Chapter 23: Empire Rising
The people of E-Rantel went about their daily business the same as usual. Merchants were selling their wares, traders exchanged goods, and blacksmiths were showing off their inventory. Still, they took care to avoid the hulking Death Knights that were stationed on every street now. The past two weeks had brought changes that the people had never dreamed of. When the forces of the Eternal Empire began patrolling the streets all violent crime suddenly died out. No one wanted to risk becoming a target for one of those monstrosities. There was now a large sign in the middle of the city. On it was what their new emperor called "The Eternal Doctrine" which listed out the basic rights that all sentient creatures had and the crimes that could see them stripped of those rights. Undead workers had been cleaning up any trash lying about digging up the old dirt roads and replacing them with stone bricks. New buildings were being constructed, existing buildings were being renovated, and actual architecture based off Nazarick was being implemented. E-Rantel was changing rapidly. Lucifer Dracul himself had taken up residence in the former mayor's manor and had sold most of the decorum in order to continue financing his lofty goals. The people still weren't sure if they could trust him, but their lives sure as hell weren't getting worse. An orphanage funded by the Eternal Empire had been set up practically overnight and a church dedicated to the God of Life and Death had sprung up from out of nowhere. The priests had attempted to incite a revolt and were arrested on the spot. Now everyone could only receive healing at the new church headed by Priestess Arche who was assisted by her two little sisters and an Elder Lich capable of using healing magic. The best part was, unlike the original churches, healing was free.
Within Dracul's manor, the usual proceedings that had been occurring for the past week had begun. Several commoners had been gathered and another trial was about to begin. When the nobles who had remained in E-Rantel heard that there would be no nobles under Lucifer's rule, they bawled like children and said that he couldn't do that. He did anyway. Not only that but he held trials for those abused their power over their former peasants. Out of the nobles, 25% used their positions responsibly and were acquitted, 50% were guilty of minor offenses and were forced to pay reparations, and another 25% were guilty of major offenses and were severely punished. An Elder Lich was now standing at podium in the front of the room that used to be for formal balls.
"Bring in the defendant back," the Elder Lich rasped. In response, a Death Knight dragged a noblewoman forward and made her kneel before the Elder Lich.
"Unhand me you freak! Your emperor cannot do this to us!" she shrieked.
"Waverly Stran," the Elder Lich continued, ignoring her. "You have been found guilty of extortion, sexual assault, murder, and conspiring with the Eight Fingers. You are hereby sentenced to be exiled. You will be stripped of all of your belongings and wealth before being tossed out into the world. You are no longer welcome in the Eternal Empire. Take her away." The Death Knight dragged the screaming woman away, demanding that they return her money. The people applauded as they watched another noble put in her place as the Elder Lich simply snickered. His master had given him explicit orders. The nobles that were either logical or useful could remain while everyone else, guilty or not, should be left with nothing but the clothes on their backs and thrown out into a harsh reality. The people would be content that their new government was doing something about the nobles past misdeeds and the money they confiscated would be used to continue to fund their more unethical procedures.
Arche and her sisters had just finished their morning prayer to the God of Life and Death at the table.
"Ok dig in," she said happily as Ulei and Kuude began devouring the food she had bought at the market. Arche couldn't believe that only a few months ago she and her friends were workers standing in Lucifer's way. She was so glad that they had ended up becoming his allies instead of his enemies. Hekkeran and Imina were now running a church similar to hers in Carne Village where they also gave lessons in combat and archery. As for whatever Lucifer was up to, she preferred not to know. His plans tended to sow seeds of chaos and death for whatever poor bastards were involved.
"My love," Albedo called as she entered Lucifer's office. "We have the reports you requested."
"Excellent," Lucifer replied as he leaned forward in his chair and started looking over the reports, not being able to keep himself from casting occasional glances at the highly noticeable bump on Albedo's stomach. "Proceed."
"Yes my lord," Albedo said as she straightened up. "We have implemented crop rotation just as you insisted and the Eight Fingers are moving the last of the food stockpiles out of Re-Estize. The resulting famine will lead to a civil war just as you predicted when the Noble Faction inevitably tries to hoard food for itself. Demiurge's work in the Holy Kingdom of Roble is nearing completion, Jigsaw is building the Dead House in Katze Plains, the resettlements of villages is being presented as an opportunity to the lower class as a chance to rise above their former low quality lives and get out of the slums which we are tearing down and implementing urban renewal, the Slane Theocracy has yet to retaliate, the Baharuth Empire's spies have reached Humanika, and the invitations to the first International Diet have been sent. However, upon moving into the city we found that most of its economy has been stolen and those fools from the Kingdom took all the wealth they could with them when they abandoned the city, but we had anticipated this. For the time being our focus should be revitalizing our economy while our undead labor takes care of the things they can. After all, they don't need to be paid."
"Thank you Albedo," Lucifer said, relieved that everything had come together so perfectly. "I have ten minutes before my meeting with Ainzach. Is there anything else we should discuss?"
