Newly Summoned Demoness 2 - Chapter 2 – Artificery and Plots (Patreon)

Patreon now no longer allows you to edit text previews, which is annoying. The first 140 characters are always shared. This isn't that bad for a chapter like this, but it's very bad for a lot of other creators who possibly put links to .pdf or .epub etc.

***

The two needles pressed into the sides of the crystal, and Elania felt a familiar pop fill her ears. The boundary for the mana crystal had been broken, releasing the last vestiges of [Power] residue from the item.

Taking a deep breath, Elania flipped a mental switch on her [System] to activate her aura.

[Demonic Aura (Activated)]

It spread out to fill the room, but Elania tugged it back to not roam so far. There was no need to scare the neighbors.

Yolani flinched anyway, but somehow managed to keep her hands still enough to keep the crystal’s mana barrier neutralized. Elania hurried and focused her attention on that, closing her eyes and then placing a single finger on it.

Amazingly, she could feel the difference between the shock brooch’s crystal and a regular one in her mind. It was misshapen and designed to release a large amount of power in a very short duration and then cut off until triggered again.

Normally, it couldn’t accept being recharged, because anything you put in would trigger it and discharge it all at once. It remained inert as Yolani held the two neutralizing pins to it, and it only took a second for Elania to fill all the reservoirs and then nod.

“Done,” she said.

The pins were removed, and the shock crystal for the musket looked good as new. It went into a new pile for the recharged and repaired crystals.

Yolani reached down to place another crystal on the holder, but Elania couldn’t miss the suppressed shiver from the other girl.

“Does it still bother you?” Elania asked.

Green eyes looked up in surprise. “Does what bother me?”

“The aura? I had an idea about that last night,” Elania mumbled.

Yolani blinked. “I know it’s not on purpose, it just makes my hair stand up on end. It’s not a problem.”

Elania closed her eyes. Aura wasn’t something she used that often, although it was very useful. Like for feeling things that were far away, or for making other people uncomfortable. Thrust enough [Power] into it, and she could even create physical effects in things.

Or as demonstrated, feel the inside of a mana crystal or shard and guide her [Power] into where it didn’t want to flow easily.

But it was part of her, in a weird sort of fundamental way… and she didn’t want to make Yolani uncomfortable. Actually, it was the exact opposite. She wanted Yolani to like her…because…

Well, she liked Yolani. A lot.

With that thought in mind, she tried to picture her aura cloud snuggling up around the other girl like a warm hug. Sort of like when Yolani would have a restless night and end up cuddled up against her while sleeping. Just in reverse.

When Elania opened her eyes, Yolani’s cheeks were red.

“What are you doing?” the other girl mumbled in embarrassment.

“Trying to make you more comfortable.”

Yolani’s cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red. “I…I don’t think this is an improvement. Can’t we settle with ‘non-distracting’ or something neutral?”

Elania swallowed and did her best to pull in her aura until it just covered the worktable top and herself. That was a bit challenging, but like most things, it would help her get better at controlling it, probably.

“Sorry,” Elania mumbled back.

Yolani loosened her shirt collar and readied the next stone.

Together, they set to work in an industrial fashion, quietly recharging each item one after another. Neutralizing pins were carefully placed, [Power] delicately flowed, and each item was marked by a little pop in Elania’s ears.

A few required extra repairs, and Yolani somehow held the pins in place with one hand while bringing in other tools with the other. Delicate and tiny runes that were only able to be seen under a magnifying glass were etched on the crystal or the brooch itself, depending on whatever was needed.

It was a bit too complex for Elania, even if she had started to pick up the basics.

By the time they had finished, the afternoon was over and it was early evening. That was a lot of time to spend on one project, but if they had been paid a large gold per artificed firearm, and each one of the shock crystals counted for one… then they had just made a tidy profit. Especially if the payment had been accounting for the cost of new crystals and they hadn’t needed any…

Yolani leaned back and let out a sigh as she stretched, arching her back and raising her arms up in the air. “What things did you have in mind about the firearms, anyway?”

Elania perked up. It wasn’t often she got to share or show off something artifcey to Yolani, and maybe it would impress her?

“Well, for one thing, they are breechloading,” Elania replied. She hurried over to the wall and got one of the guns and brought it over. It wasn’t like she was super familiar with firearms back home.

Actually, she and her mother had avoided them completely for the most part. But her father has insisted she learn the very basics and safety in case she ever had a need for it.

The Neftasu rifles reminded her of the old 310 shotgun her dad had her practice with at one time. She demonstrated for Yolani. “See, you open it here, and load the shell, then they fire. It’s slow.”

