B5 C49: Awakening

As Cal watched Cezerra and her drudges stampede through the temple, time seemed to freeze.

A very small part of her was searching for some half-forgotten ability she could activate to save the day. Some new class skill that would perfectly fix the situation, keeping the boss from getting to Verin. Or, failing that, that Tess would pull something out of her ass, as she so often did.

But deep down, she knew.

There was one way to fix everything. And it was easy. Oh so easy.

As long as she was willing to pay the price.

And so, in that hectic moment, despite the circumstances, Cal found her thoughts straying. They wound back over well-traveled paths, homing in on what was both her darkest day and the hour of her greatest triumph. Further yet, her thoughts zoomed in, focusing on a single conversation that Cal could recite verbatim by now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Three years earlier…

“You finally hit the Master rank! The system was about to give you some crappy augment and combine some of your skills, but that would waste so much of the work we’ve put into you, you know? Come here, come here.”

With far too cheery a tone given the day’s events, a dark figure lounged in a pool chair, beckoning to Cal as she sipped on some sort of purple drink.

Reluctantly, Cal complied. Only a short time beforehand, she’d been running endlessly through an infinite realm of darkness, chased by horrid creatures beyond mortal ken. And for that hellish ordeal, she had only one being to blame: Hexaura, the very goddess who lay before her.

But at the same time, Cal couldn’t deny she’d reaped incredible rewards from the traumatic experience. There, lingering in her messages, was a pair of notifications.

Stealth has reached level 60!

Congratulations! You have reached- reached- reached-

If Hex was to be believed, she could grant Cal a new skill, and so the rogue managed to approach the goddess without cursing her out.

“Lovely! Awesome! Fantastic! So. A little warning here. Mortals at your level don’t usually have a strong enough mind, body, or soul for me to do this next part. Lucky for you, you’re a bit of a special case! You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”

Cal scowled. So she knows about that, huh? But then again, of course she did. She was a mind reader. Even if she hadn’t been, it should have been obvious by now. After all, not many people could survive what she’d been through without constant food and rest. 

“No comment. That means I do have a strong enough mind, body, and soul, though?” 

Her question was met with a giant grin and two thumbs down.

“Nope! Not at all! It just means you’re not going to die when I fix that for you! Aren’t you so lucky? After this, we can finally combine all those skills of yours and your training can be over!”

The goddess grabbed Cal’s hand, and after that, things got a bit fuzzier. 

She remembered that there was pain. Black veins, dark sludge, and the pain.

And when it was all over, her system erupted in a slew of notifications. Her Stealth skill had evolved. She’d earned her Apex Shroud. But somehow, the acquisition of her Legendary skill was not the most important notification she received. That honor went to a single, short line.

Note! Your race has been updated!

At the time, she’d scrolled past the following notifications with a curse, and immediately after that, she’d been far too busy saving Tess to read much. Despite her feelings on the matter, though, in the following days, she’d pulled the notifications back up.

Halfling (Human/Demon) has been updated to Demonspawn.

Through deific intervention, your demonic nature has been shifted to the forefront. Though you may be human in form, your soul is now nearly indistinguishable from a pure demon’s.

In and of itself, that was a shock, but Cal was pretty sure the race change hadn’t changed her that much. No, that honor went to the next set of notifications.

Note! Your rank has been updated!

Sealed has been updated to Baroness (Upper Ranked -- Unawakened).

Born of a high-ranking demonic noble and empowered by the gods, you have inherited a noble title, starting directly at the upper rank.

Effects:

+100 Prestige

+1 free stat per level

Your body, mind, soul, and mana core have been enhanced.

The exact details of the enhancement went on for a while, and the bottom line was that she was a little bit better at just about everything now, with the biggest boost being to her mana control. Apparently that was a perk of being a noble that lower ranks of demons didn’t get. Plus, if she understood correctly, she wouldn’t have been able to merge so many spells and skills into her Stealth to earn Apex Shroud without the various power-ups, especially to her soul. There were a few strange perks about claiming a fief, too, but she wasn’t too focused on that at the moment.

Of particular interest, though, was a single crossed-out line at the end.

Your demonic aura is enhanced. You may control up to 100 drudges, and you may exert a strong suppressive effect on all lower ranked demons. (LOCKED)

NOTE: You are not currently considered part of the demonic chain of command. While this prevents higher-ranked demons from being able to suppress or command you, it also prevents you from using your aura to suppress or command others.

Taking in demonic mana and attempting to use your aura for the first time will permanently unlock it.

Had it not been for that final section, Cal might have even felt overall positive about the whole thing. The unexpected extra power was enormous, and the extra stat per level was well appreciated. Even with her very complicated feelings about demons and the mother she’d never met -- who was, if her notifications were to be believed, some sort of noble -- she could admit she’d gotten a pretty good deal.

But at the very thought of being suppressed or, gods-forbid, commanded by other demons, Cal shuddered.

It’s fine. I’ll just ignore that part. Don’t even need to think about it. A few things had changed, but she was still sort-of human, and no one needed to know otherwise.

