- Location
- England
Should be "back".
Keeper of Totality [Time-Travel LitRPG]
- Thread starter Infinityphoenix
- Start date
- Original Novel Fantasy
Chapter 84 (1 of 2) The aftermath of mischief.
Infinityphoenix
Fantasizer
- Location
- Australia
"I am… very sorry I can't stay and talk any longer, but I really have to go-"
"Verdilast." Lucille held out a hand to pause the dark-haired man in front of her. "It's fine. We didn't expect to meet any members of the enclave anyway."
Skulker's father, Verdilast, was standing in front of Lucy, Scytale and Sedric. His long straight hair was tied behind his head like most members of the serpent clans favoured, and slung over his shoulder was the moping Skulker. It seemed he had rushed to the city after discovering Skulker had gone missing, and as the leader of the Truth-Seizing Serpents Warborne, he couldn't be away from his station for long.
Verdilast sighed and then looked at Scytale. "I thought you said you wouldn't return until you were Rank-3."
"I only returned to the city, not the enclave, so it doesn't count," Scytale stated smugly.
Verdilast shook his head. "I see. I'll have to tell the Matriarch about your City Lord title now." He glanced behind him and looked back. "I'm glad to see you're both faring well. Until we meet again."
They waved as he left, dragging his son with him. Sedric, with his arms crossed behind Lucy and Scytale, gave them bemused looks. "So… is that a relative of yours, Scytale?"
"I think?" Scytale hesitated and then turned around to face Sedric. He raised three fingers. "I'm pretty sure he's my cousin, three times removed."
Sedric screwed up his nose and tried to work out what that meant. "So… he's part of the same generation as your great-grandparents?"
Scytale shook his head. "Same generation as my great-grandnieces and nephews."
Sedric stared at him. Then he turned to stare at Lucy and pointed wordlessly at her bond. "Isn't he sixteen?"
"Scytale is the grandson of the Truth-Seizing Matriarch," she explained. "Verdilast is the grandson of one of Scytale's first cousins."
"Of course, I don't go around calling my relatives 'grandnieces' and 'grandnephews' or anything along those lines," Scytale said, walking off with his hands behind his head. "It'd be weird. Half of them are off fighting in the Central Battlefield Region anyway, and I haven't even met some."
"…right." Sedric hoisted his rucksack up higher and followed him, with Lucille coming along too.
Lucy glanced at the crafter. "Sedric, do you think you've found everything needed to craft the artifact's new body?"
He considered it and slowly nodded. "There are just a few components I need back at home but I should be able to begin."
Lucy observed him for a moment. "Home? Hm…"
Sedric narrowed his eyes at her. "What, is there something wrong with what I said?"
"Not at all." She smiled brightly. "I'm just wondering what will happen once you finally craft the item I need from you and we go our separate ways. Would Annaliese cause a riot when our contract ends?"
He hesitated and then his eyes went wide. "Don't tell me you're kicking me out soon?! Never mind, I'm not interested in your fancy item anymore! Not at all!"
Lucy smirked as Sedric tried futilely to get her to respond to his questions. She idly touched the letters in her pocket – all of them replies from the four other City Lords who accepted the sponsorship of the Aurelian Commission without her even needing to visit.
I'll have to organise another trip to the Beast Realm. Sometime early next year?
…hm. I wonder how Rosaline is doing with the Kitsune.
…
"…what?"
Hargrave stared at the blue dew-drop-shaped crystal she had put in his hand.
"It's a souvenir," she replied nonchalantly. She took out an ornate silver pen and walked over towards Vincent on her couch, who was watching curiously.
"Thank you, but…" Hargrave raised the crystal and squinted at it. "What do I do with it?"
Lucy pointed at the half-asleep winged snake on the floor. "I don't know. Ask him." She put the pen on the table in front of Vincent. "And this is yours."
"And this is?" He picked it up and eyed it curiously.
"A pen that doesn't need to be refilled," she replied with a smile. "Considering you noticed my trophy…" Lucy took out the red pen she 'borrowed' from the Archduke and spun it, "I figured you might like a new fancy pen for yourself."
Vincent shook his head, amused. "Well, thank you very much." He looked at Sedric on her other couch, busy observing the scroll artifact. "I hear you had a profitable trip?"
"I have obtained the rulership authority of every city in Scytale's home region," Lucille announced. Then she paused and shot Scytale a dull look. "Except for the one closest to my bond's enclave. But we both know that he's going to push off any decision-making onto me."
Vincent nodded and then held up an envelope. "Ah, by the way, I've received word that Miss Verdon and her brother won't be returning this month. The reason the Sages provided was the events regarding the intruder after the debut."
"That's a shame. For Annaliese I mean," Lucy commented offhandedly.
I need the time to consider what to do about the Wordless Observers' request for the Demon Realm. I'll have enough on my plate with the Demon Emperor.
That last thought made her hesitate and sneakily glance back at Vincent.
He's not going to become suspicious when I leave again this time is he? It will be only one or two weeks earlier than last year… maybe I should use Roa to organise an alibi. She won't ask too many questions.
And she had another task to do relating to that party. She waved to her aide. "I'll be in my room if you need me. I'm going to take a break after returning from the Beast Realm."
"As you wish." Vincent nodded and stood up. "I'll return to my work."
She left Hargrave, who was hesitating over whether to wake the not-really-asleep Scytale, and Sedric, who was still absorbed in his study of the dimension artifact. When she had returned to her room, she took out her two daggers to let them roam around and then lay down on the bed, one arm behind her head.
Lucille opened up a few key sections of her Status page.
[Lucille Goldcroft's Aspects {6/6}:
Celestial Dragon's Palace of the Soul
Adamantine Body and Bones
Beloved Child of Mana
Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8
Cognitive Codex of Reminiscence
Hexadic Essence Absorption Constitution
Casket of Boon's Bestowments: 1]
She thought about which one to choose first and then selected one that was bound to surprise Scytale when he discussed the changes with her.
[Aspect: Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8| Type: Affinity/Suspended]
Prerequisites:
Warning: This Aspect will permanently remove all possibility of gaining an elemental affinity unless overpowered by the User being forcefully granted an affinity.
Bonuses:
Then, wondering how it could be used, she tapped on the Bestowment option at the bottom of her Aspect list.
[Aspect Bestowment]
Info: A unique Status modifier that grants one stack of 'Bestowment' to an Aspect, multiplying its effects by x1.25. Each additional stack of Bestowment adds +1.25 to the enhancement. A maximum of ten stacks can be granted per Aspect. Multiple Aspect Bestowments are needed to upgrade to a 2nd grade Bestowment Enhancement]
The System recognises the Bestowment as a legitimate Status modifier because the Casket of Boons altered itself to exchange pure, condensed System influence for other System functions. So, if it acts like all normal System functions…
"Apply 'Aspect Bestowment' to Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8," she announced to the air.
[Warning: Unsanctioned alteration of Status utilising foreign quasi-C̷̥̠̙̝̖̔̚͝@̶̼̠͕̯̰́ű̵̫̟̗̙̥̘͑͛̌͜ͅ5̴͍̙͉͔̻̇̑̓̇́̿̋̄ą̵͍̘̰̬̩͔̽́̓͜͝Ḻ̸̨̼̘͈̤͖̰̺̞͍̋͑̀͑̌͗̍̌͜1̸̨̢̭̝̲̞͍̭͚̽͊͋̓̓̿̔͋́̈́͝t̵̡̖̼̜͚̉̓͌̀̄̈́̏͒͒ỳ̷̩͎͉͙͚͈̣̝̳͙̎̀̓͑̋͛̈́͜ ̷̮̦̰͍͈͚̇͆̓̌͊̆̃́̍̆͝͝ detected. This may have permanent and irrevocable consequences for the User (This includes the enhancement of dangerous Aspect side-effects). Do you wish to proceed? Yes/No]
What's the use in asking me this? With my 'no-interaction' glitch, I'm already outside the System's jurisdiction.
She selected [Yes].
[Confirmation: Yes/No]
She selected [Yes] a second time.
[Final Confirmation: Yes/No]
Lucille frowned, not enjoying how many times it had asked her. She pressed down hard on [Yes].
[Confirmation accepted. Applying Status modifier…]
[ERROR. ERROR. Impossible use of quasi-C̷̥̠̙̝̖̔̚͝@̶̼̠͕̯̰́ű̵̫̟̗̙̥̘͑͛̌͜ͅ5̴͍̙͉͔̻̇̑̓̇́̿̋̄ą̵͍̘̰̬̩͔̽́̓͜͝Ḻ̸̨̼̘͈̤͖̰̺̞͍̋͑̀͑̌͗̍̌͜1̸̨̢̭̝̲̞͍̭͚̽͊͋̓̓̿̔͋́̈́͝t̵̡̖̼̜͚̉̓͌̀̄̈́̏͒͒ỳ̷̩͎͉͙͚͈̣̝̳͙̎̀̓͑̋͛̈́͜ ̷̮̦̰͍͈͚̇͆̓̌͊̆̃́̍̆͝͝ detected. Source: N0#-(Exception637:?) Mortal: Lower Race. Contacting Sub-System Authority….]
[Data submitted by Authority P---- S----- C------------. Calculating relevance…]
Lucy sat up.
[Data transferred. Source Redefined: Forbidden Legendary Artifact – Casket of Boons. Estimating potential casual interruption…. Estimated. Artifact use sanctioned.]
[One (1) Aspect Bestowment has been applied to Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8]
Lucille, after staring at the fading notifications for a long time, clicked on the altered Aspect.
[1st Grade Aspect: Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8| Type: Affinity/Suspended]
1st Grade (0/2): 1.25 Bestowment Enhancement
Desc: [Collapsed]
Warning: This Aspect will permanently remove all possibility of gaining an elemental affinity unless overpowered by the User being forcefully granted an affinity.
Bonuses:
The System has deleted the 'prerequisites' information and replaced it with this 'Multiplier' category. That's an understandable choice. None of the prerequisites ever applied to me in the first place, so it was useless information.
But those notifications…
Lucy hesitated and then sighed as she lay back down.
I can understand the messages, but didn't that… entity… say they were keeping an eye on me? Why are they helping me? Unless…
Her gaze went flat.
Is this an apology for everything their damned Authorizer has done? They probably know what I need to ask the Demon Emperor about.
…no, maybe it's just apologising for its own actions. If I think about it, the Demon Emperor never wanted anything to do with me in the first place, so…
…it was this entity that wanted me to sign that System Contract. Have I been too judgemental of the Demon Emperor/Archduke?
Lucille considered it and then scoffed.
Nope, he's still a jerk.
She rubbed her temples and decided to move on to looking at her Aspect.
The reason why she selected the Aspect that maintained her lack of elemental affinity was because it was the safest one for her to modify. Multiplying zero by anything always equalled zero, so it wouldn't harm her null elemental affinity.
And the end result was that even if something did happen to her null elemental affinity… her plans involved forcefully removing the Aspect anyway. If it broke now, then she'd just have to be slightly more careful.
The enhanced arcane mana control has been very helpful, though, so it'd be a shame if it left.
Lucille was left pondering how the enhancement worked, however.
What happens when it's applied to the Cognitive Codex of Reminiscence? Are the quantity of bonuses obtained from putting my information into the Aspect amplified by the multiplier? Is it just the value of the bonuses which is multiplied?
And what about the Hexadic Essence Absorption Constitution? The warning mentioned that the side-effects get enhanced too… will the elemental conflicts become great enough to injure me, even when I have no affinity?
Celestial Dragon's Palace of the Soul is one I have to be careful of too. In the Heavenly Realm, there are risks that occur when the soul is out of balance with the body, with the spirit, soul and body needing to be in equilibrium for the individual to safely progress. That's not just for a cultivation context but can be seen when I try to stack the Acts of my Ancient skill. My body can't withstand the pressure without increased stats.
It seemed she had to be careful about which Aspect she enhanced more than the others. It was possible that due to the power of the Aspects she had selected…
…that this 'Casket of Boons' was a double-edged sword. She couldn't select all her future Aspects based on the enhancement ability of the artifact. The Casket was a tool, but not her sole path.
That was fine. Lucille had made all her plans without knowledge of the artifact. The artifact was just a bonus.
But now she had a task to do. She sat up on the bed and stretched her arms above her, then smirked as she received the gold jewellery box from her dimensional bag. It was time for her to upgrade each of her Aspects and see how much of a difference the 'Bestowments' made.
Two rows of young adults dressed in black and navy blue uniforms stood up straight, hands behind their backs. A burly blond-haired man marched in front of them.
"Today's a special day!" Commander Merrow Arkenast stated with a grin. He stopped in the middle and crossed his scarred arms. He glanced to the side. "Why don't you guess why today is such a great day, Stanhope?"
"Because they'll depart and get away from you?" Ross deadpanned.
Everyone stared at him. The lacking Head Officer saluted the Commander. "It's time for them to enter the Central Zone for the first time," he announced loudly as if to brush over what he had just said.
"Yes, that's right, young Officers!" The Commander said to the crew, ignoring Ross. "I have decided to let you go through your first major rite of passage before being considered a real crew – completing a mission in the Central Zone of the Distorted Depths."
A sea-green-haired young man raised a hand. "Sir?"
Commander Arkenast pointed at him. "Yes, Wharifin!"
"If that's our first rite of passage to be a real crew…" Caspian gazed warily at the man. "Then what are the others?"
"Well, the second rite of passage is slaying your first Monster King, your third is slaying your first Aberrant, and…" The Commander gained a vicious grin. "The fourth and final rite is attending the yearly military ceremony in the Eternal Empire's Capital. The most dangerous and treacherous task of them all. But that's neither here nor there."
Commander Arkenast pointed at the tall, curly-haired woman standing at the very front. "Captain Riftmire, tell me, what task has your crew been given?"
"We must retrieve the flag flying above the crow's nest on the Iron Wolf, a warship shipwrecked on the eastern side of Nereid's Wail Isle," Adrianna announced indifferently.
"That's correct." The Commander nodded and began to pace back and forth again. "Every fifty years, when the Dawnlight must set sail again, the crew is given the order to bring back something from the Iron Wolf. Once it was a spyglass. Another time it was an entire cannon." He whirled around and pointed at them. "But the flag flying high with our Navy's coat of arms has yet to be taken!"
They stood silently, listening for every detail the Commander could give. And Commander Arkenast did not let them down.
The blond-haired man's scarred face grew solemn as he watched them. "I'll tell you now. If you go with your current strength, you will die. Every last one of you. That is why you're going to be given two whole months to retrieve the flag – so that all of you can increase your strength and develop for the final battle." He smirked and stepped back. "And there will be a battle. Because that island is where the strongest Aberrant in the Distorted Depths sleeps."
Their faces drained of colour when they heard that. The Commander gave them one last cheery wave and turned to leave. "That's all from me! And yes. You'll depart today."
With Ross behind him, he left, leaving Adrianna alone with her crew. Adrianna turned to face them, but after a quick look, she only walked off, leaving them with questions. Caspian raised an eyebrow and followed her.
"Adrianna, aren't you going to begin discussing our plans with the crew?" he asked, walking quickly to match her pace.
"I didn't hear about the Nereid's Wail Isle," she muttered, her brow slightly furrowed.
"Huh? But didn't you meet with the Commander last week to discuss this?" he asked her, confused. "And while the others will be scared, we both know that the island isn't as dangerous as the Commander made it out to be. When he said that the Aberrant was asleep, he meant that nearly nothing could wake it up. It's been asleep for centuries." He blinked. "Unless you haven't heard that yet? That makes sense. I heard it because of my Senior Officers…"
"No, I know that the Aberrant is asleep," she said with a sigh. "It's… I'm fine, Wharifin. You can begin discussing this with the crew."
He squinted at her. "Uh… no. No, you're not fine. I can tell you're on edge about something."
"How? Barely anyone can read my emotions," she stated dully.
Caspian rolled his eyes. "Let's just say I'm perceptive." He glanced behind himself and narrowed his eyes when he saw Griffin laughing and having a loud discussion. "What's got him in such a good mood?" He turned back to her. "Look, if you really think you're fine, then I know I'm not going to be able to get anything out of you. I'll go check on what Conlan's doing with the crew. Just… be back in an hour or so to talk to them, okay?"
Adrianna gave him a slow nod, and Caspian left. In the distance, she saw Griffin watch them and look away before either Adrianna or Caspian could make eye contact. She scowled and marched off, out of sight of them all.
The Central Zone isn't the issue. It occurred in the same month as last timeline, so things are progressing well. The problem is the task he has given us.
Adrianna had heard from the Commander that he planned to send them to the Central Zone, and while it was slightly earlier than before, the crew were slightly more advanced in their progress than before. She had no issues with that.
Maybe it was her own… arrogance, or stupidity, or something – but she had expected Commander Arkenast to assign them the same task or a similar difficulty task as he had in the past.
Not the task he had assigned them as a final test before promoting her to Commander.
She held her chin, thinking deeply.
No, he can't be planning on promoting me to Commander yet. That's absurd. It hasn't even been a full year since I became Captain. I need to have at least three ships under my command to be a Commander, but I haven't even obtained one new crewmate yet. He needs to step down too and he hasn't begun any of those arrangements.
So then… what is he doing?
The most logical answer was that he wanted to see if their success in obtaining the natural treasure and killing the Scion hadn't been a fluke and was real, but if that was the goal, then he wouldn't have given them what was essentially a stealth mission. It was possible that he wanted to recreate the test with the Scion because Griffin's actions meant that it didn't proceed as Adrianna had wanted, but using a trip to the Central Zone to recreate that?
As for Griffin, he was probably overjoyed because he considered it a sign of her becoming Commander soon. He wouldn't have any issues facing the stronger monsters, being the Hero of Light and all, but he didn't spare a thought for his crewmates. Griffin was always…
Her thoughts froze as the newest most likely answer occurred to her. She looked around the corner and glanced at the brown-haired man next to Liliana and Catherine.
Come to think of it, Palin has still been asking me to give the Squad Leader title to Griffin instead. He tries to hide it, but I can see he's already been won over by him.
Should I give him the 'opportunity' to prove himself to the Commander? At the very least, his class will ensure the crew survives in the long run.
She huffed and walked back out, ready to begin the discussion. It would be a long two months.
If he's going to reap the benefits of my position, then he should be prepared to take the blame for my failures, shouldn't he?
"You must be so sad, not being able to go with them and escape from me," the burly man said with a wry grin.
Ross Stanhope stood still, dutifully gazing past the Commander and concentrating on the view of the ocean behind his desk. "You called for me, Sir?"
"Tsk." Commander Arkenast placed his chin on his hand and narrowed his eyes at his subordinate, but Ross didn't react. The Commander shrugged and leaned back. A week ago, when you asked me why I gave them this particular task, I said I'd answer you after I spoke to them. I called you here to answer your question."
Commander Arkenast stood up and faced the window with his hands behind his back. "Adrianna Riftmire is a great Captain. She'd likely be a great Admiral… and she'll be a great Commander."
"But sir… you're the Commander," Ross pointed out with confusion.
Merrow Arkenast looked back with a stern expression. "Stanhope. She will be a great Commander."
Ross stared and then gave him a salute. "I see you've chosen. I should learn to treat her as my new superior then."
"Don't be so hasty to get rid of me, Stanhope," The Commander chuckled. He turned back around and sat down. "Riftmire is responsible. That's good, but you can't go overboard. She believes that since I've placed these people under her, it's her responsibility to make them thrive. In some cases, it's true." He intertwined his fingers. "But when it comes to some people, it's not. I want Riftmire to kick those 'types of people' out of her own will. And the only way to do that is show her what the future will look like with those types of people under her command."
"I have a suspicion that it's not people plural that you're referring to," Ross stated dryly.
Commander Arkenast smirked and shrugged. "If, after all this, she still sees some use in hi- in them, I'll accept it. They're not my direct subordinate, after all. Surely she knows them better than me. But… I'll make this little opportunity for the rest of her crewmates to see. Maybe peer pressure will do it."
Ross saluted the Commander. "My thanks for clearing that up for me, sir."
The Commander gave him a dismissive wave and crossed his arms. "And I also want to see my successor struggle a bit more before I leave. I feel a little jealous of my old colleagues who trained their successors up for centuries and saw all sides of them, so I want to see a little bit more about Riftmire."
Ross gazed wearily at the man. "Sir… why do you always ruin peoples' impression of you just when it improves?"
The blond-haired man laughed.
"Verdilast." Lucille held out a hand to pause the dark-haired man in front of her. "It's fine. We didn't expect to meet any members of the enclave anyway."
Skulker's father, Verdilast, was standing in front of Lucy, Scytale and Sedric. His long straight hair was tied behind his head like most members of the serpent clans favoured, and slung over his shoulder was the moping Skulker. It seemed he had rushed to the city after discovering Skulker had gone missing, and as the leader of the Truth-Seizing Serpents Warborne, he couldn't be away from his station for long.
Verdilast sighed and then looked at Scytale. "I thought you said you wouldn't return until you were Rank-3."
"I only returned to the city, not the enclave, so it doesn't count," Scytale stated smugly.
Verdilast shook his head. "I see. I'll have to tell the Matriarch about your City Lord title now." He glanced behind him and looked back. "I'm glad to see you're both faring well. Until we meet again."
They waved as he left, dragging his son with him. Sedric, with his arms crossed behind Lucy and Scytale, gave them bemused looks. "So… is that a relative of yours, Scytale?"
"I think?" Scytale hesitated and then turned around to face Sedric. He raised three fingers. "I'm pretty sure he's my cousin, three times removed."
Sedric screwed up his nose and tried to work out what that meant. "So… he's part of the same generation as your great-grandparents?"
Scytale shook his head. "Same generation as my great-grandnieces and nephews."
Sedric stared at him. Then he turned to stare at Lucy and pointed wordlessly at her bond. "Isn't he sixteen?"
"Scytale is the grandson of the Truth-Seizing Matriarch," she explained. "Verdilast is the grandson of one of Scytale's first cousins."
"Of course, I don't go around calling my relatives 'grandnieces' and 'grandnephews' or anything along those lines," Scytale said, walking off with his hands behind his head. "It'd be weird. Half of them are off fighting in the Central Battlefield Region anyway, and I haven't even met some."
"…right." Sedric hoisted his rucksack up higher and followed him, with Lucille coming along too.
Lucy glanced at the crafter. "Sedric, do you think you've found everything needed to craft the artifact's new body?"
He considered it and slowly nodded. "There are just a few components I need back at home but I should be able to begin."
Lucy observed him for a moment. "Home? Hm…"
Sedric narrowed his eyes at her. "What, is there something wrong with what I said?"
"Not at all." She smiled brightly. "I'm just wondering what will happen once you finally craft the item I need from you and we go our separate ways. Would Annaliese cause a riot when our contract ends?"
He hesitated and then his eyes went wide. "Don't tell me you're kicking me out soon?! Never mind, I'm not interested in your fancy item anymore! Not at all!"
Lucy smirked as Sedric tried futilely to get her to respond to his questions. She idly touched the letters in her pocket – all of them replies from the four other City Lords who accepted the sponsorship of the Aurelian Commission without her even needing to visit.
I'll have to organise another trip to the Beast Realm. Sometime early next year?
…hm. I wonder how Rosaline is doing with the Kitsune.
…
"…what?"
Hargrave stared at the blue dew-drop-shaped crystal she had put in his hand.
"It's a souvenir," she replied nonchalantly. She took out an ornate silver pen and walked over towards Vincent on her couch, who was watching curiously.
"Thank you, but…" Hargrave raised the crystal and squinted at it. "What do I do with it?"
Lucy pointed at the half-asleep winged snake on the floor. "I don't know. Ask him." She put the pen on the table in front of Vincent. "And this is yours."
"And this is?" He picked it up and eyed it curiously.
"A pen that doesn't need to be refilled," she replied with a smile. "Considering you noticed my trophy…" Lucy took out the red pen she 'borrowed' from the Archduke and spun it, "I figured you might like a new fancy pen for yourself."
Vincent shook his head, amused. "Well, thank you very much." He looked at Sedric on her other couch, busy observing the scroll artifact. "I hear you had a profitable trip?"
"I have obtained the rulership authority of every city in Scytale's home region," Lucille announced. Then she paused and shot Scytale a dull look. "Except for the one closest to my bond's enclave. But we both know that he's going to push off any decision-making onto me."
Vincent nodded and then held up an envelope. "Ah, by the way, I've received word that Miss Verdon and her brother won't be returning this month. The reason the Sages provided was the events regarding the intruder after the debut."
"That's a shame. For Annaliese I mean," Lucy commented offhandedly.
I need the time to consider what to do about the Wordless Observers' request for the Demon Realm. I'll have enough on my plate with the Demon Emperor.
That last thought made her hesitate and sneakily glance back at Vincent.
He's not going to become suspicious when I leave again this time is he? It will be only one or two weeks earlier than last year… maybe I should use Roa to organise an alibi. She won't ask too many questions.
And she had another task to do relating to that party. She waved to her aide. "I'll be in my room if you need me. I'm going to take a break after returning from the Beast Realm."
"As you wish." Vincent nodded and stood up. "I'll return to my work."
She left Hargrave, who was hesitating over whether to wake the not-really-asleep Scytale, and Sedric, who was still absorbed in his study of the dimension artifact. When she had returned to her room, she took out her two daggers to let them roam around and then lay down on the bed, one arm behind her head.
Lucille opened up a few key sections of her Status page.
[Lucille Goldcroft's Aspects {6/6}:
Celestial Dragon's Palace of the Soul
Adamantine Body and Bones
Beloved Child of Mana
Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8
Cognitive Codex of Reminiscence
Hexadic Essence Absorption Constitution
Casket of Boon's Bestowments: 1]
She thought about which one to choose first and then selected one that was bound to surprise Scytale when he discussed the changes with her.
[Aspect: Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8| Type: Affinity/Suspended]
Prerequisites:
- No elemental affinity.
Warning: This Aspect will permanently remove all possibility of gaining an elemental affinity unless overpowered by the User being forcefully granted an affinity.
Bonuses:
- Permanently fixes the User's elemental affinity ratio for all elements as 0%.
- Enhances the User's control over non-elemental and arcane mana. +100% to control.
- Grants the User immunity to all elemental suppression effects.
Then, wondering how it could be used, she tapped on the Bestowment option at the bottom of her Aspect list.
[Aspect Bestowment]
Info: A unique Status modifier that grants one stack of 'Bestowment' to an Aspect, multiplying its effects by x1.25. Each additional stack of Bestowment adds +1.25 to the enhancement. A maximum of ten stacks can be granted per Aspect. Multiple Aspect Bestowments are needed to upgrade to a 2nd grade Bestowment Enhancement]
The System recognises the Bestowment as a legitimate Status modifier because the Casket of Boons altered itself to exchange pure, condensed System influence for other System functions. So, if it acts like all normal System functions…
"Apply 'Aspect Bestowment' to Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8," she announced to the air.
[Warning: Unsanctioned alteration of Status utilising foreign quasi-C̷̥̠̙̝̖̔̚͝@̶̼̠͕̯̰́ű̵̫̟̗̙̥̘͑͛̌͜ͅ5̴͍̙͉͔̻̇̑̓̇́̿̋̄ą̵͍̘̰̬̩͔̽́̓͜͝Ḻ̸̨̼̘͈̤͖̰̺̞͍̋͑̀͑̌͗̍̌͜1̸̨̢̭̝̲̞͍̭͚̽͊͋̓̓̿̔͋́̈́͝t̵̡̖̼̜͚̉̓͌̀̄̈́̏͒͒ỳ̷̩͎͉͙͚͈̣̝̳͙̎̀̓͑̋͛̈́͜ ̷̮̦̰͍͈͚̇͆̓̌͊̆̃́̍̆͝͝ detected. This may have permanent and irrevocable consequences for the User (This includes the enhancement of dangerous Aspect side-effects). Do you wish to proceed? Yes/No]
What's the use in asking me this? With my 'no-interaction' glitch, I'm already outside the System's jurisdiction.
She selected [Yes].
[Confirmation: Yes/No]
She selected [Yes] a second time.
[Final Confirmation: Yes/No]
Lucille frowned, not enjoying how many times it had asked her. She pressed down hard on [Yes].
[Confirmation accepted. Applying Status modifier…]
[ERROR. ERROR. Impossible use of quasi-C̷̥̠̙̝̖̔̚͝@̶̼̠͕̯̰́ű̵̫̟̗̙̥̘͑͛̌͜ͅ5̴͍̙͉͔̻̇̑̓̇́̿̋̄ą̵͍̘̰̬̩͔̽́̓͜͝Ḻ̸̨̼̘͈̤͖̰̺̞͍̋͑̀͑̌͗̍̌͜1̸̨̢̭̝̲̞͍̭͚̽͊͋̓̓̿̔͋́̈́͝t̵̡̖̼̜͚̉̓͌̀̄̈́̏͒͒ỳ̷̩͎͉͙͚͈̣̝̳͙̎̀̓͑̋͛̈́͜ ̷̮̦̰͍͈͚̇͆̓̌͊̆̃́̍̆͝͝ detected. Source: N0#-(Exception637:?) Mortal: Lower Race. Contacting Sub-System Authority….]
[Data submitted by Authority P---- S----- C------------. Calculating relevance…]
Lucy sat up.
[Data transferred. Source Redefined: Forbidden Legendary Artifact – Casket of Boons. Estimating potential casual interruption…. Estimated. Artifact use sanctioned.]
[One (1) Aspect Bestowment has been applied to Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8]
Lucille, after staring at the fading notifications for a long time, clicked on the altered Aspect.
[1st Grade Aspect: Null Attribute Physique Type 3-E8| Type: Affinity/Suspended]
1st Grade (0/2): 1.25 Bestowment Enhancement
Desc: [Collapsed]
Warning: This Aspect will permanently remove all possibility of gaining an elemental affinity unless overpowered by the User being forcefully granted an affinity.
Bonuses:
- Permanently fixes the User's elemental affinity ratio for all elements as 0%.
- Enhances the User's control over non-elemental and arcane mana. +125% to control.
- Grants the User immunity to all elemental suppression effects.
The System has deleted the 'prerequisites' information and replaced it with this 'Multiplier' category. That's an understandable choice. None of the prerequisites ever applied to me in the first place, so it was useless information.
But those notifications…
Lucy hesitated and then sighed as she lay back down.
I can understand the messages, but didn't that… entity… say they were keeping an eye on me? Why are they helping me? Unless…
Her gaze went flat.
Is this an apology for everything their damned Authorizer has done? They probably know what I need to ask the Demon Emperor about.
…no, maybe it's just apologising for its own actions. If I think about it, the Demon Emperor never wanted anything to do with me in the first place, so…
…it was this entity that wanted me to sign that System Contract. Have I been too judgemental of the Demon Emperor/Archduke?
Lucille considered it and then scoffed.
Nope, he's still a jerk.
She rubbed her temples and decided to move on to looking at her Aspect.
The reason why she selected the Aspect that maintained her lack of elemental affinity was because it was the safest one for her to modify. Multiplying zero by anything always equalled zero, so it wouldn't harm her null elemental affinity.
And the end result was that even if something did happen to her null elemental affinity… her plans involved forcefully removing the Aspect anyway. If it broke now, then she'd just have to be slightly more careful.
The enhanced arcane mana control has been very helpful, though, so it'd be a shame if it left.
Lucille was left pondering how the enhancement worked, however.
What happens when it's applied to the Cognitive Codex of Reminiscence? Are the quantity of bonuses obtained from putting my information into the Aspect amplified by the multiplier? Is it just the value of the bonuses which is multiplied?
And what about the Hexadic Essence Absorption Constitution? The warning mentioned that the side-effects get enhanced too… will the elemental conflicts become great enough to injure me, even when I have no affinity?
Celestial Dragon's Palace of the Soul is one I have to be careful of too. In the Heavenly Realm, there are risks that occur when the soul is out of balance with the body, with the spirit, soul and body needing to be in equilibrium for the individual to safely progress. That's not just for a cultivation context but can be seen when I try to stack the Acts of my Ancient skill. My body can't withstand the pressure without increased stats.
It seemed she had to be careful about which Aspect she enhanced more than the others. It was possible that due to the power of the Aspects she had selected…
…that this 'Casket of Boons' was a double-edged sword. She couldn't select all her future Aspects based on the enhancement ability of the artifact. The Casket was a tool, but not her sole path.
That was fine. Lucille had made all her plans without knowledge of the artifact. The artifact was just a bonus.
But now she had a task to do. She sat up on the bed and stretched her arms above her, then smirked as she received the gold jewellery box from her dimensional bag. It was time for her to upgrade each of her Aspects and see how much of a difference the 'Bestowments' made.
Two rows of young adults dressed in black and navy blue uniforms stood up straight, hands behind their backs. A burly blond-haired man marched in front of them.
"Today's a special day!" Commander Merrow Arkenast stated with a grin. He stopped in the middle and crossed his scarred arms. He glanced to the side. "Why don't you guess why today is such a great day, Stanhope?"
"Because they'll depart and get away from you?" Ross deadpanned.
Everyone stared at him. The lacking Head Officer saluted the Commander. "It's time for them to enter the Central Zone for the first time," he announced loudly as if to brush over what he had just said.
"Yes, that's right, young Officers!" The Commander said to the crew, ignoring Ross. "I have decided to let you go through your first major rite of passage before being considered a real crew – completing a mission in the Central Zone of the Distorted Depths."
A sea-green-haired young man raised a hand. "Sir?"
Commander Arkenast pointed at him. "Yes, Wharifin!"
"If that's our first rite of passage to be a real crew…" Caspian gazed warily at the man. "Then what are the others?"
"Well, the second rite of passage is slaying your first Monster King, your third is slaying your first Aberrant, and…" The Commander gained a vicious grin. "The fourth and final rite is attending the yearly military ceremony in the Eternal Empire's Capital. The most dangerous and treacherous task of them all. But that's neither here nor there."
Commander Arkenast pointed at the tall, curly-haired woman standing at the very front. "Captain Riftmire, tell me, what task has your crew been given?"
"We must retrieve the flag flying above the crow's nest on the Iron Wolf, a warship shipwrecked on the eastern side of Nereid's Wail Isle," Adrianna announced indifferently.
"That's correct." The Commander nodded and began to pace back and forth again. "Every fifty years, when the Dawnlight must set sail again, the crew is given the order to bring back something from the Iron Wolf. Once it was a spyglass. Another time it was an entire cannon." He whirled around and pointed at them. "But the flag flying high with our Navy's coat of arms has yet to be taken!"
They stood silently, listening for every detail the Commander could give. And Commander Arkenast did not let them down.
The blond-haired man's scarred face grew solemn as he watched them. "I'll tell you now. If you go with your current strength, you will die. Every last one of you. That is why you're going to be given two whole months to retrieve the flag – so that all of you can increase your strength and develop for the final battle." He smirked and stepped back. "And there will be a battle. Because that island is where the strongest Aberrant in the Distorted Depths sleeps."
Their faces drained of colour when they heard that. The Commander gave them one last cheery wave and turned to leave. "That's all from me! And yes. You'll depart today."
With Ross behind him, he left, leaving Adrianna alone with her crew. Adrianna turned to face them, but after a quick look, she only walked off, leaving them with questions. Caspian raised an eyebrow and followed her.
"Adrianna, aren't you going to begin discussing our plans with the crew?" he asked, walking quickly to match her pace.
"I didn't hear about the Nereid's Wail Isle," she muttered, her brow slightly furrowed.
"Huh? But didn't you meet with the Commander last week to discuss this?" he asked her, confused. "And while the others will be scared, we both know that the island isn't as dangerous as the Commander made it out to be. When he said that the Aberrant was asleep, he meant that nearly nothing could wake it up. It's been asleep for centuries." He blinked. "Unless you haven't heard that yet? That makes sense. I heard it because of my Senior Officers…"
"No, I know that the Aberrant is asleep," she said with a sigh. "It's… I'm fine, Wharifin. You can begin discussing this with the crew."
He squinted at her. "Uh… no. No, you're not fine. I can tell you're on edge about something."
"How? Barely anyone can read my emotions," she stated dully.
Caspian rolled his eyes. "Let's just say I'm perceptive." He glanced behind himself and narrowed his eyes when he saw Griffin laughing and having a loud discussion. "What's got him in such a good mood?" He turned back to her. "Look, if you really think you're fine, then I know I'm not going to be able to get anything out of you. I'll go check on what Conlan's doing with the crew. Just… be back in an hour or so to talk to them, okay?"
Adrianna gave him a slow nod, and Caspian left. In the distance, she saw Griffin watch them and look away before either Adrianna or Caspian could make eye contact. She scowled and marched off, out of sight of them all.
The Central Zone isn't the issue. It occurred in the same month as last timeline, so things are progressing well. The problem is the task he has given us.
Adrianna had heard from the Commander that he planned to send them to the Central Zone, and while it was slightly earlier than before, the crew were slightly more advanced in their progress than before. She had no issues with that.
Maybe it was her own… arrogance, or stupidity, or something – but she had expected Commander Arkenast to assign them the same task or a similar difficulty task as he had in the past.
Not the task he had assigned them as a final test before promoting her to Commander.
She held her chin, thinking deeply.
No, he can't be planning on promoting me to Commander yet. That's absurd. It hasn't even been a full year since I became Captain. I need to have at least three ships under my command to be a Commander, but I haven't even obtained one new crewmate yet. He needs to step down too and he hasn't begun any of those arrangements.
So then… what is he doing?
The most logical answer was that he wanted to see if their success in obtaining the natural treasure and killing the Scion hadn't been a fluke and was real, but if that was the goal, then he wouldn't have given them what was essentially a stealth mission. It was possible that he wanted to recreate the test with the Scion because Griffin's actions meant that it didn't proceed as Adrianna had wanted, but using a trip to the Central Zone to recreate that?
As for Griffin, he was probably overjoyed because he considered it a sign of her becoming Commander soon. He wouldn't have any issues facing the stronger monsters, being the Hero of Light and all, but he didn't spare a thought for his crewmates. Griffin was always…
Her thoughts froze as the newest most likely answer occurred to her. She looked around the corner and glanced at the brown-haired man next to Liliana and Catherine.
Come to think of it, Palin has still been asking me to give the Squad Leader title to Griffin instead. He tries to hide it, but I can see he's already been won over by him.
Should I give him the 'opportunity' to prove himself to the Commander? At the very least, his class will ensure the crew survives in the long run.
She huffed and walked back out, ready to begin the discussion. It would be a long two months.
If he's going to reap the benefits of my position, then he should be prepared to take the blame for my failures, shouldn't he?
"You must be so sad, not being able to go with them and escape from me," the burly man said with a wry grin.
Ross Stanhope stood still, dutifully gazing past the Commander and concentrating on the view of the ocean behind his desk. "You called for me, Sir?"
"Tsk." Commander Arkenast placed his chin on his hand and narrowed his eyes at his subordinate, but Ross didn't react. The Commander shrugged and leaned back. A week ago, when you asked me why I gave them this particular task, I said I'd answer you after I spoke to them. I called you here to answer your question."
Commander Arkenast stood up and faced the window with his hands behind his back. "Adrianna Riftmire is a great Captain. She'd likely be a great Admiral… and she'll be a great Commander."
"But sir… you're the Commander," Ross pointed out with confusion.
Merrow Arkenast looked back with a stern expression. "Stanhope. She will be a great Commander."
Ross stared and then gave him a salute. "I see you've chosen. I should learn to treat her as my new superior then."
"Don't be so hasty to get rid of me, Stanhope," The Commander chuckled. He turned back around and sat down. "Riftmire is responsible. That's good, but you can't go overboard. She believes that since I've placed these people under her, it's her responsibility to make them thrive. In some cases, it's true." He intertwined his fingers. "But when it comes to some people, it's not. I want Riftmire to kick those 'types of people' out of her own will. And the only way to do that is show her what the future will look like with those types of people under her command."
"I have a suspicion that it's not people plural that you're referring to," Ross stated dryly.
Commander Arkenast smirked and shrugged. "If, after all this, she still sees some use in hi- in them, I'll accept it. They're not my direct subordinate, after all. Surely she knows them better than me. But… I'll make this little opportunity for the rest of her crewmates to see. Maybe peer pressure will do it."
Ross saluted the Commander. "My thanks for clearing that up for me, sir."
The Commander gave him a dismissive wave and crossed his arms. "And I also want to see my successor struggle a bit more before I leave. I feel a little jealous of my old colleagues who trained their successors up for centuries and saw all sides of them, so I want to see a little bit more about Riftmire."
Ross gazed wearily at the man. "Sir… why do you always ruin peoples' impression of you just when it improves?"
The blond-haired man laughed.
- Location
- England
You missed an opening quote mark before "A week ago".
Chapter 84 (2 of 2) The aftermath of mischief.
Infinityphoenix
Fantasizer
- Location
- Australia
"Run it by me one last time," Lucille said, tapping on the table she and her guest were sitting at.
Kozzazan nodded and put down his cup of coffee. It seemed he had taken a liking to the drink.
The two of them were sitting at a small table in Lucy's large bedroom. It was before seven when none of the others would be up and about yet, so it allowed them to meet in privacy, even if that was while she was wearing her pyjamas and a dressing gown.
"Five members of the House will be dispatched to go with you to the demon clan part of the Malediction Society," he stated smoothly, repeating the information he had memorised. "They want your presence as they deal with the clan so you can act as a witness, to ensure they only did what they said they would. The demon clan they'll attack are vassals of the Infernal Dukedom."
Lucy paused her tapping. "The largest demon Duchy… their rank?"
"Demon Count," Kozzazan replied.
"Hm… strong enough to be a considerable threat. No wonder the House of Wordless Observers wants to cut off this demon clan's support." Lucy sighed and swept her hair over her shoulder. "That means the five coming will be true wraiths instead of shades or phantoms. Their leader would have to be a 1st Sector Vigil to command a group to enter another realm."
Kozzazan silently nodded. That immediately showed Lucy that she was wrong because he normally would've made a rude remark such as 'of course' or 'obviously'.
"It's a member of the Court, then. Who is it?" she asked pointedly.
The dark-haired man grimaced and rubbed his neck. "I wasn't meant to say anything unless you specifically asked… urgh. It's… the Tainted Peony Blademistress."
Lucille crossed her arms, thinking deeply. "The Blood Lord Rouge Ellsinore?"
"One of the three undead vampires of the Court of Ninety-Nine, yes." He nodded. "She's part of the Marquis of The Hunt's faction."
"I thought all members of the Court supported the Death Monarch," Lucy said, raising an eyebrow.
Kozzazan quickly shook his head. "They're all undyingly-" He hesitated at the turn of phrase. "…ceaselessly loyal to him and his authority. But they all have different definitions of what they consider 'loyal acts'. The Marquis of The Hunt's faction is notably composed of former mortals and involves itself the most in politics," he explained.
The Marquis of The Hunt, the ghoul I saw last time. Reznor. He was the one to show the most scepticism of my intentions. Reznor must want to place someone nearby to observe me and see if I'm worth working with.
Lucy nodded as she continued thinking.
I do know of a very hostile force within the Court to all those who are mortals. They'll be the only group I can't work with due to their preconceived notions of my capabilities. Gylbarde, the Dark Night of the Legion of the Abandoned, is one of them. Working with a force made of politically inclined former humans and others will be beneficial, considering my status as a Count of the Empire.
"I see. Will Lady Ellsinore require anything of me?" she asked.
Kozzazan dipped his head. "I haven't heard anything about that, so if she has decided on something, I wouldn't know. Even knowing about the movements of 1st Sector Vigils and… a member of the Court is..." He shuddered. "…more than a low-ranked Captain of the Wordless Observers should know."
