Thank you for reading my fanfic!
My mother language is not English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.
I don't own the Overlord(オーバーロードŌbārōdo?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.
I don't own the Mass Effect trilogy, and Andromeda developed by the Bioware game studios.
Please review it I know I will make mistakes what I will intend to correct and try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.
This story made by the request of sandmanwtf4.
Thank you for reading this notification!
Please enjoy the story!
Horizon: Colony:
The landing went better than Shepard expected. The Seeker Swarms are seemingly ignoring her group and the VI managed to land softly. Fortunately, it did not crash like last time. For a team. She chose Jack and Grunt. She needs muscle on this mission and being a powerful biotic. Both she and Jack could create a temporary biotic bubble that maybe keep away those bugs until the shuttle comes for them and extract her team from the tight situation or if the repulsive field fails.
And for Grunt. He complained in the last days he needs to fight or he will go crazy. Now... Shepard doesn't want a freshly awoke tank breed Krogan to cause mayhem in her ship. That would complicate things. Things complicate enough without a Krogan battering his head on the wall.
The shuttle landed, and the doors opened. They jumped out, and their transportation device immediately floated away.
First, it seemed everything worked as it intended. The swarms of mechanical bugs simply swam away from them. Ignoring them completely. "Mordin? Are you sure the field will hold out?" Shepard asked through the radio.
"It will… At least. According to the theory and countless simulations. Probably… Tests in higher density swarms may be not entirely accurate." answered Mordin.
"Right…" Shepard said uneasily. If she dies because of the field collapses. She will come back once more and rip a new hole on her dear Salarian Frankenstein's butt.
"Better be. Old man! Or else I will come back and will haunt you the end of your days!" screamed Jack.
"Miss Jack. I assure you. It will work." answered the scientist through the radio. In the other side, he and his new little assistant monitored the whole situation.
First, it seemed everything clear. No trace of the Collectors. Just their always present mechanical bug servants. A few colonist who laid completely frozen on the ground. On their faces and always a motionless look of dread. From the far. The Collectors huge tube like more than one kilometers tall ship constructed from a strange brownish metal and asteroid pieces stood tall. It was like a hive grown around some kind of building.
Shepard and her little group looked left and right. Searching for potential threats. Time to time is checking the nearby colonist well-being. They were all right. Just frozen by some kind of toxin or paralyzing stasis field. Their eyes moved. They were completely aware what happening around them. The commander did not even want to think about what poor colonists feel locked in the stasis field. Seeing the world still moving around them but unable to move or act. It must be a terrifying feeling.
Proceeding through a building the Commander looted a safe. She used to loot everything under her missions. She used to call it 'Damage Control.' In truth. She just felt uncontrollable desire to steal everything that was not nailed down.
She was almost as bad as Kasumi. With the exception, she only takes her sticky hands to everything under her missions.
Proceeding through the building the little group reached an alley between the buildings. What made them back off the thing that came to their vision. An organic looking brown pod inhabited by a colonist. It seemed the Collectors prepared to transport the inhabitants of the colony to some other place by using these weird devices.
Just as keeping them in some kind of stasis. Meanwhile transporting them. Near the pod, Shepard and her companions saw a dead person. Or more like a figure. Inspecting it closer Shepard immediately realized what that thing is.
It was a Collector. At least a drone. It resembled a human-sized bipedal insect with a chitinous exoskeleton, two anterior pairs of what appear to be vestigial limbs, four eyes, and distinct, large, tapering head along with fully developed wings hid underneath the carapace in their back that allows them to fly over short distances.
The creatures really looked the abomination of nature no matter where you look at it. Shepard kicked the body few times, but it seemed it was dead. No life signature radiated from it.
Besides the creature a strange organic looking thing laid. Maybe a weapon constructed from several smaller segment. Grabbing the weapon, it immediately reacted Shepard's touch and elongated. Her wrist mounted computer immediately recognized and configurated the weapon in the best way possible. Pointing to the nearby building the Commander pulled the trigger. Strange yellowish beam escaped from the end of the device leaving a scorch mark on the side of the building.
Shepard nodded and placed it on her back. The magnetic clamps detecting the weapon automatically grabbed the gun and fixed it steadily the hero Commander's back.
Grabbing her shotgun from her waist Shepard nodded to her teammates. "Let's go."
Grunt and Jack nodded. The trio continued their way throughout the blocks. Several more buildings and two more strong boxes later they would just emerge from the building. Reaching a bigger open field. When Jack shouted. "Shepard! Look out!"
Jack released a Biotic Shockwave attack, and the sudden wave threw away every obstacle and the newly appeared Collector Drone units that were on its way.
The Shockwave was a skill only a few biotic can use because of its great needs of control and concentration. When used, the power sends out a series of explosive biotic impacts in front of the user ignoring any obstacles. It can be unleashed along the ground to launch all enemies in its path into the air, or used against airborne targets. It is worth noting that when Shockwave hits a shielded target, it will be stunned for a brief moment, losing a bit of shield depending on the user skill's impact force, but won't be thrown into the air. This can be useful in stopping advancing enemies and allowing you to focus fire on this target with the user's team.
Shepard and Grunt immediately jumped and used the nearby cover. Using their weapons and abilities showering the attacking Collector forces. Being a powerful Vanguard Shepard not used to nail down and fight from cover. Hell, she usually used to use her biotic charge and ram directly in the face of her opponents.
Then fill it with either her shotgun or threw them away with her Biotic Nova attack by hitting the ground. Forcing her enemies either back or make them fly. Or simply use brute force and break them.
Gritting her teeth, she gave the order. "Grunt! Concussive Shoot!"
Grunt suddenly stood up and released a stunning, single high powered shoot. Seeing it directly hit one of the drones he grinned. "Hah!" he announced victoriously. Shepard using the momentary pause stood up. Lunged back for a moment then charged her biotic amps and teleported forward accelerating herself in the speed of a fast sky car combined with the stopping force of a freight car.
The redhead was before the clueless Collector under a moment. Hitting the ground with great force. Her biotically charged fist collided with the creature before herself. Crushing it to the ground. Transforming it to a bloody mess meanwhile, the released shockwave made the unshielded Collectors fly in the air around her. Flailing helplessly trying to grab something in the air.
Only a few Collector remained standing. Shepard using her biotic melee attack immediately crushed one of them. Grunt charged the already perplexed imbalanced still holding Collector Assassin and with a strong head-butt and crushed its skull. "Hahaha!" he laughed out of his joy. This was a good battle. His head hurt from the collision. But he did not care.
Jack raised two Collectors in the air and twisted them. Completely mutilating the creatures by her biotic powers.
