Disclaimer: See the prologue
Extraneous: Ditto

First, a witch renowned for her beauty,
Second, a demon renowned for her fury.
Third, a vampire and his sorcerous bride,
Fourth, an Overlord with far too much pride.
Fifth, a machine who works for the light,
Sixth, three Defenders who know what is right...
-Prophecy di luce e di ombre: Lines VII-XII

Chapter 3: Revelations
When we last left off:

Saito had fallen through the roof, then was forced into a confrontation with the witch Marjoly. However, the fight never even started, as Saito had a piece of glass stuck in his leg. Marjoly pulled it out, then made a mental comment about it. Saito, "hearing" the comment, responded in kind. This caused the witch to wonder exactly what our hero really is. We now rejoin them, seconds later.

Beauty Castle: Alternate Netherworld

Saito sighed aloud. "I'm sure you are probably wondering as to what I am," he said, not even looking at Marjoly. The witch nodded once, confirming his thoughts. The mage slowly shook his head as he realized he was about to risk everything by telling her the truth. "I am a hybrid, and the last pure one left in this universe. I am one part dragon, one part vampire, one part human..." and one part angel, he finished mentally, for even he feared what Baal might try if he learned that little piece of information. "Any questions?"

"As a matter of fact, I have an interesting comment instead," came the witch's observation. "I noticed that you were coming from Baal's Tower. Is it true, then? Has he come back to make life miserable for us all?" Saito bowed his head, then offered the only answer that would work. "Yes, that bastard has made his return to make all of us miserable. However, the seal remains intact." The witch breathed an audible sigh of relief. "It appears that I need to send you over to Priere. That way, you can make it to the Overlord's Castle in one piece. Laharl has to hear this, and you're the only one who could possibly be fit enough to carry the message right now." Marjoly smiled, and waited for a response. "Well, I was heading towards the Overlord's Castle, but I think I could use a little rest here while I'm at it," the young man said truthfully. "After all, being out for one hour on a cold floor wasn't exactly relaxing." The witch laughed out loud, and then led Saito to one of her guest rooms, so that he could have some rest before continuing his journey.

Sacred Altar: Celestia

"Exactly what do you mean by 'serious problem'?" Etna asked the Seraph of all angels. Michael Lamington sighed, then proceeded into the shortest lecture of the day. "The draconic gates can only be reached in two ways: by accident, or by invitation. Something must have happened, which resulted in the gatekeeper being yanked from his post. Now, to my knowledge, there is only one demon that can open Dimensional Gates all by himself. And the name of that demon is..." "Baal." Laharl spat the name out like a curse. "I should have known that things were too quiet here." He looked over at the Seraph. "If Baal is back, has my father's seal returned as well?" The Seraph thought for a moment, not knowing what to say. "I honestly have no idea," the head angel admitted. "Great," Laharl said sarcastically. "Now I need to find someone who might know..." Wait a second. I think I already know someone who might have knowledge of this subject. He looked over at Flonne, then his eyes circled the faces of the others who had come with him. He opened his mouth, and spoke those few words that he never really wanted to in his entire life: "I think we should go see Veyer about this. After all, he does claim to be my old man. Let's see if he really is..."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned towards the Overlord. Most jaws had hit the floor already, but this was a shock to all, with the lone exception of the Seraph. "Well, I might as well send you on your way, seeing as the gate in your castle is still under repair." At this, Laharl glared daggers at Gordon, who gulped nervously. With a wave of his hand, the Seraph opened a gate to Veyer Castle. "I hope that you will find the answers you seek, son of Krichevskoy."

