main one near Dorma, had been destroyed by Bahamut — in reality many had been torn down or sold off as storehouses.

Essenbeck approached him with a warm smile and was very loud about this being the man who had heroically saved him during the siege. Kaisar spent the ten minutes relaying insider information to Essenbeck, mostly about court relations. He had no idea why any of this was even relevant to Essenbeck.

It was only near the end of that when Merlin finally showed herself. Decked out in flowing summer green and smiles, Merlin was hardly recognizeable. Only that she had a staff on her back and cane in hand tipped one off she was no ordinary aristrocrat.

Charioce pointed her out, and all attention shifted to the woman calmly crossing the path, a sight to rival Charioce. Hushed murmurs of her name went around; a living legend of centuries known across the continent.

She bowed before the king, kissed his hand and turned to the crowd.

"Greeting, nobles of Manaria and Teutoiskas. You have surely heard my name before, but may wonder about my presence. Once more I have returned to this world to guide a worthy king. Now I stand before you to vouch for the power of his kingdom.

I swear to you, you are safe from the demon that plagues the lower ring. The only reason that one was able to take hostage our dear citizens was because the gods had that Jegudiel shut down our defenses. Fortunately, we were able to secure the upper ring before it got out of hand. The moment the fields were activated again that foul demon has not gained so much as an inch of the city."

She planted her staff in the ground. From below it, a circle of green power spun out and connected with preexisting magic; the very field below the castle that would activate if any unauthorized demonic power was used on its premises.

Rocky twitched below the glove, but didn't lash out. Merlin went on to demonstrate her own magic in concord with the barrier. A few captured demons were hauled in to be pulverised before the crowd.

After that, the crowd mingled again, with the royals close to Merlin herself.

"We have been told you are the the founder of the Orleans Knights, is this so?" princess Anne asked.

"I have laid out its creed, but it was the late king Arthur who led the round table. The Orleans Knights are an offshoots of this old order." This history concerned Kaisar, so he stayed close to listen and saved himself a few strained conversations, but he learned little of it. Merlin's words were old legends scraped clean of any personality.

"Fate has indeed called me back in the nick of time," Merlin said as closure. "I was in a long slumber, as the world did not need my specific service, but there are those who fight fate. You see, fate did not at all intend Bahamut to awaken. A human traitor did so, Gilles de Rais, but in the end, fate rectified him."

This causes more than a few frowns, since most people outside the kingdom had been told Martinet was responsible. Gilles de Rais was only known around here because Favaro had always called him that.

"What about Jeanne d'Arc?" Anne asked. "Such a legend now speaks ill word of this country she once served and protected."

"Ah, her. Once a worthy warrior, no doubt. I suppose she never was purged well enough. I am told a dying god did so? No wonder he failed, he must have been at the end of his strength. See, purification is a tricky business. I myself descend from demonic heritage, but I was purified at birth. It is not my heritage. Do not fear, I am untainted, and there are others who have pulled themselves free of demonic heritage."

She gestured at Lao, who smiled like he was the centerpiece.

At Merlin's invitation, he took her place on the field. Within a burst of light, he turned into the elegant dragon of purple and gold colors.

The foreigners back away in fear, save for the princess, but nobody fled.

Charioce approached Lao, who bowed his head to him to have Charioce laid his hand on his snout briefly.

Straightening his neck, Lao's voice thundered across the gardens, "We do not need the gods to defy the evil of hell. All we need is our own willpower to dedicate ourselves to the improvement of our world and our place in it."

Charioce climbed onto Lao's back and said, "Would anyone like a demonstration of how well his ancestors achieved their goals?"

Some expressed curiosity, but they were only used to demons wearing collars and mindless wyverns reigned in. The princess was the only one to take up the offer, just barely slipping from the warning on her father's tongue. There were rumors she had experience with noble dragons, perhaps that was it.

As Lao made a show of being a nice dragon, Kaisar wandered to Merlin's newly formed conversation group. They discussed some kind of philosophical aspect of demonhood that passed over his expertise. During a lull in the conversation approached her with a bow.

"Ah, Kaisar Lidfard. Please rise."

"Would you walked with me, my lady? I have not yet had the chance to speak with you regarding the fate of this kingdom's chivalric order. It would be an honor to hear your advise on this, should you have the time to spare."

"Of course, I would be glad to." The glint in her eyes told him she might have wanted the chance already.

They wandered into a low lane of trees, paved with marble. At a safe distance from the crowd, Kaisar said, "May I be frank?"

She smiled. "You are frank enough to conspire with hellspawn behind the back of your king, surely you do not need my permission?"

"I conspire with no one! My lady, no offense, but such accusations have no foundation!"

Favaro and Belphegor pushed that thing with the Red Troupe on him, that wasn't his decision!

"Would you like to plead your case, or was there something else you wished to say?" Merlin said.

"Ah, right. ... What do you think of his majesty's kingdom? And ... the way the demons are treated?"

"I believe there should be chances offered for demons to ascend the way I and Lao's tribe have done," she said. "This is a failing in the kingdom I have hope to see corrected, however. For better or worse, perhaps due to that girl. You have heard the rumors, no doubt?"

"I have, but it is difficult to ascertain their nature. Some of them are rather wild." Like the one insisting on a late night orgy.

"Well, those that are true are among the tamest. I believe she may be of use to fate itself, and for the kingdom as it is. Some tweaks must be done for the greater purpose," Merlin said. "In this, the king and I agree. I believe the king will learn to control his impulses, and see a more tactical way to handle demonkind."

Kaisar felt a weight fall off his heart, he was not the only one seeing this. He was close to gushing about the ways the king had helped the kingdom, but also a little too close to a few demons to go through with it, and Merlin's severe expression killed it altogether.

"What is your place in all this?" she asked. "I am told that you hold Azazel accountable for your father's death, yet on record you father was executed here in the capital, on orders of Charioce XIII."

"It is more that he caused the ruin of my family," he said. "He owned those rare magical rocks that Charioce XIII had received as a tribute. And though I wasn't aware for a long time, he personally murdered the father of my best friend."

"Ah, that sounds typical of that filthy demon. I am surprised that your friend allies with him when that history exists."

She knew about even that?

Kaisar's pace faltered, but Merlin pulled him along. Kaisar debated with himself on asking anything, but after an uneasy silence Merlin herself continued, "I met your friend in the slums. He not only has made a pact with demons, he is accompanied by a demonic spirit that flows and violates the fabric of fate itself. It would not be the first time Azazel has tempted a righteous soul to fall in an effort to defy fate, so it concerns me that you seem to, sometimes, protect this demon and your straying friend. Why is that?"

"For many years, I was consumed by vengeance. I hunted down my best friend with every intent to kill him for the disgrace of the Lidfard name, and the death of my parents. Only in the latest hours before learning the truth did I begin to falter, and once I knew it was Azazel's game and what Favaro had done for me by giving me a target, I understood my folly. I would not be consumed by revenge again and swore to myself I would live in honor hence forth."

"I'll swear you now, you can choose finer demons to prove you have moved on from all consuming anger, dear knight," Merlin said. "Take any demon, and set your friend an ultimatum."

"Random demons are not the ones to have wronged me."

"Caring for the cursed ones is a waste of time, and theirs, honestly. First they trail you to find Azazel, now they have you here as a hostage for the zombie girl, while suspecting that lord Essenbeck is up to something. You're like driftwood to fate, less a champion. You might yet be."

Again he was at loss of words. This did not go as he expected it.

"As you failed to live with honor, I had failed to be a just servant of fate. Eons should have taught me sometimes smaller evil must precede a greater good. I knew that, until I encountered a sacrifice I foolishly judged as too great. It was arrogant of me, and that arrogance was exploited. I became an enemy of the world, and the world recoiled. When Seel Soh Ketom was cast upon me, my soul did not have the fortune to pass on. I fell to the void, abandoned by the world with only my thoughts and the fleeting attention of Angra Mainyu. Out there, we are strung above the abyssal waters. We have nothing. You cannot imagine what it is like to exist without any stimulation. Without hope. Without chance for atonement, or so I thought.

I was told Azazel just grabbed what was in his range, when he stole the tablets from heaven. Perhaps fate set me in the right place. Whatever it may be, I learned my lesson. I shall serve this king better than any before, to guard him from his own foolishness and support him in his strength. This will be my redemption to fate."

Azazel? Void? There was so much here he couldn't place.

"Why did you tell me this now?" he asked. "You've surely had other chances?"

"There is something very specific I believe you and I must do, which may set us at odds with the king, but will be to his benefit. It regards one of his weaknesses."

"Weaknesses? I'm aware of the dragon girl, but what else is there?"

"He has an unrelated project of which the cost may be too high. Such a young man, it is no wonder he finds allure in its twisted beauty like the dragon, or potential like your little friend, Rita. I am afraid if I outright confront him with what she does he will simply invent a remedy, and consider how he remedies his other problem with illogical overkill, I don't feel like telling him of the specific problem with the zombie master. As it stands, I feel we must remove her from the castle, alive. You might be vital to this. If you must, ask for help from your unsavory connections."

They knew. Or she alone knew.

"No need to tense up, dear knight. Your connections may exactly be why you can be convenient to fate. You could steer those astray, and redeem yourself." She held up her cane, which wasn't actually a cane, but Rita's umbrella stripped off the spikes and cloth. "If not, I may yet figure out how to control this before his majesty's destiny comes to pass. Then I will prove him what she is, and she will be destroyed. I would ask Lao, but he is too enamored with literary following the king." Merlin sighed. "I am here to serve as cushion for such beauty flaws."

"What if we are beauty flaws in itself?" he asked.

"If fate does not will it and I am wrong, I will know. Just like I know you will answer me with yes." With that they had reached the end of the path, like she had timed the entire conversation.

"Have a good day," she said as she returned to the feast.

Kaisar was left alone with his thoughts, and Rocky refused to untense. She was right, he didn't have to outright say yes.

· · · · · · ·

One ghoul to carry their scarce belongings, the other to lift the most sickly and elderly in a craft constructed from wood, scraps and magical plants. They'd have to make a few treks to get everyone out. Mirin would accompany them, while Jeanne remained in the capital with her breaking hope and loss for direction.

