The Villainess Is An SS+ Rank Adventurer

I winced while leaning slightly away.

Where before stood a little girl, there were now flames so bright that only my curtains could withstand them. They wrapped around her as glowing ribbons, before forming a cocoon rising to twice her height.

And what emerged was a slender leg … complete with crystalline shoes.

Gone was the oversized apron, the circlet of daisies and the muddy knees.

Instead, there was a crimson gown of sequins and silk, a floating tiara of garnets and dark feathered wings to ensure she’d never accidentally hopscotch into a puddle again.

Yes.

What was once a caterpillar had now become a butterfly.

Officially making her debut in high society, she stepped forwards with all the gravitas of a baroness with her first scheme already in motion. Scarlet lips were framed against her pale skin as her wings idly sent her golden hair swishing around her.

Even so, it was neither the darkened wings nor the insidious smile which drew my eye.

It was the puddles of flame trailing behind her.

“Yes,” she said, discreetly pulling the hems of her dress away. “Behold, Little Miss Princess. You gaze upon a devil revealed, here where no light other than mine may shine.”

She gave a twirl, indulging in the joy of no longer needing to stretch for the shelves.

“Smile. Laugh. Dance. For I am Nythenia, the Harbinger of Revelry, fated to drown the hells and the heavens in mirth, until all is bathed in the torment of endless joy. All that you see is my playground. And you are my toy.”

I stared as she came to a stop.

And then I continued to stare.

“... Yes? Where is the rest?”

“What?”

“The rest.” I gestured at the scantily dressed lady. “The horns. The tail. The eyes burning with infernal hatred. Where is everything else?”

“What do you mean ‘where is everything else?’ There’s nothing else. Why should there be?”

“Why? … Because you don’t look like a devil! Rather, you look like a regular noblewoman who’s stitched together a pair of wings! Surely, this can’t be it?”

The response was a wrinkled nose and the creasing of brows.

“There are flames trailing behind me, scarring the land wherever I walk. Not that I need to. These wings which haven’t been stitched together can envelop even the heavens in darkness. In what world does a noblewoman possess such an ability?”

“A world you haven’t visited much, otherwise you would know that noblewomen are far more bored than you can imagine. How come my succubus has horns and you don’t?”

“Because I am not a harlot desperately seeking to seduce everyone I see.”

I gasped.

“How dare you! … She has only seduced half the kitchen staff! And all it does is make them work harder just to impress her! Her horns are incredibly useful!”

“And long may she continue. But I am not consigned to take the shape of whatever dreary nightmare children dream up. As a devil, my appearance is the very manifestation of my soul.”

“Well, in that case, I don’t see why you can’t manifest a slightly more fiendish appearance!”

“I’ve no desire for a more fiendish appearance. Especially when it comes to horns or tails. Do they look impressive? Perhaps. But do they also constantly get in the way? Yes.”

I raised my arms in exasperation.

“A devil is meant to maximise impaling! How is pragmatism for anything else allowed?”

“This is the hells. Everything is allowed. Especially as the Harbinger of Revelry. If I want to impale someone, it will be with magic, not appendages.”

“Then I see why you chose a witchly village as your playground! Anywhere else would result in a barrage of grievances! … How have your peers not complained yet for lowering their reputations?”

“There is nothing to complain about. Devils are beings of sanctimonious dread. To mortals, my merrymaking only adds to the horror.”

“Yes, well, I suppose that’s true. The moment anyone sees you, they’ll wonder why they couldn’t at least get the traditional experience. I must say, I’m extremely disappointed. This is my first time in the hells and so far, I’ve seen very little evidence of it. Are either of you two even devils? Where are your documents?”

The woman raised her eyebrow.

Not only at me. But at the hat merchant, who having finally escaped a lance stuck to his chest was dutifully patting down his pockets.

“Little Miss Princess, perhaps you should be more concerned with what you see than what you do not.”

“That’s precisely what I’m doing. Do you think being pulled to the hells means I lose all responsibility? If you intend to abduct me, then I need to ensure you meet the minimum standards.”

“If you have concerns with what you see, then perhaps you should head to the Infernal Forges of Tzalcarath to complain. It isn’t far from here. I’ll even deliver you myself.”

“In that case, I wouldn’t need to say a thing. The devils there would weep upon seeing you.”

“I imagine they would. It took centuries for them to turn every feather of my wings the exact shade of black I wanted. An expensive ordeal. I had to pay them with more jewels than your kingdom has ever possessed. And that doesn’t even include upkeep.”

I looked at her in confusion.

“... Why? Didn’t you say your appearance is a manifestation of your soul?”

The devil paused.

“Some bits are harder than others to manage,” she said dismissively. “We are creatures of magic not unlike the fae. Yet our power is far greater. So much that even we cannot control every facet.”

I leaned slightly forwards. She pursed her lips as she turned slightly away.

It wasn’t enough to stop me from examining the feathery nature of her wings. Something slightly different from the bat-like wings I usually expected.

