Chapter 129: The Search for Satan
Hmm….
I've arrived in Oriana's capital city. Many of its cities are in ruins due to the civil war as expected. The people are living in absolute misery and public order is at all time low. Many soldiers, mainly from the pervy guy's faction, have turned to banditry to survive. Even the capital isn't spared from some destruction although it is better than most cities I've passed through.
Seems like lots of fun things happened while I'm busy assassinating corrupt nobles from Midgar and collecting some of their money as compensation. If only my schedule wasn't so tight. There are some things I wanna do in this chaotic kingdom, like break out of prison for example, or enlist as a mercenary. I've also been hearing about corpses being stolen from the battlefield. My best friend Necromancer must be preparing for a zombie apocalypse right now. I'm so excited!
But now… what to do? I came here because Nu said the Necromancer has captured Satan himself but so far no sign of that happening. I wonder where Alpha and the others are. They must know a lot more about what happened to Satan. I suppose I should visit one of the Mitsugoshi shops to ask the employees of their whereabouts.
I stopped by the road to the royal castle and beheld a particularly gruesome scene… of several heads of random people put on stakes which is lined up perfectly on both sides of the road. The arrangements of the stakes is neatly done, perfectly measured, with no stakes being farther or nearer than the rest. As expected of the kingdom of arts. They put so much effort and thoughts even to such instruments of terror.
"You're new here, are you boy?" Said a random old man wearing tattered winter jacket as he approached me.
"Y-Yeah. What's this all about?"
"These are the heads of nobles that the new queen, Rose, executed." Really? Rose-senpai did this?
"When she came back, we had hope that she would fix all the mess that her father made… but turns out she is no different from him. All that talk about him being brainwashed is nonsense, I say!" The old man continued with frustration in his voice.
"If you moved to the capital city expecting better situation than in other cities, you're out of luck. Even the capital ain't so different from the rest of the cities in this godforsaken kingdom. You might consider leaving this kingdom entirely… if you got the money that is." The old man finishes with an advice as he walks away. Oh, I will leave this kingdom… but not before I find Satan!
Still, it might be worth it to visit Rose-senpai at night. She might clue me on the whole Satan thing. Or maybe she has become a tyrant because of Satan's influence! Either way, I'm so gonna punch Satan in the face for refusing to give me magical powers when I tried those occult rituals back on Earth.
But first… I must gather more information!
I sneaked into the castle at night in my Shadow outfit. It'll be out of place to dress up as Jack the Ripper after all, especially since Oriana already has its own murderous vigilante, the Phantom of the Opera. He must be a reincarnator like me. I wonder if we can meet so he can compare notes with my own Jack the Ripper.
I sneaked into Rose-senpai's office. Even late at night she is still working, doing paperwork. I thought a tyrant like her would be enjoying some bath or some feast without caring about her people. It seems that she is working to fix the mess that her crazy father made before his death. I suppose she is not really a tyrant, though I'd still approve of her even if she became a tyrant.
She hasn't noticed me so I made my presence known… by standing behind her and leaking some of my aura, which surprised her so much she jumped out of her chair and unsheathes her blade.
"L-Lord Shadow…!?" She eyed me warily.
"Rose Oriana. I see you're hard at work even at this hour." When I say her name, she somehow widens her eyes. Are you that surprised that I, as Shadow, know your name or something?
"I didn't expect you to call me by my proper name…" Hm? What?
"But I must ask you to leave. While I'm grateful for your help in curing my Possession, I no longer have any association with Shadow Garden." Asking me to leave already? How rude. But I'm not leaving before I can get my answers!
"This kingdom has been engulfed by the Devil's influence." I said the line I prepared beforehand. She widens her eyes even more. So she knows about Satan.
"The Devil, you said…? And what, pray tell, will you do with him?"
"I am here to eliminate him."
"Heh…" She laughed. What's so funny?
"If that's the case… follow me. I will help you rid the world of the Devil." She said as she walks out of the room, with me following closely behind.
"Lord Shadow is currently following Rose!? Where are they going!?" Alpha exclaimed when she heard reports from one of the Numbers.
"She led him north, out of the capital city, Lady Alpha. But I don't know where they are going! There's nothing but wilderness up north as far as we know!"
"Summon the Seven Shades! We must follow them!" Ordered Alpha. But before the Number could leave the room to relay Alpha's orders, the rest of the Seven Shades already stood in the door.
"You're already here. Good. Are you girls prepared to show our worth to Lord Shadow?" Alpha asked them with determined eyes.
"""Yes!""" Replied the rest of the Seven Shades, even Eta.
