400 years ago.

For a spiritual demon to exist, they must be born of something.

Whether a demon or a human, someone must first die in order for their spirit to live on as a spiritual existence.

The chance of any living being moving on to become a spiritual demon was not completely random, yet it was not completely predictable either.

There were certain trends and patterns in those who became spiritual demons, yet there were exceptions.

The most common pattern regarding the conception of a spiritual demon was that typically, a being must die with an excessive amount of regret or ties to this world within them in order to become a spiritual demon.

Even so, just because someone dies with regret doesn't necessarily mean that they would be reincarnated as a spiritual demon. On the contrary, this was very rare- and as for which people in particular were reincarnated, the distribution appeared to be random. 

However, to the spiritual demons, a previous life did not exist.

After being reincarnated as a spirit, all spiritual demons would move on their own, gravitating towards the haunted tower- before even awakening.

In the basement of the haunted tower was a crystal- the crystal of lust.

The bright pink crystal was said to be a piece of the world, and it was one of the seven crystals which granted powers to the respective host of sin.

Those in control of the crystals would hold the chance to obtain such powers.

However, in order for one to become a host of sin, two conditions must be met.

The first- the crystal itself must accept a demon as it's host. If the crystal, which was a piece of the system, did not accept a demon as worthy of being a host, then the host would never be selected.

The second- a demon worthy of the position of host must exhibit an excessive amount of the particular sin.

At this time, 400 years prior to the present day, a spiritual woman held the position as the Queen of Lust.

She had been chosen by the crystal, and had held the title for 300 years now.

"Bow before me."

Sitting in the same black demonic throne which Lustia used to this day, this woman wore a spiritual dress, covering her semi transparent skin.

The woman had long hair which was also transparent, and she was beautiful beyond measure. Currently, hundreds of spiritual men and women were lined before her, paying her homage as they bowed their heads.

However, one young girl looked around with confusion as the others bowed without question.

"What are you all doing?", she asked innocently.

The insolent speech of this girl was met with the nasty glares of everyone in the room, and one man grabbed her by the sleeve of her baggy dress which covered her completely like a loose sheet, dragging her down to the ground.

"Do you not realize that our queen is right there? Bow your head and quit staring off into space!", the man whispered.

The girl looked around, still confused as a large amount of ill intent was directed at her for her inability to read the mood.

"Why?"

The girl asked another question, further proving her own inability to recognize that she was in the presence of a ruler.

At this point the hostility which was aimed at her was no longer mere distaste, but pure disgust and hatred.

"Why you little...."

"Do you think you can just say whatever you want in front of the queen?"

The woman sitting in the throne however, stood up.

"Who is that girl?", she asked politely as she made her way through the crowds. "Is she a new spirit?"

"Yes my queen. Forgive her for her insolence towards you. She likely doesn't understand what she's saying.", the man responded.

The queen smiled at the man, nodding with a face of compassion.

"Please do not give her such rotten faces. She is merely a new member. It is alright not to understand something when you are new."

"My queen...."

"How forgiving you are...."

"You are kind even to those who don't recognize your greatness...."

Some of the people around the woman were brought to tears by her words, however the girl merely looked up, still confused.

'If she is a new spirit which I have not yet spoken to, then she will not have fallen under my charm yet. It is only natural that she would not understand the order of things here.', the woman known as the queen thought to herself.

"Child. Please bow before me like the others."

The queen said these words with a kind smile before turning back and walking through the parted crowd towards the throne.

"Why?"

However, as if she had been splashed with cold water, the woman known as the queen stopped in her tracks at hearing the same question escape the mouth of the confused child.

"Why?", the queen said, repeating after the child. "Because.... I am your queen. Am I not?"

"My queen?"

"Yes. I am your queen, and you should bow before your queen."

The woman had now turned back to speak to the child, responding to her questions with a suspicious look on her face.

"I see.... but why are you my queen? Who decided that?"

The eye of the woman twitched as the girl asked such a question, completely unable to read the mood or the situation.

"What.... do you mean? I am your queen. That.... should be instilled into you. Do you.... not have a desire to serve me?"

The child tilted her head in further confusion.

"Why would I want to serve someone I just met?"

"You..... do you truly not have a desire to serve me?"

"I don't understand why you're asking me that..."

The child became slightly worried, looking around at all the irritated faces around her.

"Why would I want to serve you if I don't even know you?", she pleaded.

The woman known as the queen closed her eyes and let out a breath of frustration.

"You.... really do not have a desire to serve me. Let me try once more for good measure."

Walking towards the child she took hastened steps, the sound of her shoes coming into contact with the marble floors resounding throughout the large room.

"Bow before me, child."

"Ok..... I guess I will if you really want me to...."

The child had been somewhat intimidated at this point by all the people around her, coming into some state of awareness of her own situation.

