▓Hero? What a joke. Quit this farce. This is what happens when you try to be something you’re not, after all.

▒There must be a way.

▓Do you think of her as a broken vase? That previous girl, perhaps. But this one… this one is as good as powdered dust.

▒Then I will mold that dust into a finer vessel.

▓How? You can barely hold yourself together, ‘hero’.

▒Lies… I’m perfectly fine.

▓You’re falling apart at the seams. And you’re bringing everything down with you.

▒I can fix this. I can still make this work.

▓Admit it. This is still just another story to you.

▒Shut up…

▓What makes you any different from the deities you used to abhor?

▒I…

“...I don’t know…”

“Master?” Shino looked up Kiryuu. He seemed to be in a trance. She tried to pull away but he tightened his embrace.

Kiryuu blinked several times and snapped out of his trance. He heard a faint snapping sound in his head.

“Master, are you alright?”

“Shino,” he stroked her hair and sighed.

“Yes?” It surprised her but she enjoyed the sensation nonetheless.

“What is it you truly wish for?” His words made it seem as if time had stopped.

She went through a great ordeal. There was but one thing he could do. It was dangerous but he could make it so those things never happened. But there were a lot of repercussions. He would have to deal with every one of them. The risk of the Will of the World finding him out at that would be really high. There was also the risk of creating a domino effect and causing all kinds of problems. He would have to fix those as well.

But if he succeeded, that would invalidate everything she went through. All her pain and suffering, gone. But so would the person she became today.

She told him her story but he felt there was something more. He refused to believe that her desire was something as simple as ‘being useful’. There was turmoil. He had been trying to wrap his head around it.

She had tried to seduce him at first. But then, she was pushing him away when he wanted to treat her as a comrade. Now, she was offering her body so he wouldn’t throw her away. Her actions have been contradictory, almost as if there was an inner conflict.

“I…” Shino had already let go of who she was in the past. Her name. Her old world. Her family. During her ‘training’, they hammered those things out of her. But they were not able to take away one thing she held onto all this time. Ever since she found herself in that horrible situation, she only wanted one thing.

To be saved.

All those years, she clung onto the hope that someone would save her from her misery. She couldn’t run away. There were eyes and ears everywhere. Death was not an option either. She was afraid of what they would do to her body or soul if she died. After all, she had already seen Rayis do things that should have been impossible.

Her experience warped her. The steel-willed survivor kept the facade. The one that wanted to be saved was buried deep within her. Her words became twisted.

‘You are not worthy to be my master’ meant that the person just wanted her for her body. After she got her name, the only ones allowed to touch her were the higher ups. They were ‘the worthy ones’ according to Rayis. She didn’t want her body to be defiled any more than it already was.

‘You are not strong enough’ meant that the person held promise. But she was subconsciously comparing them to her old master. She wanted to be with someone stronger than Rayis. She feared his return. She wanted to be freed from her shackles.

The hero princess, now currently the queen, held the most promise. Because of her, the organization fell. As they executed their leader, she thought that she was finally free. She hoped that she would be out of his reach. She offered her neck in the end. She felt relieved. Her suffering would finally come to an end

But she was denied. Atonement? What bullshit was that? Hasn’t she already suffered enough?

She resigned to her fate. Waiting until the time where Rayis would return. A nagging feeling gnawed at her. The feeling that her old master would find a way to return. No one else could save her. No one else could help her. Everyone that wanted to buy her were not worthy nor strong enough.

Except…

The past days caused her turmoil. The strong but chained exterior. The weak and caged interior. One desperate not to be thrown away. The other begging to be saved this entire time. Recently, that exterior started to crumble and the voice within her started to claw her way out.

She looked up at him. Her eyes started to water. A moment of weakness was all took for her lips to quiver.

‘Save me.’

“Hmm~” Dessa hummed to herself as she was organizing her tools. She took the ingot from before and rubbed it on her cheek. The idea of crafting a weapon that would surpass anything she had ever created made her drool a bit.

She send a presence and turned around. A shadowy figure stood behind her. It tried to grab her but a serpentine tail sent it flying toward the wall. Her lower half had transformed into something like a snake’s. This was Asmodeus’ demon lord form.

She slithered over to the figure. Several rainbow colored feathers shot out toward her. They bounced off an invisible barrier.

