A New Overlord
The fifth chapter of my Disgaea fan fiction. I just want to thank all of you who have continued to read my fan fiction in its entirety. I've been working at it so I think I'm starting to get back into the swing of writing. Now then, without further ado, I present the fifth chapter of Disgaea: A New Overlord.
Chapter 5: The Uninvited Guests
Chiaki looked on in silent amazement at her readout from the mana power indicator. Not only had she received an overlord ranking as Miroku had but she also surpassed him as well. Mimiru stared quietly for a minute before breaking the silence between the three of them.
"I've never seen anything quite like this before. Although I haven't had much personal experience with it, the chances of two people with such high mana counts being in the same room are astronomical. And to receive the same rank as well….well it's just unbelievable." Mimiru explained.
"I couldn't believe it either. I never expected to get such a high count, let alone think that Chiaki could pass me by that much. But, truthfully, how do we even know if the reading is accurate or not? I mean, it's not like any of us have used something like this before. What if it's a fluke? What if it gives everyone approximately the same readout?" Miroku inquired thoughtfully.
"I'm not usually one to be skeptic about something like this, but he does raise a good point. How can we be sure that this item actually works the way it's supposed to?" Chiaki added.
"Are you insinuating that the items sold in this store aren't fully functional? I assure you that everything we get is top quality and works as it should." Mimiru replied curtly. She wasn't one to deal with people ridiculing the quality of the items sold in her mother's store. Even more so now that the store was in her care.
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, if we don't know exactly how this thing can be accurate, we can't just take the readout at face value."
"And besides, I don't think that in real life, Chiaki could surpass me by that much. I mean, how can a known good-for-nothing like Chiaki get a number that surpasses me by that much? It's just not possible." Miroku said plainly. He was completely oblivious to how Chiaki could possibly react to a statement like that.
"You just can't leave things alone, can you? You have to keep opening your mouth." Chiaki said through clenched teeth.
"No, I didn't mean to say it out like that. You're taking it the wrong way, Chiaki." Miroku appealed.
"And there's supposed to be a right way to listen to someone call you a good-for-nothing?" Chiaki shouted.
Chiaki pounced on Miroku, landing him on the floor and her on his midsection, pinning him down. She beat him furiously, kicking up dust from the floor until the two of them disappeared in a cloud of dust. Mimiru's eyes widened as Chiaki began to beat Miroku before the two of them disappeared from her view.
"Please, no fighting in the store! You're going to break everything and mother is going to blame it on me!" Mimiru pleaded as she caught a few objects which fell off of nearby shelves.
"Never has anyone been so dense as to not leave things alone and constantly complicate things! With all the constant ridicule and annoyance that I have to deal with from you, it's absolutely infuriating!" Chiaki yelled as she continued to beat Miroku relentlessly.
"Chiaki, you have to knock it off! If you wreck everything, I don't have the money to pay for it. Calm down, please!" Miroku begged between grunts of pain from shots from Chiaki that were particularly strong. He shielded his face with his arms and tried to steel his body so he didn't take as much pain until Chiaki tired herself out.
"Please stop, you're going to ruin everything. I'm begging you, stop fighting!" Mimiru begged urgently while trying to keep a shelf from tipping over.
People who bypassed the store peered into the window to watch the assault. Some only looked briefly before continuing about their day as if nothing was wrong. The scout across the street watched silently as he viewed the mana indicator, which sat unguarded on the counter. Mimiru, in an attempt to reconcile the situation without drawing any more attention to the shop, ran to the windows and pulled the shades closed, obscuring the interior of the store from view. She quickly turned the sign, which read "open" to those on the outside, to the side which read "closed". The scout who was watching ran across the street and into a back alley behind the occult shop and watched from a courtesy window in the back. He opened a communications line with the Overlord's Castle to report his progress.
"OC come in. Do you read me, OC? I repeat, OC, do you read me?" The scout spoke into his command set.
Etna walked over to the control panel and donned a headset and raised the communication line.
"Copy that, Scout 1. OC responds. What's you're current status?" Etna asked professionally. She had spent the past few nights watching old war and spy-fiction films in order to get her terminology and contact manner refined and correct.
"I'm standing at a service window behind the building currently housing the mana index. It seems a fight has broken out between the persons who have the index in their current possession." The scout reported.
"And the index; is it safe?" Etna asked with concern.
"It has been left unguarded on a counter. It is still in prime condition." The scout replied.
"Good. You are authorized to take action. Retrieve the mana index, attempting to remain unseen." Etna ordered.
"Yes ma'am. But there doesn't seem to be any accessible entry into the shop." The scout responded.
A steel plate shot through the window as the scout ducked quickly to dodge it. One second slower and it would have taken his head off. The shattered glass lay at his feet, almost forming an arrow as if telling him that an entry way had been creative.
"Well that's convenient." The scout thought aloud.
"What was that, Scout 1?" Etna asked over the headset.
