Aghamim's Rubick Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

“Lord Rubick.” Hanako walked into the room, bowing towards me and stilling, waiting for me to speak.

“Don’t bow, Hanako. I might be a Demon Lord now, but I’m not going to expect you to act any differently.” I bid her to rise, watching as she gave me a small smile as I did so, “Now, what is it you wished to discuss?”

Unlike all the other Monsters I gave that order to, Hanako was the only one to immediately take me up on that offer, “Well, I wanted to speak to you about my mother’s and by extension, my own role in the village.”

“You were something like a priestess, right?” I responded, stroking my chin as I did so.

“Yes.” She nodded, her horns bobbing with the motion, “The name comes from history, when the Ogres believed that barriers were powered by spirits. Thus, the Priestesses were to pray to the spirits and entreat them for protection. Of course, after we learned more about magic and how barriers functioned, the Priestesses stopped praying to the spirits as part of their duties, but the name still stuck.”

“I can’t imagine the spirits taking too well to the change.” I mused, placing my chin on my hands as I regarded her.

“Surprisingly, they were pleased. Spirits are peaceful by nature, hence why they were happy to help reinforce our barriers, but they found the task boring to perform. They left happily and with a warm farewell.” Hanako smiled, “So the duties of the priestesses were changed to merely establishing and researching barriers to protect the villages.”

“Well, you certainly are quite good at that.” I remarked, “The barrier that you established to hold off the orcs before I arrived here was very impressive.”

“Please,” She deflected the compliment, a blush rising to her cheeks, “I can make one much better now, that I am sure pales in comparison to the spells you can devise.”

“It was my first time seeing Barrier Magic in action.” I countered, “Yet despite that, I was able to understand the foundations of how it operates from your singular spell. That is impressive, from what I have seen so far Mages merely regurgitate what they are taught with no true understanding, leaving their spells empty and uninspired. I didn’t see that in yours, I could tell you truly strove to master each aspect of the spell before you cast it.”

“Thank you.” She spoke softly, pink eyes looking down demurely, “It often feels like the effort I put in is not worth it, but hearing you appreciate it makes me feel proud.”

Something about my feelings in response to her statement must have shown on my face, as she laughed gently and clasped one of my hands with both of her own, “Please, don’t feel sorry for me with your Skill. It’s a gift, a wondrous one and should be used without any apology.”

“I wasn’t pitying you.” I responded, her sudden closeness reminding me of the kiss we shared before my Harvest festival, “I was merely reflecting that I should work harder myself.”

“If you work any harder on your magic, we would never see you again.” She grinned, gently squeezing my hand before stepping back, “But that is part of why I wanted to speak to you. I have my mother’s notes that I have been adding to myself over time. I wanted to ask you to help in refining them.”

Well, if she was offering to share this knowledge with me, I could hardly complain. Still, I did wonder what brought this on.

“I’d be glad to.” I responded, before tilting my head curiously, “What brought this on? I can imagine that your mother’s notes are very precious to you, so why are you deciding to share them with me?”

“Susuru came up with a plan to utilize the ambient Magicules projected by the Monsters living in Claszureme to power a multi-purpose barrier.” Hanako explained, “However, we don’t have enough barrier users to actually create and maintain such a thing. So I was thinking of repurposing her notes to allow me to teach those who are interested to create enough Barrier users to solve the issue.”

“Hmm, barrier maintenance, even just the basic detection ones we have scattered around our territory has been an issue.” I mused, “I imagine one of the effects Susuru wants for the thing is to keep the Monsters away from our roads and residences, considering he want‘s to trade with Humans.”

I noticed her hands clenching at that, idly noting the interesting reaction to my statement as she replied, “That should be possible, yes. But we would still need to have more people proficient in the art to be able to create such a thing.”

“I see.” I nodded, before standing up and walking around the desk, stopping just out her arms reach as I examined her expression.

The silence stretched between us as my gaze travelled along her delicate features, obviously put off balance by my actions. The reason for this was simple, I wasn’t stupid. The kiss before I faced the Orc Lord, her obvious attempts to stay close to me, this request for us to spend time alone. I knew what it all pointed towards, meaning I would have to make a decision about what to do about it soon.

Taking this time, I really examined Hanako, the Oni who was clearly crushing on me. Did it bother me that she wasn’t Human? Not in the slightest, considering that I shed that label a long time ago. Getting into a relationship would eat into the time I had to research and achieve my ultimate goal, but I don’t think that time would be wasted. If I achieved what I wanted, I would be without question the strongest being on the planet, which sounds incredibly lonely with no one to share it with.

However, that brought up another problem, the clear power imbalance at play. Even ignoring our magical strength, Hanako was my direct subordinate. She would be forced to follow my requests and demands, even if she didn’t want to. Would she be brave enough to speak out in such a case? The thought that she might not made me somewhat uncomfortable.

“Hanako.” Her name made her eyes snap to mine, having been locked to the floor at my inspection, “That is not the only reason you wanted to bring this to me, was it?”

She shook her head gently, “No.”

“Do you want to tell me the real reason?” I asked gently, causing her to fidget with her hands slightly, a blush breaking through.

“Can… Can I ask you to wait for me to answer that? I know I’m being unreasonable, but-” Her gaze trailed sideways, not wishing to look at my expression in her embarrassment.

“Don’t worry. You need time right?” At her resulting nod, I sighed and moved back to my chair, “Very well. Let's go over what you brought with you and shelve this discussion for a later date.”

She seemed relieved at me not forcing the issue, happily agreeing and starting to bring out the folders and papers that she wanted me to give my opinion on.

The unspoken topic hung in the air between us as we worked, but for now, that was fine. I could also use the time to figure out what I wanted to do about the situation.

Although, as Hanako leant over to point out a particular diagram, her kimono slipping and revealing a glimpse of pale, pristine skin, my easily drawn gaze told me that the answer would likely not be surprising.

---RRR---

She landed, her wings disappearing as she did so. Her Master’s gift went far beyond what even he seemed to realize, her every action and ability strengthened beyond what she considered possible. Traversing her old territory took only a fraction of the time it used to, allowing her to arrive at her former seat of power in incredibly short order.

Its funny how quickly one’s priorities can change. She used to be content, merely ruling over her patch of the Demon Realms. Happy in her undisputed dominance. The only things that were thorns in her side were Jaune and Violet, but even they were mere gnats that she would have eventually swatted. Now however, such an existence seemed so small, so petty.

She could fully understand Noir’s obsession with Lord Rubick, having met the strange being herself and pledged to serve him in full seriousness. After all, merely ruling a chunk of the Realms paled in comparison to serving someone who calmly declared that not only would he challenge the very Gods, but that he would not hesitate to destroy them utterly should they impede him.

Sure, she had to read between the lines to fully grasp her Lord's full ambitions, but she knew she was not mistaken. His goal, his ambition, should he prove successful, meant that he would be the sole controller of all Magic in the entire universe. What power, what rule, could even compare? It didn’t matter how strong she grew, whether her brethren all unified for the sole goal of defeating him, with a mere wave of his hand they would be weaker than even the most pathetic human.

Of course, merely stating such a ludicrous goal would not be enough to convince her to swear herself as utterly as she did to him. However, what he did when she attempted to demand answers from her proved to her that he had the means, the capability, to achieve the impossible. Forcing her to the floor, slamming her to grovel at his feet like he did, was not something that just anyone could do.

There were gravity spells that even she could not defeat, magic and wind explosions that could replicate the effect, but none of them were what her Lord had actually done. He had wielded pure Magic. His hands barely moved and the Magicules around her hand responded, a direct expression of his will, no spell or barrier required. She had never seen that done outside of the True Dragons, but even they did not have such exact control. She had been standing right next to his other servant, but their clothes hadn’t even rustled from the force.

Such control, such power…

It was beautiful, in a way few things she had ever seen were.

That is why she devoted herself to him, to seeing him succeed. If he had just ascended, only recently became a Demon Lord and he could already do that…

What could he do, what wondrous things would he be able to show her if he achieved his goal?

For the first time in centuries, there was an answer to a question she was desperate to find out.

To do so, she needed to support her Lord and assist him in all his goals. He wished for Claszureme to be a successful and prosperous country. She did not know why, but it was not her place to question him. She would do her level best to help him and that meant getting the best of her old servants to become his ‘Foreign Intelligence’, something she understood the concept of but had no direct experience in.

Still, for her Lord, she would not fail.

As for the rest of her old servants, those without potential to intelligence, they could stay here in the Realms for all she cared. Maybe her disappearance would cause Jaune and Violet to go to war again, something nice and ‘important’ to keep them distracted. However, she would need to get to her Lieutenant first, to gather up the Demons she had in mind in short order. That’s why she was moving towards her old Throne room, travelling with confidence as the Demons that laid eyes on her shrunk away from her in fear, trembling as they did so.

Instead of her Lieutenant however, she found someone else entirely sitting on her vacated throne.

“Blanc, that was a rather nasty trick you pulled on me.” Noir, the primordial of Black , spoke to her, his glittering red eyes traversing her changed form, “I see you benefited greatly from the experience.”

Lucifer bristled at his words, “Noir. I no longer go by that name. My Lord has granted me another. I am Lucifer.”

Jealousy burned in his infernal gaze, eyes narrowing dangerously, “How… prestigious. What a great honour you stole from me.”

The last words were low, but full of enough venom that Lucifer instinctually readied herself for combat. Noir was different from the other Primordials, as much as it pained her to admit. He took no interest in their petty squabbles and conflict, but that was not for a lack of power or a feeling of caution.

He simply felt that he didn’t need to.

Such arrogance was well deserved. His arcane knowledge and combat instincts were so well developed that even now, Named and anointed by her Master, her victory should it come to blows was not certain.

“It’s not my fault that you were too focused on Lord Rubick and not those around him, Noir. I doubt he even knows how to summon us, nor cares to learn.” She responded, unable to keep a hint of gloating from slipping into her words.

It was a rare day that she was able to beat Noir at something like this, causing her great pleasure, even playing with a fire as she was.

The Black growled, the sound rumbling at a deeper level than mere sound, sounding out in the emotions of those present. His grip caused her throne to creak as he strained to contain himself, before he finally let out an aggravated sigh and relaxed his muscles slightly.

“Very well, I can admit when I have been outplayed. There is a question I have for you, and I will have my satisfaction.” his red eyes glinted the intense desire buried within them causing her to shiver, “What is he like?”

The question is plaintive, almost a plea. She knew that Black Demons were obsessed with knowledge, chasing after it with reckless abandon, but this was new. Noir looked feverish, desperate, as if he had been wandering a desert for decades and had just been teased with a drop of water.

Lucifer of old, when she was still Blanc, would have mocked him. After all, he had fallen so low, become this pitiful, because of a mortal. What could they possibly have that could compare to the supremacy of the Demons? How could one such as them become so consumed with such a low being?

The old her would have been a fool.

“He is greater than even you suspected.” She answered, her own eyes gaining a manic gleam, seeing the other primordial hanging upon her words like this, “He can wield pure Magic. Not through a spell, nor directed by a prepared barrier, but with his will alone. He forced me to the floor in an instant, before I could even react.”

“I knew it.” Noir breathed, “He understands Magic instinctually. Unlike almost everything else, he can manipulate it as if it were his own body. What else?”

“He wants to conquer the Voice of the World. He wants to understand skills, how the very fundamentals of Magic operate.” Lucifer shared readily.

Many would chastise her for sharing her Lord's plans so readily, but she had greater designs than merely this conversation. She had left her Lord to gain him her previous servants, to assist him in his goals. How much more of an achievement would it be, if instead she brought back with her another Primordial, like herself? Surely that would raise her esteem most highly in his eyes.

Noir sucked in a breath, eyes glazing over in wonder as her words washed over him, “I never even considered… Not just magic, but the very root of existence itself? Such a lofty goal, so… Lucifer.”

His gaze sharpened, snapping back to her with a feverish shine.

She smiled, “Yes Noir?”

To her utter shock, he rose from the throne, falling to his knees before her as he begged, “I beseech you. I don’t care how this looks, but I beg of you… Teach Lord Rubick how to summon me. Allow me to join you in service to such greatness. Please.”

Lucifer laughed, the beautiful, cruel sound echoing through the silent halls for the first time in decades, “To think that this day would come. I imagined it, you know, so many times before. You, on your knees before me, begging.”

She savoured the image, before she sighed, “But now there are things that are more important than my own desires. My Lord’s victory is the only thing I care about. So yes, Noir, I will aid my Lord in summoning such a useful servant as yourself. However, there are things I have to tell you about our Lord to ensure you serve him to the best of your capability.”

“Yes.” He answered, eyes shining in excitement, “Please tell me everything.”