Chapter 65: Demon

Chapter 65: Demon

“Lee.” Noah’s words were measured. “Is there another demon running around? A potentially very powerful one that Vermil summoned specifically to cause some sort of significant change in the social power of his family?”

“Yup.”

“Please elaborate more than just yup. That’s a massive problem.”

“Why?” Lee asked, tilting her head to the side. “It’s stuck in the Scorched Acres.”

“It was a lot stronger than you, right?”

Lee nodded.

“And you never saw it in the Scorched Acres.”

“No,” Lee allowed, a small frown crossing her features. “Now that you mention it, I didn’t.”

“And you managed to get out of the contract with Vermil on a technicality,” Noah continued. “Which means it wasn’t that sound. Sure, he didn’t prepare for something to sprint through, but the point stands. If you were a lot more powerful than you currently are, do you think you’d be able to get out of that contract?”

Lee swallowed heavily. “Oh. Yeah. I almost certainly would have, especially if Vermil hadn’t gotten a chance to properly bind the demon he summoned.”

“Could you elaborate on binding?”

“Yeah. It works for anyone, but it’s commonly used on demons since we have difficulty projecting our Runes outside our bodies like humans do. Since we’re partially magical ourselves, our bodies resist magic. That also means that, if we can’t draw on our magic, we’re much weaker. Weaker than a human.”

“Interesting,” Noah said, a frown crossing his face. “And how do you bind something?”

“By reversing the energy coming from their Runes. It’s difficult since you need to know exactly what Runes your target has, and Demons guard that very closely. The most common way humans figure it out is by constantly establishing contact for very brief periods of time, then matching up the energy they can detect with–”

“A bunch of Runes that they’re carrying around,” Noah muttered, his skin prickling.

Vermil’s book.

He’d asked for dozens of Runes to figure out which ones the Demon was using. “And demons just let them do that?”

Lee waggled a hand in the air and grimaced. “Not happily, but we also know it’s our best way out of the Damned Plains. A lot of demons tolerate it and intentionally try to give humans the wrong idea about their Runes. If you try to bind something and get one of the Runes wrong...”

“They can use that Rune,” Noah finished. “Vermil screwed up. He got the Rune combination wrong. The demon escaped and killed him, and it’s safe to assume it’s probably roaming around. It could probably be anywhere. Tell me – are demons usually as happy as you are about getting out of the Damned Plains?”

Lee cleared her throat and looked down in shame. “Some of them are bitter about being stuck there. Which tends to get people to send them back, which makes them even more bitter.”

“So older ones are usually...”

“Worse, yeah.”

“Let me guess. The older they are, the stronger they are?”

“Yep.”

“So we’ve got a likely very old, incredibly powerful demon strolling around somewhere, and it’s got a grudge against humans,” Noah concluded. “That sound about right?”

“Yep.”

“On a scale of Ranks, where would you put something like that? Like a Rank 4, or...”

“5 probably. It’s hard to tell when the power gets that high up there and completely eclipses my own.”

Noah cursed under his breath. This time, the severity of the situation impressed itself on Lee as well. She chewed her lower lip.

“Well,” Lee hedged. “It’s not like it’s attacked the area yet. It could be killing people somewhere else. Or it could have run off to find somewhere safer to terrorize.”

“You and Lee are both major ones, but since Lee isn’t part of the school, it’s just you. Nobody else used the transport cannon to get there, though there were a number of adventurers and other travelers close enough to the area to be considered a suspect as well. There’s also the possibility that someone teleported out. So sure, they aren’t thinking you did it right now, but that doesn’t mean they’ll let you waltz off.”

“What if I went with one of the investigators?”

Moxie opened her mouth. Then she slowly closed it. “What?”

“Brayden is my brother. What if I head home on a field trip? There’s something important that I need to do there. For all of our safety. He’d accompany me, and that would mean the school has no reason to suspect or worry about anything.”

“But why would you ever possibly want to go to the Linwick estate?” Moxie glanced over Noah’s shoulder and around her room, checking to see if they’d somehow been followed. She gave him a worried look.

“Nobody is there,” Noah promised. “Lee is watching to be safe.”

“Then why?” Moxie asked. “What if someone... you know? The chances of someone really recognizing Vermil are much higher at his home estate than they would be here, where he barely interacted with anyone in a positive enough manner to be remembered.”

“First, just let me know if it’s possible. I don’t want to get my hopes up any further before I know for sure.”

“I suppose it could be,” Moxie allowed, rubbing her chin. “Especially if Brayden goes with you. Considering the Linwicks paid for the Hellreaver Ape to be brought here in the first place, nobody would think they’d go light on you, even if you’re part of the family. I just don’t see what you’d accomplish, though. And what about your students?”

Noah chewed his lower lip.

What’s more dangerous? Staying here, where there might be a demon lurking and waiting to start slaughtering people? Or bringing them to the Linwick estate after I let them learn Runes from our book?

“Follow up question.” Noah raised a finger. “Let’s say someone got their hands on another noble house’s Greater Runes and learned them. Would anyone be able to tell?”

Moxie let out a long-suffering sigh. “If you managed to find Runes just lying around somewhere, throw them out. They’re almost certainly fakes.”

“Assume they aren’t.”

“If you know for sure they aren’t, then it would be very difficult to trace anything. Runes are often slightly different from each other, so there’s a chance that you might have learned a very specific rune that the noble family intentionally kept secret, but as long as you don’t go showing anyone the exact Rune you’re using, you’re fine.”

“Okay, great.” Noah rubbed his hands together. “I’ve got one more question. If I reported that a super-powerful demon was sitting, likely near school grounds, and planning to kill a lot of people, would anyone believe me?”

“Not a chance in all the hells.”

“And if you reported it?”

“Equally as likely. The higher ranking mages would have noticed any monster that powerful. Why are you asking this, Vermil? It’s not a very comforting line of questioning.”

“Because there is one.”

Moxie pressed her lips together tightly. “I’d ask if you were serious, but I’d hope you wouldn’t lie about something like this.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Then either the stronger mages have taken care of it, or its strong enough to hide itself from them. Arbitage won’t listen to either of us. I don’t suppose you’ve got someone more credible you can pull from?”

“Afraid not.”

“Shit,” Moxie said.

“And that leads me to my second question. What’s more dangerous – the Linwicks, or the demon?”

“If you aren’t lying, then it’s the demon,” Moxie said immediately. “For the rest of us, that is. For you – the Linwicks. Without a doubt.”

“That,” Noah said, holding up a finger. “Is only if they think that I am Vermil.”

“What are you talking about, Vermil?”

“Not Vermil,” Noah corrected, allowing the coldest grin he could manage to stretch across his lips. “As far as the Linwicks are about to be concerned, I’m the demon.”