"The idea is simple."
Ajuka narrates his plan as he stands over a corpse, the skin pale and cold to the touch. To his side is a machine of astonishing size, surrounded in coils and fueled by electricity.
"Our greatest weakness as a people is our utterly abysmal birthrate. To solve this problem, there's one commonly thought out solution. Fertility alteration."
The instant we arrived here, Ajuka dragged me towards a room full of corpses similar to this one. I'm not sure how he managed to void the horrid stench of decay, but I'm thankful nonetheless.
Right now, I'm faced with quite the problem. I have at present an opportunity to take some credit, to get a hand in the creation of without question the most important invention in the history of the Underworld.
The problem? Finding a way to bring Ajuka down the right tracks without giving away how much I know. If I start saying 'yes, make funny chess pieces from that funny material that only comes from that funny place' then he'll instantly clock me. It needs to be natural. It needs to be believable.
"Of course, were such a thing so easily attained, I would have invented it decades ago. Several doctorates in Biosciences have left me at the same place I started however, with no miracle solution yet to be found."
His monologue turns slightly sour at the notion of a trial he can't overcome, a solution he can't find.
"No matter what I tried, no matter how far I forced the conditions in my favour, conception never occurred. In my weakness, I considered the possibility that the Holy Father had cursed our people to have an incurable defect. I thought my work to be hopeless."
His gaze turns sharp at the mere idea, his hands then reaching for the cadaver's limbs.
"That was folly. There is no barrier science cannot overcome, no wall I cannot climb. If the Father has cursed our people, then I will shatter those bindings."
His eyes glint with something I would call madness, had I not been so intrigued with the solution he holds myself.
"Thus, we come to the first proposed solution. If we cannot bring new Devils into this world at will, why not bring back old ones?"
He moves his hand towards a pair of electric rods, and I suddenly realise that the Frankenstein comparison was quite apt as I voice my thoughts.
"You sure that's a good idea?"
He stills for only a half second, brow raised as he waits for me to elaborate further.
"I mean, as fun as that sounds, wouldn't it just cause more problems for us down the line? I don't think I'd want to fight this war if I knew some Loyalist could get lucky in the next half century and bring Bidleid back from the dead, or hell forbid we resurrect the Original Satans later down the line and they decide to start the Great fucking War again."
Ajuka takes my criticism quite well, simply smirking as he holds the rods against both of the dead man's breasts.
"Of course it would pose an issue. Should resurrection be found possible, we'd either be hailed as the men who ended the civilised world or hunted down by every Pantheon in existence for our discovery."
He grunts, locking a rod in place with a strap and some wire as I fold my arms and continue watching in silence.
"For all his work toward peace and prosperity these days, I'm sure Odin would give his remaining eye just to have Thor returned to his side. Maybe even Osiris would come knocking. Thankfully though, there's nothing but ashes remaining of the Satans, so we can rest easy on that front."
His words turn into a mutter briefly as he locks the other rod in place, turning to the coiled machine nearby as he begins twisting dials and inputting commands.
"Of course, let's not forget the worst case scenario with this potential power of ours, that being Rizevim getting his hands on it. I'm sure that madman would find a way to reincarnate the Dragon Emperors into their original bodies with his lust for chaos."
"...remind me, then, why you're still planning on doing this?"
He turns to me once more, this time smiling so widely I almost think him an innocent child, his eyes bright.
"The question in life is never should we, but rather can we? I am merely here to see if such a thing is possible. We can continue our efforts into solving the fertility crisis once this experiment is complete."
"...Right, so we're going to break the Holy Covenant, disgrace the laws of Gods and men, defile a corpse and bring this Devil back from the dead just to see if we can."
He chuckles, a sound that leaves me feeling whiplash from how violently out of character it feels as he looks at me like a proud father, having taken my sarcasm as understanding.
"Questioning the laws of the universe is the first step to becoming a true man of science. You're already halfway there, Demi-fiend. I knew I'd found an ally in you."
With goosebumps now forming across my skin, I watch as Ajuka turns the machine to full power, electricity coursing through air around us and the coils wrapping around it.
