Chapter Twenty Five

Another couple hours pass. Its frustration is mounting. So much so that it materialized a pair of eyes to better address you, to better convey its frustration. It wants to go. And it wants to get out now!

"No. I've come to bargain-" For the first time it makes a sound and it's a scream shaking your mind to its very foundation. "No. I've come to bargain!" It begins to thrash around, in an attempt to cause destruction in the emptiness but when it makes no progress it stops its temper tantrum. "You're not getting out of here unless I let you. At least in there you could sleep until the next fool comes around.

But I won't let you. We'll stay here forever if need be! Only if we strike a bargain do I let you out!"

Its eyes are now glowing red as it stares into your soul. It wants to know what you want.

You give the entity a stern look. "I'll let you out of your cage. But if I see you doing anything to my body I'll lock you up again! So I'm gonna test to see how far I can let you off the leash. If you behave good you'll get more freedom.

Sound good?"

It growls. It's getting really agitated.

Once more it thrashes about before it suddenly stops and turns to face you.

The silence is starting to be deafening as it stares into you. But finally you feel it. The strain on your body lessening. Seems like it got the message.

The feeling of the creature settling down washes over you and gives you relief the likes of which you've never experienced before.

Looking up you start lowering the barrier and watch the creatures reaction closely.

Funnily enough it does the same thing with you. It knows that if it does anything now that wall is going back up. So for now you're in the clear.

Nodding to it you leave the mindscape and return to the real world. Your eyes slowly open up and you look over your body. The strange lumps are gone, whatever they may have been. Looking up you look the demons in the eye and see that they are experiencing the purest form of terror you've ever seen.

Standing up you ask them a question. "How long was I gone?"

"A-An hour?" Sala responds.

Meanwhile the bug guy falls to his knees.

"H-How? How did you survive? T-The Majin-"

"The Majin? Is that how it's called?"

Sala nods awkwardly. "Y-You weren't kidding when you said you want to take down the Demon King?" You shake your head and Sala swallows hard. "N-Now I may start believing you..."

But then something unexpected happens as the bug guy walks up. "I am Ken..." And he kneels down. "From this day forth you'll have my sword great Majin!"

You stare him down, your eyes tired and pained after that ordeal. "Get up! I don't like brown nosing. Like I said. Behave well and I'll be your best friend. Don't... and you won't have time to regret it!"

The journey back to your camp felt much longer than when you left. But at long last you're back and you relief as you're surrounded by the dead remains of your enemies. You see, they are good because YOU made them, not some eldritch monstrosity...

As you get back your two new companions quickly settle down with Ken withdrawing himself so he can do some sword practice while Sala is busy grinding her nails. With a rock. That she broke off from your roof just a second ago. The mere thought of doing something like that makes you cringe.

While she's blowing some dust off her nails you approach her and start talking "business".

"So. When will you take me to the Demon King?"

"Excuse me. What?"

"The Demon King. You said-"

"I said that if you manage to get the Majin under control the Demon King won't stand a chance against you. As it stands, you look like you're barely holding your body together..."

She says as she looks you over. "But at the very least you do appear to have magic now so... that's a plus, I guess."

"Oh... Well I guess it was wishful thinking that I could tackle him." You sit down. "No matter. I'll figure this magic stuff out and then kick him in the dick!"

"Yeah... good luck. You won't get far."

"Why?"

"Most demons are born with magic and knowledge,naturally  knowing how to use magic! You are less threatening than a newborn and you have even less magic reserves!"

"Erm... hello?" You gesture at your camp which is literally made from the bodies of your now dead enemies.

"I've seen bigger. You're not that creative."

Hearing Sala criticize you makes Ken quite angry. "You DARE insult the one who tamed the Majin?! Have you no SHAME?!"

"Oh, and don't listen to a word this tool says."

She continues. "Demons are meek once they realize you're stronger than them. But turn your back and they'll happily stab you if they think they can get away with it."

"Then... could you maybe, perhaps... teach me?"

She looks up at you surprised. "Are you... asking me for help?"

"BAH! You think you're worthy of teaching the Majin?! FOOLISHNESS!"

"HE asked me genius." She responds to Kens insult before returning to you. *ahem* "Okay... I'll see what I can do. Follow me."

Leading you away from Kens prying eyes Sala slowly starts to explain the very basics of magic. "As you can probably feel, you've got some magic reserves now. That's because unlike your crude, mortal way of fighting magic is not tied to your stamina. Instead it uses a separate pool of power. This is the main reason why most of us decided to abandon that way of fighting and focus solely on magic."

