Located on the far end of the academy's premises was a lab that was constructed for Melissa Frin's personal use. She's a contributor to the academy so this wasn't something given freely but rather built so that she can work on her experiments to aid the academy. It was a small lab that only had one floor but the magic happens underground, where she built a basement floor that was three times the size of the lab aboveground. This is hidden behind a secure magic door locked with a spell she handcrafted herself so no one but her has the access spell.
Gathered in this basement laboratory was Rosemary von Rynald and Melissa Frin, two old friends who recently connected again after the latter sought help from the former.
"—Did the spell work?" Rosalyn asked Melissa who was hunched over at her desk, clutching her hair. Both of their hair was disheveled and there was a smell of unladylike sweat drifting that could choke outsiders. There were two sleeping bags nearby and cartons and dirty plates stacked on the floor.
The subject in question was a small creature with a sharp nose, small arms with sharp claws and a pair of wings. Its eyes appeared to be dazed and it only moaned. The creature was locked in a small cage in the middle of the lab.
"—I don't know. What does the scanner say about the brainwaves? Did you notice any change?" Melissa turned around, holding back a yawn.
"Not really…" she checked again and compared it to a hologram print she took of the creature's scan before they use a brainwash spell, "…Do you think we fried its brain?"
"Let me check." Melissa stood up with difficulty and approached the small cage. She took out a small pocket knife, unfolded the blade and… stabbed the creature in its side.
"GYAAAAACK!!!!!" it crashed against the cage and flailed against it, screaming incoherently.
"Its pain receptors are working so the brain is working okay." Melissa observed, "Since it didn't respond aggressively when I stuck my hand inside the cage, that's a sign that it should be fine to let it out."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." After saying so, she unlocked the cage and pulled the mindless creature by the collar around its neck. Normally it would attack humans but this particular one's brain was hit with so much mana that it lost any aggression is naturally had towards humans, "I'll get ready to do the Clairvoyance and Brain Command while you start up the portal."
Their goal on this fine day was to use this creature—an Imp Melissa caught a while ago—to go into the demon world. She read about the fascinating things one can find there in a journal she managed to recover using various methods, a journal by humans from the past who went into the demon world back during the Demon-Human War, where demon portals appeared almost everywhere in the world.
According to this journal, Imps have no natural predator and are more like helpers that help with bio-waste trash and parasites that larger demons can't get rid of on their own. The way she sees it, taking over this Imp's mind and sending it over to the demon world, will allow her to discover very interesting things.
There's a low chance it will aid her research at a Tower Mage or even help win the right-hand seat of Freya York but she was more interested in fulfilling her curiosity than anything else.
Basically, the Imp gets put under a brainwashing spell that robs it of its own will, making it a mindless slave. Melissa then applies a second brainwashing spell on top of that that allows her to both see what the Imp sees and issue it commands. It's not full control since there's a chance the Imp might resist subconsciously but it's enough for her to tell it to go places and look through stuff she might be interested in.
While she read that the Imps don't have natural enemies, there's still a chance it could be killed for going into territory it shouldn't go to so backups will be required for her to conduct her research without any hiccups.
"The portal is ready." Rosalyn told Melissa.
How did they manage to create a portal to the demon world so easy, one might ask.
The answer to this is simple: killing demons and gathering their corpses in one place then manipulating that energy to react in a way that a portal can form. But in this instance, they forced the Imp to lay eggs during its capture. Luckily it was a female otherwise they would've needed to buy a lot of slaves which would've been a tedious method of creating these portals. Success isn't always guaranteed with the alternative so they were grateful they had a female on hand.
According to the journal, the way to create portals varies but there are two surefire ways:
1. Gather a certain number of demons in one place and kill them all, which will make the energy within their bodies leak out and form a portal.
2. Do the same thing as the first step but before killing the human slaves or animals, place specific magic curses on them.
The aforementioned curses are mutations that turns the humans or animals into "demon-like" beings that attain demon natures. But as mentioned before, this method has a higher chance of failure and the reason for this is unclear so when you choose to do this method, you might need to commit a genocide just to make sure there is a higher chance of success.
Of course, causing a mass slaughter is bound to attract attention.
To avoid attracting this attention and getting charged by the Imperial Court, Melissa and Rosalyn use semen from a male Imp to impregnate the Imp that they have and left it to lay eggs and take care of them. The gestation period apparently lasts only a month so Melissa waited a week before she began her plan.
The first step was brainwashing the Imp to make sure she can use mind control. The second step is killing the imp-lings in the eggs.
Within minutes, dark energy began to drift in the lab. Rosalyn placed a scroll on an empty table and drew a magic circle on it. Immediately, all the dark energy was pulled toward the scroll and hvered above it in a circular motion.
"It might take a while before the portal is ready." Melissa took off her glasses and turned her chair to face the silent Rosalyn, "Something on your mind?"
"…Do you think we might be able to mine some ores on the other side that can make us rich?"
"Before we think of making money off this, we need to make sure it's safe to bring that stuff over here first. We're not even sure if there is anything valuable over there that humans can use."
"But you're still interested in that world…?"