"So where do I come into this, then?"
The machine hums and chokes, the once ambient noise quickly becoming so loud that Ajuka need shout over it, his hand lifted as green sigils form in the air.
"The electricity will stimulate regular bodily function for just a brief moment. I need you to infuse that... healing energy of yours into the body just as the charge courses through him. Once you do, I'll handle the rest."
The explanation is incredibly brief and simple, most likely because it would be too much to explain with the overbearing noise now in the room. At the very least, if my magic is the key to this succeeding, then I'll either be the most valuable prisoner in history to other pantheons or hailed as the second coming.
Nodding to him, I lower the Abyss Flower Icon into my palm and watch with bated breath as the electricity arcs onto nearby surfaces erratically, my own hair starting to tingle as Ajuka's smile grows.
The charge builds further, the air utterly thrumming with energy as the machine glows brighter wither each passing second. Finally, after an agonising degree of waiting, Ajuka nods.
"Now!"
The lever is pulled just as I cast my Prayer, the energy flowing into the dead man with a soft green glow, one which is barely noticeable beneath the thousands of volts coursing through his body in an instant.
Electricity arcs across the man's body, his corpse twitching as his chest lifts for just a brief moment. Then...
Silence. No movement. No pulse. The man remains dead. It seems we haven't discovered the cure for death today.
"Hm. Despite the spell being cast, even with my best efforts to disperse it properly, this power of yours didn't take effect. The corpse is just as cold as it was before." Ajuka notes, that same data-pad in his hand I'd seen weeks prior.
Dragging a hand through my hair as I think on it myself, I stare at the body.
"Maybe the electricity wasn't a high enough dose? Voltage? Amp? I don't remember the specifics, but any one of the bloody measurements works."
Ajuka shakes his head, still not having finished with his observations. All around him, even more data-pads fill with information, his Mana acting as a second, third, all the way up to seventh set of arms.
"Every measurement was calculated perfectly to the cadavers requirements. The voltage, ampere, it should have been the exact amount required to induce brief bodily function.
"It seems even you cannot refuse death, Alistair."
Folding my arms once more, I laugh at his words.
"I've been aware of that for quite a while now. Believe me, if I ever had the power to raise the dead you'd sooner see it than hear about it. I'd have an army bound to my every whim within the first few days-"
"-Bound."
His whisper is so quiet that I barely even catch it over the sound of my own voice, but I make sure to bid him repeat his words while he mutters to himself inaudibly.
"What was that? Speak up, Ajuka."
"Bound; bound to you, feeding off of your power!" He bounces between several machines, even more data-pads grasped in his endless constructs.
Finally, after a moment of further thought he turns to me, grin wider than I'd ever seen it before. He practically glows with eagerness.
"Parasitism! The answer is parasitism!" He shouts, his every movement tinged with the excitement of a child on christmas.
Thinking on his words for a second though, I quickly find myself following on with his line of thinking. Granted, I have the cheats of knowing the end product, but the methodology is just as interesting.
"A host and the 'parasite'. Our to be candidate could feed on the power of their would be reviver to sustain-"
"-To sustain the effect of their healing, long enough that their soul may become accustomed to life once more."
He moves back to the corpse, pushing aside the coiled machine and removing the rods as he continues talking a mile a minute.
"We need to- to induce some form of connection between the two parties, a binding of their power so that the dead may feed on it. The host needs to be strong enough to handle the feeding and to awaken the patient's spirit."
Hm. Maybe that's why only High Class Devils can own a Peerage then. I always thought it was more of a status thing.
He rests his chin between a thumb and finger, thinking deeply on just how he could actually create this link as he stares at his dead patient.
"Alright. As it stands, we have a plan, but to enact it we need three things. A powerful enough host for the parasite, a conduit to bridge the Mana of our symbiotic duo together, and a way to bridge their souls together as well."
He lists the three requirements with the fingers on his hand, shifting the arm a second later to support his elbow. At the very least, I can meet one condition.