However, this was not the response which the queen was looking for.

'Why? She.... she bowed before me, certainly.... but without a doubt, she is.... she holds the mindset of a normal girl who has no idea why she is doing such a thing! She clearly is not under my charm! Why? Why would such a thing happen? How can someone I speak to.... not fall under my charm?'

The Queen of Lust was under the impression that anyone and everyone which she spoke to would fall under her charm.

Never before this had she met someone who had been able to resist her charm, so this child was an anomaly.

The woman walked back to her own throne and sat down in thought.

"Child. You are to become my pet."

She spoke these words to the girl, who didn't have any idea what the woman was talking about.

"Um.... alright....."

She responded in the affirmative, yet clearly had no idea what was happening.

From this day on, the girl went with the queen to stay by her side as a servant, beckoning to her every wish.

"Bring me a drink."

"Wait there while I eat. If there are any scraps leftover, you may eat them."

"Wash my feet."

"No not like that. With your tongue. Lick them clean."

When spiritual demons came into existence, they arrived with the same level of general knowledge and mental development as the state they had died in, yet they held no memories of who they were previously. As such, this young girl who had arrived in her new life and was thrust into servitude lived in fear of the woman she served.

"Why are you so slow? Hurry it up."

"What are you doing!? Can't you do anything right?"

"Why are you such a failure?"

As the days passed, the woman which the girl served became more and more hostile toward her.

The girl did not know why, but there was clearly some sort of grudge which the woman harbored against her.

However it was not just the woman.

"Look. It's the disrespectful child who doesn't even understand what an honor the position she holds is."

"How filthy. She can't even give the queen her due respect."

The girl was surrounded by glares of hatred and despised by all around her, for reasons which she did not understand.

As she continued to live day in and day out, her situation didn't improve.

The queen began to abuse her, taking out her own anger on the girl.

"Come here, brat."

The child was met with a slap to the face as she approached the one who was supposed to be her queen.

"Why do you look at me with those eyes? Why can't you be like the rest of them? Why do you not enjoy just being by my side!?!? Why do you not desire me like the rest do!?!?"

The girl looked up with tears in her eyes and a red mark on her otherwise snow white skin, however the abuse did not end there.

"Why!? Why don't you love me like the rest!? Get out of here!! I don't have any use for a subject who doesn't love me!"

The woman kicked at the child with the sharp end of her heel, piercing the girl's side and beating her senseless before walking off with a snort.

"See how long you can live without me. I don't know why you don't desire me, but I have had enough of you."

Walking away with a tormented expression and blood dripping from her side, staining her dress, the child then moved to the lower levels of the tower.

The haunted tower was split into different levels or floors which the people would reside. Of course the top floor was reserved for the queen, however the other floors were meant to house the spiritual demons who lived under her.

The child was not met with a warm welcome when she traveled to the lower levels.

"Look at that. It's the brat who doesn't give the queen her due respect."

"How disgusting."

"Should we teach her a lesson for offending the queen as much as she has?"

"I think we should."

Beatings became a regular occurrence for the child, for reasons she could never understand.

Everyone hated her for some reason.

She didn't know why.

"Did I.... do something to them?"

The child wondered out loud as to why everyone she was surrounded by would always give her a face of displeasure upon seeing her.

"They keep calling me filthy.... disgusting..... nauseating..... is it because... I am ugly? No... that shouldn't be it. Is it because I am different? How am I different from them? What have I done for them to hate me so much?"

The child racked her mind, but she was unable to come up with anything.

Days more passed, and the child was thrown aside by all the others.

The spiritual people had no need for something like food or drink. While they were able to eat for the pleasure it gave them, they would not starve or die of thirst if they did not eat or drink, and so the child was not hungry despite not being given any food.

Day after day more and more people would pass by her giving her looks of disgust. Some would abuse her and others would pass by without a word.

The child learned one thing from the days she spent, crawled up in a corner of the tower.

She was surrounded by enemies.

"Why.... why is everyone like this?"

[Come..... to the bottom floor.]

"Huh?"

[Come..... to the bottom floor.....]

A strange voice played in the head of the child, and she looked around to see who it could possibly be yet saw nobody.

"Who is it!?"

[Just come to the bottom floor. How many times do I have to tell you?]

The child looked around in confusion but no matter how many times she checked, there was nobody.

"Am I.... am I finally losing my mind?"

[Good grief. You're not losing your mind. But I'm about to if you don't just get down here.]

The child stood up, shivering.

However, she realized something.

This voice which spoke to her was rude for certain, however she didn't feel the same hostility in it which she felt from everyone else.

"A...alright.... I'll go...."

The child stepped forward, yet there was no response.

"Aren't.... you going to say something?"