"Well," Albedo spoke up with her eyes brightening. "We can go over some baby names!"
Oh fuck. I just dug my own grave. I can survive this. It's only for ten minutes.
"Very well, Albedo," Lucifer sighed. "Let's hear some suggestions."
"I can't believe the cardinals," Zesshi grumbled as leaned over a balcony that overlooked the training ground. She had been complaining to Corvo about this ever since the announcement of the founding of the Eternal Empire. "They're so afraid of a little vampire and they won't even let me go put him down. There's no way a simple vampire could ever take me on."
"And yet, all you do is sit here and mope about it," Corvo said gruffly. "If you are so confident in your ability to eliminate the Immortal Emperor then what is stopping you? Or is this all talk?" Zesshi growled lightly in response. No one in the Theocracy ever DARED to talk to her like that. As a God-kin she qualified as an object of worship and therefore saying such things to her were tantamount to heresy. But in all honesty, it was pleasant change of pace instead of having people praise her like she was a holy symbol or disguising the disgusted looks on their faces whenever her hair moved in a way that showed her ears. That was part of why she hung out with Corvo: he didn't give a flying fuck.
"Yeah, yeah, do you think you could beat him then?" she asked, ignoring his comment.
"Not a chance in hell," Corvo grunted. Zesshi laughed at his response as she hopped up to sit on the balcony's railing and face Corvo's scowling face.
"I'm starting to enjoy your company, Mr. Attano," she said with a grin as Corvo raised an eyebrow.
"You're not hitting on me are you?" he asked bluntly.
"No way. You are the single most aggravating man I've ever met," Zesshi deadpanned. "Any woman who's into you must be out of her mind."
Jessamine glared through her binoculars as she watched Zesshi and Corvo's conversation. Her usual happy-go-lucky demeanor was gone and an aura of pure fury radiated from her, making everyone else in the café sit as far away from her as possible.
"What the fuck is she doing with my man?"
"Besides, I'm not into men anyway," Zesshi huffed.
"So you're a lesbian?" Corvo asked in his usual gruff demeanor. An "oh crap I said that out loud" look emerged on Zesshi's face for a few seconds before her expression turned to one of annoyance as she turned to look at Corvo.
"No, it's not that. I'm only interested in a good fight. Good food, warm beds, romance, family, none of that matters as long as I can find an opponent worth fighting!" Zesshi declared as she raised her fist.
"So you're just turned on by whoever can kick your ass?" Corvo asked as he tilted his head with a deadpan expression. "Masochist."
"I hate you," Zesshi sulked. "By the way, have you noticed that there have been a lot more people getting sick lately? It looks like something is going around."
"No, I haven't seen anything like that," Corvo lied. It was definitely not a good idea to tell an enemy that he had set his few thousand plague rats loose and had them scuttling about all over Humanika. They were in the stores, they were in the cathedrals, they were in the streets, and they were everywhere. Seen yet unseen. A few people had picked up on the increase in rats but assumed it wasn't as many as they thought and that they had come in on a trade caravan or something. People were starting to get sick and no one had a clue that the rats were responsible. Not yet anyway. The Rat Plague had been unleashed.
"Hurry up ya bloody wankers!" Jigsaw shouted as he repeatedly stabbed the zombie he was sitting on with a broken spear he found lying around. The thing was already dead, it was just fun for him. Before him was an army of low level skeletons working on the construction of a massive factory in the middle of Katze Plains. Why? Katze Plains was a land of the dead. It would keep the living away as they worked on their secret project AND provide them with more undead to serve their master.
"Sir," a familiar female voice called out. He turned to find his Bride of Frankenstein: Clementine. She had changed drastically from her time in his lab. Mix and matched bits of flesh were grafted onto her and she now wore a black uniform similar to Pandora's Actor's clothing. "Construction of the foundations and lower levels are complete. Shall we proceed with the assembly lines?"
"Yes! Do so immediately!" Jigsaw exclaimed absolutely ecstatic. After all this time, he would finally have his own factory. The workshop back in Nazarick was one of a kind and he would surely miss it, but there were some things that took more space and a bigger workforce to accomplish. For example: mass production of Clockwork Soldiers, and that was exactly one of the things he was going to do here. The Elder Liches that accompanied him had put the all the undead that always stalked Katze Plains under their control and put them to work as an undead labor force. So many things he would be able to do and he wouldn't have to worry about the Kingdom at all! The Total Maniac Bombs planted all over their capitol would see to that. It was only a matter of time before a full blown civil war was kicked off.
Demiurge watched the village from the distance. Hidden in the trees, his Evil Lord were summoning hordes of demons. This would be the fifth village in the Holy Kingdom he, or rather Jaldabaoth, attacked. The humans were going about their regular, meaningless lives completely ignorant of reality.
"My lord," Lord Wrath spoke up. "We are ready." Demiurge smirked as he slipped on his Jaldabaoth mask.
