A Demon's Core

With my imps settled, it is time to focus on expansion. I was going to claim the entire hallway, but I concluded that that would be an unnecessary waste of time and mana, at least until I want to claim the rooms on the other side. For now I just want the room directly to the left. For that, I just need to take enough of the hallway to reach the door. The area that I can see does not reach all the way to the ceiling, for that I will need to spread my mana filaments across the ceiling as well. For now I just have a bubble that reaches around a meter above the ground. But that is enough for me to move uninhibited.

It takes a more than a week to just reach the door. From there, I can easily walk through the door, much like all the others, once my filaments spread to the other side. In here will be a much greater task, not just because of the larger space, but because I actually intend to spread across the ceiling as well. I have found I do not actually like having the void hovering directly overhead. I can tolerate it in the hallway since I do not intend to spend more time out there than it takes to move between the rooms, but the new room is going to be a much more integral part of my domain when there are imps actually living in it.

Before I decide how to start expanding in this room, I ask Second to give me a detailed description of the room's layout as well as its condition. From her explanation, the condition of the room is not any worse than my starting room, but it is not any better either. Cleaning will be necessary. The layout is similar but mirrored, meaning the bedrooms of these two hotel rooms share a wall. I decide that is the best place to start, given the proximity and that gaining more living space is my primary objective.

During my downtime, while I wait for mana regeneration, I mostly observe my imps, though sometimes I speak to them as well. Through these conversations I feel like I have a pretty good idea of the layout of this building as well as the surrounding area. Apparently there is an entire ruined city out there, slowly being reclaimed by nature. There are almost always at least two imps in the room at any given time now so I am rarely bored. First and Second still do almost everything together. Third and Fourth seem to be getting close as well, preferring to spend a lot of their time together. Fifth just floats around between them as he pleases. He seems to get along well with everyone, except when he tries to steal from Second.

I have come to the conclusion that it is a common trait of imps to like collecting things and they all seem to fixate on different things. First, of course, has her brooms. Second seems to like shiny things as well as whatever practical tools she can find. Third likes bones, he has even managed to amass a respectable bone pile, almost as impressive as my own. I did consider letting him take my bones, but remembering how First and Second collected them all specifically for me, I have grown a little attached to them.

Fourth is enamored with coloured glass, not that there is much to be found and most of what she has found is just brown. Though she did manage to find an intact blue glass bottle. It has since become her prized possession, she even bit First once for trying to touch it. First was shocked by this, but then looked as if she was planning to respond in kind. I was initially amused by the scene, then grew concerned that this would become a fight in which one or both of them would be injured. Luckily, Second intervened before things could escalate further and Fourth apologized. Fifth apparently just likes anything made of metal, which occasionally leads him to try to steal some of Second’s shiny things. I have had to tell him multiple times to stay out of Second’s room when I caught him trying to sneak in while she was out.

It takes nearly a month to fully claim the first new bedroom. As I am about to start on the second bedroom, I feel an unusual presence has entered the claimed area of the hallway. Curious, I poke my head out to see what it is. There is a rat scurrying along the wall. This is the first time I have actually seen a living creature other than my imps. But it does not remain so for very long as it is soon impaled by a short spear with a shaft of bone with First standing over it with a predatory grin. Unfortunate timing on the rat’s part to be out in the hallway just as two of my imps were returning from their latest excursion. But quite fortunate for me, it seems, as when the rat died, I received a sudden burst of mana. Not a huge amount, but still appreciated.

Learning that I can gain mana by having things die within my domain is certainly valuable information. Perhaps I should ask the imps to start bringing things back alive so I can gain mana from their deaths. Only if it can be done safely of course, I would not want them to put themselves in danger just for a little extra mana. First picks up the rat and holds it out to Second, who I can not actually see as she is outside my field of perception.

