It all began in the year 2017 of the Imperial Calendar.
The world of humanity always remained at war as they fought over reason or excuse. One such power was the Holy Britannian Empire, which controlled over a third of the world. Seven years ago, they already conquered the once neutral nation of Japan for its valuable resources, rechristening it and its people with the number "Eleven." The empire that took over the land continued to exploit the indigenous people as it proceeded to conquer the rest of the world. But that was where everything.
Out of nowhere, a masked figure known as Zero appeared as a hero of the people. From there, he formed the Order of the Black Knights, the masked man's army, to liberate their home and wage war against Britannia. After years of rebellion, global repercussions, and battles that seemingly marked the death of Zero, the Black Knights achieved their goal of liberating Japan.
However, just when things were at peace, another unexpected phenomenon occurred.
All over the world, mysterious weapons and powerful warships appeared, plunging the world into war once again. These unknown warriors who took the form of humans claimed to be residents of Byston Well, a parallel universe in between the sea and shore. Their weapons, dubbed Aura Machines, wielded incredible power as they fought one another, burning countries to the ground with mere skirmishes and slaughtering millions.
The war eventually turned into a conflict between two factions. Just then, the Holy Britannian Empire, whose emperor had gone missing all this time, was suddenly usurped by a sudden successor. Lelouch vi Britannia, a young prince and 17th heir to the throne who was supposed to be dead many years ago, became the 99th Emperor after publicly declaring that he slew the previous Emperor, Charles Zi Britannia. By allying with two armies from Byston Well, he sought out to conquer the world with his new overwhelming might.
And conquer the world, he did, which began his tyrannical rule on the planet. But then, a miracle happened a few months when the once-thought-dead Zero appeared and executed him. The world celebrated for his death and entered a state of peace and recovery.
But that peace was not wholly achieved until two years later. At that point, the world was terrorized by the Kingdom of Zilkistan, a nation that relied on the world's wars for its very existence. To defeat this menace, the masked figure once again rose to destroy the Kingdom and put an end to its foundation.
Since then, the masked figure, which was saved the world many times, continued to conceal his true identity. He became a symbol of rebellion, liberation, and now of world peace. But he only existed in times of war and crises, which only asks the question, where has he gone now?
The answer was simple, where the next major war awaits.
"Are you sure this the way to your friend?"
That was the voice of a man who spoke like a human but had characteristics of a wolf. He wore a green soldier's uniform and a hat that shielded his eyes. He carried what was beyond a typical crossbow, which had an automatic reloading mechanism built into it. He walked across the green fields of a giant landmass that appeared to be floating in midair.
"Don't be so skeptical, wolfman. I never doubt my abilities to find the kid," a woman with long green hair who accompanied him responded. She wore a white robe not so different from a priestess, although the sleeves were far longer than her arms. She had a strange sigil on her forehead that acted like a crest. "And I would not say he's a friend, but rather a…partner-in-crime."
"I know your two are our guests, but please, do not take that much advantage of the Boss's hospitality."
"His hospitality? That's one way to put it," the green-haired woman continued to play around with him as his threat sounded more passive than intimidating. "On the other hand, I believe it's better to say that your master should accept his hospitality."
The wolfman, known as Garm, mumbled for the moment. The two only got acquittanced with each other for a day or two, but relations were sour at best. The woman was never his type to be around with, compared to his more devoted personality.
"Oh, don't be that aggravated. Once you meet the guy, you'll be more than thankful soon enough."
When they finished, they came across another character. The teenage boy had a uniform of the same style as the other woman but in a men's variety. She stood over his young body to cast shade over his short black hair.
"So that's him?" Garm approached. "Are you sure he's okay?"
"Despite how he looks, he's not the type to go down easily," the woman commented. "Although he could stand to use a little more help than me."
The sniper nodded as barked at the nearby soldiers.
"Men, get this man back to the city! Be sure not to hurt him further! Now move!"
The woman in question smirked over the guy's predicament. The two accompanied each other as they took an ancient elevator to another world. They were only guided by a voice that brought them over to this specific world and on this very land. Little did their rescuers know how powerful this man was, for he looked human, about was a powerful demon on the inside.
It wasn't long before the young boy woke up. He found himself inside what looked like a guest room for an inn during ancient times. Across his bed were a table and a bookcase with numerous titles. He was distracted by someone entering the left corner of the room.
"Are you awake yet?"
A young woman in a maid's uniform entered. She had pink hair, but the boy was attracted by how she had cat ears. Where those real or an accessory? That question was rendered moot when he saw them twitching and moving like living ears. While she looked a capable maid, he was unsure who was it that brought him here.
"And you are?"
