Rain Harlow
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(Vol 5) Chapter 52: Teasing More Reveals
🕑 Added 2024-06-25 14:36:59 +0000 UTCSamantha began signing the pages of Zadkiel’s contract, each causing a pulse in her bones from the supernatural gravitas. Zadkiel’s eyes were on her the whole while as though locked, in some combination of grim resignation and… a glint in his eyes. Hopefulness, she sensed, not just naturally but in some deific core of her being.
She came to the final signature and hovered over it with the pen. Everyone was spellbound in anticipation, Sancus nodding approvingly; Azure with her hands together like a prayer, the tips at her lips as she stared unblinking — an eye twitched; and Zadkiel, hands gripped tightly on the bars and breathing heavily with his eyes as wide as they could go, nostrils flaring. Sweating.
Samantha’s eyes slid across all of them. “Um, guys… do you mind?”
“Sorry!” “Sorry.” “Apologies.” Three voices over the top of one another, as they turned away simultaneously. Zadkiel cleared his throat loudly, and Azure had her hands behind her back as she rocked on her heels and whistled.
Shaking her head, Samantha steeled herself, took a breath, and then penned the final, cementing signature on the last page.
Immediately, there was a red-hot burning feeling through her soul, but it was like a quick lance, and a rippling warmth came after, settling in almost like a buff felt. But… not quite.
The system-mandated Deific Contract between Samantha and Zadkiel has been instituted and is now under enforcement.
The quest “The Fate of a Devil” is complete. 55 FE gained. 4 exp in [Goddess] gained, 3 exp gained in two sub-classes of choice.
Zadkiel stiffened initially, then relaxed with a grand sigh, his eyes closed. No doubt he felt what she did — the promises on the horizon. She’d already guaranteed his release when the time came, baked into the contract. Eyes still closed, he frowned. “How many days? More than a few, even.”
“Five,” Sancus answered. “Until that time, we will arrange for communication and liaison, subject to your good behavior, with likely extension into audience-granting or special arrangements of access as is possible.”
Zadkiel opened his eyes to regard the lawyer-cat. “Uh-huh. I’m not sure what is actually possible.” His eyes shifted over to Samantha. “I still can’t reach my realm. And I have a very annoying and painful debuff, by the way.”
Sammy dropped the ‘epic voice’ effect finally. “The [Shunt] effect you’re under is meant as an ordeal. You are trapped and cannot directly get out, including mentally. Other than arranging for your Servitors to visit some sub-realm we design here, all I can do is set up my realm to relay communications. We can get a workaround arranged. And, um… sorry about that debuff. Again, there’s nothing I can do.”
Zadkiel huffed in annoyance. “Quite a shitty way to save someone when it comes down to it.”
“You think I don’t know that, hornboy?! Your Avatar is destroyed, your relics were taken, and it's just an all-around shitfest for you. I know. But it's the best I could do in those circumstances. He practically stopped time, dude. Cut me some fucking slack.”
Staring at her oddly with a raised eyebrow, he replied, “You have a strange way of speaking, you know.” Finally, he sighed and shrugged. “I appreciate you saving my life. Everything lost is nothing we can’t come back from. I’ll salvage what I can. So, first things first…” He gestured at the bars with a hopeful expression.
Sammy snapped her fingers, and a gate swung open for him. He smiled big and crossed the barrier, looking around as if just seeing the drab dungeon for the first time and appreciating it as fine real estate, perhaps ironically.
“If you like it here,” Sammy offered wanly, “you’re welcome to stay.”
Zadkiel smiled equally wan. “I’ll pass, thanks.” Glancing at Samantha and Azure, his grin became devilish, and he held his arms out. “Hugs?”
“Fuck no, you hornball!” Sammy exclaimed immediately. Azure crossed her arms and shook her head emphatically as an answer, though with a small smile. Meanwhile, Sancus rolled his eyes and floated away, quickly losing interest in the conversation.
Shamelessly maintaining his grin, Zadkiel shrugged, then put his hands on his hips as he studied Samantha. “Could you at least shift to something less warpathey as attire? I’d like to behold the full majesty of the true form of my new and supreme mistress, the Goddess of Fate.”
“Why not?” She sighed. “You’re going to see me one way or another at this point.” She shed the armor, putting on a full, queenly dress of blue, white, and purple, with bird designs etched in. She was otherwise decked in jewelry and had on her crystalline crown. She made sure there was zero cleavage from the dress to ogle and the skirts were full. “Behold! The Goddess Samantha.”
Somehow, he still ogled her, as much as any bumpkin mortal seeing a goddess would. He was mostly locked onto her face and eyes. He was authentically struck.
Great.
Zadkiel touched a great, clawed hand to his heart. Softly and passionately he said, “More beautiful than I could have imagined, more enchanting than each other persona combined! I could die happy if you just smiled at me. Promise you will at least, should I fall and never rise. Over my grave, think something good of me.”
Sammy was entirely stuck with how to respond. Did he have that ready-to-go, or…?
Azure saved her with a forceful clearing of a throat. “She’s also happily taken, Zadkiel. So kindly refrain from such romantic declarations, hmm?”
The spell over the Demon God-King did break at that, as he even took a step back and held up his hands to both of them, looking embarrassed. “My sincerest apologies. You’re a lucky- well, you’re both very lucky women.”
“Mm-hmm.” “Mm-hmm.” Azure and Sammy both made the sound at the same time.
Rubbing his neck and laughing it off, Zadkiel continued, “No wonder you’re charming the whole world, heh! Anyway… ahem! What were we talking about?”
“Communicating with your realm,” Azure replied as an assist.
