Issei found himself growing far less bored listening to Yad than he expected. Then again, she was talking about very interesting things. Mad Gods, infestations across the universe, missing demigods, and this Eldrititan group.
"Have they killed anyone who wasn't fucking with humans for the sake of it?" Issei asked idly, looking at an image of the Eldrititans and their leader. They all looked deceptively ordinary. As in, too ordinary, the kind that blended in and became forgettable.
"None yet, Kungur," Yad confirmed.
Issei sighed. "Keep an eye on them until they look too bold. For now, they're helping us keep the peace on Earth, even if they're not fans of us," he mused, looking thoughtful. "Right now, how powerful would you say I am compared to one of them?"
Yad tilted her head. "You would find it difficult to defeat their Leader, especially if he drew on the strength of his allies through the shared bond of their group," she answered honestly. "But it is within your power to defeat them at present."
"Good. I'd rather not get too cocky just yet," Issei said with a hum as he held up his hand. "What do you think, Ddraig?"
"I honestly don't know. The Eldrititans are unknown to me," Ddraig answered bluntly. "I would suggest not leaving them to fester like mold though. If you perish, I fear even your own will could not hold back the Queen's wrath."
"Then I better not make any plans on dying just yet," Issei agreed with a small frown. "Anything else, Yad?"
"Just one," Yad said, the portal shifting to show two women traveling through a city. "I saved this for last."
"Okay, two hotties, you have my attention," Issei said in approval.
"They're from the Church," Yad explained.
"What, the Christian Church? Like Asia?" Issei asked, his interest peaked.
Yad nodded. "They seemed to want an audience with you, much like how you imposed a meeting on the Devils."
"Someone had to rip the band-aid off, "Issei countered with a furrowed brow. "I feel like I know the girl with pigtails though."
"You do. A childhood friend named Irina," Yad explained.
Issei's eyes widened. "Irina? Wow, the years have been great to her," Issei said, his grin quickly vanishing into a scowl. "Wait, they sent her because she's my childhood friend, didn't they?"
"Correct. I believe they are trying to understand how much of you is still human, in their own eyes," Yad said, somewhat annoyed by that. "Do you wish to entertain these two or should we have them turned away?"
Issei sighed. "Look, I made peace with the Devils, I'd rather not trigger a modern Crusade or something like that. So let them through, just tell me when they'll arrive."
"I will when I know," Yad said, smiling a tiny smile at his confusion. "They're lost."
Issei blinked. "Is that our doing...?"
"No, this is entirely, truly human error," Yad explained as she removed her sword from the ground and closed the viewing portal. "Is there anything more you might need, Kunger?"
"No, but...you want to hang out for a bit?" Issei offered.
Yad didn't react.
"You and Aza are close. Or Yog and Aza are. I would like to get to know you more if you're going to be my royal advisor and all," Issei elaborated.
"I am not opposed, Kunger," Yad answered with a curious tone. "You are just...ahead of schedule."
"Huh?" Issei asked.
"I did not expect you to take an interest in "Yad'' instead of "Yog" for many years now, perhaps longer. It seems that even now, you continue to defy our sight in interesting and pleasant ways, though I am unsure how," Yad explained with a hum. "You would have the capability, in time, but it should be too soon for that."
"Perks of being Aza's husband?" Issei suggested with a shrug with a smile as he approached her. "Besides, I like being able to surprise you."
"I believe you are the one Eldritch who I appreciate being surprised by, Issei," Yad answered.
"Hey, you used my name," Issei realized with a smile.
"You were about to request I occasionally use it instead of your title," Yad said knowingly.
Issei scratched his head sheepishly. "I guess some things are predictable."
"Predictability is not unpleasant or boring as a given. Even when you know what is to come, it is still another thing to experience it," Yad assured softly.
"So, what do you think we should do first? Tell Shub we need to call off the ritual or let the Devils know what happened with Diodora?" Issei asked idly.
"The Devils," Yad answered with a frown. "In person, we might find a clue to who snatched him away."
"Then lead the way," Issei requested with a scowl. "I wonder when I can get teleporting down?"
"You strangely have issues with such things in all lives and timelines," Yad informed as she formed a portal into Hell. "A rather unique quirk of your soul."
