"The hell is this."
"Breakfast."
"Oh really?" I look down at the red pepper, a tomato, and the loaf of bread Astal is holding out to me as I lean back against a tree by the edge on top of the mountain we're currently at. "Breakfast? This?"
"Mhm... *CRUNCH*.. Mmb.. It's healthy for you." She just took a bite out of my red pepper.
"Give me that." I snatched the tomato and the bread from her hand and took a bite out of both. "...This.."
"Here now try some of this!" She shoves the red pepper into my mouth with no regard for choking hazards.
"*CRUNCH* *CRUNCH*... Oh this.. this is scrumptious." Ingredients are very good. "Alright." I stand up and stretch my back, then I look down at the lush forest just below the mountain.
It's been a month since starting my hike outside the Kingdom walls towards my far-off destination.
And, I am pleased to announce that I have gathered a grand total of 0 souls during that period.
I swear I'm not slacking.
Truth is I've been kind of lazy.
I have never done this much walking in my life, so the exhaustion that comes with traveling miles on top of miles back-to-back each day is taking a toll on me spiritually.
"Alek."
"I SWEAR I'M NOT SLACKI-"
"Look out."
"Huh?"*glub* "Oh." I look down at the small green slime gobbling up my foot. "Well, guess I'll die."
"Hahh.. what are you on about, master? Just yank it off of you and kill it..." Astal looks at me over her shoulder as she's standing by the edge.
"No Astal, you don't get it." I sit back down against the tree that's slowly losing its orange leaves. "This slime is going to eat me whole." I look down as its already reaching up my knee. "I'm about to become this slime's one-man breakfast, and I envy it."
"Hah?" She raises her eyebrows at me. "Stop being so dramatic and get it off you!" She approaches me and digs her hands onto its slimy skin. "Hrrng..!!" She's now attempting to yank it off my leg. Unbeknownst to her, my fate was sealed the moment I carelessly stayed in place for far too long waiting for her to come back from looking for stuff to eat, and it begs the question.
Where did she get that loaf of bread?
"CRUNCH"
"Uh... master, what are you doing?" She stops pulling on the slime and watches me chew on the loaf of bread.
"Huh? Oh, just enjoying my last meal. *MUNCH*... You?"
"Wh...?.. Stop messing around!" *YANK*
"Give it back..." I watch as she throws my unfinished loaf of bread over the edge. "How could anyone be so heartless..."
"S-shut up and help me! HRRNNGG..!!" She goes back to pulling on the slime as it has now grown in size and already has my entire right leg inside its body. "HNGG..!! You can be very infuriating master! HRNNNG..!!!.. Seriously! This is unfathomable!!"
"Come on Astal, put your back into it!"
"H-hey hey HEY!" My arms are wrapped around the tree as I am getting my right leg forcefully pulled on like it's a rope in tug of war. "You've already ruined my morning breakfast now let me die!"
"Hrnng..!!.. You... are...HNGG.!!.. So...ANNOYING..! HRRRRNGGGG...!!!!..... Ah!"
We have been launched off the edge after my arms gave out and let go of the tree.
Which is good.
Now it'll all be over soon.
"See you both in Limbo~!"
"MASTERRRR YOU DUMMYYYY..!!!!" Astal screams as we are rapidly falling off the tall mountain and into the thick lush forest below us.
"Weeee..."
"Weeeee~!"
*THUMP*
*SPLASH!*
We ended up landing on top of a huge red mushroom before bouncing off it and splashing into the pond just below it.
"COUGH COUGH... Damn it..." Well at least the loaf of bread is just in front of me resting against the grass.
*Munch*
A rodent swooped by and took it into its mouth before running off.
"Just kill me."
"HAAH!" Astal emerges from the water next to me. "...S-shut up and help me.. I..I can't swim.."
"That's hilarious."
"Blockhead..." She wraps her arms around my neck as I swim over to the grass and out of the pond.
"Now then... huh?" I look down at my right leg and notice the slime is gone. "I feel like a free man."
"M-maybe it got eaten by a jaw fish... sea monsters are slime's greatest predators.." Astal twists on her silver hair, trying to rid the excess water.
"I didn't know that." I scan our surroundings.
We're in a very green forest with huge trees, glowing mushrooms, bright groups of fireflies, more mushrooms, what looks like huge wasp nests hanging from trees, even more mushrooms, gigantic spider webs hanging from other trees, more mushrooms, and a lot of ponds with weird looking fishes in them.
Also more mushrooms.
"Astal where are we."
"As you can see, we are in a lush jungle, master." She twists on her wet dress to dry it.
"Ohh... well let's leave." I turn around but instead of seeing a path out, I see the wall of the mountain we were just at. "Hmm.." I then look up, but instead of seeing the sky, I just see the thick tree leaves obscuring the sunlight. "Hm... well shit."
"What now?" She looks at me as she's swatting at the mosquitoes swarming her face.
"We leave." I walk past her and go deeper into the jungle.
*CRUNCH*
I look down at my boot and see the corpse of a spider squished against the ground. "Ew."
*FwOo*
A red light escapes from the dead spider and gets absorbed into my right hand, causing the mark to appear briefly before fading away.
"Mmm~ Thank you! And congratulations, this is the first soul you've gathered in the past... month!"
"Don't know if I should be proud or not..."
