“That went terribly,” Analissia said. “Or rather, it was going quite well until something completely beyond my ability to handle decided to involve herself. There really wasn’t anything I could have done.” Even if she had known ahead of time, she simply didn’t have a winning move. There was sorrow in her voice. “And yet, there are still things we can do to salvage the situation. Will you help me, Tina, priestess of the fire dragon? You love this land as much as I do, do you not?”
~ ‡ ~
Tina felt a shiver run up her body. What could the demon woman possibly have to say to her now? “Wh-What do you mean by that?” she asked, keeping a sharp eye on Analissia. She was in a ready stance, prepared to draw her sword at any time.
Analissia gave an undisguised sigh of exasperation. “Humans can be such idiots,” she said. “Why don’t you try doing your own thinking for a change? In all that I have learned of the world, I have found no ‘justice’ that lacks ulterior motives and no evil deed done without cause. I wanted you as a tool. Or to be more precise, O priestess of the fire dragon, I wanted the title you hold.”
Tina glared at the woman across from her with poisonous fury. She couldn’t stand the way Analissia spoke, as if they were discussing no graver matters than their plans for tea.
“But it didn’t work,” Analissia continued. “The curse of domination failed to take hold, and you refused to obey me even at the cost of your own life. So now, as a last resort, I am going to ask you honestly for your help.”
Next time, try doing that first! Tina wanted to say, but kept the quip to herself. “Why would I ever listen to you?!” she shouted, trying to dispel the unease building in her chest. “Don’t you understand what you’ve been doing?!”
“What I’ve been doing?” Analissia asked, taking Tina’s hostile words with an air of aloof displeasure. She spoke slowly, letting her words sit in the silence of the room. “I suppose you could say I’ve been putting my hobbies to a practical application. What about you, Tina? What have you been doing? The priestess of the fire dragon is the pride of Estoll. You say you love this small, backward country, but what have you done for her?”
“I...” Tina faltered.
“Well, never mind,” said Analissia, cutting her off. “Let’s change the subject. Were you taught to treat your possessions with care when you were a child? I certainly was. Of all the things I was taught at that age, it was the only wisdom of any value.” Tina had no idea where Analissia was going with this. She listened silently. “Tell me, Tina, were you aware that all living things exist to struggle from the moment they come into this world?”
At that moment, two dolls arrived from elsewhere in the house and stood next to Analissia. One was a man approaching middle age who still had the physique and posture of a much younger man. The other, hanging off his arm, was a woman whose hair shone like bright golden thread. “These things used to be my mother and father,” Analissia said. “Although now, I am afraid they are nothing but dolls.”
“Y-You—!” Tina gasped, stunned with disbelief. She could wrap her head around the fact that Analissia had turned her own parents into two more of her dolls, but how could she calmly and dispassionately put them on display as if they were nothing more than worthless toys? It was as if she had no humanity in her whatsoever.
Tina’s body shook. She wasn’t afraid of violence, but something in the deepest, darkest depths of her heart filled her with a terror she couldn’t explain. Having been raised in an orphanage, she had never known her parents, but there was a priest in the church who was something like a father to her, and she saw the other children as her brothers and sisters. She loved her family dearly—more than her own life. How could Analissia be so unaffected when telling her how she’d turned her own mother and father into dolls? How could she pridefully call her own parents “things”?
“The male doll has a secret...” Analissia said, turning her attention to the doll that used to be her father. “Most of the time, it hides it underneath its bangs, but you can see it if you look closely. Here.”
Tina looked and saw a scar on the doll’s forehead. It looked like something had been cut off of there. “A horn...?” she guessed.
“Precisely. You call me a demon woman, I believe? I suppose I can’t blame you. I slipped His Highness some information to lead him to that conclusion in order to lure you to my mansion, but the truth is that only half of my blood is demonic.”
“No way...” Tina said. “You’re...human?” Of all the revelations so far today, that had been the most shocking. Tina had seen Analissia as a cruel, tyrannical demon who held the city in the palm of her hand—a dictator leading Estoll into an unwinnable war.
“Don’t be rude,” said Analissia. “Well, no matter. I will tell you everything. Please listen and try to understand. And then I will ask for your help.”
Could Tina and this monster really see eye to eye? When she’d finished listening to what Analissia had to say, what compromise would she ask her to make? Could Analissia talk Tina into agreeing with her point of view?
Uncertain of everything, Tina listened to Analissia’s story.
~ ‡ ~
The strongest memory Analissia had of her early life, when she was first beginning to develop a sense of self-awareness, was from three years after her birth when she’d caught sight of her mother making love to a man. Her mother’s sinful behavior, her wanton moans, were forever seared into the young girl’s mind.
Analissia’s mother was a noblewoman of Estoll. Her father, meanwhile, was a commoner so lowborn that even his hometown was unknown. What her father did have, however, was an absolutely extraordinary talent for magic, which her mother refused to be denied. The two were wed according to her wishes, and between them, Analissia was born. As a noble, her full name was Analissia Rainfiel.
Analissia’s father’s magical aptitude was second to none in the kingdom of Estoll. He was made a court wizard in the blink of an eye, and became their chief in only a few years’ time. But that was all to be expected. After all, Analissia’s father was not human.
Analissia’s father was none other than a succubus from the continent of demons, dispatched to infiltrate the human world as a spy—the first of the invaders to reach Estoll. He didn’t have much in the way of loyalty to his mission, but his prowess at seducing women and ingratiating himself with people of all sorts made him ideal for the role.
Analissia could still remember words she’d heard during her childhood. They echoed in her memory like a proclamation of doom.
“You’re very lucky, Analissia. One day, you’re going to grow into a woman worthy of your father...”
“When you become a woman, your father will show you the height of pleasure...”
Those words had been enough for Analissia to deduce the true nature of her parents’ “love.” They filled her five-year-old heart with dread. The day she’d come to understand what those words meant, she’d immediately hurled the contents of her stomach out onto the floor. The burning pain in her throat and the disgusting sensation inside her mouth were seared into her memory even today. What her parents had said to her marked the beginning of the first struggle of Analissia’s life. Her time limit was five, maybe six years—the onset of her first menstruation. She would have to kill her parents within that time, using any method at her disposal. If she failed, not only would her body be sullied, but worse, she would end up like her mother. She would lose her very capacity for thought and be reduced to a mere shrieking toy. That frightened her more than anything.