1.35 In Which the Dark Lord Stews in His Own Juices

1.35 In Which the Dark Lord Stews in His Own Juices

So, the Void can refer to two things: shapeless magic, and the realm it comes from.

Shapeless magic?

Sakin nodded, and I couldnt help noticing how unusually focused he looked. Maybe because we were deliberately going behind Biribos back; he only ever seemed to get serious when there was scheming or violence afoot.

Like how all the magic human beings can use is in the form of Blessings, and the various paraphernalia that stems from them. Spell scrolls, artifactswhatever Wisdom bullshit the lizard was talking about. Thats shaped magicor just magic, as most people think of it. The power of the Void is shapeless, not tied to any specific forms or objects or rituals. Whatever you can imagine, the Void can do, assuming you gather up enough energy.

I straightened up in the bath, setting the water sloshing. Now that sounds like exactly what Im looking for. Im assuming theres a big, incredibly awful caveat that prevents people from using it? A stupid one, probably.

Okay, to explain properly Ill have to give you a quick history lesson, he said, his customary grin returning as he lounged against the side of the tub, obviously relishing the opportunity to lecture the Dark Lord. A long time ago there was a particularly successful Dark Lord who was never beaten. At this point, nobody knows how long ago that was, or what his name was; every Sanorite and Viryan religion has worked hard to erase him, but heskind of impossible to ignore, if you deal in world affairs above a certain level. Guy beat a whole succession of Heroes, figured out how to make himself immortal, andthis is the really important partwhile every other Dark Lord eventually fell, this one managed to escape the game.

I found myself practically vibrating with eagerness. Sakins expression told me he could tell, and was enjoying it. As much as I usually tried not to reveal any vulnerability in front of him, this was just too crucial to worry about stuff like that. Another Dark Lord had done exactly what I aspired to?

He worked out how to corrupt a Spirit into a Void Altar, as we call them now, Sakin continued. That enabled him to open a portal into the Void, another reality connected to Ephemera where the goddesses have no power. I dont know if they cant go in there, or just refuse to, or theres something in the Void theyre afraid of, but the fact remains they stay out of his realm and dont even try to muster forces to march in. This Dark Lord took his entire organization into the Void. The whole empire-sized army, complete with a full chain of command and countless specialists, of what was probably the most powerful Dark Lord who ever lived. Using the energy of the Void, he turned them into immortal devils who are still around today. Thats why we call him the Devil King now.

Wait, but Im the I shut my mouth belatedly, realizing I was having another magic translation issue. In Fflyr, Dark Lord and Devil King were two different titles; my inner monologue wanted to translate them both as Maou. Never mind. Go on.

Well, thats it for history, Sakin said, sprawling lazily into one corner of the trough. These days, the Void and the Devil King are just facts of life. The goddesses and all their followers hate him; Sanorites and Viryans will drop what theyre doing and cooperate any time they have a chance to destroy Void witches or devils. Meanwhile, the Devil King has been slowly expanding his reach. Nowadays, theres at least one Void Altar on most major islands. His devils sneak into Ephemera to cut deals with people, trading the powers of the Void for the chance to corrupt more Spirits into Void Altars, and collect souls.

Wait, souls? As in, peoples souls?

So they say!

What do the devils want with souls?

No idea, he said cheerfully. Maybe some of the higher-up priests know how Void shit works, but I suspect only the goddesses and the Devil King have all the facts. The point is, the Voids power is versatile, and available to anyone able to summon a devil and willing to cut a deal.

Is this the part where you explain the downside?

Well, the most obvious one is that these deals are really tricky. Most of them have, as a standard stipulation, that when you die, they get your soul. Even if you manage to negotiate out of that, they still get your soul if you break the contract, or just fail to fulfill your end well enough. Plus, what with the devils and their King being basically a third faction in the Sanorites versus Viryans conflict, every established power on Ephemera will come down hard on Void magic and those who practice it. Make no mistake: the real reason for this is that the Devil King is proof that the goddesses can be beaten at their game. Hes a threat to their powerand therefore the power of all the cults and nations that follow them. But, the goddesses propaganda has the advantage of being objectively correct. Fucking around with the Void always ends badly. Those devils have their own agenda, and they tend to get what they want.

His expression sobered again and he straightened his posture subtly.

I wasnt just spreading manure for the lizards benefit, Lord Seiji. I really dont recommend trying to access the Void. Viryas likely to go completely feral on your ass if she finds another of her Dark Lords attempting to follow in the Devil Kings footsteps. And as for the King himself I bet hed love to tie strings to a new Dark Lord, but hes not interested in sharing power. That would be a very one-sided relationship. This is not a resource you can use. Still Its something you should definitely know about, and not a lot of people are willing to even talk about it. Virya and the lizard would actively try to keep you from learning. Its very likely youre going to have to deal with devils eventually, though, if just because they tend to meddle whenever anything importants going on. When that happens, personally Id recommend using Immolate until they learn to stay out of your business. But hey, what do I know? Im just a bandit.

He gave me a cheerful, self-effacing smile which Id like to think wouldnt have fooled me even if I didnt know him better than that. For my part, I was still struggling to contain my eagerness at these revelations.

