by J. J. Pavlov
Almost all demons surrounding them shy back, with some turning tail and running immediately, while others lower their heads to avoid looking at her. In this form, Asoko is almost as tall as Tamariki, whose gaze is clearly boring into her back. She hears Hestia's gasp, as this appearance most likely reminds her of Chaos.
"Please excuse our ignorance." The insectoid demon bows, lowering his bald head as if to avoid looking at the Crawling Chaos. "I am Iruzas, and this is Menshash. We are the deputy commanders of Pontis Daemonis. For attacking you on your approach, please bestow your punishment upon the two of us."
The towering demon called Menshash seems to be the type that follows, as he doesn't question Iruzas' judgment and bows as well. Even then, it looks more like he's only bending down to look at them, as he's just that gigantic.
"Do not worry. I will not punish you; you were merely doing your job. But where is the commander?" Turning back into her human appearance, Asoko asks the two. She peers across the courtyard to regard the demons who have stood their ground after she revealed her true appearance. Watching Sultana Malika has taught her how to speak to subjects, and it's now seeing good use here.
"Lady Cadrienna is..." Iruzas remains lowered, unsure of how to respond.
"Talk." Fixing her eyes on the insectoid, Asoko urges him on. She's enjoying her position of power.
"She is swimming in the ocean." Menshash is the one who replies, causing his partner to glare up at him. Surely, he wanted to circumscribe her actions with something that would have made it seem like she was doing work rather than slacking off.
"Umm, could you tell us Your reason for coming here, Your Highness? We will then be able to properly announce You to Lady Cadrienna." Quickly taking over again, Iruzas tries to stall but receives a glare from Asoko.
"If your commander doesn't appear on her own even after such a commotion, I'll have to question her suitability for the role." She declares with a displeased expression on her face. A massive dragon landed in the city, so how could this Lady Cadrienna take this long to come here?
"What happened here?" A relatively deep female voice that seems used to bellowing orders echoes across the courtyard, causing all the soldiers to stand at attention. They didn't do the same with Asoko, so she must hold authority not just in name but also through action. "I saw a dragon land here, so where did it go?"
"Ah, Lady Cadrienna!" Menshash steps aside to make way for the owner of the voice, a woman who stands at about Asoko's height and appears to be glistening wet and naked. The latter's eyes are immediately drawn toward her lower body, but for a reason different than lust. Starting from Cadrienna's hips, her body branches out into eight tentacles like those of a squid, which she uses to walk by writhing them across the ground.
Her upper body is humanoid, with modest breasts that lack nipples. She has a slightly elongated head that ends in a triangular shape, with a multitude of tentacles simulating chin-length hair. Her skin is as white as the mollusk she resembles, and a pair of eyes with iridescent sclerae and w-shaped irises look across her troops with a sharp gaze. When they fall upon Asoko and her group, they open into large circular ones that make her eyes look enormous.
"Her Highness, Princess Chaos, has arrived just now. We did not recognize her as she was... in the form of a dragon." Iruzas explains to her while gesturing at the person in question.
"Huh..." Cadrienna doesn't seem at all surprised by the mention of Asoko taking the form of a dragon. And even after hearing that she's the crown princess, she neither bows nor shows any other sign of recognizing her higher position. Instead, she regards her with a scrutinizing gaze while scratching her narrow chin with a webbed hand. "So you're the princess? Who are these with you?"
Asoko doesn't know her rank, but even if she were the highest-ranking general in the entire Dominion, she shouldn't be talking to the princess like this. Maybe she's testing her.
"They're my companions. We came here from Blereath." Not taking any offense at the commander's lack of respect, the Crawling Chaos explains in a casual tone to mirror her opposite's. "We're only coming through and would have gone ahead without stopping by if not for this hour and the conveniences of civilization. And I was just so interested in seeing Pontis Daemonis."
"Blereath?" Cadrienna's eyebrows consist of ridges of translucent fins in place of hair, and she raises one in an expression of doubt. "Did you fly here as a dragon?"
At this point, Asoko is almost certain that she doesn't believe who she is and would have turned into her true form to show her proof, but Iruzas steps forward to inform his commander of that fact first.
"We have confirmed that Her Highness is Princess Chaos." He explains in a hushed voice, at which Cadrienna regards him with a skeptical look. Then she turns to said princess with a grin that shows her teeth. In fact, they aren't teeth, but a bony plate with two sharp protrusions at the top and another with a single point at the bottom, which fit together to give her an impeccable smile.
"I will need-" She begins, but Asoko already bursts out into her Cosmic Horror form without warning. She bridges the distance to the commander in two quick steps before looking down at her through nonexistent eyes.
"Convinced, Lady Cadrienna?" She speaks with a voice that grates on everybody's nerves as if their brainstems were being pulled on. With pupils dilated to their maximum size, the squid demon's mouth drops open as she stares blankly at Asoko. Her tentacle legs give out, and she slides to the floor, mucus dripping from her whole body like sweat.
That's as good as an answer from a person facing the true appearance of a Crawling Chaos can get, so she turns back into a human and extends a hand toward Cadrienna to help her up.
