Chapter 6

"Stay safe, Darkness." Dustiness Ford Ignis said as he hugged his daughter and hoped she would be safe. At the same time, Issei and YunYun smiled at the man being concerned for his daughter, and given the events that have happened since the Crimson Demon Village Slaughter, it makes sense that adventurers are even more cautious now due to the Diablo Cults power.

"I will, father, and thanks to Issei and YunYun, we'll be fine." Darkness said as Ignis watched his daughter's friends leave on their mission to head to the Underground Research Facility Ruins, but first, they went to the guild to get more information on these ruins from Luna.

However, once they got to the guild, Issei was surprised to see the adventurers looking at the latest quests on the board, which wasn't many given that the Wanted Board still had the pyromancer from yesterday while the Main Quest board had a couple of new ones but mostly Rank D and C tasks.

"Hey, Luna! How's it going today?" Issei asked as Luna smiled at the trio from yesterday and nodded.

"So far, this day is looking good since the Governor posted a new dungeon that he wanted some adventurers to investigate. And I think you wanted some information on the research facility, correct?" Luna asked as the trio nodded before Luna pulled out a paper and read the information.

"Unfortunately, there isn't much info except that there was once a powerful inventor there who made all kinds of machines and weapons to try and defeat the Demon King, but he vanished many years ago, and the ruins have been abandoned ever since. The rumors are that some massive giant is guarding the entrance, so be careful." Luna said as the trio thanked Luna for the intel before they headed out but were stopped by the guy from yesterday approaching them.

"Please let us join you on your quest!" The guy, Kazuma, said as Issei looked at him and the girl before raising a brow at the kid with him.

"You got a Crimson Demon with you? That's cool. By the way, my name is Issei. Issei Hyoudou." Issei said as Kazuma was shocked by this before grabbing his pant legs and begging.

"Please, please, please take me with you! This girl is useless since all she knows how to do is Explosion once per day and useless afterward!" Kazuma yelled while Megumin gasped at him.

"Hey! I'm the most powerful Crimson Demon specializing in Explosion Magic, so you already got a powerhouse." Megumin said as Issei groaned as he looked at the two before looking at YunYun, who was friends with Megumin, begging him with puppy eyes, which made Issei groan in annoyance.

"...Fine. You two can come with us." Issei said as the duo cheered until Issei stopped them.

"But! Under one condition." Issei said as the duo stopped before he spoke to them. "You both will do as I say and don't do anything unless I tell you to. Understand? Because if you two screw up such a simple mission, I'm not helping you if you have to pay a bill for excess damages."

Issei said as the duo nodded in agreement before they informed Luna that Kazuma and Megumin would be joining them. Luna nodded as Darkness and YunYun went to her cart with the pair before the receptionist pulled Issei back and whispered into his ear.

"Be careful with Megumin. She's the wild card since her magic is impressive, but she's a one-shot pony since her Explosion spell is the only one she knows."

"Wait? Not even a basic Fireball spell?" Issei asked as Luna shook her head.

"Nope. Megumin is called the Crimson Maniac since she's been in ten other parties before Kazuma and was kicked out of each one due to her always causing more damage than the monsters on the quests she went on. That's why she has such a massive debt that even she can't pay off." Luna explained as Issei groaned at what he just agreed to before Luna patted his back in sympathy.

"Don't worry. If there is too much damage, I'll hear all sides of the story before distributing the debt." Luna said as Issei thanked her before he headed out and saw a trio take the quest for his Dungeon.

"Oh, hello there, miss. My name is Kyouya Mitsuguri." Kyouya said as Issei cringed at the sight of the man since he reminded the jellyfish of Yuuto Kiba from his school with his 'Prince Charming' look.

'It's like I'm looking at a more annoying version of Kiba but one who's less tolerable than Kiba.' Issei said in his mind as he could see that Kyouya was a young man with light brown hair, blue eyes, and a fit physique. He wore a complete set of plate armor over a black mesh with shimmering blue color, gold gilded borders, and a wing motif on the chest area.

Under his armor, he wore a black cape hanging from his shoulders. A loose scarf-like red collar covers his neck area, and on his head, partially hidden by his hair, he wears a gold circlet with a blue jewel in the center. He has a sword hanging in a black sheath on his waist. Overall, his appearance is reminiscent of a knight in shining armor or a charming prince.

