"Beatrice?"
"Yes, Merciless?"
"Tell me, am I going crazy?"
"Define Crazy?"
Beatrice jokingly asked, marveling at Merciless' loss of sanity as a result of the change in environment that was there before his eyes, including the many terrible inhabitants that were present on this planet. Then, and again, everyone now present on this planet was distinct in appearance, to say the least; so much so, that if Beatrice hadn't told Merciless ahead of time that these individuals were all vampires, he wouldn't have believed them if they had told him themselves.
"... I'm talking about going bunkers, being insane, hearing voices, and seeing things that shouldn't be there—kind of crazy."
Merciless responded to Beatrice, who chuckled at her apprentice's inquiry. She can figure out why Merciless acted the way he did. For one thing, the things that are currently present in this forest are inhumane.
For one thing, there was this strange-looking monster that stood on all fours, his limbs extended in a grotesque fashion. The man had an alien-like horse's body with four alligator-like tails; his upper human half obviously resembled an eldritch centaur with pale grey skin, if such a thing existed; he had thick black scales with neon green borders that gleamed in the dark; his human half was full black; and he had no limbs. His arms were there, but they weren't attached to his body in the traditional sense; instead, they floated where the arms belonged, and the arms themselves were coated in black scales with sharp claws that had many gold rings on each of the man's eight fingers on each hand. His head floated inches away from his neck, and if you overlook his many otherworldly traits, he looks incredibly handsome, especially with long emerald green hair that glowed in the dark and matched his two pairs of bright nocturnal green eyes.
The most bizarre aspect of this alien centaur vampire was his commanding neon green aura, which flashed vividly when Merciless utilized the third eye to examine him. His aura was at least a hundred times more powerful than Merciless's present aura. And it was evident that this man was both old and powerful, and he felt immensely at ease with that exotic physique of his to boot as well.
On the other hand, there was this strange and quite busty woman. However, her skin, or better yet, her body was completely black in color; her body, on the other hand, was made up of slime or mucus-like components that were as black as tar and far thicker than usual tar itself. She possessed slime tentacles that slithered through her bottom half. She was naked by all accounts, but with a slimy body, it was reasonable. Her breasts were firm and bouncy, as well as enormous; she lacked nipples. Her look was attractive, so much so, that Merciless himself, who had a heart of steel. When confronted with temptation could help but lust after her. Proof of this, was when he began to blush owing to her alien-like beauty; her hair, on the other hand, was unique in every way, as it was made up of red tendrils that resembled a jellyfish stinger and was fashioned and split off into a ponytail.
The only reason Merciless didn't approach her was because Beatrice was clutching him tightly. And Hector was keeping an eye on his proprietor. Closely, so he didn't wander off in this dangerous area. But that wasn't the only thing keeping him from approaching the lovely eldritch slime girl, who happens to be a vampire for some reason. Another reason was that she was, well, let's just say she was having fun, given that she was currently eating a human male child alive, no older than twelve years old appearance-wise, as she was slowly corroding him into herself.
The boy's entrails were floating around and dissolving in the slime girl's body. What was even more bizarre was that the youngster had an ahego, as if being devoured alive was the most wonderful and pleasurable sensation he had ever had in his short life. The kid was plainly cut in half, his skin peeling off his flesh, his left eye already floating toward his chest, and brain matter disintegrating and coming out of his eye socket, slowly merging with the slime girl's body as her mucus breaks everything down. Overall, this was vore, and a filthy exhibition of it at that, but from her perspective, this woman was enjoying a wonderful dinner.
Things became even harsher as Merciless witnessed things that would have caused any human being to collapse in despair and madness, as the humans present in this place were all regarded as nothing more than an exquisite glass of wine or a five-star meal only the wealthy could afford. The more human-like vampires who were currently present, on the other hand, did not have these strange, unnatural eldritch forms. However, some wore black blindfolds, while others wore red, and so far, only Beatrice has this one-of-a-kind red blindfold.
Given that everyone here was of noble lineage, it was evident that the hierarchy here was very unique, but with few having these esoteric forms, it was also clear that if you had these forms, these blindfolds were no longer required. As a result, Merciless's curiosity had reached a tipping point, and he couldn't take it any longer. This planet was home to some of the most powerful beings he had ever seen. As such, he looked at Beatrice and inquired.
"Beatrice, I can't take it any longer; explain it to me more clearly. I'm terribly uneasy here, and from my point of view, I feel like a human again in the presence of these monsters. Tell me, What is the purpose of these blindfolds, and why are these monstrous creatures with no vampiric features recognized as vampires in the first place?"
Asked Merciless, Hector himself even responded to his master's question by giving his own thoughts on the subject, as he said.
"Lady Higimatra, if I may be so bold as to ask, are you certain that no harm will come to my alpha here?" Everyone here is at or far beyond my level of power; I'm losing my confidence as a butler here. As much as it pains me to admit it, I am not confident; I can barely injure, let alone put up a fight with half of the people who are currently present. To be honest, this site embodies what monsters regard as monsters from their point of view."
