Chapter 114: Chapter 114: It doesn't work, activate plushie shield
"Hooo…" Momonga was spent as he flopped on his bed after teleporting back from his vacation of sorts. He glanced out of the sky and noted that it was late getting late in the Underworld.
Rossweisse let a drunken snore as she was splayed all over the bed in a position that could only be comfortable for someone who had passed out.
'Oh… I guess I chucked her here through [Gate]...' Momonga sighed and adjusted Rossweisse's position to be a bit more comfortable. Or at least no longer upside down on her head.
He hesitated for a moment before letting the [Weaken] continue affecting the woman, then stripping her with [Break item] and clothing her in a comfortable pajama with [Create Item].
'I hope she won't be offended by me stripping her when she was passed out… Ah well.' Momonga sighed while getting up. 'I should probably take a shower…'
He took a step towards the bath… And stumbled a bit. 'Ow, my back…'
Momonga hobbled to the bath, feeling like an old man, and took a quick shower before heading to the 'living room' of his quarters in Phenix estate. 'I need to contact the Elder- ahem, Overlord General and tell it to stop eating Khaos Brigade… I almost stepped on the toes of a giant… I'm lucky the General didn't try to eat Ophis, that would have gone badly…'
"Yes it would have." Ddraig grumbled while having his arms bunched up and the dragon was looking to the side in clear pout. "Ophis would have wiped the floor with your undead."
'It was a good thing she seemed to get along with me, then…'
"Your charm is bullshit, Momonga. It's unfair." Ddraig whined. "What are you planning on doing with Red-senpai's soul?"
'...Behave and maybe I'll tell you.'
"-H-hurgh-" Ddraig stumbled. "Fine… But if you are planning on something nefarious with his soul, I'll… do something!'
'We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.' Momonga dismissed the dragon and Ddraig returned to his pouting.
"Umu… [Message]." Momonga put the anti-divination ring to his finger and cast a few anti-divination scrolls. 'Hm… I'm running low on those scrolls… I suppose I never expected to use so much of them without a restock from Nazarick's treasury… I wonder if the Overlord General knows how to make basic Scrolls? he made the [Scroll of Dark Wisdom], so he must have some levels on scroll crafting and such…'
"My lord! I am-"
"Yes, you've done well." Momonga cut the summon off before it could start. He had learned from Dominion Authority that if he didn't stop them before they got up to the praising-speed. he'd have to struggle to get a word in unless he was prepared for a half-hour rant about 'how great the supremely incredible lord and master Momonga was', supposedly.
Momonga coughed to bring his thoughts to focus. "You have completed your mission in an exemplary manner, but now is time for you to withdraw and focus on another mission. Stop eating Khaos Brigade, and withdraw to some location where you won't be found. Take whatever forces you have gathered on your side with you. You crafted the [Scroll of Dark Wisdom], so I have a new task for you, relating to that."
"My lord, my mistake wa-"
"Your new mission is to start crafting more anti-divination scrolls for my personal use. If you don't know anti-divination spells, you can consume souls in secrecy until you level up and get empty slots you can use for those spells- Actually, do you know [Dark Wisdom]? You can use that to get yourself a spell slot for anti-divination spell. After you've done that, stop eating souls and go lay low for a while. I'll call for you again when I need those Scrolls." Momonga tilted his head. 'Hm, I could use the Overlord General for experiments by proxy… I used him like that once already, but I suppose it should be good as long as I am careful with it…'
"Ah, of course, my glorious master! I see now, my sub-class as Black Counterfeiter was precisely for this purpose, that task… I see! I understand thy glorious plan a bit better now, my inscrutable master!" The Overlord General sounded happy for a moment, before [Emotion Suppression] kicked in and the undead's raspy voice returned to tranquility. "Am I to start immediately?"
"Yes. Alright, I'll contact you again in a week." Momonga ended the [Message] and nodded happily. 'Well, that's one thing off my hands…'
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The Overlord General turned his head and looked at the two greek gods who had confronted him in the middle of his rampage through the city of Los Angeles, as he had spread his undead through the eastern America like undead plague and had consumed San Francisco, adding the foes who had come to confront his advance into his undead horde alongside civilians who hadn't managed to flee.
The undead greek god looked at the Overlord General, while the living one looked suspicious as it eyed the two undead.
"The Supreme Being spoke to me. My mission is clear- And for that, I need the living one to die. Will you pledge yourself to the Supreme One's rule, fellow undead?" The Overlord General looked at Hades, and then focused his eyes on Ares, whose face turned red with anger and a large spear and heavy shield materialized in his hands.
"I knew you were trouble from the star- ugh?!" Ares struck forth, spearing the Overlord General between the ribs in one strike, but as the spear did piercing damage, it did little to the level hundred undead.
In response the Overlord General grabbed Ares's head, flooding him with [Negative Energy Touch] at the same time as Katerina Leviathan stuck out from the shadows, having reduced her presence and appearance to that of a simple thrall to confuse the foe.
A lance of water struck the God of War's back, but failed to penetrate his armor.
However, the [Negative Energy Touch] was enough to cause the God of War to howl in pain and rage, and he lashed out with the shield.
