by J. J. Pavlov
The catgirl is covered in sweat rather than the slime one would expect from a tentacle monster. Her breath is ragged due to the overbearing atmosphere inside the Crawling Chaos body. Be it corruption or lack of oxygen, the result is the same.
"Prepare to die!" The red-skinned demon jumps up and bursts out in flames.
"Stop it!" Lenoly steps between the two, but Tamariki doesn't even take notice of the little bakari. Hestia spreads her wings and immediately chants a spell but is held back by Asoko raising a hand in front of her. Nobody other than her could withstand a punch from Tamariki, so she needs to keep them out of this.
"Please don't fight. This isn't Chloe Marcott." Ninlil catches her breath and calls out to the demon student in a firm voice that takes everybody by surprise.
"What are you saying?" Directing her gaze at the catgirl, Tamariki roars.
"Listen to me, Tamariki." Locking eyes with her, Ninlil speaks in a tone that leaves no room for argument. Even though they're no longer in the academy, the dorm mother still seems to hold a measure of authority. Her clothes are wrinkled, and her hair is disheveled, but she permeates an aura of dignity despite the stone restraints on her hands and feet. "I have seen Miss Marcott disappear into the sky. Lord Aforgomon, the envoy of Urslit, personally cast the spell."
Asoko takes a mental note that Mithra's identity seems to be unknown to the academy and that when he acts in the capacity of an envoy, he's known as Aforgomon. Whether or not this means he's really still loyal to the demon queen can't be gleaned from that bit of information, but she will probe Ninlil for more later.
"Couldn't she have come back down again?" Tamariki argues with sound logic. It's been Hestia's hope, but at this point, it's safe to say that Chaos either fell somewhere far away, or she's really in space now.
"The Saint of Luminosity was keeping watch, and nothing came back down before this one suddenly appeared in the cells." The catgirl nods at Asoko. Then she sighs as if overcoming a barrier in her mind. "If she were Miss Marcott, I would be dead."
They fought to the death at the academy, so Chloe would have no reason to let her live after all that happened.
"So this could really be the daughter of the demon queen, huh?" Scratching her head, Tamariki shifts her gaze to Asoko, who suppresses the urge to grimace. With that, Ninlil now knows her identity.
"I could never mistake that feeling of corruption inside her body." But to her surprise, the catgirl remarks with a thoughtful expression. Does this mean she met Queen Pelomyx before - and was swallowed and spit back out?
"What's your relationship with my mother?" Asoko can't help herself but blurt out this question. Senka's head swivels around to her with a glare in her eyes, but she doesn't verbally comment on this blunder.
"I used to serve as maid leader in Arkaim castle." Ninlil replies in a matter of fact tone. For a moment, everybody looks at her while blinking their eyes with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. It seems that this is news even to Tamariki. "I left shortly after Aldeath died."
"You were a member of the Maid Corps?" Once again, the Crawling Chaos is unable to control herself.
"I'm the founder of the Maid Corps." Announcing in a dignified tone, Ninlil turns to face Asoko. Her expression suggests disdain for the appalling ignorance of her own court that the demon princess is displaying so openly. "I fought by Aldeath's side and helped him take the throne of the Dominion."
"Why did you leave and become the dorm mother at the Royal Academy then?" Hestia asks the question everybody must be itching to pose, skipping over the fact that Ninlil just revealed that she was a comrade in arms to the previous demon king.
"Because I feared Queen Pelomyx." Closing her eyes and shaking her head, Ninlil replies with a sigh. Then she opens them again and glares at Asoko while spitting out her next words in a hateful tone. "And I was right to do so. She purged her political enemies and established herself as a dictator."
"So, you're one of her political enemies?" Senka mutters more to herself than as an actual question, but the catgirl's ears twitch before she spins her head around to the doll girl with an infuriated expression. It seems she sees herself as the one in the right.
"Ninlil was an honorable member of Aldeath's court!" But it's Tamariki who speaks up in her defense.
