Chapter 20: Demon Event 4

  [Bet Failed: -10 perception for one minute]

  Oh you’ve got to be joking. Fay ran alongside a tree, suddenly feeling as blind as a bat as a giant wave of flames shot above his head, Lily had been repeatedly dodging and throwing rocks at the demon to distract it and usher it towards the lake. It was clear she had some sort of skill to make her move like a cave painting figure, her spine would twist unnaturally and even warp circularly around a flame, like she was being twisted and pulled apart like a fabric doll.

  The bet was useful for one reason though, he could use it for recon, he had no way of knowing if Marx would win that fight or not with his eyes or his ears. The bet did, somehow, which was a crucial piece of information, it was like some third entity was watching to make sure something happened or not, or maybe the skill leaves a pair of eyes to review the conditions, he wasn’t sure.

  “That way!” Fay rushed to the left and made Lily follow, they had been in this desperate wrangling routine where they had to use the denser forest to keep them safe from the majority of the blast. It was hard because the dry leaves of the forest left a lot of room for a flashover to happen, the smoke burning so hot that it began to melt the grass without a flame even touching it. Usually this only happened indoors, sometimes to slum bars on the island if it wasn't paying the correct tax to the prophets, since they were made of cheap materials the place would melt apart.

  Fay, with his lowered perception, had to take an 80-20 risk and go left to dodge a huff of smoke that ran from a clump of shrubbery, knowing that the stuff would blind his eyes upon touch. It felt like the longer they left this creature alive the hotter it burnt. He wasn't even sure if the lake could cool it fast enough, not without dropping it in the middle.

  He didn't even have a grasp on how to get the demon in there, he was hoping for someone to show up, Marx, Millie even. “RIGHT!” Fay screamed, his perception was coming back and that allowed him to make use of his internal compass, “RIGHT LILY!” He saw as she sprang from a burning bush and scrambled forward, slipping on roots and then somehow miraculously staying on her two feet, she sometimes hit the sides of trees and then slipped alongside the surface like she was covered in butter.

  What skill is that? Fay kept wondering, but thank god she had it. He followed her now, hearing another blast of hot air that caused woodchips to fly above his head. The sounds were getting too loud for him to handle, the constant whistling and scratching and thumping of fire, the biting of heat against his exposed skin and the goddamn blisters that formed there. This thing, for the first time, was something Fay wanted to make suffer.

  They arrived at an opening, the lake finally in view. The water was reflecting the multiple burns along the forest, there were flames everywhere, encircling the lake, making the place feel like it was hell on earth. “LEFT!” Fay screamed as he felt the shot of fire right behind him, the creature was getting faster and more skilled at slinging its blood, Fay jumped into the water and ducked under. Shit is it going to boil me? Was his first thought, the next was how on earth he would trick this demon into the lake. He poked his head out of the water and saw it standing by the bank, with black ooze dripping along each arm.

  It clearly couldn’t bleed to death, that was clear, the “blood” was more of a secretion, like saliva, whatever it had powering it was somewhere within its body, considering the spots where it was hurt, the arm, the chest, the face, he assumed it would have to be somewhere around the pelvic region, the stomach.

  It crouched down and dipped its hand into the water, boiling it and turning the steam into fast vapour that shot into the sky as wisps of hot air. Fay swam back more, not wanting to get caught in the temperature. He knew that water was great at insulating heat at high temperatures, especially when you get deeper.

  The water grew large bubbles that popped under pressure, little droplets bounced around on the surface, quickly dissolving and joining the air. The demon clearly thought the only way through was to cook Fay alive with the lake as a utensil. Fay swam further back, to where his feet could dangle in the open lake without touching the floor. He was thinking about grabbing sea snakes from below and using them as weapons, but he couldn’t get close.

  A stalemate, that's what this was.

  “What do I do!” Lily screamed from another side of the lake.

  “Get it in the water!”

  “How!?”

