Treasures

Noah examined the items that had miraculously survived the journey back from the infernal palace.

"What did we get?" he asked.

"Looks like we got five things. Didn't you just grab them in the chaos?" Gladius responded.

First up was a bottle filled with a sticky red liquid. Noah lifted the bottle, walking to the window to observe it in the moonlight. It appeared quite viscous.

"What is this?" Noah inquired.

"A potent poison. Not sure which creature it was harvested from; let's call it the Red Poison."

Poison...

"The poison in your collection must be quite powerful."

"Not necessarily. It might be something the imps collected randomly. All I know is that it can definitely kill."

"How to use it, though? No idea when it takes effect, what traces it leaves, or if it activates just by smelling it..." Noah's thoughts ran wild.

"It certainly has its virtues. This poison isn't from your world, meaning its effects are untraceable. No one will find its source, and its symptoms won't match any poison known to your world. Use it to do away with your enemies."

Poison... Harm... Concealing it in food, in water... These weren't Noah's forte. He shelved his musings, stowing the poison in a cupboard before examining the other objects.

He then picked up an instrument-like object with strings attached to a black stone rod, its wide fan-shaped base seemingly meant for strumming, unlike any other stringed instrument Noah had seen.

"You're a genius. Of all the powerful items, you picked up a five-stringed harp," Gladius complained.

"Does it have any magical powers or special effects?"

"It's just a regular harp, probably picked up from some jungle world."

Noah plucked the strings, producing a crisp sound that broke the still night. He quickly ceased, not wanting to disturb others.

Three items remained. Noah picked up a bracelet-like object, stunningly crafted from black mineral with bright gold and gray cracks on its surface. He had never seen such fine craftsmanship.

"This is a Tenshoku stone bracelet," Gladius informed.

"Tenshoku stone?"

"Wear the bracelet, then shake it a bit."

"Don't mess with me."

Noah slipped the bracelet onto his right wrist and gave it a shake. The stone glimmered faintly, and a lifting force emerged, slowly raising his hand. Noah struggled to lower it, wrestling against the bracelet's persistence, but it steadily elevated his hand. Now he had to keep his right arm raised, a rather odd posture.

"What kind of power is this..." Noah felt helpless, his right hand held aloft, unable to bring it down.

"Don't worry," Gladius cackled. "The stored energy isn't much; it'll soon become an ordinary black stone bracelet."

"Tenshoku stone... enables levitation?"

"It's an anti-gravity stone, common in Hell, probably nonexistent in your world."

"What does anti-gravity mean?"

"Gravity is a force that pulls at your feet from below, preventing you from jumping too high or flying."

"So, anti-gravity is a force that allows us to fly and leap." Noah grasped the concept.

"Simple minds are so blissful."

Nevertheless, none of these items seemed particularly powerful.

"Your taste is really poor," Gladius mocked.

"It's your collection that's weird."

"Nonsense."

As the Tenshoku stone's energy depleted, Noah managed to lower his elevated arm. He picked up the significant Charred Ring, wearing it on his finger. Red Poison, the harp, Tenshoku stone bracelet, Charred Ring—Gladius mentioned five treasures, but there seemed to be one missing.

"It's hiding from you," Gladius mentioned.

Focusing, Noah swept his gaze over the bed, quickly spotting a small amulet moving at an almost imperceptible pace across the wooden plank. It was disk-shaped and could move laterally on its own. An amulet that moved? Noah couldn't resist picking it up.

He caught the lively amulet like capturing a small animal, holding it in his palm. It struggled to escape, and though Noah was sure he wasn't squeezing too hard, it managed to slide around, edging toward escape.

"What exactly is this?" Noah gripped the amulet tightly to prevent it from fleeing.

"A corundum amulet from a conquered world."

"...A world destroyed by demons."

"Yes. I remember it was a burgeoning arctic magic world, with a developing culture. Their resistance was sweet, a delightful diversion. When the Gate Demon opened the door between worlds, billions of demons swarmed in, you can imagine the consequences."

"It's moving."

"Someone, a timid mage-like creature, sought to avoid the agony of being slaughtered and devoured by demons by hiding their soul within this stone."

"Why does it keep trying to escape..."

"Of course, it's afraid of you. You have my scent, and demons are its greatest fear. We brought too much pain to that world. Compared to what they experienced, 'rivers of blood and mountains of bones' would be an understatement. They tried hard, made great attempts, had outstanding leaders and heroes. They thought themselves deficient, but it was merely bad luck. We need souls. It was a pleasant time, I had so much to cut, deliberately giving them chances to win, then crushing their hopes just as victory was within reach. False hope makes the eventual total defeat a thousandfold more painful," Gladius described with delight.

