The Beautiful Night Sky

Shuten Dōji realized one thing after drinking for a while, he didn't get truly drunk no matter how much he consumed he would only be tipsy.

The reason for this was not something he cared for, but it diminished his anxiety about the whole thing basically not existing.

It also made him accept his new life as an alcoholic better, though his mind didn't remain as rational as it was when sober, rather he felt he would be more guided by his emotions when he was tipsy.

Exactly as it should be, but he didn't feel it was to the extent to which Demiurge had said it would be.

Though he certainly understood that his whole atmosphere was more wild and beast-like, he did feel a bit offended by being called a "Wild Beast", by one of the people who created him.

Still, there was nothing he could do about it anymore, Ulbert had long left the game and left him and all of the other NPC's of Nazarick behind.

And it certainly wasn't Demiurge's fault for remembering the words spoken by his Creator, in the end, he could only swallow his annoyance at this and leave the 6th Floor.

He had things to do and prepare now, so he needed to get back to his own Floor first.

Soon after leaving the 6th Floor, he again came to his own floor, "Let's hurry a little..."

With those words, Shuten Dōji disappeared, he had a very high Agility Stat, basicly all his stats were actually pretty fucked up in his own opinion, but it wasn't like he had any misgivings about this.

Rather he loved it, being strong was something everyone desired, no matter if it was to protect the things one loved, or to achieve one's desires, or for any other reason.

There were even people who wanted to become stronger just for the sake of gaining more strength, or at least that is what they say. What was hidden in such people's hearts was something he didn't know and didn't care about.

Running swiftly through the Cherry Blossom Forest, the branches, leaves, and blossoms rustled, this came as a result of the wind, which his body generated, by running past between the trees.

It didn't even take a minute until he stood again in front of his home, his own domicile, the 9-layered Imperial Pagoda.

Now looking at it again, it was truly a magnificent building and an attestment to the achievements of the Japanese heritage.

This 9-layered Pagoda was made completely of dark red wood, there wasn't even a single nail used in its construction and even if it was originally only something in a game, now it was reality.

The only things that didn't use wood were the 9 roofs covered with black tiles, as dark as the night itself.

It was truly a magnificent home and he was thankful to his Creators for granting him such a splendid residence.

Walking towards the Entrance, it was opened for him from the inside, by two of his Kijin Warrior Minions.

The rest of the Minions inside were already prostrating themselves again as if they were some kind of God that couldn't be looked at.

Somehow it annoyed him, so he spoke up, "From today onwards, you will not interrupt your wo4k to prostrate yourself just because someone enters here. The only time you are to do so is when the Nightwalk of the Hundred Ghosts and Monsters is held again. Understood?"

His voice was carried through the whole Palace, it was deep and filled with terror, if anyone dared to object to him, then he would learn after being beaten by him.

The Minions prostrating on the ground, slowly raised their heads, before kneeling towards him and giving their answer in unison. "Yes! Lord Shuten Dōji!"

Nodding, a satisfied smile spread across his face as he watched them go back to their own work.

He then continued on towards the highest layer, where his own room was and where people were currently waiting for him.

This time he walked at a normal pace, more so because he wasn't sure if he would destroy something accidentally if he ran up.

Coming before his door, he opened it and found all the people he expected to be here, were still there as he had ordered.

Kiyomi had also gotten Hisahito to come back from the entrance towards the 10th Floor.

The moment he opened the door, the eyes of the people present gathered on him.

They could all see that something was different from before, his cheeks had a rosy color to them, which they hadn't had before.

But the moment they saw what was hanging on his crimson red sashi, the Guardbottle. One they all knew about as this was information imprinted into them, it was an item called the [Guardbottle of the Monkey King].

A world Item, unbelievably so. It was a rather bizarre item among the world Items and not many knew that this was a World Item outside of the 9th Floor.

To be precise only one NPC outside of the 9th Floor knew it, that was Pandora's Actor, as Momonga had given this information to him when he was created.

This World Item had one effect which would be seen as completely useless, it connected to an endless space filled with an endless amount of the Monkey King's Wine.

It would have been seen as an utterly useless item if it didn't have a second effect.

The second effect was to be connected to another secret space of pure and infinite darkness, called the Monkey King's Prison.

And it could seal enemies into it under certain conditions, one of which was to regularly drink from the Guardbottle and be approved as its owner.

The only person capable of using it, was the person before them, Shuten Dōji, who because of his infinite desire for wine and the impossibility of him truly getting drunk, got approved as its owner.

"Welcome back Lord Shuten Dōji." Hisahito, Enmei, and Kiyomi knelt towards him after he entered the room, he acknowledged their greeting by nodding towards them.

Shiro and Yoru followed with their own greetings.

Yoru gave him an innocent smile, "Welcome back, my dear.", it seemed so pure that it was unbelievable and Dōji always had the feeling that there was something hidden behind that facade.

Something that gave him the same bad feeling as Albedo... a crazy Yandere... that was what he suspected at least.

Shiro on the other hand, gave him a seductive smile, not hiding her desire for him in the slightest, "Welcome back, my Love." her words and expression made people drown in desire, but the resistance of Dōji was simply too high.

