Step
Step
Step
The sound of heavy boots echoed in Fort Reverie's castle halls as a handsome, brown haired devil made his way to the exit. Six black stars were sitting in a row across his forehead. He wore light blue robes, with patterns of gray clouds scattered across it.
His left arm and shoulder was clad in light silver armor, the same samurai style as the dream knights, but the rest of his body was free and unrestrained from the metal coverings.
On his head, he wore a bamboo hat, tied tight, ensuring it stayed put on windy days, his black horns poking through the top, locking it in place. His hip carried four katanas of varying lengths, all well crafted and maintained.
His pale blue eyes, coupled with the sparkling gray particles moving in his black sclera, looked like small moving galaxies as they scanned the decorated hall one final time. He understood that he would most likely not return, all signs pointed to that conclusion, yet it did not bother him, the road he walked had always led to this destination, so it seemed.
The place was silent, that's how he liked it, he always tried his best to keep it that way.
As he reminisced, his eyes landed on a small figure sitting in front of the exit, glaring at him.
The devil chuckled. Well, the place was mostly quiet. He continued to walk, resolved.
The small figure, noticing the devil continuing his pace, stood and shouted with indignance.
"You gotta get past me if you wanna leave, you traitor!" The young boy took out his two short swords and readied his stance. He knew he was no match, but he didn't care, he would break through his limits here and now to stop this mad man. Their responsibility was to guard this place, he had said that. So why was he deserting for a war that did not involve them?
The devil smiled warmly and shook his head. Always a dishonest boy.
Snap!
The swords in the boy's hand turned to mist and vanished. He grit his teeth, so what if he had no swords, he'd use his fists!
He exhaled a cloud of sparkling grey fog before darting forward at breakneck speeds. As his fists approached the face of the devil, the devil nodded in approval.
Snap!
Then, the body of the boy dissolved into mist as well, disappearing from the devil's view.
The horrified eyes of the boy regained his vision moments later, seated on the throne of the audience chamber, far away from the exit he was guarding.
"Kid." Before the boy could react and dash back to the exit, he heard the voice of the traitor echo inside his head. "I'm counting on you. Keep this mountain safe."
The boy paused in his attempt to run back to the entrance. He clenched his fists, how was he supposed to do that alone?
"...also… I'm sorry."
Hearing that, the boy gritted his teeth, but did not pursue the devil any longer. He knew his choice would not change, and the devil would not return.
"...Gramps..." Was all he could whisper in the silent audience chamber.
…
…
Baku slowly opened his eyes. He saw a finely decorated ceiling above him, a familiar view, his bedchamber. He sighed, it seems he overdid it again when he was reducing the fissure. He'd have to apologize to his vice commander about this.
In the beginning, when the lulling virus ran wild, he would be fine after exerting his chi on the infected mana in his core, pushing it down to a negligible amount. But overtime, the virus began to feed off his mana more aggressively, making every time he lowered his guard or slept, a huge amount of his mana would begin to transform rapidly.
He had seen the results of fully infected mana by the lulling virus. First the drowsiness comes, then the extended sleep, the dreams of the beasts, and finally, eternal sleep and transformation…
'I didn't dream of the beasts, but I don't feel any suppression or sawyers ability in my body.'
He sighed once again.
'So now I really do have only a little time left… kahuhu, funny. I don't feel weak or tired, in fact, I feel better than ever. Could it be that I found some sort of tranquil peace near the end?'
He sank his consciousness into his inner world to look at his devil core.
"!?!"
It was clean? Not only was it clean, the sea of mana flowing within it was denser and stronger. In fact, Baku felt like he was even stronger than his prime self from decades ago.
'H-how did-'
"Did you think you could die before answering my offer? Even devils don't have that luxury in front of me!" a cute, haughty, squeaky voice sounded out from across the room.
Baku turned his head to the side. He saw a small, pink haired devil sitting on an unfamiliar couch in the corner of his bedchamber.
