‘Those crazy, insane, mental, bastards! Are you all right Snow?’
“Yes, I am. Do you need Nemo again?”
‘Yes, that would be nice. I think a human form is better in this facility. Now where are we?’
While changing bodies I scan the area. What I see is… A museum? No that is not it. It is a Vault filled with old Memorabilia of a time before even their technological breakthrough.
“This Place is strange Null. Why is there so many glass cases with scary looking stuff?”
She is right. The things here are really not simple. That broken sword in one vitrine is emanating some heavy erasure intent. Is that their former Holy Sword? Rather practical to just erase what it destroys, but would not give much power back to the… No, my Sword was more of a trap for me to be holding all that Miasma before sending me away. That one is the real deal.
“I think this is an archive of Things from the Hero or Heroes they summoned.”
“So that dangerous stuff is…”
“The equipment to kill the Demon, they could not beat without their summoned help.”
The Runes on them are archaic but have something I can not put my finger on. They are somehow warped. Like something made them bend into directions, they should not be in. Also they are not in circular form like all the normal two dimensional runes, it shows old and maybe dangerous origin.
“Those Runes are not invented by Mortals.”
“Null? What do you mean?”
“That should be God Language on them. Those Runes are made by a God to work over the realm of natural Laws and eradicate whatever they are used on.”
“So you might use them to be more powerful?”
“Not those. This sword was used heavily and each use bend those runes out of shape. They are now as brittle as clay and would break with overuse. I can not even see their original shape any more. Normal Runes would just blow up, when even bent a little bit but these…”
Those two crazed deer said this place should be destroyed… So Fate does not like those things used. Noted.
…
“Hey Null, why are you excited about this piece of floor so much?”
“This is what I was searching for! Here the Hero was summoned! While the Runes are gone, the whole piece is inundated with Void Energy and shows the form of how they were written!”
I found it! With this I can reverse engineer a small part of the way those guys used it. While I do not want to summon but transport, it should be… wait, Baphomet said about it being in reverse. So drawing in and shooting out is usable by just reversing them!
The opening I can do myself, but sending something will need an anchor, and this should let me throw that anchor. Writing those convoluted Runes is hard, as they are even less euclidean than most Runes, but I do not need the full language, I just need to puzzle them together.
So many things are archived here, but I do not care about much of them. The Armour is broken down by their own wards, as they do not conform to the natural rules, as is the sword. The core of the Demon King or whatever it was is not only split but drained from anything magical and just a calcified lump. Funny is the high awe of the Smartphone the Hero had with him. He was transported with his body, and not like me reformed from my spirit. This will be a great boon, as I thought I could just send Spirits, but now…
…
“There you are. We thought you were also included as the stain on the wall in the trap room. What luck you have to be alive.”
Erdigal and his group were finally be able to open the seals. To be honest, the seal on that door is worse than all of them above, but as the Mana is only residue, the place might be just open to anyone.
“Sorry I am busy. I am finished in a few Minutes.”
Yeah, I worked on this floor for now three days, I think? I forgot time, as this is really important for me. Even Snow did not nag me, as she notices how needed this Information is.
“You can stop with that, as there is no hidden way out. This is the summoning Circle of the last Hero. It might feel like a teleportation device, but not to where you are thinking it goes. Let me thank you for your work, your reward is a quick end, as you have seen too much.”
“Yeah, yeah. Killing us to make us silent, I get it, but I am still busy. Snow, can you please be a dear and take care of them?”
“Sure Null!”
“How dare you! Do you know in what position you two are? The Gate behind us is locked now, as no other rat shall enter this place and defile all this knowledge we will gain from it!”
Yup, they knew about what is down here with us, but who cares. They also found it recently, as the wards finally broke down completely. Using us as bait to step on the tripwires was nice and all, but while some were really still working, that whole place is even less dangerous than the Filter Facility we searched for. Not even Robots were used, as this place was completely sealed off for… reasons.
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“How do you know, I am a rat? What gave it away?”
Snow, I would retort, but I am busy.
“Little Miss, we are really tired of your escapades. While we are rather stressed and my underlings are pent up you can live a few days longer to relieve them. So just be a nice girl and obey while we kill your lover over there.
“Lover?! We are not… well I mean, I would not be… It would be nice, but… Ah, I have to work right now, do not distract me so much!”
Snow is a bit flustered, as always that little scatterbrain, but finally threw a Shadow Bolt against the Knight Captain Gilbert and he just sways it away with his gauntlet. Did I not tell Snow… No, I did but she is just playing around for a bit.
