Hello again! Before reading this chapter, please keep in mind chapter 2 was rewritten, so some parts of this may not make sense if you didn't reread it!
Also! I recently saw a review regarding Diavolo's time erasing. The review argued that Diavolo's ability was a lot more powerful than I made it out to be in chapter 1, due to the effects of time erasing being disorienting, and Diavolo being able to move at light speed.. While I do agree with a lot of the points, let's say that everyone is just on par with him due to it being a different world! Like the one punch man vs goku argument.
Finally this will be the lat chapter I post for awhile. So be prepared to wait if you are someone who has been keeping up.
Anyway, enjoy!
The fog seemed to be getting thicker at every second, it was frustrating. Diavolo couldn't even see the trees anymore. Not to mention how the ground dragon was acting. It was odd.
But out of the blue, the epitaph was activated.
'H-huh?!' Diavolo's eyes widened
The vision showed yet another monster, it seemed to be some sort of whale! Wait… whale? Isn't that a creature of the aquatic? It was flying!
Diavolo instantly jumped out of the carriage , his legs being fully restored.
Just what the hell was that thing? A sky whale? This world was getting incredibly bizarre. Then he saw it, the… whale.
It made barely any noise, it was so damn quiet! Not to mention it was fucking huge! The beast from before seemed to be bigger, but this was definitely a good competitor. It had a dark figure in the fog, easy to recognize but no features could be easily seen.
Diavolo actually stood a chance this time, the whale had come crashing down into the carriage, completely encompassing it into its maw. And then, it rose again, and now the ground dragon and carriage were completely gone, there was literally no trace.
This whale was definitely a dangerous monster, Diavolo knew he had no chance of taking it on, but he could confidently run away!
Epitaph activated, here it comes! He activated king crimson, as he moved out of its way.
The impending mass had slammed into the ground, missing Diavolo utterly. Clearly this also managed to piss it off, it let out a loud echoing bellow.
Diavolo kept up this dodging tactic while he continued to run across the path. The fog seemingly followed him.
This thing moved fast, incredibly so! But not fast enough to reach Diavolo.
That's when Diavolo noticed the fog was coming directly from the Whale itself! It seemed to be secreting it into the air.
Well it certainly wouldn't be very good if the whale followed him, he needed to make sure that the villagers were alive after all.
He decided that he would come up with a plan of escape-Well, that was until he ran into an open area, completely separate from the forest. Its most defining feature being the gigantic tree in the middle of the wide open field.
He sighed, this was a complication. This beast definitely didn't want to give up either.
He was also starting to get tired, I mean, he could run for probably another 5 minutes before his legs would give in.
He thought for a moment, just what the hell could he do to drive its attention away from him? Was there a way it tracked him other than sight? Was there a possible weakness he could exploit? Maybe even a way to appease it?
He wasn't sure. All he could do now was try to outrun it. Though that definitely was not his best option, since this thing seemed to have top speeds of over 120 km!
Wait a second, the ground is starting to shake! This thing is shaking the damn earth! Diavolo tripped, but quickly time erased himself back up, continuing his sprint.
The creature was doing all sorts of things to Diavolo to try and stop him, earthquakes, breath attacks, duplication, all to no avail. He was simply too quick for it.
But Diavolo was now at his wits end, he couldn't run anymore. He fell to the ground, his legs burning hot.
"D-Damn it!" Diavolo punched the ground, looks like he can't do a lot more here.
He turned, seeing the white whale flying towards him like a goddamn race car. He stared at it, and closed his eyes.
He was then consumed by the whale, dying yet again.
Diavolo Death # 3
He opened his eyes, noticing that he was no longer at the apple stand, rather he had been in the carriage with that annoying driver.
Interestingly, he wondered why he was placed further in time.
He stood, walking over to the front of the carriage.
The white haired driver turned, a glint of fear in his eyes upon seeing Diavolo tower over him.
"C-Can I help you?" He nervously let out.
"Hmph, if we keep heading down this path, we're going to be killed." He pronounced. He wanted to grt straight to the point.
"Huh?" The small man wondered.
"Listen, just turn this thing around and head back to wherever you came from. I'd be fine if I was back at the kingdom just as well." He sighed.
"B-But sir! What makes you think we will die?!" The man questioned.
"Don't question me, remember, I can still easily kill you in less than a second." Diavolo threatened.
"B-But! I need to make a trade down this path! If i don't arrive in ti-"
"SILENCE!" Diavolo yelled at him, staring at him with angered eyes.
"Just do as I say if you value your pathetic and meaningless life." He angrily ordered.
"R-Right! Loud and clear!" The man yelped.
"Good." Diavolo sighed.
He went back to sit down as the carriage had turned around.
