Cirayus is right. One-on-one, demons would destroy humans, hands down.
The most worrying part of the fight had been the prana drain. The Prana Armor he’d spent days building had been stripped clean, and he’d burned through two-thirds of his body’s capacity.
Even an hour later, it hadn’t appreciably recovered. At this rate, it’d take the better part of a day.
I gotta be more efficient with my prana consumption from now on.
Haste was the worst culprit. When compared to Blade Launch, it consumed little, but it was still many times costlier than Leap and Blink.
Vir would have to rethink his strategy. And improve.
But that was alright. Because improving was what Vir did. Just like the beasts in the Ashen Realm, Vir would find the most optimal strategy.
And then, when he’d perfected his form, no one in the realm would threaten him.
19DEMIGODS
“Ican’t! I just can’t!” Maiya guffawed. Her face, while not perfectly projected through the communication orb, was more than sufficient to convey her emotions. “I mean, Demon God Vaak! Seriously?”
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” Vir replied. “Blessed Prophet.”
Maiya’s mirth disappeared instantly. “Ugh. Did you have to bring that up?”
“Hey, fair’s fair!” Vir said with a satisfied smirk. “And your title’s much more meaningful. You’ve got a whole cult worshiping you, now!”
“Really wish I didn’t,” Maiya said. “Still, I’m glad we’re able to talk like this. Was worried you’d have a hard time trusting anyone to charge it.”
“You and me both. I found someone, though. It shouldn’t be an issue from now on. At least, while I’m at Samar Patag.”
“Glad you did,” Maiya replied. “Janani, right? That was really nice of her.”
“Yeah, it was. Didn’t even ask any questions,” he replied, looking off into the distance. “Of course, returning with a haul like that didn’t hurt.”
It’d been a week since Vir’s run-in with the Chitran ambush, and since then, he’d gone on another two raids without issues. There wasn’t any amount of gold in the world that could buy the look on Janani and the orphans’ faces.
The children weren’t back to being healthy, but if Vir wasn’t mistaken, he thought he saw a bit more flesh on their bony bodies these days.
“What are you thinking about?” Maiya asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Vir said distractedly. “You won’t believe the sky here. Perpetual sunset. It’s really something else. Like it’s always on fire.”
“Wish I could see it,” Maiya said wistfully. “Still, I suppose I should be grateful I can even see your face. Speaking of… Where’s the face I wanna see?”
Maiya made a show of scanning the horizon.
“He’s right here,” Vir said, rolling his eyes. “Shan? C’mon, don’t be shy. Introduce yourself.”
The black wolf sauntered up to the orb, eyeing Maiya suspiciously.
Maiya drew in a sharp breath. “He’s… beautiful!”
Shan gruffed, obviously pleased with her response.
“Count on you to befriend an Ash Wolf,” she said. “Can you imagine how much of a stir he’d cause here in the Human Realm?”
“Oh, believe me,” Vir said, “he causes plenty here in the Demon Realm, too. He’s mainly kept himself out of sight until now, lest he terrorize the city.”
“Smart.”
Shan strutted in front of the orb for a few more minutes, thoroughly appreciating Maiya’s ooh’s and aah’s.
“That reminds me. Just a few days until you’re back at Sonam, right?” Vir asked.
“Yup! You can’t know how much I’m looking forward to it. And don’t worry, I know you wanna see Neel. I feel so bad for the poor guy. I have people looking after him, but he misses me. And… he misses you.”
“That makes two of us. I can’t wait,” Vir said with genuine excitement. It’d been ages since he’d seen the bandy. As impressive as Shan was, he simply wasn’t the same as his old friend. No one would be.
“So, how’d Bolin’s run go?” Maiya asked.
“Well. No issues at all.”
“Still, I can’t believe you got him to wear that mask,” Maiya said.
“It wasn’t even my idea,” Vir said, shaking his head.
“You think that bully, Svar, spread the word?”
Vir shrugged. “Either him or those guards. Had to be.”
Now, half the orphans were running around with black masks, ranging a gamut of materials and designs.
It wasn’t just them, either. News had spread faster than Vir could’ve hoped, and the masks had started popping up all over the city. Even—to his surprise—among the Chits.
They’d kept most of the food from their raids at Greesha’s place as a precaution. There wasn’t any telling when Chitran guards would come to investigate the orphanage, after all.
Yet, nothing like that had happened. Vir’s deception worked better than he could’ve hoped. As far as Greesha could tell, nobody suspected ‘Demon God Vaak’ of being an agent of the orphans.
Except, of course, the orphans themselves. It hadn’t taken long for Bolin and the others to suspect the identity of the one bringing them so much food. Vir hadn’t had much reason to hide it either—Neel was yet another fake identity, after all.
Soon after that, Bolin himself volunteered.
Maiya chuckled. “Look at you! Setting trends, helping orphans, making the world a better place! Sometimes I wonder when we finally meet again whether you’ll still be the same Vir I knew.”
“I hope not,” Vir chuckled. “I better be stronger.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Maiya said, pouting. “All I ever do are blood rituals, recitations, and other profane acts. All for crazy people. I feel like I’m wasting my life here.”
“Your actions might very well thwart a war between Kin’jal and Hiranya,” Vir said softly. “You oughta give yourself more credit.”
That Maiya had soared to such heights within the Children of Ash astounded Vir. It seemed like she’d bypassed all the rungs and leaped to the summit overnight. If he was honest, he was a little jealous of her success. Vir had barely even begun making inroads with demonkind himself.
“Just keep yourself safe, alright? Even demigods can die,” Vir said. “I don’t like that you’re surrounded by cultists all the time, without any allies.”
“I have a couple of friends, but hey! Now you know how I felt when you were in the Ash!”
Vir pursed his lips. It had to have been even worse for her, being unable to communicate.
“It isn’t all a waste, at least,” Maiya continued. “I dunno, I feel like there’s more to the Children than meets the eye. That chamber with the tree. The way the Blessed Chosen acts. Every day, I wonder if these blood rituals are just a front for something deeper. Or maybe I’m the one going crazy here.”
Vir’s expression darkened. Until now, he’d chosen not to tell Maiya about everything he’d experienced in that cavern in the Ash, where he’d fought Ekanai. Where Maiya had saved his life. He wasn’t sure if it was all real… until he’d met Greesha. She remembered being called there. If not in body, in spirit.
Which meant Maiya likely had been as well.
“Maiya, there’s something you should know…”
“And then I woke up, and I was in a room identical to the one you described,” Vir finished an hour later. Maiya had listened quietly the entire time. Her expression changed continuously, from curiosity to disbelief and wonderment, to shock, horror, and finally acceptance.
“You probably think I made all of this up, don’t you?” Vir asked.