"Good morning, Supreme Dont~" The maids would say every time she passed by, greeting their current ruler~ She made the NPCs very happy simply by returning their greeting with a wave~
Walking down one of the main corridors of Titania's Palace, she encountered a maid who was acting somewhat strangely.
"Beleth?" Dont asked the maid, who looked at her and bowed.
"Ah, good morning, Supreme Dont." The woman exclaimed, with the cold yet elegant demeanor that characterized her. Although… Since she saw her, she had only been standing to one side.
"Hm… Is something wrong, my dear?" The gentle Demon hummed, curious and somewhat worried…
"Uhm… I'm truly sorry, Supreme. But I don't know." She admitted. "Supreme Black Abyss White Flower was here a moment ago. I greeted her as is proper and deserved for any Supreme, but… I still don't understand her words…" She said, sounding confused.
"Hmm? What words?" The Shooter raised an eyebrow.
"Well… I said good morning, and she replied, 'Ugh, if you're going to be a stone, act like one.' So I'm trying to mentally prepare myself to be a stone… But it's proving rather difficult." The maid said, seemingly referring to her own personality.
"…Um…" Dont sweated… Especially since she also wanted to understand the meaning of those words… She didn't think Black Abyss would have any issues with any maid's personality. In fact, she was very kind to all of them.
"Should I ask Lady Eyesight to petrify me?" The maid asked… Dont sweated a little more.
"Uh, no, no… Just continue as you were before." She sighed, a little worried. This Black Abyss… Although the fact that the NPCs took everything so personally was also a problem, but… There was definitely something… Ever since they returned from the war against the Dragon Lords, she had been acting differently…
"Understood, I'm sorry for being so naive as to be able to understand the words of a superior being like Lady Black Abyss." The maid blurted out.
"No… It's alright… Sometimes Black Abyss does things that even the other Supremes don't understand…" Dont admitted, amused by how adorable and silly her beloved Angel was~
She would have to find her and find out why she was saying strange things to the NPCs…
Dont continued her walk, this time towards the throne room. If there was a common place where she could find her or summon her, it was there. Although… In the middle of the corridor stood one of the Commanders, Achernar. Thoughtful…
"Hmm? Achernar?" She hummed, what a surprise~ Usually, the Dragonoid spent his time hiding in the shadows, training some NPCs and POPs, or with Superbia. Although she would prefer they didn't fight so much…
"Oh, Great Dont-Say-My-Name, it's a pleasure to see you healthy and radiant." The man said, giving a very deep bow, with one arm across his chest in a sign of respect.
"Fufu~ I'm glad you're well as well~ I noticed… You were thoughtful. Is something wrong?" She asked. If Achernar himself was tormented by something…
"Hm… Something is wrong, my Queen. First of all, I'm a failure like a son." He stated firmly to the Demon.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Dont blinked, surprised by such statements from him.
"U-Um… You see, the Supreme Black Abyss White Flower was here a while ago." Black Abyss again… "Naturally, I noticed something strange about her, something out of the ordinary due to the heightened senses the great Supreme Beings granted me. But when I asked if she was alright, her response was, 'If you call yourself my son, you should know,' but I don't…" The level 100 NPC exclaimed, closing his eyes and facing at the ground.
"Uh…" She sweated… Black Abyss wasn't that aggressive, was she?
She was always especially affectionate with Achernar, Mimosa, and Caren because they were her creations… In fact, she had long considered them like children…
"Uh-huh… It's okey, don't overthink it. It was probably just a test to see, uh…" She tried to come up with something. "To see if you'd be interested in discovering the answer or if you'd dismiss it as unimportant, yes."
"I see… Then she must have tested Bachelory too…" Achernar remarked, making Dont raise an eyebrow.
"U-Ujum. Yes… A while ago…" She sweated, looking to the side. "But don't ask about it. I'll go find Black Abyss now…"
"Understood. I'd like to help her, but she didn't mention where she was going. Perhaps Bachelory knows. He's the last one who saw her, as far as I know, Supreme." He indicated. "In fact, she herself sent him to the treasury, so I should be able to find him there."
