The Former Demon Queen: The Fall Of Emilia And Vesperia

Mary was good at so many things: fighting, aerial combat, strategic thinking, planning, and, overall, being the strongest person in the room whenever the situation called for it.

But if there was one thing she had never been good at, it was being a proper role model to her younger sister, Emilia.

...

"Huh? You want to know why I'm like this? You want to know why I'm always angry? Why I'm feeling so much hate and sorrow and pain?"

Shortly after the uppercut sent Mary flying through the air, her sister followed, catching up to her before delivering a smack straight to her solar plexus.

"Well, it's because of you, big sister. It's all because of you."

The intensity of the blow caused Mary to cough up a wave of blood before slamming straight back down, forming a crater of her own.

"For years."

Emilia dropped to the ground and pulled her sister back up, already lining up her fist for another punch.

"I was alone."

Slam.

The first punch bashed into Mary's face, rocking her temple.

"I waited for you to come back when you left with your mother, but you never did."

Slam. Slam.

The second punch broke Mary's nose, while the third one cracked her lip.

"I cried myself to sleep every night, hoping that you would return, hoping that you'd come back for me. So we could live together, and I wouldn't be alone in that castle."

Slam. Slam. Slam. Slam. Slam.

The subsequent punches that followed left Mary's face with several more cuts and bruises, along with a black eye and a badly damaged jaw.

"And by the six hundredth night since your departure," Emilia said, grabbing Mary by the collar and pulling her closer to her face, giving the former Demon Queen a clear view of the hurt and pain behind the blue of Emilia's eyes, which was steadily shifting into a red from the wild demon inside her taking over.

"That's when I knew. That's when I knew Mother was right. You were never coming back for me. You know why?"

Mary simply blinked, completely at a loss for words. She didn't even know where to begin apologizing for everything she had done to the girl.

Emilia continued.

"Because... because you never cared about me to begin with. You never saw me as your sister. You never loved me as family."

Mary opened her mouth to say something, but Emilia didn't give her the chance.

"No. The time for talking is over. It's time for you to die."

Emilia took off into the sky, dragging her sister along by the neck. At any moment, Mary could have resisted, fought back, and taken control of the situation, despite the extra buff to Emilia's strength.

But she didn't. She wanted this to happen. She deserved this.

Since both sisters had lost track of their swords, Emilia then relied on overwhelming brute force and brawler techniques to dominate her sister with punishing blows. She flew up and down, repeatedly slamming Mary's face into the ground, trying to crack open her sister's skull.

Then Emilia changed her approach.

Instead of lifting Mary back into the air, she kept her low to the ground and began dragging her across the earth, just like a heartless Mary had done to her moments earlier. Mary's body scraped against the ground as Emilia flew forward, carving a long line through the dirt and leaving a raised ridge of earth in her wake.

Emilia continued dragging her sister along the ground until they reached the edge of the forest. Without slowing down, she carried Mary straight into the trees, crashing her through the surrounding branches and foliage as the two sisters disappeared into the forest.

"I loved you. I loved you like a sister. No, I loved you because you were my big sister," Emilia shouted as she continued to slam Mary through the forest, cracking through branches and tree trunks with her body.

"All I wanted was for you to acknowledge me. To need me. To be with me."

Emilia took off into the sky, still holding Mary by the throat. She rose higher and higher until they were level with the moon, their silhouettes illuminated by its pale light.

"All I wanted was for you to love me back. To see me as family."

Mary could only stare at her sister, speechless. Despite the intense physical suffering her body was going through, the revelations were doing more damage to her than any of Emilia's blows ever could.

"You left me with that vicious, vile woman. I had no one else to protect me. So I did what she told me to do. I became what you see before you."

Emilia reached for a smaller blade from the back of her armor and pulled it out, the edge of the knife glinting sharply under the glow of the moon.

So this was it, Mary thought. She looked into her sister's eyes and saw the violence, fear, and betrayal within them, quickly being swallowed up by the intense anger of the wild demon rising to control.

I deserved this, Mary echoed in her mind. I deserve everything that was about to happen.

Her quest for a peaceful life had made her forget one of the very few people who had ever truly loved her like family. How could she have forgotten her sister? How could she have forgotten the little sister who had always wanted to be like her?

