Chapter 158

Sol Ligatus VIP Room, Hao’s Auction House, Pittsburgh - 7:30 AM

I received a message from Sara, but I put it away for now. My emotions needed to be reigned in before I continued this conversation. It only took me a breath to steel myself, and I looked back to Greg. I closed the distance between us in a few steps, and he looked visibly worried. Olivia was still on her knees, head down as she whispered prayers.

“The dagger and insight into your fate,” I said before offering my hand. “In exchange for any information on the Demonic Doctor Pustibule or his dealings, as well as keeping my secret. On the off chance that I don’t end this threat immediately, are you with me?”

If I found Pustibule, I had no doubt that I would be able to vanquish him back to Hell. However, without knowing how extensive his network was, the Demon would be back within a day. I assumed Jeremiah would be able to call him back, at least, and there was no way to guess how many other people he had reached out to while searching for me.

Greg looked at my hand before noticing that Olivia was praying. He scowled and grabbed her by the arm, hauling her to her feet. “Don’t pray to him, Liv,” he ordered. She kept her head down, but became quiet, and he returned his attention to me. He crossed his arms. “So that’s some big secret? You being an Angel?”

“Half-Angel,” I told him, keeping my hand up. “And I would really appreciate being able to work with you in the future. Until I leave Pittsburgh to your rule after this scenario.”

I saw the twinkle in Greg’s eyes. He was going to agree, I knew, but he wanted to figure out how much he could get from me first. I had extended the invitation, which gave him the position of power in his mind. As much as I wanted to force him to agree, it wouldn’t be the same as him doing so on his own.

“I want MVP again,” he finally said. “Since you’re sticking around for the whole scenario, I don’t want you trying to take it from me.”

“A completely reasonable request,” I replied, knowing full well that he wasn’t going to be the one getting it.

“And, if I come across something tougher than the crew’s ready for, I expect the full support of your guild,” Greg continued.

“Another completely reasonable request,” I said evenly. “And, after conferring with my Patron, I’ll assign suitable assistance to whatever dungeon it is they’re having trouble with.”

Greg stared at me for a few moments before glancing at Jamie and Olivia. The Weapon Master’s neutral face had a hint of a frown to it, while his secretary was openly staring at me with wide eyes. Jealousy became evident on his face, and I leaned in.

“However, I’m going to make myself perfectly clear,” I whispered to him. “Pustibule and Sol Ligatus are my only concerns. What happens to Pittsburgh is your business, what happens to your crew is your business. Nothing else matters. So if I lend you someone and something happens to them, especially if they can’t fight for me afterwards, then don’t take it as hyperbole that I will drop the Heavens on whoever is responsible.”

Despite my earlier thoughts, I opened up Tyrant’s Will as I stared into his eyes. He flinched before squaring up, though I could see his fear. “I have already offered you more than enough, and I will agree to your concessions, but don’t think that I will let myself be walked over just because I need you, Greg.” I ended the skill and gave him an easy smile. “I really don’t like pulling out anything you’ve seen so far, but I hope we can still work together.”

Greg wiped sweat from his brow before he realized it, and Olivia put a hand on his shoulder. “Please,” she said in her soft voice.

“Well, how am I supposed to say no to that?” he asked himself, as if using her words as an excuse to take a worse deal than he wanted. His hand was trembling when he took mine. “The Greg Davis Crew will happily back you up, Anthony.”

I gave him a firm handshake before taking a step back and snapping open my inventory. “As much as I would love to stay and celebrate, I really need to go hunting,” I said quickly. “Here are directions to a dungeon that will get you special cigars that will help make Smoke more powerful when you need it to be.”

After I retrieved the paper, I handed it to Greg, and he arched an eyebrow. “And you just had this ready?” he asked as he looked it over.

