There was a howling wind where no wind should have blown, tearing across the rough-hewn tunnels and shelterless fields and scattering the weakest of Mai's troops into the air whenever it passed.
If she ever found out which one of the lesser demons had begun the rumour that the wind was an ancestral foe of their kind that Lady Shinki had banished from her realm back when all had been new and their great sovereign was yet to shape the first spires of Pandemonium, she would wring their neck. It was too late to keep it from spreading now: the most feeble-minded had already fallen to their knees, begging forgiveness from a god who couldn't hear them and would never grant it regardless.
She gazed quietly at one such fool, trembling as she hugged her shoulders and mumbled inaudible pleas, then stood up on her perch and spread her wings, rising to the air to survey her dominion. The dismal plains of the underworld stretched far into the distance, barren and without a speck of beauty but for her suffering followers, sitting on the glassy ground hunched and cradling each other, expressions drawn in misery and barely suppressed wrath.
She swooped downwards and floated in place, stretching her wings to their full span and allowing her magic to flow into them till all eyes, both red-rimmed and defiant, were on her and her glowing feathers. She gave them her sweetest smile, one she had had countless centuries to practice, then raised her voice.
"Why do you weep, friends? We're finally free. No longer do we have to worship a fake god who couldn't defend her own realm, who can't even control her own powers."
A few of the listeners stirred, but most remained listless.
Mai pushed onwards. "It is not our failure that destroyed Pandemonium. It wasn't even the invaders. It was our so-called creator herself who set it on fire. How can you possibly be sad to be free from her? We will create a new realm here, mightier than Makai ever was."
Several more of the demons now looked hopeful, but the general mood was still sour. Though she cursed the doubters, Mai couldn't help but understand them. Their surroundings were anything but awe-inspiring, and though she knew they could erect mighty palaces and create glittering bridges just like those of Pandemonium, not everyone had the vision she had.
She folded her arms and jutted out her chin. "You know my power. You know why our creator has cast us from her realm. She fears me. She fears all of us. And that is why we shall have our vengeance, both on her and those humans."
A solitary, thin cheer rang from the audience. Many of the demons smiled, though equally many scowled. She memorised their faces for future retribution before she continued: "We will win, and one day we will reclaim Makai itself. It's our birthright. Forget the false god and her minions. We will rule."
With that, she lowered her wings and rose rapidly towards the cavern's ceiling, finally hearing the cries of approval she had waited for. A single feather escaped her plumage and fell downwards, its shimmer fading as it descended.
Yes. She would rule.
Now that the majority of her army was at least somewhat heartened, Mai summoned the strongest and most cunning of the lot to hold council with her.
"The sooner we retake Makai, the better," she began, cutting to the chase. The time for coyness had long since passed. Never again would she have to pretend to be an unassuming little magician almost too shy to speak.
"But how?" The strongest of her lieutenants asked, twirling a strand of her blonde hair in her fingers. "We fought them once already. If we can't even get past Yumeko, then how are we supposed to defeat Lady S—"
Mai held up her hand before she could utter the name of their hated creator. "Direct force is not the only way. If we use cunning to disorganise them, we can take them when they're at their weakest. Think about it." She smirked at the circle, matching their uncertainty with flawless confidence. "Those invaders weren't actually that powerful. Two of them were mere humans, yet they caused so much chaos in so little time that our former dictator was unable to do anything to stop them. All we have to do is emulate them, and we'll have the fools who remained loyal to Makai on their knees before they even know it."
"If the invaders were so weak," a cynical voice rang from one of the least powerful of the companions, "then how come they beat you?"
Mai knew her thoughts didn't show from her face, but she dismissed her desire of freezing the obnoxious nay-sayer on the spot to keep it from her voice, too. She had never been as good at controlling it as she had been at lying with her facial muscles. "Back then, I was still feigning to be the creator's loyal subject, and had no choice but to get caught by an unavoidable attack while trying to protect Yuki after she was shot down." There were no witnesses to say it hadn't gone that way, anyway, and the lesser demon appeared suitably chastened. "So. I need a volunteer to sneak into Makai. Someone who is brave and powerful, and willing to put their life at risk."
The demons glanced at each other. Not a single one stepped forward.
"None of you want the glory of being the lynchpin of our victory?" She had anticipated as much. "Then I shall do it myself. I will return to Pandemonium and show them we mean business."
