I made a promise seven years ago that I would finish this story. Today, that is fulfilled. This is it. It's finally done. That was the last chapter (unless I decide to make an epilogue). I started this story in 2017 and I used to post one chapter a day. Clearly, that is no longer the case given as it's taken me seven years to finish this.

Chapter 39: Iconoclasm

The soldiers of the Slane Theocracy were disgusted as they observed the approaching carriage. The past two weeks had gone by in a blur as the city of Humanika prepared for the arrival of the Eternal Empire's ambassadors. Streets were cleaned, the homeless were 'removed,' the sections of the city that had been ravaged by the plague and some strange new rat-like demihuman species were sectioned off in order to hide them and not present any weakness, not to mention contain them and limit their spread. Alongside the carriage were 50 Death Cavaliers. Not enough to hold the city, but enough to cause catastrophic damage if they were provoked. However, if the Immortal Emperor himself was with them then it would be worth inviting the wrath of the Eternal Empire upon the city, provided they actually managed to kill him.

The carriage was swiftly allowed through the gates into Humanika, crowds of people had gathered to see the envoys sent by the evil in the north. They booed, jeered, and spat curses at them. Some prayed to the Six to smite them, others shouted demanding the return of their slaves, but most just yelled at them claiming that the Six Gods would not allow their empire to continue to exist and that no matter how powerful Lucifer Dracul was, they were all nothing before the full might of the Slane Theocracy.

Demiurge simply smirked at them from within the carriage.

I wonder if they would still hold onto that hope if they knew that their strongest warriors have already been defeated?

"Demiurge, I understand your feelings on this matter, but please don't do anything rash," Sebas spoke up from across him.

"Of course, of course. I'm merely soaking it all in," Demiurge grinned. "Who knows when the next time I'll experience such vitriol will be?"

"Human filth," Albedo hissed from next to him. "They are unworthy to even be permitted to speak His name."

"Sis, be calm," Rubedo spoke up from across her. She managed to blurt this out while she was munching on a burger she got from Sous-Chef. Rubedo was only slightly taller than Shalltear and dressed similarly to her older sister, although her dress was red and less revealing.

"I am calm! I'm just-" Albedo trailed off, inhaled, and exhaled. "These insects attempted to kill our lord. The Supreme Being! They tried to deprive my children of their father! I don't understand how Lord Dracul can be so calm about this. How he can bare to look at these THINGS and not order us to massacre them all. Sometimes I worry that..."

"You worry that….." Sebas trailed off, urging the empress to continue.

"….. I worry that he has some sort of affection for them," Albedo growled out as if she were ashamed to have these thoughts. "He's the Father of all Vampires. The God of Death. He could've chosen to look like anything. Yet he chose to take the shape of a human rather than show them his majestic true form and now he's being soft on these wretches. I don't understand."

"Personally, I believe the reason he chose the humanoid form he takes is a tactic to lead these mortals into a false sense of security. Humanoid creatures can empathize with something similar to them in appearance and nonhumanoids are likely to underestimate him," Demiurge cut in. "Besides, I wouldn't necessarily say that he's being soft. You know what he plans to do to this wretched city after all."

"Yes, but it's still just one city! We should be exterminating every man, woman, and child in this entire pathetic nation! These lower life forms offer no value to him whatsoever."

"While I don't agree with everything you just said Albedo, I will concede that our lord's plans for the Theocracy weren't what I was expecting," Sebas added his own thoughts. "Then again, I feel as though he hasn't explained everything he has in store for them."

The 3 (4 if we're counting Rubedo but she spent this entire time snacking and barely spoke) were interrupted by a knock on the carriage door the Dark Paladin once known as Roberdyck opened the door for them.

"Masters, we arrived at the Shrine of the First Miko," the Dark Paladin announced.

"Then I suppose there's no point in keeping the esteemed members of the Slane Theocracy waiting," Albedo said sweetly as all traces of anger and apprehension disappeared only to be replaced with a radiant smile fit for a queen as she and her fellow passengers exited the carriage followed by the Dark Paladin with Rubedo bringing up the rear, still eating her hamburger.

The 4 remaining Cardinals, the Archbishop, and especially the honor guard protecting them were tense as they awaited the envoys of the Eternal Empire to enter the room. It had been a difficult decision to agree to these negotiations. There had been much arguing, shouting, and discussing of alternatives.

The Cardinal of Darkness had been surprised that the Cardinal of Wind had sided with him in the debate. The Cardinal of Darkness had advocated hearing the undead out, if only to buy them some time to retaliate. The Cardinal of Wind had agreed and said that if the Immortal Emperor himself decided to appear, they could use their remaining World Items to kill him. It wouldn't entirely solve their problem, but it would at least put them in a better position. The Cardinal of Fire seemed convinced that the Dark Lord's position wasn't as strong as he boasted and that their assassination attempt may have crippled him. That was the reason he was bothering to negotiate at all. If he was as powerful as claimed and unharmed, why bother talking to them and not simply just wipe them out? The Cardinal of Water merely wanted to hear what they had to say and, based off of whatever demands they made, attempt to infer how far the Eternal Empire was willing to take this.

All in all, they agreed: any remaining chance of victory depended on either buying time for the Theocracy to rebuild their strength or drawing the Immortal Emperor into a trap using Ahura Mazda and Wrath of God as one final gambit.

It was for this reason that Maximillian had Ahura Mazda concealed within his robes just in case. In fact, he'd had it on his person 24/7 ever since that horrible creature came and announced the failure of Ainz's team. The doors to the chamber finally opened, allowing four figures to enter the room. The very same holy room where the forces of darkness were hotly debated for the past 2 years was now tainted by the presence of the very evils they sought to oppose. Three of them were easily identifiable to the Cardinals.

The first was Albedo Smaragdina Dracul, Empress of the Eternal Empire, acting Prime Minister, and wife of the Immortal Emperor. The cardinals grimaced at the sight of her stomach. The baby bump that had once been easily noticeable during the National Diet was now absent, indicating a new addition to Lucifer's dynasty of darkness. A new evil for them to overcome.

Next was Demiurge, Director of Covert Operations and Royal Spymaster for the Eternal Empire. While he was a known entity, the cardinals knew very little about what he did but, based off of the title, they assumed that he handled espionage and counter-intelligence which meant he was likely responsible for the Clearwater Scipture's failures to gain useful information from within the Eternal Empire.

The last one the recognized was Sebas Tian, the leader of the National Liberation Party and the newly formed Republic of Re-Estize. While he was certainly a more welcome sight than the rest of these creatures, his presence was somewhat surprising and raised questions within the minds of the Cardinals.

Finally, there was a little girl who was completely ignoring everything around her as she continued to eat….. something nobody from the Theocracy recognized. She had many similarities to Albedo including facial features and style of dress though her eyes were a bright red. Not vampiric, but there a power behind those eyes. On an unrelated note, she also chewed very loudly and with her mouth open, which was very distracting.

"Welcome, representatives of the Eternal Empire," Maximus began. "To Humanika, the heart of the Slane Theocracy and the bastion of the Six Great Gods. Praise the Six!"

"Praise the Six!" exclaimed the Cardinals and honor guard in reverence.

The Eternal Empire's representatives merely looked on unimpressed. Except for Rubedo as she wasn't paying attention to begin with.

"You should know that it is customary to kneel in the presence of the instruments of the gods' will, as I told your master at the Diet," Maximus said with a frown. "If you do not wish to offend the Theocracy, then you should bow your heads in reverence to the gods."

Demiurge chuckled.

Sebas remained stoic.

Albedo crossed her arms and glared.

Rubedo kept eating her burger.

"Then I suppose that we will have to inform his majesty that you refused to treat with us and declare war," Albedo kindly informed them as her glare softened into a smirk.

"You dare-" the Cardinal of Wind began before being cut off by the Cardinal of Darkness nudging him with his elbow. With a sigh, he relented. "Very well, I suppose we'll forgo the usual traditions given the circumstances."

"How very kind of you," Demiurge smirked as he glanced around the room. "You've picked a wonderous spot to hold this meeting. Away from the public's eyes so that won't see your unbecoming behavior or hear us reveal your nation's secrets."

"Yes, yes. We are all very aware that we hate each other," the Cardinal of Water interjected. "How about we just skip the formalities? After all, there is nothing but bad blood between our nations so why bother pretending otherwise at this point?"

"Indeed. Let us hear your accursed master's demands," the Cardinal of Fire added.

"Very well then, let us dispense with the niceties," Albedo agreed, her smirk becoming downright evil. "I'm sure you all remember the message we sent to you 2 weeks ago?"

"How could we possibly have forgotten?" the Cardinal of Darkness replied sardonically. "It was literally raining severed heads."

"Then you know our accusations."

The Cardinals and the Archbishop were rather grateful that the abomination that appeared in the sky had listed off the secrets that it did. Sure, it had led to public outcry at the time, but it had also left them with time to prepare for this inevitable argument. With that time, they had decided on a simple strategy: Deny and appease. If they could convince the Immortal Emperor to leave them alone for as long as possible, then they would. But if he demanded too much, they would make their final gambit and lure him into a trap.

"Yes. While we will not deny our involvement in the incident at Carne Village or the conflict between our factions near E-Rantel, we have had nothing to do with any assassination attempts on your emperor and we most certainly didn't order the death of Queen Renner," Maximus declared. "If you want to make these accusations, you'd better have some proof."

"Indeed," the Cardinal of Water said. "And while we're at it, you'd best explain why you left the head of our colleague the Cardinal of Earth, Raymond Zarg Lauransan, as well as several other heads on our doorstep!"

"The reason their heads were delivered were simple," Demiurge smirked. "They took part in the assassination attempt on his majesty."

"Lies! You must've attacked him when he and Yvon were on their way to the Elf Country!" the Cardinal of Fire lied. "It was a public announcement! All of our citizens know that he went to seek a cessation in hostilities with the Elf King!"

It was true. The Cardinals had put out the word among the peasants that the Cardinal of Earth and the Cardinal of Light were leaving to negotiate with the elves so that they could focus on the Eternal Empire. This was a lie of course, but it was a reasonable excuse as to why the cardinals were absent.

"Oh? Then I'm sure that the whole thing was a misunderstanding and I'm sure the Cardinal of Light's personal attempt to kill his majesty using Loginus was an accident," Albedo sneered.

"… What?" Maximus was caught off-guard. How long had Yvon been hiding that from them?

"He failed of course and is currently in our custody," Albedo said, going along with the lie that her beloved had concocted, eliciting gasps from several others in the room. "It did not take long for him to break and reveal your secrets to us. Our methods of interrogation are far more efficient than yours."

"The Cardinal of Light was never the most stable individual. Anything that comes out of his mouth should be taken with a grain of salt. Even if he did do as you say, then he did it on his own without any authorization from us," the Cardinal of Darkness interjected, earning a few glares from both sides. "I myself have observed him losing his grip on reality over the past 2 years. The confession of a raving lunatic, especially when obtained under duress, is hardly sufficient evidence against the Theocracy."

"Would a written confession and apology from the Agrand Council Alliance suffice?" Demiurge inquired, still smirking.

"The dragons have never been our friends, it would not surprise me one bit if they colluded with you to concoct this lie," the Cardinal of Wind sneered.

"Hmm…. Then we will return to this matter later," Albedo stated with a smile, eliciting looks of confusion from the cardinals. Were they really dropping the assassination attempt that easily? That couldn't be right. "Sebas, I believe it is time to explain why you're here."

"Thank you, your highness," Sebas replied as he stepped forward. "I am here to seek answers for the death of Queen Renner of the Re-Estize Kingdom. At the scene of the crime, evidence was found that indicates your country's involvement."

