Devourer

Chapter 139: Uneasy Peace

I gazed at the little artifact that was levitating before me. Recently I have been picking up some artificing as another hobby. As to why that is, well I’m running out of books. Human authors really do write way too slowly. Why can’t they write faster to feed my ceaseless desire for more content? Anyway, I have just about finished every book I could get my hands on except for a handful of uninteresting ones. Honestly I really do not feel like spending my time reading a dictionary.

So I started taking artificing lessons from Mahaila just out of pure boredom and I found it quite entertaining. I have dabbled in it previously but I never tried to formally learn it. Mahaila was considered a master artificer, she was easily the best artificer in the empire so who better to teach me?

To say I caught on quickly was an understatement. I still wasn’t as good as Mahaila but I was getting there. I should be at her level in about a few months if I dedicate more time to it. But for now I was mostly just experimenting with random ideas. Like this little orb that was kind of like a grenade. It was a novel idea that I came up with, I have no idea why no one came up with it until now. It was perfect for fighting multiple opponents. This little thing was called a Stasis Grenade, this device simply freezes time in a small radius for about ten seconds, well kind of freezes anyway. Basically you freeze one target, dump a lot of projectiles into the little time bubble and when time resumes, BOOM! Instant pincushion! Or instant cremation if you prefer. Doesn’t really matter honestly.

Only problem was that the more powerful individuals had resistance to the [Time Dilation] status effect. But resistance was not immunity so it at least slows them down. It doesn’t stop time exactly, it just slows it down so much it looks like time has stopped.

Well this whole thing started as a little emergency defence mechanism for Cecilia. The idea was that in the event that she was in serious danger an artefact could just freeze time around her and effectively lock her in stasis. Which would buy time for me to come and help. However, then I realised the whole pin cushion thing and I also couldn’t make the stasis last long enough in such a small device since Chronomancy was expensive ether wise. So it’s back to the drawing board for Cecilia’s emergency defence system. Well at least this is a cool toy…

I commanded one of the nearby Adjutants to jump into the air and I chucked the grenade at it. The grenade exploded and a blue translucent sphere expanded out. The adjutant was seemingly trapped mid air, frozen in time. Approximately twelve seconds later the stasis ended and the adjutant landed back on his feet.

Not bad…

I scanned the throne room and I saw the royal guards giving me the same disconcerted looks they always did when I started playing with magic. I can certainly understand why, if I were my old self and I saw a giant supposedly ancient monster playing with crazy types of magic in my general vicinity I would be pretty terrified too.

Well I didn’t have much time left to wait anyway. Cecilia and the angels were heading back now so I just needed to wait for them to return. Boredom truly was my archnemesis. I’m starting to understand why the Firstborn of the past made the humanoids fight for entertainment. In the back of my mind I wonder if I would one day resort to something like that. But now that I think about it… I doubt it…

I don’t find wars and fights that entertaining unless I am the one fighting. Furthermore that only applies if it was a battle hard fought. Swatting legions of house flies does not seem that engaging. So if anything, chances are I will become some kind of mad scientist or maybe a cook… I do like to eat… making wine isn't that bad either…

I magiced the spent grenade into my hand and gave it a quick charge to return it to a primed state. All the artefact grenades I have seen are single use but this one was rechargeable. This trait makes it less powerful but it's just a testing unit anyway so it didn’t make much sense to make it single use. The key component to this rechargeable function was actually the Primordial Essence from the Primordial Font. I managed to turn it into this weird crystal that allowed me to create this rechargeable grenade. Seeing as the only two species that can control Primordial Essence were the Firstborn and the Watchers I am probably the only thing alive that can manipulate that foetid disgusting pool of shit. This is quite ironic considering I absolutely hate that place.

Just as my thoughts were about to go to the Primordial Font the door to the throne room opened. Cecilia walked in followed by Uriel and I saw Uriel frown as she looked at the royal guards who were still rather uncomfortable and anxious from me playing with dangerous magic. Mother Justina was following them. No doubt Uriel wanted to advertise the fact that she now had Mother Justina in her pocket. I knew all of that of course, my information network was absolute in this empire. Most of the major factions have high level detection abilities so Adjutant spies were dangerous to use. However, I came up with a rather interesting solution. 