"Nothing ma'am. An artificial entry-way has been created for me. Heading in to retrieve the mana index now. Scout 1, out." The scout spoke into the headset before closing the communication line.
In the Overlord's Castle, Etna removed the headset and closed the communication line on her end. She rushed over to Laharl's room to inform him of the scout's progress. She put her hand on the doorknob and turned it. She pulled on the door firmly, but to no avail. Laharl's room was still locked.
"Prince, are you still in there? I need to tell you something. It's kinda important." Etna called beyond the door. No response came, angering Etna, who believed that Laharl was still in there.
"Dammit, Prince! Open the goddamn door before I kick it in!" Etna shouted. Still no response came. She banged on the door twice before placing her ear to it to verify whether or not Laharl was in there.
Etna listened for a moment at the door. She could hear soft murmuring from beyond the door. She could make out the voices, but just barely. It seemed Laharl and Flonne were having a private conversation. A conversation that Etna was dying to hear. She hurried back to the communications room and opened a steel locker. Inside was a bunch of small containers shaped sort of like briefcases. She pulled one out and opened it on the desk. Inside was a small, prinny shaped figure and a control. She removed the briefcase's contents and laid them out on the counter. She took a small disk and placed it into the main computer which brought up a video feed on the screen. She picked up the control and the prinny figure and walked back to Laharl's room. She placed it on the floor near the edge of the door. She pushed it underneath the gap between the floor and the door with the end of her spear. She ran back to the communications room before she was spotted and took the controller in hand. She pressed a button and the interior of Laharl's room became visible.
"Now then, Prince. Let's just see what you're up to using my brand new Prinny-cam." Etna thought aloud.
She manipulated the control so that the prinny-cam was standing upright and walked it further into the interior of Laharl's room. Flonne and Laharl became visible on the screen as she moved closer to them. They were sitting on Laharl's bed, talking.
"Now, let's see what you two are talking about without me." Etna said deviously. She pressed a button on the controller and a small speaker appeared on the side of the prinny-cam's head, where its ears would be if prinnies had ears.
"So that's how you really feel, huh? Well, I don't know how to respond to something like that." Laharl said coldly.
"Well, if you feel the same, then say it back." Flonne said hopefully.
"What the hell is going on? What are they talking about?" Etna questioned as she slowly moved the prinny-cam closer to the edge of Laharl's bed.
"I don't think I can. Not yet anyway. I'm not even supposed to be thinking about this but I find myself thinking about it more often than not. More so after what happened." Laharl responded to Flonne. He stared into her eyes for a minute and then looked back down at the floor.
"Dammit! Just say what you're talking about! This is so annoying. Eavesdropping should never be this hard!" Etna cried aloud in frustration. She liked to be in on everything that was going on in the netherworld, even if the party in question had no idea.
"So you're telling me…."no"?" Flonne asked sadly.
"Not "no". Just not yet." Laharl replied as he ran hand down Flonne's thigh.
Flonne pushed Laharl's hand off of her thigh and looked at him angrily.
"Don't touch me if you can't say it back." Flonne snapped coldly.
"Say what back? What's going on?" Etna thought to herself. She had millions of theories running through her head but the most prominent was that Laharl and Flonne were toying around with the idea of a potential relationship. The only thing that kept her from believing it was the fact that she didn't believe Laharl would be one to commit to a serious relationship. She had doubts that Laharl even knew what a serious relationship was.
Etna closed all communication lines and walked out of the communications room. She headed towards the main conjoining hallway and took right into her secret room where her diary was located. She undid the lock and turned to a fresh page near the back of the book. She took the pen from its holster and began to write.
"Something is going on and it concerns Laharl and Flonne. I have no idea what but I'm not going to rest until I find out. Ever since the prince grew up, he's changed. I mean physically of course. Sure he may have gotten taller and his voice has gotten deeper but he still has the mind of a little kid. At least from what I know of him. Anyway, Flonne came down to visit and since she got here, the prince has been acting strange and Flonne has been more out of it than usual. There's something interesting going on here and I'm going to find out. Nothing goes on in this kingdom without me knowing about it. I can't break my streak."
Etna placed the pen back in its holster and closed the diary. She closed the lock and hid the key in the usual hiding spot. She closed the door and walked back out of the room. She came out in time to see Laharl get slapped by Flonne. Hard. Laharl stood for a moment and stared on at Flonne, his hand holding his cheek.
"You insensitive jerk! After all the trouble I went through, you're not going to even say something so simple? I don't even know why I thought you would have changed." Flonne shouted.
Etna watched from the bottom of the staircase. Her outward silence masked her mind which was full of thoughts rushing this way and that.
"Why is Flonne like this? She's never been like this, ever. What could Laharl have done to cause such a radical change in her? And what was going on to make Laharl change the way he's been acting as of late? Nothing is making sense."
