Chapter 51: A Surge of Ghouls
"The Ring of Succession? Urgh… My foolish past self gave the ownership of the ring to Rose and hid it in the First Fortress." Said the mad king with frustrated expression while conversing with Duke Perv in a living room in Oriana castle.
"Tch. Then we need her more than ever." Said Perv.
"I believe it should be fine for now. She is a strong little girl. She will survive the hardships that life will throw at her, even the inevitable civil war in Midgar. And ultimately… she WILL return to me. Heh heh heh." Said the mad king with a maniacal grin.
"Y-Yes. You're exactly right. For now we need to deal with our own civil war… with our opposition, which is led by Marquis Grantz."
"Indeed. But I have a plan for that. The news of my killing King Klaus with my own hands and repelling a sword strike from Iris herself has reached Oriana. I have proven myself as a man of the sword. And the Spellswords of this country has long been persecuted due to our change in culture after the Black Rose incident." Said the mad king while grinning.
"You… So you would…" Perv said while grinning as well, although he is also trembling, both out of fear and excitement.
"I shall rally those displeased Spellswords under my banner. Make them as bloodthirsty as I am. Then you should work together with Marquis Grantz against me… then slowly dispose of him and take over his faction as your own. In the end, you shall emerge the hero of Oriana while I will be painted as a bloodthirsty tyrant."
"That is… an excellent plan."
Truly… how terrifying Lord Necromancer is if even his puppet can become this useful!? It was the right decision to make a deal with him despite Lord Mordred's objections. The battle he had with Shadow… devastated the Midgar capital. If I didn't ask for his assistance, I would be completely destroyed by Shadow Garden before I could fail my mission. It appears that my debt to him is almost as big as my debt towards Lord Mordred at this point. Almost. Thought Perv.
"Ah. I almost forgot. There are rumors about vampires entering the country and several news of ghoul attacks." Perv said.
"Unimportant. We should focus on our operation." The mad king callously said.
"So, how was it? What did that old man say?" Asked Juggernaut as he held a private meeting with his fellow tower ruler, Yukime, in the White Tower.
"Lord Don Jon said we must prepare our forces for the frenzy that is about to begin." Yukime replied.
"Frenzy? You mean the blood suckers are going to go berserk or somethin'? Weren't they happy with their slave trafficking business that the old man gave them since it gave them a lot of blood?"
"I doubt they're satisfied with that. Their current movements suggest they're planning something big. Lord Don Jon confirms that they will make their move during the Red Moon, which is only a few weeks from now."
"Red Moon? You mean the thing that made vampires destroyed at least three kingdoms a thousand years ago? Heh! It seems that things are gonna get fun soon! I'm tired of helping that old man distribute all those drugs and illegal goods to various kingdoms! I'm glad we finally get to see some action!" Exclaimed Juggernaut as he picked his blade up and left the room.
"Ha ha ha ha! We're going to have a party in few weeks' time boys! Let's kill us some blood suckers and their ghouls!"
"Yeeaaaahh!"
The voices grew quieter and quieter as the rowdy men left the White Tower.
"Lady Yukime…" Said one of Yukime's beastkin attendants.
"Natsu. Kana. Make sure our forces are ready for battle." Ordered Yukime.
"Yes, milady!" The two attendants said as they left Yukime alone in the Japanese style meeting room.
"Haaahh… If only I was as carefree as hi—No. To think that I would envy a simple minded brute like him. This is frustrating!" Muttered Yukime to no one in particular while frowning and placing her hand on her forehead as she walked to the balcony... and from there she beheld the fourth tower that was built for Don Jon in the center of the Lawless City few years ago. A building that Cid and Claude would recognize as a skyscraper, with its upper floors still under construction despite it already being taller than the other three towers.
"Lord Don Jon… no… Lord Necromancer. What are you planning this time?"
The king's funeral was held days after his death. The royal family must've been so busy that they delayed the funeral. I wonder whose fault that is. Tee hee?
Anyway, after the funeral I managed to once again escape my sister and am now wandering aimlessly around the ruined capital city once again. It's getting dark though. And… is it just me or is the moon getting redder and redder every night? I like gazing at the moon on rooftops so I noticed.
Efforts to fix the damaged buildings went smoothly. Several businesses have begun opening again, naturally that includes Mitsugoshi, who have superior engineering technology compared to everyone else.
I just heard the news that Claude is now the heir to the throne, although there are oppositions amongst the nobility. It's amazing that he went from being a son of a duke into future king so fast, even though Iris and Alexia is still alive. That Claude guy is a cool guy and it would be cool to support him from the shadows. A ruler of light (or a tyrant. I won't judge) being backed from the shadows by an Eminence in Shadow. Yes. That sounds dope as hell.
A civil war is brewing. I can smell it. Most likely Princess Iris will oppose Claude because he stole her right to the throne. And I'm excited for that event. I hope my sister won't breathe down my neck when it happens.
But before that happens, things are getting busy around the city. Due to the damages to the entire city, the school year is once again postponed but there are talks about using an alternative building for school activities so I guess we won't remain in vacation for long. And I dread how intense the new semester will be in order to catch up with all these lost times.
There are also talks about ghouls… not zombies… appearing in the streets and attacking people, which I confirmed with my own eyes right now.
"Graaahhh!" Roared a ghoul, who was once a man, though now he's pale like a corpse, have fangs and claws like a beast and his eyes are blood red. His face is ugly… and it's not because he became a ghoul. I'm sure of it.
"Yoink." I stabbed the ghoul in the heart and it dies.
