Chapter 009: Informant

"R-right…"

Part of Elizabeth wanted to call out the demon on his nonsense.

There was so much wrong with that hamster's plan of walking nine times in a circle in order to find where they were going. The fact he was even leading them was the first flaw. He openly admitted to having little to no knowledge on where they even were; she doubted he even knew the name of the planet.

Then there was the infantile hope that walking in a circle a few times would actually result in them arriving at a point other than where they started. To say she felt it was a waste of time… Well she knew it was a complete waste of her time yet you can't exactly correct a demon god let alone an archdemon.

As such she only silently followed along while having her gaze cautiously study those they walked by.

The various figures of mercenaries, criminals and beggars all returned her stare with an equal amount of wariness towards the two of them.

She even noticed what almost seemed like… Fear? It appeared the number of questions she had were (ironically) only increasing on this journey to gather all the relevant information. Of course she didn't really understand what they needed to know, either.

That poor 14 year old girl could only let out a quiet sigh while holding her head in her hands - trying to wrap her head across all the sudden changes. For her practically no time had passed between the ritual that should have been her death and finding herself half possessed by the supposed divine demon.

A demon who had supposedly died seven whole years ago.

Then there was the whole inquisitor's attack squad that the church had sent to clean them up. She couldn't help worrying about how much that group knew - especially when one of the strongest people she had met had escaped from them. That meant…

That thought alone would have been enough to make her tremble before all this happened although she now had a lot more to deal with.

She wasn't the naive child that she once was, she could comprehend the world far better now, meaning that she could now understand why her life went the way it did. Knowing that nobles held their pride as well as reputation with far more importance than their kin. As such she was thrown away.

Although it was also not exactly a great look for her father if he killed her; technically her bloodline put her higher in the social hierarchy. Being a potential heir to the throne. Still they both know that the royal family wouldn't care if she were to mysteriously vanish - especially if they were made aware of her "curse".

By now she had likely already been completely forgotten about by the members of the royal court so there were hardly any worries if there was a hit on her.

These years had allowed her some confidence with her strength but if her father was to take personal action she likely wouldn't stand a chance. She had grown up hearing tales of his exploits with a shimmer in her adolescent eyes. Now all she felt was a deep pit of dread.

Finding her eyes falling upon the cloaked figure who confidently walked in front of her; leading her to walk in a circle… Just because.

Sure enough, her faith began to decrease, compelling her worry to enhance all the more.

However she doubted anyone could hardly blame her on account of her knowing all about her father and especially his summon. A wyrm was a terrifying creature to say the least. Rumoured to actually be the descendents of the legendary dragons who could easily destroy entire countries.

She didn't know if dragons really existed or if they merely went extinct but it was completely true that a wyrm was powerful enough to be a significant threat. There was no question in her mind that she couldn't beat the wyrm. Then there was the fact her father had inherited their families summoning well.

Taking the power of his summon to enhance himself; she didn't believe he was anywhere near as strong as his summon. Nevertheless, that wasn't necessarily a weakness, it removed the obvious weakness of any type of magic based combatant. Especially when it comes to a summoner.

It made sure that the summoner wasn't helpless nor the weakness of his summon.

So what could s-

"We are here."

Her attention was taken away from her thoughts as she finally realised the frightening fact that she had completely let her guard down. Falling into her thoughts without consideration for her surroundings or those around her. To say that was dangerous was an understatement.

Still, she could hardly focus on that, instead she felt a shiver go up her spine as she felt the inherent fear of the dark overtake her at the sight in front of her.

Gone were the streets she had grown knowledgeable about over the years - the only thing that remained was the dirt pathway. Gazing around showed that the shady figures had also vanished. Leaving a hallway of abyssal darkness that gave her the same fear she thought a bunny would feel in front of a lion.

Like a child knowing they were already in between the fangs of a monster; not swallowed simply because that beast was enjoying toying with her.

