Sorry about the delay! Thanks for your reviews, NightmareSyndrom, Anonymous, Vecrec, GeneralGeneric and Hefner J! Hope you enjoy this next chapter!
Fail to the King!
Chapter 9 – The Devil-Hero's Own Luck
Sitting across from the imposing leader of the Snow Tribe, Almaz desperately tried to look professional. Kneeling in seiza style, copied from Aria, he wondered if the impassive demon was in as much pain as he was in right now- who knew sitting on your own feet could be so excruciating? Apparently it didn't bother the Elder, so Almaz just gritted his teeth and, trying to ignore the foreboding numbness spreading through his legs, explained his story, leaving out the fact that he was an Overlord- it was probably best to keep that quiet, no matter how nice they seemed…
"You are quite fortunate that portal lead to out lands," said the Elder when Almaz had finished. "No doubt the demon wished to trap you in the hostile environment, not knowing of the existence of our clan. Be at ease, you are our guests here."
"Thanks for your hospitality," said Almaz, trying to wipe the pained look off his face. Then again, the ninja's eyes were grey and faded- perhaps he was blind? If that were the case, he probably wouldn't notice Almaz's discomfort after all…
"…You can stop sitting so formally if you wish," said the ninja after a moment of hesitation. Almaz fought the urge to sigh dejectedly, moving to a cross-legged position. Well, there went his semblance of a professional appearance.
"Who are you, anyway?" asked Almaz. "I mean, I really appreciate you helping us, but for all you knew we could have been enemies."
The Elder inclined his head, accepting his point. "True, but we are not defenseless against the attacks of three unconscious, half-dead individuals," he said wryly. With a miniscule grin at Almaz's flustered reaction, he continued. "I am Fubuki, the first Elder Ninja of this village, Snow Melody." He stood up and opened the sliding panel that made up one of the walls, opening the room to the chilly winter scene outside. The blizzard had cleared up and Almaz could only see a thick blanket of snow covering the land. Here and there the snow had fallen, revealing the thick forest around them to be one of bamboo. "As my sister Yukimaru has told you, we are the Snow Clan. For our clan's entire history we have guarded these beautiful lands of the frozen north. When we sensed that gateway's energies, we had no choice but to leap into action, lest another catastrophe like Zenon's invasion were to occur."
He turned his face to Almaz, smiling faintly. "As for why we helped you… let's simply say we have learned to understand the importance of an extended hand of friendship. At the cusp of our clan's greatest crisis, we were extended one. Who are we to deny it to another?"
Almaz silently contemplated this. 'Is he saying he wanted to be allies? Or maybe he was just waiving the need for repayment…' As he thought about it, the younger demon from before, Yukimaru emerged from one of the snow covered huts and ran lightly towards them. Almaz noticed that her feet barely left marks in the fresh snow. It was so soft and high, Almaz had needed to practically dig a trench just to reach the Elder's quarters for this meeting, but the blue-eyed kunoichi seemed to skip on the frozen dust without even paying attention. It was strange the village was so small if the ninjas were so skilled, since it must be excellent stealth training to walk so softly, he realized. Perhaps it had something to do with the crisis Fubuki had mentioned.
"Ah, good morning Almaz," greeted Yukimaru when she spotted him, hopping onto the wooden walkway and bowing politely. "Have you recovered well?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks to you," Almaz replied, "It's Aria I'm worried about. Has she woken yet?"
"Not yet, zam, but do not worry. We of the Snow Clan are experts at healing these ice-related injuries. They are our specialty after all, zam."
Almaz chuckled nervously, reminding himself that his hosts were demon ninja, after all. "Still, as soon as we can get her to a healer, the better, right?"
"It might be sooner than you think," she said, frowning solemnly. "If I may borrow Fubuki for a moment…"
"What is the matter? I thought your heart was set on giving them a tour?" asked Fubuki, that tiny wry smile on his face again. Yukimaru returned the smile.
"What, a tour of the snow? Only a fellow Snow Clan member could appreciate that kind of tour, zam. Besides, something has come up in Holt Village, so I'd like to leave immediately, zam."
