Dark Fate, Chapter 141 (Patreon)

Chapter 141 – A Day Out

Of course, now that the majority of the diplomatic ‘fun’ was out of the way, I, as Admiral, decided to give myself shore leave. And, of course, that shore leave coincided with that of two of the pilots off the Mercurial, who just so happened to be my slaves. And, naturally, my daughter and her new pet joined us, to make it a nice family gathering. Just disregard the marines following as an honor guard and extra security.

“You know, Daddy, things worked out this time, but you really ought to take some consideration for what might happen when you are with the fleet for long periods of time.”

As we strolled through what could best be described as a market district for Silver Moon City, I considered Lilith’s statement. Really, given everything that had happened, it could mean only one thing, right? “You mean making sure I have someone to feed on when I’m aboard ship?”

“Exactly! Yes, you managed to pick up two very scrumptious little morsels this time, but you know that the likelihood of you being able to just pick up suitable playmates on every ship you might be traveling on is rare. Oh, you’ll find someone who will fall to your charms, certainly, but are they really going to be ones you want to keep around? And if you go in for random flings, that makes you vulnerable to other groups, who might take advantage.”

“Yes, I guess an incubus getting honey-trapped would be a bad thing. I know several of the countries on Earth made sure that their first ambassadors and spies were women for that very reason. Didn’t help the spies, obviously, thanks to the contracts I had written up, but that’s just how it is.”

“Yes, but now that people are catching on to that trick, it won’t work in the future. So, you need to figure out a way to keep fed, that doesn’t require sneaking into the enlisted cantina.”

“Since you’re suggesting this, I take it you have a suggestion for me?”

“Yes, I did a bit of research, and there is a warded ritual space for rent near here. Really basic setup, designed so that people who are traveling, or don’t have a ritual space of their own, can perform basic summoning or binding rituals without causing a panic or engaging in practices that might threaten neighbors. I took the liberty of reserving the space for the day.”

Things became clear now. “Ah, so you’re suggesting I use either [Summoning] or [Summon Demons] to get a quality demoness and use [Tame Demonic Familiar] on her? Because then I’d be able to summon her at will, right?”

“Exactly! You wouldn’t need to worry about where to keep her aboard ship, or while you’re in transit, because you can unsummon her whenever you need to, and bring her back when you need to feed. It is the best solution for when you’re going to be out and about, and you can’t bring the rest of your pets with you.”

“Master, if I may?” I looked over as Isis (Goddess in the cockpit) spoke up.

“Yes, what is it?”

“While we’re out at the market, perhaps we could visit someplace that sells accessories? Like collars? Something that could fit with our uniform, but still signify our status as yours, without having to show the brand?”

I chuckled at that. “Oh, so you want something to brag about, hmm? Well, I think we can manage that. We ought to give Lilith’s new toy something appropriate, as well.”

“I’ll pay for Slutmuffin’s collar, don’t worry, Daddy. I already have some designs in mind for her. You did enough for me by properly widening her holes before I let the crews of the Mercurial and Si Vis Pacem have their fun.”

The slave in question whimpered at the memory. The noblewoman had actually been a virgin, before she was enslaved at the party a couple nights ago. However, thanks to healing magic, her now well-used holes were still tight, though I doubt she appreciated that as much Lilith or I did.

“That is fine, Lilith. I won’t force you to take my money for everything,” I grinned. “Hmm. Since we’re going to be stopping by stores that sell slave equipment, perhaps we should stop by the slave market, as well? See if there isn’t anything special available that hasn’t been put on the Minion Market?”

“Oh, that’s a great idea, Daddy! The Minion Market is great for buying in bulk, or when you want something that might be difficult to source locally, but regular slave markets are always going to have some of the best stock. Comes from having a Slave Master manage them.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do. But first, let’s go to this ritual space you reserved, Lilith. Might as well summon my new familiar and tame her before spending the rest of the day shopping.”

The space Lilith had rented was actually a warehouse, with a sign declaring that the space was named the Summoning Circle. Stepping through the door, into a small room that functioned almost like a magical version of an airlock, I could feel the wards pressing down on me. Any magic used inside would be contained here, if it couldn’t overpower the wards. From the feel of things, it also likely reinforced the walls and floors.

“I found this place online,” Lilith said, as she entered a code into the keypad by the door on the other side of the room. “The code changes when your assigned time is up, to keep people from using old codes to get in for free. There’s also a nice auto-cleansing and repair function, which sterilizes the space, getting rid of any blood, damage caused by the ritual, or any fight that might break out, and so on. Obviously, it would be rather fatal for anyone to be in here when that happens, so it is a good incentive to not overstay your time.”

