"Prinnies are weak." Gemi said as we kept walking through the forest.

"Yes, they are as insignificant as flies." Nini replied.

"You know if you throw it then they explode." I said and Nini's eyes got slightly wider.

"…I'll have to try that later."

"Go ahead, they're disposable." Etna replied with a sadistic laugh.

"That's cruel Etna!" Flonne yelled at her. Unsurprisingly the prinnies didn't turn out to be much of a challenge…it was like beating up a sea of soggy marshmallows, I wonder if Etna sells them out as punching bags.

"Something wrong Owen? …you have a creepy grin." Nina said tapping me on the shoulder.

"Sorry, a bit lost in thought is all." I replied.

"You must be getting stupider then." I looked up in shock as Sukia came floating down in a completely new set of clothes. She was wearing a white shirt with a sleeveless dark red vest and a black miniskirt that matched her leather boots.

"You're back already?"

"You're okay!" Nina said giving Sukia a hug, "I was worried you were in danger."

"You're sweet Nina…I wasn't in danger at all." She replied patting her head as her cheeks turned pink.

"Yeah but I'm sure you're having trouble walking now." I said snickering as she gave me a nasty glare.

"The sexual deviant is back." Gemi said.

"Stay away from her." Nini said pulling Gemi back.

"You scare children." I said with a smile.

"Shut up!" She yelled at me still holding Nina tightly.

"…Um…can you let me go?" Nina asked and Sukia released her grip.

"Ah! Sorry Nina."

"It's okay…your chest is suffocating though." Nina said taking a deep breath as Sukia chuckled and her tail swayed playfully.

"Hmhmhmhm…I'll take that as a compliment."

"Deviant."

"Agreed Gemi."

"Shut it, all of you!" Laharl yelled at us, "I can't handle the rambling behind me. Let's just walk in silence."

"Fine." I said while everyone else gave a sigh. The very second I took a step forward and was greeted by a giant footstep slam into the ground jostling everybody and knocking them over, "What the hell is that!?"

"Mwahahahahaha!" I craned my neck to look up but all I could see was his shin…it was too large to look past, "Kid! Are you Krichevskoy's son?"

"Yeah and who are you?" Laharl asked.

"I am the overlord of an alternate Netherworld!"

"An alternate Netherwolrd?"

"There's more than one?" Nina asked.

"Yes, they exist in different dimensions." Gemi said.

"Hence, alternate Netherworld." Nini finished.

"I tried taking over this world before but King Krichevskoy got in my way." The colossal demon said.

"…I'm starting to have a lot more respect for the old king." I said offhandedly; if he can stop something this big than he deserve some respect if not all of it.

"But now that he's dead, I'll claim it for my own!" So he wants a fight, "You are just one of the overlords I will crush on my way to becoming 'Supreme Overlord'!"

"Let's just get this over with." Laharl said with a yawn, "I've got stuff to do."

"Puny boy! What you see before you represents only a fraction of my power." That's only a fraction!? It's skyscraper size!

"Well, that's hard to tell since I'm only seeing part of you."…He had a point.

"Yep." Etna agreed, "You're just too big."

"How can we even fight if we can't see you?" Sukia asked.

"Fine! If it's size you're concerned about then I can make an arrangement. But even so, a horrible death still awaits you! Feel my wrath! Doppelganger." Suddenly he disappeared leaving us alone for a few awkward seconds.

"…Nice guy." Flonne said as we waited and I shrugged.

"Eh, kind of a jackass for wanting every Netherworld for himself." I replied.

"He's just another weakling out for the throne." Laharl said bluntly, "Gum on my shoe is more of a challenge than he is."

"Well then we should have no trouble with this. Let's set up land mines while we wait prince." Etna said with an evil smirk on her face.

"We've got a few." Gemi said holding up a land mine in his hand.

"Where did you get that!?" Nina asked grabbing the mine form him, "That's dangerous!"

"…You were worried?" Nini asked as Nina set it down.

"Be careful with these."

'CLICK!' …oh god.

"Nina, back away slowly form the land mine." I said as she had frozen in place. Before any of us could react a bright flash filled the air and I looked back over to see a bunch of identical smaller demons standing across from us.