"Hmm, fancy that," Issei murmured as he followed her through.
Meanwhile
La'gussun had shed the human guise of Lag Kishu to become once more an eldritch Eldritch Horsemen of Doom. The Rider of Perdition snarled with both mouths, the horse and rider, as he sensed something afoot.
It wasn't one of Nyarly's spawns, he knew that much.
He could smell his own nature at play. Destruction, decay, death. Nothing he caused, but it was similar to him in some fashion.
He trotted his fused and misshapen body through a forest.
It wasn't powerful, but it was something insidious. Something festering.
He found his answer as he stumbled across a campsite. Or what had been one.
A young man screamed as he was being eaten alive by his fellow campers, begging for help. Or death.
Lag paid the victim little mind as he came closer, unnoticed by the humans.
Former humans, he corrected himself. Getting closer, he recognized what this was, what this stench was.
The maneaters turned to reveal the campers were already dead and rotting, reduced to little more than zombies.
Even as they stood there, their victims suddenly arose with a lifeless gaze, his jaw snapping in meaningless hunger.
Lag hummed in displeasure. The Kungur would not like this.
But first...
They lunged at him and La'gussun brought up his mighty fleshy halberd to smite and doom these wretched husks.
First, he had some pests to exterminate.
Meanwhile
Needless to say, the arrival of the Eldritch King instantly was reported to all of the Satans.
Ajuka was the closest to the area, thus how he found himself meeting the young man for the first time.
Young indeed, he was unable to not take note of that. Issei stood in the interrogation room with a woman dressed like a knight of sorts staring at the strange mark on the wall.
"King Issei, I presume?" he asked politely.
Issei turned and Ajuka was almost surprised by how human he still was, how he could read Issei's face as the young man tried to figure out who Ajuka was. "Right, I remember you. You're one of the Satans. Is it A-juk-a or A-ju-ka?" Issei asked curiously.
"Ajuka, Your Highness," Ajuka answered evenly. "I take it you heard of the escape?"
"Look, if you have to call me anything besides Issei, please use Kungur. I've already gotten used to that," Issei requested. "But yeah, Yad told me. Someone yanked Diodora out of here. Someone clever enough to hide from a Time god."
Ajuka frowned. "What interest would an Eldritch like that have with Diodora?"
"Diodora Astaroth was a depraved soul that delighted in bringing pain and despair to anyone he could, particularly young women," Yad said tonelessly, looking to the Satan. "There are many such a soul would appeal to as a servant in some form."
Ajuka didn't like the sounds of that, his mind racing. The first and most important thing in his mind was, of course, what this meant about the ritual.
"We're calling off the ritual," Issei informed as if reading his mind. Maybe he did. "While I doubt this asshole is a friend of ours, one of ours took him. I'll count that this time around."
Ajuka nodded, tensions leaving his shoulders. "We appreciate that greatly, Kungur."
Yad hummed as she ran a hand over the orange mark on the wall. "Your relative is likely to face a fate worse than death regardless, Satan of Intellegence."
"You figure out who it is?" Issei asked curiously.
"No. But I can sense their nature. Depraved and twisted. The kind that will ruin their servants once it grows bored of them," she answered knowingly.
"May I make an inquiry?" Ajuka requested, getting both of their attention. "Why would any Eldritch risk the ire of the Queen? To our understanding, she is an order beyond any of her kin."
"Yeah, but Aza is largely hands-off. While she kept the peace in large ways, it's the Wild West in others," Issei explained.
"More than that, the Kungur represents a changing shift in the order of things," Yad said with a frown. "There will always be those that wish to test the new boundaries when the situation is altered."
Ajuka was about to say something but paused as he saw Issei.
Really saw him.
Visually, it wasn't much of a change. A scowl, slightly narrowed eyes, arms crossed.
But there was something...heavy about him.
No, behind him.
Like something was lurking, frothing, ready to lunge forth and smite the object of the Kungur's ire.
Ajuka quickly averted his eyes and shook his head.
When he looked again, Issei was giving him a strange look, but Yad? Yad had a knowing look.
"Be careful with what you attempt to glimpse, Great Satan," Yad warned ominously. "Shall we take our leave, Issei?"