"Ujum, I understand… I'll go look for him then." She nodded… The treasury? What for?
…
There wasn't a big waiting, for Dont could move around Titania with complete freedom and instantaneously, so reaching the treasury wasn't difficult, though what she saw…
"1,234,940,126" Bachelory counting Yggdrasil coins…
"Greetings, Bachelory~ What are you doing?" Dont greeted, before inclining her head curiously.
"Hm!? Oh~ Grand Queen, what a pleasure to have you here~" Bachelory said, kneeling on the ground, lowering his head to Dont. "I'm counting all the Yggdrasil coins that the Supreme Ones possess~" The elegant man indicated, seeing that… He had barely covered a small section of the treasury.
"Why? Isn't that Cecilion's job?" She questioned. They didn't have a decorative treasurer…
"Indeed. But there must be something, my lady. Not long ago, I encountered Lady Black Abyss." He indicated, getting up from the floor… Dont sweated a little… "I noticed something strange, and I asked if she was alright. Her response was, 'Me? Look at you, lazybones, go count all the coins in the treasury.' So, I find myself doing just that." He explained.
Did she insult an NPC…? Seriously? Well, lazybones wasn't the worst insult, but still…
What on earth was wrong with that big assed woman?
"Do you know where she is?" She asked, frowning.
"Not currently. But I have a good idea of who to ask, my Queen." He indicated, clicking his finger, with a [Gate] opening behind him. "I was talking to Eyesight to try to figure out what was going on, but you'll do a much better job than I could in a million years. Please find out what's happening, Supreme." Bachelory blurted out, bowing again.
Were they giving her a side mission…?
"Ujum… Oh, and you can stop doing that… Go back to your normal duties…" She sweated, noticing the Doppelganger still counting coins.
"Understood." He nodded to himself, as Dont passed through the portal.
What she saw then was…
"Symbiosis!" Mochi, one of Mishirifus's maidens, exclaimed with great intensity.
"I don't think that's it…" Saku said, scratching her cheek, clearly doubtful.
"What could it be then?" Amasu asked.
"Perhaps one of those Outer Gods that the Supreme Ones used to bully." Mikon theorized.
"Wah!" With her arrival and Tamamo's surprise at seeing Dont, the maidens turned around, giving an instant bow.
""""Welcome, Great Supreme Queen Dont-Say-My-Name!""" They said in unison to the dark-haired woman.
"Mm~ Greetings, dear Mikos~" Dont hummed, happy to see the lovely sisters together~ Always so cute and fun~
Footsteps were heard, and a final woman appeared.
"Is that the voice I hear? Who do I think it is~?" Murmured the girl, appearing with her cat-like tail and ears. "What an honor to have you visit us, Supreme~" Mishirifus said, elegant and noble as always.
"Ah~ Greetings, Mishirifus~ It's been a while since I've visited~ It's about time~" The Demon smiled beautifully, admiring the high-level Werecat.
"And you've come at the perfect time~ I was praying for you to appear, and as always, my prayers were answered~" The cat girl remarked, as the Mikos prepared the room for the meeting.
"Naturally~ I'm the one who hears your prayers~" Dont joked about the role, since, well, it was true that the Miko prayed for the guild members…
"Then allow me to get to the heart of the matter~ Your wife and our great Supreme Lady, Black Abyss White Flower~" She said, pointing to a whiteboard that the Mikos had been covering while looking at it. The whiteboard had a very nice drawing of the Seraph, with the words 'Mitosis,' 'Symbiosis,' and 'Meiosis' on either side, as well as a drawing of a strange engine underneath…
"Uh… And what's that?" She asked… What kind of topic was this…?
