Chapter Text
Elf-chan couldn't remember when or where she first realized her desire. All she knew was that she'd admired malefactors ever since the day she was born.
Was it a certain fable? A play she had seen? No. Did the cause even matter? All that mattered was since she was young, she'd always been into villains. Those characters were always doomed to be beaten by the hero in the story's last act, often done in by their own hubris, or perhaps, betrayed by their own.
Most people reveled in their destruction, of course. They cheered at the hero's success. But she always mourned the heroic climax and pondered the question, "What if?"
What if the villain had won that fight? What if their plans had succeeded, upending the predictable triumph of good over evil while achieving their goal? Before she knew it, Elf-chan was roping her playmates into such scenarios, often arguing with the stupid boys who cried, "That's not how it goes!"
Idiots.
Who decided that Olivier always had to win on the playground? Why couldn't Diablos kick everyone's butts and take over the kingdoms for once? Sure, that wasn't how the fables went, but playtime was all pretend, anyway. Wouldn't it be more exciting to see what the world would look like once drowned in chaos?
No? Hmph! Stupid boys! Maybe she'd just drown them instead! And then, she could always win the fights as the villain! Yeah! Now, there was a thought!
She'd been fully prepared to put her plan into motion when that silver-haired bitch started snitching. She'd have to pay her back for her stinging betrayal the next time they met face-to-face.
Of course, Elf-chan got a good scolding once her parents learned of the matter, but they let her off easy since she was a child, claiming her hobbies were "fleeting."
Sitting her down, they took a moment to explain the bleak reality: that no matter how much she might admire the villains, their lifestyles simply weren't stable.
Bandits, for example, had to live in camps off the road, hidden from view. The smallest sign of a guard patrol could make even the best of them run for the hills! Even fabled villains, like the demon Diablos, had to live off the grid. A large part of the hero's journey was simply finding them so they could fight!
To be a villain was to be on the run.
From everyone. At all times.
From the guards.
From the knights.
And most of all, from the Church.
"Haaaaaa…"
Maybe if she'd been born sooner, it would have been possible. But the current world was fully devoted to the holy teachings of the Church. So, Elf-chan decided to give up on evil and prepared for a lifetime of blandness. She promised her parents she'd apologize to the dumb boys the very next chance she got.
But then something happened.
Something that would end her life and start it anew.
"Aah!"
"Eek!"
"My only daughter…?! No. This is ridiculous!"
"Daddy, what-?"
"I'm not your daddy!"
Her Pa-kun reached for his sword. As she gazed at her reflection gleaming from its blade, she realized what had them spooked. A small red mark had appeared on her arm… a bruise as crimson as blood.
She raised her arm, staring at it.
"This is…"
"Y-You're… Possessed!" Ma-chan screamed.
Possession. A rotting curse synonymous with a death sentence.
There was no cure.
No escape.
"No way, is this a lie?" she thought. "Ma-chan! Pa-kun…!"
"I said, I'm not your daddy!" Pa roared. He swung his blade, cleaving the air between them with an angry snarl. "Begone from here, Demon Spawn! I… I won't tell you again!"
The message was clear, and she understood well.
She'd seen it before, after all.
To their neighbor Cindy.
To Aunt Oba.
And so many old friends and neighbors.
'To be possessed is to be cast aside.'
And so, like they had, she ran.
Away from her home.
Away from her village.
Away from the life she had known.
And then, in the forest a mere three days later, she was captured by a small group of bandits.
Their rough hands seized her, a dirty cloth gagging her before she could so much as scream. It wasn't until she was thrown in a cage like some beast that they let her gag free.
"Looks like we've got ourselves quite the prize," their Boss chuckled, eyeing her over. "It's been a long time since we caught a Possessed. The Church pays well for them, right?"
"Not for an elf," one of them scoffed. "Hear they're pretty common 'round here."
"Good thing they don't have to know she's an elf," he snarked back. "We'll wait 'til she rots."
"Rot?" she asked.
The Boss grinned, finding a strange sick pleasure in her question.
"What?" he smirked. "You caught that disease and don't even know how it works?"