The designated area was an abandoned town in the forest a few miles from the capital, of which the associated mine had run dry. This was the inevitable product of employing larger demon slaves. A disgusting heritage, testified by the barracks that came in sizes to house varying demon races.

Jeanne helped them settle as well as she could. Old knowledge of how to live near forests came in useful, which none of these demons were familiar with. She spent a few hours teaching them about herbs and healing plants and which wood was best for fires and building. Agriculture had to wait, nobody had seeds yet, and she couldn't guess what they might obtain. Still, she found a plot and suggested it cleared for later.

In the afternoon Jeanne had an appointment with a cardinal in another country, followed by one with the pope where she expected Urlain to show up — perhaps a time to talk then? — and in a few days there was a ball for which she had no clothes yet. All this while running from heaven would tired her, but nothing compared to slavery, so she didn't let herself slack off.

If there was one small benefit, the unicorn always smelled nice so she didn't have to invest in perfume after working on the ground.

By evening, the town brimmed with life. Mirin told her there would be some kind of official thing which most tribes agreed on celebrating. Food was scarce yet, but hunters were about, and her tips for edible plants taken.

From the side of the square, Jeanne watched as Arligau passed candles out, which were spread around. Fires were lit and wood gathered for a pyre to dance and mourn, but also celebrate and remember. It would be the first time in years they could have a feast by their own rules.

Memory and connection that Jeanne had no business partaking in. She retreated into her room and for a long time, sat with her head in her hands.

Countless families remained separated. Valeria had not outlawed slavery. Ultimately the liberation was but a trend and an economic move for the rich, and a few scattered sympathizing humans. And now godforsaken Bahamut.

It felt hopeless.

Just after sunset, the door opened along with a familiar sensation. Jeanne knew it was Sofiel before even looking up. Sofiel held out her hand, which Jeanne took as she sat down.

"How are you doing?" Sofiel asked.

"I'm well, but my hope for peace is not," she said. "But there are more pressing concerns. I believe we found out what the Dromos is for."

· · · · · · ·

Nina kept her wings out when she went to bed. Nobody visited this night, but she didn't sleep well either.

All of the day had been awkward, now her relation to Charioce wasn't like a surreal dream anymore. Belphegor did her very best to be cordial about it, but Nina noticed the way she spoke slower. Cerberus kept rubbing it in. Nobody chatted with her except Mugaro.

Now they had to trust her? Most of the team would involve the Smaragd Guard, whom all knew. Rachel wasn't very eager to see her anymore either.

In the morning, Nina got some ordinary clothes, quietly listened to instructions and went with Cerberus. Nina was to be planted among the hostages, for which Cerberus teleported her into the amphitheater's prison. Not directly into the cells, but the management station. Cerberus knocked out the occupant and plants weed as an excuse, before turning to the books.

Olivia kept fine records of whom everyone was : name, profession, records of their life in the city. According to Cerberus Furfur used this room a lot, as did others of Olivia's local court. Their very own school : how to get humans to despair.

Cerberus flipped through the records. "I'll give'em this, they're very creative. None of these are getting lethal torture, they want them alive for harvest. I might borrow a few of these tricks."

"Once this is over, you need to stop too," Nina said.

"Listen up, girl. We're only in this together because we have a common enemy. You don't get to make any demands, and I have no interest in becoming weak."

With that, she flipped over the book. The pages began to glow and almost flip on their own as Cerberus read through it.

"Huh, I had no idea I could read that fast." Cerberus frowned. "Anyway, you have friends here. We're putting you with them in case any guards wonder where you came from."

Cerberus flicked a finger across the page and the name Nina Drango appeared, matching to the existing records of her working for the construction site.

Nina had no time to wonder about the magic before Cerberus teleported them into a dank passageway, an pushed Nina into a very crowded cell. And small. Nina clutched her hands over her chest.

No need to fake being anxious about being here.

Looking around, Cerberus turned out to be right. Emeline, Burkhart and Marcio huddled together on one side. They didn't recognize her in the dark, until she sat down next to Emeline and said, "Hey, how are you doing?"

Bewildered, the woman looked up. Even in the dark, it was clear she'd gotten thinner. Scabs covered her face. Marcio and Burkhart weren't any better off.

"Nina?" Emeline whispered.

"Yep, it's me."

"You and Favaro got away?" Marcio asked.

"Of course. It's a long story, but we're here to stop that fallen angel," Nina said. "Actually, I could use some help."

"Help?"

"I need you to pretend I was here all along," she said. "You'll see the rest later. I think. Do you know why you were brought here?"

"No. What do you mean, we? You and Favaro? You can't fight her alone!"

"Yes we can. Now listen to me. When we break you out, there will be demons working together with the humans who are coming. You'll have to trust them, okay?

"More of your rebellion friends?" Burkhart spat.

"Okay, crash course current status : it's a very small number of demons who rule all of hell," Nina said. "The gates that leave hell are controlled by them. There's no the demons terrorizing earth. They aren't a monolith. When we get out, my friends will not act like in the stories. I promise."

"Yeah sure." Someone nearby muttered. "I bet it's just another trick, that's happened a lot, you know. Maybe you're the trick."

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to talk out loud about rebellion, in case any enemies overheard. She was sure she could get them to listen later, so she sat back and didn't pretend at being a terrified prisoner. Just, for her it was the stone rather than those outside.

· · · · · · ·

It would be soon, and all was set. Charioce sat back, always good at the waiting game, now spent with his mother and her nosy 'doctor'.

Ever lacking in respect, Rita leaned over the armrest. "Ah, so the rumors are true. You really do have a thing with Nina."

"So I do," he said. "I doubt it will go anywhere. Just the other day, she deceived me and tried to bite my arm off, it's not the sort of thing that makes a good wedding story."

"Now now, if you're still together after you sent her to your fun exploding island, surely you can look past such minor quabbles?"

For someone supposedly isolated Rita sure had a lot of information.

Rita returned to poking at his mother, who shambled around the room pretending to be interested in the books. He didn't believe she could be, but Rita had managed something to make her recall new information.

He went back over Nina's words.

The chain of letters went over details he had to ask for — what kind of powers that demon exactly had, what the range of blocking was, the nature of transformation magic. Merlin, Rita and Ferdinand were all potential experts, but Rita was the least conspicious to ask for advice. For all the well trained staff knew, she was on another routine visit to the patient who formally did not exist.

Rita was difficult to read, but he was fairly certain she cared for Nina. So the things she suggested would likely be useful, and Nina answered to her best efforts.

Anti teleportation spell circles using the power of Dromos in a stagnant way. Once there was a lock on a creature or an area it could hold it, but it needed to be caught first. The demon made that very difficult simply with its mind warping madness. There was no aiming to be done when one didn't even remember the spell.

That this could be solved with something as simple as just sending in a demonic shapeshifter was a tad embarassing. Fortunately he had one who was very loyal and strong enough to handle it. On reserve, he had a number of the demon division for back up, but it would be Lao on the forefront; according to Nina, she was not entirely immune to the illusions, but could resist them better than humans. As long as Lao was covered otherwise, he should be better than Nina, being older.

On short notice there was very little excuse he could give for suddenly finding out how to block teleportation of creatures not already caught in a circle, so it was deemed just an experiment. That meant it would be conspicious if Charioce joined this time. He still had some reputation he wanted to preserve, after all.

But he wanted some kind of feedback, so he went to his balcony, telescope in hand. He was just barely able to see the wide street where the plan would fall into action.

Lao in human form wandered to the wall, alone. A few plants were at the end of the street, pretending to be fellow youth cheering on someone acting on a stupid dare.

It did not take long for the mist to converge, and the haunting to begin.

· · · · · · ·

Favaro crawled through the crevice into the arena, senses alert for anything, but it was really empty. For something that was supposed to be a trap, there were awfully few guards inside. Ridiculous to the point of suspcision, really. They had to somehow free a whole lot of hostages before they could be used, all the while Azazel had to deal with Olivia before anyone got set on fire. Nina would begin breaking locks as soon as the fight started, now there was something hidden to suspect?

And he wasn't even getting paid.

Belphegor joined him after getting the Smaragd Guard in position, using hidden spaces quickly constructed in emptied houses; Olivia had patrols around the amphitheater. Despite this, she too got in without any trouble.

They slipped through empty halls, ran into the first guards and were ready to fight, just for the two demons to grin wide. "Ah, you're here already?"

"Yes," Favaro said, luckily before Belphegor's confusion had her blurt out a question. "Why do you even need to ask?"

"Lady Olivia thought Azazel would be suspicious and not bring his allies in, since she made such a bad impression in dealing with Cerberus."

"You gotta admit though, your boss is an abomination," the other demon added. His eyes rested on Favaro's glowing bounty bracelet, weary but not really afraid. Odd.

"Yeah, I gotta admit it kinda freaks me out how she survived being poked full of holes," Favaro said.

"Not that. She's going the wrong way."

"Huh?"

Belphegor scraped her throat. "He is a human. Perhaps a ward, but we do not inform him of any finer details of magic."

Favaro made a point of nodding like a fool. "You totally lost me at ablobimashun. What're we talking about? Pudding? "

"Talents! The dog, she's getting awfully close to god territory. She does community, and not even the kind that's exclusionary. You know, that which gets us some nice hatred to thrive on. All those humans she allows to be in the slums? Bad news for us."

The other piped up with, "Can you imagine, a demon who benefits from humans getting along well with anyone? Hey, wanna make a bet on what Azazel will attune to?"

"Oh who cares. Think about what we can do when such a powerful demons gets back his range! I can't wait till we get to sack the castle!"

Belphegor unfolded her wings. "You will will wait until we have been shown around properly. Lord Azazel has sent us ahead on good confidence to see what goes down here."

"Told you he didn't trust Olivia," the first guard aid. "Do follow, my lady. I hear your talent is with craft itself? You'll be interested in what we have, no doubt."

While they walked towards an underground mesh hall, one of them told Favaro. "You really should get rid of that pact, mate. Olivia's pacts are much better!"

