Blade Over Magic

Growth Under Pressure IV

’Sending me to go fight that damn thing on my own. What the hell? Do they think I’m some sort of punching bag? Or is this to test my loyalty or something? It’s bullshit. Bullshit I say!’ Mira grumbled inwardly as she flapped her wings and flew towards the eye atop the Obsidian Spire. Though interestingly enough, no attacks came her way, unlike before when it was spewing out those beams en-masse.

There was a reason for this.

Upon getting close to the tower, Mira got a better look at the sky above it. Previously it had simply been unleashing a wave of Void that aimed to reduce everything to nothingness. But that had stopped. Instead, a constant stream of the stuff was being turned into the sky which now held a large fracture that was rapidly growing, and from beyond that fracture, Mira felt a terrifying aura that made her shudder.

’This is way, wayyy, above my paygrade. I wanna go home.’ She lamented internally as the large purple eye looked at her with what might have been curiosity, and she felt a dreadful pressure wash over her.

The her from a few days ago would have buckled under it instantly, but she was able to withstand it relatively calmly. Not that she was actually calm. But hey, putting up acts was the specialty of Succubi, no?

| Interesting. | A deep voice thick with authority filled her ears, giving her goosebumps.

| You aren’t a normal Succubus. What are you? This isn’t an evolution I’ve ever seen from your kind. | Mira blinked, then she rubbed her neck nervously.

”Can’t really answer that since I hardy know myself.” She admitted, which was the truth.

While Succubi could evolve, the truth was that hee evolution, which had been heavily influenced by Xander’s existence, wasn’t anything that. Was recorded, well, anywhere. And the full scope of her abilities were still being discovered by her.

Hence, saying she was one-of-a-kind wouldn’t actually be an inaccurate assessment.

| I see. And you are fighting along with those humans because? Even if you defected, last I remember, you Succubi hardly ever stay with people of your own free will if there wasn’t anything to gain or if you weren’t forced. So which one is it? Or is it both? | It was... weird. Xander and co were currently fighting intense battles down below, yet the Void Demon didn’t even seem particularly worried by the fight and instead was more interested in speaking to Mira. It gave one the feeling that he wasn’t even very concerned about everything that was happening.

Mira internally called his bluff, though.

After all, if he was so unconcerned, why was he currently attempting to descend with his true body? Forcefully weakening the usual restrictions to allow for his arrival?

Mira didn’t call him out on this, though.

”... Both.” Mira said after some hesitation, and the Void Demon hummed.

| I thought as much. I can tell there’s something in your soul. It must be restricting your movements and forcing you to help them, correct? Worry not. After I kill that boy, it should naturally dissipate, and you will regain your freedom. | Mira’s eyes widened, did he mean...?

| I do. | The Void Demon confirmed, as though reading her thoughts.

| I will help you. However, I will tell you that it isn’t purely from the goodness of my heart. We are both demons, I won’t pretend like we are that charitable. Instead, I need you to do something for me. | The large eye shifted to look in the direction Xander was fighting.

| That boy piques my curiosity. The weaving if fate seem to have no hold on him. And yet somehow, many things are occurring with him as the center. His actions alone have affected this world far more than most realize. Perhaps even he isn’t fully aware of the implications. | This made Mira blink, then she hesitated and asked.

”Is that why Hell’s advances on this world are being sped up? Because of him?” A deep, ancient chuckle left the eye.

| So you noticed, hm? Not too bad. However, while things are indeed speeding up, it isn’t because of him, though he is an unforeseen factor. Rather, it’s more accurate to say that this world is far more special than most realize. We are simply capitalizing on that fact. | Mira couldn’t help but frown.

’What could he mean by that? This world is an above average Anchor World, yes, but it is still just an Anchor World. Hell has conquered countless of those in the past, many far more dangerous than here. So what could it be?’ She wondered. There was the possibility that the Void Demon was feeding her false information to confuse her. Succubi weren’t the only ones well-versed in lies, after all. But she also somehow doubted it. Not because of any baggy reason, she just felt that the demon had no reason to.

