NOVEL NEXT Step 19: Lord Nil
There are two ways to birth a Demon.
The first is and most common is to be born of Reais, for the Realm itself to spit the Demon out after forming and forging within its unending abyss. The maddening hunger and lust for violence are inherited and heavily emphasized in Demons born this way.
The second and lesser known way is how I was born. A forsaken soul adjusted to Reais by simply entering it, by becoming a "transformed deviant." I haven't met many of my kind, or perhaps I have and simply couldn't stop to notice—there isn't a way to tell who was born one way or another, unless you ask—but I'd like to believe the key difference between us is the history we evolve with, the knowledge we carry into the demonic world with us.
It's made a difference, one way or another. Even without me knowing about King, I knew of the Gods and my banishment to the Wall of Deaders—I knew enough to scorn, enough to do more than subsist off flesh and stolen Crystals. I knew ambition.
To further the ambitions I have now, the Demons born of Reais will have to know ambition themselves. A veiny red blob of flesh and blood hovers an inch above the sand, an incubating newborn. Seated beside it, I watch intently for the moment it will hatch. It shouldn't be long now with the excess of Essence in my little slice of Kyis. The blob throbs and siphons Essence from wherever it can, rejecting everything else, including physical matter—all my attempts to touch it have been in vain, as my hand simple phases through as though nothing sits there.
Still, it throbs and eats Essence, fueling the future Demon within for a world of chaos and upheaval, educating it in violence and an intolerance for hunger. A bubble appears on its surface. Slinking around the blob, the bubble returns to view with another forming behind it. Together, the two slink around again, going over, under, and sideways until there are ten bubbles side by side on the fleshy thing, each grinding against the other for space on the single vein they travel until—pop!
In a single go, all ten pop down the middle of the blob, splitting it open and releasing a repugnant smell that gets me to back away as the sides peel away. Underneath, the thick, fleshy part of the blob collapses under its own weight, but for the first time a part of it touches the ground, touches something physical.
Splayed over the sand, what used to be a blob contracts as it pushes out a single Crimson Crystal. The Crimson Crystal rises, no longer being pushed but lifting what's left of its shell as it spins. The flesh continues to contract as the Crystal pulls on it. It squeezes as much sand and dirt as it can, even reaching out to try taking me as well. Everything material it can carry is swallowed and dispersed as the blood red of the blob whitens, sifting into the familiar bone Demon form.
As more and more of the newborn becomes physical, the weaker the Crimson Crystal grows, declining all the way to Pink tier once the new bone Demon is fully formed. The newborn crumbles into sand, asleep but alive for the first time. I reach out with my finger and tap its head—time for a little re-education.
Using [Thrall Maestro] on the newborn is slightly overkill, but I do it anyway, not to control its actions but its thoughts. First, I have it wake up and look upon me. Its eyelids are non-existent, so its eyes roll forward and take in light with a gasping first breath. "Hello, little one."
It can't muster a word at my presence, but I don't need it to. Mesmerizing it at this pivotal point is enough to instill a heightened sense of loyalty, love, and gratitude.
"Lord Nil," Brok, the square-headed reason for mesmerizing the newborns, stands behind me. I hum in response, not looking away from the newborn. "The Human has achieved a breakthrough; he wishes to share it with you."
"A breakthrough at last. And how about you? Have you gotten anywhere with the newborns?" I start to stand, scooping up the newly formed Demon as I do.
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"Yes, they are natural-born fighters. With a bit more battle experience, real battle experience, they'll blossom into warriors fit for your army, Lord Nil," says Brok, his enflamed head bowing even to my turned back.
His defeat at my hands has made him keenly aware of his place in Kyis, but I don't underestimate him one bit. Any Blood Orange with a bit of ambition, any Demon, honestly, is capable of much destruction. His mind is an open book to me, even without the use of [Thrall Maestro]. This is of his own doing, as he wishes to express complete and utter loyalty to me.
