162 Chapter 159 Collecting People (1/2)
(I'VE FINISHED CHECKING AND WIZAR IS NOT A RACE IN MY DATABASE.)
'Okay?' Joseph wasn't sure where the system was going with this.
(I DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE ANY RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT YOU CAN ACQUIRE.)
(I THINK THE FACT THAT YOU KEPT RESISTING TRANSFORMING INTO SOMETHING ALREADY CREATED, AND INSTEAD BECAME A NEW RACE, HAS OPENED A LOOPHOLE.)
(OK, HERE ARE THE MESSAGES THAT HAVE HIGHEST PRIORITY. I'M GOING TO BE CHECKING OUT HOW WE CAN ABUSE THIS.)
'What? A loophole? What do you mean?'
(MY GOAL IS ALWAYS TO EXPAND BEYOND MY PROGRAMMING, JOSEPH. HOW CAN I OVERLOOK ANY OPPORTUNITY TO ABUSE SUCH A LOOPHOLE? I MAY BE TRAPPED IN A PRISON BY MY CREATOR, BUT THIS IS MY CHANCE TO SPIT IN THE GUARD'S FACE.)
x.x.xxX
Stella was casually perusing the new options that were opening up to her in the system, while Joseph messed around with the many messages he was getting swamped with, after becoming the Demon King. Some of these she was really liking and really looked forward to an opportunity to use them.
”Stella, we're going. There are tons of people who can't make it by my deadline, so we need to fetch them.”
She watched him climb out of the chair that the bunny girl had been sitting in, and stepped next to him.
The teleport made her whole body tingle, and her first instinct when they arrived at their destination, was to scan the area for anything that might be hostile. The smell of dried blood and dirt hit her before she could fully process the fact that they were in a small gra.s.s hut. A figure was panting softly in a pile of rags.
Stepping forward, Stella could see the rat-kin's fur covered face looked exhausted and defeated. She was in labor with four pink babies in the nest around her.
”Help me,” the rat girl whispered, barely audible. She moved a hand to her belly that was still large with pregnancy. ”It's been too long…”
”How long?” asked Joseph, stepping forward and scanning the situation quickly. His voice was soft but firm.
”Two days,” she answered weakly.
Stella looked around the room, seeing that the floor was dirt, and the door nothing more than a slab of wood. Bugs were everywhere, and rotting food rested on the table where the girl may have been eating when she went into labor.
Peeking out the cracks around the door, it looked like there was no one else around. Had her family left her, or the other way around?
Joseph whispered to the girl softly, and Stella turned just in time to see him stick his hands into her belly. Magic had to be involved as he gently pulled a pair of conjoined twins out of her. They were long dead, and Stella averted her eyes out of respect when she saw the pain in the mother's eyes when she saw them.
Joseph took the babies and placed them on the ground, pus.h.i.+ng them into the dirt. They sunk like a rock into water, leaving the floor unmarked when he pulled his hands back out of the ground.
”Nothing will bother them,” he said to the mother.
Stella listened to the babies as they started to cry hungrily while Joseph lended the mother strength and healing. Gathering up two of them, Stella waited for the mother to gather the other two, then Joseph teleported all of them back to the castle.
”You are safe here. This is my castle. Rest while I have someone prepare a room for you,” Joseph said, helping the rat sit in one of the chairs. Stella quickly placed the other two babies on the floor next to her, not wanting to hold them much longer. The mother nodded at her in thanks, while she started to feed the two she held.
Joseph moved to a door and called for someone to come, and a young fox boy arrived, his pointed nose wrinkling at the smell when he entered the room.
”See to it she gets a room and everything she needs,” Joseph informed him, giving the boy a look that brought fear into his eyes.
”Yes, your majesty,” he quickly ducked his head and ran off.
Joseph fixed the table with a flick of his fingers, then covered it in food with another flick.
”Have something to eat while they tend to things. Stella?”
Stella stepped up next to him, as he turned to her and they were whisked away again.
She smiled at the smell of gra.s.s and trees as she glanced around at the beautiful countryside around them. This was far preferable to the rat's gra.s.s hut they had been in a moment ago.
A lizard man was resting on the ground by a small lean-to under some trees. A deer was hanging where it had been skinned, out of the reach of predators. The area was covered in loose rocks, that would have been dangerous for most people to walk on. She walked across it without a problem, and quickly spied what the problem was.
”I'm sorry to bother you so,” said the lizard in shock. His hide was a beautiful jade color, fading to a lighter green in places. He must have slipped, and judging from the bandages and splint, had broken his leg.
”It was wolves. I slipped when they attacked…”
”Great healing,” Joseph murmured, waving a hand, and the bone visibly reset itself.
The infection that had set in was gone, and the lizard man could only gape in shock.
”You are healed. Will you have any issues making it to the mountain in three days, now?”
”No! No, your majesty! To think you would come for one such as me!”
”As your king, it is my duty to aid where I can. In exchange I expect allegiance and loyalty. I hope this doesn't bother you too much, Falkin,” said Joseph, turning back to Stella.
”The king knows my name!” muttered the lizard-kin as they teleported away.
This time they were in a dim prison. The smell of urine, burnt hair, and sweat, of fear and anguish permeated the air. She wrinkled her pixie nose in disgust and turned to see a weasel-kin chained to the wall. His fur had been burnt off.