Issei then felt a memory appear in his brain, and he looked and saw that Aqua had reincarnated this guy with a sword known as Gram that granted him incredible power.

"Uh, it's nice to meet you. My name is Hikaru. I'm getting ready for my quest, so I met up with my friends." Issei said as he began to leave before sinisterly smiling as he looked forward to seeing how Kyouya would do against his Dungeon.

'According to the guild, Kyouya is supposed to be a Rank B adventurer, but thanks to the blessing on my Dungeon and how deep it is in the Beginner Forest, I'll be able to teleport there when it's nighttime. I'm curious to see how strong he is as well.' Issei said in his mind as he met up with his party and began to head out while a girl was eyeing them before pulling out a communicator.

"Lord Greed, it appears that a party is heading to the ruins and will possibly obtain the location of the other stones from the ruins. Shall I pursue them?" The girl asked as a voice responded to her.

[Yes. Make sure you stay out of sight and avoid confrontation with them. Use the power that I gave you to blend in. Show me why you were a general of the Demon King.] Greed said as the girl nodded in response. She ended the call and stepped off the rooftop before diving into the shadows as if it were water.

Her whole body vanished into the shadows of the alleyway before the girl emerged at the ruins.

"Huh. I have to admit, for a place that was built by a shut-in, he had some good eye for details." The woman said as she removed her cloak and revealed her face as a young woman with a slender body, medium-length black hair with side-swept bangs, her left eye black, and rosy cheeks with a mole on the left. However, there seemed to be a mask covering half of her face as her right eye was crimson blood red.

The woman then clenched her left hand as she saw it become a massive gel-like substance before thanking her friend Greed for giving her the powers of her former comrade Sylvia.

"Heh. To think they mocked me for just being in charge of surveillance and espionage, but that just made me even smarter than those idiots I put up with. Not even the Demon King saw my true potential. He just decided to make me feel like I was part of them even though I despise humans with a passion." The woman said as she clenched her fist and shook away her past.

"It doesn't matter. I'm no longer that pathetic person who pretended to care about others. I'm now a general of the Diablo Cult. The General of Envy and Lust, Seresdina." The woman, now known as Seresdina, said as she walked into the ruins while pondering back to her life before she met the man who saw her true potential and came to her in her time of need when she had nothing left in this sick world.

Seresdina was a beautiful nineteen-year-old woman but wasn't skilled in magic like her older sisters or the rest of her family, who were admired by their friends and family so much that Seresdina felt envious of them since she worked hard to make others see her. Still, it was in vain since others didn't care about her leaving the poor girl alone, but her sisters always took away the love and joy from her life.

Seresdina then soon learned that people in the world could have all of the love for themselves while the others who weren't 'special' got no love. Her parents, her family, and even the maids and butlers valued her older sisters because they were more 'talented' and 'beautiful.' Still, in reality, the two older sisters abused their skills and used them to get free food and drinks, money, or anything they desired.

Seresdina had no real friends since everyone didn't even acknowledge her existence. Her only real friends were the puppets she played with, which made Seresdina smile as she could enjoy the comedy they brought her. Sure, they didn't make her feel loved, but manipulating others to get her to do what she wanted made the woman smile as she could imagine what she could do to them.

Humiliate them in front of others.

She was forcing them to spill their deepest, darkest secrets or even turn them into her mindless puppets to do her work for her.

"Is something wrong, Seresdina?" A man said. Seresdina smiled as she looked at the one person who indeed saw her and cared about her out of everyone else in the city.

His name was strange to her, but she could tell that the man was a good person to her since he saw her talent, skills, and natural beauty, so he always came and comforted her when she needed someone to talk to.

Seresdina smiled as she wiped her tears and looked away so he couldn't see her face until the man handed her a tissue.

"Here. Use this to clean your eyes. A beautiful woman like you shouldn't harm that face of yours with tears of sadness." The man said as Seresdina smiled in thankfulness before blowing her nose.

"Thank you."

"It's no problem. So, family troubles again?"

"Sorry if it sounds repetitive."

