[Altair's notes]
I am leaving for the opening ceremony, it's really exciting! Everyone wants to better this country in their own way, but I want equal opportunity, and equality and peace among people. Though it may sound childish, I really believe it is possible. I wonder what other values the other candidates will bring to the table. I heard that the capital and castle were massive, they used teleporters and giant machinery to transport you around. I hope I don't mess this up, this is a really important moment in my life. Unfortunately, I didn't plan on Cori coming around, I'm still debating whether I should have brought her or not, but I trust that Bella will be able to handle her. I don't expect to be elected but I really want to at least make an impact, I heard there are many more people running, it will be a hard journey. I'm starting to turn these notes on Cori into my diary, maybe I should start one. Anyways, my dad wanted to see what magic Cori had, so he had me arrange the next lesson in magic, but I barely got time to plan. I asked Alshin for help and he was interested. But I doubt he can teach well. Cori seems to be a hard person to teach, but she may be interested in magic stuff.
[Voice]
Bella: Where was the dang thing again?
Bella seems to search around the library, trying to find something.
Cori: Are we lost? Do you think there are librarians to manage a library this big?
Bella: I am trying to find the librarians you are talking about, they seem to be hiding away from you, maybe that's why they haven't shown up?.
Cori: Am I really that scary?
Bella: You being a demon is scary, can you step back for a second?
Bella leads Cori to the edge of a corridor of bookshelves.
Bella: stand here for me and don't move, I will call the librarians.
Cori decides it was best to follow Bella's instructions and stands in the area, these bookshelves seemed to be littered with books about history. Cori took an interest in a book labeled "documentary of void surges" Cori decided to pick it off the shelves and hid it for later. The book looked like a new one, it even had a fancy cover. Cori had heard the phrase void surge somewhere but couldn't remember it. But nevertheless, she was interested in what the book had to offer. Meanwhile, Bella was calling out at the other end of the corridor when suddenly, a small orb of green light approached her, trails of mist trailed from the body of the thing.
Bella: Magic books for studying please, no grimoires.
The orb of green suddenly formed into a lantern which floated down the library.
Bella: Cori! Follow me now! Make sure you stay a considerable distance from me though.
Cori: Alright.
Cori followed Bella and the lantern into an open area, corridors of bookshelves were lined up, each marked with different symbols.
Bella: Dang, I should have been more specific but this will do.
The lantern turns back into the orb of light and floats away.
Bella: Cori, this is the spot. The information about magic is kept here, I think you can find channeling and beginners guides over there.
Bella points at a corridor of bookshelves, the end of the bookshelf had a yellow eye marking on it.
Bella: I think it was in the yellow eye bookshelves.
Cori: Why can't they just label the shelves correctly with words.
Bella: I have no idea, ask the librarian, the other people living here seem to have no problems with it.
Cori walks over to the suggested place and enters the corridor. This specific one was slightly more cramped than the others, sporting only 3 feet of walking distance between the two bookshelves.
Cori: Dammit, I feel like I'm being sandwiched… I just have to find one good book and get out of here.
Cori squats down and tries to look for some books, she comes across a multitude of books: "guide for rituals", "channeling for dummies", "how to summon your first demon beast".
Cori: Are you kidding? Only cultists would use these books. Screw this, I'm just going to take a random one.
Cori takes a book labeled "advanced guide on rituals and summoning".
Cori: Whatever, I'm just going to complain to Bella after I get out of this place.
Cori walks back down the way she came, but the way back was a much longer walk.
Cori: What the hell is going on? I swear I didn't go that far down.
She continued walking, and suddenly saw an end to the corridor, but it seemed much more different than the area she came in from, as if she had teleported somewhere. Cori slowly exits the two bookshelves and looks around, the place was much more messy. It reminded her of the library Grimm was in, books were all over the floor and some of the bookshelves were even knocked over. Clearly, this place was not well kept. Cori decided to explore. The place was cramped, it didn't even have a door. Despite the room being decently large, the amount of bookshelves around made it hard to see across the room.
Cori: What type of magic is this? Can I take a break?
