Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Um… Nafra? You go on ahead, I need to ask Toto something…”

Iruma looked down at his feet, his hair masking the look in his eyes. They had just received the Seed of Beginnings from the Genie after putting on what was reminiscent of a play of ‘First Love Memories’.

“Gyuu?” Nafra tilted his head in question.

“Don’t worry, I’ll catch up in a second.” Iruma forced a smile he hoped looked convincing.

Nafra looked at him a bit longer, then hesitantly made their way back to the entrance of Toto’s cavern, the sound of Nafra’s footsteps fading, and silence soon settled in like a fog.

Iruma was now left alone with the genie.

Toto silently stared at the boy in front of him, waiting for what he would say. It seemed to take him a few tries before he was ready to ask whatever question was on his mind.

“Toto? I was wondering… I heard rumors that Genies could grant wishes… Is that true?” Now, Iruma had only heard such things in the human realm, but he couldn’t help but ask. What if it was true? What if this Demon could grant him the one thing he wants most?

Toto hummed and moved closer to Iruma.

“Not many know the full extent of a genie’s power. I must wonder where you heard of it.” Toto said, holding his chin and staring down at the young man. Although he said it, the Genie did not give Iruma a chance to reply. “Yes, if a desire is strong enough and the genie judges it as worthy, then we may be able to grant the wish.”

Iruma stood tall. He honestly hadn’t expected that the Demon Genie could.

“Iruma. What is your wish?”

Iruma knew it was selfish to ask for a wish. He had so many nice things already. He had Grandpa, and friends, and almost anything he could ever ask for. Except for this. And this desire? It was something he just couldn’t ignore.

“I wish… I wish to become a demon!” There; it was out in the open now. There was no taking it back. The words echoed in the cavern, as if the Netherworld itself was listening.

“You are a human, are you not?” Toto, with his near endless knowledge, pieced together.

Iruma just nodded, almost too afraid to speak. If Toto decided to eat him, there was really nothing he could do about it.

“Why?” The genie asked after a moment of silence stretched on between them.

“Huh?” Iruma finally looked up, as if the weight of the question pulled his gaze off the floor.

“Why do you wish to become a demon?” Toto clarified, his eyes glowed faintly with a swirling light, as if they could peer into Iruma’s very soul.

Iruma didn’t hesitate in replying, even as his heart pounded in his chest. He already knew the answer to the question.

“I wish to become a demon… so I can stay here with everyone! So I can keep playing with Clara and Azz! I want to stay with Grandpa and Opera. I want to continue going to school here, with the misfit class. I want to keep being friends with Ameri. I want to stay here- in the Netherworld- with everyone important to me!”

“What a selfish wish…”

Iruma flinched. He knew that. He knew he was selfish for asking so much. But he wouldn’t take it back. No. Because this was the one thing he wanted most.

“A selfish wish… but one I can find no fault in as a demon. Your desire is sincere, and so, I shall grant it. But understand—what you ask cannot be undone so easily. To become a demon is to reshape one's own soul. Are you willing to carry that burden?”

Iruma nods, heart pounding. This was his chance. His one chance to truly belong—to live in this world, not as a guest, but as someone who fit . How could he possibly say no?

“Then prepare yourself,” Toto said softly. “This will not be easy on your body.”

Toto raised one hand and began to draw in the air. Lines of pale, golden light followed the motion of his finger, forming a circle that shimmered like sunlight on still water. When the circle was complete, he placed his palm at its center—

—and the magic rushed outward .

It wasn’t loud, but it was immense—rolling out in silent waves, pressing into the walls, the air, Iruma himself. The cavern thrummed with the weight of ancient power, as though reality itself had bent to listen.

Iruma gasped, the magic itself felt warm as it seeped into him. It felt alive, like a second heartbeat pressing against his own. Something inside of him shivered, he didn't know what exactly, all he knew was that this magic was ancient and powerful.

For a breathless moment, he swore he felt arms—massive and unseen—wrap around him. Not tightly. Not cruelly. Just… welcoming. As if the Netherworld itself had opened its arms and whispered, “You’re one of us now.”

And everything changed.

Chapter Text

Everything changed.

The moment Toto’s magic faded from the air, Iruma finally let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. Every breath after was shallow and his hands started trembling, skin feeling clammy.

Iruma’s knees buckled. With a thud, he was on the ground, clutching the grass underneath him.

The aching had started.

At first, it was a dull throb just beneath his skin. But it deepened quickly, sinking into his muscles and bones. His spine tensed and his arms shook. He felt every thrum of pain to his very core.

He gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. It hurt. But Iruma wouldn’t scream. He was distinctly aware that Nafra was close enough to hear it if he did, the foul scent of the small demon somehow reaching his nose even with the distance between them.

The ache sharpened, settling at the base of his spine. It pulsed, and there was a feeling of something tearing through the flesh at his tailbone.

