The Former Demon Queen Struggles To Keep Control Of Her Instincts

"All right, girls, get dressed and pack up your stuff. We're leaving. Mary, whatever this is, we'll talk about it later. Now come on, let's go, go, go!"

After witnessing dozens of wild demons flying toward Blendingbrook, Lydia instantly took charge. She hustled the girls along as they gathered their belongings, cleared the campsite, and packed everything away. Then they moved toward the Sapphire Springs transport station, where a bunch of carriages were parked on the side of the road.

"Hey, driver, get up!" Maria shouted after they arrived and found one of the drivers sleeping.

"We need a ride back to town."

"Yeah, like, right now," Lydia chimed in.

The man quickly gathered himself, dusted his clothes off, put on his cap, and took hold of the reins of his horse.

"All right, get in," he said.

The girls quickly filed inside, with Mary following close behind.

"Huh? Wait, what are those things in the sky? Are those demons?"

Maria quickly poked her head outside the carriage.

"Yeah! That's why we want you to step on it! No time to ask questions. Let's move, move, move!!"

The man quickly snapped the reins, and the horse instantly took off, galloping down the road straight toward town. Inside the cabin of the carriage, Mary could see the expressions on the girls' faces flickering between fear, worry, and concern.

What have I done? Mary wondered.

Why did I remain in town for this long? It's because of me Emilia's forces are here.

If I had simply gone and confronted her, whatever she was planning, I could have stopped all of this from happening. But I didn't. I selfishly went on to spend time with the girls when I should have been more concerned about the storm I had brought to the doorstep of these innocent people.

And now, everybody is in danger because of me.

With all the thoughts overrunning her mind, Mary began shaking her leg frantically without even realizing it.

Snowpoppy, who was sitting beside her, placed an arm on her leg. Mary turned to look at her.

Snowpoppy simply nodded.

"Breathe," she said.

Mary did as she suggested, exhaling slowly and calming her nerves. She was worried just like everybody else, but she needed to keep her mind clear and her courage steady for what she was going to have to do.

Forty minutes later, the carriage arrived near Blendingbrook, a whole hour earlier thanks to the rush, and the driver choosing to adopt not-so-safe shortcuts through the forest. But because everybody was in a hurry, nobody complained.

Through the carriage windows, the girls could see that the entire town had been engulfed in chaos.

Demons flew low, terrorizing civilians in the streets as people ran for their lives. Some of the flying creatures went so far as to begin destroying the roofs of households and shops, further causing more panic and distress with every passing moment.

Commander Elizabeth Strongheart and her knights were already riding through the streets on horseback, trying to defend the town's people. Several of the orcs had joined them as well, riding alongside and helping protect the same people they had once put in danger.

But the demons...

They were just too many.

...

The carriage galloped through the streets before finally pulling into the transport station. And as soon as it came to a stop, the girls quickly disembarked and began running toward the adventurers guild, having already paid the driver his coins during the bumpy ride over.

"Hey, girls, wait!"

Lydia, who had been at the back of the group, quickly called out as they made their way into the streets.

Everyone stopped and turned to look at her.

"Wait, let me... let me get to the front."

She quickly made her way forward.

"All right, now follow me."

"Hold up, shouldn't Mary be in the front?" Maria asked, crossing her arms. "She's the high-level adventurer, after all."

"Shut up, Maria," Lydia said. "Just follow me."

The older sister of the group took the lead, quickly making her way down the street as the others, Mary included, followed behind.

All around them, chaos reigned. Swords clashed as knights from the local militia engaged the enemy. Even the orcs were doing everything they could to defend the townspeople, as the former bandit group pushed back against the invading demons.

Mary was relieved to see Ragnar and his men assisting the commander. There was plenty of destruction happening around the girls as they ran, but thankfully, there were few, if any, bodies lying in the streets.

Deep within her, Mary's demonic instincts were slowly beginning to kick in, itching for her to jump into the action and help defend the people. But she had to hold off for now. She needed to make sure the girls were safe first.

And as if on cue, the moment they rounded the corner toward the guild, Lydia suddenly jumped back in fear.

The road ahead was blocked by a group of demons, pillaging the nearby shops and tearing through the area. They resembled vampires, with orange glowing eyes, sharp claws, lengthy bodies, and bat-like wings folded against their backs.

