Chapter 177: The View From Up High and Down Below.

—Torin of Arisen City PoV—“--that stupid fireworks show. I don’t know why anyone wants to see it. This city has changed so much since got it. Now I can’t even go to church anymore, or get my head checked by the shepherds! It’s making me crazy, I swear. Everyone’s crazy! I saw someone walking with a knife the other day! A knife!”

I smiled awkwardly as Mrs. Imis handed me the hot stuffed buns. All I could do was give a slight nod and a grunt, for I intended to attend.

“Besides,’ she continued. “In the sky? You mean like that weird thing a decade back that drove people crazy? How does no one see it! This is the same thing!”

My smile fell. She… might have a point. When the then-named Astro City fell, it came with… storm clouds that somehow… looked at people and made us kill each other. It was harrowing to even remember.

I walked away from her stall deep in thought. I didn’t think Queen Haell would just attack us for no reason We were at war back then. Her rule hadn’t treated me unkindly, as I would have been forced to join the army and immediately be sent into the ongoing siege outside, or I would have been kicked out… in the middle of a war, because I had lost my job.

It wasn’t my fault. So many places closed down because of the toll the war had taken. I would have found something else, but I was out of time…!

I took one deep breath, and decided to stay in my apartment today, as much I was interested in the upcoming show. Many others, I noticed, closed their windows and did the same. I couldn’t judge them when I had also locked myself in.

The show started, and I saw the darkening afternoon sky light up. I watched the reactions of the people who actually came out to watch, and found that they were happy. They cheered and celebrated, excited for the event. Clearly, nothing sinister or untoward was happening.

I ran out of my apartment, crossed a street, and then finally saw what the commotion was all about.

Balls of blood-red fire flew from Pandemonium and straight to the sky. They exploded there, in a shower of beautiful embers. Shadows of roiling darkness did the same, rising as one, and then expanding above as if to try and devour the skies. Actual blood came next, and they rose in one big blob, only to explode into a massive spray over the manor. An actual rain of blood.

“Wow.” I laughed. It was… beautiful? I think?

Art was really beyond me.

—Back to Haell PoV—

The mana stored inside me waned. Even the large amount in my extradimensional demon blood storage had been depleted. I formed another projectile, and then shot it out in a dense blob that inevitably unraveled violently into an explosion of cursed darkness. Pandemonium provided the blood for the blood magic variants to carry, which rained back down on us down here. It would be too terribly inefficient for me to conjure the substance with magic.

The hellfireworks were, of course, the ones that looked the best, though I had to take care and make sure that they were weak enough to not actually come back down. It might be painful for my friends.

I heaved a sigh, once I was finally out of mana. It did quell my turbulent emotions just a little, but not by too much. My hearts continued to pump mana into me, even as I pushed and sealed it as fast as I could inside my blood storage. The blood within was still not completely separate from my psyche.

I did not deplete my mana in full, especially not the curse mana, as it had a will of its own, such as with taking vengeance on my behalf, and I did not know what might happen to it if I was completely depleted.

Probably Part of the magic was remembered by my very flesh, the depths of my being. My mind… was now slanted towards those dark and dreary things even without the mana, or at least far less of it. But I did not wish to risk years of hard work. My blood would remain cursed and more.

The ground disappeared from under me and I fell.

I landed gracefully, and then took my seat in the medical chair I asked Moonwsh to make. A device like a giant laser beam with a helmet of sorts at its point lowered around my head. It was operated by Pandemonium itself through thick and slow arms of stone and flesh. The enchantments on the device whirred to life, and then the illusion mana began flowing into and around me, starting from my head down.

The massive dark room grew even darker. Something bright shone from within, and a vague tentacle came through, then another.

“GOAL!” Someone shouted from behind me in a whisper, but there was nothing when I looked.

I waited for the next thing, and then the smallest fireworks began to streak inside the space.

Cthulu stepped through the veil, and he was tiny.

I squinted my eyes, and was finally able to make out a faint march of monsters.

