When she awoke, she felt something cold on her face.
Not the burning, punishing heat of Fontaine. Or the numbing smell of salt on the breeze.
Just… cold.
The ground beneath her was solid, and soft in a way stone was not.
Where am I…?
She opened her eyes and saw white stretching in every direction. Countless pale flecks drifted slowly from the sky.
It had settled against her arms, and her hair, vanishing as they touched her skin.
For a long moment, Baal didn't move.
Then the pain caught up.
This burning sensation—
What is—
In my chest?
She looked down.
It's—
Still there?
She wrapped her fingers around the hilt and pulled.
Agony flared instantly.
She hissed and released it, clutching her hand as the pain faded to a dull throb.
Can't… touch it. Need to find… a cleric.
She pushed herself upright unsteadily, boots crunching softly into the snow.
The world around her felt wrong.
I can't sense a leyline.
Or any hostilities.
It's… too calm.
"…This isn't Des Monae."
The words escaped her before she realized what she was saying.
Only then did the silence register.
Baal lifted her head, as her breath misted shakily.
She attempted to take a deep breath and listen to her new environment.
Somewhere far off, something hummed.
There.
She turned toward it, orienting herself by instinct alone.
Follow the noise.
She took a step.
The ground gave way more than she expected. Her balance faltered, pain lancing through her chest as her weight shifted.
She tried to correct it, but she was too slow.
Her foot slid deeper into the white terrain.
Fuck.
Baal went down hard; the breath knocked from her lungs as snow swallowed her hands and knees.
The cold seeped through her clothes instantly. She stayed there for a moment; forehead pressed to the white ground.
This… white stuff. It's really soothing.
Nice and cold—
She felt the cold pressing into her skin, dulling the searing pain.
That feels—
Much better than the heat…
A quick nap won't hurt.
Her eyelids grew heavy as the cold seeped into her bones, the ache in her chest refusing to fade.
Her breaths became shallow puffs of mist, slower with each exhale.
Just for a moment…
Her body surrendered before her mind could argue.
Somewhere far off, faint crunching sounds drew closer.
"Is that a person?"
Who's there?
"Oh my God, she has a sword in her chest!"
Imbeciles…
I told them to go back to Ignis.
"Quick, someone call 119!"
Just let me sleep…
As Baal woke up, she heard a steady, quiet beep. She fluttered her eyes to see a white ceiling.
Bright…
A strange smell burned her nose worse than any smoke she had inhaled. Her chest throbbed as she slowly woke more.
What fool burned their flesh?
She looked toward her chest.
It's—
gone?
"Where… am I?"
The sheets beneath her were soft, but too hot for her.
This bedding is too stuffy.
Another small beep drew her gaze to a foreign thing at her side. Lights flashed erratically as she trailed tubelike things embedded in her arm.
What is this thing?
A trap?
Some new human contraption to bind me?
She noticed a pale and trembling human at the foot of her bed.
The fuck is that pathetic creature?
Did they trap me in that white landscape?
"Oh, you're up! —uh, you strangely did not have frostbite, but you did have a severe chest wound! W-we removed the sword and stabilized you. You're safe now."
Baal blinked.
She recognized the words as language, but…
Huh?
What did she say?
What did those words mean?
She attempted to sit up, but pain lanced through her chest.
Fuck—
How did they remove it?
No human could remove Damocles.
The nurse moved quickly to her side, hand hovering over her shoulder.
"Miss, you shouldn't move right now. You'll open your wound back up."
Baal managed to swat the nurse's hand away.
"Safe?"
"Explain yourself! Who dared touch me without permission?"
Her yelling only spooked the nurse.
"I-I'm just a nurse! I don't know what you are saying!"
Baal's gaze swept over the room, taking in the weird white walls, the strange contraptions, the soft bed.
None of this is familiar to me…
I need more information.
She looked toward the human and slowly extended her finger.
"Tell me… what is this place?"
The nurse's eyes went blank as her lips moved.
"You are in a hospital. We found you on Mount Yōtei."
Yōtei?
Mount?
What is this human—
Talking about?
"Where am I?"
The nurse opened up the shade.
"You are on the world called Earth. Located on the northernmost island of the nation Japan."
Ea—
…what are these names?
She glared hard at her arm, then snapped back at the nurse.
"What did you do to me?"
As the nurse rattled on, Baal listened and absorbed every detail.
Magic and mana are—
Imaginary here.
Mere fantasy that could never exist, although demons and monsters do exist.
They are called yokai.
Baal's gaze sharpened.
I can't believe I'm forced to use magic on a lower life form.