"I can think of a way to bridge the Mana. I have a spell that creates a link between me and a target, healing them constantly as long as I allow it. I can use it on myself as well. If I could find a way to, I don't know, condense it maybe, we might be able to establish that link between their Mana as well with further work."
"Condense it?" He asks, intrigued.
"Yeah, put it into something, a vector. Like medicine in a needle, we need something that can... hold a spell, retain Mana, keep it in a permanent state. Is there anything like that in the Underworld? Some miracle ore?"
His smile deepens, looking at me with that same prideful satisfaction once more. "As it so happens, there is."
Any joy I may have felt in his answer is wiped away a short moment later though.
"The only problem is it's all on an island in the sky... and under the control of the Loyalist House Agares. Oh, and of course, it's hovering above one of the most well fortified territories in the Underworld due to how strategically important it is to keeping Lucifaad supplied."
"Oh, great, brilliant. We may as well just ask the fucking Father to do the resurrecting for us at this rate." I say, throwing my arms to the air in exasperation.
"Don't go getting too excited Demi-fiend. There's still a lot of theoretical work to be done before we can start prototyping. Most importantly, I have a question for you."
Sighing, I take a sat on a nearby table, taking amusement in the way Ajuka's eye twitches at the sight.
"And that question is?"
"This condensing of your power to form the link... what if you could condense more power into these conduits of ours?"
...what?
"I'm afraid you've lost me." I say, not following what 'condense more power' could possibly mean. Ajuka only shakes his head as he elaborates further.
"I'm asking if you could infuse these conduits with your true power, your Siphon, as well. Could we use these creations of ours to enhance the innate power of any Devil that consumes them?"
His question leaves me somewhat uncomfortable of the possibility that my System somehow winds up mainstream. I know it's not possible, but these days I have more irrational fears than rational ones.
"...theoretically yes. Actually doing it, though? Well, I'm afraid I've got no clue just how I'll cram my Trait into our miracle material." I say.
"You won't need to. It's inherent to you. If we infuse some of your blood into the material, it may just take on your powers through it's unique qualities. Maybe just having your Mana used for casting the spell will be enough to form that imprint."
He leans on his hand again as several plans and ideas come to be in his mind. The data-pads click endlessly as each and every thought he has is noted.
"What if we don't need to use them for just resurrection?" I ask, quiet at first.
"What do you mean, Demi-fiend?" He asks, his interest blatant to the eye.
"These conduits of ours, if they work like we think they will, and they enhance the power of the parasite, why shouldn't we use them on live Devils as well? Why shouldn't we give one to, say, Sirzechs as soon as we get the chance?"
I can almost feel it as the gears begin to turn in his head mere seconds later, several thousand lightbulbs going off in his mind all at once.
"Of course." He mutters, then shouts.
"Of course! We could create small legions, all enhanced by the powers of their Hosts. Several hundred empowered Devils, parasitising and growing stronger with each battle!"
He instantly turns away, scribbling notes and plans, drawings for our little prototype as he speaks aloud.
"We could add to our numbers in the hundreds with each day, enhance the strength of some of the most powerful Devils ever seen! Forget making Sirzechs a parasite, what if we make him a host? What if a host can have multiple bound to them at once? We could have entire garrisons of these empowered Devils!"
"As nice as that all sounds, I think there's a small caveat to our little repopulation plan."
His revelry stops in an instant, turning to me with a small tilt of the head.
"And that is?"
"What about the Soul? From my understanding, if someone's dead long enough then their Soul fades too. How could we possibly heal that with simple magic?"
He goes silent for a long moment, staring at the body of our patient, his excitement dying down with each second.
"We don't. There is no way to heal from Soul Death... I suppose I got too overzealous in my excitement."
He runs a hand through his own hair now as the ramifications of this realisation hit him in full force, his every thought narrated to me.
"A Devil's Soul is synthetic, artificial. All Supernatural beings' are. When they die, so too does their Soul. It doesn't linger like a Humans."
...what.
"Hold on, hold on." I start, hand pointed at the long forgotten cadaver, "If that's the case then what the fuck was the point of Mr Frankenstein over there?"