"Be proud, that's one soul down, ninety-nine more to go!
"Damn." What a joke.
"Master!! Do something!!" Astal shouts while flailing her arms around as she's getting dragged upwards towards a spider web.
"Wait when did this happen?" I look up at the huge spider pulling on the web stuck to her head.
"Never mind how it happened!! Help me BEFORE I GET MY INSIDES IMPLANTED WITH ICKY SPIDER EGGS!!"
"I don't think spiders do that, I'm pretty sure that's a common misconception. I think only flies do that, you know, with their larvae and stuff."
"And wasps~"
"YOU TWO ARE SOME OF THE WORST TRAVEL COMPANIONS I HAVE EVER HAD. IF I HAD KNOWN I WOULD HAVE TWO BLOCKHEADS GOING OVER BUG FACTS WHILE I AM SECONDS FROM GETTING MY HEAD FILLED WITH POISON FROM A SPIDER SO IT CAN SLURP UP MY BRAIN I WOULD HAVE JUST STAYED IN THAT DUSTY LIBRARY."
"Alright now you're just being dramatic." I pick up a rock from the ground and use what little essence I have to channel it with my right hand and increase its throwing power. "Here catch." I then throw it towards the giant yellow spider up in the tree. "Also spiders are arachnids, not really bugs..."
*BONK*
It hits its face clean, causing it to let go of the string attached to Astal's head.
"Whoa." I look down at Astal after catching her. "You're surprisingly light." I detach the string on her head as I am holding her in my arms. "You can let go now."
"Huh? O-oh, right..." She lets go of my neck after having her arms tightly wrapped around it before getting off me and stepping back onto the mossy grass.
"Anyways, we should run."
"W-what? Why?"
*THUMP*
The giant yellow spider that was up on its web has now dropped right in front of us with a pretty pissed off expression.
"Lucifer, what are the chances of killing a giant spider with the little essence I have left."
"About 6.57%."
"Wow those odds are very bad, I'm going for it." I dash forward towards the spider with the intent of killing it, because I am desperate for any potential loot drops.
"M-master what are you...?"
"Hurry up and switch to knife form." I leaped up and landed on top of its giant butt thing that all spiders have.
"O-ok...!" Astal runs towards me and throws herself in the air before switching to her knife form.
I catch her, not at all thinking about the risks of getting my fingers sliced off from catching a knife rapidly flying towards me at a rapid pace.
The spider starts to stumble and shake around, trying to toss me off its body before it begins to bash onto the trees attempting to smash me against them.
However, to this dumb spider's surprise, I've already accounted for that. Which is why I moved to its head before it could smash me against the trees, and I've already started to dig Astal into its big head.
*SHCKL*
The knife starts to dig into its surprisingly sturdy skin, which causes the spider to panic and move around like a crazy hooligan, bashing onto more trees and spinning. "W-whoa whoa chill..!!"
*THUNK*
It makes contact onto a tree carrying a wasp nest, causing the nest to drop off the tree and smash onto the ground, releasing a whole swarm of giant angry wasps. "Uh oh."
I dig Astal deeper into its head, causing the spider to panic even more as it rapidly moves along the grass while the swarm of wasps chase us before it falls into a hole on the ground.
"EEEEP...!"
"Why are you the one screaming? You're not the one surfing on a spider..." I look up and watch the light from the hole we fell through slowly shrink in size as we continue to fall down this hole. "Damn how long is this drop-"
*SLAM!*
I open my eyes after the impact and face up. "That... was actually kinda fun." I look down at Astal still impaled onto the now dead spider's head. "You alive?"
"H-hurry up and get me off this thing..!! I can feel its gushy brain..."
I grab onto Astal's hilt with my right hand, and a red light emerges from its head and gets absorbed into the mark.
"Mmm~ That was a juicy one, Alek..."
"Oh really?" I hop off the dead spider and look around.
We're in a gigantic mossy cave with a lot of flowers and vines scattered across the walls, distant waterfalls, huge beehives scattered around, even more glowing mushrooms, and various kinds of huge bugs roaming across the cave. "This place looks funky... let's get out of here." I carefully navigate the cave trying not to fall of the many gaps.
"Well done gathering that spider soul, Alek. It was worth ten souls!"
"That's hype, what should I kill next?"
"Hmm... Anything and everything..."
"You just read my mind." I leap off the ledge and jump down towards a separate section of the jungle cave.
*SPLASH*
I land on a small pond and notice a bunch of piranha like fish rapidly swim my way with their huge mouths open, revealing their many rows of needle-like teeth. "Come get some..."
*SHLING* *SHING*
They get sliced in half one by one, the pond taking on a red color as their blood gets forcefully ejected from their bodies.
*CHOMP* "Ow what the?" I look down at my foot and see a piranha chewing on my leg. "Not cool." I then kick it into the air before slashing it in half like the rest of them.
"W-watch out..!"
I quickly dodged before a much bigger one could sink its teeth onto my chest. "Jeez... how big can these things get.."
"Looks like this one matured..."
"No kidding." I once again dodge before it could bash into me with its huge body. "This is getting dumb." I channel Astal with my right hand and stab onto the ground, causing a small red explosion to get set off, clearing the pond and revealing the huge piranha trying to breathe without water. "There you are."
*SHCKL* It gets sliced in half, spilling its big fish organs onto what was once a pond.
