Chapter 27: Jaldabaoth Returns
Lucifer Dracul tapped his foot impatiently as he waited. After interrogating some Quagoa that Shalltear had caught, the group had hastily made their way to the new dwarven capitol of Feo Jera. He had already told the dwarves who were guarding the entrance Feo Jera why he was here but they were extremely suspicious of him and were demanding that he repeat himself.
You'd think that they've never seen a vampire before.
"Could you say that again undead?" a dwarf asked fearfully.
"I am the Immortal Emperor Lucifer Dracul of the Eternal Empire and I have come to form an alliance with the dwarven nation," Lucifer repeated, masking his annoyance. "We will not attack you if you do not attack us, so please lower your weapons and let us through before I decided to tear your pathetic gate apart. After my subordinates captured several Quagoa, we interrogated them and learned of an impending attack on your city. If you are not confident in your ability to repel this attack then my nation will gladly provide assistance."
"What about that dwarf next to you? Is he a hostage!?" the dwarf demanded, still afraid.
"How rude. I am an emperor. Is that really the appropriate ton to take with foreign dignitaries, especially the ruler of another country?" Lucifer smirked. The dwarves looked uneasy at this point.
"Prove it! Show us you're really a king!" another dwarf shouted.
"Then allow me to introduce Gondo Firebeard," Lucifer said as he waved Gondo forward in a kingly manner. "Gondo, would you kindly inform your colleagues about the situation?"
"I'm on it," Gondo replied with a nod.
"Gondo! Can you verify that it really is you?" yet another dwarf asked.
"Jorgan! Let me the hell in or I'll tell your wife who you've been sleeping around with!" Gondo shouted resulting in a dwarf's face going pale.
Oh shiiiiiiiiiiit.
"So, can you accept that this is the real Gondo?" Lucifer called out. "All we sought to do was inform you that the Quagoa are circling around the Great Rift to attack your city. All you have to do is inform your superiors of the situation." A few of the dwarves grimaced as they heard how much sense this undead creature made. It was unnatural.
"Hang on a minute Gondo! We're getting the Commander in Chief! Please don't tell my wife!" a dwarf called out. Lucifer let out a sinister chuckle when he heard that. The dwarves who heard said chuckle turned pale and glanced at him fearfully.
Finally, some progress.
After a few minutes the gates finally opened, allowing the emissaries of the Eternal Empire inside. The first things Lucifer noticed as he walked in were the wide-eyed expressions on the dwarves' faces and the smell of fear.
"Good evening, I am the Immortal Emperor Lucifer Dracul," Lucifer opened up, deciding to skip the bullshit. "Are you gentlemen in charge of greeting me?"
"Ah- yes. I am the Commander in Chief of the Dwarven Armed Forces," one of them spoke up.
"Wonderful. You wouldn't happen to have any problems with the Quagoa at the moment would you?" The Commander in Chief's eyes narrowed in response.
"So you already know why I came down here?"
If that's his reaction, then the Quagoa have probably already begun their attack. Since this man who should be commanding from the front lines is here, then it must be a stalemate.
"Obviously," Lucifer responded with a magnanimous nod of his head.
"I see. Well, as you probably know, we've halted the Quagoa advance for now but it's only a matter of time before they break through."
"And?"
"Before I go on, my men said that you obtained your information after questioning some Quagoa you captured in Feoh Raido. Do you have any evidence to support this?"
"One of your citizens, a dwarf named Gondo-"
"Material evidence?"
"Would you like to see the captured Quagoa? I can bring forth several of them and you can ask them yourself," Lucifer replied, masking his inner annoyance at being interrupted. "Would that be sufficient?" The Commander in Chief let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his head before he continued.
"At this rate, it appears the Quagoa are going to overrun the entire city."
"Commander!" a dwarf soldier cried. "You can't just say things like that! Especially to an undead!"
"It doesn't matter!" the Commander in Chief barked. "His majesty already knows everything. Our troops who don't have any hope of reinforcements are already trying to figure out a way to slip away before this turns into a bloodbath."
"Perhaps I can offer assistance," Lucifer offered, knowing a good opportunity when he saw one. "My forces can beat the Quagoa back with ease. What do you say? Will you take me up on my offer?" The Commander in Chief stared at him as he had just said that the sun was a giant dancing bear.
"But-"
"It would be quite annoying for me to come all the way down here with the intention of forging diplomatic relations only for your country to be destroyed," Lucifer interrupted. "Will you accept the help of the Eternal Empire or should I just watch your country die and make ties with the Quagoa?"
"But we don't have approval from the council. I can't just-" the Commander in Chief began, trying to make an excuse.
"If there is enough time for you to go and get their approval, I have no issue with this," Lucifer said coldly. "I am merely offering assistance. The final decision on whether or not my assistance is accepted is yours. Of course your council should settle important matters, but you know how those things go. They argue like self-concerned fools day in and day out and in the end no one can come to a conclusion. It would be a shame for my journey here to be a waste, but perhaps the Quagoa might make better allies." The Commander in Chief turned paler and paler as Lucifer kept talking.
"Your majesty, are you certain that you will be able to repel the Quagoa?" he asked.
"It would be child's play," Lucifer smirked. "Of course, if they manage to get into the city it would be a mess. Who knows how many civilians would get caught in such a chaotic melee? It would be such an unfortunate catastrophe that could've been avoided." The Commander in Chief looked like he had tasted something bitter and slowly looked up into Lucifer's soulless red eyes. "How long do you have Commander in Chief? Weeks? Days? Hours? Minutes?"
"I understand," the Commander in Chief sighed. "Your majesty, I pray that you will lend us your country's strength."
"But sir!" one of the dwarves shouted earning a glare from the Commander in Chief, who walked over to the group of dwarves and started discussing the situation with them. Lucifer ws barely paying attention to them but he could still make out bits and pieces of what they were saying.
"This is bad."
"-Quagoa-"
"but the undead-"
"still"
"Eternal Empire?"
"Vampire"
"No! We need to think of the future! Who knows what the repercussions of making a deal with an undead creature will be?"
"I suggest you make a decision quickly," Lucifer said coldly, making sure they could hear him. "After all, if you don't make a deal with me soon, you might not have a future at all."
Night had descended upon the Draconic Kingdom. In the abandoned city of Prosk, lit by the burning buildings and the massive bonfire in the town square, the beastmen were preparing for another feast. Two of them, an Apeman and a Boarman, were dragging the next batch of unlucky humans who were going to be their meal. Men and women, young and old, it didn't matter to the beastmen. All that mattered was how they would taste. By this point, the humans had learned that those who were dragged out of their cages don't come back, so they were kicking, screaming, and struggling to try to get away, all in vain unfortunately since there was nothing they could do against the creatures.
"Puny humans," the Boarman laughed, ignoring the struggling humans he was dragging. "They can never accept their fate even when it's right before their eyes."