I call it the “Mind Bore Parasite”. It's basically this tiny worm that will embed itself in the brain of its host, allowing me to see and hear what they experience. It was this little worm that was so small and low in ether that it was virtually undetectable to anyone that can’t sense hive transmissions. Which was basically only high level hive leaders, from what I can tell those that qualify are well… just me…

So what I did was pour a lot of these tiny eggs into the water. So when people drink the water they will be infected by the parasite and give me a free look into their senses. As of now that's the only thing I can do with the worms since I tried to make them as hard to detect as possible. Honestly the worms were barely alive; they were more like an add-on organ rather than a living creature. But still infecting everyone’s brains was not a good look so I decided to keep things more low key.

Although interestingly I found that the parasite doesn't work on those of sufficient power. Like Mahaila’s body seems to just naturally destroy the parasite. I assume it has something to do with their naturally more resistant immune system. Either that or it just doesn’t work on Draconians since I did design these parasites around humans. I told Cecilia I would key her genetic code into the parasite to harmlessly self-destruct so that she wouldn’t be infected but she told me not to. Her reason was that in the event of separation I could at least see what was going on and make the rescue easier. 

Honestly, she made a good point but I told her the offer stands. If she ever felt uncomfortable I could just flip the switch. So right now I could see through her eyes. Even if she was dimensionally locked the parasite would be able to record the readings so even if the connection was severed I could just reconnect it later and look up the recordings. So since I have infected Mother Justina I knew all about their little exchange despite Uriel’s little show of Ravenborn Magic.. 

“Guards, leave us.” Cecilia said the moment she walked in and the royal guards all saluted before swiftly exiting the room.

“Had a nice chat? Enjoy the sights?” I asked with a grin and I saw Uriel give me a calm nod, completely unfazed by my usual sarcasm.

“So Archangel have you come to a decision?” Cecilia asked and Uriel shook her head.

“I have some final questions for you and the Great Beast.” Uriel said her voice was as calm as can be.

I must say, I do find this Archangel quite interesting, she has the composure only an ancient can have. I can read her vitals even if she was an archangel but her vitals were as calm as a placid lake.

“As you wish.” Cecilia said courteously.

“First question is for you Empress. Tell me, to you, what is an Empress? What is your purpose? What is it to rule?” Uriel asked.

“An Empress must rule her domain, it is her task to ensure the safety and security of the Empire. All below her are her children, to be cared for, to be given consideration. A queen must think long and hard before she makes a request. As for an Empress? I must think harder still.

I can only rest when my people are safe. I can only feast when my people are fed. Though I am the head of state I am in truth but a servant. I wear the trappings of a ruler for it gives comfort and confidence to my people. I do not wear these ornate garbs for my own vanity or prestige. I wear them for I am a symbol, a reflection of my Empire. A resplendent Empress has a resplendent empire. A poorly dressed Empress does not reflect well upon her people and a destitute Empire doesn't reflect well upon even the most finely dressed Empress.

This circlet you see upon my head is heavy. It is quite light upon the head I assure you but it weighs heavily on the heart. I know my duty and it is no easy task. 

You see Archangel I grew up in a land where the rulers served themselves first. I have done nothing thus far but liberate those who have suffered under the yoke of cruel and indifferent rulers. From what I hear Divonia has it even worse than the lands of the south. Or am I mistaken?” Cecilia asked and Uriel shook her head.

“In truth I feel the greatest crime for a ruler is neglect. A harsh but diligent ruler will do much better than a kind but negligent one. My people are all my responsibility, from beggar to aristocrat, they are all my responsibility. It is my duty to be a mother, ruler and most of all a trusted friend.

But still no matter what I know I must do things that many would consider horrible and unjust. Like the coming Black Crusade for example, when the day comes I will need to send my children into the jaws of death. For the self serving noble willing to sell my Empire for their own petty gain I must use the blade, the lash and the flame. For the lowly criminal and bandit they are a corruption that must be eradicated or at least constrained to a level where they are manageable.” Cecilia said and Uriel raised a brow in response.

“Is that why you legalised sin in your Empire?” Uriel challenged and Cecilia just smiled in response.

“A predictable question but one I have little need to construct an overly convincing argument for.” Cecilia replied with a calm smile.