Her nose was tilted to the sky. She grinned at him as she laid across it lazily, though she acted haughty, she was covered in sweat and dangled unflatteringly on the sofa, it was obvious the little one was exhausted.
Her head was resting awkwardly on the thigh of a maid while another was kneeling on the floor in front of the couch, feeding her applesauce. A third was behind the couch, fanning her with what seemed to be a large folding fan.
"It's you…" Was all Baku managed to squeeze out. What was she doing here? Where was Sawyer? Did she heal him? For free?
No.
His face hardened as he looked at the little girl across the room.
"Kikiki, don't worry, I offered you a deal and you alone, so your men are fine… for now." she giggled darkly as she pointed to the sleeping Sawyer sprawled on the floor in front of the bed.
Baku couldn't make any sense of what was happening, why was that idiot sleeping on the floor?
She continued. "But since you've already taken advantage of my hard work, you gotta pay regardless now, right? Or are you an honorless devil! Kikiki!"
Hannya was hoping to open up negotiations with this dialog tree starter, questioning honor was low hanging fruit for warriors like this old bag. But something strange soon occurred.
Baku grinned, unbothered by the accusing words. He sat up and spoke.
"I wanna ask you two questions… if you answer both, I'll make my choice here and now."
"Hm? …uhh.." Hannya was caught off guard, what was this?
Baku smiled wider. "What's wrong? You won't do it?"
Hannya, getting more pissed at Baku's behavior, answered. "Hmph! Just ask, old man." This old guy keeps doing bullshit, keeping her from pushing her benevolent miss plan forward!
She spent nights thinking of a way to trap him through words, but now he wants to settle it with some sort of coin flip. But she'll show him, Hannya was quite adept at gaslighting, a specialization she honed greatly in her old world. She glanced at the still sleeping Sawyer.
'Useless! He said five minutes and he would go get that Bellomy guy!'
Sadly for Hannya, the second Sawyer confirmed Baku's health, his guard completely dropped. The second he shut his eyes, his mind dived to the deepest part of the dream realm, never to return.
She scoffed in her heart, she'll just answer and steer it back to negotiations if things turn grim for the deal. At worst she could stall for time and send one of the maids to fetch Hans to do it. Hans left earlier to deal with another wave of newly organized dream beasts, but he'll without a doubt prioritize her mission!
With that in mind, she listened half heartedly to the question of Baku.
"My first question is… are you a supreme that stands above all?" Baku asked, staring intently at her.
"..."
'Fuck! H-he's meta-gaming me!'
Hannya knew where this was going, she was being pushed into a corner. She hadn't considered such a play. Baku was one of the few that could actually do it. He's someone who 'knows'. At least, knows enough.
"..."
'This old bastard…How?'
"Will you answer?" Baku asked, smiling deviously.
Hannya gritted her teeth as she sat up. She wanted to grab the pillow beside this know-it-all bastard and put him back to sleep. Why would he ask something like that?
She hissed out. "I am… a supreme that stands above all."
Baku nodded, his face looking increasingly sagely, his eyes visibly filling with humble wisdom as he continued. " And the second question is…. If we form a contract, you're sacrificing ten dream knights… but you aren't sacrificing my loyal men, correct?"
"..." Hannya's face grew increasingly ugly as the old devil spoke.
Baku, now sitting upright, his legs crossed on the bed, one palm raised and his eyes closed, a buddha like aura almost radiating from his body. He chuckled peacefully. "Kuhuhu, won't you answer? Young one?"
Hannya felt a dormant rage build up in her, as her aura began to surge. A dense pressure swept through the room causing tables and chairs to groan under the terrifying weight.
'How? How? How!?' He anger blazed as she thought back to their interactions, she couldn't understand where she had made a mistake!
The charm demons behind Hannya felt like they would collapse under the pressure. Rose, the eldest, voiced out to her young lady.
"Y-young miss… ugh… what's wrong?" She couldn't understand why a question like that would cause such a strong reaction from her young miss.
