A/N: As always. Read, Review, and Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Look at the previous chapters [super shorthand]
Chapter Eleven: Is this Lord Over or Under?
[Madness of the Moment plays]
-Courtyard, a week later at 13:00-
"Y-you're not kidding are you?" Ryuki said as his voice wavered. The Mana of the man before him was overbearing and even a hardened demon such as Ryuki felt feeble in his presence. The sheer force of it was causing both his clothes and his hair, which was loose due to the lack of his headband, to be blown backwards.
"No, I am not," the man said in a low gruffly voice. "You broke the rule, now pay the consequences. I haven't got all day!" He unsheathed one of his blades and pointed it at Ryuki's heart. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."
"The hell did you do!" Reio yelled at his comrade, as he breathed heavy. He had his Thrill Seeker at the ready. "What's going on? What is this ass-clown here?"
"I-I screwed up," Ryuki said without turning around to face Reio.
"Whatever he did, we can fix it can't we?" Yui said pleading with the man.
"Don't bother," Celeste said through gritted teeth. She clenched her fists in anger. "You can't reason with scum like this."
"Listen you maggots! I haven't got all day!" The man screamed. "Hurry up and make your peace," he paused himself as he saw the arrival of the Netherworld's Overlord. "Oh I'll make it for you!"
"Hey guys," Asagi said plainly. "What'd I-"
At the next moment the man moved with blinding speed and slashed Asagi vertically across her chest…
-Conference Room, thirty minutes ago-
[Fighting Spirit In the Heart plays]
Asagi paced in front of the assembled teachers and prospect teachers as she deliberated on how to begin this meeting. Before she could find the right words, Kotter Sensei started everything off by complaining.
"What in Magog's name are we doing here?" He looked around and saw the same thought in everyone's faces. "I was busy not teaching my-"
"That's exactly why I called you all here," Asagi proclaimed cutting him off. "None of you are actually teaching your students anything."
"I beg to differ," Ms. Machiko chimed in. "We teach all of our students the proper ethics and morals necessary to be a proper demon by not following the 'norm'."
"No, all any of you are doing is teaching the students how to become sloth demons, which isn't bad in any stretch of the matter, but it severely limits the scope of the teaching taking place at Evil Academy." Asagi was seriously passionate about changing how things were done, and everyone present could see this.
"Cluck!" (This is ridiculous!) cried Instructor Crown. "Cluck! CLUCK!" (How can a non demon such as YOU see the wisdom of making people NOT TOUCH MY CROWN!)
"They need to be faced with the type of deadly situations that we can provide them," declared Mr. Togo as he shine up his MK II. "Learn the basics or die, easiest rule in the book."
"Argh, you guys are idiots!" Asagi yelled. She was getting fed up with their 'explanations'. "Tell me then, if you all's methods are so great, how come when I was a student here, all you guys did was stand at the podium and NOT teach AND NOT answer any questions that your students had? Honestly you guys didn't even take attendance NOR did any of you distribute any type of curriculum. HOW ARE OUR STUDENTS SUPPOSED TO LEARN ANYTHING IF YOU ALL HALFASS YOUR JOBS!" At this point Asagi was fuming, but none in attendance were shocked by it. After letting her cool down for a bit, someone raised their hand. "What… What is it?" She said sounding completely drained.
"Not to undermine your authority or anything," Reio began. "But how is a non demon supposed to help us demons become demons? It's illogical if you ask-" Asagi cut him off by slamming a thin packet onto the table in front of him. "What the hell is this?"
"All the courses we currently teach here at Evil Academy." She then proceeded to slam another, but thicker packet onto the table. "This however are all the courses that will be available a week from now." The packet was the size of a huge dictionary. "Don't worry about its size you punks," Asagi assured seeing the looks on all their faces. "This is just the syllabi for each class that will be available along with some other stuff. There aren't that many classes, in fact I'll be making an announcement about this in upcoming days."
"Cluck!" (Then what was the point of this meeting!) screeched Instructor Crown.
"I just wanted you all to be the first to know," Asagi said looking proud of herself. "Now then, you are all excused." She listened as everyone got up and exited the room moaning all the way. Well almost everyone. As she began to collect her things, she noticed that Reio was still sitting in his chair with a pleased look on his face. "What do you have to say now?"