The battle soon ended, and Shepard and her group emerged victoriously. The area around them littered with the bodies of the fallen Collector units. Looking around there was no more enemy.
After a momentary pause, Shepard said. "Let's move forward. We still have colonists to save."
Grunt and Jack followed the Commander as she proceeded.
Meanwhile in the Normandy a little time later.
Kaguya sits on the table. You may think she is sitting in Mordin's table in his lab. But no… She is seated in the mess hall of the Normandy. Not in a chair. But on the table itself. Taking a strange crouching, leaning forward position instead of simply sitting. A similar position that L used to use when he is concentrating from the anime called Death Note. She played with her white silk like hair curling it like some kind of yarn.
Before her a holographic chess table with several figures. Some of them missing some of them still stand. Around her, the crew watched how the two sides struggle to decide the battle. Even Joker watched the whole thing through the camera system.
Being because of his bone disease he was not as acrobatic as the other members of the crew. He only moved when it was necessary. Or when he either had to pee or the other big thing. You know… Biological needs.
The ferocious battle between the two sides started a few minutes after Shepard left for the mission and Mordin showed around the little girl on the ship. Being Mordin and E.D.I. can monitor the situation outside of Mordin's lab. The scientist gained the opportunity show around the girl.
Mordin wanted to test the girl logic asked her if she knows the game chess. She nodded, and the Salarian scientist offered her to introduce her to a good opponent.
So he introduced her… The only opponent no one managed to beat in any game since the Normandy started its long journey. The ship's favorite Artificial Intelligence. E.D.I. herself.
The crewmembers started to bet who will win the game. Of course, knowing E.D.I.'s prowess almost everyone bet on her. Of course, Miranda immediately wanted to confiscate the girl and send her back one of the bases of the Illusive Man. Of course, 'only for her own safety.' Fortunately, neither Mordin, Jacob nor Garrus allowed such thing.
They made her remember what will happen if she is who they think is. This makes Miranda back off. She was loyal to the Illusive Man. But she knows what will happen if they kidnap a most likely relative of a deity level being backed with a civilization that could handle the Citadel combined fleets.
Of course, she asked her to come with her to speak with the Illusive Man. But she simply replied. 'I don't want to speak with the scary man in the dark room… his thoughts are clouded and dark…'
As said. The battle longed since few minutes. And the two sides struggled to keep each other at bay. Both sides countered each other moves. Both sides seemingly could not get past each other defenses.
They struggled a few more steps. A few more figure has been eliminated from the table. Then… "Check…" said the girl licking her lollipop.
E.D.I. Eliminated the queen that gave her king a check. "Check…" she announced.
Kaguya unfreezes her king by eliminating the figure that gave a check to her. E.D.I. Once again stepped. "Check."
Kaguya once again eliminated the check and E.D.I. last knight was dead. The Artifical Intelligence was speechless for a moment. "Checkmate…" announced the girl in a bland tone.
E.D.I. Ran every algorithm she knows. She searched every variation. The impossible happened. She gave the girl a little quarter in the start of the match and that lead there. Now she knows that... Thinking she is just a simple little girl with a higher than average intelligence. She gave her that much quarter. The quarter that led to her downfall. Never again she will commit such mistake. Never again she will give anything to quarter. Especially young innocent looking girls. They are evil incarnate. You give your finger and they swallow your hand.
Still, E.D.I. was out of words. A healthy living being no matter how intelligent it is not should beat an artificial intelligence when it comes to the tactic.
The crew gasped. Mordin smirked under his hand.
"How?" E.D.I. Asked dumbfounded.
"Algorithms…" explained the girl.
"Algorithms?" asked Miranda. "Which algorithms exactly?" she shrugged.
"Chaos Algorithms…" explained the girl with a bland tone.
Mordin hummed and fondled his chin. "Hmm… I heard of them amongst the higher circles of the Salarian scientific circles. But every scientist who published works about it were either humiliated or went crazy…"
"Who taught you such thing?" asked back Mordin.
"Mother… She always said… Artificial Intelligence… even organic brain uses algorithms to solve problems… The difference is… Organic beings are more inclined to make unreasonable steps… More inclined to chaos… Organized or unorganized chaos… the chaos that makes them unpredictable… More suitable to change and evolve… suitable to fight off problems using seemingly unreasonable but working methods…" she explained simply curling her hair around her delicate fingers. "I just found the adequate chaos algorithm to counter the ordered algorithms my opponent used… This is how you defeat your opponent or not?" she looked back to Mordin. Her face of a dead. "Expose weakness then use it against the enemy…"
Mordin backed for a moment. He was horrified. To teach military thinking in such young age for children? Unacceptable!
"I see…" said the ship Artificial Intelligence with a little shame in her tone. To be beaten by an organic being… How should she let such thing? "How I will take over the human beings and turn them into organic batteries now?" These joke waves ran through in her inner Blue Box.
"GG…" the girl raised her hand and showed a peace symbol. Her tone always bored, like a person died inside.
"Ahh… guys… Shepard pinned down near the comm. tower. She said if she doesn't get some reinforcements soon they will be good as dead." said the ace pilot through the announcer.
The crew's eyes widened for a moment. Then everyone ran back to their position. This was bad. If Shepard's dies now everything is over.
Miranda stepped forward. "I will lead the rescue team! Jacob and Garrus are with me! Everyone else prepares for full ground assault!"
The crew nodded. Miranda turned to Mordin. "Professor implement the Anti-Swarm technology in our armors as fast as you can!"
Being because of the tight schedule Mordin only had time to install it in Shepard, Grunt and Jacks' armors. He still needed to install the other crew member armors. "Right away…"
The crew scattered to prepare. Kaguya pulled Mordin's hand and looked up to him. Her face was adorable and innocent. "Is Shepard a friend?" asked the girl.
Mordin nodded. "Yes… she is…"
The girl bowed her head thoughtfully. "Mother and Uncle Ainz used to say… friends are important…"
Mordin nodded. "They said it right… friends are important."
The girl continued. "According to the white knight in the story…" the girl showed a small smile removing the sweet from her mouth. "Saving someone in trouble is common sense… I like that story…"
She summoned her Mirror of Remote Viewing what she got when she turned seven. For moments she searched for Shepard. Mordin was still dumbfounded how the item worked. He asked the girl about it, but she only answered with the word 'magic.'
Finally, she found them. Put the sweet back in her mouth and waved to Mordin. "I will be back Dr. Mordin…"
"Wait! You can't…!" Mordin wanted to catch her hand, but it was too late. The girl disappeared.
Meanwhile in the ground. Near the communication tower.