"Yeah," the Apeman nodded. "I almost feel sorry for them. Being so weak that they're not good enough to be anything but food. I'm glad Archon took control after those Soul Eaters destroyed the capitol."
"Yeah, it was a pretty simple plan right?" the Boarman chuckled. "We're making history for the Beastman Country and I'm excited to be a part of this. What about you Grod? Grod?" the Boarman turned around when his comrade didn't respond to see him collapsed on the ground with head tuned 360 degrees. Someone had snapped his neck. The humans were gone. Before the Boarman could even think to raise an alarm, something metal tapped his shoulder. He spun back around and came face to face with a tall man in dark armor. Before he could even sniff the air to tell if this man was a human, those metal hands gripped his head and snapped his neck.
"Who-who are you?" one of the captive humans asked fearfully.
"I am Momon," the Dark Knight responded as he walked deeper into the devastated city. "Head back to the cages, my comrades are helping your fellow captives escape. My team and I will proceed ahead and eliminate the other beastmen." Momon looked up towards the rooftops of one of the ruined buildings to see Hamsuke scuttling onward with Nabe on his back. Cerebrate's team cut through the alleyways to get to the center undetected. As for Momon, Momon didn't need a team since he was essentially a one man army. He strode forward towards the enemy seemingly without a care in the world. When he finally came into the town center, the first things he noticed were the barbaric remains scattered about. The human bones that had remained uneaten were scattered about and some had even been used as decorations. Skeletons that still had small chunks of meat stuck to them were hung from flagpoles, there was a mountain of discarded bones much like what humans did with the bones from chicken wings, and in the center of the clearing was a massive table made out of countless other tables covered in body parts. All of the beastmen who had been waiting for the arrival of their next meals turned their head to stare at the new arrival. Most of them were wearing leathers, furs, loincloths, ornamental headpieces, and a few of them were wearing miscellaneous bits of armor they had taken from fallen humans. If one was to compare their style of clothing to a civilization on Earth, it would be easy to compare their clothing to that of Native Americans. Their weapons mostly consisted of stone weapons, clubs, bow and arrows, and a few had maces, swords, and other metal weapons taken from humans but for the majority their level of technology was relatively primitive and their culture seemed to be tribal instead of an actual single government.
"What's this human doing here?"
"That's a big human!"
"He don't smell like no human."
"Meh."
"Who let you out of your cage?"
"We were waiting for our next meal, but it looks like our meal came to us."
"I heard the really strong ones are too chewy."
"Nah, but they have a helluva lot more meat on their bones."
"I don't suppose I can convince any of you to lay down your weapons, can I?" Momon asked. The beastmen brandished their weapons in response. "I didn't think so." Before anyone could react, Momon had jumped onto the table with both of his swords drawn and started running towards the front of the table while hacking and slashing at any opponents he passed. A few of the beastmen made to jump onto the table, but they were stopped after being struck by lightning spells coming from the rooftops, courtesy of Nabe. Taking a position in the middle of the table, Momon lured the beastmen to come up after him. Eventually, every remaining beastman was up on the table with Momon viciously trying to overcome the Dark Knight. Beastmen were naturally stronger than humans and they felt secure in this superiority. According to the Adventurer's Guild's ratings model, if the average human was rated to be 3 then the average beastman was rated to be 30. However, because they were naturally strong most of them felt that they didn't need to hone their skills. If there was a horde of beastmen clashing with regular human soldiers then they would win hands down, but if they clashed with a being such as Momon it would be like throwing themselves into a meat grinder. Despite the fact that couldn't land a single hit on Momon throughout the entire fight, he had done a backflip to get off the table and away from them, giving them the high ground.
"Cowardly human!" a beastman with wolf ears barked. "Trying to get away from us?"
"On the contrary, I thought it was time we ended this," Momon calmly informed them. "Now Nabe!" On cue, Nabe launched a [Fireball] spell at the group a beastmen on the table. The exploding ball of fire killed many that were in its blast radius and set the table on fire. Some of the beastmen were unable to avoid the flames and their fur caught fire, eventually burning them into crispy corpses. The surviving beastmen knew that the odds weren't in the favor and attempted to flee, only to be blocked by a large fur roadblock known as Hamsuke. Only one beastman, the one with the wolf ears, managed to escape by running into a nearby building and heading upstairs with the intention of jumping out one of the widows to run away across the rooftops. Unfortunately for him, the moment he leaped towards a nearby roof he was intercepted by Momon, who grabbed him by the leg, dragged him across the other rooftops, and hung him over a ledge.
"Get away from me!" the wolfman yelled as he struggled in vain against Momon's grip.
"Only if you answer my questions," Momon stated coldly. "The attack on the Draconic Kingdom this time was different from usual. Usually, you attack, steal some humans for food, and retreat back into your own country. You treated the Draconic Kingdom as a self-replenishing source of food but this time you sought to wipe them out. Why?"
"Th-the undead! The Soul Eaters!" the wolfman exclaimed. "A couple years ago three Soul Eaters showed up in our capitol! They turned our city into a spawning ground for the undead and we have no way to retake it, not with those three monsters still walking around what's left of it! The Patriarch, Kandroth, was killed in the attack and our new leader, Patriarch Archon, took control. The Draconic Kingdom is the perfect spot for us to establish the new heart of our country! There are plenty of humans nearby for us to feast upon, a natural barrier of mountains, and a land of the dead between us and the Slane Theocracy. There's no way you'll be able to stop Archon! No matter how strong you are, you're just one human."
"Dummkopf," Momon muttered under his breath as he released his grip and let the wolfman fall screaming to the streets. "Mein Unsterblicher Kaiser will be pleased by this information."
Princess Renner and Climb had just spent another day at the orphanage with a few members of Blue Rose. Evileye and Tina were accompanying them. They had been out later than usual because it took a painstakingly long time to get anywhere now that the streets weren't nearly as safe as they used to. After King Rampossa's death, the Royalists and the mercenaries Count Ritton had hired had increased patrols through Re-Estize in a constant search for any activity from the National Liberation Party. The mercenaries, of course, interpreted this as permission to rob anyone they felt thought looked "suspicious".People didn't go out after dark anymore and tried not to leave their homes at all. Re-Estize had essentially become a ghost town, the fog and gloomy weather only added to that effect. Renner was especially nervous. Over the past week, there had been reports of a man in a skull mask killing off her sisters, the other princesses. Now it was just her and Zanac which only made her more wary. Zanac was seeking to solidify his power and he saw Renner as a threat. He wasn't wrong, the National Liberation Party had declared that they wanted to put Renner in charge so by depriving them of their figurehead Zanac was hoping to discourage them.
"Are you ready Princess?" Climb asked as he saw the worried look on Renner's face as she stared at the orphanage exit. Tina just stared at the two of them silently but could understand. Something as simple as going outside was dangerous nowadays, especially for people like Renner.
"Yes, let's go," Renner said after taking a deep breath. They walked through the doors and towards the carriage. They hadn't taken five steps when they heard someone cast a spell.
