Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 118: Galaxy Divide
Up to chapter 134 is available at [email protected]/theogbasilisk
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- Felix -
"Megumin and Lalatina both ended up under me thanks to Arcueid as well. Arcueid wanted to recruit useful subordinates for me, so she went and got those two."
"You truly are a lucky man, Felix." Damrada said with a twitch of his lips. I had a feeling he was getting fed up with all of the rather absurd things that have taken place around me. I was self aware enough to realize just how abnormal I and my entire situation was.
"What else did you think?"
I was curious about Damrada's opinion. He had centuries of experience in leading the world's largest Empire.
Damrada looked thoughtful for a moment before he answered. "If I am being honest, it was all rather impressive. I did not expect the vast infrastructure that Azeroth possessed. I was acutely aware of what this kingdom was like under Clayman's reign due to my… connections with him and his friends. Clayman allowed issues to fester, content in basking in his own glory while ignoring his own duties." Damrada said with some contempt towards the end.
"I thought you liked Clayman seeing as you were in bed with Yuuki and the other Clowns."
Damrada's lips twitched. I wonder why? "I would have preferred if you had not worded it like that, but while I was part of their group, and I respected Clayman as an ally, he was a terrible ruler. His people suffered under him; that much was true. That lowered my opinion of him dramatically. Even Kagali was worried about the state of her people, but she trusted Clayman to do right by them in the end." Damrada responded.
I nodded at that. "I see." Damrada seemed to be the kind of guy that put duty above all else. I suppose he didn't like how Clayman, in his eyes, was abandoning his duty as a ruler.
"And that doesn't seem similar to anyone else?" I asked, probing him lightly. What he had just said sounded awfully similar to the conditions of a certain Empire.
Damrada froze for a moment as he processed everything. "Hmm, I suppose."
I didn't make him say more; he would come to his own realizations. Sometimes people didn't see things until it was blatantly pointed out to him. Whether his delusions were due to Alternative messing with him or his own bias didn't matter at this point.
"I'm glad to hear that you liked the place, though. Arcueid has been putting in a lot of work to make this place the best that it can be."
I most definitely couldn't take credit for all of Arcueid's work. From an outside point of view, I could be considered an extremely hands off ruler, on the borders of an incompetent one, but it works. It was all rather heartwarming that she wasn't even doing everything she was for herself. No, she was doing it for me. She really was a good girl.
"Your subordinates also seem to be exceptionally powerful, even the ones who do not have the same history as the Primordials. That Daemon, Ingvild, was a powerful woman." Damrada praised.
"Oh? You met Ingvild then?"
Damrada nodded. "I was briefly introduced to her whilst Vio– Lalatina was guiding me." Damrada said as he corrected himself.
I didn't bother asking what he thought of her. Everyone liked Ingvild. If you didn't like her, there was probably something wrong with you rather than something she did.
"She is the one summoned by Granbell, correct? I mistook her as Violet at first due to her hair color before I realized that was likely not true."
I nodded. "She was an otherworlder summoned by Granbell sent to attack me before I subdued her and freed her from his control along with Glenda." I answered, seeing no reason to keep it secret.
Damrada nodded. "Hmm, I see. I suppose it is not out of the realms of possibility that some Daemons ended up in other worlds. Granbell had merely assumed the summoning ritual had gone wrong and connected to the Daemon Realm instead of to another world. He did not particularly care; he got a powerful slave either way." Damrada continued. "Though he never mentioned that she was so powerful. He truly wasted her potential, sending her to you." Damrada said with a sigh.
"She wasn't as strong as she is now back when she was forced to attack me." I corrected. "She was an Arch Daemon back then, though an extraordinarily powerful one with a Unique Skill. It was only after I named her that she evolved into what she is now: a Daemon Duke."
Damrada nodded. "I see. For there to be Arch Daemons in other worlds is rather intriguing, however."
"She comes from a race similar to Daemons, but not quite the same. She was transformed upon entering into this world."
