AN: It's taken longer than expected, but this chapter is a bit longer than usual to make up for it.
It had been one week since the official entry of monsters and allies to Lescatie. By all rights, it should have been a time to celebrate their successes. But right now, Druella wanted to just jump onto a nice, soft bed and sleep for days.
I knew, right from when I first had this idea, that it would never be easy… but this… is simply… absurd.
Druella dropped her head onto the table with a loud thud, not caring about her unsightly appearance or the dozen sheets of paper that were scattered as a result.
They always say that delegation is one of the most important aspects of being a leader… but there's hardly anyone left to delegate to.
Druella had brought over two thousand people with her to Lescatie. They included an enormous variety of skills to cover every eventuality. And after their initial successes in the outlying villages and towns, they'd felt confident in being able to fix the capital as well. Also Salvarision, though that needed less aid to begin with.
Yet the capital had proven to be a challenge on a completely different scale. Lescatie was unlike most countries, in which the rural population greatly outnumbered the urban population. In Lescatie it was the other way around, possible because the country received most of its supplies from other Order countries in exchange for military protection.
Obviously, there'd be no more supplies from that route in the foreseeable future. The rural parts of Lescatie would need to ramp up their productivity by orders of magnitude to keep the cities supplied. This should have been possible with the use of Demon Realm crops and livestock breeds, enchanted tools and so on. However…
Druella picked up one of the fallen papers and looked at the text on it: "Expected grain yield – 4.5% less than target. Expected vegetable yield – 8.3% less than target. Expected fruit yield – 13.1% less than target. Expected meat yield – 9.7% less than target. Expected wool yield – 18.8% less than target…"
The shortfalls might not seem like much, especially when Lescatie has enough stores for several weeks, and we brought in some supplies. But for an entire country, that still adds up to thousands of people missing out… unless rationing is quickly instituted for the entire population, which would cause its own problems…
Druella dropped the report then similarly dropped her head on the table. She had no desire to read a report on the floor, which detailed shortfalls of other resources.
And the rural-dwellers have long-standing grudges against those in the cities… Not without reason, but it makes our present task harder… We can't make them send too much to the cities, even if it's for a fair price now…
On top of that… there's problems not just with getting things in, but with getting things out. Or rather, turning them back into useful resources…
Cities, with their large concentrations of people, had issues with disposal of rubbish, sewage—waste in general. In Lescatie's case, this was one of the few jobs that slum-dwellers could do. Of course, said job had poor wages and tended to shorten the lifespans of those who did it.
Since the goal was to ensure everyone in Lescatie could live well, waste management had to be improved without needing a constant supply of cheap labour. The renovation task force had thus had to build modern rubbish collection and sewerage systems, in addition to building decent housing for the former slum-dwellers. Even with superhuman strength and magic and advanced technologies, that had left the task force exhausted.
And even that's caused its share of arguments! Druella lifted up her head only to shake it in disbelief. People dislike it when the neighbourhoods they live and work in are changed, even more so when it's at the suggestion of us, beings they were raised to hate and fear… We could use the authority of the royal family to force through our reforms, but that would cause problems in future…
I can only focus on the problems I can solve. I must get at least this pile of paperwork done. I can't delegate this to anyone else. Everyone else is so tired… both us and our human counterparts…
Druella picked up all of the fallen documents, using some shadow tentacles to help, and placed them back on the table. She cast a minor wakefulness spell on herself, then began processing the remainder of her paperwork. It took her on average ten seconds per document, even while reading every single word. Five minutes later, she'd finished everything that was on the table.
Though in a few hours' time, this table will become just as packed again…
Druella stood up and walked over to the window. A little fresh air and sun would do her good, she decided.
With graceful flaps of pure white wings, Druella was out of the castle and rising into the sky.
It was currently late morning, with not a single cloud to obscure the warm sun. Druella flew over the capital city at a lazy pace. She was not the only one in the sky; harpies, succubi, wyverns, insects of various kinds were also flitting around. Some hurried from one place to another on urgent business, while others flew around lazily, clearly relaxing like Druella.
The landscape below was already different from that of last week's. There were no longer slums up against the edges of the walls, but blocks of houses no different from those in the rest of the city. The streets throughout the city were clean and decorated with lines of grass and bushes.
