n

n

n

"The Princess of Death…?

" I echoed, confused.

n

"Fufu~ please, just call me Axilia,

" the girl giggled, covering her mouth.

"Or something more intimate… if you prefer~

"

n

"Uh… sorry, but your name tells me absolutely nothing,

" I retorted.

"Where is this place? Am I still alive? Oh wait, if you're the Princess of Death… I guess not, huh? But, hm, how do I put it… I imagined hell to be… more hell-like.

"

n

"Fufu~ you're funny, darling~ but you aren't dead just yet,

" Axilia said, folding her arms.

"This is still the Living Realm.

"

nI stopped.

"Did you just say… Realm?

"

nThis girl… she knows about their existence.

n

"Hehe~ of course. I came from the Death Realm, after all. The ruler there is my father!

"

nI gulped and made a mental note not to get this girl's bad side.

n

"A-Ahem… anyway, how did I survive that fall? I shouldn't have been able to.

"

nWhat should've happened was, I died, then got revived inside the Infinite Realm. I'll have all my memories removed, but Mei Gui would eventually be able to track me down and remind me of everything, since I'd still be in possession of my powers.

n

"I protected you, of course,

" Axilia replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

n

"And why, exactly, did you do that?

" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, I'm not complaining, but…

"

n

"Because… I love you, darling.

"

n

"… Huh?

"

n

"Fufu~ I said…

" Axilia suddenly leaned in and planted a kiss on my lips before I can even react, dominating my mouth. With her hands, she held mine down with ease. I wanted to push her away, but my entire body felt powerless.

n

"Mmn~ I wuv wu, darling~

"

nAfter several seconds, she finally pulled away, and I immediately gained control over my body again, collapsing to the ground and coughing.

n

"Cough… hack… what was that… my body… it was completely paralyzed…

"

nAxilia, on the other hand, merely licked her lips, as if savoring the taste of my saliva in her mouth, and thoughtfully placed a finger on her chin.

n

"Mm… as expected, darling's saliva tastes delicious~

"

nI watched, slack-jawed, utterly bewildered at this girl's actions. Slowly getting back up to my feet, I wiped my mouth and shot her a smirk.

n

"Sorry, but… I'm already taken.

"

nAt this, Axilia froze, and slowly twisted her head towards me, shining pink eyes widened in surprise.

n

"… Eh?

"

n

"Like I said… I already have a girlfriend. Nine, in particular.

"

nAxilia blinked several times, before smiling happily.

"Well, not anymore~! Darling is all mine now~

"

nShe ran over and hurriedly threw her arms around me, embracing me tightly. For a princess of death, her body was quite warm. Still, I wasn't about to be seduced like that again.

nLast time, I was just caught off-guard. This time, I retained control of my body, and pushed her away with ease, causing her to stumble back a few steps.

n

"D-Darling…?

"

n

"I already said. I'm grateful to you for saving me, but if you're looking for a boyfriend, find somebody else.

"

nThe smile on her face disappeared, and I shuddered as I felt a chilling aura erupt all around her. Her pink eyes shone brightly than ever in this greyscale world, unleashing a powerful ripple of energy surrounding her.

n

"Ngh…!

" I hurriedly raised my arms to block my face, but couldn't cast any magic. My abilities were completely suppressed, and my body was frozen still.

nAxilia calmly walked over and gently pried my arms away from my face so that the two of us were staring into each other's eyes, and I gulped as I saw the coldest stare I've ever seen in my life.

n

"… I've chosen you already, darling. There's no escape. As for your nine other girlfriends…

"

nSuddenly, she smiled happily, the coldness from earlier completely gone.

n

"… All I have to do is kill them! Then, you won't have any girlfriends anymore! It'll just be me… and me alone.

"

n

"H-Ha…

" I breathed, somehow still able to talk despite the rest of my body being frozen.

"Big words… but my women aren't easy people to mess with. I wouldn't be so confident about beating them if I were you.

"

n

"Fufu~ is that so?

" Axilia giggled.

"This thing you call 'magic'… it's powerless before me. Can't you see, darling? How easily I suppressed your entire group up there.

"

nI grinned grimly.

"So… it really was you behind all of this, huh? Do you know how many innocent lives you claimed? How many families you destroyed?

"

n

"Eh? So?

" She asked softly, tilting her head innocently.

nI was shocked to the bone.

n

"W-What do you mean, 'so'?! You murdered-

"

n

"And so have you, darling,

" she cut in, stopping me mid-sentence.