Then came the twitch of a muscle he’s never used before.

Iruma gasped as something behind him moved. He reached back with a shaky hand, brushing against something smooth. It felt firmer than skin, but it was also soft somehow. It was a tail, a demon's tail. 

The tail was the length of Iruma's arm, if not slightly shorter. The base of it was thin and leathery, with flexibility reminiscent of a whip. The end of the tail was tipped with a large bright feather, having purple at the base with blue hues stretching out into white at the very end, a noticeable fork in its shape at the ends of the feather.

Iruma yelped as the tail suddenly flicked, curling in the air.

Said yelp turned into a cut off scream as a searing pain tore down his back, starting from just below his neck and ending midway down his spine. Muscles twisted, pulled taut, and something deep inside stretched outward. It felt foreign, wrong… and yet… natural somehow.

Iruma bit down hard on his lip as, with a sickening pressure, two shapes pushed their way free from his back. 

The sharp pain shifted to a deep ache.

He could feel them. Wings. Too small and fragile to fly, but they were undeniably there.

He jerked and the wings unfurled on instinct, no wider than his shoulders, shaking in the open air. The thin, leathery skin felt strange, as if they were phantom limbs now made real.

Iruma collapsed forward, panting. His tail curled tight to one leg. His back was more tense than it ever had been, wings twitching weakly behind him as they struggled to fold.

He didn’t even know how to properly move them.

Toto watched stoically as the boy regained his strength. 

It took Iruma about two minutes to finally sit up, body still sore even after the pain had stopped. He was disoriented, his tail shifting, and wings fluttering uncontrollably. He felt completely overwhelmed.

“Did it… Am I actually a demon now?” Iruma questions out loud. But it was unneeded, as he could still feel his new… limbs? Appendages? moving seemingly on their own. 

“Yes.” Toto answered anyway. “You are now fully a demon.”

Iruma looked up at the genie, amazed at the events that took place. A demon. He’s a demon now!

Iruma jumped up, clasping his hands together in glee, his ahoge swishing in time with his tail.

“Thank you so much Toto!”

“Gyoo?” They suddenly hear from the entrance of the cave.

“Ahh! I’ve taken up too much time! I better get back to Nafra!” Iruma started towards the entrance before being stopped.

“A moment,” Toto raised a large hand. “The effects of your human blood were quite strong. Strong enough that, while it is now undeniably demon blood, it retains the effects even now. Therefore, your ability to heal demons with your blood shall be your new bloodline ability.”

Iruma bowed deeply to the genie.

“I will never be able to thank you enough for what you have done for me.” He said before turning and running to the entrance of the cavern once more to catch up to Nafra. “Bye Toto! And thanks again!”

Iruma was on his knees with his head lowered.

“Gyu gyuu gyo guo gyu!” Nafra said, tapping one foot, a hand on their hip and the other pointing at Iruma.

“I know, I said I’d only be a bit and I ended up taking far longer than that. I must have worried you. I’m sorry about that.”

Indeed. The whole time Iruma was with the genie, Nafra was pacing with worry and anxiety, wondering at what point they should go back to check on him.

“Gy, gyu gyuu?” Nafra tilted their head, pointing at something behind Iruma.

He follows their gaze, coming face to face with a massive feather.

“My… My tail?” It was then Iruma realized that Nafra had not seen it before. No one had, in fact. He starts to panic. How would he explain the sudden appearance of a tail to everyone?

“Uh!... Let’s not worry about that right now, we still have the harvest festival to get through…”

“Gyuu…” Nafra shook their head with a sigh. Then they turned and started walking away, waving at Iruma to follow.

“Right!”

And with that, the duo began to climb their way back towards the surface.

“It was nice of Toto to tell us the way back. That trial took a long time. We should hurry back, and meet with Lied…” Iruma came to a realization then.

‘How should I explain Nafra to Lied? They’re our rival, after all… But they helped me get the seed…’ He thinks, trying to figure out how they would split the points from the Legend Leaf. He finally decided to put it off for when they met up.

‘Huh… their smell is different…’ Iruma leans closer. ‘They used to smell so repulsive, but now they just smell like slightly over ripe fruit.’

‘Have I gotten used to it? No, it’s not just that. My sense of smell changed as well.’ He thinks. ‘I wonder what else has changed from my old life.’

‘My old life… My parents put me through a lot… Every day was a struggle to stay alive… But I’ve come to the demon world… And a lot has happened… Lots of unfamiliar and mysterious things…’ Iruma continues walking along absentmindedly, almost falling over at one point.

‘But it’s my own decision to stay here and do my best. That’s why I… Want more… Of this world!’

Iruma stopped dead as soon as he climbed up the next rock formation.

There, right in front of him, was his parents. Somehow they were here, in the Netherworld.