I wasn't sure how strong Ingvild was before she was transported to the Cardinal World. I knew how strong she should have been according to the Light Novel of High School DxD. She should have been in the realms of Satan Class at minimum if she was transferred around the time canon took place, which was around the level of an average Arch Daemon.
"Intriguing." Damrada mused aloud. "It seems many mysteries remain about this world of ours." Damrada hesitated for a moment.
I raised a brow. "Go on. Ask what you want to ask." I could tell he had something on his mind.
"Would you mind sharing Granbell's fate with me? I am certain that he must have passed on, you are not one to leave enemies to plot against you, but has he been put to rest properly?" Damrada asked.
The two of them were old friends. Even if the relationship between them ended up souring, it was normal to put that all behind you when one person was already dead.
"He accepted his death with open arms. From what I know, Luminous will be putting him to rest beside his wife."
Damrada smiled. "I see. I'm glad."
"You can visit his grave if you want. I'm sure Luminous won't mind now that she knows you aren't an enemy."
Damrada nodded slightly. "I will keep that in mind. Thank you." Damrada shook his head. "Back to the topic at hand; I do believe that your forces alone would be capable of overwhelming the entirety of the Western Nations, even should you not participate. Even Emperor Rudra would be very impressed with the force that you have developed under you." Damrada mused. "Moss has become even more monstrous now that you have blessed him with more power." Damrada said as he gave me the look.
I shrugged uncaringly, Moss was a good subordinate; strong, loyal, obedient, so I wasn't going to have any doubt about naming the Arch Duke of Hell.
But I thought through what he said. The West had Hinata and Luminous, two Ultimate Awakened, but even if I didn't join in on a theoretical invasion like that, I had three Ultimate Awakened in Arcueid, Lalatina, and Megumin, four if you count Damrada.
That's not even considering the other strong people I have. Though the Eastern Empire still had more Ultimate Awakened, according to Damrada's information at least.
"I suppose when you put it that way, I do have a pretty monstrous force under me." I'm pretty sure the only other person that could claim to have that kind of fire power under them is Rudra with his Single Digits.
"The military troops that I observed were not half bad either, perhaps even on par with the Eastern Empire's common troops." Damrada praised.
"I can't take the credit for that. Megumin's the one who's been working on the military and training them up to her standards."
From what I heard she'd run them through some rather hellish drills, but the results showed. I made her give everyone an out in case they didn't want to go through Megumin's training regimen, but surprisingly they all stayed. Megumin did have some charisma to her.
Damrada raised a brow. "Megumin? Is that what Jaune is named?"
I nodded. "Yup."
Though it was rather surprising that my troops were only on the level of the Eastern Empire's.
I was expecting that at minimum after all the work Megumin had done, she'd managed to firmly get my troops above that of the Eastern Empire's. The goal was that we'd have quality while the Empire would have quantity. If a single one of our troops could handle multiple of the Eastern Empire's, then we wouldn't need to worry about the quantity advantage.
Sure, one of my elite subordinates could probably one shot the entire army, but there was a good chance they'd be busy with opponents of their own when such a time comes.
Not to mention that I wanted my troops to get some real combat experience. How would they feel that after all the training they've done, they still weren't able to contribute? Something like that would affect the overall morale which was not something that I wanted.
Even if it wasn't something that I technically needed to worry about, I wanted to at least give my people some satisfaction.
"The common troops of the Eastern Empire are that strong? I would have thought that with the sheer quantity in the military it would be difficult to maintain quality."
Damrada nodded. "You would ordinarily be correct. The Eastern Empire's military consists of millions, not including the reserves. It would be impossible to create a common standard for strength and push everyone to maintain it. However, once Magi Tech was discovered and created, that problem became null."
I had heard about Magi Tech from a few sources, and I suppose if used properly it could push even the lower ranking soldiers up to higher ranks.
Perhaps I should do something similar? Create some sort of Magi Tech and outfit my subordinates with them.
