Chapter 5: Prince of Darkness
========================{Part 1: In the Presence of Evil}========================
The large double doors of the castle looking mansion automatically swung open for us. Already we were being given some bad signs here. Nevertheless, we entered the lion's den despite the bad signs being sent our way entering a room bathed in pitch black.
"So, did anyone remember to bring some glow manatite with them to add a little light to this situation?"
asked Lynn, getting a resounding no from myself and the rest. Megumin then says-
"So, should we consider turning around and going back to get some? It would only take us a few minutes to go back and grab some. I'm sure Aldarp won't mind waiting a few more minutes on us."
"I'll second that one... question. Why are we still walking further into the dark here instead of hanging back at the entrance as any smart person would in a situation like this one?"
Cielo was right; we had been walking all that time, heading deeper into the dark. We finally come to a stop and shaking our heads in exasperation before turning around... Only to see the double doors go slamming shut on us, leaving us completely in the dark here.
"Well shit! So, anyone have any ideas?"
Before anyone could answer, dark flames burst into existence all around the room, finally gifting us with some interior illumination at last. Unfortunately, the light they were giving us was anything but comforting as the flames that lit the room weren't the usual red-yellow-orange color that all flames should normally show off.
Instead, we were being bathed in light that came from flames of putrid green and blood violet all around us with pure black flames which surrounded another set of double doors above us, just beyond a terrace on the second floor.
"So, is the ambiance that the flames are given off something that appeals to you particular Crimson Demon sensibilities, Megumin?"
"No Chris, not even close. While I'm all for having a moody atmosphere, the atmosphere that this particular combination is giving off is just plain creepy. Too creepy for even my taste."
"So, what should we do now?"
I asked with Darkness making that question quiet moot right after.
"Aldarp... ALDARP. Get out here right now. I have words I want to share with you."
Moments later, there was a creaking sound as the double doors above us, just beyond the terrace, slowly opened and from beyond came Aldarp. He walked slowly but with a grace normally only seen by one who saw themselves as above everyone. Not surprising, really. Held in one hand was a glass filled with what looked like blood-red wine.
At least it looked like blood-red wine and not actual blood which would be way too creepy, even for him.
He finally comes to a stop, takes a quick sip of his drink, then lets out a pleases sound before saying-
"Ah, Chateau Crimson Valor. Such an exquisite taste. Truly, this is one of the greatest achievements of the people in this world."
He then turns his attention to us and says-
"Ah yes, forgive me. It's not often that I find myself receiving visitors here within my private abode. Welcome friends, so glad you all could join me here this night. Now tell me, do what do I owe the pleasure of this visit this night?"
Darkness steps forward and angrily shouts out-
"Cut the crap, Aldarp. You know damn well why it is we're here. You've been allowed to do as you please and get away with it for far too long. That ends tonight. We're here to stop you once and for all and to bring you to justice; for all those who you have wronged and ruined over the years."
Aldarp looks at Darkness for a moment, giving her quite the curious look before laughing. Not just any laugh either, but a hard and almost maniacal laugh. Chris then steps forward and says-
"Something about that you find funny, Aldarp?"
Aldarp stops laughing abruptly before giving us his full attention again and says-
"Not really. I just couldn't help but find your words to be rather comical is all. Be honest with me. Do you all really think you'll succeed in doing what countless others have failed to do in the past? No offense to you all, but when you consider just how long I've been doing this for, I think I like MY chances here, not yours."
Walther then steps forward and says aloud-
"Everything has to come to an end eventually, Aldarp. Even your successes have an ending awaiting them."
"Hm? Ah, Walther. Why are you here with them, MY son? Shouldn't you be doing your father proud by serving his needs with bettering the family name while fighting the good fight here?"
"I am not YOUR son, Aldarp. I know whose son I am... just like I know that it was you who killed my real parents. The question I want to ask you right here, right now, is why? Why did you take me in and adopt me in the first place. What was your goal, Alexei Barnes Aldarp."
Aldarp was silent for a moment before smiling. After another moments pause, he finally says-
"You really want to know? Just be patient, Walther. You'll have that answer revealed soon enough. But for now, let us focus on the most important matter at hand."
Aldarp finishes off his wine before chucking the glass it was in off the side. He then holds his left hand off to his side as the devil artifact comes floating into view. He takes hold of the ring, sliding it onto the ring finger of his right hand. A dark glow comes from it before he turns his attention back to us once again and says-
"I know what it is you all want to do here. Engage me in proper combat, see me lying dead or at least broken at your feet. That's not going to happen, of course... but alright. I'm willing to indulge you all here. And when I win, I'll be taking my prize and I'll allow all of you lovely ladies join me in my personal celebration... except for you, little Crimson Demon girl. I just can't abide bedding a girl with such a childlike body such as yours."
Megumin sent Aldarp a disgusted look, shouting out in response.
"Like I would ever want such a disgusting man like you even touching me to begin with."
Megumin then safely positions herself behind me, using me as a shield which I was more than fine with here. I then say to Aldarp-
"So, how much longer are you going to stay up there, fat ass? You gonna come down here so we can have that epic fight or should we follow you to somewhere more fitting for such things."
"Ah, you're here as well... Satou Kazuma, I believe that was your name, correct? If memory serves, we met once before, during your trial. I suppose I owe you an apology here for all the trouble I caused you, including making that fake claim about you destroying one of my personal properties. If I'm being honest with you, I'm glad things ended up working out like they did. To think, I almost denied myself an important gain here if things had gone differently during that time."
"Cut the crap, Aldarp. Enough talking. Are we doing this or what?"
Darkness' yell made all of us ready ourselves, preparing to rush towards the stairs we could just barely make out within the room to go right at Aldarp.
"Patience, patience lady Lalatina. You and I will soon be able to throw down with one another. Something I've been looking forward too for a long-long time. But don't you think we should do this in the manner that is customary to these lands?"
"And that would be?"
asked Walther, getting a smile from Aldarp.
"Well, isn't it a bit anticlimactic if you jump straight into fighting the big bad boss right from the get-go? Shouldn't you first defeat his underlings and thus earn the right to face him in an epic final battle."
"As if we're going to waste time doing something like that with you."
said Chris, making Aldarp take on a more serious look.
"Who said you had a choice here."
At the moment, the ground beneath us began to glow. Looking down, we could now see that the floor we were standing on was actually a glyph or a magic seal. We all tried to move off it but found our feet stuck to the ground. When the look back up at Aldarp who says-
"Perhaps if the lighting in this room was better, you could have seen the danger right beneath your feet and thus avoided that little trap. Now, here's what's going to happen now. In just a moment, you will all be teleported into a random room where you will each have to face a particular challenge. If you succeed, a door will appear that will lead you to my personal chambers where we can have our 'big' battle. If you fail... well, I'll leave that to your imaginations."
Aldarp laughs again as the seal glows brighter and brighter till it was blinding. I could feel Megumin grab onto me, trying to stay with me but her hold goes limp, and I knew right then and there that wherever it was I was being sent, I would find myself being alone to face off with whatever it was Aldarp had planned for me personally.
====================={Part 2: The Truth of this Impaler King}=====================
I groan as my senses come back to me slowly. It takes me a moment to realize that I was laying on a stone floor and another few moments before I remember what had just happened that brought me here. Immediately, I was back on my feet, alert and ready for action, as I scan my surrounding area.
Suffice to say, what I was seeing was not at all what I was expecting to see, given I had just been inside a castle looking mansion just moments ago. I was now standing on what appeared to be a bridge high in the air. Behind me was a wall with a door made of wood and silver.
Before me was a stairway, layered with a regal red carpet that ascended high into the sky, towards a tower. Everything else was open air under a cloudy sky and a full moon, which was strange for many reasons, including the fact that there shouldn't be a full moon out at this time of the month.
I felt a wind blowing across my face, a cold wind that gave me the chills here. I then wonder if I had been teleported too somewhere else entirely here. Perhaps even some place not in the kingdom of Belzerg or even anywhere on the continent.
I then notice something curious. A 'chip' in the sky which was weird to say the least. But because of this 'chip', I found myself having a thought I wanted to test out. I take aim with the Sheng Biao and fire off the grappling blade at the 'chip', seeing it clunk against it while making the 'chip' grow ever so slightly bigger. I then recall the grappling blade while taking another look around and saying to myself-
"So that's how it is. I'm not actually outside in some strange random place here. I'm likely still inside Aldarp's mansion somewhere, in a room that has quite the enchantment placed upon it, to make it not only look but feel like you're outside."
Just to play it safe, I fire off the grappling hook again in several other directions. To the opposite side of the room from where I had been looking, directly up into the air, and even over the side of the bridge down below. The only time it didn't hit anything was when I aimed at the stairs, except when gravity made it fall onto the stairs itself.
Satisfied with that test, I turn my attention to the door and try to open it, to no avail. I wondered if Cielo could have broken the door down if she had been sent here with me? Who knows, but I now found myself being left with only two options here; just stay where I was or walk up those stairs and see what awaited me at the top. Not surprisingly, I go with the latter as it would at least give me something to do.
About halfway up, I can't help but think that there was something rather familiar about this whole set up. I wasn't sure why, but this all was starting to feel very familiar for some strange reason.
Once I had reached the top, I entered the tower and found the inside to look like a rather lavishly decorated throne room. And then I saw HIM... Aldarp, sitting patiently upon a blood red throne. As soon as our eyes met, he smiles a most evil smile before saying-
"So good of you to finally join me in here, Satou Kazuma. I was beginning to wonder if I would need to come fetch you or not."
"Why am I here, old man? Didn't you say something about wanting to test us or something. That it was the way of this world to face down some lowly dregs before challenging the big bad at the end?"
"Hm... ah yes, I did say that didn't I. Those words I spoke were true words, don't get me wrong. However, there was another reason behind this plan of mine. As I'm sure you are aware, my desire here was to get you and I brought together, alone. The test I spoke of was really meant to keep the others busy so that the two of us could have some much-needed alone time."
Wait, so does this mean Aldarp's gay? No, that can't be it; especially after all the times he's spent keeping the company of many unwilling girls. Does this mean he's bi then? Afraid I'm going to have to break his heart by saying I don't want to have a pole in my hole, not now nor ever.
Perhaps because he was reading my thoughts here, or more likely he was good at guessing things, he says-
"I confess, my reason for wanting us to have some alone time here is because I desire your body. But that desire is not of a sexual nature. Instead, it is the most literal of desires instead. You see, Satou Kazuma; I want to make YOUR body my own as the time for my current vessel is nearly at an end. It may have been hard to tell before but I'm sure you can see it clearly now. The graying hair and skin, the wrinkles. This body of mine is dying, and I am in need of a new one and I think you will do just fine."
