Demon's Virtue

Chapter 654: What better reason?

Eiro kept Kristoph’s body tightly locked down, and couldn’t stop the slight smirk forming on his lips, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You sure you’re not just overlooking it?” he whispered, and Kristoph’s face went pale. It went pale, despite the fact that he was being choked out, and his head should be as red as the blood flowing through his veins right now.

Kristoph kept struggling against Eiro’s lockdown, but soon realized that there was no choice for him beside to give up. He tried to whisper it, and Eiro quickly complied, letting go of the fellow lecturer. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, and Kristoph stared at Eiro’s chest, where a heart should usually be beating, “Are you… dead? What is this, necromancy?” he asked, but Eiro just shook his head. He slightly waved his hand and created a barrier of air around them that would block the conversation from leaking to the students.

“I’m not dead, no. I’m still alive; I just realized that I don’t need a heart anymore. I’m using magic to do anything that a heart would have done for me,” Eiro explained, and Kristoph was more than just taken aback, “But- Fuck, you’re ridiculous, how is that even possible? What about your core?”

“I turned my whole body into my core. Spread it out through my magic circuits,” the Demon said bluntly, and Kristoph smiled wrily, “That… that’s not possible… nobody can manipulate their core, or magic circuits, just- just what kind of monstrosity are you?”

“The kind that can overlook an infuriating idiot’s words, in exchange for some help,” Eiro replied bluntly, and Kristoph didn’t seem to fully understand what he was saying. The Demon started walking forward, past Kristoph toward the edge of the area they used for their brief duel, “Basically, if you promise to become mine, and help me during the fight against the Devil… I can promise you power that you would never have hoped to get your hands on.”

—

Eiro stepped into the workshop in the basement of his manor, briefly waving at Armodeus. The Elder Dwarf furrowed his brow and grumbled into his beard, “Do you two really have to work down here? This isn’t even the only hidden room in the basement; the other one is far bigger as well.”

The Demon smirked, “That one’s the torture chamber and breeding ground for the spiders. Not really the best place for precision work like this.”

“Yeah but at least you’d stop annoying the shit out of me – and to make it clear, with ‘you’, I mean ‘him’…” Armodeus pointed out, glaring at Partax as he did so. The Halfling looked up from the project that he was currently fiddling with and turned around with a frown, “What’d you say? If you’re that bothered, go join the spiders yourself! You already look like them, anyway!”

“Did you just – which of us is walking around on literal spider legs all day?”

“That would be me, of course, that comes to show just what a difference your bug-like snout makes,” Partax spit back, and Eiro could just tell that this would escalate even more if this was allowed to go on, so he stepped inbetween them, “Just – I’ll figure something out, okay? For now, just bear with each other. Partax, you especially, you’re just a guest here so don’t intrude on Armodeus.”

As Partax moved his glare toward Eiro, the Demon held up his palm, and started forming something out of Arcana; he was quickly recreating the Academy so that he could show exactly what he had learned by surveying it all day. Quickly, Partax’s attention was drawn away from the argument and toward the magic floating in front of him.

“This… Arcana, so you have decyphered the Ancient Language?” Partax asked, and Eiro quickly nodded, “Yeah, there’s this thing that Merlin built nearby that I got my hands on to learn it. Do you also know how to use Arcana?” the Demon asked, but Partax shook his head, “Sadly not – I know the Ancient Language, but my control over magic is too lacking for that specific area. I’m a horrible spellcaster; though I don’t need to be good at that, since being an artificer is more fun anyway.”

“Fair enough… Though, that being the case-”

“And you say Merlin built it? Something that let you learn the Ancient Language?”

“…Yes, but he didn’t build it so that I could learn it. He used it a long time ago and then abandoned it, and I just so happened to find it. I only met Merlin after that point, and learned the ancient language even later than that,” Eiro explained, “If you promise to behave when we get there, I can show you the place.”

Armodeus shuddered, “You sure you want to do that? Partax isn’t particularly the kindest toward most Monsters… you’re sort of the exception.”

Eiro looked at the Master Artificer and raised a brow, “What does he mean with that?”

“Well what else? I use them to test out new projects or concoctions, obviously. What does that have to do with anything though? Is that where you keep your more rowdy pets?”

“They’re not pets, even if they are a bit more on the rowdy side, I guess… I built a village of monsters there. I was planning on checking in on them soon again anyway; you can come along if you swear not to touch any of them.”

“A village of monsters? What kind?” Partax’s curiosity rose quickly, and the Demon quickly replied, “Well… at the beginning, it was just the same monsters that we have in the manor right now. But then after that…” Eiro explained, considering if he should really tell Partax about a certian detail already, though he would figure it out once they went there anyway, “You know about that island city that was overrun by monsters eight years ago? Which then just disappeared one day a couple months ago?”

Partax’s grin dropped, “Of course I know, but… you didn’t, did you?”

“I did. That whole city was carried through a giant gravity magic stone, so after I took control over the monsters in the city, I figured I might as well take the whole thing with me and used gravity magic to bring it to the mountain range nearby. So basically, all the monsters that were on there, excluding the Imps, are part of that place now.”

Partax seemed baffled, “You… what? Are you trying to use that as a place to create stronger servants, or…? Why would you do something like that?”

“…” Eiro flicked his wrist and made the arcane representation of the academy disappear for now. He looked at Partax and asked, “Why do you think I want to kill the Monster King?”

“…To become stronger?”

“No. I’m becoming stronger to kill the monster king, not the other way around. I’m killing the Monster King, and then I’m killing every remaining royal monster. Furthermore, I will use their powers and any artifact I get my hands on, to take in the aspects of the Hero, and others like him, even my child Avalin, the Holy Priestess. I will take the splinters in this world and make them my own,” Eiro explained. Partax’s hands started to shake, “A-And… and why would you do that? Are you trying to achieve godhood?”

“Why the fuck would I want to be a god? No, I’m doing it because that’s the only way to ensure peace for my children, and their children. If the Monster King, the Hero, and others like them continue to exist… then the world will never be without war. And that’s why I’m raising a large group of Monsters that are already rid of their monstrosity, to lead the rest of them once I figure out how to get rid of that cursed affliction for all monsters. Because if monsters and people can coexist, peace will sooner or later follow.”

Partax stared into Eiro’s eyes as his mind caught up to his ears, “You… is that the truth? That is your goal? That is why you mutilate your body, that is why you turn yourself into a weapon? Your goal is the ultimate peace of the world, just… so your children will not have to dirty their hands?”

Eiro gently smiled at the old man in front of him, “What better reason is there?”

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