Chapter 35: Aggressive Negotiations
The Troll Lords had gathered once again. However, since the they were expected to lead the forces for the final push into the heart of the Karnassus City-State Alliance, they were meeting in a cave gathered around a campfire within a mile of the capital city of Gellara instead of their beloved War Totem. Progress to reach this point had been slow, far slower than Rex would've liked. They had been gaining ground throughout this entire war with the puny weaklings, but scores of trolls died for every inch of ground they gained.
"Stupid fire swords!" Drog complained as he examined the wounds left upon him by the City State militias RunecraftTM weapons provided by the Eternal Empire, although the only one aware of that little detail was Gral.
"The number of casualties we've taken are unacceptable," Rex grumbled. "To think that such tiny creatures would be able to put up such a fight. We need to end this war fast and make them pay."
"In that case, I think I have some intel that will make your day, Rex," Gral spoke up, gaining the other three Troll Lords' attention. "I sent a scouting party from my tribe to perform reconnaissance on the capital city and discovered a system of underground passages that will allow us to bypass the-"
"Grr….. Big words! Talk normal!" Drog yelled, prompting Gral to facepalm as he was once again reminded of the fact that his fellow trolls were DUMBER THEN A FUCKING TEN-YEAR-OLD.
"There are tunnels under Gellara that we can use to sneak into the city and launch a surprise attack," Gral explained through clenched teeth, resisting the urge to grab Drog and chuck him into the fire.
"Hmm…. Not exactly what I was hoping for. A battle like that won't prove our superiority and our followers may think we've become cowards," Rex mumbled.
You stupid sunuva….
"(Incomprehensible grunting noises)," Alz grunted.
Seriously!? Am I the only one who can't understand a single damned word he says!?
"It's impossible to argue with you, Alz," Rex sighed as a smile of resignation worked its way onto his ugly features. "You're right. Any morons who question our strength or seek to replace us will still have to face us in combat and we will a perfect opportunity to remind them why the four of us are the Troll Lords."
"Good, we will commence our attack tonight and use the cover of darkness to our advantage," Gral proclaimed.
"Eh? Why you use stupid words!?" Drog shouted. Gral groaned as he fought the urge cut out Drog's tongue.
The sooner Dracul gets rid of these idiots the better.
Albedo stared at the unworthy maggots…..no, wait, Solution and some of the vampires from Eryuentiu had gathered as well. Commendable volunteers who had signed up for a daunting task, perhaps? Actually, they didn't volunteer. The mortals were selected among those who had lost everything during the Demonic Invasion of the Holy Kingdom and were told what was going to happen whether they like it or not. Whatever. This mix of maggots and somewhat respectable beings had gathered just outside of E-Rantel in the designated Dragon Landing Zone (DLZ for short). Dozens of those who had gathered were human along with several Dark Elves and Orcs from Abelion Hills, all of whom kept glancing between Albedo, Aura, the few Frost Dragons that had gathered, the large map that had been put up behind Albedo and Aura, and a few even dared to stare at Albedo's enlarged stomach indicating that, much to the anxiety of those who still fear and hated their emperor, an Immortal Heir was well on the way.
"Loyal servants of the Eternal Empire, thank you for accepting this mission," Albedo began as she put on her usual fake smile, her true smile was reserved for a select few. "You will all be acting as sleeper agents in the recently discovered land known as Tamriel, a relatively small continent that lies to the northeast. You have each been selected for this task because your races are compatible with those you will find in this primitive land."
"It'll be annoying to send you all in boats, so instead we're going to send you all over there on dragons!" Aura exclaimed excitedly. "Right Hejinmal?"
"R-right," Hejinmal said. Ever since being dragged to Nazarick by Aura, literally, he had been put on an exercise routine and was appointed as the representative for all Frost Dragons, which was absolutely terrifying since now he had to answer directly to the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord himself: Mortis. His father who had been the former White Dragon Lord, although now he was nothing but another of Emperor Dracul's undead minions as something called a Dracolich, had been a powerful and fierce figure but even he was nothing compared to Mortis. He was a living legend even among the Dragon Lords, the only one to go toe to toe with both the Heavenly Dragon Lord and the Brightness Dragon Lord and live! Please keep in mind, the Heavenly Dragon Lord is the size of a MOTHERFUCKING ISLAND!
That was thousands of years ago though. I wonder who would win if they fought again?
"Upon your arrival in Tamriel, you will coordinate with Solution and will each be tasked with gathering information or elevating yourselves to positions of authority within the Cyrodiil Empire, Aldmeri Dominion, and any other organization that may be of use when we begin our conquest," Albedo continued. "The Immortal Emperor has estimated that our invasion will commence in approximately 25 years. The more useful you are to the Supreme One the more you and your families will be rewarded."
"That being said, any of you who try to betray our master will be punished," Solution added in with a sadistic grin. "Personally, I'm looking forward to dealing with those of you who forget who you serve." Those who had been gathered shivered.
"Alrighty then! All aboard the dragons, muthafuckas!" Aura cheered as she hopped on Hejinmal's back followed by Solution while the mortals reluctantly climbed onto the other dragons.
"Aura! Language!" Albedo called out as the dragons took take flight. She would've berated Aura more using [Message] but she suddenly felt a kick from her insides. A tiny, infantile kick accompanied by quiet giggling that sounded like it came from a demonic baby.
The convoy went on for as far as the eye could see, a human eye at any rate. Countless Death Chevaliers, Death Warriors, Vashiks, Death Knights, Dark Paladins, Hanzos, Vampire Knights, and Skull Knights were mounted on Soul Eaters while Skeleton Dragons, Stygi, Wraiths, and a few Dracoliches acted as their eyes in the sky. Dracoliches, unlike their lower level counterparts, Skeleton Dragons, were made from the corpses of actual dragons instead of being put together from a mishmash of bones from lesser creatures. They were large, bony dragons that maintained SOME of their tattered scaly flesh and purple flames flickered in their empty eye sockets with more purple light emanating from within their chests casting the shadows of their ribcages against the interior of their flesh. These creatures were capable of using Wild Magic, Necromancy, and any abilities they might've had when they were among the living. Amongst the undead were a many mounted individuals who stood out since they were neither mounted upon an undead creature or monstrous themselves, for the most part anyway. Nearly two hundred members of the Imperial Adventurers Guild were riding horseback alongside the undead legions. They were understandably nervous, being surrounded by monsters that could eat them for breakfast, but the presence of several adamantite adventurers helped to alleviate their concerns. The twins were sharing a horse, Tina holding the reins and Tia watching their back, Momon, Myriah, and Evileye were riding Hamsuke, Lakyus and Gargan were riding horses on either side of Hamsuke, and Nabe was flying directly above them.
