Chapter 20
Venthra showed Merlin around while I hung out in clear view of the nuns.
The central square made an excellent space for me to practice some inscriptions where everyone could see me, and I had a clear view of anyone coming and going.
As Venthra had said, those who categorically avoided the nuns seemed to hold a few demons.
Soul Gaze made it far easier for me than trying to get close with talismans. All I had to do was scan the square continuously, keeping an eye out for trouble.
As for the nun they avoided the most, she had two interesting abilities. One was Sensitive to Evil, which enhanced her inspect, and that I could tell she used often. The other was Righteous Smite, and it was an attack that multiplied the damage done based on how many sins the other bore.
Honestly, I didn’t want to find myself on the other end of that ability either. While I was working towards a goal that I thought was just, I was unsure of the ideas of Sin. I wasn’t exactly religious and had long abandoned the idea of good and evil being so black and white.
It didn't take long for trouble to show itself. Men watched the nuns carefully, moving through the square with a purpose that wasn't at all clear, beyond eavesdropping on various conversations. My eyes tracked them before Soul Gaze broke through any illusions covering their system menus.
It was clear to me that they were simply here to keep an eye on the broader situation, and I pegged each of them for later. Venthra would be able to find them if she'd been keeping track of where everyone rested for the night.
They dipped their heads at my attention and scrambled out of the way.
At least demons were having to stay low here.
***
"And get some rest," the old nun said as we very visibly made our way to Venthra's room, the five of us lying down in the quiet of night. Still, for just a second, I peeked and opened my eyes, looking around the room at the rest of them.
"Shall we get going?" I asked, my voice low.
Merlin responded with a nod, and the shadows ripped me from where I was lying on the floor, quickly depositing me on a rooftop in the city.
"Or you could do that," I said, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye.
"Don't pretend you don't love my ability to move us around so quickly," Merlin replied.
I held my hands up, pretending to be defensive. "I never said anything about disliking your teleporting."
Merlin grinned at my quick response. I couldn't help but notice how closely Almeria was watching the interaction.
"By the way, where are we going, Venthra?" I asked, moving the conversation forward.
"This way." Venthra pointed off into the distance and simply jumped off the roof, launching herself across the street below and onto another rooftop.
I shook my head, planted my feet, and followed. We couldn't fly, but we were strong enough that our next destination might as well only be a hop, a skip, and one very large jump away.
"Marco's people are in what used to be a more industrial area of the city," Venthra reported. "Nice, low, functional buildings away from the center. The skyscrapers make most people nervous. A few of them have fallen, and they might as well be natural disasters in the city."
I nodded along, understanding. The skyscrapers were death traps, by her own words.
I couldn't imagine what they would do not only to the city, but the rest of the population, if one of them finally collapsed.
Most likely the blast would take out everything in the vicinity, not to mention if they fell directly on people.
Even with our strength now, the towering structures could quickly become a lethal catastrophe.
A low, solid build of industrial buildings was far more appealing.
We hopped from building to building, clearing each with the delicate speed of five initiated with plenty of strength, and soon enough, the industrial area came into view.
The buildings staggered off, slowly growing shorter until they were only a few stories.
They were squat, round blocks, and then little more than massive concrete slabs.
The closer we got, though, the more apparent the population became.
The church square the nuns controlled had a number of people.
This area had far more, and not by a small magnitude.
There had to be at least ten times the number of people crowded together, many of them squatting in small spaces, while a rare few occupied the doorways of the industrial buildings.
I wondered if inside there was an even more exclusive shelter. Those who controlled these spaces were clearly separating people into those who were and those who weren't worthwhile.
Squatting in nearby storefronts were those with barely any levels. The ones closer to the larger industrial buildings were at least level twenty. Not much to me, but average for this group.
I paused on a nearby roof, activating Soul Gaze to understand more about the situation below. The first group I gazed through were all fairly low level. Though, to my surprise, there were demons socializing among them.
As I watched, a horror story I recalled from my past life came to mind. There had been whispers of farms where human bodies were grown so demons could have their pick of hosts.
I looked at the demons that were several times the level of the humans around them and wondered if the humans knew they were most likely going to be used. I shook my head. I felt pity for them, but unlike in the past when I'd heard that story, I could help them out of the situation in this life.
A sudden fire lit in my chest.
"You alright, big guy?" Venthra said, glancing up at me.
I smirked. “I didn't think I'd get called that by someone who grew up among Borrsons.” Venthra had the wherewithal to blush at my words.
"Don't let it go to your head," she said quickly and stepped off the roof in a hurry, dropping to the ground below with barely a sound. The closest groups didn't so much as lift their heads as she straightened up and began to walk among them as if she belonged.
I smiled watching the capable assassin. One of the secrets to blending in was simply to walk with confidence, and she pulled that off fantastically.
I jumped down far less gracefully than Venthra and stood up as Merlin and the other two melted out of the shadows beside me.
Merlin squinted. "You could have been far smoother. I would have been happy to drop you down."
I shrugged. "My bad. It worked, right?"
"It did," Merlin said, "but we should get moving." She hurried to catch up with Venthra, leaving me to watch all of my women from the rear as their hips swayed back and forth in a motion I was used to seeing when they wanted to be noticed
At least, Gloria and Simone often moved that way with interest in me watching. As I watched the women in front of me, I wondered if they were doing it intentionally, or if my eyes were just enjoying following their hips.
As we stood together, I held out talismans to Nyx and Almeria as shadows enveloped Merlin and me.
An idea sparked in my mind as I saw the demons hiding in plain sight. What if I became the demons?
