Fiendish Fables

[SS 2.96] Eye Spy (Part 4/4) (Patreon)

Published:

2026-10-20 17:03:00

Imported:

2026-10

Tags:

Self-Summon

Content

With the incident handled peacefully, the kids finally headed home, bringing the observation adventures to an end. While Gawk was reporting things to his master, Gelic went on a bit of a spending spree as Merlina, going to a variety of locations. When she returned, she hopped up onto the house in her Puffball form, then hawked up a veritable feast. “Let me know what you think.” She first handed him a snack cake she’d picked up at a convenience store.

He took a few nibbles, then was happy to report in his usual cheery voice. “This is vile!”

“Yeah, about what I expected.” Gelic didn’t get upset, happy to wolf down the rest of the cake. Then she moved onto a bag of chips, anticipating a similar result.

“Horrid!” was his critique.

“So it would seem the Demon palate really doesn’t like processed foods,” she’d deduced, though kind of figured from earlier conversations with him about their overall opinions on human food. “Quite the opposite of Malignants. But let’s try some actual food. Here, hopefully this will be better.”

“Oh, wow, yes, much better!” The floating eye lapped up the soup like a cat using his snake-like tongue. It was actually fresh soup that she’d gotten from a restaurant. There were about a dozen more items to go through, and even though there were some clear misses, Gawk eagerly tried them all. In general, the fresher the ingredients in the dish, the more he seemed to like it.

What he did not like, though, was spicy food. Watching his big eye water up to the point of practically steaming was quite amusing. The fact that he lived in Hell but couldn’t handle the heat was so ironic, but they were also completely different types. By the end after taking a few bites of everything, he was clearly stuffed. “Umm, sorry, Gelic. You bought all this food, but I don’t think I can finish it.”

“It’s totally fine. I can save it for later.” She threw most of what remained into her time-defying stomach refrigerator, leaving just a single meal out for her to eat, having expected leftovers to begin with. Then while enjoying the food, they chatted while watching the sun set.

“That really is pretty,” her Demon friend couldn’t help but comment. “We don’t have a real sun in Hell, and that place only has a fake sun since it’s hidden, so this is my first time seeing something like this. It makes it hard to believe that something so pretty could have been made by—umm, y’know.”

She really didn’t know, and found it weird that he didn’t say Vissiem this time. Maybe it was another name for them, or holy beings in general, that she wasn’t yet aware of. But she didn’t want to intrude and ruin the good mood. They hung out for a while longer, until it was clear that Gawk was barely keeping his eye open after a long day.

“How’d things go with your master?” Gelic finally asked. “He going to keep you working even though you already found the bullies?”

“Yeah, for a few days at least. Proast wants to see if they come back or do anything else.”

“Well, it’s easy Essence for you, at least.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of crazy!” He couldn’t keep quiet about it, even though it was a pittance compared to what she’d been earning lately. “Ba had been paying me way more than I expected for helping out the Cult, but even that doesn’t compare. Being a summoned Demon is great!”

“Well, not every job or Summoner will be so kind,” she made sure to reiterate. “Be careful. If you can, it may be best to find a long-term bind with a good master. Maybe… when Merlina is stronger, I could ask her to take you on permanently.”

“Oh, thanks for that, but… at least not right now, I don’t think I’d want it. Even if there’s some bad ones, I want to have a bunch of new experiences. I made a mistake today, but I also want to make a bunch more. Life isn’t exciting if you’re always worried about not making them.”

It was a nice ideology, one she could probably afford to abide by more herself. But she also made sure to mention, “And well, if those mistakes turn out to be real problems, you at least have the Cult to help you, and me too. Let me know if you run into any trouble, and I’ll do what I can.”

“Thank you, Gelic!” he flapped happily, but then his tone suddenly got a bit more serious. “Except… I don’t want you to have to. If I’m always relying on everyone, then I won’t get stronger myself. So I’ll make those mistakes, but get better because of them too. Someday, I’d like to be the kind of Demon that doesn’t have to rely on anyone, and be the kind that others can rely on instead.”

Hmm, despite basically being a Demon anomaly, it would seem the desire to improve infected even him. Maybe it was inescapable afterall, ingrained into their very being, and hers now too. Though perhaps such a thing wasn’t too bad, for him especially, as long as he didn’t go overboard.

