Intermission: Spiral Mazes Have No Exit

Intermission:
Spiral Mazes Have No Exit

 

SARA AND NEIGASS were locked in battle with two massive spider monsters deep in the bowels of a research laboratory in the northwest limits of the capital.

“Neigass, you’ve got one closing in on your right flank!”

“I’m on it!”

The spider in question had the head of a horse with a bouquet of tentacles growing out of its mouth. The room they were in was vast, almost as if it were purpose-built for raising such creatures.

Neigass flipped gracefully through the air out of the way of the whipping tendrils, grabbed a hold of Sara, and threw out her hand as she cast a spell. “Tornado Illegal Formula!!”

Her use of “illegal formula” further extended the power of her spell, creating an immense tornado that formed a protective barrier around the two of them. The whirlwind grew larger and larger, until it began to paint the walls with the creature’s blood and gobbets of its flesh.

“Gyiiiii!! Gyii! Giiiiyiiiiiii!” The spider threw itself blindly into the tornado, possibly because it was too stupid to know any better. Its tentacles lashed out after its prey even as its body took further damage.

Alas, it still couldn’t penetrate Neigass’s barrier.

“Gyagyiiiiiii!” A dark ichor flew from the monster’s mouth as it screamed in agony before it was finally ripped apart at the waist.

“You’re still coming?!”

Yet the upper body still persisted, crawling forward on its tentacles.

Neigass felt a twinge of fear at the creature’s refusal to die, though she managed to maintain her composure.

“Melting Darkness!!”

A black orb slightly larger than her fist shot from the palm of her hand, aimed squarely at its face. The moment the orb made contact, it swelled to envelop its head; every soft tissue within the orb’s bounds dissolved, leaving only bare bones.

The monster fell still and slumped to the ground.

Neigass let out a sigh. With each new crèche she’d raided, the monsters waiting there always proved more powerful than the last batch, animated by a further-refined set of Origin cores. Though she was still dispatching them with ease, she was beginning to suspect that it wouldn’t be long before this active research facility pitted them against a foe she couldn’t handle.

“Neigass, your hand. It’s hurt.”

Neigass’s serious expression softened the moment she felt Sara’s warm touch. Sara rolled her eyes but continued with her healing spell.

“Your healing magic is in a league of its own, Sara.”

“It’s really no different from anyone else’s. Listen, you can’t let your confidence get the best of you, okay? They’re only getting stronger.”

“I guess getting hurt is a small price to pay if it gets you to fret over me like this.”

“You better cut it out, or I’ll just leave you like this.” With that, Sara walked out of the room. Neigass hurried after her.

“Hey, hey, I was just joking! Wait up, Sara!!”

Once she finally caught up, Neigass was all business once again. “Ya know, I wasn’t sure melting its head like that was gonna cut it. I’m not used to these things dying the same way proper animals do.”

“At least it gave in easily. But that thing was real nasty-looking.”

“I guess that’s what the Chimera program is all about—using the Origin cores to combine different kinds of monsters into a powerful biological weapon. Real nasty stuff they’ve been thinking up.”

“And we’re just cleaning out their old work, too. I hate to imagine what they’ve got now.” Sara shuddered as images of even more disturbing creatures passed through her head, and she stuck out her lip in disgust.

Neigass looked over at the young girl and smiled. “Well, it’s thanks to you that I even learned about this lab in the first place. I owe you one.”

Sara’s information had proven invaluable in Neigass’s hunt for various research laboratories. Then again, even Sara had never anticipated that the church documents she had stumbled across picking over that first run-down facility in search of Leitch’s medicinal herbs would contain the names of other labs.

“And where’d that come from all of a sudden?” said Sara. “Trying to win me over or something?”

“Is that the kind of treatment I get for saying something nice?”

“Ya reap what ya sow.”

Neigass had no response to this. She wasn’t wrong.

“Couldn’t you just send a blast of wind down here and map everything out without needing to come down?”

“There are so many possible leads, I can’t possibly tell where to start. Besides, this may have nothing to do with the vestiges of the battle with Origin.”

“The battle…with Origin?”

