NOVEL NEXT Volume 2 – Chapter 16
Tomiko’s quest was a success. And it only took one day! Justus had been placated, and just as soon, Pandora would be.
And snow he stood before us in the audience chamber, looking quite proud of herself. She would be best described as nervously excited. The look in her eyes betrayed the nervousness that was clearly a result of her excitement at finally receiving the treatment that had been bestowed upon all other Demon Lord attendants at one point or another during the long reigns of each Demon Lord as masters of Rozpacz.
“Ready?” I said, seated in Elissa’s belly, while she herself was sitting cross-legged on the throne. Around Tomiko was a gathering of our group. Ao and the three guild cum abyssal slave girls. It would be a ceremony of sorts to welcome Tomiko into our fold as an abyssal being.
“R-ready~meow!”, Tomiko responded, holding her head high.
Alright.
(Eye)Corrupt!
The words popped into my mind as if from a divine decree, the activation condition having been met by the declaration of my willingness to activate the title skill on Tomiko. Elissa gasped in surprise at the dark glow that suddenly flashed before us, her latex skin contracting tightly. But I had already cast my eyes on the prey of this moment: Tomiko, whose fate would soon be sealed, in a way very similar to Elissa’s and mine. She’s be one of us. I focused my gaze on her cute face and she met me with an expression of confusion…
“Meow?”, she said, “but where is the contr-”
Her body begun to convulse as a dark, flexible veil appeared out of nowhere, wrapping her body tightly like a mummy, not letting her finish her words. You could see the outlines and her sexy curves as the veil settled into every crevice. Her mouth covered and open like some bondage doll. Her legs were tightly bound together, as were her arms at the back.
We could see the transformation take place ever through the veil, and it was beautiful to watch. Tomiko struggled against the pressure and eventually the black veil started to separate in sections, to release her limbs from their prison. Soon enough, we could see her face clearly. She was completely naked, but also entirely covered in a black film from head to toe. The individual forming strands of her hair were a pitch, shiny black. She retained all of her features, but even her eyeballs were two black globes, no irises, pupils or sclera to be seen. She was standing still; her face pointed at the chamber ceiling. Her legs were still tightly pressed together, bound.
Then a new set of clothes sprouted out of her black body. It was a new black maid uniform, but much shorter, more lacy and revealing. The texture of her legs changed as a pair of black tights swap up from her heels to her hips. The tights balled at her heels and lifted her up onto a pair of two stunning black heels. Finally, the veil parted ways around her mouth. Her teeth and mouth were also black. She was entirely encased in darkness and it was gorgeous! But this darkness has an elegance about it. Each piece of fabric, and even her skin, had an alluring texture to it, which you could only see from certain angles.
The black dress was very short, barely reaching mid-thigh, and hugging her curves like a glove. The fabric of the dress was blacker than black. It looked like the dress itself was absorbing all the glowing castle lights that shone on it. The texture was silky, almost rubbery, like you could mould it to shape with just your touch.
As she took her first steps, her clothing looked as though it was moving with her, not just her body! The pitch blackness was so thick that her limbs appeared as if they were shadows cast by her dress. A pair of long elbow gloves adorned her arms. It was all stunning! She was stunning!
“Abyssal One! Please, this is not what I wanted!” were the first words to come out of her open mouth. Her voice had a seductive tone that seemed to make the floor rumble.
“What do you mean?”, I asked, confused.
“Please make a contract with me. It will all be for nothing if you don’t make a contract with me!!”
I didn’t even notice she wasn’t appending her usual “meow” because I was too busy processing what she was asking for.
“What would be the point of a contract now? Is this not what you wanted?”, I asked.
Her posture slouched as she placed her hands to the side, palms out. The fingers of her gloves had become pointier and were almost like claws.
“I need a contract with you, an Abyssal Being, to avenge my family!!” she cried out.
“But why a contract?”
I didn’t need to let her respond. I immediately understood what she had meant to say. Elissa only stared in confusion. The guild girls and Ao remained quiet.
“You wanted to become a Demon Lord, very well knowing the consequences that await you, an eternal hell forever inside your decaying body?!”, I called out in shock.