"Good," he chuckled. "Round them up and try to keep them in one piece. Their corpses are needed to expand our military after all. [Flames of Gehenna]!" As he activated the spell, a wall of flames surrounded the village, catching the villagers off guard and making them believe that they were trapped. Before they could even think of what to do in this situation, hordes of demons jumped through the flames and into the village, laughing maniacally. As the villagers started screaming and running, Jaldabaoth calmly walked through the flames with his arms folded behind his back. "Make sure a few of the children escape. They wouldn't make decent Death Knights or resources and we need to make sure that everyone knows that this was Jaldabaoth's doing anyway."
"Let us begin," the Cardinal of Earth said with a sigh. "Our first topic is the founding of the Eternal Empire of the Immortal Emperor, Lucifer Dracul, in the fortress city of E-Rantel. Additionally, the report we have received from the captain of the Holocaust Scripture, Oskar Atrenn, confirms that Lucifer Dracul is indeed a vampire."
"I knew we shouldn't have let this catastrophe happen!" the Cardinal of Light exclaimed. "We should have sent our army to wipe him out! Not only is he a blasphemous monster, but he doesn't even have the decency to hide in some hovel until humanity can wipe his kind out! Arrogant monster had upset the natural order and must be punished immediately!"
"Are you completely insane?" the Cardinal of Wind asked in frustration. "You heard the same rumors we did. The Immortal Emperor has control of a Death Knight and to charge into a fight with one of those things is suicide. Although I didn't think he would actually establish a nation."
"What of the Empire?" Maximus asked. "Are they collaborators or are they being controlled by magic?"
"Unclear," the Cardinal of Darkness replied. "They couldn't have been mind-controlled with Fluder there, but they have sent some of their men here to set up a meeting with their Emperor. It appears he wishes to explain himself."
"Your holiness, you summoned me?" a familiar voice called out. The cardinals turned to see Ruvik enter the room. His hair was disheveled and he hadn't shaved in a while. His looked like he was either a man who was thinking about suicide or was half asleep.
"Yes, Ruvik," the Cardinal of Water said with a remorseful face. "We have acquired information on your former teammate Avenir." Ruvik's eyes shot open and he stared at the cardinals.
"Is she alive?" he demanded.
"Yes," the Cardinal of Earth replied. "She was present at Katze Plains during the massacre."
"So she is a prisoner?" Ruvik asked as he furrowed his brows and scowled.
"We do not know for certain," the Cardinal of Fire answered. "I doubt that Thousand Leagues Astrologer would betray us. She was always such a good girl."
"Who knows what that abomination of an emperor could have offered her," the Cardinal of Light sneered. "She was always too soft to make the hard choices." Ruvik wanted to beat the cardinal to a pulp but restrained himself for Avenir's sake.
"Ruvik, do you know where Zur has run off to?" the Cardinal of Wind asked. "We heard that he has gone missing."
"He said he had gone to commence reconnaissance of Lucifer Dracul and the city of E-Rantel," Ruvik reported. "I haven't heard from him since." The cardinals sighed in response.
"Reconnaissance is not his job," the Cardinal of Light muttered.
"We will deal with Zur's departure at another time. Atrenn's report on the events of Lucifer's actions at Katze Plains has finally arrived. I apologize for the delay but it seems he and his men were so terrified that they wouldn't say a word after they got back. It took some time to coax it out of them," the Cardinal of Darkness said as he levitated the reports to his fellow cardinals. The cardinals started reading the report and after a few minutes, they came to the same page and their faces turned pale.
"This is impossible!" the Cardinal of Light yelled. "How could anything like that possibly exist?"
"I told you didn't I? This is just a description of what Atrenn and his team claimed to see," the Cardinal of Darkness said coldly. Ruvik glanced back and forth between the cardinals and the Archbishop, unsure of what was happening.
"Is this actually real?" the Cardinal of Fire asked.
"Every word, I'm afraid," the Cardinal of Darkness sighed. The other cardinals looked like they wanted to puke. The page they had stopped on was the makeup of the Eternal Empire's army.
"Hundreds of Death Knights, hundreds of Soul Eaters, hundreds of Elder Liches, and vampiric creatures we've never heard of?" the Cardinal of Wind groaned. "If they go berserk, it won't matter if it's the City-State Alliance, the Holy Kingdom, or the Kingdom. They'd be wiped out." Ruvik's eyes widened when he heard what kind of monsters had been surrounding Avenir.
"As would we," the Cardinal of Water sighed. "We would need centuries to rebuild after such an attack."
"Could it have been illusion magic?" the Cardinal of Light asked hopefully. "Perhaps the Immortal Emperor was aware of our assassins and used illusions to scare them off."
"No, the Holocaust Scripture is well versed in the use of illusion magic as it pertains to their assassination targets and the practice of guerilla warfare," the Cardinal of Wind said. "There is no way they would not recognize illusion magic. Additionally, we have confirmed reports of Death Knights in E-Rantel and patrolling their borders."
"Why did we have to make an enemy of Lucifer Dracul?" the Cardinal of Earth sighed.