"Finish whatever task brought you here," Baal ordered. "Then get out of my sight."
The nurse obeyed at once, hands trembling as she moved to adjust the strange devices.
As the nurse closed the room door, Baal slowly propped herself up and let the room fall silent.
All this information.
Yet none get me to where I need to be.
I need—
A plan.
Her mind raced through spells.
Tch—
Can't use that… not enough mana.
Contingencies.
I don't have assets here—that won't work.
She slammed her fist against the wall.
The impact rattled her knuckles and sent a sharp ache through the wound in her chest.
Useless world.
Then an idea hit her.
A gate.
That's the simplest solution.
A trans-dimensional portal large enough to go back home.
She exhaled slowly.
That still needs mana.
This world offered none of it.No ambient magic, no latent energy, nothing for me to draw on.
Any attempt at a gate would collapse almost instantly. I could try… but the risk of being stranded—or worse.
Then what?
Wait here?
Adapt?
"Adapt?"
Her gaze swept the room, lingering on the strange tubes, the strange implements.
All of this could be useful—
If I figure it out.
For the first time in a long while, Baal considered patience… a concept she had long since abandoned in Des Monae.
Two months passed in what felt like a blink and an eternity at once.
She moved through Hokkaidō now with less difficulty, though nothing about it felt natural.
Streets were too narrow, buildings too tightly packed, and the bright lights never seemed to rest.
How the hell do these—
Humans… live like this?
Metal beasts screamed past her often enough that she had nearly stopped flinching.
She glared at one passing nearby.
I'm going to kill one of those metal bulls someday.
The language had been a jumble of incomprehensible sounds to her at first.
After two months, she could finally begin to grasp it.
Konbini (コンビニ)—
Is it like a small stall back at home?
Arigatogozaimasu (ありがとうございます) —
That means thanks.
…such a pathetic word.
She had a family register in her name.
Fujisaki, Yuăn.
That's my name in this world.
I wanted to put Baal Yon Cernunnos.
But that clerk resisted my magic—insisting that my name should not be related to yokai.
She huffed.
Some clerk she was—but with that, I'm a citizen.
Yuăn stepped out into the biting wind, the snow crunching beneath her boots.
Strange.
I stayed in human form crossing the gate—
But…
She put her hands on her head.
No wonder no one questioned me about them.
Where are my antlers?
Forget it, I can think about the antlers later.
She shrugged off her jacket, letting it sail away on the breeze. There was something inviting about the wind.
No stifling clothes, no demons to order around. No rules—
Just loose wear, the snow and the wind.
She let her body fall into the snow, eyes tracing the stars above.
This feels like home away from home—
…If I could really call Ignis that.
"Hey—!"
Yuăn didn't move at first. She continued to watch the snow fall as the wind blew across the slope.
A moment later, footsteps crunched closer.
That sound—
It's crisp, light.
"Oi! This area's closed!"
"You can't just lie there!"
She exhaled slowly, eyes still on the stars.
…So much for peace.
Footsteps crunched closer, then stopped abruptly.
They know their place—
Good.
"…You know it's below freezing, right?"
She turned her head.
What kind of equipment is he in?
Is he—getting ready for war?
A man stood a short distance away. His eyes weren't on her face—but on her half-buried in the snow.
"You're… not even shivering," he said with disbelief. "Did you fall? Are you hurt?"
Yuăn blinked once.
Cold?
Hurt?
She sat up slowly, snow sliding from her shoulders.
This temperature is perfect.
"Is that… a problem?"
"…Yes."
How's that a problem?
"Do you… live around here? I mean—someone's probably worried about you. Family, maybe?"
She hesitated.
Family?
Her gaze drifted back to the stars.
They—
She sighed deeply before pushing herself upright. Snow slid from her clothes as she stood, steady on her feet.
I should punish this human.
For making me think of that—
"I am unharmed."
"Good—"
The man's relief lasted exactly half a second.
He stared at her bare legs, her thin clothes, the way the wind cut across the slope—and how she didn't even flinch.
"That's—no," he said, shaking his head.
"That makes this worse. You're dressed like it's spring and it's the middle of winter."
She tilted her head.
"The cold is… comfortable."
He exhaled sharply.
"That's not how humans work."
Yuăn frowned slightly.
Fuck—
I'm human now.
The man hesitated, then sighed, already unzipping his jacket.
What is this fool doing?
"Here. Just—take it." He held it out.
"I don't care if you say you're fine. You're not dressed for this."
Yuăn stared at the jacket.
I don't need his cuirass.
