After verifying what her flashy (both literally and metaphorically) spell had done, which was making an ever-burning tree smackdab in the middle of the village, Maua was subsequently roped into a tour around the village.
Once again noting the accuracy of the name she had given the Lost man, which I totally agreed with, my little niece gave her consent.
Of course, Maua being Maua, she only did so after getting an okay from the rest of us. Of course, we all readily gave it, it was such a cute face, and it was obvious that she wanted to see the village.
And thus our little adventure amidst our adventure began.
All things considered, it wasn’t that much different than most of the villages I’ve been to…if I looked at it objectively.
There were your standard village thingies, like a tailor, a tanner, and a butcherer among the usual farmers and cattle…but that's where the similarities ended…kind of.
It wasn’t that the people were going about their days any differently than any other villager…because they weren’t.
It was just odd. Even in a world of fantastical beasts and people, heck I’m a fudging dragonoid, it just felt off…but somehow not in a bad way.
Maybe it was the cattle, which looked much like their herders, living silhouettes of their non-blackouted counterparts.
It could’ve been the darkness protruding from the hides that the tanner was working on.
Or maybe the clothes of the same shade that the tailor was adjusting.
Whatever the feeling came from, it seemed to have no effect on the little one of our group.
This probably was due to how the villagers reacted to her.
Children of all ages ran up to her as we walked down the dirt pathways. They swooped in and wrapped her in hugs.
Maua reciprocated each one of the hugs with a giggle, ruffling the hair of the shadow kids.
It was diabetes-inducingly sweet, but especially when it was an older child.
More often than not, the older children were taller than her, so she had to get up her toes to reach their heads.
It wasn’t only just the children who met the angel girl with warmness.
Rather than that, there wasn’t really anyone in the village that did anything else towards her.
Even the elderly grinned at her from their chairs as we walked past, showering the girl in handmade trinkets.
Maua seemed to thoroughly enjoy the affection shown by the villagers.
Thinking about it deeper, that made sense. She pretty much said life sucked being in that orphanage after we kicked the bucket. And the first couple of months of her new life weren’t that easy either.
Well, I guess we’ll just have to make up for lost time. I don’t think that her mothers would object to that.
Eventually, the tour had come to its conclusion. As we walked around, Maua had also made herself busy naming some more of the inhabitants.
One notable one being the Lost One who had tried to stop Gaul from requesting Maua’s help in the first place. We learned that she was in fact his fiancee. Maua dubbed her Pallas, noting that the girl needed all the wisdom she could get to guide the headstrong Gaul.
Another one that I liked was Melodi. A young teenage girl who was singing a beautiful tune as she went about doing her chores for the day as we walked by.
With our objective completely, we left the village with Maua making several promises to the children to come back and visit sometime soon.
She also made sure to tease Gaul and Pallas, saying that she couldn’t miss the wedding, dying both the Lost One’s faces in the faintest of indigoes.
We followed swiftly behind the guide, who Gaul had practically forced us to take, towards the exit of Limbo.
Admittedly it was the better choice, as the Lost One had way better bearings than me or VeVe, and we arrived significantly quicker than we would have on our own.
Saying goodbye to the guide, we entered the exit.
For the first couple of minutes, we trudged along the tunnel, which was pretty similar to the first entrance, in silence.
“Well, that was certainly something,” Asabela whistled, breaking the quiet atmosphere.
“I know right?” Myri concurred. “It’s one thing to theorize that Maua was who we thought, but it’s an entirely different thing to witness proof with your own eyes.”
I couldn’t have agreed more, and presumably, from the bobbing of her head, my girlfriend shared the sentiment.
The girl in question didn’t respond, seemly lost in her thoughts.
“Maua?” Asabela asked, moving closer to her daughter and poking the girl on the cheek. “You there? What are you thinking about?”
“Oh sorry, Mama,” the angel girl responded absently. “I was just thinking about the second circle.”
“What about it?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.
“Well, everything honestly,” she answered.
“You don’t remember it? You passed through it on your climb, right?” Myri questioned.
