d e v i l

Ah, but Maou was addressing him again. Up until now, Maou had said, and it did not escape Reisi’s notice. Of course she would want her general back. It was–it was what Alsielle had wanted, from the beginning. But–

Well, now was not the time for panic. There was, of course, never a good time for panic. Plans could be made, to accommodate everyone’s wishes. It was a polite expression of Maou’s, and what it meant, for now, was that Reisi would respond in kind.

“It has been an honor to have her in Scepter 4.”

“Her knowledge of battle strategy, her strength, and her skill with finances have been invaluable to us over these past ten years. On top of that, we are–we are very fond of her.“

Alsielle blushed. In part due to to Reisi’s kind words, and in part due to his hand settling over hers. She had… almost completely forgotten, that she’d been holding onto his arm, caught up in the moment as she’d been.

Her gaze shifted up briefly to his face. Was he… worried at all, she wondered? About how this might change things? He did not seem worried, but he never seemed worried–to a degree that often frustrated Alsielle. Still, they had been together for many years now. She liked to think she knew the signs. That she could tell when something might perhaps be… troubling him.

He did not seem… particularly concerned now, at least. But they would have to discuss this later, she was certain–when they were alone.

For the time being though…

Alsielle drew in a breath, and rested her free hand over Reisi’s. She straightened her posture a bit more, back straight and head held high.

“She’s quite the useful person, huh?” Maou chirped, flashing another smile at them, as if this was a normal conversation instead of what it was. “I’m glad that you had such a reliable person around to help you then, Sir.” she noted, obviously a bit pleased to hear this news- good to see this world had not changed the General too much.

Maou did not try to step in and comment on their relationship, but she doubted she would have to wait long to hear about it- they were obviously at least close, that was easy to tell from the constant touches. She liked to think she was pretty good at reading people in the years she had been here, that being on this planet had not ruined the Demon Queen’s deduction skills that she was always so proud of.

The news of children did surprise Maou though, more than she let on, but she recovered instantly, only blinked for a moment before regaining herself.

Free. That one magical, beautiful word. It was a word that instantly eased the tension from her anxious muscles. Free sample. Buy one get one free. Money you don’t have to spend.

It was true, candy and sweets had no real nutritional value. But rationed out responsibly (no more than one to two pieces per day), it was a simple, morale-boosting commodity that could be kept for months!

❝ What kind of person do you take me as? I’m stronger than this! ❞

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“That pun physically hurt me.” 

She turned back to face Reisi again, giving a short nod. “Its nice to meet you too, like I said, I know I can trust you simply because she trusts you.” and there was no one else Maou would rather trust then Alsielle for many different reasons. “If she thinks you are able to be trusted then I am sure it is true and I can’t wait to get to know more about you, Sir.”

She frowned and sat back where she was after that, rubbing at her neck after a moment, as if thinking where to begin.

“Right, um, three important things I should point out- I have a member of the Ente Islan church living next door to me… um, Lucifer is staying with me since apparently he lived….” she trailed off, leaving that last ‘important thing’ for later. Emi wasn’t that much of a bother that she needed to bring that up now- she was not very worried about it and there was no real reason to worry anyone else over it either, right?

“Well I came through the portal, obviously, I thought we had went together but I woke up alone. I had went to look around and see if you were nearby, but I ended up passing out and having to go to a hospital- though after that I decided to focus on other things.” like getting a home and the likes. “I found a place to stay, spent awhile doing odd jobs, then found the one I am at now and have been there for almost my entire stay in this world. About five months into my stay I encountered the others who live with or next to me…”

She breathed in after a moment, shrugging. “I looked a bit but then it got to the point where Emi showed up– oh, right, the Hero is also in this world.” yup, there was the ‘third thing’. “-and then Lucifer and things just got crazy and I couldn’t spend much time on it. After things had settled I tried, but I never really found anything.”

All of that information had come very quickly, and not at all at a time Alsielle was capable of processing it. She blinked heavily, her face still damp with tears. Church of Ente Isla…? How many people had been deposited here by the Gate? How had they not known somehow? Alsielle… supposed she had not done much to hide her otherworldliness, which may have been what drew Scepter 4 to her over the others.

“Church of Ente Isla…?” She repeated back, before her eyebrows raised sharply. “Lucifer?” Had he not been reported dead? Struck down by the hero Emilia as the humans had begun shifting the tide of the war?

… Tch. A deserter, maybe. Alsielle wouldn’t have been surprised. She… supposed it was good, at least, to know that another general had survived. Even though she had always disliked Lucifer. Treacherous little snake.

