“First things first,” I declared, “there’s still a few matters to take care of. I’ll need one of you to get Jahara from the kitchen, for starters…”

“Who?” Abigail asked with a frown.

“The dragon I fought,” I explained to her. “She apparently has the ability to take a dragon girl form.”

“Really?” Lucy asked. “I don’t think Grell mentioned that…”

“I suppose Grell was more enamored with her original form,” I replied, shaking my head. “Well, was more enamored with it before I started poking holes in her grand image of what a dragon should be… Regardless, the fact remains that she’s currently in the kitchen.”

“The kitchen someone made a giant mess of?” Abigail asked. “...You know what? Nevermind. I’ll go grab her real quick while you… do whatever it is you need to keep Doll alive, I guess.”

“Tell her to behave, or I’ll take back what I said about dessert.”

“I hate the fact that you think that’ll work… especially since you’re probably right,” Abigail complained, shaking her head but nevertheless leaving the room.

“I’ll go help her,” Lucy said after glancing back and forth between me and the door. “I think she could use some company right now… Her world got turned upside down, too, even if it’s not quite the same as with us.”

I nodded before frowning at Doll. “So I take it that you know the spell to recharge yourself?”

“I know all spells accessible to the Demon Queens,” Doll replied, her tone as matter of fact as always. “I am the receptacle of knowledge promised by the Rite of Insight, after all.”

“...That wouldn’t happen to include a holy depetrification spell, would it?” I asked before deciding against it. “You know what? Nevermind. I’ll ask you again in the morning. After this is done tonight is dedicated to helping Lucy and Abigail destress… not to mention myself. Just tell me how to charge you so you won’t die or be stuck here.”

“Not yet,” Doll replied. “There remains one last enchantment you must remove.”

“And you’re only mentioning it now?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. “After the others have left the room?”

“The wolf is still here,” Doll pointed out. “Though I wish otherwise. This enchantment is… different from the others and the fewer unpredictable variables the better.”

“And by ‘unpredictable variables’ you mean…?”

“People. Your behavior alone is difficult enough to predict. Add your companions and it becomes nigh impossible.” 

I sighed then glanced at Bailey. “Go wait in the bedroom, alright? I promise to stay safe from the scary Doll lady.”

Bailey nodded, albeit somewhat reluctantly, and headed out.

“Now can you tell me where this extra special spot upon your person is?” I asked, exasperated sat Doll’s delaying.

Doll did not immediately reply, but instead looked at me with a surprisingly emotional expression. “...Now that they are gone, there won’t be anyone to judge you for whatever decision you make. Knowing that, are you sure you want to do this? Disarming the divine energy within me without irrevocably damaging me or yourself will be akin to defusing a live bomb powered by the same energy keeping me alive. Even the miniscule amount of divine energy left within me to power the failsafe would be enough to seriously injure you, maybe even kill you - in body, if not soul. I don’t know that you’ll be able to recover fast enough to make your plans work, should things go that route… So I won’t judge you if you choose to back out now.”

“As if I could,” I scoffed, trying to ignore the anger rising within me. “I already told the others I would try.”

“You can tell them that it proved too much to you,” Doll suggested. “That I ended myself before things could get out of control.”

“Why?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“You’ve already proven yourself capable of carrying this to the end, in my eyes, and you have at least two people who care about you very deeply. I imagine you have at least a few friends amongst the humans you’ve mingled with, as well. Not to mention Lenora and Bailey. Any one of them would be devastated if something happened to you.”

“And no one would care about you?!” I demanded. “Is that what you’re trying to imply? Because I seem to recall a certain someone from your story who’d care very much, and I for one don’t intend to look a revived Dalleen in the eye and tell her I let her only friend die because I was too cowardly to make the attempt.”

“...You are surprisingly emotional about this,” Doll noted. “I fear it might be preventing you from thinking things through logically. The risks of failure compared to the value of the goal-”

“‘The value of the goal?!’” I interrupted. “The value of the goal here is your life!”

“My life is not worth risking the success of this plan.”

