Notes from the demon king, page 300:

Some men just want to see the world burn. Some men will burn the world even if they burn along with it. Some men are aflame and the world burns along with them. Which of these am I?

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Chapter seventeen

Giel-

The elemental had dropped three pieces of loot, chest plate forged of a mineral-infused metal the demon king called, cursed-steel.

“Highly resistant and disruptive to magic and just mana in general really, just wearing this’ll be like cycling with a weight on, but the trade-off is being able to tank a fireball that would have burned a hole in your chest. Who wants it?”

The chest plate obviously went to Kenn, he was the one who got hurt the most often, and his original leather armor was still ruined from the goblin hogs tusk and all that came after.

Giel helped his friend out of the remains of the leather and lifted the new armor onto the man's shoulders, his spine straining as he did. As soon as it was on Kenn bent forward, sweat already beading his brow, even as Giel finished clipping it on.

“I-Is it… supposed to be this heavy” the human asked nearly falling over as he tried to take a step.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention cursed-steel is crazy heavy, you’ll get used to the weight. It’s good exercise.”

“Okay…” Kenn groaned as he wobbled on his feet.

The next piece of loot was a mace with a short forearm-length handle. It was well-made, with an outer layer of some sort of crystal on the head, Giel would guess topaz just based on the color. It made Giel think of a garnet with its shape, and as the demon king held it out he noticed runes written up the handle. The demon noticed the beast-kin staring and asked, “Giel could you tell me what this enchantment does?”

Giel’s tail drooped, “sorry, I’m not sure. I haven't studied many runes yet just the basic ones.”

“Give it a shot, what’s your best guess?”

Giel shrugged “Okay. Well, that's the basic mana intake rune. And that looks like the… i wanna say, ‘heavy’ one but with lines coming off of it. Then there's some gibberish that I don't know then the heavy rune again without the lines.”

“So you do know something. Those lines are called null marks, you see most runes only go one way, there’s ‘heavy’ but no ‘light’ for example, these essentially make runes do their opposite, think of them like how subtraction signs make number negative, you see… oh sorry, getting ahead of myself again”

Giel had been interested, but he saw the other’s growing expressions of boredom and decided to move on

“So it makes itself light then heavy?”

“Close, It alters its weight so that it is light for the wielder as they carry it or lift it, and increases its weight as needed to enhance its momentum during a swing. A pretty standard enchantment for a mace.” The demon king nodded as he held it out, “Any of you want this one? None of you use clubs right?”

A long second passed and just as the demon began to tuck the weapon away into his jacket, an unexpected hand shot up.

It was Hailey, her fist still clutching the cheap mace she had wielded against the diamond fish and golems, Giel had nearly forgotten about the weapon.

“I’d like- I mean, maybe not like but… I could- could I… I want it, please.” The elf stammered before finally getting out the words.

“Oh sure,” the demon king smiled, handing Hailey the weapon hilt first. The elf took the weapon, turned as if to walk away, and immediately turned on her heel to swing the weapon as hard as she could at the Demon King's abdomen, the demon was already moving back with a smirk “Nope. not that easy.”

Hailey shrugged, flushing a bit “it was worth a try.”

“It was” the demon king agreed “You actually caught me off guard there. But if catching me off guard was all it took I would’ve died centuries ago. I’ll get you a technique guide from the guild when we get back.”

“Thank you” Hailey smiled shyly as if she hadn't just attempted to break the man’s spine. testing the weight of her new weapon, she noted, “It really does add a lot of momentum.”

“I think the core is cursed steel, so it’s heavy by default, the enchantment mainly makes it lighter rather than vise-versa”

The last bit of loot was what caught Giel’s eye the most.

It was simply an emerald, but one the size of the beastman’s torso.

Both he and Hailey looked on in wonder as the rest just stared with awe.

“Do… you know how much this would be worth” the elf practically drooled

“No, but I’d love to find out” Giel agreed, a single tear forming in the corner of his eye, he wasn't as money-hungry as Hailey, but he appreciated kart more than the rest of the party that was for sure.

“If I had to guess, forty-three, forty-four platinum”

Hailey visibly shivered, “say that again…”

The demon looked uncomfortable “forty-three platinum…”

“Ohhh, that's the stuff! Again!”

“No. Not again.” Ali interrupted.

“I don't think you understand Ali” Hailey sounded almost frantic, “that's 430 gold! Gold, Ali!” she bent down grabbing the gnome by her shoulder, and shook.

“I- get- it-!” The caster stuttered as she was waved back and forth, “Now stop shaking me!”

Hailey, seeming to realize what she was doing stopped at once, her face turning pink. “Sorry…”

The party then went through the trouble of getting the jewel into Hailey’s bag, finding it too heavy to lift, and eventually just asking the demon king to do it with his telekinesis or whatever it was.

After that was finished, the party was led over to a door on the far end of the room. It had apparently opened when the boss was defeated and according to the Demon King lead to the final room of the dungeon where their escape and the objective of their quest lie.

The adventurers chatted as they walked down the hall, the demon king walking ahead and pretending not to listen.

