Diabolical Metamorphosis

Ten years passed after the tragedy at the catacombs of Frankenfurt, the city remained prosperous and rich in resources and culture. Frankenfurt became the capital fashion and rebirth of the new era - the Renaissance. Not only its arts and culture were flourished, even magic became one of the foundations of the said era.

As magic became one of the foundations of this era, there were also mages who used magic in a darker way. Magic was supposed to bring light and protect the people against monsters that were lurking in the dark. That's why the Council was born.

The Council made rules and regulations on how to use magic and such. The Council made sure that those dark mages would be punished under the law as the Council was granted permission by both the Church and the Monarchs to do so. A lot of dark mages went hiding, some would even join the monsters' side to gain more power and control over the darkness. Some of them became lords of a faction or a party filled with monsters and dark mages, and they're constantly fighting against the Council.

The Council was ruled by one supreme being on par with the King itself. Their title was The Grand Magus. Only the greatest mage of the generation could only receive such title through their achievements and greatness of their magic. Currently, the Grand Magus of this era was the youngest amongst all Grand Magi who received such title and burden. It was the son of Marquis Antoine Moreau — Pierre Jacques-van Moreau.

At the age of 17, he already slaughtered hundreds of werebeasts and killed a Dragon Lord with his sword. He was known as the Greatest Sword Mage among their generation. At the age of 25, he became the youngest principal even recorded in history in St. Bernardine's Academy for mages. At 27, he served as a strategic advisor and combat commander for the King's mage unit and returned to Frankenfurt, bringing the heads of the lords in front of the King as a gift for their victorious siege against the dark mages. And now at the age of 33, he was appointed as the Grand Magus of the entire country of Frankenfurt.

Even with his title and achievements, Pierre remained calm and reserved – on the outside. Pierre on the inside was a short-tempered, book maniac who's addicted to grimoires and unusual events. He's always fascinated about uniqueness and he always had a different taste than a normal person.

"I wanna do something fun today..." Pierre mumbled as he lays his head on the table with his arms extended.

"Instead of just sulking there, why don't you sign these papers instead and not me?" A man named Pietro, the assistant magus, said as he put the papers at Pierre's table then Pierre looked at it and pouted.

"Pietro, I can't stand sitting pretty here and keep on signing these stuffs. The world needs my presence, the streets need to see my pretty face. Am I not that beautiful to be hidden away-" Pierre couldn't finish his words as Pietro slammed all the papers into Pierre's face.

"Just do it quickly as you always do because that's your fucking job!" Pietro walked away and slammed the door as he went out.

"Must've been better if I didn't accept this title at all..." Pierre picked up the papers and when he picked them one by one, he stumbled upon one article that made his eyes gleam.

"I should finish this quickly and get a word with his majesty! I'm such a genius!"

Hours passed and Pierre was able to finish signing the papers he agreed to about the mages' budget and future projects then put on his white cloak.

"Pietro, can you prepare the carriage for me, please?" Pierre asked as he showed Pietro an envelope.

"That's some sinister look you have there." Pietro said as he rolled his eyes and went out to look for their chauffeur as she smirked.

"Of course. That's how interested I am for this one." Pierre answered with a sinister smile as his dark hazel eyes gleamed in excitement.

*

Meanwhile in the forest, a carriage was driven by a merchant who's about to sell his goods to the royal capital when suddenly, a white-haired figure stood in front of him which made the horses stop and in their terror, they ran away leaving the merchant behind.

The man then grabbed an axe and was about to attack but his hand flew, and blood gushed out from his amputated arms.

"I want all of your goods." The figure said as they gave the man a white cloth and the man ran away.

"Orion, we finally have a meal for this week!" The white-haired figure smiled as they grab a piece of meat and lifted it in the air. A wolf then appeared and licked the white-haired figure from excitement and the white-haired figure laughed.

"Lilith got this meat for you. You should be proud of Lilith." The white-haired figure said as they pointed to themself and gave the meat to Orion. Orion immediately feasted on the meat Lilith gave him while Lilith looted on the boxes and chests which belonged to the merchant.