"Do you need anything else from us, besides letting you know what happened to this guy?" Issei asked to the Satan.
"No, that is all. Thank you for the timeliness, Kungur Issei," Ajuka gave gratefully.
"Perks of having a time god on my side, I guess," Issei said, heading into a freshly made portal made by Yad.
They emerged right outside his own house.
"So, what the fuck was that back there?" Issei asked curiously. "That Aju guy looked spooked for a second."
"In your ire, a peak of your future might ripple to the present. He almost beheld you in a potentially higher state," Yad informed factually.
"Shit, that's a thing? That just because I'm me, or...?" Issei asked.
"No, all Eldritch Gods do that to a degree in our youths," she informed. "That was actually what started "Yog" and "Yad" becoming two distinct mindsets. But we were a...uniquely extreme case, given our nature."
Issei hummed. Mildly concerning, but he'd trust the Future-Isseis to not needlessly screw him over in the present.
Yad tilted her head. "Your doomful servant approaches. He brings an interesting tale."
Issei followed her gaze and saw that the eldritch horseman was indeed on his way. "Lag, what's up? Need to stretch your legs? Or hooves, I guess?" Issei asked, glancing down at the misshapen horse legs.
"Not so, Great One," Lag informed, trying and failing to retake human form . "Apologies, I have not mastered "slipping on" my disguise as a human."
"Your very nature eats away at the attempt, so it is no surprise," Yad remarked.
Lag paused and tilted his head. "Lady Yad. I am surprised. But perhaps I should not be," he said, giving Issei a curious look.
"Just tell us what's up, Lag. You seem a bit annoyed, and I don't think the shifting issues are the only reason," Issei observed with crossed arms.
"Wise guess, My Sovereign," Lag admitted with a sigh. "I encountered a pack of humans in the woods, all turned into zombies. I disposed of them, but I doubt that was all there was."
"Zombies. Great," Issei muttered, looking at Yad. "So is that an accident or are they controlled by an Eldritch?"
"All Zombies are controlled. The "wild" ones are merely those with controllers who do not care what they do or are otherwise unaware of their own undead minions," Yad informed helpfully.
"Right, so how do we deal with this, and do we know who or what is causing it?" Issei questioned.
"I believe I could answer that."
Issei turned to find a blond man approaching him with an easygoing look, along with Gactha, who was standing straighter and looking ready to kill the man.
"Master, this feathered flea wishes to speak with you. He claims to have information about these zombies," Gactha said, glancing at Lag. "He was also following you."
"I am aware, I allowed him to," Lag said dismissively, making Gactha's face turn in annoyance.
"Feathered Flea, eh?" the man mused, unbothered as he turned to Issei who regarded him curiously. "And you are the King of the Eldritch himself! Glad to finally meet you in the flesh."
"You feel familiar, has Gactha threatened you before?" Issei asked in thought.
"Kungur?" Yad spoke up, Issei tilting his head in slight acknowledgment. "This is Azazel. Leader of the Fallen Angels, and the one who gave you the nun as compensation."
"Ahh," Issei said with a hum. "Not sure if I should thank you for handing me someone as wonderful as Asia, or kick you in the balls for trading her like a toy."
"Hardly my intent. I just didn't want to be on the bad side of Eldritch Royalty after that little fuck up with my subordinates," Azazel answered.
"Fair enough, I suppose. You know something about all this?" Issei asked curiously.
"Indeed. We've been cleaning up some of the other batches of these zombies," he explained, ever calm and confident. "I thought the horseman here might have been the cause until I realized he was cleaning them up as well."
Lag snorted with his horse head but didn't respond beyond that.
"I'll cut to the chase. We managed to backtrack where they're coming from," Azazel said as he held out his hand-
Gactha instantly grabbed the appendage and looked ready to break it with her hollow, dead eyes.
Azazel appeared only slightly uneased by this.
"I'm just going to show a corpse I found that was rather...telling," he informed slowly.
"Let him go, Gactha," Issei waved off.
His servant hummed before obeying, stepping back.
Azazel breathed in relief before forming a purple magic circle. From it, true to his word, was a corpse. Mostly still preserved, but that was part of the interesting thing.
