The trio looked at each other in reluctance to heed the freedom I was willing to grant them.
'First step to conviction: make them doubt their former thoughts.'
I almost thought out loud, guessing they no longer trusted their all-seeing master.
Still, no response came from them.
I turned to them and restated.
"Since you told me a story, I think it's my turn."
Their expressions didn't change, but it doesn't mean I won't go on with my plans. I went over to the edge of the floor on which we stood and bent to watch the shallow abyss.
Picking up a stone, I threw it into the abyss. And, not minding if they listened from behind me, I formulated a narrative that could favor my intent.
"Once upon a time, a cataclysm fell upon an Unknown village. The misfortune was, however, not without its pros and cons.
From the disaster, dark monkeys suddenly emerged into the village, causing mishap and chaos all over," I started, my voice laced with calmness as I picked up stones at intervals and threw them into the abyss.
Once the echo from the stone's landing diminished, I continued.
"The remnants and debris from the destruction of their infrastructures suddenly gained powers and mutated into various bloodlines. The villagers got lucky, and this debris didn't turn against them but chose them as bearers who would help avenge them against the dark monkeys.
The truth is, these dark monkeys didn't originate from nowhere. They were the creations of a citizen of the same village, who was known as You-Know-Who."
"Of course, when there are villains and angels in a setting, you should know what the order of events should look like," I muttered, rising from my squat and moving closer to where the trio stood.
"To this You-Know-Who, his subordinates were not his followers. He just used them as expendable tools, of course, since they were crafted by him.
He only used them as a tool to bring his ambitions alive. Loyalty was meaningless; only results mattered.
He will use you, and when your value diminishes, he dumps you and consumes your remnants... feeding on your soul for his ever-growing power."
I continued narrating, illustrating every bit with my hands. Raising them in their fronts to show how cruel each action was, and putting them down when the tone of the narration changes to that of soberness.
"If you desire freedom, he will grant your wishes to their fullest form. In such a way that you would never wish for either captivity or the same freedom, your existence will be cleansed with a permanent eraser.
If you fail his mission, he will turn you into a mucor, or you will be granted a second chance if your purpose to him is yet to obtain an expiry date. He only grants two chances..."
I was yet to be done with my narration when Muna walked forward and interrupted me.
"You sure should enroll in becoming an actor. Do you realize how interesting your stories always are?"
"Young Master, our time is limited in this Spatial Tear. We need to collect the Mana plants and leave as soon as possible," Linda complained.
Having heard the sarcasm from Muna, I quit the storytelling, but it had an effect on the three demons.
'Second step to conviction: turn their doubts into reality.'
They understood quite well the denotations of the characters I had used in the short story. The Villains were the demon, while the angels were the Mages.
You-Know-Who was their master, name yet unknown to anyone who hasn't enrolled into the Academy.
The demon Master was, however, a cruel personified.
On different occasions, Purifiers would report having tolerated hearing the stories told to them by demons they cleansed.
Some would make them know how their Master ended the lifespan of any demon who doesn't reach his expectation. Others will mention how the body of a high-ranked demon who wished to overrule the master was disintegrated.
A few even showed their determination, with the reason that if they lost the second chance given to them by the Master, they would cease to live.
And for these three demons, they were already living their second chances... and they have failed.
From what it looked like, I guessed Vera's mission was never to let go of the orb bearing wheel, and the duos were meant to prevent her from doing so.
Soon enough, they would face erasure from this universe.
"Are you trying to frame us?" Vera asked, standing out among her companions.
"Not really, you see," I replied with a gesture of my hand. "I'm only trying to make sure you can be saved."
Muna grunted at my words and shot me a bombastic eye that clearly supported her refusal of my idea.
'You mustn't, young Master. That's against the vision of the Mages of Montana and the mission we are sent to uphold. You mustn't,' Linda communicated, using her shadow ability.
'You just said what? I mustn't? In a world that referred to a great potential as doom?'
Ending my words at those replies, I moved closer to the demons to avoid further distractions.
"Lovina, you sure would stand with Vera, I guess," I murmured, already convinced that Vera wasn't going to accept my proposal.
"However, I never expected a succumb from you. I would just take what belongs to me and leave. You can feed loyalty to those who discard them for results."
With that, I moved tentatively towards the stone slab and raised my hand to pull the wheel down when Lovina spoke.
"If you are so powerful that you can save us, why are you in need of the Mana Plants?" she asked.
I scoffed, without turning back. "In need? Did I ever use to word 'need'? I 'want' the Mana Plants because they are my belongings."
As if convinced of their doubts against me, I turned to them.
"If I weren't that powerful, how would your Master know of my existence? Hehe, think about my proposal before I leave this space with the Mana Plants.
Who knows, you can even be a part of my major teams," I concluded and collected the orb-bearing wheel that had descended from its float in the air.
The moment my hand touched the wheel, the bodies of the demons began to dissipate.
'Third Step to Conviction: prove the worth of your claims.'
Immediately, I turned and saw that their bodies were beginning to dissipate, a consequence of having failed their missions. Guilt enveloped me.
It was my fault that they failed the mission, and would face exile from existence.
Even the characters of living beings were never to be trusted in terms of belief.
Greed can come and go, but contentment is never lasting. But seeing is believing. Without satisfaction with the limits of my power, the demons would never become my followers.
Seeing that there was no time to waste, I flung the wheel so that either Linda or Muna would catch it. Then, with speed and precision, I activated my New Being title and moved to them.
Unlike when I was still Adept-ranked, I only needed to touch their bodies with a flow of the title Mana for it to be transferred. And so, I did.
Once I touched them, I hurtled backwards to a halt, a result of the speed of my movement earlier.
At that instant, the power from my title seemed to fight against that of their Master. Light of my Mana and shadow from His dark power collided to erupt a clash in the form of diffusing fumes.
For a moment, the dark power was consuming mine, and I thought all hope would be lost.
I thought I had failed to prove my claims.
I thought I was, as a matter of fact, weaker than the demon Master.
Then, as if respecting the title of New Being, a holy aura burned with blinding brilliance, swallowing and purging the corrupted power with each pulse.
Joy ignited in me when I realized how close I was to victory.
'My power is really consuming that of the demon Master.'
It had fought and had now conquered that of their master, as their lost bodies began to replenish into form once again.
'Does that make me stronger than their master?' I thought, seeing how effective my ability was on the demons.
"Mobix, this dimension is about to collapse," Muna announced and rushed to grasp my hand so that we could escape.
Linda vanished into my shadow.
The demon trio were now assembling themselves to composure as they had been revived. And as soon as I saw they were conscious once again, I succumbed to Muna's pull and ran after her.
They now saw a reason to believe in me as they ran after us.
But something caught my attention, and I halted in my steps and turned my back.
That was when I understood how huge a mistake it is to turn your back when fleeing chaos.