The Demon Lord Is An Angel-Chapter 516: Stolen Time

As Chancellor of the Academy and leader of Norneau, it was Imogen’s job to keep the city as harmonious as possible, even with the factions being what they were. It was a thankless role, one that accumulated more blame than kudos, and yet she felt it was her duty to her predecessor, Lumin, to keep things running.

Yet today, she felt a little outside herself as she read over her speech one last time. Her chief aide, Persephone, who also operated as her spymistress under the designation Prelate, stood outside the illucasting circle that surrounded Imogen and her desk. A solemn frown was heavy on the human woman’s face, her angelic heritage showing through in a streak of black amidst the auburn of her dominant hair color.

And opposite to Persephone was the reason Imogen even had to make this announcement. The metatron, Kir, Patriarch of the House of Stars, even if he denied it constantly. The look on his face was contemplative, perhaps rethinking the calculations he’d made which suggested that time within the Veil was close to synchronizing with the outside world. Without another outsider, however, it would be impossible to verify those numbers short of someone managing to leave through the dungeon that powered the barrier.

The general populace believed that reaching the end, either the top or the bottom, would mean freedom for those who conquered the dungeon. It had been Chancellor Lumin’s decision to withhold a key fact, however, and that was that there was no exit from the dungeon except back to Norneau. And while many foolish expeditions braved the dungeons, and many lives were lost, even Imogen recognized the value of the hope people garnered from believing that there was a way out.

And in a way, the number of expeditions each year served as a gauge for Imogen to see how hopeful people were. When the city was first imprisoned, there had been daily, if not weekly, reports of adventurers and cityfolk risking the dungeon. Ten years ago, it had dwindled to twice-monthly explorations organized by the Adventurers’ Guild. And now...

Almost half the year was gone, and there had been no talk of sending another expedition. The people of Norneau had started turning inward, against each other, and something needed to be done to bring everyone together.

And she was out of time...

"We’re on in 3... 2... 1..."

Imogen felt as the magic circle surrounding her desk began to thrum with magic. A transmission mirror manifested into the air, capturing her likeness from the front while mirrors on the left and right of her gave depth to the images she was broadcasting, interrupting every channel.

The white-yellow glow from the circle and mirrors was rather comforting. A reminder of the real sun, as opposed to the somewhat ghostly orb that cycled through Norneau’s days and nights.

"People of Norneau... My People. An event has transpired which has brought to light new revelations about the state of the world outside." She paused, looking into the mirror. "An outsider has come. And with them, we have learned that, while it has been almost twenty years within the Veil, outside, about two millennia have passed." Imogen took a breath, imagining the looks of the faces of the people. The knowledge that now they were well and truly beyond the lifetimes of anyone they might have known in the outside world.

"I know that this news is hard to bear." The last time outsiders came through, over a span of several weeks in the third year of their captivity, they’d reported it had been sixty years since the Heavenfall. "We are a people displaced in time. All that we knew is gone, beyond memory, and thus when the Veil parts - As it must! - we shall meet a world that is alien to us."

Imogen’s mouth was drying, and she badly wanted a sip of water, but she persisted. "Those who have calculated the differences have confirmed that we are approaching synchronization with the world outside. I cannot say how much time we shall have before the Veil opens, but now is the time for us to ask ourselves... Who will we be when that happens? Will we be a Norneau divided by fear and distrust? Or will we be one people, one nation, forged from the fires of the tragedy that brought us together?" She took a steadying breath, feeling tears behind her eyes. "Now is the time for us to come together. To outgrow our past hatreds, just as our world has grown back from the Heavensfall. And if you believe as I do in this, our City of Magic, then please, mourn with me for what was lost, and look to the future that awaits us. I-"

She looked down, contemplating the papers in front of her. There wasn’t a lot more written, but she felt the people of Norneau deserved more time than one day to process the announcement.

