Chapter 160: Demonic Dungeon

Demon Prince Fang sat in boredom as the two Demon Princes across from him argued once more on the best method for capturing the Half-Demon. It had been easy enough convincing them to let him join, as the opposite prospect was working against them. That he let himself place low in the pecking order for producing an heir - something he had no intention of doing in the first place - had certainly helped. And only one of them was suspicious of his motives, but it wasn’t as if any of them truly planned on sharing in the end.

The rest of the Demon Princes were elsewhere, planning their own plots even if all 18 of them were technically working together at the moment. It was more like a ceasefire than anything else.

It had been weeks of waiting for their scouts to report anything, [Vampyr]s working as their messenger birds, if birds could teleport. That clan of Demons had gone on a downward spiral after the death of their young Demon Prince. Many of their members were captured and subjugated while the rest of the clan secluded themselves.

An example of said Demons, grey-skinned with bat-like wings, rushed into their meeting hall.

“What news do you have?” Fang quickly spoke, hoping to avoid any pointless posturing from the other two Demon Princes at being interrupted. The Reaper hated those with inflated egos.

“A few minutes ago, two unknown figures suddenly appeared in the Demon’s village. A Mana and Aura user, most likely in their second tiers.”

“Fang, you said the Half-Demon was accompanied by a Magus?” Demon Prince Felbeast questioned.

“A teleporting one,” Fang responded.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go raid the village like we should have done ages ago.” Felbeast rose, his red eyes shimmering, preparing to transform.

Fang rolled his eyes at what was obvious posturing. If attacking the Werewolf Clan was worth the risk they would have done it from the start and interrogated it’s members. It wasn’t only the enemy races of the past that feared the sharpness of their claws.

“There’s no need to be hasty. And even if we attack, what if the Half-Demon merely teleports away with those she cares for?” Demon Prince Elhaim spoke reasonably.

You are reading on fantasylibrary.ink

“We’ll gather all the Vampyrs and prepare to block their teleport,” Fang started, “Though, we may have to adjust how we block it…” he continued and explained the strangeness he witnessed when he saw the Magus teleport. “In any case, so long as they do not prepare to teleport, we should wait and see if they leave the village through more mundane methods. That way we won’t have to attack the Werewolf Clan, nor will we need reinforcements.”

“Good, good, we’ll prepare immediately.”

Sitting alone in her home, Vera Varg felt herself going stir-crazy. Even without external issues, leaving the Demonlands was all but impossible for the current her. At least not in a leisurely manner. Compared to her Half-Demon daughter, the pure Werewolf knew she’d stand out like a beacon in any society. Age and power had only decreased her ability to hide her true nature; going adventuring like she had in her youth was all but impossible for her current self. In fact, when she met Kara’s father, she was already past being able to truly hide her Aura and was unable to enter any significant settlement without a great risk. Even a novice using [Aura Detection] closely enough would go through any disguise of hers.

Even worse, her village was now under permanent, and powerful, watch. Leaving would either draw others to Kara if she went to find her daughter or leave the place vulnerable without her here to act as another deterrent. For all their bravado and raw power, history had left Demons acting as cowards and cockroaches. There was little choice when the whole world considered them their enemies, even before they gave the other races a legitimate reason for their racism. They would never risk certain death of at least one of the Princes by attacking her so long as she and a few others of similar strength remained.

That was why, when a Mage suddenly appeared in her home, she found herself relishing for the chance to do something entertaining. Like tearing out his Mana-infused heart. Until she noticed her daughter appearing by his side that is.

“Kara?” she exclaimed in surprise, before rushing over to the girl to give her a hug. Being distrustful of Magi as any proper Demon, her senses were just as much on the tearful reunion with her daughter as they were on the now slightly awkward Magus. Her [Magic Detection] went up and down Kara’s body, including around the corners of her mind - a technique taught to her by her own mother.

“Well, I was just sitting down for a drink. Join me?” Vera offered, not even knowing where to start on this new situation. At the same time her pleasant and relaxed demeanor hid what was beneath. Ready to see just what was going on here and strike if needed. At least there wasn’t any foreign magic working on Kara, if she ignored the Fae-like Body Enchantments almost invisible on her skin. But those were passive at the moment.

She hadn’t expected to see her daughter for a very long time. Nor had she imagined a situation that involved a Magus so skilled in teleportation she didn’t even notice him until he was right in front of her.

And here she thought Kara would inherit her penchant for younger men. Not however many centuries old this man was to teleport in such a way. Then again, the man in front of her was stupidly gorgeous. At least her daughter had picked well.

This chapter is from fantasylibrary.ink

“It seems my gift was well chosen then,” the Magus spoke as he took out a jug of what smelled like an expensive Fae wine… from a Spatial Ring. That he would use the limited space of a ring to store wine either meant he was frivolous or the ring was massive. Both options were equally interesting.