  “I don’t know!” He swam further back, the water was getting lower, so low that he felt the lake floor reach his feet again. He swam away until he was in the middle of the lake. He wasn’t convinced that the demon could drain the entire body of water with just its heat, but then again, it had shown to be intelligent.

  The surface of the water that kept bobbing up and down to his lips grew warmer, like a dying out hotspring, but the feeling by his feet were cold and distant, there was no way this thing could heat the entire lake in time. But the same stalemate was for Fay, he couldn’t swim out without the creature catching up, he was slow and sloppy in water, and those boots connected to his feet were weighing him down.

  He had to check all his options, no mana, obviously, that was zipped away after a few lifesaving spells, no physical strength, not unless he could get his hands on a snake larger than a python. No speed, no way out, no ability to run or flee. No intelligence, he couldn’t trick this thing in by taunts or by making it slip, so that was crossed out in his mind. The gears kept turning, no defense or endurance, he couldn’t let any of that rock melting shit touch his skin, that would stick to his bones and probably cause a life ruining injury. No use of perception, so he couldn't really find a way to escape through all this fire and flame.

  What is it? What is it? He felt like he had something on the tip of his tongue, something, just something. “LILY!”

  “Huh?!” She was still standing to the side, “what!”

  “Get help!” He relented, this was not winnable, there were times when he needed to be pulled out. “Go find Marx!” Fay felt the feeling of warm sand against his skin, burning his wrist just slightly. The demon was now waving its broken arm around and melting the lake's sand and dirt into glass and then chucking it inside.

  Lily stood and held her posture boringly slumped, “This is you protecting me!?” She shouted, “I’ll run into Millie!”

  “You wont!”

  “Don’t lie to me!” She stomped her foot, “for fucks sake Fay!” She ran off into the forest, taking the long route so the demon wouldn’t be able to track her down if it happened to stop focusing on Fay.

  Fay made a wager that she would run into Millie, just to keep track of that end, the information was useless anyway, he was trapped, a frog in a boiling pot.

  —

  Grace trailed behind Joey’s group, keeping an isolated distance from all the chattering between Marx and Jacky, who were talking about home, about what they were going to do when they arrived back home and how they’d “make them pay”. Marx had recovered thanks to Millie and her concoctions, apparently she made trips to the magical forest in the middle of the night on the first day to gather things, it was unusual.

  Millie dropped back to be at Grace’s level, her breath was on a tempo, pure and methodical, the night hadn’t scared her one bit. “You’re doing well Grace.” Millie turned her head and smiled, “very good, Marx is a good one.”

  “And what about Joey?” Grace looked over and smiled back, her breath was faster, uneven, and she had nothing left in terms of healing for her group.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Well… you weren't really…?”

  “He is a good leader.”

  “Good leaders aren't any good if they’re dead, Grace.” Millie grabbed her shoulder, “Where's that crafter boy?”

  “Dealt with.”

  “Good… what to do with Jacky? Does she still have use?”

  Grace paused and stopped, her heartbeats coming in at a more rabbit pitter-pattering pace, “Joey needs Jacky to function.”

  “And?” Millie grabbed her shoulder harder, “deal with her. You knew what this was when you started, don’t tell me you’ve grown attached.”

  Grace didn’t respond.

  “Take care of her.” Millie slid her hand from the shoulder to her neck, dusting it off and then sliding her finger down Grace’s roundish jaw, “or would you rather me?”

  “I can do it.”

  “Very good.” Millie put her hand back into her robe and left, Grace followed with more speed to her step, she eventually passed by Millie as she stepped towards Jacky, who had been awfully quiet for the past thirty minutes. Marx was more talking at her than to her, trying to keep her mood up.

  “Jacky?” Grace poked her head between the two, “may we talk?” She turned to Marx, who had that same disgusted look on his face. “Without him.”