Mary did not even wait for them to make a move.

Before either the girls or the demons could realize what was about to happen, Mary zipped forward in a burst of speed, relying on nothing but her fists to obliterate the wild demons with a flurry of punches, clearing them out in a single sweep. By the time she had finished assaulting the creatures, they didn't even realize what had hit them.

Mary turned around and saw the girls gazing at her in utter shock.

"Whoa!" Maria gasped.

Mary's breath briefly hitched. She wondered if her horns had instinctively grown out from the immediate excitement of battle. But when she placed her hands on her head, she was relieved to find they hadn't.

So why did Maria sound like she had witnessed something strange?

Was it the speed she had used in fighting?

The girls quickly walked over to meet her.

"Mary, are you okay?" Lydia asked, taking the girl's hands and studying her face. "It's just that your eyes..."

Mary gently pulled her arms away.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Honest. The road is clear, so we can go now."

"Okay."

The girls, who had initially been staring at her in shock, quickly regained their senses and began running toward the guild.

Before following them, however, Mary briefly looked up at the sky. She couldn't help wondering when, or even if, Emilia had arrived. If those demons were part of her forces, which she was certain they were, then surely their general couldn't be far behind. First things first though. Escort the girls to safety, then sneak off to confront her sister and her army.

"Mary, hurry up! Let's go!" Lydia called out.

Mary started running after the group, but briefly stopped beside a shop with a mirror in its window. She wondered what Lydia had been referring to when she mentioned her eyes earlier.

Mary stepped closer and stared at her reflection. Her breath nearly caught in her throat.

Her eyes.

They were only just beginning to regain their normal human color, slowly returning to their usual state after the surge of demonic instinct that had taken over her moments ago. They must have momentarily flashed red in the heat of the moment.

That's why the girls had been so shocked before. They were probably trying to comprehend why her eyes had suddenly changed color.

"No, no, no, no."

Mary shook her head.

She couldn't deal with this. Not now. Not while everything was falling apart around her.

Her suppressed demonic instinct was clashing with her innate protective instinct. The chaos in the streets was feeding the wild demon inside her, building its anticipation for greater destruction. If it broke free and took control of her body, she wasn't sure if she could hold herself back.

"Mary, stop. Now is not the time for window shopping," Lydia shouted. "Come on, let's go."

Mary took off and rejoined the group, and the girls ran as a unit all the way back to the Adventurers Guild with little to no resistance. Whatever demons they encountered were instantly neutralized by Mary.

When they finally arrived, they found Miss Eleanor, the matron of the guild, standing outside and helping organize a prompt evacuation.

"Girls!" Miss Eleanor called out, her expression brightening when she saw them. "I'm so glad to see you. Quick, come on. I need all of you to go hide in the shelters right now."

"No, Miss Eleanor," Leafy said, stepping forward. "We want to help. Let's help organize the people into the other safe zones."

"No, you don't have to worry," Miss Eleanor replied. "Ragnar has already dedicated some of his orcs to the task. So please, come inside and take cover."

"Oh, really?" Leafy asked.

"Yes," Miss Eleanor replied. "So just go inside and help keep the people calm. There's no need to worry."

"All right."

The girls quickly rushed into the Adventurers Guild. However, before Mary could step inside, she sensed something.

The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end. The air felt strangely chilly, and for a moment, it was as if the entire world had held its breath.

Mary recognized this feeling. It was her demonic instinct warning her of danger.

Emilia was here.

Turning back around, Mary slowly glanced over her shoulder toward the sky. Her suspicions were soon confirmed.

There, hovering nearly fifty feet in the air, suspended by her flapping wings, was none other than Emilia Valocora, her half-sister. She wore jagged blue demonic royal armor and was surrounded by five demons from the Queen's Guard.

"Vesperia Malacora!" Emilia shouted.

Her voice boomed throughout Blendingbrook, startling everyone. Even the demons rampaging through the streets stopped what they were doing and looked up in abject horror.

"Sister, I am here!"

Emilia's eyes remained fixed on the town, yet somehow, Mary felt as though those eyes were looking directly at her.

"I have come to play, like I promised."