"Hey, it's no problem. I understand since people look at me and fear my presence before getting to know me. That's how people are in this city. They judge others by their appearance at first glance before they get to know them. It's the same for humans and monsters since the humans tried to begin a war with the Demon King while all he desired was peace among the kingdoms." The man said as Seresdina was shocked by this before asking.

"But that makes no sense! The history books said that the monsters and the Demon King tried to destroy the human race and enslave us! He even killed his wife and child." Seresdina said as the man chuckled in response before handing her a small orb.

"This is an Origin Orb. If you want to see the truth of the story that your people miswrote, I hope you are ready to know that many of the things you thought were true are wrong." The man said as he walked away before speaking to the little girl who was more mature than her age.

"Also, don't let their words get you down. Could you show them your true skills and beauty? Make them envious of you so they'll know how it feels." The man said as Seresdina looked at her wooden puppet that looked so lifelike before smiling at the idea that appeared in her mind.

"Make them feel envious of me. Yes. Make them know how it feels to be neglected and unloved." Seresdina said as she headed to her room and smiled at her books on magic before conjuring magic strings and placing them on the doll's limbs.

"Now let's see how the city will feel when my 'perfect' sisters are exposed for who they are," Seresdina said as she giggled to herself before working on her plan.

One Month Later.

"And you sure that your family wouldn't mind?" Geordo, Seresdina's fiancé, asked as he was concerned about announcing their engagement to her family tomorrow before Seresdina reassured him.

"It's fine, Geordo. My family has no choice since my sisters had lost all sorts of friends and reputations that she had when their dirty secrets were revealed." Seresdina said as she had a sympathetic look on her face to play the part of the mourning sister, but in truth, she was smiling inside her mask as she was happy to have dragged them down to her old self, and now that the cities residents knew that her sisters were far from perfect.

Seresdina then was given the attention she deserved from the people as they saw her beauty and talents as she didn't try to be perfect but herself, and that drew the eyes of a noble who loved her for who she was.

Geordo then nodded as he dropped Seresdina back to her home. Still, to their shock, the carriage was outside in a forest, which surprised Seresdina as she wasn't sure what was going on before she felt something make her body so heavy and weak as Geordo rushed towards her and tried to help her.

"...away!"

'What? What are you saying?'

"...out of here before-!"

Geordo shouted as red clouded Seresdina's vision before she felt warm and wet; two figures appeared above her body as Seresdina struggled to stand up.

She suddenly regained her hearing as she heard the words of a familiar person who made her life miserable.

"We know how much you like playing with dolls, so let's play." One of the sisters said as the other sister ignited a fireball before her eyes, which made Seresdina's eyes widen as she couldn't move her whole body.

"And we'll be playing with our favorite doll. And that would be you, you little witch!" The other sister said as the fireball hit Seresdina's face; she could feel her face burning from the pain until a splash of Water Magic put out of the fire.

"Oh, you won't die, little sister. We'll only ensure you remember your place as the disgusting and ugly witch you are. You no-talent, worthless brat! Do you think you deserve love?! You are a disgusting Succubus who preys on others because you envy us!"

"Well, let's see how much the people love you when they see you so ugly they can't even look at you. And even after they learn that you are a black widow who wanted to steal the noble fortune by killing him and making it look like an accident." The evil sisters taunted as Seresdina tried to move her arms or legs but couldn't for some reason; she looked down to see that her legs were entangled in shadows.

"No!" Seresdina screamed as she tried to stand, but the shadows kept her rooted. Tears ran down her face when the two girls pointed their fire and water magic at her.

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

A Week Later.

Seresdina ran as fast as she could, knowing she wouldn't even be able to explain that she didn't kill Geordo, but the evidence was there. The sisters made sure that only the criminal Seresdina was the one to have killed Geordo.

Seresdina then tripped over a tree root and rolled down a hill. She ended up near a lake before stopping to drink water before her reflection showed her scars, which made Seresdina scream angrily as she slapped the reflection away.

"Why? Just why?" Seresdina asked herself as she cried. She had thought she would finally be happy with the man she loved and who loved her back, but she wouldn't get it because of her sisters and her family.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Seresdina shouted as she hated how the world seemed only to have a kick on making her suffer and always be alone with no love, no happiness, no comfort, or even a good ending—just pain, sorrow, fear, and loneliness.