"And maybe you could have stayed that way if you had only spoken to Pelomyx." She shrugs while looking into the red demon's eyes, which seem to throw sparks of anger in response. Chaos told Senka a little about the revelation that Demon Queen Pelomyx is actually her mother from her previous life, who also reincarnated into this world.
There's no way a former housewife from a peaceful nation such as Japan would be so ruthless as to kill everybody who was loyal to the previous monarch. That time she killed many of the Great Clan leaders was most likely because they attacked her rather than in a calculated purge. In truth, all she has done since coming to this world was to find a way to bring her daughter's soul over as well. But she promised Chaos not to tell anybody the truth about Pelomyx - including Asoko for the time being.
"What do you mean?" The demon student steps forward and demands an answer in a loud voice while balling her fist. Daica and Lenoly, who have been listening without saying a word, flinch in fear.
"Did she ever strike you as a cunning person?" Asoko counters with a question instead, directed at Ninlil. The little she has seen, and everything that her other half has told her, only paint an incomplete picture of the demon queen that is their mother in this world. But it's still enough for her to know the answer to that question.
"No. In fact, she seemed a little air-headed." Answering truthfully without fearing any potential repercussions, the catgirl replies with her honest impression of Pelomyx.
"That's because she is." With deadpan delivery, Asoko confirms the rude opinion Ninlil has of her mother.
"All she ever cared about was creating a harem of maids." Senka adds with a sideways glance. It's the partial truth. "Has she done anything else in these three decades since her ascension?"
Demon Queen Pelomyx left the demon clans to do as they pleased and barely involved herself in politics outside of what was absolutely necessary. If she were indeed a power-hungry dictator, she would have expanded her influence rather than give autonomy over the holdings back to the various clan leaders.
At this point, the Dominion's war potential should have easily reached what Aldeath had during his heyday. In other words, if she wanted to, the demon queen could have waged war on the Alliance nations as well. But she only ever randomly attacked the Khurut Sultanate in retaliation for the war in which Aldeath died. And last summer, she retook Pontis Daemonis after an Alliance army had knocked on the very gates of Arkaim.
In other words, she only ever reacts rather than take decisive action herself. And this realization gives Ninlil and Tamariki pause, as they both search their memories to find something to counter with. But the facts are readily available in every history book, so there isn't much left to be said about Demon Queen Pelomyx.
Except for one thing that Asoko hopes they aren't aware of.
"I don't care. That's not what I'm coming with you for anyway." The towering demon crosses her arms and announces, pouting as she can't find any arguments; it seems that she doesn't know.
Ninlil and Asoko's eyes meet, and the latter realizes that she does know. Of course, it's about the fact that she's a Crawling Chaos. And if she's truly the child of Pelomyx, then that makes the demon queen a remnant of the creature that threatened to destroy the Dominion - and if it had been left unchecked, the entire world.
Maybe the catgirl feels that it's her duty as the dorm mother to keep her students safe, so she keeps quiet. If she had revealed it here, Tamariki would most likely fight Asoko to the death. Though the way Ninlil looks at her suggests that there's something more going on between the two.
"Well, now that this has been cleared up, how about we make camp already." Senka's voice cuts through the silence that has laid itself o
ver the group. As if that snaps people out of their thoughts, everybody begins to move. Sighing, Tamariki gestures at Ninlil, upon which her stone restraints come undone. It seems that she doesn't need to recite incantations to cast magic.
"That's interesting." Asoko scratches her chin and watches as the remains of the shackles fall to the ground and turn into sand. She's not too concerned about the catgirl being free to move about now, as she can easily capture her again if necessary. "How can you cast magic without speaking?"
"I always could." Not in the least interested in keeping secrets, Tamariki replies with a shrug. This doesn't tell her much, so Asoko lets the conversation rest. Instead, she asks about something that she's been wondering about for a while.
"On another note: What's your relationship with Rewera?" Tilting her head to look up at the red-skinned demon, the Crawling Chaos scrutinizes her appearance. Maybe she's the child of one of those political enemies Ninlil was talking about.
"Rewera?!" But to everybody's surprise, the catgirl raises her voice at the name. Of course, the Rewera may have been her subordinate before, so she would know that name.