"I see…" said Fubuki, sobering up. He looked over at Almaz and bowed respectfully. "If you wish, go ready your vassal for travel. I'll have an attendant connect to the gate." Almaz mimicked his bow in thanks before quickly heading off into the snow. As soon as the young hero was out of earshot, the blind ninja inclined his head towards his sister. "What exactly has occurred in Holt?" he asked, concerned over the younger ninja's agitation.
"Rozalin may be in danger," explained Yukimaru grimly. "Somebody is hunting the true Zenon, zam."
Fubuki nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. Any threat to their lost sister, no matter how great or small, demanded their full attention. It was Yukimaru's obligation, and his penance.
Almaz gingerly opened the sliding panel to the room Aria was resting in, tiptoeing quietly in. His eyes fell on the mat where she lay, bandaged heavily. Part of him had hoped she would have woken by now, but he only had himself to blame. Sitting on a cushion beside her, he stared at his battered vassal, trying to figure out how he had failed so miserably.
'I'm an idiot, a useless idiot,' he thought, sighing. He tried to ignore his self-pitying thoughts, but could not shake the air of gloom around him. 'Why is it that everything is blowing up in my face lately…?'
Was being a hero worth it? If this was the reward, this sight of one of his few friends and allies left battered and beaten into a coma, was being a hero really worth it? Or maybe he just wasn't good enough. Too stupid to see through a trap his enemy had created, too weak to stop his friend from getting injured, almost killed… "Not up to scratch, Almaz. Not that I expected anything else…" the voices from his memories echoed, taunting him.
And they were right. When he tried to stop Mao, his friend, from making a mistake he knew he would regret, Almaz was rewarded with a crown too heavy for him to carry alone. And yet, he had been left alone, abandoned by his friends until Aria had offered to help him.
"I'm sorry Aria…" Almaz said softly to his sleeping vassal. "I'm this happened because I was such an idiot. Jericho was right, I'm not Overlord material. I never would have even survived the first day if you hadn't helped me…" He groaned miserably, covering his face with his hands and sagging down. "Who am I kidding? You haven't just been helping me, you've been carrying me this whole time. If you hadn't shown up, I'd probably still be catatonic with self-pity back at the Overlord's throne. I'm too weak… I couldn't have gotten up by myself…"
"Why not?" came a quiet voice. Almaz gaped and looked up, meeting Aria's red, un-bandaged eye, half-lidded in tiredness. Before he could launch into flustered apologies, her cracked voice repeated her question. "Why not?"
"B-because…" Almaz stuttered, his mouth flapped uselessly. "Because I'm too weak… Everybody left…" he sighed, slipping into melancholy again. "I thought… I thought I was more important to everybody than that…"
"You are important to them…" Aria insisted, her voice faint. It sounded nothing like her usual voice. It was weak and fluttering, barely a whisper.
"Then why?" Almaz said, becoming angry. Not at Aria, but at himself and the memory of the battle that day. "Why did they just abandon me? I didn't even want to be Overlord, couldn't they see that? Why didn't anyone care that-" He caught himself, looking sad and apologetic to Aria. "Sorry… you, of all people, don't deserve that…"
The kunoichi stared at him blankly for a moment, then reached out and took the hem of his sleeve in her bandaged hand. "That day… I didn't return because I was worried about you… I was ordered to check up on you… But…" she said, slowly and quietly. Almaz leaned closer to hear her. "You convinced me… that you could be a good Overlord … so I stayed…"
"Thank you," said Almaz, smiling slightly.
"Don't thank me… just don't give up… even a demon has to have hope, right?" She tried to grin again. "I guess… I'm hoping you'll be a good Overlord. I'm sure… I'm sure everyone else thinks the same… probably for longer than I did…"
She sighed and cleared her throat, trying to wake up her vocal chords from their apparent slumber. Almaz waited patiently for her, and when she spoke again, her voice was stronger, still wavy but more like its old self.
