Striding into Muenzuka, I attempted a whistle, but it failed. Even with all the changes I had gone through, whistling still seemed beyond me.
Shaking off the strange thoughts, I opened my magesight to look for valuables. I then froze as a new thought overcame me, I had very few raw materials that I could use, and while the scrap metal of this graveyard was low quality, it was still better than nothing.
I twirled my parasol and opened a portal to my home under a large pile of scraps. The stack fell behind my forging area with a massive crash. I faintly heard shouting from my simulacrum as I closed the portal.
Smirking slightly, I resumed my search for more valuable goods with my magesight wide open. Searching was a massive pain, even with the ease of finding things that magesight granted.
The tough part was sifting through the junk for the magical items. Unfortunately, I found mostly small scraps of magically enhanced metal or other weak things.
Even when I found something that was not enchanted metal, nothing was very fancy or valuable, with most of the enhancements having faded over the years.
I still tossed all of it into my home for my simulacrum to sort out. I didn't know when it would be useful, but it would be better to have it.
Standing up, I rolled my shoulders as if I was getting a crick out of them despite not having the biology for it anymore. Chuckling, I remembered how I still did things like trying to hold the bridge of my nose, although I lacked that body part anymore.
Flying in the air, I checked my mental clock-7:83. I had been here quite a while. I knew I could be sucked into my work, but this was still a long time to dig through the muck.
Shaking my head, I looked at the sun and frowned. It was setting, which meant that I would be heading to the Scarlet Devil Mansion tonight. Floating up, I consulted my mental map; the mansion was somewhat south of here, which meant it would take over an hour to reach there.
I was planning on gaining access to the library, but I doubted the mansion's owner would allow me to see it for free. Humming, I stated my flight as I tried to think of a suitable gift that might allow me access.
A few bottles of the sake I made would likely suffice to get access, and I had quite a few magical ideas I could share if need be. Unfortunately, I didn't have a single base for my magic which meant that in terms of understanding, I was limited to Formalcraft and rituals if I wanted to present mastery.
The main reason I was trying to gain access was that I needed a method to kill Scion. While I knew a few rituals that could work, they were also rituals which meant they were expansive, long, and highly unethical.
From what Risen Legends taught me, rituals could be two of three things, powerful, cheap, or quick. My containment circles were a good example. They were quick and powerful; however, they required expensive components and could contain almost anything.
I was able to bypass the expensive components because my dust was almost pure magic, and the rubies I made were utterly perfect without a single molecule out of place.
Even with that, something that could kill Scion would be on the level of the Darkhallow, which required particular conditions and the deaths of everybody in Chicago, along with consuming the Wild Hunt.
I knew at least one person would have to die in order for me to access Scion's network, but I wasn't willing to kill an entire city when I could find better options.
That meant I needed a better power source, and the library in The Scarlet Devil Mansion could have it. Pulling myself out of my musing, I slowly flew over a massive lake and finally spotted the manor.
I was massive and surrounded by a large wall. The biggest thing I noticed was its color. I knew why scarlet was in its name, given the color of the manor.
Flying a bit away from the gate, I rested my parasol on my shoulder and strolled over to the gate. Sleeping next to the entrance was a woman with brilliant red hair and wearing some sort of green dress.
Atop her head was a cap with a start emblazoned on it. However, the most noticeable thing was the fact that she was fast asleep with her eyes closed and her chest slowly rising and falling.
Taking a few steps closer, she snapped awake and looked around quickly for a moment before her eyes narrowed, and she pushed herself off the wall and looked at me.
Stopping in place, I raised my hand and politely waved before speaking. "Hello, nice to meet you. I heard this place had a sizeable library, and I was wondering if I could perhaps make a trade to gain access to it?"
Blinking in confusion, the woman thought for a moment before shrugging and replying. "I don't know if Patchouli will allow you in, but I could ask Sakuya-"
As she said Sakuya, her voice was cut off as time slammed to a stop and the world around me faded to a monochrome. While I couldn't move, I was still aware and could think.
I assumed this was a form of time stop, which meant that this Sakuya person was an incredibly powerful chronomancer. From what I vaguely remember, the mansion's owner was a vampire, and her name started with an R which meant that Sakuya was likely not the owner.
I decided to try something to see if I could resist the time stop. Pushing out my own much more limited-time stop, I kept it just above my skin which would cut down on the mana cost massively.