Some guns that shoot lightning spears sounds simple to create. I would just need to enlay some runes in the barrel of the gun as well as a preprogrammed magic circle. That was a thought for later, though. I already had quite a few ideas about outfitting my subordinates with some interesting Magi Tech.
"Magi Tech is powerful in the right hands. There is a reason it was the direct cause for Gadra's division being phased out of the military and into obscurity."
"Oh, that's a name I know. Do you know a lot about Gadra?"
The information we had on Gadra was pretty minute. He was the Court Mage of the Eastern Empire, he taught Sasha and Razen, he reincarnates, and he's friends with Adalman. That's all we knew, seeing as the guy was in my dungeon and might be a potential enemy, it would probably be wise to learn more about him.
Damrada made a so-so gesture. "He was instated as the Court Mage centuries after I began serving Emperor Rudra. Once he joined the Eastern Empire, I had already been given my mission by the Emperor, and so my contact with the higher up officials of the Eastern Empire were cut. I have interacted with him as Damrada of Gold, as Yuuki had a relationship with him. I sometimes acted as an intermediary between the two of them."
My brows shot up. I didn't know Yuuki had a relationship with him. I knew that Cerberus was based out of the Eastern Empire, but I would have thought that an organization like Cerberus wouldn't want to make contact with someone like Gadra. He was the Court Mage of the largest Empire in the world.
Damrada raised a brow. "I assumed you knew. Yuuki has funneled a large amount of otherworlders to the Eastern Empire using Gadra as a contact. The otherworlders that Yuuki had sent over make up a large majority of the Composite Division." Damrada shared.
"I did not know that." I said as I pursed my lips.
The Composite Division was one of the three divisions of the Eastern Empire's military. It was a relatively newer division compared to the rest. I didn't know much about it compared to the other two divisions, the Armored Division and the Magic Beast Division.
"Do you have any idea why he did such a thing?"
If Yuuki had kept all those otherworlders on hold in the Western Nations, chances are he could have been a bigger pain than he ended up being. I knew he was already dead, but I was still curious about his actions, if only from the perspective of an unconcerned outsider.
Damrada nodded. "I do know why. He hoped that once he had gained sufficient control over the Western Nations, he could temporarily return to the Eastern Empire and stage a coup, gaining control over the Empire's vast resources, taking the first step towards taking over the world with ease."
I rolled my eyes at the foolish plan Damrada told me about. He seemingly sensed my derision as he spoke up to defend Yuuki. "I had not informed Yuuki of the dangers of such a plan due to not wanting to give my position away. In the end, I was not invested in that."
I waved him off. "No need to defend the guy, he was an idiot, through and through." I would never understand what drove Yuuki to be so overconfident that he was 100% right.
It was like the thought of him missing something, or of him being wrong, wasn't even something that he believed to be possible. Despite my own ego, and belief in myself, at least I tried to keep an open mind.
Now whether I was actually successful in that endeavor was debatable. Probably.
Damrada's lips twitched but he held back his words in the end. It seems some part of him did genuinely like Yuuki and believed in him.
Though that means Yuuki supplied who knows how many more otherworlders to the Eastern Empire. The Eastern Empire was already known as a haven for otherworlders, especially ones with combat related Unique Skills, and Yuuki just handed them even more on a silver platter.
Yeah, fuck that guy.
"How many otherworlders did he send to the Eastern Empire?" I asked with a resigned sigh.
Damrada's lips pursed before he sighed. "Hundreds of otherworlders, and thousands of talented individuals that were born in this world. They all primarily make up the Composite Division now."
My lips pursed in thought. "I see."
It was rather unfortunate that the Empire got hundreds of more otherworlders than they would have without Yuuki's interference.
I wasn't too worried about their power, as an otherworlder reaching the level of a Saint was incredibly rare, let alone the level of an Ultimate Awakened which was the minimum required to worry me.