A moment later, I glanced up at the floating black tiara. One which if shorn of garnets and smoothed out would almost look like … a halo.

I blinked.

“Excuse me … but are you not originally from the hells?”

The woman rolled her eyes, all the while doing her best to lean away.

A tiny sigh came out.

“... I migrated,” she said, reciting the lines she had doubtless explained countless times before. Mostly to her highly suspicious peers. “I used to live in the heavens. But it doesn’t matter. I have since abandoned the virtues of good and given my soul over to the joys of endless revelry and all the sins that encompasses. My nature is now entirely evil.”

I offered a nod.

And then–

“Oho …”

“Stop!” The would-be devil snapped her fingers. She could do that all she wanted. No amount of magic could stop me raising a hand to my lips. “Do not–”

“Ohohoohoohohoho!!”

My melodic laughter filled the chamber, drawing a grimace and the click of a tongue.

I hardly saw why.

She was the Harbinger of Revelry, and she’d successfully achieved her mission. One that was probably the same as before she’d opted to trade the colour of her wings.

“You … You are a fallen angel! You’re not even a devil!”

“I am a devil of the hells!” she snapped at once. “I have taken on the powers of the infernal and blackened my angelic soul in order to pursue my own wants! I am an utter fiend!”

“Ohohohoho! A fiend at heart, but not by definition!”

“To be a devil is to be consumed by darkness! It is not defined by one’s origins, but the amount of blood at the destination! It is–”

“Oho … my apologies! How crude of me to suggest you were missing appendages! I should have known your kind may only alter what they possess, not conjure entirely new ones!”

“I am perfectly capable of doing so if I desire! It is nothing! My infernal powers can subjugate a village of witches! I can lift my very shadow into the shape of nightmares! I can peer into the heart of Pandemonium! You can already see that changing forms is child’s play to me!”

“In that case, it shouldn’t be an issue! Go on. Use your infernal powers to impress me. All you need to do is grow horns. Just a single one will do.”

I waited as the fallen angel pursed her lips.

Then, she closed her eyes and grimaced, shuddering as she brought all her magical powers to bear. Wisps of black and white danced around her as a bead of sweat rolled down her temple.

And then–

A lick of her golden hair stuck up as though she’d just woken in bed.

“Ohohohohohohohohoho!!”

“[Infernal Edict]!”

Fwoooosh.

All of a sudden, she stretched out an arm … and there within her grip appeared a greatsword unlike any other.

Wielding it with a single hand as easily as a knight could wield with two, it smouldered with both fire and darkness, as though shaped from living magma rather than any magic. Molten droplets bled from its length, hissing as they sank through the ground.

Then she took a deep breath, before offering a smile that ignored everything I’d said.

“... To laugh in the face of doom is a bold thing, Your Highness,” she said, resetting the conversation without a hint of shame. “But I am the great devil Nythenia–”

“You are literally not even a minor devil.”

“–the supreme devil Nythenia, Harbinger of Revelry. And here in the hells, the last laugh is mine by infernal right.”

“I disagree. But as a princess, I’m nothing if not charitable. I shall share it with you. After all, why waste a mocking chorus about whatever ridiculous thing you’re planning to do?”

“The chorus will come from the Valley of the Dead. I’ve decided that toying with you is far less entertaining if I have to deal with your personality. Boring as this is, I’ll simply have my revenge and be done with it.”

The fallen angel flapped her wings and rose.

Blacker than any night, the feathers absorbed the light of the chandelier so fully that the chamber was enshrouded in darkness, save for where her molten sword was dribbling.

And also her smile.

“... But that doesn’t mean you needn’t try to play. The hells are vast. Should you begin running now, perhaps you’ll survive long enough to utter a prayer. In consideration of who I once was, I shall at least pretend to listen.”

“Unnecessary. Unlike you, I haven’t shed my angelic nature. I can answer my own prayers.”

“Then begin. There is no gentle breeze to call upon here. No gardening technique to sweep me into a forest. No clockwork doll to whisk you away. You are alone.”

I raised a hand to my lips, barely covering my smile.

“Ohohoho … I am never alone.”

“There is only you and the abyss. And it does not take kindly to being disturbed.”

“The abyss is in arrears. Those who reside below your pits are amongst my longest and cheapest admirers. I do not need magic to create a theatre, you see. The eyes of the world are always upon me. And while this is an invasion of privacy, it also means an unwanted spotlight I can use.”

The fallen angel dared to laugh.

She was too early. I hadn’t even begun yet.

“I know your strength, Princess. And it is meaningless here. Your sword cannot harm me in this realm. You have no power here.”

All of a sudden, the molten sword expanded.

Dousing the chamber in infernal light, she raised it high in the air like a guillotine ready to fall. Only the slightest pause betrayed her better instincts as she swept towards me.

She should have listened.

“... Very well,” I said as I drew Starlight Grace by my side. “I do not enjoy offering the same lesson twice. So allow me to provide one for all to remember.”

