C0:\SystemUser\EtErNaL>OperationStart.exe

C0:\OperationStart.exe\Anansi File\>Open Project

.242=rtax.file

.421=tzas.file

.024=tsad.file

.3fsf=wea.rasft.23f

.2234fsd=Access.Project

C0:\Access\>Project Soul World.exe

Starting Project (Y/N)

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Error: Project Soul World.exe can not be started\>%%a trying to reconnect

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Error: Project Soul World.exe can not be0š£*—žsžW¬\>auto-reconnect attempt

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.2314SSEf=estimated time for successfully reconnect to the main system: 3,0502443e+10:43:11,52

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Project Soul World.exe start complete.

<Welcome EtErNaL>

 

---

   

I looked at the two women lying on the ground in front of me. I don't know how they survived this long in a town where demons are hunted down simply for existing. Their scent is everywhere. 

The one on the top looks scared. Then she does something. I don't know what, but I can feel a tingling at the edge of my soul. Her eyes widen with shock and confusion. I can feel the tingling again and again and again.

"Whatever you're trying to do, please stop. It's annoying!"

She looks at me with disbelief. Ah, I think whatever she did should not have been traceable. Or rather, it shouldn't be detectable in the first place. Well, whatever. I'm not interested in what she attempted to do anyway. 

But what I'm interested in are their species. When I heard the rumor about husks, I immediately had ideas about which ones it could be. Still, it's kinda disappointing—I hoped for vampires.

What I got instead was a vetala and succubus. They all draining on someone, but everyone differently. They don't need to, but it's a great way to sustain yourself and gain power really fast. I love all of them...in a platonic way, of course! 

Vampires, like succubi, can feed on the life force of other creatures. Succubi can also nourish themselves through sexual intercourse and the emotions it releases. In fact, the same goes for every strong emotion other beings radiate; it's just not really tasty or 'nutritious.'

The vetala are a bit tricky. Some say they are like vampires, but I don't think so. This species often haunt battlefields, seeking new hosts. They inhabit the bodies of their victims, and if their body gets destroyed, they try to take over another one. Vetala are basically ghosts that feed on souls or their energy. After taking over a body, there is no need to sustain it further with 'food.' But like the other two, they gain power through it. The only problem is that eating souls always leave husks behind, and I don't mean these lifeless shells. 

Just for better understanding, there are husks and husk. The difference is that one is really just the shell of what used to be the being, and the other is an empty flesh suit that creates a kind of hive mind with the perpetrator and the other victims through a newly formed connection. These creatures are always connected to each other—that's why they're always called husks, even if there is only one in front of you. Same goes for their creators; their singular is also their plural.

Because of this hive mind shit, vetala are great for wars. On battlefields, they just hop from body to body, create mindless servants, and make you kill your own men. But if you want to be stealthy, then that's probably the worst way to hide oneself in a town. The point is, husks need to be activated, so you either hide their bodies or destroy them. Oh...I noticed that they are also suitable for sleeper cells, but yeah, only IF you hide them. But the one before did just left them to rot. You know, a necromancer, mage, priest, or anyone who has some more profound knowledge about magic can tell that the body is connected to something demonic—in most cases, a vetala. Leaving the bodies everywhere is like shouting, 'Hey, I'm here, please search for me and kill me!'. Only newborns are so stupid to...goddess, why?

I look at the still petrified women, "Now, what exactly do we have here?"

It looks like the succubus wants to say something, but somehow she can't. Mm, I mean yeah, when I first walked into the back alley, I emitted some of my aura—only a teeny tiny bit—to stop them from doing something stupid. It shouldn't have this effect. Did it get stronger? Nah, must be my imagination. 

The vetala looks like she is wetting herself every second now. Gosh, sorry, that wasn't what I had in mind. But you two are demons, one of the strongest races, so why are you so freaking weak?

I shook my head. I think I need to lower my expectations. Every single one I met or felt so far is incredibly fragile compared to me. I need to be more careful if I don't want my new garden to wither away before I've had time to look around.

I clap. Instantly, both women are freed. The succubus can no longer hold herself in her position and falls plumply down on the vetala. She squeals briefly but remains in place; also, she's breathing heavily, but I'm not sure if it's not just a remaining reflex for the vetala's body. 

"Now, we can talk," I say curtly.

 

---

 

I look at my antagonist, who lies on me. Not in a sexy way, but in an I-am-a-sack-of-sand-way. How can somebody, with such a slim body, be this heavy. Not that I can't understand it, I nearly wet myself—damn this immortal mortal's body! 

My mind still tries to grasp the overall situation, but dunno if this will lead anywhere. Everything is just so absurd. I had a perfect plan: get stronger, attract the succubus's attention, lure her in and subdue and seize her turf. She totally thought I didn't notice her demonic aura, yeah, the sudden attack and throat-grabbing came unexpected, but still, everything had been under control. Till something else entered the back alley.