“Like hell it isn’t!” I all but growled back at her. “You’ve spent the last two thousand years weighing lives on a scale and discarding them when their chance at success fails to outweigh your risks. You’ve watched me, and so many before me, go to our doom. You’ve stood by and done nothing, time and time again, all in the name of these calculations you run in your head. Well, screw it! It’s time someone taught you that life is more than just numbers! Even if it means the life I’m saving is yours!”

“...Very well. Start here,” she said, pointing at her stomach with her free hand. “The enchantment is very complex, as it involves the control and use of divine energy. It is something only the Goddess herself has true mastery of. All you need to do is use extreme care to pluck off this one character here - do you see it? - and another here. The first will disable the holy magic trigger, and the latter will do a controlled bleed off to safely release the divine magic to ensure that even a direct order from Luci will have nothing to activate.”

“Here we go…” I muttered, turning on my holy vision again so that I could see where she was pointing. “At least it’s only a couple symbols this time...”

She nodded, silently watching me as I plucked at the first, and then the second. Even if the risk had increased a hundredfold, the basic actions remained the same, and things went smoothly at first. Just as I was about to do the final pass with my nail, however, Doll suddenly called out, “Sh-Wait!”

Too late - my nail broke through the final enchantment and something emerged from her stomach and floated towards my hand. It was white and wispy, almost misty, except mist didn’t hurt like this did. Though it only made momentary contact with my hand, it left my flesh red and inflamed even as I pulled my hand back and hopped backwards away from Doll. 

“Ow!” I cried out in what might very well have been the first true physical pain I’d ever felt in this lifetime. My hand was slowly healing, but it seemed the mist, which had thankfully dissipated, was indeed harmful to me.

“Eena?!” Lucy called out, running into the room with Abigail and Bailey just a step behind her. Jahara trailed behind the three, notably lacking their looks of concern.

“What’s wrong?” Abigail asked. “It sounded like you were in pain!”

Doll shot me a look, subtly shaking her head. A silent warning - or perhaps a plea - to keep things simple and secret.

Except secrets were never truly simple, were they? Even when Lucy explicitly gave me permission to keep them. They were like a barrier between me and those I kept them from - one through which we could see each other, even feel each other, but never truly connect in all the ways that mattered.

“I was burned,” I explained to them, showing them my still slowly healing hand and ignoring Doll’s slightly narrowed eyes. “By what I assume to be divine magic. It escaped the spell it was confined to within Doll and harmed my hand.”

“Wait a second,” Abigail interrupted. “It hurt your hand? Yours?The magical hand that’s, like, impervious to all mortal harm?”

“This wasn’t exactly mortal,” I remarked. “It was divine. A step above even me…”

“More than a ‘step’ if just making contact with it is enough to hurt you like that,” Abigail remarked.

“Divine magic is akin to fire,” Doll said, joining in to my surprise. “It can be warm and gentle when handled properly, but if left uncontrolled it can incinerate almost anything. Sticking your hand in it - whether you be made of holy energy or mortal flesh - is ill advised.

“…Perhaps more so in the latter case, though.”

“Wait a second,” Lucy muttered. “I just realized! You’re made of holy magic, right, Eena?”

I nodded silently, wondering what insight she would bring.

“Then no wonder I have all that positive energy ‘staining’ me! It must have come from you! When we… you know…”

“Ate each other out?” Abigail suggested, causing Lucy’s cheeks to tinge pink.

“It’s weird to be able to actually say it out loud in front of people, but yeah!” Lucy confirmed.

“I suppose that could explain it,” Doll confirmed. “For a normal mortal, I doubt consuming holy magic in such a way would matter much, but when combined with the blessing carved upon your soul… it might indeed have put the energy you gained to use.”

“Wait, what do you mean carved into her soul?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m kinda curious too,” Abigail admitted, while Lucy nodded fiercely.

“It is only a theory of mine,” Doll told us. “But in theory the only way to grant a blessing such as yours would be to carve it into the very soul of the individual…”

“Then… does that mean that there’s actually only a singular Heroine?” I asked. “That she’s actually a… reincarnation?”

