The Spatial Non-Overlap Rule

Devils truly were masters at manipulating hearts.

After utterly crushing Eruien's spirit, Ahli swayed her waist as she walked over, bent down, gently stroked his back, and changed her tone.

"Poor boy, you should understand that relationships between mortal men and women are often false, fleeting, and fickle. If you wish to gain true security and warmth, then submit to me.

Sign a contract with me, offer up your soul, and honor me as your patron. I will let you experience ultimate and eternal pleasure, grant you great power, and make you a warlock!"

The other two cambions approached and formed a triangle around Ahli, beginning to chant in Infernal.

Hellfire burst from the ground in an instant, and a crimson magic circle flickered into view.

A contract carrying the ancient scent of sulfur appeared before Eruien.

"If I sign the contract, can I forget all my pain and receive true affection?"

"Of course."

"Alright, I am willing. My master Ahli, please cherish me." Eruien wore a besotted expression, completely submitting.

A warlock drew their power from the exalted being with whom they had signed a contract, such as angels, fiends, fey, and so on.

Depending on the terms of the contract, the relationship between patron and warlock could range from equal cooperation to absolute domination.

The contract Eruien had signed with Ahli was clearly the most unfair kind.

From now on, Ahli, as his patron, would likely need only a single command to make "Mr. Hero" obey completely.

Hidden in the woods on the mountain, Marvin watched Eruien reach toward the devil's contract and turned to Miss Zorana. "Alright, the show is over. What should we do?"

Killing intent flashed through Miss Zorana's eyes. "While the devils are occupied with signing the contract, we should attack and send them back to Hell.

Mr. Marvin, I know you are cautious by nature and unwilling to take part in such dangerous battles, but I have two reasons. Once you hear them, you will certainly agree with my decision."

"Please, go on."

"First, your three friends have been captured. I do not think you are cold-blooded enough to watch them be taken back to the Nine Hells, their souls stripped from their bodies and transformed into devils."

Marvin nodded.

Though he regarded caution as the foremost principle in how he conducted himself, he was not so cold-blooded that he could watch his friends die without doing anything.

Naturally, that was only if he was confident he could save them without putting his own life in danger.

"The second reason is this: aren't you curious about the devils' true plan? Ahli set this trap and used methods that were half coercion, half temptation to corrupt Eruien. That was probably only one of her purposes for coming to the Material Plane.

There must be another reason why devils have appeared in such large numbers around Blue Creek Valley and are hunting humans so aggressively. I suffered this unprovoked disaster and nearly lost my life. I have to get to the bottom of it."

Marvin continued nodding.

He could not have agreed more with Miss Zorana's analysis.

Friendly Arm was already facing the threat of mind flayers, and now devils had emerged to complicate matters. The situation was becoming increasingly complex.

The prerequisite for caution was obtaining sufficient intelligence in order to make the choice most beneficial to one's own safety.

If he failed to uncover the devils' true purpose and, due to a lack of information, made a choice that seemed cautious but was actually suicidal, would that not be a tragedy?

Seeing that she had persuaded Marvin, Miss Zorana continued, "I still have plenty of spell slots. I can deal with all three cambions, including Ahli, their leader. Find a way to rescue your companions, then we will deal with the remaining devils together.

If all goes smoothly, I believe we have at least a sixty percent chance of winning."

Marvin smiled, raised a finger, and gently shook it. "Miss Zorana, let us follow my plan instead. I guarantee a one hundred percent chance of victory."

While watching the "hero's fall into evil" performance earlier, Marvin had already worked out several battle plans based on the resources at hand.

Although he preferred to rescue his companions and quietly flee, if he truly had to fight the devils, he would be fully prepared.

After repeatedly eliminating and refining options, he had long settled on a method that was costly but carried the least risk and could instantly defeat a powerful enemy.

"Your plan has a one hundred percent chance of success? I would like to see it." Miss Zorana spoke with great interest.

She was not mocking him. She sincerely wanted to see just how many more surprises this mage she had taken a liking to could bring her.

Marvin took out the Packhorse Sack and asked, "Miss Zorana, have you heard of the Spatial Non-Overlap Rule?"

The Spatial Non-Overlap Rule was a taboo concerning the use of spatial magic, one that Faerûn's spellcasters had summarized over the long course of exploring and studying arcane arts.

Simply put, multiple artificially created minor spaces of the same type could not occupy the same spatial coordinates and overlap, or terrible consequences would result.

Take the most common spatial magic item, the bag of holding, for example.

If one bag of holding were placed inside another, causing the two minor Astral spaces to overlap, a spatial collapse reaction would occur. Both bags of holding would be destroyed at once, forming an Astral black hole that sucked every nearby object into the Astral Plane.

Marvin's words made Miss Zorana's eyes light up. "That truly is a good idea, but how exactly will we carry it out?"

Marvin only smiled and cast [Enhanced Mage Hand].

All they needed to do was wait until the three cambions led by Ahli were busy conducting the ritual, having Eruien sign the contract and become a warlock, with no attention to spare. Then Mage Hand could carry the two storage items above them and drop them, solving the problem in one move.

Once the cambions serving as the brains and commanders were dead, the remaining devils would be easy to deal with.

The only issue was that, aside from the Packhorse Sack, who would provide the other storage item?

Marvin had only one Leomund storage ring on him.

The miscellaneous goods in the Packhorse Sack could be lost, but the scrolls, potions, cash, two flintlock pistols, and other belongings inside the storage ring amounted to nearly all his possessions. He could not casually throw them away.

So Marvin looked at Miss Zorana.

As the head of House Infernall, Zorana's wealth far surpassed Marvin's.

She had two storage rings on hand alone.

Under Marvin's gaze, the Red Wizards lady was so conflicted that she wanted to scratch her head.

One of the two storage rings she wore had been passed down by her ancestor, Nie Rong. In that era, storage rings had been exceptionally rare magical items, and their principles were entirely different from modern storage rings based on Leomund's spatial magic.

The other was a tenth birthday gift from her mother.

"Miss Zorana, since I proposed the plan, I should bear the cost as well. Lend me one storage item, and afterward I will compensate you with a ring." Marvin felt it was necessary to make the conflicted Miss Zorana decide quickly.

Miss Zorana shot Marvin a glare and complained inwardly, You clueless man, is this about money?

Still, she ultimately put the bigger picture first. After only a brief hesitation, she took off the storage ring her mother had given her and began transferring its contents into the other ring.

A set of white porcelain tea ware, a cosmetics case, many snacks, several changes of clothes, including three sets of red lace underwear with large cutouts...

Hmm, do you people from Thay love red that much? Even your underwear is the same color as your mage robes...

"Alright, here." After moving everything over, Miss Zorana handed the storage ring to Marvin.

Marvin accepted the ring without changing his expression, as if he had seen nothing just now.

Afterward, the two discussed matters and divided their tasks.

Marvin would control Mage Hand to drop the black hole bomb, while Miss Zorana would quietly sneak down the mountain and rescue the three members of the Goddess Body Fragrance Squad.

After the black hole killed the three cambions conducting the ritual, they would attack together and clear out the remaining devils.

Miss Zorana cast Feather Fall on herself, drank a potion of invisibility, rose to her feet, and began moving.

Meanwhile, Marvin immediately cast [Enhanced Mage Hand], picked up the Packhorse Sack and the storage ring, and sent them flying toward the place below where the cambions were conducting their ritual.