"Okay, not to sound racist, but he looked like this naturally? Not because of some zombification or eldritch mutation?" Issei asked idly as he approached the copse.
"I don't see the issue, Master?" Gactha asked blankly.
Issei just stood there and looked over it keenly. "Well, he's dressed like he's part of some jungle tribe. Plus, his face and skin? He doesn't look like he's from Japan."
"Right on that one," Azazel agreed. "Best I can tell, he looks to be a native of Central, maybe South America. His outfit and the markings painted on his body were too ruined for me to make a better guess on where. We put him down not far from where we found the portal."
Issei furrowed his brow. "So there is a portal leading to somewhere in the Americas, and there is a portal letting them into Japan. That second part is definitely intentional," he said, glancing at Yad.
Her eyes narrowed minutely. "Nycrama. He is or will soon be free. How displeasing."
"Ny-?" Azazel stopped himself from saying the name. "Which one is that again? There is more than one Eldritch lurking in that area."
Yad looked to Issei, who was giving her an inquisitive stare. "Some Eldritch Gods just can't be reasoned with, and can't be left alone to their own devices. Several of them are imprisoned on Earth. Nycrama would love nothing more than to turn the entire world into an undead cult for himself. "
"I'm not the only Eldritch that would take issue with that," Issei remarked dryly. "Azazel, do you mind showing Lag where the portal is? He's guarding it until we figure out what to do."
"Shouldn't be a problem," Azazel agreed, watching as Lag came forward. To the fallen Angel's surprise, the eldritch shrunk from being a rider fused to his steed into a young man on a motorcycle. "Nice ride. That still the horse?"
"That horse is me," Lag informed gruffly, his motorcycle growing at the fallen. He looked over his shoulder. "I'll keep the undead from pouring through, Boss, but I can't do much to stop them if I have to fight anything godly."
"Nor do I expect you to," Issei assured with a nod. as the pair left. "Well, things are getting interesting, eh, Yad?"
"No, Kungur," Yad disagreed. "They have been interesting since you accepted Azathoth's love."
Issei couldn't argue with that, nor did he want to.
Meanwhile
"Did you get the news?" Rias asked as she came to the student council room, where there was currently only Sona.
"You mean about Diodora's escape and Issei calling off the Dark Young summoning?" Sona summarized bluntly. "Yes, my sister was very eager to relay that."
"Ajuka made it sound less like an escape and more like he was taken," Rias mused darkly. "My brother said we should be on the alert. In case whatever took Diodora comes after any more devils."
Sona nodded before holding up a folded piece of paper. "Take a look at this."
Rias tilted her head as she took the note, opening it.
"To Sisters of the Satans,
Be aware that there is a pack of rogue Deep Ones in this general region of Japan. They are attempting to collect young maidens for breeding. They are currently being hunted by Cthulhi Bounty hunters, among others.
From Your Local Eldritch Cults"
Rias raised an eyebrow before looking at Sona who looked almost amused. "This is good to know, but why?" Rias asked curiously. The Eldritch had never been that good about informing others.
"If I had to guess, their King being on friendly terms with the devils inspired the cults and lesser Eldritch to send us friendly warnings of such things. Various other devils have gotten this same note across Japan," Sona explained.
Rias smiled a bit. "Perhaps coexistence with them won't be so difficult," she mused before looking at the note. "Still, Cthulhi Bounty hunters? That's a new one."
"The Eldritch community wasn't exactly prone to sharing information needlessly before Issei came around," Sona mused. "I suppose we'll have to ask our local cultists if we want more details."
Rias couldn't help but agree with that. For better or worse, they lived in interesting times now.
End of Chapter
Well, Issei is dealing with Kungur related thing, called off the ritual, and Azazeal is back! Ahh, and some of the lesser Eldritch are being friendlier with the Devils. Amazing what happens when the God-King of a facction wants to be on good terms with you.
Not a whole lot more to say. Hope you all enjoy this.
PS Nyarly was NOT the one who Diodora. I knw some people got a bit confused on that. Nyarly left, the hand sticking out of the wall was someone else.
Early viewing of chapters 33-34 avaliable on my pat-reon:
p a treon . com (slash) akumakami64