It appeared that discussing the most powerful members of his organisation so freely was draining for him. Lucille nodded and stood up from her chair, pushing it in. "Thank you for your time, Kozzazan. I appreciate it, even if I know you were ordered to answer all my questions," she said with a wry look.
With inhuman agility befitting his race, he slid into the shadows and reappeared near her balcony. "I'll take my leave now if I have your permission, Count Goldcroft."
She shook her head in amusement. "Off you go. Do you really hate being in my presence that-"
In the next breath, he had completely left her spiritual perception. Lucy rolled her eyes and went over to her walk-in wardrobe to find her clothes for the day. She was anticipating the finished result of Sedric's treasure hunt in the Supreme Serpent's Silent City.
…
A silver-haired boy with slitted eyes flopped over the back of the couch, squinting at the door. He rolled back around and elbowed the woman next to him. "Didn't Sedric say he'd be done today?"
Lucille checked her pocket watch. "Perhaps he realised it's missing something and requires more time to complete it. I'd rather have a finished piece than an artifact that requires me to return it to him for frequent adjustments." She snapped it shut. "Oh well. As I'm busy, I don't have time to wait for him. I'll return to my stud-"
"W-w-wait, wait, wait, wait-" The door of the living room burst open as the Commission's resident crafter stumbled in, holding the brass-embellished briefcase with two hands. He sat it down on the coffee table and then leaned against it, taking a deep breath. "I-I'm done. You can take a look now."
Lucy eyed his flushed face from running there with the artifact, the way his eyes quickly flicked from her to the briefcase and back, the nervous tension in how he kept touching the tools on his belt and determined he seemed to be very eager to show off his modifications. She felt the urge to be a slight bit mean to him.
"Thank you, Sedric. I'll put it in my room and return to working in my study," she replied sweetly.
He hesitated. "You… You're not going to check it out?"
Lucille raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do that? I already know what's inside the artifact's pocket dimension."
"Yes, but…" Sedric groaned and rubbed his neck. "I've added some… stuff…"
"I'm sure I'm intelligent enough to work it out at the moment when I need to use it." She pretended to get up to pick the briefcase up, but Sedric blocked her way.
"I still think you should let me demonstrate its abilities to you," he stubbornly argued. "Didn't you say it's tradition for the crafter to offer the item to its new owner?"
Lucy smirked and crossed her arms. "Sedric, that rule applies to those who made the item. All you did was take an existing artifact and put it inside of something."
"But…"
"I don't doubt your abilities to make this a highly useful item, though, which is why I plan to use it as soon as I need to without demonstration," she continued, casually walking up to the briefcase and picking it up by the handle. She looked back and noted Sedric's twitching expression, indicating his frustration. "Are you not happy that I trust your abilities that much?"
"That's not the problem!" Sedric let out a groan and placed his hands on his head.
"Lucy, I just want to see what's changed, so could you put it down?" Scytale spoke up.
"Hmm…" She glanced at her bond and then pointed at Sedric. "Only if Sedric promises that whatever changes he's made are worth me pushing my work off for."
"Of course!" Sedric replied with indignance.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Really?"
He opened his mouth to confirm it, and then hesitated, thinking about the consequences of showing her a 'boring' artifact.
Lucy shrugged and put the briefcase on the table again. "Alright. I'll wait for you to show it to me. But be prepared for what will happen if it's not interesting enough."
Sedric grimaced and then coughed into his fist. He gestured to the case. "As you wanted, I used the canvas of the scroll to create the inner layer of the case. Instead of being a painting, it's now the exterior layer of the cushioning inside the briefcase. Just like normal locked briefcases, this one only opens to the mana of those registered with it and…"
He placed a hand on the embellished dark leather cover. Brass gears inlaid into the case whirred until it opened with a click. The two halves folded out, letting Lucy and Scytale see that the upper compartment contained custom-made pockets for her belt, sheaths, and even her mask and cane. The bottom compartment, however, showed…
…the normal contents of a case. Sedric had filled it with some blankets from one of the rooms to demonstrate.
Lucille raised an eyebrow and walked closer when she realised she wasn't looking at an illusion, but she could still sense the illusion mana. She pressed a hand down, but none of the blankets could be pushed through to the pocket dimension. Removing the blankets, she stepped back and became curious when she noticed a replica of the artifact's painting on the inner layer of the briefcase. She looked to Sedric for an explanation. "This is…?"
"I did use an illusion mana-circle inside, but here it's only to project the painting onto this layer of canvas, just to make it seem like it's an aesthetic choice," he told her. "But watch this."
He flicked a tiny lever hidden behind the upper compartment's pockets, and the sound of whirring began. The cogs in the briefcase spun until they came to a swift stop, revealing that the lower compartment slid back and revealed the dimensional artifact painting. "I built-"
"You built a false compartment that can physically store items so I don't have to risk someone discovering the dimension behind an illusion of a compartment," Lucy interrupted, a hand on her chin as she gazed at the case in thought. "This means that I can store objects for easy access, as well as enter the dimension within. A very interesting solution."
Sedric scowled and crossed his arms. "…that was what I was going to say." He sighed and looked away. "Should've guessed you'd work it out with just a glance."
"But to create a mechanism that works across two different dimensions at the same time, even if it's only a pocket dimension, you would need to use specific spatial mana-circles, most of which require complex calculations," Lucy mused. She looked at Sedric. "How did you do it?"
He blinked. "The mechanism? Oh. I, ah, used the… 'underused' part of my class a bit. The magic engineering stuff." Sedric sighed. "That and a bit of the stuff my grandfather left for me. As for the mana-circle, you remember you gave me a collection of books with crafting mana-circles from all the elements, right?"
Lucille nodded. "But I never expected you to learn how to use them. Even Grandmaster crafters are careful when it comes to using spatial magic with machines when they can get past the complexity," she warned.
Sedric pinched his nose bridge. "Tell me about it. That book was a headache to read, and I bet I only got a tenth of it." He shook his head after shooting Scytale a dirty look, who was noisily sipping fruit juice through a straw. "No, I got that mage, Marellen, and his elf girlfriend-"
Scytale's fruit juice went down the wrong pipe and he spat it out, gasping for breath. Lucy stared at him. "Girlfriend?"
"What, they're not a couple? They're always hanging out together though," Sedric said with suspicion after seeing their reactions.
"…I'm sure that's just them bonding over magical theory," she replied, but inwardly, she was feeling bemused.
Sedric's not the most socially adept, so whatever I hear from him can be taken with a grain of salt, but them being a couple? I mean, I'm not against it- no, actually, I'm all for it, considering the man Trisroa Vel-Winteridge's loyalties lay with last time, but the thought of his party members leaving because they find someone else is… not a concept that occurred to me.
Maybe I should facilitate this for the others? Lucille Goldcroft, Matchmaker Supreme. Foiling the Hero's plans with the power of romance, one party member at a time.
On the couch, Scytale burst into guffaws. Lucy sighed and rubbed her temples.
I can't consider it even as a joke. Besides, me? Knowing about romance? Scytale has more knowledge than me on that subject.
"Lucille? Is everything okay?" Sedric asked.
"It's fine." She gave him a wave to let him continue. "Marellen and Roa's help?"
"Yeah. So, because I didn't get the terminology, I asked them for some help." He gestured to the room's door. "In the end, they got interested in what I was doing so they spent a few days in my workshop with me, getting these spatial mana-circles to work in the jewels. The result is that." Sedric pointed at the case. "I only used the simplest mana-transfer circle because dimensionally transferring matter is way beyond me, and after applying what I learnt from Sameul O'Dearvy about mana turning into mechanical energy and vice-versa…" He spread his hands. "Hey presto! I got it working."
Lucy hummed. "I can tell there's a second illusion mana-circle in there, however."
"Oh, yes." Sedric pressed a button, and an illusion appeared to mask the contents of the upper compartment. "Just to, you know, protect stuff like your mask, watch, cane, and so on." He stepped back and crossed his arms. "It took way too long, I had to scratch several prototypes, and there's probably a simpler solution to the engineering behind it out there, but at the end of the day, I'm very happy with my work," he finished with a grin. He hesitated when he saw her staring at him. "…Lucille? What is it?"
"Hmmm…" She walked around the type, leaning forward to study the case. "Passible craftsmanship… decently creative design solutions…"
He stiffened up when her gaze returned to him. Lucy stayed silent for a couple more seconds, just to make him that more nervous, and-
She gave him two thumbs up and grinned. "Very well done, Sedric. And to think that all I said was I wanted a briefcase with illusion spells."
"Yeah, well…" He rubbed his neck, looking awkward from the unexpected praise. "It was, uh, nothing."
Scytale, always willing to ruin the moment, cupped his hands around his mouth. "You still suck for being a so-called Legendary crafter!"
Sedric's expression went cold and he dashed towards Lucy's bond. Scytale vaulted over the couch and sped out the door, Sedric following close behind. The two immature individuals left Lucille alone, who shook her head and walked closer to the table to admire her new dimensional artifact.
He's come a lot further than I first expected. I'm sure if he ever realised how unusual it is for an accessory craftsman to use spatial spells, let alone be capable of altering an artifact when normally only Artificers can do that, his progress would fall behind as he became overconfident. Right now, his competitive attitude is the motivating factor to improve, but I'll tell him about his talent when he gains a new motivation. Competitiveness can only last for so long.
It was also possible that with Scytale around, Sedric would never lose his sense of rivalry to finally prove how good he was to the snake.
Scytale, a good influence on someone. Who'd have ever thought?
She shook her head again and sat back down. From even the items he was crafting, to his method of going about it like asking Marellen and Trisroa for help, Sedric had greatly improved. He was very different from the rebellious and dismissive young man she had met a year earlier. For a brief moment, Lucille wondered if she had changed, but dismissed the idea because she knew that a year wasn't enough for someone her age to change. Her soul constructs tracked her personality characteristics and could tell that nothing was different. The people around her, however, were a different situation.
Vincent had become more confident as her aide, Annaliese had become bolder, Raegan – well, he wasn't on his deathbed anymore. Trisroa seemed to view her favourably, if only as an enigma to study, and had yet to meet the Hero. Hargrave was less wary of her and had begun to enjoy the company of the others…. However, sometimes she felt he still overthought a lot of her actions. Scytale seemed to be on a path towards gaining even greater strength.
The people around her had all changed slightly, and mostly in positive ways. But was positive personal growth in the people around her enough to support her schemes against the Hero who would spell danger for someone even faintly acquainted with his enemies? Lucille didn't know.
That was why she couldn't ever tell the people around her of the Hero, because if by some small chance, he began to consider 'Lucille Goldcroft' as his enemy… the people around her would suffer for it in ways nobody could control. Not even the System.
She had thought about it once before and thought about it again, but she wasn't happy to be back again. In the past, she had a group of people to confide in who wouldn't have their lives ruined due to the Hero's attention, but that group didn't exist anymore. Some of them didn't exist anymore. They weren't exactly friends, but at least she felt like she had a place to belong, a place she and Scytale had built for themselves.
Now, it was just her and her bond. She was sincerely grateful that for whatever reason, the System let Scytale be beside her in the new timeline. Otherwise, she would truly, truly be without hope. She went without contact with people for years before they came across each other again by complete coincidence.
Now it was just her and him against the Hero and the forces of the new timeline. Difficult, but not impossible.
Because Lucille knew 'Conlan Griffin'. She knew every single one of his personality flaws and weak points. But her enemy was 'The Hero' and the one behind him.
…
"-and so based on my theory of elemental harmony and causal impact, I've concluded that the laws of the element of space lie outside of the elemental laws of the six essential elements!" a navy-haired mage proclaimed passionately.
Beside him was a sighing snow elf, while in front of him were three others. Two were the Barbosas siblings, playing a game of cards while giving Marellen half-hearted 'Mhm' and 'I see' 's.
The third was Hargrave, sitting on a couch while polishing his demonic Origin weapon. He put Eolith down for a moment. "Outside?"
The others winced, as they knew that a slight bit of encouragement was all the mage needed. Marellen swiftly pointed his staff at Hargrave, who blinked.
"Exactly!" Marellen exclaimed. He pulled back his staff and put a hand behind his back as he mused out loud to the others, pacing back and forth. "If the six essential elements are all that's needed to create elemental harmony, then space mana must have a different purpose than the other elements. Wizards and Archmages cannot be using it to its full potential! But what other purposes could exist?" He placed a hand on his chin a gave a large nod. "No, this isn't my speciality. That will be for other researchers to discover. I should be creating hypotheses about the role of spatial mana in elemental harmony. I need to see if there are examples in other phenomena of the realms-"
Hargrave stared at the mage as he began his crazed mutterings. Garthe looked over his shoulder and waved Roa over. "Roa! C'mere and place your bet on how long it'll last this time!"
Roa glanced at Marellen and then let out a light scoff. "I do not partake in 'betting' or gambling of any sort. It is a waste of well-earned income. I especially do not partake in gambling when it is at the expense of another."
"We'll be waging our chores instead of money!" Garthe stage-whispered.
Roa hesitated. "…do not think you can sway me with such promises, but… which chores?"
"The tax reports for our Guilds," he said with a cheeky grin.
The elven mage considered it. "I failed to mention that I have no experience in 'placing bets' and so any opinions I have of gambling are that of preconceived notions gained from other's biased opinions," she announced, sitting down next to them. "I believe Marellen will be interrupted before the hour is up."
"Really? Final chance to change your mind~" Garthe smirked and scribbled down a note saying, 'One Adventurer's Guild Tax Report from Roa'. "Then it's final. Larena bet an hour and a half, I bet three hours, while you've bet he'll be interrupted before the hour is done. Get ready to do my paperwork, girls."
"You've got to be insane, Garthe, if you think I'd ever do your paperwork-"
"Overconfidence has caused many a warrior to fall in Glenheim, Garthe."
They looked up when they noticed Marellen had stopped pacing. The navy-haired young man snapped his fingers. "Yes, that's it! Yin and Yang!"
"Yeng and what now?" Garthe repeated.
"No, Yin and Yang! The negative and positive energies found in the Heavenly Realm! It makes perfect sense!" Marellen renewed his pacing. "They are part of the cycle but exist as independent energies too. You can have Yin wood and fire, but Yang wood and fire as well. It's just like spatial fusion elements – Ruination for fire and space, Maelstrom for water and space, Cloudburst for wind and space, Quake for earth and space, and finally Radiance for light and space. They're fusion elements that use the Yin… or possibly Yang, of the positive and negative elements!"
Then he frowned and rubbed his chin. "But if that is the case, what element contrasts to the space element? It has to occur naturally, or else my theory falls apart, but I don't know of any element with the same properties as space…"
"Have you considered that like space mana, it always exists, but we naturally wield it as the 'Yang' version of our elements?" a new voice asked lightly. "I think the theoretical element of 'time' fits that description." Lucy poked her head in. "What are we up to in here?"
Marellen froze to the spot, but Garthe just rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't you know already? Wha- hey!" He stared at the two other women as they dumped their 'bets' on top of his lap.
"I believe that is my victory, Garthe Barbosas," Roa announced slightly haughtily. "Enjoy submitting my tax report to the Adventurer's Guild."
Larena stood up and walked off with a shrug. "I came second, so you get my share of the work too."
"That is not how it works!" he yelled, pointing at her. Garthe pointed to Roa as well. "And we never established what the rules of the bet actually were, so this doesn't count, I say! Hey! Are you listening?!"
"Chaotic as usual, I see," Lucy stated flatly. She walked in and crossed her arms as she followed Hargrave's gaze over to the muttering mage.
"I'd heard rumours, but… nobody uses a dark-space fusion element, huh…" Hargrave murmured.
Lucille looked at him and nodded, while Marellen looked up and stared at Hargrave. Then Marellen groaned and ran a hand down his face. "I'd forgotten about that! If no dark-space fusion element exists, then space can't be the Mystical Realm's version of Yin or Yang. Maybe if… no, but-"
"Were you curious about the space fusion elements, Hargrave?" Lucy asked.
He nodded. "I wouldn't have been able to do it with only my blood element, but now that I have an affinity for water, I've been wondering if it was possible. I'd like to use space fusion elements for all the essential elements too."
Lucille shook her head. "I wouldn't hold onto hope for that. Space fusion elements are powerful, yes, but at the cost of the user having only one space element ever. Each of the space fusion elements essentially grants the user only one single effect, and…" She turned to him. "Well, if you manage to obtain a small portion of space essence within you to materialise a space fusion element, can you imagine how dangerous it would be for your body to have each of those elements within you?"
Hargrave considered it and nodded with a grimace.
"There's a reason why any space element ability has only ever been a Penultimate warrior ability or a Grand Spell," Lucy warned. "They are the most catastrophic of abilities to be found in all the Mystical Realm."
He sighed and leaned back. "It would be a useful tool for my rev- for my goals."
Lucille smirked. "I wouldn't worry about that. You're no longer classed as just part of the Mystical Realm now. Draconic magic is easily on par or far exceeds spatial abilities."
Hargrave gained a look of deep contemplation after he heard that, but Marellen had quickly rushed up to Lucy.
"You know the most about elemental laws out of anyone I've ever met," he began hurriedly. "Please tell me, is it true that a dark-space element doesn't exist?"
She raised an eyebrow and observed him but then smirked and shook her head. "No, that's not true. It exists. Ironically, it's one of the most common naturally occurring space fusion elements. Most members of the Violet Order and Spatial Tower know about it, but they can't do anything about it. It's not something that can be wielded by mortals."
"It's… common?" Marellen hesitated. "How common? And where is it?"
"Oh, it's everywhere. We're surrounded by it on all sides." Lucy's smirk grew wider as she raised her hands. "We'd never see it, but in this infinite realm, it's more common than the planes. What is the largest and most destructive natural phenomena in the entire realm, capable of destroying planes in the blink of an eye?"
"Destroying planes…" Marellen paled. "But that's…" His words trailed off and he furrowed his brow. "But… has nobody been able to wield it? What about nonmortals?"
Lucille tilted her head as she thought about it, and then turned to leave the room. "Someone was able to come close. It was barely a phantom, little more than an illusion of it, really. Someone in the past."
Someone in another timeline, we might say.
Kozzazan nodded and put down his cup of coffee. It seemed he had taken a liking to the drink.
The two of them were sitting at a small table in Lucy's large bedroom. It was before seven when none of the others would be up and about yet, so it allowed them to meet in privacy, even if that was while she was wearing her pyjamas and a dressing gown.
"Five members of the House will be dispatched to go with you to the demon clan part of the Malediction Society," he stated smoothly, repeating the information he had memorised. "They want your presence as they deal with the clan so you can act as a witness, to ensure they only did what they said they would. The demon clan they'll attack are vassals of the Infernal Dukedom."
Lucy paused her tapping. "The largest demon Duchy… their rank?"
"Demon Count," Kozzazan replied.
"Hm… strong enough to be a considerable threat. No wonder the House of Wordless Observers wants to cut off this demon clan's support." Lucy sighed and swept her hair over her shoulder. "That means the five coming will be true wraiths instead of shades or phantoms. Their leader would have to be a 1st Sector Vigil to command a group to enter another realm."
Kozzazan silently nodded. That immediately showed Lucy that she was wrong because he normally would've made a rude remark such as 'of course' or 'obviously'.
"It's a member of the Court, then. Who is it?" she asked pointedly.
The dark-haired man grimaced and rubbed his neck. "I wasn't meant to say anything unless you specifically asked… urgh. It's… the Tainted Peony Blademistress."
Lucille crossed her arms, thinking deeply. "The Blood Lord Rouge Ellsinore?"
"One of the three undead vampires of the Court of Ninety-Nine, yes." He nodded. "She's part of the Marquis of The Hunt's faction."
"I thought all members of the Court supported the Death Monarch," Lucy said, raising an eyebrow.
Kozzazan quickly shook his head. "They're all undyingly-" He hesitated at the turn of phrase. "…ceaselessly loyal to him and his authority. But they all have different definitions of what they consider 'loyal acts'. The Marquis of The Hunt's faction is notably composed of former mortals and involves itself the most in politics," he explained.
The Marquis of The Hunt, the ghoul I saw last time. Reznor. He was the one to show the most scepticism of my intentions. Reznor must want to place someone nearby to observe me and see if I'm worth working with.
Lucy nodded as she continued thinking.
I do know of a very hostile force within the Court to all those who are mortals. They'll be the only group I can't work with due to their preconceived notions of my capabilities. Gylbarde, the Dark Night of the Legion of the Abandoned, is one of them. Working with a force made of politically inclined former humans and others will be beneficial, considering my status as a Count of the Empire.
"I see. Will Lady Ellsinore require anything of me?" she asked.
Kozzazan dipped his head. "I haven't heard anything about that, so if she has decided on something, I wouldn't know. Even knowing about the movements of 1st Sector Vigils and… a member of the Court is..." He shuddered. "…more than a low-ranked Captain of the Wordless Observers should know."
It appeared that discussing the most powerful members of his organisation so freely was draining for him. Lucille nodded and stood up from her chair, pushing it in. "Thank you for your time, Kozzazan. I appreciate it, even if I know you were ordered to answer all my questions," she said with a wry look.
With inhuman agility befitting his race, he slid into the shadows and reappeared near her balcony. "I'll take my leave now if I have your permission, Count Goldcroft."
She shook her head in amusement. "Off you go. Do you really hate being in my presence that-"
In the next breath, he had completely left her spiritual perception. Lucy rolled her eyes and went over to her walk-in wardrobe to find her clothes for the day. She was anticipating the finished result of Sedric's treasure hunt in the Supreme Serpent's Silent City.
…
A silver-haired boy with slitted eyes flopped over the back of the couch, squinting at the door. He rolled back around and elbowed the woman next to him. "Didn't Sedric say he'd be done today?"
Lucille checked her pocket watch. "Perhaps he realised it's missing something and requires more time to complete it. I'd rather have a finished piece than an artifact that requires me to return it to him for frequent adjustments." She snapped it shut. "Oh well. As I'm busy, I don't have time to wait for him. I'll return to my stud-"
"W-w-wait, wait, wait, wait-" The door of the living room burst open as the Commission's resident crafter stumbled in, holding the brass-embellished briefcase with two hands. He sat it down on the coffee table and then leaned against it, taking a deep breath. "I-I'm done. You can take a look now."
Lucy eyed his flushed face from running there with the artifact, the way his eyes quickly flicked from her to the briefcase and back, the nervous tension in how he kept touching the tools on his belt and determined he seemed to be very eager to show off his modifications. She felt the urge to be a slight bit mean to him.
"Thank you, Sedric. I'll put it in my room and return to working in my study," she replied sweetly.
He hesitated. "You… You're not going to check it out?"
Lucille raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do that? I already know what's inside the artifact's pocket dimension."
"Yes, but…" Sedric groaned and rubbed his neck. "I've added some… stuff…"
"I'm sure I'm intelligent enough to work it out at the moment when I need to use it." She pretended to get up to pick the briefcase up, but Sedric blocked her way.
"I still think you should let me demonstrate its abilities to you," he stubbornly argued. "Didn't you say it's tradition for the crafter to offer the item to its new owner?"
Lucy smirked and crossed her arms. "Sedric, that rule applies to those who made the item. All you did was take an existing artifact and put it inside of something."
"But…"
"I don't doubt your abilities to make this a highly useful item, though, which is why I plan to use it as soon as I need to without demonstration," she continued, casually walking up to the briefcase and picking it up by the handle. She looked back and noted Sedric's twitching expression, indicating his frustration. "Are you not happy that I trust your abilities that much?"
"That's not the problem!" Sedric let out a groan and placed his hands on his head.
"Lucy, I just want to see what's changed, so could you put it down?" Scytale spoke up.
"Hmm…" She glanced at her bond and then pointed at Sedric. "Only if Sedric promises that whatever changes he's made are worth me pushing my work off for."
"Of course!" Sedric replied with indignance.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Really?"
He opened his mouth to confirm it, and then hesitated, thinking about the consequences of showing her a 'boring' artifact.
Lucy shrugged and put the briefcase on the table again. "Alright. I'll wait for you to show it to me. But be prepared for what will happen if it's not interesting enough."
Sedric grimaced and then coughed into his fist. He gestured to the case. "As you wanted, I used the canvas of the scroll to create the inner layer of the case. Instead of being a painting, it's now the exterior layer of the cushioning inside the briefcase. Just like normal locked briefcases, this one only opens to the mana of those registered with it and…"
He placed a hand on the embellished dark leather cover. Brass gears inlaid into the case whirred until it opened with a click. The two halves folded out, letting Lucy and Scytale see that the upper compartment contained custom-made pockets for her belt, sheaths, and even her mask and cane. The bottom compartment, however, showed…
…the normal contents of a case. Sedric had filled it with some blankets from one of the rooms to demonstrate.
Lucille raised an eyebrow and walked closer when she realised she wasn't looking at an illusion, but she could still sense the illusion mana. She pressed a hand down, but none of the blankets could be pushed through to the pocket dimension. Removing the blankets, she stepped back and became curious when she noticed a replica of the artifact's painting on the inner layer of the briefcase. She looked to Sedric for an explanation. "This is…?"
"I did use an illusion mana-circle inside, but here it's only to project the painting onto this layer of canvas, just to make it seem like it's an aesthetic choice," he told her. "But watch this."
He flicked a tiny lever hidden behind the upper compartment's pockets, and the sound of whirring began. The cogs in the briefcase spun until they came to a swift stop, revealing that the lower compartment slid back and revealed the dimensional artifact painting. "I built-"
"You built a false compartment that can physically store items so I don't have to risk someone discovering the dimension behind an illusion of a compartment," Lucy interrupted, a hand on her chin as she gazed at the case in thought. "This means that I can store objects for easy access, as well as enter the dimension within. A very interesting solution."
Sedric scowled and crossed his arms. "…that was what I was going to say." He sighed and looked away. "Should've guessed you'd work it out with just a glance."
"But to create a mechanism that works across two different dimensions at the same time, even if it's only a pocket dimension, you would need to use specific spatial mana-circles, most of which require complex calculations," Lucy mused. She looked at Sedric. "How did you do it?"
He blinked. "The mechanism? Oh. I, ah, used the… 'underused' part of my class a bit. The magic engineering stuff." Sedric sighed. "That and a bit of the stuff my grandfather left for me. As for the mana-circle, you remember you gave me a collection of books with crafting mana-circles from all the elements, right?"
Lucille nodded. "But I never expected you to learn how to use them. Even Grandmaster crafters are careful when it comes to using spatial magic with machines when they can get past the complexity," she warned.
Sedric pinched his nose bridge. "Tell me about it. That book was a headache to read, and I bet I only got a tenth of it." He shook his head after shooting Scytale a dirty look, who was noisily sipping fruit juice through a straw. "No, I got that mage, Marellen, and his elf girlfriend-"
Scytale's fruit juice went down the wrong pipe and he spat it out, gasping for breath. Lucy stared at him. "Girlfriend?"
"What, they're not a couple? They're always hanging out together though," Sedric said with suspicion after seeing their reactions.
"…I'm sure that's just them bonding over magical theory," she replied, but inwardly, she was feeling bemused.
Sedric's not the most socially adept, so whatever I hear from him can be taken with a grain of salt, but them being a couple? I mean, I'm not against it- no, actually, I'm all for it, considering the man Trisroa Vel-Winteridge's loyalties lay with last time, but the thought of his party members leaving because they find someone else is… not a concept that occurred to me.
Maybe I should facilitate this for the others? Lucille Goldcroft, Matchmaker Supreme. Foiling the Hero's plans with the power of romance, one party member at a time.
On the couch, Scytale burst into guffaws. Lucy sighed and rubbed her temples.
I can't consider it even as a joke. Besides, me? Knowing about romance? Scytale has more knowledge than me on that subject.
"Lucille? Is everything okay?" Sedric asked.
"It's fine." She gave him a wave to let him continue. "Marellen and Roa's help?"
"Yeah. So, because I didn't get the terminology, I asked them for some help." He gestured to the room's door. "In the end, they got interested in what I was doing so they spent a few days in my workshop with me, getting these spatial mana-circles to work in the jewels. The result is that." Sedric pointed at the case. "I only used the simplest mana-transfer circle because dimensionally transferring matter is way beyond me, and after applying what I learnt from Sameul O'Dearvy about mana turning into mechanical energy and vice-versa…" He spread his hands. "Hey presto! I got it working."
Lucy hummed. "I can tell there's a second illusion mana-circle in there, however."
"Oh, yes." Sedric pressed a button, and an illusion appeared to mask the contents of the upper compartment. "Just to, you know, protect stuff like your mask, watch, cane, and so on." He stepped back and crossed his arms. "It took way too long, I had to scratch several prototypes, and there's probably a simpler solution to the engineering behind it out there, but at the end of the day, I'm very happy with my work," he finished with a grin. He hesitated when he saw her staring at him. "…Lucille? What is it?"
"Hmmm…" She walked around the type, leaning forward to study the case. "Passible craftsmanship… decently creative design solutions…"
He stiffened up when her gaze returned to him. Lucy stayed silent for a couple more seconds, just to make him that more nervous, and-
She gave him two thumbs up and grinned. "Very well done, Sedric. And to think that all I said was I wanted a briefcase with illusion spells."
"Yeah, well…" He rubbed his neck, looking awkward from the unexpected praise. "It was, uh, nothing."
Scytale, always willing to ruin the moment, cupped his hands around his mouth. "You still suck for being a so-called Legendary crafter!"
Sedric's expression went cold and he dashed towards Lucy's bond. Scytale vaulted over the couch and sped out the door, Sedric following close behind. The two immature individuals left Lucille alone, who shook her head and walked closer to the table to admire her new dimensional artifact.
He's come a lot further than I first expected. I'm sure if he ever realised how unusual it is for an accessory craftsman to use spatial spells, let alone be capable of altering an artifact when normally only Artificers can do that, his progress would fall behind as he became overconfident. Right now, his competitive attitude is the motivating factor to improve, but I'll tell him about his talent when he gains a new motivation. Competitiveness can only last for so long.
It was also possible that with Scytale around, Sedric would never lose his sense of rivalry to finally prove how good he was to the snake.
Scytale, a good influence on someone. Who'd have ever thought?
She shook her head again and sat back down. From even the items he was crafting, to his method of going about it like asking Marellen and Trisroa for help, Sedric had greatly improved. He was very different from the rebellious and dismissive young man she had met a year earlier. For a brief moment, Lucille wondered if she had changed, but dismissed the idea because she knew that a year wasn't enough for someone her age to change. Her soul constructs tracked her personality characteristics and could tell that nothing was different. The people around her, however, were a different situation.
Vincent had become more confident as her aide, Annaliese had become bolder, Raegan – well, he wasn't on his deathbed anymore. Trisroa seemed to view her favourably, if only as an enigma to study, and had yet to meet the Hero. Hargrave was less wary of her and had begun to enjoy the company of the others…. However, sometimes she felt he still overthought a lot of her actions. Scytale seemed to be on a path towards gaining even greater strength.
The people around her had all changed slightly, and mostly in positive ways. But was positive personal growth in the people around her enough to support her schemes against the Hero who would spell danger for someone even faintly acquainted with his enemies? Lucille didn't know.
That was why she couldn't ever tell the people around her of the Hero, because if by some small chance, he began to consider 'Lucille Goldcroft' as his enemy… the people around her would suffer for it in ways nobody could control. Not even the System.
She had thought about it once before and thought about it again, but she wasn't happy to be back again. In the past, she had a group of people to confide in who wouldn't have their lives ruined due to the Hero's attention, but that group didn't exist anymore. Some of them didn't exist anymore. They weren't exactly friends, but at least she felt like she had a place to belong, a place she and Scytale had built for themselves.
Now, it was just her and her bond. She was sincerely grateful that for whatever reason, the System let Scytale be beside her in the new timeline. Otherwise, she would truly, truly be without hope. She went without contact with people for years before they came across each other again by complete coincidence.
Now it was just her and him against the Hero and the forces of the new timeline. Difficult, but not impossible.
Because Lucille knew 'Conlan Griffin'. She knew every single one of his personality flaws and weak points. But her enemy was 'The Hero' and the one behind him.
…
"-and so based on my theory of elemental harmony and causal impact, I've concluded that the laws of the element of space lie outside of the elemental laws of the six essential elements!" a navy-haired mage proclaimed passionately.
Beside him was a sighing snow elf, while in front of him were three others. Two were the Barbosas siblings, playing a game of cards while giving Marellen half-hearted 'Mhm' and 'I see' 's.
The third was Hargrave, sitting on a couch while polishing his demonic Origin weapon. He put Eolith down for a moment. "Outside?"
The others winced, as they knew that a slight bit of encouragement was all the mage needed. Marellen swiftly pointed his staff at Hargrave, who blinked.
"Exactly!" Marellen exclaimed. He pulled back his staff and put a hand behind his back as he mused out loud to the others, pacing back and forth. "If the six essential elements are all that's needed to create elemental harmony, then space mana must have a different purpose than the other elements. Wizards and Archmages cannot be using it to its full potential! But what other purposes could exist?" He placed a hand on his chin a gave a large nod. "No, this isn't my speciality. That will be for other researchers to discover. I should be creating hypotheses about the role of spatial mana in elemental harmony. I need to see if there are examples in other phenomena of the realms-"
Hargrave stared at the mage as he began his crazed mutterings. Garthe looked over his shoulder and waved Roa over. "Roa! C'mere and place your bet on how long it'll last this time!"
Roa glanced at Marellen and then let out a light scoff. "I do not partake in 'betting' or gambling of any sort. It is a waste of well-earned income. I especially do not partake in gambling when it is at the expense of another."
"We'll be waging our chores instead of money!" Garthe stage-whispered.
Roa hesitated. "…do not think you can sway me with such promises, but… which chores?"
"The tax reports for our Guilds," he said with a cheeky grin.
The elven mage considered it. "I failed to mention that I have no experience in 'placing bets' and so any opinions I have of gambling are that of preconceived notions gained from other's biased opinions," she announced, sitting down next to them. "I believe Marellen will be interrupted before the hour is up."
"Really? Final chance to change your mind~" Garthe smirked and scribbled down a note saying, 'One Adventurer's Guild Tax Report from Roa'. "Then it's final. Larena bet an hour and a half, I bet three hours, while you've bet he'll be interrupted before the hour is done. Get ready to do my paperwork, girls."
"You've got to be insane, Garthe, if you think I'd ever do your paperwork-"
"Overconfidence has caused many a warrior to fall in Glenheim, Garthe."
They looked up when they noticed Marellen had stopped pacing. The navy-haired young man snapped his fingers. "Yes, that's it! Yin and Yang!"
"Yeng and what now?" Garthe repeated.
"No, Yin and Yang! The negative and positive energies found in the Heavenly Realm! It makes perfect sense!" Marellen renewed his pacing. "They are part of the cycle but exist as independent energies too. You can have Yin wood and fire, but Yang wood and fire as well. It's just like spatial fusion elements – Ruination for fire and space, Maelstrom for water and space, Cloudburst for wind and space, Quake for earth and space, and finally Radiance for light and space. They're fusion elements that use the Yin… or possibly Yang, of the positive and negative elements!"
Then he frowned and rubbed his chin. "But if that is the case, what element contrasts to the space element? It has to occur naturally, or else my theory falls apart, but I don't know of any element with the same properties as space…"
"Have you considered that like space mana, it always exists, but we naturally wield it as the 'Yang' version of our elements?" a new voice asked lightly. "I think the theoretical element of 'time' fits that description." Lucy poked her head in. "What are we up to in here?"
Marellen froze to the spot, but Garthe just rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't you know already? Wha- hey!" He stared at the two other women as they dumped their 'bets' on top of his lap.
"I believe that is my victory, Garthe Barbosas," Roa announced slightly haughtily. "Enjoy submitting my tax report to the Adventurer's Guild."
Larena stood up and walked off with a shrug. "I came second, so you get my share of the work too."
"That is not how it works!" he yelled, pointing at her. Garthe pointed to Roa as well. "And we never established what the rules of the bet actually were, so this doesn't count, I say! Hey! Are you listening?!"
"Chaotic as usual, I see," Lucy stated flatly. She walked in and crossed her arms as she followed Hargrave's gaze over to the muttering mage.
"I'd heard rumours, but… nobody uses a dark-space fusion element, huh…" Hargrave murmured.
Lucille looked at him and nodded, while Marellen looked up and stared at Hargrave. Then Marellen groaned and ran a hand down his face. "I'd forgotten about that! If no dark-space fusion element exists, then space can't be the Mystical Realm's version of Yin or Yang. Maybe if… no, but-"
"Were you curious about the space fusion elements, Hargrave?" Lucy asked.
He nodded. "I wouldn't have been able to do it with only my blood element, but now that I have an affinity for water, I've been wondering if it was possible. I'd like to use space fusion elements for all the essential elements too."
Lucille shook her head. "I wouldn't hold onto hope for that. Space fusion elements are powerful, yes, but at the cost of the user having only one space element ever. Each of the space fusion elements essentially grants the user only one single effect, and…" She turned to him. "Well, if you manage to obtain a small portion of space essence within you to materialise a space fusion element, can you imagine how dangerous it would be for your body to have each of those elements within you?"
Hargrave considered it and nodded with a grimace.
"There's a reason why any space element ability has only ever been a Penultimate warrior ability or a Grand Spell," Lucy warned. "They are the most catastrophic of abilities to be found in all the Mystical Realm."
He sighed and leaned back. "It would be a useful tool for my rev- for my goals."
Lucille smirked. "I wouldn't worry about that. You're no longer classed as just part of the Mystical Realm now. Draconic magic is easily on par or far exceeds spatial abilities."
Hargrave gained a look of deep contemplation after he heard that, but Marellen had quickly rushed up to Lucy.
"You know the most about elemental laws out of anyone I've ever met," he began hurriedly. "Please tell me, is it true that a dark-space element doesn't exist?"
She raised an eyebrow and observed him but then smirked and shook her head. "No, that's not true. It exists. Ironically, it's one of the most common naturally occurring space fusion elements. Most members of the Violet Order and Spatial Tower know about it, but they can't do anything about it. It's not something that can be wielded by mortals."
"It's… common?" Marellen hesitated. "How common? And where is it?"
"Oh, it's everywhere. We're surrounded by it on all sides." Lucy's smirk grew wider as she raised her hands. "We'd never see it, but in this infinite realm, it's more common than the planes. What is the largest and most destructive natural phenomena in the entire realm, capable of destroying planes in the blink of an eye?"
"Destroying planes…" Marellen paled. "But that's…" His words trailed off and he furrowed his brow. "But… has nobody been able to wield it? What about nonmortals?"
Lucille tilted her head as she thought about it, and then turned to leave the room. "Someone was able to come close. It was barely a phantom, little more than an illusion of it, really. Someone in the past."
Someone in another timeline, we might say.
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Honorary mention of my first Plebeian: Purplexa
[Title: Nobility | Type: Discord/Role]
DoomByCookies, getthepoptart21, znarken, skywatchwolf, Omega, Oxylus, lagia1614, whoknows, sesse4880, rain6295, augustus63, V9
[Title: Rank-5 | Type: Discord/Role]
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[Title: Demon Nobility | Type: Discord/Role]
Snakee
Chapter 85 (1 of 2) The daemonic sin of slothfulness.
Infinityphoenix
Fantasizer
- Location
- Australia
Two young women were standing out in front of Gilded Seat's Obelisk, the towering structure of polished black metal.
"Do you recall the plan?" the dark-haired one said.
"If Sir Vincent asks, we were both at the largest magical item store in Gilded Seat," the snow elf replied calmly. "You wanted to see if the Commission has a possibility as competitors using the Magisterial Treasure Emporium, while I wanted to view their purchasable books on magic and equipment. Afterwards, we had our afternoon meal at a well-known establishment, then returned to inspecting other shops." She looked down at the indigo crystal in her hand. "When 'we' are together, I shall activate the spell within this crystal to summon an illusion of you to fool observers."
Lucille nodded. "Good. You should be fine then." She pointed at the gem. "I'd prefer if you didn't break that. I can imagine it coming in handy in the future."
Considering I worked all night to make a custom spell that can recreate my illusory constructs in spell form, I'd rather not lose all that progress.
"There may be one detail I am somewhat curious about," Roa mentioned. "I am wondering why you have gone to such great lengths to mask your departure from the plane, even hiding it from your aide. From what I have seen, you both trust each other a great deal."
Lucy looked over her shoulder to view the tall mansion appearing over the horizon. She turned back and smirked. "I will be visiting the Demon Realm in an attempt to obtain a skill that allows me to partially use demonic script."
Trisroa's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, but Lucy stalled her with a hand.
"I'm not forming a contract with a demon or something like that," Lucy told her. "I've learned that there is an opportunity for me to gain that skill somewhere." She pointed over her shoulder. "Vincent will try to either get someone else to follow me, or follow me himself. That's too much trouble."
Roa paused to consider it. "As a fellow scholar of magic, I can understand your interest. While I won't ever connect with demons as I don't want to be ostracised from my home plane, would you be able to share what you've learnt of their magical path in return for today?"
Lucille grinned. "Of course." She gave the Commission one last look and then waved goodbye to the elven mage. "I'll be off. Even if you're doing this as a favour for me, I hope you enjoy yourself."
The snow elf dipped her head. "I can see your spiritual strength, so I believe you'll be fine. But even so, take care."
After that, Lucy left Roa and entered the Obelisk. Her two snake swords were sheathed on either side of her belt in preparation for visiting the demon clan's Stronghold after she went to the Daemonium Palace. And in her dimensional bag, she had the outfit of a certain other identity of hers…
She couldn't leave immortal demon witnesses to the Aurelian Commission Head being involved in their destruction. Lucille had actually wanted to bring her briefcase, but it wasn't practical for short trips, so she decided to only bring it for trips of several days or more.
Reciting her location of choice as she had done six months prior, her physical form was turned into white light and she disappeared from within the confines of the Obelisk space.
…
The first thing Lucille noticed after she went up the hellish climb of the front stairs, was the presence of multiple weaker demons.
'Weaker' was still enough to kill her with a sneeze, but compared to the Demon Emperor, they were barely mentionable. With her perception field shut down as she always did when visiting, she could only rely on her Field of Transmutational Mastery to detect people. It wasn't that hard when one of the demons she sensed had the energy density of fifty thousand nuclear bombs. While suppressed.
"He did what?" a feminine voice hissed with bloodcurdling eeriness.
Lucille slowly stepped into the corridor past the throne room and crossed her arms as she observed the situation.
Abyssal Duchess Lilith Iona al'Abyssus was smiling coldly in all her demon glory. Leathery black wings outstretched, pitch-black demonic script coiling about her limbs, demonic energies leeching out of her into the surrounding air, curved goat-like horns…
Three weaker demons were grovelling on the floor in front of her, shivering violently under her terrifying presence.
"I see. Then I'll have to resolve this myself," Lilith announced with a gentle, melodious voice. She spun around on her heels and stopped when she saw Lucy. "Ah… well…" The demoness thought for a moment and the gave her a dismissive wave before walking past. "It'll probably be fine to go find him."
The Abyssal Duchess marched out the door and then flew off, her speed creating a massive boom that shook the building. Lucille turned back to look at the other three demons, who were awkwardly getting up from the floor.
She made eye contact with one of them and then, almost by a former agreement, they went completely different paths and didn't speak to each other.
If they tried something on her after the spectacle it would be just embarrassing, and as the only human allowed in the Daemonium Palace, nobody, not even Lucy knew what status she held.
