I do not own Naruto, Overlord (the game), or anything else that may or may not appear within the story. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Have we not long since established that?!
The one called the Overlord
Chapter One: An informal beginning
Konoha, night
It all started... relatively simple. A failed exam. A promise of his dream to come true. Breaking into the Old Man's vault to retrieve the Forbidden Scroll... running off into the forest to the meeting spot and reading an article within the scroll both for a little 'extra credit' while passing the time. Being found by Iruka before Mizuki-sensei, being scolded for stealing the scroll in the first place... being told he was Kyuubi reincarnate by Mizuki and subsequently reassured he wasn't by Iruka...
As bad as it was, that was where things truly went to hell.
With his perfected shadow clone technique he made a literal army of copies that overwhelmed Mizuki by sheer numbers alone by leaping onto him like a wave coming in on all sides. It was then a... presence made itself known from the shadows. The point of conflict was engulfed in an all consuming fire that utterly obliterated everything from the epicenter to the faintest of the blast's limits, leaving all but scorched, blackened earth in its wake. It had decimated his army of clones, fried himself to a severe degree despite being the furthest one there and inadvertently guarded by his own wall of clones... and did nothing but vaporize the unsuspecting chunin in the clearing. If they screamed at all then he couldn't have heard it over the roar of the hellish flame while it lasted. Or quite possibly he had unwittingly drowned out theirs with his own screaming from the sheer pain of the heat assaulting him. As he rolled around on the ground where the grass was still green and cool he almost completely failed to notice the hulking figure making its way toward him, its form illuminated only from the light provided by the burning branches. Unfortunately it only served to silhouette his body and horned head. In no condition to stand and fight, much less form a plan, he fled into the woods just as a ball of fire was hurled toward him. One that would've obliterated him if the sound of snapping and groaning of burning wood warned him of anything.
And then there were the ANBU... He wasn't sure if it was because he stole the scroll or else the revelation of his status as the container of the Nine-Tails but they were out for blood. Thankfully it seemed that they and... 'him' were not on the same side either. Of the two the creature gave chase to Naruto more often than not, but the moment they, the ANBU and the creature, saw one another they launched one attack after another at each other. In any case it afforded him the chance to delve deeper into the woodland and scurry into the cave were he rested now...
For better or worse he couldn't feel much of anything anymore. Not the burning sensation from before, the nicks from the swords and kunai that further maimed him, not even that kunai he found lodged in the front of his shoulder till his eye glanced in its direction. In fact he was only able tell that he was still holding onto the now singed Forbidden Scroll was by looking at how tightly it was clutched in his unfeeling, shredded, bloodied pale arms. But that was not what bothered him... try as he might he could only clutch at that scroll tighter and tighter for dear life as he tried and tried again to keep himself from feeling anything, especially with the knowledge that it was thanks to his own blind trust and ambition that not only led him to this but what it had cost him.
Abrupt giggling of an perhaps crazed but non-maliciously jovial variety emanated from the depths of the cave, causing him to jerk his head to the darkness of the earth's depths. Soon enough an eager small creature of yellow-brown skin scampered out from the darkness with others soon following it. They were virtually naked save for a loincloth for each of them. Only a few wore legitimate clothing, ragged though they were while a select few were armored with equally shoddy bracers or chest pieces if not both. Likewise they were poorly armed with clubs save a few that were armed with nicked, crude swords, knives and simple woodcutter's axes.
"Master! Master!"
As they scampered to him, he in his shock scrambled away, instinctively clutching the scroll as he did so whilst his numb hand attempted to find one of his kunai despite fingering the ring of one without realizing it.
"AH! BIG RED BACK!"
"KILL IT!"
"ATTACK!"
As an angry and berserk horde they rushed passed Naruto without a second glance. In the meantime as they rushed passed him he could've heard a singular voice being echoed off of them, demanding that they stop and "retrieve the young master!" Regardless, with their abrupt change in behavior he looked back and let loose a choked squeal as that perpetually shadowed creature lumbered toward the mouth of the cave as a definitive shadow amongst shadows. Not even the dull ball of fire loosely clutched in what appeared to be a gnarled claw did much to reveal anything beyond the leathery red hide of its arm and the sparse armor protecting it. For a moment it made as if to hurl the ball of fire at the creatures hurtling toward it only to gutturally grunt and growl in both pain and ire when a kunai darted into view and lodged itself into the side of its shoulder.
