Issei had never been to a swamp before, and he could safely say he didn't desire to repeat the experience from what he had seen so far. Wet, hot, and many other things he didn't find appreciable in an environment. On a woman, that was another story.
Also filled with a few dead bodies, littered around a large opening with something in the middle. The stone ruins of an altar, maybe even the remains of some long destroyed shrine.
"So, out of curiosity, is this one of those "untouched by modern world" tribes or just one sticking to their way of doing things?" Issei asked idly as Gatcha methodically yet lazily stabbed every corpse in the head, ensuring they would not raise an undead.
"Untouched," Yad answered instantly. "There are far more of them than the mundane world could fathom, living in realms and spaces just outside of mortal view. When the Americas and Africa were colonized, many people reached out to any power that would protect their homelands."
"How well did that work out for them?" Issei asked in morbid curiosity.
"Many continue more or less as they always had, others lost their humanity entirely," Yad mused.
"Master, Lady Yad, that is the final corpse," Gactha explained simply.
"Good, that should make it easier for Lag and the girls, for now at least," Issei said, looking back at the portal. "So where to?"
"Gactha has a lead," Yad explained, nodding to the warrior-nun.
"Tracks are leading to and from this place, Master. Whoever left the bodies," Gactha called out, looking down into the water.
"I'll take your word for it," Issei mused, not surprised but curious as to what kind of vision allowed her to see footprint through murky shin deep water. "Any idea what they are?"
Gactha tilted her head. "They might be human."
Issei nodded. "Lead the way."
"Yes, Master," Gactha answered, trudging through the swamp as she followed the path of prints beneath the water.
"So, what are the odds that this is related to the god that took Diadora?" Issei asked Yad.
"Very unlikely," Yad answered. "Perhaps they are working together, but it is definitely two different gods at work."
"Great. Anything you can tell me about this Nycrama character?" Issei asked idly.
"He probably hates you," Yad answered instantly.
"Wait, what!?" Issei said in surprise. "I haven't met the guy yet unless time travel is involved."
"It isn't," Yad assured honestly. "Nycrama was once similar to the Eldritians. He grew up believing he was a human, but was in fact a young Eldritch trapped in human form. Whispers of your coming have been heard in many. When he started to manifest and grow into his Eldritch powers, he became convinced he was the Beloved of Azathoth, a human lifted up to Eldritch Divinity. He was wrong. He didn't take it well."
"Okay, wow, almost feel bad for the guy, but I think you mentioned he tried to turn everyone on earth into a zombie cult?" Issei realized.
"Indeed he did," Yad agreed, the party paused as they all three looked to the side.
An alligator was floating nearby, staring at them.
Issei marveled at how unafraid he felt. He honestly didn't want to hurt the animal. It felt like punching down for any of them to kill it.
Fortunately and unfortunately, they didn't have to. Another gator leapt out from the ether, attacking it. But the second gather was clearly undead, flesh missing and rotting on a front leg and one side of the face.
Gactha was about to put both creatures down, but Issei calmly held up his hand, forming his gauntlet as he powered up a Dragon Shot. Keeping the power low to avoid destroying anything potentially important, he sent it off and vaporized the top half of both creatures.
"Underpowered that a bit, but it got the job done," Issei mused as they approached the corpses. "Are zombie animals a thing too? I mean, it makes sense, but..."
"No, zombies only naturally form from creatures with a higher self-awareness than simple instincts. Alligators are not an animal that edges into that category," Yad remarked as she studied the corpse, her timeless eyes seeing things mortals could never understand. "Hm, unsurprisingly. Nycrama has a follower or cult that is weaponizing his essence."
"We talking magic witch doctor or mad scientist?" Issei asked curiously.
"Does it make a difference, Master?" Gactha asked curiously.
"Mad scientist if I had to guess," Yad answered. "I can see several marks where this body was cut open, stitched up, and injected with something. The zombification essence, I am sure."
