Demonic Conqueror: Heroic Valor - Chapter 14.1, 14.2

Lucia Evergreen stared at the sheet of paper held in her hands. She placed it on the table, then frowned, rubbing her fingertips together.

"I know you asked me not to make you repeat yourself," she began. "However...is this truly what you desire?"

Simon nodded. "Those are the terms we laid out earlier. As promised, nothing's changed." He tilted his head. "Unless you want it to?"

"No. I only wish to ensure that you won't be dissatisfied with our Contract."

He understood her bewilderment. From Lucia's perspective, Simon's proposal didn't make much sense.

Clause 1: This Contract will go into effect after the Contractor known as Simon Cobblestone has slain the Fell Beast within Springwater Village and returned the village's Water Artifact.
Clause 2: In exchange, the Contractee, Lucia Evergreen, as mayor of Springwater Village, shall transfer her authority over to Simon Cobblestone. He will henceforth be named acting mayor.
Clause 3: As an addendum, Simon Cobblestone cannot give orders that pertain to the governance of Springwater Village. All mayoral duties will still be handled by Lucia Evergreen, who is now designated as sub-mayor.
Clause 4: Simon Cobblestone retains the authority to dismiss Lucia Evergreen and designate a new sub-mayor if he deems that she has not adequately performed her duties. Clause 3 shall also apply to any subsequent sub-mayors designated by Simon Cobblestone.

The one real benefit his Contract gave him was the power to fire Lucia for poor job performance. Aside from that, it made him the leader of Springwater...in name only. A figurehead, essentially.

Lucia – or any sub-mayor that followed her – would continue to be the one running the show. In fact, Simon was specifically restricted from governing day-to-day proceedings.

It was a baffling bargain in many respects. Sure, it granted him some influence over Springwater, but why the half-measures? Why not cut out the middleman and just compel Lucia to follow his every order?

Put simply: because he didn't want to. Simon had approximately zero interest in micromanaging a backwoods village in the middle of nowhere. He was planning on setting out tomorrow for brighter pastures, and saw no point in setting himself up as a long-distance dictator.

The people of Springwater had been through enough already. They didn't need that kind of persistent anxiety stacked on top of everything else.

Besides – Lucia had also shown herself to be level-headed and seemingly competent. Simon investigated her with Sin Scry, and the Skill revealed that she'd committed startlingly few crimes for a person of her position. Just minor scuffles in her youth and not-so-veiled threats made to domineering city representatives.

As far as politicians went, she was practically a saint. He felt comfortable leaving the governance of Springwater in her hands.

Although...this Contract did afford him two other advantages. There was a reason he'd specified the word 'authority' multiple times.

Simon brought up his Character Sheet, double-checking to make sure he'd gotten everything right.

Subjugate Territory (Rank 1)
-A unique demonic ability gained by subsuming mana from Kirkelas the Conqueror. If the established leader or governing body of a village, town, city, or any similar settlement yields authority to you, then you are granted dominion of the aforementioned area.

-Native residents of this area will feel partially compelled to follow your orders. This authority cannot be revoked except by your death, or after 100 years have passed without a renewal of authority.

-Subjugate Territory's Rank may increase after a successful subjugation. As this ability evolves, more benefits shall be gained.

'Partially compelled' was a nice bonus. It would help make sure that the people here didn't randomly betray him – always a possibility. And since the denizens of Springwater didn't know this Skill existed, they would hopefully fail to realize that they were being compelled at all.

Mostly, though, Simon was interested in evolving Subjugate Territory. Seizing authority of Springwater Village might be enough to increase its Rank.

He wanted to learn what other benefits the Skill had to offer.

"I'm fine with this Contract." Simon held up his Shapeshifted right arm, gathering mana into its palm. "Do you accept as well?"

Mayor Evergreen regarded him carefully. Apparently, she'd guessed that he wasn't quite telling her everything. Even so, she was in no position to refuse – not when the Beast had been slain and the Artifact returned. A weaker woman may have stared at him with terror, eyes widening like a rat caught in a trap.

For her part, she merely nodded. "Considering I was prepared to forfeit my soul...yes. I have no objections." Lucia smirked, reaching forward to shake his demonic hand. "A deal struck is a deal honored."

Smirking in turn, Simon concentrated his mana around the space above them.

The room darkened. Shadows stretched forward, deepening, almost seeming to come alive. Frenzied muttering swirled at the edges of their hearing.

One-by-one, as if scrawled by an unsteady hand, blackened words began to appear in mid-air.

