The goddess was seated with David in the Demon King's castle, leaning over a massive table covered in a worn, ancient map of the world. The parchment smelled of old blood and ash. Mountains, rivers, shattered cities all hand-inked and faded marked the chaos of the realm.
David, hunched forward with his clawed fingers dragging across the map, pointed at the western region. "If we set up a neutral border here, we could
A sudden blast of wind shattered the window shutters.
BOOM.
The ground trembled as a massive force landed just outside the castle. The very stone under their feet seemed to breathe.
Beatrice had arrived.
Her dragon form left deep, smoking claw prints in the earth. The scorch marks led straight to the hall. She stood there, wings wide, gaze sharp. Her golden eyes narrowed as she looked down at the trail footsteps. Too many. Too organized.
She instantly assumed David was preparing an ambush.
"Tch. You want to play tricks on me, Demon King?"
Without hesitation, she transformed into her human form her towering draconic figure folding into a pale, silver-haired woman clad in red leather and fanged jewelry. Her feet hit the floor with fury. She stormed through the castle like a tornado of rage.
The doors to David's chamber burst open.
Before anyone could react SLAP!
David was sent spinning with a bright red mark on his face. He stumbled and nearly knocked over the chair behind him.
Even Ashley flinched. "W-What are you doing!?"
Beatrice stood tall, arms crossed. Then she threw back her head and laughed like thunder. "It's me, idiot! Before I burn your army, first take a slap for making me think you were setting me up!"
David whimpered, rubbing his cheek and ducking behind the table like a kicked dog. "What kind of entrance is that?! I wasn't even outside!"
"Look at the goddess," he cried, peeking over the table and pointing dramatically.
Beatrice turned.
And then she froze.
Ashley stood there silently. Her presence still radiated power but it wasn't divine in the same way anymore. The golden shimmer that usually surrounded her skin was now faint, replaced by a bluish hue, a pale mystical glow that shimmered like fog under moonlight.
It wasn't holy.
It wasn't godly.
It was otherworldly.
Beatrice's smile dropped. "What happened to you?"
Ashley didn't answer immediately.
That's when the doors opened again, and Alex stepped into the room. He paused, looking at the broken furniture, the fresh slap mark on David, and the tension in the air.
He turned to Ashley, concerned. "Goddess are you alright? Did the gods abandon you? Did they curse you?"
Ashley slowly shook her head, her voice calm and clear. "No. My divinity is no longer coming from the heavens. It's coming from monsters now."
The silence that followed was painful.
Even David stopped whining.
Ashley stepped forward and placed her hand on the world map. She didn't even flinch at Beatrice's confused stare.
"I've been thinking," she said softly, but with the weight of thunder. "I still have thirty years left in this realm… and since the humans have forsaken me, I've decided. I'll take the northern part of the demon world."
David blinked. "Wait, the north? That's frozen wasteland! There's nothing but beastmen, broken castles, and snow wolves"
"I'm not asking," she cut in coldly. "I'm declaring."
Beatrice slowly circled the table, eyes narrowed. "You sound like someone who's done pretending to be weak.
Ashley turned toward her. "I have no more worshippers. The churches have cast me out. They declared me an enemy of the heavens. The humans no longer pray. But the monsters they kneel. They believe."
She lifted her hand. The room darkened as her aura expanded. It was divine, yes but not pure. It was warped by grief and twisted by rejection. But it was powerful.
"I've stopped pretending to be their perfect little goddess."
Alex watched her with narrowed eyes. "So, you're just going to give up on humans because they turned their back on you? Sounds like cowardice."
Ashley tilted her head. "Cowardice?"
"You're running," he said bluntly. "You didn't even try to find out what's happening at the churches. You're hiding in a demon castle instead of facing your people."
David raised his hand. "Hey! Demon castle is not that bad"
"Shut up, David," Alex and Beatrice said at the same time.
Ashley's lips parted, ready to argue but she stopped.
Alex stepped forward, voice calm but firm. "The humans are being manipulated. I saw it in the capital. Your name is being used as a curse word, yes, but who started it? Don't you want to know who turned them against you? Or are you just going to sulk and rule over monsters for thirty years in a frozen wasteland?"
Ashley clenched her fists.
"You said you still have time. So use it."
He walked toward the map, his finger tapping the Holy Region. "Let's go to the church. Find out what's really happening. Let's see who's behind this slander. If the world wants to call you a traitor then make them regret it with the truth.
Beatrice grinned, folding her arms. "Now that's a speech.
David peeked up from the table again. "Do I still get to keep my southern castles or what?"
"No," Ashley and Beatrice both said.
Ashley turned her back on the table. Her eyes were fixed out the shattered window, staring at the horizon where snow-capped mountains marked the edge of the north.
No I won't go anywhere I'm too tired in this world. Humans don't want me and I don't want them too.
So the north will be just fine for me