"Behold the incredible doppelganger spell! Now I shall-"

"Fore!" Etna shouted and suddenly the land mine went flying through the air before hitting the one in the middle and exploding in a ball of fire that consumed all of them. When the smoke cleared they were all gone with the only thing remaining being a crater sized hole where they were standing.

"That was easy." Sukia said in surprise as Etna laughed manically.

"Man that was effective!"

"Are you kidding!? We could have all been blown to bits!" I yelled at her, "That was like a pound of dynamite stuck in a box of gun powder!"

"You guys don't have any more do you?" Nina asked looking slightly scared; they nodded in return before Nin pulled a stack of them out of nowhere, "Gah!"

"Maybe hold back on the explosives…please?" Flonne asked her voice slightly cracking.

"Not so fast!" I looked back at the crater to see one of the Overlord demons struggling to leave the pit, "You cheaters! Using explosives you bastards!"

"We're demons. Also, you left a lot of time for us to set that up." Etna said.

"That was an on the fly decision though." I said.

"Enough! One of me is still enough to-" Before he could finish something big crashed down on him.

"He just has no luck today." Sukia said.

"This feels anti-climactic." Flonne said sounding disappointed, "Aren't the heroes supposed to win?"

"Considering what just happened, I have my doubts that we did anything at all." Nina said with a sigh. When the smoke cleared a group of six demons were standing in front of us; a ghost, zombie, dragon, chimera, golem, and gargoyle…wait…

"Aren't those the guys that are hanging around the castle?" I asked and Laharl gave a surprised look.

"What are you guys doing here?" Laharl asked.

"We came to help in your time of need!" The zombie said dramatically.

"Well you kinda crushed the last guy there." I said pointing at his feet.

"Oh…well then we're here to take the deed for overlord!" What!?

"Wow that was a quick change. You guys are a little two faced aren't you?" Etna asked playfully.

"Traitors! You are my vassals! You have to listen to me!" Laharl yelled at them looking positively fuming.

"We are vassals to the late King Krichevskoy!"

"You bastards! You became my vassals after he died!"

"What an unexpected betrayal! How will we get out of this?!" Flonne said getting fired up.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked.

"She's crazy." Gemi and Nini said together.

"This is the dramatic moment when a hero has to decide whether to defeat those who betrayed him or spare their lives and gain them as valuable allies."

"…I think you play to many video games Flonne." I said with a sigh.

"…Etna." Laharl said.

"Yes prince?" Etna asked.

"Hand me a mine." Etna grabbed from the stack and tossed one to Laharl who grabbed it.

'CLICK!'

"Gah!" All of the vassals took a back step in fear before Laharl chucked it at them creating another crater sized explosion; when the smoke cleared they were still standing there but look damaged from the blast, "It'll take more than that to take us down!" I gave a loud cough catching their attention and pointed to the stack the twins were currently pulling out, "…Maybe we can talk about this."

"You may be tough but even that amount can do you in." Etna said.

"Geez, you guys are pretty useless no matter where you are." Laharl said sounding disappointed.

"Um…well…we'll see you back at the castle prince. Later!" With that they dashed off leaving us alone.

"Useless idiots."

"Still, to survive a mine blast they must be pretty tough." Nina said.

"The wise eagle hides it talons." Flonne said quoting some profound saying.

"I wish they'd use their talons for me sometimes." Laharl grumbled as he walked forward. I turned around to see Gemi and Nin standing next to three groups of five mines.

"...Maybe put those away for now." They nodded before Laharl swooped in and consumed them in his scarf.

"These are good for motivation. I'll hang onto them." …I don't want to touch that.

We continued down the path quietly and I felt my mind wander to what else could show up; Demons were popping up left and right as we walked…

"Hey Etna?" I asked and she looked back at me.

"What's up?"

"Just how many freaks are there in the Netherworld?"

"Well, you'll find a lot of different demons all boasting some weird agenda or another. Fact is there are groups of freaks out there and they're the worst of the bunch."

"Got an example?" Before she could answer a blast came from one of the high cliffs and a person wearing a full body red suit and helmet was standing there looking dramatic.

"We've been waiting for you demons!" Suddenly a blue mist came from his left and another person dressed in blue was standing there.

