Chapter 39

**Merianna**


As it turned out, all the documents that Sirus had brought back were a bust. Well, only in terms of the information we were actually looking for. Nothing contained mentions of the old deities, nothing related to the warlocks of the time, nothing containing mentions of summoning or sealing magic either. There was, however, plenty of information on things that would make someone like Raska and Ara salivate at the mere possibilities that the information could give them.

It made me incredibly thankful that they weren’t able to read these papers in the first place. The possibilities of chaos would have been endless where the two of them were concerned.

I peeked over the rim of my last book to glance at Noch. He was done with his side of the documents, and clearly unhappy. He was practically glaring holes into the piles of leather, parchment and bindings. If he stared at them that intensely for any longer, they might just spontaneously combust. Poor Sirus would get a heart attack if that were ever to happen.

“I assume your side came up empty as well?” I asked as I set my last book down on its relevant pile.

Noch turned his piercing glare my way. Not like his glares ever had any effect on me since the day Nelia and I arrived at the Order. “I don’t like it.” He muttered darkly.
“Whether you like it or not is obviously irrelevant given the current circumstances. Moving on quickly and getting answers is the only way forward.” I grinned back.
“Since when have you ever been such a ball of optimism?” If his mood got any gloomier the room might just physically dim in brightness.

I pretended to give his question some serious thought. “Hmm, since now?”

“You’re not cute at all.”

“You aren’t cute either. In fact you resemble a shadowman right now more than a living human.”

Noch huffed. “I might as well be. I feel dead enough.”

“Dead and full of resentment towards the living?”

“Nah, why would I ever bother staying behind for a silly reason like that. I’ll obviously take my revenge before I peg.”

“Sometimes it can’t be helped though, physical bodies are fickle after all.”

“That might be so, but I’d still make sure to take the one I have a grudge against along with me to the otherworld, have my fun with their soul there, then come back alone to be reincarnated again.”

Well… he wasn’t wrong, that was most definitely possible if you knew your way around death and rebirth. And Noch has been through that more than enough times to make his statement a fact. Actually, now that I thought about it, I would be able to do the same as well with all the memories I’ve regained now.

“Touchè, I must admit, that does sound a lot more satisfying than just haunting them from beyond.”

“Exactly!” He said with a grin.

“The Council doesn’t fit into that category though.”

“I DON’T CARE! I HATE THEM! I DON’T WANT TO GO! I’D RATHER ROAST THEM OVER A PIRE THAN SPEAK TO THEM!” He yelled so suddenly that he made Sirus, who was busy storing books into a nearby shelf, jump and drop everything he was holding.

I knew where Noch was coming from, but things weren’t exactly so simply categorized anymore. He could hate them all he wanted, but that didn’t change the fact that they probably had what we were looking for in their vaults and archives. And if there was anyone they would be willing to give access to those sections to, it would be Noch before it was me or Thyrion. Well … after everything he told me, I wondered if it would still be like that.

“Why is it that you can act more like a child than an actual child?” I deadpanned.

“It’s a rare skill that allows me to get away with many things.” He answered like it was something to be proud of.

“Sometimes I wonder how on earth the Order managed to function as well as it did for as long as it did.”

“That, Demon Spawn, is a mystery that shall forever remain a conundrum.” Sometimes trying to understand his train of thought was about as mind numbing as unraveling a complex barrier. Although I had a sneaky suspicion that the ‘mystery’ he was referring to was called Fog.

Heaving a heavy sigh I glanced over to where Thyrion was occupying himself with some materials as well. It was surprising to see the amount of new books Sirus had brought in since I died. Even I was itching to have a look at the new materials he had added.

“Well you don’t have to speak to them directly. Thyrion and I can do the talking while you just need to be there. It’s obvious that they’d be more likely to give us access if you are there as well.”

His pout was really starting to irk me. It made me start to think of ways to kidnap him and drag him along against his will. With my new memories at my disposal I knew that I would actually be able to pull it off this time. The only worry was if my body would be able to keep up with the tricks right now.

Strangely enough, it looked like he read my mind and also came to the same conclusion.

“I seriously don’t like the thought of going there and playing nice, but as you said, our best bet at gaining the information we need will be there.” He grumbled while rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m glad that you can still see reason.” I grinned, happy that he actually agreed without too much of a hassle.

Well, I felt happy until I started feeling a strange flush run through my body. The flush of heat shot through my body and made me feel like I was a live wire. I also instantly knew what the flush meant too.

Groaning I tensed my fists against the rush of strong magic that coursed through my body. Noch gave me a serious once over and suddenly grinned like he just won something.

“Having another surge?” He asked strangely teasingly.

“I am, but I can manage it by myself. There’s no need to call Nelia this time.” I said while whipping a bit of sweat off my brow.

“I guess that means that the trip to the Council will need to be postponed for a while.” Noch said happily.

I couldn’t believe that that was where his train of thought had taken him. “Seriously?”

“Of course yes! If I can’t cancel the trip to the Council, I might as well be happy with any and all procrastination opportunities that come my way!” He giggled happily.

I seriously couldn’t believe this guy. “You’re really such a child on the inside.”

“And I shall take that as a compliment because no insult in this world could ever hurt me.” And that was very true. Live long enough and many things start losing their potency with time.

“Thyrion!” Noch barked, which obviously gained Thyrion’s instant attention. “Come and take your Demon Woman to her room to rest a bit. We’ll get together again after her surge settles.” Then, without another word, he instantly stood up and fell through the floor to the bottom recesses of the castle.

It had been a while since I’d seen him pull that trick. He had definitely gotten much quicker at moving through the solid walls and floors of the castle than before.

Thyrion quickly came over to my side and put a hand over my forehead. “It’s definitely another surge. Should I call for Nelia?” He asked worriedly.

Placing my hand on his arm I smiled reassuringly at him. “Don’t worry, I can manage it on my own this time. It’s definitely getting easier, especially now that I have access to my memories, I can control the surge myself now. I do need to lie down to focus though.”

He gently picked me up from the chair and kissed my head as he started taking me out of the library. “I’m glad that the memory vault seems to be helping. I was very dubious about it when Noch brought it up at first.”

I chuckled. “I can understand that. Sometimes Noch’s ideas can turn out to be just as dangerous as Ara’s if not more at times.”

“Hence why I was dubious about it at first, but there was no reason to outright refuse either.” He sulked.

I chuckled at his sour expression. “At least things are starting to turn for the better now, and I can feel that I will be able to use my magic again soon. So you wouldn’t need to worry so much anymore.”

He hugged me tightly as I said that. “There will never be a day where I will not worry about you. No matter how strong you get or how strong you are. I will always be looking out for you.”

I lifted an eyebrow. He was definitely worried about me in the past, but not to this extent. He used to let me fight and go nuts as much as I wanted, but it looks like the time that we had spent in Orbus’s snare had made him more wary.

“Are you going to be worried to the point of being stifling?” I asked.

He grinned. “Maybe. If that’s the case you can punch and kick me as much as you used to in the past for not giving you your space, but even that won’t keep me far.”

“In that case, I apologize in advance if I reflexively end up punching your face.”

“Apology accepted so feel free to do so.” He chuckled as he took me back to our room.