"Sorry for scaring you. I suppose words were unnecessary." Asoko gives her a warm smile, but the wide-eyed commander only stares at the offered hand with a stunned expression. It takes her a moment before she realizes what just happened. She quickly adjusts her position to prostrate herself before the princess of the Dominion.
"I am so sorry! I apologize for my rudeness, Princess Chaos! Please forgive me for doubting You!" She presses her forehead onto the cobblestone floor of the courtyard and rattles down one apology after another in an octave higher than her usual pitch.
Judging by this over the top reaction, maybe Queen Pelomyx is a dictator that eliminates all opposition after all. Asoko just never got to see it, and she most likely hid it from her other half. Or a Crawling Chaos really is so terrifying that groveling like this is par for the course.
"Come on, get up already." With these words, Asoko grabs Cadrienna's arm to pull her up, only for her hand to slip on her mucus. It's viscous and slippery, even more so than that of fish. A sudden thought enters her mind at the sensation on her hand, and she looks at it with an absentminded smile.
It's the squid woman's misfortune to have looked up at that moment and misjudged Asoko's smile as a cold one. It seems to make her believe that she committed another act of disrespect. Her white skin goes dark in a dotted pattern - something that squids can do for camouflage or signaling - and she bangs her head on the floor in terror.
"Hey, stop that. I'm not mad or anything." Even though a dark part of her is enjoying being kowtowed to so profusely, Cadrienna's authority as the commander of Pontis Daemonis may be damaged when she keeps doing this in front of her troops. "Let's go inside."
With these words, Asoko turns around and returns to her companions, who have been watching with expressions that range from disapproval to a weird sense of arousal. Tamariki is obviously at the former, while Daica is at the latter end of the spectrum. She may be imagining herself in that kind of situation with Chaos.
Cadrienna finally pushes herself off the ground with her tentacle legs and carefully looks up at the princess while removing small pebbles stuck in the mucus on her forehead. Despite her shameful display in front of her soldiers, nobody is ridiculing her. In fact, they all seem to agree that they would have done the same when faced with the potential wrath of a being that
appears to be able to physically grasp their hearts with a simple look of her nonexistent eyes.
For her part, Asoko basks in the fear everybody is producing, though she tries to prevent it from showing on her face. It's part of being a Crawling Chaos.
"Good job." Senka remarks snarkily when she passes the doll girl.
"It's a peaceful solution." Shrugging, Asoko turns around to Cadrienna with a smile before beckoning her over. "Come on, show us to the dining hall. I hope it's not too much to impose on you for a meal and beds tonight."
Cadrienna regained her composure when dinnertime arrived and proved to be an awe-inspiring leader under normal circumstances. She has a firm grip on her command structure, and her usually rather deep voice makes her seem like an elder sister figure one can rely on.
Only toward Asoko does she still lower her head and voice while talking, even while she knows that it's making her look bad in front of her subordinates. Generally, people don't like those who are strict with those of a lower rank while seemingly groveling before those above them. But in this particular case, their wry smiles show that they understood her behavior.
It does stir something basic in the Crawling Chaos to see a woman of her caliber so meek before her, though. She's getting a front-row seat in a lesson on how power corrupts.
After the meal, Tamariki goes to challenge Menshash and Iruzas to a sparring match. Why she would be interested in the former is self-evident, but she could tell that the latter's stick-like figure hides immense physical strength when he first appeared in the courtyard.
Ninlil is like a chaperone to the former demon student since she accompanies her diligently wherever she goes. The others all decide to retire for the night, although Lenoly gives Asoko a long look when she leaves the dining hall. The latter doesn't notice it over speaking to Cadrienna.
Once alone with the commander, the Crawling Chaos goes to work. She has been holding back for a while now, and being so close to so many girls she can't do anything with has been frustrating to her. But in Cadrienna's case, it's fueled by a sense of power and curiosity about her body.
Unexpectedly, she seems to be quite the pure maiden; when she notices Asoko's advances, she turns shy while patterns flash all over her body. They do paint a clearer picture of her thoughts than her stuttered words do.
Soon, they head for Cadrienna's private room - one with a pool rather than a bed in it. She doesn't wear clothes due to her mucus, so she doesn't have a wardrobe. Aside from a table covered with letters crinkled from wetness, there aren't many indications that she spends much time here.
Slipping into the water first, she tries to hide her embarrassment from Asoko by submerging her face. But as a being that can survive without breathing, the Crawling Chaos quickly follows her. She wanted to try what it would feel like with all the natural lubrication that the squid demon's mucus provides, but doing it underwater is also an exciting prospect.
That night, neither of the two would get any sleep.
Chapter 88 - Capital of Sin
The next morning, everybody knew what had happened between them. It's so obviously written on their faces that even a person less perceptive about interpersonal relationships such as Tamariki can tell. But instead of talking about it, she brags about knocking down Menshash and defeating Iruzas in arm-wrestling last evening.
Asoko breathes a sigh of relief that this is all it came to, but notices Ninlil's look. She seems to suggest that under her watchful eyes, Tamariki won't go overboard. She silently thanks the catgirl with a smile, at which the latter deliberately turns away to make a point of ignoring her.