That last one though, thrown out so nonchalantly. “Emilia is here?!” Oh no! She must have followed them through the portal! Had Her Majesty been dealing with that all this time, without proper aid? She… she seemed fine, of course–despite the human body. Had she and Emilia reached some kind of truce? But now Alsielle felt even worse, having been out of the loop for so long. 

“I… I see. Thank you, milady. We shall have to set aside some time later, to catch up on these past ten years.” Her gaze shifted briefly to Reisi. They would have to include him in those discussions too, she supposed. These were matters that would be relevant to Scepter 4, after all. It was… truly a wonder that they had not caught any of this until now.

Then suddenly, Queen Satan spoke up again.

“Ah… what have I been up to…?” She hesitated, glancing down at the handkerchief Reisi had passed her. How did she… even summarize these past ten years? So small, in the measure of her overall lifespan, but so much to say…

“I suppose Captain Munakata has at least told you some things. I shall tell you the whole story, milady, once we’ve a bit more time. But as… briefly as I can explain it, I emerged alone from the portal that night. I spent a fair bit of time wandering about aimlessly–searching for you, of course. It seems Scepter 4 had been monitoring me since I arrived, and the captain finally approached me. It is… a bit of a long story, but to put it simply, I have been working with Scepter 4 ever since.”

“Yeah, her name is Crestia Bell- but like most of us she took on a human alias.” most of them being all that she had met besides Alsielle herself. “Kamazuki Suzuno is her name at this point.” she added, in case it became necessary. “She is not much of a threat, not since the arch-angel Sariel attacked us. Bell has proven herself a rather good ally to me afterwards honestly.” she shrugged.

“Yeah, from what I can tell he lived somehow and came to Earth with an archbishop of the Church. Tried to kill me and Emilia but I stopped him- he stays with me now. I couldn’t just let the cops take him like I let them take the bishop.” she frowned, trying to catch them up on things without giving too many small details, not yet anyways. Wow, had so much really happened in this short time?

“Ca-calm down, Alsielle.” she tried, smiling nervously. “Emilia isn’t a real threat, she lost her sacred powers like we did our own, and even then all her attempts to kill me or stop me have been truly pathetic. I’d be more worried about a car killing me then Emilia in this world.” not quite true, she knew Emi could hold her own, but that meant nothing right now. Better to qualm that fear then let it fester. This was not the time for that.

“Yes, I’d really like that. Maybe some time I can take you to my stronghold- is not very big but it is home.” and had been for ten years, honestly she was so used to the small living space now that it’d be odd not to have it.

“Right, so our stories seem similar as far as we were alone and wandered but didn’t find each other...” maybe they had been close to each other but had walked in different directions? Or worse maybe they had walked right by each other without even thinking about it- they didn’t exactly look like they had before they had entered the portal (she knew she herself had lost a lot of height, and that was only the beginning).

In the end though, dreams had to end. She always woke up.

And it wasn’t that… she hadn’t wanted to. She had made a life here. She had grown accustomed to this city, to Scepter 4. She had found work that gave her a sense of purpose, and that put her skills to use. She had met allies who she trusted no differently from those who had served with her in Ente Isla. She had… started a family. Become a wife and a mother.

She had been happy here, in time. Not just content, but happy. And then when her thoughts inevitably turned to her queen, she had been so angry at herself, for being happy. Queen Satan could have been anywhere, enduring any number of unmentionable hardships, and Alsielle had not been there. Had resigned herself to the seemingly inescapable fact that she might never find her, no matter how much she searched.

Queen Satan had been the missing piece. And she… she was here.

She sniffled.

He dug around in his pocket for his handkerchief, with his free hand, and held it out to Alsielle.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Queen Satan,” he said. “I had long since accustomed myself to the fact that I would probably never get the chance. You have heard how I came across Alsielle, and gave her a place to stay–but can we hear about how long you have been in Japan?”

Had she–had she merely come out of the portal at a different place from Alsielle? Might Alsielle have found her, had she known what her Queen looked like in human form, and had Reisi not shown up to take her back to Scepter 4? Perhaps it was just the crowds that had separated them. He had assumed that the burst of energy that had spiked on all of their equipment had been from the portal–there had been only one that day, and he had traced it to the corner where he first found Alsielle, and tracked her from there.

She had stood out, in odd clothing and looking as forlorn as she had–thinking back on that day, he wondered how close Maou must have been, if she came out of the portal at the same time and place. He had… not searched for another newcomer, once he had found Alsielle. Might he have stopped searching, if he’d found Maou instead? By the time he had known she was looking for Maou, they were back at Scepter 4.

There was too much to consider, too much he had not known back then. But in light of this evidence, it was an oversight on his part.

He owed Alsielle an apology.

