The Demis
Anyone who’ve been living in this city would have eventually known who the Pale Magus was. The moon landing revelation, the record scribing, and the Shanghai Risk Event was one of the most pivotal events that happened.
The Twelve Demis was one of the many still plagued in mystery. A blot on the records of the Otherside Bureau and a reminder of how many times the Bureau had hidden the truth. Back then, the Other side was a secret. Hunters and agents were mostly upstarts trying to make money in the elimination of the otherside creatures. You could say that the twelve demis who were in ‘despair’ wanted to end the world.
What the demis wanted was to put down the world. They saw how awful things have become and they thought it was merciful to end the world before everyone would suffer.
Back then, their rise was rapid. Those who saw the state of the world joined the twelve demis in ‘cleansing’ the world. There were no techniques, no cyberware, and everyone was so underdeveloped. To fight a monster, you needed strategy and to fight greater monsters. One had to make a deal with a demon or a devil. The church led most of the extermination and the Bureau was a union of intelligence agencies formed on the eve of the last great war to unite against the demons.
Their duty was to protect the world. But it was an enormous world and one could not fault them for not noticing a few. Back when the land bridge was still on development after it appeared on the continent at the end of the Mayan Calendar. There were a series of accidents plotted by the twelve demis in which give birth to the Pale Magus.
The Pale Magus was no agent of the Bureau. He was simply someone who got into the wrong place and wrong time in the middle of a world-ending ritual and won the first bout against the demis by claiming a part of their power. Granting him his Pale glow that gave him the name of the Pale Magus.
The Pale Magus started roaming the world. Hunting down every Demi on the list. Because of his mysterious powers, granting him supernatural strength, speed, and superior ability to slay the otherside creatures. He became the very framework on which the Graded Agents were based on. Of course, even back then, the Graded Agents hunted him down, too. The battles would tear cities apart and rend heaven and earth. They were going to be problematic, so the Pale Magus stole the original lance wielded by Longinus and threatened the Bureau with a god-shattering spear.
The Bureau could have subdued the pale magus. But it was best if they let the Pale Magus slay the twelve demis who continued wrecking havoc on the world.
The Pale Magus usually worked alone, but there were times he cooperated with the Graded Agents to stop a target.
Kei, who had been silent, cuts in. “And how does the flaying apply to all of this?”
“The flaying was the act of ‘freeing oneself’ from mortal flesh. Eating the flesh you shred. Of course, not all could gain power from it. They lacked the requirement to achieve the same status as the Twelve who ascended. The Pale Magus himself stole from their ritual. He could escape the sickness of flaying by usurping what they shred.”
“So he ate their shredded skin?”
“Not literally. He ate the part of their soul that they saw as weakness. Allowing him to bypass the flaying.”
“And let me guess, this can’t done again, because if you could do this. You’d still have some actual skin.”
Matt smiled uncannily. “My skin has rotted, yes, but I wished I could put my body in a doll to mingle. Years of being trapped in unfeeling metal cools the mind and makes one wonder if I am human or steel.”
“So, how does this all connect?”
“The flaying is a disease we’ve hidden from the world. A plague that I doubt the Bureau could cover up again. Not in this scenario. The world’s a mess and I doubt we’d last a century at this rate.”
“What do you mean?”
“What happened in Africa was merely the trigger. The Shanghai Risk Event, and even that man-made God you encountered in Vultan, showed that we are at the risk of extermination. One might say the world will reset and centuries will pass. Changye is a fortress of a risen land, but are in trouble with where we’re heading.”
Kei groaned. “Not exactly new. The world will end! It’s over! I’ve been hearing that all the time that I’ve grown used to it.”
“Which is quite sad. The death of our world is what we call an inevitability and we all see it coming. Hence why we board ships made to cross stars and settle there. But alas, perhaps we can’t escape even if we do. If creatures such as these exist on our planet, then what will other planets have? But what the other planets will have is not our concern. The flaying is a sign that there is an extreme imbalance of energy and that the mages are being filled with the energy from the otherside, leading to our demise. They felt the need to remove their skin simply because they were being filled up.”
“That’s it?”
“An excess of power. Like a balloon full of air. Not removing your skin from your body means you’d just blow us. Removing it means death, but there are also cases where you’d end up like me. Devoid of flesh, but is capable of survival by putting my body inside a machine. You could I say I’m one of the fortunate ones. With my body entombed in steel and metal while retaining my magical abilities. You could say I’m simply a poor imitation of what the Pale Magus and the Demis could have been. But what eludes me this time was they could survive. Learning this, I tried to transfer my body into a freshly crafted body, but that didn’t last. I had no choice but to flay myself and put my body into this steely tomb of mine.”
“So, what are you trying to tell us?”
“I’ve been suspecting it. But it seemed like I was right. A Demi still lives and perhaps the Pale Magus walks again.”
