An Unborn Hero

Grace groaned as the lights of consciousness flickered back on. The first spark was enough for her to run healing magic through her body, purging herself of any lingering anaesthetic and returning herself to full wakefulness. She leapt to her feet, finding herself looking at a blank wall of metal.

"Welcome back," sighed Rose from behind her. "I don't suppose you can give me a heal too? I feel awful."

Grace turned around, spotting Rose huddled in a corner, dressed in rags. A thick metal collar circled her neck and her ankles were shackled together by a short chain, but worse were her hands, which simply disappeared into holes in the wall behind her, tight around her wrists, trapping her uncomfortably in place.

"Rose!" exclaimed Grace, rushing over and flooding her with healing magic before yanking ineffectually at her bonds.

"Thanks," said Rose, perking up slightly as her own lingering poisons were washed away. "And don't bother. I've been trying to free myself since I woke up. Dunno why I'm all chained up when you're free. You don't even have one of these mana-draining collars on. Maybe transform and give it another go?"

Grace blinked, finally taking stock of her situation. The ceiling and floor were sheets of blank metal, each with a grate set into the centre. Artificial light streamed through the upper grate from somewhere up above. The walls were likewise metal, with the only feature a heavy door. No keyhole, bolts or handle were visible. It was very definitely a door that was not intended to be opened from this side.

She tried not to think about the purpose of the lower grate, given the way the floor sloped gently towards it and that their prison cell didn't exactly come with an en suite.

Like Rose, Grace was wearing only rags, her transformation broken and her equipment missing. But as Rose had pointed out, she had no chains, and the sleep had fully restored her mana.

"Where are we? Where are the others?" asked Grace.

"Don't ask me. I only woke up ten minutes ago. Last thing I remember was the ambush."

Grace nodded. "Well, let's get out of here. For friendship and..." she started, before a third voice interrupted.

"Woah now. Won't you talk a little before you start rampaging?"

Grace spun around, spotting a small winged creature that had somehow entered their cell.

"Grachen!" she exclaimed, instantly releasing her half-formed spell in favour of grabbing her nose.

Rose, with her hands embedded in the wall behind her and unable to react to protect herself, opened her eyes wide in horror.

"Wow. Impolite," smirked the intruder. "Also, wrong."

Grace took a closer look, spotting the general colour scheme, tiny horns and unphysical single wing. "Demon," she corrected herself.

"Indeed. And unlike you, I am polite, so I thought I'd drop in and give you a little information."

Grace frowned in suspicion.

"Aww. Is that really how you're going to look at your future colleague?"

"Colleague?! Don't be insane! Why would I ever work with you?!"

"Oh, did no-one tell you about the effects on any ensouled race of prolonged miasma exposure?" smirked the demon, drawing Grace's attention to just how dense the miasma was in their cell. "I'm afraid you won't have much choice. But don't worry, there are plenty of upsides for you. That peace offering behind you, for a start."

Grace glanced behind herself, seeing only Rose.

"What peace offering?" she spat.

"Don't think I don't know. So many thoughts bouncing around in your head about what you want to do to her, but your pointless human inhibitions hold you back. Just let it all go and take whatever you want. Do what you want. With the [Hero] dead and the human lands about to be crushed, why restrict yourself? You'll join our side eventually, so you might as well enjoy yourself in the process. We've even shown our sincerity by not putting a single chain on you."

"For friendship and justice, demon slaying magical girl Jasper White, transform!" shouted Grace, unwilling to tolerate their visitor any longer, not bothering with [Transformation Sequence] and reaching for the demon the moment she started glowing and the enhanced strength kicked in.

Her hand passed straight through.

"Sorry, but I'm not really here," laughed the demon. "We will have you. That power of yours is too unique, too powerful, to leave alone. Imagine what a corrupted version of it could do? Infiltrating a human city, and converting all of its mana into miasma. Heck, you'd be saving lives. Every human you turned into a demon would be a human we don't have to kill."

"And what, Rose is nothing to you?" spat Grace.

"Nope. We already have more than enough demons around who are only good at hitting things. If you want to turn her, go ahead, but she won't be useful for anything. As I said, she's all yours to have your fun with."

Still chuckling to himself, the demon's projected image distorted and faded.

"You were rather quiet," said Grace, turning back to where Rose was waiting in the corner. "Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything to you."

"As if I'd worry about that," laughed Rose. "I keep telling you, I'm not as naïve as you think. If I thought you were that weak willed, I'd never have set foot in this forest with you. Now, hurry up and get us out of here."

"Right, but first..."

Grace concentrated, building up the mana she needed.

"Purification wave!" she yelled, bursting with mana and purging all miasma from the area. "I'd sooner die than let myself become a demon, but if possible, I'd rather not do either."

And far above, out of range of her attack, but still listening in to their conversation via the monster living beneath the floor grate, Dreobeth smirked to himself at just how perfectly his plan was going.