He just gave a stupid grin, and feigned interest in the empty place. Lots of makeshift torture devices, no occupants. At all.

"That's odd. Lord Furfur should be here already."

"What for?" Favaro asked.

"For the tests, of course."

"What tests?" Belphegor said. "Do elaborate, I have not paid any attention to the ongoings."

"Right, you do not get along with the dog. Furfur can get into human minds and magic, so he can tell better than anyone what Azazel's supposed to lean toward."

Of course, there just had to be freaky stuff going on. His old man's hatred for magic didn't feel so weird anymore.

"Interesting," Belphegor said. "I sure hope my fellow scientist arrives soon. In the meantime, would you mind if I call in some of my human assistants? I have a few of my own experiments with humans going."

"Aww, do we have to?" Favaro said. "Am I not good enough?"

Belphegor gave a long suffering look to the guards, like saying, please don't make me work with the fool.

"Sure thing, my lady."

· · · · · · ·

Nina did her very best to look afraid and cling to Emeline when the guards came. She got an odd look from the one with the keys, who asked a fellow the check the records. They found enough names, and the guard blamed the failing of the otherwise superior demon memory on aftermath from slavery.

They herded the humans into the arena. Once the signal was given and Azazel had Olivia occupied, she'd take lead in getting everyone out. Until then, she had to keep her magic as repressed as possible, in case anyone who could sense it worked for Olivia.

Barrels of weapons were emptied in piles before them, while the seats above started filling up with demons. More than a few humans started picking weapons from the piles, while others stood by hesitantly.

"This happened before," Marcio said. "We only heard of it, but there were a few in our cell who survived previous mass battles."

He nodded at a nearby woman, who had poorly healed wounds on her face and arms. When noticing the attention, she confirmed. The humans outside were the playthings of Olivia's court, those inside were made to fight in the arena. This was the first time so many had been put here at once, and the first time people had been taken away from Furfur, who had his favorites.

Everyone got themselves a weapon, even as most looked like they had no experience with.

It didn't add up as a hostage situation. When Chris had done that, everyone was chained up, not given weapons. Several of these brimmed with magic that could kill even the ichor anchored demons. Why arm hostages? Was she so confident in her control?

The audience cheered at the balcony where once Chris had sat. Now a slender woman with bright orange hair took place here, no doubt Olivia.

She clapped her hands together once and the audience grew quiet as she gestured ahead. "Today, we are not here only for me."

Right opposite of her on the high wall stood a black winged silhouette; clear as Azazel to Nina, but to the humans he was someone else. He was supposed to be the diversion for Olivia, keeping her occupied while the ground forces secured the hostages.

When he flew lower to be just above Olivia on her throne, the white of his head and shoulder stood out.

"The rag demon is back!" a nearby human called.

Fearful cries and murmurs crossed the arena crowd, while the audience stood up cheering.

"Welcome, lord Azazel," Olivia called out, she herself rising from her throne to be level with Azazel.

"The rag demon is Azazel? Didn't Jeanne defeat him?" Burkhart said.

Horrified murmurs went through the people below, while the audience cheered Azazel's name and hollered about paying humans what they deserved.

This was a sacrifice.

· · · · · · ·

The fear humans felt for him had become trivial long ago, but not lost its appeal. To see humans cower before him after what felt too long was satisfying, and yet, that didn't overpower the loathing he had for the amphitheater and everything it represented.

"What is this supposed to be?"

"It's a homecoming gift for you, lord Azazel," Olivia said. "May we reign on good terms, for the world awaits our return to power."

Wait, what?

"I don't need this. All I will have of this place is its total destruction."

"I understand the resentment towards the place of your humiliation," she said, a little coy, "But why not have a little fun in the meantime? Please do appreciate the gift, and may you learn more in the process."

"What the hell are you going on about?"

She frowned.

"Which hell? Hell wanders and we brought it with us, and we can at the same time inverse the humiliation they brought upon us, and put these discarded vessels of ancient life to good use before they rot away."

"Stop your blabbering. Why would I want this filth?" He threw his black claw across the miserable lot. "You have strange ideas for gifts."

Olivia's face hardened. "Have some patience for me to explain then. I set this up in a way to appease you, this much is true, and it dissapoints me I failed. But there is a purpose to this as well : to learn your affinity. It should be something you are already inclined towards. Once you truly embrace it you will find back the range you lost with the fall of hell."

"Stop boring me with familiar rambling. They are too few to ever generate enough fear to mean anything."

"Familiar? We are the blood of El Elyon bygone in a world with no restraint. We are free through this old system, we only have to let ourselves flourish. With the defeat of hell humans fear hell less, that is true," she said. "Our overspecialization is our undoing. See, humans hate demons more now, and they hate so much already."

She clapped her hands, and the demons in the arena shoved the humans ahead into pairs. As only civilians, their attempts were pathetic, half hearted. They weren't yet forced to do better.

Olivia gestured at them.

"The kind of hatred matters. It is so much stronger when humans fear not some distant darkness, but can bear down on what they hate. It kindles it where otherwise they don't feel the emotion unless during that time we invade. In this kingdom they step out of the door and hate every time they see the enslaved demons, and now they hate me specifically when I am right next to a nexus of power.

You can still teleport, so you are not without potential. You, the scapegoat, what would you be the patron demon of? Why not find out? Imagine you won't need to always rely on back up, like your failed rebellion before. We have ways to measure it."

He'd been through learning he could've pacted already, that he could've treated Nina better, that he could've had human allies. All this did was piss him off more.

"And what do you propose I do to find that out, hmm?"

Olivia nodded at the arena. "We have magic set up to measure the flow of human harvest, it will speed up discover once you know what you lean to. I recommend going by the main courses : hatred, despair, disgust, and then refine to concepts if feelings alone do not work. Perhaps you should try death itself, since you've been so fond of pitching humans against each other."

Azazel manifested his sword. "There will be only one more death match in this arena : you and I!"

He barged at her and swung, serpents out as well.

She twisted just out of his path without even teleporting. "Well now, scapegoat, are you feeling poorly? Why would you want to be my enemy? Just because of your dog? What more for an apology do you need?"

"Tch. I'd kill you just for going behind lord Lucifer's back and conspiring with Angra Mainyu!"

"Oh."

Within a blink, she was on his other side and kicked so hard, he shot down to the arena sideways. He just barely steered clear of the humans huddled at the side, sending himself against a wall.

Olivia came to a halt just above him. He climbed out of the hole and glared.

Genuinely surprised, she said, "You too? I do not understand, there is no indication you bend astray like your dog does. You are a servant of hell through and through."

"Shut your nonsense and get your trap going."

"A trap? I need no trap to deal with you," she said. "Nor did I expect to need to deal with you at all. Honestly, I didn't even consider you'd go against Lucifer in any way. I really did want an ally, but if you want a trap, I can make this one."

She balled her fists and flicked them open.

Under most humans in the arena, circles went alight, but it wasn't fire that burst out.

"So disappointing," the nearby human said in Olivia's voice, before another voice from the same body said, "Help, please."

All enchanted humans gripped their swords tighter, and attacked the one nearest to them.

Nina ripped a gate loose somewhere on the other side. Belphegor, Favaro and Rachel with her fellows poured into the arena, only to come to a screeching halt when all nearby humans turned on them. The rest continuing murdering each other at Olivia's behest. All were attacked, but himself; he was Olivia's prey.

Out of the chaos Favaro appeared at his side. "Hey, so, we got living zombies, and hostages who are trying to kill either . Got any idea what's going down?"

"It will stop when I kill her." Azazel said. "Get who ever isn't possessed out, knock out the rest, kill if you have to. Don't bloody fret over it."

They were her fuel and her soldiers and ... oh hell no.

She always knew where Cerberus was because Cerberus had a human in her home.

Mugaro. She would know about Mugaro.

Azazel almost beelined for the slums, but a sharp pain in his back threw him to the arena ground.

Far above, Olivia floated with the tip of her foot still down.

"Now now, aren't the rules of a death match that nobody leaves until one or both are indeed dead?"

· · · · · · ·

El Mugaro would've left, except Cerberus blocked the door. So they had a face off, El Mugaro glaring at her from her fancy chair while she had a wood chair. If only gates and teleportation wasn't so hard to learn, ne would be out already.

Someone knocked on the door, and Cerberus let it open only a little.

"Lady Cerberus, it's a little tight," old Nils said as he struggled through.

"Deal with it, I can't have the kid bolting," she said. "What did you want?"

"It's very anxious outside there. There's a fight in the arena and people think Azazel and Olivia somehow came to blows over the presence of a god."

"Dammit, they really are fighting already?"

"Yes, yes, it appears that things have gone a little differently than you hoped," he said before turning to El Mugaro. "If I may ask, who are you truly? The feats you've done for the demons are quite something."

"There's nothing about me that isn't known already, you didn't hear what my mother said?"

"We get very little news from the outside," Nils said.

El Mugaro was too impatient to go into details. "I just came home with Azazel. He wanted us to go hide somewhere, but I convinced him to go bring some of ours friends out, and now we're staying cause the rebellion is back on after all."

"Really?'We thought that since you were last seen with heaven only to suddenly vanish, perhaps Azazel had managed to abduct you. There is not intend to wield you against Charioce?"

"No, sir, not at all. Azazel wants me out of the rebellion entirely," ne said. "He thinks it's all too dangerous."

"Really? And your mother is Jeanne d'Arc? So those rumors are true too?"

Before El Mugaro could react, the old man had shoved a knife into nur stomach.

Ne fell, gasping for breath, only dimly aware of Cerberus's growling. As the last sounded faded, ne fell through the same veil that ne'd reached through to retrieve Azazel. All ne held onto was the pain of nur body and the organ in the head — oh, so that's where souls were stored.

El Mugaro saw nur own body like a solid mass filled with countless threads extending from the head. Flesh holding energy in a very specific way, with nur self only slowly dropping away. As long as that organ in the brain existed, one didn't truly leave the world.

And there was so much more ...

Ne had been looking from the other angle, from above the surface of water. From below he could not see much of the dry world, but the details of the submergence was so much richer.