"We should be arriving the edge of the forest within the next hour," Myriah announced as she continued to examine the map Momon had given her.
"Sehr gut….er… Very good," Momon said. "Since we won't be able to reach the elven capital before nightfall, we'll have find a place to rest for the night. Are there any villages along the way?"
"Y-Yeah! Acrapool Village is pretty close to the path we're taking!"
"That should work," Momon mused. "The Eternal Empire's soldiers will stand guard around the village outskirts as to not alert the locals. The rest of will bunk together so that we aren't a burden to our hosts."
"T-t-together?" Myriah squeaked as she stared at Momon with an evident blush on her face.
"Eh? Elf, you better not be thinking what I think you're thinking," Evileye with in a threateningly pleasant tone. "Cause if you're thinking what I'm thinking you're thinking, you'll wish you weren't thinking that thought!"
"So many thoughts there are," Hamsuke groaned.
"You're right, Wise King of the Forest," Evileye nodded. "There are a lot of THOTS around here."
"Stupid gnats, stop breathing," Nabe muttered as she plugged her fingers into her ears.
"Evileye, please be courteous to our guide," Momon interjected putting a hand on Evileye's hip, instantly reducing the jealous vampire to a nervous and flustered mess.
"Oh…..um…er….right. Sure. I'm s-sorry. Whatever you say Momon."
"Your face has turned rather red. Are you feeling unwell?"
"I-I'm fine! There's nothing wrong with me!"
"Gods help us," Lakyus sighed in exasperation while Gargan simply chuckled at their lovestruck teammate. Lakyus wasn't sure how she felt about all this. She was glad Evileye was making some progress with her love interest, but Momon wasn't only a follower of the Immortal Emperor, he was a creation. The closer she got to him the more she was pulled to Lucifer's side and away from the rest of her team.
If things keep going this way, it will only be a matter of time before Evileye declares she is joining Darkness and starts serving the Immortal Emperor directly. What if it has something to do with the fact that she's a vampire? Dracul's openly declared himself as Father Blood, the father of all vampires, so if Evileye is indeed one of his children of the night then maybe he's subconsciously turning her to his side through the connection in their blood?
That was a scary thought. Lucifer Dracul could be gradually subverting Blue Rose…..scratch that…..the entire National Liberation Party by controlling Evileye, one of their leaders. Between her and Zur, who had made no secret of serving the Antichrist, he might've been pulling their strings all along and they wouldn't even have known it. Lakyus groaned and put her hand to her head.
This is why I leave things like this to Princess Renner. She's so much better than me at these games of politics and deception. As long as I trust in my friend, I know we'll get through this.
"EEP!" Evileye suddenly yelped, interrupting Lakyus' thoughts.
"What's wrong?" Momon asked in a worried tone.
"You're hand just brushed against my butt!" Evileye shrieked, causing Lakyus to let out an exasperated sigh. Under normal circumstances, she would ask Evileye for advice on how to proceed. However, given the petite vampire's infatuation with Momon, Lakyus was afraid that her old friend might wake up one morning and decide to start throwing her fist up in salute while waving a around the Eternal Empire's flag screaming 'Nema!' or 'All hail Lucifer Dracul!'
"Oh! My apologies," Momon said.
"Well….I didn't dislike it," Evileye muttered quietly.
"What was that?"
"Nothing! I didn't say anything! Moving on!"
The Archbishop of the Slane Theocracy, Pontifex Maximus, sighed as stared out the window in his office within the Shrine of the First Miko. The Theocracy's soldiers had been ordered begin setting up magical defenses in every district, traps that would trigger in the presence of the undead, and inform the public that martial law was now in effect and a curfew would be strictly enforced. He never thought that it might come to this. He knew that the battle against the Antichrist would not be without sacrifices, but he never thought that he would have to order 80% of the Theocracy's forces to withdraw from the other cities and villages and report to the capital city of Humanika to strengthen its defenses. While the soldiers would be able to maintain order in the capital and MIGHT be capable of at least slowing the Antichrist down, this left the other cities and villages under the Theocracy's control woefully low on manpower. Already small militia groups had sprung up and began their own little inquisitions, accusing people left and right of heresy or being in league with the Immortal Emperor. It was similar to living under the authority of mobsters or a gang.
While this reign of terror kept riots from breaking out and the populace under control, these militias were not capable of enforcing measures against that Rat Plague which, although it had been purged from the capital, continued to sow discord in the other cities and continued to spread throughout the Theocracy's through various disease vectors such as trading caravans, food, corpses, or anything else they rats may have gotten their nasty little teeth into. Then there were those who had lost their minds due to the plague that the people had taken to calling Weepers which now skulked in dark alleys, abandoned homes, and sewers.
A necessary sacrifice. The chaos will be purged in order will be restored once…..if Lucifer and his empire are sent back to hell from which they came.
He was snapped out of his brooding when someone knocked on the door to his office.
"Your holiness," came the voice of the Cardinal of Wind. "May I please enter?"
"Yes, yes. Come in," Maximus sighed as he pulled himself away from the balcony and took a seat behind his desk just in time for the Cardinal of Wind to close the door behind him. "Have a seat Dominic."
"Thank you, your holiness." the Cardinal of Wind said as he sat down. "Raymond asked me to inform you that he and Yvon have left the city along with the Black Scripture and several platoons of troops. Traveling by Slepnirs, they should arrive at their destination in 2 or 3 days. Perhaps sooner if they hurry."
"I see. Good," Maximus murmured offhandedly. "Tell me, what do you think of our chances? Should this coalition fail, what do you think are our chances of emerging from this catastrophe intact?"
"Your holiness! Of course, the Theocracy will emerge triumphant!" the Cardinal of Wind exclaimed, although the hope in his voice did not quite reach his eyes. "The Six Great Gods will not allow humanity to be swallowed by the Antichrist and his resurrected empire! We will-"
"Dominic! I am not asking you as a cardinal but as an old friend," Maximus snapped. "Honestly, what do you think are our chances?"
"If the Antichrist prevails in the battle overcoming both Zesshi and Ainz, then I fear the best we can hope for is survival," the Cardinal of Wind replied grimly. "Despite your disagreements with Maximilian, he does have a point. None of us really know what will happen when Ahura Mazda is unleashed. All we have to go by is the description left by the Six and if Lucifer did truly come into conflict with them like he said, then he may very well have a countermeasure to employ against its holy power."
"That is my fear as well. We cannot defeat the Antichrist in terms of strength and we cannot win through intelligence and strategy either. How can we engage in a battle of wits with a being that in impossible to understand? The minds of our own Six Great Gods were incomprehensible to their followers and it appears Lucifer Dracul follows in that pattern," Maximus grumbled before a sad smile spread across his face. "Although, in the end, I suppose that incomprehensibility is as much a mercy as it is an obstacle."