He nodded at the two as well and then went on to address them, "We have a lot of work before us now, we can't let Lord Momonga be disappointed in us..."

As he started to speak, the innocent smile of Yoru and the seductive smile of Shiro disappeared, they knew very well which was the priority right now.

Dōji explained the gist of what had happened at the meeting with Momonga, then he proceeded to give them different orders.

First, he looked at Yoru, "I want you to inspect the whole of the 9th Floor, ask every minion if they have discovered any Anomaly today besides our own movement since I sent Kiyomi to gather you."

Although he was a little tipsy, Dōji gave his orders in an authoritative tone that left not a single answer open besides "Yes".

And so Yoru nodded her head with a serious expression on her rather innocent face, "I will not let a single person slip up on the effort to find any Anomaly."

Dōji in response gave a satisfied nod and turned to Hisahito, Kiyomi, and Enmei.

"Kiyomi, Hisahito, I want you two to help Yoru in her efforts, and the 9th Floor is for now left under Yoru's care until my return."

The two simply lowered their heads deep and answered fervently, "As the Lord orders."

"Enmei and Shiro, you two will come with me to the surface." He then addressed the last two people present, "You two will help Mare in his efforts to hide the Great Tomb of Nazarick, while I will stay guard on the surface."

The two people were just about to nod in acceptance, but the last words of Dōji made not only those two but all the people present loom at him with wide eyes and gawking mouths.

Shiro was the one who got her wits together first as she asked, "Shuten Dōji, what do you mean you will guard the surface? How could the strongest Floor Guardian do such an insignificant job?"

She regretted speaking these words the next second because the air suddenly had a terrifying Aura spreading through it. Its origin was of course the person addressed by her.

But Shuten Dōji seemed to realize, that it wasn't her fault for thinking so, so he took back his bloodlust, letting the people present breathe a sigh of relief.

He explained the reason for him being the one assigned to this job, "You two and Mare will be out there expanding your Mana in large quantities to cover Nazarick, which means that you will not be able to defend yourself well in the case of an ambush."

"One of my skills allows me to feel lifeforms in a large area, no matter if it is the life energy of the living or the negative energy of the dead. I can feel them."

"Besides I am also the one who has the least possibility of losing among all the Floor Guardians, even if I am not the best in guarding, my enormous healthpool and resistances will allow me to withstand most ambushes for a long time."

Looking at each of the people present he continued, "This means that there is no better person than me to delay any enemy in the case of an ambush while we are still working on our cover."

Now they understood, it wasn't that it was an insignificant job at all, but probably the one which was the most important at the moment.

If there was any attack on Nazarick while the people working on the cover had used most of their Mana, then they would be simple lamps for Slaughter.

And the strongest among the Floor guardians was simply the best option to watch over them and delay the enemy for reinforcements, as well as cover their retreat in such a situation.

This was the conclusion Demiurge and Albedo had come to at his own interjection that they couldn't leave the people outside without having done enough preparation to ensure their safety.

At first, they didn't understand what he meant, but when he reminded them of how seriously their Lord, Momonga, took this Situation, they realized their own negligence.

In the end, they decided that Shuten Dōji should take over the surface to guard until the cover of Nazarick was completed, in a way where Mare wouldn't need to expand much Mana anymore to reform the terrain.

Realizing her error before, Shiro bowed her head, "I am sorry for my words..."

Shuten Dōji interrupted her by waving his hand, "Don't mention it, I simply didn't explain enough. It is my own mistake for thinking you could understand it without further explanations."

This may seem like nice words, but the people present feel a chill in their bones, their Lord had basically just said to them that they were idiots in a kindly manner.

"Now, please fulfill your orders to the best of your abilities, we don't want to disappoint Lord Momonga." he looked at the two who would follow him again, "Come with me. We are going up to the surface."

He then turned and walked out of the room, Shiro hardly scrambled to stand up and follow after him, while Enmei did the same.

Among the people left behind, there was one person whose face grew extremely cold the moment the three had left.

The others present immediately scrambled upwards and left the room, not daring to be in the presence of this person at the moment at all.

"B*tch... this damned b*tch was called out by him to follow him..." The voice was filled with hostility to a point where it seemed to manifest.

"Should we just kill her?" Yoru, who was the person the voice belonged to, asked herself, but denied it immediately afterward, "No we can't do that, he will hate us..."

Her voice was changing between absolute coldness and innocent denial.

"We should just chain him up, drag him into the hidden cellar, and bound him there for eternity..." The cold voice came from her beautiful thin red lips.

"No... we can't do that... we love him." The innocent voice this time sounded.

"How can you be so useless? We should have taken him long ago, for us alone! Why would you care as long as he is only ours?" The cold voice sounded outraged.

"I believe he will love us one day, even you..."

"Ha! If he knew about us, then he wouldn't even look at us!"

"Don't talk like that, he is our love..."

.

.

.

Walking through the long corridor on the 1st Floor, leading to its entrance, were two people.