“Iruma~! We found you~!” They clapped their hands, moving closer to him. “You doin’ good? Mom and Dad are doin’ super good!!”

“Wai- No, wait! How did you get here? It’s the Demon World!” Iruma cries, pulling away from them. His heart pounds in his chest as he whips his head between them.

“We’re out of money again~!” His parents say together, dancing around him. “So we’re looking for our next ‘Get Rich’ plan. Sounds exciting, right, Iruma?”

“What?” Iruma asks, his expression dumbfounded.

‘That’s not it!’, He shakes his head at himself, ‘I have to tell them! I have to tell them off for selling me!’. He clenches his fist to the point where it’s shaking.

“HEY-” Iruma gets cut off.

“How about we head to the desert next? I got bored with the North Pole!” His mom exclaimed.

“Good Idea! There must be lots of treasure in the pyramids! We can go take it for ourselves!” His dad agrees.

‘They don’t listen… They never will…’ Iruma thinks, sweat dripping down his face.

“Well, Iruma, let’s go back.” His mom says, reaching out to put a hand on his cheek.

He flinches, backing away with a terrified expression.

“Huh? No, but that’s…”

“No? You always just say ok and go along.” His dad says tilting his head. He walks a bit closer to Iruma, who falls on his backside.

“Aren’t you a good kid who always does as he’s asked?” His parents are towering over him now as his dad questions.

Iruma tries to shuffle back more, but his hand finds the edge of the cliff behind him. 

“Let’s go, Iruma, ok?” His mom says as they both take a step closer. His hand clenches into the stone underneath him, scratching at the surface with sharpened nails.

“Please…” His parents lean over him, almost like they were physically showing him just how small he should feel.

Iruma grips the ground harder, and though he doesn’t realize it, cracks start to form under his hands. Then something gives way.

He vaguely hears Nafra’s shout as the cliff's edge falls out from under him, dropping him into the darkness below.

His wings instinctively flare in hopes to catch himself, but they are nowhere near big or strong enough to even glide with his weight.

Iruma falls unconscious before he hits the ground.

Iruma's Tail

Chapter Text

Iruma opened his eyes to see the vastness of the cavern around him. Broken stone surrounded him, the remnants of the cliff edge he’d fallen from scattered around his battered form. The air was damp and still, echoing with his own shaky breath.

“Where am I?” he asked, receiving no reply, not that he expected one. His voice echoed slightly in the openness of the cavern.

He looked around, seeing many rocky pillars spiraling upwards. His eyes widened as he remembered what led him to being here.

“Mom and Dad! They were here!” He covers his ears as if to block out the world around him. “How are they here!?... No… This can’t be happening!” The sound of their voices still lingered in his mind, cheerful and cloying. His breath hitched. His stomach turned.

Iruma goes to stand, but hisses as he feels a sharp jolt of pain flare in his leg.

“Ow! My leg… That’s right, I fell… What should I do?...I have to get back.” He clutches the wound tightly, fingers trembling as they pressed against torn fabric and bloodied skin.

Then- footsteps. His head popped up at the sharp sound.

In front of him are his two best friends.

“Azz!? Clara!? Why are you… Did you also fall?” Iruma reaches a hand out to Asmodeus, only for it to be slapped away.

“Stay away from me, Human.” The words hit harder than the fall. Azz’s voice was flat, disgusted, his eyes narrowed.

“Eh…” Iruma couldn’t even think of what to say. He could only stare as Azz continued, dumbfounded.

“Your magic, your abilities… They were all fake. Everything was just a lie.” Azz turned away from him. 

Iruma struggled to even form words at this point, feeling them caught in his throat.

“I hate liars!” Clara snapped, her usual energy gone. She turned her back on him as well. 

Iruma could only clench his teeth, feeling weak in the face of his friend's backs to him.

“Don’t ever speak to us again.” Asmodeus says, not even looking back.

“You traitor!” Clara calls back to him.

They walk away, the sound of their footsteps fading into the cavern echoed louder than any scream.

“No… wait! Please, don’t go! I’m not—You’re wrong!” Iruma reaches out to them, desperate for a chance to at least explain himself. But as he tries to move, his leg spasms, sending a new jolt of pain through him. “Ngh!”

“It’s obvious.” A voice from behind him says. Iruma whips around to see Professor Kalego. “It’s impossible for humans and demons to coexist. You… don’t belong here.”

“Iruma!” He hears from his right. Iruma turns again. He couldn’t help but be relieved to see the familiar egg-shaped form of his grandfather with Opera close behind.

“Grandpa! Opera!” 

“Everything will be alright. Don’t worry, come here.” Sullivan opens his arms to Iruma.

“Grand-” He starts with a shaky smile, a surge of hope blooming in his chest, but isn’t able to finish as his grandpa speaks again.

“Since they so kindly came to pick you up, I’ll make sure… to return you to your parents.” Iruma’s smile freezes on his face before twisting into despair.

