Chapter 545: The Rising Moon

Chapter 545: The Rising Moon

“The cat,” Belkus repeated. His features were unreadable once more, blue eyes boring into Yoru like drills. “The Rising Moon’s greatest desire at this moment is to pet the cat?”

“Not a desire I would mirror, personally,” Zath observed. “I’d sooner slit my own throat.”

“Is this a cypher?” Belkus asked, tilting his head to the side. “A code to cover your true goals? I know of your distaste to outright lying, but I refuse to believe that the Rising Moon’s greatest goal is to spend time with a mere monster.”

“It is not,” Yoru replied. “I want to pet the cat.”

“Why?” Belkus asked.

Noah wanted to know the same thing. He still didn’t have the complete story, but Yoru — or Yoku — was clearly a powerful demon. A very powerful one. He’d suspected that she’d been strong, of course, but he hadn’t quite realized the extent of it. If Yoru was really telling the truth, Noah had absolutely no idea why her current greatest desire was to pet Mascot.

“Because, when I weighed the probabilities of the potential futures, the one in which I win is the one in which I desired to pet the cat,” Yoru replied simply.

“You imply that petting this... creature will somehow achieve the world you desire?” Zath asked incredulously. “How would that possibly work?”

Belkus looked a lot less doubtful than the other Rank 7 demon. He studied Mascot intensely for several long seconds without saying a word. Noah could practically see the thoughts going through his eyes.

The Demon Lord respected Yoru’s strength. They were enemies, and he was more than aware of what she could accomplish. But Yoru couldn’t flat out control the future. She could only see the most probable paths and take actions to achieve a path that had the highest likelihood of being the one she wanted.

That wasn’t absolute strength, and Yoru hadn’t refuted Belkus’ words when he’d insinuated that he was stronger than she was. There was probably a very good chance that Belkus would win in a direct fight. But at the same time, he had to realize that Yoru wouldn’t have come here if she didn’t think she had a way to win.

Part of Noah wondered if the mind games that came from trying to fight a demon that could peer into potential futures were worse than actually fighting them. He’d be second guessing every single action he made. Wondering if every single coincidence was actually intentional — and a lot of them probably were.

“It is the future that I witnessed,” Yoru replied with a shrug. Her hand drifted up to the mask covering her features. “I will say no more. Do you plan on breaking your word, Belkus? Will you attack Spider’s entourage?”

Aylin stiffened at Noah’s side. Zorin tensed and Zath watched on, expression still hidden behind his helm. Out of everyone in the room, he was the least invested in its outcome. He was just along for the ride.

“You wish to trap me into fighting against Spider,” Belkus said. “To force my hand and destabilize Treadon even further. Your games will not work on me, Rising Moon.”

Yoru’s head tilted to the side — a particularly threatening gesture considering what it meant.

“Do you struggle against the setting sun, Lord Belkus? Do you attempt to hold it aloft in the sky to keep the night at bay?”

“Speaking in riddle will do nothing to alter my course,” Belkus said. He raised a hand. Points pressed up against the inside of his arm. Blood dripped down his hand as bone pressed up, slicing through his skin and winding out like bleached vines. The bone intertwined, tightening into a shaft, rising up and blooming like a bloody flower to form a huge hammer head. Spiked growths emerged from all over the weapon, largely concentrated at its striking surface.

“Do you know why I do not lie?” Yoru asked, not even slightly perturbed by the gruesome display before her. “It is because I have no need to. I already know you will do exactly as I desire. The wielder of a pawn is not present on the board.”

“A demon who slips past even the reaches of death,” Belkus intoned, placing his arms on the rests of his throne and leaning forward. “And he uses that immense power to cause discord in my city for no apparent reason. Yoru believes that you somehow aid her plan. Sievan sends his men to wait on you, one of which you kill. I trust one as unique as you will find a way to answer my question, Spider. If not, while you not be enemies with the Rising Moon, you will be enemies with me.”

Noah met Belkus’ gaze without flinching. It certainly helped that the demon didn’t have a true domain. If he did, Noah doubted he would have been able to remain standing. Even the power rolling off the Demon all the way from his throne was enough to push Noah’s resilience to his limits.

“A simple answer will answer nothing, but if that is what you seek — I am a teacher.”

“A teacher?” Belkus repeated, small frown playing across his lips. “What is it that you teach? And what is it that leads a teacher to Treadon and causes them to attempt to interfere with its goings?”

I was originally planning to try and build an army from the dregs of Belkus’ society and then leverage that somewhere else to try and build a search party for Wizen... but maybe there’s a way around that. Could I get Belkus interested in Wizen somehow? I don’t know if I want to reveal that Wizen has a key that allows for free passage into the mortal realm, but I need to get my hands on that damn artifact so I can get back to my students — and so Tim can get the transport cannon back up and running properly.

“I teach whatever needs to be taught,” Noah replied. “And I come in pursuit of a man.”

“One in Treadon?” Belkus asked, amusement flickering across his features. “That is why you uprooted my gangs? I had heard you formed them into an information network. Was that purely to locate a single demon? You are not one for half-measures.”

“To locate a single person,” Noah said, inclining his head. “And, once I have found him, I will leave.”

“To go to such lengths... he stole from you?”

“You could say that.”

“How curious. You are an enigma, Spider,” Belkus said, drumming his fingers against the bones that made up his throne. “I still find myself bereft of the true measure of your power. You carry yourself like an ancient demon but bear the power of a young one. The rumors would make you a new power rising up to challenge me for control of Treadon and yet you show no interest in the city. Every action you have taken thus far, the moves of an invading force, were nothing more than a gambit to find a single man. Something about you is deeply unsettling.”

“Thank you,” Noah said.

“It was not a compliment,” Belkus replied. “Tell me the name of the one whom you seek. I am curious to know what kind of demon could be worth such effort that he could bring you from your hiding.”

Hook set. Now I just have to figure out what the hell kind of bait a Demon like Belkus is going to bite.

“The one I seek is called Wizen.”

And, for the briefest of seconds, something shifted in the Demon Lord’s features.

Recognition.

Belkus knew who Wizen was.