Chapter Text
Iruma was breaking out in a cold sweat; he couldn’t believe he was actually doing this. But then again, he needed that money to buy something he had wanted for a long time, and he wasn't about to use his grandfather's money for such trifles, at least not yet. Iruma Suzuki was a 24 year old young adult with a very peculiar hobby. He hadn’t found success in the human world, so why would he find it in the Netherworld? But still. The pudgy little demon stared at him with calculating eyes and then at the manuscript being offered.
"Why should I accept this, brat? The market is exhausted, and it’s hard for anything to succeed."
"I don’t expect it to be a hit. I just hope it reaches the people who like the same things I do."
"Fine... I’ll read it tonight."
With those words, Iruma was satisfied. He left the manuscript and soon walked away from the publishing house to head back home. Along the way, Iruma thought seriously about what he had written and why. His themes in the human world were too potent and passionate, but he knew that in the Netherworld, passion and lust were as common as breathing, yet not the kind of passion a human played with. Perhaps it would end up in the minor leagues, or in the trash... Or it could triumph. Iruma shook his head quickly; there was no reason to get his hopes up. Opera greeted Iruma at the gate with a fluid movement of their long, feline tail.
"I’ve done it. I hope someone finds an outlet in what I write."
"I’m sure they will, Iruma-sama. Even if I haven’t been able to read the manuscripts, I am sure they will succeed."
Days passed. He had heard nothing from the editor and soon forgot about the manuscript in the back of his mind. Classes at Babyls were becoming heavy, especially since his grandfather had somehow temporarily appointed him as a teaching assistant working alongside Balam. He had to study and teach at the same time; he would arrive home exhausted, and he had barely been able to meet his friends to go out for drinks and have fun. But that wasn’t a problem now. Exams were just around the corner, both the ones he had to take and the ones he had to grade. He was practically somersaulting with frustration. His mind occasionally drifted to more forgotten drafts lying around his room, but his great masterpiece was in the hands of the editor, well, a copy of it, and he couldn't stop coming up with scenarios for his next books. May Derkila help us all! But one random day, he received a call from Dopanchi, and his scream echoed throughout the mansion: he had been accepted! His work would be published in less than a week. Iruma was thrilled. How would his new audience react? Would they get as excited as he did while writing? What a thrill!
(•)
Iruma wanted the world to swallow him whole and spit him out into the volcanoes of the deepest abyss. His book was smashing sales by 400%, a figure Iruma couldn't even comprehend. The worst part, aside from the mountain of money he was receiving, was that the book was everywhere: in Babyls, in the cafes, in the Devil-mall... everywhere! Everyone was reading it, with a thousand shades of red on every face and breathless, excited screams from fans. No one knew that the author named "Blue Moon" was actually Iruma Suzuki... writing what he never could before. When he managed to meet his friends at a cafe they usually frequented, he was shocked to see them all with a special edition volume, reading in total silence. He didn't know what was worse: seeing his book there with his friends or the deathly silence surrounding the Misfit Class.
"Guys, are you seriously reading that...?"
"Iruma-sama, you should read it too! This love is so... unique and twisted! It’s inspiring! You should take notes! It’s so romantic!"
"It’s not romantic, Azz! The protagonist is exactly the kind of demon you should NOT fall in love with!"
Iruma was red with shame; apparently, he had underestimated his demon friends. Of course, he was human and knew what he wrote wasn't common, but this was the Netherworld, where "common" defied all logic. Iruma sat in his spot and ordered a deviffe loaded with milk as he watched his friends comment on the pages of the book that, ironically, no one knew Iruma had written. Eternal Roses was the first book in the Bound by Obsidian Chains saga written by Blue Moon... or should we say, Iruma Suzuki? The book was a dark romance saga, loaded with erotic scenes that weren't explicit in the strict sense of the word, but they weren't minor either. The way Iruma expressed himself had caused a massive shock in the Netherworld, whose inhabitants had never experienced this kind of passion, love, and obsession before.
Iruma sipped his deviffe with trembling hands, trying to hide half his face behind the cup. The hot steam was nothing compared to the heat rising up his neck. The silence shifted into a soft murmur of surprised whispers as more pages turned and the temperature rose in their faces and in the book. There was almost a moment where they closed the book in unison. Iruma blinked at them and bit his lower lip, tilting his head. Surprisingly, the first to speak was Sabro.