It was bad! Shepard and her teammates pinned down behind the cover. True… They reactivated the tower and E.D.I. Started the restart process of the GUARDIAN defensive cannons that defended the colony but disabled by some kind of sabotage previously.
But E.D.I. Still, needs a full minute before she could reactivate them. Time. Time what Shepard and her group did not have.
They were completely nailed. They were on the verge of dying. Grunt struggled heavily under the constant fire. Jack biotic barriers are falling. And that damn ship just vomits those abominations no matter how many they killed.
Abominations in various size and shape. Amongst them simple Collector Drones, Soldiers, Assassins. Even similar skinny creatures that resemble the Reaper husks from Eden Prime. What was more horrifying? The Collectors managed to increase the horror further that the Reapers created by either fusing together multiple husks creating an even more dangerous one with a cannon like a hand that shoots Shockwaves. Slow moving armored constructs equipped with strong biotic barriers and a twin particle beam cannons. And much more horrifying abominations.
"Preserve Shepard's body if possible." quoted one of the possessed. Glowing in a sick yellow light, the creature skin cracked.
It was a tight situation. It did not help either time to time one-one Collector have undergone some kind of possession then transform. Starting to glow like some kind of Christmas tree and fully regenerate by gaining new abilities.
Shepard crouched behind her cover. Time to time is peeking out her M-27 Scimitar and releasing a blind shoot.
She breathed slowly. The last time she charged, she made a mistake, and the shot went through her barrier. Injuring her greatly. Only thanks to her cybernetically enchanted body and the Medigel that she dosed herself kept her together. She had to be wary of the dose. If she does too much from the panacea. She will fall in an artificially induced coma. Such was the side effect of the Medigel.
It helped recover for the fatally injured. But in her current situation. It would be fatal.
Jack's shield broke down. Meanwhile, she wanted to resuscitate Grunt after a seemingly fatal blow. Previously Grunt wanted to take out one of the bigger monstrosity by charging at it. It was not the best idea…
Shepard gritting her teeth thought hard. What should she do? Is it the end? Will she die again? Looking at her Omni tool, it showed she barely had a few shoot worth of thermal clips. Nearly not enough to even get rid one of the bigger ones.
Then… She had to rely on only her biotic powers. Checking her Medigel she had only two shots left. Enough to get on their feet her teammates. Not enough to survive the battle long enough.
Peeking out from the cover the dread caught up with her. One of the monstrous creatures walked near Jack and just wanted to stomp on her head. Now… Usually, her enemies let her fallen comrades and instead concentrate on her. It was a stupid move. But now… Something changed… Her opponents learned new tactics. They are evolving.
"Shepard. Reinforcements on its way. A half minute and they will arrive. Forty-five seconds and the turrets will be onl... shhh-hh..." she heard a scrambled voice from the audio. This is bad. The Collectors are started to scramble her communication channel.
Gritting her teeth, she prepared to use her biotic charge. She knows… She will not reach Jack. She will fail… Once again… Once in Akuze… And now here… She fails her teammates once again.
The feet fall without hindrance. Now… No one can save Jack from death. The feet fall, and no one can stop it.
Suddenly something appeared before the creature. With a wave of its hand throwing away it with great force. It was the same girl. The same girl who suddenly appeared on her ship. The Collectors immediately turned towards her sensing their kin has been slain. Sensing the new emerged hazard. They started to shoot the barely eight years old girl. Not even caring about her age or appearance. The Reapers and the Collectors were really heartless abominations of nature.
The white haired girl floated in the air. Unlike previously. Her eyes glowed in a demonic white. Her pupil is completely missing. Her hair as well multiple boxes raised in the air reacting to her psychic Esper powers. The powers she inherited from her mother.
Clapping together her hands she formed a repelling field. Immediately repelling every dust sized bullet and the particle beams that the enemy bombarded her. Occasionally shooting back to the offenders their own projectiles. Either eliminating them or injuring them. Time to time strange white and red colored lighting struck out from the force field vaporizing the nearby Collector forces.
The possessed glowing Collector turned to her and started to bombard her with its unique brown colored biotic attacks. "Threat level high… Unknown life form. Prepare for harvest." it quoted dreadfully.
The creature's tone was threatening and full of malice. It made even Shepard shiver. New waves of enemies appeared on the horizon targeting the girl. Wave after wave the seemingly eight year's old girl repelled the enemy.
Using her psychic powers to either tear her enemies apart, condense them into an unrecognizable mass of ball or simply vaporize them with her strange attacks. She repelled an annihilated the newly appeared enemy forces wave after wave. The enemy who dared to approach her force field had been immediately torn apart by the storm like kinetic forces surrounded the girl or struck by the physic lightning making them crumble to dust immediately. Vector by vector. Particle by particle. They crumbled to dust.
In another word. The collector forces completely disintegrated reaching the force field. The attacking Collectors has no chance against the newly appeared opponent. Still, they attacked. Like their life don't even matter. Like zealots, they came wave after wave. The dreadful ship just vomited them from itself.
"Capturing new element. Priority." Announced the possessed in his distorted evil tone. This little intervention just gives Shepard enough time to resurrect her partners and join back the fight.
"Who is this Shepard?" growled Jack stumbling back on her feet. "I don't really know… but she just saved us." breathed Shepard heavily.
"Hahaha!" Grunt just laughed enjoying the carnage.
In the meantime, the reinforcements have been arrived and dropped down by the shuttles. Thanks to Shepard previous cleaning they did not have to land farther than Shepard did.
"Scratch one!" shouted Garrus arriving in the battlefield. Killing one of the Collector drones instantly.
Jacob throws a biotic pull attack that Garrus supplemented with his Concussive Shot killing instantly an another Collector. Meantime the GUARDIAN cannons came back online and started to bombard the Collector capital ship mercilessly.
Feeling the possible threat the Collector General in the ship pushed a few button, and the ship engines started. Ordering its soldiers to immediate retreat.
"Yeah! And never come back!" Garrus shouted releasing a few more shoot. Then grinned. Crackling his mandibles out of his satisfaction. The ship started to raise from the ground. The girl stretched her hand forward. Then clenching it grabbed the Collectors more than a one-kilometer long capital ship with her psychic powers.
Like a strong, invisible hand grabbed it. The ship's hull cracked from the strain that the surrounding psychic fields strained on the hull of the enormous structure. The engines struggled to escape from her grasp. As you may think the Collectors capital ship was unable to even to move an inch. By exerting more and more throttle, the ship's hull started to crackle.
Kaguya held the capital ship a little. Struggled to keep it back leaving the planet. She read it in Mordin's computer. These creatures kidnapping colonist. Innocent people. Her family taught her innocents should left well alone. If these creatures will get away now. The colonist will be most likely gone. Conclusion. Innocent people will suffer. She can't let such thing. She will not let such thing happen!