Rrillandral stirred, groaning groggily as the anaesthetic wore off. "Where...?" she muttered, as she struggled to stand, feeling lethargic and weak. It didn't help that the new epic rarity spell on her status had aged her significantly, her changed body not responding as she expected, even putting aside the lingering sedation. Her legs gave way beneath her, sending her sprawling back to the cold, metallic floor.

This time, she stayed there, only rolling onto her back to get a better view. The light from above was dim, but it was sufficient to reveal her metallic surroundings.

"A prison?" she thought to herself. "Demons do not take prisoners. Even if they did, how am I still alive after casting [Meteor Storm]? What is happening here? Every single thing they've done since we entered the forest has been wrong."

She felt at her earlobe, grasping the enchanted communications earring that she always wore. It was still there; the demons hadn't taken it. The enchantment was subtle, and it must have thankfully remained unnoticed. Her hand did brush against more metal, though, and more careful probing revealed a heavy collar around her neck. A second of introspection was enough to figure out its purpose. The thing was draining her mana, leaving her helpless and contributing to her weakness.

At least there was no miasma in the air. If she'd been trapped in a cell with miasma eroding her soul, even all her achievements wouldn't be sufficient to protect her forever. And again, that was very undemonlike. To be somewhere without miasma, the demons must have moved her outside the forest, and normally they hated leaving the forest.

She activated the earring. The collar prevented her from initiating the conversation herself, but she immediately felt the [Telepathy] of her father force its way through, invading her mind. She let it; she knew exactly what he'd think, given the cast of [Meteor Storm], and he wouldn't believe it was her calling without being able to probe her.

"You're alive!"

"I am. The demons are acting strange. Working together. I'm a prisoner. Outside the forest. I..."

"Finally awake, I see," came a voice, and Rrillandral instantly broke the connection, hoping she hadn't been seen. At least they'd been using [Telepathy] instead of talking aloud.

The elf turned towards her visitor, spotting the tiny, hovering demon.

"Grachen!" she gasped, reflexively grabbing her nose.

"Wrong, on two counts," laughed the demon. "And I have to say, I'm disappointed. Did you forget me so soon, my arrogant immortal princess?"

"Demon?" asked Rrillandral, frowning at the thing, and making a second, more successful, attempt at standing upright. How had he got into her cell? He certainly hadn't been there earlier. With no furniture other than a mat in one corner, it wasn't as if there was anywhere to hide.

Suspicious, she waved a hand at him. He made no attempt to dodge, and the hand passed straight through.

"Illusion," she realised. Still groggy from her forced nap, she was a little slow on the uptake, and struggled to place where she'd seen the demon before.

"You really don't remember? That is seriously quite upsetting, you know," said the demon, smirking and not actually sounding at all upset.

"Dreobeth!" exclaimed Rrillandral, finally recalling where she'd seen that smirk before. "I see you haven't managed to restore your wing."

The smirk vanished. "Alas not," he confirmed. "But I did take your advice to heart. I really must offer you my thanks for it."

"My advice?"

"Yes. You pointed out exactly how stupid demons were. You went off on quite a tirade about it, in fact. After our last defeat, I spent quite some time thinking about what you said, and in the end, I had to admit you were right. I've tried to do something about it, and given your current position, I'd like to think I was successful."

"Yes, you were. Congratulations," offered Rrillandral, doing her best not to openly display the rising tide of horror that was flooding her mind. Intelligent demons? With their power, if they actually played to their strengths, the world was doomed. "But since you won, why am I still alive?"

"Oh? Why would I want a princess of the Vale alive? Come now, surely you can imagine."

"My Father will not negotiate with demons. He'll consider me lost already," said Rrillandral, wondering how the demons even intended to contact him.

And then she realised that they already had. Had they deliberately left her earring?

"You are very likely correct, but not even an elf can suppress their emotions completely. He'll hesitate. Second guess himself. Perhaps his decisions will not be as sharp as they would otherwise have been. No, whatever you may think, I believe you will make an excellent hostage. I suggest making yourself comfortable, because this is going to be your home for a very long time."

The smirk made one last appearance, and the demon's projected image distorted and faded.

Rrillandral reached for her earring once again, only to find that it wouldn't connect. Something was blocking it. They did indeed know about it, and had used her to contact her father. And too late did she realise that despite what common sense may dictate, a lack of miasma no longer implied she was outside the forest. She'd very likely given her father the wrong location.

In the ventilation shaft above her cell, the midnight moth tasked with ensuring she remained asleep until after Grace had purged the miasma from the prison took off, its task accomplished.

Kellela was the last to wake, finding herself sharing a cell with Hayedalf, both with thick, mana devouring collars around their necks.

"We're... alive?" she asked, as surprised as might be expected about that fact.

"So it appears. I wonder why?" replied Hayedalf. "They obviously spent significant effort protecting us from the [Meteor Storm] and then stripping us of our enchanted items. They would have all activated, and whoever was trying to remove them would have had a really bad time."

"Isn't that obvious?" asked Dreobeth, projecting into their cell. "Would you please call your little [Hero]? She needs to hear this too."

"Grachen!" exclaimed the pair of them in perfect synchronisation as they both grabbed their noses.