“Walks again? I don’t know if you know this, but the Pale Magus is still a popular found footage topic,” Kei pointed out. “A shame that all data regarding the Pale Magus is being erased. Even the footages are being deleted.”
“But he mostly hunts down Liches and keeps to himself. Liches is one of his preys and he has been active as of late. Heh, you can tell say that his appearance as of late could be a sign that another cataclysm is approaching. You’d think he’d appear when the Shanghai Event appeared, but I guess it was still under control.”
The Pale Magus’s appearance was an omen itself. Matt seemed to think that the appearance of the Magus, the flaying affliction, and the recent event is a signal for a cataclysm. You could say he’s right. The amount of troubles happening is not normal and with the appearances of the anomalies. It’s not that far fetch to think that the world’s ending. Still, despite all of this, it was hard to still connect why the flaying was important.
Kei seemed to think so, too. She still doesn’t connect to it. She had a look that says she still couldn’t fully connect. All of this was based on the clues and yet Matt here only tells of previous information that we ourselves aren’t sure. Can we take Matt’s words? It was hard to when he’s metal mage. A tech-lich who had abandoned some part of himself to become this. Sure, he might be not lying about the flaying trapping him in that form, but he seemed to have not told us why he caught it. Matt spoke about the Pale Magus and the 12 Demis with such a familiarity. As if he was speaking based on firsthand experience. He spoke with certainty and like he was there.
“Why are you so sure about this? Were you there?”
“I was a subordinate of the Twelve Demis—”
Kei drew her teleforce cane. My Castor revved, and I held my blade at his throat. Matt looked at us with a still calm face. He showed no reaction and was measuring us. Calculating inside that chrome-plated skull of his on what he’d do.
“Perhaps I should have said I was a former subordinate of the Twelve Demis. I am no longer associated with them and seek only a cure for my affliction. Please, there is no need for weapons to be drawn.”
“Proof. I want clearance.”
“Call Sato. He’ll understand.”
“Sato? Why? Does he know?”
Matt laughed lightly. “I checked on Sato first, before I contacted your office.”
“If he moves. Behead him, Akun.”
“Roger.” My Castor hummed violently.
Matt stared at my blade and studied it. “A fine blade you have. An old model, but still quite something. I guess it isn’t just for show either.”
“Do not move.” I said clearly. “I will take your head off and cleave through your chrome if you move.”
Matt stayed silent as Kei contacted Sato. After minutes of arguing with Sato, Kei signaled me to put my blade down. She still held onto her teleforce cane and my blade was on my lap.
“I’m sure you understand our reaction. The Twelve Demis and their subordinates are the kind we usually shoot to kill. What bargain did you strike with the Bureau that they’d allow you to walk away?”
“I was the one who handed the technology the Demis gathered. I’ve learned a lot and I am quite familiar and well-versed.”
“So you were a person who betrayed the Demis then?” I asked.
“Indeed. I may crave power as any Mage would. But upon learning the goal of the Demis. I could no longer follow their path. Ending the world was not what we had in mind, so we betrayed and armed humanity. Because power without a world to flaunt it… would be quite lonely… don’t you think?”
“Is that so?” Kei glared. “We will cooperate with you. But next time I’d prefer if you contact us through comms instead of personally. I’m sure you understand my disgust for the Demis.”
Mass murderers. Coldhearted monsters who have made the world a living hell. Those who were under the Twelve Demis were the kind that upstaged even the cruelest monsters we have known. Vile creatures who we should have killed. Unfortunately, the pragmatism of the Otherside Bureau and the threats that roam our current world meant that they can still live. I felt quite sickened looking at this man. My fingers itched so much that I was shaking internally.
“Calm yourself, Assistant.” Kei said to me. “Even if we try to put this piece of shit down. I believe it’ll be a problem. You can tell he’s chromed to the gills with cutting-edged cyberware. He’s also a mage with spells, so we’re outmatched. It pains me to say this, but we’d just have to ignore what this man done.”
Kei spoke reasonably. Matt nodded his head curtly.
“Indeed. We are simply doing business. There is no need for violence and I believe that right now we should focus on the flaying more than grudges. I trust your office with my secrets because you are rational and keen. It seemed I was right in my assessment of you, Miss Kei Ma.”
“Maybe. Feelings aside, you pay us and we earn. I don’t like the thought of associating with you, but business is business.”
“I see. Then shall I continue?”
Matt continued narrating what had happened many years ago. The Twelve Demis, the Pale Magus, and the possibility of the end of the world. Matt feared that this was an omen. Maybe it is. Still, I was holding myself back from gutting this lich and sending him to hell where he belonged alongside his people. I hold no love for the Demis and their subordinates. It’s hard to hold any like for the people who have made our world this miserable.
