Mara stepped into the office, wondering what her boss wanted to see her for. She was about to get some serious advantage over the Norn goddesses before being called back to Nifelheim. "Morning, Boss." She greeted with a fake smile on her face.
Hild, a beautiful demoness that ruled everything that concerned demons, looked at Mara with a smile. "Thank you for coming, Mara. I know you were about to make a great move against the goddesses."
Mara nodded to that, not surprised that Hild knew about her activities. "Why call me then? It must be something big."
Hild smiled a little and leaned back on her chair. "A new demon has joined our ranks. I need someone to train him."
Mara stared at her boss in disbelief. "You want me to train a newbie? And for that you called me back from Midgard?"
Hild ignored Mara's impertinence and turned to regard a dossier on the new demon. She then handed it down to Mara. "A mortal was killed nearly two years ago. While he wasn't really evil the system sent him down here because of the amount of chaos his actions indirectly caused."
Mara was starting to get annoyed with the roundabout way Hild was explaining things. "So?" She knew she was pushing her luck, annoying the boss was bad, but she couldn't help it.
Thankfully Hild didn't make an issue of it and continued. "This mortal has spent the entire time in the ninth pouch. Today we both go to make an offer to him."
That got Mara's attention. "Ninth pouch? What did the guy do? And why promote a soul that isn't really evil?"
Hild smiled enigmatically.
---
The demon attacked with its massive sword, yet found his efforts useless as the puny human swatted it aside pushing the flat of the blade. It roared in pain as the human continued to decimate it. Unlike countless other times before, dating back to nearly two years, the human would win.
---
Mara blinked her eyes in surprise as they approached the stands overlooking the large arena that was the Ninth Pouch. There was an audience already there. Demons of all categories. Even some First Class like her. Succubae, Daemons, Youma. All intently looking at the spectacle. "What the…?"
Hild laughed. "Let us see the show, Mara-chan."
When they arrived Mara gasped and her jaw literally hit the floor. A human soul was fighting against the demon of the pouch. Not an uncommon occurrence, except for the fact that the human was actually winning. "Impossible!"
Hild stared at the soul with a smile on her face. Not a nice smile. "Not at all impossible, Mara-chan. The one you see is our newest addition to the family."
"You mean he's actually using the demon powers you granted him?"
"None whatsoever."
"But that can't be!!!" Mara protested and turned to see the human forcing the demon back with repeated punches to the chest. "There's enchantments there, strong ones, to prevent the souls from defending themselves against the demon. Much less be strong enough to defeat him."
Hild nodded. "You are correct."
"Then why?"
"This human died under special circumstances. He was betrayed by those closest to his heart. While that's not uncommon, his fighting prowess is. He accomplished many things during his life."
"That still doesn't explain why he's beating the demon." Mara said as the human ripped off the demon's arm and bashed his skull with it savagely. Even some of the First Class demons were wincing at the brutal fight. While both were beaten horribly, the human was in no way unscathed, the young man had a clear advantage.
"I'm getting to that. Patience, my dear Mara." Hild said with a smirk. "This boy, as I said, was betrayed and murdered. Honorable to the extreme, he didn't expect for his closest ones to go against him. A martial artist, one of the very best, he thought he was invincible and could outfight any foe."
Mara nodded in understanding. She knew the type, and they were usually the ones that died at a younger age. The few that didn't were dangerous indeed, though.
Hild continued talking after giving time for Mara to assimilate what was said. "As he was dying in a pool of his own blood he swore revenge on those that betrayed him, only to hear their mocking laughter."
Mara smiled. "Very dark emotions."
Hild returned the smile of satisfaction. "Indeed. And those very same emotions are the reason why today he is granted full demon status. His anger, desire for revenge and determination are the only things keeping him unbroken and combative. Without those feelings, coupled with his fighting skills, he would be like any other soul. Suffering and wishing for it to end." She pointed at the arena. "For 22 months he has been running in the opposite direction as everybody else, fighting the demon with all his negative emotions burning like the Sun. He's even learned to use the same source of power we demons do, all on his own."
Mara snapped to the side to regard Hild. "That shouldn't be possible. No human, dead or alive, can channel it!"
Hild nodded. "There is an exception, though. Jusenkyo was created by a demon. Those cursed by its waters have the potential to learn to channel it. In his constant fights with the demon he has learned how to channel it together with his chi."
