Chapter 30: Battle Plans
When Evileye found Momon's body, her brain ceased functioning altogether. Her savior, her idol, the man she loved was dead. She sank to her knees and, not knowing what to do, she threw her mask away and just started crying. It didn't take long for the rest of Blue Rose and what was left of Darkness to find her slumped over Momon's unmoving chest. The members of Blue Rose stared in horror, Nabe had an expression of hopelessness on her face, and Hamsuke had tears in its eyes. They all just stood there for a few minutes until Lakyus spoke up.
"I-I guess we should move him, right?" she whispered uncertainly.
"Yes," Evileye choked out. Nabe continued to stand there, unable or unwilling to move.
"Th-this king will fulfill its duty to its master!" Hamsuke proclaimed through its tears as he lifted Momon's body onto his back with his tail. Everyone, except for Nabe, followed Hamsuke as they slowly made their way back to the fort with their heads down. When the others saw them approach with Momon's corpse, expressions of fear, sorrow, shock, and despair became present on their faces. The recurring theme of their expressions was a total loss of hope. After they moved Momon's body to one of the beds in the makeshift infirmary they had set up, they gathered in the fort's old dining hall and took their seats at the table, except for Hamsuke who was bawling outside since it couldn't fit through the doors. They all just sat there quietly. Momon had been dead for barely two hours and the world already seemed to be becoming darker and bleaker at his passing. Nobody said a word. After nearly an hour of sitting in silence, Angela finally spoke up.
"So… now what should we do?" she asked glumly.
"The better question is what CAN we do. With Momon leading the charge victory was always assured, but with him gone…." Ainzach trailed off.
"There's no one left who can challenge Jaldabaoth," Gargan groaned.
"Can't we just revive him with your magic, Lakyus?" Tia asked.
"No. Evileye and I checked the wound and found it was tainted by unholy energy," Lakyus said sadly. "Just like the wound that lost him his eye, the unholy energy is preventing me from using my healing magic on him."
"I still can't really believe this," Tina stated in a hollow voice.
"He was the best of us all," Moknach sighed.
"He's right. I saw him in action during the Demonic Disturbance," Freddon commented. "He was badass."
"I thought he was invincible," Tia muttered.
"Wh-what about the people of E-Rantel?" Climb asked. "I thought Momon was the only thing that stood between them and Immortal Emperor's wrath."
"Nobody really knows what those two worked out but we felt it was best not to pry and risk incurring Lucifer's wrath," Theo interjected.
"Then, what about the Immortal Emperor? Isn't he as powerful as Momon?" Pops asked. "We've all heard about what happened on Katze Plains after all."
"That's true, but he and Momon were supposed to be evenly matched and Momon wasn't able to beat Jaldabaoth so neither will the Immortal Emperor," Evileye choked out n between sobs. "That's why Dracul supposedly took him on as his bodyguard and ruled E-Rantel mercifully: because he was afraid of Momon."
"Actually, we of the Holy Kingdom haven't heard the details of what happened on Katze Plains," Roman interjected.
"It was absolute hell," Brain shivered as he recalled the monstrous Dark Young. "With a single spell, he killed 75,000 people and summoned invincible monsters that killed even more people. Out of the 300,000 conscripts the Kingdom mobilized, only about 40,000 made it back alive." Roman and Angela's faces paled. They knew that the Immortal Emperor was powerful, but this was beyond what they had ever considered possible.
"Hold on, do you all hear that?" Theo suddenly asked. Everyone stayed as quiet as possible as they listened for whatever Theo was talking about. The sounds of people yelling at each other emanated from outside the fort. Everyone leapt from their seats and ran to the front battlements to take a look at the situation that was unfolding. Outside, several carriages had arrived from the east, carrying a large group of humans while another group of mixed races had arrived the west. The humans were immediately recognized as members of the Slane Theocracy, including the Cardinals of Light, Darkness, and Earth along with the Black Scripture, while the group of mixed races appeared to be survivors from Roble.
"What are they arguing about?" Climb asked.
"Probably has something to do with the nonhumans," Sebas replied.
"C'mon, let's break them up before this turns ugly," Layus ordered. The members of Blue Rose, Sebas, Roman, and Angela went down there and tried to keep them all from drawing weapons and resolve the situation, but failed to do so. They were about ready to let them start tearing each other apart when a loud feminine voice shouted at them.
"SHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT UUUUUUUUUUUP!" Nabe screamed. Everyone immediately went completely silent for a few moments until the Cardinal of Darkness cleared his throat.
"I apologize for our rash actions. For the time being I propose we engage diplomatically in order to establish some manner of truce between us," he spoke up.