She suddenly stumbles across a clearing, a rocking chair was in the middle of the place, someone was sitting on the chair but the chair was facing away, Cori was unable to see who was on the chair.
Cori: Damn… Finally some space, whoever organized this place must be lazy as hell. BUt I swear this clearing wasn't here before.
Cori emerges from the messy rows of bookshelves and walks up to the chair.
Cori: Hello? Are you there? I think I'm lost, can you give me directions?
No response came from the chair, it started to rock back and forth.
Cori: I know you are there, are you deaf?
The person on the chair was probably deaf, they did not even acknowledge Cori was there.
Cori: Hey! Quit ignoring me!
Cori walks up the chair and turns it around, sitting on the chair was a realistic doll, it was slightly smaller than a child and seemed to be some type of prop. It was dressed in fancy clothes, the dress it had was red with ribbons and bows adorning it. It had blonde hair with a large crown on its head which seemed to weigh it down, causing it to slump over. Multiple jewels were engraved in the crown, it seemed to be made of real gold! Cori couldn't resist touching it. Cori reached her hand out to touch it but a strong blast of wind knocked Cori against one of the bookshelves, knocking the books down on her head.
Cori: Agh! What the hell was that?
Doll: Don't touch my dolls, sinner.
Cori: How was I supposed to know that you were living?
Cori stands up, but suddenly, a large book falls on Cori's head dazing her, she stumbles into a second bookshelf causing the whole thing to fall on her, crushing her body.
Doll: What a clumsy idiot… Demons are supposed to be powerful but this is just pathetic.
(1 hour later)
Cori: GAH! WHAT HAPPENED?
Doll: Sinner, you're awake, finally.
Cori: Ow… You really didn't have to do that. You have no idea how much that hurts.
Cori's head had a stream of blood trickling down, multiple bruises were on her body. Books from the fallen shelf cover Cori weighing her down, she could barely move.
Doll: Whoops, I guess I overdid it earlier.
Cori: What is wrong with you?! Help me out from under this thing!
The bookshelf that fell on Cori was relatively small but still weighed a decent amount.
Doll: Right this instant, ma'am.
The doll raises an arm and raises the bookshelf vertically, dropping the remaining books on top of Cori's body, a cry of pain was heard when the books hit the demon, Cori eventually rises from the pile of books with a death glare aimed at the doll.
Cori: I swear, if you didn't have magical powers, I would throw this book right at that block of a head you have…
Cori raises up one of the large books, it was a math textbook that was at least 6 inches thick.
Doll: I am impressed you are able to lift that book at all, your arms look like spaghetti noodles.
Cori: Don't underestimate me, I am a demon! I will use my powers to destroy you if you don't tell me how to get out of here!
Cori tries her best to intimidate the doll with a scary face, this obviously fails.
Doll: Really? You look more cute this way with that angry little face of yours, maybe I should throw you into more bookshelves?
Cori: What do you mean? This is it! Take this!
Cori throws the book at the doll, it doesn't even hit, landing about two feet away from the chair the doll was on.
Doll: Impressive, you even managed to throw that book.
Cori: *huff* *huff* I will throw another! That one was a warning shot!
Doll: I doubt you will ever hit me, but what exactly do you want in my library, sinner. You are quite impressive, opening that seal on the door.
Another small book flies past the doll hitting the floor behind the rocking chair.
Doll: Now I have doubts on my abilities to protect this place, you're lucky I didn't kill you on sight, honestly… Answer me, how did you get in.
Cori: The maid Bella made me come in to study magic and stuff.
Doll: Bella? I thought she hated people like you, quite the bold statement miss.
Cori: You just gotta trust me.
Doll: Trust? You? Your manipulation doesn't work on me.
Cori: Goddammit… Why is everyone so stingy.
Doll: I know that you will never tell me how you actually got in, I cannot let this go unnoticed.
Cori: First of all, what is this place?
Doll: None of your business! Stop avoiding my question.
Cori: I'm not lying! Bella let me in! I was retrieving a book until you messed me up!
Cori suddenly realizes something, the book she had in her hands earlier was lost among the piles of books that dropped on her.
Cori: GODAMMIT! WHERE DID IT GO?
