Batty limped through the Magic Forest of the Magic World in wearily. The Dokurokushe's servant was having another bad day after his another attempt to face off against his hated enemies.
Damn those Pretty Cure! Thought Batty in anger, while trying not to fall to the ground with his exhausted strength.
Prior that day, Batty was summoned by his master, Dokurokushe, and was instructed by the right hand man of his master, Yamoh (despite still warry about the anthropomorphic gecko intention) to seek out both an item called "the Emerald Linkle Stone" as well as "the Linkle Smartbook" from their hated enemies, Pretty Cure. But after watching his associate, Gamettsu, being defeated by the said enemies a week ago, Batty now wonders why his master would want the Smartbook suddenly, which leads him to flat out ask his Dark master directly.
Still Batty quickly apologizes for speaking out of line —as he feels indebt to Dokurokushe for giving him the dark magic he uses— but he asks if this is truly what he wants. Dokurokushe confirms that this is what he wants, as Yamoh tries to calm him down before he goes berserk after hearing such transgression question.
Before dismissing Batty, Dokurokushe summons a new item for him, and decides that because his master gave him specific orders he must carry them out. He even borrows his association magic wands (Gamettsu's and other one named Sparda) as extra measure, and prepares to go find the Emerald Linkle Stone and Linkle Smartbook owned by his enemy, Pretty Cure.
After some search, he finally found the enemies he looking for and reveals his wand, along with Gamettsu, Sparda's and with the magic endowed to him from Dokurokushe. He transforms into a monstrous bat-like creature with three sets of arms. His enemies, the Pretty Cure, transform into their magical from, and Batty warns them that he's a lot stronger than before, which He proven it by using one his association ability and quickly grabs the girls and tosses them aside. He makes fun of the girls before chasing after their smaller allies, who try to keep the Linkle Smartbook away from him. The Pretty Cure momentarily distract him, but once again he tosses them aside and demands the Smartbook from the smaller pair.
Suddenly, one of their ilks, screams out and the light from the item reappears, increasing his enemies power and allowing them to break free from the net he trapped them in. As the scenery around them returns to normal, several tree branches begin growing out to cover his enemies smaller allies and they begin to attack Batty, giving the girls the chance to use magical item and steal away his association wands, changing him back to normal. Batty is thrown back and have no choice but forced to retreat.
Now here he was, limping away from another of his defeat by his hated enemies. It was the most humiliating defeat he had ever felt; being defeated by a group of young girls, whose magical abilities were still below him. Yamoh would probably taunt him again for his another failure.
Still, i give him my credit to that Gecko again. Using his silver word, he know how to calm Dokurokushe-sama down before he can even direct his anger at either me, Sparda or Gamettsu Thought Batty while gritted his teeth. Damn those girls! Once i get my hands on these cursed Pretty Cure next time, i will make sure those witches will never see the daylight again!
Batty musing was cut when he heard a commotion in the distance. Quickly, he ducked behind large tree with slightly high bushes beside it. Once he was satisfied that it was concealed him fully he then waited.
As the sound getting closer, he then peeked at the source of the noise and immediately recognized the sound of galloping horses' hooves. Knowing the Magic World, a group of ordinary horses exploring the magic forest was a rarity, which made him think that the sound might be from a group of Pegasus, Unicorn or Centaur races.
He was proving right when group of Centaur children's finally came to his sight; 3 boys and 1 girl. The group appear to be playing "tag' and' run", as the only female centaur in the group is trying her best to catch her three male friends who ran ahead in front of her.
With their cheerful laughter, they seemed happy with the simple game they were playing, something that made Batty confused and annoyed at how such foolish thing can be considered a fun games. Even Master Dokurokushe's, and his assistant Yamoh, probably think the same thing as him too.
As Batty watching silently from his hiding place, one of the centaur children, the girl one, could touch the male centaur in front of the far left on his back, the male centaurs in the center suddenly stopped in the road, causing him to collide with the centaur girl, followed by the two male centaurs on either side after colliding with the centaur girl.
Seeing it, Batty just sneered at such spectacles. Just as he thought, it was truly the foolish thing to do.
After that sudden collision was over, one by one of them started to get up from the ground with pained groan, and began checking their condition. Fortunately, they only got a few scuffs and nothing more of that, which relieved them. And with that done, they started to turn their attention to the said centaur boy, and immediately showered various irritations and questions on the boy who made the collision. Even Batty himself was curious about that boy sudden motion too.
But the said centaur boy didn't seems to acknowledge his friends for a moment, as his head looking around to his surrounding with nervous expressions. Batty almost thought the centaur boy able to sense his presence. But after his many battles with the Pretty Cure (including today) that wasn't the case, considering he could perfectly hide himself from the enemy's sight even in his current limp state.