"What, did you assume money was my endgoal? I may have been kicked out by my family and left with nothing after graduation because they found out what kind of experiments I was involved with… but that doesn't mean I don't live a comfortable life as a professor. In fact, being a professor at Ardark Academy is the second highest paying job in this capital, right after imperial knights. I own a mansion that I could pay off in three years with that income—what need do I have of riches? So, to answer your doubts, my friend. No, I do not do this for money, but merely the thrill of discovering something new. That's human curiosity that I have no control over."
"…."
"Is this about your family? I asked you beforehand if you will choose to leave the brothel business to your incompetent father or take it over yourself. The latter option would've left me to do this plan on my own." Melissa stood up and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, "I'm sure we will find something that will make us rich. But for now, let's focus on studying that unknown world."
The scroll that was opened on the table suddenly glowed and a moment later, the energy stabilized and a small portal appeared above it. The portal was a dark blue with black energy swirling at its edges. Even though it was a gentle twisting portal, it radiated an ominous essence.
"The spell is done." Melissa ran towards a peculiar chair that had a bunch of wires hanging loosely on the seat, "Quickly, get the Imp through the portal while I activate the Clairvoyance!"
Melissa chanted a spell, instantly making the wires on the chair float then slowly connect to her head. There were small balls of energy connected to each end, which lodged to her head.
Rosalyn took off the dazed creature's collar and guided it to the portal.
The portal was a bit small for the two women to go through but the Imp is the right size for the going through.
"I have a connection." Melissa's voice came from the Imp. Looking over, Rosalyn noticed that Melissa's body was limp, "I lost control of my body but I can't focus on that right now. My full focus needs to remain on the Imp. Please make sure I don't fall over in the chair because that will break my connection early."
"I got it."
Rosalyn carefully lifted the Imp and pushed it through the portal gently without placing her hand near the energy.
Without issue, the Imp fell through and Melissa's voice came from the bracelet around Rosalyn's wrist:
-"I made it through. I was expecting a wasteland but there are a lot of trees around me. They're weird trees through, like red barks with black leaves. The whole world is painted in red as well."-
"While we know that the Imp has no natural predators, it's best you don't wander too close to other Imps unless they show no hostility."
-"How can I tell they're friendly again?"
"They will roll back their lips and show their teeth while laughing. If you hear a screech, don't be alarmed—it's just a form of greeting."
-"Ah, right, right. I'll contact you again when there's trouble or I when I find something interesting. This is embarrassing to talk about but if my body ends up peeing and excreting by itself, just use a spell to clean me up. And please close my mouth before a fly goes in there. I'll handle the rest later."
"…Okay?" the bracelet went silent. It seems Melissa really did lose control of her body…
Can she even feel pain while under that spell? Rosalyn wasn't that knowledgeable in "mind control and transfer".
She suddenly remembered that Melissa asked her to make sure her body doesn't fall. She quickly approached the chair and noticed how sluggish Melissa was sitting, even with her legs spread open which was very unladylike. Rosalyn gently pushed her further into the chair and made her sit up straighter.
Melissa's scent tickled her nose. It was a strong smell coming from her whole upper body—between her exposed cleavage, her armpits and her neck. The two of them haven't washed in quite a while, only clean their hands to avoid contamination so there was a peculiar scent in the air.
Rosalyn never paid attention to her friend's scent since she's used to various smells, including the most disgusting smells a human being can produce, given her years of taboo experimentation which used live "guinea pigs".
The smell of an adult woman was way different and could only be distinctly analyzed when near her body.
"…" Rosalyn gulped when she noticed how exposed Melissa's cleavage was in this position. She was only wearing a white vest that was barely enough to contain her breasts with no bra.
Slowly, with hesitation, her hand grabbed Melissa's vest and slowly lifted it.
Her bare heavy breasts were unleashed, releasing a cloud of warm air that assaulted Rosalyn's five senses. From the sight of those two beautiful sacks and the smell that radiated in the air, she instantly became wet.
Rosalyn has been in relationships with both men and women so she's definitely aware of the attractiveness of the female body. But with all her attention on her family and work, she wasn't able to further "experiment" relationships. Of course, she's gone all the way in the past and knew the pleasures of sex. She even thirsts for it.
"My family is a mess, my experiments are going nowhere, my sister became a whore and runner out of necessity… and here I am thinking of molesting my helpless friend."
While she used to gouge people's eyes out during her experiments, even she had a conscience. Melissa called her precisely because she trusts Rosalyn and knew the two of them could perform miracles together. Trying to take advantage of that same friend right now makes her nothing but a shameless, horny scumbag.
After covering Melissa up, Rosalyn stepped outside and took out a cigarette. She lit it and took deep puffs.
"…I need to find the nearest virgin and make him fuck me. This school should be filled with those innocent nerds." A bright flash of light that shot through the clouds made her drop her burning cigarette out of surprise, "What the hell?"
Even from this distance, she could tell that those were magic circles stacked on top of each other. While there is no limit to how many times a magician can use multiplication, what limits one's ability to make an infinite amount is the amount of magic control and mana necessary for the task.
The amount of multiplication circles in the sky made her stare blankly.