She constrained the figure with her tail and pulled them closer.

“Lucy,” Asmodeus smiled as she recognized the figure. An attractive slender woman garbed in a dark red gothic dress with black trimmings. Her golden hair was tied up in a ponytail, complimented by a red ribbon.

“It’s Lucifer!” She glared at Asmodeus with her golden eyes.

Asmodeus loosened her hold and placed Lucifer down onto the floor.

“What are you doing here, Lucy?”

“Lucifer!” She repeated. Asmodeus always shortened her name. It was irritating. The others may be fine with their nicknames but not her.

“Yes, yes, Lucy. What are you doing here?” As always, Asmodeus ignored her objections.

“Y-you…” Lucifer sighed and shook her head. “Whatever. I heard that you got hooked by a hero, is that right?”

She heard that Asmodeus was defeated by a hero and became a familiar. Some of the rumors went as far saying she was one of his slaves or lovers. For Lucifer, this seemed more like standard deception. She could not accept that a demon lord would be defeated by a hero so early in the cycle. After all, the seven demon lords are extremely powerful beings. Asmodeus is the weakest when it comes to raw strength. But she should have no problems dealing with an inexperienced hero. Asmodeus was one of the more crafty ones. When it comes to craftiness, they couldn’t hold a candle to Satan. That vixen was one hell of a schemer.

Picture this: a hero overflowing with the desire for women plus the demon lord of lust. Lucifer had that kind of scenario written in her head.

She believed that it was actually the hero that was defeated and enamored. An otherworlder became a candidate. But Asmodeus was already manipulating his emotions and desires. Unable to control his lust, he would end up a puppet to the demon lord. It was easy to cloud his mind with promises and rewards that would fulfill his lust. It so happens that the puppet candidate was also chosen by the goddess. There were no other heroes yet but they already have one in their grasp. A puppet hero was a huge advantage this early in the cycle.

At least, that’s what Lucifer thought.

Asmodeus was conflicted when she heard all about that elaborate scenario. She was not sure whether to go along with it or tell the truth. She felt the need to consult Kiryuu with this matter.

Going along with that plan meant that Lucifer would focus on a candidate to turn to her side. The goddesses may be able to call forth heroes but even those heroes had their own desires. Getting candidates and heroes over to their side was nothing new. In the past cycles, there was at least one or two heroes that would change sides. But they would end up perishing because they were outnumbered.

They misunderstood her defeat as a ploy. They started to move earlier than expected. Well, most of them. Belphegor is most likely holing up in her den. She is the perfect shut-in. To compliment that, she boasts the highest defensive capabilities. She is the most difficult to reach, let alone defeat. In the previous cycles, she was left alone. It was easier to deal with her minions. As long as there is no longer a threat, they let her be.

If she denied that claim and admitted the truth, it was possible for the demon lords to go after Kiryuu. She was not worried for him. At all.

She was worried for her fellow demon lords. They were still sisters, after all. There was also the risk of those closest to him being dragged into the conflict as collateral damage. She tried to imagine a pissed off Kiryuu going on a rampage. A cold shiver went down her spine all the way to the tip of her tail.

‘As I thought, I should really consult with Master first.’

As she thought that, she sensed a familiar presence coming in through the front door. Lucifer sensed it too. That presence soon made its way to where the two demon lords were conversing.

“Master?” Asmodeus exclaimed. It was Kiryuu, somewhat. His appearance was a bit pale and wispy. It almost seemed as if he had been solidified smoke.

“Master?” Lucifer raised her brow. She squinted her eyes at Asmodeus.

“I can explain.”

“No need. He’s ‘that’ kind of person, huh?” She misunderstood again. “No wonder you had no problem roping him in.”

“Dessa,” Kiryuu walked over to Asmodeus, completely ignoring Lucifer. That annoyed Lucifer. Her human form was quite the beauty. Her dress complimented her alluring curves. But she pondered about it. If he was ignoring her, then she can only confirm the charm.

Kiryuu stroked Asmodeus' serpentine body as he got closer. He gazed at her form, almost as if licking her all over.

“Mn~” Asmodeus completely didn’t expect it. She knew how attractive her physical appearance is. As a human. Right now, she was in her demon lord form, a monstrous state. The sudden sensual act got her flustered. Her tail started to swing down and hit the floor repeatedly.

