HP: Sacred Gear Chat Group (2) - Chapter 16 (Patreon)

Chapter 16 - Library Labyrinth

Did Mom cheat on Dad? That was the only possible explanation, right? But I really did have the exact same eye color as Dad. Maybe adoption rituals were actually a thing? It was a common fanfiction trope.

I knew the world I was living in was a combination of the Wizarding World and High School DxD. Maybe it was more like a fanfiction version of the two rather than a closer-to-canon crossover. It would explain the changes I already knew of.

Just what the hell was going on with me? How could I be a Devil?

“Hellooo? You still among us? I am going to grant you a wish! Don’t you have anything you wish for?” Kishirika poked my face. She was making it really hard to stay respectful.

“I’ve heard you, Your Majesty… I’m just a bit in shock.” Still feeling the black, leathery wings on my back, I asked, “How do I hide them again?”

“How should I know?” She tilted her head. “They’re your wings.”

Was it a crime to beat someone up who just looked like a child?

Getting a feel for my wings, I imagined them folding and disappearing from sight while I cut off the flow of magic I felt going into them.

“See? You’ve done it!” She grinned at me as I felt them disappear.

I would have to learn how to fly too.

“Thank you.” I nodded, doing my best not to kick her.

Patience, Alistair. You wanted to meet her for a reason, so don’t screw it up now.

“Now then, what do you wish for, Alistair? I shall grant you one wish.”

Knowing full well what her wishes were about, I replied, “So you mean what kind of Demon Eye I want.”

“Fool! Isn’t that obvious? If the Great Empress of the Demon Realm grants you a wish, what else could it be other than a Demon Eye?”

“Can I have two?” I asked directly.

“Are you mad? I only granted you a single wish!” She immediately replied.

“Don’t you want to taste more of my amazing food? I am staying here for three entire weeks. You could travel with us for that amount of time, and I would cook for you every day!” I baited her.

“Umu, you drive a hard bargain. But I already ate. That will sustain me for a year.” She countered legitimately.

But I was ready for that argument.

“Sure, it may sustain you, but you won’t regain much of your power. You’ve already been reincarnated for 300 years, yet you still remain in the body of a child because you lack proper nutrition. Think about it: three entire weeks to gain over 20 years’ worth of sustenance from me.”

Kishirika really looked conflicted at that.

“Gaining two Demon Eyes at once isn’t that simple… You could lose the use of your sight completely if you don’t learn to control them!” She warned me, still looking unsure about it.

“I know that. That’s why I want one eye now and the other one once I’ve learned to control it. If I don’t manage to do so within the three weeks, we can forget the deal.” I offered.

Rudeus took a week to master his Demon Eye. I should be able to do the same!

“Uhhh…” She began to sweat as I bit into one of the meat skewers I had prepared today.

“Let me sweeten the deal even more. You have no money either.” I said as I pulled out the big coin purse I had prepared beforehand and opened it in front of her, revealing that it was filled with Green Ore Coins. The most valuable currency on the Demon Continent. “If you agree, this purse is yours too. You should be able to sustain yourself for a long while with it, even after we split up.”

She eyed the coins before sighing in annoyance.

“Alright! If that’s what you want, then let’s do it. But at your own risk! You may even lose your mind while trying to control two at once, although your body seems to be strangely adaptable. No complaints afterward. Which eye do you have in mind first?” Kishirika asked as she stepped closer to me.

I had already mentally prepared myself for what was about to come.

And I knew which one I wanted too. She had a few to choose from right now: Magic Power Eyes, Identification Eyes, X-Ray Eyes, Clairvoyant Eyes, Foresight Eyes, and Absorption Eyes.

Magic Power Eyes can see mana directly. They are interesting since I have a few ideas for them, but there are better options. Ghislaine was born with one of those, which is why she wears an eye patch.

Identification Eyes would actually be really cool if they didn’t have one limitation. They can identify anything and show the user information about objects as text. Unfortunately, the information is limited to what Kishirika knows.

They are really useful in this world, but their application for me is quite limited since I am going to act mostly in completely different worlds. So that one is definitely out.

