Touch of Fate

Chapter 357: A Helping Maid

Mike winced as his regeneration kicked into high gear, repairing the extensive tissue damage his possessed half was suffering from. Before it had even finished healing, he found himself being pulled forward as the demon rushed madly towards the Spirit Mage. Evidently, it was trying to stop Opal from doing whatever she was planning on doing.

"That's enough of that." Mike growled while wrenching his possessed arm down, causing him to fall into a roll that sent him careening into a wall on the opposite side of the chamber.

"DO NOT GET IN MY WAY, MORTAL!" The demon howled, tearing with frenzied abandon at Mike and forcing him to live through the surreal experience of trying to wrestle against himself.

Just as he was considering cutting the offending appendages off and seeing if they would regenerate normally, Opal's calm voice pierced through the demon's howls. "While I understand your frustration, dear, it can't be helped. After all, that is not your body. You have no right to try and claim it, and so you can't complain when someone takes it back from you, now can you?"

As she spoke a bright silver light descended on him, causing his demon half to calm down and go limp, almost as if it were asleep. After a few seconds of this, the skin of his right side reverted to its normal human appearance, and he could feel that the other parts of his body were slowly returning to their original state.

"Is this...did you just fix it?" He asked, a little confused. Even before the words left his mouth, he could tell that he was being overly optimistic.

"Unfortunately, child, I've done nothing more than temporarily suppress your demon, putting it in a sleep-like state. Ordinarily, I could maintain this state indefinitely, but for better or worse, you have a truly powerful being inhabiting your body. I suspect that it will break free from my suppression in the near future."

"I see." Mike nodded solemnly. "Alright, what do we do next?"

The elderly dwarf woman tilted her head slightly, a small smile on her face. "About that...I'm not sure."

"...Huh? What are you saying?"

"Don't get me wrong, child. I know the next step to solving your problem, but without the demon's true name, I am afraid there is no permanent solution. There are several stop gap measures we can take, but I am unsure which would best suit your particular situation."

"Hold on a minute. Aren't you supposed to be the expert on this kind of thing?" He asked, feeling a little miffed that the long awaited assistance was proving to be less than forthcoming.

"I suppose you could call me that, although I don't consider myself an expert on anything in particular."

Mike was starting to feel a little discouraged, when it occurred to him that he might have just the thing he needed to solve this problem. "Well, in that case, if we knew the demon's truename, could you do something about it?"

"Indeed I could, or rather I could guide you through the method of fixing the issue yourself."

"Alright then, I know how to get that information. I'll explain the specifics later, but for now...I've got this."

Reaching into his inventory, he pulled out the simple bell that he'd gotten from Barth, the caretaker of the meeting place of the gods and one of the Ascended, when he accidentally visited the god after narrowly avoiding a dimensional collapse. Supposedly, using the item would summon some kind of servitor to answer up to three questions.

[Did he foresee this eventuality? I should be hidden from the path of destiny for this world, but I suppose the gods could have access to information sources beyond my understanding. This could very well be the solution I need...Of course this could also be a big waste of a once in a lifetime chance to interrogate a literal god, so should I make use of it right now?]

He deliberated the matter for a few moments while the rest of the group patiently waited for him. Opal watched him with a knowing smile, but made no effort to interrupt his train of thought. In the end, he decided that since he already had a god essentially living in his inventory, albeit one who was behind the times, it wasn't like he was wasting the opportunity.

"Well, here goes nothing." He muttered to himself before ringing the bell.

A clear, high-pitched note sounded, somehow filling the room with its reverberating echo and drowning out the noises of the battles outside. For a moment, the world seemed to be filled with a soothing sense of order and control, until the sound faded.

They waited for a few moments, but nothing seemed to happen. Unable to control his curiosity any longer Morris asked, "What was that supposed to-"

However, his question was interrupted by a soft, but confident voice that sounded from slightly behind and to the left of Mike. "You rang?"

Surprised, he jumped, whirled in place and was facing the speaker in the blink of an eye, heart beating wildly from the sudden spike of adrenaline. The rest of the group responded at the same time, turning to face the origin of the voice almost as one, the shock evident on their startled faces.

The newcomer was a young woman dressed in an old-fashioned maid uniform complete with a floor length skirt and a frilly bonnet. Her black hair was tied up in a bun which highlighted her smooth porcelain skin and rigidly beautiful features. In fact, she was so eerily perfect in appearance, that if Mike hadn't seen her move, he could have easily mistaken her for some kind of doll or manikin.

He used Appraise in the fraction of a moment it took to get his bearings, a part of his mind already working to analyze and interpret this new possible threat.