"Yeah, she's the current maid leader." Asoko replies cautiously, exchanging a meaningful glance with Senka. Why does everybody seem to be interested in Rewera?
"Why would she...?" Muttering to herself, Ninlil falls into thought.
"She's my aunt. Kind of." Tamariki replies after shrugging at the dorm mother's interjection.
"You don't even look like members of the same species." Unable to hold herself back, Asoko points at the horned demon. The only part these two are similar in is their height. But whereas Rewera looks completely human, Tamariki is undeniably a demon.
"No, we are. I just see no reason to disguise myself." With these words, the demon student closes her eyes for a moment. Then her horns start to shrink and seemingly disappear into her forehead. The color of her skin changes from red to white, although freckles remain on her face. Within moments, she has gone from a stereotypical demon to simply a tall human woman. "Before you ask, this isn't magic but something our kind can do naturally."
That's directed at Lenoly, whose eyes seem to betray the question she wanted to ask but was too scared to. Dejected, the little bakari turns back to tending to the campfire she has started.
"So, Rewera would actually look like you, huh?" Asoko wonders why the maid leader would keep it hidden. It couldn't be that her mother is telling Rewera to maintain a human appearance. After all, there are plenty of demon maids who look obviously inhuman, including the frog and bat maids who served her meal in the morning she first awakened in this world.
"Well, our kind has some differences here and there. Horns and red skin is the norm, though. Some can grow wings, but I'm not one of them." As if to demonstrate, Tamariki undoes her transformation again and returns to her demonic appearance. It's not an especially great disguise after all, as neither her hair nor eye colors changed, and her physique remained the same. It would work for a first-time infiltration, but nothing else.
Asoko pictures her as an oni, the traditional Japanese demons. With wings, she would match the description of a western devil better, though. Rewera did have the overbearing presence of a devil when she first took note of her.
"What will we do for food during the journey?" Hestia comes up to them and asks the Crawling Chaos rather than Ninlil or Tamariki. They have a few supplies from Daica's store, but it's not even enough for everybody. And with all that has happened, they went the whole day without eating anything. The adrenaline and excitement kept them going, but as the sun's last rays disappear toward the horizon, their fatigue and hunger begin to mount.
"I can go hunting." Dregana suddenly joins them and offers with her yellow eyes fixed on Asoko. Chaos already informed her of the dragonkin's glare, but being subjected to it is a whole different matter. Alongside Ninlil and Tamariki, that's a lot of pressure. Hestia promised that she would keep the red-headed professor docile, but the intense expression in her eyes isn't something that can be changed.
"I'll come with you." Unexpectedly, the horned demon announces in a matter of fact tone. Usually, one would think that she wants to keep an eye on Asoko, but at the prospect of being able to move her body, she can't hold herself back. Then, as if remembering that fact, she shoots the Crawling Chaos a glare and points at her. "Don't you dare run away while I'm gone. I'll find you wherever you go."
It's not like Asoko to feel intimidated, but these words do sound quite threatening when spoken by somebody whose limits she can't fathom.
"I'll go forage with Lady Nightwane." Senka waves across the campfire and gestures at the big dark elf. The latter has emptied her backpack under a tree and is rummaging around in the pile of goods. Daica prefers that people she's not too close with don't know her real name, so they introduced her with the pseudonym under which she operated her store in Kongenssoevn.
"Mistress Ninlil, I have a few questions for you." Hestia steps up to the dorm mother with an expression of hostility. She saw the catgirl fight Chloe and very nearly kill her, so she's most likely going to berate her about that.
That leaves Asoko with Lenoly, who's the only one staying in the general camp area, as the fallen angel walks away into the forest with Ninlil.
"Are we going to be alright?" The little bakari heaves a long sigh and asks while poking the campfire with a stick.
