Chapter 17
AN: Chapter is only partly edited.
Tempest's central arena was as busy as ever, with various combatants filling every free spot on the ground level. The structure itself was designed after the colosseum found on Nazarick's sixth floor which in turn, was a copy of the Roman Colosseum. Through the borrowed architecture, stone block sitting areas and arches, the arena could easily accommodate hundreds of combatants and thousands of observers, each clamoring to get the best angle on the action taking place down below.
Today, the only event happening in the arena was the regular sparring matches, thus the only spectators filling the otherwise barren seats were the fighters who were waiting for their turn to spar in anticipation.
Souka panted heavily as she helped one of her fellow dragonewts to get up after a decisive victory on her part. It was somewhat hard to tell how much stronger and faster she had become, as there was no obvious reference to draw from, especially with all of her kind had evolved just like her. There was one thing she knew for sure, however. She had grown far beyond what even the strongest of lizardmen were capable of.
'How could master Momonga give all of us so much power without thinking twice about it?' She mused as she watched her peers who, same as her, all had been evolved into a higher species by the Overlord's power. Surely the leaders of Tempest and their closest followers were extraordinarily powerful, but she could not fully grasp just how much power they held. 'Could they truly rival the demon lords… or perhaps even surpass them?'
As she looked for her next opponent, she noticed the fiery orange suit of Lord Demiurge who was approaching her from her peripheral. Since this morning, the archdemon had been watching over her and the other newcomers who were trying to test their new limits. It might be only her misconceptions, but the crystal glasses perched upon his angular nose gave him a look more akin to a butcher coming about to observe a field of cattle than a diligent taskmaster. Though, she wondered on how much of a difference there was between the two. She knew that in his eyes, she might not be up to par with the ogres who had been reborn into powerful kijin but still, she wished to show him that she was no pushover.
She quickly bowed and then straightened up, shoulders rolling back as she tried her best to keep a neutral expression. Holding her hands behind her back, nails digging into her palms painfully, she waited with faux patience while the demon took his sweet time to speak. "I have reviewed your abilities and battle style and I think I have a perfect spot for you. Gather what's on this list and report to Soei. You will find him in the intelligence department next to the royal palace." Demiurge said in his usual clipped tone, his devilish smirk never leaving his features.
"As you command, Lord Demiurge!" Souka saluted and accepted the paper.
There were fifteen names on the list and finding all of her peers was not hard since all of them were in the same arena. With the newly gained Shadow Step, she and others appeared in front of the intelligence gathering center mere moments later. The building itself was rather unassuming with no clear signs that it even was the right place.
Unconcerned about the building's deceptive nature, she quickly led the group inside, saluted the two kijin guards guarding the door, and descended the steps to the basement.
Souka had seen Soei once, before his transformation, but despite that it felt as if she was looking at a stranger. The man was far too handsome as is and the dark brooding made things even worse. It took her a mere moment to realize that she was just staring, and quickly snapped out of a flustered state to look at least somewhat professional.
She quickly saluted and proclaimed smartly, "Souka reporting for duty!" With her peers quickly following her example a heartbeat later.
Soei gave them a quick glance and said, "Each of you will be assigned five beings known as shadow demons for assistance and given a patrol route. For now, we have not been given any missions concerning counter-espionage."
Souka glanced around, only now noticing the numerous humanoid shadows on the walls. Five of them, looking no different from regular shadows, quickly moved to the floor and merged with her own silhouette. Other than a faint presence pressing at the back of her mind, there were no indications that the creatures were even there. It was a… novel sensation to say the least.
{ We are assigned to assist you Agent Souka. Let us make our masters not regret this decision. } The five voices using tones of her inner monologue whispered in her head in unison. Although they all sounded the same, she could almost instinctively tell them apart.
{ Agreed. } Souka gave a small nod.
Patrolling with her new companions turned out to be easier than expected. They acted as conscious extensions of her own senses as she could see and hear through them if need be.
The Tempest Hegemony held vast lands, and she was one of many who needed to make sure no foreign entities lurked around unnoticed. There were few observers just outside the borders of her new home, but her orders were not to bother anyone unless they crossed the border.
