Wanderer's Game

Gehrman leaves shortly after. I'm somewhat thankful, but the notion of giving me some privacy doesn't apply when I'm under surveillance.

Aside from the glaring voyeur problem, the room is quite nice. Small upsides.

Getting dressed takes less than a second. When I exit the room, Gehrman looks intrigued but clearly doesn't care enough to speak on it, instead choosing to lead me into a room several corridors away.

Whole damn place is a maze. All around me, I see Devils dressed head to toe like textbook servants. Prim and proper, each one just as depressed as the last. The atmosphere in this damn mansion feels like a funeral is happening.

It takes a few minutes, but finally we reach a room that Gehrman feels relatively safe in, at least I assume so because the first thing he does is sit down and rest his head in his hands. Hesitantly, I take a seat in front of him, a desk separating us.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you." He sounds sincere. So earnest that it throws me off, actually.

"Your condolences won't bring my eye back. Nor will it undo anything that happened." Gehrman wipes his hand across his chin and leans back in the seat.

"I know. I just wanted you to be aware." Well, that's a small comfort but it's more than anyone else here has given me. He continues after a moments silence.

"You've not got much time before Bidleid finds out you were stringing him along. All I can do is promise to make your last few days comfortable." He sounds shattered. I doubt it's because of me.

"That's fine. I don't intend on dying here." He chuckles slightly, shaking his head.

"Could've fooled me. If it were anyone else you tried that story on, you'd be dead. Bidleid is far too paranoid to think it through fully, but I had you made from the start." I don't feel lucky, Gehrman.

I can't think of what to say. There's too many thoughts on my mind; betrayal, weakness, aspiration. Thankfully, Gehrman seems to enjoy the silence, reaching for a small drawer in his desk.

Eventually though I decide to use this discussion to my advantage. See what I can squeeze out of Gehrman to help me in some way before I get the fuck out of here.

"I'd heard that Bidleid was a paragon of strength, a cunning warrior. Yet, he seems like a paranoid wreck. Why is that?" I ask, utterly uncaring for trying to be subtle.

In his eyes, I'm a dead man walking. There's no reason he won't tell me things he otherwise wouldn't. As I expected, Gehrman sighs and stops rummaging through his desk for a moment to talk.

"Bidleid spent his whole life being told he was the best. The Great Beelzebub, a Satan! He thought he was untouchable." He pauses.

"That idea didn't last for long. Shortly after the Civil War started, he met a young Devil with blazing red hair and an earnest heart. Bidleid was left on the brink of death, spared only by Sirzechs Gremory's hesitance to kill one of the Satans he had spent so long worshipping." Well, that certainly explains a lot.

"Sirzechs believed that act of mercy would show Bidleid that they wanted peace above all else. That they were fair. I imagine he regrets that decision these days." I don't doubt it. Must be the cause of a lot of sleepless nights.

"Ever since then, Bidleid's been afraid to leave the city for too long. He spends his days watching the war unfold through his drones. Every day that passes, he loses more respect from his people." Serves the bastard right. Still, I have a question left unanswered.

"Why doesn't he leave Lucifaad? His presence could have singlehandedly changed so many battles." Gehrman chuckles again at that.

"You aren't wrong. But his fear took hold of him long ago. Every resident of Lucifaad is now a hostage, unable to leave the city. Bidleid hopes that this will stop Sirzechs from fighting him in the event he arrives. He has no plans outside of that." His piece spoken, Gehrman goes back to the drawer.

Things make a bit more sense now. When Ajuka said the war was all but won, he wasn't exaggerating. Even Bidleid has accepted defeat already. Because of that, it seems like he only accepted my lie about the Fallen's help to try and use them as a safety net against Sirzechs.

It also explains why Sirzechs hasn't just steamrolled his way into the city, why there's so much importance placed on infiltrating it. The Anti-Satan's can't attack it directly at risk of killing innocent Devils and losing the Ars Goetian support they spent so long working for. The war is basically just a waiting game at this point.

Maybe this trauma over his defeat is why Bidleid is such a vicious bastard, caused him to grow a desire to be better than everyone around him, to exert control over them. Maybe I should stop trying to psychoanalyse a mentally unstable Devil.

My train of thought is interrupted by a small whistle from Gehrman, grabbing my attention as he passes something to me over the desk. I'm almost respulsed by it. Gehrman gives a small shrug as I glare at the eyepatch.

"A Devil needs to have his dignity. Even in death. If not for your sake, then for my staff. They're put off by the gaping hole in your eyesocket." Not one to sugar-coat it, I see.

Begrudgingly, I fasten the eyepatch around my skull. Gehrman smiles fondly as I do, something I don't care for as I ask another question.

"You mentioned your staff were put off. Can't you and Grayfia take care of everything yourselves? Why bother having them?" The answer comes as naturally as breathing to him.

"My clan specialises in training servants. It's what we're paid to do, how we stay financially afloat. Those you saw outside were the newest batch." I suppose it'd be quite a lucrative industry down here.

"Some servants are trained to be bed-warmers. Others, general attendants. We don't ask where they come from when they're given to us. We simply do our job." ...Gehrman it sounds an awful lot like you train slaves when you word it that way.

You know what, I think I'll just leave that topic behind. Moving on swiftly.

"Why do you even have an eyepatch anyways? Seems odd for you to have considering you've got both eyes." He laughs, but I can see the small twinge of sadness in his eyes.

"It wasn't mine. It was my wife, Elmiria's. She lost an eye in the Great War. Real nasty business." He's somewhere else, now. Lost in memories.

"She was the strongest woman I'd ever known. I miss her, so much." The mood is quite somber now. I don't stop asking, though. I've gotten invested.

