"Somehow I felt offended for being called a cat."
I remarked, but this only further angered the giant cloud men. Lightning sparks flew and thunder boomed in the empty city of gold. The king of hell, Ozvaloth, summoned up a storm as his voice bellowed.
"In your final moments, you pleaded with us for mercy and we gave it to you for how pathetic you were. Now you've returned!? I shall personally flay you, you shameless kitten!"
"Um… I don't even look like a cat."
"I see you are still unable to shut your mouth to save your own life."
"But… I… what? I give up. Screw you, baldy!", I didn't care anymore. These crazy men could do whatever the hell they wanted to do. If they wanted to destroy me so much without even hearing me out, I was ready to take them on.
'Kuro, Shitsuke. Get rea-'
<<Please wait. I can get us out of this if you permit me to assume control of your body>>
Stopping me from making a very rash decision, the agent came in with a solution. I wasn't quite sure what it had cooked up, but it was the most reliable skill I had, so I guess I'd just leave the whole ordeal to it.
It was a strange experience relieving control to the agent. As if my soul was being pulled from the front row seat and to the backseat of a car. My vision tunnelled and suddenly I was viewing everything through a screen rather than through my own eyes. Well, I guess it was my eyes at the end of the day, but still.
As a bolt of lightning was being prepared above, my body took flight into the air towards the other cloudy man. The man looked at us as if we were some kind of fly that was about to bother him.
"What? You want me to turn you inside out instead of Ozvaloth?"
The cloud asked us with a raised eyebrow. Clearly, he didn't see us as worth his time. In fact, him being here was most likely simply just a formality rather a king addressing a threat. The king of hell on the other hand seemed to be preparing a very potent attack for us while muttering something excitedly. I couldn't understand what he was saying as it was in some otherworldly language.
"□□□!"
As if whatever the hell the king of hell was saying made no sense, the agent followed up with something that was censored in my head. Ozvaloth stopped charging up his attack then looked at us with stunned eyes. Ozvon, the devil king, had the same expression.
Ozvaloth looked Ozvon, then us, then back to Ozvon with utter disbelief.
"Please tell me you weren't stupid enough to actually leave your true name in one of the realms you visited because the civilisation level was far too dense to understand its meaning."
Ozvaloth exasperated, like a concerned and disappointed father, asked.
"What? No! I didn't!"
Ozvon immediately defended himself.
"Then explain this."
"I… Ah… there shouldn't be anyone who knows my true name other you, myself and… huh?"
As he was thinking about the third person, his eye fell on us. I could feel our mouth make an attempt at a smile. It was evident the agent hadn't smiled in a very long time.
"Is that you, Jasper?"
He asked and Ozvaloth glared at us.
"Yes."
"Jasper? Who is Jasper? Why is this the first time I'm hearing of a Jasper?"
Ozvaloth questioned, taking a better look at us. We didn't flinch in the slightest no matter how close he got to us, but then Ozvon flew in between Ozvaloth and us.
"I will handle this. You can return to your domain."
"Huh? But-"
"Just trust me. Don't question it too much, but this isn't that wimpy cat."
All of a sudden, Ozvon was vouching for her legitimacy. I was starting to wonder what kind of relationship the agent had with Ozvon for him to not only reveal his true name to it, but also stand up to his partner for its sake.
"Explain. Now."
"I will come to your palace and explain. For now, please just return."
"Hmmm, very well then. I await your explanation."
With a deal having been made, the king of hell returned to his palace on the 9th layer, leaving us with only the king of devils glaring at us.
'Wow, you really solved this pretty well.'
<<It's not over yet>>
"Where the hell have you been, Jasper!? I know your child-like necessity to touch everything can end you up in impossible situations, but to the extent of having received Makrov's blessing!? What have you been doing?"
Like an extremely concerned parent, Ozvon questioned her past behaviour.
"I apologise, but it's a long story so I'll explain it to you after your meeting with Lord Ozvaloth."
"A long story? Shall I prepare a feast then? It has been quite a while since we were in the same place."
I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was something extremely odd about the way he spoke to her.
"That would be great."
After the agent made the deal, the cloud poofed up, leaving me very confused. The agent relinquished control of my body back to me but I wasn't going to let that be the end of it.
"Explain. Now."
<<About 3000 years ago, before I became a devil, I was a spirit. The one who found me, a spirit-turned-devil at the time was a frail and weak no-name devil>>
'And that devil grew up to become Ozvon?'
<<Yes. The details are a bit fuzzy, but long story short, if we get in the same room as him, we'll be trapped in Hell for all of eternity. I barely escaped with transferring my consciousness into a surrogate body, but this time he will make sure we will never manage an escape>>
'Huh? I thought you couldn't leave because you were too strong.'
<<That is a factor, yes>>
'Well, whatever. Let's get to the sheol quickly.'
I descended to the team, but not a single one of them dared to move. Like statues stuck in place, they didn't even budge an inch even as I stood in front of them.
"Um, guys?", there was no response. Their eyes were looking down on the ground bizarrely. I tried getting directly in front of their eyes, but they would always look away, pretending to not be seeing me.
I caught a peek of both Pai and Malius trying to sneak away then lifted them up.
"P-Please! Please don't kill us!", Pai yelled while squirming about in my hands.
"Huh?"
"I-I'm sorry for our impertinence o' great one.", Malius joined in on Pai's act.
'What the-'
Before I could figure out what they were doing, I found both Shitsuke and Kuro bowing to me.
'What's happening?'
<<The curse of Makrov that creates an impossibly intense aura that makes it so no resident of hell other than the 2 kings would dare to approach or disobey you>>
'Huh. In a sense, they made Makrov the ultimate king, no? Still, is there a way to communicate with these guys?'
<<You can only pass on commands now. Devils won't be capable of disrespecting or having any sorts of casual thoughts and conversations with you>>
'Ah… I see. The bane of being the one true superior. You are all alone with no friends. You think that's why Makrov hates having partners so much?'
<<That is unknown. An extinct devil's previous intentions are of no concern to us>>
'True. But I can't talk to these guys while they're like this. Think we can come up with some sort of solution to this?'
<<There is none. However, there is a solution to one of our problems available at the palace.>>
'What do you mean?'
<<The Golden Palace's treasury holds a replica almost every single form of item imaginable.>>
'So a replica of the akashic records exists there?'
<<No.>>
'A guy can dream.'
<<There should be a [Devil Horn] in there>>
'And that's for…?'
<<Exiting hell. We can get both Shitsuke and Kuro back to Krione then focus on acquiring the 'Akashic Records' in case we get found out and banished from hell>>
'Oh yeah!'
The agent was completely right! I hadn't even considered what would happen if I got caught doing this. Best case scenario, I get found out and banished. That'd mean I accidentally left them in hell with no actual way to bring them back. Then I failed Tsuna, which could lead to her going berserk and the goblins all losing faith in me. Following that, the other monsters will think I'm some unreliable trash and there'll be an entire rebellion. I can already smell the roasted chicken they'll be feasting on.
'Oi, oi, in what way was that the best scenario? Stupid brain, what are you thinking up?'
<<…?>>
'Ignore me.'
I then focused on the two devils in front of me. I didn't want to have to force them to come along as moving with them would feel awkward and I couldn't have them running away from me.
"Both of you, stay here until I call for you. Do not move even an inch. No, wait. Move an inch. N-no, not just an inch. Like, 5 metres? I don't know. Just don't leave this city."
After the command, I flew towards the golden palace. I arrived in a few seconds, bolted through the wide-open doors and empty hallways, following the directions of the agent. We got to the treasury which had been shut close.
I opened the doors and was met with the overly generic treasury scene. Except, rather than seeming endless, the room really was endless. I tried my hardest, but I couldn't see the end of the room. It was as if this place was endlessly expanding and it carried an absurd horde of items.
'Um… what the hell?'
<<The treasury is a nigh-infinite pocket dimension I created to store my discoveries as a regular treasury just couldn't contain them>>
'You created a nigh-infinite pocket dimension just because you didn't feel like throwing some of these things out or using them for something?'
<<Yes. With an Ultimate skill exclusive to the [Greed Skill Tree], [Treasure Box]>>
'Huh? [Greed Skill Tree]?'
<<A collection of skills that fall under the Primordial sin skill, [Greed]. Being the most avaricious of all the Taboo skill trees, Greed possesses the greatest number of Ultimate, unique, advanced and common skills out of any skill tree. As the ruler in charge of the Greed Ring, I was given the Ultimate skill, [Treasure Box]>>
'Uuuh, I have so many questions right now.'
<<If you want me to, I will answer all of them right now. However, please take into account that we need to do this before Ozvon realises that we're trying to escape>>
Bringing up a valid point, the agent managed to put me back at the most urgent issue.
'How do we find the devil horn then?'
<<Searching>>
I face palmed and heaved the heaviest sigh that I had in my entire life. Sometimes, I regretted how useless the freeloader in my head was.
"Oh well, start searching for the [Devil horn], you two."
I ordered Pai and Malius to help me out. Even for me, this was going to be a long while.
****
Yokino sprawled all over the tiny ascended piece of floor, panting for life and sweating profusely. As hard as she tried, she was unable to pace her breath or even centre her thoughts as she looked up at the message screen above her.
[CONGRATULATIONS ON CONQUERING THE DUNGEON!]