"What I don't understand," Sabro whispered from the next table, holding the book with a delicacy that was comical for his size "is the 'lump in the throat' technique. The protagonist says he can't breathe when the demon looks at him... It’s an admirable physical resistance against an oppressive aura worthy of a Yodh-class Demon. Is it some kind of curse?"
"It’s not a curse, you brute!" Ameri exclaimed. She had just arrived and sat down with a suspicious rigidity, dropping her own copy on the table. "It’s 'tension.' The narrative suggests the soul shudders at the possibility of absolute surrender. It’s a fascinating concept; Blue Moon must be a scholar of forbidden psychology."
Iruma nearly choked on his deviffe. Forbidden psychology? Well, truth be told, it would make sense by demon standards, but that wasn't what Iruma meant to express. He was just trying to give physical form to the sensation of a "lump in the throat", there were so many ways to say it. But for that occasion, he had compared it to a metaphor they could understand.
"When it says a snake has latched onto his throat, I guess it refers to what Ameri says... that tension has settled in his throat... or something like that!"
"That makes perfect sense! Snakes usually coil and squeeze their prey to leave them breathless... Maybe that’s what he felt when the shadow loomed over him at the edge of the cliff! But the best part was when those snakes slid under his clothes... is the shadow a snake demon?"
"I don't think so. In any case, the author seems to allude to strange metaphors that perfectly describe the moment! Like when the shadow started sleeping in the same bed as Vahn and he didn't even realize it."
Everyone seemed satisfied with that answer, while Iruma prayed to Derkila that he’d be run over right then and there. He couldn’t believe they were talking about this so openly! Vahn was the main character of Eternal Roses and the Bound by Obsidian Chains saga. A part of him gloated that they hadn't reached certain chapters where the shadow acquired a name. When he realized he was getting excited to see their reactions to those chapters, he blushed violently and continued sipping his deviffe.
I need sex.
(•)
That night, upon returning to the mansion, Iruma found Opera waiting for him in the dark hallway. The butler was holding a deluxe edition of Eternal Roses. Iruma bit his lower lip, looked at the edition, then looked at Opera, back and forth for several minutes. Opera watched him with their typical calm.
"Is that the version with the autograph?"
"Iruma-sama" Opera said, their tail moving with a rhythmic slowness that denoted a dangerous curiosity. "I have been reading your 'outlet.' When you told me you wanted to write a book, I didn't think I’d run into this."
"O-Opera?"
Opera’s expression didn't change, but a subtle glint in their feline eyes made Iruma want to melt into the floor tiles. The butler raised the book, turning to a page marked with a black silk divider.
"The scene in chapter twelve" Opera began in a velvety voice, "where the protagonist, Vahn, discovers that the shadows binding him are not magical, but a physical manifestation of the antagonist's possessive desire... It is an... unsettling narrative technique."
"Opera, please!" Iruma shrieked, covering his face with his hands. His ears were beet red. "It was just a metaphor for the lack of freedom!"
"Curious. I interpreted it as an ode to voluntary surrender before a superior power" Opera replied, closing the book with a sharp thud that echoed in the hallway. "Lord Sullivan has been asking why there is a line stretching three blocks around the Dopanchi publishing house. If he finds out that his 'little, pure Iruma is responsible for half the Netherworld suffering from insomnia and heart palpitations..."
"He can't know!" Iruma pleaded, grabbing the sleeve of Opera’s uniform. "It’s... it’s just an experiment. I needed the money for that high-end kitchen equipment and the complete collection of smuggled human video games!"
Opera remained silent for a moment, letting the tension build. Then, from within their clothes, they pulled out a small fountain pen with purple ink. Iruma looked at it with the terror of someone staring down the barrel of a rifle; he felt paralyzed like a deer in headlights.
"Your secret is safe with me, Iruma-sama. In exchange..." Opera held out the special edition book. "Sign here. The publisher couldn't get the author's autograph for the complimentary copies, and I would like to have the first edition signed by 'Blue Moon'."
Iruma sighed in relief, though his pulse was still racing. He took the pen and, with a trembling hand, stamped the stylized signature he had practiced in secret. When he finished, Opera tucked the book away as if it were a national treasure. Iruma breathed a sigh of relief and felt his knees begin to shake from the tension. What else must I do to stop having these heart attacks?
"By the way" Opera added, turning to leave, "chapter eighteen, where you mention using Demon-Grip flowers to immobilize the senses... I would suggest that in the second volume, you research more into paralyzing poisons. It would give it a more... realistic touch."
