Birds. Birds was the answer. As this world's equivalent of seagulls screamed and cawed as they tried to roost and satisfy their curiosity about the stone citadel James could only imagine how much meat and how many feathers they could provide. As for the wood...

He pictured the surrounding lands. He knew there were villages close by, but most of the nearby land wasn't forested. Driftwood might be possible, but from what Grobar had told him they had already used any driftwood they had found and even the timber from their carts to supply the wood for the fort. And even that had just barely been enough. Troubled by the problem, he went to the place near the wall away from the pathway where he descended the steps that led to the underground tunnel that led to the sea. When he reached the edge where the descending ramp met the gently lapping water, he took out a copper coin and reaching into the water tapped it against the rock. A few minutes later a mermaid's head broke through the water.

"Hey beautiful."

"Hey handsome."

"I have a problem, and I was wondering if I could ask you for advice."

"Of course."

"Can we make a date out of it?"

He pulled out some bread, some cheese, and a waterskin. While not the most glamorous fare, he quickly divided the food between them, slipping into the shallows so Jessica could swim into his arms where she seized the opportunity to kiss his cheek.

"Hey, business before pleasure girl!" James laughed at her, stuffing a crust of bread into her mouth. Not that that prevented him from kissing her brow back. As he laid out the food he looked at her. She had long since removed all the jewelry and was now dressed in a silver bikini top. Seeing her so casual without the endless bling, James thought she looked even more beautiful.

"So what problem are you having?"

"I need some wood. A lot of wood actually. I want to create bedrooms for the workers and get the other places in the fortress built. But we've already used all the wood in the area so I don't know how we'll get more."

"There's wood underwater. I can get you that."

"Oh? How is that? Doesn't wood float in water?"

"There's a shipwreck down there."

"What? You evil woman! While I have been slaving away up here, you have been frolicking through shipwrecks having the time of your life?"

"Be careful what you say...or I will hurt you."

"I'm sorry oh warrior goddess. Can you get it though? Can it fit in your inventory?"

"Yes. All I need is a saw."

"Alright, I'll get you one. But please don't exhaust yourself. I don't want you to work to death for this."

"Babe..."

She leaned back and looked at him.

"Baby, I know you want to take care of me, but I also want to take care of you. I like how you protect me, and I want to be there for you and help prevent you from making any more fashion mistakes."

"Any MORE?"

"Well yeah, you do need a fresh set of clothes."

"Ouch. Dissed by my own girlfriend. Oof. Okay bitch, I'll see to it. And I'll get you your saw."

They both smiled and kissed, then James watched her swim back to the sea.

With the problem of wood out of the way, he examined the requirements to restore the kitchen, harbour, gardens, the mine, and the crafting hall. Their food supply was paramount, shortly followed by crafting. While James held out a slim hope of finding a trading partner he was also not holding his breath over it and thought that perhaps they could fish if they could get a harbour. He didn't like what he saw though. To restore the garden required hundreds of pounds of dirt and at least ten different types of seeds, the mine required excessive amounts of wood and iron, though for what he couldn't say, and the kitchen required clay and more metal. But where to find all of those materials? Let alone a steady supply of them?

Then he thought of something he hadn't visited in a long time. The Adventurers Guild. Knowing that he had a lot of money from his travels and more recently his journey through the abandoned Tol-Namith, he quickly went to tell Grobar and Jessica of his plans. Once he located the dwarf and told him of his idea, the dwarf agreed with him that it was probably their best bet so with that in mind he went to tell his girlfriend that he would be away for a little while trying to collect the materials.

The moment he entered the tunnel and tapped a coin on the ramp underwater the mermaid poked her head up.

"Hey, beautiful. I have something I have to tell you."

"Will you kiss me first? I'm a needy girl" she asked him, putting on a pouting face.

"Focus, bitch. I need to travel to-"

Suddenly James felt a sharp pain in his side. Wheeling around he found Elizabeth standing behind him with a bleeding knife in her hand. His knife. Putting his hand to his side he felt blood seep through his fingers while Jessica screamed. Everything happened quickly as he focused on using healing magic to repair the wound, only to discover that his legs gave way. Trying to get up, he found that his legs weren't working.

"It's a paralytic poison. Don't try to fight it or I'll kill the mermaid" Elizabeth threatened as she walked over to Jessica and held his hunting knife to her throat.

"S-stop!"

