Monster Girl Quest: Shadow of Undeath

by Commander Dagoth Boreale

Vaskul, an ancient demilich, searches for the long lost Emperor of Hell to learn the Secret of Evolution so that he may become God. Along the way, he finds the newly formed world of MGQ, and finds himself setting in motion a chain of events that he quickly finds to be out of his control. Can Vaskul find the Emperor? Or will the war between Alice XVI and Ilias stop him?

5. Archfiends and Monster Lords

*With Baramos & Black Alice; near Heaven's Gates*

...

"Hm... Which kingdom should I go to first? Would you happen to know the closest one Black Alice?" Sigmus mused as he skimmed the map Black Alice gave him, trying to find the easiest kingdom to take over first.

"Well, we're technically near the center of Sentora, so just about any kingdom is viable at this point," Black Alice said, waiting for him to decide.

"Mm... So far I believe I can exploit the Safinain Queen Vampire's Greed, the Grangolden Spider Princess' ambition, the Natalian Queen Mermaid's grief, and... I think the... er... Ya-mer-Toi?" Baramos stared at the faded map and looked at Black Alice to help him out.

"It's Yamatai. Ya-Ma-Tai," she said, pronouncing each syllable so he could understand.

"Yes, the Yamatai Shirohebi, I believe I can exploit her hatred towards Humans."

"Um... Which one? There's two Shirohebis," Black Alice gave a confused look.

"Really? It says here in this book there's only one candidate for the Lamia Queen in Yamatai," Baramos seemed just as confused.

"But I know there's two! I've been to Yamatai before I met you, and I was sure that I saw two Shirohebis!" Black Alice protested.

"I guess we can just go around asking whenever we go to Yamatai then."

A small moment of silence passed as the two waited for the other to say something.

"So... Which one of these Queens is closest to us again?"

"I told you we're in the middle of Sentora already! There is no 'closest' Kingdom to us right now!"

"Okay, okay! Sheesh, you sound like a Banshee on helium."

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Oh, I don't know! I guess the answer is not in the sentence I just said!"

The two were silent for a few moments, before Sigmus cleared his throat, saying: "So, Vampire?"

"Eh, yeah. Let's go to the Vampire Queen."

---

*In the Sabasa Region; Vampire Queen's Castle*

"Ho hum," Black Alice hummed as she and Sigmus arrived at the Vampire Queen's domain, "It's nice to see the Vampires are still a bunch of gloomy blood-sucking leeches."

"You make that sound like a bad thing," Sigmus noted.

"Still better than those god-damned hippie vampires I had to deal with during my reign 500 years ago," Black Alice countered as they came up to the gate, "Ugh! Do you know how disgusting it is to see them wear hair-gel and glitter all the time? The countless love stories and cliches that popped up during that time? It was worse than Heinrich beating me up! That blasted hero..."

"Wait, hold up. Heinrich? A hero?" Baramos raised a claw for emphasis.

"What? What about Heinrich?"

"... Okay, did he speak in a weird accent and wear glasses?"

"Um, no..."

"Did he commit suicide?"

"Not that I know of..."

"Did he hate gay people?"

"That's a good question..."

"Was he discriminative towards anyone?"

"I... Maybe? I don't think he was. I believe he fought for co-existence among Monsters and Humans... I don't know about the Angels though."

"Was his last name Himmler?"

"That... Is a good question. I never got to know his last name. I think it was just 'Hein' if I recall correctly..."

"Hm... More like Heinrich 'Heil,' I'll be sure to investigate this further later..." Baramos muttered something incomprehensible to Black Alice, something about 'Those wacky Nazis are at it again goddamit...' and 'Better get my tinfoil hat.'

"Why are you even asking about someone who's been dead for over- Oh look, the gate's open now," Black Alice pointed out that while Baramos was going off gathering evidence for a half-assed conspiracy theory, the Vampires had already opened the gate for them, "Well? Let's go on in!"

"Alright, alright. I'll let this case go... For now."

Black Alice only sighed at the gigantic bipedal duck. Why were men so hard to understand sometimes?

The duo entered the castle, wary of potential attacks. They noted the ornate and ancient paintings decorating the place, as well as various objects of high value.

"Welcome, fellow Monster and... er... Something," a thunderous voice boomed out to them, quite clearly belonging to the local Queen. It appears that she didn't feel like greeting them in the flesh yet.

"Vampire Queen? What a pleasure. As you may have already noticed, we wish to ask for an audience with you," Baramos answered.

"Hm? An audience? Whatever for?" the Vampire Queen questioned, suspicious of the two.

"You will find out what our proposal is when we meet face-to-face," Baramos answered cryptically.

"Ah, a proposal you say?" the Vampire Queen repeated greedily, "Very well! Go on in and enter. My servants will not attack or rape you... (Not like they'd want to anyways.)" As the Vampire Queen finishes, a door swings open at the top of a staircase, allowing the two to go on.

Baramos ignored the insult and Black Alice's giggling as they ascended the stairs and into the hallway.

"Why the hell is everyone here hellbent on insulting me for my appearance?" Baramos muttered darkly as he snapped his beak at some curious Vampiresses, scaring them away.

"Perhaps because you're A: Male, B: Ugly as Hell, and C: No one knows who you are yet," Black Alice playfully answered.

"The key word in that answer would be yet, I suppose," Sigmus sighed as they arrived at the end of the hallway, ready to gain the allegiance of the Vampire Queen.

The Queen, like the many other Monsters of this world, was a beautiful woman.

She had golden hair curled into drills, with royal, yet skimpy, gothic clothing with a long-flowing cape as dark as the night. Two bat-like wings fanned out in her hair, and her eyes were a blood-red, lusting for blood. And like the two servants by her side, she had two sharp fangs that showed even when her mouth was closed.

"Hm. Your smell is a lot less putrid than I imagined," she noted, already insulting Baramos. She also seemed to be judging and analyzing both him and Black Alice, and she seemed to recognize Black Alice for some odd reason...

Her two lieutenants nodded in agreement.

"And I expected you to be a bit more graceful when it comes to showing off your body. I imagined a Queen would care about her appearance and style more than the average slut," Baramos shot back.

"Oh? It would appear this hippo has fangs, oddly enough. But do you have the venom to support them?" the Vampire Queen chuckled, "But enough talking! You came here for to offer me a proposal, and I expect to hear one."

"Hm, very well then," Sigmus cleared his throat, "I am the Archfiend, Lord Baramos Sigmus! I have come to you to offer you a chance to rebel against your pitiful ruler you call a 'Monster Lord,' and become something infinitely more! I offer you a chance to freely feast upon and enslave the race of Man, so that you may never face extinction or starvation. And above all else, I offer you a chance to preserve yourselves against the plans that scheming Primal Elemental of Light plots to use in order to obliterate you and the rest of Monsterkind completely!"

The Vampire Queen raised an eyebrow at this, and seemed quite interested in the idea of becoming independent of the current Monster Lord's policies regarding the treatment of Humans and never having to fear who she assumed to be Ilias' wrath, "I presume I would be stuck serving under you if I accepted this proposal?" she inquired.

"No. I have better things to do than concern myself with governing this world... yes, it will be my associate, Black Alipheese the Eighth that shall lead you all on when that disgrace Alipheese the Sixteenth is dethroned," Sigmus gestured to Black Alice, who was currently waving hello to them, "Of course, I expect you to obey me if I feel so inclined to give out orders."

The Vampire Queen recoiled in shock at the reveal of Black Alice's true identity. It seemed that she really did recognize her, "So both the Eighth and a so-called Archfiend has come here offering me this..." she regarded the two some more, "I would assume that you plan to attempt to try and get others to join you?" she asked.

"But of course! I am a fair being... at times, but I will give those who are worthy a chance to prove themselves to me," Sigmus answered.

"And what if I decide to accept your proposal and aid you in battle myself? Where would I go to find you then?" the Vampire Queen questioned again.

"Oh, you can find us at the Old Maou's Castle!" Black Alice said out of turn.

Baramos glared at her for answering when he was supposed to be the one talking, but continued, saying "Yes, you will find us at the Old Maou's Castle... And if you doubt my power, then go ahead and doubt. But come to my domain, and you will see firsthand the might of Lord Baramos!" Sigmus bellowed, rising to his full height and towering over everyone else in the room.

"Hm," the Vampire Queen gauged Baramos, and seemed to contemplate attacking him for a brief moment, but decided it wouldn't be a wise decision the next, "We shall see about that Archfiend, but I will lend you my support for now."

Baramos and Black Alice smiled from ear-to-ear.

"Indeed, we shall see about that... and you will see that you have made the wisest decision you have ever made in your life!" Baramos cackled as he casted Greater Teleport, causing him and Black Alice to vanish somewhere...

---

*In the Middle of some Mountain Range to the North of Hellgondo*

...

"God damn it Black Alice why did you give them a location we haven't even visited or seen yet!?" Baramos screeched at her in some mountain range.

"Calm down Baramos! That castle is the same one I used when I was the Maou. It's only natural that Monsters who know who I am would expect me to return to my old domain. Remember, just because you're the bigger and scarier one doesn't mean you're the one Monsters will associate with the 'Archfiend' at first if they know I'm running around. They'll probably think it's me with a new title to avoid confusion with the current Monster Lord," Black Alice explained quickly, leading the demon to a secluded pathway in the mountains.

"Ugh... whatever," Baramos relented, deciding an actual base of operations was more important at the moment as the two travelled.

"See? It's not so bad!" Black Alice said happily as she and Baramos arrived at the supposed castle.

It was a grand sight despite its ruined state, the Castle was large and expansive, countless towers surrounding its walls, with a massive swamp surrounding it.

"Hmph. I've seen better," Baramos scoffed as he gazed at the ruins of the Old Maou's Castle.

"Well duh, it hasn't been used since Heinrich killed me, so obviously it fell into disrepair," Black Alice deadpanned.

"I knew that! I was talking about when it was at its prime. You had so many ways to discourage and intimidate heroes with your secluded castle and swamp, but you wasted them! You could've easily poisoned the swamp like so," Baramos snapped his fingers, and chanted Desecrate, causing the trees to immediately wilt and blacken, and the waters to turn a sickly purple. Certain abominations also began rising and writhed within the swamps as well...

"... I was a bit busy waging a war against Humanity at the time..." Black Alice muttered, secretly impressed by the show of power.

"Then you should've prepared before you started your war!" Baramos said.

"How can I prepare when Humans are constantly spying and waiting for me to fuck up!?" Black Alice argued.

"Ever heard of smuggling? Or perhaps you could've resorted to crime and lies, and fool the Humans into thinking that it was just a bunch of Monster Criminals stockpiling stolen goods," Baramos lectured.

"... Point taken," Black Alice admitted.

"Yes, well putting that aside, there is quite frankly no way that you and I can repair the actual Castle itself and improve it within a few weeks like I told the Vampire Queen, and then we still confront the other Queens as well," Baramos said, getting back to the problem at hand.

"Yes, I don't see how we can get anyone to fix this in time for us... Unless you can summon someone with magic?" Black Alice said hopefully.

"As a matter of fact, I do have a spell that can do that... But it's quite risky. I am not sure how the Monsters of my world will react to this one... And if they'll be disciplined enough to restrain themselves should they indulge in this world's temptations," Baramos mused.

"Why are you afraid for us? Usually we either enslave or outright kill our mate during sex, unless we decide to hold back," Black Alice questioned.

"Oh, I'm sure the weaker ones will fall to your wiles and die during sex just like any man, but there are some more powerful Monsters that are misogynistic, and most sane Monsters love to kill anyone they can get their hands on... And sex is a perfect opportunity to pull just that off," Baramos said, "In short, the Monsters of my world are quite barbaric and may actually ignore my commands to... Have their way with this world's denizens if I am not careful enough."