"I am Master Loki's maid, Fena," she bowed. "Your friend requested his aid in her effort to rescue you, so we brought you here while unconscious."
"Unconscious?"
"I believe she wishes to see you," Fena turned to the side and called over. "He's awake now; please come in."
The same green-haired woman walked into the room. She showed the same smug grin as if he messed up at some point.
"C.C.," the man called her name.
"Please forgive us, Mister Lelouch," Fena apologized. "This is the best we can offer you during your stay."
"Don't be so apologetic," the witch replied in his stead. "He's not the type to let this accident bother him, right Lelouch?"
"Accident?" Lelouch then remembered. They traveled through one of the thought elevators after hearing a voice call out to them. It was faint, but it called to them from another world, though they didn't know exactly where. The two landed, but Lelouch and C.C. got separated and split up. "Oh, yeah, that's right."
"No matter how many times it happens, simple teleportation into another world does not always end well, even for experienced Code users."
"Well, you seem to be taking it well."
"Indeed," she flaunted. "I'm the one who discovered these people for you. Consider it luck that it was them rather anyone else on this floating island."
"Floating island?" That was new for Lelouch as he didn't expect that to be the new world they entered.
"Yes, well they call this place a floating continent, run by five goddesses who made this giant rock."
Lelouch was taken aback. A floating island can be somewhat believable, but a floating continent? Just how big is the thing anyway?
"Don't tell me how we ended up in this place," C.C. denied any involvement. "Neither of us knew our destination when we came here, so we're even on this one."
"I see," he then turned to the maid. Apart from her animal ears, she reminded him a bit of C.C. "So why did you pick out these people here? And why is there a woman with cat ears here?"
"Don't be that insulting," C.C. teased as he sensed Fena's cat ears twitching. "These people are pretty common around here from the looks of it. It's better to get used to them since you'll work with them quite well."
"Then why are you so grateful to them?"
"Because apparently, this continent is in a state of panic," C.C. answered. "A major war is about to erupt, and these people are in great of capable leadership."
"Oh yeah?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow. He recalled her talking about goddesses running this floating continent as it came straight from mythology. "And kind of war exactly? One between goddesses and demons, I suppose?"
C.C. did give a direct answer. She merely faced Fena as she replied.
"I believe the man behind this operation will be able to tell you enough. Isn't that right?"
The main then walked back out of the door.
"Please accompany me to our Young Master."
It wasn't long before Lelouch got up from the bed. C.C. walked out much earlier than he did, expecting him to catch up. Although it took a while for him, he was caught over recent events, wondering what he and C.C. got themselves into.
Inside a specific room, a young man with short blue hair, red eyes, and a pair of horns was busy with mass amounts of paperwork. He was stuck on his desk for a long time, finishing all of the contracts before they were sent back to their recipients. He'd been at this for days since he arrived on the floating continent as the first step towards his goal.
"Master Loki, your two guests have awoken and are ready to see you."
Fena entered behind him on the right. Garm leaned on the wall across from them, near what was Loki's bed for the time being. Only the grew wolfman bothered to look as they both knew who was entering.
"Bring them in," Loki said just when he finished the last form. He turned to the guests who just entered the room. Lelouch got close to the spare chair in the that was directly opposite of Loki's. "So, you are two outsiders."
"And you must be the leader here," Lelouch noticed the horns on his head. "By those characteristics, you appear to be a demon in this area. Do the goddesses accept those kinds of people here, too?"
"For the time being, yes," the demon turned to his stack of paperwork. "Though once my plans come to fruition, it won't be for long."
"Oh?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow.
"To start, who are you?"
"Lelouch, just Lelouch," the man started simply before facing his accomplice. "And I supposed you already met C.C. by now."
"She was the one who came to me first," he faced the green-haired woman as she leaned on the wall. "In my honest opinion, of all the things I expected to find in Yggdrasil, immortal humans from a completely different world were not one of them."
"And actual demons and other fantastical creatures were nothing I expected either," Lelouch gave his grievances. "And your name is?"
"Loki Muspellzheim, head of House Muspellzheimr, now a known defector and leader of the business company on the country of Edda."
"Muspellzheim," Lelouch did not want to offend, however. "That's quite a mouthful to swallow."
"It's fine," Loki responded as he sensed some insult from his subordinates. "Not like it means anything anyway."
"I see," Lelouch decided to get down to business. "Perhaps we should start then. Why is a demon here, on a continent said to be controlled by goddesses, especially when I hear there's a huge war about to start?"
"You must have behind in recent events then," Loki did not see any problem with this since these two from the outside world according to C.C. It wasn't something he didn't understand since he's familiar with multiple worlds existing, but not the one from where these two came.
"Since you don't know already, the war has already begun. We're just sitting tight, bidding our time until we are ready to strike."