Flonne turned on a heel and stormed out of the front gate and headed towards the shopping district of Laharl's kingdom.
"ETNA! Get the prinny squad assembled! That scout is taking too long! I'm going back for the damn thing myself!" Laharl shouted. His voice was filled with such anger that it shook the castle rafters. Parts of old wall around the castle even crumbled at the force of his bellow.
"But Prince, you can't do that! It's too risky to storm the human world like that!" Etna explained frantically.
"Did I ask for your opinion? I'm tired of your goddamned condescending back talk and constant disrespect. From now on, when I give you an order, you'll heed my word without question! Got it?" Laharl snapped fiercely. He obviously wasn't in a talking mood. He jumped down from the top of the stairs and landed near Etna. He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground.
"I asked you a question. Now, do you understand what I just told you?" Laharl asked maliciously. He loosened his grip slightly to allow Etna to speak clearly.
"Yes, Prince…" Etna started to fade out from lack of oxygen. She was losing consciousness when Laharl released her.
Etna fell to the floor, choking and gasping for air. Laharl snapped around, causing his cape to make a large arc. His footsteps were heavy and created an echo throughout the castle halls. Even his vassals who had been on the receiving end of his worst tantrums had never seen him like this. This was no simple temper flare. Laharl had a lust for violence and blood. Something had happened between Flonne and Laharl during the time Etna wrote in her diary and when she left the room to make Laharl have such a violent outburst.
"There is no logical explanation as to Laharl's aggravated behavior at this current time. No action can be taken due to lack of data. Assassination command has been put on standby in case of emergency." Thursday's voice came close. Apparently, he had witnessed the event along with Gordon as they were leaving the kitchen, having finished the duty Laharl bestowed upon them.
"Something is amiss. Laharl is acting abnormal. As a…." Gordon drew a deep sigh before completing his statement.
"As a Slayer of the Netherworld, I must see to it that Laharl's actions will not jeopardize the kingdom." Gordon said in his trademark American comic book hero tone of voice.
"I can calculate 300 clear and logical reason as to why you're last statement can be considered irrational, Gordon. The most pressing of them being the risk of mortal injury." Thursday said monotonously.
"I see. You raise a valid point, Thursday. We shall inspect Laharl from afar and act accordingly. I don't know where I'd be without you, Thursday."
"Most presumably dead in a ditch somewhere." Thursday responded.
While things were getting hectic at the castle, the situation was no better at Mimiru's occult shop. Chiaki, between taking a breath every now and then, had not stopped pounding Miroku. Most people wouldn't believe that she could continue to go on like that for so long but she was venting from years of frustration, whether it was caused by Miroku or otherwise. Taking advantage of the entrance that was created for him, the scout climbed in quietly through the broken window and snuck into the back room. Only a door separated him from the counter which held the index. Mimiru was busy tending to the fight and the store to notice him slip in and grab the index. The scout stood tall and pumped a fist in excitement.
"Mission accomplished. Now to return to the extraction point and return the index to Ms. Etna." The scout said quietly to himself. As he turned to walk out, a metal shield fell from the shelf above him and landed on him with a deafening crash.
Chiaki stopped beating on Miroku, who had protected himself considerably well from Chiaki's assault. Mimiru turned around while holding a couple of urns in her arms. The scout rubbed his head for a minute to soothe the pain before noticing that he had been spotted.
"Hey! That guy with the backpack is stealing my stuff!" Chiaki shouted, indicating the scout standing behind the counter.
"When did he get in here, and how?" Mimiru questioned.
"Mission compromised! I repeat, mission compromised!" The scout shouted into his headset as he ran towards the back door.
"Get back here with my stuff you thief!" Chiaki shouted as she gave chase.
Miroku stood up and dusted himself off as he turned to Mimiru and looked at her.
"I guess we don't have much of a choice but to follow her." Mimiru said flatly.
"You guessed right." Miroku said in response. He turned on a heel and followed after Chiaki and the scout.
Mimiru drew a deep sigh and rubbed her temples.
"Why'd this have to happen on my first day on the job?" Mimiru thought aloud.
She tore her dress off and revealed a pair of bell bottom jeans and a white T-shirt. She grabbed a pair of rollerblades from her shelf and strapped them on. She stood erect and shot out the door in order to catch up with Miroku and Chiaki. Miroku already had a pretty good head start and was closing ground on Chiaki. He pumped his legs hard to reach up to her until he was running alongside her.
"For a thief, this guy moves pretty fast. You have any idea where he's headed?" Miroku asked while keeping in pace with Chiaki.
"I don't even know the guy. How am I supposed to know where he's going?" Chiaki asked, slightly perturbed.
"Just an idle question. I got this, no trouble." Miroku sped up again and closed the distance between him and the scout. He could see him ahead of him as his image drew closer. The scout saw Miroku gaining on him out of the corner of his eye.
