As I stood on the rooftop, staring down as the flames started to consume the entirety of the castle, I silently wondered how long it would take Kaido to find me.
He wasn't the first, as mere moments later, a group of winged Gifters came launching out of the hole, intent on defending their Captain.
"Who the hell are you-"
Unfortunately for them, I was expecting Kaido - not a bunch of fodder. Sufficient to say, I wasn't in the mood to deal with weaklings, so I simply knocked them out before they even knew what was happening.
Admittedly, I quickly grew bored as I just stood there - knocking out the occasional grunt that came up to stop me, then safely bringing them down to the bottom of the castle so they wouldn't die from the aftershocks of the battle between me and Kaido, and then came back up to wait for more.
I guess they just skip over this part in all the anime, huh? Now I know what it felt like to be the big-bad boss and just stand there, waiting, as the 'Hero' came to take me down. The roles were a bit reversed here, as I was probably more of a hero than Kaido, even if neither of us were very heroic, but the feeling stayed nonetheless.
Then, some excitement finally came as a figure burst out from the broken hole - landing on the rooftop in front of me with an excited, battle-hungry grin on their face. Unfortunately, it was the wrong member of the Beast Clan.
"Valon!" Yamato cheered, smiling brightly as she saw me, "Took you long enough! I've been aching to get started for days!"
She finished her statement by yanking her arms apart and effortlessly snapping apart the cuffs clamped on her wrists.
"It hasn't even been a week," I replied dryly at the woman's words, but my lips twitched into a grin at how excited she was. "Besides, you've been waiting decades for this moment. Another week added onto that doesn't hurt."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Yamato hummed, her large metallic club leaning on her shoulder - which would've crushed the bones of a normal person, and should've at least caused blood to be drawn, but for the daughter of Kaido, it was nothing more than a light weight.
"So, are we going there now?!" Yamato continued, practically buzzing with eagerness to get the show started, "I know all around the castle! I can bring you to him right away!"
"I know the layout as well. I've been here to scout a few times already," I shook my head lightly, just tilting my head to stare down the deep hole in the roof, "I know where he is, but I'm waiting for him to come to me."
"Huh?" Yamato blinked, looking over at me curiously, "Why?"
I didn't answer immediately as my lips twitched up in a large grin. The reason was pretty simple.
"Roof fights are badass."
And no one could tell me I was wrong!
"...Yeah, they are, right?" Luckily for me, Yamato didn't attempt to, as she just grinned at my words.
We stood there for another minute, staring down at the large hole, but just as I was feeling like the silence was getting awkward, the man of the hour arrived. Or, more specifically, the beast of the hour.
A massive silhouette came launching out from the hole, and the entire castle shook under my feet from the force of Kaido's jump. He overshot the roof - launching far into the air as a massive shadow covered both me and Yamato, before he came crashing back down.
The massive figure slammed down onto the rooftop, causing the whole castle's structure to shake violently as he… fell through it and created another hole.
"Um…" I stared blankly, actually at a loss for words, as Kaido's form crashed into the area next to the initial hole I created, and then just… kept going. Multiple crashes and bangs rang out as the massive man plummeted back through all the floors to the bottom, and he completely faded from view.
"Should… should we go down?" Yamato asked, the usually confident and cheerful woman actually looking a bit confused herself.
"Maybe he'll come back up?" I countered, my tone slightly hopeful, but also slightly doubtful. Luckily for myself, I ended up actually being right, as the same massive figure came soaring back through the second hole a moment later.
The castle shook again from the force, but he didn't overshoot this time - just landing in front of me and Yamato. As the figure finally stood tall, Kaido looked about as I expected him to.
He was tall, towering over even myself - something that was rare in the DxD world, but less rare here - as he was easily over 20 feet tall. He had a muscular and broad body, looking like a mixture of a bodybuilder and a trained fighter, as his punches would definitely have some power behind them.
He had long, curly, and messy black hair, along with two massive white horns sticking out of his head. He was wearing just a tight pair of pants around his legs, along with two chains hanging around his waist, and what looked to be two broken spiked handcuffs around his wrists - as if he had broken out of restraints and never bothered taking off the remains.
His bare chest was visible to the world, and he was holding a large, spiked kanabo in his hand - which looked like a much bigger, and much deadlier, version of the club Yamato was carrying as well.
As Kaido cast a large shadow over both me and Yamato, I took in the box floating above his head.
[Captain of the Beast Pirates] [Yonko] [Kaido] - Level 2,000
Reputation: Neutral
I nodded appreciatively at the level - truly, I was impressed. I didn't know what to expect from the Emperor, but it hadn't been this.
He wasn't overwhelmingly strong, but he'd easily be one of the strongest additions to my army. He couldn't handle someone like Sirzechs in his true form, but from just a level perspective - which was underselling Sirzechs a lot, since his Power of Destruction was part of what made him so powerful - Kaido would be able to keep up with the former Maou in his normal state.
I wouldn't say this battle would be difficult, but it at least wouldn't be easy. I was wondering if the Boosted Gear would make me too powerful for someone like Kaido, but it seems that I would still be able to have some fun here.
Also, I had expected him to have been at least a bit closer to Yamato's level. I knew that the woman could never beat him, or even really come close, but she had at least been able to keep up with him for a bit - even in his hybrid form, which I suspected would increase his level again.
