Pain, like nothing I’d ever known, tore through me. Agony that went bone deep and then dug even deeper, dissolving every cell in my being. Flesh, blood, bone, and whatever else comprised my being dissolved, like a sugar cube in coffee. Like gasoline eating through plastic.

Then, as quick as the pain had come, it was gone, my nerves having disintegrated alongside the rest of my body. All that was left of me was the soul, a glimmering point of white light floating in the very center of the pool, halfway between the surface and the bottom.

I could see a hole below me. A tiny one, just large enough to drain the magic out drip by drip. Too small for even a soul to fit through, in all likelihood - though I considered trying it, anyways. It would likely lead to Liz.

But what could Liz do? Short of unmaking me, and using the power within me as her own… that might work. My soul only had holy magic within it, though, so I doubted it would do much to a door made of divine energy.

Speaking of divine energy, I could see it now - see it in a way I couldn’t before. Or perhaps sense would be a better word? My mortal senses had been stripped from me, after all. I could still ‘see,’ but my awareness of the world around me had shifted quite a bit. Where before I had seen a pool of water, I now sensed nothing but energy given liquid form. Made tangible and, more importantly, usable, unlike the solidified divine energy around us such as that which formed the pool walls.

That explained why Luci had decided to meet us here. Her little trick - using divine magic without a spell - was likely only possible when she had physical access to this pool of raw power. In fact, I could now faintly sense a thread of power running from the pool and up towards her.

I wondered what she was doing with this power. Was she preparing to fish me up and make me face her? Or was she turning her ire towards Lucy and Abigail? Hurting them, as she had threatened to?

The thought… concerned me, but not as much as it should have. It should have terrified me, in fact. It should have shaken me to my very core - though I suppose I was now nothing but core, to begin with.

Somehow, though, it didn’t. It felt concerning, but nothing more. I knew they would survive it, after all. Luci couldn’t kill us. They, like me, were, was, and would always be, at least so long as Liz allowed it.

They would be fine… eventually. Yet they weren’t fine right now.

That really should have concerned me. Why wasn’t it concerning me? Why wasn’t I worried? Why wasn’t I desperately trying to come up with a plan? Why? Was I so terrible a person that I couldn’t even muster care for those I loved? Why…why couldn’t I even manage to feel disgusted with myself?

“Hellish, isn’t it?” Liz asked. Except I wasn’t really hearing it this time. Instead, I witnessed the divine magic moving out from my core, carving the words into reality. “Like having a glass wall between you and… everything. Like you know what a normal person would feel, but you can’t quite manage it?”

‘Yes,’ I confessed. No words for me - I wasn’t sure how to make them in this state. ‘It’s… unpleasant.’

“It sucks. I used to feel like that all the time, you know? When I watched humans… I’d get so invested in them, and yet some part of me would always be detached. Distant. I couldn’t really connect. Not until I turned myself into one… but even then, Devilla, we’re not really like them. We’re just… running an emulator.”

‘But… I still love them…’

“Of course you do! You’re still you, just… not mortal. Your thinking has changed. Usually it wouldn’t happen this fast, mind you, but… well, you’ve always been a bit eager to escape yourself, haven’t you?”

I had no answer to that. All the self hatred I’d felt throughout my life felt so distant now… and yet I knew that it was still part of me, just as much as the love I held for others.

‘How do I go back?’

“I can do it,” Liz said. “Not only that, but I can remake you - make you better, faster, stronger. I have the techno… I mean, magic. Sorry. Couldn’t resist.”

I didn’t reply. If I’d had eyes I’d have been glaring at her.

“Ahem. Anyways, the point is that I can remake you. Send you back up to fight, stronger than ever.”

‘I sense a ‘but.’”

“...Yes,” Liz solemnly confirmed. I could practically feel the grimace behind her words. “The only way for me to rebuild your body from this mess is by using divine magic instead of holy. …And if I do that there will be… consequences, Devilla. It’ll change you in ways I don’t think you’re capable of truly comprehending right now.”

‘Change me more than this?’ I questioned, mentally gesturing to my current state.

“...Not exactly,” Liz hedged. “It’s… not even a bad change, necessarily… but…”

‘Do it.’

“Are you sure?” Liz asked. “Once I do this, there’s no going back, and I haven’t even told you the consequences yet!”

‘It doesn’t matter. There’s no time. Or rather, it feels like there’s plenty of time, but I’m sure I won’t be thinking that way once you’re done, so… do it. Please.’

“Well… alright then,” Liz said as the divine magic around me began to churn.

Centered in the midst of it all it was finally my soul’s turn to burn.

I stared at the pool my descendant had thrown herself into, watching and waiting to see if she’d come back up. When she didn’t, I let out a sigh of relief only to immediately frown. To think I would let myself be so riled up by some filthy half breed as to actually sigh in relief. As if she could do anything to me! As if ‘Liz’ would actually help her!

I knew my Goddess. She was a good person. She just got too… invested in her ant farm. She’d get over it soon enough. She’d realize how terrible those ‘ants’ could be to each other, and then she’d finally give up on them and thank me for showing her the error of her ways. Deep down she probably already knew it, too. That’s why she wasn’t doing anything even now that she had the opportunity. Why she wouldn’t do anything. Because, deep down, she knew that I’d locked her away for her own good.

Focusing my thoughts once more I turned my attention to the remaining two interlopers. Lucy and Abigail. One being the filthy mortal who had the audacity to think she could have a variant of my name. Who had even been named in my ‘honor’!

As if naming an insect after me would bring me any joy.

