A reckless but helpful idea

Since the demon wasn't paying attention to me, I ran away to hide before leaving Risa's body. It was a risky move, but I had to help Margaret...

I slowly crawled towards the demon, trying to be as sneaky as possible… Being out, exposed like that, made me feel particularly weak and ****, and I just wanted to hide inside a body as fast as possible.

Margaret noticed me, judging by the surprised expression on her face. A surprised expression that quickly changed to a sinister grin.

She probably understood what I was trying to do. "Well, if my last attack didn't work, let's try something else. Vincula Tenebrarum!"

Shadowy chains emerged from the ground all around the demon and bound her still, making the surroundings shake. "W-what? What do you think you're doing? You think... such a puny spell can hold me for long?"

Despite what the demon said, though, she seemed to have trouble escaping from it.

Margaret guffawed. "I wasn't planning to, my dear."

I jumped towards the demon's mouth, and managed to cover it. I went inside, the eagerness of being safe inside a body again overcoming me, as I let myself blissfully being dissolved inside her.

"W-what's... that?" I didn't know if it was because she was a demon, but it took longer for me to get in control. She was fighting my invasion. "W-what did... you do?"

After a moment, I felt myself regaining full consciousness, I slowly opened my eyes, noticing how different everything seemed to be… I could feel a sort of tail behind my back, and my vision was more precise and clearer than ever. It was night time, but I could see as clear as day...

I stood up, glancing around.

"Did it work?" Margaret was still on her guard, understandably.

"I think so, Margaret." I suddenly felt strange, and held my head. “W-what's with these weird sensations...?" It was like my senses were overloaded. "It hurts..."

"Calm down! It's probably just your new senses!" Margaret came closer, trying to help me.

"N-new senses?"

She nodded. "Demons usually have more than five senses, linked to their nature and abilities. You need to calm down and learn how to control them."

I closed my eyes again, and focused… I could slowly feel the plants around me moving, as if I was connected to them… That demon, Maia, was able to control plants, from what I had seen...

I didn't have time to ponder about that more, as Margaret fell on her knees…

"M-Margaret!"

"Shit…" She was panting, her arms shaking. "I... poured almost all of my mana into that last spell... to make sure you succeed… I'm exhausted… L-let's get back to the car."

"Let me help you!" I grabbed Margaret's arm and put it around my neck, to bring her to the car. Either she was way lighter than I thought, or this body also made me stronger physically.

"T-thank you for your help."

While carrying Margaret, we spotted Risa approaching, shaking... "W-what happened? W-why is everyone... d-dead?" She apparently knew nothing about the demon kept in here.

"Please, help me and come with us." Margaret whispered to Risa. Unlike before, I felt the magic infusing her voice.

"As you wish." Risa's eyes became lifeless again, and she answered in a monotonous voice.

Risa's help wasn't really needed to carry Margaret, Maia being a lot stronger than a human. I easily carried her to the car, and she stayed quiet on the way there. I put her in the back seat so she could rest while Risa was taking care of her injuries. It was nothing life-threatening, but she still slept for a few hours.

To clear my mind, I decided to learn how to control the demon's abilities. I summoned some vines from my arm, both weirded out and fascinated by the process. I was far from having access to all of her mind, but I could already grasp the basics.

"Hehe, this is so fun!" I was wiggling around multiple vines as if they were parts of my own body. I trained by having them wrap around a tree. "I wonder what other things I can do, with this body. That demon summoned an enormous carnivorous plant, so I should be able to do that, as well."

I shivered, remembering the gruesome scene. "I just hope I won't ever have to use it…" I made the vines disappear, and stopped my training. "Now that I think about it, will I have to stay in her forever? If I ever leave, she'll probably try to kill people again." I muttered, observing the delicate yet deadly hands I was now possessing.

"Also, why was she in that castle to begin with?" I closed my eyes to try to find that specific information in her mind.

Her name was Maia, a demon affiliated with plants and dreams, who usually stayed in the Demon Realm. A man called Leopold built a facility made to restrain demons, inside that castle, before doing a summoning ritual, bringing her to the human realm. As soon as she was summoned, she was **** and locked away so that scientists could perform experiments on her...

Seeing her memories shook me. "S-she's been locked up and **** for weeks!? No wonder she hates humans..."

"How do you feel?" I didn't hear Margaret walking behind me, and turned around, surprised.

"M-Margaret! W-why are you here? Y-you should rest more!"

She closed her eyes and smiled at me. "Don't worry. I know the limits of this body better than you. I saw you using the demon's powers. That's impressive. I never knew physical possession could work on demons as strong as this one. Good thing I took my precautions against that…" She muttered something under her breath, but I managed to hear it thanks to Maia's enhanced senses.

What does she mean?

Margaret looked back at me and chuckled. "You really are lucky, kid. You're one of the rare humans who managed to control a demon."

I made a weak smile. "I suppose… In the span of a few days, I became a gooey monster, possessed four people, learned that magic exists and possessed a demon… Even in my craziest dreams, I would never have thought that something like that would happen to me."

"Well, after all of that, I think we both need some time to rest. Now, you have a body you can keep without issues."

I stopped, thinking about what I learned from Maia's memories... "I don't know… She was just a victim here…" Margaret’s eyes showed some curiosity, but I continued. "Used as a tool by the people who captured her. Even if she killed them, she had a reason for becoming like that..."

Margaret's eyes narrowed, as she smiled at me. "A human caring about demons..."

I scratched my head. "Well, I don't think I can consider myself human anymore… I'm a monster now."

She pointed at me, a warm expression on her face. "Your soul and heart are still human, that I am certain of."

I couldn't help but giggle as I thought of my situation, Maia's personality starting to influence me. "I don't have a heart anymore. Or any other organs, for that matter."

My joke got a cute laugh out of her. "Don't play dumb, you know what I mean."

"Teehee, sorry. I think her usual cheerful personality is influencing me a bit, right now."

She regained her composure, still smiling, before speaking again. "Do you know what kind of demon she is?"

"She's a demon of dreams and plants, from what I gathered. In any case, you should rest a bit more."

Margaret looked at the sky. "The sun is about to rise, so we shouldn't wait too long."

I glanced towards the car, watching Risa sitting there, her eyes still devoid of life. Seeing her like that made me even more sad than the first time I've met her. I've been her for a few hours, so I knew that she was a good woman.

"What about Risa?"

"She'll come with us to my house, and I'll make her forget everything that happened, before sending her back to her home."

I nodded, happy to know that she'd be safe. "Alright."

We walked to the car together and met back with Risa. I sat next to her, on the front passenger seat, while she was driving us back to Margaret's house, with Margaret resting on the back seat. The forest was pretty far from Margaret's house, so it took some time to get back, especially with the bad traffic we faced...