This time he wouldn't let his guard down for a second. He sat inside listening for anything out of the ordinary.
And he waited.
It was a pretty boring trip. A couple bumps, some nature…. There really wasn't anything to be concerned about. He sighed, this was definitely a start though.
Well, now was a better time than any to reflect. Let's see… this world is strange…. It's got such a dark tint to it that he can't explain…. And that dream, it was so…. Vivid. He felt like it actually happened, but he knows that it didn't. Those hands…. They dragged him here, did they not?
Finally the carriage began to slow down.
"U-Um, We're here…" the nervous man spat.
"Finally. Well, I guess you're free to die out of my sight. Get lost." Diavolo stepped out of the carriage, shooing the man.
"Ah… Alright…" The man was defeated. He commanded the ground dragon to move back onto the previous path.
Now Diavolo realised he was back at Lagunica. Finally, he had a chance to start again. Let's see what's first…. Right! Language!
Wait… he has no money! Does he need money? Maybe they have books? Oh dear….how was he supposed to find a damn library? How was he supposed to find anything? Trial and error it is.
It was annoying, but he had spent the good half of his day going in and out of various buildings within Lagunica's walls. But after what he assumed was the 20th, he had found something which was close enough to a library.
He opened the door, as a bell rang.
He glanced to see a woman sitting down over a counter.
"Ah! Welcome customer! Would you like to check out a book?" She greeted him, her eyes being a glorious tint of green.
Diavolo was dirty, he wore his signature fishnet clothing, so in the end his entire upper body was exposed like he was some body builder. The woman noticed this, as a sweat dropped.
"Yeah, I need a… 'book' which teaches someone how to… read and …write." He said embarrassed.
"O-Oh!" She had now realized this man was just some hobo, maybe she should just give it to him for no price?
"W-Well, I happen to have exactly what you need sir!" She awkwardly laughed.
"Fantastic. That saves me a lot of time. But I must inform you I have no money whatsoever." He deadpanned.
"Ah, well. Considering you are a first time customer, i'll go ahead and give you this one on the house." She smiled, giving him a thumbs up.
"Thanks." He said emotionlessly. What a kind gesture for a stranger, if only she knew how ruthless he was.
The girl had stood from behind the counter, she was really short, her head hadn't even been at Diavolo's neck. She walked over to retrieve a book from an array of others, they were all positioned side to side on many different stands.
Eventually, she pulled out a green book, walking over to Diavolo while holding it.
"Here ya' go!" She held it out to him.
He took it, its texture was kind of slick, and it had clearly been collecting some dust.
"Thank you. I won't forget this. Say, what's your name?" He asked, still without a shred of emotion.
"O-Oh! My name is Lavender!" She exclaimed.
"I see. I will come back, Lavender." He then walked out the door. He definitely would come back, he could learn about this world's history that way, and how to act accordingly.
"Hey what's your-" she tried to ask, but he was already gone.
But for now, he'd have to spend the day figuring out this language.
So, he went to another alley, and decided to sit on the cold hard ground and read.
The language was rather similar to English, he had learned it incredibly quickly, by first trying to read signs. But wait, he couldn't write…. He didn't have a pen. Oh well. It probably won't be important for now. All he would need to do was understand the language.
Ok! Mission complete! After about 7 hours, he managed to master the language entirely, he gave himself a pat on the back, of course, he'd expect nothing less of himself, the future ruler of this world.
But now, it was pitch black, and he was really hungry, he still hadn't eaten or had a pint of water. He was going to starve to death, or die of thirst.
He could probably steal some food for now…. It was dark out so he doubted anyone would notice, especially with King Crimson.
So, like a suspicious individual, he left the ally, holding onto the book. He could read now! So all he had to do was look for a restaurant or something.
Quickly he managed to close in on a restaurant by the name of 'Danny's Delights' it was pretty damn small, and seemed to be kinda run down, but he'll take what he can get.
He walked up, there was a large window that showed the interior of the restaurant, it reminded him of a cafe from Italy…. He missed Italy….
He tried to open the door, and noticed the 'closed' sign marked in red. Of course, it was locked.
This was no problem, he could just break the window.
Without second thought, Diavolo threw the book straight into the restaurant, the glass making an incredibly loud and distinct noise throughout the kingdom.
He walked in, stepping over the glass which now covered the floor.
Alright let's take a look here…. He needed to find some bread or something. Just anything that was edible.
Meanwhile….
"Did ya' hear? The royal selection is coming up soon." A cheery man said, walking with another mysterious person.
"Yeah, it's probably gonna be rough, especially with that half elf witch." He chuckled.
"Man, we shouldn't have to patrol around at this time, no one is going to try anything in Lagunica." The cheery one pouted.