I saw a vaguely familiar silhouette. It was Therick, and my aura and evil gaze immediately slammed into him.

He died in screaming in curseflame,

I realized that he wasn’t real.

I pushed off the device from my head and laughed.

“So this is why that Illusion Dragon warned me from sending anyone else to him?”

Illusion magic was terrifying, even with my most resilient of minds. It was a rare and difficult element to master just for that, as mages would still have to contend with a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of what I had to constantly go through, but adjusted for element. Moonwash had nearly destroyed her lab when she tried to flood her head with the illusion mana, but thankfully, I was there to stop her and pull the device off. The wisdom with me then trying it for myself when I was the most destructive person here–despite the two Level 80s in the house, fuck yeah! Take that Granddad! Elfrafim!--was questionable, but I wanted to experience it for myself, and I was the most used to having raw mana try to influence my head.

So, moral of the story was that I must never ever pick up an illusion heart in my evolutions. I knew for a fact it was available too! But it would be even worse to live like this than the agony of my existence. It would drive me to wipe out all life on this planet faster than curse magic could ever hope. Not that I would survive, because how the fuck would I even fight when I could be gnawing at my own shadow at any moment without knowing it!

, illusion was such a terrible element to have… one were to have it sit inside their head. So did this mean that dragons stored magic like me, in their blood or somewhere else, instead of safely sequestered away in a proper repository? How much could they resist its influence? Was that connected to how often they slept? My sleep be good, for it was often dreamless. But the dragons , or at least the Illusion Dragon did, and I knew that my own dreams could never be good again. They were only fortunately hard to remember. I had trained myself to never look for them in my memory core.

I looked where I should not. That sure put me in a terrible mood.

I hummed a happy tune as I leisurely flew across the sky. My hands were wreathed in purple darkness as I pondered new kinds of magic. Curse was especially my focus, for it had so many more possibilities to it than what I had been using it for thus far. I had every curse now, in theory, no longer constrained by narrower concepts.

I shot the bolt of curse, and a bird simply to stop flying and fall to its death.

My smile broadened. That was a start.

Not long after, I arrived at Reapsow City. I flew past the sturdy fences and fields of wheat surrounding it, despite being in the middle of a rainforest, to land right at the front gates.

“WHOAAAaaa…. Ah, it’s Haell.”

“That’s the Demon Queen to you!”

“Ah, right…”

“M-mommy, I’m scared!”

“Hey! Hey Demon Queen. Ummm, I’ve got this great idea…”

“Shit…”

“Can you introduce me to the Angelslayers!”

“How are you even related with them! It’s so confusing!”

The guards first exclaimed and went on, well, guard, but they quickly relaxed once they realized who it was, as did the bystanders waiting to get inside. Two merchants even had the courage to shoot their shot and try to get an introduction to what had become the largest company in this corner of the world. I decided to humor them, because I knew that many were still intimidated by me, and for good reason.

“You have a business card?” I asked the merchants, and they quickly rummaged through their pockets.

“Ah, yes!”

“Here!”

“Alright,” I pocketed them around the packs on my waist, and then approached the guards, who promptly welcomed me inside. A few people were displeased with me cutting in line… and I didn’t quite like that kind of behavior either, but what was done was done. And I was the Demon Queen! They must acknowledge my superiority.

Or, well, my position had to come with some perks.

I took a short tour of Reapsow City. It was much like normal, save for the much larger market square that it had. I squeezed into the through of people, stepping past a large sundertop, before a shop ran by inhexes caught my interest.

I bought skewers of candy from a nearby stall, and then stepped into the bakery. The three inhexes were startled at my armored appearance and jumped.

“Hello…” one said warily, and I smiled at him disarmingly. Hopefully, he understood my expressions, because I honestly did not know theirs all that well even now. At best, I knew what they looked like when angry. I should get to know more of their people.

“Hi. I’m just here to buy some bread.”

“Ah. Well, we do sell bread…”

“I gathered.” I chuckled, and then began to peruse the shelves.

“Ummmm… You’re Demon Queen Haell, right?” one of them asked.

“Any other demons you seen skulking around?” I countered.

“Ah, well, no…”

I chuckled. “Yes, I’m Haell. Why are you guys so nervous?”

“Oh, nothing!”

“It’s just… we’ve heard of what you’ve done, and we’re a big fan!”

“You’re bringing the fight to Angelore!”

“YEAH!”

“I wish we could fight too…”

“Please free our queen from the angels too!!!”

I nodded happily to most of what they said, and then turned to stare at the inhex behind the counter who had only now spoken up, to everyone’s silent incredulity.

He tried to hide his face, a little.

I shrugged. “If the opportunity arises. Now, I was buying some treats!”

I exited the shop with a basket of sweet rolls, humming happily to myself. I began to eat some of what I had, as I continued to make my way to the wealthier districts. Along the way, someone suddenly froze on the side of the road and bowed deeply. She was a shepherd.

I took another bite of my sweet roll and kept walking. Sure enough, her gaze followed me. That deep bow was meant for me.

“Do you need something?” I asked blandly.

“Ah! No! It’s just, you’re Demon Queen Haell Zharignan, right?”

“In the flesh,” I confirmed.

“What else would you be in…” she mumbled. I noticed her necklace… depicting some sort of horned figure, and then took note of her passive mind control aura, or lack thereof. It was good to see that Moonwash’s design was working well. “But anyway! I really appreciate what you’ve done for us here! I’ve managed to actually find a job and get a house and get out of the sewers because of it!”

“Ah. Well, good on you. And it’s Moonwash who did all the work. I just lent my voice.”

“Oh… really?”

“Yes,” I answered seriously.

“Well, thank you for using your voice anyway when everyone remained silent. And please, also tell Moonwash that she’s appreciated.”

“I do every night.”

She blushed, and then bowed again, waiting for me to pass. I did just that, uninterested in interacting with a fan any longer.

I arrived at the district of mansions and boutiques I was looking for, and then found my friend’s large home in short order. The maid cleaning the front porch stared at me for one long moment, blinked, and then stammered.

“W-wha… OH! Oh, Haell Zharignan! Really!?”

“Yes, really.” I chuckled. “Is Angerly home?”

“Oh! Angerly. Yes… I’ve heard rumors she knew you. I didn’t think you’d actually come here…”

“Well, I did come. Now, can you tell her I’m here?”

“I-I can’t.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean you can’t?”

“Ah! I mean she left a week ago. I can’t just chase after her!” The joke had rolled off her tongue, just before she both paled and grew red.

I laughed loudly. “True enough. Can you point me in the right direction, then?”

“Oh! Well, I believe they went that way!” She pointed at the road I’d just come from.

I raised a brow.

She flushed again. “I um, don’t know where they actually went. But I can get the head maid and ask for you!”

“Okay,” I smiled, and allowed her to call her superiors.

It took only a few minutes until someone came out of the door again. They froze a little upon seeing the magic I’d been playing with, so I made the curse disappear to ease their worries.

“I’m so sorry for this girl’s rudeness!” the larger centaur woman bowed deeply, and the maid I’d just talked to did the same, clearly even more nervous now. “Please! Come inside, and I’ll have the best refreshments served to you at once. Please, feel free to stay the night!”

I glanced at the morning sky.

“I’ll stay for food, but I want to get going afterwards. Don’t be too hard on her, she’s just a bit clumsy, and I found it funny.”

She looked puzzled, but easily recovered. “Of course. Right this way.”

I followed the two maids in, and then asked as I admired the simple but elegant design of the place, “So, Angerly. Where’s she gone?”

“Ah, yes. She went with Sir Entarin to Pretty Meadow City around a week ago. They should have arrived by now.”

“Oh?” I smiled, interested. I knew that Angerly did occasionally work as a guard for her boyfriend these days, so that made sense. The sir honorific was just used for generally high-ranking people here, as we did not have any official knights.