"Before… I didn't know why Lord Mao… and everybody seemed to give a crap… no offence, Lord Almaz, but you were a wimp…" Almaz frowned slightly at the critique, causing Aria to grin slightly before she continued. "But... seeing you fight Aurum and… and taking up the title to fight off the invasion... I think I understand a bit…" She clammed up, fighting back a cough. "They… they do care… it was just a rough moment for everyone…"
Almaz was silent, considering her words. If he was honest with himself, he had to admit she could be right. He had been so wrapped up in pitying himself over the last few days, he hadn't even thought about how his friends must have felt.
Mao was always trying to succeed his father as Overlord- how terrible must it have been when another human Hero had been given the title? Even worse, a Hero who the demon had grown to trust, despite his protests to the contrary. Almaz had practically stolen Mao's birthright that day. Sure, he hadn't meant to, but Mao was never the most rational of people. But maybe he hadn't seen it as a betrayal, and maybe he had actually been helping Almaz all along… the Dean's son had helped him during the invasion… Almaz had been too preoccupied to second guess his friend at the time, but thinking about it now, it just didn't make sense…
Mr. Champloo had made it quite clear that figured Almaz would be fine without his help. He trusted Almaz. Was Almaz letting that trust down by wallowing in his self-pity?
Rasberyl? She had always encouraged Almaz and had loved to talk to him about being a hero, which he had happily obliged, despite her… interesting views towards the subject. He had seen her, Kyoko and Asuka as the first friendly faces during the early days of his time in the academy, one of the first demons who convinced him that they weren't all enemies. Coming from a highly demon phobic society, it was a true paradigm shift and one reason why he was even able to befriend Mao. But they saw him slowly turn into a demon, become trapped in the Netherworld and die because of it, just because he had lost his home-made hero title. Could it be that they just couldn't bear to see what would happen to him with the title of Overlord?
And Sapphire… could she be the same? Was she scared that she would have lost him again? He knew she cared, even if he wasn't always brave enough to let himself admit it. She had cried when he had come back to life. Was he really going to betray that care by believing otherwise? Was he really so weak that he couldn't accept that she, the brave and beautiful princess he had admired for so long, could be just be feeling as scared and alone as him right now?
"I want to believe in them…" said Almaz slowly, wrestling with his thoughts. He paused, swallowing heavily, as Aria looked up at him expectantly. He gritted his teeth, his mind swarming with thoughts of his friends. "I want to believe they're my friends…that they care for me…"
Rasberyl helping him hide out from Mao's experiments. Doing press-ups over a hot stove as Mr. Champloo shouted encouragements at him. Arguing with Mao about which anime had better heroes, tossing comics, teacups and, once, a Prinny at each other. Ambling down the pathways of Evil Academy beside Sapphire, chatting away about the Netherworld while her mystic wolf, Cyprus, trailed behind them.
Almaz realized he already had made his decision. "I want to believe… so I will. I'll believe in them."
"So what are you going to do… Lord Almaz?" asked Aria, with a slight smile that bordered on an expectant grin, despite the state she was in.
"I… I'm going to get you to a proper healer," answered Almaz, grinning apologetically at his bedridden vassal. "I mean, sheesh, here you are dealing with my problems while you're still recovering. How pathetic must I look, huh?"
"Oh, this? This is nothing… I can barely feel a thing," replied Aria, shrugging awkwardly.
"That's… probably the anesthesia…" said Almaz hesitantly. Aria blinked lazily, causing the young Hero to squirm awkwardly. "Yeah, definitely the anesthesia… you should probably get some rest, we'll be leaving soon."
"Yessir…" Aria yawned, closing her eyes. Almaz turned to leave when Aria spoke up again, barely loud enough to hear. "If you need someone to complain to… I'll be right there… I'm your vassal, after all… I'm here to support you…"
Almaz went very quiet. "Thank you…" he said shakily, after a moment of silence.
Aria coughed and turned over in her mat. "Feh… all this delinquent stuff is rubbing off on me…"
Almaz smiled, appreciating the sentiment, and left the room, sliding the door shut behind him. Looking around the snow covered village, he caught the eye of Jericho standing nearby, leaning against a wall.
Jericho's gaze was evaluative, as if it could see everything about a person's triumphs and failings and measure their worth. Almaz had seen that look hundreds of times before, from when he was training to be a guard to when he was declaring himself a hero to demons and humans alike. It was a look that Almaz had never before overcome.