Simon's head buzzed as the Contract formed. A cloying sense of satisfaction warmed his bones, like the delight of victory combined with the surety of rightful authority.

In that moment, he knew that this was what his demonic mana was meant for. Birds fly, fish swim, and Demons bind people with Contracts. It was at the very heart of their nature.

He examined Clauses #1 through #4 as they were written in the air. Whereas before he had been mildly unsure of their wording, now he knew exactly what they needed to say. The mere act of beginning a Contract had given him an instinctive comprehension of what verbiage he should utilize.

His mana was already advising him to renegotiate, suggesting adjustments he could make to twist the Contract in his favor. Or even if he changed nothing of what was currently written, it spoke of other ways – ways he could abuse loopholes in his own terms.

Ways to turn all of Springwater into a den of glassy-eyed subservience.

Simon exhaled, suppressing the intrusive thoughts. Can't say I'm surprised that Demons are predisposed to be conniving bastards, he mused. Something to keep in mind the next time I meet one.

With a flourish, the last word of Clause #4 was written. Two additional lines materialized below.

Contractor: Simon Cobblestone
Contractee: Lucia Evergreen

An unearthly voice echoed within both their minds. It sounded unlike anything they had ever heard.

THIS CONTRACT IS FORGED.

The blackened scrawl vanished.

Simon released Lucia's hand, schooling his features to hide how out-of-breath he felt. Forming the Contract hadn't expended MP, but an indefinable resource inside him still seemed...lessened. He would only be able to create one or two more Contracts today before needing to recuperate.

Mayor Evergreen looked down at her hand, turning it around, scrutinizing it from all angles. "I don't feel different," she mumbled to herself.

"Why would you?"

"That's what the tales speak of. Signing a Contract perverts the essence of your being. People who bargain with Demons are scarcely even people anymore. Some become violent monsters. Others are reduced to simpering thralls. The worst appear as they were before, yet act as an unthinking puppet, their mind hollowed out and replaced with the Demon's will."

Simon rubbed his chin. "Well, those Contracts were likely designed to twist the Contractee into something awful. Mine aren't. My methods are...atypical. I certainly don't recommend trusting other Demons as much as you've trusted me."

Lucia raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying that among your entire species, you – and only you – are deserving of trust?"

"Probably."

She let out an amused laugh. "Then I suppose I've been fooled, because for some reason, I'm inclined to believe you."

At those words, a system notification burst forth like a ringing gong.

Territory Subjugated: Springwater Village!

Subjugate Territory's Rank has Increased! 1 → 2

While residing within a subjugated territory, your stats will dramatically increase!

He bit back a gasp. That surge of power he'd felt yesterday after increasing his stats was a trickle compared to the tidal wave now swelling inside. Fingers trembling, he opened his Character Sheet again.

HP: 230 / 460 (115 / 230)
MP: 440 / 440 (220 / 220)
Strength: 22 (44)
Dexterity: 26 (52)
Vitality: 23 (46)
Intelligence: 22 (44)

Doubled. All of his stats had doubled.

How strong does that make me? If the Ravenous Wanderer popped out of the ground at its peak Estimated Level, could I take it in a direct fight?

He flinched as a thought came to him. Kirkelas had an Estimated Level of 89. My demonic Skills are derived from his. How in blue blazes did they ever manage to defeat and contain him? If he receives the same benefits as me, then he would've been nigh-unstoppable in one of his subjugated territories.

Am I nigh-unstoppable? At least in this tiny corner of the world. Even if Springwater contacted other settlements for help, how many elite Level 30ish warriors are roaming around the Severed Isles? Did I just become a big fish in a small pond?

But...this strength was temporary. No better than a mirage. The second he left Springwater Village – his subjugated territory – it would disappear.

"Simon?" Lucia peered at him, a note of concern entering her tone. "Is aught amiss? In the short time I've known you, I've never seen you embrace silence when it could instead be filled with chatter. When you are silent, it usually comes as a prelude to some distressing declaration."

Immediately, he donned his best poker face, grinning. "Are you saying I love the sound of my own voice?"

"In so many words."

His expression became a bit more natural. "I can't even spend too long arguing that point, as it would merely prove you right."

I'll mull over the ramifications of my doubled stats later. For now, there were a couple things he needed to test out.

"Hypothetical question – as in, this is not an order," Simon began. "If I asked you to raise Springwater's taxes to 100%, outlaw public displays of affection, and arrest everyone whose favorite color was purple...what would you do?"

"I'd ask why you've taken leave of your senses." Lucia crossed her arms. "And if you pressed the issue, I'd tell you precisely where you could stick such drivel."