Strings spun out from a center somewhere around the arena, one shaded maroon and tied to many souls, the other only two dim purple threads to the castle. Tuning nur senses further, the purple core had to be Azazel — chaotic like a cluster of serpents. The other more like an inferno. Further on, another demon soul, this one pitch grey and tied to most of the same as the maroon one.

It wasn't truly in an upper level, but that was the closest sense concept ne could give it. The souls of gods swam on the ichor facing the sun, the souls of demons on ichor rising from the fire below. The souls of humans shining in green light, except those tied to the inferno.

If not for the threads, El Mugaro would've never paid more attention to this layer. Cores of light just a little above that of the fallen gods, and even above the demons. Where pressure was lighter along with the water, but also allowed them to drift more. So many of these were tied to the inferno, including the old man who had just stabbed, but he was hollow. Nothing left, only a hole filled with Olivia's magic.

Other humans were anchored somehow, unlike the expansive stars of the gods and demons.

Nur own body lay at the center, but expansive and variant in the way other souls were, yet still anchored, and below ...

A million eyes looked back. El Mugaro screamed, but sound did not exist here.

Ne scrambled away, back to nur body. The threads had to tie back now, immediately. Back into the organs of the mind, now, now, away from the eyes.

"Don't hold so tight!"

As El Mugaro came by, ne found nurself already sitting, clinging to Cerberus's free arm.

Mimi was on the other hand, covered in blood and Nils was nothing but gore on the ground. Cerberus trembled and muttered about traitors.

"She ... " El Mugaro needed a few more tries before nur got out, "She controlled him."

"What?" Cerberus pushed nur away to make eye contact. "Tell me that in detail."

So El Mugaro blubbered through an explanation, trying to control the shaking. Death hurt and ne had been so close to being gone forever, it was difficult to focus, but ne got it out.

"I can't believe her! That brat just goes and invents a way to mind control for the living? Oh, we need Rita back."

"I don't think they have a soul anymore," El Mugaro said.

"Whatever," Cerberus said. "We're not—"

A loud crack drew their attention.

Nils stood back up, despite the dreadful wound, spurred by the same kind of magic behind zombies. Cerberus spat on the ground, easily intercepted the shambling body and dragged it to the hearth. Furious, she stomped the corpse into the fire.

"Dammit, I was not going to get involved, but does she think she can get away with inhabiting not just my home, but my crew?"

She bled, but before Mugaro could even start healing her, Cerberus folded in on herself. She shed her skin like it was only a coat. Out of the void came an pulsing mass of flesh pulling itself together into the shape of an mangy red dog. Mimi at her most monstrous had welded next to the main head, while an oozing wound was on the other side. She had to be about the size of a bear, but felt so much larger.

Through dried out lips, Cerberus frowled, "I hate being like this, child. You better be grateful. Now get on, we have a fight to catch."

· · · · · · ·

He had her this time, the black blade slicing through her waist and yet she teleported away again. She didn't reappear anywhere, though.

Had the wound done her in, sending her astray on reflect?

"She's here!" Nina yelled somewhere below.

She pointing at a random human who glowed a little. He lowered himself, where Belphegor came to his side. "There was a light, it fell on that human."

The light dimmed, but the human's flesh twisted and changed into Olivia. The clothes remained the same, until she opened her eyes and clapped her hands, forming her old outfit in place. She was healed entirely.

This was getting ridiculous, how did she have so much talents?

One of Rachel's crew tried to encase her in a sphere, but she was up in the air again and simply threw a fireball at the woman.

"Now, scapegoat and inventor, tell me : how did you come to fail like this? Are you trying to fall up, even as your affinity binds you to hell?"

He pushed Belphegor back down to the fight, where the ground team made poor progress knocking people out.

Azazel faced Olivia. "I'm not going anywhere. Hell is my home and I will take my people back to it! Don't you dare question that!'

A flicker later, and she kicked him down again. He caught the wind under his wings, but she was behind him again for a second kick, and so he was back in the sand, surrounded by corpses.

The crowd cheered, this time demons calling for his death. Human blood splattered the sands, but the difference hardly mattered. This was all too familiar.

"Why don't you just k—" No, not going there, Nina would start on that later. "Why are you drawing this out?"

"I have to know you better." Olivia said. "If I am to revive the demon tribe to its glory, I have to predict weaknesses better than I do now."

"Who gave you even the right to decide what our glory should be?" Azazel snapped.

"The destructive spirit did," Olivia said. "I prove myself to her with every breath. The reign of Arbiter Mortis did not cure the earth, it must be us."

All around, the humans maimed and murdered each other, but most remained alive. It'd be long before Olivia was entirely out of fuel or hostages. Favaro and Belphegor had the addition of demonic opponents, Nina wasn't in range of sight. There was no evacuating anyone, and half of the ground team wouldn't even consider fleeing right now. He needed to stop this, but how? If she could heal, teleport and possess, he had no arsenal to last.

Olivia was just up there, calm as the mist itself, while all he got was more wounds. They shouldn't be from a demon, the should be allies, but he couldn't stand her kind anymore.

Unfortunately, he had to stand her in his presence.

He stood again, but didn't fly up.

"I cannot defeat you, but we have a common enemy, and you need me alive. Would you make a truce?" he said.

"You have some nerve saying that after you attacked me out of the blue," Olivia said.

"I was wrong."

"You were wrong to become this way too," she said. "And your dog is wrong, and your scientist, and your little angel should not even exist. They have come in the way of us when we would set the world straight. They are all offenses that must be erased, and if you side with their ilk I cannot trust you."

"Then don't trust me. Only fools do. But you call me scapegoat, so let me take the blame. We can fight this out later, once Charioce is gone."

Her face twisted in disgust, but she said nothing. Only the sound of fighting went on around, and Azazel needed all his focus to keep himself still if she was to even consider it, knowing Nina and Belphegor and the others were right there as her targets.

"You wouldn't trust me either," Olivia said at last. "Now come and see whether I will kill you."

Azazel spread his wings, flew at her, again, and failed to kill her again, and again.

He'd never wanted for spirit to fight hopeless battles, but right now he wanted for an idea better than that. He didn't get that, but there was a moment of reprieve.

Just as Olivia had made another crater with him while she herself used up another human to heal, an all encompassing golden light tinged with red filled the amphitheater.

The mob lost focus and the half formed Olivia screamed so loud, as if her wings had been torn off. Part of the human body fell away, leaving her angelic form without part of her legs, one arm and some of her left wing.

Had he been closer he would've had another shot.

Azazel panicked, "No, get out of here!"

Too late, Olivia noticed nur. Pain or not, she teleported right up to Mugaro and swung her sword. Azazel scrambled to fly at her, already knowing he was too late — but there was no blood. Olivia's blade hit nothing.

Far off on the balcony, Mugaro reappeared on the back of — was that Cerberus? Hell, she looked horrible, but it was her. Damn and bless them alike for breaking his rules.

· · · · · · ·

Nina knocked out another human, only to find her next attacker suffering a sudden loss of skill. Catching a breath, she knocked him out and jumped back.

All around humans fell still, more and more by the second. Some just stared on confusion while others collapsed with screams over injuries they'd been forced to ignore.

"Without Furfur, you're a mere fire elemental, aren't you?" Cerberus called out.

"Indeed." Olivia sent out a ring of fire that crossed the amphitheater's edges and went down to the city, but it was to a distant swelling song. Judging from the sound, the fire met solid water. Mist converged thicker over the amphitheater until it blocked the sun. Even clouds began to converge. Far above, Nina could swear Amira was at the center, just before it began to rain.

"Like I said, just a fire elemental."

Cerberus appeared behind Olivia and Azazel teleported at the same time. Nina couldn't see quite what happened so far up, except a spray of green and purple blood. A bright flash followed with an orange sphere of light falling down on the nearest human.

Confused, Azazel looked around while Cerberus teleported to the ground, avoiding her fall. Sniffing didn't bring her any closer to Olivia, but Nina still sensed her.

She was within the human the light had hit, all her power drawing together there. The body transformed and soon she stood there again, completely regenerated.

Olivia cheated the system in the same way Nina did by resetting her body to a former modus. Rather than use up innate power to regenerate, she used humans somehow.

Shifting over, Cerberus slammed her jaws into her leg and teleported to Azazel, who set his sword through her guts.

Olivia cringed into herself and just teleported away. Before she even reappeared she'd turned to light and fell into the next human. When her wings broke out, she teleported up and shot off a single flare of fire so thick the rain didn't quell it.

Outside the walls, someone cried out and the rain lessened.

"Tipa's injured, I have to heal her," Mugaro said. Cerberus rolled her eyes, but teleported the two of them away.

Nina stood helpless as high above, Olivia attacked Azazel again. He could meet her blow by blow, but could not land anything when she teleported at the slightest nick of the blade. He himself could teleport so much less, and she began to predict where he'd appear. Never more than a few meters ahead.

Again she threw Azazel to the ground, his scream behind the dust pulling Nina to move, but what could she do?

Olivia's feathers peaked over the dust, her sword raised along. Nina broke into a run, but Cerberus was there first, dragging Olivia back by her wings just in time. Mugaro was at Azazel's side, blue light shining to bring him back to his feet. He just pushed Mugaro away before he was fully healed and threw himself at Olivia. She blocked his attack easily and kicked Cerberus away, and again teleported past him. To Mugaro.

Azazel just barely tackled her aside by forcing his teleport limits. Cerberus threw herself into the fray again, slamming Olivia to the ground.

It wasn't even a surprise anymore when Azazel's sword bore into sand only.

Olivia was back yet again at Mugaro, only to be hit by an invisible force. This got her off balance long enough for Azazel and Cerberus to get to her. Teeth and snakes tore through her wings, she only avoided death by spinning around and putting them off balance.

She slashed open Cerberus's wound, then she was gone again.

Turned to light, Olivia fell down in an injured human not yet evacuated, already beginning to regenerate.

Mugaro was on nur knees, exhausted. Soon ne was pass out, but still ne tried to exile her.

The light flickered, and failed as Mugaro fell over. Azazel hesitated between staying close and going over the regenerating Olivia, while Cerberus struggled to her feet.

