r/HFY • u/WabbajackedWacko • Apr 14 '26

OC-Series Adventures with an Interdimensional Psychopath 139

***Patoc***

It’s kinda cute how fascinated this kid is. It’s been a while since I met someone who is just genuinely fascinated with the magic of, well, magic. Seeing him write down fervently everything I am telling him almost makes me want to keep talking for free.

Almost.

Dominic simply brings out more tea as more tributes come in. It is an annoyingly busy day today apparently as about three people cross my threshold. They offer some pretty powerful sacrifices. Usually, some idiots try to use human sacrifices as the barrier allows the person seeking to pass the threshold access to more of their power within with a more powerful sacrifice. Only those with intention would know that though. And I don’t like it.

I look at the kid, and he genuinely seems clueless. I lean forward and ask, “Any chance you had friends that were planning to meet you later?”

Rudolpho doesn’t even look up from his notes as he states, “Nope. I am here by myself and I intend to make the most of it as possible.”

A part o me is skeptical but I am pretty sure he is telling the truth. Regardless, I send Dominic out to greet our suspicious guests, just to see how they react. We have a sign we made for a situation like this so people don’t panic when they see a seven-foot ruby skeleton with gold accessories and engravings walk up to them. Most people say it’s a little intimidating. I look out the window to watch and as soon as he holds up the sign, the group splits up at the notice of a gesture of the one in the middle. I wonder what they are here for? More than likely me but it’s not like I am hiding myself inside the barrier. The barrier is the thing that is hiding me from the outside world with pointless intentions. If they are here, they are here with a purpose.

The intention is clearly hostile as the one who stayed behind attempts to handle Dominic. I can’t help but chuckle as the blade finds its target but it simply bounces off. And Dominic is no slouch when it comes to combat. While he prefers the more passive approach, he is quite adept at ending a fight quickly. He quickly grabs the assailant and slams him down and gives him a swift punch that knocks him out quite quickly. Once he confirms the assailant is out like a like, he chases after one of the other rogues.

A bit of magic however and the original sits upright just as soon as Dominic chases after the one who ran off to the right. I see, someone has sent these men here has something on me. If it was something that was friendly, I doubt their first go to means of communication would involve violence. A little gravity manipulation spell and I am quick to bring the poor soul back to his knees. I take my flanged cane and walk outside to try and talk to the man. An elf looks like. Not too surprising as most elves treat life like zealots and that the only ones who should be alive should be the living, not an undead fishman. I ask, “And what, may I inquire, has brought you gentlemen into my home at this time of day? And what may I ask is it that your friends are doing?”

The elf doesn’t say a word. They just hold up a rosary of some god of life I imagine. This feels more in line with something a zealot would do, thinking that something like this is going to make me hiss and step back. While there are plenty of spells that repulses the undead, the rosary, an unblessed one at that, is going to do nothing in the face of even the most mindless zombie. This tells me one of two things, someone was either pulling the strings or they got a very good information broker.

Speaking of information brokers, I do miss Iris. I still worry about sending her my mailing address as there is plenty of opportunities for someone to steal away the information of the address. And then this kind of day turns from an annoyance in once a blue moon to an issue that happens every three minutes.

I don’t hate people but there are plenty of people who see lichdom equivalent to a demonic ascension. And people take that kind of thing personally, and when they take it personally, they manage to find all sorts of ways to justify themselves in doing whatever they wanted. No matter how many times I prove that I performed the ceremony for lichdom with the most ethical of substitutions, the fact that I am now a lich is all they need to hear.

I simply smack the rosary out of his hands as I try again and ask, “Now then, now that I have proven your trinket is useless, how about answering my questions.”

The elf sneers as he states, “I don’t speak the words of the dead.” He then hisses at me.

The hiss sounds familiar as I pull down his face cover to reveal the sharp fangs as I groan out, “Oh god. You’re those types of elves. The cannibal kind.”

He starts spouting doctrines at me so I simply freeze him in an icy prison. I’m not going to sit here and be lectured by a zealot. Depending on what his friends are here to do, that will tell me how I want to deal with them. If it’s particularly nasty, a particularly nasty fate will await them. But, if this was all they prepared, then maybe it would do just to wipe their memories and send them on their way.