It does make me wonder, however, what the other Order nations think of Lescatie now… most likely, as a Demon Realm filled to the brim with debauchery, with filthy streets and monsters fornicating in public…
It often irked Druella that so many people in the world thought of her kind that way. But trying to change that would be a monumental task even for her parents, and an impossible task for anyone else. She'd learned that quite well from all the work that she'd had to do in Lescatie… and would have to do for some time longer.
Just as she thought that, Druella sensed a commotion in the distance. She groaned out loud. Even when she thought she had a moment to rest, more work always popped up.
It was possible to leave this to someone else. But there was always the chance of matters escalating out of control, and Druella happened to be nearby…
Druella dove. She reached the scene of the commotion within seconds.
"When are you going to pay for what you did!?"
"That's—We were just following orders—"
"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT!?"
Druella landed near two groups that were blocking one street. One group was composed of three heroes from Lescatie, the other was six monsters of various races. They both looked up in surprise when Druella appeared.
"P-Princess Druella!" a demon exclaimed.
"This is—we were just…" a hero said, sweat running down his face.
"I understand that you have your disagreements," Druella said, trying to sound as neutral as possible. "But while you're out here, you're blocking the street for others. How about we take this discussion indoors?"
Nine pairs of eyes focused on Druella. There was a moment of hesitation, then both groups agreed.
Druella had been scanning the surroundings even as she landed. She thus knew there was a tavern close by, and it would be fairly empty at this time of day. She led the two groups into the tavern.
The owner of the tavern, a gruff-seeming middle-aged man, took one look at his guests then immediately vacated the premises.
Druella sat down on an empty stool and beckoned for the others to do the same. "So, I know little of what you've been discussing. Would both sides kindly explain to me what the issue is?"
The demon was the first to speak up. "Princess Druella, we're glad for your presence. You see, these are the heroes who murdered two of our friends!"
"As we've been saying, we were doing as our superiors ordered!" the male hero from before retorted. "Until now, we were raised to think of your kind as evil!"
"You think that excuses what you did!?" said a minotaurus. She was already clenching her axe, might well have drawn it if Druella hadn't been present.
"It was all we ever knew!" said a female hero. "We were not like you, able to travel where we wished, see the world for ourselves! We only knew the world of Lescatie, knew of our duty!"
"Nothing you say'll bring back the dead!" said a furious harpy. "It won't bring back Seira and Felis, or everyone else you Lescatians killed!"
Druella raised one hand. Everyone else in the tavern fell silent at once.
"I now understand the situation," Druella said. "And I must remind you all, my fellow monsters especially, of the conditions that have been set out. Killing of monsters, incubi or our allies prior to the signing of the treaty does not, by itself, warrant punishment. Otherwise, peace would be quite impossible."
Most of the monsters looked frustrated by this, but they said nothing. There was one exception.
"That's not good enough!" the minotaurus said, slamming her fist on a nearby table and cracking it. "You never lost friends to these bastards!"
"Hilda!" the demon said, terror clear on her face and in her voice.
A few seconds passed. The other monsters and the heroes all looked between the minotaurus and Druella with fearful gazes. And Hilda herself was becoming increasingly pale.
"I… I didn't… that wasn't…" Hilda stammered. She bowed down. "P-Please, just kill me and leave my friends alone! They had nothing to do with what I said!"
"I won't hurt you for that remark, so you may relax," Druella said. She was, however, willing to exploit the resulting guilt to strengthen her argument. "Rather… please listen for a few minutes. I'd like to share with you all a little story from my past."
Druella thought back to an event more than thirty years past. That was roughly half of her own life until now, yet she could still remember as clearly as if it was yesterday. She remembered someone who'd loved to explore the world… up until her end.
"Long ago, before some of you were even born, I had a friend," Druella said. "A red slime by the name of Gelath. We were not the sort of friends who spent all our time together. Instead, we met every few months or so to talk about what we'd been doing." She grimaced. "That's why I didn't know she'd been killed by a hero, until a few months after the fact."
That was met with a chorus of gasps. The three Lescatian heroes looked even more nervous at being here.
"It was not a hero from Lescatie," Druella added quickly. "Gelath was travelling in the south at the time. She ran afoul of a hero from Merukarn. Still, I believe this story is relevant now. For you see, at the time, I was utterly furious."