"You see, yesterday I had the good fortune to run into Supreme Black Abyss at Titania's Palace, after I had finished discussing with Bachelory the matter of teaching prayer to the Supremes for the citizens of Deorum Regnum~" She said, sitting down on a small cushion the Mikos had brought, clearly one for Dont as well, who sat down likewise. "Seeing other people's spirits is normal for me, as normal as breathing~ But… When I saw Supreme Black Abyss, I noticed something different, two auras about her. I didn't think much of it, but after hearing about her actions from some voices, I'm starting to think that something is trying to take over the Supreme…" She grumbled, almost annoyed by the thought.
"Huh?" Dont opened her eyes and stood up quickly. "Trying to take over…? A Parasite? But how could one have entered her… I doubt it's a Spirit, she's a freaking Angel Paladin…" Thousands of theories raced through Dont's worried mind.
"The biology of a being as superior as the Supreme Black Abyss White Flower makes her impossible to parasitize with anything from this world. It should also be impossible for her to get sick, but the voices have told me that the Supreme has mentioned headaches. Therefore, one possibility is that something from another world is trying to take her over somehow." The cat girl mentioned.
"Headache… It could be an attempt to control her mind. Where is she?" Dont questioned instantly.
"Please, I will insist that you don't go alone. In fact, we had something planned to introduce you to Lord Bachelory, who would then introduce you to her." At that, Mikon appeared with a high-level divination device in her hands. "We wanted to see firsthand if anything was near her, and if so, take steps to safeguard the Supreme's safety. We will not allow a Supreme to be at risk for any reason whatsoever," Mishirifus stated seriously.
"Understood. Put Titania on alert. If something can penetrate its walls without Eyesight noticing, and mentally affect Black Abyss, we could have enemies worse than the Dragon Lords, if not them." She hissed.
Mishirifus nodded, and the plan quickly began…
…
Dont followed Mikon, the Supreme being guarded by Achernar and Miia, who had been instantly summoned for this occasion. If anything could control Black Abyss, then Miia had to be present, being a creature stronger than any Supreme except Jamon.
And stealthily they approached the door… Looking into the kitchen, there was a full banquet… The entire kitchen was bustling, and at the table, Black Abyss was eating with a smile.
"Supreme…" Mikon almost whimpered, pointing the divination device, waiting…
Dont grimaced and grabbed her rifle, aiming at the Paladin.
"Black Abyss." She called. "Hands up."
The kitchen stopped, and Black Abyss did too, staring there.
"Hinds ip." The white-haired woman snorted, eating.
Dont blinked and growled, suddenly firing a bullet into the ceiling, drawing attention as she aimed again.
Obviously, they weren't harmful bullets, just pure CC. But she still didn't want to shoot her dove…
It stared at Dont, fixed and threatening…
"The divination worked." Miia murmured, with Mikon showing Dont the results… Black Abyss, obviously, a level 100 creature. And an unknown creature…
"Black Abyss. There's something wrong with you. We detected a second entity within you." She explained, still aiming at the Paladin.
"Do I look like a cell? I don't undergo mitosis to divide." The Seraph sighed, though Mikon seemed to sigh with relief at that information.
"Uh, no, I'm saying there might be an entity trying to control you. We're just going to check and clear the effect. Okay?" What a sassy attitude that fat assed girl had.
"… Do whatever you want." The white-haired girl grunted, continuing with her meal. Dont looked towards Mikon, who nodded, approaching Black Abyss, followed by Miia.
The Miko bowed deeply, pointing her hands towards her.
"[Expel Evil]" The Exorcist said, a white light cleansing Black Abyss. The Miko used the divination spell again, her eyes widening in surprise. "D-Didn't it work…?"
"What a surprise. Go exorcise a plant." The Angel muttered, taking a sip of water.
One of Dont's eyes twitched at that aggressive response…
That… Wasn't like Black Abyss.
"Sweetheart. Are you alright?" She asked.
"Hmph!" Black Abyss replied, looking away… A clearly uncharacteristic attitude.
