Laboratory Supplies

After confirming one more thing, the people they just faced were all dead. The team pulled all the corpses close, just to make sure that, if they had something connected to the box, they would notice. For now, the currier's body was still there, even if its head was about a meter away. 

Before anyone was able to get close to the box, Roan stopped them, "Before we do this. Do we know anything about what can be inside it?"

"Things from their lab, right?" Skyler replied with a frown.

"Yeah, but… any traps?" the beastmen asked. 

Flint looked at the box, still surrounded by Hera's titled blades, "I didn't think about that. Maybe? Do you think they would have time to trap the box?"

"Do you think they wouldn't have a trapped box at the ready?" Roan turned to the dwarf.

"That's a rough one…" Skyler glanced at the box, "Does anyone have a way to detect traps? Or should we just bring the box with us to the Alliance?" 

"Can we do that though? Like, can we take the box without triggering any traps? What if it has one that will trigger just because someone who is not a human touched it?" Vash asked.

"We really should've asked about this. And the Alliance should've given us some ideas, but let's do one thing at a time. Can anyone check if there are any traps?"

Hera looked at the box using her [Ophidianite Sight], which allowed her to see in infra-red. Unfortunately, she got nothing out of it. The box was just blank as if it was empty, or whatever was inside was protected by something else, "I can use my pulse spell to see if I get a reading, but I think that's a stretch. The spell usually works like a mana sonar. It can go through some things, but not everything."

"I can try to detect life. It's the same thing, but more specialized," Neria added.

"I've never dealt with traps," Flint sighed.

"What I can do would be the same as attacking the box. I would use an echolocation spell, but that is not delicate at all. It would probably trigger any traps that were there," Skyler explained. 

There was a pause with no one knowing for sure what to do next when Hera clapped her hands, "Ok. I'm using my spell. Then Neria can try hers, then Skyler. If nothing works, we just open it."

With a nod, they started. First, Hera's pulse and sensory net spells. Neither of them worked, only giving the impression that the box was solid. Then Neria used a skill called [Heart Beat Monitor], a healer-exclusive skill that allowed her to sense life in the vicinity and their state.

"What the…" Neria stepped back while staring at the box. 

"What's wrong?" Hera asked.

"I… don't know. It's weird. I can sense life there, but also… not. It's like…"

"Whatever is inside there is both dead and alive at the same time," Hera didn't need to wait for her to finish the sentence. She already knew. The same thing happened with Silah after she was experimented on, "Skyler, do your spell. And everyone, be ready to see something bad. I don't want to think about it… but there is a chance that one of the people who were experimented on is inside.

"Inside that box? But… it's so small. Not even a dwarf or a harpy could stay there," Vash looked at the box.

"Yeah. Not unless they didn't have arms or legs," Flint scoffed.

"I know," Hera replied bluntly, the seriousness of her voice making them all freeze, "Skyler?"

The elf nodded and used the spell to check what was inside. No trap was triggered, but she also wasn't able to get any more information. After another brief conversation, they agreed to just open it, but instead of having one of the team members do that. The job was left to the titled blades.

"I'll do it," Lurize said with a sigh.

"No, let me. I'm the one who can use barriers," Nimbus replied.

"Let's not do this now. I'm the one with the bezt defenze in the court. You can uze barrierz to protect me."

With a nod, the Sentinel agreed, and everyone walked away from the box, leaving Lurize behind. As much as Hera hated the idea, she knew that if one of her titled blades got hurt, they would come back, which meant that they were the best option for something like this. 

Lurize removed the box from the corpse and placed it on the ground. Nothing happened, so he continued, slowly opening the lid. No traps were triggered, but… "What the hell?" the Royal Tutor gasped.

"What?" Hera called from almost 100 meters of distance, behind a barricade made by Flint and her.

"There is another box. A metal one."

"So, a box inside a box?" Vash tilted his head.

"Yeah, let me open this," he pulled the lid of this second box. It had some give, but it seemed stuck. There was even a bent corner, which could be the reason. It wouldn't be that much of a surprise if the humans had faced something that caused problems. Maybe the outer box wasn't even the first one they used, but something they had to do in the middle of their journey. 

Using a bit more power, Nimbus forced the lid open. Before he could even see what was inside, something jumped out from it, slamming against his head and hitting it repeatedly. Whatever it was, it was small and had a long tail that kept shifting. In fact, the entire form of the creature didn't seem to be steady. It would grow multiple arms, legs, and heads, become elongated and short, muscular and skinny, jagged and soft. Yet, Hera understood what it was, not by looking at it, but by sensing the mana. 

"That's a Spirit. And a Daemon. It's in between the two. Actively morning back and forth like a pendulum," Hera told those around her.

'That's great, but can someone help me? This thing is strong!' Lurize told in her mind.

Scrambling up, the Empress rushed to help the titled blade. When she got closer, the Spirit/Daemon seemed to calm down for a moment. Its eyes now showed intelligence, not just a wild beast. But as the rest of the team, including the rest of the court, approached, the creature leaned more to the Daemon's side again, attacking Lurize one more time with a powerful punch before jumping back.

