Strawberry Devil in a Fantasy World

The two of us, Mera and I, navigated through the maze like subspace. On our way to nearby teleportation gates, we had to constantly evade patrols in the hallways.

Because Mera had to remain in optimal condition and battle ready, she had to constantly take short breaks to conserve her stamina.

"I wish we could just blast a hole through to the finish line."

"I want to finish this soon as well, you know? I have a family waiting for me back in Ataraxia."

"How nice... I don't even have a family. I don't remember my parents and I don't know if I had siblings. I really don't have much in my life, you know?"

That's depressing... One who lives for their country only. Should I offer a hand? But then again, I really don't have parents either...

Smoothie is the only one I have that counts as my family. As for any family members in my previous life...

...

I don't remember? Have I always lived alone...?

It can't be, right? Have I always been alone?

Am I missing memories? Soul fragments?

Did she not bring the remaining pieces to me when she crossed worlds?

No... Why did they want me back? It doesn't make a lot of sense.

Strange, how come I can't remember?

Who was I?

I had no answer.  I remembered my life but none of the vital pieces came to me.

"Sorry about that. There's no need for you to be concerned." Mera said apologetically, waking me from my stupor.  

"Oh, no, I was just lost in thought."

Upon the first teleportation gate we used, we arrived at the destination we had hoped for.

"Great, thank goodness it works. Looks like the coordinate scramble didn't affect the gates." I said with a relieved expression.

"I just hope this is the last of their retaliations."

Stop! Stop raising dangerous flags! Please.

I have no more tricks up my sleeves. I'm an one trick pony, okay?

She eyed me with a puzzled expression, "Is something the matter?"

"Eh, nothing. We should get going."

Mera had more stamina than I had imagined. She was able to keep up with someone like me who had unlimited stamina.

Our next encounter was with a group of seven minions, two devils, and a demon. No, actually those two weren't devils. They were humanoid fey beings contracted with that demon. The humanoid demon was in an office space with two female elves as its secretaries. The other five minions were also various types of servants who served this demon. And finally, the fey beingss were bodyguards patrolling the surrounding hallways and facilities.

"There aren't many shadows around. Does this look like the fake guardian? I mean... He's doing deskwork with elves."

This one's energy signature didn't particularly match the one I had picked up earlier but someone might have tampered with it.

Again, our main object was to capture or kill the fake guardian in hiding. As it stood, this was one of the most likely candidates so far. One could disguise their status and appearance and alter energy signature to some extent, but to change one's demeanor was something else. I seriously doubted any demon would put in that much effort.

"I don't recognize either of the two."

"Should we observe a bit longer? I mean, I rather not flip through thousands of years of memories if I could help it."

"Right."

The two of us observed from inside my void barrier for the next short while.

"Mera, verdict?"

"Not guilty."

"The elves?"

"I would like to question them, is what I'd like to say but I know we can't expose ourselves."

"Right, even if only two of them remained, it's tough to say whether they'll answer honestly. After that, regardless of their answers, you'd have to kill them."

"You cannot shield them, can you?"

"If they're enslaved, trapped, or actively seeking help, then I should be able to intervene. Otherwise, I'd like to refrain from interfering with the demons and their properties. Right now, I'm only sealing away the demons. I'll be the judge as to who will be released later."

"So it's like that, then please allow me a few moments."

"There are other candidates as well. Wouldn't it better to check all of them first before exposing ourselves to such a risk? I do not believe saving people should be our priority at the moment."

"You're right but... Please."

Either way, I had no issue taking care of myself. Perhaps, I was just overly worried about her wellbeing.

"Alright. Leave the demon and hidden shadows to me."

Nearly instantaneously, the demon was sealed away. The shadow clones, hidden in the area, received a few magical sparks from me and thus eliminated.

The two elves, suddenly realizing the strangeness of the situation, readied their battle stances.

To them, the demon they worked for simply vanished without a trace.

"I won't pacify them. It's all up to you now if they wish to cooperate." I said promptly.

This time, since Mera wished to speak with the elves, she did not kill the surrounding minions. Instead, she used [silence] and paralysis poison on them to prevent them from raising a ruckus. After that, she calmly entered the office space by herself.

"Who are you!?" One of the elves asked alarmingly.

"I'm Mera, one of the Enforcers. If you wish to live, answer my questions honestly."

"What's an Enforcer doing here?"

"You're not the one asking question, I am." She sent an intimidating glare their way, "Do you know anything about the new guardian of our country?"

One refuted with, "I can't say," while the other shook his head.

Mera paused for a bit before raising another question, "Are you both forced to work under that demon?"

"I serve my lord, faithfully."

"It is the same as I."

The moment she heard those answers, the two elves collapsed, blood trickling out the corners of their mouths.

"That was quick. I guess I'll keep the demon around for a bit longer." I murmured to myself.