"When the darkness of evil draws near, we appear out of nowhere!" From the left side a flash of light crashed and a man in yellow appeared…holding a script?

"The-three-lights-of-justice-save-the-world-with-courage-and-hope…oh…!" The red man jumped down in front of us.

"Together-" The blue man followed.

"We are-" And then the yellow man.

"The-Prism-Rangers…!" They finished with a flashy pose and we stood there dumfounded.

"…There's your example." Etna said and I gave a long sigh.

"Please, someone normal come out." Laharl said looking absolutely sick of running into freaks…I know how he felt.

"I'll even take the hoard of demons from earlier." I said agreeing with him.

"They're perfectly in sync!" Flonne said with pure amazement in her eyes.

"That one is holding a script." Gemi said pointing to the yellow ranger.

"They must have been rehearsing." Nini added.

"Not well enough apparently." Sukia added.

"Wait…doesn't a prism have seven colors?" Nina asked and I shrugged.

"Yeah, shouldn't there be more of you?" Flonne asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We don't have any friends!" Prism Red replied.

"Man you burned yourself there." I said chuckling at his blatant honesty.

"Being a hero is a lonely existence! You got it!?"

"Only if you make it that way." Nina rebutted.

"You sure it's not because you guys are freaks in matching outfits?" Etna asked.

"If you guys are heroes then why are you gunning for overlord?" Laharl asked.

"We want friends of course!" Prism Red replied, "If we become overlord then we'll have tons of friends! Then the Prism Rangers will have all the colors of the rainbow!"

"Backstabbing friends." I added and the twins nodded.

"We'll show you!" They all raised their hand in unity as they began to glow, Alright! Blue, Yellow; transfor-" Hell no! Etna and I shot forward as I thrusted at Blue and she shot Yellow knocking them both to the ground.

"Not happening."

"Bluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Yellowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"

"That was easy." Etna said twirling her pistol.

"Curse you! Attacking before we even have a chance to transform! How inconsiderate!"

"What!? You expect us to let you get more powerful!? I hated that in T.V. shows. Just shoot them, their wide open!" I replied.

"What are you, demons!?"

"Yep." Sukia replied and he fell to his knees.

"Oh my god! I completely forgot."

"…Is your helmet on too tight?" Laharl asked in disbelief, "You should have transformed first, and then come out."

"But a true defender of justice transforms in front of the enemy!" Flonne said passionately.

"Then they have no one to blame but themselves for this happening." I said pointing to the two unconscious halfwits.

"Then it's time for my trump card! The demons I hired to help me!" Suddenly a large group of demons appeared in front of Prism Red blocking us from getting to him.

"Is it okay for a hero to be using demons?" Laharl asked.

"Of course, justice must never lose! No matter the means!"…I'm not sure how to feel about that statement. He jumped backwards up onto the cliff in front of us and put his heart over his chest, "Blue, Yellow, your deaths have awakened a burning passion in my heart!"

"Um…I think they're still breathing." Nina said poking Blue as he groaned in pain.

"Stop whining, it was only your gut and didn't hit hard enough to puncture." I said.

"Actually I have a question." Nina said, "If you hired demons then why didn't you call them out to protect you while you transformed?"

"…That's a good one." Gemi said.

"Yes, Prism Red is very stupid." Nini finished.

"Enough!" He screamed, "Feel the power of Justice, evil demons!"

As the demons came rushing at us I drew my sword and shield before dashing at the first line of them.

"Blade Rush!" With one swift motion I slashed through a line of them and once it was done I skid to the left at a horizontal line and pulled my blade up, "Wind cutter!" With a swift slash I watched as the line of wind sliced through the demons taking them out.

"Mega Star!" I looked over to see another group of demons pelted by medium sized meteors and watched as Nina swiftly thrust at the demon sneaking up behind her with her rapier; it's good to see she's getting better with a weapon...I don't want to see her hurt…but why? Shaking that thought off I turned to the demon coming up on me and quickly blocked with my shield before pushing him back, thrusting through and throwing him towards the demon behind him. I looked over to see Sukia carving up demons left and right with her extended nails. I looked over in surprise to see Gemi and Nini fighting back to back in perfect sync; every strike they made was coordinated and they switched opponents on a dime to confuse their enemies and making their style even harder to predict…they were more skilled then I gave them credit for.

