The Pewter Moon

——The Holy Castle, Holylight.

White the Holy Maiden and the Demon Lord (dressed as a fallen angel) walked down a deserted hall of the Holy Castle. As the Demon Lord remained concealed in his Stealth Stance to avoid any unwanted ruckus, White would have appeared to be walking alone, had any onlookers happened to see.

Why were the two of them, who had been standing on the rooftop of the newly built Casino in Rabbi, now walking through the Holy Castle?

It all started when the Demon Lord told White, “I would like to be shown to your room, Holy Maiden White.”

“What...?”

“Your quarters must be in the Holy Castle.”

“Y-You mean my b-b-b-b-b-bedchambers?!”

Thus, White led the way with her face flushed red while the Demon Lord remained oblivious.

“Wh-What business will you have in my bedchambers, Lord Lucifer...?”

“It may come as a surprise to you. Be sure not to make any loud noises.”

White trembled at this. Her imagination was in chaos at this answer.

Soon, they were standing outside of White’s room, where she deeply inhaled, bracing herself. “Th-These are my private quarters,” she said.

“Mm. I don’t want anyone to see us. Let’s get inside.”

“Y-Yes...!”

Through the door, they entered a well-organized room. Reflecting her personality, White’s room was more like a practical office than the bedroom of a young woman.

The Demon Lord gave the place a quick look and touched his chin. “A clean, organized room. One can’t concentrate among clutter, after all.”

“D-Do you think so...?” White felt like she was losing her mind. Her impulsive embrace from a few moments ago still haunted her. She never would have expected things to escalate so quickly and felt dizzy as she closed her eyes, imagining what was to come this night.

C-Could it be that Lord Lucifer wants to...?! White could nearly scream in a turbulent mix of glee and embarrassment. When she opened her eyes again, the Demon Lord was taking some sort of scroll from his jacket, keeping his back to White.

“Now, try not to be surprised, White,” he said.

“I-I’ll try!”

White wondered if the scroll had to do with the act they were about to perform and whether or not things had been done differently in the Old Ages. Much to her surprise, however, the Demon Lord produced a giant, pewter slime from the scroll. For whatever reason, the slime was covering a large mirror, which made it look rather suggestive.

Noooo! White silently screamed. Is he going to use THAT in bed...?!

“You’re a bit big. Can’t you get any smaller?” the Demon Lord asked, and the pewter slime responded by molding part of itself into a hand that formed an OK sign. In seconds, it shrunk to the size of a vanity mirror. “That will do. Can you connect this place with the village of Rabbi?”

In response to the Demon Lord, a line of text appeared on the mirror: Please confirm. Jump to the village of Rabbi. Stamina Cost, 10. YES/NO.

“Inhabitants of this world have less Stamina than us. Can you set it to zero?”

Setting changed at Creator’s request. Stamina Cost, 0.

“Not bad! You’re pretty user-friendly.”

The slime shaped part of itself into a hand once more and humbly scratched its head (the top of its body, at least).

White was frozen and speechless, wondering if she had wildly misunderstood the Demon Lord’s intention. “L-Lord Lucifer...? What is that slime?”

“Something I found the other day. It’s harmless.”

White turned her attention to it. While it looked like a monster, it seemed to be of a different nature. No monster would have been unaffected by the magic that protected the castle: it would have burned to a crisp from the ambient Light and Holy energy.

“This can teleport us like Quick Travel can... It’ll instantly connect us, no matter the distance.”

“This slime can perform the Leap of the Ember Angel...?”

“Something like that,” the Demon Lord concluded haphazardly, content to let White interpret this thing however she might. “As I’ve explained, our village is going to grow immensely. That will affect our surroundings, for better or worse.”

“I-I agree... But what does the slime have to do with that?”

“It means that I welcome a visit and inspection from you any time you please.” He had not forgotten how White had once seen him as a dangerous threat. The last thing he wanted was for the ruler of this nation to see him as an enemy. “Let me reiterate that our progress will lead to the expansion of your power and the solidification of the country’s foundation.”

The Holy Church’s influence was on the decline, and the Holy Maidens had been mere mascots for some time. The outer reaches of Holylight in all four directions were ruled by isolated forces, its center fought over by various factions. Now the Demon Lord was offering the village to White. If this had been anyone else, she would have thought long and hard about it, maybe even refusing the offer altogether. Lord Lucifer’s strength is unmistakable, she thought. He’s full of miracles, just as they are told of in myths. After seeing the power of the Ruler of Night in action, White didn’t even consider turning the Demon Lord down. After being gifted the Angel’s Ring and experiencing the Demon Lord confiding in her, one could only imagine how she felt about him. At this point, White would sooner take on the entire world than turn her back on Lucifer the Fallen Angel.