"And what evidence would this be, Sebas Tian?" the Cardinal of Fire inquired. In response, Sebas removed an urn from within his jacket. A few of the guard tensed as he opened the urn, fearing he may reveal a weapon of some kind, but they restrained themselves with the knowledge that while Sebas was accompanying members of the Eternal Empire he himself was not one of them. Of course, they all blanched when they saw what had been inside the urn.

"I believe you are familiar with this man?" Sebas asked as he held up the head of Oskar Atrenn, leader of the Holocaust Scripture.

"But that's impossible," the Cardinal of Water muttered. "That's too far north for them to be able to…."

"The fact remains that the Holocaust Scripture were the perpetrators who attacked the people of Re-Estize and murdered Queen Renner along with her bodyguard Climb," Sebas cut him off with a glare. "Did you or did you not order Renner's death? Answer me!"

"Of course not!" the Cardinal of Fire shouted. "I don't know how the Holocaust Scripture ended up in Re-Estize or why they committed these acts, but we certainly didn't order it!"

"Then I don't suppose you would mind showing us the most recent mission logs for the Holocaust Scripture?"

This caught the cardinals by surprise. It was true that they kept records of every order they'd ever given to every scripture, except for the Black Scripture who were off-the-books in their entirety. Showing these records would prove that they had nothing to do with Renner's death. However, their last orders to the Holocaust Scripture had been to assist the Black Scripture and the Cardinals of Earth and Light in killing Lucifer.

The cardinals and the archbishop began to sweat. A few felt themselves begin to fidget nervously. They'd all heard of the Immortal Emperor's scheming nature. Plans layered within plans so that no matter what option you picked, the end result was always favorable to him. If one objective wasn't reached, another would be.

So now it came down to this: which crime would they accept responsibility for? The murder of Renner, which would divide their nation when the people learned of it but possibly delay the Dark Lord from enacting his vengeance upon them? Or would they tell the truth and invite Immortal Emperor's wrath while keeping the faith of their people?

For the servants of Nazarick, it didn't matter which they picked as it would have the same end result.

They were already in checkmate; they just didn't know it yet.

Albedo smirked.

Demiurge chuckled.

Sebas glared.

Rubedo had mysteriously disappeared during all the arguing.

"Dammit," Maximus growled as he clenched his fists. Ultimately, the decision was his. "Very well. The records may be brought here for you all to inspect yourselves but I will save us all some time and effort and admit that the Holocaust Scripture did not kill the queen on our orders as their last orders were to assist Raymond and Yvon in killing the Immortal Emperor Lucifer Dracul."

The guards grit their teeth and the cardinals felt fear like none other.

"About time you admit it," Demiurge jabbed.

"Cease your pointless jests. Your messenger, whatever it was, stated that we would have a chance to come to terms peacefully," Maximus did his best to mask his fear with anger. "Give us your demands and be done with it."

"You're in luck, servants of the false gods," Albedo crooned. "My husband, in his infinite mercy, has decided that he not only will he forgive you for this abhorrent act, but he will also agree to leave your nation alone for the next century if you would agree to one single demand."

The cardinals, the archbishop, the guards presiding over this meeting, even the mages hidden in the shadows ready to summon angels should negotiations break down into violence all leaned forward in anticipation. A century would be more than enough time for the Theocracy to recover its strength. As long as it wasn't something completely unreasonable, the Theocracy would provide it. If it was unreasonable, then they'd be able to explain to their people why they refused to keep them loyal. As long as the populace had faith in the church, they had a chance to rally all of the faithful across the continent.

"It has come to my husband's attention that recently all of the slaves here in Humanika escaped captivity. He finds this development most pleasing," Albedo continued, earning a few glares and grumblings from those present. The recent exodus had dealt a heavy blow to the slave trade. The Slane Theocracy's economy was still recovering and that wasn't even mentioning the recession they'd gone through the past 2 years due to the Rat Plague and the annexation of nations who they once sold elven slave labor to, reducing their income with every nation the Eternal Empire swallowed up. "So, with that in mind, the Immortal Emperor wishes to recreate this phenomenon on a nation-wide scale. He demands that, in return for the aforementioned promises, you are to free every slave in the Slane Theocracy and cease your extermination of other races."

"….. You… You… demonic bitch," the Cardinal of Water growled, his body shaking with rage. "Do you even know what you're asking? We could never agree to that!"

It was true. The loss of the slaves in the capital was bad enough, but the loss of every slave in the nation? Their economy would collapse. Riots! Rebellions! Anarchy! The Slane Theocracy would be subjected to the same fate as the Re-Estize Kingdom! And ceasing their purge of nonhumans? That would spit on everything the faithful believed in! Their followers would turn against them in a heartbeat! This was not an offer of peace. All Dracul had done was allow them to choose how their country would be destroyed. Either they would ruin their nation by their own hand or he would come and do it himself.

"Then I suppose the negotiations are over," Albedo sighed with mock sadness as she and her companions turned to leave.

"Seize them!" the Cardinal of Wind shouted, gripping the edges of his desk so tightly that splinters pierced his fingers.

"Belay that order!" the Cardinal of Darkness countered, earning himself a glare from the Cardinal of Wind.

"Just leave," Maximus hissed. "And tell your accursed master that we will never submit to him."

"Goodbye, humans of the Slane Theocracy," Demiurge said without pausing in his stride or turning to look at them. "Your final war will begin one month from today. Good luck explaining the situation to your citizens."

The carriage pulled by Soul Eaters was on its way back to Nazarick. Rubedo had been waiting for them within the carriage when they returned from meeting the Slane Theocracy's leaders. In her hands was some kind of glowing Rubik's Cube looking contraption with 2 intersecting rings around it.

"So, this is the reason our Shadow Demons failed to report on the dealings between the Theocracy, Agrand, and that player who dared to raise his hand against the Supreme Being," Demiurge mused.

"Yes," Rubedo confirmed. "A False Data Emitter. All of the [Message]s we received from our agents in the Slane Theocracy were intercepted by this item and sent us fabricated {Message]s full of false AI generated information instead. Now that it has been removed, we will likely be receiving an influx of real information soon. Pandora's Actor's device was very helpful in locating it."

"Where did that damned player hide it anyway?" Albedo inquired.

"In the Shrine of the First Miko's bell tower. Specifically, inside the bell itself."

"No wonder it went undisturbed by the humans," Sebas mused. "Regardless, excellent work on securing that item. In the future, I believe it would be prudent to set up other forms of communication. Being solely reliant on [Message] may cause a situation like this to arise again."

"Look at you, using your brain," Demiurge snickered. "I agree. We cannot let a repeat of these lower life forms' assassination attempt occur. Proper documentation will be needed in the future. Written proof in addition to [Message]s. Simple enough in most cases, but we'll need to look into alternatives for undercover work."

"For now, however, we have a war to wage," Rubedo interjected.

"Indeed, I'm sure my husband already has a plan," Albedo said with an evil grin. "He always does after all and his anger with the Theocracy has become rather intense."

"Thank you for your assistance, Jigsaw," Lucifer hissed in pain as he redressed himself in his royal garbs of black, red, and silver. He glanced down at mark on his chest that looked like a previously open wound that had been harshly stapled shut with adamantium. There was faint red glow coming from underneath the flesh. "I know this surgery was unorthodox, but after what happened at Crescent Lake, I believe this was for the best."

"You know my lord, all those times you said you don't have a heart, I thought you were being metaphorical rather than literal," Jigsaw mentioned offhandedly without pausing in his advance towards a nearby sink. He'd just finished a secret surgery on his master's orders within his personal laboratory in the Deadhouse. "I was all for implanting machinery and grafting items onto Death Knights, but I never thought you'd order me open up your chest and shove a World Class Item inside you."

"Well, at least now I have something where my heart is supposed to be," Lucifer chuckled as he drank greedily from a bottle of distilled blood, his HP being fully restored in mere moments. "As I told you before, I have been arrogant. If Loginus had struck me that would've been the end. I will no longer go anywhere without a World Class Item. However, I had no slots to equip it in, so I decided to forcibly make a new equip slot."

"I won't deny the procedure's effectiveness my lord," Jigsaw replied as he began washing his hands of the black blood that stained them. "However, as your doctor, mad as I may be, I must politely request that you avoid any strenuous activity and check in with me daily for the next 2 weeks. That means no combat and no knocking boots with Lady Albedo until I say otherwise!"

"But I will be ready by the time the war with the Theocracy begins, yes?" Lucifer inquired, a hint of impatience in his tone.

"Assuming your body does not attempt reject the orb, then yes," Jigsaw confirmed. "I didn't cut anything out and only made an incision for me to work through so there's nothing for your body to regenerate and I managed to slide it under you rib cage so there's nowhere for the damned thing to go. By the way, did you know you don't have any lungs? It makes sense since you're undead and don't need to breathe but it still surprised me."

"Well, thank you again for your assistance. Is there any reward you would like?"

"Only to be present to see how you handle those theocratic twats."

Mere days after the failed negotiations at Humanika and Dracul's secret implantation, General Kabein was brought to a meeting at Senator Jircniv's palace in Arwintar. Ever since the Demon War in the Holy Kingdom, Kabein had been reassigned to command the living volunteers for the Imperial Legion. Originally, it had mostly been made up of former Imperial Knights of the Baharuth Empire. At least, the few thousand who hadn't quit after the events of the Katze Plains. However, many humans and demihumans had been working together in order to survive Jaldabaoth's invasion and the aftermath. Not to mention the Eternal Empire's popularity among the people all over the continent had skyrocketed upon the defeat of the aforementioned demon, although their emperor was still widely feared. Thus, the number of volunteers swelled to the point that the Eternal Empire now had 4 legions worth of living soldiers from various races in addition to its already massive army of the undead.

Kabein wasn't informed as to why exactly he'd been summoned, but he had a good guess and, if he was right, then it seemed that his legion of the living would soon see their first assignment. The doors before him opened to the same room where Jircniv had once plotted to get Lucifer under his thumb. The same very same room Jircniv had been in when Aura and Mare had shown up uninvited in Arwintar. Waiting for him within were Senator Jircniv (who looked dead inside), Fluder Paradyne, Gazef Stronoff, Cocytus, Corvo Attano, and the Immortal Emperor Lucifer Dracul himself.

"Your imperial majesty," Kabein greeted with as he kneeled to Immortal Emperor.

"Rise, general, and take your seat. We have much to discuss."

Yeah, I bet.

"Now that we have all gathered, I believe it's time we begin," Jircniv spoke up, his voice a tad hoarse. "Your majesty, if I may start us off?"

"You may."

"As you are all no doubt aware, the Eternal Empire has formally declared war against the Slane Theocracy due to their refusal to apologize and adhere to a single simple demand as reparations," the former emperor began, conveniently neglecting to mention how that one simply demand would've caused the Theocracy to financially collapse. "As the Eternal Empire's territory surrounds almost the entirety of the Slane Theocracy through our control over the former Draconic Kingdom, the former Holy Kingdom, the Katze Plains, and the recently annexed Elf Country, High General Cocytus is dispersing the army of the undead around their border. The only avenues of escape open to their leadership is across the Great Border Lake or by sneaking through the former Roble territory or Re-Estize with the help of sympathizers to the ocean. From there we expect them to flee to the mysterious land known as Tamriel."

"We. Will. Begin. By. Capturing. The. Theocracy's. Fortress. City. Of. Syvingkhoff. At. The. Border. Of. The. Katze. Plains," Cocytus instructed pointing at a map of the Theocracy's lands. "From. There. We. Will. Squeeze. The. Theocracy. From. All. Sides. Taking. City. After. City. Until. Humanika. Is. All. That. Remains."