“Yes! I would have done anything to destroy the humans that destroyed everything! EVERYTHING! It was my only reason for existing! It was the only reason I survived for all this time, why I worked so hard, why I followed every command! But now…”
“Now it’s all ruined, unless you make a contract with me, please! Please, Hero!!”
It was the first time Tomiko had called me by my name. I was connected to her on some deep level that transcended everything before her transformation. I could feel her pain, her desperation. Which is why it hurt to much to tell her myself.
“Ao, tell Tomiko what you told me when I was healing Elissa in the dungeon. Exactly as you told me.”
Ao, looking sullen, opened his trap mouth.
“An Abyssal has never become a Demon Lord. It is widely believed by intelligent monsters that Abyssal beings birthed the Demons. The Demons and demi-gods together birthed the humans, and other humanoid races. For a human to become a Demon, they must contract with a race which exited before their own. And there is only one species which fits that profile – an Abyssal Being. A human who contracts with only a Demon becomes a Vampire for example. Only the gods have come before Abyssal Beings. You can imagine why that would be difficult, if not impossible. Even if it was possible, such a contract wouldn’t likely result in the being known as a Demon Lord.”
He recited exactly what he told me perfectly. I didn’t even want to burden Ao with trying to console Tomiko, so I just had him repeat what he said to me.
“NOOOO! It can’t be true! Please Ao, tell me it isn’t true!! Please… PLEASE!!!”, Tomiko screamed, her voice rumbling the audience chamber like that of a harpy.
Everyone just stood there in silence. No one could answer Tomiko. But it appeared she knew the truth of Ao’s words. She just didn’t want to admit them, perhaps because she wanted her revenge so much.
“No… no… no…” crystalline black tears were streaming down her face, and then, in a flash of black light, much faster than any teleporation I’ve seen her do before, she disappeared.
She was no longer in the castle or on the island as I and everyone frantically searched for her. I used Locate to confirm, and she was gone.
(Mind)Communicate!
“Tomiko!”
I could feel her presence on the other side of the telepathic connection, but she did not respond.
“Tomiko, I promise to fix this! Please come back!”
Still no response.
I guess I will need to leave her alone for now. We had no means of finding her unless she came back on her own.
This was a disaster. I did not expect this. Tomiko wanted to form a contractual bond with an Abyssal being to meet the second requirement of becoming a demon lord. Seeking vengeance, she must have been ready to slaughter humans to achieve her ultimate goal: power, power to avenge those she cared for. And I ruined it by not asking exactly what she wanted! I just assumed. What was I thinking? How could I not realise? I clicked on the wrong icon on the upgrade tree! And I can’t undo it!
But wait, could she still become an Abyssal Lord like me?
Because Tomiko has likely already met the condition of hating humanity, that box is checked. She would need to make a contract with an abyssal being. That is me for the next stage. Then she’d become an Abyssal Lord herself if she killed a million humans. A being perhaps more powerful than any demon lord. But how did I become an Abyssal Lord in the first place? Was it through my parasitic link to Elissa that I received the conditions for a Demon Lord and, finally, the title when she became a Demon Lord? If this parasitic link was necessary to glitch the system, then it was already too late for Tomiko. She wouldn’t become a demon lord or an abyssal lord…
I tried (Mind)Communicate again, Tomiko was still not answering. If I had known she was going to disappear, I would have used (Abyssal)Command to make her not leave. But she was so much faster at teleporting now!
Still, her transformation into a black shadow of the abyss was beyond anything I had imagined possible, and she was beautiful, and likely had the means of her revenge still within reach. I just need to convince her of it.
Elissa and I would hunt down the humans responsible for killing her friends and family, but even more important was our revenge. That had to come first…
“I feel sorry for Tomiko”, Elissa said in a half-whisper.
“You do?!” I was surprised. She was cold to Tomiko from the start.
“I do, Hero. I lost something important to me as well. And I will never rest until I have my vengeance. I can understand how she feels. Help her too, Hero.”
“I will.”
