The Light's Darkness

Being the one in charge of monitoring the acquisition and distribution of all major natural and magical resources in the kingdom was a very demanding position to be in. Even more so with how difficult it was to suppress information around the recent scarcity of Mana Crystals. The public was aware that either the Champion or the Saintess was going and harvesting one from the Demon Monarch.

With a heavy sigh, the hefty older man took off his reading monocle and pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned back into the cushion of his chair and looked up at the vaulted ceiling of his office. The timing of the Saintess returning with that day’s Mana Crystal was inconvenient, as the time to complete the necessary paperwork would make him take his lunch break later than he would like. Given that the Council planned to summon a new Champion now, not just due to the current one’s resistance to marrying and bearing children but also to have her retire before she became too powerful, it was also a task he couldn’t delegate to an assistant.

“Father always did stress the importance of not being too competent at your job.” He said to himself, sitting up straight and looking at the chunk of silvery-blue crystalline ore on his desk.

As he was about to push through to finish his work so he could enjoy a well-deserved meal, there was a knock at his door, and the blue-haired Court Magician entered without pause. “Hey, Oscar. I heard the Saintess brought back today’s Mana Crystal. Would it be possible to have it sent to Dahnfell?”

“Dahnfell?” Used to the informality of the powerful Wizard, Oscar Sr. had to think for a moment to recall the location. “The border town north of Fort Dawnbreak? How urgent is this request?”

“Pretty high. The barrier containing the Dark Magic in DMC Lab 14 is weakening, and there have been a few cases of Corruption affecting the citizens and animals in the area.” Mars said, more disgruntled and annoyed than worried. “The Champion is detouring to handle the situation, but I wish to address the barrier problem before the lab is discovered.”

Yet another headache to postpone his lunch break. And even worse, it invalidated the work he had already done processing the Mana Crystal. “Distributing the Mana Crystals to so many facilities only pushes back the date to summon a new Champion.” He said, motioning for Mars to take the magical ore.

“I hear that Princess Cynthia’s plan to get the Champion to marry Prince Liamion is going well, and the General’s daughter has proposed sending key figures with the Champion and Saintess during their subjugations. If either one succeeds, that should buy us a bit more time.” Mars said, trying to dissuade the older man’s worries.

“By Goddess Lini’s grace, I can only pray that everything goes according to plan.” Oscar Sr. sighed.

“You believe something will go wrong?” Mars asked.

“Any good merchant expects complications to arise, even in the surest of transactions. It’s all a matter of having contingencies prepared, just in case.” Oscar Sr. said with a hint of nervousness. “That is something I fear the younger ones have yet to learn.”

*****

With the town of Dhanfell not too far off the route of Prince Liamion’s tour, the entire procession accompanied Inessa as she rushed to the area to help contain the outbreak of Corruption. However, by the time she arrived, most of the monsters had already been eliminated, and the weaker demons had been detained. Though the guards and soldiers were relieved when Inessa arrived, receiving her and the prince warmly.

“I don’t understand how this happened. Isn’t Dahnfell within the Purification Array?” She asked as the Acting-Captain of the Guard led her and Liamion to the local jail. Very little damage had been done to the infrastructure of the town, with the most frequent signs of conflict being bloodstains that filled the air with a metallic undertone.

“The Array is not 100% perfect,” Liamion said, struggling to keep up with their accelerated pace.

“And this is a border town, Miss Champion. Corruption-ridden land is right at our doorstep. Though we have protocols and safety measures to prevent careless Corruption.” The female guard added. “But, like with the incident with that demon Lilith about two decades back in Twilight’s Glory, accidents happen.”

“But border towns should have a greater number of Worshippers who can cast Purify.” The lavender-haired boy said.

“Pardon my bluntness, Your Highness, but a handful of Acolytes don’t have the Mana reserves to cast Purify enough in an outbreak like this. The Corruption inflicted through the wounds of a Corrupted is only as potent as a Putrify spell, but that builds up quickly with each hit you take.” The armored woman said as they reached the jail, and she led them to the cells. “And the demon who caused this mess was smart. Corrupted some local animals and attacked the church first. Having the Champion here will be a big help.”

Tightening her grip on her sword, Inessa steeled herself for what she was being asked to do. “I can only use Cleanse four times in rapid succession. If you have any Mana Potions available, bring them to me.”

