The Former Demon Queen Wants to Go Down The Mountain

"Ow, ow, owowow, ow..."

"Please, my lady. Cease this childish wailing at once. It is beneath your station, and quite frankly, repulsive."

On the front porch of a fragile, rickety house, a young woman sat, violently pulling on one of the horns on her head. Yes, she had horns on her head. Four of them, to be exact.

"Sorry, Gustav," the woman apologized, slumping her shoulders. "Wait, you can hear me? I thought you were deep within the forest."

She briefly stopped tugging on the horn, falling silent so she could listen to the voice that had spoken to her telepathically.

"Yes, my lady. I have concluded my early morning hunt and am now returning home. And yes, I could hear you the entire time, even with the distance. That's how... unrefined you are being."

From the tree line in front of her, a massive black beast suddenly emerged. It moved through the undergrowth with surprising silence for its size, carrying what looked like a rabbit in its mouth.

Any normal person would have run screaming at the sight of such a creature. And why wouldn't they?

It resembled an oversized lion, the size of a cow, with gleaming crimson eyes that were ferociously fixed on her.

But Mary was no ordinary person. She wasn't even human.

Her house sat upon a hill, an old, cabin-like structure mostly made of hastily stitched together wood, treebark, leaves, and hay. It was a patchwork of desperation.

Her nearest neighbor wasn't a person, but a small adventurer's town, a two-hour walk down the hill.

"Well then, welcome home, Gustav," Mary said, as she slowly reached up and wrapped her hand around her own right horn, pulling once more. She resumed her childish wailing, even crying, as choked sobs and tears escaped her lips and eyes.

Mary Fields, or rather, as her real identity would have it, Vesperia Malakora, of the great and diabolical house Gorgora Astaroth, was quite in fact, the Demon Queen.

Yes. That Demon Queen.

Supreme leader of the underworld. Sovereign of the Abyssal Plains. Empress of Darkness. Commander in chief of every demon, beast, and nightmare that dwelled within the demon realm.

Or at least... she used to be anyway.

"My lady," Gustav continued, his voice carrying a hint of sorrow, "ever since our exile from the demon realm, you have subjected yourself to this nonstop torture. Ripping at your own horns every sunrise, a symbol of might, I remind you. Your former power and status."

Mary remained seated on the steps of her house, dressed in a simple grey tunic and trousers, nothing fancy, just plain cloth meant for practicality. She gave a loud yelp as she finally cracked one of the horns out, ripping it free by the roots. No blood followed—the horns were like hollow, external bones growing out of the skull, and their removal was clean but agonizing.

Even after doing this every morning, following her nightly pursuits, one would think she would be used to it by now. But no, the sting was still just as unbearable as it had always been.

She whined, holding the broken horn to the side.

"I told you, Gustav," she said softly. "That's not me."

She threw the broken horn to the ground between them, reaching up for the second one.

"Not anymore."

With another violent yank and a twist, she broke the left one free.

This time, the pain was so sharp, so sudden, that she was briefly unable to contain herself. She instantly jumped to her feet, screaming at the top of her lungs.

The force of her uncontrolled, mighty roar ripped through the forest like a shockwave, cracking trees, shattering branches, scattering leaves, rodents, and birds in every direction. The very earth beneath her rumbled, threatening to break apart and collapse in on itself. Even the lion beast briefly cowered as it lowered its head in fear, its freshly caught breakfast briefly forgotten.

Mary fell back onto the wooden planks, lying flat on the ground, exhausted. And this is why she had chosen to live alone. Secluded. Far away from any nearby human settlement, so violent outbursts like these wouldn't be able to harm anyone.

Even after years of grueling training in the demon realm, she had yet to fully master her own powers. It was even worse whenever she assumed her human form; calibrating her strength down to match that of a fragile, ordinary girl was almost impossible, a disaster waiting to happen the moment she stepped into town.

There was another reason she was hiding in the forest though, up in the mountains. One that she desperately wished wasn't the case.

"My lady," Gustav said, his voice heavy with concern, "you have sacrificed so much to be with these humans. These people who wouldn't even hesitate to cut you down with a holy sword if given the chance."

That was it.