"Uh-huh."

"But it has its downsides. Magic is a lot less... "exact" than your "martial arts" and whatnot.

Observe." She extends her hand and with a snap her index finger lights up like a zippo.

"It's a lot less of "practicing one thing until you can use it" and more "conditioning yourself"."

"So let me get this straight... Magic is just the power of make-believe and bullshit?"

"Crude but... basically yes. The way you use magic is simple. You tap into your power reserves and perform an action. That action can be anything from snapping your finger, to crossing your arm. So long as you believe it will happen, truly, truly believe it, it'll work."

She then extinguishes the fire in her hand and starts snapping her finger over and over again. "If you perform an action enough times, thinking it'll do something, then sooner or later it will. But you need to have the correct mindset for it. For example: If you want to make fire, you think about... well, fire. But not the fire itself. You think of the heat, how it feels to get burned. That's why some demons put their hands in fire, to experience the kiss of fire firsthand."

You think you got what she means.

Extending your hand you start focusing and snap your fingers... but nothing happens.

"Well, I did say it'll take a while."

You keep snapping your finger over and over again, hoping to accomplish anything.

The worst part is that while you get the concept, you don't exactly know how to "tap into" your magic pool. It's true that you feel something but it's not exactly much and you have no clue how to access it.

But as you keep trying Sala continues her little lecture. "Basic stuff like throwing fire around are easy enough. However more complex or more... abstract spells require much more effort. If it's something really specific you want to achieve then it's even possible that you may need to chant some magic words.

The trick here is that... they aren't real spells. If one demon performs some complex ritual you can't just copy it. Because the spells themselves are more like mantras. Little jingles to... put yourself in the correct mindset. You know... programming your brain."

"So... I have to come up with my own?"

"Basically. But you don't have to! They just make things easier. The downside there is that once you get used to the chant, you can't perform the spell without it."

You keep snapping away, to the point that your middle finger is seriously starting to hurt.

But once Sala concluded her explanation of the basic rules of magic you got a decently clear picture. Imagining a match being lit, its sound, its smell, its heat, you snap your finger one more time you do manage to produce some sparks but the act leaves you exhausted and panting.

"I... I did it!"

"So you did. But it looks like you're tapped out.

Looks like the Majin is real stingy... Well, you just gotta increase your pool the old fashioned way. By using it."

You straighten your back and start stroking your chin. "Hmmmm..."

Well the one upside of having such a horrendously small amount of magic is that at least it charges back up quicker. Once it returns you start thinking about this little conundrum, much to Salas amusement.

"What are you doing? Trying to pop a blood vessel?" She says as your head starts turning red from all the thinking.

"If you don't have much to use, use it well...

That was the basis of my training from day one. I guess it still remains true." You ponder on your options. Finally you smack your cheeks and extend one hand. "Okay! Here goes!"

First, you expel what little magical energy you have. Not as a spell but rather as raw energy. That will serve as the core. Next comes a bit of psyonics with some space distortion. Through sheer focus you start bending space until it becomes a swirling whirlpool. It's becoming increasingly harder to control with each second so you must finish it quickly.

Gritting your teeth and grunting heavily, you start pumping the thing full of Ki and it's at this point that the "thing" you're creating is becoming visible to the untrained eye.

The mass of swirling energy grows as it hungrily devours your ki until it becomes a heavy, black ball capable of fitting in your palm. Your hand is shaking like crazy, barely capable of holding back the thing in your hand. It's at this point that it starts sucking in smaller particles of dust that float around in the air. Sala sees this and starts shouting.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!

THROW IT! THROW IT NOW!"

You try to do so but the thing doesn't exactly want to move around. After slowly floating forward a few inches it gets stuck in the air and since you are no longer holding it together the things energy starts going out of control until...

BOOOOM

Thankfully the thing going off didn't cause too much destruction. Only a small crater is visible under the spot where it was floating, only big enough to house one person curled up in the fetal position. But it managed to expel everything it sucked up so now there is a little dust cloud surrounding you.

Sala coughs as she starts apprehending you.

"WHAT DID YOU DO YOU IDIOT?!"

"I-I was just experimenting-"

"WITH WHAT?! OUR LIVES?! YOU DON'T TOY AROUND WITH SOMETHING YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

"S-Sorry-"

"SORRY MY ASS!!"

It's at this moment that Ken flies up to you with his insect wings and sabers drawn.

"What is it? Are we under attack?!"

"YES! UNDER ATTACK BY THIS IDIOT!"