"Sniff… sniff… I can smell the aura of death around you. How nice…

"

n

"The people I murdered…

" I muttered.

"They… deserved it. I don't harm the innocent.

"

n

"But that doesn't change much, does it?

" Axilia laughed, cupping my face between her hands.

"Perhaps… that's why I chose you, darling.

"

n

"Chose me…? So it wasn't just random…?

"

n

"Fufu, of course not. I purposely made you fall down here,

" she said, giggling softly like a little girl.

"Ever since you entered my domain, I've been watching you. Waiting for the right moment.

"

n

"What…

"

n

"You see, darling, I was sent to this realm by my father to find a suitable partner,

" Axilia explained, taking my hand and forcefully leading me to her stone throne.

"No one in the Death Realm suited my tastes, so I came here, fufu~

"

n

"You're kidding… so you didn't even mean to kill all those people…? They just happened to be close to you when you first arrived here…?

"

n

"Mm, yeah, pretty much~

" She said, pushing me down onto the throne before sitting on top of me lovingly, showing off her long, slender white legs beneath the thin black veil of her beautiful robes.

"I forgot to turn off my domain's power, and ended up wiping out a city… but that was a while ago. Since then, I've stayed right where I was, waiting for someone to come along to me. Recently, though, my father began getting impatient, so… I began getting a bit more proactive, teehee~!

"

nT-To be able to wipe out an entire city just because she forgot to turn down her domain's power… just how strong is this girl?!

n

"And then…

" She continued her story, suddenly pressing her body close to mine.

"… I met you, darling.

"

nI gulped, feeling her soft breasts against my chest. The fact that her ample butt rested on my lap wasn't exactly helping either.

n

"Immediately, I knew you were the one,

" she said, bringing her face closer to mine.

"The energy inside you… it makes me feel warm and at home, for some reason. And your body… it's full of mysteries even I can't read. No one else will ever be able to make me feel like that, darling. So… I won't let you go, no matter what~

"

nShe smiled innocently, but deep down I knew she was a crazy devil. She spoke of death and taking lives as if it were a common occurrence for her, as if it wasn't anything noteworthy. She was willing to do anything to have me — even if it meant killing the other girls around me.

nI had to keep this girl away from them, at all costs. At least… until I become strong enough to defeat her.

n

"… Axilia.

"

n

"Yes, darling~?

"

n

"Are you sure what you feel towards me is love… and not possession?

"

n

"… Eh?

"

nThis girl… I don't think she even knows the difference between the two.

n

"You want to keep me as your pet,

" I said.

"Not as a lover. Is that true?

"

n

"A pet? Hm…

" Axilia fell into thought, leaning back onto my shoulders.

"… I've never had one, so I don't know. But there is one thing I'm sure about — I want you, darling~

"

nYeah… I don't think this girl realizes what love is. She just wants me to be with her, but…

nBack there, when I had stared into her eyes, there was something beyond that veil of bone-chilling coldness. Behind the crazy yet gentle persona of a yandere, there lay something else within the girl known as Axilia. It was very faint, but I could feel it.

nBecause I was once the same.

nHonestly, that may have been another reason why she felt our auras to be so… compatible with one another's. It's because we both experienced the same thing in our pasts. No… she may still be experiencing it, even now. That was part of why she wanted me so much as well.

nAxilia, the Princess of Darkness, was lonely.

nI could see it in her eyes. She tried to hide it, but she couldn't. Not against someone who has suffered the same thing before.

nShe wanted a partner. A friend. Someone who would always be there for her… hence why she wants me so much. To her, I am an object — something to help relieve her loneliness.

nBut that wasn't how friendship worked. To receive… one must first give.

n

"… Fine,

" I said after a long while.

"I'll be your 'darling' or whatever.

"

n

"Eh? Really?

" She turned around to look at me and blinked several times in surprise.

nI nodded, shutting my eyes.

"You're not bad-looking anyway.

"

n

"Fufu~ darling is the best~!

" Axilia giggled happily and hugged me tightly. I gently held her in my arms, but in my heart, I didn't feel the slightest bit of love for her.

nOnly pity.

nI wanted her to learn an important lesson. I wanted to teach her what friendship truly is… and just how valuable friends are.

nLooking at her, it was as if I was looking at a reflection of my own past self. I had to steer her onto the right track.

nI'm sure, with the right guidance… she would become good friends with the other girls.

nI could only hope for the best.

n