He kicked the cage with a cruel laugh, sending her scattering back.
"Listen close, brat, not that I should even have to explain this to you," he sneered. "There's a reason they call it Possession, yeah? Haven't you ever gone to Church?!"
"Eh?"
"That mark on your arm isn't just a symptom, it's evidence, understand?!" he growled. "It's proof that you've awoken to the power of demons! Proof that you're one of its children!"
"It?" she asked.
The Boss sneered. "The Great Demon King… Diablos! Seriously, you don't know that much? I thought elves were supposed to be smart!"
She widened her eyes as she took in his words. "Diablos? Like from the fable? But that's… No way…"
That was…
That was…!
'So cool!' she thought.
She was a descendant of the fabled monster?!
Of course! Now, it all made sense!
Her sudden interest in villainy wasn't because of some stupid old play! It was because cruelty was in her nature! The devil's blood ran through her veins!
She cupped her cheeks, smiling at the thought.
'Kyaa! This is amazing! I always knew I was special! Does this mean I can be a villain, after all?'
"Gross," one of the bandits muttered. "Look at it smiling. Disgusting!"
"If you can't handle that, just wait until it turns into a pile of flesh!" the Boss laughed.
Eh? What did he say?
"Flesh?"
"Oh? Not smiling now, are ya?" he smirked. "That's right. The Church always goes on and on about how your kind suffers fates worse than death. Something about how your demonic powers can't handle your weak mortal bodies…" he shrugged. "Eh, all you need to know is you're in for some real pain, sweetheart."
"Hey, Boss, why don't do it a favor and put the thing out of its misery?"
"Idiot!" the Boss said, smacking the man. "If we do that, we won't get paid!"
She glared at them.
So that was it? She was destined to melt into some blob? Lose her newfound dark destiny and get sold off to the Church?
Ridiculous!
Sure, she might have been bruised, broken, and weak, but she could still put up a fight if she wanted! She wouldn't meet her end by bandits!
Or so she thought, but no matter how much she seethed, the bandits just chuckled.
"Too bad," the Boss said, leaning in to admire her face. "You're a cute one. If you weren't possessed, I bet you and I could've really had a bit of fun."
WHAT?!
"Oi, Ditman! Get over here!" one of his fellow bandits called. "You're not thinkin' of stickin' your stick in that, are ya? Have some decency! It'll infect ya!"
"Hahahahaha!" the Boss laughed, turning back to his pals with a smile. "I'm joking. I'm joking!"
Too bad.
She would have loved to bite his nose off.
"Sure ya are. And I slept with your mother!"
"Not with that small worm you have!" he barked. "Now, stop wastin' time and ready the horses! It's about time we stole some more shit!"
"YEAH!"
In the days that followed, Elf-chan spent her time learning the bandits' routine. They slept in rotations, leaving little more than a minimal guard up at night. They were sloppy, too. Overconfident in the supposed weakness of their captives. It would have been the perfect chance to escape, if not for her infection spreading.
Like the bandits said, every day, her fragile flesh festered with sickness. It rotted away, transforming her once soft and fair skin into lumps of dark hues. It didn't take long for her very existence to become agony itself, and her constant groaning and moaning made the bandits start avoiding her cage. They only stopped by to throw in scraps of food from a distance or cringe from afar.
Any day now, she knew they'd sell her off to the Church like a sack of potatoes. She would be put down like the dog she was, burned at the stake like a witch.
It irked her.
All that time she'd spent admiring villains like bandits, only to be caught and put down by such groups?
The irony wasn't lost on her.
But she couldn't give up. If the bandits spoke true, then she was a descendant of evil! Sin incarnate, destined to bring about a new age of chaos! No wonder her father had feared her so much. No wonder the Church killed her kind. They must have known that if left to fester, Diablos would be born again!
But…
She gazed down on her body.
Her current form was a problem. For all the power she could feel in her grasp, it didn't matter if she couldn't use it.
Aww, damn it! Why did everything have to go wrong at the last minute?! She wanted to be free to do as she pleased! Free to rip, tear, and kill!