... It also had a piece of paper attached to it, one end of which was sizzling.
BOOM!
Only a few of the creatures were close enough to be enveloped by the sudden explosion whilst the rest were knocked onto their backs. Even he felt the sheer force of the blast rattle his bones as he shielded his eyes from the brilliant bang of fire and smoke. As for the creature it affected the most... it bellowed in unadulterated anguish and rage. Out of sheer retaliation a bolt of dark fire lanced out from within the cloud in the direction of the other attacker. Not even a moment later it lumbered out of the cloud and soon enough out of sight completely before Naruto could note how badly it was hurt, if it was truly hurt.
"That's it! That's it! Get him back here before that thing comes back to finish the job you useless maggots!"
"Get the Master!"
By the time he brought his attention back to the strange creatures they had already barred down on him in an entangling mass of arms that hoisted him up into the air by his back with little effort. He didn't even have half a second to struggle before they rushed off with him still held up high into the depths of the cave. A few whooped and cried out before being muffled entirely and just as he looked past the scroll still clutched within his arms he found himself thrown feet first into a hole.
"GOOF!"
Unfortunately for all intents and purposes he was stuck; between the scroll and his chest he was too wide to fit through, his legs uselessly kicking empty air within the tunnel itself.
"We don't have time!" the voice from earlier barked, sounding as if speaking through radio. "Yank him by his feet! Jump on his shoulders! Whack on his head if you have to! Those humans can only distract that thing for so long!"
"DOG PILE MASTAH!"
Dementedly giggling to themselves, Naruto was utterly helpless as those creatures pulled on his legs from underneath while the others crashed down on him in a pile. Be it one way or the other if not both he was soon free of his predicament only to be forcibly dragged down the surprisingly spacious but smaller tunnel against his will. He tried to kick at his assailant as it dragged him in a hurry yet he couldn't land a blow, its hands were on his ankles. He tried to reach out to grab a hold of something but only found enough room to only part from the scroll before clapping against the roof of the tunnel he was in, discernible only by the strain his arms felt in trying to rise beyond a rough estimate and the scraping of flesh against earth and stone echoing in his ears. To make matters even worse even if he could at least sit up the tunnel began to echo with the excited hoots and giggles of those creatures as they began to quickly catch up with him.
"Damn it!"
XVX
Underground chamber
He honestly could not recall anything that vexed him more greatly than anything related to goody-two-shoes heroes, harping fat fairies, cunning, thieving gnomes, anything related to goodness and light, and elves than this menace. Hell, he just might be willing to consider the absolutely miniscule possibility of attending some sort of concert orchestrated by those pointy-eared nuisances concerning all things light, love and, egh! fluffy if it meant he could mind his own business and search for a new and qualified Overlord in relative peace! But no. Worse yet he wasn't even sure which irked him more greatly: that demonic beast on a rampage, AGAIN, or having to resort to what could very well be the very last of the original line of Overlords! Or rather the only line of Overlords he could trace back to its source as an Overlord... Regardless, what made this situation even worse was that he had yet to mature in any way evil! Granted he was young of course but there was a principle at stake! He could've at least kicked the crutches out of a crippled beggar! Tormented a cat at the very least! ... Perhaps he did and they simply hadn't noticed, a fair chance of that happening too since they couldn't watch him every hour on the hour, but alas, sometimes Evil was as fickle as it was irrevocably rude at times as made evident on given what was to happen; as much as he loved Evil, it certainly chaffed him the wrong way at times.
"OOF!"
Immediately the grayed minion came to an abrupt halt from its pacing to look over to the source of the noise where an impromptu minion tunnel was made. He wasn't sure whether to smirk or scowl at the sight of a minion struggling to pull up their soon-to-be, but now stuck, master out of the hole by his legs, but he scowled anyway out of sheer force of habit. "Don't just stand there you lolli-louts! Go and help him!" Immediately from the sides a pack of brown minions jumped into action and began to tug and pull on the 'Master's' legs.
"Put your backs into it!" Honestly, it was bad enough already in the good sense of the word.
"GAAAH!"
