I reach the top of the dune behind which Hestia said she saw the animals. Considering that this is a desert and nothing grows here, I'm sure they have moved on a bit already, but we can surely follow their trail. Looking down, I see a collection of light and dark brown furry beings. Huh, wait, something feels wrong about that...
The "animals" Hestia saw were a collection of seven tents covered in fur. I turn around to her with an annoyed expression and she returns the gaze with a blush. Oi, why are you blushing? What kind of face do you think I just made?
"... one question..."
"Anything, Onee-sama." She smiles at me in expectation. What is it that you might be expecting, Hestia-tan?
"... is your eyesight bad?" I point towards the other side of the slope. She gasps at the question and comes up next to me, to look at what I mean. Seeing the tents, her expression changes into a worried one, as she blinks her eyes.
"We... we Fatas always have perfect eyesight..." Her voice is trembling as she gazes into the distance and back to the tents. I guess being an airborne race, having good eyesight is a prerequisite. Sorry about that, bats. "... mine have always been perfect..." She actually seems pretty shaken.
"I think it may be the result of your curse..." In fact, I have a pretty solid idea what exactly caused it. Her eyes clearly have some kind of power in them, as she was able to disintegrate the teacher with a glare alone. But it's obvious that it wouldn't be a cursed ability, if it didn't come with a downside. In her case, it must be weakening eyesight, although whether it's only temporary or actually permanent remains to be seen. "Remember when you turned the teacher to dust? I'm sure that this is the price you have to pay for using that ability."
"... if it is for Onee-sama, I cannot complain." She gathers her feelings and states with a slightly resigned smile. While I appreciate that blind love for me, it's alright to be angry with me, you know? I'm the one who corrupted you after all, and I'm actually feeling a little bad for it.
"From now on, hold back on using it, until we can learn more about its dangers and limits."
"I do not even understand how it happened. I only felt unspeakable rage at that scum for hurting you, and suddenly it seemed as if I could see his very soul. When I thought that it deserved to be erased for what he did, it came true." Well, she just explained how it works. Apparently it's connected to her anger, and then she simply has to will it. In either case, that is a seriously scary ability, and I have to make sure that she doesn't accidentally use it on people close to me but whom she might perceive as enemies.
"I'm telling you to rest your eyes... and your anger." I sigh and begin to descend the slope. The tents were built near the valley and are still steeped in the shadows of the dunes surrounding it. There aren't any movements, but I can tell that they're not fully abandoned from the fact that several of them haven't been covered by any dust yet. In the ever-shifting sands of a desert such as this one, even a day without anyone cleaning up would make a huge difference.
"Anyone here?" I shout out without a care in the world. If they're hostile, I'll immediately blast them with spirit spears or swallow them. I'm not in the mood to play nice right now.
But there's no answer - maybe they're asleep, since the day has basically only started. I walk towards one tent fearlessly and round it to find its opening. It's a round construct with a hole in the front, covered by a cloth fixed in all corners as to not allow any sand inside. But it's obvious that the tent isn't meant to be used permanently, as it looks like it can be taken down pretty quickly.
I tear away the cloth and peer inside through the child-sized door - perfect for me in my current state. It's dark, so my eyes have to adjust from the brightness of the desert first. What greets me is a curved dagger, pointed at my face. I stare at it with my eyes nearly crossed, then I close them and sigh. The person behind it is just a boy, around the age of Kamii, with the tanned skin one would expect from someone living under the desert sun.
"I'm not here to harm you, so drop that thing." Accompanying my firm voice is an expression that won't take a no for an answer. "If you touch me with it, you may lose it... along with your hand." But he doesn't seem to understand what I'm saying. Apparently the world isn't as convenient as I thought it was. While the language I spoke on the Demon Continent is the same as the one used in the Kingdom of Lares and the Fatas Triarchy, it doesn't apply to everywhere. I should have considered this possibility.
But I don't have the patience to waste even a second. I grab the knife with my hand and it sinks into my body. Upon the sight, the boy's eyes go big and he lets go of his weapon in shock. He inches backwards and tries to block my view on something behind him. I step into the tent and take the knife out of my body once again, while standing in front of him in all of my naked glory.
Now I see what he's trying to hide, or rather, shield from harm. It's a little girl, looking no older than six, crouching on the ground with a fearful expression on her face. She must be his little sister. Both children look at me like I'm a monster, and while it may be true, I don't have any interest in harming those who can't fight back. Still, it's pointless to try and ask them for directions, if our language is different.
