D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Chapter 2029: Chapter 2029 Poison in the Ice

— Kat —

This needed testing immediately. Kat sucked in a deep breath of air. Taking in as much of the mist as she could at the same time. It was a bit watery, and Kat wasn’t the biggest fan, but it to her it reacted the same as normal mist. There was no clinging force or expansion. Going by Lily’s current feelings it seemed like the mist had even gone so far as to expand a bit in her mouth. Clinging to her tongue and the inside of her cheeks, filling her mouth somewhat. If it did the same to the throat… things would be very bad.

*But why am I fine? It’s not just a matter of being able to deal with it by chewing through it or flexing it apart of whatever. It’s just not even bothering to expand.*

[Do you think it’s because the inside of your mouth is the same as your skin? Things can’t properly stick to it?]

*Um… maybe? My mouth never felt odd after transforming… but it’s not like I was really looking for it. What do we do about this though? I could probably suck in all the air here alongside the mist, but that’s definitely going to get us heard. We could try breathing the glitter along the floor? The mists don’t seem to be merging… but I don’t know the stuff on the floor is any more breathable.

Um… I could breathe for you? Maybe? Breath stuff in, you transform, and then I breath the clean air your way? Except it wouldn’t really be clean because the mist isn’t gone, it’s just not causing me problems. Hmmm… hmm…*

[Can’t you just use your demonic fire? It won’t hurt me, we’ve seen that before.]

*I did think of that, and while the fire itself isn’t going to hurt you, or even make you cold… the gunk is sticking to various parts of your mouth and that IS going to freeze. Depending on how cold it needs to get to freeze, it could cause you a lot of problems. A bit of ice on the fingers for a few moments is one thing. Ice inside of your mouth and digging right into the flesh there? That’s just asking for trouble.*

[Oh. Oh yeah that sounds awful… but perhaps better than chocking to death? I’m still Rank 3 at least and this is probably a potion made with Rank 2, and maybe some Rank 3 ingredients. Is it really going to have the temperature resistance to hurt me?]

*Look, I’m not unwilling to test this if you think it’d be safer. It’s probably going to hurt at least a bit either way. You might be better of taking the time out instead. Even if we get through this there’s no certainty that the next poison is one quite so… odd.*

[Just hit me with the demonic fire.]

*Alright… BUT would you rather be in Memphis form or human form? I’m not sure if it matters, but it might.*

[Best I stay as I am. I think my Memphis form is stronger… hmm… though if I need to eat in public that could be a problem? Hmm… no, nevermind. Let’s just do this.]

Kat sighed, but let the demonic fire engulf Lily’s face. Lily immediately winced as the gunk in her mouth started to harden and fracture. Shards of ice dug into various spots in her mouth. She quickly started to spit out the shards as best she could. They weren’t melting fast enough to just leave them. While Kat’s worry about freezer burn was a bit much, they hadn’t properly accounted for the shards. Lily was pretty sure her mouth was bleeding in a few places now.

Lily shuddered once all the ice was gone. [Alright. I still sort of need to breathe. Do you think putting some demonic fire in front of my mouth and nose as a breath in will work?]

*We can test it. Depends… freezing the air seems to be pretty inconsistent with my powers. I know I CAN but I usually don’t. I’ll try and focus on just the potion mist.* Lily nodded as Kat bunched up some demonic fire in front of her. Lily moved forward into it and breathed in. Carefully at first, and then a bit deeper as this seemed to work. The mist continued to fill the ’empty’ space only to turn to ice and drop down as icicles. Kat moved her tail below it to catch them, just to prevent any noise giving them away.

Once Lily had taken proper breaths for about half a minute she took one more large gulp of air and moved away. [Alright so this works for now, but it might be eating away at the mist in the room. I can hear Appoline still going from room to room, but I think, just based on where I can hear her, she’s only got a room or two more to check. What’s the plan? If we stay in here too long she might still notice due to the decreased mist, or even just some small noise we make…]

*It’s a risk either way. Do you think the glitter will make noise or something? Or maybe she’s got some sort of potion on the door to warn her if we open it back up?*

[Urgh, I can see something like that. Maybe an enchantment instead of a potion but… dammit, staying here is risky but I think it’s the right play. She seemed suspicious about the room but it didn’t seem too out of place. Most of that worry and concern seemed to be directed at the note but SHE left that out not us.]

*I guess. It’d just be annoying if she thinks we left it there and is suspicious because of something she herself did that coincidentally makes us more likely to get caught.*

Lily shrugged and the pair of them continued to listen out for Appoline. They shifted a bit to make things less awkward, with Kat sitting upright on the table, her legs outstretched so Lily could rest there. Somewhat, Lily was still standing and ready to pounce. The moment they heard Appoline coming back this way she was ready to head back to the corner.

As time ticked by, Kat would occasionally place some demonic fire in front of Lily so she could breathe again. They didn’t wait until Lily was close to her limit, it was a more regular thing then that. The last thing either wanted was for Lily to be almost out of air just as Appoline turned around. Something that was about to happen if their mental maps were correct.

They were proven right a few moments later when the final door in the corridor slammed shut and Appoline started to walk back their way. Lily took one last gulp of air and returned to her corner while Kat spread out into water. The mist surrounding the room made it easier to simply leave all of her droplets in the room. It had the hidden bonus of replenishing some of the lost mass from the mist. Though… at a glance there didn’t seem to be any despite the fact Kat had ’burnt’ away plenty.

*WAIT THE ICE!* Kat moved a few droplets over to the spot the ice should be. It had been resting on her lap but now it should be on the bench. Kat hadn’t even paid attention to how much had been there. Annoyingly, Lily could already see it. A small patch of ice crystals was now sitting on the bench, somewhat obviously too. *Dammit. Do I knock it off into the glitter where it’ll be harder to see? Is the risk of the noise worth it?*

[No I don’t think so. See if you can do something else.]

Kat moved her water droplets to the gunk and tried to take control of the ice… but it wasn’t really water. It was just frozen. Whatever the potion had been made of, the water was now unrecognisable to Kat’s power. Kat poked and prodded them to no avail. Kat’s mind ran through a few possible solutions. Stomping it into powder was first on her mind, but that was just as likely to produce too much noise.

Kat converted herself back into a person for a moment, and tried to convert the ice into water alongside her body and clothes… but it didn’t take. Unlike Lily who could manage such with her transformation… but there wasn’t much time for Lily to gather them. If they did, Lily could’ve simply hid them in her shadow, so instead Kat started to carefully spread them out of the table. It wasn’t ideal but it would make them harder to notice at a glance.

In the end it didn’t matter though. Appoline didn’t even stop to open the door back up. She strode up to the exit and jumped back out of the secret potion lab. Just one Kat was about to relax completely, the sound of one final glass bottle shattering rang out, followed by the trunk lid slamming shut. For a moment Kat wasn’t too worried… but then she realised she had no idea how they’d open the box from the inside.