Maleficus or The Romances Of A God And His Demon
Summary: Born with the name Shima Naoki, a young man is caught up in the battle of a universe, and is given a claim to godhood. The story of the rise of King Artaxias, lord of all demons, and his legendary journey to quell the forces of time and save those he loved. Also contains a good bit of our lovable Lucifer. Pairings: Slash/Straight/Humanoid.
Author's Note: Please forgive me for this travesty. Warnings for all sorts of things - swearing, sex, violence (not much yet, but over the course of the story you'll be surprised). Basic SMT fare, except maybe more, maybe less graphic.
Category: Miscellaneous RPG (Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniax)
Disclaimer: Listen up, and listen well, because this is the last time I say this. I own NOTHING. If there is anything in the story I refer to that may belong to someone else, this disclaimer indemnifies me. Okay?
Chapter P: Birth, or World-Child's Dilemma
It was your average day in Tokyo. The sun was shining bright on the landscape, people bustled around doing their thing, and no-one (thinking objectively here) had a care in the world. In fact, it was much like every other day in Tokyo, except it was one train stop closer to eternal damnation in hell. And that train stop was the Yoyogi Park Station, on the 11:55 express train that was carrying an otherwise unremarkable young man.
Now, Shima Naoki (Just Naoki from this point onwards) was largely the same as every other student in the area. He lived an average life, hung out with average friends, ate average food and played average video games (When he could find the time). He was five feet and ten inches tall, and weighed one-hundred-and-sixty pounds. Okay, maybe he had large hands and feet, and had hair that no-one else could emulate, and wore a silver jacket with a demon graphic emblazoned on it, but other than that he was the same as everyone else.
However, one thing was different about Naoki – he had a large interest in demonology. In fact, so grand was his love for the occult that at one point he had speculated joining a cult – the 'Cult Of Gaea'. However, he had talked himself out of it, and gone on with his life – never forgetting that he had been on the brink of hell.
Anyway, Naoki had pressing engagements on this particular day. His favourite teacher, Miss Yuko Takao, had been caught unawares by a bug in the area, and had come down with a bad illness. Although it wasn't fatal, his friend Isamu Nitta, who also happened to be crushing on said teacher, had decided that he, Naoki and their other group member Chiaki Tachibana would go and visit her in the Shinjuku Medical Centre to help her get better. Of course, Naoki knew his teacher very well and also knew she would be quite peeved at Isamu, but he thought it was for the best, and decided to accompany them.
Suddenly, something began vibrating in Naoki's pocket. Digging in and clawing around it, he pulled out his mobile phone and flipped it open.
"Hello?" He spoke into the phone.
"Hey, Naoki!" Shouted a voice from the other end. "It's me, Isamu."
"I could tell," Naoki sniggered. "No-one else is so loud."
"Hey!" The voice on the other end cried. "That stings! I'm trying to be quiet here; others are on the phone too!"
"Wait – suddenly you care?" Naoki continued. He could see the vein growing on Isamu's forehead, and laughed again.
"You're a jerk, Naoki."
"I know."
"Anyway, where are you? I'm just about to go into the Medical Centre and…wait…losing…connection…bye…" The phone died out.
"The hell was that?" Naoki wondered aloud, before stepping off the train. The station was strangely empty, considering it was a Sunday, and Naoki was quite thirsty. Spotting a vending machine, he inserted a couple of coins and out tumbled a drink completely unnamed on the machine.
"A Mysterious Drink, eh?" He opened it, and tried a little. "Ugh!" Dropping the can, he gagged and choked and spat until he got the drink out of his system.
Naoki bent over to pick up the drink, and closed it up, putting it into his pocket. Might do me some good later, he thought before walking in the direction of the exit.
"Hey! You, sir!" Someone yelled out. Naoki, who had almost jumped out of his skin, turned slowly and grimaced – the only person working had to be the only person there. Apparently, someone actually coming into the station was enough of an event to merit breaking the rules, and the man was leaning over the counter and staring at poor Naoki as if he was a godsend.