I froze the moment I felt her. She released a kind of eldritch energy, so dark and destructive that I thought she was the abyss itself. As a vetala, I can perceive souls all the time without using any mana. I see them inside of any existing being that a soul can inherit. It's one of my unique species skills. 

But when I 'looked' at her, I saw a gigantic black mass, utterly broken. This soul wasn't complete; bits and pieces were torn out. How can anybody survive with...this?

"Oh my goddess, could you please stand up already? I don't have all...uhh...night," the monster said. I try to turn my head towards her, but my body still doesn't want to obey me.

"Sorry, still can't move..." I say and hope this wasn't my last words.

I hear an annoyed murmur, then a click of the tongue. But nothing else happens. Is she playing with us? I hope not!

"Very well. Too bad that I still can't teleport; otherwise, I would just take you two with me to a much more comfortable place."

Teleport? What is she talking about, everyone knows, that you can't do this in this town. That's the whole reason why the human empire isn't destroyed. Yet. 

"Oh, by the way, did you like my little illusion?" she asks.

"W-What do you mean?" I really don't like where this is going.

"...I was right about you being a newborn. Ahhh, bullying babies. This is not going to look good on my resume," said the girl with a slightly panicked voice.

Urg, I hate it when they call me a newborn. Sorry that I'm not so exceptional like my sister. 'Sorry, hun, but only your sister goes to the academy. We don't think you have talent. Just try to do something else or wait for a husband? Blah blah blah—more shit-talk about how bad I am in comparison to my sister—blah blah blah.' Of course, I'm far worse than her if you give this bitch of a sibling all the stuff one needs for learning everything and neglect your other daughter because she doesn't look as beautiful as her. Books, lessons, pocket money, clothes, friends—she got everything. And I? Nothing. Yeah, super fair. That's the reason why I ran away from this shithole of a family. Doesn't matter if we're nobles! I heard your fucking conversation about how you can marry me off to the highest bidder. So, don't blame me!

"Did I break you?" a voice pulls me back to reality.

"N-no, still here..."

"Good good. Now, lemme tell you something funny, and listen closely; maybe you can learn from it."

"O-okay."

"I know that vetala have a racial perk that gives you the ability to perceives souls in their purest form. Unfortunately for you, I can cloak my soul, hide it or create an illusion so that everyone who tries to take a peek sees what I want them to see. Till now—to my knowledge—nobody ever saw the true form of my soul. Usually, I would kill you for your insolence. Looking at one's soul without permission is utterly rude. Luckily for you, I've already vented my stress today...aaand I don't kill babies. 

Soo, don't be scared, okay little one? I'm neither going to harm you nor your friend here."

My mouth was agape. Dunno if it was from shock or the surprise of actually learning something that I'd never heard of before. Even my parents said that nobody can completely hide their souls, not against us. Maybe this is a chance, send by our goddess to finally achieve something and show my disgusting parents that I'm way better than my stuck-up sister.  

"Can you—" I started my pleading but got interrupted.       

"No. I'm no tutor. At least not a good one. I can help—both of you—but this comes with a price, or more like a favor. Quid pro quo, I hope you understand what I mean."

"Quid pro quo? N-No...sorry, never heard of it."

"Whaaaat?! Really? Haa, well, that's a newborn for ya. It means I do you a favor in return for something. In my case, information. Even if you're this young, the information you hold is still valuable for me. And the succubus on top of you is way older than you are, conclusion, even more information. What ya say? Deal or no deal?"

I fucking wanted to tell her that this lusty demon, who is still a sandbag, isn't my friend. But she's right; she is much older and has experienced more stuff. Maybe I'm still too naive, but I also want to finally achieve something in life. Additionally, I want to be someone who can announce her name with pride so that people look at me with awe and envy...

"Deal!" I shouted. 

"Hehehe~"

...oh, gosh.

 

---

 

Why? Why would you agree to these terms? Newborns are so...urg. Seriously, I don't trust her to only want information. I can't even appraise her.

Damn my body for collapsing after getting released from this eerie energy. But at least we survived, for now. 

But honestly, what kind of information does she want from us. Someone with this aura must be at least Rank B, maybe A. Can't they just basically go anywhere and get access to any information it wants? Why would she need two demons like us? This whole situation is way too strange for me to comprehend. 

What is she anyway? Never heard of a half-breed like her. Her mother's side must be obviously an elf. Female elves always give birth to offspring who inherit most of their traits if they mate with another race. But her other side must be a foxkin. And elves and foxkin hate each other; hence they don't crossbreed. And as far as I know, male foxes cannot impregnate female elves at all. So the only possible way would be a vixen. And two females getting children is a sacrilege in either of their cultures. I've never heard that somebody breaking the taboo in the last three hundred years. And even prior to that, all known children were hunted down and killed while their parents were burned at stake. This leaves two possibilities: she was insanely well hidden or is fricking old. But still, even with these two choices, something bothers me. Her teeth are weird for a vixen, but maybe her other mom is a unique breed—who knows?