Baku simply waved his hand gracefully, fully at ease, as a barrier surrounded the three maids. He turned to them and spoke. "It's fine, young servant, this is a normal matter between devils. Especially the young ones..." he turned back to the glaring Hannya and grinned. "...even more so for supremes."
The reason why Baku lost control over his suppression once again, was not only due to his weakened state from the meeting earlier in the day. A second reason caused the dam to break once more.
During his time devouring mist, he was lost in thought about the two phrases Hannya had stated to him before leaving. 'I am far more supreme.' as well as 'Those that should know, know. Those that don't, don't.'
The beginning statement could mean nothing when said alone. All devils think themselves supreme, they have that right. But when said with the second phrase, the phrase of the Downwards Direction, his old friend, the first statement takes on a completely different meaning.
It was clear to the old devil, by saying such a phrase, the little girl is aware of some of the 'observed secrets' of Neel. Specifically, the secret of a devil being considered supreme to 'the world'.
If that was the case, her saying she was 'supreme' instead of being a noble or a nomad meant only one other possible answer.
She was a six star, a devil that stands above all.
His old fox mind moved like lightning piecing things together.
That would explain why she had a protector of such caliber around her. One that stood at ease with his pressure released, one that gave him a fright when the little one kneeled. But he did not recognize him.
Only a few demons in Neel gave off such a pressure, and the only possible choice right now, given the gates being closed, could only be…
'The war demon.'
His old senile mind shaking off the rust from its old cogs as it turned faster in thought.
If the war demon was guarding her, then she was clearly favored by the young Cravings, or Gula now, ever since her archdevil evolution.
There was no need to think more, the devil he met was without a doubt, at least a 5 or 6 star.
And there was a simple and easy way to confirm which one.
Simply ask them.
Yes, it was that easy, though many in Hellnia do not know any six star devil secrets, but Baku did. In fact, he knew three. Having trained under and lived with one for years, observing such secrets was natural.
One secret about a six star devil is: They cannot lie about their supremacy.
They can hide it all they want, they can pretend to be a groveling goblin or a brainless slime if they wished, but they can't tell someone they are of lower existence. It is physically impossible for them to lie about it, and a lower star devil can not physically declare it, specifically, they can't announce supremacy above all. As beings closest to the platform of chaos, their right to declare such a thing is also their responsibility in the eyes of the platform.
Hannya confirmed that fact smoothly to the sly old devil.
Hannya growled out. "Yes, yes old man. Sacrifice dream knights and whatever you just said. That's two questions now! We got a deal or not?" Urging the deal forward, she was caught. What was she suppose to do now? She can only demand a signature now or relent to his new demands, now that Baku understood it all.
'Bullshit! How is this fair!? He just took a guess! He's ruining everything!'
The second secret is: Six star devils can't lie on their contracts.
They can play all the mind games they want to get people to sign, they can even hand over contracts in a language the other party can't read, thus the standard of handing out contracts written in ancient devilish. However, unlike lower star devils, six stars have to write their intentions clear enough to understand.
A two star may offer a person vengeance and write it as: I will grant you the power you need to slay your enemies at the cost of your soul after death.
But a six star has to write the intention clearly: I will grant you the power you need to slay your enemies. This power will cost your life and I will keep your soul.
Both contracts can have the same effects, but it's clear one was more appealing than the other. The platform disdains unwilling souls, thus only the willing can sign with its favorites.
Baku stroked his beard and chuckled lightly, it was all clear now, and all was confirmed.
Hannya was a six star devil, one favored by the feast faction. She came here genuinely to learn his sword arts and become a dream knight, and to make the deal she chose to utilize her knowledge of him and his situation as leverage to broker it.
And how did she know of his situation and personality? It certainly wasn't from the feast faction. Their intel is the worst in all of Neel. Such an isolated city had no means to gain this sort of information, especially if the nobles couldn't.
He was even sure that old butler was none the wiser about his sanity during his show a few days ago.
On top of that, if Hannya's contract was to eliminate those disloyal to him, it showed she was sure of the existence of them. There was no way she was older than a decade, and it would be unrealistic to think she was a spy traveling next to the war demon.