I am curious what could've occurred to make Lilith so angry. The Demonic Dragon Duke of Draco Bestia is supposed to have a short temper, not her.
In the end, Lucille shrugged and followed the path she remembered to the study. It had nothing to do with her and it was best to avoid the Demon Duchess's attention.
She knocked on the double doors. "Your Majesty, may I come in?"
There was no response, but Lucy just rolled her eyes and opened the door. She peeked in and… she sighed when faced with a strong sense of déjà vu.
…
Looking at the Demon Emperor lying on the only couch with his eyes closed and wearing his black silk dressing gown, Lucille couldn't help thinking that he looked an awful lot like a marble statue.
This wasn't some compliment of his appearance or anything. He literally looked like a statue because he didn't breathe. And to someone used to normal human colouration skin, the combination of alabaster skin and blood-red irises was truthfully more than a little freaky.
She was sitting on the floor cross-legged, and she had propped her chin up and watched him, resigned to her fate of staying there until he decided to move first. She wanted to test something, anyway.
This brings me back to the few conversations I had with Lucius about the biology of a higher race. They don't need to eat, they don't need to drink, don't need to breathe, don't need to sleep- clearly, that doesn't prevent the specimen in front of me from doing the latter, though. Lucius said that 'biology' isn't a word that suited them because they don't have 'true' organs.
Although, I'm pretty sure this demon is just trying to avoid the reality of interacting with me. I understand the sentiment, but if he could ignore me while sitting anywhere but the only available couch in the room, I'd appreciate it. Should I steal his armchair?
She also couldn't help but note that the Demon Emperor, one of the few existences capable of true teleportation, chose to sleep on his couch instead of bothering to move himself to his bedroom. It wouldn't even take a thought and he'd be there.
If he's this lazy, then I don't think he really tried to test me when I met him for the first time. He's not the kind of person to do that. So then, why was he wear… don't tell me…
…it would match his personality though.
Her focus on analysing the mysterious and nonsensical motivations of the being in front of her was such that she nearly flinched when his hand finally moved to rub his neck as he sat up with a sigh.
His brow creased as he sensed her presence and he turned his malevolent ruby eyes to her, on the carpet. He gazed at her as if he was begrudging her very existence.
"If I've sat here for half an hour while you've been asleep, does that count towards our bi-annual contractual meetings, and if so, may I leave now?" Lucille asked pleasantly.
He squinted at her due to the undertones of snide in her voice, but after thinking about it, he whipped his head to the side to read some notification with rather offensive levels of enthusiasm. His expression darkened. "It doesn't."
"……dammit."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Hey."
Lucy blinked. "My apologies, Your Majesty. Did I say something?"
The Demon Emperor scowled but didn't seem to have it in him to start an argument with her just yet. He sighed and then looked down at himself. With a wave of his hand, his formal ensemble of imperial jacket with epaulettes on the shoulders of a long cloak formed. He glanced up and frowned when he saw she was still watching him. "What is it?"
"There has been something I'm curious about," Lucy began, tilting her head. "When we first met, you arrived while wearing the same dressing gown you had on before. At first, I thought you were testing my attitude towards disrespect, but now I don't know what to think. Why did you wear such casual clothing when meeting me?"
"Isn't it obvious?" He gazed at her like she was stupid. "You woke me up."
He stood up and walked over to his desk as Lucy continued to stare at him with utter disbelief.
I was right! My soul power would've woken him up as soon as I entered the Dominion, so… he really was just too lazy to get changed! I can't believe this guy!
She slowly stood up and walked over to the couch.
Should I give up all hopes of him changing the System Contract? No, actually, this is much better. He'll be too apathetic to get revenge if I ever do something wrong. Letting wraiths infiltrate the Demon Realm? He'll be asleep. Destroy a Stronghold? He'll be glad he has fewer demon clans to deal with. Summon an Eldritch abomination and wipe out all of humanity in the Mystical Realm? I bet he'd be delighted!
This was, of course, excluding the existence of the 'entity' behind him, one thought strand dutifully reminded her, but Lucille was too absorbed in the depths of her sarcasm to care. She sat on the couch and stared at the ceiling.
The Demon Emperor picked up his pen as he searched through his documents, but then stopped. "Where is the Abyssal Duchess?"
See, there he goes again. Asking me because he can't be bothered to find out himself, even though he's the one mentally connected to her.
"She seemed angry, but the most I heard was that 'he' had done something, whatever that means," she replied indifferently. "Perhaps you'd have better luck asking her yourself."
One of his eyebrows twitched but he did as she had said. When he received the message he huffed and pulled out a drawer to grab an inkwell. "Damage control. One of her descendants was caught seducing the heir of a Major Kingdom that has close ties to the Abyssal Duchy."
How kind of him to explain without me asking first. Is he sick?
"I see." Lucille placed an arm on the back of the couch and looked over at him. "I have an important request to make, Your Majesty. It's about the House of Wordless Observers."
The Demon Emperor paused for a second and then put a pen to a page to start working. "State your request."
"The House wishes to destroy a Demon County under the Infernal Demons who have been supporting the Malediction Society," she explained solemnly. "They've asked that I pass their request to freely enter and exit the realm for the duration of the attack to you on their behalf. Their contingent has the Tainted Peony Blademistress with them too."
He glanced up at her and crossed his arms. "I haven't ever forbidden a member of Tartarus from entering my realm. That includes the Court and Wordless Observers. Undead frequently come here for research."
"I'm just relaying what they asked," she replied with a shrug. "There has to be at least one reason why they haven't decided to just enter without your explicit permission. It could be something to do with their ruler, as the House and Court are directly under his leadership."
The Demon Emperor gazed unblinkingly at her, which she knew by now meant either she had said something he considered strange, or he was busy thinking of something unusual. He looked down and continued writing. "There's nothing."
So there is something. Maybe I should poke Lucius next time we meet. I'm sure it'll be entertaining to hear about the Demon Emperor from another Paragon Anomaly.
"Would it trouble you to get your response in writing? I want to do things conventionally," she asked calmly.
He glared at her for asking such an obvious question but clicked his tongue and set about writing the permission form. He stamped it with his seal – a shape vaguely reminiscent of an 'A' formed from two interlocking Vs – and teleported it onto the far side of the table in front of her.
Lucille didn't hide her dull stare but he didn't react, so she wordlessly stood up to retrieve it. She stuck it in her dimensional bag for safekeeping and then walked over to stand in front of his desk.
He gave her a tired look. "What."
"Your Majesty, I will be destroying a Stronghold alongside the representatives of Tartarus, but… due to my 'condition', I can't obtain rewards from Quests unless someone else grants them to me." Her voice was cheerful, but she was expressionless. She placed her hands behind her back. "I believe the Authorizer of the Tower has the same duty to be fair as the System imposes on itself."
He leaned back, looking suspicious. "You're going to bring up the System Contract again."
Lucy felt like smirking. "On the contrary, I won't. But I do want you to reward me with something I need for conquering the Stronghold."
"Why should I 'reward' you for something you chose to do of your own will?" he stated dryly.
"Because my efforts to act as a mediator between you and the people from Tartarus are beneficial to the System." She placed her hands on the edge of his desk and narrowed her eyes. "And because this will determine if I'm willing to continue doing this sort of thing for you in the future."
He scowled and opened his mouth but Lucille interrupted him before he could say anything. "Yes, I'm aware that 'I have to follow all orders given by the Authorizer relating to the preservation of the timeline'. But that contract said, 'the Authorizer'. Not a name."
She tilted her head. "The reason for that is more than symbolic, isn't it? You are only the 'Authorizer' when given a direct order because it would be too much power for a Realm Ruler to hold. Which means, technically, I only have to follow orders explicitly given by… well, not you."
His expression twitched, proving that she was right. Lucy straightened up and crossed her arms. "But relations between you and the Tartarus Realm have nothing to do with 'the preservation of the timeline'." She gave him a wide shrug. "Because, to my knowledge, the Court and the House still had nothing to do with you in the former timeline. This negotiation on their behalf may benefit the three tenets of the System, but it has nothing to do with our contracts, demonic or System."
She pointed at herself. "Additionally, you haven't been ordered to give me any true orders, have you? From my very first interaction with the System at the Inheritance Trials, it has already been proven that it's taking a watch-and-wait stance. If I'm correct…" Lucille gave him a meaningful look. "This contract was never supposed to last longer than a couple of years, because the System only needed enough time to fully analyse my personality and make a predictive model. Was the informal end date after the Millennium Chapter?"
The Demon Emperor continued to stare at her, not saying a thing. Whatever notifications he was receiving, it was clear he didn't want to admit she knew everything.
"Let's put an end to all this, Your Majesty. I have two conditions." Lucille leaned forward and pointed at his work. "One single line added to the contract. The System Contract will end at the same time as the Millennium Chapter. That's all that's needed, and I will never annoy you about the contract again."
"…one line?" He put the pen down and intertwined his fingers, thinking about it. The seconds ticked by in the tense atmosphere, until he finally sighed. "Fine."
He flicked his finger up and Lucille stilled as the cool sensation of the System Contract being summoned surrounded her. The floating white book appeared between them, and the Demon Emperor grabbed it. Blue text spooled onto the very last page.
"Ah, and please add that the Authorizer and all associated identities will not kill Lucille Goldcroft during or after the contract unless she breaches one of the Reality integrity protection measures," she interjected.
"…why are you aware of those?" he asked sceptically.
She blinked. "Do you care enough to listen to my explanation?"
He considered it. "No," he stated curtly. "I take it that was your second condition."
Lucy shook her head. "No, my second condition isn't related to the contract."
The demon in front of her scowled. "Goldcroft…"
"Is there a problem? It's only an extra sentence added using a conjunction." Lucille shrugged. "Besides, I took great care to phrase it so that it would use as few words as possible for your sake. See, 'breaches the protection measures'. Isn't that much better than listing out another fifty terms of when I can be killed?"
He narrowed his ruby-red eyes at her, possibly sensing the mockery hidden in her sentence. He shook his head and shut the contract with a snap of his fingers. "Never mind. Just… don't bring the contract up once more. This second condition is?"
"Please reward me with a skill after I conquer the Stronghold," Lucy asked brightly. "Experience isn't valuable enough for me right now, and I don't have a class. As such, skills are more important to me right now."
He pinched his nose bridge. "Fine." The Demon Emperor looked up and gave her a flat stare. "Is that all, Goldcroft?"
Lucy clasped her hands together and gave him a low bow. "Thank you for your time, Your Majesty, the one and only Demon Emperor. If you will it, I shall see myself out of your study and return to my lowly position in the Mystical Realm. After meeting with the Tartarus Realm representatives, of course."
He scowled. "If that is all, Goldcroft, then leave."
Lucy didn't say another word and swiftly left his room. She felt quite pleased with herself for managing to reach this point.
Would you look at that? I've finally broken the Demon Emperor's stubborn streak. I have definitive proof that we no longer need to be involved after the Millennium Chapter. Now I just have to deal with him for…
She counted up the remaining months and rolled her eyes.
Even if I've lived a while, that's more time than I want to spend with him. Oh well. Maybe if he's lucky, I won't annoy him too much during this time. But I still need to get revenge for the way he treated me when we met at the Empire's Banquet.
Whistling with her hands behind her back, she found the descension of the steps to be almost enjoyable, even if it took half an hour. But it was when she placed a foot on the very last step…
…that she found herself teleported to the very beginning of the stairs, right at the front doors of the Daemonium Palace. She turned around and stared at the building.
Was he that irritated by my good mood that he decided to be petty and make me do the walk again?!?!
…
Lucille recalled the rendezvous point instructions and took the winding route suggested by the Wordless Observers to access it. Nobody was outside the building, but she slowly pushed the unlocked door open.
The unusually placid souls of the death race made themselves known to her senses, but she calmly raised her hands in silent surrender when an alien soul brushed up against hers. A blade as cold as ice pressed against her neck.
"Thy nameth and occupation," the low, cool female voice announced. Her tone commanded respect and attention, while tinged with a strange ancient dialect like the ones the Fae spoke in. It revealed her age and era, when people spoke the same language as the Fae.
"Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, the Aurelian Commission Head," Lucy replied politely.
After a pause, the person retracted their blade. "Maketh thy acquaintance."
Lucille turned around and got down on one knee. "My Lady, it is my greatest honour to meet with the Ruby Blade Queen herself, who slayed an army of ten thousand in one day. I hold great pride in that a member of the Court visited me themselves."
"Curious. Usually, someone speaks of mine own heritage before aught else," the vampire replied.
"Who doesn't know that you are the granddaughter of the original Blood Patriarch himself?" Lucy looked up and smiled. "But the achievements of the individual should be mentioned first when praising them."
Lucille took in the appearance of the ancient vampire sword master for the first time. With ghostly pale skin marbled by blue veins and sanguine irises studying her expressionlessly, there was no doubt that she was the apex predator of all creatures with blood in their veins. She didn't breathe nor did her heart beat, no doubt due to her nature as an undead.
Rouge Ellsinore had a long, raven pixie cut with a singular ruby ornament on a chain hanging from an earlobe. Her lips were painted blood red, and she wore a black tailcoat trimmed with silver embroidery on top of a white ruffle blouse. On her right hip was the sheath of a thin rapier. Her gloved hand rested on the rapier's pommel. Her body showed not a single sign of life.
"Hast the master of daemons permitted it?" Ellsinore asked.
Lucy withdrew the permission form and handed it to her. The sword master nodded.
"I wisheth to maketh haste," the vampire announced. "We shall leaveth anon."
Lucy didn't question how the member of the Court was going to take her to a distant Dominion, thousands of kilometres away from the Daemonium Palace Stronghold, but just stood up and brushed herself off.
Ellsinore raised a single hand and a dome of red mist formed around all of them, a total of six people. Lucille stiffened up as she felt them cross megametres in a mere instant. She looked down to find them all floating above a castle surrounded by a glowing violet moat.
Lucy paused when she noticed the vampire was staring at her. "My Lady? She asked politely.
"Our lord is as wise as he is mighty, but the matter of the Blood Patriarch is not his domain," Ellsinore announced loudly. "Cometh, alloweth us duel to seeth if it be true thee has't the strength did need to conquer this stronghold alongside us, and if it be true this cycleth's blood patriarch deserves thee by his side."
…Judging by the wary looks of the other four wraiths, Lucy didn't think this had been in the script.
"Do you recall the plan?" the dark-haired one said.
"If Sir Vincent asks, we were both at the largest magical item store in Gilded Seat," the snow elf replied calmly. "You wanted to see if the Commission has a possibility as competitors using the Magisterial Treasure Emporium, while I wanted to view their purchasable books on magic and equipment. Afterwards, we had our afternoon meal at a well-known establishment, then returned to inspecting other shops." She looked down at the indigo crystal in her hand. "When 'we' are together, I shall activate the spell within this crystal to summon an illusion of you to fool observers."
Lucille nodded. "Good. You should be fine then." She pointed at the gem. "I'd prefer if you didn't break that. I can imagine it coming in handy in the future."
Considering I worked all night to make a custom spell that can recreate my illusory constructs in spell form, I'd rather not lose all that progress.
"There may be one detail I am somewhat curious about," Roa mentioned. "I am wondering why you have gone to such great lengths to mask your departure from the plane, even hiding it from your aide. From what I have seen, you both trust each other a great deal."
Lucy looked over her shoulder to view the tall mansion appearing over the horizon. She turned back and smirked. "I will be visiting the Demon Realm in an attempt to obtain a skill that allows me to partially use demonic script."
Trisroa's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, but Lucy stalled her with a hand.
"I'm not forming a contract with a demon or something like that," Lucy told her. "I've learned that there is an opportunity for me to gain that skill somewhere." She pointed over her shoulder. "Vincent will try to either get someone else to follow me, or follow me himself. That's too much trouble."
Roa paused to consider it. "As a fellow scholar of magic, I can understand your interest. While I won't ever connect with demons as I don't want to be ostracised from my home plane, would you be able to share what you've learnt of their magical path in return for today?"
Lucille grinned. "Of course." She gave the Commission one last look and then waved goodbye to the elven mage. "I'll be off. Even if you're doing this as a favour for me, I hope you enjoy yourself."
The snow elf dipped her head. "I can see your spiritual strength, so I believe you'll be fine. But even so, take care."
After that, Lucy left Roa and entered the Obelisk. Her two snake swords were sheathed on either side of her belt in preparation for visiting the demon clan's Stronghold after she went to the Daemonium Palace. And in her dimensional bag, she had the outfit of a certain other identity of hers…
She couldn't leave immortal demon witnesses to the Aurelian Commission Head being involved in their destruction. Lucille had actually wanted to bring her briefcase, but it wasn't practical for short trips, so she decided to only bring it for trips of several days or more.
Reciting her location of choice as she had done six months prior, her physical form was turned into white light and she disappeared from within the confines of the Obelisk space.
…
The first thing Lucille noticed after she went up the hellish climb of the front stairs, was the presence of multiple weaker demons.
'Weaker' was still enough to kill her with a sneeze, but compared to the Demon Emperor, they were barely mentionable. With her perception field shut down as she always did when visiting, she could only rely on her Field of Transmutational Mastery to detect people. It wasn't that hard when one of the demons she sensed had the energy density of fifty thousand nuclear bombs. While suppressed.
"He did what?" a feminine voice hissed with bloodcurdling eeriness.
Lucille slowly stepped into the corridor past the throne room and crossed her arms as she observed the situation.
Abyssal Duchess Lilith Iona al'Abyssus was smiling coldly in all her demon glory. Leathery black wings outstretched, pitch-black demonic script coiling about her limbs, demonic energies leeching out of her into the surrounding air, curved goat-like horns…
Three weaker demons were grovelling on the floor in front of her, shivering violently under her terrifying presence.
"I see. Then I'll have to resolve this myself," Lilith announced with a gentle, melodious voice. She spun around on her heels and stopped when she saw Lucy. "Ah… well…" The demoness thought for a moment and the gave her a dismissive wave before walking past. "It'll probably be fine to go find him."
The Abyssal Duchess marched out the door and then flew off, her speed creating a massive boom that shook the building. Lucille turned back to look at the other three demons, who were awkwardly getting up from the floor.
She made eye contact with one of them and then, almost by a former agreement, they went completely different paths and didn't speak to each other.
If they tried something on her after the spectacle it would be just embarrassing, and as the only human allowed in the Daemonium Palace, nobody, not even Lucy knew what status she held.
I am curious what could've occurred to make Lilith so angry. The Demonic Dragon Duke of Draco Bestia is supposed to have a short temper, not her.
In the end, Lucille shrugged and followed the path she remembered to the study. It had nothing to do with her and it was best to avoid the Demon Duchess's attention.
She knocked on the double doors. "Your Majesty, may I come in?"
There was no response, but Lucy just rolled her eyes and opened the door. She peeked in and… she sighed when faced with a strong sense of déjà vu.
…
Looking at the Demon Emperor lying on the only couch with his eyes closed and wearing his black silk dressing gown, Lucille couldn't help thinking that he looked an awful lot like a marble statue.
This wasn't some compliment of his appearance or anything. He literally looked like a statue because he didn't breathe. And to someone used to normal human colouration skin, the combination of alabaster skin and blood-red irises was truthfully more than a little freaky.
She was sitting on the floor cross-legged, and she had propped her chin up and watched him, resigned to her fate of staying there until he decided to move first. She wanted to test something, anyway.
This brings me back to the few conversations I had with Lucius about the biology of a higher race. They don't need to eat, they don't need to drink, don't need to breathe, don't need to sleep- clearly, that doesn't prevent the specimen in front of me from doing the latter, though. Lucius said that 'biology' isn't a word that suited them because they don't have 'true' organs.
Although, I'm pretty sure this demon is just trying to avoid the reality of interacting with me. I understand the sentiment, but if he could ignore me while sitting anywhere but the only available couch in the room, I'd appreciate it. Should I steal his armchair?
She also couldn't help but note that the Demon Emperor, one of the few existences capable of true teleportation, chose to sleep on his couch instead of bothering to move himself to his bedroom. It wouldn't even take a thought and he'd be there.
If he's this lazy, then I don't think he really tried to test me when I met him for the first time. He's not the kind of person to do that. So then, why was he wear… don't tell me…
…it would match his personality though.
Her focus on analysing the mysterious and nonsensical motivations of the being in front of her was such that she nearly flinched when his hand finally moved to rub his neck as he sat up with a sigh.
His brow creased as he sensed her presence and he turned his malevolent ruby eyes to her, on the carpet. He gazed at her as if he was begrudging her very existence.
"If I've sat here for half an hour while you've been asleep, does that count towards our bi-annual contractual meetings, and if so, may I leave now?" Lucille asked pleasantly.
He squinted at her due to the undertones of snide in her voice, but after thinking about it, he whipped his head to the side to read some notification with rather offensive levels of enthusiasm. His expression darkened. "It doesn't."
"……dammit."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Hey."
Lucy blinked. "My apologies, Your Majesty. Did I say something?"
The Demon Emperor scowled but didn't seem to have it in him to start an argument with her just yet. He sighed and then looked down at himself. With a wave of his hand, his formal ensemble of imperial jacket with epaulettes on the shoulders of a long cloak formed. He glanced up and frowned when he saw she was still watching him. "What is it?"
"There has been something I'm curious about," Lucy began, tilting her head. "When we first met, you arrived while wearing the same dressing gown you had on before. At first, I thought you were testing my attitude towards disrespect, but now I don't know what to think. Why did you wear such casual clothing when meeting me?"
"Isn't it obvious?" He gazed at her like she was stupid. "You woke me up."
He stood up and walked over to his desk as Lucy continued to stare at him with utter disbelief.
I was right! My soul power would've woken him up as soon as I entered the Dominion, so… he really was just too lazy to get changed! I can't believe this guy!
She slowly stood up and walked over to the couch.
Should I give up all hopes of him changing the System Contract? No, actually, this is much better. He'll be too apathetic to get revenge if I ever do something wrong. Letting wraiths infiltrate the Demon Realm? He'll be asleep. Destroy a Stronghold? He'll be glad he has fewer demon clans to deal with. Summon an Eldritch abomination and wipe out all of humanity in the Mystical Realm? I bet he'd be delighted!
This was, of course, excluding the existence of the 'entity' behind him, one thought strand dutifully reminded her, but Lucille was too absorbed in the depths of her sarcasm to care. She sat on the couch and stared at the ceiling.
The Demon Emperor picked up his pen as he searched through his documents, but then stopped. "Where is the Abyssal Duchess?"
See, there he goes again. Asking me because he can't be bothered to find out himself, even though he's the one mentally connected to her.
"She seemed angry, but the most I heard was that 'he' had done something, whatever that means," she replied indifferently. "Perhaps you'd have better luck asking her yourself."
One of his eyebrows twitched but he did as she had said. When he received the message he huffed and pulled out a drawer to grab an inkwell. "Damage control. One of her descendants was caught seducing the heir of a Major Kingdom that has close ties to the Abyssal Duchy."
How kind of him to explain without me asking first. Is he sick?
"I see." Lucille placed an arm on the back of the couch and looked over at him. "I have an important request to make, Your Majesty. It's about the House of Wordless Observers."
The Demon Emperor paused for a second and then put a pen to a page to start working. "State your request."
"The House wishes to destroy a Demon County under the Infernal Demons who have been supporting the Malediction Society," she explained solemnly. "They've asked that I pass their request to freely enter and exit the realm for the duration of the attack to you on their behalf. Their contingent has the Tainted Peony Blademistress with them too."
He glanced up at her and crossed his arms. "I haven't ever forbidden a member of Tartarus from entering my realm. That includes the Court and Wordless Observers. Undead frequently come here for research."
"I'm just relaying what they asked," she replied with a shrug. "There has to be at least one reason why they haven't decided to just enter without your explicit permission. It could be something to do with their ruler, as the House and Court are directly under his leadership."
The Demon Emperor gazed unblinkingly at her, which she knew by now meant either she had said something he considered strange, or he was busy thinking of something unusual. He looked down and continued writing. "There's nothing."
So there is something. Maybe I should poke Lucius next time we meet. I'm sure it'll be entertaining to hear about the Demon Emperor from another Paragon Anomaly.
"Would it trouble you to get your response in writing? I want to do things conventionally," she asked calmly.
He glared at her for asking such an obvious question but clicked his tongue and set about writing the permission form. He stamped it with his seal – a shape vaguely reminiscent of an 'A' formed from two interlocking Vs – and teleported it onto the far side of the table in front of her.
Lucille didn't hide her dull stare but he didn't react, so she wordlessly stood up to retrieve it. She stuck it in her dimensional bag for safekeeping and then walked over to stand in front of his desk.
He gave her a tired look. "What."
"Your Majesty, I will be destroying a Stronghold alongside the representatives of Tartarus, but… due to my 'condition', I can't obtain rewards from Quests unless someone else grants them to me." Her voice was cheerful, but she was expressionless. She placed her hands behind her back. "I believe the Authorizer of the Tower has the same duty to be fair as the System imposes on itself."
He leaned back, looking suspicious. "You're going to bring up the System Contract again."
Lucy felt like smirking. "On the contrary, I won't. But I do want you to reward me with something I need for conquering the Stronghold."
"Why should I 'reward' you for something you chose to do of your own will?" he stated dryly.
"Because my efforts to act as a mediator between you and the people from Tartarus are beneficial to the System." She placed her hands on the edge of his desk and narrowed her eyes. "And because this will determine if I'm willing to continue doing this sort of thing for you in the future."
He scowled and opened his mouth but Lucille interrupted him before he could say anything. "Yes, I'm aware that 'I have to follow all orders given by the Authorizer relating to the preservation of the timeline'. But that contract said, 'the Authorizer'. Not a name."
She tilted her head. "The reason for that is more than symbolic, isn't it? You are only the 'Authorizer' when given a direct order because it would be too much power for a Realm Ruler to hold. Which means, technically, I only have to follow orders explicitly given by… well, not you."
His expression twitched, proving that she was right. Lucy straightened up and crossed her arms. "But relations between you and the Tartarus Realm have nothing to do with 'the preservation of the timeline'." She gave him a wide shrug. "Because, to my knowledge, the Court and the House still had nothing to do with you in the former timeline. This negotiation on their behalf may benefit the three tenets of the System, but it has nothing to do with our contracts, demonic or System."
She pointed at herself. "Additionally, you haven't been ordered to give me any true orders, have you? From my very first interaction with the System at the Inheritance Trials, it has already been proven that it's taking a watch-and-wait stance. If I'm correct…" Lucille gave him a meaningful look. "This contract was never supposed to last longer than a couple of years, because the System only needed enough time to fully analyse my personality and make a predictive model. Was the informal end date after the Millennium Chapter?"
The Demon Emperor continued to stare at her, not saying a thing. Whatever notifications he was receiving, it was clear he didn't want to admit she knew everything.
"Let's put an end to all this, Your Majesty. I have two conditions." Lucille leaned forward and pointed at his work. "One single line added to the contract. The System Contract will end at the same time as the Millennium Chapter. That's all that's needed, and I will never annoy you about the contract again."
"…one line?" He put the pen down and intertwined his fingers, thinking about it. The seconds ticked by in the tense atmosphere, until he finally sighed. "Fine."
He flicked his finger up and Lucille stilled as the cool sensation of the System Contract being summoned surrounded her. The floating white book appeared between them, and the Demon Emperor grabbed it. Blue text spooled onto the very last page.
"Ah, and please add that the Authorizer and all associated identities will not kill Lucille Goldcroft during or after the contract unless she breaches one of the Reality integrity protection measures," she interjected.
"…why are you aware of those?" he asked sceptically.
She blinked. "Do you care enough to listen to my explanation?"
He considered it. "No," he stated curtly. "I take it that was your second condition."
Lucy shook her head. "No, my second condition isn't related to the contract."
The demon in front of her scowled. "Goldcroft…"
"Is there a problem? It's only an extra sentence added using a conjunction." Lucille shrugged. "Besides, I took great care to phrase it so that it would use as few words as possible for your sake. See, 'breaches the protection measures'. Isn't that much better than listing out another fifty terms of when I can be killed?"
He narrowed his ruby-red eyes at her, possibly sensing the mockery hidden in her sentence. He shook his head and shut the contract with a snap of his fingers. "Never mind. Just… don't bring the contract up once more. This second condition is?"
"Please reward me with a skill after I conquer the Stronghold," Lucy asked brightly. "Experience isn't valuable enough for me right now, and I don't have a class. As such, skills are more important to me right now."
He pinched his nose bridge. "Fine." The Demon Emperor looked up and gave her a flat stare. "Is that all, Goldcroft?"
Lucy clasped her hands together and gave him a low bow. "Thank you for your time, Your Majesty, the one and only Demon Emperor. If you will it, I shall see myself out of your study and return to my lowly position in the Mystical Realm. After meeting with the Tartarus Realm representatives, of course."
He scowled. "If that is all, Goldcroft, then leave."
Lucy didn't say another word and swiftly left his room. She felt quite pleased with herself for managing to reach this point.
Would you look at that? I've finally broken the Demon Emperor's stubborn streak. I have definitive proof that we no longer need to be involved after the Millennium Chapter. Now I just have to deal with him for…
She counted up the remaining months and rolled her eyes.
Even if I've lived a while, that's more time than I want to spend with him. Oh well. Maybe if he's lucky, I won't annoy him too much during this time. But I still need to get revenge for the way he treated me when we met at the Empire's Banquet.
Whistling with her hands behind her back, she found the descension of the steps to be almost enjoyable, even if it took half an hour. But it was when she placed a foot on the very last step…
…that she found herself teleported to the very beginning of the stairs, right at the front doors of the Daemonium Palace. She turned around and stared at the building.
Was he that irritated by my good mood that he decided to be petty and make me do the walk again?!?!
…
Lucille recalled the rendezvous point instructions and took the winding route suggested by the Wordless Observers to access it. Nobody was outside the building, but she slowly pushed the unlocked door open.
The unusually placid souls of the death race made themselves known to her senses, but she calmly raised her hands in silent surrender when an alien soul brushed up against hers. A blade as cold as ice pressed against her neck.
"Thy nameth and occupation," the low, cool female voice announced. Her tone commanded respect and attention, while tinged with a strange ancient dialect like the ones the Fae spoke in. It revealed her age and era, when people spoke the same language as the Fae.
"Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, the Aurelian Commission Head," Lucy replied politely.
After a pause, the person retracted their blade. "Maketh thy acquaintance."
Lucille turned around and got down on one knee. "My Lady, it is my greatest honour to meet with the Ruby Blade Queen herself, who slayed an army of ten thousand in one day. I hold great pride in that a member of the Court visited me themselves."
"Curious. Usually, someone speaks of mine own heritage before aught else," the vampire replied.
"Who doesn't know that you are the granddaughter of the original Blood Patriarch himself?" Lucy looked up and smiled. "But the achievements of the individual should be mentioned first when praising them."
Lucille took in the appearance of the ancient vampire sword master for the first time. With ghostly pale skin marbled by blue veins and sanguine irises studying her expressionlessly, there was no doubt that she was the apex predator of all creatures with blood in their veins. She didn't breathe nor did her heart beat, no doubt due to her nature as an undead.
Rouge Ellsinore had a long, raven pixie cut with a singular ruby ornament on a chain hanging from an earlobe. Her lips were painted blood red, and she wore a black tailcoat trimmed with silver embroidery on top of a white ruffle blouse. On her right hip was the sheath of a thin rapier. Her gloved hand rested on the rapier's pommel. Her body showed not a single sign of life.
"Hast the master of daemons permitted it?" Ellsinore asked.
Lucy withdrew the permission form and handed it to her. The sword master nodded.
"I wisheth to maketh haste," the vampire announced. "We shall leaveth anon."
Lucy didn't question how the member of the Court was going to take her to a distant Dominion, thousands of kilometres away from the Daemonium Palace Stronghold, but just stood up and brushed herself off.
Ellsinore raised a single hand and a dome of red mist formed around all of them, a total of six people. Lucille stiffened up as she felt them cross megametres in a mere instant. She looked down to find them all floating above a castle surrounded by a glowing violet moat.
Lucy paused when she noticed the vampire was staring at her. "My Lady? She asked politely.
"Our lord is as wise as he is mighty, but the matter of the Blood Patriarch is not his domain," Ellsinore announced loudly. "Cometh, alloweth us duel to seeth if it be true thee has't the strength did need to conquer this stronghold alongside us, and if it be true this cycleth's blood patriarch deserves thee by his side."
…Judging by the wary looks of the other four wraiths, Lucy didn't think this had been in the script.
The amount of '-th' makes me a bit curious if they're pretending to sound old-fashioned, for whatever reason
Chapter 85 (2 of 2) The daemonic sin of slothfulness.
New
Infinityphoenix
Fantasizer
- Location
- Australia
"…before we even begin to contemplate this 'duel', I'd like to correct the notion of me being 'beside' Hargrave Einar," Lucille said, backing away from Rouge Ellsinore and taking out the two daggers. "He has followed my requests, for the most part. If you wouldn't consider me his superior, at least consider me his equal."
"Ha." The ancient vampire smirked coldly. "Thee claimeth to beest the equal of the Blood Patriarch of this cycle… with the bloodline he holds anon?"
"…so that is the reason why you're interested in Hargrave. I see." Lucy straightened up and pointed Apophis at her. "If you think that I'm supporting him because of that, you'd be very wrong. I'd still support him regardless."
Ellsinore tilted her head. "I seeth thee speaketh the truth. But we has't tarried too longeth. Proveth yourself, or Rivenwyard Cruor shall force his hand." She unsheathed her rapier.
"…Cruor? The first True Vampire?" Lucy's eyes momentarily widened when she realised that the first vampire after the Blood Patriarch was paying Hargrave attention. The only issue was… that she didn't know if this was something that happened in the former timeline or not.
At the end of the day… it doesn't change anything. Ellsinore is speaking as if Cruor wants to protect Hargrave, not kill him. But Hargrave has become too essential to my plans. I can't let him leave.
"Will the Stronghold below see our battle?" Lucy asked, looking down. They were hovering in the air by the powerful ancient vampire's abilities.
Rouge Ellsinore pointed to one of the wraiths. They all crouched down and from the middle of their location outward, a sphere of black formed, pushing past them and encasing them. No sooner than it had spread out, it disappeared from view. Lucy blinked because she couldn't sense the wall even with her perception field.
Ellsinore stamped her foot down and a disk of bloody many was spat out below them. Esoteric runes of death mana slowly rotated in rings within the crimson ground.
"None of the living may seeth past the Underworld Boundary," the vampiress proclaimed. "Attacketh me or I shalt maketh the first move."
Lucille smiled and gave her an extravagant bow. "Then I hope to meet the Tainted Peony Blademistress's expectations."
A golden light pulsed out of Lucy.
Soul Cypher Orchestrator Of Affray: Set the first stage as the Dominion, with the fall of the demon clan being the goal.
A golden light pulsed out of Lucy.
Set the second stage as within the confines of the Underworld Boundary, with surprising the vampire as the goal.
The light doubled in strength before fading. Lucille stretched out Ouroboros and swung her arm as if to warm up… but then she disappeared in a cloud of wind mana and struck at Ellsinore.
Ellsinore barely raised a hand, and yet Ouroboros was deflected off of the rapier's pommel. Lucy attempted a backslash with Apophis but the vampiress leaned back and Lucy lost momentum as she shot past.
"Thee has't passable counterattack arts for one who hast wielded blades for little more than the year," Rouge Ellsinore stated indifferently.
Compared to a bulkier opponent, or even a younger one, Rouge Ellsinore could be considered one of the worst matchups for Lucille. That was because her combat style of focusing on agility and trickery were similar, yet the vampire had more experience.
She also had more mana, stronger control, and… more soul power. Even if numerically, Lucy may have more, the pure density and concentration of the undead's soul due to her incomprehensible age meant that the most Lucy could do was possibly break her mental defences for one millisecond, soon to be recovered. When the undead persisted by forcefully maintaining the lifespan of their constantly burning 'soul flames' which attempted to erase them at every moment, their mental strength was impossibly strong.
"Shall thee continueth with this farce? I knoweth these art not thy weapons' true visage."
"As you wish." Lucy leapt back and extended her snake-swords on either side. She swiftly swung Ouroboros at the vampiress and it whistled through the air like a whip, but Ellsinore caught the end of the sword in her hand.
Ouroboros rippled as a sheen of fiery mana flowed down her length, but by that stage Ellsinore had already flung the white snake-sword back at Lucy. Ouroboros snapped back into her longsword form before it hit her wielder.
Lucy stilled as Ellsinore spooled into flowing blood mana and reformed over her shoulder, the smell of iron thick. Lucille flipped over and pointed Apophis at her.
"I seeth. Thee did sacrifice the mana of thy major art to replaceth it with the artificial strength of those gauntlets." Rouge tilted her head. "Thee trusteth thy magical armaments."
"Are you against my use of items?" Lucille pushed mana and spiritual energy into Apophis, thickening his demonic aura of chaos. "If you do, I understand. I didn't want to rely on them either."
"Nay. A tool is a tool." Lucy lashed out but Ellsinore appeared in front of her face, bloody eyes boring into her. "But thee'd beest foolish to bethink yond the movement of the mana of the elements can escapeth mine own senses."
Ouroboros sliced through the midsection of the rapier-wielding sword master but the clone only splattered into blood that sunk into the sanguine platform.
That confirms what type of ability she's using right now. Should I agitate her a little?
Lucy cast her snake swords aside and let them hover around her in a clockwise and counter-clockwise direction, shielding her while she raised her arms above her. Searingly-bright golden light formed between her palms and then spread out to become an all-encompassing mana-circle.
"Sunlit Undeath Erasure," she announced, eyes narrowed as she smirked. She lowered her wrists and the five helical beams bored into the blood mana platform they were standing on.
The wraiths frowned a little when the light mana touched them, but the beams punched a hole into the centre of the platform where Ellsinore stood. She didn't move.
The light mana scattered and Lucille took back Apophis and Ouroboros, both turning back into swords. She waited silently for the ancient vampire's response.
"Doth thee taketh me for a fool?" Rouge Ellsinore murmured in an icy voice, barely above a whisper. Her bloody orbs widened in frigid wrath and she appeared before Lucy to grab her neck and raise her.
"Thee attempted to useth a purification ritual on me, an ancientest of blood-drinkers, of life-devourers?" Face still frozen in icy anger, Rouge Ellsinore's glove disappeared and she bit down on her index finger. Blood welled from the puncture wounds of her fangs and then with one long, black-painted nail, she scored a line along Lucille's cheekbone.
The vampire's blood seeped into Lucy's bloodstream and her body locked up as the blood fought for control.
"Beest thankful, mortal, yond upon mine own death I nay longer can maketh thee mine own thrall. But as a Blood Lord, I holdeth more power than mine own living brethren." Rouge Ellsinore slowly tilted her head, expressionless. "And when mine blood reaches thine heart…"
Something caused the vampire's words to trail off and she frowned slightly. Lucille was expecting that and she let her soul power out with full force.
Rouge Ellsinore stared at her. "You-" She paused as the bloody platform below them rumbled. It slowly split into two floating platforms, a smaller one for Lucy, and a larger one for Ellsinore and the other wraiths. As the seconds passed, mana from the other platform was slowly pulled away and merged into Lucille's.
The time she spent converting her own mana and gradually replacing the blood mana of the vampire's domain wasn't wasted, as her Essential Transmutation Conduit had acted to maintain partial control of the ability. This wouldn't have worked if the vampire's skill was anything other than a mana-based spell.
"We appear to be at an impasse," Lucy announced, smirking as she raised her hands. "With the inability of an undead to regenerate the elements of living mana, you've spent a large amount of time gaining your precious blood mana, haven't you?" She placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward with a knowing grin. "But if this continues, your precious blood mana will become fully converted to other elements, and do you really want that?"
Rouge Ellsinore frowned and looked down. "Doth thee bethink this is more than a mere speck of mine own mana?"
"No. The amount of mana you're using may not even be a thousandth of your mana pool." Lucille shook her head and shrugged. "But are you really willing to permanently waste your blood mana on what amounts to barely a petty spar, at the end of the day? A the very least, it won't leave a good taste in your mouth. This is a few centuries of effort wasted."
The vampire crossed her arms, but after a moment of consideration, she huffed and sheathed her rapier. "I doth concede." She narrowed her eyes at Lucy. "Do not bethink this thy victory."
"I would never." Lucy smiled. "I'm far better at making the consequences of fighting me greater than the benefits of defeating me. As such, I'd appreciate it if you judged my merit based on my mental talents and wit rather than physical capabilities."
Rouge Ellsinore became solemn. "Thee can't avoideth all battles in such a fashion. If thee kneweth what lay above…"
"I do know," Lucille interrupted. She placed two hands on the pommels of the weapons she had now sheathed. "And that is why I'm using these two."
Rouge clicked her tongue and waved a gloved hand at her. "Restore me mine own domain, and we shalt leaveth it here." She glanced at Lucy. "But thy blood is…"
"Are you curious?" Lucille tilted her head and put a hand on her cheek. Her white gloves came away fresh with blood. "If you want to, I could give you some of my spilt blood. But I seem to recall that undead vampires can't strengthen themselves with the blood of different people."
Rouge Ellsinore went silent. "Art thee alone?"
Lucy blinked and then nodded. "You won't find anyone else remotely similar to me."
"Then I shall refuse." The ancient vampire glanced at a wraith and they wordlessly nodded. The four raised their hands and the spherical wall of the Underworld Boundary appeared, before shrinking back down and disappearing.
The mana forming Lucille's platform scattered when she relinquished control of it, and it converted to arcane mana that refilled her internal mana pool. She didn't fall, still held in the air by the Blood Lord's power, above the Demon Stronghold.
"T'is timeth for us to beginneth our mission," Rouge announced. "We shall striketh from within the centre of their mighty fortress."
"Before we start…" Lucy pointed to her unusually slow-healing cheek when the wraiths and vampiress glanced at her. "Can you do something about the traces of your blood mana still in my body? I have enough trust in your loyalty to Lu- I mean, the Death Monarch that I don't believe you'd take over my body in the middle of the night, but I'd prefer for the possibility to be removed."
Ellsinore glanced at her, and the beginnings of a smirk tugged at her lips as she looked away. "Treateth it as quid pro quo for thy daringness in stealing the mana of an ancient Blood Lord. If it be true thee beest as close to this Blood Patriarch as thee claimeth, he shalt aid you."
"I see. Helpful," Lucy replied dryly.
Rouge Ellsinore shook her head wryly. "T'is not without reasoneth I doth this. The traces of mine own mana shall beest mine own gift to the young Blood Patriarch. As is this, on behalf of another."
She threw Lucille a fist-sized object, and when Lucy caught it, she realised in her hand was a heavy ruby locket with a thick silver chain. It smelt of dry blood and didn't have the vitality of an item with living blood mana inside it, which she thought they'd give Hargrave, if they gave anything.
"I'll hand it to him, but I'm not sure it's really his style," Lucy remarked, holding it up to study it. "Perhaps some cufflinks or something less ostentatious would be better, for future reference."
The undead vampire was not amused. "T'is a conduit to mine predecessor. T'is not a mere ornament." She turned back to the castle below. "Silence, now. We shalt descend."
They began to move down as Lucy considered the words of the female vampire, putting the locket away and taking out another black object.
A conduit… some sort of communication device for Hargrave. This test was likely all on Rivenwyard Cruor's orders, her 'predecessor' and father. He may be trying to see if Hargrave is willing to learn from him instead of following me.
She sighed and put on Jinx's mask, dark mana leeching out of it and coiling around her to cloak her in the outfit of the disguise.