James found himself slurring his words, forced to watch as Elizabeth tapped what looked like a stamp to Jessica's arm. As he watched runes spread from the point of contact, creating a ring around her neck, upper arms and the base of her tail. Then she stood up and came over to him. Attempting to use drain, he discovered that he couldn't focus enough to use the ability. A moment later she touched his neck with the stamp, causing similar runes to crawl over his skin like ants. As this was going on they began to hear screams and cries of pain. James recognized them and realized that the dwarves were being slaughtered.

"You..."

James fought against the paralysis, but now he had the runes actively suppressing his strength, refusing to allow him to use his skills. Stepping back, Elizabeth moved back up into the fortress towards the sounds of slaughter. Actively fighting the runes, James struggled to get up when he felt hands on him, rolling him over as Jessica moved them towards the water. Grunting with pain, he heard Jessica muttering as he felt himself lose focus.

Jessica watched James start to become groggy from pain and blood loss. She kept rolling him toward the water even as the cries of pain grew fewer above them.

"Stay with me, babe. Talk to me, what do you like about me?"

"Ugh..."

She finally got James to the water and pushed off further into the deep. Positioning herself behind him, she pulled his mouth to hers, breathing air into his lungs while she used her other hand to try and stem the bloodflow. The further they traveled from the fortress the more the runes on their bodies faded until they finally disappeared. Diving deep, Jessica took James up and under a small rocky island that was more like an underwater mountain. Surfacing in an air bubble with a sandy shore, Jessica dragged James up onto the sand and desperately looked around the cave that was lit by some sort of luminescent moss.

"Baby, I need you to stay with me. Do you have any bandages? Help me fix this."

James groaned, muttering something unintelligible.

"Come on, you stubborn old goat."

Suddenly a first aid kit appeared, and Jessica pounced on it, tearing it open with bloodstained fingers. Moments later as she examined the wound, discovering that luckily the blade had not pierced any vital organs, she saw the wound appear to flicker or twitch. A moment later the wound became slightly smaller.

"That's it James; use your healing magic."

Jessica was scared. She watched him fight after she bound the wound, unsure what else to do. Eventually though James lost consciousness. Scared that she might lose James, she never left his side, eventually feeling her own eyes close in exhaustion as she kept her vigil. Luckily several hours later as she lay sleeping on the sand she felt a hand in her hair. Waking up and rubbing sleep from her eyes, she pushed herself up and looked down to see James' eyes on her.

"Jessica."

"James."

She hugged the man she loved, feeling his weak embrace back.

"Take me back."

"No."

"Wha?"

"Not until you recover."

"I'm alright."

"No, you're not. You need to heal."

"Our people need us. Take me back or...or I'll swim."

Seeing his insistence, Jessica reluctantly agreed. It helped that after checking the knife wound she saw that it was now a closed, angry red and not the open bleeding cut that had been there. Helping him back into the water, she swam down into what might once have been a lava tube that led to the open sea. Supplying air into his lungs the whole way, Jessica slowly surfaced under the fortress and watched James move back up the ramp that led into Unyielding Night. The sounds of battle were gone, and only an eerie silence remained.

James felt fire in his side with every step, but he refused to stop. Advancing into the fortress, he was met by a familiar sight. Naked bodies. A ransacked fortress. And unspeakable tortures committed to the bodies, whose expressions were still clenched in pain and unwillingness to accept their deaths. He also found Elizabeth's body. Fortunately or unfortunately, she had only had her throat sliced. He wondered what had happened; why she had betrayed him. Was it the offer of money or a noble title? Did she secretly hate him? Was she a racist like many in this world? Accepting that he might never know the truth, he felt gutpunched when he found Afifa. When he saw the horrific things done to her body, he felt like he had betrayed her. Had coming back with him only gotten her killed?

He next found Grobar, and at that point he started to cry. All he had wanted was to give him and the other dwarves a good life and earn their trust and friendship. Instead coming with him had gotten them and their children killed. Bending down, he closed the dwarf's empty eyes staring endlessly in death.

"I'm sorry Grobar. I'm sorry....I'm sorry."

He searched through the bodies, and realized that Shaherabad was not among them. But why was she missing?

One possibility presented itself. And it horrified him. Running away from the bodies he began pulling out everything from his inventory, starting with every book he could find. His Analyze skill went into overdrive as he examined everything, desperate to find a solution. He had hoped to find a magic scroll or item that he could use. But the more he looked, the more he sank into despair. At last, feeling that he only had everyday items left that could not help him and not knowing how long it had been since the attack, he looked up at the sky in desperation.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"System...I don't know if you can hear me, but if you do, I will do anything to save Shaherabad."

Request Received!

You wish to travel to Vashith and rescue Shaherabad. You will be granted Space Magic to achieve this, and in return you will become a Demon Lord in three days. Do you accept?

Yes / No

James had never been so certain of anything. Rushing back to Jessica, he found her waiting for him anxiously.

"Jessica...I'm going to Vashith."

"Why?"

"Shaherabad is gone. I am ninety percent certain that Beyazid intends to marry her off or do the unspeakable. I can't wait."

"How will you get there?"

"The System, somehow, has given me a solution. But in exchange, I will become a Demon Lord."

""What does that mean?"

"I don't know. But I have to do this. Do you want to come with me?"

"Of course."

"We might die doing this, you know."

"But I'll be with you."

"...I really feel horrible for always getting you involved in problems. I really am not worthy of you."

"So long as you're aware."

"Oof."

James quickly picked up Jessica just as he had done so many times already and selected yes a new prompt met his eyes.

You have learned [Space Magic]!

He attempted to use the magic, and abruptly felt like his brain was on fire. To his horror space magic was not as easy as teleporting from point A to point B, but rather like a three dimensional delicate matter that demanded he not move them to the wrong location. Not wanting to meld their flesh with rock by moving to the wrong place, James burned the location into his mind and forced it through his skill. Activating the magic, they suddenly found themselves just outside Vashith. Perfect.

James felt his feet touch down on the warm sand. He looked into Jessica's eyes.

"You may want to look away."

"No. You're going to kill him, right? I will stay with you."

James just looked at her for a moment, crushing the urge to kiss her again. This was not the time for romance.

Advancing to the city gate he wasted no time. Activating drain, he made full use of his profession and devoured a hole in the walls, keeping just out of range as the walls came crumbling down like Jericho.

"Hey!"

"We're under attack!"

"Stop him!"

Guards marched towards him with drawn weapons, but it didn't matter to James anymore. In his mind, they had already sealed their fate when they chose to take part in the massacres at Melech and Unyielding both. Testing his new space magic, he was able to shift the first few soldiers, feeling nothing as he moved them into the city walls, hearing their horrific shrieks and cries of pain and fear as they saw their lower bodies gone and now meshed with stone around the hole he had made. As other soldiers saw this they began to stop and look at each other anxiously. While this happened the townsfolk shouted and ran for their lives. Advancing, he drained and devoured everything before him, wanting their skills and levels but not obsessing over them either. Soon everyone, even the knights gave him a wide berth.

He moved through the stalls, storing everything. They wouldn't need it anymore. As he walked, he kept absorbing. His level rose, as did his skills as he ripped them out of the people. No one was safe from his rampage, at least among the adults. But he let the children live.

Moving to the center of the Vashith, he came to ornate gilded gates that surrounded the palace. Like acid eating away at the bars, James' Devourer profession simply ate away at them. Deciding idly to develop new skills later and become less of a one trick pony, James felt Jessica look around the rich palace. He didn't look at her though, and only walked through marble hallways and over rich carpets as he took everything of value. Every painting, tapestry, candlestick and piece of furniture; nothing was spared.

"Kill the intruder!"

A group of knights, dressed fancifully enough to perhaps be the palace guard charged at him. Releasing items from his inventory in their way, James watched the kngihts trip over random items. This gave him the valuable seconds he needed, and he quickly drained them of life like a vampire.

When they were dead, he recollected the items and marched into the main hall, opening the doors with a bang. Inside he found Shaherabad dressed in a wedding gown, with a young golden haired prince standing across from her. The room was filled with guests, all of whom were startled by his sudden appearance.

James stopped, and looked at the rich nobles. He paused.

"'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.'"

Whether he was quoting Oppenheimer or the Bhagavad Gita was debatable. But it did not prevent what happened next. Looking at Shaherabad, James thought that she just looked tired. Walking past richly dressed nobles to the prince who looked like a sultan, James quietly took her hand.

"I'm sorry, Shaherabad. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Just let me die."

James thought that he had misheard.

"What?"

"Just let me die. Everyone is dead, my mother, my father...everyone is dead."

James abruptly let go of her hand and put Jessica down before turning back to Shaherabad. Then he slapped her.