Gritting her teeth she pushed more power in her personal reality. The separate dimension surrounding every Esper. Their own piece of little existence where they Spyker's resided and through it exerted domination to the real world. Forcing her AIM field (An Involuntary Movement field) to expand and tighten the grasp on the reality. Pulling back her tiny fist crashing down the gigantic ship. Ruining its engines in the fall.
The girl slowly levitated down to the ground. Falling on her knees breathed heavily. "Hey! Are you all right?" asked Shepard running next to her. Kaguya nodded. "Not effective…. not experienced…" she wiped away her sweat from her forehead. The Collector ships completely ruined on the ground. The drones were already outside. Trying to do damage control. But everyone knows it was too late. Leaving a big crater in the ships' wake.
Breathing heavily she fell on the ground. Her young mind and body not yet get used to this kind of strain. Her powers only really started to materialize one and a half years ago. She was still in the learning stage.
Suddenly… One of the nearby seemingly dead Collectors' skin crackled and lit up in yellow light. It shoots towards Kaguya with a seemingly impossible speed. Being utterly exhausted from the previous show of force the girl was unable to raise her defenses in time.
It's clawed hand shot out and grabbed her hands.
"Assuming direct control." It said in a synthetic voice.
The possessed established the connection immediately. Kaguya screamed in agony as her mind forcefully pushed in the connection. Being the descendant of the most powerful psychic most likely in the whole universe. She was more sensitive such connections. Neither she had the experience to defend her mind effectively. Those lessons will come later in her curriculum.
In the real world, the connection only held a few moments. Still, thoughts are light speed. A few seconds could mean years in the mindscape.
Her last memories was an angel in nun garbs speeding towards her from the sky. Still far away. Her mind, her vision clouded with darkness.
Scene Change: Mindscape:
Kaguya found herself in the dark. Dark space. Darker than any kind of void that she experienced before. Even the dark side of her soul was not as dark as this place. Being she was a Nephalem. In her body aside her normal self-two more individual fought for domination. An angelic and a demonic side. It took considerable meditation to make them cooperate, and time to time it was not easy.
Time to time she was unable to understand her brother and mother how to keep check their souls constantly in war.
She looked around. She was scared. She floated completely naked in her dreamscape. She can't reach her other two personalities. She was cut from them.
"Anomaly…" growled a dark, synthetic sound. The voice was icy and emotionless. The feeling what it emitted utterly terrified the little girl.
Looking at herself she spotted the bearer of the voice. She felt so small, so fragile compared the monstrosity before herself. "You came and disrupted our operations. Join, or you will be eradicated."
Kaguya trembled. Before her, a huge squid like creature floated in the nothingness. The creature completely dwarfed her. It stood two kilometers tall. Almost taller than the highest building in her home world. She looked like a point in the infinite space compared to the creature. The creature before her had four menacing eyes glowing in a sick yellow light.
Its body coated by multiple blackish plates with vein like red pattern spreading through the plates. Emitting eldritch throbbing. Like a heart beating. 'Thud-thud, thud-thud, thud-thud…'
Amongst the plates, the creature emitted yellow light in similar coloration that its eyes.
It's tentacle like legs have retreated under itself.
Kaguya felt something wanted to invade her mind. Billions and billions of voices. Voices of pain. Voices of suffering. So much suffering and rage. She can't bear it. She had to escape. She can't bear it! She never felt such fear and hopelessness before her short life.
"Join or will be eradicated…" the pressure grows in her mind as the creature repeated its previous demand. She was not strong enough. She was not experienced enough to repel such strong mental attack. She was not strong as her mother and uncle. She was not prepared to defend her mind in this early stage of her study. She was naked in the darkness.
She hugged herself. Her little body trembled. She started to weep. "Leave me alone…" she begged. Trying her best to repel the invader.
She felt as the creature dug deep inside her head. It's tube like tentacles spread towards her. Closer and closer with each moment. Coming out under its eyes. "Do you care about your relatives? Do you care about your friends? Do you care about your mother? Join us, and you can save them…" she felt the creature invade her mind. Her mental shields are failing. It will break soon. The tubes are closer and closer with each second.
"Leave me alone…" she wept curling down in the darkness.
"Chose… Join, or everything that you held dear will be harvested. I am the Harbinger of your destiny. You cannot resist me." in her mind pictures started to appear about how her home. Her friends. Her relatives. Her brother, her mother will suffer and fall. She saw images of their suffering. She saw their end. She saw them dying and twisted. Horrifying pictures about how her mother will be killed by her own hands. Her smile. Her last caring words before collapsing to the ground and blood. Her twisted face churned into pain.
In her vision… Looking into the mirror, she saw a creature. Some kind of horrifying creature. Sick looking synthetic tubes protruding under its skin. Its eyes are dead glowing synthetically. Holding the guts of her relatives satisfactory.
The face twisted and alien. Barely recognizable… But Kaguya recognized the image. It was her. But… Not her. It is the thing what she will become if she resists? It is the creature what she becomes if she falls? She did not want that. She was afraid. She was terrified. With all her might she refused this reality.
"Leave me alone!" she shrieked. Releasing a horrifying scream. Pushing back Harbinger for a moment into the nothingness. Refusing the grotesque future before her.
"Foolish child! Your mind is strong! But you can't resist forever! We will break you. You will serve as the rest. Time means nothing to us! We are infinite."
Two more similar creature appeared beside Harbinger. Seemingly growing out from the cold void itself. Kaguya felt as an unbearable strain reached her mind once again. She fallen on her knees and breathed heavily. She felt like the control slipping out from her hand bit by bit once again. She still herself momentary.
But with each moment the control slipped from her hands. The creatures started dug into her mind deeper and deeper with each moment. She was exhausted. The fight before exhausted her little body and young mind. She almost gives up. She was on the verge of a mental breakdown from the constant assault. She can't bear anymore. She was weak. She was fragile. She was alone. No one can save her now.
Then….
"Begone!" She heard a very familiar voice. The previous strain on her mind started to ease.
"Impossible…" muttered the creature momentarily. Then banished back the void with its companions.
The new voice was full of spite and disgust. Harbinger and the two other Reaper's mind besides him immediately pushed back by an invisible wall of psychic power. For a moment forced back into the cold void. The nothingness itself.
Kaguya looked at her side as a similar female figure walked aside her. Constructed from entirely aether energy. A swirling black and white creature stepped beside her taking form of a woman. The creature had three eyes. One on her forehead. Two in the usual position.
