YEAHHHH
"Lord Baku is finally healed!"
"We knew you'd make it through old man! We never doubted it!"
"Hahaha hide the charm demons! The big man's back in town!"
"The fissure won't be growing anytime soon now that the commander is back in action!"
The knights let out hotblooded roars for their healed commander. The hard times were finally ending!
Hannya, on the other hand, hiding in her fancy chair, had a strange look on her face.
Through the cheers and Baku rubbing his bald head while laughing, Hannya heard him mention something rather interesting.
Baku had mentioned the name of Leviathan.
'Leviathan? The novel didn't mention the 4 devils of doom, more hidden lore?'
As a believer of Lilith Prime herself, hearing the name of one of the devils of doom from her old world was a bit intriguing to her. Such a name drop had caught her off guard. Was the Leviathan Baku mentioned the same as her old one? If so, was there a connection to her old world and this magical one? Could the reason she was transmigrated here have to do with their existence?
Hannya's investigative mind was now spinning with questions. She thought back to an event that changed her life completely back then.
'Huh… Leviathan…'
Her eyes began to slowly spin at the memory, subtly glowing brighter the more she thought of the old scene. But then, her thoughts abruptly stopped. What was the point in thinking about such a fake and meaningless world?
Hannya grinned and shrugged. "Kikiki, who cares? Would that lore make me powerful? Would it get my handsome man out of that cold and lonely abyss?"
She shook her head. The answer was a resounding no. Her eyes stopped spinning as she shoved her boring memories back to the deepest part of her mind. She wasn't an Evangelist anymore, she was Hannya now. The Heart Devil.
As the crowd began to calm down, Baku's voice could be heard once more. "Kahuhuhu, I'm glad you all approve." he laughed. "This fortunate outcome couldn't have been possible without one outstanding individual…."
'Here it comes, my debut!' Finally, after all the bullshit and patience, Hannya would finally be praised and awed by the masses. Her image would finally be reinstated to a supreme existence after failing to trample Baku's ego underfoot after his poor hospitality.
'R-redemption!'
She secretly activated her elegance([Method Actor]) once more and waited gently for Baku to announce her graceful presence, her body poised for an impressive and otherworldly entrance.
"...this young one came to the fortress village out of the kindness of her heart to heal this old man when she heard about our troubles. Not only that, she plans to become a part of our cause after a bit of training. With her special physique, our chances of successful expedition into the fissure is no longer an impossible dream!"
WOOOOAAHHH!
The soldiers let out shocked cheers hearing that. Not only a fully healed commander, but a plan to dive into the depths of the dream realm! The tide had completely turned! All thanks to this person, hidden in the veiled sedan. Truly a formidable force!
"Such a gracious and magnanimous devil has come to aid us!" The commander shouted, earning another wave of cheers from the regular dream knights.
Hannya was pleased at their reaction, such praise and awe was fitting for a devil like her.
A few of the captains glanced at each other hearing Baku's words. They knew this old man very well, and they knew the little devil he was talking about. Why was this guy always so shameless? Wasn't this the same devil that faked brain damage from kneeling a few days ago?
Two shameless devils sitting on stage, making a show for the masses.
But they knew how to read a room, they too gave out obligatory cheers, albeit, more reserved.
"Welcome this young devil with honor, our newest recruit, as well as my successor to the Hazy Mountain, Hannya 6th Luxuria!"
Cheers louder than ever swept through the barrack grounds. Many were excited and shocked that Baku had finally found a successor. Baku hardly knew any devils, and the ones he did would never become guard of the dream fissure.
Baku had tried choosing one of his demon brethren in the past as successor, but there were two reasons why they never really worked out.
Firstly, demons usually live too short a life and their potential typically has a limit, a limit that's well below the strength levels of the dream beasts living in the depths of the fissure. Strength was first and foremost to become commander of Fort Reverie.
Secondly, in order to raise demons to levels eligible to be a successor, they typically need to ascend. To ascend, they need the blood of a willing devil. That part was easy with Baku, the problem was ascension was risky. In history, only a handful of demons ascended to devil status, the rest turned to ash.
With that in mind, The dream eater offered a chance for ascension to three demons in the past. Two declined because of their attachments to their families, an understandable reason, outliving your family was something many couldn't accept. And one had died during the ascension ritual.
But now things were different, with Hannya here, the dream knights had no worries about the fissure being under guarded if Baku ever fell or answered the Leviathan's call.
Hannya, hearing Baku's words, had an ugly look on her face.
'This senile fuck!'
She recalled the conversation she had earlier with the dream eater.
~~~
'Kid… do you plan on being my successor?'
'.....heh. Stop talking nonsense, I have my own plans when I'm strong enough. This is simply a temporary arrangement. When your old bones are useless to me, I'll abandon you all.'
