novelraw Chapter 486 – The Final Words of a Demon Lord.
Chapter 486 – The Final Words of a Demon Lord.
"Halifax... Oi... Halifax... Wakey-Wakey... Come on, you idiot." Akagi sighed as she bopped her friend on the head, which broke her out of her stupor.
"I... I'm okay... I'm okay..." Halifax replied as her eyes refocused, her skin somehow having paled despite the fact that she didn't have blood to cause such a reaction. “I'm okay...”
{She doesn't look it.} (Yumi)
"I was starting to get worried there for a second." Akagi said as she slowly helped her up. "It looked like you were having flashbacks."
"I... I don't know..." Halifax said, still shaking. "Just... Hearing Enūma spoken like that... It made me feel... Even though I've heard it plenty of times before. Just..."
"Hearing me speak it in the tongue of the Demon Lords is probably what caused it." Akagi figured that the specific use of the language caused the reaction. "The Enorian tongue that we normally converse in doesn't quite hit the pronunciation, so hearing it in its true intonation likely triggered well... I think it should be obvious what happened."
{Neat.} (Akagi)
"My entire body tensed... It was kind of like I was afraid..." Halifax shook her head. "You... You don't think I'll-"
"Revert? Who knows?" Akagi shrugged before patting her on the shoulder. "I'd love to sit here and say that nothing will happen, but I don't know that for sure. God bullshittery combined with Demon Lord nonsense has the potential to make all kinds of crazy things happen."
{And whatever you were going to comment, don't.} (Akagi)
{Aww...} (Yumi)
"So I might really disappear one day..." Halifax said quietly.
"If I can prevent it, I will." Akagi said as she put her hand on the Divine Blade's shoulder. "I have no interest in losing you. Can't have my buddy disappearing so easily." She said, ushering them to follow her through the doorway.
"What's down here anyway?" Halifax asked Tanya. There was very little in the hall itself, mostly embedded magic stones to provide light. "You mentioned a Reactor, but sealing it away with that much power seems overkill."
"Its not just the reactor, there are also Artifacts of Lord Vikes." Tanya responded, her words causing a grimace to form on Halifax's face. "This was also where Lord Labrys rested. It was a location protected from divine scrying and was the single safest place to keep artifacts and items the rest of the world would consider taboo to even discuss."
{Insert joke about an embarrassing snapshot of Vikes at the Christmas party!} (Akagi)
{I... What is that even a reference to?} (Yumi)
{We have to watch that when we get some time. Its an American show, but a classic one.} (Akagi)
"What kinds of Demon Lord artifacts could you even have from Vikes anyway?" Halifax asked as Akagi parted a small curtain that led into a brightly lit room which looked more like a study rather than a vault of terrible secrets. "What is this, an Imperial Academy dorm room for a nerdy kid that does nothing but shoves their head in a book?"
{It reminds me of your room when you showed me past memories.} (Yumi)
{Oh, ha-ha. Very funny...} (Akagi)
"Lord Labrys instructed that it be made small." Tanya answered. "There is admittedly not that much in here beyond Lord Labrys' private journals and a few other smaller things."
"The Reactor is underneath our feet." Akagi commented as she walked up to the desk and looked down at the floor just in front of it. "And the shard within..."
"How do we get to it?" Halifax asked as Tanya walked over to a small piece of Heraldry on the wall, which Akagi explained was Vikes' name in the Demon Lord language.
"I'd advise keeping close to the doorway if you don't want to fall in." Tanya said as she pushed the symbol upward to reveal a button, which she then pressed.
*ZZZT*
Upon pressing the button, magic flowed throughout the room, rearranging it from a small study as the walls retreated, folded, or outright disappeared into the floor and ceiling. It was quite the mechanical and magical marvel that made Akagi think about a similar thing Imp had made once before.
"I thought you said this was supposed to be a small room?" Halifax retorted as the room expanded to several times its current size, the Power Reactor that was once below rising from below and taking a central position.
"Compared to some of the rooms in our base, it is small." Tanya snickered as the room finished moving; now looking more like a large library and reminding Akagi of the Tokugawa Family Vault with its two stories and rows of books and displayed items.
"Oh my... That Power Reactor is huge." Halifax's eyes practically bulged out when she finally realized the scale of the device. It went from floor to ceiling with only barely enough room to fit, and its radius put it far above any of the others she'd seen. “Where in the Hells did that come from?!?”
{I didn't know they even were ever even made that big!} (Halifax)
"The shard of Vikes' soul within is quite large as well." Akagi said as she floated up to the Reactor and placed her hand upon it, seeming to space out for a moment before returning to normal. "Welp... That explains a lot..." She sighed. "Dammit..."
{Lord have mercy if this thing ever destabilized. I don't even want to imagine how big a boom that would make.} (Akagi)
"Explains what?" Halifax asked as she walked over and met Akagi as she floated down. “Did you see something in the shard?”
"Yeah, just as I saw Vikes' past when I touched the Reactor in Thin Ledhar, I was able to see some of the memories tied to this one, too." Akagi said as she looked the Divine Blade in the eye. "And it's got a few specifically about you."
{And none of it was happy sunshine and rainbows either.} (Akagi)
"About me? What..." Halifax hesitated since that likely meant something quite traumatic. "What exactly did you see?"
