Soul Merger

Alissa considered the demon's speech. This was probably the demon's obsession. Which meant he'd do anything, no matter how evil, to advance his goals. The question was, did he think helping them was the best way to achieve them?

She sighed. There was no way she'd figure that out. She might be a succubus merge but people weren't her thing. The reality was there was no way they'd be able to rescue their friends without some help. She'd just have to hope Akari could keep knives out of their back if the demon did betray them.

"Right." She folded her arms. "So I take it you've got beef with this other demon and want to stop him. We want to rescue our friends and the kidnapped kids. What's the plan?"

"I have an idea," Nostrame said. "You however will need to turn it into a plan. First, the situation. Magniel?"

The angel pulled out a map and placed it on the ground. Alissa and her friends moved over to see it was a very in depth blueprint of the arena. "The dragon has several hundred spite demons as well as a handful of other lesser demons at his control. They've gathered two groups of children, imprisoned here." She tapped a section.

"Two groups?" Akari asked. "What's the difference between the two?"

"One was kidnapped much earlier and much younger." The angel grimaced. "These children were trained in combat. They've been here for three to six years. It's likely the dragon has tried to indoctrinate them, though as a dragon the effectiveness of that will be questionable."

Fili looked up at that. "I know dragons are annoying, but if they've had these kids through most of their teenage years, I can't imagine it wouldn't have some effect."

"Valorous is more about sticks than carrots," Nostrame said with a shrug. "I can't imagine seeing your friends tortured to death for failure would breed anything but hate and fear."

Alissa's stomach flopped at the thought of what those kids had to have suffered. Her friends were similarly grim. Kotori spoke for all of them. "Can we kill him? I want to kill him. Maybe eat his brain."

"We'll see what we can do," Akari replied. "I take it the other children are the ones newly kidnapped."

The angel nodded and ruffled her wings. "The new children seem to be being prepared to act as intermediaries for the dragon's theoretical kingdom. Of course there's a certain amount of abuse in that as well. I can only assume they'd be quite happy to leave."

"Right, so how are we going to do that?" Alissa shook her head. "Two hundred spite demons are too damn many for us to kill. We'll be overwhelmed if we try."

"A serious problem," Magniel admitted. "But with you here there's a new option open. Guiltroot."

Fili leaned forwards. "There's a guiltroot supply down here? The tower records didn't have anything about that!"

"Guiltroot?" Alissa blinked. "What's that?" Akari seemed similarly confused.

"They're known as Sakaki roots in the East," Fili said. "They're incredibly poisonous to demons. Even a small amount boiled in water can cause incapacitating pain. They only seem to grow in areas that have collapsed however. And even then they're rare. The tower can't keep more then a tiny supply."

Nostrame smiled. "I imagine it is quite rare if you live up above. However when you live in 'collapsed' spaces there are more options. We've been farming a batch, just in case. The benefits of working with an angel."

"That's something, but we'll still get overwhelmed eventually even if we're tossing around pain water," Alissa said.

"I could drop it on their heads!" Kotori offered.

"They'll be inside," Akari pointed out, causing the bird girl to droop. "However, there might be another way. Now that I know what you're talking about I know how to use them to form an incense. When burned it will make a smoke that cripples demons, even in very small doses. If we can get that into the building it should incapacitate our enemies."

"Impressive," Magniel offered. "How long will preparations take?"

"Two days," Akari said grimly. "The drying process is important. I can find replacements for the sacred wood and leaves, but the drying can't be rushed."

Alissa considered it. "Most Pre-Fall buildings have venting systems right? We could use that to get the smoke in."

Nostrame raised an eyebrow. "Cunning, but they won't be in working order. We demons have found many ways to get your ancient technology functioning, but I assure you that's not one of the systems."

"I'll make a spell." Alissa looked over at Fili's bold proclamation. The woman's gaze was hard. "I'll make a spell that should get the smoke through the entire building. I should be able to figure it out in two days." She took a deep breath before looking at Nostrame. "I'll need help creating a spell chip though."

The demon snorted. "Young lady, I've been doing magic for more years than I can count. Give me your cantrip and I'll convert it to a proper spell circle within the hour. One that miserable dragon can't counteract."

"I can't cast from spell circles," Fili pointed out.

"I can," Nostrame replied. "And since you're going to flood the arena with poison gas that hurts me, it will have to be my contribution to this effort. After that you're on your own."

Alissa nodded. "Suppose that's fair. If we're making demons helpless, you're not going to be helpful." She looked to Akari. "Ibaraki will be fine right?"

"Yes," Akari replied. "But I have no idea if you'll be affected. We'll want to find out before we do this."

"Right. Fun with touching leaves," Alissa muttered. She really hoped she was immune.

Akari points at the map. "There's two more things we'll need to handle. First the open air areas won't be as heavily affected. It's also possible that wind magic could be used to clear out limited sections of the arena. So there will be demons to fight. The other problem is-"

"The dragon," everyone finished. They'd need to kill it or it'd hunt them down.

And that was a problem. Slaying a dragon usually required ten or more people. Even if they could pin the creature in an area it couldn't fly, that would be a difficult battle.

Alissa looked at Magniel. "Are you going to help us?"

"I'll have to keep Nostrame alive, the angel replied. "I'll help you as much as possible within those limits, but don't rely on me for this battle."

Of course. They traded in a weak angel for a useless angel. Alissa looked over to her friends. "We're going to need to meet up with the others before we fight that thing then."

"And get them their gear," Fili said. "Rosalina might be able to fight without her rod, but she'll be much better with it. And Clara's far more dangerous with her bow. If we strike as a unit there's a chance."

"She bought some very powerful arrows," Akari said. "Likely they'll have kept them somewhere."

Alissa considered the building. "Don't suppose you know where their armory is?"

"They've got three," Magniel replied. "Here, here, and here."

"Wonderful," Alissa sighed. "We'll have to add that to the plan. But first we need to do some farming."

"And make sure you're not affected by the incense," Akari said.

"Yeah." Alissa really really hoped she was. Not just because she wanted to help, but because the effects sounded terrible.

Some experiences she just didn't want to have.