Only this time, for once, he matched that stare with a look of quiet determination, a rare feeling for the young Hero. The match of stares lasted for a second, until Jericho broke it with a short nod. Curt, but not disrespectful, leaving Almaz feeling vaguely surprised as the samurai walked into the room without a word.
Had he finally measured up?
"Almaz!" a voice called. He turned his head to see Yukimaru waving at him, a ninja behind her summoning a familiar gateway. "It's time, zam."
Walking though the dimension gate, Almaz, Aria and Jericho felt the cold air fade away, replaced with the sunny climate of their destination. Blinking as the light faded, they noticed the gate attendant beckoning to them, smiling politely.
"Welcome to Holt Village!"
Holt Village was… not like Almaz had expected. Rather than a drab demon town filled with roaming warriors and intelligent monsters, it was a bustling little village, stone houses with thatched roofs lining the cobbled streets, with a morning market apparently in full swing. Almaz was caught by a sudden feeling of nostalgia, the town vaguely reminding him of the small town he had lived in as a child before he had moved to Rhodonite City for his parent's new jobs. For a moment he was disorientated by how familiar it seemed, then it hit him why- nearly all the people milling around the marketplace were human!
"Uh, Yukimaru…" Almaz began to ask, but the Snow ninja raised her hand to interrupt.
"My apologies, but I have just spotted a friend who requires my immediate assistance, zam." She bowed apologetically. "Ask Miss Friday for any directions, I shall meet you at the house with the summoning cauldron in the centre of the town later, zam." She turned to the gate attendant. "Miss Friday, can I leave them to you, zam?"
"It's about that guy earlier, isn't it?" asked the attendant, Friday, concerned. "Adell was worried about him too… Alright, you can count on me…"
Almaz opened his mouth to offer some help but Yukimaru, sensing his words, simply smiled and bowed before running off to wherever she had spotted her friend.
"Umm… this might seem like a stupid question… but where exactly are we?" Almaz asked the gate attendant hesitantly; who he noted was a demon. The pointed ears were a giveaway, but the young Overlord recognized her as a member of that famous archer race of demons of Badre who, like the PTA chairwoman back at Evil Academy, sported slender physiques and swirly, swirly hairstyles.
The archer demon fortunately understood his question. "You're in Holt Village, a small village in the centre of Veldime, in the human world." Almaz gaped at her in surprise. This was a human world? Yukimaru hadn't mentioned that. He had expected it to be another Netherworld after…
…Wait… Veldime? That name sounded familiar…
"Isn't Veldime where the God of Overlords, Zenon, is supposed to be hiding? I thought it was a Netherworld…" asked Jericho, also finding the name familiar. However, it wasn't for the same reason Veldime rang a bell for Almaz, and he racked his brain trying to recall as he half-listened to the archer's explanation.
"Heehee, yes, we get that a lot. Veldime, until recently, was placed under a terrible curse by a demon impersonating Overlord Zenon," she said, launching into what sounded like a well rehearsed explanation.
"You see, while it was under the false Zenon's curse, the humans of Veldime lost their memories and consciences, slowly turning into demons. Feral, immoral demons, not like charming demons like me, of course!" she joked sunnily. Not earning any laughs, she continued sheepishly.
"Demons began to come to this new netherworld, and it was believed to be a small, insignificant planet Zenon had conquered. However, two years ago, the curse was lifted and we had quite a surprise here in Veldime when we discovered this world was actually much more important than it had seemed."
"It turned out that a third curse, now known as the two-leafed clover curse, had been placed over the land itself, preventing travel to the nearby planets and twisting Veldime into an altered Netherworld. Veldime happened to be one of the largest planets of important human solar system, which, I'm telling you, had caused quite a stir in the rest of the human world when it had been mysteriously sealed almost two decades ago!"
Suddenly, Almaz remembered why Veldime was familiar to him. It had been all over the news three years ago, after all! "Oh my god… we're in the human world!" Aria and Jericho stared at him like he was an idiot, unimpressed by the revelation. "No, no, I mean, we're in my human world!" he clarified quickly. "Veldime was a planet, close to my home world, which used to be covered in some sort of impenetrable shadows until about two years ago!"