"What do you mean?" The Crawling Chaos sits down next to her, gazing at the young girl's profile illuminated by the flames. The corners of her eyes are slightly red, a result of not having slept since the battle in the academy last night - and from crying. The students were startled awake by the noise of fighting in the middle of the night, and among them, only Vitalis, and she went to help. The former died at the hands of Astrid, who, in turn, was killed by Chaos in retaliation. Thus, Lenoly couldn't focus her mind on seeking revenge, and the only outlet for her sadness lay in tears.
"This group's cohesion isn't the best." Glancing in the direction Hestia and Ninlil left toward, she returns her gaze to the fire while awaiting encouragement from Asoko.
"Yeah, it's going to be rough." But instead of doing so, she only states with a shrug. "But once we're in Arkaim, everything should be fine."
While Dregana seems to be collared by Hestia, Ninlil and Tamariki won't be easy to control. The former is several centuries old and fought under Aldeath before he even took the throne of the Dominion, so she's unexpectedly prideful despite her previous occupation as a maid and dorm mother. The latter is a powerful demon with blood relations to Rewera.
Lenoly suddenly bursts out laughing and lets go of the stick she has been using to stoke the fire. Asoko stares at her in surprise, but then realizes the reason for her joy.
"You were supposed to reassure me here." The bakari girl wipes away a tear from the corner of her eyes when she finally settles down again.
"I've never been good at giving pep talks." Scratching her cheek with a wry smile, Asoko pets Lenoly's hair, carefully avoiding the stump of her broken horn. It causes her to twitch in surprise, but she doesn't back away and seems to enjoy it. Then she looks up at the Crawling Chaos with a shy expression.
This journey may prove to be more enjoyable than expected.
The next morning, the group has a short meeting about how they would proceed. When Asoko explained the plan, Dregana offered to take on her dragon form for Hestia to ride. It seemed that she wanted to avoid letting the already black-winged angel remain in physical contact with a demon even now. She was soundly rejected, though for a very pragmatic reason: Unlike the Crawling Chaos, the dragonkin can grow tired. They're aiming to fly without landing until they reach the Enorath continent - or more specifically, the eastern edge of the Dragon Mountains located between the Empire of Terminus and the Fatas Triarchy.
Normally, one would avoid getting close to that mountain range since it's ruled by the last true dragons in the world. While sea dragons are abundant, the flying variant hasn't been able to rep
roduce in a long time. As such, the old remnants guard their territories with the ferocity of watchdogs.
But that also serves to keep both humans and Fatas away, and they should be able to travel without being seen. As long as they avoid the dragons, of course.
With last night's hunt and foraging turning up plenty of supplies to last them a few days, they set out to leave the Kingdom of Lares and the continent of Blereath behind. They make their way to a clearing, where Asoko transforms into Kiamedras, the elder dragon they fought in Aurelia's underground labyrinth. Of course, she creates a small indented area for everybody to sit in on her back, as the scales are too smooth to hold onto, and the bone plates along the spine are in the way.
Senka climbs on without hesitation, and Hestia flies up on her own pair of wings, but everybody else shows apprehension. Even Tamariki seems to be unsure about riding on the back of such a majestic being despite having done so on Dregana in her dragon form only the previous day. The golden scales do make the difference, and Asoko has reproduced the true size of Kiamedras.
Dregana and Ninlil most likely remember fighting Chaos in that form two nights ago and exchange an uncomfortable glance. If this isn't Chloe Marcott, then why does she have the same ability of transformation? But neither of them state the implication that the most likely answer holds.
"Come on, we need to reach the other side before nightfall." Asoko growls in the deep voice of Kiamedras, causing the dragonkin to flinch in surprise. She stares at the golden dragon with her mouth open, then closes it again before gathering her resolve and walking forward.
But before she can start climbing, Tamariki overcomes her apprehension and bounds up onto Asoko's back in a single leap. Lenoly runs past Dregana but can't climb up by herself and needs help from the horned demon, who pulls her up by her staff. Finally, the dragonkin resolves herself and climbs up from the wing. Ninlil uses her claws to willfully scratch her way up at the shoulder area. It doesn't hurt since dragon scales are incredibly hard, but the nerve-grating sound is unmistakable. That must be a passive-aggressive form of revenge for being bound and swallowed for so long.