"What should we do?" the Cardinal of Fire asked. "What is the best course of action for ourselves as the protectors of humanity? What can we do about hundreds, perhaps thousands of monsters each with the power to destroy a small country?"
"How could one upstart nation upset the balance of power so badly?" Maixmus grumbled.
"The real question is: What does the Immortal Emperor plan to do with such military power?" the Cardinal of Earth asked. "If he simply intends to defend his borders, then it shouldn't be a problem in the long term."
"It's far too much for just defense," the Cardinal of Water stated. "Besides, Lucifer Dracul is a vampire, an undead abomination who hates living. He will no doubt use his armies to begin harassing other countries and I doubt it will end there."
"It doesn't matter what he plans to do, rather we should focus on what we can do about it," the Cardinal of Darkness interjected.
"So can the Black Scripture handle this?" Maximus asked. The Cardinal of Earth let out a small, self-mocking chuckle.
"Speaking as a former member of the Black Scripture, I can say it's impossible," he sighed. "Anyone who would expect the Black Scripture to face enemies of that kind of power and in those numbers is a complete madman. It would be bad enough if they were present in equal numbers. But it's different for the God-kin," he said, finally smiling.
"Yes," the Cardinal of Light said with a triumphant look on his face. "Between Ruvik, Zesshi, and Corvo, if Maximilian's suspicions are correct, we should have no problem tearing that wretched army apart!" Most of the other cardinals let out a sigh of relief, except for the Cardinal of Darkness, Ruvik, and the Cardinal of Water.
"You're not telling us everything, are you Maximilian?" the Cardinal of Water asked.
"What do you mean Ginedine?" the Cardinal of Earth asked.
"Think about it Raymond. Why would the Holocaust Scripture, masters of gruesome guerilla warfare and heartless assassination be so terrified?" the Cardinal of Water asked. "They are no strangers to the dangers or horrors of the undead, or warfare in general. An army of Death Knights would just make them more cautious. Yet they abandoned their mission. Why? They saw something impossible, something beyond horrifying, something they felt not even a God-kin could beat."
"You are right, Ginedine," the Cardinal of Darkness stated. "It was not my intention to keep any relevant information from you, but if I had presented you with this information from the beginning I doubt you would believe it."
"So what is it?" the Cardinal of Fire asked.
"Are you aware of what transpired during the battle of Katze Plains?" the Cardinal of Darkness asked with narrowed eyes.
"From what I heard the Immortal Emperor used a powerful spell," Maximus spoke up. "As a result the Royal Army was routed and summarily defeated. Because of their defeat, the Kingdom ceded E-Rantel to the Eternal Empire for the founding of a nation."
"What of the number of casualties, Archbishop?" the Cardinal of Wind asked.
"I'm afraid I don't know. Priests and merchants don't travel to E-Rantel anymore since it is the heart of the Eternal Empire, ruled by an undead emperor." Maximus said with a shrug.
"Then here is what truly happened on Katze Plains," the Cardinal of Darkness interrupted before they could get side tracked, handing them each the parts of the report he removed. After another minute of reading, they turned paler than the last time. The Cardinal of Fire actually DID throw up this time.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE!?" the Cardinal of Light raged.
"Didn't I just explain this?" the Cardinal of Darkness sighed.
"You were right, Maximilian," the Cardinal of Wind sighed. "I never would've believed it, but after hearing the makeup of the Immortal Emperor's army I have no choice but to accept this as reality."
"Still, I don't want to believe this," the Cardinal of Fire said, shaking. "With just one spell, he killed over half of the Royal Army. They mobilized 300,000 men for this battle and according to the Kingdom, only about 40,000 managed to escape from that hellscape."
"It's the advent of the gods. The Antichrist," the Cardinal of Earth gasped.
"Our plan to make the Kingdom a stronghold of humanity has completely failed!" Maximus yelled. "First those idiots mess things up with their drugs and now Lucifer has ended any chance of the Empire taking over and fixing things!"
"We can't do it ourselves because that would make us neighbors with the Agrand Council Alliance," the Cardinal of Darkness muttered. If the Theocracy became neighbors with a country that was full of nonhumans the common folk would cry out for war. After all, the basic tenant of the Theocracy was that humanity was chosen by the gods and that all other races needed to be exterminated. The Theocracy took care to effectively brainwash its citizens into believing that anything that wasn't human was an enemy. That was how they kept their people united so they could focus national power on becoming a strong nation. However, this would also lead the commoners to demand a war with Agrand which would be a disaster. The Agrand Council Alliance was very strong after all. The Platinum Dragon Lord had the power to destroy the Theocracy if they didn't play their cards right.
"Let's examine the Immortal Emperor first," the Cardinal of Wind spoke up. "He is the one who wiped out Nigun's team back near Carne Village. In addition, the Black Scripture was attacked by a vampire who almost immediately retreated after killing Cedran and wounding Kaire. Shortly afterwards, Lucifer Dracul himself arrived on the scene and obliterated the forest while the rest of the world believes that it was destroyed from the fight between Momon and Valeda Tepes, who may or may not be the same vampire that Momon killed."
