[Salvos] 622. Former Heir (Patreon)

622. Former Heir

***

“This is taking forever…”

Taburas gritted her teeth, whispering under her breath. She looked through the translucent panels at her feet. All she saw was a world of white. But it was different from the usual rocks that littered the Netherworld. No— it was something else.

A lake of fire.

The [Succubus] had never seen such a thing before. Such destruction that spanned over vast distances. It was almost incomprehensible. But it was the power of the Beast.

It was strange for her to think about. After all, she never imagined she’d ever encounter a Primordial Demon other than Regnorex, let alone the Beast itself. But she never thought she’d be fleeing from the Deathsquad Hunters either. She always imagined that she’d remain in the Demon King’s Domain with Haec. After all, there was no escape. All they could do was grow stronger there.

Unfortunately, reality proved to be quite different. Haec chose to abandon his role as the Heir of the Netherworld and escape to the wilderness. Of course, Taburas chose to follow him. Why shouldn’t she? They had been together since the very beginning. If they had been in the Mortal Realm, they would have been together for years.

So it didn’t matter where he went. She would follow him even to the jaws of the Beast. But… she couldn’t lie and say she imagined a future like this.

“Seriously, when are we going to be able to actually walk the Netherworld again?”

Taburas cursed as she swept her gaze over the pocket space surrounding her. It was carrying them across the ravaged landscape which she appreciated— considering that she would probably instantly die if she touched the white flames below— but they were moving at such a glacial pace, it was very infuriating.

She clicked her tongue, and a voice piped up.

“If you’d like to raise your complaints to someone, don’t complain to me.”

The [Succubus] glanced to the side and spotted Bertrugil leaning against one of the spatial walls. He was a small [Abraxas], but he had a big mouth. He waved a hand dismissively as he tried to turn away from her like he was going back to sleep.

“Unlike you, I actually quite enjoy this. So stop disrupting my peace and quiet.”

He didn’t even face her as he spoke. Taburas scowled and crossed her arms.

“Aren’t you bored of just lying around and doing nothing all the time?”

“Why would I find this boring?”

Bertrugil snorted in reply. He raised his head groggily and spread his arms wide.

“We’re safe. We’re alive. And we’re not being tracked down by the Deathsquad Hunters. That’s all that matters to me.”

“Is that really all you care about? Being safe and alive?”

Taburas narrowed her eyes, and the [Abraxas] responded instantly.

“Yes.”

She stared at him for a moment as he held her gaze. He was completely serious. It was not one of his usual quips. She sighed and sat back down on the ground.

“Well, first of all, I am not you. And secondly—”

The [Succubus] pursed her lips as she looked down at the metal ring around her neck. It was a summoning collar. It was an artifact that the Demon King forced upon all his subjects. With it, they could traverse the planes of the Nexeus and step foot onto the Mortal Realm. But that was not all it did.

It also functioned as a tracker— a way to keep Regnorex’s followers in check. So that none of them could ever dream of escaping or running away. After all, then the Deathsquad Hunters would be sent out. And some would say that it was a fate worse than death.

Taburas sighed as she shook her head.

“Secondly, I highly doubt we’re safe from the Deathsquad Hunters even here.”

“Why not?”

Bertrugil raised a curious brow from where he lay. He tapped one of his claw-like fingers on the ground, making a clinking sound.

“We’re not in the Netherworld anymore. We’re in a pocket space— a separate plane. So they can’t track us here.”

“And why do you think the summoning collar stops tracking us just because we’re in a separate plane?”

Taburas harrumphed as she faced the [Abraxas]. He shrugged.

“Dunno. It just makes sense to me.”

She shook her head.

“Well, it does not make sense to me. These summoning collars can transport you to the Mortal Realm. There is no reason to believe they can’t follow us even here.

“As I said, stop bitching at me. I just want to sleep. If you really want to get something done, why don’t you go bother the Lesser God about it, huh?”

Bertrugil gestured at the front of the pocket space. Taburas immediately blanched. She didn’t even turn around to face who it was standing over there.

