...
Julius looked impassively on at the abominable creature, with its vague, grossly malnourished feminine shape and arms, and the many slippery tentacles and jagged tendrils that enwrapped themselves around and below her, acting as some sort of "dress" in a sense, with the ones that erupted from her back just briskly waving and pulsating, hardening and limping up as she breathed.
He was hardly intimidated by this strange creature lurking in the shadows, with her glowing, bulging eyes and scarlet aura...
"Apoptosis— no, it was Apollyon, wasn't it?" he said, with his back straight and arms crossed behind his back, "I, as you already seem to know, am Julius Zenith, the leading General in this new 'Legion' us humans have formed against the monster menace. State your intentions."
"I saw your kind, falling so pitifully in battle, always giving their lives away for the greater good but never imparting the knowledge you gained unto your children, leading you to the same mistakes, over and over..."
Julius seemed outwardly unaffected, but secretly noted that, wondering if it was an issue in humans that they never truly learned from their mistakes.
"Although avoiding my question with a clear, concise answer, this is a fair point," he conceded, "And you come here saying you can 'help' me? Do tell me what proposal you have in mind monster."
The Apoptosis' eyes only glowed for a few moments, "Yes... In exchange, I want your help with something I need..."
"Then go on, spit it out demon. You've sparked my interest now," Julius said, crossing his arms.
"Don't you dare speak to me that way, child... I've been defending this timeline and many others from the chaos alongside Adramelech and other apoptosis before your version of Ilias even existed," Apollyon hissed, "In any case... I have learned about many tactics and forms of technology over the years... I alone could turn your pitiful colony of men and women into a war machine within a few decades. Faster if I had someone as highly respected as you to introduce them for me."
"Oh? And what would one of those ideas of yours be?..." Julius questioned, still thinking of her as nothing above the typical monster that commonly tricked and killed people... just perhaps a little more articulate and smooth than most. Maybe even civil, as shocking as that would be.
"Your armor is one that I can suggest changes for right now. It is too thin, too easy to pierce and tear... You must make it thicker, cover the whole body with hard-wrought alloys and steels... Look at your fallen comrade, Brutus. His armor was torn to shreds. Do you want to make that same mistake? Do you want his memory and valor to be forgotten?"
Julius paused, taking note of that musing, "I'd tell you to go on, but I know you want something in return. What is it?"
"Smart man. As I have said, I have been fighting against the chaos for countless millennia now since my birth... Unlike my unthinking kin however, I can tell the Chaos is spreading far too quickly than it normally should. The Apoptosis should've contained the chaos long ago... As far as I can foresee, there is a Goddess of Chaos, who will be dealt with in time with or without my intervention, and one other... You call it 'Blitzel Kreig.' The Returner. Others from another timeline far different from this one called it 'Cronus.' It is my duty to destroy the Goddess of Chaos and Cronus, and stop the spread of chaos... But I cannot change my ways, nor can I make another way when I am constantly keeping Cronus sealed in this timeline. I need someone else to help me..."
"And I'd assume that someone is me?"
"If you take up my offer that is. Help the both of us and limit the chaos which will save not only your timeline, but many others and perhaps even creation itself, and I'll make your Legion unstoppable..."
Julius frowned, having heavy amounts of distrust in the Apoptosis. He felt that he was being played for a fool here... And he hated it when people tried to puppet him like a pawn.
... Well, he guessed that this talk of multiversal destruction was a good argument for the ends justifying the means, even if it meant using dishonorable methods.
I heavily doubt you can truly help us in the long run, monster, but maybe you do have something of worth... Only one way to find out, Julius decided, "Apollyon, as long as you keep your slippery words to yourself, and remain loyal to the Legion, then I shall gratefully accept your assistance."
Apollyon formed a strange smirk or grin of sorts, on her mouth. "Wonderful... Come, I shall give you a lesson right now. I've picked up a few ideas and knowledge on blacksmithing from a certain Dragon Pup in another timeline..."
...
She could scarcely remember the happy days of her life, when everything was perfect...
It was back before they had all migrated to the heavens. How lush and green the open fields were, and how touching it was to watch her younger kin fly around and play...
Sure, Micaela and Lucifina often destroyed things and wound up making her clean up somehow, but still. Life was easy, life was... life was fun. It was when they could freely wander the fields, pet the animals, listen to the birds sing as the sun warmed up their bodies...
And it was when she truly did deserve to be called the "Third," and when she would've been perfectly understanding and accepting of that. Even when... well...
"Aaaah... Mother Ilias, why can't you ever scold them for doing that? They tease and steal from the apes all the time..."
"Now, now Eden... You should know better. Just because I don't catch them doing it makes it suddenly okay."
"Waaah... But you don't do anything when they're bullying me..."
"Well, that, I mean..."
"They covered me in snow and stabbed me with sticks and a carrot, and then said, 'Oh, where's Eden Mr. Snowman?...' I can't keep up with them at all... They always solve problems before me, beat me in races, games, everything! They always make me want to cry when I play with them..."
The Faint Memory of her beloved Creator seemed to remain silent, almost as if pitying her, before just saying, "Don't fear, Eden... At least, you've always been my loyal, and good, child. Always making sure the younger angels don't wander off or do something dangerous, telling me everything you saw without lying at all, keeping destruction to a minimal, and always trying to keep my company even when other people are having fun elsewhere... I suppose, in a sense, you're my most loyal, and trustworthy, child."
The younger version of herself seemed to be completely overtaken by joy. Wasn't this the first time her Goddess had praised her without comparing her to Micaela or Lucifina?...
... Eden supposed, that it was this moment in her life, that truly made her unconditionally loving and faithful to Ilias despite all the centuries of constant mistreatment and mockery she had to take. How long has it been since then?... How long since somebody complimented or praised her without bringing up how it "Reminded them of Micaela's tactics," or "You fight just like Lucifina did!"