“Little Girl might be a Wizard, but do you not even know Ulks armour is superior to your Magic? Just lay down and let my men be nice to you, I just need to…”
Bam
Well the Knight Captain just wanted to go around Snow and was hammered into his own People by Snows now back to where it belongs tail. The dent in his Armour is rather fascinating. Yes, they have anti Magic Capabilities as Mages of Telk are their most hated rivals, but who cares if you can just beat them to a pulp anyway?
“What! You are a rotten Ferral too?! How did you shapeshift!”
Erdigal finally threw away his niceness. After reflecting on how he always talked with us and seem to seize us up. All his niceties were to use us until we are not longer useful. Those higher ups in Ulk are more rotten than the other Countries around us. Maybe even more than the Empire.
All those bad rumours about Ulk might be overstated, but everything has a kernel of truth. They are Supremacists and do not care about others. While they might be nice on the surface, they just need you until they can dispose of you. This Kingdom is the worst if it comes to human rights.
“If she is a Ferral he might be also one. Just dispose all of the trash and let my Disciples work on the Artifacts Gilbert!”
“Yes Duke Erdigal!”
A duke, eh? And only that few Guards is not only suspicious, it makes me wonder. No matter, I have to work on the last Rune for only a few Instances more. All the others are either recreated in my drawings at home or too damaged to be read. Without my connection to the Void, I would not even get one out of this place. Lucky, I guess? Not really, but whatever…
“Keep Erdigal alive, I want to read him later. You can play with the others, I need at most ten… no fifteen Minutes Snow.”
“Roger!”
“You little insolent… KILL THEM!”
And with that we can see how Snow might be a bit like a cat. Playing with them until they break. Swords and spears come and miss while she hammers them back to square one in one swing. While some try to get to me Snow just lunges to them and makes them fly back onto the place she desires. Do they even notice how they all fall on the same spot, when they drop down from being thrown?
“ENOUGH! ~Erdigas Levitius Slosh~”
A magic staff! Never saw one of those. Mages do not use them, so the Wizards of the Kingdom are completely different like I heard. Using the Staff as a focus they inject passphrases to… No dawdling, finishing one task first…
A water Jet tries to cut Snow in two, but while her claws are made out of all the things and can withstand it her Clothes are a different case. Drenched and even slightly injured Snow is pissed.
“You Ferrals are really cocky to think you can beat a Kingdoms Wiz… Wait, why is your blood purple!?”
The answer was easily seen, as Snow transforms in her original Form. Her Head changed somehow… It is rather wide… Is she close to a further change? I should ask her about this.
SQUEAAAK
“High Demon! Watch out!”
Someone is angry and the Soldiers felt the brunt. No playing around, limbs fly through the chamber now. While the Water jet worked on her in Humanoid form, with her now steel fur, there is no way it can hurt her without hitting a sensitive spot.
Crack
“Ahh!”
And there goes the arm of Erdigal which held the staff. I feel sorry for the obliterated staff, as I would love to analyse it, oh well…
…
“Finished.”
“Me too!”
Yeah, she is finished. Two people are still alive, all the others... not. Erdigal and for some reason Gilbert too.
“I just needed Erdigal. Why Gilbert?”
“Just want to play more with him. He got on my nerves quite much!”
Ah, she is a bit miffed. Better not poke the rat nest about it. Let her have some fun.
“You… Why are you with… A DEMON! Who… What are you?!”
Erdigal is still quite chipper for having so many broken limbs. Let’s humour him.
“Name is Null. I am the Lord of the Starfall crater and just searching for a way home. Snow is Family for me, so do not call her Demon or Ferral any more, please.”
“Do you know who I am!? I am…”
“Don’t care. You are here in secret obviously, so no one will know where you vanished to. Shall we start?”
“Wait, you can not really, are you human?!”
“I was, but bastards like your kind used me and threw me away, now I am only searching to go back and make them regret.”
“If you are human then why…”
“WAS! Well whatever, you can think of it how you like. Now let me take care of you.”
With that my jaw split vertically. The throat shows a seam and opens further and further while my ribcage opens up like a vertical jaw. Deep inside is the ring made out of bone leading to my own Domain, but down here it does not work. I just pack him in my small dimensional pocket I learned from Snow to create with shadow magic and invade his Mind right here and now. It is not really efficient, as in my Domain I have more power, but I think not a simple Wizard will be that much harder to take over than that Arch Mage last time.
“Demon… No, ABOMINATION! NOO…”
And gone.