Intermission: The β Girl Overcomes Incongruities

Intermission:
The β Girl Overcomes Incongruities

 

WHENEVER SARA CLOSED HER EYES for even the shortest of naps, the nightmares came flooding back: All the sights, sounds, and smells, like she was right in the thick of it again.

The endless eyes.

The creatures her beloved brothers became.

The thought that Ed and Jonny threw down their lives just for her.

Despite their sacrifice, the creatures had still cornered her. Her back up against the wall, surrounded by eyes, with nowhere left to go. A single touch would be the end for her: they would worm into her, everything they touched twinning and proliferating until she was an unrecognizable tangle of heads and limbs.

Sara breathed heavily.

“Ed…Jonny…I’m so sorry. You gave up your lives for me, but I think this is it. I’ll be with you guys soon.”

She could go no further.

The eyes showed no sign of hesitation as they relentlessly moved in on her. One by one they made contact and seeped into her body through her skin.

“No…no!! I…I don’t wanna…I don’t wanna die…!”

Alas, her cries were completely ignored as they wriggled deeper. Sara scratched at the wall in desperation, though it held firm. There would be no escape.

“Nnngaaaah! This…eugh! This is awful! I don’t… I can’t become a monster!!”

Her nails ground against the brick, and her fingertips began to bleed. A new leg sprung from her torso, and her body began to bloat. She felt bile rising in the back of her throat, but instead of vomit, organs began to bulge out of her mouth.

Her body was transforming just like her brothers’ had a short time ago.

“No…nnngaauh… I…d-don’t…gaaaaaugh!!!”

 

***

 

“Noooooooooo!!”

Sara sat up with a start.

“Haaah…haaah…haah…”

Her shoulders heaved, and her blonde bangs clung tightly to her face from the sweat covering her body.

“Waaaaaaugh!!!”

This wasn’t just any nightmare, though. She experienced all these things firsthand. Sara brought her hands up to her face and sobbed, shuddering in time with her cries. The people she held the dearest were dead, leaving her the only survivor. The guilt alone was nearly unbearable.

A blue-skinned woman—the Demon Chief Neigass—pulled Sara into a warm embrace as she cried.

Neigass’s fact-finding expedition into human territory hadn’t paid out well, turning up little about the church’s activities or the Origin cores. Infiltrating the capital was the last thing she wanted to do, but she was out of options.

She happened across Sara completely by chance. The capital wasn’t safe for them, but they’d run into Gadhio on their way out of the city, trusting him to pass along their message to Flum. Several days had passed since then, and the two were now holed up in a small mountain cabin.

“Shhh…shhh. You’re okay, they can’t find you here.” The eyes had stopped following them the moment they cleared the wall. “Even if they do come back, I’ll protect you.”

Sara wrapped her arms tight around Neigass and buried her face against the older woman’s chest. Her initial misgivings had completely melted away. This didn’t mean she trusted the demons now—Neigass was simply all she had left to rely on after the church’s betrayal and her separation from Flum.

Sara sobbed hard against Neigass. “What did I do to deserve this??”

“You didn’t do anything wrong at all, Sara.”

“Then why did this have to happen?!”

Neigass had no answer for her. All she could do was continue to stroke Sara’s hair.

She could have written it off as the church’s fault, of course, but Sara, Ed, and Jonny were all members. The institution itself was blameless. The fault lay with Origin, the will directing the church elite.

Sara’s sobbing subsided, replaced by a reflective calm look. “Th-they really excommunicated me?”

“That’s what I’ve heard, yes.”

The church excommunicated Sara on charges of heresy to ensure she’d never be welcome in the capital again. Should a member of the church ever find her, she would be immediately detained, tried, and likely sentenced to death.

“But you know,” Neigass said, “I hear whispers on the wind that there are members of the church who are still dearly worried about you.”

“R-really?”

“Not everyone is convinced by the church’s account of things. They showed too much of their hand with you, and people are starting to ask questions. So, don’t you worry. Your name will be cleared, and you’ll be back in the capital in no time.”