"You can't seriously expect us to work with these filthy-" the Cardinal of Light began.
"Be quiet Yvon," the Cardinal of Earth snapped causing the Cardinal of Light to cross his arms and rage in silence.
"I guess we can work with that," Vega growled, getting Angela's attention.
"YOU!" she roared as she reached for a weapon only to remember that she didn't have one causing her to opt for pointing at him in an accusatory fashion. "YOU KILLED MY SISTER!" Everyone turned to Vega in alarm when they heard that accusation.
"And she had my mother killed," Vega responded coldly. "As far as I'm concerned, she got what she deserved."
"So what, you think that makes us even?" Angela cried.
"No. I still owe you for this," Vega sneered as he gestured to his lack of a cheek. The two continued to glare at each other with everyone else afraid to get between them, except for Nabe who didn't give a rat's ass. Before anyone could react, Nabe sprinted in front of them and smacked each of them upside the head.
"Stupid gnats! We have an all-powerful demon king who wants to end the world on our hands and you're stuck arguing about who owes who!?" Nabe barked. "GROW UP!" Vega looked down in shame while Angela pouted and turned away, unable to admit that she was in the wrong but knowing it all the same.
"I couldn't have said it better myself," a familiar cold voice spoke up from the shadows. Everyone turned their heads to see death given human form and two Dark Elf children emerge from the darkness.
"Lord Dracul!" Nabe cried with a bow. Lucifer looked over the gathered humans and nonhumans with an eyebrow raised and a slight frown.
There's that fucking elf and there's the World Savior. I guess he managed to escape the hell on earth that Demiurge created. Impressive by this world's standards. Perhaps he could be useful to me, unlike that foolish Valkyrie Knight Angela Pious.
"Where's that fool Momon?" Lucifer asked, pretending he didn't know that Momon, or rather Pandora's Actor, was in the fort pretending to be dead. "I seem to recall ordering him to wait until I said my forces were ready before coming here to the Holy Kingdom and he had better have a good reason as to why he went against my orders."
"Mo-Momon is dead. Jaldabaoth killed him," Evileye sniffed. The representatives from the Slane Theocracy stared in shock as Vega's group raised their eyebrows since they had never heard of Momonthe because the nonhumans never heard news from the human nations and the humans had lived in a society that opted to isolate itself from the rest of the world. Vega himself, however, had placed his full undivided attention on Aura and Mare.
"I see. I was afraid this was going to happen." Luicfer sighed in an annoyed manner as strode past everyone and into the fort. Evileye ran past him and to the room that they had laid Momon's body, afraid of what the Immortal Emperor was going to do to him. Lucifer simply let her do what she wanted since there wasn't anything she could really do against him, she was leading him right to the "body", and it was best to have a witness for what he was about to do. Evileye ran inside the makeshift infirmary and tried to cover Momon's body with her own in order to act as a human shield. Moments later, Lucifer strode into the room with an amused look on his face.
"Stay away!" Evileye cried. "I'm not going to let you turn him into an undead!" Lucifer simply chuckled in response.
"Calm yourself child. I was merely going to return him to life. I am not referred to as the God of Life and Death for nothing," Lucifer said as he moved closer to the corpse while Evileye suddenly remembered what Momon had said back at the National Diet.
"Soooooo, how's your eye?" Evileye asked as she gestured to the eyepatch Momon had worn since losing his eye to Jaldabaoth.
"It's alright," Momon chuckled. "The Immortal Emperor actually said he could heal my wound, but I turned him down."
"Really? Even Lakyus wasn't able to fix it!" Evileye exclaimed. Not only was Lucifer Dracul capable of causing apocalyptic levels of destruction, but he was able to heal injuries that even the most esteemed healers couldn't hope to repair.
This just like that time! Even though Lakyus can't fix it because of the unholy energy, it's child's play for the God of Life and Death. He can revive Momon!
"Please, do what you can," Evileye pleaded as she got off of Momon and removed his helmet. The moment she got down, Lucifer cast a [Silent Stop Time] spell which affected everything except for himself and Pandora's Actor, who had defenses against such spells. With time frozen, Lucifer withdrew the antidote for potion the Pandora's Actor had ingested from the folds of his cloak and poured it down his throat. Within a few moments the antidote took effect causing "Momon" to awake and look up at his master.
"Mein Führer, has everything gone according to plan?" Momon asked.
