Salvos (A Monster Evolution LitRPG)

Chapter 656: Summoning Collars

656. Summoning Collars

***

His name was Hartia, and he was the Ruler of the Border. He was tasked with overseeing the Third Legion of the Expanse. It was his duty to ensure that no wild Demons leaked through into the Demon King’s Domain. His job was most difficult during the destruction of Revelation, with all the chaos that was unfurling throughout the Netherworld.

But just because Revelation was over, and Salvation had begun, didn’t mean that there was nothing for him to do. Even during the peace of Salvation, where there were no wandering wild Demons, save for the Primevals and Primordials who were able to overcome their instincts, Hartia was kept occupied. However, he wasn’t worried about fending off hordes of wild Demons at this point. Far from it.

Sure, a wild Primordial Demon could arrive at the Expanse. But if that happened, protocol dictated that he immediately fled. After all, there was no point in him trying to fight back. He would have been utterly slaughtered.

Anyway, this didn’t happen often— perhaps once every ten cycles or so— and only just recently, about six or seven cycles ago, did the border get attacked [The Great Agarus]. So there wasn’t much for Hartia to worry about, in terms of defending the Expanse during Salvation. But he was still kept busy because it was his duty to produce an army of powerful Demons for Regnorex.

So while there was no threat to the Demon King’s Domain, Hartia still kept the Third Legion busy. Particularly, what he liked to do was entertain himself. He laughed as he heard the crowd of Demons cheer, watching the black blood splatter on the ground.

A [Fiend] collapsed to the ground, headless. And huffing next to his corpse, knelt a bloodied [Djinn]. She roared in victory as cheers erupted around her.

It was a coliseum, of sorts. An arena that Hartia had built with his own magic. Some would assume it was earth magic, and that might even have been capable of more elemental manipulation, or even creation. After all, he was the one who helped expand the border of the Demon King’s Domain. But while manipulating the elements was certainly within his repertoire, his magic wasn’t elemental manipulation, let alone even creation.

It was space magic. He could rethread the very fabric of space around him. And because of his levels, he was also one of the Demon King’s premier advisors, especially in regards to tinkering with the summoning collars. Because of that, he was placed in charge of the Third Legion. So that the Demons under his command would have no hope of even trying to rebel against him.

“I have had enough of this!”

Hartia raised a brow, looking down into the coliseum as the [Djinn]— the victor of the last bout— roared. She raised her head and created a spear made out of lightning. The crowd stopped cheering as she shouted loud enough for everyone gathered here to hear.

“Are none of you tired of this? First, being forced to fight those endless swarms of wild Demons throughout Revelation? And now, being forced to battle each other for the sick entertainment of our supervisor?”

She placed a hand on her chest as electricity crackled across her body. Her teeth ground together, and she took a heavy step forward, her hulking figure seemingly growing in size as the blood staining her skin sizzled and evaporated.

Hartia remained unphased.

“We have been brought here against our own volition, but we were promised safety. We were told this is a sanctuary— that we would be protected as long as we worshiped the benevolent Demon King. But not once have I seen this so-called ‘King of Demonkind’ save a single one of us from death. Instead, he has forced us all into a slaughter again and again and again.”

The crowd stirred, hearing her speech. This was a rather large coliseum, with tens of thousands in attendance. But not all of the Third Legion was gathered here. However, most of those who were present seemed to resonate with her words.

Hartia closed his eyes as he heard a susurration sweep through the crowd.

“Idiots… they always try this, but they never learn their lesson…”

He shook his head, then looked back down to see a few other foolish Demons rising to their feet. They shouted in agreement with the [Djinn], rallying around her words. There were dozens of them at first, but their numbers were quickly growing. They began to conjure magic or raise their weapons as the Ruler of the Border flitted up from his seat.

“We will not stand for this any longer!”

The [Djinn] continued as she hurled the lighting spear at Hartia. He didn’t react. Not even to block the attack as it soared his way, and hundreds began to join her.

“We will no longer serve under the fraudulent Demon King! We will live for ourselves, not for anyone else! And we will fight for our freedom—”

She shouted as her words echoed like thunder. And the lightning spear reached him. But immediately dissipated as it struck an invisible barrier. The [Djinn] blinked, and the standing Demons froze. They all stared at Hartia as he gave them a disappointed look.

“What in the Demon King’s name made you think that would work?”

He asked, then flicked his hand. The [Djinn] recoiled as she opened her mouth.

“You—”

But she couldn’t finish what she was saying as her neck was instantly snapped. She collapsed to the ground, dead. And Hartia swept his gaze over the rest of the gathered Demons as they shrank back in fear.

However, one by one, all those who had stood up to oppose him began to fall, their necks all snapping in an instant. Hundreds of them fell to the ground, killed with a single wave of the Ruler of the Border’s hand, while the rest of them were forced to watch in horror.

“And that’s all of them.”

Hartia chuckled as he dusted his hands off, before addressing the rest of the onlookers in the coliseum.

