3: Testing the power of a loli

The forest Grace and I stepped into was rather sinister. Normally if I were my old self I would have screamed a few times. But I needed to show some dignity so I did my best to hold it in. I calmed down once I saw that all the monsters we encountered started to run away from us. I guess their instincts told them we were too dangerous and they had to flee.

"Excuse me, mistress, but what sort of test do you want to do here?"

I WANNA FLY! Is what I wanted to say. Every man dreams of flying. I read a tone of novels where the MC could soar through the sky. These wings on my back might look creepy, but they should be sturdy enough to let me fly. I also wanted to try shooting out a bunch of lasers out of my hands. Basically I wanted to take this body for a test drive. I didn't tell Grace those exact words. I tried to act like a little snob for once.

"Hmph. I need to see what 200 years of sleep did to my body. I want to stretch my wings and see if my strength is the same."

"Of course, mistress! Please forgive me for my curiosity."

Grace, you truly are amazing. Your attitude towards me doesn't change even if I act a little spoiled. I might get addicted to acting like a brat sometimes. Now how the fuck do I fly? Should I just flap my wings?

------

I looked at my mistress as she started to flap her wings. She took a guts pose, clenched her tiny fists and squirmed a little. Cute. My mistress is probably the most adorable being in this entire world. Although I don't know what's she trying to do. Is she trying to fly? Did she also forget a skill she should have known since birth? In that case I should find an appropriate moment and also teach her how to fly.

When lady Milla woke up from her slumber I was happy. I thought I would never get to hear her sweet voice again. I think she was only 5 when I saw her the first time. You could say it was love at first sight. The moment I saw such a cute figure, I knew it. "This is the person I want to dedicate my life to." Lady Milla was such a naive child. She trusted people too easily. She needed someone to guide her. But even if I wanted to voice my opinion she never listened to me.

When the Walpurgis clan fell, against all odds I managed to escape with mistress. By the time I found this mansion she was already deep asleep. I could only place a small seal on her to mask her energy and keep her heart beating. All these years I watched over her, cleaned her body and groomed her wings. A normal servant would have abandoned her long ago. But as a proud Battle Maid, that thought never crossed my mind.

Since she woke up, I felt that mistress had changed. I can't tell how she changed, but something happened to her. I couldn't sense any trace of the energetic and gullible girl. Mistress says she has no memory. This lady had constantly been asking for my help, for my guidance. I was considered an eye-sore before, but now the little miss needs me. She asks for my help and seems more mature. I don't know what caused the change in her, but I'm glad. If nurtured, I feel that "this" mistress shall accomplish great things. Perhaps she will even save us from humanity.

"Mou… Grace, I can't take this anymore! Stop standing there and teach me how to fly!"

Yes. Mistress truly is cute. I love this child with every fiber of my body.

"As you wish, mistress."

I will support you as long as my heart still beats.

------

"Hahaha! This is the best. This is best feeling in all the world! Flying is sooooo fun!"

In case you didn't figure it out, I'm the one who's shouting. Grace managed to teach me how to fly. It seems flapping my wings was pointless. In order to fly I had to send mana into my wings. Even back when I was human, magic wasn't my strong point. Or should I say those dumbass knights were poor teachers. The way Grace taught me how to circulate mana through my body, even an infant would understand it. And right now I'm fully enjoying the view. I took the liberty to shout as much as I wanted since Grace was still on the ground. She doesn't have wings so I guess she can't fly.

When I first reached the sky I thought that it will be cold given the clothes I'm wearing. I don't know who my parents were, but to all parents out there, even if you are demons, please don't dress your little girl so erotic. So, like I was saying, it wasn't cold at all up here. Even though the wind was strong, it was like I had a built-in radiator. Something from inside was keeping me warm. I decided to try going faster. But just as I accelerated, Grace pops in front of me out of nowhere.

"Eeh!?"

To avoid bumping into her I quickly went into a nose dive. But, since we were in the forest… you guessed it. I ended up crashing into a tree and eventually fell on the ground. When I shake the feeling away I notice Grace calmly floating down. I also noticed that I left a mark in the shape of my body on the tree I hit. I was kinda embarrassed. I wanted to burn the tree.

"Grace, what was that for? I thought you couldn't fly!"

"Forgive me, mistress. But you aren't wrong, I can't fly. I can only treat the air like a staircase step and glide for a few moments. I just wanted to ask you to stop as flying so chaotically would attract unwanted eyes our way."

I guess I can't blame her that much. This loli body is quite sturdy. And she was doing it for my sake…

"Still, could you at least do stuff like that more gently in the future?"

"Understood."

Well now that the flying lessons are over, I guess I should move on to the next topic.

"Hey Grace, how about you spar with me?"

"Mistress, if you wish to take my life you just need to say so. If you so desire I can rip out my own heart and give it to you on a tray."

Wha… Did I say something weird? Grace your loyalty is too extreme!

"Nonono! Where did you get that idea?"

"Lady Milla, you are now a Demon King. Your power exceeds my own. I don't see why you would want to spar with me other than taking my life."

"Grace, that's some twisted logic you have there. Listen, I'll give you an order here and now. Don't die! Even if I tell you to kill yourself you can't do that. Starting from now you must live!"

"Lady Milla… I see. In order to help you rebuild the Walpurgis house, I must live. You truly are wise. Yes, I am more valuable alive. To handle affairs, to help organizing and of course to look after you. Then, I shall do my best to stay alive."

"... Yeah… "

Honestly, how did you arrive to such a conclusion.

"The reason I wanted you to spar with me is to test my strength. I don't even know what magic I'm good at or what spells I can use. I don't even know what weapon I'm good at using, if any."

"I see. In that case I will do my best to properly instruct you, mistress."