After a good night's rest on solid ground, everybody seems much more eager to continue the journey. The last leg to Arkaim will only take about two days on dragonback. With plenty of fresh provisions from Pontis Daemonis, it will be a smooth journey compared to the one they had so far.
It does pain Asoko to part ways with Cadrienna so soon. She can imagine many more ways for them to enjoy each other's company, but they need to get going and reach Arkaim soon. While they may not be in a big hurry, considering how much time already passed since Mithra launched her other half into space, it's still best to get this over with first.
She can always come back for her again afterward.
With the entire garrison seeing them off, Asoko transforms into Kiamedras in the courtyard once more, awing everybody present with her otherworldly abilities. Her wings kick up the dust on the ground as she takes off into the air. Cadrienna has herself under control before her troops and stands at attention, not letting her longing show.
Asoko remembers how the commander didn't want to let her go in the morning, her tentacle legs winding around her body in a tight grip asking for more. Good thing she can banish the thought, or something would have shown on her body.
Clearing her head of it, the Crawling Chaos in dragon form ascends to cruising altitude, at which point the figures in Pontis Daemonis become nothing more than tiny specks. Beating her wings, she begins to fly inland, away from the ocean that had been their only view for the past ten days of flying. Now, it would be the first time for her to see more of her homeland in this world.
She has the memories of Kuroe Makoto from the day she was reincarnated. However, all she saw back then was the city of Arkaim from a window in the castle. Unlike her other half, Asoko never returned after the teleportation that was the cause of her birth. But that's still more than what Lenoly knows of the Dominion. She was born in the Kingdom of Lares, and even her parents never saw the lands their grandparents escaped from thirty years ago.
Now that they're flying across Ceogath, they realize that its landscape isn't much different from that of any other continent. The climate is warmer than the places they passed, though they can't feel much of a difference when flying nearly a thousand meters up in the air.
The rolling hills soon make way for a mountain range, though it's nowhere near as tall as the Dragon Mountains. According to Ninlil, the Dominion is relatively sparsely populated compared to the Empire of Terminus. They can clearly see that judging by the very few settlements visible from up in the air. All of them are more fortresses than towns, owing to their proximity to Pontis Daemonis, the former human bridgehead on the otherwise demon-held continent.
Once they pass the mountains and enter a hilly region dominated by grasslands with small forests seemingly haphazardly strewn about before them, Asoko sets down for their first break. Everybody is used to riding on her back now, so they aren't at all exhausted and immediately get to work.
Lenoly appears to be giddy, walking about near their camp after the meal as if searching for differences between the Dominion's and the kingdom's fauna and flora. Asoko, who was never especially interested in those things, can tell at a glance that trees and flowers grow here that don't exist on Blereath. The little bakari seems to enjoy looking at them more closely, though.
Her mood, which was a little dampened since the morning, seems to have improved. Makoto was never a dense person, so even if she's made from her lower half, Asoko has inherited her wit. She knows that Lenoly was disapproving of her one-night stand with Cadrienna, but didn't say anything at the time.
The little bakari is promised to her other half; at least that's what she always thought. But maybe that's not the case, and she may have a chance to win her heart - if she hasn't already. Although she practices free love, she's not interested in taking away somebody else's lover. She'll ask Hestia about Lenoly's relationship with Chaos when she has some privacy with her, and only make a move if she has confirmation.
That night, Asoko once again flies with everybody sleeping on her back. With only the wind to accompany her, the Crawling Chaos glides through the starlit night sky. The moon is waxing, and it's going to be a few more days before it will be full. Maybe they'll even reach Arkaim when the moon is full - for dramatic effect.
But suddenly, two full moon-sized shapes appear like giant eyes in the sky. Her other half has told her about th
is phenomenon, which the people in the Khurut Sultanate apparently regard with some measure of affection. She never paid attention to the sky much while in the harem, and even less while she was traveling in the desert, so this is the first time she sees it.
Chaos told her not to think too deeply about it, as it's an existence beyond this world's reach. Who knows, maybe her other half is closer to it, now that she's in space.
It's the first time she's thinking about what Chaos may be doing right now. She has no doubts that as a Cosmic Horror, she's still alive out there. But even if her other half independently came up with a concept similar to the Chaos Jet, she won't be able to use that to get back. Wind or fire magic require an atmosphere, which doesn't exist in space.
If they could communicate, she would be able to provide instructions like the ground crew of a space program. Senka surely knows something that could help, and even if she doesn't, more minds are always better at coming up with ideas than a single one.
Peeking up at the pair of eyes in the sky suspiciously, Asoko decides to ignore them from now on unless they give her a feeling as if they're watching her specifically. Judging by the fact that there are stars between them, it wouldn't even be far-fetched to think that it's an entity of a cosmic scale looking into this universe from the outside.
Considering her own existence, it doesn't seem far-fetched at all.
On the morning of the third day, the castle of Arkaim towering over the city built around it comes into view. It's surrounded by a barren wasteland with black rock formations jutting out of the ground, which are all pointing in the same direction.