"Nothing much, just that you did a good job." He grinned a little. "I always thought from the beginning that you would forget about the Academy while on your dumbass revenge thing, but it seems that you have your priorities straight. I'm impressed."
"Always happy to please," Asagi said sarcastically with a smile on her face. (I guess that I've begun to finally warm up to these guys.) After gathering all her materials up she looked over at Reio and said, "Well then, I guess I'll see you later."
[Quiet tension plays]
"Hmph, whatev-" Suddenly Reio felt an unnerving surge of Mana come from the Courtyard. "W-what the hell is that!" He questioned.
Asagi could hear the unsteadiness in Reio's voice and calmly said, "It's probably just one of your comrades doing something stupid. Maybe someone got on their bad side."
"I guess…"
"In any case go to where you feel the Mana coming from and contain the situation," Asagi instructed her subordinate. "I'll be on my way in a little bit."
"Whatever," Reio said, and he bolted off in the direction of the Courtyard.
Asagi waited a few minutes to make sure no one would burst in on her before whipping out the old record book, which she's named the Scribe. She hurriedly flipped it open to a blank page and said, "Who is currently located in the Courtyard?" As the Scribe began to display the names of each person there, Asagi saw an error and immediately said, "Display only the names of individuals who do not frequent the Courtyard." Without delay the Scribe's pages when blank and only displayed two names. (I guess I'm getting the hang of this!) Looking at the names, Asagi recognized both and suddenly became nervous. The first was Melinda, who obviously just transferred back; however it was the second one that gave Asagi goose bumps.
"N-no way!" Asagi stared emotionlessly at the page trying to figure out why this person would be here. Lost in her own little world, the Headmaster didn't notice as her secretary came in.
"Umm, Mistress. What seems to be the problem?" Atlacia asked. She edged closer to Asagi and tried to get a look at what she was staring at. "You seem distraught. May I be of assistance?"
Immediately Asagi snapped out of her daze, looked at the Star Mage, and said, "Clean up here!" before bolting toward the Courtyard at full speed.
- Courtyard-
[Madness of the Moment plays]
It took her quite a while to get there, but once she did Asagi saw a large crowd of demons gathered around Ryuki and the intruder. Rather than rush headfirst into the crowd and break up the spectacle, the human Overlord decided to just gingerly walk up to them and settle things.
Upon arriving to the back of the crowd, Asagi heard male say in a brusquely voice "Listen you maggots! I haven't got all day!"
(Oh crap! It IS him!) the Overlord thought.
Easing her way closer and closer to the two of them she heard, "Hurry up and make your peace!" As he paused, Asagi was able to get a clear view of the demon. He had long silverfish hair that was in something of a ponytail, an eye patch that covered his right eye, had bandages wrapped around both of his wrists, wore a green kimono top with brown trim that was only on his right side [even then it was worn inappropriately], brown kimono bottoms, a samurai belt looking thing, some eastern looking footwear, and had two katanas strapped onto his back.
(Wait a minute, didn't Alex kill you!) Asagi thought just as the demon laid his, er, eye on her.
The Overlord noticed a slight grin on the intruder's face as he continued, "Oh I'll make it for you!"
Deciding that it was the right time to expose herself fully, Asagi stepped forward and said while holding back her anxiousness, "Hey guys, what'd I-" Before she could finish, the demon flash-stepped and appeared directly in Asagi. Instinctively, Asagi jumped back just enough to only get nicked as the demon slashed vertically across her chest. (Talk about an invasion of… heh, what did I do to deserve this?...)
-En Route to the Courtyard from the Conference Room, fifteen minutes ago-
[Transition of the Soul plays]
Reio ran full speed from the Conference room in the direction from where he felt the surge of Mana. This wouldn't have bothered him while Mao was the Headmaster seeing as the likes of Zetta, Marjoly, Gig, Priere, and Pram roaming around the Academy. However with them gone, only he, Asagi, and occasionally Ryuki or Aramith gave off any type of spikes in Mana. But this surge was different; it was inherently malicious and unearthly. (If it's coming from the Courtyard, is it some new transfer student or someone trying to be a teacher?) Reio immediately stopped running after thinking that and shook his head. (The hell? Student? Teacher? Damn it! This place has me thinking like a wuss! That's Demon Lord, no Overlord level Mana…) "So who the hell is it?" He yelled the last part as he began running again.