Neigass’s face instantly tensed up in a scowl. She’d said too much.

“The kingdom fought with Origin?”

“No, well, I mean…it was kind of a figure of speech, and…”

“Top secret, huh? That’s fine. You don’t tell me anything anyway.” Sara puffed out her cheeks and glared at Neigass, causing the demon woman to tense up. “You know, I really assumed we’d grown close on this journey. Maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part?”

Her words were like a sucker punch to Neigass’s gut. Neigass’s face screwed up, like she’d just sucked a lemon dry.

Sara pressed on, letting out a long sigh. “I was even thinking about finally joining you for a bath tonight, too. You keep talking about it, ya know, so I figured maybe I’d finally give in…but I can’t really do that with you keeping secrets from me like this.”

“Nnng…!” Neigass was struggling to maintain her composure.

She wanted nothing more than to take Sara into the bath with her—so much so that she’d even considered begging. But could she really betray her sacred oath and spill the demons’ secrets to fulfill her own desires?

No. She knew she shouldn’t. But on the other hand, her dream would never come to fruition if she didn’t bend the rules a little. Besides, it seemed unfair to Sara to keep her in the dark, despite dragging her along.

“Nnngg…fine! I’ll tell you as much as I can. I can’t let a stupid thing like a secret get in the way. So please, please join me in the bath!” Neigass, an all-powerful demon feared by humans throughout the land, knelt before her and bowed so low that her forehead touched the floor. Sara could only stare on in astonishment.

 

***

 

Neigass and Sara booked a room at an inn in the neighboring town of Noweis. From the moment they entered, Neigass sang a little bath-time ditty to herself like a small child unable to control their excitement. Sara, on the other hand, was starting to worry that she’d given in a little too early. She let the towel slide away from her body before slipping under the water and sitting on Neigass’ lap.

Sure, Neigass had hugged and cuddled with her many times in the past, but feeling their skin touch was something else entirely. Sara’s face turned pink amid the faint wisps of steam that rose from the water. Neigass merely giggled maniacally to herself. She looked like she couldn’t be happier.

“Listen, could you at least stop laughing like some creepy old man?”

“Huh? I don’t know if I could if I wanted to. I mean, I finally have you here in the bath with me.”

“Did you forget your promise? You’re supposed to be telling me about Origin, remember?”

“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten. Oh, where to start…”

“I want to hear about the kingdom’s war with Origin.”

“Well, it was the humans’ and the demons’ war, technically speaking. You can still see traces of the damage once you cross into our territory.”

“You mean humans worked together with demons?”

“Of course. I mean, no matter how resistant you might be, humans never stood a chance at winning, distorted species that you are.”

“R-resistant?”

“Right. You see, humankind was almost completely wiped out by Origin before they finally came back into their own a long, long time later. But once they did, they got off to a rapid start. Your affinities and abilities to use magic are part of that rebound, as is the creation of us demons.”

“I…I have questions, but I don’t even know where to start. That’s a pretty convenient path of evolution, isn’t it?”

“Some say that it was the planet’s will. Its desire to ensure its continued survival. By creating such a variety of life, it could ensure that at least one would live on even when others failed.”

The scale of the conversation had expanded so drastically that Sara was having a hard time keeping up.

“I guess this is a bit hard to follow,” Neigass said. “Probably best to make sure you understand what Origin is.”

“That’s what I really want to know.”

“What do you think would end all war and strife in this world?”

Sara brought a finger to her lower lip in thought.

Neigass’s heart raced at the adorable gesture.

“Ensure everyone has a proper moral grounding…I guess?”

“That’s a more pragmatic answer than I expected. But the person who created Origin had another idea.” Neigass brought her lips close to Sara’s delicate earlobe and whispered. “Connect the minds of all species together and make them one.”

Sara felt a chill run up her spine. She shuddered, blood running cold at Neigass’s voice and the message behind her words. “Y-you don’t need to get so close, do you?”

“C’mon, building atmosphere is one of the first principles of storytelling.”

