"Well it's been a rough time for all of us this year, but Author-san at least wanted to get this bit out before 2021. It ain't that much, but hopefully it will hold you over until the next chapter."
(-)
High above in the skies over Fiore floated an ominous construct that spelled doom for whoever dared to approach it. A massive earthen cube that served as a disguise for the beast known as Pluto's Grim, which played host to the last remaining dark guild of the Balam Alliance; Tartaros. Though Tartaros may have been the least active of all the major dark guilds, it didn't mean that they were any less dangerous as nearly every member was a demon, with the higher-ranking members being genuine demons from the Book of Zeref. For years the demons of Tartaros had remained in the shadows, hiding their activity from the rest of Fiore as they plotted a means to summon forth their master, END.
The aforementioned demon was the final and most powerful of all the monsters that Zeref created; a destructive beast of hellfire and burning rage that would leave nothing but ruin in its wake. However, for reasons unknown to the rest of the demons, the book of END was locked tight with a powerful magical seal, preventing the rightful master of Tartaros from manifesting. And so the demon Mard Geer took up the mantle of the temporary master until such a time that END could be released, utilizing every resource available to him to discover a means of breaking the seal on the book. In fact, he had recently made some promising headway upon learning of the anti-magic weapon Face, which would surely be capable of breaking the seal. The Nine Demon Gates had been dispatched at his behest to further research the weapon, but something unexpected had occurred, prompting Mard Geer to recall the Gates back to base and abandon their current mission.
Thus, the Gates were now waiting before the throne room doors for the rest of their ilk to join them before heading inside. The first to arrive had been Franmalth, the greedy cyclops having already been present at the base and was giddy with anticipation. Following him soon after was Keyes and then Silver. The Black Archbishop was just as stand-offish as usual, muttering verses of prayer while the empty sockets that were his eyes gazed ahead with overall disinterest. Meanwhile Silver managed to maintain his flawless poker face as usual, concealing his utter disdain for the demons around him.
While it was an open secret that Silver possessed demon slaying magic -which most attributed to Mard Geer wanting a specialist on hand to deal with any demons that went rogue-, only a handful of the guild's members were privy to the knowledge that Silver was not actually a demon, but just a reanimated human corpse created by Keyes. That being said, Silver absolutely abhorred demons, and that was before his wife and son had been murdered by one. After being reanimated by Keyes, Silver played the part of the 'good little soldier' while his undying hatred towards the demons pushed him onwards and allowed him to evolve past being just another zombie that Keyes toyed with. His strength grew, much to the Black Archbishop's delight, and he willingly committed countless atrocities for the sake of earning the trust of the Gates. He was a man with nothing to lose, nothing to hold him back, and a single driving-force that gave him the will to fight on... Revenge.
Silver was determined to inflict upon the demons the same suffering that they inflicted upon him, and destroy END.
Releasing a sigh of annoyance upon noticing the next arrivals, Silver again suppressed the urge to just lash out and kill the approaching demons. Jackal and Ezel were both loudmouths who were grating to even their fellow Gates, but for different reasons. The former being an arrogant showoff who looks for any excuse to blow something up, while the latter is a battle-hungry maniac who practically shouts everything he says.
"Yo! What's with the callback?" Jackal asked with an arrogant sneer. "There was this nice little village I was planning to blow to smithereens!"
"RAAAGHHHH! I didn't even get to fight anyone! The boss better have a damn good reason for dragging me back here!" Ezel demanded as he 'stomped' towards them.
Silver snorted in amusement. "Don't worry Ezel, I'm sure you'll get a good fight one of these days. Just keep your chin up... Oh wait, you don't have one." he remarked with a snicker.
"YOU DAMN PRICK!"
"C'mon Silver, you know how blade boy here is sensitive about his lack of a lower jaw." Jackal opined, adding even more fuel to the fire.
Ezel was about to lash out at the mad-bomber, but a large bladed-fin came up and blocked Ezel's arm from swinging. "Enough!" an aggravated voice shouted as another demon stood between Jackal and Ezel.
Of all the demons Silver had to deal with on a regular basis, he found Torafuzar to be the most tolerable as he was both quiet and serious. If he took pleasure in whatever acts of violence were assigned to him, he didn't let it show, preferring to maintain a type of professionalism about his work.
"These actions are unbecoming of the Gates. Act as you wish on your own time, but Mard Geer called for us, so stop it with this foolishness!"
That being said, Jackal and Ezel didn't care much for his 'buzzkill' attitude.
"Tch, way to ruin the mood." grumbled Jackal.
"You think you can just order me around Torafuzar?!" Ezel roared in anger. "How about we test your armor against my blades?!"
"Why am I not at all surprised to be greeted by a scene like this?" a soft feminine voice spoke. "It is a story that has been read countless times and always ends the same." Seilah remarked with one of her usual book metaphors as she entered the room.
"Geh, heh, heh! I hope you don't expect them to change at any point!" Franmalth opined as he laughed. "They are far too predictable!"
Jackal's eye twitched at that remark. "You got something you want to say to me you one-eyed creep?"
"Just pointing out that not all dogs can learn new tricks!"
"Franmalth, stop provoking him." Keyes cut-in, speaking for the first time thus far.
Though they are all demons of the Book of Zeref and shared the same goal, that didn't mean they all got along when forced to interact with one another. The majority of the demons had personalities that didn't mesh well with others, so interactions between them all were kept at a minimum in the hopes to limit any volatile conversations, as well as the destructive aftermath that was guaranteed to occur. There was a palpable tension in the air as the demons held a silent standoff, each waiting to see who would speak up next, eager to latch on to any reason they could use as a means to lash out.