“Yes. I was banking on your help, remember?” I replied before shaking my head. “Doesn’t matter. The Patron that will best suit you is Achlys, the Greek primordial of death and misery. Since she’s associated with mist and poison, her boon will give Smoke special properties that won’t help much with the undead, but the power boost later on will be well worth it.”

Greg’s eyes went wide. What I didn’t say was that I knew this was the only Patron vying for his attention. He wouldn’t admit it, and I wasn’t about to go ruining our new alliance by being rude.

I turned to Olivia, and she bowed her head. “Please direct me, Angel of God,” she whispered.

“Half-Angel, and just a man,” I replied firmly. She nodded, but didn’t correct herself. “Dhumavati is your only choice, and she will lead you well.”

Olivia hesitated. “Are you sure, holy one? Not another Angel such as yourself?”

“Stop that,” I snapped before taking a breath. This was not what I had expected to happen, but I couldn’t allow it to annoy me. I walked around her and started removing Betin’s Fairy Dagger from the display case. “Dhumavati will be the best for you, and stick with Greg for as long as you are able.”

“It shall be done,” she said, not lifting her head.

I saw the Smoke Keeper’s face tighten, but quickly offered him the dagger once I removed it from auction. “I really must be going, but I know we’re going to accomplish great things together, Greg.”

He all but snatched it from me, greedily taking it in. “Likewise, Anthony. Likewise.”

“Then, I’ll be off. Enjoy the VIP room for as long as you.” With a quick bow of my head, I started walking towards the door. Jamie opened it for me and followed me out.

“That was a lot less deep than I was led to believe,” she observed.

“What can I say, I have a natural talent for flattery,” I said airily, taking two steps at a time on my way down. I finally opened Sara’s message.

[[Patron Message]]

What do you mean Pustibule is in Pittsburgh?

What did you feel when you used Break Free?

“I think you meant to say naturally manipulative,” Jamie accused.

I ignored her, looking up into the sky as we left the auction house. “My soulfire hair felt odd. Greasy, and the sensation started oozing onto my skin,” I answered. “And then I lashed out against the display case. The same thing happened when I felt Pustibule back in Stanley, though it was obviously a much more powerful reaction this time. I don’t feel any demonic presence at all right now, but I can switch forms in a safer space if you want me to.”

“Sure, yeah, just ignore me,” Jamie muttered from behind me, and I took that advice.

[[Patron Message]]

I’m searching through Pittsburgh and the Pitt now, but it’s slow going. Ever since becoming your Patron, I lost access to a lot of my system access as the Angel of the End. Not all of it, of course; that would be irresponsible.

So far, I haven’t seen anything that indicates that Pustibule is there. Although, I am not going to discount your feeling. It certainly sounds like there’s something foul in the air. Just because I can’t see any traces of it, doesn’t mean it’s not there.

But the fact that I can’t means it could be a lot more dangerous than we realize. I’ll keep searching.

I was surprised to hear that she had given up some of her system access, but not by much. Whatever the reason was, I was sure it was a good one and I trusted her. Still, there was no way a Patron was as connected as a World Boss seemed to be, and that fact seemed important.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I sighed and lifted my fingers to rub my temples. “Okay, so, Pustibule,” I muttered. “We know he’s here because I let Zalzarog know where to find me, so he’s here for me. He fancies himself a doctor, and that’s one of the main driving forces of his being.”

“Is it?” Jamie asked.

I glanced back at her before dropping my arms. “Demons are cunning, adaptive creatures,” I slowly explained. “They’re more flexible than Angels, and are often without a shred of shame in their souls. Even though the most dangerous ones are intelligent, they all have fatal flaws. And that’s being a Demon.”

Jamie wrinkled her nose. “You going to explain that one to me, Franklin?”

“Demons are slaves to their base instincts,” I continued. “They have goals, agendas, free will and all, but there are certain things that they need. Corrupting the lives of innocents, feeding on people, forming habits and mental ticks. You can infer a lot from how a Demon introduces themselves.”

All I received as an answer was a grunt, so I continued on a different path.

“So, since he’s a Demonic doctor, then…” I looked back up at the sky. “Sara, you may want to focus on dungeons that are hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, morgues, or anything else you could find a doctor in. It might be the most comfortable places for him to stay. If he’s looking for corruption, then he might be looking to alter the necromantic aura around the city…”

I hesitated briefly. The zombie apocalypse going on around us might have been the cause of the feeling, but I dismissed it. If it were just that, then Sara would have said something. There was no way the senses of a Patron were so far removed from their Avatar that she would miss something like that. If she didn’t say it was the necromantic field blanketing Pittsburgh, then it wasn’t that.

“He can’t reach the scenario boss this time like he did in Etson because of the seal,” I continued. “But that doesn’t mean he can’t alter things here. If any of the zombie pits become Demonic in nature, that will make it a lot harder for us to fight back. Necromantic and Demonic energies don’t generally mix well, but it’s not unheard of and I’d trust a doctor to know how to do it.”

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair. “That would mean he’s possibly set up underneath one of the cemeteries. Close enough to one or several to infect them, at least. This is a worst case scenario, so check these first, Sara. Please and thank you. Alternatively, he may be trying to get wily. If so, he might not be in any of those places, but defer to Jeremiah, who is becoming a Demon.”

“You can just become a Demon?” Jamie asked, arching an eyebrow. “Like how you’re an Angel? Sorry, Half-Angel, I guess.”

“You can become a Demon, and it’s infinitely easier than becoming what I am,” I told her. “Jeremiah Wilson was a soldier. Or at least military-adjacent, if that feeling I got at the Safari Resort was right. He’s a sniper, I’m not sure which branch. There’s not enough information on him to guess what kind of places would be comforting, but it’ll open up the search to large dungeons, military bases, gun stores, and shooting ranges. Fuck, this is going to be like finding a needle in a haystack.”

[[Patron Message]]

Okay, that’s a lot to take in, but I agree with what you’ve said so far.

I’ll start around the cemeteries, and focus on both medical and military dungeons. If I don’t find anything, I’ll expand the search.

Be calm, and keep to your plan, Ant. Just because he could be here, doesn’t mean that you have to deviate. You still have to hit all your same beats, there just might be some more issues along the way. Breath, and don’t let the feeling stick with you.

Sincerely,

Sara

Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “Thank you, Sara.”

“Hearing you talk to your Patron is weird,” Jamie stated, crossing her arms. “But I’m more worried about what you said. Military bases? Like the Army Reserve you were going to send me to?”

That made me skip a beat before I snapped open my inventory. I started writing down the direction she would need to get there as well as the answer to a puzzle she would need to solve. It didn’t take me long before we were at the entrance to the Pitt.

It was as busy as I’d seen it this run. People were coming and going, and merchants had set up in the park nearby. There were recruiters for guilds and parties, making a lot of noise. Many proudly wore their organization’s logos on their clothes, a telltale sign that theirs was at least rank 2 with all the powers that came with it.

By the time we were descending, I was done writing.

“Sara, please look at this place first and let me know by the time we’re done at the greenhouse,” I said to the ceiling, ignoring everyone who was watching me talk upwards. “No need to answer now because we still have work to do. Conserve your messages.”

Jamie scowled. “I guess that’s something,” she muttered. “Are we still going to go fight the hag even with your arch nemesis coming around?”

I nodded. “There’s an order to these things, and the Demon’s just a distraction,” I said, handing her the note. She looked surprised for a moment before taking it and shoving it into her inventory. “We’ll take care of this and, when we have more information, we’ll go from there. I’m counting on you, Summers.”

“Yeah, that’s what you pay me for,” she responded. I frowned, hearing something dubious in the tone of her voice, but now wasn’t the time to get into that. I could force the conversation, but it always worked best when she approached me on her own.

We walked in silence through the winding maze of the Pitt, heading ever deeper to our destination.