NIdhogg POV:
I sat back on my throne room as Achlys gave her report on how her mission went. I wasn't paying attention much because my last trek though the demon realm was a failure. It would seem as though Archdemons eluded me, therefore, I had no choice but to settle on lesser demons, which had no chance of sustaining me.
From the bit and pieces that I picked up, her mission was a success. She wanted me to review its contents before releasing it to the right hands. In a bad mood, I snap back.
"Do I need to hold your hand for everything?"
"Apologizes my lord. You are entirely right." She says falling back among the others.
"There is another matter that requires your attention. We have some interesting people we don't know what to do with and would like your opinion to settle it." Gerald tells me.
The doors to the throne room open and shrine maidens lead in two people. Mana was prominent on both of them, and I could tell that they both were veterans, most likely from the church. However, I was in a bad mood, so they weren't about to have an easy time.
"It is true that you two are stronger than anyone in my army, but I don't need anyone in my court. Especially someone who used to be a part of the church. Why shouldn't I kill you now?"
Edmond sat there and thought about recent events. If anything, he wished he died that day, at least he would see his family in the afterlife. However, he was unfortunately alive. He gave the church thirty of his years, just for them to cast him out and even have the audacity to kill them in front of him. He knew that Deacon's couldn't operate on a mission of this scale without prior consent from a Bishop. He needed to know who and why they condemned him. So, he needed to survive.
Ignoring the woman he clearly recognized beside him, Edmond spoke first. "In all my years of working for the church, I've never heard of the Midnight Covenant. For a new organization, it doesn't matter how many resources you gather, or how many church members you kill, there is one thing you will always lack that I can get you. Connections. True, your recent stunt will garner support among those that aren't fans of the church, but there are those that aren't so trusting."
Nidhogg thought on his words. He did have a point. "Very well, but if they can't offer up anything useful, your life is forfeit. What about you?"
Joanne smiles, chuckling slightly, she looks at Nidhogg directly. "I can get the attitude you have. If I was starving like you were, I'd be mad too."
The room grows quieter than it already was. Edmond inches away from her, creating distance. Her words caught me by surprise for a second. Seeing my hesitation she presses on.
"You've gone too far down the evolution line. You need more than scraps now. No more Rookies, no peasants, not even most Deacons. But Archdemons are hard to find these days huh?"
"Choose your next words carefully. You're currently on borrowed time."
"Your eyes, they show a hunger that not even Demon Kings show. I know that you are something more than a demon, but similar. However, I also know how to solve it."
I don't get my hopes up, tilting my head for her to continue.
"There is a ritual, The Soul Convergence. A binding glyph powered by death, fused through a living conduit. You take hundreds if not thousands of souls and combine them into one compressed soul that's stronger. Artificial. Imperfect. But enough to feed you... for a while."
My voice was low and slow as I processed the information that she was giving me. "That kind of fusion... would destroy the conduit."
"Yes," she said. "The host burns. Their soul becomes the glue for all the others. It's... not clean."
"Why would the Church have such a thing?"
"Only a handful of members of the church know of this ritual. I only know of it, because I was the first to discover it. We never had the heart to experiment on it. Only study it in an effort to counter it should we encounter it again." She explains.
Her answers gave me more questions. "How would one contain the soul hosting as the conduit. Surely, the doing so would run the risk of creating an uncontrollable being." I think out loud.
"If I may..." Edmond interjects and I look at him.
"If such a thing interests you, I have the solution to another that might serve as a conduit."
"Go on." I motion to him.
"One time, the Church was facing mana issues, as mana stones were starting to be in short supply. One Deacon decided to experiment with demons, using them as a power source. He created a device that captured what we believe are their souls. However, he and his work disappeared as it was thought that his device couldn't discern human from demon souls. I know of the location of said device."
My mood drastically improved as I realized the implications on the new information handed to me. I could create my own Archdemons, removing the need of risking my own life going into the Demonrealm where I knew Demon Kings were hunting for me resided.
"Gerald, Montgomery. Verify this information. Should it be true, use whoever or whatever means you need to secure this device. Fuck it, I can't leave this up to you. I'm taking control of this one."
Instead of getting offended, the Fullbringers get excited at the chance of working with me. But I wasn't concerned at that. I was getting excited at the new prospects before me. And I was willing to do anything to get it.