Chương 13: The devil is in the details

She squinted at the blue System Screen, considering what to buy with her points. She tried to put "xX_DemonWrath_Xx" out of her mind. He was obviously just some old guy. For all she knew he was a discord moderator or a Reddit superuser with cheeto-stained fingers and male pattern baldness. He might not even be aware of what transmigration was. That was a funny mental image.

'What's transmigration? A medical condition?'

'Transmigration? Sounds like a car part.' His type… he probably thought this was one of those isekai fantasy situations where he was about to get flooded by a harem of beautiful girls without any effort. Or earn this world's version of a Nobel prize for introducing the idea of crop rotation and gunpowder. Little did he know what kind of world he was in. Ophelia could've warned him, if he hadn't been so obstinate. Too bad. He was definitely dead meat now.

What were the chances he had transmigrated into an Archmage-level character like she had? He actually shut her out without even realizing who she was. What was he going to do during the Third Demon War? Die pathetically? Ophelia cursed him out a few more times before actually putting the issue in a mental drawer and shutting it closed. There were two items from the Points Shop that were both useful and affordable with her current 200 points.

The first was obviously the Phial of Everlasting Waters, a single-use item that could instantly cure her of a poison flare-up. If she was going by the timeline in the original story, she would have one by the end of the week, the night of the Blood Moon Festival. That was the night Lady Vyx had died. At the hands of Rin. But… Ophelia had gained some goodwill with Rin, exemplified by her current lack of debt. The protagonist had accepted her as her teacher.

She definitely continued to harbor some resentment for Lady Vyx. Ophelia could tell by the way she refused to meet her eyes at times, not out of shyness but because she knew her true emotions would be visible within them. Rin was quiet because she was uncomfortable. She didn't know how to act around Ophelia, defaulting to politeness. However, Ophelia was pretty certain she was out of the kill-on-sight zone. That was why she even bothered to consider the second option. The camera.

[A camera can be used to take photographs for advertisements. A videocorder can film advertisements for reels] Ophelia was leaning towards the camera. It was only 100 points, giving her a buffer of another 100 points in case Rin stubbed her toe and blamed it on her. Secondly, she couldn't possibly advertise a webtoon on the System's equivalent to tiktok or youtube shorts with only one chapter out. People that did that were worse than any Demon Lord. With the camera, she could get some eyes on the story.

As the saying went, the product could be shit as long as you spammed marketing for it. Or was it the audience would eat slop like pigs, as long as you led them to the trough? Either way - marketing was king. She could start farming points from comments, and buy something crazy like a Major Character Loyalty Token. Imagine turning someone like Demon Lord Azazel to her side? Her biggest problem would vanish. Was even that allowed?

The level boosting items were also amazing, since she was theoretically already at the maximum. Anything extra would give her a leg up against the eventual war with the Divines. After considering the positives and negatives between the camera and the Phial of Everlasting Waters, she winced, finally selecting the camera. As soon as the sleek, gray item materialized in her hand, she felt a pang of regret, feeling like she had gotten too greedy too soon.

"I take it you don't do refunds?" [Nope!] She sighed, lying back on her pillows.

"I'll just lock myself in during the festival - what's the worst that could happen?" With that, Ophelia fell into an uneasy sleep. Her dreams were plagued with scenes from the webtoon: a blood-covered Rin slashing down Bianca Albini from the sky like a grim reaper, Lucrezia sacrificing herself to kill a Goddess, the city of Rosenarte burning with black flames, the— A soft, tentative knock on her bedroom door. Ophelia blearily blinked awake, palming her clammy forehead. Thank god she wasn't a seer.

Her dreams were just that - dreams.

"Come in." A mop of golden blonde hair peeked into her room, large blue eyes staring up at her.

"My lady, you have a visitor. He's waiting in the living room," said Marika. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Ophelia's heart felt like it had leaped out of her chest. She ripped off the covers, biting back a growl.

"I told you to never let anyone inside the house without my permission."

"I didn't!" Marika quickly defended herself.

"My lady, you must believe me, he- he was there when I woke up. I didn't let him in. I swear it! Please believe me! Please-""Okay, okay, I believe you," said Ophelia, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I'm sorry for being short with you. Where's Rin and Toma?" She tensed, expecting the System to start blaring [OOC] at her, but surprisingly it stayed quiet.

"Still sleeping," Marika squeaked out. Ophelia nodded.

"Stay here. I'll have a chat with our little intruder." Her mind spun as she stormed her way downstairs, her nightgown billowing behind her like a massive wave of cloth. She hadn't added any extra security measures since moving in. They were already decently extensive, and quite frankly, she didn't know how her own charms would interfere with those already in place. Magic wasn't simple. You couldn't just layer spells over top of each other, or remove one ward without affecting the rest.

Magic was more art than science, it could gain will, attributes, it was like… maintaining a garden. Obviously, in hindsight, she should've just gutted the defenses and replaced them. Who knew if the past owner had left a backdoor for others to exploit? Her feet touched the bottom step.

"Who do you think you are, breaking into my home? Don't you know who I—" The man sitting on her settee was no stranger. Not exactly. The same way a shard of glass might catch the light and shine yellow one moment, or gleam blue the next, the man seemed to change between a handsome, elegant man and a beautiful woman. Like his form balanced on a mirror's edge, oscillating this way and that. His hair was of spun gold, but his eyes were completely black save for two small white pupils.

His sculpted lips curved into a soft, disarming smile.

"Lady Vyx. It's nearly noon. Do you always sleep in so late?" Demon Lord Azazel. He of Many Forms. Ophelia froze, unsure of what to do. Should I kill him? No - he'll just wander back out of the underworld, with my name in his little black book. Even in the webtoon this slippery asshole stayed alive for way too long. She snapped her fingers, creating a bubble of silence around them.

"Azazel," she drawled.

"Charming, as always."

"And you, beautiful as ever." His smile didn't waver even a centimeter.

"I couldn't help but notice that you have three children in this house, but, strangely, they aren't strung up on a wall being tortured to death." Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"There's no need for test subjects. You have my antidote, don't you? Or was that a lie?" Azazel put a hand to his heart.

"A liar? Me?"

"What else is new?"

"You gaining a heart for poor orphans, for one," he said, standing.

"And… perhaps… the proposition I have for you." Ophelia leaned back slightly.

"Oh?"

"I can give you a few more years to work on the Hellgate. In exchange, I need you to do something for me."

"Speak." With a flourish, he pulled out a map from his breast pocket. It was a map of the world of Slayer's Requiem, Requieos. Five large continents surrounding the perilous Serpent Sea, a smattering of islands and archipelagos dotted all over. Azazel stuck his finger on a certain island across the world.

"I have urgent business at this destination. If you can lend me your enviable teleportation skills, I'll give you… let's say, five more years to work on the Hellgate." Ophelia's brows rose as she read the name of the island. Blue Jewel Isle. She didn't know every island - or even kingdom - in this world. She wasn't that obsessed with the story. But she did know Blue Jewel Isle. It was the number one vacation spot in the story!

In fact, before realizing she had transmigrated into Lady Vyx, and she'd planned to escape to some faraway island to wait out the Third Demon War, Blue Jewel Isle was actually the place she had been thinking of. It was paradise. Fine, white sand, and the crystal blue warm waters. The native population was made up of welcoming pacifists that enjoyed visitors, and would treat you like royalty in exchange for simply telling them a tale new to their ears.

What evil was the demon lord planning to conduct on the number one vacation spot in the world? Drink too many margaritas? Start a tourist trap? Introduce the natives to X the everything app? The other concern on her mind was what butterflies had she caused for Azazel to deviate from the script? It must have either been Bianca informing her of Azazel, or Ophelia running into Lucrezia. Demons had strange abilities.

Maybe he could feel the pressure of three level 1000 threats regarding him from his mousehole and decided to book it. Or, it could be Death God Nyxian's design.

"Can I consider it?" she asked.

"Opening a Gate that far is strenuous."

"Sure." His form glinted female for a moment, all sharp black eyes and lithe curves and long golden hair.

"I'll give you until tomorrow," he said, taking a step toward the door before pausing.

"Oh, right, I took the liberty of bringing your mail in. I'll just leave it here." A pile of letters appeared from thin air and cascaded onto a nearby table. There were at least seven or eight. From her angle, she could easily read the looping cursive address written over and over again on the front of all the envelopes. Mr. Monroe, of the Canals.

"You don't have a ghost problem, do you?" asked Azazel, his voice full of humor.

"If so, you should really call someone."

"Oh?"

"Coincidentally, I happen to be a Demon Lord of the Underworld. Ghosts are my speciality." As if. She matched his grin with her own, something cold and sharp and vicious. His expression faltered briefly.

"I just remembered I'm friends with an Arch-Necromancer." Azazel recovered gracefully.

"Like I said, I'm in the city for tonight. Trouble me if you need anything, Lady Vyx." He left. Ophelia resisted the urge to throw something at the closed door, breathing heavily. Azazel was one of the most insidious characters in the story. He could sell a charming, disarming performance but he would betray someone just for the fun of it. He of Many Faces was a two-faced roach! She dispelled the silencing bubble.

"Rin!" The girl appeared on the stairs in half a breath's time, as though she had been lurking around the corner. Ophelia praised herself for remembering to cast that silencing spell. Otherwise, Rin would've heard everything, and Ophelia could kiss Lady Vyx's 'redemption arc' goodbye.

"Yes, Mistress?"

"Make yourself presentable. The fitting appointment for your academy uniform is this afternoon."