"I do not require—"
"Yeah, you do." He cut in.
"At least until you find somewhere warm."
He's one of those 'I help everyone' humans.
She snatched the jacket from his hands.
Arrogant bastard—
The fabric was thick, still holding the warmth from his body.
He exhaled, relieved.
"Look… my place isn't far. Just for tonight. You can figure things out in the morning."
She looked at him then.
I don't get it…
"…Why?"
He shrugged. "Because it's cold, and you're clearly not okay. That's my reason."
Yuăn pulled the jacket around herself, the warmth settling in slowly.
This human acts like a demonling—
Subservient to their master.
Where will this one lead me?
"…Very well. Lead on."
They walked in silence through the snow, his steps steady, hers measured behind him.
Yuăn kept a careful distance, eyes flicking from his back to the darkened buildings around them. The jacket still held his warmth.
Unforgivable—
Any servant with sense would have checked on the one following. He walked as if I were no responsibility at all.
At last, he stopped in front of a small house lit from within.
What kind of domain is—this?
"This is my house. Make yourself at home."
He slid the door open and stepped inside.
Human domains are…minimalistic.
As soon as the door slid shut behind them, the man called out, "I'm home."
Something small and fast slammed into his legs.
"Dad!"
He stumbled, laughing as a young girl wrapped her arms around him, nearly knocking him over. "Whoa—easy, easy!"
Yuăn froze just inside the doorway.
There's an actual demonling?
The girl looked up at her father—and then noticed her.
She stared, eyes wide, taking in the unfamiliar woman, the borrowed jacket, the snow clinging to her face.
"…Who's that?"
The man steadied himself and glanced back.
"Ah. I found her up on the slopes. She needed a place to stay for the night."
I've never seen—a tiny human before.
What should I do?
Ah—uh…
Yuăn inclined her head slightly, unsure what the correct response was.
"…Hello."
The girl blinked, then smiled. "She's pretty."
Huh?
Pretty?
Me?
Before she could decide how to respond, footsteps approached further in the house.
"Yulisha, I told you not to run when—"
The woman stopped short.
There's more of them?
How large is this household?
Her eyes went first to Yuăn's bare legs, then to the oversized jacket hanging off her shoulders.
Then to her husband. "Why is there a half-frozen woman in your coat standing in our entryway?"
"Mika, I can explain."
Yuăn straightened on instinct, as if being inspected by a superior officer.
Shit—she's the matriarch.
Even if she's human.
The jacket shifted, revealing just how little she was wearing beneath it.
Mika's expression changed immediately.
"You're freezing. Why didn't you say something? Come, you'll catch a cold."
She should know that someone like me—
She stopped herself.
I'm not in Des Monae…
She forced herself to relax her stance.
"I am not cold."
Mika paused, gave her a look that suggested she did not believe a single word of that, and steered her anyway.
Yulisha peeked around her mother's legs.
"See? I told you she's pretty."
Yuăn glanced down at herself.
That's the second time the child said that.
"…Is that bad?"
The woman blinked as though the answer had given her a headache, then rubbed her forehead with a sigh.
"No," she said. "It's not bad. But we'll talk about it later."
Yuăn was guided to the table before she could object.
A chair was pulled out for her.
"Sit."
She hesitated.
I—can't go against her word.
Something about her voice.
Yuăn sat, stiff-backed, hands resting on her thighs as if awaiting instruction.
Mika set a steaming bowl in front of her.
This smell, it'sunfamiliar but warm.
Something in Yuăn's chest tightened.
What is this—feeling?
"Eat. You'll feel better."
Yuǎn looked at the bowl. Then at the woman.
"…Is this an order?"
The man coughed into his hand.
Yulisha giggled.
"No," Mika said, studying her.
"It's an offer."
Yuăn nodded once, then lifted the spoon carefully.
Something hot touched her cheek.
She frowned at it, as if her own body had betrayed her.
Why…?
The taste sat heavy on her tongue, reminding her of a Des Monae she had almost forgotten.
The man took that as his cue. "I'm Masaki Haruto," he said, offering a small bow from his seat.
"You've met my wife, Mika."
Mika nodded.
"And you've already met our daughter, Yulisha."
Yulisha waved enthusiastically.
Yuăn paused mid-spoonful.
"Fujisaki." She swallowed.
"Yuăn."
"Fujisaki, Yuăn."
Haruto laughed awkwardly. "Ah—well. That makes things simpler, I guess. I had you pegged as a foreigner, but you're Japanese."
Mika tilted her head. "You're Japanese?"
What?
Yuăn barely kept her face neutral.
