Newly Summoned Demoness 2 - Chapter 13 – Firepower Trials (Patreon)

Elania yawned and put her hand over her forehead as she paused and looked up at Neftasu’s light stone morning, the giant crystals glittering and lighting up the cavern’s ceiling. After an evening of experiments and testing, Yolani had eventually convinced her they should do a test of the musket projects the next day.

The main issue was that the only firing range was in the City Watch garrison. Unfortunately, Henri had been at his usual post outside and Yolani had somehow convinced him to get permission for them to do whatever they wanted.

Despite Yolani’s enthusiasm, Elania felt like maybe it wasn’t the best idea to showcase the weapons. But her suggestion that they take them out into the caverns and try them where no one would notice had been shot down as impractical. That hadn’t actually been her concern…

She was more worried about introducing more effective firearms to society. She didn’t think Yolani was thinking about all the ramifications. She just wanted to push the science of [Artifice] and their experiments to the next level.

Elania watched the other girl lead the way for the group, the bubble of Henri and his guards warding off foot traffic and allowing them to cruise toward their destination.

Maybe she should have argued more against it, but in the end, she had gone along with what Yolani wanted. The muskets and equipment were all stuffed in an oversized pack on her back since she was the only one strong enough to carry it easily. A carriage would have been more workable, but the cost of the artificed ones had gone up and the [Ralfot] driven ones weren’t as safe.

It had given Elania plenty of time to pick at the reason she’d given in, and it made her feel bad. She’d been afraid of fighting, of Yolani disapproving of her, of maybe risking breaking the patchwork life they’d put together since signing the contract.

That wasn’t healthy. She needed to talk to Yolani about it.

But not until after she had screwed her head on right and thought about it some more.

The early morning markets clamored and mingled with the sounds of craftsmen as they pushed out of the Artisan District and closer to the City Guard headquarters. The comforting familiarity with the city’s rhythm contrasted with the knot of worry and anticipation filling her stomach.

They passed through the heavy wall and external security point of the Watch Fortress, and their escort ensured they didn’t have to wait or pause to be inspected. Henri took the lead and maneuvered them straight for the firing range, which was its own separate building.

Stepping inside changed the acoustics dramatically, as the sounds of the distant city shifted into the echoing thwacks of crossbow bolts and arrows. A dozen guards were practicing, their shots slamming into the targets and dummies that bore the scars of many drills.

They were met with a few curious glances from the guardsmen, and the range officer headed straight for them. The stocky man had a clipboard tucked under his arm and an aura of authority about him.

The officer’s gaze was questioning, his eyes flickering over Elania and Yolani, lingering on the oversized pack on Elania’s back. “What’s this about?” he asked.

“We’ve got some new equipment to test,” Henri explained, gesturing to Elania. “Special modifications by Aetherhart’s Artifice.”

The officer raised an eyebrow but pulled up his clipboard. His lips turned into a frown after a moment. “Special slot ordered by Captain Harik.”

He looked up and eyed the group again before finally nodding and stepping aside to let them through. He waved his clipboard to the end of the range. “Firearm range is at the end. Rules require that all other lanes, crossbows and bows, be cleared during your hot phase. Fire nothing until I give you authorization.”

Yolani and Elania nodded, before following Henri and the other guards to the designated area. There was a table for them to unpack, and it only took a few minutes to set everything out. The range officer blew a whistle and gestured to the guards, who were firing. They all finished and began to come over to watch.

Elania felt self-conscious at the crowd forming, all focused on Yolani and her.

The range officer approached, his interest in the musket Yolani was holding in her arms apparent. “Never seen a musket modified like this,” he said, eyeing the new components and barrel. “Looks a lot heavier.”

Yolani stepped forward, her confidence clear as she laid out the details for the design. “We’ve increased the barrel thickness and added heatsinks for better heat management. We also created an internal mechanism for quicker loading and firing.”

The skepticism on the officer’s face was clear, but he nodded. “If it fires faster, I can imagine why the extra cooling is necessary.”

Yolani took the musket to the firing line, using a hook mechanism on the firing end of the weapon to lock it into place on the firing range wall. Setting four clips on the small bench beside her, she took the first one and cycled it into the weapon. She then braced it against her shoulder and took careful aim downrange at the straw target.

