A few days pass without really having something to talk about. There is one thing bothering me, Dellos being sent away, so I bring it up with Harijia.
"Rest assured he wasn't punished," Harijia starts. "While we Keepers were somewhat upset, he didn't do much harm. His time here would be over a few days later anyway, we simply advised his boss to shorten the punishment due to his good behaviour."
She looks at me expectantly. It takes a moment to sink in before I grin. "You lied."
"He meant well," Harijia continues with a hissing laugh, "he just doesn't know why we have that rule. I don't mind telling you, perhaps it will help you understand and settle down more."
A few other demons have taken notice and are starting to hang around us too. Harijia looks around and doesn't react, indicating they can stay and listen if they want.
"You and some of the other listeners here are smart to an unfortunate level. Most don't question anything and simply exist in the here and now. Very well, there is a reason. The devils can tell how much energy you deliver after you return from your summon and they found that demons with stronger abilities gave more energy. From their own experiments, they also found out it costs more mana, magic or whatever a world uses to summon that demon."
While I only have her word for it, it makes sense to me. Just like Avebella's spells becomes stronger the more of her magic she invests. If the result you get is stronger, it means the investment must be bigger.
"Maybe you'll develop special abilities, like the poison claws, fangs or stingers swarmlings develop when they become an alpha or queen. Those have an effect too. What doesn't have an effect is what you know and your skill at using your body." Harijia looks at each of us in turn, making sure she has our attention
"They want to encourage summoners to summon stronger demons when they can. If summoners think they will have a chance at an effective fighter by summoning one of you, they will. As long as the low tiered summons are fairly useless, they will do their best to summon something stronger."
"It may sound harsh, but what the devils desire from the demons in this cavern is to be summoned, charge in, die and return. The summoner will then probably summon another demon, or choose to summon a stronger one. The devils win, you win, some other demons may win and who cares about what the summoner thinks about it."
From behind Harijia a demon speaks up. "Why not train the demons anyway and just tell them to die fast in a summon."
Harijia turns her head to look at the speaker, then turns to stare straight at me.
"Do you have any idea how hard it is to force a swarmling, or any other demon, to lose a fight? They'd ignore the instructions the moment they're out of sight."
I can't hold her gaze and avert my eyes. I may have some idea, yes. Turning her head again to look back at the speaker, her amusement is plain to everyone and I receive a few curious glances.
"If I told you to fight that one there," she points at me, "one on one, and to make sure you lose, would you do it?"
The hostility the demon projects at Harijia mere moments later is obvious. I understand the feeling, but I don't like how he underestimates me. The limbs on my back tremble as I stop them from unfolding through sheer self control, but I can't stop my agitation from showing in the rapid movements of my tail. The target of my ire locks eyes with me and we stare at one another.
"Cut it out you two," Harijia hisses, interrupting my rising urge to fight. "That's another reason. Until you guys are in better control of yourself it would only lead to problems here. Then there are the berserks that happen, it's better if they don't have the skills to back up their rage so they can be contained easily.
I twitch to draw Harijia's attention. "Berserk?"
She sighs. "I constantly forget you're so new here. It happens a few times a year, usually a few in quick succession, then a whole time nothing. Some poor demon will go on a rampage. Usually it's because of things that happened in the summons. The other Keepers thought you'd be one and kept an eye on you, Grakol, until you started socializing with the other swarmlings more."
Since not everyone can have a perfect memory like I do, I will forgive her for messing up my name. It worries me a bit the Keepers had been watching me so closely, something I want to ask more about, but Harijia isn't finished yet.
"There are other ways you lot can be a danger to each other. For example, the swarmlings may split in two factions, or two other species can start a territory war." Harijia is looking at me as she says this, for some reason. "It all comes down to what you already know. The devils and us, the Keepers, don't want you to be able to fight us seriously if we need to restore order. This place is unstable enough as it is."
