The situation was bad.
It had been an hour since the attack started.
It should have been over for us quickly.
We should have gone back and rubbed Jake and Oscar's nose in the evidence we have by now, but....
"Razel give me a hand!"
A group of bastards were shooting at us from a distance and we were hiding.
"Aaaaah!"
Duke Luinberg shouted as he covered his ears.
I was screaming too.
"I don't want to stand out!"
I was also shooting with a stolen rifle. If I showed my skills here, it would be really bad for my peace and quiet.
◇◇◇
The battle against Grendel should be easy for these guys.
"Puah!"
Pitifully the enemy was stronger than expected.
"Hang on!"
Jake was on the ground coughing up blood while Oscar defended him.
They both thought that defeating an enemy that is far away would be an easy opponent for their long range attacks.
They were totally wrong.
Grendel was stronger than they thought.
Jake launched his missiles and when they hit their target, they were destroyed because they were repelled by his attacks.
The same for Oscar.
Grendel easily dodged the attacks or destroyed them.
Once they understood that this opponent was going to be difficult, they decided to work together.
Even in the game, none of the targets other than Lambert and Regulux had a good relationship with each other.
Without Lily around, they had no reason to work together or get along.
Or at least, not the right one.
Standing covered in blood on the ground, they remembered a certain day.
The day they dueled Razel.
Jake was the first to stand up.
(It really is the worst.)
(I... how did I end up like that?)
His legs were shaking.
(My father is very upset with me and my mother won't speak to me. Even though until that day my mother spoiled me as her only son).
(My father was always serious, but what he said to me after that duel was really painful. Me, I don't want this. I want to go back to the way I was before that day).
Oscar was starting to move.
(My family and grandfather always praised me since I learned to use magic.)
(They always said things like "Oscar will be the new pride of Pleven Household." And "How expected of Oscar, a child genius in magic formulas.")
A smile appeared on his face.
(I, since that day have been disowned by my family. My siblings won't even talk to me; my parents won't even speak to me).
(My grandfather is deeply disappointed in me, he even sent me to the duke so that I wouldn't go visit him during work as I always did during the vacations).
(What wrong was it that I did to deserve this?)
(It's true, since the day I fought that guy).
They were both standing up.
The thought was the same.
(I'm upset with that guy, but... I'm more upset with my own weakness. If I was strong from the beginning, I would have beaten him).
As they both stood up, they shouted while looking at Grendel.
"I don't want to show my sorry face to that guy! I want a rematch and beat him! I don't want to lose here!"
Oscar's hands glowed a deep green color.
Jake pulled out all his bombs and using a magic formula, fused them into one.
"I'll give it my all in this attack, even if it costs me my life!"
The boys were determined to win.
Grendel laughed at them.
"Gyahaha! You idiots won't be able to beat me! You, assholes are assholes, gyahaha!"
Grendel did a break dance spin in the air and his legs began to glow.
Jake placed the bomb in his glove.
A red light glowed.
"This will be the strongest attack of all! Prepare to receive the power of the Fitzclarence's magic formulas!"
Oscar's hands turned into small typhoons of green and he crossed his arms in an X-shape.
"With this attack you won't be able to block it or run away somewhere. The magic power I imbue in them is all my body can generate, you're finished!"
The three of them were ready for the attack.
"Give me the best you can do asshole!"
"Eat this. Meteora!" shouted Jake as red lights made of small missiles shot out of his gauntlet.
"Wind magic: Slashing blade!"
A rain of different intense colors fell from the sky while bursts of combo attacks were sent from the ground.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Were the shouts from both sides as Grendel's attacks impacted against the missiles and cutting blade.
Only a few attacks would hit the boys or Grendel, but none would push back.
A cloud of dust was generated there that created tremors throughout the facility.
◇◇◇
Fahren was on top of the ship watching everything from his position.
He made a call over the communicator.
"Randy, answer me, are you there?"
"Fahren there's trouble! The brats are gone!"
"No, it's you who's not with them, you're lost again."
"Huh, really?"
"More importantly, did you get anything?"
"Yes. I found some documents that seem to detail about a type of drug."
"Well, get back to the ship this instant. You're in charge, I need to go somewhere."