And oh, all the things she would kill, starting with these stupid bandits! Maybe she'd even go pay her Pa and Ma a visit as thanks for their "help."
It would've been nice…
But Elf-chan knew such fantasies were beyond her grasp. As was her dream. It seemed like everything was slipping right through her fingers…
And then, it happened.
On a dark night, illuminated by a crescent moon, miraculously, detestably, her first wicked wish came true.
"Yahoo! Hand over the loot, scumbags!" a crazed voice sang happily.
"W-Who the hell is this scrawny dude?!"
"You heard me! Fork over the goods!"
A loud crash filled the air as a body suddenly went flying right past Elf-chan's cage. She looked up, her swollen eye widening as she took in the scene.
There was a man, no—a boy dressed in a dark black bodysuit, wielding a strange weapon that looked like a sword but most certainly wasn't.
"Hey!" a bandit snarled. "Keep it up, and we ain't gonna hold back you, bra—!"
Swish!
The man's head went flying, a trail of blood soaring from the spot it had been seconds prior.
"Take that!" the boy exclaimed, grinning wildly as he decapitated another bandit. Elf-chan watched, enraptured as the sword in his hands stretched, curved, and twisted.
Just… Just what in the hell was she seeing?! She'd never heard of such magic!
"Take that! And that! And that!" the boy continued, dancing through the bandits with vigor. Corpse after corpse rained down upon the camp, a testament to the boy's power.
What was this? Who was this?! Some psycho from a village nearby?! Considering the fact he was slaying bandits…
'Could it be… He's a wannabe hero?!' she thought.
He wasn't.
"Take that! And that! And that! And that! And that! And that! And… huh?"
All the bandits were dead, their bodies littering the ground like a headless corpse party. The boy looked around, thoroughly unimpressed.
To be honest, Elf-chan was, too.
Bandits were some of the most staple villains one could hope to find in the kingdoms! Sure, they weren't demon kings or evil politicians, but they should've lasted longer than this!
'No, wait,' Elf-chan realized, her eye narrowing as she saw one last bandit. Ban Ditman. The one who had captured her… the one who'd have X'd her on her first day in that cage.
"W-Who are you?" Ditman said.
The boy smiled at the man mysteriously.
"Eh? I guess you'll have to be the guinea pig for function number two," he said brightly.
"T-The hell do you mean?!" Ditman stuttered, raising his blade at the child.
"Do I have to explain it? To break it down, you look stronger than the rest of them. I'm assuming you're like their boss or something, right?" the boy asked, tilting his head. "Your chances of winning are still pretty squat, but if you let me practice on you, I bet you'll live for, like, two extra minutes." His grin grew wider. "Good luck!"
"Die, dammit!" Ditman boomed, closing the distance between them in a flash. Elf-chan watched in awe and horror as his sword suddenly sunk through the boy's chest.
'So much for that,' Elf-chan thought. 'Farewell, Wannabe Bandit Slayer...'
The child hit the ground with a loud thud, and for a moment, the forest went quiet. Then, Ditman's laugh filled the air.
"H-Ha! That's what you get!" he roared. "I've mastered the Royal Bushin style, and now I'm…! Wait… WHAT?!"
"Ta-daa!" the very not-dead boy said, grinning eagerly as he stood up.
'Impossible! He survived that attack?!' Elf-chan thought, wiggling forward.
Ditman seemed just as surprised as she was.
"Damn you!" he snarled, swinging at him. This time, however, the boy ducked, dodging the weapon entirely. "Ugh! Damn it. Damn it! Damn it! Why?! Why can't I hit you?!"
"Seriously? You're weaker than my pops! But I guess you're stronger than my sister. Not that that means anything. Ha! She'd whoop your butt in a year anyhow."
"Gah! Shut the fuck up!"
In a final exchange, the boy kicked the Boss's shin.
"G-Gwuagh…!"
"Guess it's over. Too bad. You barely lasted a minute!"
"Wait!"
A squelching sound suddenly filled the air, and Ditman rolled over, dead. Blood pooled on the ground underneath him, but Elf'chan's eyes were on him. The "hero."