Elania frowned, looking around at everyone. “Wait.”

Yolani paused and looked up at her with a confused look. “What?”

“Where are the ear protectors? I’ll probably heal, but you all could have permanent hearing damage,” Elania said.

The range officer grunted. “That happens, but it’s just part of life.”

Yolani blinked at her. “Something like… ear plugs?”

“Those can work too. I was thinking ear muffs. They go over the ear and block the sound from hurting your ears,” Elania explained.

Henri coughed. “I know we have some ear plugs somewhere in the Headquarters, but they aren’t generally used down here.”

Elania crossed her arms. “Well, that’s stupid. I’ve heard these go off before, and they are loud enough to damage your hearing, especially with repeated exposure.”

“I could go look for some,” Henri offered.

“I can’t hold the range all day for you,” the range officer said.

Yolani looked between the three of them before biting her lip. “Let’s just get this done. We’ll put ear protectors on the list of things to bring next time. Maybe mention to Bannon the firing range isn’t equipped properly?”

There was an almost visible paling of the guards at her casual reference to their ultimate authority. Yolani didn’t pay attention to it and went back to aiming.

Elania bit her lip and stepped forward, placing her hands over Yolani’s ears. The other girl turned to look at her with widened eyes before settling with a nod.

The range officer, with a nod of authority, stepped back and raised his hand. “Range going hot!”

There was a momentary delay before the next command. “Commence firing!”

Focusing on her hands, she poured a tiny bit of [Power] around them to prevent the sound vibrations from hurting Yolani.

The girl was steady and undaunted, positioning herself firmly to prepare for the musket’s recoil. Elania held her breath. With a smooth pull of the trigger, the artifice barked, a loud crack as the sudden power sent a shot hurtling forward.

The projectile slammed into the straw target with fury, splintering wood and sending shards spinning through the air. Beyond the initial impact point, a deep gouge and plum of sand erupted from the barrier that served as the range’s backdrop.

The range officer let out a low whistle, clearly impressed. Elania relaxed the hold on Yolani’s ears.

“Great shot,” the man admitted, and from the murmurs and nods around them, it was clear the display had everyone’s full attention.

“That was just the first test,” Yolani replied. She checked the crystal catcher and then the chamber, confirming that the next round had loaded correctly. Elania quickly replaced her hold over the girl’s ears.

Yolani took aim again and worked the trigger, a steady series of clicks completely shadowed by the sonic cracks accompanying the smooth action. One shot followed another, each discharge smashing through another target and destroying it. Six more targets disappeared in a spray of splinters without a single miss.

The accuracy was incredibly impressive to Elania. The musket wasn’t even rifled, although the round ammunition used was precisely machined. Maybe it was the relatively short range that helped.

There was a silence from the guards at the display. There was obvious shock at the rate of fire, and the girl not having to reload between shots. Yolani pulled out the spent clip strip and replaced it with another before rapidly emptying the clip into the sand.

Elania glanced back over her shoulder; everyone had raised their hands to cover their ears. Yeah, she figured that hearing protection would become standard quickly. Probably before the day was over.

Without pausing, she reloaded again and dumped another seven rounds into the sand. The fourth clip snapped in and dumped its contents as well. By the time Yolani was finished, there was a wisp of steam coming off the barrel’s muzzle.

Yolani stood up and Elania released her again while the guards began to murmur and mumble to each other. The range officer stared at them with an unreadable expression. Finally, he raised his hand again. “Range is going cold!” he shouted, much more loudly this time. He gestured to a few guards, and they went to replace the targets with fresh ones.

The range officer shook his head. His initial skepticism seemed washed away. “Incredible. Absolutely incredible.”

A stillness settled over the range as Yolani stood, her movements deliberate and composed as she cleared the musket and gathered the spent clips. She carried it over to the range table and sat it down with the rest of their gear, then checked the basket for the mana crystals. A sigh of relief escaped as she confirmed they were undamaged and reusable.

A low rumble of conversation picked up from the guards and filled the air, a mixture of excitement and speculation about the new weapon. Henri stood in shocked silence, his gaze following Yolani’s every move.

The artificer girl’s attention shifted to Elania, offering her a smile and the demon-modified gun, along with a large round magazine that made her think of a tommy gun. “Your turn,” she said, a hint of excitement in her voice.

