Paladin 4: Chapter 37 (Patreon)

Darren wasn’t sure what had happened when the attack landed. His body tingled all over, and it felt like his body was being torn apart piece by tiny piece. He felt something pulling at his mind, and for the first time since obtaining his multiple bodies’ skill, he’d felt genuine fear. What if this ability could change him on a fundamental level, destroying what made him himself?

That had been exactly the type of ability he’d been worried about facing, and now it seemed that his worst fears had been realized.

But just as suddenly as the attack began, it ended. His consciousness drifted through each of his many spares, all of them inspecting themselves and verifying that he still felt like himself. Nothing seemed off about him to himself, though he planned to get a second opinion from each of his women at the first opportunity.

When his fear finally subsided, it was replaced by frustration. Here he’d been thinking he’d been rapidly closing the power gap between him and Kalaziel. All the while, Kalaziel was stretching himself toward an ever-greater realm of power. When Kalaziel reached the Seventh Order, no place in the Sacred Seas would be safe.

The only thing Darren could think to do would be to flee. There was something outside the Sacred Seas that Kalaziel was afraid of, so if Darren left, he doubted Kalaziel would be willing to leave to pursue him.

How many of his women could he bring with him?

Morgana, Asuriel, Ashe, and Sasha would come without a second thought, of that, he was certain. But Cassandra had spent so long building her merchant company. It would pain her to abandon that and start over.

And Thalia was the Empress of the Blackwind Empire. How could she pack her things and leave?

Come to think of it, he was the King of Limedeep and Whiteguard, as well as a lot of other places. A lot of people were counting on him. If he fled the Sacred Seas, he’d be disappointing them all.

No, he couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t force his women to choose between their home and him. He wouldn’t be forced to choose between staying or dying. He would find a way to defeat Kalaziel, no matter how powerful he’d become.

An hour passed, and he felt his senses in the heavens returning to him. Strange sensations had been coming from his body there the entire time, and it took him a while to figure out what it was. Though his body had been destroyed, the part of his soul that had been controlling it remained. It felt strange and warped thanks to Kalaziel’s beam, but with his other bodies healthy and whole, he could reach into it and correct the imbalances.

While Kalaziel’s Heavenly Purification beam had done to him hadn’t been what it was supposed to do. Darren’s soul wasn’t like those of the seraphim. While they were made of thousands of souls conjoined and working in tandem, Darren had but one enormous soul filled with tremendous power. Kalaziel’s attack had targeted his soul directly, but there had never been a human soul in the fifth order before, let alone one of Darren’s capabilities. If that beam had persisted a while longer, that fragment of his soul might have been destroyed, but as it was, it was only reduced in power by a realm.

A fourth-order soul was still a powerful thing, even in the Seven Heavens. When he started, he was nothing more than a floating sphere of light, but the more he focused, the better he became at shifting his ephemeral form into something a little more useful. His mind returned to some of the powerful beasts he’d slain as Protector in the heavens. He’d seen plenty at the fourth order that took the shape of giant eagles or fearsome hawks.

He shifted his spirit to take such a form. It was just in time, too, because seraph from one of the local settlements were scouring the area as they puzzled through the wreckage that remained from his battle with Kalaziel.

Soon enough, enough time passed for his new Pheonix’s Blessing skill to activate. He felt it like a switch in his mind, and when he activated it, his body formed again, battered and weakened but still alive.

The first thing he did after clothing himself was chuckle to himself. He was harder to kill than even Kalaziel knew.

His first order of business in the Heavens was to get Asuriel and then contact Horon and Gaviel again. They all needed to know what he’d learned. Kalaziel had become a far greater foe than any of them knew.

Darren set himself to work in the heavens, but he turned the bulk of his attention back to his original body sitting in the Blackwind Empire’s capital.

He needed a way forward. He needed a way to defend himself and what he cared about from Kalaziel and, if possible, a way to defeat him. The only problem was he didn’t know where to start. But there was someone who would.

In all the heavens, all the hells, and all the mortal lands that Darren knew of, only one person could point him in the right direction.

It was time to pay the Lady of Darkness another visit.

***

Darren had never seen a cook so terrified when he placed his simple request with the palace staff.

“C-come again?” The cook stuttered. “I must have misheard you.” Her face was pale, and she dabbed at the sweat on her forehead with the corner of her apron.

“I want you to prepare a gift basket...”

“Yes, yes, I got that part.” The cook nodded.