Emilia had never started out trying to compete with Mary. She was just trying to prove herself, to prove that she was capable of standing side by side with her sister, the soon-to-be Demon Queen at the time.

Without warning, Emilia plunged the knife into Mary's stomach and twisted it. Mary struggled to breathe as the pain overwhelmed her, but she still forced herself to speak. If this was it, Mary thought, then perhaps there was one thing she could still do.

"I'm sorry," Mary stuttered, struggling to get the words out.

"What? Speak up, big sister," Emilia taunted.

"Yes... I'm sorry for leaving you all alone. I'm sorry for abandoning you. I'm sorry for not seeing you as my little sister when I should have."

Mary looked into Emilia's eyes as she continued to groan out the words.

"I love you, Emilia. I'm sorry for all the pain I caused you."

For a moment, there was a brief flicker in Emilia's eyes. She loosened her grip on the knife, lowering her hand and the blade as she continued to flap her wings to keep them suspended. For that quick moment, Mary thought she might actually be getting through to her. But then Emilia's hesitant expression shifted back into that familiar scowl.

"Well, apology accepted, big sister," she said, her blue eyes reigniting with those wild demon red. "But it's too late for that now."

With that declaration, Emilia moved the knife again, plunging and dragging it across Mary's stomach as if trying to slice her open.

Mary didn't resist. For a moment, she considered simply letting Emilia finish it. Maybe then her sister could finally find peace. But then the distant screams and cries of the people of Blendingbrook reached her ears, and she realized, again, she was making a selfish decision.

She was running away for the problems she had created.

Even if Emilia killed her right now, what guarantee was there that she would stop? What if she continued and killed everyone in town, especially now that the wild demon inside her sister was all but taking over?

No. They would have to finish this later through other means. She couldn't die now. She still had people to protect. She needed to ensure their safety, as she had been the one to single-handedly doom them in the first place.

With the last of her fading strength, Mary stretched her arms out to either side. She clenched both fists before suddenly bringing them together, slamming her knuckles against both sides of Emilia's head.

The blow rocked the inside of Emilia's skull, leaving her stunned. The girl instantly let go of the knife, her eyes growing wide from the sudden trauma. She began to lose consciousness, her body shutting down as they lost altitude, the two sisters falling back toward the ground. And as soon as they crashed back down, Mary ignored the pain that exploded throughout her bruised and battered body and rushed toward Emilia's side to check on her half-sister.

The girl's eyes were still wide open, with a small trickle of blood running down her nose. Luckily, the blow hadn't injured her permanently. It had only disabled the wild demon from emerging and would keep her unconscious for a few hours, giving Mary enough time to clean up the mess she had caused.

"Don't worry, sister," Mary said as she raised a hand and gently closed Emilia's eyes. "I'll come back for you. I promise. So don't you cry anymore. I just have to clean up my mess first, then I'll return. I'll never leave you again."

As Mary got back to her feet, she struggled to stand. Her injuries were finally catching up with her. Her stomach was badly damaged, kept from spilling out only by her armor. The wounds across her body were taking their toll, and the blows from Emilia had nearly destroyed her face. But she needed to push forward.

There was one trick she could pull, though.

Even though she didn't want to, she could tap into a portion of her wild demonic abilities. Like Emilia, her strength, healing, and everything else would increase dramatically, but it came with the heightened risk of losing her own mind. Though right now, there was no other choice.

Now that she had knocked out her sister in combat, she needed to be on a level playing field for what was about to happen.

As she prepared to fly back into the sky, several objects suddenly came slamming into the ground around her.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The impacts shook the ground around Mary like a mini earthquake. They were the Queen's Guard. Eight feet tall. Elite warrior assassins, each one wielding spears, swords, and other assortments of weapons.

They were the same demons that had nearly killed her during the coup a month ago. And now that Emilia was down, their orders were simple.

The demons spoke in unison.

"You have slain Demon General Emilia, first of her name, of House Gorgora, daughter of Valakora, in single combat. And as per her orders..."

The monsters instantly surrounded Mary from all sides, forming a tight circle around her.

"You will now be slaughtered."