Most were the orcs, lizardmen, and ogres patrolling the lands now owned by Gelmud, but there were a few much less noticeable observers as well. It was an easy guess that Tempest had gotten noticed by the demon lords and their agents, but even they would not foolishly enter the lands blessed by the Storm Dragon Veldora himself.
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Even with Demiurge's often pleasant demeanor, talking with him was still nerve-racking as the underlying sense of pure malice was too overwhelming even for a kijin like him to handle.
Benimaru nervously knocked on the lavish double door, made out of the best oak the Forest of Jura could offer and decorated with engravings of Nazarick's crest, in front of him. He knew he shouldn't feel like this, but interaction with either of Lord Momonga's advisors always gave a vague feeling of dread. Like a fly, too exhausted to run any further, dipping down to rest upon a leaf, knowing the frog is all too close behind.
"Come in." Demiurge's pleasant voice rang through the door, a strict contrast to the killing intent that always seemed to linger below his 'mask' of niceties.
Benimaru took a breath and opened the door, walking into Demiurge's office in Tempest's royal castle.
"My lord, you called?"
"Yes, sit down." Demiurge replied, motioning at the chair in front of his table.
"It has come to my attention that you possess a skill that makes you an excellent field commander. Do you have any knowledge of military tactics?"
Benimaru sat down in the offered seat. "My father, the previous leader of the ogres, trained me in military arts. But I have no practical experience in commanding large-scale military operations."
"Not the most preferred circumstance, but it's at least workable." Demiurge remarked. "You will be given the strategy and tactics related know-how from Nazarick, gathered by the Supreme Beings themselves. Further, I will entrust you with reorganizing Tempest's military. Within my oversight, of course."
With what limited information he had, Benimaru quickly deduced that Demiurge and likely many others from Nazarick considered the three ruling Lords of Tempest the Supreme Beings of existence.
"What about the Supreme Beings? Wouldn't they command the armies if we would engage a hostile force?"
"That is a possibility, but we cannot rely on the boundless capabilities of the Supreme Beings all the time. As sworn servants, it is our utmost duty to relieve them from directly involving themselves in lesser affairs."
"Understood. I will do my best to live up to yours and their expectations."
"As you should." 'It seems that no matter the creature, naming makes them as loyal to the Supreme Beings as ones created by them directly.' Demiurge mused and handed Benimaru a thick folder of the current military layout of Tempest. He, naturally, would not give the kijin any sort of control over Nazarick's armies, but the Tempest's forces surely would benefit from his skill.
Benimaru accepted the folder and quickly flipped through the pages. 'So much information. It will take days just to get through all of it!' "I will start work immediately and prepare suggestions as fast as I can."
"I would prefer to get the first report within three days to see how much of the direct command I can entrust to you." Demiurge said as he leaned forward in his chair with a smirk. The satisfaction he got from pushing the servants of the Supreme Ones to their limits and forcing their growth glistening like a gemstone in his cold heart.
"As you command, Lord Demiurge." Benimaru hastily said and stood up. "With your permission, I would like to start immediately."
"Of course, run along now." Demiurge waved him off dismissively.
Benimaru left the archdemon's office and returned to his half-built clan house. Most of the core structure was done, but a lot of the building lacked any sort of finish and furnishings. His office, as well, only had a table and one chair.
Orcs, kijin, and hobgoblins were hard at work and paid little attention to him walking past them. Before he could disappear into his office and start working, his newly appointed assistant Onata appeared beside him. "Back already, sir?"
The young kijin was dressed in a dark gray skirt suit with her blue hair tied in a bun and held a small notebook in her hand. Before naming, she was one of the ogres who didn't excel at combat and was mostly given menial tasks, but now she quickly proved herself to be a talented planner and dutiful assistant.
"Yes. Lord Demiurge gave me an important task, and unless my superiors request my presence, I would prefer to not be disturbed."
"Of course, sir. Should I bring your dinner to your office at the usual time?"
"Yes." Benimaru responded and quickly walked into his office, closing the doors behind him.
The amount of information was overwhelming at first. But after a few hours of going through it, he got the general idea of how military forces were distributed and how he should incorporate the newcomers into Tempest's army.