'Kahuhuhu! Are you really not after taking over my mountain range? A thousand years from now this old man may not be around anymore, are you really ok with having his legacy turned to dust and Hellnia overrun with dream beasts?'
*Snort* 'Why should I care? You and your army have treated me like garbage since I got here! And Hellnia will be fine. Once I meet up with my beloved, Hellnia will belong to us anyways."
'Hellnia will belong to you huh? Kahuhu! So I don't need to worry about the future of the fissure huh?'
'That's right! There won't be dream fissures snaking their way on the plane once I snatch all your arts and I reach the peak of the world.'
'Kahuhuhu bold words, kid. You can barely use your mana properly and you talk about world domination?'
'You and your ilk seem to keep forgetting I'm a supreme! It's only a matter of time before I stomp you and everyone else into the ground.'
*Snort*'When was the last time you slept, kid?'
'What does that matter? You tryna say something!?'
'Hmm… Beloved huh? Tell me a bit more about this person you speak of.'
'Hmph! You aren't worthy! Like I'd let you get any funny Ideas.'
'Kahuhuhu! Hey….Is there something still bothering you kid?'
'Arg! Shut up! They'll be here any minute, remember to make me look good!'
'Hmmm… fine, fine.'
~~~
Baku's fox-like face glanced at the trembling palanquin and grinned deviously.
'Kneeling was a mistake kid, you may be mature, but you're still too young to gamble with your honor on the line.' Baku understood the reason behind why Hannya was acting more and more egotistical as time went on.
The humiliation was secretly eating away at her supreme blood. Though she was trying to hold it down, she failed in making Baku kneel before her and his men, and her plans to look domineering was foiled by him. Now the backlash of such a gamble was causing her to overcompensate.
'But that won't solve your problem, little one.'
As one of the oldest devils in Hellnia, he knew a young devil would never feel at ease just by being praised over and over after such a humiliating event.
No.
'Blowing off steam is the best solution.' Baku's grin widened as she began to gracefully step out of the sedan. He glanced over at 'captain Bellomy', his sharp eyes showing a predatory light.
This was the individual the girl mentioned, a shadow demon's husk was hard to detect, but the old devil had been keeping a sly eye on this one in particular for some time now.
Sure enough, something in the air felt… off.
'Your turn should be coming up now. Right, pitiful little demon?' He laughed in his heart. One final push should be enough. Hannya's maids had done their tasks splendidly, what better time to bring chaos than at this humble assembly.
Jingle - step
Jingle - step
Jingle - step
Hannya stepped out of the veiled seat gracefully, walking to center stage to greet the little demons. Her cute nose raised slightly as she walked. Her glossy lips arched in humble benevolence as her fingers pointed outward at her sides, giving the vision of a small doll cutely striding to address the bewitched onlookers.
Her anklets jingled rhythmically as she walked, a simple tune to accentuate her extravagant entrance and gaudy accessories. A short white kimono wrapped in a pink obi, covered with a black haori patterned with white four petal flowers, swayed hypnotically as her petite body moved forward.
Her bright pink eyes spun as she gazed down at the dazed worshippers, looking up at their new goddess with admiration and wonder.
As she got to the center, the hall was silent, many tried to hide it, but the little devil knew. They were awed, such a formidable entrance! What else would she expect, she was Hannya, the Heart Devil.
'Hmph this is more like it! Such disrespect from day one can only be washed away with overwhelming elegance and undying worship!' her eyes increasing in speed as she assessed the respectful knights below.
She smiled at such reverence, her mood felt a bit better. Her sour feelings about Baku making such an overbearing announcement now tabled for later. She had to introduce herself to the eager lower beings first!
With her hands to her chest, expressing her gentle nature, she gave the group a nod of acknowledgement and spoke.
"Greetings, brave warriors of the Hazy Mountain Range, My name is Hannya 6th Luxuria and newest addition to this honorable and formidable fighting force. I wish to get along with all of you as we push back the tides of dream beasts threatening our peaceful plane, so please take good care of me." She finished with a humble smile.
…..LETS GOOOOOO!
"A Jade beauty! A Jade beauty!"
"Finally! A beauty in the ranks- urk! Hey, what was that for?!"
"I'll be damned! How'd that old creep trick her into coming here!? Haha, no matter, a win is a win and no take backs!"
After a dazed silence, one demon in the back let out a particularly hot blooded cheer, setting off a cascade of excited and energetic shouts. Oddly, the shouts seem less about the addition of a new devil with strong potential, and more about the good fortune of having a new heavenly beauty amongst the ranks.
A detail many of the female dream knights quickly caught onto as they began staring daggers at the loudest knights amongst them.
