While Fuyuko and her friends were enjoying their time roaming the dungeon, there was otle issue the dungeon had to deal with. It had started with what felt like a small explosion well outside of any bat zone, but the cores shifted their attention away quickly when they realized the exact location and reized the mingled auras.

  Later on, Kazue and Moriko toette out for a walk where they had a private chat. The princess was in aremely chipper mood now, but Kazue wao make sure of something. "So," she said, "I'm gd you are enjoying yourself, but, um, just to be sure you know, Takehiko is a rather dedicated bachelor. You don't want to get too attached."

  Bridgette blushed a little and replied, "I guess you guys noticed?"

  Moriko snorted. "I felt the burst of mana and I'm not even a core."

  "And," Kazue added, "we're going to have to repair the damage to Takehiko's room, it would be hard to not figure out."

  "Oh, well, I guess that sort of thing would be more noticeable to you," Bridgette said and then shrugged. "It was a little impulsive, but I just o indulge myself for once. My older sisters all got to fool around more thanks to Orchid; she has a spell that lets her searances with someone willing. She knew she was going to be heading off to join the Azeria , so she let any rumet attached to her identity instead. But I was too young at the time for that sort of stuff."

  Moriko sidered her a moment before asking, "Does that mean it was your first time? Losing trol of your phoenix fire to a moment of passion shouldn't happen easily."

  "Eheh, yeah, it was," Bridgette admitted, "and, well, I did get better at trolling it once we, um, tinued."

  That was already more than Kazue really wao know. "Alright, I think we drop the topic if you want. But, if you o talk about anything you should let us know. e on, there's a new food mert in town I've been meaning to check out."

  While the three women started shopping, Mordecai was examining Takehiko's hair after the kitsuhird bath. "Alright, I don't think there's enough smoke st left for Fuyuko to notice." The girl was curious enough that she'd probably ask about it if she noticed.

  Takehiko shook his head in fusion, "Why are you so ed about that anyway? Did something happen to her?"

  "No, I don't think so. But anything involving the topic of sex seems mildly off-putting to her so I'd rather avoid her asking questions she doesn't really want the ao. When she's older, that's her own issue to deal with, but teens have it hard enough as it is." Mordecai shrugged. "She's not the first person I've met like that. For some, that ges when they get older. Some o meet the right person to fall in love with before that ges, and eve's only for that person. Others will always be disied."

  "Huh," Takehiko said, "I've never met anyone like that before."

  Mordecai snorted and replied, "It's rare enough among kitsuo begin with and your seems overactive there, so I am not surprised. Anyway, go o dressed."

  "Sure." Takehiko paused a moment before asking, "How long will Bridgette be staying anyway?"

  Mordecai gave him a measuring look before dodging the question by saying, "Really? She's the one who makes you think about that? Well, I'll let you figure out if you want to try pursuing that idea, but I don't reend it. She used you as her final step to get over a breakup and she's not looking for anything more; w your way out of that emotional bucket to get into a different one is not likely. At least, not for a category you want to be in. My reendation is that you try to just be a friend, especially as that's the part you seem to not be good at."

  Takehiko grimaced. "Maybe," he aowledged. "That's what you meant before about the differeween Moriko and me? She made friends, not just had sex."

  "That's an aspect of it," Mordecai said with a nod, "it's part of the whole package of how you treat your partners and are treated in turn." Not that everyone could learn to do that. Takehiko had a rexed enough personality that he should be able to learn, but a more intense personality... Well, he hoped things worked out well between Shizoku and Derek in the long run. Shizoku wouldn't handle a breakup well and that would cause a lot of stress in their friendships with Fuyuko. "One more thing," he added as he started to leave, "if you have the time between escort duties, you should do some more delving. I have an idea froup you could join that would be everyohink."

  While nothing else signifit happened before Fuyuko's training group left, there was a small matter that caused Moriko and Kazue a bit of distress. Moriko frow the missive in her hand before she tossed it onto a table and asked, "Did they really have to tell us that Akuma was executed? I was just as happy to ighe situation and assume he was in prison forever or something." Kazue nodded her agreement, though she looked a bit ill pared to Moriko's annoyance.

  Mordecai decided it would be wisest to not mention his own feelings on the subject, which amouo simple satisfa that the man wouldn't be b anyone anymore. "I'm afraid so. We are the aggrieved parties, yourself doubly so, and acc to the charges they were able to ect him to other cases of banditry. He was not a person who sought redemption."

  Kazue's expression shifted as a thought distracted her. "So," she asked, "what happens to his soul now anyway? I don't know who his patroy was, but I don't think many would find him acceptable. I rained as a priestess and most of the texts are a bit vague about what happens if you don't get into yod's afterlife. I know you face judgment by Lord Yamaraja, and if things go retively well you will probably be reinated, but it's just vaguely ominous from there."

  "Let me take a specific part of that," Mordecai said. "I think Moriko hahe rest. There is a ce he might be accepted by Dormire, if that is who he follows. He was strong and proved his strength, and his downfall was not down to his personal choices beyond who his employer was. Dormire's works are rather silent on the subject of how you use your power other than the universal as. I'm not sure he personally cares about some of them but he has to publicly enforce them lest the ods turn on him."