–
Tokmiko’s Secret Diary
Date: #####
Today, Shana called me a cat turd! It made me upset. When I confronted him about it, he said I was a stupid cat. This really made me sad. I started crying and Shana stopped. Then he apologized and said he didn’t mean it. We both cried a little bit more after that. It was a good cry. But the others started calling me cat turd as well and I cried again, this time alone, behind the kitchens where no one could find me. I wish everyone would stop saying that! It really hurts!
Date: #####
Today, I found the prettiest flower in the field, it was black unlike the others. I kept it in my apron, and went back inside, hoping to show everyone, but no one was happy with it. The flower disappeared before the end of the day. I thought it was weird but then forgot about it. I remember it though, because it was so pretty, like me. It’s a secret from everyone but I think I am pretty! I will never forget that black flower, but I can never find it again, so it stays a secret forever! Shana will get jealous if I show it to anyone. I wonder why that is. It’s so funny! I’m so cute! I hope someone one day comes to take me away, and see how cute I am! But then again, I’ll always be alone, with only myself as a friend, until then.
Date: #####
Momma says that someday, when I’m old enough, she’s going to give me my first red fruit. But that won’t happen until I’m an adult. It makes me sad. Why can’t it be sooner? It sounds so tasty and makes everyone happy and silly. Maybe I’ll grow faster if I eat lots and lots of food? Maybe momma is holding out on me. I hope momma gives me my first red fruit soon! I wish I was stronger, but then I wouldn’t be me! I think momma will love me no matter what, because momma loves me. Momma is my momma! Momma loves me so much. Momma loves me more than anyone! And I love her, more than anyone! Even more than Shana! And I love Shana so much, like he was my brother, but he doesn’t love me like I love him, but that’s okay, because he loves me as his sister, and I love him so much. But I don’t want him to be my brother.
Date: ######
Strange looking people showed up in the village wearing armour. They wore helmets, but I couldn’t see any holes for tails in their uniforms. Momma said they were “hoymens” and that I should keep away from them. Momma doesn’t like hoymens. I think that’s just because momma likes tails so much! But I kept my distance anyway, even when momma left to see Shana’s momma, and the other mommas. I kept watching these people who weren’t people! They were very interesting. I think I’ll try and sneak into their camp and look around. But what if I’m caught?! That will be so scary, but I need to find out why hoymens wear no tails! They also don’t have fur or tails! But momma says they can talk just like we can. But maybe they can’t talk so well because they have no tails? But Shana is good at talking!
Date: ######
I had to keep running. Momma fell over and told me to hide. They did things to momma. Then they cut her ears and tails off. Then they cut her head off. They laughed. They took me to a bad place. They let us keep one thing, I kept my diary, the one in my head, so someone else could keep their other shoe. There were hoymens there with chains. They hurt me. I could hear momma calling me in my dreams. They called her a “Demon”, I didn’t know what it meant. The bad things happened again. And again. And again. Shana never came for me, not even in my dreams. But maybe that was for the best. Momma’s dead, she’s gone and never coming back. It was the hoymens, they did this, but they’re just people! Momma said I could trust people! Why would she lie to me?
Date: ######
A strange cat showed up. She was really, really, really, REALLY STRANGE. She took me to the black cat. The hoymans were all gone. I don’t know where they went, but I was glad. The strange cat told me they were actually called “humans”. That made more sense. And the black cat told me I was going to be safe.
Date: ######
Today I was led into a strange room to have my magic aptitude tested. The catgirl who looked after me was strange as well! She was much too skinny and small. Her breasts were like a little child’s, she could probably even fit them inside a corset without them becoming noticeable! The cats from our village had really large breasts. My breasts had been pretty big too, for my age. She said that if I did well, I could stay here and learn how to use magic! I’ve always wanted to learn how to use magic! And the black cat was so nice to me. It wouldn’t be long until I could taste the red fruit! I’m still really sad about what happened to momma.
Date:
######IT WAS ALL BECAUSE OF THEM. THE HUMANS. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM. I HATE THEM.