I look around the tent one last time, but there's no indication to the presence of an adult or a map, so I leave again, throwing the knife I took from him to the ground carelessly. These things can't harm me - is the message I'm giving them, and it's a warning for them not to test me.
"Keep an eye on them, Hestia." I order her and she nods in silence.
When I look into the next tent I understand why this camp has been completely quiet. I'm greeted by a wave of flies and the stench of decomposition. My body immediately shuts down the function of smell as a countermeasure - my nostrils close up on the inside, sparing me from the torture. Inside the tent I see three bodies, covered with crawling maggots and already hatched flies. Their state of decomposition has progressed to the point that I can't tell them apart, but two are clearly adult-sized and one is child-sized. This must have been a family.
I don't know what killed them, but considering that they're in their tent and no signs of a struggle can be seen, it must have been a disease. I check the other tents, and they're the same. The only survivors are the two children in the first tent. While I wonder about the luck of me finding the alive ones on my first try, I return to their abode, the final untouched sanctuary within this circle of death.
"Hestia, can you check for diseases on these two?" I point inside the tent with the two children, of whom the boy has been peering out from the door to see what I'm up to. When the black-winged girl comes into sight, he falls backwards onto his bottom in fear and awe. She makes a much more impressive figure than I do, I have to admit.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"Infernal Flames." My hand describes an arc in front of me and a wave of fire spreads out, consuming all the tents with the dead and the masses of insects that swarm their bodies. Damn it, I shouldn't be spending so much time here, but no matter what, I can't just leave children to die like this. I turn away from the blaze and go towards the one remaining home. "So?"
"They are perfectly healthy now." Hestia says with a reserved smile. So she used a spell on them, huh? In either case, they seem to have calmed down now and maybe I can glean some kind of information from them.
"Just in case, you don't happen to be able to speak their language, right?" I ask Hestia, but she shakes her head with a crestfallen expression. Hey, don't be so down, I won't be disappointed with you over something like this. I expected it, since she did say that she was exiled from the Fatas Triarchy and ended up at the academy, so I'm sure she didn't take any detours along the way. "Then this is going to be pretty hard..."
I walk into their tent, upon which the boy moves back in fear, protectively standing between me and his sister. He's being a good older brother, but it's just annoying at this point, and I think it showed on my face, as he flinches. Yes, I'm really short on patience right now, even though I know that going back to the academy will take a long time from where we are. Unless I'm lucky enough to happen to come upon a book on transportation magic out here...
"Do you know if there is a city nearby?" I ask the boy with a straightforward expression, trying not to look mean in the process. I'm trying to make it appear like it's something important. However, he obviously doesn't understand, and it's clearly written on his face, as he stares at me with a questioning look. I change the skin tone of my stomach and recreate the map of where we are as best as I can remember on its surface. The siblings look at it with huge eyes.
"Here." I point at the approximate spot where I believe we are and then at the ground. Then I change the map to the picture of a walled city with many houses. Since I'm using my imagination to color my skin pigments, I can actually make it look really realistic. Wow, today I discovered another use for this convenient body, which I would have never thought of before. "City." I point at it. "Where?" I think no matter the language, a question will always have the same kind of tone, or so I hope. The image changes back into the map.
The boy looks at me dubiously, then at the map, as if he's never seen one before. I think that's not going to work. I walk out of the tent and gesture for him to follow me. He does so reluctantly and carefully, watching out for any strange movements from me. Outside, I point in several directions, then point at the picture of the city drawn on my stomach again.
"Onee-sama, what..." Hestia begins, but I put a finger to my lips to shut her up. Clearly, she's surprised at the drawing on my skin, but it doesn't help for her to confuse the matter with her questioning.
"City?" I ask once again and show him my palms. I hope that this gesture has the same meaning in this culture, too. Finally, I see understanding in his gaze and he looks closely at the image of the city. For some reason I feel like he might be staring at my practically nonexistent bare chest, but I don't care, as long as he gives me an answer.
"Trad." He points in the direction of the rising sun, which is showing itself over the dune. Yep, I don't understand what he's saying, but his gesture is unmistakable. Now I need to know how far away it is, and whether I can get away with doing it in one burst by transforming into a Vularen or even fly with Hestia.
