Twenty-two summers ago, on the Demon Continent, there was an outbreak of an unknown biomass threatening to swallow the entire countryside. It was a rolling mass of unidentifiable flesh that covered an area greater than the capital of the continent, and it exuded a miasma that killed all plant life ten leagues around it, caused nausea and sickness in those near it and could induce madness in those who laid their eyes on it. Nobody knew where it came from, only that it indiscriminately devoured what it touched, save for the earth it moved across itself.
Demon scholars generally cite its emergence as the reason for why demon king Aldeath would lose against the human expedition two summers later. He led a massive offensive against this monstrosity, which was unofficially dubbed "Crawling Chaos", using thousands of mages to bombard it with a grand ritual, while the demon army of nearly a million held it at bay. In the ensuing battle, Aldeath lost five out of seven soldiers from his army, before the ritual was finally completed and the enemy was expelled into space.
When Aldeath scoured the battlefield, searching for survivors in the space the Crawling Chaos occupied only a short while ago, they found a naked, unconscious woman who was identified as someone who had been swallowed weeks before the final battle. She was the only survivor that was ever found. When she awoke several days later, she had lost all her memories. Since she was the sole survivor of her entire clan as well, the demon lord himself took her in.
She was very beautiful and his lustfulness was not a secret. However, since he possessed an enormous body, it was dreaded by those who would be called to attend to him at night. Many thought that she would be broken and tossed aside soon enough, but she surprised everyone by giving him all the satisfaction he needed on her own. Just a month later, she would be wed to him and became his first wife.
During the summer that followed, remnants of the Crawling Chaos were found all across the Demon Continent, but the biggest ever discovered was one that had been given free reign at a remote farm and grew to the size of its barn. These remnants could usually be destroyed with few to no sacrifices; however, the incident surrounding their progenitor remained in everyone's minds and seeped into the depths of their most basic fears over time.
Emperor Lucianus IV from the Empire of Terminus attacked the Demon Continent the following summer, bringing an army of half a million. Aldeath had not been able to return his army to its former glory in that time and had to face this onslaught with less than half its strength. Severely outnumbered, he was surrounded and defeated.
What happened afterwards historians are divided over. Some sources say that Aldeath, in his final moments, activated a previously prepared spell that annihilated the empire's army alongside the few that remained by his side - an act of self-sacrifice to ensure the survival of demonkind. Others say that his wife, the one that had been retrieved after the battle against the Crawling Chaos, came down upon the empire's army with a burning vengeance, decimating it single-handedly through unknown means.
The truth of the matter is that no bodies could be found after the battle, neither from the empire's nor the demon lord's side. The signs of a fierce confrontation were clear and there is evidence for the activation of large-scale magic, but not a single hint as to what exactly happened remained. Following the loss of the demon lord who had ruled for seven centuries a power vacuum developed among the aristocracy of the continent. A bloody battle for the throne was inevitable.
However, at the gathering of leaders from the various large demon clans, the widow of Aldeath announced that she would reign in her late husband's stead. It faced laughs from some and opposition from others, but when she declared that she would not mind fighting against all of them at once over the matter, it was decided in an instant. Their pride as powerful clan leaders was at stake, so many immediately took her up on the offer.
They all disappeared behind the closed doors of the demon castle's audience hall, never to be seen again. Only the demon lord's widow walked out from there, alive and unharmed, proclaiming her hegemony over the Demon Continent. None would stand in her way henceforth.
It was soon discovered that this woman was a sentient scion of the Crawling Chaos, her existence a slow but steady poison on the entire world. But it was too late. She had solidified her position as the new demon lord, disposed of those who may organize an uprising against her, and gathered the hearts of those bereft by the empire's invasion the previous summer, by ordering an expedition to punish the humans that caused it all. On the surface, she may act in the interest of demonkind, but all who know her true identity fear for their future.
She is the thirty-fifth demon lord, named Pelomyx, The Cradle of Chaos.
