102. A Long Time Ago
Isaac shielded his eyes as a second blast of wind nearly caused him to stumble, but he ground his feet into the earth to stay rooted as Casimir flew over to the cavern walls. They were pulsing particularly violently that day, undulating in rolling waves that became more and more disorienting the longer Isaac spent looking at them. He didn’t move his eyes from the angel, but even without looking up, he could tell from the rapidly swinging shadows that the stone bridges were likely just as chaotic.
Casimir flew up to the cavern walls without pause, not even reacting to the rippling rocks. He placed a hand against the glowing stones, and Isaac might’ve been imagining it, but he could’ve sworn the red lights emitting from the walls grew brighter.
The angel raised an eyebrow. “Huh, so he really is still there.” Pulling his hand back, he proceeded to knock against the wall, only the motion used so much force that Isaac could’ve sworn he saw the cavern shake in response.
“You calmed down yet?” Casimir called, voice booming. He knocked a few more times, raising an eyebrow when there was still no response.
“I really don’t think that’s helpful,” Isaac grit out. He eyed the stone walls warily. Ever since Casimir had started knocking, their movement had slowed considerably.
The angel in question ignored Isaac, instead seemingly busy inspecting the walls. Finally, Casimir nodded to himself and flew back a few feet. Isaac briefly wondered if the man had decided to give up, but was quickly proven wrong when Casimir raised one of his hands.
The tablet screen flashed. [SKILL BARRIER LVL 97]
Isaac’s eyes widened, and he just barely had enough time to step forward and yell for Casimir to stop when a familiar red tinted plane appeared from the center of the angel’s palm, extending outwards and jetting towards the wall like a blade.
Isaac braced himself for the inevitable impact, but it never came.
Instead, when the barrier was a hair’s breadth away from carving into the wall, an icy blue glow met the red, and the two lights canceled each other out in a bright flash. The barrier, usually a perfectly smooth and translucent surface, began to crumble away starting from the point where it had come into contact with the blue glow. Within seconds, the entire barrier was rendered into dust.
[SKILL EROSION LVL 97]
Casimir didn’t look remotely surprised or bothered by what had happened. Instead, the angel simply grinned smugly.
The cavern began to shake. A line formed across the stones, originating where the blue light had been. In sharp, jerking motions, the walls peeled apart entirely, and Lucius flew out from the newly formed door.
Casimir cocked his head. “Got all the anger out?”
Lucius frowned. He looked much the same as usual, appearance neat and well put together, body language relaxed and assured, but Isaac couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. There was a passing flicker in the demon’s eyes, an occasional twitch or a particularly sharp flap of the wings that was at odds with his otherwise calm demeanor.
“I would ask that you refrain from damaging the cavern in the future,” Lucius said, ignoring Casimir’s statement.
The angel shrugged nonchalantly. “I could’ve made the barrier directly in the walls, you know.”
“I’m aware.” Lucius’s gaze landed on Isaac. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, but it quickly faded into understanding. The demon drifted closer, slow enough not to alarm.
“Isaac, it’s good to see you,” Lucius said with a smile. “I must apologize for not greeting you earlier.”
Isaac was silent for a moment, observing the demon’s expression. On closer inspection, there did seem to be some lingering weariness in the deeper wrinkles around the eyes, the out of place hair strands. But then, that was to be expected, Isaac thought with a pang. Sharil had said that demons didn’t mourn in the typical sense. How then, he wondered, did they deal with grief?
He shook his head. “It’s fine,” he said. Isaac swallowed, eyes shifting to the ground. “About what happened, I—“
“It wasn’t your fault,” Lucius interrupted. His voice was gentle, but firm. “You needn’t feel responsible for anything.” The demon paused, taking a second to study Isaac, and chuckled. “Though it would seem my words may not be the most helpful in that regard. You should rest more.”
Isaac felt the corners of his mouth turn up. “I’m working on it,” he said.
He shifted his weight, clearing his throat. “Uh, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but I’m trying to investigate the murders.” He could feel the lump of guilt grow with every word he spoke. Who was he, to pull a man away from mourning and then question him on that very same subject. Isaac swallowed and forced himself to press onward. This was for the sake of finding the perpetrator, he reminded himself. “It doesn’t have to be too detailed or anything, but do you have any ideas who might’ve done it?”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Lucius was silent for a few moments, and Isaac felt the quiet acutely. In the corner of his eye, he noted Casimir flying closer as well, but the angel thankfully seemed content on watching. For now, at least.
“May I see the victim list?” Lucius asked. Isaac quickly pulled it up and held up the tablet. The demon scanned the screen swiftly.
“I already asked about the human victims,” Isaac hurried to explain. “It sounds like none of them were very well liked in Solonell City, so they moved away to the Inferno at some point.”
“Yes, I do recall them residing here.”
That part was confirmed, then. Isaac nodded slowly, processing the information. “I’m not sure yet if they were the target, or if they got caught up in it and the actual targets were…” his voice trailed, the next words dying out before they could leave his throat.
“—were the demons,” Casimir piped up. Isaac narrowed his eyes at the angel, who simply grinned, watching the conversation with amused interest. He flew a bit closer. Isaac watched him warily.