"With that said, we can only leave a few Death Knights in each city," Lucifer stated with a wave of his hand. "The rest of the occupation forces will be made up of our living forces from the Imperial Volunteer Corps. I believe this will bring some measure of calm to those we conquer and lessen their will to fight while simultaneously keeping them under control."

"While I agree with your reasoning your majesty, I'm not sure if that's possible," Kabein finally added his two cents. "Keeping supply lines going through the spread-out conquered territories will be a logistical nightmare, not to mention my troops will suffer unnecessary casualties from simply marching to these cities. Winter is just around the corner and from what I hear it is to be the harshest winter seen in centuries. Furthermore, unlike the undead, my troops need to eat, drink, and sleep. We will not be able to keep up with the offensive force. All of these factors come together to make it very difficult for us to act as an effective occupation force."

"That is where Fluder comes in," the Dark Lord smirked as he gestured to the aged wizard.

"I have not been idle during my time in Nazarick's library," Fluder stated with just a hint of smugness. "I have learned to use the [Gate] spell and with the help of his majesty's Gatekeepers, I will teleport your troops and supplies wherever they are needed whenever they are needed. His majesty has set aside an additional Gatekeeper for every settlement in the Theocracy. We will have the most efficient supply lines and war machine ever conceived. Ah, truly the wonders of magic never cease!"

"I. Will. Ensure. My. Troops. Limit. Structural. Damage. To. The. Buildings," Cocytus added, turning his gaze to the human general. "You. And. Your. Men. Will. Not. Lack. For. Shelter. Against. The. Hardships. Of. Winter."

"My thanks, High General," Kabein saluted.

"I will personally accompany you when we take control of Syvingkhoff, General," Gazef spoke up. "Since you will be coordinating the Volunteer Corps, it is imperative that no assassins get to you. Although the Holocaust Scripture has been wiped out, it only takes one lucky fanatic from any religious faction."

"I look forward to working with you, Gazef Stronoff," Kabein replied. If you'd told him a few years ago that he would work with the champion of Re-Estize, a nation that had been Baharuth's enemy, he likely would've laughed in your face.

"I as well."

"Your majesty, forgive me for speaking out of turn, but what of Humanika itself?" Jircniv inquired nervously. "I know the High General said it would be the last to fall, but you haven't set any additional resources aside to occupy that territory."

"There will be no occupation of Humanika, it will be destroyed. Every man, woman, and child in that city will die," Lucifer stated casually. Every human in the room went cold at that declaration. They'd always known that the Immortal Emperor was capable of such acts, but this would be the first time he'd actually commit them. They'd heard his anger with the Theocracy was intense but none of them had imagined this. "The ruins of the decadent Slane Theocracy's capital will serve as an example to all who defy me, making all think twice before taking action against me in the future."

"Y-your majesty, is that truly necessary?" Gazef asked hesitantly.

"No. But my patience with these fools has reached its limit," Lucifer sneered with a flash of red light from his eyes. "Speaking of which, Corvo ensure a message is dispatched to the Agrand Council Alliance and the vampire cult of Eryuentiu. I want the Dragon Lords present when that time comes. As for the vampires, I think it's time to give them a taste of what is expected in their service to me."

"My lord, as your newly instated Royal Protector, I cannot leave your side," Corvo said, his voice distorted by his skull-like mask.

"I will stay in Nazarick for most of this war. My direct involvement will be rare. You will be with me when I am in the open." This rebuttal seemed to pacify the Vengeful Spirit. "Are there any other questions? No? Good. Now, let us begin."

According to legends, after this meeting took place, Jircniv locked himself in his room and spent the rest of the day screaming.

The Cardinal of Wind had dreaded this moment ever since his meeting with Maximus. Here he was with almost a hundred priests and paladins, hiding in an abandoned stronghold near the coast. Hidden within his robes were the original scriptures of the Six Great Gods as well Pontifex Maximus's notes on the Immortal Emperor.

The attempt on the Dark Lord's life had failed and now he and his followers had quickly made their way across the former Roble territory to its westernmost coastal city where Micah Borot, a man who used to spy on the Holy Kingdom for the Theocracy and survived Jaldabaoth's massacre, had prepared a ship for the long journey to Tamriel. Apparently, he'd managed to strike a deal with a native of Tamriel who had accepted their bribe to smuggle them back to his homeland. At this very moment, his followers were loading the supplies onto the ship as he himself continued kneeling in this ruined fort, finishing his prayers to the Six.

"Dominic," Micah called, poking his head in just as the Cardinal of Wind finished. He refrained from referring to him by his title as to not arouse any suspicion from those unaware of their true identities. "The ship is loaded, and the captain wants to meet with you. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I was just finishing," the Cardinal of Wind sighed as rose to his feet and pulled his hood up, obscuring his features. "Lead the way, Micah."

The two weaved their way through the crowded port. From what they'd gathered, a man named Samuel Beechworth was put in charge of constructing a naval force for the Eternal Empire. It sent a shiver down the cardinal's spine as he observed the massive undertaking. Gargantuan ships assembled from metal and whalebone littered the docks in various stages of construction. He could see dwarven runesmiths carving symbols onto the bones and undead labor swarming the construction sites like ants. This was to say nothing of the various cargo vessels that were here to conduct normal trade between the port cities of the empire. In comparison, the ship from Tamriel stood out like a sore thumb from how normal it appeared.

The Cardinal of Wind blanched when he saw the crew that made up the ship. Elves, humans, orcs, and some kind of reptilian creature similar to the Lizardmen (some subspecies no doubt, also why did they have breasts?). He could see his own men among them, some grinding their teeth at being near these nonhumans while others were completely indifferent. One of them, an orc with a missing fang, approached them.

"Greetings, Sir Dominc. I am Captain Lorug Masrzog. If you have any problems over the course of our voyage, I'd like you to come see me," the captain introduced himself as he held out his hand.

"I…. yes. Thank you," the undercover cardinal replied as he hesitantly shook the nonhuman's hand. He shot a glare at Micah, silently asking why there were so many nonhumans. Micah's response was to simply roll his eyes and scratch at his scruffy beard.

"We'll be heading off soon. You'll be set up in cabin number eight. Your servants have already deposited your belongings there. I suggest you head down there and get comfortable. It's a long voyage back to Morrowind," Lorug added before heading back to his ship to finish overseeing preparations. The moment he was out of sight, the Cardinal of Wind rounded on Micah.

"Explain," he demanded. A single word, but it asked much.

"They were the only ship big enough for you all and this was very short notice. Apparently, the Empire of Cyrodiil, though ruled over by humans, has many nonhuman races among them."

"They aren't enslaved?"

"They are treated as citizens with rights equal to humans. They're even allowed to worship different gods. Some of the elves practice slavery, but the humans for the most part don't."

"It will be difficult to spread the ideals of the Six Great Gods in these heathen lands," Dominic sighed. With that, he resigned himself to his fate and descended into the bowels of the ship. It didn't take him long to find cabin number 8, though when he opened the door he was greeted by a strange sight. On one side of the room were his packed possessions as well as his bunk. That was fine. On the other side, however, was a collection of odd trinkets, and another bunk. An occupied bunk. A cat-like beastman garbed in robes was lying there reading a book. The thing looked up from his book at the cardinal and shot him a mischievous grin.

"Ah, you must be M'aiq's cabinmate? I hope you do not mind, but I tend to shed. Would you like some skooma?"

"…. Gods give me strength."

The announcement that to the public that the Slane Theocracy would not cede to the demands of the Eternal Empire was met with public outrage. The citizens were informed that all the cardinals had to do to avoid war with that terrible nation was to free the slaves. While they would be not be happy about it, those who owned slaves within the Theocracy would gladly give up some worthless nonhumans if it meant avoiding war. To the average peasant, it seemed that the cardinals cared more about the profits of slave labor than their own citizens. In a twisted way, nonhumans were cared for more than humans! At least, that's what many believed. The average uneducated peasant, of course, didn't understand just how integral slaves were to the economy and how their nation would collapse without them. The priests managed to quell some of the discontent by preaching to the citizens that the cardinals made the right decision as ceding to any demand made by the undead, no matter how insignificant, would be tantamount to heresy.

For the next month, the Theocracy prepared for the worst. Paladins and War Priests were dispatched to every city with the bulk of them being dispatched the fortress cities along the borders. Especially the one bordering the Katze Plains, the fortress city of Syvingkhoff. With its proximity to the Katze Plains, it was the most fortified city in the entire Theocracy 2nd only to Humanika itself. With winter upon them, there was a strong belief among those overseeing the defense of the city that they could outlast any siege the Eternal Empire inflicted upon them.

General Gael Russells Bulgari, the man charged with the defense of Syvingkhoff, refused to be arrogant though. He had his men running drills around the clock. Lookouts on the walls and towers were rotating every 30 minutes to ensure none of them lost focus or fell asleep on the job. The rotations between the night shift and the morning shift were fluid. There would never be a time a security checkpoint would be unmanned. Of course, he also made sure there was plenty of warm fires for his men to gather around as he it would be negligent of him to allow his troops to succumb to the biting cold now that the first flecks of snow had begun to fall. It wasn't quite cold enough for the snow to accumulate, but that would change soon enough as the days passed further into the winter.

Tonight, he was reviewing the latest report from his supply officer with the city's mayor, Yugun Valli Brusso. They had more than enough fire wood to last the winter, but they might run out of food ahead of schedule. He would need to requisition more.

"Great, more damned paperwork," he sighed as pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Better a little extra paperwork than for the troops to fight heretics on an empty stomach," Yugun interjected, gesturing out the window of his manor to the flickering torch lights in the distance indicating the troops patrolling the walls. "Though I do agree that this is tedious. Besides, what army would attack during what's supposed to be the harshest winter in centuries?"

"An undead one," Gael retorted gruffly. "The dead don't need sleep. They don't need supplies. They don't need protection from the elements. Logistically speaking, they're the perfect army and the winter is the perfect opportunity for them to strike."

"True, but they are consistent in their weaknesses. I know that the War Priests are working around the clock to bless every weapon in the city. From the sharpest of blades and heaviest clubs to simple arrows and spears."

"They've also brought a significant amount of silver weapons and holy water. This will be the first time whole cauldrons of holy water have been used in defense of a siege like this."

"You should record how well it works," Yugun commented as he flipped through some more pages. "I'm sure adventurers and militaries from all over would like to have records of its implementation. Perhaps you can give a few cauldrons to the Griffin Corps and see if they can bombard the undead from above?"

"Assuming they attack before the snow really sets in. The griffins will have to be grounded in the event of heavy snowfall, or worse, hail," Gael responded before tearing his eyes away from the report as a cold gust of wind blew through the room, snuffing out the torches that had granted them light. "Why is the window open?"

Yugun turned to the window. Indeed, it was open. With narrowed eyes he marched over to it and peered out into the darkness. He didn't see anything unusual. In fact, he didn't see anything at all.

"All the torches in the city have gone out," he muttered as a feeling of cold dread settled in his gut.

"Shh! Listen," Gael hissed. And listen they did. With the window open and themselves quiet, they could hear screams echoing all over the city. His eyesight was a bit better than the mayor's so when he peered out into the darkness, he could just barely make out the shapes of humans, or what appeared to be humans, hopping from rooftop to rooftop with supernatural grace. "I need to regroup with my men at the barracks and find out what the hell is going on! Stay here mayor!"

"Right! Be sure to send any civilians you find here for safety! My servants can provide them- ARGH!" Yugun was cut off as a pale hand reached in from the window and grabbed the mayor by his coat, dragging him through it and up onto the roof. A sinister but distinctly feminine cackle was heard accompanying the mayor's scream of terror.