Beatrice, of course, keeps her smile on. Merciless and Hector may regard them as monsters; however, she regards everyone here as nothing more than a mob character or a weak raid boss that she can easily deal with. This sight of diverse individuals may be scary to a fledgling like Merciless or an old wolf who knows only the world in which he lives in, and not beyond it. Nonetheless, she begins to convey to them both just what these monstrous creatures are.
"Heheh, don't worry, you two; as long as you stay close to me, none of these people will hu...
However, before Beatrice could continue her sentence, she felt a huge onslaught coming her way. Along with a man's voice calling out to her.
"OH SHIT... OVEEERRRSEEER... WAAATTTTCHHHH OOUUUTTTTT!!!"
Merciless and Hector sensed a gigantic sphere of immense and powerful energy that could only be described as the end itself; it felt like it was approaching them at rapid speed at that instant. And when they looked, they saw a big, one-meter spherical ball that looked like a menacing purple-black hole.
Merciless at that moment wanted nothing more than to flee; he knew that if this attack touched him, he would die instantaneously, and maybe if he was lucky enough, a single drop of blood would survive. And as long as one cell was partially alive, at the very least, he could recreate his entire body from that alone. But this attack felt like his miasma, only billions of times more powerful than the miasma he is capable of making naturally. As a result, he sensed it: this was the end; he was going to die; there was no way out. Despite this, Hector was quick enough to leap in front of the scared Merciless in time; yet, given the strength of the attack, this was merely a double suicide, and even Hector was convinced that his life was about to end.
However, just as the purple-black hole was about to collide and erase Merciless from existence, Beatrice leaped toward it with tremendous speed and power. And what she did next stunned Merciless, demonstrating how insignificant he was in comparison to these creatures known as elders. Because Beatrice literally kicked and kneed the projectile assault skyward with no effort at the time.
The kick itself was so strong that it distorted space and time around the attack as the projectile bent and moved upwards, sending the attack flying into the sky at speeds well exceeding the speed of light. It eventually faded from the view of everyone. But the sheer catastrophic power of this attack was something neither Even Merciless nor Hector had anticipated.
No sound was heard, but a horrifying sight was displayed: the attack exploded into the distance, or better yet, imploded and expanded at an incredible rate that was unquantifiable by human standards, right in front of Merciless. The stars and galaxies that light the night sky far into the distance began to blink away out of existence, faster than one can blink. And what remained in the night sky for all to see was a massive sphere of nothingness. The single purple-black hole created a massive spherical void that stretched sixty million light-years across.
Hector was rendered speechless. Merciless exe. had stopped operating, and Beatrice became enraged as she turned to face the direction of the attack. And she noticed a familiar red-skinned girl cowering in the corner when her gaze was drawn to Beatrice, who was glaring at her with rage. A middle-aged man, on the other hand, was sweating beads as he walked away from Beatrice, acting innocent and pretending nothing had happened. Before he could go, Beatrice teleported behind him and grabbed his shoulder as she murmured with a terrifying smile that sent chills down everyone's spine.
"Linchon, where do you think you're going? You know that attack nearly killed my guess, right? Didn't I tell you not to shoot any Void Stars during events?" Heheh... to think a fellow overseer could be that immature, tell me what would have happened if I hadn't redirected that attack."
Linchon was trembling, afraid; he knew if he didn't answer, he was about to die at Beatrice's hands. That was the end of it. Beatrice, the second in command of the Overseer Council and the entire House of Ghal, was about to terminate his miserable existence. As a result, he immediately prostrated himself in front of this tiny freak of nature and said.
"o-o-OUR LADDY... please, I di-d-didnt mean to CAUSE YOU ANY TROUBLE!!!... ITzzz just, t-da-that that me and Vague were gambling, and end having a little spar, one thing led to another; and I attacked her only to scare her; but she deflected my attack; and it aimed dowards towards you... PWEEAAASSSE fo-fORgii--give meeee!!
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Am I dreaming, Hector?"
"... I'd like to know the same thing, my alpha; if so, I'd like to wake up from this horrifying nightmare right now."
"Say, Hector, are all elders like this?"
"Hmm... well, I've only seen Lady Fay destroy a planet a few centuries ago, but according to Lord Seventh, as the weakest of the Michellian elders, she can destroy multiple solar systems with her most destructive magical attack." And Olga herself; I've seen her interact and physically tear apart hyperspace gates from afar as well when we were doing a group mission, and don't even get me started on Lady Scáthach, especially when she's equipped with Gae Bolga."
Hector answered with a puzzled expression on his face, while Merciless had a countenance that looked as if he was going insane, as he whispered to himself.
"Hehehe... is that correct?" Vampires—what kind of monsters are they? Screw the sun; at this point, it should be more terrified of us than we are of it."
However, Merciless was interrupted by a familiar voice and the sound of crunching.
"Ironic isn't it, mhhhh... delicious; popcorn truly is the greatest microwave food, second only by poptarts."