"Sir! Did you hear about the event in Yoyogi Park?" The operator asked. Naoki groaned – no one had not heard about it, but he decided to humour the poor man to get him off his back.
"No. What happened?"
"There was a riot! Some people died during it. Supposedly it was a battle between to rival cults, but I don't believe a word of that. It was probably just a couple of gangs."
"But monsters were seen in the area."
"I thought you said you didn't know what happened?" The man glared at Naoki, who looked completely composed. "Anyway, I shouldn't have been talking. But it's such a slow day…what with Yoyogi Park being closed off and all…"
"WHAT?!" Naoki yelled. I was going to go through Yoyogi Park! That's just added God-knows how long to my walking time! Naoki sprinted away, left the station and began to run towards Shinjuku.
Elsewhere, strange, strange things where happening. A young blond child had just met one of the fiends his Other had hired, a man from Europe named Dante. Now, Lucifer had always liked Europe – hell, he'd made sure the majority of his demons were born/originated in Europe – but this man was the son of once-lover Sparda, and frankly Mundus would not have it if he allowed Dante to be the one who collected all the candelabra and led his army. His Other had assured him that Dante was not going to – he would be at the side of the one who did, and the Lady In Black had left a sufficient amount of clues that Dante would unravel the plot. However, Beelzebub and Ravana were not convinced, and that was why all of the council had convened deep within the 5th Kalpa where the Fallen Angel Metatron was currently working on his ploy to test possible candidates for godhood. Meganada was sleeping, again.
"SILENCE!" His Other shouted, and clapped for emphasis. Everything stopped.
"Good," Lucifer (Now referred to as Young Lucifer) said. "Now, we are here to discuss a matter of grave importance – the incorporation of the half-demon Dante into our plans."
"I, for one, am against it!" Mundus roared. "That punk nearly destroyed me-"
"Shut up, Mundus," Old Lucifer sighed. "Can we have a response from someone who's not currently/always mentally incapacitated?"
"I'm all for it," Ravana answered. "The more, the merrier, and he's easily strong enough to defeat some demons – he'd be incredibly useful."
"What say you, Beelzebub?" Lucifer continued, nodding at Ravana's suggestion. "You are of chief importance."
"I'm so goddamn hungry!" The Lord Of The Flies shouted. "I don't care whether he joins or not! Ravana's right – he's always right – and I really need to eat! I haven't eaten for three days!"
"Of course," Was Young Lucifer's timely retort. "Now, let's vote. All in favour?"
"Aye." Chanted a multitude of voices.
"All against?"
"Nay." Came two voices.
"Alright, who was that?!" Young Lucifer's voice began to rise. "You all know decisions have to be unanimous!"
"That was me," Came the voice of Baal, Lucifer's left hand. "This…Dante…seems to be quite unpredictable. I am worried for your safety, milord."
"Look, Baal, I will be fine. Dante is nothing compared to me – but he is an excellent addition to our ranks. Now, seeing as only Mundus is against it, let's say Mundus never turned up. Agreed?"
"Agreed. Dante is hired." Old Lucifer smiled.
"That's good." Young Lucifer stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to feed Meganada. Good day. Come on, Mega." And, tapping Meganada on the shoulder he walked into the darkness and disappeared.
"Well, that was productive." Old Lucifer groaned. "Now, does anyone have anything else? No? Then I bid you adieu."
Turning corners at high speed in a battle against cars was not a smart thing to do. Clipping one of his fellow students (Who was just trying to greet him) with his jacket sleeve (that's gotta hurt), Naoki rushed past two girls who he knew were head-over-heels in love with him and sprinted as fast as he could possibly go in the direction of the hospital.
Almost instantaneously, he ground to a halt. Looking to his left, he saw the looming communications tower in the Park and stared up in awe. Noticing that the gate was open for some strange reason, he entered. However, most of the Park was cordoned off, so Naoki turned round to leave and ran straight into a taller man with dreadlocks and a notepad. Naoki fell down and landed right on his ass, painfully.
"Ouch!" He cried.
