Hello again, fellow fans! Through meticulous deliberation... and convenient epiphanies, I bring you another portion of the trip Zeroken is making to his several old friends. While his venture to Toto Bunny was written first, this one takes place prior to that one in particular.
Also... I do not own the series itself or even the art which was used for the cover of this story for that matter.
- Story Begin
The arid heat of the Netherworld was just as crisp as it had always been there. Alongside a cluster of Cingossi tree leaves, it was brushing up against his reddish skin, making his flaming mane of hair flow outward.
From atop a small perch of his personal domain, he was overseeing his fellow kin bustle through the streets of their immaculate home once again, his arms crossed over his muscular chest. He had smirked to himself as he stood proud high above his many people.
The vigorous fire of demons known as Scorching Flame was still burning within all the Netherworlds, and its Overlord, Red Magnus, was still by its side the whole way through.
As a boisterous laugh escaped his lips at the sight, he flexes his bulky arm out before their marron sky, like a defiant show of force to the world, "This is just Super! Getting up to Super Scorching Flame will be a cinch at this rate."
Heh, even the prospect of that still excited him to his core. His world seemed so close at becoming its own Giant Netherworld, but the task demanded only that much more from him in the process. Regardless of that hurtle, he still had his Vassals who needed him as much as each other.
The royal ogre hops down from his spot onto the nearby staircase; and as the dry winds blew up against him, rustling his baggy pants and light vest, he steps down toward the base of his castle. As his golden boots trod against the stony path, his oriental attire bellows in the climate.
He moves right into strolling through the lively streets of his civilization, garnering the attention of his numerous subjects by his mere presence alone. As the denizens gave him their pleasant salutations, he returns each greeting in due kindness, never dropping his mighty posture even once.
Amidst the many civilians who comprised of more ogres like himself, a number of placid ones were either tending to just work or family. They toiled on those labors for even bombastic demons such as themselves, but they still represented it to the best of their ability.
One such fault did cross the demeanor of their leader along the way though, when a certain individual came his view within the nearby marketplace area. It was a familiar demon who bore quite the animalistic disposition, but it was one who the ogre could not forget for a second.
Red Magnus breaks out into a hurried jog toward the lone demon who was lingering about an interaction of the local district, waving an arm at him the whole way across, "Zeroken? Y-Yo, Zero!"
The werewolf perks up at the loud call from Red Magnus; and right before the ogre reached him, he spins back toward him in the spot. By that point though, the larger demon had already given the smaller one an aggressive pat of the back, earning a sharp hiss from him. The ogre just minds his own hearty cackle, getting into his bright elation from a spur of the moment.
Zeroken begins rubbing at his aching back as he glowered up at one of his old rebel friends, "Ugh… good to see you too, old man."
Oh, so he had still pegged that casual nickname on him, and he still had that same sense of curiosity. Yup, definitely the same eccentric Zeroken as before.
Red Magnus throws an arm around the werewolf, pulling him close to his side, and he grins down at him, "Oh, how great it is to see an old friend again. So, what brings you all the way back to Scorching Flame?"
Zeroken bumps his other fist against the shoulder of the ogre as he held back his own snicker from the gesture, "I've just been meaning to look for ya. Wanted to check in after so long."
Red Magnus releases the werewolf, and he motions him over toward his path, "Aw, the feeling is mutual, but why the sudden appearance on such short notice?"
Zeroken adjusts his back as he fell in line beside the ogre on the marketplace street, "Well, it has been about a millennia since that whole fiasco with Void Dark. Figured I could come by to see how things have been."
Hm, so it really had been that long since that creep went around acting like some kind of big shot. Guess time does fly when you are enjoying yourself that much. The ogre nodded his head at the explanation in understanding, even though that specific time never really did occur to him.
As the pair of demons strolled through the rather populated area, Red Magnus crosses his arms over his chest, a delighted grin on his face, "Of course, that had to be it. I could never forget what that bastard did to my people so long ago. Honestly didn't expect any company to come around though."
Zeroken scratches the back of his silver hair at those solemn words, "It has been pretty chill over in Gale Force recently, so I gave myself a little break. Decided to check back up in the meantime."
Red Magnus strokes his fuzzy chin as he nodded his head at the brief statement, "Well, it's really been fine over here too. Got to gather most my people back, and we put everything we had into rebuilding things."