However, I'm well aware such doesn't exist, at least not among any Demons I've seen, so I mesmerize the newborn Demons to regard me as the source of all their sustenance, because in a way I am.
Tickling the newly formed Demon in my hand, I drop it beside Brok. "Assign that one to a mentor. Tomorrow we'll have a mock battle for our students," I tell him.
"They will be ready," he says, snatching the newborn as it tries waddling back to me.
"Good. The best performing will earn an extra level to whatever they manage to scavenge on their mock. Go now. Prepare them and prepare that one. I will go see what the Human has made."
He dips his head even further, and I watch to see if he pushes the bone spikes littered around his chest to break. They don't, and Brok excuses himself and the newly formed bone Demon.
The territory we occupy is smaller than it was when I attacked. My [Pavushka] pet patrols our reduced borders, retrieving lost bone Demons that spawn on the edge and punishing eager invaders. Brok's bone barracks for the newborns sits on the far right, nearing our border with the Spider-Ants—they aren't numerous enough to cause trouble, and unlike most Demon types, enjoy hibernating and coupling.
The left is for the Humans. Previously enslaved by Brok himself, they're keen on staying as far away from him as possible, and I support that attitude. He's a loyal servant for now, but he's had too many questions regarding the Humans and their new freedom.
Between the Humans occupying deteriorating houses and even reconstructing new, sturdier homes and Brok's bone-sprouted barracks, I don't have a place beyond wherever a newborn Demon is being birth. Strolling into the Human's side of the territory, I'm greeted with fearful bows and unsure greetings. I don't mind though—most of them are extras added on to the one man I really need.
"Steven?" I call, standing outside a sunken home with the main entrance being a hatch at the top. The hatch snaps open and an unkempt man peeks out.
"Lord Nil, yes, I've done as you asked," he says, hanging onto the surface. Meow—a white cat hops out of the house, stretching over the surface and smacking its tail in his face. "Pfft! Tah! Stop, get back in, Nuri, now isn't the time for a walk."
It's too late for Nuri though as I bend and raise the hissing creature up to my face.
"Ah! Lord Nil, you might not want to be that close to it," Steven says, anxiety and fear reeling off of him with each word as I laugh.
"Don't worry, I won't eat it." I flash a toothy grin down at the sweating man and he nervously snickers. With help from others inside the sunken house, he retrieves the work I'd assigned to him and waits for my attention to pass from the cat to him.
Petting the cat one last time, I release it back to Steven and it quickly hops back into the house. Splayed before Steven is a setup of metal plates, odd tools, and the essential Gestalt Crystals.
Sitting on the slab is a rusted sword I picked from a random corpse. "It's still rusted," I say.
"Ah… yes, but it, it does what you asked. It will act as a conduit, and I've even enchanted it so it doesn't fall out of the user's hands," he says, gauging me for signs of disapproval.
"That's a useful enchantment, but the rust annoys me. Can you not get rid of it?" He looks away, and his mind speaks it all. "I see. I'll search for a furnace, unless you know where one is already?"
"I do but… I'll take you there, Lord Nil," he says, resigning himself to my will.
"Don't worry, there's no hurry… yet. But if you Humans want to keep living, you will have to work. Your enchantments alone will not be enough."
"Yes, of course."
I hand the sword back to him and turn to leave when he stutters, "What now, Steven?"
"Uh… we, that is, I…"
"I know what's on your mind. Now speak it, or I won't acknowledge it."
He gulps but straightens up. "Yes, I meant to say that we will need provisions… food, water. Humans are fragile, and if you want us to work right we'll need the right conditions. Oh, and also more Crystals and some other technical necessities."
Smirking down at the man, I nod and walk away regardless. These are the foundation, an army I feed with the Soul Crystals of the ancestors I killed and a Human faction arming my Demons with magic. With how few Demons wield enchanted weapons, my little faction will be the first in Kyis to acquire them, and once every high-tier Crimson is born, raised, trained, and armed, I will conquer Kyis and end Jeriko.