"Couldn't you just rule them by brute force and fear?" Black Alice asked.

"Oh yes I could, but it would be difficult to keep track of those who would betray me and those who would obey me if I did that, and I prefer to have a positive and high morale among my troops," Baramos answered.

"... Well, who cares if a few Monster Girls have to die! It's their fault for being too weak to handle having sex with a new species! Let's summon your world's Monsters regardless of the consequences!" Black Alice encouraged.

Oh wow. She doesn't even care for her own kind. I guess I might as well summon them anyways, Baramos thought as he chanted Summon Monster IX, and watched as his calls were summoned by...

A shit-ton of Monsters.

"Holy crap. I didn't even think it was possible to get more than one Monster, but it looks like my world still remembers the might and power of the original Archfiend," Baramos whistled as he scanned the crowd of creatures.

There were a wide variety of creatures, from blobs of slime with comical faces of varying colors, the green ones always having a midget knight-like person riding them and wielding a sword and shield, to small children with oversized pitchforks and small wings, to bluish-purple bat-like creatures with large and blunt fangs with antennae, to bipedal boars with ragged clothing and a crudely-made metal spear, to simple flames with faces on them and finally some small greenish men in cloaks wielding bows and arrows. There were other Monsters underneath these weaker ones as well, and these seemed stirring quite quickly... [1]

These other Monsters were strange and bizzare, some were large and muscular blue cyclopean giants with fur togas wielding nothing but a log as a club. Some were men wearing garish pinkish-red armor with an axe and shield. Some were literally just empty suits of animated armor with a sword and shield, but these were accompanied by strange jellyfish-like creatures. Some particularly strong ones were pink, bull-like demons with large white wings and wearing green gloves and boots while carrying a large trident. Some particularly stupid ones were green, goblin-like giants with fur togas not unlike the Cyclopeans, but while the Cyclops had log-like clubs, these goblinoid giants had wooden maces.

"My god... I never would've thought that there were so many male Monsters... And I never would've thought they would be so inhuman," Black Alice gazed at them, captivated by the new Monsters. She seemed to adore the blue slimes in particular.

Some monsters began to stir and get away from the pile that the Monsters had landed in.

Two were both of the mentioned bull-like demons, but one had yellow skin with blue wings and gray clothing.

One was one of the goblin-like giants, though his skin was a bit silvery-gray from age, and he carried a large machete-like weapon on him along with his club.

The last was an orange Cyclops wearing a blue toga.

"Vell, vell, vell!" the pink bull demon spoke with a heavy accent, "Vhat do ve have here? A Baramos? Vhow exciting!"

"I presume you want us to serve under you?" the yellow demon spoke.

"Indeed. Since you four seem to be the most capable and powerful at the moment, may I have your names?" Baramos inquired.

"I am Belial, though sometimes I go by Zarlox," Belial, the yellow demon, said.

"I... Am... Atlas... Strongest... Of... My... Kin," Atlas, the orange Cyclops, boomed, his voice loud and slow.

"Er... Wha's dis? Iz was just takin' a nap an' now I'ma 'ere! Wha'sa goin' on 'ere!" the Troll began to panick, but quickly stopped himself once he saw Baramos, "Oh, uh... Iz... am'a... Golok, da Gatekeeper."

"I am Großmesser," the pink-bull demon belched, "I know vot you're vinking. Vy do I haf a big fork, not a big knife!? Vell... I just do, ja?"

"I, your new master, am Baramos Sigmus, the new Archfiend that shall continue what Baramos Gonus and Lord Zoma could not!" Sigmus proudly proclaimed, "I have summoned you all to act as my support and personal army in case my allies decide to betray me... and to repair the castle over there," Baramos pointed to the ruined Castle, "In any case, I have to be going now that at least four of you know my command. If you think it below you to do such things, then make the grunts do it," Baramos said as he turned to leave.

"Hey, wait!" Belial complained, "What are we supposed to do after that!?"

"I dunno. Go and cause havoc I guess. Keep in mind however that the local female Monsters here are actually rapists, but you can go ahead and do whatever you want with them. Just be sure not givve away our location," Baramos shrugged, "I really have to get going and see some potential allies, so I'll see you later!" Baramos Teleported away with Black Alice...

...

"Vell, who vants to vake the grunts do za dirty work and drink zome beer!?" Großmesser shouted as he pulled out a beer mug out of nowhere.

The Monsters that were conscious cheered as Großmesser had his Imps begin passing out beers and rebuild the Castle and had his magicians raise a barrier around the area...

---

*At the Gold Region*

"So, you decided to go after the Spider Princess now huh?" Black Alice chirped as the two walked towards where they assumed the Spider Princess dwelled at.

"Yes, her cruelty and prejudice against Humans makes her an easy target to influence, unlike those other Insect Queens," Baramos explained as they headed towards her domain, "Though, I have to wonder why she's called a Princess. She's the ruler of the spiders isn't she? And if she's a ruler, she should be called a Queen."

"Actually, she was the Queen of all Insectoid Monsters, but her cruelty to even her own brethren caused her to get disgraced and dethroned," Black Alice answered, "Ever since then, she was called the Spider Princess instead of Queen as an insult to her stupidity."

"I would actually take that as a compliment, honesty. The root of Prince, and therefore Princess, is Princeps, which means First, Eminent, Chief, or Ruler. Therefore, being called a Spider Princess technically means 'First of the Spiders' or 'Ruler of the Spiders' or even 'Most Eminent of the Spiders,'" Baramos laughed at the unintentional compliment the other Queens gave to their supposedly most brutal and cruel one.

"Huh, you're actually right. You could probably even use that to get on her good side and convince her to join you even more," Black Alice noted, "How do you know about the whole 'Princeps' thing? Not many people know about it."

"Oh, in Vaskul's version of the Abyss there's a powerful Demon Lord named Demogorgon. I don't know much about him except for that since he was so powerful and intelligent, he could take over several layers of the Abyss... Which is apparently something that's damn hard to do for just one layer. so I guess that since he's the closest thing to a leader the Abyss has, he called himself the Demon Prince. I guess he already knew about the 'Princeps' and the cliches surrounding those who take a title like 'Demon King' or 'Demon Lord,'" Baramos tried to explain.

"Vaskul's version? Does that mean you come from another world entirely?" Black Alice asked.

"Why yes, I do come from another world separate from that of Vaskul's. Vaskul's world is called Faerun, while mine is called Alefgard or Nadiria... there are other worlds, but we don't usually explore them due to how hard it is to explore the void in between," Baramos said, "Ask Vaskul or Promestien about those kinds of things, I don't really know much about interversal travelling."

"Really? Then how did you come to learn of Vaskul if your worlds are separate?" Black Alice tilted her head in confusion.

"Oh, Vaskul is someone who can project their mind and soul outside of their body to explore the Multiverse, and he just so happened to come across mine while Lord Zoma was alive. I've heard about his exploits and feats across the Multiverse, and how he was seeking the Secret of Evolution, which I was also searching for too, so I came to his lair and waited for him to return along with his Helmed Horror," Baramos answered.

"Oh... Vaskul really gets around, doesn't he?" Black Alice mused.

"He certainly does, he certainly does. I sometimes wonder if he's seen Ao or Azathoth themselves in person with all the things he's done..." Baramos said quietly, reflecting on the older Demilich's incredible age.

Eventually the two came to a cave covered with webs.

"This is the place. I'm sure the Spider Princess dwells here," Black Alice said as she carefully stepped through the cobwebs, "Be careful not to get entangled! Top Ranking Arachne have the ability to distort space-time with their magic and webs, and I'd prefer you not to cause the cave system to collapse trying to destroy their spell."

"Hm, all I hope for is that this cave doesn't get too narrow for me later on..." Baramos muttered as he hunched over to avoid the ceiling, trying to navigate the corridors and passages as well as Black Alice could, but to no avail; he was just too large to fit in here normally.

Soon enough the two came across a spider-girl with red-violet colors and light-blue markings on her abdomen. Her six eyes were a striking scarlet.

"What the..." the Arachne Lord could only look at the two random intruders with absolute confusion, "What are you two doing in here?"

"Hiya! We were looking for an audience with the Spider Princess, as we have a little proposal we want to make!" Black Alice cheerily smiled.

"Er..." normally, the Arachne Lord would've just killed them, but seeing how large Baramos was, and seeing how small and narrow the caves were... "Sure, follow me."

"Thank you!" Black Alice skipped past the webs as Baramos grumbled, trying to get the cobwebs off of him.

The three came to a large, damp, and gloomy chamber absolutely covered in webs. Several large pillars were strung together, and seemed to form platforms and walkways for the spiders, and in the middle of the room lied a large cocoon-like web with a massive spider resting on top of it.

It was the Spider Queen, dressed in a black and white kimono with ornate cloths covering her abdomen and forelegs. Her purple hair was tied up in a long ponytail with some golden jewelry, and she seemed to regard Baramos and Black Alice passively, as if they weren't a real threat.

"Oh? Visitors? How interesting... It's rare to see someone come here of their own will," the Spider Princess mused, observing the two from her silk throne.

"Greetings Spider Princess! I am the Archfiend, Lord Baramos Sigmus, and I have come here to offer you a small proposal," Baramos greeted, though the Spider Princess seemed notably irritated by being called a "Princess."

"A proposal? How interesting. What does..." the Spider Princess tried to discern what Baramos actually was, "... something, have to offer me?"

"I offer you a chance to enslave Humanity and become independent of that pathetic excuse you call a Monster Lord! I have made myself aware of the events taking place as of late, and it disgusts me to see such a pathetic being rule and restrict a race that could easily destroy and enslave the race of Man!" Baramos claimed, "Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to destroy Man, and establish the Monsters as the supreme race!"

Now the Spider Princess was genuinely interested, "Truly? You want to rebel against Alipheese? What a wonderful idea, I had a similar one myself! But tell me, how can you hope to defeat her in combat? She isn't the Maou for a reason you know," the Spider Princess countered.

"Bah! You shame yourself by calling that overgrown reptile powerful! She is nothing compared to me! It disappoints me to see such a weakling dare take power! She can't even control her own subjects, much less her kingdom! Why should you continue serving that fool?" Baramos boomed, shaking the caves.

"My, my, it takes quite a bit of bravery to mock the Maou in front of a Queen, but I have yet to see prove of your power," the Spider Princess grinned, liking Baramos more and more by the minute.

"Have you, by chance, heard of a seemingly random case of villages being destroyed?" Baramos asked.

"Why, yes I have... Would I be wrong in assuming you caused that to happen?" the Spider Princess guessed.

"Correct," Baramos mentally yelled out in triumph. At long last he was getting some recognition!

"Ah... So, from what I see, you apparently have the balls to openly rebel against the Maou and destroy countless villages, consequently slaughtering men, women, and children of all races. Do you have any remorse for that?" the Spider Princess noted, summarizing what Baramos just said.

"Remorse? Such a concept is foreign to me. I have no idea why anyone would feel regret over killing and eating a child, much less usurp and execute a tyrant. I said I wanted to usurp and kill the Maou while destroying and enslaving Mankind. I intend to do so. There is no point in trying to go down a middle path, and I most definitely will not stand for coexistence with the same race that attempts to kill me everyday and allow the Maou who is supposed to support and protect us go unpunished!" Baramos bellowed, seemingly outraged by the thought.

"Oh? Now that's more inspiring than any speech the Fifteenth or Sixteenth Monster Lord has ever given, and that was only a few sentences long," the Spider Princess remarked, impressed by Baramos' response, "But a revolution is nothing without supporters. Do you have any at the moment?"