Zeroken directs his sharp eyes toward a couple of the outside buildings around the nation, his arms now behind his head, "Then what's with all the heavy work I've been seeing? Looks like construction is still going on."
Red Magnus waves off the curious observation from his friend, "We're already well on our way to making Super Scorching Flame. Just stockpiling as many materials as we need to have along the way."
Zeroken flinches at that specific detail from the ogre as he gawked up at him, "Seriously? I honestly thought you were kidding about that back there. That's intense, dude."
As the duo had neared one of his immense societal boundaries, Red Magnus chuckled to himself at the incredulity from the werewolf. Of course, he would not have joked about a grand feat such as that. He needed it for the betterment of his empire, and much more so, his people as a whole.
Red Magnus turns his sights up toward their destination upon reaching it, one of his newest security platforms outside the city range. As Zeroken gawked at the dedicated work being put on the structure, the ogre just smirks on at the view of his Vassals getting their job done.
The squad in question was a group of burly ogres who had been getting directed by a respected lieutenant of Red Magnus himself, Panchos. As the somewhat youthful ogre had directed his troop of man, they hoisted up heavy equipment and materials for the remainder of the building.
As the final touches were put on the current project, Red Magnus shifts his sight down toward Panchos who was near the base of the platform, "Yo, Panchos! How the work going?"
The other muscular ogre turns back toward his Overlord as he wiped the hot sweat from his brow, "Just got done with all of the supports, Magnus. It's all come along great."
Red Magnus gives the ogre a thumbs-up for his work, a joyful smile on his face, "Great job. Alright, you can call your guys back. I got something planned for us."
As Panchos obliged to the order, Zeroken glances up at the ogre Overlord, a coy expression to his face, "Huh, this casual with even your Vassals, ay? You really have changed, man."
Red Magnus just nodded his head in response to the snark, his smile still on him the whole while. Of course, he had been brought down to even the level of his servants, so why not confide in them. Going off of the result, it looked like had been working for the ogre at least.
Red Magnus lets out a small chuckle; and when Panchos rounded up all his men before their leader, he rallies them together, "Excellent job out there, guys! Hey, how about we go get some drinks to call it a day? It'll be on me."
Said men cheer in exuberance as they scrambled off back into the marketplace of the society. Zeroken just stares at that; but when Red Magnus followed in their way, he catches up to him.
Zeroken wraps his arms behind his head again as he straightened himself out, "Hm, you are a father to your men."
Red Magnus shrugs his shoulders at the comment, "What kind of Overlord would I be if I wasn't. So, I was meaning to ask. You been up to much yourself?"
Zeroken looks sidelong from the question, and he thinks back for a moment, "I actually did travel to some other familiar spots before coming over here. Got to check in with everything at Gorgeous and Flowerful too."
Red Magnus grins to himself at the mention of the homeworlds of their other friends, "I can only imagine Killia and Sera have also done pretty well for themselves."
Zeroken shrugs his shoulders at the confidence from the ogre, a sly smirk on his face, "Heh, not surprised. You wouldn't have wanted to see Killia down until you got that rematch, huh?"
As the pair of demons reached the doorsteps of the resident tavern, Red Magnus returns the smirk back down at Zeroken, "Like I'd ever forget about that."
The quaint bar was harboring large packs of customers from the looks of it outside, serving both its thrilled male and female ogres in due course. As its stoic tender had overseen the proceedings of his establishment, the cluster of enthusiastic groups were toasting to rum and digging into rustic meals.
Amidst the thrilling atmosphere, their Overlord bursts into the building in a dramatic show of bravado, his werewolf buddy right by his side, "My fair and awesome people, I have now arrived!"
His kin cheer for the appearance of their Overlord as they clanked their drink glasses. As the duo marched through the center of the establishment, the werewolf gawks at the display of camaraderie around him. He does shake himself out of it though upon reaching the front counter of the building beside his partner.
Red Magnus plops himself down onto one of the stools; and as Zeroken did the same to his left, he calls to the nearby tender, "I'll be getting two drinks right over here. Hard rum."
As the bar man had nodded his head in response, the female ogre who was sitting on the other side of Zeroken took a swig of her hard liquor. She had looked around the same age as Zeroken from the onset, but she held a fiery youth which complimented her demeanor. Much like most of their other ogres, she had on those same oriental, yet baggy pants alongside a dark red strap over her lean chest.
