NOVEL WEB Chapter 129: Breskwor
If I had known how busy things would get when Mia and I returned to Torment, I wouldn't have been in such a hurry to end our visit with Yules.
As soon as we arrived, Glaustro greeted us with a whirlwind of tasks and requests to fulfill. We were glad to jump in, of course. Both Mia and I genuinely wanted to help our favorite major achieve his ambitions. But after a full day of 'officer business', our resolution was flagging a bit.
We had to meet so. Many. People.
Glaustro wasn't content to let his sergeants simply name captains and call it a day. He insisted on thoroughly vetting everyone to help us pick out the best candidates. A few familiar faces did make it in, including my flying instructor, Methialia. But that was only after hours and hours of interviews which we all had to be present for.
As if that weren't time-consuming enough, there was still the process of picking Glaustro's fourth sergeant, which we were also deeply involved in. The empty sergeant role was especially tricky to fill. Bronwynn, Mia, and I were some of the only people Glaustro could wholeheartedly trust.
Eventually, eventually, a name swam up to the top. Imthala, the crystalline/ice demoness I had noted several times in the past. Out of all the demons under Glaustro's employ, she was the only one with the right mindset and level of power to make it to the rank of sergeant.
That was yesterday's news, however. Literally. My delightful task for the current day was attending the ceremony Glaustro had told us about a week ago, where all the legion's officers would receive their invasion assignments. Accordingly, my fellow sergeants and I were lined up behind Glaustro in one of Torment's plazas, with our new captains behind us.
Such a gathering wouldn't typically be a bad thing, or a very big ask. The problem was that we were the only group without a higher ranking officer. Glaustro's line was flanked on both sides by two other columns, each led not by a major, but by one of the legion's four officially appointed lieutenant generals. Like orphans on a school trip, we watched officers all around us 'take shelter' behind their superiors, only to realize there was no shelter for Glaustro.
And the other officers were not pleased with us. The venomous glares we were receiving from every direction made that abundantly clear. The closest thing we had to an ally was Crewe, but he was on the far left of Glaustro's line. That meant we had a whole other column of hostile officers separating us from the one lieutenant general who didn't fully loathe us.
We were on our own.
I immediately recognized the line to our right as belonging to Vallinach. The gaunt demon he had sent to speak to us was there, near the front of the line. But even if I hadn't seen him, Mia's reaction would have tipped me off.
Her gaze roved slowly and ceaselessly over every officer in the column, her face and aura both cold and utterly expressionless. The only hint of emotion I got from her was when the lieutenant generals themselves showed up. As soon as her blank eyes landed on Vallinach, she flinched as if struck.
The demon in question wasn't that exceptional, not compared to someone like Crewe. Sure, he had large, blood-red wings that dragged on the ground behind him as he walked. Sure, his entire body was covered in bony, scythe-like protrusions that made it a hazard simply to exist next to him. But his gaunt face and slightly hunched posture didn't project menace so much as malice, and his skin was a very awkward shade of yellow. His eyes, swirling orbs of pure noxious green, didn't strike my soul with horror the way Crewe's did.
Even so, I hated him instantly.
It was a good thing the general showed up, literally materializing out of thin air on the stone podium in front of us, before Vallinach caught me glaring. No matter how carefully I smothered my negative emotions under Woe, a demon powerful enough to attain the rank of lieutenant general was bound to have some serious perception skills, with a temper to match.
General Naberius was, as always, a sight. Now that I was a demon myself, I could see the radiance of his soul, which made it difficult to spot the man's actual features. His essence shone brightly enough to blind me. The lieutenant generals were ridiculous in their own right, though I noted Tibath could actually give them all a run for their money, but the general himself?
There was no contest.
"Good of you to have gathered here today." The general kicked off the meeting immediately with no nonsense, as I had come to expect from him. "I would have hated to learn one of you missed it."
I could tell he was addressing his four direct subordinates, because his soul wound around them like a noose waiting to go taut. All four of the formidable demons looked stiff and irritated, which honestly confused me. Wasn't it the general who had promoted them to begin with?
