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2024-10-29 19:42:56“Melody, what do you think about this attack?”
“The Soul Eaters? I think it’s… strange. Why would a horde appear without our knowing of it?”
“I had that exact thought. There must be a mastermind behind this attack if these creatures appeared without our knowing. Soul Eaters would not just ‘appear’ out of nowhere, no matter how intelligent they are.”
“But what does the mastermind want?”
That’s the question I’d like answered.
“What if I told you, Raizo, leader of Grand Order?”
A cloaked man appears like a ghost floating through the ground into the room. His emergence into this room takes Melody and me by surprise. And the aura he’s emitting is threateningly spread out.
“Who are you?”
“There’s no need for any tension to exist between us, Raizo. I come here in peace.”
“So you say, but here you are, an uninvited guest, threatening my aid and me with your menacing aura. Are you the mastermind behind this attack?”
“Maybe I am. Maybe I am not. Who can say?”
I slam my hands on the desk and push myself up and out of my chair. “I will not play games with you. If you do not answer my question, I will assume you are a hostile force and deal with you most appropriately.”
“Hmm… Maybe I should have switched targets with Joker,” he mumbles. “Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?”
“What are you—”
“Oh, nothing. I enjoy speaking to myself. It’s a habit I’ll never rid myself of. Anyway, as I said, I came here in peace. However, I am in an enemy organisation. Why would I not show any hostility to protect myself?”
An enemy organisation? Is he a part of the Illuminati? Or is he a member of that organisation?
“Can you recall your horde of Soul Eaters?” asks Melody, unfazed by his threats.
“Sorry, but who are you?”
Melody taps on the tablet she’s holding, and several guns unveil themselves from the ceilings, walls, and floor, pointing at the cloaked assailant. “I am Raizo’s secretary. I also have full authority over all weapons in this building. So, I would tread carefully if I were you.”
“Well, well. In all honesty, I expected to find resistance from Raizo, but not some nobody woman with no realisation of where she belongs.”
“Enough! You appeared unannounced, and you insulted my secretary. Whoever you may be, I will give you three seconds to disappear. Or else…”
“Well, it seems ‘peace’ is no longer on the table.”
“One.”
“Since I never introduced myself, let me enlighten you.”
“Two.”
“I am Necromancer, a member of—”
“Three.” On the third count, I leapt forward, using my Thunder Magic as a coat to enhance my speed, and punched him through my office doors. “Melody, take his corpse and dispose—”
“My, my. You pack quite the punch, Raizo.”
What? He’s still alive? But I’m sure my punch connected.
Melody tugs onto my shirt and says, with a look of horror, “Sir, it’s Callisto…”
When she said those words, I could feel Callisto’s magic leak through the cracks of this structure. “There’s another presence.”
“That would be my partner, Joker,” says Necromancer, walking into the room again. “He loves playing with his prey, so your subordinate should be fine. That is if he can satisfy Joker.”
“Thunder Magic: Bane of Thunder.” A magic circle appears above Necromancer and fires multiple thunderbolts at him. The electricity generated from all those attacks will kill any human being. “This is the end of your shenanigans.”
As the thunderbolts fry him, his cries grow dim until nothing sounds. His charred body falls with a thump.
“Melody, take his body out of here.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Are you sure you want to do that, Young Lady?”
“Wha—” Necromancer’s charred body… His dead body rises. “How did you…?”
“Survive? Do you believe in the concept of immortality?”
Immortality? That is not something that a human should possess. Unless…
“You are not human.”
“Correct. I am undead. A moving corpse. That means your attacks will not kill me. But I would like to ask that you not attack me again. Though I am undead, I can still feel pain. Being struck with thunder is not an ideal torture.”
Impossible. Undead are supposed to exist in the underworld only. For someone like him, who can summon a horde of Soul Eaters, to roam in Leagard disregards what my organisation seeks to attain. And it’s not him alone. His partner, Joker. That witch, Elisabeth Faith. The dragon, Haruki Ryu. All these monsters are threats I swore to dispose of to protect Leagard. Yet here they are, swarming this realm like it’s their backyard.
“I’ve had enough of this.”
“S-Sir?”
“Thunder Magic: Lightning Armour.” A thick coat of mana wraps my body like a suit of armour. I raise my arm, and in my hand, a bolt appears. “Thunder Magic: Zeus’ Bolt.” I draw my arm back and tighten my grip on the bolt of thunder before I jerk my arm forward and let go of it. “Die,” I say as the bolt flies, breaking through the sound barrier upon release. The sonic boom shakes the room, and gusts of wind blow the loose pages through the air. The thunderbolt strikes Necromancer through the heart and sends him flying through multiple walls.
A crowd of Grand Order members has gathered around in the main hall, and I follow the trail of holes to reach them. I search the centre of the crowd, but Necromancer is no longer there. What remains is my thunderbolt and the cloak he was wearing.
“Did he escape? From that?”