And that happens to be my maou-mama. Of course, I didn't learn that until later. For now, I'm wondering why everyone is so terrified of me. One of the boys even took out a stick with a red crystal on its tip - a wand - and is pointing it at me while stuttering something. I don't think you'll be able to cast any magic like that, you know.
"Wait, do not be hasty!" Basarab commands and lowers the boy's arm before he can commit a grave mistake. Hestia next to me has turned into protective murder-mode, her eyes filled with killing intent at the one who would dare attack me. I deliver a chop to the back of her head and she's completely taken out of the moment.
"Wh-what?" She turns to look at me in confusion, holding her head even though it shouldn't have been that strong a hit.
"You were about to kill someone."
"M-me?" So she wasn't even aware of it herself. I sigh and stand up, causing those near me to slide backwards in fear.
"I do not really understand why you are so afraid of me being a Crawling Chaos." Yep, right after I say that I realize that I could have denied it until evidence was provided, but now it's too late to backtrack, since this was clearly admitting to the accusation.
"Are you a scion of the demon lord?" Basarab asks cautiously. Huh, why do you think that? I mean, I am maou-mama's child, but why did he immediately assume a connection between us two? Unless maou-mama is an one-of-a-kind demon and there are none others like her. Well, besides all the children she's sent out into the world over the years.
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"Yes, I am her child." I state simply. He looks at me awestruck. Oh, maybe he was testing me, to see whether I knew her gender or not. After all, humans still believe that the demon lord is a he. Then again, maou-mama can change her gender at will, so it's hard to say for certain.
Hm, why do the kids look even more terrified now? Actually, Vitalis and Lenoly look at me in newfound admiration, even though they're still shaking. Make up your minds already! Hestia's gaze is one of pure reverence, now that she knows I'm the child of the demon lord. Yep, she's fully corrupted and beyond help already. Kamii is still wondering about the situation and doesn't seem to understand too well.
"But now that you know it, what are you going to do about it?" I spread my arms into an open and defenseless gesture, but now that I think about it, it may also be suggesting that they should come at me, if they dare to. Now I'm being misleading.
"Let us all remain calm..." The only adult in the room is also the one acting the most sensible. I have to give him props for that at least. His voice is still very enchanting, and it serves to calm the other students down at least a little. "Why did you come to this academy?" Oh, is this going to be a question and answer session now?
"I was exiled to this kingdom." Like I'm gonna tell you the truth here. My story has to be consistent with what I told everyone else so far, or people will begin to poke holes into my motives for being here. "But in my exile, I am free to do as I please."
After all, I'm learning magic for my own convenience, so I can return to the demon castle within three years. I did say I'm not really interested in the throne, but for some reason I keep thinking about wanting to return in time. Maybe I am interested, after all. It makes my chuunibyou heart quiver in excitement, thinking that I can sit on the throne of the bad guys and command endless armies of dark minions to reclaim my lost trinket... no wait, wrong setting.
"Why have you been exiled?" Basarab inquires. Now that's a good question. I need to think of something...
"Because I rebelled against my mother." Once again a collective gasp runs through everyone present. I must appear like a hero for standing up to this universally feared demon lord.
"You..." Flann suddenly comes forward. I can see that he's about the same height as Hestia, now that he's standing before me. "W-were you sent through the transportation circle by... t-the court magician?" Hm, how do you know? That's quite suspicious...
"What if I was?" He clearly knows something, but I can see that he wants to hide it in front of everyone. "Why do you wish to know?"
"... no, never mind." Well, I'll be keeping an eye on him, and confront him about this when we're alone sometime.
But I think this should calm everyone down a bit. Still, I'm sure Basarab will tell old man Thorvadis about my identity as soon as he gets the chance to. Being outed as a Crawling Chaos and more specifically the daughter of the ruling demon lord might cause me some trouble, but nothing has changed from the day I enrolled. My goal on the surface, and part of my overall goal, is to provide Kamii with a peaceful life. That now includes Hestia, too. If to that end I need to eradicate all those opposed to letting demons live, so be it.