"I have Black Alicefeeze Fatalbern the Eighth by my side right now," Baramos motioned to Black Alice, "And you can go ask the Vampire Queen where her loyalties lie at the moment... I haven't even mentioned my own kin, who are currently residing in the Old Maou's Castle."

"So you have Alice the Eighth, the Vampire Queen, and supposedly more beings that are somewhat like you residing in Black Alice's Old Castle, which you have taken for yourselves once more..." the Spider Princess pursed her lips, thinking it over, "What do I get in return? What do I get for supporting you? Am I to serve you instead of the Alice the Sixteenth?"

"No, you will serve Black Alice, who will in turn be supervised by me to ensure she doesn't get out of hand. No, I have greater things to be concerned with, such as that troublesome Primal Element you call 'Ilias.' Yes, I have ways to ensure she is... Taken care of, along with her Angels. Ultimately however, your reward is independence. For supporting us, you will gain a large chunk of the loyalist Queens' territories and become your own Kingdom with your own laws. Black Alice's purpose is merely to ensure you and the other Queens do not go to war with each other, and to advise and guide you all in times of dire crisis," Baramos answered.

"Ah... That's a wonderful reward... Not only do you offer to kill that weak excuse of a Maou, but you offer me a chance to gain my former power and title back along with even more... And you say that you will take care of even Ilias herself... All for supporting you," the Spider Princess smiled, "How can I turn something so wonderful away?"

"So you'll join us, Spider Princess?" Baramos assumed

"... Don't call me a 'Princess,'" the Spider Princess frowned.

"Why? Is 'Princeps' not the root for 'Princess?' And doesn't 'Princeps' mean 'First,' or 'Ruler,' or even 'Eminent?' Does Spider Princess not mean 'First of the Spiders,' or 'Ruler of the Spiders,' or perhaps even 'Most Eminent of the Spiders?' That is not a title you should be ashamed of, Spider Princess," Baramos inquired, using the same idea that he and Black Alice were debating over their trip to the caves.

"Truly?" the Spider Princess looked at the Arachne Lord, who only nodded, "Hm, it seems I was wrong about that title then... Perhaps my enemies have only given me something much more than what a Queen could ever be," the Spider Princess looked off in thought, thinking about the proposal Baramos made.

After a moment of silence, the Spider Princess looked at Baramos.

"Very well then. I'll take up your offer. You have the support of the Spiders now," she confirmed.

Baramos and Black Alice grinned, glad that they also got her on their side.

"I assure you Spider Princess, you won't regret this decision... Now, onto the Mermaid Queen and Shirohebi..." Baramos and Black Alice turned away to go, but the Spider Princess called out to them, saying:

"Worry not about the Mermaid Queen. I will send an ambassador there and another to Cassandra to offer a chance to join you... Think of it as my way of saying thanks for informing me about the true nature of my title," she said, waving them off.

"Ah... Thank you, it's much appreciated!" Baramos waved a claw back as he and Black Alice Teleported away, leaving the Spider Princess.

---

*Somewhere near the forests and mountains of Yamatai*

...

"So..." Black Alice started, "We're going after the banished Shirohebi, right?"

"Of course," Baramos confirmed as they walked through the forests, trying to find the white lamia, "She is the one that got banished from the village by the Humans. Her sister on the other hand got to stay and enjoy the luxuries and worship the Humans would give her. It's obvious that we should aim for the Elder one instead of the Younger one," Baramos said as he clawed a pathway through the trees.

"Hm, I suppose you're right. Would've been more fun to see the younger Shirohebi's response to our proposal though," Black Alice mused as she followed the giant demon.

"Though, I have to wonder why the Monsters are outright worshipped as gods in this part of the world. In every other place on this world, Monsters are either feared, hated, or discriminated against by the Humans. Why is it that this one place is a sanctuary for the Monsters?" Baramos questioned.

"I suppose it's because of all the mountains surrounding the place, and the fact that Yamatai is on a peninsula. I guess that being separated from the other societies and Ilias' faith caused them to develop their own culture and outlook on life entirely," Black Alice answered, remembering that Yamatai was far, far away from other Human Kingdoms or Villages.

"Quite interesting... I wonder how they'll react to me or my servants?" Baramos wondered, knowing that most Humans back in his world would either fight or run away the moment they saw a monster.

"I would assume that they would either see you as something above even their 'Gods' or see you and the others as demons and mockeries of creation," Black Alice assumed, remembering the hideous and somewhat comical appearance of Baramos' new servants. She was particularly fond of those blue slime blobs with cute faces on them...

"Hm. Maybe we should've gone to Yamatai afterall..." Baramos chuckled at the thought of being worshipped like a god by his worst enemies.

Soon enough, the two came to a relatively small and quiet shrine.

"Here it is, this is where the Elder Shirohebi supposedly lies," Black Alice said as she led Baramos to it.

"Quite a nice place... Reminds me of Jipang..." Baramos sighed, relieving the memory of those quiet isles that the Orochi used to control as Himiko.

"Just wait here, I'll get the Elder Shirohebi out for you since you can't quite fit in here at all..." Black Alice said as she entered the shrine.

Black Alice smiled, humming a small tune as she skipped into the shrine and to the white lamia.

The Elder Shirohebi was a quiet and humble Lamia, with pale skin and equally white hair and scales. Her kimino was an ivory white, and was fastened by a dark-purple obi. Her hair was decorated with two vermillion flowers, and the end of her tail had small red markings as well.

She seemed to be quietly mediating to herself, and looked to be in peace.

"So..." Shirohebi-sama's eyes opened, showing that they were a striking scarlet red, "Here I see a former Monster Lord and something most unnatural come to me... How curious. Why are you two here?" [2]

"Ah, I believe the Archfiend can explain his proposal to you better than I can," Black Alice said.

"A proposal? To me? How strange that you come to me instead of my sister... I can only assume that you have something that would harm Humans and go against the Maou's commands," Shirohebi-sama said.

"You'll never know unless you speak to him~!" Black Alice teased as she skipped away.

"... I suppose I can be bothered to disrupt my meditation just this one time," Shirohebi-sama mused as she slithered outside to meet the Archfiend.

Outside, Baramos quietly waited as the two exited the shrine and came to him.

"Ah... So you are willing to listen to me. Excellent," Baramos said.

"I presume you are the supposed Archfiend that's been causing so much havoc and chaos lately?" Shirohebi-sama inquired.

"Yes, I am... How strange that an outcast leading a rag-tag team of Monster Extremists in such a remote location would be know of my activities," Baramos chuckled, amused by her perception.

"Just because we're so far out does not mean I cannot scry out the rest of the world," Shirohebi-sama informed, "And you need not to tell me what you want out of me. I know you desire to usurp the Maou and enslave Humanity."

"Oh? You show more initiative than I expected..." Baramos smirked slightly, "Then I suppose you have already thought about what your answer is, and what the reward is for assisting me?" he said.

"Yes, I know of your allies and enemies, how you will reward those who serve you... And of your supposed power and brutality. But what about your strategy? You claim this to be a revolution, but in all honesty it is just an extremist movement using terrorism against Humanity not unlike that of Ilias Kreuz. The only difference is that you are something else entirely and have the support of a few kingdoms," Shirohebi pointed out, still as calm and stoic as ever.

"Am I a terrorist?" Baramos began pacing around her, "All I am doing is restoring the legacy of the Eighth and reminding this world that it is survival of the strongest and smartest. I do not hate Humanity... that much, I only despise them because they hide themselves from the truth. The truth that they are no different from us Monsters. The truth that they claim to be good, honorable, and merciful, yet they constantly attack and belittle those different from them. Hell! I even know of a man who raised and charmed a whole nation of Humans into wiping out another sect of Humanity just because they were different from them. That same man, along with many other so-called 'Heroes' hide and lie to themselves so that they may continue killing and slaughtering those who disagree and are different from them, whether it be Monster or Human. I myself am somewhat guilty of this. I claim to be usurping a tyrannical Maou who prevents us from reaching our ultimate destiny, but in truth I myself am even worse in some ways! But at least I accept and pursue it. I am better than most not because of my power or mind, but because of what I know myself as. I know myself to be something of pure evil and hatred, but I know that, and I accept that. But I will not stand for the Maou and Ilias, who claim to be just and right, when they have been waging a pointless war for time untold! I refuse to accept the fact that they themselves are just as evil, no, even worse than I am! I will not allow delusional lunatics to stop and derail us from the natural path that all beings are doomed to follow, the path that ultimately leads to us becoming 'evil' in the process, the path that everyone will inevitably follow! They will either die as a 'Hero' or live long enough to see themselves become the Villain!" Baramos boomed, pointing out the flaws of the Maou, Ilias, and himself.

"I may not agree with your ideals or views on life..." Shirohebi mused, "But I, along with my followers, have hated Humans for quite some time now... And the current Maou is not effective in the slightest, and the Eighth was remembered for her effectiveness and skill in governing and ruling over the kingdoms. Consequently, joining you would be wise."

"So you agree?" Baramos asked for confirmation.

"I do. I will have my followers help you whenever possible," Shirohebi said passively.

"Excellent! If you wish to speak with me further, meet me and Black Alice at the Old Maou's castle," Baramos said.

"I will definitely make sure to see you and your allies there," Shirohebi mused quietly, "I don't want to fight for a sde completely devoted to absolute chaos and darkness after all..."

Baramos Sigmus and Black Alice smiled as they Teleported back to their domain, gleeful at the fact that their plans were coming together so well.

---

*With Luka & Alice XVI, at San Ilia*

...

As Luka and Alice took a seat in the Tavern to rest, a Lamia, the same one who attacked Luka on his way to San Ilia, came to offer them a drink. He noticed the obvious eye she was missing.

"Wha- What happened to you?..." He asked hesitantly. Angel Halo didn't do that did it?

"Oh, this?" She pointed to her missing eye. Luka nodded. "It's... An injury I got when I tried to escape from the Archfiend."

"Arc-fiend?" Alice said, repeating the word. "Who is this 'Arch-Fiend', and what does she look like?" She inquired.

"He, Baramos, looks extremely hideous to say the least... Ever saw one of the rare male Goblins illustrated in some of the History books? He kind of looks a bit like that, but more reptilian, with some avian features." She firmly corrected Alice, still remembering her near-fatal encounter with the most definitely male Baramos.

"Hm, can't say I have." Alice shrugged, but was interested in the thought of a Male Monster being able to do that to the Lamia. Typically Male Monsters were never purely of monster blood, and had at least half or more human blood in them, which often took generations of breeding to accomplish... At least that's what she assumed from one of Tamamo's sessions anyways.

"Oh, well..." The Lamia tried to find the right words to describe him. "He's huge, like, around five times the size of a normal house, with skin as pale and colorless as ivory, and has hands with only three fingers that end in sharp claws and he also seemed to have a large bump-like spike on his head with a beak and two simple holes for ears. He wore a large, flowing robe blacker than the night, and had a cloak bloodier than the villages he destroyed. You'd be scarred by just looking at him." She shuddered, vividly remembering her encounter with him.

"Sounds horrifying..." Luka murmured, disturbed by the thought of such a demonic beast.

"I haven't even gotten to what he's done already within the month he's made his presence known..." She said quietly, "The way I've seen and heard of it, he's demolished hundreds of small settlements and murdered countless people already, and rumors say he's planning with some lunatic girl to take over the Monsters and destroy the World of Man in his castle."

At the mention of that last rumor, Alice's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Where is this 'Baramos?'" She demanded, glaring at the lamia.