Doll: Whoops, how clumsy of me!
The doll said the words sarcastically while giggling.
Cori: You hag… You seem to be enjoying yourself, this isn't funny!
Cori throws one of the books from the pile flinging it at the doll. The doll uses telekinesis to stop the book midair, she lowers it gently on her lap.
Doll: How about you calm down for a moment, it's just a book.
Cori: Who do you think you are telling me what to do! Have you ever heard of minding your own business? You have been nothing but a pain in the ass.
Doll: I am the spirit who controls this library, I will have you know I am a much more powerful magical creature than you, I don't even want to think of being a similar being to rats like you. I know you played a dirty little trick on Bella to get in this place. I have connected the dots, you tricked her into letting you into my sacred library…
The doll's expression suddenly changes after the insult Cori threw at it. She raises her hand and produces a ball of magic. It was a pulsating blue mass which seemed to radiate the power of the sun itself.
Cori: Woah, woah, woah! Control your anger, we can talk this out, right? I just got a little mad over the book I lost.
Doll: I do not negotiate with sinners. DIE!
Suddenly a bookshelf slides open, Bella enters the room. The doll hesitates, dissolving the massive ball of energy that was in her hands earlier.
Bella: Oh my! There you are! I was looking forever!
Doll: Huh? Me?
Bella: Luckily you found her, I have no idea how she got lost this way, how did she know about the secret passage? Or did she get unlucky.
Doll: I uhhhh.
Bella: You're so cute when you're shy!
Bella pats the doll on the head and grabs Cori's arm.
Bella: Cori, did you find the book you wanted? While searching for you, I found a nice selection of books for you!
Cori: auuwwh…
Cori was frozen in fear from the doll, she didn't expect the doll to try and obliterate her.
Bella: Cmon, we have a lesson to do, that magic of yours isn't going to channel itself.
Bella pulls Cori by the arm out of the room and the bookshelf slides shut, the doll stares blankly at the exit to the passage.
Doll: Well, that was a waste of time teleporting her here… I can't bother cleaning this up.
(hours later)
Bella: Cori, let's take a break for today, you seem to be tired.
Cori: Yeah… Really. Who was that spirit person anyways?
Bella: Oh, she is the grand spirit that monitors and manages the library, she likes to possess dolls since she thinks they are cute, she's a little bit of a hot head though but she's pretty nice.
Cori: Yeah… I could tell…
Bella: You seem pretty hurt, but you wouldn't reply to me why, are you comfortable answering now?
Cori spots another doll sitting on a bookshelf nearby, it seemed to be staring at her.
Cori: Oh, uhm… I was just embarrassed, I tripped over one of the books and fell. Then the books shelves toppled on me.
The doll on the shelf seemed to smile. Bella also starts to laugh at Cori.
Cori: Hey! Shut up! You said you wouldn't laugh or anything!
Bella: Hehehe! It's just too funny… Lets head back out of here, you must be getting sick from the library's aura.
Cori: yeah… (damn that stupid spirit doll!)
Bella: You seem to be more enthusiastic to learn about magic, unfortunately, we only have human magic books and knowledge since demonic stuff isn't allowed.
Cori: What exactly would demonic magic be? Is there really any difference?
Bella: Apparently, it's a dangerous form of magic that can warp reality, chronomancy and necromancy are frowned upon and are mostly outlawed since they were magics demons would use to unstabilize reality.
Cori: Man, demons must have been really big jerks, right?
Bella: Yes, evidence of that is you.
Cori: Hey! Why me?
Bella: First of all, you're a demon. Second, you complain all the time, have you ever thought it gets on people's nerves?
Cori: These are reasonable complaints and I didn't choose to be born like this! I'm not a crazy monster like you say demons are.
Bella: Tch… I don't even know if you are pretending to be normal, you are probably plotting something right now.
Cori: Come on! Can you treat me like a regular person?
Bella: I still believe the only thing that will be normal about demons is their human-like appearance. Demons were monsters who evolved to look like humans to trick them easier.
Cori: Is there any way of proving I am trustworthy?
Bella: I shouldn't tell you that.