How long since that day when Ilias gave her the only compliment that didn't remind her of how overshadowed she was by her elder sisters?
She didn't know. Thousands of years ago, probably. Thousands of years before Micaela and Lucifina betrayed her and Ilias, and completely broke the angels' hearts...
Why, Micaela, Lucifina? First you two tortured me, leaving me in the dust while you two did whatever you wanted, then you go on to be better than me in every way possible in the Great Monster Wars, making everyone ignore my victories against Ancestor Hiruko, and finally you two go off and betray us, becoming fallen angels. You two! The best and original creations of Goddess Ilias herself! And now, I'm left here, alone. Surrounded by a fallen Monster Lord and an insane scientist, while Ilias still mourns for losing you two. While she still mourns you two and completely ignores me, as she almost always has along with everyone else...
Eden sighed, reflecting on her memories. So much... But even now, she'd stay devoted to her Goddess. Ilias was all she had left... She wouldn't fail her Goddess now. Not now, not ever.
But now... Now I finally have my chance... A Legion of Superhumans... If I can only bridge the gap between us and them, and gain new allies for Goddess Ilias!... Maybe finally, by that point, I'll have recognition, maybe then...
I can step out of my sisters' shadows.
But how to do that? How to approach a horde of bloodthirsty barbarians? That, she didn't know. Not yet, anyways.
Though, with her power, it couldn't possibly hurt to at least be blunt and just manifest in front of them... But Ilias was already planning that...
Wait. These men came from the seas, on galleons. Cupid even reported seeing one leave!
That had to mean there was another land, where these men came from, right? It'll be there that Eden can talk to their more civilized people, and figure out why they were so strong!
Black Alice... Promestein... You two won't be talking shit about me for long when I return... Eden mused, flying off to personally visit the physical world herself...
...
Carmilla and Elizabeth wouldn't lie. They were pretty confident the both of them could take down the Knight Leader pretty easily if they both ganged up on him.
The problem was that another Legionnaire happened to be fighting Carmilla right now, leaving Elizabeth to contend with the knight by herself.
I swear to Alipheese Almighty I am going to shove Carmilla's sword right up her— Elizabeth deftly avoided the Knight's swings, Gah, damn it! For Dracula's sake, can I just please at least finish my own thoughts!?
Her thoughts were simply answered with the knight attempting to cleave her in two with a mighty overhead swing.
What she thought of next, would be best left unknown to the world.
Refocusing herself and steeling herself for a brutal fight, Elizabeth aimed one of her gloved fingers at the knight, and from the tip of her finger several black bolts of lightning surged out into the knight's armor, briefly paralyzing and electrocuting him. Yet, it appeared the electricity wasn't conducted well on whatever kind of alloy the armor was made from...
"Well, so much for taking advantage of a Vampire's affinity for Lightning and his obvious resemblance to a walking lightning rod..." Elizabeth muttered, dispersing herself into bats to fly out of the knight's slashes and shield bashes.
"Come, let's dance and burn together in this glorious battle, Vampire! Tonight, I, Optio Agrenor, shall become Agrenor the Conqueror once this city has fallen!" She could hardly understand a single word the brute just taunted her with, but she guessed that "Optio" must've been his name judging from how he emphasized it.
"At this point, your armor is more interesting than whatever your blood tastes like, human... I think it'll look wonderful on a stand in my gallery!" Elizabeth shouted, casting another spell, this time fusing Ice and Wind magic together to form a cyclone of ice shards, the giant spears of ice shattering against the man's body, though he seemed to stand strong in spite of it.
"Optio" grunted, simply raising his shield in front of his face to protect the slits in his visor from any ice or stray shards. In time, the cyclone faded, and though the knight was still standing, he was definitely a bit worse for wear.
So magic does work on him... Is it his armor that resists magic? Or maybe he's just used to extreme conditions... Elizabeth mused. Often, by now, she'd start mixing up her tactics with various sexcraft moves, but considering how thick the armor was and the general ruthlessness of the knight, she doubted that would be a good move to try. So, instead, she'd have to get more creative with what she did have... Ah, yes, I still have my mantle, don't I?
Vanishing into a swarm of bats, Elizabeth soon reformed behind the knight and began using her mantle's strips to begin wrapping around the knight's visor, preventing him from seeing. Almost instantly, she had to hold onto him for dear life as he began to thrash and shake about, trying to throw or chop her off.
Frantically keeping her monocle on, Elizabeth suddenly felt extremely grateful for her short stature and tiny bust as she narrowly avoided the knight's attempts to grapple and throw her down into the ground. She knew if he got her pinned to the ground it was over for her... So she tried to use her mantle to slip into and undo whatever kept his helmet on, even as she was practically playing a very-much lethal game of bull-riding.
Soon, the knight stumbled near a crumbling and burning building, with crisp ashes and smoke fuming above the scarlet and vivid giblets and flesh of various warriors, but, strangely turned his back to it, much to Elizabeth's relief. Fire was a major weakness of the Vampire race...
That relief didn't last long however, as the knight simply jumped back and crushed her between his own weight and the flaming floors of the building.
She screamed, her mantle instantly falling loose from the Knight's helm as she tried getting him off of her. He soon did get off, only to grab her by the throat and slam her into the walls, dragging her head through the burning woods and stones of the building.
Carmilla distinctly heard Elizabeth's screams, "E-Elizabeth! Hold on!"
Completely ignoring her weary enemy, Carmilla quickly broke off to get to Elizabeth, crashing in to claw and slash at the Knight.
He simply grunted from the impact, dropping Elizabeth and focusing on Carmilla, "Another nightstalker? The desert is ill-fitting for ones like you two..."
"Let her go!" Carmilla shouted, her substantially much-larger mantle completely wrapping the Knight up and carrying Elizabeth away to safety.