The Overlord General lifted his body hand up to block it, and the blow landed and cracked his forearm. However, before it could fully break a [Stitch] restored it, causing the bone to turn into a mangled mess that he could use as a buckler of sorts.
"HRRAAAAA!" Ares's scream however continued and turned even more angry as [Negative Energy Touch] kept corroding the god's power.
Katarina had explained to the Overlord General the intricacies of 'gods', and how they grew weaker the further they were from their locus of power: If the battle took place in Greece, or near Mount Olympus, Ares would have swept the floor with the Overlord General without so much a thought.
However, the eastern America was not Greece, and the two gods were severely out of their element- Like how the Overlord General's inscrutable master had drawn Norse Pantheon's greatest gods out to Japan, and had them killed.
Overlord General however knew that the fight would be a long one even despite the fact the God of War was weakened, and unleashed his [Black Halo], [Aura of Despair], and other racial skills which caused the God of War to stumble and scream, while Katarina fell to her knees and began to twitch violently on the ground as the madness had affected her as well, even if she had resisted the aura's ability to inflict instant death on low 'level' living things.
Ares screamed harder as [Drain Life] started to pull the god's life from his body, transferring much of it to the Overlord General if only temporarily, and in turn, [Negative Energy] flooded in to fill the void in a manner that caused the God of War's skin to turn black and cracked, while his screams turned hollow and echoing.
However, before the fighting could properly continue… A scythe-strike came from nowhere, decapitating the God of War and causing his body to flop to the ground while his head remained in the Overlord General's grasp.
The undead looked at the God of Greek Underworld who held a bloody scythe in his hands.
"I see. I presume that you have seen the power of the Supreme Being?" the Overlord General asked while casting [Dark Wisdom], causing the head to disintegrate and in turn, break the God of War's soul before it could recompose itself, and the spell turned the soul into an empty spell 'slot' for the undead hybrid-caster.
"Perhaps. Perhaps I didn't like Ares." The statement was simple, and the undead creature covered in intricate gold decorations and wearing a cloth-armor slightly similar to what the Overlord General wore nodded, seemingly at himself. "In truth I've looked at what you've done with the place, and I found it… Intriguing."
Hades looked at the sight of shambling dead, towering Death Knights, and buildings and streets tainted with Negative Energy to the point they were about to burst.
The ground seemed to swim with blood, bones and darkness as the [Necroswarm Giant] turned the streets into giant rivers, and the undead were shuffling forwards up to their knees in the black sludge.
The Overlord General nodded. "I believe that such sights would bring comfort to the Supreme Being. It is only through His intricate and all-covering plans that any of this is even possible. Even our conversation, as well as your actions, are part of his plan."
"Such arrogance… If any of that is truthful, however, I would like to meet this 'master'."
"That is a wish I cannot grant. Master only appears to those he deems worthy, or are part of His plan…" The Overlord General would have narrowed his eyes if he had a fleshy face.
"I see… So he is the kind who skulks in the shadows, unseen and unheard? Is he a coward?"
The Overlord General was mid-cast to conjure a [Grand Fireball] before he caught his temper and put his bony hand down. 'Master's orders were to acquire enough souls to unlock a spell slot for anti-divination spell, then stop killing, and then… Hm… '
The Overlord General paused to contemplate the myriad of meanings and sub-plans underlined in each word that had left the Supreme Being's mouth, and realized that he had foreseen Hades's betrayal. 'I see. 'Lay low'... I understand now. God of Greek 'Under'world… Of course, the Supreme being's gaze encompasses all, past, now, and future…'
"My master does not skulk in the shadows, but rather stands in the brightest light, seen yet unseen, a king and a hero, yet shrouded in that heroism is a monster of noblest cruelty and deepest cunning." The Overlord General put as much reprimand as he could onto his tone, to the point [Emotion Suppression] activated and muted it. "You hide in the dark and shadow, yet you lecture my master of being a skulker and coward?"
The undead Greek God paused and cranked his neck. "Haa?"
"My lord wages war on all fronts- In minds, in souls, in bodies, and beliefs. Enemies strike at each other on his wim, both sides believing the other to be their greatest foe, and both sides believing my master to be their greatest ally. My charge is but a tiniest part of the Supreme Being's plan, and even your leader's actions were premeditated by him, that of sending Ares to be consumed, knowing that you would betray him." The Overlord General pointed at Hades. "What are you, compared to such cunning?"
"I have no leader!" Hades seemed to grow angry. "Your words ring false, fool!"
"Yet, you follow his orders, like an obedient dog… Were you not sent here, hm?" The Overlord General made a dramatic sighing motion. "I wonder which is worse, a fool that does not know he is being played, or a fool that does yet does nothing about it."
Hades seemed to grow even more angry. "I am not my brother's toy! You are testing your luck, undead!"
"Hm. Yet you substitute thought with anger, and instead of refuting my claims, you threaten me." The Overlord General dismissed the God of Greek Underworld in order to grab Katarina from the ground and use a madness-dispelling Scroll on her. He had made a stack of such Scrolls out of a devil's skin as he had realized that accidentally inflicting [Insanity] debuff on his allies with his auras without a way of dispelling that would likely spell disaster.