"Heh, damn ri-" suddenly the sound of glass breaking was heard.
"Shit! Did you hear that? Sounds like someone's trying to break into something!" The other man became alert.
"Yeah, it came from over here, let's go!" The cheery one pointed, as they both ran towards the sound.
Diavolo eventually found a crate in the back of the restaurant, it contained various fruits of this land.
This was probably the best he would get for now, so he decided to take a handful of them while holding the book.
"HEY! STOP THIEF!" A man yelled out.
"COME OUT!" Another added.
'Ugh. Annoying.' Diavolo scoffed.
The sounds of a shoe stepping on glass could be heard, even though no one was seen.
"Quick, let's check inside!" The cheery one declared, running inside. He didn't even realise that his sword had been taken.
Diavolo was already gone, leaving no trace behind.
He took a bite of the fruit, it was quite delicious. A good taste for a fruit that wasn't from Earth. He still had 4 more too! This was definitely a victory! And he took that guards sword, with this he could kill things without relying on King Crimson, this way he could hide it more effectively.
He put the sword onto a hilt around his waist, that way he could hold onto the fruits and book easier.
Hm… where should he stay for the rest of the night? If he fell asleep in an alley or something there's a lot of things that can go wrong. He learned the hard way that letting his gaurd down in this world was a pretty stupid idea.
He could probably find an Inn maybe? It's possible that one may still be open at this time.
He looked around in the streets, it was so different at night, an incredible contrast between the lively days to the quiet nights. He did manage to eventually come across an inn by the name of 'The Sleepy Traveler'. Which was somewhat perfect considering his situation.
He walked over, opening the door. When he entered, he was presented with a very cozy atmosphere. There was the wooden interior of the entire building, the fire lit lamps which hung from the ceiling, and a woman who sat at a counter, reading a book.
But, before Diavolo said anything he would need to find a way to give this woman some sort of valuables to even stay the night.
Oh! What a great Idea!
The woman, who seemed incredibly bored, lifted to the next page of the book she was reading, not even realizing Diavolo had nabbed some coins from her using King Crimson.
"Greetings." Diavolo greeted the woman.
"Hm?" She looked up to face him, she donned a pair of glasses.
"I'd like to stay the night here." Diavolo spoke.
"10 silver for a night." She replied, very monotone.
Diavolo had pretended to reach into his pocket, he pulled out the required amount of coins and put them onto the counter. Of course, 10 silver was not all he took from this woman. He took various types of coins, even some golden ones, she had almost nothing.
"Alright, 3rd door on the right." She pointed over, before going back to reading.
Diavolo said nothing, walking over and opening the door.
Inside there was not a lot to take note of, there was a small mattress on a wooden bed frame and a drawer with a lit lamp on top of it. Diavolo decided to put the book onto the drawer, as well as the last 2 fruits he had stolen.
He laid the sword from the guard next to the wall which the bed was near.
This was a successful day, he managed to get 1 of his primary objectives complete. As long as he doesn't die, it should be smooth sailing from here.
He laid onto the mattress, it was… nice… so nice. He hasn't been able to lay down on a bed and relax in what felt like years… it wasn't hard for him to rest after that.
As he closed his eyes, he had yet again drifted off into the land of dreams.
He wasn't in Italy this time, instead he opened his eyes to find himself in a town. He eventually found some signs calling this area 'Moiroh' it was definitely a bizarre town.
He walked amidst the strange town, this seemed to be a place located in japan, he could still read most of the signs here. However, while he wasn't paying attention he then bumped into a man. He had blonde hair, and wore a pink suit.
"Ah, my apologies!" The man had lifted his hand.
"Watch your step." Diavolo scoffed.
"Sorry about that, also, you should try getting some better clothing." The man suggested.
Diavolo turned, as he was beginning to walk away from the man.
"Don't order me around." Diavolo spat.
"Well, shitstains like you really need some direction." The man smirked.
"Oh?" Diavolo scoffed, who does this guy think he is? Diavolo stepped up to him, towering over him and staring him down.
"Perhaps, we could discuss this further in a more enclosed area?" The man reiterated.
"Fine." Diavolo sighed, looking like he'll have to teach this fool some proper manners.
So they both eventually stepped into an alleyway, stepping away from each other.
Diavolo prepared to attack this man with king crimson, as it began to manifest behind him. He'd be sure to make it quick.
But surprising Diavolo, the man had a stand of his own.
"Ah… I see. You seem to possess an ability much like me." The pink cat-like stand manifested behind him.
"Hmph, whatever it may be, it is no match for my King Crimson." Diavolo smirked.
"King Crimson? Is that what you call it? Well, I'll allow you to know mine before you pass on."