X-Ray Eyes are essentially X-ray vision that can’t see through people or areas with a high concentration of magic. While useful for looking through walls and clothes, their practical application is a bit limited.

Clairvoyant Eyes can see distant areas. Basically, you can watch anything far away from a different perspective as long as your control is good enough and you have the necessary mana.

With Foresight Eyes, you can see the future, although the further you look, the blurrier it becomes since the future begins splitting into different possibilities. Still, they are probably the most powerful eyes I can select from here.

Basically, they are a weaker version of Advanced Observation Haki limited to my sight. Considering how game-changing that is, picking them is a no-brainer.

Lastly, the Absorption Eyes are out by default. They absorb magical power, including the user’s own, which would nerf someone like me who mostly relies on magic.

Yeah, my decision for the first eye is obvious.

“An eye of Foresight, please?”

“I see, I see. All right, bring your face over here.”

Lowering myself to her height, I got ready.

Then it came. As soon as I finished my sentence, her finger ripped into my right eye, and I began to bleed as she reshaped the structure of my eye with her bare hands.

Holy shit, no matter how prepared I was for that scene, it still hurt like hell.

Luckily, the entire ordeal only lasted several seconds.

“Ugh, that hurts…”

“Eh, it’s alright now.” Kishirika shrugged as I began to watch her blurry form. It was as if everything around me was doubled, or at least anything that was moving. It was quite disorienting.

No wonder people went mad from having two of those at once.

“I used your eye as a base. So while the color of your pupil is quite similar, it would be noticeable up close that you are using the Eye.” Kishirika explained while Ghislaine watched me with worry.

“What is going on, Alistair?”

“It’s okay, Ghislaine. I just got my own Demon Eye.” I explained to the Amazon Cat Woman, who had been watching our exchange without having any idea what was going on.

I didn’t mention that we were here because I had been looking for Kishirika. No idea how the Empress of the Demon Realm would react if she knew I could track her. Clairvoyance was quite a powerful spell.

Better keep that one a secret.

Now then, if I remembered correctly, you could control the Eye by controlling the flow of magic to it.

Hmm, I see. I could feel it now. There was a steady stream of magic flowing into my left eye. So if I stopped that stream, my vision should…

And just like that, the blurry and doubled vision stopped, and my world returned to normal.

“Huh, that was fast!” Kishirika exclaimed as she saw my eye returning to normal. “Your body is really strange. It is as if you learn very fast. Now everything related to magic?”

What was she talking about now? I had just abused my canon knowledge.

“I just knew that you could control a Magic Eye through the flow of magic.” I explained quickly.

“Yes, I was about to tell you that. But that was far too fast. Even if you knew that, it should take you a few hours just to feel it!”

“Maybe I am talented?”

Kishirika just deadpanned at me.

“Let’s go with that. All right, where are you planning to go? I know we have a deal, but I am searching for my fiancé, Badigadi. Hopefully, we can continue that while you keep up your side of the deal.”

Since I had gotten my Demon Eye, I had already accomplished my goal. But since we were here at the edge of the Wraith Forest in the Hyleth Region, I actually had another idea.

“I would like to check out the Library Labyrinth! Since we are already here, I want to stay there as long as possible.” I explained honestly. If I was already here, I really didn’t want to pass up the chance.

“Oh, that’s great. I was on my way there too. I wanted to ask Beethove if he had seen Badi. I can make introductions.” She nodded in agreement.

Right, the Demon King Beethove Tovetha, the Master of the Library Labyrinth. He was a gigantic slime with a huge eyeball that was always looking at the roof. His Eye was also a Demon Eye, the All-Seeing Eye to be precise. It was a far more advanced form of the Clairvoyant Eye that could see and search for anything the user wanted, as long as it wasn’t concealed by a huge concentration of magic.

He used it to make copies of every book in this world. That was how his castle became known as the Library Labyrinth.

Honestly, that Eye sounded amazing.

“By the way, Your Majesty, can you grant the All-Seeing Eye too?”

“Nope, can’t do it. That’s outside of my current power.” She shook her head. I had expected as much.

“Too bad.”

