Old Fellgrand

A very small side story I wrote on the fly based off of a throw away line from the map.

https://www.worldanvil.com/w/infernity-cenex/map/5411cef2-c684-48a2-9c9a-213d7a1fa7cc

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Ichigo stood sternly with his arms crossed on a hill, overlooking the tall grass of the savannah swaying in the winds. Far off, the northern horizon was dominated by the broken skyline of a once glorious city, now nothing more than broken and jagged towers and ruins. But his attention was then taken away as, from behind him, there were a series of grumbles and moans from Sona, Rias and their respective peerages as they picked themselves off the ground. He suppressed the smile on his lips.

While he did find them crashing into the ground incredibly amusing, a part of him did recognize he needed to practice more with his mass teleportation spell.

As the teenagers brushed themselves off wincing, Sona turned towards the ruins of the city and frowned considerably. "Do you - do you sense that?"

Rias brushed her hair out of her face and followed Sona's gaze. "Yeah... it feels..." the red-headed Devil frowned for a moment, but then her eyes went wide in recognition. "Is-is that a Demon?"

Ichigo raised a brow, mildly impressed with her deduction. Then again, given how she had been exposed to her two ancestors, it did make sense she would recognize their kin. "Good job," he said. "You're sensing the original Marchosias of the Seventy-Two Pillars."

They all looked at him in shock. "I thought he was dead," said a stunned Sona.

"There are other Demons in Infernity aside from you?" Rias asked at same time.

Ichigo gave a careless shrug. "There a couple hidden around, yeah. Anyways, quick history lesson. That," and he pointed to the ruins, "is the original city of Fellgrand. Or Old Fellgrand, as it's now called. Used to be the capitol of Infernity back when my predecessor was alive. It was later seized by Marchosias for the Old Satan Faction during the Civil War and turned into a military stronghold. Marchosias had sided with the descendants of its old masters, but virtually everyone agrees it had nothing to do with loyalty and that the Demon was essentially looking for a chance to usurp power for itself. But long story short, Ajuka and his army came and reduced the city to a pile of rubble and, as punishment for siding with the enemy, Ajuka stole Marchosias' ability to cognize."

They all blinked up at him, not understanding. "Uhh, cognize?" asked Issei, confused.

"Yup," Ichigo said plainly. "Can't think, can't feel, can't perceive, process, understand, remember, desire, or anything else really. Poor bastard just lays there, an empty husk of demonic energy with no self-awareness."

All their expressions morphed aghast.

"I-I," Sona stammered. "I can't even imagine what that feels like..."

Ichigo shrugged. "He doesn't feel anything, literally a fate worse than death. If it isn't obvious, don't ever piss Ajuka off. Anyways, how does this pertain to all of you? Well, Marchosias' miasma has mutated much of the local flora and fauna over the centuries into horrifying monsters. Your job is to survive in this cesspit of demonic evolution for the next ten days."

They all blanched, but before they could say a word in protest, Ichigo quickly added. "Oh, and word of caution, don't actually enter the city. The demonic miasma is so dense there it will instantly kill any of you. Anyways, good luck."

And with that, he faded out of existence, leaving the group of Devil teenagers staring in dumbfounded silence at the now empty spot where he had stood. A silence that was swiftly broken by a painful gurgling from Saji's direction.

As they turned towards him, they all stared horrified as the former Student Council aide had suddenly turned a strange shade of green while a sickly purple colored vine crept up his leg. "Gah!" Issei exclaimed. "Saji's been poisoned!"

And panic broke lose.

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A/N: For the sake of linearity, this little scene takes place between Chapters 44 and 45.