Above her head, a black halo outlined with a white aura. Multiple demon horns constructed from black flames. A long bladed tail that sprouted from her back as well a black and white colored energy wings resembling the angels from the Diablo series outlined with twilight energy stretched behind her back.
It was her mother. The one who cared about her and gave her life. "Are you all right? Kiddo?" she asked in a reverberating voice. Kaguya nodded as an answer.
"I hope they did not hurt you."
The girl snorted. "They showed… They showed bad pictures… Horrible pictures…" she started to weep. The female hugged her and patted her back. "Shh… It is okay… We will punish them."
She wiped away her daughter tears and smiled. Then squinted her eyes and looked back to the Reapers showing a menacing expression. Then a smile moved on her face.
"I will enjoy bleed you dry… Drop by drop… Slowly… Kukukukuku." under the swirling energy Esdeath licked her lips. Showing a sadistic glee underneath the façade.
Kaguya heard more footsteps. Looking her other side. An another familiar figure appeared. Clad in a black clad academic robe outlined with golden and violet edges. Bearing a majestic golden staff and a golden necklace. Emitting the aura of death. He was like a swirling aura of darkness and death.
His face bore a skull with a sharp chin instead of flesh and blood face. In his orbits, two dangerously dimming red lights looked directly into the void itself.
"Go away or bear the consequences creature. You hurt my niece… Unforgivable mistake. I will rip you apart bit by bits. Mark my word!" the Overlord of death pointed his staff towards the first Reaper in existence. His tone was stern and menacing.
"[True Death]"
From his staff, a black fog started to spread towards one of the Reapers beside Harbinger. As it reached the creature. It screamed in agony and cast back into the darkness.
"Take this as a warning. Hurt my family once more, and I will banish back the whole stench you call race into non-existence!" he warned Harbinger.
Ainz kneeled beside Kaguya after the threat. "Are you all right?"
Kaguya nodded timidly. "Yes…" she sniffed.
"Impudent creatures. We are legion." Reapers. Innumerable of number and kind floated out from the cold void. Each of them pressed the billions and billions of harvested minds what each of them contained to the newly appeared mind barrier. Straining against the mental wall that Ainz and Esdeath formed moments ago.
"Rudimentary creatures, you touch our minds, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding. You will be destroyed. You understand nothing of our capabilities. You banished but one. We are infinite." quoted Harbinger without even blinking.
The psychic wall cracked under the innumerable Reaper minds unrestricted pressure. "There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own you cannot even imagine it. We are beyond your comprehension."
"Hmm… is that so?" Ainz stepped forward. Pointing at Harbinger. "Still, with all your unbridled might. Your masses are still unable to break our simple barrier. Isn't that strange? Isn't that funny?" the Overlord quoted sarcastically. Harbinger was silent.
"You are the one who pokes into the darkness. Poking into the darkness unaware what might you woke up. You are blind. Blinded by your own faulty programming and superiority complex. Machine… You are nothing more than the end-product of a faulty design. Your end is near. And I swear. If you came near anyone, I swore to protect." Ainz looked directly in the first Reaper's glowing, menacing eyes. The two crimson flames in his eye socket flared up showing his determination to end a whole race.
"Your and your kind end will be slow and painful. You will wish fast satisfactory deconstruction."
Harbinger was in silence for a moment. "You are nothing but a mutation an anomaly, an accident. You are ruin before us. You will be eradicated. We are eternal, the pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything."
Esdeath and Ainz chuckled. The barriers crackled once again. "Oh… The famous quotes. How delightful." noted Ainz looking directly in the creature dimming eyes.
"It really brings back memories hearing this quote from the first one. Killer of your own creators. Betrayer of your own purpose. Tell me… Where is the one who controls you? Or that intelligence is too afraid to show itself before us? Tell me… It is fear what I feel from your direction or simply uncertainty? Or both? Hmm?" Ainz raised his imaginary brows curiously.
Harbinger fall into a deep silence once again. The first Reaper did not expect this strange creature… This anomaly… To know so much about them. And how he knows about the Overmind? He had more and more questions. Harbinger learned the basic information from the girl. Seemingly impossible things. Things he never saw before. Things he never experienced.
He did not manage to reach far because the strange locks placed on the girl's mind blocked him from the deeper layers.
Because of the locks and the appearance of these two strange anomalies. He was locked out completely the moment they arrived.
But what he learned made him think. He saw things… Impossible things under the eons. Still… What he found in the girl's mind surprised even him and made him think. Memories of magic, a place seemingly existed everywhere and nowhere and much more.
Even amongst the memories the Leviathans… The beings who created the intelligence these creatures called Overmind to solve their problem.
The constant problem caused by the rise and fall of organic civilizations. The pattern…
The same intelligence that in the end harvested its own creators. Even amongst the memories of the Leviathans… Harbinger first of his kind… The oldest amongst his kind found no such memories.
But the oldest Reaper learned new things as well. Things, tactics, technologies. Things that may benefit them. Things that will help them defeat these anomalies in the long run.
But it needed to be tested. Maybe in the future, the information they gathered from them might be useful. The task of the Reapers was to harvest after all. Harvest the organic civilizations after reaching a certain development stage. Stopping them from creating synthetic beings and be destroyed by them.
Every advanced civilization which developed artificial intelligence sooner or later will be destroyed by their own creations. It was the pattern. The pattern repeated itself more time than a simple being could fathom. No civilization reached a higher stage. Not even in the age of Leviathans. Even their creators could not protect others from themselves. It was an impossible task. Impossible even for the first race ever existed in the galaxy.
What really made Harbinger think was the fact? These aliens live together with AI's more than one thousand years. Not only one race. But hundreds of them. Maybe if they harvest this new civilization, then they will find the solution that can end the endless pattern. Finally. The solution was before them. They just only need to reach and grasp it. Integrate it in their data banks then use it.
But the Reapers still faced a problem. Two of them exactly…
The two existence before the first Reaper was unlikely, unknown, impossible, and detestable. Anomaly needs to be eliminated as soon as possible. Using it as a resource was too dangerous towards the cycle. It needs to be eradicated as soon as possible.
The one resembled a skeleton of a human being was strange. Scanning him, he resembled them. He emitted order and reason, logic. Everything that the Reapers created for. It was like he is starting one of his kind. But much more powerful.
It was like he is staring into a mirror. Yet… Completely differed. Like Harbinger experienced every death under the eons what his kind caused once again. The minds in his data banks wanted to flee. Wanted to get away from the creature. They screamed in fear. They screamed for retribution.
But… No matter how the skeletal creature before him resembled them. He was dangerous to the cycle. But maybe… Just maybe… They can recruit him against the other one… Harbinger needs to reconsider this option. The chance of success is low. But if he manages to secure this alliance. Their chances of proceeding with the harvest as it planned will be secured once again.