“Yes. Unfortunately, they did not say when they will be back. I could tell them of your visit when they get back.”

I giggled softly. “Thank you. Please do so.”

I would have already met with them long before they came back.

I waved goodbye to the servants of the mansion after enjoying their hospitality and telling a few stories. My wings unfurled, and I flew up without regard for their walls. I oriented myself, and then checked the map in my memory core. I had gotten quite good at estimating these things over the years, so it did not take me long to figure out where I should head.

South-East.

A few minutes later, I arrived at my destination.

I landed in front of the gates like always, and smiled at the reactions of the people.

“A-ATTACK!” One guard immediately shouted, causing a few of the calming civilians to startle.

“You idiot!” her partner struck her over the back of the head. “That’s Demon Queen Haell! Calm down, people! There’s no problem!”

I chuckled and then approached them.

“Hey. I’m just looking for a friend. Has Angerly come through here?”

“Angerly? I’m afraid we don’t know anyone by that name…”

“Now you’re the idiot! That’s her teammate when she was an adventurer!”

“How do you know that, but not who Haell is…?”

“I do know! I was just surprised. She just came falling from the sky!”

“That’s what flying is,” I shrugged. Though perhaps I descend a little more carefully. I’d already learned to slow down so I didn’t damage anything. It was… admittedly a little bit funny, scaring people like that. “But anyway. My question. You guys seen her around?”

“No… I only know she’s an ogre, and an ogre, so…”

The other guard nodded.

“Hmmm.” I tapped the side of my helm. “How about Entarin then?”

“Oh? The mayor?”

“Is he?” I checked my memory core. “Ah, yes. Of Reapsow city.” Which I had just visited.

“Well, he did come here!”

“Where?”

“I don’t know…”

“They might have already left, even.”

“Fair enough,” I smiled, handed them a gold coin each, and then walked right inside.

I went straight for the townhall, and then asked them where Angerly could be. My face and everything were enough identification, so they told me where she was, and a short walk later, I found myself in front of a pretty nice penthouse.

“Haell!” Angerly rushed out once she heard that I’d come by. We hugged, and then she led me inside. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m going this a-way, so I thought to visit you. You weren’t in Reapsow, but they told me you were here, so I came. It was just a short flight away.”

She looked at me weirdly. “That journey took us a couple of days.”

“...Eh, well. I can fly.”

“Very fast,” she agreed. We sat down somewhere in the living room. “We’ve really just been holding you back all those years, huh?”

I looked at her seriously. “Don’t start. I… a lot happened that has soured the memory, but I did enjoy myself at the time. most importantly, let’s not forget that I was not nearly as strong then.”

“Right. Why did I bring it up?” She immediately downed the drink brought by a servant.

I smiled and did the same. “Well, don’t worry about it. How’ve you been?”

“Oh, just fine.” She smiled and began to go into greater detail. From the new adventurer parties that she’d been working with, to the more high-class society that she actually fit quite well in. I knew she was doing all of this before, but the details always managed to differ. She talked to me about the many people she’d met, from how she and Entarin were trying to help and integrate the shepherds back into proper society, to all the weird but fun people she went on adventures with. Close by. She never did find a permanent party of her own again, and now she mostly stayed in Reapsow City and the vicinity.

“Adventurers don’t actually… do that much adventuring, huh?”

“What? Bored?” I smirked.

“No, no.” She giggled. “I’m too old for traveling the continent at this point. I’m only glad I saw it before.” The memory of The Harvesters were well and truly poisoned now, so she barreled through. “It’s just strange, seeing for myself how adventurers really did stay in the same area. They left more often than most, sure, but many remained as regulars. There are some that I got to know and befriend when I first got here, and are now still here, or well, in Reapsow. It’s… nice.”

“I suppose. It’s just like a normal job for them, imagine.”

“Yeah. Unlike you, hmm?”