Necromancer is a crafty foe. I assume his magic involves spatial transfer—something akin to Summoning Magic. And he must have a large mana reserve to summon thousands of Soul Eaters. If the other members of his organisation are equal, or more powerful than him, then…
“Melody, have Callisto return to HQ. We have a problem on our hands.”
“What about the Soul Eaters?”
“I have faith in… Wait, why are Haruki and Louisa’s mana diminishing at such a fast rate? What’s happening over there?”
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His body shines a bright white colour. A long serpent-like tail slithers out from his lower back. His body grows taller than any of the surrounding trees. And his head morphs into a scaly, serpent-like head with horns growing from his cranium. The human Haruki impersonated becomes this being of utter beauty. No words could describe this awe-inspiring scene. As I stare at his mighty figure, tears stream down my face. My arms are unwilling to wipe them away, and my head refuses to move its gaze from Haruki. But my mind does not care for this display of beauty. Instead, it shows a replay of my crimes last night. Enough… That’s… enough… ‘Niklaus.’ Haruki? ‘I am not Haruki, only an incarnation of his mind. In this form, I am unable to process thought, so I sent my consciousness into you.’ How is that possible? ‘I… can’t explain it. But just know that I am your ally. And I’m here to help you.’ I’m beyond help, Haruki. I killed those men. It’s as you said, five lives no longer live bec
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"How about we test it out here, then?""What? Are you serious?"He laughs. "Your mana is flaring again. Are you that excited?"Ever since I became an Acceelos, I had this gnawing feeling... "Are you sure you want to do this?" I ask him."Are you getting cold feet now, Haruki?""Cold feet? Are you joking?"... of wanting to fight someone powerful. "I'm hyped."Satan walks a long distance from me. "Well then, I think it's only appropriate that I take a proper form when I face you, don't you think?""A proper form?"Satan's mana leaks from his body like smoke. Red streaks? Red streaks of smoke rise from his pale, raisin skin."This pruned form is what the picture books in Leagard paint me as. It was also easier to move around in Leagard in this form. But that is far from what my true form is."His... true form...His body suddenly exudes smoke in excess. The smoke swirls around his body in a vicious storm—masking his body and presence. After a few seconds, a hole in the smoke storm hisse
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'This feeling of bliss… It’s nostalgic.''This is the Path—a bridge between the realms. It induces serenity within your mind to distract you from your body being ripped to shreds and formed anew.''R-ripped to shreds?'‘Yes. It’s a gruesome process but the Path was designed to put your mind at ease through the transportation.’‘Wait? Won’t I be rejected from Netherworld like I was in Leagard? Am I going to disappear?’'Calm down, Haruki. You won’t disappear. There are two types of Paths: Legal and Illegal. You were forcefully sent to Leagard through an Illegal Path, which didn’t allow your body’s genetic code to integrate into the realm's network. This is a Legal Path. This gory process is a means for the realm to identify and integrate our genetic code.''I-I see.'Despite being ripped to shreds and restructured, Satan was right, I didn’t feel any pain or discomfort. The process went by in a flash. One second all I saw was an array of purple hues streaming before my eyes, the next I
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This is Leviathan? She’s huge. “Haruki Ryu?” she repeats. “Hmm, rolls off the tongue much better than Code Name: Ryu, wouldn’t you say, Satan?” Satan? Her eyes fall on the demon. “So, you’re Satan?” He does not answer me. Instead, he says, “Leviathan, we want to enter Netherworld. Let us through.” “Of course, I’d be delighted to assist you. But are you here for that?” She looks at me. “Is that the only reason you came to meet me?” I shake my head, “No, I came to ask for your help.” “My help?” “There’s a man… Or, something that has taken over the Borneheimer Kingdom. We want your help in exterminating him.” “You want my help? You do know the power you possess right now is near-unrivalled. Whoever this mysterious being is, I doubt they could defeat you.” “So, that’s a no?” Leviathan remains silent. She thinks for a moment, then says, “I will help you. This man… No, this God is not someone you want to fight alone. Not when you’re still getting used to your newfound powers.” “G
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After my fight with Behemoth, the demon and I took off to where he says Leviathan is. “You say that was a spur-of-the-moment spell?” he asks, surprised. “Yes,” I reply, thinking back on my studies in Ragnarök, “I did as you said and hit Behemoth with a spell more powerful than Judgement.” But then again, Judgement may have worked just as well. I definitely powered up. “You’re more of a monster than Lucifer said,” he whispers. “Lucifer? Come to think of it, who are you to Lucifer anyway? For him to send you must mean he trusts you quite a bit.” “Trust?” The demon snickers, “Trust, you say. Lucifer does not trust me. And I don’t trust him either. We’re at odds, you see.” “Then why would you take orders from him?” The demon remains silent. We fly for another minute before he responds, “Lucifer is the King. And as King, he has the final say.” I can’t feel any emotion in his words. His expression is tame. And I just noticed this, I can’t see his mana. My eyes sharpened with this new