The Knight grunted and heaved, getting further wrapped up and twisted in the mantle. Carmilla, figuring it'd be futile to try and take him out with physical force, simply opened a funnel in the mantle for smoke to pour in, slowly suffocating the knight. She felt like her mantle was torn multiple times as she held him down, which, to a normal human could be probably be best described as ripping your arm off.
Though it took only a couple of minutes, it felt like hours to Carmilla before the Knight finally collapsed. Whether it was due to the sheer heat or being suffocated by the smoke, she didn't know, nor did she really care to know right now...
Panting, Carmilla heaved the Knight up with her mantle, "Gah... Much, much heavier than you look! Geez, scale you up a bit and you'd make a Behemoth feel good about her weight..."
Looking around briefly, she soon found Elizabeth, barely conscious.
Despite being badly burned and some of her flesh being ripped or seared off by the stones of the building, Elizabeth still managed to give a glare at Carmilla. "Where... In Minagi's name... Were YOU!?"
"Agh, sorry, sorry!... I was distracted, the one I fought was stronger than I expected..." Carmilla muttered, lifting Elizabeth up with her own two arms, "Come on... we've gotten our target. Queen Fatima will be eager to see our prize..."
Elizabeth just moaned, "Get moving... I need a nice long soak in a bloodbath..."
Carmilla nodded, and simply used her leftover magic to levitate herself and the other two up into the air, flying away to the Vampire's Citadel...
...
Deep within Death Mountain, Typhon reeled from the strange sensations and feelings he suddenly had. One could call this "Sentience," but since Typhon had been a mindless beast up to this point, he didn't really know this.
What... What is this? Why does this... This sound, carry such a different meaning to me? Why do I think like this? What even is thinking? Why do I make these weird simulations of sound in my head? What's going on?... Why do I feel so different? Such a weird sensation... And how do I even know what these sounds mean? Are they from the Legion?...
He thought carefully. What was once instinct started to form a different image in his head... In fact, they were many different images...
Images of reverence towards the former Lords of Death Mountain before the Legionnaire killed all three at once... Worship of Great Cronus who lurked and hungered in the seas...
And death. Death, hatred, Malice, and bloodshed. These... "Images," or "Thoughts," that Typhon assumed to be the reason why so many monsters had instinctive responses to the humans and their weapons... Why they seemed to feel and act so much older than they really were.
In truth, what Typhon had felt were the memories that all monsters inherited, dating all the way back to the very beginning when monsters had just risen from the First. But only now, with someone that could comprehend such a common thing, did they have any true value or meaning beyond simple instinct, battle tactics, and the idea of "Survival of the Fittest."
And what he saw drove him mad with rage. Constant strife, bloodshed, and hatred between the monsters... Even before the Legion, the monsters attacked, raped, and devoured each other like animals. Why!? Why did they act like this!? What kind of sick God was their creator, to have left them in this... this miserable half-life? This miserable existence as mere animals? They were monsters! Not simple beasts! They are superior to animals! They can and should be superior to humans! Humans! Violent, vicious, murderous humans! Humans kept them like this! Humans came here, long ago, and have always killed them! They're even worse than his own kind were! Grendal united them against that very threat! Humans are the true enemy! Not themselves, not their own brothers and kin! To survive, they cannot hope to one day breed another godly monster like Ymir... They must fight now! Fight and unite against their common enemy!
No more... Goblins... Orcs... Giants... Gorgons... Demons... All will unite... Against the enemy. Against humanity! A Brotherhood... One for all, and all for one... No monster left behind... We will unite, and drive back the invaders! They slaughter us, mock us, treat us like sport! No more! All shall quake in fear of the mighty Brotherhood of Death Mountain! Ymir, Jotun, and Grendal shall be avenged! Our people shall be avenged! The real monsters shall suffer, just as we have!
Gripping his Trident, Typhon rose from his spot in the Grand Chasm, and walked off, intent on using his newfound sentience for the good of his kind...
...
Cassandra walked into her mansion, with Emily and a few Legionnaires following her. Ran quickly ran to her, shocked.
"Lord Cassandra! You're back so soon!?" Ran exclaimed, "And why are our enemies with you!?"
"Calm down Ran. I knocked out their leader. In fact, Emily's carrying him right now."
"H-he's very heavy..." Emily whined, dumping Archon onto the floor, "Stupid, mean, tincan thing..." she muttered childishly under her breath.
"I... I see..." Ran nodded, "But... Why? Why spare him? He attacked you, didn't he?"
"Far worse, actually..." Cassandra muttered, still feeling quite sore from where he stabbed her...
"What did he do then?..." Ran simply asked.
Cassandra felt a bright blush warm her cheeks as she remembered the ordeal she went through, "... Nothing you need to know." No one must ever know what happened...
Emily quickly nodded, "Nothing Ran needs to know!"
Ran tilted her head in confusion. What happened in their fight?...
Cassandra sighed, waving the whole thing aside, "Look, that's besides the point. Go to my office you two, I'll explain why I kept this garbage can alive there, in private. Meanwhile..." she turned towards the knights, "You can make yourselves at home here for now. Don't go outside."
"What?" One of them said, wondering what the hell this woman was even saying.
"Was that a yes or a no?..." Cassandra questioned, just as confused.
"... What? Can you please speak a normal language, please? Your voice sounds like it could burst my eardrums too, so can you speak a bit more deeper like a normal person?" he then asked.
"... I'm going to assume that's a very long and convoluted 'yes' in your tongue. Good! Just stay in here, where you can't cause any damage or loud noises, and we'll be fine," Cassandra said, turning away and leaving to talk to Emily and Ran in private.
"This is a crazy bitch right here... First she tries melting Archon, then knocks him out when he stabs her down in that weird lower mouth of hers, and now she's offering us... I dunno, dinner or some shit?"
"Man, I don't fuck with this shit. We should've just kept on marching until we got to a decent settlement or fortress," A Knight simply grunted.