He's loyal to Lucius though, so I doubt he wants to ruin my plans. He probably… feels a slight sense of responsibility towards Hargrave. Maybe to protect him against his conceited and ambitious descendants.
Rouge Ellsinore snapped her fingers and they all found themselves in the centre of the Stronghold. Demons let out cries of alarm when she pointed up and a dome of scarlet mana burst from her fingertips, sealing the city's entire population within its borders.
"Intruders! Identify yourselves!" a demon guard snarled, his aura growing intense, uncontrollable and filled with bloodlust.
"Why, us?" Lucille asked with a blithe voice. "Oh deary me, you seem to be a little naïve! Let me help you open your eyes."
She spun around and gestured to the wraiths within their thick death mana, pulling out chain-scythes and other rare weapons in preparation for the battle. "If the ambassadors of Death have appeared before us, what else shall they do but herald Death!"
She laughed and stepped back with her arms spread out. "Come one, come all, and enjoy this night of crimson beneath bloody skies!"
…
The wraiths acted quickly, only killing the demons on their hit list. As members of the oldest intelligence organisation in the Tower, they had no need to waste time killing every demon in the Stronghold. By not being ruthless, it would draw attention to the fact that it wasn't another demon clan who destroyed the clan, but wraiths didn't need to worry about attention. They had the backing of one of, if not the most ancient existence in the Tower and have never fought a losing battle once.
The stronger demons recognised Rouge Ellsinore as the more important individual they needed to defeat first, to unseal the Stronghold and call for reinforcements from allies, but all of their attacks shattered uselessly against her body and the blood mana dome. As time went by, the exclusiveness of the wraiths' attacks could be seen, and bystander demons avoided helping the demons of the targeted clan. Nobody wanted to get on the bad side of actual wraiths, after all. Especially not ones wearing the 1st Sector Vigil badges.
Meanwhile, Lucy was playing up the maniacal wild card, making eye-catching moves in front of the largest concentrations of people but not actually doing anything substantial. It was harder for a group like the Malediction Society to attach motive and pattern to her actions if she acted insane. Showing that she had connections to wraiths from Tartarus also prevented her from seeming like an easy target, because the Malediction Society was bound to want to eradicate an unpredictable enemy.
Lucille strutted along the top of a wall, casually dodging the long-range attacks of the demon clan's guards. She whistled as she hopped down and the tower her attackers were at exploded from the force of a wraith's attack.
Apophis was angrily buzzing in his sheath, eager to join in on the fun. But she couldn't be caught wielding such a noticeable weapon as 'Jinx'.
Is there something more I can do? What if I use my watch for the first time?
She ducked under a doorway and spread her perception to make sure nobody was coming her way. Then, Lucy pushed mana into her pocket watch, watching the topaz arrow slowly spin.
Show me where the treasure vault is.
The topaz embedded in the arrow glowed gold and the arrow swung around to point in the right direction. A translucent replica formed above it to even point at the angle where it could be found. The arrow pointed towards the central tower.
With the guards distracted and the core members of the Demon Count's family attempting to use a hidden tunnel to escape, Lucy was free to raid the Stronghold's vault. She swiftly took paths and hidden passageways she spotted in her perception until she found herself in front of a pair of black metal doors, an ominous demonic seal burned into its surface.
Translating this… well, that's boring. It only requires mana at certain key points. Any decent demonologist of the other races could open this with their mana.
With a quick succession of taps, the vault opened up. She glanced indifferently at the piles of weak natural treasures and items, all useless to her.
These would be valuable to demons who need the mana to strengthen their lineages, but not me. I should only take the items I can't get anywhere else.
At the back of the room was where the useful objects were. Demonic materials, parts of demon beasts, several demonic weapons-
I recall hearing that a demonic weapon can be strengthened by consuming other demonic weapons. I promised Hargrave to find ways of unsealing his demonic Origin weapon's strength, and it's far past the time when he should've upgraded it to Ancient.
With a bit of telekinesis, they were all sucked into her dimensional bag. She looked around and took out a few plain sacks to fill with weak items, planning on using them for something else. Lucille stopped when she noticed the red crystal hovering above a pedestal in the centre of the room.
That is… the Stronghold Crystal. Ordinarily, if a non-demon touched it, they'd receive an award for conquering the Stronghold, and complete a Realm Quest. The Demon Lord would receive the penalty of decreased Auctoritas, while the non-demons would get teleported outside of the city so the Demon Lord couldn't attack them.
She placed a hand on the crystal and rolled her eyes when nothing happened.
Go figure. But I'm taking this with me.
She picked up the head-sized crystal and tucked it under one arm, walking out while dragging the sacks of items behind her. She made it to the castle's parapet overlooking the Stronghold's city square, and magnified her voice with a spell while calling out, "Hello, one and all! Demonesses and Demons, I bring wonderful gifts!"
The people below looked out, and she placed the crystal down to pick up a sack and pour the contents over the wall. The demons cried out when they realised the items had mana and hastily scrambled to collect them. Fights and brawls began to break out when the last sack was emptied.
"This is a reward for being such a wonderful audience of our night of death and blood!" Lucy shouted, her voice disguised by her mask. "A grand spectacle it has been, has it not?"
She looked down and placed her hands on her hips when she noticed them all ignoring her and still bickering over the magical objects. Lucille clicked her tongue and raised the red crystal high. "Up here!"
One demon noticed and audibly gasped while pointing at it. "That's-!"
"How is she holding it?" another murmured.
"Did you all think that was the last of it?" Lucy announced cheerily, tucking the crystal back under her arm. "This is the grand prize for whoever completes one teensy little task for me, with no additional cost!"
"What task?!" one called out.
"Yeah, what do we need to do?" another shouted.
Lucille raised a finger in front of the expectant gazes. "Whoever brings the Count of this Stronghold – alive, mind you – in front of the wraiths, will receive the Stronghold Crystal and consequently the entirety of this Stronghold!"
Excited whispers rustled around but someone else yelled back, "What if the death race finds the Count first?"
Lucy pondered it with a finger on her chin, and then nonchalantly shrugged. "I'll settle for the next highest ranked. Countess or heir, I don't care which. But time's a-ticking! Hurry hurry, or the person next to you might be your new lord!"
The demons glanced at each other, and then the crowd dispersed as they sped off in different directions. Rouge Ellsinore high above gave her an approving nod, and Lucy swung her legs over the parapet to watch the show play out below. She let out a slight sigh, eager for when Scytale would arrive to complete the next three Stages with her afterwards.
…
In the Count's throne room, Rouge Ellsinore sat on the throne, the four wraiths lined up on either side. Lucille stood next to the vampire, acting the part of the subservient tag-a-long.
A demon with long black hair and crimson eyes marched in with an arrogant smirk. He threw the dishevelled Demon Count at Rouge's feet. "I have found the Count. I request the Stronghold Crystal."
Ellsinore nodded to Lucy and she bowed, before throwing the crystal at the demon. "The vault where it sits is upstairs. You better hurry, or else someone may try to kill you before you can claim ownership of the Stronghold," she warned.
The arrogant smirk on his face slipped a little and he hurried off. Absorbing the Auctoritas of a Stronghold wasn't as easy a task as she made it sound near the city square.
With a gesture from Ellsinore, a wraith walked forward to place a hand on the Count's forehead. An ebony rose tattoo bloomed out and the eyes rolled up into his head. He collapsed and his body shimmered with red, before disappearing, leaving only his luxurious clothes behind.
"Go forth," Rouge Ellsinore ordered. Two wraiths nodded and disappeared from the throne room, searching out the members of the Demon County who had been marked with the Black Soul brand. They would repeatedly hunt them down until they degenerated into mindless demon beasts, and if any regained sapience and tried to join the Malediction Society again, the cycle would repeat, for their very souls had been marked for death.
Rouge Ellsinore had sealed the room from anyone else entering and turned to Lucy. "Thee may removeth thy disguise."
The Jinx mask was taken off, along with the black outfit of the identity, and stored away. Lucille bowed to the ancient vampire. "That will be all then, I take it? You also said you'd send me back to another Stronghold so I could meet up with my bond."
"I didst." Ellsinore nodded. "Cometh with me to the Stronghold centre and I shalt taketh thee."
Lucy calmly followed the vampire out of the Stronghold, most of the demons in the Stronghold having left to spread the news of the clan's destruction. Rouge Ellsinore turned around and placed a hand on Lucille's shoulder. "Thee hast been invaluable. I shalt seeth to it that Cruor learns of thy worth, even-"
An overwhelming, soul-grating presence washed over them and forced them to the ground. Lucille groaned and stood up, noting with some confusion that the vampiress wasn't able to get up under the pressure.
Why am I less affect-
The Stronghold thundered and a tall demon with pitch-black hair and scarlet red royal clothes appeared in front of Lucille and Rouge. If the vampire wasn't already undead, Lucy would've thought she'd turn even paler.
Lucille stared at the figure before them. "Wha- Your Majesty-"
The brief touch of a firm grip on her shoulder, and the world was spinning until she found herself in an entirely new place. A warm fire crackled in a fireplace, and luxurious carpets covered the floor. She froze on the spot when she noticed the demon who looked like a man in his late 40s, with salt-and-pepper, combed black hair and beard, and fiery eyes lit up with seven flaming embers in each.
"You explain it," the Demon Emperor stated shortly. He turned around and Lucy rushed over to him.
"Wait- wait- wait- Your Majesty!"
He glanced back with a frown just before he opened the dark oak door to leave, and Lucille let out a groan.
"Don't you think you're forgetting one thing, Your Majesty?" she asked weakly.
He considered it with a slight tilt of his head. "Ah." Through the vision of her Shard of Totality, she saw the small nebulous formation of Influence coalesce above his fingertip and then shoot into her chest when he pointed at her. "That should satisfy you now."
[Gained Secondary Skill: Reward]
He didn't even bother to name it properly. At least it's Epic- wait, no! I wanted him to explain why I'm here!
It was too late. The infuriating demon had already disappeared. Lucy placed her hands on her head, pulled at her hair and let out a quiet hiss of frustration, staring off into space.
A slight cough sounded out behind her and she whirled around with a bright smile on her face. She got down on one knee and bowed deeply before the demon standing by the stained glass window, saluting him with one hand on her chest.
"It is my greatest honour and a gift beyond gifts to be in the presence of you, Your Grace, the patriarch of the most powerful Demon Duchy in the Demon Realm. Common pleasantries dictate I'm supposed to ask to what do I owe the pleasure of being called here, but due to the circumstances of my arrival, I shall refrain from that." She looked up at him and smiled, her eyes narrowed and gently curved like crescent moons. "But I would at least like to say well met, Your Grace. I am Count Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, the Head of the Aurelian Commission."
"…I see. Well met indeed, Count Goldcroft."
If he wasn't already a demon, Lucille would've dearly loved to ask the Demon Emperor what possessed him to dump her directly in front of Reighdorlan Decarabria Nefas Infernalis, the Infernal Demon Duke, ruler of the second largest Dominion after the Demon Emperor…
…and the superior of the vassal Demon County she had just destroyed with the aid of only four wraiths from Tartarus and an ancient undead Blood Lord.
"Ha." The ancient vampire smirked coldly. "Thee claimeth to beest the equal of the Blood Patriarch of this cycle… with the bloodline he holds anon?"
"…so that is the reason why you're interested in Hargrave. I see." Lucy straightened up and pointed Apophis at her. "If you think that I'm supporting him because of that, you'd be very wrong. I'd still support him regardless."
Ellsinore tilted her head. "I seeth thee speaketh the truth. But we has't tarried too longeth. Proveth yourself, or Rivenwyard Cruor shall force his hand." She unsheathed her rapier.
"…Cruor? The first True Vampire?" Lucy's eyes momentarily widened when she realised that the first vampire after the Blood Patriarch was paying Hargrave attention. The only issue was… that she didn't know if this was something that happened in the former timeline or not.
At the end of the day… it doesn't change anything. Ellsinore is speaking as if Cruor wants to protect Hargrave, not kill him. But Hargrave has become too essential to my plans. I can't let him leave.
"Will the Stronghold below see our battle?" Lucy asked, looking down. They were hovering in the air by the powerful ancient vampire's abilities.
Rouge Ellsinore pointed to one of the wraiths. They all crouched down and from the middle of their location outward, a sphere of black formed, pushing past them and encasing them. No sooner than it had spread out, it disappeared from view. Lucy blinked because she couldn't sense the wall even with her perception field.
Ellsinore stamped her foot down and a disk of bloody many was spat out below them. Esoteric runes of death mana slowly rotated in rings within the crimson ground.
"None of the living may seeth past the Underworld Boundary," the vampiress proclaimed. "Attacketh me or I shalt maketh the first move."
Lucille smiled and gave her an extravagant bow. "Then I hope to meet the Tainted Peony Blademistress's expectations."
A golden light pulsed out of Lucy.
Soul Cypher Orchestrator Of Affray: Set the first stage as the Dominion, with the fall of the demon clan being the goal.
A golden light pulsed out of Lucy.
Set the second stage as within the confines of the Underworld Boundary, with surprising the vampire as the goal.
The light doubled in strength before fading. Lucille stretched out Ouroboros and swung her arm as if to warm up… but then she disappeared in a cloud of wind mana and struck at Ellsinore.
Ellsinore barely raised a hand, and yet Ouroboros was deflected off of the rapier's pommel. Lucy attempted a backslash with Apophis but the vampiress leaned back and Lucy lost momentum as she shot past.
"Thee has't passable counterattack arts for one who hast wielded blades for little more than the year," Rouge Ellsinore stated indifferently.
Compared to a bulkier opponent, or even a younger one, Rouge Ellsinore could be considered one of the worst matchups for Lucille. That was because her combat style of focusing on agility and trickery were similar, yet the vampire had more experience.
She also had more mana, stronger control, and… more soul power. Even if numerically, Lucy may have more, the pure density and concentration of the undead's soul due to her incomprehensible age meant that the most Lucy could do was possibly break her mental defences for one millisecond, soon to be recovered. When the undead persisted by forcefully maintaining the lifespan of their constantly burning 'soul flames' which attempted to erase them at every moment, their mental strength was impossibly strong.
"Shall thee continueth with this farce? I knoweth these art not thy weapons' true visage."
"As you wish." Lucy leapt back and extended her snake-swords on either side. She swiftly swung Ouroboros at the vampiress and it whistled through the air like a whip, but Ellsinore caught the end of the sword in her hand.
Ouroboros rippled as a sheen of fiery mana flowed down her length, but by that stage Ellsinore had already flung the white snake-sword back at Lucy. Ouroboros snapped back into her longsword form before it hit her wielder.
Lucy stilled as Ellsinore spooled into flowing blood mana and reformed over her shoulder, the smell of iron thick. Lucille flipped over and pointed Apophis at her.
"I seeth. Thee did sacrifice the mana of thy major art to replaceth it with the artificial strength of those gauntlets." Rouge tilted her head. "Thee trusteth thy magical armaments."
"Are you against my use of items?" Lucille pushed mana and spiritual energy into Apophis, thickening his demonic aura of chaos. "If you do, I understand. I didn't want to rely on them either."
"Nay. A tool is a tool." Lucy lashed out but Ellsinore appeared in front of her face, bloody eyes boring into her. "But thee'd beest foolish to bethink yond the movement of the mana of the elements can escapeth mine own senses."
Ouroboros sliced through the midsection of the rapier-wielding sword master but the clone only splattered into blood that sunk into the sanguine platform.
That confirms what type of ability she's using right now. Should I agitate her a little?
Lucy cast her snake swords aside and let them hover around her in a clockwise and counter-clockwise direction, shielding her while she raised her arms above her. Searingly-bright golden light formed between her palms and then spread out to become an all-encompassing mana-circle.
"Sunlit Undeath Erasure," she announced, eyes narrowed as she smirked. She lowered her wrists and the five helical beams bored into the blood mana platform they were standing on.
The wraiths frowned a little when the light mana touched them, but the beams punched a hole into the centre of the platform where Ellsinore stood. She didn't move.
The light mana scattered and Lucille took back Apophis and Ouroboros, both turning back into swords. She waited silently for the ancient vampire's response.
"Doth thee taketh me for a fool?" Rouge Ellsinore murmured in an icy voice, barely above a whisper. Her bloody orbs widened in frigid wrath and she appeared before Lucy to grab her neck and raise her.
"Thee attempted to useth a purification ritual on me, an ancientest of blood-drinkers, of life-devourers?" Face still frozen in icy anger, Rouge Ellsinore's glove disappeared and she bit down on her index finger. Blood welled from the puncture wounds of her fangs and then with one long, black-painted nail, she scored a line along Lucille's cheekbone.
The vampire's blood seeped into Lucy's bloodstream and her body locked up as the blood fought for control.
"Beest thankful, mortal, yond upon mine own death I nay longer can maketh thee mine own thrall. But as a Blood Lord, I holdeth more power than mine own living brethren." Rouge Ellsinore slowly tilted her head, expressionless. "And when mine blood reaches thine heart…"
Something caused the vampire's words to trail off and she frowned slightly. Lucille was expecting that and she let her soul power out with full force.
Rouge Ellsinore stared at her. "You-" She paused as the bloody platform below them rumbled. It slowly split into two floating platforms, a smaller one for Lucy, and a larger one for Ellsinore and the other wraiths. As the seconds passed, mana from the other platform was slowly pulled away and merged into Lucille's.
The time she spent converting her own mana and gradually replacing the blood mana of the vampire's domain wasn't wasted, as her Essential Transmutation Conduit had acted to maintain partial control of the ability. This wouldn't have worked if the vampire's skill was anything other than a mana-based spell.
"We appear to be at an impasse," Lucy announced, smirking as she raised her hands. "With the inability of an undead to regenerate the elements of living mana, you've spent a large amount of time gaining your precious blood mana, haven't you?" She placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward with a knowing grin. "But if this continues, your precious blood mana will become fully converted to other elements, and do you really want that?"
Rouge Ellsinore frowned and looked down. "Doth thee bethink this is more than a mere speck of mine own mana?"
"No. The amount of mana you're using may not even be a thousandth of your mana pool." Lucille shook her head and shrugged. "But are you really willing to permanently waste your blood mana on what amounts to barely a petty spar, at the end of the day? A the very least, it won't leave a good taste in your mouth. This is a few centuries of effort wasted."
The vampire crossed her arms, but after a moment of consideration, she huffed and sheathed her rapier. "I doth concede." She narrowed her eyes at Lucy. "Do not bethink this thy victory."
"I would never." Lucy smiled. "I'm far better at making the consequences of fighting me greater than the benefits of defeating me. As such, I'd appreciate it if you judged my merit based on my mental talents and wit rather than physical capabilities."
Rouge Ellsinore became solemn. "Thee can't avoideth all battles in such a fashion. If thee kneweth what lay above…"
"I do know," Lucille interrupted. She placed two hands on the pommels of the weapons she had now sheathed. "And that is why I'm using these two."
Rouge clicked her tongue and waved a gloved hand at her. "Restore me mine own domain, and we shalt leaveth it here." She glanced at Lucy. "But thy blood is…"
"Are you curious?" Lucille tilted her head and put a hand on her cheek. Her white gloves came away fresh with blood. "If you want to, I could give you some of my spilt blood. But I seem to recall that undead vampires can't strengthen themselves with the blood of different people."
Rouge Ellsinore went silent. "Art thee alone?"
Lucy blinked and then nodded. "You won't find anyone else remotely similar to me."
"Then I shall refuse." The ancient vampire glanced at a wraith and they wordlessly nodded. The four raised their hands and the spherical wall of the Underworld Boundary appeared, before shrinking back down and disappearing.
The mana forming Lucille's platform scattered when she relinquished control of it, and it converted to arcane mana that refilled her internal mana pool. She didn't fall, still held in the air by the Blood Lord's power, above the Demon Stronghold.
"T'is timeth for us to beginneth our mission," Rouge announced. "We shall striketh from within the centre of their mighty fortress."
"Before we start…" Lucy pointed to her unusually slow-healing cheek when the wraiths and vampiress glanced at her. "Can you do something about the traces of your blood mana still in my body? I have enough trust in your loyalty to Lu- I mean, the Death Monarch that I don't believe you'd take over my body in the middle of the night, but I'd prefer for the possibility to be removed."
Ellsinore glanced at her, and the beginnings of a smirk tugged at her lips as she looked away. "Treateth it as quid pro quo for thy daringness in stealing the mana of an ancient Blood Lord. If it be true thee beest as close to this Blood Patriarch as thee claimeth, he shalt aid you."
"I see. Helpful," Lucy replied dryly.
Rouge Ellsinore shook her head wryly. "T'is not without reasoneth I doth this. The traces of mine own mana shall beest mine own gift to the young Blood Patriarch. As is this, on behalf of another."
She threw Lucille a fist-sized object, and when Lucy caught it, she realised in her hand was a heavy ruby locket with a thick silver chain. It smelt of dry blood and didn't have the vitality of an item with living blood mana inside it, which she thought they'd give Hargrave, if they gave anything.
"I'll hand it to him, but I'm not sure it's really his style," Lucy remarked, holding it up to study it. "Perhaps some cufflinks or something less ostentatious would be better, for future reference."
The undead vampire was not amused. "T'is a conduit to mine predecessor. T'is not a mere ornament." She turned back to the castle below. "Silence, now. We shalt descend."
They began to move down as Lucy considered the words of the female vampire, putting the locket away and taking out another black object.
A conduit… some sort of communication device for Hargrave. This test was likely all on Rivenwyard Cruor's orders, her 'predecessor' and father. He may be trying to see if Hargrave is willing to learn from him instead of following me.
She sighed and put on Jinx's mask, dark mana leeching out of it and coiling around her to cloak her in the outfit of the disguise.
He's loyal to Lucius though, so I doubt he wants to ruin my plans. He probably… feels a slight sense of responsibility towards Hargrave. Maybe to protect him against his conceited and ambitious descendants.
Rouge Ellsinore snapped her fingers and they all found themselves in the centre of the Stronghold. Demons let out cries of alarm when she pointed up and a dome of scarlet mana burst from her fingertips, sealing the city's entire population within its borders.
"Intruders! Identify yourselves!" a demon guard snarled, his aura growing intense, uncontrollable and filled with bloodlust.
"Why, us?" Lucille asked with a blithe voice. "Oh deary me, you seem to be a little naïve! Let me help you open your eyes."
She spun around and gestured to the wraiths within their thick death mana, pulling out chain-scythes and other rare weapons in preparation for the battle. "If the ambassadors of Death have appeared before us, what else shall they do but herald Death!"
She laughed and stepped back with her arms spread out. "Come one, come all, and enjoy this night of crimson beneath bloody skies!"
…
The wraiths acted quickly, only killing the demons on their hit list. As members of the oldest intelligence organisation in the Tower, they had no need to waste time killing every demon in the Stronghold. By not being ruthless, it would draw attention to the fact that it wasn't another demon clan who destroyed the clan, but wraiths didn't need to worry about attention. They had the backing of one of, if not the most ancient existence in the Tower and have never fought a losing battle once.
The stronger demons recognised Rouge Ellsinore as the more important individual they needed to defeat first, to unseal the Stronghold and call for reinforcements from allies, but all of their attacks shattered uselessly against her body and the blood mana dome. As time went by, the exclusiveness of the wraiths' attacks could be seen, and bystander demons avoided helping the demons of the targeted clan. Nobody wanted to get on the bad side of actual wraiths, after all. Especially not ones wearing the 1st Sector Vigil badges.
Meanwhile, Lucy was playing up the maniacal wild card, making eye-catching moves in front of the largest concentrations of people but not actually doing anything substantial. It was harder for a group like the Malediction Society to attach motive and pattern to her actions if she acted insane. Showing that she had connections to wraiths from Tartarus also prevented her from seeming like an easy target, because the Malediction Society was bound to want to eradicate an unpredictable enemy.
Lucille strutted along the top of a wall, casually dodging the long-range attacks of the demon clan's guards. She whistled as she hopped down and the tower her attackers were at exploded from the force of a wraith's attack.
Apophis was angrily buzzing in his sheath, eager to join in on the fun. But she couldn't be caught wielding such a noticeable weapon as 'Jinx'.
Is there something more I can do? What if I use my watch for the first time?
She ducked under a doorway and spread her perception to make sure nobody was coming her way. Then, Lucy pushed mana into her pocket watch, watching the topaz arrow slowly spin.
Show me where the treasure vault is.
The topaz embedded in the arrow glowed gold and the arrow swung around to point in the right direction. A translucent replica formed above it to even point at the angle where it could be found. The arrow pointed towards the central tower.
With the guards distracted and the core members of the Demon Count's family attempting to use a hidden tunnel to escape, Lucy was free to raid the Stronghold's vault. She swiftly took paths and hidden passageways she spotted in her perception until she found herself in front of a pair of black metal doors, an ominous demonic seal burned into its surface.
Translating this… well, that's boring. It only requires mana at certain key points. Any decent demonologist of the other races could open this with their mana.
With a quick succession of taps, the vault opened up. She glanced indifferently at the piles of weak natural treasures and items, all useless to her.
These would be valuable to demons who need the mana to strengthen their lineages, but not me. I should only take the items I can't get anywhere else.
At the back of the room was where the useful objects were. Demonic materials, parts of demon beasts, several demonic weapons-
I recall hearing that a demonic weapon can be strengthened by consuming other demonic weapons. I promised Hargrave to find ways of unsealing his demonic Origin weapon's strength, and it's far past the time when he should've upgraded it to Ancient.
With a bit of telekinesis, they were all sucked into her dimensional bag. She looked around and took out a few plain sacks to fill with weak items, planning on using them for something else. Lucille stopped when she noticed the red crystal hovering above a pedestal in the centre of the room.
That is… the Stronghold Crystal. Ordinarily, if a non-demon touched it, they'd receive an award for conquering the Stronghold, and complete a Realm Quest. The Demon Lord would receive the penalty of decreased Auctoritas, while the non-demons would get teleported outside of the city so the Demon Lord couldn't attack them.
She placed a hand on the crystal and rolled her eyes when nothing happened.
Go figure. But I'm taking this with me.
She picked up the head-sized crystal and tucked it under one arm, walking out while dragging the sacks of items behind her. She made it to the castle's parapet overlooking the Stronghold's city square, and magnified her voice with a spell while calling out, "Hello, one and all! Demonesses and Demons, I bring wonderful gifts!"
The people below looked out, and she placed the crystal down to pick up a sack and pour the contents over the wall. The demons cried out when they realised the items had mana and hastily scrambled to collect them. Fights and brawls began to break out when the last sack was emptied.
"This is a reward for being such a wonderful audience of our night of death and blood!" Lucy shouted, her voice disguised by her mask. "A grand spectacle it has been, has it not?"
She looked down and placed her hands on her hips when she noticed them all ignoring her and still bickering over the magical objects. Lucille clicked her tongue and raised the red crystal high. "Up here!"
One demon noticed and audibly gasped while pointing at it. "That's-!"
"How is she holding it?" another murmured.
"Did you all think that was the last of it?" Lucy announced cheerily, tucking the crystal back under her arm. "This is the grand prize for whoever completes one teensy little task for me, with no additional cost!"
"What task?!" one called out.
"Yeah, what do we need to do?" another shouted.
Lucille raised a finger in front of the expectant gazes. "Whoever brings the Count of this Stronghold – alive, mind you – in front of the wraiths, will receive the Stronghold Crystal and consequently the entirety of this Stronghold!"
Excited whispers rustled around but someone else yelled back, "What if the death race finds the Count first?"
Lucy pondered it with a finger on her chin, and then nonchalantly shrugged. "I'll settle for the next highest ranked. Countess or heir, I don't care which. But time's a-ticking! Hurry hurry, or the person next to you might be your new lord!"
The demons glanced at each other, and then the crowd dispersed as they sped off in different directions. Rouge Ellsinore high above gave her an approving nod, and Lucy swung her legs over the parapet to watch the show play out below. She let out a slight sigh, eager for when Scytale would arrive to complete the next three Stages with her afterwards.
…
In the Count's throne room, Rouge Ellsinore sat on the throne, the four wraiths lined up on either side. Lucille stood next to the vampire, acting the part of the subservient tag-a-long.
A demon with long black hair and crimson eyes marched in with an arrogant smirk. He threw the dishevelled Demon Count at Rouge's feet. "I have found the Count. I request the Stronghold Crystal."
Ellsinore nodded to Lucy and she bowed, before throwing the crystal at the demon. "The vault where it sits is upstairs. You better hurry, or else someone may try to kill you before you can claim ownership of the Stronghold," she warned.
The arrogant smirk on his face slipped a little and he hurried off. Absorbing the Auctoritas of a Stronghold wasn't as easy a task as she made it sound near the city square.
With a gesture from Ellsinore, a wraith walked forward to place a hand on the Count's forehead. An ebony rose tattoo bloomed out and the eyes rolled up into his head. He collapsed and his body shimmered with red, before disappearing, leaving only his luxurious clothes behind.
"Go forth," Rouge Ellsinore ordered. Two wraiths nodded and disappeared from the throne room, searching out the members of the Demon County who had been marked with the Black Soul brand. They would repeatedly hunt them down until they degenerated into mindless demon beasts, and if any regained sapience and tried to join the Malediction Society again, the cycle would repeat, for their very souls had been marked for death.
Rouge Ellsinore had sealed the room from anyone else entering and turned to Lucy. "Thee may removeth thy disguise."
The Jinx mask was taken off, along with the black outfit of the identity, and stored away. Lucille bowed to the ancient vampire. "That will be all then, I take it? You also said you'd send me back to another Stronghold so I could meet up with my bond."
"I didst." Ellsinore nodded. "Cometh with me to the Stronghold centre and I shalt taketh thee."
Lucy calmly followed the vampire out of the Stronghold, most of the demons in the Stronghold having left to spread the news of the clan's destruction. Rouge Ellsinore turned around and placed a hand on Lucille's shoulder. "Thee hast been invaluable. I shalt seeth to it that Cruor learns of thy worth, even-"
An overwhelming, soul-grating presence washed over them and forced them to the ground. Lucille groaned and stood up, noting with some confusion that the vampiress wasn't able to get up under the pressure.
Why am I less affect-
The Stronghold thundered and a tall demon with pitch-black hair and scarlet red royal clothes appeared in front of Lucille and Rouge. If the vampire wasn't already undead, Lucy would've thought she'd turn even paler.
Lucille stared at the figure before them. "Wha- Your Majesty-"
The brief touch of a firm grip on her shoulder, and the world was spinning until she found herself in an entirely new place. A warm fire crackled in a fireplace, and luxurious carpets covered the floor. She froze on the spot when she noticed the demon who looked like a man in his late 40s, with salt-and-pepper, combed black hair and beard, and fiery eyes lit up with seven flaming embers in each.
"You explain it," the Demon Emperor stated shortly. He turned around and Lucy rushed over to him.
"Wait- wait- wait- Your Majesty!"
He glanced back with a frown just before he opened the dark oak door to leave, and Lucille let out a groan.
"Don't you think you're forgetting one thing, Your Majesty?" she asked weakly.
He considered it with a slight tilt of his head. "Ah." Through the vision of her Shard of Totality, she saw the small nebulous formation of Influence coalesce above his fingertip and then shoot into her chest when he pointed at her. "That should satisfy you now."
[Gained Secondary Skill: Reward]
He didn't even bother to name it properly. At least it's Epic- wait, no! I wanted him to explain why I'm here!
It was too late. The infuriating demon had already disappeared. Lucy placed her hands on her head, pulled at her hair and let out a quiet hiss of frustration, staring off into space.
A slight cough sounded out behind her and she whirled around with a bright smile on her face. She got down on one knee and bowed deeply before the demon standing by the stained glass window, saluting him with one hand on her chest.
"It is my greatest honour and a gift beyond gifts to be in the presence of you, Your Grace, the patriarch of the most powerful Demon Duchy in the Demon Realm. Common pleasantries dictate I'm supposed to ask to what do I owe the pleasure of being called here, but due to the circumstances of my arrival, I shall refrain from that." She looked up at him and smiled, her eyes narrowed and gently curved like crescent moons. "But I would at least like to say well met, Your Grace. I am Count Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft, the Head of the Aurelian Commission."
"…I see. Well met indeed, Count Goldcroft."
If he wasn't already a demon, Lucille would've dearly loved to ask the Demon Emperor what possessed him to dump her directly in front of Reighdorlan Decarabria Nefas Infernalis, the Infernal Demon Duke, ruler of the second largest Dominion after the Demon Emperor…
…and the superior of the vassal Demon County she had just destroyed with the aid of only four wraiths from Tartarus and an ancient undead Blood Lord.
Patreon (x10 chapters!):
Discord (Come get your Qualified Scytale Feeder role!):
Honorary mention of my first Plebeian: Purplexa
[Title: Nobility | Type: Discord/Role]
DoomByCookies, getthepoptart21, znarken, skywatchwolf, Omega, Oxylus, lagia1614, whoknows, sesse4880, rain6295, augustus63, V9
[Title: Rank-5 | Type: Discord/Role]
secret
Inzuris, Kabi, Malahadiel, Starfall20, Shoutloud, ChaosOmega98, deathbunnies, wind.celestial, Spacemanspiff, Hibou Ronchon, eroth, magicaltaliyah, arcanorum042, Mitchell, sami027, bali123456789, Lars, Aria, Prince007, Abdulaziz, Jonathon, Albert Ng, phoon, Frostyflame66, Drowsy Golem, timelestime, mr7, Que Tea, kinokomasha, Sparxy, Death2moo, Tzeneth, Sara, Cyko, harrisonv, Kasper, arcanedeath, m0r1tz_hf, Name, viridian, Michael, Sebgatot, Pam Cakes28, Orange Thistle, Zane, acausal, Alex, konodias, hamkaas420, wumpycz, attackgnome, erikas, Patrick, Lilly, Talespinner Lore, schal_, aaa11, bram, dndsharky, snakesden, kiphea, jacowyn, infinitespy, navango, eobmaster, Momongama, BrokenStorm, Mr Nobody, Chaya, Hayden, viking020p, AvaArisu, catawk42, Signspace, battlinggalaxy, ptichondrius, Michael, awesomeotj, Deagel, Lilith, Moon Winchester,
[Title: Demon Nobility | Type: Discord/Role]
Snakee
Eesh, the 'Blood Lords' are definitely overbearing and arrogant. And if Ellsinore acting on behalf of Cruor are trying to 'protect' Hargrave from their 'conceited and ambitious descendants'? By judging and possibly killing his current patron (maybe repeatedly, maybe just once for intimidation)? Unless they had solid evidence of abusive plans on Lucy's part (which don't exist), at best that makes them come across as condescending assholes using their strength and a veneer of legitimacy to try and get a grip on the new rising star, exactly like the ambitious Blood Lords and 'lesser' races they claim to want to protect him from.
And if this is really just Cruor feeling a minor amount of responsibility...well I guess it'd depend on how an exchange between them and Hargrave goes. But if he does have any sort of loyalty for the new Patriarch, I imagine he'll get told to kindly keep his mouth shut.
Hargrave is a bit like a skittish cat when it comes to social situations as it is, and he's already spent a lot of time adapting to this group of people, and that's with Lucy mostly respecting his boundaries (and definitely never crossing his real ones) while sticking to a somewhat familiar mercenary arrangement that Hargrave can understand and be assured by it's conditions.
Getting stuck on a pedestal and all-but-worshipped by a bunch of vampires, all while having to watch for subtle manipulations and strings from Blood Lords that are MUCH older, more powerful, and more manipulative then Lucy? And who'd likely disdain a clearly defined contract with exit contingencies when they can just proclaim their loyalty? I do NOT see Hargrave adapting to that kind of situation well even if he weren't being removed from one he's slowly gotten more comfortable in, and has it's own benefits like trying to puzzle out his boss, or the close connection to VIP's like a rising legendary crafter or the friggin Saintess of Fate.
Finally, when it comes to pure support...in contrast to his working demeanor of ruthless pragmatism, or his true personality as a socially awkward introvert the nevertheless likes being included in things...Hargrave is pretty prideful. The Blood Lords can ABSOLUTELY provide more support to his goal of getting revenge and teach him more about his powers as a Blood Patriarch. But it wouldn't be Hargrave gaining the power to take revengeand be a Dragon by himself, but rather him just riding the coattails of a preceding Blood Patriarch, and likely being known as such. And Hargrave wants to stand out, even if that's not that he'll say himself. If he just wanted revenge, why not gain strength conventionally or use the Blood Lords as soon as he learned that he could leverage them? Why become a unique all-element Dragon to dramatically slay his hated former Patron for all the plane to see? Hargrave pretty clearly wants to be recognized on a fundamental level, and even if he could be sure that the Blood Lords would be genuine in their attempts to act on his behalf and not try to manipulate or control them...joining them just inevitably puts all his next actions in the shadow of the past Blood Patriarch. And that's no good for someone who seems to have a bit of a complex about being recognized as themselves by the world at large.
And if this is really just Cruor feeling a minor amount of responsibility...well I guess it'd depend on how an exchange between them and Hargrave goes. But if he does have any sort of loyalty for the new Patriarch, I imagine he'll get told to kindly keep his mouth shut.
Hargrave is a bit like a skittish cat when it comes to social situations as it is, and he's already spent a lot of time adapting to this group of people, and that's with Lucy mostly respecting his boundaries (and definitely never crossing his real ones) while sticking to a somewhat familiar mercenary arrangement that Hargrave can understand and be assured by it's conditions.
Getting stuck on a pedestal and all-but-worshipped by a bunch of vampires, all while having to watch for subtle manipulations and strings from Blood Lords that are MUCH older, more powerful, and more manipulative then Lucy? And who'd likely disdain a clearly defined contract with exit contingencies when they can just proclaim their loyalty? I do NOT see Hargrave adapting to that kind of situation well even if he weren't being removed from one he's slowly gotten more comfortable in, and has it's own benefits like trying to puzzle out his boss, or the close connection to VIP's like a rising legendary crafter or the friggin Saintess of Fate.
Finally, when it comes to pure support...in contrast to his working demeanor of ruthless pragmatism, or his true personality as a socially awkward introvert the nevertheless likes being included in things...Hargrave is pretty prideful. The Blood Lords can ABSOLUTELY provide more support to his goal of getting revenge and teach him more about his powers as a Blood Patriarch. But it wouldn't be Hargrave gaining the power to take revenge
- Location
- Earth: Universe Meta - 1
First, the vampire wasn't really trying to kill Lucy. Second, judging how she does and fights is something I can see as a classic "are you worthy?" Third, Lucy is the kind of person to have plans within plans while also playing Xanatos Speed Chess.
It can be hard to belive that she's basically helping Hargrave without any real expectation of reward. Especially because she wants to and it fucks with the "Hero's" plans. They don't even know about the "Hero!"
Meanwhile, said vampire doesn't necessarily believe that Lucy is on a first name basis with her boss. Who is an extremely powerful being. Wonder what she and this other Demon think about the Demon Emperor knowing her as well.
Chapter 86 (1 of 2) She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance.
New
Infinityphoenix
Fantasizer
- Location
- Australia
A man in his late twenties clicked his tongue when reading the page before him. He put the page down and looked at the door of the room.
"When is Lucille returning?" Vincent murmured. He flinched when the door creaked open.
"Hey, Vincent!" a humanoid snake said, poking his head around the doorway.
"Oh, it's you, Scytale." Vincent sighed and picked a pen up. "Is it important? If it isn't, I'd like to finish this lot of work first."
"Well.. kinda, kinda not."
Vincent rubbed his neck and rolled his eyes. "Never mind. Just tell me."
"I wanted to say I'd be meeting up with Lucy if you need to know why we could be out longer than normal," Scytale said, raising a hand.
"Oh… I suppose that makes sense." Vincent nodded as Scytale ducked back out of the room. Then Vincent blinked. "But wait, Scytale! Where are you going?"
Scytale poked his head back in. "The Demon Realm!" Before Vincent could reply, he raised a finger. "To complete our next three Stages!" The amphiptere ran off.
Vincent slumped as he let out a sigh, sitting in the armchair. "That scared me for a moment." He went silent and then frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Didn't Lucille have her escapade around this time last year?"
He looked up, narrowed his eyes at the door, and then saw his remaining work. Vincent groaned. "I think I'll finish this and ask Marellen what 'Paragon Anomalies' are…"
Lucille stirred the cup of glowing orange liquid with a spoon and sipped it, closing her eyes. "This tea is quite a delicacy. Demonic Firemane, did you say?"
"Yes, a specialty from one of the Marches under the Infernal Duchy's rule." Duke Reighdorlan Nefas Infernalis walked over and sat opposite her with his arms crossed. "But I believe it would be time for you to explain what connection you have with the newly destroyed County," he stated solemnly. The seven flames within his irises, each representing one of the Flames of Sin of his clan, burned viciously.
She placed the cup down and bowed deeply in her chair. "I was only the middleman between His Majesty and the representatives of the House of Wordless Observers. I relayed their words to him and he gave them written permission to freely enter and exit any Dominion of this Realm during the period of the mission."
"The House…" The Infernal Duke scratched his beard. "What have they done to provoke them?"
"Support the Malediction Society, Your Grace," Lucy replied respectfully. "As I'm sure you're aware, it is the ongoing goal of the Court and the House to eradicate Heretic items."
"But why have they involved themselves with the Demon Realm now?" The Duke said, leaning forward.
Lucy dipped her head and placed a hand on her chest. "Because I reached out to them, Your Grace. They wish to use my ties to His Majesty."
"Yes… which brings me to my next question." The Infernal Duke stood up and flicked his wrist.
Lucille flew out of her chair and was pinned against the back wall. She stayed still as the powerful demon approached. One pair of the flames in his eyes grew brighter than the others until the ominous deep purple flames flickered in both of his irises.
"Who are you, that I should believe your words without proof?" The purple Flames of Luxuria flickered around his body, one of the seven Flames of Sin. The flames, capable of ordering someone to do anything when used, licked at her skin when he placed a hand on her neck. "Tell me the truth: why should I value what you say?"
Instead of reacting as he expected, Lucille smiled and rebuffed the demonic ability with her spiritual energy. She dropped to the ground and stood up while brushing herself off. "You shouldn't be too hasty to pressure someone, Your Grace. You might make a mistake if you're not careful."
He narrowed his eyes at her, the seven flames returning only to switch to the vivid red Flames of Ira. "Oh?"
The power of Wrath burned around him until Lucy held up her left hand to show him the glowing demonic pact. "I'm the only contractor of the Demon Emperor," she stated nonchalantly. "That's also why he decided to dump me in your study."
He stared at the sigil and then at her. "When…"
"Did the Abyssal Duchess not tell you about me?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow as she pulled her glove back on.
Duke Nefas Infernalis scoffed and walked over to a window. "That ancient witch wouldn't give me the time of day if it benefited me in the slightest." He glanced back at her and frowned. "I suppose you have no reason to lie if you're his contractor… not that I'd be able to force the truth out of you with the powers His Majesty has bestowed on you…"
"The contract didn't give me any powers. My immunity to your abilities was an effect of my soulbound weapons," Lucille told him while checking her pocket watch.
"Hm…" He tilted his head. "And why would you reveal this to me?"
Lucy smirked and gave him a bow. "Why, as we are both fellow subordinates of His Majesty, we should have a relationship of understanding between us. Besides…" She got on one knee and saluted him while grinning. "A humble, lowly mortal Count such as I wouldn't dare to play tricks on the mighty Infernal Duke. That would be inconceivably disrespectful!"