Nina pushed down as much of the dragon as possible to surpress her radiance, picked up a sword and ran at Olivia as if she were just a desperate human.

Olivia switched her sword to catch her on it, almost nonchalant. Nina jumped behind as she unfolded her wings, enveloping Olivia in pink energy.

"You?"

Nina locked an arm around Olivia's neck, the other holding down her arm. Letting go just enough magic, she became a blazing pink torch to cut off Olivia's navigation. She swing her around to face Azazel.

"Do it!"

Olivia closed her hand over Nina's skull, starting to squeeze. Azazel's serpents froze before even fully emerging.

"Don't waste this chance!" Nina hissed, "I'll just transform."

But Olivia stopped squeezing, a quiet exchange — if he moved, Nina might die — and that shouldn't matter.

"Mugaro can just bring me back, like ne did with you!"

Olivia gasped. "You even have a resurrector? What else?"

"More than you know," Nina whispered. The pressure on her skull send her dragon running rampant, but she had to stay conscious. Keep Olivia here, cause no one else could. "We don't punish people for getting better. I bet you didn't even notice the scientists? How about the gardeners? Cerberus put them togehter, we're just the wariors. All of us together are better rebels than you and your tricks."

"But then why am I ... ?" Olivia whispered. "Angra?"

Her hand slackened and fell away.

What?

Azazel's serpents pierced Olivia from her left and right, nearly avoiding Nina. Olivia just slumped down like a sack of sand, her head lulling back against Nina's shoulder.

Nina needed all her strength not to shove the corpse away and out of her blocking range, leaving her trembling above it.

Cerberus lunged at it, sinking in both jaws. Orange blood splashed over Nina as the dogs devoured Olivia.

Slowly Nina stepped back, away from the dead eyes, the head that jerked with every strip of flesh ripped loose. She'd been so alive yet before, and she'd hesitated. It wasn't her that upset Nina, just the sudden shift from so alive, to nothing but flesh.

Nina became aware of the blood on herself. It had to get off. She grabbed a piece of trouser from a nearby corpse, tearing it off without regard. As long as she didn't look at the faces, she could bear corpses. Just not any of it on herself.

"Nina?" Azazel's voice ... Right, there was work to do.

"I'll be fine. I mean, enough to do this. I just need to change." She finished getting the blood off her arms, her face, her legs, her wings. It still was on her clothes, she had to change.

The arena was a massacre and the demons on the seat had fallen into a terrified silence. All eyes were on Azazel.

All he did was picked up Mugaro in his arms. He cast a look at his allies to confirm their state; Nina and Belphegor were mostly whole, while the more human ones were more injured. Cerberus and Mimi (that was them, right?) had a lot of cuts and scorchmarks from Olivia in addition to their preexisting wound.

With Mugaro out cold, there would be no healing anyone. This was a bitter victory.

As Azazel's wings unfolded, he told Nina, "Empty the arena. Once I'm back I will tear it down."

She nodded, unable to unravel the lump in her throat.

He flew up, and to the audience he said, "Don't give me reason to tear you down along with it."

Nina found her old friends. Emeline and Burkhart couldn't even stand, while Marcio needed to lean on a weapon to walk.

"Don't worry, you're safe now," she said, and loud for the others, "It's over, I promise. Once Mugaro's awake, you'll be healed, so just hold out a little longer."

Few them looked like they believed her. She couldn't blame them.

Burkhart took the word with, "Nina, who was that god? Mugaro?"

"ne also goes by El, and Jegudiel in heaven," Nina said. "Ne is Jeanne's child with the archangel Michael."

"Those rumors are true?" Emeline asked.

"Yes. Ne also led the siege on Anatae not too long ago. Two years ago, Charioce tried to kill the goddess Sofiel, Mugaro and Jeanne came to her aid and he passed the death sentence on Mugaro. Jeanne hid nur among the demon slaves, until Azazel came to the rescue. Ne's lived with him for the past years." Please believe it's over.

She might as well have tried to sell them the sun, but they'd also just seen the sun come down, now joined by Rachel and the glowing gems in her arms.

"I send for carts. That's a lot of people we gotta explain things to. We should've brought pamphlets," Rachel muttered.

"Are you with the king?" someone asked, eyes on the green power.

"Like hell we are." Rachel grinned at that. "Didn't Nina fill you in yet?"

Nina beat her wings with an apologetic grin. "Sorry, they don't find me credible."

"What are you anyway?" Emeline asked Nina.

"I'm a demonic dragon," Nina said. "I think? They call me an ascended demon up in heaven cause we live on the surface. We separated from hell a long time ago."

"Yeah, speaking of that, can you hurry up and rejoin?" Rachel said. "The rest of Olivia's court is being a pain in the ass. We'll get the humans settled."

Nina found said demons wandering the halls inside the amphitheater, grouped together and armed still, but not outright attacking her. In fact, they shrunk when she approached. They must've heard what she'd done. Kinda.

Planting her hands on her hips, she told them, "Nobody gets hurt, understood? Not the humans, nor whichever demons Olivia targetted. Got it?"

They nodded. "What will lord Azazel do?"

Nina place a finger on her lips. "I don't know, actually. I guess you could join the rebellion now, as long as you don't go around killing people at random?"

"Then what are we becoming?" he asked.

"I don't know yet, but we're trying for better than this." Nina kicked some rubble away. "So, you're going to help the humans walk out now, and no being mean. Rachel and her people are around and I'll keep an eye on you too."

And herself, because she felt awfully tempted to run to the wall and catch a glimpse of Chris. No. Not when there was work to do.

· · · · · · ·

Homonid again, Cerberus teleported into her old home, but didn't find Arachne until she followed a trail to the cellar. There, the spider spun endlessly even though her abdomen had shrunk and shrivelled.

"Hey there," Cerberus whispered. "You can stop now."

Bewildered, Arachna peered through her tangled hair. She didn't stop.

Cerberus took hold of her pedipalps, raising them away from the thread. "Olivia's gone. Really, you can stop."

"She said I have to keep going, the more thread the better the threat." Her eyes looked so wide and fearful, Cerberus couldn't stand it. Demons weren't supposed to look like this.

"Olivia is dead as a rock."

"Furfur too?"

"Yeah, he's gone too. Did he work with you?"

"A little. He brought me home."

Probably an illusion of her old home, she wouldn't be the only one to miss it.

Oh well, she'd deal with it. "Let's go to your new home now. I'm taking back my old lair, clear up Olivia's mess and then I'm the boss again, and you can go back to weaving whatever you like."

Arachna let Cerberus pull her to her feet, and teleporting her to the amphitheater was easy despite her size.

If Olivia was right about Cerberus's so called specialization, what did that mean for her future? If she would be better off with community than thriving on fear, then hell's current culture didn't serve her very well. Chaos, listen to her. Why would she even be themed on community?

The arena was emptying. She sent Mimi off to find any remainders the fools might've missed in their assumption Olivia would care to put everyone in the arena. If she was gonna be something as sappy as community demon — she needed a better word for this — then hell be damned she was going to be good at it.

Arachna froze when she saw the humans streaming out of the arena.

"Uh ... what's happening?"

"See, Azazel's officially in charge. I'm practically in charge because I'm better at organization, we're just calling him the leader so he can take the beatings. Anyway ..." Cerberus made a show of rolling her eyes. "We're putting more emphasis on the moderate part of Lucifer's affiliation, so the human cattle thing is a no go now."

Arachna looked utterly disbelieving.

"Yes, I know, this is all weird," Cerberus said. "Just get to removing the sticky stuff from the houses."

"Wait, hold it." Favaro came running up. "That's a really bad idea. The moment Charioce has a chance to burn down this place in a way that makes you look like the bad guy, he will. If these guys start walking out, I'll bet you Charioce is gonna tell his aristrocrats he had a secret mission going and then everything goes up in flames and the demons will be blamed."

"Incineration can happen for as much as a lamp knocked over." Cerberus shrugged. "I don't care, but I'm prreeeeeetty sure we're not doing mass murder anymore."

"Exactly, so we'll bring the humans into the underground. Malphas already has a few pacts going, right? You can afford to expand the tunnels, you can't afford Charioce storming in here without hindrance. Same's for sending them to the other side, actually, once again presuming Angra's cooperating. Come on, she let Charioce, the Onyx Knights and Merlin in, we can't trust her."

Point taken. "Arachna, go rest a bit and then join Malphas for tunnel and door matters."

That done, Cerberus followed Azazel's scent to a small church, which reeked of that human Favaro had dragged in the other day.

The door stood open, and inside fear hung in the air. Inside she found a whole clutter of humans pressed to the walls and Cluysenaar inching towards a smaller door. A few feathers lay on the ground, both black and white.

Cerberus waited until Azazel teleported behind her.

"Ne was here before, demons avoid it," Azazel said. "I want your personal guards around here. After that, go around the district and inform Olivia's allies of the change of direction. They can join me or be locked up — kill troublemakers but don't threaten death for not joining. I don't want potential backstabbers in my court."

"I can live with us doing the old hierarchy thing as long as your stupidity doesn't cost me, but tell me, what are we doing when it comes to lord Lucifer?"

His eyes shifted to the church, and Cerberus knew enough. He couldn't stop her from telling Lucifer about the child, but she herself wasn't quite sure she wanted Lucifer in on things. Not anymore. Olivia's contempt to her was still fresh on her mind. It wouldn't be the last demon she'd meet like that, if her stupid so called speciality leaked. Which apparently got her all this nice teleportation power.

· · · · · · ·

Today was misty, as per the weather forecast, with way too much rings of fire and screaming, definitely not as per Nina's forecast. His advisers were already wondered aloud about the coincidence. Ugh, why again he have to fall for an enemy dragon?

"There appears to be infighting that takes advantage of a main player going down," he told his advisers. "I will go myself in case anything happens."

"But your majest, the king of Manaria—"

"Offer him my sincerest apologies for the wait, but surely he will understand I must attend to the safety of my kingdom."

"He would love to accompany you."

Ugh. There was no easy way out of it if phrased like that when he'd invited the king to show how much in control he was.