"Come again?" Lelouch narrowed his eyes out of curiosity.
Garm had his doubts about them having a conversation like this too soon.
"Hey, Boss, are you sure you're willing to put your trust in these two?"
"Of course," the demon assured. "Apart from some events already discussed with this C.C. girl, they are completely oblivious to everything. Allow me to handle things here."
"Understood," Garm complied as Loki resumed.
"You already know that a war broke out, but do you know why demons would suddenly be invading this continent?"
"No," Lelouch gave the shortest answer. "But I assume it's something they want?"
"Close enough," Loki started to explain. "Not so long ago, the Dark Lord of Urtgard announced that he's searching for the next heir to the throne. He claims that the world is stagnant and only bloodshed and warfare can change that."
"Think of it as the philosophy of Britannia in a true demon world," C.C. remarked.
"You don't have to remind me," Lelouch snarked. A world where people compete for the throne on top of mountains of corpses was something more than familiar to him. "And so, what's the point of waging war against a floating continent controlled by these goddesses of theirs?"
"No one knows what he tends to do with it," Loki confessed. "But the main condition is that we obtain the Heart of Yggdrasil."
"The Heart of Yggdrasil," Lelouch pondered as C.C. went on.
"Unfortunately, no one knows what it is. Not even the people on this continent know."
"It could be anything," Garm responded in kind. "A gem, a weapon, an emblem, a person, or something entirely different. What matters is that whoever gets this Heart is entitled to be next in line for the throne."
"That sounds like a challenge enough," Lelouch left his remark before returning his eyes to Loki. "Though I doubt it's something that anyone could just join in on."
"Only those who carry royal blood can inherit the throne. And after hundreds of years, only five valid participants were available."
"And you, Mr. Loki, are one of them," Loki concluded with only a mere gaze in his eyes. His eyes were distracted by the paperwork which looked like invoices and contracts to be signed. "However, as someone who's running a trading company in the continent, you don't seem to have that much influence."
"The Muspellzheimr used to be a prestigious family in the Demon Realm," C.C. said at the side. "However, after a sudden incident with the boy's mother and father, they've been cast out as a tributary house disregarded as dead weight."
"But you were able to participate anyway."
Lelouch's statement was proven as Loki displayed what looked like a crest on the back of his hand.
"This here is my proof of royal lineage," the demon showed. "Nowadays, the Demon World is only concerned about power, represented by powerful demonic armaments and the like. But not here, all I needed was proof of my lineage to the Demon Emperor, and that was all I needed."
"So it seems," Lelouch started at the crest even when Loki placed his hand down. "Then I have one more question. You mentioned having an incident with your mother and father. What were the conditions?"
That question brought a moment of silence. With that, Lelouch could tell that it wasn't an easy thing to discuss. Being a noble of a family that was cast to the side in a world where only the strongest survived was no doubt like the world he knew. That was how Britannia operated, the world where he came from, and of which he destroyed.
"Let's just say," Loki broke the silence as he came to a short answer. "The old man is going to pay he had done."
So he wants revenge on the Demon Emperor and is tired of the world dragging him down, that was the only motivation Lelouch could guess. As someone who at least thought his family was killed by infighting within an imperial court, he could understand all the pain and humiliation he went through. And if Lelouch assumed correctly, the actual demon got here not out of favoritism, but his own intellect and careful planning. By then - he didn't even have to look at C.C.'s smirk regarding the outcome - he already knew just the kind of man he was dealing with.
"Mr. Loki," Lelouch welcomed him as he crossed his arms. "I believe you, and I have very much to discuss. Much more than you could ever bargain for."
And so began his partnership with Loki, a demon noble ostracized by the rest of the court for his parents' "crimes" they did not commit, now seeking revenge on those who wronged him. And if he could not do it with strength, then he would have to do it with wits, those of which only a real demon could possess.
Another story just to get it out there.
In case of somebody wondering, while Venus Blood is a game that just recently got a localization project Kickstarted, I've been following the series for some time. As soon as I read the story behind Loki, I instantly thought about the other young demon known as Lelouch. Then, after watching another one of my favorite mecha series, Aura Battler Dunbine, I filled in the gaps to get a story ready. It may be a while, but I certainly have several ideas going on.
I want to note that Lelouch already has C.C. Aside from Loki, I was thinking of relationships for Todd Guinness. He's one of my favorite characters from Dunbine, and his relationship with his mother makes me oscillate between a few people. So far, I'm going for Tyrca and Freyja of the goddesses, as well as Marvel Frozen and Ciela Lapana from the Dunbine series, who I also plan to add. Not to worry, there will be more Geass characters, just none for character interactions as of late.
Either way, I hope you enjoyed the reading.