"So... you will not eat us?" Lenoly asks sheepishly. Is that what you're being told by your parents? Let's see...
"Only if you have been naughty." I wink and her eyes go wide in surprise. And I mean it only in the sexual sense.
The situation has mostly been defused, but I think my position at this academy has been irrevocably damaged by what happened today. With Hestia fully corrupted and my identity exposed now - although I did admit to a lot on my own - I feel like people will doubt my motives no matter what I say. It's only been two weeks, dammit.
Basarab may act like he believes me, but I have to think about a countermeasure for when I'm called to Thorvadis' office and the teachers suddenly attack me in a group. I will need to hit the library - not with someone's body between me and its roof, but figuratively - and study up on spells and their countermeasures, short forms for casting and most importantly, melding.
"I believe we have had enough excitement for today. I hereby adjourn the meeting of the Demon Mages Society. The next meeting will be in five days." The teacher is making the right call. If more people question me and potentially drive me into a corner, I might show my true colors and the situation could end in hostilities. Every single child is a potential hostage at that time, so it's better for him to separate me from them. I'm not going to do that, though.
In either case, I will have to talk this over with Hestia and Kamii, and tell them the truth about my motives. Also, I need to discuss it with Senka, and see what she thinks my next course of action should be. They're the only ones I can trust, after all.
"To not arouse suspicion, the students will leave in pairs with space between their departures." I have a feeling Basarab will keep me for last, so that he can talk to me in private, or maybe even try and take me out. One after another the pairs leave, until only he, Hestia, Kamii, I and Flann remain. Why Flann, though?
"From your relationship with these two I can gather that you have absolute trust in them?" He suddenly says upon closing the side of the crate that leads outside.
"Yes, I do." I pet the two in question, earning an affectionate cat-like mew from Kamii as she hugs me in return. Hestia looks ecstatic at me saying this. Yes yes, good girl. I'll give you lots of affection later.
"Then I would like to discuss with you a matter of utmost secrecy." Apparently Flann is included, since he wasn't sent away before these opening words. "Regarding the plan to end the demon lord, Pelomyx's reign of terror." My eyebrows twitch, but luckily he was letting his gaze sway over the gathered people dramatically. Do consider me interested in hearing the details of that plan~
"The court magician, Mithra, is my father." Flann suddenly says. What? "He has served under the previous demon lord, and believes that he was killed by your mother." I feel like that's the natural order of things among a people like demons, but I'm sure there's something sinister about all this that you'll tell me in a moment. "She killed everyone that opposed her and is now ruling with an iron hand of terror." I didn't expect anything different. Is that it?
Really though, they trusted me with all this quite easily. Is deception not an issue in this world? I'm not even acting too well, and they believed everything I said. Now I'm going to learn a lot of insider information about this plan to topple maou-mama. When I get back, I'll have you praise me a lot for this.
"Pelomyx is rumored to be incredibly strong, capable of single-handedly crushing thousands of soldiers on her own with little effort. The loss of the last expedition force is proof of that." Basarab shows a serious expression. Can't you switch off the effect of your voice somehow? I can barely concentrate on what you're saying, even though I find it so important. "You are proof of that." I'm flattered.
"There are factions within demonkind that wish to see her rule ended, too. The corruption she spreads is far greater than that of any demon lord before her. There have been far more cases of cursed people..." Flann looks at Kamii at these words. "... in the past two decades than there have been in centuries before." If they're all as cute as this little dark elf, I don't see the problem?
"Our network now includes the Saint of Luminosity." Thank you, Basarab, for telling me that. Now I know against whom else I have to take specific countermeasures. "And the Lady of Brilliance that she can call down into the mortal realm." Huh?
"Yes, the gods themselves are lending us their power!"
The gods...?