"Good. Let's move out immediately and be prepared to protect our lord from Necromancer." Alpha said as she removed her work dress and replaced it with her slime suit on her way out of the room, with the rest of the Seven Shades following her closely behind. The Number who witnessed this scene stood in awe as she have never saw the Seven Shades moved together like this. She thought that with the Seven Shades moving together with Lord Shadow, there's no way they would lose. Little does she know…
"Delta. Track their scent." Ordered Alpha as they left the city premises.
"Already on it!" Delta replied as she sniffs her boss' scent. "This way!" She said, leading the Seven Shades to follow her.
"Delta… Slow down!" Muttered Eta as she fell behind the rest of the Shades due to her weaker physique compared to the rest of the Shades.
"If you're too slow, Delta will leave you behi-" Delta's words were cut as she suddenly stopped in place.
"Delta. What is it?" Alpha asked.
A brief pause occured… And then…
"H-He's here!" Delta said whilst trembling. It means only one thing.
"Bonsoir mesdames!" Greeted a masked figure wearing black cloak and tuxedo with a fedora hat who stood in front of them, quickly gaining their attentions.
"My queen has an important scene to play and I cannot allow you to interfere with it! Members of the audience should remain in their seats lest you ruin the scene that is about to unfold!" The masked figure dramatically declared, fully prepared to stand in their way.
"Cut the act, Necromancer. We know it's you!" Alpha said with a frown.
"Heh…. Heh heh heh. I suppose I have that dog girl over there to blame for my secret identity being found out. No matter." Said the Phantom as he shed his disguise using shapeshifting, revealing himself as the Necromancer in all his skull masked glory. His black robe is now accompanied by a black tattered cloak and a pair of metal gloves with green shining runes carved on them.
"Kuhh..!" The Shades immediately felt the pressure of his magic, which is not only different from before he shed his disguise but also much stronger than ever before. Their bodies began trembling in fear, for they now face the one who defeated their lord.
"Lady Alpha! We've come to assist you!" Said a member of the Numbers as she arrived with reinforcements of 12 people.
"No! You must retreat! You're no match for him!" Shouted Alpha. But it is too late. Now that they have felt the Necromancer's dreadful aura, they are frozen in place, unable to move.
The Necromancer merely stood by calmly even as he is surrounded by enemies. It is the ones who surrounded him that are gripped by fear.
"Brave pawns you have here. But pawns are pawns no matter how brave they are." The Necromancer remarked as he snaps his finger and all of a sudden the slime suits of all 12 girls began attacking their wearer by forming spikes that pierced their bodies. Unable to do anything to resist having their greatest weapons being turned against them, the girls collapsed to the ground like puppets with their strings cut. The sight angers the Seven… well, all of them except Eta, who remains indifferent.
"You…! What did you do!?" Exclaimed Alpha angrily.
"Your slimes suits are… quite revolutionary. But in the end, they are still corpses. And I am a Master of Death. Guess what I did. Heh heh heh." The Necromancer answered as he snaps his fingers again and the Seven Shades felt his magic invading their slime suits.
"Agh…! Lady Alpha! His magic is…!" Gamma exclaimed in panic as she struggled to control her slime suit.
"D-Do we have to undress in front of him!?" Beta exclaimed. The very thought of exposing her body before their most hated enemy is unbearable to her.
"Ohh nooo….! Pervert…!" Eta muttered lazily as she kept control of her slime suit.
"Don't let his magic control your suits! Fight back!" Epsilon exclaimed, having succeeded in expelling the Necromancer's magic with her absolute magic control.
"H-How…?" Delta asked, still struggling to keep her slime suit from attacking her.
"Just push his magic away from your suit, doggy!" Zeta said as she also managed to expel the Necromancer's magic from her slime suit.
In the end, all seven managed to expel his magic from their suits, preventing him from taking control of them and using their suits against them like he did with the 12 members who just died in front of them.
*Clap Clap Clap*
The Necromancer merely clapped after they managed to thwart his first move.
"Bravo, girls. Bravo. I applaud you for resisting my magic."
"Hmph. Cease your fake flattery. I'm sure that wasn't impressive for you." Alpha remarked, her eyes never stop glaring at him hatefully. The memory of their first meeting starts to resurface once again.
"Heh heh heh. You know me so well, No. 001, my beloved first experimental subject." The Necromancer once again affectionately called her by the number he assigned her, which angers her even more.
"I told you. My name is Alpha!"
"You are No. 001. Nothing more. Even now you are still assisting me with my experiments, just like what you did just now."
