My Servant System

"Durukti… You aren't entirely wrong about her, about what and where she might be; we know she's here somewhere, and she definitely is too strong to die in a place like this, so…"

I nodded and pushed another goblin corpse away, making sure to keep myself as clean as possible as I focused on the Demoness rather than the killing; going after the same monster over and over again wasn't as entertaining as it usually was, and I was more intrigued by the discussion then the killing.

The spilling of the blood was just… a secondary source of stimulation for me right now, with the primary being Lilith as she mulled over my question for a few moments more, searching for an answer.

"I… I don't personally know where she is, but I know she is alive. More than just the speculation and hope that you have; I know she still lives, and I know she is 'here', but the depths of my knowledge end there. Whether she has made it this far or if she is just wandering around doing as she pleases is up to debate.

However, I do understand the Asmodeucian's quite well, and the likelihood of her having reached this city is rather high. We know that some doors have been opened, that some of these Trials are depleted, but we aren't really aware of who or what completed them, now are we?"

"No we don't, but it also raises the question of how long ago she was here, if she was here during the timeframe of the 'Ascended' watching over this place still and if she completed the challenges that were laid out for her to join them up above.

After all, she was long gone when you were a child, Mom, and that was centuries ago already, so perhaps she did come here first, and maybe she managed to complete enough of these Trials - maybe she met all the criteria that was required - and she has already ascended to this upper realm? It is entirely possible, isn't it?"

That slight jab at Mom's age brought the Demoness back down to 'reality', giving her something to think about besides the fact that Lilith said she was proud of her and that the same woman she revered so much because of everything she had been taught and that she had learned was eyeing her up as a potential mate…

It definitely seemed to shake her out of her reverie since she glared at me and frowned even as she bashed the skull of a goblin with the flat of her blade; when she trusted her voice she growled "Watch your tone there, brat… You aren't that far away from me right now, you know…", which just made me smirk at her even as I began to inch away.

"It is possible that she got here many, many centuries ago and ascended before any of us were aware that this place existed. It would make sense, but at the same time… No, no, you're most likely correct. I don't think she would just be roaming around for centuries on her own, doing nothing besides just living off of the land. That wasn't her style, wasn't something she could ever be content with."

"Did you know her personally? Or just in passing?"

Another question to keep everything flowing, and one that pushed Lilith back into the past a little as she had to think, something that benefitted me rather well since I could try and get my taste for blood back now that she wasn't incinerating everything around her with just a snap of her fingers.

I might not be entirely 'invested' in the massacre of these goblins at the moment but I was still savoring the pain I was inflicting, especially since they squealed rather nicely whenever my blade slid across their rough green skin…

Just seeing their flesh get sliced apart to allow rivulets of blood to weep out was soothing to my soul, and whenever that was accompanied by a squeal, a groan, a pained gasp or anything else I was just… it sent a nice little shiver up my spine that tickled my brain just right.

"A little. She was... one of the greatest Demonesses to ever live. You wouldn't understand just how much she did for the Clans, how impactful her reign was, and just how talented she was as an individual unless you met her. For starters, that forging technique that created a blade as uniquely powerful as that? She improved it, and she wasn't even a blacksmith!"

There was a lot of pride and smugness in her voice as she gave us even just that morsel, and when Mom heard that last part she perked up, her earlier intrigue into that subject coming back despite everything else.

"How?"

The hope that Mom was clearly holding wasn't going to be fulfilled as the older Demoness just let out a laugh and gave her a conspiratorial wink, not saying another word about it and making the Marquess that everyone seemed to fear... pout like a child.

Coughing, I grabbed both of their attention and brought us back around, even as I lifted a goblin off of the ground with my Falacata rammed through its chest, using the flailing green skinned monster to block a few attacks and letting it suffer in my place.

"I guess my real question would be whether or not the fabled Durukti would be... shocked by what has happened with the Clans or if she would be angry?"

Now Mom was back to secluding herself as she just sheltered herself emotionally, the tact and 'trainings' that I expected from a Noble being completely absent since I could read her like an open book.

"Durukti wasn't as Clan oriented as you would think; she valued the individual over the collective, weighing their worthiness against herself and how necessary they were. She pushed them to improve themselves for their own good before doing everything she could to mold that person into someone who improved the Clan."

It wasn't entirely an answer, though I was able to read between the lines and get what I needed... but she spelt it out for Mom who was still waiting for it to be vocalized; hearing Lilith say "What that means is she would be rather intrigued by you and your daughter, Chordeva, but she wasn't emotionally available like that. I think you'd like her though; she was much like Fenyras in how she showed her affection."