Strongest

Chapter 1: The Fiercest Devil

Written By Illuminet

Disclaimer: The cast of characters from Makai Kingdom : Chronicles Of The Sacred Tome do not belong to me, and are the rightful property of N.I.S (Nippon Ichi Software) America.

"..."-Indicate Speech

'...'-Indicate Thought

:MK:CST:

Unknown

:MK:CST:

Cold. That was the only sensation he felt. Only blackness greeted his vision. Silence reigned all around him. He was confused, to say the least.

'Why is it so cold here...being the book has blunted most of my senses, so why do I feel this immense cold? What the hell is going on with me!'

His eyes opened of their own accord, and he was now greeted with the flickering stars scattered throughout an area of the Universe.

'Huh...? How did I get all the way out here? Eh? I can't move! What the hell!'

He tried to move in order to discern his location, but nothing happened, much to his annoyance.

'Dammit! Not only can I not move, but my mouth isn't even working...what's happening to me...?'

All he seemed to be able to do freely now was think.

'Move, stupid book body of mine. Move I say! Dammit! MOVE!'

He roared violently in his mind. Something finally did move. His head lowered, and what he saw shocked him.

'I...I have arms...and legs...these familiar clothes...! I...I'm back in my real body! YES!'

He shouted triumphantly in his head upon seeing his arms crossed over his broad chest. His excitement was short lived, as his head would move no more, and he still could not talk.

'I see why I'm so cold now. I was in my original body this entire time and I didn't even realize it...having been that damn book made me forget these sensations. Onto other matters...Why can't I move my body? Dammit! Don't tell me I've been the Sacred Tome so long I can't even remember how to make the body I was born with function properly. The magnificent body of the most Bad-Ass Overlord, Zetta! Crap...Alex would die laughing if he knew I was in this predicament...I've got to get this body of mine moving, pronto. Come on...MOVE!'

He commanded his body, but no matter how willing the mind was, the body would not react. Finally, his left index finger began to move of it's own accord, tapping against the biceps of his right arm, as if in a gesture of impatient waiting while his body remained in it's pondering position.

'That wasn't what I wanted to move! My arm, dammit! Move my entire arm!'

Nothing happened. His body stayed as it was, no longer moving an inch.

'Argh! No good...nothing I think up is getting any physical reaction...'

He said to himself irritably. He began thinking deeply, as that was all he was able to do in the first place.

'Wait a minute...what gives? Why am I now in my original body in the first place? I mean, Trenia even predicted I wouldn't get my body back even after going through all that trouble of reconstructing my Netherworld back to it's former glory in the first place. And that really sucked because I thought I was gonna die as the Sacred Tome due to that stupid curse. The only reasonable explanation we all surmised finally was that the old corn guy I shot down was actually just a fake. Stupid gramps Babylon had me worrying over nothing! I should have known he'd gone off the deep end in his old age. Anyway...I need to think of what to do to get out of here because this doesn't look like my personal space.'

He concluded, beginning to rack his brain for any ideas on how to move. Seeing as he couldn't do much, he focused as hard as he could to try and move each and every joint of his body one by one, but was left with the same result of immobility.

'Not a thing... screw it, maybe I'll try telepathy... okay let's see, I'll call...Salome! Hey, Salome! I need you help. Wait...why do I want to converse with Salome? Damn, I might be giving her the wrong impression if I ask for her help now. It's not like I share any feelings for her...much, anyway...No! I've been that damn book for far too long if I'm thinking like a softie in my original body. Dammit Zetta, keep it together...your better than this, remember? Hopefully she didn't hear that. Okay...so now what? Salome's the only Overlord I really trust, but I can't contact her...man, this really bites! Should I just swallow my pride and ask her? No way, can't do it. I'm a Demon. More importantly, an Overlord, a celebrity of the highest caliber and public idol. What kind of message would I send children if I showed such signs of weakness? Asking for help...and not just any help, but help from someone I lo...like! Like, dammit! I'd have killed myself if I even thought up that other four letter L-word...there's no way in hell I can promote such an act...damn, Salome...just thinking of her makes my behavior go all out of whack lately. She's just a former apprentice and nothing more, but...Gah! Focus Zetta! There must be something else I can do...'