Lucius sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Well, there is certainly an argument to be made for the latter.” He dropped his hand and frowned, voice quieting. “The demons on that list were all early supporters of mine.”
Isaac winced. “So someone might’ve had a vendetta against you,” he muttered half to himself. He brought the tablet down again. A part of him had almost hoped that there would be no connection between the demon victims; that way, at least, he’d know for sure that the humans had been the primary targets.
Then again, this might be better insofar as he could dare call anything about the situation “good.” Lucius would have more information than if he was forced to comb through all of Solonell City’s residents. Now that he thought about it, an attack on the demons sounded more likely to begin with, considering there were far more of them killed than humans. And if Mortimer was correct about the levels, the demons would generally have been more powerful and thus less likely to have been caught up in the crossfire of an outside attack.
“Do you know who might’ve done it? Any old rivals or enemies?” It was hard for Isaac to imagine anyone hating Lucius, especially when the demon himself seemed to take others in stride regardless of who they were or how difficult their personality was.
As soon as the words left his mouth, a dark look passed over Lucius’s face. Isaac flinched. The demon’s eyes, normally calm and serene, took on a hard edge. In the red light of the cavern, they seemed to glint like a glowing flame. His wings, dark and leathery, flapped a few times. “I have some guesses,” Lucius muttered. His tail swished in a single jerking motion.
Casimir’s grin grew. Isaac gripped his tablet tighter. Distantly, he remembered that he was standing between two of the strongest beings in the Underside. That had never seemed to matter before, but at that moment, it took every ounce of willpower he had to remain where he was.
The angel cocked his head to the side, white wings glowing. “Funny, I thought most of your ‘enemies’ were already dead.” That grin was practically a permanent fixture to the man’s features. “Then again, I guess it wouldn’t be a problem in the first place if you didn’t make so many to begin with, right?”
“You speak as though I do it intentionally.”
“Eh, you kind of do.” The angel shrugged nonchalantly. “Consequences and all that. Maybe if you tried being nicer or something.”
Lucius raised his head and met Casimir’s gaze, eyes cold and icy. He hovered an inch closer. “I saved your life, and where did that get me?”
Isaac took a step back on instinct, but he didn’t remove his gaze from the two of them. Casimir simply raised an eyebrow, relaxed as ever. His eyes shifted over to Isaac knowingly, then back forward in an instant.
“Careful, you’re starting to slip. Might want to go get the rest of that anger out before it blows up.”
Lucius’s eyes narrowed. “If I remember correctly, you were the one who—“ He cut himself off. His eyes flickered over to Isaac, and all at once the tension bled away from him. The growing pressure in the air deflated until it no longer felt heavy to breathe, and any lingering traces of aggression vanished from Lucius’s body language. The demon exhaled, turning to face Isaac.
“Forgive me. I’m afraid I haven’t been in the best of moods lately.”
Isaac’s shoulders dropped back down. He shook his head slowly. “No, it’s fine. I—things have been hard.” He himself had felt on edge since the discovery of the murders.
Lucius smiled wearily. “Indeed.” He closed his eyes, seemingly reorienting himself, before opening them again. “Returning to your question, I have a few guesses, but I’d like to confirm some things myself first. Is it alright if I get back to you on the subject? It shouldn’t take long.”
Isaac nodded. “Of course.” Internally, the idea of letting the killer walk around any longer made his skin crawl, but he reasoned that technically it shouldn’t be an issue. The System was back in place, so they couldn’t harm anyone else, and they couldn’t exactly leave the Underside either. There was no place to run.
The sound of flapping wings broke Isaac out of his thoughts.
“Well if that’s all, call me whenever you figure it out! I’m invested now,” Casimir said with a grin. He didn’t bother with any more formalities. With another sharp blast of wind, the angel shot away, vanishing from view. Disappearing as easily as he’d entered the conversation. Isaac’s fingers clenched.
Lucius must have noticed his expression, because he hummed in acknowledgement. “I see things have changed since I last saw you.”
That was putting it lightly. “I just learned some stuff about him. That’s all.” He exhaled. “I don’t know how to deal with him.”
“Ah, I see.”
Isaac paused. He could still vividly recall the image of Lucius and Casimir casually playing cards in the throne room, a memory that seemed at odds with the interaction he’d just witnessed. Still, even if he wasn’t sure how to reconcile the two yet, he couldn’t completely ignore the former.
“I don’t mean to complain to you,” he said. Isaac hesitated. “Especially if you’re friends.” The last word was spoken like a question.
Lucius turned his head, staring in the direction the angel had disappeared to with an unreadable look. “We used to be,” he finally said. “A long time ago. I wouldn’t concern yourself with it.” He shook his head, visibly setting the conversation aside.
“It was nice to see you again, Isaac, though I wish the circumstances had been different. I will be sure to contact you soon.”
Isaac nodded. “Don’t push yourself,” he added. Lucius laughed lightly.
“I will do my best, but I’m afraid I can make no promises.” His wings flapped a few times, and he straightened as he began to rise. “You’re not the only one who wishes to see this resolved as soon as possible. Please, take care.” His black wings beat against the air, and with a final nod, the demon disappeared into the expanse of the cavern.