Chapter 123: Oriana Civil War

"Can you find anything, Delta?" Epsilon asked her comrade, the beastkin Delta as they inspected the blood soaked scene in Fort First, which was recently invaded by the king's army, signalling the beginning of Oriana civil war.

"Delta smells… him…" There's only one person who could make even Delta shiver just by scent alone, despite her never encountering him personally. The fact that he defeated her boss is enough to make her wary of him. The smell of blood and death that lingers on his scent also helped making her fear him more. He is the only one she feared besides Alpha (and Shadow to an extent).

"Then he must've stolen all the corpses." Epsilon muttered as she gazed at the blood soaked walls and floors of the fortress. Despite the battle occurring very recently and thus, shouldn't have been cleaned yet, there are no corpses. The broken walls, damaged floors and blood are the only proof that a battle had occurred recently.

"Of course that monster would profit the most from this war! We must prevent it at all costs! Let's go Delta! We're going to meet up with 666 and 559 in the capital!"

"Roger that!" Both of them left the scene before being noticed by soldiers of the king's army stationed to occupy the fortress which they took from a noble from the Perv faction which is currently (officially) allied with Marquis Grantz' Anti-Raphael Faction.

The drums of war are beating, signalling the beginning of an age of chaos.

"Fort First has been invaded and taken by the king's forces!?" Shouted 666 in front of her superior, Beta.

"Yes, 666. Your father has officially started the civil war." Beta replied.

"I… I need to speak to my father!"

"I agree. 559, Epsilon and Delta will accompany you. You must rendezvous with them in the capital."

"Lady Epsilon and Lady Delta!?" 666 was startled. When she started working for Shadow Garden, she had negative thoughts caused by low self esteem that came from how inferior her strength is compared to the people she constantly compared herself to, the Seven Shades. She thought her father wasn't a high priority target for Shadow Garden, hence they haven't done anything for her and her father so far. But the fact that Epsilon and Delta, two of the Seven Shades, is being assigned to accompany her means…

"Meet up with them in the capital's Mitsugoshi branch. They will accompany you when you confront your father. And when you do, you know what to do."

"Yes!" 666 confirmed her orders and immediately left the room, leaving Beta alone.

"In the meantime, I have to investigate the Phantom of the Opera. He didn't kill anyone these past few days. Perhaps he sensed that the war is starting. I need to find out what his purpose is." Muttered Beta as she formed a hooded cloak out of slime and left the room as well. Her target, a Cult affiliated noble which is marked for assassination by Shadow Garden.

She had been personally taking care of the assassination missions normally reserved for 666 nowadays in hopes of encountering the Phantom of the Opera. She even specifically chose to assassinate them when they attended Opera Houses but so far she hasn't encountered him, which vexes her to no end. She even visited his underground lair but found nothing but a bunch of musical instruments and a huge pipe organ.

She arrived at an Opera House where her next target, Marquis Kokoa, is attending a musical play about a princess who took refuge with seven dwarves, obviously a ripoff of her work, the Snow Lady. When her mission is over, she would have to submit a complaint towards the organizers of the play about copyright infringement.

The Opera House have noticeably less people than usual but these nobles who are present are still bold enough to visit Opera Houses despite the rumors of the Phantom killing people within Opera Houses. They brought some guards with them this time, which explains why they are bold enough to risk their lives for mere entertainment.

Beta watched both her target and the stage, waiting for something unusual to happen. If nothing happens, she would assassinate her target and move on. Tonight looks no different than the usual… until something happens.

Beta felt a faint magical energy up in the ceiling and when she turned towards the ceiling, all she saw was the huge chandelier falling. Its chains were apparently cut by the magical energy she felt earlier.

A long range slash? A technique similar to Epsilon's!?

But that's not all. The chandelier didn't simply fall. If it were to fall normally, it would hit the stage underneath it directly but that is not the case.

The chandelier is falling towards the audience seat, as if someone deliberately threw it towards them. Beta froze and watched as the chandelier hit the audience seat, killing several nobles, her target, Marquis Kokoa, included. In fact, he seemed to be the target of the thrown chandelier.

"Have you missed me, Good Messieurs~?" A haunting singing voice echoes throughout the building, causing the audience and the performers to start panicking and began scrambling out of their seats, running for their lives.

Before anyone, including Beta, could notice, a black cloaked man wearing a fedora hat and a white mask covering half his face appeared in the middle of the stage as if he was there the whole time. Beta was surprised that someone capable of surprising her exists.

