Even worse, they spent so much of their day in Infernum that, even when they returned to the base, there was little spare time left over. The day would commonly end with Puck cooking everyone a meal while they caught the girls up to speed with their boring adventures. After eating, everyone would simply go to bed and ready themselves for the next iteration to come.
The highlight of Karrel’s day had become Krystalyn’s late night visits. They had become more frequent as of late, though he was unsure of whether or not it was because of his doing. He had now become accustomed to inviting her over at night. His knowledge of Infernum was still months behind that of the others, so he had been asking her to tutor him on the subject. She would tell him all about her world, the different demons that could be found there, and the history of their species, though she seemed hesitant on the subject of history. Apparently, it was true that demons had been sneaking their way onto Earth for quite a long time, going back thousands of years. She never went into any detail on that subject.
Though Karrel did want to learn more about Infernum, he was painfully aware that he was using the subject as an excuse to invite her over. He enjoyed spending his time alone with Krystalyn, even though he was embarrassed to admit it. He used to tell himself that he was getting close to her, allowing their connection to grow, for the purpose of keeping an eye out like Johnny had suggested. He mocked himself for ever having believed that.
Their relationship had become much more intimate as of late. It was something he was enjoying quite a bit. He had become much more resilient to the draining that occurred when she fed, which was necessary, as the amount of “physical interaction” they shared had grown. Turns out, there was another, preferred way for a succubus to feed, and it was a lot more exhausting than their kiss.
With what little free time he had left in the world, Karrel spent on Krystalyn. She was enjoying herself as well. Unfortunately, he only knew this because of an outside source. Apparently, all of the girls loved to gossip, and apparently, Alice was as talkative as Angel had said, because Karrel only found out about Krystalyn’s recent jubilant behavior when Angel tackled him to the ground screaming, “Thatta boy!” along with a stream of other, rather lewd comments on how proud he was of him. Embarrassing discussions aside, Karrel was glad to hear that Krystalyn was happy.
The night-time fun may have been the only saving grace, but the resulting boredom from the constant travel between worlds was not universally bad. Infernum was a wide-open, desolate area for the most part. It contained nothing that the group considered valuable and supplied them with plenty of spare room. This allowed for them to go all out during their training exercises.
The four friends had sparred on a daily basis during the past few months. Fighting each other had allowed them to pinpoint some of their strengths and weaknesses. Puck worked on his speed when using his telekinetic powers, while Angel focused more on his precision control of his black smoke. Johnny worked on stabilizing his MAIT’s flight patterns. As for Karrel, he focused on increasing his fortitude when using his green book. Battling Angel in hand-to-hand combat, while attempting to use his book as much as possible mid-fight, had increased his concentration. The number of times he could use his variables before they turned blue had risen, and seconds were being shaved off of the recuperation he needed before they reverted back to red as well. He was particularly happy with himself when he realized he was able to handle “Discharge” twice as often, before the text entered its cooldown period, and he had to wait. The protective power of his orange shield had gotten quite a bit stronger to boot.
Karrel not only had increased the power and uses of his variables, he had also learned a few new ones over the months, though he still could not figure out what “Lich” did. Every time he used it, the text simply wrapped around his body and then the symbols in the book turned blue for three days without anything happening. He had decided his time was better spent on some of the newer variables. One had recently revealed itself. Its name was different from the others, which had of course peaked the curiosity of not only Karrel, but Johnny, Angel, and Puck as well. The three friends all stood around Karrel, gazing down at his little green book.
“I can’t read any of this, so are you sure that’s what it says?” Angel asked.
“Yes,” Karrel answered, “I’m one-hundred percent sure. What type of question is that?”
“It’s just a little strange…” Puck scratched his head. “Aren’t the other ones a little more straightforward? Like the laser beam one.”
“It’s not a friggin’ laser beam, for the last time!” Karrel shouted.
“It does seem a little off, coming from the book that has done an excellent job of dishing out quite a bit of death,” Johnny stated. “Perhaps you should just use it?”
“I will, I will,” Karrel insisted. “It’s just a little spooky on the first-time. Especially with this one. I mean, Best Friend? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Angel let out a chuckle. “Hey, maybe it does something to me.”
“Like make your head explode for gossiping about Kristie and me?”
“Whoa, whoa! You know I can’t resist a good scandal,” Angel smiled. “Besides, that was Alice, remember? And who do you think she heard it from?”
“Yeah, I get it,” Karrel groaned. “I never thought she’d be so talkative about it…”
“Most women are,” Johnny attested. “If you’d like any advice on these matters, I’d be happy to–”
“Okay!” Karrel interrupted. “Let’s get back to the topic at hand.” Karrel stared down at his green book for a few seconds, focusing on the red symbols that resembled the words “Best Friend.” He had absolutely no idea as to what was going to happen next. At this point, Johnny was correct. The only way to figure it out was to use it. He finally glanced up to his friends. “Alright, here it goes.”
Johnny, Puck, and Angel all simultaneously took a step away from Karrel. Their excitement was obvious, but they all understood how powerful Karrel’s green book could be. It was better to err on the side of caution.