Back to the Alternate we go!
Priere Castle: Alternate Netherworld

Saito, having awakened after three hours of sleep, found that he had gained enough strength to fly over to Priere Castle. Marjoly gave him a message for Priere (to explain who he was and why he was being sent), and then sent him on his way. After several minutes of flight, the wounds on the weredragon's back had reopened, forcing him to land once more. At least, this time, he did not end up on the roof. He landed in front of the gates, and was immediately set upon by a group of female demons. The mage panicked slightly. "AACK! Get OFF of me!" he roared out, causing the two succubi and three Kitty Cats to stop their assault. The head Succubus demon, a young woman going by the name of Mina, stepped forward and demanded an explanation. "Who in the hell are you, and why are you here?" The (supposedly) young man nearly sighed aloud once more. Why does everyone have to ask so many questions? he thought to himself as he set about explaining who he was and why he needed to see the Alternate Overlord. "Marjoly sent me with a message for your mistress." "Oh, really?" came the snarled response from one of the Kitty Cat Demons. "If you want the letter, all you had to do was ask," came the mage's response as he handed the message to Mina for verification. The Succubus Demon's eyes narrowed as she read the message, then widened as she finished. "Right this way, young master," she said as she guided Saito towards the throne room. Saito grinned to himself. That was the easy part. And now is when it starts to get difficult.

The flame-haired former human listened to the words of the young mage, not believing a thing he said. She had already seen the letter, but she still needed proof that Baal was alive. "Let's get straight to the point," she said abruptly, cutting across hours of formalities. "What kind of proof can you give me that Baal has returned?" Saito sighed aloud. Dealing with women was not his strong point, especially women like Priere. The red-haired, red-eyed, fully curved demoness would take some convincing in order to get her to understand. The weredragon abruptly stood up, then turned to face the Alternate Overlord. She was slightly taller than Marjoly, but the mage still had nearly an inch-height advantage over her. "Do you truly wish to see the scars that Baal left on me?" came the mage's question as he turned around, presenting his back to the young woman.

Priere could not keep herself from gasping aloud. I've seen people being sliced up before, but never this badly! she thought to herself as she examined three of the gaping slashes that crossed Saito's back. She asked him to turn around, and it was then that she noticed the mark on the back of his right hand. She nearly fell over in shock. This "boy" is a draconic! And a Kaiser, no less! She stopped, then looked directly into Saito's eyes. "Please accept my sincerest apologies, Master Kaiser. I had no idea what you were until I saw the crest on your right hand." Saito raised an eyebrow in surprise. No one has ever referred to me as "Master" before. He then smiled. "Please, just call me Saito. Besides, I have a favor to ask of you." The Alternate Overlord smiled, then blushed lightly. "What do you need?" she asked, as the two walked down one of the inner corridors. "I need you to open the way into the Cave of Ordeals," came the young man's response. Priere merely smiled. "I was going to do that anyway. You need to see Overlord Laharl with this information, and I also suggest that you go see the Seraph Lamington as well." The weredragon was now the one who nearly fell over in shock. SO, Michael remains the Seraph after all these years. I wonder if he remembers me, the mage thought as he prepared for his journey to the True Netherworld. As they arrived at the Cave Entrance, Saito stopped and turned towards Priere. "There's one more thing…" The she-demon nodded for him to continue. "If you see Setsuna around, please tell him to locate me." "What!" he asked, in response to the look the woman was giving him. "He has something that is vitally important to me. One more thing…" he said, turning towards the cave entrance. "Be very careful. Baal is much stronger now than he was six years ago. I'm just thankful that Krichevskoy's seal is still intact." He walked into the cave, leaving a very stunned Priere behind.

Hall of Caresses: Veyer Castle: True Netherworld
Time: Three hours after Saito entered the Cave of Ordeals

Laharl rolled his eyes in frustration. For being the supposed reincarnation of my old man, he certainly is dense, he thought to himself as he tried, for the fifth time, to explain what the situation was. He finally decided to restart from scratch. "Have you ever heard the legend about the Lord of Terror?" he asked the older vampire. Veyer ran his right hand through his neatly combed violet hair. His red eyes glittered merrily as he responded. "Why, yes. I have heard the legends. What other pieces of useless information do you have for me today?" This time, Etna had to physically restrain her Overlord from leaping upon Veyer. "Laharl, calm down. He's trying the best to listen…" "Yes, and he is mocking me every step of the way!" came the annoyed response. Laharl was soon calm, and he continued. "Well," he said, his voice suddenly dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "the legends are all true. The Lord of Terror does exist." Veyer's eyes widened in shock. "How do you know that?" came his astonished question.