He's dangerous. Just like that Black Knight…

"The war has started! Your own king has started the war! And yet, here you are, enjoying life as if nothing's wrong. Did you think that the war would not affect you? How wrong you are. War affects ALL!" The Phantom began monologuing before using his magic to lift the musical instruments from the orchestra to the air and threw them towards the fleeing audience. One person had his chest pierced by a clarinet, another had his head smashed by a violin, another had his spine broken by a trumpet, etc.

In the midst of the chaos, Beta jumped from her hiding spot and confronted the Phantom.

"Greetings, Phantom. You are a hard man to reach."

"Ah. Bonsoir, ma dame."

"I am Beta of Shadow Garden. Who are you exactly?"

"I am the Phantom of the Opera. Pleased to make your acquaintance." The Phantom answered while mockingly bowing before her.

"I'm talking about your real identity. Who are you beneath that mask and why are you killing more people than necessary?"

"I could ask the same out of you too, ma dame. Is Beta even your real name?"

"I've abandoned my old name. I am simply Beta now."

"The same could be said of me." The Phantom said while touching his mask. Beta took note that something from his past seems to be covered by that mask.

"Hmph. If you would not talk, then so be it. I only ask that you stop involving innocent people in your killing spree. In fact why don't you work with us?" Beta extended her hand towards the Phantom.

"An intriguing offer. However, one I must decline."

"Why?"

"Because your goals do not align with mine!" The Phantom said as he raised his hand and with his magic, lifted the musical sheets from the orchestra into the air. Such action caused Beta to be on guard as she brandished her slime sword.

"Then what is your purpose!? If it's to stop the war, we are working on it with Princess Rose! She's going to free her father from Necromancer's influence as we speak!"

"My purpose…? Purpose…" The Phantom paused for a second, his eyes unfocused as if gazing towards a distant past.

"My purpose… is to write an Opera… one that will shake the very foundations of the world!" Exclaimed the Phantom as he sent the flying papers towards Beta. Beta felt danger from the papers and dodged it. Sure enough, her decision was correct when she saw the papers slice through chairs and damages the floor upon impact.

When Beta glanced back at the Phantom, he already disappeared.

"Tch. He's just another maniac then. I need to make sure he and 666 doesn't meet again. Though… that reaction when asked about his purpose… No. He's still too dangerous and uncooperative. I suppose we can only consider him an enemy now." Beta mutters as she left the blood soaked Opera House.

*Gasp* "But I leaked an information about 666! I need to go there to make sure he didn't try anything funny! With the threat of Necromancer lurking around Oriana, adding the Phantom to the mix may be too much for Epsilon, Delta and 559 to handle!" Beta exclaimed as she increased her speed, rushing towards the direction of Oriana's capital city.

After returing to Oriana, before resuming my act as the Phantom of the Opera, I had the king start the civil war by having his army invade and take over Fort First, which was under the management of a noble from Perv faction. Then I personally collected the corpses. After that, I met Beta of the Seven Shades… who looks VERY familiar to me. Trying to recruit the Phantom to your cause, eh? Too bad, the Phantom and I have different purpose in mind.

Also… They sent Rose to free Raphael Geerk Oriana of my hypnosis. Heh heh heh. I suppose I should've known they would be that desperate now that the civil war has officially started. After hearing that, I immediately teleported to Oriana castle to meet up with the princess.

I'm sure they're in for a surprise. After all, I've prepared a stage for our dear princess.

The window to the king's office room opened. She's here. I must hide as I direct the scene from behind the stage.

"Welcome back, my dear daughter." Geerk, who is sitting on the desk, greeted Rose before she showed herself. She seemed to be startled but she resolved herself and stepped out of the shadows.

"Greetings, esteemed father. Your daughter has returned." She greeted back as she kneeled before him.

"I knew that you would return to me. Now you shall fight for me."

"Father… please stop."

"Stop what? What I do is necessary!"

"It's not! Can't you see how much the people are suffering!?" Rose shouted as she stood up and slammed her palm on the table.

"It is precisely because they are suffering that I started this war! We need to cull our numbers, eliminate useless parasites from our country, and establish ourselves as a force to be reckoned with!" Geerk responded after pounding the table with his clenched fist.

"Father! You're being manipulated by Necromancer! That is not who you are! This is not what you wanted!"

"Necromancer? I've broken free of his control a long time ago."

"Then why…?"

"Because what happened cannot be erased. Controlled or not, I've slain the king of Midgar and now we must prepare for the inevitable war against them."

