Newly Summoned Demoness - Chapter 67 – Words of Power (Patreon)

After the revealing conversation with Eziel and the revelation regarding the Celestial Engine, they had little time to spare, but what they needed to do seemed obvious to both of them. Yolani led the way out of the chamber and back into the darkened halls with the location of Relain’s offices in the tower printed on a flimsy sheet of parchment.

The path was slightly disorienting. Elania didn’t remember any of the turns or stairwells they traversed, the entire journey from the 20th floor to the Engine being a blank. That was worrying, but not enough to draw her focus off of their mission.

When they reached the next landing, they froze at the door. Inside, two guards were chatting idly, lanterns lighting the room. When they broke apart, one turned and headed straight for them. Yolani let the cracked door close with a near silent click, and they scurried up another level.

To their relief, he started downwards. Elania shot Yolani a glance, then a whisper. “Why don’t we just go up from here?”

“We need to be on the central stairwell. This one terminates,” the other girl explained.

They waited a few minutes, then crossed back down the flight and checked the door. The room was clear.

Shelves of books gave ample cover as they hurried to the center, where a circular wall had a single heavy door cut into it. It was locked; Yolani pulled out her door opening tool and began to crack it.

Elania watched their backs, looking for the presence of more guards. None appeared.

As the door opened, light poured out, a confused guard with a lantern turned toward them.

A punch flew through the air, and Elania’s fist connected with his jaw without hesitation. He went limp, and she caught him under the arms to keep him from tumbling down the stairs. Yolani shot her a panicked look.

[Watchman - Human - Lvl 135 has been defeated!]

She dragged the man between two shelves, then ripped his own clothes to tie a gag around his mouth, hands, and feet. That was the best she could do without killing him.

They hurried up the large central spiral staircase faster. “Are you sure you know where we’re going?” Elania whispered anxiously.

Yolani nodded and looked back at her for a second. “Trust me,” she whispered back.

Elania nodded. Really, all they had now at this point was trusting each other.

Six landings with doors passed by. On the seventh, Yolani paused, and they exited into a long corridor that made Elania nervous. The intersection at the end of it was a four way, with equally long corridors going in every direction.

It was mind fuckery of a sort. The tower had looked large from outside, but it was absolutely enormous inside.

Yolani chose one of the paths after a brief hesitation and they began to pass by closed doors.

“How do you tell them apart?” Elania whispered.

Yolani pointed for an answer, and Elania realized there were small dark numbers written with a fading paint. Not that the numbers really meant anything to her. Was it some sort of cipher?

It seemed like a random door when Yolani stopped and pushed one open. It was yet another of the seemingly endless stairwells. The tower was a freaking maze of stairs, with no windows or anything else to ground the notion of her location in relation to anything else. At least the Celestial Engine had been in the central column.

Yolani paused when they reached the top of the staircase. There was a single heavy wooden door that looked just like the rest. “This is supposed to be his office,” she whispered.

Immediately, Elania tensed up. “Let’s get this over with.”

Yolani nodded and pushed it open. It wasn’t actually an office—a large, expansive lobby that was well furnished with some shelves of books, glowing wall sconces, and even a potted plant beside the receptionist desk greeted them.

There were more hallways and doors, too.

Yolani pulled out her power detector tool and took a few steps away. When she activated it, the thing spun and then pointed directly towards the double doors that were set into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

“Must be his, you know, actual office-office,” Elania said hopefully.

The doors were ornately decorated with metal and golden handles to pull them outward. They seemed to fit more for a palace than an office room.

Yolani pulled out a wand and waved it over the handles, but there was no reaction. She frowned, looking over her shoulder. “The door is just open, no trap or lock.”

Elania blew out a tense breath. “Well, we know what we came for is behind the door, right?”

Yolani nodded. “We should be ready for a fight,” she warned.

Elania nodded and reached back to Eziel’s hilt that hung over her shoulder, withdrawing him and letting the blade rest on her shoulder. The weight and warmth of the blade were reassuring.

They both pulled on their respective doors at the same time.

Her gaze was immediately drawn to the ornate desk sitting prominently in the center of the room, flanked by ceiling high bookshelves and décor sitting atop a room sized blue carpet. On top of the desk, sparkling with promise, was their target: the chest filled with mana shards.

It felt like Déjà vu as a figure in a chair behind the desk spun slowly to face them.

“Tessa. Give us the chest,” Elania stated firmly as she and Yolani stepped inside.

The other girl’s hand went into her bag, no doubt readying one of her many artifice tools. Elania prepared herself to swing Eziel if needed.

Tessa let out a giggle and revealed a broad toothy grin that was as menacing as it was eerie as she spread her arms out wide. “Welcome,” she greeted cheerfully, seemingly unbothered by their abrupt entrance. “I wasn’t expecting you two!”

Yolani and Elania both tensed up. A confrontation seemed inevitable. Tessa raised her hand nonchalantly and tutted at them reproachfully. “Oh, come now, relax,” she said lightly, maniacal amusement coloring her voice.

