The Riddle Of Magic

Chapter 41: Phase

The interesting thing about failure was that it was often a far better teacher than success. It led to more work and inconveniences; but in the end, introspection was a beneficial skill.

Take the lesson and improve, Laurence thought to himself.

Cause and effect meant everything was always in constant flux. There was always something chasing something else.

Prayers chased want.

Death chased life.

Shadows chased light.

An integral part of being a magician was being able to harness that flow. Carving out a place for himself in that chain of causality was a skill the elephant demon prided himself on.

But when it failed... it created a lot of paperwork.

His purple suit jacket fell off the back of his chair, but Laurence could hardly be bothered to notice it, triple-checking the composition of his current spell.

There was a backlog now as he tried to balance the current spells against the various prophecies Cassandra had seen, to avoid any further contradictions.

The Ink Overlord was proud to say that he'd encountered relatively few in the time since his business had expanded into the world of prophecy. Of course, it did figure that the largest one he'd found was the one that vexed him most.

A flash of light caught Laurence's attention, and he looked up from his paperwork, glancing out the long window behind him.

Another Turf War? The elephant demon checked his wards to make sure they were prepared, in case any conflict made its way to them.

He went to the window, his trunk waving as he sighed. How dreadfully disappointing today had turned out to be! He'd actually had a great deal of confidence in his fellow Overlord, considering the TV Demon's history with the Radio Demon. Vox's knowledge of the deer demon's personality had given them a fine gambit, and he'd seized at the chance for an accord with only the slightest feigning of consideration.

The notion of a spell for a spell was intrinsically fair for the majority of magicians, and Laurence couldn't help but wonder if part of that attitude for playing nice came from the remains of the nightmare the Radio Demon had carved into the memories of Hell.

Such a power he had, and yet made such miserable use of it! Oh, Alastor certainly accomplished his goals, small minded as they were, but there was so much more the deer demon was capable of! Someone with his abilities should have more social weight than just the co-owner of some playground for Hell's rejects! He'd not held any territory for himself outside of his Radio Tower, which was now embedded into the princess' Hotel, as much as part of that place as any rose's thorn.

No, Laurence reminded himself. No, never underestimate a magician.

Especially one as powerful as the Radio Demon.

Considering Alastor's unique abilities, it would be a grave misstep to assume him to be a fool, or shying away from conflict. No, he had lasted far too long for his position to be either of those. The truth was far simpler.

The Radio Demon didn't take territory because as far as he was concerned, he already had it.

Pentagram City was his territory. The deer demon could easily be in the ranks of the Sins with his strength, and now with his alliance with Hell's princess...

The elephant demon's trunk rippled as he let out another long breath. The vision had to have returned to what it had been. Events were playing out exactly like Cassandra had foreseen!