“Wanted to have the same Eyes as me and old Beethove?” She smirked. “What are you even going to his place for? Looking for a specific book? I can tell you that will be hard since he doesn’t organize the place. But if you offer him a book he doesn’t have yet, you may be able to ask him to find the right one for you.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. I’m not there for anything specific.”

“So you’re a bookworm, huh?”

“Kinda? I’m after Magic Books mostly.” If there really was every book in the world there, at least excluding hidden and powerful magic, then there should be tons I hadn’t gotten yet. Especially King- to God-Rank Magic that the Milis Church didn’t possess.

Or secret research notes, books on unique types of magic, Teleportation Magic, and more.

“Even with three weeks, it will be hard to find anything there. Better ask for a specific topic.” Kishirika shrugged.

“Don’t worry. I have a way to find the right books.” I chuckled before pulling out one of my books. “By the way, if I do this…”

I pointed my wand at the book, creating an exact copy of it.

“Will that break his rules?”

“Oh-ho, what a unique magic. I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

“It’s the Geminio Charm.” I said. “Magic that belongs to my people. So, would it be a problem if I made copies of his books?”

“Fascinating…” She muttered as she considered my question. “No, I don’t think so. As long as you don’t damage or steal any of his originals, you should be fine. Just to be sure, I’ll tell him about your magic.”

“Thank you, Empress!” I grinned at her.

Oh, things were really working out for me right now. Well, I had some time on my hands now, and I was no longer rushed.

Let’s practice with my Demon Eye first. I needed to get over that disorientation as soon as possible if I wanted to get a second one.

———

The Library Labyrinth right at the center of the Wraith Forest was truly an impressive sight. The entrance was a pretty normal castle. The real treasures were underground.

But this was still the residence of a Demon King.

One of the things unique to the castles of Demon Kings was the existence of Sokasu Grass. That grass could be turned into a tea that removed all magic from a body.

Originally, it only grew in a single place belonging to a Demon King, but thousands of years ago, Kishirika decided that the tea should be the preferred drink of all Demon Kings.

Under her order, every Demon King actually grew it in their castle.

And Beethove Tovetha had nothing against me harvesting some of his stock. Kishirika had asked him to let me. As a slime, he didn’t really drink tea anyway.

The Labyrinth itself, deep underground, was amazing too. It smelled like paper, ink, and mold. It was a truly unique labyrinth.

Inside were all kinds of monsters, like knee-high bipedal ants that created tunnels further underground and shelves for the new books, smaller slimes that collected dirt and rubble and dissolved them in their bodies, and finally, Cthulhu Snails that protected the Library Labyrinth from enemies.

All of them were familiars of Beethove Tovetha, who spent his entire time replicating books from all over the world, often several at once. These monsters were docile and didn’t attack as long as you followed his rules, didn’t damage or steal the books, and didn’t disturb the working monsters.

The Demon King himself was a bit of a scary sight. That black slime was a little Lovecraftian, but he was pretty reasonable in himself. Unlike what I had heard about many other Demon Kings.

He had nothing against me copying his books as long as I didn’t do anything to the originals. However, he wouldn’t help me find any of them.

Which was no problem with Clairvoyance, making it easy to expand my library of magical knowledge even further. I added secret research, Magic Tomes kept as national secrets, and all kinds of other knowledge to my collection.

I also saw my first Teleportation Circle in the Labyrinth. Deep inside it was one. While I copied it down, I didn’t use it. Who knew where it led? While I remembered that Rudeus had used it to get to this Labyrinth, I couldn’t really remember the details of where he had used it from.

Ghislaine and Kishirika were bored since I was busy copying and collecting thousands of books. But the food made them happy again.

I could totally understand why people had such a hard time finding anything in here. Beethove Tovetha copied the books in the order he found them. The newest ones were closer to him, while the oldest ones were further up in the Labyrinth.

And most of those books weren’t really books as you would think of them. They didn’t really have bindings. They were stacks of pages copied exactly to look like the originals, but simply held together with some string.

Still, why should I complain? I was getting state secrets for free!

I could figure out how to bind them myself. There was probably a spell for that. I didn’t believe Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley bound their books by hand.

If I had known I would end up here, I wouldn’t have needed to infiltrate the Milis Church. But what was done was done.

[-- End of Chapter --]