"I feel stronger already..." My body is now starting to feel lighter and less heavy from using so much stamina in the water, and the bite marks on my leg have now instantly healed.
"Then let's keep looking hm~?"
I jump off the ledge and go deeper down into the mossy and grassy cave. "Alright."
"B-but how are we supposed to get out?"
"You want to leave now? But we just arrived! Take a look around... is this not the prettiest place you have ever laid your eyes on~?"
"Hmm..." I look around the green cave and onto the various creepy crawlies scattered across the walls, the bee nests, the egg sacks dug onto the mossy walls, and onto the plants with huge jaws inching closer to us from the darkness.
"No."
"No."
"Hmm? Just me? Oh well..."
"Just you." I slash at a vine from a sentient killer plant trying to wrap itself around me. "Why do the plants want to kill me? It's not like I have anything against vegans."
"I do."
"Me too."
"Ugh.. animals..." My leg gets entangled in a vine and I am lifted into the air. "Oh, hello." I look at the huge pink bulb-like head of a plant wrapping its vines around me. "This is way too tight." The bulb opens into four segments, revealing thorn-like teeth across its mouth. "Uh."
"W-what are you waiting for..?? Kill it!!"
"Well, you see, Astal, that would indeed be the most ideal thing to do in this situation. But seeing as my arms are restrained by this plant's vines, I don't think I'll be able to do that anytime soon." The vines across my body get tighter, further binding me to this killer plant's grasp. "Just kidding." A red fire protrudes from my right hand, slowly spreading onto the vines and burning them off. "Fueheheh..."
The plant lets me go and drops me as it starts shaking its vine segments while the red fire continues to spread.
It then emits a kind of shriek-like roar, which causes more killer plants to emerge from the various holes in the mossy ground below me. "Oh, we have guests." I grip onto Astal's hilt. "Sorry Astal, this might burn a bit, just bear with it for a bit, kaay?"
"Huh? What are you talking ab- EEP..!!" Astal shrieks as the red fire on my right hand spreads onto her, coating her edges in red flames.
"There now we can be nice and efficient, you'll be thanking me for this." I begin my frantic swinging and slashing, slicing the many vines from the horde of plants trying to clench their mandibles onto my skin.
"Oh yes~! More~!
More and more killer plants emerge from the many holes on the ground and walls, each with increasing sizes of mandibles.
*BzZzzZz*
A group of giant wasps noticed me and started to fly my direction, shooting their stingers at me and regrowing them back.
"W-whoa whoa..." I try my best to dodge them all while simultaneously dealing with plants that want to kill me, along with huge centipedes that are crawling from the many clusters of holes on the walls. "This is insane.."
"You're doing well~ Now continue gathering all these souls for me... Keep going... Please~"
"Ok jeez." I slash a centipede in half. "So needy..." I dodge to the side after a wasp tried charging at me with its stinger aimed for my heart.
*FWoOomb..*
The ground starts to shake, and I feel something underneath my feet.
*PFWOOOM!*
I quickly leaped up and grabbed hold of a vine before a gigantic centipede could swallow me whole. "This is just crazy." I look down and onto the huge group of giant killer insects and carnivorous plants just waiting for me to fall back down so they can fight over my body as they devour me like a bunch of diabetes patients. And there has to be at least over one hundred of them. "Alright, how you holding up Astal?"
"It burns...!!"
"So you're fine, that's good. Now let's get back out there." I look up and onto the gigantic centipede bursting from the ceiling as its rapidly approaching me.
I swing on the vine and dodge before it could bash into me with its gigantic mandibles, then I land on its body as it is crawling around the ground very quickly. "I have an idea." I start to run across its slippery spiky body and towards its head.
"M-master what are you doing..? You won't be able to kill this thing with me! Its skin is too rough and spiky..!!"
"Just you watch." I continue carefully sprinting towards its head as it crawls across the mossy cave and over the scattered waterfalls. "If you think I can't steer a huge centipede like I did with that spider, then your confidence in me is SEVERELY lacking, and you should be ashamed of yourself."
"Hah?!"
"Shame on you!"
"What?!"
"Almost there..." I inch closer and closer to its head, and it surprises me its taking me this long to reach it. Centipedes have way too long bodies for some stupid reason, it's not like they need hundreds of legs on them to function. Just look at earth worms, they get by just fine with no feet at all. "Made it!" I reach its head as it starts crawling up the wall, but before I could stab Astal onto its brain, it swings its long antenna at me, causing me to fall off its head. "...Oww.."
"M-master this is really bad...!!"
"Oh really?" I clutch tightly onto Astal. "This is actually good." I then channel Astal with my right hand to increase her sharpness, then I stab her onto the gigantic centipede's back as I continue falling, which allows me to slice down its body vertically while falling. "Aha!"
*SPLASH*
I reached the end of its body and fell into a pond.
"I just can't stop making my clothes all wet today..." I emerge from the pond and watch as the gigantic centipede's long organs fall from its long body and onto the group of bugs and plants below, crushing them, before it lets go of the ceiling and falls down onto the mossy ground in a huge impact.
*PFWoOom!*
"COUGH COUGH... Jeez..." I walk over the carcasses and corpses of the many bugs and plants as a red light escapes from their bodies and gets absorbed into me, then I approach the dying centipede.
"Ohh.. I am so full..."