“I still like to get paid! But yes. There’s so much to see of this world. We that there’s something else out there.”

I began to tell her of my own near-term plans, and of the funny things that had happened at home, since she last visited a few months ago.

The reactions to fireworks show I did were both fun and interesting.

The next day, I left Angerly and Entarin with a wave and began the long flight north. I veered closer to the Impenetrable Barrier Range, and then flew lower to the ground, especially once I was well past Southern New Grandera’s borders. This was contested territory, Angelore wouldn’t have many people this close to the mountains if at all, and there was no way they could ever catch me at the speed I was going, this was a long stretch of land. There was no need to be careless. The two biggest possibilities would be my enemies somehow predicting my path in the future, though I didn’t know if they could even prepare an ambush that could take me out. An angel could do it, but the cursetaceans continued to keep them busy. Their cities would be overrun if Adamo stopped flying around, or Evel ceased to hold back the Deathshore. Flying this close to the barrier range also took advantage of their fear of the harpy-dwarf partnerships up those mountains, as they might just invite their full force again if an angel were to be spotted this deep.

The travel continued as my thoughts ran languidly. The trees were a blur of green under me, slowly turning into a different shade as the rainforest grew less and less dense. The barrier range’s foot could now be seen on the horizon, and I was tempted to go explore right this instant, but I decided to stick to my plans in the end. I would visit soon. My curse heart had already reached Level 50, and my other Mutations were nipping close. There were many theories as to how leveling really worked, but real life-and-death battles definitely helped. So I intended to do more of that, in order to sprint to the next milestone sooner. I needed to be stronger. I still could not be sure if I could take on the weakest angel. I could not even hope to flee from a dragon. I was still weak, and I would not allow myself to remain so!

My wings pumped a little harder. I flew faster. The wind whipped against my armor. Birds moved out of the way or got pasted. A winged snake jumped out of the canopy below, but I could not be caught at the speed I was moving. I slowed back down, not wanting to tire myself. I cruised for a while, and eventually attracted an that must have come down from the mountains. I smiled at the sight of it, fatter than most birds, though doubtless most of that was just the bulk of feathers. My grin widened when I felt that the creature must be Level 40, stronger than its Level 20 standard. I would easily leave it behind at this rate, but I was feeling adventurous. My tail snapped out, and I to face this new foe.

We shot towards each other and met in the air. I swung Devilcalibur at it lazily, but found my aim thrown off, and only able to cut some feathers off.

This was not a surprise, as I knew that the monster generated a sort of barrier of wind around itself whenever it flew. That made it incredibly hard to catch for most people, as it was specially effective against many projectiles.

The obivis took this opportunity to get close to me, and I found myself floundering in the air. The barrier of wind had hit me, which threw my left wing off course. My enemy’s beak then came for the vulnerable appendage, and I jerked, taking the hit to my arm instead.

“Interesting.” The smile on my face could almost split it in half. Now, there was malice mixed in. It was only a gold-ranked beast. It should not be able to do anything to me.

I began to use magic, and confirmed just how little made it through that barrier. So I relied on my physique like always, and pushed through the creature’s defenses through sheer power. I drew blood, the obivis squawked, and then it separated from me again. The damned monster had actually managed to dodge a good portion of the only-slightly deflected attack!

I flapped my wings hard and went after it again. Against expectations, it managed to survive just a few more slashes as it showed that I really had so much less experience in aerial melee. In the end, it flew away, but its wings could not take it to safety. I was faster, and therefore, I stabbed my enemy in the back.

I flew down with its corpse in hand, to take what I could. Thank the devils that it had defended against my hellfire, which salvaged half of its feathers for harvest.

I continued my travels after only a short rest. The sun fell lower towards the horizon as I seethed in peace. I eventually caught sight of a town to my left, and finally came to a stop.

“Hmmm… There’s no way that’s Edengar, right? They can’t be this far east.”

With one last check on my mental map, I changed course and headed for the settlement.

It was time to see the other half of New Grandera.