“...for the Lady of Darkness.”

The cook fainted and collapsed where she stood.

Darren went through several cooks and servants before finding someone willing to throw something together. He was satisfied with a bottle of wine and some biscuits, but the palace staff was not. The basket had to be woven of strands of silver and gold, and the wine brewed from the most distinguished region of the Sacred Seas. The biscuits were pressed into the decorative shapes of sleeping human babies, and the basket was filled with exotic flowers from the palace gardens.

Darren thought it was a little much. He was only paying a visit to the queen of all demons. He was a king and an emperor as well, so there was no reason to be too formal with Laura. But apparently, everyone else thought differently.

“We can’t give present anything less than perfect for the queen of the Seven Hells! If there’s even the slightest flaw in the arrangement of the flowers, she might send a plague onto our lands or pestilence on our fields!” shouted the cook who’d passed out earlier.

“She wouldn’t do that,” Darren promised, but the cook wouldn’t hear any of it.

Even Thalia seemed worried.

“Darren! It’s good to see you again, my beloved husband. You’ve been cooped up while you were busy in the heavens, and it was terribly difficult to avoid disturbing you,” Thalia said. “You have to tell me how your adventure is going there. But first, what’s all this I hear about making a gift basket for the Lady of Darkness?”

“I’m just going to visit her to ask a question,” Darren shrugged.

“You’re being serious?” Thalia’s face paled. “I need to get Cassandra on this. The Blackwind Empire may not be able to prepare something suitable on our own.”

Despite Darren’s assurances that he was just dropping in to say hello and ask a few questions, Thalia and Cassandra were insistent on preparing a gift fit for royalty. Actually, now that he looked them over, the gifts he’d received as the King of Limedeep had been a pauper’s bobbles compared to the thirteen wagons full of exotic food, materials, and naked women adorned in gold and fine gemstones.

“You don’t need human sacrifices,” Darren assured them.

“All these women are patriotic citizens of the Blackwind Empire prepared to give their lives and their souls to satiate the Queen of Darkness’ dark desires,” Thalia replied.

Darren gave her a blank-faced stare. “I’ll just bring the bottle of wine then.”

“Wait! Husband! No!” Cassandra shouted as Darren started walking toward the nearest entrance to the Seven Hells. “Fine! Fine! I will tell the naked women to go home.”

After paring down the thirteen wagons to a modest single wagon of things Darren thought Laura might think interesting, Darren headed off into the Seven Hells. Cassandra and Thalia would have started adding things if he’d stuck around any longer, so he made himself scarce.

The walk through the Seven Hells was surprisingly quiet. He still had forces stationed here to train, so he should have expected the upper layers to be far quieter than he ever remembered, but it was still very strange.

He would have welcomed a demon attack around now, as it would have given him a chance to work out his frustrations. But he wasn’t so lucky.

He descended deeper, passing through Asura City. The garrison was a fraction of what it had been the last time he was here since he recalled most of his forces to the surface to help him conquer the entirety of the Sacred Seas back when he thought he was preparing for a final battle against Kalaziel.

There were still enough people to guard the city though, and there were still demons to kill, though not nearly as many as there used to be. Humanity well and truly conquered their way through the Seven Hells, and so long as the Prime Sins stayed where they were, things were liable to stay that way.

He used Laura’s secret back entrance to bypass the lower layers, as the fifth and sixth layers probably still had a sizable demonic presence. They were still rebuilding after Darren’s last rampage through that layer, and he wanted to give them a chance to rebuild a little, so they were ready for the next time he needed to complete a demon-slaying quest.

The door he’d seen last time opened to a long staircase leading down, and when he reached the bottom, he found himself standing in the garden outside Laura’s home.

Once again, he was reminded of how quiet and cozy the Lady of Darkness kept her home. Horon had a far larger manor than she did in the Fifth Layer of the Heavens. Laura lived had a humble log cabin, and a small shed off to the side, though both were far larger on the inside than from the outside.

Darren shuffled back and forth, unsure of how to announce his arrival. Laura had said he could drop by anytime, but it still seemed strange to just show up at the Lady of Darkness’ home unannounced. If she was too busy to see him, what would he do? He needed her advice sooner rather than later. He couldn’t afford to spend ages standing on her porch waiting for her to answer.

In the end, he decided to just knock on her door. He walked past the cherry trees and knocked on the cabin door, rapping twice in quick succession.

