Later that night…

Here again. The World Tree and the Demon Lord in the shape of me, sneering. Darkness eternal. I think of Anna, her promise to me… and just like the last time, it ain’t so bad.

I feel a lot better, actually! Maybe it’s from all that kissing we did just now, ever since we left the Cathedral of the First Saint. I dunno, honestly. But I do feel a lot better than I usually do… and not even the darkness of the Land of Demons can dampen my spirits!

“Love your new look!” the Demon Lord mocks as it sits cross-legged upon the shadowy steps leading up to the shattered clock, soulless black eyes lazily eyeing me from top to toe. “It really brings out your… well, everything.”

Wordlessly, I look at the whiteness of my gloved hands and my legs in stockings. I went to bed in a nice comfy nightgown, but now I stand before the darkness, clad in my sacred, holy vestments of white and blue. I guess by putting that fancy outfit on just now… they’re now a part of me and my soul, just as my staff Elizabeth has been to me.

“I mean it, ‘Hero’. You’ll be killing entire tribes of Goblins from blood loss through their noses. Surely that’s something to be proud of!”

“Hey, it’s okay to be jealous,” I offer calmly in turn, smiling as I maintain eye contact with the bastard. “These vestments are very comfortable, and I think the design is pretty neat.”

“Indeed…”

“Hmph. It ain’t all just for show. I’m sure you sense the enchantments in these clothes.”

“I do! Very kind of Saint Alyssa to bestow such a gift. Why, if only you had these the first time we met, in this place where destiny is made…”

“You’d be in for a world of hurt. Even more than that moment when I killed you.”

“As I did you. And maybe, just maybe…”

“Don’t go there,” I state assertively, raising a finger. “This has been a mostly civil conversation so far, by our standards. I’d prefer to keep it that way.”

Sadistically, the Demon Lord grins and nods knowingly. The bastard knows it got its point across to me with all the subtlety of a hammer, and uh… I feel my blood boiling! Just a little. Bastard's pissing me off! But I think of Anna, her warm smile and her kind words, repeating those words in my head like I’m reciting a prayer against evil. It’s… not so bad.

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“That said… it was about time your Paladin did to you, what you should’ve done to her ages ago. I’m impressed, actually! I really am.”

“I was gonna do it eventually…” I answer with a frown. “It was only a matter of time, given how we were doing things together like that. I'm just glad she feels the same way I do.”

“Sometime between now and the end of the world, I suppose? At least the Order of Selene taught her not to be a coward! Probably the first useful thing they’ve done.”

“Fuck you.”

“Oh? So much for polite conversation, huh?”

“Hey, you started it.”

“Heh. I suppose I did!” the Demon Lord exclaims, shadows spilling onto the steps as it shrugs its shoulders. “It can’t be helped. But anyway, after she kissed you…”

“Don’t fucking say it.”

“You could’ve fucked the bitch.”

“Really observant, aren’t ya?”

“Believe me… she gave you those eyes, ‘Hero’! You know… the ‘fuck me’ eyes. You can’t possibly be that obtuse!”

“Wow. You’re out of your fucking mind.”

“I’ve only seen such eyes from so few of my worshippers…” the Demon Lord responds coolly, grinning savagely. “From only the truly faithful who would lay their lives down for me, who’d serve me and mine wholly, unquestioningly, with utter devotion of mind and soul.”

“Yeah, sure. And I almost feel bad for them,” I remark coldly as I think of the bloodied altars I’ve seen, and the almost palpable despair lingering in the halls of the Dungeons and places where demons had been summoned into Nisha in the previous timeline. “I’ve seen what you and your kind do to your oh-so-precious worshippers.”

“Oh, yes! Don’t remind me – it makes me almost… wistful.”

“You’re one fucked up fuck, that’s for sure.”

“Deny and deflect all you want, ‘Hero’. If you must…” the Demon Lord offers sarcastically. “Like I said before – you shouldn’t argue with reflections of yourself! Because I know what you know… and also, what you know, but don’t want to know… deep down within your heart of hearts.”

“If that’s true, you’d know I want to sleep in peace…” I remark dryly, rolling my eyes as the Demon Lord cackles bemusedly. “I could be getting some sleep instead of having such stupid conversations with the likes of you.”

“Oh? But I do so enjoy our… exchanges.”

“That’s just you, then.”

“As I said before…”

“Yeah, yeah…” I interject brusquely. “Anything else? Gotta sleep. Got a big day ahead.”

“Just one more thing, really – I hope your Paladin doesn’t need to use that spell of hers before you return home…” the Demon Lord states, grinning maliciously. “After all, the world is changing, all thanks to you and me. I’m sure you’ve noticed by now.”

“Wow, that’s so fucking kind of you! I really, really appreciate the thought.”

“You’d best not fail us. I’m counting on you, after all. You and your Paladin…”

“Fuck you for thinking I’m doing any of this for you,” I answer stoically as the darkness dissipates before my very eyes. “I’m doing this for the ones I love.”

Once more, I awaken in the comfy softness of my bed, eyes on the darkness of the ceiling above me. I try to close my eyes and go back to sleep, but I find myself staring up into the darkness above. And as I do… I’m thinking of Divine Intervention, thinking of Anna, thinking of Arcadia… and the long crusade across Nisha that awaits us across the Silent Sea, soon enough.