"SUPREME!" Startling everyone present, Eyesight's voice echoed around them, a [Gate] suddenly opening beside the two players, with the girl emerging. "I-I think I know what's going on!" Eyesight indicated.
"... Explain yourself." She blurted out, feeling extremely uneasy.
"I-I observed the stars again and again, and I scanned all of Titania 71 times… But I didn't find anything that has entered or is influencing anything in Titania…" She asserted, with Dont and everyone else confused by this revelation. "Even so…" She swallowed. "I looked more closely at what is parasitizing the Supreme Black Abyss White Flower, and… I-It's a Level 1 entity…" She revealed.
"Huh?" The Demon blinked…
Level 1? What kind of weak thing could possibly appear in Black Ab-…?
A random, improbable thought popped into Dont's mind, freezing her in place.
"Because of how difficult it is to overcome the Supreme's defenses against divination, it took me longer than expected, and two electrocutions, but I know…" She swallowed again.
"Oh, so that was it…" Black Abyss murmured, as if remembering that something was trying to access her most confidential information.
"The level 1 creature possesses the race of… Malak'Zar…" The girl said.
The room fell into deathly silence, watching the Gorgon for several long minutes… And it was Black Abyss who broke the silence…
"What is a Malak'Zar…?"
"… I think I've seen one before…" Dont murmured, trying to remember… It was… A race, yes… But… The name itself was extremely ambiguous. Who knew what it actually meant?
Still… She remembered Ghøst mentioning it once… Ugh… Why was it so hard to remember…?
And then it hit her like a ton of bricks.
"… A mixture of Demon and Angel." She paled, looking at Black Abyss.
"What does that mean?" The white-haired girl asked, eating a sausage.
"I-It means that what we were seeing wasn't a parasite…" Eyesight blurted out, tears streaming down her cheeks, a wide smile spreading across her face. "It's a new Supreme~!" She shouted happily…
A few seconds of absolute silence followed those words… And…
Several cooks collapsed to the floor, fainting from the news.
"Am I… pregnant…?" Black Abyss asked, blinking repeatedly.
"A-A new Supreme~!?" Achernar exclaimed in utter surprise, while Miia froze at the thought.
Dont was so paralyzed that she dropped her rifle. Such an unlikely event, cutting off her arms was the only way she would do it in any other situation.
"Well… That explains how I've been feeling…" Black Abyss murmured, rising from her chair.
"A-A Supreme…~ H-How wonderful…~" Mikon gasped through tears, looking at Black Abyss, who seemed somewhat uncomfortable with the attention.
"… Aren't you going to say anything?" The Supreme asked Dont. "It's your fault after all." She said, pointing a finger at her.
"... I…" She gasped. "..." Dont used a skill and appeared before the Paladin. Without warning or consent, she grabbed her head and pressed it against her chest, embracing her.
Black Abyss, clearly surprised by the movement, relaxed, hugging her back.
"Mm… I feel better…" The Seraph whispered, snuggling against the Demon Queen.
"... I love you." The Demon murmured, feeling her heart race.
Within her, a profound silence resonated between her different selves, with the Demon Queen sitting on her throne… smiling faintly.
"I love you too…~"
Hearing her respond with those words, in this context… It was almost a dream suddenly come true. And the moment seemed to last forever~
…
Tsaindorcus Vaison took a deep breath before exhaling.
He tried to ignore the fixed gaze of the two women beside him.
After all… A lot had happened… And he had to take action.
"I still don't understand how you ended up fighting Titania." The old woman sighed, scratching her cheek.
"… I still don't understand why half the population of Eryuentiu had to be sacrificed." Evileye muttered under her breath, lacking Rigrit's confidence in speaking to the Dragon Lord.
"… I don't know what happened to Titania either… But it seems it was one of Komodo's last tricks before it died." The Dragon hissed, clenching his jaw as he snorted.
"From what you said, she might not have a very good relationship with Dragon Lords. Or Dragons in general." Rigrit murmured, glancing sideways at Evileye. "But it's good that it only destroyed your armor. The losses were… The greatest in a long time…"
"Hm… Rasilyk and Malaindrus are dead." He mentioned it as if he'd forgotten that detail.
