Chapter 2: Chapter 1: My First Contract

The Year of Emperor Hirohito IV: 239

Empire of Rivellion: Capital city of Dyrrachion

Continent of Anastasia

World: Genoisia

 

Dyrrachion, the Divine City, capital of the most populous empire in Genoisia. An expansive city, with developed land stretching almost as far as the eye could see. Even in such a metropolis, two structures stood out far more than any of the others.

One was the Imperial Palace, the pride of Rivellion, a project that took nearly 100 years to complete and cleared a mountain’s worth of stone, steel, iron and gold. It stood tall, shaped like a sword, with its highest spires cutting through the clouds in the sky.

The other was the Holy Temple, a sprawling complex built on to an expansive floating island that rivaled the height of the Imperial Palace, with opulent amounts of gold inlays designed to reflect its glory to all who could lay their eyes upon it. 8,000 stairs floated in spirals from the ground through to the skies in order to reach the entrance, with shrines to each of the lesser deities interspersed on small floating islands along the route to the main island. Naturally, none of them could be considered comparable to the temples to the Great Deities residing on the main island.

In a hidden chamber deep within the Imperial Palace, numerous mages stood symmetrically around a summoning circle. A dozen large mana crystals were placed on 8 points around the outer circle and on 4 points around the inner circle, with intricate mystical lines etched across the floor, connecting all the crystalline pillars.

“Balgruf, Is the summoning spell ready yet?”

“Yes, my Emperor. Everything is ready.”

“Are you sure we can call a more competent hero with this? The idiot Ishtar sent us… He’s a decent man, but we cannot leave our fate with him. You're aware of how troublesome it would be to lose the grace of the church if this fails?”

“Don’t worry, my Emperor. We have checked over everything. We even used a powerful ritual to confirm the hero to summon beforehand. She can definitely save us. She was able to unite all the races in her world and defeated the Plague Demon Lord. They are perfectly safe and will be fine if we call her away, as well.”

“Very well. Then in the name of Hirihito IV, Emperor of Rivellion, I command you to execute the hero summoning at once!”

(In unision) “Yes, my lord!”

At the stroke of midnight, the mages began chanting their spell, and the circle flared alight with a fierce blue aura. The light shot into the sky, and opened a portal perfectly aligned with the full moon.

However… as soon as the portal opened, an aura of despair descended upon the city! Its gravity was far greater than anything they could have imagined. The sky itself cracked and shattered, as the blue aura of the portal burst outward, inundated with scarlet and crimson colors.

“Balgruf, what is going on?! You said this was planned perfectly!” Intensity laced the Emperor's every word.

“I don’t know! The spell was set to call the Heroine, it shouldn’t have targeted anything else! Quick, stop the summoning!”

Some of the mages desperately tried to end the ritual as fear clouded their eyes and the weight of the tear across the sky pressed down upon them. Others stared at the portal in the sky, rooted in place by sheer terror. Only Balgruf and the Emperor manage to maintain their calm.

“Depth of spirit, our hearts call upon you, follow our commands, let the mana find peace and rest. Antimagic Field!”

A sphere emanated around the portal, as grey energy tried to inject itself into the array and lessened the weight of the aura enveloping them. Despite their attempts to settle the flow of magic, the ritual circle alighted with crackles of lightning as the mana concentrations grew ever more fierce.

Then... a bright white light erupted at the portal with a thunderous impact. The horrendous weight and imposing aura collapsed to a fraction of its former impact, and rapidly decreased as it's source was flung at incredible speeds across the night sky and was lost in the distance. However, crashing in to the middle of the circle was their heroine, bloodied and impaled through the heart by a sinister black blade.

As suddenly as it had begun, the world fell to calm again, and the portal slowly began to fade away.

Choking on blood, she barely coughed out her dying words “I… did it… I sa…ve… him…”

Emperor Hirihito stared at the Heroine’s lifeless body as if marveling for a moment, then snapped back to reality as his eyes shot blades into Balgruf.

While Balgruf was covered in a cold sweat, and his hands were shaking, he was still able to keep himself composed enough, at least when compared to the cries of terror from his fellow mages. He knew things had gone truly bad when even Emperor Hirihito, renowned for his extreme composure, had displayed a slight shaking in his hands, perhaps for the first time in his life.

It only showed itself for a moment, before Hirihito regained his composure. Although he couldn’t cover up a slight quiver in his voice, he did not hesitate to shout out commands to regain a semblance of control over the situation.

“This blade… I can already feel its power... as if it is reaching into my very soul. Balgruf, check to see if it is cursed and investigate what powers it has! If it is safe to use… we may yet have a weapon which can turn the tide of the war, and potentially mitigate this disaster. Do not fail me a second time. I need to speak with the captain of the Knight's Order to investigate what happened with that ominous aura. MESSENGER! Come here now, we must send for the Saintess immediately. This… will be difficult, but this issue needs to be smoothed over with the church before it gets too far out of hand!”

With a swish of his cape, the Emperor turned and left the room, his internal turmoil only growing worse.

I only meant to help our people! How… how did it turn out like this?!

Balgruf stared for a moment, the dark aura from the blade felt almost as if it called to him, and the magecite that was blended into the blade started shining in various colors. It was… enthralling. He was so focused on the blade itself that he did not notice that the aura flowing from the blade glided off the skin of the fallen Heroine, who looked almost like an angel bound in Darkness. Balgruf started shouting orders to the surrounding mages, before unceremoniously pulling the blade from her body.

Almost as an afterthought, he waved for an attendant to remove the Heroine’s body and to send it for burial, as he hastily returned to his study while his eyes glowed with unfettered greed.

Across the city, streets that were usually empty by this hour filled with people, eyes turned upward and praying to their gods to deliver them from this ill omen. Others stayed at home, cowering in the deepest corners they could find, hiding from the scarlet light emanating from the now-red moon.

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Kingdom of Luthas, Eastern Anastasia

Borders: Sea of Calimnon to the east and the Archipelago of the Feylands

Territory of Daemon King Grath to the north, separated by a large, dense woodland called the Hawthorne Wilderness

Empire or Rivellion to the West, separated by impassable mountains with one large valley access point in the middle.

The Seven Confederated City-States of Moraine to the south

 

Somewhere near the northern Village of Kurstwood:

 

A half dozen knights lead a small carriage down the road, drawn by two weary horses. A young, 8 year-old girl rode inside with an older mage, who looked to be in his 60’s with a long white beard. She also kept with her a bodyguard, who wore leather armor and sported a scruffy brown beard. He was much younger than the mage, in his early 30’s at the latest. He was also the leader of her knights. The girl is wore a dark purple dress, and had a small rapier strapped to her waist.

Her family crest was clearly visible on the right side of her chest, with a Red and Gold shield broken into four quadrants. Two of the quadrants had symbols of golden wyverns, while the other two had symbols of a lyre harp and a knight.

“Gregory, how much longer until we reach Kurstwood?” the girl asked.

“We are just a day out now, have patience lady Diane.” The knight Gregory responded.

Her impatience earned a scoff from the old mage. “Hmph. No need to still play along Gregory. We both know why her father is sending his 8 year old daughter on such a dangerous and understaffed investigation.”

Gregory chided back “Hal, that’s the point. She’s only 8. At least try to let her feel a little peace!”

Diane quickly protested “Hey, I’m still right here, you know! And… I already know. I already know. I don’t need things to be sugarcoated for me.”

Diane leaned back in her seat, her eyes sauntered back out the window, their azure color carried a surprising weight for someone so young.

Gregory and Hal glanced at each other, and collectively sighed. They felt a little ashamed at bringing the issue up again. Succession disputes in noble houses are never a pretty thing, and they got placed on the losing end. Ever since Lady Diane was diagnosed as incompatible with Magic, her father and both of her older brothers and sisters wanted her out of the family.

In this country, those with the most ability gain the inheritance rights. However, the family is still required to support the non-inheriting members. Furthermore, back in a brighter period of the Kingdom, killing family members was outlawed and numerous protections were given to protect the lives of nobles from their cutthroat politics. Amongst Noble families, prestige meant everything. If a family were to refuse to support one of their children, the other families would use that as an opportunity to discredit their rivals and move up the social ladder.

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However, having a child that was incompatible with magic created the exact same problems, as they were considered a stain on the family’s honor. Even though removing them from the inheritance is a relatively easy maneuver, they would continue to sap the family funds and bring shame upon the family. Thus, great Noble families would strain to find any circumstance they could to remove such problems while maintaining the façade of supporting such incompetents.

Despite her being brought up in such an environment, Hal couldn’t help but smile a moment as he recalled when he was first rescued by Lady Diane. Compared to the other magic-less children of noble families, she had a fair amount of luck and a tenacious spirit that carried her through her family’s plots to rid themselves of her.

A little over two years ago, Diane’s Father had found Hal’s aging and weakening magic to be unbefitting of a man in his station. Conjuring up the first excuse he could find, Duke Vermillion had Hal beaten and cast in to the streets, timing it with an unseasonably cold and strong storm no less. Injured, alone and in the rain and hail, no matter how strong he used to be, he should have died.

But… he wanted to live! He spent his entire life trying to escape the limits of his birth, and only after a brief moment in the sun, he had been cast aside as a useless rag!

It was then that Diane found him… she was only four years old at the time, and kept only a single servant, an old maid far past her years and at the end of her life. To think, that by that point in her life, she had already been forced to escape from a couple of bandit encounters. She barely made it out alive through luck or by the grace of good-hearted passersby. All the other servants she had been assigned before had abandoned or betrayed her.

Yet she was the only one to come to Hal while he was at his worst, bleeding in the pouring rain. She reached out her little hand, and welcomed him and his aged bones into her carriage, still able to cry at the plight of another. Amid the tears and her rudimentary speech, she demanded that I serve her loyally and to be a good man. That was it. The loneliness and fear and weakness of her life made Diane into the one halfway decent noble Hal had ever met.

It wasn’t long after that when Diane picked up Sir Gregory, then Tront, Garen, Frank and Sam. She found each of them at the lowest point in their lives, abandoned, driven out, injured, alone. Each time she refined her speech bit by bit, as she learned bigger and better words. As her motley crew grew larger and stronger, her Father began to send her on more and more dangerous missions. Even if his abilities had greatly waned from his peak, Hal was more than glad to use his years of experience to spite the Duke. Despite her attitude, as far as Hal was concerned, this little girl had a heart of gold and was the best thing to come out of that family. She was almost like the daughter he had dreamed of having.

However, this mission was, by far, the most vexing one yet.

Hal couldn’t help but scrunch his face in consternation.

Kurstwood. A small village at the edge of a dangerous wilderness, with travelers few and far between. Only traders with a few adventurers leave there once every week to come and sell their goods and assorted monster parts in the ducal capital. Those adventurers had reported that something had started to rile up the local monsters, and soon after, Kurstwood missed their delivery. This kind of investigation requires much more than just us, even if it is out assigned territory.

*clack clack* *clack clack* *thunk!*

The wheel, as it jarred and bounced over a somewhat larger-than-average rock, stirred Diane from her silent staring contest with the forest, and she noticed something… or rather, someone in the bushes.

She perked up with a shout,

“Hey, there is someone hurt in those thistle bushes over there!”

“What?!” Gregory exclaimed. In an abundance of caution, he commanded their entourage, despite the fact one could clearly see they already knew the drill. “Knights, quickly, alert positions!”

---

*clack clack* *clack clack*

*clank clank* *clank clank*

The distant sound of hooves and armor caused Dagon to stir in the prickly bush that had been his resting place for the past week. Compared to the intimidating form he held before, his body had shrunk in size and was coated from head to toe in dried blood and grime, not to mention the numerous deep wounds from his battle with the Heroine.

Finally some people! I think… I can hear a girl yelling… damn! How can I pull off a contract with this many people around? If I can’t bind my spirit here, I really will die… that spell is really nasty… it has been this long and I still haven’t regained my healing… Just a little more mana... to adjust my eyes to look more human…

“Alright men, ready up, the little lady is at it again! Someone clear the back of the carriage!” [Gregory]

“Haha, let’s see what speech she has prepared this time!” [Tront]

“Hey, this is no time for jokes, keep your eyes on the perimeter. I’ll be damned if we get caught by bandits again.” [Hal]

I can hear them debating… what are they going on about? A speech?

As the carriage pulled close to the roadside, Diane flung open the door and stood with all the pride and authority a child could attempt to bear. She tried hard to distract from the irrefutable fact that she was small enough to easily stand in the doorway of her carriage.

“I am Lady Diane of House Culaine, heir to the village of Kurstwood! If you swear absolute loyalty to me and always listen to me and promise to be my best friend forever and to never hurt me or anyone ever, I promise you we will help you!” She puffed out her chest as she spoke, trying to emulate as much grandeur as she could muster.

What the hell is this? Is this my penance? What kind of speech is this? This sounds like it can be used as the terms of a contract, but a contract is absolute. I can’t argue these terms if I want to live. The first time I will ever fall under a contract… and it is with an 8 year old child… still, I have lived through far worse. And humans are incredibly fragile, short-lived creatures. Compared to how long I have had to tolerate those shitty god's voices....

And… strange. I haven’t heard that voice since I arrived here. I don't feel it... Was the connection broken?

Damnit! I don’t have the time to worry about that, especially since this is the risky part. In order to execute a binding contract, I have to use my true name. The guards will likely kill me at that point. Not that it matters. Here we go.

“Heh. Well then, Lady Diane, I, Sendrien Dagon, Demon Lord of Destruction, accept your terms and bind my soul to your oath.”

Sam immediately keeled over in laughter “Hahahaha! Not even peasants on the verge of death take her seriously or believe who she is! Let’s just move ahead to Kurstwood, that guys not long for this world anyways.”

A smile broke out on Gregory’s face.

“Pffft. Hahaha! Sam, did you forget? The reason all of us follow this audacious girl is that she picked up strays like us when we were at our worst. And last I remember, she gave you this exact same speech when we saved you from those back-alley thugs! You couldn’t have looked much better than this kid, and I don't recall you laughing then. Did you forget your wailing, snotty thanks?”

“Hahhhh? W-well, that was then! And I didn’t make fun of her! Damn, look! I, we need to keep up our security posture!”

The knights laughed while Sam, completely red-faced, stormed off to the road side and feigned watching for activity across the loosely forested field.

Strange. Is it because I am so weak right now? The contract feels like it was executed, but I see no signs of the seal. Seems I got lucky. Thankfully they can’t tell I am a demon. I get to live. Where even is this? It looks nothing like what I remember of my world... I know I left nothing safe. Does that mean… my whole plan was in vain? I killed off everything… and yet life goes on. Pain and suffering will continue. Have I... failed?

“Shut it, you guys! This is important! And you, enough of the demon play! Since you don’t want to tell me your name, your name is now Thistleman, since I found you in a thistle bush and you’re a guy! Gregory, pick him up. We are gonna treat him and take him with us.”

What the hell is with this broken logic?! How... how do I have no other choices?!

“I see…. Thistle… man…. Huh.” Dagon quietly muttered, exhaustion taking hold.

Hal raised his eyebrows and watched Dagon like a Hawk, an odd expression etched its way across his face. After looking back at Diane, and the determination and pity that emanated from her face, he decided to not voice his concerns aloud.

Does this mean they think I am a peasant from Kurstwood? That… that’s the town that was burning when I first crashed here, right? Why the hell are they going there?!

As Gregory stepped away to grab a cleaning rag, Dagon closed his eyes. He surrendered to his fate, too weak, too bloodied, and too tired to keep fighting it. Other small adjustments began to take hold of his body, imperceptible beneath the layers of blood and grime. His skin color turned to match that of Diane’s, and his eyes did not revert to their demon form. Even the signs of age on his skin regressed.

A small hand wiped the blood and grime from his face, revealing the large gashes underneath along with the visage of a youthful boy.

To find such a thing caused the surrounding knights to react with shock! Only Hal seemed unsurprised at the turn of events.

“Hey! Shit, he was just a boy! How the hell did a kid survive with wounds like these? My god… what the hell happened to him?” [Tront]

“Hal, hurry with the recovery magic, will you! The young lady is crying for him, so at least give it a try! Damn old fogey!”[Gregory]

“You don’t think… all that blood was actually his own?!? That’s insane!” [Garen]

“I’m coming, I’m coming, gah I can’t rush like the old days anymore…” [Hal]

As Hal started preparing his spell, a small chuckle escapes his lips.

“Ahhh… I just remembered a good word to describe our Lady Diane, I can’t really recall the foreigner who taught it to me… but I believe she is quite the Tsundere, eh? Haha!”

Hal cocked an eye towards the unconscious Thistleman, and whispered under his breath. "You're the weirdest one yet... and now you're in for one helluva ride."

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