Druella looked around at the nine others in the room. None of them dared say a word.
"I wasn't so foolish as to just take revenge myself—even a lilim must be careful against the strongest Order nation, after all," Druella said. "So I went to my parents, certain that they'd approve of a major strike on Merukarn." If she had been alone, Druella might have laughed at her own foolishness. "I'm sure you can deduce their response."
"There's never been… any major strike on Merukarn…" the demon said. "So they must have refused you, Princess Druella…"
"And I've never heard of any hero of Merukarn dying in suspicious circumstances," the male hero said. "Then… did the Demon Lord and Royal Consort truly do nothing, not even just targeting the hero responsible?"
"It's not true that they did nothing… though I certainly felt that way at the time," Druella said. "Oh, how I raged at them, to the point of being confined to my room."
It was one of the times in Druella's life that she wasn't proud of. Normally, she was utterly devoted to her family, but this was the one and only time she'd seriously doubted them… even hated them to an extent.
"But the very next day, I was allowed out," Druella continued. "More than that, I was allowed to see a certain sight: the streets of the capital of Merukarn, projected for my viewing by a spy we had in that country."
The heroes shifted uncomfortably. Even if their allegiances had recently changed, hearing this revelation certainly couldn't be pleasant for them.
"And from that, I saw something important," Druella said, immersing herself in that memory. "I saw the people of Merukarn living happily… at one point, I even glimpsed that hero who'd killed Gelath, now smiling with his family. I was angry at the time, I could not accept it… but, ultimately, it was the truth."
That was a rather sanitised account of Druella's past. She'd actually thrown objects, screamed, almost let her magic run out of control. It would have been a terrifying sight for most people, something reminiscent of the vicious killers that primeval monsters had been. Druella was very thankful now that her parents had been around to calm her down.
"Merukarn has the largest population of any Order nation, the largest army, the second-largest number of heroes after Lescatie," Druella said. "It is also surrounded by other Order nations, unlike Lescatie on the frontier, and thus can more quickly receive aid if attacked. Lastly, any large-scale attack would risk an equally large-scale response from the Chief God, as well as the neutral gods taking umbrage."
That made Druella wonder why the Chief God hadn't responded to Lescatie's shift in alignment. One of the strongest, if not the most populous, nations that supported her had now made peace with her ancient enemies. Hopefully her parents were keeping watch over the situation.
"All of you know these things, I believe," Druella said, "but I must emphasise them, for it is the same lesson I learned that day. An attack on the heartland of the Order, even with all of the power my entire family could bring to bear, would have led to a massive conflict and many dead, many traumatised. Perhaps the world might improve from then on… but would it be worth the cost?"
Did my parents allow the current mission to Lescatie, because of lingering guilt from that time? Druella wondered privately. Have they been preparing for it all this time? It would explain how all this was arranged so quickly…
"Afterwards, my parents did take steps to reduce the chances of more killings," Druella said quietly. "Both by warning monsterkind to stay away from the Order's strongholds, and by diplomatic and economic pressure to reduce attacks by Order forces. I learned from that, and it… influenced my current plans for Lescatie."
Druella looked at the group of monsters, who cast their eyes at the floor. She then looked at the group of heroes.
"Thank you… for sharing this story with us… Princess Druella," the male hero said, stiffly yet also sounding genuinely grateful.
"It's not fully applicable to your situation, I know," Druella said. "But… I thought that all of you deserved to know it."
-ooo-
That was one dispute resolved… but Druella's work was far from done.
First, she returned to the castle to deal with a new pile of paperwork. To save time, she ate her lunch—bread rolls slathered with a local variety of jam, and grilled fish from the nearby lake—as she worked.
Then she met with two of her chief subordinates. Salma reported that no one in Lescatie was going to die from illness anytime soon. Roburt reported that all the merchant guilds of Lescatie had signed trade deals. Druella had thanked them for their efforts, then told them to take breaks, as they both looked on the verge of the collapse.
After that, Druella had had to help settle another dispute. This one had been about inter-class conflict: an alliance of servants against several nobles who'd abused them. It had taken over two hours to finally resolve that.
As evening approached, Druella had met with the royal family to discuss their progress. Thus far, the anti-corruption efforts were going well and the Lescatians were mostly accepting of monsters. There were reports of resistance movements forming in the shadows, which King Castor promised to look into.
