178 The Graveyard of Kings

Afternoon, June 26

Pokemon Center

New Bark Town

Cersei passed down a look of deep loathing and disappeared.

On the floor, Item-M was no better than a corpse. Her face had paled so much that it seemed all her blood had been sucked out of her. Saliva dripped from her mouth as if she was prey clutched in the jaws of a predator.

These were the aftereffects of the Blood Prophecy.

When an idea took root in Kai's mind, he scarcely waited to test out the theory. He had wondered whether Item-M could use the Acts from the Book or not. It turned out she could, to her misfortune. Her fate had nothing to do with Kai. But she was still his servant and was bound to stay with him. Not to mention, he needed to see if that foreign being would again infiltrate the Blood World or not.

Kai certainly won't risk facing that hideous, patterned door again. So, the responsibility fell on Item-M's shoulders.

Unlike him, though, she didn't have the Filth Manipulation to give her HP regeneration rate a boost. So Kai took out another HP capsule and stuffed it in her mouth. The capsule showed its potent nature instantly. Such was its power that streams of blood ran down her nose.

Item-M coughed profusely and sat up, facing Kai.

"I…" she struggled to find words, recalling the scenes from the blood world. "I saw myself getting crushed to death under the coils of a massive snake."

Kai's eyebrows raised. He turned to look to his left and saw Selene slithering on the floor playfully.

"No…" Item-M said, rubbing away the blood. "It was bigger. Bigger than even me."

-/A Snake-type Pokemon?/- Kai asked, his eyes gleaming with blatant expectation.

Item-M nodded. "Oh, I am so sorry, master," she apologized, a massive amount of sadness overcoming the tiredness on her face. "If I hadn't made you devour Golduck, then you could have devoured this Pokemon's blood essence."

Kai snorted out a laugh. -/What are you on about?/- he said incredulously. -/Is there any point in regretting things I had no way to know before? There aren't many snake-type Pokemon, to begin with. So, it is Arbok or Seviper, I reckon. In either case, you would face a 4th-floor Contestant. But why were you facing off with a Contestant like that in the Blood Prophecy? Unless I would make you do so./-

Item-M gaped as Kai, word after word, kept dissecting the Blood Prophecy.

Something seemed to have changed about him after his declaration. Before, Kai had a goal. To become the most powerful Contestant. But it was so far away, both in space and time, that even though Kai's will was strong, he was just flailing his hands in the darkness, hoping to stumble upon some pillar for stability.

The tales he had vowed to devour were now acting as major checkpoints between his ambition and his current state. Not only did it make things easier for him but also cleared his thought process. The results were more than obvious.

Kai closed his eyes for a second. Then he smiled.

-/Rejoice, my servant,/- he said, smiling. -/For, if I am right, then we will soon meet another "Carl"./-

"Master, you mean…" Item-M trailed off.

Kai nodded, turning away from her. -/It's time for another hunt./- he said. -/Chaos, create a Side Mission to Kill the nearest 4th-floor Contestant of Order. Adjust Mission Summary accordingly./-

[

Analyzing the Contestant's Stats…

Analyzation Complete

Creating Side Mission…

You have triggered a Side Mission

Main Mission: Three heads of the Targaryen Dragon

Side Mission: The Legend of Thunder!

Side Mission Summary: Northman is tasked with protecting Pokemon Trainer Jimmy, a main-storyline character. Young Jimmy's adventure has yet to begin, and he lives with his family at No. 64, Surfer Street, Near New Bark Town's Port.

Side Mission Objective: Kill Northman and destroy Jimmy's home

Side Mission Time Limit: before 27th June

Side Mission Hint: Person or beast

Do you accept the side-mission?

]

'As I expected,' Kai thought, beaming at the Side Mission Time Limit.

-/Rest,/- he told Item-M. -/You will have your part to play tonight./-

"Yes, master," she grunted a reply, helping herself to the bed. "First, let me write the names."

Kai snapped his head back at her. -/Oh!/- he exclaimed, obsessively. -/Have you thought them through? Remember, I won't tolerate any more surprises like Professor Elm. Take your time, if you aren't sure. I will not rush it./-

But Item-M seemed to have decided. "Waiting longer is pointless, master," she said, picking up paper and pen. "I was a 13th-floor Contestant once. And though I didn't ascend to the 6th Set, my knowledge isn't lacking compared to those monsters. Being a Priestess had its own merits too."

She scribbled down on the paper hastily but deliberately as she addressed Kai. When she was finished and flicked away the pen, Kai couldn't control himself any longer.

He rushed to her and snatched the paper off her hands.

His heart was thumping against his bones.

He walked to the chair, which was shining golden under the full brunt of the noon sun, and sat down.

The first name was according to his instructions. In front of those names, she had mentioned their worlds.

Seven there were.

Seven tales to rule the world.

"First, Orochimaru from the Naruto World, master." Item-M's words reached Kai. "Second, Mayuri Kurotsuchi from Bleach. Third, Kisuke Urahara, also from Bleach. Fourth, Rintaro Okabe from Steins;Gate. Fifth, Reed Richards from Marvel Universe. Sixth…"

Item-M struggled to carry on.

Kai picked up from where she had left. -/Sixth, Senku Ishigami from Dr. Stone,/- he said telepathically. -/And seventh, Dexter from… What the fuck? Which world is this? You never mentioned this world to me before."

Item-M took a deep breath.

"The Graveyard of Kings!" she blurted out. "I didn't mention it before because I didn't think that even you could survive a single hour in that world, master."

Kai's eyes widened. 'What?!'

"In the Multiverse, only the Graveyard of Kings is a cluster of different Random Worlds," she continued. "And its name was given to it by Contestants, not by the Systems. The reason is simple, no matter how absurd it looks. Hundreds of King-level Contestants are known to never clear the missions from this place, dying there like pigs. All their power, Skills, Items, and Abilities are useless when faced with the logic of those worlds."

Kai's soul shuddered. What place could be so terrifying that could claim the lives of so many top-class Contestants? They were Kings. Kings! Kai couldn't even fathom their power, much less the nature of this place Item-M was talking about.

-/What is it?/- Kai asked, steeling himself. -/Which worlds can be so dangerous that they even changed the name of this group to such a horrifying degree? What twisted logic are you talking about?-/

Item-M's half-closed eyes matched Kai's. She was trembling before even uttering the words.

"The Worlds of Cartoons." Her voice echoed as a lone cloud slid under the sun, darkening the room. "Everything is useless when one faces the Cartoon Logic, the Killer of Kings."

********

AN: There are many choices, I know. Item-M has prepared this list because she is sure about them. Kai may or may not get to have all of the seven tales. Or maybe he would get someone else's tale out of this list. But the gist will remain the same. Now you know the standards.

A short snippet on Jimmy is available on Discord. An explanation of which tales can be devoured and which not is available too.

Tomorrow we will leave New Bark Town and the plan will commence.