Chapter 879: A Proposal From the Heart

Chapter 879: A Proposal From the Heart

Jake hadn’t met many demons throughout his time in the multiverse. Even if they were a widespread and diverse race, he just hadn’t really run into many of them outside of the occasional enemy here and there. Outside of dungeons, Irin was the only one he really knew, and she was practically an entirely different species to the Demon Prince of the Fourth Hell.

He had mostly ashen skin with what looked like blue crackled lines across it. As if he had more mana in his body than it could contain. On his forehead was what looked like an amethyst crystal merged with his flesh, veins spreading out from it. The elaborate blue robe he wore was clearly not of poor quality, and overall, he radiated the aura of a rich young master. However, he clearly also had the power to back up his demeanor. The ones with him were four other demons who Jake guessed were from his party, meaning they all made it into the top 250.

Stopping in front of Jake, the Demon Prince smiled and reached out a hand. ”A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Chosen of the Malefic One. Rather than waste your time, let me get straight to it: I have come with an inquiry that I hope you might entertain.”

Jake didn’t reach and grab the other man’s hand right away as he asked. ”What kind of inquiry?”

Pulling back his hand, seemingly not at all offended, the Demon Prince smiled even more than before. ”How you might benefit from assisting us in bringing upon the second coming of the Cerulean Devil.”

... yeah, Jake had no idea who the fuck that was.

This was far from the first time someone walked up to Jake and dropped some kind of grand revelation while looking at him as if he should totally know what the fuck the other party was talking about. How in the hell – pun intended – would he know about some devil that he guessed based on context clues was dead?

Alright, think fast, Jake. Devil is the name demons give to their gods, so likely some dead devil who really liked a slightly off-blue color. Got it... and I guess it’s pretty easy to figure out how he wants me to help.

Keeping his calm, with a great assist from the mask, Jake looked deep in thought for a second. ”I wonder what the Demon Prince might have in mind.”

The demon observed Jake’s reaction for a moment before speaking.

”I guess my name would make things a bit clearer. I am known as the Cerulian Demon or the Demon Prince of the Fourth Hell. I have inherited a fragment of the Crystalized Cerulean Devil’s Heart and the Legacy of the once great ruler of the Fourth Hell,” the Demon Prince answered as he motioned toward the crystal on his forehead. ”All of this is no secret... neither is it a secret that the remaining fragments are not as potent as those that once were.”

”Am I right to assume you are not asking the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, but what people call the Harbinger of Primeval Origins?” Jake asked clarifyingly, already certain about the answer.

”A bit of both, I believe, but that will depend on if you are willing to take up the task and how you would be able to accomplish it. In either case, we, no, I, require your unique talents to do something we believed impossible and that I have cause to believe you may be capable of.”

”Let me take another guess, you want me to use my abilities on one of these Devil Heart Fragments to make it more powerful?” Jake also assumed.

”No... no, not quite; we may have our own methods to do that, even if they are likely more flawed than what you can accomplish,” the Demon Prince shook his head. ”What I want to ask of you is not to empower a fragment of the Crystalized Cerulean Devil’s Heart... it’s to create an entirely new, fully formed Crystalized Ceulean Demon Lord’s Heart using the Records of a fragment... my fragment.”

Jake’s eyes narrowed a bit. ”You want to create a Demon Lord’s Heart with the Records of this Cerulean Devil using that crystal in your forehead? That... sounds risky, to say the least.”

”Of that, I am fully aware. Usually, I also wouldn’t attempt such a thing, but this iteration of Nevermore has offered me a golden opportunity. I am certain you are aware of what this is,” the Demon Prince said as he summoned a familiar-looking item that Jake quickly Identified nearly on instinct.

[Crystalized Demon Lord Heart (Legendary)] – The crystallized heart of a Demon Lord. The immense energy contained within the crystal can be absorbed by any demon, allowing them insight into the heritage of Demon Lords. Grants demonic powers to any item it is fused with. Can be used in a limited number of alchemical products of a demonic nature.

”You, too, have one of these, yes? Or at least someone in your party does,” the demon asked.

Jake nodded slowly. ”I have one.”

Smiling, the Demon Prince admired the heart. ”A Crystalized Demon Lord Heart is usually created through a ritual using a Demon Lord, which inadvertently leads to some of the Records of this particular Demon Lord to enter the crystalized heart. However, look at his heart. It’s pure. Untouched. So brimming with power and Records pertaining to no particular Demon Lord. Now, imagine if all this energy was aligned to the Cerulean Devil. No, not just the energy of this heart... the energy of several hearts, fused together with my fragment into one!”

He radiated ambition as the Demon Prince spoke of his plan, and Jake was... not entirely averse to the idea. In fact, it sounded quite feasible the more the demon talked about it, even if it remained incredibly risky. Moreover, based on what Jake heard, he wouldn’t even need to use his Jake Juice. Arcane energy should be more than good enough as long as he kept everything under control during the fusing process.

”Let me clarify. I have carried the Divine Blessing of my Patron for a long time and was one of a dozen or so Chosen candidates, waiting for our Patron to choose one of us,” he began before Jake subtly felt space around them seal off, as it was clear the other Chosen only wanted Jake to hear the next part. ”The thing is... and this part naturally shouldn’t be shared, my Patron is not the best at picking his Chosen. That’s not to say that he is bad when it comes to who he picks, as that would just be putting myself down needlessly. It’s more to do with how and when he picks them.”