Bella and Cori both exit the library through the door they came in from. Cori takes a deep breath as she steps outside.
Cori: I feel much lighter, I can breathe again outside that wretched place! It's good to have some fresh air but this air is a bit too fresh, is this the same place we came in through?
Bella: Nope, I went through the door that takes us to the ballroom, it's close to your room and it's where I was scheduled to clean up.
Cori: Can you give me directions back to my room? I'm not sure if I can make it back myself.
Bella: Go up those stairs and through that door, turn right and keep going. Once you reach the painting of a golden tree, turn left and your room should be there. You recognize the door to your room right?
Cori: I thought you said it was close by! What is wrong with you! Are you even giving me the right directions?
Bella: I would never.
Cori: (I'm going to get tricked again am I. I don't want to run into that other maid again.)
Cori strolls up the stairs and follows Bella's directions:go right, then left at the golden tree painting, then go in the room.
Cori: I trust my sense of direction, I doubt I will get lost this time.
She unfortunately reaches a branching path at the golden tree painting, she had forgotten which way to turn.
Cori: Crap… Which way was I supposed to turn? Was it right?
Cori decides to turn left, deciding it was best to go in the direction she wasn't thinking about. This was fortunately the correct direction but Cori didn't know which door it was, choosing the first door she saw down the hall. Upon opening it, it led back to the library from before.
Cori: Oops, wrong room.
Cori turns around only to see that the door had disappeared, she was now in the same room as the doll. The surroundings changed so quickly, Cori thought she was going insane.
Cori: W-What's going on?
Doll: I assume you came back to retrieve the book?
Cori: What? No. I don't need it anymore.
Doll: Then I suppose you clean up the mess you made, I'm too lazy to do it. WHy did you wander back here anyways.
Cori: Why are you ordering me around again? This came out of nowhere!
A blast of air hits Cori in the chest, this causes her to topple more books.
Doll: No questions, now get to work.
Cori: Why…
Cori starts to pick up the books quietly after the doll's threats.
Doll: So, you got lost on your way back to your room, right?
Cori: Y-Yes?
Doll: How did you find the exact door that led to the library in that area then? Do you have some sort of insight?
Cori: I have no idea how this works…
Doll: Well, I usually change where the door of the library is located at will, any random door you come across in this mansion could lead to the library. Somehow, you chose just the right door out of all the doors.
Cori: (Yes! Maybe I have extreme luck or something? But considering what has happened so far in my short time around here, I wouldn't exactly call myself lucky)
Cori: Maybe I just made a one in one million guess? Do you know the way back to the room I'm supposed to be in once I am done?
Doll: No idea, figure it out yourself.
Cori sighs loudly as she resumes her work, the doll closely watches Cori from her chair. Cori finally finishes the cleaning process.
Doll: Well done! You would make a great maid around this manor!
Cori: Shut up! Why did you pick me out of all people? Do I look like a maid to you? I can barely do this hard slave labor you forced upon me!
Cori starts to yell at the doll, she eventually starts to throw the books at the doll again.
Cori: Do you know who I am? Get Bella to do this dirty work next time!
Doll: *Sigh* We don't appreciate this behavior from our guests, I will have to kick you out of this library.
The doll raises a finger and a blast of wind sends Cori flying through a wall, the wall was surprisingly soft. On the other side of the wall was the courtyard, Cori fell into the fountain in the middle, soaking the clothes she was wearing.
Cori: Ow… At least throw me onto a bush. That's another bruise on this perfect body. The wall she had been thrown out from didn't have a hole, the only evidence of the destruction was a couple of broken planks that were strewn around the courtyard. From here, the night sky was clearly visible. Was it late already? Cori gets up from the fountain and tries her best to dry off. She looked back into the fountain at her reflection, checking for any injuries, but all that was visible was an extremely wet demon with a pained expression. She walks into one of the random doors that lead out the courtyard, hoping she wouldn't get lost again.
Cori: I'm never getting back to my room am I? Screw that doll.