So that's it. All this time, it wasn't about seeing me finally put to the sword. About finishing what he wasn't able to get back during the trial, that being my death. He wants control over my body here. I had a good idea as to why he wanted my body as well.
"Let me guess, you're thinking it will make having your way with my friends easier for you, am I right?"
"Heheh, there is that, of course. There's also the fact that the name Alexei Barnes Aldarp has gained far too much baggage under its name to be an effective semblance for me to continue going under anymore. It's my own fault really. I do have this bad habit of letting myself go overboard when it comes to having fun. A detail I'll be sure to make the proper corrections with once your body become mine."
"Like hell am I going to just let that happen here."
Aldarp goes quiet for a moment, looking like he was debating something. He then smiles, clearly having made some decision here before turning his full attention onto me again and saying-
"Would you like to know a secret here, Satou Kazuma. Would you be surprised to hear that you wouldn't be the first time I've gone about swapping bodies with someone. To be more exact, I wasn't always known as Aldarp here. Before this current semblance, I was known as Alexei Barnes Ortis."
Alexei Barnes Ortis? Where have I... wait, don't tell me.
"Wait, are you telling me that you are actually Aldarp's father? The guy who was said to have been one of the evilest men in the history of the kingdom?"
"Funny, I hadn't heard that I WAS the evilest man in the kingdom. Possibly still considered the evilest. But yes, I am he. Surprised?"
I clench my fist and grit my teeth. I could now easily recall what lord Ignis had said about Aldarp in his youth. A kindhearted and honorable young man who loved commoners and was working to end his father tyrannical actions. And I recall hearing how Aldarp had suddenly changed following him killing his father as an act of bringing justice down upon him.
"So that's what happened. You took your own son's body for your own and killed him in the process? Why would you... how could you do something like that? He was your son, damn it. Your own flesh and blood. Did that mean nothing to you?"
"Yes, it did mean something to me. Quite a lot, actually. But not the something someone like you would want to hear. I didn't have him because I wanted a son. I fathered him because I wanted a successor, a newer and younger body to inhabit when the time was needed. Aldarp was nothing more to me than that."
Aldarp... no, Ortis then began to laugh, such a cold and evil laugh that it honestly made me want to rush at him and strike him down right in that moment. But before I do anything, I need to see if I can get him to tell me just exactly how he plans on taking control of my body here so I can avoid it myself.
"You really are a monster... no, a DEVIL!"
Ortis stops his laughing and looks back at me and says-
"Oh, you don't know the half of it, kid. Now, seeing as I am in such a good mood right now, as well as feeling a bit chatty, I shall tell you my biggest secret. You see, I didn't always go by the name Ortis here either. The truth is I have been going from one body to another for many hundreds of years now, perhaps even thousands? Honestly, it has been going on so long that I can't quite remember the exact amount of time here. But I will tell you about my first semblance in life... MY BROTHER!"
"Brother? What the hell are you going on about now?"
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not saying you and I are long lost brothers or anything. My use of the word brother was meant to imply that you and I come from the same world. Earth I believe her name was. Back then, I was a king both beloved and feared by his people. Hated by his enemies and so on."
"You're from Earth? Damn it, please don't tell me that it was by the power of some blue haired goddess that somehow sent you here."
I swear, if I find out Aqua sent someone like you here, then I'm really going to let her have it when I next see her. Hell, I'll complain to Eris about this and see if she can get Aqua fired from her job in the process as you don't send psychopaths like this guy off to another world so they can become a hero.
"A goddess? No, oh no... I wasn't sent here by a goddess. Imagine, it would have to have been a goddess with such a low level of intellect that one would have to reconsider her status should she have been foolish enough to send one with my track record to another world."
OK, so it wasn't Aqua or some other like minded goddess that sent him here. Instead, it was some kind of high ranking devil. That's good to know at least because I would find myself becoming worried about those who were in charge of the heavens otherwise.
"No, the patron that helped me come here was my dear friend Maxwell, a devil and an Archduke of Hell... but perhaps I'm going a bit too fast here. Please allow me a moment to say my true name to you..."
"I am Vlad Dracula, also known as Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler, king of Wallachia and hero of Romania."
As he does a gracious bow, I just find myself standing there in stunned silence. This guy... he's the inspiration for the famous horror icon Dracula? Now I understand why I was feeling the scene of me walking up those stairs felt familiar. I was essentially living out a Castlevania moment. I was the Belmont making his way up the stairs, heading into the final battle after fighting my way through the castle.
"Well, do you have something to say to me, boy?"
"So, your true self is Dracula is it? Does that mean you're a vampire. Do you have vampiric powers or something."
"Come again?"
He didn't know his own... of course he wouldn't. How and why would he even know. I take a few minutes to explain how his deeds in life had inspired a cultural icon back on Earth in the centuries since his supposed death. Suffice to say, Dracula had a rather pleased look on his face by the time I was done.
"Huh, to think my name has carried on for so long, even if it is more well known for a falsehood than the reality. No matter as I am remembered and that is more than enough for me here. Now then, are you curious about how it is I found myself coming from Earth to this world?"
"Not really. I'd rather know how you plan on taking control of my body but I doubt you'd be willing to share that bit of information with me."
"And why wouldn't I...?"
Dracula then reaches up and pulls out a fancy looking necklace and says-
"What you see hanging around my neck is what is called a Divine Relic. A powerful tool gifted by the gods to a chosen hero to help aid them in fulfilling some noble tasks. This one in particular grants the ability to send your soul into the body of another and send theirs into yours in turn. It's because of this little bauble that I have been able to maintain an existence in this world for so long."
I scowl as I look at the necklace then I send a glare towards Dracula as I ask-
"And how did you get your hands on that precious and dangerous item? Don't tell me your devil friend was somehow able to get his hands on it and control its power for you somehow."
"No, not at all. You see, not long after arriving in this world, I found myself becoming 'friends' with the original owner of this item. Thanks to Maxwell, I became aware of what it was and what it could do. It took a bit of time, many years in fact, but I was eventually able to trick the owner into showing me how it works by switching bodies with me. The moment it was done, I wasted no time in killing him so as to avoid being returned to my original body, though it was a shame to watch myself die in such a pitiful way. Since then, I have jumped from one vessel to another when the need arises, going from father to son and in those situations when I needed to take a new body not related by blood the old, I can thank Maxwell's power for allowing me to keep using its powers despite no longer being of the original's owner's bloodline. And now, I shall use it here and now to make you into my latest vessel."
I immediately draw Chunchunmaru from its sheath, readying myself to fight and defend myself here if possible while saying-
"Don't think it's going to be that easy here, Dracula. You may have a lot of experience under your belt when it comes to these sorts of things, but I have a few surprises myself here, just s you know."
"Perhaps but tell me. How do you think the soul transfer here works? Perhaps I need to touch you in order to make it happen. Perhaps letting you kill me right here and now is the way to go. Perhaps it's already happening right now, and I just need to keep you preoccupied for long enough to see it completed."
Damn, did I already screw myself over here just by not doing anything other than stand around?
"Hah aha-ha, face it boy. I've already won here, and you know it. Now, let's hurry this along and finish up before those girls arrive. It would be more preferable to me if I could make them believe that I am you as it would make my eventual taking them to bed all the more pleasurable for me."
Dracula goes to laugh but is stopped dead as Chunchunmaru just barely misses running him through, right between the eyes. He looks at the blade, probably taking note of the chain attach to it than connected it to the wrist band on my arm before turning to look at me again, probably going to say something but instead is forced to duck down as the grappling hook of the Sheng Biao comes flying at him, also just missing the mark.
"You... did you just try to kill me there?"
"Yeah, what do you think I was trying to do here. I don't know exactly how that fancy necklace actually works but I figure killing you is the safest way to avoid not having it do its job here. Besides, from what you said before, I don't think me killing you first is how it does the swap here."
I then yank hard on the chain, pulling Chunchunmaru free from the wall and having it return to me before retracting the grappling hook a bit. I then grab hold of both the chain and the cord connected to the hook, spinning both to create a field of spinning blades in order to make sure this guy couldn't get too close to me here.
"Now that's a nifty idea you're doing with those toys of yours. I wonder though if it will be enough to handle my skills."
Dracula then snaps his fingers, a large blood red pike appearing from the ether that he grabs onto before giving it a little spin. After a moments pause, the two of us charge one another as our battle to the death begins...
{Insert Image 1}
===================={Part 3: Warrior from Hell; Malebranche}====================
(Darkness POV)
When the light faded, I found myself inside a short hallway that was void of any noticeable features. Behind me was a solid wall which meant the only way forward was...
"Guess we know which way we have to go here, huh?"
Walther's voice suddenly coming up from out of nowhere made me jump. I turn, finally seeing him and I give him a quick scolding, for both surprising me and for not letting me know he was here as well.
"Sorry-sorry... but isn't that more your fault than mine, Darkness? I mean, I'm sure you would have seen me if you hadn't stopped looking around so quickly."
"Huh? Oh yeah, I guess I should have looked around a little bit more before... never mind, let's just hurry up and get out of here. I'm sure the others must be worried about us."
"You'll get no arguments from me."
With that, we walk down the hallway, weapons in hand as we didn't know what surprises awaited us beyond the fact there had to be something. We soon entered a fairly decent sized room; nothing too big but one that would make for an acceptable training dogo or something.
The room was also bare. No decorations or fancy floor coverings, unless you count the strangely carved crest into the stone that is. But we weren't alone in here either as sitting right at the center of the room was a creature of some sort, it's back to us.
"What do you think? Could that be our challenge to overcome in order to get to Aldarp?"
I whispered to Walther.
"I'd say it's likely, given that it clearly isn't human. So, how do you want to handle this one?"
"Good question. It would help if we knew just exactly what it was to begin with."
"It's called a Malebranche, one of the most powerful warriors you'll find within Perdition."
The voice that spoke directly to my, and I'm sure to Walther as well, mind sent cold chills running down my spine. There was no question on what we had just heard. It was the voice of the devil; Maxwell I think his name was. I remembered it very well from when my body had been under his control.
Just then, we saw this creature... Malebranche pick itself up off the ground, revealing it to be a rather imposing sight. From what I could gather, it stood around eight feet in height. From its abdomen down was a well-kept sea of jet-black fur with thin yet powerful looking legs that had knees that bent the wrong way and hooves for feet at the end.
The upper part of its body was toned and muscular, but not overly so with the color of brimstone. It had long well-muscled arms with strange bone like growths all over, like armor or maybe a fleshy weapon. Its head was similar to that of a goat, complete with a little tuft o black fur hanging down under its mouth and large ram like horns. It also had a tail the length of its arms that ended with a tuft of fur as well.