“Do you want this?” She asks. I can not hear the response, but apparently it was a negative as First pops the rat into her mouth. I have rarely seen my imps eat or drink anything and I wonder if that is normal. Do they just not need to eat or do they simply eat whatever they manage to hunt immediately while they are out? Maybe I will ask them later.

I have been noticing some rather interesting changes occurring among my imps. They seem to be getting smarter, to varying degrees, or at least better with their words. First now usually speaks in complete, though still simple, sentences. Maybe they have been learning from Second. By far the most fascinating change has come from Second though. She was already significantly smarter than the others to begin with, so it is hard to tell if she is continuing to improve on that front. However, her body now seems to be radiating mana. It is faint, barely noticeable, but it is there. More than that though, when she is around, I feel like my mana is regenerating faster. Not much faster. Just a fractional amount, but I can definitely feel it. I do not know what this means or what it might lead to, but I am excited to find out. She does not appear to have noticed it though, so all I can do for now is wait.

But that is not the only change to my mana that I have noticed. As I have continued to expand, my mana capacity and regeneration both seem to be increasing. The difference is minuscule so far, but still very welcome. It gives me even more incentive to expand beyond just making room for more imps. Now that I think about it, I did just finish claiming a room. One with a single large bed like Third’s. So I will take a little break from expansion to bring over another imp. I take a day to just let my mana recharge.

The summoning of the next imp is uneventful. It is a male this time and they are soon preparing for his first expedition to the clothes store. I wonder how many clothes that place actually has. Surely it will run out eventually, but hopefully not too soon.

Only Third and Fourth stayed behind this time. They are both in Third's room at the moment. In fact, they have been in there for a while now. It is not the first time Fourth has been into Third’s room, but they do not usually stay in there for so long. Unable to hold back my curiosity any longer, I walk in to see what they are up to. I am shocked and a little embarrassed to see them engaged in sexual intercourse. I immediately walk back out, not wanting to interrupt. Not that they would be interrupted by my presence since they can not see or hear me, but I would feel weird just standing around watching. I suppose I should not be too surprised. They have been spending a lot of time together and reproduction is one of the most basic instincts of all living creatures. My imps are no different I suppose. At least they seem to form actual relationships before moving on to sex. I am not sure how comfortable I would be with all my imps just hooking up for casual sex all the time. Or worse, massive imp orgies. That would just be too weird.

I think Fifth has been trying to impress First or Second or maybe even both, but so far he has been unsuccessful. With First being bigger and stronger than other imps and Second much smarter than others, they might be harder to impress as a result. But who knows, he might manage eventually as long as he does not give up.

When the others get back I see that aside from clothes, Sixth has managed to find himself a hatchet to use as a weapon. It is a bit rusted and the blade looks dull, but it is far better than nothing. First plans to show him where he will be sleeping and tries to lead him to the new room. But he is displeased with that.

“Not sleep here?” He asks with a slight whimper.

“There is bedroom just for you. In the room beside this one.” First replies cheerily.

“Too far. Not want alone.” I can understand his concern. Even if it is not really that far in terms of distance, he would still be in a different room by himself. Of course it would be a little lonely and he might even feel like he is being left out or excluded, being the only one expected to sleep in another room all alone. So I reach out to speak to him.

If you are willing to sleep on the floor in here then I am sure we can find some bedding from other rooms to make it a little more comfortable. He brightens up at that and nods eagerly.

“Yes, there’s lots of blankets in other rooms. We’ll bring them here.” First grabs his hand and heads for the door, Second deciding to go along as well. Fifth looks like he wants to follow as well, having seen both First and Second go, but ultimately decides to lay down on his couch for a nap instead. They are not gone very long anyway. Several minutes later and they are returning, all three of them with their arms full.

“Where do you want to sleep?” Second asks.

“Here” Sixth says, dropping his bundle of blankets next to my chair, on the opposite side from where First sleeps.

“No. You can’t sleep there. That’s too close to orb.” First declares. Sixth frowns.

“But that close.” He retorts, pointing at First’s nest.