"Wait, wait, everyone, stop," Hera gestured for the team. She recalled Lurize and also sent him back before taking off Dusa as well. Turning back to the Spirit/Daemon, who was looking towards her and constantly shifting, slamming his sometimes few, sometimes numerous fists on the ground, she said, "Hey, hey. It's ok. It's ok."

"Hera?" Neria asked.

"My title. I think I can help," the Ophidianite quickly replied and continued walking forward.

"Hera… Are you sure?" Livy asked, her hands tightening around the war axe.

"That's not a good idea. Look at its level," Skyler didn't want to step forward after using her [Observe.]

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Strength Spirit - Daemon - Spirit - Daemon - Level 74

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The creature kept changing from Spirit to Daemon even in notification, and the level made the Empress weary, but after taking one look at Lurize, she calmed herself. The Royal Tutor's metal helmet was bent in a weird shape. This was caused by the repeated strikes. However, a Spirit, a Strength Spirit that was almost twice her level, should be able to kill any of her court members in a single hit without even batting an eye. The monster was weak, weak enough not to be as much of a danger as it seemed. Maybe it was the place they were at, maybe it was the box it was in, or something else entirely. But that didn't matter.

She glanced back one more time, seeing everyone with worried expressions, but her eyes stopped on Lurize. Maybe… just maybe this could work. Maybe this was even why Forge was the only unique item inside the hidden forge. The MAZE might not like what was going on as was trying to give her a hand. Quickly sending a mental idea just to the hammer, she got his approval to try. 

"Hey," the Empress talked with the Spirit, "I know you are hurting," she moved forward, still on her knees to be close to the Spirit, "I've seen another one that was suffering like you are. I couldn't help them at the time. But maybe. I can help you." 

The Spirit stopped shifting as quickly; it still happened, but now it was a gradual thing. The extra limbs would grow and shorten, and the fur and scales replace one another in a more 'natural' way. 

"What they did to you is not right. And I, we are trying to stop that. So no Spirit suffers like this again. And I could use your help. But for that, you will have to bond-"

"HERA!" Neria, Skyler, Nimbus, Lurize, and Daskka yelled at the same time.

"You are not bonding with a Daemon. Are you crazy? That's how people die!" Neria added.

"Exactly, this is ridiculous. I'm killing that thing," Nimbus was about to step forward along with Daskka when the Empress commanded.

"You three stay there," she glanced back to the Spirit, worried that the yelling might have scared him, "I'm not the one that is going to bond with them," gesturing with her hand, she called Forge over and presented the hammer to the Spirit/Daemon, "You need to bound with him."

"Hera… We don't know if that will work. We can be bound to Spirits, not to Daemons. What if this messes up the entire court? Daemons are forces of pure emotion. Emotions are one of the drawbacks of the court. You can influence ours. Do you even know if this will work?" Viper spoke, his voice full of worry.

"Daskka, can I be bound with a Daemon?" Hera asked.

There was a long pause before the herald hissed, "Yes."

"And don't you think my titles can help deal with the issue? Mana Touched makes me a calming presence for Spirits. And Wardbearer protects me and all the court. It makes me, us, a paragon of protection against malevolent forces and afflictions. Can someone tell me that this shouldn't apply to what happens with a Daemon?" 

"Titles are weird. No one knows what is going on with them!" Skyler gasped.

"Yeah, and what if it doesn't work? What if the new titled blade can't be controlled?" Nimbus protested.

"Then I can let them go. I know I'll never be able to get that position filled again, but I think it's worth the risk." 

"Why?!" Neria shouted, "Why is this worth the risk? Just to save a spirit? Fine, let's find a new lab, and you can save a bunch of others. This is ridiculous!" 

"Lurize remembers things from when he was a Spirit," Hera replied.

Everyone paused and turned to the Royal Tutor, "I don't remember much. And all my memories include you. Maybe I can only remember the things you were a part of." 

"Or maybe you were a newborn Spirit, Mr. Beetle. Also, your memories are thousands of years old. We don't care about things that far back, only about things more recent," Hera explained.

"Even so… this is too much of a risk!" Skyler protested, but her voice didn't carry the same certainty as before.

"Skyler… they killed my ex. They experimented on her, forcibly bound her to a Daemon, and used her as a buffer to pass the power along. It was my ex, but I still loved her. And she died in my arms. I can't let them get away with this. Not this," Hera replied, her eyes resolute. 

Seeing that nothing could be said to change her mind, everyone gave up and let the Ophidianite do whatever she wanted. Still, they prepared themselves to attack in case anything were to happen. 

Hera turned back to the creature and asked, "So? Do you want to try? You will be a friend until I die, or pass the legacy to someone else. Then you will return to your home," the Spirit looked at her still struggling to fight against the transformations and the frenzy inside them, "If it helps. I intend to kill everyone who did this to you."

The Daemon looked at her with a smile, showing a row of teeth piercing the skin of their upper lips, and lunged at Forge.