"This new plan of ours specifically requires Soul contact to be made. My thoughts with 'Mr Frankenstein', as you so profanely named him, were to try and circumvent the need for Soul repair. It's what I've been trying to do for months now."
Oh. I guess that makes sense. He'd never even considered this 'parasitism' plan of ours until I arrived. Though, that does leave one very important question, one that I think on for a few moments before asking.
"...How long does a human Soul last?" I ask, voice low and steady.
"A month, before they are sent for judgement."
He instantly clicks onto what I'm thinking, looking at me with an odd mix of astonishment and reluctance.
"You mean to turn other beings into Devils. To use other races in place of our own to recoup our numbers."
"If we can make contact with the Soul, then there's nothing to say we can't change them on a fundamental level, just having our Mana in symbiosis should be enough-"
"Alistair, this is toeing a very fine line between breaking the Holy Covenant and shattering it into a thousand pieces."
Raising my arms in frustration, I voice my thoughts with all the grace of a bison.
"You were more than happy to break the Covenant not 20 minutes ago! What ever happened to the question being can I instead of should I?"
He hums for a moment, clearly realising not only his hypocrisy but his eagerness to see if it would even work in the first place.
"The sheer number of ways this could go wrong are almost astounding." He mutters, trying to convince himself more than me.
"List them. Isn't one of the core tenets of experimenting following the scientific method? Give me some risk assessment." I respond in kind.
"Alright. What if a young Clan Devil reincarnates the heir to a noble Yokai bloodline without thinking, and we have another war on our hands?" He asks.
"Then we limit the access to this power. Have a strict vetting process to ensure only those capable of wielding it are allowed. Make it a two way agreement. Not giving the power to reincarnate people to fucking children is a good start."
He rests his head in his hand, halfway to a facepalm.
"What if someone tries to reincarnate a nun or an Angel for their own perversions, and we have to deal with the full force of Heaven and the Church in their outrage?"
...how oddly prophetic.
"Then we make a failsafe or something, a way for the parasites to reject the symbiosis and not condemn themselves to a thousand years of rape and torture. You think I'd genuinely consider doing this to my own people if I hadn't had these ideas myself?"
My exasperation is clear for him to see, and it only deepens as I continue speaking.
"Besides, if we manage to make these miracle conduits of ours and someone uses them just to build a bloody slave harem I'll have the fuckers head myself. I didn't sign up to fight a war against tyranny just so some horny brat could live his life as Daimadosu-lite through our work."
To my surprise, Ajuka chuckles briefly at my words, amused by the idea.
"And if the perpetrator is a Clan Devil? The last of his line, heir to his Clan?"
"Then I'll make sure to apologise to Sirzechs after I do it. I think if I ask nicely enough he'll forgive me."
Again, he laughs.
"It's not Sirzechs you'd be worrying about. The Council would have your head." He says, leaning back against the operating table as we talk.
"Right. Which one's more important, the man who is actively creating a miracle cure to our people's biggest problem, or a whiny little shit from the Barbatos Clan?"
He smirks.
"You'd be surprised how far a good deal of whining can get you. As things are now though... I imagine you'll never even be allowed outside the Underworld if this works, let alone be considered for execution."
"Eh? Why's that?" I ask, admittedly quite concerned at the thought.
"So far, you're integral to the process of making these 'miracle conduits'. Your magic is the crux. Without you, we might not be able to make more. Ergo, you may very well become the most valuable man in the Underworld, not only for your gifts, but for fear of you sharing them with any of our would-be enemies."
My ego was being quite nicely stroked until his final words. After hearing them, I couldn't stop my body from going stiff in fear.
"Oh fuck."
Ajuka raises a brow, worried but not moving any further.
"Is something the matter, Alistair?"
"I'm a half-breed. The- the Archangels, they've been watching me, following me."
The words tumble out as I think them, terror growing with every passing moment.
"They could see every moment of this conversation. They've heard it all."
The idea alone is enough to bring more than just a sweat to my brow. Have I just given an enemy the greatest secret our people could ever hold? Will they raise an army before we can even hope to implement this idea?
My harrowing thoughts are interrupted by Ajuka's flat faced visage.