"What do you mean?" the Cardinal of Wind inquired with a puzzled look on his face.
"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far," Maximus drawled (kudos to whoever understands this reference!). "Just look at Jircniv. His attempts to understand the Immortal Emperor and his machinations pushed him to the brink of madness. Only now that he gave up on that endeavor is his health finally improving. He's even regrown all his hair! Lucky bastard."
"I… see," the Cardinal of Wind murmured, not entirely sure what the Archbishop was rambling on about.
"It matters very little in the end, I suppose," Maximus sighed as he reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out 2 journals, one worn and old while the other looked relatively new. "Let's move on to the reason I called you here. Within these journals are my own personal observations of the Antichrist and his possible weaknesses, which are all highly speculative, as well as the original scriptures written and handed down by Alah Alaf himself. I want you to take it as well as one hundred of our remaining priests and paladins. Take them and leave the Theocracy, no, leave this land altogether."
"Your holiness, you can't be serious! The priests and paladins will be needed in the fight against the Antichrist and I cannot, WILL NOT, abandon the Theocracy!"
"Silence! We will do what must be done to ensure the survival of the teachings the Six Great Gods bestowed upon humanity, even if it means resorting to something like this!" Maximus shouted before taking a deep breath as if to steady himself. "You are to take a ship and head northeast to the mysterious land known as Tamriel. Perhaps you can slip into the country undetected, but if necessary, you might be able to barter for asylum among whatever natives reside there."
"But your holiness, what am I to do once I arrive there?"
"Spread the word of the Six Great Gods if possible, but your priority should be to prepare for, should we who remain fail to stop him, the eventuality that Lucifer will set his sights on Tamriel and seek to spread his evil to those foreign shores."
"I understand and obey, your holiness," the Cardinal of Wind replied grudgingly. "But I would like to express my unhappiness with abandoning the country for which I've shed blood, sweat, and tears."
"Consider your discontent noted," Maximus said as he leaned back in his seat. "However, if we fail to defeat Dracul, then you and those that you take with you will be all that remain of the Theocracy. Do you understand?"
"Yes … your holiness," the Cardinal of Wind responded solemnly.
The life of an orphan was not a pleasant one. Sure, there were orphanages that would take them in, but that was only a temporary solution. What often happened to the those who weren't adopted was that the kids would age out when they turned 10 years old and be forced to live on the streets which would force them into thievery and, if they lived long enough, they were usually taken in by the Eight Fingers who would groom them to become their thugs. But things had changed, dramatically so.
Most people hadn't noticed, most people hadn't really cared what happened to a bunch of dirty little orphans, but Lelouch was not most people. Even at a young age, Lelouch had been more observant than most children his age, or most of the adults for that matter. He had noticed that the kids who aged out weren't showing up on the streets, they weren't showing up anywhere. They would be led away by an Elder Lich to the Administration Building and they would simply vanish. Lelouch wasn't quite sure what happened to them, but he was about to find out. The Elder Lich, Captain Mors, stared at the one remaining purple eye the boy had with his other covered by dirty bandages. The boy was thin, had raven black hair, and was glaring at him with an eye that radiated intelligence and cunning. Oh yes, this one would be special, he could feel it.
"Name?" Mors rasped.
"Lel-" the boy started.
No, Lelouch Lamprouge is dead. He died with Nunnally during Jaldabaoth's attack on Re-Estize.
"I am Julius Kingsley!" he declared, his scowl becoming more defined at the thought of his dear little sister.
"Thank you, please step into the next room," Mors smirked as he looked over the files they had on him. Note to self: remind the young Lamprouge that if he wished to legally change his name he would have to visit the office of registration. Yes, this boy would be VERY interesting. Julius's glare shifted from the Elder Lich to the double doors in front of him.
Show no weakness.
With his head held high, Julius stormed into the other room, where a Gatekeeper, clad in its usual red robes stood there awaiting him.
"Come boy. [Gate]!" the creature rasped as portal of swirling darkness appeared before them. "Step inside, mortal." If he was afraid, Julius didn't show it. He simply inhaled, exhaled, and stepped through the portal. He was surprised by what he found on the other side. He was in the middle of a coliseum with a beautiful night sky above him (even though the sun was still setting back in E-Rantel) and countless other children about his age around him. Julius estimated that there were at least two hundred kids with him. Some of them he recognized from the orphanage, some of them he didn't, but they all seemed to be orphans. What really caught his attention, however, was the parade of Death Knights in the stands and the two Dark Paladins standing on a balcony overlooking the arena. In between the Dark Paladins was HIM. Julius shook himself as he cleared himself of that thought. No, this wasn't Jaldabaoth, Jaldabaoth was dead. Seeing more children were being brought in through [Gate]s, presumably from the different territories under the Eternal Empire's control, Julius decided to sit down and wait, preferably away from the annoying loud idiots who talking, whispering, yelling, or outright panicking. He sat along the edge of the coliseum next to quiet (thank god) girl with green hair and yellow eyes who looked extremely surprised that he had chosen to sit next to her while he simply turned his analytical gaze towards her.
She looks familiar, I think she was in the orphanage. Didn't really talk to her much, but I heard she was among the "merchandise" that was recovered from the Eight Fingers slave trade operation.
After a few minutes of waiting in a comfortable silence, the two of they were joined by another two kids. The brown-haired boy sent Julius a nervous smile while the redheaded girl continued to scowl at the undead guards in the room.
That boy seems to be from Baharuth. Based off his clothes, I'd be willing to bet that he was the son of some nobleman who lost his status during one of Ex-Emperor Jircniv's purges. He's nervous and tries to hide it with a smile while hoping things turn out alright. He's passive. The girl seems to be from the Draconic Kingdom. Looks like she's one of the refugees who were taken in when the Eternal Empire got involved with the Beastmen Country. She's terrified but masking it by acting tough. That said, she's a fighter. If it comes down to it, she'll fight tooth and nail to stay alive.
"H-hi. Do you mind if we sit with you?" the boy asked.
"Sure," Julius grunted.
"I'm Suzaku and this is Kallen," Suzaku said as he gestured to the redhead behind him prompting Kallen to growl lightly and turn away, once again focusing on the undead. "Who are you guys?"
"Julius Kingsley," Julius replied curtly before glancing over at the green haired girl who had tensed at the question of her name.
"C.C.," she muttered while eyeing them warily.
She's paranoid. She refuses to give out anything meaningful about herself, even her name is regarded as private information. I guess her time with Eight Fingers bred some unusual habits.
