Ayano had been trying to keep things under wraps, but it was clear to everyone that Lilly had ran away. Days passed. Ayano didn’t let anyone in her room. I went to the door to knock a few times, Ayano never answering, but even though I couldn’t see inside I could smell something from inside her room that I hadn’t smelt since Lilly’s first day at the manor. I hadn’t even smelt it when I had had sex with Lilly. It was obvious that not only had she ran away, but she had frenzied. Poor girl. She really had cared for Ayano, hadn’t she? I bet she had tried her best. I bet she blamed herself. 

 

But she shouldn’t. Because she was doomed from the start.

 

Still, something did bother me. Surely Lilly couldn’t run away, if she was under slave contract? That was something I often forgot about, given how natural and free their relationship felt. So, it was entirely possible that Ayano had sent her away. I had to wonder about that, though. Something seemed fishy and everyone else was gossiping about how strange Lilly’s departure was too.

 

A week passed. Beth and I recovered from the flu, and the weather warmed up just a tiny bit. Still no sign of Lilly. There was set to be a diplomatic meeting between Ayano and the Zeerian ambassador in a week. But I know what the meeting really meant, because it wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to allow Ayano to attend the meeting, because they wanted me to kill her by then. But I needed time. Oh, oh so much more time. An eternity would be ideal.

 

I decided to wait until two nights before the meeting. I wanted to keep Ayano alive for as long as possible. I loved her, after all, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it. But I also knew that she might turn me away if I tried to approach her on the night before a meeting. So, several hours after the evening meal, I approached her door and knocked. No response, as expected. If I was a good person, I would leave it here, I would leave her alone and give her time to process. But no, not only was I not a good person, but I had to intrude on her healing to make an attempt on her life, too. I stood at the door for a few seconds, desperately trying to fight my programming. I’d rather die than kill someone I loved.

 

On the other hand, it was all for the glory of Zeer. I couldn’t argue with that.

 

So, I opened the door and stepped inside, my body shaking as I intruded upon her space. And there she was, lying on the bed, motionless, looking out of the window at the full moon. No, that wasn’t quite right. Paying more attention, I think she was actually staring at the handmaiden’s bell, sitting on her bedside table.

 

I said nothing as I entered, and closed the door behind me. Ayano turned to look at me, and I could hear her draw in breath, I could see the look in her eye that said she was about to tell me to leave. But, even though I wasn’t in the mood, I really wasn’t, I… Was still able to fake that horny aura that always communicated sex to Ayano. I was shivering, not with lust, but with fear and anxiety. I parted my lips. I looked at her with sex in my eyes. She closed her mouth, falling silent. I took that as a sign of acceptance. Big mistake, Ayano. I’m sorry.

<3 <3 <3

I stepped forward, closer to the bed, and slipped off my maid dress. As usual, when I intended to be intimate with Ayano, I hadn’t worn underwear. Today, I intended to have sex with her for the first time in ages. It wasn’t just going to be fellatio tonight. It hardly made up for what she was suffering or what I was about to do, but I wanted her to at least be feeling good when she died.

 

Besides, it was during sex that someone was in one of their most vulnerable states.

 

I crawled on top of the bed and pushed the duvet covers aside. I helped her to remove her nightie. Her face was stained with fresh tears, but her dick wasn’t exactly wet. It wasn’t even hard. Voices in the back of my head were screaming at me to leave, but, instead, I moved down her body and began to lick her flaccid cock, feeding it with pleasure bit by bit, until it was finally ready to stand to attention. Even though it was hard, I doubted she was in the mood. I wasn’t either, really. But I knew how Ayano was. She was accepting this because it would take her mind off of her pain. We both knew that because of this attitude of hers, I was taking advantage of her right now. She just didn’t know the degree to which I was taking advantage of her.

 

It was the unsexiest thing in the world, but once it was hard and dripping with precum, I unceremoniously inserted her member into my pussy, and began to ride her. I closed my eyes tightly shut and leaned down to kiss her, mostly just because I didn’t want to look at her. I didn’t deserve to look at her anymore considering what I was about to do.

 

I let it last for minutes longer than I needed to. It was the last time either of us would ever have sex, and I wanted us both to enjoy it. Even though there was no intimacy to be had, I gave her my all in terms of technique. I knew what she liked. Knew just how to match her pace, I knew when to slow down or speed up, I knew just how to twist my hips to angle her cock into those wonderful sweet spots.

 

But that’s all it was for us. A ritual for the sake of producing certain chemicals. We were like addicts taking another hit of a drug that had long since lost its lustre.

