Rushing Towards Envy

What is up with me? David thought as he looked out the window at the greening landscape. Ever since we got this far, my chest… He clutched at his heart. The sinking feeling felt like it was never ceasing. He always felt some sort of anxiety before a big tournament or competition, but he found ways of fighting the nerves off. Now, it was like he was in permanent paranoia mode.

Morgan watched her fiancé pace around, counting as he lay on the bed, writing on the palm of his hand with a finger. His face was contorted in a look of permanent worry. His hands were visibly shaking. His eyes darted from side to side. It concerned her on many levels. Not only was she worried for his health, but she felt he could not do the task at hand if he were like this.

SMACK!

Standing up, she gave David a swift smack across the face. David reeled back and held his face, in complete shock. It took Morgan just a moment to realize what she did.

“O-Oh, no! I’m sorry, David! I was just trying to snap you out of it! I didn’t-!”

David shook his head. “It’s… It’s alright. I think I needed that.” He looked down at his hands, which had begun shaking much less. “Thank you.”

Morgan nodded as the two looked at the noxious green river that flowed beside the train. “I haven’t seen you like this the whole trip.”

“Yeah… Something just… Went off in my head. I’m sure it’s fine now…” Even saying that David was unsure of himself. Something felt like it was going to go wrong, and the sight of the Ring of Envy did not help him.

If the rest of the Rings had the advantage of their own unique appearance, Envy’s unique appearance was that it was ripping off every other Ring. Structures of gold, a river of green fat, crumbled buildings, smokey areas, and blue neon lights, this place felt like it was the patchwork creation of a schizophrenic thief.

“We have arrived at the Ring of Envy…”

Those words were cold comfort. This was the last Ring before he needed to confront Morgan’s father. Perhaps he did a good enough job that he didn’t need to do the last one. He was cunning for what he did and he was proud of it.

He shook his head in focus as he stepped off the train. He was met by many a demon, each one similar but different. They all had snakelike tails, their bodies had a primary color scheme of sickly green, and their horns resembled smaller versions of Morgan’s, but aside from this, they had a mishmash. Among the green were accents of gold, red, and blue, some had extra horns similar to those of the previous rings.

David’s spin chilled. He didn’t like the implications of any of this. He needed to find the imp and get out-.

“Hello.”

David blinked and looked down, spotting a female imp who bowed her head to them. “Pardon me, but you are Mr. Mendez?”

“U-Uhhh… Yeah.”

“Excellent. My name is Livia. Mistress Megara wishes to see you.” She turned around. “Follow me.” With that, she began to walk out, Sebastian walking alongside Livia.

“Brother. I am still not speaking with you.”

“Oh, come now. It was a fair match, and I won.”

“Lies and slander. I know you cheated and I’ll figure out a way to prove it.” Livia huffed as she opened the limousine door for the two guests. The two imps entered driverside and drove off.

“... Something isn’t right…” David muttered to himself.

Morgan picked up what he said. “What do you mean, honey?”

“I… Should have been attacked there. I wasn’t. I’ve been way too lucky to not be taken out by a lesser demon.” He pointed to the side as he thought. “I’d be fine if a couple of them didn’t, but it’s been five so far.” He closed his eyes slowly and took a deep breath.

As he hummed in thought, Morgan shuffled in place, trying not to say anything. She considered herself lucky that her spells worked up to this point, but it was getting dicey. David was starting to piece things together.

The center of the ring contained something with some level of originality, that being the elaborate French manor that resided in the center of it all. The green colors made it seem less appealing, but the detail and work that was clearly put in made it obvious who was in charge.

David barely paid attention to the extravagant building, though. In his mind, he had something that he needed to figure out. The moment the car stopped, he stepped out without fear. He caught a few glares from the workers coiling away in the gardens, but otherwise, they didn’t try to harm him. When they entered, the maids all gave him nasty looks, as if they wanted something from him.

“D-David, try and relax. I don’t want to have to slap you again.”

Nodding, David simply marched his way through the manor, following Livia close. When they did arrive, they found a woman at least a head shorter than Morgan, with similar-looking horns that seemed much smaller, and a mix of purple and green. She glared at David, then at Morgan.

“Morgan… Glad you can show up. I have something for you.”

“Huh?” Morgan looked quite confused. “What do you mean, Megara? I mean, I’m grateful, but we’re here for-”

“I know, and this is my answer.” She clapped her hands, three Envy demons of different horn and color combinations emerging from a door. They bowed and smiled. “Welcome, my love~” they said in unison.

Morgan was even more confused now, so Megara rolled her eyes and pointed to her. “Here’s what you’re going to do: ditch the guy and marry one of the suitors I picked for you.”

“What?? No!!” Morgan’s voice sounded quite appalled and offended. It was clear where her loyalties lied and with whom.

Megara shook her head. “You don’t have a choice. According to your dad, I get to set the terms, and he said if I can stop your wedding, I can join the aristocracy proper and not deal with the mindless drivel of everything below me.”

Morgan growled, clenching her fists. “That was not part of the deal, Meg.”

