CH91 Cosmos and the King
King Jass, portly and smug, sat on his throne, convinced of his own unparalleled worth. His harem's constant praise only reinforced his belief that he was the pinnacle of mankind.
“King Jass you are so manly.” Harem member 1 praised.
Harem member 2 praised. “King Jass you are so smart.”
Harem member 3 swooned. “King Jass you are so strong.”
King Jass, a benevolent ruler who reveled in being pampered, readily granted the wishes of the beautiful women surrounding him. As harem member 1 hand-fed him grapes and harem member 2 gently fanned him, his serene day was poised for disruption.
The sky began to darken, prompting a demonic guard to investigate. The red-skinned demon, visibly shaken, reported, "Your majesty, it looks like an eclipse." He paused, taking a deep breath before adding, "This is a terrible omen." This demon served as the captain of the royal guards, a position decreed by the previous king to be held exclusively by demons, signifying trust in the demon queen and her allies.
“I’m sure you can handle whatever that means. Thanks to my genius, the most competent people are in positions of authority.” King Jass attempted to sound smug, but his voice faltered.
A cute silver heart, sparkling in the sky above the balcony, flashed and temporarily left stars in everyone's eyes. As they blinked, a girl in a star-themed magical outfit appeared, magically floating where the heart had been. She wielded a cute, star-tipped staff, her pigtails held in place by oversized star-shaped hair clips.
“In the shimmer tapestry of the cosmos, I am the celestial guardian!” She struck a pose and made a peace sign with her fingers. She smiled and her teeth sparkled in an anime-like fashion. “By cosmic decree I vow to fight evil by starlight. When hope wanes, I’ll purge darkness with powers beyond the skies.”
She pointed directly at the king. “Know my name evildoer for it echoes across infinity, piercing the night!”
The king gaped at what looked to be a song and dance by a cute, costumed girl floating in mid air. “What is the meaning of this?” He looked at harem member one.
“Your majesty, there is only one reason magical girl Cosmos would appear.” She sounded worried. “Someone has broken the accords from over a century ago.”
The king paused, thinking. “Remind me of these accords.” He didn’t want to admit that he was drawing a blank as to what they were.
“It is regarding the treatment of magical girl familiars. There are a lot of particulars but the main thing was that the enemies of the goddess Luna are not allowed to target flamingos that she sends out to be familiars for magical girls.” The beautiful girl stated, looking afraid of the magical girl. “Magical girl Cosmos was like the hero of the previous age.”
King Jass stuck his nose up in the air in an arrogant manner. “Of course. I know of these accords. There are just so many I needed clarification. If I recall, breaking them is impossible because of the treaty with the demon queen. No familiars are allowed in my kingdom.”
“Mister Jass.” Cosmos crossed her arms, looking unamused. “Should a ruler not take responsibility for the debts of their citizens? As sure as your name is Hugh, an offense has been committed, a treaty violated, and by Luna I demand satisfaction.”
“That is King Jass to you.” The portly man reddened. “And my name is hughbert not hugh. Only loved ones may use my first name.”
Cosmos paused then laughed. “Your parents must have hated you.” She said the words slowly, “Hugh Jass.”
All of the harem members suddenly found a spot on the wall very interesting.
“I demand that I be addressed by my station peasant.” King Jass stomped. “I can tell you are not even nobility. Respect your betters.”
“How can anyone respect someone who is being led around by the nose by a group of succubuses” Cosmos’s gaze swept around the three harem members present.
“Slander!” King Jass shouted. “My harem is entirely composed of women of high birth. There are no demons I’m in a relationship with. Besides, how can you demand me to hear your accusations without any evidence?”
Cosmos extended her wand, tracing a circle in the air. A glowing portal shimmered into existence, and from it tumbled a richly dressed, middle-aged woman, landing with a thud on the balcony. Cosmos gracefully descended, settling cross-legged on the stone fence.
Everyone present flinched at the sight.
"This is the offending baroness on whose land the crime was committed," the magical girl announced, pointing at the noble who was attempting to regain her composure and survey her surroundings.
“Your majesty?!” Baroness Yvne’s eyes went wide when she saw she was invading her king’s private rooms. “I’m sorry, I don’t know how I got here. I was dealing with an attack on my manor and somehow ended up falling here.”
“And who attempted murder of a flamingo?” Cosmos’s tone left no room to dodge the question.
“It was that fireclan usurper. They tried to burn what I thought was a clockwork bird.” Yvne shifted the blame.
“Is the fire clan a recognized sect in the kingdom?” Cosmos shifted her gaze back to the portly royal.
King Jass started to object.
“Because, a recognized sect is the responsibility of the ruler.” Cosmos continued.
"I see no need to even consider the words of a little girl. The kingdom of Jass is not accountable to you. Guards, remove her!" the king barked, irate at being spoken over.
The captain demon repeated the order. Several other armored, red-skinned demons charged the magical girl, wielding bludgeoning weapons to subdue her. The captain followed, sword in hand, taking care not to be in the front line.