Sullivan reached out, his hand becoming encased in a dark shroud which soon spread over him completely. The darkness swells, forming a monstrous shape.

Massive claws reach out to him and he does the only thing he can think of.

He runs.

The pain of his leg moves to the back of his mind as he rushes away from the monster, trying to find a place to hide. He collapses behind a rock shelf, eyes wide. The air felt heavy.

He pants as he sits there, terrified, still able to hear that… thing… slithering around looking for him.

‘They would never… None of them would ever say such things!’ He thinks. ‘This is an illusion! It has to be!... But even knowing that… My body won’t move!’

Iruma grips his pant legs.

‘All this time… I was fine with being alone. Being left behind was normal for me. I could manage by myself.’

He thinks back to what he told Kirio. ‘There’s no point in despairing, because it won’t fill your stomach.’ And that’s all he cared about.

‘But now… I have a lot of important people. I have a warm and loving home. But… If everyone were to leave me, and I was left alone again…’

“I’m lonely…” Iruma says quietly, shakily. Tears streamed down his face as he clutched his knees to his chest. His tail moves to cover his head, acting like a physical wall hiding him from the outside.

“...No. Please don’t… Leave me behind…” His fangs almost puncture his bottom lip as he bites down on it.

“Geez, Really?” Iruma lifts his head a little at the new, familiar voice.

“You know, you really are an idiot beyond repair.” His master, Barbatos Bachiko,  points down at him. “Have you forgotten what I taught you!?”

“... Mas-” But when he blinks some tears away, she is nowhere to be found. Her being there, her reprimanding him… It was all in his head… but even so…

‘She’s right!... I can’t fall back…’ Iruma lifts himself from the ground just as the monster rears its head around a corner.

Iruma grabs one of the feathers from his collar. A bow… his bow, forms in his hands. Tears still flowed from his eyes, threatening to obscure his vision. He doesn’t let them.

“I AM AN ARCHER!” He yells out as he steadies his footing, raising his bow.

‘I won't be afraid of my parents. I won't be afraid of this beast! What I truly fear from the bottom of my heart… Is being separated from the people I care about!’

‘Remember Master’s words! Imagine destroying this fear! Pour your desires into the bow!’ The bow creaks with the force Iruma used to draw back the bowstring. His thoughts, feelings, and desires serve to strengthen the arrow.

“I WILL PROTECT THE PLACE I BELONG!” He roared. “PIERCE THROUGH THIS TERROR, SULLIVAN IRUMA!!”

There is a resounding bang as the tension is suddenly released once he lets the arrow fly free. It soars through the air with purpose, piercing clean into the monster’s body. It shrieks, its form falling apart at the seams before dissipating into smoke.

Iruma grins, sweat still dripping from his face, relieved.

“I will live in the Netherworld.” He says with conviction. “Because I belong here.” And he wouldn’t let anyone tell him otherwise.

Iruma plops down as the adrenaline evaporates. 

“Ow…” He mutters as his leg complains at the movement.

He jolts, teeth bared and wings flaring, when something nearby lets out a screech. He carefully peeks around some stone to see a demon spider scuttling, dragging its damaged body away. Its wound looked distinctly like an arrow punctured through it.

“This is the thing that looked like a monster a moment ago? It really was an illusion. And my parents from before must have been one too…” Iruma sighed, the last dredges of fear releasing.

“Alright!” He starts forward. “The festival isn’t over yet! I have to go back to where everyone is. And then, I will prove that I can stand by everyone.”

“I’m no longer human.” Iruma says, tying up his hair with a spare elastic band.

“And in this festival that’s meant to show who the strongest demon is…

I’m going to win!”

Demon Iruma Harvest Festival

Chapter Text

Something snaps inside of him.

Kalego isn’t sure what just happened. He was just going about as he normally does during the harvest festival, consisting mostly of saving students, though now with the added trouble of rescuing the Newbie as well. Then suddenly he’s frozen, sweating and shaking. 

“-fessor Kalego?” He distantly hears a voice call out to him. He barely registers Robin's concerned tone. A hand lands on his shoulder.

Kalego inhales sharply, jaw tightening and it almost takes more effort than it’s worth to not send the other teacher flying across the forest.

“Go look for more students in trouble,” Kalego says stiffly, wings snapping open. His tone is curt, even colder than it usually is. “I’m heading back to the instructor’s tent. It’s almost time for the interim results.”

Wind blasts behind him as he lifts off without letting Robin have a say in the matter. Not that Kalego would take anything he says into account.

He needs time to think. Time to breathe. Time to figure out whatever the Devi that was.

“What were you thinking!?”

Iruma nearly falls backwards off a rock shelf as Ali’s voice yells next to his ear, furious. The Ring of Gluttony had materialized mid-air, practically vibrating with outrage.