[Doll]
The guest is an interesting one, she picked up that summoning book as a demon, and she didn't even want it back. I really thought she was plotting something. I regret wasting my time on the demon since I got nothing out of my two tests. I guess she really wanted a random book from the magic shelf, but she didn't know it was a book about demonic magic. Bella probably told her that demonic magic was illegal in order to deter her from scouting out books about it, but I sent a wisp to Bella earlier to inform her about the interaction. There is still the case where she gets desperate for power and will try to use demonic magic over normal magic since demons would of course have affinity with demonic things, but I don't think that is the case. She seemed pretty happy with her status when she bragged to me. I can put up with this behavior since I know what to expect from a demon. But with Altair away, I might need to keep a close eye on the demon.
[Voice]
Cori wanders into a hallway, this one was larger than the rest of the halls, pillars made of marble lined the walls with paintings of different people. Some of them had naked figures that Cori soaked in.
Cori: Oh… Maybe this is why people like art so much. I was getting tired of seeing boring paintings of landscapes. But who would own an art gallery like this and put it up on display?
Cori walks along the red carpet that was rolled out of the floor, she looks around at the paintings and laughs childishly at some of them. After reaching the end of the gallery, she reached a hallway perpendicular to the exit of the gallery.
Cori: Dammit… This place is a maze, how do people get used to living here? This place barely has any people in it, I should see at least two maids around, Hello? Any workers around here?
She called out loudly to any maid that was in her vicinity, but her calls only echoed down the halls with no response.
Cori: They say if you stick to the right wall of a maze, you will eventually reach the end.
Cori comes up with a plan, she places her hand against the right wall and starts walking. Drops of water dripped onto the carpet below her each step she took, she was starting to get cold from the wet clothes on her body.
Cori: Dammit… I should have asked Bella to lead me back, at this point, I will never get back to my room.
[Bella]
My job is to clean, and do chores around this manor, but recently, I have taken up a new job of teaching a demon. She seems to be interested in a lot of things but not good at anything, I feel like I have gotten better at teaching her. I studied how Brigg teaches and decided to try the methods out sometimes, I just need to hold out until the end of the month. The most concerning thing is the book she chose from the shelf. The library spirit sent a wisp to me saying that Cori apparently was interested in demonic magic, But hopefully my lie can draw her away from those arts for now, but there is no telling if she would get curious. I must act kindly to her in order to distract her from doing bad things. To deal with a demon, you must be the one to trick them first I guess. I really wanted to kill her at first but the elf was right, she really does seem to be interesting, usually demons are calculated wild beasts that would do nothing but cause trouble, but her lack of power seems to have altered her mind as a demon a bit. I must keep up an act until the end of the month.
Bella: *sigh* I don't know why I'm writing in this diary. This was supposed to be Altair's right? I snuck it away from him in the morning but he didn't seem to care. Back to my work…
The ballroom was still half cleaned, my senses could detect each piece of dust, each stain on the carpet. I quickly ran around the room, precisely cleaning every inch of the room. I was finishing up cleaning the stairwell when I realized something.
Bella: I just have the feeling that damn demon got lost, she is the type, it has almost been an hour, I wonder how she's doing.
I continue to clean the room. Eventually, the task was done, the chandelier sparkled and the railings and floor were shining. It was always satisfying looking at your completed work. I decided to go to Cori's room to check, I grabbed my case full of supplies and followed my instructions, and eventually reached Cori's room, I unsurprisingly opened the door to no one around, I double checked to make sure she wasn't around.
Bella: This is exactly like taking care of a child, I would expect a 24 year old to at least be more independent. I guess I should blame myself for not supervising her.
I continue down the hall, searching for that lost child of a demon. These halls were always strange, the manor was built like a maze, it was a massive structure with twisting halls and carpet. I always subconsciously knew where to go, but something always felt off about the manor. Why didn't Aquilla hire more maids? Why did they make the place so complex? These were questions that would pop up in my head. As if by chance, I came across Cori, she was shivering, her back against the wall.
Bella: What happened? Gone for a swim?
Cori: Shut the hell up, tell that damn spirit to quit bothering me also.
Bella: I assume you got lost, I can lead you back to your place, you probably have a cold by now.