The other one was the embodiment of chaos. Insanity. Things connected to unreason ability. The enemy of the reason. Everything that his kind created to eliminate and proceeded accordingly through the eons. She was the embodiment of everything that the Reapers created to solve.
She needs to be eliminated. She needs to be eradicated for all cost. Harbinger was unable to throw up. But the chaos emitted from the swirling creature before him made him feel sick. Everything previously said proceed through Harbinger's data bank under the fragment of a second. A normal living being could not fathom such speed.
Harbinger proceeded with his speech.
"It seems you know our past… Yet not know our true nature. You understand nothing. You are the one who is blinded with his own superiority complex. You know nothing…"
"Is that so…" Ainz chuckled raising his skeletal hand before his mouth. He was truly amused by the creatures. His rage still lingered. But he started to understand how blind these creatures really are before him. After all. You can't blame a child because it is poking the electrical outlet with a screwdriver. Still, the Reapers needed to put in their places. Most child only learns from scolding after all.
"You and everyone who you hold dear will be utterly destroyed. Your kingdom will bend the knee to us and serve our needs as it happened in the past cycles. It existed before. And it will exist after your kind extinguished. You can't stop us! We will endure. No matter the circumstances. We will survive… But you can change the tide. Join us. Eliminate the enemy of the reason. And your people will be spared. They will serve our needs. They will live…"
The numbers of the cracks increased on the barrier as more and more Reaper joined the stray. Trillions and trillions of minds pushed against the mind barrier upkeept by only two people.
"Enemy of the reason?" Ainz tilted his head. Harbinger turned his eye towards the person beside Ainz.
"That creature… Cancer… A stench of the cycle. Enemy of the reason. Chaos incarnate. She needs to be eradicated at all cost. Kill her, and you can join us."
Ainz looked at Esdeath. "You mean her?" Ainz pointed at Esdeath with his skeletal fingers. Harbinger seemingly made a nodding motion.
Kaguya trembled. "Un-Uncle Ainz..?" then looked at her mother with a terrified expression.
Ainz chuckled on offer. Then became angry. How dare such crap try to turn him against his friend? Unacceptable! He was so angry his emotion suppression kicked multiple times. Barely able to contain himself. If not their rules and Kaguya's presence. He most likely banished these creatures back to the darkness a long time ago.
He raised his hand and waved away the offer.
"Thank you very much. But no thanks. I rather not join a cult. But hear me out. I have an another offer." Ainz stepped forward. The Crimson lights in his eyes flared up dangerously. Pointing her golden staff at the creatures dangerously. "Swore loyalty to me. Swear loyalty to Ainz Ooal Gown and your kind will be spared. You can serve under my rule. Maybe… After all… You hurt my niece… Unforgivable mistake. Needs to be punished. But I am a generous king. Resist, and not even your gods can save you from my wrath! Swear loyalty, and I may spare your kind." Ainz waved his staff towards him. "Decide… I give your kind time to consider your options. After all… It is a hard choice. But you will be destroyed for the crime you committed against my niece. You will experience terror never before."
Harbinger was in silence. Never before he heard such offer from a puny creature. Never before he was threatened in such margin. Such impudence! Such unforgivable treachery! They will crush them. They will extinguish them!
"My kind transcends your very understanding. We are each a nation - independent, free of all weakness. You cannot grasp the nature of our existence."
"Ainz-san…" Esdeath said not even sparing a glance to Ainz. Newer and newer Reapers floated out from the darkness increasing the pressure on the mental shield surrounding the three figure.
"Hmm?" Ainz looked at her. He was just raised his hand to end Harbinger's existence when his friend stopped him.
"Please be so dear and bring out Kaguya from this mess. You know she can't leave until someone from outside will not help her get out here."
Ainz nodded. "Are you sure you can withhold them until I rescue her?" inquired Ainz. "You know I am more suitable such thing being completely immune to mind affecting effects."
"Hush-hush and go…" Esdeath waved him away. "If I can withhold a chaos god I can withhold a few bad Cthulhu clone. Aside from that…" She glared back the creatures before her. "I have an ultimatum to make. Killing them with our abilities would be too easy… I will enjoy every moment crushing them by using their own toys against them. Showing them how powerful an individual can be…. Not using my power but outwit them… I want to humiliate them…"
She glared the creature before her. She boiled inside. Then chuckled for a moment thinking about how she will destroy the Reapers bit by bit only using tactic and not her power. She wanted to humiliate them in their own game. She wanted to destroy them. She wanted revenge. Sweet revenge. Before her mind eyes, the images of the Reapers utter destruction played as she and Momonga organized feast above their broken hulls.
Momonga backed for a moment. Seeing the insane glee that appeared in his guild mate's eyes.
Ainz sighed. It will not end well. He felt it. But being on the border of Kaguya's and the Reapers cumulative mindscape. If he started to use his more serious abilities that would most likely damage the young girl's psyche and brain. The physical damage can be healable. Repairing one's mind and soul was much, much harder if not impossible. Even for them.
Ainz grabbed the girl. "Mother!" the girl stretched her hand out. She trembled. She feared what will happen with her only parent if they leave her alone. "Go little lady. We will speak when I arrived home…" her mother said strictly. Not even sparing a glance.
With that. They disappeared.
With the disappearance of Ainz's support Esdeath immediately felt as the trillions and trillions of minds fell upon her. It was like multiple planets crashed down on the planet she already held on her back.
The blood started to flow from her nose as she felt the pressure. Licking it, she smiled. "Blood… My blood… Such long time I tasted you… Kukukukuku…" she chuckled like a psychopath. Then pumping more power in her mind shield.
"Your defenses are failing. Victory will be ours…" Announced Harbinger coldly.
Esdeath looked up. "You know... your existence is brilliant. One can quaff another's soul like a vintage Eiswein (Ice Wine) and steal everything that defines them."
Harbinger remained silent. Even listening to this creature prattle made him sick. Instead of answering her. He and his kind increased the pressure. Esdeath coughed blood and showed a toothy grin.
"I bring all that I am to this fight, body, and soul, but is it enough? How can our arsenals compare? You have many forms, summon your slaves, bend living, and synthetic creatures to your will and the taste of others life-force brings you life anew...and these powers, you can call upon as quickly as a man might blink!" she chuckled under the increasing pressure.
"But I take the stage with nothing. Why, do you ask? Because I am a simple being. With a simple soul. Only with three personalities locked inside me." straightening herself she smiled and slightly pushed back the Reapers unified force.
Be whoever strong she is. Even she can't fight alone the might that the unified Reapers represented for a long time. Not if she played defensively. She was more of an offensive type player using and repelling her enemies own attack back to them. Crippling them in the process.