"What of Jaldabaoth?" the Cardinal of Fire asked. "He should be a similar entity correct? He too stood against Momon."
"True, but we don't know enough about any of these individuals to make an accurate assumption as to where their loyalties lie. The worst possible scenario is that all four of them are working together but that is highly unlikely," the Cardinal of Water stated.
"We need to hear it from the horse's mouth," the Cardinal of Darkness declared. "We need to send some of our spies from Clearwater Scripture into E-Rantel. Their objectives should be to question Momon, uncover what they can about the Immortal Emperor, retrieve Zur, and, if possible, find out what the situation is with Avenir."
"What is the situation in E-Rantel anyway?" the Cardinal of Light asked. "Has the populace been killed or is there a perfect reign of terror in place?"
"Surprisingly, the city appears to be ruled in relative peace," the Cardinal of Darkness responded. Everyone stared at him.
"Could you run that by us again?" the Cardinal of Water requested.
"It's true. It appears that Death Knights are used a city guards, Elder Liches are public servants, and Soul Eaters pull wagons," the Cardinal of Darkness stated.
"What pit of hell did these things crawl out of?" Maximus asked. "Are all the humans dead? That's the only logical explanation."
"No. The citizens of the Eternal Empire continue to go about their daily lives," the Cardinal of Darkness smirked. "Some of them even think of Lucifer as a hero of the people. There was some confusion at first, but it seems to have been resolved between the Dark Knight Momon and the Immortal Emperor Lucifer Dracul themselves."
"Is there a way to set Momon against the Immortal Emperor?" the Cardinal of Light asked. "If we used to citizens that fool seems so fond of, perhaps we can-"
"Idiot," the Cardinal of Darkness said coldly. "That is far too dangerous. We may end up turning Lucifer Dracul AND Momon against us." The Cardinal of Light huffed in response and crossed his arms.
"Maximilian is right," Maximus declared. "We've already taken too many losses. Although Cedran has finally been revived and Kaire's injury has healed, it will still take time to bring them back up to full strength. Sunlight Scripture is effectively dissolved, the Miko Princess has been murdered, the Crown of Wisdom has been stolen, and we're still at war with the bastard elves! We can't divide our forces on two fronts. We need to end our war with the elves immediately!"
"With all the blood that's been spilled, I doubt they'll be open to peace," the Cardinal of Fire commented.
"Then we'll just have to increase our efforts to end this madness," Maximus growled. "Send Holocaust Scripture back out there and tell them to redouble their efforts. We shall send reinforcements with them. It's time to let Zesshi off her leash." The cardinals stared at the Archbishop with their eyes wide.
"Sir, are you saying-" the Cardinal of Earth started.
"Yes. Send Zesshi to CRUSH the elves and kill their king!" Maximus commanded.
"What of the situation in the Draconic Kingdom?" the Cardinal of Water asked.
"They're on their own!" Maximus spat. "We have enough to deal with!" The Cardinal of Darkness furrowed his eyes as the Archbishop started ranting and the Cardinal of Light joined in. If things like this continued, they would find themselves short on allies in the future.
"Your holiness!" a young man exclaimed as he ran into the room. "We have received a message from the Eternal Empire!" Everyone in the room stiffened. "It appears to be an invitation of some sort."
"Well? Spit it out boy!" the Cardinal of Light demanded.
"Y-yes your holiness," the young man stammered as he unraveled a scroll. "Esteemed representatives of the Slane Theocracy, Draconic Kingdom, Re-Estize Kingdom, and Agrand Council Alliance, you are formally invited to the Great Tomb of Nazarick for the first International Diet."
"WHAT!?"
Location: Holy Kingdom of Roble, capitol city: Roble.
"This is the fifth village to be attacked by Jaldabaoth, your majesty," a young man in white and gold robes said. "I believe we should ask for the assistance of the Dark Knight Momon, who has experience with this demon."
"Absolutely not, Roman," declared a beautiful woman in a white, sleeved dress as her angelic white wings made a slight flap of frustration. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and was absolutely stunning. If Albedo was an angel, this is what she would look like. This is the Valkyrie Queen Hope Paradis Pious. At her side was another woman that looked just like her with the only differences being that she had purple eyes, wore light golden armor, and her hair was in a ponytail. This was the Valkyrie Knight and wielder of the Sacred Blade, Angela Feroce Pious "The Holy Kingdom of Roble doesn't need any outside help to deal with this issue. Isn't that right sister?" Angela simply nodded in response to Hope's question.
"But your majesty," Roman said imploringly. "Surely it would be more effective to call for assistance from someone who has more experience with this unholy abomination, would it not?"
"Let me tell you something, Minister Roman," Hope said as she crossed her arms. "This demon has yet to attack Roble and has remained in villages. Do you know why? Because like all unholy creatures he is a coward. If these attacks continue, my sister will hunt him down. Calling for the aid of a so-called hero who has bowed before a disgusting vampire will be our last resort only! Much like how the Great Wall of Roble has held back the barbarians over the years all on its own, we will survive and thrive on our own as well!"