The Malebranche turns to look at us, a blast of smoke being released from its nostrils like it was making a snorting sound towards us, as if to say it wasn't impressed with what it was seeing.
"It is incredibly fast and can hit hard. It is also very flexible as well. It's not wrong to say that a single Malebranche could easily hold its own against a large number of well-trained human warriors. Be grateful the one you face here is still young, not yet having reached its full potential..."
Was it possible that this Malebranche was able to also hear Maxwell's voice as well because the moment those words were said in our heads, the Malebranche suddenly lowered itself down, placing a hand on the ground before rushing forward in an incredible burst of speed, getting to us before we could even react. With one swift motion, I found myself being kicked in the stomach while Walther took a punch to his, sending us both flying through the air and away from one another.
"... because if it was at its full potential, then the two of you would already be dead!"
The impact against the ground didn't hurt, thanks to my damn high defense stat. But that hit I took actually had hurt a little. As I start to pick myself up off the ground, I could feel a shadow come over me, making me turn my head and see that Malebranche had decided to come after me first.
I barely had time to break into a roll, just barely avoiding taking another hit from this impressive beast who's failed strikes at me instead left little holes in the ground. I finally managed to push off the ground mid-roll to send me spinning back to my feet before I tried to bring my sword around to hit it.
Instead, I found out just how limber and flexible this creature could be as it easily deflected my attempt at a counterattack by bringing a hooved foot up which not only caught my swing but easily batted it away. I then felt the impact of an uppercut it sent my way which lifted me into the air, followed by unimaginable fast follow ups that kept me in the air, striking me over and over with their dominating force.
Ah, this must be what heaven feels like for a girl with my particular taste... SO AMAZING!
Just then, I hear Walther unleash a war cry is he comes racing in to attack the Malebranche from behind and to ruin my fun... I mean to save my life here. Instead, the Malebranche turns and catches his sword with its bare hands before stopping its attack on me sudden as it actually flips onto Walther's blade before immediately unleashing a spinning kick that once again sends us both flying with me hitting a wall very hard.
"This abuse... this cruel way of fighting, I really wish I could take you home and keep you as a pet."
Yes, there was no longer any question. This was the best night of my life so far and something told me it was only going to be getting better.
Walther, meanwhile, must have either recovered quickly or had done something to keep his own counter actions going here as I saw him raise an arm up, the very arm that had that item that had once been his biological father's which allowed the user to simulate any skill seen that was copied into the item.
"Lightning (x5)."
From his open hand, blast after blast after blast of lightning burst forth and the Malebranche easily and effortlessly danced and dodged and ducked around each one. Walther then tried unleashing an Inferno, but the Malebranche surprisingly tanked that spell, grinning when the smoke had cleared.
It then goes at Walther who begins using a combination of defensive skills to protect himself from the Malebranche's attacks and sending either more spells and physical attacks whenever he had an opening available to him. But it was quickly becoming evident that he was burning through his mana quickly and wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.
And all the while, I just watched while feeling annoyed at having him present here to hog all the fun. It was then I realized what it was I was doing, making me shake my head in shame. Here was Walther, fighting for his life, as I'm sure the others were within their respective rooms.
And what was I doing exactly? Wishing I could be some alone time with this hell born beast and all so I could really let my masochism run wild. I was being a most shameful woman here, a terrible friend, and making a mockery of the title of Crusader. I bet Eris must be looking at me in shame right now too.
I clench my fist, I decide that this time of perverted fantasy's needed to end, and I would use this fight as the steppingstone in a new era of my life. And to do that, I was going to need a little help. Luckily, Kazuma had gifted me with the very help I wanted and now it was time for me to put it to the test here.
Walther, meanwhile, looked like he was out of mana as he was no longer trying to use skills to attack and defend against the Malebranche. He was back to trying to dodge around its strikes while sending his own back in turn, not that he was getting any successful hits. And then, Walther was on the ground; the result of a surprise usage of the Malebranche's tail yanking one of his legs out from under him. Just as the Malebranche was about to deliver a finishing blow...
"Hey goat face, anyone ever tell you that those horns of your look small and brittle?"
Immediately, the Malebranche turned to look at me with rage filled eyes. I guess even creatures like it can feel insulted if you say the right things to them. It snorts of a large amount of smoke from its nostrils before roaring aloud while charging right at me.
"Darkness, what are you..."
I heard Walther yell out as the Malebranche reaches me and begins to beat me repeatedly with its fist. I found myself being pushed back and back until I was pinned to the wall. Even with my defense, I could feel each and every hit that struck me and I knew I wasn't going to be walking away from this without some injury, perhaps even broken bones or worse.
Despite that, I could the charge-up of the energy building within me, making me smile as I say-
"Is that all you can do here? I've taken worse hits from a cave troll once."
Clearly, the Malebranche didn't like the insinuation that a simple cave troll could hit harder than it as its attacks started landing with even more ferocity than they had before. So much so that I could actually feel myself starting to fade from its repeated blows.
Behind it, I could hear Walther screaming out my name and I knew he was probably trying with all his might to get to me, to save me from what he must have believed was my perverted nature. But a rescue was needed as I could feel it. I was ready to launch MY counterattack and I just needed an opening...
"Hey, ugly. Does it really make you feel like such a big, strong monster to go around beating up women there? What, afraid to take on a real man or something?"
While I wanted to argue with Walther's words, they nevertheless gave me the moment I needed as the attacks upon me stopped as the Malebranche had turned its attention back to Walther. But before it could make a move to go after him again, I managed to bring my sword up and sent it slashing down hard upon the Malebranche's body, slicing it clean in half with just one blow.
{Insert Image 2}
I then slump down onto the ground, a smile forming as I say to myself-
"So, that's the power of Retaliation, huh Kazuma? OK, I'm definitely see how that can be helpful in situations like this one."
I then look at Walther and give him a thumbs up which he returns. I then say-
"You know, Panty Raidy... I have a feeling we'll both be needing a vacation once all of this is over."
"I agree. I happen to know a great place we could go to. Lots of sun, sand, and surf. My own personal little get away pad that not even Aldarp knew about... I think. What do you say, are you interested?"
"Yeah, I think I'd enjoy that..."
The question to consider now is should it just be the two of us or should it be a group getaway? I wonder...
========================{Part 4: The Secrets We Keep}========================
(Chris POV)
The dark energies coming from the glowing glyph upon the ground began to rise into the air like a pillar, making both Lynn and I brace ourselves for whatever effect this action would bring about.
I was glad that I wasn't alone for whatever it was that was about to appear before us though it made me wonder if we had been put into pairs here. If so, then who was the unlucky one that would be forced to be on their own unless three of us were together.
Having said that, being by myself did bring some advantages with it too, namely the fact it would allow me to go all out in this place without the others learning certain truths about me. Truths I'd rather none of them ever learn about unless it was absolutely necessary here.
The energy making up the pillar of dark light begins to glow dark and more ominous, and I knew that whatever it was that was being summoned from below was just moments away from arriving.
"Get ready Lynn, it's almost here..."
Lynn nods having already prepared some spell to fire off as the pillar of dark like begins to twist and spiral before crushing down upon itself into a dome. A moment later, it burst like a bubble, the energies that had made fueling it blasting out like a dark, visible icy wind of evil, forcing the two of us to struggle to stay on our feet.
Once the blast had passed, I looked to where the center of it had been and found myself experiencing a moment where it felt like my blood had frozen within me. There, standing upon the summoning circle in a kneeling fashion and its horned head looking to the ground, was a...
"Diablo!"
"You know about this creature, Lynn?"
I asked her, surprise. It was said that long ago, a group of angels had become curious and, against the orders of their superiors, had traveled down into Hell and had a bit of fun with demon kind. Somehow, this led to the creation of creatures that were technically demons but having a warped angelic appearance to them.
I'm not entirely sure how this was achieved, given the fact demons like their devil masters were more or less genderless. I honestly never wanted to find out how it was done either. Yet the creature bowing before us was a byproduct of that meeting, the demon called Diablo.
It had a muscular body of ashen gray with glowing crack like lines running all over its form, the glow making look like they had molten lave flowing like blood within them. Their long arms and legs also looked well built, if a little on the slim side, which ended with serrated claws for fingers. Their faces sharp and defined with yellow eyes burning with rage, and large wings on their backs that sometimes had what looked like battle damage, like a hole or two, yet that didn't affect their ability to fly at all.
It then picks itself up off the seal, going to stand while an unseen until just now tail comes into view; a tail that's end resembled a harpoon from what I can tell. It lets out a low growl as it bares its fangs at us while its body begins to twitch in a rather dangerous way.
"So, should we attack it first or..."
Lynn's question is cut off as the tail suddenly whips around and comes flying right at it; the intention clearly to impale one of us here if not the both of us. We both react just in time though to avoid it, jumping clear of the sudden attack though it also forces us further away from each other.
As soon as I recover, I turn to see it had taken flight and was coming... right at me with claws ready to start shredding me into little pieces. I'm guessing it must have known that I was something more than just another human girl here. It must know my big secret.
"Lighting... Ignition... Blast..."
Lynn shouted out spell after spell, forcing the Diablo to stop its approach towards me in order to avoid being hit, which gave me a moment to finally prepare myself to launch my own counterattack against it. While Diablo are powerful foes that can cause serious injury should they get their claws onto you... into you I should say, they did have a few weaknesses here.
Namely, they weren't nearly as good at defense as their appearance would have you believe, being no more able to handle an attack hitting them than a regular human could. The difference was they were faster, had powerful attacks, and could heal very fast so long as their heads remained mostly intact.
"Bind!"
I shouted sending a few cords flying at it while it had its back to me, being focused on Lynn at the moment. Unfortunately. It was able to detect my incoming action, probably due to the horns on its head which acted like sensors if memory serves, as it spins around and slices the cords I had fired off into shreds before they could do their job.
"Damn, I hate to say this, but we might actually be in trouble here."
"Don't worry, I got this though I confess I don't like using THIS spell. Cursed..."
As Lynn prepares to fire off the spell she had in mind, Diablo quickly turns to glare at her as its tail suddenly whips around and strikes her in her leg, making her yelp before she was lifted into the air. I rush forward, bringing my enchanted dagger out with the intention of doing a back stab against it...
But the Diablo counters by sending Lynn flying right into me, the impact making me drop the dagger as we both go flying back. As we fly through the air, I can see the Diablo already coming at us with claws raised and seeing as Lynn was above me, she was the one who was about to get a serious back scratching here.
So, I did the only thing I could, I grabbed onto her while twisting us around, taking the attack in her stead. I couldn't help but scream in pain from the feeling of its claws ripping into my flesh, learning firsthand why you don't want to get scratched by this creature. It really does burn like fire.
