“While there are multiple ways to effectively fight back against infestations, I’m not surprised that the undeveloped worlds you’ve stumbled upon weren’t aware of them,” Metatron said. “Did those places even have gods?”

  “One of them had a single goddess, but she didn’t know much about the universe,” Percy said, not wanting to divulge any actual names.

  He didn’t think that anybody knew about Amenthes – that was kinda the problem, in fact – nor could Metatron do anything to the devastated lesser spring that it hadn’t suffered already, but Percy wanted to help Nephthys reclaim her planet one day.

  “I see. Well, there are several concepts that can permanently damage infected mass. I suppose that she hadn’t mastered any,” the titan said. “Before you ask, none of my Rings of Sacrilege can grant you one of those.”

  “Are there any that can? Perhaps a blessing related to the soul, pure, ice, acid, lightning, air, or water affinities?”

  Percy wouldn’t mind getting one for himself or the Starry Princess. Blessings were good to have in general, and he wouldn’t say no to a weapon that could hurt demons. Obviously, he couldn’t absorb another soul blessing, but Metatron was currently under the impression that he had fused with someone who had a soul core, so he had to feign his interest.

  That said, it wasn’t like he planned to send his main bodies or familiar off world anytime soon, so the blessing wouldn’t help his clones that much. Not to mention that getting his hands on another ring was bound to be difficult.

  Still, he couldn’t help but be curious.

  “I know of two rings that meet your requirements,” Metatron said, getting Percy’s hopes up. However, that didn’t last long. “Don’t even think about stealing them. The factions that own them are among the most powerful greater springs.”

  Percy was about to protest. He’d found his way onto one of the Moirais’ planets, the Vault of Magic, and Thess’kala so far, hadn’t he?

  But he quickly caught himself upon thinking it over more carefully. Possessing a random dying baby in what could have very well been some rural area wasn’t nearly on the same level as infiltrating their strongholds and snatching one of their most valuable artifacts. He struggled to imagine what kind of host he’d even need to possess to get to such a place, or how he would go about picking one.

  “Is there no way?” he asked.

  “There’s always a way. I can help you try one day. These are exactly the kinds of missions that I want us to collaborate on once you finally join the Vault proper. Even if you don’t, I could still assist you for the right price, but you’re way too weak at the moment. Ask me again when you’re Blue or Violet.”

  Percy nodded, not disagreeing with the titan’s assessment. Even a random elder had nearly trapped his soul on Thess’kala. He wasn’t in a hurry to attempt anything riskier than that.

  Of course, he also had to consider the question of whether he even wanted to cooperate with Metatron, or whether he was willing to steal from a bunch of innocent people who hadn’t done anything to him.

  ‘Well, okay… I doubt they’re truly innocent. I bet they crush lesser springs like Remior all the time. Besides, I don’t have to steal the ring. I just need to borrow it for a couple of years.’

  Not that it made it much better, but there was no point in worrying about the morality of a hypothetical future mission right now.

  “Are there any accessible ways to fight against infestations?”

  Metatron summoned a stack of books to his tentacle, tossing them over. Percy clumsily caught them, storing them in his seal.

  “Purification runes. Study them. They can be combined with various others to grant certain properties to your mana that are deadly to demons. I’ve included a few variants and relevant enchantments in the books,” the titan explained. “I’ll add them to your library too, so you can print as many copies as you want. Their effectiveness is limited, but you won’t be entirely powerless against an infestation. As long as it’s not a Cardinal Devil, you should at least be able to cleanse yourself of its influence.”

  Percy frowned. “I don’t remember seeing any mention of these in the rune index.”

  He could have missed them, but he didn’t think he had. He’d browsed through the catalogue very carefully, searching for anything even remotely interesting to buy.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “They aren’t in there,” Metatron said with a gesture akin to a shrug. “They’re useless to the Vault’s residents. Even if an infestation could somehow spawn here, I’d just get rid of it myself.”

  Percy nodded. This was good. If he worked these enchantments into his scythes and used his empowered cords to provide his clones with enough mana to fuel them, he would have another valuable trump card in his travels. If he could also get the right blessing in the future, it would only make him stronger.

  ‘Hmmm? Can I draw these purification runes inside my cores during my artificial advancement? It might grant me some permanent resistance to the demons…’ he thought.

  “What exactly are they?” he asked the titan, switching to a different topic. “Is there no way to prevent them from forming?”

  “They are fuelled by the darkness in our hearts. As long as life exists in the universe, we will never get rid of them completely,” the titan explained. “Tell me, how exactly did the ones you encountered work? Did they embody certain negative emotions?”