“That’s my spot. I was here first. Only I sleep next to orb.” She glares down at him until he begrudgingly picks up is blankets again and finds a spot between the couch and the first cabinets of the kitchenette. First and Second deposit the blankets in their arms next to it and Sixth goes about setting up his own little nest.

Perhaps it would be better if I wait until I have claimed more of the next room before summoning anymore imps so I have enough room to move multiple imps there at once so they will not feel alone. Or so I thought, but as the days go by, Fourth seems to be spending most nights sleeping (and doing other things) in Third’s room. Eventually I suggest Fourth just moving into Third’s room permanently. Fourth seems excited by the idea and Third does not object either. I guess he was willing to share his room after all, he just needed the right partner. But that once again left a spare bed in Second’s room. I asked her if she would let Sixth move into the room, but she politely, though hesitantly, declined.

“I’m sorry. Please forgive my impertinence. But if I am to share my room again, I would prefer to do so with another girl.” She says, almost groveling. It is uncommon for any of my imps to refuse any requests I have for them, but none are as reluctant to disobey nor as apologetic about doing so as Second. No matter how hard I try to phrase it as a completely non-obligatory request and not an order. I wonder if it is just because of her devotion to me or the result of conditioning from her previous...”place of employment”.

Please, there is no need to apologize. It was not an order by any means. Not even a request really. Merely a query.

I wonder if First would be interested. Probably not, she has had the opportunity to move into Second’s room before and did not take it. I decide to ask anyway, but much as I expected, she prefers to stay near my orb. I could try to summon another imp, but there would be no way to guarantee that the new imp would be female and if it was another male then I would need to find somewhere else to put him if he also did not want to go to the new room and the spare bed in Second’s room would still be empty. But what if I could control it? I have never actually tried before, content for it to just be random. Maybe it is worth experimenting just to see if it is possible.

Once my mana has regenerated enough for another summoning, I inform my imps of my plan. First is as excited as always and Second is also prepared to help as usual. Sixth is interested, probably because he has not yet seen the process from this side before. But the other three are less enthusiastic at this point. Which is probably for the best. If all of my imps gathered around the rift every time, things would eventually start to get a bit crowded and that might overwhelm the new arrivals.

I touch the rift and start pouring mana into it. This time focusing all of my will and intent to try and specifically summon a female. The new imp is female, though that does not prove that my efforts actually influenced things since it was a fifty percent chance anyway. But that is definitely not important right now. What is important is the state of the new arrival. While the others were curious and/or confused when they first appeared, she is cowering. Bruised and bloody, she is looking around, terrified. All the previous excitement for her arrival has immediately changed to shock and concern. She collapses to the floor wailing and crying.

First rushes forward to gently hold her and she clings to the larger imp desperately, sobbing into her chest. Sixth is confused and unsure of what he should do. The commotion has caught the attention of the other three and they come over to try to understand what is going on. Second waves them away then helps First very carefully lift her off the floor and lead her to Second’s room. I am at a loss for what to do now. I never imagined something like this happening… I follow them into Second’s room, but I have no idea how to help so I reach out to Second.

Can I leave her in your care for now? I want to help but I do not know what I can do. In her current state, I do not think hearing a disembodied voice speaking directly into her mind is going to be particularly helpful, no matter how soothing the words may be. Second just nods. They have managed to maneuver her onto the bed where First is now sitting with her, looking quite upset herself now. She still clings tightly to First, weeping.

I walk back out to the main room where the other four are waiting. Confusion and concern written across their faces.

I want you all to go out and bring back some clean water, as much as you can feasibly carry, and something for her to eat.

They do not hesitate for even a moment and are soon out the door. I do not know if any of that will help, but it is all I can think of to do right now. I desperately want to know what happened to her, how she came to be in that state. But now is definitely not the right time to ask. I only hope First and Second will be able to calm her down enough to be able to explain. But that will take time. I am going to need to be patient.