"Cursed Lightning!"
A blast of black lightning shoots from Lynn's hands, moving so fast that it hits the Diablo in the face, making it screech as it backs off while the two of us hit the ground hard. I immediately begin to cough up blood, another negative from being slashed by a Diablo's claws.
"Chris-Chris, are you OK? That injury looks like it hurts like hell."
"No kidding. I may have to rely on something special here in order to fix myself up. What about you, Lynn? Using a cursed series spell like that... don't you know how dangerous that it?"
"Yeah, I know. But given the situation we're all in, can either of us afford to not take any risk here?"
Lynn was right about that. With all of us separated in some form or fashion, we honestly couldn't NOT be taking risk if only to make sure we were able to find one another and regroup into a full team again. After all, who knows what else we have to deal with before this is all over.
We then turn our attentions back to the Diablo for a second, seeing it was regaining itself, having seemingly lost an eye from Lynn's attack. From what I could tell, it looked like it had trouble healing from magic that was empowered by arcana. If so, then how would anima-based powers effect it.
"Lynn, I have to ask you to do something for me. Do you think you can keep its attention for about thirty seconds here? There's something I can do that will end this quickly, but I'll need a few moments before I can bring it out of me. Also, with what I'm about to do here... could you keep it a secret from the others. This is something I'm not yet ready to let them know about yet."
"Sure thing, I can do that... milady goddess."
Eh, what did you just say?
Lynn gives me a devious smile before adding-
"You think that disquise of your is pretty good, Eris. But for one of my people, being able to sense the presence of anima within someone is really easy. We can talk more after we finish this guy off. Now, I'll be going and buying you those thirty seconds you need... though this may already be over by then."
Lynn then gets up and takes a few steps towards the Diablo who was watching us, probably being more cautious now following that attack or perhaps it was being curious. Lynn then quickly says to me-
"Also, as you just said to me, I will also say to you. Please what you're about to see from me a secret, OK. You'll understand why here in just a moment."
I wanted to ask her what she meant, what was her big secret I had somehow failed to take notice of. Lynn looks back at the Diablo while reaching up and removing her stylish choker. The moment it slipped off, an aura began to surround her body that grew brighter and brighter...
And then, I understood what her secret was, as well as what it meant for the greater picture here...
{Insert Image 3}
======================{Part 5: Believe in the Gifted Power}======================
(Megumin POV)
"You know, I really hope I'm not the only one having to face off against some disgusting tentacle monster here in this place."
OK, to be fair, it wasn't a tentacle monster exactly. It looked like some giant slug monster that was surprisingly fast with its movements. The tentacle part was due to it having several snake-looking tongues that moved like one would think tentacles would move.
I also knew that its goal wasn't to do perverted things to me. Rather, I was sure it was just trying to catch me so it could then eat me... at least I hope that was the case. Still, I wish I could trade monsters with someone else, assuming we were all facing different beast here. After all, something like this would be more appealing for Darkness to be facing down against.
Well, can't be wasting brain cells complaining about my luck here. I need to hurry up and think of a way to get myself out of this situation so that I could join up with the others. So that I could get back to Kazuma's side as there was no doubt in my mind that he was the one in the most danger here.
That much I knew without any doubt at all here.
One of the snake tongues suddenly expands before spitting out some strange goo which I barely avoid being hit by. I allow myself a moment to look back at the spot I had been standing at, the spot the spit would have hit to see what it was doing. Honestly, nothing beyond simply being there on the ground so I assumed it wasn't trying to hit me with some kind of acid at least.
And this was how it was going for me right now. Having to avoid being covered in tentacle snake tongue goo while using my staff to smack away any of those things that got way to close to me in between my dodging.
As this continues, I start racking my brain and consider my options. Currently, I have access to three spells. Explosion, a more powerful variant of that called Hyper Explosion, and more recently, the still largely untested Dragon Slave, which I knew how powerful it was but not the level of versatility.
And that was pretty much it. No other spells and nothing in the way of hand-to-hand combat skills. Seriously, it's times like these I really wish I wasn't so stubborn with my life choices as they really don't serve me well in moments like these.
OK, I've decided. Once I find a way to get myself out of this mess, if I can honestly. I'm going to ask Kazuma to help me develop some form of hand-to-hand combat skills, either with my bare hands like Cielo or become skilled with using some sort of weapon for self defense
"But Megumin, what about swallowing you obsessive pride and learn other spells that aren't either Explosion or explosion like in their nature" I hear a little voice called some would call common sense ask me within my own head. My reply to that little annoying freeloader...
I may be desperate to add some variety to my arsenal, but I'm not THAT desperate yet. Maybe that's the real problem with me. Naw, I'm just over thinking it. Now, how do I...
SPLAT; in all my mental musings just now, my attention on the moment suddenly faltered, allowing the... whatever the name of this thing is, finally managed to land a hit on my leg with one of those goo spits it had been sending out.
Despite the fact it had only made contact with my black legging on my left leg, I could feel a numbness starting to come over my left leg. Was any form of clothing really of no protection against such disgusting goop or would the effect have been far worse had any of it hit bare skin?
Either way, because of the sudden numbness in my leg, I now found my movement becoming slower which was making it harder for me to avoid taking any more hits from those snake tongues spit or from being caught by said things. In fact, I was starting to suffer far too close for comfort moments here than I'd like to acknowledge. I had to come up with something... and I needed to do it quickly.
"OK, I could try firing off an Explosion here but considering the room size and the fact I don't know where the others currently are in here, I could end up risking hurting them in the blast. So, I guess I'll try..."
Before I could finish saying those words, I suddenly stumble due to the state my left leg was in and I curse my luck as I take another gooey blast of spit which hits my other leg which makes me start to fall to the ground. Worse, one of the snake tongues had lashed out like a whip, sending my falling body flying back and slamming into the back wall with enough force to knock the air out of me.
That probably wasn't the intention here from the creature, but that was ultimately a moot point as I was now collapses out my butt with my body laying against the back wall as the massive slug like beast moved a little closer to me while its snake tongues began to extend outwards to grab onto me.
Looking up and seeing this sends me into a panic. While I was still sure their sole objective was to grab me and draw me into its mouth, all the times I spent hanging around Darkness and hearing hear talk about what happens to young, beautiful girls when faced with anything that resembles tentacles was enough to send me into a panic as I immediately put all my strength into my staff, aim it at the monster, and unleash an Explosion, which is my default response to anything that causes me to panic like this.
The beam of energy rushes the massive slug like monster but the it suddenly splits into multiple smaller beams of magic energy as the snake tongue things begin to absorb the power into themselves, which makes me send the creature a deathly glare.
"Hey, how dare you turn my beautiful magic into a snack just now. I demand you give it back to me right now."
Yeah, probably not the best thing to say to some strange and unknown beast such as this, seeing as maybe it could do just that; send my spell flying right back at me here which would definitely end me. But what else could I do in the moment? This is my nature; this is who I am after all, and I can't just go changing myself at the snap of the fingers.
But then I notice something curious. The snake tongues had suddenly begun to balloon outward, almost to the point of popping like a balloon here. I think I was getting any idea about another of their functions. In addition to paralyzing its prey and using those tongues to draw them into its mouth, it could also use them to absorb any incoming magic attacks against it.
It could probably disperse and nullify the magic it absorbs if given enough time but seeing as Explosion magic is as powerful and destructive as it is here, it may be having trouble with doing that at this moment. So, what would happen if...
I smile an evil smile as I manage to get myself to stand, my staff then being aimed at the creature as the crystal upon my staff begins to glow with destructive energy. Here's hoping this works and I don't end up getting myself and the other killed here this time.
"Heh, what are you going to do now, ugly? Dodge this one or try to absorb it like the last. Either way, I'm confident this will end things... EXPLOSION!"
Once again, I fire off my attack and once again, the snake tongues respond by absorbing the energy into themselves. Either this creature wasn't that bright or the defensive action those tongues of it does is automatic in nature; something it can't control all that well.
No matter as the long bodies of the tongues expands even more and more, until they burst and the massive slug in enveloped by a blinding, explosion light. Its screech of pain being overridden by the sound of the explosion. Granted, the explosion here was nothing compared to the usual ones I strive for her, as I found myself being forced back into the wall painfully by the shock wave...
But the room didn't collapse in on itself and when the light faded, I could see mister ugly slug monster laying prone and motionless on the ground. As I go sliding down the wall, back onto my butt again, I couldn't help but smile despite that looking like a pathetic example of Explosion here.
I mean, in its outward appearance, it would have come off seemingly looking like some low-level detonation spell, but it was still good enough for me given the moment.
"I'll give that one 72 points, wouldn't you agree... Kazuma?"
Oh right, Kazuma isn't here with me at the moment. I need to hurry up and go find him so I can...
A suddenly screeching sound draws me from my thoughts as the slug monster pulls itself up, its slime covered head turning to look at me before screeching again, followed by a massive maw of a mouth opening up which then begins to draw in air like a vacuum here. If that wasn't annoying and scary enough, I found my body slowly being pulled towards it.
I try to struggle, to fight back by using my more or less useless legs to push back away from it, but it was no good. At the rate it was sucking things in, I would be inside it within mere moments. What do I do? I doubt I could fire off another Explosion, seeing as I may have put a little too much of my mana into the last one. But maybe I could still use... no, I don't even have enough mana left for even that.
"Is that it then for you? Are you really going to just go give up now? Is your faith in the power he gifted to you really so weak, is your faith in him really so weak?"
"No, of course not, you damn annoying voice in my head. I'll always believe, but my mana..."
"Has nothing to do with it. You've only ever used it once before so how can you be sure you can't use it now? Remember what Kazuma has always told us. Believe in the Kazuma who believes in us. Believe in the power he made just for us."
Despite my current situation, I couldn't help but smile. That damn annoyance I call my inner self here was right. I mean, why wouldn't it be, seeing as it is another part of me here. Alright, what do I have to lose. I'll believe in the power Kazuma gave me; I'll believe in him just as he always believes in me.
"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows. Buried in the stream of time where your power grows. I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand. Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess..."
"DRAGON SLAVE!"
The ball of destructive fire that resembled the sun goes shooting from my hand. The beast, aware of it but not having time to properly react, can only allow it to fly right into its open mouth, disappearing from my sight and just as I myself was about to be sucked inside as well.
The sound of booming from deep within its body could be heard alongside nasty looking bulges rising up and out of it in mass. I hit the ground and looking on as its whole body expands more and more in a most disturbing way before exploding into many tiny, disgusting, and gooey pieces that covers the whole room.