Hannya elegantly waved her hand to calm the crowd down. Feeling much happier, she continued. "Baku and I have reached an agreement. One built on mutual trust and respect, he has taken me in as his direct disciple of the lucid dream sword arts. Since I have cured him of the virus completely, we can even start trai-"
SNORT
But in the middle of her speech, an exaggerated snort bellowed from the center of the dream knight's formation. The knights glanced at the source of the disturbance but didn't say anything. Such a disrespectful noise should be ignored, so they turned back to their new jade beauty and listened intently.
Hannya hearing this snort, felt something cracking deep within her. Her eyes spun a bit faster, but she maintained her elegance. She did not see who made the noise, and perhaps it was just a poorly suppressed sneeze, nothing wrong there. She was benevolent. She soldiered on.
"...Tra-training. Yes, training can begin tomorrow. In a short while, I will be on the battlefield, fighting alongside you and all your superiors to take back what's rightfully-"
SNORT
A second snort tore through the air as Hannya was making her motivational speech. This time, she did not look for the source of the noise, she just stood there, dazed, facing forward. Her face blank as her eyes spun at breakneck speeds.
"Captain Bellomy." Baku spoke, his voice authoritative and warning. "Is there something you would like to say?"
The dream knights all turned their heads to the source of the multiple disturbances. Captain Bellomy, who was acting a bit peculiar. Sure, he was a loose cannon, but they couldn't understand why he was being such a tool in front of the newest jade beauty, did he want her to leave?
Under the hostile eyes of the other units, 'Captain Bellomy' chuckled and shook his head. "Apologies commander, my allergies are just acting up a bit. My sinuses can't handle farces as heavy as this." he said, sweeping his gaze at the knights around him.
Hans, to the side, felt his body begin to ignite from the inside. But as a butler, he would follow orders, he was informed of Baku's recovery and his young miss's rat hunt. He would wait until the end of this assembly to pop this mongrel.
The knights hearing this, began to murmur and question the veracity of the veteran knights words. A farce? What was he speaking of?
Baku raised his hand to quiet them down. He spoke calmly. "Farce you say? I heard no such thing from young Hannya's words." the commander replied, his face becoming stern and defensive.
But in Baku's mind, he was laughing uncontrollably, his devil blood jumping in joy at the shadow demons' unabashed accusations. He was now a mellowed devil due to his old age, but what devil didn't like a hunt every now and then. A rat caught in a trap without being the wiser, a feast for the eyes of this playful devil.
"Oh really?" Bellomy grinned. "Then let's ask the new princess? Where are all the captains that left earlier from the battlefield? Surely they should be here as well, no?" he said derisively.
His words made the room shift with a small sense of unease. They all noticed, but chose to ignore it for now. With Bellomy's words, it sounded like the missing captains had something to do with their new mountain princess.
A few veterans clenched their fists at the thought. No way, Baku would have never approved of such a request, they hoped in their hearts that the two devils made different arrangements for his healing. They voiced such options with the knights that left and assumed that was the case, given how Baku was constantly praising the little one, but had he really….
All eyes turned to the young devil, who was standing there, her head bowed, causing others not to see her face. After a second, she spoke in a low voice, almost as if she were talking to herself.
"It's my elegance right? Seems like… every time I employ my raw elegant and graceful nature, I get interrupted, ridiculed, shamed even. By the world's rules, shouldn't I be admired, coddled even, in every interaction? So what's this?"
The knights couldn't really understand what her words ment as they glanced at each other in confusion. Baku on the other hand, was having a grand old time, he could feel the young devils blood roaring with anger, the time has come.
'Kahuhuhu, this is how devils feel better, kid.'
Bellomy, unperturbed by the child's ramblings continued on in righteous indignation. " I asked you a question, devil. Where are our comrades!" he shouted
Like a vision, Hannya's mind thought back to where the real issues started. The audience chamber, she had played a big gamble with her honor on the line to face slap Baku, and in the end of it all, failed miserably.
All the planning, all the effort, all the patience, wasted.
She replayed the meeting again in her mind. But this time, as Hannya began to bow to the fortress lord, a large hand grabbed her shoulder, lifting her back up.
She looked up at the figure, it was a bright golden light in the shape of a powerful and regal devil. He stood there, his arms now crossed looking down at the young devil standing in the audience chamber. Time had stopped around them as they simply gazed at one another.
She could not see the devil's face, but she could tell he was displeased with her actions.
Ah. She knew who it was. Her beloved. Scolding her reckless and willful behavior. Hannya had to admit that she would do the same thing if their roles were reversed.
Though she knew that, she let an excuse slip from her lips anyway. "B-but darling! It's just the old geezer. Is a game between kin really a big deal?"