Then there was the other one. The true demon. She was a half breed like my descendent, so much mortal filth running through her veins, but at least she wasn’t a fully mortal being like Lucy had been. Abigail’s ascension was arguably simply the restoration of rights her ancestors had abandoned, while Lucy’s… Well, a filthy mortal daring to have angel wings was an affront to how things should be. Blasphemy, really.

Perhaps I’d melt them off of her? A dip into the divine pool wouldn’t do any permanent damage, but if I killed her mortal form before the wings could regenerate and then trapped her stasis… I mean, it wasn’t as if it truly made a difference in the end, but I’d certainly feel a lot happier about all this mess, if only because I’d have finally wiped the smile off her face.

Not that she was smiling right now, of course. In fact, she was screaming, crying, and running towards the pool. Couldn’t have that - it would be annoying to have to to fish out both her and Devilla’s souls.

I moved. As an angel Lucy could move very quickly, but I could go even faster by drawing on the divine energy I’d been gifted. It was trivial to get in front of her, seize her by the throat, and lift her. Then, with another application of divine magic, I seized hold of the demon who’d dared to spit at me, who was currently staring at the pool blankly. She didn’t even make a sound as I drew her towards me. Didn’t resist as I seized her by the throat.

A shame. I wanted to see her cry.

“Now, if there aren’t any more interruptions-” I began.

Which is, of course, when the universe decided to interrupt me.

I rose from the pool feeling… different. Different in a way I couldn’t quite describe. More solid, perhaps? More anchored to reality, somehow? Definitely more powerful.

Before me stood Luci, her hands on Abigail and Lucy’s necks. Fury ran through me at the sight of it. It was actually comforting to be able to feel such anger for their sake again…. Not that such relief did anything to quell the inferno of rage inside me.

I moved faster than I’d ever moved before. At the same time I drew energy from within myself - not the calm, warm holy magic I was used to, but a blistering hot divine energy that was currently burning inside my soul. It raged against me, for a moment, as if unwilling to cooperate, before suddenly stilling. I felt Liz’s hand on my soul, guiding the magic within me, encouraging it to follow my lead. I shot her a mental nod, but made no other acknowledgement even as the magic coalesced into a glistening white sword.

I swung it towards Luci’s wrists, intending to sever the hands that dared to touch the ones I love, but at the last second she released the girls and leapt backwards, her eyes wide with shock even as she moved.

“What…” she began, but I ignored her, turning my attention fully to Lucy and Abigail.

“Are you alright?”

“Eena!” Lucy called, tackling me with a hug.

Abigail, meanwhile, narrowed her eyes at me, not saying anything for a moment.

“...Abigail? Are you mad about that stunt I just pulled?”

“Mad? Of course I’m mad, you idiot! I knew you were planning something crazy when you started to talk about loving us, but I didn’t think you’d dive head first into the pool of people dissolving acid!”

“It’s actually liquid divine magic,” I explained, only to trail off as Abigail narrowed her eyes at me. “Right… Sorry about that, but… it worked?”

“Idiot,” she muttered before launching herself at me and Lucy and wrapping her arms about us both. “I’m just glad you’re alright…”

I didn’t say anything. I just held them both. 

Unfortunately, Luci wasn’t intent on giving us time to relax. “You…you…” she sputtered. “How do you still exist?!”

“You’ve lost,” I stated plainly, seeing no reason to answer her question. “Give up.”

“Lost?” she demanded, apoplectic. “Lost?! You think I’ve lost?!Just because you have a little extra strength now doesn’t mean-”

I moved once again. Faster than Luci could blink, faster than she could react. One second I was on the opposite side of the room, the next I was in front of her, holding her by the throat.

“You’ve lost,” I repeated. “Give up.”

“Or what?” she asked mockingly. “You’ll kill me?”

“Not me,” I said, reaching out with a tendril of divine magic. There was a door on one side of the room. Ignored until now in favor of the throne, the pool, and our enemy, it now opened with a magical twist of the knob, allowing the energy to roam down the hallway. With Liz in my head to guide me it didn’t take long to find the room I sought. With a literal pool of power to work with I had little trouble overwhelming the door’s defenses and blasting it apart. “Liz.”

A moment of silence followed as I watched fear blossom across Luci’s face for the first time. Her limbs went limp at the realization of what was about to happen, and only my hand around her neck kept her from crumpling to the ground.

Even as I saw her start to tremble a wave of divine magic rushed forward, flying down the halls only to come to a stop right in the doorway.

A blonde woman stood there, dressed in nothing but a white shift, hands on her hips and a big smile on her lips. Despite the grin, there was anger in her eyes. Thankfully, it wasn't directed at me.

“Mama’s home everybody and she is pissed! This party is over.”

~~~

Author's Notes

This chapter took... maybe an hour or so to write? Once I actually got in front of a keyboard, anyways... To be honest, I wasn't really sure how this chapter would go? Like, I spent a long time thinking about it, and yet what we got isn't quite the same as what I plotted... Which is probably for the best, because none of my plotting felt quite right. To be honest, in the end, I actively decided to just go for it and see what came out...

Hope you enjoyed?

Many thanks to FallingLeaf for editing, and for the title suggestion! It's rather fitting, don't you think~? (I'm especially thankful for this chapter, since it required him to get into Luci's head - which I think we can all agree is a terrible place to be.)

PS: Just a reminder, but Demon Queened is finished over on Patreon! If you're eager to see what comes next - and don't mind that the chapters haven't been edited by FallingLeaf yet - you can read ahead for as little as $1! (Though there's admittedly not much left to read.... We're about 3 weeks from the end!) Of course, if that's not enough to entice you, I can also promise two advanced chapters of Naughty Magic and a Heart of Fey and Fire, as well as the start of the sequel series! (Because yeah, there's a sequel. Can't get into the details without spoilers, though!)