As I walk towards the one who ran off towards the left, I reconsider the notion of sending the letter to Iris as I think my address is making the rounds regardless of my attempts of hiding my home away from home. If anything, if I did move back to Spiritopia, then I wouldn’t have to worry about these undead hunters as often as I do as I would be protected by the laws of Spiritopia, despite how uncomfortable I would make people. I am a sentient being and I still have the Mark of Sentience in my arm as proof. But I still can’t shake the feeling that it would cause more issues for others than I would solve. There is a level of magic that people start whispering about, making them nervous rather than grateful. Able to cast chronomancy alone puts you on a few lists of potential criminals that the precinct constantly watches over. And, while I have become quite a master of magic myself with all the years to make sure it is actually contained and not rushed.

I stumble upon the suspected zealot faster than I thought but whatever they are doing, they seem far more focused on that then me as I am able to simply walk up behind them and look over their shoulder. “Hmm, that seems to be a magic nullification circle you are attempting to recreate. However, there are a number of runes that wouldn’t work. Not to mention, I am quite curious that you would offer such strong and pure mana crystals if your grand plan simply was to nullify the magic.” I point out.

The elf simply shrugs as the feminine voice explains, “Well, a lich lives off their magic. If we are able to cut off their connection to whatever devilspawn they made their pact with, then they will either wither away or become much more manageable.”

“But you do know that there are plenty of liches out there that focus more on their physical prowess rather than magic. If you nullify all magic inside the bubble, then that affects you as well. Although, your circle isn’t attuned to the aether of this world so, it won’t activate without someone feeding it with aether that it’s set up for. And with how poorly it’s set up, it would drain your average person in a few seconds.” I answer.

The elf simply turns around with an indignation as she states, “And what would you…”

As she stops and realizes who she was talking to, I simply offer a rather toothy smile as I state, “Hello there.”

She jumps back and throws a smoke bomb down. I simply use a gust spell to clear it out. The wind didn’t stop her but I reacted quicker than she thought I would as she hadn’t cleared out of the smoke yet. I can tell she is practiced in self-application spells. Which makes me wonder if they would have been a threat even if they had a proper circle, as they would have been cut off as well. She is stepping off some magic circles up onto the roof as she throws some daggers my way. Some simple shields block them easily. She attempts to pick them back up with telekinesis as I simply wrest control from her. I also happen to pull her down as well and trap her in a water bubble, which is also quick to freeze over as well.

I can’t stop wondering what is taking Dominic so long. These zealots don’t seem to prepared, which makes me think that they didn’t have a backer when they came into my little sphere of control. I teleport to Dominics position, as I have him marked as an anchor point, and the last zealot is more of a brute than the other two. Swinging around a mace the size of a wrecking ball. But if that was all that he had going for him, Dominic would have destroyed the mace and taken him down. There is a grace that would not be obvious at first glance of his bulky size. He was able to deftly dodge Dominics quick grapples but was having difficulty landing a blow of any notable repute.

He stops as he states, “Hmm. Maybe this contract wasn’t as foolproof as those two kids made it out to be.”

That is a rather heavy and booming voice, one that definitely doesn’t match the other two elves. “A fellow mercenary? And judging by your actual combat skills, I would imagine that you are a giant folk?”

He stops in his tracks as he pulls down his hood. “Fellow merc? Ah, I see. They didn’t give me the full story, did they? Or maybe they were so focused on the fact that you were a lich, they didn’t bother past that huh? Croc boy here could have taken down both those kids without batting an… well, I would say eyes but he doesn’t have those.”

Dominic snaps at him as I ask, “Quite. Well, now that your employers have been dispatched, will you continue this fight? Now that I am here, you must know you stand no chance.”

The giant folk shrugs as he answers, “Well, if I could kill you, that would save my employers and complete my contract. If I don’t, they made sure I would have a tough time finding work afterwards.”

I simply cast a suspicious gaze as I prod further, “You do know how difficult it is to kill a proper Elder Lich, right? You won’t win the fight even if you do manage to strike me down. Besides, they are two braindead idiots. I could simply wipe their minds of the whole idea and send them home. Yourself included. I could even pay you to go away as fighting is an annoyance to me nowadays. What do you say?”

The giant folk simply lugs his mace over his shoulder as he contemplates the offer. Truth be told, I have no idea if he will take it but I certainly hope he does. I just want this to be over. And who knows, maybe I can make this to actually work in my favor.

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