Julius's thoughts were interrupted when the demon on the balcony began to speak.
"Good evening children," Demiurge drawled. "I am here today to ask you a question: do you feel powerless? Do fear the uncertainty the future brings? Do you seek a way to pull yourselves up from the proverbial muck? Then rejoice! For our Immortal Emperor, in his wisdom, has offered you a path forward!"
From here on out, Julius mostly tuned out the Demon's grandstanding. Instead he decided to study his fellow orphans in the coliseum.
They were around the same age as himself and while not everyone here was exactly physically fit, there were no handicapped kids. The Eternal Empire had only taken orphans which implied they wanted people who had nothing to lose or perhaps that they wanted to make sure they didn't take anyone who would be missed. Were they planning to simply massacre them all in order to create new undead armies? No, if that were the case they probably wouldn't have wasted time on this ridiculous speech which had taken everyone's undivided attention (apart from himself and C.C. who had tried to make herself as small as possible and kept warily glancing around as if she expected to be attacked). Perhaps they would be used as slave labor? No, once again they wouldn't have wasted time with a speech and probably would've just put them straight to work. They're offering power, could it be that the Eternal Empire intended to mold them into effective members of the new regime? It would make sense; the Eternal Empire was quickly swallowing up what was left of the known world. Like it or not, they seemed to be the future. However, the empire had expanded far too rapidly and there were only so many corpses the Immortal Emperor could turn into servants, so it wouldn't be outlandish to think he was short on manpower. The obvious solution would be to recruit from the local population and while training, teaching, and raising kids to take positions within the government (most likely military positions), while it would not provide immediate solutions it would eventually begin to show long-term advantages and solutions.
"Henceforth, you are now all cadets in the Imperial Military!" Demiurge announced, snapping Julius out of his thoughts and causing him to turn his attention back to the bespectacled demon. "Tomorrow, you will be given ability assessment tests to determine your strengths and weaknesses before being put on teams of four. Those of who excel will be given high ranking positions in the empire. It would be best if you embraced the situation, after all, you will be training for the next 10 years. Tonight, you will be sleeping in the quarters provided to you in the forest. Please follow the elves, they will direct you to your new homes."
"You don't think there are monsters in the forest, do you?" Suzaku whispered fearfully.
"I doubt it," Julius responded with an exasperated sigh. "Well, none that will try to eat us anyway. They wouldn't want to waste resources by turning us into food."
"That doesn't mean we should let our guard down," Kallen interjected, speaking for the first time since entering the coliseum. Julius, however, wasn't really paying attention to her and was instead staring at C.C. who was standing as still as a statue and staring nervously at the crowd of children who were filing out of the coliseum. Julius felt an odd sort of ache in his heart as he watched her, reminding him of how harsh the world had been to those who lived in it.
Nunnally…
A look of fierce determination worked its way onto Julius's features as he made a solemn vow.
Very well then, Lucifer Dracul, if you're offering power then I accept! I will take whatever you have to offer and use it to create the gentler world where no one will have to suffer like we did ever again!
Tentatively, Julius slipped next to C.C. and gently grabbed her hand. C.C. stiffened and turned to stare at him warily. Julius merely returned the stare for a few moments before gesturing towards the forest.
"Are you coming or not?" he asked brusquely. C.C. didn't respond for a few moments and seemed to be debating whether or not it would be alright for her to speak, until finally...
"Will there be good food?"
"I'll tell you what," Julius chuckled. That had not been the response he was expecting. "You stick with me, and I'll find you the most delicious food you've ever tasted.
"V-very well," C.C. said as her nervousness seemed to subside, if only a little. "Y-you better make good on our contract."
"Contract, huh?" Julius smirked. "What are you, a demon?"
"I'm a witch, thank you very much."
"What a coincidence, I just so happen to b a warlock."
Julius may not know what the future holds, no for certain anyway, but at least he'd an accomplice to face it with.
The sun had finally set. A vicious, stupid grin stretched across Drog's face as the last rays of light disappeared beyond the horizon. He might not have liked this plan, but damned if he wasn't happy to have the chance to feast upon those who resided in Gellara. Gral had told him that these passages would lead the trolls into the heart of the city, and so here he was, leading his subordinates through the tunnels with their only source of light being the torches they brought with them while trudging through some sort of slop that smelled like spoiled milk and tasted like vomit. Why did he think it was a good idea to taste it? No damn clue.
"Lord Drog!" one of his nameless subordinates called out. "Up ahead the path diva… divern…. Dive….uh…. the path splits!"
"We take right!" Drog bellowed. "Right is the same as right so it must be right!" And with that unintelligent proclamation, the trolls continued on towards the tunnel on the right, not bothering to read the signs left behind by Ijaniya which clearly stated to go left.
Stupid fucking trolls.
The villagers of Acrapool didn't know what to make of the small army that had marched into their land. Their first reaction had been absolute terror upon seeing the countless undead monstrosities, but that had shifted to confusion when they took notice of the adventurers. Their leader, a giant man named Momon, had negotiated with the village elders to allow them to spend the night before proceeding in the morning. The elders agreed on the condition that the undead army had to stay outside the village. The adventurers, on the other hand, spent the night inside abandoned huts and treehouses. Momon himself was currently returning to his treehouse after making preparations for Vega's arrival with Ainzach. Apparently, some of the elven villagers had overheard and rumors had begun to spread that their force was heading to the capital to kill the king. There weren't any objections, in fact, a few of the villagers dared to hope that these strangers would be successful. More importantly, the master would be joining them tomorrow. While Vega may not desire a welcoming befitting royalty, one did not simply welcome the Immortal Emperor. Momon, as the leader of this expedition, had been given his own private residence for the night which was being guarded by Nabe, so finding her keeping watch outside wasn't surprising. What was surprising was finding a sleeping Evileye curled up on his bed in a state of… undress. Momon shuddered at the sight of the smooth pale skin.
Mein Gott. Keep it together Pandora's Actor. Keep it together!
At around the same time in a separate part of the Elf Country, the Black Scripture as well as a few platoons of the Theocracy's finest were racing through the Great Forest of Evasha along the path that Zesshi had carved through elven territory. Ruvik was up at the head of the formation with the Cardinals of Earth and Light at his sides while Corvo and Zur brought up the rear.
"Listen up!" Ruvik shouted. "I want everyone to be alert as we head deeper into elven territory! I've been told that this mission will decide the fate of the Theocracy, so we can't afford to make any mistakes!"
"What exactly is our mission, sir?" Memento Mori inquired.
"You were extremely vague about what we're doing here, sir," Cedran stated.