"Seriously? Again? That was funny the first time, but now it's just getting old," complained Dreobeth.

"I... assume that's a demon," said Hayedalf, correcting himself.

"He's a demon," added Dreobeth, offering a further correction. "The name's Dreobeth, and I just wanted to pop in to apologise for the inconvenience."

"The what?" asked an incredulous Hayedalf, while Kellela deliberately refrained from calling Mystery. Better she was safe and unexposed.

"The inconvenience. This was never your fight, after all. A goddess just saddled you with a [Hero]. Didn't ask your permission. Didn't even apologise for mucking up your lives. And now you're caught up in events that have nothing to do with you. So, sorry for the inconvenience. Please blame the goddess rather than us, if you must blame someone. We won't hurt you, so just sit there quietly until the war is over."

"Won't hurt us? You..." started a disbelieving Hayedalf, before his eyes narrowed. "You want Mystery alive! As long as she lives, another [Hero] can't be born."

Dreobeth smirked. "You worked that out impressively quickly," he said, not looking at all disappointed about the fact. "Yes, we want you alive. And since you don't seem to want to call Mystery for me, please pass this on to her; not a single member of her party is dead. For as long as she lives, they will remain that way. Once the war is over, you'll all be released."

Hayedalf and Kellela needed no communication to agree to file that promise as deeply suspicious.

"You don't believe me? Okay, I'll admit, we will require you to forsake your humanity and become demons, but what's wrong with that? It's not like there's any other way for humans to gain immortality. You can spend eternity together as a family. Oh, but one more thing; please warn Mystery that this cell is warded against [Astral Projection]. She's free to buzz around inside it, but will find any attempts to pass its perimeter utterly excruciating. Likewise, should she die, her party members will suffer the most torturous punishments I can devise."

"You haven't even offered us any proof they're alive," spat Kellela.

"Where did you think all the miasma went? It's not like I can get rid of it."

Once again, the demon's projected image vanished, leaving the trio alone.

"Well, we're screwed," opined Hayedalf.

"If Grace is purging miasma, she can't have one of these collars on. Maybe she can break out and help the rest of us escape?"

"Maybe, but we should consider... other options. The world is more important than our little party."

"If the demons have suddenly organised themselves, why would the next [Hero] have any more luck than Mystery?"

"That is... a perfectly valid and utterly terrifying point."

And Mystery, whose soul had been listening in from Kellela's foot, as far away from the mana-sucking collar as possible, agreed completely.

"They're right. We need to escape right now. Even if I need to break a promise."

Mystery (Human)

Age: -9 months

Occupation: Hero (L)

Skills:

- Soul's Eye (U) (42/100)

>> Sense Vitality (U)

>> Sense Soul (R)

>> Sense Mana (U)

>> Sense Light (C)

>> Sense Sound (C)

>> Pierce Illusions (U)

>> Sense Miasma (R)

>> Multi-focal (R)

>> Sense Spirit (R)

- Astral Projection (U) (25/60)

>> Sure Navigation (U)

>> Uncontainable (U)

>> Tether of Will (L)

- Robust (C) (29/50)

>> Hardened Soul (R)

>> Secured Mana (U)

>> Pain Tolerance (C)

>> Strengthened Will (U)

- Stealth (C) (3/20)

>> Camouflage Vitality (R)

- Magical Girl Transformation (R) (23/30)

>> Age Correction (R)

>> Gender Bending (R)

- Light (C) (12/20)

>> Heterochrome (U)

- Increased Attributes (C) (11/20)

>> Mana Storage (U)

- Investigation (C) (5/10)

- Cosplay (U) (11/20)

>> Skit (U)

- Mana Absorption (U) (11/30)

>> Drain Mana (U)

>> Conduit (U)

- Translate (U) (10/20)

>> Two Way (U)

- Telepathy (U) (17/40)

>> Reciprocity (U)

>> Empathy (U)

>> Guarded Mind (U)

- Lightning Bolt (U) (6/10)

- Fireball (U) (5/20)

>> Multishot (U)

- Wall of Light (U) (1/10)

- Energy Resistance (U) (7/10)

Achievements:

- Early Bloomer II (R)

- First Skill (C)

- Adept (U)

- Survivor of Zarklaxxos, the Arcane Infernal (R)

- I Broke The System, And All I Got Was This Lousy Achievement (E)

- Astral Explorer II (E)

- First Spell (C)

- I Broke The System Again, And Now The Administrators Hate Me (E)

- Famous Spell Forger (E)

- Demon Slayer III (E)

- Monster Slayer VI (E)

- Curiosity (U)

- War Veteran (U)

- Royal Audience (C)

- Diligent Hero (L)

- Studious (C)

- Pioneering Guider (E)

- Royal Pervert (R)

- I Couldn't Stop Breaking The System, And Now I've Been Smited (E)

- Royal Corrupter (E)

- Blessed of the Forest (C)

- Artefact Wielder (R)

- Veteran of the Corruption (R)

Artefacts:

- The Vale's Finger