"[Fireball]!" a man yelled from a rooftop. The resulting fireball collided with the carriage and enveloped it in magical flames.
"Get down! [Crystal Lance]!" Evileye shouted, launching an ethereal blue spike at the would-be assassin and stabbing him through the chest. He fell off the roof and hit the ground a few yards away from them. Tina was about to go investigate the body when three carriages pulled up and numerous figures in black suits one would associate with a ninja and wearing white masks with sinister grins painted on them emerged from the carriages wielding all sorts of weapons.
"Izaniya hit squad. Not even real assassins," Tina growled as she dug a smoke pellet out of her pocket. "Follow me!" She threw the smoke pellet onto ground causing it to explode, creating a thick cloud of smoke that hid them from view. With the thugs distracted, Tina led the group through a maze of narrow alleyways in an attempt to escape. Renner kept up a worried face but was mentally scowling.
You're smarter than I gave you credit for brother. Instead of using the palace guards or mercenaries to kill me you employed Izaniya so that, even if suspicion does fall on you, nobody would be able to prove anything. You could probably just blame the whole thing on Count Ritton if you played your cards right. No, I actually AM giving you too much credit. You could never come up with something like this on your own. Someone recommended this action to you. But who?
Inside his manor, Raeven suddenly awoke, sat up in his bed, and glanced around. For some reason, he felt like he was about to be responsible for something horrible. Upon looking down at his sleeping wife and his snoring son, who had asked if he could sleep with his parents tonight, he smiled and decided that everything would be alright for now.
"I hope Lord Dracul's plan works," he sighed as he went back to sleep.
Although nobody but Tina saw it, a knife had emerged from one of the narrow alleys towards Renner. Tina immediately spun around delivered a swift kick to the dull side of the blade, knocking it off balance and causing it to miss its target. In retaliation, whoever had thrown the knife sprinted out of the alley towards Tina. It was a slender female wielding two vicious-looking daggers and wearing the uniform as the others, but her mask was black and had no face.
"Keep running!" Tina shouted as she engaged the enemy. Her opponent wasn't some random thug like the ones that had been deployed from the carriages, this was a REAL assassin. No unnecessary movements, swift, brutal strikes, and agility that rivaled Tina's own. Tina's eyes widened as she realized who it was she was fighting and her resolve weakened, if only for a moment. "Sister-" was all Tina managed to say before the assassin managed to stab her through the chest.
"Traitor," a voice that sounded extremely similar to Tina and Tia spat from behind her mask. She pushed Tina off her dagger and to the ground, leaving her corpse to rot.
"Madam Tian," a thug spoke up from a group of four that had just arrived. "We have lost visual of the target. What should we do with this body?"
"It doesn't matter," Tian responded coldly. "She's not our target. Rape the corpse, hide it in a gutter, put it on display, I don't care. But I should remind you that every minute we spend here gives the target more time to slip away and if Princess Renner DOES escape us I will kill whichever one of you failures I deem responsible." The thugs nodded and split up down the several alleyways. Once she was sure that they were gone, Tian lifted her sister's body and set it up so once the rest of Blue Rose inevitably came looking for her, they would find the body without much trouble. Was she angry with Tina and Tia for leaving her and Izaniya to join a couple of idiotic idealistic adamantite ranked adventurers? Definitely. Did she hate them to point that she wanted them dead? No. She was coldhearted but she cared deeply for her twin sisters. The only reason she had killed Tina was because she knew that her goody-two-shoes leader, Lakyus, would use her magic to revive her. The mission always came first, but nobody fucked with Tian or her sisters.
Nobody.
Climb cut down another thug that rushed them with a mace as he panted heavily. He would never claim to be as skilled as Brain, but he had trained long and hard so he was stronger than the average foot soldier. Not by much, but enough to make a difference. Still, he wasn't confident that he would be able to take down the other twelve thugs that has surrounded him and Renner.
"Bring it on you assassin wannabe bastards!" Evileye roared as she unleashed spell after spell on the enemy.
Evileye, unlike Climb, could handle this.
"Shit, that's Evileye!"
"The crazy-ass magic caster!"
"Meh."
"She survived the Demonic Disturbance AND Jaldabaoth himself."
"I heard she and Momon are a thing. But doesn't he have that other chick: Nabe? She's waaaaay hotter."
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY!?" an embarrassed Evileye screeched. That last comment pissed Evileye off and the man who had uttered that comment found himself dissolving thanks to one of her [Acid Javelin]s. Just as she was about to go to work on the thugs who were ready to pounce on Climb when a foot, A GODDAMN FOOT, carved through their attackers like they were butter.
"How uncivilized," a voice that Climb would never forget muttered.
"Sebas!?" Climb exclaimed. Before the group stood Sebas, dressed in his usual butler's attire, and accompanied by several rebels from the National Liberation Party. Evileye could only stare as she recognized the name that Climb had shouted. This was the man who he believed was on par with Momon.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Sir Climb," Sebas said in greeting as he shook someone's guts off his shoe. "I would love to catch up but we appear to be in a dire situation. I recommend we make our escape with haste. We have a carriage nearby that will take us to E-Pespel."
"Hold on!" Evileye exclaimed. "How do we know you're not leading us into a trap? I think it's pretty suspicious that you just so happened to show up here!" Climb cringed as he heard Evileye criticize his idol, but Sebas merely raised an eyebrow.
"A fair point," Sebas stated calmly. "I received my information from Marquis Raeven, who has been secretly providing financial support for our cause. He said that King Zanac had sent assassins after Princess Renner, but these brutes hardly qualify as assassins." Evileye hesitantly nodded since this made sense. "The National Liberation Party doesn't want Princess Renner to die since her policies align with our own agenda. She would make an excellent figurehead for my people to rally behind."
"You say that, but you may actually think that she'd be more effective as a martyr to get people to move against the Kingdom," Evileye retorted.
"No, she's much more useful to us alive and it would turn the people against our cause if they ever found out," Sebas replied coolly. "Furthermore, killing her wouldn't be the right thing to do. I insist that you come with us immediately seeing as it will only be a matter of time before the enemy converges on our position."
"It's okay, Evileye," Climb spoke up. "Sebas is a good man. We can trust him."
"Alright. Lead the way," Evileye grunted. "But I'm keeping an eye on you."
"Very well," Sebas shrugged without even a hint of fear, which only unnerved Evileye more.
"What about Tina?" Climb asked.
"She an adamantite adventurer, Climb," Evileye responded. "There's no way she'd fall to these sad excuses for assassins. I'll send word of what's been happening to Lakyus once we're out of danger." With Sebas leading the way, the group weaved through a few more alleyways and eventually returned to the main road. There were two Izaniya thugs holding up a rather plain carriage, demanding the driver to move.
"Freddon, Jorge, take care of them," Sebas muttered quietly. The two rebels nodded and unheated their daggers and hunting knives. A few throat cuts later, everyone except Evileye piled into the carriage and prepared to leave the city.