“For two girls who’ve been through so much in a short amount of time, I’d expect you to be more interested in making friends than picking fights,” she continued casually. Her eyes swept over Elania with an unnerving interest before settling on Yolani.

Tessa smirked wickedly at Yolani’s defensive stance. “My master would find it quite intriguing to have his own personal ‘Master Artificer’ doing what he desires… won’t you consider it?” A hint of playful menace coated every syllable.

Her eyes slid back onto Elania. “And a sister! To share the workload would mean more free time for both of us!”

“You want us to be Relain’s slaves?” Elania hissed back at her. A glance at Yolani’s expression told her the other girl felt the same way about the offer.

Tessa let out an annoyed ‘Tsk’ as she waved her finger. “In return, he could graciously spare Miss Yolani from all those troublesome charges against her. I don’t think he even liked her uncle. The man was just a means to an end.”

She waved a dismissive hand at the suggestion of criminal activity almost flippantly. “And you could even keep your dear little shop. I dare say you could even keep it together; if that’s what you two wished. When you weren’t busy carrying out master’s orders, of course.”

The offer hung heavily in the air between them like a guillotine blade—sharp and ready to strike down mercilessly if given the chance.

Still…Tessa was extremely dangerous. Fighting her wasn’t a sure thing. Elania worked her jaw, a dozen refusals and rebukes dancing on the tip of her tongue, but she pushed them back when Yolani took a step forward.

“What about the Celestial Engine?” the other girl asked tensely.

Tessa’s toothy grin widened at that, but before she could answer, a side door near the desk opened and another figure in sweeping burgundy robes strode into the room, drawing the demon’s attention. The man carried an aura of undeniable authority and arrogance that made the hair on the back of Elania’s neck stand up.

“Relain,” Yolani muttered under her breath.

The man didn’t miss a beat as his gaze roamed over them before settling on Yolani. “It will be restored once our beloved city follows its rightful path again…without fools clinging to outdated dogma,” he declared with confident ease. Apparently, he had been listening in the whole time.

His words were deliberate and filled with certainty—but they reminded Elania of the conversation with Gaston and Yolani’s mention of the election a few days before. Obviously, the Celestial Engine had become some part of a power play, but how exactly that helped Relain’s position was unclear.

Relain stepped closer to Tessa, his gaze shifting to Elania. “Another sapient demon would be of great help to my plans. I do not abuse those who serve me loyally, and I have ample resources to see that you are both cared for.” He slid his hand into the yellow-haired demon’s hair and stroked her.

Tessa closed her eyes and arched her back, letting out an unnerving moan.

The Magister shifted his icy gaze onto Yolani, offering a sharp smile reminiscent of a predator cornering its prey. “Ms. Aetherhart, it’s unfortunate that our past dealings have led you to become wanted for the murder of your uncle. As Tessa claimed, I can make those events disappear. You and your friend can be left mostly to your own devices, other than for the services I will periodically require.”

Yolani’s eyes narrowed at him as she bit her lip, her grip tightened around her bag. “Why do you need an artificer?” she challenged, her voice still steady despite the obvious anxiety.

Relain smiled as if he had won. “I lack proficient expertise in artifice myself,” he admitted, “and there are certain modifications required for the Celestial Engine that must be performed.”

Yolani shook her head slowly. “I have no experience with something like that.”

“Once certain plans come to fruition, I will be able to give you all the time you need to study it,” Relain replied easily as he turned his gaze onto Elania.

“You will be allowed to acquire all the essence you desire while clearing out our city’s riffraff and undesirables,” he proposed, as if that was a juicy steak.

Elania tensed as a realization turned her stomach in knots, her eyes sliding to Tessa accusingly. “So that’s what happened to the people in the shantytown.”

Tessa tilted her head under Relain’s hand, momentarily confused, but quickly recovered with an ominous smile that spread across her face. “You mean those sewer-dwellers? You noticed that?” She giggled hysterically. “They weren’t very appetizing…and its quite filthy down there,” she confessed. “But I have to do my best to keep things clean.”

The chilling meaning behind Tessa’s words sank in. A glacial silence filled the room as all the implications of what their two antagonists had been up to, terrorizing and feeding off Neftasu’s vulnerable citizens with no remorse or regret.

It wasn’t just about a power struggle anymore.

A silent exchange passed between Yolani and Elania, their gaze carrying a shared understanding that didn’t need any words. Even with a potential way out being laid before them, they both knew that these weren’t the kind of people they wished to align themselves with. No matter how tempting or easy it seemed, this was a line neither of them was willing to cross.

Tessa rose from her chair, breaking the silence of the room, her eyes glinting maliciously as she prepared for a confrontation. The room crackled with tension as two sets of eyes held each other in wary anticipation.

“I’m disappointed,” Relain stated.

[The Magister is a maximum willcaster.]