"We have friends in Midgar who doesn't want war as much as we do! We can still stop this!"

"No, my child. Don't be foolish." Geerk stood up from his desk and walked towards Rose. "Under hypnosis or not, I've committed a regicide. No kingdom will let that slide. They will demand blood." He put his hand on Rose's shoulder and whispers. "And thus, we must be prepared." Rose clenches her fist hearing that.

"Father. Please have faith in me. I… I've joined Shadow Garden. They also want to prevent the war from happening and they have the power to oppose the evil that has been lurking in the shadows of history, the Cult of Diablos."

"I'm aware that you've pledged your allegiance to that shadowy organization which is no different from the Cult. It displeases me that you've thrown away your true self."

"No! Shadow Garden is not like the Cult!"

"They may claim to be the heroes who fights against the Cult. But what happens after the Cult is wiped out? What then? Will Shadow Garden quietly return to the shadows from whence they came, or will they replace the Cult?"

"What…?"

"Human beings are greedy by nature. No one will amass such military power without aiming to gain something. And Shadow Garden is certainly on the right path towards world domination. Look at how powerful their Mitsugoshi company is. How influential they are internationally."

"So you know…"

"Of course I know. Don't underestimate me, dear daughter. I've been king longer than you have lived. Shadow Garden is a dangerous organization and I have to ask you. Are you still Princess Rose of Oriana, or have you abandoned your identity, your birthright, in order to serve as a pawn of Shadow Garden? Are you Rose? Or are you merely a number?"

"I… am…. Rose… Not 666." She's hesitating. Good.

"666? Ha! To think they would go as far as to name you after the Number of the Beast!"

"Number of the Beast?"

"But really. Are you truly Rose? I want you to say it."

"I… I am Rose Oriana!"

"Good! Are you the princess of Oriana or are you a mere pawn of Shadow Garden?"

"I am a princess… but I am also a member of Shadow Garden. I-"

"Wrong, my child. You are not a pawn of Shadow Garden. You are better than that. You are the future queen. My heir. You cannot be someone's pawn or else the entire kingdom of Oriana might as well be their plaything! I want you to value yourself higher than that, my daughter! Remember that as a royalty, your worth is equal to that of the entire kingdom!" Geerk put both his hands on both of Rose's shoulders and looked at her in the eyes with a stern gaze.

"Father…" Rose felt conflicted but she is starting to get convinced. Good.

"I've heard enough. So you've decided to betray Shadow Garden then, 666." A sinister female voice was heard from behind her.

"559!?" Rose exclaimed when she saw the pink haired girl suddenly appearing from behind. It's the Saintess of Orum, Victoria, otherwise known as No. 046. Heh heh heh.

"559! What are you doing here!?"

"That's my line! We're supposed to rendezvous with Lady Epsilon and Lady Delta before coming here but you rushed here without meeting us! And you're even letting your mad king of a father influence you to betray us."

"But the message said for me to go ahead! And he's not a mad king! He has broken out of Necromancer's hypnosis!"

"I don't care. As far as I'm concerned, he is Necromancer's pawn and is hostile to us. He must die for Lord Shadow's sake." 559 said as she brandished her slime sword. Rose exclaimed by brandishing hers.

"So you'll get in my way? Then you shall die with him, traitor!" 559 lunges towards Rose and Rose braced herself for the clash, only for her father to shield herself.

"Wha…." Rose was stunned when she saw her father being stabbed right in front of her eyes.

"FATHER!" Rose shouted as she saw her father's body being thrown towards her.

"Rose… You are my heir…. Please… don't forget who you are… Protect…. Oriana…" Geerk gave his final words and dies in her arms.

"FATHEEEEERR!" Rose cried as she held her father's corpse in her hands… unknowing that he is already dead a long time ago and the one who spoke to her before this was merely an undead and thus it is impossible for you to break him out of my influence. I had to kill him because he truly did broke out of my hypnosis some time ago. He has now served his purpose and his daughter, his heir, shall take his place as my next pawn. And No. 046's unexpected assistance helped speed things up. Heh heh heh. I suppose it will soon be time for me to take the stage.

I've done it. I've manipulated events in order to kill the king. I have nothing against 666 and her father but Lady Zeta's orders are absolute.

Yes, I left the message that told her to rush towards the castle ahead of me, Lady Epsilon and Lady Delta so I can accuse her of colluding with her father to betray Shadow Garden. Her father actually trying to coerce her to betray us simply helped my case even more.