"Really? To the bathroom?"
"Yes..."
"Ok."
The call cut out, but the duke had his serious face on.
"Come on."
He said to a mysterious figure behind him.
◇◇◇
A large cloud of dust was slowly dispersing.
In it, some figures were on the ground.
They were Jake and Oscar who were bleeding.
Their clothes were burned and their wounds looked serious.
Grendel descended.
He was hurt, but unlike the two boys his wounds were minor.
"Assholes. You guys took it all the way, I just had to turn and form a shield so I could reduce the damage, but you were so confident you were going to win that's why you're like this."
His foot stepped on Jake's head.
Like a cockroach he twisted his foot to get all the liquid out of his body.
A loud kick came accompanied by a mocking laugh.
"Gyahaha! This is what you get for messing with us. You maggots will never be able to surpass us; I hope in hell you learn a lesson."
"You're right about learning a lesson."
Grendel turned to look for that mysterious voice.
Before he knew it, a shadow appeared in front of him and disappeared at the same time.
"Where is it?"
He looked for the bodies of the boys, but couldn't find them.
Footsteps heard approaching from the open door.
"You're absolutely right. They were foolish and confident in believing they could beat you."
Slow footsteps but generating great tension in the atmosphere echoed.
"They thought it would be easy to beat you because you were on the ground and you were a flying target. They were stupid no doubt."
One foot was placed in the room, then another, an elegant man entered.
It was Jake's father.
His gaze was cold and dark.
Grendel was smug even as he didn't understand what happened to the boys lying on the floor.
"Gyahaha, it doesn't really matter who my enemy is, I will kill him, crush him and make him experience hell."
"I agree that an enemy should suffer, but there's one thing we don't agree on and that's..."
A wicked grin manifested on his face.
"That I am the one who must make you suffer that, and no one will touch me or mine. I'm going to make you suffer for touching my boy."
"Gyaha. So that bastard was your son? Well, an asshole like another asshole."
Grendel went head-on for Fahren.
"Both father and son are going to hell!"
Fahren sighed.
"You don't understand anything."
He looked at Grendel with pity.
"From the moment I entered it was my victory."
Before the crescent of magical power touched him, a shadow stepped out of some crates and blocked the attack.
The attack was repelled against the wall.
Grendel watched that and his mouth fell open as he spoke words that even he couldn't believe.
"... W-w-w... A woman?"
As Grendel said, a beautiful woman dressed in an upper-class maid's uniform was standing in front of Fahren.
Her hair was black and tied in a ponytail, her amethyst colored eyes showed no sign of life like her icy expression.
"Are you all right master?"
"Umu. Nirvana, and those two?"
"Yes. Young master Jake and his friend are safe."
Grendel didn't understand how a maid deflected his attack, but he did it again.
This time it was two crescent moons.
They were headed straight for the maid.
But she, without turning to look, deflected the attacks after dislocating her arms.
As if she were a robot, her joints made a sound to return to normal.
Fahren looked at Grendel who was sweating profusely from what happened.
"Surprised? Let me answer your curiosity."
Fahren's hand moved to introduce his maid.
"She is the first prototype for the future of the empire. A mechanical doll, or Doll. Nirvana of the Pleiades."
"It is a pleasure to meet you."
Nirvana greeted him politely as she bowed slightly and lifted her skirt a bit.
Grendel had a blue streak on his forehead.
"Don't you make fun of me, you fucking son of a bitch!"
Once again Grendel's attack would begin, but Fahren wouldn't let him.
"Nirvana."
"Yes. Pleiades Squadron, come out."
From different places, six shadows came out and surrounded Grendel in midair.
They were all beautiful women.
Nirvana slowly approached Grendel and from the ground looked down at her.
"Master said to take care of you, slowly and painfully. We will carry out his orders."
"Minerva, bring the tools. And Pollux, make sure he doesn't die until the master says so."
"Understood onee-sama."
Grendel felt fear.
The "women" dressed as maids were saying terrifying things without changing the expression on their faces as they prepared to torment Grendel.
Watching as one of them brought a toolbox, he began to beg for his life.
"Wait, time out! It was a game! I didn't mean to do anything to you! It was a-!"