"Very well, your highness," Roman sighed. "Although that does remind me, we received a message from the Eternal Empire."
"Oh?"
Evileye kept watch on the streets, waiting for someone to decide that the carriage was expensive looking enough to have a noble in it. A few minutes ago, some weird explosion went off and, although no real damage had been done, everyone who was caught in the blast radius had started acting crazy doing random things. The guards were rushing into the fray and Evileye just wished that the people she was escorting would hurry up and get out of the orphanage. She was helping Princess Renner and Climb, who were making visits to children orphaned by the war or, more specifically, Lucifer Dracul. They REALLY needed to hurry up. The commoners of the Kingdom were getting antsier by the day. The way they saw things, their government didn't care about them and the nobles were using them as playthings. King Rampossa made a formal apology upon his return from Katze Plains and announced that he would abdicate the throne in four months' time, making Prince Zanac the new king. His apology, however, just made things worse. He sent their friends and family to die in droves over some psychotic thirst for revenge and he said he was sorry? The people weren't very forgiving of such an enormous mistake and it only made them angrier. Because he had made conscription mandatory for all men who were twenty or older, most of the males in the population were hot blooded teenagers full of rage. There had been signs of protest and unrest all over the Kingdom. Food wagons being raided, nobles being murdered, and property being destroyed out of anger. Riots had begun propping up all over the city and with the Noble Faction having majority control, they started hiring cutthroats, bandits, workers, and mercenaries to keep the peasants in line. The people of Re-Estize were being oppressed, food and money was disappearing with the people coming to the logical conclusion that the nobles are hoarding it or wasting it, and the commoners were ready to explode. It made Evileye uneasy. Tina, on the other hand, didn't seem too worried and was leaning up against the side of the carriage snoozing. After what seemed like an eternity, Climb and Renner exited the building and boarded the carriage.
"Tina, wake up!" Evileye said as she nudged Tina. Tina blinked a few times before nodding to show that she understood. With Tina awake, the two adamantite adventurers boarded the carriage, sat down across from Climb and Renner, and took off.
"Thanks for coming along you two," Renner said with a bright smile.
"It's not a problem. But where did you get the money to build that orphanage anyway?" Evileye asked. "Shouldn't that money be spent on things more important than those brats anyway?"
"I used my own funds. After the battle of Katze Plains, many children were left orphaned by the Immortal Emperor," Renner replied. "Besides, the strong should protect the weak. Brain Unglaus gave me the idea."
"Brain?" Tina perked up. "What happened to him anyway?"
"He's been trying to find someone to take Gazef's place as Warrior Captain," Renner responded with a somber expression on her face. "However, with the current political climate, nobody is really willing to serve the Kingdom. The commoners have all turned against the nobles and royals, it looks like a civil war is inevitable."
"Indeed," Evileye muttered. "The Immortal Emperor has not only beaten our army, but devastated our society with nothing but a little showmanship. I'd be impressed if I wasn't so pissed off. First the Demonic Disturbance and now this? Lucifer really knows how to kick someone when they're down."
"Speaking of the Demonic Disturbance, how are Gargan and Tia?" Climb asked.
"They're out training," Tina replied. "In order to regain the life force they lost upon their resurrection they've been training nonstop for the past few months. I wish I could've gone with them, I'm bored."
"It doesn't matter if you're bored, Tina," Evileye shrugged. "What matters is that they'll be back in action and we'll be able to stall for time if Jaldabaoth attacks again."
"Stall?" Renner asked as she tilted her head. "You mean for that adamantite ranked adventurer from last time?"
"That's right!" Evileye exclaimed excitedly. "The Dark Knight Momon! The mightiest warrior ever who swings his two greatswords like they were nothing but twigs! There's no doubt that he is the strongest fighter in the land!"
"FUCK!" a man in Arwintar sneezed. The robes he usually wore were on the floor and he was now equipped in full body adamantite armor painted silver. His helmet prevented anyone from seeing his face. As he turned back around and picked up his robes he looked to the sky and said: "Someone's talking shit about me again."
"….like a total badass! And those are the 666 reasons why Momon is the strongest and coolest fighter ever!" Evileye finished.
Lucifer sneezed.
"What? Did someone call my number?"
"But Evileye," Renner interrupted the fangirling. "Would he really be able to come? Isn't he the personal bodyguard of the Immortal Emperor now?" Under her mask, Evileye's expression became that of a child who had been told Christmas had been canceled.
"MOMON! That goddamn Immortal Emperor! To think he would actually dare to take control of such a great man! Even if Heaven will permit it I WILL NOT! If only I could free him from Lucifer Dracul. What the hell was he thinking anyway? Maybe I should head over to E-Rantel and ask him what his thoughts are." Evileye ranted.
"Speaking of Dracul," Tina began with narrowed eyes. "Evileye, can you kill the Immortal Emperor?" Evileye froze and her previous excitement vanished.