"I didn't know you had an appetite."
"I don't~ Lets go get more~!"
I reach the centipede's head after walking for a while, then I stab Astal onto its brain, putting it down for good. "There."
"My oh my, Alek... You've gathered a grand total of three hundred souls today! You deserve a reward..."
"Uh.. can it wait till we get out of here?" I look up at the light escaping from the holes the centipede created on the ceiling. "Hm...." I then look over to a huge bee nest hanging from the opposite side of the mossy ceiling. "Mhm, mhm, I've got an idea." I start to approach the bee nest.
"Do tell..."
"I've noticed everything is abnormally huge in here, which could also mean..." I look up at the bee nest now right above me.
"I don't follow..."
"We're gonna ride a bee to the surface."
"W-w-what..!?"
"It's exactly what it sounds like."
"T-that's insane! A-and how are we supposed to get up there anyways..??"
"We won't." I pull out the iron fragment from the rake I broke out of my pocket. "We'll stay right here while it all burns away."
"Is that..?...Master, why are you still holding onto that? Are you right in the head...?"
"I thought I could do something cool with it somewhere down the line, but I guess not." As usual, I start to channel the iron fragment with my right hand, causing it to glow red, nothing special. "I'll put in a lil bit, y'know not too much, just enough to make sure it starts to burn is all." I get ready to throw it as it starts to vibrate against my hand.
"This can't possibly end well..."
"I just hope it proves to be a pretty sight~"
"Let's see what.. HAPPENS." I then THROW it with the force of ten whales, if that makes sense.
It makes sense.
*PeeeooOOOM!*
It travels upwards in a straight line, illuminating the mossy cave in red for a brief time, before it goes out as the iron fragment digs into the beehive.
"Oh, well that was underwhelmin-"
*PWWFOOOM!*
The beehive explodes in a violent red explosion, scattering its honeyed hive walls everywhere and dripping honey onto the mossy ground and painting the scattered ponds in yellow as honey drips onto them.
"Uh..." I look over at the swarm of huge bees scattering across the air as they're burning in red, spreading ashes all over the place. "COUGH COUGH COUGH... Is this what contracting cancer feels like..."
*THUNK*
Something splashes into the honey pond in front of me, and after clearing my face from honey, I see the corpse of a much bigger bee just floating, digging its dead black eyes into mine. "Hey don't look at me like that..."
I look around and notice there are no more bees in the vicinity, just ash.
A lot of ash.
Red lights emerge from the many corpses and get absorbed into me, and it feels very good.
"Mm~ The soul of a queen bee... what else will you give me today, hm~?"
"A sad feeling."
"Oh?"
"Because we're leaving." I look up at the huge hole punctured onto the ceiling that wasn't there a couple seconds ago, and then onto the pile of rubble that is enough for me to jump over and escape this green cave.
"I feel bad for these bees... they were just working and making their delicious honey..."
"Don't get sentimental on me, we've made a lot of progress today, and I am ready to celebrate." I leap over the various rubble as I slowly ascend out of the mossy cave.
"Is that so~? Well, now that you have fed me so much, I am once again able to manifest and celebrate with you~~!"
"Uh.. actually, let's celebrate later... when we find Dysma..."
"I second this suggestion...!"
"Aw... but I-"
"It's two against one, you've lost devil woman." I don't even want to guess what Lucifer's idea of a 'Celebration' looks like. Maybe it has something to do with squeezing me against her chest like she always does when she's delighted, and my body will never get used to her tight embraces no matter how much I strengthen my body with souls.
I have now emerged from the cave and am met with sunlight as I see a path out of this jungle just in front of me. "Finally."
"Don't relax just yet, Alek... there are many bigger jungles we'll encounter across the central continent... Just wait till you see the valley of the former bearer of the Rune of Life. Their death on the valley created a jungle so big that this measly jungle can't even compare to it!"
"We ain't going there."
"We might have to someday... You never know..."
"No, we won't." I walk down the path and out of the jungle, and the scenery of many flowers and tall trees now gets replaced by a foggy empty grass field. "And that's stupid, how do you die with the Rune of Life?"
"I'll let you guess on that one."
"It just sounds like a skill issue to me- W-whoa..!" I almost tripped on a rock.
"Blockhead."
.
.
.
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/
"Well this area's nice and calm."
"But it's so empty..."
"And that's why it's calm." I walk down an empty prairie on an early morning, admiring the way the sun shines down onto the tall grass and the pretty flowers rustling with the wind. "Ahh... this is way better than having my vision stuffed with disgusting bugs and vermin... Bleghh.." The ugly cathedral in the sky ruins the sight by a large margin though.
"Well, wake me up when you find things to kill..."
"No."
"So Lucifer, why is there some large crater on the continent? And why is it your fault it exists?"
"Haah very well, I had to tell you eventually."
"Go on." I continue moving through the tall grass and stepping over flowers and ruining their day.
"After the events with 'God' on the day of my banishment, I've struck the mortal plain in an unholy explosion, which created the large crater. That's it~"
"Huh? That's it?"
"Well what else were you expecting, my host? A long convoluted explanation?"
"Well, yes."
"Of course, the unholy explosion and the density of corruption was so great, it eventually spread across the entire continent, creating all the hostile creatures, all the beasts, and all the wicked monsters that roam the land to this very day~ The mortals have dubbed this event 'The First Calamity.' Very nonsensical, yes~?"
