The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 372: Entering Montmorency

Chapter 372: Entering Montmorency

Kordia hitched her backpack up higher as she and Kassin passed the gate of Montmorency.

Above that gate, a corpse had been strung up— the demon who’d volunteered to fly in Kir’s letter.

That had been two days ago. Now, Kordia was volunteering to scout ahead and hopefully find a sympathetic person who would deliver Kir’s request. She said a silent prayer for the dead messenger, willing herself not to join them.

Kassin had come along because, by his reasoning, Kordia shouldn’t go alone and he should protect her. Purely chivalrous nonsense, but she was guessing Kassin was mostly using chivalry as a front to mask his fear and jealousy of Kir, which seemed only more pronounced now that Kir was Duke.

In other words, he only felt safe with Kordia around.

As they walked the streets, it became clear that news of the march had come. Soldiers stood at every street corner, and she felt the tingle of the city’s defenses in the air as it drew on the local mana.

She let the feeling fade into the background as she cast about for a private place to set up. Kir had given her a device for long distance communication - something he and Moshui cooked up - but it was bulky enough that she’d needed a backpack to carry it, barring a debilitating expansion of her personal storage.

A few hundred measures into the city, she found the Adventurer’s Guild was occupied by Elevated. Further, a few angels were idly walking around the first market square she saw.

She was halfway through the city when she saw a place that seemed perfect.

Montmorency’s Cathedral of the Three.

The entrance was open, and there would be a way to go high up, which Kir recommended if the "quantum radio" didn’t work as intended, though he’d muttered about it being able to work from anywhere on the planet.

"Is this where Lapins lives?" Kassin asked as he almost bumped into her.

"This is a cathedral. Are there no temples to the Three in Gra’Rhuel?"

"There’s the Hundred Gods Hall, and I guess the Three are in there somewhere, but nothing like this. Well... unless you to to the Hallowed Mountain."

Kordia had never been to Gra’Rhuel’s capital, but she knew it would be like most places in the far west, which meant religion was something one went outside the cities for. Her family maintained a small shrine to the forest spirits by the lakeshore, and the Three had their temple on an island out in the lake.

The doors to the Cathedral were flanked by statues of Aidaeb the Creator and Eyko the Preserver, while an empty niche above the door held no embodiment for Shin Gir the Destroyer.

Inside, stained glass windows took the light coming in from outside and scattered it amidst the short benches. There were a half-dozen city folk scattered around, each praying in their own way. One was holding a book Kordia remembered from her childhood - The Record of Ten Thousand Years - which was a mythical account of the world since creation.

It was one of the first books her father taught her to read with, when she’d picked the biggest book in her family’s small library. The one in the worshiper’s hands was a much smaller volume divided from the rest.

At present, there was no priest on the stage, but some of the clergy were there tending to the incense pots and flowers. The statues of Eyko and Aidaeb had plenty of offerings at their feet, while someone had left a single tarnished silver coin in the empty sconce meant for Shin Gir.

Kordia made her way past it, looking for the confessional chambers.

Tradition held that one could confess sins in the evening, and that such confessions helped postpone the day of the apocalypse. Since the day was approaching noon, that meant the chamber Kordia entered with Kassin was empty.

As soon as the door was closed, Kordia placed her backpack on the bench and opened it, extracting the radio and following the procedure to assemble it. A non-magical crystal went into the center of the lightning-generating script, which required a small but constant output from Kordia to keep running. If she hadn’t seen it working, she would never have thought that such a device was possible.

She was about to empower it on when Kassin grabbed her wrist.

"Kordia... are you sure you want to do this?"

"What do you mean?" Kordia asked.

"We’re away from him... we could just go. This doesn’t have to be our fight." His eyes searched hers earnestly.

"The point of being here is so that it doesn’t become a fight," Kordia replied. "Why are you scared of him?"

"I’m not scared of him!" Kassin insisted. "It’s just... I mean he’s..."

"Half-demon?" Kordia ventured.

"He’s a Duke of Hell, Kordia! What will our parents think if they found out we were associating with a demonic ruler? The whole point of our marriage was to help withstand the Heavenswar against... people like him."

"Don’t you think I know that?" Kordia pulled her hand free. "I’m not abandoning him. Not as long as he’s trying to do the right thing." She took a breath, reigning in her emotions. "He’s not a monster, Kassin."

"Kordia, he ate someone. Right in front of you!"

"He did it to save us. You included. Nothing I did could even hurt Kainur..." she remembered the fear she felt, sensing Kir’s mana becoming like that of the demon he’d killed. "I know him, Kassin. As long as he’s the Kir I love... I promised to always have a place in my life for him." She planted her hand on the empowerment circle, and in manasight it began to glow.

After a moment, Kir’s concerned voice echoed into the room. "Kordia, are you alright? Did you make it into the city?"

"We’re in the city," she said, wincing a bit at the volume. "One moment, I forgot to put up a sound blocker."

She took her hand off and worked a spell for privacy over the room, then put her hand back on the radio. The fact that it was working while the city defenses would have at the very least prevented scrying meant that it worked on principles Kordia couldn’t even begin to guess at. Moshui had absorbed it like a sponge, even with Kir smoking up a storm inside the tent. But the explanations had gone over her head. Something not magical, and yet working just like magic... powered by magic becoming something else...

"Are you there?" she asked.

"Still here," Kir replied, and then a voice from near him spoke.

"Is this some sort of trick?" It sounded like Char. "How is she communicating from within the city?"

"It’s not magic," Kir said. "I can explain it later." He cleared his throat. "Kordia, I’m glad it’s working. Are you and Kassin able to get a hotel room or something?"

They had the gold for it, but Kordia had hoped to get in and out of the city.

"We haven’t tried yet. I wanted to make sure you knew we were safe."

The plan was for them to check in daily. If they didn’t, Kir would come to the rescue after the next dawn. And with how strong he was now...

"Think of the potential... a single demon could report on the movements of an entire city..." Char spoke in the background. "And the ease of making of it... we could issue orders instantly without the need for mages-"

"Could you two talk somewhere else?" Kir asked. "Moshui, please..." The rest became indistinct before Kir returned. "I’m keeping us on the road and avoiding major cities. If all goes well, we should arrive in two weeks."

"Kir... there are angels here. Everywhere. I don’t think Heaven will let you pass, even if the King is willing."

"I believe in you, Kordia. At least make sure my message is received... I don’t want a war, but I will protect everyone... From Heaven, if need be."

She knew he could... but there was more to fighting than raw strength. Her victory over Zazel had shown her as much.

"We’ll get a hotel room soon and see what things are like in the city. Hopefully, it won’t be long until we find a way to deliver your message," Kordia replied.

"Thank you," Kir said. "Both of you stay safe, and I’ll see you soon."

Their talk ended, Kordia removed her hand and plucked the crystal from its spot, before disassembling the assembly and stowing it in her bag.

She looked up at Kassin, who, judging by the bent of his ears, was sulking, "We should go."

"Fine," he said.

They left the confessionals and entered the great hall, and were almost to the door when they spotted a large assembly of people walking up the steps.

One was a green-winged angel, with a narrow, surly face and a seemingly perpetual sneer. "It’s big, I’ll grant that. But does it even have running water?"

"Everywhere has running water, Executioner Jassiel," a woman replied. And it was then that Kordia realized the woman was Lapins. Wearing a dress.

Before she could think to get out of the way, Lapins looked up.

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