"You... are leaving now?!"
Yuina's lovely voice sounded as she hugged my chest with both hands grasping my cloak. I knew she would be upset, and although I wanted to take her now. This method was for the best of both parties because right now, her body was unstable with the power she gained.
[Don't act like you're some magical good guy!]
[If I didn't tell you about her body, you'd be fucking the poor fox doggy style right now!]
'Hahaha!'
[Don't laugh it off... really, if you transformed her into a demon now... before she makes that power her own]
[It might have killed her... even the kiss caused the energy you put inside her to almost tear her organs apart! You reckless bastard!]
'Don't be mad okay... I love you!'
[I don't want your cheap and unfeeling confession!]
[Please, cherish them as you would cherish me... don't make me hate the man I fell for!]
'...'
'You're right, I swore to cherish them and you... that's the only reason you accepted me and those feelings that could mean you being cast out from the divine realm.'
[...]
"Asmodeus?"
"Yuina, would you trust me this once... if you can I will promise once I come back. Then whatever you desire or wish! I will give it to you!"
Asmodeus's voice caused Yuina's body to shudder, a strange feeling. She never heard him sound so sincere and serious before.
Her eyes changed, no longer weak and begging—instead, Yuina gazed up and bit her lower lips while thinking.
"Do you swear that you won't take back your word?"
"I promise, as long as you and the knights clear the dungeons I marked in the next five days. Then all of you will be rewarded. However, for you, I will do as you wish."
"Ugh... I wanted to be together after finally confessing! But, then... kiss me before you go!"
[Asmodeus!]
Honestly, that request made his chest flutter. The beautiful princess he met a short while ago, someone he instinctively desired.
Maybe at first, it was because she looked like Yumiko or because he realised his type was changing, and no longer did he seek his mother in everyone.
He sought women like Yumiko.
However, Yuina turned out to be different. She was nothing like her sister, except when it came to fighting, and Asmodeus now desired her for all that she was.
"I can't kiss your lips, so please... make do with this for now."
Asmodeus then leaned close, his lips touching Yuina's forehead, before stroking her soft blonde hair... he didn't want her to change, even when becoming a demoness. That was because of her pride that exceeded her sisters.
'I hope you can remain Yuina... even after becoming a demon.'
Yuina gazed at him—the soft peck on her forehead made the energy inside her abdomen rage. She wasn't stupid and understood from the moment he kissed her that he was taking a distance because of the power he gave her.
With a hand on her blade, she unsheathed and sliced towards his throat.
"Asmodeus, I love you but I am not a flower to be kept in a garden. Next time we meet I will beat you. I swear it!"
Of course, he didn't move or look worried. Instead, he smirked and touched Yuina's soft cheek.
"Then I will wait for you to crush me."
'She's like an angry little rabbit...'
Asmodeus backed away, his wings flapping twice before his figure vanished into the distance with a loud bang.
The wind caused a small swirl of dirt around the knights as they watched him leave.
[...]
Serena remained silent only because she couldn't spill the truth. There was something that bound her lips and voices each time she tried to tell Asmodeus exactly WHO that arachne was.
[It's nothing...]
"I see... if she attacks me, I'll make her into dinner. Though... I feel no sense of hostility from her, and she even kills monsters that try to disturb me at night."
[Why don't you just fuck her already, then!]
"Haha...."
[Oi... that was a joke. Don't touch that monster... your dick will rot!]
'Serena seems to really dislike that strange arachne... but her human figure looks so beautiful, and each time I see her face, it feels nostalgic...'
[....]
Asmodeus didn't feel a romantic connection, though he wouldn't mind trying out each type of monster girl once before he died. This feeling felt different somehow—he looked back, noticing her skittering back on her webbing.
Golden webbing... with a faintly divine shimmer.
Soft, glistening white hair and delicate white lashes with red eyes. And pale skin.
The Arachne reminded him of someone he wanted to forget, but...
She also carried a strange resemblance to something he remembered in a distant memory. Maybe the faint shard of a previous life.
When he failed as a hero, he never met Serena, Yumiko or Alan.
A world where Lilith never existed.
'These fragmented thoughts... blurred memories, are they mine or just something I can see?'
[...]
He couldn't decide without the facts, so instead of trying to complicate his life. Asmodeus left the arachne at a comfortable distance and continued his training.
There weren't many monsters that could challenge him in this kingdom.
"Well, except each clan's guardian beasts... I really want to fight them all..."
[You can't! If those beasts die... this entire nation will collapse!]
"Che... what a killjoy. I won't beat them too hard..."
Serena wasn't a fool and knew Asmodeus too well the moment he started enjoying a battle. All his thoughts and focus turned to victory and winning. There wasn't a sense of good or bad—he just wanted to crush the enemy.
[That's why your soul always grants you the class of berserker... instead of a hero. No matter how many times you've been reborn]
She didn't feel angry, though; in her divine realm, her chin rested inside her palms, watching his face close up.
A smile came to the lips of the goddess as she watched him eating a haunch of meat while sulking at her comments.
"After all... you are so cute."
There wasn't anything she would do to protect his smile...
A slight sound echoed as she looked down—beneath her foot was a lesser goddess, now with countless whitetails piercing her body.
"So, you're going to ally with Mephisto, Garuda? I'm sorry... but that cannot happen."
More than Asmodeus knew...
Serena now, with her face twisting into a ferocious beast with a wicked smile, resembled Asmodeus when he fought strong opponents.
Her love twisted the goddess with the same madness that infected Lumina.
However, lucky for Serena...
Their love was mutual.