"Oh, um..." She tried to think back to when she heard of that rumor.

"Here, fifteen gold if you tell us." Luka offered, throwing a small bag of money at the waitress.

"I remember now!" She promptly said, pocketing the gold. "Supposedly, Archfiend Baramos has taken up residence in an abandoned Castle built back in the Great Monster Wars. It's on a Mountain range you see, and can't be climbed by any normal means that I know of. I've tried to see myself after using what little magic I knew, to see what he's doing, but I found that the Castle is surrounded by poisoned swamps and has a large magic barrier protecting it... And that was after I climbed the countless mountains surrounding it with months and months worth of supplies of food and water. A human like you could never hope to scale all of the mountains, much less get past the swamp and barrier."

"Oh god... He's dwelling in the old Maou's Castle... And the swamps are poisoned, with a large magic barrier surrounding it?... That definitely makes it so hardly anybody can get in now..." Alice seethed, gritting her teeth. "Anything else about Baramos you can tell us?"

"I can tell you from personal experience that he's cannibalistic and sadistic. He loves to devour fresh corpses and slowly devour people alive," She ignored the questioning look the two gave her, "... Moving on, he's easily stronger than a Dragon, with magic that's even greater than that. He destroyed an entire unit of trained and valiant guards with only one spell," The Lamia sighed, realizing that was all she knew of him. "As much as I'd love to tell a Hero like you what Baramos is capable of, I'm afraid I don't know anything else. All I know is that Baramos must be killed before he throws the World into chaos," She said, shivering a bit. "S- Sorry, I should get back to work..." She meekly said as she returned to her duties.

Alice was quietly seething in pure anger from this news.

"Erm... Alice? What should we do?... If this 'Baramos' keeps up what he's doing, then by the time I even get all of the Four Spirits, it'll be too late." Luka asked, scared by the prospect of fighting such a powerful demon. He could barely use Sylph as he was now, how could he ever hope to stand up to such a powerful foe?

"Ssssth..." Alice's snake-like traits showed through her disguise, her forked tongue briefly poking out. "You worry about the Spirits... I will make sure this petty 'Archfiend' doesn't usurp me. No one has defeated a Fateburn and taken the title of Monster Lord yet, and I do not intend for some abominable thing to achieve it now," She proclaimed, "I am sure that he can't handle even one of the Heavenly Knights, much less all four at once with the Maou helping."

"You're going to send all of them to kill just one person? I know that he's probably strong Alice, but that's overkill, don't you thi-" Luka was interrupted.

"I don't intend for a single cell of his body to survive the Hell I'm about to give him for driving Monsters and Humans even further apart you dolt," She hissed, her eyes glowing dangerously.

"Right, right..." Luka squeaked, scared by her sudden fury.

---

*With the Four Heavenly Knights; At the Maou's Castle*

...

Granberia roared as she pushed herself to her absolute limits. The Training Ground's sand floors and old pillars shook in her fury and rage.

"Dear Primal Alice... I've never seen Granberia this angry before." Tamamo thought aloud as she and the other Knights watched her dart about, lunging and stabbing at precise and powerful angles towards an imaginary target.

"Indeed, Granberia's not one to be angry about losing a match. In fact, she would be happy, as it proves that she can still improve... So why is she so furious?" Erubetie questioned, following Granberia's movements. "She's completely overwhelmed by pure anger."

"But why? What could possibly be so horrible as to make her this spiteful?" Tamamo continued, annoyed by how Granberia hasn't even bothered to talk to them yet.

"I don't know. All I heard from her was that someone from San Ilia completely wiped the floor with her with no effort," Erubetie answered with uncertainty. "I'm not sure if Alice has anything to do about this, but it worries me that someone could've easily crippled or killed both her and Granberia at the same time if her reaction indicates anything."

"Hm, hm. If we're so curious, then why don't we just ask Granberry ourselves?" Alma Elma finally spoke, contributing to the conversation.

"With the way she's going?" Tamamo frowned, motioning towards Granberia's blurring figure. "She isn't even consciously using Sylph properly, and she's practically at your speed, if a bit more rigid. Imagine how lethal it could be to just be next to her if she has Salamander active... After all, Fire does grow stronger the angrier the user is in some cases, and I don't want to test if Granberia is one of those special users the way she's going right now."

"Perhaps she's vented off some of her anger by now." Alma Elma playfully answered, "She has been at it for seven hours by now."

"Mm..." Tamamo looked at Granberia. Those eyes... They were the exact same eyes Estark had when she first met him back then; they carried the look of confusion, anger, and sadness... Poor Esturk... she thought, somewhat remembering his uncertainty and fear when he first awoke in a land torn with hatred and war... It proved to be their bane as well, when he began rallying the sole people he recognized, the humans, and led them against everything. The Era of The Demon King... Perhaps the only time Humans have ever truly experienced prosperity and glory without the Monsters or Angels interfering... No, perhaps the only time Humans were ever truly happy as the Supreme Race. She mused, somewhat saddened by the pitiful existence humanity now led without the Demon King guiding them.

She was snapped back to reality when Granberia finally stopped moving, and began to walk towards her and the others.

"... I assume you're here for a reason?" She finally said, breaking the silence. She didn't even look tired at all.

"Yes, why are you so pissed? You're almost never like this," Erubetie stated plainly, giving a blank look like she always does.

"... Private reasons," Granberia promptly answered.

"Oh, come on Granberry~... Don't keep such a tantalizing secret from us now!" Alma Elma mock-begged.

"Don't call me that!" She snapped, surprising the others. "I don't want to remember that! I don't want to remember him..."

"Remember what though?" Tamamo asked, curious as to why she was also beginning to lash out for being called 'Berry' all of a sudden.

"... Nothing." She huffed, and turned to leave.

"Come on," Tamamo frowned. It wasn't healthy to bottle up emotions like that... She knew it herself, as that was one of the major reasons as to why Black Alice snapped back then. "You can trust us." She reassured Granberia.

Granberia spared one scornful look at them. "I don't want to talk about it." She seethed, turning back again.

"Oh-ho-ho no you don't~!" Alma quickly sped in front of Granberia with a huge smile plastered on her face. "It's not healthy to let keep such secrets from your own friends now~!"

"As if you're one to talk!" Granberia shot back, pushing past her.

Alma Elma frowned... And then tackled Granberia.

"HE-HEY! Get off of me!" Granberia protested, trying to kick her off.

"Nope~!" Alma giggled. "Not 'til you spill the beans on what happened in San Ilia!"

"Grr..." Granberia vainly tried to break free of Alma's grip to no avail.

"Really now Granberia, you should be telling us more about who beat you anyways. What if one of us met this person? How would we know who they are? How would we be prepared to fight them?" Tamamo pointed out to the Dragonkin.

"Ssth... Fine." Granberia rolled her eyes as Alma let her go. She dusted herself off and took a breath. "The Man who beat me was named Vaskul, a travelling Necromancer that also taught Luka swordfighting and other basic skills," She began, immediately grabbing her fellow knights' attention, Luka's teacher was still alive and active? "He was an extremely powerful wizard, being able to dodge my every attack once he got serious and destroyed most of the cathedral we were fighting in."

"Vaskul... I think I remember someone who went by that name..." Tamamo faintly recognized that name as the man who broke into the castle years ago to learn about Esturk and where he was sealed away at. Is he working for Ilias? Or is he one of Esturk's old followers? And why did he attack Granberia? Why did he train Luka? Just who is this mage?

"Yes... I remember him as the same exact person who attacked me and my mother and tried to murder me by throwing me down Gold Volcano as a baby... It was a miracle Salamander was there to save me, or I would've died alongside my mother," Granberia admitted, shocking the others.

"That wizard actually did that!?" Tamamo's tails puffed out in hatred and spite. How could someone be so vile and merciless as to throw a defenseless child down a Volcano!?

"Oh dear, that explains a lot," Alma nodded in understanding. She had met some humans who were like the Necromancer to some degree... But they were never this powerful, and they didn't carry as much malice either.

"Human!..." Erubetie hissed, bubbling in fury. Granberia was literally one of the few friends she had, and now a human casually puppets he life around and has threatened to kill her not once, but twice!?

"That's why I have to train. The only times I ever landed a full hit on him was when he was blinded by the fogs and mists he accidently created, and later on when I managed to catch him off guard with Vaporizing Rebellion Sword." Granberia said, balling her hands up. "If I can't even hurt him when he's putting some effort into fighting, then how could I possibly hope to avenge me and my mother? How can I ever call myself a warrior if I can't even force someone so twisted and disgusting to fight me seriously?" Granberia's hands started to bleed.

"And we understand you Granberia," Tamamo reassured her. "But why aren't you using the Four Spirits?"

"... I found out he can nullify the spirits and magic at will. I'm not sure if his anti-magic goes both ways, but I definitely noted a lack of exhaustion and worry once he reasserted himself," Granberia sighed. "He even healed himself completely after removing the Spirits' Powers."

"Is that so? Perhaps he has a contract with the spirits that go beyond your relationship with them? Or maybe he's somewhere near Heinrich's level of skill?" Tamamo covered her mouth with her fan to cover up the scowl she had. She didn't anticipate the Magician to be this powerful... If she ever had to fight him one-on-one, she'd definitely have to unseal herself to stand a chance.

"No, it can't be. He casted spells that used the Wind offensively, he has no real memory of meeting Salamander and didn't seem to remember me and my mother specifically, and I know for a fact that Explosions and Ice are not elemental spirits that can normally be used as magic to the extent he did... Either he himself is a spirit of sorts, or he has an understanding of magic even you can't hope to rival. Besides, would Salamander really lend her power to the same man who tried to kill her adoptive daughter when she was just a defenseless baby?" Granberia mentally checked off various things that disproved the theory that he was like Heinrich.

"You're right... What is he?" Tamamo's head was working impossibly fast to decipher the man's identity and purposes. "First he seeks out Esturk for some secret, but chose to not kill the witnesses, and now he had the chance to kill one of the Four Heavenly Knights and gain so much glory and fame, but decided to go easy and spare you..." She pursed her lips as she closed her fan.

Is he trying to unseal Estark out of loyalty and respect?... Esturk definitely had a code of loyalty and honor that seems to somewhat resemble the wizard's actions. Tamamo knew that was far-fetched, but she digressed. He may just want to establish another Age where Humanity is Supreme and the other races kneel down to them for a change... It could be the reason, but then why now?

Why do it when there's so little conflict between the Monsters and Angels? If he truly was trying to resurrect and bring back the supremacy of humanity, then wouldn't he want to do it when Monsters and Angels were in open war again and things were too chaotic for anyone to notice his schemes? Wouldn't he first try to provoke an all-out war by killing Alice when she was a child and blame it on the Angels if that was the case?

I need to know more about Vaskul before I openly confront him... Perhaps he can still be recruited to our side before Ilias has noticed?... No, she's probably trying to kill or recruit him herself at this second. I need to act fast. Tamamo mused.

Vaskul could potentially turn the scales, maybe even break the seals that imprisoned her sisters and Creator... Or he could just as easily annihilate and dominate everything and hold the world in an iron grip of Despair, with all of the power he had if forcing the Spirits to withdraw by a simple spell indicated anything. He could probably even give Ilias herself a hard time if Granberia was right and he did recover completely after she caught him in Vaporizing Rebellion Sword right after nullifying the Elemental Spirits...

Tch! Why does a Human have to hold so much knowledge and power in their hands now? If he finds out where Estark's sealed, then there's absolutely nothing keeping him from achieving that... Good thing that only the First Alice and Ilias know where he's at...