The figure shook his head and gestured to their surroundings. Specifically, to the frozen demons around them.
"Ah!" She gasped, so this was the reason. She understood, she really was a fool!
She may respect Baku enough to do such actions, a game between kin is fine…
Hannya turned to the demons in the frozen room. "But these people…"
The figure nodded as he placed a hand on Hannya's small cheek, caressing it. She smiled up at the golden light as she placed her own hand on top of the golden devil's own.
The figure leaned in close, his face next to her ear, the warm breath sending a shiver down her spine. It then spoke.
"Your blood demands reverence."
Hannya nodded in a daze, such an intense first meeting left her stunned. She could only agree to the words of her destined one.
"Do not seek their praise. It is their privilege to worship."
She nodded again, Vainglory was right. They were below her, yet not a single prostrating figure could be seen in this crowd.
The golden devil pointed to the demons. His tone gentle, yet assertive as he spoke one last time.
"You are not them anymore. Teach them the hierarchy."
The golden devil released her and began to float into the sky, looking down on Hannya, shining with warmth and radiance.
As she gazed up and watched the figure slowly disappear into the clouds above, Hannya finally spoke, her tone longing and grateful.
"Thank you, darling." She wiped a small joyful tear from her eye while she gazed at the bright glow above her. "Your Yaya understands it all now. Stay strong, I'll come for you soon…"
The vision soon faded, returning her astral body back to reality. Hannya's mind grasped it all. A vision sent directly from god himself!
Hannya raised her head and peered at the heretical entity shouting righteously. As she looked down on him, her eyes spun as small spirals formed in her pupils. She had to know this one's name.
'System'
[
Name: Bellomy, the night demon
Age: 48
Lv: 60 - Shadow Demon
Stats: [View]
]
She gazed at the name and closed her panel, she did not need any other information. His name and death would be a precious reminder.
The reminder of her and her beloved's first encounter through the martyrdom of a demon that did not know his place.
Unbeknownst to Hannya, she also confirmed to the heavens that a broken clock was indeed right twice a day.
'Thank you brave warrior, this foolish behavior of mine will never have a next time. Rejoice, for I will keep your name in my heart, far below Vainglory… but well above sir Haughty, Kikiki!.'
She looked down at the barking dog and laughed.
"....There should be no reason to have some of us missing! Where is our reassurance that-"
"Kikiki, I don't get it." she shook her head, grinning at the righteous demon. "Why is this filthy low born still talking?"
Some of the dream knights jolted at the aggressive statement. What happened to 'brave warriors' and 'honorable knights'? A few rookie knights sighed in their hearts, a chameleon huh, they've seen this two faced nature plenty of times. So she was just like half the female dream knights in the end.
Baku was trying his best to hold back a snicker, she just ruined her entire image in one sentence. He raised his hands in a surrendering gesture, not his fault.
While Hans, standing below, had a strange gleam in his eye. Ladyship training was back on the menu it seemed.
"Y-you! So you won't answer the question whor-young devil!" He shouted again, he wouldn't let her slip out of this one, he had to make her admit or deny to push his plans further.
Hannya smiled at the demon. "Ah, I see. It's not my elegance hindering me." She scanned the crowd of knights before her. "Kikiki, it's you animals." She pointed to the knights.
"You people don't recognize elegance when you see it! Superiority when you see it! Godhood when you see it!! Kikiki!" She shook her head "Baku has been far too lax with you lot." She grinned, her smile radiated a malicious nature, unbothered by the shocked stares of the knights before her.
"I recognize a few of you actually." She placed her hand on her chin in a thinking gesture as she gazed down at the crowd, her eyes rotating as she locked onto a few individuals. "Some of you watched while that mouthy scum was turned to meat paste a few days ago." The guard captain, standing with his unit, shook a bit hearing that. He had hoped that would have been long forgotten after all the happenings lately.
"Others dared to stand in my presence, while I myself kneeled to your lord, at his request." A few other captains let out awkward coughs remembering said event, who could blame them? They were too stunned to react, but apparently, it did not go unnoticed by the young devil.
"And now, it seems, any fuck face in this crowd can interrupt and question a devil as much as they please." Hannya tilted her head back and laughed, sounding a bit unhinged. To the knights, the laugh felt more ominous. They were hardened soldiers, but they felt a strange sense of anxiety seeing the young devil on the stage talk and act in such a way.
All of a sudden her laughter stopped, as she raised a finger in the air, showing she'd just thought of a great idea.
"Oh, I know!" She began, her posture seeming increasingly manic as she turned to Baku. "Why don't we just start fresh gramps! A new, strong, and respectful army to guard the grand portal!"
She turned and pointed to the dream knights below. "Let's just kill all of em!"