"You've nothing to fear, Demi-fiend. This lab is protected against any form of scrying. Though, I must admit, I didn't expect the Archangels would be watching you so closely. How could you have earned their ire so soon after arriving?"
Taking a breath and heaving a deep sigh at the whiplash, I slouch further on my seat as I answer him, emotionally exhausted.
"Uriel doesn't agree with my existence. He calls me a curse. Anathema. A violation of the natural order of things. My gifts are wasted on me, so he's been watching me constantly for an excuse to kill me I'd wager."
As though he were chiding a child, Ajuka looks at me in a way that I'm starting to hate.
"That would be a direct act of war. Especially with how influential you're becoming. Heaven can't afford that, so chances are they're simply surveilling you, keeping an eye on your progress like many others."
He reaches for his data-pad once more, deciding to get back to work while we talk.
"Yes, I'd assume by now that everyone with a pair of eyes in the Supernatural world has noticed your... abnormal growth."
I fight back a grimace.
"Please don't word it like that."
He smirks, but says nothing more on it as he works diligently.
"Truth be told, it could be an unforseen boon. If the Archangels are watching you, then they'll know we don't want any conflict and have no ill will against them should there be a problem with our miracle conduits. Maybe their surveillance could be an avenue to peace in the future."
Dragging a hand down my face, I make my grievances known with our project.
"We really need to think of a better name."
"Actually, I've had one for a while, ever since you gave me the idea of one host to several parasites."
Brow raised, I straighten myself and meet his gaze for a moment.
"Really? We're barely out of the theoretical phase and you've already come up with a name?"
If he can sense my judgement, he doesn't say anything about it, instead smiling with pride as he tells me his idea.
"Yes. I even came up with a design. Tell me, Demi-fiend, do you know of chess?"
"...You're going to turn our miracle rock, arguably the most valuable material in the Underworld, into chess pieces."
His smile widens.
"Evil Pieces to be precise, but yes, you follow along nicely. I must say I'm quite surprised though, I didn't think chess in its current form existed on the surface."
Trying my best to keep a straight face and not show my utter fucking panic, I laugh his words off.
"Ah, well, I saw it in Lord Sitri's office while I was living in the Sitri Manor. I didn't have anyone to play with though."
Ajuka watches me for a moment, scrutinising me, before returning to his data-pad and carrying on as normal.
I have to physically stop myself from sighing in relief, instead settling for smiling and pretending nothing had happened as Ajuka works away. A moment later though, I find myself cracking up with laughter.
"Evil Pieces..." I mutter, snorting at the name all the while. Something about the word Evil being used just makes me chuckle.
"I'd be willing to take criticism on the name from any other man than you, Alistair Mammon, wielder of the Abyss Flower."
"Oh for fucks sake, did Sirzechs really tell you that? Let me guess, he said something about the Sanguine-"
"-Sanguine Devil of Eternal Decay?" He says, smirking. "Yes. He told me that too."
Dragging a hand down my face, I resist the urge to scream into my hand.
"That wasn't even my idea. I've had two titles given to me, ones an insult and the other's flat out silly. Why can't I get a cool title?"
As if digging the knife in deeper, Ajuka hums as he responds.
"I quite like the name Demi-fiend. It's short, succinct. Tells you everything you need to know about who Alistair Mammon is."
"It is quite literally just a different way of saying half-breed."
"Exactly." He says. "That's all you are, no?"
It takes a moment for me to clock just what he means, but the instant I do I find myself raising a fist and walking towards him.
"Oh, I'll show you just who Alistair Mammom is you smarmy little-"
I blink, and suddenly I'm back where I started, my body glowing a faint green. When I look up at Ajuka, I see him smiling with his hands raised in mock surrender.
"I jest, Demi-fiend. I jest."
Looking down at my body, seeing the same green glow still there, I try to move forward once more. In the blink of an eye, I'm back where I started. No matter which direction I go, I simply wind up in this spot.
"How are you doing that?" I ask, confused beyond any measure.
"By using my Mana? I'm only forcing you back into your original spot by grabbing you with it essentially. Do you forget just how limitless our magical potential is?" He says, as though he were talking to a street lamp.