"Why the hell did it take you so long to remember that little tidbit?" asked Jericho skeptically.
"I've had a lot on my mind recently, okay?" said Almaz, more defensively than he had intended. Jericho rolled his eyes and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Besides," added Almaz, ignoring the samurai's sarcastic response, "Veldime and Gaia are two completely different planets. Sure, there's been some news and communication between us since the barrier dropped, but after Rhodonite Kingdom figured there wasn't a risk of demon invasion we were busier with other things…"
"Wait, let me get this straight…" Jericho grinned, amused. "Your girlfriend has a country named after her?"
"Jeez, Jericho, would you shut up…" groaned Aria sleepily over Almaz's flustered denials.
"Would you… like to go to Rhodonite? I can easily set up a gate…" offered Friday, glancing uncertainly between the three. Almaz froze, the thought worming into his head.
Yes, yes he would like to go! He would love to just go home and leave all this craziness behind. Maybe they could crown Mao as Overlord instead! Maybe he could go back to his normal life as a guard, maybe he could spend time with Sapphire when their lives weren't in danger.
But… he glanced at Aria. She was able to stand and walk fine, thanks to Yukimaru, Jericho and several medic's efforts back at Snow Melody, but he could tell her eyes weren't as responsive due to the anesthesia. Jericho, too, had a tensed expression that implied he was still feeling the effects of the ambush that night.
Almaz still needed to find out who that summoner was. Not only to find out if Sapphire was okay, but to know why he had invaded for seemingly no purpose at all.
Returning home could wait. He had a job to do.
"Thanks, but could you point us to the nearest healer instead?" Almaz asked Friday. She smiled politely and gave them directions, as well as directions to the house Yukimaru had told them to meet.
They found the healer's clinic easily, but before they could knock on the door, a voice called out to them.
"Looking for healing?" Turning, they came face to face with a cleric demon who looked like she could have been Isabelle's sister, if it wasn't for the stern expression on her face. "I'm the healer. The name is Tileyfa." She walked right up to Almaz, making him to step back a couple of steps. Why were all healers such weird demons? "Hmhmhmhm… getting in to trouble lately, have we?" said the healer, eyebrow raised.
"Uh… yes… could you…" began Almaz, only to be interrupted by Tileyfa jabbing him in the gut with her finger. There was a sudden rush of energy and he felt like he was on a warm, breezy beach somewhere, the cool winds and the gentle rays of the sun washing away his lingering aches and pains. Blinking as the spell ended, he flexed his fingers experimentally. "Oh, thanks…" He felt so much better, even the wounds and strains he had forgotten about had vanished, leaving him feel so much lighter… wait… his wallet seemed lighter too… "Hey! How much did you take?" he exclaimed, annoyed.
The healer raised a dangerous eyebrow. "Enough for all of you," she replied in a voice that brooked no argument. "You are not nearly as hurt as these two, it'll take longer to treat them." Almaz shut his mouth, feeling guilty.
"Why don't you go find that house? You wanted to speak to Miss Yukimaru, didn't you?" suggested Aria. "We'll come find you when our treatments are over."
Almaz nodded in agreement. "Okay, that sounds like a good idea. Let's try and figure out a way back to our netherworld afterwards."
As he left and they followed the healer into the clinic, Aria leaned into Jericho and hooked her arm into his. He stared, flustered and speechless at the ninja, as she smiled roguishly at him. "You know, I'm glad we can finally spend some time away from Lord Almaz for a while…" she said teasingly.
"Wh… why's that?" asked Jericho hesitantly. Instead of anticipation, all he could feel was a dark sense of dread crawling up his spine.
"So you can tell me exactly why Lord Almaz happened to mention that you said he wasn't 'Overlord material'," she whispered murderously, her grip on his arm becoming vice-like. "And it's a good thing we're at a hospital right now, because I have a feeling you're going to need it a couple of times today."
Jericho stared at the red-eyed kunoichi, sensing no humor, only a sincere promise of pain to come. 'Oh crap.'