Iruma froze in the middle of the hallway.
"Second volume?" he whispered to himself, frowning. Eternal Roses had only been out for a few days, so how...?
"Oh, haven't you seen?" Opera stopped and pointed toward the window overlooking the city.
In the distance, on the giant screen in the commercial district, the face of a demon announcer shouted with fervor: "BREAKING NEWS! Dopanchi Publishing confirms that Blue Moon is already working on the sequel: 'Midnight Thorns'! Pre-orders have crashed the Stozaly owl-mail system!"
Iruma felt the world spinning. He hadn't even started writing the second book and the Netherworld was already demanding more passion, more romance, and especially that dark touch that characterized Blue Moon. As Opera walked away, tail swishing with total tranquility as if they had won a national treasure, Iruma slumped to the floor, leaning his back against the cold wall. He had created a literary monster, and worst of all, deep down, a spark of ambition was starting to enjoy the chaos.
"Well..." Iruma murmured, pulling a crumpled notebook from his pocket. "If they want 'Thorns'... I’ll give them a whole jungle full of them."
While Iruma spent sleepless nights writing the manuscript, Netherworld society processed Eternal Roses as if it were gourmet food. Everyone was desperate to know how the saga continued, who the mysterious man named Kaelum appearing at the end of the book was, and why the shadow had vanished upon his arrival. Iruma's brain was fried from how much he was pushing himself, on top of classes and, of course, hearing his friends and colleagues talk about this revolutionary book. At this point, Iruma realized he had dug his own grave one way or another, and if he wasn't careful, his privacy might not be the only thing on the line. He concluded that he needed to do some "field research." Iruma was no longer a virgin, that much was clear, but he didn't have sex frequently because he hadn't met anyone with the same passion as him. Not at least... until he went to the Leviathan Casino and met him.
Iruma jumped in his seat at the faculty room desk when he heard the furious growl of Kalego, who was looking at the book Eternal Roses with disgust and contempt. His brow was so furrowed it could easily have become a single straight line. Balam watched his reactions calmly and then looked at the book. Of everyone, he hadn't expected Kalego to be reading that. Iruma wanted the earth to swallow him for what felt like the thousandth time in his new career.
"It’s trash" Kalego declared, his voice echoing like low-voltage thunder in the office. Iruma felt his soul leave his body for a second. He stiffened, gripping his pen tightly.
"I-Is something wrong, Kalego-sensei?" Iruma asked in a tiny voice, praying the blush on his cheeks would pass for simple exhaustion. He couldn't believe Kalego was reading that!
"This... 'Blue Moon' " Kalego said, tapping the cover with his index finger. "Is an amateur. He describes the antagonist as a shadow being that stalks out of pure desire... It’s ridiculous! A demon of that caliber would simply claim his territory and annihilate any resistance. This... 'tension' everyone is talking about is nothing but narrative inefficiency."
"Oh, come now, Kalego-kun. I found it quite educational regarding biological metaphors..."
"It’s pure cheap sentimentality, Shichiro!" Kalego retorted, standing up and waving the book. "Look at this paragraph on page 150: 'His fingers brushed the nape of Vahn's neck, and in that contact, the world seemed to fade, leaving only the trace of a forbidden heat.' Forbidden heat?! That’s a failure in his evil cycle's thermal regulation or a magic fever! He should go to a doctor, not write a poem!"
Iruma sank deeper into his chair. That was his favorite line... He shook his head and covered his face in embarrassment, swallowing hard as the complaints continued. Iruma looked at the book, then at Kalego, and finally let out a nervous laugh that sounded more like a hiccup.
"W-well... maybe Blue Moon just wanted to... express that demons can also feel something deep?" Iruma ventured, defending his work with what little courage he had left. "Maybe the shadow isn't inefficient, it’s just... enjoying the process."
"If I hear you defend that second-rate literature again " Kalego growled, "I’ll assign you triple night patrols."
Kalego stormed out of the room. Iruma was left speechless. Yes, please Great Derkila, let the earth swallow me right now. He no longer had the will to fight; let them report him for being human before any more dirty books from his mind came out. Balam let out a soft chuckle.
"I think Kalego-kun actually liked it, Iruma. He read it all in one night. I know because he left claw marks on the spine of the book during the more... intense parts. And he’s been huffing like a wild bull as if he’s plotting something."