Neigass’s kind words brought a smile to Sara’s lips. Suddenly she jerked her head back to look straight up at the demon woman. Neigass smiled slightly.

“Oh? What is it?”

“Wh-why are you bein’ so nice to me, Neigass? I took an oath to oppose you in all things.”

“I couldn’t turn my back on a child in need.”

“Yeah, but even when I have a nightmare, you’re always right there to comfort me. No matter how bad I break down, you’re always kind and gentle. Not everyone could do that.”

“Hmm. I guess you have a point.” Neigass would be lying if she said she had no ulterior motive. She wasn’t eager to discuss the details, but there was another reason behind her visit to the capital.

Sara fixed Neigass with a pointed gaze. “Are you keeping something from me?”

Neigass thought it over and determined it would be dishonest to avoid the young girl’s question.

“Promise you won’t be too upset?”

“Is it something to get upset over?”

“Remember when we first met at the cave, and I said I thought you were cute?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Well, I was kinda thinking maybe I could see you again.”

“Huh? You came to see me?”

“Well, I mean, that was only half of it. The other half was to uncover the church’s plot. Hey, w-wait a second! You don’t need to back away like that!”

Sara started to scoot back from Neigass. “So you had some kind of ulterior motive?!”

“No, not at all!! I would have helped anyone in that position, whether it was you or not. I’m telling you the truth here.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Sara knew well that Neigass was completely sincere in that regard. If she was faking it, Sara would certainly be able to tell.

“I mean, you told me you wanted to know everything, didn’t you?”

“Well, I guess I just dunno how to react. Is that it? You’re not hiding anything else?”

Neigass hesitated.

“Why did you go quiet all of a sudden??” Sara demanded.

“Well, umm…you know how you said Flum was like a sister to you?”

“Yeah, I guess. But I’ve spent my whole life hating demons.”

“Well, it seems like some of that’s kinda lightened up now, so maybe you could try thinking of me as something of a big sister, too. You can even call me Sis!” Neigass tried to sound cool, but she was breathing just a little heavier than before. Sara found something altogether odd about her reaction.

Her answer was simple and to the point. “No.”

“Why noooot??”

“It’s just too weird! You’re Neigass, and that’s fine.”

“But…! Just try it out, see how it feels to call me Sis!”

Neigass was beginning to sound like a pleading child. The image Sara had built up about demons over the years began to crumble as she watched Neigass stand there pouting.

After a few moments, Neigass’s expression went serious as she seemed to recall something. “Well, I guess that’s fine, too. At least we’re on a first-name basis now. I’ve always kind of dreamed of having someone look up to me like a big sister, but this is probably the closest I’m going to get for now. Aww, it’s all so heartwarming, I feel like I could cry.”

The look of surprise was apparent on Sara’s face as she took another step away toward the door. “Hey, I’m heading out. On my own.”

Neigass reached out and grabbed Sara.

“Let me go! I don’t want to be here with a freak like you!”

“Listen, I’m sorry! I guess I went a little overboard there for a second, but I’m really sorry about all that! Please, just don’t leave!”

“A little? You think that was just a little overboard??”

“I got it, okay. I promise I won’t make too big of a deal over what you call me.”

“Really?”

“I… I’ll try.”

“I still don’t know if I can completely trust you, but I guess I’ll believe you for now.”

Much to Neigass’s relief, Sara abandoned her plan to leave, and the two returned to bed. Sara sat down on Neigass’s lap and leaned back against her ample chest.

“I wish it were under better circumstances, but at least this got my mind off that dream.”

“My plan worked, then.”

“You’re an awful liar.” Sara pinched Neigass’s thigh.

“Ow owww!”

“I guess I must trust you. I wouldn’t be able to open up like this if I didn’t. I’m a pretty simple girl, to be able to just turn around and contradict everything I’ve learned.”

Flying over the capital in Neigass’s arms, Sara had realized the tremendous mercy demonkind was extending humanity; they could have flown over the border and leveled the kingdom whenever they liked. That alone was enough to start her questioning the idea of demons as humanity’s natural enemy, as she had been raised to believe.