“Hmph,” I huffed, as I looked around the warehouse on the other side of the airlock. It was wide, and open. Perfect for ritual magics of any size from a simple summoning of a minor animal familiar to summoning greater demons or archfey. And the security and cleanup features were certainly impressive. “Is this a stand-alone business, or part of a chain?”

“A chain. They have properties across the Commonwealth, and in a few ‘associated powers’. I gave their contact data to Ambassador Mendoza, so he can see if they’ll want to open a franchise on Ceres. Possibly with royal backing.”

“And what about summoning some monster that will overwhelm the wards and rampage through the capitol as a form of terrorism?”

“The rental contract covers that. Renter is liable for all damages to the property that go beyond what the repair function and wards can handle, as well as damages to the surrounding area. Those damages will be assigned to the renter, or their next of kin, beneficiaries, and families, by the System automatically. And knowingly trying to summon something beyond your ability to control, or with the intent of unleashing it upon the surrounding area, causes the ritual space to initiate the cleansing feature immediately, before the ritual can finish.”

“So, you want to make sure that you can control whatever comes out. And if you don’t intend on trying to control it, or want to cause trouble, then you get killed before the magic can take hold? Yes, I think royal backing for that franchise on Ceres is warranted. And send a message to Mendoza. Get him to see if the people who designed those contracts and wards are available for consultations on other matters. I can see plenty of use for people who can think up clever solutions like that.”

“I knew you would say that, so I already took care of it, Daddy.”

“Hah, guess a Seer would be able to divine my intentions beforehand.” I smiled, and moved into the center of the room. This space would definitely work for what I had in mind. The only question was what form of Summoning magic would I use?

While [Summoning] from the Warlock class and [Summon Demons] from the Greater Incubus race sounded similar, there were some key differences when you looked at the actual workings of the skills, rather than their descriptions. The two skills basically did the same thing, or almost the same thing, but in different ways. And those differences could have a big impact on what came out the other side.

[Summoning] required circles that were either carved, or drawn in chalk, paint, or something similar. The more ‘permanent’ a circle was, the more powerful the demons that could be summoned through it. [Summoning] only allowed you to summon a single demon at a time, since you then had to work on binding or bargaining with it, while the demon looked for any imperfections in the circle, which would allow it to escape, and potentially cause trouble. However, [Summoning] was very versatile, and could draw forth anything from minor demons that were barely powerful enough to get the name, to Demon Lords. Obviously, the more powerful the demon, the more important it was to have your circle absolutely perfect, since it was possible to summon a being stronger than you were. That, and the cost of materials which needed to be replaced after every summoning, made [Summoning] inherently risky, which is part of the reason I hadn’t really used it.

[Summon Demons] on the other hand, allowed me to just focus my will, and summon a demon to my side. Unless I had a demon’s true name, the best I could do would be to say that I wanted to summon a Succubus, for instance. Unlike with [Summoning], though, [Summon Demons] could summon groups of demons, but there were some restrictions. I couldn’t summon anything higher-leveled than I was, and the more demons I summoned, the lower the level cap became. I could summon a single Tier 2, Level 1 demon, or two Tier 1, Level 41 demons, four Tier 1, Level 31 demons, and so on.

That last restriction actually made [Summon Demons] more valuable, since, the higher my level got, the more I could do with it. Sure, sixteen level 11 demons might not sound all that impressive, but it all depended on what kind you were summoning. For instance, the dretch had fairly decent intelligence, and was capable of becoming invisible at will. That made them fairly decent scouts, if you needed to cover a wide area quickly.

The downside to [Summon Demons] over [Summoning] was that a demon called to me by [Summon Demons] reserved a chunk of my mana pool to keep it there. I could unsummon them at any time and start to regenerate that mana, of course, or just let them ‘die’ and go back to their home plane, but while the demon was active, my mana was restricted, like it was with my Shadow Armor. Worse, since there was no circle binding a demon brought over with [Summon Demons], they could immediately turn hostile and attack, if you weren’t careful. [Summoning], on the other hand, brought the demon over to this plane, and they were stuck there until they were either banished, or found their own way back. This meant I didn’t have to pay an upkeep in mana for them, but they did need to be fed, and housed. Also, unlike the demons called up by [Summon Demons], a demon summoned through [Summoning] that was killed was actually dead, and not just cast back into their home plane. So, that was something to consider, as well.

Since I was looking to bind the demon I summoned as a familiar, I would go with [Summon Demons]. The Familiar ritual would then supersede the summoning, allowing the demoness to fall under those rules. That was important, since the Familiar was bound to me, and wouldn’t need to be taught their place every time they were summoned, like a demon summoned with [Summon Demons] would. Also, the MP costs of keeping a Familiar around were far less than the costs from [Summon Demons].

With all that in mind, I prepared to summon a demoness.