At the other end of the road was a heavy metal door that was… Rather small. It wasn't towering as one would expect and a person of average height would definitely struggle to fit through it since it didn't even appear to be five foot six. Only reason she could was due to still developing in the height department.

Plus being on the streets didn't exactly allow one to get all the nutrients they need.

Behind was booming music that she evidently had no chance of recognizing while the archdemon was more focused on readjusting his outfit than expounding for her.

She could meet decently eye to eye with the slit that sat on the upper third of the door. Turning to look towards the demon god who brought her here - wondering why he would take them to such a scary space but he refused to answer. Instead he knocked nine times on the door before hiding behind her.

Going as far to push Elizabeth up to the door while he made sure to avoid any line of sight the door would have on him. Obviously she didn't want to be bait for whatever monster he unleashed so tried to retreat away as quickly as she could even if just on instinct. Sadly her instinct wasn't fast enough.

That slit slid open as soon as the ninth knock landed - even that demon seemed to be caught out by the sudden action - as if the thing on the other side had expected them.

What met her horror filled eyes was another set of eyes that put her own to shame; perhaps being the most beautiful pair of eyes she would ever see. Especially if this proved to be her downfall. In those two orbs was a faintly crimson slit pupil surrounded by all the wonders of space.

Her planet developing the way it had meant she had no idea how to explain them other than containing all the wonders of the night sky. It was as beautiful as it was terrifying. Like the knowledge her entire reality was held in those eyes and that knowledge could be summarised as… Faintly amusing.

"Aren't you a bit early?"

A feminine voice drawled out with all the enthusiasm of a slave - those cat-like eyes not bothering to even linger on the little girl in front of them. Instead piercing through her to look at the hamster demon who only managed to half hide behind said little girl. Although he seemed intent on ignoring her.

Jabbing Elizabeth in the back in a pitiful attempt to get her to talk in his place.

"I really could just gobble you up, rodent, but I am feeling generous so go on… Continue to impress me with your feeble attempt to escape my gaze. We both know there is nothing that can escape from these eyes, else I can't see you being smart enough to fear them."

Those eyes seemingly curled up in frightening amusement.

"So shall we play a little game where I pretend to not know why you are here?"

"Damn freak…"

"O~h what do you mean by that?"

The head behind the door tilted as Necrohamster seemed to gain back some vigour as he strolled out from behind Elizabeth who was still frozen solid.

"People consider us demons to be against the natural order but here we have the manifestation of the worst elements of that damned cat that have lingered behind after her. The sadistic child who plucked the eyes from fate's skull. A damn creature who predates on the void!"

Elizabeth had no idea what that meant but the words "plucked the eyes" quickly caused the wonder she felt for those beautiful eyes to turn to dread.

A fact that seemed to just make those eyes curl up all the more.

"If I didn't know I may think you are… Afraid of me."

That made the archdemon click his tongue while slamming the butt of his stave on the floor.

"You speak as if we had a choice in what we become; rather than dying according to the whims of a paranoid goddess I think our current condition is quite preferable. We wouldn't have come to be if she didn't try to play with forces outside of her control. Quite the unfortunate… Fate muhuhu."

Even from the otherside of the door the pair could somehow imagine she was licking her lips.

Causing both to shiver in front of the sadistic cat.

"What… Are you…?"

An unconscious question that slipped from her lips yet she wasn't even given the time to realise thusly fear the words she let pass her lips.

Their host for the evening appeared more than eager to answer.

"I'll answer that one for free, advent of the archon of the absolute mind. I understand that you come from a background of summoners so it can be quite easy for you to understand. You obviously know the basic levels of spirits, right?"

She feared the fact that this entity knew her past but that also meant lying was pointless so she just silently nodded along.

"Well I am the strongest spirit of the purest element of darkness; the abyss itself is given form in the one who devours the void."

"S-so spirit queen of the abyss?"

"... Muhuhuhahaha~ something like that." <"Spirit Queen of the Abyss">