So it leaves only one realistic option. She possesses some sort of clairvoyant or fate mutation.
When he first speculated all this, his mind became so chaotic that it actually put him in a coma.
But now, he felt at ease, almost comfortable. Why? Because if everything he said was the truth, the third secret was all but confirmed as well. If that was the case, he would never have to fear the young lady in front of him, as long as he played nice.
"Kahuhu! My win, kid. Kahuhuhu!" Baku grinned at the crumpled faced devil before him.
Hannya's knuckles turned white as her cheeks began to subtly redden.
"..." She waved her hand, and crudely written words appeared in the air in front of the old devil. "We making a deal or not?" she said with vicious eyes.
Baku only laughed lightly, he wasn't bothered by her death stare. He waved his own hand, and a line in the contract vanished. Specifically the line that said he would kneel before his men.
'Young devils just can't help but hate it when plans don't go the way they like.' He shook his head with a grin.
Baku knew, that Hannya knew, that he knew what her plans were now, and it was now clearly ruined for her.
Not only that, Baku was now healed and had plenty of leverage to make adjustments to the deal. But he chose to change only one thing. Ironically, such respect only fueled her humiliation further.
With a smug smile he waved his hand and signed the contract. Without another word, Hannya turned around and began stomping out of the room.
The three maids accompanying her began to follow, but they were met with a wild snarl. "Don't follow me!"
jingle - jangle - stomp
jingle - jangle - stomp
jingle - jangle - stomp
Baku, now the beacon of tranquility, yelled after her. "You may call me grandfather from now on, kid kahuhuhu!"
"Shut up you cheater! Off yourself!" She screeched out.
She kicked the door open, and disappeared swiftly down the hall.
Rose stepped forward and asked once more, her face filled with concern. "Lord Baku, why did the young miss' temper flare at those questions, I don't understand."
Baku simply waved his hand. "It's a devil thing, if you want to save your young miss embarrassment in the future, don't let anyone question her supreme nature, especially when they are forming contracts with her. Never let her answer that."
Rose gasped at the words."E-embarrassment?" she muttered. Her delicate hand resting under her chin in contemplation.
Baku nodded, he then glanced around the room excitedly, and spoke. "Six stars can't lie about who they are, they can't lie about what they want…." The old devil glanced at the caved in door and smiled. "..and they can't lie about who they favor."
Being the favored children of the chaos platform, it was obvious they would play favorites as well.
'Isn't that right... Master.' the fortress lord smiled.
It's clear, the little one held Baku in high regard. The contract she offered may seem like a rip off and a slap in the face at first glance, but her true intentions were hiding in plain sight.
Her words may have brought anger, but her actions warmed the heart of the old devil.
For a meager amount of dream cores, a single treasure, and a few fighting lessons, she would heal his terminal illness, join his cause, and purge his army of betrayers.
Hannya was the answer to all his prayers wrapped in one. Fate truly was a mysterious thing...
"E-embarrassment?" Rose muttered.
"Tch! Set back to auto…" Noticing the servant repeat herself, Baku could only grumble. He wanted to let his old friend know he made it through his tribulation, but it seems the eye was busy.
"Just give her a little time, she'll get over it, young devils have to learn they aren't always going to have their way." He was sure she would feel better after letting off some steam. At the end of the day, she got what she wanted, and she wasn't punished for helping Baku early. Not exactly good for her, but not bad either. Average, he would say.
He turned to the maids, who were picking up the new couch they were sitting on earlier. Baku rolled his eyes, so this was to look cool too.
He spoke up. "I'd like to ask for a favor from you three as well... It would surely help the kid later..."
He shook his head. 'Perhaps I'll agree to help with her image here as well…' It was clear to the old fox, her roundabout way of helping was to look cool in front of the masses later down the road as well, typical of a young devil. But if he exposed her, that aspect of her plan would be ruined. She most likely already thinks it's unattainable now.
Baku chuckled, he would be open to collaboration…'As long as you call me grandfather kahuhuhu!'