As the mark of his hand turned red like a brand across her face, contrasting starkly with her white kaftan.

"Shut up! You're still alive! And while you're still alive, you carry the memory and legacy of your people! Do you REALLY want everything of your people to die? Your history, their legacy; don't you want the world to know what happened? Why are you so willing to die?!"

He shook his head, feeling weary.

"Live, Shaherabad! I'm sure that your parents want you to be happy and live a full life."

"How would you know? My mother died because of you!"

"No! She died because of these monsters!"

He jabbed his hand at the sultan and wedding guests, who stood there mutely while others had already fled.

"I am going to kill them, to make sure that they never trouble you again."

"You dare threaten me? I am King Bela-"

"No, you're a murderer. One who is going to answer for all the corpses you've left behind you in your wake, and for the murder of this young girl's father."

Drain was not used. But he did use his new space magic. In seconds he had removed both arms and legs of the king and his son, Shaherabad's would-be husband. There was blood everywhere, but James didn't care.

"Was this what your victims felt like? Tell me, did you listen to their cries of pain before you killed them?"

"James!"

He looked over and saw Jessica staring at him with fearful eyes.

"James...don't do this. Don't become him. Please."

It was the please that got him. He wanted nothing more than to torture the bastard eight ways till Monday. He wanted to savour the screams as a sort of tonic for his failure to protect Afifa and the dwarves. But he couldn't do it. Sighing, he released his anger and nodded to her, turning to finish the deed by killing Beyazid.

At that moment, a thought occurred to him. Eyes widening, he activated his space magic and threw the three of them away. An instant later space shimmered where they had been.

"How did you know?"

James breathed out in relief.

"It was the only thing that made sense. How did you get to the fortress without alerting the guards? Why would the System grant me space magic? The only answer is that you already had it. It's how you used it to get to the fortress, and maybe how you killed everyone at Melech. That way no one would think otherwise when Vashith demanded Melech's treasures when marrying the princess to the prince, because everyone else would be dead and you could use it as an excuse to preserve her royal blood through marriage and get rich."

The hall echoed with the sound of clapping hands.

"Bravo! But it won't save you."

A man appeared, dressed in a concert shirt and ragged jeans. He had long hair tied back like a hippy,

"Where are you from? Boston? New York? Tennessee?"

"Eh, Chicago actually. Why?"

"And what made you chose your profession class?"

"Dude..." he answered in a drawn out drawl. "You know what I can do with this? Gettin' into banks, pepping in the-"

"Alright, alright. But why do this? Why kill people?"

He snorted.

"Why not? Not like they can put me in prison anymore."

"No, but I can kill you."

"How's that? My space magic is higher than yours."

"I am not a space magician. My class is a Devourer."

"Devourer? What's that mean?"

"It means that I can devour your skills."

The hippy just looked at him before he toppled over, dead before he hit the ground. All around him items, gold, and knick-knacks like marijuana appeared. Guessing that it was the contents of his inventory, James made a note to collect everything minus the blunts. But first he quietly killed the remaining nobles who were cowering everywhere, leaving their children. He didn't fool himself; he had heard the crier exorting everyone to go off to war. He knew that they were at least partly responsible for Melech. But he didn't want to be complicit in the murder of innocent children, so he let them leave. Returning to Beyazid, he quietly looked down at the armless, legless king.

"Any last words?"

The king, his rich kingly robes spattered with blood, only attempted to spit at him. He shrugged and drained both him and his son. And then he looked at the two women.

"Live, Shaherabad. Please."

He picked up Jessica and took a step back.

"Come with me."

He repeated what he had done at Melech, taking all books and records along with the treasury and all valuables. Then he went outside and just stood there in the desert oasis in thought. He wanted to kill the remaining adults in the city for their part in allowing the massacre at Melech but decided enough was enough and that it wasn't his job to judge and that he had returned to Vishath not to exact revenge but to save Shaherabad. So with a shrug he used his improved space magic to create a portal to Sagaste, figuring that they could help each other out or something. At the very least, it would give the survivors somewhere to go. But what could he do for Shaherabad?

"Hey, Jessica" he whispered, leaning down to speak into her ear. "Do you think you can help Shaherabad? Be there for her, help keep her mind off her trauma, that sort of thing?"

"I will."

"Thank you. Sorry to ask this of you."

He looked back up and saw Vashith in chaos.

"Okay, System. I'm ready."

Confirmed