His thoughts seem to always linger towards his former apprentice ever since she returned into his life to help in the rebuilding of his Netherworld. Though, such information was better kept tucked away in the deepest recesses of his brain. He was pretty well aware of her feelings for him now..heck, she had given him her own Mana power to make him the strongest at the cost of her own life, according to Demon Overlord Seedle. He himself had just been too wrapped up in his own power to take notice, much to his chagrin. If he had still been the astute and perceptive Demon of his youth and teenage years, years too long than he wished to remember, he might have been able to catch on to what Salome was doing for him. Even when she had been revived, his Demon nature was too proud to say the words -thank you-, much less those small three words of which he knew she wanted to hear.

'This is an even worse torment compared to being in the Sacred Tome...being part of my original body again, but completely paralyzed...and to top it all off, I'm freezing my ass off out here...'

His thoughts were interrupted when someone called out to him.

"Lord Zetta, there you are, dood. We can leave at anytime, dood."

It didn't take an expert to realize that was the speech pattern of the small Netherworld dwellers, Prinnies. One question did come to Zetta's mind, however.

'Since when have I had any Prinny vassals before?'

To his even greater surprise, his head turned around slightly to spare a half glance at the small creature's direction for a few moments. His head curtly nodded before his body fully turned around, walking past the Prinny without another glance and no words exchanged.

'I'm moving now, but...it's not by my own accord...'

His body moved towards an illusive structure in the distance, and then his vision became blurry.

'Why can't I see anything now? The cold is being numbed...I'm fading?'

He was now frantically trying to hold onto any form of consciousness, but everything was melding together into complete blackness across his gaze.

'No...my body...am I losing it again...? NO! I WON'T ACCEPT THIS!'

:MK:CST:

Zetta's Netherworld, Overlord's Castle, Throne Room

:MK:CST:

"I WANT MY BODY BACK!"

He fell with a thud. He was looking up at the high ceiling of his familiar throne room.

"I'm still the Sacred Tome...then it was only a dream...a really long dream. Or maybe a really long nightmare."

He told himself as he lifted off the ground to hover in the air. He closed his eyes and took a few calming deep breaths.

'That was the first time I've felt truly alive since confining to the Sacred Tome...but why couldn't I move about, and who was that Prinny? More importantly, what was that structure we were heading towards...?'

He mulled the idea around in his head, before sighing.

"Zetta, your losing it. It was just a dream. The most strangely vivid feeling dream to be sure, but a dream none the less. I'm reading to deep into this when I should continue catching up on some much needed sleep while I still can, dammit!"

With that, he plopped himself back onto his throne. In most cases he'd already be passed out, snoring loudly, but this time rest eluded him, and he was still awake propped on his throne.

"If only that hadn't been a dream and I could move again...damn you Pram...turning out to be a false Oracle and leading me on as your plaything! Because of you, my body's never going to be restored...I don't care if you have admitted you were at fault, or if you revived Salome and her Netherworld...your status and Mana have already been regained while I'm still stuck as the Sacred Tome. Damn you..."

Before he could go on with his tirade, his castle began to rumble slightly. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"This powerful Mana...ahh crap, it better not be Alex wanting to go through a duel. It's too early in the morning for that shit..."

He sighed irritably. It wasn't his so called arch nemesis, however, and that was easily seen because the teleportation method was devoid of any use of lightning, something Alex was known for. Instead it was...

'Wait a minute...this technique belongs to...'

The soft, feminine voice that halted his thoughts was instantly recognizable.

"Zetta."

Salome stood before him now, after the light dispersed like falling feathers. Dressed in only a black tight fitting night gown that left little to the imagination. His eyes bulged out in surprise.

"S...Salome? Why are you here?"

-ToBeContinued-

Note: Starts out pretty sluggishly, I know. I still haven't fully fleshed out the ideas, but hopefully the story will progress fairly well. Only real problem I have with this thing is that it's overall plot seems a little too close to my Disgaea story, "The White Flower" for my liking. I guess that can be perceived as a good thing in some sense, but on the same token, I don't want to rely too much on past successes and make this story seem too alike. Hopefully the plot will separate enough to make an interesting and different enough story as the chapters progress further...