The Demon Lord Is An Angel-Chapter 485: Against The Darkness

Nothing.

That’s what Ferro felt as he fell into the void, after Anko let him go.

It felt good, for a time. The sensation of not existing.

But when he opened his eyes, he was in an unfamiliar city.

Remembering what he saw, Ferro pulled himself into a seat, holding himself by the knees as he sat in the middle of the road, weeping for the sister he’d lost.

He cried until there were no tears left, heedless of the time. Barely cognizant of his surroundings.

Until he heard footsteps approaching.

Someone sat next to him, and a moment later, Ferro felt something light settle on his shoulders and back. Malzkael’s wings. A second set of steps ended as Rainier sat on his left. They remained silent, just sitting there. Being with him.

Maybe the silence begged to be filled.

Maybe he was so dry of tears he needed to spill words instead.

When he spoke, the force of his grief became unstoppable.

"When we were little... we used to dream of becoming mages. Of being a team and... doing something. Something good. We thought Aaru would be... would make us great. The dungeon. The magic... We’d find something. We would..." he couldn’t finish.

After a moment of sobbing, he continued. "And then we were taken... and I... froze. I can barely remember it... I wish I’d fought them then. I wish I’d yelled for her to run... Even if I died, if I could have kept her from becoming... one of them..."

He didn’t know where he was going, his grief had no path. He ranted, knowing fully that there was no deal he could make to bring her back. No one he could kill to balance the scales.

No one to blame but himself.

"If I hadn’t warned her... if I hadn’t assumed that..." he wiped his eyes. "The last thing I said to her was that I would find her again... I killed her... What am I supposed to do now?" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

He looked to Malzkael, but it was Rainier who spoke.

"It’s not your fault," he said, his voice hard and angry.

"It is!" Ferro insisted.

"No," Malzkael said. "Don’t blame yourself. Not for this." Her voice wavered as she slipped an arm around his shoulder. "I don’t want to lose you." She held him tight, stronger than she had been, yet still so frail seeming.

"She died," Rainier said, "But it’s not your fault. We are all victims of a system... of a world arrayed against us. And we are all awake because of it. And we can fight back against the ones who truly killed your sister. We can kill them, for all the pain they have brought us. The Syndicate. The Executioners. Both are controlled by Vinam Victoriam."

"Rain, now might not be the time..."

"No," Ferro interrupted Malz. "He’s right." Ferro shook as he held his shoulders with his hands, claws digging at the hexes of his suit. It felt oddly relieving to place Valera’s death outside of himself. Like a new purpose was calling him.

But there was one even above them that Ferro wanted to blame. "I want the Oracle..." The silence stretched. Ferro felt his muscles coiled and taught, his claws flexing in their sheaths. His tails were raised, and he stood, fresh tears streaming down his cheeks. "I want her to pay."

He turned to Rain, the stranger he’d known only through Malzkael’s words, and Rain nodded solemnly, reaching out a hand.

Ferro knew what taking it would mean. He placed his hand in Rain’s anyway, committing to a wordless oath.

Anger settled in his heart, and it felt better than grief.

"We should go," Malz said. "The others are waiting."

*

Kordia sat at the entrance of the Academy’s dining hall, a sketchbook in her lap and a look of serene contemplation on her face as she communed with Lapins, Sin, and Reiko. She’d sketched out the basics of the scene before her, everyone gathered around with loaves of mana-rich bread distributed from the silver orb that hovered behind Amarena.

When Malzkael and Ferrovia entered, followed by Rain, she stirred a little and opened her eyes, noting where everyone sat.

Malz and Ferro took seats next to Cassiel and Anko. Amarena sat to Rainier’s right, with a large seat dragged between them as a divider, which Kordia supposed would be hers. Sin and Lapins sat on either side of the table since, as a triumvirate in Reiko, they could help settle disputes if any arose.

Stella had a seat next to Sin, and seemed to delight in torturing the poor girl with salacious stories and innuendos when she wasn’t serving wine, as she was now that everyone had gathered. The wine came from a dimensional storage bag she carried with her, with a crisp, smooth profile and slightly oversweet citrus cut through with a cool summery floral taste of a sort Lapins recognized but refused to name to "uncultured princesses" like Kordia and Sin.