So he got his unicorn saddled up, hauled along the excited king, and off he went.

When he arrived, Lao had a miserably small deer demon pinned to the ground. His Onyx Knights looked rather shaky on their feet as they applied a collar and shackles.

"What do we do with it?" George asked.

"Bring it to the dungeons and we'll find out," Charioce said.

There was a cart ready, he didn't even need to say the obvious except for the show before the king.

Actually, there was something else. Descending his unicorn, he approached the demon. A typical ugly thing, except for the lining of white feathers.

He plucked one, turning it over in his hand. With just the slightest zap of power, it turned to a spray of gold. Holy magic, eh? This was going to be interesting.

The king of Manaria joined him, curious at the sight and idly speculating on what this meant. Charioce suffered through him babbling on — the fool thought that just because his kingdom had a few good academies he got to talk about everything and be useful.

Admittedly, he did say one sensible thing : that wall probably wasn't even demon magic, and this demon here was an example of one stepping outside the traditional realm.

"Not that it matters much, Charioce," the king said jovially. "Our academies might have been founded by gods, but we've developed them further on our own. Such things are trivial."

Are they now?

Everyone froze at the dry voice that came from nowhere.

"What was that voice?" the king asked. His eyes were on the captured demon, but that wasn't the source.

My voice is the voice of every mortal who curses his benefactors. It sounds deep within your head, does it not?

"What was that?" The king of Manaria looked at Charioce, who had no answer that didn't involve explaing how he'd met this one before, and had been unable to capture it.

"Angra Mainyu? Help me!" the trapped demon sputtered.

Obsolete. We have better prayers now, you will see. Very soon.

Charioce got the feeling that wasn't just aimed at the trapped demon, but him too.

So he waited, and indeed, Azazel appeared over the wall. Eyes on the demon, the fallen angel landed atop the wall.

Azazel kept his face cold and folded his wings without shrinking them. With the setting sun dim in the mist behind him, he had that typical ominous evil overlord vibe going.

"This part of the city has a new master," Azazel declared. "And you are no closer to driving us back."

Oh goody, they were going to exchange shallow assertions of dominance?

"So it would seem," Charioce said evenly.

If he had some luck, Azazel would now resume slaugthering humans like he'd done for centuries, and once he took back his city he would have a fine mess to show the aristrocracy, himself once more a victor and Jeanne a fool. Maybe, just maybe, Nina would finally bail and realize — oh was he kidding? Lately Azazel was enough of a wuss to do Nina embarassing favors, and Nina was hopelessly devoted to her naive ideals. He would need set up.

"I pressume you will not let go any of my citizens?"

"You won't get anything from me," Azazel said. "I am a demon, after all."

Oh come on, spice it up at least.

But Azazel just turned away, changing his mind, and said, "She survived, in case you cared to know."

No. Not like that. Honestly. Yes, that's nice to know, but most importantly, you twat. Of all the things Azazel could say, it had to be that. In front of his visistors. Who were already at risk of hearing certain rumors.

Azazel wanted to see his response, so he gave him nothing.

"Tch." And finally he fluttered off, probably to tell Nina something generically contemptuous.

The king of Manaria sided up and made some vague remarks about bad demons. The tension below it was clear.

Well. He'd figure out a way to make it work.

· · · · · · ·

He couldn't bring anyone back, but he would make it so nobody died here ever again.

The arena now lay more still than he'd ever seen it. Not a sound in the corridor or cells, no low vibration of Dromos's magic. Without power it was just a shell, ready to crumble to him.

He landed before the throne. Olivia hadn't changed anything as far as he could tell, it was still Charioce's throne. Disgust incarnate through rich fabric and expensive metals, so the king would be as glorious and comfortable as possible as demons died for his entertainment. By now he was used to seeing the connection to himself — he'd gone a step further with a peacock pattern, but also, never as as destroying a whole tribe.

Serpents spun out along with his sword. With one swift strike all the the throne broke into pieces. The serpents bore onward into the rock and the pillars, tearing down the entire balcony. He flew into the hall behind, tearing the walls along.

At the first supportive pillar, he gathered energy together into a single radiant blast. With a satisfying crash, the entire thing came down and took much of the upper level along.

In the past he had one had enough charge for one blast, but another now he could go on, and so he did. More pillars broke, before he ascended to the seats to speed up their collapse.

He came to a sudden halt off the center of the battleground.

Around here, he had killed Dante. A second death to make a mockery of the first, because simply destroying the rebellion had not been enough for Charioce.

Dispelling all magic, he knelt down. It was guess only that this was the place, any sign of him long gone. Still Azazel laid his hand on the ground.

He would remember. Long before Azazel had even considered uniting his people, Dante had pulled together a resistance. That Azazel had deemed himself most fit leader felt absurd now, it was Dante's work and his trust that had held it all together. He could only hope to achieve the same with the new rebellion.

Whatever Dante might have been, a true chimera or the mere remnant of a human skeleton taken over by a demon soul, he lived for the demons, and yet regarded the humans. He'd never even come to learn what Dante truly felt about humankind, Azazel had brushed by and torn him along to his death. It was too late to learn more.

Azazel stepped back. Rather than tear down the floor directly, he forced his serpents underground into the tunnels, breaking all of the support walls. The battleground collapsed all at once, sending sand clouds up.

He returned to the remaining pillars.

Breaking through the thick rock took longer, but here he felt nothing but rage. One down, next one, an endless, inexhaustic burst of serpents, his sword slicing ahead. The longer he went on, the less he cared for finesse. He kicked the floors down, tears into the pillars with his claws and hurled pieces into standing support until the cacophony was perfect.

Exhaustion began to set in, but so did sight through the eyes of his serpents stronger than ever. There was so much left to do. He raged on until he found something familiar.

The room where he and Mugaro had once worked was still somewhat intact. The furnace had gone cold and the books dusted over. There were still a few pieces on achohol in jars, never sold. Those he would not destroy.

Dismissing all his serpents, he found a lighter, set the remains in the ashes. The flames kindled easily.

He sat against the broken wall and watched it burn for the last time.

How long he stayed there he didn't think of until rubble fell down along with a shadow. Peering through a hole in the ceiling was Nina.

"Sorry for disturbing you, but you'd stopped and there was smoke. Olivia's not back or anything?"

"No."

Nina dropped down and stood before the fire. Careful, she pushed some of the ashes further into the kiln before facing him.

"You're not bleeding snakes anymore," she said.

He hadn't even noticed. His arms were stable, only dimly itching to manifest anything.

"What happened here that got you so ill?" Nina asked.

He stood up, but changed his mind halfway.

Telling her this when she was practically dating Charioce felt ... off. Wrong. Something. On the other hand, he wanted her to get it.

"It started here in the arena when he forced me to kill Dante. At that point ... I don't know. I was forced to give up, maybe that was it. This all was our slavery wielded to our own annihilation, the worst degradation of all. The only way to leave was to die or swear fealty to Charioce, covered in the blood of

I had come to save my people and he used me as a weapon to destroy us. In a way it worked. We didn't have enough fighters today, because they died here at our hands but his behest."

"Is it over now?"

What a stupid thing to say, if it was ignorant. But it sounded more like foolish hope, so he said, "You know it won't, don't you? I'll remember. Everyone who survived will. They'll either have secrets or a legacy of suffering now. Only suffering in case of those born here and now. Future children will be weaker than the past, because he made sure to weed out the strongest and diminish hell. The demon tribe will bear these scars for generations to come. I will not be over for a long time even if we defeat him."

"It'll get better though." She smiled sadly. "At least you can remember without breaking down. So you'll get better."

She sounded like she needed it to be true for him when it hadn't been for her.

"If the snakes are yours again ... I guess it wasn't grief, but you've got control now. I wonder why it did that."

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that it ends." He dug his claws into the rock, crumbled it to pieces. No, he would not rid of all his hatred for it. He never would be. "Go back outside, I'll finish up."

She almost reached out, but changed her mind and quickly climbed out. "I'll be near. Angra Mainyu hasn't dropped the barrier, probably, but I'll look out for that."

Once Nina was clear, he curled up in the air outside. Dim purple light broke from him before hundreds of serpents errupted. He didn't need his core eyes, he used theirs.

Through this he tore down the rest of the amphitheater, more and more systematic. Rage placed in a system took it down quicker.

When all he had left was ruins, he also had an empty feel. Maybe that was some kind of peace — but that couldn't be until Charioce was dead, so it was just stability, or relative rest.

He took position on a pile of boulders with a broken arch, eyes fixed toward the upper ring. If the barrier went down, he'd have to act.

Eventualy Nina half climbed up to stand on the same spot, far from him.

"So, you were at the wall?"

"All he said was boring formal stuff," Azazel said. It wasn't hard not to snap right now.

He expected her to say something about him, but Nina blurted out, "You know, I don't think I'll ever like killing. Is it bad that the way matters? She was so near and I still hear Cerberus eat. It's not like with animal corpses, they were never people."

"I hardly have tips there. It was never difficult for me, even when I was an angel," he said. "Let alone now."

"I noticed. You know, I was afraid for a moment you'd go through them."

"I'm not going to pretend that wasn't my first, second and third impulse until Mugaro showed up."

"I'm glad that you didn't, but it's still scary that you wanted to at all."

"He. I'll never understand having trouble killing," he said. "But I can be wrong, so I'll be careful not to rush into anything. Is that good enough for you?"

"I'm not keeping a score." She didn't look at him, so how was he supposed to take that? She stared ahead sadly, five meters from him and getting soaked.

Goddamit why did she have to be so difficult about this?

Stretching her wing over her, he nudged her below it. She got the hint. She got it so much, she latched onto his arm. From above he could just see a hint of smile.

It felt too late a realization with how obvious it now was : she hadn't been repelled. She just had thought he was.

Alright, disgust certainly was a thing here. It just was about Charioce, not her. For hell's sake, why would she think it was her?

Nina rested her head against his arm. "Can we not talk about death anymore? At least not for today?"

He kept his tongue. That seemed enough for Nina.