{Insert Image 4}
Luckily, seeing as I was laying on the ground, on my stomach, at the time, I was spared being covered in all that goo for the most part, but it was still disgusting. After a few moments, I finally manage to find the strength to stand up here. In truth, I should still be laying on the ground as I was really tired do to mana exhaustion. So tired that it would have been so easy for me to just go fall asleep right now.
But I couldn't, I wouldn't. Not until I was at Kazuma's side again, not until I knew he was OK. And so, using my staff like a walking stick, I slowly made my way through the room, opening the door that waited me and into the long hallway just beyond, all the while keeping thoughts of Kazuma repeating inside my head as a means of keeping me motivated to take that next step, and the next, and the...
==================={Part 6: All These Feelings, I Give to My Fist}===================
(Cielo POV)
I found myself in a most strange room. I was standing on what appeared to be a bridge of a sort. Looking over the side, all I could see was an expanse of darkness, so I had no idea just how far it was the drop below actually went for.
Along the side of the bridge were little lit torches that gave this otherwise dark and creepy room some illumination. In truth, it reminded me of the entry area here in terms of the ambiance I was being given. I then turn back to examine the bridge itself.
It was long, stretching so far that I couldn't even see the wall of the opposite side. The bridge was also fairly wide too, allowing probably five or six people to stand shoulder to shoulder upon it without being smooshed together by the sides. And... I couldn't see anyone else in this room besides me here so did that mean I was alone?
No, I don't think it would be that simple. Aldarp had said that this was going to be a challenge; that we would need to prove ourselves ready to face him in combat. So, what should I do now then? Just stay put and wait for something to happen?
No, I can't afford to wait, especially seeing as the others could be fighting their fights right now. I need to hurry up and get to them if possible before it was to late here. Besides, if there was anything else in here with me, I'm sure it will show itself soon enough once I go on the move.
With that thought out of the way, I begin to move quickly across the bridge, all the while keeping my guard up, prepared to defend myself and counterattack any sudden attacks against me if need be here.
After a few minutes of running down the VERY long bridge, the opposite side soon came into view and what I saw definitely creeped me out big time. Of course, everything that I had seen since coming to this strange looking mansion of Aldarp's was something I considered creepy, but this was definitely the creepiest of the creepy scenery present.
Sure, then was a large wooden door for me to walk through. But around it was the wall with the most disturbing carving I had ever seen in my life. Above the door a little was an image of a face that looked like a deformed goblin's face... or maybe it was supposed to be a gremlin? I wasn't quite sure.
Stretched along the side was a carving of long boney hands with long claw like fingers stretched open wide. And along the bottom, along both sides of the door, where these long spider leg like carvings. And what made it even more creepy was the fact that it didn't look like stone per say but flesh molded onto stone, if that made sense.
There was no doubt about it in my mind now. What was before me had to be the test I needed to overcome in order to leave this room, to allow me to go rejoin Kazuma and the others here. But what exactly was the nature of this test before me?
Perhaps it was to see if I had the courage to approach the strange wall, or to try to open the door and have to contend with those creepy hands suddenly reaching out to grab hold of me here. I honestly didn't know and didn't want to know to be honest. But time wasn't on my side here. Regardless of the risk, I need to get out of this place and rejoin the others as quickly as possible.
I then move forward, reaching out and grabbing hold of the doorknob with some degree of caution here. But the moment I try to turn it, I hear a screeching sound alongside some weird greenish liquid shooting out from what looked like some keyhole onto me... well, onto my clothing.
I immediately jump back and watch as the face above the door goes from being a simply carving to sticking out with the eyes coming to like, sending me a menacing glare. The arms then emerge as well, making popping joint sounds as it moves its arms and hands and fingers around. The spider like legs also emerge, digging into the ground as they test themselves to make sure they still worked, I guess.
"Damn, I should have known it was going to wake up when I tried to... wait, if that wasn't an actual doorknob I just touched, then what was...?"
I looked down at the green goo that had been shot out at me, a sudden thought crossing my mind that made me feel all grossed out here. While I'm sure whatever this stuff wasn't THAT, given that demons aren't supposed to have actual genders... in fact, this was probably more of a poison of some kind, that fact remained I was feeling very disgusted right not and I would likely need to toss my clothes I was wearing into the garbage once this was over, just to be safe.
I then hear the sound of stone moving against stone, returning my attention to the creature to see that the whole carved wall was now beginning to move across the bridge, coming closer and closer to me. It was then I realized what it was that this demon must have been.
I forget what the technical name for it was, but it was essentially a living demon wall that could be found in places with a tight space that would restrict one's movement around places like caves or, in this case, buildings. If memory serves, what they do is crush their foes between themselves and other walls, squeezing their bodily juices out of them so it could 'drink' those juices up like nectar.
Something told me that the real door out of here was located right behind this thing so if I wanted to get out of here, I'll either need to do a little fancy movement in order to get around it or use my fist to smash my way through it. OK, which one should I do.
As I continued stepping back, keeping the distance between it and myself, I first look to the sides of the bridge. There obviously wasn't enough room for me to slide along the sides of this thing. I could try hopping over side of the bridge and slink around it by using the sides of the bridge to help me get by. But my gut was telling me that if I tried it, it would use those arms of it to grab onto me and throw me back onto the bridge.
So, I guess giving this guy a little fisting here was my only real option. That's fine; looking at this disturbing excuse for art was making me want to smash it up real good. I then make sure the Blast Gloves were firmly secure on my hands, take a second to ready myself, then I release a battle cry as I charge at the demon wall, sending a fist slamming into it.
For a second, the spider like legs that were pulling it forward stop moving while the disgusting face of its gives me a pained look. It then screeches loudly as its legs begin moving again, this time with way more energy and gusto. In other words, it was speeding itself up which means I had at least hurt it.
In that case, I begin to send punch after punch into it, each impact unleashing explosive burst of power into it. As I hammered this foe, I could see small bits and chunks of its body flaking off, signaling that I was doing something here. I could also tell that I would occasionally succeed in pushing it back a bit but the amount of forward momentum it had here was making that success a moot point in the overall.
Despite that, I kept up my assault and it was here in this moment that I made my mistake. I was so focused on my attacks that I forgot about its arms. Perhaps it was because I didn't see them as a threat beyond stopping from me from trying to slide my way around it without a fight.
How wrong I was as I suddenly found myself being swatted hard by it; the force of the impact sends my flying back a fair bit here. So much so that I end up hitting the very wall back at the beginning of this room. After taking a moment to groan and activate Regen to start healing, I then assess my current situation.
"OK, I need to do something about those arms of its first, if possible, otherwise this will happen again. Also, I know I can damage it and I can even push it back if I hit it hard enough. But can I damage it enough to take it out before it can crush me against this wall? Can I actually succeed in pushing it back if I can hit it hard enough and fast enough?"
A sudden screech draws my attention back to the bridge, seeing it was now close enough to be visible despite the dark. Without thinking about it, I send out a Hadoken at it, making contact with its face which really both hurt it and pissed it off from the sound it makes in response.
When the smoke clears, I could see my Hadoken had actually damaged a small part of its face, enough that one of its eyes was no longer visible. I try firing off a few more, only for it to use its arms to shield itself though the arms itself also appeared to take some damage from the barrage, just not enough. If only I could...
An idea begins to form in my mind, but it was a risky move. For one thing, I had become aware that my hands were starting to hurt. I was confident that if I slid my gloves off, I would find bruises present on my hands from hitting it. While I couldn't see anything more coming from the demon wall, I could sense that it was emitting some kind of energy around itself.
If I had to guess, perhaps it was something to make the bones of anything making contact with it weaker and brittle, which means if I kept attacking it with my fist, then the likely outcome would be that the bones in my hands would break. While Regen was helping out, its current level of development wasn't enough to compensate for the damage I was doing to myself here. Despite that though...
I send power into my fist, steel my resolve, then rush towards the dome wall again, unleashing a new barrage of attacks against it. It tries to use its arms to once again force me back away from it, but I was ready for that this time, swatting its arms away before it could swat me back away from it. After a few failed attempts, it moves to a new tactic.
It then grabs onto the sides of the bridge, adding even more momentum in its forward motion. I continued hitting it with all my might, but I still found myself being pushed back closer and closer to the wall behind me. So close in fact that I was just moments away from having my back touching it.
"Damn it, is this really the limit of my power here. If it was my father, he would have finished this ten times over by now. I'm sorry everyone, I guess this is where things are going to end for me..."
"Cielo, while you're still here, I feel I should teach you an important lesson about the power behind our fist."
Huh, where did that voice come from? Wait, I remember... the conversation mom had with me while we were in Veridae here recently.
"I doubt your father has talked to you about this, given how his mind works and all that. But never forget. Our fist are so much more than just physical strength. To truly draw out the power within the fist we wield, fill you fist with genuine feeling, not just desire alone. Remember, the stronger the feeling... the greater the emotion within each fist made... that is where the true power comes into play."
"That's right, how could I forget such an important yet simple lesson. All I've been doing up till now is either letting my fist fly because of need or want. From just simple desire. But now it's time I let me Fist draw their power from the need."
But what was it I needed here. I needed to rejoin my friends. I needed to stop Aldarp once and for all. I want to see my friends as soon as possible, to make sure they're OK. As I think these things, the images of the others come flooding into my mind. Seeing them sends new power coursing through my fist, making my attacks both speed up and begin to do even more damage to this demon wall.
Once again, I tries to stop me with its arms but this time I slam them back against the body, the force breaking them off from the power behind the impact. It's screech of pain doesn't faze me as I turn my full focus onto the main body, seeing it being pushed back at last.
But it still wasn't enough, I knew that much. My hands would give out from the strain before I could pull out a true win here. So, I needed it, that one feeling that would give me power beyond any other so I focus on the others even more here.
Lia, Darkness, Megumin, Yunyun, Chris, Lynn... Kazuma. The moment my thoughts came to focus on him specifically, I felt my fist filling with even more power. Not just any power, but the feeling of the Hadoken itself, like it was slowly wrapping around my fist.
I recalled the feeling I felt when Kazuma gave me Hadoken and Regen, I remembered our little duet during the Idol Heart festival. I remembered that important talk we had at the cafe outside the theater. I remembered giving him my first kiss as a way at getting back at my dad. I remembered the time we spent together inside the labyrinth. And...
I remembered the day we first met each other, Kazuma holding his hand out to me while saying he would see me freed from that place. And then, I felt the flame of the Hadoken roar in my hand, enwrapping it, as I unleashed one final blow, screaming out all the power that I felt coursing through me.
{Insert Image 5}
It was all too much for the demon wall as it exploded into pieces immediately. But that wasn't the end of it as I was so lost in the moment that I continued racing forward, my fist tearing through the wall it had been guarding into the hallway beyond before I finally came out of my battle high.
