Chapter 31: Devil vs Antichrist
The Cardinal of Light sneered as he watched the coalition from afar. The area around the old fort was abuzz with activity in preparation for the battle with Jaldabaoth. The Eternal Legion's monstrous soldiers were marching towards Roble with Cocytus and Zaryusu leading the way, the teams were loading onto Skeleton Dragons, and that accursed vampire was lording over them all as if it was only natural for him to rule. His frustration increased tenfold when he saw the Cardinal of Darkness conversing with the Immortal Emperor.
That damn traitor! I knew he couldn't be trusted! NONE OF THEM CAN BE TRUSTED! It seems that I'll have to take matters into my own hands. I'll make my way into Roble and seek anything I can use against Lucifer Dracul that the Holy Kingdom heretics have hidden from the Theocracy. Assuming I survive this ordeal I will be made the new Archbishop for sure! If I die then the Six Great Gods will surely raise me up to rule in their divine realm at their sides for eternity.
With those thoughts in his head and foaming at the mouth, he headed towards the tunnel that one of the survivors that had arrived with Vega had mentioned. If they had managed to escape the city undetected that way then it he should be able to enter it undetected as well.
Lucifer chuckled as he watched the exchange between Ruvik and Avenir. Corvo had already mounted the Skeleton Dragon and was grumpily waiting for Avenir and Ruvik to come aboard while the other Black Scripture members led by Mori and Zur, who had shifted back to his human form for in order to keep the rest of the Black Scripture ignorant as to his true nature. The two blushing individuals in question, were babbling to each other insisting that the other could get on first and every time they looked each other in the eyes their respective blushes would become even redder.
"Excuse me your majesty?" a man called out from behind him. Lucifer turned around and found himself looking at the blue-haired man from the Katze Plains as well as the Demonic Disturbance.
"You are Brain Unglaus, correct?" Lucifer stated more than asked.
"That's me," Brain confirmed as he glanced over at Avenir and Ruvik with a slight frown.
"I suppose you have questions regarding Avenir?" Lucifer guessed upon noticing what Brain's gaze was directed towards.
"Yeah. I only recently found out that I had a daughter, so I would like to know how she became a vampire and how she ended up working for you," Brain informed the vampire.
"You care for her even if you have never even spoken to her?" Lucifer asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"Apparently. I guess I'd just like to see how much like her mother she is or maybe I'm just becoming emotional in my old age," Brain shrugged.
"Oh, please. You're nowhere near as old as I am," Lucifer joked, keeping up a mask of pleasantness.
"I guess you're right," Brain chuckled. "But in all seriousness, how did my daughter end up working for you? Hell, how did she ever even come into contact with you? All that I know is that she was born in the Slane Theocracy and that when the bishops learned that she was born with extraordinary abilities they tried to take her away to use her for the church. Her mother tried to stop them and they killed her in retaliation." Brain looked down in shame as he thought about how some woman he couldn't he even remember had surrendered her life in the defense of a child he hadn't even known that he had. "I should've been there."
Oh? He feels guilty. Perhaps I could use this to my advantage.
"Your daughter only started working with me fairly recently," Lucifer said. "Before I met her, she had been brought up by the church with the future captain of the Black Scripture, Ruvik, being the only constant in her life, which is what I believe to be part of her infatuation with him. Eventually, a few members of the Black Scripture, including Avenir herself, crossed my path and because of an unfortunate series of events we ended up attempting to kill each other. Your daughter was the only one who was smart enough to see that there was no conceivable way for them to overcome me so she simply surrendered. Upon her surrender she pleaded with me to spare Ruvik's life should I ever come into contact with him and offered her allegiance in return."
"I see. So after that you turned her into a vampire, huh?" Brain grimaced.
"Yes. Now Mr. Unglaus here's a question of my own: why are you asking me about her when you could ask her yourself?" Lucifer asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"What am I supposed to do? Walk over there and say "Hi my name is Brain Unglaus. Oh, by the way I'm your dad"? Yeah, somehow I don't see that working out," Brain scoffed.
"You'll never know unless you try, not that this is any of my concern," Lucifer interjected with a dismissive wave of his hand "However, if you ever did want to try to get to know your daughter, it might be difficult seeing as how she serves me and only people who serve me as well would have opportunities to interact with her. After all, how will you be able to "be there," as you put it, if something happens again?" Lucifer hid a smirk as he noticed the sour expression on Brain's face, but the smirk vanished when he noticed Vega marching over to Aura and Mare. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to finish my preparations." With that, Lucifer walked off, making sure that he was in range to overhear whatever may transpire between the three Dark Elves. Aura was berating Mare for who the hell knows what at this point when Vega approached them, instantly diverting Aura's attention.
"What's up?" Aura asked as the taller elf knelt down to their level.
"I would just like to hear you speak for yourselves in regards to what you think about the Immortal Emperor," Vega said.
"Lord Dracul is the best!" Aura exclaimed childishly as she raised her fist in the air.
"So he has treated you well?" Vega asked just to be sure.
"Y-y-yes," Mare stuttered out. "Lord Dracul has been r-really nice to us."
"I'm glad to hear it," Vega said as he knelt down to the twins' level and looked at them sternly. "I take it you two do not know of your heritage?"
"Huh?" Aura grunted as she raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sure Lord Dracul will inform you later, but know this. Should I fall in battle against Jaldabaoth's forces then you, my kin, will be the last hope for our people's future," Vega proclaimed solemnly as he stood up and walked over to his group, much to the dismay of Angela, who glared at the approaching Dark Elf.
"What was that about?" Aura asked as she turned towards Mare.
"I-I don't know," Mare stammered.
"What a weirdo."
"Oh, I hate being short!" Evileye cried as she jumped up and down trying to board the Skeleton Dragon, much to the amusement of Nabe, who had already mounted said creature. After a few more unsuccessful attempts, something large picked her up from behind and lifted her onto the dragon.
"If you're having so much trouble, you shouldn't hesitate to ask for help," Momon stated.
"Thanks Momon!" Evileye said happily.
"Not a problem. Also, if you are capable of flight magic then why didn't you use that to board the Skeleton Dragon?" Momon inquired as he too mounted the undead creature directly behind Evileye in order to separate her and Nabe.