Tamamo then realized that Estark was literally the only thing that Vaskul was after as far as she knew, and Primal Alice was completely sealed off, and Ilias is still running around. Tamamo realized she had nothing to offer to Vaskul other than where Primal Alice's location might be, and that didn't guarantee that the Dark Goddess would tell him... While Ilias would probably be more than happy to if she got his services...

Shit. Tamamo thought simply. She needed to track the wizard down as soon as possible to get a basic idea of what they're dealing with.

"Well, well. Everyone's already here. Good." Alice said as she slithered in.

"Lord Alice!?" The Four Heavenly Knights immediately bowed before her.

"Lord Alipheese. It is good to see that Vaskul did not harm you..." Granberia said respectfully.

"Yes, yes. Vaskul... The Necromancer that wiped the floor with you if I recall correctly. Nice person. He's a massive jackass though," Alice bit her lip. "He's a bit... Scary at times. But he shouldn't be too much trouble... At least when compared to the other situation we're facing right now."

"Other situation...?" The Four Knights sweated bullets. What was worse than a crazy maniac with magic powerful enough to wipe the floor with them?

"Yes, the other situation. We have a certain rebellious monster by the name of 'Lord Baramos' causing quite a bit of wanton destruction and havoc. I learned from a certain source that he's holed up in the old Maou's Castle to plan out his next move. Now this wouldn't be so worrying... If he wasn't planning on staging a coup and overthrowing me to become the new Monster Lord. He's already got the Vampire and Spider Kingdoms backing him up, and I believe from a few observations by Kraken that the Mermaid Kingdom is thinking about his offer," Alice sighed, "I've also been to some of the sites to where he's supposedly been and well..." She bit her lip, "I think that it would for the best if I just said he has more than enough power to back up his claims."

"Then I suppose you came to us to help kill Baramos before he gets out of hand?" Erubetie guessed.

"Exactly. I would do it myself, but I need you four to help ward off the monsters that are probably roaming around his castle," Alice answered.

Granberia silently accepted, though annoyed that she couldn't train for now.

"I suppose... (Especially since everyone's here to hear the order...)" Alma frowned, wanting to instead go pursue something that interested her, like that new manga series she had heard about... Dragon Ball Z if she remembered right.

"We have enough problems as it is," Tamamo pursed her lips. First there's a sociopathic wizard roaming somewhere, and now there's an overly ambitious monster looking to rule. What next, a Demon Lord that fed off of pure Despair?

"As you wish, Lord Alice," Erubetie complied, not really having much of anything to do anyways.

"Good, good," Alice sighed in relief. At least her Knights were still loyal. "Let's go," She and the Heavenly Knights teleported to the Archfiend's Domain.

---

*With Baramos Sigmus and Black Alice; At the Old Maou's Castle*

...

"Wah-Choo!" Sigmus sneezed, catching Black Alice's attention. "Eugh... Somebody must be talking about me..." He grumbled, grabbing a nearby tissue and wiping his beak/nose.

"Ho-Hum. Didn't know you could get sick," Black Alice teased, giggling at his misery.

"Shut up. Everyone gets sick at some point, even Zoma did... Except Baramos Gonus was there to heal him," Sigmus muttered, blowing his beak with the tissue, "Why else do you hear about people talk about his legendary regeneration and healing capabilities all the time? Why else do they still talk about him when the likes of Mortamor, Mildrath, and Nokturnus are still running around?"

"Baramos Gonus?" Black Alice tilted her head in confusion. "There's more than one Baramos?"

"No, Baramos is merely the name of my kind. Baramos Gonus was the first Archfiend officially trained by Zoma, while I'm just self-proclaimed. My actual name is just Sigmus, not Baramos Sigmus. The only reason why one of us are even referred to as 'Baramos' is because we're quite rare, so people tend to just refer us as such because Baramos sounds like a name... Hell, as far as I know, the only major Baramoses were Bomus and Gonus, and to this world, me," He exasperatedly answered, sneezing again. It was getting really annoying to have to tell his subordinates that "Baramos" was not his actual name.

"That's quite interesting..." Black Alice pursed her lips in thought.

So there are more of his kind in particular... Which means more freakishly hideous and powerful male monsters are out there in the Multiverse... The only thing wrong is how ugly they all are. If he was more fuckable, then maybe I might've considered taking our relationship a bit further... Bleck! Black Alice gagged at the thought of bedding the Baramos. God that's disgusting! Why did that image go into my head? Why did I have to think about making out with a bipedal hip- BLURRECK!

Black Alice quickly teleported off to puke somewhere else.

"Ha! How does Karma feel you bitch!?" Sigmus laughed as he faintly heard Black Alice puke somewhere in the castle. "Also, do clean that up," He then asked, not wanting her last breakfast to stink up the place. Things already smelled horrible enough with all of the Trolls and Imps running around. Großmesser's party last night caused so much trouble and made cleaning the castle a lot harder than before...

---

*With Alice and The Heavenly Knights...*

...

Alice stared bitterly at the Castle. It looks like all the rumors were true. The Old Maou's Castle was rebuilt, and there was a large magic barrier surrounding it, preventing them from teleporting inside.

"My god, what happened to the swamps?" Erubetie looked in horror at the swamps around them. It was purple and bubbling with acidic poisons. Forget about Slimes dying in that, any normal being would instantly begin to rot and melt away in that disgusting water if the blackened and wilting trees said anything. "This is far worse than what the humans have done..." She hissed. "To think that even fellow monsters are so willing to throw another down just to put on an extra measure of defense."

"Sssth... How did he pull all of this off so soon? It was only a few months ago that we checked back on this area. It should've taken years for anyone to pull this off, especially with the magic barrier." Granberia hissed. She could sense the disarray and chaos in the elements around them. The Earth was rotting, the Water was poisoned, the Wind was silenced, and the Fire was snuffed out. All of the Elements seemed as if it was turned inside-out and boiled alive.

Alma and Tamamo kept their opinions to themselves, but they had similar faces of horror at how fast the Archfiend had consolidated his forces and domain. If this kept up, they'll have a full-blown civil war before the month even ends.

"L- Let's just find a way in the castle." Alice said as she slithered towards the barrier. She tested its properties, and quickly found out that she could just walk through it. It's just that her magic will not be able to go through it. "That crosses out the option to just destroy it from a distance..." She mused as she beckoned for the others to follow along.

Eventually the Five did come to an entrance, but it was guarded by something they could only describe as "Unbelievably Fucking Ugly."

It was a Troll, of the Terror Variety to be exact. He had a crudely made fur-toga wrapped on him, and he carelessly carried a large, equally crude, club made of steel. He had greenish-gray skin, and his teeth were large and almost comically blunt, with his tongue hanging out like a dog. He also had a blade that looked somewhat similar to a machete strapped to his side...

"I'm new 'ere. I'z was over 'dere be'fore, see, not 'ere. My brudda was 'ere, and I'z was overa 'dere. 'Is name was Golok. Hur hur hur! Funny dat. It'sa my name too. Uh... Anybays, y'all gunna have to stop 'ere, else I'ma 'fraid y'all gonna have ta die." He slurred, barely noting the disgusted look on the newcomers faces.

"Um..." Tamamo leaned over to Alice, who was equally weirded out. "You think Baramos is like that too?" She inquired.

"I hope to Primal Alice he's not, because then it shows that the Monsters have become so retarded and can't see a dumbass for their life... Ilias would probably be laughing her ass off if she saw that this thing can be considered a monster," Alice stammered, bemused by the strange guard the Archfiend placed here.

Shrugging, the Five tried to move past Golok, but he quickly stepped in front of them.

"Stop left 'ere! I mean, stop right 'ere! I mean, leave! 'Ere! Yeah, leave, 'ere!" Golok mumbled, trying to get the words right.

"Do not obstruct my path, thing, I came to face Baramos," Alice ordered the Terror Troll. Surely even something this... Retarded, would understand that she was the Maou, right?

"Hur hur hur hur hur! Baramos, two-faced! Ha! Dat's a joke if I've eva heard d'one! Doh, that would s'plain why he so tolerant of dat girl's n'sults!" Golok slapped his knee in laughter. "But 'las! Golok, da Gate Keepa, keeps the Gated locked! Blah... I mean, the lock gated! Fffrrr... I mean, the keep locked! I mean... Er... I'ma gonna eat y'all up if you don't leave 'ere! Youz see, I'ma not supposed to let nobody in 'ere, and rules is rules see! And I'z rather break and eat y'all up than them!" He fumbled, trying to put together the right words in his incredibly dumb brain.

"Ugh... Is the Archfiend really trying to keep anyone out with this dumbass?" Alice deadpanned, clearly annoyed by the Troll.

"Come on, with all five of us here, it won't take long to beat him up and get to Baramos anyways," Granberia suggested, impatient from the Troll's incapable mind already.

"BAAAAH!" Golok heard Alice and Granberia's insults and began to stomp the ground, causing miniature earthquakes to rumble around. "You'z don't know howz cold-blooded Iz is! Grr... I mean, how blooded-cold Iz is! FFF!... I mean, how cold the blood in me eye iz!... BLLLAAAHHH! I mean, how cold deh blood on me mace is!... Feh! I think Iz betta eat y'all up now 'fore Iz make meself even more dumba..." He muttered.

"Who wants to go first~?" Alma said playfully, all of them ignoring Golok's tantrum.

"I call first!" Granberia huffed, then walked up to the dumb troll. He looked around, trying to find the challenger. Granberia sighed. "Yo. My eyes are down here." Never thought I would ever say those words to a guy in my life... She thought absently as Golok noticed her.

"Oh, dere you are!" He slammed his club into the ground, but Granberia quickly dodged. "Grrr... Imma get you!" He continued to savagely swing his mace around, trying to catch her.

Meanwhile, the other Knights and Alice were watching this small show of entertainment. "Mm!" Alice gleefully helped herself to some food Tamamo had brought along, just in case it took longer than expected.

Even Erubetie had to admit this display of idiocy was fucking hilarious.

"Hee hee!" Alma giggled as Golok stumbled around, trying to pin down where Granberia was. She soon brought out a small sketchbook and a pencil out of her cloak to draw the scene.

The others looked at her in confusion. She even drew pretty well too. She could make a profit selling art pieces and comics if she wanted to.

"... What?" Alma looked up as she noticed they were staring. "Don't tell me you thought I was only interested in sex?" She said.

"... Um, yes. We thought you were only interested in sex and rape," Alice admitted as she ate some tofu Tamamo had brought.

"But there's like, several dozen sketches and comics all over my room!" Alma protested, "I've published several books and art pieces!"

"We... Were too scared to see what was in your room," Tamamo also admitted, "We did not want to accidently barge in while you were probably satisfying some horrifying fetish or BDSM habit you had."

"What? No! That's all kept in the Castle Prisons! Why would I keep the slaves in my own room? That's just weird! Not to mention they could strangle or otherwise hurt me in my sleep..." Alma Elma frowned. Compared to others, she was pretty sure she wasn't that strange.

"You did eat several people with your tail..." Erubetie mentioned while she watched Golok trip and curse as Granberia wagged her finger at him mockingly.

"That was only a one-time thing for really fucked up humans! Like, you know, Vaskul!... And maybe some of the weirdos who were into that. But I never liked doing vore with my tail! It's uncomfortable as hell... Tails were not meant to be stretched that far." Alma said.

"Oooohhh..." Alice and the others realized. "That explains a lot."

Alma just set on frowning and looking somewhat annoyed by them. "Makes me wonder what the rest of the world thinks of me..." she muttered as she returned to drawing.

It continued like this for a while, until Granberia hit Golok hard enough on the head that he actually fell over and blinked for a moment as if to realize something. He slowly got up, and started to count the five out.