"Hang on Yugun! I'm coming!" Gael shouted as he turned around to charge out the office door, only to find the door open and two pale figures standing their awaiting him. Both were pale, looked mostly human, dressed in black, had red eyes, and had blood splashed upon their mouths. Their only differences were that one was a distinctly voluptuous female with red hair and freckles while the other was obviously a male with green hair and tribal tattoos directly under his eyes.

"This one looks important! I call dibs Soran!" the female exclaimed.

"You got the last one, Evina," Soran growled. "I get this one."

"Aw, c'mon! Pleeeeeeaaaaaaase!"

"No."

"I looooooooooove youuuuuuuu!"

"I love you too. But still no."

"I'll let you do my butt tonight!"

"…Fine."

"Yay!"

"Die, vampire scum!" Gael had not been idle while these two argued and had slowly drawn his sword, hoping they wouldn't notice. Evina caught his wrist with barely any effort before pulling him in close chomping down on his neck. Gael's scream echoed in the night as vampires ran rampant throughout the city.

"You and your followers have done well, Miss Fortuna," Lucifer said as Raina dragged the beaten but still breathing Yugun into the mayor's ruined manor where he'd awaited her. He'd arrived only seconds ago along with Corvo and she'd come to them almost immediately. "I trust my instructions were followed?"

"Of course, Father Blood. My followers knew that they were only permitted to feed on the soldiers. Peasants were only allowed if they attempted to fight," Raina replied as she threw the quivering mayor before the Father of all Vampires. Corvo was quick to place his boot on the man's neck, keeping him from struggling.

"What of General Gael?"

"Oh! We took care of him!" Evina announced as she and Soran emerged from a door that led down to the cellar. Each of them appeared disheveled and stained in bodily fluids besides just blood.

"Where have you two been?" Raina demanded. "I sent you to kill the general 2 hours ago!"

"We were doing things," Soran muttered.

"What kind of things?"

"We made a bed out of corpses and we fucked on it!" Evina replied cheerfully with a fist pump.

"They didn't need to know that," Soran grumbled as a blush erupted on his pale features.

"Specifically, I got buttfucked!"

"Shut up Evina."

"Did you kill the filthy human or not?" Lucifer demanded, not caring for this useless and completely unrelated information. Corvo winced at the sound of his lord's anger. It was well known among those who served him that the Immortal Emperor had been testy as of late.

"Ah! Yes! Apologies Father Blood! I drank his blood and we used him as the pillow!" Evina stated with a bow, Soran mimicking her.

"….. Right. Good work," "Lucifer sighed as he settled down.

"You two should head back to the [Gate]. The sun will be coming up soon," Raina sighed. "I will join you soon."

"Okie dokie!" Evina replied as skipped off towards the exit, Soran shuffling along behind her.

"Please forgive my subordinates. They are…. Eccentric."

"Believe me, I understand all too well," Lucifer said dismissively. "I hope you all enjoyed yourselves, but don't expect this to be a common occurrence. This was simply a reward for your hard work on Eryuentiu."

"Of course, my lord."

"Now begone. It won't be long until the sun comes up and I'm expecting company very soon."

As the sun rose over the city of Syvingkhoff, the residents tentatively peered out through their windows. They had heard the screams from last night. They'd heard the laughter from beings that jumped from rooftop to rooftop. The peasants had barricaded their doors and barred their windows, praying that the soldiers would put a stop to whatever was happening. Now, as the first rays of sunlight shined through their windows, the people fearfully began to try to get a hint of what their current situation was. What those that lived in the town square saw was rather disheartening.

There were simple skeletons swarming all over the city carrying the corpses of the Theocracy's fallen soldiers and loading them onto carts. Some were dragging the bodies of guards from the barracks. The vampires had killed them in their sleep and fed on them. But this was not what stood at the center of attention. Several figures had gathered before what was left of the statue of Alah Alaf. Some were human, some were inhuman, and then there was the embodiment of darkness that stood upon the destroyed statue looking down on the others. The only one they recognized was mayor Yugun, who was down on all fours refusing to look at any of them as a masked man watched over him.

"You may raise your head," Lucifer stated. Yugun didn't budge, continuing to look down at the ground, trembling. This prompted a kick to the ribs from Corvo.

"Do not make the Immortal Emperor repeat himself!" Corvo snarled. "Raise. Your. Head. Now." Slowly and shakily, Yugun raised his head to look at Dark Lord. The being that the priests had warned the people of the Theocracy about for the past 2 years.

"Do you know who I am?"

"… Yes."

"Then you know why I'm here."

"You won't win," Yugun said quietly, though not so quietly that none could hear him. "The cardinals will retake this city. The scriptures will beat you."

"Insolent. Human." Cocytus growled.

"The cardinals have more than this city to worry about. I have already eliminated the best your scriptures had to offer, and eight of your other cities have fallen this night," Lucifer replied dismissively, eliciting further fear from the man. The casual way he'd said it, they way he treated his rapid conquest of theocratic territory as if it were nothing was simply terrifying. Nine cities in one night? It was madness! It was impossible! He must've said that out loud because then next thing he heard was: "What you believe no longer matters. Allow me to be the first to welcome you and your people to the Eternal Empire. Congratulations."

"You're going to kill us."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because you are undead! It's what you monsters do!"

"Not this again," Kabein sighed in annoyance. This caused Yugun to look at him.

"You! You are human! How can you turn your back on your people!? How can you let us be slaughtered by this monster!?" Kabein did not reply and simply rolled his eyes as Gazef placed himself between the two, just in case. As it so happened, at this moment a [Gate] opened up and various humans, orcs, elves, beastmen, dwarves, and many creatures wearing matching dark armor with the Eternal Empire's fanged skull and batwing sigil emblazoned upon their shoulders marched out in unison. They were followed by a single undead in red robes, a Gatekeeper.

"Moving right along, this city is now under occupation. Mayor Yugun Valli Brusso, you will be offered a choice," Lucifer continued on. "Will you assist General Kabein in running this city and ensuring the needs of the people are met, or will we need to find your successor?"

Yugun stared in incomprehension. Shouldn't the undead be rounding up all the citizens for slaughter?

"You're not going to kill me?"

"Transport the corpses to the Deadhouse," Lucifer commanded the Gatekeeper who opened a [Gate] for the skeleton workers to push the carts through. Yugun trembled at the thought of how much the Eternal Empire's forces would be bolstered before freezing as Lucifer turned his attention back to him. "That depends entirely on you."

Yugun was still confused by the Father of all Vampires. Where was the hate for life? There was contempt, yes, but it wasn't a murderous hate. It was the dismissive disdain for those lesser than you. The same dislike the slave owners of the Theocracy showed the enslaved elves. The hate shown towards a fly buzzing about your home. An annoyance at most.

"The Six Gods will not let you win," Yugun decided to stick with what he knew. The Gods protect humanity. The undead hate the living. Evil will never prevail.

"I don't see them here," Lucifer smirked as stepped down from the statue, taking care to 'accidentally' crush the part that had been Alah Alaf's face under his boot making Yugun wince. "And that did not answer my question. Will you assist General Kabein with the assimilation of this city or not?"

"I-" Yugun had to think. The right thing to do would be to refuse but he didn't want to die. Perhaps if this monster let his guard down, he could strike and stop this whole thing! He'd be a hero! Perhaps…..

"FOR THE SIX GREAT GODS!" a lone soldier who'd somehow gone unnoticed by the vampires rushed out of an alleyway towards the Immortal Emperor brandishing a spear that had been doused in holy water. Lucifer didn't react and simply stared indifferently at the charging man.

"My. Lord. Should. We..." Cocytus began.

"No. I have a new spell I want to try."

The man continued to charge towards the Dark Lord, who simply stared at the human as he activated a [Message] spell.

[Die]

The soldier immediately crumpled, dead before he hit the ground. Yugun gaped openly. What sort of magic was that? It was as if he simply stared at the man and he'd died! There was no warning! No sound! Just death! The monster didn't even move or speak!

One of Lucifer's new abilities he'd acquired from his level up was the cast instant death magic through [Message], making it so he could kill anyone, anywhere, as long as he could send them a [Message]. That nameless soldier had the honor of being the first person to be killed by a [Message] spell in both Yggdrasil or this world. Congratulations, nameless side character number 776, your name will not be remembered.

"As you were saying, Mayor Yugun?" Lucifer turned his attention back to the gob smacked man.

"I-I-I will serve."

"You're not as dumb as you look," Corvo sneered from behind his mask.

"[Create Lich]," Lucifer said with a wave of his hand, causing the dead man to rise and shed his skin as a cloak formed around him seemingly made from the very air itself. Yugun most certainly did not piss his pants at the sight. He didn't. Anyone who says otherwise is lying liar who lies. The fact that the part of his trousers near his crotch suddenly became very warm and very wet was completely coincidental. "General Kabein, the city is yours. The Lich is yours to command as you see fit. Cocytus, continue the war as planned. Come Corvo, we're done here." And with that, the Immortal Emperor and his bodyguard departed through the [Gate] that the skeletons were still shipping corpses through.

Yugun was still gaping like a fish staring at where Lucifer had disappeared through until Kabein got his attention.

"You'll get used to it," Kabein stated dismissively as he helped the shivering man to his feet. "Go change your pants and then report back to me. We have work to do."

The remaining three cardinals and the archbishop were aghast. The war had only started 2 weeks ago and already the Eternal Empire had claimed large amounts of territory. 9 cities on the first day alone! The only thing that ever slowed the enemy advance was the time it took for them to reach their next target. The undead would capture a city, kill all who stood in their way, let living soldiers from the Eternal Empire occupy it, and then start marching to the next city.

The Cardinal of Darkness rubbed his eyes. The strategist in him admired their efficiency. The patriot in him knew that he was watching the death of his nation.

"Are the scryers sure this is what's actually happening?" Maximus inquired.

"Unfortunately, yes," the Cardinal of Fire sighed. "They may not be as good as Thousand Leagues Astrologer, but we have confirmed their reports."

"How are our people being treated under his rule?" the Cardinal of Water inquired. "Has he slaughtered them all? Is it a perfect reign of terror? What's happening?"

"Although the military occupation has been harsh, he has limited the number of undead in the cities and has, for the most part, allowed life to continue on as it had before the war," the Cardinal of Fire replied. "Some of his troops are even dedicating resources to wiping out the Rat Plague if present in the city and are distributing potions to cure the disease."

"So, a problem that has plagued us for the better part of 3 years is being solved in a matter of days by them. I wonder if anyone will ask why Dracul let our people suffer if he had a cure all along?" the Cardinal of Darkness mused. "What of Dracul himself? Or perhaps one of his high-ranking servants? Have we found any of them?"

"There was a period of time when our scrying over Syvingkhoff wouldn't work on the first day, so we believe that he might've been there although we can't confirm it," the Cardinal of Fire admitted. "Other than that, we've only seen High General Cocytus commanding the undead."

"Damn, how are supposed to lure that accursed vampire into a trap if we have no idea where he is?" Maximus grumbled.

"While I don't have anything concrete, I do have a theory," the Cardinal of Darkness spoke up, gaining the attention of the others. "The city of Mecurio just north of us was secured by the Eternal Empire's forces 2 days ago and while the undead have advanced towards Humanika, they stopped just beyond the Alkallan River just out of reach from our trebuchets. The same could be said about the forces to our east and west. They too have ceased their advance after taking everything near Humanika."

"I think I see where you're going with this," the Cardinal of Fire interjected. "He's saving us for last and now he's just waiting for the southern front to catch up with the rest. He plans to finish us off himself."

"He could also be waiting for the winter weaken us, but I do believe you are right," the Cardinal of Darkness confirmed before turning to the archbishop. "It looks like we'll get that opportunity to spring a trap after all."