"Sorry," The man rubbed the back of his head and held out a hand. Naoki latched on to it and pulled himself up. "Wasn't looking where I was going – too busy being entranced by this place."
"Who are you?" Naoki queried. He was actually quite puzzled why the man was holding a blank notebook with no writing equipment.
"I'm Hijiri. Jyoji Hijiri, but you can call me Hijiri. It's rare I talk to someone as wonderful as you," And Hijiri winked. "But what are you doing here? Come to see the show?"
"No-well-sort of," Naoki stuttered. The man had made a pass at him! He didn't know whether to be shocked or flattered. He chose flattered, considering people made passes at him at least twice a day (He was voted the best-looking guy at his school). But, that was not what he was here for, and he was wasting enough time already. "I want to see if there are any traces of the demons."
"Well, I can't say if there are or not, but…" The man sighed, and continued, "I write for an occult magazine – Ayashi Monthly – and I'm here to write an article on these events. My last article was on the phenomenon called the Conception, and I have an issue of it here with me, so…How about you take it? You seem to be interested in the Occult, and it would be wasted if I didn't give it to someone as gorgeous as you…"
"Well, thanks…I suppose." Naoki grinned. "I hope you understand, though – I gave up the occult a long time ago!"
"That's good – I wouldn't have wanted you to die here. Anyway, I have to go, so I'll see you later." And with that Hijiri left.
Leaving the Yoyogi Park, Naoki grabbed a bus (convenient!) and sped off in the direction of the Shinjuku Medical Centre. Unfortunately, it was around that time that his phone went off again, and he answered the call with a sullen "What?! I'm reading!"
"Someone's grumpy," A robust yet feminine voice giggled.
"Oh no," Naoki groaned. "Not used to bad moods, are you, little rich girl?"
"Hey!" She laughed. "I resent that! I'll have you know I have them a lot!" And the two laughed in unison.
"So what is it, Chiaki?"
"Well," She mumbled, "We were wondering where you were. You're late! Hurry up!" And with that, Chiaki hung up.
"Geez! Give a guy a break here!" And as the bus pulled to a stop near the Centre, Naoki stepped out, punched the air and pushed the doors wide open.
"You're finally here!" Chiaki bounded up to him and hugged him. He hugged her before pushing her off.
"Very clingy today, aren't you?" He asked, puzzled.
"Well, it's the fact that Isamu has gone off on his own when no-one – and I mean no-one – is left here. I was sitting here alone in this creepy dump waiting for you to arrive and…hey…what's that you've got there?"
"Oh, it's a magazine. Given to me by a reporter."
"Naoki!" She reprimanded him. "Haven't I told you enough times not to accept things from strangers who flirt with you?" She snatched it out of his hand.
"Give that back!" He cried. She didn't listen.
"Isn't this that occult magazine you used to read?" Flipping through the pages and holding her arms out away from Naoki as he tried to steal it back, she found an article on demons and the Conception and read. "Oh dear God…this is horrifying…"
"What? What?!"
"It says here that a member of the Gaea Cult is attempting to use something called the 'Scripture Of Miroku' to bring about something called the Conception. It goes into greater detail, but that doesn't matter – it claims that the Gaea Cult is centred here, in this hospital!"
"WHAT?!" came another voice from the elevator. Looking up to see who it was, Isamu ran in and grabbed Naoki's hand.
"Naoki! You're here!" Isamu tried to put Naoki's hand to his lips, but Naoki tore it away. "I was so lonely! You don't know how huge and empty this place is!"
"Really?" Naoki said.
"Yes," Isamu continued, standing straight and frowning. "I looked in every room, and Ms. Takao isn't in any of them. But I bought a drink." Handing the can to Naoki, he pocketed it.
"Isamu," Chiaki interjected. "Naoki and I were just reading this. We have to find Ms. Takao fast, or it's all over for her! She could be hurt, experimented on or worse!"
"Calm down, Chiaki," Naoki soothed the two. "Isamu, you said you couldn't find her, right?" Isamu nodded. "Then all three of us go together and check the basement."