The casual dismissal seemed to cause the Greek God to lose himself in rage, and he lashed out with his Scythe… And the Overlord General caught the blade with his arm.
'Piercing and slashing damage… And using death magic against an undead… Fools…' The Overlord General sighed as dark energy flooded through the scythe-stab and healed whatever damage Ares had done to him. In turn the Overlord General grabbed Hades's head. "[Control Undead]."
Hades left a long hiss and the scythe fell from the undead's limp hands.
Overlord General let Hades flop down against the ground.
The Supreme Being's undead picked the scythe up as it had slipped from between the General's bones, and he held the blade to the side in a similar way Hades had kept it.
"RRRRAAAAAGHHHH!" Hades stood up to a sitting position and broke the mind control, and shot up to his feet… Before slowing down as he looked at the Overlord General who had his scythe.
The Overlord General shook his head in mock despair. "To think that even a worthless, mass-produced skeletal servant like me could reduce the Greek God of Underworld to such a state… Tell me, oh gold-clad one, what are you if not a willing lap dog of your brother, pretending you have agency by accepting whatever orders are given to you and barking that you did no such thing? What is your strength when even a grunt like me can dominate your will so easily? You are out of your element here. Your brother knew that, he knew my strength. He knew you were a problem- An undead among the ranks of the living. You were sent here to die."
Hades paused, and the Overlord General saw a brief flash of contemplation mixed in it's anger.
The Supreme Being's undead handed the scythe back to Hades. "Join us. Your revenge is due. You will no longer be a footstool, a footnote in history."
"Yet, I would still be a pawn. One ancient monster is as good as another. At least I know my brother." Hades calmed down as the Overlord General handed the scythe back to him.
"Yet, your brother has humiliated you, while my master has only taught you the folly of your ways. I can see this from your body language, I can see this from the way you look at my undead, who walk the earth uncontested, carving their way through the living. They walk with their backs straight, unburdened by the whims of the living, walking the soil and not bound to the underworld." The undead General replied. "Armageddon has come. It is but a matter of time until this world burns in darkness, until all that is left is a kingdom shrouded in eternal night and frost, a true cocytus, the Land of the Supreme Being, the God-King of Undead. Even the sun has bent and broken itself to suit his whims- Will you stand against your true master, or cling to the living who will only mock and play you?"
"..." Hades was quiet for a long time. "Yet, my wife is a living-"
"Oh, you need not worry about that. Master has many living wives." The Overlord General waved his bony hand in front of his face dismissively. 'Of course, those are mere pawns and expendable fodder for countless plans… As is Hades, as am I… '
Hades paused for a moment and looked beside the Overlord General, seemingly drawing some conclusions. "I see. In that case… The hour of my vengeance against Mount Olympus is nigh. Thank you for giving me perspective to see it. Nay- Courage to realize my anger. My anger against the high and mighty living has burnt for long… But I suppose I never had the initiative to do anything about it, not enough courage to rise against them. Deliver my thanks to your master for giving me this opportunity."
"Of course. Let us withdraw to your realm to scheme. I recall that you controlled a realm underground? It would become difficult for us to talk when my scouts tell me the locals are planning a saturation bombardment of this area." The Overlord General finally asked. 'Of course, that whole speech was only to get this fool to open his realm for me… However, it is his locus of power, so I am at a massive disadvantage there… But since the Supreme Being ordered me to walk there himself, I will walk to the valley of death without fear…'
"Hm… Very well. You, and your wife, follow me." Hades motioned for the Overlord General to follow while a massive, intricate gate formed on the street and opened to show a whirlpool of darkness that led to a realm that oozed dark mist into the world of living.
The Overlord General tilted his skull. 'My… Wife?'
Katarina blushed up to her eyebrows and reached to poke the Overlord General to the side of his skull. "I am The Supreme Being's snack! Not his!"
"A glasses-wearing teacher-tsundere, hm? You have good taste." Hades remarked before walking off, leaving a severely confused Overlord in his wake.
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Momonga prepared a nerd corner in the terrace of his quarters, as he felt the night air would help him keep a clear head, and the sight from the terrace which overlooked the Phenix grounds was quite nice. '...I should assign my levels, and then start looking at the enigma that is Peroroncino…'
He had prepared a notepad and a calculator on a coffee table in front of a recliner in order to prepare to metagame his new levels… but before he could get to it he stumbled again while carrying some tea to the coffee table. 'Ow, my back… Ow, ow ow…'
He paused to rest against a nearby wall and quickly checked his character sheet. 'I'm still at full health… Ailment? [Voodoo: Back Pains]? What?'
Momonga cast a dispelling scroll on himself, and the ailment disappeared. 'What was that?'
He put the tea tray down and sat on the recliner, took a deep breath, and- 'Owowowoww! W-what?!'
Momonga hopped around while holding his leg which had started to seriously cramp. 'Owwww! Stoooop!'
He realized that he shouldn't be affected by something as fleshy as a cramp, and noted that he had gained ailment [Voodoo: Cramps].