I didn’t know how to feel about that. About the thought that Lucy might share a soul with those monsters… Thankfully, Doll shook her head.

“I do not imagine a Heroine’s soul would survive even a single cycle of abuse, let alone many. A mortal’s body and soul are not meant to utilize holy or unholy energy the way the Heroine does. Yet the Heroine utilizes both to strengthen herself. You see the effect upon their mortal brains in how they go insane - their positive and negative emotions dramatically magnified in line with the positive and negative energy that now strengthens their flesh… Yet what it does to the mortal mind cannot even compare to the damage it would wreak upon a mortal’s soul. I imagine the souls of most Heroines break apart before they can ever enter the reincarnation cycle.”

“...Well, on that delightful note,” I said, “the holy words to recharge you, please?”

“Sythorum driveen borunt.”

“Sythorum driveen borunt,” I repeated - yet what had been just words for her felt like so much more to me as my holy energy surged forward to fill her. More and more she took from me, and for the first time I actually felt my holy magic drain significantly. Just as I began to fear that history would repeat itself, and I’d end up passing out for a few days like I had after exhausting my arcane magic, the drain slowed and finally stopped as Doll’s features lit up.

She was glowing. Literally.

“Full range of emotional expressions - restored. Full vocal range - restored. Soul-sight - restored. Emergency medical operations - restored. Laser eyes - restored. All systems green and fully operational.”

“Is it just me, or was one of those a little different than the rest?” I asked.

“You must be imagining things,” Doll said with a bright smile. It was an expression I was very much not used to seeing on her face. Right after that though her expression suddenly twisted and she darted towards me to give me a tight hug, finally having let go of the podium.

“...Thank you.”
I didn’t react right away. I could actually feel her tears on my shoulder as she sobbed. Eventually I awkwardly patted her back.

 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I muttered for the umpteenth time. Devilla must have been tired of hearing it by now, but she didn’t say anything. She just looked at me, with her eyes full of worry, obviously trying to think up something to help. “It’s fine, Devilla. It’s not like I’m blaming you or anything. This is… just… a lot.”

“Leaving the tower?” she asked.

“Leaving the tower to go on a date with the Heroine of all people. Not to mention the fact that it’s a double date with the literal Demon Queen. …Though I guess at this point I’m kinda over that last part. I just… sometimes, I wonder how the hell I got into this mess… You, Lucy, you’re both important. Plus, you’re apparently wrapped up in a whole conspiracy about revenge, with your intertwined fates, and… it’s like you were practically destined to get together.”

“I assure you we were not,” Devilla replied dryly.

“...Okay, yeah, my bad,” I admitted. Considering how we were dodging and actually inverting their so-called destiny and all, it probably wasn’t the best way to describe their relationship. “But it’s just… you’re two big figures on the world stage. I’m just… me.”

“That ‘me’ you’re referring to is someone I happen to care a great deal about,” Devilla said. “I would ask you not to look down on her so much. She’s quite important in her own right, you know - I don’t even want to think about where I’d be without her comfort and guidance.”

“Out in the wilderness, trying to survive off roots and berries?” I suggested. “Seeing as how you were planning to run away and all…:”

“I’d like to think I’d have found a place amongst humanity,” Devilla replied. “Though, truthfully you might be right… I don’t seem to blend in very well, do I?”

“Yeah…” I laughed, a nervous awkward laugh that I hated the moment it came out of my mouth. It felt all sorts of wrong and out of place.

Sort of like me. Trying to shake my mind out of the bad places it was going I asked, “How is your hand doing?”
“Better, now, but it took a surprisingly long time to heal.” Saying so, she lifted her hand to show me that it had returned back to normal, without any signs of the redness I’d seen before.

“‘Surprisingly long to heal’ like most people can heal from a severe burn in an hour or two…”

It was at that moment that the door swung open to reveal Lucy. She was still in her casual clothes, with the red top, black skirt, and white sunhat, but now with the addition of a dragon-themed half mask to cover her eyes.