While the sun set, Druella had eaten her dinner. To give herself a chance to relax, she avoided doing any work during this. She had her meal at one of the new restaurants, where people were creating new recipes blending foreign ideas with local ingredients.
And when night arrived, with most starting to head off to bed, Druella started work on yet another pile of paperwork.
Ugh… it never ends… and I'm not sure what's worse, reading and signing these, or the meetings, or having to mediate disputes…
Counting the two today, there's been eight this week… that I've personally dealt with. There are dozens more which others have handled, and I'm certain there are even more which we haven't heard about…
Druella groaned and slumped in her chair.
Sometimes, I wish I could use mind-altering magic again, to make things easier… And in my current state of mind, that thought no longer horrifies me…
Some of the latest reports mentioned people slowing down in their work, too fatigued to keep operating at full capacity. More and more would do the same as time passed.
I should just retire for the night… many others have already done that. Just… need… to finish… this last pile… first…
Druella picked up a document. She spent perhaps thirty seconds looking at it before realising she hadn't taken in a single word. She shook her head and began reading properly. It took another thirty seconds for her to finish reading and then sign the document.
That's one more done… Just ten… Druella blinked, then looked at the pile again. Closer to twenty… more…
Druella slowly reached for the next document. Before she could do so, a hand gently grasped her wrist.
"Please take a break, Druella."
For the briefest of moments, Druella felt a flash of terror, thinking that an enemy had snuck into this room. But then she recognised that voice, and terror was replaced by elation.
"Asha!"
The sudden visitor was a succubus with white hair, wings and tail—a lilim, like Druella herself. Her hair was much longer than Druella's, reaching down all the way to her ankles. She wore a long black dress that was far more conservative than the stereotypical monster outfit, and which was covered in subtle purple patterns. At this very moment, she had a concerned look on her face.
Druella jumped over the table onto her eldest sister, not even caring that this scattered both finished and unfinished documents everywhere.
"ASHA!" Druella exclaimed, wrapping her arms tightly around someone she'd not seen in over a decade.
"Please keep your voice down, Druella," Asha said, returning the embrace. "We wouldn't want to disturb anyone else."
"Why would you come here!?" Druella said frantically. She pulled away from Asha and wrung her hands nervously. "Oh, everything's still such a mess, I'm barely even keeping on top of things… and aren't you busy with running Parthos!?"
Asha, the first-born of the lilim, was Druella's senior by over four centuries, and she had many more achievements to her name. Most notably, she'd come to a few villages in a poor and desolate region, so poor that they hadn't truly belonged to any existing country, and worked to improve them. Less than a decade later, she'd founded a country of her own, named "Parthos" after an ancient word for prosperity. Over the centuries, she'd defended her country against natural disasters and Order crusades, such that in the present, she ruled over half a million people.
"Oh, Parthos can be run quite well by its Council of Seven, I haven't needed to do much for it in decades," Asha said dismissively. She pulled out a small bottle from her shadow. "But before we get any further, Druella, please drink this."
Druella accepted the bottle and drank its contents in a few gulps. It was a stamina potion of the highest-quality, the sort that would go for thousands of gold coins if offered up for auction. It wasn't as tasty as her husband's spirit energy, but it still dispelled most of her fatigue.
"Thank you…"
"You're welcome," Asha said. "And to answer your first question, why wouldn't I come to help my sister with the greatest undertaking of her life?"
Druella felt tears well up in her eyes. "I… Th-Thank you, Asha…" she sniffed. "It's not like I ever expected to do this alone, but… but I…" She fell to her knees. "BUT I WAS TOO PROUD TO ASK FOR HELP! IT'S BEEN FAR MORE DIFFICULT THAN I EXPECTED, BUT I… but I didn't… want to beg my family for help… I didn't want to admit I needed help…"
This was a side of Druella that she hadn't revealed until now, even to her friends like Lucella. She'd been forcing herself to keep up a brave face so others wouldn't lose morale. But she just couldn't keep up the act any longer.
"Druella, please, get to your feet."
Asha helped Druella up using a gentle hand under one arm, then wiped away her tears. Druella noticed that she didn't look disappointed at all… but surely that had to just be politeness. Surely, deep down, her older sister thought of her as foolish, overambitious…
"Druella… let me tell you a story of my own," Asha said.