Momonga hurriedly dispelled that as well, feeling thoroughly freaked out. The afflictions weren't all too damaging nor did they seriously hamper his combat potential, but it was quite annoying, and more importantly, dangerous.
He equipped a curse-resisting ring, and the next ailment that hit him was greatly muted to the point it only caused his leg to pull a bit instead of being a crippling cramp 'What the hell? What was that?!'
'...Curses… Hm… ' Momonga tried to rack his brain, wondering who'd know more about such things… Before he realized that Sona might know something. 'Her family had a weakness to curses and such, they might know more about them… More specifically, how to block them…'
Momonga put the metagaming session to the side with a heavy heart and sent Sona a [Message]. "Sona? Where are you?"
'My lord? I am at my Peerage's quarters. A-ahem, is this about… Um…' Sona's voice sounded quite surprised and even a bit scared, making Momonga concerned that something was wrong.
"I'm coming over. Wait there." Momonga turned to walk off… Before another cramp caused him to fall flat on his face. 'Yeah, not happening. [Teleport]'
He appeared in a room in the Peerage quarters, noting that the room was full of girls that Momonga recognized as part of Sona's Peerage. 'Right… Ow…'
Momonga hobbled into a chair and sat down. "Ah, greetings, Sona."
Sona jumped a bit, and bit her lip in sudden fear. "Ah… I'll preface this by saying that I had nothing to do with this."
"S-Sona-sama?" Sona's queen, Tsubaki, seemed quite shocked.
"I already forgave him once. I won't do so again. His fate is his own." Sona's tone turned quite cold, causing the glasses-wearing black-haired girl to back away. Sona then turned towards Momonga and took a deep breath.
She fell on her knees instantly afterwards and prostrated herself towards Momonga. "I apologize for my Pawn's actions. I had no part in them. My lord, if this was a-"
"Calm down. I believe you." Momonga her, causing Sona to shiver for some reason. "More importantly, how much do you know about curses?"
"Basics, my lord, Serafall was always a bit better at those, although neither of us were anywhere close to our mother's proficiency…" Sona was a bit puzzled, before she seemed to draw some conclusions. "Ah. I understand now. Thank you, my lord. I shall not spare the rod. Tsubaki, could you search through Saji's quarters? Look for hair."
'Serafall knows about curses, huh… Well, figures, since her weakness is curses so it makes sense she'd know more about them…' Momonga nodded to Sona. "Alright. Listen, is Serafall in a good mood? I'd like to go see her, but she was a bit… emotional the last time I saw her and I don't want to upset her further."
"Ah… Hm… Indeed. Serafall is likely still quite angry, but her anger stems from fear. She fears you, and what you can do, my lord. It is a foolish thing, but Serafall is still a child in some ways, afraid of the monster below her bed… Instead of letting it in…" Sona's smirk turned to a purr at the end and twisted her body a bit, causing most of her Peerage to send a worried glance at the girl.
"Ahem, quite, hm…" Momonga nodded. 'Hm… Well, if I think about how Serafall has behaved so far… It sort of makes sense, I guess… And Sona would know her sister…' "Thanks for the advice, Sona. I'll go see Serafall, try to talk to her. Would you join me during supper?"
"Of course, my lord… I'll prepare myself accordingly. Would you like to sample someone else as well?" Sona asked while she bowed deeply, which made Momonga a bit uncomfortable, before he [Teleport]ed out after checking where the pink fairy he had made for Serafall was.
The teleportation dropped him to a comfy-looking room in the estate.
Momonga took a quick look around him… And double-took the sight before him.
Serafall was sitting on a wooden chair, and in front of her was a small lineup of straw dolls with hair strands tied to them.
One of them had a broken leg, one of them had a needle in it's back, and one was currently in Serafall's hands, with a needle approaching somewhere no needle should ever enter.
Serafall had quite… an interesting expression on her face as she held the doll with one hand, and the needle with the other.
"Umu…" Momonga sweated a bit. "Put the needle down… We can talk about this. What do you want?" 'What is this, a hostage negotiation over the fate of my dangly bits?'
Serafall looked quite mad and the needle creeped closer to the doll's unmentionables.
"Uh…" Momonga recalled what he had learned from Sona, and drew from the now-faint memory of Asia cuddling a stuffed plushie he had bought for her during his first trip to Underworld's capital, and Koneko looking at hers in a suspicious manner yet hugging it against her chest. "[Create Greater Item]... Umu, can we exchange hostages?"
"Uuuuuuuuwwuuuuuuuhhhh" Serafall let out a long, pained whine as Momonga hugged a outrageously pink unicorn plushie that had plenty of glitter on it. "No, I won't be seduced like that! But if… No! Retribution must be- Noooooooo! Unnnyyyyy! Stoooooooopppp! Don't hurt Unnyyyyy!"
Serafall had moved her needle closer to the doll's unmentionables so Momonga had tightened his grasp around the unicorn and had caused it to squeeze a bit.
"Uwuwuw…" Serafall whined while the needle shook in her hands. "F-fine! But you have to promise me to stop your evil ways! Super-evil ways! Like for-realsies evil ways!"
