The swirl swung backward and forward and shifted in a shiver as it grew dense with suffocating dread. The ground beneath Monika’s feet heaved through her bones in a tremble. A sinistrous preternatural circle began to eventuate on the cold floor at her words.

Its outline was flared with an uncanny dark yellow light surrounded by sinuous symbols, patterns, and markings. The central motif revealed a horrifying image of a similarly dark yellow dragon coiled upon itself while devouring its tail.

The dragon's scales shimmered with decaying gold as its eyes brimmed with unfathomably insatiable hunger. Its form undulated and shifted within the confines. The dragon's body was a continuous loop. Its fangs sank into its tail.

“Oh?” Val was pleasantly surprised and moreso horrified as his eyes widened. “Just what have you done in your past life?”

Monika innocently shrugged her shoulders. “I just killed whoever wanted me dead. That’s all.” She then peeked at Val seductively. “Why?”

Val didn’t want to let go of his curiosity. “And who wanted you dead?”

She stood still with a thoughtful expression. Monika placed her hand on her chin. Her fingers tapped as she pondered. Her thoughts swirled through the enveloping fog.

Plink…Plink…

Each drop fell and echoed silently yet piercingly. The ground below was stained with congealed patches where the blood had pooled. The mist wrapped around her legs. Monika gazed at the ghastly garden of remembrance shaped by flowery bloodshed far from the cave or this world.

Plink…

The cavern was drenched in sick shadows that danced and twisted in the humid mist thick with moisture. Droplets of blood formed overhead to hold on to the sharp points of the stalactites before succumbing to gravity.

She couldn’t find a definitive answer. Monika didn’t know. Who, indeed? Perhaps an answer to her inner turmoil lay therein. Who did she fight against? She thought on and on until there was nothing. Her mind emptied.

The echoes of the distant battles seemed to linger and fade away in the faint drips of blood.

War. Ruin. Hunger. Fear. Dread. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Suffering. Destruction. Isolation. Darkness. Loneliness. Helplessness. Hopelessness. Emptiness.

…Plink… Plink… Plink.

Yet only one remained.

The archdemon extended her hands outward to their fullest extent. “The whole world.” Her words hung. Her face was expressionless as she gazed at nothingness into oblivion. Yet it quickly reverted to being seductive to keep up her act.

“Everything and everyone,” The archdemon said calmly. “Why do you ask~?” Monika reiterated bewitchingly.

Val’s breath came to a stop as he unconsciously took a step back. “It’s nothing.”

Tendrils and claws of unseen shadows emanated from the ritual circle. Val pointed toward the dragon. “It seems the Demon Lord of Desolation adores you.”

“Oh, how so?” Monika’s voice dropped to a sultry whisper as though she only looked after Val and couldn’t care less for the sinful Demon Lord.

“The third deadliest sin is gluttony, and the holder of that sin is named Ouroboros, who is depicted in this circle.” He remarked.

“Hmm? Is this yellow dragon the Hydra’s third head? I’ve seen Solomon, the ninth head, previously.” Her eyes locked onto his with a smoldering smile.

“The holder of the sin of blood is only the weakest among the ten heads.”

“Ten? I thought it was nine. And how is Solomon the weakest if he’s only the ninth?” Monika inquired.

Val folded his arms across his chest. “Nine heads and one body. The body encompasses The Original Sin. It’s sometimes called the ten-head Hydra, but most refer to Hydra as a creature with nine heads only.”

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“Is that so~?” Monika purred. “So what’s the Original Sin? I know eight out of ten sins so that only leaves the last two. What are they? The Original Sin and the Eighth Head? We on Earth only knew of seven deadly sins.”

“Earth!?” Val raised his eyebrow.

Monika’s eyes widened when the words left her lips. Her cheeks flushed, and she immediately clapped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes darted nervously to Val’s face to gauge his reaction. “Is that bad?”

The succubi stood in a loose circle around them with blank expressions. Some of them exchanged quick and puzzled glances, but they remained silent and still for the most part.

