Chapter 3
Road to the Sovereign Empire
Entering a strange room, I then saw Tomoe sit down on a couch. "Sit down.", she said. After I nervously sat down, she asked, "What do you know of the Holy Grail War?". "Well, I know that 7 Masters and 7 Servants compete to gain the Holy Grail which can grant any wish and I know that 13 Servant classes exist- Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, Berserker, Ruler, Avenger, Moon Cancer, Alter Ego, Foreigner and Pretender.", I said. "And what do you know of the Beast class?", Tomoe asked. "I'm sorry?", I asked. "Well, there exists a special fourteenth Servant class called the Beast class. The Beasts themselves are basically calamities that threaten the world with Grand Servants summoned to fight them. Alternatively, the Beasts are known as the Evils of Humanity.", Tomoe said. "Yasuhiro did mention that name.", I said. "Wait, Yasuhiro did?", Tomoe asked. "Yeah.", I said. "Well, the Evils of Humanity each embody a specific part of the virtue known as love. But demons like us don't really do things like love.", Tomoe said. "Wait, you're a demon?", I asked. "Well, I'm a half-demon really but yes, I am a demon. So are you.", Tomoe said. "Anyway, what are the Grand Servants?", I asked. "Well, when a Beast appears, a Grand Servant is summoned to deal with them. When YHVH in particular appeared, the Counter Force mobilised all 7 Grand Servants- the Grand Saber, the Grand Archer, the Grand Lancer, the Grand Rider, the Grand Caster, the Grand Assassin and Grand Berserker- in an effort to stop him. However, the efforts were fruitless and forced the Throne of Heroes itself to silently authorise and force the summoning of Extra Class Grand Servants- Jeanne as the Grand Ruler, yourself as the Grand Avenger, BB as the Grand Moon Cancer, Xu Fu as the Grand Alter Ego, Kukulkan as the Grand Foreigner and Oberon as the Grand Pretender.", Tomoe said, stopping to sip a glass of water. "But I thought Kiara was the Grand Alter Ego.", I said. "Well, that's because YHVH tricked the Counter Force into making Kiara the Grand Alter Ego instead. Think about it; there's no way a Beast like Kiara could ever become a Grand Servant.", Tomoe said.
After a brief silence, Tomoe said, "Which now brings me to the nature of the Extra Classes, especially yours. After all, you were summoned to Aionios as an Avenger-class Servant in order to destroy Aionios once and for all. Of course, the Counter Force did everything it could to ensure Aionios's destruction including making me one of the new Knights of Destruction but eventually decided on summoning you and giving you all the needed permissions to destroy the planet. This includes your Rank EX Anti-Planet Noble Phantasm, which can rupture spacetime itself and even erase entire worlds from existence. However, to power it, you really do need to give into the darkness and embrace your true nature. There really is no way around it.". "Incidentally, who are the Knights of Destruction really?", I asked. "Well, the Knights of Destruction is an ancient order of knights formed to destroy all in their way. As far as the modern Knights of Destruction are concerned, they consist of not only myself but also the rest of the Heroic Spirit Swordmasters- Yagyu Munenori, Hozoin Inshun, Minamoto-no-Raikou, Shuten-Douji, Mochizuki Chiyome and Ashiya Douman. Barghest, Baobhan Sith, Melusine, Ashwatthama, Cu, Arjuna, Circe, Shuwen, Dantes, Salieri, Angra, Jeanne, BB, Kukulkan, Oberon, Gawain, Lancelot and Tristan are also part of the modern Knights of Destruction. The Knights of Destruction have had their most successful year yet and I hope it will continue.", Tomoe said before suddenly disappearing right in front of my eyes.
Walking out of the room, I then saw a black and dark red portal appear. As I looked at the portal, I noticed that it was strangely glitching out. Even stranger, a young girl with blue hair in a bob cut and blue eyes walked out. She was wearing a blue and white crop top exposing her stomach and a blue miniskirt with blue sandals and her nails were covered by lavish blue nail polish. As she looked around gingerly, I asked, "Can I help you?". "Seems the Waxing Moon Vessel isn't physically here. Figures.", she said. Looking at me, she then said, "Oh, you've returned to us.". "Who are you?", I asked. "So you've forgotten about me as well, huh? Anyway, my name is Sayaka Miki. I'm the daughter of the Keyblade Warriors Aqua and Terra and I was sent here to find the Waxing Moon Vessel. The Sovereign Empire needs it to fuse all the dimensions together and complete the Ascension Project.", the girl said. "Of course you'd mention the Ascension Project.", I said. "Regardless, we need the Waxing Moon Vessel if the Ascension Project is to succeed.", Sayaka said as she walked through the portal, prompting me to follow her.