“So where are you going to sleep tonight?” Gelic changed subjects.

“Oh, I was just going to sleep up here,” he admitted. “My master said it was fine.”

“Damn, no bed or anything?” She judged despite knowing he wouldn’t really have the means to accommodate that. Part of her was tempted to offer her sleeping bag, but that wouldn’t work well with his body type. It was a shame she couldn’t give him… or could she? Maybe it was time to do a test with Second Stomach, one where she didn’t care if the item got destroyed. But she didn’t mention it to her friend yet, not wanting to make a promise that she didn’t know whether she’d be able to fulfill. So she sent a mental message to Angie, and a few moments later, her dimensional tummy suddenly felt a bit fuller.

[Second Stomach Lv.9]

She opened her mouth and pulled out a cat bed, specifically Cherub's old cat bed that he had literally only ever used once. And now that he had a fancy new one from Hell that he at least used some of the time, the old one was destined for the dumpster. So she could give it to him without remorse. “My master was just going to throw this away. So you can use it.”

“Oh wow, thank you!” He dove into it immediately, and nestled around until he was comfortable, finally able to let his wings rest after a long day of flapping. “It’s a shame I probably can’t take it back to Hell with me. But while I’m… here… I’ll be… sure to… treasu—”

And… he was asleep, just like that. She knew he could fall asleep quite fast from their last time sharing a room, but damn, this was a bit absurd. Poor boy must have been tuckered out from working so hard and all the excitement of a new world. A shame, since she kind of wanted to hang out with him for a while longer, but she was pretty tired herself. Though there was something that quickly jolted her awake.

[A Demon has been deterred]

Damn, really?! Even with the adjustments to the Field, apparently some nosy bastard was getting too close to her apartment for comfort. After confirming everything was fine with Angie, Gelic took it as her cue to see if had met the criteria and could leave.

She reached out to Ba, who was awake, or at least didn’t sound like she’d woken him, despite it still being early in Hell. She gave a brief rundown of everything that’d happened. He directed that it was enough, and that she could return to him for payment. First, she briefly went back to her apartment to reabsorb Angie. While probably not a lot of progress had been made Skill wise, it was better to get that and the MP back then to let it go to waste. Though, the girl did seem annoyed to be pulled away from the art piece she was working on, nearing completion—doubly annoyed cus she’d just had to stop a few moments ago, as well, to check on the random intruder. Angelica could empathize greatly, but she’d be able to get back to it soon.

“I’d say you were right to intervene.” Ba Skin didn’t feel the need to chastise her after she gave a more lengthy report in person. “While I do think Gawk’s actions were in the spirit of the Order, you were right in that needlessly attacking humans is rarely the best outcome. If the Summoner’s son had gotten hurt as a result, that could have damaged a good relationship. Not to mention, the Demon Lord heavily frowns upon harming humans unrelated to our operations. Since it was part of his Order, he would have been in the clear, but it would have still set a bad precedent, and he could be punished if he goes out of his way to do it in the future.”

Huh, Gelic didn’t know that either. After all she’d learned about Demons and Ferrul, it wasn’t totally unsurprising, but still an interesting note. So she was totally fine when she poisoned the animal abuser and the sieiging soldiers, since they were part of her Orders. But what about when she used Leech Happiness on the mugger? Could she have gotten in trouble then if it somehow made its way up the chain? Maybe it was only for truly immoral stuff that only caused harm for no reason but the Demon’s pleasure. And then again, since she was a Summoner, technically any Order she gave herself was morally correct by that argument. Maybe Exploit Loophole would even help her in that regard if it came down to it.

“Well, besides that, it sounds like everything went fine,” the Legion Heir remarked. “And it sounds like you two had a good time together afterward. So hopefully it was a rewarding experience all around.”

“Is that why you asked for me to do it?” she inquired. “Instead of one of the other Demons who are more active, so that we’d get a chance to hang out?”

“Hmph, I’m not that nice.” Despite that, the incubus grew a cunning, charming smirk. “I asked you because I thought you could do it and most of the other members are busy. And it’s good to keep you engaged, since we virtually never hear from you otherwise. Gawk talks about you every single day, and yet basically no one else here even knows you exist.”

The Daemon seemed to be enjoying teasing her more than the seriousness of the accusation. Just some light guilt to go with her payment. Maybe she should get around to introducing herself to them all sometime, though the rest who were at the office were likely asleep, as she soon hoped to be. So it could wait for another time.

