Hi hi, it's me, currently silently standing in a temple, Madeleine here. I am feeling reinvigorated, thanks to both my sister and the blessing Xul is in the process of giving me. I also have Light now, which makes my Shadow Clone count go all the way up to 2. Amazing. Who even is next?

"Merry Deimos and her merry band of demons."

Oh… that doesn't sound too hard. The Maid School basically specialises in demon subjugations, so this should be a breeze. Especially since Light Magic should be effective against them, and Xul is giving me a boon to it.

"I have given my blessing. Good luck, mother-in-law."

Off to the next floor I go.

I was wrong. Incredibly wrong. This is significantly harder than Xul made it sound, not easier. I am severely outnumbered. It's not even fair. I do at least have both Ava and Light, who are arguably the best shadow clones to have a fight with against an army's worth of demons. Yes, you heard that right. It's an army's worth of demons. Okay, time to analyse this situation.

Pros: Light is super effective against demons, and Ava knows a thing or two about demons. Merry seems to be holding the demons back and is just watching me (Maybe she's inviting me to make the first move?). I have silver daggers. Most of the demons seem to be low-rank demons.

Cons: I only have two shadow clones. Merry is sitting on a giant throne made of bones (It is distracting me). My dark halberd is useless. I recognise some demons that are big shots in Hell. The only Cardinal Sins not here are Lilith and Mammy, which makes sense, and Lucifer… I feel like I saw him die… but when?

Okay, so… what I need to do is clear out the low-rank demons while saving energy for the big fight against the four Cardinal Sins here. Slight problem: How do I incapacitate an army's worth of demons without expending energy? Answer: Genocide.

"Ava, Light, retreated into my shadow." Ava and Light looked at me with questioning looks before shrugging and returning.

"Hoho… are you surrendering?" Merry said with a smug smile. Oh yeah, surrender is an option… well, I already said genocide, kinda have to do it. You know what they say in Mendass: Those who say genocide must commit it or die committing it. Also, I just really wanted to do the thing I've always wanted to do. I stomped my foot, creating a stone pillar that lifted me high above the demons. Merry still kept them at bay, seeing my move as not an attack. Helpful. Now then… time for what I've been dying to do this whole gauntlet.

"Secret Madeleine technique number one! Flood of Daggers!" As soon as I proclaimed that, a single dagger fell from under my skirt, then a second, then a third, and soon enough, an actual stream of daggers fell out of my skirt and down onto the standing masses of demons. By the way, the daggers are made of silver because of course they are. Oh, look at that, Merry and the four demons around her are not affected, but the rest of the demons are dropping like flies. Huh. That was easy. 

After what felt like days (It was actually half an hour), all the demons had been felled, leaving on Merry, the four Cardinal Sins, myself, and an actual ocean of silver daggers… I can't fight on top of daggers. I may have made a slight oversight.

"Leviathan… consume." At her call, the tiny flying snake beside Merry grew ten sizes larger and started eating the daggers… oh how conveni… oh shit, it's flying at me. Light, come to my side! 

"Feel the wrath of the Goddess of Light!" Light appeared behind me, creating a blade of light around her arm, and she slashed towards Leviathan. For a moment, Leviathan paused, acting as if nothing happened, before suddenly being engulfed by light that came from above, completely eviscerating it. Hell yeah! I literally got the shadow clone that would make this the easiest fight ever… I think I just heard a loud bang from below. I looked down and noticed Merry had completely destroyed her throne… I think she's mad.

"You four. Destroy her. Avenge Leviathan." Immediately three of the four flew up while the one sitting on a tiny stool teleported beside him. I ducked, seeing him conjure a magic circle that shot a fireball at me. Light easily destroyed the fireball then shot a light beam at the demon's chest, instantly killing him. Okay, this is incredibly easy.

"I easily slew Lucifer, you remaining demons are no match." The three demons, which I could describe but I don't feel like it, eventually reached Light and I, only to get cut down by beams of light. Yeah… this was too easy. Just the way I like it. All that's left is getting the key from Merry… who is now shaking and crying on the ground. Huh.

I tapped the pillar, making it slowly lower, while Light closely watched Merry, who seemed glued to the ground. A few minutes of watching her passed, and so I took it as a chance to find the key… found it! It's a snake fang… wild. Onto the next floor I go!

Hmm… a tavern… feels very homely… although I dislike that it smells like soup.

"It's where I first met Mare, when she was cruelly betrayed by a peaceful village she trusted." I turned to see a familiar elf stirring a cauldron of soup. "I imagine she is incredibly irritated, thanks to the reality warper holding me hostage. She is your next foe. I hope you plan accordingly."

Chapter namesake: The music project 'Big Black Delta'.

pojlk

It's funny, Merry has basically been around as long as Madeleine and Mel have, yet I can barely remember anything she has done. I really wasted a character that would cool in your average story, huh.