"Is there really a soul in there?" Noah held the amulet up to the moonlight. The circular amulet, crafted from a material resembling corundum, was flawlessly elegant, with a hook-like structure for secure attachment to a belt or garment.

"After about thirty thousand years, the hidden soul has dissipated, leaving behind only the traces and instincts of its former habitation. Ah, the notion of evading disaster for eternal life becomes laughable over such timescales. Worlds discovered by demons, intelligent life can only battle to death, the rest fading no differently than typical oblivion. Oh, Noah, what use do you think such an amulet has?"

Noah pondered before lifting his hand to eye level.

"Let's cooperate. I'm a person whose duty is to hunt demons," Noah proposed. "When demons draw near, you tremble to warn me."

"You're talking to corundum, you fool," Gladius scoffed.

Yet, the amulet truly ceased trembling, resting calmly on Noah's finger as if it understood the meaning behind his words. Perhaps the soul that vanished in an instant, long ago, still hadn't given up on opposing demons.

Noah pinned it to his waistcoat, then focused his attention on the last treasure—the Charred Ring.

He touched the chapel's stone wall, aiming at it, slowly learning to wield the Charred Ring. Like using a magic rope, he concentrated on his finger, intently staring at the ring, trying to unleash the power contained within.

Hissing...

No fire spewed, just thick smoke billowing out, inducing coughs as sparks lit up on the ring, crackling in sequence.

"Isn't this going to scorch my fingers?" The area around the ring was growing warm.

"Maybe. You haven't really started releasing it yet. But this place is too small—if you don't want to blow up your future abode, it's best to try another day."

Noah concurred.

After all was done, he lay back down to rest.

"Ready to rest? You're such a lazy good-for-nothing."

"We need sleep."

"The whole night is long enough to work," Gladius prattled on. "We'll go there again. My power is continuously recovering, and you're becoming more adept. We'll keep going back and forth between Hell and this world, think about what we can do. I can cut through the barriers of the world. Think about it, Noah, I am..."

Noah's eyelids grew heavy.

Maybe it was Gladius's incessant chatter that made him drift into the demon's consciousness half-awake.

The Blade manifested.

It was a concept. When people spoke of something sharp, they spoke of a blade—something with an edge meant to cut. Thus, everything related to it converged into a certain longing, to cut open enemies or to open some fruit. In the real world, a creature evolved with sharp appendages, and at the same time, the most primordial Blade Demon was born in Hell, carrying the ideal of cleaving things apart. The logical progression seemed traceable: first met with an obstacle, then the desire to destroy it, and the blade could amplify force. The same force, with the blade's aid, could focus along a line, increasing its power many times over.

So Gladius was dedicated to cutting.

Noah saw Gladius cutting through Hell, fissures appearing in rock walls under the blade's influence, relentlessly cleaving and hacking in one direction, unstoppable by magma or Hell's seas.

Back then, Hell was divided into many disconnected hollows, housing different demon lords, unable to contact each other because of the boundless stones in between, made from the world's raw materials.

So the demons requested:

"Gladius, please use your blade to cut through Hell's walls, connecting the spaces."

Gladius responded nonchalantly, unconcerned with the other demons' wishes. It swung once, randomly connecting two or three huge caves.

The great chasms it created permanently impacted many things in Hell. Demons could now meet each other, but not all were pleased. Some grew stronger through wars, some were annihilated, some were angry at their territories being compromised, some palaces were utterly destroyed.

The demons forced Gladius to stop its work, saying, "You can't do this, you should act according to our wishes, you should open the paths of Hell for us."

Gladius arrogantly refused them all, so the demons no longer begged softly but cursed loudly at Gladius, refusing to interact with it, attacking on sight. Gladius continued, heedless, to chop and whittle as it pleased.

"What did you see?" Gladius noticed Noah's dive into its consciousness.

"Nothing," Noah said.

"Don't rummage through my memories, you idiot."

Noah saw what happened next. Other demon lords could do similar things to Gladius, following the demons' wishes, connecting Hell, changing its shape, breaking the isolation. Thus, demon lords could communicate with each other, creating homes to their liking, making many hollows in Hell prosper. They ostracized Gladius, forcing it to dwell in the most desolate rocky pits of Hell, the places they had visited, those barren caverns, all made from Hell's round stones, alongside only the most detestable demons as neighbors.

"Gladius, I've taken over your territory," Noah heard the voice of the Flame Demon King. When was this memory from? Just now? "I've burned your armies, your commanders, your confidants, your forts, and those finely crafted blades you were so proud of. I've burned your kin and subjects. I've forced your followers to slaughter each other. Where my flames passed, everything you once cherished no longer exists. You don't need those anymore. You left this place; you abandoned me. People light fires; isn't it to forge blades?"

Gladius's response was a laugh bordering on madness, piercingly loud for Noah to bear, echoing like a tempest in a valley. He had to wake up.