Reborn: Demon's Legacy

9-1

With the speed of the demons assigned to scouting and spying, it only took three days for Ash to get a full report on what was happening with the war. So far the enemy army had pulled back and was holding near the border. Ash wanted to rush back home, but the sage advised against it.

“My Lord, right now the biggest advantage we have is that they don’t know if you are alive or dead. Our spies in the King’s palace haven’t reported back yet and I believe it would be best if you waited until we know all that is going on before we make a move.”

“You seem to know a lot about war,” Ash said harshly. He wanted nothing more than to tell his wife that he was ok.

“My Lord, we were bred for war. Even though we have hidden ourselves away, we have not allowed our skills to wither. We keep spies in most the kingdoms of men and watch the world closely. We train our young to fight and each clan has its own labyrinth in which to train. Every five years we have a massive contest where the clans fight in mock open battles for honor and glory. I doubt you will find better warriors anywhere.”

“Wait, every clan has its own labyrinth? That is over forty labyrinths. How in the nine hells are there so many?”

“The same people that created us learned how to make labyrinths. They were a group of the best mages of the time who studied many different things related to the world. If they had not drawn the wrath of the gods, there is no telling what secrets they might have uncovered,” the sage said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

“You can create a labyrinth?” Ash asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Yes,” the sage said hesitantly. “Though not easily. As I told you, long ago we helped a human king unite the lands. During that time, we were still young and our hearts desired battle. We took countless lives and used the secrets that we had stolen from the mages to build the labyrinths that we now use to train in.”

“How are they made?” Ash asked, trying to get the sage to get to the point.”

“You see, the mages learned that labyrinths tended to be found at the sights where large battles had taken place. After a lot of experimenting, they learned that wherever the land was soaked in the blood of more than 100,000 people, a labyrinth would be born. During the large wars we would capture defeated soldiers and sometimes whole cities and bring them back so that we could sacrifice them,” the sage replied sorrowfully. “It is not the most pleasing story for any demon to hear, though it is one that needs to be passed down so that we do not repeat the offenses of our ancestors. I ask that you keep this information a secret. I know I have no power to demand it, but if the secret was known, then there is no telling what might happen.”

“I agree, this is one secret that is better lost and forgotten then put to use,” Ash said without hesitation. There was no doubt in his mind that there were plenty of nobles and kings that wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice people if it meant that they could put a labyrinth wherever they chose. “I wonder how the labyrinths work?” Ash asked more to himself then to the sage.

“Ah, that is easy enough to answer,” the sage replied, not knowing that Ash had only asked out of reflex. “Labyrinths are alive. They can even be killed if one wished to, though I have never heard of anyone doing so on purpose since they give such great benefits. They live off vitality and will slowly drain it from living beings nearby, but as long as a large number of people gather, then the drain is so small it is seldom noticed. When one fights in a labyrinth, any action they take uses extra energy and that helps the laybernith strengthen itself. The creatures born in the labyrinth are much like blood to a human. Though when one is destroyed, it doesn’t hurt the labyrinth much since most of the creature’s essence can be reused. Everything you find inside a labyrinth is born of magic but it is what is called grand magic and uses levels of energy that no human or demon could ever control. It was theorized by the mages that labyrinths were, in a way, a kind of demigod created from the combined power of those sacrificed.”

“I see,” Ash said as he tried to digest the new information. He had never thought that the labyrinth as a living being, but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Labyrinths were dangerous and every year many people died trying to gain the riches within, but at the same time it allowed many people the chance to grow and kingdoms to prosper. “Well if I shouldn’t return home just yet, then what should I do? I can’t just sit around here all day. I would be bored out of my mind.”

“My Lord, I would suggest you train your abilities. You are the twenty-third Maoh and over the years a training regimen has been designed to help the new Maoh become the pillar of the demon world. Most the time the successor is known long before the death of the previous Maoh so they are trained from a young age. In truth, we were all quite worried when the previous Maoh decided to pass on when there was no apparent heir.”

“How long will this training last?” Ash asked, hoping that it wouldn’t be something that took hundreds of years. Given that demons lived until either killed or they decided to pass on by their own will, it was a very real possibility.

“Your body is strong enough that you do not need the beginning stages of the training,” the sage said, his tone slightly contemplative. “I think that in five to eight years you could pass the basic portion of the training.”