"No promises. I am a despicable dark knight after all. Holding cute plushies as hostage is only expected of me." Momonga spoke fluently, as Chuuni had become a second language to him at that point and as such he could channel it fluently. 'Wait, when did that happen?'
Serafall twitched violently. "Uuuuuu… Stoop… I can't stay mad if you put it like that… But I need to stay mad… For the sake of the Underworld…"
Momonga offered the pink unicorn slowly, and Serafall offered the voodoo doll almost against her will… And the two of them swapped hostages.
'That was close…' Momonga put the doll to his inventory for later examination.
"Grr…" Serafall was hugging the plushie protectively against her chest while growling. "You tricked me into giving up! Super uncool!"
"You're still holding to that plushie though…"
"I didn't mean that! Before! During the peace council… Or whatever that meeting was! You were behind that, weren't you!" Serafall looked quite angry, although the edge was somewhat muted by the fact she hugged the plushie and was cuddling it against her cheek.
'Yeah, she's basically an overgrown child…' Momonga resisted the urge to sigh as he knew from experience that despite acting like a spoiled child, Serafall was someone who could fight Momonga to a standstill and possibly even beat him if he lost [Boosted Gear]. 'Although those thirty levels should even the playing field somewhat… Haa…'
"Oh? What about the peace council?" Momonga played innocent, although used his body language to deliver another sort of message. '...I imagine she's either aware that I am 'the supreme being', or rather that label had been lobbed on me… Or she thinks that I am responsible for that…'
"Sirzechs… Sirzechs even believed that you were Hastur…" Serafall pointed a threatening finger at him.
Momonga sighed. "Everyone keeps saying that… I am not whatever that is. Sheesh…"
Serafall's finger shook a bit. "But you were behind that ambush on the peace council!"
"Indeed." Momonga put his hand on his face and leaned his body back in theatherical way. "In truth, I did so to drive business for my… little company. The 'Cult', if you remember."
Momonga paused as his [Detect Life] picked up on something, as he had been casting the spell in short intervals ever since returning to Underworld, just in case. 'Hm… Hm….'
A glitched 'life sign' was in fact approaching the two of them once again.
Momonga narrowed his eyes, causing Serafall to pale a bit and hug the plushie harder against her chest.
"[Perfect Unknowable]."
Serafall screamed.
.
.
The King in Yellow arrived.
The Shepherd saw the lost lamb, and reached for it's soft flesh, it's own tendrils cloaked in the skin of a dead beloved, dead friend…
The outreaching tendril-arm was grabbed by something.
Something vile cloaked in a veil of flesh, like a wolf camouflaging itself in sheep's skin.
The disguise within disguise broke, and allowed Hastur to see Death coming for him.
The Devourer looked into Hastur, and spoke.
"I found you."
For the first time since it's creation during the dawn of time…
Hastur felt fear.
.
.
Momonga grabbed Peroroncino's arm, causing [Perfect Unknowable] to expire. "I found you!"
"Umu… What exactly happened to yu- eh?" Momonga realized mid-sentence that he wasn't holding Peroroncino but instead a multi-tendriled horror of vicious claws and teeth, partially cloaked in yellow rags and bleeding pus to the floor.
The abomination screamed in a way that caused Serafall to fall over in dead faint, and caused Momonga's exterior 'flesh' to die instantly, and withering the fleshy arm that held to the creature's tentacle into boiling slurry of diseased, rotten flesh.
However, the bone underneath was intact… And Momonga unleashed [Negative Energy Touch] on full power out of instinct.
.
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Hastur realized it.
The 'Devourer' was a name not given for show: A power flowed into the Carrion's existence, erasing it like antimatter and matter colliding. Yet, it was not matter that collided, but rather energy itself, existence and non-existence mixing into a sum total of nothing, erasing whatever it touched.
The power Umu flooded into Hastur's tendrils was fleeting, minute, a taste of what was to come.
And after that… Would come Unity.
Like a cancer, the Devourer would take the dead, and add it to it's sum. A Beast, which consumed and consumed, until only even stars were devoured, and the existence was extinguished. The fate that had claimed Cthulhu.
Hastur realized the true scale of the terrifying existence that had been unearthed on the ancient colony of R'lyeh. An ancient horror that was sealed within the tomb-world for a reason, until curious young arrived, called it their home, and in their arrogance broke the Beast's seal to invite disaster.
The ruination of R'lyeh started to make sense. The arrogant colony had dug deep, and unearthed an ancient evil from the world's depths, unleashing it on themselves until only one remained.
The terrified bleating of Shub-Niggurath, and the death-scream of Cthulhu echoed through Hastur's existence like a ripple on a lake of pus.
'Umbra Mortis'
Hastur realized that it had been arrogant. Greedy.
The shepherd had fallen to the trap of it's own kindness, followed the lure against it's better judgment, known of the arrow of the Hunter but braved it to find a lost sheep.
But there was no hunter. It was a trap, just as the sheep had been a lure.
The Devourer was the forest, and Hastur had long since entered it.
'Ego non ligatus'
The Devourer introduced itself, approached the Shepherd… and Hastur realized his last escape.