Yolani frowned. “I don’t understand. That’s an improvement from before. It’s much faster than loading from the barrel.”

“Right, but imagine if you didn’t have to reload after every shot,” Elania continued, her words punctuated with excitement. “Instead, there could be a magazine, and it would automatically push the next projectile into the firing mechanism and reset the trigger.”

Yolani’s eyes lit up, the spark of ingenuity shimmering in her eyes. “That would increase the firing rate significantly,” she mused, taking the rifle and scrutinizing it. “Though it would require a complete overhaul of the internal mechanisms and an additional stable source of power.”

Elania nodded, a grin spreading across her face as she watched Yolani’s gears turn—both figuratively and literally.

A heavy knock at the door drew their attention, the sound abrupt. With furrowed brows and a shared glance of confusion, Elania stood up first. They’d already closed for the day, and neither of them was expecting anyone to visit. Her mind was already cycling through the list of potential visitors—city guards, overeager customers, Magistry officials, or maybe someone they knew needed help.

Nothing prepared her for the middle-aged man enshrouded in a black robe. The outfit was a vivid echo from her arrival in Eladu when she had been summoned by the Cult of the Black Candle’s leader, False Magister Relain.

Or the bishop, as the cult had named him.

The man’s eyes, barely visible beneath the hood, locked with hers, and without a word, he thrust a small ornate box into her arms. His voice was a chilling whisper. “The candle still burns, although our leader has fallen. We still believe in you, Dark Queen.”

Flashbacks of her summoning rattled her composure, the raw memories wrenching her breath as a moment of panic filled her. Before she could muster a response or wrap her head around the message, the black-robed figure turned on his heel and hurried off into the evening dusk of Neftasu’s dimming light stones.

Yolani appeared behind her, hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright?”

“I…I don’t know,” Elania admitted.

Yolani peered at the box, then at the retreating form of the man. Somehow, the other girl had already fetched her combat wand. There was a very serious look on her face. “What is that? Who was it? Should I subdue him and call the guard?”

Elania shook her head. “I don’t know. I think he was with the cult Relain controlled. He had the same type of outfit.”

Yolani gave a hostile glance at the disappearing man’s back before pulling Elania back inside and shutting the door and locking it. “Let’s inspect the box.”

They took it to the table, and Yolani played her wand over the thing. It was an ornate looking container, made of real polished wood that gave off a lustrous sheen. A sturdy steel clasp held it shut, but it wasn’t locked.

“No traps detected,” Yolani said. “Let’s open it?”

Elania placed herself between Yolani and the box. “Let me. If it’s a bomb or something, I’m better protected.”

Yolani raised an eyebrow. “A bomb?”

Swallowing, Elania nodded and closed her eyes, folding her [Power] into a barrier around the box, just in case. It didn’t surprise her that Yolani didn’t have the concept of terrorist IEDs, but then, other than watching the news…

She hissed and opened the box in frustration. Both of them had their breath caught at the sight of the contents. Nestled within the velvet lining lay half a dozen large mana shards, their cores pulsating with a vibrant white light that signified a full charge.

Even with the mana shard shortage ended and prices back to normal, it represented a small fortune… or a few thousand chickens.

Or a few weeks hunting in the depths, but Elania didn’t really want to consider something like that again. While she’d enjoyed adventuring somewhat, it was always dangerous…

She had no idea what she’d do without Yolani, and no matter how they did it, the young woman wasn’t as sturdy or safe in combat.

Although, who really was? Losing a limb wasn’t much of a problem when you could force it to regrow in real-time like some crazy anime villain.

“We should tell Magister Bannock when we meet with him tomorrow,” Yolani said quietly.

Elania nodded. “I hope this doesn’t muck things up.”

“At the very least, they should see about hunting Relain’s lackeys down,” Yolani said.

Elania couldn’t help but agree, but the ambiguity of the gesture gnawed at her. One thing was for sure, though: she wasn’t going to let fear dictate her actions. They had faced worse before.

“We need to be cautious,” Elania voiced her thoughts. “It’s not just about the shards or the value they represent. It’s what accepting them implies. We don’t want to align with the Cult.”

Yolani put her wand away. “Agreed. I wish we could just keep a low profile and not have to worry about these stupid things… and people. I’ll make Magister Bannock understand that.”

Elania secured the box with a thoughtful click, her fingers lingering on the smooth wood. If the cultists believed in her, it was because of what they thought she represented—a symbol of their own making.

But Elania knew who she was, and she was not going to be defined by the expectations of others.