A jolt of unease ran through Elania at the remark. What the heck did that mean?

“Same plan as before. The fields last 30 seconds,” Yolani hissed at her.

Elania frowned. She’d already seen Tessa fight, and it was going to be difficult to get past her, much less whatever Relain could do. The man was ridiculously high level!

“Kill them,” commanded Relain, his voice a venomous whisper.

Tessa sprang into action, her form blurring as she launched herself toward them with lethal intent. Elania side-stepped into her path and swung Eziel as hard as she could. The demon somehow darted sideways mid-leap.

The floor and boards of the room shook frantically as Elania’s strike cracked with concussive force, the blast of air making a vertical slice into the room’s ceiling and back wall. Without missing a beat, Elania pivoted and made a horizontal slash follow up, the ranged strike landing right where Tessa impacted the library shelf.

Relain pointed at Elania and spoke. “Hold.”

Suddenly, every muscle in her body froze, like she’d somehow been locked out of controlling herself. No matter how hard she tried to force her body to move.

Tessa’s maniacal laughter echoed as she darted in toward her. Panic set in before a small, round trinket landed near her feet from behind. The orb suddenly opened, and then glowing lights erupted on its skin, a gray spherical field flashing out and covering the nearby area of the room.

Almost instantly, the compulsion lifted, and Elania raised Eziel just in time to block Tessa’s attack. The surrounding air exploded as the yellow-haired girl’s claws tried to pierce the flat of the massive blade. The shockwave knocked the remaining furniture in the room into collapse.

Relain wasn’t finished. He raised his staff and smacked the tip on the ground; the crystal turning a vibrant red. “Firebolt!”

Red orbs appeared in the air above his head, and he waved them straight for Yolani. Tessa struck again, though, leaving the artificer girl on her own to deal with them.

But she didn’t need to. As soon as the fire struck the gray nullification field, they dissolved into nothing. Yolani hefted another orb out of her bag, then threw it at the Magister. It flew true until it passed through the field completely.

“Break,” Relain intoned.

Yolani’s orb did that, crumbling apart, but then it exploded in a shaped blast straight for him. A red barrier snapped into place as the energy struck, and one of the rings on the man’s hand shattered. Elania hissed in frustration. Shit, he had spell wards!

Without wasting a moment, Elania swung Eziel at Tessa, who just barely danced underneath of the strike. Wind still whipped at her as she darted up to stab at Elania’s belly.

Elania countered by thrusting with the sword’s hilt, smashing the round pommel into the demon’s forearm, a sickening shatter echoing with the strike. Her other hand darted in though, scraping Elania’s fingers holding the sword.

Neither backed down, Elania kneeing the maid in the side before getting clipped in the head by a shin. The two spun apart, but Elania turned her spin into a swing of Eziel, which caught the demon in the side.

Time seemed to stop.

[Guilty.]

Tessa bent in half as Eziel bisected her. The two parts blew apart with the force of an explosion, her upper body slamming into the far wall while her legs smashed into a fallen shelf of books. Relain cursed and gestured, “Mend!”

A blue cord snapped into existence between the body parts then pulled taut like a snapping rubber band, the bloody squelch as the meat smacked together, sending a spray across the room that Elania blocked with her sword.

Tessa panted as she stood back up, a glare of hatred fixed on Elania.

“Queen’s Requiem!”

Glancing back at Yolani, it became clear what she’d been doing the entire time; a massive glowing circle was floating over her head, and as she lowered her wand at Relain, hundreds of small blue bolts began to flash out of the working like a spray of machine-gun bullets.

The Magister raised his staff and began to wave it, red orbs of his own flashing out to smash the incoming projectiles away. It quickly became clear that Yolani’s projectiles were far superior, and they began to slam into the man’s protective wards.

Elania darted for the chest. Tessa lunged after her, but a swipe of Eziel sent a blast that knocked her backwards. A cloud of dust filled the room from the repeated exploded impacts from the artifice casting, cloaking the Magister as more and more bolts smashed into his location.

It felt like victory when Elania snagged the box under an arm, only to be struck in the back by Tessa’s kick. She rolled forward over the desk and smacked into the wall. The demon looked down on her viciously and stabbed towards her with elongated fingernails, only for the window behind the desk to explode inwards.

An armored figure smashed into the other demon, bulldozing her to the ground with a heavy thump. Tessa hissed violently and stabbed at the silver metal armor. A gauntleted fist smashed into her face, but she got her feet between them and kicked him into the ceiling.

It was the Paladin!

Elania rushed around both of them, angling to get back to Yolani.

“Enough!” A roaring shout erupted from inside the dust cloud as Queen’s Requiem burned itself out. A red sphere flashed, sending the dust away in a shockwave.

Yolani’s nullification field winked out as its time ran down.

Relain glared at the emerald-eyed girl with fury, his once pristine robes coated with soot and ash.

He pointed his staff directly at Yolani. “Cease to exist!”