**Kuro**
My trip to dreamland was rudely interrupted when I felt something poked my cheeks. However, when I opened my eyes, I saw a lady, clad in black dress, and a mourning veil instead of a stick that should be hitting my face.
"Ah, great! At least you're finally awake."
Then I realized, it was the Overseer Saint, Seirna.
"What are you doing in my room?" I asked her. "I thought you're someplace else, since you declined our invitation?"
"Your room?" she laughed. "Look around and wake up from your slumber, otherworlder!"
So, I did what she said, and the horrible truth dawned on me. This was not my room. And what's even more baffling was, this was the private chamber of the Elf Saint, the Lady Hinwe…
"…"
…whom I found still sleeping on the bed beside me. Then, I remembered. Right, something hit me on the head last time, I blacked out.
"That'd be the Lady Hinwe," Seirna quipped.
"What?"
"She must've used her 'massage' specialty on you and forced you to sleep," she was nonchalant. "Did this elf get drunk?"
I nodded.
"Yep, figures," the Overseer Saint confirmed. "One thing that you shouldn't do when the Lady Hinwe gets her hands on any alcohol is to be by her side. She'll literally try to break your neck."
"Wait, she did say she's sober!"
"Indeed, she is. And she always gets this urge to 'massage' someone who helps her right after getting her head clear."
"That's weird."
"I agree," Seirna heaved a sigh. "Every saint has their quirks, hence the Lord Gaius assigned me to be their overseer. Perhaps he knew of this outcome."
"Well, he's a former god, so…"
"Any case," the Overseer Saint went back to her original purpose. "About your invitation, I declined it. You know yourself that I'm not one to join such minor matters."
"Do you even enjoy your life?"
"Why do you care?" she chuckled, as her hands inadvertently went to her neck. "We nearly killed each other before, so let's draw the line before we get too fuzzy with each other."
"Alright. So, what's up with you appearing here in the Lady Hinwe's room."
"I need to fetch you," was her answer. "The Lady Rubinforth, Lady Ruro, Lady Bellingsen and other dignitaries are waiting for you in the library."
For a minute, I tried to process what Seirna told me. I mean, I was shocked; I remembered nothing in my schedule to formally meet with anyone today.
"Well, to be fair, it's not yet the next day," the Overseer Saint cleared. "If you want to ask, it's only two hours since the start of the long sleep. However, I think everyone's waiting for you to appear at the library when I came. They are wondering what's taking you for so long, so I volunteered to look for you."
"What…"
Seirna sighed once again. "Otherworlder, the final phase of your plan? You're the one who asked us to come, and yet here you are, sleeping with a sleazy elf."
Oh, right. Oh…fucking right! I did ask some of my friends and supporters to come to the palace library, since I'd want to discuss something with them on the execution of the third phase of my plan about the Lady Hinwe. As my head cleared, I realized that Maddie and the others were waiting for nearly two hours in the library when they should've been sleeping in their rooms right now.
"It's great that you realized your offenses, otherworlder!" Seirna chirped. "Now, we should go to the library as soon as possible. Hold my hand!"
At once, the Overseer Saint chanted the teleportation spell, and off we went to Dupree's private study.
----------
After the woozy transition from the Lady Hinwe's room to my library, the first thing I immediately noticed was the grumpy faces of the Maddie, Ruro and Natasha. Of course, that was expected, since I asked them to wait for me while I took care of the Lady Hinwe earlier…only for me to renege on my promise to come as soon as I was free. On the other tables and chairs were the other people who were part of my plan: the old Emperor of Chersea, Jean IV Durres, the chancellor of Calabria, Sir Dane Bellingstein, the president of the Federal Demon Republic, Prince Hurion Devras, and the Queen of Cherwind, Ursura. Most of them were drifting from sleep to half-awake, and back to it.
"Look at who I found," Seirna pushed me on the table where the other saints sat. At once, the others who were with us straightened up, ready to listen.
"I'm sorry I just came now," I told them, even going as far as bowing to show my sincere regrets. "Something came up with the Lady Hinwe, and she proved to be a handful."
"Oh…right," the normally hot-tempered Ursura commented. "I can't blame you for that."
"Aren't you even going to ask what happened to me?"
"Nah, we already know, Sir G," Natasha replied.
"So, I won our bet, Ruro," I heard Maddie say. "You owe me two gold coins now!"
"Ahem," His Imperial Majesty was the one who explained. "Lord Kuro, perhaps you're not aware of how difficult it is to deal with Her Holiness the Lady Hinwe when she's drunk?"