"Oh, ah, well, because I wanted to save my mana for the coming battle!" Evileye exclaimed blushing under her mask.
Definitely not because I WANTED you to hold me. DEFINITELY not.
"I see. I suppose that makes sense," Momon replied with a nod.
"Are you ready, Momon?" Evileye asked.
"I was about to ask you."
"Of course I'm ready. Why wouldn't I be?"
"I was worried that you might not want to work with me now that you know my origins," Momon admitted in a slightly worried voice. Evileye swiveled around in order to face the armored behemoth.
"Look, I'll admit that knowing that you were created by Lucifer is a little freaky, but you're still the same man who saved my life back in Re-Estize!" Evileye declared.
"I see. Thank you Evileye, that means a lot to me," Momon said warmly.
"I-it's not a big deal," Evileye stammered out as a blush worked its way onto her face.
"I do apologize for breaking up such a heartwarming moment but now really isn't the time," Lucifer called out to the two of them, eliciting a snicker out of Nabe, before turning his attention to the rest of the teams. "This is it! Today will either mark the end of Jaldabaoth or the end of humanity! You all know what you must do, now get it done!"
Zesshi glared at her troops as they burned down yet another elven village. She didn't care about the elves, she didn't care if they were eradicated, she didn't care if they were enslaved, she didn't care if they escaped, she just didn't care. The reason for her displeasure was that they did this every time they found an elven village and it took hours to round up all the elves, collect their valuables, and burn down their homes. To Zesshi this was an annoying delay. Every minute they wasted here was another minute she could spend getting to the Elf King. She wanted her revenge and she wanted that bastard dead. She didn't care what happened to the rest of the elves after that. She DID however care about the fact that this was keeping her from her revenge.
"Lady Zesshi," a soldier spoke up from behind, the one who had taken command after his predecessor's disappearance that had definitely absolutely nothing to Zesshi's anger management issues. "We've rounded up the last of the remaining elves but several of them managed to escape captivity. Should we pursue them?"
"Don't bother," Zesshi ordered. "They aren't our mission anyway. Any who escape will probably die out anyway. Tell the troops that we move out in twenty minutes. At this rate it will take us about a week until we arrive at the Elven Capitol and I want my hands wrapped around the Elf King's throat sooner rather than later."
"Yes milady!" the soldier saluted. "You heard her men! We move out in twenty minutes and we're not heading back to the Humanika without the Elf King's head on a pike!"
Cocytus, Zaryusu, and Kabein stood facing the flames that surrounded the Holy City of Roble as of an army of Death Knights, Dark Paladins, Vampire Knights, Skull Knights, and Elder Liches organized themselves behind the two of them under the direction of General Kabein. Cocytus had large menacing weapons in all four hands, Zaryusu was clad in adamantite armor made by dwarves, and Kabein wore new spiky black armor with a red variant of the Eternal Empire's skull-like emblem emblazoned on his chest and had a black fur mantle overtop a crimson cloak. After the battle at Katze Plains, if you could call it that, most of the Imperial Knights either resigned, became average city guards, or were assigned to assist the refugees from the Draconic Kingdom and provide security for Queen Draudillon. When Kabein was told that Lucifer Dracul had requested his presence he didn't expect to come out of that meeting alive. Surprisingly however, Lucifer had wanted to offer him a place in the Eternal Legion. Apparently the Immortal Emperor had gone through the service records of notable commanding officers of the former Baharuth Empire and had recognized Kabein's talent for commanding his soldiers and giving them high morale. Lucifer had acknowledged him as a "talented mortal" and gave him a high ranking position as the newest General in the Legion. He was skeptical about Lucifer's claims that he saw all "mortals" as equals when he had creatures like Demiurge, Cocytus, and Albedo running his empire, but as he became familiar with them he came to realize just how talented they were. High General Cocytus was the single greatest field commander he had ever seen and a was a warrior with amazing combative prowess to a degree that many who saw his skill in wielding four blades thought that he might be a God of War. Director Demiurge was a master of strategy, psychological warfare, and the management of covert operations, and finally there was Albedo who was expected to be giving birth within the month. She scared the hell out of him whenever she had a mood swing, which could only be calmed by the presence of the Immortal Emperor and when most women would be stuck in bed at this stage of pregnancy she was still running around handling administration, policies, laws, and all manner of domestic governing. It had made Kabein fully realize that Lucifer truly didn't care what you are, all he cared about was if you were useful. Cocytus and Zaryusu were at the head of the formation, ready to lead the army into battle while Kabein rode around on horseback ordering the legionnaires into formation.
"Sir, could you remind me why we are engaging the enemy out here?" Zaryusu inquired.
"Lord. Dracul. Has. Insisted. That. The. Battle. With. Jaldabaoth's. Minions. Be. Fought. Outside. The. City. In. Order. To. Keep. The. Majority. Of. The. Fighting. Away. From. Any. Survivors. And. Minimize. The. Interference. The. Teams. That. Are. Infiltrating. The. City. Will. Encounter," Cocytus informed his protégé.
"You said that Jaldabaoth used to serve Lord Dracul, what is he like?" Zaryusu asked.
"Overconfident. Cowardly. And. Arrogant. He. Always. Believed. That. He. Was. Chosen. To. End. What. He. Referred. To. As. Inferior. Beings. And. Will. See. This. As. An. Opportunity. To. Prove. That. He. Is. Superior. To. The. Supreme. One. While. Sending. His. Minions. At. Us. In. Order. To. Keep. Us. Away. From. His. Fight. With. Our. Lord," Cocytus boomed.
"I see, so Lord Dracul intends to use Jaldabaoth's pride against him?" Zaryusu stated more than asked.
"Yes. Knowing. Jaldabaoth. He. Will. Not. Care. What. Happens. Out. Here. As. Long. As. We. Are. Kept. Away," Cocytus confirmed. "He. Will. Likely. Send. Out. His. Demon. Hordes. Out. To. Attack. Us. Without. Any. Strategy. In. Mind. Although. We. Have. Advantage. In. Terms. Of. Strategy. And. Strength. The. Demons. Have. A. Numerical. Advantage. So. Be. Alert. Conserve. Your. Energy. And. Don't. Let. Yourself. Get. Swarmed."