Still, it was going to be a waste of potential if the otherworlders were now firmly in the Eastern Empire's camp. I wouldn't take pleasure in decimating hundreds, maybe thousands, of people pulled from their homes and forced to play by the rules of this world, but I'd do what I had to do.
Having some empathy really could be troublesome, but I wasn't willing to give that up just yet.
"So what else do you know about Gadra then? He was in contact with Yuuki, what else?" Seeing as Sasha wasn't aware of that tidbit, he likely did it secretly. Whether Rudra was aware or not, who could tell.
Damrada shrugged. "I do not know much, but I will tell you what I do know."
Damrada began telling me about Gadra's whole revenge story. I didn't interrupt him despite already hearing the story because I wanted to see if our stories would match up, and in the end our two stories did match up.
He did tell me something that I didn't know, something he mentioned before. Apparently, Gadra was the head of one of the military branches, a branch responsible for developing magic spells and such to use in military operations.
His division was once the most influential of the bunch, but magic was hard to learn. It required years of training, learning, and dedication, so once magi tech rolled around, it was quickly replaced with the weaker, but more accessible magi tech.
Magi tech couldn't be used to do anything crazy like strategic class magic that could lay cities to ruin, but it could allow an ordinary soldier to fight groups of other ordinary soldiers, effectively increasing the value of a single soldier multiple fold.
Damrada said that he didn't know much else about Gadra as he wasn't as close to the man as Yuuki and some of the others in Cerberus.
"Laplace did not possess much more information on Gadra." Othinus chimed in.
'I see. Thanks for trying.'
Since Laplace's soul was in my possession, going through his memories wasn't that difficult, mostly due to the vast difference between us.
Of course this process was dangerous for the soul involved. There would be some damage if I wasn't careful, but I was careful so no such thing happened. Plus I always had Brahma, Lord of Creation, that could repair most damage.
With someone stronger, even if I had their soul, violating their soul to go through their memories would be more difficult.
The two of us spoke for a few more minutes, mostly just me making sure he would be getting settled in alright. As Damrada got up to leave, I said, "Head over to Arcueid. She'll get you situated and find you a role to play."
I didn't have any specific role for Damrada involved when I recruited him. I just thought he was a pretty interesting guy and saw the opportunity to recruit another strong person so I didn't think much about it.
Worst case, Damrada just joins the military as a General or something if Arcueid doesn't have a role he would fit into.
Damrada bowed. "As you wish." He stood up straight. "When my new duties are not occupying me, do I have your permission to make use of the facilities available to improve my strength?"
I nodded. "You're my subordinate. Everything the rest have access to, you do as well. I won't discriminate against you because of where you came from."
Damrada smiled. "Thank you."
"Feel free to ask anyone for a spar as well. I won't promise that they'll agree, but they won't take it badly at the very least."
Damrada raised a brow. "Even a Primordial like Lalatina?" It seems that Lalatina's reputation precedes her.
I snorted. "She'll probably be eager to mess with you a bit, the same with the rest." All of my subordinates would be curious about Damrada. I'm sure he'll get some challenges himself soon enough.
Damrada nodded. "I understand."
"One more thing before you go. You learned Galaxy Impact, so I wanted to tell you about its other variant."
It was only right to complete the set. Galaxy Divide was just as powerful as Galaxy Impact; it was just focused in a slightly different direction.
"Its other variant? You did speak about it as if you had seen it before." Damrada said.
"Not the exact thing of course, but I have seen something like it." I said, not elaborating on One Piece. It wasn't relevant to the situation at hand.
Damrada gave a slight nod, his curiosity piqued. "Very well. I am open to any suggestions you have. I would be a fool to dismiss this opportunity."
"Good. Galaxy Impact is a super powered punch infused with your Haki and energy. It's straightforward and is meant to cause the maximum amount of damage, both to an individual and to a wide area of effect." I said, remembering Garp using it to cause mass destruction to Pirate Island.
With the power available in this world, that could scale even higher. Damrada's attack alone would have annihilated a country had the barriers I placed not been absorbing the impact.
