Azaria 2-19 (Patreon)

Good Evening Everyone. Working on the last few chapters of Azaria today, which means I'll be going full tilt on Robotics after. (Its the next manuscript scheduled lol). Enjoy!

Chapter 19: Interrogation & Hitting the Brakes

Azaria

“Why did you lie?” Starburst asked. He sounded more curious than upset. I glanced at him for a second before I turned back to the section of the caves on the second floor that I was turning into a cell. Metal bars that were painted pink sealed the demon from the rest of the cave system while some of Tenderheart’s bears stood guard. From what Lance said, this guy was more of a magic caster. It should be enough to hold him. His hands and mouth were gaged when we weren’t talking to him.

“Oh? But I didn’t, I just didn’t tell them everything,” I retorted. “And that was mainly because they wouldn’t let me keep the demon man if I told them everything he told me.”

Starburst just shrugged done with the topic. “Alright. What did he say that made you make such a out of character decision?”

“I figured you would be able to understand their language,” I said a bit surprised that he couldn’t. He was a former god after all.

“Something like Universal Language comprehension goes with your race. If I was still in my god body then I wouldn’t have an issue. Being that this is a body created by you, you would have to add that into states during my creation,” he explained. I guess the soul could only go so far. Good to know. Well, his knowledge was more than enough to make up for the lack of godly abilities.

“I see.” I landed in front of him and took his hand. It was still a bit strange having a full time body but I was going to enjoy it while I could. “If we go back to Earth, we will return to being at the beck and call of Terleza. Worse actually, now that the humans know that we are this able. It won’t be long before someone with the right Power comes and tries to force me to create wealth, more power, or who knows what else for them. In fact, Neo probably already has the power to do so,” I said as I played with his hand. I enjoyed being able to see the interaction. Even if I was decked out in armor that felt just as foreign as my body.

“I understand that and was worried about it as well. How does that play into what the demon said?” he asked with any change in expression even with his hand being played with. I was a tad disappointed that he wasn’t ticklish.

“The thing hauling us is a dungeon core or a collection of them. Rather than preying on the cores that are around me and likely wouldn’t understand what it happening to them. I’m going to eat the ones that presume to consume me.” I was getting tired of playing defense. Always responding to what was happening around me.

“Still not seeing the reason you couldn’t tell the people outside,” Starburst said tapping his chin. “The cores might want to eat you, but the demons on the island will want the humans. They would be behind anything like a retaliatory strike.”

I walked away from him and moved back to the cell. “Exactly. That’s all good and fine. The thing I truly want is the device that allowed them to pull us into this world. It is constantly searching for weak divides between worlds. When I used my Total Domain for the first time, it weakened the barrier around the city that the gods placed. With the conversion of Earth’s Energy to Aether weakening what could amount to the Earth’s skin, I basically lit a flare for them.” I looked back to Starburst with a shy smile. “At least, that is my conjecture.”

“That is quite the theory, but from what I remember of spatial magic, it sounds about right. I had forgotten that the gods watched the zones being converted. I bet Terleza is having a panic attack right now that one of her zones was taken.”

I laughed picturing the proud woman flaying her arms around as she tried to figure out where an entire city went. It passed quickly as I knew she was better than that. “We can only hope.” I turned back to the demon in the cell and waved my hand causing the gag to fall away. “Tell me where the device you told me about is,” I demanded. I could vaguely tell that I was speaking something other than English.

“Queen! The queen has it great one! Please spare me!” he replied fear cracking his voice. For a demon that was part of a dimensional hunting group. He didn’t have much in the bravery department. He had pleaded for his life as soon as he saw me earlier. Looking closer at the exposed red skin, I could see faint white lines of fading scars. He must just want to live and nothing more. Much like a human.

“Look. I will let you live. I won’t even torture you.” Not that I had the vaguest idea of how to torture someone. “Just tell me where EXACTLY I can find the device you talked about.”

He stared at me for a long minute, but finally took a deep breath. “At the center of the island. The queen guards it with her life but displays it to show off her power.”

“How did she come by something that could tear holes in the fabric of space and time?” Starburst asked and I translated for him since he used English.

“During the Change. She managed to defeat a god, is how the teachings go. She got it from him.”

“I defeated a god. Where’s my ultra-powerful device?” I asked Starburst with a smirk.

“Why, my lady. You’re looking at him,” he replied striking a cocky pose with a grin.

“Sure, sure.” I said patting his hand before looking back to the demon. I asked a few more questions and got a decent lay of the land. When I ran out of things that I felt I should know, I kneeled and looked the demon in the face. “Look. Stay here and when we leave your dimension, we’ll drop you off before we go. I promise not to hurt you in the meantime.” I stood and turned to leave when he shouted for me.

“WAIT! Please! Take me with you. I can’t stand this place anymore. I’ll serve you. I’ll do anything. I’ll be your dog! Just take me with you.” By the end of it, he was on his hands and knees with tears of red trailing down his face. I wasn’t sure I had ever seen someone breakdown do completely before and was almost taken aback.

“Stay here and… and I’ll think about it.” I didn’t want to outright tell him no. He dropped all the way to the ground while he continued to sob.

Starburst and I made our way back to the first floor. “I’m not sure how much we should trust him,” Starburst said, his lips a hard line bordering on a frown.