Just what had her daughter gotten herself into? And how come she had so much fun while her lovely mother was stuck at home? Though, depending on how the conversation went and just what her relationship with the strange Mage was, she may very well be having her fun after all.

Rainer felt like a third wheel as he watched mother and daughter catch up. It seemed he was the only one who took the offer to sit down as Kara and her still hugged, and her mother spun her around a bit commenting on how big she’s gotten. Given that Kara was an adult when she left and had been gone only a year or so, Rainer was finding it hard to understand how his Wolfkin wasn’t offended. Getting big could only mean getting fatter, something that most certainly didn’t happen. An Aura thing perhaps?

Sighing to himself, he took out three glasses and poured the Fae wine. The large wooden room was quite bare apart from the occasional rug or the table he sat at. He supposed a lack of glass-making techniques, or magic to substitute it, meant no windows either. He shivered a bit before activating [Arcane Invigoration] to a small degree. Colder than expected.

All the better to get his mind off any ill-will he still felt towards Kara’s mother, remind himself he’d probably have done the same in her mother’s place, and that he was here to make a good first impression.

He looked over at the two as they came over to sit with him. While Kara certainly took after her father, it wasn’t as if her mother didn’t add to that. Vera was just as beautiful of a woman, looking as if she were in her 30’s, though with what he could describe as a harsher appearance. Stronger lines, but still good looking in a way only possible by the more magical races. She had red eyes and black hair just the same as her daughter, though lacking the same white fur inside her ears as Kara.

And certainly larger in other areas, he noted before quickly pushing that thought out. He wasn’t looking to make that kind of impression.

“So, I suppose we get introductions out of the way? Vera Varg,” she said, smiling at him and taking an almost feral sniff at the wine in front of her. Looks like going for broke and getting the best wine he could find had been a good idea. It was good that non-Fae basically no longer visited the Fae Realm, so there was little issue acquiring it. Though, he understood from Laneth that the hospitality offered wasn’t unlimited. Already having the Devil and occasionally Goblin there pushed at it.

Though, he was quite sure there was some sort of threat behind Vera’s smile. For that at least, he couldn’t blame her, it wasn’t as if he held anymore trust towards Magi then she did.

“Rainer Nvos, Kara’s boyfriend.” He returned the smile, only to be interrupted by a jab in his side by Kara.

“You really need to watch out for your magic.”

Rainer frowned before looking back over to Vera who seemed just about ready to jump out of her chair and attack him. Looks like he tried to mimic her smile a bit too much. Oops.

“Right. Sorry. Been dealing with a lot of politicians recently. The magic I use for it comes out on accident sometimes.”

“Scaring politicians? I can get behind that,” Vera said, shaking off her earlier threatening mien. Demons didn’t really have politicians for the most part, apart from a village or clan chief, their populations being too small and divided. Even then, said leaders were almost always the strongest and the oldest, which meant they were often not the most fit to rule, for better or for worse. Demon Princes, while holding authority and technically territory, were more like generals than rulers. No, she was thinking of Human Nobles. She had killed more than her fair share of those annoying things over her travels.

Kara’s friendly jab and reprimand had calmed Vera quite a bit on there being something fishy about their relationship. Even if there was nothing magical going on, the idea of her daughter being subverted by a far older mage was certainly possible. At least just from this, it didn’t seem that way. Of course, in that scenario, the Magus would have to be an idiot for trying to use Kara for… anything, given all those who wish for her.

Vera and Kara settled into a light conversation on what her daughter had been doing since she left the village. Rainer himself hadn’t heard the start of the story and was a bit interested, but it seemed Kara skipped forward to the interesting part, as in the Dungeon.

“It’s good you had such a safe place to level away from the all the Demon Princes after you,” Vera noted, quite surprised at how many classes Kara had brought to level 25.

“Though, the reward itself brought its own problems-”

Rainer stepped on her foot under the table.

“What?”

“Kara, can we talk in private?”

In another room, Rainer used the ring he still had from Furtak to put up a sound barrier.

“What’s wrong?” Kara asked.

“Were you going to tell your mother Mana-well?”

“Yes… I don’t see…”

“And [Sleep Learning], and any other secret? Kara you can’t just-”

“What do you mean ‘I can’t just’? She’s my mom, Rainer. Not some stranger I just met and hired to take care of my political goals because I’m too lazy.”

“Kara we can’t just… And that was an accident, it’s not like-”

“Or my war-torn sister who attacked and tortured an incredibly powerful mage for seemingly no reason. Did you even think about what showing the Mana-Well to your sister could mean?”

Rainer grimaced.

“And yet I never said a word. Because I trusted you Rainer. And so in turn I trusted your decisions on who to tell what, and on what to reveal to whom. I thought we talked about it, that my mom didn’t have much choice when she had me awaken my Aura. I thought you of all people would understand that.”

“What do you mean, me of all people?”