Batty was still quietly hiding and listening carefully to what the other centaur childs were saying to the centaur boy, who had been looking around him with a restless look. And a few seconds of looking around for the last time, the latter began to tell them about a 'rumor' that had recently occurred.
The centaur boy, with fear and trepidation in his face, told them about a reports of sightings "creepy creatures" that were seen lurking around the forest that they had accidentally entered. While the other two centaur boys were mocking and giggling at the former for such reason, the centaur girl was the only one who believed him. She also stated that there were frequent cases of missing people in the forest, which was accompanied by reports of the appearance of these creepy creatures.
While the four centaur children were arguing over the veracity of the stories, Batty was intrigued by this piece of information. He had actually heard the same rumors from the people on Magic Shopping Street while scouting the Pretty Cures there, but he dismissed it as a tale made up to scare children into going too far into the Magic forest. He was even sure that this was the work of Yamoh or lord Dokurokushe.
But then came another thought about that last part he had been thinking.
... There is something odd about all of this. thought Batty with frown on his face. He never heard Gamettsu, Sparda, or Yamoh said anything about releasing Yokubaru monsters all over the Magic forest to frighten those who ventured deep into it. And he was also pretty sure that they didn't have some kind of plan to kidnap people near the forest unless it was an order from lord Dokurokushe himself.
... There's something really weird and fishy about all of this. And his feeling of doubt towards his master begins to emerge—
"RAAaaagghh!!!"
His thought was quickly shattered as he heard distant noise that echoed through the trees. It had been a roar, a terrifying one he ever heard. And it was because of how powerful and trumpeting it had been made him shudder to the bone.
"W-what is that?" Batty muttered anxiously. Such a loud roar was similar to the roar of a wild beast like bear or dragon. Whatever it was, it succeeded in making him shudder in horror despite his calm and dashing nature even in any situation... unless he was dealing with lord Dokurokushes, that was different story.
The bat-themed Dokurokushe's servant was not the only who hearing that the strange roar. The four centaur childrens that he had been watching from his hiding place also started to react after hearing that sound, as their fearful expressions were clearly etched on their faces. The centaur boy who had been telling stories about the strange rumor then pointed to his friends that maybe the sound they heard was one of the scary creatures he told about. Although the other two centaur boys were still a bit skeptical, they knew that whoever made that noise was a bad thing to come across... And worse thing if that source of that roar came straight at them.
... After a few seconds of eerie silence, one of them, the centaur girl, started telling her three friends to get out of this forest immediately, which made them nod in agreement and they immediately ran as fast as they could from the place.
Feeling quite safe enough, and hearing the footsteps of those centaur childrens earlier moving away from him, Batty started to come out of his hiding place. Just like the latters, he had a bad feeling about the loud noise he heard a second ago.
Whoever or whatever making that roar, It wasn't animal or mythical beast... Nor it was Dokurokushe-sama creation. thought Batty while furrowing his brow. Could this be the work of another dark faction that I always hear from Yamoh?
Despite their relationship was not very harmonious, Batty could stick to Yamoh words. After learning so much from that Gecko, he realizes that the group they run is not the only one aiming to gain ultimate power to rule the world. There were actually other factions trying to rival the master's party, which turned out to be from No Magic World; such as Criasu Corporation, Kirakiraru Thieves, Bad End Kingdom, or Never Ending Chaos which the latter group leader is rumored to be twice as powerful as lord Dokurokushes himself.
Whatever the reason is, this "mysterious" threat cannot be left unattended, and it can jeopardize his master's plans to gain his ultimate power. But with his current state now, he have no choice but retreat back to his master lair and report his finding.
He just hoped he didn't encounter anything that made the roaring sound as he rushed to his master's lair. His energy was already sufficiently drained and not enough to cast even a single defensive spell.
Before he could step his feet towards the place he was going, Batty suddenly stopped in his attempt when he felt something off. It was a low rustling sound coming from the bushes and trees around him, and really making him uneasy at hearing it.
Something else was in here, and it gives ominous aura that sent a chill down on his back.
"Who's there? Show yourself?!" Batty slightly yelled and trying to appear more intimidating by standing up straight. He would face this unknown adversary regardless if he had the energy or not. And most importantly, he didn't want his pride to be stepped on again by—
SSTTAABB!!
He felt the most excruciating pain in his chest. Something that numbed his entire body to the point where he couldn't move an inch, and even his brain having a hard time processing it.
Looking down to the source of his pain, Batty's eyes widened at what had hit him hard against his chest.
It was an arm... a long and large skinny arm that had somehow burst out from his chest. Not only the shape is very monstrous, but the bloody monstrous arm has... Well, blood all over it, which the red liquid itself came from his own chest himself.
"... W-what?" Batty muttered weakly, still not believing he was being impaled from behind by this unsuspected monstrous arm. He never thought that his life will ending up like this.
