CHAPTER ASHBORN 431: WELCOME TO THE DEMON REALM (ONE)

Vir re-entered the tent after his conversation with Balagra, mind swirling with thoughts of the upcoming battles to be fought. Both on the field and in the royal audience chamber, where matters of state were to be decided.

Seeing Maiya’s body, however, drove those thoughts right out of his mind. Yet, mangled as she was, had he been just a few minutes late getting to them, there wouldn’t have been even that.

The thought was a sobering one. For all his vast power, for all the arts that supposedly made him invincible, there was a whole world out there full of people he cared about who weren’t as lucky. Who weren't blessed with transcendent abilities or the means to protect themselves. Who eked by with what they had.

His actions carried more weight than ever before, and the consequences could impact millions across both realms. Every decision he ever made from here on out had to bear that in mind.

Vir watched as Tara worked nonstop, switching regularly between Maiya and the Kin’jal princess.

Maiya’s burns were slowly replaced with raw, pink skin, and Vir imagined the same was true for Ira on the other side of the divider.

It was only when Maiya’s skin had fully returned to its healthy state that Vir suddenly realized he’d been staring at her nude form the entire time. An incredibly toned, attractive nude form. There wasn’t a bit of excess fat anywhere on her battle-hardened body, instead featuring muscles built for a singular purpose—combat.

Of course, it wasn’t her muscles that Vir’s eyes latched onto.

Vir’s cheeks went red hot, and he suddenly turned away, only to hear Tara snort.

“What?” Vir asked.

“You’re surprisingly innocent in many ways, you know that?” the naga said with a smirk. “With the god persona, it’s easy to forget how young you really are.”

“It’s not that, it’s just…” Vir trailed off. He’d never actually seen Maiya like this before. At least, not since they’d both been little kids. They’d sometimes bathe together, back in Brij when they were young. Things were, well, things were different now.

Tara threw a blanket over Maiya, finally allowing Vir to breathe easily.

That sensation lasted only until Maiya’s eyes slowly opened.

“I feel like I got hit by an Ash’va,” Maiya said groggily. “Everything hurts so much.”

“Fret not, you’ll make a full recovery,” Tara said, reaching her arm out. “I’m Tara, by the way.”

Maiya took Tara’s hand, and what ensued was perhaps the most awkward human-to-demon hand-to-arm shake Vir had ever witnessed.

“Sorry,” Maiya said. “I’m not familiar with…”

She trailed off as her eyes found Tara’s lower half. Her serpentine lower half.

“First time seeing a naga?” Tara asked with a wry smile.

Maiya didn’t reply, eyes fixated on Tara’s unusual body, mouth agape.

With a small sigh, Tara shifted back into her human form. One moment, she’d been half-snake; now, she was dressed in black leather pants.

“Wha-how!?” Maiya blurted. “That’s not possible!”

“Maiya, I told you about nagas a long time ago,” Vir said with a smirk. “Why are you getting so surprised now?”

“Yes, but that’s different! Seeing them in person? And you can all do this?”

“Every single one,” Tara said with an amused expression. “Anyway, you’ll be stiff and raw for the next week or two, but you’ve both been fully healed. Your burns have been removed and replaced with new flesh. That’s mostly why you’re hurting. You may feel your motions a bit tight until it settles.”

“You did all of this? On your own?” Maiya asked, looking incredulously at her pristine pink arms.

“Just doing my job.”

This time, it was Vir’s turn to snort. “You’re one of the few demons in the whole realm who bears the ultimate bloodline art of your clan, and you say you’re just doing your job?”

Tara shrugged. “Comes with being a Panav. We’re here to heal. The more we heal, the happier we tend to be. Just how it is.”

Vir refrained from commenting on how said healer also happened to thirst for battle. He wondered how she reconciled the two. He did not, however, voice that opinion.

“You’ve done all of us an incredible service today, Tara,” Vir said instead. “I truly don’t know how to repay you.”

Tara turned and clapped Vir’s shoulder. “Let me fight you again.”

Vir frowned. “I thought you just said—”

“I know what I just said,” Tara said with a smirk. “But most naga’s don’t participate in the Tournament of Champions, do they?”

Vir shook his head in exasperation. “I’ll be happy to, but that’s hardly enough for what you’ve done here today.”

Tara’s expression fell slightly. It was so subtle that Vir thought he might’ve imagined it. “Then try to remember that when the time comes,” she said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tara waved tiredly as she walked out of the tent. “You’ll know soon enough. I’m gonna go sleep. Healing that much is tiresome.”

“So that’s Tara, huh?” Maiya said once the naga had left the tent.

“In the flesh. Brought you both back from the brink of death, all on her own.”

“Thank the gods,” Maiya said, crashing heavily onto her bed before looking up at Vir. “Or, god, I suppose.”

Vir rolled his eyes.

“That was close, Vir,” Maiya said, lowering her voice. “So close. We would’ve died were it not for you and Tara. Not even S-tier healing orbs could have fully undone that damage.”

