D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad - Chapter 2194 Poisonous List Part 2

— Kat —

“It depends on the exact potion in question. For example, a potentially likely one at that, is the old ’Crystal Growth Solution’ an innocuous name for a particularly painful poison. On contact with sufficient amounts of blood it starts to grow into crystals, which can absorb more blood to further increase their own size. It is a particularly brutal way to go, and even when trying to remove them you have to pull somewhat sizeable crystal structures from your own body. The fancier version and the one that fits the category, is called ’Delayed Crystal Growth Solution’ which… was named by a far less creative alchemist.

“It works in the same way, except only when the poison is burnt away does it start to create those crystals. From my understanding of the ingredients, the way it works is essentially… like a layered sphere. The outer layer is the poison doing its damage, and the inner layer is the crystal growth part. If the regenerator destroys the outer case in an attempt to remove it all, the crystals immediately explode to fill in the space, and likely cut into the surrounding tissue as well,”

“And you think this is what I had?” asked Kat.

“Maybe?” offered Appoline. “You see, clearly you never broke out into crystal growths, but that might be due to the different composition of your body. Then again, the pain could be from your regeneration suppressing things… but then why would the burning continue to spread? It’s an interesting issue where I am trying to reconcile the potency of your regeneration and this seemingly odd poison.

“In this case, I was giving you a clear and easily understood example. My best guess is that the poison you were dosed with had some powerful secondary effect that was being fought off as it spread. Perhaps the burning wasn’t actually the poison, but the remnants of it. Where instead of focusing on problems upfront and damage later, it instead simply does damage as its destroyed.”

“But… it did seem to be spreading…” mumbled Kat.

“Indeed it did… but your blood travels quite fast and the spread was quite slow. Surely it would’ve covered more ground had it been completely free to roam? Or perhaps I’m wrong. Not all alchemical poisons follow logic perfectly. Perhaps instead of causing you problems further poison would’ve spilled from your pours and your body knew to prioritise Lily’s safety over your own…” Appoline suggested.

“That…” Kat frowned. For a moment, her mind flashed to KatE. It… it felt silly to say that her body wasn’t so smart in the face of the fact that her soul apparently had something of a mind of its own. Not one hostile to her interests… but different. Perhaps her body was the same? Or perhaps she was personifying an inanimate object just to agree with an expert’s crackpot theory. “I wouldn’t discount it but I just don’t know.

“Isn’t there… anything at all like what I experienced?” sighed Kat.

“If there was an easy answer here Kat, I would’ve simply explained it to you. The fact that you had such a limited reaction is odd, but so is the fact that it affected you at all. Though… hmmm…” Appoline trailed off.

“I’m sensing you’ve got an idea?” asked Kat.

“Not so much an idea… but a rumour,” Appoline said slowly. “I’m aware that demons exist of course. You’re here… and I am also aware that demons have enemies, natural ones. I… no, well. Ok so my first idea is looking far less likely then the second. My original idea was to comment on angels and how they are antithesis to your kind… but I have no idea if its true, it’s just something I know now.

“What I’m wondering… is if you can summon a demon for support… why can’t Greaves do the same? What are the chances she asked a demon, for weapons against a different one?” the unspoken ’Namely, against you’ could be heard loud and clear even if Appoline hadn’t said anything. It was… brushing up against the rules. Now that Kat thought about it, it was weird she could speak about the duels at all… but there was probably some explanation, or perhaps Appoline was just intentionally not thinking of that part.

The problem, was that what she said made a lot of sense. A great deal. Troll’s Bane seemed like a decent idea, but Appoline was an expert and the symptoms were never quite right… for something made on this world. If Greaves got her supplies from a demon, could it be something that specifically disrupts succubus regeneration? Demonic energy? Her body healed… but was that because they stuff she’d paid for was only for Rank 3 demons? Kat’s new status wasn’t widely known… or perhaps the cost had simply been too high?

*But dammit. I already knew she was buying up as much as she could. The nonsense with the familiars was proof enough that their families were willing to piss away gold for this contest. I suppose there’s likely not going to be too many chances for Greaves and the others to participate, if there even is… and it’s likely none are willing to give away quite so much as Thyme.

This is going to be the event of a lifetime for so many… and the idea that Greaves would just give up because she didn’t have a demon on her team would be ridiculous. Though, I imagine they’d find it ironic. A demon’s poison for a demon.*

Kat shook her head. *No. I can’t be certain. It’s likely sure… but Appoline isn’t going to give me any hints and this isn’t a question D.E.M.O.N.S will answer. Unless?*

User Kat is to be informed that she is correct. Current question does not pose a risk to world integrity and thus falls under standard protocols.

*Yeah that sounds about right. Still… what can I even do about this? Appoline, for all that she’s pushing the knowledge she should be allowed to have by leaning into her poison expert role… has no way of knowing what’s out there in the Hub. Heck, I don’t even know what’s out there and I’ve had the chance to check. It just… never seemed like something I’d need. Which is stupid in a way… but… hmm… how deadly is it then?*

Kat found she just didn’t know. She had no frame of reference for this. On the one hand, demons were tough naturally and her regeneration made her tougher… but on the other hand that was the point. A poison made by a demon would obviously take such things into account, especially if it was mentioned she had regeneration and Kat had never tried to hide the ability. It was basically a part of her. She’d gained it so, so early in her transformation. It wasn’t like her dream walking that she so often forgot, or even her water transformation which was used, but similarly overlooked in moments of panic.

It was simply… a part of who she was now. The idea of hiding it never crossed her mind before. There’d been no reason to do so. What could they realistically do with the knowledge? Plus she wasn’t usually in the same world. Now though… it might be an issue that’s catching up with her. Then again, Kat wasn’t certain she’d have made it to the finals hiding such a major trump card from everyone.

“I doubt it but is there anything you can tell me about that sort of poison?” asked Kat.

Appoline shook her head. “I’m afraid I can only speculate, and the easiest thing to say is simple ’stronger poisons’. I’m quite certain your average demon would have a good deal more exotic resources and experience making potions. Plus, if Greaves is really so keen to throw money around as you say? There’s no reason to assume she’d simply summon an average demon. Especially for a short transaction instead of a long term deal.”

“Ah,” intoned Kat. She hadn’t considered that at all. If Greaves was buying poisons… she didn’t need to also hire the demon to work for multiple days. They could just pay for the poisons and be done with things. That… might make getting something potent more reasonable. The problem was, once again, Kat had never though to even look into the poison market. Was something that could affect her even expensive? Kat had to assume not, but that was an assumption she wasn’t entirely keen on making.

*I suppose it was a much better idea to have Lily rip away the flesh around my throat then I originally thought. If it was intended for use against demons… then it’s possible my regeneration might not be able to overpower it at all. There’s also the chance that Greaves didn’t choose to use the good stuff against me. I have no idea how long she was watching before her attack. It’s possible she decided to choose some cheaper poison for the duel. Hmmm… there’s no way to know.*