"This is weird... I guess it's tradition to bring defeated opponents back home? That must be why she brought Centurion Archon here."
"But... why? That goes against all common sense. It must be for a different reason..." The Knights didn't know what the meaning of all this was, and debated over why the hell someone would bring an enemy right to their home and acting somewhat cordial.
As it would turn out, Emily and Ran were asking the same question.
"Why, Lord Cassandra? Why bring them right to us?" Ran asked, confused, "Are you interested in keeping him as a mate or slave?"
"No," Cassandra bluntly said, "In fact, if not for the fact that he's useful to us right now, I'd be melting him alive in pure agony."
"So why not now though?" Emily chirped, "Why isn't Mother killing him?"
"Because, Emily, Ran, there were trace amounts of something I tasted from his blade... Something extremely rich in darkness and power, yet not quite linked to monsters we know them... Ran, why don't you test my reflexes? Aim for my head, right now," Cassandra said, calmly presenting her head, "I remember my last record for catching your tentacle was at three seconds."
"It was at three seconds, milady," Ran simply said, preparing one of her tentacles and aiming right for her lord's head... Before sharply jabbing it at her!
No one even had the chance before parts of Cassandra's dress ripped off and caught the tentacle mid-punch.
"... I time that at being less than a second, Ran. And unless you got old and weak, which I doubt, then I do think I've improved massively just from that tiny blood droplet alone... And it was blood. Therefore, it came from a living creature, somewhere in this world. Therefore, I must have more! I can't pass up on this chance... If I were devour more of whatever creature this man once killed, I could become so much more stronger! That is the reason why I keep him alive, so I can follow him back to his home and find those strange creatures... So I can become stronger and forcefully claim the Throne from Alipheese the Sixteenth," Cassandra explained, "And, help me out well enough, and I'd be willing to share that same source of power with you two... Provided you can keep your mouths shut about it when we get there and find it."
Emily nodded, "Emily is confused... But Emily heard Mother can get stronger because of the knights, so Emily's willing to give them a chance!"
Ran on the other hand, looked doubtful, "I'm not so sure of this, Lord Cassandra... What if they don't exist anymore? What if it was just a fluke?"
Cassandra huffed, "Then at least I'll have gotten out and stretched my limbs a little, and maybe I'll learn something new. Don't tell me you're unwilling to believe something like this is impossible when a massive army of professional, elite knights just came in and practically made a mockery out of the most advanced human nation in the world?"
"Well... I... I'm just concerned for your safety, Lord Cassandra. It has always been my priority to serve, protect, and ensure the Nereneids were happy. I've been serving your family line for quite some time now. I still remember when your mother hired me to help raise and train you for your fight against Alice XV... Even in the face of something that could potentially give you the power to finally claim the Monster Lord's throne, I still can't forget my duties. Forgive me, Lord Cassandra, but I must always ensure your safety and happiness along with Lady Emily's."
Cassandra paused, before softly smiling, "You've done nothing wrong yet, Ran. You are right in keeping some skepticism about this... But I have felt it firsthand. I cannot let this chance go... Still, your loyalty touches me. Thank you, Ran."
Ran quietly nodded her head, "Your family has given me a life and place in this world, milady. I will always be by your side, though I must point things out for your sake."
"Yes, yes... You are right. Your loyalty will be rewarded greatly, when I finally become the Monster Lord..." Cassandra promised, "And to become Monster Lord... I must find the source of that blood, and I'll find out where it came from that knight..."
"Yes... Speaking of knights, shouldn't we keep an eye on the conscious ones right now?..." Emily idly mentioned, her head tentacles swaying about.
"... Oh. Right. That can lead up to a bad situation, couldn't it? Well, let's get going then... Best make sure Madame Insect and Madame Umbrella don't make passes at them. Or actually try to eat them," Cassandra mused, "Well, come along you two. We're going to be learning a new language talking to these tincans..."
Emily and Ran simply grimaced at the prospect before accompanying Cassandra to continue talking and trying to form a good means of conversation with the knights.
...
The Spider Princess was simply reading, having decided to put off her knitting ventures off for now. She was teetering on whether she should intervene in the war between Grangold and the Legion... If it could even be called that.
A quiet rapping echoed nearby her lair in the caverns, alerting her that someone wanted to enter.
"Come in," Charlotte said, marking her place in the book and setting it aside.
The arachne walked in, revealing it to be Mizuki.
"My Queen," Mizuki lowered her head in respect, "There is a human guest who wishes to hold an audience with you."
"A human?... He must be quite important if none of you have eaten him yet," Charlotte remarked, "Who is it?"
"It's King Grangold. We don't know why he suddenly just came here, but he said he absolutely needed to have an audience with you."
Charlotte quirked an eyebrow. King Grangold, here? This couldn't be a trick to put her down like he did with Queen Ant... Otherwise he would've just done an invasion instead. "Color me interested. I didn't think he had the balls to just waltz into my territory by himself without sending me a warning or letter. Let him in."
"But what if he's planning to do something to you? He might've developed new technology to use against you that we don't know of..." Mizuki protested.
"I don't care. I can respect bravery and power, and right now, he's shown he gained the former at the very least. Now, let him in. I'll tear him to shreds myself if he tries anything..." the Spider Princess simply waved off her lieutenant's concerns; she was certain that while the human king had certainly become very ballsy, he still likely had a long way to go before he ever posed a serious threat to her.
Mizuki simply closed her eyes and nodded, "... I obey, my Queen. I'll let him in now..."
The Tsuchigumo left the Spider Princess' lair, and after some time, the King of Grangold awkwardly made his way in.
"... Spider Princess," he simply addressed.
"Spider Queen, or Insect Queen. Either one will do. Not Spider Princess," Charlotte quickly corrected, already in a bad mood from the mention of that title.
"But isn't that the official title given to you by the other Queens?... Ah, whatever. Spider Queen," the King said, "I've come here wanting to make a bargain with you."