His voice distorted as he felt his fingernails being pulled out as slowly and hard as possible.
"Ugyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
He screamed as tears ran down his cheeks.
"Artemis nee-sama it's my turn."
"Understood."
It was the turn of the youngest of the sisters.
Looking like an innocent child, she held a syringe with nothing in it.
She placed the needle into the exposed flesh of Grendel's finger and it inflated.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Forgive me!"
"It's boom time."
The younger one hit the inflated finger like a balloon and it popped like one.
Little flesh and bone were exposed.
Grendel screamed in pain.
Foam was coming out of his mouth.
Fahren watched it all.
◇◇◇
Jake opened his eyes after a couple of hours.
He was in the ship, staring at the ceiling.
As he lifted up a little, he noticed a large cleavage near his face.
He was startled at the sight of it.
The cleavage was removed and a beautiful face appeared.
"It's you Nirvana. Don't scare me like that."
"Good morning, young master Jake."
Near Jake stood six other maids looking at him worriedly.
"We are glad to see you safe." Said a maid with two pigtails.
"We thought we'd never hear your pretty voice again." Mentioned a short-haired one with a headband in the shape of bunny ears.
Jake looked embarrassed.
"Don't overreact. If you're here it means my father..."
"No."
"Huh?"
Nirvana looked at Jake with a mother's loving face.
"You fought bravely with your friend and ended up winning. We are proud of you."
Pleiades Squadron wasn't just the Duke's best creation, nor that they were the reason for having made him the second seat of the holy mages.
The reason they were special....
"Be proud of your growth."
Was that despite being dolls, they showed emotions.
They never came up in the game, but Jake mentioned they had lullabies.
These girls had been with Jake since he was a child.
He averted his gaze from them and they all screamed in unison.
"Kyahh!" The young master blushed!"
"Reminds me of when he was a little boy and embarrassed to bleat at us."
"I'll never forget the time he proposed to Nirvana onee-sama and said he would make her his wife one day!"
His face contorted in embarrassment as he remembered the past, he curled into a fetal position as Nirvana stroked her head.
"The young master tried so hard. Sleep on Nirvana's lap until we return home."
"Ahh, onee-sama that's unfair!"
"I want to spoil the young master too!"
The sisters started fighting over Jake.
Oscar who woke up a while ago was looking at that scene confused.
Someone was approaching him, it was Duke Wimlet.
He handed him some coffee with milk.
After drinking it, he asked him.
"How did it go?"
"It was perfect, it took a long time, but now we have the evidence to head to the palace."
"I see. Ah..."
Oscar remembered something.
"How did the other group do?"
The duke pointed to a nearby location and turning his head, Oscar found three ghostly figures in a corner.
Razel and the others were staring at the floor trembling for some reason.
"Didn't they make it?"
The duke denied it with shaking his head from side to side.
"Apparently something happened, they came back with the samples. They just went upstairs and sat there without saying anything."
Oscar didn't understand why the three of them were shaking so much.
Razel heard that and answered him in his heart.
(You didn't see what we saw!)
◇
We managed to defeat our enemies somehow.
We got the samples, some strange red pills were creating.
We had to get out of here fast to show off to those guys, but we didn't know which way to go.
We wandered around here and there. Before we knew it we came to a hallway that led to an open room.
We didn't know if it was the exit or some entrance with more enemies.
But this time I wasn't going to let them almost kill Cid.
I was going to fight, I told them to stay behind me.
We slowly approached and as I opened the door to launch an electric attack at them.
"... Huh?"
I was dumbfounded by what I observed.
◇◇◇
Minutes before Razel arrived in that room.
A group of researchers were panicking.
"How did they find us out?"
"All our work is lost!"
"We must leave as soon as possible! Hey, you, protect us!"
A sweating investigator shouted at a man in a corner.
His body was muscular despite wearing armor.
The coloring was gray like his hair.
His eyes were brown and he had a strange mark on his face as if it was a disease it seemed.
He was a soldier of the Ideal Empire, one of the four dark knights and a villain of the game.
He was Curtis van Ganne, the ash knight.
He laughed as he looked at them all in an uproar.
