"Seriously? Damn, where the hell are we?" she muttered, taking stock of her surroundings.
The chamber she had entered was vast and pristine, resembling a cathedral but without the rows of beypically found is high, vaulted ceiling and polished white stone gave it an air of grandeur, yet it felt oddly empty.
With no other notable features in the room, Kaede turned her attention to the two figures before her. O on an ornate chair, clearly the one in charge, while the other stood behind her in a poised, almost protective stance, likely a servant.
"Wele," Tomokashi announced beside her, exeg a dramatic bow. "My Lady."
Kaede rolled her eyes at the dispy as Tomokashi gestured toward ay chair across from the pink-haired girl, a chair that, until retly, had beloo Tomokashi, and before that, to Violet.
When Violet saw the figure step out of the portal, the first thought that crossed her mind was, 'A human?'
Then, Tomokashi introduced her, firming that the human was indeed her master. The sed thought that followed was, 'How b.'
She could sehe human’s strength, it was certainly formidable, but nothing particurly impressive. For all the magicules the human was abs every sed, the actual amount she could sehin her was only at the level of an A-rank Majin.
'Wait. That’s nht.'
Violet narrowed her eyes as the human moved toward her seat. The influx of magicules into the human’s body was undeniable, yet her presence didn’t grow stronger. It was as if all that energy was vanishing into thin air.
Where is all that magicule energy going?
"Ello? … Hello? Is your master alright?"
"Huh?" Violet snapped out of her thoughts, realizing she had been staring.
The human, had been trying to get her attention. Feeling a little embarrassed fetting lost in thought, she quickly masked it with indifference. She couldn't afford to let the human realize she hadn't been listening.
With a dismissive snort, she leaned ba her chair. "What is it you truly want, human?" she asked, her tone dripping with dession.
Kaede frowned. "I already told you what I want. I want you to leave the Kingdom of Raja alone. What did they even do to deserve this?"
Violet smirked internally as she caught up with the versation. Though, despite herself, one lingering thought the back of her mind.
'How did a human like this get a Chaos Demon to serve her?'
Violet leaned against the table, her tea all but fotten, though its st still lingered pleasantly in the air. "Raja's royal family happens to be my favorite among all humans. You see, I made a deal with the royal family of Raja many geions ago."
And so, Violet begaale.
turies ago, she had sensed particurly delectable emotions emanating from the material world. Curious, she desded for a brief visit, eager to see what had stirred such strong feelings.
Upon her arrival, the human had noticed her, an amusing little thing, really. That human, as it turned out, was a queen, and she had mistaken Violet foddess. The queen’s kingdom was on the brink of destru, and she desperately sought power to save it.
Intrigued, Violet decided to indulge in a little game. "Show me the extent of your resolve," she had told the queen.
To that end, she created a tiara infused with a vast reserve of magicules. She expis immense power and how to wield it. When the queen inquired about the meaning of resolve, Violet merely smiled and told her it was the resolve to py a game with her.
The rules of the game were simple: the queen could use the tiara to proted even strengthen her kingdom. However, with every use, she would be cursed. Moreover, the curse would not die with her, it would be passed down through her bloodline, afflig every heir to the throne.
It was a fair exge in Violet’s eyes. To gain the greatest of merits, one must pay the most terrible price. The grahe wish made upoiara, the deeper the curse would sink into the queen’s soul.
Yet, the queen had not hesitated.
"If it will help me protect my try, if it will save my people, if it means they live prosperous lives, my own life is a mere trifle. As for my successors, I am certain they will feel the same way."
With those words, she accepted the game.
Should the queen and her desdants tinue using the tiara, their bodies would eventually adapt to Violet’s magic. If they endured long enough, they would be able to withstand the color of her magitirely, allowing Violet to inate ierial world. That would be her victory. However, if the royal bloodline mao resist her influence sistently, they would win instead.
The queen had readily agreed to the terms.
"And that’s the end of the story." Violet smiled, twirling a lock of pink hair around her finger as she finished.
Across from her, the human stared with an expression so cold it would have made a lesser demon shudder.
"So, in other words," The human said slowly, "you’ve spent geions sitting bad watg as every ruler of Raja suffered under your curse. Correct me if I’m wrong."
Violet scoffed. "Did you expect me to help them for free? I’m ly the charitable type." She waved a hand dismissively. "Anyway, the current queen’s name is Towa, isn’t it? She seems like a nice girl. My magic has taken to her perfectly. At this rate, my host body should be perfected soon, probably Towa’s heir, or at the test, the oer that."