The Marauder was three-fourths of the way to the Courtyard when he bumped into someone causing them to land hard on the ground. He wanted to say, "The hell are you standing around for you dumbass!" but something about this seemed familiar and if memory served him well, yelling wasn't the best thing to do in this situation. Reio turned around and saw a familiar and bright face smiling at him. "Yui? What are you doing?" He offered his hand, but she refused.
"I thought this was going to be like 'that' time, but this feels better," the thief smiled. She hopped up, got into Reio's face and said in an overly sweet voice, "Thanks for the generosity though."
Reio backed away and inadvertently blushed. "The hell are you talking about! Answer my question!"
"Heh, okay." Yui's expression turned sullen. "Well… I had an encounter with the-" she looked around to make sure no one was watching and whispered, "the 'perverted demon'."
"Eh?" Reio said as a question mark appeared over his head.
"Not '"eh?", the 'perverted demon'! The one that has been on the news, and has been a thorn in us girls' sides! THAT demon!" Yui screamed.
Reio felt another Mana spike and began to get worried. (Shit, Yui's just holding me up.) "Okay I understand, but can we talk about this later?" The marauder tried to continue toward the Courtyard, but Yui cut him off.
"Y-you don't understand," stammered Yui. There were tears forming in her eyes and she was looking distressed. "T-that 'perverted demon'… it's Ryuki!"
(The hell? I don't have time for this.) Without saying another word Reio grabbed Yui by the hand and began running off toward the Courtyard. He only looked back once and saw that Yui was beet red all over and she wouldn't make eye contact with him; he also noticed that her body temperature was continually rising. A few minutes went by and the two of them reached the Courtyard to see Ryuki and another demon staring off by the Dimensional Gate. Immediately Reio let go of Yui's hand, wielded his Thrill Seeker, and charged at the intruder. He able to get the intruder just inside of his sword's range when suddenly, Reio felt a force send him flying backwards toward the ground.
[Madness of the Moment plays]
"Ha! Maggots shouldn't involve themselves with REAL issues," the intruder taunted. "Go back and play in your sandbox kid."
Reio began seething through clenched teeth. Veins bulged on his forehead, his muscles tightened, and he gripped his Thrill Seeker with murderous intent, but he didn't act. The Marauder knew this was a fruitless battle, not to mention one he couldn't win. After getting to his feet, Reio went and stood to the right of Ryuki who seemed not to notice his presence. "Heh, if it isn't the faggot who got crapped on by that human broad." Reio feigned a grin. "Your name was… Seedle right?"
"Leave Reio. I've got this under control," advised Ryuki who kept his eyes on the Underlord.
Reio looked at his comrade and didn't see the usual calm, collected, and calculating demon that he acknowledged as his rival, instead he saw a frightened, and anxious who was facing his worst nightmare. Ryuki was shaken by Seedle's presence. Sighing, Reio lifted his blade and prepared for a second charge. "What are you doing here punk? Looking for someone to take your other eye?"
"Reio stop!" yelled a voice from behind him. Without looking, he knew it was Yui due to both her voice and the light sounds her footsteps made. When her footsteps ceased she was standing between Ryuki and Reio and was faced toward Reio. She tugged at his arm and said, "R-Ryuki said he has it handled, so we should just let him b-be."
The Marauder could hear the fear in Yui's words and when he looked at her, he could see the fear in her eyes, the fear that caused her entire body to shake. (She wants to run, but she's petrified.) Reio thought as he gazed into her eyes. (She's too frail for this. Being this close to someone like Seedle... I've got to protect—what the hell am I thinking?) He took his eyes off of Yui and pretended that her words didn't reach him. Then he began to stare a hole through the Underlord. "Ryuki doesn't have a damn thing under control! You think you're so tough ass-clown? Then take us on!"
The smirk that appeared on Seedle's face caused Ryuki to grimace. Seeing this, the Underlord condescendingly said, "You sure about that maggot? You want to dance?"
Reio pointed his sword at Seedle and said, "Hell yeah I want to! You think just cause you've got a title with 'lord' in it that it means you're-"
"Little boy, you have no idea who I am." The Underlord then released a surge of Mana more massive than what Reio had felt earlier. To Seedle, the looks on the three demons' faces was priceless, that is, until he noticed something behind them that gave him more delight. "Listen maggot, I would butcher you here, but I'd hate to embarrass you in front of your peers."