In a mighty heave the brawny browns managed to finally dislodge their stuck 'Overlord' and went tumbling into each other with the blond landing right atop of them. From the tunnel returned what was left of the haphazard force that was sent to collect him, eagerly swarming him and waiting to see what would happen. With a "humph" he sauntered over to the confused and unnerved child. As he drew closer his scowl worsened as he eyed the child and took immediate note of the startling, unhealthy divide of normal flesh along his back from what could be seen in the gaps of his clothing and the sickening pallor of white that dominated the front. Upon closer inspection his arms, specifically where the outer arm which was exposed amongst the burnt gap in the clothing, they were wet with puss and other juices of skin trying to heal itself as it scabbed over. In fact it was like that in other parts of his body as well on a second look, only hidden to the undiscerning eye; third degree burns... Nerve damage, a blessing in disguise in some cases that would render even hardened men and women into bawling, undignified messes. That or this child had a resilience far greater than most of his old masters. Oh how his shriveled black heart fluttered at that thought!
"Greetings Master!" he announced more grumpily than he would've liked, but as far as he knew he had not the luxury of taking things slow if that thing was on the hunt again. It could be very well on its way again at this very moment! "I'm sure you have a great many questions to ask but I suggest we get out of here before—
BOOM!
HE KNEW IT!
"Blast it! I hate it when we're on the other side of the boot! Come on! The browns and traps can only distract that thing for so long! And they're not even the good ones!"
"What is going on here!?" Naruto shouted at long last.
"No time to explain—BOOM!—Needless to say that thing is after you like you personally wronged it!"
"WHY?!"
"For all I care it's just stupider than any minion I ever came across! Now come!" Immediately after he scurried off in the direction of a crude tunnel large enough to permit Naruto to enter through. Hesitant as he was, at the sound of another explosion of fire and a now familiar bellow he followed after the diminutive, gray creature dressed in a cloak of a leather patchwork mantle and tattered cloth without further coaxing. As he began to follow him, ten of the other creatures lined up behind him like dutiful, albeit giddy, bodyguards as the rest either ran off ahead of their gray counterpart or went off with war cries in the direction of the roaring as it grew louder by the second.
"This way! We mustn't tarry long!" the grayed creature shouted despite it being a tunnel... Or rather he thought it was a tunnel until a shaft of moonlight peaked through a hole in the ceiling.
The light was dim but in the absence of a torch or a flashlight it was more than enough to at least illuminate a walkway amongst an abrupt chasm beneath them, the walls of the tunnel giving way to a natural cavern. Caught off guard, his meandered to the side and came to an abrupt halt when he felt his foot dip almost dangerously forward upon its last step. Curious and squinting as he did so, he peered out into the unlit darkness and edged his foot forward into yet another chasm, identifying that what he was on was a bridge half hidden in the shadows.
"Master! We have no time for dallying!"
Jerking in response, Naruto carefully skidded himself away from the hidden edge of the bridge and cautiously followed after the grayed creature, the brown ones still eagerly following him.
"DAMN IT!" Soon enough however he was forced to stop. It took him a realize as to why but looking to the Gray he finally noticed what appeared to be some kind of glowing lantern hovering over its hunched shoulder. A glowing... crystal(?) to be exact. Still it was enough to reveal at least part of what appeared to be a cave-in at the end of the bridge where another tunnel awaited them. A large boulder blocked the path to be exact. "I knew I should've put that much waypoint closer! But nooo..."
The creature swiveled in place and looked to the blond with a scowl. "Well I suppose this is as good an opportunity as any seeing as we're not burning to death. Now Master! Sweep the Browns forward and they'll clear this mess away for your magnificence to walk through."
"Huh?"
"Just wave your arm in this direction: minions are simple like that!"
"Uh... right..." He hesitantly glanced behind him at the eager faces looking up at him. Frowning, he returned his attention to the boulder and thrust his arm out at it. The moment he did so the 'minions' cheered or eagerly roared as they lurched forward and sprinted toward the stone, slamming themselves into it and shoving it back with impressive force. Already the boulder gave way and was being pushed back by the creatures, down the tunnel and into the darkness it provided.