The Demis
Anyone who’ve been living in this city would have eventually known who the Pale Magus was. The moon landing revelation, the record scribing, and the Shanghai Risk Event was one of the most pivotal events that happened.
The Twelve Demis was one of the many still plagued in mystery. A blot on the records of the Otherside Bureau and a reminder of how many times the Bureau had hidden the truth. Back then, the Other side was a secret. Hunters and agents were mostly upstarts trying to make money in the elimination of the otherside creatures. You could say that the twelve demis who were in ‘despair’ wanted to end the world.
What the demis wanted was to put down the world. They saw how awful things have become and they thought it was merciful to end the world before everyone would suffer.
Back then, their rise was rapid. Those who saw the state of the world joined the twelve demis in ‘cleansing’ the world. There were no techniques, no cyberware, and everyone was so underdeveloped. To fight a monster, you needed strategy and to fight greater monsters. One had to make a deal with a demon or a devil. The church led most of the extermination and the Bureau was a union of intelligence agencies formed on the eve of the last great war to unite against the demons.
Their duty was to protect the world. But it was an enormous world and one could not fault them for not noticing a few. Back when the land bridge was still on development after it appeared on the continent at the end of the Mayan Calendar. There were a series of accidents plotted by the twelve demis in which give birth to the Pale Magus.
The Pale Magus was no agent of the Bureau. He was simply someone who got into the wrong place and wrong time in the middle of a world-ending ritual and won the first bout against the demis by claiming a part of their power. Granting him his Pale glow that gave him the name of the Pale Magus.
The Pale Magus started roaming the world. Hunting down every Demi on the list. Because of his mysterious powers, granting him supernatural strength, speed, and superior ability to slay the otherside creatures. He became the very framework on which the Graded Agents were based on. Of course, even back then, the Graded Agents hunted him down, too. The battles would tear cities apart and rend heaven and earth. They were going to be problematic, so the Pale Magus stole the original lance wielded by Longinus and threatened the Bureau with a god-shattering spear.
The Bureau could have subdued the pale magus. But it was best if they let the Pale Magus slay the twelve demis who continued wrecking havoc on the world.
The Pale Magus usually worked alone, but there were times he cooperated with the Graded Agents to stop a target.
Kei, who had been silent, cuts in. “And how does the flaying apply to all of this?”
“The flaying was the act of ‘freeing oneself’ from mortal flesh. Eating the flesh you shred. Of course, not all could gain power from it. They lacked the requirement to achieve the same status as the Twelve who ascended. The Pale Magus himself stole from their ritual. He could escape the sickness of flaying by usurping what they shred.”
“So he ate their shredded skin?”
“Not literally. He ate the part of their soul that they saw as weakness. Allowing him to bypass the flaying.”
“And let me guess, this can’t done again, because if you could do this. You’d still have some actual skin.”
Matt smiled uncannily. “My skin has rotted, yes, but I wished I could put my body in a doll to mingle. Years of being trapped in unfeeling metal cools the mind and makes one wonder if I am human or steel.”
“So, how does this all connect?”
“The flaying is a disease we’ve hidden from the world. A plague that I doubt the Bureau could cover up again. Not in this scenario. The world’s a mess and I doubt we’d last a century at this rate.”
“What do you mean?”
“What happened in Africa was merely the trigger. The Shanghai Risk Event, and even that man-made God you encountered in Vultan, showed that we are at the risk of extermination. One might say the world will reset and centuries will pass. Changye is a fortress of a risen land, but are in trouble with where we’re heading.”
Kei groaned. “Not exactly new. The world will end! It’s over! I’ve been hearing that all the time that I’ve grown used to it.”
“Which is quite sad. The death of our world is what we call an inevitability and we all see it coming. Hence why we board ships made to cross stars and settle there. But alas, perhaps we can’t escape even if we do. If creatures such as these exist on our planet, then what will other planets have? But what the other planets will have is not our concern. The flaying is a sign that there is an extreme imbalance of energy and that the mages are being filled with the energy from the otherside, leading to our demise. They felt the need to remove their skin simply because they were being filled up.”
“That’s it?”
“An excess of power. Like a balloon full of air. Not removing your skin from your body means you’d just blow us. Removing it means death, but there are also cases where you’d end up like me. Devoid of flesh, but is capable of survival by putting my body inside a machine. You could I say I’m one of the fortunate ones. With my body entombed in steel and metal while retaining my magical abilities. You could say I’m simply a poor imitation of what the Pale Magus and the Demis could have been. But what eludes me this time was they could survive. Learning this, I tried to transfer my body into a freshly crafted body, but that didn’t last. I had no choice but to flay myself and put my body into this steely tomb of mine.”
“So, what are you trying to tell us?”
“I’ve been suspecting it. But it seemed like I was right. A Demi still lives and perhaps the Pale Magus walks again.”
