The world blurred around me as Mayume carried me through the vast expanse of the Demon Realm.

  It was different from Reika’s domain—not the endless expanse of bckened ruins and divine devastation, not a pce where sheer power had shaped the nd itself into submission.

  No—this pce was crafted, molded with intent. Designed to be something… else.

  And as we crossed into its threshold, I understood why.

  A Realm of Deception and Desire

  The first thing I noticed was the sky—or rather, the ck of one.

  There was no endless void, no stars, no moon. Instead, a vast canopy of swirling violet mist stretched infinitely above, shifting like silk in water. It cast a strange, dreamlike glow over the ndscape, a twilight realm where time itself seemed to stretch and bend unnaturally.

  Below us, the ground was not stone, not earth, but something that felt almost alive—a smooth obsidian surface, rippling faintly beneath Mayume’s footsteps. Every step she took sent shivers of light running through the veins of the nd, a pulse that responded to her presence.

  Scattered throughout the domain were monolithic structures of deep violet crystal, their jagged forms pulsing with an eerie inner light, stretching into the mist above. Some hovered midair, drifting in slow, graceful orbits, held by unseen forces.

  And the air—it was thick with something intoxicating.

  A scent like night-blooming flowers and something richer, something dangerous. It filled my lungs, made my head feel light, my senses slightly dulled, unfocused.

  This pce… it wasn’t just a home.

  It was a trap.

  A realm designed to pull you in, to lure you deeper, until you forgot you ever wanted to leave.

  The Pace of Illusions

  At the heart of it all y Mayume’s pace, a structure so impossibly eborate it was almost difficult to tell where the walls ended and the illusions began.

  The architecture was fluid, shifting with every gnce. One moment, it was a graceful temple, its pilrs stretching impossibly high, lined with silken banners of deep violet and gold. The next, it was a grand fortress, with looming spires and vast, open halls shrouded in mist.

  A single gnce inside revealed hallways that twisted in impossible ways, staircases that led to pces that shouldn’t exist, rooms that appeared and disappeared like mirages in the desert.

  And yet, despite the unnatural structure, it was… beautiful.

  Not in the overwhelming, divine way that Reika’s realm was.

  But in a way that was almost human.

  Designed to dazzle. To charm. To seduce.

  Everything was meant to draw you deeper, make you forget the outside world, make you believe this pce was all that had ever mattered.

  The Subjects of the Enchantress

  We entered the pace, and immediately, I became aware of the others.

  This realm was not empty.

  There were Oni here—dozens of them, moving through the halls with silent obedience, their hulking forms cd in flowing robes of deep purple, their eyes dim and unfocused—as if they were seeing through a dream.

  And then there were the Majo.

  They were… different from the ones I had encountered before.

  Not brutish warriors like Akagawa’s enforcers.

  They were elegant, statuesque, inhumanly beautiful—each of them tall, ethereal, and draped in intricate silks, their features as fwless as porcein masks.

  Some sat lounging in open-air chambers, their ughter light and musical, their gazes predatory, watching as I passed.

  One of them, a willowy figure with midnight-blue skin and cascading white hair, smiled at me, tilting her head in amusement.

  "A human? How rare," she mused, her voice smooth as honey. "What an interesting guest you’ve brought home, Lady Mayume."

  I shuddered slightly.

  There was something deeply unnerving about them.

  They were not merely demons.

  They were creatures of Mayume’s design.

  Servants molded in her image—refined, elegant, but utterly inhuman.

  Mayume’s Throne Room

  At st, Mayume ascended the steps of her grand hall, finally coming to a stop at the heart of her pace.

  The throne room was a vast, open chamber, lined with violet nterns that floated midair, casting their strange glow over the polished obsidian floors.

  And at the very center, atop a dais of dark gss, was Mayume’s throne.

  It was not carved of stone or wood, nor was it a traditional seat of power.

  Instead, it seemed to rise from the floor itself, a shifting construct of smoky violet crystal, half-solid, half-liquid, pulsing with faint, eerie light.

  She took her pce with effortless grace, finally lowering me onto the ptform before her.

  Her violet gaze flickered with amusement as she leaned forward slightly, resting her chin against her palm.

  "So, Jin," she murmured, her voice dripping with satisfaction.

  "Welcome to my domain."