Mara shuddered and turned to see the human finally defeat his opponent. She couldn't help but wince when he snapped the beast's neck and then ripped the head off. He bellowed as the blood of the demon showered his injured body.
Many of the demons watching, Hild included, applauded the display. Mara had to wonder if the ascension to demonhood was a secret at all, since it seemed like she was the only one that was just now finding out about it. *Damn it! Too much time in Midgard.* "So what now?"
Hild smiled. "Now we go talk to him. When he accepts being a demon you will train him in Midgard."
Mara looked at Hild questioningly. "You're placing me as a babysitter in Midgard?"
Hild smiled enigmatically again.
---
When the door closed behind him he finally blinked a couple of times, noticing he wasn't alone in the room. He was in the presence of two demons. Two very beautiful demons. "Ranma Saotome." The one sitting behind the desk said neutrally, while the other one was standing silently to the side.
"What do you want?" Ranma asked flippantly.
Mara's eyes widened in shock at the way Ranma addressed the lord of Nifelheim, while Hild simply smiled. "From what I know of you I can tell you don't like beating around the bush. I'll be forward with you."
Ranma was still unimpressed. While he knew he was probably with some very strong demons he didn't care. Being dead and fighting a demon for so long had really made him aggressive and unthinking. Much more than ever before.
Hild continued, unperturbed by Ranma's attitude. "You just defeated the demon of the Ninth Pouch. This has never happened before." She smiled. "Therefore you've earned a place amongst the ranks of us demons."
Ranma snorted. "Not interested."
If Mara was shocked before now she was completely baffled. Was Ranma rejecting a chance to get away from the suffering?!
"Might I ask why not?"
"Not interested in no power-ups lady."
Hild nodded. "I understand that. Will you at least allow me to explain?"
Ranma crossed his arms over his chest and snorted again. "I'm listening."
Hild smiled even more. She had him now. "While it is true that granting demon status can be seen as granting power, it is a power you already posses after defeating the demon. In fighting against him you've learned how to harness the power of us demons and applied it to your fighting, pretty much the same way warrior demons do. The potential to use it was already there thanks to Jusenkyo, yet you and only you were the one to learn how to use it. What is being offered here is the chance to make it official and have you in our lines."
Ranma looked away. "I ain't destroying Earth, lady."
"Of course not! We demons have no desire to destroy Midgard either." Hild explained and continued when Ranma turned to look at her curiously. "While it is true we demons thrive on negative emotions such as fear and hate, we don't want to destroy all. In fact we provide humanity with growth. I'm sure you understand, with the life you lead, that humanity grows and gets stronger through adversity. We demons provide that. The ones not strong enough to handle it, are destroyed."
"Like me." Ranma said tightly.
Hild laughed, eliciting a weird look from Mara and a frown from Ranma. "Not at all. While it is true that your mortal body died your spirit remained strong. Instead of being destroyed by the experienced you've grasped at what we demons use to power ourselves with. I'm glad you brought your death up, though. I'm going to make you an offer you won't be able refuse."
Ranma raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening." So far Hild had been direct and to the point, like she said, and she wasn't giving him anything for free.
"I will give you the chance to get your revenge, with the proviso that you work for Nifelheim. What do you say to that? In exchange for a new life and a chance to settle the score you'll work for us."
"For eternity." Those were two words Ranma heard a lot since coming down here.
Hild nodded. "For eternity. A fair price for what I offer, wouldn't you agree. As I told you, I won't insult you by giving you things for free." She turned to the side. "Mara here will train you to use the demon powers you have yet to learn."
"What if I refuse?"
"Then you will be sent to another Circle of Hell."
Ranma thought about it for a moment and nodded. "Okay. What do I hafta do?"
Hild smiled.
Ranma and Mara stepped out of Hild's office, with Ranma sporting the new markings signifying he was a demon.
"Second Class, Limited." Mara said. "You're starting pretty high up in the food chain."
"Whatever." Ranma said in a bored tone of voice, not understanding the meaning of his ranking. "What do we have to do before going back to Nerima? I have a bone to pick with some people." His eyes flashed dangerously.
Mara smirked. "Eager, are you? We still have to see a couple of things." She then opened up her terminal, which looked to Ranma like a holographic computer, and typed furiously. "Let's see. You're Ranma. Demon Second Class, Limited. Your license allows you full access to Midgard. Your secondary source of power is…"
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(Posted Wed, 19 May 2004 07:05)
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