Who Are You?
"...Who are you?"
A cool night, soft moonlight drifting gently down.
At the hour when anyone would have been sinking into sleep on the pleasant night air, I—
"How dare a mere demon..."
"Keh... kehhek... S-spare..."
—was one step away from leaving this world.
Athena's brutal hand clamped hard around my throat.
That hand only tightened further.
As the oxygen reaching my body dwindled, I could feel my consciousness growing hazier by the second.
"Talk. What did you do to Hera."
"Kek... kehhek... C-can't... breathe..."
I'd love to talk if you'd stop choking me, you crazy woman!!!
But I could never say that out loud.
The look in her eyes said she wouldn't hesitate to take my head off at any moment.
Athena seemed to realize I couldn't speak either. She clicked her tongue once and slammed me into the ground.
With a heavy thud, my body hit the floor and pain exploded through every limb.
"Kyaaugh!"
She gave me no time to recover. Athena planted her foot on my forehead and pressed my head hard into the dirt.
"Guhhh!!! It hurts!! It huuurts!!"
"Listen, you whore. I don't want a long conversation with you. Spit it out. What did you do to Hera."
Wh-whore?!
How dare she call one of the great legion commanders who led the demon armies a whore! How could she use such a vulgar word?
Even from her, this kind of insolence was unforgiv—
"Answer before I kill you right now."
"Hic... hiiik..."
F-first I needed to deal with her rage.
"I-I didn't do anything... Really...! The woman is fine..."
"....."
Athena stared down at me in silence for a long moment, then slowly approached the black-haired woman and laid a hand against her cheek.
Golden mana bloomed from her palm and gently seeped into the sleeping woman.
"I'm so glad you're safe, Hera..."
Athena's attention was completely fixed on the woman sleeping so peacefully. This might have been my only chance to escape.
I have to run...!!
While Athena gazed at her with that soft, distant look, I quietly unfurled both wings and prepared to launch myself off the ground—
KWA-AAAAANG—!
"Hiiigyaaaaaaak?!"
A massive lump of golden mana tore past me in an instant.
When I whipped my head around, the dense forest that had filled the space was gone—obliterated in a single line, leaving nothing but the scorched trail of a colossal blaze.
"Give it up, whore."
Cold sweat slid down my back.
Terror of impending death painted my mind pure white.
It was certain.
I could not escape her.
My thoughts raced to another solution.
And that was—
"I-I'm sorry!! It was my mistake!! I'll never touch that woman again...!"
—to throw myself down and beg.
I dropped to my knees before her, clasping both hands together and pleading desperately.
For a great legion commander admired by all demonkind to take such a posture was a profound humiliation, but I had no choice.
I don't want to die...!
Yet even my earnest prayers did nothing. She advanced on me slowly, murderous intent rolling off her in waves.
"P-please spare me...!"
"No."
"D-don't you want to know why I came here?!! I-I can tell you!"
"Not interested."
"D-don't you want to know about the demons? I may not look like much, but I'm a legion commander—I have a lot of information...!"
"Don't need it."
"I... I... I... hic... sob... s-spare..."
As every means of persuasion dwindled one by one, tears began to pour from my eyes as if resigning myself to the end.
"I d-don't... want to die..."
Athena formed a sword-shaped aura in her hand and leveled it at my throat.
"You touched someone you should never have touched."
"Hic... huuuk... sob..."
Without a moment's hesitation, Athena raised the blade high toward the sky—
and swung it down at my neck.
A beautiful full moon hung in the night sky.
A picturesque scene of soft moonlight spilling into pitch-black darkness.
And the golden blade descending straight toward me.
"Ah..."
That was the last sight I ever saw.
Or at least, it should have been.
"Huh...?"
"....Hera?"
"D-don't kiiill..."
When I opened my eyes, my neck was still attached.
I carefully lifted my head.
Athena stood there looking somehow flustered, and behind her, the black-haired woman had her arms wrapped tightly around her.
"Hera, let go. This thing tried to kidnap y—"
"Nooo!! Don't kiiill... sob... the mastermiiind... I have to stooop... the mastermiiind..."
The woman was babbling nonsense.
Her face was still flushed with drink, her eyes unfocused and hazy.
I had no idea why she was doing this.
But one thing was clear: she was trying to save me.
"Move, Hera. This is a demon. It has to die anyway."
"The mastermiiind... stop... Athena is... my family..."
With those words, she pressed her own mouth against Athena's.
"Hera? Mmph—"
Chuuup— smooch— slurp—
Right in front of me, the two of them exchanged saliva.
The strangely sensual sight held my gaze for a long moment; I couldn't look away.
At last the black-haired woman pulled back and spoke to Athena in a sweet, coaxing voice.
"Promise... meee... you won't kill her..."
"No.
Peck—
The moment a refusal left Athena's lips, the woman planted a light kiss on her as if she didn't want to hear it.
"Promise... me..."
"...No—"
Peck— peck— peck—
"Promiiise..."
"......Haa."
Athena stared at the woman for a long while, then finally let out a deep sigh and gently gathered her into her arms.
"...Fine."
"Hehe... good girl... such a good girl..."
The black-haired woman softly stroked Athena's head as if rewarding her.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Th-that monster is letting someone pet her head?