"Because he has seen, just as you did, so long ago," came an unfamiliar voice from the doorway. Laharl whirled, his hand dipping to the hilt of the Cosmic Blade at his waist. If you draw that blade, I will kill you, Overlord or not, came a voice in the Overlord's mind. The vampire stopped, his eyes wide. How in the hell did he do that? Do what? came the mental reply. Speak into your mind? Relax and I will tell you, after I finish bringing back some of Veyer's old memories. Laharl was not the only one who was surprised by the voice. Every person in the room was looking towards the door. More importantly, they were looking at the young man leaning against the frame.

Etna looked away, blushing furiously. That boy is hot! she thought as she turned to try and hide. The young man stood at nearly 6'2", and was fairly well muscled. He bore both a sword and a spear across his back. His auburn hair was standing of its own volition, and his blue eyes were glittering merrily. He was dressed in khaki shorts and a simple black tunic. He smiled, and then something else about him caught Etna's attention. He wore a simple lanyard around his neck, and this is what drew the eyes of all. First, there was the small orb-like pendant hanging from the lanyard. This tiny ball was literally glowing with power. However, the thing that everyone else noticed was the second object on the lanyard: the key. It resembled all of the others that the group had located so far, and that led them to one conclusion.

"The Gatekeeper," Flonne whispered in awe. "He actually exists." The young man smiled, and then nodded in confirmation before turning back towards Veyer. "It has been far too long since you and I dueled. I hope you remember how to use this!" Saito called as he whipped the spear off of his back and launched it at the vampire. Veyer sidestepped and then turned to his left, catching the spear with a natural ease. Laharl's eyes suddenly went wide as he saw the spear. "HOW in the name of all things unholy did you manage to lay hands on Longius!" he yelled at the man. The weredragon merely smiled. "Let's just say that I have my ways for doing those types of things," he commented, before turning to face Veyer once again.

Veyer smiled wickedly. So, this boy wants to fight, huh? He will soon learn that I never forgot what I learned, he thought as he raised the Longius in salute. Saito returned the gesture after he had drawn his sword. He balanced lightly, then prepared to charge. "Here I come!" the young mage yelled as he began the Blade Rush. However, he was stopped short by the haft of Longius. Veyer spun, then lunged at the young man. "You wanted a fight? Well now you've got one!" he yelled as he leapt forward, hoping to impale the young man. However, Saito raised his sword and blocked, locking the edge of his sword against that of the spear. The two combatants strained, trying to force the other's grip to weaken. Neither yielded, and Saito broke the blade lock by kicking his opponent in the mid-section before springing backwards, away from the follow-through.

Veyer was sweating profusely, his hair suddenly hanging limp. How in the hell did he get so strong? He thought, as he began to gather energy into his fists. Wait a second… I remember now. I remember exactly who and what he is! So this is what he meant when he made that comment to Laharl… Saito smiled as he looked at the older vampire. He lowered his head, sheathed his sword, then crossed his right hand in front of his chest, in preparation for the attack to come. So. He finally remembered who he is, thought the mage as he prepared to once more unleash the hellfires.

Laharl was watching the two duel with wide eyes. Despite being quite dense, I have to say that Veyer moves an awful lot like my old man did, he thought as he watched the two separate. Then he saw Veyer put Longius away, and begin to charge energy in his fists. The Overlord smiled. Now, there is no doubt. Veyer truly is my old man. He recognized the attack from across the room: Veyer, formerly known as Nicholai Alexander Krichevskoy, was charging for an Overlord's Wrath. He turned towards the man facing his father, and slowly shook his head. Man, I feel sorry for that guy…

Saito smiled wickedly as he raised his right hand above his head. "Well, it's been quite a blast, Nicholai, but I'm afraid that this ends now. Ankare Tsunum!" He swung hi hand down, and unleashed the silver fireballs from his palm, straight at the former Overlord. "You're right, Saito. This battle does end now. Overlord's Wrath!" The balls of pure energy shot up in numerous directions, then just hovered, waiting for the finishing words and gesture. "Bite the dust!" Krichevskoy roared, sweeping his arms down in the finishing gesture. As the energy blasts converged on Saito, the silver fireballs converged on Laharl's father. Both blasts connected, and both duelists collapsed. There was, however, one difference. Krichevskoy was still able to stand.