“Whatever…”

Scowling, the [Succubus] rose to her feet and stormed off, muttering under her breath. Bertrugil just chuckled as he watched her go. She couldn’t walk far since the pocket space itself wasn’t massive.

There was a bit of room, of course. However, no matter where she went, she could still see Bertrugil, and he could still see her. Taburas didn’t care as she just strode on, nearly bumping into a tall figure.

“Oops— sorry, didn’t see you there, Taburas!”

A cheerful voice exclaimed. The [Succubus] looked up to see Aemula standing there. The [Fiend] was tall— nearly as big as Haec. But she was a bit of a ditz, even when fighting wild Demons.

The two of them had known each other from a long time ago. But while Aemula saw Taburas as a friend, the latter couldn’t really say the same about their relationship. Certainly, there was nothing wrong about the [Fiend].

However, Taburas just had no interest in being friendly or anything more than polite in their interactions. So she spoke simply as she shook her head.

“It’s fine. It’s my fault. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

She continued walking on as Aemula opened her mouth.

“How are you… oh, alright.”

The [Fiend] watched for a moment as Taburas strode up to a corner of the room. Eventually, Aemula just shrugged and continued where she was going.

Taburas didn’t need to look, already knowing where the [Fiend] was heading. The [Succubus] closed her eyes and heard the voices echoing from the front of the pocket space.

“Salvos! Where are we now?”

“Hey Aemula! We’re still… um, somewhere?”

That was right. Taburas looked up briefly, watching as Aemula engage in conversation with a silver-haired Demon— the creator of this pocket space.

Salvos.

She was cheerful and friendly to everyone— kind of like Aemula, but a little bit different— so they got along just fine. In fact, the silver-haired Demon also got along with Bertrugil just fine. Even though she was a literal Lesser God, she didn’t act all high and mighty, refusing to speak to any of the Archdemons here.

But Taburas didn’t go out of her way to befriend Salvos. Sure, the [Succubus] didn’t act abrasively either. And it certainly wasn’t because she was afraid of the Lesser God. It was for another reason…

Raising her head, Taburas looked up to see a figure sitting quietly at the back of the pocket space. The scowl on her face immediately vanished, replaced by a softer expression. Haec sat there, eyes-closed in silence.

He was the [Succubus]’s leader. He had saved her before, and he was the reason for… everything she did. She flushed just at the thought of what he had done for her in the past.

But Taburas immediately glowered as she heard a voice squeak from the other side of the pocket space.

“I dunno how long it’s been either. Maybe it’s been a week? Or maybe it’s been a month? It could’ve been even more—”

Salvos piped up excitedly, talking with Aemula at the front. Taburas pursed her lips as she glanced their way for a moment.

Haec was everything to Taburas. And because of that, he was special to her. She wanted to be special to him too. But…

Salvos was everything to Haec. Taburas could see that. She was no fool. It was obvious in the way he acted. It was even the reason why he had fled the Demon King’s Domain, giving up his Title as the Heir of the Netherworld.

And knowing that… hurt the [Succubus]. Because she wanted to be Haec’s everything, but she knew she couldn’t be that. She could never amount to what Salvos was to him.

Taburas gritted her teeth as she sank to the ground, hugging her knees tightly to herself.

“I just want us to return to how we were…”

She whispered. But she knew that could never happen. And she closed her eyes, wishing her dreams could come true as the pocket space slowly moved on.

***

Haec sat in silence, undisturbed by the ruckus of the rest of the pocket space. Neither Salvos, nor Taburas, nor Bertrugil, nor Aemula bothered him. And that was because he asked them to leave him alone.

After all, he needed to be left alone. He needed to think. He needed to focus. He needed to be in solitude to do what he was about to do.

It was not easy. And yet, it was incredibly simple. Almost paradoxical. But he needed to get it done.

Haec closed his eyes as he peered into the darkness of his mind. He saw nothing. He saw everything. And he heard a familiar voice echoing in his head.

It was one which he had put off for long enough. It was one he should have addressed as soon as it had come to him. But he had been distracted by a myriad of other things. And now—

[Evolution Available]

—he knew it was time for him to make a choice.

Author's Notes:

What thonk?

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