Karrel placed his hand on the green book and began focusing on the texts. A copy of the symbols representing the variable “Best Friend” began to lift from the pages, swirling around Karrel’s wrist and glowing with an intense light. He began to pant. Something about concentrating on this variable was draining Karrel of his stamina. It had him both thrilled and terrified at what was about to come. If it required this much energy to prepare whatever it was, surely it’s power would be impressive. The symbols finished copying themselves, and Karrel immediately felt the power that was surging in his hand. He aimed his palm away from his friends and concentrated on the symbols around his wrist, attempting to disperse them. His hand began to glow, getting brighter and brighter, until it was like he was holding a miniature sun in his palm. At first, none of them could tell what was happening, and they all had the idea that Karrel had summoned a glorified lantern, until they caught wind of the luminous ground a short distance away from him.
The ground in front of Karrel had begun to shine with a pattern of light. Slowly but surely, an azure colored symbol was forming along the purple, dirt ground. A blue ring drew itself, and inside, a five-sided star was starting to form. Along the circular mark, various symbols, that Karrel recognized to be the runes of the variable itself, began to form around it, and the pentagram’s brightness grew in intensity.
Struggling to hold his concentration, Karrel found himself getting weaker and weaker, until finally the symbols around his wrist rapidly dispersed. The ground in front of him erupted in a burst of small, contained, azure fire. The explosion was tiny compared to his other variables, though everyone quickly realized why. The new variable was no simple attack.
Where the pentagram had formed on the ground, a pyretiff had now taken its place. Interestingly, this was no regular pyretiff. It still had its razor-sharp teeth and its horned, leather skin, but its eyes were no longer yellow. This pyretiff’
s optics were glowing a vibrant cerulean color, and the streaks along its body were a deep fluorescent blue. The creature seemed to be only slightly larger than its brethren, but its muscles were far more defined. It smiled a toothy grin at the four friends, and with the way it had positioned its body, it seemed ready to pounce at any second.
“That’s a first…” Karrel whispered to himself.
Surprised by what had just recently occurred, and now staring at a pyretiff only a few feet away from them, Johnny, Puck, and Angel all readied themselves for battle.
“What the hell!?” Puck shouted. “I thought that little green book was supposed to help you!”
“Quick, kill it before it can get away!” Angel yelled, forming two dark blades along his arms in response to his new enemy.
Karrel however, did nothing. In his head, he was reviewing all the variables he had learned. Every single one in his book had done something to benefit him. Whether it be an amazing attack, or some sort of defensive option, the book had always helped him. Never had it been a hindrance. He could not help but think that that had still not changed.
“Wait a second!” Karrel ordered the others. They all halted their actions, giving a confused gaze at Karrel.
Staring at the blue demon in front of him, Karrel began to slowly move toward it. The pyretiff did nothing but meet his gaze. A low growl was resonating from the beast, but Karrel continued his slow trek. Holding an arm out in front of him, he decided to take a leap of faith. He reached down with his hand and attempted to touch the monster.
The pyretiff glared at the hand coming down upon him, his legs still positioned to pounce. As Karrel’s arm dropped within biting distance, the pyretiff extended its head toward the hand.
Karrel gasped, thinking that he had just made a mistake of epic proportions. However, no pain followed the pyretiff’s pounce. The blue demon had not taken a chomp out of Karrel’s appendage but was instead now nuzzling its head against his arm.
“No… effing… way…” Angel’s jaw dropped.
The others remained completely silent, as they watched what now seemed like an oversized dog, run excitedly around Karrel. It leapt from side to side, playfully nudging its summoner with each movement. Karrel found himself struggling to stay on his feet, as the creature was still quite big, but nonetheless a smile began to form as he became comfortable with the idea that this demon was not hostile. The pyretiff also seemed to be smiling back at Karrel, which was terrifying as its teeth were still razor sharp. Slowly though, he was getting used to the toothy grin. In a moment of clarity, Karrel now understood why the variable was named “Best Friend.”
“So, what?” Angel asked, in disbelief. “You can summon demons now?”
Karrel held his little green book open in one hand, as his other was currently preoccupied with holding the happy creature back from knocking him onto the ground. The text resembling the phrase “Best Friend” had turned blue.
“Looks like just this one,” Karrel answered. The pyretiff playfully ran its head into Karrel, as though it was trying to fit its massive body underneath his legs, knocking him onto the ground. It immediately jumped on top of Karrel, careful to not put its full weight upon its master and began rubbing its head against his.
Johnny cracked a grin as he watched the pyretiff assault Karrel’s noggin. “If any of you were doubting my suspicions about the origin of our powers…” Johnny pointed a finger at the blue demon.
“Alright! Color me a believer,” Puck insisted. “So, this creature just pops right out of the ground when Karrel uses his book?” Puck gave an evil grin to Angel. “Hey, Johnny! Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t he just break Conservation of Energy?”
Angel’s expression brightened, and he mimicked Puck’s malicious smile. “Yeah, Johnny. Isn’t that one of your laws of physics that you hold so dear?”