"How da..." Golok scratched his head. "Wait da minute... Why y'all not gangin' up on me?" He took another short headcount, slowly adding up the number of people he saw. "Fourda... Threefa... Fiva... Yeah, dere's five of you! Whyz y'all not attackin me as a group?" He scratched his head as everyone fell down in a comedic fashion.

"He's actually smart enough to realize it's better to attack him as a group..." Tamamo sighed. "Who'd've thought?"

Golok stroked his chin, and then shrugged and continued wailing on Granberia.

"Ho hum, I think Golok has gotten smarter from that blow to his head just now..." Alice noted as she saw Golok feinting and instead smacking Granberia into a wall. "He's actually pretty damn strong as well. He could probably beat her in an arm-wrestle if he tried."

"Yeah, it's too bad he's too dumb to realize what he's doing, if he was smart and could actually strategize, we may have been forced to actually take him on seriously," Tamamo noted dully.

Eventually, Granberia managed to break Golok's mace with a simple swing of her arm.

Golok stared dumbly at his stumped weapon. When he realized what happened, he began wailing.

"NOOO! MY MACEY! WE HADA SO MANY KILLIN'S TOGETHA!" He bawled as he drew his strange Machete.

Slowly, the others began to realize why he was called Golok. [3]

It was because he had a Golok, and he seemed very skilled with it if his posture said anything.

He pointed his Golok at Granberia and the others. "IMA KILL YOU ALL FOR DIS!"

The massive Troll suddenly rushed at Granberia, swinging the Machete wildly and catching her off-guard by slicing cleanly through her plate armor and scales. It was a miracle that he didn't get her by the flesh, or else she'd been cleanly bisected in half.

Infuriated and enraged beyond belief and understanding, he stomped around, throwing around giant boulders more than twice his size around carelessly. Granberia narrowly dodged the crude artillery and tried to actually attack him with her greatsword... Only to find that it bounced off the rolls of fat he had.

"What the..." Granberia then jumped back before Golok could counter and slash at her.

"YOUZ GET BACK 'ERE!" he bellowed, grabbing her tail, spinning her around in a circle, then roughly threw her at the floor and stomped angrily on her.

The others cringed as they heard some cracks and snaps.

"Y'ALL ARE PAYIN' FOR DIS!" He screamed as he charged fearlessly at the others as he swung his Golok in a berserk rage.

Alice and Alma quickly flew out of the way while Erubetie collapsed into a puddle and Tamamo curling herself as a small, fluffy ball of tails.

Golok grabbed the balled up Tamamo and a boulder, then chucked both of them at the airborne Alice and Alma and continued his siege by grabbing what he could find and throwing it. While they were busy dodging his shots, Golok spat in Erubetie's puddle, causing her to suddenly jump up into a humanoid shape from disgust.

Erubetie began puking and looked green from disgust, but was cut off by Golok pounding her into the dirt with his fists and then stomping on her with his feet, which he made sure to dirty and muck up to try and delay her regeneration.

Golok was about to turn to back to the other two, who were busy holding up Tamamo, and take them all down with a well-placed boulder, when he was knocked out by a sneak-attack from Granberia. Surprisingly, her armor had taken the brunt of the damage, but she was mostly okay other than that.

Everyone stood in silence as they reconvened.

"Well... I can see why Baramos put him as the Gatekeeper," Alma commented, trying to leaven the mood as Granberia slowly grabbed the key around Golok's neck, careful as to not wake him up again.

"We definitely should not underestimate anything that is in, or came from, this Castle anymore," Alice said seriously. Everyone agreed.

The five decided to sneak in, rather than risk losing even more strength by tangling with the large, pink, bull-like demon with tiny, cute imp-like creatures hovering around it. They also noticed that the statues had significant magic powers stored within them... Almost as if they were alive.

Eventually the Five came to a beautiful courtyard, with singing birds and wondrous flowers blooming all over.

In the middle was Black Alice, peacefully watering the plants while humming a tune.

Tamamo instantly steeled herself. The others may not know, but she certainly did! What is SHE doing here?! Tamamo thought, wondering how Black Alice could be alive. Was she revived by Baramos? Did Vaskul work his dark magics? Did she even die at all?

"Dun dun dun dun dun da da da da daaa... Hm hm hmm hm mmm Mm, hm, da da da daa~..." She hummed a certain musical piece Baramos had stored in his treasury. [4]

"Oh? Is someone there~?" She turned to the five. Even when she was faced with her successor and Tamamo, she still had a cheerful and happy smile on her face. "I would assume you're here for Barby?" She teased.

"Erm... Yes?" Alice couldn't help but feel a certain connection to the strange girl... Almost as if they were family?

"O-Kay! He's over th-ere~!" She pointed to a small walkway over the small lake in the courtyard that led downwards to a set of stairs.

"Oh, uh... Thank you." Alice and the others quickly got away from the strange girl, as they didn't want to waste even more energy fighting some of Baramos' minions rather than the demon himself.

When they finally reached the bottom of the stairwell, they were immediately assaulted by a large heat-wave, making both Erubetie and Tamamo wince. Erubetie because slimes were naturally weak to heat and fire, and Tamamo because her many tails had quite a bit of fur on them, thus making it easier for her to get overheated.

The Five slowly advanced through the room, seeing a faint figure in the distance sitting on what appeared to be a pyramid of sorts. Even from this distance, they could tell it was very huge and strong.

If they thought Golok had the record for ugliest being in the world, then this new monster took the record, and multiplied it by cancer. It didn't help that he seemed to be rather comfortable in this immense heat and sitting all day long on a dais-throne.

They could only assume this strange, pale demon dressed in black and red to be Baramos, the Archfiend that had recently rebelled against them and sought to usurp the throne.

"Gehahahaha! So, you've finally arrived eh Alipheese? I was wondering when the mighty 'Maou' would come to face me in combat," The Archfiend laughed. "But alas! Now is not yet time... You are not strong enough to battle the Great Baramos!"

"So... I presume you're the Archfiend?" Alice hissed, already annoyed by the arrogant tone the demon carried.

"Indeed! I am the Archfiend, Lord Baramos Sigmus, the One to bring destruction to the World of Man and the One to cover this world in pure Despair!" He cackled, the heat in the room intensifying, "For too long man has terrorized and slaughtered monsterkind... I say no more! But quite clearly you want to destroy us all by joining with mankind in 'coexistence!' Disgusting! You are ill fit to be the Lord of Monsters..."

"Oooouu..." Erubetie was slowly melting into a puddle, and even that was evaporating fast.

Alice sighed, ignoring Sigmus and instead focusing on her dying Knight, "Erubetie, it's quite clear you need to fall back. Go back and recover at the Castle."

"Y- Yes my Queen..." Erubetie teleported out before she died from the sheer amount of heat Baramos was emitting.

Rolling her eyes, Alice looked back at Baramos, "Despite all of your little minions, you still ultimately face me and my Knights (Well, most of them) in combat alone. Give up and I might consider just banishing you from the world instead of having you executed."

"Pfffhahaha! You? Spare me? Bah! That's why the Kingdoms rebel against you and serve me instead! It is because you are too soft, and do not yet know when to give mercy, and when to smite thine enemies! It is because you do not actively enforce your own laws! It is because you are a fool, and should've never won the crown of Monster Lord in the first place!" Baramos mocked, "And above all else, they rebel because you are not strong!"

"Ttssh... We'll see who's sorry and who's laughing when we're finished." Alice swore.

"Sorry? You should already be regretting even coming here to defy your King! But do not worry... 'Tis not a mistake you'll regret for long... For before you even know it, I shall rip out your innards, and devour your guts to ensure that you'll never return!" Baramos yelled as he threw a magical ball cupped in his right claw towards them. It was a prematurely casted Explodet, and the resulting chain of explosions rocked and shook the whole mountain range.

Alice and the others quickly dodged to avoid the attack. Granberia quickly leaped in to strike at Baramos, but he demonstrated great strength as he punched Granberia away, sending her flying through the room.

Alma Elma swooped in, looking to perform a dive-kick, but was caught by the Baramos and thrown across the room as well with Granberia.

Alice's eyes glowed for a split-second, but she found out that Baramos was immune to her spells. So she instead opted to wrap around his head and neck and choke him to death while Tamamo wailed on his legs/stomach area and tripped him around.

It worked for a while, and Baramos found that he could not pry Alice off of him nor pinpoint Tamamo's location without his sight, so he casted Blazemost on himself and quickly shook off Alice and Tamamo.

By now, Granberia and Alma Elma have recovered and rejoined the others.

The Four circled around Baramos, trying to catch him off guard.

Instead, Baramos took a deep breath and his body swelled up like a balloon. [5]

"What?" Alice stated flatly as she stared at the strange move. She then took this chance and lunged at Baramos, hoping to burst him like a balloon and finish the fight on the spot.

Baramos responded by breathing out a firestorm at her, the tornado of hellfire instantly charring her skin and scales due to a lack of vital magic protection. Alice's mouth hung open, and she collapsed, unable to fight any longer due to the overpowering blast. To some well-trained eyes it would've appeared that the sheer heat of the inferno might've caused her blood to boil for a split-second... It was a miracle she was even alive.

"Oh dear... That far surpasses Granberry's fire breath." Alma took a defensive stance along with Granberia.

"Yes it does, yes it does..." Granberia said in awe. How did Baramos stay so far out of society and common knowledge until now?! He was literally strong enough to defeat the Maou in one blow!

"I did say you were not ready..." Baramos huffed as he lifted the unconscious Alice by her tail. He reared back his free fist and prepared to impale her when Tamamo managed to headbutt him cleanly in his stomach. "Ghga!" He crawed much like a bird as he dropped Alice and stumbled backwards.

"Alma! Take Alice back to the castle... We can't beat him as he is now!" Tamamo ordered Alma as she gently scooped up Alice and dropped her into Alma's hands.

"Alright... Try not to die, okay?" Alma teleported away.

"Pathetic! The Maou is so weak she relies on her servants to save her when she can't defeat someone!" Baramos scoffed as he drew closer to Tamamo and Granberia.

"Granberia, let's retreat for now. We can't beat him as we are now," Tamamo advised the Dragonkin. She would unseal herself to fight the Demon, but she needed to be at her strongest when she went looking for Vaskul in case he was anywhere near as strong as Baramos and was already on Ilias' side.

Granberia looked at the giant Demon King, and sighed. It was another case of Vaskul Syndrome in that she couldn't even hope to seriously harm her enemy unless she got stronger. "Fine, let's go... for now."

The two teleported away, leaving Baramos as the technical winner of the battle.

"Feh! Running away with your tails between your legs, you are all truly cowards! But, my point has been made!" He rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. Out from behind the pillars supporting the room came various Monster Queens who were spectating the event in secret. First came Black Alice and the Vampire Queen, then the Spider Princess, and finally the Elder Shirohebi sister, an outcast of Yamatai Village leading a group of radical monsters. "I believe I have now proven my superiority over you?"

"You already had my support when we ventured off together. But now you just won my loyalty~!" Black Alice cheerily smiled, as if nothing about the power difference between them was wrong.

"Completely." The Vampire Queen bit her lip, a bit resentful as to how easily Baramos defeated the Maou.

"Yes. Yes you have." The Spider Princess pursed her lips. There was positively no way any of them could even stand a chance against Baramos with that demonstration, and he was nowhere near as stupid as his servants.

"Indeed. You have my support." Shirohebi-sama confirmed.

"Good, good... And with you four as witnesses, so many kingdoms will be... 'Inclined' to join me. Soon enough there won't be anyone serving the Maou at all, and then all of Humanity will bow to a new order of Terror! Misery! Despair! And Death!" Baramos laughed as his plans began to roll into motion.