"Very good. Then it seems there's nothing left to do but prepare ourselves and wait," Maximus nodded as he stood. "We must be ready to unleash Ahura Mazda the moment he shows his face. Wrath of God will be useful, but ultimately, I believe it will only buy us time. If you'll excuse me, I need to speak with General Valerian Ein Obinie about the defense of the city. Those damned rat creatures, whatever they are, have been amassing in the quarantine zones set up to keep the Rat Plague at bay. Our defenses will be crippled if we have to deal with those things from within and Lucifer from without at the same time. We have enough problems with all this damned snow." And with that, the archbishop left leaving the 3 cardinals alone.

"You know, this is kind of nice, isn't it?" the Cardinal of Darkness said after a few moments. "This is the first time in 2 years we've gotten through a meeting without anyone yelling."

"If it weren't for the circumstances, I'd suggest we all have a drink after a long day," the Cardinal of Water chuckled.

"I'm not proud to say this, but I feel like we've been getting more done than ever with Dominic and Yvon gone," the Cardinal of Fire sighed. "Too bad these are likely our finally days."

"We will make the most of them," the Cardinal of Darkness added. "We will kill the Immortal Emperor or die trying. Should we succeed, we will still have long and hard road ahead of us and things will need to change. Should we fail, pray that Dominic makes it to Tamriel in one piece."

Another 2 weeks passed, a month in total since the war had started. From the walls of Humanika, the guards could see Death Knights, Blood Paladins, Skull Knights, and Liches for as far as their eyes could see. A few guards had taken an occasional potshot at them, but they remained just out of range as still as statues. On an unrelated note, the grass was no longer visible as it had been covered with snow. Unsurprising seeing as it had been snowing nonstop for days now and it was unlikely to let up anytime soon.

General Valerian had assigned the Clearwater Scripture to the defense of Humanika and armed them with weapons called rifles that had once belonged to the Six Great Gods. There were very few of them and they had a low rate of fire, but they were deadly and accurate. Perfect for targeting enemy commanders. Although, it would be more accurate to say that the scripture wasn't assigned and had simply been trapped in the city the same as everyone else. A few desperate souls had attempted to flee the city and trudge through the snow to barter for safe passage with the army of the undead. They had been killed on the spot.

The rest of his troops had been divided between defensive and suppressive operations. Half of them were working around the clock to keep the capital secure while the other half fought through the quarantine zones to drive back the ratmen and weepers. They couldn't afford any blind spots in the city that the enemy could take advantage of and with the lack of military presence in the quarantine zones, it wouldn't be impossible for enemy forces to sneak in.

Some of the teams he'd sent to the quarantine zones never returned, with increasing reports stating that the ratmen had begun converging in the sewers and that to travel down to the underground labyrinth was suicide. Those inhuman freaks practically owned Humanika's underground now. Bastards were probably warm down there too, unlike the soldiers patrolling the city.

So far, the Eternal Empire's forces had simply stood there and stared at them. The undead had been standing there for 4 days now. 4 days of nonstop snow and ever-increasing tension. 4 days since the enemy's southern front caught up and closed the ring around Humanika. So, from the city's peasantry to the archbishop himself, the question on everyone's minds was simple: What were they waiting for?

They would not have to wait much longer.

On a snow-covered hill close to Humanika but still behind imperial lines, several [Gate]s began to open. The first group to emerge consisted of Lucifer, Corvo, Sebas, Cocytus, Shalltear, Demiurge, Albedo, and a handful of Hanzos accompanying them. Lucifer, of course, summoned a throne for himself to sit upon as they waited.

From another [Gate] the remaining Dragon Lords Eserth, Cthonan, and Suveria emerged. Eserth had emerged from the Battle of Crescent Lake relatively unscathed while Cthonan lungs had mostly recovered though he still fell into fits of coughing and Suveria's wings still hadn't grown back, leading him glare hatefully at Corvo, prompting the masked man to flip him the bird.

From the final [Gate], Jircniv, Fluder, and Vega emerged followed by a nervous looking Zesshi who did her best not to look at the Immortal Emperor, though she did give Corvo a nod of recognition which he returned.

"Thank you for coming everyone. I know that this was on short notice, but as some of you may have gathered, my patience with the Slane Theocracy has come to an end," Lucifer began. A few of them shivered when they looked at him. Although his cold smile was absent there was a gleam in his eyes, a murderous anticipation. "We'll be starting soon. Today the city of Humanika will be destroyed and the Slane Theocracy will cease to exist."

"Immortal Emperor, forgive me but why are we here?" Eserth inquired glancing at her fellow dragon lords.

"Your involvement in the attempt on my life has not yet been punished, thus I am going to make things clear to you," Lucifer stated as he turned towards them. "You are going to watch what happens here today and then I am going to send you home. Then, you will decide whether or not you will submit to me of your own free will or if I will have to come to your nation and make you."

"Now see here undead! We aren't-" Suveria began.

"[Silence]." Suveria immediately lost the ability to speak when the Dark Lord waved his hand. "I will no longer tolerate anyone raising their voice at me. I have been too lenient on you all for too long. No longer."

Jircniv and Zesshi gulped.

"My lord," Shalltear spoke up. "Shall we proceed immediately?"

"Not yet. I'm still waiting for our final guests to arrive," Lucifer smirked before turning his gaze to the Hanzos. "Speaking of whom, go. Fetch me our final guests. I'd hate for them to miss the show."

"Yes, my lord!" without another word, the Hanzos disappeared. With a wave of his hand, Lucifer caused chairs made from bones to rise out the ground for the humanoids, though he seemed to intentionally neglect the dragons present as a subtle jab at them.

The cardinals and the archbishop were on their fourth day holed up in the Shrine of the First Miko. Clerics would bring them food and water, the general would report to them twice a day, and they would wait for any sign that Lucifer had shown up.

They had been nervous wrecks on the first day, the holy relics Ahura Mazda and Wrath of God never leaving their sight and always within an arm's reach. They'd been surrounded and it seemed Lucifer could show himself at any moment so they had to be prepared. Constant vigilance was the name of the game and they didn't sleep a wink that night.

On the 2nd day, they'd still been tense but they'd also been confused. Why hadn't Lucifer attacked yet? Where was the bastard? Their nerves were shot by this point but through sheer force of will, they still refused to sleep, believing that they could still be attacked at any moment.

On the 3rd day, they'd started sleeping in shifts. At least one of them would be awake at all times. The tension began to leave them by this point. Being afraid in this case was pointless. They were still anxious but they knew that, logically, there was nothing they could do. If they wanted to set off their trap they would need to wait for him to come to them.

Finally, on the 4th day, some of them had begun to wonder whether Lucifer was going to show up at all. Perhaps he was planning to simply starve them to death with his army ensuring that no resources could reach them. A slow and painful death for everyone in the city, that would suit him indeed. Idly, the Cardinal of Darkness wondered how many of the good gods fearing people of Humanika would resort to heresy to stay alive. Of course, this could've just been the thoughts of his tired mind as he'd been awoken during his sleep shift to listen to the newest report from General Valerian. And by listen, he meant half pay attention while he drifted in and out of consciousness.

"…. And while we've gained ground in the quarantine zones, we know that the actual number of these ratmen within the city is far beyond the numbers we've found so far," Valerian continued. "While individually they're not much of a threat, a swarm of them can be very dangerous. There could be thousands of them down in the sewers by now."

"Troubling," the Cardinal of Fire said with a yawn. "We can't exterminate the creatures right now though. Our resources need to be completely devoted to the city's protection from the Eternal Empire. Assuming we survive this war, then we will fully devote our resources to investigating these creatures and eliminating the Rat Plague."

"Yes, I admit it was shortsighted of us to not take the plague seriously," Maximus said. "While the quarantine zones helped stop the spread, it wasn't enough. Worse, it provided an environment for these verminous creatures to thrive in."

"What's done is done," the Cardinal of Darkness sighed. "We can only hope we live long enough to fix our mistakes. Right, Ginedine?"

"….."

"Ginedine!"

"I'm awake!" the Cardinal of Water sat up straight, eyes wide open. "Ah, forgive me. I'm old and these past few days have not been kind to me, or any of us for that matter."

"It's fine," Maximus waved it off, too tired to raise his voice, before turning back to Valerian. "Thank you for keeping us updated general. Please, return to your duties."

"Yes, your holiness." And with that he departed.

"So, who's turn is it to keep watch?" the Cardinal of Fire inquired.

"Berenice's, I think," Maximus replied offhandedly.

"Fine, give me Ahura Mazda," the Cardinal of Fire moaned.

"I thought you had it?" the Cardinal of Water muttered.

"No. I don't. Maximillian?"

"I'm afraid not. Your holiness?" the Cardinal of Darkness replied, suddenly feeling anxious.

"N-no! I have the Wrath of God!" Maximus stuttered.

"Then where is it?"

"Ahem." The 4 humans spun around to see what appeared to be a ninja sitting in the chair that had once been reserved for the Cardinal of Earth. In his hand was Ahura Mazda. He was casually tossing it into the air and catching it repeatedly. It was as if he was mocking them.

"Heretic! Get your filthy hands off of-" Maximus didn't get to finish as another ninja grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face against the table, breaking his nose and knocking him out cold. At the same time, 3 more ninjas placed the cardinals in choke holds, restricting the oxygen from reaching their lungs.

The Cardinal of Darkness struggled as best he could. He even launched a [Thunder] spell into the face of creature choking him but it didn't even flinch.

"In other circumstances, I'd have killed you for that you lower life form. But He wants you and your little friends alive," the Hanzo growled in his ear as the Cardinal of Darkness began to pass out and his vision became clouded. "And that's He with a capital H by the way."

"Make sure Pandora's Actor stores these in the treasury posthaste."

That was the first thing the Cardinal of Darkness heard as he reawakened. Groggily he turned to his left to see his fellow cardinals coming to. To his right, he saw the archbishop still unconscious. He looked up just in time to see the man known as Sebas Tian enter a [Gate] which closed almost immediately. He continued to look around and his eyes widened at seeing Corvo standing there with a strange mask on and Zesshi desperately trying to look anywhere but at them.

Traitors.

"Wha-what's going?" Maximus asked groggily as he awakened, raising his head to take in his surroundings only to come face to face with glowing red eyes full of hate. "YOU!"

"Me," Lucifer sneered. "I'm so glad you could join us."

"I'll kill you!" Maximus howled as he tried to stand, only to be pushed back down to the ground by the Hanzo gripping his shoulders, which the Cardinal of Darkness had only just now noticed. There were Hanzos holding him and the other cardinals as well.

"Not without Ahura Mazda or Wrath of God. Did you honestly think I would give you peons another opportunity after what happened at Crescent Lake?"

The archbishop didn't respond and simply continued to glare at the Dark Lord.

"W-well, I suppose now is a good time to discuss terms of surrender?" the Cardinal of Fire spoke up, desperately attempting to deescalate the situation. This, however, was the wrong thing to say as Lucifer turned his ire towards her and stabbed a single claw-like fingernail into her shoulder, earning a yelp of pain.

"We are well past that," Lucifer hissed, his eyes literally glowing red with rage. "Unfortunately, I am not accepting surrenders at this time. Your nation will cease to exist after today and Humanika will become a monument to my wrath. Every generation from this day forward, they will look upon this city and not see a bastion of faith and humanity, but an example of what happens when YOU FUCK WITH THE IMMORTAL EMPEROR!"

"The gods will stop you!" Maximus yelled, prompting Lucifer turn his gaze towards him, causing the archbishop to flinch as he was that the whites of the Dark Lord's eyes had turned black.

"Your gods are dead. But you're not. And you. Will. Watch. This."