"Okay," The other two nodded in agreement.
"Then let's go." Isamu whispered (for some reason). "We've got to hurry."
To walk out of the elevator and into the darkness of the basement was a task and a half for the three best friends. Considering that the door was open and the walls were stained with blood made it even harder, but the icing on the cake was the fact that a bright blue ball shone on every computer screen. Rumours had once abounded that experiments of a strange calibre had occurred here, and they were all eager to find Ms. Takao and be out of the Centre as soon as possible. After arming themselves with equipment bizarrely stored in each room (Naoki with a knife long enough to be considered a machete, Isamu with a hi-tech heat gun and Chiaki with a syringe and scalpel) just in case, the three approached the door of a room that seemed to emanate strange noises. Naoki, praying for survival, pushed open the door and entered.
The inside of the room was almost bare except for a strange spinning drum covered in symbols and markings and a chair which housed someone Naoki recognised as Hikawa, head of Cybers Communications. Hikawa was dressed in a plain brown suit with lots of little beige diamonds, and a black shirt, but Naoki no longer cared about that – he knew something was about to begin as Isamu and Chiaki stepped back.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Hikawa sneered. "But I must wonder: who are you three?"
"We're here for Ms Takao! Hand her over!" Chiaki yelled.
"I'm afraid not," Hikawa smirked. Naoki raised his knife – the slimy bastard probably had something hidden. "Yuko is the Maiden. She is essential to the Creation of the new world of Shijima. And I am sorry to say that she will not be leaving anytime soon…and neither will you." He raised his hand, grasped the end of a bracelet of beads wrapped around his wrist and began to chant.
"Stop!" A voice cried as the outline of a strange demon appeared. "Have mercy!" The intruder cried, but Hikawa ignored her, and, using his power, pushed Isamu and Chiaki out of the room.
"Now die, pitiful human!" The demon bellowed as the outline of the room faded away and nothing but a scorched battlefield was left. "I, Vile Baphomet, shall crush you for the cause of our master!" And it charged towards him as Naoki raised his knife.
The demon's claw flew towards Naoki, but he raised the blade and blocked the blow. Putting all its power into cutting Naoki down, Baphomet raised its hand and struck again, but somehow Naoki felt everything slow down around him. Something snapped in his brain, and he deftly sidestepped the blow and slashed. Baphomet dodged and struck again, this time aiming to cleave Naoki in twain at his waist, but the human had somehow gained more understanding of the situation and managed to duck underneath the blow and swing the knife up, cutting deep into the Baphomet's thigh. Angered, it moved away and began to summon a ball of flames.
"Agilao!" It howled, and the fireball shot straight towards Naoki, who parried it and cut it apart but was seared by the flames. He leapt towards the Baphomet, arms held high, as it reached out to slice through his heart. For a moment, they seemed to hang there, dance partners in the game of war, before Naoki brought the knife down and cut it completely in half, killing it. Its essence dissipated into the air, and Naoki began to feel his soul returning to its original plane of existence as he awoke on the roof, staring his teacher, Ms. Yuko Takao, right in the eye.
"Well," She started off, "It seems you were able to best Hikawa's demon. Your knife is with your jacket – you were wounded, so your friends and I had to bandage you. You could have died – what were you thinking?!"
"Where are Isamu and Chiaki?"
"We're right here," Isamu intervened.
"According to Ms. Takao," Chiaki muttered, "The Conception is going to take place here. We'll all be separated, but because she lured us here we'll survive."
"Naoki, promise me you'll search for us. We have the answers you need – Hikawa granted us mercy and Ms. Takao gave us knowledge." Isamu told him. "When we are together then we will craft a new world the way we always wanted it."
"But first, we must know hardship," Yuko sighed. "And now, that hardship begins. Now begins…the Conception." Lightning began to rumble in the sky; the ground began to quake. The world outside of Tokyo disintegrated, and Tokyo itself formed into a massive ball – a great bright light at the centre of the world began to shrine, and as everything went black, the sound of an organ playing the song of the Demon World Master could be heard.