…
Date: ######
There is one human I don’t hate. The little girl. She said used to be a human a long time ago, but that she’s now a Demon Lord. She hates humans as well. I was learning magic quicker than the others, so she told me we were going to go on an island floating in the air. Can you believe it? The little girl told me that her name was Panda, and she was still pretty without her ears and tail. Her eyes were like gems. I could never tell what she was thinking. She’s always wearing a funny, fluffy suit.
Date: ######
What was my name again? I forgot. Demon Lord Pandora named me and the others with good magic. From today I was Tomiko. A foreign sounding-name but I like it a lot! I’m going to sleep for a long time now, and when I will wake up I’ll go through training. I’ll be helping others. Helping them kill humans. Demon Lord Pandora told me I was special right before she left, that I have something called “photo-graphic memory”. I am going to sleep soon.
Date: ########
Today, Demon Lord Pandora gave me some very good advice. She told me to put on my maid uniform and become as cute as possible! It really is a lot of fun and I can’t stop giggling in it. Demon Lord Pandora is a really kind demon! I’m going to become so cute that everyone will like me!
Ever since I woke up the training has been hard. We’re learning teleportation spells. Apparently not everyone of us can do it! I’ll work really hard!!
Oh and Demon Lord Subtle is a big meanie. He saw me with the others, pointed me out and called me ugly! I know I’m not ugly!!
Date: ########
Demon Lord Subtle is dead. Everyone is so sad. His attendant Haruhi died with him. I’ll miss her and her jokes.
Date: ########
I activated my first teleportation spell! It was amazing. The tree disappeared together with the soil surrounding it in a blue flash! I’m so proud of myself.
Yeah!! I have a new resolve and it feels great. I love my new name! It’s so cute. And my new life is so much fun, even when sad things happen! But why do I miss home? Why can’t I stop missing momma? And why do I have a funny feeling around Demon Lord Pandora.
Date: ########
I’m going to sleep again-meow. I was told to practice saying meow whenever I spoke. That made me one of the special ones Demon Lord Pandora said, so I’d have to act special. Not just in my speech but in my behaviour. My new uniform is completely black. I’m going to serve a new demon lord when it is time. For now, it is goodbye. I hope they are nice!
Date: #########
I woke up. The other attendants told me a new Demon Lord was just born. I had to go meet them right away. It turned out to be a young, strange looking girl. But strangest of all she had fused with an Abyssal Being. I could tell he liked me. I could always tell whenever someone was looking at me, it was my secret. And he just kept looking at me… at my body at my legs. Until that one night he touched me after I teased him. I could tell he liked my black tights. So I teased him more. It was so fun! And I liked him too, so we played together until I got too loud. But that’s all it was but we had so much fun. He probably doesn’t care for me at all, but I liked it anyway! I knew we were supposed to keep our relationship secret.
Date: #########
Demon Lord Elissa doesn’t seem to like me very much… I need to work harder!
Date: #########
I have to get his attention somehow. We just can’t get close again, and those monster girls won’t leave me alone. I have to prove to him I’m worthy of it…
Date: #########
I’m nearly there! The ones that destroyed my family and home, they will all pay, their children will pay, their children’s children will pay, everyone will pay. It was the human Empire that destroyed everything that I ever loved. I can’t blame them, because they’re people, and I trust people. But people can’t help but destroy. They will always do whatever they can to achieve their goals, no matter who is standing in their way. But they don’t care who they destroy. They don’t even see who they are destroying. Even if I hate humans, I don’t hate people. That’s why I am going to destroy humans, so people can be safe once more.
Date: #########
I managed to convince Demon Lord Justus to meet with my Lordships. Aiko slipped me a hint. He was just upset Hero’s castle was taller than his. Apparently, he didn’t like that. So I asked Hero to make the castle a little shorter! It worked! Justus was happy, Hero was happy, and I was happy as well, because Hero would finally give me what I always wanted. A way to have power. A way to destroy the humans. I can’t wait to see the other Demon Lord’s faces when it happens, hee-hee! I will have a red fruit to celebrate. My very first one! I wish I could share it with Shana, but I’ll share it with Hero instead! I’m sure he’ll love it!