“No matter what happens, from here on out...I will always be your ally,” White said with determination.

“Mm...” The Demon Lord was slightly taken aback. He had introduced this deal to simply assure White she wouldn’t be getting the short end of the stick. Now it sounded like White’s mind was on something else. “Anyway, if you have any concerns, please come visit the village. I’ve seen huge projects collapse from a lack of communication and trust.” Spoken from Akira Ono’s own experience. “I’ll be going. Flag down Tahara whenever you want to leave the village after visiting.”

“I-I will...!”

The Demon Lord stood before the slime-mirror and disappeared. White stood there for some time, as if she was hurt by such an unceremonious parting. She then hurried over to the mirror where the Demon Lord had been standing and was immediately sucked into it. She found herself standing at the entrance of the village of Rabbi.

The Demon Lord turned to find her behind him, staring with, naturally, a confused look on his face.

“I-I’m sorry...! I thought I’d...drop by. Hee hee.”

“Hee hee,” my ass! I didn’t mean to show up the very next second!

Once again, the Demon Lord escorted White back to the Holy Castle.

As the two continued their fruitless banter, another conflict was unfolding back at the Hot Springs Resort.

The resort had been rented out completely to the Madam; an unusual move for her to make, considering she was the most zealous advocate for this place she considered to be every woman’s paradise. She sat on a stack of flat rocks in the stargazing bath, watching the moon gleam in the night sky.

“I never thought I would know a night as peaceful as this...” She tilted back the glass in her hand, sipping on the top-shelf wine within. In this moment, the moon paled in comparison to her beauty, her form filled with formidable grace.

A familiar inhuman voice rang in her ear. “You think you’ve won? As foolish as ever, woman,” the voice spoke with much venom, almost violent.

“Oh, you won’t be crying in pain tonight, little boy?” the Madam retorted.

Frustrated by her remark, black particles gathered in the air before her until they formed a devil: an Ancient Devil that had once cursed House Butterfly. “I have a name, and a perfectly beautiful one at that: Rhyme Mary.” The devil brushed back his hair, gazing down at the Madam. In fact, he looked like a flawlessly beautiful boy, albeit somewhat androgynous. His long hair shone silver as if it refracted the moonlight, his eyes glimmering a bejeweled blue. Any other woman on the continent might have been enchanted with just a glance at him.

“Now you decide to introduce yourself? Where are your manners?” The Madam tilted her glass back once more, speaking with unwavering confidence. “I’ve been worried. I was starting to miss your cute little cries,” the Madam said with false concern, more devilish than the devil before her.

In truth, the devil’s voice in her mind had completely ceased after she made peace with Harts, which made the Madam certain that the end was near. By now, she had slimmed down every last part of her body, without a shred of excess fat left on her frame. This was beyond any realistic transformation; it was as if her DNA itself had been modified.

“Don’t get it twisted. I can kill you anytime I want.”

“So pathetic when you make empty threats...”

The devil gritted his teeth. Rhyme Mary barely had enough strength left to maintain his existence, let alone kill the Madam.

“You talk just like the first.”

“The first? Of my family, you mean?”

“I couldn’t stand that woman...! How could she, a mere human, reject my proposal?! And marry some run-of-the-mill guy you could find anywhere!” Rhyme Mary shouted as his frustrations boiled over.

The Madam finally lowered her eyes to meet the devil’s, her gaze alight with supernatural sensuality. “My dear ancestor was a smart woman.”

“Silence! She was the most foolish woman to ever walk the continent! Choosing that over me, the most beautiful, powerful being...!”

“So you decided to punish her for her arrogance... A perfect summary of your character,” the Madam snickered, further irritating the devil.

Had the very devil that haunted her clan materialized before her sooner, the old Madam might have lost it, shouting every insult that came to mind. The new Madam, however, knew that the battle was already won and even showed some pity for the loser.

“Says the woman who cried rivers over my curse.”

“You’ve cursed and cursed, on and on, just because a woman once turned you down... And here you are now. How does it feel?”

The devil’s expression twisted, ashamed of where he had ended up. “I was more powerful...and beautiful than anybody. How could that human, with nothing exceptional about him...” The devil sulked, lowering his head, sensing his inevitable end. As all Ancient Devils did, he possessed incredible strength and magic, and Rhyme Mary had grand wealth and unparalleled beauty to boot. After holding the world in the palms of his hands, one heartbreak had uprooted his entire life.