Cosmos rose from her relaxed posture on the balcony, extending her arms wide, a defiant smirk playing on her lips, silently challenging their assault.
Their weapons met the magical girl, but instead of the satisfying thud of striking flesh, they found only air. The arc of their attacks tore through her clothing, revealing not a body underneath, but a swirling black void.
A powerful vacuum effect began, pulling the very air from the room towards Cosmos. The nearest demon's weapon was ripped from his grasp, sucked into the tears in Cosmos’s outfit, swallowed by the void where her body should have been.
One demon struggled to retrieve his weapon, but it was futile. He released the cudgel, but it was too late. The relentless current of air drew him into the void. All those unable to anchor themselves were inexorably pulled into the void revealed by the magical girl's sundered clothing. Even the guard captain, a formidable tier 3 demon, strained with all his might to escape, but found no purchase to prevent his descent into the abyss. Peculiarly, Lady Yvne remained rooted to the floor.
The king and his harem, positioned further back, managed to brace themselves against walls and furniture, resisting the tempestuous gale and preventing themselves from being swept away.
“Stop! I will hear you out.” King Hugh panicked and lost any of the majesty he tried to project.
Cosmos pulled out a needle and thread and started sewing her outfit. With the garment repaired, the terrible void that instantly defeated the royal guard stopped draining the air from the area. “Ah, well I was going to say, if regicide is required to be taken seriously, I am not adverse to such things.”
“Now, I’m sure that you don’t mean that. Why can’t we be friends?” Harem member 3 cooed in a sultry voice.
"Planar dismissal, truck-kun variant," Cosmos declared, leveling her wand at the woman.
Instantly, a spectral truck materialized, emitting a deep, resonant honk. It surged forward, striking harem member 3 squarely despite her desperate attempt to dodge. The other harem members scattered, narrowly avoiding the same fate.
A second after impact, both the translucent truck and harem member 3 shimmered and vanished.
“Tsk tsk, trying to charm me? I consider that an attack and cause for self defense.” Cosmos spun her wand around like a gun and blew on the star on the tip. She giggled and said in a poor attempt at deep voice. “You tell ‘em I’m coming and hell’s calling, saying they want their demons back.”
“What in the world are you saying?” King Jass looked back and forth for support, panicking.
“Oh, just something I learned from another world. People get sent to another world by a truck so I modified my planar dismissal to be like that. Isn’t it cool?” Cosmos smiled evilly. “As for the other thing, that other world has this thing called westerns where they act so full of grit and stoic. All I am missing is a cowboy hat.”
“How can that be true? Planar dismissal shouldn’t work on humans.” The portly king didn’t sound like he really got it, or refused to acknowledge the truth.
“Not too bright are you?” Cosmos gave the king a pitying look.
The king didn’t like being talked to like that but his fear got the better of him. “Speak plainly lady Cosmos.”
“I already told you, your beloved harem are all lust demons.” Cosmos pointed to the two other females in the room. “I wonder how you got your name?”
Harem member 2 had to cover her mouth to stop from snickering because someone had figured out the joke.
“Is this true?” The king demanded.
“Nevermind the details.” Harem member one placed a hand on the king’s shoulder. “All that matters is our love.”
“Yes, that is true.” The king sounded dazed. “What was I thinking?”
“Ewww, charming abilities are yucky.” The magical girl wrinkled her nose. “As I said, I demand satisfaction.”
“What will it take to make you go away?” The king was sweating freely now.
“For starters, I think the kingdom should break faith with the demon queen. All of the laws she forces should be discarded. All of the demons in the kingdom should be dismissed back to their home plane.” Cosmos started listing some incredible things.
“You ask too much.” Harem member 1 said. “The accords are not that vague. Only the responsible parties should be held to your wraith.”
King Jass was glad that his harem member knew the accords better than he did. He was seriously considering doing what she asked, if only to save his own skin. “Yes, take what you are due. Why did you even need to come here?”
“Well, to tell you the truth, I wanted to see who all I could provoke into attacking me.” Cosmos flashed that evil smile again. “It worked though I was hoping a king would attack.”
“Take the Baroness and her heirs. That is all you are due no?” Harem member 1 tactfully spoke.
“I’ll do that Hugh.” Cosmos gave a floppy bow. “See that you observe the accords otherwise you know what will happen.”
Cosmos's wand transformed, its head now a spectral truck. She declared, "Planar Dismissal!" and struck the baroness. The truck, however, passed through her as if an illusion.
The baroness awoke from a terrifying dream, weeping uncontrollably. Both harem members flinched at the strike, reacting as if it were a devastating attack rather than the illusion that left the baroness in tears.
“As you can see, baroness Yvne is not a demon.” King Jass decided to prod the magical girl for her mistake. “Your planar dismissal didn’t do anything.”
“Did it now?” Cosmos put her wand to the floor and drew a circle around the crying noble. “I’ve got a pair of siblings to collect. Be good now!” She gave a wink. The circle turned into a portal and the baroness yelped, falling through. Cosmos waved, then hopped in after her.
“Quick, dissolve that barony right away!” Harem member 1 grabbed the king and shook him violently.