[You have gained 700 Essence]

[Essence Tip Activated. Gained an additional 112 Essence]

[Natural Charmer Lv.2]

Huh, so despite the wording of the Skill, apparently it did work for Pacts too. Ba seemed happy to pay her the bonus amount, at least for a moment, until he realized what had happened. That made him clutch his head and glare at her with disdain. “Why did I just give you more Essence? What did you do?”

“Uhh, sorry, it’s a Passive Skill, Essence Tip,” she explained and apologized.

“I’d already guessed your repertoire is more stacked than to expect from a Puck, but to think you’d even have such an absurdly powerful Skill like that.” His harsh tone persisted for a bit longer, but eventually mellowed. “No wonder your growth has been so explosive.” Well, it had helped a bit, sure, but honestly hadn’t been too amazing, failing to trigger on the big payouts. But maybe it was for the best to let him think that than to explain what she’d actually been doing. And she’d never really regarded the Skill as something so revered, though it could just be because she’d gotten it for free.

“It’s actually really easy to get,” she explained. “I could tell you if you wanted. All we’d need is a willing Summoner. We could probably get it for the whole Legion in like an hour.” She probably wouldn’t volunteer Merlina for such a thing, but it likely wouldn’t be too hard to find someone to help. Maybe Fioso would be open to tackling it if it meant a Legion owing him a favor. Or Ba probably had his own network of plenty more they could pull from.

“No,” he surprisingly refused. “I’d rather the entire Legion not be forcing more out of me every time I pay them. Though, I may take you up on the offer someday myself, maybe when I have more influence. I wouldn’t be surprised if Morgo Gorgo threw me out if I had a Skill like that at this point. First, I’d need to be indispensable, and then I can squeeze every Essence from him.

“If you hadn’t noticed, I loathe manipulation Skills—doubly so because most of my build is invested deep into them. I won’t ask about everything you own, but if you ever acquire another that could passively force me to do something I’m not prepared for, I ask that you disclose it in advance.” It was a fair ask, so she didn’t argue.

Gelic was dismissed shortly afterward and she returned home, ready to hop into bed. Not wanting to dirty it with the grime of the day—mostly the smell of Hell—she used Shedding to cleanse herself, before getting snug like the bug she was.

[Shedding Lv.3]

And as a last thing before giving herself a Sleep Order, she remade Angie yet again. But this time, she had a specific directive to get anything done that could distract her the next day, because they had a home to protect.

Updated:

Max MP: 2,444 > 2,465

Ambidextral Mastery Lv.17 > Lv.18

Evoke Lv.29 > Lv.30

Hunting Nose Lv.6 > Lv.7

Fatigue Resistance Lv.7 > Lv.9

Transmissive Speed Studying Lv.1 > Lv.3

Multi-Bounce Lv.12 > Lv.17

Hunger Resistance Lv.3 > Lv.5

Conceal Lv.4 > Lv.9

Second Stomach Lv.8 > Lv.9

Natural Charmer Lv.1 > Lv.2

Shedding Lv.2 > Lv.3

DEMON GROWTH SYSTEM

True Name: ******a ***** | Alias: Gelic | Species: Pestilent Puck | Cult: Zebub

Demon Rank: Puck Lv.26 / 30 | Essence: 1,973 / 1,785 | GP: 6 + 3 Worth GP

Summoner Rank: Novice Lv.25 / 30 | Experience: 66%

Health: 93% | MP: 1,387 / 2,465

Worth

Might: Sharp

Vigor: Firm

Competence: Shrewd

Lucidity: Keen

Obstinance: Compromising

Beguilement: Appealing

Creativity: Inspiring

Malice: Willing

Attunements

Glacial: Intertwined

Famine: Embraced

Destruction: Intertwined

Fabrication: Embraced

Gnostic: Intertwined

Pestilence: Symbiotic

Fraud: Intertwined

Suffering: Embraced

Balletic: Intertwined

Inferno: Embraced

Oppression: Touched

Pedant: Embraced

Pride: Embraced

Egoism: Embraced

Conductive: Aware

Thalassic: Aware

Active Skills

Passive Skills

Hybrid Skills

Combo Skills

Summoner Skills

Traits

Runes

Secrets

Achievements (26)