Astaroth was the second member of the Ten Demons—the Phantasm King's elite executives—that I was set to meet. So far, the only intel I had on her was that her loyalty was practically a glitch and that she possessed the ability to see others' powers as if they were RPG stats.
Since her personality and appearance were a complete mystery, I felt a knot of anxiety in my chest as Pandora-san led me to Astaroth's base within the Demon Realm.
A short distance ahead of our teleportation point stood a woman who was quite tall, likely in her late one-sixties. This was presumably Astaroth, and her appearance was even more striking than I had imagined.
Her shoulder-length hair was split perfectly down the middle: black on the right and blonde on the left. A semi-circular mask covered the left side of her face. Since it lacked any eyeholes, it looked more like a solid plate hiding her features than a traditional mask.
The visible right half of her face featured a golden, downturned eye that darted about restlessly, never settling on a single spot.
"A-A-Ah... u-um... w-w-welcome. T-Thank you for... for c-coming."
"...Umm, hello. You’re Astaroth-san, I take it?"
"H-H-Hyau! T-T-That is... q-q-quite correct!"
"I’m Kaito Miyama. It’s a pleasure to meet you."
"T-T-The pleasure is... m-m-mine."
I quickly realized the situation. She was either incredibly socially anxious or just pathologically bad at talking to people. Her gaze was frantic, and she couldn't stop stuttering.
I see. This was certainly another "unique" individual...
"Switch to the Left already," Pandora-san commanded. "We won't get anywhere with 'Right' in charge."
"Y-Y-Yes!"
"...Left?"
As I tilted my head at the cryptic order, Astaroth flicked the edge of her mask.
The semi-circular plate flipped cleanly to the other side of her face. Now, the left half was exposed. Her black eye was upturned and sharp, and her expression was suddenly focused. The entire atmosphere around her had shifted.
"Miyama-sama, I am humbled that you have taken the trouble to visit us today. Properly speaking, a subordinate like myself should have visited you to offer my greetings. Please accept my apologies for the delay in my introduction."
"Eh? Oh, no... umm..."
I was taken aback by how fluently and confidently she spoke compared to just a few seconds ago. Sensing my confusion, Astaroth gave a shallow bow.
"Forgive me. I should have explained this first. My name is Astaroth, and I am a member of a race known as the Gemini."
"Gemini?"
"Yes. A rare race referred to as 'Two-as-one'—two consciousnesses in a single body."
"...Does that mean you have a split personality?"
I thought I followed the logic. Basically, the socially awkward persona and the sharp one I was talking to now both occupied the same space.
"No, a split personality isn't quite right. It's a matter of sensation, so it's difficult to explain to anyone who isn't of my kind... but the 'me' from a moment ago and the 'me' standing here now are both the same Astaroth. We share the same thoughts. In reality, our personalities don't even truly switch."
As she spoke, she removed the mask entirely. The two sides of her face held completely different expressions. The right side looked timid and nervous with its downturned eye, while the left side remained sharp and composed. Even the corners of her mouth were asymmetrical—one side pulled down while the other turned up—a feat that seemed physically impossible for normal facial muscles.
"Both personas exist simultaneously."
Her voice came out in a double layer, an eerie but fascinating harmony.
"It’s simply that, in this state, it’s difficult for others to hear my voice clearly. I use the mask to adjust and focus one side at a time."
Her speech pattern shifted slightly as she spoke, alternating between the two tones. It definitely seemed complicated.
"To put it into words, it might be closest to saying that two Demons are fused into a single body. I can separate into two distinct bodies using the same principles as a Split Body... but for me, having two consciousnesses exist at once is my natural state. I weaken significantly if I separate. It's truly difficult to describe..."
"Wait a moment," Pandora-san interrupted, holding up a hand. "A message just arrived from Shaltier-sama for Miyama-sama."
As Astaroth struggled to find the right words, Pandora-san relayed the Phantasm King's input.
"Miyama-sama, I shall relay it verbatim: 'To put it in terms you'd understand, it’s like a single robot with two pilots inside,' she says."
"...Ah, I see. That makes it much easier to visualize."
Essentially, two personas were operating the single "unit" known as Astaroth. Hearing my response, Astaroth looked relieved and slid the mask back over the right side of her face.
"Since neither of us is strictly the 'primary' persona, it can be a bit confusing."
"Because they are equals," Pandora-san added, "when Shaltier-sama or I need to distinguish between them, we simply refer to them as Right and Left."
I was still a bit baffled, but I supposed I just had to accept that such a race existed in this world.
Astaroth: A member of the rare race Gemini, the Two-as-one. Two consciousnesses exist at all times and share thoughts instantaneously; therefore, they are not different people, but two halves of the single entity known as Astaroth.
They effectively divide their labor. The black-haired, gold-eyed Astaroth (Right) is the physical specialist who excels in combat. The blonde-haired, black-eyed Astaroth (Left) is the intellectual specialist who handles analysis and negotiation. To use Alice's analogy, it's a pilot and an operator sharing the same cockpit.
The ability to see an opponent's power as stats belongs to the blonde-haired Left.
The ability of the black-haired Right is to re-allocate her own ability distribution, effectively allowing her to reset and re-spec her own stats at will.
Since the intellectual Left usually handles all communication, the physical Right is unaccustomed to speaking. When she is forced to talk—as she was during the initial greeting to Kaito—she suffers from severe stuttering.