"A bargain?" Charlotte giggled, "You're getting more interesting by the second. Tell me, why on earth would you ever want to deal with the Arachne Clan? And so suddenly at that..."
"... I'm certain you know of the Legion that's been invading Gold Region recently. They're going to march on the capital within a few days at the rate they're moving at, and I'm uncertain if the Queen Ant and I can handle them."
"The Queen Ant?... Antine-Ann? She's still alive? I thought you enslaved her and her children. Either that or you just killed her. You're working with her?" Charlotte said incredulously, unbelieving that after all this time, the Queen Ant was still around.
"Oh... That's... Well... I mean, she's still trapped. But I've been talking with her. I've been trying to negotiate and get her to work with us for her freedom and an equal power between the two of us instead of being constantly trapped and treated like an abomination," the King responded.
"... Well that's a pity. I say keep her trapped there. No, kill her! Do the both of us a favor and just put her down. She'll only drag you down," Charlotte advised, still vividly recalling Antine-Ann being the one who mocked and scorned her the most when she was outcast from the Insect Queen's throne...
"I probably won't, but I'll keep your words in mind," the King said, "But, we're getting off-topic. What I came here for was to try and get the Arachne Clan to support and help defend Grangold from the invading knights. Are you willing to help us?... I'm sure you must have a price or desire in mind for compensation."
"Ooh... I do indeed. Tell me, what price do you propose you pay us in exchange for helping you against these knights?" Charlotte asked sweetly, yet somehow, there was a biting tone that implied the end price of getting her to work with him would be devastating...
"... A... A monthly tribute. Of anything you want up to a hundred. A hundred spices, a hundred lumber or metal supplies, a hundred weapons..." He offered, deciding to skip past the pointless small prices and go for something that might be decent.
"A monthly tribute?" Charlotte hummed, "Normally, this would be enough, but considering how the Gold Region's basically been raped by this Legion, I don't think you have the men, wealth, or raw materials to keep up that monthly tribute."
"Th-then how about a slave force? My capital still has plenty of artificial monsters and automatons leftover... You could use them to focus on expanding, building, or doing menial work while you and your arachnes focused on more important things and hunting."
"Possible... I do fancy the thought of having a few of your Black Golems and other smaller creations reinforce my military might... But Black Golems are fairly weak outside of magic, aren't they? And your other Golems, such as the Rock and Mud Golems, aren't exactly desirable in narrow cave systems like mine..."
"Gah... Well, what about land? Surely you want to expand your territory past what you have now..."
"And you'd be right, I do. How much do you plan on giving me?..."
"You could have the forested regions," he offered.
"No. They're quite small, and as such, a horrible payment. Give me half of the Gold Region, and then I'll consider it."
"No! A fourth, and maybe a tribute for six months."
"That and a dozen of your best men as slave labor or cattle. Take it or leave it," the Spider Princess said, crossing her arms.
King Grangold remained silent, unsure of whether he should do such a thing to his people...
"A fourth of the Gold Region's land, a tribute of a hundred supplies every month for the next half-year, and a dozen of your best men. That's as far as I'm willing to go. Take up my offer, or you and your people can get massacred by the knights. Your choice."
The King grit his teeth, knowing he'd regret this by the end, "... Fine. You win. I'll give you a fourth of Grangold's territory, a tribute, and a dozen of my best men. Happy now?"
"Oh, more than happy!" the Spider Princess said, "I'm quite ecstatic! And, true to my word, I'll lend the Arachne Clan's help to you when the Legion marches on Grangold."
The King of Grangold only grumbled under his breath, already feeling sorry for whoever got the short end of the stick when it came time for those dozen men to be forked over to the Princess and her Clan, "Well, I suppose I'll take my leave now. I need to prepare my forces and see if Queen Ant is willing to talk more reasonably now..."
"Go and do that. I on the other hand, will be asserting my new dominance and control over my territory..." she giggled, giddy to see the terror on her new subjects' faces.
"Farewell, Spider Queen. (May you burn in hell one day...)" the King said, muttering the last part as he took his leave from her lair and back to his kingdom.
"Hm hm hmm... Aaah, so many new changes, all in my favor..." the Spider Princess remarked, moving to get all of her servants and warriors to meet in order to inform them of the new changes...
...
While Lord Zenith's Galleon quickly sailed closer and closer to the new lands, a massive beast lurked below them, quietly following the strange ship in hopes of finding a new land with new prey...
Though it had been partially blinded by the Knight Lord and Warlord, it mattered not. Its true form was in Tartarus anyways, still trapped by that infernal Apoptosis... But it was only a matter of time before this timeline completely broke and the chaos was free to consume it... For now, it would be content with mere scions and incarnations of itself feasting upon the world.
After all, with Julius gone, why should it be afraid anymore?
...
The Medusa and other monster girls sat around in their cells, either bored or scared out of mind. While they weren't being abused or raped or much of anything really...
They also weren't getting to do anything. Not even masturbate to satisfy their lusts and desires. Apparently the knights didn't like hearing their voices very much. Probably because they sounded extremely grating and annoying to them.
So that wound up leaving some of the monster girls jittering and twitching, extremely bored and horny with no way of satisfying both. The others who could control themselves wound up just wondering what the knights were even talking about.
The Medusa herself wasn't complaining about the situation too much. She had a bed, a roof over her head, and some food and water given to her everyday... It wasn't too bad when compared to her previous situation of having to live out in the wild, constantly being screwed over by more experienced and specialized monsters. Not to mention an actual bed was much more comfortable than a tree or the dirt.
She admitted being surrounded by tall, tough, and hulking knights in shining armor was both arousing and pants-shittingly terrifying as well.
But... By the First, was this boring! Sure, she was safe and taken care of, but that didn't change the fact she was a prisoner and could easily be taken out for execution anytime.