  Moriko sighed and said, "That matches my uanding as well. But, if Akuma is not accepted into an afterlife, his fate has a whole lot of factors involved. If this is his first life, he's almost certain to be reinated. Lord Yamaraja will suppress Akuma's memories and Lady Kikoi Muerte will find a suitable host who otherwise would not have had a child or who would not have given birth to a living child."

  She sounded a bit like she was simply quoting, but Moriko had begun looking deeper intion about five months ago so it was to be expected. "If it's not his first life," Moriko tinued, "then Lord Yamaraja will judge whether the soul has learned rown and if there is still hope of him being a better person. Some options involve a period of discipline and training before being reinated and stories of ized fates desigo help drive a lesson home. But if that soul is judged to have no more potential to learn how to be an acceptable person, well..." she trailed off unfortably and looked at Mordecai, but it was Kazue who picked up the thread.

  "They get sent to one of the hells," she whispered, looking downcast. "I know that much, but it's always spoken of like a very distant threat."

  "Correct," Mordecai said thoughtfully, "but I assume that her of you knows much about what happens there, other than it is an awful pce?" His wives both shook their heads. "This be plicated. Are you sure you want to learn?"

  The pair g each other and then nodded. "Yes," Kazue said, "if there is a possibility that my as are going to lead to someone going there, even if it is their own fault, I think I should know."

  This was deeper lore than almost anyone o know and mostly a matter of academiowledge, but Mordecai had o learn the practical realities a long time ago. "There are several aspects to what the hells are. The first aspect is that they started as a sort of void for putting souls that could not be redeemed. It wasn't intended as a punishment so much as just a dumping ground, because destroying a soul is deemed an even worse fate."

  Normally Mordecai would have stopped there but he found himself pelled to tell more. "Damn it," he growled out through ched teeth, "I didn't want to get into this, but not telling you would be too close to a lie. There's a more ical aspect to it too." The pressure began to ease as soon as he said that.

  Ign the ed looks his wives were giving him, he tinued, "The simple existence of souls provides additional fortification against the primordial chaos of nothihe universe ulled from. There is a pressure to revert the universe to that state. The more souls there are, the more terpressure they provide. This is good for the primogen gods as they are the ones who support the universe against returning to nothingness. So they have an iive to keep as many souls ience as possible."

  Mordecai kept his anger in check as he didn't want to inflict it upon Carmil. He didn't think leaving that part out would have caused a problem for most fae nobility, but the truth pulsion ied with his vows and nature as a high priest of Ozuran in sometimes uable ways. He had a lot less wiggle room. And he'd wao leave it out as not being relevant but it had been too big an omission about the purpose of the hell-void as a holding pce for unsalvageable souls.

  Both of them stared at him before Moriko said, "I hadn't heard anything about that."

  "Well," Mordecai said with a sigh, "as far as I know, most of them are unhappy with that practieed. But they also don't want to destroy souls to begin with, so everything works out. Mostly. The problem is that souls 't be put entirely into stasis, especially not wheogether like that. Malevolence built and the nature of their part of reality ed. The souls started being proto-demons aually, demons from other realms were able to breato them, bringing the first true demons into tact with any aspect of our universe. Our hells and their hells are ected through their simirities, though the distanvolved is a type of infinity that is hard to breach. Much like with the gods, the most powerful demons create domains that bridge the realms."

  Kazue shook her head in fusion and said, "Wait, why do you know so much about this?"

  "Gil recruited one of my past selves for a rescue mission. A demon cult had mao snate souls that had not made demon tracts. The cult had already been taken care of but an expedition into the hells is a daunting prospect even for the likes of him. It was, well, not a pleasant experience. We rescued the soul gems ahe souls of our fallen safe with soul gems of our own. All the souls were released once we were in a secrated temple."

  "It's easy tet that sort of lives you've lived," Moriko said. "I take it this is part of the memories you've been unpag?"

  Mordeodded. "Yes. There's still a lot to unpad general knowledge is of a higher priority than specific memories, but sometimes specific memories are needed for text."

  Kazue scratched her cheek thoughtfully before saying, "Part of me kind of wishes I hadn't asked. I may have been happier not knowing, and our faerie status made you tell even more than I was really asking about. Though, it does expin how the demons got here to begin with. The divis talking about the demon war skip that part."

  "There are always answers for those who truly seek," Mordecai replied, "but most people don't want to look that deep. And I think that's deep enough for one day, so let's switch topiething more cheerful, shall we? Do you think there's any more we should add to Fuyuko's 'traveling princess' package?"

  They had already prepared her seal; it was of a simir design to theirs only with four heads instead of three. Fuyuko's was a horned wolf of course and while it was slightly rger thahers, it was otom instead of oop. While her sigil was not likely to bee well known any time soon, the design unicate her position as subordio them clearly. Carmil was going to get one of the same design but with stylized fairy wings for her symbol.

  In addition to the appropriate stationery, they added a sealed letter firming her identity and status along with some simpler regalia than her birthday presents and one dress suitable for a ballroom even if it was a tou the subdued side. It seemed uhat any of this was going to be used any time soon but Mordecai preferred the paranoid approach. Given their ret experiences, Kazue and Moriko were quick to agree.

  This care package was tucked into the bottom of Fuyuko's pack. She should find it whearted unpag and that felt right. They were ed she would be too self-scious if they gave it to her directly.

  When their daughter said her final goodbye at the border of their territory, it left all three of them teary-eyed.

  Zagaroth