  Percy thought back to the demonic vines on Takeo’s world and the black ocean he had heard about from his now-familiar.

  “One was an insatiable jungle that devoured flesh, mana, and even a person’s will to live. The other was some dark liquid that made people sleepy. As for the Cardinal Devil, I think it exacerbated people’s greed.”

  Metatron nodded.

  “There are seven known Cardinal Devils in the universe. Even regular demonic infestations fall under their dominion. The first two you mentioned sound like manifestations of Gluttony and Sloth. The Cardinal Devil you found is probably Avarice itself.”

  “What does that mean?” Percy asked. “I thought that infestations were random. Do the Devils go around spreading them intentionally?”

  “Not exactly. Regular infestations are random, but if a Devil encounters one under its jurisdiction, it has a much easier time seizing it and turning it into a Great Hell.”

  “What makes a Great Hell different from a normal infestation?” Percy asked. “The places I’ve been to looked quite hellish already.”

  The titan sighed. “You should know by now that most infestations are self-destructive. They keep killing the people that they rely on to survive, eventually dying alongside them. It may sound like a bad deal, but trust me, Great Hells are a lot worse.”

  “How so?”

  “Cardinal Devils are smart. They can control their impulses, keeping the population around as livestock, only eliminating those they perceive as threats. Once they turn a planet into their personal farm, they just move on to the next world, creating more Hells and expanding their power and influence.”

  The titan’s words shook Percy to his core. At least, a demonic infestation would butcher everyone in a relatively short amount of time, dying out with them. Great Hells, on the other hand, were places of untold suffering for hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of years. They kept their victims arounds as pets, torturing generation after generation while permanently stinting a planet’s growth.

  This was precisely what was happening to Robari right now, wasn’t it? And it sounded like Avarice was only getting started.

  Percy felt extremely bad about his friend, but there was nothing he could do to help him. Not yet, at least. Given how powerful the Devils were, it would probably be easier for him to kill Rhaziel and free Huehue than to save Marnok!

  ‘I hope he survives long enough…’

  Based on what Metatron had said, even a god’s strength was just the bare minimum that he would need, along with the runes that the titan had taught him, and maybe even the right blessing – just to stand a chance.

  Alternatively, he could ask a god to pitch in, but it didn’t sound like Metatron had any interest in getting involved, and Percy didn’t want to risk Remior’s deities either.

  He sighed. ‘Just the fact that he’s telling me all of this for free is already a huge help,’ he thought, giving the powerful pentapus an appraising look.

  It wasn’t like the cruel titan had suddenly grown a conscience. Demonic infestations and Cardinal Devils were simply a threat to all existence. It was wiser for every living being to put factions, ambitions and petty differences aside and unite against these monsters.

  “I was told that the Devil in that place was still incubating, though I’m not sure how up-to-date the information was,” Percy said upon remembering Saint Ludwick’s words. “How can you know its name if it hasn’t even been born yet?”

  Metatron shook his head.

  “Cardinal Devils keep dying and coming back all the time. It’s hard to destroy them, but not impossible. The top factions do just that with every chance they get. The problem is that they never go away forever. Even if you use the correct blessings, all you can do is buy time. Eventually, they’ll spawn on some other unfortunate planet.”

  Well… that sure sucked.

  There was nothing worse than an enemy that could never be beaten. Perhaps, even a faction like the Moirai or Sixiang would be easier to go up against. They might be more powerful than a Cardinal Devil, but at least they would stay dead if they got killed.

  Percy sighed. He wasn’t sure whether he should be happy that he finally had a more effective method of protecting himself, or horrified that even that was little more than a half-measure, at the end of the day.

  Seeing that there was nothing he could do about it at the moment, and since the titan was done with his explanation, he decided to switch to a less gloomy topic.

  “Thanks for the information and the runes – I’ll keep it in mind. Can I buy those spatial seals that you promised me now that I’m here?”

  “How many?” Metatron asked, also clearly happy to move on.

  “Three. I’ll pay you fifteen thousand credits and a Yellow reward if that’s okay with you.”

  Saying nothing, the titan lifted his tentacle, a droplet of pitch-black mana rolling to its tip, before coming off and spinning rapidly just centimetres above it. Splitting into three thin discs, they expanded until they were wide enough for Percy to observe the runes that they were about to shift into with ease.

  Percy paid close attention to Metatron’s every action, and not just because he was afraid of the titan sneaking something suspicious into the storage devices. This was a prime opportunity to learn as much as he could about seal-crafting from an expert, and to use it as an excuse for his interest.

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