"Damn. These humans are pretty fast. I guess I have to slow him down by any means. I got it!" The scout snapped his fingers as his idea came to him. He stopped briefly and turned to Miroku.
"Giving up already?" Miroku asked confidently.
"No. I just figured things should go out with a blast. Dark Cannon!" The scout shouted as he raised his hands to the sky. A cannon grew from the ground and fixed its sight on the nearest target, Miroku.
"What the hell? Where did that come from?" Miroku stopped dead in his tracks.
The cannon made a locking sound as it auto-loaded its ammo supply and locked itself into position.
"What are you just standing there for? Move!" Chiaki shouted as she pushed Miroku to the side and leapt over the cannon. The head swiveled and rose to meet Chiaki in mid-air. There was no way she could escape the blast since she was already in the air.
"Stupid hunk of metal! Get the hell out of the way!" Miroku shouted as he pounded on it with everything he had. His fists bled slightly as he punched the hard surface of the cannon.
It seemed like Miroku was making a futile attempt until the cannon's screws came undone from the repeated shock of Miroku's powerful shots. The head of the cannon swiveled and fell off and rolled to the side, clearing the path for Miroku to continue to give chase and allow Chiaki to move on.
"Thanks! I didn't think you had it in you!" Chiaki shouted back as she continued to chase the scout.
"You know, you're pretty unbelievable when you need to be." Mimiru said as she rolled up alongside Miroku.
"Save the praise for another time. Right now we have to keep up with that thief." Miroku said as he shot off.
"Typical hero. Oh well." Mimiru thought aloud as she followed behind him.
Chiaki kept on after the scout who had lost his lead due to the fact that he stopped to summon the cannon. Chiaki looked ahead and saw where he was headed. The swirling portal at the end of the back alley he was headed towards was a dimensional gate. Chiaki had read about them on the net on many of the occult sites she visits to get her "info." Miroku finally managed to reach Chiaki and followed directly behind her due to the narrow size of the alley.
"Stop! Gimme back my mana indicator!" Chiaki shouted after the scout.
"It's not yours to have!" The scout shouted as he dove into the portal.
On impulse, Chiaki jumped in after him. After realizing what she had done, she had a moment of overwhelming fear wash over her. Miroku skidded to a stop before the portal and watched as Chiaki was taken down.
"Chiaki!" Miroku yelled down after her. She was already out of earshot and the gate was beginning to close.
"How am I supposed to help her out? What can I do?" Miroku questioned frantically. He could necessarily jump right in after her.
That was until Mimiru arrived. She couldn't stop in time and crashed into Miroku, knocking himself and her into the portal as it sealed itself shut. The foursome crashed onto the floor upon exiting the dimensional gate. The scout landed hard and the index fell out of his hands and skidded across the floor to Laharl's feet.
"It's about time! I was about ready to go up there myself." Laharl chastised the scout. He hunched down and grabbed the index from the floor and looked it over briefly before addressing the scout yet again.
"For your sake, you'd better hope it still works." Laharl said stiffly.
"Hey! I don't know who you are but you'd better give that back. I paid good money for that indicator." Chiaki shouted as she rose to her feet.
"Excuse me? This shouldn't even belong to you. And who are you to be addressing me in such a manner? Don't you know how to properly address royalty?" Laharl said as he focused his gaze intently on Chiaki.
"Who are you trying to kid? You don't look much older than me and you expect me to treat you with the respect of royalty?" Chiaki snapped back.
Laharl's other vassals gasped at Chiaki's remark. Sure, people had answered back to Laharl before but never had they questioned his position as overlord. An overlord's rule was absolute and was not to be questioned. Laharl's faced become a dark red as his face became flushed with anger. His arms shook violently at an ill-fated attempt at holding his anger back.
"Enough! Send them all to the dungeon! They are to be executed immediately!" Laharl shouted as he indicated Chiaki, Mimiru, and Miroku.
Laharl's vassals grabbed the trio, leaving the scout lying on the floor, and began to drag them down the hall to the stairs at the end. Laharl watched as the trio was escorted to the dungeon. After they disappeared from view, Laharl returned his gaze to the scout who had risen to his feet.
"And you….Do you have any idea how much danger you put this kingdom in by leading them here? You could have single handedly turned my kingdom into a tourist site if they escaped. You should consider yourself lucky that I'm leaving you with your life." Laharl explained grimly. He rubbed his temples, attempting to calm himself down.
"Yes, your highness. I'm sorry your highness. Please forgive me." The scout pleaded as he dropped down on one knee and appealed to Laharl for forgiveness.
Laharl drew a deep sigh and looked back at the scout. He placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay. You accomplished your mission. And you did a good job no less. Get out of here, Ferdinand. And don't tell anyone about this. As far as everyone else is concerned, I beat the hell out of you and let you limp back to your room. Got it?" Laharl said understandingly.
"Yes sir! Thank you!" Ferdinand said thankfully as he hurried back to his room.