[ESCAPE NOW OR BE BURNT ALIVE]
Beneath the little piece of walkable ground, magma oozed about, rising further as if to swallow her whole. The heat alone was more than enough to have killed the average person without touching them, yet Yokino's aching body and exhausted mind was completely unable to react to the impending doom.
Her body had parts darkened by the intense flames of her opponents and some limbs had been completely melted off. A portion of her face had been burnt to indescribably horrendous levels and out of all her eight eyes, only 3 remained open.
At this moment of intense pain and mental fatigue, she could only conjure up a single figure in her head. Without even thinking about why that person popped up or who even that person was, all she could think about was how beautiful they were. Golden hair, vermillion red eyes, a petite structure and a pair of horns and wings for some inhuman effect. This beautiful, mysterious person had appeared in her head just moments before her death.
"Woah! Woah! Woah! I knew this dungeon wouldn't be easy at your level, but goddamn."
A figure appeared above her. Yokino was completely unable to hear what the person said, but she did manage to catch a look at them. The mysterious person lifted her up then took one last look at their surroundings.
"I wonder how much this'll mess up things. Hehe, Calpri will find me after this."
As the mysterious figure said this, a portal formed before them. After they managed to go through, the mysterious figure noticed Yokino's laughter. The deformed undine was laughing gleefully at something with an ecstatic expression and flushed face.
A similar expression appeared on the figure's face.
"You really are a sick fuck."
She then performed a healing spell on Yokino, breathing life back into her. The newly revamped Yokino gasped for air as if she had been drowning and let out mind-boggling shrieks while smacking her head and trying to regain her common sense.
After some minutes of constant screaming and rabid attacks at her surroundings, Yokino regained her senses. The sort of experience she had been through over the past couple of days had left a deep scar in her mind.
"That sick fuck! Who the hell makes a goddamn dungeon like that? Did he even want anyone to ever complete it? I swear if I ever die in his dungeons, I'll find his soul in the afterlife and torment him forever."
"You wouldn't be the first to say that. The only difference is you're still alive."
The figure that saved Yokino's life amusedly said right next to her while holding up an amulet in her hand.
"What kind of sick fantasy where you having in your head while on the verge of death."
"That's-!"
Embarassed that she had been found out, Yokino tried to make up an excuse, but was immediately cut off.
"Save it. I don't need to know. Just get back to Larm."
"Huh? Why? I thought we had to get the ones in-"
"Unnecessary."
"What?"
"You heard me. Completely unnecessary. I had you do all of this so I could avoid prying eyes, but now I don't need you to do any of that anymore."
"Wait! Are you giving up on the plan?"
"I never said I was giving up on anything."
"Huh?"
Even more confused now, Yokino couldn't help but scratch her head. Her hair turned turquoise and fell over messily, like bed hair.
"Fate is a mysterious thing, you know? A sequence of events that lie outside the realm of control, yet so easily manipulated by these so-called "gods". I find it quite amusing how contradictory and biased this supposedly "Uncontrollable Fate" is to its own concept. Because of this very contradictory, even people like you and I can greatly alter fate. The slightest shift in a rock that hadn't been preordained by fate could send fate spiralling down an unknowable path."
Yokino tilted her head, unsure with direction her partner was going with this.
"Everything has lined up perfectly now. The next phase of my plan will happen automatically regardless of what we do. I guess in this case, I steered Fate down a path so hard it has instinctively decided to work in our favour."
"What do you mean?"
"Looks like someone else is trying to alter fate. With how casually it's happening, this person definitely acquired a [Hero]. I wonder which faction managed to do this and if they realise that this isn't going in their desired path."
"I've never been curious about this, but why do you talk about [Heroes] as if they aren't people themselves."
"Eh? It's unusual for you to care about such things."
"Ah… I guess you're right. Anyway, summon up a portal to Larm for me."
"No. Walk."
"Eh!? From here to the West?"
"It's just a 3-week journey if you head south-west only at night. In fact, about 2 weeks if you choose to swim. This shouldn't be a problem for you."
"B-But. It's so far."
"Bye."
The figure jumped through a portal, leaving Yokino alone to the darkness of the cave she had been stalking out for a few days. A vein almost popped as she let out an enraged shriek.
<A/N: I personally wasn't planning on bringing Yokino back into the story until waaaaaaay later, but I suddenly had a different role for her after mauling over how to write this chapter for quite some time. I'm sorry for how long it took to release, but it's here now.
Next chapter will start focusing on Reiman and his problems leading the West against both the East and North. It's going to be an all-out battle royale on their side and extremely experimental for me in terms of how I'll be writing it.
Welp. I haven't written an <A/N> in so long I guess I'm saying too much here. I'll end it here. My dogs also like to bark a lot, keeping me up at night. Why'd I say that? There's no reason, just felt like complaining to someone. Have a good day!>
New novel chapters are published on fr(e)ewebnov(e)l.com