“You really think so?”

“Positive,” Maiya said, running a hand over her tender cheek. “Orbs could keep us alive, assuming we found a healer capable of using such magic soon enough. Which, given the circumstances…” Maiya trailed off. “But no human magic can vanish away such horrible burns. This is a miracle. Vir, the pain… It was more than anything I’d ever felt, and you know my pampered princess days are long behind me. I really thought that was it, you know? I thought for sure I was going to die.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Well, you didn’t,” Vir said, gently squeezing her shoulder. “You’re alive now, Mai. We're together. That’s what matters.”

Maiya returned a weak smile. “Sorry for worrying you.”

“You better be,” Vir said. “Scared me half to death. I never want to feel that again. Made me sick to my stomach.”

“I know,” Maiya muttered, weaving her fingers through Vir’s before kissing the back of his hand. “You can't know how much I regret my actions. I did what I did because I thought I could save Ira. She means so much to me, you know? Instead, I went and got myself captured. Load of good that did. Should’ve come up with a better plan.”

“Or, you know, waited for me like I asked you to,” Vir said. He’d been lucky to arrive in time. Maiya could have hidden safely, waiting things out. Though, of course, that might very well have meant Ira’s death.

“You’re right,” Maiya said with a sad smile, squeezing his hand. “I guess the panic stopped me from thinking straight. I’m sorry, Vir. For everything.”

“Well, it all worked out,” Vir said, just happy to be reunited with the love of his life after so long. Despite the turmoil in both realms, despite the mountain of problems yet to resolve, Vir was more content than he’d been in years. It was a warm thing, nestled deep within his chest. A radiant peace that filled his every pore.

“So? You like what you see?” Maiya asked with a wink.

Vir’s eyes widened, and he took a half-step back, his peace all but forgotten. “Wha-what do you mean?”

Maiya’s eyes rolled. “Oh, come on. You were watching the whole time, weren’t you? Enjoy staring at helpless naked girls for hours? I must say, you have quite the strange taste. I’m sorry, Vir, but I’m not willing to be burned again to cater to your fetishes. Well, maybe just a little, if you’re really nice to me.”

“Huh? No, that’s not… You’ve got it all wrong! I don’t—”

Maiya burst out laughing, before realizing she wasn’t the only one.

“Ira?” Maiya asked, turning her head.

“So sorry!” a voice replied from the other side of the divider. “I woke up not long ago and couldn’t help but overhear.”

“Vir, the screen, please?” Maiya asked.

Vir moved the divider aside—Tara had thrown a blanket over the princess, so there was thankfully no worry of causing a scene.

“Princess Ira,” Vir said, giving her a nod. “It is good to finally meet you. I have heard much about you from Maiya.”

“Likewise, and likewise,” Ira said with a small grin. “I admit, from everything she’d confided in me about you, I expected you to be… bigger.”

“Bigger?” Vir’s lips curled upward as Aspect of the Demon God took over. Now that he’d initiated it once before, he understood the mechanism behind the art’s trigger. Anger wasn’t sufficient. It had to be true fury, from his very being.

Not an especially difficult emotion to tap, considering how it had never left him in all those hours he spent waiting. Vir wanted nothing more than to burn Andros alive. It was only his concern over Maiya’s condition that stopped him.

Vir’s height grew to nearly that of Cirayus, his horns almost touchin the ceiling of the tall tent. Black bone armor wrapped around his body, his muscles bulged larger, and his voice deepened.

“Do you mean something like this?”

Flames of Ash prana erupted from his body, and as impressive as they were coming off his regular form, the effect was simply incomparable with his transformation. He had flames spewing from his horns!

Vir couldn’t help but puff out his muscled chest just a bit.

Strangely, Ira never answered. Her eyes had gone wide, and she clutched her bedsheets with white knuckles, shaking.

“Vir! Stop that! Can’t you see you’re terrifying her?” Maiya admonished. “What are you trying to do, stop her poor heart? She’s only just recovered!”

“Oh, right,” Vir said, scratching his neck. “Sorry about that.”

He released the transformation, shifting back and releasing the flames.

“I thought it’d be impressive,” he said sheepishly as Ira took deep breaths to calm herself.

“I’m so sorry, Ira,” Maiya said. “Vir can be a little clueless at times.”

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Vir retorted, ready to come back with a whole list of times he’d shown exemplary sensitivity.

“Oh, don’t worry, I might’ve fallen for you all over again with that little demonstration,” Maiya said with a wink. “You’ll have to do it again sometime. When we’re alone.”

Vir’s mouth opened, but no words came out. And so he just stood there, looking like an oaf as Maiya continued to help Ira find her nerves.

In the end, Vir just shook his head and chuckled. He’d missed this. He’d missed having someone who treated him an equal. Not that he considered himself above Cirayus or Ashani or anyone else. Quite the opposite.

