User blog:AloofComputer/The man who walked alone: Chapter 19

Chapter 19: The ritual

“Is it him?”

“See for yourself.”

Druella nodded, and Primera opened the cask exposing a man bound and gagged, and covered in paper seals.

“Dear dear me, Alatar, what a pinch you’ve gotten yourself into.” Pallanto couldn’t resist a bit of theatrics. After all, if things didn’t work out, either Alatar, or everyone around, would die.

“Cut it out, Pallanto.” The commander’s gruff voice interrupted him. He knelt before the casket, pulling his former knight out. He carefully carried him, while Pallanto, walking beside him, filled him in.

After placing him on top of the seal, the commander pulled the gag from his mouth.

“Seriously, you could have done this a lot sooner.”

“I am happy to hear your voice too, old pal.” Pallanto smiled.

The commander glared at Pallanto, then turned at Alatar. “Listen, Alatar, you understand your position here? My own, and Pallano’s?”

“Yes.”

“I will unbind you, but you must follow your orders. Is that understood?”

“Yes.”

“Your actions accomplished what I could only dream of. Don’t let it go to waste.”

“Understood, commander. I know. Just take those things off already. The pain gets considerably stronger.”

The commander undid the binds, while Pallanto excitedly explained to Alatar the method he devised.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“...so, in theory, we can use the internal absorption loop on the devil gems, while at the same time, we can reverse the rotation to cause it to spill from within the seal...”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">As Pallanto rambled on, Frederic turned to Druella and her escorts. “Are you ready?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Yes. Let’s get this over with.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“I’d advise you to stand back. He isn’t going to run.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">---

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“All right then, time to put theory to practice. Mimil, the gems?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">The scowling baphomet tossed Pallanto two bags.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Oww… and the potions. Thanks.” He smiled. Mimil just turned her back and left without a word. Pallanto turned to Alatar.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Listen up, pal. When the seals weaken, what will leak out isn’t going to be just holy energy. It will be your emotions. If you can’t control it, it will turn nasty. The… uhmmm, ladies here, and the commander, will put you down if things get out of control. Understood?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Yes.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Good, because I’d hate to lose the chance to laugh at you for the rest of your life. Now, listen. The seals must be undone with the same order they were cast. Otherwise the resonance-”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Gets out of tune and results in unstable oscillation.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Correct. Good to know you can act smarty-pants at the face of death. That means the first thing to spill out is the emotions stuff. You will have to contain them fast, because we won’t have much time after I start. The seals will get undone on their own, and in an uncontrolled manner, if we just wait. Understood?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Yes. Have you prepared the gems?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“I will, just now. One more thing: use one to put all the mana that you can, without dying. If a little holy energy slips through… you get the idea. It was, after all, YOUR idea.” Pallanto tossed a devil gem to Alatar. After completing the transformation of the gems, he turned to see him holding a bright devil gem, but Alatar was pale like the moon above him, and his eyes had dimmed to a washed-out pink.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Let’s get this show started. Lie down, hands extended, like a cross. And focus. Here comes the fun part.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">---

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Lucella watched the human mage from a distance, half annoyed, half amused. How could this man joke when he could be blasted to oblivion?

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“He seems like an… interesting fellow” she commented.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">"He’s just the eternal school boy” Mimil scowled. “Annoying school boy.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Old flame?” She asked teasingly.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Hell no! He doesn’t come even close to big brother!”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Maybe that’s how he copes with all this? Look, he has begun the ritual.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">They watched as the mage placed three devil gems on top of one seal, and murmured incantations, causing the seal to glow red. They heard the pained groan from Alatar, and the sudden burst of holy energy, soon to be sucked into the devil gems. In a few minutes the small pillar died out.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Here we go...” Lucella muttered.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">The first seal broke with a blast, pushing Pallanto a few feet back. He was quick to get up, however, and knelt besides Alatar, after drinking a couple of mana potions and picking up the used devil gems.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">The second seal, the Seal of Desire, released a lot more of the holy energy than before, and Alatar’s pained cries resounded even louder and longer. Lucella felt the insistent pangs of nervousness; what if the gems weren’t enough? What would happen if the second seal proved fatal?

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">The breaking of the second seal intensified her anxieties, as the blast sent Pallanto tumbling much further, and when he got up, he had a nasty gash over his left eye. However, after downing a few more potions, he placed the rest of the gems on the final seal.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Veronica, get ready.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Yes, Lady Lucella.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Lucella could see the mage’s face as he was concentrating. He seemed… cute. In a whimpy kind of way. Her thoughts were interrupted by the almost inhuman cry of agony that came from the man beneath him. She heard Veronica sobbing, while Wilmaria and Druella stood by her. Poor thing. The light seemed to die down, teasingly slowly… until it was gone. She held her breath. The mage started working furiously, his face taut in sheer concentration. She felt one small blast, then another, then a third… he was breaking the blast in smaller ones. That was technically impressive, and quite difficult to come up with on the fly. She made a mental note to gather information about this particular mage. He might prove a threat later, or a convenient pawn.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">She saw the man lean over Alatar, checking his pulse… then giving him a few rapid slaps, until Alatar deftly caught his hand. With his other hand he slapped him on the forehead, and waved at them. The ritual was over.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">---

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Damn it there, pal, you almost got me worried! You were screaming worse than that time when I hid that urchin-”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Thanks, Pallanto.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“You are welcome. Now you owe me twice. Don’t you ever think I’ve forgotten about the first time. But all is well that ends well, right?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“We are not at the end yet.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“Are you sure you got your emotions back? Because you sure sound almost the same grumpy old man.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">Alatar smiled. It felt odd, smiling.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“I’ll be sure to send you a congratulatory letter before my execution.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Of all the things to come back, you got your sense of humor first? Oh well, who am I to judge. Look, here’s your… ahem, lady, coming for you. I’ll leave you two to your little misadventures-”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“Fuck off, jerk.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">Pallanto left, roaring in laughter. The lilim and her escorts came close, Veronica running towards him at full speed. He turned to his commander.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“Goodbye, Frederic.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“Goodbye kid. Proud to have you under my service.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“That’s rare of- oooofff!!!!” Veronica collided with him at full force, topping him over, hugging him tightly.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ Well then, I’ll just… leave you alone, then.” The commander turned his back, shooting one last sorrowful look at his former knight. Now he was a full incubus. His violet eyes turned brighter by the second in the succubus’ embrace. He turned at Druella.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">“So long.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ We’ll keep in touch.” The lilim smiled. The ominous feeling of her smile put the commander on edge. What plans does that she-devil have in store?

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal">Alatar tried to prop himself up, but proved extremely difficult, especially to his current state. “Veronica… painful… can’t… breathe….” however the fair-haired succubus didn’t listen, intent on just hugging him tight and burying her face in his chest, crying.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“ If we aren’t interrupting...” Druella’s cold voice brought them back to reality. Primera’s eyes showed controlled fury, Wilmaria’s scowl, contempt. Now was the time to face trial.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">---

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">P.S. Chapter 19 is out. Criticism welcome