“Yeah, I did…but I wasn’t conscious for circles two through five. I only remember one, six, seven, eight, and nine.”
“Ah that’s right,” Myri said. “Well, it's okay, Murua and Kna’Ve have been there and told us beforehand so we prepared. One of them will get you up to snuff as we walk.”
Taking that as her cue, my girlfriend began her explanation.
“The second circle is known as the circle of Lust. The terrain is arduous to traverse, being made of nothing but stones with steep inclines and declines. Within the circle are massive thunderstorms that attempt to drown those who enter in rain or smite them with lightning. Strong gusts of wind attempt to blow them off of high places and ultimately to their deaths. There’s also a rumor about some people being whisked off by the wind to a courtroom where they are judged and subsequently punished or let go.”
“I see,” the blonde girl nodded. “So what’re the preparations that you’ve brought?”
“These!” Myri stated proudly pulling several bright yellow rain jackets from one of her bags.
“Rain jackets? Or are those ponchos?” Maua asked incredulously.
“Ponchos,” Myri replied. “ I wove these from my own silk with the intention that they would help use insulate against the lightning.”
“Plus, we don’t really have to worry about drowning…” Asabela added. “We’re sea-kin afterall.”
“That just leaves the wind,” I said. “Which we admittedly couldn’t figure out…so we’re just going to go with the flow.”
Myri proceed to pass out the ponchos, which she custom-made for each of us. Mine had cutouts for my horns and wings. VeVe’s had two hoods for her heads. Asabela’s had several zippers that could be unzipped so she could use her tentacles without shredding the clothing. Like mine, Myri had cutouts for her horns as well as a pair of zippers on her sleeves for her extra arms. And of course, Maua had two sets of cutouts for her horns and slits in the back for her wings if she decided to materialize them.
And she looked downright adorable in the weather clothing. To the point where Asabela got a nose bleed cute.
After she finally got the blood to stop running and everyone was recharged on their Mauaium we continued our journey.
—⁕🎕⁕—
Minos sighed as he reorganized the papers on his desk from the last hearing.
His job was getting bland over a entirety of doing it.
None of the cases were exciting anymore.
This person disrespected the Ruler of All…sentenced to eternal damnation.
This one committed genocide against their own race…sentenced to eternal damnation.
This one was a scumbag to their parents…eternal damnation.
Oh, what's that? Someone did something wrong? What is their sentence? Yep, you guessed it…eternal damnation.
He was tired. He needed a break. A vacation.
He let out another sigh. The Ruler had been revived in the ninth floor rather recently, and actually had climbed out of hell.
Unfortunately for Minos, he missed the chance to meet them…else he would’ve requested some time off.
He desperately needed some time off to spend with the wife and kids.
Letting out one more sigh, he called for the next case to be brought in.
“Please bring in the next case.”
“Excuse the interruption, Lord Minos,” a puff of smoke arose in front of him and a woman appeared out of it.
Tall and curvy, sporting a set of horns and small wings, and a spade-tipped tail, the woman was the caricature of a succubus. And from her attire, she was a secretary.
“What is it?” Minos asked lazily.
“There’s a group of five intruders entering the circle.”
“And? That’s scarcely something worth reporting.”
“Well that’s the thing…they’re not exactly normal. Two of them are immensely strong. Another two are of the same caliber as those two but they seem to be weakened. And the final one…we can’t get an accurate read on.”
“We can’t get a read on one of them?”
The secretary succubus nodded. “Yes, my lord.”
‘This could be interesting,’ Minos thought.
“Alright, you’ve caught my attention. Halt the next case and bring those intruders in…IMMEDIATELY!”
“I send someone right away, my lord.”
A smile crept its way onto Minos' face as his secretary poofed away.
‘Well, maybe today won’t be so boring after all.’
OK, this story is clearly a bit choppy and not fully fleshed out but i love it all the same, because it was clearly made by a author that loves his work.
just binged the whole chapter 0-53
and i'm more jelly of your writing skills than a jellyfish. keep up the good work
Yeah sorry about the choppiness, this is quite literally the first draft, and really my second attempt at writing some substantial, but I'm glad you are enjoying! I do love this series very much and I hope you will continue to enjoy!
choppy and a bit hard to follow can honestly sometimes make a story even more entertaining. Case in point, this story.
