Demon's Virtue

If the spell that was ravaging outside in the form of the snowstorm was simply a spell that was supposed to counter Eiro, then it was clear what he had to do. This spell was created with the intention of making it impossible for Eiro to counter and stop it. That meant that there were two possible things Eiro could do in order to make sure that everything worked out.

One, he could ask another mage that specialized on counter-spells for help. He already asked Solomon about this, however, and as far as he was aware, there was no mage like that currently in the capital. He sent out a request at the adventurer's guild so that if there was someone like that they could come help, but they couldn't do much more beside that.

And two, Eiro could develop a spell that was the direct incarnation of himself and use it to counter the spell that was supposed to counter him. After all, a counter-spell was supposed to nullify the spell it countered, so they would simply cancel each other out in this case.

Eiro took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the latter option for now. If he wanted to counter this spell, then he had to first create a basis that was a raw incarnation of the essence of Eiro himself. Then, he had to focus it onto the destruction of the specific spell outside, and then it should hopefully work out. Luckily, Eiro would be able to test this out on a smaller scale by casting this onto a random area outside and watch if it had some form of effect. 

If it did, then he was in luck, and if it didn't, then he would need to keep trying. But there was one more issue with this. In order to create a spell that was basically the incarnation of Eiro himself, he would need to know everything there was to know about himself.

Eiro did a pretty good job at keeping his core-memories until now, but if he wanted to create this spell, he would have to think about those memories... and then he would forget them.

"I... Have to make a choice." Eiro concluded as he stood up and walked over toward the door.

"What do you mean?" Solomon asked as he watched the Demon leave. Eiro turned around and looked at the King with a bitter frown hidden under his mask, "I'll... I'll tell you later." Eiro suggested as he walked out of this room together with Lugo who had been sitting in the corner of the room. It seemed like the stag was able to read the situation properly, and chose to follow Eiro to help him in his choice.

And so, Eiro, the Stag, and the Salamander made their way out of the castle so that Eiro could figure things out for himself. Eiro climbed onto Lugo's back while he split up from Sarius, who was now just floating beside him. And they made their way out to an area where they could be alone, in the middle of the castle's gardens.

"Aight, what's the issue, man? Just do what you gotta do." Sarius suggested with an annoyed frown that Eiro was wasting their time like this, and the Demon himself just slowly took off his mask and looked back at Sarius, "But I don't know what I should do. It's clear that I need to make a choice, but I don't know which choice I should go for."

"...Y'know, I can't read your damn mind, so speak in a way I can understand, dumbass." The Salamander groaned. And so, Eiro did just that.

"Scenario one, using my remaining memories, I attempt to create a spell that's an incarnation of myself. If that's enough for me to succeed, I will have countered the spell that's making everyone forget about me, but I myself will have forgotten every single thing that I ever knew. In the worst case with this scenario, that 'incarnation of myself' is not enough to counter the storm. Not only will I forget about myself, but so will everyone else in this town. Everyone here will forget about me forever, and it will be like I will cease to exist. After all, there's only a handful of people that really know me outside of this town." Eiro explained with a bitter expression, and Sarius himself understood the risk of this.

The Salamander thought for a while, and then came up with another suggestion, "Then what if you just... don't? You can just make new memories with everyone... or something." 

"No, we already established that. If I were to try to do that, the souls of everyone that used to know me will be affected. And then, even if I were to stay out of their lives... These damages might be unavoidable. That manor is a place that those close to me connect with me. I have my belongings there, my materials, my tools. I lived my life there for the last while. Not to mention... They are my children... What if they remind each other of me? At the very least, Solomon and James will not get out of this without damages. After all, they have made new memories that are not affected by the spell..." Eiro explained. Sarius tried his best to understand the situation properly, although he had to get used to this sentimental Demon who was crying over his human children first.

"Then-" The Salamander started, but he was swiftly interrupted by someone else, "There is just one choice, is there not?" From behind Eiro, the Ghost spoke. It was most likely because they were fused when they first met him, but Sarius was able to see and hear him as well. Although somehow, Lugo was as well, and was wary of him the whole time.