One was striding ahead of the other, while the one behind held a small being in her hand.

Those were, of course, Dōji, Shiro and Enmei.

Shiro was following behind Dōji in silence, she seemed to be very depressed and in her arms, she held the little Enmei tightly.

She seemed to try to get comfort from pressing him tightly against herself like a child would do with a teddy.

Dōji of course knew of this, 'Ha... I was misunderstood like Momonga... I didn't want to scold them so much, I meant it as I said it. After all, this is the first time they needed to think for themselves...'

He didn't know how to lift Shiro's mood again, so he just walked ahead in silence, maybe he would get an idea when he got outside and some fresh air filled his lungs.

On their way up, they had come across many Minions of Nazarick and each greeted them, it was pretty annoying to tell the truth.

But none of the Guardians were seen by them so far, which mythed Dōji a little, but he didn't think too much about it.

Soon a stairway came into view leading upwards, this was the exit of the Tomb, leading into the Great Mausoleum at the center of the Surface.

Walking up the stairs, a person came into their sight, someone whom Dōji had seen not long ago.

"Hello, Mare." He greeted with a smile, which was meant to be friendly, but with the face of Dōji, no matter if he was handsome or not, when he smiled people would always think he had some evil intentions.

And so Mare who was given this smile shuddered all over his body and didn't dare to speak at all. His legs were shaking so hard, that one thought he would collapse the next second.

Behind Dōji, Shiro who had her head down the whole way finally raised it and greeted Mare, "Hello Mare..."

Her voice was low and there was nothing of the seductiveness she otherwise embodied, even her 9 tails were down.

Enmei seemed this moment to jump out of her arms, he gave his Lord an accusing look and ran over to Mare, before turning to Dōji, signaling him with her eyes to take Shiro away with him for a while.

Doji also had this idea, he spoke softly, "Shiro, follow me for a while." he then told Mare, "Mare I will take Shiro outside for a while and she will join you a bit later."

Mare nodded his head frantically, finally able to say something, "N...no problem. Sh..she will be more important later."

Dōji nodded and walked away, Shiro followed him, she didn't know why her beloved had said that he would take her away for a while, but this made her mind feel a bit better.

She just hoped that he wouldn't scold her even more.

The two came outside, under the beautiful Night Sky.

The air was fresh and felt somehow different from the one inside, though Dōji wasn't sure, he felt that it was more "free".

The dark night sky stretched out until the end of their sight, countless stars shone brightly and the moon shone with brilliance.

For him, the moon always made him feel better and it seemed it was also true for Shiro.

Her eyes were staring, as if they couldn't be taken away from it.

But when Dōji spoke, she immediately shifted her gaze at him as if the former focus was a lie.

"Can you cast [Fly] at the both of us and bring us higher?"

The words were softer than before, Shiro didn't think much about it and instead obliged the request.

[Fly]

She cast the spell at the two of them, letting them rise upwards slowly.

As they went upwards everything below them started to grow smaller, but both were too focused on the beautiful moon hanging in the Brilliant night sky.

"Beautiful..." Shiro muttered unconciously.

For them as Yokai, the moon had a very special place in their lives and as such she couldn't help but appreciate it.

When the two were higher than the clouds, they stopped.

The two stood close, but there was still a respectable distance between them.

At this time, the big hand patted her head again, like it did before, Shiro felt delighted by this.

"Thank you for bringing me up here to have a closer look at this beautiful night sky."

Dōji thanked her and continued to pat her head for a while, while also appreciating the view of the Night sky.

Shiro didn't speak, she understood very well, that Dōji tried to make herself feel better and although she felt that this was the perfect time to get closer to her beloved, she didn't want to ruin his appreciation for this wonderful sight.

After having been in the sky long enough for his own desire to be satisfied, Shiro controlled her magic to let them down slowly.

After arriving at the bottom, Dōji spoke again to her, "I didn't mean to scold you earlier. You and all of us have always lived by what was told to us, so you will need time to be able to think for yourself, which is why I am not angry with you for your earlier conduct."

He gazed at her beautiful silver eyes and even though he had no intention of doing anything to her, he felt his body's desire was greater for her now than when she had met her for the first time.

That she didn't try to force closeness again between them since he warned her, was something he acknowledged and truly appreciated.

Being pestered was something he disliked very much after all.

Shiro was stupefied for a moment, 'Doesn't this mean I was depressed for nothing for the whole way? I could have spent time with my Beloved and instead sulked for nothing?!'

She scolded herself fiercely in her heart, but she couldn't change it at all, it also led to her being able to spend time with Dōji alone, so it wasn't that bad of a thing.

After calming her mind, Shiro went to join Mare, while Dōji took his place on the roof of the Great Mausoleum.

Taking his Guardbottle from his Sashi, he took a couple of sips before laying back and further annoying the beautiful sight.

He of course had his senses stretched out to the maximum at the same time, covering a large area of around a kilometer with his passive skill.

There wasn't a single life form that could escape his senses, neither among the beings of Nazarick nor of the creatures living in this world.

'I feel like having observation Haki from One Piece...' he thought as he continued to drink.