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone for now,” Lucifer bowed courteously. She was still trying to get the attention of the hero. It didn't work. She clicked her tongue as her figure burst into a flurry of glowing feathers. She was content with what she saw. She hated it. But she applauded Asmodeus’ ability. Plus, that lust in his eyes were genuine.

“Ah, I wonder,” she thought to herself. “Should I go for a candidate right now or wait for a hero?”

“Master… um…” Dessa had leaned back in surprise. She bumped against the table as Kiryuu stopped right in front of her.

“Yes? What is it?” He asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Despite his appearance, he was very tangible.

Dessa was outright confused. She knew for certain that he was not charmed. For some reason, he was coming onto her even if she was in her current form. She climbed up on the counter and slithered backwards.

Kiryuu suddenly climbed onto the table, causing Dessa to fall back in surprise. She tried to get back up but he pushed her down. He reached out and pulled a green feather from behind her ear. He blew onto it and the feather shattered like glass.

“Tch,” Lucifer clicked her tongue. “Did he know or was he just trying to look cool?”

She left behind one of those feathers to keep watch. In her current flustered state, Asmodeus shouldn't notice it. She found it strange that the hero would spot the feather. To be fair, it looked like he was just teasing her sister. She admitted that he was smooth.

“Yeah, it’s just a coincidence,” she convinced herself. “That hero couldn’t even tell that Asmodeus was in her demon lord form.”

She shrugged and continued her merry way. She planned to visit her other sisters to inform them of Asmodeus’ success.

Shino had cried her heart out before falling asleep. For all the things she went through, she couldn’t tell a single soul until now. She clung onto Kiryuu the entire time. He indulged her and embraced her. When he did, she stirred a bit and smiled.

He already had an idea on how to deal with Rayis. Doing it by himself might be problematic. He needs to rely on Dessa. But he couldn’t leave Shino.

“I wonder if this is enough,” he gathered copious amounts of mana in his hand. The skill was called Mana Manipulation. It was a simple ability to manipulate mana. It seemed vague but he’d rather call it versatile.

There were two things he noticed when he sparred with the siblings from the empire. The prince needed to chant. The princess threw spells at him without chanting anything. He also tested it once. He was able to absorb the flames and throw it back towards the prince without any chant.

He can only assume that a strong mental image is needed. The chanting is something that helps with that. He doesn’t know what those ‘stars’ represent but he’ll get to that subject some other time.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the flow of mana gathering in his hand. He immersed himself in that flow. His consciousness followed that stream until it reached his hand. A wispy eyeball formed on his hand and he was able to see through it. He opened his eyes and looked at the magic eyeball. He willed it to turn towards him. He felt as if his consciousness split between him and the eyeball.

That was fine. He had experienced something more troubling before. Also, if he let his main body sleep, he should be able to focus more on the astral form.

He closed his eyes once more and concentrated.

A simple familiar would have been enough. A bird or a small critter. But no. He got carried away. He pushed the ability to the limit and created an astral form of himself. The pale color was not that noticeable. There was the misty smoke issue. But It was the dead of the night so people might think they’re just lacking sleep. Hovering above the rooftops might be riskier so he went on foot after exiting through the window. He came across a couple of drunkards before he reached Dessa’s place. They forgot about it in the morning.

As he reached Dessa’s shop, he noticed another presence like hers. He thinned his presence by dispersing a bit of the collected mana and passed through her door. Because of Dessa’s identity, the mana in the shop is fairly thick and concentrated. He should still be undetected if he was careful. He then listened in on their conversation.

“It’s Lucifer!”

He heard things from that point. He was thankful that she was plenty talkative. In fairness, she had quite the imagination. He decided to go with that. He gathered mana from his surroundings until his presence could be sensed.

He pretended to be dazed and completely ignored the other person and focused on Dessa. It surprised him at first when he saw her form. He was certain that she was supposed to be a succubus. The form she had during that incident and the actions she took definitely matched with that.

‘I’ll just ask her later.’

It wasn’t difficult to act like he was enamored with her. He genuinely felt aroused. Seeing her get flustered was also a bonus.

It wasn’t long before Lucifer pretended to leave. He noticed that one of the feathers didn’t disappear. He was willing to see just how far he can take things before she left. He continued to tease Dessa until he found a way to get rid of that feather.