Kinda feel for that poor, overworked Demon... Hes BORED, and isnt allowed to even make variations in the punishments... I'd go insane after a few weeks, let alone an eternity.
Well, he might have downplayed his decision a bit. He does get to decide which circle the sinner goes to but that's kind of a moot point. It all equals eternal damnation and would get boring rather quickly;y with only ten possible options(including the one to let them walk).
Mauaium - a highly addictive substance that produces a sensation of euphoria. If taken consensually it will have no negative effects on body, mind or soul, and can in fact provide much needed energy and motivation. Attempting to bask in it without its providor's consent is not recommended, as it may produce such side effects as knives sprouting from your head.
Thanks for the chapter~! Considering how the Lost Ones reacted in Maua's presence, I'm wondering if maybe it's a long-distance sensor that's having trouble with the reading? Either because of Maua's current form, or because it's simply incapable of getting a read on her adorable presence by default, for whatever reason.
Well, whether I'm right or wrong, I look forward to seeing how the attempted capture of these intruders will go~! (Oh, and I noticed there's no mention of circle six on Maua's list?)
Thanks for reading!
Mauaium - a highly addictive substance that produces a sensation of euphoria. If taken consensually it will have no negative effects on body, mind or soul, and can in fact provide much needed energy and motivation. Attempting to bask in it without its providor's consent is not recommended, as it may produce such side effects as knives sprouting from your head.
That is now the official definition for Mauaium. I love it so much.
Thanks for the chapter~! Considering how the Lost Ones reacted in Maua's presence, I'm wondering if maybe it's a long-distance sensor that's having trouble with the reading? Either because of Maua's current form, or because it's simply incapable of getting a read on her adorable presence by default, for whatever reason. [Blob Hmm]
And all those theories are interesting...no answers for you however...this is my REVENGE! *evil laughter*
Well, whether I'm right or wrong, I look forward to seeing how the attempted capture of these intruders will go~! (Oh, and I noticed there's no mention of circle six on Maua's list?)
But anyways, let's say that Minos might be hard press to get that vacation he wanted...or he might just get an eternal one? And whoops thanks for catching that...must've missed six while I was typing!
@Lulla
That is now the official definition for Mauaium. I love it so much.
Thanks! I'm especially proud of working "sprout" in at the end there, even if it was originally unintentional. (I actually considered “blooming”, but I worried it was too forced, and figured sprouting would do the job just fine.)
And all those theories are interesting...no answers for you however...this is my REVENGE! *evil laughter*
D: D: D: To think my sins would come back to haunt me so quickly… Though I suppose I should have seen it coming. I mean, we’re literally talking about Hell, after all~!
But anyways, let's say that Minos might be hard press to get that vacation he wanted...or he might just get an eternal one? And whoops thanks for catching that...must've missed six while I was typing!
I almost feel bad for him. For now. Getting intruders brought in for judgment is – I imagine – just part of the job description. But if he's going to earn Maua’s ire, I imagine there will be a reason for it. And you’re welcome <3
@Princess_Kay
Thanks! I'm especially proud of working "sprout" in at the end there, even if it was originally unintentional. (I actually considered “blooming”, but I worried it was too forced, and figured sprouting would do the job just fine.)
Ah. I missed that. Very nice job.
D: D: D: To think my sins would come back to haunt me so quickly… Though I suppose I should have seen it coming. I mean, we’re literally talking about Hell, after all~!
Yes, yes MAUAHAHAAHA
I almost feel bad for him. For now. Getting intruders brought in for judgment is – I imagine – just part of the job description. But if he's going to earn Maua’s ire, I imagine there will be a reason for it. And you’re welcome <3
Yeah comes with the territory. Sucks to suck I guess.
such side effects as knives sprouting from your head
Is it this World’s variant of rare bullet-in-the-brain disease?