"You guys go on ahead! I'll tell Lakyus what's happened and we'll regroup with you at E-Pespel!" Evileye called to the moving carriage.
"Very well!" Sebas called back while leaning out the side of the carriage. "Meet us at the former estate of Duke Kado!"
The Great Wall of Roble. A 10,000 mile long structure that was designed to keep the barbaric hordes out of the Holy Kingdom. Originally, they just had a fort there, but in their determination to be left alone, they built the massive wall in front of the fort and made that into their primary barrier to keep out nonhumans. The fort was now used as a barracks by the guards. Although it shared the same tenants as the Theocracy, the Holy Kingdom was much more isolationist and hated anything that wasn't like them. That was how it came to be a country in the first place. The entirety of the Holy Kingdom of Roble had started out as settlements and an attempt to expand to the west coast by the Slance Theocracy. For the longest time, they had remained as a part the Theocracy, and then that half-elf Godkin showed up, Zesshi. The Theocracy was split in two. One side believed that she should be exterminated for being an elf while the other side defended her because she was a Godkin. That was what led to the formation of the Holy Kingdom of Roble nearly a century ago. Where the Theocracy put more emphasis on divine lineage, the Holy Kingdom cared more about the "everything that isn't human should die" part. When the Theocracy decided to turn nonhumans into slaves the Holy Kingdom decided to exterminate them by putting them in mines where they would be worked to death. There were exceptions to this rule of course, such as Angels, Valkyries, and other divine creatures, but everything else was hated and the people of the Holy Kingdom preferred to forget that they existed and live in their own little world. That was why the wall was built: to keep them out. Out of sight out of mind. It was a glorious testament to the intolerance that humans and nonhumans shared for one another as well as the Holy Kingdom's determination to remain separate from the rest of the world.
"IIIIIIIIIIIIII'm boooooooooooooooored!"
It was also one of the most boring places to be stationed if you were a guard in service the Holy Kingdom of Roble.
"Calm down, new guy," an old guard called out. "Just take a nap or something. Nothing ever happens here anyway. Most action we ever get is seeing those barbarians out there try to kill each other. Tonight will be no different."
"Yeah, whatever. What about that demon, Jaldabaoth?" the new guy asked. "Any chance he might show up? I heard he did a number on the-" he didn't get to finish because the the older guard held up a hand, signaling the other guard to be quiet.
"Take a look," he whispered as he pointed to some light off in the distance. Upon closer inspection, the new guy could see that the light was coming from torches. The torches were being held by goblins, ogres, orcs, Dark Dwarves, and Dark Elves all riding on various creatures such as horses, barghests, sleipnirs, and some of the dwarves and goblins even rode on wargs and wolves. It was a massive cooperative army. The only creatures that weren't riding anything were the orcs and ogres. Kharvok and Vega were leading the charge and the only respective leader that was missing was Battlemaster Urk, who the guards didn't know was dead, of the goblins, orcs, and ogres. There were multiple things that were alarming about this image. One: They were all armed and looked like they were ready to bring about the apocalypse. Two: They weren't fighting each other like they usually were and appeared to be working together. Three: They were headed straight for the wall.
"Raise the alarm!" the old guard yelled.
"I can't!" the new guy called back. "Someone sabotaged the bell!"
"That would be me," an evil voice announced from behind them. The guards turned around to see a man wearing a black suit, a cape made from feathers that were the purest white, and a grinning mask was flying on the side of the wall they were trying to defend. Without another word, he pointed at the wall and used a spell. "[Hellfire Explosion]."
"Shit," was the last word the new guard said before the section of the wall he and the old guard were standing on was completely destroyed in an explosion of black flames. Half a mile of the Great Wall of Roble was now missing.
"I'll be damned. The demon actually did it!" Kharvok laughed before turning back to his fellow Dark Dwarves. "C'mon boys! There's prime looting to be done!"
"Death to the humans!" Vega roared as he unsheathed two war axes from his sides, preferring to leave the World Savior strapped to his back until he found a worthy enemy, namely his father. Although he wasn't killing his rapist of a father today, his eyes had a bloodthirsty look to them as he thought about the bitch who had his mother killed: Queen Hope Pious. He would not rest until he had her head on a pike just like she had done to his mother. Her sister Angela, who was the one who messed up his face in the first place, would be a satisfying bonus prize when he returned the favor. On the word of their leaders, the army of nonhumans charged through the hole in the wall Jaldabaoth had created and towards the Holy City of Roble. They passed the fort that was on the other side of the wall without any problems because, as Jaldabaoth had promised, demons had already snuck into the fort and murdered the guards stationed there. At the rate they were moving, it would only be a few hours until they reached Roble itself.
The dwarves turned pale as they heard the Death Knights slaughtering the Quagoa. They knew the moment they met Lucifer that he was extraordinarily powerful, but to think that he could create such monstrosities out of nothing would have been laughable a few moments ago. Now that it had actually come to pass, nobody was laughing except Lucifer.
"I wonder what kind of undead I can create from the Quagoa corpses?" Luicfer wondered out loud. "Their fur is resistant to blades and that's an advantage I would want to keep, so I would want to turn them into zombies of some sort. Frankensteins perhaps?" The Commander in Chief wasn't paying attention to Lucifer's ravings and, like his men, was staring at the gates the Death Knights had charged through listening to the sound of the slaughter. Lucifer was amused, if nothing else, by the expressions of fear on their faces. Seeing that look on people's faces was never going to get old.
"I knew you were powerful your majesty, but I never imagined you could do something like that," Gondo commented. "By the way, would it be alright if returned home for now?"
"Absolutely," Lucifer nodded. "I trust you will make the necessary arrangements on your end?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. I suppose I'll leave the rest to you," Lucifer said as he dismissed Gondo. "Commander in Chief, if you don't mind I would like to meet this council you were speaking of."
"Ah, right," the Commander in Chief replied, apparently snapping out of trance. "Follow me your majesty, I'll show you the way."
"Excellent. Shalltear, Zenberu, with me," Lucifer ordered. "Aura, you and the others keep an eye on the Death Knights and report to me if there are any changes in the situation."
"Yes my lord!" Aura saluted with her fist in the air before jumping up onto the wall to observe the carnage while the undead soldiers they had brought took defensive positions. With that, Lucifer, Shalltear, and Zenberu were led by the Commander in Chief into the dwarven city. As they were led through the streets they, obviously, became the center of attention. Dwarven mothers hid their children indoors, but other than that there wasn't much panic regarding the Quagoa attack. This was even further demonstrated by two drunk dwarves stumbling out of a bar.
"Your people don't seem particularly concerned about the Quagoa," Lucifer commented.