"Yes Pandora's Actor, everything has proceeded as I had foreseen," Lucifer smirked. "Proceed as planned and stay still." Momon nodded and laid his head back down to his previous position continuing to play to dead. Once the [Silent Stop Time] spell finished, Evileye's feet finally touched the floor and Lucifer drew out a wand of resurrection, purposefully drawing Evileye's attention to it as he channeled mana through it without actually using it to make it look like he was casting a spell with it while his other hand, hidden within his red cloak, started subtly casting healing magic on Momon. The wounds on Momon's chest started healing and he suddenly bolted upright panting heavily.
Good acting.
"Momon!" Evileye exclaimed in pure joy as she pounced on him.
"What happened?" Momon asked convincingly.
"You went against my orders and got yourself killed," Lucifer sneered. "Have you ever considered that give out such orders a reason and that I'm not just doing this for my own amusement?"
"But I-" Momon began.
"You rushed forward without a legitimate plan or without even evaluating our enemies," Luicfer frowned. "I don't want to hear excuses. In the end, no permanent damage has been done. Meet us all in the dining room in an hour or two. Evileye, leave him be for now. Although he could join a fight immediately do to the potency of my magic, it is recommended that he takes some time to recover, especially after having so much unholy energy forcibly removed from him." With that, Lucifer and a begrudging Evileye left Momon to recover.
"Why did you save him?" Evileye asked with narrowed eyes. "You could've let him stay dead."
"You didn't seem to have any objections when I offered to revive him," Lucifer said coldly making he hand her head in shame. "Why the sudden suspicion? Is it so hard to believe that I view Momon as a valuable asset and consider it a venture worth my time to keep him alive?"
"Under normal circumstances that would be a completely understandable line of thought," Evileye said. "You're a vampire and you claim to care for humans. Doesn't that sound a little too good to be true?"
"No. After all, I'm not the only vampire who feels something other than hate for humanity am I, Landfall?" Lucifer sneered causing Evileye's eyes to widen before narrowing once again. "I will not claim to have any great love for them and as they are now they are nothing more than maggots, but they have potential and I would hate to see it squandered."
"Okay, maybe you do care for humanity in some weird, messed up kind of way," Evileye said suspiciously. "However, Momon is the strongest warrior to ever exist and is the only real threat to you. If he died, there would be no one left to keep you in check. Why didn't you just let him die and come up with some excuse as to why you couldn't save him?" Lucifer stared at her for a few moments before letting out a sinister laugh.
"Dear child, you seem to be laboring under the delusion that Momon was EVER a threat to me," Lucifer smirked as he walked away.
Nigun had been asked to scout out all of the slaves pens and slave markets in Humanika as well as sabotage the Slane Theocracy's WCI collection and, if possible, steal them since the Black Scripture was no longer present in the city. The rain did nothing to put a damper on his good mood. He was excited by once again being presented with the opportunity to help his god for had asked of her for two reasons. The first reason was that this could be another chance to useful to Lucifer, even though he had been constantly feeding his master intel he hadn't really felt that he had been living up to his potential and was eager to probe himself.. The second reason he was excited was for a less pleasant reason: the Rat Plague. It started a few months ago as nothing more than a few people bleeding from the eyes, but now it had spread at an astonishing rate. Those who were sick for too long started bleeding from the eyes, coughing up blood, and they lost their minds which resulted in them attacking anyone they came into contact with so for obvious reasons people preferred not to leave their homes given the state of things. The priests used magic and potions to heal and cure the afflicted as fast as they could while saying that this plague was the Six Gods punishing them for the sin of allowing an undead freak, the Immortal Emperor Lucifer Dracul, to take power but that the Six Gods favored humanity and it was their duty as the divine priests "who always made the right decisions for their disciples" to guide the stray sheep back to the flock. But after a while the potions ran out, people got sick faster than they could be healed, and those priests who said that they were always right also started getting sick. Even the Cardinal of Water had gotten sick, of course he was healed the moment he started coughing up blood, and the idea that they were being punished for their sins didn't work anymore which left the church in an awkward position as more and more people began to question their faith. Eventually martial law was put in place allowing the Slane Theocracy's guards to roam the streets and wipe out Weepers. Once it was discovered that rats were the source of the plague, extermination teams were deployed to kill rats in an attempt to contain the plague but by the time they did, the plague was too widespread. There were bodies wrapped in cloth and laid down in rows along the streets and swarms of rats attempted to devour anyone unlucky to cross their path. Thankfully, Nigun was a vampire and the undead can't get sick. As for the rat swarms, he was capable of dealing with them on his own with his new vampiric abilities. With the remaining guards running around trying to maintain public order, hunt down the rats, and eliminate any Weepers they find, Nigun free to go where he wanted with very few restrictions. That said, he still made sure that nobody tracked him and, to his relief, no one had given him any trouble.