Two gargoyles and a Fafnir took Chiaki and her friends to the dungeon room and headed far back to an area where there were still a few empty cells. The room was dark and smelled of wet dirt and concrete. The Fafnir grabbed Chiaki from one of the gargoyles, who proceeded to unlock the gate to the cell and threw Chiaki inside. He stepped over to the next cell and unlocked it and shoved Miroku inside. He then proceeded to walk to the last cell and unlocked it as well. He grabbed Mimiru from the Fafnir.
"Hey, watch the hands, buddy!" Mimiru shouted in response to and impromptu groping from the gargoyle.
"Shut up!" The gargoyle snapped as he threw her into the cell.
The three demons walked off until they disappeared from view behind the dim light of the candles that lined the wall. Miroku climbed to his feet and dusted the dirt off of him.
"You girls alright?" Miroku asked with concern.
"Not really, that demon groped me." Mimiru said as she sat down on the cot and brought her knees to her chest.
"Out of the two of us, he chooses to grope you?" Chiaki spoke across the cells to Mimiru.
"You're kidding me with that right? Are you actually jealous because Mimiru got groped and you didn't?" Miroku asked Chiaki through the wall.
"Not jealous, just curious is all." Chiaki said defensively. She had realized what she just said and couldn't believe that she was actually jealous of Mimiru for getting groped.
"Either way, we have to find a way to get out of here. Wherever here is anyway…." Miroku said dejectedly as he sat down on his cot. He buried his hands in his face and thought reviewed the events of what had transpired in his mind.
"Yeah. Come to think of it, we don't even know where we are. We didn't even notice that there were demons running around. How did we miss that?" Chiaki asked aloud. She couldn't believe that they were just arrested by demons and didn't see it as strange.
"Really. You think we would have noticed something like that way earlier. Normally, we should be freaking out about something like this but we're surprisingly calm as if nothing is wrong." Miroku mused.
"Well….I have a theory…." Mimiru said meekly. She was a still a little shaken by the demon's "contact" with her.
"Anything you've got would be helpful right now." Miroku said hopefully, wishing that Mimiru could make some sense out of what was going on.
"Well….since you guys have such an adept mana holding, I would think that maybe, just by chance, that this kind of thing would be typical for you if you can ascertain such a high mana count. Only demons and celestial beings can reach numbers that high. So maybe, being around people with similar mana counts brings nostalgia of sorts." Mimiru explained calmly.
"You know, as strange as that sounds, it does make sense." Chiaki remarked. She wondered how Mimiru could have such insight into things like this. At times, it seemed like she was more informed than Chiaki was but then again, it is to be expected when you own an occult shop.
"I think that would explain it. But what about you, Mimiru? How come you're so calm? You never got your mana power measured so we can't know for sure if it's the same case with you."
"You're right. I'm not exactly sure myself. Who knows? I could have a pretty high count, too." Mimiru replied to Miroku.
Mimiru's comment was returned with silence. Miroku had stopped talking.
"Miroku, are you alright in there?" Mimiru asked, genuinely concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking…." Miroku's sentence trailed off into thought again. He walked up and down his cell, closely examining the wall.
"What's up? What are you thinking about?" Chiaki inquired of Miroku.
"I was just thinking….These walls look pretty old and worn, don't you think? I was just wondering if….Mimiru, move away from the wall." Miroku cautioned as he clenched a fist tightly.
"O-okay. But what are you thinking? What are you going to do?" Mimiru asked curiously.
Miroku stayed silent. He clenched his fist tightly and walked close to the wall. He slowly counted down from three under his breath. Then, releasing everything he had in him, he struck the wall with his right hand fist as hard as he could. Parts of the wall crumbled to dust while the rest shifted out of place, creating a hole in the wall which made his cell accessible to Mimiru's.
"Sure, ignore your friend of forever…" Chiaki said to herself.
"My god, Miroku. How did you get so strong? I never thought you could do stuff like this. I wasn't even expecting you to break that cannon and now this. You're really amazing." Mimiru exclaimed as she ran to Miroku on impulse.
Mimiru wrapped her arms around Miroku tightly and laid her head on his chest. She sighed happily, knowing that she no longer had to stay in her cell alone. Mimiru rarely acted impulsively but she was so glad to have Miroku next to her. She didn't have much experience at being alone. Even owning the shop was pretty stressful for her.
"I didn't do it on my own. Take a look at this." Miroku lifted his hand Mimiru.
Mimiru turned her head to the side and realized the Miroku's hand was covered by a somewhat fluorescent indigo colored flame.
"What? What's going on over there?" Chiaki questioned from her cell.
Mimiru opened her mouth to inquire the same thing of Miroku but was quieted by Miroku's warning to Chiaki.
"Now, step as far away from the wall as possible, Chiaki. Step to the opposite end of your cell." Miroku commanded.