"It will be easier if you see the memories for yourself, since explaining them will be a pain and probably won't convey everything correctly." Akagi shook her head. "I can let you see them, but I will warn you that they're not exactly pleasant. The memories within this shard are a split into two chunks with the largest detailing... Well, a time after you'd been taken by the Gods"
"I... Let me see them." Halifax gulped before tightening her fist. "I've already come this far, so I can't turn back. I need to see what's in there."
"I figured you'd say that." Akagi winked playfully. "Place your hand on the Reactor, and I'll channel a bit of power through you." She said as Halifax complied.
*ZAP*
"Ah!" Halifax yelped as the Reactor sent a small jolt of red electricity up her palm. It didn't hurt, though it was startling. "That..."
"Even in shards, his soul recognizes you. Fascinating." Akagi said as she placed her hand on Halifax's back. "Last chance to back out. What you're about to see could very well cause the reversion you fear."
{Either that or she gets even sadder given that the first part is actually quite depressing given that we know how everything winds up.} (Akagi)
"Do it." Halifax said resolutely. "Whatever happens, happens. Just do me a favor..." She said as she looked over her shoulder. "If... If the personality known as Halifax really ever does disappear and Enūma returns... Promise that you won't forget me."
"Bah, I could never forget you, Halifax." Akagi said as she sent a small pulse of power into Halifax, which caused the Divine Blade's eyes to glaze over, indicating that the Demon's method had worked. "But I don't think we need to worry about that. You're strong, and I believe you'll pull through." She said before turning to Tanya.
"You said that the Reactors contain shards of Lord Vikes." Tanya paused. "Does that mean if we were to-"
"No." Akagi cut her off, knowing exactly what she was getting at. "Vikes was shattered; these shards, even if gathered together, would represent a mere fraction of his existence. What you are proposing would be like taking shattered glass and gluing it back together while also missing most of the pieces. Vikes is gone, and he won't be coming back."
{At least, not in a complete way. Though, if I can get my hands on enough I might be able to use them...} (Akagi)
"I see..." Tanya thought for a moment before looking at Halifax who was still entranced. "What exactly did you see in Lord Vikes' memories? You mentioned something about events after she was taken."
"There were a mixture of things." Akagi explained as she went over to one of the many bookshelves and pulled one out before dusting it off and opening it. "I won't get into the specifics but I will say that it contains memories that go to the very heart of who and what Halifax is. Memories of tragedy. Memories of loss. Memories of rage. Memories of despair."
"The battle where Lord Vikes lost Enūma..." Tanya thought for a moment before realizing what the memory was. “At least, that must be part of the memories.”
"That would be correct.” Akagi nodded. “And what's more unlike the last one I interacted with I felt his emotions." The Demon said as she continued to read through the book, which was written in the Demon Lord language. "I don't know if it's because I am also a Demon Lord, but unlike with the other shard, I actually experienced that fight. I felt every blow, dodged every attack... The loss of Enūma... I felt the same pain as Vikes did..." She shook her head. "It... I find myself lacking the words to describe how Vikes felt in that moment. Rage. Sorrow. Despair... These words do not even begin to describe the depth of emotions Vikes felt when she was lost... And when he saw his beloved friend transformed into something else." She said, glancing at the Divine Blade. "The sheer anger he felt was so great that it nearly overwhelmed me. I reckon the emotions he felt in that moment would be no less explosive than if I were to lose Yumi."
{There there. Headpats for you.} (Yumi)
"Lord Labrys once told me that Lord Vikes was a different person after Enūma was taken. "He said that before that he'd managed to hang on to his rational thought and that a sliver of his humanity remained while she was at his side. But that once she was gone... There was nothing left but a Demon Lord Hells bent on destruction."
"Understandable. I'd be no different." Akagi said as she slowly closed the book and slipped it into her inventory.
"Hey! Don't go taking Lord Labrys' things!" Tanya hissed, not appreciating the Demon's sticky fingers.
"That book... It is a journal." Akagi said as she glanced at Tanya. "One written by my Brother."
"W-What?!?" Tanya's eyes went wide in shock. She'd been told that the Demon Lord never wrote, and Labrys had never mentioned that any of the writings within this room were from his Master.
"I felt myself drawn to it not long after the room arranged itself." Akagi explained. "It was a worn, tattered book that looked like anything else on the shelf... But it... Called to me."
"Should something like that not have been placed in one of the sealed cases?!?" Tanya yelled, pointing at one of the large displays on the second floor that had what looked like some kind of black and white trimmed armor. “Why was it just left out?!?”
"Labrys probably didn't want to bring any special attention to it." Akagi shrugged as she turned to Tanya. "After all, it was probably the only writing of his Master that remains after four thousand years."
"I... What was even written in the journal?" Tanya asked without thinking, wanting to know the thoughts and words of the being she technically worshiped.
"Many, many things." Akagi chuckled at her bewildered face. "Some of it is mundane daily events, while other writings are for Demon Lord eyes only." She chuckled. "But at the very end. On the very last page. What I can only presume is the very last thing Vikes ever wrote. Would you like to know what it says?" She asked, to which Tanya vigorously nodded her head.
"Da Divintarius kiten sul eithen Enūma, huvara." Akagi spoke in the Demon Lord language, intentionally parsing it to make it understandable for a mortal. "In your tongue, that would roughly translate to The Gods who killed Enūma will suffer."