"Fun," Issei said without enthusiasm.
"Luckily, our undead reptile left a very good trail," Yad remarked, looking at the water. There was a path of putrid orange taint in the water around the corpse, leading back to wherever it came from.
"Maybe it'll lead us directly to whoever is doing this?" Issei mused.
"Or just where it had been hunting," Gactha remarked.
Issei paused. "Yad, you go search the trail here, Gactha and I will follow the footprints."
"As you desire, Kungur. Do be careful. You are immune to becoming a zombie, but the attempt would not be pleasant all the same," Yad warned as she floated out of the waters and began to fly along the orange trail.
"I got to learn to do that," Issei remarked dryly. "Well, lead on, Gactha."
"Yes, Master," the warrior-nun answered.
Meanwhile
To call the air tense as Xenovia and Irina stood guard at the portal while trying not to look cautiously at Lag would have been a massive understatement.
Said Eldritch of Doom was busy kicking the bike that was his horse half. "Stop eating the undead, you know that makes us smell horrible afterward," he said, the bike riving in irritation. Lag rolled his eyes, hands in his pocket as he glanced at the agents of the church. "Are you two into me?"
"What?!" Irina asked in alarm.
"I haven't gotten good at reading human facial expressions," he answered lamely. "But I know a lot of human girls that apparently want to court me because they keep glancing at me when they think I'm not looking."
"We want nothing to do with you! Especially not reproduction!" Xenovia denied forcefully.
"Good. I honestly don't know if a mortal could survive whatever I might sire," he answered with a scowl. "Also don't think they'd survive the act, now that I think about it."
Irina blinked. "Wait, are you a virgin?"
"Yes," Lag answered with a shrug. "I've been spending the last few eons either bringing doom to worlds when summoned or contemplating my own existence. Romantic companionship hasn't really crossed my mind."
The two females were very weirded out by how this conversation felt...almost normal. Not quite, obviously, but almost.
"We're just a bit...cautious of you, I suppose?" Irina answered honestly.
"That I'm used to. That I can address or ignore properly. Courting? Not a bit," he remarked idly. "So, you and the Boss knew each other just after you were both spawned, eh?"
"I...well, birthed, but yes," Irina answered. "And you Issei's...friend? Servant?"
"Servant, yes. Friend, maybe? I'm mainly just someone to help make sure that form of his is safe until he can grow into his power more," he said with a yawn. "Something is coming through.."
They both drew their weapons and looked to the portal. Indeed, out fell a zombie, trying to clumsily get to its feet.
Irina stabbed it through the head before it ever could.
Seeing the danger was dealt with, Xenovia turned to Lag again. "So, why do you serve this Issei?"
Lag was silent, slowly raising an eyebrow. Even his bike turned a bit more in her direction.
"I would expect creatures so vast and ancient as the Outer Gods to take offense to the notion of a mortal not only joining their ranks but ruling over them," Xenovia said idly.
"We're not like your terrestrial gods, who bicker over anything and everything," Lag started before answering. "In any case, we've known that would happen for a lot of eons,"
"What, prophecy? Or the time goddess?" Irina asked in confusion, before blinking. "umm, Lag? There is one coming-"
Irina didn't have time to finish as the motorcycle suddenly took off, zooming around to strike into the zombie and knock it over.
Lag sighed and while the holy warriors couldn't see it, they cringed as they heard the "motorcycle" beginning to eat the corpse somehow. "Ignore my lower half," he said in frustration. "As for your question, no? The Queen has been in love with his soul for countless lifetimes. She just waited until he was ready to join her."
"Lifetimes...?" Xenovia repeated with a narrowed look. "As in, reincarnation? The Queen of the Eldritch has been hounding one mortal soul until he agreed to marry her?"
"I feel like you mean something negative by "Hounding" but yes?" Lag answered with a shrug.
"But...why Issei's soul?" Irina asked in concern.