"Heeeh... So the ghoul's weakness is their hearts instead of their heads like zombies do. Kinda like classic vampires. Though I wonder if slicing them to pieces works too."
"Cid!" Shouted a familiar voice. I saw a blonde haired figure running towards me.
"Are you okay!?" Rose-senpai said with concern as she reached me. I immediately dropped my nonchalant attitude and pretend to panic like a common mob.
"U-Uwaahh! Wh-What was that!?" Perfectly executed mob move.
"That was a ghoul, a minion of vampires. There have been a lot of them appearing lately. But…" She put her hand on my face while smiling.
"Once again you astonish me with your bravery and skill, Cid." EEEEHH? But my mob act was flawless!
"Just like that time in the school, you are the first one to discover the weakness of those zombies. You definitely have the makings of a great warrior, Cid!" Not you too! It's bad enough that my sister thinks that way but now you too!?
"I-It was a coincidence…" I muttered, trying to downplay my achievements.
"Don't be so modest, Cid! I'm sure that if you work harder you could-" She stopped herself… her smile dropped.
"Rose?"
"No. It's nothing…" She puts on a forced smile. What's going on?
"Cid… From now on I'll… walk on a bloody path… I know I said something similar before but… You've heard what my father did, haven't you? I… As the princess of Oriana… I must… Will you still believe in me no matter what I choose? Will you… still wait for me?" She said with a pleading look in her eyes.
"Naturally. Whatever you decide to do, I'll support you." I replied sincerely, just like last time we met. That got her to finally smile for real.
"Thank you, Cid." She said as she gave me a kiss in the cheek. Whaaaat? Nande?
"I hope we can… achieve our dreams together. And thank you for the burger last time. It was delicious… and it helped me a lot." She said with a smile. We then parted ways.
I'm confused. Why are these princesses so fixated on a background character like me? Where did I go wrong? Hmmm…
"Shadow." Said Alpha behind me while wearing a white hood.
"Hey, Alpha. What's up?" I turned back and greeted her casually. Her face is calm though I noticed her clenching her fist. She's still mad about me fighting the Necromancer without inviting her?
"I am on a mission. But I see you've noticed the surge of ghoul attacks."
"Yeah. Pretty crazy, right? This town can't get some rest." Not that I mind because these ghoul attacks sounds fun.
"Indeed. We will keep investigating the vampires' movements. You can rest easy." Alpha said with barely disguised concern, once again telling me to rest. I know that I stole your fun last time but cut me some slack will you? I can't sit back and do nothing while big events are happening!
"Okay. I will." I'll just agree because otherwise they wouldn't stop bothering me with the same thing.
"Also… Alpha!" I called out to her before leaving. It's been some time since we last played shadowbroking with just the two of us so I have to end it with a cool line.
"Be careful on your mission… for the night under the red moon is merciless." I said a random mysterious line in my Shadow voice for the cool factor. She gasped as if she just received a shocking revelation. As expected of Alpha's acting skills.
"Thank you. Now I shall go. Take care, Shadow." Alpha said with a smile before walking in the direction Rose went to while I walked on the opposite direction.
"Have you said your farewells?" Alpha, a high ranking member of the Shadow Garden, asked me after I parted ways from Cid. Her expression is calm but eyes hide a bit of malice somehow…
"No. This will not be a farewell. We shall meet again. I'm sure of it." I said with determination, not allowing myself to be intimidated by her gaze.
"Is that so? Very well. I won't say anything else in this matter. Now follow me. We're leaving the capital." She said in a commanding tone.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"To your new home." Alpha said ominously.
"My… new home?"
"Yes. For the foreseeable future at least. It's where you will begin your training."
"Training…? Will I… be able to become strong enough to save my kingdom? And my father?"
"That depends on you."
"I see… Then please lead the way… Lady Alpha." Rose said as she walked following Alpha.
"Haahh… I'm so jealous… Should I be more aggressive? No… we must focus on the Red Moon." Alpha whispered something while sighing.
"Is something wrong, Lady Alpha?"
"Nothing." She said as they continued walking.
Author's Note:
Decided to write a Rose scene after watching episode 11 of the 2nd season of the anime. Rose really shines in the Black Rose arc of the anime.
King Oriana is gonna become a warmonger like the Major from Hellsing.
Also, Cid misunderstood Iris as Claude's political enemy. This will potentially make him flip the script upside down in later arcs. I just thought that's the logical conclusion he would arrive in with the limited information he have.
Also bro just roasted a poor ghoul before stabbing him. XD
And Alpha is jealous but maintains a poker face. This could be a premise for an Alpha x Cid scene in the future. XD
primenidus: Dammit
Answer: Why?
Bolvar57: Un artefacto que tal el Libro de Nagash, es una serie de 9 libros que guardan el conocimiento de la no-muerte, fuertes por si solos pero juntos potencian la fuerza del nigromante, su creador a alturas imposibles para los mortales. Tambien por el malicioso poder de el libro puede plantar las semillas de la discordia en Shadow Garden, como un lento veneno. Nagash es una sugerencia para darle un nombre al nigromante, por que solo se refieren al nigromante por su título que es... bueno, nigromante. Ya es hora de que tenga un nombre por cual tiemblen al escuchar pronunciarlo, Nagash es un buen nombre para el personaje maligno de Claude, tiene impacto, su pronunciación es genial y tiene historia.
Answer: Nice concept but I don't think Claude would readily share his necromantic secrets like that. He's pretty stingy, not even leaving gold for Cid in his dungeons. But a book that corrupts its readers… like the Black Books in the Elder Scrolls series… I'll consider it. I see the potential for jokes when Cid is involved.