  “Oh… okay Grace… yeah…” Jacky smiled and walked away from the group, Millie gave Grace a passing glance as they all walked by. “I’m sorry that we yelled at you…” Jacky said with her eyes closed, “I know you were scared.”

  “I was…” Grace sighed, “you know, I’ve never done this before.” Grace began to fiddle with something in her robe pocket, twisting it with both hands.

  Jacky laughed, “neither has anyone.”

  Grace nodded, “yes, but, I’ve never done this… well… as myself.” She smiled, “does that make sense Jacky?” Grace slid out a vial full of purple liquid, “I mean, I’ve been a sacrifice, but never… you know, myself, as i am, reborn with the pledge.”

  “What’re you…?”

  “Don’t you worry Jacky, inspect this vial.” Grace held it up, it was a small glass tube with a cork at the top, half full, “tell me what it says.”

  [Vanquish Poison (RARE)]

  Made from corrupted soil and berry seeds, this deep ancestral poison has its purposes all around the world. Causes a painful stomach ache within 30 seconds, then bone marrow reduction at 40, then atrophy at 50 and then dusting by a minute. Full dusting occurs when Vitality is less than 40. full prevention at 50.

  “Oh…” Jacky stared at it, “is this… are we going to use this on a monster…? One of those things?”

  Grace shook her head, “drink it. It’s a health potion.”

  Jacky laughed, “hah… no I saw, its poison.” She shook her head and wiped her brow. She was looking more and more masculine by the day, when she came she was groomed up in her middle class armor and weapons with her hair washed with shell soap, now, she was a husk of what she once was. Hair twisting out in unruly ways and her once bright eyes sagged into her skull with sharp jagged lines.

  “It’s not Jacky!” Grace giggled, “so it does work huh? I used a cloaking skill on it, something I got from my profession, makes things look like they’re not! Look, drink it, you’ll see.” She uncorked the lid and the liquid gave off a sour smell.

  Jacky shook her head, “hah… well I’ll trust you on that, still, gross.”

  “It’s a memory thing, it’ll make the memories stop hurting so much… a mental health potion as it were.” Grace moved it closer to Jacky’s mouth, “it’ll make the death of Eddy much less stressful, see? It’s half empty, I already took some.”

  [Vanquish Poison (RARE)]

  Made from corrupted soil and berry seeds, this deep ancestral poison has its purposes all around the world. Causes a painful stomach ache within 30 seconds, then bone marrow reduction at 40, then atrophy at 50 and then dusting by a minute. Full dusting occurs when Vitality is less than 40. Full prevention at 50.

  “It’s… are you sure Grace?” Jacky lifted her hand up and held it at chin height, smelling it with her eyes getting watery, “really?”

  “I’m sure. Why would I lie?”

  Jacky held it, “I… I’ll…” she lowered it down but Grace put both hands on her wrist.

  “Just a sip, come on.”

  Jacky nodded and lifted it to her mouth, feeling the liquid spill down her tongue and down her throat. Grace held her arm so she accidentally took the entire vial, the aftertaste of mint filling her senses. “Oh…”

  “That wasn't so hard was it?” Grace smiled and lowered her hood, “can you do one thing for me?”

  Jacky felt the liquid touch her stomach, a tingly sensation started to ring throughout her fingers. “Okay…”

  “Can you call me Hazel? Please?” Grace stood a step forward, “it’s my original name, can you call me by it?”

  “H-hazel…?” Jacklyn burped out, feeling a strange but not unpleasant warmth all around her body, her stomach began to churn desperately, but she assumed that was just a side effect. “Is that… new name?”

  “Old… Thank you Jacklyn.” Grace patted her head and walked away into the darkness of the forest. Jacky tried following but couldn’t feel her legs any longer, “Hey… Hazel my… my bone don’t… “ she felt an overwhelming sadness for being so useless, she couldn’t even walk anymore, what would anyone think of her? She was so useless, so incredibly useless, “I’m sorry Hazel you need to pick me up and walk me…” she fell over and felt her jaw fall off, “‘t utu ut uut’ ut uutu uut.”