Evileye flinched slightly.
After all, she'd just heard, yet again, how two of the strongest Dragon Lords had died at Komodo's hands. That makes four that the Demon has taken…
"From what I hear, the Theocracy suffered very heavy losses as well." Rigrit muttered.
"Not that I particularly care what happens to the Theocracy." Tsaindorcus snorted.
"The interesting thing is the context. It seems the captain of the Black Scripture betrayed Deorum Regnum, they tried to kill Titania, she killed them, but her companion, a rather powerful mage, died as well. Then she encountered Komodo, and you." She sighed.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Komodo caused that confrontation." He hissed. He didn't truly believe the Theocracy would betray a human who was clearly descended from a Player. While she might not be a descendant of the Six Great Gods, it didn't matter to them, since they didn't know the girl's lineage. They could simply say she was a Demigoddess of their own Gods, and people would believe them.
"But Komodo's already dead, isn't it?" Evileye muttered from the side.
"Yes. Judging by how all the Demons turned to dust after a massive explosion that shook the sky and earth after I lost my armor, it can be concluded that Komodo was killed." Tsaindorcus nodded. It was at least a small consolation. That thing wouldn't cause any more deaths. "The Argland Council was able to maintain contact with Deorum Regnum, reporting that Titania returned alone, but after saying they would sever ties with the Theocracy and Argland, she shut herself away." He snorted.
"Yeah, I wouldn't be going out much after all that either." The old woman chuckled slightly.
"... Hm… Certainly, the Komodo Demon will be forever etched in the history of the world… Tch." Tsaindorcus clicked his tongue in anger… This was almost like the Greed Kings event… Only with a single opponent, it still caused too much destruction and loss in this world…
"I believe the disappearance of 50% of Eryuentiu's population will also leave its mark." The old woman muttered dryly.
"Do you understand that the population of Eryuentiu exists precisely to replenish my power in case of emergency?" Tsaindorcus questioned, not wanting to be judged for something he wasn't particularly happy about doing himself.
"Even so, there were better ways…" Evileye muttered as well.
"I not only had to fight Komodo, but also Titania. The expenditure I incurred was considerable." The enormous winged being sighed. "I had to spend all those souls just to recreate armor that's considerably weaker than the one I lost." He added, pointing to the almost identical copy of his armor at his side.
"Can't you use… 'That' thing we salvaged from the Demon Realm?" Evileye asked.
"I don't know what it does, and we didn't have a chance to use it against Komodo because of how it played with us." The Dragon Lord hissed, not even wanting to glance at the cursed object.
"It would be better to destroy it. It can't be anything good." Rigrit said seriously.
"I'd rather not test whether destroying it summons that thing again." Tsaindorcus retorted. "Instead, I'd rather have to resort to recruiting the remaining Dragon Lords. With the loss of four, the Alliance is severely weakened. I must gather the rest to at least… Put something together." He growled, feeling extremely stressed.
For the first time in a long time, he didn't know what to do at all.
His options were utterly hopeless. One who didn't care, another who had been asleep for hundreds of years, another who had betrayed his race, an identical one, some weaklings who still needed to develop…
"You could try to mend things with Titania. She's quite righteous when it comes to good, or well, Evileye knows her better than I do really, but that seems to be the case. It's not in our best interest for you, the strongest of us all, to be at odds with a powerful ally." Rigrit indicated to the Dragon.
"I don't think it will be easy. Most likely, I'll need a third party, but that could take years of careful maneuvering. Or we might not even reconcile, and she might die of old age. So the best bet is to ally with one of her descendants when that happens. For the time being, Deorum Regnum is a good shield and spear against threats, so I'll let them be while I rebuild our strength." Tsaindorcus decided.
He understood that a betrayal could simply never be forgiven, even when it wasn't a real betrayal, but merely the plot of their common enemy who professionally distorted the truth.