Relieved that Aria and Jericho were safe and well, Almaz made his way to the house he had promised to meet Yukimaru at. Finding it easily, he couldn't help but envy its owners a little. 'Pretty big for a little village like this, plus they have a good view of the riverbank… man, I wish I had a house like this… a Netherworld castle is just too damn dangerous sometimes… I wonder what the back looks like…' Deciding to scope it out, he circled the house and his ears caught the sound of a conversation.
"And you really think he could figure out the real Zenon's… whereabouts, zam?" came the familiar voice of the Snow Clan ninja. Almaz grinned. Looks like he was a bit early. He hesitated to show himself, not wanting to interrupt, but anxious to speak to Yukimaru, so he hovered around the corner, waiting for a lull in the conversation to step in.
"You don't have to say it so hesitantly, you know. I have come to terms with it, after all," said another female voice. This one sounded somewhat cultured, like one of the nobles Almaz sometimes saw at the palace during guard duty.
"He was strong, maybe stronger than me," came a guy's voice, sounding worried. "We were both holding back, but I could tell he had a lot more power behind him. Almost reminded me of fighting Beauty Queen Etna."
"… Adell, for heaven's sake, stop referring to her like that," the second voice said, exasperated.
"But that's her title, isn't it?"
"This is beside the point, zam. Basically, this demon is extremely dangerous, is that correct, zam?"
"Yeah, really dangerous. He seemed like a nice guy, but I can tell he won't let anything get in his way… except he's going to have to deal if he tries something."
Almaz frowned, worried. They were in danger? 'I should help them. If they're in trouble, it's my duty as a hero to step in, isn't it? Besides, I owe her… yeah, I'll just walk out in front of them, and offer my help…' However, his legs refused to budge. 'Come on, legs, move! It's not that scary, is it? All I'll be doing is fighting another enemy who I have no idea how strong he is, right? Come on, think of what the Princess would say!'
Thinking of Sapphire came with a jolt of melancholy, but he knew she wouldn't want him hesitating while people needed help. That thought spurred him on, like he knew it would, and Almaz took a deep breath, ready to announce his presence to Yukimaru's friends.
Then he noticed the little kid staring at him suspiciously. Almaz froze, surprised, as he fumbled for words. "Ah… hey there. How's it going…?"
"ADE~ELL! SOMEBODY'S SPYING ON YOU!" the kid yelled.
"I-I'm not spying on anyone!" spluttered Almaz. Out of the corner of his eye there was a flash of something red, and the young hero instinctively dove to the ground, narrowly avoiding a colossal kick to the head, which slammed into the wall of the house instead.
"Dammit, Adell, stop kicking the house!" a woman's voice from inside shouted.
"Fighting a spy, mom!" called Almaz's attacker, a red-haired human who looked a bit older than Almaz himself, who wore a long, red tie over a white shirt and loose fitting black pants. He glared at Almaz, who crawled away from him a couple of paces.
"Wait, Sir Adell! He's a friend, zam!" Yukimaru called, quickly arriving to Almaz's aid, followed by another girl, a blond-haired demon wearing a fine, black and red dress. Yukimaru offered her hand to Almaz, who took it and hauled himself up before sheepishly dusting himself off. "Sir Almaz, these are my dear friends, Sir Adell and Miss Rozalin, and I believe you have already met young Taro here. Everybody, this is Sir Almaz, who was lost in our land recently."
"Uhm… it's nice to meet you?" said Almaz hesitantly, glancing nervously between them. The red-head, Adell had his arms crossed, measuring him up, while the little kid hid behind the elegant looking girl, Rozalin.
"Nice to meet you too, I suppose," said Adell, after another moment of that awkward pause, "Sorry about the kick, but I'm a little on edge today. Stuff happened."
"Ah, that's what I wanted to talk about, actually!" said Almaz. "I'm guessing you guys are in a bit of trouble at the moment…"
"See! He is a spy!" said Taro, pointing accusingly at Almaz.
"Hush, Taro," said Rozalin, silencing the boy to let Almaz continue.
"So, anyway, I really owe you a big favor, Yukimaru, so I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help…" he trailed off as the Snow Clan ninja shook her head.
"Sir Almaz, there is no debt. I would not dream of asking compensation. We helped you because it was what our chivalrous hearts demanded, zam," she replied solemnly.