  Grace wandered back to the group with her head held high, she heard gargling behind her and shivered just slightly.

  “What…” a voice came from behind her, she wondered how she had been trailed without noticing.

  Grace turned and saw Joey staring at the dust that once was Jacky, being lifted and spread out by the wind to become compost for weeds and trees and flowers. Joey turned to look right at Grace, he held his scythe to his side dejectedly.

  “You have a problem with that? Joey?” Grace sighed, “don’t give me a reason to-”

  “MURDERER” Joey ran forward and slashed at Grace’s neck, missing as she easily ducked below and skittered away like a bug, he never knew she was so fast.

  “Really? Going for the neck, Joey?” Grace tapped her hand on a tree, “if you do that again then I’ll have to remove you.”

  “Marx!!!”

  “Save it, unlike you, Marx figured it out a while ago, he knows he is on our whim. Now stop shouting and calm down.” She held both her hands forward, "she's gone now, you understand that? Hey, hey.” She got close enough to put her hand on Joey’s cheek.

  “You…”

  “Yes, me. Now, I’m trusting you to get stronger, okay? I like Marx but he isn't functional, you are… you’re showing me you are.” Her thumb stroked the side of his nose, “lets go back, and never speak of Jacky again, and when this is over, you can go home and things will be better. Can you do that for me Joey? Can you?”

  “I can…”

  “Good boy.”

  —

  Fay ducked his head under the water again, he found it quite funny how weak he was growing, for all he knew if Lily never came back he could be the first person in history to drown while fighting a demon. Fay used his arms to stay afloat, but the surface was simmering a nice half boil around him, practically a hot spring at this point.

  He heard slight splashing behind him and turned expecting to see Lily, instead, a blonde-haired boy walked across the water with his armor stripped and without a sword. He walked, or rather, strolled towards Fay and stopped, looking down at him. He had a claw mark across his face that was blistering and one eye was fully red, with the pupil in his iris dilated.

  “Please don’t kill me.”

  “Relax, I want to fight you when you are at full strength.” He took a step forward, “shall I save you? Little polar ducky” He laughed and pranced across the water, somehow keeping his feet on the surface, “watch a miracle happen.” He stared down at the demon, the water began to spin desperately around Fay, twirling and twirling and twirling.

  “There’s a certain rule to these skills, there is the base strength, what one unit can achieve, and then an exponent, how intelligence optimises those units. But I’m sure you knew that.” The water sharpened and lifted up above his head like huge rain drops, frozen in time and shimmering in the forest fire behind him, he spoke like a prophet would, high and almighty, above. He levitated just slightly so he could look down at the demon, who was now standing, “and when you have your optimisation, you get levels for that skill, which adds more units, which you can optimise, and then you reach a precipice, one of many, and soon enough, very soon, you find your way to godhood.” The water, with an air cracking sound that almost burst Fay’s eardrums sprang forward as projectiles. They hit the demon directly and decimated it instantly, the surface tension of the water at high speeds allowing it to act as a solid.

  “Okay…” Fay responded, “you going to kill me now?”

  “Is that what you’d do to me if I were in your position?” He looked down at Fay.

  “Yesh.” He gargled some water, “probably.”

  Thomas lifted Fay out of the water, “we’ll have plenty of time for that, I just need to figure out the what for’s. Do you have ideas why this wasn't what we were told?” He held Fay still, completely still above the water so he could look him in the eye.

  “We’re-”

  “No, don't tell me! I want to figure it out, be gone, find your way to that girl of yours, I root for you two.” He laughed, “pray to me, I might just be your savior, isn't that true?” He shot Fay backwards with a flick of the wrist.

  Fay skimmed across the lake, bouncing once, then rolling and bouncing again, then hitting the sand with a thump.

  [Bet succeeded: +2 perception for 30 seconds]

  Oh. She found Millie.