"Your Imperial Majesty, forget that; by your words, it seems her drunkenness is legendary."
"I always have to resurrect someone she inadvertently kills by breaking necks," Seirna added. "Noble or commoner, don't let anyone come near her."
"But…I'm alive!"
"Maybe you're just one lucky bastard, otherworlder!" the Overseer Saint commented. "No worries; I didn't use any resurrection god-power on you. If you ever died from the Lady Hinwe's neck snap, I'll turn you into an undead—"
Her words were cut off the middle when a pen flew straight to her head. Though Seirna evaded it with almost no effort, we all could tell that it came from the Human Saint, though the smile on Maddie's face never disappeared.
"My apologies, Lady Seirna, my hand slipped."
The Overseer Saint was about to say something in return, in addition to pulling her rapier, but the Prince Hurion immediately intervened. "Hey, are we still going to talk about the Lord Kuro's plans, or just trade banters and hopefully, get to kill each other later?"
"Seirna, Maddie," it was Ruro. "I know you guys are missing each other enough to fight again, but please set it aside for now. My master's going to discuss his plan, and we're all tired from the party earlier."
"I'm really sorry for having you go out of your way for me," I began. "However, I have to take this chance to ask for everyone's help for the next step in my plans."
"Fire away, Kuro!" Chancellor Bellingstein finally broke his silence. "Whatever you need in this adventure, just tell me."
On the chancellor's cue, I reached to one book on the shelf and pulled out a large parchment paper. Opening it on the table in front of everyone, it was a map of the realm of the elves, Cherwoods.
"Since we all know that the Chersean elves' support for the Lady Hinwe is overwhelming and close to fanaticism, for the next step, I'm going to launch a naval invasion of Cherwoods. I call it, 'Operation Overlord'." (1)
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Operation Overlord. For those who had little to no knowledge in military history, Overlord was the 'codename' for the plan calling for the establishment of a foothold of Allied armies in German-occupied France during Earth's Second World War. It was often mistaken for Operation Neptune, which was synonymous for the 'Normandy landings'—the airborne and seaborne assault of Normandy on June 6, 1944…also referred as 'D-Day'.
Well, as a history nerd, I find it fitting to give credit to that piece of history by naming my own plans 'Overlord'.
"…"
The idea was simple. Our target was the city of Saint's Tree, the command center of the enemy. However, I won't risk a direct assault on that place, since there's a big chance we'd encounter the Seductress holed up within its confines. Thus, I plan to land the elvish invasion army on the shores not too far from the target, and march from there. Also, based from the old spy reports I had, the elvish population of Cherwoods had their sympathies against the Lady Hinwe, so we couldn't expect support from them, or they'd reinforce their fellow elves at the Saint's Tree at worst. To prevent this scenario from happening, we had to insert blocking forces around the area to keep away any outside armies from sympathetic elvish cities from attempting to support their comrades.
For this endeavor, we'd build a huge armada of steam ships for transporting soldiers and equipment from Chersea to Cherwoods, as well as borrow units from the Royal Air Force of Cherwind to drop airborne forces behind enemy lines, and also to bomb any opposing fortifications. Of course, those maneuvers had no guarantee of 100% success, so to prepare for any possibility, I'd ask the Kingdom of Calabria to let me station some of our reserves in their territory, since it was one of the nearest to the crossing to Cherwoods.
However, my proposals immediately ran into the brick wall before it can fully take off…
"And how long will the preparations take?" Queen Ursura asked me the moment I finished elaborating the invasion plans for them.
"My estimate would be…hmm…about three months to teach the elves basic military stuff, like discipline, marksmanship and other matters. And another three months to train the officers in leadership skills and the rest in specialization, plus some more weeks to practice simulated assault conditions."
"You mean," the Overseer Saint reiterated, "it'll take them at least six months to be ready, is that what you're telling us, otherworlder?"
"Yes, Your Holiness," I paused for a bit to gather my thoughts, since I was surprised by her question. This lady would remain silent all the time we plan our military stuff before. Then, I added, "And we'll station our reserves in the Kingdom of Calabria in case we needed reinforcements."
"What about the ships you'll need?" the Beastman Queen raised her point.
"Yes," the Prince Hurion added. "Won't your territory's budget be affected? You just completed the infrastructure projects in your fief, and haven't fully recovered from your expenses!"
"Well, I plan to acquire at least a hundred ships for the invasion fleet," I answered, though I could feel I should convince them more. "Though, half of the number are steam warships, then the rest will be towed, so I can lower the overall costs. Twenty of those steamers are warships; the others are auxiliary for support roles."