Merciless was still stunned by the exhibition of wild strength that nearly killed him; this was more surprising than the person who appeared before him eating a bucket of pop-corn watching the scene before him like it was an amusing show to witness, as he greeted the specific milf.
"Ohhhh Brunhilde, wassup; say am I dreaming; or did I just watch someone put an end to countless galaxies like it was the most casual thing to do?"
"Hmmm... Oh no, darling?" What you saw was 100% accurate; these freak shows are simply built differently; just ignore it. Shit like this happens a lot among the strong; you get used to it after seeing your first galaxy casually being destroyed. Then and again; this is display of insane power belongs to an Overseer; they are like the most powerful entities and the governing and ruling body of The House of Ghal."
Brunhilde casually commented, making Merciless chuckle to himself again as he gazed admiringly at the sky; which had a giant void among the stars.
"*chuckle!*chuckle!*chuckle!*, Is that so? Ah, I wonder whether I will ever attain that degree of power. Sigh, I'm both humbled and dissatisfied; I feel like that giant void in space is me; so much ambition, yet nothing has been achieved."
Merciless muttered, extending his hands to the star as if attempting to reach it. On that note, Brunhilde places her hands on his bringing it down while commenting.
"Chill my dude, you're a newborn vampire; do you think Le Fay learned to blow up planets the moment she learned her first magic attack?" Power responds to the user's demand; right now, you don't need that kind of world-ending power. Face what lies ahead of you as a fledgling first, and slowly work your way up, and one day you will become the best version of yourself. You will achieve that level of power and go far beyond it; patience is essential, young man."
Brunhilde made a remark, to which Merciless answered in kind.
"Is that so; Heheh, well I guess you are right, honestly, I just met you but your words of wisdom have helped me a lot."
"Of course, I am Brunhilde, after all; I am the best, no, it's obvious that everyone agreed that I am truly the best; there is no one better than me after all." And besides, as your contract spirit, it is my responsibility to guide you down the route I have chosen for you."
"Contract spirit, again with this contract thing; can you explain this to me, I am lost in what this means, I don't remember signing a contract with you."
"Hahah, what a forgetful contractor you are; the contract was formed the moment you told grandfather you wanted me as yours; I am a member of the Loki clan and the Goodmen family first and foremost." As so, we are lord seventh's and lord seventh's son's property. The clan will only obey his and your wishes; I am not the strongest, but I am the wisest. However, I still do things my way, so I chose you as my contractor; think of it as a sort of marriage. Aside from the contract, it is not something that will be too hard on you. If anything, it benefits you, given the fact that the power I have granted you, will be the key to accomplishing your dreams of vanquishing the Gods; as long as you don't go up against time-based Gods, you should be fine."
"Ha ability; what kind of ability did you give me."
"It's nothing great; to be honest, depending on the situation you're in, it's more like a curse; but I will say this, just take comfort in the fact that, no matter what happens, I won't let you die." Your soul may be non-existent, but your mind is still intact but in exchange for making a contract with me. As compensation, I will take your memories, experiences, emotions, anguish, misery, and hatred as my own. Your conscience belongs to me and no one else, and as such, I will do whatever I want with it."
Brunhilde murmured, her eyes filled with hearts as she looked up at Merciless with an obsessive look in her eyes, this surprised Merciless, as he blinked in wonder and shock, wondering if he was seeing things. But the instant he blinks, Brunhilde vanishes as if she never existed the moment he opens them. Merciless, on the other hand, Merciless heard Hector as he began to speak to him as he said.
"My alpha, are you okay? Who are you talking to? Oh No, was the shock too much for you, as a result, you went insane with fear." I knew this place was bad; I needed to convince Lady Beatrice to take us back as soon as possible."
'Agh. She vanished once more; hmmm, it's funny, she's not here at all, but I sense her everywhere; a contracted spirit, she says? Egh, the incarnation of Schrödinger's cat? Brunhilde, what a strange woman; but I feel a lot safer with her around; so she won't let me die; what will she do when that time comes, turn back time, or something completely unexpected? I have no doubt she can time travel with her magic; she claims to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time, forever stuck in superposition.'
'Well whatever, im sure I will meet her soon again."
With that, Merciless walked towards Hector and responded in kind.
"Don't do that, Hector; I'm still stunned by the sheer power of that attack; I almost died, you know." But, in any case, Hector, we must become much stronger if we are to catch up to these guys."
Merciless muttered this as he walked towards Hector, but Merciless was still unaware of how much he had changed in such a short period of time. Because as he goes away, a shadow that is not his own, and has the shape of a familiar woman, trails behind him like a tale linked to a cat, a tale that is now a part of him down to the very essence of his being.
Or the fact that if he had looked closely as he walked past a large table full of wine and champagne glasses, he would have noticed that even his reflection had been replaced with the reflection of a certain woman as if the woman had become Merciless herself. Nobody knows what this could signify except her. With both shadow and reflection no longer his, is Merciless Brunhilde or is Brunhilde Merciless, truly a paradoxical question that can only be answered with either or neither.