"Shall. I. Command. The. Troops. To. Destroy. The. City. Your. Majesty?" Cocytus inquired, gesturing towards the nearby capital, clearly visible from the top of the hill.

"You have been rather vague on how you plan to eradicate them, father," Shalltear mentioned.

"OOOOOOOOOH! Will his majesty be using a powerful spell to wipe the city from existence!?" Fluder asked excitedly. The cardinals and archbishop began to turn paler and paler as the realization set in.

Oh, gods. This is really happening. It's over.

"No," Lucifer stated as he began to walk down the hill and towards the city with black whisps emanating from his body. "I'm going to show them what I really am behind this flesh. I want ALL OF YOU to understand. I am no mere undead; I am the Father of all Vampires. I am not the Antichrist; I am the Devil. I do not bring death; I am death. And from this day forward, I AM YOUR GOD."

"Wait, are you going to show the world your true form?" Shalltear gasped, gaining everyone's attention.

"Indeed, I am," replied the true, terrible voice of the Immortal Emperor. "Make sure our dear guests watch this."

All of those who were not from Nazarick felt ill as they watched the very earth react to the unholy transformation that was occurring. A transformation that had barely begun. The snow did not melt in his path, it would be more accurate to say that it forcibly pushed out of his way by the sheer amount of pressure he was giving off. Cracks in the earth formed around him from which sickly green flames were spat out of the planet's core as if the entire world was recoiling due to Lucifer's existence. All the plants with a mile radius withered and died, birds fell from the sky, and the gray clouds overhead became black and sickly looking. Red light seemed to shine through the slim spaces between the clouds. Thunder and lightning crackled and the snow finally stopped only to give way to rain, yet the air suddenly felt even colder than it had before. The cardinals wanted to look away as Lucifer suddenly disappeared and then reappeared at the city's gates, but the Hanzos wouldn't let them. Just like their master ordered: they would watch this.

With a simple wave of his hand, Humanika's massive city gates which once held off armies melted, covering the ground at the entrance in molten metal which the Dark Lord completely ignored as he trudged through towards the gathering soldiers that trembled at his approach. The city streets buckled before him and the buildings around him began to shake as if an earthquake was hitting the region. Hundreds of soldiers were rushing through the streets to cut him off, much to Lucifer's amusement.

Honestly, I'm not even that angry with them. Most of my anger is directed at myself and Touch Me. Myself for my arrogance and Touch Me for siding with these assholes. I'm a little pissed since they tried to kill me and messed up my plans for their nation, but honestly, at this point I'm just putting on a show.

"Ha- halt right there Immortal Emperor! Thi-this is as far as you g-go!" a shaking paladin declared, unwilling to look into those awful, hate-filled eyes. Lucifer didn't even glance at the man. He paid no attention to paladins barking orders, the hundreds of soldiers attempting to act as a shield for the rest of the city. He did not heed the citizens cowering in their homes or the ornately dressed man commanding the troops. Even the snipers who were aiming their magical rifles at him were beneath his notice.

I had this whole elaborate plan to incite a slave rebellion from within the Theocracy and then by maneuvering them to ask Vega for help, who would in turn ask me for help, I'd escalate things to full revolution and have the former elven slaves rule over these lands themselves as a vassal state under my protection. From there it would just be a matter of slowly taking control of their infrastructure and making them completely reliant on us until a referendum would be held for them to join the empire. But now, that's no longer an option.

"Hold fast men! We do not need to kill him here! We only need to buy time for the cardinals and the archbishop to use the holy relics to smite this demon! Commit yourselves to gods and know that any sacrifice made on this day will not be in vain!" Valerian shouted. "This threat to humanity ends today! For the Six Great Gods!"

"FOR THE SIX!" hundreds of voices cheered.

Now, the point of this exercise is to show what happens to those who arouse the Immortal Emperor's anger. This will be held up as an example to other countries and make it clear to everyone that I have a low tolerance for bullshit. If you offend the Eternal Empire, your country gets destroyed and your lands get annexed. It's very simple.

"We should take him now!" the captain of the Clearwater Scripture, Don Sallow, yelled from the roof of the tall building he was posted on. "We have him surrounded!"

But if you piss off the Immortal Emperor himself, the consequences are far more dire.

"Surrounded?" inquired Lucifer, sounding almost amused as the black whisps emanating from his body intensified to such a degree that it was difficult to make out his form amongst the increasingly dense smog. "All I am surrounded by is fear and dead men."

And then the world shuddered as a giant pentagram appeared in the sky, burning like fire. Red like blood, red like hate. Bats began to shriek and fly about. Rats, snakes, spiders, and insects scurried about in a frenzy. The sounds of wolves howling were heard all over the world and maniacal chittering laughter could be heard from the sewers beneath Humanika. Lucifer's body glowed a deep dark red as it became one with the black smog and then began to float, becoming a formless mass of darkness. Dark tendrils covered in fanged mouths and red eyes emerged from the growing manifestation of pure evil, writhing about and destroying all in their path, reducing the nearby buildings to rubbles and those within them to red smears.

The onlookers stood horrified, a few catching glimpses of what appeared to be a massive fanged mouth within the black smoke. Its jaws wide open like the gaping maw of the underworld. And from it came death. A literal river of blood and death began pouring out accompanied by even more dark tendrils snaking their way through the city streets.

From the writhing apex of all nightmares made real, the black smog began to move higher into the air, taking a shape but still obscuring its point of origin. The shape it began as was an ethereal torso, covered in fanged jaws and staring eyes. Arms, long, thin, and clawed emerged next, just as ethereal as the torso. Countless more tendrils emerged from the thing's back, each as long as the city and writhed about as if reaching for the heavens. Finally, the head was seemingly the most solid portion of this body that towered over even the grand cathedrals. It was as incorporeal as the rest of the body, the dark wisps that it was made up of flitted about as if it had hair made of black fire. Two massive red lights shined from within the smoke like floodlights covered in blood. The part that truly made the head stand out as almost solid was the mouth, barely perceivable if not for its impossibly horrifying fanged grin, the sounds of screams of anguish and cries of terror could be heard from within this abomination.

Much like Shalltear had her own True Vampire form, Lucifer as a Dracula had his. With the harrowing transformation complete and the minds of lesser men no doubt broken; Lucifer looked down at Humanika's defenders. They looked like ants from his perspective, but that was hardly surprising as he now towered over even the greatest structures in the city.

"One, two, hell is coming for you. Three, four, you opened the door. Five, six, up the River Styx. Seven, eight, you've sealed your fate. Nine, ten, the dead rise again."

And then the rivers of hell descended upon the Theocracy's last defenders as hordes upon hordes of every being Lucifer had ever killed either in this world or in Yggdrasil emerged from him to drag down others to their morbid fate.

And that's why I didn't use this against Touch Me: the passive spawning ability. Slane Theocracy, meet my Ultimate Dracula Form!

The onlookers on the hill were able to clearly see Lucifer's unholy transformation. They could see what he'd become, or rather, what he'd always been beneath his facsimile of a man. The archbishop was horrified, the cardinals were speechless, the others who weren't from Nazarick looked ill, especially the Dragon Lords.

Smaller pentagrams, similar to the massive one in the sky that could probably be seen from the Agrand Council Alliance, were appearing on random spots on the surrounding plains before swiftly disappearing. Shortly after an undead, some kind of deformed zombie, garbed in varying dirty clothes and armor would emerge from the ground and start making its way to the city.

"Wha-what is this?" Maximus wheezed as a zombie elf dressed in the typical slave attire of the Theocracy shambled by them only a few feet away.

"That, human, is the Immortal Emperor's true self," Demiurge grinned evilly. "You should be honored to see it."

"That's really him?" Vega asked in awe as Zesshi did her absolute best to hide behind him, not wanting the image of that eldritch monster seared into her memory.

"Of course. You didn't think the God of Life and Death's true face would be that of a human's did you?" Albedo smirked as another undead clawed its way out of the ground, this one garbed in the armor of the Slane Theocracy. "He only chooses to look that way to make you all more at ease around him."

"AMAZING! SUCH POWER!" Fluder cheered manically. "HE HAS SURPASSED THE LIMITATIONS OF THE PHYSICAL FORM! HE TRULY IS A GOD!"

"It is rare for him to use this ability," Demiurge mused. "I myself have never seen it before today, though I had heard of it."

"Your. Theocracy. Have. Provoked. Our. Lord's. Wrath," Cocytus said condescendingly. "A. Rare. Feat."

"And one that will result in your holy city's extermination," Shalltear added playfully. It was at this point that the Cardinal of Water began to convulse violently for a few moments and breathing harshly before collapsing. "Oh dear, he has appeared to have stopped breathing. A heart attack maybe? He was quite old after all."

"Ginedine?" the Cardinal of Darkness asked weakly. As if to respond to him, a pentagram appeared over the cardinal's corpse for a moment before disappearing. As a result, the cardinal got back up on his knees with and turned towards the others, giving a clear view of what Lucifer's passive undead spawns, the Rachegeist, really looked like.

These were not simple zombies.

The Cardinal of Fire screamed as she took in the Rachegeist's retched features. While it still had clearly been the Cardinal of Water, its eyes were gone with blood oozing out of the empty sockets, not that that stopped it from looking straight at them. Its teeth and nails had extended into claws and fangs, a small pentagram that glowed hot like embers seemed to have been carved onto its forehead, and its skin was pale like a drowned corpse. It was thrashing violently in an attempt to escape the Hanzo's grip and sink its teeth and claws into the nearby humans. Or rather, it was until Corvo grabbed the damned thing and threw it down the hill where it got back on its feet and started shambling towards the city.

"Down on your knees and await death humans. I might even your ends painless. Maybe."

"This is… horrible," Cthonan wheezed as he heard Dracul's commands despite how far away they were.

"As is our lord's wrath," Corvo grunted.

"Pray he doesn't inflict the same punishment upon your nation due to your part in the assassination attempt," Albedo sneered at dragon lords, prompting them to shake nervously. "That's why our emperor wanted you worms from the Agrand Council Alliance here. To witness what will happen should you refuse any demands he makes of you."

"Y-you can't be serious?" Eserth stammered. Albedo merely gestured towards the city with a raised eyebrow in response. "Oh….. You are serious. Of course."

"Deadly serious. His majesty has been merciful to you lower life forms thus far and you have spat on his mercy time and time again. But even his patience has limits," Albedo explained with glee, a psychotic grin that only a fanatic could express twisted into formation upon her beautiful face. "And now, the last thing that any of you will learn in this life is just how cruel he can be."

"RUN! RUUUUUUUN!" Theo Ponturi, a captain of the Humanika guard, screamed at the top of her lungs as she and dozens of other humans ran as fast as they could. Soldiers and civilians alike fled in terror through streets as dark tendrils and swarms of Rachegeists pursued the living, their clawed hands reaching out for them desperate to drag the living down with them into death.

A woman screamed as one of them managed to grab her by the leg and dragged her down to the ground where several others dogpiled her. Her screams didn't last very long after that. Theo didn't dare to look back.

"Take shelter! Into the house!" Theo shouted as she threw open the door of a nearby home and led a group of 13 inside kicking over a child's dollhouse in the process all the while the dozens of others in the crowd continued to flee from the horde. Immediately upon entering the building, she knocked over a bookcase and shoved it up against the door. "Everyone! Barricade the doors and windows! We can't let these things through!"

"You heard her! Step to it!" they wasted no time throwing furniture up against possible entrances and exits. Just in time too. Just as a cabinet had been slammed up against the last window, the clawed, mangled limbs of the Rachegeists started breaking through the glass, reaching for the survivors who threw their own weight against the makeshift barricades with all their might in their desperation to keep the undead out.