“Ali!” Iruma exclaims, startled, his hands flinching away from the cliff face he had been trying to climb.

“Making a wish like that, not even knowing what it could do to you!?” Ali’s arms flail as he floats in place next to Iruma’s head. “You could’ve died, Iru-Boy! And what was I supposed to do!? Sit and watch while you got torn apart from the inside out!?” 

He punctuates his sentence by pinching one of Iruma’s, now pointed, ears.

“Ah! I’m sorry!” Iruma winces, one hand going up to his ear while the other flails for balance. Despite the pain, he doesn’t try very hard to stop Ali. His expression wavers with quiet remorse.

“And what about me, huh!?” Ali barrels on, “If your body couldn’t handle that transformation, then I’m sure I would have withered away as well!” 

To prove his point, Ali flickers briefly into his original, shriveled form—mana-drained and dim, a mere whisper of his usual self. The sight hits Iruma like a punch to the gut.

Iruma’s hands fall away from the rock, grip going slack. He looks down at the dirt beneath him, avoiding Ali’s eye. Shame seeps into his features as his shoulders sink lower.

He hadn’t thought of that. While he knew, at the time, that making that wish was dangerous, he hadn’t stopped to think about how it would affect everyone else if something went wrong.

“I’m sorry…” he says softly. “I really am… It was selfish of me.”

His voice trembles a little. Not from fear—he’d already survived that. This was different. This was guilt.

Ali's shoulders relaxed, though his arms remained crossed.

“What am I gonna do with you?” he sighs, his tone shifting from anger to exasperated fondness.

A few beats of quiet pass between them.

“I fell so far,” Iruma says aloud, glancing upward. The climb back up the cliff looked even more daunting from this low angle, jagged rocks casting long shadows overhead.

“Yeah, you fell alright.” Ali puffs up with mock bravado. “You sure are lucky I’m around! I protected you when you were about to hit the ground. I picked up the seed for you. I even protected you when you were hallucinating!”

“You’re so cool, Ali!” Iruma says, a small, genuine smile tugging at his lips. The praise isn’t just flattery—it’s warm and honest, and Ali beams under it.

He takes a dramatic bow before tapping a thoughtful finger to his chin.

“That sure was one nasty spell,” Ali mutters, his voice low and serious again. “I don’t want to think about what might’ve happened if you hadn’t broken free. You could’ve gone feral now that you are a demon.”

He remembered how he had been yelling at the boy to wake up while he was stuck in the illusion.

He looks down at Iruma with a narrowed eye, his concern seeping through his stare.

Iruma meets his gaze.

“But I’m okay.” He starts softly, voice steady. “And thanks to that, I found my resolve. And now I’m able to stay where I belong!” 

A bright, determined smile spreads across his face, showing off his fangs in a friendly manner.

“So I have to go back!” 

Iruma beams, tail flicking with resolve.

“... Right.” Ali sighs, shoulders deflating.. “And how are you going to do tha-”

The rest of his sentence is cut short as something shifts in the air. A familiar scent drawing their attention.

Ali barely has time to yelp before vanishing behind Iruma’s shoulder, using the boy as cover as a small figure appears in front of them.

“AHHH!” Iruma shouts in surprise.

“GIEE!” Nafra screeches in panicked response.

“Na-Nafra!” Iruma gasps, his eyes wide as the smaller first-year flaps their wings, landing a little clumsily on the cavern floor. “You came down to find me? Did I worry you?”

Nafra nods firmly, their large eyes scanning Iruma with concern before pointing to their own wings with an inquisitive sound. “Gyuu guu?”

“Huh? Oh! Umm… My wings aren’t big enough for me to fly…” Come to think of it, Iruma hadn’t noticed that his wings weren’t out behind him, presumably tucked into his back like he’d seen his friends do with their wings. He wasn’t even sure how to bring them out again.

Nafra comes up behind Iruma, grabbing the straps of the uniform he’s wearing, and tries to lift him up. It didn’t work, as while Nafra’s wings are just fine for flying alone, they are in no way enough for themself alongside someone who is bigger than them.

“Gyeee gyee…” Nafra gasps, collapsing to the ground in exhaustion from the attempt.

“I’m sorry…” Iruma says, helping Nafra stand again. “My leg is injured too… Nafra, it’s okay, you can go on… without me …”

He pauses.

The words echo strangely in his ears, heavy with a familiar ache.

That’s what the illusion had been about, wasn’t it? His friends leaving him behind.

Abandoning him.

Iruma’s hand clenches into a fist. No. He shakes his head hard, sending his hair into disarray. This is different! They’re in a competition, and it’s not like they can’t stay friends afterwards.

Nafra tilts their head before rustling in their cloak for a second, pulling out a small purple plant.