"Then, can't you let me do the same? I-I know there's a big problem right now," That decapitating kick was proof, even if nothing else was… "I don't know the details, but I do know that someone important to you needs help. You didn't know me before you helped me and my friends, so let me help yours. I mean… if there's anything I can do to help, that is…" Almaz finished awkwardly, suddenly becoming self conscious under Yukimaru, Adell and Rozalin's collective stares boring into him.
"Hmm… you do make a good point, zam…" said Yukimaru, glancing at the other two.
"Can you fight?" asked Adell, eying Almaz's sword. Seeing his nod, the red-head grinned. "Alright then, just this once. Glad to have some help. Rozalin, are you coming?"
The girl in the elegant dress scoffed, caught between amusement and annoyance. "An offer to go running around in the dirt, looking for a fight? Adell, you should have learned by now there are things a lady simply does not do, fool."
Adell raised his hands defensively. "Alright, that's fine. We'll head off now, we really don't have much time to lose. We'll be back as soon as possible." With that, he turned and headed down the street at a fast pace, heading for the dimension gate in the square.
"There he goes…" murmured Rozalin. "Keep an eye out for him, Yukimaru. He's very agitated by this. And thank you for your help, Mr Almaz," she said to the two.
Almaz smiled. "It's no problem, I'm kind of happy to help. Listen, a little later my vassal, Aria, and another demon called Jericho are going to show up here. Just tell them where I went, if you could."
"Wish us luck, zam," said Yukimaru after him, before they both set off to catch up with Adell, leaving a confused Rozalin behind. 'His vassal? Why would a human have a demon vassal?'
"So, basically, this guy, Tav, is after Overord Zenon and it'd be really bad for us personally and probably globally if he were to succeed. We're going to find him, figure out where he's headed and, if we have to, punch him into dust. Beyond that, you're just gonna have to trust us," Adell said to Almaz as they passed through the dimension gate. "I just hope he hasn't gotten… too… far…" the red-headed demon hunter trailed off as he saw the state of the once tranquil reflection pond.
It looked like a warzone, only fortunately without any bodies. The earth was carved up and riddled with smoking craters and the air felt charged with energy familiar to all three of them. It was the buzzing sensation of mana energy. In the centre of it all, a black armored figure stood silently watching the skies. His hands flared with yellow energy, primed for an attack.
"Is he the guy we're looking for?" asked Almaz, confused.
"No, but he's definitely suspicious, if you ask me…" muttered Adell, glancing warily around the ruined landscape. Dust was still settling and the destruction was limited to around them, so likely whatever battle had occurred, it was short and recent, albeit highly destructive, of course.
"Hey, 'scuse me!" Adell called to the armored demon. It inclined its head slightly in response. Guessing that he had its attention, Adell continued. "Where's the guy you were fighting?" Even if it wasn't Tav, from earlier, Adell had to make sure his hometown was safe from any rampaging demons that could cause this level of destruction so quickly.
The demon said nothing in response, but did raise its hand, with a finger pointed skywards.
"What? He's up?" asked Adell perplexed. Almaz, giving a curious glance to the sky, caught the dark demon's message. Something was spinning far, far up in the sky, quickly becoming large and clearer. Massive slabs of stone, each easily the size of a house, were rocketing down on their position with frightening speed. Almaz could spot heat haze around the massive missiles as they accelerated, shattering the sound barrier as they plummeted to earth.
They gave a whole new spin to the phrase 'terminal velocity'.
Almaz shrieked in warning to the others, quickly spinning on his heels and grabbing their arms, diving back in an attempt to avoid being crushed into a paste by the rain of stone. Adell and Yukimaru, realizing their peril, quickly swiveled in his grip to run alongside him. The first of the meteors began to strike around them, rocking the earth with the force of their impacts, and the surroundings grew dark as they were overshadowed by the looming slabs.
Almaz gritted his teeth and sprinted as fast as he could alongside Adell and Yukimaru, but the quakes knocked him off balance and he tripped, causing the two Veldime natives to stumble alongside him. In a moment of panicked clarity, he realized that stumble had cost them their lives. Without speed there was no way they could escape the meteor impact only seconds away.