"Don't ask me... wait is that also why slimes exist?"
"Oh, no no no. Slimes are almost as ancient as the dragons, they have slithered all over the place for as long as I can remember FuFu~"
"What about harpies and trolls? And goblins?"
"They have all existed before the First Calamity as well~"
"So what counts as a corrupted monster or whatever?"
"Hmm.. that would be the beasts of the night, the undead, witches, and of course... demons!"
"Wait witches count as monsters?"
"No not really, but with their souls getting tainted in their pursuit of forbidden knowledge and dark arts, they may as well be!"
"W-what about necromancers...?"
"Yes Astal, they are classified as undead. Have you not been paying attention?"
"And dark sorcerers?"
"Yes, undead... Hold on, do you mean skeletons or humans?"
"What else could she mean."
"Uh... both?"
"If they are undead sorcerers then they're.. well, undead... And if they're human, then that makes them sinners."
"So wouldn't witches just be sinners too then?"
"Well, yes. Howev-"
"So they're not monsters then? They're sinners, right?"
"You're missing the point! The point is the Abyssal Hollow brought dark arts and dark magic along with the many unholy monstrosities. And if one were to purse the dark arts, then their soul is deemed 'Corrupted', which is what the Abyssal Hollow brought onto the mortal plain, 'Corruption', Okay~?"
"W-well when you put it that way..."
"Alright enough talk, I see... a windmill." I look at the lone windmill right in front of me just standing there, right in front of me. All alone. Its wooden blades slowly rotating with the wind as it just stands there, right in front of me. All alone. Just sitting there. Right in front of me. Doing nothing. "Right in front of me."
"Yes, I can see it."
"Then let's see what's inside...? Maybe we can rest here for the night?"
"Hmm... nah."
"Nu!"
"W-what? But how will we sleep in peace without the creatures of the night...?"
"Oh we won't be sleeping tonight."
"You're kidding...?"
"I'm feeling way too energized this morning. Maybe the thought of getting more souls has me feeling all pumped and stuff, I feel like I can go on without sleeping for three days."
"T-there's no way that's healthy..!"
"It isn't. But with my stats getting leveled more and more, I'm thinking I'll carry on the momentum."
"Huh? 'Stats'?"
"But for the sake of exploration, I'll at least see what's IN the windmill, just for you."
"Such a sweetheart...Aren't you glad to have such a considerate master, Astal?"
"S-shut up..."
*THUNK* *THUNK*
"Helloo helloo." I beat on the wooden door, excited as all hell. "Can anyone hear me? I'd like to be granted passage IN your windmill that's right in front of me. *THUNK* "Hellooo."
"What is the matter with you??"
"Huh?" Before I can acknowledge Astal's existence, the wooden door creaks open from having my fists repeatedly knock on it over and over. "Excuse the intrusion..." I step inside and shut the door behind me so no slime can sneak in and gobble up my leg again.
A large circular room with stairs spiraling upwards along the walls.
That's it.
Also a table and chair in the corner, and a rug. You know, common household furniture.
And some kind of crafting table off in a small crevice.
*THUNK* *THUNK*
"The heck." I look over my shoulder after someone... or something... knocked on the door. "Who could that be?"
"M-m-maybe it's the t-t-taxidermy..."
"It just might be."
"FuFu~ Still thinking about that story, Astal? Well, unfortunately, it is not. In fact, it's something much worse..."
"W-what could be worse than..."
*THUNK* *THUNK* *THUNK*
"Alright alright I'm coming I'm coming jeeeez..." I walk up to the door and open it. "Listen man I didn't order any-... huh.."
"Ah-hah! It is you!" A muscular man with long blonde hair in a white robe and a faint beard greets me while flexing his muscles. "You cannot escape me, Lucifer! We shall find you to the ends of the world if it means-... What?" His eyes meet mine. "What is this..? You.. you're not Lucifer!" He picks me up by the back of my coat and lifts me up into the air to his level. "You're just some puny mortal with a bland look!"
"Sorry to disappoint."
"Hello Chamuel."
"Ahh I see! You must be in here!" He tosses me behind him with some pretty huge strength before he steps into the empty windmill. "At long last we meet so I may deliver your judgeme-... what?" He steps back out and looks at me with a confused look.
"Can I help you?" I straighten back up after getting tossed into a flower bush.
"Ah yes, still the meathead I remember..."
"You..." He instantly appears right in front me in a white flash. "...Dare mock me, Satan? And where are you!? Show yourself!"
"I'm right here you meathead." I raise up my right hand, and the mark appears. "Hello~ Did the outer heavens miss me to the point of sending a beloved archangel, hmm~~?"
"Miss you? Hoh! Hardly!" He leans down to my level and looks at the mark. "Doh! How could I have forgotten so easily that you have reduced yourself to but a tiny scribble! Bahahahahaha!"
"Yes yes, laugh it up Chamuel...Haah.."
"Oh heavens... I have not had such a laugh in quite the while, Lucifer! I applaud you for bringing such ridiculous reason to evoke a laugh onto my perfect face, well done, well done!"
"Lucifer who is this guy."
"You dare, peasant?" He straightens up and poses with his hands on his hips. "You are looking at none other than ARCHANGEL CHAMUEL!" A bright halo appears above his head and gives a dramatic shine in time with his introduction. "But you already knew that.. Bahahahahaha!"