After all, when would I ever be in a position where I need to deal with demons?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even after Cal ended up trapped in the dungeon, she didn’t give her new race much thought. 

Of course, it was a shock when Sett turned out to be a demon, but that proved to be much less of a big deal than she would have guessed. She felt some strange new muscle try to latch onto the demon and fail, and instinctively, she knew that he’d somehow sealed his own rank. From what she’d read, it wasn’t that uncommon for demons who lived outside of the hells.

Moreover, Sett didn’t comment on her nature to the others, either. Cal was pretty sure he didn’t even know, as she tended to use Apex Shroud to hide her soul at all times, although perhaps he just didn’t view it as something worthy of note.

But then, of course, they’d had to find a demonic region.

Cal hadn’t even realized what it was when they’d first entered. She’d suddenly started to feel stronger, healthier, better as soon as they crossed into the region, but she hadn’t put two and two together at first. In retrospect, it should have been blindingly obvious.

In truth, from the very first time Cal laid eyes upon Cezerra, she’d known how this was going to end.

Oh, to be sure, she’d hoped it wouldn’t. She’d tried her very best to wrap up the fight in a normal way. With how much stronger Cezerra was than standard bosses, though, perhaps it was inevitable.

And so, as much as she’d hoped and prayed that she wouldn’t have to, Cal accepted what needed to be done. 

With Cezerra and her drudges only a second away from carving into Verin’s ice, Cal acted.

Taking a deep breath, Cal flexed her mana core, pulling on the mana all around her. Already unruly from the nearby collection crystal, the temple’s mana bucked about as it surged towards her. While it wasn’t pure demonic mana, it was enough. With her heightened mana control, she’d been trying her best to filter and reject the demonic mana, but at last, she let it settle into her core.

You have taken in demonic mana. As you have a compatible mana core and body, your physical power has been heightened.

Power rushed through her muscles, making her feel invincible, but it still wasn’t enough. As the mana traced its way through her body, a faint sensation rapidly grew more prominent, and even without seeing all of them, Cal could sense the dozen demons around her. Like tiny threads, there was a thin connection between her and them, something she’d been able to vaguely feel before, but she’d shied away from it.

This time, she leaned into the alien sensation. Cal pushed, and like a dam bursting open, something within her broke.

You have awakened your demonic rank!

Note: A third party has attached a queued message…

Not the time. Ignoring the pang of regret in her heart, Cal dismissed the rest of her notifications, flexing her intent. The newly-awoken Baroness made her will known, and almost unbidden, a single word ripped itself from her lips.

“Stop.”

For a brief instant, the entire battlefield froze in place.

From the drudges, there was the smallest iota of resistance as another will fought for supremacy, but it was squashed almost immediately. The horrid beasts, once at the beck and call of Cezerra, had been freed from the boss’s grasp.

And now they had a new master to serve.

It was strange, in a way, just how intuitive the entire thing felt. Though she’d just used the power for the first time, Cal had no trouble connecting to the remaining drudges, and with a thought, she redirected their efforts.

As one, the demonic creatures swiveled towards Cezerra. All at once, they charged.

With the drudges taken care of, Cal turned her focus to the true threat, bringing her entire will to bear down upon Cezerra. Unlike with the drudges, Cal’s aura wasn’t enough to fully command the powerful knight, but it was more than enough to strip the boss of some of her power.

At first, it was clear the hulking demon couldn’t understand what was happening. Bafflement, more than fear, was all she displayed, even as the first of the drudges rammed into her. As Cal hammered her will into the boss, however, she staggered, surprise giving way to panic as the two ranked demons locked eyes.

“No. No! I’m supposed to be the only one here! How? How are you doing this!” Pushing through the suppression, Cezerra shoved the first drudge off of her, delivering a shaky punch to the next closest to buy herself some space. Her eyes darted around, searching for either an answer or a way out, but she found neither.

Cal could practically see the gears turning in the boss’s head as she realized she was outmatched, and then, with a malevolent glee, Cezerra turned back to Verin’s glacier. Completely ignoring the approaching drudges, she sent her fist rocketing forth.

CRUNCH.

An impact echoed off the walls of the temple, except it wasn’t the one she’d expected.

Freed from the drudges rooting her down, Tess had moved. With a single Spatial Step, the Arcane Arsenal had interposed herself between the demon and her target, delivering a heavy hammer blow clad in mental magic.

Once again, the two of them began to dance, though the exchange barely resembled their earlier fight. Weakened and with drudges nipping at her heels and biting at her sides, Cezerra was finally on the back foot.

“This was supposed to be safe for me! You can’t-” Whatever she’d been about to say was cut off as Cezerra lost the focus to speak, frantically backpedalling as she fought for her life. Step by step, she was pushed away from Verin’s glacier, slowly retreating into the back of the temple.

Seeing no reason to let Tess have all the fun, Cal darted forth, marveling at how responsive her muscles had become. The warrior practically flew over the stone floor as her body pulsed with power, and she didn’t even bother to go invisible as she began to charge her sword.