Eiro didn't understand this part too well, but that was unimportant. The ghost was right, after all. After taking a deep breath, Eiro came to the conclusion that he didn't want to come to.

"This spell was created in order to force me to forget everything." the Demon muttered quietly, "I don't want to play into it, but I don't know what other choice I have anymore. And since this... Bahlsen or whatever he was called was an investigator that thoroughly searched this town, he must be aware that there is no other counter-spell mage in this town."

Eiro looked up above him. He was using magic to form an area in which he, Sarius and Lugo were unaffected by the storm right now, "Maybe I should just do it. Even if I will never be able to remember my past, I would rather have that than put everyone else in danger."

"So you're just gonna take this? And let that bastard play around with you like that?" Sarius asked with a deep frown. Eiro looked back at the Fire spirit and nodded his head, "Yes. You can't always win. And if I take this specific loss, it's the closest thing to a win I can get right now."

"...Seriously, a bitch like you was blessed by the King? What a joke..." The Salamander growled, but to defend Eiro, his trusty Familiar jumped up and tried to push Sarius away from the Demon.

"Yo, the fuck are you doing, you dirty flea-bag?" Sarius yelled out as he faded out of existence for a moment and just reappeared a few steps behind Lugo. It wasn't teleportation, Sarius just made use of the space inbetween the realms where only Eiro was able to see him for a moment to move. With a loud bellow, Lugo complained about what Sarius was saying.

But meanwhile, the Ghost behind Eiro was making a whole other suggestion for a third scenario that Eiro had not known about until now.

"Well, if you would like it, I could simply disperse the spell myself." He whispered into Eiro's ear, and the Demon turned around toward him immediately, "What do you mean?" Eiro asked, and the Ghost just had a broad smile on his face.

"It is as you said, from your position, there are only two things you can do. You managed to analyze my complex spell that I gave up my life for a bit too easily in my opinion, but that matters very little anymore. Make your choice, create that counter-spell and forget everything or make a deal with me." The Ghost suggested. Eiro was unsure what exactly he was talking about, but luckily, the Ghost immediately explained. 

"All I want is for you to act as a new vessel for my soul. We will share your flesh, and I will make sure to simply cause this spell to disappear." The Ghost said with a broad smile on his face. Eiro immediately jumped up and glared deeply at him. He knew that the Ghost was telling the truth. If Eiro gave him his body, he really would go ahead and dispel the storm. 

"...Elaborate." Eiro muttered, and with a broad smile that showed how happy the Ghost was that everything was working out like he had planned, he continued to explain, "We simply have to save my Master. You already know his whereabouts, and there is surely nobody that can stop you from freeing him if you try your best to. He will fuse my soul into your body, and we will simply share it. Or rather, I will lay dormant within you. Then, during your next evolution, as you will have two souls within yourself, your body will split in two. One for you, and one for me. I will receive a new, far more powerful body, and you will be able to continue living your life as if nothing ever happened."

Somehow, Eiro was unsure about this. He could feel that this Ghost was telling the truth, but it just seemed so... weird. So unrealistic. As if he was about to be tricked. But his mind, his very soul, was telling him that the Ghost was telling the truth. If it was possible to get through this so easily, then would he not be an idiot for attempting his own incredibly risky plan that ended up with one party losing out on everything either way?

Slowly, Eiro thought about this idea, and the Ghost knew that he had to just keep pushing a bit, "Come on, you know that this is the best outcome, right? After all, you have already experienced what it's like to have nobody remember you. You don't want that to continue, do you?"

"Hm?" All of a sudden, Sarius noticed something in what the Ghost was suggesting. And that there was something that they had completely forgotten about until now, "Wait... Ain't this dumbass of a stag an exception here? I mean, he can remember you, right Eiro?"

The Ghost ripped open his eyes and looked at Lugo in confusion, "What did you just say?"

And what was exactly when Eiro realized that there was one more route after all. A fourth plan that might as well be the best one yet.

"That's right... Even I was nearly affected by this spell, but because of my Legendary Skill, I wasn't... But that skill couldn't have affected Lugo... So somehow, he was completely unaffected by the spell.

"I just need to create a spell based on the one being that was completely unaffected by it.... A counter-spell based on Lugo!"