"I wish I had magic! I wish I could take their love and expose them as the true monsters they are! I'd make them pay! It's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Seresdina shouted at the world as if she would do anything to make the ones who made her life a living Hell pay.

And so the world spoke back.

"Then why not make it fair?"

Looking up, Seresdina saw her knight standing before her as he helped her and carried her bridal style to a small cabin in the woods.

"What happened to you, Seresdina? Who hurt you?" The knight asked as Seresdina explained everything that happened to her.

Geordo's Death.

Her sister's revenge on her.

Her family made sure she was framed for the crime.

The scars on her face.

And how the world seemed only to enjoy making her alone.

At the tale's end, the knight hugged her and comforted the woman as he gently held her close to his body.

"I know the feeling. I was being betrayed by those I loved and losing everything I desired. Love. Compassion. Warmth of a family. People who love and care for you. My own family betrayed me because they were so wrapped in their Greed that they neglected me and didn't care about me when I was in pain, so I made them learn of my pain by taking the one thing they loved more than anything. Their accumulated fortune and their Greed drove them to kill themselves." The knight said as he took off his mask and showed that his face was littered with scars and was ugly in the eyes of others before Seresdina gently touched his face and smiled.

"But you look so handsome with a face like that," Seresdina said as she smiled at the man before her and could see his inner beauty.

"Heh. I haven't been called that in so long. Thank you, Seresdina, and I'm sorry I wasn't there to save you." The man said as Seresdina hugged him and smiled.

"In truth, Geordo and I had our reasons for wanting to get married. It was because we had someone else we loved." Seresdina said as she looked at the knight before her and kissed his lips, which shocked the man. Seresdina smiled at him and said three words that forever changed her life.

"I love you."

The knight was so touched by her words that his heart skipped a beat after it hadn't even fluttered before any other woman. He then took Seresdina's hand and smiled as he took her to a place where they could be together and form a world that was even better than this world.

And thus, Seresdina was no more. Only Envy and Lust could see the one who accepted them and truly cared for them.

Seresdina smiled as she took the offer from Diablo to pretend that she was working with the Demon King before the mage who kept the barrier up 'mysteriously disappeared' as the Diablo Cult then engaged and took care of three of the Demon Kings Generals.

"And now that Hans is dead. There's only Wiz and Verdia left." Seresdina said as she continued walking down the ruins before smiling at the lab littered with old papers, hair, and some exciting dolls.

"This is the lab of the great inventor? Looks like he only made a bunch of junk." Seresdina said as she looked through the old journal before gagging as she almost threw up from the contents.

"Ugh. This place should be burned to the ground." Seresdina said in disgust as she walked around the ruins some more before seeing the book that contained the information on the stones.

"Jackpot." Seresdina looked at the book and smiled as she skimmed through it and saw the locations of the stones.

"Yes! Now, we'll be able to take them without any trouble." Seresdina said as she tapped her communicator. "Good news. I got the information we needed and was ready to come home."

[Excellent! I'll let Lady Diablo know, but she also instructed us to activate the security system so the Golems can attack the party coming and set the self-destruct for when the Golems are destroyed.]

"To burn away the evidence! Excellent, and already on it." Seresdina said as she did some reprogramming thanks to the book's contents on how to operate the machines before going to the ruined core and smiling at the self-destruct system.

"Heh. I guess even the inventor created some useful things." Seresdina said as she looked around the lab at a container holding some dolls.

"Wait, this is his ultimate creation?" Seresdina asked as she smiled at an idea that popped into her mind.

"Maybe it's time for these female golems to be put to use," Seresdina said as she had her strings out and readied the special magic that was given to her by Lady Diablo and her lover for teaching her the wonders of magic after she could finally use it for real without items or trinkets.

The golems began to move as Seresdina smiled at them all.

"Time for an upgrade, my puppets, and soon you'll all be beautiful."

Scene!

Yes, I made Seresdina the General of Envy and Lust since I thought her puppetry magic and the mask that she wore was an excellent way to show her hatred for the world and desires for a new one, and that is why she'll make the golems in the ruins 'beautiful' in her eyes as she prepares to show the true extent of her puppetry.