Not forgetting the ones she had tranquilized earlier, she finished them off just as swiftly.

"Mera, we must leave quickly before we're trapped here."

Suddenly, Mera vanished without a trace.

In her place was the one I had been waiting to meet.

"De Planck."

"Good grief, we finally found you." He shook his head in displeasure.

It had been quite some time since I had last seen him.

His form was that of an upright black rabbit, with size to match as well. As before, he was in business attire. If he wasn't a demon with rows of sharp fangs in his mouth, I'd think this demon was quite adorable.

Now, from what I understood, this wasn't his real body despite his ability to adjust his physical size. If my guess is correct, he might have identical bodies just like that elsewhere.

Back then, I was just a clueless and powerless fey plant. My ability to discern the true strength of someone was non-existence. However, now that I had the power to accurately gauge someone's power, he was no longer a threat to me, at least not directly.

"You took it out of my mouth, damn demon." I retorted, "You're not afraid I'll smite you on the spot?"

"Now that you're all grown up, you've become feisty. Say, how about we make a deal?"

Strange, why is she not summoning me? Don't tell me she's been isolated...

The energy link from my side was still functioning as far as I could tell. Mera's safety was unconfirmed but I'd like to be at her side as soon as possible. Though, even if I failed to protect her, the repercussions weren't that great for me. Still, it would leave a bitter aftertaste if she ended up dying.

The |devious| trait from Oortez that I had removed from him was making loops and not pointing at any directions. Then as was for |devious| traits that I had isolated from other demons, none of them were pointing toward De Planck.

Damn rabbit, I can't even see it... Just how are you concealing your energy links? Even I can't do that. If you have other bodies, it wouldn't be funny if you were reproducing asexually like wild rabbits.

I'm frustrated. I want to smite you but that would rid of the root of the problem.

To be blunt, this in front of me might as well be his main body. If it really was indeed his main body, it was extremely abnormal that no contract links were tethered to his energy body. None, whatsoever.

I was perplexed.

It couldn't actually be his main body here... Right? That's... No it can't be. Then who did I contract with? He's just trying to confuse me, I'm sure of it.

Sounding a bit irritated, I replied with a bluff, "Enough of your games, where is she? If you don't speak, I'll track down your main body and make you cough it out, you hear?"

"How uncivilized... No. No. No." He shook his head while wiggling a finger.

"No deal means no deal! Hurry up. I don't have all day."

There was no way I could outsmart a demon when it came to contracts. After all, they were the contract experts in this world.

The current De Planck before me had basically the same status as it did the last time I saw him. The only difference would be having the |chaos| trait. His actual level might be much higher depending on the type of ability or trait that allowed him to create separate bodies. If he could just display a higher level than me, my celestial eyes' main function would finally be of some use. It's just unfortunate I couldn't upgrade my celestial eyes into a trait.

"You don't understand a thing, my dear. Ignorance is surely a blessing in disguise."

"Stop irking me, what are you trying to say?"

"A fool will remain a fool. Why not check your status?"

Suspicious as I was, I quickly checked my status.

[Level 75 Celestial;
Species: Veraine;
Physical: 78/78;
<Health: 78>
<Force: 74>
<Speed: 72>
<Agility: 72>
<Sense: 79>
<Resistance: 92>
Spiritual: 898/898;
<Mana: 898>
<Mass: 500>
<Mastery: 500>
<Detection: 500>
<Luck: 500>
Traits: Bewitching, Cautious Tactician, Creator, Dedicated One, Singularity, Limit Breaker, Enhanced Will;
Abilities: Hypnosis, Subspace, Genesis, Celestial Eyes;
Blessings: Enchanted Fate, Forced Destiny;
Description: A divine being.]

I checked and doubled checked. All of my physical stats had been reduced to only ten percent of their original. Furthermore, all of my abilities had been sealed, meaning I could no longer access them. Also, although my spiritual stats had also been affected, the numerical values were a bit strange to say the least.

With panic in my voice, I yelled, "Impossible... De Planck, what did you do!?"

"I didn't do anything. I was merely here as a distraction while they insert you into a little game."

"Distraction? Game?"

"Indeed!" He smiled revealing his glistening fangs, "We have prepared a playing field for you."

"Why? If you wanted to defeat me here, you have more than enough stats."

"Perish such foolish thoughts. Why should I sully this me? You'll meet your tamer shortly."

"Rude! Tamer!? Who do you take me for?"

"Now, we can't have you hindering our movements out in the world, can we? As you can see, I am rather busy. Little fairy, I bid my farewell to you."

He bowed curtly and disappeared before my mind could catch up to reality.

"Crap... I got riled up and let him get away... I guess it doesn't matter."

In the next instance, I felt myself being teleported.

Crap, they forced a teleport on me? That shouldn't be possible... Did they shift the coordinates of these rooms? Yeah, that must be it... Hah...