“Ah! Nigi Nigi weed!” Iruma recognized, thinking back to when his class studied for the exams. He remembers that Nigi Nigi will grow about 30 meters with a single drop of water. “You kept it!?”

Nafra puffed up proudly in response.

Iruma blinked. “... But where are we gonna find water?”

Nafra clicked their tongue in mock offense, shuffling a bit more and pulling out a watering can.

Iruma stared at the object in stunned silence. “...Why do you have a watering can?” he mumbled.

Nafra didn’t dignify the question with a response. They simply tilted the can and poured a small stream of water onto the Nigi Nigi weed.

The effect was immediate.

Within seconds, the weed shot up, curling around the rock spire it was planted at the base of. 

“Alright!” Iruma cheers. He grabs onto the Nigi Nigi. “We can climb this to get out.”

‘It’ll take a long time to climb all the way to the top,’ Iruma mused gravely. ‘If I take too long, there’s no way I’ll be able to win the festival.’

He winced as his leg throbbed, a reminder of his earlier fall.

‘I would be able to climb faster, if not for my leg injury’

Then something sparked in his memory.

‘Leg injury…’

Iruma thought back to the first class he had with the Misfits. The flying race. He remembered meeting the child of the Guardian of Cutthroat Valley and healing its leg. He also recalled Toto saying that he retained the healing properties of his blood.

“I have an idea!” Iruma turned to Nafra, scooping them up before they could question him.

He bit into his ungloved finger, the sharpness of his new fangs tearing through skin with ease.

He hovers his hand over the plant, letting a drop of blood fall onto it.

The Nigi Nigi shuddered , then exploded upward with renewed force. Iruma barely had time to wrap his arms and claws securely around the vine as it yanked him and Nafra off the ground forcefully.

Wind roared past them as the plant burst through the cavern ceiling, scattering rock and dust as it punched through to the surface. Light flooded around them as they soared upward.

At last, the plant stopped growing, leaving the two perched high above the ground on its newly formed canopy. The entire forest was visible from their perch. 

Iruma and Nafra lay sprawled out atop the massive vine, panting and dazed.

A flying camera soon makes its way up to them. Iruma figured this was a good time to let Lied know that he finished his half of getting the Legend Leaf.

Iruma scrambles to his knees, waving. “Iruma here! I made it! Lied! I have the Seed of Beginning! Let’s meet up at the lover’s statue!”

Kalego’s unmistakable voice blared from the speaker.

“WHY, YOU!! WHAT’S WITH THIS RACKET!?”

Iruma flinched. “Professor Kalego! I’m sorry! I didn’t think it would be so flashy—”

“ENOUGH ABOUT THAT! ARE YOU HURT? WHERE’S YOUR HARVEST REPORT!? ARE YOU GOING TO WITHDRAW!?”

“Eh—No!” Iruma stammered, sitting up straighter. “I’m not withdrawing!”

He placed a hand over his chest and smiled with fresh determination.

“I’m gonna win!” he declared, his voice ringing clear and pure.

There was a pause on the line. Then Kalego snapped back:

“IF THAT’S SO—THEN HURRY UP AND GET BACK TO HARVESTING, YOU ZERO-POINT BRAT!!” 

There is a click as Kalego abruptly hangs up the intercom before the camera flies away.

“Right…” Iruma muttered, wobbling slightly as he stood. “Let’s regroup with Lied! We can still do this!”

Nafra gave a supportive chirp, fluttering beside him as they prepared to descend.

Chapter Text

“Lied!” Iruma’s voice rings out as he and Nafra finally reach the Lovers’ Statue clearing. His chest heaves with exhaustion, but his eyes light up when he spots his friend standing ahead of them with his back turned. “I got the Seed! Were you able to find the Vase?”

Lied turns around slowly. The moment his face comes into view, Iruma can see the distress written all over it. Tear tracks glisten down his cheeks.

“Yep. I found the Vase of Ending… but…” Lied’s lip wobbles as he launches himself into Iruma’s arms. “It got stolen!”

“What!?” Iruma staggers slightly from the impact, catching Lied as he bursts into sobs.

“It was Big Sis! She was so mean to me!” Lied wails, rubbing his eyes against Iruma’s shirt.

“Wait, you mean Eliza?” Iruma asks, trying to make sense of what he was hearing.

Lied clings tighter. “It was so cruel! She started calling me a pervert and short, and then-” He sniffles loudly. “-then she told me she hated me!”

Iruma’s heart twists. Lied’s sobs are genuine and raw, his whole body shaking as he curls in Iruma’s lap, completely undone.

“And when I pulled myself together… Big Sis and the Vase were just… gone!” He finishes, voice breaking.

Iruma runs a hand comfortingly through Lied’s hair, giving him time to let it out. The moment feels heavy, even Nafra seems unsure of whether to step in.

“That wasn’t our Eliza,” Lied sniffs, trying to collect himself. “That couldn’t be her... right?”