The former ruler of the Netherworld got up and limped over towards the weredragon. He stood over the young man for a moment, then frowned. There's something amiss… he thought, and then he noticed the pool of liquid spreading across the floor. The women noticed it too, and Flonne placed both hands over her mouth in an attempt to keep from being violently sick. Blood… And a lot of it. But how did he get to be so injured? The fallen angel thought as she rushed over to see if she could help.

Krichevskoy bent over the young man's body. What happened to you? He mentally asked the weredragon. Let's just say I had a close encounter with Baal, came the reply. Don't worry, old man. The seal is still intact. The vampire knelt down and drew a dagger from the back of his belt. Flonne winced, then doubled her pace in order to stop the former Overlord from killing the prone figure. Her assumption proved to be unfounded, as Nicholai slit Saito's shirt, and then ripped it apart, revealing the hideous wounds he had received at Baal's claws. My God… "Flonne, check his pulse. If he stops breathing, then we will be in very deep trouble." The fallen angel complied with his orders, as he called Etna over. He looked into the eyes of the young demon. "Just as I asked you to protect Laharl nine years ago, I am now asking that you protect this young man. Make sure that he remains alive." Etna nodded, then bent over to help Flonne bandage some of the wounds. The older vampire turned to the current Overlord. "Remain here, son. I'm going to go see if there is anything your mother can do to help him now." Laharl nodded solemnly, then turned towards the door. He almost immediately started calling out orders, each of which were instantly obeyed. "Gordon, Kurtis: go see if you can find anything that can be used to make a stretcher. We may be forced to take him back to Celestia. Jennifer: help Flonne and Etna bind up those injuries. Aramis: use some of those zombies of yours to find some sort of herbs or something to that effect. Consult Flonne to see what she needs. Thursday: Help Kurtis and Gordon search for materials. As for the rest of you: there will be a strategy session here in an hour. Now MOVE!"

Krichevskoy hurried towards the back rooms, searching for one person in particular. He had been searching for ten minute, and was getting desperate when he reached his own room and found her sitting at her desk, mixing herbs for her latest batch of potions. "Karina! Your skills as a healer are required." The young woman looked up at her husband and smiled. She brushed her shoulder length ash-blonde hair off to one side, then lifted her green eyes to meet her chosen's red eyes. "I'll be ready in a minute," she said as she finished tossing the herbs into a small cauldron hanging over the fire. She then stood up, smoothing the simple white gown she wore. The vampire sighed, then took his human bride firmly by the arm. "Karina, Saito may not have a minute. If he dies, then everything is going straight to hell." The twenty-three year old witch, who was the reincarnation of Laharl's mother, Rena, looked at her husband in surprise. "Saito? Who do you mean by that?" she asked, a little puzzled. "I'm sure that you remember him, dear. He was the only draconic who fought on our side right before the reception, remember?" came a slightly deeper voice. Veyer had dropped the false façade that he swore to keep until he remembered his true past.

Karina looked straight at her husband, and then put her hands on her hips. "Who are you, and what have you done to my husband?" she demanded. "I refuse to help until you explain yourself." Krichevskoy sighed, then drew the Longius from his back. "I'm sure that you remember at least this." Karina stopped, her mouth falling open in shock and awe. "But… that's Longius! How did you get it back?" she asked in shock as the memories came flooding back to her. "Let's just say that a certain hybrid helped to jog my memory," the former Overlord said with a smile. "Come on. We don't have much time." The two hurried back towards the main room, where Saito was resting between life and death.

Author's notes1: Sorry if it seems that my chapters are growing longer each time. It's just that I have so much to put in each one of them. Well, it looks like I'm finished with almost all of the introductions. I still need the pupils, and one more particular vampire as well. The prophecy is getting to be specific, so see if you can figure out which characters I've mentioned so far. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this particular chapter. Please remember to READ AND REVIEW. Thank you.

Author's notes2: I don't know about you, but I absolutely HATE one-word reviews. Please be a little more in-depth with your remarks. I would like at least 1 line per review. Thanks.