"We'll see about that." Alpha said as she brandished her slime sword and shrouded herself with draconic aura like she did during her confrontation against Don Jon. The other Seven followed suit by brandishing their weapons out of slime, though this time not the sword they usually use but more personalized weapons instead; Beta her manifesting a bow, Gamma manifesting a huge gun, Delta manifesting a pair of claws, Epsilon manifesting a scythe with strings resembling harp on it, Zeta manifesting a pair of bladed cakrams, and finally Eta who brought out a familiar book.
Hoo… The Necronomicon that I wrote. So it ended up in the hands of Shadow Garden after all. This is getting interesting. Let us see how much you've learned from my tome. Thought the Necromancer as he glanced at Eta.
In response to the Seven Shades bringing out their weapons, the Necromancer summoned his weapons; 6 floating swords, a staff and a floating throne which is made of bones. The sight of him leisurely sitting on the throne angers the Seven, with the exception of Eta, who remains indifferent and merely eyed his Artifacts with clear interest.
"Two of these swords are new. I shall have you assist me in testing them."
"You look relaxed, Necromancer. Are you sure you want to take on all of us whilst sitting?" Alpha asked, offended at how relaxed their enemy is.
"If you can make me stand up from my throne, I'll take you more seriously." The Necromancer replied.
"Then it's your doom!" Alpha said as she charged, followed by Delta, Epsilon and Zeta. Beta, Gamma and Eta opted to stay behind in order to snipe him from afar.
But before they can reach him, the Seven, with the exception of Alpha, are stopped by his floating swords, which repelled their attacks.
All Seven are now facing one of his floating swords, except Alpha who is facing the Necromancer himself, confronting her most hated enemy and greatest fear.
I followed Rose-senpai out of the capital city and into the northern woods. Nothing but a bunch of trees and snow out here. Are you sure Satan is here, Rose-senpai? I sensed the Necromancer's magic behind us. He's probably fighting someone right now but I cannot sense who he's fighting because his aura greatly overshadows the other's. Looks like he has grown much stronger since our last encounter. I wanna butt in but Satan is more important right now!
We arrived at a clearing. At this point we are already several kilometres away from the capital city. Because I'm following Rose-senpai's pace, it end up being quite slow. This better be worth it.
"Now then. Where is the Devil?"I asked her, which she responded by turning around slowly with a grin I never expected to see from Rose-senpai of all people.
"One of them is currently out of reach." She said as she glanced at the direction the Necromancer is currently fighting. "But one of them is currently here." Hm? You mean there are two Satans? This world has two Satans? And one of them is here? I grinned in anticipation.
"And I shall eliminate him now!" Rose-senpai declared as she held her hand up in the air, causing a bright red light to shine out of her ring into the sky. The beam of light emerging from her ring pierced the sky, forming colourful glowing lights in the night sky. The color of the lights resembles that of auroras but they are shaped more like rose petals.
"Behold… the Black Rose, the weapon that wiped out the Velgaltan army in a single night! I'm sorry, Lord Shadow. But I must kill you here and now… for I cannot allow you to toy with me and my kingdom any longer!" Rose declared with determined eyes. I don't understand what's going on but things are getting more and more interesting.
From the rose pattern shining in the sky, a huge black figure emerges.
Is that him? Is that Satan!?
Author's Note:
And so the Black Rose is unleashed and the Necromancer faced the Seven Shades. 2 Boss Battles are about to begin.
Also, there is an Overlord reference in this chapter. Readers of Overlord light novel might notice.
Receive The Wind Humbly: Another wonderful chapter. Thanks!
Answer: Thank you for enjoying!
Guest: I am wondering if the vtuber Nene would make a cameo/easter egg appearance in this fic since she was a collab character in the Master of Garden game.
Answer: I was thinking about that too, but for now I don't know what kind of joke it should be. For now I'm still focusing on the main story.
TheVirtualPug: I really feel like the slumbering legends being exposed as fake would be a hugeee waste. There's so much you could do with it.
Answer: I know. As I said, it is not yet exposed.
borregodillon9: Are you planning on kill major characters like the seven shadows any time soon?
Answer: For now, not yet. I will do it once I feel like I'm done with the character.
A-Yellow-Lizard: Wonderful chapter as always~ Will anything come out adra seeing sherry's face?
Answer: Thanks.
For now no plans for that.
Cj The Depressed One: please don't cuck my boy Claude
Answer: She won't. She just couldn't forget about her first love considering she is an introvert who doesn't have much bonds with other people so it is hard for her to let go of the bonds she already have.