"That's because they don't know about it," the Commander in Chief said with a sigh. "They attacked so quickly so the information didn't spread. Depending on the Council's decision, the news should start spreading within the hour. Once we retake the bridge, we'll need to solidify our defenses, investigate the enemy flanking route, and plan a strategy to counter them." Lucifer expertly hid an evil grin behind his pleasant smile. This country was on the verge of collapse and a desperate country would be VERY grateful to whoever saved them, giving Lucifer more power within their society through which he would make them completely dependent on the Eternal Empire. Once they were completely dependent on him he would threaten to take everything away from them unless they joined his country, by which point they would be well aware of his military and personal might. Lucifer suddenly twitched as he felt his Death Knights perish.
[Aura! What happened to my Death Knights?]
[Ah! Sorry my lord, but the Quagoa cut the bridge when they tried to cross. They're in full retreat but the Death Knights fell into the rift.]
[Ah, good. I was concerned something else might've happened. Carry on Aura.] Lucifer sighed in relief. For the briefest of moments he had believed that there might be another player, which would be troublesome.
I could let this war between the dwarves and the Quagoa go on, but I can't attend to this with the Holy Kingdom incident on the horizon. Besides, if theses runes really the same as the ones that are in Yggdrasil then they may have been introduced into their society by a player. Gondo said that most of the dwarves' most valuable treasures are in their former capitol city, Feo Berkana, so there might be something regarding players there as well as other items of this world that I might find to be useful. Perhaps I should simply use this opportunity to make an outstanding impression on these midgets.
Before long, the group entered an administrative building after the Commander in Chief kept the trembling guards from pointing their weapons at Lucifer or searching the group. They were led into a small but comfortable waiting room and asked to take a seat.
"Your majesty, I'm off to make a full report to the Council. Can I ask that you wait here for the time being?" the Commander in Chief asked. Lucifer simply nodded in the affirmative. Besides, he would be able to hear everything they said in there anyway. Although Lucifer didn't mind the small space since he slept in a coffin, despite the fact that if he sat up straight his head would hit the ceiling, Zenberu was looking highly uncomfortable.
"I understand this is highly uncomfortable for you, but please bear with it a little longer," Lucifer said.
"If you say so your majesty, but just don't ask me to go into the meeting with you. Speaking with those men gives me a headache," Zenberu sighed.
"I'm sorry Zeneberu, but you need to stay with us. If something were to happen it would be troublesome to protect you if you were too far away. We should always take precautions," Lucifer declared as dwarf came into the room and motioned for them to follow him. "You do not need to speak with them, all you have to do is listen." And with that, they followed the dwarf to the Council Chamber. Lucifer entered the room with the bearing of a king. His cold smile, the soulless red eyes, the way he carried himself, and the power he practically radiated made all who saw him stand up straight.
"Announcing the arrival of the Immortal Emperor Lucifer Dracul!" a dwarf called, announcing the vampire's arrival. Lucifer studied the eight dwarves gathered around a meeting table. They all looked the same but he could tell them apart by smell. Lucifer stood there for a few moments with his arms clasped behind his back, letting them stare at him. Gondo had told him about the leadership already. The High Priest of Earth was in charge of everything magic related, the Forgemaster who controlled all production derived from the many forges, the Commander in Chief, the Director of Food Production who's task goes without saying, the Cabinet Secretary who handled whatever didn't lie within the others' jurisdiction, the Master of Caves and Mines who managed mining and resource extraction, the Merchant's Guldmaster who handled foreign affairs now do to the lack of trade, and finally there was the Brewmaster. Why they had a government position related to booze Lucifer would never understand.
"Good evening, I am the ruler of the Eternal Empire, the Immortal Emperor Lucifer Dracul," Lucifer introduced himself as he regally took a seat, deciding he was done being gawked at.
"W-We welcome you, sovereign of the Eternal Empire," the dwarves replied as they introduced themselves. Once they were done with the introductions, they got down to business.
"Allow me to thank you on behalf of our country," the Master of Caves and Mines said. "If it wasn't for your majesty's support our country would've been destroyed."
"Think nothing of it," Lucifer replied dismissively. "An old friend of mine used to say that saving someone in trouble is common sense."
"Your majesty is truly a generous person," the Cabinet Secretary stated. "I'm not sure why you've come here, but we will aid you to the best of our ability. That said, I'm not sure what we can do to help someone who commands such powerful forces."
"It's true that my military power is unmatched, but because my nation is still establishing itself there are inadequacies in other aspects," Lucifer told them.
"I see. We would be happy to be of service to the Eternal Empire," the Master of Caves and Mines said as he narrowed his eyes. "However, I would like to hear the reason you came to our city. The Commander in Chief has already informed us of course, but I would like to hear it from the horse's mouth, so-to-speak."
"Very well," Lucifer shrugged, deciding to tell them the truth but not the whole truth. "I came to establish an alliance between our nations and engage in trade. I heard from one of your citizens that your staple foods are mushrooms and meat. My nation can provide you with fresh fruits and vegetables as well as alcoholic spirits from my nation." The dwarves' eyes lit up at the mention of booze. "I also understand that you engage in a small amount of trade with the former Baharuth Empire."
"Aye, about twenty dwarves' worth of merchandise," the Merchants' Guildmaster confirmed. "We can't move too much because of the steepness of the mountain paths and monsters lurking about." Lucifer grinned as he realized what perfect trading partners the dwarves made.
"I believe we can help each other in this regard," Lucifer said. "Having your people move cargo on their own would be quite dangerous. So, in addition to exporting foodstuffs it would be relatively simple to establish a proper trade route between our countries and I could provide you with creatures much sturdier than horses to pull your wagons."
"Wait a minute," the Forgemaster interjected. "There are two things I'd like to bring up here. You said "former" Baharuth Empire. What happened to them?"
I can already tell that this idiot is going to be a problem.
"Oh, they surrendered to me and joined my nation willingly," Lucifer said dismissively eliciting gasps from the dwarves.
"Secondly, will these creatures be undead?" the Forgemaster demanded with furrowed eyebrows.
"Precisely. I propose the use of undead pulled cargo wagons," Lucifer announced pleasantly while masking his annoyance. "They have the power to defend themselves and never tire. They are excellent transportation tools in addition to providing other types of manual labor. My nation has already made extensive use of them and the response from my citizens has been very positive."
"Is it not true that the undead will attack the living?" the Forgemaster growled.
"It is true that many would think that way about an average undead being and to be honest, that perception is not unwarranted. Your average, mindless undead being will hate and attack the living," Lucifer said as he suppressed the urge to light this idiot's beard on fire. "However, under my leadership the undead of the Eternal Empire will not pose any trouble to you. They would never dare to act without my approval. You have my word on this. In addition, my nation can supply labor." The Forgemaster glared at Lucifer as if he hated him on a personal level.
Aw, did the little dwarf lose his family to a big bad undead? I'm sorry, I don't give a damn. You opinions and fears are meaningless to me. The only reason I don't topple your country is because it is more convenient for me to do things this way.
"Labor?" the High Priest of Earth asked.
"On my way here I saved one of your people from the Quagoa and I heard about the work you do in the mines," Lucifer stated. "A taskforce of undead workers can take up that job with ease."
"Really?" the Master of Caves and Mines spoke up, his interest piqued.
"Of course. I have already implemented this within human nations and mining colonies. It was very successful," Lucifer smirked. "In fact, I believe the mine's foreman requested that I send additional undead miners."
"So you've already done this in human nations," the Master of Caves and Mines murmured. "Being able to relocate the manpower assigned to mining is an attractive proposal. However-"
"You do not to give me an answer now, it was merely an offer," Lucifer interrupted. "I understand your unease towards the undead and am willing to wait for your response."
"Your majesty, could we purchase some of those creatures you made, Death Knights, as a defensive force?" the Commander in Chief asked causing the other dwarves to stare at him.
"Commander in Chief, it is too risky to have another nation's hands wrapped around our throat!" the Forgemaster sneered. "It's too dangerous to rely on the strength of other nations!"
He's senile, but he unfortunately knows what I'm trying to do. This fool will need to be removed from the equation permanently.
"I know that, but the undead his majesty created are extremely powerful," the Commander in Chief declared. "A mere TWO of them managed to drive back the Quagoa. With them around we would never have to fear those monsters again! They'd make a wonderful last line of defense now that we've lost our fortress. The safety of the nation must come first." The Commander in Chief and the Forgemaster glared at each other for a few moments before the Commander in Chief finally broke the staring contest. "We can discuss this later. This isn't something we should be talking about in front of his majesty, who came all the way here from his own country to grace us with his presence. My apologies Lord Dracul, this argument was caused by the attractive nature of your proposals and I hope you will ignore it. May I ask what it is you want in return? We have very little to offer."
"On the contrary, you have plenty," Lucifer corrected him. "Although I have several mines within my own territory, they often produce the same things. Gold, silver, marble, granite, steel, iron, there is very little variety. Your mines are rich with ores that I don't have access to."
"I see," the Merchants' Guildmaster grinned. "That's why you suggested an undead labor force. If we could excavate minerals in large amounts there would be a surplus and the price would go down. Clever."
"I'm glad you think so," Lucifer chuckled. "Of course, I will keep the price of renting undead labor to be just as cheap to ensure that this arrangement remains lucrative for both parties. Additionally, I would like weapons and armor crafted by your forges. I've heard the quality of your work is exquisite." Lucifer knew that dwarven gear was high quality and with the smiths of the Eternal Empire being given competition they would strive to improve their own. Additionally, he would be giving most of it Ainzach for the new Adventurers' Guild.
"Thank you for sharing all this with us your highness," the Director of Food Production spoke up. "Would you mind giving us some time to consider your proposals?"
"Of course," Lucifer said pleasantly. "I'm immortal, I have all the time in the world. However, I believe it's time we address the most important issue. Let's talk about the Quagoa." The dwarves immediately became tense. "What would've happened if I hadn't been around to stop the Quagoa, Commander in Chief?"
"They would've overrun the gate and poured into the city," the Commander in Chief replied with a bitter expression on his face. "Countless lives would've been lost." The other dwarves had equally bitter expressions on their own faces but none of them tried to waste time with pointless bickering. They had been careless by relying too heavily on the Great Rift's fortress. Lucifer understood, he had been arrogant and confident in Nazarick's power until Nigun told him everything about this world.
"From my point of view, the Quagoa are still a threat and will continue to attack you until you are all dead," Lucifer stated. "Without me, it would be very difficult to repel the next Quagoa invasion and the destruction of a nation I intend to ally with would be inconvenient to say the least. So I would like to extend to you the chance of a lifetime. I can wipe out the Quagoa nest and take back the dwarven capitol." The dwarves' eyes widened when he said that.
"Your majesty, would such a thing be possible?" the Master of Caves and Mines asked.
"Absolutely," Lucifer responded. "These Quagoa are so weak that a mere two of my average foot soldiers were able to drive back an army of them. It will more time consuming than difficult."
"This is way too idealistic for an undead," the Forgemaster said with a glare. "Why are you helping us? What do you want? This is like waving a bottle of fine wine in front of a stranger. There' no way there won't be any strings attached."
"A reasonable question," Lucifer replied as he shot a look of hatred towards the Forgemaster. "I believe it is more profitable to establish relations with your country than the Quagoa. I've gotten the impression that you fine gentlemen understand things like common sense and indebtedness. Who do you think would owe a greater a debt if given assistance? The people who are about win or the people who are about to lose? Additionally, I won't be doing this out of the good in my nonexistent heart. I require payment."
"I see. What is it you want?" the Merchant's Guildmaster asked. "Gold? Exotic ores? Rare metals? Mining rights?"
"Although I would like mining rights, that is not the payment I want for this particular endeavor and we can address that at another time," Lucifer said as he recalled Gondo's goals. "I want to recruit the runesmiths of this country to my own." The dwarves stared at him in confusion.
"What the fuck," were the first words out of the Brewmaster's mouth since the beginning of the meeting.
"Runic equipment is rare in the nations surrounding the Eternal Empire and are therefore valuable articles. So, I would like to recruit them to my own nation in order to produce my own runecrafted wargear," Lucifer explained.
"You mean you'll take them as slaves!" the Forgemaster shouted. Lucifer simply offered him a cold smile.
"I will do no such thing. Have you not listened to a single word I've said?" Lucifer smirked. "I said that I want to open international ties and trade with your nation, did I not? Does it make any sense to take the citizens of an allied nation as slaves? No. Furthermore, slavery is banned in my country anyway. Do not bother to offer me top priority in the sale of runic gear instead, I intend to form a monopoly on the sale of the runesmiths' creations."
"Can you give us a minute to discuss your terms?" the Brewmaster asked.
"Of course, but don't take too long," Lucifer said as he stood up. "Last minute work may cost more." The moment Lucifer was out of the room, the dwarves snapped.
"What the hell was all that?"
"He's evil incarnate!"
"Meh."
"What an unbelievable monster!"
"There's no doubt about the fear he commands."
"I thought I was going to piss myself!"
"I DID piss myself!"
"I hate how he's so easy to agree with. He's like a devil who tricks people into selling their souls."
"He must be gathering equipment for his army of darkness!"
"How could such an evil creature be benevolent? It's impossible!"
Little did they know, Lucifer could hear everything they said and was quietly laughing at them.
"Still, his proposal is very attractive," the Commander in Chief stated. "Our country will be destroyed if we don't make use of the Immortal Emperor's might." The other dwarves were brought back to reality in a cringe worthy fashion.
"Are you sure there's nothing we can do against the Quagoa on our own?" the Brewmaster asked.
"Not a chance in hell."
"What if we just borrowed the Immortal Emperor's power and claimed that we knew nothing about such an arrangement?" the Merchants' Guildmaster proposed.
"Do you want to give him an excuse to destroy us?" the Master of Caves and Mines countered.
"Do you think that Dracul is pulling the Quagoa's strings behind the scenes?"
"Possible, but we have no way of proving it."