"Effective tomorrow, a three-day mourning period will be in effect. During this time, workers are permitted to take all or part of the days off. We will broadcast details of the outside world daily at noon, and publish them as readily as we can." Imogen paused, contemplating the last line of her speech, which was written to be professional and absolutely not what she felt people needed right now. She closed her eyes for a moment, knowing she could be free of this task if she just read the final line, but feeling that something better, something more, was deserved in the wake of this devastating news.

"We have lived... but I say today that survival is not enough. We must show the world the difference we can make, to show the significance of who we are together, as we meet our true tomorrow." Towards the end, Imogen had failed to control the emotion in her voice, and her tears, but she’d nevertheless held onto the clarity she needed to speak those final words, and to finish, "Thank you, and goodnigh-"

A sudden flicker started in the transmission circle, and through the transmission mirrors, cracks began to form until they shattered into countless shards, ceasing to exist a moment later as the magic that comprised them unwound.

"What’s happening?" Imogen stood, realizing a moment later that she had been bubbled into a protective shield by Kir, who pulled her out from behind her desk and into his arms with a motion of his hand.

"Something’s happening to the transmission circle," Persephone replied.

"It’s being hijacked," Kir reported, his eyes seeing what Imogen could not. "I can cut it off-"

"No!" Imogen said quickly. "If someone’s trying to steal the broadcast, it’s one of our enemies. I want you to focus on finding them. You can do that, right?"

Kir looked at her before giving a nod. "Your safety-"

"Persephone is more than enough to protect me, and I’ll call you if I need you," Imogen touched the communication ring on her finger to reassure herself that it was still there. "Go."

One moment Kir was there and the next he simply disappeared. On any other day, Imogen might have been jealous, but this was a day for action, and stars knew she’d have to account for whatever trap her enemies were laying for her with this, and find out who had rigged the illusion casting circle in her office. But there was really only one reason to hijack the circle...

All over Norneau, audiences still in shock from Imogen’s speech raised their heads to the anomalous broadcast.

With a wave of her hand and a bit of magic, Imogen activated the illucaster set into her bookshelf. She cycled through a few channels, but so far the only thing on screen was a symbol... one that she knew all too well.

It was the sigil of House Victoriam, a winged spear running up through the world and the moon of Hell, pointing towards a golden ring that represented Heaven. Vinam Victoriam was dead, but the symbol lived on amidst fanatics who wished for the world that was.

Seconds after turning on her illucaster, the symbol was replaced by a gaunt, winged figure—an angelic male with blonde hair and wings of gold, the gold likely just a glamour wrought over his true wing color. He smiled patronizingly and opened his eyelids to reveal vivid purple irises.

"People of Norneau... I am the voice of the Heaven to come. A Heaven for all who return to the fold that sheltered and guided Ayther for millennia, before demons and abominations killed the world." The blonde man’s smile dropped into an angry line. "And I bring you the truth which this Chancellor has hidden from you. The truth that the outside world is bent to the will of one empire. An empire this Chancellor would have you bow before, under the thin veil of "peace," while they exploit us for the knowledge they lost. An empire headed by the accursed wench who destroyed your lives, your world, and your stole your time. The Demon Lord Aeleas..." The angel’s hands shook with barely contained emotion.

Who... How does he know? Imogen’s mind raced. She’d anticipated some kind of reaction, but not anything this quick... As she processed what he’d done, she realized that by getting ahead of the news she’d intended to release last, this unnamed speaker might cause far more damage. She immediately regretted her decision to send Kir hunting for the source of the broadcast.

"There is but one force that can protect you. A New Heaven calls upon you to purify yourselves of weakness, for our power gathers even now! Follow the faithful, and watch for our sign-

The transmission cut off abruptly. For twenty seconds, Imogen just stood, her mind trying to anticipate every likely outcome...

But then without a sound Kir appeared before her, an etched crystal plate in his hands, carved to perfectly resonate with the illucasting circle in her office, and nothing else.

"Did you find them?" Imogen asked.

"No. There was only this..." He waved a hand over the plate, and the man appeared again, beginning his speech all over. "It was a recording."