[TLQ-B1] 52. Old Threats (Patreon)

LII

Old Threats

Plated boots thumped on the descending pathway. Malakai breathed in. The tunnel…vibrated with the cries of those not of this world.

Wraith’s deep, grating voice only made the mood more haunting. ‘The brood mother is hidden away in a chamber three levels below us.’

Radi and Tina tailed them. Ian was already on his way back to Camp Tauron.

‘The chamber is a nest, right?’ Malakai said. ‘How many demons should I expect?’

‘More than you’ve ever seen in one place.’

Malakai swallowed.

They remained quiet as they descended the rest of the way and arrived in front of a circular door burrowed into a tunnel wall. Two concentric circles were engraved on the surface, with the inner one representing the head of a horned demon.

The door was ajar, and blood flowed out the gap. As did a voice. A low hum, which pushed and crawled up the walls.

Malakai shivered. Had the party arranged around him been any different, he would’ve ran as fast as he could.

‘Don’t worry,’ the Warden said. ‘We can take it. Do you remember what I told you?’

‘Yes, Warden.’

‘Good. I expect you to use it no less than three times.’

Malakai pulled and caressed his blade. ‘I’m ready.’

She peeled open the entrance. Tina, who was now an undead mage, and Radi stepped in first, with Malakai right behind them. Malakai wasn’t sure what he’d expected. A pit of hell, surely, where four-footed demons clawed into each other, killing their own kind, only for their blood to reform and shape into the same creature and repeat the cycle.

Warm light rayed from spheres in the ceiling, powered by a mysterious mechanism. Golden walls gleamed under their lustre, lending the intricate pieces of artwork carved onto them a divine aura. Malakai didn’t recognise any of the shapes in the pieces of art.

His eyes fell on the rest of the room. Four-footed demons and others of their kind stood in neat rows. Some were bipedal, others had no limbs and were nothing but floating heads. All were still like statues and waited on a single man lounging in the centre of the room on a low chair.

Malakai called him a man, for that was what he was. Except for his horns, which curled like that of a mountain goat, or his teeth that were sharper than daggers, he was the most human demon Malakai had ever seen. His skin was fair. His hair long and the red of flowing blood. He wasn’t wearing anything except for pants, which left visible the eye-shaped tattoo on his chest and wires of muscle.

In a smooth voice, he said: ‘It’s been a long time, Lady of Death.’

Wraith’s head tilted. ‘I don’t believe we’re acquainted.’

‘Ah, my apologies,’ the demon said. ‘We were a long time ago. During a time you couldn’t possibly remember.’

‘Were we friends?’ she asked.

Which drew a chuckle out of the demon. ‘We tried to kill each other five-hundred-and-sixty-three times.’

‘Then I suppose this will make the sixty-fourth.’

‘If you want it to be,’ he said easily. The demon turned towards Malakai. ‘You have an interesting specimen at your side. Wouldn’t it be terrible if something were to happen to him?’

‘An empty threat,’ she said. ‘Your spirit is lacking.’

He shrugged. ‘Raw power is not the only factor when accounting for someone’s threat level. You know this, surely, after beating that excuse of a mage.’

Malakai had no idea who he was talking about, but the Warden seemed to.

‘I’m listening,’ she said.

The demon smiled, which was when Malakai noticed he was sitting not on a chair, but on five of those four-footed demons. They rose to trembling feet.

‘Let us walk,’ the demon said.

The demons carried their overlord forwards into the dark. I stared at his back. Despite my earlier words, his base of power was solid. He also knew of my ancestor. In other words, he was old.

How long has he been down here?

And where’d he acquire a vessel stable enough to inhabit? The more aged the soul, the more sacrifice summoning would require. But there was no summoning circle, nor any remains of a ritual. So he hadn’t been spawned. Not recently at least.

…He could’ve also made his way here from any of the side passages. That still didn’t answer how long he’d been here.

I tapped my necrofrost mails against each other. ‘You did not offer your name.’

Malakai jumped at the sudden reverberation of my voice.

The demon smiled and half-turned. ‘You may call me Cebas.’

Which was no doubt the human version of his demonic name.

I considered speaking to him in his own language to throw him off but decided against it. Killing lower-level demons reset their memories to that of their base form, meaning no demon yet knew I could speak their tongue. This was a demon I couldn’t guarantee I could kill. Not without losing a significant amount of my force. Moreover, while they couldn’t use the information against me, there was no reason to give them freebies either.

‘Cebas,’ I said. ‘Is there a destination you have in mind? I’m too busy for an aimless stroll.’