"The important thing is that the Immortal Emperor chose us instead of the Quagoa. If we displease him we may as well be putting a noose around our necks," the Commander in Chief declared.
"Still, everything he said made perfect sense," the Merchants' Guildmaster spoke up. "Everything from his demands to his reasoning was perfectly logical. If he really does command an army that can tear the Quagoa apart then allying with him could give us amazing benefits."
"He said he would rent us undead labor. If he wants the mines then why doesn't he simply conquer us and take them for himself?" the Director of Food Production wondered aloud.
"We know this mountain well," the Master of Caves and Mines said. "It's easier for him to just let us continue to run things and let us excavate the ore from which he'll benefit all the same."
"I think it will be alright if we work with the Immortal Emperor," the Commander in Chief stated. "As long as he gets what he wants he'll keep us safe. Like a mercenary with a huge appetite for wine." Most of the other dwarves nodded.
"You intend to become minions to an undead freak?" the Forgemaster spat. "He's evil!"
"It's not about good or evil now," the Brewmaster grumbled. "You heard the Commander in Chief. If we don't work with him then our country faces extermination by the Quagoa and we can't go to the Baharuth Empire for help since the Eternal Empire has swallowed them up and they wouldn't be able to do much against them if they were still around anyway. The Eternal Empire appears to be our only option. We can start by asking for help and discuss trade deals after we know more about Dracul's empire. Agreed?"
"That seems like the safest way of doing it," the Master of Caves and Mines agreed as the other dwarves nodded.
"Are you forgetting that he's taking our people as slaves!?" the Forgemaster bellowed.
"Slaves?"
"THE RUNESMITHS!"
"But he said that they wouldn't be slaves," the Brewmaster interjected.
"Do you believe a word that comes out of that abomination's mouth?" the Forgemaster sneered.
"I think it'll be fine," the Merchants' Guilmaster spoke up, causing the Forgemaster to glare bloody murder at him. "He said that he wouldn't take them as slaves so all we need to do is send people over to make sure he treats the runesmiths well and keeps to his word. And this may seem a bit heartless, but runecraft is essentially dead anyway."
"I OPPOSE IT!" the Forgemaster yelled, foaming at the mouth. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU HAVE SO MUCH TRUST IN THE IMMORTAL EMPEROR! HE'S UNDEAD! AN ABOMINATION! HE SHOULDN'T EXIST!"
"Trust aside, this city will undoubtedly be destroyed if we do not employ the Immortal Emperor's power," the Commander in Chief said coldly, sick of the Forgemaster's bullshit. "What you're doing is throwing away our only lifeline and dooming this city based off nothing more than the fact that he is a vampire."
"WHAT!?"
"I'm in charge of our military so I know our situation better than most. We will ALL DIE if we don't accept his help. Is that what you want? If you have another way to beat back the Quagoa then I'm all ears! Otherwise, stop spouting complaints and start coming up with solutions!"
"You sunuva bitch!" the Forgemaster roared as he grabbed the Commander in Chief. "You betrayed us to Immortal Emperor didn't you!?" Before the fight could escalate, something grabbed the Forgemaster by the beard and lifted him into the air, causing him to howl in pain. Lucifer Dracul had slipped back into the room and was dangling the Forgemaster in the air by his beard. Although dwarves were short, they were by no means light. Picking up a dwarf was like picking up a boar, so the fact that Lucifer was able to lift the Forgemaster so easily spoke volumes of his strength.
"He is very loud. I could hear every word that came out of his mouth from the other room," Lucifer stated coldly. The other dwarves gulped as they realized that Lucifer had heard every word they had said. "Now, have you reached a decision?" Lucifer asked as he unceremoniously dropped the Forgemaster, who landed on his ass.
"Y-yes. We would like to accept your majesty's offers," the Commander in Chief replied as he sat back down. The other dwarves all nodded except for the Forgemaster who did nothing but glare at Lucifer. "We wish to open friendly relations with the Eternal Empire and establish trade with you. That said, we will still need to work out some of the finer details."
"Some associates of mine will be here within the next few days," Lucifer said. "You can work out the finer details with them once they get here."
"As for the runesmiths," the Master of Caves and Mines spoke up. "We will agree to your conditions as long as we are permitted to inspect the Eternal Empire to see how our brethren are treated."
"I have no problem with that arrangement," Lucifer replied. The Forgemaster scowled as the others let out sighs of relief upon hearing his response. "I will begin the journey to your former capitol tomorrow after I've spoken with the runesmiths. There are a few other things to discuss however…."
The sun had risen over the city of Roble. The people of the Holy Kingdom, as usual, joined their Queen in the morning prayers as they heard her voice echo throughout the city via the magical amplification devices set up all over the city. Whenever the prayers began, everyone would stop what they were doing, clasp their hands, and kneel.
"My fellow devotees of the Six Great Gods, let us give thanks for yet another day blessed by the gods themselves," Hope's voice reverberated throughout the city. "Even in light of the Demon King Jaldabaoth's attacks and his attempts to intimidate us, we remain strong. This demon would never dare set foot in our most holy of cities, further demonstrating his cowardice and that nothing has the power to defy the gods-" suddenly, the sound of static blared throughout the city grating in the people's ears.
"I'm afraid that's where you are wrong, you highness," a sinister voice sneered, taking control of the communication spell. "Run and hide humans for I am here and you will all suffer." As if on cue, the sounds of screaming, laughing, jeering, and war cries echoed throughout the city. From the east side of the city came the warriors of the Dark Elf Country, from the north came the barbarians of the Orc Settlements, from the south came the bandits of the Dark Dwarf Slavers, and from the west came the biggest demon horde Demiurge's Evil Lords had ever summoned. The Dark Elves tore into the city led by Vega and started killing every human in their way.
"No humans leave this city alive!" Vega bellowed as he cut down anyone between him and the Holy Palace. A few guards tried to stop him and drew their swords. "[Whirlwind]!" Vega shouted, activating his martial art. He turned into a spinning mass of sharp metal and sliced and diced his way through them. Their bodies hit the ground in several pieces but Vega just kept moving, not bothering to check his handiwork. There was one thing and one thing only on his mind: kill Queen Hope.
Kharvok laughed as he flattened another guard's skull with his war hammer, splattering blood and bits of the man's brain all over the floor. He and his fellow Dark Dwarves were looting homes, killing anyone who put up a fight, and chaining up everyone they could get their hands on to take them as slaves.
"This is gotta be the best damn raid I've ever been a part of!" Kharvok cackled as he swaggered out of a house, covered in jewelry and bags of money. He laughed even more as he watched a few goblins riding wolves chasing after a couple of kids. "You're gonna hafta run faster than that if you wanna live kiddies!" His laughter stopped abruptly when he heard two of his men scream in agony from the other side of the house. Kharvok readied his war hammer and approached, ready for a fight. When he got to the edge of the wall, he peeked around the wall to see a couple of Hellhound feasting on his men.
Dammit! The demon stabbed us in the back! Clever bastard, I was gonna do the same thing.