The Gates of Carcossa opened, sucking him in, shearing the captured tendrils off and spraying a jet of pus and rot as the Shepherd fled from the Devourer.
And Hastur returned to the lost kingdom, where the sheep bleated happily and followed the shepherd.
And it felt true fear, for in it's fear and panic, it had shown the Hunter a way to it's home.
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Momonga was holding a half of a tendril that had a claw tip and it's severed end bled thick pus.
'…' Momonga was starting to suspect that he, in fact, hadn't seen Peroroncino. But someone who had either taken his appearance… Or his body.
He put the two and two together, as 'Peroroncino' had only appeared when a specific name had been called.
Thus, Momonga was fairly sure he knew who had taken Peroroncino.
'...'
'...I think I am a bit angry.'
Momonga breathed out.
He breathed in.
"RRAAAAAGHHHHH! IIIIIIIIIII WIIIIILL FIIIINDD YOUUUUUUU! HAASTUUUURRR?! YOOUUUU DAAAREEE?! YOOUU DAAREE TTAAAAKEE HIIIISS AAPPEREAAANCEEEE?! YOUUU WIILLL PAAYYYY! II WILL DESTROOYY YOUUUUU!"
.
.
Hastur heard the Destroyer's anger.
The Beast's proclamation of vengeance.
A fury of one denied it's meal, and proclamation of an eternal chase.
Hastur felt fear.
It knew it had made an enemy out of the ancient, unsealed horror in it's foolishness.
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Momonga caught himself mid-[Gate] with herculean effort, using the experience he had gotten through Rossweisse's not-betrayal and the subsequent consequences of hasty actions during fury, and combining both to stay his hand- And even then it was a close call, but he managed to stop himself from trying to [Gate] after the fled tendril-monster-thing. 'Haa- Deep breath. Calm down…. Think, I've been through so many close calls… Calm down… Haa…'
He looked at the severed tendril in his hands, and felt his rage re-ignite. "[Sacrifice]."
.
.
Hastur's severed tendrils did not grow back.
It knew they would never grow back. Nothing the Devourer consumed would be whole again.
It felt terror.
Carcossa responded to its master's fear, as one born without fear discovered it and in doing so, forever altered the realm of the stray and lost.
The realm grew dim, and where there had been sheep bleating in joy, unheeding of the pus on their skin, nor the pain of loss of their loved ones or pain of rejoining them, there was now only darkness and a flood, engulfing the joyful bleats to cast eternal silence.
The lost kingdom grew quiet, and withered into near nothingness in it's overwhelming desire to stay hidden, to stay uninvaded despite the fact the door had been shown to the monster.
Hastur withdrew from the tomb-world in abject terror, spreading the terror of the Devourer to the ancient beings who still dared to look towards the helplessly-bleating star and towards the forbidden worlds connected to it… Knowing that the worlds were forbidden for a reason.
.
.
'Calm down, calm down… Calm down…' Momonga sat down on a cushy chair he made with [Create Item], leaning forwards to rest his chin on his knuckles in order to scheme. '...I got almost half of a level out of that tentacle. Right. That monster is either on par with Cthulhu, or stronger… I need to be careful. Really careful. I'm not sure why it fled… But if it is something that can kill Peroroncino, assuming that it found and killed him, it means it is well capable of PKing… I wonder if it was trying to lead me to a trap?'
'...That being said… I won't just let Peroroncino go unavenged. At the same time I'll help no-one by going ahead and charging his killer only to be killed in turn…' Momonga reached down to pull Serafall from the floor, plopped her down on his lap, and began patting her head in an attempt to calm himself down. 'Petting cute things… I suppose this is the closest thing I can get to [Emotion Suppression] right now…'
The fact Serafall was holding tightly to the plushie Momonga had created for her made her look somewhat cute, even if her eyes were lifeless and glazed over and her skin was pale to the point of making her look like a corpse and she was curled to a fetal position on his lap. However she had a pulse, which clued Momonga to the fact that she was alive.
'Right…' Momonga realized that while Serafall had a pulse, he did not, and grabbed a healing potion from his inventory. '...I only have two of YGGDRASIL healing potions left… Hm…'
He drank one, wincing a bit as his undead health-pool took some damage, and the healing was enough to kick-start his fleshy body to the point [Regeneration] reactivated to heal what damage was left over.
"Haa…" Momonga contemplated the situation and calmed himself with herculean effort, the back-to-back near death encounters forging his self-control to new heights. '...It seems that… thing… comes to anyone who speaks its name… I should be able to devise a trap for it… Someone must know it's weaknesses or at least some way of effectively fighting it… In YGGDRASIL the bossfight was made difficult by a phase where it concealed itself as it instantly killed one of the raid members and friendly fire was turned on… It is then pulled from chat and action logs to make the pretender act like the raid member…'
"Hm…" Momonga looked at the maou on his lap and noted that Serafall looked utterly insane. 'She called me that thing, so she must know more about it…' "[Scroll of Cure Insanity]." 'Come to think of it, I should get the Overlord General to make me more of those scrolls as well… It should be fairly idle right now so I can turn him into a scroll factory… Although I wonder if I should give him vacation days? What would a skeletal Overlord summon even do in it's vacation?'