I raised my fist, letting a faint aura of red energy spark to life around it, my Demon Lord's Haki barely flickered to life as I didn't want to invoke my entire presence right now.
Small, red flickering tendrils of energy began to warp into existence around me. The tell tale sign of Demon Lord's Haki wavered and dissipated almost as quickly as they formed as my Fighting Spirit and Demon Lord's Haki flowed to my fist.
It was a mere imitation of the true Galaxy Impact.
Damrada's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched my fist with intense focus, clearly intrigued. Yet, as I expected, he couldn't feel the pressure emanating from it. I was holding back, barely using any of my Demon Lord's Haki or energy and Damrada was a man who could withstand the full Haki of True Demon Lords. Still, it looked pretty damn cool.
"This is what I call a baby Galaxy Impact," I said casually, recalling Honesty Impact. Honesty Impact was stronger than what I was doing, but they were similar in concept if I removed the Haki element from my fist. "Don't get too impressed, it won't matter in the midst of actual combat."
Without warning, I thrust my fist forward in a controlled punch. A sharp crack echoed through the room as the gathered pressure released all at once, small shockwaves rippling outward.
The air distorted for a moment, bending around the force before dispersing harmlessly. There were runes in place in my study to handle things like that. As long as I didn't go over a certain limit, nothing would be damaged.
"Astonishing." He said. I blinked in confusion. He had unleashed something hundreds if not thousands of times more astonishing than what I just did. Just what was he so impressed with? "The control needed for such a precise attack is... impressive."
My eyes lit up as I understood why he was impressed. Control was just as important to those in the top tiers as raw power was, as it should be.
Without control your raw power didn't matter as much as it could. Look at Veldora, getting beaten by those far weaker than him because he lacked control. Now he could beat his former self with a fraction of his energy.
"You'll get there one day." I said, brushing his comment off.
"Now you know all of that." I said as I lowered my fist. "What I'm going to show you is another way to focus the power that you gather in your fist. In some ways, this is far more difficult than performing a standard Galaxy Impact. After unleashing Galaxy Impact, there is generally no need to control it since, if you're using it, you're most definitely going for absolute destruction to the area around you; you can sort of let loose with it. I want to show you that that doesn't always have to be the case."
Damrada was my minion now, so his growth was a priority for me.
I raised my hand again. Once again the atmosphere in the room shifted. The temperature didn't change, nor did the air pressure, but there was an unmistakable feeling of gravity bearing down on the space.
Enforcing your will onto the world was pretty cool. Haki was seriously awesome. One of the coolest Skills I had by far.
I put a bit more of my will into my Demon Lord's Haki this time, but still nothing that this room couldn't handle.
"This technique is different from Galaxy Impact." I explained, slowly curling my fingers into a tight fist. "Instead of an outward explosion of power, this one is about complete, refined focus."
A thin, almost imperceptible ring of force surrounded my fist, crackling with restrained energy. Red lightning bolts of energy arced between my knuckles as my Fighting Spirit and Demon Lord's Haki intertwined, concentrating into a singular point.
I took a slow step forward, my body moving deliberately.
Unlike the all-consuming devastation of Galaxy Impact, this was a technique meant to jab forwards in a controlled manner, to carve through obstacles with absolute precision.
I watched as Damrada observed closely, then, I struck.
"Galaxy Divide." My fist cut through the air in a downward arc, and space seemed to split.
A razor-thin line of destroyed space followed in the wake of my fist. Since space itself had been carved apart, there was a momentary fracture in reality before the will of the planet stitched itself back together.
Space was rather tough and difficult to affect at all in this world, with the will of the planet always reinforcing every aspect of this world. There's a reason a proper spatial cut could hurt even True Dragons. But my unique affinity for space made it rather flimsy around me, meaning even a weaker attack like the one I just did would be able to damage the space around me.