"The Archbishop didn't give me the specifics of the assignment, said there was too much of a risk that the Immortal Emperor might catch onto what we're doing," Ruvik replied before sending Corvo and Zur a meaningful look. "We have been ordered to reach an outpost near Crescent Lake to meet with a man in silver armor. He will provide us with the details of our mission and will serve as our commander for the duration."
"Well, that doesn't sound suspicious at all," Kaire snarked.
"What the hell? Some nobody thinks that they're going to get to order us around?" Oras complained.
"Orders are orders. Get over yourself Time Turbulence," Garuna said exasperatedly as she brushed some dirt off of the "school uniform" that had been left by the Six.
"Not the words I would've used, but I share the sentiment more or less," Kuaiesse spoke up. Corvo simply growled quietly while Zur began hypothesizing what this mission was and what it had to do with his master. The Cardinal of Earth, however, was focusing on his smiling counterpart worriedly.
Yvon has been quiet. Too quiet. I think this might've been the longest he's ever gone without yelling something, or just speaking in general. Why the hell is he so excited? He knows what's about to happen, who we're about to face. Is he really so certain that we will succeed? Or is he hiding something from us, an ulterior motive for why he wanted to come along? Dammit. Maximilian was always better at this sort of thing than I was.
Meanwhile, the Cardinal of Light hadn't been paying attention to a single thing anyone had said. He was silently toying the pyramid-like object hidden in the folds of his robes with only one thought in his mind as he saw the sun begin to rise.
It was almost time.
It was finally time. It took the stupid trolls longer than expected to navigate the tunnels under Gellara in order to reach the checkpoint being watched by Shadow Demons. Now it was only a matter of time until his troll pawns stormed the city. The delay, while not entirely unexpected but certainly unappreciated, had given Lucifer time to stroll through Gellara's streets, browse the shops, and scare the living shit of the citizens who lived there. No one knew who he was but the way he looked coupled with the fact he had four Dark Paladins escorting him through the city would put anyone on edge. Whole streets became deserted as he strode through, guards would freeze and tremble at the mere sight of him, and some people would outright run away screaming. Lucifer was mildly impressed with the city so far. It reminded him of 1500s Venice, and their economy seemed to be mostly based on mercantilism. Not the worst idea he had ever heard and certainly looked like things had more or less worked out for the City State Alliance.
They might be the first country I've encountered that has actually managed to do a good job. Surprisingly strong economy, adequate military force similar to the former Baharuth Empire, religious freedom, and a low crime rate. They have their fair share issues, but who doesn't.
"Uh-um, is there anything you'd like to purchase, s-sir?"
Lucifer glanced disinterestedly down at the merchant who was trembling before him. The filthy insignificant little mutt worm who DARED to speak to him.
Oh fuck, that train of thought went wrong REAL fast.
"No, I'm just browsing," Lucifer drawled before turning away to examine another vendor's merchandise. Luckily for her, she never had to squirm under his soulless gaze as a few dozen guards cautiously approached the Dracula and his entourage. "Ah, the guards, good. I was wondering how long it would take you all to work up the courage to confront me."
"I-I-I am Lieutenant Lenaie," the fairy guard at the front of the group stuttered nervously. "W-we have received complaints from several citizens about you causing a disturbance within the city."
Congratulations, it only an hour and a half for you cowards to finally approach me.
"My apologies lieutenant," Lucifer drawled as he turned on the false charm that had become second nature. "I was visiting the city and I've been attempting to find my way to the Administrative Building to meet with the leading mayors."
"A-and why would the mayors grant you an audience?" Lenaie asked, apparently gaining a little more confidence with the large amounts of guards gathering behind her. Ah, the confidence of the mob.
"Because I am the Immortal Emperor Lucifer Dracul, ruler of the Eternal Empire," Lucifer said with a not-so-innocent smile that showed off his pearly white fangs. "You wouldn't want your superiors to hold you responsible for impeding in the negotiations between our nations, would you?"
"N-no sire," Lenaie replied with a nervous flap of her wings as she and the group of guards behind all turned sickly pale. They'd all heard about the massacre at Katze Plains and the countless other stories that had circulated throughout the country about his power. "Ple-please follow me. The Administration Building is right over here."
"Thank you, lieutenant," Lucifer said in an appeased tone. "Would you kindly lead the way?"
"O-of course," Lenaie stuttered as she started to lead the group of undead abominations through the crowds which immediately parted rather than risk earning either the Dark Paladins' or the Antichrist's ire. Lenaie attempted to act as a tour guide, pointing at points of interest and notable locations, but Lucifer ignored the little fairy for the most part, instead honing his senses to track the life signatures of the trolls moving under the city. The exception was a statue just outside the Administration Building of the Dark Knight of the Thirteen Heroes, Isake Narbor. He was portrayed as wearing armor similar to that of the Black Knight from Dark Souls.
Hmm… Nope. I don't know that guy. Oh well.
"So this is the Administration Building," Lucifer mused, interrupting Lenaie's nervous history lesson about how Isake became the hero of the Karnassus City State Alliance. "Thank you for your assistance lieutenant, we can take it from here."
This place kinda looks like the Altare della Patria in Italy.
"With all due respect your majesty," Lenaie interjected, flinching when his soulless eyes turned to pierce her. "You have quite the reputation here, it would be better if I escorted you inside rather than if you just barged in. I would announce your arrival and then you can do… whatever it is you came here to do."
"Thank you for your assistance lieutenant."
"Just please don't kill anyone."
"May I have your attention, please?" Sebas shouted so the panicking masses gathered before him would shut the fuck up. Why were they panicking one might ask? It could've been several reasons. There were Zuranon Cultists in the room, which always set people on edge, they were preparing to attack the capital of the Re-Estize Kingdom, and there were 4 Death Squads (1 Death Squad = 1 Skull Knight + 8 Death Knights) off to the sides of the stage he was standing on with Brain, Climb, and Princess Renner.
Thankfully, his shouting had the desired effect as the gathered freedom fighters of the National Liberation Party decided to shut the fuck up.
"Everyone, please," Renner spoke up, putting on the kind princess act. "I know that many of you are uncomfortable working around the undead, especially those of you who were present during the undead invasion of E-Rantel or the Katze Plains Massacre. However, as we are preparing for our final push into Re-Estize capital we're going to need all the help we can get."
Sebas continued to stare at her out of the corner of his eye as she bowed her head, once again swaying the crowd of her admirers to do pretty much whatever she wants. The biggest admirer, however, was the boy who stood proudly at her side.
Poor Climb.
"Princess Renner is right," Sebas spoke up. "Additionally, the Eternal Empire's soldiers demonstrated their power during the Demonic Invasion of the Holy Kingdom and I daresay that if we execute our plan efficiently then our revolution will end in a resounding victory for the NLP."