Cezerra’s eyes glossed over as she endured the onslaught of Tess’s mental attacks, but summoning up one final burst of energy, the boss straightened herself up with a roar. Though her eyes were unfocused, it seemed her body knew what to do without prompting, and her fists unerringly found their targets.

Drudges were either pulped or sent skidding away, and even Tess was shoved back a few times. Even so, it was clear to everyone but Cezerra that these were the last gasping breaths of a beast who’d already lost. Her movements grew ever slower as the demons’s skin frosted over, and step by step, she was pushed back until she reached the massive mana-collection crystal.

It was then, when she had nowhere else to run, that Cal was upon her. She darted in, stepping past Tess and ducking under a hasty haymaker, and at last, she struck.

As her first attack had failed so miserably, Cal made sure to hold nothing back this time.

In retrospect, that might have been unwise.

Empowered with all of her class buffs and fueled by her newfound demonic strength, Cal’s blade screamed as it tore through the air, cutting into the boss’s hip. Not stopping there, it carved a path upwards, nearly bisecting the demon as it opened up her stomach. As if escaping out of the new hole in her body, Cezerra’s second wind fled her, the demon seeming to deflate.

Which should have been good. A truly devastating attack.

Alas, perhaps Cal had put a bit too much into the attack. 

Because, not only did she hit Cezerra, she also cut into what lay behind her.

Cutting deep into the mana-collection crystal, Cal’s blade eventually came to a halt around Cezerra’s stomach, the feathery sword lodging itself in the crystal and leaving the demon impaled. Not sporting the same prodigious Constitution as Cezerra, the crystal fared far worse than the boss. 

As the totality of Cal’s Empowered Strike flowed into it, a great mass of crystal was chunked, pulverized, and powdered. Cezerra flopped to the ground as the crystal at her back lost its integrity, the strength of the blow opening up a gaping hole in her torso. Not even the ground was spared, the power obliterating entire sections of the ritual that surrounded the crystal.

In response, the entire crystal began to ominously pulse. 

Recalling what had happened the first time they’d taken down a collection crystal, Cal only had a single thought.

Uh oh.

“Cal! Move!” Already having Spatial Stepped away, Tess shouted out while frantically tapping on Verin’s glacier. With a crack, the glacier split open, Verin rushing out.

“Both of you! In!” A portal formed in front of her, and Tess practically threw Verin through it before jumping in herself. A few steps behind, Cal had time to give one last glance to the scene behind her.

Body broken and mind shattered, Cezerra lay sprawled across the remnants of the ritual circle. Somehow still alive, she struggled to rise as her regeneration even now tried to close her wounds. She might have even succeeded if not for her erstwhile allies. Like a pack of starving, rabid hyenas, the drudges tore into her, ripping off chunks of her reddish black flesh.

For the briefest of instants, the two of them locked eyes, Cezerra’s hatred boring through her, and then it was over. Cal jumped into the portal, and she was spat out beside her companions, far outside the temple.

The portal snapped shut, and with bated breath, the three of them silently stared at the stone structure in the distance. 

One second. Two.

Nothing.

“Huh. Maybe I didn’t actually damage it that ba-”

BOOM.

As though the wrath of a thousand gods had descended upon the temple, a mighty explosion roared through the region, stone and earth flying in every direction as the wind whipped at them even from afar. Not content with one quick blast, the cataclysm she’d unleashed was unremitting, and even having not passed the first Perception threshold, Cal could feel the sheer torrent of mana racing past her.

When at last the explosion subsided, silence swept through the region, punctuated by a set of notifications. First amongst them was the most important.

Your party has defeated Cezerra!

For a time, they let that silence linger, awed by the power they’d just witnessed and basking in their triumph. At long last, the boss was dead, and the second crystal was down. Even when a large chest appeared out of nowhere, no one commented as Tess stored it away.

In the end, it was Verin who finally spoke first.

“Lady Calilah. Forgive me if I misspeak, but… are you perhaps a demon?”

Cal went rigid for a moment before she started to squirm. Of course it was too much to ask for that neither of the two would notice. She considered trying to worm her way out with a few choice lies, but at this point, there was no point.

“Um. Maybe?”

What would they think of her now? She’d been keeping it from them for so long, and demons had a horrid reputation. Not to mention the only demons they’d met had been the regicidal Sett and the power-hungry Cezerra, and now-

“Huh. Cool.” Seeming content to leave it at that, Tess merely shrugged. A moment later, Verin did the same.

“Well, good. That clears quite a number of things up, though it would have been nice to know before I thought I was about to die. Now which one of you is going to summon Tal’Ket? After all that, I think a good feast is in order, yes?”

Momentarily unable to process her companion’s lack of concern, Cal stood there stupefied before she collected herself, suddenly feeling colossally foolish.

Truly, she’d been blessed with good friends.

“All right, let’s go! Just remember, I’m the one who actually beat the boss, so I get to choose the menu. Also, if you guys feel the need to bow down once or twice, now would be a good time.” A dopey grin spread across her face, only widening as Verin immediately started to squawk back at her.

Soon, the three of them were soaring through the air atop Tal’Ket, and though Cal had sacrificed something important today, she left the region feeling far richer than she had before.