A blinding fissure of red energy erupted from my knuckles as I controlled my Demon Lord's Haki and Fighting Spirit, not letting them rampage as they wished to, but focused it into a single beam of concentrated power. A beam fueled and filled by my Demon Lord's Haki and Fighting Spirit.
While Galaxy Impact released its energy all at once, allowing the energy to destroy everything in its path as it wished to, Galaxy Divide was about controlling that energy and using it on a single target, making the individual attack far more powerful since the energy wouldn't be as spread out.
A soundless pressure wave expanded outward, not an explosion though.
The reinforced walls trembled, and the protective runes strained against the force of my restrained power. The ground beneath us didn't crack, but the attack I just released would have carved a hole through mountains with ease. The beam was absorbed by the wall that I sent it at, the runes doing their jobs by filtering the absorbed energy out into the atmosphere.
Damrada exhaled slowly, his normally composed expression betraying a flicker of astonishment. "A horizontal cleaving force… a more concentrated version of Galaxy Impact as you said." His voice was steady, but I could tell he was impressed.
I lowered my fist, letting the residual energy dissipate as the weight in the room faded. "Don't be too impressed now." I said, waving him off. "It'll be far harder to control the more energy you pack into your punch. That right there was nothing a strong Enlightened couldn't survive if they are experienced enough so it wasn't that difficult to control."
As much as I enjoyed being hyped up, I wanted him to understand the full picture of Galaxy Divide. The more energy you had, the harder it was to control. It was simple logic. The same applied to other attacks as well. The more energy there was in an attack, the harder it would be to direct and control.
Damrada nodded thoughtfully. "Fair enough."
I walked over to my desk and sat back down on my seat. "Alright, you're free to go now. That's all I wanted to show you. Arcueid should be in her office, go see her later. She can tell you more about what your duties will consist of." I said as I gave him directions to said office. "You also need some rest. I'm sure you have some things you want to think through. I'll have a maid guide you to a room."
Damrada nodded, but the thoughtful look on his face didn't fade. I'm sure it wouldn't take him too long to get a full powered Galaxy Divide down. Maybe a month or two. A month or two may have seemed like a lot, but when compared to his life span, that was nothing.
Galaxy Divide was far more difficult to use than Galaxy Impact, and even Galaxy Impact still required tremendous control, without that state of enlightenment that Damrada reached, he'd be having trouble using a Galaxy Impact alone.
I eyed Damrada's back as he left the room before closing them and leaning back into my seat. I could sense the dimension I sent Saeko and Raiden to shaking slightly, causing a smile to form on my face. Those two seemed to be enjoying themselves.
I quickly sent a Thought Communication to Evelyn to guide Damrada to his room. I wanted to mess with her a bit, but now wasn't really the time.
I got up from my chair as I decided to rest for the night. It had been a pretty long day.
- Arcueid -
She allowed a pleased smile to form across her lips as she recalled the conversation she had with her Lord yesterday. She was rather looking forward to the date they had agreed to. She had already planned everything out right away, refusing to allow the date to be anything but perfect.
She was considering having the location be her domain within the Daemon Realm. It would be something new and interesting for her Lord.
She was glad her Lord had returned unharmed from the attack in Ruberious. Truthfully, she expected nothing less, but she still could not suppress the feeling of worry that bloomed in her chest at that time.
She didn't think the day could have gotten better after Lalatina had captured that operative from the Eastern Empire. She was sure the man would make for a fine gift to her Lord.
He seemed to be rather concerned about the Eastern Empire, after all, so offering him someone higher up in the chain of command with information was perfect. That too after gaining control over the Council of the West for him. She was sure that she was her Lord's favorite! Not Lalatina, or that prudish Megumin, but her!
Her smile soured as she thought of that man, Sasha's mentor, Gadra. To think there was an individual out there that would spit on her Lord's mercy. She did not think such fools existed. She was having a difficult time believing that someone so foolish taught someone as bright as Sasha.
