The Return of the Order—Act 9

A hush fell over the room. Typhon approached the twitching remains of the wolf demon, sliced open its chest, and wrenched out its heart. Louisa let the carcass fall and dropped to her knees in front of her father, a rather pale Ciel followed her lead as did every other demon in the room. Typhon devoured the heart, gaining its strength, while the last light still drained from the Amo's eyes. In one action, Louisa had foregone her opportunity to become the strongest demon in the realm and had reasserted her father's control.

“I am Typhon, Lord of the demon realm. Those who followed the wolf Lord Amo now belong to me. You will swear allegiance or suffer the same fate as him.”

Louisa and Ciel stood and moved to the side as each demon, in turn, came forward on their knees and grovelled their allegiance to Typhon. Louisa caught sight of several shadows that slunk off into the darkness. Her desire to follow them and finish them was tempered by the pain that seared through her leg. At worse those that ran would spread the story looking for another lesser Lord to challenge Typhon. The strength from the wolf demon should be enough to help him return to his former glory and to deal with any minor challenges to his authority.

As the room cleared, Typhon turned to his daughter and embraced her, “Louisa, you took a great risk for me. You could have taken the heart and the realm for yourself, but you didn’t.”

“Father, I don’t want the realm, it is yours by right.”

He kissed her forehead, “your mother would be proud of your sense of right. Now return to your children. I will hunt down those that still oppose us here and gather what information I can. It is about time the little Lord here started earning his keep.”

Typhon laughed as he finished speaking and laughed even harder when the already pale Ciel looked ready to pass out. Louisa approached her cousin; she was more than a little disappointed that he had not embraced the life that Malphas had granted him. Returning to her human form, she grasped his face in her hands.

“My darling Ciel, Sebastian, my Malphas, gave up much to give you this, you need to embrace the life you have been offered. If my father falls and I am not here, that is your future,” she said nodding to the remains of the wolf demon.

Unable to speak, Ciel stared at her face, trying hard not to move his gaze to her naked form. Louisa smiled as she saw his struggle. She let go of his face and returned to her demon form to relieve his embarrassment.

“I must go. I will reach out when we know more about the threat we face in the human world.”

She embraced her father and the still shaken Ciel and returned to the human realm.

She arrived back in her room to find the twins and Margaret waiting for her, their worried faces surveyed the damage that was all too visible even in her demon form. Her hands, arms and face were covered in dried blood. The blood from the wounds on her leg had congealed, mixing with that of the two demons she had killed. Lilith grabbed a blanket from the bed and covered her as she retook human form. Exhausted and barely able to stand, Raven helped her to her bed while Margaret set about cleaning and dressing her wounds.

Once settled Louisa recounted what had happened, the twins listened in awe as she recounted the fight with the wolf demon. Both knew that their mother was a strong and capable fighter. They had badgered both their parents to tell stories of their exploits in both the human and demon realms. One of their favourite stories was of their mother's flight from the Order and how she had killed those that had chased her to the Phantomhive estate. But now they understood exactly what she had been trying to teach them about loyalty, family, and control. A lesser demon would have taken the heart for themselves, destroying Typhon's hold on the demon realm and with it any chance of stopping those that now sort to destroy them. It was at that moment that they realised that the emotional attachment that many demons saw as a weakness was actually one of their mother’s greatest strengths.

As Louisa finished repeating the gory details once more, Margaret sighed and shook her head.

"Now that is quite enough, your mother needs to rest, and you both have studies to attend to."

They both groaned, kissed their mother, and left the room. Margaret waited until she was sure they were gone.

“Is your father truly safe now?”

“Yes, the strength in the heart should enable him to restore his power fully now.”

As Louisa saw the mix of emotions that fluttered across Margaret’s face, she understood for the first time why Margaret had no desire to become a demon. She could not face eternity in a realm with the one demon she had feelings for who would never love her back. As Margaret left the room, Louisa wondered why she had never seen it before. All the years Margaret had spent with her family, then protecting the home after they were captured. While she had loved the entire family, it was her love for Typhon that had spurred the rest.