The other reason.

Humans feared demons.

Demons hated humans.

And vice versa.

She still remembered last night clearly, the way the guards had raised their weapons against her, the fear in their eyes, the way they had called her a killer even as she stood among the bodies of the fallen category five abominations she had just helped them defeat.

She had only wanted to help. But to them, it didn't matter. She had appeared in her demon form, four horns, black wings, fully clad in her armor. So, in their eyes, she was just another monster. Another creature. Another evil to be feared.

But that's not who Mary was.

The enormous black cat trotted closer, lowering his massive head until his glowing crimson eyes were level with her face.

"Are you sure this is the right decision, my empress? Risking so much to broker peace, and now wanting to live among humans, to become like them, and to be close enough to protect them... I will not fight you on this, but your endless capacity to sacrifice yourself for others, I fear, will be your undoing. That is what worries me."

Following his words, Mary reached up to brush the side of his mane. He was her familiar, and they were bound together since birth. He had stayed with her since the beginning, refusing to abandon her even during her betrayal and exile. Instead, he had chosen to follow her back to the human realm.

That was a week ago now, right?

Mary could barely remember. Her entire reign as Demon Queen had only lasted about three years before her uncle and the generals had turned on her.

Because she had introduced radical new reforms, recalling armies from the front lines, halting all ongoing invasions at the time, and pursuing peace between demons, humans, and their allies—elves, dwarves, beastfolk—she was quickly branded a traitor.

After all, this was not how a demon queen was meant to act.

A coup was soon organized by her top generals and closest members of the court, led by her uncle Valar, who was the most disappointed by her actions. His words from that day still echoed in her mind.

"This is not your fault," he had said. "Your mind has been poisoned by that wretched woman you call your mother. If only she hadn't raised you in secret among the other races since you were born, you wouldn't have all these soft, weak thoughts of wanting to partner with humans. Those insects. Those maggots. They are beneath us, Vesperia. All of them. And you, my own niece, want to grovel at their feet like some kind of pet?"

Mary couldn't recall much from what happened after his speech. She certainly knew she had lost her temper, because he was speaking ill of her mother, her late mother, so she broke out in a violent fit and fought him, as well as many others in the palace. But because she was just one person, she couldn't defeat them all. She had barely escaped with her life.

"My lady, are you okay? Is something troubling you? Is something the matter?"

The voice of her familiar broke her out of her brief reminiscence. Her melancholic expression softened with a small smile.

She increased the intensity of her brushing along his mane, and he began purring, eyes closed, a deep, rumbling sound that vibrated through the big cat's massive chest.

"Thank you, Gustav," she said softly. "Thank you for standing by me all these years. You are a good friend."

He simply nodded his head. "I live to serve my lady."

She got up, brushed herself off, and stood on her feet. A brief wince crossed her face as she reached for her side—still sore from last night's fight with the category five monsters. She had dispatched them easily enough, but that particular spot also carried a souvenir from the coup, a gift from her own personal queen's guard after her uncle had ordered them to attack her. She hadn't fully healed from that wound, and the extra effort she had applied to go save the travelers yesterday wasn't helping with the recovery. She shook it off and forced a smile.

"All right, Gustav, you should finish up your breakfast while I go shower," Mary said, bending down to gather the two broken horns and toss them into a pile of refuse by the side of the house.

She hadn't removed all of them. There were still two smaller ones on the back of her head, but those could easily be concealed with her long, jet-black hair. The larger ones had been the problem. Now, other than tiny stubs on her forehead, they weren't really there anymore. The stubs would heal over quickly enough, and if they didn't, she could always shave them down with her sword.

"Aren't you going to eat anything, my lady?" the lion cat said as he walked over to his kill.

"Don't worry about me. I have a few dragon eggs in the kitchen. I'll fry those up before we leave."

"Wait, leave?" the giant cat asked, pausing mid-bite. "To where, my lady?"

"Oh, don't be silly, Gustav," Mary said, twirling around in excitement, a wide smile spreading across her face as she turned to face her familiar. "Today's the day. Today is the day I finally visit the human settlement and get a job, like a normal citizen. I'm done hiding. I want to meet new people."