Elania took the weapon, surprised like always by the heft. “I feel like a gangster with this,” she said with a light chuckle. An image of her wielding the thing like an old-timey tommy gun flickered through her mind.

Yolani raised an eyebrow, clearly slightly confused. Elania just shrugged and offered a reassuring smile, and turned toward the range. It took a few more minutes for the range to be set back up. When the range officer confirmed it was clear and declared it was hot, she raised the weapon to her shoulder without bracing it on the wall.

Her strength would be enough to steady the weapon and contain the recoil. She aimed down the length of the barrel, making use of the makeshift sight at the end of the muzzle.

There was a single mana crystal permanently installed into the firing mechanism that was easily connected to through a single magical artifice conduit that ran to the grip. She pulled on her [Power] and pushed it into the crystal, filling it.

Then she pulled the trigger.

The shot rang out just as loud as Yolani’s musket had, and she confirmed the recoil was easy to control. The heavy barrel definitely helped. Her musket ball struck the center of the closest target, sending it to the same fate as the previous ones.

The range officer raised his eyebrow. “If there’s no crystal, what’s powering it? A built-in mana shard?” he asked, peering at the drum magazine.

Yolani glanced at Elania with a small smile. “Elania’s using her own [Power],” she explained. “She can channel it directly into the action.”

There was a momentary silence as the man took that in. Elania ignored it and checked the musket. Everything seemed to have cycled correctly, so she raised the weapon and aimed and fired again, letting several rounds go in quick succession.

That allowed her to get a good feel for feeding the mana crystal in the weapon with a nice constant stream of [Power] instead of doing it in clumsy chunks.

A tense breath escaped her. That was good enough for a test, right? She looked back over her shoulder, only to run into the expectant expression of Yolani. It was obvious what the other girl wanted her to test out: the fully automatic action.

She turned and let off another set of shots, then a third. But she stopped short of using the full mechanism.

No, this was good enough.

“Is everything okay?” Yolani’s frown felt accusatory until after Elania processed her question and realized it was due to concern for her.

Elania nodded. “I’m fine. I think that’s it for testing today.”

All the men watching began to clap.

Henri approached them, his expression mixed with concern and admiration. “That was something else,” he said, his eyes flicking over to the decimated targets. “But this is going to draw a lot of attention to you both. I thought that was the opposite of what you wanted.

Yolani let out a breath. “We don’t want to be harassed or bothered constantly. But in this case, attention can be good. If it means support, and extra backing from Magister Bannon, we’re looking at steady, secured contracts—minus the failure clauses and other strings. That’s steady, safe income without having to take any risks.”

Elania could sense the hesitation in Henri’s voice as he replied. “Can’t argue with that logic, but with all the unrest in the city, there are plenty who wouldn’t mind seeing the Guard—and anyone associated with—knocked down a peg or two.”

“Well, that’s why we are so thrilled to have you and your escort follow us everywhere,” Yolani replied. She turned away and started stuffing their muskets and other items into the large travel pack.

It didn’t take long before they were ready to go, and Elania pulled the pack over her shoulders. The range officer and other guards bid them farewell, and she expected they’d get a message back from either Captain Harik or Magister Bannon by the end of the day or tomorrow.

Henri led the way while the rest of their escort took up the rear. As they reached the gate, a group of six figures stood inside the threshold, blocking traffic. The stark white of their robes stood out against the gray stone of the city. Underneath their short sleeves, chain-mail was in evidence and each carried a longsword on their belt. When she noticed the red emblem emblazoned on their shoulders, she realized what they were.

Lightbringers. Elania scanned their levels with [Identify].

[Armsman of Light – Human – Level 344]

[Warrior of Light – Human – Level 289]

[Soldier of Light – Human – Level 358]

They were all relatively high level, with the same three class types in the group.

“We were accosted by thieves! We demand that your send for your sergeant at once!” The lead man bellowed.

“Get out of the way. You’re blocking traffic. Ain’t no one got time to speak with ya about some thieving orphan. City’s full o’ them. Watch yer’ shit better next time,” the guard replied.

Elania grunted and watched as the leader snarled with anger, looking up at just that moment for his eyes to lock with hers.

The anger turned into fury.

“Demon!” the Lightbringer shouted, drawing his sword. The rest of his group followed suit without hesitation.