The dark-haired demon chuckled and held out a gloved hand to her, politely pulling her back up. "I'm beginning to find myself liking you, Lucille Goldcroft. What a shame that there isn't much opportunity for us to meet like this."
"Opportunity? I see…" Lucille glanced at the door and then shot him a wry look. "There happened to be a deal I wanted to suggest to the Abyssal Duchess, considering that the contract with His Majesty included a condition that the Demon Duchies wouldn't interfere with the Commission's deals in the Demon Realm." She spread her hands wide. "But with the Demon Duke of the largest Ducal clan in the Demon Realm right in front of me, how dare I consider going to another Demon Duchy?"
"Curious." The Infernal Duke smirked. "So then, what grand proposition did you plan on making to dear Lilith?"
Lucy's smile widened and she dipped her head. "Well, there have been some ongoing plans to turn the Black County's black market dimensions into a space where the races are equal and freer amongst each other while in secrecy. This would, of course, eventually require the backing of a powerful demon clan…"
…
[Secondary Skill: Reward | Type: Demonic/Lexicon ]
Rarity: Ancient
Desc: Not many are brave enough to request a reward from the Demon Emperor himself. Nor do many have the sheer audacity to do so. Most consider surviving a meeting with him their reward. You're a living miracle, in more ways than one.
Kudos to you for finally getting A########### to do something for a change, I guess.
Abilities:
Polyhistor of Daemons – A genius scholar of the Great Beings.
It occurred with my Origin Skill too, but that… 'entity' is definitely communicating to me through skills and such. I thought they were supposed to remain impartial?
Not that they seemed very impartial when it came to their Authorizer. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had to deal with such an unfair contract in the first place.
Did they remove that title because it's related to the Demon Emperor? But they mentioned Ancient Daemons in the line above just fine. Don't tell me he's more than just the enemy of Primarchs like all Ancient Daemons-
"Heeeeey! Luuuuucy! Over heeeeeere!"
She sighed and turned around to face her obnoxious bond, pushing through the crowd to get to her. He let out a groan when he arrived.
"How unfair is it that as soon as I arrive, I get told to teleport to another Stronghold entirely?" Scytale complained, panting with his hands on his knees. "What the hell happened for you to be in the capital city of the Infernal Duchy?"
"Demon Emperor. That's what happened." Lucille looked behind them and then grabbed her bond's wrist to take him over to the Obelisk they were nearby. "You have the teleports to spare, anyway."
They stepped through the black archway and found themselves in the Obelisk cube, hovering above the Stronghold.
[Do you want to continue the Stages in Team Mode or Solo Mode?]
[Team Mode/Solo Mode]
Scytale hit [Team Mode] without bothering to talk to her. "Time to get this thing rolling! I want to see what's on the other side of that tunnel!"
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "I would've thought you had forgotten about that."
He squinted at her. "I'm not that scatterbrained."
She shrugged as they were teleported into the System limbo and the Stage selection list came up.
[Welcome to the S.T.A.G.E.S!]
Available S.T.A.G.E.S (Demon Realm):
Completion Rate: 0%
Stage 11: The Escape from Cressilin Stronghold (COMPLETED)
Stage 12: Blackbrook Woods (COMPLETED)
Stage 13: Haven of the Heathen (COMPLETED)
Stage 14: Ancient Daemon Seal (UNLOCKED)
Stage 15: LOCKED
Stage 16: LOCKED
Stage 17: LOCKED
Stage 18: LOCKED
Stage 19: LOCKED
Stage 20: LOCKED
[Please complete Stage 14 to proceed to the next stage.]
Lucy's gaze went flat as she saw the name of the next stage. "I don't think I'll like where this is going," she stated flatly.
"What's the problem? You've had tooons of experience with ye olde abominations like these." Scytale put his hands behind his head. "True, we never interacted with the demon kind specifically, what with their role as being enemies of Primarchs and avoiding the poor mortals and whatnot, but we'll be fine."
She sighed and spun around to put her hands on his shoulders. "Scytale. What Rank were we last time we met an incarnation of a Great Being?"
"What kind of question is that? We were Rank…. 7…" His words trailed off and he began to look slightly sheepish as their reality dawned on him. Then he shook his head. "Nah, we're still good. Even after the Cosmic Realm, the Demon Realm never had to deal with them. The System has been protecting us from all the big tough guys from day one."
"And what time period do you think your Beast Realm Stages were set in?" she said in a deadpan voice.
"Obviously that's-"
"Before the Tower assimilation. So, with all the Stages presumably being the same, there is no unidentifiable force of extraterrestrial origins to save the day and protect our souls from becoming Ancient Daemon sacrificial food." Lucy turned back to the list, looking pensive.
Scytale screwed up his nose while thinking. "Do Ancient Daemons… use souls as food?"
Lucille shrugged. "I don't know. As you said, we've never really interacted with them. The chaotic forces of nature they are, they just spontaneously arrived whenever an incarnation was around and began fighting them. Nobody knows if you can communicate with them in the first place."
"Yeah, but…" Scytale leaned his elbow on Lucy's shoulder. "Didn't you tell me that the big bad Demon Emperor is an Ancient Daemon? You can obviously speak to him."
"Like I said, I just don't know," Lucille replied with a sigh. "I thought he might've been, but when he brought it up in one of our meetings he got angry, and then my new skill is weird…" She shook her head. "I'll do some research on Ancient Daemons once we leave here if it's relevant to me and my contract with the Demon Emperor. It might be a little easier now that I've made that agreement with the Infernal Duke…"
"Sure, but…" Scytale tapped on Stage 14. "Let's get this show on the road!"
…
[S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 14: Ancient Daemon Seal]
You have found the first of many clues to locating your objective. But what you do not know is that your journey is far from over. For what you seek has been sealed away… for the protection of the world above. Are you prepared to face the consequences of your thirst for knowledge?
You may forever abandon hope of returning to your home realm if you continue.
[Collapse]
Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:
Compulsory:
[Completion Rate: 30%]
"Oh great, it's not even being subtle anymore. There is an Ancient Daemon down here," Lucy stated dryly.
"What in the realms is a 'Regolith'?" Scytale asked.
"A layer above the bedrock." She glanced at her bond. "This is relevant to us because?"
"I have to… analyse the composition of the regolith?" he read with confusion.
Scytale looked at her, and Lucille sighed. "It seems I'll be doing the analysing. Remember that our identities in the Stages are researchers, so we get a lot of tasks like this."
"What possessed the System to think that I would make a good researcher?" Scytale asked with incredulity.
"But we suspected that the System made changes to our Stages because of me this time around, didn't we?" Lucy walked forward, into the doorway under the eight demonic signs. "Come on, let's get a move on."
The tunnel was surrounded by walls of glassy black stone, as if a river had flowed down for thousands of years, carving out a path. It was clear by the chiselled steps they were walking down that it wasn't wholly natural, however. Or could it be considered natural when Ancient Daemons were almost part of the realm itself?
It soon got too dark for them to see much without getting annoyed, so Lucille summoned a small orb of light to hover above her finger. As they descended, she traced her fingers along an interesting pattern of repeating characters that appeared the entire way down the tunnel.
"So… who made this kind of place?" Scytale wondered aloud, clearly expecting an answer of some kind from her.
"How should I know? I'm not a demon," Lucy retorted.
"Ugh, why has your seemingly endless knowledge begun to fail us only now!" he complained, stomping loudly down the stairs. "Do you not know anything about this place? Really? Not even a guess?"
"Look, Scytale." Lucille sighed and increased the glow of the light to see further. "I've spent much less time in the Demon Realm compared to the other realms. I snuck into the Daemonium Palace's Crypt during my first long-term stay, and that was mostly to understand the demonic language better."
She paused for a moment when the edge of a step crumbled slightly and then continued moving. "That was before I began to explore the older places of the Cosmic Realm. Eventually, I found out more about the current Demon Emperor and… internally swore off investigating more about him." Lucy frowned. "It didn't help me to do that. I would've researched about them if I knew he was the Authorizer."
Scytale crossed his arms. "Okay, but… if you were to guess, who made these?"
"My guess is that they come with the Ancient Daemon." Lucy landed on the last step and stopped to investigate a demonic rune engraved on a slightly different wall. "Like Primarchs. The 'ruins' it wants us to investigate bear characteristics similar to the places the demon frequented in their lower race life before becoming an Ancient Daemon."
[Sub-Objective complete: Locate the Ruins]
[Completion Rate +2%]
[New! Completion Rate: 32%]
Scytale stumbled. "Wait, demons can become Ancient Daemons?"
She turned around. "You didn't know that? Well, it's only demons at the same power level as the Demon Dukes who also manage to obtain-"
Something caught Lucille's eye and she went over to a wall just before a wide opening. Scytale raised an eyebrow and followed her in, to where a large life-sized statue sat in the middle of the room. Rings of uncanny demonic script, eerily different yet with some similarities to the normal script, were engraved into the floor around the statue's base.
Scytale whistled when he saw the statue. "Someone had a type when they carved her out. Wait, you said it came with the Ancient Daemon. Does that mean this is the ideal type of the Ancient Daemon? I can appreciate their taste."
Lucy looked over her shoulder to give her bond a flat look and then observed the statue. The curvy woman was cloaked in only a single sheet that wrapped around her and covered her head. Her hair fell to her feet, and her wrists and ankles were adorned with antiquated bracelets. Demonic script wrapped around her skin and dipped down from her neck to her chest and over her breasts. It probably covered her whole body.
Lucy walked over and crouched to read the inscription at the base of the statue. "When translated, this can roughly read as 'She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance'. Not very descriptive, but then again, not many Ancient Daemon titles are."
Scytale looked around. He scratched his head. "Where's the notification for having found her true name, if this is the Ancient Daemon?"
"That's just the title she received upon becoming an Ancient Daemon." Lucille stood up and looked around, then walked over to a wall with engraved imagery. It looked like the panorama spanned the entirety of the circular room's walls. "We need to work out what her actual name could've been."
"Not True Name, I hope," Scytale asked suspiciously.
"No, just her common name." Lucy traced the fire pattern the young demoness was casting with her hands and compared it to the picture of the flames on the signboard of the palace in the background. "It looks like she was an Infernal Demon. She's using the Flames of Ira, so she came from a family branch that specialised in the Wrath abilities."
Scytale looked at the woman and nodded. "Her title says she wears scarlet, so… yep, I can see that. She also 'Blesses with Vengeance'. I can't see that being the ability of the Luxuria branch. They're too interested in seducing poor plebs."
"Nefas Infernalis as the last name, an Ira derivative for her middle name," Lucy mused, walking over to the next scene where the demoness was burning an entire army. "There are three possible middle names for female demons that were Ira derivatives. But first name…"
The last scene had her ascension to Ancient Daemon. A strange orb was held in her hands, and the scene depicted her stuck in a mid-way point between the form of the Ancient Dameon statue and her original body. Lucille tilted her head when she noticed there were minuscule characters engraved across the forehead of the reflection of the demoness in the orb.
"Hellawes Irada Nefas Infernalis. Hellawes Iradian Nefas Infernalis," Lucy stated out loud. "Hellawes Irandes… Nefas Infernalis."
The grey statue in the centre of the room glowed with blood light. The sheet she was wrapped in bloomed with colour until the pale grey skin of the statue demoness was wrapped in crimson… or scarlet, robes.
[Sub-Objective Complete: Determine the true identity of the Ancient Daemon.]
[Completion Rate: +2%]
[New! Completion Rate: 34%]
Lucille looked at Scytale. "That was easy, wasn't it? Now I just need to write down her most important life events on paper…"
"When is Lucille returning?" Vincent murmured. He flinched when the door creaked open.
"Hey, Vincent!" a humanoid snake said, poking his head around the doorway.
"Oh, it's you, Scytale." Vincent sighed and picked a pen up. "Is it important? If it isn't, I'd like to finish this lot of work first."
"Well.. kinda, kinda not."
Vincent rubbed his neck and rolled his eyes. "Never mind. Just tell me."
"I wanted to say I'd be meeting up with Lucy if you need to know why we could be out longer than normal," Scytale said, raising a hand.
"Oh… I suppose that makes sense." Vincent nodded as Scytale ducked back out of the room. Then Vincent blinked. "But wait, Scytale! Where are you going?"
Scytale poked his head back in. "The Demon Realm!" Before Vincent could reply, he raised a finger. "To complete our next three Stages!" The amphiptere ran off.
Vincent slumped as he let out a sigh, sitting in the armchair. "That scared me for a moment." He went silent and then frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Didn't Lucille have her escapade around this time last year?"
He looked up, narrowed his eyes at the door, and then saw his remaining work. Vincent groaned. "I think I'll finish this and ask Marellen what 'Paragon Anomalies' are…"
Lucille stirred the cup of glowing orange liquid with a spoon and sipped it, closing her eyes. "This tea is quite a delicacy. Demonic Firemane, did you say?"
"Yes, a specialty from one of the Marches under the Infernal Duchy's rule." Duke Reighdorlan Nefas Infernalis walked over and sat opposite her with his arms crossed. "But I believe it would be time for you to explain what connection you have with the newly destroyed County," he stated solemnly. The seven flames within his irises, each representing one of the Flames of Sin of his clan, burned viciously.
She placed the cup down and bowed deeply in her chair. "I was only the middleman between His Majesty and the representatives of the House of Wordless Observers. I relayed their words to him and he gave them written permission to freely enter and exit any Dominion of this Realm during the period of the mission."
"The House…" The Infernal Duke scratched his beard. "What have they done to provoke them?"
"Support the Malediction Society, Your Grace," Lucy replied respectfully. "As I'm sure you're aware, it is the ongoing goal of the Court and the House to eradicate Heretic items."
"But why have they involved themselves with the Demon Realm now?" The Duke said, leaning forward.
Lucy dipped her head and placed a hand on her chest. "Because I reached out to them, Your Grace. They wish to use my ties to His Majesty."
"Yes… which brings me to my next question." The Infernal Duke stood up and flicked his wrist.
Lucille flew out of her chair and was pinned against the back wall. She stayed still as the powerful demon approached. One pair of the flames in his eyes grew brighter than the others until the ominous deep purple flames flickered in both of his irises.
"Who are you, that I should believe your words without proof?" The purple Flames of Luxuria flickered around his body, one of the seven Flames of Sin. The flames, capable of ordering someone to do anything when used, licked at her skin when he placed a hand on her neck. "Tell me the truth: why should I value what you say?"
Instead of reacting as he expected, Lucille smiled and rebuffed the demonic ability with her spiritual energy. She dropped to the ground and stood up while brushing herself off. "You shouldn't be too hasty to pressure someone, Your Grace. You might make a mistake if you're not careful."
He narrowed his eyes at her, the seven flames returning only to switch to the vivid red Flames of Ira. "Oh?"
The power of Wrath burned around him until Lucy held up her left hand to show him the glowing demonic pact. "I'm the only contractor of the Demon Emperor," she stated nonchalantly. "That's also why he decided to dump me in your study."
He stared at the sigil and then at her. "When…"
"Did the Abyssal Duchess not tell you about me?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow as she pulled her glove back on.
Duke Nefas Infernalis scoffed and walked over to a window. "That ancient witch wouldn't give me the time of day if it benefited me in the slightest." He glanced back at her and frowned. "I suppose you have no reason to lie if you're his contractor… not that I'd be able to force the truth out of you with the powers His Majesty has bestowed on you…"
"The contract didn't give me any powers. My immunity to your abilities was an effect of my soulbound weapons," Lucille told him while checking her pocket watch.
"Hm…" He tilted his head. "And why would you reveal this to me?"
Lucy smirked and gave him a bow. "Why, as we are both fellow subordinates of His Majesty, we should have a relationship of understanding between us. Besides…" She got on one knee and saluted him while grinning. "A humble, lowly mortal Count such as I wouldn't dare to play tricks on the mighty Infernal Duke. That would be inconceivably disrespectful!"
The dark-haired demon chuckled and held out a gloved hand to her, politely pulling her back up. "I'm beginning to find myself liking you, Lucille Goldcroft. What a shame that there isn't much opportunity for us to meet like this."
"Opportunity? I see…" Lucille glanced at the door and then shot him a wry look. "There happened to be a deal I wanted to suggest to the Abyssal Duchess, considering that the contract with His Majesty included a condition that the Demon Duchies wouldn't interfere with the Commission's deals in the Demon Realm." She spread her hands wide. "But with the Demon Duke of the largest Ducal clan in the Demon Realm right in front of me, how dare I consider going to another Demon Duchy?"
"Curious." The Infernal Duke smirked. "So then, what grand proposition did you plan on making to dear Lilith?"
Lucy's smile widened and she dipped her head. "Well, there have been some ongoing plans to turn the Black County's black market dimensions into a space where the races are equal and freer amongst each other while in secrecy. This would, of course, eventually require the backing of a powerful demon clan…"
…
[Secondary Skill: Reward | Type: Demonic/Lexicon ]
Rarity: Ancient
Desc: Not many are brave enough to request a reward from the Demon Emperor himself. Nor do many have the sheer audacity to do so. Most consider surviving a meeting with him their reward. You're a living miracle, in more ways than one.
Kudos to you for finally getting A########### to do something for a change, I guess.
Abilities:
Polyhistor of Daemons – A genius scholar of the Great Beings.
- Due to the User's expertise in a multitude of areas regarding the Great Beings, this has amplified the skill to grant them the ability to understand Ancient Daemon traces and sigils.
- Grants the User the ability to use memorised characters of the demonic script to cast demonic spells. User cannot verbally speak demonic spells but may use other mediums.
- User may further their capabilities as their comprehension of demonic script grows.
It occurred with my Origin Skill too, but that… 'entity' is definitely communicating to me through skills and such. I thought they were supposed to remain impartial?
Not that they seemed very impartial when it came to their Authorizer. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had to deal with such an unfair contract in the first place.
Did they remove that title because it's related to the Demon Emperor? But they mentioned Ancient Daemons in the line above just fine. Don't tell me he's more than just the enemy of Primarchs like all Ancient Daemons-
"Heeeeey! Luuuuucy! Over heeeeeere!"
She sighed and turned around to face her obnoxious bond, pushing through the crowd to get to her. He let out a groan when he arrived.
"How unfair is it that as soon as I arrive, I get told to teleport to another Stronghold entirely?" Scytale complained, panting with his hands on his knees. "What the hell happened for you to be in the capital city of the Infernal Duchy?"
"Demon Emperor. That's what happened." Lucille looked behind them and then grabbed her bond's wrist to take him over to the Obelisk they were nearby. "You have the teleports to spare, anyway."
They stepped through the black archway and found themselves in the Obelisk cube, hovering above the Stronghold.
[Do you want to continue the Stages in Team Mode or Solo Mode?]
[Team Mode/Solo Mode]
Scytale hit [Team Mode] without bothering to talk to her. "Time to get this thing rolling! I want to see what's on the other side of that tunnel!"
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "I would've thought you had forgotten about that."
He squinted at her. "I'm not that scatterbrained."
She shrugged as they were teleported into the System limbo and the Stage selection list came up.
[Welcome to the S.T.A.G.E.S!]
Available S.T.A.G.E.S (Demon Realm):
Completion Rate: 0%
Stage 11: The Escape from Cressilin Stronghold (COMPLETED)
Stage 12: Blackbrook Woods (COMPLETED)
Stage 13: Haven of the Heathen (COMPLETED)
Stage 14: Ancient Daemon Seal (UNLOCKED)
Stage 15: LOCKED
Stage 16: LOCKED
Stage 17: LOCKED
Stage 18: LOCKED
Stage 19: LOCKED
Stage 20: LOCKED
[Please complete Stage 14 to proceed to the next stage.]
Lucy's gaze went flat as she saw the name of the next stage. "I don't think I'll like where this is going," she stated flatly.
"What's the problem? You've had tooons of experience with ye olde abominations like these." Scytale put his hands behind his head. "True, we never interacted with the demon kind specifically, what with their role as being enemies of Primarchs and avoiding the poor mortals and whatnot, but we'll be fine."
She sighed and spun around to put her hands on his shoulders. "Scytale. What Rank were we last time we met an incarnation of a Great Being?"
"What kind of question is that? We were Rank…. 7…" His words trailed off and he began to look slightly sheepish as their reality dawned on him. Then he shook his head. "Nah, we're still good. Even after the Cosmic Realm, the Demon Realm never had to deal with them. The System has been protecting us from all the big tough guys from day one."
"And what time period do you think your Beast Realm Stages were set in?" she said in a deadpan voice.
"Obviously that's-"
"Before the Tower assimilation. So, with all the Stages presumably being the same, there is no unidentifiable force of extraterrestrial origins to save the day and protect our souls from becoming Ancient Daemon sacrificial food." Lucy turned back to the list, looking pensive.
Scytale screwed up his nose while thinking. "Do Ancient Daemons… use souls as food?"
Lucille shrugged. "I don't know. As you said, we've never really interacted with them. The chaotic forces of nature they are, they just spontaneously arrived whenever an incarnation was around and began fighting them. Nobody knows if you can communicate with them in the first place."
"Yeah, but…" Scytale leaned his elbow on Lucy's shoulder. "Didn't you tell me that the big bad Demon Emperor is an Ancient Daemon? You can obviously speak to him."
"Like I said, I just don't know," Lucille replied with a sigh. "I thought he might've been, but when he brought it up in one of our meetings he got angry, and then my new skill is weird…" She shook her head. "I'll do some research on Ancient Daemons once we leave here if it's relevant to me and my contract with the Demon Emperor. It might be a little easier now that I've made that agreement with the Infernal Duke…"
"Sure, but…" Scytale tapped on Stage 14. "Let's get this show on the road!"
…
[S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 14: Ancient Daemon Seal]
You have found the first of many clues to locating your objective. But what you do not know is that your journey is far from over. For what you seek has been sealed away… for the protection of the world above. Are you prepared to face the consequences of your thirst for knowledge?
You may forever abandon hope of returning to your home realm if you continue.
[Collapse]
Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:
- Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.
Compulsory:
- Locate the ruins.
- Document the timeline.
- Determine the true identity of the Ancient Daemon.
[Completion Rate: 30%]
"Oh great, it's not even being subtle anymore. There is an Ancient Daemon down here," Lucy stated dryly.
"What in the realms is a 'Regolith'?" Scytale asked.
"A layer above the bedrock." She glanced at her bond. "This is relevant to us because?"
"I have to… analyse the composition of the regolith?" he read with confusion.
Scytale looked at her, and Lucille sighed. "It seems I'll be doing the analysing. Remember that our identities in the Stages are researchers, so we get a lot of tasks like this."
"What possessed the System to think that I would make a good researcher?" Scytale asked with incredulity.
"But we suspected that the System made changes to our Stages because of me this time around, didn't we?" Lucy walked forward, into the doorway under the eight demonic signs. "Come on, let's get a move on."
The tunnel was surrounded by walls of glassy black stone, as if a river had flowed down for thousands of years, carving out a path. It was clear by the chiselled steps they were walking down that it wasn't wholly natural, however. Or could it be considered natural when Ancient Daemons were almost part of the realm itself?
It soon got too dark for them to see much without getting annoyed, so Lucille summoned a small orb of light to hover above her finger. As they descended, she traced her fingers along an interesting pattern of repeating characters that appeared the entire way down the tunnel.
"So… who made this kind of place?" Scytale wondered aloud, clearly expecting an answer of some kind from her.
"How should I know? I'm not a demon," Lucy retorted.
"Ugh, why has your seemingly endless knowledge begun to fail us only now!" he complained, stomping loudly down the stairs. "Do you not know anything about this place? Really? Not even a guess?"
"Look, Scytale." Lucille sighed and increased the glow of the light to see further. "I've spent much less time in the Demon Realm compared to the other realms. I snuck into the Daemonium Palace's Crypt during my first long-term stay, and that was mostly to understand the demonic language better."
She paused for a moment when the edge of a step crumbled slightly and then continued moving. "That was before I began to explore the older places of the Cosmic Realm. Eventually, I found out more about the current Demon Emperor and… internally swore off investigating more about him." Lucy frowned. "It didn't help me to do that. I would've researched about them if I knew he was the Authorizer."
Scytale crossed his arms. "Okay, but… if you were to guess, who made these?"
"My guess is that they come with the Ancient Daemon." Lucy landed on the last step and stopped to investigate a demonic rune engraved on a slightly different wall. "Like Primarchs. The 'ruins' it wants us to investigate bear characteristics similar to the places the demon frequented in their lower race life before becoming an Ancient Daemon."
[Sub-Objective complete: Locate the Ruins]
[Completion Rate +2%]
[New! Completion Rate: 32%]
Scytale stumbled. "Wait, demons can become Ancient Daemons?"
She turned around. "You didn't know that? Well, it's only demons at the same power level as the Demon Dukes who also manage to obtain-"
Something caught Lucille's eye and she went over to a wall just before a wide opening. Scytale raised an eyebrow and followed her in, to where a large life-sized statue sat in the middle of the room. Rings of uncanny demonic script, eerily different yet with some similarities to the normal script, were engraved into the floor around the statue's base.
Scytale whistled when he saw the statue. "Someone had a type when they carved her out. Wait, you said it came with the Ancient Daemon. Does that mean this is the ideal type of the Ancient Daemon? I can appreciate their taste."
Lucy looked over her shoulder to give her bond a flat look and then observed the statue. The curvy woman was cloaked in only a single sheet that wrapped around her and covered her head. Her hair fell to her feet, and her wrists and ankles were adorned with antiquated bracelets. Demonic script wrapped around her skin and dipped down from her neck to her chest and over her breasts. It probably covered her whole body.
Lucy walked over and crouched to read the inscription at the base of the statue. "When translated, this can roughly read as 'She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance'. Not very descriptive, but then again, not many Ancient Daemon titles are."
Scytale looked around. He scratched his head. "Where's the notification for having found her true name, if this is the Ancient Daemon?"
"That's just the title she received upon becoming an Ancient Daemon." Lucille stood up and looked around, then walked over to a wall with engraved imagery. It looked like the panorama spanned the entirety of the circular room's walls. "We need to work out what her actual name could've been."
"Not True Name, I hope," Scytale asked suspiciously.
"No, just her common name." Lucy traced the fire pattern the young demoness was casting with her hands and compared it to the picture of the flames on the signboard of the palace in the background. "It looks like she was an Infernal Demon. She's using the Flames of Ira, so she came from a family branch that specialised in the Wrath abilities."
Scytale looked at the woman and nodded. "Her title says she wears scarlet, so… yep, I can see that. She also 'Blesses with Vengeance'. I can't see that being the ability of the Luxuria branch. They're too interested in seducing poor plebs."
"Nefas Infernalis as the last name, an Ira derivative for her middle name," Lucy mused, walking over to the next scene where the demoness was burning an entire army. "There are three possible middle names for female demons that were Ira derivatives. But first name…"
The last scene had her ascension to Ancient Daemon. A strange orb was held in her hands, and the scene depicted her stuck in a mid-way point between the form of the Ancient Dameon statue and her original body. Lucille tilted her head when she noticed there were minuscule characters engraved across the forehead of the reflection of the demoness in the orb.
"Hellawes Irada Nefas Infernalis. Hellawes Iradian Nefas Infernalis," Lucy stated out loud. "Hellawes Irandes… Nefas Infernalis."
The grey statue in the centre of the room glowed with blood light. The sheet she was wrapped in bloomed with colour until the pale grey skin of the statue demoness was wrapped in crimson… or scarlet, robes.
[Sub-Objective Complete: Determine the true identity of the Ancient Daemon.]
[Completion Rate: +2%]
[New! Completion Rate: 34%]
Lucille looked at Scytale. "That was easy, wasn't it? Now I just need to write down her most important life events on paper…"
- Location
- Earth: Universe Meta - 1
I forget, do they have access to their skills during these stages?
Infinityphoenix
Fantasizer
- Location
- Australia
Yep, but they don't have their Statuses, so they can't see the numerical quantity of their mana or Hp. They also can't see skill info and other stuff.
- Location
- Earth: Universe Meta - 1
So Lucy wants to know more about the Demon Emperor, and gets a skill that let's her understand understand "Ancient Daemon traces and sigils." Which the system is talking to her through. Now the tutorial is all about Ancient Demons, and said skill immediately gets a workout.
Yeah, I'd say that matches. Especially since it's a unique skill. So might need a bit of testing to see how well it works in practice. Plus someone is both helping and trolling Lucy.
Yeah, I'd say that matches. Especially since it's a unique skill. So might need a bit of testing to see how well it works in practice. Plus someone is both helping and trolling Lucy.
Chapter 86 (2 of 2) She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance.
New
Infinityphoenix
Fantasizer
- Location
- Australia
[S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 15: Fragment of Chaos]
How shall you be recorded in the annals of dimensional explorers without evidence of your discovery? You have obtained knowledge of the truth, but you're not finished here yet.
It is the goal of researchers to make use of their knowledge, so leave your permanent mark on this chaotic and hostile realm![Collapse]
Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:
Compulsory:
[Completion Rate: 40%]
Lucille's gaze was weary as she read the optional objective. "It's official. The System wants to torment me with horrors far beyond my current capabilities." She ran a hand down her face. "A fragment of its vessel… I don't like the sound of that. Not one bit."
"So… you know what this 'vessel' is?" Scytale asked.
She glanced at him and shook her head. "I've never heard of it. But I have to assume it's a 'conduit' to the Ancient Daemon in some way or another. It likely has something to do with how they're connected to the Demon Realm."
Lucy placed her hands behind her back and began pacing, musing over the new information. "If it's supposed to be a channel or conduit to the realms…" She gestured to her bond. "The Primals have channels to the magical beasts by virtue of their 'bloodlines', but Primarchs don't work that way. Their 'channels' are their connections to the minds of those who draw on their abilities, calling down their incarnations and such with Thaumaturgy. Then you have the Paragon Anomalies, but their classification is 'higher race' and draws upon connections to concepts. I'm not certain as to what their conduit is. They might exist without ones."
She looked up in thought. "Ancient Daemons don't channel through lineages because the randomness of a demon's abilities can be easily seen, but the only instance I've seen where Great Beings have been so rooted in the physical realm is the Chthons of Tartarus, and they're the 'Sectors' that the Vigils categorise themselves as. Looking at the pattern, the conduit method of Ancient Daemons should be completely different from other Great Beings."
Lucille paused as an idea came to mind. "Unless these 'Ancient Daemon' Seals are only important because they're where an object related to them has physically formed, rather than this entire room being evidence of their connection to the realm."
Scytale screwed up his nose. "I don't really get it, but…" He pointed at something in the middle of the room. "Would that count as an 'object'?"
Their eyes fell upon the statue of the Ancient Daemon formerly known as Hellawes Nefas Infernalis. After her name had been called by Lucy in the prior stage, the colour of her robes was slowly leeching away once more to return to normal stone. They walked closer to study the tall statue.
"The demonic power here is certainly stronger, but I can't say whether this is the 'vessel' mentioned," Lucille remarked.
"I think it's our best bet." The humanoid snake sat on the block the statue was resting on. "It's not like we could see the energies of a Great Being with our strength anyway. Only Rank-7s have a chance of that."
"Yes, but…" Lucille tapped on her mask. "I can see Influence with the Shard, remember? It may let me see this too."
Her bond considered it with a frown. "But… it can also see the System. And you said that sensation wasn't very nice."
Lucille sighed and crossed her arms. "The Shard of Totality has… shall I say, 'levels' to it. I could see into the spiritual realm, but then I could also see the System Influence that composed other people's Status information, and then finally go beyond that to perceive the impossible metaphysical forces of the System which resides within the esoteric anti-dimensional boundaries of the 'Tower'." Lucy dismissively waved her hand. "The Tower is still nothing more than a glorified elevator shaft in my opinion, but that's off-topic."
She planted her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at the statue. "I understand what you're worried about because with us being in one of the 'Stages' right now, a construct on par with the System, Tower, Malkisofret's Mansion and such, I could see the Stages and hurt myself. But that's if I try too hard. I'm confident I can control it."
He threw up his hands and backed away. "Look, it's your decision, not mine. The System altered your Stages for this, so it probably assumes you'll use the Shard. We just don't know what the consequences of doing this are, that's all."
Lucy removed her mask and watched the statue. She circled to its front, and when she felt that she had readied her mind enough to attempt observing the power of a Great Being, she focused on the Shard, gradually increasing the mana and spiritual energy flow to it.
The first thing she noticed was that the statue was luminous. Demonic power had completely filled it to the brim and flowed out of it. It was practically a bottomless well of demonic power… which made a lot of sense to Lucille, considering she knew that Strongholds could only be built near where Ancient Daemon Seals were.
Her focus increased as she wanted to look past what spiritual perception could see.
The Lucille was hit by the alien sensations of impossibly white light trapped within a bottomless abyss of blackness, coiling around each other in a disorderly vortex that paradoxically seemed to grow larger and smaller simultaneously around a hollowed out core of reddest red. And words, sights, and sounds whispered out of the vortex, impressing upon her the past, present and future of an ageless daemonic being who swam in and out of the continuum and metaphysical realms, their entirety condensed into the amalgamation of cause and effect, Influence and a more powerful energy used only by the Constructs. Their very being existing for one purpose, to oppose those of Pandemonium and answer to their master, their creator, their progenitor, both the same and alien from them who was call-
Lucille stumbled as not even a nanosecond after she had breached the layer had she shut off the Shard. She crashed to the floor as Scytale ran forward to support her. Lucy fumbled with her mask and swept away the blood coating her cheek as she slid the mask back on. Scytale wordlessly took out a towel for her which she used to stem her bloody nose.
"And that is strike two for Lucy, never to use the Shard again," Scytale announced smugly.
She shot him a flat look and removed the damp towel from her face. Lucy mopped up the blood from her bleeding right eye too. "A vessel is a wholly inadequate term to describe what it is. A chain or fetter would be more accurate. It's also… artificial."
Scytale blinked. "What? Did someone seal the Ancient Daemon here? Who?"
"I don't… know." She had her suspicions, but it wasn't relevant to their situation. Lucille stood up, walked around and put an ungloved palm on the back of the statue. "What I do know is that this is the object we're looking for and that I made a severe miscalculation when attempting to glimpse the Ancient Daemon's power." She let out a humourless laugh. "I didn't consider that the Stages can recreate the ability of a Great Being to exist regardless of time and space. I was overwhelmed by the entirety of the Ancient Daemon's past, present and future."
Lucy shook her head. "I can only say that my soul power is what allowed me to survive. And even though the Stages tried to recreate it…" She shuddered slightly. "This is barely more than an illusion of an Ancient Daemon Seal and vessel. It's an artificial, simulated and superficial model of what the real thing is like."
"…yeah, uh, I might ask you to keep the memories of that away from me." He walked forward and stood beside her. "So, what do we do?"
"Well, I noted that the vessel is incomplete." Lucy ran her fingers over the statue's back until she felt something give. A round stone plate popped out, to reveal the interior of the statue to be solid, red, foggy crystal, except for the spherical hole in the centre. Lucy observed the cut of the crystal around the edges and hummed. "This must be how Stronghold Crystals are made. Taken out of the vessel. Curious."
Scytale peered in and glanced at her. "Just cut a part out with the daggers?"
"Probably. Let me cut into it with Apophis-" The black dagger rebounded off an invisible barrier and sunk into the stone behind them. Lucy looked back and stared. "…I'll get him back and try again."
Lucille walked over to pull out her dagger, but Scytale reached forward out of curiosity to touch the crystal. His hand wasn't rebounded and the crystal made a soft clink when he flicked it. "For some reason I can touch it, though."
She paused and looked back. "Really?" Lucy sheathed Apophis and tried to touch it, but her hand was flung back. She blinked at her palm. "I'm the problem? Why?" She put both hands near the glowing red crystal and attempted to push past the invisible barrier. "Hm? It's reacting to my left hand more."
Lucy pulled back her left hand's glove to see that the Mark of the Primordial Demon had reemerged and was glinting with red, black and white light. She flexed her fingers and hid the mark again, but when she put it near the statue, it was blocked, sometimes with burning pain. She sighed and put her gloves back on. "That stupid Demon Emperor is giving me problems in simulations too."
"Mystery solved then?"
"Not at all. But at least I know you can touch it," she replied.
Scytale glanced between her and the statue and held out his hand. "Pass me Apophis. I'm not exactly the clawed kind of beast, so I'll need something sharper than fingernails to get a chunk out."
She passed him her demonic weapon and he set to work wedging the serrated blade in the back of the statue. With a bit of effort, a finger-sized piece was excavated and he picked it up. Scytale winced and looked down at the crystal in his hands. "I… think there's something wrong with me. I don't feel quite right-"
"Give me that." She snatched it from him before he had held it for even half a second and raised it to observe it. Lucille glanced at his hands. "I believe you could get past the barrier because you're a Primal Descendant, and Primals are antagonistic to Ancient Daemons. However, you're not a Primal yourself, so even a piece as weak as this will still harm you. Look, you have small serrations all over your hands."
He moved his fingers and hissed as beads of blood formed along the small cuts. Golden light mana welled up as he quickly healed himself. "Ouch. That's nasty."
Lucy grabbed one of his hands to inspect it. "Is your mana chaotic?"
"No, there isn't any leftover demonic power," Scytale replied.
[Sub-Objective Complete: Obtain the vessel fragment of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance. ]
[Completion Rate: +6%]
[New! Completion Rate: 46%]
"Was your optional objective the same as mine?" Lucy asked, putting away the crystal shard for safekeeping.
"Yep. I got the completion notification." He nodded.
Lucille stretched her arms above her head and gestured for him to follow. "Time to get out of here then. If the System is asking us to locate an exit to this cavern, then I have a feeling it doesn't want us going through the same way we entered."
They walked back out of the tunnel. When they left, some slight trembling of the ground made Lucy narrow her eyes and look back, but it stopped shortly afterwards.
"Something wrong?" Scytale put his hands on his hips.
"No…" She turned back and marched on ahead. "Let's get out of here."
…
"To find this exit, I say we should follow the Blackbrook upstream and-" The words died in Scytale's mouth as he stared at his bond, who was walking ahead without stopping to listen to him.
"Of course, we're going upstream. Downstream only leads deeper underground." Lucy trekked across the large boulders by the pebbled riverbed, leaving Scytale to his own devices.
"I was going to say…" He changed into his snake form and flew up to her to give her a side-eye. "…that I remember seeing this brook outside of the cavern when I did the Stages last time, so I know upstream leads to outside somewhere," he finished sourly. "Do you always have to take credit for everything?"
"Credit should go to those who deserve it," she replied haughtily. Scytale flew close and nipped her arm. Lucy swatted him away. "Don't bite me."
He blew her a mental raspberry. "I'm going to fly ahead to check what's there."
Left alone for the moment, Lucille used the time to fully absorb the memory of what she had seen and store it in a safe way that wouldn't induce a migraine every time she remembered it. The other part of her mind was stealthy scanning their surroundings for threats. She had to be careful because stronger enemies would be more sensitive to her soul power.
"Help! I'm stuck! Stuck!"
Her expression twitched when she saw the situation of her bond and she bolted around the bend in the acidic brook, unsheathing both snake swords. Lucille found herself below a massive spider web that her bond had gotten caught in. He was violently thrashing around, trying to dislodge his wings.
"This spider web silk feels so grimy! Ugh, help me get it off, please! I can tell it'll be stuck in my feathers for the rest of the Stages!"
"..have you ever heard the saying that where there's smoke, there's fire?" Lucy asked dryly.
Scytale stopped to squint at her. "Obviously, but what has that got to do with any…" A sudden tremble across the spider web caused his body to stiffen up.
"Yes, well, where there is spider silk…" Lucille pointed up, fixing her gaze on the gargantuan blood-red arachnid tentatively climbing down from the ceiling onto its web. "…there's a spider."
The noisy snake's eyes went wide. "Why do I always have to meet these nasty bugs?! First the Dungeon, now this! Give me a good cockroach to stomp on any day!"
"Arachnids aren't bugs," she reminded him.
"I don't care! Tell me how to get out of this situation!"
"Well…" Lucille looked up and veeery slowly began to back away. The dark eight orbs of the scarlet spider gazed soullessly at both her and the stupid snake caught in its web. "As a general rule, demon beasts prefer to keep their prey alive to the last minute. This is because the bodies of dead demons disappear when they get reformed in another part of the realm. So, it wants to poison you while you're still alive so it can absorb your demonic power as mundane spiders absorb the liquified bodies of their prey."
"I'm not a demon! Also, how does that help me?!"
"The only way to get it to ignore you is if you seem dead. Arachnids generally have poor eyesight, so to prevent them from detecting the vibrations from their webs… you need to remain quiet and very, very still." Her voice dropped to a whisper.
Scytale's body locked up as harsh spider hairs brushed against him, a leg coming way too close for comfort. His own 30-metre-length body was nothing compared to the monstrosity hovering above him.
"Uh…. What is it-"
Scytale, I said to stay silent. Use the bond if you need to.
"But why the bond-"
Do you want to stop yourself from getting eaten by this thing or not?
He didn't retort and stayed utterly still and silent.
…until the spider's mandibles clicked right next to his tail and he yelped at the top of his lungs.
"Ew ew ew! Lucy, I swear I can see saliva dripping from those fangs. It's going to get on my scales and feather-"
"Scytale you idiot! It's a demon beast! Its demonic silk can pick up on the spiritual energy of your mental transmission!" Lucille yelled as her eyes went wide.
The spider chattered and hissed right at that moment and spat a globule of thick black sludge at Scytale. The winged snake wriggled with all his might to escape the thick web, until the sharp barb on one of the legs of the spider severed the weakened thread and he tumbled away. He hastily tried to shrug off the silk as the two of them ran – or slithered – away from the angered arachnid.
"It was a mistake to do the stages with you," Lucy muttered darkly, ducking behind a column of fern-covered stone. The spider chittered angrily and ran up the side of the cavern to get a better vantage point.
Rocks dislodged by the mammoth demon beast began falling from above and they sped off, stones tumbling into the hissing and bubbling river alongside them.
"It was an accident! I never wanted to be caught in that mess!"
"Does it seem like I care? You were too careless!"
"Not as careless as when you tried to use the Shard to- look! The river is coming out of a tunnel!"
Lucy noticed it at the same time as he did and ran towards it. The demon beast above them spotted them making a beeline for the tunnel opening smaller than it could fit through and screeched wildly. It continued crawling across the slowly lowering cavern ceiling.
The demon spider made it to the opening before they did and waited menacingly above the exit, rocks falling all around them.
"We just need to make a break for it," Lucille said while taking deep breaths. "I'll use Ouroboros to shield us against its venom, so ignore it and go."
Scytale narrowed his slitted eyes at the beast above them. "Y'know, I think I've got the perfect shot to attack it right now…"
"No, it's not worth it. We've almost made it so let's just-"
A bolt of light mana shot out and hit the spider right in the middle of its back. The cavern wall rumbled and it fell down… with them right below it.
Lucy's eyes widened. "Scytale!"
The world faded to white.
…
"Uh… okay, fine. I confess." Scytale raised his hands in surrender. "I purposely antagonised the spider by yelling. It was a dumb move, I get it. I just thought I felt a little give from the silk and wanted to break it."
Lucy didn't remove the hand pressing down on her nose bridge within the endless confines of the System limbo space.
"But how could I have known the exit was right there!" he argued, gesturing with his hands. "If I knew we were so close then I wouldn't have –"
"Wouldn't have what, Scytale?" she hissed.
Scytale shut his mouth, his self-preservation instinct – regarding Lucy – very belatedly kicking in.
