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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation and other products set in the same universe are all owned by Rifujin na Magonote, Shirotaka, Shosetsuka ni Naro, Media Factory, and Studio Bind.
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Chapter 24: Bells Sing, Darkness Beckons
P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c
Also : P a treon . com (slash) socialistbukharin
Today was the day. I felt quite excited- and nervous. Extremely nervous.
Zen and I decided to sleep in different beds for the occasion, and we weren't meant to see each other until it was time for the ceremony. Not because any ritual demanded such, but because we both wanted this to be as relevant as possible. I had to take care of my side of the event, the small details which I had to make sure to deal with without leaving anything for any potential issues. Murasaki tagged along 'in his best behavior', and managed to offer some assistance together with Roxy's opinion in chosing the outfit for the event.
I had a few options to go for, and the one I picked was a bit of a mixture of a proper wedding outfit mixed with some elements from the more sober but still traditional piece I would have worn if I had married in my previous world. The jacket reached a bit below my hips, while my necktie clashed nicely with my purple shirt. The black pants were then mixed with a pair of dark-brown boots. Once the dressing was over, we went on to check if there were any issues with the invites. Much to my relief, everything was going great there too and no problem was reported.
Once these first two topics were solved, it was time to get moving to the venue to see how things were going there. Before leaving, out of need to have this event somewhat blessed by something I knew was quite holy and would be 'fitting' to use as a sealer of our bond, I brought a box with the pieces of Longinus in it. I wasn't going to reveal it or use it in the ceremony, but having it around for the wedding put a degree of relief in my heart as I knew that, either way one took it as a relic, it would bless the union at best and do nothing at worst.
The venue itself was fully prepared for the event, with the food mostly ready as the ceremony itself was soon to happen and we were out to get to the small area where we would go through the celebration which was a small garden-like patch outside of the city which was heavily guarded for the occasion. The entire place was set up for the event, with the Milis Priest happily enjoying the setting and calling this a 'proper setting for a young love to fully grow from this union.
This I counted as an extra blessing and I felt glad that this was going as well as I intended it to go. and that's where I had to go through the last serious obstacle before the ceremony started. Meeting my future in-laws proved to be somewhat less horrifying as I would have imagined. Zenith's father was quite happy with the match-up while her mother looked mostly 'satisfied' with the fact that I was going to provide her daughter with a fitting life for a noble lady.
Could it be that Zenith told her about the money we were making? Perhaps, but I could see it more as a way to keep the old woman from causing problems about our livelihood. Likewise, Therese was happy that I was going to protect her sister 'with feeling' as I was now going to marry her.
The rest of the invited people were those adventurers we knew through the guild and the receptionist herself was there too. To add more relevance, little Princess Ariel was there in secret with a disguise, with her blonde hair combed in a pretty ponytail and her face hidded with a smiling mask as a simple but pretty dress hid the truth of her regality. Lilia was there too, curious to see how this was going to unfold and... soon it was time for the ceremony.
Two things caught my attention as the bride approached the makeshift altar, and it was that 1) Zenith was absolutely gorgeous in her white dress and 2) Zenith managed to convince Ghislaine to put on a dress. That by itself was an impressive feat that I could tell the beastwoman was coming to regret going through from the glances she was getting and the embarrassed look on her face.
The ceremony itself had two main elements which, in a sense, reminded me of how some marriages worked back home. The rings may have been the 'starting' point for the proposal, but the real event wouldn't involve them, hence why we were already wearing them. Marriage in the Milis Religion was somewhat 'tame', but it was connected to an important event in their religious mythology:
When Saint Millis had to leave for an important quest, she left her most beloved follower (and rumored lover) with a necklace and a kiss on his forehead. As she faced a great danger during this mission, the beloved follower begged the God Millis to save her, at the expense of the necklace. The story goes that the God was touched by such a gesture and dignified this gesture as the truest sign of love one can muster towards another.
So, the ceremony consisted of the groom providing the bride with a special necklace prepared for the ceremony as the priest finished blessing it and the bride would then kiss the groom's forehead in a show that mimicked the gesture of the Saint. I was a bit amused by this last bit, as I could tell Zen was annoyed by the height difference and how I had to lean down so she could reach my forehead. The pesky grin on my face may have gotten her a bit irked, but it was all quite briefly as we both cracked smiles at each other.
The priest thus proclaimed us Husband and Wife and... it felt quite refreshing as everyone applauded the sight. Everything went loud and yet the display of happiness lasted just long enough for everyone to stand up and be ready for the next bit of the event- the celebration by the venue we had paid for the event.
Everyone was pleased of the sight they were bestowed, both in appeared for the place and the food served. I would have thought the priest would have objected with who was owning the building, but I caught him exchanging a few praises with the fairy that owned the place and I was convinced that was the last thing that I could worry about now dealt with.
...I was wrong.
During the feast, I stood mostly with my now-wife as I had a few things to tell her about changes on the ring she was now wearing. I told her of a special seal which would unlock when she used magic on it and used the word 'help'. The release would then manifest a special mana-manifested staff. It wouldn't be perfect for her casting, but it was something that would help her channel magic better in case of trouble. She looked pleased by the whole event but- then something odd happened.