“What would you have done in her situation Rainer. Would you have really been content only having me perform the rite of passage? What about that talent stealing ritual from the Blood Soul Guild? The one that only worked on younger children since they were less attached to their talents.”

“I-”

“Oh but you’d never risk your child with such a ritual. You’d have to experiment with it over and over again, to make sure you hammered out all the side-effects. My mom knew what my future held, and how much more bleak that future would be if I didn’t have Aura. How much worse would you have done?” Kara spoke and then immediately regretted it. She looked in Rainer’s eyes which now seemed more introspective than argumentative. And hurt. Not knowing what else to do and still quite angry, Kara left room before saying anything else.

At some point during the argument, Luna had ended up on Rainer’s hair and was now massaging his head.

Rainer sighed as he rubbed a strand of hair through his fingers. All he wanted to do was Void-walk somewhere away from here. But when reminded how unsafe it was here, he’d never leave Kara alone. And she wasn’t wrong either, about any of it. When they met up with his grandfather and mom again, he already planned on telling them everything. And Kara wouldn’t say a word about it despite knowing his grandfather had sealed his magic in the first place. Would it be so unreasonable to assume he’d react poorly to Rainer having something like a Mana-Well?

And he himself had no idea the lengths he’d go to in Vera’s situation. Or he did and just didn’t want to think about it.

Sending a few complaints to his Void Will, he calmed himself down with Luna’s silent presence, and wondered what he should do.

Sitting across from her mother, Kara sat in silence as she calmed down.

“Kara are sure it’s wise to take your Trial so soon?” Vera asked, looking curiously at the room her daughter left but the Magus didn’t. Had she not told him the full extent of the problems that followed her? Gradually, Vera lost her caution over there being some sort of Magic worked on her daughter.

Kara sighed as she thought over how to explain her enchantments and more importantly [Sleep Learning]. Yes [Mystic Dancer] technically made the upcoming Trial harder and included Enchantments in its class. But she doubted it took into account something like Void-Step, and more importantly [Sleep Learning]. The sheer amount of time it took to train up a skill that consumed one’s Body Enchantment was unfathomable. Had she not been able to refresh her body, Kara couldn’t even guess at the decades, or even centuries, it would take to reach the next point. And that’s not even counting the fact one would need a personal Body Enchanter, and countless Mana Crystals, for such training.

A point where she could get the same effect and the Enchantment only stopped working for a few seconds.

Despite her disagreeing with Rainer, she didn’t want to reveal these secrets on her own. Said man reappeared moments later right next to her. Kara looked up at him sheepishly. No matter who was at fault at first she definitely made it worse. And knowing him, he’d be less mad at her and more going over what she said to him repeatedly, wondering how true it was.

“Talk again?” He pointed to the same room and the Wolfkin followed him soon after.

“I’m sorry,” two voices overlapped the moment the wind barrier went up.

The two stared at each other, before Rainer broke out in laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

“I had no idea that could actually happen in real-life.”

“What… never mind. Rainer, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said-”

“But were you right,” Rainer interrupted. He had no idea just what he was capable of. Up until now, he had kept his actions only against those who he truly needed to kill or were his enemies or worse, but what if in the future that changed? Would he have done worse in Vera’s position to assure Kara’s strength and safety?

“You are not evil Rainer. And even if you were evil, I can hardly find fault in knowing you’d commit acts of evil for me.”

“No, I think most could in fact fault me. We’re not exactly normal are we?”

“You’re only noticing that now?”

Rainer chuckled and shook his head. A small part of him remembered Kara’s comment on his sister and that perhaps she could use some therapy, maybe all of them could. Attacking Yazir like that wasn’t normal, even if the result was beneficial and in all likelihood he could have ended up their enemy.

“Are you ready for your Trial?” Rainer asked after a short silence.

“I am,” Kara honestly felt herself over prepared with how easy it was to abuse [Sleep Learning] when it came to Body Enchantment-type skills. As well as the Aura-intensive class skills of her Werewolf half.

“You don’t want to sleep here… or?”

“We should head out as soon as possible. My mom already told me Demons are watching the village, the longer we stay here the more time we give them to do something about us.”

“Agreed,” Rainer sighed, though he was comforted in how sure Kara seemed about her Trial.

“On that note, don’t you think we need someone other than us three? You’ll basically be a sitting duck while I take my Trial.”

“Us four,” a muffled complaint from his coat came out.

Thinking it over for a bit, there was but a single person they could ask. Gunthar still needed to level, and his sister still needed to take her Trial before she’d be useful, or rather capable of surviving, against anyone other than Mana users and your average Tier 2 expert. Anyone else, Rainer couldn’t just ask them to take such a huge risk and he’d be more worried about protecting them.

So a deal with the Devil it was to be.

“I’ll be back soon then, catch up with your mother in the meantime? If you trust her, I trust her.”

“See you soon,” Kara smiled, watching as he Void-walked away. It was a far more interesting sight when she understood more of what was happening through her leveling of her Void-Step enchantment.