Drip-Fed

“So, can I categorize this as a whole mess?” Reysha asked

“That would understate the category of fucked all of this is.” The casual cursing from the elaborately spoken angel caused the gathered party members to freeze. Aclysia frowned, their proper reaction to her frustration bringing her no joy. “The faithful have perished and we are left to cleanse this affliction upon the blessed Omniverse with a gaggle of vile spawn.”

“Is that the proper description for a group of demons?” Reysha wondered. “A gaggle?”

“Is this the time for your irreverent banter?” Aclysia responded.

“Dunno.” A heavy sigh left the redhead. Frustrated, she scratched her head. Bits of dried blood, not her own, loosened from her hair. “I’m coping. I need a bath. Where are we going?”

Apexus pointed to a lone tree, standing in the unnervingly level flatness of the green planes. “There.”

Upon arrival, Apexus pulled the key to the Mobile Estate from the inside of his arm. The golden instrument turned, the air shifted, the ornate door swung open, and the four of them stepped into the relieving familiarity of their home on the road.

Unspoken, they all agreed to move to the couch first. They sat down around the low table. Silence fell over them, each of them sorting their thoughts.

“We’re really doing this?” Korith asked first.

“Are you against it?” Apexus asked.

“I was against it from the start,” the kobold pointed out. “It’s just… uh… obviously stuff has gone sideways?” Small hands kneaded the edge of the couch. “Why did you decide to stay?” the question was neutral. Had Korith truly considered this to be a bad idea, she would have insisted they were moving way earlier.

“Because nothing truly changed,” Apexus answered. “Casualties were expected. We have different allies now, but our goal remains the same.”

“Darling is correct,” Aclysia stated.

“Think we can trust the demons?” Reysha asked.

“We can trust in the demons’ self-interest and hatred.” Aclysia got up and filled a kettle with water. She hung it above the cold fireplace, then begun to stack the logs and tinder their magical home provided. “Bulubu has been honest. They want to use us against enemies that could permanently kill them – enemies that they hate more than any inhabitant of the Omniverse.”

“It’s a different kind of hate anyhow:” Reysha repressed the urge to keep picking dried blood out of her hair. “They’re more, like… bitter towards us people of the Omniverse.”

“An emotion they can hardly be blamed for,” Apexus remarked.

“Yeah, probably not,” Korith sighed and swiftly changed the topic. This conversation had happened before and there was no need for them to retread old ground. “Urgh, I really hope we get something out of this.”

“…There might be a reward that none have anticipated,” Apexus said slowly.

Reysha’s ears twitched, picking up on the atypical hesitation in the slime’s voice. “What do you mean?”

“When the Parasyte died, I felt a shiver in the world,” Apexus answered. “A tremble of relief, as the mana in the earth around us got… unstuck. It flowed all around us.”

“So…?” Reysha asked, her taill flopping in anticipation.

“Increasing in level is ultimately the process of us absorbing loose magic from the monsters we slay and the dungeons we dwell in.” Apexus curled his fingers halfway to a fist. “It requires our souls to be open from a challenge and magic to be available around us. If the challenge is great, then the magic absorbed is also great.”

“Darling, it is impossible to gain levels from fighting Parasytes,” Aclysia said. “Shapeforms, perhaps, but Parasytes…”

“It is impossible to passively absorb,” Apexus agreed. “However, I believe I may be able to harness this.”

“Oh?” Reysha’s tail flopping got even more excited. “What do you have in mind, big guy?”

Korith similarly tilted forwards, enticed by the idea that this trip may have a greater use after all.

“These are known for certain: magic can be liquified. I can manipulate the flow of liquids through telekinesis and Martial Arts. I have a unique aptitude for sensing magic. I know alchemy. I know meridians.” Apexus listed all of that as much for himself as for them. “If I can combine these factors correctly, I believe I could enable us to absorb an extraordinary amount of the loose mana.”

“This sounds improper,” Aclysia cautioned. “The gods have given us a path, a hill to climb at the pace of their design.”

“Yeah, sure, but are we going to pretend that the gods aren’t fallible?” Reysha remarked. “More importantly, are we going to pretend that gods never did anything extraordinary?”

The angel could respond to that only with surrendering silence. Another angle of argument attempted to give voice to her instinctive dislike of this plan. “Ought we take mana from this place? It is already weakened.”

“If I get Apexus correctly,” Korith spoke slowly, giving ample space for the Monk to correct her. “Then he’s specifically talking about mana that would be freed by us dealing with Parasytes, sooooo… better with us than with the void, right?”

Aclysia had no counterpoint for that either. She could only sigh. “This is true…”

“And we can use this extra power to face Apotho!” Reysha declared.

“If it works,” Apexus cautioned them and got up. “I will start with the alchemical theory.”

“And I am taking a bath! With Squishy!” Reysha declared.

“I, uh…” Korith was made to second guess the redhead’s words only because of her enthusiasm. After pondering it for two seconds, she realized there was nothing wrong with what had been suggested. Why not help her fellow haremette get clean? “You want to come too, ‘Clysia?”

An eye on the kettle, the Priest shook her head. “I will enjoy a cup of tea first.”