But the fact remained that as Vir’s station grew, the more he stepped into the shoes of the Akh Nara and the son of Maion and Shari, the more he left his friends behind.

True friends, like Tia, Vason, and Haymi had been, before they’d uncovered his true identity. Vir wondered how they’d react if Tia saw him now—a fearsome demon with horns to match.

There wasn’t a single other person in all the realms he could chat with the way he did with Maiya. They’d known each other all their lives, after all. She knew his every secret, and he likewise knew all of her quirks and wants. Most of all, they accepted each other for who they truly were.

Just a couple of kids from a backwater village.

“My apologies,” Ira said, blushing. “Before today, I’d not seen a single demon. Do you all have horns?”

Vir smirked. “No one does, actually. That trick is thanks to one of my abilities. Obtained it only recently, actually.”

“O-oh! I see,” Ira said, clearly flustered. “I have so much to learn about this place. So much to learn about everything,” she mumbled, too soft for normal ears to hear. Vir’s ears were, of course, anything but.

“As much as I would love to stay and chat with the two of you, I’m afraid you’ve joined us at a tumultuous time. I only recently launched a rebellion of my own, which seems to have been successful, at least for now.”

“Far more than I can say for ours,” Ira said, lowering her head. “I fear I failed quite spectacularly.”

“You managed two out of three,” Vir said. “An impressive feat, as far as rebellions go.”

Ira gave Vir an appraising look and opened her mouth before shutting it, looking conflicted.

Vir didn’t have to have the sort of sensitivity Maiya talked about to know what she was thinking.

“I know this can’t be easy for you,” Vir said softly. “Stuck in a realm, alone, when your people suffer. I wish Andros dead no less than you, and we have much to discuss regarding the situation in the Human Realm. It will, however, have to wait until the situation has been stabilized here. Call me cruel, but my people must come first.”

“I understand,” Ira said immediately. “And please don’t worry about me. I shan’t pry into your affairs.”

“It’s not a problem at all,” Vir said. “Maiya trusts you implicitly, and anyone Maiya trusts, I do too. I’ll let her fill you in on the details of Demon Realm politics, but suffice it to say that my people have won a great victory against our oppressors today. We’ve retaken our stronghold, and if all goes well, I will be crowned Raja—king, in your parlance. Yet the enemy gathers their strength for a counterattack as we speak, and my people are confused and panicked after our recent coup. I’m afraid I’ll have little time to spare over the coming days, so don’t expect to see me often.” Vir glanced at Maiya. “Either of you.”

“That… sounds like a stupid plan. How about I suggest a better one?” Maiya said, hopping out of her bed. “Just, uh, would you mind getting me some clothes and a couple of daggers? I’m not picky. About the clothes, of course. Get me your best daggers.”

“What are you doing?” Vir asked.

“Coming with you, of course. What does it look like?”

“Maiya, you almost died. You’re not well. You need rest! Didn’t you hear Tara?”

“I heard, and I choose to ignore. You’ve got a lot of chaos you need to quell, yeah? Well, I’ve spent the last several years taming chaos. I can help. I mean it. I might not compare to you in combat ability—which, by the way, is completely unfair considering all the progress I’ve made—but I’ll be Ash-damned if I can’t at least manage a city or two.”

Vir hesitated until Ira jumped out of her bed as well, wrapping her blanket around her.

“And what are you doing?” Vir asked.

“Joining you two, of course,” Ira said. “That is, if you’ll permit me. I understand why you might not want to trust a foreigner with national affairs, even if Maiya does place her faith in me.”

“You can trust her,” Maiya said immediately. “And as good as I am at management, I don’t hold a candle to Ira. You could really use her help.”

“It appears to me that it’s two against one, Sir Vir?” Ira said. “Or should I call you Your Grace?”

“Just call him Vir,” Maiya said. “He hates formalities.”

“Oh good,” Ira said, letting out a breath. “I think we’ll get along just fine.”

“This is ridiculous,” Vir muttered, though he couldn’t bring himself to say any more. Despite his reluctance to throw two trauma victims into the fire, having two competent leaders managing the city for him would be indispensable during this trying time. He’d actually thought of recruiting Maiya earlier but hadn’t dared voice it. Not when she was so wounded. For the princess to join? That was something he’d never dreamed of.

“If we do this, you’re never to leave Ashani or Cirayus’ side. And I’m having the wolves follow you everywhere. Especially since you no longer possess your communications orb. Understood?”

Maiya rolled her eyes. “Yes, mother.”

“I’m not sure I’m familiar with these names…” Ira said slowly.

“A living goddess from the Age of Gods—yes, she’s the Ashani you’re thinking of—a four-armed giant demigod, and a half dozen Ash wolves all stronger than any creature you’ve ever seen,” Maiya volunteered, counting them off one by one on her fingers.

It was good that using Blink had become second nature to Vir, because otherwise, there would’ve been no one to catch Princess Ira when she fainted.