The first thing Zaina noticed, as the maelstrom of darkness around her finally dissipated, was the scent. As Sentinel Pink, she'd fought all kinds of demons and monsters. Most of them smelled vile. None of them had ever smelled like this: like fruit, and sugar, and fine spices. The aroma was so heavenly, it brought a happy smile to Zaina's face - before she remembered where she was, and what was happening.
Zaina looked around herself. Where was she? She remembered the church, but this wasn't the church. Not anymore. But wherever she was, she knew it had to be dangerous. Even if it didn't look dangerous. As far as she could tell, it was some kind of dining room. No; that term wasn't grand enough. It was a banquet hall. The walls of the huge room were sun-baked stone, and it was open to the sky, allowing the steaming, humid air in. It reminded Zaina of some of the old palaces she's visited with her mother and father on some of their family vacations back home to Morocco. An ornate, wood-carved table ran the whole length of the room, surrounded by plush, velvet couches for the diners to recline on as they ate. What was truly magnificent, though, was the food. The dining table was piled high with every kind of delicacy Zaina could imagine, and many she couldn't. There were meats, stews, vegetables, baskets of fruit, pastries, sweets, cakes, pies... it was endless.
Zaina's eyes went wide at the display of opulence. She no longer had to wonder what that amazing smell was. The magical girl blushed as, despite her situation, her stomach rumbled audibly. She was in the bad habit of skipping meals, and it had been a while since she'd had more than a snack to eat. The sight of such a feast couldn't fail to arouse her appetite. After a moment, though, she made herself drag her mind away from food. There were more important things at hand. None of this was real, she reminded herself. It couldn't be. This had to be some kind of trick. And if so, she likely had a demon to hunt. That was what she should be thinking about. Not the amazing, delicious, appetizing things set out in front of her. Zaina swallowed awkwardly, her mouth already watering. Focusing might be a little harder than she'd thought.
"Hello, my darling." Zaina jumped halfway out of her skin at the sound of the rich, mature, feminine voice. "I'm so pleased to see you made it here unscathed."
Zaina hurriedly cast about, and soon located the source of the voice. At the far end of the table from her, reclining on one of the couches, was a woman. No, Zaina realized, as she got a better look. Not a woman. A demon. There was no mistaking it. The creature before her wasn't human. The demon's skin was tinted a light shade of purple-grey, and its hands and feet ended in wicked talons. Her eyes were black, save for a deep, infernal light burning within them, and a pair of horns emerged from her forehead, woven and interlocked together like a crown of thorns set mockingly on her brow. Most tellingly of all, the creature had a long, scaled, prehensile tail, which she was currently using to idly feed herself a bundle of grapes. Strangely, though, none of those things were what was most remarkable about her. Instead, rather than her horns or her tail, Zaina simply couldn't take her eyes off the demon's body.
So many words came into Zaina's head as she stared, dumbstruck, at the demon, but none of them seemed sufficient to encapsulate what she was looking at. The one word that came up more than any other was 'thick'. The demoness was undeniably fat, but in truth, her proportions went beyond anything that Zaina knew how to describe. She was impossibly curvaceous. Every part of her - her breasts, her belly, her hips, her thighs, her ass - jiggling appealingly with even the slightest movement, her incredible curves inviting Zaina to imagine how soft and luxurious her body might feel. Focusing was only going to get harder. It certainly didn't help that what the demon was wearing could hardly be described as 'clothing'. She was dressed all in silks, in what seemed like a series of sheer, overlapping veils. It was a clearly expensive, shamelessly decadent way to dress; an outfit suitable only for some kind of fertility goddess. The silks left much of her body on display, and they were so transparent that even the parts of her that were covered were still more-or-less visible. Zaina was left in doubt about just how soft and curvy the demon was. Zaina had never seen anyone with such huge breasts, with such a smooth, soft, rounded tummy, with such wide, child-bearing hips or such an incredibly fat, plush ass. The plump demon was totally spread out across her reclining couch, clearly completely unashamed of her body. Zaina's swallowed awkwardly. Maybe the food wasn't the only thing that had her mouth watering.
"Who are you?" she cried out, and immediately felt foolish. It was a pretty silly question. This was a demon. The demon that had transported her here, and that she needed to defeat. Zaina mentally cursed herself. She really needed to get better at this if she was ever going to be as cool as Akemi or Riley.
