“Avira-sama~”
The Great Sage Molly, once feared by the Demon Race, was now a demon under Ophitia’s command.
Rather than saying she belonged to the Demon King, Avira was confident in claiming her as one of her own subordinates.
Selin, the Great Evil Demon, had taken Atia’s position, Berika was still there, and all the demonkin had been reorganized under Avira’s soldiers. Avira had originally stepped down from her role as Moon Heaven King due to a shortage of personnel, but she had handed command of the demonkin over to Molly, which was a form of promotion.
Demonification was a fascinating process.
Humans who fell to corruption became completely obedient to the demons who corrupted them. In Molly’s case, the Great Sage had been corrupted by the souls of many demons, so her position and mindset had been reshaped into that of a demon. She could never return to her human way of thinking.
Moreover, Molly was even stronger than before.
If Avira wasn’t mistaken, Molly retained nearly all the power and knowledge from her time as the human Great Sage, and now she had gained an additional ability: as a Soul Devouring Demon, she could grow by devouring the souls of living beings.
However, tests had shown that Molly’s soul devouring couldn’t be used on demons, which was good news.
On one hand, Avira harbored resentment toward Molly; on the other, she wanted to win over this powerful figure.
Thus, Avira’s attitude toward Molly was one of lukewarm detachment.
“Molly.” Avira nodded.
Avira realized that Molly was different from what she had imagined.
She had thought Molly would be some cynical female demon lord, the delinquent type even in school, but this woman was skilled in singing, dancing, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—like a walking cultural database. Here, she came across as a slightly arrogant big sister.
Molly had repeatedly applied to become a servant to Avira and the Demon King in order to enter the Royal Palace, but Avira had gently refused each time with the excuse that “the trial period isn’t over yet.”
“Would you like to sit down and have a drink, Avira-sama? Oh, right—I prepared a few barrels of wine for you and the Demon King. The kind that gets you drunk after just a couple of glasses. Very convenient.”
“Mmm, thanks. Have someone deliver it to the Royal Palace later.”
“I’ll help with that!” Lace said, wagging her tail and grinning.
“Lace is the most obedient, after all.”
“Hehe!”
Avira was confident she could outdrink Ophitia, especially before the time regression.
Molly never sat down. She served tea and water to the table, acting ever helpful.
She seemed completely unconcerned that these people had once been her enemies, even having killed many demons. It was as if she had always been one of them.
“Avira-sama, how is Catherine doing?”
“She’s doing okay. I’ll go see her in a bit.”
“Can you take me with you?”
“I’m doing everything I can right now to keep you from meeting Catherine.”
Avira gave a wry smile.
“If she saw you, she might faint on the spot. What exactly did you do to her back then?”
“Probably the same thing the Demon King did to you,” Molly said half-jokingly.
“That’s definitely not the same!” Avira retorted.
Far from it.
What the Demon King had done had made Avira willingly abandon her past self and become her plaything wholeheartedly. Unless absolutely necessary, Avira even tried to avoid recalling those memories. Even after five or six years, the training was still branded into her mind.
As for whether it was the same, Avira could only say it was absolutely impossible.
“You blush every time this comes up, Avira-sama. Remembering something?”
“Shut up. In any case, you all had better not meet her.”
“So what should we do with Catherine?” This came from Oka, who had become much more lively lately, a far cry from her former self.
“We’ll decide when the time comes.”
With that, Avira took Oka and Lace and headed to Maryvian’s residence.
She lived with Catherine, mainly for safety reasons. Aside from Avira and the former Hero Squad members, few knew that Catherine had been sent deep into demon territory, protected by many powerful demons.
At first, Avira had really wanted to make Catherine one of her subordinates—an urge even stronger than with Molly.
A knight filled with justice was, in other words, easier to befriend… or control.
But considering her current situation and the bigger picture, Avira had chosen to let her go.
“Avira-nee, you came!”
When she pushed open the door, Maryvian’s face lit up with obvious delight.
“Hi~” Oka waved to Maryvian.
“Oka’s here too, huh? Mm, seeing you all healthy puts my mind at ease.”
Lace flashed a mysterious smile.
Avira suspected they had some private communications or meetings going on behind her back. She always felt like this group was up to something when she wasn’t watching.
“Take me to Catherine.”
“Mm, this way.”
Maryvian led the way, up the spiral staircase to the second floor of the villa, then left and right down the corridor until they reached the master bedroom.
Pushing open the door revealed a blonde girl in pajamas, curled up by the bed like a startled rabbit. She stood up, relaxing only slightly upon seeing Maryvian.
“It’s okay, Catherine. It’s Avira-sama.”
At the sound of Avira’s name, Catherine’s pupils dilated, as if recalling something. It was an eager look, but since she still couldn’t remember much, her expression came across as conflicted.
Avira felt complicated emotions.
If she hadn’t said those things in front of Catherine, this girl might not have acted so impulsively, falling victim to the Great Sage’s scheme and ending up like this. But if Avira had been even a step slower, Catherine would have become a manipulated corpse.
“Mmm…”
After a reaction delay of nearly a minute, Catherine seemed to give up on piecing together her scant memories and nodded.
Avira glanced back at Lace and Oka, signaling them to wait outside, then entered the room alone and crouched in front of Catherine.
She had changed a lot.
From a spirited swordswoman to a docile little bird.
And according to Maryvian’s letter, some of the memories she retained were quite interesting.
Catherine wasn’t shy; she warmed up to Avira, and the two began chatting more and more.
When the moment felt right, Avira asked:
“What happened to you before? Or rather, what did you dream about? I’m not sure if that’s the accurate way to put it.”
“It’s fine. I know what you mean, Avira-sama.”
Catherine nodded, clenching her fists as if resolving herself:
“I saw the omen of destruction. I saw a red… a crimson future…”