Zadkiel snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “Right! That. So. I need to get word to at least a dozen different sources immediately. Ba-Rasine is the first — the head of my Schismatist Servitors and all around my right-hand lady. And I have to try and sow adjusted agreements with whatever chaotic mashup of factions holds Merrington. My Church has hopefully held down the fort. Technically it hasn’t been that long… those at the battle might still be retreating…”
Sammy snapped both her fingers to get the big red lug’s attention. “Hey! We still need to hear about some intel, buddy. For one, that domain you’ve been hiding, and what kind of complication it’s going to be. And also about Glae. I got Glae’s side of things already, but I need to know more from yours because, at this point, he’s a big, big problem down the road. Do you have any idea what he’s planning?”
“Mm. Not so friendly, now, is he? I’m not surprised. What did he tell you-” He cut himself off as he looked around and scowled. “This is a crappy place to have a conversation, isn’t it? Can you squirrel us away to somewhere less dark and depressing?”
“Eh, sure. Sounds good.” Briefly, she turned to Sancus and nodded to him. “Thanks again for your help. What was my grade, by the way?”
The Cat Sith deliberated, scratching his chin with a claw briefly. “B+. You lost your cool somewhat but kept it together and gained rather than lost ground, I’d say.”
Sammy grinned. “Awesome. Until next time, cat-lawyer.”
“Undoubtedly.”
Not wanting to waste any time walking, Sammy utilized [Pneumamancer] and took hold of the realm’s pneumanic energy stores to transport the three of them instantly to elsewhere. Having a lot of unused real estate in Heaven, she brought them far out on the plains to a beautiful homestead on a small lake. It was upraised and provided a nice view, with a long ramp down from a backyard deck, if one wanted to go for a swim.
The deck had a roof and a large, circular wooden dining table with chairs. Zadkiel’s clothing shifted to something more complex and respectable — a long, belted, gold-embroidered burgundy tunic and pants, with a purple cloak over it. He wore a fairly simple gold-and-gemstone coronet on his head, fitted between his horns rather than around, in a somewhat strange final shape.
Zadkiel eyed everything with judicious appreciation, from the table, to the chairs, to the sky and sun and lake. When they all sat down at the table, he ran his hands over the wood. “The realism of all of this… it's remarkable.”
“It is real, you dolt,” Azure chided him.
Sammy nodded her agreement as she flicked her hand and some mai tais appeared in front of each of them. “This has all been given substance through transmutation from energy, Zadkiel. Pneuma. I carved it all out of Limbo. Except for the sun. That's a little more complicated bullshittery.”
The Demon King peeled his eyes from the strange drink he was sniffing with interest to look at her sharply. “That’s impossible. Pneuma cannot be harnessed directly through…” He trailed off, then sat back as realization dawned on his face. “It’s a domain.”
“That’s right, Big Horny. The domain of [Pneuma].”
“That seems absurd and illegal.”
“Yes. I’m a pretty big cheater, as it happens.”
He frowned. “Not what someone who made a contract with you wants to hear.” He ate all the garnishes on the top of the mai tai at once and then took a huge glug of the drink, squinting as he chewed the ice. “This is an odd drink,” he said after swallowing.
Shaking her head at him, Sammy took a sip of her own drink. “I don’t plan to cheat you, but I will have no such qualms with my enemies. Furthermore, in the spirit realm, I am exceptionally strong. World Class. I defeated one of the tippy top psionicist sages.”
Zadkiel nodded slowly to this. “Good. It’s an unusual vector. Closing off one of their favorites to exploit is particularly invaluable if we don’t have Glae anymore.”
“Before we get on that subject, tell me about this secret domain.”
“Mmn. It’s a rather fascinating subject, actually.” He glanced at Azure. “You’ve no doubt heard the tales that I am the Lord of Demons reborn? The ancient progenitor?”
Azure, setting down a drink just sipped, shifted uncomfortably, eyes flickering around before settling on Zadkiel. “Of course. It is total nonsense.”
He grinned. “Yes, but there is much, much more to it. Few truly know how I acquired divinity in the first place.”
Azure, looking increasingly uncomfortable, frowned deeply. “You were a legendary hero who became a warlord and acquired worship.”
Zadkiel raised his eyebrows, holding his grin. He looked between Azure and Samantha, and then he began to laugh. It was very devilish and sinister in the extreme — enough to make Samantha fidget as much as Azure had. They exchanged concerned glances.
“Ah haha haha, it’s priceless! Such a well-executed con, hahaha!” He took a sip of the drink, and in the midst of laughing still, it went down the wrong pipe and he started coughing horribly. “Ack kya hya hyuk, shi- hyauk hyk mmph-!” His eyes watered terribly as he slapped and cracked the table with a hand while trying to 'cough it all out.'
Sammy rose to hurry over and slap his back to help him through it. It was a bit too complex of an act to just waive her hand and fix.
Finally, he got a handle on things and waived Sammy off. “I’m- hyk! Good. I’m good. Hnnph! Fucking anticlimactic shit! Hhf. That traitorous drink is never going in my hhf-mouth again!”
“Yes, Zadkiel,” Sammy mock-consoled, “it was totally the drink’s fault.”
He nodded in vehement agreement. “Anyway, no. I am a wizard and a warlock, and that was my talent from the beginning. When Glae came to me with his promises, there was only a vague understanding of what we could do. Great uncertainty. But he’d found a place he couldn’t go to. A place that a great demon wizard of Naugite blood could…”
He paused for dramatic effect, eyes shifting between them, then whispered like a secret, “The Other World.”
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« (Vol 5) Chapter 51 | Table of Contents | (Vol 5) Chapter 53: Dimension On the Shifty Axis »
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Note: 'Lord of Demons' reference can be found in book 1, chapter 52. 'Other World' is referenced there too.