That is….. until she appeared.
"Hello Nigun!" Jessamine called out.
Insufferable, naïve, idiotic woman! Why is she always so happy? Remember Nigun, she is close to Lord Attano, she is involved in the plan, and Corvo will tear me apart if I hurt her without the consent of him or milord.
"A pleasure to see you Ms. Kaldwin," Nigun greeted, masking his annoyance. "How have you been?" Jessamine was wearing a hooded robe to shield herself from the rain and a ring that Corvo had given to her which granted her protection from diseases.
Very clever Lord Attano. You knew that this woman would be ecstatic upon being presented with a ring from you.
"I'm just fine!" Jessamine replied as she started walking next to him. "Although I wish Corvo would pay more attention to me. I even tried the "Naked Apron" technique taught by the Six Gods and it still didn't work!"
Why are you following me? WAIT! SHE USED THE NAKED APRON TECNIQUE ON LORD ATTANO!? LUCKY BASTARD! I may not like this woman, but only a fool would say that she isn't attractive! Dammit, now I'm thinking about Mistress Shalltear's toys. This stupid woman and her stupid brain and her stupid ideas and her stupid…. Wait a minute! I bet she's still all into the abolishment of elven slavery. I can use this to my advantage.
"It's like he doesn't understand what I'm doing!" Jessamine ranted. "Why doesn't he notice my feelings for him!? What do I have to do? Run up to him and yell: NOTICE ME SENPAI!?"
"Damn!" Corvo sneezed, prompting several members of the Black Scripture to look at him.
"Are you alright?" Ruvik asked.
"I'm fine," Corvo responded gruffly.
"I sense the calming energies of love in the air," Mori mused.
"Shut up," Corvo grunted as the image of Jessamine wearing the naked apron appeared in his mind.
"Well, Lord Attano did spend a long time away from people when he stayed in the Great Forest of Tob," Nigun lied. "Perhaps it would be best to just be direct with him?"
"I guess you're right," Jessamine sighed. "When he gets back, I'm going to just tell him like it is!" she declared with a determined grin and a raised fist.
"You know Ms. Kaldwin, Corvo and I are in contact with a man who shares your beliefs regarding elven equality," Nigun said. "Currently, I am acquiring intelligence regarding the slave pens and slave markets but I know that you have been studying such things for a very long time. Would you mind if I sent a copy of your work to milord? You will be recognized for your hard of course."
"Do you really think he could make a difference?"
"Absolutely."
"Hmm, okay! But on one condition: I want to meet this man for myself!" she declared.
"I will see if I can arrange a meeting," Nigun replied, hiding a grimace. Lord Dracul might be upset with him if this fell apart, but the idea that Corvo served the Immortal Emperor should keep the cheerful woman in line.
"That would be wonderful!" Jessamine exclaimed. "Oh! One more thing, how does the name Jessamine Attano sound to you?"
"Lovely," Nigun responded through gritted teeth.
"Yay!" Jessamine exclaimed as she dragged Nigun back to her home to get her research.
Is this what Lord Attano goes through every day? She's like a happier Lady Albedo!
The old fort's dining room was full of different people from different groups. Representatives of the National Liberation Party, the Slane Theocracy, the Holy Kingdom, Vega's coalition, and the Eternal Empire had all gathered around the massive table that once seated every soldier that had been stationed here. The Cardinals of Light, Earth, and Darkness were seated opposite of Lucifer Dracul with the entire Black Scripture, or what was left of them, gathered behind them. Sebas, Lakyus, Evileye, Ainzach, and Momon all sat on Lucifer's right with the rest of National Liberation Party representatives behind them as well as the volunteers from the Eternal Empire. Angela, Roman, and Vega were sitting on the left with the survivors of the Demonic Invasion as Vega ignored the countless glares Angela sent his way with his gaze firmly set on Aura and Mare who were standing at either side of the door. Lucifer, with Albedo and Senator Jircniv at his sides, had a serious expression on his face as he gaze swept across the faces of those who were gathered and glared at a few of them such as the Cardinal of Light. Behind him stood Cocytus, Fluder, Gazef, Nimble, Zenberu, Leinas, Avenir, Zaryusu, and Baziwood. After a quick glance towards Albedo, he faced those who were gathered and let out a sigh.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to see how many have come together to stand firm in the face of Jaldabaoth's threat and I hope that we can put any differences we may have aside until the crisis has been resolved," Lucifer spoke up, ending the silence.
"Let's just get this over with," the Cardinal of Light snarled as he kept glancing suspiciously at everyone around him, even his fellow cardinals.
