Chapter 660: Shadow Dragon Emperor
Laz opened his eyes, only to find Nagi smiling at him.
"Did you have a good talk with my mother?" She asked, grinning as though she already knew the answer.
"I did. Thank you," Laz replied as he sat back in his chair, massaging his forehead. Talking to such a being wasn’t something that came without a price, at least for someone at his level.
What he didn’t know was that as he rubbed his forehead, a black tattoo like mark that had appeared on his cheek as though it had traveled out of his mouth quickly disappeared as it traveled down his neck and went straight towards the burnt tree that appeared near his heart, right below the blood red moon. The snake seemed to find peace as it snuggle within the branches, it’s body disappearing from view.
Nagi had noticed it though, but only because she had been watching him closely.]
"What now boss?" Blake asked, seeing that Laz was sighing as he leaned back.
"Now... we head into battle. Come little one. Time to go meet the Empress," Laz said, reaching forward to rub Nagi’s head as her smile just got bigger.
Outside the black castle, the tide had moved on with only a few strays staying behind, still hunting for the remains of any humans or other beasts left over from the shadow dragons slaughter when it failed to attack the castle.
As they watched on, the black structure started to shake as it rose into the air, breaking apart the column of rock that it had rested on for an untold number of years. The stone bridge that had connected the castle to the town suddenly came to life as well, coiling up on to one of the watch towers as though it was a rope being wrapped around it. The building then broke apart the few structures that had been attached to it over the years as it began it’s ascent, hovering higher into the air before finding a stable height.
Within, the astonished faces of the trash legion watched from the screen, seeing the third point perspective of the building hover in the air.
"Which way?" Nagi asked, sitting back and giggling at the reactions of the humans.
"South. Follow that road until we reach the capital but keep us out of sight of the monsters if you can. I want to see what’s happening there before we move on to the survivors base," Laz said, showing her what road he meant.
Nagi laughed as she spoke a few words. Laz felt some wave of magic circle through the castle, but had no idea what had happened as nothing changed in his view before the castle began moving, slowly at first as it was clear Nagi was still learning how to control it from her seat.
"Why are we heading to the capital first?" Two asked.
"Just to make sure that the Emperor is actually dead," Laz replied.
"You don’t think he could win?"
"I don’t think he could make the leap needed to win. I honestly didn’t think the shadow dragon was strong enough to injure the Emperor in the first place as I’ve survived a strike from it. And yet that’s exactly what happened. So the question is how the hell did that thing become strong enough to cause the emperor to retreat? And did it grow enough to kill him? Or did the Emperor’s ritual make him strong enough to kill the shadow dragon? Since we never saw a retreat of the beasts, I can only assume the Emperor lost. And if that’s the case and the shadow dragon consumed him... just how strong did the shadow dragon become? We need more information before we can decide anything and this might be the only chance to get it before we have to fight those things," Laz explained.
Those gathered nodded their heads in understanding as they continued to head south.
It didn’t take long until they came upon the outskirts of the imperial city, it’s great gate in fragments as it’s blood lined walls showed extreme signs of damage. Within the city, beasts roamed everywhere, eating to their hearts content as though granted a heavenly feast. Everywhere they turned, not a living person was found, but thousands of the beasts were everywhere.
"The city... it fell so quickly?" Seven asked.
"No... the blood on the walls and even in the streets... it’s at least a few days old. As for the causes of death... most of the people look unharmed, just dead. It’s only the bodies with a stronger aura that are torn up. Not that it matters to the beasts as it’s clear they will eat anything. But from what I see, they were all dead before the beasts came... just like what we feared." Laz said as he looked on.
While travelling over the beasts, not a single one of them ended up looking in their direction, showing that whatever Nagi had done, it was effective.
As they approached the Palace, bloodshed visible all over the place, but not the kind of crazed bloodshed a beast would cause. More like the splattering and blood spray from a sword swing. What was more, a lot of the bodies in the area were being left alone as the beasts gave many of them a wide berth, even if they stared at the corpse a few times while walking away.
Then, as they all watched on, they came into view of a single person standing in the middle of a huge open yard, one that used to house a massive fountain paved with sparkling white stones. Now, the stones themselves were all died a dark red, from one end to the other while the fountain had been reduced to nothing but a pile of rocks.
Standing among the wreckage was someone no one thought they would see: The Emperor.
As he stood there, looking up into the sky into a direction that just happened to house the fortress where everyone from the capital had retreated to, the blood covered man looked more like a beast than the once glorious Emperor.
Just as they saw the Emperor, he turned his head and looked straight at them as well. Whatever had hidden them seemed to no longer work, or not for him at least.