---

*In Heaven*

...

Vaskul, still suffering from that odd headache he had earlier, wondered what he was actually going to do now. He had finally gained the Secret of Evolution, but for what? Why did he want it in the first place? What was he actually going to do with it?

I spent all these eons and eras trying to gain it and finally become as powerful and absolute as Ao and Azathoth themselves, but for what? Why did I even bother getting this? Vaskul mused silently as he tried, and failed, to get Ilias off of him. She's cute when she isn't saying or doing things that generally annoy me, he noted, stroking through her hair.

Speaking of Ilias, why did he bother telling her about his past? There was no true reason for him to tell her about who he was, and where he came from. Perhaps a part of it was to prepare her for Faerun... Yes, that must be it. He rationalized.

Or perhaps you wanted her to help you. Another voice in his head, one resembling that of someone a bit all too familiar, mentioned to him.

Heh, as if! What a stupid idea... Vaskul scoffed at the possibility his mind just brought up. There wasn't a single point in his long and extensive "life" he ever regretted. Not a single betrayal, murder, or genocide ever fazed him. Not a single point in time when he enslaved, ruined, or did worse to someone made him remorseful. How could it? He was a lich, and one that has lived so long that even he didn't know his true age. Such things were inconsequential to him.

People like Lucifina, Luka, Chrome, and Ilias are irrelevant to him, and only serve as pawns or jesters for him to laugh at. This whole world was a chessboard waiting to be checkmated, Faerun and Alefgard are only fireplaces for him to set alight, and the rest of the Multiverse was a game waiting to be played.

And why he should he care if he failed at something? Why should he care about the people he slaughtered and sold to the Drow and the Illithids? Why should he care if Ilias and Chrome, the people he wasted so much time on so they can help and further his goals, prove to be absolute failures? Why should he care about the potential threat Luka poses as a Hero with his old skills?

Life is a waste afterall. Everything's going to fade away at some point, even I myself will eventually fade away. Might as well enjoy everything I can while it lasts. Vaskul almost, almost, decided on that for his answer as to why he desired the Evolution.

I wonder what I will do after I become an Overdeity... Perhaps I'll just go to sleep and create a new multiverse from my subconscious, just as Azathoth did. Or maybe I will rest and wait for my cult to begin forming, and then take the Multiverse through conquest... Vaskul silently tapped his knee, wondering what he will actually do now. With Ilias giving him the location to Estark, there was nothing preventing him from gaining the Secret of Evolution and becoming a God.

This... Is this how it ends? Is this the fate of my long quest? Once my name was known and feared throughout the multiverse for my power and skill! I hold the artifacts of the Gods themselves! Is this how I honor Kyous' death? By taking this Secret and becoming an apathetic God like Ao and Azathoth!? By allowing myself to fade away and let others forget the name of great Vaskul!? Vaskul angrily dismissed the former answer to be why he pursued the Secret of Evolution.

No! There must be a reason, a purpose! I did not go all this way just to let myself fade away! Vaskul ultimately decided. He would, he will, find out the true reason for his existance later. For now, he had to gain the Secret of Evolution.

Vaskul... A voice called out to him in his musings.

ШЭ KИФШ ЧФЦ ДЯЭ ThЭЯЭ... That type of voice... Nimzo? [6]

It can't be... Vaskul snapped out of his existential crisis and set his attention on the immediate problem. If Nimzo was talking to him, then that other voice must be...

Mortamor!? Lord Mildrath!? How are you speaking to me!? You two were sealed long ago by Alipheese and Ilias! There's no way you can do anything anymore!

Sealed, perhaps. But being unable to do anything? False. Mortamor countered, seemingly unfazed by Vaskul's disbelief, Also, why does Nimzo get to have "Lord" added to his name but I don't? Am I not equal to him?

It ШДs Д ЪiT of Д ЪiTcH gЭttIИg ЦsЭd to ThiS... SЭДl tHosЭ fФФls PlДcЭd ФИ Цs... БЦt ШЭ PRЭSЭЯVЭD! ДИd I ЭvЭИtЦДllЧ fФuИd Д ШДЧ tФ ЪЯЭДk FЯЭЭ! Mildrath pushed past the elderly demon's complaint and explained the situation in his alien-like voice. It was probably a result of the Secret of Evolution...

Indeed... But alas! We require another being aligned with us to help break this cursed seal! Which is why we set our eyes upon you when you arrived... Do not think for a second that we have forgotten you, old friend. Mortamor elaborated, his voice being slightly easier to understand than Nimzo's.

Hm, very well then. Just as long as you don't interfere with Estark's revival and my ritual, then I will free you. Vaskul decided, not seeing anything wrong with unleashing the Archfiend and Grandmaster upon this world.

Excellent! And don't worry about abandoning your little "Angel" over there... We only require your soul and conscious to be here to break the seal upon us. Mortamor gleefully said as he relayed the location where he and Nimzo were trapped at, and then he cut off the connection.

Even better! At least then Ilias will not suspect me for anything. Vaskul thought as he projected his soul to the location.

Ah... It would appear that I have the run of the place now. How wonderful it is to have a real body once more... A certain ghost cackled as he took over Vaskul's empty body, surprised the Demilich took the bait, and immediately Teleported to somewhere in Sentora just as Ilias was waking up...

...

"This... This aura! It can't be!?" Baramos frantically looked off in a certain direction, fear painted in his eyes.

"What? What is it?" Black Alice asked, curious as to what made Sigmus so worried all of a sudden.

"It's... It's him! Lord Zoma has been revived!" Sigmus shrieked, falling back.

"Who? Who's Zoma? Who are you-!" Black Alice's questions were interrupted by the sudden jump in Darkness... "What is this... Who is this!"

"It's Zoma! The Master Archfiend! Lord of Darkness!" Baramos frantically climbed up and out of his chamber, "And I suspect he's going to charge off to us very soon! ALL FORCES ON HIGH ALERT! ZOMA HAS RETURNED!" He shrieked as he alerted his forces to Lord Zoma's arrival.

...

"Alice, you've seemed kinda grumpy as of late," Luka questioned as he and the Maou were travelling along a worn-down pathway.

"Well duh, Luka. I've been under quite of stress lately, and I don't need you and your questions adding to that, so if you would mind shutting up about th...!" Alice's eyes widened and she whipped around to face a certain direction.

"What? What is it?" Luka questioned, unaware of the sudden increase in Darkness.

"... It's- It's nothing. Let's go on," Alice promptly said as she calmed herself and slithered ahead of Luka.

"H-Hey! Alice! Wait up!" Luka ran off to catch up with her, and forgot about her sudden fear.

...

The Four Knights, still recovering from their fight with Baramos, snapped to a certain direction in shock.

"What... Who, is that!" Granberia said, awestruck by the sheer amount of Darkness emanating from that being...

"It makes even Baramos look like an insect in comparison," Alma noted, terrified by this new power.

"Who is this? And why are they coming here? Are they here to fight Baramos and Vaskul?" Erubetie wondered.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't bode well for our world," Tamamo said, "I have an aching feeling that we're about to encounter beings far beyond what we thought was even possible... Beings that mock and distort reality, and beings that we can only kill by joining together with Ilias..."

"Join together with Ilias!? Are you insane?!" Granberia hissed, disgusted by the thought.

"No, I'm not. And it disgusts me to join with her just as much as it does you, but let's face it. Is Darkness ever weak to Darkness? No, it's not. It's weak to Light. What is Ilias' element? Light. What is our element? Darkness. What consistent theme have we seen in Vaskul, Baramos, and these new monsters that infest the Old Maou's Castle?" Tamamo paused to let the question sink in, then continued:

"They all primarily rely on and use Darkness. We can't fight them and expect to win using the same weapons and tactics we used on Ilias' forces. We can't expect these abominable beings to feel pleasure the same way we do. We can't expect Baramos to be merciful to even his own servants. We can't expect Vaskul to be the same typical pervert or another religious fanatic that we see in the average man or Ilias Kreuz member. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Vaskul and Baramos just see Ilias as another puppet for them to use and discard at their leisure at his point, it wouldn't be surprising considering how they've gone and done more damage and caused more chaos in a few months than Ilias has in thirty!" Tamamo pointed out, reminding her brethren that Ilias was responsible in some way shape or form for Remina and Ilias Kreuz, while Vaskul and Baramos were responsible for Alice's mental scarring and the random attacks on Humans and Monsters alike respectively.

"These new monsters and humans... They have no moral or ethical limits. They don't care about the damage they'll cause, nor do they care about Primal Alice and the Ancestors being released. They just want to do whatever they want. They're like the worst of our Monsters, but with even worse libertine and barbaric habits," Tamamo finished.

A small pause engulfed the group, and Tamamo sighed, saying: "I'm going out now. With all of these new contenders and Monsters running around, I'm sure I can find at least one that knows Vaskul's magic or how to fight off Baramos. Preferably both, but I'll take either one alone at this point."

...

"There. I did it. You're free now," Vaskul informed Mildrath and Mortamor, "So now I'll be returning back to my body. I'll see you two soon-... Huh?" Vaskul tried to return to his body, but didn't for some reason.

"... Wait... What the hell?"

Vaskul distinctly sensed that there was a severe lack of two Demon Lords being unsealed.

"Where are they?... And why can't I return to my body?..."

---

...

A Man with an earthly scent and a dirty, yet ornate robe stood above this new and curious world. He didn't know what he was looking down on, but from what he saw, it seemed to be a safe haven for succubi.

Despite the idea of having a bunch of hot women rapists with various traits dominating the world somewhat fascinated him, he was quite disappointed to find out just how boringly weak most of them were. Not like he could expect much out of life anyways, not since he shoved the Secret of Evolution off to a secondary priority.

Then... He felt a trace of something... of power... Perhaps there may be hope for this world yet!

Some worms wriggled and squirmed under his mask, rearranging themselves to match his expression from that of boredom to curiosity. This world was quite rich in raw magic and elements; about the only active powers he felt right now was a Light Primal Elemental, a descendent of a Primal Dark Elemental, one sealed outsider of some sort, and some others...

He concentrated more, intent on finding out what was in that world.

He scoffed as he saw a small kitsune that seemed to have Earthen Elemental powers and four Elements of Wind, Earth, Water, and Fire. Perhaps he oughta pay them a visit... Teach them to give him some powerful things, then give him something so pathetic! Teach them to get his hopes up!

Then, he felt another aura. He would've blinked if he had eyes. He felt several auras... He recognized one to be a Baramos, one that was a descendent of Gonus at that. Most curious... He didn't know the Archfiend had a child... Or perhaps it was created from the Archfiend's remains?

Some beetles squirmed and buzzed, reminding him to check the other source of power before it was too late.

He almost gasped out when he felt the power. He wasn't shocked at the power, no, but instead of who it belonged to. He carefully gauged its power and aura, and doubled-checked to make sure...

Worms rearranged themselves from a look of curiosity to excitement when he confirmed who the power belonged to.

"Ah... My old disciple! Who would've thought I would ever see you again?" the Man chuckled in amusement as he remembered his old days with Orthalamas, "I wonder why you of all people would even be in a place like this in the first place... Oh well! I'll just ask you when we inevitably meet!"

The Man giggled madly as he recognized some more familiar powers stirring from his presence as well. He recognized them to be the other Archfiend-Santa Claus hybrid and the Grandmaster Namekian.

"Ohohoho! This world has some hissssssssstory~!" he chortled, amused by the thought of the two somehow being sealed on this world, "My, my! Perhaps this will be something more than a sex haven! What else will I come across next in this world, something like Nokturnus or Estark?"