"Which is what brings us here today," Brain spoke up. "We need to divide our forces to surround the capital before we attack and divvy up the undead reinforcements so we will have and unstoppable force coming at them from all sides."
"We must not let Prince, or rather, King Zanac or Count Ritton escape," Sebas continued. "If they do, Ritton will use his wealth to gather another army while Zanac will use his influence to rally support from the Royalists in the other cities. Both of the outcomes would result in prolonging the conflict."
"A prolonged conflict won't benefit anyone and will only result in more unnecessary death," Renner continued. "Everyone must do their part, the people who take the city and the people who will establish checkpoints to capture fleeing nobles will be divided into subgroups in order to maximize our efficiency."
"The longer we sit here, the more time we give our enemies to prepare a defense. Report to your commanders, we will move out in 4 hours," Sebas announced.
"….And so the motion has been carried that we will reroute the militia from Ragola to support our forces in Yix," Fai announced to her fellow mayors, concluding their most recent move in their war with the Trolls. "Now what is the news here in Gellara?"
"Strangely quiet," Kabelia reported. "It's already noon and they haven't attacked yet."
"Perhaps they're trying to wait us out," Kellinci mused. "If they cut off our supply lines they won't have to fight us, they'll just need to waltz into our city after we've starved to death."
"Unlikely," Zabek interjected. "They may want our territory, but Trolls only ever think with their stomachs. They want to eat us and shriveled up corpses won't provide them much in terms of nutrition. Plus, we'll just taste like ass by that point."
"And you know this because…" Fai inquired. Zabek simply scowled at her, his scars giving his gaunt face a more threatening appearance then he would have otherwise. "Forget I asked."
"Moving on," Kabelia said with a roll of her eyes at the thought of Zabek's questionable past. "We still have reports of increased troll activity along the border of…."
"Excuse me your excellencies!" Lenaie shouted as she swiftly marched into the room.
"We're in the middle of something," Zabek snarled, his eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"My apologies your excellency, I would not be intruding if it wasn't an urgent matter!"
"Very well," Fai said. "What seems to be the problem?"
"The Immortal Emperor is here."
Silence. Absolute silence.
The guards in the room straightened, the mayors stiffened, and the desk clerks began to shiver.
"Thank you for announcing me, lieutenant," came a cold, smooth voice that reeked of authority and was simultaneously soothing yet threatening. Death given human form sauntered into the room through the doors which Lenaie had left open when she entered accompanied by his entourage of powerful monsters from the dawn of existence. His soulless red eyes swept over the mayors, each feeling as if they were naked and bare before that piercing gaze, and not in the fun way. "Greetings. As Lieutenant Lenaie just said, I am the Immortal Emperor Lucifer Dracul, sovereign of the Eternal Empire."
"Gr-greetings your majesty," Kabelia stuttered being the first to find her voice. "Forgive our surprise, but we weren't expecting you." There was no way in hell she was going to tell him that he should've made an appointment as she had the feeling that he had little patience for bureaucracy. The fact that he had allowed of their subordinates to give them a (slight) heads up was probably the closest they would get in terms of consideration from him.
"No matter, no matter," Lucifer chuckled with a dismissive wave of his hand as he started a counting down in his head.
"May we inquire what exactly brings you here, your majesty?" Kellinci asked with a nervous twitch of his remaining rabbit ear.
"Simple really, I wished to examine your civilization myself," Lucifer drawled. "I'm sure you remember the message sent to you by my wife regarding our stance towards your nation?"
"Yes," growled Zabek as he kept a hand on his waist where his sword would've been in the old days, old habits and all that. "She claimed you would seize our lands."
"Correct, we decided that if you were unable to defend your own territory we would force the trolls out and take it for ourselves," Lucifer continued. "However, after seeing your city for myself I believe that there will be no need for my empire to interfere in your affairs. Impressive, by mortal standards that is."
"I'm not sure I follow," Fai stated in a confused tone. "Are you saying that you're just going to just leave us alone?"
"Yes, that is, as long as you manage to repel the troll invasion," Lucifer shrugged. "Your has not been deemed my own and your culture, my only concern is whether or not you have the military strength to defend your lands. If you are able to keep the trolls out of your capital, then you will never have need to fear my empire."
"Really?" Kabelia asked in a disbelieving tone.
…5…
"Really," Lucifer returned with a smirk. "Now, since we have that matter out of the way, we should discuss the situation with fire swords we sent you, courtesy of our dwarven craftsmen. Have they served you well?"
…4…
"They have," Zabek grunted. "I'm guessing you to offer us some more?"
…3…
"Yes, although we sent the last batch without asking for anything in return, from now on if you want more than we can't walk away empty-handed."
…2…
"I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement," Kellinci said.
…1…
"Indeed, we can start with-," Fai began before being interrupted by the sounds of screaming and fighting just outside the room.
"What's going on out there!?" Lenaie shouted just before the doors were broken down and four trolls rushed into room roaring and shouting.
"Gurk will kill all!" one of them roared as it swung its club towards Lenaie. Quicker than perceivable to the human eye, however, a gauntlet clad hand reached out and grabbed the club before it could make contact. "What that!?"
"Fool," Lucifer sneered at the stupid staring troll who was attempting to rip his club out of Lucifer's grasp to no avail. After humoring the troll for a few more moments, he let go of the club, sending the troll who tugging with all his might tumbling backwards into his compatriots. "Dark Paladins, deal with the trolls in the next room."
"Yes my lord!" one of the Dark Paladins exclaimed before charging into the other room blade first closely followed by its counterparts. "For his majesty!"
"As for the rest of you," Lucifer said in an eerily calm tone as he turned to face the four trolls and activated his [Demon Eyes of Domination]. "Kill yourselves."
"Yes your majesty!" the trolls cheered as psychotic grins stretched across their faces. One troll bashed his own brains out with his club, one stuck a spear through his eye and into the brain, one disemboweled himself, and the last one simply snapped his own neck.
"Oh gods…." Fai muttered as she made an active effort not to vomit. Unfortunately, her voice had called Lucifer's attention back to her and her fellow mayors. The cold smile was gone. You'd think they might've been happy to wipe that smirk off his face, but now he looked at them with disappointment and contempt, as if he was staring at ants who had failed at being ants.
"It seems that the trolls have managed to break into your city," Lucifer hissed, the stress and fear finally overtaking Fai as she threw up all over her desk. "I'll make this simple for you: you are incapable of protecting your lands and managing your society, you will step down and surrender your territory to me. If you refuse you will be removed and replaced by those who are more cooperative. I will deal with the trolls inside the city and then I will destroy the Troll Kingdom. My subordinates will inform you once I have completed my task." Lucifer turned to leave but turned around one last time and shot a smirk at Kabelia. "Oh, by the way, Jircniv says hello."