The remainder of the speech is very similar to what she told me before, a few weeks ago already. Just sit it out, it's not so bad, better things come after this and the only thing it costs is time. Her sibilant words soothe worries and take away anxiety. I am beginning to understand why she is a Keeper. She looks around the group again, pinning us one by one with her gaze before speaking.
"I'm only telling you this because you're all some of the smarter demons. You know it won't help you to spread panic." Where before Harijia was a bit playful, she is now completely serious. "The devils will not hesitate to seal this place. How long will you last in the chaos, without food or water? They'll sacrifice any of their own caught down here. Don't worry about us Keepers. To us, you're all prey."
The last sentence sounds much more savage, not like Harijia at all. It's easy to forget that she is a demon too, older than any of us. I shy away from her attention and I notice others doing the same.
A heavy step just off to the side jerks my attention in that direction. One of the other Keepers is standing there. I think its origin was a bear, but he walks on two feet instead of four most of the time. His steps are unusually quiet and if we heard him now, it is because he wanted us to. Unlike with Harijia, there is no escaping or denying this one's strength.
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"Are you done scaring the brainy kids?" He asks with a rumble. "Hulg wants to talk with you."
Gone is the Harijia who scared me just a moment ago. In her place is the Harijia as I knew her before. Calm and exuding an air of friendliness.
"I think this will be enough, yes," she answers pleasantly, "lead the way."
I and the others watch the two depart, then we glance at one another. The message of today was not nice to hear, not at all, and I feel the need to think on my own. A serpent demon is the first to slither off in the under-brush and one by one we all leave.
I get back to the ledge above the sleep cave. I may not be alone with the other swarmlings around, but it's alone enough. The small impling has noticed me and approaches in a submissive pose. She likes checking the limbs on my back and will take care of any loose skin she finds while at it. I do notice her own wings have spikes at the tips by now, a clear sign she has been summoned recently. I think I understand. Wings are an easy target and will cripple anything that flies.
Maybe I'm better off not flying for a while. I have enough weaknesses that adding more does not seem like a good plan. Slowly an idea of what I want next is forming. I have worked on my speed, reflexes, endurance and pure strength. I think I know how to do it, but I'm not looking forward to it. It will hurt and the trick will be not to get seriously injured, or killed. It shouldn't happen, but Harijia confirmed my suspicions that this place is not as fantastic as it seems.
I might as well get started now. I shrug off the impling and carefully climb down to a place around ten meters above the ground, then I jump. I've jumped from high places before, but this is the highest yet. Usually the ground I would land on would be softer too. In mere seconds that seem to last an eternity I reach the ground. Landing on all four legs, my claws score the ground to prevent me from tumbling away uncontrolled. My limbs bend at the joints until I'm almost flat on the rocks, a few sharper ones making shallow cuts on my belly where my skin is softest.
Slowly I get up again. I got heavier once more, but the added muscle and stronger bones were as much help as they were trouble. Slowly I stand up. It's a bit shaky and I would be in no condition to fight. Maybe I should think of other ways to improve my resilience. Glancing up, I can see several swarmlings looking at me with interest and I wonder how many are going to copy what I just did.
Days later I have not made much progress. It is one thing to throw myself at pain and danger in the summon, but this is my real body and it is real pain that stays with me until it heals. Cuts and scrapes heal quickly, but I have learned that my joints take longer to recover. I don't want to do this, I don't want to hurt myself, and my reluctance is slowing down any progress.
Soon it will be time for me to be summoned again. I'm hoping for the dungeon. Tarvinder should have my elixir ready and maybe there will be things to hunt. I think I'd like hanging out with Seo too. Remembering the lecture on magic, I try to sense anything around me or inside me, like how I felt the dungeon, but there is nothing. Maybe my flow is still too weak, maybe it's something else, but I can't find anything that feels as purely myself.
I have been able to sense the rune on my head by now, as well as get a whiff of the energies from the summon. They're both strange and alien. If I had to say anything about them I would call them both 'wrong'. Being summoned has been part of my existence for as long as I've lived, almost, but this is the first time something tells me that it's wrong. To my slowly developing sense of it, it feels like a stain or something clinging to my skin in a hard to reach place. This is what is driving my changes? I shudder at the idea, but it's not like I have a choice.