Lady Alpha and the others are too naïve according to Lady Zeta. To stop the war with Oriana, the king must die. Their promise to stop the war from happening with King Oriana still living is nothing but a dream. No amount of diplomacy could possibly wash away regicide. With King Oriana already dead however, the war may be prevented. My work here is done.

"559… Why…. Why did you…?" 666 asked me with tears in her eyes. Pitiful creature. You have no idea how much of a favour I've done for you and your entire kingdom.

"Wake up, little princess. Stopping the war with Midgar is impossible unless the king is dead. I've just done you a favour." In response to my words, she glared at me hatefully, tears still staining her cheeks.

"WHAT FAVOR!? YOU'VE KILLED MY FATHER!"

"Don't be naïve, 666. Preventing the war with Midgar and your father living cannot exist in the same universe. Without the king, this country will tear itself apart and even Midgar wouldn't need to lift a finger unless they want to be seen as a bully internationally. Now, will you return to Shadow Garden, or will you betray us?"

"Betray you…? What are you talking about…? I am Rose Oriana… AND IT IS YOU WHO HAVE BETRAYED ME!" She shouted as she lunged at me with her slime sword in hand. How naïve. You think a pampered little princess like you can defeat me? The former leader of the Templars who once gave the Seven Shades a hard fight despite not receiving Lord Shadow's power yet?

Her sword clashed with mine. Her strength is impressive, as expected of someone who received Lord Shadow's gift. But…

"Not enough!" I exclaimed as I pushed her back, causing her to crash against the wall. The impact also caused several bookshelves on the wall to fall along with their contents.

"Ughh…" She moaned painfully. I approached her slowly with blade in hand.

"So you have chosen death… then die, traitor!" I raised my sword, ready to strike her down. But as I was about to strike her down, I was interrupted by an unexpected sound…. No… a music.

Author's Note:

And so Rose's descent to madness starts.

A-Yellow-Lizard: Thank you so much for the chapter :)

I checked this in the middle of the night, wasn't expecting anything but somehow my wish came true, like one of those genie things except it's for fanfiction.

- I think claude might pretend to be mind controlled at first but then dramatically reveal that he isn't after a while

- Cid might check up with alpha and get some juicy misunderstandings about what claude's doing

- Sherry might worry about claude's romantic life upon hearing the news but then get reassured by her mind that there's no way he would actually fall for eliza

- Iris might pop up to progress the plot in some way, maybe by arresting eliza afterwards

Answer: Glad you're still waiting for updates regularly.

- You shall see how it goes.

- The Misunderstanding in Shadows strikes again :)

- I have a different plan for Sherry in mind

- Also have plans for Iris. :)

borregodillon9: Great chapter

Answer: Thank you.

DerTrap: Great Chapter as always. Also since Chapter 45 (Necromancer vs Shadow "Round 2") I have been waiting for Necromancer's "Domain Expansion" and I hope that will come during the war arc. Because I think that everyone on the "Heroes Side" (specifically the seven Shades, Alexia and Irirs) are in a dire need of a reality check and as well as to remind everyone on the villain side of Necromancer's power. To remind them how pathetic most of them are compared to Necromancer and Shadow strenth wise. With Necromancer fighting multiple members of the Shades at the same time and completely wiping the floor with them (Sukuna vs Jogo level). I also hope for a gigantic massacre performed by Necromancer, similair to what happened during Sukuna's Domain Expansion in his fight with Mahoraga, with a completely overjoyed and maniacally laughing Necromancer and a complete obliteration of Midgar's forces on the battlefield also including members of Shadow Garden's numbers.

Answer: Soon, my friend. Soon.

TheVirtualPug: Honestly, my problem with the upload schedule isn't the schedule itself, it's the size of the chapters that bugs me. I would rather wait a month for a long chapter than have a short chapter every day. My main problem is literally just the fact that I can't binge-read. I prefer reading in bulk.

Answer: At first the normal size of my chapters are 1500 words minimum but I've extended it to 2000 minimum since Chapter 90: The Bank Heist. The short chapters are what I'm comfortable writing. I tried to extend this chapter to become longer like what you want but I'll give away too much suspense and surprise that way, hence I decided to stop at 3k words. I do love my cliffhanger.

Guest: Classic Cid misunderstanding, I thought he would put two and two together about Sherry and figure out Claude's identity. Would have been funny if he did. Still funny that he didn't.

Answer: The Misunderstanding in Shadows everybody!