This small child had cut through all of those bandits as if they were nothing. As if it were a simple exercise.
He was dangerous.
And worse, a "Hero."
As a descendant of the mighty demon Diablos, she was this boy's sworn enemy. And yet, for some reason, she couldn't help but be enraptured by his cute face.
'No, no, no! I've sworn myself to evil! I can't have a crush on a Hero!' she thought. She had to bury this growing feeling and wait for a chance to destroy him!
If only she could move. If only she could speak! She could ask him to open her cage! Lure him in close, and then…
And then…!
Suffocate him with her blobs!
As it was, however, this wannabe hero was preoccupied with material things.
"Artwork? No. Food? Come on! Where's all the money?! Gimme! Gimme!"
'Eh?'
Elf-chan froze. Those words… did they really belong to a Hero? Maybe, he wasn't a hero? Maybe… he was another bandit?
That thought vanished the moment she saw him gaze upon a dead merchant. She couldn't hear exactly what the boy muttered, but made out the words, "I've avenged you… use… make it to heaven."
'So, he is a Hero! Damn scum! I'll make sure you rot in hell!' she cried.
"Ah. Wait. Is that a cage? Were they keeping slaves in here or something?"
'Guh!' Elf-chan's eye widened. This was her chance! She'd lure him in… and attack!
He stepped forward, approaching her jail and staring into her blob face.
"Hoooo?" he mused. "Now, this is surprising."
The look in his eyes said it all.
He was going to kill her.
'Well, bring it on! I'll take you down, wretched hero!' she thought.
He stuck his strange sword into her cage, then froze just before he cut her.
"No way. This wavelength is… the effect of magical overload?"
He retracted his sword.
"I can use this."
And suddenly, Elf-chan knew pain.
-SoS-
One month later, Elf-chan knew she'd been horribly, horribly wrong.
She'd thought this boy was a wannabe hero, but he was anything but.
Since the moment he'd reached out and touched her flesh, her existence had been one of Agony. Countless hours of pain and suffering, ending only when he left.
The moderate pain of her blob-like existence was nothing compared to his torture. Day in and day out, he experimented on her, pumping her full of his magic.
And it hurt like hell.
Worse than hell!
She felt like her soul was on fire!
And Cid, as she came to learn her torturer was called, didn't seem to care one bit! He was more than willing to poke and prod away for hours if it meant gaining strength. Indeed, this boy was no aspiring Hero, but rather…
The world's next big villain!
"As expected, I'm getting even closer to grasping the essence of magic," he'd say. "Fufufu… if I continue like this, then one day soon, I'll definitely…! Fufufu…"
'What kind of evil scheme is he thinking up?! I wanna know! I really do!' she thought. 'Is he plotting to overthrow the Kingdom of Midgar? Will he conquer the elves and take slaves?!'
In her time in his came, such were the thoughts she allowed herself to entertain. But most of the time…
"Hahaha!"
'OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!'
She was reduced to screaming internally as he furthered his knowledge. Little did he know, while he indeed gained knowledge through his experiments, she, too, was gaining knowledge from how often he talked to himself. Elf-chan knew many people who occasionally let a few of their thoughts spill, but she never failed to be surprised by how much info people gave out when they thought they were alone.
Through Cid's monologues, Elf-chan learned that his full name was Cid Kagenou. He was the son of some lazy Baron stationed out in the boonies. She didn't quite recognize the name Kagenou, and to be honest, she didn't care. Far more interesting than the young villain's name was his drive, ambition, and power.
Every night, he never failed to mention it before leaving. How he could never stop working to become a great "Power in the Shadows."
'Umu. This boy won't be a hero. Heroes work in the light!' she thought. 'If he's one who works in the shadows, that makes him…'
The next Demon King?!
She had to respect his commitment to the cause. It reminded her of her old self. Only while she had settled for meager roleplay, Cid was really going all in!