“Walks again? I don’t know if you know this, but the Pale Magus is still a popular found footage topic,” Kei pointed out. “A shame that all data regarding the Pale Magus is being erased. Even the footages are being deleted.”
“But he mostly hunts down Liches and keeps to himself. Liches is one of his preys and he has been active as of late. Heh, you can tell say that his appearance as of late could be a sign that another cataclysm is approaching. You’d think he’d appear when the Shanghai Event appeared, but I guess it was still under control.”
The Pale Magus’s appearance was an omen itself. Matt seemed to think that the appearance of the Magus, the flaying affliction, and the recent event is a signal for a cataclysm. You could say he’s right. The amount of troubles happening is not normal and with the appearances of the anomalies. It’s not that far fetch to think that the world’s ending. Still, despite all of this, it was hard to still connect why the flaying was important.
Kei seemed to think so, too. She still doesn’t connect to it. She had a look that says she still couldn’t fully connect. All of this was based on the clues and yet Matt here only tells of previous information that we ourselves aren’t sure. Can we take Matt’s words? It was hard to when he’s metal mage. A tech-lich who had abandoned some part of himself to become this. Sure, he might be not lying about the flaying trapping him in that form, but he seemed to have not told us why he caught it. Matt spoke about the Pale Magus and the 12 Demis with such a familiarity. As if he was speaking based on firsthand experience. He spoke with certainty and like he was there.
“Why are you so sure about this? Were you there?”
“I was a subordinate of the Twelve Demis—”
Kei drew her teleforce cane. My Castor revved, and I held my blade at his throat. Matt looked at us with a still calm face. He showed no reaction and was measuring us. Calculating inside that chrome-plated skull of his on what he’d do.
“Perhaps I should have said I was a former subordinate of the Twelve Demis. I am no longer associated with them and seek only a cure for my affliction. Please, there is no need for weapons to be drawn.”
“Proof. I want clearance.”
“Call Sato. He’ll understand.”
“Sato? Why? Does he know?”
Matt laughed lightly. “I checked on Sato first, before I contacted your office.”
“If he moves. Behead him, Akun.”
“Roger.” My Castor hummed violently.
Matt stared at my blade and studied it. “A fine blade you have. An old model, but still quite something. I guess it isn’t just for show either.”
“Do not move.” I said clearly. “I will take your head off and cleave through your chrome if you move.”
Matt stayed silent as Kei contacted Sato. After minutes of arguing with Sato, Kei signaled me to put my blade down. She still held onto her teleforce cane and my blade was on my lap.
“I’m sure you understand our reaction. The Twelve Demis and their subordinates are the kind we usually shoot to kill. What bargain did you strike with the Bureau that they’d allow you to walk away?”
“I was the one who handed the technology the Demis gathered. I’ve learned a lot and I am quite familiar and well-versed.”
“So you were a person who betrayed the Demis then?” I asked.
“Indeed. I may crave power as any Mage would. But upon learning the goal of the Demis. I could no longer follow their path. Ending the world was not what we had in mind, so we betrayed and armed humanity. Because power without a world to flaunt it… would be quite lonely… don’t you think?”
“Is that so?” Kei glared. “We will cooperate with you. But next time I’d prefer if you contact us through comms instead of personally. I’m sure you understand my disgust for the Demis.”
Mass murderers. Coldhearted monsters who have made the world a living hell. Those who were under the Twelve Demis were the kind that upstaged even the cruelest monsters we have known. Vile creatures who we should have killed. Unfortunately, the pragmatism of the Otherside Bureau and the threats that roam our current world meant that they can still live. I felt quite sickened looking at this man. My fingers itched so much that I was shaking internally.
“Calm yourself, Assistant.” Kei said to me. “Even if we try to put this piece of shit down. I believe it’ll be a problem. You can tell he’s chromed to the gills with cutting-edged cyberware. He’s also a mage with spells, so we’re outmatched. It pains me to say this, but we’d just have to ignore what this man done.”
Kei spoke reasonably. Matt nodded his head curtly.
“Indeed. We are simply doing business. There is no need for violence and I believe that right now we should focus on the flaying more than grudges. I trust your office with my secrets because you are rational and keen. It seemed I was right in my assessment of you, Miss Kei Ma.”
“Maybe. Feelings aside, you pay us and we earn. I don’t like the thought of associating with you, but business is business.”
“I see. Then shall I continue?”
Matt continued narrating what had happened many years ago. The Twelve Demis, the Pale Magus, and the possibility of the end of the world. Matt feared that this was an omen. Maybe it is. Still, I was holding myself back from gutting this lich and sending him to hell where he belonged alongside his people. I hold no love for the Demis and their subordinates. It’s hard to hold any like for the people who have made our world this miserable.