There's no way a single person created that… Just no way… Sure, Freya York could achieve a similar feat but she rarely visits the academy.
'I need to know who that is!'
…Rosalyn bolted off without realizing that she forgot that her job was guarding the portal. But the door to the basement floor was locked so she thought to herself there was nothing to worry about. When she sees such a powerful display of magic, she can't help but get excited. There's no way she's miss out on seeing it in action,
Back in the lab, within the portal, two hands emerged. These hands were pale white with long black claws on all four fingers. Upon coming out further, a pale white creature emerged, purple veins all over its smooth body.
It twisted its upper body clockwise and gripped the table, then bent all the way over before landing on the floor then twisted its body back into places. It looked humanoid but had no face except for a big mouth filled with huge razor teeth, drool constantly leaking down its mouth.
"Urakur suramuk fortasek." Its throat—yes, the throat—vibrated and a voice came out from its mouth but the mouth itself did not move, just leak drool.
"Yes, I smell it too, my dear companion." A black smoke shot out of the portal, manifesting into a humanoid wearing a hood that had a black mist at the bottom. This second figure's eyes were hidden but its mouth was visible, filled with wrinkles and with dried chapped lips. It had the voice of an old man but radiated the presence unlike one.
The white, faceless creature smiled.
"I wonder if the others have also appeared in this world—" the black figure stared at the small portal.
'Strange, we were about to open our own portal to this world, but this one just appeared near us. Oh dear, did we have those humans kill their neighbors for nothing?' The black figure chuckled inwardly as if it wasn't a big deal, 'I suppose this is just a very welcome coincidence.'
He looked around the room, noticing familiar magic circles hugging the walls—anti-detection magic. And the kind that can block magic detection of any kind.
To avoid alerting the strongest nuisances in this empire, they were planning to teleport to an outskirt village—one where a mass slaughter took place according to rumors. It was far from the capital's walls so there was zero chance of being attacked the moment the two of them exited a portal.
The ritual to create a portal is usually very difficult for ordinary humans so they've been struggling to come over to this world. This means that half a dozen times, they caused humans to slaughter their villages for no reason other than achieving a successful transfer to this world. Probability was not in their favor since fate itself cannot be controlled.
"Lokt Urat!" the white creature pointed at the slumbering beauty near the portal.
"No, you cannot eat the human. Doing so will draw suspicion. There will be plenty time to do that once we find the hero Lord Watcher spoke of."
The Monarch Watcher is an extremely powerful mage who used foresight that drained his mana and most of his life-force until he was bedridden. But this spell bore fruit this time since he had a vision that proved to be reliable—
The next hero will be born today. Or more like it becomes clear who he is since he showed his power today.
Arsnoria sent several of her most powerful Greater Demons to this side to kill this Hero. But it would be impossible for them to do so right away since they need to find out the hero's weaknesses. It's clear that his legendary "Golden Aura" will instantly kill them so until they find out how to get rid of him, it would be best to life low but stick close to him.
With the powerful magic items the Watcher gave them, no human can detect them even while they live amongst the humans. It took a lot of trial and error but—
"RAHHH!" the white creature interrupted the black figure's train of thought. Its mouth was gaping so much that it could swallow the woman whole. Its rancid saliva pooled beneath its feet.
"Do you want to die quickly by the Hero's hands?"
"Grrrr! Runakerrr!"
"Yes, yes. Your eldest sibling promised you a belly filled with delicious humans. But." The black figure conjured a staff and pointed it at the creature, "That comes after we kill the Hero and ensure Her Majesty's rule over the two worlds is secured. Or do you want to disrupt order and be taken back a corpse?"
The white creature growled but kept its distance from the sleeping woman.
'This wild dog is starting to get on my nerves. Why did Her Majesty allow such a thing to travel with me?'
It's incredibly powerful and can be used as a meatshield but it's just a mindless puppet that can only follow orders from its eldest sibling. Only threats seem to work if it's someone else giving it orders.
For a stupid brute, it definitely knew its superiors well.
'I wonder if this thing's sibling brainwashed Her Majesty to go along with its plan. I cannot see her willingly side with mindless apes.'
His name is Radius Vortrek, a greater demon in service to Her Majesty the Demon King, Arsnoria Vlur Daemon. He has served the Demon Kings for thousands of years and due to his loyalty to their cause and great deeds, he was given a high position in the Demon Army, a sign that the Demon King trusts and respects him.
Today, he was sent here to prove himself to his king yet again. He is by no means weak so that is not the reason why there are more demons that came to this world as well. In fact, during the war, he fought an ancient dragon by the name of Tyrgavion and held his own against it. Their duel ended in a draw but his battle with the powerful dragon was enough to receive the praise from his kin.
The only individuals who could pose a threat to him—excluding the Dragon Lords—would be that Freya York fellow and the swordsman who fought the Dragon God in the past. The rest are just weaklings. While he had no knowledge of the Great Nobles, even they wouldn't be a match to him.
Yes, there should be no one in this empire that could pose a threat to the pair that just arrived in this world.
Without a worry in his decaying heart, he wrapped himself and the creature in black mist and the two escaped the lab through a vent in gaseous form.