HP X LOTM : Please Call Me Mr. Error.

Loki was sitting on a chair in Prenelle's experimental lab while she sat on the chair opposite to him and held her wand in her hand, giving herself the appearance of a strict teacher.

"What preparations have you already made?"

"I prepared some pure Unicorn Blood to purify the Alchemical construct that will be entering the Abyss in my place, along with several other purifying artefacts. I also have a way to isolate corruption from myself, should that be necessary."

Prenelle closed her eyes to think for a few seconds before she opened them again to speak calmly.

"I want you to learn one of my personal spells before you leave."

"Your spells? But are spells really going to do anything to stop me from being corrupted? I mean what if the gods that support the spell betray me at the last moment?"

Prenelle shook her head, "This isn't about stopping you from being corrupted. It is about empowering you to be able to fight."

"If it's about fighting, I already have plenty of spells in my arsenal."

Prenelle shook her head once again.

"Nothing like what I have in mind. The spell I'm about to teach you is of my own making and corresponds to my own Beyonder ability. So they will only work if I provide you with the blessing to be able to do so and don't depend on any other gods."

This got Loki interested and he leaned a little closer to look at what Prenelle was about to do.

Prenelle flicked her wand and drew a clear figure in the air with her spirituality, the shape was glowing like fresh molten magma had suddenly been frozen in place using telekinesis and left to hover in the air.

Loki's brain quickly deciphered all the symbols that Prenelle had used and easily figured out what the spell was meant to do, but that was what shocked him.

"This…are you sure about this?" Loki asked with a little shock as he looked at the spell that Prenelle had created for him to use.

"I am sure. It is a spell that has been tried and tested. The spell can cause any act performed under the domain of 'desire' to be inflicted upon me as soon as you are inflicted by it. This means-"

Loki interrupted.

"-that I won't be affected by the curse for even a second after I cast the charm. You're doing this to help me think straight for the entire time I will be in control of the alchemical construct I will send into the Abyss. So that I don't make any 'stupid' decisions under the influence of my desires. But this will just affect you instead…are you sure about this?"

Prenelle nodded and her expression was grave and serious.

"I hope you realise that 'She' is not someone that can be so easily hidden from. Especially inside the Abyss. She roams everywhere inside the Abyss. The devils long fled from the place, and any that remain are corrupted deeply by her. So don't trust anything or anyone in there.-"

"-Everything will be a trap to drag you into a quagmire of muddled emotions which you can never come out of, so make sure you will never let go of your mental stability."

Loki nodded at the seriousness with which Prenelle was explaining things to him. It felt rather reassuring that instead of dissuading him with stories of danger and warnings, she was explaining to him how he could protect himself.

"To be able to navigate the Abyss, one must be able to drop down anchors all around the place."

"Anchors?" Loki asked confused, he only knew that navigating the spirit world was confusing and needed anchors from the ritual a Sequence 5 Traveler had to undergo so he was a little startled when he heard Prenelle say even the Abyss had such a restriction.

Prenelle instantly caught onto Loki's source of confusion and explained patiently.

"The anchors system is something I realised was needed after I studied Devils roaming the Spirit World using their unique pathway abilities. While in the Spirit World anchors are necessary to orient and guide you, in the Abyss, they are necessary for you to be able to enter and exit the place."

Seeing Loki still confused, Prenelle elaborated.

"The Abyss is a place that constantly saps your desire to leave from it, slowly turning you into a demonic being that can only reside there safely."

Loki nodded since he had read about that earlier and had prepared his alchemical puppet by shielding it with the concealment rune to keep it safe from being turned into a puppet for the Mother Tree of Desire.

"Do you know why this happens?" Prenelle asked with raised eyebrows.

"I don't know for sure since I haven't examined the Abyss myself but I assume it is because 'Her' corruption is rampant in it? And the Abyss allows her to perfectly exercise her domain of 'corruption', so everyone inside it is slowly corrupted by 'Her'."

Prenelle shook her head.

"If it was so simple, the devils wouldn't have left the Abyss. They could've taken help of the other pathways through their Beyonders and found a way to isolate an area in the Abyss that was separated from 'Her' influence."

"Then…?"

"There is a strong reason why they had to leave, which is that the Abyss itself is a single entity. The Abyss is the body of the primordial demon."

"The primordial demon!?" Loki asked with shock. This wasn't a name he had ever heard. But if there was the Primordial Demoness, it meant that there was also such a thing as the Primordial Demon.

Prenelle nodded.

"Although only a carcass, it still is the body of the first demon to ever exist. The carcass is what the Abyss is. And this carcass has been corrupted by 'Her'. This is what gives rise to the constant corruption that slowly brainwashes people to give up their senses to only become a puppet. It means that the entire Abyss is already corrupted, there is no safe place."

"....I understand, but what is the relation of this with the need for anchors?"

"It is because while, unlike the spirit world, the world of the Abyss does not change due to the body of the Primordial Demon being a carcass, but the remnant will of the Primordial Demon itself does change locations."

"..." Loki's eyes narrowed as pieces started to fall into the right places inside his head. "You mean…"

"Yes." Prenelle nodded, "As long as the will of the Primordial Demon is focused on you, you will fail to protect yourself from corruption irrespective of whatever measures you take since the will will instantly make you forget the entrance and exit, even the thought about trying to exit."

Loki frowned.

"And the anchors are a way to make sure you don't forget while helping keep track of this moving mass of will that can kill you in a single moment. It is also what the Devils use to sometimes enter the Abyss when they need to."

"And how do I set up these anchors?" Loki asked with slight worry.

But Prenelle smiled.

"Why, how else? Of course, you need the help of the Oldest and Noblest house that you're a part of."

"Huh? The Black Family?"

Prenelle nodded with a smile, "Precisely. The Black Family is famous, well only me and Nick know about it and now you, but still, famous for owning the locations of several Devils in the real world. These are places that they have been kept safe from being discovered and are protected by the Black Family."

"..."

"As long as you ask them for help. You can anchor yourself and always keep track of the will of the Primordial Demon."

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