"Uh...."
"Ah?" He raises his eyebrows at me. "Can you not be any less numbskulled, peasant? I just told you I am ARCHAN-.. Wait where do you think you're going, plebian?!"
"Away." I continue walking away from this thing.
*THUMP* "Halt!" I walked straight into him after he instantly appeared right in front of me, almost like walking into a metal pole. "What enables your little plebian mind to think you can just walk away from CHAMUEL." He does that dramatic pose again.
"You know, you remind me of a certain someone..." I rub on my forehead.
"Is that so?" He grins, showing his perfectly pearly white teeth. "I'll wager he's not as almighty as the sight BEFORE YOU." His halo gives off another shine.
"Actually he's really scrawny."
"FuFuFuFuFuFuFu~~~"
"Ah..?" He slowly leans forward to my level again and looks at me with an angry look masked with a prideful smirk, before whispering. "Are you calling the almighty CHAMUEL scrawny, plebian?"
"No."
"YOU BEST MAINTAIN THAT TONE, PLEBIAN." He straightens back up. "Now, Lucifer, on to my business with you!"
"Yes yes, you were the one sent to watch over my host, correct~?"
"BUT OF COURSE. I, CHAMUEL, HAVE SINGLEHANDEADLY BEEN CHOSEN TO-" He changes his glance from the sky and onto me. "Who told you?"
"Oh no one..."
"Hmph! I thought I told her to allow me the chance for a surprise attack!" He starts stomping his gladiator-like sandals onto the grass. "Mutiny! Mutiny! MUTINY!"
"Well... she didn't tell me who was getting sent, I just guessed! And from the looks of it, it seems I was correct~!"
"W-what..? Impossible!" He clenches his perfect white teeth and slowly backs away in shock.
"FuFuFu~!"
"Hmph!" He straightens back up and takes deep breaths. "So, this... thing, is your host?" He picks me up by the back of my coat again. "This cannot possibly be! I sense no might from this puny bland mortal!" He places his other hand under his chin and scans over me briefly, before shaking his head. "No no no, he will never be as mighty as YOURS TRULY." He drops me back onto the grass.
"Hey I have feelings..." I adjust the back of my coat.
"You dare seek for my pardon, plebian?" He holds back a laugh. "Now then, this concludes my time here. But do not falter in spirit, for I am to continue monitoring your every move, Satan!" Large angel wings sprout from his back. "Well, not your every move, mind you, your mere existence revolts me!" He starts to slowly fly into the air. "Rejoice, plebian! For you have acquired what it truly means to be in the presence of the ALMIGHTY." He starts to fly into the clouds, the sound of his condescending egotistical laughs fading away.
"That sucked."
"You don't even know the worst of it...And this won't be the last we'll see of him, Haah..."
"I... he didn't even give me a chance to speak..."
"Next time, Astal." I resume my walk down the now foggy prairie. "Next time..."
.
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*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
*WoOoOoOoOo...*
My ears are getting scraped by the sudden rough wind that is rapidly passing through the valley I now find myself in.
"Huh, it went from a calm morning to a windy stormy afternoon... how did that happen?"
"It's kinda weird how there's no rain..."
"Rain isn't needed for a storm to take shape, Astal."
*FWOom* *FWoOm*
"I've got a bad feeling..." I look up as what sounds like wings flapping echoes throughout the dark clouds. "We might have to deal with a wyvern..."
"Uh... I don't think that's a wyvern..."
"Well what else could it b-" My question gets interrupted after the air starts to get more intense as something flies by me from above. "What the... ever-loving fu-..." I look up and see a gray bird the size of an airplane flying ahead towards a group of larger dark clouds, and its feathers are rapidly sparking over and over.
"Wh- no way..! I haven't seen a Thunderbird for the past two hundred years..! But what's it doing out here?"
*ROAAAGH*
A blue and gray dragon of the same size comes out of the group of black clouds, and the spikes around its body are also giving off sparks. "Oh, a lightning dragon, I was wondering when I would see one."
"Look! They're about to fight~!"
The lightning dragon opens its large jaw and shoots out a singular lightning bolt at the thunderbird, which causes it to get pissed.
The thunderbird starts to glow a bright white, before it Ingnites itself in many lightning sparks.
"Aren't they both resistant to lightning? Isn't this fight just gonna go nowhere?"
"That is indeed true. However, the lightning a thunderbird and a lighting dragon produce are vastly different from each other. It all comes down on who's thunder is stronger..."
The lightning dragon's spikes also start to glow, then it opens its jaw again and I see a ball of lightning slowly take shape and grow in size.
"Uh... isn't standing here kind of dangerous..."
"Probably!"
"Uh oh..." The air gets more and more intense, the trees in the distance start to violently shake and lose their leaves, and the clouds go so dark the natural sunlight across the valley goes into a dark grey, almost making it look like its dusk.
Suddenly the thunderbird charges ahead like a missile, lighting the ground below as it travels.
*ROAAAGGGGH*
The lightning dragon shoots the lightning ball, producing thunder that hits against the ground as it travels towards the thunderbird.
"If the bird dies you both owe me a day to myself."
"Hah?"
"Ara..."