"Mm, yes. That's good. Very good," the gray 'minion' mumbled aloud as he waddled to the tunnel. "I'm glad to see my worries were unfounded. Come Master! I'd rather not find out how fast that dumb behemoth is should it catch up." As if to confirm or challenge that claim a roar echoed out from the previous tunnel, albeit faintly. It was enough to spur blond into action however as he followed the creature once more into the shadowed tunnel with only the sound of the grunting 'browns' to accompany them throughout the trip.
Soon enough the tunnel once again opened into a room, one poorly but easily brightened by a crude brazier. It also appeared to be the final room as far as their path was concerned, not to mention it was large enough for the minions to abandon the boulder they had pushed into it and leave ample enough room for them to scurry past it to return to the blond once more; even if they had bothered to stop and crowd the area around the rock there would've been room for both him and the other creature both to squeeze through, barely. Regardless, once he passed the boulder he found not another tunnel but what appeared to be an old glyph covered pad of some kind surrounded by small stones as if it had erupted from the ground.
"Just give me a minute... Hopefully that glutton hadn't drained all the magic on the other end. It would be marvelous if he had moved on however. One less annoyance to say the least."
Unsure of what he was talking about as he sauntered to the pad, Naruto shifted about in unease as he looked over his shoulder and past the boulder to the tunnel they had exited from as if expecting... whatever it was to suddenly show up as it previously had without warning. Unfortunately he couldn't tell if it was genuinely empty, or if the creature had somehow managed to sneak into the tunnel despite its size and was staring back at him at this very moment.
Suddenly he looked to his hand, then to the 'minions' who were eagerly awaiting orders. Frowning, he waved it to the boulder and with newfound cries of motivation they began to push the boulder back into the tunnel. As if reading his mind they traveled only to the tunnel's entrance, sealing it off with the rock much like it had before when they first found it.
"Ha! We're in luck!" By the time Naruto looked over to Gnarl he had turned around with a smug grin on his face. It was lost however as he looked about the room as if he had missed something, blinking in confusion to attest to as much before realizing the boulder had been placed onto the entrance. "Ah. I see... Quite clever. I wonder why I haven't thought about that?" he mused to himself as he stroked his beard. "And to think I was afraid you wouldn't have an ounce of wit to you either. " He nodded to himself. "A promising young Lord indeed!"
"Can you finally tell me what's going on?" Naruto demanded at long last.
"Soon, soon Sire," he assured him in a coddling tone. "But first its best we step through this gate whilst it's still active," he said as he gestured to the circular stone pad. A perfect ring of white encircled the primary glyph by use of the crevice between the decorative slab and the emerging stones that surrounded it. "Even I'll admit that it isn't idyllic in any sense, for us at least, it'll be far safer there than here so long as that demon is on the hunt for you. "
He scowled at the gray 'minion' and tightened his hold of the scroll... "Fine." As much as he wanted to argue it he had to ignore the urge to for the sake of current circumstances. That and safeguarding what could be his only... memento... of this night was the only thing he could do from outright breaking down and crying as he licked his wounds.
Without any further prompting he strode to the glowing pad and stepped onto it. It was only a moment later that he realized anything had happened in doing so. That the scenery itself had changed from a partially crafted underground room barely lit by a brazier to the outer ring of what appeared to be a circular room with stone walls. In fact the ring where the pad, amazingly identical to the first one yet built upon an exposed gap within the stonework floor, appeared to be the bottom tier as the wall he found behind him was yet another ringed floor. Above that and partially seen was another tier, and another... From the top of the tiered set of floors he could've sworn he heard someone or something wolfing down a meal at the highest platform, but try as he might by backing away to the outer wall he couldn't see who or what it was.
"Master!" the creature quietly hissed, drawing his attention back to the pad the second after it appeared. It brought it's gnarled hand, finger pointed, to its lips in a shushing gesture before carefully walking away to a nearby door where the morning sun's light crept through.
Looking to the top once more, Naruto followed the creature.