She lets out a relieved sigh as she wiped the froth away from his lips, and she looks over past Zeroken toward Red Magnus, "Yo, Magnus. Work been good out there today?"
As Zeroken glanced over at the woman, Red Magnus nods his head in affirmation, "Been great, Helen. Panchos and the others pulled in all their weight, so we're all done for now."
Helen thrusts her large glass into the air as she snickered to herself in glee, making her equally flamey ponytail whip about, "Bitchin'. So, who's the scrawny guy with ya?"
As Zeroken flinched from her choice of words, Red Magnus pats him on the shoulder, "This here is Zeroken. One of my rebel buddies from when Void Dark was acting all high and mighty."
Helen stares in awe at the werewolf for a bit; but when the tender set the two new drinks down onto the counter, she straightens herself out, "Seriously? He helped you handle that asshole. Heh, pretty impressive."
As Red Magnus passed a glass over to Zeroken, the werewolf sighs to himself at her sudden praise, "Thanks… for the compliment."
Zeroken takes a sip of the alcohol, but he grimaces at its taste as he set it back down, "So, you're Helen. I take it you're close with the Old Man or something?"
As Zeroken slid his full glass away from himself, Red Magnus nods his head at the observation, "Sure is. Became a loyal Vassal of mine pretty much ever since I got back."
Helen downs the last of her own remaining liquor, and she smirks to herself at the mention, "Damn right."
As Helen slid her empty glass away from herself, Panchos who was sitting alongside his partners farther back waves over to her, "Yo, Helen! Up for another go at me? The arm is still raring to go."
Helen smirks to herself at the challenge as she stood up from her seat, and she begins striding back toward the cocky men, "Thought you'd never ask."
As Red Magnus took a swig of his rum, Zeroken sighs to himself at the display of confidence, "Huh, she almost reminds me of you a little. Always cocky and boastful."
The ogre sets his glass down onto the counter as he chuckled to himself, a nervous smile on his face, "Yeah… It kinda gets me down, knowing how reckless she can be. She does have her reasons though."
The werewolf just raises an eyebrow over at his old friend as he adjusted himself in his seat, "What would that be all about then? If you don't mind me asking."
The ogre glances sidelong at a very particular memory, "Well, she was hit pretty hard from the whole Demon Emperor Incident thing. Even after our people were scattered around, she stuck to this place like her life depended on it. She fought off a whole bunch of The Lost the whole time too."
The werewolf scratches the back of his head at that, "Damn, gotta hand it to her. She at least did something I could never do at first. I commend her for something like that."
The ogre shakes his head down at his friend, "You don't gotta take it like that. It's just in the heart and soul for an ogre as young as her. Kinda like we're always hungry for a challenge, never stopping until we're satisfied with the work put toward anything. The last thing we ever want is to feel powerless."
In spite of the generalizations set upon demon-kind as a whole, those like ogres had strived for more out of their own people beyond the cowardice of your average hellspawn. They may have been the absolute brutes of the entire Netherworlds, but they had still upheld their sense of pride. Honestly… for better or for worse.
Zeroken nods his head in acknowledgement of the solemn words, and he looks back toward Helen who was arm-wrestling Panchos amidst a whole tavern audience, "Well, that explains plenty."
Red Magnus sighs to himself as he also looked back toward the contest of strength, "I just… wanna make sure she doesn't overextend herself all that much. I know all too well how much that arrogance brought me down before."
Zeroken bumps Red Magnus on his shoulder once again, pulling him out of his rough stupor, "Come on, man. That doesn't mean you have to lose all that spunk of yours. You'll be fine."
As Red Magnus had gotten his smile back up, Helen and Panchos neared the end of their battle, roaring out in their release of force. Even beyond the simple walls of the establishment, the powerful slam of the eventual victor rang out for the ears of all those around.
- Story End
And there you all have it, my second entry in this little Disgaea series of mine for this site. I hope that this small fanfic of mine was enjoyable and that you make whatever comment you like about its quality. It would be highly appreciated if you did just that.
Reference Notes
) For those who were wondering, I did indeed create the character of Helen as a means of accentuating the development Red Magnus had gone through.
) Since this IS the entirety of ogre demons here, you should not be surprised from the obvious 'The Rock' quote reference thrown in there too.
) One other interesting detail implemented was a Scorching Flame equivalent to Bongossi wood which is apparently pretty resistant to burns from fire.