She basked in the hushed awe of her followers, then rose into the air. "Hold the fort till I return."
The demons saluted, even the nay-sayer. She smiled, then summoned an aura of frost, large enough so that even the furthest away members of her army could witness the might of their leader, then began flying towards Makai.
She was only been in the air for a few minutes when she arrived at the gate Shinki had erected behind them after banishing them, all flawless crystal and steely blue, utterly incongruous with the surrounding granite.
She alighted before it, frowning. If there was one thing Shinki had got right, it was impressing those around her with dazzling displays of power. Mai too had been hooked for a long time, believing in her right to rule, till one day she had seen through the hollowness of these conjuring tricks and for the first time had thought exactly why she should be the only one to be called a god.
She brought her hand to the gate, seeking a weak spot which to pierce through, when she heard someone land not far behind her.
"Mai, wait!"
It was Yuki, of course. Their exile had transformed her former partner's appearance: though she hadn't changed physically, it was as though she had aged several decades at once.
She settled for giving her a frosty glare. Yuki wasn't worth words.
Yuki was as oblivious as usual. "You could hurt yourself. And anyway, there's no need."
Mai folded her arms. "I am going to Pandemonium, and you will not stop me."
Yuki hesitated. Then, she rammed her hand inside her dress and drew from it a small blue crystal on a chain. "It's just that Lady Shinki gave me the key."
Mai stared at the crystal, but when she stepped forward and attempted to nab it, Yuki suddenly pulled away, clutching the crystal protectively in her palm. "But I don't think you should go, Mai."
Mai allowed her hand drop to her side. For a moment, they merely stared at one another. Finally, she straightened her back. "I don't see how what I do is any of your business."
Yuki looked down, in a way which Mai knew from experience usually meant she was about to explode in a fiery rage. The flames never rose, however, and when Yuki spoke up, it was in a low, sullen voice. "When Lady Shinki gave me this, she told me I was supposed to keep doing what I was created to do."
Mai quirked an eyebrow. "To serve her, you mean. Now who's the traitor?"
"To protect you!" Yuki's head jerked upwards, her eyes burning. "You know as well as I do that we were created for each other. I will follow wherever you will go, but that doesn't mean I have to allow you to do something that will end in your death. So please," her voice turned soft and cajoling, a tone she only ever used when they were in private, "you said we can build our own world here. I'm sure we can be happy here! There's no need for revenge."
Mai stared at her for a long time, lowering her gaze till it was at her shoes. She remained silent.
Then, she began to giggle.
Once Yuki blinked in shock, the giggles gave way to fullblown laughter, which continued for so long Mai wasn't sure she ever could stop.
"You're still going on about that?" she asked, wiping a tear of mirth from the corner of her eye. "You still think— you still believe we were ever friends?"
Yuki's hands curled into fists, and she shook her head back in a way which suggested she didn't believe a single word of what she was hearing, or at least that she didn't want to believe them.
Mai gave her the sweetest of her fake smiles. "I despise you. I've despised you from the very beginning. You're a weakling far too content to lie in ignorance, too stupid to see how much of a burden you're to everyone around you." She allowed the smile to vanish, revealing the true contempt that had waited beneath it. "If I had had the chance, I would have pierced your heart the moment our revolution began." She raised her chin. "Now, you'll either give me the key, or I shall take it from your corpse."
Perhaps owing to some gift of prophesy or foresight, Shinki had given Yuki powers that were at an direct advantage over Mai's, but in that moment, Mai had no doubt that fuelled by her centuries of ever-growing hatred, carefully nurtured under a mask of shyness and friendship, she could destroy Yuki without breaking a sweat.
Perhaps Yuki realised it, too. She was shaking now, but had made no move to attack as was usually her wont. The knuckles around the crystal grew white.
With leaden steps, she stepped over to Mai and extended her arm. Mai held her palm underneath it, and she dropped the crystal in it, then turned and walked away, her head hung low.
Mai had better things to do than watch an idiot sulk. She held the crystal towards the gate and watched it spring to life, opening with a low, earthquake-like rumble.
She didn't wait for it to open fully. As soon as the gap was wide enough for her wingspan, she hung the chain around her neck and took to the air, flying into the outskirts of Makai.