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

Chapter 2280 Snaking Around

--- Kat ---

Simple plans were often the best, and while Lily wasn’t entirely happy with it the argument was sound. Lily and Appoline would stay back, both to protect each other and because the HOPE was that no fighting would happen. Still, you know what they say about hope, so they weren’t just relaxing, they were ready should it be needed. Kat was sure she could at least hold out until they arrived if she needed assistance, and her plan provided plenty of ways to escape.

Said plan was simply snaking along the ground in her water form. A moderate sized drop would remain at the edge of her control range, and just as it started to waver, Kat would separate out another drop and continue on. It wasn’t the most efficient demonic energy wise, but the long periods of ’rest’ and her intentionally slow approach meant that the cost didn’t escalate much and her regeneration could handle it.

One of the issues with this plan though, was that it was slow and boring. Kat was intentionally not moving with speed and the distance she began from was great. The lightning strikes were thankfully not targeting her watery form, but that just meant the journey was slow and steady. Kat wanted to spend most of it chatting with Lily but the chance she missed something while distracted was too high so... they just had to do their best and only poke each other mentally a few times to keep each other updated with things.

As Kat got closer she could see that the ’cage’ was thickly layered, but there was space between those layers. Kat and Lily had been assuming that the entire thing was compacted layers, like when you were making a pie with layers of pastry. Instead, it was something closer to interlocking spheres. Though the worry was that this interlocking space was being used to hide a LOT of smaller scorpions. Even just in the small area around her Kat could see, it was at least a dozen of them and she couldn’t even see a tenth of the structure from her current position.

The upside at least was that there were quite a few holes to sneak through for herself, and the scorpions didn’t seem to be reacting negatively to her. Perhaps it was because she didn’t smell? Or that there wasn’t any mana in her watery form. Other, more standard looking bugs were allowed to live around the area. Hunted sure, but not to extinction. Not in an attempt to drive them out. It wasn’t really farming... but it showed even the smaller scorpions had at least some awareness of their environment.

A few of the more curious ones did poke at her watery form with their pincers as she drifted past, but most scuttled away quickly afterwards. The rest, she left behind as she entered what seemed to be the main cavern. A hollow area that contained circular set of stairs, at least, Kat assumed it was circular. Her own dome based view of things wasn’t enough to cover the staircase, nor even see the top. It also meant she could see the tunnels hidden below her, though they were fuzzier with other things in the way. So where did she want to go? Up the stairs... and potentially into a bunch of lightning, or down below where there didn’t seem to be much space for someone at full size.

After a few seconds of indecision, Kat poked Lily for an answer... and it wasn’t the one she’d expected. Though with an extra second of thought it made a lot of sense. [The stairs are clearly more important go for them. Plus, unless the metal is running down the centre of the area, it should still be safe. Nothing we’ve seen indicates it should be there, and if you see it, you should have time to back off. Still, just leave a bit of water at the bottom of the stairs and you’ll be... probably fine.]

With her marching orders Kat slithered up the stairs, careful not to float and risk the ire of the lightning more than she had to. Her bubble view letting her take in what sort of area this was. Some scorpions were around, small ones, though even then the number was small. The stairs seemed to have carvings on the edges, or perhaps ’had’ was a better way to look at it. The faint imprints weren’t ones Kat was capable of discerning without eyes and she had no desire for those to become chew toys for the baby scorpions.

Climbing higher and higher saw more cracks and breaks in the stairs. Large holes that went nowhere, mostly because the staircase was a solid construct. It had been carved down into its current form rather then built up. Just because the outer shell was breaking didn’t mean the entire thing would fall apart just yet. Though, there was also the issue of the rocks. Likely metal, large and fallen from the sky, or perhaps the cage above. That did not say good things about its structural integrity... though it was possible they were older than the barrier.

As Kat got closer to the top, she could see that it was acting more like an altar. The stairs reached up to a flat area, and atop that was a second, smaller alter for something much larger. Though Kat couldn’t really get a sense of what it was. Her sight not capable of reaching that high just yet... but it felt charged with power. Not lightning... but something else. It was important and Kat really wanted to know the specifics... but it was dangerous.

She slithered along the step she was situated on. Debating of if she should get closer. Notably, none of the scorpions had. All the ones she could see that were living on the staircase had firmly stopped a little below her current level and they didn’t seem to be making any moves upwards. Though they also took no offence at her own passing. What that meant Kat was very unsure of.

Still... it didn’t seem inherently dangerous. Probably. So, even with Lily’s heartfelt concern pressing up against Kat’s matching worries... she climbed. Slowly and carefully, as more and more of her visual range started to encompass the top of the stairs, and the object lying above. It was a giant stone thing, as Kat climbed higher she could see that it was rounded, with odd shapes that had to be runes all pulsing with power.

When Kat finally reached the top, she could see that it was not quite as rounded as it appeared. No, instead it was a slice, a thick, monstrously large slice of stone that continued long past what she could currently see. The entire thing was easily the size of a building... and Kat had a sinking feeling she knew what it was. *I think this is a piece of the relic we need to win.*

[That’s... good...]

*It is also the size of a house.*

[That’s very bad. Probably. How are we meant to carry them? Or unite them? Heck how are we meant to break them if that was still the goal?]

*That IS the question. There has to be some way to shrink it down but I have no idea how obvious that’s meant to be. I can’t make out anything on the alter, and the fact that it’s currently floating... I mean... maybe we can just pull it along like a balloon?*

[You joke but I can see Thyme doing something like that. It might not weigh anything as you pull it around but it would act as a giant beacon to tell people who has what slices and where they are from a great distance. It might even start to glow particularly brightly as you get more of them.]

*Yeah that sounds like something Thyme would do... though can it even get through any of the gaps in the metal? I mean this thing is HUGE. It seems like the metal cage was built AROUND it. I think the implication is meant to be that this thing came first... and if the ’door’ was never built to let it through... hmmm...*

[Well there has to be some way. What about that gap we can see from a distance. Or I mean, Appoline and I can still see it.]

*I’m really not sure. It... might just barely be large enough. The issue is that I’d have to angle it correctly and then push it up and out. I’m not sure it would fit even if I did that... and I’m not sure how manoeuvrable it is. Let’s see what happens if I try to move it with my water at least.*

Kat carefully pulled a strand of water upwards, snaking through the air towards the floating bit of stone. Kat watched carefully for any sort of resistance or pressure that the scorpions so clearly felt... but even just a few millimetres away from it nothing seemed to change. Kat poked it. Nothing happened. *Is that a success?*