“There are not that many who have been fully Corrupted, but I will send someone to round up as many as they can. Please, just do what you can.” The Acting-Captain said, opening the door to the holding cells.

There were seven armed guards in the room, keeping watch on the four, barred cells on the west wall, each with two unconscious humanoid creatures of varying appearances. The common traits they all shared were tails of some shape or form stretching from their lower backs, and ebony horns of some kind protruding from their heads. Had they been conscious, she would have been sure to see the eyes with sclera that absorbed all light and irises of swirling, malevolent pools of crimson that were the only uniformed trait across all demons, save the Demon Monarch. Most of the demons were wearing plain clothes or robes, but two were dressed in starkly different clothes.

One was a female clad in a suit of armor very similar to the guards’, thought it was of better quality, and bore insignias of authority and seasoned service. The other, a male who wore clothing far too expensive for common citizens to afford, with a long, white, fabric coat draped over his outfit.

Seeing the caged and bloodied Corrupted, Inessa navigated through the displays in her vision to her spells. “Oh, Seepu, All-Knowing Goddess, grant to me a glimpse of your Akashic Record. Search (Advanced).”

Anat [Advanced] | Race: Demon | Sub Race: Greater Demon | Level: 7
Hit Points: 21/69 | Mana: 2/60 | Stamina: 1/15

Buer [Common] | Race: Demon | Sub Race: Greater Demon | Level: 5
Hit Points: 2/30 | Mana: 4/51 | Stamina: 2/9

Rangda [Advanced] | Race: Demon | Sub Race: Lesser Demon | Level: 6
Hit Points: 24/48 | Mana: 3/53 | Stamina: 2/17

Belphegor [Advanced] | Race: Demon | Sub Race: Lesser Demon | Level: 6
Hit Points: 11/66 | Mana: 1/31 | Stamina: 6/26

Belial [Common] | Race: Demon | Sub Race: Lesser Demon | Level: 5
Hit Points: 18/43 | Mana: 40/40 | Stamina: 3/13

Aamon [Common] | Race: Demon | Sub Race: Lesser Demon | Level: 5
Hit Points: 8/40 | Mana: 1/26 | Stamina: 0/15

Naamah [Common] | Race: Demon | Sub Race: Lesser Demon | Level: 5
Hit Points: 15/35 | Mana: 0/40 | Stamina: 3/13

Orobas [Common] | Race: Demon | Sub Race: Lesser Demon | Level: 5
Hit Points: 6/35 | Mana: 0/40 | Stamina: 3/13

“Two of them are Greater Demons… The others can be saved, but…” Reading through the information her spell revealed to her, Inessa could see that none of the demons had come quietly. Taking another look at the guards in the room, they were all wounded, but not incapacitated.

“What about Captain Amandra? Can you save her?” The Acting-Captain asked, motioning to the demon Inessa’s spell identified as ‘Anat’.

The brunette could see the flickering hope in the young woman’s eyes, and averted her gaze as she pointed to the former Captain of the Dhanfell Branch of the Guards and a male demon wearing what she recognized as a lab coat. “Th-Those two are the Greater Demons. Anat and Buer.”

Her words hung in the air as the guards in the room struggled to remain standing, with only the Acting-Captain unable to support herself. “N-No… No, the Captain couldn’t have been Corrupted before! She’s not marked! She… She was more dignified and righteous than anyone. H-How could she have been Impure?”

Inessa still wasn’t used to this part of her duty, even after being the Champion for three years. Subjugating Corrupted other than Nacht and Geist had been few and far between. There were more Corrupted in this room than she had seen during her time as Champion, and she had only encountered one greater demon who wasn’t a Demon Monarch before. She knew what she needed to do, but that didn’t make it easy for those deprived of a child, a parent, a friend, a lover, a role model, or whatever else the person was to someone before they became Corrupted.

“Do not dishonor Captain Amandra with your tears, Captain!” Laimion, however, had at least been brought up to handle delicate situations like this. “Your Captain knew the risks of becoming Corrupted again and chose to continue to protect the citizens of Dhanfell. She did not run. She did not think of herself. She fulfilled her duty to the end, and I am sure she would be proud of each and every one of you who stood by her side for stepping up to stop her.” His voice wasn’t steady, mostly from nerves than emotion, but the words of the Second Prince carry weight, even if he was still ‘tasseled’. “I shall personally see to it that Captain Amandra’s sacrifice is recognized and granted the honor someone as valorous as her deserves. But in the meantime, her town needs you to be strong. Can you do that? Not for me, but for your fallen Captain?”

