A Demon's Core

When Violet returns she is quick to start distributing fruit to all the gathered imps. I had told them all that she would be coming back today and that she would be bringing back a treat. Once she contacted me to tell me they were on their way back, that gave me a timeframe of when to expect them so I was able to let the others know. As a result, everyone was eagerly waiting for her when she arrived.

She demonstrates how the smaller of the fruit, mandarins I think they are called, are easy to peel and can be pulled apart and everyone loves them, or at least the imps do, with some of them enjoying taking them apart one piece at a time, while others just eating them whole.

The hellhounds are less interested in them, despite Violet peeling some to offer to them. They sniff at them curiously, but they each reject the offered fruit. She then tries offering them one of the larger fruits, a grapefruit, and they do find that more interesting, but only as a toy they can bat around and play with like a ball rather than as something they might consider eating. Violet is content to leave it with them while she takes the mandarins back to divide amongst the imps.

After they are done with the mandarins, they cut up the remaining grapefruit to share. There is not a lot to go around since Violet only brought back three and the hellhounds are still playing with one, but there is still enough that everyone gets at least one piece; maybe I should ask the imps to look for some more balls for the hellhounds. Most of the imp’s reactions to the grapefruit are the same as Violet’s; they like the taste initially, but are a little put off by the bitter aftertaste.

Once the fruit is done with, Violet regales everyone who is interested with stories of what she found. All of the imps are excited about the possibility of moving to the new town now. Of course, the fruit she brought back was a major contributing factor to their excitement. It is enough to make me consider making the move regardless of how things play out with the humans.

What causes me hesitate the most is how difficult it will be for me to travel. I know my core can be taken outside, but doing so is extremely unpleasant; to do so for an extended period of time would be even worse. In addition to that, I still have some hope, though it is dwindling, that something positive can come from our interaction with the humans.

I cannot deny that the town has piqued my curiosity though. The houses being empty of people, yet still containing all the belongings of the former inhabitants is a bit of an enigma. I wonder if the houses in the residential areas of the city are the same.

Judging from the state of the city and the relatively small number of people left in it, and the completely abandoned town, it seems reasonable to assume that something occurred in the past that caused a significant reduction in the population. If whatever caused the reduction happened suddenly and quickly, that could explain why people would not have had time to gather their personal belongings.

This also leads me to wonder how widespread it was. Is it something that only occurred in this region or did it happen everywhere? Then there is also the crater; is it related to the population reduction or is it a different mystery altogether?

Violet said that the mana concentration inside the crater was greater than the surrounding area. I agree with her assumption that it was probably caused by whatever made the crater, but that just leads to even more questions, like what created it and why could Violet not find any trace of it beyond the mana it left behind. I ask Igneous for his thoughts on it, but he is not able to offer any further insight.

If the crater was created by a bomb or explosive device, that would explain why Violet did not find anything, but that would not explain the mana. It could be that, like my core, whatever made the crater fell from the sky, bringing mana with it. Judging from the crater’s diameter, it would have had to have been something much larger than my core; but if that is the case, then what happened to it after it fell?

Violet was right that I should have Rose investigate it. Given her much greater ability to sense mana, she may be able to find something the others could not. I will suggest it to her later. Igneous might be willing to make the trip again, but Violet was also excited at the prospect of a group expedition, though that would take a lot more work to organise. I should discuss with Rose how she would prefer to handle it.

Later in the day, I am startled by a sudden repetitive banging noise emanating from Rose and Violet’s room. Moving to investigate, I find Violet sitting on the floor holding Rose’s hammer, bringing it down on the folding knife she brought back, which I found a little odd considering how eagerly she was showing it off earlier. Before I could ask why she was now trying to destroy it, Rose burst into the room. Violet stops swinging the hammer and looks up in surprise.

“What are you doing?” Rose asks.

“I’m trying to break the handle off so I can just have the blade, but I couldn’t pull it apart with just my hands.” Violet explains.

“So that’s why you asked to borrow my hammer?”

“Exactly! Without the weight of the handle, it should work better as a tail weapon.” Violet continues.

So she has not given up on that idea yet. It is not a bad idea, though it still does not solve the problem of how to actually attach the blade; but one step at a time.

I do not think bashing it with a hammer will be the most effective method of dismantling it, particularly on a carpeted floor.