I noticed that some of the guards around looked a bit nervous as a few of those moved towards the entrance of the venue. I frowned at the sight, mentioning it to Zenith.
"I think there are issues at the entrance," I muttered, the blonde humming in surprise as she was munching at a bite from her meal.
Before she could get the chance to ask, the windows on the upper section of the room were broken as glass was sent flying and caped figures descending from above and forcing us to stand up. While normally this would be a reason for everyone to panic... with most of the invited guests being adventurers, everyone was ready to fight the moment the attackers darted to attack and cause chaos all around. From celebration to a complete melee with multiple magic users providing assistance either through offensive spells or healing anyone that was getting injured in the brawl.
I had just a sword for the occasion, something that wouldn't feel too cumbersome to carry during the event but that could still give me the edge in any issue. The one that rushed at us was wielding two blades at once, both glowing violet and giving me some 'poison' vibes that I wasn't liking at all.
The high-paced skirmish was way more intense than I could have predicted, the hooded man putting through a fierce offensive pace which was filled with openings that I couldn't use due to its speed. For some reason, this man knew precisely what to do to prevent me from going full defensive and counter his attacks- it was as if he knew of my fighting style and had mastered a counter to it.
But where I would have lost against this man due to this circumstance, I had an advantage that the assassin didn't seem to take notice up until too late.
"Dodge!" Zenith exclaimed and I complied as a bolt of thunder barely missed me but struck the unexpecting attacker on his chest. The man faltered and this gave me the chance to finally strike. My sword cut through, cleaving his right arm with ease as blood erupted from the wound and caused the killer to trip back and fall down, the push forcing his hood and mask to come off and-
My jaw dropped, color draining from my face as I recognized him in his agony, his eyes riddled with tears between the pain and the knowledge of his betrayal. It was him- why it was him!?
"Geese...?"
He didn't look up- he couldn't even dare to look up as my hand tightened over my sword. I would have struck him there as anger erupted at the implication- all this time, he lied to us. His friendliness, his opening up, him being a good man and a good bro- and then I realized why he had many times looked so upset. He knew this was how things would have turned up and yet he still went through with it all.
Before I could strike him down, I felt my instinct screaming as I perceived something unpleasant forming somewhere nearby. Something was behind us. I reacted by instinct, rushing and grasping Zenith's hand so I could her closer to me much to her surprise, but then she saw me looking with worry behind where she was standing and she saw it.
A figure of white, exuding a form of energy and magic which pulsed and sent waves across the venue. Many between defenders and attackers faltered at this, eyes turning as they looked for the source of this distraction and- the attackers dropped the fighting entirely, starting to praying in silence at the lone entity that manifested before our eyes.
"Interesting. You noticed me so quickly."
Surprised, yet the voice didn't bother hiding its disgust.
"But alas, this will not matter. I will put an end to His Plot here and now before it can actually hurt me in any wa-!"
The entity paused, tensing up as the noise of something stabbing behind it interrupted its preaching. Its gaze turned around its shoulder and it froze before the sight of half a lance now firmly penetrating its hip. Longinus had pierced through its flesh, glowing a different white light which made me realize why it felt so uncomfortable to stare at the being-
Its holiness clashed with the entity's unholy essense- tainted, his light was tainted. Without input, the blade suddenly shifted upward and removed itself from its body, leaving a large bleeding gash which did more than just opening a wound- it revealed a dark secret. I was confused by the sight at first, unable to understand why did Longinus react like this as I knew it wasn't to protect me.
No, it wasn't protecting, it was striking down something it was familiar with and perhaps ordained to destroy. And as I saw pure light-like dark skin emerging from the cut together with dark-red blood... I realized that this being, that this stinking and rotting stench of decomposing flesh which was so foul to my nostrils that I could feel tears forming at a mere sniff, was not a God. This 'pure entity' was not what it looked like.
"To think you... found this. I guess... He planned this eventuality too."
"J-John," Zen muttered, looking worried as she stared at the entity. "W-What is that?"
"Something that doesn't belong here," I replied darkly, and the figure snorted.
"Is this the way to address me, Hitogami? Have you no shame, outworlder?"
I narrowed my eyes at that. "I would address this Hitogami correctly if he wasn't there. But that's not who you are, am I right?"
The entity that called itself 'Hitogami' looked stunned at this rebuttal. "Truly?"
"I think I can recognize an usurper on the spot. Would that be correct, Lucifer?"
Its eyes widened as red lights appeared there... before the figure vanished from our sight and, with it, the other hooded figures were out too. Even Geese was no longer there, only a pool of blood remaining at his departure. I tried to reason what had just happen, the heavy revelation that Longinus, now on the ground but still 'burning' the blood once owned by the demonic entity, but I couldn't. There was a lot to unpack about what I just learned from this.
After all, how the hell am I supposed to reason that the King of Hell was somehow running around as this 'Hitogami'?
AN
I'll start by saying that John's current assessment is slightly wrong. That's indeed Lucifer, but the circumstances are not about the demon having been Isekai'd- no, the situation is a bit more complicated and comforming with the main lore of Mushoku Tensei. More will be elaborated in the next few chapters as this will become a priority: how this is possible and why Lucifer is after John and Zenith.