"I have summoned you all today because there are preparations to be made. Our grand duke has informed me that the Abyss has sent out a warning. We can expect to suffer another angelic incursion in the near future. You will be happy to hear our layer will not be the one to suffer. Their current target is most likely Desire's holdings, and considering the distance between us, we can expect little to no fighting within Torment itself. However…"
The general paused there, and the weight of his attention intensified until we were all suffering under it. "As always, the Abyss will respond to this incursion with our full might. That means the Legion of Torment will be assisting Desire, and I will not stand for having weak troops or insipid commanders represent us."
His words had the intended effect. I saw more than a few officers start to sweat visibly.
"Therefore, I am providing you an opportunity to prove yourselves. Our scouts have been scouring the cosmos, looking for new worlds to claim. I have put together a list of invasion options, and I will present them to you all. Your task will be to organize your troops carefully. You can choose to send the full might of your armies into a single world, or break up your officers and have them vie for worlds within their means. Whatever world you can claim, you get to keep."
This had a wholly different effect than his previous proclamation. Excited whispers surged through the gathered crowd as officers speculated on what might be up for grabs.
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"We will start with the weakest worlds, and the lowest ranking officers allowed to attend today. Any of your captains who wish to tackle the task of invading a world on their own, you may present them to me now."
Carefully contained chaos erupted all across the square as the four lieutenant generals immediately began to hand down orders to their respective forces. Glaustro, on the other hand, simply looked back at our gaggle of captains and shook his head, keeping them rooted where they were.
Soon enough, a few demons from each of the other four columns stepped forward on shaky legs to approach the grand stone podium. The structure towered over them, forcing them to crane their heads up at an uncomfortable angle just to behold their general.
"Very well, then." The general cast a cool, appraising eye over the captains. "Let's start with Crewe's lot. Declare your names, and then step forth to choose a world. Be warned, however! Each world can be picked twice. Whether you cooperate with the other captain who chooses to invade the world alongside you, or cast them out, is your own decision to make."
This little twist caused another round of whispers to break out, but our group stayed silent. Glaustro's face was impassive. He was biding his time with impressive composure, and I could feel my fellow officers and I all trying to follow his example.
The process of choosing worlds was boring, but swift. The captains were presented with a list of names, each accompanied by a short descriptor, then forced to choose based solely off of that. All the worlds were freshly discovered, and their rank was determined by ambient mana levels and World Will strength alone. There was nothing in the descriptors about materials or local souls. So, unless the lieutenant generals had insider info that allowed them to point their subordinates in the right direction, we were all playing a grand old lottery.
Pick a good world with unique materials and interesting locals? Congrats! If you conquer it, you'll have a gold mine on your hands. The problem was, you were just as likely to end up stuck with a desert world, one that had absolutely nothing to offer in terms of souls or materials.
When the captains were finished choosing, the general immediately moved on to sergeants. Once more, Glaustro shook his head. This was just fine with me. I didn't relish the idea of being responsible for an entire invasion, particularly one where the rewards were so uncertain.
Naberius chose to let Cassillyn's sergeants go first. The demoness was on our far right side, on the other side of Vallinach's officers, which meant the general wasn't going through his subordinates based on how we had lined up.
Cassillyn gave no indication she was pleased with this, but then again, she was the most enigmatic lieutenant general of the bunch. This was mostly due to the fact that she was covered head to toe in black, wispy cloth, which kept us from catching even a glimpse of her body. Her only recognizable feature was a pair of massive, stag-like horns which gave away every twitch of her head.
Sergeants were sorted through with startling speed also. After that, Glaustro could no longer avoid the spotlight. When the general called for majors, he stepped forward.
Instantly, Naberius' attention was squarely on Glaustro, and it stayed there until all interested majors were lined up before the podium. To my utter surprise, I recognized one of them.
She looked beaten down and tired. Her soul had a large chunk missing from it, leaving her at a level I associated with archdemons. But it was most definitely Wilhelmina that stepped out from the group of Vallinach's officers and lined up alongside Glaustro.