”Now you got me curious... and I’m still waiting for why I am the reason you got chosen to be the Chosen,” Jake commented.

”Getting to it,” Silverstorm said as he continued. ”You see, there are nearly always a few Chosen candidates picked, all of us working for our Patron and fulfilling our duties, such as handling the mortal affairs of Nevermore, gathering certain items that are required, recruiting more members, handling politics... all of the things we should not bother the Primordial with. We do all this to assure our Patron can focus on the World Wonder itself, which has led to the minor problem that he can get a bit... engrossed in it.”

Jake was beginning to understand as he wasn’t sure what to feel...

”So, what tends to happen is that all of us candidates kind of end up staying as candidates while he works on the World Wonder... and by the time he decides it’s time to make a selection, we are all dead to the endless march of time. That means the next batch of candidates will be picked and given Divine Blessings, as the Wyrmgod naturally doesn’t want to pick someone as his Chosen without vetting them first, and the cycle continues. To a god who has lived for that long, even the life of an S-grade is short and forgettable, so perhaps this is all understandable. I also just don’t think my Patron cares particularly much about having a Chosen compared to many of the other Primordials, on account of him not really having a faction. However, it seems that seeing an old acquaintance inspired my Patron to select a Chosen rather promptly this time around, with it ultimately being me who was chosen. So for that, I must truly thank you, even if you caused my Blessing simply by existing.”

Remaining silent for a while, Jake still wasn’t sure what to say or feel. But one thing was for sure: ”I don’t think you have anything to really thank me for. Doesn’t look like he picked you as his Chosen without merit.”

Silverstorm was powerful; of that, there was no doubt. As for that entire thing with the Wyrmgod being forgetful... Jake could totally see that happen. Duskleaf had talked so many times about massively long experiments, and for a dungeon engineer in charge of the most popular World Wonder in the multiverse, Jake didn’t doubt the Primordial also kept busy. One could even say that Silverstorm had gotten unlucky to be born just before a new initiation, as that meant the Wyrmgod was even busier than usual. Now, it seemed Jake had somehow turned that misfortune into good luck, though.

”Even if you do not believe you did anything that requires my gratitude, you still have it,” Silverstorm insisted. ”Anyway, I didn’t mean to be overwhelming; I just had to thank you. Oh, and the Wyrmgod did say that he may be interested in seeing if you could assist him in getting a lower-grade Chosen using your unique abilities at a later time. But, as I said before, the Primordial tends to work on pretty broad time scales, so don’t think it will happen any time soon, if ever unless you ascend to divinity.”

”I still think it’s unnecessary to thank me, but you’re welcome about the entire Chosen thing, I guess. As for the other Chosen thing, I won’t make any promises,” Jake said.

”No need for any rush or pressure. Just know that I owe you a favor that I will be sure to repay one day. Now, let me dispel this barrier and let us show the multiverse how great friends the two Chosen of Primordials are,” Silverstorm smiled... perhaps this having been part of his plans all along.

The barrier faded as Jake and Silverstorm shook hands, and the dragon gave the human a nod. ”Thank you for taking the time, and congratulations once more. I hope you enjoy yourself the rest of the day.”

With that, the Wyrmgod’s Chosen left again and promptly got swarmed by interested parties, and almost like clockwork, Wintermaul was right there to also greet Jake. At least that’s what Jake thought he was there to do... until he noticed the elemental wasn’t really that fixated on him. Instead, he was far more interested in Sylphie from the looks of it.

Wintermaul had slightly changed his form even more and now looked like a human with extremely pale skin, wearing a fur coat of sorts. His body was still made of pure mana, and the subtle signs of ice and frost could still be seen here and there, but he could easily pass for a human from a distance. A human that was definitely also an ice mage.

”I greet thee, Chosen of the Malefic One, and I bring congratulations for your accomplishment,” the ice elemental said to Jake as he came over with a small bow.

”A pleasure,” Jake nodded. ”I should congratulate you for your impressive performance as the top-scoring monster of the era.”

”Your words bring me honor,” the elemental said, very much going through the usual pleasantries. ”If I may, would it be possible to speak to your companion?”

Jake already knew who the elemental was talking about, and he just shrugged. ”Depends on if she wants to talk to you.”

She was definitely interested, though, as Sylphie also stared at the ice elemental. For a bit, they both seemed to evaluate something about the other before Wintermaul finally spoke. ”The Sovereign of Ice greets the Sovereign of Wind.”

”Ree,” Sylphie responded as the elemental nodded. ”Your authority is strong indeed. Impressive.”

Jake decided to just sit back for once and observe as the two of them communicated a bit back and forth, seemingly discussing elemental magic stuff. It was nice that Jake wasn’t the center of attention for once, especially after talking to the Demon Prince and Wyrmgod’s Chosen. Especially the other Chosen had been mentally taxing to deal with. So, to see the elemental and semi-elemental talk was a nice break, and he was happy Sylphie seemed to be making a new friend. Yep, definitely a good turn of-

”Your power truly makes you worthy, and so do I believe I have chosen myself worthy. Join hands with me, as my empress, and I, your emperor, and may our offspring be-”

And just like that, Jake was about to break the rule of no fighting in Nevermore City.