"What'd you say!" Rather than responding verbally Seedle made a gesture telling Reio to turn around. "The hell is-" Reio instantly shut up once he saw the crowd of demons that had formed, and began to get pissed off with himself. (I took too long! This won't be a private matter any longer… Damn.)
"I don't have any more patience with you reaper," Seedle said addressing Ryuki. "Now decide, before this Netherworld of yours is no more."
"Y-you're not kidding are you?" Ryuki said as his voice wavered.
"No I am not," the man said in a low gruffly voice. "You broke the rule, now pay the consequences. I haven't got all day!" He unsheathed one of his blades and pointed it at Ryuki's heart. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."
"The hell did you do!" Reio yelled at his comrade, as he breathed heavy. He had his Thrill Seeker at the ready. "What's going on? What is this ass-clown here?"
"I-I screwed up," Ryuki said without turning around to face Reio.
(What the heck is he talking about?) Reio thought. (Does this have to do with the Red Moon?...)
-Astrology Class, approximately forty-five minutes earlier-
[Trance NO.4! plays]
"Defense! Defense! Defense! XD" yelled Melinda as she caused a flurry of arrows to rain down upon Yui. Along with Celeste, the three of them were supposed to be learning about how astrology can translate into battle, however their teacher for today, Instructor Crown, was off at a meeting; not for nothing though, they probably would have started this fight even if Instructor Crown was present.
Anyway, Yui did her best to shoot down every arrow, dodging those that came at her from the most awkward of angles. After defending against a second onslaught of arrows that saw most of the students leave the classroom, Yui readied herself and aimed at the gunslinger's head. "Ok, so I got the first part," she proclaimed. "What now?"
Melinda smirked. "Well… you hafta come in fast and…" She paused and gave Yui an unnerving look.
"A-and then what?"
"Hehehe. Well then—" Suddenly Melinda vanished.
"W-w-what the!" Yui panicked. She whirled her head in every direction looking for the Fortune Venus but came up short. Needing answers she turned to Celeste who was sitting atop the podium and asked, "W-what happened? Where did she go?"
Celeste sighed and shook her head in disappointment. "Flash steps," she said dryly. "And you shouldn't freeze up like that, otherwise—"
"You'll leave yerself wiiiiiide open! XD" finished Melinda who had positioned herself behind Yui and held an arrow to Yui's neck. "Looks like ya failed little Yui. X|"
"W-wait!" She tried to turn, but Melinda pressed the arrow in her skin a little bit and Yui stilled herself. "So… what was your t-tip?"
Melinda beamed and shoved Yui away from her. "Heh, you hafta come in fast and hit em with a surprise attack! X)"
"R-really? That's going to be enough?" Yui asked skeptically.
"If not, it's good advice to use in a practical setting against most demons anyway," Celeste threw in.
"B-but… will Reio really fall for it?"
"Don't worry little Yui! If that bum don't like it, then I'll make him! XD"
"Do you guys want to get out of here?" Celeste asked once she realized that the two of them were done sparring.
The thief and the gunslinger looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Sure, ok!"
[Modern Times plays]
With that the three female demons began traversing the Academy and talked about many subjects ranging from Asagi's rule to the bullying tax, which had risen 1000% since Asagi destroyed Laharl's castle. After walking for a bit they pasted a newsstand and Yui swiped a paper and read the headlines.
"They're still talking about the 'perverted demon'," Yui moaned as she tossed the paper aside. "I can't believe this Ryuki lookalike is going around and… and…!"
"'Fondling women with ample breasts?" finished Celeste who had picked up a paper of her own. "Umm, Melinda. What do you think?"
The gunslinger looked at Celeste then at Yui and after a bit of thought came to a conclusion. "Hrmm… well if it wer 'Yuki… wouldn't Celeste be enough? X?" She looked down and grinned. "Heh, there'd be another real close by to tho. X}"
"What's that supposed to mean," Yui said sharply, glaring at the gunslinger.
"It means that mosquito bites like yours juuust don't cut it," said a voice from behind them.