Violet looks down at the carpet and presses a hand into it. It is not an especially fluffy carpet, but it would still absorb some of the impact from the hammer.

“The carpet is too soft, if we take it outside to the concrete, it should work better.” Rose suggests.

Violet beams and stands up with the knife and hammer in hand and the two imps quickly head outside. It seems like they still plan to use the hammer, but at least it will have a higher chance of succeeding with concrete.

When they eventually return, they must have succeeded because Violet is holding the blade, now divested of its handle, with a wide grin.

“We did it!” She declares as she rushes over to my core, holding up the blade in triumph.

Excellent. Do you have a plan for how to attach it to your tail?

Her smile drops and she looks towards Rose.

“Do we still have any tape?” She asks.

“We might, though I’m not sure if it will work any better than the last time you tried using tape, but we can try.” Rose replies.

The two move off in search of tape and I return to my own musings.

The next few days are uneventful. By going straight up the walls in a thin strip, I have now expanded onto the roof so I can now start claiming that area. It will not help me see what is outside, but it will allow me to stay in direct contact with whoever is on watch.

When I am not focusing on expansion, I spend a lot of my time observing the imps. I do not speak to most of them directly very often, preferring to observe them without interference, unless I actually need something from them or they need something from me, but that does not happen very often. When any of them need something, they will usually go to either Rose or Violet first. Violet still takes time to chat with me at least a little each day, especially when she wants to show off something interesting she found.

Rose is the one I interact with the most while we discuss science and magic. The current hurdle we are trying to overcome is producing fire. We are practising together in the meeting room on the fourth floor. I can make sparks, but a sustained flame is still beyond me. Rose is not having any more luck than I am. There is a gap in my knowledge that I am having trouble figuring out.

My understanding of fire is that it requires three things; heat, oxygen and fuel. I am trying to use mana as the fuel, but I am not sure how to do that with how I thought mana works. Initially, I thought of mana as a form of energy and that like any other, it should be subject to the law of the conservation of energy. But the more I learned about mana and magic, the more that theory no longer seemed to fit. I still believe it is a form of energy, but I also think there is more to it than that. I am just not sure how to apply that to the current situation.

“Maybe we should see if Noctis can offer any insight? She and the others are pretty good at making fire.” Rose suggests.

That is a good idea.

I find Noctis napping in Room 3 with Fire by her side. At first, I am reluctant to disturb her, but as I consider coming back later, her ears perk up and she slowly opens her eyes. I get a sense of inquiry from her. Did she wake because of me or was it just a coincidence that she happened to wake up at that moment? Or maybe she was not sleeping at all and noticed me appearing in front of her. I would feel bad if I did actually wake her, but regardless, she is awake and aware that my attention is focussed on her, so there is no point in hesitating now.

Can you tell me how you create fire?

In response, she opens her mouth a little and lets out a small burst of fire.

Yes, but can you explain the mechanics of how you are able to do that?

She is uncertain, but does attempt to give an explanation; though, unfortunately, her method of communication does not lend itself well to the conveyance of complex concepts. She starts with a feeling of urgency or need, followed by a sense of desire. What comes next is difficult to decipher. It feels like she is trying to express a physical sensation, which is hard for me to interpret due to the nature and limitations of my physical form.

It feels like building heat; from inside, I think? There might be more to it than that, but that is the best interpretation that I can manage. She finishes her explanation with another puff of flames.

So you can just produce fire from inside your body when you need or want it?

She responds with a tentative agreement. This was not as illuminating as I had hoped. I assume the hellhound’s control over fire is simply an innate talent, much like Rose’s healing. Though, considering that I have only ever seen flames coming from their eyes and muzzle, I have never seen them manifest fire outside of their body, I wonder if there could also be a biological component. They can control fire that already exists to some degree, but I have not witnessed them ever creating fire that did not come from inside them.

Perhaps they have an internal organ that facilitates the production of fire. Maybe, if another hellhound dies, I should ask Noctis if we can dissect them before cremation. It might feel a bit macabre to do something like that, but it would help me to learn more about them.

Given that Noctis had no problem with the imps bringing back and displaying Spikey’s bones, I doubt she would be bothered by such a request. It may also be worthwhile to do the same with the imps. It would not just be useful to me, but to Rose as well. Gaining a better understanding of anatomy will surely be of benefit towards improving her healing ability, particularly for repairing more severe or internal injuries. The imps consume their dead so they can continue to be of aid to the pack, even after their death. This will just be another way in which they can help.