Before the Man could act on the two's existence, he felt a presence come nearby...

"Hmm...? Who's there?" he questioned, wondering who could be out here in the void.

He soon saw a Slaad, but couldn't tell its traits from its skin. It was a Black Slaad afterall, and you can't see black shapes in the void. The only way he could even see it was from its scarlet eyes and mouth. He briefly questioned to himself why a Slaad was all the way out here...

Though how he even knew it was a Slaad in the first place was a better question.

"Hehehe! Oh, I remember now! Is that you Karnax? It's been a while! Though, I would've preferred Chourst instead... He's way more fun to play with!" the Man greeted the Black Slaad, knowing that particular Slaad was only one of its type that didn't attack him on sight... He sometimes wondered why, but then he remembered that hunting Slaads with their own Lord of Randomness causes that issue at times.

"Now I certainly didn't expect you to be this far out in the void," Karnax spoke in a deep and gravelly tone, hissing and dragging certain syllables out.

"Indeed! I came this far out because... Well... I felt like coming out here! And look what I have found! A World full of succubi-like monsters!" the Man gestured towards the world, showing the Slaad.

"Um... yes, yes. That's very fascinating..." Karnax looked at his comrade quizzically, "how is that interesting to one like you? You're not one to be interested in sluts and whores... Right?"

"Bah! Who cares about those sex machines? No, what interests me is the fact that..." the Man recounted what he sensed earlier, "Mortamor, Mildrath, my old Disciple Orthalamas, and I think... Lord Zoma, are all in that one world!"

"Zoma? Mortamoore? Mildrath? All of them are on this one world?" Karnax would've raised an eyebrow if he had any.

"Yes!"

"Hm, that's very interesting indeed. Who would've thought that the likes of them would be on that kind of world?"

"No one, not even me!" the Man and Karnax laughed for a bit, "But I won't go there to free those three myself. Maybe my Disciple would, but not me. Instead, I'm going down to that world to have some fun!"

"You're going there to get laid?" Karnax questioned.

"What?" Some worms shuddered at the thought, "No! I'm going down to cause havoc and destruction! I'm going down there to have one hell of a time!"

"And to get laid," Karnax insisted.

"NO!... Well, maybe. But for the most part NO!"

A small moment of awkward silence passed the Worm and the Slaad.

"So... Want to bet to see who gets involved with the gods of this world first?" Karnax offered, deciding to tag along with the Man.

"Yeah! I'll see you there!" the Man giggled and snickered madly as he dived towards the world face-first.

Despite having no protection upon landing, The Worm was still giggling, even though his form was scattered among the insects and arachnids that were splotched all over the crash site.

"Come here my dears!" the Man mentally commanded his body to reform itself underneath the robe and mask, eventually returning it to the state it once was.

He smiled madly as he adjusted his mask and bag, he would have so much fun in this world! He didn't even know why! He just did!

Travelling down a worn-down road that seemed to lead somewhere, the Man was idly wondering what the hell Zoma was doing in this world. Why would the Ghost of Evil itself be in a world like this? Was Zoma a closet pervert this whole time? Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. But shouldn't Zoma's presence have at least attracted the attention of his old disciples? Shouldn't King Hydra, Baramos Gonus and Baramos Bomus have followed him here?

"Maybe Zoma just ditched them. I know I wouldn't want to walk in on a Baramos getting laid, even if the girl was the prettiest thing in the Multiverse!" the Man muttered to himself.

But he digressed. While Zoma certainly seemed to be in close proximity to Orthalamas, the Man knew for a fact that Orthalamas was scared of him... or maybe he was loyal? Or perhaps they are working together? No, that couldn't be it...

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure I'll find out when I get there!" the Man happily shrugged off the Demon King's presence and continued walking down the pathway, a small skip in his steps.

Soon enough, he found someone who looked to be a Vampire.

She had purple skin, with bluish hair and a dark purple dress.

"Ara? A Human, all the way out here? How rare... not that it is bad, for me anyways..." the Vampire smiled, stepping towards the Man.

"Ara? A Vampire, already? How rare it is to see one this soon... not that it is bad, for me anyways," the Man mimicked, angering the Vampire.

"You can laugh and mock me when I suck you dry!" the Vampiress said, quickly rushing and latching onto the Man, sinking her fangs into his neck...

Only to feel insects and bugs quickly swarming her fangs, and the awful smell of the Earth filling her nose.

"Kiya! What sort of thing are you! You don't even smell nice!" the Vampire squealed as she retreated, frightened by the feeling. She stared in horror and fascination as the Man's neck seemed to let various worms and maggots pour out.

"Aw," the Man sighed, "My robe got torn up already? Oh well! Not like it matters." the Man giggled madly as he idly casted Rapture of Rupture, causing the Vampire to randomly burst and blow up in various parts of her body.

The Vampire shrieked in agony, and tried to flee, but ultimately died from the massive amounts of pain and damage the spell had done.

"...Damn it! I didn't hold back enough. Perhaps Rapture of Rupture is a bit too much for the denizens of this world," the Man mused as he walked past the Vampire's corpse, or at least what was left of it, "Or maybe she was just weak. Who knows? Not me!"

Soon, the Man came across a small kitsune with nine tails; it was that same kitsune that had gotten his hopes up earlier.

"A Human? All the way out here? How odd," the Kitsune tilted her head in confusion, "But I suppose anything's possible these days."

"Hehehe, why hello there! How do you do?" the Man greeted, already liking the girl. She may have disappointed him in terms of power, but at least she was nice! She didn't even comment on his scent yet!

"I'm doing quite fine..." the Kitsune frowned at the Man's voice and demeanor. It wasn't often she met a complete stranger who wasn't afraid of her or didn't at least know who she was.

"That's wonderful! I'm doing quite nicely myself, who are you by the way?" the Man seemed nice enough, but something told her that there was something... wrong, with him.

"My name is Tamamo, of the Four Heavenly Knights. Who are you?" Tamamo questioned, somewhat interested in the Man's apparent ignorance of her position.

"Oh, little ol' me? I have many names! From the Mad Scholar of Esturk, to the Wandering Lunatic, to the Pride of the Bleak Academy, to even the King of Worms, I am many people! And many people, I certainly am!" the Man giggled insanely, some maggots and flies crawling out of his robes.

"Esturk?" Tamamo's tails flared up, "What do you want with him?"

"Ohoho! Wait up now! I am only a scholar, not a servant. I do not actively go after his royal majesty, I merely chronicle and record his adventures and exploits. But one thing I certainly do go after is magic and fun!"

"Magic? Of what kind?"

"The kind all of us use! Is magic not a multiversal thing? Indeed! It is the way we use magic that differs!" the Man snickered and twitched at his own attempt at a joke, "But to answer your very vague question, I use the kind of magic that can flay people alive with the Wind itself!" he burst out laughing when he saw Tamamo's horrified face, and it's not like he was lying either, the spell Flaying Wind can easily rip off a person's flesh straight down to the bone in seconds.

"That's... A very violent way to use magic," Tamamo commented, still horrified by the answer.

"Ah it's nothing! At least when compared to some other ways I know of!" the Man laughed it off as if it was some kind of light-hearted joke.

"Yes, yes... You know, you seem to be quite knowledgeable, you seem to be quite skilled with magic, and you know about Esturk, and we've been needing some magicians lately. Would you like to come with me to the Monster Lord's castle?" Tamamo offered, still suspicious of the Man.

"And what's in it for me?" the Man questioned.

"I may tell you where Estark lies... And something 'else', if that helps," Tamamo said.

He may be crazy... But he seems to know the same type of magic Vaskul uses. If I can recruit and learn from him long enough to get a basic idea of the type of magic Vaskul uses, we may stand a chance. Tamamo reasoned mentally as she waited for the Man's answer. I just hope he isn't worse than Vaskul...

"You know what? I think I'll go along with you! It seems quite fun!" the Man happily answered.

"Great!" Tamamo smiled widely as she turned back and began walking back to the Maou's castle along with the Man, "By the way... You've given me a lot of titles, but you never gave me a name. What is your actual name?"

"My name?" The Man seemed to smile under his mask, "Very well then. My name..."

"Is Kyous."

---

Notes:

[1]: I thought I should compile a list of the names of the Monster species that Sigmus summoned so that if any non-DQ fans wanted a picture of them, they can just look at the names in the list here:

Low Tier (These were named in the first paragraph)

Slimes (Some with Slime Knights riding them as mounts)

Imps

Dracky

Orc (Dragon Quest)

Fire Spirit

Bodkin Archer

.

High Tier (Second Paragraph)

Cyclops

Knight Abhorrent/AxeKnight/Armored Knight

Restless Armour/Rogue Knight/Rogue Armor and Healslime/Healer

Archdemon/Bullwong/Winged Demon/Arc Demon

Troll

.

Named Monsters (Actual Characters)

Großmesser (Pink Archdemon)

Belial/Zarlox (Yellow Archdemon)

Golok (Terror Troll)

Atlas/Atlus (Orange Cyclops)

... There were other types of monsters mixed in the bunch, and different varieties and colorations exist for these monsters, but I felt that I got the point across when I showed how many monsters Baramos summoned by sheer accident.

[2]: The Elder Shirohebi is sometimes referred to as Shirohebi-sama.

[3]: Golok, as you Dragon Quest fans may have already figured out, is a reference to the Troll of the same name in Dragon Quest Swords. Unlike the one who served under Xiphos however, this Golok actually has his namesake weapon, which is a machete, albeit much bigger due to Golok's size compared to an average human. I also had Großmesser mixed in, but I decided to leave out his namesake weapon for now. He already has a giant trident, can fly, can cast Zenithian Magic, has Green Imp servants, and can somehow recover HP by drinking beer!... Also, like the Cyrillic letters in Nimzo's speech, it's hard to get the 'ß' in his name onto the document, because like Nimzo, I have to copy and paste it from somewhere else so that the letter actually appears the way it's supposed to... At least now I have all the needed Cyrillic letters and Großmesser's name on this document now...

[4]: The Tune Black Alice is humming is Dragon Quest 1's Theme. I tried to convert it to text, but that obviously failed...

[5]: Baramos' most powerful attack is his fire breath and Explodet. In the game, if you didn't have or cast Insulate/Barrier or whatever helped decrease breath and magic attack damage, you were in for a fight. It really is that bad, Baramos was the first boss in the game that you had to take seriously because of all the spells and hidden regeneration he had.

[6]: Nimzo/Mildrath speaks that way because that's how he actually spoke in DQV. Not that he makes many appearances or talks that much in the game for it to matter, but still, I figured I might as well stick to how the game portrayed him, speech included. Also, funny thing, the letters that replace certain words whenever Nimzo are actually Cyrillic letters, so if you translate Nimzo's speech to complete Cyrillic or complete English letters you will get a bunch of gibberish and a general mess of what it was intended to be.

---

Author's Notes:

First off...

I'M FINALLY BACK FROM WRITER'S BLOCK BABY! WOO! ONE MORE CHAPTER FOR 2017!

... Ok, I'm done. Now onto the summary and commentary.

Well, how's that for a cliffhanger! Haha... You know, I didn't think this story would get this far or bring this much attention... But now it's one of the most successful stories I've written so far!

Anyways, there's not a whole lot to say but Baramos Sigmus has gotten some allies, I made references to DQ Swords, Zoma has barged on in to cause mayhem and chaos, while Vaskul's Former Teacher is here along with a Black Slaad to screw up the plot even further! Who knows where this will go!? (Well, I do, but that's not the point.)

So, don't forget to Review, Favorite, and Follow! It helps to motivate me quite a bit!

And without further ado, I will see you all later!