Chapter 23 is here and I hope all of you will enjoy it. Welcome to the Lord of the Flies arc.

Chapter 23
"Forgotten Lord"

"But I also would like to know how you met him." Lucifugus spoke before Emissary could begin "The way you speak of him. He must have left quite an impression on you."

The way he spoke almost felt like he was about to hear a joke. And in a way... Emissary felt the same.

"Honestly... the first impression wasn't the best really." Emissary almost started chuckling as he thought about that day "Because the first time I met him was long before he became the enemy of yours..." He pointed at Lucifugus "Or rather... He possibly started to become one..."

"Hmm?" Emissary could tell that Lucifugus now was even more curious and so were those other Devils of his

"Yeah... The first time I met my Lord was in the Valley of Rotting Mountains." Emissary looked at the ceiling for a moment... thinking about them "I hope you remember them Lord Lucifugus..."

Lucifugus didn't answer for a minute once Emissary finished. Seems like he was trying to remember what he meant. In the meantime Pen spoke to Healer in a whisper.

"What are Rotting Mountains?"

"I really don't know..." Healer sounded really lost

It seemed like this was rather surprising for Pen. Then Lucifugus finally spoke up.

"Yes... I remember something..." Lucifugus had his eyes closed and slowly nodded his head, probably tried to see what was hidden in his mind "Those were the Mountains that constantly changed shape, this process looked as if the Mountains were rotting away. But not much besides that. They existed a LONG time ago..." Lucifugus's emphasis on long was still somehow an understatement "Several thousand years at least."

"Yes, that would be correct." Emissary smiled a bit as his memories starting going back to them "Their everchanging nature made them one of my favorite places to be in. I went there every few days to see a new landscape they created." He looked up into the ceiling again "And one day among those Mountains I met him..."

In the past

The High Devil slowly climbed the mountain. The view from here was as bland as anything else in this damn world, but the true price was the sight on top. He still tried to remember what caused him to always climb them without using his wings, but no matter how many times he tells himself he will think this through he always ends up forgetting about it. This day was no different as he was climbing the steep wall made of rotting rocks. Well actually... this day was a bit different... Because now as he climbed he came across something... odd.

It was a very strange sight for him. As he was walking up the Mountain to see the Valley he noticed a strange, big, black, round thing among the terraforming rocks. Once he got closer he saw it slightly expand and then shrink down after a moment, then again and again... this process repeated itself rhythmically. It looked as if this rock was breathing. Then once he was close enough to it he realized this wasn't a rock. It was a Devil curled up on the ground. He was huge, even in this state he was slightly bigger than him and his horns and tail were in the shape of a spiral. His long, black hair reaching the ground below him and humanoid shape also made him realize that this Devil must have been at least a High one like him. It was confusing, what was a Devil like him doing here? And as he investigated further he saw something even stranger. This Devil had his hands buried in the ground for some reason. Most unusual sight.

"Hello."

Then he heard a voice and then he saw this Devil looking up at him, finally noticing his presence. His voice was quiet and meek, his face was about the same. His look was both young and old looking for a Devil. There were several wrinkles around his eyes and lips, but his face despite that still looked relatively young. This Devil also had a long... goatee? He believes that's what it's called... That strange new thing with facial hair some Highs have going on. He seemed extremely serene, but there was something strangely ominous about him.

"Uhhh... Hello...?"

And he himself didn't really know how to respond. Another High one was greeting him like this as if nothing strange was going on, as if they knew each other for years. At this point they would already be tearing each other apart and yet this Devil seemed extremely peaceful. It unnerved him.

"Who-"

"What are you doing here?"

He had no time to answer his stupid questions though. This entire scenario confused him too much already.

"Me?" The Devil was incredibly clueless

"..." He didn't say anything, just spread his hands out and looked around to empathize how there is no one else here "Yes YOU! Why are you sitting here with your hands in the ground?!"

This was too much for him. What was this fucking Devils malfunction!?

"Protecting..."

And his answer didn't help.

"Protecting?" He repeated the answer to help himself understand better what was just said to him

"Yes..."

His meek demeanor started to become infuriating.