"I promised, so go back to sleep, Hera. You must be tired."
"Mm... mmhm... keep your prooomise..."
Her eyes drifted shut, and quiet breathing soon followed.
She had fallen asleep again.
Athena lifted her carefully and carried her back to the bed, laying her down with the utmost gentleness.
A faint smile rested on Athena's face as she did so.
"Hey."
But the voice that called to me was ice-cold.
"Y-yes...! Yeees!!!"
Thanks to the woman, I had been given a chance to keep my life.
Before Athena could change her mind, I answered at the top of my lungs.
Athena looked down at me with clear irritation and continued.
"The Demon King's plans. From the very beginning to the very end. Every last detail. Leave nothing out."
"And if... even one thing sounds off..."
"You're not going to like what happens next."
...Gulp.
It seemed I would have to betray the Demon King's army tonight.
Even the Demon King himself came second to my own life.
I'm sorry, Your Majesty.
I offered a brief apology to the superior I had served all this time.
Then, without hesitation, I opened my mouth to speak to Athena.
"We demons are actually—"
"Suddenly I'm curious about something else."
But Athena's abrupt words cut me off.
As if a new thought had just occurred to her, she raised one eyebrow and wore a peculiar expression.
".....W-what is it?"
Looking down at me with a sly grin, her smile felt somehow ominous.
She glanced back and forth between me and the black-haired woman before slowly speaking.
"I was already thinking of giving Hera a little gift to celebrate becoming family..."
"I wonder if I can make a Succubus Queen into a familiar too?"
"Ugh..."
I forced my eyes open against the heavy pull of sleep.
My body felt leaden.
My head throbbed without pause, and my stomach churned with a nauseating queasiness.
"So... thirsty..."
I dragged my heavy body over, pulled out a water bottle, and drank. The cool water slid down my throat and eased the thirst.
With the thirst gone, my condition improved a little. As time passed, my mind gradually cleared.
....What happened yesterday?
I forced my way through the fog filling my head and tried to recall the previous night.
I definitely had dinner with Athena...
I'd gotten curious about the taste of otherworld alcohol and ended up having a drink with her...
And after that...
I couldn't remember clearly.
It wasn't a complete blank, but like a videotape with sections cut out, pieces of memory were simply missing.
"D-don't tell me... I passed out drunk last night...?"
Nothing else explained this situation.
But I was sure I hadn't drunk that much.
Before the possession, that amount wouldn't even have given me a buzz. Yet I'd gotten so drunk my memory cut out completely.
Is otherworld alcohol just that strong...? Or is it because this body changed...?
I wondered if maybe I'd been given something especially potent, but remembering how perfectly fine Athena had looked, the problem was almost certainly this body.
Had my alcohol tolerance changed along with everything else when I became a woman?
Ugh...
I'd boldly told Athena I could hold my liquor...
What must she have thought watching me collapse before even finishing a single glass?
She probably looked at me like I was completely pathetic.
When I turned my gaze toward the bed, I saw Athena sleeping soundly.
It was only six in the morning. She still had plenty of time to sleep, so I decided not to wake her.
...Come to think of it.
I had a vague feeling I'd done something to Athena last night...
It was hazy, but I remembered trying to comfort her the way I usually comforted Lily, hoping to soothe her mood.
But... had it really been Athena?
Something about the memory felt a little different...
For a fleeting moment I thought I saw pink hair.
"It must have been her..."
I was probably imagining things.
If it wasn't her, there was no one else who would have been sticking so close to me anyway.
Yet that vivid pink hair kept surfacing in my memories again and again.
It had been such a striking color that I remembered it clearly.
Bright and beautiful, like a tulip.
Yes. Almost exactly like the hair of the person lying on the floor right now.
.....
Huh...?
"Hwaaaak?!!!!?!"
There was a mysterious body lying right next to my feet. I yelped in shock and jerked backward.
But my feet tangled in the middle of it.
Unintentionally, I stomped down hard on the stomach of what looked like a woman's body.
"Gueeek?!"
A bizarre screech burst out, like someone had squeezed a rubber chicken.
It was the kind of sound a pig might make when its throat was being cut, and it came from the woman's body.
The woman flipped over from the sudden pain, clutching her stomach and writhing in agony.
"Heghghghghk..."
I was flustered, but a person came first.
I rushed over to the woman curling up in pain.
"A-are you okay...?! I-I was just so surprised I...!"
The moment I approached, the pink-haired woman snapped her eyes onto me—
"H-hey!! S-save me...!!!"
"Hieek?!"
—and suddenly lunged, latching onto my leg like a cicada clinging to a tree.
"I may not look like much, but I can do a lot of things, you know? I'll definitely be useful to you...!!"
"Uh.... eh?"
"I can give you good dreams...! A-and if you want, I can even attend you at night...!!"
"N-night attendance...?"
"Y-you like that kind of thing...? I-I'll do it for you... as long as..."
Still glued tightly to my leg, she kept spouting incomprehensible nonsense.
"Please take me as your familiar!!"
She begged me with a desperate expression, as if her life truly hung in the balance.
I stared blankly down at her for a long moment before carefully opening my mouth.
"...But who are you...?"
I know I shouldn't say this, but...
Is this woman completely insane...?