I take a moment to look around before I sheepishly scratch the back of my head.
"Heh, guess I may have overdone it back there, just a little bit."
No matter as there was more important matters to attend to. After taking a moment to heal my own hands, I began to race down the hallway, hoping it would either lead me to the others or allow me to cross paths with them as we all headed towards Aldarp and the final showdown against him.
======================{Part 7: The Fate of Two Strangers}======================
(Kazuma POV)
The sound of metal striking against metal ring throughout this 'throne room' looking chamber me and the count were battling in. Chunchunmaru slicing through the air towards Dracula who in turn would either dodge or use his long pike weapon to block the attack before sending out an attack of his own back at my which I either had to block with Chunchunmaru or using my shield skill.
I had given up on trying to use Bind against this guy, not because it didn't work but because it was ultimately pointless as when he was caught within the bind, that damn ring of his would always undo the bind before I could make a move to do anything else.
In turn, it seems Dracula was rather fond of trying to use that pike of his to try to sweep my legs out from under me. In fact, he had been able to do just that several times so far, but his follow ups were never all that impactful. Hell, he was usually slow about doing a follow up period.
I guess that was one advantage I had, knowing that he wanted to take my body here and make it his own. As such, he was naturally wanting to avoid doing to much damage to me though that didn't stop him from giving me plenty of bruises, scratches, and blood drawing deep cuts like he had done just moments again to the bridge of my nose, just barely missing getting either of my eyes in the process.
I try another trick, using Create Earth and Create Water along with some wind and ice spells but he would either spin his pike rapidly to block them or dodge out of the way. At one point, he had even planted the pike into the ground before using it to catapult himself into the air to send a double drop kick into my gut that sent me flying back hard.
Gotta admit, for a fat ass old guy, his combat skills were nothing to sneeze at. And to think that he's taking it easy on me here too. Just imagine what this would be like if he actually was out to kill me here. I honestly don't want to think about it, especially seeing as if he was, then I would have been forced to start relying on my Lich skills which at this point would be a very bad idea for me.
As my blade and his pike continued to make noises as they collided over and over, I turn my focus onto the Divine Relic he was wearing; seeing that the six symbols upon it had started to light up. Three to each side of the central crystal with two on the left and one on the right already glowing while another on the right was starting to gain a little light to it.
It was already obvious to me that it must represent a countdown of some sort, likely the countdown for when he could actually use it. It had to be that otherwise he could have activated it already seeing as he is the better warrior in the moment. Question now was can it be used once all six symbols are glowing or does the crystal itself need to be glowing before it'll activate?
Either way, I need to figure out how to get it off him. Sure, I could try to go ahead and use Steal here to see if I can take it that way, but I wonder if that would work seeing as that devil artifact ring of his can't be taken like that and it would make sense he would use its power on the DR for the same purpose. Of course, that also means just taking it off him while he's alive is also a no go.
Damn it, do I really need to get this guy's blood on my hands here in order to end this for good?
"What's wrong, kid? You look like you're struggling big time over something here. Why not go ahead and talk with me about it. Having walked this world for as long as I have, there is much I have learned about life. Go ahead, as a gift from me to you, ask your questions and I shall answer if an answer I have."
"Sure, fine... OK then. First, allow me to make an observation. I've noticed you're doing quite well here in this fight, despite that pudgy body of yours. Now that I know your real story here, I can understand the full truth behind your skills but with a body like that..."
Dracula laughs, much to my surprise. And even more to my surprise, he leaves his battle stance and plants his pike into the ground. Well, I'm not going to argue as I confess I could use a little breather. Also, I can use this time to come up with some kind of counter strategy to use against him.
"That is true. Even one of my skills would have trouble engaging in a proper fight with a body like this. I did say I had let myself go since taking the body of Aldarp, didn't I. In truth, the only reason I can fight like I have been is because of this, as I'm sure you've figured out by now."
He then holds up his DA ring for me to see.
"In fact, it has made many things possible, like keeping my indiscretions since becoming Aldarp provable. For example, I was able to make that trial of yours go in my favor which I'm sure you already guessed. It was also thanks to this ring I was able to keep anyone from speaking up in your defense there at the end. It would have worked too if something hadn't brought Lalatina back to her senses."
"Of course, for that little number, I had to sacrifice most of Aldarp's remaining lifetime in order to achieve that. Furthermore, that little farce I made happen for you; having Lalatina become my mindless slave, manipulating both the Golden Nemean and those other girls for a short period of time... also done by giving away a little more of this bodies life force."
"In truth, this body doesn't have long left to it. It'll be dead by the time the sun rises, actually. In addition to that, I'm not only using what's left of the power within the ring to make this body more limber but to make it appear younger than it should now. With so little life left within it, I should look like some gray haired wrinkly old man who probably could barely walk anymore."
I send Dracula an annoyed look, followed by me saying-
"Geez old man, I wasn't wanting your entire back story there. I was just curious about how someone with a gut like that could be so fast and limber. I'm wishing now I had just kept quiet."
He smirks at me as I once again look at the DR, seeing that the last of the symbols was nearly at full glow. Dracula notices that then looks back at me and smiles a devious smile.
"So, you have taken notice of it then? Yes, the symbols have to glow bright to trigger the crystal to come alive with light. And when that happens, your body will become mine. So, what will you do now, kid? If memory serves, you have less than a minute left before it's all over."
Dracula then begins to laugh, hard while I just look at him and wonder if he was being serious or if he was trying to trick me in some way. I then see the crystal was starting to gain a glow to it as well, meaning that one way or another, I was out of time here. Oh well, fortune favors the bold as they say. Here's hoping my high luck stat actually does me some good here for once.
"STEAL!"
I shout the moment I raised my hand up before me. I hear Dracula shout out "NO" as I feel something take form within my hand. Once the light fades, I could see that I had indeed taken the DR from Dracula, who looked surprisingly angry as he had already taken his pike back in hand and was charging right at me.
"No, that should have been impossible. Give it back you brat. I won't allow you too... GAHHH..."
I quickly take aim with the Sheng Biao, firing the grappling blade right at Dracula. He once again tried to dodge but either he wasn't fast enough or he was already to close to dodge as the rope dart spears him right through the chest, bring him to a stop as the pike falls free from his grip. He then falls to his knees as blood begins to form around the wound but also starts to drip from his mouth.
"Huh, and all I had to do was just use Steal to begin with. Who knew..."
"Heh, I knew... I knew you would try to do that eventually..."
said Dracula suddenly, making me look at him. That sudden victory high I was feeling was now gone and I was beginning to sweat as he looks at me with a smile.
"The final condition needed to activate the Relic's power was once the six symbols were glowing, the new host body has to take hold of the relic and put it on. So, thank you, Satou Kazuma. Thank you for finally taking that relic from me... and for ever so kindly putting it on as well..."
"What... oh shit."
I immediately try to through the necklace off to the side, but my hand refuses to let go of it as my body, no longer under my control begins to bring the relic closer and closer to my neck. It must have been the DA at work here, controlling me and making me do this.
I struggle with all my might, even yelling inward for that wisp of Entropy to do something here. But it was already to late as the DR is placed around my neck and my vision suddenly goes white. The next thing I knew, I could feel pain, so much pain rushing through me that I couldn't even make a sound to register it aloud.
And I could hear laughter, the sound of my own voice though it wasn't coming from me. I manage to look up and see myself standing proud and triumphant with my head looked to the sky. I had failed here, and Dracula had taken my own body from me. He then stops his laughing and looks back at me.
"Thank you for my new body, Alexei Barnes Aldarp. Now, how should I go about killing you here. To see YOU pay for your unspeakable crimes, of course. Oh, I have the perfect idea..."
================-=={Part 8: To the Victor comes the Consequences}===================
(Lynn POV)
The light that was glowing around me subsided as I finished putting my mother's choker back on. I then look back at Chris, seeing that the faint glow around her was also becoming lighter. I then turn my attention to the remains of the Diablo, seeing its disintegrating body grow smaller and smaller.
I then look back at Chris again and say-
"Well, that was an interesting experience, wouldn't you say... CHRIS?"
"It was very revealing to say the least. Look Lynn, about what I saw you do back there..."
"I know, you must have a lot of questions for me here... which would be strange given who it is YOU really are and the fact you should already know everything."
Chris starts to scratch the scar on her cheek while looking away as she gets a sheepish expression on her face. I couldn't help but wonder why she has that scar to begin with? Was it part of the disguise of hers or did it represent something far more important or reveal a deeper truth about her kind?
"Yeah, I know. Contrary to popular belief, my kind aren't all seeing and all knowing. Truth told, we're not all that much different than anyone else. We just have access to a greater degree of power and can tap an archive made up of nearly unlimited knowledge whenever we want. But even someone like me must have restrictions as ordained by the big boss. It helps to keep things fair, ya know."
"I guess that makes sense. So, you don't know what's really going on with this stupid war, I take it? If you can even really call it a war to begin with."
Chris simply shakes her head, making me sigh. She then says-
"I know it's strange that I know nothing. I find it strange myself but I assume there's a reason I've been kept in the dark by my superiors. Anyways, we can talk more about that topic another time. Lynn..."
"I know-I know, you keep my secret and I'll keep yours, at least until the time is right. Anyways, we should hurry and rejoin the others. I don't know about you but I'm feeling we're already taking way to long here."
Chris nods as we turn towards the door out of this room. Beyond was a long looking hallway which we waste no time in running down. As we go, Chris suddenly decides to ask me-
"Quick question, Lynn. When do you think you're going to tell the others about you... little secret?"
"Hm? Well, I'm currently not sure if I am going to tell THEM or not. Now Kazuma alone on the other hand? That's a different matter entirely. As for the when with him? It'll be soon, once I get approval to do so. That's all I can say for now. How about you? When will you be spilling the beans."
"I... I don't know yet. I'm not even sure if I'm ever going to, seeing as me doing the things I do down here is usually not allowed. I'm only able to be here because I'm cleaning up a mess left by a co-worker of mine who likes to do things without thinking of the consequences which causes others trouble."
"Heh, sounds like someone I know from back home, the cantankerous old fart... hey, it's the others."
Coming up at a fork in the path were the others. Megumin was laying on the ground with Walther and Darkness sitting beside her while Cielo was sitting on her knee's, using magic to seemingly fix them up. I call out to them, getting them to look my way in relief as we join them.
"Are you guys OK, what happened?"
"Oh, nothing really. Just got beat black and blue by some super strong demon was all."
Darkness looked rather pleased with herself when saying that, making Chris give her a deadpan look while saying-
"You weren't doing you usual routine when fighting that thing, were you?"
"N-No, of course not. E-Even I wouldn't g-go do something like that in this kind of s-situation."