"Me?" The demon smiled indulgently, without a hint of mockery or disdain on her face. "I am Gluttony. You know, the sin?"
"Oh, right." Zaina nodded. It made sense, given the food and her form. Then, she surreptitiously pinched herself. It was time to get serious. "Gluttony!" she cried. "I am Sentinel Pink! Prepare to die, foul demon! In the name of the stars, I'll punish you!"
Zaina thought she sounded pretty imposing, even if Gluttony seemed largely untroubled. But her bold declaration was undercut just moments later, when her stomach rumbled very loudly, the unmistakable noise echoing all throughout the banquet hall. Zaina's face slowly turned a deep shade of crimson.
"Oh! You poor thing," Gluttony exclaimed. Zaina was surprised at how motherly and benevolent the demon sounded. "You look starved. Why not eat something first? There's plenty to go around." She giggled.
The bald-faced sincerity of Gluttony's offer took the wind out of Zaina's sails. "Um... no thanks," replied the young Star Sentinel. "That's obviously a trick."
"It's not! I promise." The demon's face was utterly guileless.
"Yes. Yes it is!" Zaina stamped her foot. This was becoming absurd.
"There's nothing wrong with any of this food! Here, let me show you."
Gluttony reached forward from the couch and plucked up a small piece of Turkish delight from the table in front of her. Lifting it to her mouth, she quickly devoured it, revealing a set of razor-sharp fang in the process. Zaina barely even noticed them, though. She was too preoccupied staring at the look on Gluttony's face. The demon ate with an expression of such utter bliss and contentment, like that single piece of confection was the most delicious thing in the entire world. She relished every little last crumb, even taking a moment to lick the sugar from her fingers with her long, serpentine tongue once she was finished. Then, Gluttony sighed with contentment, a simple motion that nonetheless had her breasts heaving in a way that Zaina couldn't help blushing at.
Zaina's stomach rumbled again. She couldn't believe how much pleasure Gluttony had taken in eating, or how shameless she had been about it. Watching her eat made Zaina feel strangely embarrassed, like she was doing something wrong. Her parents - especially her mother - had been very firm with her about the need to eat in moderation and keep in shape. Whenever she ate too much, it was like she could still hear her mother's voice in her ear, scolding her. It was why she ended up skipping so many meals. Ever since she was young, Zaina had been self-conscious about her body, and the feeling had only gotten worse as she'd realized she was transgender and transitioned. She couldn't imagine having a body like Gluttony's, or indulging as hedonistically as she'd just seen the demon do.
"You see?" Gluttony asked Zaina, once she'd finished. "They're not poisonous, silly. Perfectly safe. I know you want to fight, but if you're hungry, why not eat something first?"
Zaina wanted to. She really did. She'd never felt so hungry before in her life. Something about the amazing smells of all the food set out in front of her and the way Gluttony had shown such raw pleasure as she ate had teased her appetite to the point of desperation. But still, she knew it was wrong. Eating anything on the table was a terrible idea. In all likelihood, Gluttony's little demonstration meant nothing. It could still be a trick. Zaina knew there was far too much at stake to be taking stupid risks. Her friends could be in danger. She couldn't let Akemi down. And yet... could she really beat Gluttony on an empty stomach? As innocent as she looked, Zaina was sure a demon of her rank would be truly dangerous in a head-to-head confrontation. Zaina's hunger was gnawing at her. She was imbued with the magical power of starlight, but that didn't mean she could ignore her body's needs. Maybe just a little food would make things easier. At the very least, it would take the edge off her hunger, making her less distracted. Deep down, Zaina knew she was simply letting temptation get the better of her, but the more she thought about it, the better of an idea it seemed. She should eat something.
But what? Zaina looked up and down the table. There were so many delicacies that looked so very appetizing, but the magical girl was trying to focus on what seemed the least risky. After a few moments, Zaina's eyes settled on a simple bowl of fruit, nestled between a collection of sweet pastries. Atop the bowl of fruit was a bright, red, juicy apple. It was so plump and ripe it made her eyes go wide and round, despite how simple it seemed compared to some of the other treats on offer. She couldn't go wrong with choosing an apple, could she? An apple had to be safe, right? It was just an apple. Even as she fought a mental battle to rationalize her choice, Zaina's hand was already reaching out to take hold of the apple and lift it to her mouth. Once it was close to her face, she caught a hint of the apple's sweet, perfect scent, and that sealed the deal. She couldn't hold back. Zaina bit into the apple.