“That long,” Ash said in a slightly depressed tone.

“Well demons train for the entirety of their lives. We don’t age so we do not slow like humans. Though with you being more human than demon that might not be the same for you. Only time will tell, but the basic training is simply acquiring certain abilities and then training them and learning how to use them to their fullest. I am sure that you have learned by now that even with a large number of abilities, they are useless unless you know the best time to use them and more importantly, how to use them.”

Ash couldn’t help but admit that the sage was right. He had learned numerous abilities, but most of them went unused. He had trained them to some extent, but he rarely thought about when and how to use them. During his battle at the fort, Ash had only used those abilities that were the most familiar to him and hardly touched those that he had gained when he first had come to this world.

“I guess it is better than just sitting around waiting to be of use,” Ash said, trying to hold back the surge of excitement. He felt slightly bad that he was excited about training when his wife and others might be in danger.

“Then we can start as early as tomorrow. If that is your wish my lord.”

When the sage didn’t leave as he normally would, Ash looked at the older man. It was hard to tell what the sage was thinking, but from the way he kept moving his forked tongue Ash knew that something was on his mind. “Is there something else?” Ash asked hesitantly.

“There is my Lord, but I do not know if it is the right time for me to bring up such matters. Especially given other things that are currently taking place,” the sage said, his shoulders slightly slumping. “It is about an heir my lord. We know that the young duchess of yours will soon conceive. It is unknown yet if the child will be the one to carry the blood ability and honestly the chances of it are slim.”

“Go on,” Ash said slightly leaning forward as the corners of his mouth started to twitch.

“You see my Lord, it is customary that the Moah take a wife from each of the main clans,” As the sage spoke for a moment, he stopped when Ash didn’t say anything and simply breathed a slight sigh of relief. “This is to keep from showing any form of favoritism. Also, as you know we are a long lived race but our women can only bare two children during their lives. This does not pose a huge problem as women are born more often than men, but the problem is that in the previous generations chance of an heir receiving the blood ability is very low. The previous Maoh had thirty children among his various wives and not one was an inheritor, though he was still relatively young. At only two hundred and sixty years of age.”

“What would happen if there was no inheritor?” Ash asked as he sat back slowly in his chair and digested the news. Something felt off, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

“That is unknown my Lord,” the sage replied apologetically. “It had never happened before, but I doubt the mages who created us would allow a chained beast to be set free.”

“I see,” Ash said. It made sense if the mages lost their hold over a race meant for war it would be devastating to say the least, or it should have been. They were sure to create some safeguards in that event. “Can you explain a bit more about the marriage and expectations of such for me? I am finding it hard to see how one person could entertain so many women.”

For the first time, Ash heard the sage laugh. It was an odd sight since the sage didn’t have lips. It sounded more like a raspy cough, but the wetness in his eyes made Ash smile. “I can understand your confusion my Lord. Though it is customary that you wed one from each, no person can value everyone the same. The only day you must attend to one of your wives is on her birthday. Other than that, your wives would make up your personal guard. When a child is born, after it is weaned from its mother, it is sent back to the clan unless the Maoh orders otherwise.”

“My wives would be my guards?” Ash asked tilting his head slightly.

“Yes,” the sage replied nodding his head. “It has been done that way for generations. Each Maoh is different though and there have been changes in customs from time to time on their orders. You must remember that in the end, your orders are supreme. We have our own wills and as such there will be different opinions, not only about you, but how to do things, however, in the end we have to follow your orders.”

“I don’t like it,” Ash blurted out without thinking.

“What do you not like my Lord?” The sage asked with what appeared to be a worried expression. Though with his features, it was hard to tell.

“I don’t like the idea of people having to obey my orders despite their own feelings,” Ash said shaking his head. “It…Feels wrong.”

“I can understand my Lord. That is why the previous Maoh never made many direct orders. Though as I said, the magic that binds us to you is stronger than slave magic that is used today. All demons bound by it can’t help but feel favorable to you, though that is never seen as much of a burden. Honestly, we believe that it helps since we never feel hatred toward our ruler. The magic also seems to weaken with each generation, though it will still be countless more before were are free of it.”

“No matter how you explain it…It still feels wrong,” Ash said again.