“You’re right… That isn’t like Eliza to do…” Iruma remembers what he saw in the caves. “That might have been an illusion.”

“Illusion?” Lied pops his head up at the thought that what happened to him might not have been real.

“Yeah!” Iruma says. “When I was underground, I saw something pretty bad too! I managed to figure out that it wasn’t real, but I thought it was a plant or monster that caused it. If they took the Vase, though, then it must have been another student!”

Lied’s eyes widen with realization, hope flickering in his expression. The weight on his shoulders seems to lift slightly.

“In any case,” Iruma continues, “we should find Eliza, just to be sure!” 

“R-Right!” Lied wipes the remaining tears from his cheeks, pulling out a game console, a book, and a pair of headphones. “Just leave it to me!”

Iruma and Nafra can only watch as Lied starts his search.

‘I need to find her! Find Eliza’s location!’ Lied thinks as he begins stealing the hearing of as many people as he could consecutively. ‘If I can just manage to find someone who knows where she is. Better yet, if I can find her or Clarin myself…’

Snippets of conversations filled his mind, feeling almost overwhelming.

“Castle…”

“The beasts…”

“Eliza…”

‘Got it!’ Lied shifts his concentration more onto where he heard that, stealing the hearing of, it just so happens, Clara.

“Big Sis, your skin is so soft!” He hears Clarin’s voice echo in his head.

“Oh wow! Thank you Clara!”  Eliza responds warmly.

Lied’s face turns red. He immediately drops his book and game console.

‘Wait… Are they!?’ He thinks, trying to make sense of what he’s hearing.

“Are you okay, Lied?” Iruma asks, but Lied quickly shushes him, focusing on the voices of the girls.

“This is so refreshing~” Eliza says, seemingly in bliss. Lied is about to cut the connection to avoid hearing something he shouldn’t, when he hears another person.

“This hot spring is life-saving, isn’t it?” Kerori’s voice comes through. “Do you like it?”

‘Queen Kerori? Why are they with her?’ Lied dwells silently. 

“Yes!” Clara exclaims happily.

“I never thought there would be a hot spring in a place like this.” Eliza mentions.

“My beasts found it. It doesn’t seem like anyone else has discovered it yet.” Kerori answers.

‘Come on, say where you are already! This feels so wrong to listen in on!’ Lied thinks urgently.

“I am a bit nervous though, being out in the open like this.” Eliza says hesitantly.

“It’s alright, I have Kamui and my beasts on standby to make sure we’re the only ones here. We’ll be able to talk freely.” Kerori responds.

“Then let’s get down to business, shall we?” Eliza says more confidently. “You sent that beast to take us here because you wanted to work together, I assume?”

“Yes. I would like you both to join my plan.” Kerori requests.

‘Plan? What plan is she talking about?’ Lied thinks, concentrating harder. ‘Is she targeting someone? Is it us now that we have the Seed of Beginning?’

“I will explain…” Kerori says. “But first, let me look around again. I feel like someone might be peeping.”

Panic surges through Lied.

‘Oh no! If she notices Clara’s ear, then she’ll know I was listening in on them while they were in the bath!’ Lied cuts his connection quickly. He got enough information to know Eliza’s general whereabouts anyway.

“I know where she is!” Lied announces. “She’s with Kerori, so we have to make our way over to the Beast Kingdom. Let’s go see if Big Sis has the Vase or not!”

“Yes! Let’s hurry!” Iruma says.

“Gyoo!” Nafra cheers from beside them, puffing out their chest.

Lied blinked, turning to finally acknowledge the smaller student.

“Wait! Who’s that!?” Lied questions. He didn’t even realize there was someone else here with them.

“Oh, that’s Nafra… They-” Iruma starts, scratching his cheek sheepishly.

Lied recoils. He was so focused before that the smell is just now hitting him.

“Oh Devi, it stinks! Why do they stink!?”

“Since when do you have a tail?” Lied asks, eyeing the appendage waving behind Iruma as they walk.

“Oh! Uhhh…” Iruma chuckles nervously. “It just came in while I was underground! Guess I’m a pretty late bloomer, huh?” 

He hopes that Lied buys the story. He doesn’t know the first thing about how demons grow, so his explanation might not make any sense at all, but he would rather not gaslight his friend by saying it was always there.

Lied furrowed his brows at him.

“Weird.” That’s all Lied says in response. Iruma sighs in relief.

That could have gone so much worse.

Iruma barely has time to relax though, as his ears prick up when he hears the sound of people shouting and animals growling, hissing, and roaring. He also could make out the sound of… mooing?

“I think we’re close! I can hear a bunch of beasts up ahead!” Iruma says, picking up the pace.

“Wait, really? I can’t hear anything!” Lied tilts his head as he follows with Nafra right behind.