"Why else would she marry him? She loves him," Lag said bluntly as if it was obvious and written in the stars.
Only it was written in something far more permanent and unchanging than mere stars.
"Azathoth's Beloved is the King of the Eldritch and the Ruler of the Universe," Lag continued idly. "That is just a fact of reality we've all been expecting to become important in due time. And it has."
"You... almost make it sound like Issei never had a real choice," Irina said in concern.
"I don't know how. But just because I'm pretty good at pretending to be human in passing doesn't mean I know how to explain things to a human," Lag remarked uncaringly.
"You get the hang of it eventually."
The female turned in alarm as they saw a purple-haired figure walk out from behind the portal. "Who are you...?" Xenovia asked uneasily.
"Lady Kassogtha?" Lag asked in surprise.
Irina and Xenovia winced at the mention of the name, a minor assualt on their sanity just hearing it.
"Lag, no full names around humans. Actually, no full names at all, you're still not good at doing that without grabbing someone's attention with their own name,' Kass said bluntly.
"I don't talk to gods too often before now," he reminded.
"Is she...an ally?" Irina asked cautiously.
"I'm here to help the Kungur deal with that disgusting mess someone has been leaking out of their cell," Kassogtha said with a disturbing smile.
Irina and Xenovia shivered in primeval terror, but Lag...
"Is your disguise on wrong? What are you doing with your face?" Lag asked in genuine confusion.
Kass rolled her eyes. "I'll be going through. Avoid any clouds or fumes that come out," she warned as she stepped through the portal.
"...Who, or what exactly was she?" Xenovia asked with a frown.
"A Great Old One of Disease and Rot," Lag answered. "And I think you would call her "Cthulhu's Ex-wife" or something like that?"
"Huh, the Eldritch have family drama too," Irina said, a bit numbly.
"Disease and Rot? Are you sure she's not the source of this?" Xenovia asked skeptically.
"Definitely not. Yad said it's Nycrama, so it's Nycrama. I guess Kass has some problem with him too?"
"You guess?" Xenovia repeated with a furrowed brow.
Lag stared at her for a long moment. "What, do you to think all Eldritch know each other?"
"Ummm, well, I...Kind of?" Irina answered sheepishly. "We assumed you had some higher awareness or telepathic way of recognizing each other."
"Oh, we do," Lag confirmed with a nod. "But that just means I know who Kass is if I never met her, no other details beyond what I know. The Gods all know each other pretty well. I think the "Gods" are what you would consider a "clan" or "close-knit family" while the non-divine Eldritch is all more like extended family or something."
"Getting cultural lessons from an eldritch horseman. This isn't how I saw my day going," Irina said absently.
Meanwhile
Issei and Gactha eventually reached drier land, and the young Eldritch King was glad that whatever reality-warping capabilities he had allowed him to "kick" his pants leg dry rather easily.
"We're getting close to something, Master. Many undead, possibly the seal," she informed.
"Great. We can plug up this issue then," Issei said as they scaled a small hill near the banks until- "Oh, shit," Issei said as he ducked down to keep from being noticed.
On the other side of the hill was a house on the edge of the water, complete with a dock. And there were a lot of zombies in the area. Zombie humans and...
"Are those zombies attack dogs?!" Issei asked out loud.
"It would seem so, Master," Gactha remarked. "Would you like me to deal with them all for you, Master?"
"Nah, I'll join in," Issei said, conjuring the gauntlet onto his hand. "Try not to kill whoever is inside. We might need answers from him."
"I doubt it, Master, but I will obey," Gactha remarked as she shredded her human disguise, taking on her alluring and eyeless true state.
"Damn you're hot in that form," Issei said bluntly as they came over the hill.
It was rather easy really. Gactha ran through them like butter, as did Issei's gauntlet. And with his own enhanced strength and durability, the zombies were basically moving punching bags.