“Maybe if we’re lucky, someday the rest of the humans will come around like you, Sara.”

“I dunno, with weirdos like you letting your shameless side show to little kids like me, this might be an uphill battle.”

“Wow, you wound me, Sara. Are you always so harsh?”

“Depends on who I’m talking to.”

“Not sure if I should be happy about that.”

“Your spirits could use a little lowering, to be honest.”

Alas, despite all Sara’s rebukes, Neigass still seemed over the moon. Until, that was, her expression went dark. “To be fair, I’m not personally acquainted with every demon out there. There may very well be some who think it a mistake to spare you.”

“Are…are there?”

“I’d hope not, but if it’s a choice between that and Origin’s power getting free…”

“Getting free?”

“Listen, Sara, I want you to know I fully intend to continue investigating the church. I can’t head back to the Demon Lord without anything to show for my efforts.”

“Oh? Well…”

“I can take you someplace where you’ll be safe. Given your situation, that can’t be anywhere inside Origin’s sphere of influence.”

“That pretty much covers the entire kingdom, though.”

“Exactly. I was thinking the safest place would be in my country.”

“So…I’d be the only human among demons?”

“We’re generally forbidden from going out of our way to interact with humans, but we don’t hate them. I’m sure you’d be well cared for—it’s in our nature.”

Everything Neigass said was true. Human or not, “child” and “enemy” were not categories that overlapped in her people’s worldview.

None of this really helped to reduce Sara’s suspicions of demons in general.

“All right, if you’re not hot on that idea, I guess you could just stick with me? You’d have to face off against the church. Probably fight all kinds of creatures. It really would be safer to hunker down in my domain.”

“Well, I…I only really know recovery magic, and I’m not even all that strong. I dunno if I’d really be much help.”

“No need to worry about that. Having you by my side is all I need to inspire me! Your cuteness is more than enough!”

“Yeah, that really doesn’t make it any better.”

“Listen, if you want to be humble and talk about whether you’re ‘useful’ or not, it’s very helpful to have someone around who can patch me up. I’d be honored to have you by my side, Sara.”

Sara had no reason to refuse such a warm invitation.

“All right, I guess I’ll come along. Besides, I’d like to know more about what’s going on with the church, too.”

“Great! Then I guess we’re off on this journey together, then! Yaaay!”

“However!! Keep all your weirdo talk to yourself, okay? Try it again and Imma punch you.”

“Hmm, that’s a tough one. It’s hard to bite my tongue in the company of someone as utterly adorable as yourself. I am a demon, ya know.”

“That’s got nothin’ to do with being a demon! So I’m just telling you now that I absolutely won’t forgive any…nnngaaahhh!”

Neigass pulled Sara in close, pressing the younger girl’s head tight against her chest.

“Aww, you think I’ve got some sort of weird fetish? It’s not my fault you’re such a cutie, Sara!”

Sara gave in and let herself sink against that warm, soft, sweet-smelling blue flesh. Loathe as she was to admit it, there was something oddly comforting about being held in such a warm embrace. It took her mind off the tragedy in the capital.

After all, she had no memory of the devastation the demons had supposedly wreaked on her hometown eight years ago. Right now, the bulk of Sara’s pain, sadness, and anger could be traced directly back to the church’s machinations. The church had set in motion the events that took Ed and Jonny from her.

“Pffffbt!” Sara excavated herself from Neigass’s cleavage and looked up at the older woman. “Didn’t I just tell you not to do this?! I’m gonna let you have it the next time you do!”

“I’ll just have to make sure you get used to it, then.”

Sara’s cheeks puffed out in annoyance, though she finally acquiesced. “I don’t need to get used to it! Gah… Anyway, I’m pleased to have a chance to work with you, Neigass.”

The church—or rather Elune, her substitute parent—had taught her to always be polite.

“Me too. Let’s hope for a good, long journey.”

They were unlike each other in every aspect—their birthplaces, the color of their skin, their eyes—but the warmth their bodies shared was undeniably similar.

Sara was confronted with the realization that demons and humans were kin, as all living creatures were.