XVX
The Deadlands
Broken, withered, dark, apt descriptions of the once beautiful and humble lands of a now dead kingdom with nary a heir or peasant to proclaim its destruction. At least none who were not traitors to their once kin. Now the fields were dying from diseases yet to be named along with their cattle if any remained alive to begin with. The forests were rotting from both the inside and out as they lost their luster. Villages and towns crumble from neglect as their once caretakers were either dead or had left. Short of burning in hellfire, it was as peaceful as it could get without drawing too many curious stares from anything other than a hapless adventurer, unaware of the deathly shadows that would stalk them the moment they came into his domain. And if word got out of what had happened? That it wasn't the work of 'gods' or natural phenomena converging all at once? That gateways to other realms were being built in secret? Well it would troublesome. Irksome really if they had to move their operations elsewhere once again. At this stage there was still enough of a chance for something to go horribly wrong. The best case scenario of course is that if the world had indeed became aware of its impending fate it would take time for them to rally underneath a single banner to face him. If nothing else he could simply disappear back into the shadows and await a new opportunity when their guard was down. He may not have liked it but as they say, haste produces waste. Besides, countermeasures were in place to buy him time, reduce risks if nothing else... provided of course that they weren't slacking off, again.
Still, putting everything aside from the slow work and bumbling lieutenants at the best of times, this duty wasn't entirely without its charms. While it can be wanting at times, some people and cultures certainly knew how to create an entertaining tale every now and then in their literature.
"My Lord Venos."
When they weren't interrupting him of course.
Quietly a pale man dressed plainly in the attire of an unassuming noble closed the book around his thumb in lieu of a bookmark. Turning about in the library of a now decrepit castle, its king long since assassinated by his deranged son thanks to a quiet suggestion, he disinterestedly looked at the hooded cultist out of the corner of his eye. "Yes?"
He hooded man bowed to him. "I bring word of Lord Fernus' expedition into the Foreign Lands. It seems that the continent he is exploring is full of men and women, lords and peasants alike who could very well be potential threats to your plans. But that is not all..." He paused.
The man bit back an annoyed sigh. "What else?" he patiently demanded. Again the cultist bowed.
"It would seem that despite the vigorous and thorough searching during each of the previous 'expeditions,' there was a survivor. Or at least the descendant of one was found within the continent my lord. In either case this Potential's servants had evacuated him before Lord Fernus could execute him. As of right now they have no clue as to where he is or where they are based. They may have fled altogether."
A tired sigh left the man as he sauntered to a wall within the library, one cleared of bookshelves and other frivolities associated with a library or even a den so as to make room for a collection of scarred weaponry, reclaimed helmets, and maimed remainders. "Exactly whose servants are they referring to?"
"We believe they belong that to the Decimator of the Empire of the Infernal Lands back in the West."
"The one with the... gremlins, wasn't it?" he asked as he picked up a pitted and scored helmet. Five spikes protruded from the rim along the top like a crown. The first two at the farthest sides where the temple would be were small, purely decorative. The next two however rose up like slightly curved horns tapered to point inward rather marginally, or at least one did whereas the other one was shorn off. As for the middle, prominent in its own right, it was more akin to a spike in comparison as it rose halfway up between the two.
"I believe he was called "The Overlord" at the time," the cultist replied.
"Ah yes, I remember now," the noble hummed as he set the helmet back where he found it. "Between making those lands utterly uninhabitable and the skirmishes that followed, he and his successors proven themselves to be quite vexing..."
"Where is this descendant now?" he suddenly asked the cultist.
"Their report claims they had to retreat— the village the 'successor' was inhabiting at the time was filled with those of lesser Potentials, but many of whom are powerful nevertheless even for the likes of Lord Fernus."
"I see. Have the others at least sent word in regards to their own tasks?"
"... Only a few reported back that they had made landfall my lord."
The man meticulously reached up and began to rub his forehead. "Bring me a map. I want to know where the useful ones are at least before some hero or warlord causes us further trouble."
"Yes my lord."
He didn't bother in the slightest in turning to ensure his agent had indeed ran off to another section of the library to find the item he request; his eyes never left the ruined helmet. "Your kind just lives to cause us trouble, doesn't it?" With a deliberate sigh he reached over and with a single finger he knocked it over onto its side. "It doesn't matter," he said to himself as he turned around and left to the nearest window. From there he looked down the courtyard where a handful of monolithic rings of stone were either being crafted, being inscribed upon or were being set upon previously dug out holes; once they were in, the bottom third of the ring would be covered with dirt and held in place by supports as the ground settled. "We can always do things by force in the end."