"Indeed. I believe it would be prudent if we resolved this crisis as quickly as possible," Sebas said calmly.
"We need to kill that demon," Angela declared with conviction.
"This may be a bit off topic," Vega spoke up, earning glares from several members of the Theocracy. "But I have never heard of you or the Eternal Empire until today. I'd prefer to know who I'm working with."
"Fair enough," Lucifer shrugged. "The Eternal Empire is a nation without nobility and does not allow religion to dictate its actions. Slavery is banned, humans and nonhumans are citizens with equal rights,"
"So those Dark Elves you have with you are not slaves?" Vega asked in order to clarify.
"No, they are not slaves," Lucifer confirmed. "As a matter of fact, they are among the highest ranking officials in my empire." Once again, several of those among the Black Scripture scowled while the side of Vega's face that wasn't disfigured became a grin.
"Good. I'm glad to hear that there are a few countries where my kin aren't mistreated," Vega said as he shot a glare towards the Theocracy.
Kin? Just because they're Dark Elves? Or does it have to do with their heterochromatic eyes?
"You should be honored to be in the same room as us, elf!" the Cardinal of Light shouted only to be smacked upside the head by the Cardinal of Darkness. "You dare-"
"Complain later. We have more pressing matters to deal with," the Cardinal of Darkness interjected coldly. "Now Lord Dracul, at the Diet you told us that you knew what Jaldabaoth is up to?"
"Of course," Lucifer smirked. "The only reason Jaldabaoth would take over a city like this is because he is in possession of what he needs to fulfill his ultimate objective: extinction. He will wipe out every human, dwarf, elf, angel, and anything else he deems unfit to walk this earth."
"And how does he intend to do this?" Sebas asked.
"He has enacted a demonic ritual in order to create a Hellmouth. Based off of Momon's memories, he has already succeeded with that part of his plan which makes this much more difficult," Lucifer lied. "Once he has sacrificed enough corpses to the Hellmouth, he will send out an army of invincible demons to eradicate everything in his way."
"Pardon me, but what is this "Hellmouth" you speak of?" Lakyus asked.
"And what did you mean by "Based off of Momon's memories"?" Evileye demanded.
"The Hellmouth serves as a sacrificial pit that grants more power to all demons in its area of effect. Sacrificing fresh corpses to the pit will increase the area of effect and the amount of power granted to the demons. As for Momon's memories, I read his mind while we were in the infirmary reviving him," Lucifer informed them while internally smirking. There was no such thing as a Hellmouth. What they would see was nothing more than a high level illusion spell that was covering up the [Gate] they were using to send the corpses to the Deadhouse. As for the demons becoming more powerful, Demiurge and the Evil Lords had used spells to raise the stats of all the demons summoned by the Evil Lords. "Anything that goes into the Hellmouth never comes back out and judging by how powerful Jaldabaoth was when he fought Momon here, it will make him practically a god as long as he is near the Hellmouth. Once he has sacrificed enough corpses to the Hellmouth, he and his armies will be granted practical invincibility and they will begin the extermination of all that stands in his way."
"So it's hopeless," Gargan grumbled.
"Momon is the strongest warrior to ever live. If he wasn't able to beat that demon when they were half a mile away from the city, then how are we supposed to defeat him when he's inside the city?" Ainzach moaned.
"Simple. I will kill him," Lucifer proclaimed, prompting everyone to stare at him.
"But you majesty, if Momon is on the same level as you then how will you be able to beat him?" Lakyus asked.
"After all, it is only your fear of Momon that has kept you from killing your citizens," the Cardinal of Light sneered. Lucifer chuckled lightly as at the foolish cardinal.
"And who told you that Momon was a threat to me? I did," Lucifer stated calmly. "I apologize for the deception, but the only reason you believe that I fear Momon is because it was convenient for me."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Theo shivered.
"Moknach, remember what your reason for staying in my city was, despite the fact that you were being ruled over by an undead creature?" Lucifer inquired.
"I stayed because of Momon," Moknach replied uneasily.
"Precisely. You were all able to rest easy because your heroic Dark Knight stood vigilant and was always prepared to kill me should I ever plot anything," Lucifer smirked. "However, I never ruled E-Rantel mercifully because I was afraid of Momon but because it was how I wanted my empire to be. The fact of the matter is that Momon was NEVER a threat to me and couldn't kill me no matter how hard he tried nor would he ever try to kill me in the first place." Everyone in the room froze. Was the strongest warrior really no match for the Immortal Emperor?
"Then why did you take him as your personal bodyguard?" the Cardinal of Earth asked as he narrowed his eyes.
"Ainzach, didn't it put you and the rest of the citizens at ease knowing that Momon was there to protect you from the big bad vampire? That he was there for you to hide behind should I ever attack the populace?" Lucifer continued causing everyone to grow paler and paler. "I allowed you all to think Momon was as strong as I am in order to keep you all from fleeing out of fear."
"I see," the Cardinal of Darkness mused. "You used their trust of Momon and the fact that he is regarded as the strongest warrior in order to lull people into a false sense of security with the false assumption that they would be able to defeat you if you ever tried to do anything horrible. You're as clever as they say." The Cardinal of Light was foaming at the mouth out of rage and he looked like he wanted to berate his colleague for praising their enemy, but he felt sick to his stomach as he heard how the strongest warrior didn't even qualify as a threat to the Immortal Emperor. His eyes were now frantically darting between all of those who were gathered as if he expected them all to pounce on him with an irrationally paranoid look in his eyes.
"Correct. Momon was used to keep any rebellions from popping up and minimizing the resulting bloodshed. You can imagine what the outcome would be if a bunch of civilians decided to attack a Death Knight," Lucifer confirmed dismissively.
"Wait, you said that Momon wouldn't dare to attack you anyway," Moknach spoke up. "Why wouldn't he? If he thought that you were equally matched then what would've prevented him from attacking you?"
"Ainzach, I believe that during the incident with Valeda Tepes Momon mentioned that he had been chasing Jaldabaoth and Ms. Tepes because someone had sent him out into the world to hunt them down," Lucifer smirked.
"Wait…. It was you!" Ainzach exclaimed. "You're the one who gave Momon those powerful enchanted swords! You're the one who sent him after Jaldabaoth! You're his master! He's served you the whole time!" Everyone in the room froze at the startling realization that Momon had been working for Lucifer the entire time.
"Bravo Ainzach, you figured it out," Lucifer responded as he clapped slowly. "Momon has been working for me long before any of you even knew his name."
"How long have you been serving this unholy abomination!?" the Cardinal of Light demanded. "How long ago did you turn your back on humanity!?" Although they didn't like how the cardinal was acting, everyone was nonetheless curious about how long Momon had been serving Lucifer Dracul. Momon sighed and took off his helmet before telling them the truth.
"I have served Lord Dracul since my earliest memories," Momon announced making everyone go silent.
"Indeed," Lucifer smirked. "When I first awoke and found what condition this pitiful world was in, I decided that I needed an agent to gather more information on the surrounding nations and so in the same manner that I created my army of Death Knights I created a perfect human and sent him out to hunt down those who betrayed me as well as gather information. Obviously, that perfect human was Momon. He has served me from the moment his life began."
"He created him…."
"The perfect human?"
"No way."
"BLASPHEMY!"
"This actually explains a lot."
"The power of the gods."
"He really is the God of Life and Death!"
"Meh."
"I think I just shit myself, Pops."
"Me too boys….. me too."
"INCREDIBLE! WHAT MANNER OF MAGIC IS THAT!?"
"Calm down Fluder."
"Gods no, please tell me that they're lying."
"Y-you created him?" Evileye choked out. She couldn't believe it. The man that she loved had been created not in the way that anyone else would be born but in the way a god creates life. He was essentially a demigod! The Cardinal of Light was looking very smug and was sure that everyone would turn against Momon and his master.
"Well, if Momon did all those heroic things under his majesty's orders then it sounds like he has been helping us much more than we thought," Ainzach finally said, earning the Cardinal of Light's ire.
"To give Momon credit, I did not order him to get involved in the incident where a large number of undead invaded E-Rantel. He acted of his own accord to save the inhabitants. He has grown quite attached to your kind, even more so after the Demonic Disturbance," Lucifer said with a chuckle as he gave Evileye and Momon a meaningful look causing them both to blush slightly.
"Wait a minute, then what about Lady Nabe?" Theo asked.
"Nabe is a maid who has served me since the time when Jaldabaoth served me and she isn't actually a human at all," Lucifer informed them.
"She's a maid?" Tina commented as she raised an eyebrow. Nabe simply grunted out a yes and nodded in response. Before anyone else could ask a question, someone knocked on the door that Aura and Mare were guarding.
"What's the password?" Aura demanded.
"Do I really have to do this?" a scathing, familiar voice sighed on the other side of the door.
"S-sis, w-w-we already know that it's Demiurge. C-can't we just-" Mare stuttered.
"No! We need the password!" Aura declared eliciting a sigh from the other side of the door.
"Shalltear has fake boobs," Demiurge stated irritably.
"Come on in!" Aura exclaimed happily as she unlocked the door allowing Demiurge stride into the room. Several people in the room immediately went for their weapons upon seeing his resemblance to Jaldabaoth.
"Calm down everyone! This is Director Demiurge of the Eternal Empire. NOT Jaldabaoth!" Lakyus exclaimed. Those who drawn their weapons narrowed their eyes at the smirking demon before sheathing their weapons.
"I'm glad that's out of the way," Demiurge sneered. "I have the map you requested my lord."
"Thank you Demiurge. If you would," Lucifer said as he gestured to the table. Demiurge nodded and unrolled an enormous bird's-eye-view map of the Holy City of Roble. With the map set so that those who were gathered around the table could see it, Demiurge began muttering spells under his breath.
"The Hellmouth has been set up within the palace throne room," Lucifer began as he jabbed his finger towards the palace on the map. "I would be able to close the infernal thing with a simple spell but my dragons have reported that Jalbadaoth has made it so that it will be difficult to close the damnable thing through magic, but we there is another way. Demiurge, if you would."
"Yes my lord. [Crystal Screen]," Demiurge cast the spell, allowing everyone else to see what he saw. What they saw would best be described as post-apocalyptic city. The raging fires had spread to engulf a large portion of the city and the demons had collected all the corpses. The buildings were nothing but ruins at this point and the streets were covered in dry blood splatters. Hordes of demons crawled on top of buildings, ran rampant through the streets, and started massive fires creating chaos wherever they roamed. Among the demon hordes were all seven of Demiurge's Evil Lords were roaming. The three from the Demonic Disturbance, Envy, Wrath, and Greed were present as well as their fellow Evil Lords. Gluttony was fat, flabby demon with a head like a boar's and was covered with large mouths lined with pointed teeth, the biggest mouth being on its stomach. His massive body crept around on long sturdy spider-like legs. Sloth was a thin, lanky, pale creature with no mouth, black eyes, and crooked limbs. Lust was a woman with pale purple skin clad wearing what could best be described as black tape that left very little to the imagination. She had dark purple hair, bat wings, big pink eyes, and a seductive smile, not to mention the black devil tail she had. Pride's upper half was that of an extremely muscular man and the lower half was much like a snake. His skin was an inky black, he had four milky white eyes, tentacles sprouting from his back, and a ferocious sharp toothed grin from which a forked tongue flicked out.
"These seven demons serve as Jaldabaoth's lieutenants. In order to keep them from getting in the way of my fight with Jaldabaoth we will need groups of skilled individuals to engage each one," Lucifer stated. "I propose the following teams work together: Momon, Nabe, and Evileye, you were instrumental in stopping Jaldabaoth the first time. Lakyus, Tina, Tia, and Gargan, even without your entire team together I am certain you will be able to fight one of the Evil Lords. Sebas, Climb, Brain, and Freddon, I understand you have all fought alongside each other before. Gazef, Fluder, Baziwood, Nimble, and Leinas. Vega, Angela, and Zenberu. Ruvik, Corvo, and Avenir, Avenir is looking forward to working with the Black Scripture again. And the rest of the Black Scripture will be put into their own group. The plan is that my army will draw most of the demons into battle outside of the city, High General Cocytus will command my forces."
"It. Will. Be. An. Honor. To. Bring. You. Victory. My. Lord." Cocytus declared.
"I expect nothing less. Demiurge, return to Nazarick and make preparations should Jaldabaoth escape," Lucifer ordered.
"As you wish my lord," Demiurge smirked as he left to go fulfill his true orders.
"With Jaldabaoth's forces occupied, I will be able to do battle with him uninterrupted," Lucifer announced. "However, as long as the Hellmouth is open, he will be unable to die. The only way to defeat him and close the Hellmouth will to hurl him into the accursed pit he has created. The Hellmouth was created to accept sacrifices but never the creator themselves which will result in it being sealed shut and Jaldabaoth will remain trapped within that pit of despair for eternity. Demons only respect one thing: strength. Upon the defeat of their master, they will naturally bow to whoever defeated him, which will obviously be me, and then I will order them to vacate the city before sending them to Nazarick. Are there any issues with this plan?" Everyone looked at each other with raised eyebrows. They didn't like how Lucifer was the only one who seemed to know what was going on or how he was directing everything, but they had all come to terms with the facts that he had an unimaginable level of intellect and was privy to information about things that no one else even knew about.
"I don't like this!" the Cardinal of Light bellowed. "Why should we listen to an undead? I WILL NOT FOLLOW ANY PLAN LAID OUT BY THIS MONSTER!"
"Do you have any better ideas?" Lakyus sneered.
"YEAH! DON'T LISTEN TO VAMPIRES!" the Cardinal of Light yelled back.
"Is that all?" Brain scoffed.
"SHUT UP! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A LOW CLASS FOOL WHO HAS DECIDED TO-" before the Cardinal of Light could continue, the Cardinal of Darkness grabbed him by the shoulder.
"If you're not going to help then leave," the Cardinal of Darkness growled. "I don't care if you're the Archbishop's favorite and I have no use for a foolish old man who'd rather indulge his own ego than accept the reality of the situation. Raymond and I have actual military experience whereas you just inherited your position because your predecessor became the new Archbishop and nominated you to take his place as cardinal."
"YOU DARE-"
"Just go, Yvon," Raymond sighed. The Cardinal of Light fumed as he stomped out.
"NONE OF YOU CAN BE TRUSTED! I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO IS TRULY LOYAL TO THE SIX GREAT GODS!" he shouted behind him before the Aura and Mare shut the large double doors.
"We of the Slane Theocracy approve of this plan and agree to assist you, Immortal Emperor," the Cardinal of Earth announced.
"Glad to hear it," Lucifer smirked.
The Cardinal of Light stormed out of the fortress with a crazed look in his eyes.
Those fools! They've betrayed the Theocracy! How dare Maximilian say such things to me like that! ME! The Cardinal of Light! The most holy of ALL cardinals, second ONLY to the Archbishop himself! When we return to Humanika the Archbishop WILL hear about this! He was always like this: interrupting me, telling me that my ideas were foolish, embarrassing me in front of the other cardinals and even the lowly peasants! HOW DID I NOT SEE IT!? I will do everything in my power to see that he is branded a heretic upon my return! He'll be as low as the filthy elves! Damn that vampire and his schemes! Whatever he's planning, I WILL NOT let him succeed! It seems I will have to take matters into my own hands so that those HERETICS Raymond and Maximilian do not betray our gods and help the Antichrist any more than they already have!
With that final thought, the Cardinal of Light began stomping off towards the burning city of Roble.
As Lucifer finished summoning a [Gate] for his army to come through, Vega walked to him and bowed.
"Lord Dracul," Vega began. "I would like to thank you for taking care of my kin, Aura and Mare."
"You keep calling them "your kin". Why is that? Is it simply because they are fellow Dark Elves?" Lucifer inquired.
"No milord. Their eyes are a mark of royalty. They are the offspring of my father the accursed Elf King, Augustus Connard. They seem to be unaware of who their father's identity or the monster that he is. I believe that it is for the best since that terrible knowledge could be a heavy burden on a child," Vega said. "If you don't mind me asking, have you had any contact with the Elf Country?"
"No I'm afraid not," Lucifer answered truthfully.
"I see. If I may ask, could I depend on your assistance to make my dream come true when you finally make contact with them?" Vega begged.
"That depends on what it is you want," Lucifer replied dismissively.
"I would like your help killing my father and uniting the elven races. I would take my father's place on the throne and dissolve the Elf Country into the Eternal Empire. I have not known you or your empire for very long, but based off your actions as its ruler and how you have committed to eliminating Jaldabaoth, I can honestly say that I can entrust you with the future of my people," Vega declared.
"The fact that I'm an undead monster isn't a problem?" Lucifer asked with an eyebrow raised, surprised by Vega's trust in him.
"I have seen what a true monster looks like," Vega grimaced as he thought about all the suffering Jaldabaoth had caused. "And you are not a monster." Lucifer grinned down at the elf and motioned for him to rise.
"Very well Vega, I will accept your offer and additionally I will make you the representative of your people, however there is one other thing that I will need from you," Lucifer said as he hungrily eyed the World Savior strapped to Vega's back. "I would very much like to have that club on your back." Vega looked slightly troubled upon hearing this.
"I was going to use this to defeat my father," Vega said uncertainly.
"Your father will not stand a chance against me and I will allow you to deliver the killing blow all the same," Lucifer pushed on unperturbed. "I do not need an answer right now, but consider it."
"Very well your majesty," Vega sighed as walked off to join the others.
This has been the busiest fucking week for me. Between getting ready to go back to college, work, my idiotic little brother stealing my car, beating said idiot's ass, and that weird shit the doctor put in my eyes that made it so I couldn't see shit for the rest of the day the amount of time I was had to spend on this was drastically depleted. Updates are going to become less frequent and more sporadic once college starts up again in a few days. Just a fair warning. And as always...
HAIL AND KILL!