“Really, do go on.” Uriel said.

“It is a simple matter of logical elimination. Eradication would require fear and terror. The only way to remove sin or at least those that practise it would be to kill everyone that does it. Which of course creates such an aura of fear that no one would dare attempt it. But Archangel have you ever wondered why people sin?” Cecilia said as she locked eyes with Uriel.

“Because they give in to temptation.” Uriel replied.

“Although correct I feel that answer is incomplete. Sin is escapism, why would someone in a happy marriage commit adultery? I had a chat with someone of the crime lords and they told me most came to their dens of sin for escapism. So then I asked myself, if sin is an escape, what are they escaping? If I could remove what they are escaping from, would that not make the act of sin meaningless? 

Afterall slums are dens of sin and they are also pits of suffering. So I fixed the slums problem at the crown's expense and lo and behold crime dropped significantly. The best cure for sin is happiness. But of course no matter what I do there will always be suffering so a place to escape will be necessary no matter what. People marry the wrong people, bad investments happen, some are just weak willed to resist temptation, stuff like that…

So by heavily controlling the places of sin and regulating it I can keep tabs on who is going. More importantly by keeping tabs on the situation I can extend a helping hand to those in need thus resolving the root cause of the issue. Thus far it has been extremely effective.” Cecilia said and Uriel nodded, being unable to deny the results.

“Is there anything else Archangel?” Cecilia asked and Uriel shook her head. 

Technically everything Cecilia said was true so there was no way for Uriel to figure out if she was lying. Yes Cecilia can think of her people as children but children were also incompetent and there were also such things as abusive parents. Of course Cecilia would think hard on every decree, this was a big Empire and bad policies caused a lot of problems. What ruler wouldn't want to be treated like a trusted friend by their subjects? But that doesn’t mean the ruler needs to return the favour. Everything Cecilia said was true, just not the whole truth…

“As for you Great Beast I have one simple question. What do you truly want, I do not think you actually care about the lives of the people.” Uriel asked.  

Now for some fun…

“Of course I do, I shed a tear every time I think about the poor orphans in the world. At least two of my hearts ache when I see suffering.” I replied dramatically as if I was lamenting the cruelties of the world. Uriel just raised a brow in response.

“Heh, you couldn’t tell if I was lying right? So you can not take anything I say at face value. If you used your truth discerning magic solely to make your decision you would have to believe that I actually shed a tear when I have no eyes.” I said as I used magic to push myself upright in display of how casually I can use magic.

“You see, Archangel, I am an anti-humanoid weapon. If you were fighting the Eternal Mother with me around alot more of you were going to die. The thing is the only way the Eternal Mother could make me understand humanoids so well was to make me partly humanoid…” I said and I saw Uriel’s eyes widen in shock.

“I’m just you without all the flaws and random genetic mutation. But you see humanoids are naturally free thinkers, you are all creative and rather ingenious. That also made me hard to control so… I ran. 

As to what I actually want, I just want to be left alone and to enjoy the interesting things you humanoids like to produce. I like your books, I like your cooking, I like your wine and I like talking to some of you. You all give me so many entertaining conversations.

I also like your techniques of war, very creative if I do say so myself.” I said as I summoned a Focii blade that I made for myself. It was a blade that would fit something of my size…

I ignited the blade and a four metre long red energy blade emerged from the hilt made of bone and flesh. The blade crackled and hummed, appearance wise it looked like a beam attack that was just frozen in place.

“Interesting fact Focii blades cause an Ether jamming effect when it is this large, making them able to deflect spells.” I said with a smirk and I saw the Archangel’s vitals jump in alarm at the sight of the massive energy blade.

“As for why it is red, it appears making it larger tends to change the colour due to the distortion effect on the light bouncing off it.” I said as I disabled the blade and put it back into my pocket dimension.

“I find all of you very interesting and it just so happens all of you make the most interesting things when all of you are prosperous and happy. You may not trust my words but I think you can trust my self interest. Besides if I do conduct a genocide, I think that might be a slight issue with you.” I said and Uriel just nodded as if affirming that heaven would destroy me if I tried anything like that.

“So here is the deal: you leave me alone and I will continue to do my own thing. Then you can keep waging your little war in the north. As for me I will take care of your vampire problem down here because it’s also my problem. 