Sara stuck out her lip in annoyance. “Well, I’m not interested in that. I want you to give me all the details.” If Neigass would just stop overstepping her boundaries, she would be a wonderful, sisterly figure. “What did you mean by connecting minds together?”

“Exactly like how it sounds. If there’s no longer any ‘other’ people, then there’s no one to fight with.”

“So, Origin was created to put an end to conflicts?”

“Well, the goal was originally to create a form of life that improved human consciousness…or so I hear. But it strayed from this goal at some point, taking the form of a new, distorted ideal that brought the world to ruin.”

And that was why Origin would not stop: it was fed by the energy it generated itself, creating an endless feedback loop.

“That’s…really kind of sad.” Sara gazed down at the water lapping back and forth in the tub. “I guess it’s true that there would be no more conflict if only one person remained. But you couldn’t fall in love either.”

A droplet of water dripped off Sara’s chin. If she didn’t know better, Neigass could easily mistake it for a tear shed in sadness. Overcome with emotion, she hugged the girl tightly in her arms.

“Is that a roundabout way of you confessing your feelings toward me?”

“You really know how to ruin a moment.” With that, Sara stood up and exited the tub.

“Hey, wait! I didn’t mean it like that!!” Neigass managed to get a hold of Sara’s ankle, but her hand was too wet to find purchase. All she could do was watch Sara walk away as her long-anticipated bath time came to a close.

 

***

 

After leaving the bath, Sara made her way back to the room and sat in front of the full-length mirror. Neigass stepped up behind the girl and conjured up a warm, stiff breeze to blow-dry Sara’s hair as she ran a brush gently through her locks.

“But…I just don’t get it. Why are human and demon relations so bad now?”

“Right? You and I get along so well, too.”

“I have to wonder how many out there are like you, Neigass.”

“I have no idea why you have such a scathing tongue, you know.”

“Well, you bring it on yourself.”

Even Neigass had to admit that Sara’s biting comments were almost always her own fault.

“Jokes aside, the reason why we drifted apart is because humans wanted it that way.”

“Why would they want that?”

“They’re creatures of many wants and desires. It was inevitable that they would someday seek to release the seal placed on Origin to contain its power. Knowing that, the ‘first hero’—the one who locked Origin away in the first place—asked demonkind to distance itself from humanity, in order to prevent future humans from stealing Origin’s power.”

“This story gets more and more intriguing. I guess that means that Origin is in the Demon Lord’s castle? And now that I think about it, that hero was someone other than Cyrill?”

“…Yes, you’re right. Origin is sealed away in the lowest depths of the Demon Lord’s castle…or more accurately, the castle was built atop Origin. As for the hero, there’s a new one every few hundred years or so.”

When Origin lay dormant, such a hero would simply be a powerful adventurer. To realize their true power, Origin would have to be restored. Or…

“Does that mean…Origin was the one to summon Cyrill to the Demon Lord’s castle?”

“The hero was the one to seal Origin away, and it would take a hero to undo it.”

“That’s pretty crafty. All under the guise of undertaking a journey to slay the Demon Lord, too.”

“Breaking the bonds between humans and demons was also a part of its cunning plan.”

“The way you talk about it, it seems like there was never much cause for bad blood between us.”

“Around fifty years ago, the humans violated our long-standing armistice. They even began to disseminate books and stories decrying the awful acts purportedly committed by demons. Not like we’d ever done anything of the sort.”

“And that’s where we humans got the idea we were enemies, huh? And it only took twenty years of living like that to convince us it was a good idea to start a war…”

Neigass let up on her wind magic and ran a hand through Sara’s freshly dried hair.

Sara smiled at Neigass’s reflection in the mirror. “Thanks.”

“Now, why they’d spend the past fifty years creating the right conditions to release the seal, I have no idea. Religious fervor is beyond my understanding.”

“Considering they got the royal family involved too, I don’t think you can chalk it up entirely to religious fervor.” Sara ruminated for a moment. “Hey, you mentioned earlier that humans and demons are resistant to Origin’s power. But if that’s the case, then why are they affected by these cores?”

She turned away from the mirror and made her way to the bed before sitting down. Neigass glided past her and slipped under the covers.