It could be done.

You said the goddesses havent tried to attack the Devil King directly, I said, leaning forward.

Yeah, theres kind of an enforced stalemate what with the inter-dimensional nature of it, Sakin replied, nodding casually. I dunno exactly why they wont go into the Void, but they definitely wont, and whats more interesting is they seem reluctant to even send anybody else in there. As for the reverse, thats easier to see: magic is shaped by Blessings because the goddesses made it that way. They can still use magic shapelessly, and theyve probably got a lot more power and control over it than the Devil King. Honestly, Lord Seiji, your revelation from their own lips that Virya and Sanora are just playing a game with this world explains a lot. When it comes to the Devil King, well, something tells me theyd stop being playful if he gave them a target to hurl islequakes and falling stars at.

But, I said slowly, thinking out loud, devils do come here to make deals. Sotheyre avoiding the goddesses notice somehow, at least in small numbers.

So it would seem. A faint smile hovered around his lips as he watched me coming to the obvious conclusion. It was possible to hide from the goddesses.

Thanks, I said sourly, prompting a laugh from him.

It did not escape me that he had dodged the question. Neatlyeven going so far as to offer me backhanded advice and a little glimpse into his mind. But only a little one, which did nothing to explain what he was doing here, much less what he ultimately wanted.

Yeah, I was definitely not going to clue this guy in on what was probably the hard limit of my special gift. I had a sinking suspicion he might be able to work it out anyway.

Right then and there I resolved to do my future spell combination in private, and not reveal my new spells to anybody who didnt specifically need to know.

Sakin, typically, picked on the subtext as naturally as he breathed. Hed deflected my inquiry, but in silent acknowledgment that Id also deflected his, did not pick it back up. Instead he just lounged in the bath, leaning his head back against the rim of the tub to gaze up at the ceiling of the stable.

I think you can consider me a convert, Lord Seiji. They use baths not unlike this in Lancor, but being a Fflyrdylle boy myself I never saw the point. This is weirdly pleasant, though! I wonder how anybody does it without the fire slimes.

Yeah, its just too bad Ive gotta conquer the world instead of going into business. I could make a killing.

Hah! Well, what other innovations from your home country do you think we should try? After this, color me interested in your little cultural exchange program.

Hmm. Considering winters coming I wonder if I could manage to put together a fire slime powered kotatsu? Might be too hot, though

I made myself relax in the bath, as baths are meant to be used. Later, I was going to spend some serious time alone considering the enigma of Sakin, the dangerous riddle of the Void, and how by granting me the gift of spell combination, Virya might have accidentally handed me the keys to start tearing apart her whole world.

The thought of what Id do to her once it was I who had the power warmed me almost as much as the water.

Huh.

I stared at the smoking dot on the akorthist wall of my room later. Sitting on the edge of the bed, with Junkos head resting on my knee, in the relaxed state which follows a meal and a hot bath, I suddenly found that spell combination was easier to do.

I hadnt even been planning to do more of it tonight, it had just occurred to me in an embarrassing eureka moment after I retired to my room that I hadnt even thought to try combining my two new spells together yet, Id been so excited to get new permutations of my older ones. Almost to my surprise, they worked like a charm: the fusion of Windburst and Orb of Light made Light Beam, a directional glow I could emit from my hand. It would continue as long as I held focus on it, and I found that like Breath of Vitality I could vary the dimensions of the beam from a diffuse glow not unlike Orb of Light itself to something with the acuity of a laser pointer.

Even better, I had finally made a new triple combo. Orb of Light, Windburst and Spark made Heat Beam, which had all of the above properties, plus a more orange shade to the glow, and heat. The more focused the beam, the more focused the heat, until at its tightest concentration it would scorch the akorthist brick walls, and presumably ignite anything flammable. Not that I was interested in starting fires in my room.

It was all more of the same, in that the spells themselves were less useful than the lessons Id gained from the process of making them. The last thing I needed was yet another means of setting stuff on fire. But this had all been much easier than anything else Id tried to do today. It made sense, really; mood and mental state surely have an effect on any task which requires concentration.

I was definitely too tired tonight, after that, but for future reference Could I create some of the spell combinations that had been eluding me just by eating well, having a nice bath, and cuddling with my dog?

If that works, I said out loud, imagine what I could accomplish if I manage to get laid.

My whole body jerked as a flash of memory overtook my consciousness for an instant. The faces of so many sick, injured, miserable prostitutes compressed into a split-second vision of human suffering that blended them all together till I couldnt have picked out a single individual.

Junko straightened up in alarm, ears perking upright, and whuffed softly at me.

Sorry, girl, I muttered, wrapping an arm around the dog. This place has really fucked me up. And Ive barely gotten started. Sorry to say it, Junko, but your world sucks.

She licked my cheek and pressed her body against mine, her tail thumping against the covers.

With a sigh, I threw a blanket over the bottled light slime on my bedside stand, crawled into the bed, and tried to fall asleep.

Like everything else today, it took a lot more time and effort than it should have.