Just a day later, Harijia takes me to a cell again. I can tell it's not yet going to happen. I think she doesn't want to leave it to chance, so I settle down to wait. When I finally see the world turning white I am slightly disappointed. It's not Tarvinder or Avebella, again. When I can see I realize I'm under an open sky and take a moment to enjoy the sensation. I can't see any stars, because some large fires nearby give off too much light. I can see a completely red moon straight above. Voices draw my attention to my immediate surroundings.
Big stone slabs are arranged in a rough circle and figures in dark robes and their arms raised up are speaking rhythmically in melodic tones. Their gibberish seems related to the language the devils speak, but it's so broken up I can't make sense of it. Next to me is a big stone with some kind of creature bound to it by heavy chains. In front of me is another figure in a dark robe.
"Spawn of The Eternal Evil and Darkness! I am thy master! Obey my commands forthwith!" the figure shouts at me. "Plunge your claws into the chest of this Beast of the Night, draw out the Heart and offer it to the All-Consuming Flames of the Destroyer as sacrifice!"
The feeling I get from this person is strong enough that I don't consider disobeying, despite being called a spawn. The beast looks part humanoid, part lupine. It's eyes look at me with more fear than I would expect from an animal or beast. I reach out to test its skin which quivers when I make a shallow cut. It's tough to pierce but not as tough as the Drallith. A little more poking confirms the creature has the normal rib cage and other such bones.
As I prepare my claws to strike I'm momentarily distracted. The three main claws fit together more smoothly, forming a more even, sharper point than before. It's probably due to all the rock stabbing I've done, and wanting to be able to pierce the Drallith next time.
In one fluent motion I apply what Dellos taught me and stab my claws in the body, just under the ribs. A little bit of searching locates the heart. It's made harder by the creature that is convulsing, thrashing and screaming, though the screaming stops once its lungs begin to fill with blood.
I present the heart to the robed person, who points at a fire in the centre of the stone circle. I hobble over and toss the heart in. The scent of roasting meat speaks of a wasted good meal. Before I can turn around to ask what is next, a hand jerks my head up to expose my throat. A brief pain and I feel how my blood starts pouring out. Normal cuts would heal, but this won't. My windpipe is slashed too and I can't breathe or make a sound. I cling to the thought that this is not my real body, but I can feel myself panicking. My claws bounce harmlessly off the hands of my killer as my blood mingles with the flames.
"Great Master! Hear your loyal servant! With the sacrifice of two creatures of evil and darkness, we call Thee!" The voices are starting to become distant and my vision narrows. In the fire, the face of a devil appears, made of flames it seems. That is all I see before the whiteness takes me back to my cell.
Back in my own body I just stay in place, shivering. This reminds me way too much of the first few times I got summoned, when everything was strange and painful. I don't want this. Not like this. I don't care about getting stronger, there must be a different way. I raise my eyes and see Harijia looking at me. For a moment I feel unreasonably happy. I'm sure she will have an answer! As quick as the thought entered my mind it is gone again, leaving me wondering why I thought that. Harijia's smile falters for a second before coming back, but it is not quite as strong as before.
Despite my reservations, I do tell her about the experience. Mostly, I want to know about the devil face I saw.
Harijia nods as if it's only normal. "I've heard some devils do that. They negotiate their own summon price and often they will demand something else to be summoned, that way there is more energy to harvest for all devil-kind, since there is an extra summon. They add weird conditions for show, it is supposed to cause the summoner to treat them with more respect."
I really hope these random summons will stop again here, they're much less pleasant than even Mari is.
As I make my way outside, I feel my spirits lifting. The whole ordeal was very unpleasant, but I'm not as negative about being summoned anymore. The only explanation I can come up with is that Harijia is affecting me somehow. There is nothing I can do about it now, so I put the thought away for later.