”... So the thing you wanted me to do in return for you helping rid me of this binding. What is it?” She finally asked after thinking for a few seconds, and the eyes gave a pleased hum.

| Good. The task is simple. Judging by how you’ve been talking with me, the restriction must not activate unless you decide to cause harm to the one who placed it on you. This limits the things you can do, but what I have in mind should be sufficie— hm? | The words stopped abruptly, and Mira could almost see the metaphorical brow furrowing.

Suddenly, the eye fixed on her with deep intensity, the pressure she’d been feeling intensifying sharply as the demon questioned in a dark tone.

| What did you do? | Mira blinked innocently, then she gave a mischievous smile and shrugged her shoulders like she hadn’t done anything, knowing damn well she had.

”I don’t know. You tell me.” She said carelessly, and the Void Demon’s voice rang out, evidently enraged.

| You. I don’t know how you managed this, but do you believe you can survive after angering me? | The killing intent in its words were thick enough to give a weaker person a heart attack, and yet despite this, it actually seemed to be growing fainted by the second.

Mira placed a finger on her cheek and smiled cutely.

”You’d harm adorable ol’ me? You’re harsh mister. I didn’t even do anything that bad. Like, it’s not as if you’re bleeding or anything, are you?” Her voice sounded perfectly reasonable, like there was nothing wrong with what she said.

The eye clearly did not appreciate this, as in the next second, a Void Beam blasted towards Mira, and she quickly evaded. However, something quickly became clear.

The potency of the beam had dropped.

Not just that, but if one looked closely, they would see that the eye seemed to have become slightly sluggish. It wasn’t by much, but the longer Mira stayed near it, the stronger this effect would become.

Mira had, in fact, not been talking with the Void Demon for the sake of it. From the moment they began speaking, she’d used her magic. Which brings us to something terrifying.

After Mira evolved from ingesting Xander’s intent, she didn’t just gain a version of his ability to avoid being perceived via deflecting Paths.

No, she also became able to see them.

Well, at least on some way. It didn’t work the same way Xander observed the Myriad Paths. Nether was it as advanced. Rather, what Mira could now observe were what she called ”Streams of Consciousness”. On a basic level, it only applied to living and sentient things. And in essence, it was a tangible manifestation of one’s consciousness and all its layers which she could interact with and manipulate on some level.

However, when she took it to the conceptual level, things turned a lot more insidious. Especially due to the spell she developed that leaned into this new perception of hers.

And that was a spell she called ”Dream Seed”.

Initially, if she wanted to put a target to sleep, she would need to use her charm. And while it worked well enough, first targets with strong mental defenses and Willpower, she would need to use a higher amount of Charm to put them to sleep, which was very taxing. Moreover, if the target realized this, it would actually make it harder to pull them under as the effect of subtlety was gone.

So after her evolution , she went for a different approach.

Leaning into how her charm was now far more subtle and insidious from her change, she made her spell based off that.

Simply put, Dream Seed allowed her to implant a small dormant ’seed’ in the target’s Stream of Consciousness, and it wouldn’t do anything to attract attention, but that didn’t mean it was inactive.

No, rather, it passively fed on the target’s Stream of Consciousness to nurture itself while still remaining dormant, and therefore undetectable.

If Mira was close to the target, her passive charm that was both more potent and more subtle would also be absorbed by the seed, gradually strengthening it. And since it fed directly from the target’s Consciousness, it was uniquely tuned to them, making it Especially effective against them.

Then, when it finally activated, the target will begin to get pulled into sleep uncontrollably. And as they fall under, the fighting strength would naturally wane, too.

From the moment the Obsidian Spire descended and Mira recognized the demonic energy radiating from it, she hadn’t hesitated to put a Dream Seed. So it had quietly been nurturing since the Spire appeared.

And when Mira conversed with the demon, it had fed off her Charm which the demon had ignored because it had believed it was at a high enough level where her charm would not affect it.

And now, the results of these things were showing themselves.

Because Mira wasn’t the strongest, nor was she the fastest or most durable. Instead, she represented another form of horror entirely.

The horror of Dreams.