The apple could fall far from the tree she supposed. Speaking of Sasha, she would have to inform the girl about her master's capture and upcoming interrogation. Hopefully Sasha wouldn't make things difficult. She liked Sasha as she was a useful woman, but she wouldn't allow the girl to stand in the way of getting what she needed out of Gadra.
Hopefully Sasha understood that. It wasn't as if she were going to kill Gadra, or at least she probably wouldn't.
As long as Gadra cooperated, she would even allow him to meet his friend, who was his entire reason for joining the Eastern Empire, or at least that is what Sasha said. She could be merciful if she wished to be.
She planned to visit Gadra soon after she took care of delegating some tasks. Now that she had control over the Council of the West, it would be a waste to not make use of the soft power she wielded to expand this kingdom's power.
She didn't even blink as the shadows coalesced into the form of Moss. "You wished to see me, my lady?" Moss said.
"Indeed." She said as she looked to Moss who stood at attendance beside her. "Did you investigate that source of power?"
Seeing as the man appeared inside of this castle out of nowhere, she expected her Lord to be the one responsible for it so she was not worried. None could tear through this palace's defence if her Lord did not wish it so; she firmly believed that.
Lalatina had quickly gone to investigate on her own. Whether out of curiosity or some other reason, she didn't know. She sent Moss to retrieve Lalatina as there were some things she wished to discuss with her fellow Primordial.
Lalatina had said that she was showing the new presence around. He was seemingly a new subordinate of her Lord's, and so Moss took Lalatina's place. Lalatina had said that man was named Damrada. He was a Saint and a rather powerful one at that.
"I have." Moss nodded.
She nodded. "Anything interesting about him."
Moss nodded. "He is. He was a nuisance to me in the past when I would go out to play."
She nodded in understanding. Moss had told her about the man who would always bother him when he went through the Hell Gate to enjoy himself in the Cardinal World. "I see, and what did you think of him? Will he be loyal?"
Moss nodded. "He will. I do not know why he decided to serve Lord Felix, but once he decides on something he will commit to it."
She nodded. She didn't think her Lord would allow someone not loyal to serve him, but she wished to hear Moss's opinion as Moss had prior experience with Damrada.
"Very well then. Go deal with that man, Johann. Extract all the information you can from him. Use whichever means you desire." She ordered. Unlike Gadra, Johann had no other uses besides the information he had on the Western Nations's inner workings.
She could learn all of that on her own of course, but Johann was a resource and it would be a shame to waste him.
Moss bowed, though he couldn't hide the glint of malicious delight in his eyes. Moss generally acted very civilly for a Daemon, yet in the end he had his vices. "Yes, mistress." He bowed and vanished in a swirl of shadows.
With Moss gone she began going through the various plans she had in mind for the date with her Lord.
Should it be outdoors or indoors?
Before she could continue, she felt the presence of Damrada approaching her study quickly. It seems she would have to plan for the date later as her Lord had sent Damrada to her. She sighed as she prepared to meet the man for the first time.
After a few moments there was a knock on the door. "Lady Arcueid. My name is Damrada, Lord Felix sent me to you." He said through the door.
"Come in." She spoke out.
The door opened. An aged man with blond hair and a goatee entered. He was dressed in a black robe with gold lacing. Almost right away she could feel the sheer presence he emanated. He wasn't as strong as her; her instincts told her that much.
As expected of her Lord, to acquire such splendid subordinates.
"You must be Lady Arcueid." Damrada said with a pleasant smile.
She nodded from behind her desk. "Indeed. Take a seat." She said as she gestured to the seat on the other side of her desk.
Damrada nodded, she continued to observe him as he sat down. She could tell that he had to have an Ultimate Skill or something similar as her causal analysis attempt was instantly blocked. Only a being at the Ultimate level could do such a thing.
She knew the man as Damrada of Gold. Only recently did she find out his true nature as an Eastern Empire operative.
"You are as beautiful as the legends have said, Lady Arcueid." Damrada began.
Her lips curled upwards. "Ara ara, what a flatterer. I can see why my Lord took a liking to you."
