Greetings all and thank you for taking a moment to indulge yourself in this work of fandom and spontaneous work created by my idea gremlin. Others have a muse, I have a gremlin. Yes, fed after midnight and it worked out for the best. I digress, I am a fan of the game and have had the idea of my own story bubbling inside my mind for a while so I hope you enjoy and leave a review/criticism/hope to see happen/other kind of comments.

Disclaimer: I don't own Disgaea, Nippon Ichhi does, Laharl is my lord and annoying master, may his laugh forever go on.

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Chapter 1: Evil is as evil does...

Hot. The only way to describe the summer heat. Oceans of sweat, rank air sticking to the back of your throat and the price of any kind of refreshment sky rocketing faster than a Korean missile test. Thankfully school was out and college letters begun to arrive, bringing the anxiety and joy of knowing that either your future is to serve greasy burgers or to create a machine that will replace the poor sap flipping burgers.

A young man with brown hair, denim jeans and blue t-shirt dragged himself home, eager to get away from the mass crowd of parents, teachers and alumni all excited that the last day of school was over. He carried his gown folded up in his left arm as he held onto his books with his other. Stopping at his mailbox he held his breath as he peered inside to find it empty, giving a low sigh. Not exactly the studying type, he had been rejected from several schools of choice already and the pickings were becoming slim. Pressing the gown to his door, he freed up his hand to twist the knob only to have it open early on him causing him to crash to the floor from the momentum of his books. A cheery face greeted him when he looked up, causing another groan to escape his throat.

"Is that any way to greet your sister? After I went to the trouble to open the door for you Arthur?" Seeing her brother roll his eyes she stomped off muttering about ungrateful siblings and wishing she was adopted.

"Did any mail come for me? I'm expecting some college letters." Only hearing a vocal shrug, Arthur dumped his books onto the kitchen counter to sift through the many letters and bills. Stopping when he reached a small flyer, he held it up and scrutinized it. It was offering the sale of a rather old looking book with a eight pointed star on the cover. Being an enthusiast in the arcane and unknown Arthur grinned at the odd find. Writing down the address and lining his pockets with what spare cash he had he stormed out the door ignoring his sister's cry of being home before his parents make dinner.

The flyer told him to head to the entire side of town, thus having to take the bus then train caused a slight decrease in available fundings for the book. Rereading the article in his spare time, Arthur's bronze tinted eyes absorbed every detail of the book, every marking and every possibility to make him the first one there to get it. Something in the back of his head told him that the star marking meant bad news but religious dogma be damned, he must have it. Finally boarding the train, he sits near the back car to allow himself to be unbothered to keep looking over his future prize. Failing to notice the seemingly large man sitting next to him glance over he jumped slightly when he heard a coarse voice.

"So you're into that kind of stuff huh?" Looking up he saw the man was wearing a large overcoat covering the majority of his body and a small rimmed hat nestled on his bald head. It was the odd shape of his ears that struck him the most odd, they almost seemed like they curled upward ever so slightly.

"I've always liked the mysterious. Figuring out things and putting my mind to the challenge always intrigued me since I was a kid." A small laugh responded.

"Hmm, sounds like you have a strange future ahead of you then if you are going to keep delving into that stuff." He looked up and smiled. "This is my stop, see you around kid and don't get your nose too deep into the books." Arthur blankly stared as the man got off the train and disappeared from view in an endless sea of people.

The train ride ended and the route to the end of Arthur's quest came into view, bringing a bit of disappointment to his eyes. The address was to a very run down buiding which brought a sense of dread creeping back into Arthur's mind. Slowling opening the door he looked at the mess inside. Mountains of books, trinkets and baubles everywhere he looked. Even covering the counter. Brushing some away he rang the bell. Then again. And a third time. Finally in a repeated motion which abruptly stopped when a hand slapped down onto his stopping it.

"Yes, thank you for making sure my bell works. I would have never had known without you." the owner sheepishly smiled at his remark showing aged teeth and decay causing Arthur to gag silently.

"Sorry, I'm here for the book mentioned in the article." he hands the owner the flyer and was then met with a loud cackle.

"You?! You came for the book? The book of untold secrets, wonders, mystery and terror? The book that will open the very gates of Hell and plunge the world in eternal suffering and darkness?!" Arthur gave the man an unimpressed stare following the false sales pitch.

"Yeah...that book." the owner smiled wide, again showing his gross teeth.

"Let me get it for you." disappearing into the backroom, Arthur heard a series of crashes and cursing and then the owner appeared again. "Here you go." A confused look followed.

"It's, smaller than I pictured it to be." The ownder indeed got the book, only it was about the size of a black book for girl's numbers and not a great tome Arthur had imagined.

"Appearances can be deceiving." Arthur could only nod at that. Reaching into his pocket he was quickly stopped by the owner. "Free. Take it."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, just take it."

"Did you spit in it?"

"Stop being an idiot and just take it!" Arthur placed a hand on the book and a small trace of purple light appeared on the star marking. When held in both hands it lit up completely and a warm sensation washed over him.

"Ok, how the hell did you do that? It was a good trick." the owner smiled and this time his teeth were pearl white.

"Magic." Waving goodbye to the boy he hummed a small tune, once again fading into the back room.

Scanning over his treasure, Arthur opened the book and looked through the pages. Strange sigils, letters he never recognised and pictures of odd beasts dotted every corner of the book. Finally getting home later that night he locked himself in his room to fully study, he finally found a page with words he understood. Loading up his computer he typed in the wording of several sentences. Some were in Arabic, others in French, German even Japanese. It made no sense as to why an incredibly old book would have the languages of current day times AND dialects. Reading an English passage he found out just what kind of book it was. 'To who reads this book, your life is forfeit. In the fires you will burn, your world shall turn and enslavement is your prize for violating thy eyes. -Overlord Zarus'

"Overlord....Zarus? What the hell kind of name is that?" Arthur would soon find out as the book began to skim rapidly past pages until it stopped at one with a drawing of dragons swirling around devouring their own tail and in the center the eight pointed star glowed. With a loud bang the room dissolved around him and next he knew he was standing in the open of a town with all sorts of monsters and people staring blankly at him. "This isn't where I parked my car." he said weakly as the crowd moved in on him. "Aw shit..."

Chapter one: End