She hadn't even hesitated before denying him. Subjugate Territory's 'partial compulsion' couldn't force people to follow orders that they strongly opposed. That came as a relief – he wasn't interested in removing free will from the general populace.

If it's a less absurd order, though...

"Lucia Evergreen." Simon adopted an arrogant, overbearing tone. "I order you to point in my general direction."

Her hand had lifted halfway before she frowned, lowering it again. "No."

"Then I order you to clap your hands."

"What are–"

Realization shone within her gaze. "This is an act of kindness, isn't it? An attempt to eliminate my fears. By giving orders that I can freely ignore, you're showing that I am not under your thrall."

Simon shrugged, affecting an air of nonchalance. "Who's to say?"

He knew Lucia would interpret that as a direct confirmation. People tended to graciously fill in the blanks whenever they couldn't understand his actions.

And in this case, no ordinary human could have possibly guessed that he was limit testing the fine print of his abilities.

Contract had the longest Description of any of Simon's Skills. It possessed a large number of clearly-defined rules and stipulations. Only one had worried him:

-During instances where the user has enacted multiple conflicting Contracts, additional penalties to the user shall be incurred.

Simon had needed to test that Subjugate Territory's partial compulsion wouldn't interfere with Clause #3: 'Simon Cobblestone cannot give orders that pertain to the governance of Springwater Village.' Especially considering that he intended to shamelessly re-use this template in the future.

Luckily, there didn't seem to be any issues. There was no contradiction penalty from making frivolous demands.

As one final test, he attempted to say "I order you to raise taxes by 1%" – only to find the words sticking in his throat. Clause #3 outright barred him from giving orders related to governing Springwater. It felt similar to the 'Sworn to Secrecy' Trait, physically preventing him from speaking.

Lucia declined to comment on how he'd choked on nothing. She'd grown accustomed to his disjointed behavior. "You're leaving to see Lady Katarina soon, correct?"

"Yeah. Need to check on her and her father." He hoped that Gerald's prognosis wasn't too bad. Katarina deserved a win.

Mayor Evergreen hesitated. A moment later, she abandoned all restraint, deeply bowing her head. "Others have already expressed their gratitude to you. Perhaps my words now will sound like a pale imitation of theirs, but, Simon...thank you. Without your efforts, thousands and thousands of my people would be dead. You have delivered salvation when all was lost, and asked for little in return, dealing with us fairly from the very start."

Her mouth crept upward into a bittersweet, wistful smile. "Which is why I request that you stop holding back – and reveal to me the dire news lurking behind your lips."

Simon went perfectly still.

"...How did you know?" he eventually managed to get out.

"Years of experience. You are more expressive than you think, Simon. It is part of why I can trust you. No true monster would struggle to deliver ill tidings, concealing flashes of pity and sympathy in their gaze."

Her smile faded as she pointed at him. "Tell me. What fate awaits Springwater Village? What would give pause to a powerful Demon such as yourself?"

Valtia's impending destruction. His personal plans for the future. Many, many things.

But right here, right now?

"The Water Artifact." Simon visibly sagged, his poker face crumbling to dust. "The Fell Beast drained most of its mana. Not much is left."

Lucia nodded, betraying no emotion except for a tightening of her posture. "Before the Beast arrived, we believed that the Artifact had a decade remaining until it expired. How long–"

"Six months."

Silence gripped the room.

"Are you certain?" Lucia asked, in a quiet voice.

"Yes." It was a line tucked at the end of the Artifact's Identify Description. Six months – and that was prior to Simon unleashing a torrent of water at the Ravenous Wanderer. "Six months maximum."

Mayor Evergreen was stone-faced.

After several protracted seconds, she clapped her hands together. "So be it. We must make what preparations we can. This is still more of a reprieve than we would've had otherwise."

She eyed him with thinly-disguised hope. "Unless...there is some manner of demonic miracle you can perform?"

Unable to meet her expectant gaze, Simon turned away, walking quickly towards the door leading outside.

"Working on it."

--

The look on Katarina's face told Simon everything he needed to know.

In his limited time spent with her, he'd come to regard the woman as a fighter. Whether she was imprisoned by slavers or ambushing a Fell Beast, she refused to surrender. No matter what circumstances plagued her, there was always a stubborn fire lit in her gaze.

Now that fire had almost sputtered out entirely. In its place was an empty sort of resignation.

Simon approached carefully and slowly. Katarina was leaning against the building he'd chosen as his temporary residence, idly playing with a dagger, staring out into the distance. He didn't step quietly, yet she gave no indication that she'd heard him.

He waited for her to initiate conversation. When that moment never arrived, he awkwardly cleared his throat, steeling his resolve. "Hello, Katarina."

"Hey." She didn't turn to greet him. The dagger twirled within nimble fingertips.

A days-old memory came to Simon. "You...may call me Katarina. Or Kat, if you prefer." It was one of the first things she'd said to him.

Did she appreciate when people used her shortened name? Did it sound friendlier? Would that help set her at ease?

Was there any possible way to soften what they were about to discuss?

Grimacing inwardly, Simon opted to keep using her full name. He didn't think he could make the shorter variant seem genuine. That was something friends shared, and...they weren't quite there yet.

"I'm sorry," he started with. "If there's anything at all I can do for you, please let me know."

Her mouth twitched imperceptibly. "Haven't even told you what the physician said."

Simon couldn't think of a response that wouldn't sound insensitive, so he wisely elected to say nothing.

Katarina flipped her dagger up and snatched it out of the air. "As it turns out, my father is one-in-a million." Her voice was like a piranha-filled lake; serene on the surface, but with blood and sharp edges lurking just underneath. "Can you believe it? We were finally 'lucky' about something. Not with our birth, or our innate skill with mana, or anything else throughout our lives..."

She trailed off, losing steam. "The Ancient One's Gift. That's the illness my father has. His body is rejecting his own mana. It's eating itself alive."

Like a magic-based autoimmune disease? "I wasn't aware that could happen," Simon blurted out.

"Neither were we. As I said – one-in-a-million."

She stowed her dagger away. "The Ancient's Gift is inborn. He's actually had it all his life. Merely gets worse with age. Means it isn't contagious...but it can't be cured. Only staved off."
Simon didn't bother asking how. If it was that simple, Katarina wouldn't be looking so despondent.

"There's a remedy," she continued. "Would keep him alive for another few decades. He'd last long enough to start complaining about his aching bones. I'd...I'd still have him."

A burst of resentment exploded across her face, twisting it into something hateful and desperate. If she'd still been holding her dagger, Simon would've been inclined to back away, lest she stab the nearest warm body in a fit of rage.

Then the moment passed. Her expression reverted to its mask of forced acceptance. "The remedy also costs far more money than we'll ever see. Even if we did somehow strike it rich, the nobility and merchant guilds hoard the remedy, buying it up the instant it's made. They've ensured that if they're ever struck with the affliction, they'll have a ready stockpile to last them indefinitely."

And the rest of us get to rot, were the words that went unspoken.

"Considered stealing it," Katarina remarked, her fingers brushing against the dagger at her waist. "But I don't have the skill or expertise to pilfer a nobleman's well-guarded coffers. Would need to train for years and years. On the slim chance I succeeded, by then, father would be..."

She shook her head. "Should stay here. Jonathan has offered to take care of him, ease what symptoms he's able to. At least my father will be lucid. Can hear his voice. Make fond memories. Something to keep with me."

"How much time does he have?" Simon asked.

"He'll live to see my next birthday...yet not the one after."

A chuckle escaped her throat. "Was difficult for us to leave Caelryn City, you know. Those slavers weren't the first peril we encountered on our road to Springwater. Bet all our hopes on this trash heap of a village. Figured we'd be in good company – a pair of penniless vagrants should fit right in. Anything would've been better than hiding from the roaming gangs in Caelryn, constantly fleeing from knives in the dark, never knowing what new hell you'd awaken to in the morning."

Katarina breathed out a sigh. "Making the journey seemed so important at the time. Now I'm simply left thinking..."

She chanced a sideways glance at him, as if seeking answers. "What was it all for?"

With a flash of disquieting inspiration, Simon realized how easy it would be to manipulate her right then.

It wasn't like with the Contract, where his demonic mana was feeding him advice. This was glaringly obvious just by looking at her. Katarina had lost her way. She was adrift in a storm, without a lifeboat, ready to latch onto whoever extended a helping hand.

With one single sentence – "Assist me, and I'll get Gerold's remedy for you" – she would follow him to the ends of the world. It wouldn't even be a lie.

But...

"I think I owed you an explanation for my confusing behavior?"

Katarina blinked at his non-sequitur. "Oh. Right." She turned to face him, seeming to embrace the distraction he'd given her. "You don't act like any Demon I've ever met."

"You haven't met other Demons."

"Yes, but that's beside the point."

Simon grinned, and she returned it in kind – although hers was much more flimsy. "Unfortunately, I regret to inform you that my behavior must remain confusing for a bit longer. Before I regale you with the full explanation, I need to ask some questions of my own first."

She arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

"For context." He swept his arm out towards the village. "To start with – what exactly are the Mana Harvesters? Why was it so imperative that the Fell Beast not reach them?"

Katarina stared. "How don't you know of...never mind. I'll just presume there's a reason you're asking."

Rotating to the side, she gestured at a building several streets away. It was slightly taller than average, with what appeared to be a nobleman's coat-of-arms emblazoned at the top.

"The Mana Harvesters are Artifacts located in each city, town, and village in the Severed Isles," she explained. "They siphon mana from the land and store it in containers. Every so often, some of Duke Helmund's soldiers come to collect."

That was basically what Simon had expected from a name like Mana Harvesters, but it was good to have it confirmed nonetheless. "Is that why we couldn't let the Fell Beast near it?"

"Correct. With how powerful the Beast became just from draining the Water Artifact...I shudder to imagine what abomination it would've transformed into after devouring the Harvester's bounty. Duke Helmund himself may have needed to come and slay it personally."

Very, very glad it didn't come to that. "And what does Helmund use all that mana for?"

"Various things, I suppose. Bribes to the nobility. Fashioning more Artifacts. Perhaps a garnish for his dinners?"

Simon took note of her demeanor. "You don't seem especially concerned that Duke Helmund is robbing the land of its mana."

She half-shrugged. "Not like it hurts anyone. The land recovers."

"It's a wasteland out there, Katarina."

"It's always been a wasteland. Helmund didn't change that."

Which was a reasonable belief to hold...for someone born into a medieval world, who was relatively young, and who possessed limited access to information. She could hardly hop online and google 'environmental changes over the years'. Lucette's slaver group had only concluded that Valtia was dying after years of traveling around and comparing different areas.

Simon gazed at the unassuming Helmund-branded building, wondering how much damage that specific Harvester had wrought. A harbinger of the apocalypse – hidden in plain sight.

His right arm tensed. "Out of curiosity, what would happen if I went and demolished–"

"Don't," Katarina interrupted, her panic rising. "Duke Helmund exacts brutal punishment on settlements who damage their Harvester. He cares more for his mana tithe than the actual taxes."

"Of course he does." Simon put on a reassuring smile. "Relax. I won't lay a finger on the Duke's precious Harvesters."

Not until he could do so with impunity, at any rate.

Katarina narrowed her eyes. "You swear? Because it would be a waste to condemn Springwater mere hours after we risked our lives to save it."

"I swear. I'm not as impetuous as you may think."

By the look on her face, she didn't believe him. Simon folded his arms, matching her suspicion with his own. "Speaking of impetuous – that leads to the last question I have to ask you."

He shifted his tone of voice from playful to serious. "Why did you come back to fight the Fell Beast?"

Katarina froze. She scratched her head, wearing an expression like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Strange thing to ask," she muttered. "It was a rampaging Fell Beast. Needed to die and–"

"You had no idea if you could help me. In fact, considering how the Beast easily regenerated from your arrows, and how I was on the ropes at the time...there was plenty of evidence to suggest that your heroics would amount to absolutely nothing. Yet instead of fleeing as the nigh-invincible monster feasted on my corpse, you returned, climbed onto its back, and started stabbing away like a maniac."

Simon held up a hand to forestall her response. "To be clear – you saved my life. That distraction, in addition to throwing the Warding Orbs later, is what allowed me to prevail against the Beast. Without your timely assistance, myself and all of Springwater would be dead. I am sincerely, honestly grateful that you came back."
He locked eyes with her. "I just need to know why."

It was possible that Katarina's answer would be self-serving. Escaping from the Fell Beast's cavern wouldn't have ended the problem, after all. Simon could envision himself making the same choice after a rational analysis of the situation. 'If my life is endangered either way, might as well try killing the Beast before it grows even stronger' – something like that.

People didn't tend to conduct a rational analysis in the heat of the moment, though. They simply went with their gut, then did their best to justify it afterwards.

How would she–

"I just wanted to, alright?"

Katarina almost sounded embarrassed. "In retrospect, it was foolish. Should've ran to the clinic, grabbed my father, then made for the carriage. The people of Springwater probably would've stopped me, but I still had better odds at surviving that way than attacking a Fell Beast twice my size. It's just...leaving you behind...after everything you'd done for us..."

She sighed. "I wouldn't have liked what kind of person that made me."

A genuine smile broadened over Simon's face.

That was the answer he'd hoped to hear.

"Follow me." He stepped forward, opening the door to his temporary residence. "I have something to show you."

--

Thanks for reading!