They would have to talk about death again, espcially Charioce. Azazel stood to lose Nina in more than one way. By the many enemies at the castle, or by fate putting her between him and Charioce, and he had to pry himself away from the doom thinking. He closed his claws around Nina's hand, and for now there was just her and the rain and guard duty.

· · · · · · ·

"Jeanne! Something's wrong with Coco!" Mirin called just outside the door.

She was on her feet right away, on the unicorn the next moment. A short gallop later, and Mirin landed in a dirty street at a bloody mess.

Rather than a small dog, Coco had turned into the monstrous two legged beast, but for some reason his legs had splattered all over the place. He was just a giant head and leg gasping for breath. On the open end of his neck, half formed lungs faded out of view.

Arligau tapped her on the shoulder. Ve had a blanket, and an idea how to softly roll Coco onto it, so they could carry him somewhere safer.

Jeanne shook her head. "Our unicorn will help."

Barely had she spoken, or the unicorn tapped vun horn at the wound. Coco whined, but couldn't do anything more.

The unicorn stepped back, leaving behind a glowing green mirage of its own body. With one swipe, the unicorn sliced off the head and a leg, then stomped vun feet to drum alive a magical circle. Giving an intent look at Mirin, ve indicated she was to claim the circle.

Mirin brushed her wings across it, turning the circle purple. Without prompting, she nicked her arm and led her blood fall on it.

The circled turned black and mass twisted from the earth into the imago. Black bones and muscles and skin grew into place, shaped like an equine still. Twitching alive, it staggered closer to Coco, whom Jeanne and Arligau tried their best to lift. The dog head was so heavy, Jeanne almost buckled through her knees, but stayed steady long enough. The body welded onto the wound, the unicorn's horn lined it shut until no blood was left.

All let go a breath, like fallen from a shared trance.

"What just happened?" Arligau asked.

Coco moved his head up and down, slashed his jaws at nothing and at least flicked his ears. Sniffing deep, he said, "I have no idea about that unicorn, but as for me, Cerberus and Mimi went true form, so I did too. I can't not, we only have one soul, if we take it out of limbo ichor jumps into place to form our body. In our true body, we're just a three headed dog."

"Say what now?" Mirin said.

"You know with some of the transformations, there is a moment of pure light where she has no real body, right? We use that moment where our soul is suspended in the layer of souls alive before we get a new body. And we cheat, with a secret that's just ours. We're three people, but we've got one soul like we were three heads on one body. Imago magic doesn't know well what to do with that, you see. Now can I get something to drink? Oh, and I want a nice roast. This new stomach is empty."

"Hunting would be great, we need more food!" Mirin chirped like they hadn't just been told something word shatteringly bizarre.

The unicorn stood still, green horn glowing bright in the dark alley. Pieces of spiritual haze fell away, and Jeanne placed where she'd seen such shifting black matter before. The island. Dromos.

Jeanne laid her hands on the sides of the horn, which really was more like a blade.

Filling the hole of a soul.

How the unicorn did it. Holes and tears everywhere, waiting to be stitched up, others to be made with strict permission.

Jeanne backed away, suddenly overcome with the sickening sight of the maimed dog, aware how undisturbed she'd been just before. Unnaturally so.

The unicorn knew how to act, how to fill the holes and bring it together, because ve had been doing that for a long time. Even drawing others along and sharing knowledge was a habit.

Jeanne startled when someone put an arm around her shoulders.

Close by, Sofiel said, "What is all this?"

"It is the same source of power as Dromos," Jeanne whispered. "The unicorn's horn, it's from the same place. I don't understand."

"That can't be, unicorns are the holiest of beings," Sofiel said, but she didn't sound certain.

"What is this world?" Jeanne asked, still shaking. Even Sofiel's presence couldn't rid her of the sinking dread.

A single word trailed through her spirit, anything else lost.

Kuja ...

· · · · · · ·

The rain stopped, and the barrier remained. Azazel was about to pick Nina up and fly to the slums when Cerberus appeared in an unusually large smoke cloud. She staggered on her feet and almost fell down the rocks.

"Something really weird just happened," she said. "It felt a little like the magic your kid did when resurrecting nurself. What exactly can ne do at range?"

"Mugaro is asleep," Azazel just said. If ne wasn't, ne'd be here already.

"What are you doing here?" Cerberus asked.

"Waiting to see whether we need to sound the alarm if the barrier comes down," Nina said.

"Aha. Standing out with a cute thing latching onto you is so effective, Azazel," Cerberus said.

Azazel put a claw over his eyes to block out her judgy look. "Have you looked at yourself?"

"I have a look, you have your own. I put Belphegor and Trismegistus on barrier guard duty at the wall, but we need to get touch with Angra Mainyu and settle her allegiance cause I want them back at work. Especially orangehouses for the plants because Charioce still has no supply line for us, but we're in talk with the Red Troupe on exchanging hostages."

Nina tensed up.

"We're keeping them?" Nina asked.

"Unless you want your boyfriend to plow through us all if he gets past the barrier somehow. Honestly, we should count on that even if Angra Mainyu's not gonna lower it. Furfur made a point of haunting that side for a reason. Anyway, Olivia wrote had one of her human dolls deal with the city's records, so guess what we have? The names of everyone who owned slaves."

Azazel managed half a grin. "Well that makes it a lot easier to see who gets to walk and who doesn't."

Nina only grew tenser, but didn't speak. His earlier promise he'd leave the citizens to Jeanne should not need a reminder.

Instead she held out a hand. "Can I look over them? I've got some ideas on how we can handle this, from my home. We don't have a prison there, but we got people misbehaving. We're creative, I promise."

Cerberus handed her the papers and vanished.

Still hooking his arm, Nina flipped through the pages. She chuckled a few times.

"What's so funny?"

"Cerberus's notes. She's lamenting you're not going to do things the old ways and suggest a lot of new ways to not be nice. I actually like some of them."

"You could just let the humans believe things will be the old way to keep them in line."

"No, I'm going to make sure everyone knows you're ... I can't say better so well, I guess, but you're at least not going to slaughter them. So they are going to hear about my falling off that tower and about Mugaro and so on."

Nina was going to ruin his reputation, and this was all going to come back once the courts of Lucifer joined them here. And it didn't even feel that important, not where he stood now. The amphitheater was ruins, the castle not yet, and there was so much worse pain to exist.

"They will be more obedient if they're afraid. Do you have to?" he asked, less to argue and more out of curiosity.

"Yes. Because I hate how how fear feels. I want the people here to have as little as possible of it." She looked up, somehow appearing clearer than ever. "You know what fear's like, too."

It wasn't death, it wasn't even the torture, but after the arena, he did. "Do what you want, just leave me out of it."

Nina smiled. "You came inside on your own."

The remained at guard, but not for the barrier. Humans and demons slowly trickled out of the slums, claiming houses. It didn't go without problem and kept them up all night, but there was a benefit to feeling empty, there was room for other things. Even if it was just irritation and weariness at why someone wouldn't just take this house over that one.

· · · · · · ·

At dawn El Mugaro woke up to white ceilings and shot up in panic, wings flaring out. But oh, these weren't the halls of heaven. Crude plaster on imperfect rock, a small window with wooden frame and the cold air indicated an earthly lair.

Through exhaustion and stinging eyes, ne recognized this as the very same room ne'd been given by that old religious guy who ran the church with the statue.

"Hello?"

When nobody arrived, ne called out a little louder. Soon feet shuffled to the door and a familiar elderly face peeked in.

El Mugaro lit up. "Pastor, you're alive!"

Confused, Augistin stepped in. He carried a plate with meager food, which he set next to the bed. He himself remained standing at a respectful distance.

"I am quite surprised a holy being such as yourself would be aware of my state."

"You don't recognize me?" El Mugaro asked.

Augistin squinted a little. "You are a little familiar ..."

El Mugaro brushed nur bangs aside, revealing the red eye.

"You're that lost child!"

El Mugaro nodded. The last the man would've seen of nur was a glow as ne jumped into the mist, who knew how he had interpreted that?

"That fallen angel brought you here," he said. "Are you captive?"

Yes, he definitely had a very traditional way of interpretation.

"No, he brought me here to rest," El Mugaro said. "Azazel's taken care of me without fail for the past two years, up until I was ... went to heaven. My mother is Jeanne d'Arc and Azazel is her friend now. Mother already is ..."

Was she, though? She hadn't really made that kind of plan as far as ne knew. Neither had the gods. Nobody wanted to be near Anatae.

But that wouldn't last long. There was no doubt that if nur mother would be a knight, she would come to liberate her home from tyranny.

"She'll come soon and heaven and hell get along better and ... " Speaking of that, ne sensed Adva and Tipa within the building. "Are there any demons here?"

"Yes, two whom arrived shortly that fallen angel. I think they're demons anyway? They were flying ..."

Right, something had to be done about that mist.

"Can you call them?"

It didn't take long before Augustin returned with Adva, who stayed at the door. "Ah, you're well. Please try to heal yourself soon, we're not sure whether that barrier comes down and we can only do so much with water."

Someone approached, and Adva cleared the door. A spindly man with glasses stepped in, carrying a bad under his arm and exhaustion everywhere else.

"I called in a doctor," Augustin said. "I'm uncertain how much a regular human can do for a god, but since the barrier went up, the vision through which I speak with heaven does not work anymore."

"Greetings, I'm John Oagburg," the man mumbled. "This is the—oh, it's you."

"You know him?" Augustin asked.

"This child was in the slums healing people. Humans and demons alike. I knew this one had magic, but divinity?"

"I'm as surprised as you are," Augustin said.

"I'm not, I've been aware since birth. I actually skipped three years so I could know stuff immediately."

"You ... skipped three years?"

El Mugaro filled them in on nur nature as a hybrid. Augustin was very impressed about nur being a child of Michael, while John's interest lay with the magic of nur healing. Mugaro had a lot more to say about the latter, which led the conversation to why nur passed out after using it. John theorized youth, and knew a little more on magic than ne would've expected.

"You worked with Rita, right?" El Mugaro asked.

John looked very caught for some reason. It took El Mugaro a moment to realize he must expect judgment because Rita's dark alliance.