Whipping around the three of them were shocked by what, no, who they saw. There stood their Gladiator companion that looked like a Battle Master. He had a black bandana over his mouth, his headband was on his head, and his scythe was nowhere in sight. "'Yuki?" Melinda questioned as if it couldn't be true. "What're you doing here?"
"Crap! I saw itty-bitty here, but didn't know that you two cows were here too," the masked 'Ryuki?' replied. He began to sweat profusely and to noticeably shake. "D-damn, and here I thought it was two other voluptuous deomnesses ripe for the picking, I mean, er, it's not like you two aren't exquisite specimens yourselves but… I gotta go!" And with that he hightailed it away from the trio.
[Drunken Street plays]
"Hmmm…. ?_?" went Melinda.
"He just called us cows, cowgirl," Celeste said dryly, not at all shocked by what just transpired. "Well in any case Yui, it's safe to say that—"
[Burst Out plays]
"Ryuki… that bastard!" seethed Yui. Unknowingly her anger caused her to release evil, visible Mana. "That pervert had the NERVE to call ME, the best thief in the cosmos, 'itty-bitty'! I'll kill him!" She clenched her hands into fists and looked off in the direction that 'Ryuki?' bolted off to.
"Yui, don't jump to conclusions," Celeste said trying to calm her ally. "That was the lookalike, there's no way that Ryuki would say those things about you. Besides, I have his headband right h—"
"But you heard him!" Yui protested. "He said that he recognized me AND said that I was flatter than a sheet of paper! Here I thought that Ryuki was a decent demon and he pull something like this off!"
"He didn't say all that," Celeste sweatdropped.
"I'm sorry Celeste, but I'm going to murder your lecherous boyfriend in cold blood!" Then Yui chased down her prey.
"Well," sighed Celeste. "What do you have to say about all of that?"
[Baby PIG]
"Hmmm…. Well of course that wasn't Ryuki," Melinda concluded. "Heh, the real one would have never let me call him 'Yuki and get away with it! XD"
"G-good observation," Celeste said in disbelief. "In any case, let's go and stop—"
[Apocalypse plays]
Suddenly the two of them felt a ghastly surge of Mana come from the direction of the Courtyard that made the hairs on their skin stand on end.
"C-come on!" beckoned Melinda who was ready to bolt toward the source.
Celeste was about to when a thought came rushing into her head. (Could this be what Ryuki meant by, "someone will be coming to get me"?)
"Let's go!" screamed Melinda. That knocked Celeste back into reality and not wasting any more time, the two of them darted off toward the Courtyard.
-Courtyard-
When Celeste and Melinda finally arrived at the Courtyard, a sizable group of demons had also just arrived. They looked toward the Dimensional Gate and found the cause of the Mana surge, Underlord Seedle. From where they were standing the duo could hear the Underlord say, "Little boy, you have no idea who I am," followed by another surge of Mana that was easily twice as menacing as the previous one.
"We've got to make our move," Celeste said as she put on her Death's Grab gauntlets.
"R-right," said Melinda, Ancient Bow at the ready.
The two of them raced toward the Dimensional Gate, beating the other demons that had come, and flanked their three comrades; Melinda stood to Ryuki's left, and Celeste to Reio's right. When they were set, the two were shocked to see a delighted look on Seedle's face. Then Underlord then said, "Listen maggot, I would butcher you here, but I'd hate to embarrass you in front of your peers."
"What'd you say!" Reio yelled emphatically, however instead of responding with words, Seedle made a gesture telling Reio to turn around. Seeing no other choice, Reio began to turn. "The hell is-" Reio instantly stilled his mouth once he saw that his two allies and a rather large crowd of demons had gathered.
"I don't have any more patience with you reaper," Seedle said addressing Ryuki. "Now decide, before this Netherworld of yours is no more."
"Y-you're not kidding are you?" Ryuki said as he trembled.
"No, I am not," the man said in a low gruffly voice. "You broke the rule, now pay the consequences. I haven't got all day!" He unsheathed one of his blades and pointed it at Ryuki's heart. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."
"The hell did you do!" Reio yelled at his comrade, as he breathed heavy. He had his Thrill Seeker at the ready. "What's going on? What is this ass-clown here?"
"I-I screwed up," Ryuki said without turning around to face Reio.
"Whatever he did, we can fix it can't we?" Yui said pleading with the man.