"So that's why the army is gathered behind us, correct?" Zaryusu surmised as he glanced at the formation the Eternal Legion had taken. The legionnaires had formed a long curved wall in order to keep any demons who managed to get past Cocytus or Zaryusu from escaping.
"Yes. You. And. I. Will. Be. The. First. Line. Of. Defense. Kabein. Will. Direct. Our. Forces. From. The. Back. In. Order. To. Keep. As. Many. Of. The. Demons. From. Fleeing. Into. The. Countryside. As. Possible," Cocytus declared.
"Speaking of demons," Zaryusu spoke up as he pointed at the Holy City. From the flames that surrounded the city emerged an enormous army of numerous types of demons. The larger demons stomped forward roaring and bellowing as the smaller demons howled, screeched, and jeered in sharp contrast to the silent undead army. Zaryusu drew Frost Pain and pointed it at the enemy while Cocytus flourished four enormous broadswords.
"Make ready!" Kabein bellowed. The Death Knights and Skull Knights responded by using their massive shields to form a shield wall with enough space in between their shields for them to stab forward with their swords as the Elder Liches took to the air to provide aerial support with their spells. The Dark Paladins spread out behind the shield wall in case any of the enemies managed to get past the knights while their smaller counterparts, the Vampire Knights, joined Cocytus and Zaryusu up at the front. The demons, taking notice of the army of the undead that awaited them, started charging towards the Eternal Legion in a frenzy. There was no planning, no clever tactics, and no thought as the demons screeched and threw themselves at the enemy. It was as if someone had opened a floodgate and allowed everything it had been holding back to spill forth in a surge of violence and bloodlust. With the stat boosts that had been applied by the Evil Lords to all the demons improving their combat abilities, the demons were much stronger than when they employed during the Demonic Disturbance. The lower level spawns, such as the Imps, Gazer Devils, Hellhounds, and Demons Swarms were the first to charge towards the Eternal Legion giggling manically and jeering closely followed by the Devourers and Vashiks. Vashiks were large humanoid demons with heads much like that of a black four horned goat with yellow eyes and were always baring their jagged sharp teeth. Their muscular upper bodies were clad in studded black leather armor and their arms were wrapped in barbed wire while their legs were those of a black goat and they were wielding spiked morning stars, flail maces, angular sickles, vicious looking war axes, and serrated machetes. As the lower level demons engaged the Vampire Knights in a vicious melee, the larger creatures tried to break through the shield wall only to be met with fierce resistance. Cocytus found himself locked in an intense duel with three Devourers and a Vashik. Unfortunately for the demons, Cocytus was the finest swordsman there was and since he had a weapon in all four of his hands he found such opponents to be child's play. Have you ever seen the Star Wars prequels? Cocytus here was pulling some General Grievous shit on these assholes. The massive insectoid continued to carve through the approaching demons like an unstoppable whirlwind of sharp metal and any who managed to get close enough to him to land a hit on him were frozen by the constant freezing mist. Zaryusu eliminated whatever demons he could and froze the ones couldn't kill by using Frost Pain's special abilities leaving them for Cocytus. As he cut down another Vashik, Cocytus glanced up at the smoke covered sky and, with his advanced perception, sensed several undead creatures flying overhead.
Phase. Two. Has. Begun.
Prince Zanac paced back and forth in his father's….no….HIS throne room. He and the remaining nobles was holding a conference with the remaining loyal nobles, all of whom were members of the Noble Faction, led by Count Ritton and Marquis Raeven. The Royal Faction was practically dissolved as a result of many of them fleeing the Kingdom, collaborating the National Liberation Party, or being killed out of anger as people hunted nobles down for supporting a king who had led countless people into the single biggest military disaster in the history of the Re-Estize Kingdom. Over the last few months, countless more nobles had been killed, including more members of the royal family such as Renner's two older sisters and even any other extended family. Nobody knew who was committing these murders, but a few witnesses had claimed that they had seen a man in a skull mask carry out the hits. For some reason, however, Zanac hadn't been informed of these developments until recently and in his paranoia he had ordered that at least ten royal guards be with him at all times.
"Have we received any word from Ijaniya?" Zanac demanded.
"Yes, your majesty," Ritton replied smugly. "Although their attempt to kill your sister was thwarted by members of the National Liberation Party, they have tracked her to E-Pespel and have begun searching for her. I have no doubt that they will eliminate that brat and deprive the National Liberation Party of its figurehead."
"Good. Good," Zanac sighed as he held a hand to his pudgy face. If Renner was killed, the National Liberation Party would lose support, make many current members abandon the rebellion, and would make it easier to root them out. "What of all the mercenaries we've hired?"
"After I took possession of every several deceased nobles' fortunes, I hired every worker, mercenary, and bandit I could and have been paying them to keep the commoners in line," Ritton smirked. "Since the National Liberation Party fled the city a few months ago, we have wiped out every other rebel cell within Re-Estize, so the capital is secure. All that's left is to tie up loose ends, which we can truly undertake once Renner is dead." Several nobles let out sighs of relief and started cheering.
"It's about damn time."
"Things are finally going our way again, as it should be."
"Meh."
"Filthy commoners. To think that they would that they would rise above their station and cause us so much trouble. We need to put them back in their place."
"Indeed. It's time the natural order finally reasserted itself."
Raeven managed to keep himself from scoffing at these delusional fools who were desperately trying to save a sinking ship even though, whether they liked it or not, the ship had already sunk and they just hadn't realized it yet. When Ritton said "the capitol is secure" he failed to mention that Re-Estize had essentially become a ghost town now that most of the peasants had fled the city and that the cutthroats the Noble Faction had hired were running around all over the city doing whatever they want. Any semblance of civility that had once existed in the Kingdom's capitol had completely vanished.
It's unfortunate that this had to happen, but Lord Dracul's will is law.
"Your majesty, what should we do about the Immortal Emperor?" Raeven spoke up. At the mention of the vampire who was responsible for the current state of the Re-Estize Kingdom, the atmosphere in the room went from elated to a mixture of depressed, angry, and fearful.
"We can't do anything," Zanac admitted with a bitter expression on his face. "Lucifer Dracul is an enemy we cannot even hope to defeat, especially given the current state of the Kingdom. With our country divided as it is we wouldn't be able to amass an army of any size and the mercenaries we hired, however greedy they may be, are not foolish enough to confront the Immortal Emperor."
"As much as I hate to admit it, I agree," Ritton commented. "That filthy undead abomination is truly a monster worthy of the title of Antichrist. The power he displayed at Katze Plains makes one think of the legends of the Six Great Gods and the Eight Greed Kings."
"Our best bet is to appease him and keep his attention off of us until the Slane Theocracy inevitably makes their move against him," Raeven announced.
"Then what?" a noblewoman asked.
"Pray to whatever gods you believe in that the Theocracy wins," Ritton grumbled. "If they fail then it will mark the end of humanity's rule and it will only be a matter of time until the Eternal Empire swallows up the rest of the world."
"Should we prepare to assist the Theocracy when the time comes?" Zanac suggested.
"If Gazef or Blue Rose still served us then I would agree, but with the Kingdom divided then there is no guarantee we can get them to work with us when the Theocracy finally challenges that accursed vampire and without them then we really don't stand a chance against the Eternal Legion, even less so the Immortal Emperor himself," Raeven said.
"Agreed," Ritton sighed. "I hate to admit it, but that bastard has us completely outmatched."
"We can't even rely on Razor Edge now. Ever since the Battle of Katze Plains when Gazef handed his sword over before surrendering to Lucifer it has been in the hands of Renner's lapdog: Climb," Zanac fumed.
"Let's hope it doesn't prove to be a problem for Ijaniya," Raeven said, knowing full well that it wouldn't make a difference.
Gondo was ecstatic to finally get to see the Eternal Empire. He and the Runesmiths were part of a caravan being protected by Death Knights that had almost arrived at their destination: Carne Village. Although the presence of the undead creatures made them slightly uneasy, they were kept calm by the knowledge that Lucifer Dracul wanted them to work for him and by Gondo's elation. It was hard to be anxious about the situation with the way Gondo was displaying his newfound positive outlook. They had gotten so used to his excited ramblings that they almost didn't notice when he tried to get their attention.
"Hey! There's someone in the middle of the road!" Gondo shouted. Sure enough, lying face down in the middle of the road was a feminine figure in rags. Two Death Knights immediately converged on the unconscious woman in order to deal with the possible threat closely followed by Gondo and a few other dwarves who wanted to make to make sure she was alright.
"She's still breathing!" one of the dwarves shouted as he and his friend lifted her by her shoulders.
"Do you think she's a citizen of the Immortal Emperor?" the other dwarf asked nervously.
"If she is, then what is she doing this far from Nazarick?" Gondo murmured as he brushed the girl's blonde hair out of her face. That's when he finally noticed the ears. "She's an elf?"
"What should we do Gondo? She's beat up pretty bad," a red bearded dwarf spoke up.
"We can't just leave her here. Load her up onto the cart! We'll take her to a priest when we arrive at Carne Village!" Gondo ordered.
Three dozen Skeleton Dragons soared through the smog filled sky, seven of them were carrying the teams that were assigned to face the Evil Lords while the rest were there to protect the teams from any interference on Jaldabaoth's part.
"We are approaching the drop sites!" Momon shouted over the wind. "Is everyone ready?"
"You can count on us, Momon!" Evileye proclaimed.
"R-ready!" Climb cried with a sickly expression on his face.
"Hang in there Sir Climb," Sebas consoled him. "Once we're on the ground I'm certain your motion sickness will subside."
"Let's get this over with," Corvo growled. Mori didn't say a word as his eyes narrowed. He could've sworn he saw something moving through the smoke ahead. As the got closer and closer to the city, Mori was finally able to make out the shape of a large, dragon-like abomination with rib-like spikes jutting out from their bodies at awkward angles.
"Is that a Stygius?" he muttered to himself. His eyes widened when not one Stygius, but five Stygi emerged from the smoke closely followed by dozens of other Stygi, their light-green glowing eyes fixed on the Skeleton Dragons and flames dancing within their maws dripping with molten material.
"Here they come!" Mori yelled just as the bright orange flames of the Stygi collided with the dark purple flames of the Skeleton Dragons. In the midst of the chaos, the seven Skeleton Dragons carrying the teams swooped down to the city of Roble and hovered just above the buildings for their passengers to jump off. Most of the groups managed to do so without any trouble, but a few of the Skeleton Dragons were knocked off balance by the Stygi attacks with Momon's group's being one of them. Evileye and Nabe used flight magic to hover safely to the ground while Momon expertly spun through the air and landed on his feet leaving a dent where he landed.
"Are you alright Momon?" Evileye asked as the armored behemoth unsheathed the swords on his back.
"I'm fine, but I suggest you turn your attention to what's ahead of us," Momon responded as he flourished his swords and prepared for battle. Evileye turned to where Momon was looking to see a mob of Gazer Devils, Hellhounds, and Vashiks.
"[Twin Maximize Magic: Chain Lightning]!" Nabe shouted as a stream of lightning erupted from her hands and engulfed the enemy.
"[Maximize Magic: Shard Buck Shots]!" Evileye cried as countless crystal shards were flung at the demons, stabbing them, cutting them, eviscerating them, impaling them, or harming them in other ways. Momon shot forward like an arrow and began cutting a swath of death and destruction through the demon horde like a whirlwind of sharp metal as he started working his way to the Vashiks. The sounds of combat echoed throughout the city as, just not Momon's group, but all the groups began encountering some form of resistance.
The entirety of the Great Forest of Tob shook as Mortis landed, although calling it a forest was rather inaccurate. Most of the trees were gone and structures of an architectural design he had never seen before covered the land. Someone was building a massive city here. Construction, however, had temporarily ceased seeing as how he had just landed in front of a heavily fortified structure and was now looking down at several women dressed as maids being led by a woman wearing a kimono who was playfully twirling a katana.
"Hello there," she greeted. "My name is Aureole Omega, and these are my fellow members of the Pleiades: Yuri Alpha, CZ Delta, and Entoma Zeta. We are servants of the Immortal Emperor Lucifer Dracul."
"Hello human. I am Mortis, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord," Mortis announced. "Care to explain why you and your little friends were so brave or stupid enough to come out here and stand before me?"
"That's easy. It's because you're trespassing in the territory of the Immortal Emperor and so it's only natural that we have to detain you for questioning," Omega replied as if there was nothing wrong with that statement before turning her attention to the WCI chained around his neck. Her eyes widened momentarily as she recognized it as Five Elements Overcoming. "That is a very beautiful scroll you have around your neck. I'm sure my master will forgive this offense if you hand it over." Mortis's eyes narrowed when he heard the human woman mention his scroll.
Do they perhaps know what it? I do not know who this Lucifer Dracul is, but I will NOT let him put his hands on MY scroll.
"You'll have to pry it from my rotting corpse!" Mortis roared as he spewed fire at the group of women only for Entoma to jump in front of the flames and use her Hard Armor Bug to block the flames.
Impossible! How is that small creature able to block my flames with nothing but a shield?
Mortis swung his claws down at the woman only to be blocked by Yuri's fists. He couldn't believe his eyes. Even if she was struggling, how was this small creature able to match his strength? It didn't make any sense. He didn't have time to contemplate this however as his wings was suddenly bombarded by high velocity rounds from CZ's assault rifle crippling him and preventing him from escaping causing the massive dragon to growl in pain. Taking advantage of the beast's distraction as CZ continued to shoot at the overgrown lizard, Yuri delivered eight devastating blows to each of the dragon's limbs while Omega rushed forward, cut through the chain around Mortis's neck, and, before he could react, grabbed Five Elements Overcoming.
"Filthy creatures!" Mortis bellowed. "You will suffer for that!"
"Aw, I think we hurt his feelings," Entoma said in a mockingly sweet tone as summoned her Thousand Whip Bug and unleashed a flurry of strikes. Mortis, livid at how these arrogant creatures dared to take what was his, decided he had enough of these women let out an earthshaking roar as he became enveloped in a dark aura.
"Enough! [Wild Magic: Dark St-"
"[Purifying Javelin]!" a female voice shouted as a projectile tore through Mortis. The massive dragon let out a roar of pain that could be heard from E-Rantel. Never before in his mind bogglingly long existence had he felt such pain. He turned his ferocious gaze to face the vermin who DARED to confront and found himself staring down a short vampire clad in crimson armor and wielding some sort of lance.
"My, my," Shalltear smirked as she stepped forward brandishing Spuit Lance. "I finally get back from the Dwarf Kingdom expecting to find construction to be nearly complete but instead I find the Pleiades goofing off with an overgrown lizard."
Jircniv, Albedo, and Lucifer stared out at the city of Roble observing the vicious conflict happening just outside the city between his undead legion and the demon hordes, the battle for air superiority between the Stygi and his Skeleton Dragons, and finally, what Lucifer had been waiting for, the signs of fights breaking out within the city.
"My lord," Albedo spoke up. "Is it time for you to confront the traitor, Jaldabaoth?"
"Indeed it is, Albedo," Lucifer confirmed with a nod as he began to hover off the ground. "Return to Nazarick and await my return. Jaldabaoth will die before the sun rises."
"Good luck my lord," Jircniv lied through gritted teeth, secretly hoping that his master and Jaldabaoth would kill each other. "I pray for your victory."
[Demiurge, it's time. Send out the seven Evil Lords and prepare yourself. I will be above the Grand Cathedral.]
[As you say my lord.]
And with that, Lucifer took off and began flying towards the city, only stopping once he was directly above the Grand Cathedral, or what was left of it, and after clearing his throat and magically amplifying his voice so that everyone could hear him, he opened his mouth.
"Jaldabaoth!" he shouted, causing every head in the city, human, demon, or otherwise to turn towards him. "Your master has arrived! Come out and face a traitor's death!"
"Lord Dracul, is that really the appropriate way to greet an old friend?" came a familiar condescending voice from about 30 meters behind, whose voice was also magically amplified so that everyone could hear their conversation. Lucifer turned his cold smile towards the masked face of Jaldabaoth, clad in a black suit and a cloak made from Angela's feathers, who gave a mocking bow.
"Lord Dracul, it's a pleasure to see your esteemed form once again," Jaldabaoth sneered. "How long has it been? Nearly 800 years, correct? Although I suppose it seems like a much shorter amount of time considering how we were sealed away. You seal me away with that accursed ritual and you get sealed away by the very same ritual by a couple of human loving fools. Ironic isn't it?"
"Yes, very ironic," Lucifer replied with a roll of his eyes.
"We do not have to be enemies my lord. Join me and we can wipe out the scum of humanity together and take our rightful place as their rulers!"
"I'll have to decline. Wiping out an entire species seems to be a terrible waste."
"I had a feeling you would say that," Jaldabaoth admitted in an exaggeratedly disappointed sigh. "I will ever understand your compassion for mankind."
"No, I don't expect you would," Lucifer responded coldly. "I'll make this simple for you. Surrender now and I'll make your death quick and painless. Don't, and I will ensure you spend your afterlife in eternal suffering."
"I'm flattered that you would put in so much effort on my behalf," Jaldabaoth said mockingly. "Do allow me to put up some form of resistance."
"I'd expect nothing less," Lucifer smirked.
"[Evil Overload]!"
"[Zebel Blast]!"
When the black energy of [Zebel Blast] collided with red energy of [Evil Overload], the resulting explosion shook the heavens and the earth, instantly clearing the smoke that hung over Roble and sending several Skeleton Dragons and Stygi crashing to the ground. The shockwave was felt in the city as the smaller demons were sent flying, a few of the taller building tipped over and crumbled to the streets, the teams struggled not to be blown back, and every single mirror, window, or any other object made of glass shattered.
"Holy shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" Brain yelled as he grabbed onto a nearby wall in an attempt not be thrown around by the tornado-like winds. Climb was sent flying outright and wouldn't have been able to save himself if it wasn't for Sebas, who stood like a rock, grabbing him.
"This is crazy!" Climb cried. "By the time their fight is finished there might not be a city left to save!"
"Most impressive, lord Dracul!" Jaldabaoth proclaimed mockingly. "I trust you didn't put too much effort into that attack just now, did you?"
"I was afraid you needed to warm up so I had back a bit," Lucifer verbally jabbed right back. With their small mocking session over, Lucifer became engulfed in a black aura while Jaldabaoth was engulfed and the two of them suddenly shot towards each other and began colliding again and again and again. To those on the ground, it like looked like glowing orbs of black and red were flying all over the sky and repeatedly ramming into each other at a speed that the human eye could not follow.
Corvo, Ruvik, and Avenir marched straight past the demons, who simply ignored them, and into a nearby destroyed home. Inside, the Evil Lord Lust awaited them while sipping on some tea that had been laid out for her and her guests.
"Lord Attano, it is such a pleasure to see you again," Lust cooed in a seductive voice as she gazed lustfully at the grumpy Vengeful Spirit. "With all due respect, let me just say that you're looking very handsome today."
"Uh huh," Corvo grunted as he sat next to her while Ruvik and Avenir sat next to each other on the opposite side of the table.
"Avenir, looking good. Have your boobs gotten bigger? Shalltear is going to be jeeeeeealoooooous," Lust greeted the young vampire, eliciting a blush and nonsensical stammers from her. Finally, Lust turned her attention to Ruvik. "That's a big spear ya got there cutie. You compensating for something?"
"No I'm not!" Ruvik denied with a blush.
"No he isn't!" Avenir cried before realizing what she just said, turning even redder, and pulling her large black hat down over her face.
"Oh, yeah? Then prove it!" Lust exclaimed as she grabbed Ruvik's ridiculously long hair and pulled on it to force his face into her boobs that were big enough to make Albedo jealous. Ruvik struggled to escape but Lust wouldn't let him, that is, until Corvo flicked her on the forehead and got everyone's attention.
"Enough. We don't have time to be playing around," Corvo cut in before things could escalate.
"Boo. You're no fun, Corvo," Lust pouted as she pulled a document out from between her tits and handed it to Ruvik. "If you want Lord Dracul to make your wish come true then you're going to have to do as you're told. These are instructions that our lord wrote out for you. Do not fail Lord Dracul and NEVER tell ANYONE the truth about what's been going on. Understood?"
"Yes," Ruvik replied curtly after stealing a quick glance at a nervous Avenir.
"Good. Now we can either go look for Loginus or we can go down to the basement and have an orgy!" Lust proclaimed cheerfully with a fist in the air.
"We shall commence our search for Loginus immediately," Corvo deadpanned as he stood up, closely followed by a blushing Ruvik and Avenir.
"Wait for me! Why does no one love me?" Lust cried as she let out fake sobs for a few moments before turning dead serious. "You get that sexy undead ass back here."
"Ruvik?" Avenir whimpered.
"Yeah?" Ruvik responded shakily.
"I'm scared."
"Me too, Avenir. Me too."
Gargan swung her war pick, Fel Iron, down onto the last Hellhound killing it instantly.
"Is that all of them?" Gargan asked.
"I think so!" Tina shouted back.
"Ditto!" Tia chimed in.
"Good work everyone, now we should focus on finding Jaldabaoth's lieutenants!" Lakyus declared.
"How can you be sure we'll find one?" Gargan inquired.
"With all the noise we just made fighting these demons, I think they'll be the ones finding us," Lakyus said with a smirk.
"Clever little humans," a gurgling voice commented from up around the corner. Blue Rose took up fighting stances as the bloated form of Gluttony rounded the corner on his spider-like legs. "My, my. You all look delicious, especially the big one. Yes, I could eat you up. In fact, I think I will." With that said, Gluttony opened his mouths and started spewing acid all over the place.
"Gross," Tina deadpanned.
Zur, Mori, Oras, Cedran, Garuna, and Kuaiesse were inside a chapel inside the Holy Palace looking for Loginus, as per the secret orders that the Cardinal of Darkness had given them were. The temple was in shambles. Holy symbols were desecrated, altars destroyed, furniture and windows shattered, not to mention the blood that was all over the place.
"Have you guys found anything?" Kuaiesse asked as he brushed some of his blonde hair out of his face.
"I'm afraid not," Mori replied.
"Nothing," Cedran grunted as Garuna and Zur shook their heads.
"This is dumb!" Oras complained. "We're the Black Scripture! We should be fighting demons and the Immortal Emperor instead of rummaging through palaces looking for artifacts." Cedran cringed at the thought of the Immortal Emperor. Once the unholy energy had been purged from his body and he had finally been revived, the others brought him up to speed on current events. The moment he heard that the father of all vampires had begun taking over the world he was up in arms and was ready to take the fight to the unholy, but it turned out that the situation was more complicated than that. The Slane Theocracy FULLY intended to destroy Lucifer Dracul, but his power was on a level that even the Six Great Gods couldn't take him on in a fair fight. They had to play it smart, he understood that. But no matter what happened, he would do his best to protect his comrades. He hoped Kaire, who was like a mother to him, wouldn't be bedridden much longer. Her wounds had been purified at long last and she was regaining her strength, but her old age was causing her recovery to take more time. Time they weren't sure that they had. The Eternal Empire was swallowing up countries left and right. It was only a matter of time before Father Blood set his sights on the Theocracy and attempted to exterminate them.
"Calm yourself Oras," Mori said in his usual sage-like voice. "Finding and using Loginus is our best chance to defeat the Immortal Emperor."
"I can beat him! If I just used my [Stop Time] I could-"
"Don't be foolish," Zur said in a scathing tone. "Did you learn nothing from your fight with Corvo? Your precious ability is NOT perfect."
"The hell you say?
"If Corvo, who can't even use magic, can negate your [Stop Time] then how easy do you think it will be for the Immortal Emperor?" Oras didn't like what Zur was saying but he also couldn't refute it so he simply let out an unhappy huff.
"Smart old man," came a rasping voice from behind them. They turned around to see Sloth take long, lanky steps into the room with his long crooked arms dragging across the floor do to the extremity of his slouch. The moment he entered the room, they could feel the room get colder and colder, the kind of cold that makes you sleepy. The members of the Black Scripture, except Zur who was secretly an undead, could feel their limbs become heavy and they struggled to keep their eyes open, but not a single one of them fell asleep. "Still awake? Let me remedy that. [Create Sandman]." As those words left Sloth's mouth, a tall, lanky creature wearing a dark brown trench coat, torn tan pants, a fedora, and a backpack with body parts sticking out it appeared wielding a bloodied pickaxe. It turned its face towards them revealing a twisted grin, a ridiculously long pointed nose, dirty shoulder-length red hair, and empty eye sockets that sand never stopped pouring from. The only noise it made as it lunged at them was heavy breathing.
Sebas blocked yet another strike from Greed's scythe with his forearm. There had been no conversation or monologue when the Greed found the three of them, just a shared look of determination between the demon and the Dragonoid followed by a brutal melee. Climb and Brain tried their best to help Sebas, but ultimately Climb proved to be practically useless against the powerful entity while Freddon and Brain, although strong by this world's standard's, were only capable of distracting the demon.
"Not bad. For a human, that is," Greed growled at Sebas as he once again "attempted" to slice through Nazarick's butler. Sebas didn't say word as the two of them reengaged in a vicious melee.
"Brain," Climb spoke up. "Do you ever get the feeling that you're completely useless?"
"Increasingly," Brain sighed.
"You get used to it," Freddon shrugged as he wiped some sweat from his forehead.
The Cardinal of Light couldn't believe what he was doing, rummaging around some filthy sewers like a peasant, only able to see because of the light that shined through the sewer grates, getting his robes dirty and smelly, hell, doing manual labor. That's what servants and soldiers were for! Still, if he was to ensure that whatever Dracul was planning failed then he would have to take matters into his own hands. What was he going to do? Well, he hadn't thought that far ahead.
The Six Gods will protect me and guide me. How could they not? I am the Cardinal of Light!
Just as that thought ran through his head, he heard an explosion nearby. Peering through one of the grates, and staying as silent as he could, he could see Gazef, Fluder, Baziwood, Nimble, and Leinas fighting Envy in the street right across from the Holy Palace.
Leave it to those who are less important to fight for their betters.
Just as he started to trudge on, he felt his foot hit something. Afraid it was a trap, he immediately looked down in fear and saw…..
Truly, this is proof that the gods favor me.
His face split into a psychotic grin as he bent down to pick the object up.
"Your days are numbered Lucifer Dracul."
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" Evileye cried as Wrath made a B-line for her.
"You won't escape me this time puny human!" Wrath roared as he swiped his massive claws at the diminutive vampire. Before Evileye could react or make any move to defend herself, a gigantic black blade courtesy of Momon deflected Wrath's attack. "Get out of my way human!"
"Perhaps you should stop paying so much attention to a single person and pay more attention to your surroundings," Momon stated calmly. Wrath's eyes widened momentarily as he caught sight of Nabe in his peripheral vision.
"[Maximize Magic: Lightning]!" she chanted, unleashing a powerful thunderbolt upon the demon causing him roar in pain.
"It doesn't matter!" Wrath bellowed. "One human! Two humans! A million humans! I'll kill you all!"
"Dancssssssssse feeble humansssssssss, dancsssssssse!" Pride laughed as the tentacles on his back lashed out at Angela, Vega, and Zenberu. Vega was having some difficulty keeping up with an entity this powerful with nothing but his war axes and the only thing that had allowed him to narrowly evade Pride's attacks several times had been his extensive knowledge of martial arts. Angela, although just as skilled as Vega, was struggling as she was still adjusting to her lack of wings while Zenberu was unable to land a single blow. Overall they were horribly outmatched, but their objective had never been to win. Their only purpose was to survive and stall the demons.
"[Holy Nova]!" Angela cried as she created yet another explosion of holy energy in an attempt to hurt Pride but he simply laughed it off and smacked her away with one of his inky black tentacles sending tumbling across the street. As she struggled to stand to her feet, she looked up at the night sky and watched the black and red auras of Jaldabaoth and Lucifer clash again and again.
Lucifer Dracul, vampire or not, you had better not let that damn demon win!
Lucifer let out a sinister cackle as he and Jaldabaoth collided once again, his usual cold smirk replaced by a full-fledged evil grin. The damage they had inflicted upon each other was minimal but they were certainly making a good show out of it moving lightning fast and releasing shockwaves that shook the earth each time they collided. However, now that everyone had engaged the enemy, it was time to start the main event. The vampire and the demon collided one more time before backing off and putting a considerable distance between each other.
"[Triple Maximize Magic: Hemorrhagic Spear]!" Lucifer exclaimed as three large, dark red spikes that appeared to be made of frozen blood appeared around him and shot towards Jaldabaoth, who countered with a spell of his own.
"[Evil Overload]! [Evil Ray]!" Jaldabaoth countered, using the resulting explosion to knock the spikes off course and away from his before following up with a counterattack.
"[Wall of Skeletons]!" Lucifer chanted, summoning a literal wall of skeletons hiding him from view as well as protecting him from the blast.
"[Aspect of the Devil: Archdemon's Wrist]!" Jaldabaoth roared with grim satisfaction as his fist enlarged and crashed through the [Wall of Skeletons]. However, his sense of satisfaction almost instantly disappeared as the debris from his attack, mostly bits of bone that had gone flying all over the place, cleared and Lucifer was nowhere to be found. Just before he could spin around to look for Lucifer, the vampire tackled him from behind sending them both crashing into the top floor of ruined Holy Palace.
"Well, I don't think any of them are close enough to hear us," Lucifer stated calmly as he got off of Jaldabaoth and walked past the "Hellmouth" (disguised [Gate]) and sat down on the deceased Queen Hope's throne. "Has everything gone according to plan?"
"For the most part, my lord," Jaldabaoth replied as he straightened his suit and bowed. "My demons have ravaged the entirety of the Holy Kingdom, while making sure to preserve most of the infrastructure for our use later of course, making sure to butcher every single last high ranking government official so that even if Ms. Pious tries to back out of your agreement now, there really isn't anyone left capable of running the country. Lusst has made the appropriate arrangements with Ruvik to solidify the arrangements he and Avenir made during the Diet, though I won't comment on the other Unfortunately, despite searching through every location where it would logical to hide Loginus, even searching the homes of high ranking government officials and priests, we could not find it. Forgive me my lord."
"I see," Lucifer sighed. "Question Hope about it later. I don't particularly care what happens to it as long as it is not in the hands of our enemy. Despite the extensive security that usually surrounds me, there is a slight chance of an assassin managing to eliminate me if they're lucky and are able to get close enough to use that infernal thing."
"As you say my lord. However, we did manage to gain some useful information from a shipyard in one of the coastal cities," Demiurge reported as he handed over a document marked with a symbol that belonged to none of the surrounding countries. "It seems that the Holy Kingdom is engaged in some overseas trading, albeit a miniscule amount. The two countries involved have had very little contact with each other and only met about three years ago. It seems that the knowledge of another country overseas is not common knowledge here and has been kept secret by order of Queen Hope due to religious differences.
"I see," Lucifer murmured, although he hadn't actually been listening. He had stopped listening the moment he laid eyes on the symbol.
That symbol is the goddamn Imperial Crest from the Elder Scrolls! Motherfucking Tamriel is on this planet!? Whatever let's see what the letter says.
Honorable Queen Hope Paradis Pious,
I hope this letter finds you well and that the Holy Kingdom continues to thrive. The enchanted weapons you sent have made a significant difference in the Empire's war against the Aldmeri Dominion. However, war is breaking out on an increasing number of fronts and those weapons are critical in allowing us to push the fight back to the Summerset Isles. Emperor Titus Mede II promises to personally thank you and triple trading with your kingdom once this war is won.
Humbly, General Hasone Dorerius, commander of the 8th Legion
So the Great War is underway during this time period. That means there's about 25 years until the events of Skyrim. Since that's the only Elder Scrolls game that I've ever played or know jack shit about, then that would be the perfect time to try to take over Tamriel. That's 25 ears to assert my dominance over this land and concoct a plan to take over. The only variable that will be hard to account for will be the Dragonborn's actions. Whatever! Once again I have a quarter of a century to make an appropriate plan.
"For the now we will avoid making contact with this "Tamriel" and focus on this continent for the time being. I will inform you when it is time to make our move."
"Very well milord. But what shall we do if any of them try to come over here?"
"Capture them, interrogate them, and eliminate them. We'll make an excuse when the time comes."
"As you decree. But what should be done about our current scenario? We do want these pathetic mortals to witness the defeat of Jaldabaoth, correct?"
"Trust me Demiurge," Lucifer smirked. "I'm quite certain that we will have everyone's attention. But for now we should ensure that you look damaged enough to make you look beaten."
The Cardinal of Light was panting as he hauled himself back out of the tunnels and into the fresh air outside Roble. The old man was tired and his robes were dirtied, but the mad gleam in his eyes spoke of a sort of manic energy and a sense of accomplishment. He rushed over back to the old fort and immediately started yelling at the Theocracy's soldiers.
"You there! Get me a carriage this instant!" he demanded.
"Sir?" one of the soldiers spoke up. "Where did you go? We were afraid that-"
"Never mind that! Do as I have instructed!"
"But sir, the other cardinals are overseeing the battle with Senator Jircniv and the other representatives. Wouldn't it be best if you joined them?"
"I don't have time for that! It is imperative that I return to Humanika to speak with the Archbishop immediately!"
"Very well, your grace," the soldier sighed as he and a few other soldiers rushed off to secure the Cardinal of Light's carriage. The Cardinal of Light wore a sick grin as he watched them run off.
Soon your fate will be sealed Lucifer Dracul and I will be remembered as the man who saved the world.
The top floor of the Holy Temple exploded in a blast of crimson radiance, completely exposing the former throne room. Lucifer Dracul stood in front of the Hellmouth enveloped in a red aura bright enough for even those who were fighting just outside of Roble could see what was happening. Equally attention grabbing, was Jaldabaoth who was down on all fours before Lucifer struggling to get up. Those who were in the city limits could see what was happening much clearer than those outside, although it was only silhouettes. All fighting, inside or outside of the city stopped. Everyone's attention was on the vampire and the demon. No one made sound as Lucifer picked up the feebly struggling Jaldabaoth and held him over his head.
"Jaldabaoth," Lucifer's voice boomed for all to hear, despite speaking in his usual soft yet commanding tone. "For your crimes against countless mortals, you are hereby banished to a hell of your own making where I will personally ensure you spend eternity suffering in. I hope suffering gives you some manner of insight into the pain you have caused." And with that, Lucifer tossed a dramatically howling Jaldabaoth into the Hellmouth (disguised [Gate]) and, with a clenching of his fist, sealed it shut causing it to vanish as if it had never been there.
"He actually did it."
"By the gods."
"Meh."
"Took him long enough."
"Dammit."
"He really is stronger than Momon," Evileye grumbled before turning her attention back to Wrath, who she found was bowing Lucifer's direction.
"To all you creatures who served Jaldabaoth, you have two options," Luicfer's magically amplified voice continued. "Either bow down and serve me or face summary execution. Decide now!"
"We will serve!" thousands of demonic voices roared in response.
The Cardinal of Light sat alone in his carriage as he and an escort of the Theocracy's soldiers on horseback finally began to head back to Humanika. Glancing out the windows to make sure no one was watching, he removed the item he found in the sewers from his robes and caressed it softly with a mad glint in his eyes joined with a creepy smile adorning his features. It was a softly glowing golden pyramid that seemed to shine with a divine aura.
"Finally, after all these years, Loginus belongs to the Theocracy again."
I'm going to be completely honest here. I am not happy with how this one turned out but I am GODDAMN SICK of writing and rewriting this one chapter so you know what? Fuck it. I'll come back and fix it up later. As for the Skyrim shit, that will not be included in this story. That will be focus of the next story and will be ith the Overlord Crossovers once this story is finished and I WILL FINISH THIS STORY. Yes. I know. I took forever on this one.