Lucille took a deep breath to calm herself, and then fixed a bright smile on her face. "One more Stage. One. More. Stage. That's all we need to do for today! That's right. I'll be rid of you after redoing Stage 15 and then taking this last Stage."
She tapped on Stage 15 and they were whisked away back to the Ancient Daemon Seal room. A small comfort was the pain that Scytale had to go through again to get the fragment.
…
[S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 16: Propagation of Chaos's Influence]
Oh poor weak denizens of the other realms, you have unleashed a catastrophe on the Dominion with your actions. For how could ones such as yourselves dare to fracture the vessel of the Ancient Daemon? A being magnitudes more powerful than you carved Stronghold Crystals from Her vessel, but you relied on pure luck.
In the wake of your path, Her fetters have loosened and called Her back to the realm. She will be infuriated to hear of what has been taken from Her. The Stronghold ruler of the Stronghold you have been heading towards has been alerted to the shattering of his crystal, and their forces have been thrown into disarray.
But you have a more immediate problem on your hands. After all, this daemonic paradise under the mountain has only thrived due to Her power. With Her unleashed…
…you must escape before the mountain range collapses on you.
[Collapse]
Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:
Compulsory:
[Completion Rate: 50%]
Lucille and Scytale traded glances. Lucy only said one word: "Run."
Before they had crossed their first ten metres, the land below them began to rumble and they charged up the steep slope whose base they had emerged from. The cave behind them crumbled, forever blocking that path, and the acidic river that flowed into it began to pool, the beginnings of a new lake forming.
The earth below their feet began to rise and crack, forming ridges. Scytale grasped Lucy's wrist and pulled her over to his side before they were pushed apart. Both of their enhanced AGIs were beyond helpful as they leapt from one shattering rock face to another, landslides forming along the valley walls on either side. It was almost as if the destruction was following them… and them alone.
They continued to run like that for several more minutes, Scytale remaining in his human form to help Lucy when she needed it. Her shirt pocket began to glow and she pulled out the vessel fragment to see the chaotic light emitting from it.
"Is it attracted to the collapsed cavern?" Scytale yelled over the sound of crashing trees and howling demon beasts.
"We need to put some space between us and the cavern, or else we won't be able to get ahead." Lucy nodded to her bond and threw him the shard.
Scytale ignored the pain caused by it and put it in his mouth. With a flash of light, he returned to his true form and flew up into the sky, flying at a slightly different angle to attract the destruction away from Lucille.
The collapsing of the valley seemed to stop as other mountains turned into rubble in Scytale's wake. With the opportunity now available to get to the next zone, she focused on following the path she remembered to the Stronghold, her bond with Scytale an effective beacon for him to meet up with her again.
Ten minutes later she burst through the gates of the Stronghold, to the shouts of surprise of the citizens. As a high-ranked guard marched forward to meet her, she slowed to a stop while breathing heavily and raised the golden cup from her bag into the air.
"I have what your Lord desired," she finally announced.
"Paragon Anomalies…?" Marellen frowned slightly and rubbed his chin. "That sounds faintly familiar… where have I heard that term…"
"Please recall where you heard it, if at all possible," Vincent requested politely. "It's important."
"Let me see…" Marellen tapped on his head with a pen, pacing around the room he had been given for his magical experiments. "Paragon Anomalies… anomalies… scholars like to use that term in the Athenaeum…"
Like lightning had struck him he whirled around and pointed at Vincent with the pen. "Aha! You're talking about the Realm Rulers!"
Vincent stared at him. "…what."
"Yes, now I remember!" Marellen crossed his arms and nodded thoughtfully. "Paragon Anomalies is a term I've seen recorded in the journals of a few System Scholars. It's something used by the System and the scholars tried to appeal for the Athenaeum to use that designation, as it's not correct to call those beings 'Realm Rulers' when the Celestial Cardinal Beasts and the World Tree don't rule their realms. It wasn't accepted, but System Scholars still use that term today."
The navy-haired mage blinked when he noticed Vincent's reaction. "Hm? Is something wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"N-No, everything is fine. Thank you for the information."
"You're welcome, but if you don't mind, could I ask what prompted the quest-"
Vincent shut the door on Marellen and stiffly walked away, not even hearing the young man's request.
Lucille calls the Realm Rulers… Paragon Anomalies. She was saying she met with a Realm Ruler last year.
He ruminated over that thought for a minute until he firmly put it out of his mind and gave a large nod.
No, some things aren't worth finding out. This time, I'm willing to live in ignorance. Realm Rulers are above my pay grade.
Content to never bring up the matter of September again, Vincent whistled, not quite realising how much he was imitating Lucy at the moment, and made his way to the Headquarters' exit, looking forward to a much-needed break in his home, away from the residence of Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft.
How shall you be recorded in the annals of dimensional explorers without evidence of your discovery? You have obtained knowledge of the truth, but you're not finished here yet.
It is the goal of researchers to make use of their knowledge, so leave your permanent mark on this chaotic and hostile realm![Collapse]
Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:
- Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.
Compulsory:
- Locate the exit of the Blackbrook Cavern.
- Obtain the vessel fragment of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance.
[Completion Rate: 40%]
Lucille's gaze was weary as she read the optional objective. "It's official. The System wants to torment me with horrors far beyond my current capabilities." She ran a hand down her face. "A fragment of its vessel… I don't like the sound of that. Not one bit."
"So… you know what this 'vessel' is?" Scytale asked.
She glanced at him and shook her head. "I've never heard of it. But I have to assume it's a 'conduit' to the Ancient Daemon in some way or another. It likely has something to do with how they're connected to the Demon Realm."
Lucy placed her hands behind her back and began pacing, musing over the new information. "If it's supposed to be a channel or conduit to the realms…" She gestured to her bond. "The Primals have channels to the magical beasts by virtue of their 'bloodlines', but Primarchs don't work that way. Their 'channels' are their connections to the minds of those who draw on their abilities, calling down their incarnations and such with Thaumaturgy. Then you have the Paragon Anomalies, but their classification is 'higher race' and draws upon connections to concepts. I'm not certain as to what their conduit is. They might exist without ones."
She looked up in thought. "Ancient Daemons don't channel through lineages because the randomness of a demon's abilities can be easily seen, but the only instance I've seen where Great Beings have been so rooted in the physical realm is the Chthons of Tartarus, and they're the 'Sectors' that the Vigils categorise themselves as. Looking at the pattern, the conduit method of Ancient Daemons should be completely different from other Great Beings."
Lucille paused as an idea came to mind. "Unless these 'Ancient Daemon' Seals are only important because they're where an object related to them has physically formed, rather than this entire room being evidence of their connection to the realm."
Scytale screwed up his nose. "I don't really get it, but…" He pointed at something in the middle of the room. "Would that count as an 'object'?"
Their eyes fell upon the statue of the Ancient Daemon formerly known as Hellawes Nefas Infernalis. After her name had been called by Lucy in the prior stage, the colour of her robes was slowly leeching away once more to return to normal stone. They walked closer to study the tall statue.
"The demonic power here is certainly stronger, but I can't say whether this is the 'vessel' mentioned," Lucille remarked.
"I think it's our best bet." The humanoid snake sat on the block the statue was resting on. "It's not like we could see the energies of a Great Being with our strength anyway. Only Rank-7s have a chance of that."
"Yes, but…" Lucille tapped on her mask. "I can see Influence with the Shard, remember? It may let me see this too."
Her bond considered it with a frown. "But… it can also see the System. And you said that sensation wasn't very nice."
Lucille sighed and crossed her arms. "The Shard of Totality has… shall I say, 'levels' to it. I could see into the spiritual realm, but then I could also see the System Influence that composed other people's Status information, and then finally go beyond that to perceive the impossible metaphysical forces of the System which resides within the esoteric anti-dimensional boundaries of the 'Tower'." Lucy dismissively waved her hand. "The Tower is still nothing more than a glorified elevator shaft in my opinion, but that's off-topic."
She planted her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at the statue. "I understand what you're worried about because with us being in one of the 'Stages' right now, a construct on par with the System, Tower, Malkisofret's Mansion and such, I could see the Stages and hurt myself. But that's if I try too hard. I'm confident I can control it."
He threw up his hands and backed away. "Look, it's your decision, not mine. The System altered your Stages for this, so it probably assumes you'll use the Shard. We just don't know what the consequences of doing this are, that's all."
Lucy removed her mask and watched the statue. She circled to its front, and when she felt that she had readied her mind enough to attempt observing the power of a Great Being, she focused on the Shard, gradually increasing the mana and spiritual energy flow to it.
The first thing she noticed was that the statue was luminous. Demonic power had completely filled it to the brim and flowed out of it. It was practically a bottomless well of demonic power… which made a lot of sense to Lucille, considering she knew that Strongholds could only be built near where Ancient Daemon Seals were.
Her focus increased as she wanted to look past what spiritual perception could see.
The Lucille was hit by the alien sensations of impossibly white light trapped within a bottomless abyss of blackness, coiling around each other in a disorderly vortex that paradoxically seemed to grow larger and smaller simultaneously around a hollowed out core of reddest red. And words, sights, and sounds whispered out of the vortex, impressing upon her the past, present and future of an ageless daemonic being who swam in and out of the continuum and metaphysical realms, their entirety condensed into the amalgamation of cause and effect, Influence and a more powerful energy used only by the Constructs. Their very being existing for one purpose, to oppose those of Pandemonium and answer to their master, their creator, their progenitor, both the same and alien from them who was call-
Lucille stumbled as not even a nanosecond after she had breached the layer had she shut off the Shard. She crashed to the floor as Scytale ran forward to support her. Lucy fumbled with her mask and swept away the blood coating her cheek as she slid the mask back on. Scytale wordlessly took out a towel for her which she used to stem her bloody nose.
"And that is strike two for Lucy, never to use the Shard again," Scytale announced smugly.
She shot him a flat look and removed the damp towel from her face. Lucy mopped up the blood from her bleeding right eye too. "A vessel is a wholly inadequate term to describe what it is. A chain or fetter would be more accurate. It's also… artificial."
Scytale blinked. "What? Did someone seal the Ancient Daemon here? Who?"
"I don't… know." She had her suspicions, but it wasn't relevant to their situation. Lucille stood up, walked around and put an ungloved palm on the back of the statue. "What I do know is that this is the object we're looking for and that I made a severe miscalculation when attempting to glimpse the Ancient Daemon's power." She let out a humourless laugh. "I didn't consider that the Stages can recreate the ability of a Great Being to exist regardless of time and space. I was overwhelmed by the entirety of the Ancient Daemon's past, present and future."
Lucy shook her head. "I can only say that my soul power is what allowed me to survive. And even though the Stages tried to recreate it…" She shuddered slightly. "This is barely more than an illusion of an Ancient Daemon Seal and vessel. It's an artificial, simulated and superficial model of what the real thing is like."
"…yeah, uh, I might ask you to keep the memories of that away from me." He walked forward and stood beside her. "So, what do we do?"
"Well, I noted that the vessel is incomplete." Lucy ran her fingers over the statue's back until she felt something give. A round stone plate popped out, to reveal the interior of the statue to be solid, red, foggy crystal, except for the spherical hole in the centre. Lucy observed the cut of the crystal around the edges and hummed. "This must be how Stronghold Crystals are made. Taken out of the vessel. Curious."
Scytale peered in and glanced at her. "Just cut a part out with the daggers?"
"Probably. Let me cut into it with Apophis-" The black dagger rebounded off an invisible barrier and sunk into the stone behind them. Lucy looked back and stared. "…I'll get him back and try again."
Lucille walked over to pull out her dagger, but Scytale reached forward out of curiosity to touch the crystal. His hand wasn't rebounded and the crystal made a soft clink when he flicked it. "For some reason I can touch it, though."
She paused and looked back. "Really?" Lucy sheathed Apophis and tried to touch it, but her hand was flung back. She blinked at her palm. "I'm the problem? Why?" She put both hands near the glowing red crystal and attempted to push past the invisible barrier. "Hm? It's reacting to my left hand more."
Lucy pulled back her left hand's glove to see that the Mark of the Primordial Demon had reemerged and was glinting with red, black and white light. She flexed her fingers and hid the mark again, but when she put it near the statue, it was blocked, sometimes with burning pain. She sighed and put her gloves back on. "That stupid Demon Emperor is giving me problems in simulations too."
"Mystery solved then?"
"Not at all. But at least I know you can touch it," she replied.
Scytale glanced between her and the statue and held out his hand. "Pass me Apophis. I'm not exactly the clawed kind of beast, so I'll need something sharper than fingernails to get a chunk out."
She passed him her demonic weapon and he set to work wedging the serrated blade in the back of the statue. With a bit of effort, a finger-sized piece was excavated and he picked it up. Scytale winced and looked down at the crystal in his hands. "I… think there's something wrong with me. I don't feel quite right-"
"Give me that." She snatched it from him before he had held it for even half a second and raised it to observe it. Lucille glanced at his hands. "I believe you could get past the barrier because you're a Primal Descendant, and Primals are antagonistic to Ancient Daemons. However, you're not a Primal yourself, so even a piece as weak as this will still harm you. Look, you have small serrations all over your hands."
He moved his fingers and hissed as beads of blood formed along the small cuts. Golden light mana welled up as he quickly healed himself. "Ouch. That's nasty."
Lucy grabbed one of his hands to inspect it. "Is your mana chaotic?"
"No, there isn't any leftover demonic power," Scytale replied.
[Sub-Objective Complete: Obtain the vessel fragment of She In Her Scarlet Raiment Who Blesses With Vengeance. ]
[Completion Rate: +6%]
[New! Completion Rate: 46%]
"Was your optional objective the same as mine?" Lucy asked, putting away the crystal shard for safekeeping.
"Yep. I got the completion notification." He nodded.
Lucille stretched her arms above her head and gestured for him to follow. "Time to get out of here then. If the System is asking us to locate an exit to this cavern, then I have a feeling it doesn't want us going through the same way we entered."
They walked back out of the tunnel. When they left, some slight trembling of the ground made Lucy narrow her eyes and look back, but it stopped shortly afterwards.
"Something wrong?" Scytale put his hands on his hips.
"No…" She turned back and marched on ahead. "Let's get out of here."
…
"To find this exit, I say we should follow the Blackbrook upstream and-" The words died in Scytale's mouth as he stared at his bond, who was walking ahead without stopping to listen to him.
"Of course, we're going upstream. Downstream only leads deeper underground." Lucy trekked across the large boulders by the pebbled riverbed, leaving Scytale to his own devices.
"I was going to say…" He changed into his snake form and flew up to her to give her a side-eye. "…that I remember seeing this brook outside of the cavern when I did the Stages last time, so I know upstream leads to outside somewhere," he finished sourly. "Do you always have to take credit for everything?"
"Credit should go to those who deserve it," she replied haughtily. Scytale flew close and nipped her arm. Lucy swatted him away. "Don't bite me."
He blew her a mental raspberry. "I'm going to fly ahead to check what's there."
Left alone for the moment, Lucille used the time to fully absorb the memory of what she had seen and store it in a safe way that wouldn't induce a migraine every time she remembered it. The other part of her mind was stealthy scanning their surroundings for threats. She had to be careful because stronger enemies would be more sensitive to her soul power.
"Help! I'm stuck! Stuck!"
Her expression twitched when she saw the situation of her bond and she bolted around the bend in the acidic brook, unsheathing both snake swords. Lucille found herself below a massive spider web that her bond had gotten caught in. He was violently thrashing around, trying to dislodge his wings.
"This spider web silk feels so grimy! Ugh, help me get it off, please! I can tell it'll be stuck in my feathers for the rest of the Stages!"
"..have you ever heard the saying that where there's smoke, there's fire?" Lucy asked dryly.
Scytale stopped to squint at her. "Obviously, but what has that got to do with any…" A sudden tremble across the spider web caused his body to stiffen up.
"Yes, well, where there is spider silk…" Lucille pointed up, fixing her gaze on the gargantuan blood-red arachnid tentatively climbing down from the ceiling onto its web. "…there's a spider."
The noisy snake's eyes went wide. "Why do I always have to meet these nasty bugs?! First the Dungeon, now this! Give me a good cockroach to stomp on any day!"
"Arachnids aren't bugs," she reminded him.
"I don't care! Tell me how to get out of this situation!"
"Well…" Lucille looked up and veeery slowly began to back away. The dark eight orbs of the scarlet spider gazed soullessly at both her and the stupid snake caught in its web. "As a general rule, demon beasts prefer to keep their prey alive to the last minute. This is because the bodies of dead demons disappear when they get reformed in another part of the realm. So, it wants to poison you while you're still alive so it can absorb your demonic power as mundane spiders absorb the liquified bodies of their prey."
"I'm not a demon! Also, how does that help me?!"
"The only way to get it to ignore you is if you seem dead. Arachnids generally have poor eyesight, so to prevent them from detecting the vibrations from their webs… you need to remain quiet and very, very still." Her voice dropped to a whisper.
Scytale's body locked up as harsh spider hairs brushed against him, a leg coming way too close for comfort. His own 30-metre-length body was nothing compared to the monstrosity hovering above him.
"Uh…. What is it-"
Scytale, I said to stay silent. Use the bond if you need to.
"But why the bond-"
Do you want to stop yourself from getting eaten by this thing or not?
He didn't retort and stayed utterly still and silent.
…until the spider's mandibles clicked right next to his tail and he yelped at the top of his lungs.
"Ew ew ew! Lucy, I swear I can see saliva dripping from those fangs. It's going to get on my scales and feather-"
"Scytale you idiot! It's a demon beast! Its demonic silk can pick up on the spiritual energy of your mental transmission!" Lucille yelled as her eyes went wide.
The spider chattered and hissed right at that moment and spat a globule of thick black sludge at Scytale. The winged snake wriggled with all his might to escape the thick web, until the sharp barb on one of the legs of the spider severed the weakened thread and he tumbled away. He hastily tried to shrug off the silk as the two of them ran – or slithered – away from the angered arachnid.
"It was a mistake to do the stages with you," Lucy muttered darkly, ducking behind a column of fern-covered stone. The spider chittered angrily and ran up the side of the cavern to get a better vantage point.
Rocks dislodged by the mammoth demon beast began falling from above and they sped off, stones tumbling into the hissing and bubbling river alongside them.
"It was an accident! I never wanted to be caught in that mess!"
"Does it seem like I care? You were too careless!"
"Not as careless as when you tried to use the Shard to- look! The river is coming out of a tunnel!"
Lucy noticed it at the same time as he did and ran towards it. The demon beast above them spotted them making a beeline for the tunnel opening smaller than it could fit through and screeched wildly. It continued crawling across the slowly lowering cavern ceiling.
The demon spider made it to the opening before they did and waited menacingly above the exit, rocks falling all around them.
"We just need to make a break for it," Lucille said while taking deep breaths. "I'll use Ouroboros to shield us against its venom, so ignore it and go."
Scytale narrowed his slitted eyes at the beast above them. "Y'know, I think I've got the perfect shot to attack it right now…"
"No, it's not worth it. We've almost made it so let's just-"
A bolt of light mana shot out and hit the spider right in the middle of its back. The cavern wall rumbled and it fell down… with them right below it.
Lucy's eyes widened. "Scytale!"
The world faded to white.
…
"Uh… okay, fine. I confess." Scytale raised his hands in surrender. "I purposely antagonised the spider by yelling. It was a dumb move, I get it. I just thought I felt a little give from the silk and wanted to break it."
Lucy didn't remove the hand pressing down on her nose bridge within the endless confines of the System limbo space.
"But how could I have known the exit was right there!" he argued, gesturing with his hands. "If I knew we were so close then I wouldn't have –"
"Wouldn't have what, Scytale?" she hissed.
Scytale shut his mouth, his self-preservation instinct – regarding Lucy – very belatedly kicking in.
Lucille took a deep breath to calm herself, and then fixed a bright smile on her face. "One more Stage. One. More. Stage. That's all we need to do for today! That's right. I'll be rid of you after redoing Stage 15 and then taking this last Stage."
She tapped on Stage 15 and they were whisked away back to the Ancient Daemon Seal room. A small comfort was the pain that Scytale had to go through again to get the fragment.
…
[S.T.A.G.E.S | Stage 16: Propagation of Chaos's Influence]
Oh poor weak denizens of the other realms, you have unleashed a catastrophe on the Dominion with your actions. For how could ones such as yourselves dare to fracture the vessel of the Ancient Daemon? A being magnitudes more powerful than you carved Stronghold Crystals from Her vessel, but you relied on pure luck.
In the wake of your path, Her fetters have loosened and called Her back to the realm. She will be infuriated to hear of what has been taken from Her. The Stronghold ruler of the Stronghold you have been heading towards has been alerted to the shattering of his crystal, and their forces have been thrown into disarray.
But you have a more immediate problem on your hands. After all, this daemonic paradise under the mountain has only thrived due to Her power. With Her unleashed…
…you must escape before the mountain range collapses on you.
[Collapse]
Main Quest (Rank-2: Demon Realm) Overall Objective:
- Last two weeks while being pursued by forces so that the stolen treasure you carry can be placed on the summoning ritual along with yourselves.
Compulsory:
- Escape the collapsing mountain range.
[Completion Rate: 50%]
Lucille and Scytale traded glances. Lucy only said one word: "Run."
Before they had crossed their first ten metres, the land below them began to rumble and they charged up the steep slope whose base they had emerged from. The cave behind them crumbled, forever blocking that path, and the acidic river that flowed into it began to pool, the beginnings of a new lake forming.
The earth below their feet began to rise and crack, forming ridges. Scytale grasped Lucy's wrist and pulled her over to his side before they were pushed apart. Both of their enhanced AGIs were beyond helpful as they leapt from one shattering rock face to another, landslides forming along the valley walls on either side. It was almost as if the destruction was following them… and them alone.
They continued to run like that for several more minutes, Scytale remaining in his human form to help Lucy when she needed it. Her shirt pocket began to glow and she pulled out the vessel fragment to see the chaotic light emitting from it.
"Is it attracted to the collapsed cavern?" Scytale yelled over the sound of crashing trees and howling demon beasts.
"We need to put some space between us and the cavern, or else we won't be able to get ahead." Lucy nodded to her bond and threw him the shard.
Scytale ignored the pain caused by it and put it in his mouth. With a flash of light, he returned to his true form and flew up into the sky, flying at a slightly different angle to attract the destruction away from Lucille.
The collapsing of the valley seemed to stop as other mountains turned into rubble in Scytale's wake. With the opportunity now available to get to the next zone, she focused on following the path she remembered to the Stronghold, her bond with Scytale an effective beacon for him to meet up with her again.
Ten minutes later she burst through the gates of the Stronghold, to the shouts of surprise of the citizens. As a high-ranked guard marched forward to meet her, she slowed to a stop while breathing heavily and raised the golden cup from her bag into the air.
"I have what your Lord desired," she finally announced.
"Paragon Anomalies…?" Marellen frowned slightly and rubbed his chin. "That sounds faintly familiar… where have I heard that term…"
"Please recall where you heard it, if at all possible," Vincent requested politely. "It's important."
"Let me see…" Marellen tapped on his head with a pen, pacing around the room he had been given for his magical experiments. "Paragon Anomalies… anomalies… scholars like to use that term in the Athenaeum…"
Like lightning had struck him he whirled around and pointed at Vincent with the pen. "Aha! You're talking about the Realm Rulers!"
Vincent stared at him. "…what."
"Yes, now I remember!" Marellen crossed his arms and nodded thoughtfully. "Paragon Anomalies is a term I've seen recorded in the journals of a few System Scholars. It's something used by the System and the scholars tried to appeal for the Athenaeum to use that designation, as it's not correct to call those beings 'Realm Rulers' when the Celestial Cardinal Beasts and the World Tree don't rule their realms. It wasn't accepted, but System Scholars still use that term today."
The navy-haired mage blinked when he noticed Vincent's reaction. "Hm? Is something wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"N-No, everything is fine. Thank you for the information."
"You're welcome, but if you don't mind, could I ask what prompted the quest-"
Vincent shut the door on Marellen and stiffly walked away, not even hearing the young man's request.
Lucille calls the Realm Rulers… Paragon Anomalies. She was saying she met with a Realm Ruler last year.
He ruminated over that thought for a minute until he firmly put it out of his mind and gave a large nod.
No, some things aren't worth finding out. This time, I'm willing to live in ignorance. Realm Rulers are above my pay grade.
Content to never bring up the matter of September again, Vincent whistled, not quite realising how much he was imitating Lucy at the moment, and made his way to the Headquarters' exit, looking forward to a much-needed break in his home, away from the residence of Lucille Adrienne Goldcroft.
Sorry! I've been busy with uni. Had a lot of stuff going on this week. But important news! I've updated the Glossary on my Royal Road page, and it now includes entries about the Demon Realm and Scytale. I highly recommend reading the section about the Paragon Anomaly. There's more than one secret about the Demon Emperor in there.
Patreon (x10 chapters!):
Discord (Come get your Qualified Scytale Feeder role!):
Honorary mention of my first Plebeian: Purplexa
[Title: Nobility | Type: Discord/Role]
DoomByCookies, getthepoptart21, znarken, skywatchwolf, Omega, Oxylus, lagia1614, whoknows, sesse4880, rain6295, augustus63, V9
[Title: Rank-5 | Type: Discord/Role]
secret
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[Title: Demon Nobility | Type: Discord/Role]
Snakee
Chapter 87 (1 of 2) The Tumultuous Past of the Goldcroft Heir.
New
Infinityphoenix
Fantasizer
- Location
- Australia
A certain crafter stuck his head around a doorway, eyes narrowed. "Where's the snake?"
Lucille didn't look up and pulled the next page forward. "Why do you care?"
"For the last week he hasn't come to bother me once. I can't help being suspicious." Sedric walked forward and dumped a metal case on her desk, containing her armguards. "I've finished fine tuning these. Your suggestions helped a lot."
"Good. And for your information, the snake is busy suffering through his chores under the watchful eye of the guardian spirit," Lucy stressed.
Sedric crossed his arms. "He's getting punished? Why?"
She put down her work and intertwined her fingers. Lucy rested her chin on them and smiled brightly. "For sabotaging a Stage when close to completion, not just once, but twice after I warned him after the first Stage."
He flinched back. "Yeah, that would do it." Sedric hesitated and gave her an odd look. "Are you going to be dealing with this… situation any time soon?"
Lucy leaned back and spun a pen. "Why, what 'situation' could you possibly mean?"
Sedric wordlessly gestured with both arms to the blonde-haired girl glaring at Lucy, looking around the doorframe into the room.
Lucille turned her gaze to the angry Prophetess, and nodded. "Ah, Annaliese. I didn't see you there."
"Don't lie!" Annaliese replied, scowling. "I've been here for the last ten minutes! You're just ignoring me!"
"Your evidence?"
The girl jabbed a finger at the arcane barrier completely covering the entrance of the study. Sedric, not being the one the barrier was protecting against, had been free to enter. Annaliese glared at her. "Why does this barrier only prevent me from entering?!"
Lucille considered it with a hand on her chin. After a long pause, she raised a finger. "…You're unlucky."
"I'm the Prophetess of Fate!"
"…Count Goldcroft, I need to check on the Prophetess's brother, but for that I need the Prophetess to relocate," Sir Albrecht spoke up wearily. He was standing behind his ward.
Lucy sighed and waved a hand, causing the barrier to disintegrate. "Fine. But Annaliese, keep in mind that I'm quite busy, don't do anything that might disrupt my-"
Annaliese rushed forward and nearly pushed Lucille out of the armchair in an attempt to give her a hug.
Lucy groaned. "I knew this was going to happen…"
"How can you be so mean when I haven't seen you for two months?" Annaliese complained, looking up at Lucille.
Lucy gazed silently at her for a second and then pushed her off to get up from the chair. She rolled her eyes and sighed when as she was leaving her study, the girl followed after her.
"Tell me what's been happening while I've been gone! You went on an adventure without me again, didn't you?" Annaliese asked with suspicion.
Lucille spotted a potential distraction and grabbed the Prophetess by the shoulders, spun her around to face another corridor, then pushed her over to the aide that had just come across them. "Why don't you ask Vincent all about the events of the past two months?" she suggested cheerily. "I'm sure he has the time to spare for you."
Vincent blinked and pushed up his glasses. "Actually, Lucille, I'm just heading off to meet with a merchant of Chavaret-"
"See? He has plenty of time. Go ask him." With that, Lucy walked off.
Annaliese blinked and then turned around to go after her. "But I don't want to talk to Vincent."
Vincent raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself as the others walked off. Lucy stopped on the spot as an idea came to mind. She turned to face Annaliese, and then snapped her fingers.
Annaliese's eyes widened as the invisibility spell Lucy had cast activated and hid her form view. "Wait! No!"
Lucy felt that it was a sad day that the former Admiral of the Distorted Depths had to run from a girl more than ten times younger than her.
…
"Get someone to send these over to Jacques," Lucy ordered the silver and red-haired man before her. Caius bowed and walked off as she turned around and saw her full sponsored party. Garthe and Larena were standing behind Marellen and Trisroa.
Lucille took one look at them and nodded. "You've heard from Vincent, I see. Come with me. We'll talk in another room."
Once they were in a lounge away from any accidental eavesdroppers in the form of servants, they sat down and Lucy crossed one leg over the other. "As Vincent has told you, Ravimoux did in fact follow up on your leads regarding the magical items and artifacts you uncovered."
"Does that mean something interesting was… found?" Garthe asked with confusion. "I don't understand how us saying that most of the artifacts had been made using Ancient-ranked Jade Rosewood meant anything."
"Of course it meant something. We now know to investigate the Earldom of Kleur Émeraude in the Everlasting Evenfall Mountains Major Kingdom." Lucy beamed as she leaned her chin on her hands. "Jade Rosewood, while valuable, is not particularly rare, unless it comes to the Kleur Émeraude Earldom which managed to cultivate a variety capable of reaching Ancient ranked." She spread her hands. "Curiously, Alichanteu were not responsibly for importing it to the Beast Realm. They were, however, in charge of exporting it to the Mystical Realm after the handover."
"This is important, because…?" Larena spoke up.
Lucille raised a finger. "The ones who obtained the Jade Rosewood were actually vassals of Chavaret. Ravimoux additionally uncovered that a woman of an Alichanteu clan had married into the vassal clan of Chavaret. This woman's son is now the Lord of the Chavaret noble clan, meaning that this noble family has been covertly taken over to organise this deal in secrecy."
"Yet from all this I can only see one issue. Who were the buyers of this 'Jade Rosewood'?" Roa mused.
Lucy smirked and leaned back. "That's the most important part. It turns out that quite frequently, cultivators of the wood phase tend to purchase Jade Rosewood to study when comprehending their Daos. While a magical material, they can still glean unique insights they wouldn't be able to obtain from spiritual materials."
Marellen frowned, rubbing his chin. "But why did Archmage Merkenia Alichanteu sabotage the convoy? Is it possible that he was actually… trying to protect Alichanteu from being incriminated by their association to cultivators? But is that something that's incriminating?"
Garthe raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't it just be to hide evidence because things were getting risky or something? A cultivator just snuck into the Commission too."
Larena shook her head. "Lucille hadn't joined the Commission yet back then."
Lucy nodded. "And from my discussions with the Counts, I discovered they were unaware of this subterfuge, so minimal risk existed."
"If it's Archmage Merkenia though, it makes sense he destroyed items that would help cultivators," Marellen said with a thoughtful nod. "He's married to a member of the Medolin Duchy, so he's definitely part of Olden. Olden hates cultivators and still wants the Empire to go to war against them and conquer that realm. It's why they support the Citadel, who fight against Diviners."
Lucille had a different opinion.
I'm not so sure about that. It seems they're forgetting the fact that this avalanche wasn't supposed to happen. It was only a response to some unknown emergency situation.
She leaned back and crossed her arms, gazing at the roof in thought.
This faction hates these guys, this faction likes these guys… politics can't be summed up so simply. Anything can persuade someone to work with their enemies for a common goal, if only for a moment. All the enemy has to do in extreme cases… is keep their identity hidden.
The faction behind this is important, yes, but in this situation the 'goal' is much higher priority so we can guess at how many factions are involved. Working conventionally by finding the major faction first is how this'll have to proceed, however.
"We seem to heading towards an irrelevant subject," Roa announced. She fixed an intent gaze Lucy. "Would I be correct in suspecting that you called us here not to discuss theories you have already considered, but to inform us of a plan?"
Lucille smiled and leaned forward. "Radical, Olden, or whoever, it doesn't matter. Yet. All we need to do is set a trap and we can discover the second main force involved here."
"Second?" Larena asked.
"The cultivators are the first, obviously." Lucy shrugged. "As for the specific Sect, it doesn't matter yet. I have strong suspicions, but nothing I can do much about now. However, as fortune – or misfortune – would have it, an intruder from the Heavenly Realm appeared a month ago, and the Commission Head has expressed a vested interest in discovering the person behind this."
She pointed at them. "With the chaotic nature of the Commission right now, Counties eliminating spies left right and centre, guess who will be a little antsy to ensure all evidence of their association with cultivators is fully gone? Whoever it is, they'll be the ones who return to the site of the avalanche and erase the final traces of potential proof. And we'll be ready and waiting."
Larena and Garthe traded vindictive smirks. Marellen nodded enthusiastically, probably enjoying the 'puzzle' of the situation.
"And how shall we lie in wait for them?" Roa asked solemnly, looking very intrigued by the plan.
"We need to keep the spotlight on me and Vincent," Lucille replied, pressing her fingertips together. "In the second half of October, Vincent and I will be visiting Alichanteu and their vassals to meet with their craftsmen, the first of several visits to all the Counties. They wouldn't dare attempt anything on us while everyone is focused on our presence, but it will be an opportunity to undertake other covert operations that appear unrelated to our presence there. Alichanteu is big enough that even with the eyes of the other Counties on them, their weaker vassals still have free movement."
"Operations such as removing all of the incriminating Jade Rosewood," Larena added.
Lucy nodded. "Exactly."
"I believe they would still have reservations with our presence in the Commission," Roa pointed out with a faint frown. "Our party of four are the only remaining witnesses of that event, so we present a risk. From their perspective, if we give the Counties some clue that make them suspicious right when they wish to visit the Beast Realm…"
"Which is why I'm removing you all from the Commission for the next month." Lucille smirked and placed four envelopes on the coffee table between them. She slid them across. "Do you recall our discussion about sending you to Tartarus? It's now October instead of September, but take the opportunity to complete the Stages and Rank up so that you can come back, stronger than ever before."
"It's not going to take a full month to do the Stages, though," Garthe replied. "Maybe two weeks I could understand, given the general Quests we need to do to unlock the Stages, but a whole month?"
Lucille leaned relaxedly against the back of the couch. "I'm not one to waste an opportunity. Inside those four envelopes are the locations of four different members of Tartarus I want you to visit. I want you to extend an invitation to a meeting about Ravimoux's new black market plans in the near future. Each one of you has a different individual, so yes, you will have to split up. They're the members of Tartarus I think each of you will get along with the most."
"I didn't know you were so familiar with people from Tartarus," Larena said with surprise. She pulled out the letter in her envelope out of curiosity and tilted her head at the names. "I have two people here."
"Well, you're already a Rank-3, so you don't need to prepare for the Stages." Lucy straightened her gloves. "Also, I've given you all a full month because these individuals of Tartarus tend to like their little… pranks."
"…pranks," Roa repeated with suspicion.
"Trials, if you will. They like to test mortals and consider it a kind of hobby in a way. I have faith you'll pass the trials without too much difficulty." Lucille smiled and gave them a light shrug. "It's this, or bloodthirsty monstrous undead who want to kill you. When it comes to Tartarus, if you find an undead who doesn't want to kill you, you take what you can get."
She steepled her fingers. "So, are you all up for the task?"
They traded looks, and if by unanimous agreement, they all nodded firmly and pocketed the envelopes. "We'll be sure to be back by November," Marellen said.
"Good." Lucille got up from the couch and headed towards the door. "Take the week to prepare everything you need. Get outfitted in equipment specially made to help against death mana, learn the skills I bought-"
"You got the skills already?! Awesome!" Garthe jumped out and ran out of the room, leaving the others gazing after him with exasperation.
As Marellen and Larena left, Trisroa dipped her head to Lucy. "We will… do as you say."
Lucille was left alone in the living room. While she was aware of the young girl still attempting to find her, she took the brief moment of spare time she had to check up on another unique 'person'.
She immersed herself in the fake senses of her Simulacrum Realm and blinked when instead of the infinite, endless white expanse, she was in a flourishing jungle.
"I recall mentioning that the Dungeon you'll be assimilating is one filled with precious gems and stone walls," Lucille announced aloud with bemusement.
"I have been experimenting with the stores of monster types I have in my Lore-Base, both flora and fauna. Come, follow the path made from luminescent moss."
The voice of the artificial Dungeon echoed out and Lucy curiously walked along the small trail, underneath massive roots and past stacks of flat fungi. The earth bent beneath her as 'Sphere' pulled her past the long trail and right to where it wanted her to be.
Lucy let out an observant hum when she appeared in front of a raised walkway in the centre of the jungle, leading towards a pyramidal structure of some kind. Its aesthetics suggested it was like the ancient ruins found on Old Era planes, if they had been perfectly preserved from the time of their heyday.
"Very… rustic," she announced, planting her hands on her hips.
"Do you appreciate my utilisation of Sky Bender Vines to generate the illusion of outside?" The physical representation of the Dungeon appeared next to her. While still metallic in skin tone, the Dungeon had progressed well in making its appearance look more human. The green eyes had gained the spark of intelligence behind them, and instead of a magical projection, it appeared it had created some kind of metal vessel to use as a body. Perhaps it could be said… that it had created another golem to puppet.
Lucy looked up. "It's very well done. I could imagine people living here for longer amounts of time with a ceiling like that." She glanced at its body again. "I see you have plans to make physical contact with your delvers."
"I understand your reasoning for not informing the Eternal Empire of my existence. I have no desire to be enslaved to consume Dungeons and generate materials to satiate their desires." The M.C.R.U turned to look at its creation. "However, I still wish to communicate with the delvers and study them. For that, I designed this vessel to appear as a 'sentient golem' who can communicate with them on equal terms."
Lucy held her chin and studied it. "Equal terms might be a stretch. The Empire is not as progressive as it seems on the outset. Sentient golems still find it hard to be treated as free thinking beings, unless they're on the plane of the Metal-Borne Coalition."
"That is why I tried to appear as visually human as possible."
She nodded. "A wise choice." Lucille glanced at the structure before them. "Do you plan to build this in your new location?"
"I am undecided, as I have yet to come up with a reason to create this outside of aesthetical purposes," it replied robotically.
"If there is one thing about delvers I know, it's that they love any sort of structure like this," Lucy said with a smirk. "It makes them believe there are valuable treasures inside. You could use this to challenge the adventurers who are greater threats." She turned back to it. "Have you decided on what your fake 'Boss Monster' will be?"
The artificial Dungeon nodded. "It is my current appearance. It is made of metal mana and monster essence."
Lucy blinked and took in its appearance again. "I see…" She looked around once more and then nodded to it. "I'll set aside some time to have a longer discussion with you. While I can accelerate the time in here, that requires a bit of concentration, so I'd prefer to do that when I have free time."
Before she left, Sphere said something else. "Your bond came to me earlier and proposed a plan that will enable you to increase your combat capabilities."
She looked back and raised an eyebrow. "How?"
"He told me that with your control over this artificial realm, any construct you make will be too predictable to give you a worthy challenge. I believe I could rectify this." It waved a hand and gestured to the jungle. "Now that I have joined the realm, my knowledge of monsters and their abilities can be mimicked by the realm. As long as you restrict your own immersion in the realm, I could create monsters here and-"
"-I could accelerate time while I fight them," she finished, thinking deeply. "I had originally discussed this with my bond when I first gained my complete Origin Skill, but because every creature I manifested here I'd know the battle patterns and abilities like the back of my hand, I knew it would be difficult to challenge myself. Scytale has been… unexpectedly helpful."
Lucille looked up at Sphere. "And you're okay with doing this for me?"
"Stronger capabilities for you mean less risk and an earlier date for my transferal to the Minor plane," it stated like it was obvious. "Currently, you are my backer. Any improvement to your strength will be beneficial to me as we are in a relationship of equals."
She raised an eyebrow. "Really."
"There is also… something… else." It was almost like the artificial Dungeon hesitated before continuing, "I have developed a kind of emotion towards you. From my time watching the events of when you first discovered this emotion, I have determined that I feel 'gratitude'. It motivates me to offer you more and greater cost to me for some unknown reason relating to your deal with me."
Lucy smiled. "That would do it. Just do focus too hard on trying to pay me back for anything. You still haven't seen how great a help you will be for me in the future."
When she had returned her consciousness to her body, an idea popped up. One that resolved a large problem she had been considering.
If I want to create a version of Earth's Network for the Tower, then I'll have to make the Simulacrum access propagate in a way that can't be traced back to me. That could be through Sphere's spiritual energy coming in contact with the delvers souls. But as for making it propagate outside of the Dungeon…
She paused and then smirked.
What if I enlist the help of Ravimoux to begin spreading a few rumours that a 'secret' city can be accessed by people with the Simulacrum brand they gained in the Synadis Dungeon? Nothing can be taken out of the Simulacrum Realm, obviously, but if Sphere and I create a zone here that has an amazing appearance as well as experiences such as food and other benefits others will want to enjoy… maybe I could make it a repository for some special information about the future and could subtly begin spreading word around through the Simulacrum too…
With the virtual city only being accessed by people who had been to the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis, people will be more likely to visit the Dungeon city when it forms, and the Simulacrum brand will be spread outside when the visitors leave, trying to prove the location's existence.
And nothing would spread rumours like wildfire more than the Streisand Effect. Where calling something a secret… makes people more curious about what's hidden.
It seems I'll have to make amendments to the black market plan and include it over there too. I have to be careful, though. If this 'secret city' phenomenon becomes too common place in locations owned by the Commission, it'll draw suspicion.
The fastest way for it to spread to the Aeternus plane would be for the Dark Wizards to become interested in the secret city and begin treating it as an asset. Old Era information, maybe a few records with some of the advanced magical theories I discovered…
There were many avenues for this venture. If she brought in the time dilation aspect too, the possibilities were endless. Unfortunately, she had to continue her musings later. She had a needy guest to attend to.
"Lucy! Why didn't you tell me you went to the Beast Realm?!" Annaliese complained, running into the room. "You got Hargrave a present too! What about me? Did you get me anything?!"
Lucy noticed the appearance of a silvery winged snake on the girl's shoulders and narrowed her eyes at the bond who was shirking his chores. Scytale avoided eye contact.
"Hey! Stop ignoring me!" Annaliese planted her hands on the coffee table. Raegan and Sir Albrecht followed and sat down on the couch behind her.
With slow, methodical movements, Lucy reached into her dimensional bag and took out a decorative hair comb. Knowing the Prophetess's favour of wearing her hair half up, she had bought the accessory. But she didn't want to hand it over so easily.
Annaliese's face brightened. "Is that for me?"
Lucille put the hair comb in her own hair. "It's for me," she stated calmly.
The room went silent save for the snake who had burst out into loud laughter and tumbled off of the girl's shoulders. With a golden glow, Scytale turned into a human and clutched his stomach as he kept laughing.
Then there was a thunk as the hair ornament slid out of Lucy's dead straight hair and hit the carpet. She looked down with a strange expression until Scytale's laughter was renewed. Lucy glared at the snake. "Quit laughing at my expense. As much as the appearance of me wearing something in my hair looks amusing to you, I don't find it quite so amusing."