“The way I see it, the most likely explanation’s that someone willingly joined themselves with Origin, which gave it the power to nullify our resistance.”

“So someone is helping Origin? Even while it’s sealed away? I hate to say it, but that means it’d probably have to be a demon…”

The only ones who could get close enough to Origin and cover their tracks were the Demon Chiefs or the Demon Lord herself.

“I’ll tell you right now that that’s completely out of the question. None of them would ever consider turning on our people. Besides, the cores your people use now aren’t necessarily drawing on power granted by the same Origin that is sealed away underneath the Demon Lord’s castle.”

“So you think there might be more than one Origin?”

Neigass narrowed her gaze and stared up at the ceiling. “That’s our current theory. That’s why tracking down these labs where they’re embedding the cores is our number-one priority.”

Sara never paid much attention to Neigass’s face—by her reckoning, she was too facetious to pay the meaning of her expressions much thought—but Neigass was incredibly pretty. When she was finally quiet like this, she had a nonchalant kind of beauty. Sara started to feel her heart race. She shook her head, hoping to bring herself back to her senses.

“What’re you doing?”

“N-nothing!”

“Feeling lonely? You can sleep with me, you know…” Neigass lifted up the covers in an open invitation.

“No thanks!” Sara quickly yanked her own blanket over her head.

“I just can’t win…” Neigass smirked and reached up to flick off the light, bathing the room in darkness.

“Nighty night.”

Elune had always drilled into Sara that she must always mind her manners and someone’s good wishes, no matter the circumstances.

“…G’night.”

The two lay there, their eyes closed, thinking about where they would pick up their search before falling into a fitful sleep.

 

***

 

The library within the Demon Lord’s castle was replete with books detailing the history of demonkind.

Everyone had long since retired to their rooms by this point—except for Sheitoom, who was buried deep in the archives. Alas, nothing she found contained any information on weakening Origin’s seal.

A hand reached over her shoulder and set a cup of fragrant tea in front of the Demon Lord.

“Tsy…?”

She looked back over her shoulder and was surprised to see a man with a monocle and dressed in a tailcoat—Dhiza—standing there behind her.

He laughed gently at this.

“Unfortunately, it’s only me. Shall I call Tsyon for you?”

“I, uh, no! That won’t be necessary!” Sheitoom glared down at the table, her face flushed.

“It’s rather late, you know. You’ll make yourself sick if you don’t take care of yourself.”

“We’re in desperate times, you know? I don’t think we can worry about that right now.”

“You’ve grown into a respectable young woman. That little crybaby of years past seems like nothing but a dream,” Dhiza said. Sheitoom had spent much of her childhood hiding behind Tsyon, letting him face her fears for her.

“Do we need to talk about my childhood? I mean, everyone has embarrassing stories they’d rather forget about.”

“Really? I have no such reservations. In the many, many years since your ancestors brought me to live here, I can’t recall anything that I would describe as embarrassing.”

Dhiza had been taken in as an orphan and raised from infancy. In return, he took it upon himself to support the Demon Lords in any way he could.

“If I may be so presumptuous, I’d go so far as to say I was a source of pride for the Demon Lords who cared for me.”

“And yet you bring up how I was such a crybaby! You trying to make fun of me, Dhiza?”

“You have so little faith in me, madam.”

“I mean, you do it all the time… Look, you’re even smirking! You were making fun of me, weren’t you? You’re such a meanie, Dhiza!”

Dhiza smiled as the young girl puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. After a moment, he cleared his throat in an attempt to change the subject.

“Well, I suppose there’s little I can do about how you feel about me, my beloved Demon Lord. But please take care. Not just for yourself, but Tsyon as well.” With that, Dhiza left the room.

Sheitoom turned her attention back to the books in front of her. “Gah…why’d you have to bring him into this? Listen, I know…but it’s not that simple.”

If she only had some sort of diary or record left by her ancestors…she might have a clear place to start. But she couldn’t find her mother’s diary anywhere in the castle, and that fact ate at her like nothing else. With nothing to go by, she’d just have to do it herself. Even if that meant going page by page for hours on end, until she collapsed from exhaustion.