(Wait a minute, does this have to do with what Ryuki told me before… about the Red Moon!) "Don't bother," Celeste said now with a newfound sense of the situation. She clenched her fists in anger. "You can't reason with scum like this."
"Listen you maggots! I haven't got all day!" The man screamed. "Hurry up and make your peace," he paused himself as he saw the arrival of the Netherworld's Overlord. "Oh I'll make it for you!"
"Hey guys," Asagi said plainly. "What'd I-"
At the next moment the man flash stepped with frightening speed and slashed Asagi vertically across her chest…
-Celeste's Room, the night Melinda arrived-
[Friends plays]
Ryuki returned to the room the same as he had left, tired; however Celeste could tell that this wasn't just sleepiness that was ailing him. After he sat on the right side of the bed Celeste hugged him from behind and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Today's the Red Moon," Ryuki said with a bit of resentment in his voice.
"Hmmm…"
"Well, I'm the resident reaper of souls here," he continued. "And as part of my job. I'm supposed to release the souls of all of the Prinnies that have compensated for all their past crimes by doing good deeds. You know, so they can reincarnate."
"What's the problem then," Celeste whispered into his ear.
"W-well… How do I say this… You know I'm not a selfish guy, and that I totally respect Prinnies, right?" Celeste nodded. "Well you see…" Ryuki went over to the window and opened it. His ears were met with the Prinnies' hymn for the Red Moon. "Do you hear that? Most people can sleep through it no problem, but I can't. I can hear their souls crying from joy, the joy of being reborn and yet…" He went over to his pants and pulled out his reaper's cloak. "I don't want a repeat of what happened last time." Ryuki looked at Celeste with the face of one that had committed an unforgivable act.
"W-what happened?"
"Everything was fine. I was following everything by the book. The Prinnies were gathered, and I was ready to take them to the Red Moon. I had done this at more than a dozen times, I was sure that nothing could go wrong." He paused and went back to the window. "Cleanses the sinful and makes them anew, huh? Anyway, we were all ready, when I put the cloak over my head like I was supposed to, then…"
"It's okay," Celeste said trying to soothe him. Whatever you did, it's o—"
"I destroyed an innocent soul!" Ryuki lashed out. "I put the hood over my head, and then I lost control. I knew the souls past crimes but he had paid his due, but yet I… I ripped him out of his Prinny Suit and crushed him."
"Ryuki…"
"I know the Prinnies shouldn't be punished for it, but I don't think I can do this." Ryuki closed the window and looked up at the moon.
"What will happen if you don't do it?"
"Standard protocol. Someone will come and get me, then I'll be transported to the Underworld and be implanted with the most horrible memories of all the Prinnies that I failed to transport to the Red Moon. Lastly, I'll have to spend up to two days in this state while traversing the Underworld." He answered as though he had been called on in class.
"You don't sound distressed…"
"I'm not," Ryuki looked at Celeste once again. "I'd kinda been planning on doing this since that incident occurred. I need to get my wits in order, otherwise… I should give up my position as 'Death'."
"I understand," Celeste said, a pleased expression on her face. "Is there anything you need me to do?"
"Just come get me if I don't return in two days. A-and DON'T tell anyone what you just heard." He looked at her sternly. "Not Asagi, not Reio, NOONE!"
"I-I got it."
-Corridor, present day and time-
[Madness of the Moment plays]
After evading Seedle's attack, Asagi wielded her Red Shooter only to have the Underlord slice it in two with a horizontal slash. "Crap," Asagi muttered as she threw it to the side and drew her twin pistols. She aimed at where she last saw Seedle only to lose sight of him. By this point, the group of demos that had gathered had run off from the action. "Where did he go?" Asagi said to herself.
"Above!" shouted Reio who was able to block Seedle's downward slash just in the nick of time. With their swords locked, Yui and Melinda rained down a storm of bullets and arrows on Seedle only to have the Underlord dodge them completely.
"Where did he go," Celeste panicked. She was able to follow Seedle's movements up until this point.
"Ha! Time to end this!" boomed a voice from above. Everyone looked up in time to see the Underlord hovering above them with four humongous katanas floating menacingly behind him, aimed at them.
"Damn…" Reio seethed through clenched teeth.
"No way!" gacked Yui and Melinda in awe.