 

~~~

 

It was as she came that I wrapped my hands around her neck, and my hands began to glow. I had had an arcane circle etched into the bone of the back of my hands when I was a teenager, a circle that was completely hidden by my skin. The spell was designed to paralyse whoever it was touching when activated. I felt my body heat up as she tried to channel mana throughout her body, but she needed more time to actually produce a noticeable effect. The circle would neutralise her before she would be able to defend herself. She may have been able to counteract it if she was on guard, but, during an orgasm was the perfect moment for me to strike. 

 

Something unexpected did happen, however. I found myself flung against the wall, knocking over her bedside table and crashing into her desk in the process, sending makeup and documents flying all over the room. There was one sound, though, that filled me with dread. The tinkling of a bell. And then I saw it, resting on the floor right in front of me. Shit.

 

“... So. You were the spy…” Ayano muttered.

 

She was still on the bed, clearly still paralysed. She would be like that for about half an hour, assuming she didn’t have something else up her sleeve. I still wasn’t even sure what she had actually done.

 

“You… You knew there was a spy?”

 

“I had a hunch. Zeerian behaviour has been strange ever since I acquired Lilly. I know how their network operates. You… You had no choice, did you? Even so. You have no idea how disappointed I am. I should have been more careful.”

 

“... What the hell did you do?”

 

“... I just channelled all my mana all at once. Uncontrolled, unrefined, panicked, but I guess it worked. I have nothing left to defend myself now. Can hardly channel more anytime soon after being so careless with it. Guess that means you can kill me now.”

 

I steadily got to my feet. I ached all over from that burst of energy, I think I had some splinters in my body now, too. But I had a mission. For the Glory of Zeer.

 

“I… I don’t want to kill you,” I said, even as I crawled back onto the bed.

 

“I’m… Probably better off dead. I don’t do anything right. I just make things worse. Everything might be better off this way.”

 

I sat on top of her once more and wrapped my hands around her neck, reapplying the paralysis effect. I felt sick.

 

“... You didn’t do anything wrong.”

 

Those beautiful crimson eyes of hers looked like they had been extinguished of all their flame. In the light of the moonlight, they looked grey, like ash. She really had given up, hadn’t she?

 

“Tell that to Lilly. To Georgia… To Julia… The world…”

 

Wait, who was Julia?

 

Whatever.

 

I had a mission to do.

 

I began to tighten my grip around her neck. I once more closed my eyes tightly shut. I didn’t want to see her face, gasping for air. It was bad enough that I could hear her choking. The sound alone made it so that I could vividly imagine what was happening in my mind, so closing my eyes was hardly a comfort. Tears fell down my face. This was the end. The tragic, unbefitting end. Glory to-

“... TrAiTOr!”

 

My grip loosened and my blood froze. I recognised that voice. I can’t believe I had almost forgotten. I should have been faster… Or perhaps this was perfect, even if in the short term I wasn’t going to like what was probably about to happen.

 

I turned to the window to see one giant, bloodshot purple eye, staring in through the window. So large that it was impossible to see past it. Both windows shattered and an inky blackness crawled inside, swallowing half of the room in its bottomless darkness. Hundreds of eyes opened up, looking squarely at us, two naked women in bed, the smell of sex in the air.

 

“I HeAR thE BeLl, AnD… I sEe THIS!? I FINallY DecIDEd to ANSWER tHe caLL… DiD YOU BoTh SImPly WAnT to TORMENT mE!?”

 

We were both silent, each of us simply horrified at what Lilly had allowed herself to become. Her voice was recognisable, but it only vaguely sounded like hers. I wasn’t even sure if she was using a tongue to speak. One thing for sure was that her voice was layered, as if multiple sources of sound were speaking at once. 

 

“It’s not what it looks like-” I began, but I think using such a cliche line just angered her further. Hundreds of tendrils lunged at me, wrapping my body entirely inside of it and squeezing me so tightly that I thought I might just pop. But no, I was being kept alive for now.

 

“wHy DO YOu TakE EVERYTHING fRoM Me?” She screamed at me, a rancid smell washing over me as the rest of her body began to close around me, pinning me against the wall.

 

“... Don’t blame her, Lilly. It wasn’t her fault. It was mine. This has all been my fault…”

 

I managed to see something resembling Lilly’s face pop out next to Ayano’s head. But it was very wrong. One of her eyes was hanging out of it, connected to the eye socket by its dangling stem. Her hair was messy and shifting colours constantly. Her mouth was on sideways and her nose was upside down. It was kind of amazing how her natural prettiness still shone through despite her distorted features. I made the guess that she probably couldn’t form her normal human body, even if she wanted to.

 