She floated through the hall and made it to the grand spiral staircase which circled the entire tower, leading to each and every floor.

She began to travel down, eventually reaching the ground level, and then continued further downward into the basement.

"Hey..... am I supposed to go down this far? Have I already gone too far?"

[The room all the way on the bottom of the staircase.]

The voice responded and the girl felt a slight bit of joy at hearing it.

'Whew.... at least it's back.... I thought it just left on me.....'

As to why she was relieved to hear this voice, the girl herself did not understand.

Reaching the end of the spiral staircase was a wooden door which the girl opened, entering into a dark hallway.

[Walk straight through this hallway. I'm in the room all the way forward.]

"Oh.... ok...."

The girl walked through the dark hall, goosebumps lining her spiritual arms. Eventually she came to the end, opening the metal door with a horrible creaking noise.

"Um.... are you in here?"

When the door opened a pink light flooded out into the hall, causing the girl to cover her eyes with her hands. As soon as she got used to the light she looked forward to see a large gemstone before her, spinning around as it floated in the air.

"What.... is that?"

[Hello.]

"Hello!? Are.... are you that gem!?"

The girl was filled with surprise, and looked around the room to see that nobody was present.

[I am a piece of data.... a section of the system. I am nothing more than information with personality. But you don't need to know about who I am. All you need to know is that I've chosen you.]

"Chosen.... me?"

[I am giving you the title of Lustia. You.... have an overwhelming desire, do you not? For people to love you.]

At this statement, Lustia looked around to make sure nobody was nearby.

"I..."

[You will be the final Queen of Lust, from now until the end of the current world..... until the appearance of the Queen of all Evil.]

[Lustia has been transferred ability: [Control Desires] ]

[Current user has lost ability: Control Desires]

"What are you talking about? Chosen me? For what?"

[I have given you an ability. Use it how you wish. I will merely be watching to see how this decision plays out. After all, I am part of a system. I pose no will. Which is why I must find a host, so that I may share a will with them.]

The pink crystal then ceased glowing, and the room became dark. Even so, it continued floating in the air and spinning on an axis.

"W-what?"

The girl looked at the crystal, unsure what to do, but she decided to turn back.

However as she was walking through the hallway, she became aware of something.

The knowledge of her own ability came into her mind, and with this knowledge, the statements and actions of the queen and all those around her became clear.

"The queen.... was trying to charm me.... but couldn't? And that's why she hated me so much?"

[You cannot charm someone who holds greater charisma than yourself. That much is obvious.]

These were the last words which the strange voice which called itself data spoke to Lustia.

Lustia then went on to test her own abilities on others, soon learning that the very people who gave her glances of hatred before were now overjoyed to serve her and stay by her side.

"Follow me."

"With pleasure, my queen!!!"

However, the queen which she once served was not so happy.

"Why..... why are all those people behind you?"

"They desire me. Not you. You are no longer the Queen."

"Haha! As if!! Come back to me, my servants! What on earth could this child have told you to get you to play this prank on me!?"

The men behind Lustia did not budge.

"Woman who abused our queen, do you dare to speak like that before her?"

"We ought to kill you on the spot for such a remark."

"My Queen, should we do so?"

Lustia smiled, looking at the undignified form of the woman who abused her.

"Do so. This is an order."

"Y-you.... you pieces of shit!!!! How could you betray me for that.... that insolent child!!! The one who would never follow my orders or give me due respect!!!! How could you do this to me!?!?!?"

The woman rushed forward to slug Lustia, but she was stopped by a number of men who began to beat her up.

The woman was kicked and beaten to the point of death, and her shouts of pain and agony filled the ears of Lustia as she watched.

"Ugh!!! Agh!!! Urgh!!!"

And as the beating continued, those screams became quieter and quieter, until they disappeared altogether.

The only thing remaining was a mutilated spiritual corpse, which then dissipated into the air.

"Are you pleased, my queen?", one man asked with a smile.

The child looked down upon the beaten and lifeless face of the woman who abused her to the point of mental rot as the body slowly disintegrated.

"I am. Let us head up to the throne room. Gather everyone. I wish for everyone to serve me well."

400 years passed.

Lustia became the longest reigning house leader among all demons, due to the combination of her race as a spiritual demon whose lives held no limits aside from being physically slain, and her own ability to charm anyone who could possibly do her harm.

She was not known as the strongest among the 7 house leaders. If she were ranked in terms of combat strength, she would be number 7. However, due to her own ability, she was officially ranked as number 4.

And yet now, having been faced with four creatures of chaos who she could not possibly defeat, the Queen of Lust was on her knees, wondering just what she had spent the last 400 years of her life doing.

'I.... truly have just been a fool, haven't I? I suppose the desire which I truly longed for was one in which I had never even tried to fulfill.'