Marcus…
After the conversation he had with Artemis last night, there were a number of things that he was curious about regarding Malthael. Given that Ruvick had obviously known that Malthael was still living inside of him, it was likely that he knows a lot more about the situation than he is letting on.
He made his way over to the cafe that Ruvick usually visited, but surprisingly enough, he wasn’t there.
“Hmm...usually whenever I need to talk to him, he’s right here. Whatever…,” Marcus complained as he walked over to his table and sat down.
He tapped his fingers against the wooden table and sighed.
A few minutes passed before a beautiful woman walked up to his table with a menu in her hands. She placed it on the table next to him and asked, “Are you ready to order something?”
Somewhat surprised by her, he turned to look at her and said, “Oh uh...no thanks. I was just hoping-”
“You’re here to see Ruvick, yes?” she asked, which surprised him once again.
He then decided to get a good look at her as he met her eyes and finally understood.
Her eyes were the same as Azazel’s, hollow with orbs of yellow light. She had light brown, almost blond hair and a beauty mark in-between her eyebrows. Her face also seemed very reminiscent of Greek features. She wore a simple maid’s dress, unlike that of the waitresses in the cafe.
“Y-you...look like Helen of Troy...who are you?” Marcus asked, not realizing he had said so in ancient Greek.
The woman tilted her head, raised her eyebrows in amusement, and gave him a faint smile as she replied in the same language, “Its been a long time since I’ve heard that name, even more so for being recognized as that woman. May I sit with you?”
“Of course,” he said as he waved for her to take a seat.
When she had seated herself, the two of them decided to resume their conversation in Greek.
“I assume that you work with Ruvick, correct?” he asked and she nodded.
“I serve Ruvick as his maid, however I am also participating in the Contest of Champions. I am also Julian’s opponent in the first round, in case you are wondering. My name is Gomori,” she said with a kindly expression.
At the mention of Julian’s name, his blood pressure started rising but he managed to calm himself down.
“As for your guess my identity based on my appearance, you are partially correct. This body of mine, this vessel that I inhabit was once known as Helen of Troy. She was known as the most beautiful mortal woman in the world, rivaling even Aphrodite. So naturally, as the Demon Prince of lust and sexual depravity, I took her body when she died. However, I have long rejected my role and now serve Ruvick,” she said with such a sweet and feminine voice, but with such politeness and modesty. It was the complete opposite of what he would expect of a demon prince of lust.
“Do you know Azazel well?” he asked.
She nodded and replied, “Of course I do. He is my brother, a fellow Demon Prince, much like my other brother Raum. I am sure you are curious about Azazel’s role, aren’t you?”
“After what you told me about yourself, I won’t lie that I am a little curious.”
She nodded and said, “Azazel was known as the Demon Prince of warfare, crafting weapons for man to more easily destroy and kill each other. Now he takes upon himself the role of advancement and preservation of the kingdom in his service to the God of Wrath. However, as much as I would enjoy going on and on about myself, we are getting off topic.”
“Right...Although, I had intended to ask Ruvick…,” he said, unsure of how to smooth it over.
“I am well versed in what Ruvick knows, so do not be afraid to ask me as well. I will do my best to answer whatever questions you have, even about Malthael who lives inside you,” she said.
“So you already know about that...of course you do,” he mumbled and she laughed faintly at his reaction.
“What would you like to ask?”
“I need to know if Malthael’s presence will harm me. I had no intention of taking his soul in my body, so I have no idea what it will do to me in the long term,” he said.
She then frowned at that and rested her lips on her knuckles as she thought for a moment.
“Are you feeling anything wrong with you in particular? Any side effects?”
“Well...after I had eaten a steak I had made from his heart and blood, I went to sleep and woke up with a horrible headache and an unusual sense. It was like I had a sixth additional sense which felt almost like echolocation but it was...different,” he said.
“Ah...yes, that is a typical symptom that comes drinking excessive amounts of dragons blood or eating dragon flesh. The effect becomes far more potent the stronger the dragon you eat from. However, I am referring to something else. Malthael is an Archdragon who used the blood of Erebus to gain further strength, opposite to his twin Lafael who used God’s blood. Malthael also subjected himself to the practice of Death Magic and drowned his soul in Arcanence. It is why his flames bring the dead back to life. Have you ever experienced the feeling of your life slipping from you in such a way?”
“I...hadn’t felt that sensation since I ate his soul but, when I had fought Malthael, his breath fell on me and I tried to absorb the magic within it. When I did, his magic overwhelmed me and I saw something I shouldn’t have,” he said.
“You saw The Empty. Ruvick had told me of this. The realm of death that permeates all of existence. You should consider yourself very lucky that your body, mind, and soul survived that experience. Malthael’s fire surged through you and drowned you in so much Arcanence that you nearly became a wraith. With a body like yours, one that is immune to heat entirely, that would be a disastrous situation for everyone,” she said with a grave tone that freaked him out a bit.
“Keep in mind as well, you had fought Malthael when he was freshly brought back from the dead and barely had a sliver of his former strength back. If he had come back with all of his power, then nothing short of Ruvick’s power would be able to take him down,” she continued.
“Just how powerful was Malthael?” he asked.
“At the peak of his power, the Archdragon had fought against the Archangel Michael and their battle ended in a draw. Michael being the Archangel of Infinity, wielding a limitless source of spiritual energy, even he could not defeat the Archdragon of the Abyss. Malthael achieved a level of power that eclipsed that of his predecessor, the Dragon God Kaos.”
“Will his soul return to that level of strength while he’s inside of me?” Marcus asked worried.