"Protecting... WHAT!?" It was like talking to a retarded Low (so any one of them)

"Me..."

"What?" That was even stranger... "Protect yourself? From what!?"

"Me..." he answered like it's the most obvious thing in the world

...

...

The silence between them went on for a few minutes. He tried to see in his eyes if this was some sort of elaborate ambush or something, but he saw nothing. Just two red eyes that looked more like an innocent, wounded animal than a full blown High Devil. That was enough for Emissary. He decided to just leave him be and slowly backed away.

"Great... Keep doing that..." He put two thumbs in the air as he backed away from him "I definitely don't hope for you to jump off of this-"

"WAIT!"

The sudden shift in that Devils voice was too startling for him and caused him to fall on his backside, making him quite angry.

"WHAT!?" he screamed at him with great fury

"Where are you going?" And his tone went back to his usual meekness

He really had enough already with this retarded High.

"Are you...I..." He almost went in to choke him, but he stopped himself halfway through "Okay, I go to watch the landscape of this place. I like to see how it changes, now if you excuse me-"

"I also liked doing it!" Strange High answered, this time in a bit more normal tone.

"Okay? Great. So what!?" This was getting VERY annoying.

"Can you describe it for me once you walk back?"

...

He had no words, but strangely enough his answer was...

"Sure, why not." Most unbelievable one "(WHY THE HELL AM I AGREEING TO THIS!?)" He screamed at himself in his mind, but soon this storm calmed down "(Ahh... actually why not. Either way I don't do much here. I may as well do something interesting.)"

"Thank you!" At least this Devil seemed rather happy.

But that made him realize. His magic wasn't working on this Devil... Even as he was raging without control... Something was wrong. But he quickly dismissed that thought and decided to walk away. To the top of those Mountains.

Present

"That was Lord of the Flies?!" Lucifugus sounded like he tried not to burst into laughter.

"Yes..." Emissary felt pretty defeated already

"Are you serious?! HAHAHA!" Lucifugus started laughing, making Emissary even more infuriated, but then he quickly stopped and his demeanor became more serious "Whatever you described sounds nothing like that Psycho we all fought."

"I have no reason to lie." Emissary answered honestly "It is the truth and for your information, he was no psychopath, especially compared to the likes of you!" And now he was being too honest

Those words left Lucifugus silent for a moment. Healer was slowly preparing her Healing magic and Pen seemed annoyed at Emissary for insulting his lord. And Lucifugus spoke up as he leaned closer to Emissary.

"Really now?" Lucifugus's tone was now more threatening "Because from what I heard from many Devils at the time he was wearing gloves made of Devil skin..." his words were like hundreds of knives trying to penetrate Emissary's skin at the same time "Is that true?"

"Yes." But Emissary did not even flinch

"So how is he better than me or anyone else of my kind?" Lucifugus looked like he was ready to crush him in a moments notice

"You will know soon enough." He took a step back from Lucifugus's face "Now, can I continue? Preferably without your breath clouding my mind." He covered his nose for a moment and waved his hand to make his point more clear

Lucifugus looked at him for a moment and then leaned back and waved his hand allowing him to continue. Or maybe to clear the air of his breath... Emissary couldn't really tell.

"Right." But he continued all the same "After that time I met him several times, always he was welcoming me as I was passing him by. Always in some other place, moved by Rotting Mountains. It didn't seem to be much of a problem for him and he was always eager to hear about the sight from the top and tell me how it is to travel with the rot and keeping himself from sinking deeper into the ground. Fascinating subject..."

Emissary paused for a moment... his mind returned to those talks and he was about to answer his Lords question... only to realize it was nothing more than a small illusion created by his mind. Disappointing...

"Eventually we started talking more. About the way those mountains change, about what he sees in those mountains, all kinds of creatures, in return I told him some things about my life, about the boredom and lack of purpose I felt everyday. About how I went into the mountains to... get away from the Chaos our kind creates..."

"And you never asked him for his name?" Healer asked him with a concerned tone

"I almost never felt the need and he never tried again." Emissary looked at her and then into the empty space, thinking about it "I think at some point I did try to ask him, but before I could he just asked Don't we know them already?. I didn't get it... Until he said my name and then I said his. Without realizing it we knew each other well enough to guess those names. I still don't know what that was about. Was it part of his magic? Or something else?"