She was rather curious about this new subordinate of her Lord's, and as much as she would like to tease and prod him, she had more important things to do, like planning her date with her Lord! Such things took precedence over everything else.
Arcueid's smile lingered for a moment before she leaned forward, resting her chin on the back of her hand as she regarded Damrada with a measured gaze. "Now, flattery will get you nowhere, Saint. But I appreciate the effort."
Damrada chuckled, his demeanor unshaken. "I would expect nothing less from a woman of your caliber. Still, I am honored to be in your presence."
She liked this Damrada. He knew how to play the game just as she did.
Arcueid's amusement dimmed slightly. "I assume our Lord has sent you for a reason. You may dispense with the pleasantries and get to the point."
Damrada's smile strained ever so slightly but he nodded. "Indeed. Lord Felix mentioned to ask you about what sort of role you wished for me to play serving under Lord Felix. He said he would leave it up to your discretion. Do with me what you wish." Damrada said, not minding the wording of his words.
She raised a brow. "Ara, it is not wise to say such words to a Daemon such as myself."
"I am aware of what I said. I will do what I must so long as it does not violate the pact I created with Lord Felix." Damrada responded simply.
She nodded ever so slightly. Truly, her Lord gave her the best gifts. Her own personal Saint?
Arcueid tapped her fingers lightly against her desk. "Interesting. You were once an agent of the Eastern Empire, yet now you swear loyalty to my Lord. Some would question such a rapid change of allegiance." She knew her Lord would make no mistake, but she wished to hear his response.
Damrada's smile never wavered. "Perhaps, but I have seen the shifts of power change many times over the centuries. The Eastern Empire has drifted further apart from the ideals it was formed upon, and for my former master, I must correct its course before things irreversibly change."
She knew that Damrada was hiding something, but overall what he said was truthful. He was standing against his old master, Emperor Rudra most likely, because his old master wished for him to. How odd.
"I do not place my faith in nations. I place it in individuals." Damrada said with a resolute smile.
"Hmm, I see. I accept you under my care then, but know this, betrayal is not something I take lightly. If you so much as think of deceiving us, you will find that there are fates worse than death."
Her Ultimate Skill gave her control over life and death. Should she wish, it was a simple matter to force Damrada into a rather… unfortunate situation for him.
Damrada gave a small, respectful bow. "I would expect nothing less from a woman such as you."
She nodded in satisfaction. "You once played as a merchant, correct?" She asked.
Damrada nodded. "I was responsible for acquiring much of the funding of Cerberus. I also served as the Prime Minister of the Nasca Kingdom as well as many other administrative roles." He responded.
She nodded as she quickly thought of a few roles Damrada could fill. "If you were not aware, I am now in control of the Council of the West. Perhaps you could fill in there." She originally planned for Moss to be her intermediary between herself and the Council, but Damrada would be better due to his prior experience in similar roles.
Damrada blinked in confusion. "The Council of the West? Under your control? I was not aware of that. You wish for me to serve on the Council in some fashion then?"
She allowed a small smirk to grace her visage. "Indeed."
"Very well then." Damrada nodded. "Since Lord Felix has granted me a place under his banner, and as such, I wish to prove my worth. Since you now control the Council of the West, should you require an intermediary, an enforcer, or even a strategist, I would be more than willing to lend my expertise."
"Excellent. I am glad that we found somewhere you fit in. I may also call upon you to assist me in more administrative tasks."
Damrada nodded. "I will serve you as you wish."
"Fufufu, it seems you know just what to say." She said, a devilish smile on her face. She had a feeling she and Damrada would get along just fine. ___________________________________________________________________
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Author's Note:
Sup everyone, back with another chapter of Daemon. In this chapter we get some more info on the Eastern Empire, Damrada learns Galaxy Divide because I gotta complete the set, and he gets the role he's going to primarily be playing.
Not much else to say here, anyways, thanks for reading, peace.
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.
Last bit of editing -Omnax
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