Chris gives Darkness a hard stare, forcing Darkness to look away. After a second, Chris places a hand against her forehead and mumbles some complaints to herself. I then ask-
"Well, what about the rest of you."
"I'm good, nothing a little healing can't fix."
"I exhausted all my mana in my fight but I'm still good to go, even if it's only to cheer you guys on."
"I caused a fair amount of stress to my hands in my fight, but nothing that will leave me suffering any permanent injuries here. Now, hold still you two so I can fix you both right up."
As Cielo's healing light begins to cover us, I wanted to say that it wasn't needed, that we were both fine, but I decided to hold my tongue so as not to alert them to anything they didn't need to know about right now. And besides, the feeling of healing energies flowing through you did feel pretty good right now.
Not as good as taking in Kazuma's scent, in my opinion, but still pretty... wait, where is Kazuma anyways? I ask them that question, making them realize that Kazuma was currently the only person missing here. Megumin quickly sits up and says-
"You don't think he's still facing off with his opponent alone, do you."
A look of realization comes over Chris, making her say-
"Aldarp, Kazuma must be with Aldarp right now. Don't you guys see, this was never about testing us to see if we were worthy of a faceoff with him here. It was meant to keep us busy so Aldarp could take his time fighting against Kazuma. We need to find them both... NOW."
With that, we were on our feet, questioning which way we should go here. There was just one little problem. The fork in the hallway was split into three paths and we had all used one in order to get to this point. Just where were we supposed to go from...
As if to answer my question, three doors came into existence, one in each hallway, that all looked the same. After a moment, we hear a voice in our heads, the voice of the devil, say-
"Before you are three doors. One will take you to where you wish to go, one will see you back into the main hall, and one into a room where you'll be forced to face an endless gauntlet of demons. Choose wisely for you only get the one choice."
"Terrific, they just can't make it easy for us, can they?"
said Walther while Darkness asks if anyone had an idea about how to go about choosing our path here.
"It's this one."
said Megumin suddenly as she steps forward and opens one of the doors without a second thought. Before we could stop her, she passes through the door and disappears from sight. Well, seeing as she had made the choice for us, we follow her through the door and into the unknown.
And emerge outside, on a bridge that connected to a red carpeted stairway that led high into the sky into a tower like structure. Chris then grabs Megumin by her ears and starts scolding her for doing such a reckless act while Darkness asked why she felt that door was the right one.
"I... I don't know how to describe it, but I felt something pulling me forward. It was like there was this string flowing out of my chest that led to the door I chose before."
A string? OK, that sounds both odd and ominous. We then hear Cielo say-
"Who cares about that detail. Megumin clearly chose the correct door so why are we just standing around here. Kazuma has to be at the top of these stairs, inside that tower. So, let's hurry up there and join him already."
We all nod as we began our ascent up the stairs. Just a few steps up, we saw a flash of light come pouring out of the tower which makes us move even faster. There were a lot of steps and, at moments, it felt like the stairway was growing longer and longer here. But finally, we reached the top and...
Kazuma and Aldarp were indeed in here, both on the ground. Aldarp was lying motionless, that rope dart weapon Kazuma had been working on piercing through his chest and out his back while Kazuma was on his knees, head hanging low with little droplets of blood falling towards the ground.
"Kazuma! (x6)"
We immediately ran to his side and Lynn began to use her healing powers on him. As we all awaited a response, I couldn't help but take notice of the strange bit of jewelry Kazuma had hanging around his neck. I didn't know he was the fashion type. Finally, Kazuma began to stir as he looks up at us.
"Everyone, you're..."
he said in a weak voice. Darkness says-
"Yeah, we're here now and we're all together. And from the looks of Aldarp over there, this whole things over too."
"Don't be so sure about that, Darkness."
said Walther, making us quickly turn to look back at Aldarp who was beginning to move, then suddenly shoot into the air with glowing, almost demonic like eyes as his body jerked and spasm in a horrendous manner. He then looks at us and says in a most disturbing, demonic voice.
"NOOOO! IT IS NOT OVER, NOT UNTIL I SAY IT"S OVER..."
Immediately, the pike weapon his side shoots into his hand before he comes flying towards us. We all try to make a move to stop his approach, but I find my body suddenly feeling sluggish and unresponsive and from what I could see, the others were being affected by the same sudden force.
Was it the devil artifact he was wearing? The pike, that had been lying beside him, shoots into his arms before he comes hover over to us, taking aim and stabbing it right at Kazuma's chest. There was a splatter of blood that hits us all, but it wasn't Kazuma's blood, but Aldarp's as Megumin had somehow been able to regain full body control at the last second, grabbed Chunchunmaru, and sent it stabbing into Aldarp's chest alongside the rope dart.
Aldarp's body collapses back onto the ground, the light fading from his as he manages to say one final thing, with his regular voice-
"... dyna... mite..."
Eh? Did he just say... but isn't that the nickname Kazuma gave to Megumin? How would this guy of all people know about it? I look to Megumin, seeing she also had a confused and stunned look as well. Darkness, who I wasn't sure had heard those words, says-
"Please tell me it's over now."
"Hehe Hehe-he, oh it's over alright, my dear Lalatina."
said Kazuma as he suddenly gets up. I try to move as well but fine my body was still being difficult with doing what my brain wanted it to do here. Cielo asked Kazuma what was going on as he walks over to Aldarp's body, kneels down and pulls the devil artifact off Aldarp's hands before putting it onto his own. He then looks back at us with an evil, victorious smile.
"What's going on, lady Accord. Surely the answer must be obvious now, don't you think."
"Wait, that necklace around your neck. No, it can't... you can't be..."
Kazuma then begins to laugh hard for a moment, before placing a finger under the necklace to push it outward and show it off.
"Oh, so you know about this thing. Yes, it has been quite the useful item over these very long years. Allowing me to jump from one body to another."
"Jump from one body to... you're Aldarp."
"Correct, my former son. Or rather, I was Aldarp. Starting now, I guess I'm going to be Satou Kazuma. You know, it's funny. When I first met him all those months ago, I never could have imagined that HE of all people would become my new body. Funny how the world works, am I right."
"No... no, you are NOT Kazuma. I refuse to accept that. Where is he? What did you do to Kazuma?"
yelled Megumin, getting Kazuma... no, Aldarp to step forward and kneel down before us.
"Where is he, you ask? Oh, by now I'm sure he's taking the LONG fall down to someplace no soul would ever want to go. To be honest, I'm really not sure as I've never actually bothered to ask Maxwell just exactly what happens to those poor souls that become sacrifices to my continued existence."
He then stands again before adding-
"You know, little kid. I must thank you for the entertainment. I was planning on killing him once I took his body. Kind of have to in order to make sure I don't get sent back to the old, you know. But I thought it would be fun to watch someone else do it for me for a change. And you know what... it was fun."
He then begins to laugh again, a cold maniacal laugh. I could feel my anger raging within me, wishing I could reach up and pull my choker off me again, see if it could keep me in this state when I was able to access my full powers. But I couldn't. All I could do was tilt my head to look at the others.
I could see tears falling from Megumin's eyes. It was obvious what Aldarp had said was affecting her greatly. I mean, to be told someone very evil had body swapped with the person you clearly care for and then you were tricked into killing your special person all in the defense of the fake. She must be suffering greatly inside right now. The others didn't look any better.
Chris then says-
"You aren't going to get away with this, Aldarp. You will be stopped, I swear it."
"Oh, you can say that with such confidence, thief girl. I'm not worried though. I have been getting away with this for a very long time and in all that time, neither the goddess Eris nor the others up there in heaven have ever taken notice of my actions. Either they're inept at their jobs or... the just don't care about stopping people like me. Either way, it says a lot about them, wouldn't you agree?"
I could see Chris scowl and I could only guess at what was going on inside her mind. Walther then speaks up, saying-
"So, you really think you've won this one. Then tell me, what's going to happen now?"
"Hm? What's going to happen now? Well, seeing as I am no longer Alexei Barnes Aldarp, I don't need to keep using this devil artifact to keep HIS sins hidden away, which means I have full access to its powers again. I think for you, my disobedient son... I'll be sending you back to war so you can die a most glorious, or pitiful, death. And, for the rest of you..."
"How about we take a little time here to have ourselves a celebration? After all, I want to see just what all this new body of mine can do here and you all look like you can help me with that."
I send him a look of disgust, as do the others as it was obvious what it was he was planning. I could feel Chris was building up her energies again, obviously planning on unleashing her full powers again. But would she be able to do it before Aldarp began having his fun here.
Aldarp takes up a thinking pose and says to himself-
"Now, which one should I play with first? Should I go for Lalatina or should I treat you as the 'saving the best for last' option? Decisions-decisions, what do you all think? Any volunteers..."
Aldarp doesn't finish as he goes strangely silent. And then, his body goes rigid as he lets out a horrendous scream, lifting into the air as if he was being attacked by some sort of invisible force. I find my body suddenly returning to normal just as Aldarp goes collapsing onto the ground, unmoving.
We were quickly on our feet, as we all had regained the ability to move again it seems. Whatever it was that just happened seemed to have free us from being unable to move there. Immediately, Chris wraps Kazuma's body in several binding cords, obviously just to play it safe before trying to remove both the devil artifact and the necklace from around Kazu-I mean Aldarp's neck.
Neither one of them could be removed it seems as Darkness, who had her weapon draw and at the ready asks-
"What's going on? What's happening here?"
Chris takes a chance to get in close, bringing her ear close to his face and after a moment, pulls away and says-
"The body is still alive, but the breathing is slow and shallow. Lynn, can you sense anything with your... beastman blood?"
I reach out and place my hands on his chest while I hear Darkness ask Chris what this was all about with me. Maybe another time, Darkness. After a few moments, I pull my hands away and look at them while shaking my head.
"I'm sorry, everyone. I can't sense anything inside. No trace whatsoever of a soul, either Kazuma's or Aldarp's. It's like they're both just... gone."
"OK, so what does that mean? And what do we do now?"
asked Walther. Chris looked like she was about to say something when the sound of Megumin's sobs caught our attention, making us look over to see Cielo holding Megumin in a close hug, rubbing her back gently as Megumin cried into Cielo's shoulders.
"It's... it's because of me. I-I-I killed... Kazu..."
"No, Megumin. That's not true. It was all because of Aldarp. He's the one at fault, not you."
Chris gets up while asking Walther to carry Kazuma for her. She also asks me to prepare to teleport us straight to Axel as we'll need to go to the Erisia Cathedral for some reason. She then walks over to Cielo and Megumin, kneels down, and gets Megumin to look at her.