“Did you throw me into the TRASH just so that you’d be free to sleep with Priscilla as much as you wanted? Did you call her up to fuck the moment I left? Is that why you gave up on ringing the bell?”

 

Her voice sounded like her human voice when speaking out of that head, but she was clearly… Well, unhinged was probably the best word for it.

 

“Why do you hate me Ayano? What did I do to deserve this TORTURE!? YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST KEPT ME AS A SLAVE!”

 

… I Knew it. The contract was broken. Just needed confirmation at this point.

 

“She was trying to kill me… She’s a Zeerian spy. She fooled me. And you. All of us.”

 

“LIKE I’D BELIEVE SOMETHING STUPID LIKE THAT! What do you like about Priscilla anyway? She’s a piece of meat with nothing in her empty little brain besides thoughts of cock! A selfish slut with no redeeming value! WHY WOULD YOU PICK HER OVER ME!?”

 

“... Strong… Words… For… Someone… Who… Also… Slept… With… Me…” I managed to gasp out.

 

“ShUt youR FaCE! ThAt DidN’T mEAn AnYTHinG!”

 

“That’s right! It didn’t mean anything! I’m so sorry Ayano I was too cowardly to bring it up especially since our relationship was already shaky and I didn’t want to lose you even though I did anyway and-”

 

“I don’t care, Lilly. I’m happy you were intimate with somebody besides me. I’m… Not jealous.

 

“WHY AREN’T YOU JEALOUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS?!”

 

Thousands of mouths screamed out in unison. It was so loud that the entire manor was sure to have heard it.

 

“... I hear them… All my old friends, rushing up to this room…” Lilly muttered, “Ha. Hahaha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. THEY’RE ALL GOING TO SEE WHAT A MONSTER I AM! HOW GLORIOUS! THEY’RE GOING TO SEE HOW I’VE REGRESSED TO THIS PATHETIC PRIMAL STATE HAHAHA I’VE MADE NO PROGRESS AT ALL IT WAS ALL A LIE IT WAS ALL FAKE I WAS ALWAYS DESTINED TO BE LIKE THIS I’M NOT A HUMAN AT ALL I’M A CREATURE OF LUST SPITE VIOLENCE AND JEALOUSY HOW COULD I EVER BE SO STUPID AS TO THINK THAT I WAS POSSIBLY CAPABLE OF DESERVING ANYONE AS WONDERFUL AS YOU I BETRAYED YOU I FAILED YOU I FAILED I FAILED I FAILED I WILL ALWAYS FAIL I WAS DESTINED TO FAIL IT IS MY BIRTHRIGHT TO FAIL I LOVE YOU SO MUCH YOU BITCH I HATE YOU WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE-”

 

They burst in through the door. Bodyguards, but two people pushed past them. Hugo, and Beth cowering behind his back. He had a look of fury on his face as he loaded a handgun and shot at Lilly several times, the bullets sinking uselessly into what could only technically be referred to as her ‘flesh’.

 

“YOU’RE BETTER THAN THIS LILLY. STOP THIS RIGHT THIS INSTANT!” He roared.

 

“... Haha…” Lilly giggled slightly.

 

My ears rang from the sound of the gunshots. I felt her grip around me tighten even more. She was probably thinking of killing me. Maybe she was thinking of killing everyone in this room. But instead, she dropped me to the floor with a thud. I gasped for air, my breathing hoarse.

 

“... Good. Now… Let’s.. Let’s return to human form, shall we?” Hugo suggested calmly but fearfully.

 

“... I can’t…”

 

“Please try, Lilly,” Beth chimed in, “We want to help you. We want to be there for you.”

 

She suddenly fell very silent and still for a few moments, although I’m not sure if that was in response to Beth or not. The menacing aura around her began to shift. I don’t think even she was expecting to say what she said next.

 

“... I hear it calling. Grisia… Yes… The annihilation sphere… I must go there… That’ll take me there in an instant…”

 

“Please don’t leave again, Lilly. We’ve missed you!” Beth cried.

 

But instead, her misshapen face turned towards Ayano. She was looking back up at Lilly with tears in her eyes, despite her blank stare. She probably couldn’t emote much because of the paralysis.

 

“... I’m so sorry, Lilly… Please don’t do this…” She muttered.

 

“... Hmph…”

 

And with that, she was gone, blinking out of existence as quickly as she had come into the room, leaving only smears of black sludge and the broken windows in her wake, which Hugo ran over to.

 

“... I just about managed to see her retreating into the woods. Barely. She moves quickly. We won’t be able to catch up to her…”

 

Medics rushed over to me and Ayano, using magic to try and ease our pain as the damage was assessed. I was feeling numb right now, but I heard them muttering about the fact that Lilly had broken my rib cage. But even after *that*, Ayano had some royal orders to issue.

 

“... Following hospitalisation, Priscilla is to be imprisoned for conspiring against Selicia and attempting to assassinate its Princess. Secondly, get me dressed and put me on a boat to Grisia right now.”

 

“... But your highness, you are simply not well enough-”

 

“This is a global emergency. So help me you will not waste a SINGLE second of my time. Make arrangements to get me on that boat immediately!”

 

As I found myself losing consciousness, I couldn’t help but smile. My life was over, but Ayano was alive. She would surely be able to save Lilly from herself… Yes… Everything… Everything was going to be okay.

 

Or so I hoped.

 

And as the darkness consumed my senses, I saw something in the distance, something rapidly emerging from the abyss.

 

A vision of glorious gold.