“The gods felt the same way. That is why they demanded the destruction of the mages. At first, many of the gods wanted the mages creations destroyed as well, but the goddess Altina stood against them. In the end she said that though we were created against the will of the gods, it was not our fault. She is the one that allows us to seek our end when we want free of the world. Altina herself spoke to the first free Maoh. She told him that even if all demons were bound to his will, it was his choice on how to use that bond. All kings force their subjects to obey, ours are just in a more literal sense. No one else can carry that burden for you, but I hope you can find some solace in the goddess’s words.”

After saying his peace, the sage left Ash alone with his thoughts.

Ash couldn’t believe that he was now a King or a Maoh as the demons called him. He had been married to Emelia for a good time now, but she was the duchess and he was just her consort. He had no real power within the duchy himself. Ash had liked it that way. No real power also meant that he had very little in the way of responsibilities. Now he had countless thousands depending on him. It was all too much.

“Master,” A weak voice said as the door to his room was slightly opened.

“Come in Allice,” Ash said as he tried to wipe the troubles from his mind and put on a warm smile.

Allice was wearing a long dark red one piece dress that hung tightly to her body. Her hair long blonde hair was pulled up and tied into a tight bun. Overall it gave off a very mature and enticing vibe.

“Ash, when will we go back home?” Allice asked as she wrung her hands.

“In time,” Ash said weakly as if he didn’t believe his own words. “There are things that we have to do here first.”

Allice clung to him tightly her small hands digging into his back. “Ok.”

9-2

The next day, the sage took Ash to the top of a small hill where large birds twice the size of horses flew in the air while others simply lay on the ground being groomed by a host of demons.

“Only a few of the demon clans can fly and the lands here are vast. Without them it would take days to reach our first destination,” the sage explained.

The large birds were fitted with saddles, though unlike horses, the rider was strapped in with a number of leather harness to keep from falling off during flight. A bird could only hold the weight of one person so Ash was given a quick demonstration on how to control the beast before he and the sage took to the air. Thankfully, Ash’s bird followed behind the sage’s, so he didn’t have to worry about getting lost.

The feel of the wind on his body made Ash’s heart race. Building up his nerve, Ash leaned slightly to the side and looked down. He was miles in the air and the ground below looked small and the creatures looked almost like ants running around. It was hard to gage the speed at which they were moving, but Ash guessed that it was at least three time faster than the best bred horses could go at a full gallop.

They flew for a little more than two hours before Ash spotted the first signs of a large village. In the center of the village was a large building about a quarter the size of the palace he had left behind. From the sky, it looked as if the other building had sprouted from the larger one. Near the edge of the city, Ash saw a large stone hill and knew that it was a labyrinth. From the air, it looked almost like the top of a large eyeless stone head sticking out of the ground with the mouth being the entrance. After learning that the labyrinths were alive, Ash figured that he might not be too far off the mark.

They landed in a large clearing next to the large mansion. As they descended, a number of people came out from the large house and the surrounding buildings. After bowing, a large demon with shining silver hair and deep red eyes approached them. “My Lord, it is a great honor to have you visit us,” the man said, his voice soft and feminine. Unlike the other demons that Ash had seen, the ones surrounding him now had thin bodies and no wings. From what the sage said, the beast men were mixed with animals while demons were mixed with monsters that were cultivated in different labyrinths. From Ash’s guess, the demons must have been created from one of the many spirit type monsters given their enchanting vibe.

The demon waved his hand slightly and a young woman that looked to be in her late teens took a few uncertain steps forward before bowing. “This is Celina, a daughter of a branch house that we wished to bring forward as our candidate for one of your future wives.”

“G-greetings my Lord,” Celina said, her voice slightly trembling and barely loud enough for Ash to hear.

“We would be honored if you would allow Celina to accompany you on your training so that you may gage if she fits your needs my Lord,” the demon said as he urged the young lady to move closer. “She is still young, but she is one of the best fighters in the younger generation.”

“Pleasure to meet you Celina,” Ash said nodding his head. Ash was still unsure if he should take a wife from each clan, but while he was deciding it didn’t hurt to meet the women who were his perspective wives. He had to admit that Celina was beautiful with her lithe figure, shining hair, and deep red eyes like unpolished rubies.