"Oh, one more thing. Can you stop with the mistress? I really am not used to it."

"How do you wish me to address you then?"

"It's fine to call me that in a formal setting, but when it's just the 2 of us… Uhm… how about, Milla-nee?"

"That is… I don't think it's appropriate."

"Grace, that's an order!"

"As you wish… Milla-nee."

"Aight. Now let's get started. I'll be in your care, sensei!"

◇　◇　◇

Somewhere in the demon continent, on the the balcony of a pitch black castle stood the figure of a man. It would be more accurate to say it was a demon. He had thick horns that stood straight up, spiky orange short hair and an orange moustache and goatee. His eyes were grey. His skin had a light brown color and his nails were long. He wore an elegant purple robe with various gold lining and had a blood red cape that reached all the way to the floor. As the figure stood and looked over the town that could be seen from his castle, a crow made it's way and stood on the balcony railing.

"Well then, my pet, let's see what you have for me."

*Splash*

In the next moment, the man stabbed the crow with his nails. Then he pulled out the crows' eyes. The rest of it's body he threw it away. He looked a few seconds at the pair of eyes in his hand before eating them. It was quite the disturbing scene.

"I see. So that little girl is supposed to be the new Demon King of Insanity? What a joke!"

When a new Demon King is born or elected, all the other Demon Kings are made aware by some sort of magic that's linked through them by the Demon God. Since a new King appeared, the man wanted to get info on him. So he sent his crow to observe and by eating those eyes he saw what the crow had seen.

He then went back inside his room. The scene might have been even worse than horror movies. On the bed there were 3 dead girls. They had scars and scratches all over their bodies. Some had pieces of flesh torn from them. In a corner there was also a crucified girl on an X shaped cross. As the demon noticed that all the girls were dead, he simply called out:

"Hey, Anxis, you there?"

A figure came out behind the X shaped cross. It was a skinny and tall demon. His face was covered with a mask and he wore black robes. The most noticeable trait was that this demon didn't have hands. It had something more close to tentacles.

"How can I help you, Your Highness?"

Yes, you heard it right. The person he was greeting was Tigre Vacheron, one of the 12 Demon Kings.

"Clean up this mess. These toys are dead, so I don't need them anymore."

His title of Demon King of Savagery was fit. This man was a savage. A butcher. He enjoyed bringing girls into his room and tormenting them. He would rape them, tie them, beat them up. Any torture you can think off, this man has most likely used it several times.

"Very well. If I might be so bold to ask, how is the new Demon King?"

"She's a child. I would really enjoy torturing a brat like her. We might be able to use her. I already have Magnus and Zolgia on my faction. I just need to show that brat my good side and lure her over. Then, I'll break her until her will shatters and she'll just be an empty puppet at my feet. Her power will be mine, hahaha!"

"But how do you plan to achieve that?"

"What is the one thing that a Demon King needs?"

"Subjects?"

"Yes. They need people and a territory to build a castle, a place to rule. Obviously it's hard for a newbie to achieve all that. I shall offer land out of generosity. For the small exchange of some money."

"My lord, I don't understand."

"Is it really that hard to comprehend? I'll offer her the shitty land next to the unknown border. You know. That village filled with filthy beastmen and I'll ask for a sum she won't be able to pay back. That will tie her to me!"

"I see… But are you sure? That land is quite big and has some good resources…"

"Enough! I couldn't care less. Beastmen are nothing but a disgrace to the demon race. Getting them off my hands would be a blessing. Make some arrangements. I want you to go to that child and make her that offer. She won't refuse something like that."

"Your order is my command."

And so Anxis disappeared into the shadows. Tigre was alone. He started smiling and talking to himself.

"Little girl, your power will soon be mine hahaha!"

Tigre didn't take Milla serious. If only he knew the enemy he made that day a little better, maybe he could have been spared the humiliation that would soon fall upon him.

◇　◇　◇

" *pant*... Oof… "

The one that was left breathless and lying on the floor was me.

Grace was a monster. You might be wondering how come I lost since my stats were higher. Let me put it this way. If a truck out of control would be heading to you, with you just stay still and let it hit you? Same thing. My attacks were too straightforward. I couldn't land a single punch on Grace. She deflected each one of my punches and kicks and tossed me around like a ragdoll. It was like a street fighter was trying to take on a world champion martial artist. I lacked technique.

My magic was a bit better. I found out that I have Phoenix Blood flowing through me. Grace told me that at birth I was blessed by a bird. Any wound would instantly close and heal. Even if my heart or brain were destroyed, as long as I had mana, like the mighty bird, I can ressurect on the spot and cheat death. And thus, fire based spells felt natural to me. But I was terrible at controling my mana. Each spell I fired ended up around 5 times stronger than it was supposed to be. I've also picked up other spells outside the fire spectrum from Grace but… my mana dried quickly. Well, I wasn't running on empty. My mana pool was huge, but I still felt fatigue if I used too much. And I've been shooting spells for 2 hours straight.

"Will you be alright, Milla-nee?"

"Yeah… I just gotta catch my breath."

"If I may be blunt, I didn't expect you to be so weak. While the approach you took against me would work on any lowly Mazoku, please remember that brute strength isn't everything."

"I guess you have a point. Still I thought that if go crazy like that my weapon would manifest."

According to Grace each Demon King has a signature weapon. But that weapon lies within me and I need to figure out how to draw it. Well, I guess I shouldn't rush for now. I realized I still have ways to go and if I might have enemies on both the human side and demon side, I had to get stronger somehow. I won't be satisfied until I get my revenge on Ren.

"Shall we stop here for today?"

"Yeah. Let's head back. I wanna take a bath."

"Then I shall join you and wash your body."

"Sure. That sounds… WAIT! Wha… What did you just say!?"