I think neither of us wants a war, afterall my hive is everywhere on this continent. If you kill me they all go berserk and there goes your prayers. Plus my presence here also keeps this place out of the hands of the Syndicate. If we ally, the Syndicate will have to worry about me now. They might have to pull resources down south.” I said.

“Can you make them pull resources down south?” Uriel asked and I knew this was a test so I decided to simply just call her out on it. No sense being too coy with someone this old, they know how the game is played.

“Last time I checked you owe me not the other way around. I saved that one from being a blood bag and a feather dispenser.” I said as I pointed at Ariel.

“You can return the favour by agreeing to leave me alone. You leave me in peace and you get your giant prayer reserve in the south. Sounds good?” I said bluntly and Uriel sighed before a small smile appeared on her face.

“Yes, it sounds good. I must say this type of negotiation is rather refreshing. It certainly saves time.” Uriel replied.

“Well I am made to be efficient. So do we have an agreement?” I asked and Uriel nodded.

“A non-aggression pact and an agreement of non-interference.” Uriel said and I tried my best to hold back a laugh for what I am going to say next.

“So you aren’t going to sanction one of the priests or priestesses here to exert control? I mean non-interference would also cover that wouldn’t it?” I asked sarcastically and I saw Uriel crack another smile in response and I got the message.

“Alright minus the sanction, a pact of non-interference. Your religion your rules but remember, my land my rules.” I said and Uriel nodded again. This was a subtle mutual threat, I allowed her to have eyes here but I also just told her I have eyes on her. Creepy huh?

“Sounds fair. Also in thanks for saving my daughter, I will also give your empire my personal sanction. That should be helpful to you. So in addition to exerting control over the largest organisation besides the state itself…” Uriel began.

“You will also alienate the Syndicate by granting this Empire your sanction. Yeah I got it.” I said with a laugh.

“I am glad we have an understanding.” Uriel said with a nod.

“Not going to ask again about us helping to pull Syndicate resources south?” I asked coyly.

“Do you think it would make me feel better or worse if you agreed?” Uriel asked.

“Of course it would make you feel worse, why would I do something so illogical?” I replied and Uriel nodded.

“Exactly. Regardless, I hope this is the beginning of a fruitful relationship.” Uriel said.

Sounds good…

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.♚.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

Nemesis plucked a feather off the mangled wing of the high angel to replace her recently broken quill just as she heard the door open. Nemesis willed her chains to move and they dragged the angel back against the wall with a whimpering sob from the angel and a thud from the wall.

“You failed.” Nemesis said as she placed the fresh feather on her desk.

“Yes, the Great Beast intervened.” Theseus said.

“Yes of course he did, plan failed successfully.” Nemesis said with a smirk that was hidden under her mask.

“What do you mean?” Theseus asked with a scowl clear in his voice.

“If I really wanted that Ariel girl captured I would have sent Nox and Discordia as well. No, you were supposed to fail. I wanted to give the Great Beast a favour to use against heaven. We can not keep Heaven’s attention off the south forever. 

From what I hear from Nox, they just signed a nonaggression pact with heaven. War between the Great Beast and the Seraphim is inevitable. The main thing we must do is stall that eventuality. 

We have already lost so much in our crusade against the angels, what's six more members?” Nemesis asked with a tilt of her head.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Theseus asked.

“You aren’t Persephone, you are a horrible actor. I made sure Persephone and Heimdall conducted an attack in the north today to make it seem like we are short on resources. ” Nemesis said as she took a sip of wine.

“Which is why I sent you, instead of one of them.” Nemesis clarified after swallowing.

“We are playing the long game Theseus. Everyone knows that peace is just the prelude to war. The more time the Firstborn has to prepare the better.” Nemesis said.

“Besides, the nonaggression pact can be easily broken.” Nemesis said as she snapped her new feather quill for emphasis.

“Understood.” Theseus replied with a nod.

“Good, I am sending you north. I want to give Heaven the impression that I have lost interest in the south.” Nemesis said and Theseus nodded as he got to his feet.

After Theseus left her office Nemesis looked at the broken quill on her table and smiled.

“Ah tools break so easily…” Nemesis said out loud and she heard the angel behind start to weep and whimper.

It seems I need a replacement quill…