“You know I can see your eyes through that, right?” I pointed out. “Which means people are going to be able to see mine.”

“A good point,” Devilla admitted, striding up to Lucy and pulling her into a hug. “Perhaps we can claim you’ve attached some special lenses? Considering we’re excusing your wings as a costume, I don’t think another flourish such as this will really tip the scales into making people suspicious of you.”

“I guess,” I said, taking one of the masks from Lucy. It was easy enough with her arms still wrapped around Devilla, and the masks sticking out of her hand. “So… now what?”

“Now we can go out on our date!” Lucy said with a big smile. “I sent Jahara off with Grell and Dyona, by the way, so we don’t need to worry about her, either!”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I asked, unconvinced. “We’re talking about a dragon, right? King - or Queen, I guess - of the monsters? The most powerful thing the monster realm can throw at you?”

“And an absolute glutton,” Devilla said, shaking her head. “She’s attended the festival many times before. So long as she stays in her fully human form, she should be fine.”

 “I still can’t believe you’re controlling a dragon with food. I know your fries are decent, but- wait, what did I say?” I asked, noticing how Devilla’s expression had soured.

“It’s nothing.” She tried to look impartial, but her expression definitely said otherwise. “It’s just that Jahara actually found the fries… middling, at best, shall we say? It was everything else the chefs cooked that won her over.”

“Devilla…” I started, then stopped and shook my head. “Nevermind…” 

“It’s not good to keep things bottled up,” Lucy told me with an expression that practically screamed sincere concern.

What the hell was I supposed to do with that? The Heroine, showing concern over me…

“Abigail?” Devilla asked with a frown.

“It’s nothing,” I repeated. “You know, you don’t have to express every little thing, right? Sometimes it’s alright to keep thoughts to yourself.”

“I guess,” Lucy agreed. “Everyone’s allowed secrets, after all… but it’s different with complaints! Especially when it comes to the people you want to spend time around. Complaints that you keep to yourself are complaints that’ll never be solved!”

“It’s not even a complaint! I just… don’t… entirely get why Devilla is always getting bent out of shape about potatoes, alright?”

“Me?” Devilla asked, blinking in surprise.

“Yeah, you. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, alright?”

“I’m not going to be hurt by you not loving potatoes as much as me,” Devilla insisted. “Especially not when you’ve already admitted to the greatness of a properly deep fried french fry.”

“Aren’t you?” I asked, unable to help myself. “You can be sort of fragile, Devilla. It’s hard to know what’ll set you off sometimes.”

“That’s… fair,” she said after a moment. “But I’d rather you risk it than keep things to yourself when they’re bothering you.”

“Well, maybe I don’t want to hurt you. Did you ever consider that? Maybe I’d prefer to keep some minor complaints to myself if it means you don’t break down in front of me… at least until you’re stronger mentally.”

“I think those are both perfectly valid points,” Chloe said. “But maybe take a deep breath and step back from one another? Because it feels like you’re gearing up for what might be a very stupid fight about how neither of you want to hurt the other one. Not the best start for a group date, wouldn’t you agree?”

“....Chloe?”

“Chloe!?”

“Chloe!”

“Yup, that’s me!” the kitsune confirmed, puffing out her chest. “Trickster extraordinaire! Wanna guess how I came to be here?”

“Not particularly.”

“Not really.”

“I really want to know how, but I don’t think anyone else feels the same?”

“Seriously?!” Chloe asked. “It could have been an elaborate chain of highly unlikely events!”

“Or maybe you heard about the festival and wanted to join in,” I guessed dryly.

“...I mean, if you want to boil it down to the bare bones, I guess…”

“Were you seriously keeping yourself hidden this entire time?” Devilla asked. “Just waiting for the right time to pop out?”

“Yup!” Chloe confirmed. “I was actually sort of starting to get worried there wouldn’t be one, but nope! Perfect dramatic entrance moment found. Speaking of which… You guys really care about each other, huh?”

“Of course I care about her! I’m out here trying to date her, aren’t I?”

“And I, of course, care about her,” Devilla replied. “I wouldn’t have entered a relationship with her otherwise.”

“Exactly!” Chloe said with a grin. “You both care, but you express that care in different ways. Devilla, you wanna take on burdens and share them in turn, while Abigail…”

“It’s not like I don’t want that,” I protested. “I mean… it sounds nice, I guess? But if I shared every complaint that comes to mind, we’d be here all day! Besides, most of them are just petty complaints, anyways - I don’t actually want you jumping to fix my every complaint.”

“But you do want to express them, don’t you?” Chloe asked. “Maybe to a party who could understand? Like, say, me? Once a week? We can have breakfast, you rant, and I help you filter out the things that are maybe actually worth saying to Devilla instead of letting them build. You know, friend stuff?”

“...Seriously? You’d do all that?” I asked. “Just because we’re friends?”

“And because you three are going to look the other way while I go party it up at the festival… right?” she asked with a wide grin.

Devilla sighed. “Go… Just be back before dawn. I’m sure your illusions would keep you safe, but I’d rather you not test them during sunlight… or have to walk all the way back to the tower.”

“Don’t worry! I can turn fully human just like that dragon friend of yours. Kitsune trick.”

“I’ve never heard of that one,” I said, narrowing my eyes at Chloe.

“It’s not exactly something we broadcast,” Chloe replied. “Or use of late. I mean, who wants to look human in the middle of the tower? Comes in handy when we’re pulling off tricks, though.”

“If you’re lying-” I started, only to stop in the face of Chloe’s serious expression. Not because I was totally swayed by it, though. More because I was shocked at just how badly it suited her face.

“I don’t lie,” she said. “Ever.”

“Never? Not even by omission or telling partial truths?” Lucy asked, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.

“Never!” Chloe confirmed. “Communication’s too important to me for that sort of thing. I’ve already got a mark against me as a trickster, you know? If I was actually known to tell lies on top of that, how would anyone know when to trust me?”

“Yes, well, so long as you’re not caught, I think that’s good enough,” Devilla broke in. “Still, I’d rather you back by dawn, all the same. I need to be sure everyone’s properly returned to the tower before I move on.”

“That’s fine!” Chloe promised, her bushy tail wiggling happily behind her as she reached for the door. “See you soon!”

“...She didn’t bring any money with her,” Devilla sighed, shaking her head.

“Somehow, I doubt that’ll stop her…” I sighed. 

“Let’s worry about it later?” Lucy suggested to my surprise. “We’re supposed to just be normal people on a date today, right?”

“...Right,” Devilla confirmed a moment after, a smile on her lips.

“Right,” I said, shaking my head and heading for the door. “Well then, let’s get this ‘perfectly normal’ show on the road…”

 

~~~

Author's Notes

First off, I want to apologize for the lateness of this. Depression has been feeling a bit better, but it still has its hooks in me and it's been making it a struggle to get things done... I'll try and get another chapter of something out soon, to make up for it.

As for the chapter itself... I struggled a bit on whether to bring Chloe in - as well as how to explain it, if she did arrive - but in the end, I really felt like the scene needed her. Mostly because the characters were at risk of getting into a super serious argument, and there's nobody who can cut through that sort of thing quite like Chloe.

...Of course, now I need to write side stories for not only Jahara's fun with Grell and Dyona, but also Chloe if I can manage... But it was a worthy trade off, in the end.

Thanks, as always, to FallingLeaf - and to my readers, as well, for being so supportive and patient during my slow times.

PS: With this, Patreon is down to only 2 chapters ahead, I fear. I'll work hard to get chapter 75 done in time, so that you all don't need to wait for 73. As usual, I put the whole date in one chapter, so I'd love for you all to see it on time... Depression's been lightening up, but whenever I stop for a while like this I end up facing this barrier of fear I need to cross, and the lingering depression isn't making things easy...

On the bright side, I have a new pet incoming! Which is... only serving to further distract me, as I gush about her and rush around to prepare, but it might end up being good for my mental health? Maybe. Either way, I'm excited.

Pics will come once she's here. This is a threat.