"Son of a…" Asagi grimaced.
"…." Ryuki said nothing.
"Well then you worms," Seedle taunted. "Time to die!"
"Crap," said Celeste as she braced for impact.
[Tales of Innocent Youth plays]
Suddenly, an eerie laugh was heard that shook Asagi and her minions to their cores. They looked to its source and saw a chilling sight, Ryuki laughing hysterically.
"Finally, have you come to your senses boy?" Seedle questioned rhetorically.
"Phew," Ryuki whistled. He looked up at Seedle with a smirk on his face. "Darkness Falls, huh? That's old high powered stuff Underlord. Makes sense that someone like you can use such things."
Seedle disbursed of the katanas and landed in front of the Gladiator. "So you're done with this charade? It was decent at best, but it fast got stale." He sliced the air with his hand and opened a gateway that oozed with the sins of many. Standing facing the portal he continued, "Hurry up kid, unless you want to add some more to your time." And then he entered the gateway.
"Ryuki," Asagi began. She looked at him, her black eye shrouded in confusion. "What is he—?"
"I am very sorry Master," Ryuki cut her off. "But I'll explain when I return." He looked at Reio who looked both alarmed and pissed. "I didn't lie when I said I screwed up. It just wasn't how you all thought I screwed up."
"So wat now 'Yuki?"
Ryuki rolled his eyes. "Stop it. I'll be back in a week tops. Anyway, you should go on to your next target Master, I don't think I would have been a big help in the first place."
"Hey, hold on!" Asagi cried out but it was too late as the Gladiator had already entered the gateway which closed behind him.
-Underworld, Entrance-
[Swirling Whirlpool plays]
Upon entering arriving in the Underworld, Ryuki was met with three demons: Seedle, a thief, and a demon whose entire body was covered. After examining the two new demons, Ryuki looked at Seedle and said, "I'm ready for this."
Seedle plucked Ryuki in the forehead causing the Gladiator to rub his head in pain. Then a wave of memories and emotions swept through Ryuki's body and left him all but mentally broken. Seeing Ryuki in this state, the Underlord nodded at the cloaked figure that in turn turned to the thief.
"Now extract his memories as per our contract."
"He he he, with pleasure!" The thief warmed herself up by cracking various bones in her body, and then without warning she reached inside of Ryuki's head and began with the extraction…
Chapter Eleven: END
-Chapter Twelve Preview-
[Strange Wind plays]
Asagi: What the hell was that about? Ryuki doped us!
Vurt: Ahem, package for Miss Asagi.
Asagi: Huh, what's this? [she opens the box and finds a bottlemail]… you know, you don't have to do that if you're standing right here.
Vurt: Sorry, but actually I am. Otherwise I'll be in violation of my contract and will be forced to become an actual character again. I'm a writer not a fighter! For Magog's sake, I can't even act. I'm amazed that even some of the Prinnies do a better job than—
Reio: Hold on, cut. CUT!
[MAKAI BAND plays]
Director: Reio, darling, what's the matter? You just ruined the preview. *gasp* Do you know how much we'll be set back? I'll be in the re—
Reio: Shut up! SHUT UP! Listen for a second. I don't condone—turn that damn music off! [music stops] As I was saying, I don't condone Ryuki's actions. I know that he's not the 'perverted demon' hell we all know since we've read the script, but what the hell man! He would have raped Celeste if he wasn't such a chicken shit!
Celeste: [blushes] I don't think that I'd have minded…
Reio: Anyway, I'm calling you out Ryuki! You'll get what's coming to you in the next preview! Now if you'll excuse me, I think there's some booze in my trailer that's calling for me.
Everyone: . . . . .
Director: [sweatdrops] Asagi baby, let's just pick it up with your last line. ANNNNNNNNNND, ACTION!
[Thinking of You plays]
Asagi:… ANYWAY, next time on Inter-Dimensional Makai Girl Asagi, Episode 12: Asagi's Unlikely Help! … God damn it Reio! Screw this crap, I'm going home. [everyone then proceeds to leave]
Bottlemail: . . . Is somebody going to read me?
[screen fades to black]
A/N: So... how was it? Stuff will get rolling in the next chapter for sure, and umm... i used more Phantom (Makai) Kingdom songs than usual because... it just made sense to do so! XD So... yeah that's it.