Lucy wordlessly passed the gift over to Annaliese, who eagerly took it and admired the ability of the spell within to change the item's colour on her whim. Then she blinked and gave Lucille a curious look. "You never wear hair ornaments? I mean, I guessed that, but not even in the past?"
"In case you didn't see it, my hair is very texture-less," Lucy stated flatly. "I have, of course, tried to tie my hair up in the past because long hair is annoying, but any hair ties I use slide off within the hour."
"I once joked that her slippery hair and personality must be why we get along," Scytale added with a grin.
"Huh," Annaliese said with surprise. She looked down at the comb and turned to Lucy. "So… this is mine?"
"Yes. Just get it checked by Sir Albrecht so none of the Sages have an opportunity to make me take the fall for a supposed assassination attempt," Lucy replied dismissively.
"They wouldn't do something like that," Annaliese said, looking confused.
Sir Albrecht looked like he wanted to refute her answer, until Annaliese continued, "If they wanted you to be falsely accused then they would've used their allies to pressure the Counties and force the Princes with government positions to say you're guilty regardless of any proof because they're lazy."
Lucille raised her eyebrows. "That's oddly specific."
The Prophetess shrugged. "I overheard their plans to do that to a Dukedom of a Major Plane."
As the blonde-haired girl hummed and positioned the comb while asking her brother if she was doing it right, Lucy exchanged strange looks with Jasten Albrecht. The Paladin sighed and shook his head as he took the comb off of the girl to check for danger.
"Hey Raegan…." Scytale smirked. "I got you something too."
"I don't need your junk," Raegan replied. He crossed his arms. "I've heard from Sedric about the cursed item you gave him."
"Where would I have gotten a cursed item in the Beast Realm?" Scytale shook his head. "Nope, it's not that. But I'm pretty sure you'll like it. Aren't you curious?"
"No." The dark-haired boy turned away.
"Even if it's a weapon…?" Scytale stressed as his smirk grew wider.
Raegan hesitated but remained firm in his conviction to not give in. "I'm not interested."
"That's a shame." Scytale shrugged and pulled out a small knife, running a finger over the edge to test its sharpness. "I guess I'll have to find a use for this trapped knife myself. Using poison isn't really my thing, but if it's a weapon like this with a secret channel to store poison, it'll be cool just to have, right?"
"I've changed my mind." Raegan stormed over and tried to grab the knife from him. "I'll take that gift, thank you very much. You don't fight with weapons anyway, so it's useless to you."
"Nope, you said you didn't want it!"
As they began bickering over it, Sir Albrecht frowned. "I don't like the idea of Raegan having a weapon on his person that enables his… tendencies…"
Lucy shot the Paladin a look. "Don't tell me he's killing small creatures or something?"
Raegan heard them and clicked his tongue. "Why would I kill animals? They live pitiful enough lives already. No, it's only enjoyable and satisfying when someone high up takes a big fall." His grin grew vicious. "Like one of the Light Tower wizards from All-Aeon Athenaeum who visit to study me… when can I get the chance to try out being the Antithesis for real on them?"
"No!" Annaliese marched over and whacked the back of her brothers head. "What have I told you about that attitude?! That's bad, Raegan!"
"At least Annaliese has a good head on her shoulders," Lucy remarked with bemusement.
"Only come up with plans to ruin the Sages and rude nobles who order me to give them Fate!" Annaliese ordered, wagging a finger at him. "Just because they're powerful doesn't mean they're mean! You should be trying to ruin the villains if you're the enemy of the Citadel!"
Lucille gazed at the sibling duo with incredulity. She turned to face their guard. "You're terrible at parenting!"
"P-Parenting?!" Jasten stared at her with the same level of shock and horror. "I'm thirty two!"
"No, no, both of you are missing the big picture." Scytale nodded sagely and lifted his chin up as he raised a finger in front of the siblings. "You're being too obvious! The most important thing when you're trying to screw someone over is to keep it subtle. Don't let anyone know what you plan to do, even your friends!"
"Forget the distorter, everybody in the Headquarters will be the death of me this time around," Lucy muttered too low for them to hear. The Paladin sent her a quizzical look but it was obvious he didn't understand any part of the picture. Lucille took out her jug artifact to pour herself some coffee and began sipping it. "So, Annaliese. I hope you and your brother don't plan on putting these plans of ruining the Sages into action within the next century."
"We don't have any plans to do that," Raegan scoffed. "But if the right opportunity comes along… well…"
"And what kind of opportunity would this be?" Lucy took another sip.
"When your plans of Realm Domination succeed!" Annaliese announced.
The coffee went down the wrong pipe and Lucy spluttered. Scytale grinned.
"…I have no plans of 'Realm Domination' as you put it, and even if I did, I'd have to be a lot stupider than I am right now to proceed with something like that," Lucille finally retorted. "I am a leader of a merchant organisation, let alone a member of the Empire's nobility. Treason that would be, and I'd rather live, thank you very much."
The siblings stared at her until they turned to each other. "She didn't fall for it, did she?" Annaliese asked Raegan.
He shook his head. "I told you. You wouldn't get her to tell us her plans that easily."
Lucy sighed and put her coffee down, feeling tired after dealing with the two sibling's antics. "Anyway, a belated happy 17th birthday to you, Annaliese, considering we couldn't meet last month."
Annaliese beamed. "Thanks!" She sent Scytale a sneaky look. "Scytale told me in your home world you celebrate birthdays and give each other presents every year though…"
"Don't push your luck. You got that hair comb from me, that's enough." Lucy stood up and snatched the knife that the boys were bickering over. She passed it to Jasten. "Sir Albrecht can keep hold of this and control when you have it while you stay here. I'm not having any of us get poisoned because you thought it would be funny, Raegan."
"I wouldn't do that! ….probably!"
"Sometimes, I wonder how you can be so unfazed by his personality," Sir Albrecht muttered as she passed.
I lived in the Death Monarch's private dimension for five years while dealing with his humour. I think I can deal with a twisted little kid.
"Let's just say I have experience with people who have morbid humour," she stated dryly. "I'm going to have dinner. Stay here and come up with conspiracies about my plans all you want, but I want food."
Scytale, Raegan and Annaliese glanced at each other, then stood up and followed her. If there was one thing everybody enjoyed about the Headquarters, it was that their chefs were the best.
Lucille didn't look up and pulled the next page forward. "Why do you care?"
"For the last week he hasn't come to bother me once. I can't help being suspicious." Sedric walked forward and dumped a metal case on her desk, containing her armguards. "I've finished fine tuning these. Your suggestions helped a lot."
"Good. And for your information, the snake is busy suffering through his chores under the watchful eye of the guardian spirit," Lucy stressed.
Sedric crossed his arms. "He's getting punished? Why?"
She put down her work and intertwined her fingers. Lucy rested her chin on them and smiled brightly. "For sabotaging a Stage when close to completion, not just once, but twice after I warned him after the first Stage."
He flinched back. "Yeah, that would do it." Sedric hesitated and gave her an odd look. "Are you going to be dealing with this… situation any time soon?"
Lucy leaned back and spun a pen. "Why, what 'situation' could you possibly mean?"
Sedric wordlessly gestured with both arms to the blonde-haired girl glaring at Lucy, looking around the doorframe into the room.
Lucille turned her gaze to the angry Prophetess, and nodded. "Ah, Annaliese. I didn't see you there."
"Don't lie!" Annaliese replied, scowling. "I've been here for the last ten minutes! You're just ignoring me!"
"Your evidence?"
The girl jabbed a finger at the arcane barrier completely covering the entrance of the study. Sedric, not being the one the barrier was protecting against, had been free to enter. Annaliese glared at her. "Why does this barrier only prevent me from entering?!"
Lucille considered it with a hand on her chin. After a long pause, she raised a finger. "…You're unlucky."
"I'm the Prophetess of Fate!"
"…Count Goldcroft, I need to check on the Prophetess's brother, but for that I need the Prophetess to relocate," Sir Albrecht spoke up wearily. He was standing behind his ward.
Lucy sighed and waved a hand, causing the barrier to disintegrate. "Fine. But Annaliese, keep in mind that I'm quite busy, don't do anything that might disrupt my-"
Annaliese rushed forward and nearly pushed Lucille out of the armchair in an attempt to give her a hug.
Lucy groaned. "I knew this was going to happen…"
"How can you be so mean when I haven't seen you for two months?" Annaliese complained, looking up at Lucille.
Lucy gazed silently at her for a second and then pushed her off to get up from the chair. She rolled her eyes and sighed when as she was leaving her study, the girl followed after her.
"Tell me what's been happening while I've been gone! You went on an adventure without me again, didn't you?" Annaliese asked with suspicion.
Lucille spotted a potential distraction and grabbed the Prophetess by the shoulders, spun her around to face another corridor, then pushed her over to the aide that had just come across them. "Why don't you ask Vincent all about the events of the past two months?" she suggested cheerily. "I'm sure he has the time to spare for you."
Vincent blinked and pushed up his glasses. "Actually, Lucille, I'm just heading off to meet with a merchant of Chavaret-"
"See? He has plenty of time. Go ask him." With that, Lucy walked off.
Annaliese blinked and then turned around to go after her. "But I don't want to talk to Vincent."
Vincent raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself as the others walked off. Lucy stopped on the spot as an idea came to mind. She turned to face Annaliese, and then snapped her fingers.
Annaliese's eyes widened as the invisibility spell Lucy had cast activated and hid her form view. "Wait! No!"
Lucy felt that it was a sad day that the former Admiral of the Distorted Depths had to run from a girl more than ten times younger than her.
…
"Get someone to send these over to Jacques," Lucy ordered the silver and red-haired man before her. Caius bowed and walked off as she turned around and saw her full sponsored party. Garthe and Larena were standing behind Marellen and Trisroa.
Lucille took one look at them and nodded. "You've heard from Vincent, I see. Come with me. We'll talk in another room."
Once they were in a lounge away from any accidental eavesdroppers in the form of servants, they sat down and Lucy crossed one leg over the other. "As Vincent has told you, Ravimoux did in fact follow up on your leads regarding the magical items and artifacts you uncovered."
"Does that mean something interesting was… found?" Garthe asked with confusion. "I don't understand how us saying that most of the artifacts had been made using Ancient-ranked Jade Rosewood meant anything."
"Of course it meant something. We now know to investigate the Earldom of Kleur Émeraude in the Everlasting Evenfall Mountains Major Kingdom." Lucy beamed as she leaned her chin on her hands. "Jade Rosewood, while valuable, is not particularly rare, unless it comes to the Kleur Émeraude Earldom which managed to cultivate a variety capable of reaching Ancient ranked." She spread her hands. "Curiously, Alichanteu were not responsibly for importing it to the Beast Realm. They were, however, in charge of exporting it to the Mystical Realm after the handover."
"This is important, because…?" Larena spoke up.
Lucille raised a finger. "The ones who obtained the Jade Rosewood were actually vassals of Chavaret. Ravimoux additionally uncovered that a woman of an Alichanteu clan had married into the vassal clan of Chavaret. This woman's son is now the Lord of the Chavaret noble clan, meaning that this noble family has been covertly taken over to organise this deal in secrecy."
"Yet from all this I can only see one issue. Who were the buyers of this 'Jade Rosewood'?" Roa mused.
Lucy smirked and leaned back. "That's the most important part. It turns out that quite frequently, cultivators of the wood phase tend to purchase Jade Rosewood to study when comprehending their Daos. While a magical material, they can still glean unique insights they wouldn't be able to obtain from spiritual materials."
Marellen frowned, rubbing his chin. "But why did Archmage Merkenia Alichanteu sabotage the convoy? Is it possible that he was actually… trying to protect Alichanteu from being incriminated by their association to cultivators? But is that something that's incriminating?"
Garthe raised an eyebrow. "Couldn't it just be to hide evidence because things were getting risky or something? A cultivator just snuck into the Commission too."
Larena shook her head. "Lucille hadn't joined the Commission yet back then."
Lucy nodded. "And from my discussions with the Counts, I discovered they were unaware of this subterfuge, so minimal risk existed."
"If it's Archmage Merkenia though, it makes sense he destroyed items that would help cultivators," Marellen said with a thoughtful nod. "He's married to a member of the Medolin Duchy, so he's definitely part of Olden. Olden hates cultivators and still wants the Empire to go to war against them and conquer that realm. It's why they support the Citadel, who fight against Diviners."
Lucille had a different opinion.
I'm not so sure about that. It seems they're forgetting the fact that this avalanche wasn't supposed to happen. It was only a response to some unknown emergency situation.
She leaned back and crossed her arms, gazing at the roof in thought.
This faction hates these guys, this faction likes these guys… politics can't be summed up so simply. Anything can persuade someone to work with their enemies for a common goal, if only for a moment. All the enemy has to do in extreme cases… is keep their identity hidden.
The faction behind this is important, yes, but in this situation the 'goal' is much higher priority so we can guess at how many factions are involved. Working conventionally by finding the major faction first is how this'll have to proceed, however.
"We seem to heading towards an irrelevant subject," Roa announced. She fixed an intent gaze Lucy. "Would I be correct in suspecting that you called us here not to discuss theories you have already considered, but to inform us of a plan?"
Lucille smiled and leaned forward. "Radical, Olden, or whoever, it doesn't matter. Yet. All we need to do is set a trap and we can discover the second main force involved here."
"Second?" Larena asked.
"The cultivators are the first, obviously." Lucy shrugged. "As for the specific Sect, it doesn't matter yet. I have strong suspicions, but nothing I can do much about now. However, as fortune – or misfortune – would have it, an intruder from the Heavenly Realm appeared a month ago, and the Commission Head has expressed a vested interest in discovering the person behind this."
She pointed at them. "With the chaotic nature of the Commission right now, Counties eliminating spies left right and centre, guess who will be a little antsy to ensure all evidence of their association with cultivators is fully gone? Whoever it is, they'll be the ones who return to the site of the avalanche and erase the final traces of potential proof. And we'll be ready and waiting."
Larena and Garthe traded vindictive smirks. Marellen nodded enthusiastically, probably enjoying the 'puzzle' of the situation.
"And how shall we lie in wait for them?" Roa asked solemnly, looking very intrigued by the plan.
"We need to keep the spotlight on me and Vincent," Lucille replied, pressing her fingertips together. "In the second half of October, Vincent and I will be visiting Alichanteu and their vassals to meet with their craftsmen, the first of several visits to all the Counties. They wouldn't dare attempt anything on us while everyone is focused on our presence, but it will be an opportunity to undertake other covert operations that appear unrelated to our presence there. Alichanteu is big enough that even with the eyes of the other Counties on them, their weaker vassals still have free movement."
"Operations such as removing all of the incriminating Jade Rosewood," Larena added.
Lucy nodded. "Exactly."
"I believe they would still have reservations with our presence in the Commission," Roa pointed out with a faint frown. "Our party of four are the only remaining witnesses of that event, so we present a risk. From their perspective, if we give the Counties some clue that make them suspicious right when they wish to visit the Beast Realm…"
"Which is why I'm removing you all from the Commission for the next month." Lucille smirked and placed four envelopes on the coffee table between them. She slid them across. "Do you recall our discussion about sending you to Tartarus? It's now October instead of September, but take the opportunity to complete the Stages and Rank up so that you can come back, stronger than ever before."
"It's not going to take a full month to do the Stages, though," Garthe replied. "Maybe two weeks I could understand, given the general Quests we need to do to unlock the Stages, but a whole month?"
Lucille leaned relaxedly against the back of the couch. "I'm not one to waste an opportunity. Inside those four envelopes are the locations of four different members of Tartarus I want you to visit. I want you to extend an invitation to a meeting about Ravimoux's new black market plans in the near future. Each one of you has a different individual, so yes, you will have to split up. They're the members of Tartarus I think each of you will get along with the most."
"I didn't know you were so familiar with people from Tartarus," Larena said with surprise. She pulled out the letter in her envelope out of curiosity and tilted her head at the names. "I have two people here."
"Well, you're already a Rank-3, so you don't need to prepare for the Stages." Lucy straightened her gloves. "Also, I've given you all a full month because these individuals of Tartarus tend to like their little… pranks."
"…pranks," Roa repeated with suspicion.
"Trials, if you will. They like to test mortals and consider it a kind of hobby in a way. I have faith you'll pass the trials without too much difficulty." Lucille smiled and gave them a light shrug. "It's this, or bloodthirsty monstrous undead who want to kill you. When it comes to Tartarus, if you find an undead who doesn't want to kill you, you take what you can get."
She steepled her fingers. "So, are you all up for the task?"
They traded looks, and if by unanimous agreement, they all nodded firmly and pocketed the envelopes. "We'll be sure to be back by November," Marellen said.
"Good." Lucille got up from the couch and headed towards the door. "Take the week to prepare everything you need. Get outfitted in equipment specially made to help against death mana, learn the skills I bought-"
"You got the skills already?! Awesome!" Garthe jumped out and ran out of the room, leaving the others gazing after him with exasperation.
As Marellen and Larena left, Trisroa dipped her head to Lucy. "We will… do as you say."
Lucille was left alone in the living room. While she was aware of the young girl still attempting to find her, she took the brief moment of spare time she had to check up on another unique 'person'.
She immersed herself in the fake senses of her Simulacrum Realm and blinked when instead of the infinite, endless white expanse, she was in a flourishing jungle.
"I recall mentioning that the Dungeon you'll be assimilating is one filled with precious gems and stone walls," Lucille announced aloud with bemusement.
"I have been experimenting with the stores of monster types I have in my Lore-Base, both flora and fauna. Come, follow the path made from luminescent moss."
The voice of the artificial Dungeon echoed out and Lucy curiously walked along the small trail, underneath massive roots and past stacks of flat fungi. The earth bent beneath her as 'Sphere' pulled her past the long trail and right to where it wanted her to be.
Lucy let out an observant hum when she appeared in front of a raised walkway in the centre of the jungle, leading towards a pyramidal structure of some kind. Its aesthetics suggested it was like the ancient ruins found on Old Era planes, if they had been perfectly preserved from the time of their heyday.
"Very… rustic," she announced, planting her hands on her hips.
"Do you appreciate my utilisation of Sky Bender Vines to generate the illusion of outside?" The physical representation of the Dungeon appeared next to her. While still metallic in skin tone, the Dungeon had progressed well in making its appearance look more human. The green eyes had gained the spark of intelligence behind them, and instead of a magical projection, it appeared it had created some kind of metal vessel to use as a body. Perhaps it could be said… that it had created another golem to puppet.
Lucy looked up. "It's very well done. I could imagine people living here for longer amounts of time with a ceiling like that." She glanced at its body again. "I see you have plans to make physical contact with your delvers."
"I understand your reasoning for not informing the Eternal Empire of my existence. I have no desire to be enslaved to consume Dungeons and generate materials to satiate their desires." The M.C.R.U turned to look at its creation. "However, I still wish to communicate with the delvers and study them. For that, I designed this vessel to appear as a 'sentient golem' who can communicate with them on equal terms."
Lucy held her chin and studied it. "Equal terms might be a stretch. The Empire is not as progressive as it seems on the outset. Sentient golems still find it hard to be treated as free thinking beings, unless they're on the plane of the Metal-Borne Coalition."
"That is why I tried to appear as visually human as possible."
She nodded. "A wise choice." Lucille glanced at the structure before them. "Do you plan to build this in your new location?"
"I am undecided, as I have yet to come up with a reason to create this outside of aesthetical purposes," it replied robotically.
"If there is one thing about delvers I know, it's that they love any sort of structure like this," Lucy said with a smirk. "It makes them believe there are valuable treasures inside. You could use this to challenge the adventurers who are greater threats." She turned back to it. "Have you decided on what your fake 'Boss Monster' will be?"
The artificial Dungeon nodded. "It is my current appearance. It is made of metal mana and monster essence."
Lucy blinked and took in its appearance again. "I see…" She looked around once more and then nodded to it. "I'll set aside some time to have a longer discussion with you. While I can accelerate the time in here, that requires a bit of concentration, so I'd prefer to do that when I have free time."
Before she left, Sphere said something else. "Your bond came to me earlier and proposed a plan that will enable you to increase your combat capabilities."
She looked back and raised an eyebrow. "How?"
"He told me that with your control over this artificial realm, any construct you make will be too predictable to give you a worthy challenge. I believe I could rectify this." It waved a hand and gestured to the jungle. "Now that I have joined the realm, my knowledge of monsters and their abilities can be mimicked by the realm. As long as you restrict your own immersion in the realm, I could create monsters here and-"
"-I could accelerate time while I fight them," she finished, thinking deeply. "I had originally discussed this with my bond when I first gained my complete Origin Skill, but because every creature I manifested here I'd know the battle patterns and abilities like the back of my hand, I knew it would be difficult to challenge myself. Scytale has been… unexpectedly helpful."
Lucille looked up at Sphere. "And you're okay with doing this for me?"
"Stronger capabilities for you mean less risk and an earlier date for my transferal to the Minor plane," it stated like it was obvious. "Currently, you are my backer. Any improvement to your strength will be beneficial to me as we are in a relationship of equals."
She raised an eyebrow. "Really."
"There is also… something… else." It was almost like the artificial Dungeon hesitated before continuing, "I have developed a kind of emotion towards you. From my time watching the events of when you first discovered this emotion, I have determined that I feel 'gratitude'. It motivates me to offer you more and greater cost to me for some unknown reason relating to your deal with me."
Lucy smiled. "That would do it. Just do focus too hard on trying to pay me back for anything. You still haven't seen how great a help you will be for me in the future."
When she had returned her consciousness to her body, an idea popped up. One that resolved a large problem she had been considering.
If I want to create a version of Earth's Network for the Tower, then I'll have to make the Simulacrum access propagate in a way that can't be traced back to me. That could be through Sphere's spiritual energy coming in contact with the delvers souls. But as for making it propagate outside of the Dungeon…
She paused and then smirked.
What if I enlist the help of Ravimoux to begin spreading a few rumours that a 'secret' city can be accessed by people with the Simulacrum brand they gained in the Synadis Dungeon? Nothing can be taken out of the Simulacrum Realm, obviously, but if Sphere and I create a zone here that has an amazing appearance as well as experiences such as food and other benefits others will want to enjoy… maybe I could make it a repository for some special information about the future and could subtly begin spreading word around through the Simulacrum too…
With the virtual city only being accessed by people who had been to the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis, people will be more likely to visit the Dungeon city when it forms, and the Simulacrum brand will be spread outside when the visitors leave, trying to prove the location's existence.
And nothing would spread rumours like wildfire more than the Streisand Effect. Where calling something a secret… makes people more curious about what's hidden.
It seems I'll have to make amendments to the black market plan and include it over there too. I have to be careful, though. If this 'secret city' phenomenon becomes too common place in locations owned by the Commission, it'll draw suspicion.
The fastest way for it to spread to the Aeternus plane would be for the Dark Wizards to become interested in the secret city and begin treating it as an asset. Old Era information, maybe a few records with some of the advanced magical theories I discovered…
There were many avenues for this venture. If she brought in the time dilation aspect too, the possibilities were endless. Unfortunately, she had to continue her musings later. She had a needy guest to attend to.
"Lucy! Why didn't you tell me you went to the Beast Realm?!" Annaliese complained, running into the room. "You got Hargrave a present too! What about me? Did you get me anything?!"
Lucy noticed the appearance of a silvery winged snake on the girl's shoulders and narrowed her eyes at the bond who was shirking his chores. Scytale avoided eye contact.
"Hey! Stop ignoring me!" Annaliese planted her hands on the coffee table. Raegan and Sir Albrecht followed and sat down on the couch behind her.
With slow, methodical movements, Lucy reached into her dimensional bag and took out a decorative hair comb. Knowing the Prophetess's favour of wearing her hair half up, she had bought the accessory. But she didn't want to hand it over so easily.
Annaliese's face brightened. "Is that for me?"
Lucille put the hair comb in her own hair. "It's for me," she stated calmly.
The room went silent save for the snake who had burst out into loud laughter and tumbled off of the girl's shoulders. With a golden glow, Scytale turned into a human and clutched his stomach as he kept laughing.
Then there was a thunk as the hair ornament slid out of Lucy's dead straight hair and hit the carpet. She looked down with a strange expression until Scytale's laughter was renewed. Lucy glared at the snake. "Quit laughing at my expense. As much as the appearance of me wearing something in my hair looks amusing to you, I don't find it quite so amusing."
Lucy wordlessly passed the gift over to Annaliese, who eagerly took it and admired the ability of the spell within to change the item's colour on her whim. Then she blinked and gave Lucille a curious look. "You never wear hair ornaments? I mean, I guessed that, but not even in the past?"
"In case you didn't see it, my hair is very texture-less," Lucy stated flatly. "I have, of course, tried to tie my hair up in the past because long hair is annoying, but any hair ties I use slide off within the hour."
"I once joked that her slippery hair and personality must be why we get along," Scytale added with a grin.
"Huh," Annaliese said with surprise. She looked down at the comb and turned to Lucy. "So… this is mine?"
"Yes. Just get it checked by Sir Albrecht so none of the Sages have an opportunity to make me take the fall for a supposed assassination attempt," Lucy replied dismissively.
"They wouldn't do something like that," Annaliese said, looking confused.
Sir Albrecht looked like he wanted to refute her answer, until Annaliese continued, "If they wanted you to be falsely accused then they would've used their allies to pressure the Counties and force the Princes with government positions to say you're guilty regardless of any proof because they're lazy."
Lucille raised her eyebrows. "That's oddly specific."
The Prophetess shrugged. "I overheard their plans to do that to a Dukedom of a Major Plane."
As the blonde-haired girl hummed and positioned the comb while asking her brother if she was doing it right, Lucy exchanged strange looks with Jasten Albrecht. The Paladin sighed and shook his head as he took the comb off of the girl to check for danger.
"Hey Raegan…." Scytale smirked. "I got you something too."
"I don't need your junk," Raegan replied. He crossed his arms. "I've heard from Sedric about the cursed item you gave him."
"Where would I have gotten a cursed item in the Beast Realm?" Scytale shook his head. "Nope, it's not that. But I'm pretty sure you'll like it. Aren't you curious?"
"No." The dark-haired boy turned away.
"Even if it's a weapon…?" Scytale stressed as his smirk grew wider.
Raegan hesitated but remained firm in his conviction to not give in. "I'm not interested."
"That's a shame." Scytale shrugged and pulled out a small knife, running a finger over the edge to test its sharpness. "I guess I'll have to find a use for this trapped knife myself. Using poison isn't really my thing, but if it's a weapon like this with a secret channel to store poison, it'll be cool just to have, right?"
"I've changed my mind." Raegan stormed over and tried to grab the knife from him. "I'll take that gift, thank you very much. You don't fight with weapons anyway, so it's useless to you."
"Nope, you said you didn't want it!"
As they began bickering over it, Sir Albrecht frowned. "I don't like the idea of Raegan having a weapon on his person that enables his… tendencies…"
Lucy shot the Paladin a look. "Don't tell me he's killing small creatures or something?"
Raegan heard them and clicked his tongue. "Why would I kill animals? They live pitiful enough lives already. No, it's only enjoyable and satisfying when someone high up takes a big fall." His grin grew vicious. "Like one of the Light Tower wizards from All-Aeon Athenaeum who visit to study me… when can I get the chance to try out being the Antithesis for real on them?"
"No!" Annaliese marched over and whacked the back of her brothers head. "What have I told you about that attitude?! That's bad, Raegan!"
"At least Annaliese has a good head on her shoulders," Lucy remarked with bemusement.
"Only come up with plans to ruin the Sages and rude nobles who order me to give them Fate!" Annaliese ordered, wagging a finger at him. "Just because they're powerful doesn't mean they're mean! You should be trying to ruin the villains if you're the enemy of the Citadel!"
Lucille gazed at the sibling duo with incredulity. She turned to face their guard. "You're terrible at parenting!"
"P-Parenting?!" Jasten stared at her with the same level of shock and horror. "I'm thirty two!"
"No, no, both of you are missing the big picture." Scytale nodded sagely and lifted his chin up as he raised a finger in front of the siblings. "You're being too obvious! The most important thing when you're trying to screw someone over is to keep it subtle. Don't let anyone know what you plan to do, even your friends!"
"Forget the distorter, everybody in the Headquarters will be the death of me this time around," Lucy muttered too low for them to hear. The Paladin sent her a quizzical look but it was obvious he didn't understand any part of the picture. Lucille took out her jug artifact to pour herself some coffee and began sipping it. "So, Annaliese. I hope you and your brother don't plan on putting these plans of ruining the Sages into action within the next century."
"We don't have any plans to do that," Raegan scoffed. "But if the right opportunity comes along… well…"
"And what kind of opportunity would this be?" Lucy took another sip.
"When your plans of Realm Domination succeed!" Annaliese announced.
The coffee went down the wrong pipe and Lucy spluttered. Scytale grinned.
"…I have no plans of 'Realm Domination' as you put it, and even if I did, I'd have to be a lot stupider than I am right now to proceed with something like that," Lucille finally retorted. "I am a leader of a merchant organisation, let alone a member of the Empire's nobility. Treason that would be, and I'd rather live, thank you very much."
The siblings stared at her until they turned to each other. "She didn't fall for it, did she?" Annaliese asked Raegan.
He shook his head. "I told you. You wouldn't get her to tell us her plans that easily."
Lucy sighed and put her coffee down, feeling tired after dealing with the two sibling's antics. "Anyway, a belated happy 17th birthday to you, Annaliese, considering we couldn't meet last month."
Annaliese beamed. "Thanks!" She sent Scytale a sneaky look. "Scytale told me in your home world you celebrate birthdays and give each other presents every year though…"
"Don't push your luck. You got that hair comb from me, that's enough." Lucy stood up and snatched the knife that the boys were bickering over. She passed it to Jasten. "Sir Albrecht can keep hold of this and control when you have it while you stay here. I'm not having any of us get poisoned because you thought it would be funny, Raegan."
"I wouldn't do that! ….probably!"
"Sometimes, I wonder how you can be so unfazed by his personality," Sir Albrecht muttered as she passed.
I lived in the Death Monarch's private dimension for five years while dealing with his humour. I think I can deal with a twisted little kid.
"Let's just say I have experience with people who have morbid humour," she stated dryly. "I'm going to have dinner. Stay here and come up with conspiracies about my plans all you want, but I want food."
Scytale, Raegan and Annaliese glanced at each other, then stood up and followed her. If there was one thing everybody enjoyed about the Headquarters, it was that their chefs were the best.
Yep. Late again. Sorry.
Patreon (x10 chapters!):
Discord (Come get your Qualified Scytale Feeder role!):
Honorary mention of my first Plebeian: Purplexa
[Title: Nobility | Type: Discord/Role]
DoomByCookies, getthepoptart21, znarken, skywatchwolf, Omega, Oxylus, lagia1614, whoknows, sesse4880, rain6295, augustus63, V9
[Title: Rank-5 | Type: Discord/Role]
secret
Inzuris, Kabi, Malahadiel, Starfall20, Shoutloud, ChaosOmega98, deathbunnies, wind.celestial, Spacemanspiff, Hibou Ronchon, eroth, magicaltaliyah, arcanorum042, Mitchell, sami027, bali123456789, Lars, Aria, Prince007, Abdulaziz, Jonathon, Albert Ng, phoon, Frostyflame66, Drowsy Golem, timelestime, mr7, Que Tea, kinokomasha, Sparxy, Death2moo, Tzeneth, Sara, Cyko, harrisonv, Kasper, arcanedeath, m0r1tz_hf, Name, viridian, Michael, Sebgatot, Pam Cakes28, Orange Thistle, Zane, acausal, Alex, konodias, hamkaas420, wumpycz, attackgnome, erikas, Patrick, Lilly, Talespinner Lore, schal_, aaa11, bram, dndsharky, snakesden, kiphea, jacowyn, infinitespy, navango, eobmaster, Momongama, BrokenStorm, Mr Nobody, Chaya, Hayden, viking020p, AvaArisu, catawk42, Signspace, battlinggalaxy, ptichondrius, Michael, awesomeotj, Deagel, Lilith, Moon Winchester,
[Title: Demon Nobility | Type: Discord/Role]
Snakee
- Location
- England
That "do" should be a "don't".
"commonplace" is one word, not two.
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Ah, my favorite fic trope. The out of context thing that improves everyone's lives and the people in power's attempts to stop it only makes it stronger. Can't wait to see where Lucy's full dive internet plan goes. Especially since she will be big brother and can theoretically see everything that happens in the world.
Though, I know it's called the Simulacrum Realm, but if it spreads to enough people across all the main realms, and people are using it as much as we use the internet in reality. Would the system start considering it a full realm as well and give lucy realm ruler permissions? Even if that would probably take thousands of years, and the main plot would be long over by then.
Though, I know it's called the Simulacrum Realm, but if it spreads to enough people across all the main realms, and people are using it as much as we use the internet in reality. Would the system start considering it a full realm as well and give lucy realm ruler permissions? Even if that would probably take thousands of years, and the main plot would be long over by then.
- Location
- Earth: Universe Meta - 1
Thing is it's fundamentally just VR. The physical body is still present outside, but the senses are all being rerouted. You can no more call that a realm than you can call Facebook a physical place.
Now, could the system decide to propagate this thing even after Lucy dies? Maybe. But that's not something we want answers to.
From what's been described, full dive VR is something that's available once the cosmic realm is introduced. So, it's more she's got a power that's incredibly useful and fits her compared to something that's world breaking.
Chapter 87 (2 of 2) The Tumultuous Past of the Goldcroft Heir.
New
Infinityphoenix
Fantasizer
- Location
- Australia
-4 days later-
[Secondary Skill: Reward | Type: Demonic/Lexicon ]
Rarity: Ancient
Desc: Not many are brave enough to request a reward from the Demon Emperor himself. Nor do many have the sheer audacity to do so. Most consider surviving a meeting with him their reward. You're a living miracle, in more ways than one.
Kudos to you for finally getting A########### to do something for a change, I guess.
Abilities:
Polyhistor of Daemons – A genius scholar of the Great Beings.
In the training hall, Lucy crossed her arms, pondering over her new skill. She stretched out a hand in preparation to cast her first demonic spell and-
"So, what spell are you going to cast first? Tell me!" Scytale eagerly interrupted. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"You are supposed to be hauling clipped leaves to the western entrance for disposable," Lucy replied without looking at her bond.
"Fat chance." Scytale gestured to her. "Have some enthusiasm outside of your dumb 'academic' curiosity! You might just be the very first non-demon to cast demonic spells! And I'm not talking about witches or warlocks here."
She sighed. "Just… don't tell the others. I deal with enough of Annaliese's curiosity, let alone the two magic addicts under my roof."
"Not including yourself?" he asked cheekily.
She gave him a pointed glare before shaking her head. Lucille refocused on her skill. "I'm about to begin. Don't blink or else you'll miss it."
Scytale nodded and watched intently. As this was her first time casting a demonic spell, she put most of her focus into activating the skill itself so she knew what to do. Lucy summoned the characters of a weak demonic spell she knew to mind, and infused her mana into the skill. She waited expectantly.
Nothing happened.
"Uh… now, I'm pretty sure I never blinked that whole time!" Scytale said. "Is that it?! What did it even do?!"
"Curious." Lucille looked at her left palm where the mark of her pact with the Demon Emperor was glowing ominously. "I had thought that this pact may enable me to cast the spells due to the demonic power present in here, but I assumed incorrectly. In fact, it didn't even register as demonic power to the skill." She took the glove tucked into her belt and pulled it on to hide the mark. "I suppose that the demonic power of the Demon Emperor is just on another level compared to normal demons. It doesn't even count as the same energy."
Scytale clicked his tongue. "Did the Demon Emperor scam you or something? The skill is useless now! Until you merge it with your Essential Transmutational Conduit and redirect demonic magic I guess…"
"I never intended to use the skill separately in the first place. I always only ever wanted it for my Primary Skill. But…" The malevolent black dagger she always kept on her person was taken out. Lucy held up Apophis, and the ornament snakes its way around her wrist to face her on eye-level. "What do you think? Would you like to test it?"
Want.
His ornament's ruby eyes glowed.
"If you agree, then…" Lucille pointed him at the opposing wall of the training hall. "This feels like a ridiculous skill name to say out loud, but Reward!"
A beam of roiling red energy blast out from the curved dagger and shattered against the wall. Lucy stumbled back from the reflected shock of the impact and quickly cut the mana off from Apophis. "That's enough!"
Apophis's demonic power quietened, but not before a furious ball of black-tipped blood red flames expanded from the wall, blanketing the surrounding stone in flame-shaped burn marks. Lucy could feel that her skin had become clammy from the sudden lack of mana, as if she had overexerted herself without eating anything for a few hours. She put away the dagger and turned away from the wall.
"I don't want to think of how I'll explain the demonic power in the burn marks when Vincent inevitably comes to investigate," she remarked. She sat down next to Scytale and pulled out her Status… and that of Apophis.
[Status: ]
Name: Lucille Goldcroft (Lvl. 8̴̩̋9̶͔̟̠̈̒̀)
Age: 18y
Race: Human
HP: 52800/52800 {+229/1m}
MP: 1/18850 {+2200/1m}
Stats:
Free Stat Points: 409
[Bonuses: +704 CON, +129 STR, +122 INT, +65 WIS]
STR: &̸̧̨̖̦̩̖̥̪̅͑7̵̛͍̂̅̽̐̽́̄͠2̸̧̱̲͓̭̎̎̀̀̔̔ (352)(+704) SPRT: 7000
CON: _̷͕̫̦̟̖͓̳͈͊̌̋̏͋̍̀͋̃2̸̣̼͗͒̕&̵̢̛͚̘̖͎̣̰̗͊̀̓̎̈́̊́̉̏̅7̴̡̢̻͇͎̼̦̈́ (516)(+129) MENT:65
AGI: *̴̦̺̫̳̼̳́̍̈́̆̃̈́̀̔̈́͋̚͝2̶̢̼̬͖̰̭͕̬̥́̄̊̓̓̃̚)̸̛̩̩̃͂̑̀̀̒̓͗̈9̶̪͎̬̤̦̹̟̒͛͊͋͊́́̋͌̏̓͑̕̚ (277) CHAR: 5̶̡̛̼͇̪̩͈̝͉͍̮̠̏͜^̷̨̢̣̰̖̟̮̘͇̀̎̎̎͐̀̀̆͗̇̋͝͠7̶̨̼͍́̈́̽̈́̄̎͆̈́͊̂̽̒̊͝ͅ
DEX: 1̶̛̹͕̬͇̰͖͍́͋̿̋̇̉̄́̉̏͒͛̒̉̈́́́̀́̈́̄̚͘͝ͅ5̷̨̟͕̫̙̖̼̣̯͙̯͇͖̻̦̣̙̼͔̟̩̝̻̘̇͗͆̽͒̀́̿̈́͜!̵̛͍̥̯̙̲̀̒̾̀̌̋̐͑̕͘̚͝͠͠͠3̶̧̢̣͉͙͚̣̝̪̮͍͇̣̮̪̮͈̭̖̳̈́̏͂̉̓͋̌̆̆ (202) CHP: -̴̨͓͔̗̥̤̞̗̠̜͇̦͈̖́̀̂́͐̈́̇́̑̀̎́̉͌̈́̓̉̕͘͠
INT: 3̶̹͇̏̈́̄̄̒͛@̵̳͚̣̀̌̓͋͌̏͒̚2̴̧̬̜̦̤̞͔͊͒̃̌̅̕ͅ9̶̛̣̗̬̱̜̿̀̀̐ (255)(+122) HRP: -̴̨͓͔̗̥̤̞̗́̀̂́͐̈́̇́̑̀̎́̉͌̈́̓̉̕͘͠
WIS: N̵̛̙͖̄̉̓̋́̋̅̌̄̔̓͊͋̀͐̿̌̂̐̋͘̚3̴̡̡̡̛͎̠̹̖̰̥̳̘͇̯̾̄̇͊̾̍͛͗͊͑̈́̀̀̚̚͘͠͠$̷̨͚̰̖̜̥̝͈̲̥̆̀̀̐͊̑̎̎̈́̀̅͗̕͘̕͜ͅͅ8̸͕̗̯̫͕͕̪̠̓̾ (155)(+65)
[Origin Skill: Simulacrum Realm | Type: System/Spiritual/Realm
Desc: [Collapsed]
Subskills: [Collapsed]
Awakening: 100%. ]
Skills:
Primary Skills:
[Alter-Ego]
[Essence Transmutation Conduit]
Secondary Skills:
[Mark of the Primordial Demon ]
[Energy Anomaly Automated Indication ]
[Elemental Integrity Verification]
[Environmental Analysis Var. 3]
[Chaotic Usurpation Perspective]
[Codex of Reminiscence]
[Memory Transubstantiate]
[Prodigious Archmage's First Steps]
[Gemstone Processor – Spell Imbuement]
[Soul Cipher Orchestrator of Affray – Histrionic Dramatourgos]
[Reward]
Tertiary Skills:
[Energy Field Detection]
[]
As her Status got invariably more complex, with the Aspect Enhancements on top, the System reverted her Status to its original every time she applied a new stack to her Aspects. It was likely some confluence between the Influence of the Casket of Boons and the System interacting, but it was more effort than it was worth reimplementing her modifications. Lucy was considering leaving the changes the next time it happened… but not yet.
Just over 450 stats of her Status came from the food she had consumed, but in total her Status was still under less than half of the maximum for a Rank-1, which was 4920 including Aspect multipliers. That was not the case for the other Ranks. Because Rank-1 consisted of levels 11-199, it was close to two hundred levels worth of stats in one Rank.
It made it very clear to her though that while she wanted her CON to be high, it was far ahead of the others. That wasn't intentional. It was because the stats she had obtained from the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis were all CON-adjacent due to the minerals and metals the monsters used in their bodies. And while she had worked hard on her Codex of Reminiscence to gain more INT and WIS…
The amount of mana it took to cast the small demonic spell was horrendous. And one look at Apophis's Status showed it didn't even take just her own mana.
[Status: ]
Name: The Serpent's Fang: Apophis (Lvl. 68)
Race: Demonic Weapon
Rarity: Forbidden - Epic (Evolvable)
MP: 1/2140
Stats:
ATK: 2340
MATK: 780
SATK: 780
CHP: 1
Skills:
Compared to her own mana, it wasn't much, but considering a living weapon sustained its life on the energies of its soul and mana, it was a massive drain on Apophis. The glow of the blade's demonic aura glowed dimly.
She put him down and sighed. "I will definitely not be able to cast demonic spells whenever I want. While an invaluable skill… it's not practical. Not unless you're an Archmage."
Lucille studied the burn marks in the distance. "Although… I never intended for it to be that big. I wanted to cast a spell roughly the strength of an intermediate fireball. The power I intended was amplified by ten times."
She looked down at Apophis. "It seems your skill name of 'Burning Blood-Feud' meant more than I originally supposed. You seem to have an aptitude for flame-related demonic abilities."
Scytale whistled and picked the curved dagger up. "Does this mean we know what kind of ability you're going to get when you next evolve?"
"Quite possibly we do. But in hindsight, maybe we should've expected this." She pointed at the black sun insignia engraved on the diamond-shaped ruby on Apophis's pommel. "A 'sun' is one of the first things that come to mind when heat and light are mentioned. Going by their contrasting qualities too…" Lucy hummed as she looked at Ouroboros. "I'd say Ouroboros had qualities of water. The moon and water are frequently linked."