"Wait a minute," Issei stopped at his latest target. It was definitely a man in a lab coat. "Wow, did the mad scientist infect himself by accident?" he wondered before tossing the zombie at two others. He sent an extremely underpowered dragon shot, vaporizing them and leaving a small crater.
The slaughter came to a halt as something shook the ground, an explosion in the distance sending a shockwave over the area. As it rippled through the air, all the corpses turned to dust regardless if they were animated or not.
"Lady Yad seems to have put her foot down on the matter," Gactha remarked in a sensual tone. "Someone within is still alive, Master."
"Okay, time to see what's up here," Issei mused as he walked up to the building.
He paused as he heard someone screaming inside in a language he didn't recognize.
"Nie, nie! Co się stało z moimi obiektami testowymi!"
"I wonder when I'll be able to understand any language?" he muttered offhandedly, just before he kicked the door in, almost breaking it.
Inside was a man, European by the looks of him, wearing a lab coat with a crazed look in his bloodshot eyes. All around the room were computers, equipment for testing, and a medical table that had clearly not been cleaned of blood or anything.
"Kim jesteś!? Azjatyckie dziecko? Tutaj? Turystą?" The man called out in surprise from the computer, grinning suddenly as he made to pull out a gun. "Nieważne, i tak potrzebuję świeżego materiału!"
Before he could even aim it at Issei, the young man had already crossed the room and buried his fist in the stomach. The man bent halfway over as he dropped the weapon and began to spit up blood.
"I almost killed you just now," Issei remarked to himself, staring down at the man. "I don't know if it's me losing my humanity, or that you probably long lost your own, but I'm having a hard time caring at the moment."
"Kim jesteś...?" the man groaned out.
"Seriously, is he German? This one of those cliche mad nazi scientists things?" Issei asked in confusion.
"He's Polish, actually."
Issei looked up in surprise. "Kass?! What the hell are you doing here? No offense, just surprised."
"None taken, Kungur," Kass said, sitting on the medical table and waving him off with a smile. "I heard Nycrama is acting up, so I came to help. I have...issues with him."
"Uhuh," Issei said, deciding to poke at that another time. "You got any mind-reading powers, so we can find out what this guy was up to? If he's a cultist or what?"
"My mind-reading powers aren't the most refined. He'll probably die before I get anything valuable," Kass said as she stood up. "But I do have another way, if you don't mind me killing him, Kungur?"
Issei gestured for her to continue.
the scientists squinted up at the woman approaching him. "Anioł?"
Kass said nothing and blew a purple mist from her lips. It floated down before seeping into the man's head through every orifice. Issei cringed as blood came out of everywhere as the body began to shrivel up and wrinkle into a husk. Then, he stopped moving...but kept groaning.
"What did you do?" Issei asked curiously.
"I turned him into a zombie of my own. Now I'm free to sort around his head all I want," Kass answered with a smile, looking up. "Ahh, I see. He was a scientist who stumbled into this place. Maybe by accident, maybe by a god's scheme. He stumbled across Nycrama's leaking seal and began to experiment with the ooze. He didn't know it, but Nycrama has been driving him insane all this time while teaching him how to reactivate portals around the world, to spread the zombie plague."
"...So what you're saying is, we just preemptively stopped a zombie apocalypse," Issei summarized in surprise.
"Yes, I believe we did," Kass answered. "Now we just need to go make sure Nycrama hasn't escaped."
Polish Mad Scientists and Necromancer Gods. Issei knew more or less his life would be interesting after Aza revealed who and what she was, but still, he didn't expect this kind of thing to be happening so casually in his life.
End of Chapter
Well, there we go. Issei dealt with a Polish Mad Scientist while Irina and Xenovia get to talk with Lag some. Also, Kass is here now. She doesn't like Nycrama, obviously.
Hope you all enjoyed this, and happy Halloween!
Early viewing of chapters 35-36 avaliable on my pat-reon:
p a treon . com (slash) akumakami64