"Megumin, I know how you feel. WE all know how you feel. But Cielo is right. What happened wasn't your fault, but his. Don't go beating yourself up over something that was outside our sphere of control here. Instead, let us focus on doing something that we can do here now."
"And what's that, Chris?"
"Find out where Kazuma's soul is right now and get it back home where he belongs..."
================{Part 9: Prelude into Inferno}================
(3rd Person POV)
Upon the completion of the teleport, the group waste no time in heading to the Erisia Cathedral. At the current time of night, there were very little in the way of followers out and about, mostly the night owls that just kept watch over the place to make sure no weirdoes came around and did anything strange.
You know, like those crazy Axis cultists.
Thanks to Darkness being such a well-known follower of Eris, as well as a little bit of sneaking skills on the part of Chris, which was a little strange at first until everyone realized exactly where it was she was taking them, right into mother Clerica's personal, and PRIVATE, office.
Once in there, Chris moves past the fancy looking desk to a large picture, making Cielo ask-
"Chris, what are you doing?"
Chris looks back at us, smiles a prankster like smile, before doing... something to the picture which causes the image of the goddess to shift so that it looks like a mirror of some sort. She then touches her finger against the mirror, revealing ripples like it was the surface of a body of water.
Needless to say, that caught us all by surprise here. Chris then looks back at us and says-
"Walther, hand Kazuma's body off to Darkness. After that, I want you to go alert the Knight Guard of what has happened back at the mansion, as well as what happened within his 'other' mansion. I know you're wanting to join us within, but it's more important for you to get a search going on in order to see all those wronged by Aldarp get their long-awaited justice."
Walther nods. He then admits he wanted to join us wherever it was they were about to go now. But he agrees that his talents would be better served with the task Chris had given to him. Besides, he wasn't sure as to what it was he could actually do right now anyways.
Once he left, Darkness looks back at Chris and ask-
"Did Walther really need to be sent away to do that NOW, Chris? I know finding and collecting all that evidence is important here, but..."
"I have my reasons, Darkness. Please trust me on that here. Where it is we're about to go is a place only a select few should ever know about, let alone ever visit. This place is where Kazuma was taken back when he was first afflicted with the Lich curse by Verdia all those months ago."
"Chris, if that's the case, then how do you know about it? Is it because of your status as a special agent of Eris?"
asked Darkness. Chris doesn't respond, instead just turning away and stepping through the liquid like mirror. After a moment to look at one another, the girls follow Chris into the mirror and beyond...
The next thing they knew, they were inside a room that seemed to be made of amethyst on all sides. There was also what appeared to be a small dresser and a table and a large pool filled with what looked like glowing milk of all things.
"It can't be... is this the Sacred Vessel? The private chambers of Eris herself here in the world?"
said Cielo, clearly in awe. Chris turns back to look at us and nods before saying to Darkness-
"Go ahead and place his body there inside the liquid. While Kazuma is technically still alive, his body currently lacks a soul and a living body without a soul within it won't stay living for very long."
"Chris, what's going on? How do you know about this place? Just... who are you, really?"
Chris doesn't respond to Darkness' question, instead looking away. Darkness finally sighs and does as asked, placing Kazuma within the glowing milk like water before stepping out again. After a moment, Chris finally says-
"Everyone, I need to ask you all for a favor here, alright. What it is you're about to see, what you're about to here, I need you all to never reveal it to anyone alright. Please, promise me this..."
The girls look at each other before looking back at Chris and giving her a nod. Lynn sends Chris a look that ask if she was really OK with doing what she was about to do. After another moment, Chris says...
"You're all wondering how it is I know about this place. Probably wondering what my intentions are within this place. You see, the truth is... I'm..."
"There's no need to say anything more, miss thief. I believe my skills alone will be enough to help save Satou Kazuma here."
The sudden voice makes everyone jump in surprise as another figure comes stepping through the mirror into the room. A figure Megumin and Darkness were quick to recognize as they both say-
"You're... Ego."
The masked girl nods before stepping forward past everyone and into the waters before kneeling down beside Kazuma's body and placing a hand onto his chest. Chris watches Ego closely, her eyes narrowing. After a moment, Ego says to Chris without turning away from Kazuma.
"Your thoughts are correct, Chris. Complex and I are allies, part of the same group that has been keeping an eye on Kazuma since he first arrived in this... land."
"If what you're saying is true, then why did you allow this to happen to him. Why did you let things come to this?"
yelled Chris, the force in her tone making the others jump. Ego sighs before saying-
"As I've explained before, we have certain restrictions placed upon us. These restrictions prohibit us from interacting with Kazuma directly."
"And yet you're here now."
said Lynn, getting a nod from Chris.
"Because he's currently NOT here, not in the way that counts. Besides, even we can't just stay on the sidelines while his future is in danger like it is. Especially now, given the circumstances."
"Does that mean you know where Kazuma's soul is currently at?"
"And the soul of that bastard, Aldarp, too?"
asked Megumin and Darkness respectively. Ego nods before standing, her attention now fully on them.
"Yes, I do. And in order to make sure that Kazuma's soul is the one to return and claim ownership over his body again, I'm afraid you all are going to have to take a big risk here in order to make it happen."
"I don't care about any risk here. Whatever it takes to get Kazuma back where he belongs, I'll do it."
said Megumin in earnest with the others nodding in agreement. Ego nods as well before saying-
"Then prepare yourselves, all of you... for you'll all have to take a little trip..."
"All the way down into Hell!"
======================={Epilogue 1: Becoming the Dark Lord}========================
Vlad Dracula groaned as he opened his eyes, not that there was much to see wherever it was he was currently at. He could tell it was a cave of some kind, a pool of swirling darkness before before him. Around him, moving along the walls and ceiling of the cave, was a greenish colored smoke.
"Damn it, just where the hell am I?"
"Exactly, my friend. Welcome to hell... well, my little corner of it that is."
The sound of Maxwell's voice makes Aldarp turn to see a figure cloaked in darkness appear and come walking up to him. Confused, he asks-
"Maxwell? What's going on? Why am I here and not in Satou Kazuma's body?"
"Because of a little detail I couldn't have ever foreseen, my friend. It seemed that boy had within him a curse, a Lich curse that is. One that was in the process of taking over, converting his body into that of a Lich. When you swapped places with his and his soul was sent down here, the Lich didn't take kindly to that and also sent you along for the ride it seems."
What, you mean after all these years of success, it was THAT boy of all people that did me in?
I then feel the cold hand of Maxwell's come to rest on my shoulders, making me look back at him as he says-
"Fear not, my friend. All is not lost... yet. There is still a faint connection between your soul and his body here, just like a connection between the boy and his body also remains. So long as that connection stays there, either one of you has a chance to return to the mortal world and make claim of it."
"I see, so what should I do to make sure I'm the one who claims his body in the end."
"Simple, you must go hunt down his soul and severe its connection to his mortal shell once and for all. Break the chain of mortality that still bind the two, if you will. Once done, you'll be sent back into his body immediately as its this little property dispute between the two of you that's responsible for your current situation to begin with."
"I see, so all I have to do is to break his link to his body then. That should be easily enough done. Tell me, old friend. Where is he now? The sooner I deal with this matter, the sooner I can make my return and begin having some long-awaited fun with Lalatina and those other girls."
"Not so fast, old friend. Don't forget the boy has a Lich curse placed upon him. A curse such as that doesn't just afflict the body but the soul too. If you were to go now, it is next to impossible for you to win in a fight against him as he'll have likely turned into a full Lich by the time you can reach him, due to the level of arcana he's now being exposed to speeding up the process."
"But you have an idea that will give me the advantage, am I right?"
The shadow form of Maxwell turns and points the the pool of dark water close by then says-
"Submerge yourself within those waters and you will be given power. Power that will allow you to face off against a Lich, power that will make victory against him possible. And even better, once you return to the mortal realm, all those powers will come with you to be used at your whims."
"I see. And what exactly are these powers you speak of?"
"Why, the kind of powers that are worthy of a man such as yourself. The powers that your very name has inspired across the centuries that have passed since you left your life on Earth behind."
"The powers of a true Vampire lord!"
================={Epilogue 2: Entertainment in HIS Eyes}=================
In his private office within the capital, Chancellor Rubrikt finished the last of the paperwork he had to deal with before sitting back and letting out a sigh.
'Who could have imagined being in charge would lead to so much work. Perhaps I should get myself a few assistants to help take some of this workload off my shoulders.'
He jests, of course, as he knew this sort of thing came with the territory of leadership. Seeing as the king and the prince were off doing... things, he fell to him and the rest of the high council to keep this ship running until they decided to come back.
Rubrikt then remembers he had an important engagement he needed to attend to, making his stand quickly. He then walks over to a closet door, pulls out his special key and inserts it within the lock before opening the door and stepping inside.
Instead of the inside of the closet, he enters a large, empty room covered from floor to walls to ceiling in a light blue tile, one that created a ripple like effect when touched. The only light source within this room came from the glowing azure colors that pulsed along the cracks between each tile.
As he approaches the center, a chair slowly rises and takes shape from the floor, one he quickly seats himself in. Once comfortable, he waves his hand before him which makes three images appear before him, hovering in midair. One was of 'that man' talking with his devil friend. The second was of those girls in a room covered in amethyst. And the last was of Satou Kazuma, his soul to be more specific.
Rubrikt then snaps his fingers, making a glass of wine appear in one hand and a table with food and more wine appear at his side. He then takes a drink before saying to himself-
"So, we have ourselves a little Dante's Inferno scenario going on now with them. I wonder how it will play out..."
=============================={Arc 7 end...}==============================
Image 1: Kazuma, spinning both the rope dart and Chunchumaru around as he faces off with Dracula who has his pike at the ready to counterattack.
Image 2: Darkness using Retaliation to cleave the Malebranche in half.
Image 3: Lynn, and Chris who's behind her, glowing with a brilliant aura.
Image 4: A behind shot of Megumin, watching as her opponent explodes from eating the Dragon Slave.
Image 5: Cielo rushing towards the reader, her right fist aflame with the Hadoken.
Next time: We begin Arc 8: Kazuma's Inferno. The girls find themselves going on an adventure like no other for them, having to travel into Hell in order to find and rescue Kazuma. What challenges will they face this time, and will they get to Kazuma before it's too late. And it isn't just Dracula they have to worry about, but Kazuma's inner Lich as well as time isn't on anyone's side here. Also, don't worry. Yunyun will get to join in the fun as well before the end.
Just a quick heads up though. Don't expect the next chapter to release until we're well into the last week of the month, possibly not even till October 31 as I'm doing a little experiment with chapter 1 of Arc 8 which could require a bit of a rewrite before it comes out. I'll talk about what that experiment is in the chapter itself. Until then...