"And you also have to get your weapons," Maddie commented.
"Err…I've already set a budget for that, from my personal purse."
The ladies were shaking their heads, while the Emperor and Chancellor Bellingstein kept their composure. But, I could feel they're also doubtful of my ideas.
"Otherworlder, I don't know how you came up with this plan, but this is dangerous," Seirna aired her concerns. "Look, I'm no expert in military matters. However, the training time is long, your treasury will soon be depleted, and what I'm really afraid of is that, the Seductress' influence might cross and 'infect' the other worlds once we keep on opening and closing the borders."
"We can't help about the training timetable, Your Holiness," I replied. "That duration is necessary to prepare the army personnel to what lies ahead of them. As for the budget, I still have ways to earn money. I won't dare use the people's taxes for my own schemes."
"You do realize that the Seductress' power grows with each delay. And the dangers of repeated opening and closing the border crossings that should've been tightly shut would increase as well!"
The Overseer Saint made her point; I could understand why she's adamant about the proposal. So, I compromised with, "We can take the entire army with us to Cherwoods instead of leaving them in Calabria, if that's what you fear, Your Holiness. After that, you may completely shut the borders."
"No worries, otherworlder," Seirna reassured me, satisfied by my answers. "I won't severe Cherwoods' connection to the others like what we did in Cherflammen last time. You can always return once you have to."
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Ruro stood from her chair. "Are you saying that once my master entered Cherwoods, there's no coming back until he's successful?"
"I did not say it!" the Overseer Saint countered. "I'm just telling you guys that we shouldn't keep on opening the borders; the dangers of that monster coming through it is high! And the otherworlder saw the merit in my concerns!"
"Then, it's all the same; just like what happened in Cherflammen!" Natasha quipped, slamming her hands on the table. "Sir G, this plan you're thinking of is another suicide mission! I can't allow you to do it! Aren't you going to say something too, Maddie?"
The Human Saint, however, maintained her silence. She just stared back at me, as if saying, 'This is not what you promised'.
"But what about the Lady Hinwe?" I pointed out. "She can't just leave her people to die! And we definitely can't let the Seductress grow in strength!"
"It's her fault it has come to this in the first place," Prince Hurion answered. "Besides, she has her supporters here now, so the risk of losing her god-powers is nigh."
"And we can cut off Cherwoods like we did in Cherflammen," Ruro added.
"If we let that monster consume Cherwoods like she did in Cherflammen, we're just giving her time to gather strength," Seirna reiterated. "Look, I don't think the otherworlder's invasion plan is stupid; I'm just concerned of opening the crossings repeatedly and the time to train his army."
"You're sending Kuro to his death again!" Maddie and Ursura cried out at the same time. The bear woman added, "If you're so scared of opening the borders, why don't you cross and fight the Seductress yourself?"
"Why, I'll gladly oblige!" the Overseer Saint pulled out her rapier. "Though, you know my god-powers are only over life and death, while your otherworlder has three god-powers in him! Between us two, he has more power to defeat that creature, but yes—just to indulge in your overprotectiveness, I'll oblige!"
"Your Holinesses, let's us stop for now and cool off," the emperor proposed. "I'm sure everyone in this room wanted what's best for the Lord Kuro. It's just that, we need to rethink of our strategy."
----------
During the lull in the discussion, Seirna approached her peers, ostensibly to convince them about the threat she perceived. I thought of coming to the Overseer Saint's aid in negotiating with Maddie, Ruro, and Natasha, but someone pulled me away from them. It was Ursura and the Prince Hurion (Lady Noir in disguise).
"We know we can't convince you to stop from implementing your 'suicidal' invasion," the beastman queen began. "That's why I'll talk to you now about what we can do to keep you safe."
I was about to say something when the Prince Hurion cut me off. "And you can't refuse it, Sir," she told me. "If I have to get on my knees and beg, I'll do it. Don't refuse our help."
"What do you have in mind?"
"We agreed to send contingents to guard you," Ursura revealed. "I mean, not 'guard' as in to restrict your movements, but to shield you from those who'd try to kill you. The demon president will also send you volunteers from the Jäger regiment."
"I'm sure they'd love to fight for their old commander once again," the Prince Hurion added.
I paused for a bit to think about what they proposed. Well, as long as the beastman and demon contingents were small, I don't think it could affect the perception of our forces by the elvish population of Cherwoods. Besides, I could use these guys to help me in training the fledgling invasion force, maybe even speed up their training, so we could launch the invasion at the soonest possible moment.