"If you don't mind my asking... how did she pass?" He answers without hesitation.

"Soul Decay. The doctors said it was a unique condition. Her body didn't recognise it's Mana anymore and started to reject it. She tore herself apart from the inside." What a terrifying way to go. Devil's autoimmune disease. I can't imagine it was merciful.

"Would you like to talk about something else?" I ask, desperate to move on now. He nods.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry for your loss. Now, I've had this next question for a while, but I'm slightly hesitant to ask." Gehrman looks at me like I'm an idiot.

"You're gonna be executed in a couple days. May as well ask it while you can." His dry response causes me to chuckle a little.

"Fair enough. I just want to know, who's older between you and Zekram Bael?" Gehrman smiles a little.

"That's a tough one to answer. See, he's technically 7 minutes older than me, but we were both born during the Conception, so I like to think we're the same age. If you asked him though, he'd say he's older and laugh you out of the room." It's a nice mental image. Keeping my momentum, I decide to ask something else.

"Bidleid said I should stay away from Euclid. Why is that?" The second I finish my query, Gehrman looks centuries older. He seemed quite jovial before. Now he's hollow. I haven't yet mastered the art of conversation it seems.

"The boy is smart. Too smart. He's been... researching things on Bidleid's orders. Vile things. I can't imagine what experiments he'd put you through if you were left in his care." I'd rather not think about that.

"Do you have any idea what this research is on?" He looks away, shame on his features as he thinks about his son.

"No. He won't talk to me anymore after I made him keep his distance from Grayfia." I'd forgotten all about Euclid's obsession with her.

Unbidden, Gehrman continues on, his voice distraught and worsening by the second.

"I tried my best to raise them after Elmiria died. But I could never do enough. Grayfia's so detatched from everything now that some days I feel like I'll find her hanging from a rope. Euclid's so wrong in the head that he wants to sleep with his own sister. And I'm too weak to discipline him. I just can't being myself to. Every time I look at him I see Elmiria. I don't even know how to talk to Grayfia. She always just pushes me away. I can see that she's scared, but I just can't do anything to help her. I can't help either of them." His hand shakes, and I realise that he's choking up.

I never considered how Gehrman was feeling about his family situation, but wow. I actually feel slightly sorry for him, especially if just thinking about it made him have a breakdown so quickly. This wizened, powerful Devil, left a wreck at the thought of his countless failures, of his broken family.

Gehrman's still shaking, eyes covered by his hand as he cradles the bridge of his nose. I feel worse about it the longer I look at him. I decide to offer some small comfort and pat him on the shoulder.

"Euclid's a danger to the Underworld." Gerhman seems to be building up to something, gathering the strength to say his next words.

"I can't do it. I could never live with myself if I did. Please, Alistair." I can already see where this is going, this all feels rehearsed. I'm sorry, Gehrman.

His next words come out like they're poison on his tongue, his eyes finally meeting mine. I see the desperation, the sorrow, the shame all mixed in one.

"Please kill my son before he kills us all."

I suppose I know now why he lied to Bidleid for me. Why he helped me out of that room, why I'm here now. Was this always your plan, Gehrman?

No matter. He's given me exactly what I want.

Quest: (Necessary Evil) has been issued!

Rewards: Gehrman's allegiance, 1500EXP, 1 Skill Evolution Token, End of Tutorial.

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I need to think about this. About how I'm going to do it. After Gehrman collected himself, he told me that Euclid's lab was in the East Wing of the mansion, that there was a group of Devils who worked under him and acted as protection.

He also told me that captured Devils are sent there every few days, and they're never seen again. I suppose I know now what the 'shady shit' Corvo was going on about is. Experimentation.

I'll need to actually try and be stealthy about this. Can't let Euclid or Bidleid know what I'm planning. Trying to think about the plan is difficult though, my mind is occupied.

After the conversation finished, I went to the washroom to have a bath. Not only because being tortured has a unique way of making you feel dirty, but because I needed to relax and think after seeing the Quest Rewards.

End of Tutorial. Tutorial. That word, tutorial, tutorial. It haunts my thoughts. All the suffering I've gone through, the weakness I've felt. All just a tutorial.

[Don't worry, User! Once you finish the Tutorial, your power will begin to skyrocket!]

Please, elaborate. I don't see a way I'll truly get strong without rolling your fucking Gacha several thousand times.

[You'll get 3 Stat Points and 1 Skill Token per Level! And, you'll get access to Dungeons!]

I've spent hours being beaten, battered and hunted for training, just to get some stat points. Been stabbed, smacked and skewered more times than I can count.

Lost a fucking eye for the sake of Devils who probably just manipulated me into fighting for them for some Companion Quests.

And it was all to unlock one of the most basic features of a System, one of the essentials to leveling up. Dungeons. Why couldn't I have just had these benefits from the start?

[Because you need to earn your power! I'm not allowed to give handouts!]

Fuck off, Anya.

[I'm sorry, User, but there's nothing I can do about it! The Sovereign decides these things, and that is above my paygrade! At least you have these features now!]

Just stop talking. Please. The more you talk the more I lose faith in you.

[I understand, User! I am sorry!]

Blessed isolation. These last few days have been so damn exhausting. Feels like so much is happening all at once. Finally though I can just relax, forget about all my troubles. Let myself sink in the water and enjoy the silence... but I can't.

I see them. The room, the purple fire, those red fucking eyes. Sometimes I feel this sharp pain in my eyesocket. Like it's being pulled out all over again. It's nothing compared to what I've gone through training with Serafall, but I can't stop thinking about it.

Companion Quest: (Broken, Breaking) has been initiated! Rewards calculated upon completion.

In the bath? Really? Fine. No rest for the wicked I suppose.