Ash greeted the young woman as well, but before he could say much the sage stepped forward. “As I had informed you, the reason for this trip is to train the new Maoh. Today I thought with Your Graces help, we could explain the difference in abilities and how best to put them to use.”

“Ah. Then it won’t be a direct dive into the labyrinth,” the demon replied with a slightly disheartened look on his face. “I guess that is just as well. Knowing how to use what you have is vastly more important than having them.”

Ash was taken inside the large mansion. He could instantly see a large difference between demon and human construction. While most human mansions were made of more than one level and made of stone the demons preferred single level buildings made of wood. Ash was taken to a large room with a low sitting, long table placed in the center of the room, but there were no chairs in which to sit.

Ash waited for the others to be seated first and followed suite sitting directly on the ground with his legs folded in front of him. The sage sat on his right while Celina sat to his left. Shortly after they were seated, a number of other female demons of the clan appeared carrying small clay cups of green tea. It was slightly bitter to Ash’s taste, but it wasn’t so bad that it was unpleasant to drink, though it wasn’t something that he would drink if he had been given the choice of something else.

“My Lord, I might be called the sage, but most of my knowledge is in managing the realm. As a demon I would be considered a disappointment since I have very little skill in battle. Lord Hallera on the other hand is the clan head of the Sheria Tribe that specializes in magic. In the terms of your guilds, they would be the wizards. They can use all four major elements equally and skillfully. First, so that he can understand your own knowledge, why don’t you speak a bit about your own abilities and how you have used them thus far along with any troubles you have encountered?”

Ash asked for a piece of paper and a quill and quickly wrote down all the abilities and skills he had, along with a quick description and handed them over to the clan lord. After giving the man time to read through them, Ash started explaining his fighting so far, focusing on the trouble he had with the heavy armored knights during the war.

“With these skills, I can see armor giving you a bit of trouble, but it still shouldn’t have been too hard,” the man said with a furrowed brow.

“I tried using Cone of Frost and Fire Ball, but neither of them showed much effect,” Ash said with a heavy sigh.

“I see,” the man replied looking back down at the sheet of paper. “First I should explain how the abilities work and why they didn’t work in that situation. Fire ball is a good skill to use to distract the enemy, but has little use besides that unless fighting undead. It isn’t very hot and it takes a lot of heat for armor to be effected. When you add in the padding, most warriors wouldn’t even notice. The same problem comes with frost attacks, but it can slow them down as the metal becomes weaker when it is cold. If you were to cast Cone of Frost and then hit it a strong attack with a spear, you could break through the metal. Given your current abilities, the best choices to use when faced off against a heavily armored knight would be Sticky Thread and Shock Strike. The armor is already heavy and restricts movements so Sticky Thread would make them an easy target. On the other hand, metal does bad with electrical attacks and the padding does little to stop its effects so Shock Strike works far better in close quarters.”

For the better part of two hours, Ash listened to the man tell him how to use his abilities more effectively. Some of the knowledge Ash would have guessed himself had he sat down and thought it out, but no matter what his life was like now, he was still slightly uncomfortable with fighting other humans. Once they were finished talking about his abilities, he started going over the different ways that they could be used together to make them even more effective. Ash tried to listen wholeheartedly, but he couldn’t stifle the yawn that forced its way out.

Hallera didn’t get mad as Ash yawned, instead he let out a light laugh. “We have been cooped up in this stuffy room for too long. Why don’t we call this to an end and tomorrow we can start the practical portion of why you are here,” Hallera said without a hint of dissatisfaction. “Celina, why don’t you show our guest around.”

“Yes honored uncle,” Celina said getting to her feet and holding her hand out to help Ash to his feet.

Celina didn’t lead Ash straight to his room as he expected, instead she led him outside to a large garden that lay in the center of the building. As they walked along a thin stone path that intertwined with a small flowing stream, Celina would often look at Ash though she never said a word. They stopped on top of a short wooden bridge painted the same colors as the flowers surrounding it. Looking out over the water as a few colorful fish swam by, Ash smiled. “Beautiful.”

“This is my favorite place,” Celina said happily. “When I was young I would often sneak here and lay on the bridge listening to the water as it passed underneath.”

“Sounds lonely,” Ash replied without thinking.