“Its hard to say, but even if he does, it seems that your soul is stronger than his at the moment so you are at little risk of him attempting to take of your mind and body if he so chose to. Adding to that, since your souls are so closely tied together, even if his soul does return to its former strength, it will simply be added to your own. The real problem that you need to worry about is the Arcanence. The spiritual energy of death is nothing to be ignored. I would advise you to learn how to adapt to the changes in your soul and learn how to manipulate Death Magic as soon as possible, lest it pose a risk to your life in the future,” she said to him.
“I’ll...keep that in mind. Thank you,” he said and she nodded.
He went silent for a moment as he thought about everything she said while she sat in her seat patiently.
Then something occurred to him.
“You serve Ruvick, yes?”
Confused, Gomori answered, “I have said as much. Why do you ask?”
“In that case, who does Raum serve?” he asked.
“Raum…? I believe he wishes to serve the unnamed Goddess of Rebirth, but neither I, nor Ruvick are fully aware of who that is, or who it will be,” she answered.
“And what about Azazel? He serves the God of Wrath, but who is that?” Marcus asked.
Gomori paused for a moment, contemplating how to answer that question before she said, “I cannot say for certain, but we will all know for sure by the end of the contest.”
After saying that, she stood out of her seat and said in English, “I’m afraid that I need to take my leave now. I must attend to Ruvick and be at his side, but if you need further answers when he is not available, I will help answer them later in his stead.”
With that, she took a bow before disappearing in a cloud of red smoke.
Staring at the space that she was standing in, he let out an exasperated sigh.
He managed to get the answers he came for, but unfortunately it left him with even more questions. He stretched his arms out over the table, letting out the stress in in his arms before his eyes laid on the menu underneath them.
He tilted his head as he looked at the food and drinks listed on the menu and shrugged his shoulders.
“Whatever…, I’m already here anyways,” he said to himself before waving a waitress down to order some food.
Ruvick…
Appearing within the rulers’ podium in the arena, Azazel, who was standing at King Razel’s side, noticed him right away and walked over to greet him.
“I was not aware that you would be visiting to speak with the king at this time,” he said as he reached his hand out to shake Ruvick’s own.
“You are mistaken. I’ve arrived to speak with you. We can leave the King to enjoy Frosk’s match,” he said as he shook his hand.
Azazel’s eyes narrowed as he tried to read Ruvick’s expression.
“Is that right? What do you wish to talk about?”
“The Kings of Hell,” he said bluntly, and Azazel’s eyes twisted in mild anger.
In a strained voice, he asked, “The Four Kings? For what reason would you bring the topic of them up again? They are ancient history.”
“The former kings are ancient history, however I believe that there will four new kings to replace them,” Ruvick replied, to which Azazel looked away in anger.
The Demon Prince then began to pace back and forth in anger at the idea. He continued on like that, every now and then turning his head to glare at Ruvick before looking away.
Ruvick laughed quietly before he said, “I am surprised. After spending so long in this world and abandoning your past in favor of serving a new god, I figured you might have gotten over the events on Terra.”
Hearing that, Azazel walked up to him and got up in his face as he said, “Need I remind you that I have lived billions of years longer than you have. Ten thousand years does little to erase the stain of history that you left behind. The four thrones of Hell are absent because of you, and you alone. Adding to that, many of my brothers and sisters have died at your hands when the thrones were left vacant. Knowing that, you propose the idea of four new kings to replace them? For what end?”
“To serve the God of Wrath. To serve him when the Final Age comes to an end,” Ruvick said, to which Azazel’s anger began to fade.
The Demon Prince then turned away slowly as he gave it some thought.
“This is not some trick to depose of the other unnamed gods for supremacy, is it?” he asked.
“I assure you that I have no such intention,” Ruvick said sincerely.
“Do you know the identity of these four kings that will server my lord?” Azazel asked.
“I do. They will be chosen by the God of Wrath himself with a scarlet bolt. All four of them will take command of massive armies that will kneel before him. Three of the kings are competing in the tournament right now. Of those three, one of them has already been chosen.”
Azazel turned around in shock as he looked down at the man who would be fighting in today’s first match.
Frosk, Forrosa’s champion.
“You mean…?”
“Yes. Of the four that will become the new Kings of Hell, Frosk is one of them.”
“This...this means that the end of the Final age really is soon upon us, isn’t it?” Azazel asked with wide eyes.
“It is. However, we still have more than enough time to prepare. Let us make the most of what we have.”
Frosk...
Today was the day…
Today, he would prove that the effort spent on him was not wasted and that his strength was enough for King Razel and every citizen of Forrosa to be proud of.
He walked onto the floor of the arena, clad in full armor and brandishing Hoffnung in his right hand and a shield in his left.
Walking towards him was his opponent.
He was a tall and muscular man, with a pale skin, and sharp almond shaped eyes.
He wore unusual armor with multiple overlapping plates on his arms and legs. His chest plate was intricately designed with unfamiliar characters painted on each overlapping plate. His helmet was larger than most, with protruding horns pointing upwards and multiple rows of armor plates on both sides.
A bow and a quiver of arrows were strapped to his chest, two swords were rested against his left hip, and a large spear was held in his hands.
The announcer’s voice came on and introduced the two of them.
“Our first match of the day begins with two incredible figures! On one side, we have The Champion of Forrosa, Frosk! A man who has served admirably in the Mordrinite War and felled the Champions of Mordran and New Alfheim at once, and defended the Alken’s walls!”
Hearing those things being said made him feel nervous as King Rohen of New Alfheim was watching this battle play out. He probably wasn’t very happy to hear that.
“On the other side, we have a god from a land unknown to us but with a love for battle! The foreign God of Warfare, Hachiman!”
Hold on…I’m going to fight a god now? He thought to himself in a panic.
His attention returned to the man in front of him, the God Hachiman who aimed his spear at Frosk and shouted in challenge.
Ah whatever…
There’s no better impression to make than felling a god in battle.