"Smug bastard," the now blushing mayor muttered under her breath as she habitually adjusted her glasses.
With that out of the way, Lucifer stormed out of the room with Lenaie trotting behind him worriedly and his Dark Paladins rejoining him just before he exited the building. The scenery had changed while he was inside. The statue of Isake had been toppled over, revealing one of the passages the trolls had used to enter the city. The trolls hadn't even been here 10 minutes and already the peaceful town square had become a scene of death and chaos.
"DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOG!" Drog roared while waving his massive spiked club in the air.
"Congratulations, you know your own name," Lucifer scathingly commented, prompting the trolls to turn their big stupid faces towards him, roar, and charge.
"Oh shit," Lenaie squeaked as she hid behind Lucifer.
"[Blood Siphon]," Lucifer said as his mouth opened an inhuman amount like the gaping jaws of the underworld. Every troll in the square suddenly turned pale and shriveled up into nothing but skin and bones much like what he had done to Clementine so long ago as all of their blood floated out of their mouths, through the air, and into Lucifer's waiting mouth. The people of Gellara stared in awe and fear at Lucifer as he leisurely waltzed down the steps from the Administration Building and opened a [Gate] for his armies to start marching out of and into the city. "Lock down the city and kill any remaining trolls. This is our territory now."
"Yes, my lord!" a Skull Knight boomed.
[Demiurge, I'm done in Gellara. Is everything ready on your end?]
[Yes, my lord. Go Gin and I are in position and Gral is meeting with the remaining Troll Lords]
[Excellent, I'll be with you shortly.]
"[Gate]!" And with that, Lucifer was gone from Gellara, leaving countless people staring at the spot where he had just been standing, the spot from which he had massacred countless trolls and declared the city his as if it were no big deal.
"What the fuck just happened?" Lenaie asked out loud.
"Why did you call us here, Gral?" Rex demanded.
"(Incomprehensible grunting noises)," Alz grunted with his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"I thought I should inform you, our attack on Gellara has been thwarted and Drog is dead," Gral reported.
"What!? How could this have happened!?" Rex roared.
"The nation of the undead I mentioned before, the Eternal Empire, got involved somehow and is now demanding our unconditional surrender," Gral continued. "Given the way they annihilated our forces, I'd recommend we give them what they want."
"Unacceptable! To think such cowardly words would come from the mouth of a Troll Lord! Traitor!" Rex bellowed with the countless trolls surrounding the Troll Lords openly jeering and growling at Gral. "We will NEVER give in! We'll use their bones as toothpicks!"
(Incomprehensible grunting noises)!" Alz grunted in agreement.
"Enough!" Gral shouted as he slammed his hands on the large stone slab they used as a table and stood up. "First of all, AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS NEVER HAS ANY IDEA WHAT ALZ IS SAYING!? Second of all, I had a feeling you would say that, and so, I call for the crowning of a new Troll King!" Every single troll in the clearing fell silent. They may be idiots, but even they understood the importance of what Gral had just said. There had only been one Troll King in the entire history of the Troll Kingdom. Trolls only spoke of him in legends, even if they couldn't remember his name and only referred to him as 'The King.'
"You think there's someone who could face all of the Troll Lords?" Rex sneered.
"As a matter of fact, we do," a suspiciously non-trollish voice announced. The trolls turned to see three figures appear seemingly from out of nowhere. The first appeared to be death given human form with eyes that struck fear even into the dumbest of trolls. The second was a demon wearing an orange suit and glasses. The third was….."Greetings, I am the Immortal Emperor Lucifer Dracul and I am here to…"
"You!" Rex snarled at the third member of their group, completely ignoring Lucifer. "I banished you!"
"Tradition dictates that any troll, even exiled ones, can attempt to take up the mantle of Troll King," Go Gin retorted while Lucifer frowned at being ignored. Who the hell in their right mind would ignore HIM!?
(Incomprehensible grunting noises)!" Alz grunted angrily.
"You think you have what it takes to be the Troll King?" Rex growled.
"Let's find out," Go Gin replied as he drew his large metal war club and jumped onto the stone table shortly followed by Alz and Rex.
"Make this quick, Go Gin," Lucifer commanded in annoyed tone.
"As you wish."
Rex made the first move with an overhead strike with his weapon, which was a large club with several axe heads attached to it forming a sort of crown around the top. Go Gin parried and quickly retaliated with a punch to Rex's face that sent the Troll Lord spinning.
Alz swiped at Go Gin several times with his flail which Go Gin managed to dodge with only a little difficulty. His experience in Baharuth's arena was a great boon in this fight and gave Go Gin a distinct advantage. Whereas most trolls fought using brute strength and nothing more, Go Gin had learned to fight like humans and do more than hack and slash. He dodged several more times before his hand shot out and grabbed the flail's chain. With a sudden and forceful tug, he pulled Alz stumbling towards him and, with a swing of his powerful arm, delivered a crushing blow with his war club directly into Alz's face. The Troll Lord crumpled to the ground with half his face missing.
"(Incomprehensible gurgling sounds. I have no regrets as I go to meet my ancestors," Alz gurgled just before Go Gin brought his club down one last time onto the Troll Lord's head, crushing it and splattering blood and bits of brain across the stone.
"Huh," Gral mused as continued to watch from the sidelines. "I actually understood that last part."
"DIE!" Rex roared as he charged at Go Gin again, this time with a spiked shield in his other hand. Go Gin rolled to the side, almost rolling off the table as he did, in order to dodge the shield charge from Rex. The next exchange between the two mostly consisted of Go Gin dodging any strikes from the shield and club while throwing in a few a few of his own attacks to keep his enemy off balance. Finally, however, Rex managed to shield bash Go Gin and force to backpedal a bit and instinctively slip back into his stance. This time, when Rex attempted a shield bash, Go Gin side stepped, spun, and used the momentum to strengthen the blow of his war club smashing into Rex's back. Rex snarled and spun around to attempt to hit him with both his shield and his club. Go Gin ducked under the club as it swung over him and grabbed the bottom of the shield before pushing it back right into Rex's face, disorienting him and forcing to let go of the both the shield and his club. Rex didn't even have time to react because as soon as the shield was in Go Gin's hand, he received a blow to the knee, crippling him, followed by a shield bashing right in his face, knocking him to the ground.
"Go Gin," Lucifer called from the watching crowd. "Finish this up, would you?" Go Gin nodded towards his master and stood over the moaning Troll Lord. He discarded the shield and picked up Rex's own club before using both clubs to rain blow after blow onto Rex's increasingly bloodied form.