I smiled as I could feel his actual concern for me in the expression. Even if he was the one that caused me to be in this situation in the first place, I had forgiven him for the most part. “Even I’m not naïve enough to trust someone that was just my enemy. Not matter how much they cried. That said, he has a whole different way of using magic. If he was true to his word, he could teach us a new way of using Aether outside the system already in place back on Earth.”

He looked at me in surprise and I added the image to my internal picture folder. I would be looking back on that face for a long time to come. “You… you have a point. Alright. Then girl, what is your plan?”

I folded my arms over my chest and leaned against the wall. “We have to stop from reaching the mainland. You heard him. The cores are divided like the European nobles back on Earth. We have a queen of a small country above us, but the mainland is composed of the Kings and Queens of nations much, much larger. We’re basically tribute to one of them so this queen can maintain her individual power.”

“I understand that, but how are we supposed to stop from reaching the mainland. If I figured it right, we only have about two days before we reach it.”

I smiled and grabbed his hand starting to drag him back outside. “We’re going to finish the plan we started back on Earth. Only this time, I welcome and demons that might try to stop us. They will feed the engine that will work against them.”

We left the manor and made our way over to the tents that were apparently serving as the headquarters for the Powered during this crisis. It looked like only a few of them were around, but Neo the one I needed to speak to was standing with his arms crossed like a statue staring at my dungeon. Thus, he saw us approaching.

“That didn’t take long. Is the demon secure?” he asked once we were close enough.

I sighed and shook my head. “He attempted to overpower Starburst here and was inadvertently killed in the process. We did manage to get some more information though,” I explained. I felt bad about lying, but I didn’t know how they would feel if I told them I was bringing him back to Earth when this was all done. Better to just keep him on the downlow.

He gave me an indescribable look, indescribable because most of it was hidden by a mask. “Very well. Some of the Powered have moved to guard the edge of the city in case more parties of demons come to scout.”

“We have to stop from reaching the mainland. There is really no hope for us if we do,” Starburst said pulling Neo’s gaze on himself.

“Exactly. That’s why I need the flame guy to finish cutting that piece of chain,” I said doing my best not to show that I knew my father.

“I can do that, but more demons will attack, yes?” my father said moving from another tent. I hadn’t known he was here. Thankfully, I hadn’t said anything over than flame guy.

“Yes, but Lance proved that the gargoyles are within our ability to defeat,” I replied. “If something stronger comes then we’ll jus deal with it now instead of later.”

“I’m glad you’re so nonchalant about all this,” Lance said with a laugh.

“We’re already stuck in the strange place. Might as well get to work while we still have a chance to survive,” I shot back with a shrug.

“We’re in this together until we get back to Earth. If she has a plan to get us there, then we need to help her,” my mother said as she moved up next to my father.

“Thank you,” I said clapping my hands and pointing to the chain. “Then let’s get to cutting.”

My father moved over to the partially cut chain and reformed his flaming sword. The heat in the air went up a few degrees as he swung and began burning through the metal. All of us looked up expecting a demon to fall from the sky at any minute. I wasn’t sure about the humans, but I was able to zoom in on the bottom of the floating island above us. A spot near the origin of the chain moved and it looked like a chunk of rock fell from the surface of the island. As it fell some of the rock fell away and one of the gargoyles took shape. It was soon joined by more than a dozen others.

“Looks like they were from the dungeon after all,” Ophelia said drawing her sword.

“I was just thinking the same thing.” I held out my hands and my violin formed. I thought quickly before I played a quick passage and a few lances made from stone formed in front of me and shot through the air at the creatures. My aim wasn’t the best, but I did manage to hit a few of them. Unfortunately, nothing fatal.

The Powered around us moved as did Starburst and Ophelia, though they moved to stand in front of me. The gargoyles landed all around us with loud crashing sounds. They roared as they charged toward my father, but my mother held her shield up and easily cut of their passage as a dome of light blasted out from around her. Neo flashed through the air and appeared behind two of the creatures. He didn’t even pause, as his hands phased through the creatures and they were suddenly missing their necks. The bodies that were now spraying blood from their necks took two more steps before they fell to the ground with a wet splat.

My father said something, and a whip of flame formed over him even as he focused on the chain. The flaming weapon slashed through four of the gargoyles and they burst into flames. Lance was right there, using her claws and sickles to tear apart the creatures in her own way. Only a few seconds passed before we had killed all the demons. I absorbed all the Aether that escaped them, but left the bodies. The others might want to examine them or loot them.

With a loud cracking sound, the chain broke where my father was cutting it and the lose end flayed through the air. It slammed into a nearby building and came to a rest since the rest of the chains holding the city were fine. I rubbed my hands together and absorbed the chain that was in my field. Closing my eyes, I studied the material in the way only a dungeon core could. I soon had a complete understanding of it.

Opening my eyes, I sent a grin to Starburst. “Time to put the breaks on.” I formed a few of the chains around the bottom of the city and aimed for the ocean underneath us. I used some Aether to launch them like rockets. They crashed into the red water before they sank several hundred feet. I was growing worried that I wouldn’t reach the bottom when the spikes drove into the ocean floor.

The chains quickly grew taut. The city tilted almost twenty degrees before I used the flight magic that was part of my now fifth floor to level the city. The island above us kept moving and it soon became a tug of war between the two islands. Everything suddenly shifted s few feet back as the island above us ceased to pull at us.

“Time to fight back,” I announced as everyone that was thrown around got back to their feet. Sadly, it was only a few. Most of the Powered present were able to keep their balance well enough. “Starburst. How do I start one of the moon meetings?”

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