"If those rumors are true then he's the single most powerful magic caster to ever exist. I did some investigations of my own after the massacre at Katze Plains, I even got in touch with Rigrit. What I heard was so ridiculous that I thought the punk was mesmerized by an illusion," Evileye reported.
"It wasn't an illusion," Renner grimaced. "Out of the 300,000 people that were sent out into battle, only about 40,000 managed to escape with their lives. That's not even counting the 5,000 people who committed suicide."
"I can see why after hearing what happened," Evileye said darkly.
"It was absolute hell," Climb said with a haunted look on his face. "I was lucky. I had Brain and Gazef with me. If Gazef hadn't gone with the Immortal Emperor, not a single one of us would've made it out of there alive. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night when I dream I'm there again and every time I hear a goat I freak out."
"Does that answer your question Tina?" Evileye asked. Tina simply nodded in response. "I may be able to think of a way to deal with those monsters he summoned, but the Immortal Emperor is a being of god-like power who should not exist in this world."
"Who do you think is stronger?" Climb spoke up. "Momon or Lucifer Dracul? I don't think even Sebas could beat Dracul."
Sebas sneezed as he continued to watch the protest from the roof. His orders were simple: wait. Wait until the time is right to light the fuse and set off the rebellion. He continued to survey the crowd that was being kept in this area by the bandits that Count Ritton had hired. Some o the commoners were trying to attack the guards.
Be patient, they'll do it themselves. Then all I have to do is lead.
As if responding in accordance with Sebas' thoughts, one of the nobles' thugs cut a young man in front of him down with his axe. The people started to scream as the nobles' goons started attacking everyone in the crowd.
Now.
With that thought, Sebas jumped down from the roof and raced forward to defend the people from the brutes. His fists tore through his enemies as if they were butter. Uppercut. Jab. Neck snap. Swivel kick. Roundhouse kick. Elbow jab. He was a blur. The people watched in awe as he tore their oppressors apart. He turned back to them and called out.
"Arm yourselves! We aren't going to take this anymore!" Sebas declared. "We will take back what is rightfully ours!" The people raised their fists in the air and cheered.
"Who are you?" one of them asked.
"My name is Sebas Tian and I believe there is nothing that can excuse the injustice that the nobles have inflicted on us all!" Sebas declared, eliciting more cheers from the commoners. The rebellion had been born, the civil war had been ignited, and the people had chosen their leader.
All according to my lord's plans.
"I feel that Momon, who drove off Jaldabaoth, is stronger. But both sides are so superior to us it's impossible to be able to tell," Evileye answered, as those in the carriage were completely unaware of the rebellion that had just been born.
"Still, having Momon under the banner of the Antichrist is basically the worst case scenario," Renner said with a sigh.
"Antichrist?" Tina asked with an eyebrow raised.
"You haven't heard?" Renner asked. "A lot of the nobles and priests have been calling him the Antichirst. Some ancient word used by the Six Great Gods to describe the enemy of all that is holy or a being of supreme evil. The way he has upset the natural order when it comes to who has the power is making many think he's here to bring about the end of all that is good in the world while others are thinking he will give rise to a new order and a better world."
"What do you think, Princess?" Climb asked.
"I don't know yet, but we'll have a chance to find out soon," she replied.
"How?" Tina asked.
"An invitation arrived at the Royal Palace today, inviting delegates from several countries to the Immortal Emperor's home: the Great Tomb of Nazarick. We are permitted to bring whatever security detail we deem necessary within reasonable limitations," Renner informed them. "Several members of the Noble Faction, my father, my brother, and myself are going over there in an attempt to smooth things over with Lucifer Dracul. Since we started out on bad terms and we were defeated like we were nothing, it will be difficult to establish good relations and ensure we do not enter another conflict with them. Since we are allowed to bring a security detail, I was hoping you and the rest of Blue Rose would come with us."
"Don't you think this could be a ploy to try to kill off the leadership of several empires at once?" Evileye questioned.
"I considered that, but although it would send the chain of command of each country into chaos, it would also unite all those countries," Renner explained. "They would all come together in an attempt to kill Lucifer. I'm sure that even he doesn't want that happening."
"I dunno….." Evileye muttered.
"Momon is Lucifer's personal bodyguard. Lucifer will be there so Momon is sure to be there as well," Renner said as she wiggled her eyebrows.
"We're in!" Evileye declared. "I'm sure Lakyus will agree to come! Leave it to me!"
"Thank you Ainzach. How long do you think it will take to implement the changes necessary for this new Adventurer's Guild?" Lucifer asked the man before him, Pluton Ainzach.
"It will take a month or two, but your majesty's proposal would attract adventurers from all over the known world," Ainzach replied. "However, the matter of setting up the practice labyrinth will take some more time."
"Agreed. We can work out the details at a later date. Thank you for coming Ainzach," Lucifer said with a convincing smile.