“It was,” Celina admitted. “Every generation the women are trained hard in case they become the next Maoh’s wife and guardian. When I was a child I thought it a great thing and worked hard. Then I started to resent it along with my other sisters in training.”

Listening to Celina, Ash could understand her feelings. It couldn’t have been easy to have be brought up just to be another’s shield. “What do you think about it now?” Ash asked, his eyes lingering on her round face as she looked down at the flowing water.

“I don’t know,” Celina said wistfully. “When I felt the calling, it scared me at first. It was as if my whole being was crying out. Then I learned the new Maoh had been found. You know we all felt it the second your blood touched the crown. It was as if something warm enveloped me, telling me everything would be ok.”

“But wasn’t that only because of the magic’s effects?” Ash asked, the disgust evident in the tone of his voice.

Celina gave a small laugh. “I asked my father the same question. He said that any freedom is an illusion. There is always someone at the top that wields the power to force others to do their bidding. Take the clan head. We are not forced to listen to his commands the same way we are to you, but we still must listen to them.”

“Don’t you hate it though?” Ash asked, forcing himself to look away from Celina’s smiling face. “Wouldn’t you prefer to marry someone you love instead of being forced to be with me?”

“That is the thing,” Celina replied awkwardly. “From the moment I saw you, I loved you. I know that the feelings are there only because of the magic, but they are still there.”

“I am already married,” Ash declared. “Even if you were beside me, I don’t think I could ever look at you with the same feelings of love that I have for Emelia.”

“You will have numerous wives,” Celina said, the smile never fading from her face. “I am not foolish enough to think that I will become a favorite or even one that is well liked. I am stubborn and hardheaded, but I still wish to be by your side. I don’t want to have that feeling of loss ever again,” Celina added her face going slightly pale. “When the Maoh died, it was as if my heart was ripped from my chest. Everything just seemed so bleak and hopeless.”

For another hour, the two stood on the bridge without another word said. When the silence seemed to press down too hard, Celina waved her hand and Ash followed. He was taken to a large room with a window that overlooked the gardens. Celina gave a short bow and turned to leave. “See you tomorrow my Lord.”

Celina didn’t give Ash a chance to respond and quickly disappeared down the hall. As he watched the young woman leave, Ash once again thought about Emelia and the child she carried. He knew that it hadn’t been that long since he had seen her, but to him it felt like an eternity.

While he was thinking, Ash heard a soft giggle from his closet. Unlike the doors made of hardwood and metal he was used to, the doors in the demon world were made of a thin light wood and what Ash thought to be a type of paper. Looking over at the closet, Ash noticed that a few dark shadows swayed on the other side. Pulling his sword from his inventory, Ash approached the closet as quietly as possible.

When Ash slid open the door what he found were six small eyes staring up at him. Ash put away the sword and bent down and tried his best to smile at the faces of the now scared children. “What is going on in here?” Ash asked trying to make his voice as joyful as possible.

After a few moments one of the children, a young girl with her hair tied behind her stood up and took a few steps toward him. “I am Deedra,” the child declared, her voice only shaking slightly.

“Hello Deedra, I am Ash,” Ash said as he took the child’s hand and gave the back of it a light kiss like he would do when greeting a noble back home.

The tense atmosphere from before was gone and the three children bombarded him with questions. Laughing, Ash tried to answer them as quickly as possible but before he could get an answer out three more questions were asked. Ash soon found himself drug about the palace to get in all sorts of mischief.

He was first taken to the kitchen where the giggling children stole a number of small pies. Then they went to the back of the large garden to eat. Once they were done, the children started picking up small handfuls of snow and dumping them on Ash. Laughing, Ash picked up a handful of snow and made a small ball and threw it at one of the kids.

Once the sun started to fall, two of the children disappeared leaving Ash alone with the young girl called Deedra who was currently curled on the ground sleeping soundly. Ash lifted her up gently, thinking it would be bad to leave her to sleep in such a place. After wandering the halls of the manor, Ash found one of the maids. She gave him a small smile when she saw Deedra in his arms and took Ash to another door and knocked lightly on it before disappearing and leaving Ash standing alone.

When the door opened, Celina, standing in a snow white gown, appeared in front of him. Her face blushed a pale pink as she quickly hid behind the door. “I was hoping you might know what to do with this little rugrat?” Ash asked before Celina had a chance to talk.