Druella blinked. She immediately thought of her own story, told earlier in the day. But for Asha to be saying that in this situation…
No. It can't be.
"When Parthos was still starting out…" Asha said, her eyes nostalgic, "I tried to expand it by adding in all of the nearby villages, as well as wandering tribes of nomads. I thought that, since I was improving their quality of life so greatly, it would be easy enough to make them all integrate."
That certainly reminded Druella of the issues she was presently facing. And, despite not wishing to know the answer, she asked, "They… did not?"
"At the end of my first year, there was a large riot," Asha replied bluntly. "I quickly put all involved to sleep to capture them, but eight people still died before then… and that didn't solve the underlying issues. There was another riot three months later, and a third two months after that."
Druella could feel bitterness in every word. It was clear that even now, centuries after the fact, her eldest sister regretted that time.
"There were issues between the different cultures, such as on how to best raise children," Asha said. "But the main reason for the riots was anti-monster sentiment. Partly stirred up by Order agents… but there was also justification for it."
"How can you say such a thing, Asha!?" Druella exclaimed, momentarily forgetting who she was talking to.
"I say it because some of my subordinates, at the time, abused the citizens," Asha said. Her face twisted in regret. "I didn't even realise it myself. When some of the rioters accused them, I thought it was just lies. Only…" her voice became quieter, "only when Father and Mother came, at my request for help, was the truth uncovered."
"Th-They came to Parthos back then!?" Druella said. "I've never heard about this!"
"I think you were told, Druella," Asha said. "But… well. While you've been doing an excellent job here in Lescatie, you've… never paid much attention to lessons about the mistakes our family has made."
Now that Druella heard these words, she remembered what her own parents had mentioned before the start of the Lescatie operation.
Hah… I suppose there's such a thing as being too devoted to one's family, to the point of ignoring their self-confessed flaws…
"I suppose I haven't…" Druella said. She rubbed her arms nervously. "Um… thank you, Asha. I do feel better after… hearing that story."
Asha patted Druella on the head. This was quite different from how she'd done it in the past, mainly because Druella was marginally taller than her now. But Druella felt the same warmth from that gesture as always, and her tail flicked around happily.
"It's the least I can do for you, Druella," Asha said. "Now, how about we finish off the rest of this paperwork, and then I'll help you with something else?"
Druella then noticed that all of the fallen paperwork had been neatly returned to the table, exactly as it had been before. Asha must have done this with magic while Druella was still emotionally unsettled.
It took just a few more minutes to go through the unfinished pile together. Afterwards, Asha led Druella out of the room to a certain part of the remade Lescatie.
-ooo-
"I must admit… I haven't been here before."
"That's quite normal, Druella, you needn't worry about it."
Druella and Asha were now at one of Lescatie's sewage treatment facilities. It didn't have the foul smells that most would expect from such a place—indeed, it smelled no different from any other part of Lescatie. The only thing notable was a thick mat of fuzzy-looking green mould filling most of the ground, and with many pipes of varying thicknesses leading to it.
"This is one of the areas that's performing below expectations," Druella recalled. "It is adequate at processing the sewage going in, but not enough animal feed and oil is being produced."
"I'm not surprised," Asha said, kneeling down at the edge of the mould mat. Her long hair pooled on the floor but did not pick up a single stain. "This Reclamation Green was developed in a more hospitable climate. But Lescatie is further to the north and further inland than any other country it's ever been used in, making the fungus maladapted here."
Then Asha pushed both of her hands into the mould, sinking them up to wrist-level. Druella certainly admired her dedication, but it wasn't something she could do herself, at least not without some time to prepare mentally.
"Reclamation Green is a mixotroph, did you know this?" Asha said. Despite speaking to Druella, her eyes were focused on the mould in front of her. "It uses not only the energy in the matter fed to it, but also the energy in sunlight. And sunlight is weaker on average at high latitudes compared to low latitudes, one reason why performance is less than expected… This fungus would eventually adapt, but since I've come here, I may as well speed up the process."
A soft wave of magic emanated from Asha. There was no visible change in the mould, but nor would that be expected in such a short period of time.
"That should do it," Asha said. "I'll add in adaptations to the different temperature and precipitation as well. From now on, expect the yield to be at or slightly above expectations."