"Of course your majesty," Ainzach smiled back as he left the office. Lucifer let out a sigh the moment he was gone. If he wanted to rule the world, the best way was to take it all before anyone invented guns. If a sword was a level 5 weapon then what level was a gun? Not knowing made him uneasy so he decided it was best to finish taking over the world before anyone invented guns. In order to do that he would need to discover the rest of the world. How would he do that without exhausting manpower? Use the adventurers, their organization was obsolete with his Death Knights patrolling E-Rantel.
"My love?" Albedo's voice came from behind the door. "There's someone here to see you. A member of the Black Scripture." Lucifer raised an eyebrow.
"Send him in," he ordered. The doors opened and a skinny, creepy old man walked in. "I presume that you are Zur? Nigun has informed me of your true nature so there is no need to hide it here." Zur stared at Lucifer for a moment before his face practically melted off, revealing his true fleshless face.
An Overlord like from back in Yggdrasil. Not nearly as strong as most of them though. Maybe he achieved this form from some sort of ritual? Irrelevant.
"Have a seat," Lucifer offered as he gestured to a nearby chair.
"Thank you Emperor Dracul," Zur said as he sat down.
"I understand you have a proposition for me?" Lucifer stated more than asked.
"Yes," Zur nodded. "My organization, Zuranon, has been eagerly waiting for one such as you for a long time. There are thousands who lie and wait to answer your call. The world as it is sickens us and we seek to bring an end to the way things are."
"It was my understanding that you were a simple cult fascinated with by the undead," Lucifer said with an eyebrow raised.
"The undead are fascinating, but they are not the focus of our group," Zur stated. "We seek undeath in order to keep our numbers from going down every time one of us dies of old age. This idea that we want all to achieve undeath is a mere superstition created by those who would corrupt or misunderstand our message,"
"And what is that message?"
"We seek an end to this world's order. I have lived since the time of the Thirteen Heroes, I even fought at their side. But did I ever get recognition for all my heroic deeds? No. All undead must be evil and anyone who fights them is a hero. That is the natural order of things. I want to be able to walk in the sunlight without having to worry about some uppity adventurer attacking me. I want to be able to walk down the streets just like anyone else. I want the recognition I deserve. When I heard about you and all of the other powerful individuals appearing, it was just like when the Thirteen Heroes first appeared. You didn't do what any of the others did, you didn't join a side. You chose your own path and crushed those in your way, regardless of whether or not they were powerful or holy or even unholy. You upset the natural order. That is what I, as well as the rest of Zuranon, desire. The end of the so-called "natural order" and the birth of a new order. If you will have us, we will serve you," Zuranon said, finishing his little speech.
"I'm sure I can work you into my plans, Zur," Lucifer smirked.
"Thank you my lord," Zur's fleshless face seemed to grin.
"For the time being, we cannot establish a formal alliance for the whole world to see," Lucifer declared as he stood up from his seat. "For Zuranon to become an official force within the Eternal Empire we must create positive publicity for them. We need the people to sympathize with you. Any public illegal operations must cease and we must make it seem like any atrocities committed in the past by Zuranon were rogue elements who disobeyed orders and were punished. I will have your people work in the shadows for the time being while my subordinates and I handle more public affairs. For now, you should continue to pose a member of the Black Scripture. When it comes time for war with the Slane Theocracy, they will be hated by every creature on the continent. If Zuranon helped to eliminate them, they would be seen as a group who fought against tyrants who used false gods as an excuse to fulfill their own twisted ends."
"As you decree my lord," Zur said with a bow. "I am eager to serve."
"Welcome to the Eternal Empire, Zur," Lucifer said with an evil grin. "We have much to do."
Bonus Story: Shalltear's Withdrawal
Shalltear was hallucinating. She must've been. Everything looked like a sex toy. It had been more than three months since her sex toys were confiscated and she was starting to go crazy. Currently, she was rolling around on her bed trying not to lose her mind. Unfortunately, that's when Avenir opened the door.
"Mistress Shalltear?" she called in her usual sweet voice. "What are you doing? Lord Dracul wishes to see you. Mistress are you listening to me?" Shalltear just kept staring at her. That revealing clothing she always wore, that sweet, innocent voice, those delicious-looking legs, those nice big…..
"I CAN'T TAKE IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Shalltear screamed as she tackled Avenir and the two started rolling around on the floor. Unfortunately, Lucifer picked that moment to open the door.
"What in the bloodiest hell is going on in-" Lucifer began before he noticed a red-faced, half-naked Avenir underneath a disheveled Shalltear. They all just stared at each other for a few moments before Lucifer broke the silence.
"I'll come back later," Lucifer muttered quietly as he shut the door on them. Aura had been behind him trying to see what was happening.
"Was there something weird going on with fake-tits my lord?" Aura asked.
"No," Lucifer said without even looking back at Aura as they went to go gather Demiurge.
This chapter was mostly just setting up for everything in the future. Oh yeah, and Sebas is now the resistance leader among the Re-Estize rebels. I'm not sure how I felt about this chapter, I feel like I could've done better but I don't know. Anyways, as usual...
HAIL AND KILL!