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Alice

Age: 1526

Race: Divine Servitor

Class: Paragon Maid

Title: Rebellious Soul

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[...There is a lot I want to comment about here.]

While he was still in the midst of coming to terms with her appearance and stats, the maid's face twisted into a very slight frown. "Did you not call me, human?"

Snapping his attention back to the matter at hand, he answered. "I did."

"Very well, then ask your questions. You have three remaining."

He opened his mouth, intending to ask whether he could save two of his questions for the future, but realized that this might be construed as a question in and of itself.

[Ah, I always hated these kinds of word games. Should I try to phrase it as a statement and get her to confirm it or reject it in some manner?]

While he was agonizing over it, her frown continued to deepen until finally she grumbled in exasperation. "I was in the middle of a very important task when you called for me, so if you continue to waste my time I will make sure that you regret it. Let me guess, you are worried about whether or not you have to ask all of your questions at once, is that right?"

Caught a little off guard, he simply nodded.

"Well then, rest assured. Once I have answered your question I will return from whence I came. When you decide upon your next question, simply ring the bell again and I will return," Her frown took on a slightly self-deprecating cast as she muttered quietly, "whether I wish to or not."

"Alright then. I won't waste any more of your time. There is a demonic entity possessing me. My question is, what is this entity's truename?"

Alice's seemingly static frown returned to a slightly more neutral expression as specks of light flashed across her dark eyes in a rapid and chaotic pattern. Although it was difficult to make out, Mike thought the specks look a little bit like highly condensed words, but he couldn't tell for sure.

After a few moments, the maid nodded. "I have retrieved the file in question, but it is protected by a Level 5 security protocol, requiring the direct approval of my master to view. I am requesting access, but this usually takes some"

She trailed off, blinking in surprise as she did. "It was granted."

Mike waited for more, but she appeared to be lost in thought. Finally, after a few seconds of watching her internal debate, he asked. "Well, did you find it?"

Shaking her head slightly, she turned her gaze back towards him. "Yes. The entity residing within you is in actuality a remnant of a Demon Prince that ruled a demon realm in the distant past. It was known by many names and titles over the course of its existence, as is typical for non-ascended members of its kind. However, it's true name has remained unchanged despite its current state. Are you prepared to hear it?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Very well. It's true name is Qemu'el."

Although Mike could hear the word coming from her lips, her mouth was twisted in an unusual manner as she spoke. At the same time, he thought he heard something else underneath her voice, a sort of high-pitched static that scratched at his mind and left him feeling disturbed. Thankfully, the sensation quickly faded.

Sera broke the subsequent silence with a tentative question. "...What in the hells was that? That was supposed to be a name?"

"I think it was the Celestial tongue. The language of the System itself." Morris uttered reverently. "There are a few records that speak of it's unnatural sound, but I could never have imagined it sounded like that."

[Good old Communication Magic to the rescue again. I really need to thank that Ancient One if I ever encounter it again. Still Qemu'el almost sounds biblical. I feel like I've heard something like it before]

He turned to thank Alice for her assistance, but at some point while he was lost in thought, the maid had already vanished. "Well, I guess she's done her part, so Opal what should I do next?"

The old Spirit Mage had pulled up one of the few chairs that remained intact, and was calmly sitting and observing the proceedings. The kindly smile on her face had faded a bit. "You keep some surprising company, child. Not many can call upon the followers of the Custodian. Fewer still can do so without sacrificing something precious in the process."

Sensing that she was disapproving in some way, Mike hastened to explain. "I haven't entered a contract with him or anything. We met by chance after I had a bit of a dimensional accident. This bell is just a gift."

The old dwarf stared at him for a few seconds before closing her eyes with a tired nod. "That might be so. That wiley old butler could have planned all this. If that is the case, I must warn you to avoid taking what he or any of his servants says at face value, especially if you are using that bell again in the future. Although the Creators have done much to restrict his actions, he was once touted as the greatest schemer on Ea. There is no saying quite what his goals may be, but you should take care not to become a pawn in one of his plans."

[He did not seem to be so bad when I met him. In fact he even went out of his way to help me when I might otherwise be stranded in a hell realm...Although, now that I think about it, I only have his word on that. Hmm...there are a lot of fishy elements to his story]

"I understand." He finally replied. "I will take your warning under advisement...Um, do I need to be worried about the true name she gave me?"

That earned him a slight smile. "I think not. As I said before, it is hard to guess what he's planning, but it's clear he intends to help you with this matter. My gut tells me that you can trust his information this time."

"Ok...So, I have the demon's true name. What should I do next?"

"That will be a process, but not to worry, I'll walk you through it. But first, let's see about finding something to eat. Can't work on an empty stomach."