The more defensive-oriented high-orcs would fit nicely with the border patrols consisting mostly of skeletal deadmen called old guard and liches. The flying dragonewts felt like a nice addition to the flier teams comprised of sprites and wasps who were making sure that Tempest was guarded against air assault. Lastly, the kijin, as the most powerful newcomers, could join the strike teams meant to respond to high-level threats.
Of course, it was only his first suggestion. There were a lot of variables to take into consideration. His own people would be the strongest individuals, but was it better to make small elite troops out of them, or just distribute them evenly throughout the army to increase its overall potential? Should he consider the note that the skeletal deadmen were expendable even though they were sent from the Nazarick itself?
Either way, he needed to be assured that all the decisions he made were the right ones. Even a simple mistake made by a general always costs lives and, on top of that, Lord Demiurge would be looking over his shoulder with all of the potential threats that can entail.
How much simpler life was just a short while ago, but then Gelmud came. Maybe one day he would have a chance to kill that bastard himself and avenge his father. Would his new masters give him such a chance? Only time would tell.
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'The young ones will have to work hard to prove themselves to our new master.' Hakurou mused. Currently, he was sitting cross-legged, observing other combatants fighting in the arena, each trying to prove themselves to their new masters, with a critical eye. He had ended his own duels in a matter of seconds and Lord Cocytus had deemed that his ongoing involvement in sparring matches would be unfair to the other kijin.
The naming had brought him back from his twilight years into his prime, and on top of that, given him so much additional power that his fighting prowess had grown to a level he previously would have deemed impossible to reach. Yet there was a flame of eagerness to improve himself burning bright within, as he could not make Lord Cocytus take him seriously in combat, not that he had any chance to ever defeat the Vermin Lord.
'How long it has been since I had someone to learn from? It must have been at least a century.' Hakurou mused.
From what few interactions he had with Cocytus he had come to understand that the insectoid held the warrior's honor in the utmost regard and there was only one thing more important to him; serving the Supreme Beings.
Hakurou's thoughts drifted to his new master, who according to those from Nazarick was one of the three remaining Supreme Ones with Peroroncino and Bukubukuchagama being the other two. Once there were forty-one of such beings but no one knows where the rest went as they had never tasted defeat.
It did raise a question: what exactly were they? It would be naive to assume that they were just majins. He and other former ogres were well within that category, but Lord Momonga didn't even pause while naming all of them. To make forty majins on a whim was a feat of a God.
'Could it be that the three Lords are actually equal to the Storm Dragon himself and only used his name to hide their own immense power?'
One thing was clear: it was a stroke of pure luck that the Supreme Ones accepted and empowered the newcomers so quickly. If they so wished they could have just wiped out the entire group with ease.
'Fate is whimsical sometimes.' he mused. Hakuro had fully prepared to face death soon, but life had other plans for him. Practically reborn he now served a non-ogre master, something he had not imagined would happen.
"HAKUROU!" Cocytus called for him.
Hakorou quickly jumped to his feet and was next to the insectoid in the blink of an eye. "Yes, my Lord?"
"GATHER THOSE SEVEN AND MEET ME IN THE DOJO." Cocytus pointed at seven different kijin sparing all over the arena. "I WILL TRAIN THEM AS MY PERSONAL UNIT, WITH YOU BEING THEIR LEADER."
"It will be an honor, my Lord, I will gather them at once." Hakuro said with a bow.
The dojo they arrived at, bore similarities to the ones ogres had built within their citadel. After all, a lot of ogre culture came from an otherworlder who introduced a lot of what was meant to be an ogre. From the architecture, weapons, and fighting styles to life philosophies.
'Could it be that they too had come from the same world?' The rest of Tempest's capital city looked vastly different from this one single building owned by his superior.
Maybe there will be an opportune time to ask about the origins of the dojo and why it looked like it did, but that could wait. The most important goal was to learn everything Lord Cocytus was willing to teach and reach new heights of martial mastery.
Not wanting to waste time, he chose a spot in the central training room and started to swing his sword in practiced repeat motions. After all, no matter how many times each move has been made, extra practice never hurts.
Proofreading by placid_void, I AM THE STRING CUTTER and kamijazz