“Now let that be a lesson to all of you— disobey me, and you die. Is that understood?”

They didn’t need to say anything in response to make it clear to the Ruler of the Border that this lesson had been burned into their soul. He smiled, then flitted back to his seat as he spoke dismissively.

“Now, bring on the next fighters.”

***

“Huh.”

I blinked as I eyed Hartia from atop a nearby mountain. He was incredibly tiny, but my enhanced perception allowed me to see everything happening within the coliseum. I turned to Haec who was grinding his teeth together at what he saw.

“Should we not have helped her?”

I asked, tilting my head. The former Heir of the Netherworld closed his eyes in response. He clearly looked unhappy. However, despite how he felt, he shook his head.

“There is nothing we could have done, Salvos. We couldn’t have saved any of them. Even if you jumped in right at that moment and attacked him, Hartia would have still been able to kill them all with the flick of his wrist.”

“But how? Was that a Skill?”

I narrowed my eyes back at my companion. He clenched a fist, looking down at where his summoning collar had once been.

“It’s not a Skill. Hartia’s not known for his combat abilities. He’s relatively weak, compared to other Primeval Demons at his level. Even some of the Deathsquad Hunter Captains, like Venas, are probably stronger than Hartia.”

Haec spoke as he glanced back at the two Deathsquad Hunters accompanying us. Aliq and Ultis shifted back uncomfortably at his gaze. He continued speaking, looking forward once again.

“But Hartia is a master of space magic, and because of that, not even the Deathsquad Hunters are able to oppose him.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. How does that work?”

I frowned, crossing my arms. Haec pursed his lips as he rubbed his wrist.

“It’s because of the summoning collars, Salvos.”

“The summoning collars?”

I repeated after my companion. He nodded gravely.

“They’re capable of much more than simply teleporting you through the planes, or tracking your location. They also come with what Regnorex calls a ‘kill-switch’.”

I placed a hand on my chin, nodding understandingly.

“And a kill-switch kills you, right? Just like that?”

I gestured at the corpses that were being dragged out of the coliseum. But Aliq was the one who replied.

“That’s a massive oversimplification of it. You can’t just create an artifact that instantly kills anyone who wears it. If that’s the case, you can use it against the likes of the Demon King to defeat him”

He snorted as he crossed his arms. I blinked a few times, looking back at the [Jinn]. He saw the way I was staring at him, then scoffed.

“What? I’ve thought it through a few times. Do you think I’m that loyal to Regnorex? I wouldn’t be helping you if I was…”

I didn’t expect that from him, and it seemed like neither did Haec. The former Heir of the Netherworld stared for a moment, before steeling himself. He turned to me once again.

“To even allow you to cross through the planes, the summoning collars permanently lock into your position in space at any given location, and are capable of manipulating that space at any given time. So what they did there was not physically twist the necks of those Demons to kill them. Instead, it twisted the space around their necks, forcing it to snap. And that’s not a feature that was initially built into the summoning collars, it was one which Hartia himself had added for the Demon King.”

Haec rose to his feet as he flexed a hand. He stared at his wrist, before looking back towards where Hartia was sitting.

“And because of that, Salvos, we are the only ones who can fight back against Hartia. No one else can help us in this battle.”

“That is going to be quite annoying, huh?”

I muttered under my breath. I eyed Hartia as he watched two new Demons step out into the arena before him, smiling sadistically at what he was about to see.

“His space magic is quite good. But it makes sense, because he’s a Fairy.”

I observed as I crossed my arms, trying to think of how I was going to defeat him. I looked on in silence for a minute, thinking that Haec was trying to formulate a plan with me. But when I glanced towards him, I saw that he was staring at me quizzically.

“What is it?”

I asked him curiously, and he bit his lower lip. He glanced back towards Aliq and Ultis who looked just as confused as he was. He turned to me and scratched the back of his head.

“Uh, Salvos, but Hartia is not a Fairy. He’s a Demon.”

“What do you mean by that?”

My brows snapped together as I looked back at my companion.

“Hartia is very clearly a Fairy.”

“No— he’s a Primeval Demon. One of the Demon King’s most trusted aides.”

Haec insisted, and Ultis piped up hesitantly behind him.

“T-that’s right. I’ve spoken to Hartia before, and he is a Demon.”

“What are you guys talking about?”

I stared back at them in confusion. I waved a hand dismissively, strumming at the fabric of space with the tip of my finger.

“He’s a Fairy. That’s why he can cast space magic so well. Like me. I mean— a Fairy is the one who taught me how to do this, after all.”

I created a small rift, before dismissing it. Haec exchanged a glance with both the Deathsquad Hunters, then turned back to me. He opened his mouth to say something, when I felt my [Angelic Premonition] blare in my head.

My gaze snapped to the side as my eyes went wide. And as I stared into the coliseum, a pair of eyes stared back at me. Hartia the Ruler of the Border was looking directly at me, having sensed the momentary distortion in space.

And I scratched my cheek.

“Uh-oh.”

Author's Notes:

What thonk?