As I walked through the portal, I watched as time and space distorted before my very eyes, eventually finding myself on a cliff overlooking a technologically-advanced metropolis surrounding a terrifyingly large castle that looked like it had been forged from a black Mothercrystal, one even larger than Drake's Tail. "Doesn't it look so beautiful?", Veyle asked as she walked up to me. "What is the castle's name, Veyle?", I asked. "Why, Dragon Wing Castle, forged from the dark Mothercrystal Drake's Wing. But you knew that already.", Veyle said as her crimson eyes looked tenderly into mine. As she did, I then felt a strange burst of black and dark red energy come out of me, the energy itself coalescing into a sinister black and crimson flame. "That's it. Let the darkness take hold.", Fafnir's voice said. Suddenly, I then found myself in a strange underground arena lit by a sinister dark orange brazier. "OK, so where am I now?", I asked. "Oh, that should be very obvious by now.", Alastor's voice said as a figure walked out of the brazier (or at least appeared to, anyway). He had predominantly spiky black hair with a blonde streak and red eyes and was wearing what appeared to be a Japanese high school uniform. In his right hand was a katana with a sinister red blade. "So, what's your name?", I asked. "Don't tell me you've forgotten me too. Anyway, since you've apparently forgotten me, my name is Hyde Kido.", the man said. "Wait, you mean the protagonist of the video game Under Night In-Birth?", I asked. "I don't think I know what that is but yes.", Hyde replied. As his sword glowed a malevolent red, Hyde then rushed at me with a brutal slash that I easily dodged. "Typical. Always evading when you should be fighting back. You really do need to slash back eventually.", he said, prompting me to summon Gram to my right hand. Suddenly, I was then overcome by a strong sense of rage that caused me to launch a violent flurry of slashes that Hyde countered with his own sword, causing him to smirk. "Yes, that's it! Fill yourself with hatred!", he said excitedly as I thrusted Gram into his stomach only for Hyde to counter even that attack with a slash from his own sword. Frustrated, I then unleashed the power of the Doom Wings I had been given, using them as impromptu weapons to slash up Hyde's body with. As you might expect, Reader, Hyde countered even that, dispelling the wings and forcing me to unleash a giant storm of darkness. As Gram absorbed the storm, I then unleashed a giant razor sharp beam of darkness that countered and sliced through the beam of darkness that Hyde's own sword had unleashed.
"No way!", Hyde said as the beam he had unleashed was promptly absorbed by the beam that I had unleashed. Taking advantage of the opening, I rushed forward and attacked, unleashing a furious flurry of razor sharp beams of darkness that forced Hyde onto the defensive. As I attacked, I promptly had a vision of Iori, Chenggong, Chiemon, Shousetsu, Takao, Dorothea and Yasuhiro gathered around the Waxing Moon Vessel, which was emanating a sinister dark red aura. "You think this'll force him to give in to the darkness and embrace his true nature?", Chenggong asked. "We can only hope.", Yasuhiro said. "Still, to think infusing the Waxing Moon Vessel with Gloom is the way to go to force Jack into giving in the darkness and embracing his true nature…I must say it's quite impressive.", Chiemon said as the vision faded. Continuing my attack, I then unleashed a flurry of even angrier and faster blows that Hyde found hard to even keep up with. As if to break the silence, Hyde then said, "You know how the Masters of the original Waxing Moon Ritual infused the Waxing Moon Vessel with Gloom? Well, they also curated the Gloom so that it would specifically affect you and force you to give in the darkness and embrace your true nature. So, what's keeping you? You know you have to give in eventually.". "Wait, what you mean by-?", I said before a storm of black and dark red energy erupted out of my body, causing a storm of red electricity to kick up. Screaming with rage, I then unleashed a giant black inferno that dispelled Gram and replaced with a black and dark red scythe. "No, this isn't how you're supposed to do it!", Hyde said as he gathered dark red energy into his sword. "DIE!", I roared as I unleashed a furious series of slashes, punches, claw swipes and dark energy blasts. Then, I felt something inside me snap, causing me to unleash an even angrier onslaught than the previous ones. As I stabbed Hyde in the stomach with my scythe, I then unleashed a giant explosion of darkness that caused my Doom Wings to manifest again before disappearing, prompting me to turn into my Doom Morph before transforming back and semi-priming, now taking the form of Sigurd's Third Ascension from Fate/Grand Order only for me to then abruptly stab Hyde with my demonic left arm. As I de-primed and dismissed my scythe, I then resummoned Gram to my right hand, unleashing a powerful beam of darkness that bowled Hyde over, with me dismissing Gram in victory.
As I walked over to Hyde, I heard Fafnir's voice ask, "Do you get it now?". "I do. In order to crush that fleabag and ruin that thing's dreams, it seems that I have no choice but to give in to the darkness and embrace my true nature.", I said. "What took you so long?", Hyde asked. "It doesn't matter. Regardless of what happens to me, I will destroy your precious Ascension Project and Aionios along with it. If anything, you can bet on that.", I said. "And do you understand where your visions where coming from?", Hyde asked. "Of course. My trauma was interfering with my clairvoyance and causing it to go berserk. It's as simple as that.", I said. Noticing that a dark portal had appeared, I walked through it and found myself at the cliff where I saw Veyle. However, in the metropolis's place was a black and dark red hemisphere that was covered with what looked like cyber energy. "Huh?", I asked. "Surprised? Well, you shouldn't be. After all, this is a consequence of your refusal to succeed Alphen as Sovereign and subsequently refusing to give in to the darkness and embrace your true nature. Because of that, the Sovereign Imperial capital is now covered in cyber energy to prepare it for His Majesty Yuito I Sumeragi's rule.", Tager said behind me. "But I'm the Sovereign. If anything, that ingrate Yuito is committing high treason by refusing to submit to my rule.", I said. "How delusional can you be? If anything, it's Yuito who now deserves to be Sovereign because he actually cares about serving YHVH and enforcing His will. It is you who is committing high treason.", Tager said. "No, Yuito is usurping me!", I spat, furious. "No matter what you say, you will never become Sovereign now. Alphen has decreed Yuito shall succeed him and you are to give up the Renas Alma and the Dein Nomos to allow for Yuito's coronation.", Tager said before walking away. Angry, I followed him only to smell a strange scent that caused me to fall over and fall unconscious.
The story continues in the next chapter.