The weakness in the present guards vanished, as the newly promoted Captain of Dhanfell’s Guard stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Yes, Your Highness!”

Inessa looked at the young boy, barely even a man by Facide’s younger standards, stepping up to be the figure of strength the bereaved needed, and smiled at him. “Thanks, Prince Liamion.”

Blushing, the normally timid boy smiled awkwardly back at her. “I need to be strong if I am to take you as my wife.”

As much as she wanted to correct him, Inessa knew that there was a time and place for that, and right now, there were still six innocent people that she could save.

*****

Though her duties during the rest of the day kept her busy, especially after getting an emergency summons to Dhanfell to help heal the wounded and Purify any lingering Corruption, Lylia thought about what she had spoken with Geist about all day. She didn’t get an opportunity to speak with Inessa about it, not that she would, given the nature of what she and Geist talked about.

It is funny how people will not dare speak ill of the ‘Otherworlder’ Champion or the ‘Impure’ Saintess when disaster strikes. Somehow, that infuriates me more than spreading rumors and gossip about us. She thought, kneeling in the spot that she knew Audrey always knelt for prayer, but offered none of her own. But, would such things occur more frequently if not for us and our Divine Artifacts? While they were grateful for our assistance and presence, I am sure the people of Dhanfell will turn on Essa and me soon enough. I can hear the slander now. ‘The Champion and Saintess did not help until all the fighting was finished.’ Or, ‘the guards and adventurers contained the Corrupted, not the Champion or Saintess’. Or even, ‘if the Champion had been born of Facide, she would have arrived sooner.’ They will quickly forget their praise for us and return to the status quo.

Her embitterment, which she had endeavored to minimize and rectify, had only festered for the nine years she had been the Saintess and was now validated by the likely source in such an unlikely way. It wasn’t as if humans from Facide couldn’t become greater demons, and, in a way, she was right about how Geist would make them question their loyalties. Except he wasn’t actively encouraging or tempting her to fall to Corruption, he was merely vindicating her deep-seated emotions and opinions.

I never even dreamed about destroying the Divine Artifacts… What would our world do without our handouts from our Goddess? Once more, her darker thoughts contemplated the unthinkable, trying to imagine all the panic and chaos losing the overpowered equipment would cause. The Council and the people do not trust Inessa because they do not believe someone from another world could love ours? That assumes everyone born of Facide loves our kingdom. But what is lovable about this world?

She had hoped that being in the spot where Audrey had prayed would offer her some sign. Feeling the late Saintess’ presence. Receiving Divine inspiration or retribution. Anything that would tell her she was wrong for having the unbecoming thoughts that had been festering in the darkest parts of her mind.

I was saved by Audrey… and just watched her die. Taking her place gave me a reason to keep living, but it felt empty. The blonde received no signs or visions. All she saw were her own memories.

Of the kind elderly woman who reached out to her. Of the empty room that became hers after she passed. Of going through the motions and upholding the legacy of her savior, proving that Audrey was right to name her her successor.

And in the grey monotony of the world she had been left in after Audrey’s passing, she eventually met and befriended Inessa. Someone not of Facide, who reminded her so much of Audrey. And then the dark being they were burdened with killing over and over again, who shared so many of Audrey’s sentiments on redemption and life.

“…is being born a demon or monster a crime worthy of immediate death without even trying to work out our differences?” Geist’s words echoed through her mind, so eerily similar to the words that saved her life.

“Death is not what is needed in this case. What she needs is a chance.” The soft, cracking voice of the elderly woman, resolute in her convictions, was nostalgic but harder to recall by the day. The words would linger, and sentiment remain, but the sound of the voice itself continued to slip from her mind like water dripping through her cupped fingers.

But even with all this hate in my heart… As long as Essa can find happiness, I will continue to preserve that broken, ugly world. She still doesn’t blame the people for being brought here, and I still think she and Prince Liamion would be cute together. Smirking as she recalled how the prince tried to stay close to the brunette as they supported the recovery effort of Dhanfell, Lylia got up from her place of prayer and went to lie on the bed. He seems to want to make her happy almost as much as I do. The least we Facidians should do for her, as a world so willing to kidnap someone and make her fight to defend our peace, is make sure she is happy.