... If only I could at least talk to these knights... Then maybe I'd get a better situation than... this... the Medusa thought, silently tapping her fingers against the floor from her bed.
...
The Elder Shirohebi meditated in silence, apathetic to what her followers did in the forests and other abandoned shrines nearby...
She appeared relatively young, despite her true age. Her scales, skin, and hair were white throughout, with her eyes being a piercing red. Her hair was short and combed neatly, with two beautiful vermillion flowers adorning her head. She dressed in a similarly white kimono, with a purple and green snake-themed obi and a red ribbon tipped with two small bells curling on the tip of her tail.
In terms of color, most would agree Shirohebi lacked much creativity, but then again, in Yamatai's ancient symbols and language, "Shiro" did mean "White," and "Hebi" meant "Snake." Which almost makes one feel bad for the living pun "Shirohebi" meant for the lamia and her sister.
Right now, the Elder Shirohebi was well aware of a massive force of humans marching through the Gold Region. She was also aware one of their smaller divisions did manage to traverse the mountains between Gold and Safina to reach the Sabasa Kingdom, but they were stopped and forced to retreat once the Vampires captured their leader.
Consider she herself was stronger than both Carmilla and Elizabeth, and the massive distance the Legion would have to cover between here and Yamatai, she felt like she and the others were probably going to be fine. Still... It was interesting. For all the violence and bloodshed these new humans have done, Shirohebi felt something off. They had no major vendetta against anyone here, unlike most of Sentora's wars where it was a conflict of hatred and petty greed. These legionnaires simply wanted war for the sake of glory, honor, and fame. Not for land or wealth, though they did help themselves to the spoils of war.
In all honesty, they weren't as mentally retarded as the standard human she met. Instead of being some pious, Ilias-worshipping terrorist who blindly hated monsters, this new group of humans only cared for what they needed and wanted. They felt like they had no real grudge against either human or monster, just a desire to fight and fulfill their nature.
She could respect that. Even if she hated humanity for kicking her out of Yamatai for no reason so long ago, she could at least respect them if they did or followed something respectable.
Though... She did sense some strange spirits had seemingly hitch-hiked with this group of humans to this world... At least two were notable. A apparition of death, and something extremely evil...
She silently sweated upon noting that evil creature was rapidly fleeing from the Legion, and seemed to be eyeing up Yamatai as its new home.
I cannot foretell or see all futures or sense all beings... But one thing is certain. The balance of power between Ilias and the Monster Lord, the balance maintained before all four of the Great Human Kingdoms... Are going to collapse quite soon... For better or worse, who knows.
...
Lazarus chuckled as Lupton told him the good news.
"So, those monster fuckers in Grangold are going to get wiped out by the Legion? Serves those damn ingrates right for not killing their ant girls and making even more monsters," Lazarus laughed, "It seems Ilias finally had enough of their blasphemy."
"Indeed. We're also close to locating the God Bird Shrine. Soon we'll have the Garuda Egg, and by then, we'll control the means of transport between here and Hellgondo," Lupton informed, smirking. Both Terrorists quite liked this news of a Legion waltzing in and kicking everyone's asses... And somehow missing Gold Port in the process. It positively reeked of a miracle given to them by the Great Goddess... Or, at least that's what they thought.
"Heh... The Garuda... Not sure whether I want to just kill it to trap the powerful monsters that are already in Hellgondo, or to somehow swallow my pride and keep it for the day when we all siege and purge Hellgondo once and for all. Probably the latter, as disgusting as it is. Most noble monsters know how to teleport or fly anyways. Destroying the means of transport between Sentora and Hellgondo would only cripple our own chances for striking at the heart of the Monster Lord's power."
"That is true," Lupton responded, "Unless we find a way to get around the mountain borders of Hellgondo, the Garuda is the only way we have of actually getting into and attacking Hellgondo."
"Indeed... Perhaps the Goddess is sending us a message through these Legionnaires..." Lazarus mulled, "If only we could figure out how those knights are so powerful. Then we could take Hellgondo and send the monsters into chaos! But for now, all we should focus on is the Garuda Egg. Continue looking for it, and take it when we do find it."
"Understood, Leader Lazarus. It will be done!"
...
Vaal silently worked in his tower within the Legion's Magic City: Xibalba. He was currently testing his attempts at artificial life that he kept in tiny pockets of reality he held up with his magic. So far, they weren't really going so well. Just a bunch of pathetic, oversized amoebas in all honesty.
Unfortunately, he was not one to wait eons for these little potato-like creatures to start evolving into something impressive.
He began rapidly increasing the heat and temperature of the pocket world, until it was a hellish world with cracked and scorched earths, until lava burst from the world and wiped out all vegetation, until the creatures either adapted to his many trials and methods of execution or not.
"Vaal! Still tampering with life and playing god, as per usual," a deep voice boomed.
Vaal simply raised his head slightly, acknowledging the voice. "Centurion R. Emus. I presume you're ready for the experiments? Or are you here to bail out?"
"Bail out? Hardly. I conquered the Forest Labyrinth and Goliath itself. I can handle a few needles and magic spells prodding at my body," R. Emus remarked, "I'm more worried you're getting sidetracked and a tad bit too worried about your head mage losing that Trident of yours. What was it called again? The Trident of Terror?"
"Yes. I'm quite worried about it because it's the only artifact I managed to rip out of the 'hands' of some eldritch abomination."
"So? You bully and intimidate eldritch abominations all the time. Didn't you rip off some Moon Lord's hand and mount it on your wall as a trophy?"
"It was actually his eye and brain," Vaal corrected, "But yes, I did do that. The difference between him and the usual masses of tentacles that lurk around the cosmic spectrum is that this one was the source of all fear. Supposedly it was severely weakened long ago by an Elemental Sovereign and an ancient Demon Lord, but who knows? All I know is that Deatheye is still around, probably trapped in a mortal body in this world, but around nonetheless. And because of that, I don't want her reuniting with her only missing source of power."