"You people always say that, but every time I've tried casting a spell that kills Bidleid and all his Loyalists, I never get any results."
The glow disappears, Ajuka suddenly looking like he's realised something. Maybe he's come to the conclusion that Serafall is an incompetent teacher. I think she taught me enough, but who knows.
"Do you actually know how your magic works, Demi-fiend?"
"Imagination. I imagine what I want to do, and use my Mana to make it happen."
He grimaces.
"You're making it far too simple. The act of casting a spell is more than just using Mana. It is about exerting your will upon the world around you, bending it to your whim, and using your Mana as the tool to bend it with. A fundamental give and take relationship."
"Right, so I should theoretically be able to imagine a bomb that will destroy the entirety of Lucifaad and kill only the people I want it to kill, no?" I say.
He rests a hand against his face.
"Were it that easy, Sirzechs would have done it years ago. Exerting your will upon the world isn't just a simple act, it comes in different shapes and sizes. To cast such a specific and powerful spell, you'd need the Mana of a few million Devils in estimate."
"I guess that explains why he hasn't done it yet then. So wait, I can make dragons from my imagination, create a thousand spikes at will, but I can't just kill a man outright?" I ask.
"No, you can't. If that were the case, Lucifer would have ruled the known Supernatural world from the instant he were born. The Mana required to damage your target directly scales with the strength of your opponent. Someone like Bidleid isn't going to be hurt by a small fireball from a Low Class Devil. The Father alone would require enough force to destroy a small city to even feel a scratch on his body."
"Alright, what about a regular man? I look at him, and I think 'that one. Kill him.' He's several times less powerful than me, not wearing any armour. Will he die?"
Ajuka sighs, his hand never once moving from his face.
"No. He will not. Magic is just as much about cause and effect as it is give and take. You can't just say 'he will die', you need to explain to the universe why that man will die, and how." He says, as though lecturing me.
"If you conjured a blade of wind that cut his head off, then yes, he would die, but if you simply said 'kill him' then nothing would happen. There's no cause and effect, there's only the desired effect."
The Devil pauses for a long moment as he leaves me time to roll the words around my head. I admit, it makes a lot more sense than just being able to do whatever I imagined.
"I think I understand it now."
Ajuka sighs in exhaustion.
"That's better than most people can say at least. So many simplify it to just 'I think, therefore I can.' It dampens the true potential of our magic."
"Well, dampening limitless potential doesn't really dampen much of anything. It's still damn near limitless."
He smiles yet again, the sight enough to clear the 'disappointed parent' air he's been exuding for the last ten minutes.
"True. We still hold the most potent magic among the Abrahamic, though I'd argue it may just be matched by the humans."
Clearly my disbelief shows on my face, as Ajuka shakes his head and moves back to his data-pad, the constructs never having once stopped moving for the last half-hour.
"I'm afraid that's a conversation for another day, Demi-fiend. This has already been quite the fruitful meeting between the two of us."
He shifts away some clutter on a nearby desk and begins sketching his ideas for the Evil Pieces in three dimensional form.
"As things are, we can only theorise on this plan of ours until we can move on Agares, and that's a while away as yet. I'm sure you'd much rather be with that maid of yours than here with me at the very least."
He looks up at me, a smile on his face.
"Thank you, Alistair. You've been surprisingly helpful for my research. With any luck, you and I may just solve the crisis our people have been facing for millenia."
Blinking away the shock, I respond in kind. "You're welcome. I'm glad I could help."
Ajuka's smile drops a moment later.
"Good. Now shoo. I've got other matters I need to attend to, and you make for an awfully big distraction. I'll call for you if any developments occur."
I cast the Teleporation spell without waiting a moment longer, not wanting to spend another second away from Grayfia. I've already had enough mental training from Ajuka. Now time for some physical training.
Secret Companion Quest: Lab Assistant complete!
Rewards: 750EXP, 1000CEL, 1 Skill Token, Joint ownership of the Evil Pieces.
Oh yeah. Worth every fucking penny.