If any scholars of biology were here, they would be utterly amazed by what the eldest lilim was doing. They might beg her on their knees for the chance to be her apprentices.
…Which would be why Asha came here at night, without announcing her arrival, so she wouldn't have to deal with them, Druella thought. She's always had difficulty interacting with unfamiliar people… even before my time, according to our parents and my two older sisters. That would also be why she faced those problems in the early years of founding Parthos…
"Done," Asha said, casual about having performed several genetic modifications in a matter of seconds. She withdrew her hands from the mould and stood back up. "And I can see why this was introduced to Lescatie. It requires the least amount of infrastructure. Just a few initial spores need to be brought in and planted, then the mould will grow with little attention, until there's enough to handle demand! There are more efficient alternatives, but they—"
"—need too much demonic energy in the atmosphere to be viable here," Druella finished. "Thank you for the help, Asha. I truly appreciate it. Now, there's many types of crops and livestock that could also benefit from your skills—"
"Oh, there's so much more I can talk about here!" Asha said, a gleam in her eyes. "While it may be maladapted to Lescatie's climate—or was until I just modified it—this specimen of Reclamation Green has still undergone fascinating changes! It's given me a dozen new ideas on what to work on next!"
"Th-That's excellent news," Druella said, trying to keep the smile on her face. "Perhaps you could talk about it another time—"
"Why, there were already twenty-three mutations!" Asha said. She looked down at the mould with an expression a monster would normally reserve for a husband. "The functions of fifteen enzymes and eight membrane proteins have changed as well! If certain of these mutations were taken further, it might be possible to double the efficiency at which lignin is digested… and if I add in genes from certain insects, perhaps even triple efficiency would be possible! Ah, but I'd need to consider the side effects on growth rate…"
Druella sighed and waited for her eldest sister to finish. Asha was the leading expert in the biological sciences, having in-depth knowledge of everything from mammals down to bacteria. She had created or improved many of the living organisms now used by monsterkind, such as Demon Realm Boars and Prisoner Fruits.
And yet she's always going off into her own little world, once something interesting catches her eye…
Now that Druella thought about it, she herself was actually one of the best lilims for a task like making Lescatie peaceful and prosperous. Asha, as she was now demonstrating, could get too distracted by her own interests, and wasn't very good at social interactions.
Athaena would have taken Lescatie by force… and tried to suppress any resistance by force. That's useful in some situations… like that crusade she stopped before I was born… but simply wouldn't work here.
Cora wouldn't have taken it seriously… she would have warped the whole country into a Demon Realm immediately, with her incredible power, then done nothing but play obscene games…
And our younger sisters are still too young for a task like this.
Hmm. When I review the situation like this, it does make me feel a little better.
Several minutes later, Asha finally stopped her monologue. She blushed in embarrassment.
"Ah… my apologies, Druella. I wasted some of your time, even though I came here to help you."
"It's no problem at all," Druella said. "If anything, I enjoy spending this time with you."
"Then I'll do one more thing for you," Asha said. She placed a hand on Druella's arm. "You haven't had the chance to go home lately, so I'll send you back, just for tonight. If any emergencies do arise, I'll handle them, so you needn't worry."
Druella hugged her again. "Asha… Thank you!"
"Goodbye for now, Druella." Asha winked. "And do make sure to enjoy your time off!"
Then Druella was surrounded by bright green light. When the light faded, the Lescatian sewage treatment facility was replaced by a familiar room, with a familiar face.
"Druella!" Baniti exclaimed, standing up from his chair. "Your sister said you'd be coming, but she wasn't clear about when!"
"I'm here now, Baniti, and that's what truly matters," Druella said, letting out all the accumulated tension in her body. She walked over and embraced her husband with arms, wings and tail.
For the past couple of weeks, Druella had been too focused on Lescatie to spare the energy needed to teleport back home. And while she could have brought her husband to Lescatie temporarily, that would have been risky. Not everyone in Lescatie agreed with her plans, and while a lilim was a dangerous person to have as an enemy, Baniti was an ordinary incubus with no fighting experience.
"There's many things I'd like to talk about," Druella said. Then her voice lowered to a sultry purr. "But that can wait until later…"
Druella reached for the hems of Baniti's shirt and pants. The past couple of weeks had been torturous for her, but she needn't hold back any longer.