"Okay, but what are you…." Chiaki fell silent as a loud crash made its way to her ears and the wall before her crumbled and shifted, creating a make-shift exit from her cell into Miroku's.
She rubbed her eyes in disbelief and stared on for a moment. She then moved past the rubble and into Miroku's cell where Mimiru and Miroku were standing, waiting for her.
"What the hell did you just do?" Chiaki asked with total shock.
"I'm not sure, but I think I may have channeled my mana which allowed me to break the wall. All I did was focus on the wall and hit it as hard as I could and when I looked down at my hand, it was covered with this." He lifted his hand and indicated the flames spiraling upward before fading out in sparks into the ceiling of the cell.
"But doesn't it burn or anything like that?" Mimiru asked from behind Miroku.
"Not really. It feels kinda warm. And also, a bit invigorating, but other than that, it doesn't really feel strange. It doesn't even hurt." Miroku said with surprise.
"I wonder if I can do anything like that. I mean, you said you think that it might be mana, right? So if you could channel it, I'm assuming I can do it too." Chiaki explained.
"True, that would make sense if you could do it too. It would also verify that this flame is mana power." Miroku replied.
The group's discussion was broken up as the sound of footsteps could be heard running down the hall, drawing closer to what was now one long cell. Two gargoyles, a Fafnir and a golem showed up standing in front of the conjoined cells.
"What the hell is going on back here?" The Fafnir demanded.
"They're instituting a prison break! Don't let them out!" The golem shouted.
"Looks like this is gonna get a little crazy. Hope you guys are ready for this." Miroku said with confidence.
Miroku tried to focus his mind on the swirling flame surrounding his hand. He breathed rhythmically as he focused only on the flame. Soon, the column rose and grew to immense proportions. The demons fell back a step in shock as they viewed his flame from outside the cell. Miroku grabbed two of the bars and bent them to the side, creating an exit for the group.
"Hey! Get back in there, damn you!" One of the zombies shouted at Miroku.
Miroku did not stop his forward advance and was thrust into battle. Since the hall was narrow, any fights that would take place within the dungeon keep would have to be one on one with anyone on either side of the active fighters could only play a support role from the back.
"I said halt!" The zombie shouted as he lunged towards Miroku. His hands sharpened and extended towards Miroku.
Miroku ducked and just barely missed the gyroscopic attack directed as him. He retaliated with a straight punch and knocked the zombie back into one of it's partners who raised him to his feet.
"Not bad for a human." The zombie praised as he wiped a small amount of blood from the corner of his mouth with his index finger. He snapped the blood to the floor with a swift motion and resumed his assault on the would-be escapees.
"Never fought a demon before. Thanks for the compliment, means a lot." Miroku said sarcastically.
"A wise-ass, huh? Well, you won't be cracking jokes for much longer." The zombie said as his mouth extended forward.
The zombie reared its head back slightly and seemed almost like he was retching. Miroku cringed as he was hit full on with what was known as a zombie puke attack. He suddenly held his stomach and felt rather sick himself. Miroku fell to his knees in nausea and covered his own mouth to keep him from hurling.
"Miroku, are you alright?" Chiaki asked urgently.
"I just got puked on by a zombie and now I feel sick to my stomach. Do I sound alright?" Miroku replied curtly.
"Serves you right. No one gets out of here on my watch." The zombie said with confidence and pride.
The zombie grabbed Miroku by the shoulder and hoisted him to his feet.
"I think the overlord would like to deal with this trouble-maker personally. Put the ladies back in the cell and get the prinnies down here to fix the busted walls. I'm gonna bring this one to the throne room." The zombie commanded.
The zombie, with Miroku in tow, moved past his cohorts and headed down the dungeon path until he and Miroku disappeared from view. The gargoyle grabbed Chiaki and slung her over his shoulder as he walked further into the dungeon to relocate her to another cell. The Fafnir took Mimiru and followed suit as he moved deeper into the dungeon interior.
"Fill out the paperwork for this, will ya?" The Fafnir asked rhetorically. He didn't expect to be opposed and he wasn't.
"Do this, do that. I'm telling you, I'm getting sick of that guy's attitude." The golem grumbled to no one in particular as he walked back to his post.
The zombie who had been escorting Miroku arrived in the throne room and approached the throne. He shoved Miroku hard so that he landed on his knees in front of the throne. Laharl raised his gaze from a book he was reading and eyed Miroku and the zombie.
"What do you want now?" Laharl asked impatiently.
"Your highness, this one tried to instigate a prison break and I figured you would like to deal with him personally." The zombie replied.
"And what would make you think that? Why would I wanna deal with something like this when I have you guys to do it for me?" Laharl responded with another question.
"Well, I believe that you would find it interesting that this human can manifest his mana." The zombie replied sure of himself.
"So? Humans can manifest their mana on occasion. What reason does that give you to disturb me? My patience is beginning to wear thin." Laharl retorted.