"Guess you'll need to talk to Count Chavaret about how to evolve them," Scytale said, resting his chin on his hand. "When was it that you would be going to the Chavaret place? January?"
"Yes, then." She stood up and stretched. "We only have two months left in the year, however, so it's not that far away."
"You have the end of year Banquet thing to prepare for though." Her bond put his hands behind his head and laid on his back. "That'll keep you busy."
"Hm? Oh, no." Lucille shook her head. "I don't plan to go to the Banquet this year. With the involvement of the Heavenly Realm and my strong suspicions that all of this has something to do with Sect Leader Leng Xiuying mean it won't be for the best to go there this time. I don't want the truth of my relationship with the Counties being leaked just yet. Ideally, it'd only start leaking a little before the Millennium Chapter."
"Well, currently you have the Prodigious Archmage's First Steps, which allows you to mimic monster and bloodline magic," Scytale counted. "And now you have this dumb sounding 'Reward' skill for demonic spells. That means you have death mana and spirit magic to learn now, right?"
Scytale pointed at her. "Do we get to spend November hunting for the perfect spirit magic on Glenheim? It might be nice to finish of the year that way. Get some levelling in too. Isn't there a Legendary Dungeon on that plane?"
"A Legendary Dungeon might be too much, but…" Lucy started walking towards the exit. "I'll think about it. As long as nothing goes wrong this month."
The humanoid snake stood up and walked up to her. "There's another reason why I'm mentioning Glenheim though, Lucy," he added in a low voice. "The Spring Queen releases some of the Dew of Lake Daiana within the next six months. I thought you might like to buy it for… you know, him."
Lucy paused when she heard the name of the substance that passively purified monster essence around the individual and was used to make potent protective amulets. It was a substance given to the Eternal Empire by Glenheim as their yearly tribute. Very rarely was the dew given out to anyone who wasn't a royal. Even the Duchies needed to buy it from the Eterial royal family.
She turned to stare at him. "I'm impressed you remembered that information from the past, Scytale."
He scratched his neck. "I… well, uh, didn't. It was something I heard being discussed at the debut a few months back. I just thought you might like to know about it… this time."
Lucille pondered it. "As he grows stronger, the amulet would lose its effectiveness, which makes it less beneficial as his symptoms grow stronger with his power. It would be better if it could be combined with another purifying substance…"
"Purifying substances? The most famous one I know of is in the Sanctum of Purity, but I assume you would've considered that." Vincent, who had just found them, glanced between them. "Did either of you hear a strange sound, like a fireball exploding? I was coming over here to investigate." He noticed that the door of the training hall was only a few metres away and narrowed his eyes. "Was it you two?"
They looked at each other and shook their heads in sync. "Nope," the replied.
"…really?" Vincent still looked suspicious, but shrugged. "I suppose if both of you aren't admitting to it, then you must be telling the truth. It may have just been Marellen again."
"Yeah, definitely Marellen," Scytale said, snickering.
Lucy rolled her eyes and walked off with the two behind her.
"Anyway, I was searching for you both because Annaliese wishes to say her goodbyes," Vincent informed them, passing the binder he had in one hand to a nearby servant.
"I know. We're heading there now," Lucy said. They took a lift and walked until they found themselves in one of the side entrances, where Raegan, Annaliese and Sir Albrecht were. Marellen's party and the unwilling Sedric had been hauled along, as well as Hargrave. The ex-mercenary was stubbornly pretending not to hear the Prophetess's pleas to show her his wings again.
"You took your sweet time," Raegan snarked.
"You say that as if you're unhappy, but I know you just don't want to admit you'd rather be here than at the estate, so you're perfectly fine with staying here a few more minutes," Lucy stated flatly. The boy shut his mouth and looked away.
"Lucy!" Annaliese pouted. "Tell Jasten he's being mean! He's not letting us stay here longer!"
"My job would be on the line if I did that, Prophetess Verdon," Sir Albrecht replied wearily.
The girl jabbed a finger at him. "It's Annaliese!"
"Miss Verdon, are you still having this argument with your guarding Paladin?" Vincent commented with bemusement.
She scowled at the aide. "Yes, because I'm in the right! Speaking of which… Vincent! Stop calling me Miss Verdon!"
Vincent looked away. "I couldn't possibly-"
"Do you want me to start revealing everything you've told me about Lucy to her?" Annaliese asked smugly.
Lucy stared at her, then at her aide. "Excuse me? What's this about me?"
"…I feel honoured to be close enough to call you by your first name, Annaliese," Vincent replied, looking defeated.
Annaliese nodded, proud of herself. She ran up to Lucille. "It's time to say goodbye again." She spread her arms.
Lucy eyed her with distaste. "No."
"Awww. Aren't we friends?"
"The matter of our relationship has nothing to do with my dislike of physical affection. As such, goodbye Annaliese and please be off-" Lucille's expression twitched when the girl hugged her regardless and she extracted herself from the girl's grip. "Get off!"
When Annaliese finally let go she gave them a cheery wave and left as swiftly as she had arrived. Lucy gazed dully after them until they were out of the view, then she whirled around to give her aide a bright smile. "What's this about telling Annaliese about me, Vincent?"
Vincent gazed at her with a bitter smile, as if seeing his work life about to get much worse.
…
"So you really never told her to give me hugs or anything remotely similar?" Lucy asked suspiciously. They were in her living room.
Vincent quickly shook his head. "No, never. It seems to be something she decided upon herself. The fact you never seem to outwardly flinch or be repulsed by the show of affection probably doesn't help that fact though."
She pinched her nose bridge. Vincent went silent for a moment until he held his chin and tilted his head. "Pardon me for asking if this is too personal, but are you averse to touch? I never took you for a hugger, but surely you could avoid it if it bothered you that much."
'I'm not… exactly averse to it." Lucy looked at her hands. "I don't gain the same emotional response from it as others do." She gained a wry smile. "It probably doesn't help that the last time I was hugged by someone would've been 162 years ago. It wasn't… an entirely enjoyable experience."
"Not enjoyable?" Vincent asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Yes, well, when a grown man is sobbing while clinging to you it's not fun," Lucy replied flatly. "Not when you know you're the reason for him acting like that, anyway."
Vincent gained a strange expression. "Who in the realms?"
"Who?" She glanced at him. "My former Vice Admiral." She turned away to shrug off her suit jacket and take off the two sheaths on her belt. "He's a demi-Atlantean. That is why I was discussing purifying substances with Scytale earlier. By the way, I hadn't actually considered the Sanctum of Purity in Atlantea yet, so take credit for the suggestion," she pointed out. "While I try, I can't possibly consider something from every angle."
But Vincent didn't look like he had heard the last part. He was busy counting something. "You were… 88. Didn't you say you quit the Navy at 40? What happened?" He paused as he saw her expressionless face. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."
"No, it's fine." She shook her head and sat down on the couch. "It's ancient history, and history that won't ever come to pass again anyway. All things considered, it had ended on a surprisingly positive note." Lucille looked up at the roof. "You're aware that my unique magic is to create illusory monsters, correct? As a demi-Atlantean, he has adverse effects to any and all monsters. Events forced us to stick beside each other, but we started out from the wrong foot to begin with."
Lucy twirled a finger with an air of casual indifference. "You may not know this, but I was very famous on my home world. I'd like to say that at least 70% of the population had heard of me. There were other people from my world in the Navy, and I didn't want any of them to learn I was in any way connected to their world. So, I put up a mask."
She crossed her arms. "If I had perfected my mask a bit better, than maybe the relationship between me and my Vice Capt- my Vice Admiral might've remained strictly professional. As it was, I couldn't hide the fact I felt responsible for him, and his sensitivity to the emotions of others meant he could see I was hiding a lot more turmoil and fear behind my cold mask." Lucy sighed. "Then it all came crashing down as the rest of my crew, including the people from my home world, began to place more trust in me. I was their leader, but I had to remain distant from all the people I had learnt to care about for fear they'd discover more about me than I wanted them to know."
She looked away and rested her chin on her hand. "Skip a few years after a disaster in my fifteenth year of the Navy, one that involved a great loss of lives, and when I quit my job as Admiral my Vice Admiral had to quit along with me, as was the custom. Instead of keeping in contact with him and the remaining crew, I retreated far from the Distorted Depths and joined the Athenaeum Academy as a professor. Unfortunately, when… someone… from my past came to find me again, I decided to fake my death."
Vincent remained completely silent. Scytale had snuck into the room at one point, but when he heard them he quietly by passed them and entered the kitchen.
Lucy clasped her hands together. "News got back to my former Vice Admiral before I could address the issue. In the wake of everything that had transpired, he blamed himself and thought that it was his job to keep us all together." She gained a lopsided smirk. "I decided to give him something worth living for. All he needed was someone else to blame instead of himself. I'm quite a good actor, and had learnt how to hide my emotions from those around me… and even myself. He never suspected I was lying. In some ways it hurt… but I didn't deserve to think about that."
She held up a hand, looking at her fingers. "For twenty-five years he tried to find me. When I was 83, it finally clicked for him what was happening, with a bit of prodding from our mutual friend. I didn't visit him at that time though. I wanted… to make sure he had found something else to live for."
Lucille chuckled self-derisively. "I'll always regret never being able to attend his wedding, but when I was 88 and finally mustered up the courage to see him again. I visited him, we made up, and then I left." She spread her hands. "We never met each other again after that. We went our separate ways, and I was satisfied with seeing that he had a family."
The room stayed silent. Lucy smirked and leaned back. "So, how was it? Was it an anticlimactic ending? Most happy endings are often like that."
"…is it happy if you never saw each other again?" Vincent asked with a frown.
"Why not?" She shrugged. "I had always held regrets about not being able to protect my crew the way I wanted. You see me as someone always being productive and constructive, but the truth is that I'm far better at destroying and annihilating things than creating them. Everywhere I went I left a… void behind of what was once there. By leaving I was at least able to protect one of the people closest to me."
"That feels too harsh," Vincent argued.
"Don't get me wrong, I enjoy destroying things." Lucille's smirk grew wider. "It wasn't for no reason that many people called me a psychopath before I arrived in the Tower. And I made that 'void' into something more useful. Permanently sealing away and destroying things that even a 'Hero' could never do good with."
"You've lived… an eventful life," Vincent slowly replied.
"Ha. But that wasn't even half of my lifetime." Lucy stood up and walked over to the window. "Vincent, if you can, please find out when the next auction of crystals from the Sanctum of Purity are. For an Atlantean, they're the best way to limit the effects of monsters on them."
"The royal family of Atlantea only accepts crystalline tokens at the auction, and the Founder's vault doesn't have any as they're all consumed to improve the Faction," he carefully refuted.
She waved him off. "I'll pay for it personally. I have close to a thousand crystal tokens in spare pocket money, and I'm prepared to use it all."
Vincent stood up, nodded with a bow, and left the room. Lucille leaned her arms on the windowsill.
At the end of the day, if her identity as the Goldcroft heir had been revealed, it wouldn't have been the end of the day. Her fear stemmed from other reasons. Reasons that she never wanted her two remaining family members to hear about.
……..
"Maeva. I've been thinking this for the last two years out of the twenty I've been hunting her, but…" The sea-green-haired man buried his head into his arms, a bottle clenched in one fist. "I don't see the point anymore."
The woman touched his arm. "Does this mean you're considering… the same things as before she visited?"
He raised his eyes to look at her. "Where did you hear… no, I was probably too obvious." He chuckled derisively and lowered his head back down. "I… don't know. I don't know anything anymore. I've met with all the rest of us who are still alive and well, and every single one of them have told me that I'm being ridiculous. That there's no way that Adrianna Riftmire could have purposely caused all this strife when she nearly permanently died trying to shield us from the fragment. It makes sense, but…"
He lifted his head and pulled at his hair. "Why would she tell me it was her doing then?! Did she really want to cut off all contact with me?!? From all of us?! For some reason, that almost feels like… it would hurt more than if she had betrayed us…"
Maeva's hand gripped his arm tightly for one moment, almost enough to bruise him. She quickly relaxed and pulled her hand away. She was trembling slightly. "Caspian, have you ever considered… that… this was all her plan?"
"A plan… to make me feel like the worst man alive? Someone who has tried multiple times to kill his former friend and Captain?" he replied with a bitter laugh.
"Realms beyond, Caspian, listen to me!" Maeva gripped his shoulders. "Captain is one of the smartest and most powerful people any of us have ever met. But she has her weaknesses. I can't… I can't see you keep going around in circles like this any longer. Captain would never want any of us to die, so how desperate do you think she was to see you like that?!"
Caspian stared at her with bloodshot eyes. They began to water and he rubbed them furiously. "I am… I'm really the worst person alive." He let out a short, laugh and clumsily stood up, pulling on his coat. "I-I need to go, Maeva. I need to find her."
He ran out the door, leaving it wide open and letting the howling wide and rain in. The blue-haired woman stood up to close it, then she turned around to gaze at the hooded figure who had just walked downstairs with reproach. "Are you going to blame me for what I just did?"
She, the hooded figure leaning against the wall, let out a long sigh. "If you hadn't done it, then… I was going to do it. This has dragged out for too long."
"You said that the last few times you've been here," Maeva muttered. She walked up to the table and slumped in a seat. "Will you let him find you?"
"…not …yet." She looked at the door her former Vice Admiral had left through. "He still hasn't found something else to live for. Until that happens…"
"And how long will that take?" Maeva asked.
She remained silent. Maeva huffed and looked away. "As long as it takes, huh."
"I'll keep updating you with letters."
"I've already told you to stop sending me letters," Maeva retorted. "You know I hate you, Captain."
"Yet you reply to my letters all the same."
Maeva took a swig of a bottle and buried her head in her arms. "Dammit."
…
It was quaint and pleasant. The house bordered a calm forest, and rolling green hills stretched out in front of it. Smoke was escaping the stout chimney on top of the red brick roof.
She had chosen to come wearing dark blue pants and a navy long-sleeved top. She hadn't touched her uniform again after she quit, but she wanted to wear something… similar… so he could recognise her. Not that anyone could misremember someone with hair quite as outlandish as hers.
She stiffened up when the door of the house a few hundred metres away opened up, and a man with familiar sea green hair walked out. He scanned the view with a hand over his eyes and seemed to smile as he breathed in the fresh air. Then his eyes fell on her.
There was a tense moment when their eyes locked. After a moment of hesitation, she slowly began to keep walking. The man seemed likewise hesitant as he remained standing at the doorway. Then he walked forward too.
Not a word was said between them until they were a metre away from each other.
"…hello, Captain," Caspian said.
"I'm not Captain of anybody anymore, Wharifin."
"Force of habit, I suppose." He gave her a wry smile that slowly faded, and then he stared at her.
The silence grew awkward and she put a hand to her neck to rub it. She looked away. "I'm… sorry, Caspi-" Her words were halted when Caspian wrapped her in a hug, tears trailing down his cheeks. Completely stunned by the situation, her body locked up and she couldn't do or say anything.
Sensing her discomfort, Caspian let out a choked laugh in between sobs. "I-It's okay, Captain. You don't have to do anything. Just a moment longer."
A moment was all it was, and he pulled away, still having his hands on either side of her shoulders. "I can't believe it. Have… have you been well?"
She glanced behind her and gave a slight shrug. "As well as I can be. I've recently been investigating the ancient past of the Demon Realm. It's been an… interesting experience."
"I'm sure." Caspian smiled and then started as if shocked. "Ah- um, do you want to come inside? Can I get you anything? Tea, or coffee- I know how you used to say you liked it, and I've garnered a taste for it too over the years. I'll introduce you to my kids and-" His stopped speaking when he was her expressionless face. "You're not staying," he stated.
She shook her head. "I'm leaving the Mystical Realm, Caspian. I won't be back here for a very long time."
He scratched his head and looked at the ground, likely not wanting to say goodbye so soon.
She put a hand on his shoulder and turned him to face his house. "Go home to your family, Caspian. My place isn't in this realm, or the Beast Realm, or the Demon Realm, and I find myself wondering if even Earth is my home either. But this realm is your home."
He opened his mouth to argue but one exasperated look from her as she crossed her arms shut him up. "Caspian, your wife of five years has just seen her grown husband crying over an unfamiliar woman while you came running to me, leaving her with no explanation. Go back and explain this to her." She pointed at the slim blonde woman holding an infant as a toddler clung to her dress, standing in front of the house.
"You still don't have any delicacy after all these years," he replied with amusement. He glanced back and gave her a bitter smile. "Could I at least have my kids meet you?"
She hesitated. "I-" But if this was the last request from a friend she'd never see again… she could at least fulfil this. She slowly nodded. "…show me them."
Caspian smiled and began walking back over to his house, with her following behind. "Well, the oldest is Derin, while our youngest is called Ariane…"
[Secondary Skill: Reward | Type: Demonic/Lexicon ]
Rarity: Ancient
Desc: Not many are brave enough to request a reward from the Demon Emperor himself. Nor do many have the sheer audacity to do so. Most consider surviving a meeting with him their reward. You're a living miracle, in more ways than one.
Kudos to you for finally getting A########### to do something for a change, I guess.
Abilities:
Polyhistor of Daemons – A genius scholar of the Great Beings.
- Due to the User's expertise in a multitude of areas regarding the Great Beings, this has amplified the skill to grant them the ability to understand Ancient Daemon traces and sigils.
- Grants the User the ability to use memorised characters of the demonic script to cast demonic spells. User cannot verbally speak demonic spells but may use other mediums.
- User may further their capabilities as their comprehension of demonic script grows.
In the training hall, Lucy crossed her arms, pondering over her new skill. She stretched out a hand in preparation to cast her first demonic spell and-
"So, what spell are you going to cast first? Tell me!" Scytale eagerly interrupted. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"You are supposed to be hauling clipped leaves to the western entrance for disposable," Lucy replied without looking at her bond.
"Fat chance." Scytale gestured to her. "Have some enthusiasm outside of your dumb 'academic' curiosity! You might just be the very first non-demon to cast demonic spells! And I'm not talking about witches or warlocks here."
She sighed. "Just… don't tell the others. I deal with enough of Annaliese's curiosity, let alone the two magic addicts under my roof."
"Not including yourself?" he asked cheekily.
She gave him a pointed glare before shaking her head. Lucille refocused on her skill. "I'm about to begin. Don't blink or else you'll miss it."
Scytale nodded and watched intently. As this was her first time casting a demonic spell, she put most of her focus into activating the skill itself so she knew what to do. Lucy summoned the characters of a weak demonic spell she knew to mind, and infused her mana into the skill. She waited expectantly.
Nothing happened.
"Uh… now, I'm pretty sure I never blinked that whole time!" Scytale said. "Is that it?! What did it even do?!"
"Curious." Lucille looked at her left palm where the mark of her pact with the Demon Emperor was glowing ominously. "I had thought that this pact may enable me to cast the spells due to the demonic power present in here, but I assumed incorrectly. In fact, it didn't even register as demonic power to the skill." She took the glove tucked into her belt and pulled it on to hide the mark. "I suppose that the demonic power of the Demon Emperor is just on another level compared to normal demons. It doesn't even count as the same energy."
Scytale clicked his tongue. "Did the Demon Emperor scam you or something? The skill is useless now! Until you merge it with your Essential Transmutational Conduit and redirect demonic magic I guess…"
"I never intended to use the skill separately in the first place. I always only ever wanted it for my Primary Skill. But…" The malevolent black dagger she always kept on her person was taken out. Lucy held up Apophis, and the ornament snakes its way around her wrist to face her on eye-level. "What do you think? Would you like to test it?"
Want.
His ornament's ruby eyes glowed.
"If you agree, then…" Lucille pointed him at the opposing wall of the training hall. "This feels like a ridiculous skill name to say out loud, but Reward!"
A beam of roiling red energy blast out from the curved dagger and shattered against the wall. Lucy stumbled back from the reflected shock of the impact and quickly cut the mana off from Apophis. "That's enough!"
Apophis's demonic power quietened, but not before a furious ball of black-tipped blood red flames expanded from the wall, blanketing the surrounding stone in flame-shaped burn marks. Lucy could feel that her skin had become clammy from the sudden lack of mana, as if she had overexerted herself without eating anything for a few hours. She put away the dagger and turned away from the wall.
"I don't want to think of how I'll explain the demonic power in the burn marks when Vincent inevitably comes to investigate," she remarked. She sat down next to Scytale and pulled out her Status… and that of Apophis.
[Status: ]
Name: Lucille Goldcroft (Lvl. 8̴̩̋9̶͔̟̠̈̒̀)
Age: 18y
Race: Human
HP: 52800/52800 {+229/1m}
MP: 1/18850 {+2200/1m}
Stats:
Free Stat Points: 409
[Bonuses: +704 CON, +129 STR, +122 INT, +65 WIS]
STR: &̸̧̨̖̦̩̖̥̪̅͑7̵̛͍̂̅̽̐̽́̄͠2̸̧̱̲͓̭̎̎̀̀̔̔ (352)(+704) SPRT: 7000
CON: _̷͕̫̦̟̖͓̳͈͊̌̋̏͋̍̀͋̃2̸̣̼͗͒̕&̵̢̛͚̘̖͎̣̰̗͊̀̓̎̈́̊́̉̏̅7̴̡̢̻͇͎̼̦̈́ (516)(+129) MENT:65
AGI: *̴̦̺̫̳̼̳́̍̈́̆̃̈́̀̔̈́͋̚͝2̶̢̼̬͖̰̭͕̬̥́̄̊̓̓̃̚)̸̛̩̩̃͂̑̀̀̒̓͗̈9̶̪͎̬̤̦̹̟̒͛͊͋͊́́̋͌̏̓͑̕̚ (277) CHAR: 5̶̡̛̼͇̪̩͈̝͉͍̮̠̏͜^̷̨̢̣̰̖̟̮̘͇̀̎̎̎͐̀̀̆͗̇̋͝͠7̶̨̼͍́̈́̽̈́̄̎͆̈́͊̂̽̒̊͝ͅ
DEX: 1̶̛̹͕̬͇̰͖͍́͋̿̋̇̉̄́̉̏͒͛̒̉̈́́́̀́̈́̄̚͘͝ͅ5̷̨̟͕̫̙̖̼̣̯͙̯͇͖̻̦̣̙̼͔̟̩̝̻̘̇͗͆̽͒̀́̿̈́͜!̵̛͍̥̯̙̲̀̒̾̀̌̋̐͑̕͘̚͝͠͠͠3̶̧̢̣͉͙͚̣̝̪̮͍͇̣̮̪̮͈̭̖̳̈́̏͂̉̓͋̌̆̆ (202) CHP: -̴̨͓͔̗̥̤̞̗̠̜͇̦͈̖́̀̂́͐̈́̇́̑̀̎́̉͌̈́̓̉̕͘͠
INT: 3̶̹͇̏̈́̄̄̒͛@̵̳͚̣̀̌̓͋͌̏͒̚2̴̧̬̜̦̤̞͔͊͒̃̌̅̕ͅ9̶̛̣̗̬̱̜̿̀̀̐ (255)(+122) HRP: -̴̨͓͔̗̥̤̞̗́̀̂́͐̈́̇́̑̀̎́̉͌̈́̓̉̕͘͠
WIS: N̵̛̙͖̄̉̓̋́̋̅̌̄̔̓͊͋̀͐̿̌̂̐̋͘̚3̴̡̡̡̛͎̠̹̖̰̥̳̘͇̯̾̄̇͊̾̍͛͗͊͑̈́̀̀̚̚͘͠͠$̷̨͚̰̖̜̥̝͈̲̥̆̀̀̐͊̑̎̎̈́̀̅͗̕͘̕͜ͅͅ8̸͕̗̯̫͕͕̪̠̓̾ (155)(+65)
[Origin Skill: Simulacrum Realm | Type: System/Spiritual/Realm
Desc: [Collapsed]
Subskills: [Collapsed]
Awakening: 100%. ]
Skills:
Primary Skills:
[Alter-Ego]
[Essence Transmutation Conduit]
Secondary Skills:
[Mark of the Primordial Demon ]
[Energy Anomaly Automated Indication ]
[Elemental Integrity Verification]
[Environmental Analysis Var. 3]
[Chaotic Usurpation Perspective]
[Codex of Reminiscence]
[Memory Transubstantiate]
[Prodigious Archmage's First Steps]
[Gemstone Processor – Spell Imbuement]
[Soul Cipher Orchestrator of Affray – Histrionic Dramatourgos]
[Reward]
Tertiary Skills:
[Energy Field Detection]
[]
As her Status got invariably more complex, with the Aspect Enhancements on top, the System reverted her Status to its original every time she applied a new stack to her Aspects. It was likely some confluence between the Influence of the Casket of Boons and the System interacting, but it was more effort than it was worth reimplementing her modifications. Lucy was considering leaving the changes the next time it happened… but not yet.
Just over 450 stats of her Status came from the food she had consumed, but in total her Status was still under less than half of the maximum for a Rank-1, which was 4920 including Aspect multipliers. That was not the case for the other Ranks. Because Rank-1 consisted of levels 11-199, it was close to two hundred levels worth of stats in one Rank.
It made it very clear to her though that while she wanted her CON to be high, it was far ahead of the others. That wasn't intentional. It was because the stats she had obtained from the Dusky Undercroft Dungeon of Synadis were all CON-adjacent due to the minerals and metals the monsters used in their bodies. And while she had worked hard on her Codex of Reminiscence to gain more INT and WIS…
The amount of mana it took to cast the small demonic spell was horrendous. And one look at Apophis's Status showed it didn't even take just her own mana.
[Status: ]
Name: The Serpent's Fang: Apophis (Lvl. 68)
Race: Demonic Weapon
Rarity: Forbidden - Epic (Evolvable)
MP: 1/2140
Stats:
ATK: 2340
MATK: 780
SATK: 780
CHP: 1
Skills:
- Burning Blood-Feud
- Twin Souls: Chaos
Compared to her own mana, it wasn't much, but considering a living weapon sustained its life on the energies of its soul and mana, it was a massive drain on Apophis. The glow of the blade's demonic aura glowed dimly.
She put him down and sighed. "I will definitely not be able to cast demonic spells whenever I want. While an invaluable skill… it's not practical. Not unless you're an Archmage."
Lucille studied the burn marks in the distance. "Although… I never intended for it to be that big. I wanted to cast a spell roughly the strength of an intermediate fireball. The power I intended was amplified by ten times."
She looked down at Apophis. "It seems your skill name of 'Burning Blood-Feud' meant more than I originally supposed. You seem to have an aptitude for flame-related demonic abilities."
Scytale whistled and picked the curved dagger up. "Does this mean we know what kind of ability you're going to get when you next evolve?"
"Quite possibly we do. But in hindsight, maybe we should've expected this." She pointed at the black sun insignia engraved on the diamond-shaped ruby on Apophis's pommel. "A 'sun' is one of the first things that come to mind when heat and light are mentioned. Going by their contrasting qualities too…" Lucy hummed as she looked at Ouroboros. "I'd say Ouroboros had qualities of water. The moon and water are frequently linked."
"Guess you'll need to talk to Count Chavaret about how to evolve them," Scytale said, resting his chin on his hand. "When was it that you would be going to the Chavaret place? January?"
"Yes, then." She stood up and stretched. "We only have two months left in the year, however, so it's not that far away."
"You have the end of year Banquet thing to prepare for though." Her bond put his hands behind his head and laid on his back. "That'll keep you busy."
"Hm? Oh, no." Lucille shook her head. "I don't plan to go to the Banquet this year. With the involvement of the Heavenly Realm and my strong suspicions that all of this has something to do with Sect Leader Leng Xiuying mean it won't be for the best to go there this time. I don't want the truth of my relationship with the Counties being leaked just yet. Ideally, it'd only start leaking a little before the Millennium Chapter."
"Well, currently you have the Prodigious Archmage's First Steps, which allows you to mimic monster and bloodline magic," Scytale counted. "And now you have this dumb sounding 'Reward' skill for demonic spells. That means you have death mana and spirit magic to learn now, right?"
Scytale pointed at her. "Do we get to spend November hunting for the perfect spirit magic on Glenheim? It might be nice to finish of the year that way. Get some levelling in too. Isn't there a Legendary Dungeon on that plane?"
"A Legendary Dungeon might be too much, but…" Lucy started walking towards the exit. "I'll think about it. As long as nothing goes wrong this month."
The humanoid snake stood up and walked up to her. "There's another reason why I'm mentioning Glenheim though, Lucy," he added in a low voice. "The Spring Queen releases some of the Dew of Lake Daiana within the next six months. I thought you might like to buy it for… you know, him."
Lucy paused when she heard the name of the substance that passively purified monster essence around the individual and was used to make potent protective amulets. It was a substance given to the Eternal Empire by Glenheim as their yearly tribute. Very rarely was the dew given out to anyone who wasn't a royal. Even the Duchies needed to buy it from the Eterial royal family.
She turned to stare at him. "I'm impressed you remembered that information from the past, Scytale."
He scratched his neck. "I… well, uh, didn't. It was something I heard being discussed at the debut a few months back. I just thought you might like to know about it… this time."
Lucille pondered it. "As he grows stronger, the amulet would lose its effectiveness, which makes it less beneficial as his symptoms grow stronger with his power. It would be better if it could be combined with another purifying substance…"
"Purifying substances? The most famous one I know of is in the Sanctum of Purity, but I assume you would've considered that." Vincent, who had just found them, glanced between them. "Did either of you hear a strange sound, like a fireball exploding? I was coming over here to investigate." He noticed that the door of the training hall was only a few metres away and narrowed his eyes. "Was it you two?"
They looked at each other and shook their heads in sync. "Nope," the replied.
"…really?" Vincent still looked suspicious, but shrugged. "I suppose if both of you aren't admitting to it, then you must be telling the truth. It may have just been Marellen again."
"Yeah, definitely Marellen," Scytale said, snickering.
Lucy rolled her eyes and walked off with the two behind her.
"Anyway, I was searching for you both because Annaliese wishes to say her goodbyes," Vincent informed them, passing the binder he had in one hand to a nearby servant.
"I know. We're heading there now," Lucy said. They took a lift and walked until they found themselves in one of the side entrances, where Raegan, Annaliese and Sir Albrecht were. Marellen's party and the unwilling Sedric had been hauled along, as well as Hargrave. The ex-mercenary was stubbornly pretending not to hear the Prophetess's pleas to show her his wings again.
"You took your sweet time," Raegan snarked.
"You say that as if you're unhappy, but I know you just don't want to admit you'd rather be here than at the estate, so you're perfectly fine with staying here a few more minutes," Lucy stated flatly. The boy shut his mouth and looked away.
"Lucy!" Annaliese pouted. "Tell Jasten he's being mean! He's not letting us stay here longer!"
"My job would be on the line if I did that, Prophetess Verdon," Sir Albrecht replied wearily.
The girl jabbed a finger at him. "It's Annaliese!"
"Miss Verdon, are you still having this argument with your guarding Paladin?" Vincent commented with bemusement.
She scowled at the aide. "Yes, because I'm in the right! Speaking of which… Vincent! Stop calling me Miss Verdon!"
Vincent looked away. "I couldn't possibly-"
"Do you want me to start revealing everything you've told me about Lucy to her?" Annaliese asked smugly.
Lucy stared at her, then at her aide. "Excuse me? What's this about me?"
"…I feel honoured to be close enough to call you by your first name, Annaliese," Vincent replied, looking defeated.
Annaliese nodded, proud of herself. She ran up to Lucille. "It's time to say goodbye again." She spread her arms.
Lucy eyed her with distaste. "No."
"Awww. Aren't we friends?"
"The matter of our relationship has nothing to do with my dislike of physical affection. As such, goodbye Annaliese and please be off-" Lucille's expression twitched when the girl hugged her regardless and she extracted herself from the girl's grip. "Get off!"
When Annaliese finally let go she gave them a cheery wave and left as swiftly as she had arrived. Lucy gazed dully after them until they were out of the view, then she whirled around to give her aide a bright smile. "What's this about telling Annaliese about me, Vincent?"
Vincent gazed at her with a bitter smile, as if seeing his work life about to get much worse.
…
"So you really never told her to give me hugs or anything remotely similar?" Lucy asked suspiciously. They were in her living room.
Vincent quickly shook his head. "No, never. It seems to be something she decided upon herself. The fact you never seem to outwardly flinch or be repulsed by the show of affection probably doesn't help that fact though."
She pinched her nose bridge. Vincent went silent for a moment until he held his chin and tilted his head. "Pardon me for asking if this is too personal, but are you averse to touch? I never took you for a hugger, but surely you could avoid it if it bothered you that much."
'I'm not… exactly averse to it." Lucy looked at her hands. "I don't gain the same emotional response from it as others do." She gained a wry smile. "It probably doesn't help that the last time I was hugged by someone would've been 162 years ago. It wasn't… an entirely enjoyable experience."
"Not enjoyable?" Vincent asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Yes, well, when a grown man is sobbing while clinging to you it's not fun," Lucy replied flatly. "Not when you know you're the reason for him acting like that, anyway."
Vincent gained a strange expression. "Who in the realms?"
"Who?" She glanced at him. "My former Vice Admiral." She turned away to shrug off her suit jacket and take off the two sheaths on her belt. "He's a demi-Atlantean. That is why I was discussing purifying substances with Scytale earlier. By the way, I hadn't actually considered the Sanctum of Purity in Atlantea yet, so take credit for the suggestion," she pointed out. "While I try, I can't possibly consider something from every angle."
But Vincent didn't look like he had heard the last part. He was busy counting something. "You were… 88. Didn't you say you quit the Navy at 40? What happened?" He paused as he saw her expressionless face. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."
"No, it's fine." She shook her head and sat down on the couch. "It's ancient history, and history that won't ever come to pass again anyway. All things considered, it had ended on a surprisingly positive note." Lucille looked up at the roof. "You're aware that my unique magic is to create illusory monsters, correct? As a demi-Atlantean, he has adverse effects to any and all monsters. Events forced us to stick beside each other, but we started out from the wrong foot to begin with."
Lucy twirled a finger with an air of casual indifference. "You may not know this, but I was very famous on my home world. I'd like to say that at least 70% of the population had heard of me. There were other people from my world in the Navy, and I didn't want any of them to learn I was in any way connected to their world. So, I put up a mask."
She crossed her arms. "If I had perfected my mask a bit better, than maybe the relationship between me and my Vice Capt- my Vice Admiral might've remained strictly professional. As it was, I couldn't hide the fact I felt responsible for him, and his sensitivity to the emotions of others meant he could see I was hiding a lot more turmoil and fear behind my cold mask." Lucy sighed. "Then it all came crashing down as the rest of my crew, including the people from my home world, began to place more trust in me. I was their leader, but I had to remain distant from all the people I had learnt to care about for fear they'd discover more about me than I wanted them to know."
She looked away and rested her chin on her hand. "Skip a few years after a disaster in my fifteenth year of the Navy, one that involved a great loss of lives, and when I quit my job as Admiral my Vice Admiral had to quit along with me, as was the custom. Instead of keeping in contact with him and the remaining crew, I retreated far from the Distorted Depths and joined the Athenaeum Academy as a professor. Unfortunately, when… someone… from my past came to find me again, I decided to fake my death."
Vincent remained completely silent. Scytale had snuck into the room at one point, but when he heard them he quietly by passed them and entered the kitchen.
Lucy clasped her hands together. "News got back to my former Vice Admiral before I could address the issue. In the wake of everything that had transpired, he blamed himself and thought that it was his job to keep us all together." She gained a lopsided smirk. "I decided to give him something worth living for. All he needed was someone else to blame instead of himself. I'm quite a good actor, and had learnt how to hide my emotions from those around me… and even myself. He never suspected I was lying. In some ways it hurt… but I didn't deserve to think about that."
She held up a hand, looking at her fingers. "For twenty-five years he tried to find me. When I was 83, it finally clicked for him what was happening, with a bit of prodding from our mutual friend. I didn't visit him at that time though. I wanted… to make sure he had found something else to live for."
Lucille chuckled self-derisively. "I'll always regret never being able to attend his wedding, but when I was 88 and finally mustered up the courage to see him again. I visited him, we made up, and then I left." She spread her hands. "We never met each other again after that. We went our separate ways, and I was satisfied with seeing that he had a family."
The room stayed silent. Lucy smirked and leaned back. "So, how was it? Was it an anticlimactic ending? Most happy endings are often like that."
"…is it happy if you never saw each other again?" Vincent asked with a frown.
"Why not?" She shrugged. "I had always held regrets about not being able to protect my crew the way I wanted. You see me as someone always being productive and constructive, but the truth is that I'm far better at destroying and annihilating things than creating them. Everywhere I went I left a… void behind of what was once there. By leaving I was at least able to protect one of the people closest to me."
"That feels too harsh," Vincent argued.
"Don't get me wrong, I enjoy destroying things." Lucille's smirk grew wider. "It wasn't for no reason that many people called me a psychopath before I arrived in the Tower. And I made that 'void' into something more useful. Permanently sealing away and destroying things that even a 'Hero' could never do good with."
"You've lived… an eventful life," Vincent slowly replied.
"Ha. But that wasn't even half of my lifetime." Lucy stood up and walked over to the window. "Vincent, if you can, please find out when the next auction of crystals from the Sanctum of Purity are. For an Atlantean, they're the best way to limit the effects of monsters on them."
"The royal family of Atlantea only accepts crystalline tokens at the auction, and the Founder's vault doesn't have any as they're all consumed to improve the Faction," he carefully refuted.
She waved him off. "I'll pay for it personally. I have close to a thousand crystal tokens in spare pocket money, and I'm prepared to use it all."
Vincent stood up, nodded with a bow, and left the room. Lucille leaned her arms on the windowsill.
At the end of the day, if her identity as the Goldcroft heir had been revealed, it wouldn't have been the end of the day. Her fear stemmed from other reasons. Reasons that she never wanted her two remaining family members to hear about.
……..
"Maeva. I've been thinking this for the last two years out of the twenty I've been hunting her, but…" The sea-green-haired man buried his head into his arms, a bottle clenched in one fist. "I don't see the point anymore."
The woman touched his arm. "Does this mean you're considering… the same things as before she visited?"
He raised his eyes to look at her. "Where did you hear… no, I was probably too obvious." He chuckled derisively and lowered his head back down. "I… don't know. I don't know anything anymore. I've met with all the rest of us who are still alive and well, and every single one of them have told me that I'm being ridiculous. That there's no way that Adrianna Riftmire could have purposely caused all this strife when she nearly permanently died trying to shield us from the fragment. It makes sense, but…"
He lifted his head and pulled at his hair. "Why would she tell me it was her doing then?! Did she really want to cut off all contact with me?!? From all of us?! For some reason, that almost feels like… it would hurt more than if she had betrayed us…"
Maeva's hand gripped his arm tightly for one moment, almost enough to bruise him. She quickly relaxed and pulled her hand away. She was trembling slightly. "Caspian, have you ever considered… that… this was all her plan?"
"A plan… to make me feel like the worst man alive? Someone who has tried multiple times to kill his former friend and Captain?" he replied with a bitter laugh.
"Realms beyond, Caspian, listen to me!" Maeva gripped his shoulders. "Captain is one of the smartest and most powerful people any of us have ever met. But she has her weaknesses. I can't… I can't see you keep going around in circles like this any longer. Captain would never want any of us to die, so how desperate do you think she was to see you like that?!"
Caspian stared at her with bloodshot eyes. They began to water and he rubbed them furiously. "I am… I'm really the worst person alive." He let out a short, laugh and clumsily stood up, pulling on his coat. "I-I need to go, Maeva. I need to find her."
He ran out the door, leaving it wide open and letting the howling wide and rain in. The blue-haired woman stood up to close it, then she turned around to gaze at the hooded figure who had just walked downstairs with reproach. "Are you going to blame me for what I just did?"
She, the hooded figure leaning against the wall, let out a long sigh. "If you hadn't done it, then… I was going to do it. This has dragged out for too long."
"You said that the last few times you've been here," Maeva muttered. She walked up to the table and slumped in a seat. "Will you let him find you?"
"…not …yet." She looked at the door her former Vice Admiral had left through. "He still hasn't found something else to live for. Until that happens…"
"And how long will that take?" Maeva asked.
She remained silent. Maeva huffed and looked away. "As long as it takes, huh."
"I'll keep updating you with letters."
"I've already told you to stop sending me letters," Maeva retorted. "You know I hate you, Captain."
"Yet you reply to my letters all the same."
Maeva took a swig of a bottle and buried her head in her arms. "Dammit."
…
It was quaint and pleasant. The house bordered a calm forest, and rolling green hills stretched out in front of it. Smoke was escaping the stout chimney on top of the red brick roof.
She had chosen to come wearing dark blue pants and a navy long-sleeved top. She hadn't touched her uniform again after she quit, but she wanted to wear something… similar… so he could recognise her. Not that anyone could misremember someone with hair quite as outlandish as hers.
She stiffened up when the door of the house a few hundred metres away opened up, and a man with familiar sea green hair walked out. He scanned the view with a hand over his eyes and seemed to smile as he breathed in the fresh air. Then his eyes fell on her.
There was a tense moment when their eyes locked. After a moment of hesitation, she slowly began to keep walking. The man seemed likewise hesitant as he remained standing at the doorway. Then he walked forward too.
Not a word was said between them until they were a metre away from each other.
"…hello, Captain," Caspian said.
"I'm not Captain of anybody anymore, Wharifin."
"Force of habit, I suppose." He gave her a wry smile that slowly faded, and then he stared at her.
The silence grew awkward and she put a hand to her neck to rub it. She looked away. "I'm… sorry, Caspi-" Her words were halted when Caspian wrapped her in a hug, tears trailing down his cheeks. Completely stunned by the situation, her body locked up and she couldn't do or say anything.
Sensing her discomfort, Caspian let out a choked laugh in between sobs. "I-It's okay, Captain. You don't have to do anything. Just a moment longer."
A moment was all it was, and he pulled away, still having his hands on either side of her shoulders. "I can't believe it. Have… have you been well?"
She glanced behind her and gave a slight shrug. "As well as I can be. I've recently been investigating the ancient past of the Demon Realm. It's been an… interesting experience."
"I'm sure." Caspian smiled and then started as if shocked. "Ah- um, do you want to come inside? Can I get you anything? Tea, or coffee- I know how you used to say you liked it, and I've garnered a taste for it too over the years. I'll introduce you to my kids and-" His stopped speaking when he was her expressionless face. "You're not staying," he stated.
She shook her head. "I'm leaving the Mystical Realm, Caspian. I won't be back here for a very long time."
He scratched his head and looked at the ground, likely not wanting to say goodbye so soon.
She put a hand on his shoulder and turned him to face his house. "Go home to your family, Caspian. My place isn't in this realm, or the Beast Realm, or the Demon Realm, and I find myself wondering if even Earth is my home either. But this realm is your home."
He opened his mouth to argue but one exasperated look from her as she crossed her arms shut him up. "Caspian, your wife of five years has just seen her grown husband crying over an unfamiliar woman while you came running to me, leaving her with no explanation. Go back and explain this to her." She pointed at the slim blonde woman holding an infant as a toddler clung to her dress, standing in front of the house.
"You still don't have any delicacy after all these years," he replied with amusement. He glanced back and gave her a bitter smile. "Could I at least have my kids meet you?"
She hesitated. "I-" But if this was the last request from a friend she'd never see again… she could at least fulfil this. She slowly nodded. "…show me them."
Caspian smiled and began walking back over to his house, with her following behind. "Well, the oldest is Derin, while our youngest is called Ariane…"
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Honorary mention of my first Plebeian: Purplexa
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Snakee
Oof, the feels in that last line