"I can smell you...." the Emperor said, with a voice that was no longer his own. His eyes were clear, but tinged in black as his entire body gave off the same slight hint of black fog that the shadow dragon did.
As for the shadow dragon, it was nowhere to be found.
"What should we do dad?" Nagi asked, a strange lack of concern in her voice. Laz stood up and walked over to the screen which had turned to a first person view, showing the Emperor in the entirety of it.
"You’re not afraid?" Laz asked, looking down at here.
"It would take a lot more than that thing to hurt mother..." Nagi replied with a smile.
Laz nodded in agreement.
"The problem isn’t us. It’s what will happen to the people of this world if we do nothing. And besides which, I don’t believe I can open the door to get back to my world as long as this thing is free," Laz pointed out. While that might not have bothered Nagi, it would mean that he would have to sacrifice the entire world just to keep himself safe. And on top of that, Laz still hadn’t figured out how to escape this pocket dimension yet.
"Can I speak to him?" Laz asked.
"Sure daddy. Just stand in that circle there," Nagi said, pointing to a large stone circle on the floor between her and the screen. Laz moved forward and stood on the circle as instructed.
Outside of the Black Castle, a projection of Laz became visible and looked down on the Emperor, as though a god was observing a mortal.
"I figured it was you. You should have been dead when we first arrived back in this world and yet somehow you lived. It seems my master wasn’t mistaken in wanting to destroy you sooner rather than later," the Emperor said. It took Laz a minute, but he soon understood.
"I see. So your that god’s little doggie. What happened to the Emperor?" Laz asked, curious.
"He is still alive, sort of. In here, in his own body, he is able to watch on as freely as he wishes. But of course this body is no longer his at his own request too. He is also rather surprised by the fact that you’re the one I was sent here to kill as he felt me being here had something to do with him. Amusing, isn’t it? Thinking that being the king of this shit hill meant that he was worth the attention of my master? The surprise on his face when he found out... was entertaining to say the least. Ah... I speak to much. It’s been a while since I have been able to inhabit a body after all since shadows have no voices with which to speak," the shadow dragon said with a laugh.
"How have you grown so powerful since we arrived here? You weren’t able to kill me before and yet now... you’re even stronger than your own master, are you not?"
"STRONGER THAN THE NAMELESS GOD? HA HA HA HA HA.... LITTLE ASURA. SURELY YOU JEST? The nameless one is far stronger than anything you could imagine. However the chains that bind him mean that he must keep his power to himself for now. Why else would you believe a small god like that lust god could make off with one of his temples? My master cares not for such things, but the disrespect of having it stolen? I’m sure you can understand how that isn’t an insult my master could accept. As for how you survived? Your master protected you at the last minute, otherwise you would be dead. To think you would have an Elder Fae as your protector. While that saved you, that also means I can’t let you leave here alive as word can’t get back to them about my master’s real strength or that of my own. It isn’t time for them to be alerted to such things."
"Wouldn’t my master have already reported it after you attacked me?" Laz questioned, knowing that while it was still in a good mood, he might as well get as much information as he could.
"Report what? You helped steal a temple from my master and were attacked by his first level god servant. If anything, they would commend you on surviving but blame you for your disrespect. They might even punish your master as I’m sure she understands that such a thing isn’t exactly allowed between ’allies’ to the elder fae.
"If that were true, then why are you doing all this?" Laz said, meaning the takeover of this world.
"My master needs more followers and these beasts are just perfect for swearing loyalty to my master. This entire place is a paradise with which master could raise hundreds of god beasts while they grow their own food supply at the same time. It’s perfect as long as my master and I are the only one’s who know about it. And what’s more? I even found a Nameless acolyte with which I could possess and regain my body I lost in the war. A perfect reward for my service, wouldn’t you say?"
’The emperor was an acolyte for the nameless god? How fitting...’ Laz thought to himself.
"Ah. While it’s been a pleasure, I must get a move on to my next target. Once the rest of these people are killed, this world will lose any power to resist. At that time, I shall be able to leave at ease and bring my master back to manage this pocket dimension. You’re welcome to stop me if you think you can or just stay up there hidden in your turtle shell until my master returns. But do understand that once he get’s here... even if you’re within the body of a divine beast, my master shall have no problem opening your shell. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time he’s dined on the flesh of the Heavenly Black Python, HA HA HA HA HA!"
Nagi’s face, previously at ease, suddenly grew serious as she drove the castle right into the ground, intent on smashing the Emperor into dust. Even once the collision was over and the castle returned to the air, the sound of the Emperor’s laughing continued to ring out in the distance.
