There is ample evidence that demons may be involved in the disappearance of the Ancient Empire, or that they at least have relevant knowledge. Questions regarding the Empire are one of the few subjects which a demon will absolutely refuse to answer, even to the point of dying of contract backlash. This alone is a sign that something unusual is going on.

Further compounding the suspicion is the rare slip of the tongue, in which a demon reveals information regarding the empire that should not be known. Over the decades, there have been rare reports of demons displaying knowledge of the Ancient Empire language, quirks of their society, or other trivia which could not be reasonably deduced merely from the Akashic Record.

Unfortunately, this is unlikely to be a useful avenue of research until a breakthrough is made in demonology. Either a method to control or read their guarded minds or break their loyalty to the one below is required, and there is no indication such methods will be found soon.

-Excerpt from History of the Akashic Record

Mud looked down at its own exposed muddy torso. Ah, so that's it.

Silence reigned over the ring for time. Eventually, however, it was broken by a familiar voice. From the stands, the energetic boy yelled out. "Executioner Mud is a monster!?"

The silence broken, a murmur quickly broke out among the crowd. The judge, released from his daze, stepped forward and raised his hand above Mud. "The winner of this fight is Executioner Mud!" At that, the expected cheering finally broke out among the crowds. A priest of Yaldabaoth quickly ran to the side of Suzy and began healing her wounds.

"Oh, this is terrible... my new sheath is ruined..." While no trace of Mud's cloak now remained, the leather scabbard made by Ingeit still clung to Mud's back, the strap wrapped around the golem's torso. It was intact, but showed signs of decades of age and neglect. The previously vibrant red was now faded to a pinkish grey, and the metal was tarnished. Mud's metal endoskeleton, as well as the bodies of Mud and Ego, showed no signs of damage.

"Ego, I will repair the scabbard as soon as possible." The sword seemed somewhat mollified by the words and settled down. Mud itself felt uncomfortable wearing something worn down and damaged on its body; a butler had to look its best.

Mud examined the surrounding crowds. Despite the initial shock that Mud is not a human, there appeared to be no immediate problems. There was some whispering as the crowd speculated on Mud's species, but it sounded more like curiosity than concern. The Association already knew Mud is a golem, so perhaps this was for the best. As Mud thought those things, a booming impact struck the ground behind it, accompanied by a sharp spike in Detect Malice.

Turning to look, there stood a tall, thin man in a rainbow-colored robe. Clutched in his hand, he held an intricate statue of Yaldabaoth in glistening white metal, eyes set with rubies. The face of the priest was twisted in rage, and a strange fire lit his eyes with rage. A small crater dug into the arena floor around his feet, the result of his leap from the VIP box.

"STAIN IN THE EYE OF THE GODS! BEGON!" In a smooth motion, the Venerable Gnostic priest lifted his arm holding the figurine of Yaldabaoth. An obsolescent glow began to radiate from the priest's body, concentrating into the figurine. After a moment, the energy seemed to vanish all at once. A horrible pressure descending upon Mud's soul, heavier than even the contract with Jabrax. Above the golem, a spiral of rainbow light appeared in the air. From the rip in the universe, a rod of purest white fell towards Mud like the fist of an angry God.

Mud's vision was blinded by white light, and a horrible sound filled its mind. A song like the creation of the universe, the sound that ends the world, the cry of the torment of souls. The sensations were overwhelming, but at the same time seemed slightly muted.

The horrible cacophony held the quality of traveling through a dampening material, reducing the impact. The light seemed blocked by a black silhouette, without which Mud was sure that its body would be wiped from existence. The weight on Mud's soul was being shouldered by someone else, making the pressure endurable.

As the light and sound slowly faded, Mud learned the identity of its savior. There, standing above Mud, was Leader Thagi Ghul. Smoke rose from the black armor of Ghul, and blood flowed from every orifice in his head. His expression was one of annoyance.

"Leader Ghul, this is a matter for the Church to handle. Why do you interfere?" The priest scowled at Ghul, appearing equally annoyed at the interruption.

"This monster is under Association protection." Thagi looked down at the perfectly still figure of Mud between his legs. Best to let these two absurdly powerful individuals work this out among themselves, thought Mud. It's not like anything it could do now would make a difference.

Leader Ghul returned his sight to the priest. "Mud is a member of the Delver's Association. I can't simply allow him to be executed arbitrarily."

"It is not arbitrarily! Do you even know what kind of... thing you're protecting!? This is not merely some magical beast!" The head priest pointed an accusatory finger downwards towards Mud. "This is a construct!" He seemed to spit out the word, like even saying it put a foul taste in his mouth. "Its very existence is an insult to the Archons. The Church of the Venerable Gnostics has decreed that they must be killed on sight."

Thagi Ghul sneered at the raging priest. "I don't care what the Church decrees, I follow the law of the Association. If you try to attack my subordinate again, I will crush you."

The priest seemed to size the towering black-armored warrior up for a moment, but quickly abandoned the idea of fighting him. Instead, he began to speak in a more diplomatic tone. "Surely you understand how dangerous this sort of lifeform is. It is not merely a matter of faith that caused the Church to condemn constructs. They're inherently dangerous. Massive damage has already been done several times by a rampaging Golem. It's only a matter of time until something goes wrong with this one. If this thing ends up destroying Geltheas, how will you take responsibility?"

Murmuring spread through the crowd. Compared to the earlier fanaticism, this argument seemed much more convincing. Even Ghul frowned in thought. After a delay, Thagi finally replied. "I understand the threat that a Golem poses to our community. If I had realized Mud was a Golem before he joined the Delver's Association, I would have certainly destroyed him. "

Ah, it seems Jabrax was right, thought Mud. Mud had assumed the demon was simply overly paranoid or manipulating him in some convoluted way, but it seems that was not the case. Or, perhaps she had been right by coincidence. Somehow, that seemed more likely.

"However," Thagi raised his head and made eye contact with the priest. "He... it is now a member of the Association. If your Church tries to kill him in my city, things are going to escalate well beyond what either of us wants." A moment of silence as the priest chewed over the leader's words. "For now, I suggest you leave. I'll make sure Mud here doesn't cause any problems. And besides, we need all the help we can get for the upcoming wave. You are going to help with the wave, right Mud?"

Being out of mana, Mud quickly reached for the bangle wrapped around Ego and transmitted its reply to Ghul. "Yes, I will help with the wave. Do not destroy me."

"Good, he agreed. Well?" Thagi looked directly at the priest again.

He hesitated for a moment, tightly gripping his figure of Yaldabaoth. Eventually, though, he clenched his teeth and turned away. Walking back to the VIP section, he called over his shoulder. "This isn't over. I'll be contacting my superiors."

Turning back towards Mud, Thagi spoke once more before leaving. "After this tournament is over, we're going to have a little conversation about when we first met. And about that sword on your back."

On second thought, being exposed was not for the best at all.