His thought were interrupted for the last time as something chopped on his head hard enough and made his vision dark instantly.
Without even pausing to inspect its kill, the owner of the monstrous arm pulled back its arm from his new prey. Blood still dripped from its long slightly spiky hand where it had struck its prey, but the creature did not notice nor care. The quick snack that the thing devours from the head of its prey takes priority over its actual mission.
Unlike the human and other exotic creature outside of this forest, This dull purple monster didn't just use this strange human for its little snack. No, the flesh would be put to far greater use. A use that would soon be made clear to all of the denizens of this dimension.
Taking the corpse with it, the creature retreated back further into the wilderness, and soon working its way into slightly large open clearing in that dense forest.
And there, sitting ominously at the center of that clearing, was a gore nest sat, bathing the grassy ground and trees around it in its malignant red demonic glow.
Imps and Possessed Soldiers alike scurried back and forth from the Gore Nest and into outside of that area and vice versa, adding more and more carrion to the piles surrounding it. All were working to make the Gore Nest larger and larger, and with it, their presence here on the Magic world.
The Prowler surveyed the scene for a moment, then deposited the strange human body that it eat on top of countless corpses just like it. The bodies were coming in quickly, from both humans and creatures alike, and mounds of flesh, almost as tall as the high class demon Baron of Hell, rose up around the Gore Nest. Soon it will be assimilated into the nest's structure.
As if in response to the new corpse, the Gore Nest pulsed once, its red hue briefly flashing brighter as it summoned more demons to this world. All around the open clearing, flashes of red appeared on their own, leaving more new demons in their place when they faded.
The new arrivals were all Cacodemons, Gargoyles and even Arachnotron, as the Prowler assumed they would be. As of now, it served as the leader in this world, directing the hordes of lesser demons (despite forsaking pack-hunting for the precision of its solitary pursuit) to establish a foothold in this dimension.
The Lords that the Prowler answered to had commanded that this world be seized and assimilated, and so the descendant to the lesser Imp brooding, followed their orders with fierce loyalty, prepping for the arrival of larger and greater demons who would take over command once the gore nest had grown large enough.
Very soon, their presence would be made known to this world, and by then, it would be too late for their denizens to mount a counterattack. This new world, and the resources within, would be absorbed into the Umbral Plains, strengthening their power and expanding Hell's vastness even further. It was only a matter of time at this point.
Imagining that, the dull purple demon just smirked viciously. He can't wait to ravage this world and everything in it until it bleeds.
"It's something the matter, Kouchou-san?" Slightly surprised by his name being called, the man with silver hair and wizard robes stared at a magic crystal ball that was his assistant. "You look restless as you stare out the window."
The man called Kochou could only give his trusted assistant a small smile. "It's... nothing to worry about, Cathy."
It had been several months since the arrival of the girl from the No Magic World, Mirai Asahina, that changed the course of thing at the Magic school, and between their two worlds instantly. Not only the girl able to learn and manages to perform amazing magic that no other magicians had done before, but surprisingly she, along with one of his students, was able to transform into a legendary witches, Pretty Cure!
This discovery shocked Kochou and the rest of the staff at the Magic School. They didn't expect that an ordinary girl from the outside world, and one of their students who wasn't very talented in magic, was a legendary Heroine who they thought was just a legend. Knowing this, the Headmaster Magic School then ordered several of his staff and teachers to keep this a secret from the public outside the school. Pretty Cure or not, he didn't want any unwanted attention from the outside world to befall on his two students and the others within his school territory.
Speaking of unwanted attention, It seems that something... Or someone from his past is coming back to haunt him when his two students become the legendary witch Pretty Cure.
... Kushe. Thought Kouchou in bitterness. According to the information and reports he got from Riko, it appears that his "old friend" has resurface from his dark lair, and is now trying to steal the Linkle Smartbook and Linkle Emerald from his two students using his minions for certain motives.
It was painful for him to see his closest friend become a different person after he studied, and then gradually grew obsessed with dark magic. And since then, his friendship with Kouchou then slowly fell apart.
By lord above... i wish i could meet him again and tell his error Thought Kouchou dryly while sighing for the second time. I just hope he gets enlightened for all he has done.
Seeing the Headmaster distress look, the magical Crystal Ball, Cathy, asked in concern, "Are you sure you alright, Kouchou-san? Or do missing persons cases and rumors of monster sightings in the enchanted forest make you feel anxious lately?"
"That's... not what I'm thinking right now." Kouchou softly answered, while slightly shaking his head. "But, yes... I think that last reason might have bothering me lately."
Apart from the trouble that Kushe's men had done to Mirai and Riko, another problem arose about four days ago and until today.
Many cases of missing persons of various races have been reported recently, and Kouchou occasionally goes out into the field to assist the Magic World's defense enforcement and alike in dealing with such cases. But sadly, every time they walk across the land in search of clues about the serious case they are dealing with, they would always come back with nothing. This makes them very confused and disturbed by the case they are handling.