And these ladies won't stop until I give my consent…
"Alright, thank you for your help guys," I conceded.
"You're pretty easy to convince now," the demon president commented. "What happened?"
"Well, I'd like to move on to the actual recruitment and training of the soldiers, not prolong the arguments," I pointed out. "Lady Seirna's concerns are well-founded; I mean, you guys know I fought the Seductress before, right? We have the same experiences."
The beastman queen and the Prince Hurion exchanged glances.
"That's why I can't cancel this step in my plan; I have to fight the Seductress sometime soon and try to defeat her."
"Heh, big talk for some mortal like you," Ursura quipped. "If the saints can't defeat that fucker, what makes you think you will? Haven't you learned your lesson in Cherflammen?"
"Eh, no worries," I winked at her. "I got something in mind…"
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***The private confines of the Saint's Tree Palace Complex…***
Sitting upon the throne of the Elf Saint was the elf warrior and member of Her Holiness' Life Guards, the Lord Gerard of Yusave…at least, that's what it looked like from any passers-by. However, deep within his mind, it was another person who controlled his body…it was no other than the Seductress herself, feeding on what remained of the life essences of the former maids and guards of that place.
As she savored every life force she sucked out of her unwilling victims, the creature from the Void failed to notice a figure emerge before her. The individual was clad in a dark cloak, face covered in a black, metallic mask, and carried a sword as long as his height behind him.
"No matter how much I watch you feed, I can never get used to how disgusting you look," the figure spoke as he approached the monster, which briefly jolted her.
"Ah, my old nemesis…" the Seductress greeted him with a smile. "It's been a while since I last saw you, Black God. How have you been?"
"Never been better!" he flexed his fingers. "And more eager to kill you than before."
"Good! Because the saints in this world and the others connected to it are too afraid to stand and fight against me, it's getting boring! And you know I need suffering to thrive, see?"
"I guess even a monster like you misses a good fight," the Black God pulled out his sword. "Well, just like the old times, I'll oblige."
"Ah! Is it time already?" the Seductress seemed to look around for a clock, though she knew there was nothing in sight. "Is your vigil starting again?"
"You know how it is!" the Black God got into his 'guard' position, ready to swing his sword at once. "Come and fight me!"
"Tsk…just when I'm enjoying the meal!" the Seductress wiped her lips, which was covered in dark miasma from her grisly 'dinner'. Visibly irked, the monster threw away the lifeless body of the maid she was feeding on her ever-growing dump of torrid corpses behind the throne. Then, she stood and shot out her tentacles made of miasma towards the warrior deity.
At that moment, the Black God closed the distance between him and the Seductress, which he only covered in a matter of a half-second. He danced around her tentacles, cutting some of it when he had the chance. However, the creature from the Void was as capable as he was, and she easily blocked his opening attacks with her tentacles. The Black God retreated from a safe distance.
Seizing her chance to counter-attack, the Seductress hurled spears at the deity made from her miasma. The Black God dodged most of it, and blocked some he couldn't evade. When he got a chance, he took hold of one of the flying projectiles and threw it back to the Seductress, which she only absorbed.
"Haa!!!"
Just as the creature from the Void was distracted, the Black God closed in for another attack. This time, he used his god-power of healing to inflict injuries on her. Chanting light-based spells as he moved, the deity bombarded her with magic as he navigated through the forest of miasma. And then, when he got a clear view of his target…
"Kyaa!!!" the Seductress screamed in pain as the white, glowing, spear-like projectiles pinned her tentacles. The Black God then set those off simultaneously, tearing through her body and damaging the throne room with the explosions. But, before she could recover, the Seductress was pinned by another wave of 'light spears'. In a desperate attempt to free herself, she took hold of one of the 'spears', though she was burned in doing so.
"Time to kill you!" the Black God spun to gain momentum for his finishing attack. Making sure he had the upper hand, he worked around her, slashing off the creature's tentacles, then casting the god-power of healing to each injury, ensuring those won't regrow. When he made sure he immobilized her, the Black God went in for the kill; his blade—coated with the god-power of healing—aimed at her neck.
However…
"!!!"
Just as the deity was about to decapitate the Seductress, his sword stopped. Even the Black God was surprised at his movement, though he knew what caused him to halt.
"Are you sure you'll hit me?" the creature from the Void taunted. Through the deity's eyes, he never saw the Seductress' face; it was rather another person's appearance…which, coming from his memories, was the girl he loved.