"Must've been better if there are clothes here..." Lilith said as they looked at themself at the mirror they just found. Lilith was only wearing a white robe and silk which she looted from a cloth merchant months ago. Lilith searched for clothes until they found a long-sleeved polo and black pants with some belt.

"Quite better than this..." Lilith then grabbed those garments and ran to a nearby river then immediately dived into the water. Orion's tail wagged in excitement and joined Lilith into the river. They both played and bathed themselves as Lilith untangled their long white hair.

"Life in the jungle may be hard but it's fun. Right, Orion?" Lilith said while looking at Orion wagging his tail and jumping in the water. "Better than 'that' place."

Lilith rose from the water and dried themself with the robe they wore before then wore the garments they looted from the merchant's carriage.

"Let's chase that man before he get away from here." Lilith smirked as they casted a magic circle from the ground. Orion stepped at the magic circle and they got teleported to the dark side of the forest.

"I told you run away but I didn't think you'll come here." Lilith said as their words echoed around the forest.

"This forest is my territory, you know?" Lilith sliced several trees into pieces with condensed mana then found the man running away.

"Orion, chase that man." Lilith ordered Orion and Orion ran after the man.

"That man is not a merchant. These clothes he got were from the nobles that man killed. He's a dark mage." Lilith said as they chanted a barrier around the entire forest so that the man couldn't escape. Lilith then summoned a bow and an arrow made with condensed mana, facing towards their target.

On the other hand, Orion managed to catch up with the man then immediately pounced at him. Orion growled and bit the man's shoulder but then the man punched Orion's stomach and ran away. Orion stood up then jumped towards the man to catch him but suddenly, the man shoot a fireball towards Orion's chest, making Orion fall to the ground and growl in pain. The man was about to shoot another fireball towards Orion when an arrow hit his eye then followed by another one that hit his forehead and it pierced through the back of his head.

Lilith ran towards Orion as their bow dissolved and checked Orion's condition.

"Orion, just hang in there." Lilith looked at Orion's chest, bleeding with third-degree burn. They wrapped a cloth around Orion's chest to stop his bleeding but Orion's breath became slow and unstable. Lilith then casted a magic circle on Orion's wound and chanted a healing spell.

Orion groaned and looked at Lilith with a smile as he closed his eyes and his breathing stopped. Heal magic was a type of Holy magic and monsters wouldn't heal with that kind of magic but still, Lilith gambled in order for Orion to live.

"Orion, don't just leave me alone here..." Lilith said as they saw Orion's smile and lifeless body. "Give me some time to decode this magic here. Don't just leave me alone like that..."

"I'm a genius, you know? We've been together for ten years now. Don't leave me alone!" Lilith casted another healing spell on Orion's chest and tried to change its properties while encoding Orion's DNA to its particles to heal Orion's wound but before they could finally achieve it, the magic circle broke and Orion's body turned into ash. Lilith couldn't help but cry and scream for the loss of their companion.

*

Pierre and Pietro arrived at the royal palace and was greeted by the Queen herself.

"Good to see you, Grand Magus Moreau. It's been months since we talked to each other. I'm glad to see you're alive and well. May I know the reason why you come here today?" The Queen greeted Pierre as she snapped and royal servants lined up side by side and bowed in front of them.

"I don't really need such formal greeting, your Highness. There's something I need to discuss with the King privately," Pierre answered as he showed the Queen an envelope.

"May I know the gist of the letter you have, Grand Magus Moreau?" The Queen asked as she gestured the servants to guide Pierre and Pietro to the King's throne.

"It's about the monster that's lurking around the Great Forest of Precht. It's becoming more and more active these days." Pierre answered as he followed the Queen and the royal servants to the King's throne.

"I see. I believed that's also the reason why dark mages are afraid to live in that forest. The people called it the White Disaster." The Queen replied as they arrived in front of the throne room and the servants opened the door. There the King was sitting on his throne with his legs crossed while reading an article with the White Disaster at its headline.