I'm a demon from Des Monae. A part of the Demon Lord's Army.
She gripped her spoon before looking away from them.
If I tell them that…
Like they'd believe a random 'human' like me.
"…Yes," she said finally.
She felt a pair of eyes watching her as she ate.
Is the matriarch… staring at me?
"…Is something wrong?" she asked, spoon hovering midair.
Mika blinked, then shook her head.
"No. Just—"
She gestured vaguely at Yuăn's outfit—or lack of one.
"You can't stay dressed like that."
Yuăn followed her gaze down to herself, then back up.
"I am covered."
"Yes, but not enough."
What does she mean by "not enough"?
Haruto nodded from his seat, suddenly very interested in his tea.
"It's… cold at night. Even inside."
Yuăn thought about his remark.
The house was warm, almost stifling.
Her gaze shifted to the closed window.
I can already feel the temperature sinking beyond the walls.
"I…see."
Mika stood. "I'll get you something to change into. Just for sleeping."
"For… sleeping?" Yuăn repeated.
There's such thing as… sleep wear?
Mika returned a moment later with folded clothes.
Yuăn scrunched her face.
Long-sleeved shirt. Thick pants. Socks.
Those look stuffy.
She placed them gently on the table, like an offering.
"You don't have to wear them forever, just for tonight."
Yuăn stared at the clothes.
"…Is this required?"
Mika paused.
"No, but it will help keep you warm."
She turned her gaze toward the clothes.
Again—I am already plenty warm.
Then back at Mika.
Humans from this world are frail creatures.
Yuăn nodded once. "I will comply."
Haruto winced slightly at the phrasing but said nothing.
Mika gestured down the hallway. "Bathroom's there. I'll show you."
She followed Mika down the hall, hearing a quiet hum in the walls.
This domain felt lived-in rather than defended.
The bathroom light flicked on with a soft click.
Yuăn froze for half a breath.
What sort of device is that?
It created light.
A mirror stretched across the wall.
Mirrors in a room like this?
Those are only for the higher class.
"I'll let you change Yuăn."
Mika rested the clothes on the sink. She closed the door softly behind her.
Yuăn stepped closer to the mirror, studying the reflection.
I'm…human.
White hair hung loose around her shoulders, going down to her tailbone. It was still damp from melting snow.
Her skin was brown, unmarked save for the faint scar at the center of her chest—fresh, stitched closed.
No antlers rose from her temples. No trace of the crown she once bore.
Her eyes lingered on her face.
Sharp, but not cruel. Youthful, but not young.
I look… young.
By human standards, perhaps twenty-four at most.
Her crystal blue eyes were steady and aware. Something that felt unchanged to her.
She lifted a hand, turning it slowly. Slender fingers. No inhuman strength visible beneath the skin.
"…So this is what remains."
This body obeyed human rules. It would bleed, tire, and starve.
One thing it doesn't obey is getting cold.
She exhaled, long and slow.
Then she reached for the clothes.
When she returned, dressed, Mika's expression softened.
"There, much better."
Yuăn glanced down at herself.
"…I feel… heavier. This feels too warm."
"That's clothes," Haruto said. "You get used to it."
She turned once, testing the fit. "These garments are too tight around the chest and hips."
There was a brief silence.
Then Haruto cleared his throat.
"So, where are you staying right now?"
Yuăn answered without hesitation.
"I have no home."
Mika's hand froze halfway to the counter.
Yulisha looked up from her seat, confused.
Haruto's mouth opened—then closed again.
What is strange about that?
Being sleep deprived during war is deadly.
"You mean—" he started.
"I have no residence. I sleep where conditions permit."
As all demons should.
Mika exhaled slowly through her nose.
"That's… not safe," she said.
Safety has never been my concern.
"It has been sufficient."
Haruto stood. "No, not in winter."
He looked at Mika.
That glare… they made some kind of shared decision.
"You can stay here," Mika said, already certain.
Stay?
Why would humans want a demon to stay?
The last human who saw what I was ran without hesitation.
"…Why?"
Haruto shrugged, echoing himself from earlier. "Because you don't have a place to go."
Mika added, softer, "And because we do."
Yuăn looked away from them.
Shelter freely given? No orders? No payment?
These humans… are dangerous.
They asked nothing, yet gave freely.
Unthinkable.
"…Very well. I'll stay," she said at last.
Mika smiled warmly.
"Good," she said. "I'll set up the futon."
Yuăn watched her move and felt something unfamiliar settle in her chest.
Someone who asked nothing of her—and expected nothing in return.
She did not know what to call that.