“Yeah, well I got a different deal. Get you a better man, and I…” She pointed to herself. “Get to become a Pride demon.”

“Rrrrgh!!!” The ends of Morgan’s hair erupted into purple flame, prompting very little reaction from her cousin. In a rush, David stepped between them.

“How can I convince you to prove that I’m the best option??”

“You???” The four Envy demons burst out into a laughing fit that lasted for a few minutes. When she recovered, Megara spoke up. “These may not be Pride demons, but they are the best of my group. Do you really think that you can do better than them?”

“I know it,” Morgan stepped up, pointing at Megara. “And since we’re here to get musicians, how about we make it interesting? A music competition! If David wins, not only will you have to relinquish the musicians, but I won’t be PAYING them either. And if they do a bad job on purpose, I will make sure they become spires in the Malobolge!”

“Fine!” Megara snapped back. “But if one of them wins, you have to marry the winner and I keep David!”

There was a brief hesitation, but David intervened. “I’ll do it. I have some music experience, I can handle it.”

“Heheh… We shall see.”

~~~

The music hall was massive, and the crowd inside was immense. All of them had various looks that all said the same thing: I hate you and I want you to fail.

David looked at his hands. Morgan had been brought up to the balconies with Megara, watching as the three played. She wasn’t allowed near him out of fear that he would be given the winning song. Since she was that far, he felt like his safety had been slowly stripped from him.

He watched as the third suitor’s performance reached its climax. These three were on par with the greatest Classical artists. There was no way he was going to do this. Not on his own.

David stared at the bottle of performance enhancers he swiped from Shiva. He really debated on using these. After all, if he didn’t win, he’d be trapped here. Lucifer would win. Worst of all, he’d lose Morgan. No, he couldn’t accept that.

“Take two to boost any talent…” He muttered to himself as he pulled out two neon red pills with an amber core. He had a song in mind, one that would be an absolute insult to these refined snobs.

As Morgan watched with a stoic expression, Megara had a look of joy and malice. The last performance was her absolute best man, and nothing that David could do would outperform it. She leaned to her cousin’s side.

“He got the most jeers so far… Everyone wants to be him… Do you really think he could be anywhere near as good as them…?”

Morgan said nothing. She simply watched as David slowly made his way onto the stage and in front of the piano. Her protections would not reach him. All she could do was pray that no one tried to kill him.

At first, David did nothing. He simply sat there and looked at the piano keys. Finally, he hit a key on the piano. There was a long pause, and then he hit it again. A shorter pause and again. The pauses got shorter and his finger tapped faster before more fingers joined in. After a rapid tapping of the keys, he began playing properly.

It was a simple tune, almost like a slow Russian waltz. Nothing about it seemed particularly noteworthy, especially after that last performance. The room was simply quiet as the tune played out and picked up in speed.

“Really? That’s his best?” Megara laughed. “Well, better get used to your new hubby~ Shall I bring him up?”

Morgan shook her head. “My ‘hubby’ is not finished playing.” She simply smiled as she listened to her fiancé’s quickening performance, much to Megara’s ire. There was no way that David had the skills, even if he was playing faster.

The music notes flew from the piano, soaring upwards like a machinegun of bubbles. Some of the crowd started to jeer. He was moving far faster and with more keys than should be possible. Something about that seemed off. Then, David let out a deep, booming roar.

“E!”

As the music built slowly, he began hammering the keys on the piano over and over. At first, it seemed like he was just smashing keys at random, but then the soaring notes made it clear what he was doing.

RUSH
ERUSHERUSHE

Over and over, the notes spelled out RUSH E in faster and faster qualities. While the others weaved their music like they were words, he was spelling out his message to them. And the message was: I have no respect for any of you. Take my shitpost.

The music moved faster, David’s hands zooming across the keys. His head darted back and forth. To himself, he was moving as fast as he normally would, but to the others, he was working at the normal speed he was from the beginning song. The jeers of the crowd began to get bigger, easily surpassing the third and then the second suitor.

That was when, with another RUSH E spelled out, he played the repetitive song at speeds that not even the demon suitors could perform. The notes flew up at such high levels of speed and quantity, they were threatening to smash holes into the ceiling.

David’s hands were a blur. None of his thoughts were logical. Just maddening laughter, hatred, and the drive to win. His heart matched the tempo of the song, almost like it was going to explode. He didn’t care. He was going to win.

With one final twiddle of his fingers on the keys and a smashing with his fists, he completed the song. It was barely a fourth of the length of the other songs, yet the uproarious boos of hatred let them know who was the winner.

Megara grit her teeth, threatening to turn them into dust. Morgan stood up and smirked as the notes produced declared the winner. It was done. David had won, and they got the music for free. No worries.

Well, save for David collapsing and convulsing on the stage.

He didn’t know what happened, but David’s heart and brain suddenly stopped. With a few spasms and blood coming from his mouth and nose, he saw the world around him rapidly becoming dark. The sound around him was muffled, and his mind was going quiet. All he had left for was one final thought as he heard the sound of his fiancé’s cousin struggling to shout at Morgan.

Shut up… Meg…