Cori: My boy isn't that weak! Are you kidding? How is being wet for an hour conditions to assume I have a cold? Who are you to mock me li-
Bella: Stop your blabbering, your words have no meaning when you have absolutely nothing to back it up, let's go back to your room, you might actually have a cold, the closest water source to here is the fountain, and I know that the water there isn't heated.
I grab Cori by the hand and start leading her back. She seemed to have a depressed look the whole time we were walking back. When we got back to Cori's room, I decided to ask her about her mood.
Bella: You look sad, is anything wrong?
Cori: Not really, it's just that… I feel like I'm far too weak.
Bella: It's natural for demons to want power, you'll get over it once you become humble.
Cori: No, it's just that, I feel like I'm far below average, was there a demon that is as weak as me? Ever?
Bella: You are an anomaly, not being able to use magic as a demon is like having a frog without legs, especially if you are a succubus. But I have to agree, I don't think there was ever a demon that couldn't use magic.
Cori: Why me though? I thought I would have at least some power, I wanted to learn magic and be cool, I wanted to be more independent, but my body seems to be nothing more than a piece of garbage.
Bella: I feel like you are caring too much about power, all demons do that. That is why they have gone extinct, but you were an exception since you didn't have any power to abuse. Or you had yours taken away. You would have been executed in the capital if you had capabilities to harm people.
Cori: Is that supposed to make me feel better?
Bella: Not really, considering you are a demon, your situation could have been many times worse.
Cori: I guess it could be worse, but I don't get what I did wrong to be executed, what is everyone's problem with demons, why can't I just have a normal life?
Bella: You asking for a normal life in society is like a vampire asking you to stay at your place, despite you looking humanoid, demons have evolved to look like that so that they could get closer to humans and kill them easier.
Cori: I haven't killed anyone yet, have I? I just want to be treated like a regular person.
Bella: I'm afraid that isn't possible, let's get you changed, I don't want you to get more sick.
Cori: Hey, don't touch me!
I take off Cori's clothes and lead her to a bath area with towels. She didn't seem to be at all impressed, her face turned a bright red, fortunately, she had some bandages on her body.
Cori: T-This is unforgivable! I'm not a child you know! I can do stuff on my own!
Bella: Alright, this is the bath area, just don't drown yourself when I come back, alright?
Cori: Leave immediately, do you not have any respect?
Bella: I left your nightgown outside, you can call me if you need me to lead you back to your room.
Cori: You'd better give me a formal apology for this! But I won't forgive you!
I leave the area, Cori decides to throw a towel at my head, it wraps around my face as I exit the room. After taking the towel from my face, I wait outside for Cori to finish.
Bella: Taking care of this stupid demon is more bothersome than cleaning the toilets. Without anyone else around, it's like I'm a single mother.
[Cori]
Why won't they show any sympathy? They act like I don't have disabilities and treat me like an animal. No matter how hard I try, they just don't change, do they, and now they make me take a bath? No matter how depressed I look, they always respond with the same thing: "Oh, at least you aren't dead!" I feel like death is a better alternative to this bullshit! I was the chosen one am I? But this is some more bullshit! Where are my powers? Why am I treated like a villain? The books always say that the chosen one is supposed to save the world but what power do I have to save even myself?
Cori: Maybe I have to try harder to have them lower their guard, I am totally done with this manor… I could probably escape to some sort of remote place where they don't treat demons like crap. But what's the deal with this bath house place?
I took a look around, three doors were in front of me with their respective labels: Sauna, showers, and baths.
Cori: This place is massive, nothing like that cramped room I had in the Inn place, I would have expected to see those tubes that spray water.
I decided to go into the sauna. Upon opening the door, a blast of hot air hit me. It was as painful as Altair's healing magic on my skin. I immediately stumbled back and gasped for breath.
Cori: What the hell is this death trap? I can't take a bath in peace without getting burned!
I checked myself for burns, but the only thing that was different was the small droplets of sweat that formed from the heat.
Cori: Tch. I'll go to the bath then.
I open the door to some pools. Steam seemed to be rising from the water.
Cori: Ah, this must be a swimming area? I can probably try it out.
I took a dip in the pool, as my foot entered, I instantly felt relaxed.