"This time, how about we start with… Assilocen." Naberius was starting with the majors from the column to our left, and because I was still staring, I noticed Wilhelmina fidget nervously.
She fidgeted again when the general called on Crewe's majors next, rather than Vallinach's. The longer the process continued, the more visibly anxious she got. Even when her own faction was allowed to choose, the general went all the way through Vallinach's other majors before reaching her.
Finally, though, it was her turn.
"Breskwor!" the demoness all but shouted. Only then did she relax.
Then, something unexpected happened. Instead of allowing Cassillyn's faction to choose, the general turned his attention to Glaustro with an enigmatic smile.
"How about we allow our independent to go next?"
Glaustro froze for just a second amidst the shocked looks and resentful glares, his eyes darting between the list and his fellow majors. Then his expression grew firm, and conviction shone in his soul. When he spoke, his voice was remarkably strong and steady.
"I choose Breskwor."
—
Since we were scheduled to leave the next morning, the rest of the day was a frenzy of preparations, made even more stressful by a steady stream of debate between my major and his top sergeant.
Bronwynn was not particularly happy with Glaustro. Sure, the major had been forced to make a choice with very little information. But in the Affection demon's opinion, literally any other world would have been preferable.
I still didn't know what made Wilhelmina so special, but she was afforded better treatment than most could expect, and there were plenty of rumors about how her recruitment was a high point for the legion. As such, to be seen opposing her so blatantly could get us into all sorts of trouble.
Then there was Bronwynn's second point, which did make me a little anxious. If we managed to claim even a portion of Breskwor, Glaustro would have stolen from Wilhelmina twice. First her posting and her troops, and now a world she was anxious to get her claws into.
There were worse reasons to hold a grudge, and Wilhelmina seemed like a demoness quite prone to those.
Of course, Glaustro's reasoning was just as valid. Even I had been able to spot Wilhelmina's anxiety and the rush with which she had proclaimed her choice. Choosing to follow her pick instead of taking a risk on an unknown world was the safest bet Glaustro could make for our future development.
No one got that stressed out over a world with nothing to offer. Picking anything else could easily have gotten us stuck with a dud. In my opinion, Glaustro's choice was worth any accompanying risk.
But the next morning, when we all gathered in my room for a final equipment check, I couldn't help voicing some of my deeper concerns.
"I get why you chose Breskwor, I really do, but what I don't understand…" I hesitated, then pressed ahead. "What is this entire situation really about?"
"Hmmm?" Glaustro looked at me vaguely, still half-stuck in the mire of contemplation he'd been sinking into all morning.
"I was just wondering about all the fuss," I persisted. "Getting to keep a world you've invaded is supposed to be super rare, right? You said so yourself. So, for the general to allow it… well…" I trailed off meaningfully.
Glaustro sighed, looking even more troubled. "Yes, you are right. It is as rare as I made it out to be. But it's not every day that we have an angelic incursion, though. I suppose the general wants us as fired up as possible so he can pick out the best representatives for the legion to help Desire against the angels."
"See, I don't get —" I started to say, then gritted my teeth and swayed. I pressed a hand to my forehead, but even the flush of mana I sent straight to my brain failed to dispel the wave of dizziness and jumbled information.
The mere mention of angels sent the Abyss into a tizzy. Memories and impressions flashed through my mind in a bewildering kaleidoscope, with only a few images standing out against the morass of chaos.
A flaming sword, the tip emerging out of thin air to slash a hole through reality itself, opening the Abyss to a gaping chasm of nothingness and light that somehow burned. Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire
An wave of pure blankness that invaded the confines of the Abyss, killing, burning, destroying without care.
A mask-like face whose beauty I could only describe as 'angelic', devoid of a single twitch or emotion, before the scene zoomed out and brought an elaborately crafted sword into focus that was then driven down through my chest.
Needless to say, the Abyss was trying to feed me so much knowledge on the subject that I ended up getting almost nothing from the tangle of memories.
The only thing I was certain of was that angels were bad news.