After the meeting, Demon returned to his own world. A pocket universe made from the very fabric that defined his existence, he built it to be his domain.
No one was stronger than him in this world, not even the Nine. In here, he was in complete control. But there was no one to share this space with him, except for his Iron Maiden.
She bowed, keeping both hands on her lap as her metallic mask lifelessly stared into the empty ground. Through her silence, she welcomed her creator.
"It is time, my sweet maid, are you ready?" Demon's voice lit up the entire universe.
The maid nodded, keeping her head down. She was ashamed of making eye-contact with her maker for reasons she didn't know. All of that was a mystery to her, including why she was made.
Demon hovered his hand over his maid's cheek, slowly bringing it up until they locked eyes. She obeyed, not questioning why he was doing this.
"Every single event has been thoroughly planned out, all the pieces are falling into place. Our interference will be minimal. My estimate is we will have to step in twice throughout the war."
She was quiet, silently listening to her master speak. Everything about the Iron Maiden was off. Such as her outfit.
It was all iron mixed with a corrupted version of Crimsanity, the metal that opposed the Nine. Demon was aware of it's purpose, to aid the Servants' ventures. Not to aid their schemes.
But he used it regardless, carelessly putting his entire existence on the line. If he was caught, he could be erased from history. No one would know the Coros siblings were three instead of two.
Demon grinned behind his helmet, hovering his hand over her crown. Prompting her to get on her knees, as if she was avoiding the hand altogether.
Right as the metal gown she wore began to scrape against the black floor, Demon let go. He hovered his hand beneath her breast, forcing her up again.
She did not question anything, only acted when she was prompted to act. Then intently looked after her creator, making sure he was safe at all times.
"You are the perfect assistant. I need more like you. But who I transform into one of you is a difficult choice... maybe one day, when some of the others drop. I will create Butlers and Maidens out of them."
The Iron Maiden was emotionless, careless of Demon's plotting right before her. She did not think or behave on her own. All that she had was her existence and a goal.
Upon her creation, as Demon clothed her, he whispered something into her ear. She could not understand what it meant, it was in Bakano. But over time, she began to decipher it.
Now, what he whispered to her has been engraved on her forearm. White scratches contrasted the black armor to make characters.
Vogh, hido, and shefir. Three characters from the Bakano alphabet. Individually, they meant nothing. But when they are brought together, they mean several things.
But she did not know that, let alone the different meanings. However, Demon did. He would sometimes whisper the same three letters into her mask.
Enough times to dig those same characters into her mind. Vogh, she would sometimes mutter. When abused, she would scream hido. And when resting, she would repeat shefir to herself.
Demon was aware of this - aware of the torment she endured every moment of her existence. That's why she was so afraid of his presence, but not afraid in the sense of danger.
But more ashamed, as if she did something bad. Whenever Demon would try to touch her, she would shy away from his hand.
"I am going to need my loyal assistant to aid me out there. The Nine will want me keeping an eye on the conflict, but I want an eye on some key characters."
The Iron Maiden nodded once before returning to her expressionless stance, it was almost like she was a statue. One that had a single purpose in her creation: to serve.
"My sweet maiden, express yourself. Are you ready for the incoming storm?" Demon fell silent.
In response, the maiden dashed backwards. Stopping a fair distance away from her master before unleashing a deafening screech. Demon watched, unbothered by the sudden actions.
With a leap, Syndicate Dust engulfed her frame and sent her back to Koroth. She watched through her mask all the horrors that sat inside the Distorted Mind. But she did not care.
She instantly was consumed by solar rays that evaporated most of her dust, leaving her almost naked out in the restless world. Her left hand washed over her armor, spreading out the remaining dust evenly.
Koroth, a foreign yet familiar place she once knew. Something about being here resonated with her, maybe it was how outlandish it seemed compared to her chamber, maybe it wasn't.
Her first instinct was to cover herself from the world. Syndicate Dust coated her body, hiding her away from the Nine and every other creation on the planet. No one could see her.
Including the keenest of eyes or the most sensitive guards, she was not there for most eyes. The Iron Maiden looked off into the horizon, Krugi stood like a lonely island.
Motivation pumped through her veins, she was ready for her first task. Utilizing the dust, she found herself right on the biggest building in the city. It was one of the metal shops in the Armory.
There, she waited for her cue to start acting. Demon trained her to be patient, every successful plan needs perfect timing. If she did her first task incorrectly, she didn't want to imagine what would happen.
Her mind had been twisted and destroyed billions of times over, and she knew Demon could do worse if he felt like it. So she watched the world go by, taking a mental note of everything she saw.
Daylight faded like a breeze, now Variants hurried to get their last-minute duties done before sundown. In the crowd of passing workers, she noticed something was staring at her.
A white mask looked up, unbothered by those going around it. The Iron Maiden focused on this figure until it leapt up to attack.