Chapter 352: Half and Half (1/2)
[What the hell do you want to know?]
”Now, now. I know you are a bit rushed, so I'll keep this basic.” The entity replied with a hint of amusement. ”My question for you is this. Were you born in this body or was it created for you?”
[...That's it?]
”I think we both know that you are not what you appear to be. The unusual shape of your soul is proof enough of that.”
Mike thought for a moment, the question itself seemed serious. Especially since the entity clearly suspected his status as an otherworlder. He didn't know what the creature's origin was, beyond it's obvious demonic nature, but he could assume that such a being would have knowledge about the existence of other worlds and how individuals from those worlds ended up in Ea.
[Could I really agree to it? This is the definition of making a deal with the devil. But if all it really wants is that piece of information, couldn't I take advantage of this?]
He knew that a seemingly immortal being likely took a long view on things like this, and he'd read enough stories about temptation to know that this was likely an attempt to get him to rely on the creature's power in exchange for seemingly innocuous payments that got progressively more costly. However, so long as he maintained awareness of that principle, he could, in theory, make use of the entity once and then never again succumb to its wiles.
It would be dangerous, especially if there is another factor at play that he wasn't aware of, but he felt confident that it was something he could manage.
”You are running out of time, mortal.” The entity interrupted. ”It is of no concern to me, but did you not want to resolve this issue before the whole of vampire society arrives to crush you?”
Before he even had a chance to respond, he sensed a brief surge of pain and fear from Selene through their mental bond. Looking over he saw that her opponent had managed to disarm her, in more ways than one. Her right arm was missing just above the elbow, and he could see it laying a few meters away from her with her staff still clutched in its grasp.
The enemy vampire, knife at the ready, was advancing on her carefully while she retreated a few steps. If something didn't change soon, it was clear that she was going to be defeated.
As he moved to assist her, he was forced to dodge another wave of dark energy from Esemerelda. The vampire shouted up at him merrily. ”It's fine if you want to wait around, but I'm not going to let you get in Noah's way.”
He fired a few quick fireballs in her direction before rushing towards his embattled familiar. Unlike last time however, she showed no signs of even being phased by the attack and simply moved up to intercept him with greyish-black mist oozing from her hands.
[I can't help like this.] Mike thought while trading blows with Esmerelda.
While he was distracted, he could only watch as the male vampire surged forward to deliver a death blow. Fortunately, Selene was able to block with her other forearm and began dodging away from his continued assault. However, it was clear that she couldn't keep it up for long.
[Alright, you win! I wasn't born in this body. It was created for me.]
”Is that so?” The entity asked, obviously amused. ”I take it that this is Selenica's work then? No need to answer. Very well, I shall lend you my assistance. Let me come to the fore, so that I might call my legion.”
[...That wasn't part of the deal.]
”I suppose I could have mentioned it, but what do you expect me to do while I am trapped in this place? If you want me to help, I'll need to be sharing enough of your body to make use of my power. Since it clearly concerns you, I swear on my existence that I shall return to this prison once our business in this city is concluded.”
[Once we've driven the vampires out, you'll go back?]
There was a slight hesitation in the creature's response, which somehow seemed to carry a hint of disappointment in his clarification of the vague terms of their deal. ”Yes. I am bound by a contract once it has been struck, a limitation imposed by my nature.”
Mike knew about the relationship between demons and contracts. In a similar manner to the literary figures of his old world, it appeared that these beings from another realm were bound by the power of contracts to a supernatural extent. However, he could only assume that the demons of this world would also seek to twist any arrangement to their favor.
Clearly, the entity planned on getting more from him than the answer to a question, and he suspected that what it wanted was related to the act of allowing it out of its current prison. He thought back to the time where he'd allowed it to influence his thoughts, remembering how easily it was able to distract him and direct him towards its unknowable goal. If it could influence him like that, even when trapped within his inner self in a manner that he did not completely understand, then he could only imagine the effect of letting it free would have.
And yet, he did not have the tools at hand to deal with the situation he found himself in. At least not in a manner that could lead to a satisfactory conclusion. While it would be one thing if his Limit Break wasn't on cooldown, he feared that even if he managed to win against the overwhelming odds, he'd regret the loss that would come with it.
It was a foolish choice, but he came to the conclusion that he could only take the demon's deal and do his best to mitigate the outcome. He would enhance his willpower as much as possible and trust in his resistance skills, which had improved dramatically over the course of the night. He also had an idea for a method of protecting himself, if those failed.
[No other option, I guess.]
As soon as he'd made his decision, he found himself standing in front of the corrupted pool of his meditation vision. The encroaching tendrils that seemed to represent the entity's influence were still present, but they showed no sign of expanding further.
Channeling his mana and using it to enhance his willpower to the utmost limit of his ability, he focused on the pool. Moving by instinct, he kneeled down at its edge and stretched out his left hand to touch its surface. He hesitated just before coming in contact with the inky, black fluid that had seemingly replaced the water. Did he really want to do this?
While he was still building up the resolve to continue, the surface of the pool rippled. A sense of foreboding overtook Mike and he tried to pull his arm away, but before he could a taloned hand dripping in black sludge surged forward and caught him by the wrist. As soon as contact was made, the dark corruption began to spread up his arm.
He tried to use Life Magic to reverse the process, but something was interfering with his channeling. Ordinarily, he would have begun to panic, but his willpower enhancement was still in place, leaving him coldly rational in the face of his situation. Using this detached state of mind, he quickly laid out a course of action to take. It didn't take much time since he'd somewhat expected this outcome from the start and had already established some contingencies.