As much as I hope no one else will die, it would be foolish to pretend that it will never happen, so it is better to make use of whatever resources become available. Though there is not much point in worrying about that until someone actually does die.

For now it is better to focus on the current task. My conversation with Noctis did give me an idea. I have been focusing on using the mana solely as fuel for the fire without giving as much thought as I should have to the other components: heat and oxygen.

Oxygen is all around so that is not something that I need to provide, but heat is another matter. Fire produces heat, of course, but it also requires heat to even exist in the first place. What I gathered from Noctis’s explanation, there is a build up of heat before the fire is unleashed, so if I create the heat first, maybe that will make it easier to ignite an actual flame.

Returning to Rose, I explain my idea and she is eager to give it a try. We have already practised generating heat from mana when I had explained what I knew of different forms of energy and how they can be converted.

“How hot does it need to be?” she asks.

I am not sure. Not so that it burns the surrounding environment with just the heat alone, I imagine, or the humans would not be able to do it without protective gear. We will just have to experiment a little.

I start by heating the air around me before trying to ignite a flame. It sparks again but does not progress into actual fire. Due to my limited ability to sense temperatures, I can not tell exactly how hot the air abound me has gotten, but it is enough to make Rose move away from it.

Is it getting a bit too hot? Sorry about that.

“It’s not too bad yet. Just a little uncomfortable.” Rose assures me.

I realise that I am being terribly inefficient. Rather than wasting energy heating a large area, I should be trying to focus that heat into a small space and contain it. Jenna certainly did not have to heat up the whole room.

Holding my hands apart, I focus on the space between them, trying to only heat that area without letting any escape. I cannot do much about the heat that I have already generated though. While it is rather easy to convert mana into heat, I have found gathering it from the environment to be much more difficult, though that is something I intend to work on.

Rose watches intently as I continue to raise the temperature, not that there is actually much to ‘see’, unless she is actually attempting to sense the mana. I keep pouring more heat into my little heat bubble until I feel like it has reached a suitable level; then, visualising the objective, I try to ignite a flame again and the fire that bursts to life before me exceeds my expectations. For a moment my vision is entirely engulfed by the flames.

My concentration falters from the sudden expansion of the flame and it quickly expires. Rose has moved even further away and fallen back, her eyes wide with shock. She may have been even more surprised than I was.

“Did you mean to do that?” She asks once she regains her composure.

No, that was a little excessive, but I think I will get it right next time. Are you alright? Were you hurt at all?

“No, I’m fine. I just wasn’t expecting it to be so big. It was impressive.” She replies as she gets up from the floor.

For my next attempt, I try to only gather around half as much heat before I ignite it. The resulting blaze is still bigger than I was aiming for, but I do not lose focus this time and the fire is now steadily consuming mana to sustain itself. I slowly adjust the flow of mana to reduce the size of the flame until I am holding a ball of fire small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.

“You did it!” Rose cheers.

Yes, now it is your turn. I let my flame go out and turn my attention to Rose.

“R-Right,” she stammers nervously, then closes her eyes and takes a deep breath to calm down. “I just need to be careful. I am a lot more vulnerable to fire than you are.”

Do not worry, I will help you. I assure her.

I guide her through the process I used and after a few false starts and some minor singeing, which she was quick to heal, she is soon holding a flame of her own.

“I did it.” she whispers, gazing in wonder at the flickering fire in her hands.

Congratulations. You did extremely well. I am proud of you. Rose beams at the praise, but then frowns.

“The human wasn’t exaggerating when she said it consumes a lot of mana. I’m not sure it would be worth using it for combat. I can’t imagine how the hellhounds are able to do it.” She says as she lets her flame die.

Well it is something they are specialised in. Perhaps the mana efficiency can be improved with practice.

“I hope so. It would be a shame not to use it after how much work we put into figuring it out,” Rose laments.

Even if it does not end up being great for combat, I am sure you can find other ways to make use of it. Besides, Jenna did say that this is something people do more because it is 'cool' than for practical reasons.

“That’s true. Shall we continue?” She asks.

No, I think that is enough for now. We have accomplished a lot today and made great progress, but I do not want you to overwork yourself.