"Gah!" I staggered forward and looked behind me to see a demon had snuck up on me; with a quick slash I took it out and felt my hand suddenly seize up, "Damn…paralysis!"

"Espoir!" Feeling my hand go back to normal I looked to see Nina standing next to me with a big smile on her face and I smiled back.

"Thanks. Let's keep going!" With that I took another slash at a demon and watched as Laharl jumped up the cliff side and slashed Prism Red across the chest making him disappear. Suddenly all the demons stopped fighting to our surprise, "Um…you don't want to keep fighting?"

"Nah. He's gone and we're already paid so we don't care anymore."

"That's a pretty brutal work ethic." Etna said.

"No real dedication in it." Nina added.

"Eh, at least they don't want to be Overlord." Sukia added and they all turned back to us.

"Wait…you guys are THAT group of demons?" I took a big breath before turning to Sukia.

"Sukia…I'm going to hurt you for this." She giggled nervously before they all swarmed us.

After finally taking out the goon squadron we kept walking forward until we hit a large area with a giant tree in the middle, it felt ominous and weirdly important…almost as though it was the very center of the forest.

"Hang on…is this the heart of evil?" I asked and Laharl nodded.

"It sure is." I looked around finding it surprisingly empty for the end point of our quest.

"Nobody is here." Flonne said.

"So we win?" Sukia asked and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well since nobody is here-"

"Hold my friends!" That voice! Drawing my sword I watched as Mid-Boss walked out from behind the big tree.

"What do you want? I'm busy." Laharl said brushing him off.

"Now you weren't thinking of calling yourself the overlord without first settling things with moi, were you?"

"To settle things there would have had to be a challenge." I pointed out, "He mopped the floor with you twice now."

"That's right." Laharl said, "Now get out of my way."

"Silly you, did you think I was serious?" Oh god not again.

"Who is he?" Nini asked.

"A moron." I answered, "And even worse, he's a repetitive moron."

"Too many morons today."

"Agreed." Gemi replied.

"Ditto." I added.

"Now you shall feel my true power!" Mid-Boss said, "I have attained ultra-speed by training and training and training, all while wearing one hundred ton boxers!" Gross, "Can your eyes keep up?" We all drew our weapons, "Here I come! The throne is mine!"

Dashing forward I took a swing but as my blade went through him he suddenly vanished in to thin air; I felt something hit my gut and was shocked to see Mid-Boss had hit me in the gut sending me reeling to the ground. Getting up I took another swing as he disappeared and turned around holding my shield up to block as a hit came out of nowhere.

"Very good, you're learning to predict you enemies' movements." Suddenly I felt my feet leave the ground and looked to see Mid-Boss holding my shield up, "But I'm sorry to say that's not enough, Adonic Shot!" Feeling a force hit my center I went flying back into a tree and collapsed on the ground.

"Owen!" Nina cried rushing over to me as I got back up.

"He's definitely a lot more powerful than before. The biggest problem is that he's way too fast." I looked up to see Laharl and Etna trying to hit Mid-Boss while Flonne tried pegging him with her arrows; the problem was that he moved too fast for the eye to catch and that made it impossible to actually hit him, "The only way to hit him is to be as fast as he is and we can't do that without some kind of spell."

"…Hang on!" Nina said catching my attention, "I know a spell that might work…but I'm going to need help."

"You rang?" Sukia said suddenly behind her.

"Sukia, I need your magic power for a spell chain."

"Anything for you Nina…but I don't think two will be enough."

"Shall we help as well?" Gemi and Nini asked turning into Nina, "Three should be enough."

"What are you four planning?" I asked and they all giggled.

"Don't worry about it." Sukia said and Nina grabbed my hand.

"We're going to make you faster." Faster, "Hold still and take deep breath…you're senses are going to be a bit too fast so be careful."

"Wait, shouldn't we choose someone stronger?" I asked and Nina looked me in the eye confidently.

"You can do this…okay?"…Nina…

"Okay!"

"We're going to be burned out after this so it's all up to you." They all took a deep breath and stretched out their hands.