A few cried out in shock as the eyes of the dolls that had been knocked over began to glow red. The laughter of children began to emanate from them, though distorted and unsettling. A few of them even began to sing.

Ring-a-round-a-rosies

A pocket full of posies

A tissue, a tissue

We all fall down

Ashes is in the water

Ashes in the sea

Ashes is in the water

Ashes in the sea

Ashes

Ashes

Ashes

DIE

The last word was not spoken in the voice of a child, but in the voice of a demon.

A few of the humans started weeping quietly to themselves. Others began muttering prayers to the Six, begging for salvation. Theo was among the latter as she used her sword to cut off the limbs of any creature that dared try to reach them while a few other guards tried to beat them back with spears and lances. Anyone who was near the dolls immediately decided to kick those creepy little things as far away from them as possible.

Oh, Six Great Gods, do NOT let me die like this! Not to an undead! Anything but the undead.

A priest of the Six Great Gods, Omid Barkler, gaped openly ignoring everything around him. He ignored the people running past them, he ignored the screams, he ignored the thrashing tendrils that destroyed a nearby building.

All he could do was stare at the hellish abomination that now towered over the entire city. He could only stare as the behemoth destroyed the Cathedral of Fire with a single backhanded smack before stretching his other hand out to the others. With a wave of his hand, massive magic circles appeared in the sky and rained giant flaming skulls down upon the city, leaving partially destroyed burning ruins behind scattered throughout Humanika.

"Where are your so-called gods now?"

"God is real," Omid murmured, his mind broken from the sight. He didn't even pay attention to the Rachegeists that swarmed him and began tearing him apart. It was as if he didn't notice the pain. "And he hates us." Those were his final words before one of the hellish creatures tore off his head.

"Keep shooting! Keep fucking shooting!" Don shouted. Himself and 2 other members of the Clearwater Scripture were back-to-back doing the best keep the Rachegeists off the rooftop the were trapped on. The damned creatures kept crawling up the walls with the single-minded purpose of killing the humans. They weren't the only ones in this position as the majority of the Clearwater Scripture were spread out across several rooftops holding off the Rachegeists that had entrapped them up there.

"Oh gods! Fuck!" the cry came from the roof next door. Don turned to see a tendril that had wrapped around the other building was crushing it in the wretched thing's grip.

"Over here! Jump!" Don yelled. The four who were on the other rooftop bolted in his direction upon hearing him. The first two managed to jump to his roof no problem. The last two, however, didn't make it in time as the building collapsed underneath their feet sending them screaming to the streets below where only certain death awaited. Don didn't have time to mourn though as his attention was immediately diverted elsewhere, specifically directly above them as an ominous red light shined down upon him and his team.

"Hello, little humans." The eldritch abomination that was the Immortal Emperor leered down at them. He was leaning over so that his face was so close that if they had lances they'd probably be able to graze him. But they had rifles and instead opted to open fire, not that he seemed to notice. "And goodbye."

Lucifer simply breathed on them. That was it. That was all it took. Immediately, their bodies seemed to shrivel up as if aging by a decade every second. By the time Lucifer had turned away only dusty bones remained.

"Hold! Hold damn you!" Valerian bellowed. He was leading his troops from the front, hacking and slashing at the undead abominations alongside his men. He and his troops did not run. They did not fall back or retreat. They charged to meet this primordial menace head on, cutting through the Rachegeists in the hopes of making their way to Lucifer and killing him, putting an end to this madness. Although the general knew that his success was unlikely, he hoped that his attempt would buy the cardinals enough time to use the holy artifacts left behind by the gods to smite this monster.

Valerian glanced to his side after cutting down an undead garbed in a regal but unfamiliar armor. No doubt a victim of the Dark Lord's past conquests before he came to these lands. He was disheartened at what he saw. Less than a third of his troops remained and those that did were exhausted. These undead were inconsistent in their armaments, size, strength, and speed, but they were all unrelenting in their assault and single-minded determination to kill them. Hell, he'd some of the Rachegeists riding on undead horseback like calvary and some that had no weapons whatsoever that attacked them with claws and teeth.

Probably civilians that fell to this monster.

His attention was diverted when he saw what appeared to have once been a minotaur. It was wielding a great axe and was charging towards him. Valerian sighed as he steeled himself. He was unlikely to survive this fight, but if his death bought the cardinals time, then so be it.

Lucifer was barely paying attention as his natural state of being in his Ultimate Dracula Form passive combat abilities automatically went on the offensive and his passive spawns continued tearing apart anyone and everyone in Humanika's streets. He didn't actually care if he killed every single one of them so he settled on clearing the city street by street. Anyone in the streets were killed. Those who weren't were terrorized wherever they holed up. He also destroyed all the important buildings and monuments except for the Cathedral of Light and the Shrine of the First Miko for good measure and several other random buildings mostly for shits and giggles.

4 streets left… 3 streets left….. 2… 1 aaaaaaaaaaaand 0.

The city was rather quiet now that the screams died down. So, Lucifer decided that his job was just about done. Just one last thing to take care of.

"[Atomic Blast]," and with a flick of his wrist, the Cathedral of Light and its immediate surroundings were decimated leaving only irradiated ruins.

Medieval fantasy world, meet nuclear fallout.

For a moment, he considered destroying the Shrine of the First Miko as well, but ultimately decided to leave it standing so he could thoroughly loot it later and perhaps turn it into a monument dedicated the Slane Theocracy's failure at a later date. With his anger assuaged, the Dark Lord reverted back his usual form, his abominable true form dissipating like wisps of smoke and his Rachegeists melting into puddles of blood. If not for all the death and destruction that surrounded him it would've appeared as if the nightmare he had unleashed had been just that: a nightmare. And so, with a smug flourish of his cape, he teleported back to his servants who awaited him on the hill.

"[Gate]."

All but the Floor Guardians were openly gaping as the Immortal Emperor emerged from the portal of swirling darkness appearing as he always had, as if the eldritch horror that devastated the heart of humanity on the continent mere seconds ago had been naught but a figment of the imagination. Some of them would've believed to have been some sort of nightmarish hallucination were it not for the still burning ruin behind him.

The Dragon Lords shook with terror knowing that if they did not submit to him then their nation would be the next face his wrath after their involvement in the assassination attempt.

Vega has gone pale and felt sickly. Not too long ago, he would've dreamed of unleashing such devastation upon the Theocracy. But after everything he'd been through and after seeing it made reality, he couldn't help but be disgusted with himself for ever desiring such desolation. Perhaps he'd misjudged the Immortal Emperor's character or perhaps this was simply a one-off occurrence. Either way, the die was cast and the fates of the entirety of elvendom was in his hands. There would be no deviating from this path now.

Zesshi now knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was right to throw her lot in with the Dark Lord at the Battle of Crescent Lake. Humanity was strong, the Theocracy was strong, she was strong. But against that kind of power, strength would not bring victory. Now she just had to make sure that she never gave him a reason to dispose of her.

The cardinals and the archbishop were openly weeping at the fall of their nation. Grief, hatred, and despair overwhelmed them. There was no hope left for their nation, their people, of themselves.

Jircniv had fainted at some point, no one had really been paying attention to him as their eyes were glued to the devastation that was unleashed.

"Congratulations on your victory, my lord!" Shalltear exclaimed, practically bouncing with excitement, as her master strolled towards his throne.

"Indeed, it was a privilege to bare witness to your true power," Demiurge agreed. "However, I should note that there are still many humans who are still alive down there. Are you not going to exterminate them?"

That got the Cardinal of Fire's attention. Was Lucifer not going to slaughter them? No, this couldn't be a mercy. He was undead after all. He would not suffer them to live.

"They will die, but not by my hands. I want the city sealed off until it is devoid of human life. No one in or out. The humans will be forced to take drastic measures to survive and will inevitably start killing each other over scraps of food and mouthfuls of water," Lucifer smirked as he took his seat and summoned his [Goblet of the Vampire King] to his hand. "That is, of course, if they survive this day at all."

"You bastard…" Maximus whispered, staring at the smoking remains of the once great city. "You're a monster."

"Monster? I am not a monster," Lucifer replied. "I am the devil."

"So that's it then," the Cardinal of Darkness sighed, lowering his head to stare at the ground. "This is the end of humanity."

"Oh?" the Immortal Emperor seemed amused as he strolled over to the cardinal. "And what makes you say that? Certainly, you don't view the Theocracy itself as humanity? There are plenty of humans living in the Eternal Empire and the Republic of Re-Estize."

"The Slane Theocracy is humanity's foremost defender; the dragons don't care what happens to us. They won't intervene in your inevitable massacres," Maximus snarled, earning some sheepish looks from the dragons. "With our defeat, there is no one left on the continent to defy you and you no longer have a reason mask your true nature. Nothing can stop you from committing the genocide you so deeply crave now."

"You still believe I want humanity dead?" Lucifer chuckled as he took a sip from his goblet.

"Do not toy with me, Dracul! You are undead! You cannot tolerate the living! You have already won, what use is there in continuing with this charade?" Maximus made to stand but the Hanzo guarding him forced the archbishop back down to his knees.

"… If I wanted you all dead, I would have done so years ago. You wouldn't have been able to stop me," Lucifer said, still smirking at them from his throne before gesturing to the Hanzos to turn their captives so that they were facing him. "More importantly, why would I want your kind to die? Your extermination would be counterproductive to my goals. After all, you humans are such a tremendous help to me."

That statement got the attention of the cardinals and a hiss of anger from Albedo as she turned and gazed sharply at her husband.

"It's true, I could simply kill you all and build a massive army of the undead the likes of which the world has never seen," Lucifer continued, absentmindedly swirling the blood in his goblet around as he spoke. "While that does give me quick short-term benefits, it limits me in the long term. Do you know how many people die every year? Not just from murder and accidents, but from simple old age?"

"Ah," Albedo's glare softened and a devious smirk overcame her features. The cardinals and archbishop glanced between her and the Immortal Emperor, not understanding what conclusion she'd come to.

"I want humanity to live. I want humanity to grow up under my banner and serve me with unwavering loyalty. I want you to innovate and invent for my empire. I want you to grow strong and fight to expand my empire's borders. I want you to grow old and make more little humans," Lucifer's smirk turned downright evil at this point. "And then I want you to die and be raised from the grave into undeath. All shall serve me forever. In life as my loyal followers and in death as my obedient slaves. A hundred years from now I'll have millions of Death Knights at my disposal. If I ever need a few hundred souls to sacrifice for a ritual I'll just abduct criminals, the homeless, and the forgotten; those who no one would ever realize had gone missing in the first place."

"The people won't stand for this! Human or nonhuman, none would willingly be subjected to such a fate!" the Cardinal of Darkness exclaimed.

"You'd be surprised what a few decades of being subjected to effective propaganda will do to a population. Perhaps I'll make it so that offering one's corpse to serve the nation postmortem is tax deductible." Lucifer remarked unconcerned before he narrowed his eyes and stood from his throne to stare at the burning city which had suddenly become rather noisy.

What is that noise? A bell?

"Wha- who is ringing the bell?" Zesshi stuttered as she and all the others turned to stare at the city, just as the bell atop the Shrine of the First Miko began to toll.

The humans hidden within a family home with Captain Ponturi had been stayed where they were when all the screaming stopped. The still weren't sure if it was safe outside, although a few did peek out the windows to see empty, gore smeared streets. Eventually, she and three others ventured outside to try figure out what the situation was.

The Dark Lord had disappeared along with those undead wretches that appeared with him. No monsters, no tendrils, just fire and ruin.

"What happened?" one of her men, Vince, asked. "Did the Cardinals defeat the Immortal Emperor?"

"I don't know, but keep your eyes peeled," Ponturi ordered.