As I stared at him, I glanced over in surprise - not at anything he did, but instead at the quest that appeared in the corner of my vision.
[Quest]
Defeat the Beast Pirates!
Subdue or Kill [Kaido]
Subdue or Kill [King]
Subdue or Kill [Queen]
Subdue or Kill [Jack]
Rewards:
All [Subordinate]'s owned by [Kaido]
+50,000 STR
+25,000 AGI
+50,000 END
+25,000 HREG
+All unclaimed [Oni] related skills!
+All [Oni] related skills will be raised to level 25!
+All unclaimed [Lunarian] related skills!
+All [Lunarian] related skills will be raised to level 25!
Failure:
Lose your stronghold in the C-Rank World
I grinned as the quest appeared, having some pretty good rewards overall. The stats weren't insane or anything, especially with how many I had at this point, but they were a nice addition. And, the main prize was the skills - especially the Lunarian ones.
I didn't know exactly what I would get, but they're a rare race with only a few surviving members, and they could create fire - so I expected at least something different. However, I didn't think about it much, as this wasn't the only quest that appeared.
[Quest]
Conquer Wano!
Subdue or Kill [Kurozumi Orochi]
Receive the loyalty of the [Flower Capital]
Receive the loyalty of [Kuri]
Receive the loyalty of [Kibi]
Receive the loyalty of [Udon]
Receive the loyalty of [Hakumai]
Receive the loyalty of [Ringo]
Receive the loyalty of [Onigashima]
Rewards:
All [Territory] within [Wano]
All [Subordinates] within [Wano]
Failure:
Never Conquer Wano
This one went pretty hand-in-hand with the last one, as taking down the new shogun, Orochi, would be something my forces at the Flower Capital would need to do anyway. Luckily, I had discovered that anyone within my [Faction] completing a quest would count - so I didn't have to worry about running around and trying to deal the final blows on everyone to finish the quest.
Though this quest seemed to be geared towards a more social aspect of conquering. It wouldn't be enough to just take down Kaido's crew and take Wano by force. Instead, I would need to make all the citizens in each region bend the knee willingly and accept my rule.
But, rewards aside, the quest timings in this world seemed a bit random, but it also made sense in a way. Instead of giving me quests to guide me through conquering this world as it had done with the E-Rank World, I was instead discovering them as I naturally progressed.
In this world that was all about freedom, I was being given the freedom to progress on my own - to decide what route I wanted to take. I didn't have quests pushing me in one direction or another, but I'd still unlock them when I was reaching a major milestone or event on my own.
I was being given freedom, but also not being punished for taking it. I'd still get the quests and the rewards for completing them, but I would be able to dictate what quests I got based on my ambitions.
My lips twitched up into a grin of approval. Good work, system.
I reached back, grabbing the hilt of my sword as a thick tension filled the air. Kaido stared us down, his hand resting on his weapon as Yamato did the same. My legs tensed, my body ready to move the second he did. In just a split second, the battle with Wano on the line would-
"...I'm sorry," I blinked, the tension draining as Kaido's shoulders slumped, and his head hung down, "Ah… damn it… I can't do anything right…"
I stared at him blankly, wondering if I had missed something.
"I missed… I missed the roof…hic… and went through…" Kaido sighed, his tone filled with sorrow as he genuinely seemed sad, "I missed the- hic! roof… you probably hate me… my own daughter hates me… I'm so pathetic…"
Okay, I had definitely missed something. Had I already changed the world somehow? How the hell did just me being here make Kaido this depressed?!
"Don't fall for it, Valon!" Yamato shouted, raising her club as he glared at Kaido with a fire in her eyes, "This is when he's the most dangerous!"
The most dangerous?
I stared at Kaido for a second, tilting my head, and then my eyes widened slightly.
Oh, right. When he gets drunk, he becomes a crazy, mood-switching bastard-
"DON'T LOOK AT ME!" I casually raised my sword, swinging it forward as Kaido moved quickly - hefting up his massive spiked club, and then swinging it down. The world seemed to shake from the force of his swing, and the force of the swing broke the air, causing the impact to blast outward as our weapons met in the middle.
Yamato stiffened, being pushed back just a bit as the clang of metal meeting metal resounded through the rooftop. Our weapons met in the middle as his massive club bored down on my massive-but-notably-less-massive sword in a stalemate.
Then, I casually shoved forward, and Kaido was sent stumbling backwards as I overpowered his strike. His feet pushed down into the ground, stabilizing himself even as his movements were a bit wobbly - clear evidence of his drunkenness, if his mood wasn't enough.
"We skipped over the introductions, didn't we?" I said casually as Kaido regained his balance, his gaze boring down on me, "Kaido, Captain of the Beast Pirates."
"Eh?" Kaido just muttered, stumbling back a bit drunkenly as his eyes bored into mine, "Who the-hic! hell are you?"
Who am I? What an arrogant question.
"I am Valon. The true Beast King, and the Ruler of the Underworld," I stared, smirking widely at the towering beast, "But, you can call me…"
I raised my sword, pointing it at Kaido's bare chest, which had only a single scar on it.
"Your new King."
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AN: Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be out in a few days!
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