'...Come to think of it, my maid-Gatekeepers don't have vacation days either, neither does either of the two Dominion Authorities I have active…' Momonga shook his head as he realized that his thoughts were drifting after the sudden near-death experience. '...I'm guessing that thing didn't notice me at the start thanks to [Perfect Unknowable], and got taken off guard… However, it definitely saw me when I saw it doing something to Grayfia… Hm… I'm guessing that it's very proficient at player killing since properly experienced PK'ers would never engage an unknown foe in head-to-head battle…'
Momonga stroked Serafall's head as she started to recover her sanity, still deep in thought.
"U-uwaaahhhh…" Serafall quaked like pudding while hugging the pink unicorn plushie against her chest.
"Serafall. What do you know about that one?" Momonga asked while pointing at the decayed floor, which was the only remnant of Hastur's passing in the room.
"I- Is it gone now?" Serafall's voice was like that of a terrified child, and Momonga stroked her head. "I'm… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to call it… It just slipped…"
"It is alright. I learned a lot of that thing thanks to you- But I need more in order to kill it." Momonga stroked Serafall's hair. "That thing took something precious to me. I will not allow it to parade the corpse of my friend around…"
"H- um, that thing… It doesn't actually need a corpse, just a thought is enough, a memory of a lost loved one… I think… Beelzebub explained it all to me, at least as much as he could." Serafall looked at Momonga with wide eyes. "A-are you serious? That you'd kill it?!"
"It- It wasn't Peroroncino's body- ?!" Momonga lurched out of shock, almost causing Serafall to fall from his lap. 'That means… Peroroncino might still be alive somewhere? Or… No, a memory is enough… But my undead immunity to mental ailments- ah. If it doesn't affect me negatively or try to read me, but is like projection of sorts in that I see what I want to see, it wouldn't trigger that immunity…'
Momonga let out a deep breath, calming himself actively by patting Serafall's head to the point the woman was starting to let out disapproving sounds.
"Sorry, but I need to calm down. Consensual headpats are out of the window." Momonga told Serafall, causing her to pout.
"Evil."
"I suppose I am." Momonga finally got himself under control. '...Charging around aimlessly… This isn't good… '
He lifted Serafall's chin up with his finger, and kissed her on the lips in a slow, gentle manner. 'Let's see if this helps her open up… I need more information…'
Serafall froze at first and then melted a bit, not quite responding to the kiss but not rejecting it either. "But… The Underworld… the sun…"
"I'm working on it. That arch-angel is taking care of the paperwork, and my angels are resurrecting the dead." Momonga sighed as he pulled away. "I admit I planned an ambush of the peace meeting to drive up sales for my resurrections, but at the same time I intended it to be a strike that would unite the three factions against a single threat…" 'Well, that was one of the scenarios anyway…'
Serafall froze up.
"...But it seems that I failed upwards, and in turn, more or less did a hostile takeover on all three factions." Momonga finished.
"...Evil… Super evil…" Serafall muttered while looking away. "I'll… I'll resist, and will…"
"I guess I am super-evil." Momonga agreed and turned her head back towards him. '...Sona did talk about monsters under beds… I suppose I am one, but at the same time…' "But at the same time, I am the True God. One who revives the dead, gives a chance to redemption, uniter of the Three Factions. You call me evil, but will you also see the good I've wrought?"
"Nooo!" Serafall bunched her hands up and looked away in a petulant manner while pouting.
'...Right, I forgot, I was being serious, and that won't fly with her…' Momonga sighed and channeled his Chuuni. "Sera-tan."
"Y-you don't have my permission to-"
"I will call Sera-tan Sera-tan if I want. A dark lord does as he wants." Momonga turned Serafall's head towards him, and kissed her on the lips again without prior warning. "A dark lord claims his dark ladies as he wishes. Or will you try to resist me? Your sister has already fallen for me, and I've given her everything she wanted- The school that she craved, the equality among all, be it among devils, or between them and angels, or fallen, and I've given her myself… And now, I will also give you to her…"
Serafall froze up and her lower lip quivered while her eyes darted from side to side and her hug on the pink plushie tightened. "I… I won't be… My vow to protect the Underworld…"
"Magical girl Sera-chan will be no more, the Maou Serafall Leviathan will be no more… In her place will be Sera-tan, a dark lady… I promised that I'd make Sona happy, and make you happy… Whether you like it or not!" Momonga muttered to Serafall's ear in a way that must have felt uncomfortably intimate. '...I'm using my chuuni but why am I not getting hit with the backlash? Something's wrong here…'
Serafall shivered. "I… will never fall… to such sweet words…"
"Then fall to my actions instead. Smooch." Momonga kissed the Maou on the lips again, this time with exaggerated motions, causing Serafall to let out a surprised whimper.
"Eep!" Serafall tried to struggle out of the smooching, but failed as Momonga grabbed the plushie she was hugging and forced her to stay still as she wasn't letting go of it either. "Noooo… Don't hold Unny hostage to kiss meee… You're being super despicable… Think of all the lives you've taken in your insane quest! I'll make you repent!"
