Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

“Master, do you know where you’re going?” Ezra asked at the passing of the month or so we traveled together.

Surrounded by a dozen or so ghoulish undead, I too began to frown, allowing Ezra to make easy work of these fiends.

Shutting my eyes, I reached into the great abyss of darkness and mapped my surroundings, finding my exact location and where I needed to head. By the time I opened my eyes, Ezra’s blade had plunged into a ghoul’s head and throat. 𝚋𝚎𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚎𝚕.𝚗𝚎𝚝

“Rancid little shits,” Spat my knight coldly, “Are we upon a nest of sorts? We’ve been attacked almost every day!”

“There just low gods. Most are around World Gods.”

“That’s the point, Master!” Shouted Ezra angrily, “How are mortals supposed to live all around us? When undead like these exist?”

I smiled. ” When did you start caring for mortals.”

“I don’t. It’s just odd, is all.” Dismissing Seth back into her soul, she looked me in the eye. “Don’t you find it strange?”

“Nothing odd about it,” Said Lily suddenly. “If Dead Laws and Abyssal Fragments exist, then I suspect you’ll find demonic beasts, living or dead, to be hundreds of times stronger than they originally are. ”

Studying my surroundings to reconfirm where I was, I continued as Lily and Ezra continued to ramble on.

There was definitely something in the air. The closer towards the great basin we went. The stranger I felt. I’ve not been on Iluthath long, but… I held some reservations about it. Every action, every step I made felt like I was standing on a sword. This world was dangerous, and Demonic Beast was the last thing I was worried about.

Ezra getting kidnapped because she is a devil, despite devils being extinct for god knows how long, then there is the incident with my children, now Dead Laws and Abyssal Fragments? All this stuff exists on Iluthath. How can a planet house so many treasures and dangers?

Striding on with Ezra acting as my knight, cutting down anything that approached me, it did not take long to reach a small village of humans. The village wasn’t necessarily run down. But it had seen better days, as even the large wall surrounding the town was cracked, revealing many holes smaller monsters could fit through.

“Hold!” Shouted a decerning guardsman on the wall, arrow already nocked and poised for my head. “State your name and intent!”

‘Is this bitch talking to us!’ Said Ezra in disbelief. “Master… can I jam his jaw up his ass! Who the hell does he think—”

Patting my little devil’s head, I looked up at the guardman, a Demi-God of all things.

“Easy. Now. He’s only human.” I pointed out softly. Studying the guardsman in a strange leather that, for some reason, reminded me of elk.

He even smelled a little of it too.

“I’m Arsene Snow, and this is my knight, Ezra. Is there a problem?”

“That voice!”

My brow dipped a little and recovered as a familiar golden armored man with a scar over his eye peeped his head over the stone wall.

“It’s you! Your alive!”

“I’m immortal. Not even a Teleth can touch this. It’s nice to see Mr. hero appear yet again. Mind telling me why I’m not allowed in?”

“It’s Lavos.” He remarked with a cold frown. “And everyone is subjected to such harsh scrutiny. One never knows if you could be a doppler or worse.” Lavos looked me in the eye, stepping on the wall’s ledge, revealing his body as his arm pressed tightly against Atonement’s hilt strapped to his waist. “Although I’m sort of against allowing the likes of you in. One never knows what your kind might do!”

“You realize we can just snap and destroy your little stone gate with low grate inscriptions, right?” Ezra chillingly pointed out, growing a little hot-headed. “Open up the gates and stop playing these games less. I lose my patients.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be a devil? Why are you acting like a demon.” I whispered.

“These little bitches already smell like ass. And I don’t like dealing with those weaker than I am. Devils toy with those we find interesting no matter the level, but we never allow them to look down upon us like that silly guard and this hero guy.” Her arms raised to her slender waist, and she snapped her gaze towards the poor guardsman and released a cold, killing intent that withered the grass beneath my feet.

“Open the gate!’ Shouted Lavos calmly.

Lavos… a follower of Mithra. I wonder what is going on. Why does he have one of the Atonement weapons?

The gate rustled for a second with the sounds of cracking and tearing before it began to raise just enough to fit someone of my height.

‘Be on guard, Ezra.” I warned, feeling something off since I entered Iluthath.

Nodding her head in confirmation, we entered through the gates as it slammed over the ground the moment we entered the torn village.

“Don’t move!” Shouted a dozen or so Demi-Gods pointing arrows at me from above while swords, lances, and daggers were ready on the ground.

“Easy, guys!” Lavos joined, soaring down from above. “Lower your weapons. They are not enemies. And even if they were, one of them is a peak, mid-god. The other is a low-peak god.

Oh yeah, I forgot I’ve got to give Ezra some divinity to break into the next level. I’ve got a shit load now. I should also be able to break through in a few more years.

I’ll do that tonight.

“We are heading to the Great Basin up north.” I finally said, watching the eyes of many grow wide.

“The bloody hell are you going there! Don’t you know only Elder Gods are allowed?” One of the guardsmen, a slim fellow with a dirty look, said.

“We only stopped to resupply or sleep at an inn.”

“There are none,” Said another guard

Sensing Ezra about to lose patience alongside me, Lavos cleared his throat, probably perceiving the impending disaster. Hurridly spoke out, “They can stay with me. My wives and I will more than be willing to host.”