While this happening, he also heard a rumor (now it's starting to turn into a real-looking report) about the sightings of strange and scary looking creatures that was seen near and in the Magic Forest. Even though Kouchou and the other law enforcement of Magic World didn't see and encounter the creatures that some of the eyewitnesses were referring to, they suspected that the monsters might have something to do with the disappearance of the victims as how both the news and the incident appeared at the same time.
Needless to say, Kochou was very uneasy seeing what was happening right now.
Is this really Kushe's doing? Thought Kochou with his mixed bewilderment and worry. No... he seems to be very focused on Mirai and Riko rather than getting his men to kidnap people.
Connected or not —or even this is Kushe's own doing— with the reports filling and lying on his desk, Kouchou could only wipe his face as he gave a pained look. Reading all over these papers, the Headmaster of Magic School couldn't help but feel himself overwhelmed in sadness and anxiety on what is happening right now.
He can only pray that those poor souls can be found and saved from this mysterious incident.
As he contemplated the matter, Cathy then spoke softly, "I think you should rest for a while. You've done a lot in handling this case, Kouchou-san." which broke the former pondering and looking to his assistant. "In the meantime, please allow me, Kyoto, and other teachers and staff here to continue our duty of teaching and keeping the students still in school from doing activities outside the school grounds."
With small smile, Kouchou then nodded to his assistant words. "I think I'll heed your advice for now, because tomorrow there will be another massive quest in Magic Forest that I'll have to take part in as well." He replied while standing up from his desk. "I'm truly sorry for most of the work I transferred to you and other, Cathy."
"It's nothing too troublesome, Kouchou-san. After all, it is our duty to help each other out." Cathy responded with polite tone. "Let's pray that the problems we are facing can be resolved, and also hope that the missing victims can be found safely without any harm."
Kouchou could only nod at his assistant's words. Like the latter said, he could only hope that his quest with the other enforcement of the Magic World would find some light and fruit in all of this confusion and disturbance.
Still, despite the encouragement, he felt a sense of dread whenever he handling this case... And he shuddered if any of his students, especially Mirai and Riko, accidentally or intentionally got into this problem too.
I mustn't let them delve into this problem too Thought Kouchou with hard gaze. Pretty Cure or not, He wouldn't let them or any of his beloved students get into this serious matter. It is his duty as a school principal to educate and protect his students from the dangers of the outside.
With a sigh, Kochou then looked out the window of his room with his with slight distressed look. I just hope that the lord above gives us an helping hand on this matter...
Speaking of "helping hand", the one who has the connection, and also the only one who can solve all these problems is having his own business...
"Pardon me for asking this, Slayer, is the object you are holding also an important item from where you come from, especially from the world of Argent D'Nur?"
Doom Slayer can only shrug his shoulder at his A.I partner question. Even as a powerful immortal man like him didn't know what to reply to the thing he just got now. But whatever the thing is, it really put smile on his face.
It was another day for him to search for his other long-lost important items that were lost from his fortress after that damn Seraphim used his powers to send them away to another universe. Though, it doesn't take him long to get some his and The Night Sentinel items there, and there are hardly even any demons for the Slayer to fight on the way– just one little skirmish that barely gets his heart pounding, and certainly nothing he would consider even remotely noteworthy.
What is noteworthy is a small plastic figurine that he found under an overpass in a prefectural city in Japan called Nanairogaoka as VEGA told him. It looks just like him– or, a six inch tall, cartoonish (or chibi form as he remember from those anime show) action figure version of him. How it got there, who put it there, where it came from or who made it… The Slayer can't answer any of these, and quite frankly, he doesn't care to do so anyway. He would like to meet the figurine's creator, though, because his little doppelganger is just about the coolest thing he's seen since waking up from that damned alternate UAC facilities.
As he gazed amusedly at the figurine, VEGA then chimed in, "Slayer, i detected several Hell energy about half a mile from our current position, no doubt it was demons." He said with his usual polite tone. "But what's worrying is that the demons seem to be heading towards a settlement near them, which I also detected large human life signs gathered there. Neutralization those demons will be necessary as i will mark their location on your HUD."
Hearing it, Doom Slayer then put the small doppelganger away into his quantum suit storage and summoned his Pump Combat-Shotgun as he cranked it. It's time for another demon massacre by his deadly hands.
But as he dashed off to the said location, there is something that is always on his mind when he explores and kills every demon in the world that he is in now.
I wonder what the condition of that bunny girl now.
To be continued...
Author Note: Sorry for the delay in updating this story. There's a lot going on at my place and other story projects (some of which suddenly popped into my mind and made me make them right away before they disappeared) had to be worked on as well. And also sorry if i make the character a bit OOC here :')
Anyway, Leave a review! :D