"…Speed Boost!" I felt my senses suddenly slow down as everyone I looked at become slower and slower…no…my perception was getting quicker! Shooting up I looked over to see Mid-Boss was moving at normal speed and even waiting for the others to move slowly; this was my chance! Standing up I rushed at Mid-Boss and took a swing hitting him and making him stagger and fall over.

"I see you've decided to work together. Very good." He stood up and faced me, "Now tell me, have you gotten stronger?"

"…Not yet…but Nina, Sukia and the Gemini Twins put their faith in me and I'm going to make sure I take you down!" I took a swing and he blocked with his arms.

"So…you've taken your first step. Then show me what your resolve amounts to my friend!" I felt my face curve into a smile.

"You got it!" I took another swing as he backed up and reeled back for a punch; I blocked with my shield and rushed forward bashing into him before thrusting at his open leg and going through it. He stepped back and swung his leg sending my shield up and punched directly at my chest sending me back, "Damn…this is slowing me down!" Removing my shield I threw it at Mid-Boss and rushed forward gripping my sword with both hands and as he hit the shield away I swung at his chest cutting it open and swung up all the way to his chin before he punched me knocking me to the ground.

"Very primal my friend…but still not enough. My body is as hard as diamonds!" If that's true…

"Then it's time to try something new!" Rolling backwards onto my feet I dropped my blade and thrust my hand forward with all my might feeling an intense fire in my body, "GIGA FIRE!" An intense fire burst from my hand and consumed Mid-Boss in a massive explosion that actually shook the ground underneath me and made my knees go weak. Once it was over I felt my body start to collapse and fought with all my will to stay standing. When the fire cleared I was shocked to see Mid-Boss was still standing…but those weren't the same eyes from before.

"So…you found what you wanted to fight for…even if you can't see it yet, your heart can." With those words the world started to go back to its' normal speed as Mid-Boss clutched his stomach in pain, "Ooooh…uggghhh…sudden…stomach cramps."

"What?" Laharl said looking shocked and confused.

"Pardon moi, but I must use the restroom. Au re voir!" With that he dashed away in the blink of an eye as Laharl face palmed.

"He ran away…again."

"His excuses are getting more pathetic by the day." Etna said.

"Guess that last ditch effort was pretty useless." Sukia said looking exhausted, "And so all that energy draining goes to waste."…

"Yeah…oh well." I said.

"You suck."

"You suck!"

"So…is that it?" Flonne asked.

"That means…" Laharl began, "I'm the overlord!"

"So he's now the Overlord…does that mean I get a raise?" I asked and Etna started laughing, "Yeah…didn't think so."

"So the prince is now the overlord…it's sooooo hard to believe." Etna said.

"Well, he's been working hard to get this far…I guess it was bound to happen." Nina said.

"He's so happy…it's kind of cute." Flonne said giggling as Laharl bounced around the tree happily and I chuckled…it kind of was.

"Shouldn't you be worried Flonne?" Etna asked.

"Why?"

"You helped the prince become the overlord."

"Uh…" Oh god…well, guess she doesn't exactly work under god anymore.

"Treasonous Angel." Gemi said.

"Punishment by death." Nini finished making Flonne freak out.

"Stop that you two." Nina said pouting at them.

"Yes Ma'am." The replied in unison.

"W-W-W-W-W-What should I do!? If the Seraph hears of this there's no telling what kind of punishment awaits me! I might be dismissed from my angel trainee position."

"And spend the rest of your life scrubbing toilets in celestial bathrooms." I added and she shook her head.

"Owen!" Nina said.

"Sorry."

"You could change jobs and become a demon…you'd still be scrubbing toilets but it's a change of scenery." Etna offered.

"Nooooo!"

"Is everyone going to make this worse?" Nina asked sighing.

"I could try…but I won't for you." Sukia answered sticking her tongue at me.

"Oh Master Lamington! Please guide me!" As Flonne prayed with all her might I looked down at my hands seeing scorch marks along them…guess I can use magic…but obviously Mid-Boss is more than he seems…and what did he mean I have something to fight for…hopefully I'll find out soon.

"Overlord! Overlord! Overlord!" But first…I've got to deal with our new ruler Laharl: Brat of the Netherworld…why is my life hell?