Michael clicks his tongue thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair as he reads over the notes available. "Swan Lady sounds fun," he comments dryly. What a basic playbook. He went through that phase too, sure, but it turns out that manipulating everybody is a shitty way to live your life.

He could manage that, he thinks. He knows those tricks. But there's plenty of people who can handle a little trickery, and fewer with his more unique talents. Best to focus on what he, and he specifically, can do. Illarion's world isn't too much like his own. Their demons sound extremely different. But he's seen Illarion - actually seen him properly - so he thinks he's got a good understanding of how their higher-dimensional beings operate. It really doesn't seem that different from back home.

"I'll go after these shrike people," he concludes. "I'm not going to go insane or whatever when I see them." Despite being, to all outward appearances, a normal human? He does not provide any further explanation!