"Such angelic words from a devil… Tell me, Sera-tan, are your wings white already? But do not worry. Those who submit to my rule will be spared, and resurrected…" Momonga challeled chuuni freely, feeling incredibly weirded out on the inside. 'Don't tell me… I've become the cringe I've tried to avoid becoming? No, there must be more to this… I can't…' "...You've already lost, Sera-tan. And now, you are mine."
"Nooooo! Smoooch… I woooont… slurp… falll to the daaarkk… smooch…" Serafall cried out in fear, although the emotion was somewhat dishonest since she was also kissing Momonga on the lips at the same time while he was running his finger down her spine. "My body is pure from corruption- eep!"
"Then that will be the next thing I'll claim." Momonga slipped his hand between the girl's thighs, causing her to curl to a fetal position in his lap while he stroked her inner thigh and caused her breathing to turn heated and her face to turn red while steam rose from the top of her head.
"I'll resist! Nothing you can do can break my will- eh?" Serafall let a surprised eep as she was plopped back down to the floor.
"I see that I can't convince you. I'm making the mother of all omelets here, Serafall, I can't fret over every egg." Momonga made his voice sound cold and dismissive while he dusted off the front of his shirt.
"Wha- wawawa?" Serafall looked at him with wide-open eyes.
"I suppose I'll have to tell my So-tan that I failed to seduce you and failed to bring you two sisters together, forever as one as the dark sisters… She'll cry, but I'll be there to comfort her in her hour of grief when she learns that her Se-tan chose the New Old Maous and the dead over her…" Momonga sighed while breaking the chair he had made for himself with [Break Item] and turning to leave in a dramatic way, channeling the 'epic dark lord' persona in a way that caused his internal Overlord to scratch while holding up a notepad and flipping through the notes. '...Don't tell me, I gained more levels in [Actor]... Oh. Oh no. What if-'
Momonga cut himself mid-sentence as he realized a terrifying possibility. 'My earlier levels were auto-assigned, don't tell me that-!'
"Noooo!" Serafall impacted against Momonga's back before he could pull out his stat sheet, causing him to fall on his face. "I won't! I won't… I won't be… That won't be! Not gonna happen! I won't let So-tan cry! You're despicable?! No! If that happens, then I'd rather… Ee-eeh?!"
"Then will you submit to becoming my dark lady, Se-tan?" Momonga lurched to his feet, turned around… And knelt in front of Serafall while he offered her a small box he grabbed from his [Inventory] mid-turn and slipped the anti-curse ring from his finger into the box in one smooth motion.
Serafall jumped a bit. "Eeeeeeh?!"
"Since your sister is already in… Submit to me… Become mine." Momonga opened the box to show the ring. 'It's not a [Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown], but I suppose a basic curse-resisting ring should be alright… She has weakness to curses, so it should help her, and at the same time that ring won't be enough to block Super-tier magic so it won't patch her weakness to my spells… And I have a few duplicates of it if I needed to stack curse-resistance for some reason…'
Serafall fidgeted a bit, holding the pink unicorn plushie against her chest with one hand while the other was lifted a bit and held towards Momonga… And Momonga grabbed the free hand to slide the ring into her ring finger.
"With this, you are mine. Bound, never to escape…" Momonga rose to whisper to Serafall's ear, the height difference between the two forcing him to bow to be level with the relatively short woman.
"U-uwwaaah… I-I was claimed against my will… So-tan… Se-tan was corrupted, I… I can't be a bride anymore…" Serafall whined theatherically while doing a small pirouette and falling to her back… Only for Momonga to catch her mid-fall and lift her to a princess carry.
"Instead, you are my plaything… Come, my dark lady.." Momonga weighed the pros and cons of following up with burning questions regarding the dark creature that had fled the room mere minutes prior, but realized that convincing Serafall had been a touch-and-go and breaking too much from 'character' could easily undo what he had managed to create. '...Serafall however said that Beelzebub knew more… Hm… I'll need to take care of him at some point… I'm not sure if he's actually on my side or not, after the whole 'Sirzechs getting backstabbed' incident…'
'I'll have to sweep Serafall using voodoo dolls against me under the rug as well… I suppose I was putting off confronting her so I should have guessed she'd take proactive measures…' Momonga resisted the urge to sigh and instead kissed Serafall in a possessive, hungry way that Serafall responded in kind while cuddling the plushie against her chest in a cute manner.
"Mnh… Uwaah… My body is going to become the despicable dark knight's plaything…" Serafall whined weakly while mock-fighting Momonga's grasp. "I definitely won't be consenting to fierce, loving, utterly cuddly between-the-sheets action…"
"Good thing I only care what Sona thinks… If she says that you'll be my toy tonight, then you will be…" Momonga felt a bit slimy as he made the threat. "Your body's fate is in Sona's hands now. Do you trust your sister, hm?"
"Oooooooh… Forcing that decision into Sona's hands makes me reassured and uncertain at the same time… Super despicable and cunning…" Serafall squirmed and Momonga lugged her to his shoulder.
"Come, my dark lady, your last supper (as an unclaimed lady) awaits…"
"Nooooo~"
'I feel dirty…'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone