Memo 16: (R1)Rejoinder.

“No,” she said, her voice sharp enough to crack through the silence. “Keep your throne. Keep your illusions. I’ll take my chances with the demon.” She rose from her seat, eyes cutting toward the barred gates below. “If nothing else, at least he doesn’t pretend to be something he’s not.” Nagisa turned, her gaze fierce on Yuranu. “You’re coming with me. We’re going down there. To the beneath. For Nateas.”

Yuranu’s fangs flashed in a sharp grin, her tail lashing once behind her. “Finally,” she hissed, her voice low with something like satisfaction. “I thought you’d never ask.” The king’s jaw twitched. Drool slipped from the corner of his mouth, though whether from rage or hunger, Nagisa could not tell.

The king’s guards shifted uneasily behind him, armored hands tightening around their weapons. One of them, a burly man with a scar slicing down his cheek, stepped forward. “Your Majesty,” he said, voice firm, “should she be stopped? The girl—she’s walking straight toward the beneath. Surely it’s unwise—”The king’s jeweled hand lifted, halting the protest before it could finish. His lips curved into a slow, knowing smile. “No,” he murmured, voice calm, but something shifted in the air—a weight pressing directly into Nagisa’s mind.

You should know…

The words weren’t spoken aloud. They didn’t carry tone or inflection—they were in her head, a whisper threaded with menace and fascination.

The demonlike will never be controlled. You should be careful. He’s only pretending to be bounded.

Nagisa froze mid-step, heart hammering. She glanced back at the king.What the hell was that? she wondered, a shiver crawling down her spine. The king leaned back slightly in his throne, as if letting her feel the weight of his presence from afar. The smile promised amusement, power, and secrets Nagisa could barely comprehend. She swallowed hard and turned back toward the descending stair to the beneath, the king’s eyes following her every move, silent laughter echoing in her mind long after she’d left sight of him.

The air grew colder with every step down the spiraling stone stairwell. Torches flickered along the walls, casting long, dancing shadows that seemed to follow Nagisa and Yuranu with silent anticipation. Nagisa’s hand gripped Cammy tighter, lens trained on the dark, uncertain passage ahead. Yuranu moved beside her, tail flicking with impatience, every hiss echoing softly against the walls.

She let out a quiet sigh, more to herself than anyone else. He’s a self-serving, egotistical, conniving dirt bag…Yet, despite that, her heart thudded harder with each step. Why am I even trying to find him? she asked herself, voice low, almost lost in the stone’s cold hum. Would he even do the same for me? Why… why does it feel like I need to see him, to check if he’s even alive?

Nagisa and Yuranu moved cautiously, senses sharpened, Cammy held at the ready, but the faint metallic clink of boots echoed ahead. From the shadows stepped two figures—Serenya and Yano. Both moved with predatory precision, eyes fixed on the pair descending into the beneath. “you're not going to stop,” Yano sneered, spear resting lightly against her shoulder, the tip catching the torchlight. “The way you were howling at the arena, you're going to him.” “You don’t understand what you’re meddling with,” she said, voice low, deadly. “Leave him. There’s nothing good that comes with someone like him.”

This—this was her last chance. Turn away. Walk away and let the demonill remain trapped, controlled, and far from her life. Walk away and never risk what she couldn’t predict about him. Yano’s gaze bore into her like steel. “Do you even know what you’re doing? That thing isn’t just a threat to you—he’s chaos incarnate. One step closer, and it won’t just be your life at risk. Don’t do this.” Nagisa’s mind raced, a storm of fear, curiosity, and the lingering, inexplicable pull toward Nateas. He’s dangerous… he’s terrifying… but… The but clung to her like a second heartbeat, inescapable and insistent. “I… can’t turn back,” she whispered, more to herself than anyone else. “Not yet.”

Yano’s eyes narrowed, and Serenya’s stance tightened, but neither moved forward immediately. The words hung in the air—a warning, a judgment, and a test of courage. Nagisa exhaled, stepping past them, Cammy at the ready, Yuranu moving at her side. The shadows of the beneath swallowed them, and with every step, the sound of chains grew louder. Every rattling link was a reminder the demonill awaited. 

The descent ended in a cavernous chamber carved from black stone. The air was thick with incense and ash, the stench of burned herbs clawing at Nagisa’s lungs. At the center of the room stood a figure bound in chains so thick they bit into the rock itself. Talismans as loose as paper with every unnatural draft, glowing sigils etched into the ground like molten scars. Nateas sat in the middle of it all, posture loose, head tilted back against the talismans as though he were lounging on a paperweight throne. His laughter echoed in the chamber, a low, mocking rumble that reverberated in Nagisa’s chest. “Well, well,” he said, voice curling into a grin. “Two cute girls, slipping past the king’s leash, just to pay me a visit. How charming.” His eyes glinted in the torchlight as they slid lazily from Yuranu to Nagisa. But then, in an instant, his expression shifted. The smile faltered, lips curling instead into disgust. “Oh,” he spat, recognition striking like venom. His laugh cut short, replaced by a low growl. “It’s you.”

Yuranu’s tail flicked, her fangs flashing in a grin. She leaned casually against the wall, as though waiting for the show to begin. “Did you really think he’d be happy to see you?” she hissed, amusement curling in her voice. Nagisa’s grip tightened on Camera. She tried to keep her voice steady, though her chest ached at his words. Only to just comically snap pictures of nateas. "Yep, yep. Good angles. “Look at you. The big bad demonill, wrapped up like a Christmas present. I should frame this one.”

Nateas thrashed against his restraints, talismans sizzling at the movement. “You’ve got a death wish, girl!” he shrieked, eyes blazing with fury. Nagisa lowered the camera, stepping closer, closer still, until the gap between them was only inches. His hot, rancid breath ghosted against her cheek, but she didn’t flinch. “You’re my bodyguard,” she said firmly, eyes locked onto his. “And if I have to drag you out of here, bound and cursing, then so be it. But you’re coming with me.” Yuranu smirked faintly, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, tail flicking in lazy amusement. “She said it. Not me.” For a moment, the chamber was silent except for the crackle of glowing sigils. Nateas stared at her, his laughter caught somewhere between outrage and disbelief.

Nagisa wrinkled her nose, waving her hand in front of her face as if to swat away a foul odor. “Besides,” she said with a scoff, “you stink. You haven’t bathed, and it’s… off-putting.” Her heels clicked against the stone as she turned away, starting toward the exit. Yuranu followed with a sly smirk, tail dragging along the wall.

Nateas blinked, the laughter dying in his throat. Shackled, bound, and dripping with venomous pride, he could not comprehend the dismissal. His fangs bared, as he shouted by the absurdity of the human before him.

"It doesn’t make sense, he thought, shaking against the talismans. Nothing you do makes sense. Why care for me? Why pull me from this place? You'll  only put herself in danger one day…

The chains rattled violently as his thoughts spiraled. He wanted to mock her, to shred her with words sharper than any claw—but her back was already turned, her camera dangling at her side like a badge of defiance. And then Camera's voice—chirpy, honest, and unforgiving—cut through the silence. “Boss,” it said, lens flashing once. “Out of all the times… I can’t see why you’d keep him around.”

Nagisa halted mid-step. The weight of Cammy’s words pressed down on her like an anchor, demanding she either defend her choice—or abandon it altogether. Slowly, she turned back toward the bound demonill, the torchlight painting his shadow against the wall like some snarling beast. Her eyes narrowed, but her cheeks flushed pink all the same. “You know what?” she began, her voice steady but laced with a tremor of stubborn pride.

 “In my line of reporting, sense and logic are the first things to leave the building.” She raised Camera just enough for the lens to gleam in the dim chamber. “So maybe none of this makes sense to you, or even to me. But that’s not what matters.”

Nateas tilted his head, golden eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Nagisa exhaled sharply, pushing the words out before she lost her nerve. “And besides…” she paused, her face heating, “I thought the way you were standing up for yourself was kinda… cool. The world versus you. And you still laughed in its face.” Her voice softened at the edges, almost vulnerable. “I was impressed.” 

For once, Nateas had no cutting remark. His smirk faltered, shifting into something unreadable—caught between mockery and genuine surprise. He watched her closely, eyes reflecting a flicker of something raw. Yuranu’s tail flicked, the corner of her mouth curling in a knowing smirk. “Well, isn’t that cute,” she hissed under her breath. Nagisa looked away quickly, hiding her blush, but her words hung in the air like a spark that refused to burn out. And for the first time, Nateas wasn’t sure if the chains holding him were stronger than the strange thread tethering him to her.

Nagisa writing into her memo pad 

Demonlikes do blush.