The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 293: Spiritual Rewards

Chapter 293: Spiritual Rewards

The heron spirit continued to harass them through the window until well after sundown, when - thanks to Stella running point on distracting the night watch - they were able to steal off of the ship, with Kir flying Kordia across the waters of the lake as he followed the heron, which glowed light blue to his manasight.

Not wanting to repeat his experience of trying to walk through the spirit’s domain, Kir overflew the forest until he spotted the familiar, shallow lake, and the giant mink staring up at him with golden, glowing eyes.

He landed in the water about ten meters away from her, and discovered the "shallow" lake came up to his waist, but as soon as he let Kordia free, she was able to walk on the surface like it was no more than a centimeter deep...

Or was permitted to.

Looking around, Kir realized that subtle layers of mana were spread out into the waters, giving the lake spirit control over its surface tension, at the very least. It was clear that even a few weeks time hadn’t made her any fonder of Kir’s presence.

It was like she was telling him "If you’re going to be here, stay still."

"Child of Silver... you waited some time to answer my call. I was about to freeze your ship in place." A wave of amusement spread into the thought-speech, the lake spirit finding the notion immensely funny.

"I came as soon as I could, great spirit. I apologize that it had to be after dark."

"In dark times we met, in darkness we meet again. There is a rightness to this pattern, perhaps..." The lake spirit’s words came with a sense of flow. Returning to health seemed to have put her in a poetic mood. "... Silver does enjoy her nights."

The mink’s eyes narrowed at Kir for a moment, before returning to Kordia.

"Is everything alright, Great Spirit? Do your wounds still trouble you?"

"There was some corruption from the Fanged Eater, but I have rid myself of it." A small orb of sickly white mana stone about the size of an apple, with red veins running through it, floated out of the water to hover in front of Kordia. "Consider this my first gift. Do with it what you will. No doubt the Soul Eater you have brought with you craves it..." Another brief glare was leveled at Kir.

"His name is Kir. Why do you call him that?

"Names mean nothing to me, especially for those who change bodies as frequently as mortals. He is a false god. Born to the legacy of those who first cultivated my kind... including Silver. We found our homes to hide from them and their hunts, and when his kind disappeared from the skies, we rejoiced."

The emotions that came with the spirit’s explanation filled Kir with echoes of existential terror, centuries of wondering not if but when the harvest would come... And relief in finally having a sense of home. It also came with the sense of some massive figure, conveying these understandings to a young mink whose curiosity had brought her into the nest of a far greater being, one whose presence had blessed her shores for uncounted generations amongst the animals.

It was enough to make Kir feel small, and to sense the same resonant thoughts from Kiryu, which carried such a huge sense of regret it made Kir wonder if his other half knew that this would be part of the world he’d supposedly created.

"I didn’t supposedly create this world, I did. And I didn’t know a damn thing about things turning out like this..." Kiryu said. "I couldn’t do a damn thing either..." The sense of impotence echoed from his other half, and in response to Kir’s internal gaze, Kiryu continued, "So this is what it’s like to be a god... Setting things in motion only to watch it all fall apart on its own..."

"There’s nothing you could have done."

"Bullshit. If I was around, I could have done so much... I could have made sure there would never be living places called ’Heaven’ and ’Hell’. No royalty or tyrants or goddamn psyops..." His rant continued as Kordia pocketed the manastone, and suddenly the voice of the lake spirit cut into Kir’s mind.

"Silence your thoughts, Shatter-Soul." A strong sense of annoyance flowed out of the being. From behind, the heron pecked Kir in the shoulder, hard enough to leave a bruise.

Kir ignored the pain out of surprise. "You can hear us?" he thought loudly back.

"I hear only you and your incessant babbling. Be silent." The spirit mink growled as the heron pecked Kir on the same spot. "Or prove you care nothing for the Child of Silver."

The mink turned away from him to Kordia. "Your true reward, I grant on behalf of the Silver One as much as you. Thank you for looking after my child."

The spirit of the lake held out her paw, inviting a touch.

Kordia looked at Kir and then held out her hand, touching the massive pad at the center of the paw.

A blue light began to surround her, its color shifting and growing closer and closer to silver in color as the mink closed her eyes and concentrated.

"Grown your spirit has, from cub to vixen. From a balance of one to an imbalance of three... a tail for the body, and two for the soul... Child of Silver, I give you balance..."

A new tail began to grow amidst the cluster of three at Kordia’s back. "One for the mind, which conjures the body."

Kordia opened her eyes and mana-light shone from them, golden in color as he rims of her eyelids blackened, growing more foxlike.

"One for the body, which protects mind and soul..."

Kordia’s breathing sped up as her body started to change. Silvery fur sprouted around her, and her face lengthened to fox-like proportions, her lips turning black, all while a fifth tail began to grow into place. Her fingernails grew more clawlike, and her shoes slipped from her feet as they grew into short, digitigrade paws.

"Two for the mind, which controls the body..."

The mink’s concentration deepened, and Kir finally noticed the depth of mana around it had shifted down from deep purple to a much lighter blue. She was pouring mana into Kordia, but also guiding that mana, throughout her mind, body, and soul.

As a sixth tail grew, Kordia’s transformation reversed itself. Her body became more human once more, except that every hair was now a brilliant, slightly glowing silver, and her eyelids and lips remained black. The vertical slits of her pupils were even more pronounced, as was the liquid gold color of her eyes. Her aura now glowed a discreet sky blue, and remained so as the spirit of the lake withdrew its mana from her.

"Now you have balance, Child of Silver. Go forth until the time comes to return to her... It shall not be long."

Kordia was allowed to fall to her knees, and she was still catching her breath as she asked. "Why? What is happening to her?" Her speaking revealed even more pronounced, sharp teeth, at least towards the front. Then looked shocked as if... "I shouldn’t have been able to ask that..."

"I have removed the mark of her claws on your mind. You may now speak freely of your role. As to Silver, she has been dying for many seasons... Though why she would place her hope in a mortal like you, I cannot fathom. Perhaps she wishes to see the world through you, when you take her place." A sound almost like deep chuckling rippled from the lake spirit. "Perhaps another great change is upon the world... The skies have never burned so darkly."

Placing her forepaws into a lower position under her, the mink lay down her head. "Go now. I tire. Take the false god with you. Prevent his harms if you can."

Kir bristled a bit from the insult but kept his mouth and his mind shut.

Kordia rose to her feet and bowed deeply. The heron fluttered close before poking his head into the water and retrieving her shoes. They were utterly soaked, but nothing a little magic wouldn’t fix. She bowed to it as well, receiving one in turn, before walking up to Kir.

Finally, the magic in the water allowed him to rise to his feet.

"Are you alright?"

"I’ve... never felt better. But I have so many questions... and so much to tell you. I-"

"We should go, the spirit said to and I am obviously not welcome here."

As they flew back, Kordia held herself close to Kir. She seemed a bit heavier, not that he would ever tell her that.

"Kir... what if I told you that there’s a reason we can’t be together?" she asked as soon as the sounds of their flight evened out.

"Is this about replacing this Silver the spirit spoke of?"

"It is..."

"I’d offer to make things work, even if all I can do is visit you. And I’d accept your decision no matter what..." Even though it would break my heart...

"Even if I have to marry the prince of Gra’ Rhuel? It would be a marriage of convenience, one that would keep me close to the lands I would be tied to... even if no one else but us knows it yet."

Kir shrugged. "My answer is the same."

Kordia kissed him on the neck before returning her gaze to the moonslit waters.