Emissary paused again... still thinking about it. Was there ever an answer to that question?

"But... You never told us your name." Healer pointed out

"It's Emissary. Now and forever." Emissary said with pride "And I will not tell you My Lords name either, it's better for only someone like me to remember it. But there was one day when the only thing left for us to discuss were those damn hands. Something told me deep inside to NOT dwell on it. I tried to not think about it as much as I could, but there was one day when I was angry. Just horribly angry. My frenzy was practically driving every Devil around me into insanity and Rotting Mountains were only place secluded enough to give me some peace. But then I remembered he was there too."

In the past

"Hello!" This High again

Sometimes he regretted not flying to the top of those damn Mountains, but he HAD TO make it somewhat challenging for himself. To not go insane from boredom. But fucking Underworld did he wanted to punch him now!

"Yeah, yeah, hello!" He answered back as he moved past him

"Can you describe the sight today too?" His voice was not that meek anymore... this Devil grew way too comfortable around him

"Okay..." He stopped moving and closed his eyes as rage overcame him "Fucking hell, that's enough!"

He turned around and approached the weirdo Devil.

"JUST GO THERE ON YOU OWN ALREADY YOU TWAT!" His words were echoing in the valley

"But I-"

"NO! That's enough!" He swung his hands as he screamed at him and looked at the ground "WHAT IN THE FUCK ARE YOU HIDING UNDER THERE!?"

He pointed at the ground where his hands were.

"Please, I really-"

He had no time for this. Before that Devil finished he grabbed him by his arms and started pulling on them, trying to get him up. But for some reason his senses were screaming at him not to do it. He was using all the strength he could, but his body was actively fighting against it. WHAT WAS THERE!? GET UP YOU FUCKING RETARDED PIECE OF SHIT!

"JUST GET THE FUCK UP!" He screamed as he was trying to pull him up with all his might

It was REALLY hard, but somehow he could feel that this weirdo wasn't even struggling that much. How strong was this guy!?

"Please stop." This fucker sounded like he was about to bawl his eyes out here "I really-"

"NO!" He defied this pitiful Devil "YOU WILL SEE THAT FUCKING VALLEY ON YOUR OWN!" he screamed and pulled again

"NO!" And again

"MORE!" And again

"HIDI-"

*PULL*

And then he finally pulled his hands out and fell to the ground onto his back and his head hit one of the rocks. It was a hard hit that made him dazed for a moment. But he did it. He FINALLY did it. He never felt so much damn pride before. He quickly got up to see what was he hiding. And then as his sight cleared up, his mind went back to full speed, got up from the ground and looked upon the Devil he saw it and at this moment his heart stopped beating, his blood was frozen in his veins and he then had an urge to cut off his own hands for touching it.

The entire world went silent.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

And the storm started to form.

Present

"What was it?!" Lucifugus was very irritated "Why did you stop!?"

"..."

Emissary though felt like he was about to pass out just from remembering it. He even subconsciously covered himself with his arms... This feeling... He forgot how terrible it was...

"H-hey, is everything okay?" Pen was shaking terribly

Pen slowly walked up to him and tried to touch him, despite the clear look of pure terror in his eyes as if he was about to touch the embodiment of his worst nightmares. Healer though grabbed Pen's hand before he could and quickly pulled him away. As she did she started to cower in fear on the ground and her breath became very ragged as she looked around the Workshop. She seemed extremely afraid as well. Emissary then realized... his magic went out of control and quickly calmed himself down and regained control. Healer and Pen seemed to get more calm and he also noticed that Lucifugus himself also became less tense... Seems like even Lucifugus is not immune to his magic.

"...Continue..." Lucifugus commanded

"..." Emissary had to gather his thoughts "It was..."

And he finally spoke up, his voice was quiet and weak. Just like the voice of his Lord back then.

"A Devil..." Emissary said with little to no emotion left in him

"...What?" Lucifugus seemed underwhelmed though "So he was keeping a Devil underground? That's kind of weird, but I don't see-"

"A withered Devil, a dead Devil..." Emissary continued "With 4 horns... And a single speck of White hair left on his head..."