"Fah. Sounds likes a bunch of bullshit to me. Like a cancerous tumor that should've been removed long ago," R. Emus simply remarked.
"She is a cancer. And I'll make sure to just kill her the next time we meet... But that's not important. Why are you here?"
"Simply checking up on you. I want to get this experiment over with and see how much stronger I get!"
"Typical Legionnaire thinking..." Vaal muttered, "Well, I'm about 57% done with testing the current theory I have for the new experiment. Hopefully this one will be both stable and powerful enough to test on you."
"Indeed. But I wouldn't mind too much if I lost my mind. It's probably nothing your magic can't fix."
"You assume that you have a mind to begin with..." Vaal muttered once more, "It probably isn't something I can't fix. But I'd rather not, because you'd wind up destroying Xibalba by the time I did fix your 'mind.'"
"Hey, didn't you destroy half of Xibalba fighting some bitch called Adramelech?"
Actually, that was an apoptosis trying to kill me to erase all traces of Julius... Vaal thought, "No, Adramelech was an accident. She came from the depths of the seas and went straight to me. Probably just an ancient creature awoken by my experiments and figured out I was the cause."
"... But you still destroyed half of Xibalba fighting her," R. Emus insisted, "And then there was the time you thought summoning a Chaos God was a good idea. What was that one's name? Black Alicefeeze?"
And that one just wanted to have tea with me, but we eventually wound up having a sparring match in a test of magic skills. She was a nice girl, truth be told. "No, that was some other idiot's mistake. I traced the source and my magic identified it as 'Remina,' but I have no clue why she went to me."
"There was also the time you summoned a Dark Dream to this world. Nokturnus, if I remember right. Or Alduin. I don't remember what it was. Well, whoever he was, he was strong! Nearly wiped out the entire continent, but you banished him before it was too late."
I happened to piss off a friend of mine into pulling that shit. Vaskul, if I remember correctly. I didn't even know who Alduin was during that time... "Well, they only serve to prove why I'm the strongest magician the Legion has."
"Yeah... And why houses are so damn cheap here. I mean, shit. The only warrior-class Legionnaires that live here are either the really poor ones or the ones with the biggest balls in the Legion."
"You forget the fact that they're also cheap because all of us wizards can easily form magic crystals that fuel and hold the city up no matter how impossible the geometry is."
"Yeah right. There's an eldritch nightmare of some sort being summoned, breaking out, and wrecking havoc in Xibalba at least once a fucking week. Usually five or more."
"... I concede you have a point there."
"Damn right I have a point!" R. Emus said, "... But, I also do admit the magic does cheapen costs a lot here."
"I suppose we can agree to disagree," Vaal suggested.
"Agreed," R. Emus said, "Now, I suppose I'll be taking my leave now, since you've already told me about the progress you have so far on the experiment."
"Indeed... It would be best if you left... (You insufferable boneheaded jock...)" Vaal agreed, muttering the last part under his breath.
"Well, farewell for now. I'm off to go and see how the explorations in Death Mountain are going!" R. Emus laughed heartily, leaving Vaal in the sweet, quiet darkness of his tower...
...
Flavius sat in his private room, looking over his blunderbuss. It's been in his family line for generations now... And, though he didn't know its meaning, he knew that the engraving upon the firearm: "Tiburon," must mean something... Maybe an ancestor from long ago? He didn't know.
He honestly preferred this life of philosophy and peace over the Legion's usual "bash heads in and claim bragging rights" motto. And unlike Vaal, he didn't like the idea of summoning Eldritch Abominations to classify and learn from or fight them. Leave the giant man with an octopus head and dragon wings alone, like a man with common sense.
Of course, nobody cared to pay attention to him. "He's just a coward," they say, "He's more concerned with beauty and avoiding being a man," they said. Well, so what if he did like being alive!? Why shouldn't he want to keep himself attractive and decent? And even when he does lead their air forces, they never give him any credit...
But, at this point, he'd given up hope of ever getting past his nickname of "Flavius the Flatterer." Even Lord Zenith didn't seem to regard him with much respect, and that really dug deep into his moral and spirits. But... even then, he decided to keep on trying and going.
Right now, he was simply reading up about the ancient religion the Legion once held about that "Chicken-Winged Goddess." It seemed there was still a reliable translation of the archaic legionnaire language left over... Possibly because of their desire to remember ancient stories involving their later gods and heroes.
Hm... If I take one symbol at a time... and replace them with the modern letters of the alphabet... I get... 'I-l-l-i-a-s.' Huh. Curious. What kind of a name is Ilias?
Flavius sighed, relaxing in his chair. So, apparently that Chicken-Winged God's name was "Ilias," if his translation was right. What a weird name. Ilias. He supposed that's where the Iliad was named.
Time passed, and a holy presence soon appeared within his room, flooding the room with a warm, bright light...
"Wh-what!?" Flavius shot up, instantly holding his blunderbuss at the source... When his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw it as some sort of woman with green hair...
"Who... What are you!?"
"Wait! I come in peace. Fear not human... Lower your weapon," the woman said, raising her arms in a pacifying manner.
"... Huh?..." Flavius lowered his weapon, tilting his head. "You come in peace?"
"... Could you speak in a slightly less guttural and slow tone, please? Don't tell me there are monster girls on this continent as well..."
"Hm?... Repeat yourself," Flavius simply said, pulling up his book. Why did her words sound so familiar?...
"What?" she simply said.
"... Ah. I see... How fascinating..." Flavius saw that the woman seemed to be speaking an archaic version of the Legionnaire's language, with some words slightly changed and the grammar a tad bit different. It was a good thing he practiced speaking it in his spare time to insult his fellow legionnaires without them understanding... "Do. You. Under. Stand. Me?"
"You... Speak my language?"
"You... Under. Stand. Me?"
"... Yes."