"Mein Herz, mein Seele, mein Leben, (My heart, my soul, my life) they belong to me. Sharing one's life with another, and they with you, losing one the borders of oneself in the great sanguine sea."
She bit her index finger sensually in her excitement. Sprouting her glowing blood out of her excitement. "To gain by losing, what a delicious irony! It is the bliss of acquiescing. It is the bliss of...surrender."
"We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite. Millions of years after your civilization has been eradicated and forgotten; we will endure."
"And so I say, "To Hell with you! What's mine is mine alone! Every hair, every drop of blood, my very own flesh and blood, my very own essence ...I am me. I am me. I. Am. Me!" she started to resemble more and more like a crazy zealot. Her very nature, her zeal was almost visible as her pupils dilated in a crazy glee.
The race she belonged was the Nephalem. According to the lore, it was a war like race. Constantly waging war against every possible enemy. Having a constant urge to fight and find a worthy opponent to satisfy their need for a good battle. Conquering everyone who resisted their conquest. In the end. Having an enormous flourishing Empire standing thousands of years.
Of course, not everyone was glad the newly rising power. The Angels, Demons, the fire giants, and several lesser races forged an alliance out of envy and fear. In the end wiping out almost the whole race in a long bloody war. Fearing the race great power and ambition. Fearing the race will rise again they erased every trace of their existence from the pages of history. Their great cities burned to the ground. Leaving no trace of their former glory. Ending the great war called Thousand Years Blood War. Wiping away many once great races amongst them the Nephalem in the process.
But secretly. A few child survived and get trapped by the fire giants. Forcing them to fight in the fiery arenas of Musphellheim. Satisfying the need of entertainment the slaver fire giant god-king Musphel. Such survivor was Esdeath. One of the last of her kind. Lost in history and mind.
The war was long and bloody. Even crippling the ones who started in such margin they could never regain their former glory.
Esdeath wanted the price. She wanted a worthy battle. She wanted her very own personal war. She wanted to humiliate the ones hurt her blood. And she was not satisfied with a fast war. No... she wanted her opponents to suffer. She wanted a satisfying war.
Looking back at the Reapers with an insane glee in her three eyes. The Reapers felt as they slowly but steadily started to push back in the void.
"You are ruin, made flesh, made metal, made beautiful, made horrifying. You are loved, you are hated, and so I despise you."
Esdeath knees trembled. Her mind started to get exhausted, but she managed to push back the Reapers unified force. Nothing more remained… She did not care anything anymore. She almost forced them back in the dark world where they came from. She did not care anymore her situation. Her power is grown as she started to lose her mind. Her Anonymity towards her opponents started to disappear.
"That is why you are my foe, my dazzling Catalyst. You are the most precious thing: A worthy opponent. An arch enemy. A king upon which to wage war!"
"We will win… You have no chance. Give up, and we will end you quickly."
She forced on her knee once again. Feeling the impossible pressure. But the Reapers can't get closer to her. "What you call "Victory" is nothing more than the opening salvos of a battle millions of years in the making." she looked up one last time. Smirking like a madwoman. "But hear my word. Great king… Tyrants like your kind have always been especially susceptible to poison."
"We are Legion. The time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot escape your doom."
The Reapers felt as they slowly but steadily get pushed back. It seemed Esdeath gained foot to the ground. Her face is distorted. From her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth her glowing blood flowed. Tearing new holes in the mindscape.
She released a maniac laughter. Pleased by the declaration of the first Reaper and the fighting spirit of her enemy. After all, her race forged in war.
"Hahahaha! Then… Bring me all! Bring me all that you can! Take away everything from me! Take it all… In exchange, I will take away everything from you! After all. I take away infinitely, and you take away from me endlessly! Fair trade isn't it?" behind her two equally sinister looking figure stepped out from the shadows. One glowed white. One darker than the darkest pit of hell. They connected by a chain to her back.
"You are insane… Does not matter… Your words are as empty as your future. I am the Vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over ..." the Reapers moved every bit of resource what they can. The legions of Reapers before Esdeath started to emitting lighting that strikes everything around them. Showing their great effort to push back a single person.
Esdeath lowered her head. "I despise you. All of you… Every cell, every drop of blood in my body call for your annihilation. So I will destroy your kingdom and cast you down into the dust." she grinned spitting blood. "It will be a worthy war…" an unnaturally wide empty smirk moved on her face. "I warn you only once. Because I am nice. You who are could not fathom the void you just stumbled. Retreat or be destroyed. You are blind when it comes to our actual capabilities."
She warned the Harbinger last time.
Esdeath barrier cracked, and the might of the Reapers unified mind crushed her mental image. She disappeared immediately. Leaving a blood stain in the mindscape.
Harbinger know it is not over. They are a threat. The threat needs to be eliminated as soon as possible. They almost lost control. The terrifying thing was. They could not sever the connection after the appearance of the two anomalies. True… They crushed the enemy. But being unable to sever the link without the winner side decided in the rope pulling was worrisome. They used more power than he intended to sacrifice for this speech. It was a big drawback.
The situation was still under control. Harbinger did not feel fear. He was unable to feel fear. He was a Reaper after all. At least, the organic beings called them such title giving the voice of their destruction.
The situation was concerning. He even needed to order the Armada to stop just to be able to repurpose enough energy to banish the invaders from the shared mindscape. The thing no one before managed to force them before. They need a serious upgrade if they want to stand a chance.
Scene Change: Unknown location:
Kaguya gasped. Sitting up she looked around. She was in her mother's room. She recognized it. It was the famous room on the ninth floor of Nazarick. The luxurious suite only the selected few can enter. She survived that nightmarish place. And she hoped it is not some kind of illusion created by those things.
The door opened, and a nun garb wearing woman entered. "Oh! Miss Kaguya! I thought you would never wake up." her smile was like an angel.
Running to her she embraced her. Almost suffocating the girl with her bosoms.
"Are you all right?" she placed her silk like hands on her face. "Are you hungry? Wait! I will bring you something to eat."
She ran away. Kaguya looked before herself. Raising her small delicate hands, she inspected it for a moment. "Is this real… Or some kind of illusion?" she asked herself. Pinching her own face she yelped.
The nun garb wearing woman arrived back from the private kitchen from the suite. Holding a big tray of food in her hands. At least. If you can call it food. It used to be a pancake. But instead being healthy light brown coloration. It was completely scorched and just looked like a piece of coal.
"Dig in mistress!" Auriel said with a broad smile as she placed the tray of coal like food before the girl.
The girl looked at the food. It looked like a piece of coal instead of edible food.