"Day." I try out a moving image, and it works as intended. Apparently our race can, to a certain extent, act like a living TV screen. If I ever have the chance to meet one of my kind that doesn't feel rebellious against maou-mama, I will ask him or her to play a movie for me. For now, I make an easy to understand slideshow for the sun moving across the sky, coming up from one end and going down the other.
"Endom!" The boy exclaims and looks at it in wonder. I point at the sun, then at my belly, then move my finger across the sky while the display shows a circle of white skin move from horizon to horizon on the image.
"Day." I hold up my fingers, showing one, two and then three, before holding up my palms again in a questioning gesture. This should get the message across. And finally, he shows realization again and thinks for a moment.
"Nem." He says and shows me one finger. So one day, huh? That's doable with a transformation that requires a lot of energy, like flying. In fact, flying should be faster, so we can reach it even sooner than within a day. The first step towards getting back to the kingdom has been completed.
"Let's go." I say to Hestia and she follows me wordlessly. But a twinge of guilt hits me when I think of these two kids. Clearly, they have been staying here for days with their clan or family dead just a few steps away from them. As expected, I can't just leave them like this. Maybe they aren't even aware of the fact that they will die out here themselves. But at the same time, I have no means to take them along without wasting a lot of time. I can't carry them inside my body, since I think that'll just break their minds, even if they won't suffocate. I turn to look at Hestia and she seems to understand my dilemma. With a smile, she looks at me and nods.
"Please go on ahead. I shall take care of them." Her expression is innocent, but I can feel something dark lurking underneath it. Wait, don't tell me...
"What do you plan on doing?" I don't let it show on my face and ask in a neutral tone.
"I shall put them to rest painlessly." She actually said it directly and so shamelessly. Does she think that only because I'm the daughter of the demon lord I'm ruthless enough to allow the murder of innocent children who even helped us by showing us the way?
I approach Hestia and look up to her with my diminished stature. Then I pull on the front of her shirt and bring her down onto my level, causing her knees to buckle from my strength. Even if I have this body, my mass still easily exceeds hers after all. We are eye to eye and anger flashes over my face. This is a good opportunity to set clear limitations for her yandere tendencies.
"You will never talk about killing innocent children in front of me again." My voice is low and menacing, so much that it surprises even myself. But this is one thing I won't forgive, even if I'm not a human. "Or I shall no longer have you by my side." At these words Hestia's face twists into one of shock and fear. I let go of her and she falls onto her bottom.
"... p-please, Onee-sama. I-I... I am so sorry... for suggesting... something like that." She has tears forming in her eyes and is beginning to crawl towards me in desperation. "Please, do not abandon me..." That is entirely up to her, but I don't say anything, before walking back towards the children's tent.
"Come." I gesture to the boy who watched us and his little sister hiding behind him, but he shakes his head in denial. Does he actually intend to die here with his sister? I can understand that the despair from losing everyone close to you might make you think that, but choosing death is never an option.
I grab the doorway of the tent and pull at it. With the sound of ropes tearing and dried bones breaking, the entire tent comes down. I pull its twisted remains along and throw it into the still burning fires of the other ones, accompanied by the screams and shouts of the boy as he protests against it. There, I destroyed your shelter, your turtle shell into which you hid yourselves. What will you do next?
"Come." I gesture one last time, before walking ahead. I won't be doing something as forceful as pulling on their arms, but I think they understand my intention. They look at each other, and finally, begin to reluctantly follow into the little footsteps I leave behind in the sand. I stop when I pass by Hestia and look at her. She's shaking and tears are rolling down her face. Maybe I overdid it a little.
"You little dummy." I hug her to my chest and she returns it, burying her face in my nonexistent bosoms. Damn, I want to get some mass back as soon as possible.
"I... am sorry... Onee-sama..." She sobs between her words, but it seems she has learned her lesson. Still, I understand that I'm the reason for her newfound ruthless and murderous nature, so I have to be the one to bear the burden, keep her in check and teach her properly. Even if she's a yandere, she's not the type that's already departed the realm of common sense completely. I kiss her on the forehead and separate from her. I think that just did the trick, as a surprised expression, followed by a smile, flashes over her face.
I'm sorry, Kamii-chan, one day longer for you to wait for my return. But know that if the worst case scenario has happened to you, I will make sure that the Kingdom of Lares disappears from the face of the world...