"Oh-kay."
"Why do you talk like that?"
"Tall-kuh?"
The Heavenly Being sighed, thinking about how a certain redhead would be far more suited to this task... "Why. Do. You. Talk. Like. That?"
"It. Is. How. Norm-Al. Tall-kuh-ing. Go-sss..."
"Hmph. You will learn in time..." the Angel said, "But. For now. Know my name. I am the First Great Seraph, Eden! Humble Servant of the Goddess!"
"Eee-den... Serve-aph? Of God?..." Flavius was caught off-guard. No wonder why this woman didn't appear to be normal, yet not a monster. She was something much, much more...
"Yes... A Seraph of Goddess Ilias. The First."
Flavius' eyes widened in astonishment. Why did such a great being appear before him!? "Goddess... Ilias?... The Ancient One?..."
"Your sect of humanity worshiped her at some point?" Eden quickly asked, but realized he wouldn't understand, and worded it more simply and slowly, saying: "You. Once. Worshiped. Ilias?"
"Yes. Long. A-Go. Most. Have. For-Gott-En... Onn-ly his-story, re-mem-brrs..."
Eden seemed extremely troubled, but her face soon brightened up. There's hope yet for this "Legion..." They can be guided back under Lady Ilias' gentle rule once more... She thought, smiling. But she still had quite a long journey ahead to make that happen... At least she got over the language barrier.
"Then... Would. You. Like. To. Meet. A. God?" Eden simply offered, her smile growing even wider when the man appeared more than willing to meet a genuine Goddess in the flesh...
Author's Notes:
Back yet again with another chapter. I admit, I'm a bit unsure about Typhon and Eden's sections in this chapter. Tell me what you all think in a review or a PM! Hopefully this one's decent, and doesn't shove the canon characters aside too much.
Anyways, there are some reviews to answer!
Fish on Land: Indeed. As I said, I would be mostly sticking to the VN's timeline of events, but I would be pulling a lot of elements and lore from Paradox. I have not changed the nature of Apoptosis, and Chaos is definitely lurking in the world. However, while the nature of Apoptosis isn't changed, the Chaos is slightly changed... Though, not by much. It is more like a beast rather than a force of nature, I suppose, but that hasn't been fully decided on yet.
Ah, thank you! I did hope that I did well in fleshing the more vile and "evil" monsters a bit more. And, as I've said, we have Paradox to thank for this. These monsters do reveal a lot more about themselves in their dialogue truth be told. It was only a matter of taking what ToroToro had left and making it into a part of their character and personalities to put them beyond being a simple "Evil(er) Rapist Luka Must Seal" and more of an actual living, thinking person.
Ah, Luka's Angel Halo... That'll be explained when we next get to him. Which should be quite soon, when I think about it. As for the Legionnaires having their bodies modified, well, that isn't really the case. Just more of physical evolution through many years of fighting and growing stronger. Apollyon didn't go to that extent out of fear for causing chaos to spread much faster with a bunch of apoptosis being created and roaming outside of a Tartarus.
Ultimate SMS Fan: I don't tend to have BGM unless it's for extremely vital or important parts in my fanfic. So, my apologies, but no. But feel free to put it in yourself whenever you're reading.
(Oh. And also, one of my friends also wanted to say something. I hold no relation or opinion to this: GregoryRJ8 - "I remember you from that one dead collab we tried to do and ended up ultimately dying. Could you, like, kindly not suggest stuff if you're not a part of the story? You're honestly not funny, Mr. Saitama Guy.")
My apologies if my friend was a bit blunt. He has a shorter fuse than me.
...
A formless blob of darkness gloomed in the new world. It hated being in the painful light, but wanted to feel the same warmth the others could.
It wanted to be like the humans.
It didn't want to be a monster anymore.
It wanted to join with them.
It wanted hair.
It wanted eyes.
It wanted to feel happy.
It wanted to feel sad.
It wanted to be able to curl its fingers, to feel the cold and the heat.
To know what the earth below her felt like, what the brisky breezes felt like.
It wanted to soak in the waters, to feel the same pleasures humans do.
It wanted to be just like them.
Not like its previous creations.
Not like Ymir. Not like the Abyssal Dragon. Not like Jotun or Grendal.
It wanted real children. Real, thinking, feeling people.
Attractive people to brighten up the cruel world it spent so long suffering in.
It wanted to keep remembering a girl it had once watched.
How lovely that girl was. How happy she appeared to be. Alice, if she remembered right.
It missed Alice. Alice got too close to it. Got absorbed into its saddening and disgraceful form.
It swore to remember that human. It didn't want to be this blob of despair anymore.
It wanted to do something. Feel something.
First, came its tail, large, scaled, like a beautiful snake, with lovely and attractive red accents.
Then, came its body. Humanlike, elegant, with nice round mounds of fat that men seemed to like.
Sure, the arms were a bit strange and lizardlike, but it didn't care.
Finally, from the last parts of its former, depressing primal form, came its head.
It was shaped perfectly, emulating the most attractive women it ever saw. The hair was long, a silky white.
The horns were long, curved; beautiful and marvelous just like the roses.
Now, it needed a name, to be just like everyone else.
...
It wanted to keep remembering that poor girl that died to it.
So it took on the name of Alipheese. Alipheese Fateburn.
But this wasn't enough... It wanted more like itself. She needed more of her kind, that weren't monsters.
...
That's it!
Children!
She'll have Six of them. She didn't know what they'd look like, but she'll have them!
She even knew what she'll name them.
She'll name them: Tamamo-no-Mae, Saja, Minagi, Kanon, Kanade, and Hiruko.
Yes...
It wouldn't be alone anymore. She wouldn't be alone anymore.
And this time, she'll create something right. She'll make more beautiful and lovely creations, just like herself...
Monster-Girls, she supposed. Or maybe Mamono? Who knew.
All that mattered was that she wasn't lonely anymore...