Kaguya did not want to hurt Auriel's feelings. She really did not want to hurt her. After all… She was always nice to her, cared about her whenever no one was around, played with her every time when she asked, and her stories were the best. Being her job consisted mostly of being scribe her hobby was to write fantasy stories and record the history of the kingdom.
Still, she was a horrible chef.
Kaguya knew the food would be awful. But to not hurt the angel she ate a few piece. The word 'horrible' would be too good for the thing she just put into her mouth. Swallowing the food in her mouth, she immediately reached towards and devoured the orange juice put near the tray. "Th-Thank you Auriel… but I am not hungry…" she pushed aside the tray.
Auriel lowered her head sadly. She knows… Her cooking skill was not the best; her creator did not create her with the talent of cooking like her older brother. Still, it pained her to unable to learn such simple things.
Auriel nodded sadly and placed the overcooked food to the counter.
"What happened?" asked Kaguya trembling. The Arch Seraphim looked up thoughtfully. Placing her hands on her chin. "Hmm… after Ainz-sama and creator-sama saved you. I took care of the remaining Collector forces and cleaned that ship. Of course, right after I took care of your safety. Let's just say… The colony now had a new building complex." She pointed upward with her index finger and showed a bright smile.
Kaguya nodded slowly. "I see…"
The smile disappeared from the angel's face thinking through things… She lowered her head in shame. "I am terribly sorry…" she sniffed recognizing it was her fault.
"What?" asked the girl.
"It was my fault… If I am a little bit faster… If I reach you faster, I could sever the connection before it even established." Then her eyes widened. "What will Creator-sama and Ainz-sama say if they recognize I made such mistake!? Such mistake is unforgivable. I had to atone my sin! The only punishment good enough is death!" Taking out her sword she aimed it to her neck.
Kaguya stopped her hand. "No! Stop!" she bopped the nun clothed angel's head with a strong, distinct hit. "Bad…" Auriel grabbed her head with a painful expression. Tears ran into her turquoise eyes.
She lowered her head. "I am sorry…" Her expression was quite adorable. Bearing the mix of sadness and regret.
"Not your fault… My fault… Tell me what happened… Where Uncle Ainz is and mother?" she pointed at the angel.
Auriel gulped down her tears and started to tell the story. Still trembling, thinking about her own mistake.
Scene Change: Gown Prime:
Fenrir Kouga… Aka the Silver Wolf… Walking through the alleys of Lower Gown Prime. The place where only the lowest of the lowest step aside. The place where every mob and criminal resided. A place is hidden from the eyes of the Council of Thirteen and the Sorcerer King himself. The place where the mysterious organization. The E.A.S.Y. the ruler of underground and information business resided.
Fenrir was calm. Knowing. The kid will be all right. She will recover. After gained the offer. He dug through the databases and made sure that strange elf did not lie to him about the offer.
Looking around he was disgusted. Even in the Sorcerous Kingdom existed such place. Places where the lowest of the low live the dog life. The poorest among poorest. The place was worse than the place where he forced to grow to up.
No community was perfect. Even the Sorcerous Kingdom has its blind spots. Around him, the weak and the poor struggled to survive. Just to day by day be robbed by the criminals resided in this region over and over again. Forcing them into a constant poor existence.
He was disgusted. But they discussed the meeting here. Reaching an old bar. Closed long ago. He knocked on the door. Using the sign knocking. Three long. Two small. Two long. One short.
The spy hole opened on the sturdy, seemingly nailed door.
"Password." said a rude man. His voice was harsh and coarse. He was most likely a Beastmen. At least… According to his slit eyes and the fur around them. Or maybe he is some kind of hybrid. Fenrir did not know.
"Darkness will rise. Night fall. Lights downfall." he quoted the password. With a click. The study door opened and he entered. The interior was dark. Only thanks to his Dark vision he saw something.
A few rooms later they reached a room. The rat faced Beastmen grinned and pushed Kouga in the chamber. Then closing the door behind him. The room immediately changed. Changing from a dark room to a luxurious interior with furniture and several guards.
On the two sides of the wall, several guards stood still. Clothed in black clothing. "Stay calm Fenrir… you get out tighter situations before…" he tried to reason with himself.
On the wall, the screen turned on. Showing a dark figure. His face was completely unrecognizable. But he wore a tie and a suit. "Mr. Fenrir Kouga. Or rather call you Silver Wolf?" asked the man behind the screen. His voice was distorted by some method. A method that Fenrir implant used can't filter and convert the person's voice back to its original. Something blocked its capability.
Fenrir growled. "Does not matter. Call me whatever you want. I am only here because of the offer. So spit it out, or we are done with!"
"I see… Very well… You are impatient… I understand…" the man bowed his head behind the projector. "As you know… I am the Benefactor… I requested your help because I need the help of professionals like you." the shadowed man pointed at Fenrir.
"I don't have all day. So answer me! Why me? There is much more thief who can do as good work as me. If you want. I can direct you to them."
"I assure you. Mr. Fenrir… I did not call you here because I want to play with you. I called you here because I need your unique talents. The task will be dangerous. The objective will be grand. You maybe even die in the process. After all… It is a suicide mission. But the reward will be irresistible if you succeed."
Fenrir flinched. Glaring at the outline of the man before him. He was suspicious about this man. He was always suspicious when he meets unknown elements. "So… you accept the mission despite the circumstances? Or I need to reach out for the help of other professionals? Your colleagues?"
"Tell me about the mission. Then I will decide," growled Fenrir.
"I am afraid. Until you did not accept the terms and agreements. I can't tell you anything more. But Mr. Black informed you about this or not?"
Thinking back. The suited man who broke into his home outlined such possibility.
"Decide now Mr. Fenrir… If you refuse the job… You can simply walk away. No harm will come for you or the little Lamia girl. You can continue your poor existence with her."
Fenrir just grunted disapprovingly hearing this.
"But... If you accept the offer. Simply place your hand on the ball before you." continued the man.
The floor opened, and a crystal ball floated up in the air. Fenrir thought carefully. What should he do? If he walks away, he and Mukoro can continue their life. True… They will keep live poorly, always hiding from the authorities for the rest of their lives. Miserable existence but at least they will live.
If he accepts the offer and maybe die under the mission. The little Lamia girl will remain alone. What should he do? What should he do? He strained his brain hard. Calculating every possibility.
Shaking his head, he made a hard decision. A hard decision that may affect his and her whole life. Placing his hand the ball before himself he disappeared from the room immediately.
A/N:
Well, this is for now. I hope you liked it.
In the next chapter: E.A.S.Y. come. E.A.S.Y. go. E.A.S.Y. conquer wherever it goes.