Cori: Ahhhh… This should be some compensation for what has happened.
I lean my back against the wall of the pool and relax, I suddenly feel sleepy.
Cori: Man, this is peaceful, I should get out before I fall asleep.
My limbs feel heavy as I crawl out of the pool, I look down, my bandages have fallen off and the wound underneath was sealed but there was another abnormality, my entire body below my neck was red from the heat.
Cori: Shit! What happened! I stayed in the damn thing too long! I need some cold water!
I look around for some water, I spot another pool, maybe this one had cold water? I jumped in, but unfortunately, the water in this pool was even hotter. What the hell is wrong with this place? I instantly jumped back out of the pool and rushed over to another pool but I slipped and dove head first into the pool, bumping my face at the tiled bottom. Unlike the other pools, this one was freezing cold. It was so cold, my skin tingled with pain, it was as if there were thousands of piranhas biting my flesh. I jump out of the pool and rush outside.
Cori: There has to be some sort of water source around here that can cool me down without killing me!
I suddenly started shivering, a mix of hot and cold made me panic, I rushed into the closest room I could find. This was unfortunately the sauna. Before I realized it, the door behind me was closed and I was in the middle of the room. The place was so hot, my skin started turning redder, I waved my arms around in a panic and tried to budge the door.
Cori: Uwahhh! Open up! I'm not going to die like this!
The door wouldn't move, I desperately bang on the door, the heat was getting intense, would I die here?
[Voice]
Cori was starting to make quite the noise inside the bath house.
Bella: Looks like someone is having fun, I wonder what's going on, hopefully she didn't destroy the place, it would be a lot of work to clean.
Cori suddenly burst out the front door, she was wearing no clothes and her skin was red like a lobster. Bella tries her best not to laugh, but her face was that of a wide smirk.
Cori: What the hell are you smiling at? This is no bath place! This is some sort of hell! Why the heck did you make everything so hot!
Bella: Uhm, the water seems to have healed you.
Cori: I can tell you are trying not to laugh, you brat! Now where the hell is the actual shower?!
Bella: I thought you could at least take a shower by yourself, but maybe you'll need my help from now on.
Cori: Don't come any closer! Nooo!
This was going to be an interesting evening for Cori. Eventually, it was over. Bella leads Cori back to her room.
Cori: How exactly does this water heal my wounds, why didn't you let me use it on day one?
Bella: It only heals minor ones, I let you use the place after your torso wound healed, you have a pretty quick rate of regeneration, you know?
Cori: How is healing a wound in multiple days impressive for a demon?
Bella: It's impressive for your power level, not compared to others, but I'm glad you don't need to wear those bandages all the time now.
Cori: Yeah right…
Bella: Anyways, you can go rest in your room, I can go prepare dinner. Would you like anything while you wait?
Cori: What else is there to do?
Bella: You could do some work with supervision, I don't think I am allowed to let you do anything else.
Cori: Damn…
Bella: I can just leave if you want to.
Cori: Wait, let me think for a second.
Bella: Hurry up and decide, I don't have an infinite amount of time.
Cori: Do you have any books on demons? I would like to know more about them.
Bella: Always greedy for knowledge, have you ever thought of remaining ignorant? You don't need to know everything about everyone, but I suppose it comes natural to you.
Cori: What is your problem with me? Can you just get a damn book?
Bella: Relax, I will go call up the library spirit to bring you one, any specific one?
Cori: Just any random one.
Bella: Alright, I will see you later.
A couple of minutes passed before a glowing lamp carrying a leather book with magic entered the room, phasing through the door. It threw the book at Cori, hitting her in the chest.
Cori: Ow! What is your problem? At least warn me.
Lamp: Return this by tomorrow, I don't want your dirty demon hands on my books for long.
Cori: But you have thousands of other books!
Lamp: I will take my leave before I cause physical damage to you.
Cori: Hey! But you already did! I would like some compensation! Get back here!
The lamp phases back through the door, Cori tries to follow but the door is locked, as expected.
Cori: Dammit… Of course it is locked.
Cori looked at the window, searching for an escape, but a metal cage structure was newly installed.
Cori: This place feels like a prison, do they really need to do this to me?
Cori looked down at her book, it was titled demon anatomy. It seemed like the average boring textbook that scholars would use to study, but it was better than nothing.
Cori: Anatomy of all things… They could have chosen a better one, everyone here is a scumbag it seems.
Cori was obviously disappointed, but studying the structure of her body may come in use for later. Cori scanned through the book, looking at different types of demons, imps, devils, and more. Even though they were classed differently, they all looked similar. They took on a humanoid appearance. Some of them had wings which Cori was missing. Cori went to the mirror and took off the top half of her gown just to check whether or not she had wings, maybe they were just too small to be felt? She turns around and looks back into the mirror, in place of where wings usually would be, two thin marks were present. The marks look much more like scars than anything natural.
Cori: It's as if the world is trying to disappoint me, I need to at least win in some aspect.
Cori read more of the book, examining each part of her body as she did.
Cori: Maybe I have a tail?
She checked under her gown, reaching around for something to grab, a tingle assaults her spine as she managed to grab a ball structure.
Cori: Maybe I do have a tail? She decides to take a look, she turns around in the mirror to see, taking off her gown which obscures the vision of her body parts. But to her shock, her tail was tied up in a knot, how has she not noticed this before?
Cori: Agh! I must get this untangled this instant!
The tail was wrapped up tight, the end of the tail was sticking out, an upside down heart shaped serrated tip was at the end of the tail. Cori tried pulling around in different places, she staggered around, trying to untie her tail, suddenly, when she pulled on the end of her tail, the tip suddenly hardened, it felt like brushing your hand against multiple knives. The serrated structures, now hardened, punctured Cori's skin on her hand, she let off a scream, drawing her hand away from her tail. Some of the blood lands on the book she was reading, tainting it with two droplets.
Cori: Shit shit shit! Why! This damn tail!
Bella suddenly enters the room.
Bella: Cori, why are you screaming, the food is ready by the way.
Bella suddenly notices what was going on, on the bed stood a half naked Cori, one hand pulled on a tangled tail, the other was in the air, blood trickling down the wrist of the hand. It was hard not to laugh, a moment of silence permeated the air around them, neither moved. Cori's face suddenly started to turn bright red, she was the first one to speak.
Cori: Hey! Hey! It's not what it looks like! I can explain!
Bella's face was that of utter shock.
Bella: Cori? What the hell have you been doing? I will need an explanation.
Bella was currently carrying a case that was slung over her shoulder with a strap, she quickly equipped and opened the case, drawing out a stick. She slowly approaches Cori, slapping the stick on the palm of her hand each step.
Bella: You know, that blood you got everywhere… It requires my time to clean up. You should know not to cause trouble, even when I'm not away!
Cori: Yes! But it isn't as bad as it seems, ok? I can-
Bella: What a whore, why would you randomly take off your clothes?
Cori: I was just-
Cori was interrupted, her explanation suddenly turned into a scream as the stick descended toward her head.
(moments later)
Cori: That hurt! You didn't need to hit THAT hard.
Cori was rubbing her head, Bella had hit her multiple times.
Bella: I had to knock some sense into you.
Bella was sitting on the bed with Cori, she seemed to have calmed down. A new bandage was installed on Cori's hand and she was busy untangling her tail.
Bella: How did your tail get like this? I assumed you didn't have one since most of your other demonic body parts were cut off. The wounds seem to be inflicted by a knife of some sort, likely one of low quality.
Cori: Why did I have these removed in the first place, these seem like important things.
Bella: Anyone trying to capture and contain a demon with wings would likely try to cut off the wings and claws, but that still doesn't explain the missing horns or the fact you still have a tail.
Cori: I'm technically captured right now, am I? But you aren't cutting off my tail.
Bella: You are currently referred to as a pet. A very intelligent pet. Don't question the ethics of this.
Cori: You seem very smart in many different ways, are you sure you're only two years old?
Bella: I have finished untangling this thing. Come, I will give you your food.
Cori: (why is she avoiding my question?)
Cori and Bella exit the room, it will be a long time before Altair returns.