-ooo-
In a certain realm, one free from such dull restrictions as time and morality, the Fallen God smiled.
With them focused on their work, they have little energy to spare for other things. That gives plenty of… opportunities for me to try again.
Not everyone in Lescatie was satisfied with its recent, rapid changes. Many were secretly and desperately praying to the Chief God for aid… a futile effort.
That youngling has not done anything significant since her defeat by the upstarts… but prayers to her continue, and I can listen in on them, answer them…
The Fallen God had already found five promising individuals, who ran the gamut from newly inducted priestesses to even a Gold Priestess. If she could corrupt them, she'd have an excellent starting point for a cult. Said cult would also be in fertile ground for it to grow; monsters and incubi were already inclined towards pleasure and hedonism, so it didn't take much effort to push them into become devotees of the Fallen.
It will take time to corrupt those first few, without drawing attention… but patience is something I have an abundance of. I've seen more millenia than most mortals have seen years…
The Fallen God stood up from the chair she was reclining in, then walked over to a orb of purple crystal. This was an item she'd created some two hundred years ago to help her reach out to potential worshippers. While she could also do that purely with her own power, it was simply more efficient this way.
Now, whose prayer should I first? And what should I say to them?
The Fallen God thought about this question for an indeterminate amount of time. One observer might have seen her doing so for hours, a second observer for minutes, and a third for mere seconds. Such was the nature of time in Pandemonium, the realm in which even the fundamental mechanics of reality were distorted to permit eternal pleasure.
Then she placed one well-formed hand on the crystal orb. Immediately and without warning, the crystal ball shattered, forcing her to pull her hand back.
"W-What!?" the Fallen God cried out. "How can this—!?"
"You already tried this once. I won't forgive a second attempt."
That voice seemed to fill up the room, coming at the Fallen God from all directions simultaneously. She recognised that voice at once.
"Lilith…" the Fallen God growled. "How dare you interfere!?"
"I ought to be saying those words to you," the voice of the upjumped succubus declared brazenly. "I haven't been able to notice and stop all of your incursions… I even failed once in Lescatie, despite knowing you might get involved. But now you've shown me your new tricks, Fallen. And I won't let you interfere with my daughter's grand project again!"
"BEGONE FROM MY REALM!"
The Fallen God mustered up her strength and unleashed it in a single tremendous burst. It was an attack that could have shattered the mind of any mortal, even the strongest of heroes, and reduced them to a mere pleasure-seeking beast. It was an attack unleashed not at anything in this world, but across the ethereal boundaries that divided worlds.
Yet the Fallen God felt her power slam into an obstacle it could not budge, like a stream running into a mountain of diamond and washing over it harmlessly.
"LEAVE THIS WORLD ALONE, FALLEN! IT IS NOT FOR THE LIKES OF YOU OR I TO TOY WITH!"
Then the Fallen God felt a tremendous burst of power slam into her, sending her flying backwards. She broke through wall after wall of her palace, all the while feeling intense pain… and not the sort she enjoyed.
She landed in a meadow outside the palace, skidding over the blue-leaved grass for a considerable distance. There were dozens of people having fun in the meadow, but even with their lust-addled brains, they still jumped back and screamed at the sudden event.
"F-Fallen God!?"
"What's happening!?"
Normally, the Fallen God would have smiled at her naked, fluid-stained worshippers, said something uplifting to them. At this very moment, she was not in the mood. She simply raised one hand. All of her worshippers' eyes glazed over, and they resumed their usual activities.
…Even that took greater effort than usual…
The Fallen God looked down at her body. She had no physical injuries, nor was her clothing—a figure-hugging black robe that could be removed with ease—disturbed in any way. Yet Lilith's assault had left its invisible mark on her.
It had also left quite visible marks on Pandemonium. When the Fallen God looked up, she saw cracks running through the midnight-black sky that hung over this realm of depravity. If anything, she was lucky the realm hadn't suffered more damage from a clash between deities.
I'll need to focus on repairing my realm before I can even attempt to influence the material world again. That will take at least a decade… Curse that upstart!
The Fallen God began walking back towards her palace. Each step took considerable effort, and there were times she almost lost her balance.
…Perhaps that will be closer… to two decades…