"I believe that's your quest this time for me, Uncle. Am I right?" Pierre asked as he bowed down in front of the King along with Pietro.

"The White Disaster was said to be a monster in a human form. Some said its a wolf while others said its a demon. It's been affecting the capital's economy lately. If it's an ally, as possible, I'd like you to tame it. If it's an enemy, kill it. I know you're the only one who can do these stuffs." The King said as he looked at Pierre and smiled. "That means I entrust you with this one."

"I assure you I'll never ever fail." Pierre answered as he stood up with his right hand on his chest. The King nodded and told them to leave and wished them good luck for this quest.

They left the palace early with Pierre humming happily on himself.

"Why are you so excited for this one? This is a mythical monster we're going to subdue." Pietro said and sighed as he went inside the carriage.

"Well, it might be a new toy." Pierre smirked as he licked his lower lip and chuckled on himself.

"What an absolute pervert." Pietro rolled his eyes and looked at the window, watching the merchants and vendors on the streets entertaining customers with their goods. "This might be a monster in a whole different level, you know?"

"What are you saying? As long as it breathes, it's a toy for me." Pierre replied as he looked at the window, pouting.

"That's the reason why you're a 33-year old virgin." Pietro said and it made Pierre froze. Pietro's eyes widened when he saw Pierre sulking at the corner with his knees on his face.

"How dare you saying that to Grand Magus Moreau?" Pierre looked at Pietro in tears with a snot in his nose. Pietro sighed and massaged his temple then threw a handkerchief towards Pierre.

"I can't believe the Greatest Sword Mage of this generation is this bastard." Pietro sighed as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Rest for now. We'll arrive at the forest tomorrow morning."

Pierre nodded as he blew his snot into the handkerchief then looked at the window. He watched the busy streets of the capital with his mind wandering somewhere, thinking of possibilities what the monster could be.

*

"Food supply is short. Now I'm going to hunt all alone." Lilith said to themself as they wrapped their chest tightly with a cloth then wore their clothes after they took a bath at the river. Lilith stood their for a few seconds before they clapped their cheeks.

"Okay, I can do this alone." Lilith tied their hair and put on a black robe when suddenly they heard footsteps.

Lilith tried to escape by concealing themself with Stealth magic but a dagger wounded their arm, breaking the spell.

"Are you the White Disaster or not?" A man approached the wounded Lilith and offered a hand.

"Pierre, that's dangerous. That man must be the White Disaster!" Pietro said as he unsheathed his rapier and pointed it towards Lilith.

Lilith observed the men first while covering their wound as their flesh slowly healed the wound itself.

"Who are you?" Lilith asked and their fangs were revealed as she casted a spell on the ground, making the trees bend and the ground shaking.

"So you can manipulate nature, filthy vampire." Pierre summoned a sword made of condensed mana then pierced it to the ground and a magic circle appeared below them.

Pierre was about to chant a spell when Lilith swayed their hand and the magic circle broke. Pierre's eyes widened and looked at Lilith in awe while Pietro panicked and grabbed Pierre's arm.

"For the first time, someone broke your spells. This is dangerous, we must go-"

"I didn't break the spell. I simply countered it." Lilith didn't let Pietro finish his words and sent him away by teleporting him to the other side of the forest.

"I made you stay because it seems like you have something for me. Negotiation, perhaps?" Lilith asked Pierre as they tilted their head while observing Pierre's body.

Pierre sighed as his sword dissolved and showed Lilith an envelope.

"I received a letter requesting me to kill the White Disaster. With your presentation earlier, seems like it's nearly impossible. You can see mana, aren't you?" Pierre asked as he threw the envelope towards Lilith.

"I guess? I'm a monster after all." Lilith picked the envelope and opened it, reading the contents of the letter. "Seems like they're very pissed."

"And you're quite a talkative one for a vampire," Pierre said as he grabbed a cigarette from his pocket and lit it then puffed a smoke. "We can make a deal with you then."

"I only have one request." Lilith said as they sliced Pierre's cigarette in half.

"And what's that?"

"Take me to Princess Margarita."

To be continued...