"Don't be so sure." He smirked
"Killer Queen. My ability allows me to turn anything into a bomb." The man announced.
"And i'll make sure that-"
But, this battle was already decided. King Crimson had pierced Yoshikage Kira's chest in the blink of an eye.
"Gah!" Kira gasped in pain.
"King Crimson, my ability allows me to erase time." Diavolo remarked.
"This trial has ended."
Kira spat blood, as the hole in his chest had expanded when King Crimson had taken out its red arm.
"Y-You!" Kira had used his last breath to curse the man.
"Dumbass!" He touched Diavolo, as a clicking noise could be faintly heard.
"H-Huh?!" Diavolo could only let out a gasp as his body began to erupt. And he was turned into dust, along with Kira.
Diavolo wondered why Epitaph hadn't warned him, as his body had manifested into a black void.
"I'm alive?! No wait…"
"No! Not this again!" Diavolo cursed.
"I Love You." The same damn voice whispered to him.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Diavolo shuddered as he was yet again embraced by the hands.
"I Love You So Much."
He opened his eyes.
Yet again, he took several heavy breaths. His dreams seemed to be getting worse and worse. He stood from the mattress, still feeling somewhat rejuvenated after having some rest.
He yet again strapped the hilt around his waist, and took another bite from the fruit. Today he decided he would take the time to learn the history of this world.
He grabbed the book and the last fruit he had stolen, opening the door.
He stepped out, exiting the Inn and heading back towards that book store from earlier.
He passed by the restaurant he raided, there was a large gathering of people around it. As some guards had explained the situation to the people.
Diavolo grinned, little did they know.
He eventually made his way back to the book store, opening the door as the bell rang again.
He immediately took notice of Lavender, who seemed to be waiting for something.
"Hello again." He greeted her.
"Oh hey it's you!" She jumped.
"Yeah, I've come to check out some more books." He spoke.
"Of course! What did you have in mind!" She had stars in her eyes. Why did she seem so energetic?
"Books regarding the history of this world, also some that explain its mechanics and functions." He seriously answered.
"Also, here's the book you allowed me to borrow." He handed it to her. Not realizing that it had a couple of scratches because he threw it through a window.
"W-What exactly did you do to this book?" She examined it, seeing how worn it managed to get over a single day.
"I read it." He replied.
"Uh-huh….." She simply took it back to the stand and placed it in its usual dust collecting place.
She then stacked several books about the world's history on top of her little counter.
"It'll be about 5 silver for all of them." She smiled.
"Ok." He simply said. Reaching into his pockets, only to realise he only had gold coins left. He decided to just give her one of those, he would be stealing some more valuables shortly.
"WOW! You're so generous mister!" She happily exclaimed. Holding the gold coin he handed to her.
"Yeah, I'm going now." He stepped out of the door carrying all of the books.
"B-But what's your name?!" She yelled out.
"It's…. Doppio." He lied.
"What a nice name." She smiled.
'Whatever.' He sighed. It's better if he doesn't start to make any connections for now, he doesn't want to be recognized just yet. Those are plans for the future.
This time he could stay at the Inn again, it would be a way calmer place to read in comparison to the loud alleyway. He decided to make his way back there, yawning as it was still basically morning.
He stepped into the familiar inn, meeting the gaze of the same woman from before, this time she looked somewhat pissed off though.
"Hello again…." Diavolo had tried to be polite.
"10 Silver." Is all she had said.
He just placed a gold coin onto the counter, before going towards the same door from last night.
As he sat down. He glanced at the 2 books he had in his possession, they had each gone over the different eras within this world, as well as various locations and landmarks.
Apparently, one of the biggest and earliest events was 'The Great Calamity', it describes the wrath in which the witch of envy had invoked against the world, nearly destroying the entirety of it.
Diavolo wondered what kind of being could have the strength to do such things, it made him shiver with fear.
Apparently the witch was stopped by the sage 'Flugel', which was odd to Diavolo, he had recognized that name as the German word for 'wing'. He was certain that the only language in this world was the one everyone had used. Perhaps this sage was also from earth? It was too difficult to tell.
He continued reading, also learning about the Demi-Human war, and subjugation of the dragon.
It was interesting to learn about Lagunica's sword saints and dragon origins. And quite useful for Diavolo to know in future events.
Now he wasn't completely clueless like he was before. But he still needed to find some better clothing, in order to fit in with everyone else in this kingdom.
And money was of course still tight, but that wouldn't be a problem as long as he could find some nobles.
For Diavolo, it had seemed like everything was going his way. Perfect.
To be continued -
LMK If this chapter is bad or good or in between! It helps me make it better! It looks like Diavolo is starting to stand a better chance in this world, maybe he'll rise to power sooner than we thought!