Johnny wasted no time. “Interdimensional quantum teleportation,” he responded. “That’s what you just witnessed. Perfectly explainable through physics.”
“Oh, that’s a load of bull,” Puck scowled. “You can’t just preach quantum mechanics when you have no evidence for the matter.”
“And you can’t just preach magic whenever you don’t understand something!”
“Have you not seen what we can do?” Puck pointed to Karrel, who was still pinned to the ground by his new, blue friend. “He shoots laser beams out of his hands.”
“Unbelievable, Puck,” Johnny frowned. “You’re a goddamn chemist. Why aren’t you on my side, again?”
While the two continued to bicker, Karrel had finally escaped his new pet’s onslaught of affection, and he managed to get to his feet. Seeing his friend no longer in danger, Angel decided to join Karrel and get a good look at the new addition to the team.
“You know?” Angel began. “They’re kinda’ cute when they’re not trying to gnaw your leg off.”
“I suppose,” Karrel watched the pyretiff hunch over, as though it was excitedly waiting to play. He picked up a rock and threw it into the air near the creature, who immediately shot a glob of blue, molten lava at the airborne target. The two friends instinctively took a step back.
“So…” Angel scratched his head before gesturing to the demon standing in front of him. “Is he like, here forever, or…”
Karrel had not thought about that. Did he need to take care of this thing from now on, or was there a way to dismiss it? After a quick brainstorm of ideas, Karrel decided to treat the situation like any of his other variables. He concentrated on his blue pyretiff as hard as he could.
In an instant, the pyretiff was surrounded by an eruption of azure fire, and as quick as they had appeared, the flames vanished into the air taking the demon with it. The pyretiff was no more.
“Jesus…” Angel muttered. “I didn’t mean for you to kill the thing.”
“I don’t think I did,” Karrel responded, feeling power and stamina return to his body. “I think I just, sent it back.”
“To where?”
Without an answer to give, Karrel shrugged his shoulders at his friend. Looking up, he then asked, “Isn’t the sky getting a little less grim?”
Angel brought his attention above him. “Oh, yeah. You’re right.” He turned to shout at his other two friends. “Hey, you two! Quit your squabbling! It’s time to head home!”
The portal was still open, connecting the two worlds together. Though it had never happened, Karrel always had the worried thought of the portal closing on them early. Johnny, for whatever reason, said that he could not activate the portal from this side, so if it closed early, the group would be relying on Jessica to bring them back. Apparently, because it was on a different dimensional plane, their coordinates shifted randomly, and with how complicated the calculations were for finding their specific location, and the fact that the coordinates needed to be punched in manually, Karrel did not trust anyone other than Johnny to get them home safely, no matter how many times he vouched for Jessica’s capabilities. Luckily, because Johnny had finished the stabilizers for this side’s portal, there was little chance of an early closure.
Johnny and Puck were still going at it while they all packed their belongings and made the short trek through the portal’s entrance. Their argument was still on the same topic as before. Johnny was saying something about Clarke’s third law, or how “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” and that it meant they had not had enough time to study their powers to learn the science behind it. Puck was frustrated that Johnny could not accept that there might be some things that they were never destined to understand. Their bickering continued even as they walked through the portal. Karrel and Angel just shook their heads as they kept their distance.
Arriving on the other side, Karrel felt some relief as the rock and metal mesh of the underground base came into view. His alleviation was short-lived.
“Finally!” Jessica sprinted into a surprised Johnny’s arms. “Someone has been hailing you over the comms
for like, the whole day! It’s been super annoying!”
Johnny sighed, and beckoned for the others to follow him. A myriad of groans ensued, but Angel, Puck, and Karrel all knew that if someone was trying to contact them this late at night, it had to be urgent.
Entering the communications room, a loud beeping noise echoed throughout the base. Karrel was sort of glad he had not been around to listen to the irritating alarm if it had been sounding the entire day. Johnny quickly silenced it and answered the hail.
The leader of the Survivor’s Guild, Dane, appeared on the screen. He was still wearing an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt and aviator sunglasses, even though he was indoors. He was looking away from the screen, pointing at the clipboard he was holding, and yelling orders at anyone who would listen to him.
“Dane?” Johnny spoke to the comms.
Dane whipped around at the sound of Johnny’s voice. “About time, dude!” he snapped. “We’ve got issues. Big issues, man!”
“Alright,” Johnny sighed, “let me hear them.”
Dane’s stare could stun a beast. He took a moment before blurting out his answer. “Flarepoint is gone!”
As though he had awoken from a daze, Johnny’s entire body physically shook, while both Angel and Puck immediately turned their full attention to the communications screen, completely dumbfounded. Karrel knew why. He had visited Flarepoint on multiple occasions. It was an enormous city, housing thousands of people. It was one of the few remaining cities that had been able to maintain some form of agricultural production within its borders, and subsequently was a fantastic place to frequent if one wanted to trade for supplies. It had housed an old weapons factory way back in the day as well. The inhabitants of the city had made full use of it whenever they came by the necessary resources. As a result, the town had a well-armed militia and a record of holding back small demonic attacks on the city.
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