"Not to the degree that he did. I think he should be scanned by the mana index."
"You mean the indicator you stole from my friend?" Miroku said tersely as he looked up from the ground.
"Quiet! You'll speak when you're addressed!" Laharl shouted.
Miroku tried anxiously to break the restraints that were placed on his hands as the zombie took him to the throne room.
"Quit squirming!" The zombie commanded as he kicked Miroku in his chest.
Miroku rolled backwards and fell flat on the floor. He gasped from having the wind knocked out of him. He choked as he slowly began to catch his breath. He rolled over on his stomach and pressed his chest against the floor to give him the boost he needed to get back onto his knees again. He looked up hatefully at both Laharl and his vassal but bit his tongue to avoid getting into a fight where he couldn't defend himself. He bowed his head in silence and allowed Laharl's discussion to continue.
"He's got some fight in him but that doesn't prove anything. If he has as much ability with his mana channeling as you say he does, retrieve the mana index from my room and bring it back here. I'll examine him myself." Laharl said as he beckoned his vassal away.
Laharl again set his sights on Miroku and sized him up before addressing him.
"What's your name anyway?" Laharl inquired.
"What's it to you?" Miroku grumbled under his breath.
"Excuse me?" Laharl said fiercely.
"I said; what's it to you?" Miroku's voice rose in anger.
"Do you have any idea how to address royalty? Seeing as how you might be here for a while if I'm in a good mood, you should know how to address your overlord." Laharl stated, trying to keep his cool.
"I see. So just where the hell am I anyway?" Miroku asked with disregard to Laharl's previous statement.
"You mean, you came here and you don't even have any idea where you are?" Laharl asked incredulously.
"If I knew where I was, I wouldn't be asking, now would I?" Miroku snapped. He'd rather be killed than relinquish his pride.
"Whatever. Keep the brave face if you want. It's not going to help you at all. Either way, you're in the netherworld. My netherworld. I'm the overlord here, which means you should give me the respect I deserve or suffer the consequences." Laharl said non-chalantly.
"The netherworld? Chiaki was right. Apparently the place does exist. I can't believe it." Miroku said under his breath.
The zombie came back from Laharl's quarters with the mana index in hand. He walked over to the throne and handed the index to Laharl.
"Undo his cuffs, Ricotta." Laharl commanded.
Ricotta obeyed Laharl's orders and walked behind Miroku and undid his cuffs. Miroku moved his arms stiffly before loosening up. He climbed to his feet and dusted himself off. He looked up at Laharl and sized him up.
"Present your wrist." Laharl demanded. He had a regal manner about him when he spoke.
Miroku, although grudgingly, complied and held his wrist forward. He briefly thought about making a break for it but assumed it was in his best interest to do whatever they said as of now. He had no weapon, no idea on how to escape or where to go and he didn't have the opportunity to rescue Chiaki and Mimiru from captivity. Laharl reached forward and tied the strap tightly around Miroku's wrist. The mana index did as it had before and revealed Miroku's mana count to Laharl and Ricotta. They stared in silent disbelief. They couldn't allow Miroku to have any idea of just how much of a threat he posed to the kingdom. Only Laharl himself and his most trusted vassals would be able to handle Miroku. Everyone else who resided in the Overlord's Castle would be helpless against Miroku if were able to harness the full power of his mana.
"Impressive for a human. I haven't seen a human with this much mana in quite a while. I can see why my vassal wished to notify me of his suspicions. What would you say to becoming one of my vassals? This opportunity doesn't come around for just everyone. If you decide to join me, you'll have the benefits of my other vassals."
"Like what? Having all your grunt work pawned off on me and be subject to having to deal with whatever tasks you're too lazy to handle yourself? No thanks, I'd rather stay as I am." Miroku remarked. His voice was filled with his trademark cynicism.
"Suit yourself, then. Take him to the dungeon, but put him in the isolation chamber." Laharl ordered. His waved Ricotta off.
Ricotta was just beginning to head out when Laharl shouted for him to return.
"Hold it! I just had a better idea!"
Ricotta turned to face his overlord and questioned him with a look.
"Get him some armor and let him have the weapon of his choice. It's been kinda boring around here and I can use some entertainment." Laharl explained.
"My lord, you're certainly not thinking of wasting your energy on this…this heathen?" Ricotta enquired.
"Of course not. He's so eager to have a brawl as he displayed in the dungeon. So I've decided to give my new guest his wish. Now get to the Rosenqueen shop and do as you are told. Tell them it is an order from the overlord. They'll hand over the equipment." Laharl answered. He grew excited to be witness to a battle after having a brief dry spell in the netherworld. It had been a while since Laharl had witnessed battle, much less participate.
Ricotta, though confused, obeyed his orders and led Miroku out of the throne room and into the main hall. The large double doors to the throne room closed behind them, removing them from Laharl's line of view. Etna, who had been listening on the conversation, approached Laharl who was unknowing of Etna's presence.