It takes a minute before Lied and Nafra are able to hear it, but sure enough, as they make their way closer, they start to hear the sounds of a big scuffle. 

They reach a line of bushes and crouch low. Beyond it, they could see a veritable castle. Many students were working together to defend the castle from the hoards of attacking beasts, which were being commanded by Kamui. They could also see Gaap as one of the defending students, tearing down beast after beast.

“Wh-What the?” Iruma and Lied say, watching the chaos unfold before them.

“Should we help them?” Iruma asks, going to stand up. 

Lied yanks him back down. “We can’t! We don’t have time! Besides, if they were in any true danger, then they’d just withdraw. We have to find Eliza!”

“Right!” Iruma says, turning away from the battlefield towards where the beasts are coming from. “Let’s go.”

It’s a bit more of a trek to get to the Beast Kingdom from the castle grounds.

“So, what did you see?” Iruma jumps at the sudden question from Lied.

“W-What?” Iruma asks, not understanding what the question was about.

“You said earlier that you had seen something pretty bad too. What was it about?” Lied asks curiously.

Iruma hesitates. “O-oh, well… At first, I saw my par-... some people that wanted to take me away. I was so… startled by them that I fell off a cliff. That’s how I got hurt.” He lifts his leg in emphasis, showing off the nasty cut on it. Strangely though, it looked better than it did earlier.

“Then I saw Azz and Clara, and Grandpa and Opera. They were all leaving me.” Iruma felt tears prick his eyes at the reminder, but he quickly wiped them away and shook his head. This wasn’t the time to get emotional.

“Um. Nevermind that though. It was only an illusion.” Iruma says.

Lied fell quiet.

Iruma squares his shoulders. “Let’s find Eliza.”

They finally came to a stop just outside the main area of the Beast Kingdom. Iruma can hear Eliza talking.

“There you are!” Lied shouts, stomping through the bushes.

“I-Iruma and Lied? What’s the matter?” Elizabetta says, turning around to face them.

“You see, we came to ask-” Iruma starts.

“Big Sis, tell me! What do you think of me!?” Lied questions loudly.

She blinks in surprise and maybe a bit of confusion.

“I like you of course.” She says, as if that was obvious.

“ Hell yeah!” Lied falls to his knees, yelling in relief. “So it was an illusion!” 

“What? An illusion?” Eliza asks, walking closer to them.

Iruma takes the time to explain what happened. He tells her about the illusions and the missing Vase.

“A Vase?” Eliza ponders. “No, I haven’t seen anything like that”

“That confirms that it really was another student who did it.” Iruma says. “If we could just figure out who it was, then we might be able to get the Vase back!”

Nafra tugs at Iruma’s sleeve, trying to get his attention.

“Gyuu gyo!” They say urgently.

“Nafra! What is it?” Iruma asks.

“Are they trying to tell us something?” Lied guesses.

Nafra starts miming something. They bring their hands to the side of their head, swiping them back. Then they bring their hands around their eyes, looking around.

It was hard to follow. Iruma, Lied, and Eliza all make guesses as to what Nafra might be saying, but it was evident that they weren’t getting the message.

“I’m sorry! We just don’t understand!” Iruma admits dejectedly. He doesn’t like not being able to understand his new friend.

“Ah!” Eliza says, clapping her hands together as she gets an idea. “What if we get Kamui to translate?”

As if by magic, Kamui shows up in front of them, appearing to have heard her say his name.

“Did you call, my lady?” He asks, bowing before her. 

Eliza apologizes for calling for him so suddenly.

“A gentleman always makes the request of a woman his utmost priority! I shall do my best to fulfill anything you may ask of me!” Kamui says proudly in response.

“Oh my. Well, we wanted to know if you could translate for us.” She says, waving a hand to Nafra.

“Gyu gyoo.” Nafra says, pointing at the trio and shaking their head, making it obvious that they don’t understand them.

“I see.” Kamui goes over and sits next to Nafra, prepared to relay the information. “You have a unique scent.” He states.

Nafra just nods at that.

“Gyo gyoo gyu giee gyoo gyo.” Nafra says, repeating the same motions as earlier.

“Mhm. Yes, I see.” Kamui nods along gravely to what Nafra says.

He turns to the others with a serious expression.

“The one who did this seems to be a student named Orobas Coco. He’s using his illusion magic to attack the misfit class.” Kamui relays after hearing what Nafra had to say.

“Our class!? Lied yelps.

“If this is true, then it is very troubling news! I must report this to the Queen at once!” Kamui declares, flying back in the direction he came from, presumably to tell Kerori about what is going on.

“AH! This is bad!” Eliza shouts, calling the attention of the boys. “Clara! She’s wandering in the forest alone right now!”

Iruma feels terrified. There’s someone going after his class, and now he learns that one of his best friends is out there, all alone. Clara was bound to become a target like that.

And Iruma wouldn’t stand for it!