The vampire pinched his forehead. “It doesn’t matter. Every candidate is a herald, after all. Just don’t tell others about this anymore. The gods are mad over killing every Earthling there is.”

“Why?” Monika blurted out. She bit her lip in a cute and innocent way. “In what way are Earthlings special?”

“I have no idea. The gods say they carry the curse of the fallen Demon King, but who knows.” He leaned back and heaved.

“Demon King?” Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve, twisting and untwisting the fabric. “Who is The Demon King?” Monika’s eyes sparkled with an intense fire that seemed to ignite her within. She demanded an answer with her look.

“It’s just a myth—an ancient folklore passed from mouth to mouth. They say a higher form of existence ruled over all the other Demon Lords. There is even a fairytale of The Hero and The Demon King that every child in this world knows of. The older you get, the more you learn from it. I’ll tell you the tale when the time allows it. It’s very long.”

“I… I very want to hear!” She glanced up at Valentine through her lashes with her eyes wide and pleading. “Forget about it.” she stammered.

By the time they talked, the dark yellow Ouroboros was becoming increasingly defined. The circle’s boundaries solidified with an unbroken line delineating the space. The light within the circle flared brightly before steadying as the final symbols locked into place.

“Place all the runes and then course your spiritual energy through the circle. The rest will depend on His generosity.” Val remarked.

Monika knelt before the completed ritual circle and began placing each rune around it. The first rune was laid to the north in a flicker as it connected to the circle's energy. She continued this process. Each rune found its place at the cardinal and intercardinal points around the circle until none remained unpositioned under Val’s guidance.

She extended her arm and placed her palm flat against the cool surface of the circle. Monika then focused inward to course her spiritual energy from the depths of her soul. After feeling the familiar warmth of her energy flow through her veins, she gathered it in her palm before surging it into the circle. The symbols within the circle started to glow more brightly.

Suddenly, the ouroboros dragon at the center began to stir as if it had been starved for eons. The ghostlike dragon's body seemed to grow with its long-form coiling and uncoiling as it materialized. The infinitely voracious dragon rose as its dark scales swelled. It darted forward, snapping up each rune with gluttonous appetite. The runes vanished into its maw.

The ouroboros dragon reared back after having consumed the last rune. It hovered above the circle for a moment. Its eyes meaningfully locked onto Monika's. It then opened its jaws wide and spewed forth a single dark token as it landed softly in Monika’s outstretched hand.

—Gluttony Token |D|—

The dragon's form began to waver and dissipate. Its shiny body unraveled into tendrils of dark mist and faded into thin air. The ouroboros dragon vanished within moments.

“What’s this?” Monika asked as she shifted her gaze toward Val.

Val tsked. “I don’t think we can have any use for this token at the moment. We should save it for later.”

We?

What do you mean by ‘we’?

It’s my token! My fucking property!

“Is that so? That’s unfortunate.”

Really fucking fortunate! The dragon was supposed to be a glutton. Such generosity! I’ll make sure to put this token to the best use.

I smile at him as I want to suck him dry. But you can’t, Monika! You’re in for a disappointment anyway since there’s no way he’s got a large one enough for you.

“Should we head out?” I ask him. We’ve already wasted enough time in this cesspool—time to see the world.

Noct nods as he calls out in a resonating whistle. A swarm of bats flaps in unison as they answer their master's call. The largest bat leans before Noct and me. It bows in acknowledgment.

That’s right. My property is my property. And your property, too, is mine. I’m really grateful to you, Noct. So much I want to eat you.

I mount the bat, settling on its back. Noct joins me as he sits on the bat's broad back. Other succubi begin to mount smaller bats. Their wings unfurl. The largest lifts us as the other bats and succubi follow.

Oh, is this a date? He’s such a romanticist, really. Makes me love him mo—

He places his hands behind me. The sensation of his fingers pressing into the small of my back sends a wave—a tsunami through me. My skin tingles with heightened sensitivity. I lean back into his embrace. The possessiveness in his grip makes me want to possess him even more.

—ahh ahh AHHHhhhhhHhhHHhhh