And the girl he failed to protect…
"Are you sure you'll kill me, like you once did?" the Seductress repeated; nevertheless, the Black God never heard her voice. To him, what he was seeing at that moment was his loved one, asking questions in her voice.
"I…I—" the deity shook his head to fight back the Seductress' influence, to no avail.
The apparition then smiled, and leaned closer to him to whisper, "You cannot kill me. You're as tainted I am!"
At once, the Seductress took the short lull as her chance to rid herself of her enemy. Growing another tentacle, she summoned all her strength and sent the Black God flying with a powerful attack. He had no time to evade it; he could only block the tentacle with his sword, but in doing so, it sent him crashing into the walls of the Saint's Tree Palace.
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***The Dupree Palace…***
When the Lady Hinwe woke up, she saw the faces of the Human, Beastman and Demon saints looking back at her. The sleepiness quickly went away from her head, and the Elf Saint sat on her bed, surprised at the sudden visit.
"Your Holinesses…" she blurted out. "W-What are you doing in my room? Can I help you with something?"
"How are you feeling, Your Holiness?" Natasha asked.
"You know that the Lady Hinwe's god-powers is over anything that concerns water," Ruro pointed out. "She can always remove her drunkenness."
"Erm…" the Elf Saint remembered the events before she completely fell asleep, including her 'private conversation' with Kuro. And then, she realized that everyone inside her room at the moment were her potential rivals—save for the Overseer Saint, the Lady Seirna, who stood by the window staring outside. It's like the scenes she read in those 'harem mangas' before!
"Uh…this is awkward," she commented.
"If you're talking about Kuro's relationships with the other ladies, like us," Natasha—who was also aware of the Elf Saint's references—told her. "We have no business if you fall in-love with him; if anything, your rivals are in your own world, since elves are monogamous. However, we're here for a different matter, Lady Hinwe."
"Oh, what is it?" For some reason, it gave a sense of relief to Her Lazy Holiness.
"My master's final 'phase' of his plan to reinstall you as the rightful saint of Cherwoods," the Beastman Saint explained. "I think the Lady Madelaine can fully elaborate on what we talked about, since she's knowledgeable in military matters."
"Well, yes," Maddie finally spoke. "So, earlier, Kuro showed us his plan to invade Cherwoods. And…"
"And…?"
"It's really risky," the Human Saint revealed. "And we all know Kuro…that guy got suicidal courage to charge into anything, as long as it involves his loved ones."
"Right…" Every person in that room agreed to Maddie's words.
"And we're here to ask your help in reining my master's movements," Ruro admitted. "Will you help us, Your Holiness?"
"Eh…" the Lady Hinwe let herself fall back to bed. "I'm not really keen on regaining my throne, really. If the elves of Cherwoods don't want me back, Kuro can always cancel his plan. I'll live and take care of him as his elvish wife—eek!"
The Elf Saint was quick to avoid a flying rapier that was aimed at her. She rolled away and fell down on the floor of her room. The others stared at the one who threw the deadly weapon, the Overseer Saint, Seirna.
"Your Holiness, Lady Hinwe Tal-Inwir," she walked towards the Elf Saint. "Are you telling us that the otherworlder's—no, Kuro's—sacrifices and investments in you are wasted?"
"Err…uh, Y-Your Holiness, Lady Seirna!" the Lady Hinwe let out a tense and awkward laugh. "Y-You're taking my words seriously!"
"Let's not joke around here," Seirna reminded her. "All of us are saints, thus, we can see everyone's minds and hearts, lest we purposefully hide it. And right now, no one's hiding anything from anyone. We can all see that there's a sliver of truth in your statement. And you know me, Lady Hinwe; I'll kill anyone who's just a deadweight in their responsibilities…even lazy elves."
Getting caught red-handed made the Lady Hinwe embarrassed even more. She could only look away to keep the others from seeing her face.
However, Ruro got back at Seirna, "Hoh…looks like someone's heart is changing towards my master."
"S-Shut up!" she retorted. "Considering that a mutt like you let herself be enslaved to the otherworlder, you talk big for sure! All I wanted is for his efforts on this elf to not get wasted!"
"I don't mind having a master like him!" the Beastman Saint declared. "At least, I'm not some edgy tsundere!"
"Wh-Who are you calling tsundere?"
Natasha and Maddie, however, ignored the two as they traded barbs and banters. They pleaded to the Elf Saint, "Lady Hinwe, you're the only one we can rely on, see? We all know we can't stop Kuro from doing what his mind has set to do. And he's doing this for your sake, Your Holiness. As such, can we ask you to watch over him while he goes to war in your name?"