There is too much at stake to back out now. Even if I don't trust her at all, she seems to be the best solution at the moment. Whatever her background truly is, she is powerful and could offer us good protection. Especially since the newborn has attracted too much attention, and there will surely be adventurers investigating this area soon. Maybe I can eventually achieve my goal and get revenge if I help her.

However, first of all, I need to get up. Bit by bit, my body recovers from the first impact of her aura. After another moment, I can finally move a little again. But it's enough to get up. 

On shaky legs, I look at our negotiating partner. She stares expressionless—her differently colored eyes boring into my soul.

I take a deep breath and declare, "Ok, let's talk business!"

 

---

 

Clap.Clap.Clap.

I only clapped mentally, don't wanna appear rude. It took way too long for her to regain somewhat of control over herself. At least now I can do what I came here to do—intel.

The question is, what should I ask first? Ah, that reminds me of something that would be relatively important to know. The occurrence that happened in the strange building seemed a bit odd to me. Moreover, it contradicted what I had heard before at the temple. All right, let's start with that and then move on to how to get a lot of gold quickly around here. 

 "Well, could we not call it business? It sounds way too stuck up...yeah, why don't we call it a friendly trade between new acquaintances. Let's do this. Okay? OK?!"

"Uhh, right. I'm fine with that," the succubus answered.

"Yessss..." I exclaimed—she gave me an irritated look. "Don't mind me, just happy about the situation. Anyways, there is one thing I wanna ask before we get to the main topic. On my way here, I saw an elf. At first, I thought she was a free woman, but as it turned out, she was a slave of a more than ugly human. From what I've heard, there is a treaty between the humans and the elves supposed to prevent just that. Why was she still bound to this human?"

"Ah, I don't mean to offend you, but you don't seem to have been in the human empire very long. Yes, the treaty exists, but only officially. Basically, it only applies to some of the more 'pure' elves, like the high and wood elves. The other less represented tribes are more or less still fair game, as long as the humans don't overdo it. In return, the other tribes that are not affected get a share of the proceeds from slaves of elven descent. I have even seen slave traders who were elves. They lured their own countrymen into a trap and sold them afterward. If you ask me, some of the elves are just as disgusting as the humans. Selling your own people like that is just sad, but what can you do. That's why you should keep an eye out. After all, your traits look exotic. If you travel around the empire a bit longer, sooner or later, you'll be attacked, or people will simply try to buy you."

I frowned. Who would have thought that the elves would fall so low? Sad what time has done to a race who once proclaimed itself the noblest. Pure decline of moral values. Since she just mentioned it...

"How do I look like to you?"

"Huh, how? Well, like a half-breed between an elf and a vixen. Am I right about that?"

Interesting that my characteristics are perceived that way. But well, you sometimes can't change how things are. Before I went into seclusion, there were no mixed-bloods, at least not the same way they are known today. The world really changed a lot. But never mind, I want to know where to get coins.

"Okay, let's get to the main topic. Where do I get gold as soon as possible? I don't care if it's illegal or not. I would prefer a place where I could sell and buy things without anyone asking too many questions. I hope you understand what I mean. Discretion is important to me." 

I skillfully ignoring her question.

"So changing the subject...okay, forget it. Well, if you want gold, I recommend one of the guilds, but the way you expressed yourself, I don't think you are registered in one of them. By the time you've done everything to be able to do worthwhile work in the first place to get gold quickly, too much time would have passed. Lemme think for a second...mhh. 

"Right! I heard earlier from an acquaintance that there's going to be a special happening today in the underground auction house of the Dark Trade Guild. As far as I know, they don't ask questions, and if you have something interesting to sell, you can sell the items you want in advance. You won't get the full amount of gold directly—only a part of it—but they take the risk that if the item doesn't fetch as much money at the auction as they gave you, you won't make a loss yourself. If it brings more, the auction house charges a fee for the sale, but you still make a profit. Basically, it's a win-win situation for you...that is if they are interested in your items. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen too often, as the illegal guild has excellent connections to many races.

"And luckily for you, I know where we have to go for that. I was there a long time ago, before...never mind. Anyhow, I can take you there. Though I can't enter the building because the wards deactivate my glamours, and unfortunately, I'm not very welcomed anymore. It's a long story. Hope that's all you wanted to know about for now."

I just nodded. It is impressive that even after such a long time, there are still illegal auction houses around that are so successful. Hehe, I think it's time to fill my pockets. But first.

"Thank you, that's all I need to know for now. I will reward you splendidly later. Even though our newborn hasn't contributed any information yet, I believe she will soon. 

"But before we go any further, I'd like to know your names. It is somewhat inappropriate in an environment where demons are hated and hunted to keep saying their species' names to address them. So please, would you be so kind as to tell me your names?"

The vetala answered first in a shy tone, "I-I'm called Tulsi."

I looked over at the lust demoness. "My name is Deidre."

Now they both looked at me expectantly. "My name is..."