Chapter 31 Void Creep

"It should be around here somewhere..." I hummed as I stepped into the familiar yet foreign landscape that was the abyss.

It took me a hot second of scanning my surroundings and taking in my environment to adjust, I still hadn't gotten used to the abyss and it's rather strange appearance but I didn't let it bother me much. Anyway, I eventually noticed a rather modest looking cabin that was built into a rocky outcropping not too far from where I currently stood.

"Found it" I muttered as I made my way over and knocked on the door.

"Hey, is anyone in there?" 

"O-one moment" a familiar timid voice came from the other side, moments later the door slowly opened to reveal someone I instantly recognized.

"Vel, nice to see you" I smiled and waved in greeting.

The nervous looking lycanthrope hadn't changed much even after my awakening as a demon lord. I did notice that he had grown taller by a small degree and his horns now seemed to have black needle like barbs protruding out from various places along them, it honestly kind of made it look as if he was wearing a crown of thorns 

"M-miss Su-Suu!" He yelped in surprise when he finally recognized me.

"It's go-g-good t-to see you too" he stammered out causing me to chuckle somewhat.

"You know I can probably do something about that stutter of yours if you want" I offered mostly because it wouldn't be hard for me at all.

"O-oh no it-it's fine" he awkwardly said while waving his hands in front of himself before suddenly freezing in place as his eyes widened slightly.

"I-I'm so-sorry! I-I sh-should probably c-call you dem-demon lord Suu now, ri-right?" He yelped and panicked a little.

"Call me whatever you want, I don't really care at this point" before it probably would have bothered me but I had gotten used to people referring to me in weird ways even though I told them not too.

"O-okay. Wh-what...what can I d-do for you?" He asked, still sounding somewhat unsure of himself.

"To get straight to the point, I need something. I can make it myself but I was wondering if you might have found anything close to what I'm looking for already, it would save me a lot of work and time" I explained while crossing my arms.

"I need some kind of material that can absorb and store magicules and I thought that the abyss might already have something like that"  considering how the abyss works with magicules it was possible something like this already existed.

"Hmmm...w-we might have so-something but I'd have to c-check first" he mused while turning to lead me inside but stopped abruptly when he realized something.

"B-before yo-you come in I should pro-probably warn you...the professor has been, w-well, he's b-been quite en-enthusiastic about his work here and well...hmmm...h-he ha-hasn't slept for a week straight" he sighed awkwardly and I could only groan in frustration.

"God damn it..." I hissed as I prepared for the bombardment of information that was sure to give me a headache.

Anyway, Vel guided me inside and what I was met with was rather interesting. It looked like a rather large laboratory with multiple rooms as well as books and potions covering the shells that lined the room. There were several floating objects that were doing various things, such as rearranging themselves into neatly organized roses or tidying the place up.

"He-here we are" Vel said as he led me to a door at the far end of the room where I could hear a familiar voice from the other side.

(I am suddenly very glad that I'm immune to Haruko's skill...)

"Fascinating fascinating fascinating FASCINATING! I the great Haruko Blackheart have done it not that this was a conclusion that anyone is surprised by but still I have created the first ever bottomless toilet to think that the abyss would allow me to alter the very fabric of space to create a toilet that is infinitely deep cleaning the outhouse will be a thing of the passed hahahahaha I'm a genius!" Walking inside I was ment with this sight, a mad scientist running around at rather shocking speeds while rambling on about whatever it was that he was talking about.

"Now then I just need to figure out how to stop the toilet from trying to eat me ah lady Suu how are you I'm doing great since I entered this fascinating dimension of yours I've been practically exploding with inspiration did you know that the Bone Oaks have some of the most flexible and durable wood I've ever seen oh and thank you for releasing all those fascinating creatures into the wilderness it has been extraordinary to watch as they adapt to their new environment but I'm sure you don't need to here about that as you did create them or I assume you did if you didn't then that would be quite the mystery as to their origins as they were not here previously anyway come along now Vel my boy we have a lot of mind boggling things to show are benefactor and I must say even I may require some assistance explaining it all hahaha"

"Already no" I hissed as I activated a certain skill that would save me from this torment.

"Hmmm...?" The crazy scientist suddenly froze as his expression changed into a much calmer one.

"Much better" I muttered while sighing in relief.

"My apologies for my rather sporadic behavior miss Suu but I have had quite a lot to do since I came to this magnificent place" he apologized with a polite bow.

(The fact that his personality does such a one eighty scares me sometimes but at least he isn't as bad as Legion) I shook my head at that and smiled weakly.

"Congratulations on your new evolution by the way, I was quite shocked when I found out you had become a demon lord"

"Thank you"

"Now then, what can I do for you?" He asked while straightening back up.

"I need something from you"

"What exactly?" He questioned and I quickly took a second to fill him in on my plan.

"I see..." he hummed in interest as he tapped his chin.

"Th-that's quite the i-idea miss Suu" 

"Thanks you Vel"

"But anyway, have you found anything like that?" I asked, trying to push the conversation along.

"Give me just one moment" Haruko mused as he walked off and opened a door that led to a large storage room.

(This place is far bigger on the inside...) I thought in surprise. 

It didn't take long for Haruko to return, in fact it only took a few seconds. As he re-entered the room however I saw that he was holding a pitch black metal like crystal that was sharp and jagged yet seemed to be tangled around itself like a messy ball of yarn.

"It's not exactly what you were looking for but it's the closest thing I've found so far" he said as he handed it to me.

"I call it Void Creep, it absorbs different types of energies and uses them to accelerate its own growth" I nodded as I examined the strange metal.

"Similar to how abyssal energy reacts to magicules however, Void Creep will rapidly grow, consume and take over an area if introduced to a place that is filled with a large amount of magicules, so be careful then using it."

"This should work..." I muttered under my breath.

"Yeah, I can definitely make what I need with this, with a few changes of course"

"I'm glad I could help"

"This will speed things up, so thanks alot" I said as I looked back up at him.

"Anyway, I should get going now, got a lot of stuff to get done" I was about to turn and leave but stopped when I remembered something important.

"Oh and by the way, while I'm gone can you write down everything that you have discovered from your time here for me?" I asked but paused to reconsider my words.

"Actually...it's probably best if Vel does it, no offense to you or anything but I don't trust you to write something that is clear and understandable, especially when you insist on drinking that stuff"

"Hahaha...that's fair..."