“That was crazy!” Kenn whisper-shouted “We’re supposed to kill that?!”

Sandra nodded vigorously “I don't even have words for it! He took out the sword and I felt like...like I was a gnat. Giant swords are so cool!” she grinned like the dumbass she was “And Did you see that kick! How does anyone move so fast!”

Ali shrugged “He isn't human, that's for sure”

“Neither are we” Giel pointed out

“Yeah, but you know what I mean.”

Hailey chimed in “I feel like that sword’s important…, maybe if we separate him from it.”

“speaking of the sword,” Giel snicked “with how big it is… do you think he’s compensating for something?”

The beast-kin’s sensitive ears picked up a groan, and what he could swear sounded like a second voice chuckling ahead of them.

Ali snapped her fingers “maybe… but not in the way you’re intending it…”

Hailey’s eye’s lit up “that does make sense. It felt like he got stronger with the weapon out, do you think that means something?”

Sandra nodded “It definitely does! Like a horcrux! Except for extra power instead of immortality, i guess.”

“Close, but no cigar,” the demon king said from behind them.

The party swiveled to find a second demon king strolling leisurely behind them

At their odd looks, he said “I’m guarding our rear, just in case the dungeon tries something else.”

“What do you mean close?” Ali asked, her eyebrow raised.

“Well, I won't spoil it.” he chuckled but seeing their expressions of annoyance sighed, “I’ll tell you later I promise. It’s not like it’s a secret.”

“Then why not tell us now?” Sandy whined

“Because I was told not to.”

Giel's brow furrowed “What?”

The demon pursed his lips “Oops, I’ve said too much” with that he popped away appearing a few yards back from them.

The hall didn't last that much longer, and soon the group found themselves entering a midsized room.

It was much less polished than the rest of the dungeon, the walls being rough stone rather than crystal or polished rock.

At the center of the room, on a pedestal sat a glowing orb that reminded Giel of his core’s made solid. Off to the far end of the room, there were a set of several pools, eight from a quick count, that sparkled as if the sun shone on them.

The demon king approached the orb, Giel was assuming it was the dungeon’s core and shook his head like a disapproving parent.

“Well well well, why hello dungeon” the demon greeted “You have some nerve…”

“Do what you will demon.” A voice echoed from the core “What do you want? Shards of my core? What heinous ritual do you have planned?”

“Honestly? None. but now that you mention it…” The demon king let his word draw out, slowly and dramatically reaching his hand towards the sphere.

“Wait!!!” a high-pitched frantic voice cried, as something tiny and glitter-covered flew out placing itself between the demon's hand and the dungeon core “Take me instead! I’ll give you whatever you want just leave Crystl alone!”

The Demon King's demeanor changed startlingly, from ominous to friendly “Okay. seventy milliliters of fairy dust please.”

The fairy seemed to stumble in the air from the abruptness of the request “What…? Fairy dust…? That's it?” She glanced around as if expecting some kind of trick “I would have just sold you some fairy dust, you didn't have to destroy our dungeon for it.”

The Demon king’s smile broadened in a slick manner “first of, I didn’t destroy the dungeon, she did” he said gesturing to the core, “and yes, just fairy dust.”

“This must be a trick. Don't do it Alette!” The dungeon cried

“It’s the only option we have” the fairy, Alette apparently, sighed taking on a professional demeanor “I hate to give away so much free product, but i can have it to you by next week”

“Oh, no. I meant now. Like I want it right now as in within the hour.”

Alette’s tiny eyes bulged as her face took on an expression of disbelief “But t-that's impossible I can’t-”

The demon put on a clearly false sense of disappointment “Okay… I’ll just take the dungeon core then…” he started reaching once more, the fairy stopping him again.

“Wait wait I’ll do it!!!”

The fairy glanced over to where Giel and the others were standing. “Ummm… A little privacy please…”

“Of course, of course.” responded the Demon king, a clone popping into existence beside him and ushering the party towards the pools on the other end of the room.

“Com’on kiddos

+et's finish that quest.”

Standing over the pool Giel felt like he was looking into a tropical ravine.

The water was clear almost transparent to a point he wouldn't know it was there if there wasn’t the occasional ripple. It grew dark as it got deeper and if you asked the beastkin to say how deep it was for a thousand gold he wouldn't be able to even guess.

“These are wispools.” the demon king explained, passing out several bottles to each of them.

Ali stared into her pool, her face not even being reflected by the substance “What is this stuff…? I know it sounds crazy, but it’s too clear to be water…”

“You’re partially right” The demon king explained “It’s water, matter wise. But for some reason, it’s been infused with pure mana rather than the water mana you’d expect. You can’t sense it yet, but it’s like looking at a dog that meows. It's weird, but it’s been known to happen.”

“When have you ever seen a dog that meows?” Giel asked.

“That’s not the point. ‘wis-substances’ are rare and valuable” The demon continued “Pure mana enhances other mana it comes across, and wis-substances do so in a way dictated by how their base materials usually affect the physical world. In the case of wiswater, It cleanses and erodes foreign mana from the system when ingested. It’s a natural elixir.” He motioned for them to begin filling their vials.