[Brace yourself for all manner of horrible previsions...] Ashe murmured in Darren’s ear. She planned to stay inside Melancholy in his Inventory but promised to make her presence known if Laura tried any funny business.

So Darren knocked on the door, rapping twice in quick succession. He didn’t even get a chance to knock a third time before the door swung open.

“Darren! Back already?” She asked. “I was certain it was going to be another decade or two before I saw you again. Come in. I’m baking pies.”

She twirled around, tight-fitting apron clinging to her stomach all the while. The outfit she wore beneath it would be hard-pressed to count as underwear on the surface. The springing material clung tightly to her shapely legs, and her shirt showed off her midriff. Now that he thought about it, he saw similar clothes in the Heavens and figured it was a style choice of ancient ancestral humans. Perhaps the men of ancient days had trouble getting aroused if all their women had to dress like this to catch their attention.

Whatever the explanation, Darren happily followed her into the kitchen, where he couldn’t help but notice she already had a second plate laid out in the same chair he’d sat on before. They ate, chatted, and laughed a bit when Darren presented the gifts Cassandra and Thalia had told him to bring.

“Why are all the cookies shaped like sleeping babies?” Laura asked.

Darren leaned forward and wiped a bit of cherry pie filling off her cheek. “You know, the cook asked me how many mouths you had.”

Laura groaned. “Oh no, do they think I’m some heaving pile of flesh covered in toothy maws?”

Darren remained silent.

“A few centuries away, and my reputation is in tatters...” Laura sighed.

“Should have seen the sacrifices,” Darren chuckled. He went on to describe the dozens of human women Cassandra and Thalia had prepared her.

Laura turned from pouting to blushing to laughing in the span of a few moments. “Maybe you should have brought them. At least then I could send them back, and they could confirm I’m not some sort of creepy tentacle monster like everyone on the surface thinks.”

Darren chuckled. “I will tell them myself when I return. Perhaps they could help you with your carving hobby.”

Laura’s cheeks flushed red. Darren had seen her collection of dildos of all sorts the last time he visited her, much to her embarrassment.

“I know exactly how to carve a dick!” Laura poked Darren in the chest. “Maybe mine are all perfectly normal, and yours just looks weird. Have you ever thought about that?”

Darren raised an eyebrow, and Laura hung her head.

“Yeah, alright. I admit, they probably look a little funny.” Laura’s blushing pout soon turned into a quiet giggle, and when Darren joined her with a chuckle, she soon turned to belly-clutching laughter.

Their voices trailed off, and the pleasantries came to an end. Laura was good at distracting him from things. That was no doubt her demonic powers at work. But he had come to visit her with a very specific purpose in mind.

“You have a very intense thinking face,” Laura commented, popping a fresh cherry into her mouth as she folded her hands and leaned over the table, so she was a little closer to Darren.

“I didn’t just come to see you,” Darren replied.

Laura pouted a moment, but soon she was nodding. “I understand. I figured it was something more important than a social visit. What is it? Having trouble reaching the sixth order? Need to borrow an army of demons to conquer the Sacred Seas.

Darren shook his head. “Kalaziel is going to take over the heavens, and he isn’t afraid to destroy both them and most of the Sacred Seas to do it.”

Laura froze. Her expression tightened, and her gaze went distant. Her eyes widened as they scanned invisible images only she could see.

“Wow, I really have to work on staying up to date,” Laura said. “It looks like a lot of stuff has been happening over the last few days.”

“You know what happened?”

Laura flashed a sly smile. “I tapped into the heaven’s ophanim network long ago. So yes, I’m about as informed as anyone in the heavens could be. Plus a little more so. I have access to a few additional sources of information the average seraph might not have. But that’s beside the point. I see now why you came knocking on my door. You need my help to counter Kalaziel.” Her eyes bore straight into Darren’s.

He returned her intense gaze. “Yes.”

“I can’t go to the surface. I’m bound by treaty to remain here.” Laura’s lips tightened, and her eyes turned to the tabletop and the bowl of cherries, and the empty pie plate. After pushing the bowl toward Darren, she stood and picked up their dirty dishes. “I suppose you can stay here a while, if that’s what you’re asking for. Even if he reaches the Seventh Order and bonds with the Heavenly Throne, Kalaziel won’t come here. Though I’m not so sure I want to become a boarding house if you plan on bringing all your friends.”

“No.” Darren shook his head. “I only want your advice.”

“Well, that much at least is free.” Laura dried the dishes and set them aside. “What do you need?”