When Dessa saw him destroy the feather, she realized that he was driving Lucy away. She heaved a sigh of relief and tried to get up again. “Ah, I see now.”

But he pushed her back down on the table.

“M-Master? Lucy is gone?” She searched around with her own ability to detect mana and foreign magical objects. She confirmed that Lucifer was not longer around.

“I know.”

“You can stop pretending now.”

“Who’s pretending?”

“B-but this form is hideous…”

“I was going to ask you about this form,” he turned around and looked at her serpentine body. “I thought you were a succubus.”

“Y-yes, but I am also a demon lord,” she answered. It was easy for them to blend in with human forms. They have have demihuman forms depending on what kind of demihuman they were.. Dessa was a succubus. Lucy was a vampire. Demon lords have the ability to change into a more powerful form.

“I see,” he nodded.

“How about you, Master?” She asked in return. “Your form is…”

“Ah, this?” He showed some of the wispy smoke from his arms. “Shino is using me as a body pillow right now so I couldn’t come in person. I used an astral form instead.”

“You projected your consciousness into a form molded by mana?!”

“Exactly. I’m glad you understood immediately.”

“It’s part of my specialty after all,” she chuckled a bit. She left it at that. He continued to surprise her still. She tried to get up again but he pushed her down by her shoulders. ”Erm… Master?”

“Yes?”

“What did you come here for?” She tried to change the topic even though her tail was wagging and hitting the floor.

“Ah, well, I have a request for you,” he explained about Rayis’ soul and what his plans. He could do it by himself but that might expose him to the Will of the World. If it was Dessa, it would be something natural for her to do as an enemy of the goddesses.

“B-but,” it was a very bold move, even for her. It was natural she would hesitate.

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle everything else afterwards.”

“And the goddess?”

He smiled and pressed his lips against hers. In his current state, it should be easier for her to connect to his consciousness. He led her to extracting the memory during the time the goddess summoned him. She had always wondered what happened. Now she knew.

“Mn…” She pushed him back a bit to break the kiss. She felt out of breath from what she saw. She trembled from fear, awe, and excitement.

“Very well, Master. Leave it to me,” she said, knowing that he was capable of protecting her from any possible retaliation. In fact, there might not be any retaliation at all. To be sure, she had a request for him. "Please let the goddess know it was all part of your plan."

“Alright. Thanks. I knew I could count on you,” he stroked her hair and smiled. “For now, here’s a downpayment.”

He started kissing her neck as he tugged on her clothes.

“M-master?” She was expecting him to leave after affirming her cooperation. The thumping sound on the floor got faster and louder.

“You’ll have to make do with my current form for now,” he said and gently bit her shoulder. “After you’ve done my request, I’ll reward you in person.”

Dessa’s strength gave way. She couldn’t resist. She didn’t want to resist. She thought her form was hideous so she kept pushing him away. She was in denial. It was difficult to believe that someone would be attracted to that form of hers. She knew there were a few rare ones but they seem to have a bad reputation.

Her master felt genuine attraction. He was definitely a strange one too. Still, it was the first time she felt her heart skip a bit. It was even more than the time she caught a glimpse of his memories. She mostly saw his skill and knowledge of magic.

He caressed her body, even her serpentine lower half. She wrapped her tail around his waist gently and he took delight in it. He wasn’t disgusted or appalled. At that moment, she decided to leave everything to him.

After that night, Dessa needed a new table and several floorboards.

In the midst of a sea of souls, one shone brighter than the others. When people die, their souls are returned to the stream. They are unable to keep their consciousness. Rayis retained his consciousness. He experienced his soul crossing over to the stream. He went against the current and kept looking for a way to get back into the world. He didn’t know how long he had been looking for a way back.

It was only until he saw a bright light that attracted all the other souls that he found the chance. The other souls were slow. They sluggishly moved towards the light. He knew what that was.

There were otherworlders that he had tortured and experimented. A lot of otherworlders. There were those that mentioned that light. Those that saw the bright light had the best skills. Those skills that were now his. If he were to reach that light, it might be possible to get a rare and powerful skill. It might be even possible to meet a goddess.

He had the advantage so he raced towards the light as fast as he could. He couldn’t contain his excitement. He wanted to get the power of a goddess for himself. This was his chance. This was his moment.

‘Bwahaha! I will finally get my revenge on all you fuckers!’