Giel stooped using his little bottle to scoop up the liquid. He startled and nearly dropped the container when a jolt of mild pain shot through his finger as he bushed the stuff.

“Ow! What was that!?” he complained, shaking his hand to remove the remaining droplets and residual discomfort.

“Sorry,” the Demon king apologized “I should have told you about that. The pain is just the erosion of your mana being cleansed. It’s painful but actually does the opposite of harming you.”

Giel acknowledged the Demon with a thumbs up but still was careful to hold the rest of the vials so his hand never touched the wiswater.

It didn't take all that long to fill all the vials they needed. Once they were done the demon king made a suggestion.

“You guys should drink one of those”

Ali raised an eyebrow “What?”

“You should drink some of the wiswater, and cycle it.”

“Why...?” Hailey asked seeming apprehensive at the idea. Giel was too, the way the stuff had felt on his hand he wasn't thrilled at the idea of putting it in his body.

“I’m not saying it would be pleasant but being able to properly cleanse your channels is a huge boon that’ll permanently benefit your cultivation and increase your resistance to your elements. Most mages would kill to get access to this at your level because the earlier you take this the better the result since there's less pollution and foreign mana in your system. And since you just unlocked your cores today…” He stopped there letting them finish the thought.

Barely three seconds passed before Kenn threw the elixir back like a shot.

Hailey then Ali doing the same, followed by Sandra. Leaving Giel to be the one peer pressured into drinking what the suspicious man in a trench coat said to.

Since when had the Demon king been wearing that trench coat…?

As soon as the wiswater hit his throat Giel wondered if he had made a mistake.

It felt like his channels were filled with rusty razors and millions of tiny fists punching at his insides. The feeling slid through his soul and settled in his core, making the beast-man crumple in agony as his very center was assaulted.

The demon king's voice somehow cut through the haze of anguish “The pain you’re feeling is your mana eating at itself. The sensation should feel as if your elements are attacking you. You need to cycle! You don't want your core eroded into nothing!”

That didn't sound good. So Giel forced himself to cycle, the act was quickly becoming muscle memory but doing so with the wiswater was like making yourself walk on a bed of nails. The first time you knew it would hurt objectively, you could convince yourself to grit your teeth and go through with it. The second time, once you’d felt the nails pierce your flesh, It was harder. Your body rejecting the idea of having to feel that again. the third time even more difficult. Each second he cycled was like another nail in Giel’s mana channels, another forced step. But he couldn't stop whenever he tried to take a break the wiswater or its mana would flow back to his abdomen settling in his core and leaving his soul screaming. It went on for about a minute but Giel would have guessed hours.

The feeling of sharp metal and blunt force blows seemed to take on liquid form as they gushed through his manasystem, but finally, It stopped and the beastkin found himself in a fetal position on the ground. His tail tucked between his legs and his breaths shuddering. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

“That sucked…” he heard Sandra mutter as she stood on shaky legs.

“You’re telling me?” Kenn asked his voice sounding ragged “This chest plate made moving my mana a lot harder… It was like my control was… like someone was constantly trying to pry open my mental grip”

“It’s called cursed steel for a reason” The demon King reminded him “But keep cycling with it on. It’s one of the least unpleasant ways to train your will” The demon looked at each of them, Giel noting a strange shine in his eye “So you’re all okay. No harm or negative side effects?”

Hailey examined her arm as if checking for injuries “No… In fact, I feel better than before. More pure...maybe. Less obstructed? I didn't even realize I felt clogged up before”

Now that she mentioned it, Giel could feel that too. his channels, as the pain faded, felt cleaned. Like he had blown his nose and all the snot was just gone. It was amazing, well worth the bit of suffering he’d endured.

Sandra leaned over the wispool “Too bad this stuff is so awful. It looks so nice. Don't you just want to swim in it”

“I’m glad you feel that way,” The Demon said as Giel suddenly felt a force grip around his body. He was immobilized as his feet lifted off the ground, the others floated beside him seeming to struggle against nonexistent bonds.

“What the fuck!” Ali Screeched as she writhed like a caught fish, she glared at the demon king “What are you doing!?”

Hailey glared the expression out of place of her pretty face “what happened to ‘nothing else unexpected?’”

The demon frowned “I apologize once again, but I meant for me, nothing else that I would find unexpected. This was planned.”

“So you lied?”

“No, I just allowed you to come to your own conclusions and didn't dispel the false ones. You’ll need to work on jumping to conclusions, but that will come later. As for What I’m doing. Well, I was thinking… If drinking wiswater is so effective, how amazing would the benefits be if you bathed in it.”

“Are you insane?” Sandra shouted her eyes going wide as she realized what was going to happen.

“I don't know. Maybe.” The demon responded sounding genuinely unsure “but I think the results will speak for themselves”

He floated them above the pools one for each of them. “Remember to cycle,” The Demon said in a jovial tone.

And with that Giel felt himself fall. His body turning in the air before he felt himself impact against the wiswater’s surface and was pulled beneath.

The last thought he had before the pain set in was that he somehow knew that his body had barely formed a ripple on the substance.