Sala than smacks you over the head, her knuckles biting into your skull.

"OW!"

As you're rubbing your head she storms off, furious, or perhaps simply worried. Meanwhile your bug "friend" tries to question you. "Ignore her Majin. Nothing good can come of those damn outcasts anyway..."

You ignore what Ken said and make your way to Sala who sat down on a rock and is now sulking on her own. "Fuck off!" She doesn't beat around the bush.

"Look, I'm sorry-"

"Sorry for almost killing me?!"

"Y-Yeah... May I sit down?"

"No!"

"Look... I'm really sorry. But... it feels like there is more to this. That was quite a large reaction to-"

"YOU! ALMOST! KILLED ME!"

"But I didn't?"

"But you could've! If you didn't stop then-"

"But I did stop. Listen, I didn't want to harm you, okay? Soooo... would you tell me what that's all about?"

She lets out a sigh. "I don't want to. It's a long and fucking stupid story. Besides, why do you care?! Why do you fucking care?!"

"Why do people keep asking that? Why do I need a reason to be nice? Does anyone ask why someone would wish a good day, or lend a seat in the bus?" You hit bump your chest and speak up. "I'm human! This is what we do!

And if you still doubt me, I'll have you know I did my best to try and help a race of genocidal machines! So yeah... I do care about you! Even if you're a demon!"

She stares at you for several seconds before letting out a chuckle. "Hehe... Human huh?

What strange little creature... Fine. I'll tell you who I am if you must know. But you'd best sit down. For this will be a long one."

"Way ahead of you."

"So to start off with, I... wasn't always like this.

I was just like all the rest, happily killing away without a care for what might come tomorrow. Those were... simpler times. Truth be told I spent most of my time killing things. I was so good at it in fact that at the height of my power I was considered an Elite Demon. Well... half of one." Sala then shuts her eyes.

"Until I decided to tackle the Demon King.

I managed to get as far as the head assholes throne room. I can still remember every little detail of that day."

"So... you failed."

"No... I was betrayed. Before the fight even broke out, before I had a chance to fight the only being I ever trusted in this shithole of a realm, the only one I ever dared to show my back to... attacked me. I can still hear her laughter." Sala clenches her fists. "Wounded and broken I had to run away. Been on the run ever since. Last time I heard the bitch now serves as the Demon Kings favorite cocksleeve."

She stands up and appears to look off into the distance where the many floating rocks are no longer visible. "Since then I changed my look on life. I got tired of fighting, tired of struggling. Instead of risking my life I decided to lay low and just... let things happen around me. I got... tired of it all."

You look at her in utter shock. Words like these were the last thing you expected to hear from a demon. "Do you... regret anything?"

"Hmmm? I don't know. I guess the only thing I regret is thinking that anyone can be trusted."

She turns back around and looks you directly in the eye. "And that's all good. Since then I was never disappointed by anyone. Because I don't expect anything from them. This is why I want you gone one way or another. The sooner you disappear from my life the sooner I can get back to wasting away as I should be."

You don't feel... anything from her. No malice, no self loathing. What she just said is how she genuinely believes. That her life is meaningless and all she's doing now is waiting until she finally gets to die and be at peace. A depressed demon...

It's... tragic. Yet familiar.

You've never had it, thankfully, but you've seen it plenty of times. The human spirit is so... easily broken. Hopelessness takes root in the heart and it does not let up until the whole body crumbles. But luckily, humanity changed even if temporarily. Maybe she has a chance as well? A new beginning, a fresh start. You were half joking before about taking her out of this realm. Now, you'll drag her out if you have to.

Walking up you tap her on the shoulder.

"You okay?"

"I told you. I am."

"Hmmm... 14THYou know on my planet treachery is one of the gravest sins imaginable."

You look at the horizon, where she is looking.

"Once I take care of the Demon King, we can kill that bitch as well.

What do you say?"

"What?! I just told you what happened to me! How I failed! And you still have almost no magic! Yet you... still want to do it?!"

"Of course! I was gonna do it anyway! At least now I have an actual reason for taking him out!" You smack your fists together.

"And I work BEST under these conditions!"

She pauses and gives you a look you'd give to a person you'd describe as a "retard".

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Okay! You're still pretty crazy little Human! Let's see how long it lasts!"

"So you in?"

"You bet!"

"So, what's next? How do we annoy the shit out of the Demon King?"

"I may have an idea..." She leans in close and begins whispering in your ear. Meanwhile Ken just stares at you. Quietly.