*BWZSZS*
The lighting ball makes contact with the thunderbird, then it explodes in a thick black cloud that turns white, throwing thunderbolts across the entire valley in lightning explosions.
"Whoa..!" I quickly dodged to the side before a bolt could strike me. "What the heck...
"Wha-... How did you dodge a lightning bolt that's faster than the speed of sound?!"
"I guess I'm just talented." Actually, I felt the hairs at the top of my head stand, and that usually means lightning is on its way to smack you harder than your grandmother.
The thick cloud explosion starts to clear, revealing the thunderbird still flying, but the sparks on its feathers are gone.
"Is it dead."
*FWOOOOOBSSZSZZSZS*
It then ignites itself in a way brighter white, the feathers across its wings glowing as thunder-like clouds start to form around its wings, releasing more thunder.
"Oh it's pissed."
The lightning dragon begins to create another lightning ball, but the thunderbird is already charging ahead and more than halfway towards it.
*BOOOMBSZSZSZ*
The thunderbird bashes onto the lightning dragon in a bright lightning explosion, but the lightning dragon's scales don't look like they've been pierced, and they are now wrestling up in the sky.
"Alright, let's go get a piece." I clutch onto Astal's dagger form.
"What! You want to go against... THAT?!"
I look up at the two giant flying beings just going at it in the air. The thunderbird thrusting its giant talons at the lightning dragon and scraping its scales, while the lighting dragon is clawing at its wings and shooting thunderbolts from its mouth, all while thunder spreads across the sky.
"Yes, and I want to see how much essence I'll get from those two..."
"I can already taste it... Ooh my mouth is watering~..."
"Y-you two are bananas!"
"Alright Astal." I grab onto Astal's dagger and look at it. "I've been giving you half of what I've been gathering, do you think you have sufficient mana for a portal?"
"I-I think so...But how far do you want to go...?"
"Oh, just up in the air is all." I have been turning half the unholy essence I've been absorbing into 'Soul' essence and feeding it to Astal. While on my way here from the windmill, Lucifer explained how I could take unholy essence and revert it back to 'Soul', but since I can't really do anything with things that aren't unholy essence due to my black soul or whatever, I've just been giving it to Astal, which is how I'll restore her mana and re-strengthen her soul after I 'borrowed' from her and Dysma.
I'm still not apologizing.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes!"
"Alright." I clutch onto her hilt. "Portal me to the top of the bigass bird."
"It's still out of my reach... Get a bit closer, master!"
"Fine." I break into a sprint and dash towards the two violent flying things that are in the middle of a sibling fight, all while dodging the pesky thunderbolts that are striking across the area.
"Careful now!"
"Whoa..!" I jump over a burning tree that's been knocked down, then vault over another.
"There! Go master!"
"Well done." I see a blue portal on the ground just ahead of me, then I jump through it and land on something feathery. "Oh, hello." Small sparks make contact onto my boots as I am now standing on the thunderbird's head. "It kinda stings."
*ROAGH*
The lightning dragon immediately notices me and shoots a lightning bolt from its mouth right at me.
*CLANG*
I block it with Astal, causing the lightning bolt to reflect off her and hit a tree, lighting it on fire.
The force from the lightning bolt knocked me backwards and almost made me fall off. luckily, I grasped onto one of this giant bird's feather near its back. "This is nuts."
The bird starts to glow again, and it alarms me greatly.
"Shoot, we gotta move." I start to run up its body and towards its head again while I'm on a timer. "I don't think I'm gonna make it...!"
"Master! Jump to your left!"
"Okay." I don't even think, I just immediately jump off towards my left.
Oh well, it was a good life. I wonder if I'll reincarnate into a sci-fi era where I'll be a lone bounty hunter sailing the cosmos.
"What the." I am now standing on top of something rough. "Oh." Astal must've placed a portal, which kind of surprises me, I kind of thought she wanted me to give up and kill myself. "It hurts." I'm standing on what looks like the lightning dragon's spine, as I see a row of metallic-like spikes across its back. And the gray scales under my feet are slightly electrocuting me.
*BZSZSZSZS*
The thunderbird explodes in another white lightning explosion, igniting it in more sparks. "Damn, I legit could have been microwaved."
"Aren't you glad I placed a portal beforehand... haha..."
"Huh? Oh, right.. Haha.."
"Haha..."
Anyway, I run up the lightning dragon's back, carefully dodging and weaving around its metal spikes across its back, but it's not enough apparently, because the sparks on its spine still reach me, and it hurts. "This is getting annoying..." I clutch onto Astal and coat it in the familiar red miasma, ready to put this thing down.
*THUNKBSZSZSZ*
The thunderbird bashes onto the lightning dragon again, releasing a shockwave that launches me upwards. "Dang it!" I switch Astal to her thin chain form and throw it at the thunderbird, wrapping it around its head, then I grapple towards it and land on its head while its busy with the lightning dragon. "I've had enough of you damn it." I grip onto the chain and tighten it the same way I did to that wyvern over the ocean.
It starts to thrash around the air, and the lighting dragon uses it to its advantage and immediately tries to digs its jaw into its neck.
The thunderbird notices and blocks its bite with its large talons, holding its jaws in place, then it starts to glow again.
"How much stamina does this thing have...!?"
"M-master let go of the chain....!"