Wiggling my fingers, I looked around at the monochrome world and noticed something that shocked me. The time stop did not end; I didn't know if it was simply larger than I could see, but from what I could tell, Sakuya was stopping time for an area at least five miles.
To be blunt, that was beyond even the most powerful wizards and was a firm foot in godhood. While gods of time could likely do the same, the fact that a single non-deity could do this was shocking and didn't bode well for what other powers she might have.
The Grimoire grew, which caused me to untense as the familiar energy flew through my body before receding. Rolling my shoulders, I leaned on my parasol and waited for this Sakuya person to arrive.
A few minutes later, I saw a figure fly over the gates before freezing as she saw me leaning on my parasol. Blinking, I rubbed my eyes and took a second look at the woman to ensure I was seeing correctly.
The mage who did something that only proper time gods can do was clad in a maid's uniform, and it was a proper one with the slight wear and tear expected from somebody working hard.
Raising a hand, I gave her a wave and a smile before swinging my parasol back up on my shoulder. "Hello, nice to meet you, miss. I'm Aidan, and I would like to inquire about meeting Patchouli to discuss access to her library."
Shaking her head slightly, the woman landed behind the guard and walked past her before stopping in front of me. "Very well; however, first, you must meet with the Mistress." She said in a tone that brokered no argument.
As I nodded, the monochrome around me faded away, and the guard jumped at seeing Sakuya in front of me. Gesturing for me to follow, Sakuya walked past the guard while speaking.
"Aidan will be a guest at the manor for the time being" She then stopped for a moment before continuing. "Keep up the good work."
The guard's face then brightened as she nodded and replied. "Of course, Miss Sakuya." She then turned and, with hardly any effort, pushed open the massive metal gates and gestured for me to follow her as she walked inside.
As we entered the manor proper, I could tell that this place was massively distorted in space. Casting my mental senses out, I could tell that the physical location was over ten times smaller than how it was stretched out.
This was another awe-inspiring thing. It wasn't as powerful as the time stop, but it would still be very difficult to pull off unless the person was skilled in manipulating space.
I could probably pull it off, but it would still take a few rituals and be very finicky. I decided to hold off on asking questions until later. I presumed that the owner of the library, Patchouli, would know more about the space enchantments.
Soon enough, we were standing outside a pair of finely crafted doors, and Sakuya looked over me to ensure I was not a mess as she checked me over. "My lady is permissive; however, please be respectful and not crude. Mistakes are acceptable intentional rudeness is not"
After she finished speaking, she pushed open the doors that led to a massive dining room. Seated at the head of the table was a small figure no older than thirteen or fourteen. She had strange purple-blueish hair and a pale face; the most notable features were the tiny batlike wings that extended from her back.
Stepping forward, Sakuya bowed deeply and took a step to the side, gesturing at me. "This is Aidan, who has come bearing gifts and requests and audience."
Following her lead, I walked forward as well and bowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you." Holding out the bottle of sake, I continued. "I brought a bottle of homemade sake as a gift."
Gesturing for Sakuya to bring her the bottle, the girl gave a smile that revealed two small fangs. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Aidan. I am Remilia Scarlet; please sit and eat." She said as Sakuya placed the bottle next to her and pulled out a chair so I could sit near Remilia and talk.
Walking forward, I noticed that Sakuya was whispering in Remilia's ear before she walked out of the room. I then sat down and leaned my parasol up against the chair.
A few moments later, Remilia spoke with a tiny tinge of confusion in her voice as she cocked her head to the side. "Would you mind telling me why your heart doesn't beat?"
I furrowed my eyebrows at the question before I remembered that Alter Self was only skin deep. That was why none of your stats changed despite changing your physical form.
It was because most of you stayed the same while a small portion was shifted to fit what you wanted to look like. So in response, I dropped Alter Self and revealed my skeletal form with eyes of burning green flame.
"I thought that most would find a human form more palatable," I gave as a response. Remilia then hummed and nodded in understanding. "That makes sense; I do wonder what are you?" She asked once again.
Chuckling slightly, I replied. "I am known as a Monster, a being of roughly 95% pure magic and 5% dust." Her knowing my species was harmless as she wouldn't get my weakness from that, and once again, I could teleport away if need be.
Before she could respond, time halted once again. I surmised that Sakuya was retrieving something for Remilia, and I was proven right when a few minutes later, she came walking in carrying two plates of food and cups.
Setting both down in front of his time resumed, Sakuya then poured both of us a glass of sake. The grimoire grew as both of us started to eat. I decided to focus on the food, and we could talk after the meal.