She didn’t miss the way the human's fist ched as she took a slow, deep breath.
"So… this was a formal tract," The human mused, though her tone suggested she wasn’t vinced. "Though, it didn’t seem that way to me."
Violet’s expression darkened. "Eborate."
"I believe you retly had your minions create a problem, f the queen to use the tiara. And I highly doubt I’m mistaken."
The air grew heavier as the human spoke, thick with something far more oppressive than mere magicule density. Violet noticed, but she paid it no mind.
Her frown deepened. "What is this? Are you insulting me, human?"
"Why would she, Viole? Wheruth hurts so much more?" Tomokashi’s voice came from behind Kaede, ced with amusement.
The human leaned in slightly, her gaze unwavering. "Now then, Viole, you will leave the Kingdom of Raja alone."
Violet practically growled. "Who do you think you are to order me, human?"
The human stood up from her seat, her presence pressing down on the room like a tidal wave.
"Because I came to you, politely asking for your cooperation, a you’ve been quite rude this eime," she said coolly. "Addressing me as ‘human’ even after I introduced myself earlier. Very well. Let me remind you. I am Kaede Honjou, ruler of the monster nation of Maple Tree."
Her voice hardened.
"Due to interference caused by one of your minions, your tract with the Kingdom of Raja has been voided. On that at, you will leave the kingdom alone."
Violet’s eyes darkened, a thick purple aura unfurling from her body like a miasma. "You have some nerve," she murmured, her voice ced with a venomous amusement. "Fet about making you my subordinates, I think I’ll just kill you instead. Your souls should make quite the treat."
With a sharp motion, she smmed her hand against the table. The moment her palm met the surface, the table colpsed, sinking into the ground as if it had never existed.
They itself fractured.
The pristine white chamber shattered like fragile gss, giving way to an endless expanse of ruin. The floor beh them crumbled away, repced by broken patches of earth floating in the void, remnants of a civilization long since destroyed. The air was thick with the remnants of fotten despair, the only illumination ing from the eerie glow of distant cracks in space itself.
Violet and her demon servant now stood across from Kaede and Tomokashi, their silhouettes stark against the desote backdrop.
Kaede sighed, stretg her shoulders as if preparing for yet another invenience. "Looks like I have to resort to brute force again."
Violet let out a chuckle, her grin widening as raw power crackled to life in her palm. "Well, things don’t always go the ant, do they?"
Between her fingers, a sphere of pure destru formed, a nuclear bullet, ner than a fist, yet deh enough energy to redutire cities to ash. The space around it distorted, the very fabric of the ruined world struggling to tain its votile energy.
"Let’s see how long you st, 'Kaede Honjou'."
With a flick of her wrist, Violet sent the sphere hurtling forward. It shot through the air faster than light itself, colliding with Kaede and her servant in an instant.
Boom!
The nuclear bullet detonated, releasing an explosion powerful enough to erase eions. The sheer force shattered the already fragile reality, sending shockwaves rippling through the void. In its wake, Kaede and Tomokashi were instantly obliterated, reduced to nothing.
Or at least, that was what was supposed to happen.
Violet’s brow furrowed as the explosion was suddenly halted, surrounded by a strange wave of purple pixetion. Before the bst could even reach half of its intended size, the strange distortion ed it entirely. The energy shrank down, spiraling inward until it was drawn into Kaede’s waiting palm.
Violet’s lips curled into a smirk. "That magic... So you're the one who destroyed the tiara."
Kaede frowned slightly, flexing her fingers as the remnants of [Devour] dissipated into her skin. "That’s stra was harder to activate than usual."
Tomokashi stepped forward with a knowing smile, her hands moving to massage Kaede’s shoulders. "Oh, that’s because of where we are."
Kaede raised an eyebrow. "And where exactly is that?"
"We're in the Gap," Tomokashi answered casually, tinuing her ministrations.
"The Gap?" Kaede repeated.
"Yes. The space between the Demon Realm and the material world," Tomokashi expined. "The magic here is far dehan ierial world and heavily saturated with demonic properties. Any ordinary human would disie the moment they stepped foot in this pce, their body atomized by the sheer tration of magicules." She grinned, pressing into Kaede’s shoulders. "But of course, that’s nothing more than a mild invenience for the walking fortress, Maple. However, non-demonic skills will be much harder to use here."
Kaede nodded in uanding. "I see… Artificia?"
"While you do that," Kaede muttered, stepping forward as Tomokashi released her, "I’ll try something."
She took a breath, a sharp smile pying on her lips as she activated her skill.
"[ATROCITY.]"
SaberGlory