"What's your angle, Prince? What are you planning on doing with this guy?" Etna spoke as she came closer to the throne.
Laharl jumped slightly at the sudden appearance of Etna. He looked at her and noticed something was off. He looked her up and down for a minute before noticing what was different about her. Etna was not wearing her choker. Laharl thought back to a few minutes before and remembered what he had done. He assumed it was too much strain on her to have the choker on after what she had been through. He didn't want to bring it up though so went on answering her question.
"I just want to see just exactly what he can do. His numbers were extraordinary for a human. This should be good to see whether he is a threat or not. And if he dies, I can say I got rid of undue competition."
"Right. And if he wins?"
"I….didn't really think about that…." Laharl hung his head slightly, realizing what he had just done. But he wasn't going to withdraw his command now. He was intent on learning just what exactly Miroku was capable of.
"Well, if I may be so inclined as to give a suggestion." Etna said politely. Although she didn't normally address Laharl in that manner, she was still wary of him after his violent outburst just moments before.
"What do you have in mind?"
Moments later, a female cleric showed up in the dungeon and located Chiaki and Mimiru. She held the torch towards the cell to get a better view of Chiaki. Chiaki squinted slightly to adjust to the change in light. The female cleric then turned to Mimiru's cell and did the same. She motioned for one of the guards to come and remove them from their respective cells. The guard then led the women out of the dungeon where the female cleric led them in to a small room on the main floor of the castle.
"What do you want with us?" Chiaki asked as she looked closely at the female cleric. She squirmed anxiously in her cuffs.
"Here, put these on." She handed each Mimiru and Chiaki a small tied bundle.
"What are these?" Mimiru inquired of the cleric.
"Just head into that room over there and get changed. It is a direct order from the overlord. If you do not comply, I must before forced to call security." The cleric said flatly.
Fearing what would happen if they did not follow the orders given to them; they headed into the room and began to change their clothes. At about the same time, Miroku had finished changing into his choice of armor. He chose to wear Steel Armor beneath a Leather Jacket that he chose and wore an Amulet around his neck. He chose the cross trainers as his choice of footwear and placed a Quasi-Power Belt around his waste. For his choice of weapon, he chose a pair of Hyper Gauntlets as his weapons. He did look like a force to be reckoned with when fully clad in armor. He turned to Ricotta and addressed him.
"I'm ready to go." Miroku said strongly.
"Well then, let us head out to the arena. We shan't keep the overlord waiting." Ricotta replied as he turned towards the arena.
Miroku followed in silence as he was led out into the arena. Demons gasped and sized him up as he walked by. Some of the more easily swayed female demons fell prey to Miroku's looks and became somewhat weak in the knees. He couldn't help but smile at that reaction but tried to keep a straight face as he was escorted to a room which looked almost like a court room.
"Since the arena is currently under construction, the Dark Assembly Hall will double as the arena for the time being." Ricotta explained before the doors to the room. He turned and pushed the doors open.
Miroku was awe-struck at all the demons that lined the seats to view Miroku's trial. He walked with a stern face to mask his feeling of nervousness. He looked to the direct center of the two aisles of seats and saw Laharl sitting in what Miroku believed to be an overly-ornate chair.
"So, are you ready to receive your judgment?" Laharl spoke loudly and clear so that everyone in the assembly hall could hear him.
"I am prepared to receive my challenge." Miroku spoke formally. He figured somehow that would sway the crowd to his side slightly.
Laharl snapped his fingers and Dratti appeared from behind one of the doors in the assembly hall.
"Dratti will be your opponent for your trial. Against my better judgment, I wish you good luck."
The demons roared from the seats as Dratti made his entrance to the center of the room.
"Get 'em, Dratti!" Shouted one of the Manticores.
"Tear him to pieces!" Shouted a Jack-O-Lantern.
"Crush the cocky bastard to dust!" Shouted another Fafnir.
Miroku felt a bead of sweat drip down his face as he came to the realization that the entire crowd was against him.
"However…." Laharl shouted loudly to regain everyone's attention.
Miroku looked back to Laharl who had a unnerving grin on his face.
"I've decided to make the match a little more interesting." Laharl continued.
He snapped his fingers and two demons that were out of sight turned a crank to raise a pair of chained slates which held Chiaki and Mimiru. Both were scantily clad in rather revealing cloth robes. They were just barely covered by the garments which drew many wolf-whistles and lewd comments from a majority of the male demons.
"What the hell is going on here?" Miroku shouted in demand.
And that is the conclusion to my fifth chapter of my Disgaea fan fiction. I played the game recently to get most of the names for the equipment correct. I may have missed a few things or made a few discrepancies so if I do, please bring them to my attention in a review and I'll rectify it as soon as possible. I thank you for reading and ask you to comment on anything that can be enhanced or any comments that you may have for me.