Perhaps waiting one or even two generations before approaching Deorum Regnum again would be wise. Let them forget about him, perhaps change his name, and use some magic to alter the appearance of his armor… But in the meantime, he had to find a way to… Regain his numbers. Not the numbers of his forces themselves, but… The numbers of his race.
The only female True Dragon died during Deorum Regnum's campaign against the Komodo forces in the Holy Kingdom. There was another female, but that wretched creature had betrayed her race so utterly that she couldn't even reproduce.
So the only option left was to create hybrids, like the Youngs of Tomorrow, which suffered enormous losses, even severing the bloodlines of Dragon Lords or reducing incredibly the draconic descendence, since it was impossible for Golden to have had even half of his children in Argland.
Or alternatively, breed Semi-True Dragons, so to speak…
But for that, he would have to find some False Dragon out there, court her, or force herself on her, and he didn't much like the latter, as it could sow resentment between species, and between his future offspring and himself.
"What's with that face? Thinking inappropriate thoughts again?" Rigrit said with a mocking smile.
"..." The Dragon didn't reply, but having to admit it certainly wasn't the best thing on his mind. "Hm… I'll need one of you two to infiltrate Deorum Regnum. I don't think the ties with Argland will easily allow for tourism or immigration, and they'll be careful not to leave any spies behind. And naturally, I can't exactly show myself around, and divination is impossible. I need to know what's going on in there. It doesn't matter if it's Rigrit, or all of Blue Rose, just go in." He grumbled.
"It's always 'I need this' and 'that.' Never 'Rigrit, what do you need~?' " She blurted out, a bead of sweat forming on the Dragon's skin.
"… Do you need something…?" He asked.
"A handsome Euryentian, and a glass of water, I'm thirsty."
"I think we can get into Deorum Regnum without much trouble. We worked with Titania once." Evileye blurted out, ignoring what Rigrit said.
"Hm… And from what I understand, there seems to be a sub-faction in Deorum Regnum led by the surviving nobles and royals of Re-Estize…" The Dragon murmured, remembering that the princess of Re-Estize and some bodyguards had also been present at the meeting between Deorum Regnum, the Theocracy, and Argland…
"That's right, I heard that too. We're not exactly close friends, but I know a few who are living in Deorum Regnum now." The girl emphasized. "And well, the captain even more so, she's much more politically savvy than I am."
"Good… In that case, take advantage of this to get involved in politics a bit. I'm not asking you to plot, but be on the lookout if that princess receives any information or anything like that. Prioritize military intelligence, especially regarding Titania, and commercial intelligence if possible." The Dragon Lord nodded, satisfied with that.
"Hmm." The girl nodded.
"What a problem, I'm already being replaced~" The older woman laughed.
"… Speaking of which." Tsaindorcus sighed.
Evileye looked at the Dragon Lord in surprise, but Rigrit just chuckled.
"I think I can hold out for another 40 years~ Unless I find some pretty object that helps me~" The old woman chuckled.
"… I understand." The Dragon murmured, quite quietly.
"Uh… I think I'd better go now." Evileye muttered. "Unless there's something else going on, of course."
"No… Not right now." Tsaindorcus concluded the meeting. "I'll be thinking for a bit. And when I'm ready, I'll have to leave to take care of several things."
Evileye nodded. "[Teleportation]" She blurted out, a magic circle appearing beneath her feet and vanishing instantly.
"That would be good, you were getting quite lazy~ And a hoarder of things, they say that comes with age." She assured him with a chuckle, stretching her back slightly, a few bones creaking, before sighing in relief.
"Hrrm…" the Dragon grumbled, but grateful for at least a respite from the responsibility… Something to release the immense pain of recent events.
He looked up at the window that faced the sky… The moonlight reflected in his eyes…
And then he looked down at his new armor…
… He would do what he had to do. For the good of this world they condemned…
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Name: Hanzel (2.0)
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