So, what? That was it? He was going to die here? Because he tripped over a rock? Without even proving his new resolve to his friends? Well, screw that.
Determination and mana burned around Almaz, flaring into an indigo hued aura around him. That little anxious voice inside his head warned him that he had never tried this move carrying passengers and without a sword, but hey, as they say, desperate times…
Tightening his grip on Yukimaru and Adell, he flexed his indigo aura, letting the power free. Instantly, the energy burst into glowing wings, catapulting Almaz and his stunned allies forward and upwards, dodging meteors that pelted around them. Almaz pushed more power into the wings, causing him to accelerate, hurling through the rain of destruction until they broke from the looming darkness.
Not a moment too soon either, as the true meteors came crashing down right behind them, smashing against the earth with colossal force. The earth shuddered like it was frightened and a massive wall of dust and debris shot forward, pushed by the winds and shockwaves of the collision. Like the maw of a beast, the dust cloud surged forward and swallowed Almaz and his allies whole.
Freefalling from the sky, Tav landed, pounding a crater into the ground from his landing. Dusting off his hands, he grinned at the destruction of his Big Bang attack. "Well, it was a good fight, a true challenge," he mused, casting an appraising eye where his mysterious opponent had fought. "But, as always…"
The rubble exploded outwards as a yellow beam of destruction pierced through them, making an opening. A black blur leapt from the debris and landed away from the sinner, turning to face him. The blackened demon stood, stoic as ever, arms pulsing with glowing yellow energy that arced with black lightning, its armor only superficially dented.
"Oh come on!" yelled the sinner in frustration. "Didn't I get anything in that attack?"
A groan behind him alerted him to the three people behind him, sprawled in the dust. Adell pushed himself to his feet and dusted himself off, glaring at Tav, who grinned and gave a sheepish wave.
"Uh… hey there! Sorry about that…" Tav said apologetically. "Looks like you were able to avoid the worst of the attack though. What are you doing out here, anyway?"
"Taking a walk," said Adell, spitting out the dust in his mouth. He glanced back at the other two to check their status. The ninja had already risen and was prepared for battle, but Almaz was still sprawled on the ground, nursing a bump on his head. "I landed on a rock," he said helpfully, seeing Adell's look.
Adell grinned. "Nice save. I'm pretty glad we brought you along now."
"I'm just glad I didn't make things worse. Normally things explode when I try to land a Slayer's Decent…" Almaz replied, his face pale.
Adell stifled a laugh before turning to face Tav, growing serious. "I was hoping to ask you about something too," he said.
"Well, it'll have to wait until we get rid of this guy," replied Tav, keeping his eye warily on the black armored demon. "I don't even know what his problem is, he seems to be guarding something here, or maybe he was just waiting for me…" The Sinner turned his attention back to the stoic demon, on guard for a counterattack.
Without warning, a figure materialized between Tav and the blackened demon, casting both a dark look. Tav reeled backwards in surprise, while Adell and Yukimaru exchanged a concerned glance. Almaz, however, gaped in shock, recognizing the newcomer instantly.
The familiar sorcerer, with dirty white robes fluttering in the breeze, shook his head. "So, picking fights instead of answering my call? What happened to the pact we made?" asked Cinos in a bored drawl, before sighing. "It's been a while, Etem."
Chapter 9 -end-
Varanotes: dundunDUN! Man, not even serendipity works right for Almaz!
Bad news, I've been having computer trouble. Every now and again (read: upwards of three times a day) it just goes bluescreen. IT'S ANNOYING. Some weird problem with the camera driver, I'll find a fix as soon as I can.
Unfortunately, this means updates will be a bit slower than I like though, but in an ideal world I'll still get them out once every week or two. Fingers crossed, send positive thoughts!
And I can't help but feel Adell is a bit OOC in this chapter, what with his first idea being punching Tav into the dirt. In his defense, he's kinda on edge, since he's got no way of knowing how real a threat Tav could be. Yeah, and in case you can't read the mood, next chapter is fightin' time! Of course, there'll be a few surprises too...
Hope you enjoyed reading, hit that review button!
-Varanus