"Kakaka, you poor idiots. You paid my country a large sum of money to hire a bodyguard. Don't worry so much, I will protect you since that was the deal. In fact, you should be thankful it was me and not that little Estarossa moron."
The investigators were reassured by the man's relaxed attitude.
"Are you sure?"
"Kakaka, of course. I can only take care of everyone, I'm simply looking out for them."
Their relaxation was short lived as they heard slow footsteps approaching.
Some were restless, some nervous, and some frightened.
Curtis stood up.
"Don't cry you idiots, I'll take care of the intruder as soon as I set foot inside."
He walked to the door, which was slowly opening.
He drew his sword.
"Behold the power of the magical research of the Ideal Empire!"
His beautiful white sword was turning to dust from the tip to almost touching the handle.
"Ash magic: murderous dust."
A large cloud of dust made of ash rose up.
As soon as a foot was placed inside the room, the cloud that moved as if it were alive pounced against the intruder.
The smell was equal to sulfur.
The feel with the ash was of small blades.
Curtis' body was modified to be able to do this.
Every time he killed someone, his power and ash grew.
That's why he was one of the strongest enemies, he could wipe out an army with no problem.
A real threat.
"Kakaka, you fools, you are no match for me."
"It smells bad."
A voice heard from inside the ash.
"What?"
Curtis thought he misheard.
"I came smelling something that looked delicious."
But it wasn't.
"I was really wrong, it smells terrible."
The voice inside the ash storm waved its hand and the cloud was destroyed in its entirety.
Curtis didn't seem to understand what happened.
But a tall, muscular man wearing a beige fur coat was visible to all.
His face was still covered by ash, but it was slowly disappearing.
His graying hair combed back seemed to indicate that he was an old man, but his young, middle-aged face indicated otherwise.
Curtis was trembling, it wasn't because his magic was easily destroyed.
He was frightened by the red eyes like the flames of hell of the man who looked at him coldly.
"What smelled good, but turned out to be fatal came from you. No, it was coming from this thing."
The man slowly approached.
"I don't like food smelling bad, or tasting horrible...get lost."
"Excuse me?"
Those were the last words Curtis uttered because of the man who put his hand on his head and as if it were a doorknob, gave it a slight twist with no force.
The investigators did not know how to react as they saw how the one who was supposed to protect them was with his neck twisted and blood dripping from his nose.
Curtis' body fell to the floor and a scream rang out.
As the red-eyed man laughed.
"It still smells bad in here."
◇
Entering the room, we found a scene straight out of a disemboweling movie.
Intestines, viscera and brains were strewn all over the place.
And, in one corner I watched as the corpse of the ash knight lay sprawled.
(Who did this?)
That was the question we all asked ourselves.
Who could have done this? And more to the point, defeat the ash knight?
The bastard was super strong.
"I don't know what happened here, but we must-"
My words were cut off by echoing footsteps in this place.
They were coming from the background.
Cid and I moved into combat stance to meet the threat.
The moment his body was already visible... I froze.
A man with a terrifying face covered in blood came out of his hiding place, what frightened me was not the blood stains.
It was the horns growing from his head.
Black bow-shaped horns with red tips made this man a unique contrast.
I recognized him instantly, I knew who he was, but there was a question.
(What is he doing here?)
(Why is the demon king Desmond here?!)
(It's still too early to meet him. He shouldn't come out for another four-year time jump!)
He was approaching us.
Cid spoke to me.
"Razel... can you feel it? This guy's magic power distorts the environment around him, is that possible? I never heard of that in class."
I watched him tremble as if he was a frightened child, sweat marked his forehead and droplets fell all over his face.
The duke was the same way too, in my case it was worse.
He was doing me in my pants.
I can't tell which it was, A or B, but something was definitely wet down there.
Before I knew it, he came close to us. Our gazes met and his eyes red as hell itself were watching me.
Am I going to die?
Was everything I did in vain?
Eli... Lily... I'm sorry. The world may not be saved after all.
"You... you smell of potential."
With those strange words, the demon king left the place.
When he left, we froze until we no longer heard his footsteps.
At that moment... we screamed in panic.
We fell to our knees and I almost cried like the day I found out where I was reincarnated.
(I don't want to see him ever again!)