So Darren told Laura his view of what had happened and his view of what needed to be done. He was strong, but not strong enough to save what she cared about.

“In other words, the goal is to be powerful enough to defeat Kalaziel. Nothing else will satisfy...” Laura tapped her chin. “The trouble is the Heavenly Throne is a one of a kind item here in the Sacred Seas.”

Darren frowned. “You don’t have one of your own?”

Laura shrugged. “Well... yes and no. I did build something quite like the Heavenly Throne and reworked it plenty. It doesn’t have the same range of control as the Lord of Light’s Heavenly Throne though. While his power grants him preeminence throughout the entirety of the Heavens and most of the Sacred Seas, mine is an item that simply boosts my powers after each... use.”

For some reason, Laura’s cheeks were covered in a blush identical to the one that had adorned her face when Darren brought up her misshapen dildos.

Darren furrowed his brows. “The item enhances your powers?”

Laura nodded in embarrassment. “So long as I’m within my domain. It’s a bit like the aspects of the sixth order. Only the seventh is tied to a location. They’re called Genus Loci, and they essentially become the physical manifestation of the spirit energy of an entire area. By controlling one, you get massive boosts to your power reserves and aura control. But again, you have to be at the Sixth Order to make use of one.”

That fit within Darren’s understanding. Every being in the sixth order was a Prime Saint or Prime Sin of something. He figured he would have to do the same to reach the sixth order, though there would be differences thanks to his retained humanity. He still hadn’t quite figured out how that would work yet, but he felt like he was ready to take that leap if only he knew how.

“Is it possible for others to use your item?” Darren asked, already thinking about taking on Kalaziel on his home ground, each of them with a powerful artifact in hand. Channeling the power of the Seven Hells wouldn’t be ideal, but with his purification ability, he could probably make it work.

[No! Darren, don’t fall for it!] Ashe shouted in Darren’s head. A moment later, Laura concurred with her.

“No!” Laura jumped in her seat, waving her hands. “You can’t use my enhancement artifact.”

Darren sagged. “I understand. You have been generous already.”

“No, I mean, you really can’t use it. As in, it’s not possible for you, and not just because you’re not a being of the Sixth Order with an aspect. It would be anatomically impossible to insert and activate for you. Otherwise, I’d be open to the idea just to teach the Seven Heavens a lesson.” Laura bit her lip, gaze strangely intense as she stared at the table with heated cheeks. “It’s also a bit awkward to fight with it. It took me ages to learn to walk with it in.”

Darren felt a little comforted by that idea. Laura would be willing to share one of her most precious items of power with him if only it were possible. Granted, their goals aligned, but he was once again struck by how different the Lady of Darkness was in person from what he had expected.

But then Darren had another idea.

“You made your item of power, didn’t you?” Darren asked.

Laura blushed. “Yes, I did.”

“Could you make another one?” Darren asked.

Laura’s eyes lit up. “Say, that’s not a half-bad idea. I don’t think it will be as strong as the Heavenly Throne, but that might actually be a benefit as you could bond with it faster. It might even help you reach the Sixth Order since the Heavenly Throne was meant to push a seraph to the Seventh Order. I think you’ll want a different design from what I’ve got, but I have a few ideas in mind.”

“What do you need from me?” Darren asked.

“Keep in mind, while this sort of thing would help you bridge that gap between your power and Kalaziel’s abilities, you would need to reach the Sixth Order to use it,” Laura warned.

“I understand.”

“Then I’ll need some exotic materials of the sort that you can’t find in the Sacred Seas. I can’t leave this place, so you’ll have to collect them yourself. You’ll need to hunt them down quickly if we are to build this device quickly enough for you to bond with it, reach the sixth order, and face down Kalaziel.”

Darren nodded his agreement, and an instant later, a new quest appeared before him.

New Quest Available!

Create a Quasi-Genus Loci!

Laura is willing to help you, but she needs you to gather the raw materials and meet the minimum requirements to use one.

Objectives:

• Obtain a relic of ancient power.
• Tame the heart of a realm.

Reach the Sixth Order.




<Note>

Day 12 of editing Amazon Apocalypse.

I'm growing increasingly less enthusiastic about tracking stats points, since 90% of my editing time has been spent with a calculator and a spreadsheet in front of me instead of a word document. I might just hide them for a bunch of chapters and hope you guys don't notice any funny business going on in the background while I do a bit of a soft reset and start again with a clean slate.