Every night, he swung by and practiced his skills in magic or swordsmanship. And every night, she watched as he came back bloody, having stolen new goods. There was no doubt in her mind that Cid was some kind of villain-in-the-making. The kind that she'd always dreamed of becoming… before she turned into a blob.
'I was too weak. Too naive,' she thought sadly as she watched him. 'If I had been just a little more driven, could I have been like him, too?'
SZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZRKTT!
Another burst of magic filled her body with pain.
'Then… I'll at least do this!' she thought. 'If torturing me will help you learn… then feast on me to your heart's delight!'
She was weird.
"Ho? I see. So, if I do it this way, then I can reverse things and try doing… this!" Cid said.
He channeled even more magic into her, and Elf-chan felt something shift. Her eye widened. For some reason, the magic this time didn't hurt. In fact, it was the opposite. It felt…
Whoa.
'It feels good?!' she screamed. 'Wait. Wait! Wait! What is this feeling?!' her body was twisting and turning. 'My body is… My body is…!'
Her limbs began to grow back.
'EHHHHHH?!' she thought. 'Wait a moment, was all of his torture for this?!' she wondered. 'Impossible! Inconceivable! This boy… my body… it's healing?!'
As expected of a future villain! Experimentation bred knowledge! But Cid seemed just as surprised as she was, though he masked it behind a coy smile. She had to admit, he was good at hiding. Another millisecond and she wouldn't have noticed. But the fact that she had stirred another dark thought.
What would he do to her now?
'I have to be careful. If I make the wrong move, he'll kill me like he did those bandits!'
Absolutely. After all…
Cid Kagenou was a true villain!
'Should I maybe try closing my eyes?! No, should I act like I'm going to faint?!' she thought. As the last of her old elven body appeared, she immediately slumped to the ground.
Collapsing to the floor, she closed her eyes and pretended to still be asleep. He didn't seem to have noticed she was awake yet.
Or maybe he just didn't care.
"Ehhh?" he went. "Who knew something that decomposed could still revert back to normal? Ah, crap. What do I do now? Wait, wait. Stay sharp."
'So, he didn't notice…'
He turned on his heel and jumped on the cardboard box. Annoyingly, that same box was positioned between her and the door.
"It's my first performance as the Eminence in Shadow… I've got to get this just right."
'Performance?' she thought. 'Ah… right. Could it be… this boy wants a minion? If that's the case…'
She thought of his style. Of his fights against her kidnappers. Of how he'd utterly ruined the men who sought to sell her to the Church. His ruthlessness. His cruelty.
His happiness while he tortured her.
It was everything she had ever dreamed of.
This boy… she'd swear to him for life!
If it was with him, she could definitely overthrow the Church and their "Divine Teachings." They could seize control and institute a new government, with them at the top!
He wanted to be a Power in the Shadows. She wanted to become a villain.
They could help each other. All she had to do… was offer him her whole life.
She opened her eyes.
"I see you've awakened."
"Yes. You have my thanks."
"Eh?"
A surprised sound escaped Cid's lips, but Elf-chan didn't dare meet his eyes. If she was to secure her place as his aide, then she would have to be perfect.
"Yes," he said after a moment. "You were… stricken by a curse."
A lie.
"...aterriblecursethatwascastonyouandtheotherdescendants," he muttered. "That's why you were turned into that lump of flesh."
Elf-chan stared at Cid, amazed.
'Wow. He's a pretty good liar,' she thought. 'As expected of a cool villain! But two can play at that game, Cid-kun! I'll show you I'm a worthy aide!'
"It was… the C-"
"-Church of Divine Teachings," she interrupted. "Yes, I'm aware. As I thought… the Possessed really are the descendants of the demon Diablos!"
"Eh?"
She knelt before him, bowing her head.
"You have my thanks, young master," she said. "To fight against the Church all alone as you have, you must truly be brave and strong."
"Yeah…"
'Fufufu. How's that?!' she thought. 'An aide always praises her master!'
"Please, may I know the name of my savior?"
Cid was silent for a moment.
"Waga na wa Stylish-" he stopped. "No, Waga na wa Shadow. Tell me, elf, are you prepared to walk with me into the darkness?"