Sadly, it wasn’t just the hells who were amongst my audience.

The heavens also had no concept of privacy. But what they lacked in shame, they at least held in obstinacy. And to allow a debt to go unsettled was something not even a goddess lounging on a cloud could abide.

After all, the amount of interest I’d charge would only increase.

Yes.

I, Juliette Contzen, 3rd Princess to the Kingdom of Tirea, had defeated liches, banished devils, imprisoned errant sisters and shooed away the fingernail of Lady Umbra. And that meant the heavens owed me remuneration.

I’d been doing their work for them. And I did not work unpaid.

That is why–

It was time to collect.

“Ohohohoho … here is a moment of revelry to follow wherever you shall go, so drift where dawn has yet to dim, and see the dreams where seasons never wane.”

I twirled as I drew my sword, sweeping it overhead and across the face of the heavens.

“Celestial Starlight Form, 3rd Stance …[A Golden Requiem, A Royal Tithe].”

Time came to a still.

And the debt was repaid.

Without any fanfare, a corner of the very hells was torn asunder as light spilled forth through a chasm in the emporium’s ceiling. It flooded the chamber, striking aside all darkness with radiant light.

As blinding and pure as my soul as I struck off exactly 0.5% of what I was owed, it came with a melody of birdsong, window chimes and brushing leaves. A calming warmth enveloped me like a fortress of pillows, followed by the scent of fresh grass and summer daisies.

But that only made sense.

It’s what now surrounded me, after all.

Gently, the light faded to reveal the sight of a meadow where no life had ever bloomed. The daisies danced as a breeze swept through the chamber, for the gap in the ceiling led not to whatever darkness awaited outside.

It was instead as clear as the resignation upon the face of a little girl.

Sitting in the middle of the daisies in her blue apron dress once again, she lightly flicked at one of the flowers, before turning her eyes up towards the glaring heavens.

Her shoulders drooped as the faint remains of her black wings burned away … alongside the rest of her.

Puffing her cheeks, she glanced down as she began to fade, before raising her hand to gently touch the halo floating above her head. She winced as it singed her, for now the darkness that had absorbed it was being seared away.

A moment later, she sighed.

“Ugh … I’m going to be scolded.”

A haze of light swept over the chamber once again. And then she was gone.

For a moment, only the lingering sounds of a distant garden were there to break the silence, before the flowers soon began to fade.

However, even as the light dimmed and the gap in the ceiling revealed a hint of the murky horizon beyond, that didn’t mean that darkness had returned.

After all–

The main source of it was also absent.

I turned around, Starlight Grace raised as I sought the only other questionable devil of my life.

Sadly, only my mother’s maids would remain bona fide fiends.

There, along with a puddle of blood from where a lance had impaled him, was a simple flat cap.

Lacking any of the false gleam of the hats still sitting upon their shelves, it was nevertheless the only one to earn my scrutiny. And also my sword as I promptly went over to poke it.

Several times.

In fact, I’d probably let Apple chew it for good measure.

Pwoooosh.

… And also everyone else who wanted to take part as well.

Just as I was wondering and not at all extremely concerned over why the heavens didn’t decide to gently punt me home, a flickering light filled the chamber.

In the centre, just beside where a bucket had fallen to the ground, a distinctive magical portal bordered with a golden hue appeared. And through it, a glimpse of the starry sky and the distant lights of a royal capital beckoning its princess.

“–Ahahahaha … ahahahah … ahahahaha~”

There was also that.

Far from approaching, I leaned away as the familiar sound of a clockwork doll’s laughter transcended realms just to horrify anyone listening in the hells.

Especially me.

I had absolutely no idea why Coppelia was laughing. Except it couldn’t have been for a good reason.

Indeed … there was only one thing more concerning than why my loyal handmaiden was likely rolling on the deck of The Gentle Princess while clutching her tummy.

And that was the sight of the Snow Dancer peeking her head through the magical portal.

Except her silver hair was significantly less shiny than usual.

“Oh, nice!” she said with a nod, her face soaked in enough water that it was dripping into the chamber. “Looks like it worked. Nobody important died!”

I threw up my arms in outrage.

“What do you mean ‘nobody important died’?! What were you doing while I was kidnapped?!”

“Nothing really dangerous that everyone agreed we wouldn’t share with you.”

“What did you do?!”

“Me? A lot of swimming. But that’s fine! I look amazing with wet hair. If you want to see it, you should hop through the totally safe portal. My mother says it won’t last, and also that the place you’re in now is even worse. It might start collapsing soon.”

I had so many questions.

None of which I wanted to ask. Especially as I felt the first tremor in the ground.

BruuUmmMm.

As though whatever held a devil’s gift shop together was now broken, the familiar sensation of something I’d blame on dwarves was now making its way through the very walls.

Thus, I nodded as I made my way towards the portal … only to pick up the bucket.

It was time to return to the festival and inspect some crêpes … !

But first–

I needed to tax the hells.