He hit him again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
After about a minute of consistent blows which left the meat well tenderized, not to mention the fact that Rex looked like a meat pancake than an actual living thing, Go Gin, covered in blood, finally stopped, turned around, and bowed towards his emperor.
"He is dead," Go Gin announced.
"Well done," Lucifer drawled as he stepped up onto the stone slab with Go Gin, Demiurge and Gral following closely behind. "The victor has been decided! Go Gin is now the Troll King! Are there any objections?"
"Lud ob-jicts! Lub is-" whatever Lub was about to say would never be revealed as Lucifer had cast his personal favorite [Grasp Heart] on the stupid beast.
"Anyone else?" Lucifer called out. Not a single troll spoke out, they weren't that stupid. "Wonderful. Now then, King Go Gin, what is your first command as king?"
"For the Troll Kingdom to join the Eternal Empire!" Go Gin boomed.
"You heard him!" Gral barked. "Disperse! Get out there and spread the word!" With that, the trolls sullenly dispersed as confused over what was happening as they were unhappy.
"Will you two be able to manage things alone from this point on?" Demiurge spoke up.
"Yes sir," Go Gin replied. "I'll have to travel the kingdom to ensure everyone knows who's in charge now and Gral will have to call off our forces from the City State Alliance, but it's just cleanup from here."
"Good. Demiurge, are we on schedule?" Lucifer inquired.
"Yes, my lord," Demiurge smirked. "In fact, I daresay we're a little ahead of schedule. As expected of you my lord."
"Then I see no reason to linger here," Lucifer stated as he summoned up two [Gate]s, one for his troops to enter the Troll Kingdom and the other for him and Demiurge to leave. "It's time we dealt with the situation in the Elf Country."
"No rest for the wicked, I suppose," Demiurge quipped.
Bonus Story: 25 Years in the Future
Mal rubbed his red eyes, eyes he happened to inherit from his father. He was a good-looking guy, in a bad boy sort of way. He had well developed devil horns sprouting upwards (unlike his mother's which sprouted forward), black spiky hair, and fangs just like his father. He detested those fancy, royal clothes that the maids kept insisting he wear and instead opted to wear leather combat armor at all times with a dark gray trenchcoat worn over it. He continued to mutter curses under his breath as he finished putting together lunch while he waited for his baby sister to arrive.
What was it that could piss off the 2nd Prince Malice Ulbert Dracul, one might ask? Simple: his DICKHEAD brother (who claimed to be the older brother even if he only older by 5 minutes), 1st Prince Hades Tabula Dracul, was leading the Imperial Navy in a retaliatory strike against the Aldmeri Dominion. Thalmor bastards thought they could just stroll on into their empire and take what they want? Yeah. Not fucking likely.
It's not that I don't want to head over there and burn their cities to ash, but couldn't t have waited until AFTER we saw Dez off to her first day of school? Workaholic asshole.
"Big brother," he heard a cute little voice speak up and the sensation of something tugging his sleeve. His usual mischievous smirk returned as bent down to pick up her up and placed her on his shoulders where she held onto his horns to steady herself as she peered over his messy hair to see what he was working on.
"Sup runt," he grunted to Princess Desdemona Bukubukuchagama Dracul, the youngest of the royal family at only 5 years old. She was a cute little girl, OFCOURSE SHE FUCKING WAS SHE'S THE CUTEST LITTLE SISTER IN THE WORLD AND I'LL KICK THE ASSES OF WHATEVER DUMB MOTHERFUCKER SAYS OTHERWISE! She had long black hair, was exceptionally pale like her siblings, had little nubs on the sides of her head where horns would start to develop whenever she reached adolescence, and, as usual had a blank kuudere expression on her face. Her facial expression didn't noticeably change when he put her up on his shoulders, but he could tell she was pleased. Getting a good look at her could figure out why she took so long getting down here. It looked like mom had spent all morning stuffing her in different dresses. Her current one was a simple black dress with a gold spiderweb design on it inspired from mom's own dress.
"Why are your hands wet?" he asked as felt the liquid drip down his horns.
"Mommy was crying about how 'Her baby is finally old enough to leave the tomb' and stuff," Desdemona explained.
"You're lucky," Mal chuckled. "Back when me and Hades were your age, mom wouldn't let us out of the tomb without her or dad, even for school. The old man still had too many enemies lurking about so Demiurge, Yuri, and Avenir taught us. Hell, this one time when we were with him we went to Nemu's Ice Cream and a bunch of ex-Slane Theocracy asshats tried to kill us. I'd never seen dad so pissed off."
"What's that?" Desdemona asked as peering at the black lunchbox he had prepared.
"This is your lunch."
"The other thing."
"That, my dear Dez, is a brass knuckle. If any of the kids give you trouble, you use it to beat the shit out of e'm."
"That won't be necessary," the monotone voice of CZ stated, announcing her presence as put a sticker on the lunch boxer "while she is at school I will watch for and eliminate any and all threats."
"Fucking whatever just make sure you aim to kill," Mal growled.
"I will need to receive permission from Lord Dracul," CZ replied as she picked Desdemona up off of Mal and began to carry her off. "His majesty wishes to see her before she departs.
"Fuckin fine," Mal grunted as he stalked off.
Well shit, now I've got some free time before I join our forces to fuck up Tamriel. What to do with that time? Maybe Solution's up for a quick fuck? Nah, she went with the fucking workaholic. Oh, I know what to do, or rather, who.
With an evil grin, he ran over to Neuronist's torture chambers and picked out a random Thalmor captive. After beating on the bitch for a few minutes, he dragged her out of her cell and over to a wall with suspended chains where he shackled her.
"Please," she moaned. "I've already told you everything already, you don't have to do this."
"I know I don't have to," he hissed with a psychotic grin as he stabbed her in the shoulder with a knife, eliciting a scream from the High Elf. "I JUST WANT TO! I hate you Thalmor, so superior, so much better than everyone, so much better that you think you can go around attacking an empire you've never encountered and believe you'll win because 'elven supremacy is the only truth.' Fucktards. You won't feel so superior when you start begging me to kill you!"
"We were just-"
"Ssshhhhhh, I'll be doing the talking, thank you very much. Now for my first question," he began as his psychotic grin stretched even farther making him look like an incarnation of madness, evil, and (living up to his name) malice.
"Why so serious?"
Here I am again. I have a question for you readers: Would you prefer shorter chapters and more frequent updates or longer chapters at a terrible fucking frequency? Your answers probably won't affect this fic, but will have an impact on the crossovers I have planned.
HAIL AND KILL!