Mere moments before everything went to hell, relief came in the arrival of the final two members the group were waiting for.
"This one apologizes for being late." Kyoka remarked as she strutted down the hall with Tempester following behind. "Mard Geer asked these two to tie up some loose ends."
Noticing the small flecks of blood on Kyoka's claws and Tempester's cloak, Silver raised a brow. "Tie up, or cut off?"
The furred demon sighed. "The fat bastard wouldn't shut up. Kept trying to bargain for his life."
Torofuzar was quick to figure out who they were talking about. "Crawford? I thought we needed him to figure out the Face plan?"
Kyoka shrugged. "Do not ask this one as to why, but Mard Geer claimed he was no longer needed."
"I suppose that means we'll just have to ask the boss-man ourselves." Silver mused as he gestured to the throne room door. "Since we're all here, I guess that means it's time to head in."
"Indeed." Kyoka replied as she made her way to the front of the group and pushed open the massive doors.
The room was ominously lit by brasiers that were a twisted fusion of flesh and bone from the same demon that the entire base was comprised of, with an occasional shudder or twitch serving as a constant reminder that they were quite literally in the belly of the beast. A carpet the color of dried blood span the length of the room, leading to the base of the demented throne upon which the guilds current master sat.
Mard Geer looked as he always did; a slight slouch that hinted at arrogance, a relaxed posture which denoted his view of nothing being worth his time, and the faint smirk tugging at his lips as if he knew some great secret that only he was privy to. However, unlike how he normally appeared, there was a glint of excitement in his eyes that was never there prior.
The Nine Demon Gate's took a knee as they approached their temporary master -save for Ezel, who lacked legs- and bowed their heads.
"Mard Geer-sama, the Nine Demon Gate's have arrived, as per your instructions."
The Underworld King nodded in satisfaction before uncrossing his legs and standing up. "So you have." He responded before narrowing his gaze on Kyoka and Tempester. "I trust that the chairman will no longer be of a concern to us?"
The female demon nodded. "Correct. Though this one desires to know why you had him killed. She thought he was necessary for our future plans."
Chuckling slightly, Mard Geer pulled the Book of END out from the crook of his elbow and gave the cover a light caress. "His assistance was needed in order to lift the seal on master END's book. However,"
Waiting for the demons to raise their heads, Mard Geer took delight in successfully opening the tome.
"that is no longer an issue."
Several moments of silence passed by as the demons gazed at the open book in equal parts shock and awe. The tome that contained their rightful master had somehow had its seal broken, meaning that END could finally manifest himself. After the initial shock wore off, the implications of the book being open lit a blaze of excitement in all those present -although the nature of the blaze was different for some- as they made their feelings known.
Jackal was barely able to hold back the explosions from going off around him as he began to laugh maniacally, his fervor only being outdone by Ezel who was roaring in anticipation at the chance to fight alongside Zeref's strongest creation. Franmalth was already mentally counting how many souls he would be able to collect in the wake of END's wrath, Keyes' stoic countenance was replaced with a look of excitement, and even the relatively docile Torafuzar seemed to be unable to contain himself as his fists trembled in anticipation. Meanwhile Kyoka, Seilah, and Tempester were somewhat quieter, preferring to present sadistic smiles as they mentally reveled at what was to come.
However, among them all, Mard Geer was easily able to notice the difference in expression on Silver's face. While the man grinned like mad, it was not for the same reason as the others. Rather he was ecstatic at the prospect of finally being granted the chance to destroy END. The blaze of hatred in his eyes was all but shouting his intentions.
The temporary master smirked. As simple as it would be for him to kill Silver right now and prevent any complications further down the road, he opted instead to let the walking corpse continue under the assumption that all was going as planned. Keyes still had the man on a tight leash and was no doubt interested in seeing what effect this new motivation would have on his necromancy. Besides, it was foolish of Silver to think that his Ice Devil Slayer magic would be enough to defeat END.
Still, despite how much he rather not put a damper on the mood, Mard Geer had to clarify something.
"Do not get carried away my fellow Etherious, for we still have one last hurdle to overcome." Mard Geer explained as he presented the pages of the book for all to see. "Tell me, what is missing from these pages?"
One by one the demons began to calm down as they heeded Mard Geer's question. It was not a difficult one to answer, as the problem with the book was clear as day for anyone to see.
"What's this?!" Seilah gasped in confusion.
"The pages!" Franmalth cried as he pointed at the book.
"They're… blank?" Jackal muttered in hushed bafflement.
Mard Geer nodded as he closed the book and held it to his chest once more. "To be more accurate; the words cannot yet be seen."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Ezel demanded in aggravation.
"Exactly what it sounds like." Mard Geer answered in a chiding tone. "The seal has been broken, allowing master to manifest in this world." He then sat back down on the throne and crossed his legs. "Yet for some reason he hasn't fully awoken."
"What do you mean?"
The Underworld King smiled. "Our master is out there somewhere, but his full power, along with his memories, are still sealed away."
"Then what the fuck are we supposed to do now?!" Jackal shouted in anger. "If the master is out there but he don't even know who he is, then we gotta do something!"
Mard Geer huffed in amusement at Jackal's outburst. "Calm yourself Jackal. Did you not think I already thought of that?"
The demon in question clicked his tongue in annoyance before looking away.
Holding up the book of END once more, Mard Geer spoke. "We will find our master, return the book to him, and awaken his true power. Only then will we be able to return to Zeref." He explained as he felt the book 'pull' him in a certain direction to the south.
"Now, let us go to where our master awaits us! To Crocus!"