"She's a friend of me, but I never had the chance to talk to her about healing because I'd lost my voice. Did she tell you anything? I have these ideas I want to try. There's vocal magic and visual magic, and this illusion mist is of her making and we have her bible. I think the mist uses the same magical template that I look at to see how people used to be, it's one of my tricks to make healing faster. But the king has Rita captive so I can't ask her, but I have to learn faster."

"Slow down, please," Augustin said. "It's hard to keep up with all this new information."

"You want to learn more? You could be my hallows!" Mugaro clapped nur hands together. "I can get you in touch with heavenly power and give you themed magic. You can figure out stuff from your angle yourself!"

"Uhm ... what? Like saints?"

"Like wards with demons, saints is an extra thing I think." Ne shoved the blankets off and almost tripped over nurself to get to the door. "Adva, please can you go to the ruined church on the hillside? There's a book there, the Black Bible. I think we're going to need it and your song too."

Adva looked up from a bowl of water with one of those, really? looks.

"Please?"

"I'll have to hope you're going to pay me better, once there's more money, than your makeshift father does. Inventing new magic? Much more intense than cleaning duty."

"Azazel used you for cleaning duty? Well, I can't promise you a salary, but I'm pretty sure your magic will mean much more than that. Are you in?"

Adva smiled and called, "Tipa, darling, can you tell lady Belphegor we're considering a new position? And lady Malphas that we're done after the aquaduct."

Tipa peeked in from the kitchen, looking confused as Adva gestured at ElMugaro.

"If you will work for a god and human in one, I'd be honored," El Mugaro said.

"You have a deal."

· · · · · · ·

After helping her human friends back to their houses, fixing a wall or two and kicking a few complainers in the right direction, Nina had but one plan now, and that was sleep. A plan foiled when Favaro tapped her on the shoulder and he had that look, the same when he'd dragged her out of bed because a bounty hunter needed to function even when tired. She guessed this wouldn't be about bounty hunting.

"Wanna talk about it?"

The thing with Chris?

No, because that hurt.

Yes, because she wanted someone to understand.

Favaro led her to a secluded spot, that lake where an old ruin stood half submerged. A hole in the earth above let the moonlight stream in. It was one of the few beautiful places here, more of a fairytale than the oppressive underground of the island.

They climbed up the ruins, as Favaro promised it had a dead sound spot. Little would carry as long as they kept quiet, and nobody would stand near to overhear.

Once they were both up, Favaro faced her. "Do you think you love him?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, as your teacher my job is to advise you on your road, not to decide for you. But look, if you absolutely must snog a mass murderer, please take one who doesn't have us on his kill list."

"What is that supposed to mean? It's not like I have those lining up."

"I'm just saying even with your specific and questionable taste, you have options. I like being alive, Nina."

"If all you're going to do is tease me for this, you're a lousy teacher," she snapped.

Favaro held up his hands. "Sorry, but I'm in a kind of bind here too. Fate's made it clear I'm dispensable beyond small touches."

Favaro dangled a pendant before her, the very same Chris had bought in the slums. "This might've been for you. There's inspiration in my head pushing me to advice about love and fate. It's exactly like all my other little impulses, nothing unusual if I didn't have a clue."

Nina closed her fingers around the red tipped claw. Favaro looked unusually stern as she handled it.

"I can't teach you about love and villains, so I'll tell you about something as a friend instead : I had a choice once. Or rather, we had."

He gestured behind her, where astral Amira drifted below the moonlight, formed like a heavenly woman with the wings to match. An intricate light glowed on her chest, from which power sprang that went everywhere and nowhere.

"That little pendant is designed to resemble the barb of Bahamut, my fated weapon to banish the monster. We found it in a sub dimension where a dragon had been bound by it, and only I could remove it. That dragon offered us an option though : Amira could remain forever in that subdimension, to never reach Bahamut. I took the barb and made vows about how we'd change fate ... that turned out to play exactly into fate. She would have stayed there for the sake of the world if I had not convinced her otherwise. The moment we left, our choice was gone.

I did not fret about the past, until Amira's return made me do so. I went back over everything and thought, why didn't I ask Amira for a description of her mother, tell her to stay there and go just with Kaisar? She might've given me the pendant that enforced her false memories and realized the truth, either then or later. Regardless, she would not be in the grip of Belzebuth and Gilles de Rais.

But I had another choice before that. See, my personality isn't fate molded. It was so inconvenient for fate that it had to arrange a horse to act really weird. I guess I was the best it could find. That might be true for Charioce too."

"You're nothing like him! He's much more sophisticated than you!" she huffed, before catching herself. Was it fate making her think this way, or just herself? Quick, she added, "And you're not a bad guy either."

Favaro grinned in a way somehow sad.

"When it comes to naive pink haired girls with connections to dragons and bad guys ... I've been there. I've been the bad guy. When I first met Amira, I got her drunk so it was easier to stab her to death. That failing, I sold her out to the knights expecting them to kill her. Amira never found out. That image she has of me isn't who I really am. If she ever returns, I'll tell her everything. She deserves to know the truth after all the lies that defined her. If she still wants me to show the world to her I will, if she doesn't I will leave."

Amira leaned closer to them, still unable to hear him, but Nina would bet she noticed he looked sad.

"What if that that choice causes more sadness?" Nina asked, careful to avoid being specific.

"Then I'll hope she'll accept it in time. She deserves to have a choice," Favaro said. "But you're not really asking about her, are you?"

Nina pressed her lips together.

"You don't mean enough to him to make him stop, or he'd have announced a pardon already. He can get away with anything. Right now, no other entity in the world has as much power as he does and his personality is his own. He's keeping even Bahamut a secret when he should unite the world against it. Maybe you can't stop loving him, but you can kill your hope."

Stiffly, Nina nodded.

From behind, glowing arms surrounded her in the semblance of an embrace. "What's Fava saying that makes you so sad?"

Amira's power so close resonated with her own magic, setting the root of her wings aglow, but she kept them in.

"Just that I've got to work on not hoping for him, so we can have hope for you."

"That's not really what I was going for," Favaro started.

"It is though, and it's okay. I'll help you get your friend free." Nina turned back to Amira. "You know, I don't think I've personally said hello to you, so hello! The world is a mess, but I'll try. If I find a way, I'll go up the stairway and ask to bring you down."

Amira looked so confused, Nina added, "Chris mentioned something about a legend, of this god Kṛiṣṇa on his chariot who had to abandon his compassion for the greater good. That's his story, I'll follow my own. Maybe I'll find you at the end and you'll have two friends when you reenter the world."

Amira smiled at last, looking happy in a way that did not have to be called angelic, demons could look so just as well. "I look forward to it."

"So do I."

Nina had once felt she was a monster, or least a failure. She wanted someone to bring out the true her from within the monster without the leaving the monster behind. Before she had never wanted to be a dragon again, she wanted to be both. The way Amira so effortlessly was both god and devil. Playing both fields.

"Teacher, can you give me that pendant? If we want to change fate, we need to interact with it."

· · · · · · ·

Merlin stepped through her gate with poise exactly until she was out of human sight, then she sat down on the moss. Gate casting took a horrid amount of concentration that her human half could not handle well, she needed to invoke her despicable demon heritage.

Once well, she walked.

The lush forest lay peaceful before her. She whistled as she wandered, pleased to have a moment without the need to appear regal. Her staff she tapped against the wood until she found a weakness in the walls of the world. Her whistle turned to spell, and her breath to smoke as she turned space in on itself, borrowing power from fate's winds itself.

He was not here right away, but found her soon : a massive dragon overgrown with plantlife.

He was an ancient dragon of the forest, noted only briefly in the records of Anatae by Favaro Leone and Kaisar Lidfard. This one had turned up in Lao's research in the library, after she'd tried explaining him about fate. He'd sought indications to loosen the kingdom's lenience to dragons and found it. Charioce had approved of bringing in more dragons, so here she was. The find was satisfying, but also worrisome, for this was a demonic dragon.

"Who are you that you were able to enter here by yourself?" he rumbled as he leaned over a thick tree root. She felt small, not in power but under the weight of eons.

"I am the servant of fate, the prophet Merlin. Fate's hand favors me," she said. "That is all I am."

"Does it now, are you this? I have not met a prophet to the fate before. Unlike the recent pawns, do you understand how you walk?"

"To the best of my abilities," Merlin said. "I stand here on behalf of the holy knight prophecied, he who shall stop Bahamut's path of destruction."

"Bahamut has come to the worlds countless times," the dragon said. "Never once has it been defeated, for it can reform at will. A soul whom the pull of the afterlife has no regard for, ichor perfect at its command. One can only hope to exile it, if you twist that to mean an absence to the sight."

"The holy knight shall seal it with utmost perfection." She brushed her fingers across the tip of her staff to project the image of him, of Dromos and at last, of a girl with pink hair. "I suspect that he may have a counterpart, two bodies to the role of Kṛiṣṇa. Chris already in place, but Nina takes her time to come aboard the chariot. She is hung up on sympathy for the worst of demons even though she and her kind have turned their back on hell. The king hopes to make it easier for her to step forth, rather than be an outcast in the world he created, and ... well ..."

"Well what?"

"Until she does, he has a death sentence on her head." Merlin sighed. "It's incredibly inconvenient, truly. Fate can be thwarted and he does not understand he himself might be a cause for this."

Unfazed, the dragon said, "Fate loves its stories of sacrifice, indeed."

Was that a hint of demonic malice she detected? It had to be, right? Why mock fate's wisdom?

"You are under the umbrella of the demon clan, yet you exist in harmony nature?" Merlin asked. "I must say, these are my own reasons for seeking you out. I cannot understand you."

"You are half demon too, and yet you're not laying waste to the world around you."

"That part of me was purified a long time ago."

The dragon laughed. "You cannot rid yourself of the blood that gives you life, not without dying. You only deny the shadows, the very same force I may freely use to play my part in nature."

"Then perhaps I have something to learn, or redefine at least. If not for the king, then for the sake of balance in the world, would you come with me?"

"To meet this missingparticle? Let's see ... yes. Why not? I will observe up close for once. You might not like what I tell her though."

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