He chuckled. ‘I can imagine. The energy of the youngsters these days is hard to keep up with. We’re headed to a place dear to you.’

I didn’t show my frown. ‘Dear to me?’

‘You’ll see—it’s not far. But there’s something I’d like to ask before we arrive.’

I let the demon speak.

‘How much do you remember of The War?’

Capitalised “w,” huh? But it being a significant conflict didn’t narrow it down. I could name ten off the top of my head.

‘Which one are you speaking of?’

‘The one that caused the state of our environment.’

I kept my breathing even. There’d been a war down here?…It made sense. Why else the presence of so many entombed in ice?

What to tell him, though? I couldn’t bluff my way through a question like this, not with someone who knew all about it. Silence was equally as revealing, so I decided to come out with the truth.

‘Nothing besides what can be gathered from environmental clues.’

‘Which is?’

I chose my wording. ‘This place was a retreat for the giants. One that your forces assaulted.’

‘Sparing some details,’ the demon said, ‘that is largely correct. But it wasn’t the giants we sought to destroy here.’

Malakai had his ears glued to the conversation. So much so that he nearly tripped over uneven ground.

‘Who then?’ I asked.

His steeds slowed so he could languidly turn his head. ‘You.’

My footfalls paused. Malakai’s blade cleared his scabbard.

‘You seem to have been successful,’ I said. There wasn’t a single giant left, after all.

He shrugged. ‘Who can say? Your previous iteration was destroyed, yet here you are—many times weaker, but alive.’

Feet shifted again and traversed deeper into the tunnel.

‘Undead are notoriously difficult to kill,’ I continued after the party, passing Malakai up in the process.

My guard released his breath and fell in step.

‘So we’ve come to learn,’ Cebas said. ‘It’s why another conflict with you doesn’t interest us. There’s no benefit to it.’

I chuckled. ‘Not interested? You’re backing the orcs.’

‘We do not back them. They merely serve a purpose.’

A service which resulted in the destruction of my Duchy. But that didn’t invalidate what he was saying, I supposed. My regency over Vrost was a recent thing. If the orcs and demons decided to assault this place beforehand, then their opposition of me was indeed a thing of circumstance and not personal enmity.

The path widened and soon, we reached another entrance. Heavy. Double doors. Crafted from black and icy-blue metal. The door was stuck in the wall. I used stuck, because the door wasn’t neatly implanted. Instead, the earth grew around it like roots and vines through an abandoned temple.

‘This is…’ I trailed off.

‘A piece of your previous self, left behind for her descendants.’

I stared at him. ‘Why would you bring me here?’

Malakai’s torch illuminated the demon’s smile, revealing teeth that were whiter than that of any human. ‘A promise is a promise, even if made with one already deceased. You may also consider it a gift. One that represents our impartiality.’

He turned away. ‘One last piece of advice, traverse the tunnel all the way. You never know where the road leads you.’

Poor, damned beasts dragged him out of reach of Malakai’s firelight and tread the tunnel.

His lilting voice reached out before he vanished. ‘I look forward to your achievements, Morgathis.’

The silence that remained in his wake was deep.

‘Was it wise to just let him go?’ Malakai said. From his tone, he was long glad the demon was gone.

I couldn’t blame him. It’d been a while since I met a demon that strong. And this wasn’t even his final incarnation.

Fully summoned, Cebas would likely have no trouble levelling the entirety of the Duchy by himself.

My gaze turned towards the entrance of the ruin and fell on my side quest.

[Quest: Find the Ruin in Giantswood. Reward: A Fragment of the Past]

This was the ruin in question. But it seemed finding also meant I had to explore it.

I put my hand on the door.

[Ceremony of Ruin] discovered!

…

Requirements for Ruin: Must meet Bloodline criteria.

Requirements not met!

Not met…

Did it not recognise my undead as a descendant? If so, I’d need to come here in person. My gaze narrowed. I didn’t want to leave the castle undefended. But an inheritance from my ancestor would be a significant boon.

It wasn’t really a choice.

In and out. If one of my squires carried me through the night, I could get to the woods in a day. But that meant no other soldiers. Just me and my undead.

‘Is something the matter, Warden?’

I realised I was smiling. ‘Just reminiscing.’

Bare weeks had gone by since my change of scenery, yet I already thought of my previous life as an aeon ago.

‘Malakai, follow the tunnel. Take these three with you.’

‘…you won’t be there, Warden?’

‘I’ll make my way over here in person.’

A flicker of surprise passed over his face. Then he saluted. I left Wraith in his care and returned my senses to my main body.

There was no time to waste.