Shar went straight for the heart of the matter. "Devils may enjoy toying with human souls, but they have no creativity.
"Something like alchemical potions is not something they could figure out on their own.
"And to develop such a potion to the point where it could truly enhance a human's Mental Sea, the number of human souls consumed would have to be measured in worlds.
"Only after achieving a certain degree of success would they use Mage souls as raw materials... those are precious goods, with one fewer every time one is used."
Hill looked at Shar blankly. "Don't Devils have Hags?"
"You don't think their alchemical prowess is great just because they can create Greater Devils, do you?" Shar laughed. "That is because the raw materials not only have to be precious, but also willing... most importantly, Devils are naturally capable of reaching that level. They simply cannot do so quickly through their own power.
"Even then, only Devils with nowhere else to turn would be willing to accept a Hag's restraints.
"You don't think what those Devils fear is a Hag's orders, do you?
"For Devils, whose hierarchy is terrifyingly oppressive, obeying one master is the same as obeying another. A Hag's contract may be difficult to fulfill, but it is not impossible.
"Getting stronger ahead of time is more than tempting enough for them.
"But even with fixed formulas, Hags can still fail. That is why they are unwilling to take the risk.
"They would not truly die, but what they wanted was strength, not to fail and end up hiding in gutters, barely clinging to life.
"And Hags like that already represent the peak of Hell's alchemy."
Of course, Hell had stronger Alchemy Grandmasters, but... in an environment like Hell, they would certainly conceal their