“I don’t know much about my dear ancestor. It’s been over a thousand years, after all.” Any records from that era were oral traditions or rumors that had been diluted by time. Tales of House Butterfly, now one of the wealthiest families on the continent, were no exception. The Madam only knew of one brief legend regarding the ancestor in question. “I’m told that ‘guy’ tried farming in the devil-tainted southlands to no avail, so he was forced to pioneer the rugged mountains with some others in the same predicament.” This was an old piece of history and a story commonly told in the Butterfly family. Her ancestor and her beau were driven to the harsh mountains where their comrades fell to illness, succumbed to thirst and madness, or starved to death left and right.

“Exactly. She wouldn’t have suffered meaninglessly if she had chosen me.” The devil had tried to seduce the first Butterfly on countless occasions, offering water, food, wealth...even to reverse the state of the polluted flatlands. By this time, the Madam’s ancestor was much worse for wear, grimy from the inability to bathe, with matted hair and sunken cheeks. Even still, she was tempted by the devil’s whispers, but steadfastly stood by her man’s side. Then, perhaps by the blessing or pity of an angel...

“A butterfly appeared before her,” the Madam laughed, amused. This was told as a bedtime story in the Butterfly family, and seeing the devil’s reaction, it didn’t seem entirely fictional. The first Butterfly and her man followed the butterfly deep into the mountains where they found a trove of Earth Spell Stones that could revitalize their land. Overjoyed, their team descended the mountain and decided to retry their luck at the once soiled earth. Their days were still tough, but rumor spread about their settlement. As years passed, the land was reborn, even forming rivers. The desolate mountains were streaked with creeks and springs, and the southern flatlands sprouted luscious vegetation as far as the eye could see... An old legend retold in southern Holylight and the origin of house Butterfly.

“I usually like things big and flashy, but I don’t mind this rustic story.”

No matter their size, every noble house carried a grand tale of bravery to tell of their origin (some more realistic than others), and house Butterfly’s was quite unexciting by those standards. Still, the Madam had a soft spot for this tale as she couldn’t help but sympathize with her ancestor, having fought the solitary battle against her curse, just as her ancestor had labored against her fate.

The devil had listened to the Madam with his head hung low and now shook his head in denial. “Foolish... Foolish woman. She would have never had to go through that if she had come to me.”

“Come, now... Don’t you get it?”

“Don’t I get what?”

“You weren’t enough of a man for my ancestor to seek help from.” The Madam’s comment nearly caused the devil to boil over with rage, but she continued as she poured more wine into her glass, “Just look at the southern flatlands now. Full of grass, flowers, and bountiful fields. The Earth Spell Stones from those mines have improved the lives of so many people.”

“What are you getting at...?”

“The result was the same, with or without you. No one needed you. You aren’t enough of a man to even matter. Do you understand now?” The Madam delivered the final blow and the devil shook in humiliation. At the end of the day, the story described a woman who caught herself a man worthy of her attention and struck massive wealth for her family in a single generation. Any who heard it could see the man’s character, which made Rhyme Mary’s shrivel in comparison.

“Ha ha, aha ha ha ha!” Rhyme Mary burst into laughter. “You’re absolutely right! That plain old human always made her smile, made her blind to me and my powers... Made her ‘happy!’”

He could never forget that fact, so he turned himself into a powerful, everlasting curse upon House Butterfly so that none born into it would ever be beautiful. Such a powerful curse was no match for Akira Ono’s world, an absolute force that even an Ancient Devil stood no chance against.

“Poor thing... You didn’t want your heart to be stolen again,” the Madam said.

Rhyme Mary must have subconsciously feared the day when his heart would be broken again by a Butterfly, choosing to thwart that possibility from the start.

“It’s not funny. You’re just as perceptive as she was.”

“I think I’m giving her a run for her money when it comes to catching men.”

“Ha...! Butterflies do go for ridiculous men, don’t they?” The devil began to fade back into black particles, a relenting smile on his face.

“One last question for you. Who’s more beautiful: me or my ancestor?”

“Don’t get too cocky. You’ve got a long way to go before you’re in her league.”

“That’s a pretty good goal.”

“Ha ha ha! After all these years...I never once had the upper hand against her...” Rhyme Mary vanished into black dust, carried by the wind up towards the shining moon.

His last and bizarre words lingered in her ears: “I am Rhyme Mary. Proud descendant, may you be victor of this cruel Game.”

The Madam noticed a black coin left in her hand. While it gave off an obviously devilish aura, she felt no aversion to it. She held it up to the moon and found an engraving of a butterfly, spreading its wings in victory.

“You showed a glimpse of being a real man in the end.” The Madam kissed the coin in her hand.

This ancient torment had reached its conclusion, and the curse of House Butterfly was broken. Of course, the curse also affected the Madam’s sister, and the disappearance of it would lead to yet another incident... But the Demon Lord knew nothing about all of this.