She turned back to face Reisi again, giving a short nod. “Its nice to meet you too, like I said, I know I can trust you simply because she trusts you.” and there was no one else Maou would rather trust then Alsielle for many different reasons. “If she thinks you are able to be trusted then I am sure it is true and I can’t wait to get to know more about you, Sir.”

She frowned and sat back where she was after that, rubbing at her neck after a moment, as if thinking where to begin.

“Right, um, three important things I should point out- I have a member of the Ente Islan church living next door to me... um, Lucifer is staying with me since apparently he lived....” she trailed off, leaving that last ‘important thing’ for later. Emi wasn’t that much of a bother that she needed to bring that up now- she was not very worried about it and there was no real reason to worry anyone else over it either, right?

“Well I came through the portal, obviously, I thought we had went together but I woke up alone. I had went to look around and see if you were nearby, but I ended up passing out and having to go to a hospital- though after that I decided to focus on other things.” like getting a home and the likes. “I found a place to stay, spent awhile doing odd jobs, then found the one I am at now and have been there for almost my entire stay in this world. About five months into my stay I encountered the others who live with or next to me...”

She breathed in after a moment, shrugging. “I looked a bit but then it got to the point where Emi showed up-- oh, right, the Hero is also in this world.” yup, there was the ‘third thing’. “-and then Lucifer and things just got crazy and I couldn’t spend much time on it. After things had settled I tried, but I never really found anything.”

why my muse writes :

“What are your qualifications?”

“Well… I attended Juilliard… I’m a graduate of the Harvard business school. I travel quite extensively.”

“I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that”

“I’ve seen the EXORCIST ABOUT A HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN TIMES, AND IT KEEPS GETTING FUNNIER EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT… NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU’RE TALKING TO A DEAD GUY… NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK? You think I’m qualified?”

“What’s wrong?”

“We’re very unhappy.”

“What did you expect?”

“You’re dead.”

“Go ahead, make my millennium.”

“Because if I tell you, you’ll tell your friends, your friends are callin’ me on the horn all the time, I gotta show up at shopping centers for openings and sign autographs and shit like that and it makes my life a *hell*. Okay? A living hell.”

“A little gasoline… blowtorch… no problem.”

“I don’t think we survived that crash.”

“How did you guess?”

“Dead. Dead, dead, deadski.”

“Of course they’re dead. They’re ghosts.”

“No, I mean they’re gone, split, out of here, afterlife kids, deceased-ahh.”

“Are you a ghost too?”

“I’m a ghost with the most, babe.”

“You look like a regular girl/boy to me.”

“She/he didn’t see you, right?”

“we’re dead. I don’t think we have very much to worry about anymore.”

“Let’s turn on the juice and see what shakes loose.”

“I will not stop living and breathing art just because you need to relax.”

“I’m here with you. I will live with you in this hellhole, but I must express myself. If you don’t let me gut out this house and make it my own, I will go insane, and I will take you with me!”

“I’m gonna get her/him”

“We were trying to scare your mother.”

“Haunted houses aren’t easy to come by.”

“Start simply, do what you know, use your talents, practice. You should’ve been studying those lessons since day one.”

“It obviously doesn’t do any good to pull your heads off in front of people if they can’t see you”

“Maybe *you* can relax in a haunted house, but I can’t.”

“Never trust the living!”

“you have got to take the upper hand in all situations or people, whether they’re dead or alive, will walk all over you.”

“I am *utterly* alone.”

“We’ve come for your daughter Chuck.”

“I think the reason is, is that they were trying to scare you away, and you didn’t get scared.”

“I’ll eat anything you want me to eat. I’ll swallow anything you want me to swallow. But, come on down and I’ll… chew on a dog! Arroooo!”

“I’m tellin’ ya, honey, she meant nothin’ to me. Nothin’ at all!”

“I’m feeling a little, ooh, anxious if you know what I mean.”

“I wonder where a guy, an everyday Joe like myself, can find a little *action*.”

“Can you be scary?”

“ I gotta do a photo shoot for GQ in about an hour and a half. Yeah, they’ve been after me for months. Doin’ some underwear deal.”

“Cabin fever, honey?”

“If you tell me what you do I’ll tell you why my husband/wife will fire you.”

“It’s showtime.”

“Don’t you hate it when that happens?”

“This was not a hallucination. This was real. We all just experienced a super-powerful, paranormal experience, and it was real.”

“Paranormal - is that what they’re calling your kind these days?”

“Don’t mind her. She’s still upset, because somebody dropped a house on her sister.”

“What’s our curfew around here?”

“These aren’t my rules. Come to think of it, I don’t have any rules.”

“We’re gonna have some laughs.”

“This is my art, and it is dangerous! Do you think I want to die like this?”

“Is this what happens when you die?”