He turned around to go find the rest of his men and warn them only to find himself face to face with a mob of Gazer Devils that were rushing towards him with awkward, lanky steps. Before he could even think of a way to escape without them catching him, Kharvok felt the jaws of a Hellhound clamp down on his leg. He yelled in pain and fell over, kicking and screaming, trying to get it off him. He failed however and the Gazer Devils were practically piling on top of him trying to rip his skin off. The screams of agony Kharvok made for the next eight minutes would be the last sounds he ever made.
Queen Hope watched from her balcony as the Holy City of Roble became hell on earth. People were being butchered in the streets and the Demon-Orc-Dark Elf-Dark Dwarf Alliance seemed to be falling apart and no one but the demons seemed to be certain of what to do: massacre everyone. Buildings were burning, blood flowed like rivers, and the streets looked more like mass graves than actual roads. Hope flinched as she saw ten massive creatures, Stygi just like during the Demonic Disturbance, flew over the city and breathed their venomous fire into the outer perimeter of Roble, keeping everyone who was in the city trapped inside. Hope couldn't believe it, had the gods forsaken them? Her grip on the holy relic Loginus tightened as she continued to stare at the horrific scene.
I was such a fool. How could I have been so arrogant? I guess we depended on the Great Wall too much. Our gods have abandoned us for our hubris.
"Your highness!" Roman called as he ran into the throne room, half carrying the still recovering Angela. "The Holy Army is dropping like flies and have no way of retreating, there is no way we can evacuate civilians, and enemies have entered the palace! What shall we do?" Hope turned to stare at him, tears streaming from her eyes.
"There's only one thing we can do," Hope said in a defeated voice. "We must ask for help." Angela's and Roman's eyes widened, realizing that his queen was serious. Never, in the entire history of the Holy Kingdom had they EVER asked for help. "It is the only way we will stand a chance against this demon. You and Angela will escape on my hippogriff and I will fly alongside you." With that said, she led Roman and Angela through the halls to her personal stable. As they approached, they could hear fighting down in the lower levels of the palace.
"Get down!" one of the guards at the end of the hall shouted as a massive Devourer smashed through the double doors and began crushing the guards that got in its way. Closer towards them, another pair of doors smashed open. A tall Dark Elf wielding two war axes stomped into their line of sight. He had used human blood as war paint to create two lines that ran down his face under his eyes making him look like he was crying blood but those eyes had no pain in them, only bloodlust. Hope gasped when she saw his silver hair and his heterochromatic eyes. He was the spitting image of his mother, the Dark Elf Queen the Holy Kingdom had captured and had given a public execution. Angela also recognized him, not because of his semblance to the former Dark Elf Queen, but because of his missing left cheek that looked like it had been mauled off, exposing his teeth on that side of his face making him look like he was always growling and gnashing his teeth. She recognized that wound, she had inflicted it. The Dark Elf King Vega. He turned his head towards them and laid his hateful eyes upon the exact two people he had hated for so long.
"YOU!" he snarled. In that moment, he didn't care that Jaldabaoth had betrayed his him, he didn't care that his people were being killed, all he cared about was his revenge.
"[Arrow of Divinity]!" Hope cried, launching an arrow or purifying light towards Vega, trying to gain some time to escape. Vega rolled to the side, dodging the spell, but it had given the Pious sisters and Roman enough time to start running again. Vega made to pursue but was intercepted by five guards.
"You're in my way! [Sixfold Slash of Light]!" Vega roared as he ran towards them, making six simultaneous slashes with his war axes. He had ran past them before their corpses, now in several pieces, hit the floor and chased after the Valkyries.
Hope, Roman, and Angela arrived in a room that was similar to a stable, apart from the enormous window for creatures to fly in and out of, where a massive hippogriff awaited them. Roman jumped up onto the hippogriff and helped pull the injured Angela up while Hope pushed her up from under her before running over to the post that the hippogriff was tethered to.
"Alright! She's on!" Roman declared as he held onto her tightly. "Where should we go to get help?"
"We can't go to the Slane Theocracy because they'll demand Loginus in return, the Re-Estize Kingdom is in a civil war, the Agrand Council Alliance hates us, the Baharuth Empire and the Draconic Kingdom don't exist anymore, and the City State Alliance will take forever to respond so we are left with one option! We must go to the Immortal Emperor!" Hope declared as whe untied the hippogriff from its post with a pained look on her face. Roman and Angela cringed too, knowing that this meant working with the undead. "You're untied! Let's get-"
"DIE BITCH!" an animalistic roar tore through the air as Vega jumped towards Hope. Before anyone could react, he had already landed behind her and plunged his war axe into her back right between her angelic wings. Angela screamed as her sister's body hit the floor.
Hope was dead.
Roman wanted to jump down and kill the dark elf, but knew that he didn't stand a chance, he was a minister for crying out loud! Angela weakly struggled against him to try to jump down and fight but Roman wouldn't let her. He knew she was too weak and he wouldn't let her throw her life away like this. With tears in his eyes, he signaled the hippogriff to start moving. They ascended into the sky at a breakneck pace and disappeared among the clouds. Vega growled as he watched them escape. He glanced down to see Hope's corpse had some….. thing in her hand. With a huff of aggravation, he kicked it out of her hand and out the enormous window his prey had escaped though. He turned around and, after kicking Hope's corpse a few times violently, he walked over to the window, wondering what he should do about Jaldabaoth's betrayal.
"At least I got one of the Valkyrie Sisters," he mumbled as he looked out the window. His eyes widened at what he saw. The Dark Dwarves, Dark Elves, orcs, goblins, ogres, and humans were being rounded up by the demons and were being herded towards his location, the palace. Everywhere he looked was a horror show of absolute cruelty. The demons were preforming mass executions with every living thing they found and began loading the corpses into wagons. Humans, Demihumans, it didn't matter to them. A corpse was a corpse.
This isn't what it was supposed to be like! Whenever I imagined the eradication of the humans, I thought it would be a glorious battle to the death not….. this. I wouldn't wish this for anyone, not even those filthy humans.
Vega thought he had known evil and cruelty at the hands of the humans and the so-called divine. Today, he had learned what those words really meant. With one last look at the horrible things happening below, he turned around and left the room as quietly as he could. He didn't know what he was going to do, it wasn't like he could escape since the Stygi had surrounded the city with fire, but he was going to do something.
Jaldabaoth flew into the throne room and pompously took a seat on the deceased queen's throne. He studied the room and calculated the positioning of the palace in conjunction with the rest of the city, thinking of the best way to lay out the "magical artifacts" he would use to supposedly bring about the end of humanity.
"Lord Dracul will be most pleased," he grinned.
[Omega, this is Demiurge. Please set up a gate at my coordinates.]
[Yes sir Lord Demiurge!]
I've wanted to write those words ever since I created Hope. "Hope was dead" Longest chapter I've done yet. Almost 12k words.
HAIL AND KILL!