"So, what else happened in their?"
Titania's voice timbered with the light of the moon slowly reaching inside. The futon was pretty comfortable, but the moonlight shining in made it a bit scenic in its own right. Almost as if a simple instrument had been turned into an experience.
There were plenty things one could only experience at a certain place.
"It was quite weird,"I continued. "I kept walking for what seemed like years once more. There was, of course, nothing but me in there. And then, once I and the past me continued walking some more, we found someone else who looked just like I did."
"Who was it?"
"The future."
I was reciting to Titania about what had gone down the entire time I was transforming into a Demon Lord. She told me that my body was being torn apart from shred to shred, which explained the nerve-ending amount of pain.
"Future you?"
"He knew more about demonization and about Bathym than I did. It couldn't just me a figment of my imagination."
Titania hummed and rolled on my chest.
"Maybe its stuff you always knew but never… internalized? Whatever that means?"
"I don't think that is the case. He even he'll come around someday."
Titania hummed.
"That's very weird. I know nothing about this. You might as well be the only person who has transformed from a human to a demon, and will also be the last. The authority that could do it is now gone."
That was true.
"Do you think you know what caused this?" Asked Titania.
"Why do you think I do?"
"How to say it, you've become much more calmer all of a sudden? You seem miles stronger than before."
Most naturally.
The very constitution of a demon king was out of this world when compared to a human. I was much stronger than I was mere days ago.
It almost felt like consuming a cheat, but I did experience a lot of pain for years on end. Maybe it strikes out?
That said.
The reason why I seemed calmer…
"It's likely because that place truly empty now."
The emptiness in my mind. Didn't even have me anymore.
"I think I have an idea," I told her. "About the future me."
"What is it?"
"Not something pretty that's for sure."
"Hm?"
"Sleep, Titania."
"Hey! No fair! Hey!!"
***
On the morning we were to hit the Goemon's tomb. When the sun had just risen and shade of the twilight like a painterly brush stroke had spread over the horizon, I met two people outside in the coppice of bamboos.
On their knees, the second whip and the first whip, who was just glasses being pretentious, greeted me.
I could see glasses' forehead twitch and lips bleed as he clenched his fist. He obviously, really did not want to bow to me but had no choice when the second whip was being pushy.
"Lord Dark Moon, I have switched to chains—"
"Stupid!"
I cut off the second whip's words.
"Glasses is nowhere close to that level and you think you can do it?"
"But the first whip is more of a mental guy—"
"Shut up!" I screamed.
If this guy uses chains then I'll likely be found out. Using a chain was starkly different from using a whip. So different, in fact, that they couldn't even be mentioned in the same vein.
One was a weapon. And the other held things in place.
"Alright, listen well. First you should be able to make your whip move like it is alive."
"Oh?" The second whip hummed. "You can do it with a whip too, lord Dark Moon?—Ow!"
I kicked him in the face.
"Of course I can, who are you to doubt my ability?"
The second whip got on his knees again and bowed once more.
"My sincerest apologies, Lord Dark Moon."
"That is alright."
"Now then, coming back, the next thing you have to do is be able to change your whip."
Both the second whip and glasses looked at me as they tilted their head.
"Change your whip?"
"Like this," I waved my hand with Catene wrapped around and grinned. "Modo Difesa."
The chains whirred in my arm and turned into a cloak that snugly wrapped around my back.
"This is called a cloak whip, perfect for defense."
The two had their jaws touching the ground.
"Cloak whip, Eugy, seriously?"
I ignored Titania's words and swung my arm again. "Modo Attacio."
The cloak turned into the sword this time as it fell straight in my hands. The two were now so shocked that their eyes would pop out and I could play marbles with them.
"W-w-what is this?! What happened to the chains? This is a sword!"
"Exactly. This is the true form of a whip, a sword."
"That doesn't even make sense."
Glasses smacked and I kicked him this time.
"Of course it is, who are you to doubt my prowess?"
"I agree with the first whip here, Lord Dark Moon—Awoh!"
Idiots were kicked.
Well, I was mostly hiding things, but this should keep them reined in enough.
Catene whirred in my hands once more, the small bits of chain on its hilt swinging around before it wrapped itself on my hands like a snake again. Now that I had all my fingers, it seemed to have been slightly uncomfortable.
The chains barely weighed anything so that didn't matter much to me.
"Now then," I called. "When you can finally do that, you can switch to a chain and start all over again, alright?"
"B-b-but whips can't turn into swords—"
I glared at the bastard and he winced, afraid to be kicked again.
"Understood, lord Dark Moon."
"Good."
The goal of this thing WAS that whips don't change, my guy. Catene was an artifact found from deep within Deep Down Dive. One of a kind thing that didn't exist elsewhere in the world—
"Artifacts…"
"What of it?" Titania asked suddenly.
"Maybe artifacts can have some clue into things too. The ones found from dungeons."
Catene whirred and the two Dark Moons looked at me weirdly, but that didn't matter.
Well I should handle them first.
"Alright, hand over what you got."
"Yes sir," the second whip said and reached into his bag as he passed over a single list."
"These are all the provinces and kingdoms of the type that you mentioned."
"There's too few," I said.
I had asked these guys to gather me some intel on people that were being real bitches in the East. From tyrants that were better off gone to idiots that were just as bad as the tyrants.
These were people that we had to wage war on, and crush.
Once we showed our overwhelming might, the others would be given the ultimatum to either join or die. I didn't have to worry much because the training of the soldiers with the groundbreaking Asahi technique had shown enormous results.
The general strength of the people in this side of the continent wasn't that high.
Most died before they could get strong.
The few that did came over to the west.
If anything was worrying, Lord Asahi himself or anyone between Luka, I and Albert were enough to handle it.
Noa was good too, and so was Rio.
Tempo and Swamp were generally stronger than the rest, but I wasn't going to make them do my dirty work.
Still…
Just five people to crush wasn't enough. They didn't seem all that strong either.
"I thought you would say that," said Glasses, grinning evilly. "That is why I brought you another list of people who are really really strong in the East. They're not that worrying, but I had to divert our investigation to find the most influence."
"You could have gotten that anyway."
"You would think, but the world is a big place, Lord Dark Moon. It takes resources to do this."
"Of course it does. Anyway, come back. Tell me more."
He handed me another list.
Of about twenty places this time. It also held names of people.
"This one here should be of your liking."
"I wasn't willing to kill for no reason. Not normal people. But some intimidation wasn't out of the table."
"I knew it!" Glasses hummed and cheered. "You are a scumbag no matter how good you pretend to be."
"Scumbag?!" I asked. This bastard sure had a big tongue. "Put some respect to your master's name, glasses."
The second whip was watching us with surprise.
"I am a demon lord if anything. I am not even lying."
"Wow… Lord Dark Moon is super edgy…"
"I knew it!" Glasses screamed again.
"Of course you did. This is good enough."
I was going to hand this to Lord Asahi, and then we could negotiate with them on our own accord. The strong can get stronger, or they can all fuck off and die.
And then, the east would be in my hands, I would barely be doing anything.
Historical War. Here I come.
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