As he said those words Lucifugus was silent as well as Pen and Healer.

"Lord Lucifugus..." He looked him straight in the eye "He killed a Supreme Devil."

In the Past

"It...it...i-i-it's...!"

He had no words. He can't believe what he sees. A Supreme Devil's corpse in the hands of a High Devil. It was unimaginable! How!? WHY DID HE HAD A SUPREME DEVIL IN HIS HANDS!?

"He..." High Devil's voice was shaking "...attacked me..."

Devil spoke as he let go finally of this corpse. This Devils hands were as white as bone, a negative mana could be clearly seen, swirling in his hands, seeping off of them, just looking at them was making one feel terribly cold. And once the body dropped down he could see it more clearly. He was obviously dead, but something was very wrong. This Devil's Heart, seems like it was in the Middle of his chest and so were his hands, hands covered in flesh and blood and his expression was that of deep fear, his skin was seemingly melting off of his skull, 1 of his horns was broken, he had 6 eyes and they rotted away long ago and worms were now having nests in his empty eye sockets... He could see it clearly, this Supreme Devil crushed his own Heart long ago. But not out of his own free will, he was terrified as he was doing it. One of their Great Lords. A taboo unlike any other. Supreme Devil killed by a lower class. He almost puked at this sight and his hands felt more dirty than ever before.

"I.. Protected myself... I-"

This Devil though kept talking! But as he looked at him and tried to scream in rage he saw just how huge he really was. He was now standing upright. He was a giant. Easily 3 times bigger than him. He also for the first time noticed single white strands in his hair. And this presence, this power. He never felt something like that from another High one. Only... A Supreme Devil. He felt like he was about to drop on his knees.

"So... Maybe..." Devil pointed at the top of the mountain "We can watch the Valley?"

Devil asked him. It was clear he was scared. But that seemed so strange. This Devil had the power to kill a Supreme one. He had all the power in the world. What was he afraid of?!

"Who are you?"

He knew his name by instinct and yet somehow he was still a great mystery.

"A nobody..." Devil spoke as he looked upon a rotting corpse "I swear..."

It was as if it was staring back at both of them with it's long gone eyes. Condemning them for all eternity.

Present

"That was the last time I saw him in the Valley." Emissary stated in a grim one as he finished this part of his tale

"Did you at least go watch the valley with him?" Pen asked while being clearly concerned about wrong things

"Yes..." Emissary nodded "The Valley took the shape of a spiral that day, entire ecosystem living on it, it was still shifting, it was magnificent view... Looked just like My Lord's horns... It was like a sign. But for whom? I don't know anymore. We just stood there, taking in the view... The beauty... And then my Lord flew away. And I didn't see him for the next few hundred years..." He stared into the distance... He could swear he was up there again... Looking at his Lord flying away and he is unable to reach him. Not anymore "And then I went back down and buried that corpse in the Mountains, letting it be drifted away by neverending rot."

"..." Pen had no answer. He seemed uneasy about this tale.

"My Lord." Healer started speaking "Do you know who that Supreme Devil was?"

Healer asked Lucifugus who seemed to be taking in every word Emissary spoke. He was dead serious. Anyone could feel that.

"No... I have very little memories from that time." he looked down on the floor as if he is ashamed of it "I don't remember. And really, I don't think anyone remembers this Lord anymore. Do you?"

Lucifugus asked Emissary. He just shook his head.

"It was a long time ago... I stopped caring after several millenia." He answered without much emotion "But the feeling of seeing a dead Supreme One for the first time. After living under their shadow your whole life... and then see one of those invincible beings dead... at the hands of someone like you. That... you never forget."

Emissary finished and looked deep into Lucifugus's eyes... He could tell he understood. Somehow.

"So... Are you going to continue?"

Lucifugus asked him. It almost sounded like he was concerned there.

"...Yes..." He had little choice "I will."

TBC in Chapter 24
"The vision of the World Above."

This chapter was supposed to be at first just full on backstory of Lord of the Flies at first, but the story of his expanded so much that it became an intro to it. It's really odd story. But one I really liked doing.