“Listen well, inferior. I will not repeat it twice. This is a demiplane. A demiplane is a possession of all gods, and the great Demon Lord Khaazgrim has shared it with the nobility among demons. Naturally, as a member of the strongest species of this world, I was inducted within the ranks of demon nobility as a baron and was graced with this power.”
‘He said ‘strongest of this world’, but he's the lowest of demon nobility, a baron, suggesting stronger species. So the other demons are from other worlds, like me. That explains why demons above the strength of the false heavenly kings that were actually only knight level have never been sighted before my arrival. They came recently. This explains a lot. Also, it's surprising that demons have summoning technology, but humans have to rely on an antique one with unknown origins in Eldoria. Wait, is it possible that the origin of the summoning circle…nah, no way. I'll think about this later.’
“...this power is the demiplane, a space that forcefully converges the caster by borrowing a blank portion of the Demon Lord’s demiplane and is then molded as needed to a principle. As the rank of demon nobility rises, the more of the demiplane’s influence and authority to mold it they are able to draw out, increasing its power while also ingraining the demiplane more deeply within the world. Do you need to know any more, inferior?”
“Yes. A lot, actually, but I’ll skip the less important ones. You mentioned converging the caster? What does that mean? And next, if the demiplane of the Demon Lord is molded to a principle to produce unique, smaller demiplanes, what is the ‘principle’ of this demiplane?”
“Convergence? You have not glimpsed convergence? I will not tolerate mockery of my strength, inferior, even to a personage such as myself, I must admit your strength. And yet, your vessel is not saturated, is that what you are trying to tell me?! That your potential surpasses mine?!”
The dragon became increasingly louder, eventually roaring out his words. The wind from the roar made the body of Noah in front of the dragon conjure a shield of blood to defend against the gales of wind that the dragon was emitting.
“Look, man. I honestly don't know.”
“Hmph! I will ignore this question. It is not relevant to this fight, and I do not wish to answer your blatant mockery. As for the principle of my demiplane?”
The dragon opened its great wings and released another earth-shattering roar, this time in a clear display of pride rather than rage.
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“It is strength! This is the Sanctuary of the Strong, where my strength dictates the strength of this barrier! Escape is impossible unless I allow it! Even forces, energies or abstract strategies based on escape will be punished!”
‘Abstract? I see, so my lich form, where I am incapable of attacking, counts as an ‘escape’. Makes sense, I suppose. The rocks float and collisions are superelastic for the same reason of not allowing ‘escape’. My Half-Loki strat counts as a method of battle, since it places its bets on a battle of attrition, so it doesn’t receive any ‘debuffs’. I see. But still, I have to say, this is really…to prevent certain strategies or even physical phenomena from manifesting purely based on an abstract ‘principle’, this must be the most magical thing I've experienced since coming to this world. Demiplanes. I need to be careful of them. It basically introduces a space with entirely new laws. Now that I think about it, isn't this a manifestation of Plato’s Theory of Forms? This world probably has a philosophical equivalent. I'll ask the archmages about it later.’
‘The dragon probably won't answer if I directly ask for the weaknesses of the demiplane, right? That’s practically asking for a guide on how to win. If the strength of the barrier is tied to that of the dragon, does that mean the barrier can be weakened if the dragon is weakened? Then, breaking the weakened barrier would return the twisted laws of this space to normal.’
‘Alright. I see, then. I need to weaken the dragon somewhat, and then I can ask ‘her’ to do the breaking of the barrier from the outside. If the barrier is at least half strength, she would probably be able to do the rest. If shit starts going south, I'll pull back into a battle of attrition with Half-Loki until I recover. The battle of attrition, though a solid idea, isn't ideal, after all. I'd like to keep it as a second option. My lack of patience aside, it's also a strategy that would leave me clueless to what’s going on outside the barrier. I did communicate my dilemma to Evan, and he'll tend to the most pressing issues so I don't have to worry, but it's work that's meant to be split between the two of us. It’s a tad bit fucked up of me to be holding back the way I am while I work Evan to the bone outside.’
“Fine. Dragon. Do you have a name?”
“I am Etzi Chicahua, noble dragon of the primordial Black tribe.”
“Chihuahua? Were you really named after a bi…never mind.”
In front of the dragon, the two hidden bodies of Noah jumped out of their hiding spots in the floating debris, dashed to the body before Etzi Chicahua and merged into one, its appearance looking no different post-merge. The short imp-like figure of Noah then took a large leap backwards and stood straight.
“Etzi Chicahua, I am Noah Odir. Today, you'll have the honor of being the first to experience this form. We’ve cooked up something special. My strongest move.”
The purple glow in the eyes of the black dragon brightened at those words, and it craned its head as it did.
‘Mimicry - Ares: Chimera x 2, Troll x 1, Vampire x 1, Cyclops x 1, Leviathan x 1, Direwolf x 2’
“Witness.”
Dust of the rocks exploded out in a plume under the sudden and immense change in weight.