"Hmm..." I watch as the feathers begin to glow brighter, then I look down at the dragon still stuck in place from having the thunderbird's talons gripped onto its jaw. "We're actually staying."
'HUH!"
"Trust the plan." I grip onto the chain harder, then brace myself.
"Y-you'll get electrocuted! Don't be an idiot, master..!!"
"Too late." My grip on the chain tightens, and I begin to suffocate the thunderbird.
*FwOoBSZSZSZSZ!*
It once again ignites itself in bright sparks, electrocuting me along with the dragon.
I tighten the chain around its neck, causing the thunderbird's sparks to grow in intensity, releasing several thunderbolts across the valley and setting every single tree on fire.
"Come on..." I continue gripping onto the chain as I am also getting electrocuted, which does hurt.
A lot.
"Just...die..." I coat the chain in red miasma and tighten it harder.
The thunderbird lets go of the dragon and immediately flies upwards in a panic.
"DIE." I strengthen my grip on the chain as I am still getting electrocuted.
*BSZSZSZSZ*
The sparks grow in intensity, and we continue rapidly moving upwards.
"DIE." I continue gripping onto the chain and hold on very tightly, so I don't fall and maybe die.
We have pierced over the black clouds, and we are now above them, the gloomy grey atmosphere is replaced by a bright golden as the sunlight and the ugly cathedral spreads throughout the upper clouds.
"PLEASE." I tighten the chain to the highest I am able to, before I hear an audible *CRACK*, then a red light with sparks gets absorbed into my right hand.
Suddenly we are now falling, and the lighting around the thunderbird is all gone as its head falls motionless. "Phew."
"EEEEEP..!!!"
"Weeee~!"
"Weeeeee...!"
The scenery goes back to a gloomy grey as we pierce through the black clouds then back down the valley where the lightning dragon has been patiently waiting. "Well, how nice of him to wait." I grab onto Astal's thin chain and switch her back to dagger form. "This might hurt, my bad."
"What are you... EEK..!!" Red lighting sparks from my right hand then gets coated onto Astal.
"I'm still hungry for more..." I continue rapidly falling downwards while still holding onto the dead thunderbird, before I let go and jump down towards the lightning dragon's neck.
"Yes, Alek! Garner its soul as well... don't stop~~!"
I then plunge down onto the dragon's neck before striking in a red lightning explosion.
*PWOOBSZSZSZ*
*ROOOOOAGH*
I open my eyes and see the dagger did pierce through its scales, but that's about it. "Oh dang it... I need something bigger after all..."
"HAH?! What was that...!?"
*TICK*
*SPLASH*
The lightning dragon flicked me off its neck, which sent me crashing down into a pond. "Owwie..."
"Bwahaha~!"
"Hey don't laugh at me..." I look up and watch the lightning dragon fly away, and the clouds begin to clear and slowly go back to their white color. "...I guess he had somewhere to go.."
"Still, I wasn't expecting a soul of a thunder bird! Well done!"
"Mhm."
"...Yeah thanks." I stand up and get out of the pond, and I can't help but wonder when the next time I'll get wet again will be, since it keeps happening over and over.
"Do you maybe want to rest a bit before we keep going, master?"
"You know, that's actually a good idea, I need to dry my clothes anyways."
"Okay~"
"Uh... Nevermind... let's just continue..."
I sometimes forget she sees everything I do.
But at least she can't read my thoughts.
"Right Lucifer?"
"Hm~?"
Just making sure.
You really don't know with that woman.
.
.
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World Encyclopedia: Series 1
The Rune of Death: A result of the first sinner's plan to remain bound to everlasting existence. It houses the ruler of unholy amalgamation - able to bind to a 'Host' to sustain their place on reality. Allows one that has made a pact with the Devil to absorb souls and convert to unholy essence for their own needs, however dark or twisted.
Sigil of Dominions: One of the first legendary marks to be branded onto one of the first child of heaven before they fell from grace. Corrupted and converted into 'The Rune of Death'. |Additional Information pending|
Wyvern: Descendants of the ancient dragons that roamed the mortal plain long before the establishment of the four known Kingdoms. Unlike their much renowned kin, they possess no arms aside from their wings - And they have a lifespan of up to 5 thousand years.
Tenebrous Age: A point in time where the world was in its first moments of creation. A land of dark and emptiness occupied only by the ancient dragons that roamed the land.
Rune of Rot: A result of the former King of Ragnav merging the soul of the ancient Rot Dragon onto his fragment of the Requiem Rune. Created perhaps to spread mass death and famine throughout the mortal plain - or to simply acquire a step to ascend to godhood.
The Limbo Domain: A domain that exists outside the fabric of time. A result of the Rune of Death and the Rune of Conjuring - created to monopolize souls and deprive the Grand Cathedral from growing in power. Houses the souls of sinners and transgressors alike.
The Philosopher's Stone: One of the first artifacts to be brought onto the mortal plain. Created using the most supreme of sorcery from the Arcane rune, using the power to create and bring inner thoughts into reality from the Rune of Conjuring, using the power to create and bestow eternal life with the Rune of Life, and using the power of black magic that came from the beyond the heavens. It is unknown if the Stone that grants infinite knowledge can bestow the ability to see the future, but one could argue if put into the hands of a soul worthy and compatible, the knowledge it grants can bypass the knowledge limited to the current timeline it resides in and grant knowledge from other worlds.
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