I drew upon Merlin’s Monarch of Shadows to wreathe myself in darkness as we moved forward into the group, my sword held out to the side. While there were plenty of demons present, they weren't that strong, so I plowed forward as people sat up at the sight of this shadowy figure approaching.
Apparently, they'd been desensitized to strange things in the new world, because they didn't attack immediately.
Instead, my Bloodiron Blade crept out of my wrist while still wreathed in the same shadows that covered me. The weapon elongated and hooked into a wicked-looking saber. I held it up and roared to the top of my lungs.
"I am the Demon Lord, come to eliminate humanity!" I managed to hold back my laughter at the irony.
Meanwhile, Nyx wasn't quite as effective, a small snicker escaping her lips as the talisman blossomed in a very different effect to try and hide her in the shadows, as dark ripples obscured her form.
I shot her a sharp glare, and she mimed zipping her lips.
It didn't matter, though. I doubted anyone was even looking at her, because they'd begun to stare at me as I rushed the crowd.
Soul Gaze picked out several demons easily, and I cleaved straight through them.
Between the surprise and their inability to show their real forms, it was simple enough for my group to follow in my wake.
Nyx fired several arrows over my head, though it was abundantly clear she was attacking more to scare people off than actually harm anyone. Merlin, on the other hand, was far less delicate, grabbing people by the ankles and pulling them down.
The gesture created greater panic than even I had, as the shadows quickly became people's enemy. There was something instinctual about the fear of the dark, and the shadows fighting back sent the crowd into an absolute panic.
Almeria drifted through the group, her rapier finding several targets and finishing them with a simple pierce straight through the chest, some of them exploding in a gush of water.
I turned to her just marginally, but it was enough that she understood, and she nodded slowly.
Those who reacted with confusion were easy enough to isolate and test with the talismans I had given out to detect demons.
I nodded in understanding and went back to quickly clearing the place of demons. The sweep of my blade sent shadows roaring off of it, causing them to scatter and flee. I hoped that if the Demon Lord really descended upon them one of these days, they'd be just as afraid but do more to fight back.
It was pathetic to watch humans flee from their greatest enemy without putting up so much as a fight.
Though I knew from my previous life that the first time humans fought for their lives, they did not operate well.
It was only later, after being exposed to something several times, that humanity showed its true potential, its adaptability, and its capability to grow.
It certainly wouldn't disappear anytime soon.
Our group pushed through, only for Venthra, who was heavily cloaked now in new clothes, to move up against me, killing demons. She’d either stolen those clothes or had them ready in her spatial ring.
"Venthra," I whispered, drawing close. I grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up against the wall before booming out, "I'll turn you all into demons."
She scowled at me.
I slipped a talisman into her hands, and her body was suddenly wreathed in flickering shadows. They were very good for breaking up your form in the dark, but they went with Merlin and my ability to make us a unit of scary, unrecognizable demons.
She fell to the ground before jumping back into action, her spear flashing out as she killed several nearby demons that she must have already had marked. "Later," she growled under her breath and darted away from me.
The crowd screamed that demons were attacking as several groups came out of nearby buildings, looking confused. They stared down at the crowds wailing and banging on their doors.
One use of Soul Gaze later, and I understood their confusion. The demons were staring at the shadows, trying to work out if they were friend or foe.
I roared and rushed the building.
A short, squat man possessed by a demon, only the barest black carapace showing under his long sleeves, used his arm to block my sword.
I stopped short, my feet cracking the worn pavement even further before I punched with all my strength, sending the demon flying back and crashing through the wall.
His body made a secondary and far more convenient doorway. Those inside screamed, cried out, and begged for help.
I mostly ignored them and instead swept Soul Gaze through the room as I went after those already possessed.
"We are demons, here to reap your lives!" I shouted as my blade cut two more demons in half. "All of you will feed the Demon Lord!"
My blood ran down in rivulets, still wreathed in Merlin's shadows. The blood scattered across the floor and created a large inscription that glowed a deep, haunting red, weakening everyone present.
Nyx slid up beside me and plucked several individuals from the crowd, her arrows pinning their ankles to the ground.
"You know, if you ever wanted to, you could probably make a damn good Demon Lord," she told me.
I chuckled, turned, and kissed her on the side of the head, her serpents returning the gesture. "Love you, too," I said under my breath and picked out several more of Nyx's targets, pointing my blade forward.
Nyx understood the message and finished them off, strumming her bow delicately like it were a harp made of gold. Meanwhile, I stood imposing in the center, making it look like I was orchestrating the whole fight from the side.
"Demon Lord! Demon Lord!" someone shouted, rushing forward as my Soul Gaze raked over him.
I quickly determined he wasn't much of a threat to me, but he could be for others in the building. He was likely one of the demon’s stronger fighters, so I let my blade clash with his for a moment as he leaned in, smugly satisfied that I hadn't blown him away. He must have thought he had a chance.
"Who the fuck are you?" he growled.
"The Demon Lord," I said simply.
He scowled. "We both know you're no Demon Lord."
I only smirked. "Is that so? And how exactly would you be so sure of that?" I grinned, pushed him off, and sliced his arm free of his torso with my next breath.
He was stunned by the sudden realization that he was in over his head.
"The people of this city should be made afraid of the Demon Lord, don't you think?" I asked, drawing my blade back with a smirk on my face as I cleaved him in two and ended his life.
I was almost uncomfortably giddy at using the Demon Lord's name while cleansing these settlements of demons. It wasn't something I had necessarily planned to do, but the option was simply too sweet to pass up.