Kordia couldn’t help but think Stella had aged well. In appearance, at least. She was still the same impish succubus with a heart of gold underneath all that "maturity."

She added a few notes to her sketch and some final lines, making sure to sketch "Lord" Crimson in Sin’s lap and not on the girl’s shoulder before she stood and took the center seat amidst the light buzz of conversation.

Without anyone really in charge, the meeting just sort of... began.

"Where are we on finding a way out?" Rain asked.

Amarena answered, "I tried to run the edge, but I just kept winding up back here on different edges." She sipped from a mug. For some reason, all the cups they’d found were different. "I see you found him." Nodding towards Ferro, she took a hunk out of her bread and chewed it.

Kordia sensed some tension between her and Rainier. She knew they’d fought, but not much beyond their initial misunderstanding.

Rainier said nothing to the obvious, instead letting Ferro speak. "It sounds like a dungeon... only with one consistent result if we try to leave."

Amarena grunted.

"Could be there’s just one door out," Rain proposed.

"Uh, have you seen the city?" Anko raised her voice. "There are, like, a thousand-thousand doors. What are we going to check every single one?"

"If we have to," Ferro snapped. "I’m not letting myself be trapped in a dungeon again."

Anko flinched a bit, and from the far end of the table, Lapins asked, "But what are we actually going to do once we get out?"

"I know what I am going to do," Rain said, sitting back and crossing his arms. "Vinam dies. Then Maledict. Then, if she won’t stop what’s happening, Aelias."

"You’re talking about killing the only blood family Kir has," Sin spoke up. "Isn’t that something for him to decide?"

"Do you see him here?" Rain asked, his voice spiking with anger. "Did anyone, while we were separated, find any trace of him?" He looked around.

Kordia frowned. It was a question they had already answered for the most part. There was a hard edge to Rain that hadn’t existed before. Something brittle and hurt and... slightly cruel.

It didn’t seem right to let him stay like that.

Amarena leaned forward slightly, planting her elbows on the table and resting her chin on top of her hands. "I don’t think Aelias can stop what is happening. Not now. I told you about Kiryu. About his message, and what he had me do. We all saw what happened to the city. We were all pieces in a game that preceded most of our births. It’s not right. It’s not just. But it’s the reality we face, and we should also consider what Aelias said."

"When the earth has settled. When the skies have calmed, all may enter, but none shall leave." Reiko’s voice reproduced Aelias’ words with perfect clarity. The sound of it was weak, however, muted by this place. Through mana, Reiko existed, and almost all that existed outside of their bodies was claimed the moment it was cast. This place was unquestionably

Which is why only enhancement magic worked as intended here.

"I think..." Kordia finally spoke, "The real question is whether or not we stay together after we return to the real world." She took a deep breath, readying herself to lay her heart on the table as she looked from person to person. "We’re all part of something bigger than ourselves. Something connected, even if some of you have never met the real Kir..."

Kordia paused to compose her next words carefully. "Rainier, when we were separated from you, Kir called us a ’constellation.’ Even though we were apart, you were still a part of us. I know if Kir were here, he would be glad you found your own stars," she smiled at Malz and Cassiel, "Just as I am glad. Just as I have also found those I love too," she looked at Lapins and Sin.

"I..." the next words wouldn’t come.

So Amarena spoke. "We all found ourselves. Through Kir. Through each other." She closed her eyes and took a long breath. "I agree that in whatever we decide to do next, we should stay unified against the darkness consuming our world."

One by one, everyone said their affirmations. Some more seriously than others.

"Do I, uh, get a say?" Anko asked.

Malz punched her lightly. "Of course you do. We’re family. Just more of a little sister or something."

"Hey!" Anko punched Malz back. "Then I say yeah."

Rainier was the last to speak. The entire time, he’d brooded over the choice, and Kordia the hope Kordia wanted to see in his eyes never shone through the darkness there.

When the room quietened, he placed his hands on the table.

"I..."

A loud clank sounded from the front of the room as the door opened.