As if on cue, the bell atop the Shrine of the First Miko began to toll.

Ponturi and the trio who had followed her into the street looked up at it in awe.

The bell tolled a second time.

"Could it be the cardinals signaling that the battle is over?"

The bell tolled a third time.

"It must be! Dracul would've just destroyed it!"

The bell tolled a fourth time.

"We did it! It's over!"

The bell tolled a fifth time.

More and more people began to leave their hiding places, drawn by the cheering.

The bell tolled a sixth time.

"They must've done it!"

The bell tolled a seventh time.

More and more people joined in on the cheering.

The bell tolled an eighth time.

"He's either dead or driven off! We made it!"

The bell tolled a ninth time.

All over the city, survivors began were either celebrating or looking about warily, convinced that the worst had passed.

The bell tolled a tenth time.

"I can't fuckin believe it! We're alive!"

The bell tolled an eleventh time.

Nobody noticed the rumbling coming from the sewers beneath them or the scurrying on the rooftops.

The bell tolled a twelfth time.

Nobody noticed how the quarantine zone walls had been decimated during the Dark Lord's rampage or the countless red eyes watching them from the shadows.

The bell tolled a thirteenth time.

"We are victorious! Long live the Slane Theocracy!"

The bell went silent. It was only now that the people celebrating in the streets heard the rumbling beneath their feet and the claws scratching rooftop tiling. But most importantly, they heard voices. Quiet voices as if they were muffled.

"V-i-."

The rumbling and scratching grew louder as the smiles slipped from the humans' faces.

"V-r-ti-."

The scared humans began drawing weapons and a few shrieked as they noticed the countless set of glowing red eyes watching them.

"Vermintide."

Thousands of chittering voices spoke as one. From the rooftops. From the shadows. From beneath the earth itself.

"Vermintide!"

The hunched forms of rat-like beings hidden all over the city sprang from the hiding places and pounced upon the remaining humans.

"VERMINTIDE!"

Ponturi and her men hastily took up a defensive formation as hundreds of the creatures that had been confined to the quarantine fell upon them like a literal tidal wave of fur, teeth, claws, and metal. They crawled out of windows, climbed out of manholes, pounced from the roofs, and squeezed their bodies through thin alleyways. Suddenly, they were emerging from everywhere.

"Hold men!" Ponturi called as she sliced through three of the freaks with a single swipe of her sword. "They may be rats beset by some unholy mutation, but they are still just fucking rats!"

On of the vermin attempted to pounce on her, knocking her to the ground. It was dressed in nothing but stained rags and was wielding a rusty kitchen knife as its weapon. She held it off as it frantically swung the poor excuse for a weapon at her, laughing maniacally.

"Kill-slay for Father Blood!" it shrieked, its vile spittle flying into her face. Its shrieking ended when Vince took its head off with his axe and helped his captain up.

"Thanks for the save!" Ponturi shouted as she returned cutting through the rat men with fervor.

"No problem boss!" her subordinate replied as he too began chopping up the freaks with all the strength he could muster. "How many of these things do you think there-"

Vince was cut off as several of the damned things tackled him to the ground and his screams were barely heard over the chaos as the rats sank their teeth into him and started eating him alive.

"Dammit," Ponturi screamed as she continued to fight them off, slowly backing away to give herself some space until she was backed up against a wall. It was then that she looked around and realized she was the only one left standing. The lucky ones were already dead while the rest were being eaten alive like Vince. She was going to die. There was no way out and she knew it. With that said, she wasn't going to go quietly. Not with the fate of humanity at stake.

"Die-die for Fanger God, man-thing!" one of the chittering freaks shouted.

"For the Theocracy!" she roared at the top of her lungs as she charged the horde. These would be her last words. In the end, she got her wish: she didn't die to the undead.

"Glory to Great Fanged One!"

"Butcher-kill all man-things!"

"Scamper-scurry! Hunt them down for Father Blood!"

"Devour them! Leave only man-thing bones!"

Lucifer sat in his throne staring out at the scene from afar as rat-like creatures swarmed the city killing every last human that had survived his onslaught. He was truly perplexed. It seemed his guardians were just as confused. Those who were not from Nazarick simply looked on in horror. Except for Jircniv, he was still passed out and laying face down in the snow. Someone should probably help him.

… Nah.

What the actual fuck are those things?

"Ah," Corvo muttered as he snapped his fingers as if he'd just realized something. "I believe I know what those things are."

"Oh?" Demiurge inquired, somewhat irked that someone had figured out what was going on before him. "Care to enlighten us Corvo?"

"I believe that the plague rats that were unleashed upon the city years ago bred with native rats and that through exposure to magic their offspring mutated into the creatures we see now," the Vengeful Spirit replied, conveniently omitting who spread the plague rats and why. "It seems a new species entirely has been birthed by these events."

Interesting. That'll be something I should experiment with at a later date.

"Once again, I am reminded just how far your intellect surpasses mine, my lord," Demiurge said as he turned to his master. "You not only foresaw this new race's creation but have also arranged for them to have a land of their own for them to dwell in: the ruins of Humanika."

"That must be why you thought it would be difficult for them to survive the day! You already knew about them, father!" Shalltear exclaimed.

"….. Indeed. This was the obvious outcome from the moment the Rat Plague was unleashed," Lucifer bullshitted stoically.

Honestly, I was just referring to all the idiots who would try to flee once they realized they would be cut off from the rest of the continent and left to die slowly. People will do foolish things out of desperation including trying to get past a Death Knight. I in no way, shape, or form predicted this whole rat thing. I need to get better at this whole evil mastermind thing. Did I just admit to myself that I'm evil?

The former leaders of the Theocracy could only gape at the horror that had been unleashed. Zesshi and Vega had turned their backs on the scene, not wishing to see any further bloodshed. The Dragon Lords, on the other hand, had separated themselves from the rest of the group and were now bickering about their surrender to the Eternal Empire.

"Come, we're done here," Lucifer proclaimed as he rose from his throne. "Humanika is theirs to do with as they please. I'll approach them myself at a later date and formalize their joining of the Eternal Empire."

"My lord, what of the remaining Cardinals and the Archbishop?" Albedo inquired, prompting the former leaders of the Theocracy to sweat nervously. Lucifer's burning gaze directed itself towards them with a sickening smirk.

"Demiurge," the Dark Lord nearly purred. "I believe you could use some help on that farm of yours?"

"I'm always looking for new 'volunteers', my lord," Demiurge chuckled.

"Then they're all yours." And with that, everyone began leaving through [Gate]s. Fluder dragged Jircniv's unconscious form through one, the Dragon Lords left through another, Demiurge departed with the Cardinals and the Archbishop in tow, and Lucifer along with his entourage left through the last one.

On this day, the Slane Thoecracy was no more. Humanika fell and in its place rose the corrupted city that would come to be known as Skavenspire.

3 days passed since the fall of the Slane Theocracy, though few were aware of that fact within the Eternal Empire's territory. The people of the empire awaited the news as to whether their Immortal Emperor had emerged victorious, whether they liked it or not, as they had every day since the Death Knights marched south. But they would not have to wait for much longer. Within E-Rantel, the same location from which the National Propaganda Officer made his announcements, Lucifer as well as a few of his Guardians, specifically Corvo, Demiurge, and Shalltear, had assembled to address the nation much to the announcer's panic. Not wanting to keep the Immortal Emperor waiting, the National Propaganda Officer went ahead and activated the ECHO device through which he made his announcements.

"Fellow citizens of the Eternal Empire," the NPO began, doing his best to resist the urge to peek over his shoulder at the soulless eyes staring at him. "I have been ordered by the Immortal Emperor to make the following announcements."

"Firstly," he continued. "The Slane Theocracy has fallen and the city of Humanika has been handed over to a Demihuman race called the Skaven. No one other than authorized personnel are permitted within the boundaries of the city for the time being. Secondly, the Agrand Council Alliance have formally requested join the Eternal Empire following the defeat of the Theocracy. A referendum is to be held next month to officiate their peaceful integration into our nation. Finally, the Republic of Re-Estize under the leadership of Sebas Tian, has voted to seek vassalization under our Immortal Emperor. With these events, the entirety of the continent is now under the control of the Eternal Empire. With the momentous occasion, our emperor has elected to say a few words to mark this momentous occasion. Nema Dracul!"

Finally, the NPO backed away from the ECHO, getting out of Lucifer's way and promptly slinking off to the corner of the room to put as much space as possible between him and his terrifying ruler. Lucifer didn't even glance at the man as he approached the ECHO.

"This is the Immortal Emperor speaking," the Dark Lord began, his echoing throughout the entirety of his lands, including the newly acquired territories of the former Slane Theocracy. "This is a great day for the Eternal Empire and a great day for you, my people. But I know it might not feel that way to you. Some of you still live in fear of me and what I might do. Some of you think that I am trying to deceive you. Some of you are uncertain as you have no idea what your future in our great empire looks like. Allow me to make this clear to you all. We will create a world without war. A world without fear or suffering. A world where you, the common people will never have to bear the burden of corrupt leaders and incompetent nobles. A world where you will never have to worry about your lives being ruined by creatures attacking from their hidden lairs in the woods or bandits ambushing caravans on the roads."

Across the empire, people stopped what they were doing and listened. Curious to hear what else their emperor had to say.

"And in order to ensure that this world is never again made to endure pointless conflicts such as those that were perpetrated by the Baharuth Empire and the Re-Estize Kingdom or the mindless genocides carried out by the Slane Theocracy, our great empire will continue to expand. The citizens of my empire will never be forced to fight in war for the dead will fight to protect the living." the Immortal Emperor continued. "My armies will go on until we have the entire world under our control, until we crush the setting sun beneath our feet. Some may call this world domination. Such an ugly term. I prefer world optimization, the creation of a utopia. The struggle for world optimization is ultimately between us, those who seek peace and order, against those seek to only optimize the world to the own chaotic interests, the selfish and lazy. In their world, you will struggle and work for these parasites until your hands bleed and you will never know the fruits of your own labors. You will be shackled to them and they will never let you go. That is why I am here; I am here to free the sentient beings of this world from their shackles. After all, is a man not entitled to the sweat of his own brow?"

Finally, Lucifer was done, and he walked away from the ECHO, allowing the NPO to continue his daily routine, and was quickly accompanied by his subordinates towards a [Gate].

"So how much of that was actually true, father?" Shalltear inquired with a smirk.

"Does it matter?" Lucifer replied with a smirk of his own. "A lie repeated often enough will eventually become the truth. The only truth of this universe is the conflict between me and those who would deny me my rule over it."

"Then I suppose now might be a good time to mention that we've received the first reports from the spies we sent to Tamriel?" Demiurge interjected.

"Have the reports sent to my office when we return to Nazarick," the Dark Lord commanded. "While we have secured this continent, our conquest is far from over. We will conquer this entire world before we turn our attention to the worlds beyond it."

I will snuff out the light from the stars themselves if I cannot own them. This world, this universe, I will have all submit to me.

Bonus Story: 80 Years in the Future

Lucifer stared idly at the burnt out remains of what had once been the Fairy Tail Guild Hall. Much to his dismay, most of its members had managed to escape and were attempting to organize multiple resistance movements against his armies all across Fiore. Of course, they'd only managed to escape because one of the strongest members, Gildarts, had sacrificed himself in battle against the Dark Lord's son, Prince Malice Dracul. Still, the battle was a victory and an easy one at that. Apparently, the Kingdom of Fiore was still recovering from a war with the Alvarez Empire. He was not standing there for long before he sensed someone approach him. He knew who it was.

"General Degurechaff, report," Lucifer commanded as he turned to face her. The girl he'd met during that weird interdimensional high school comedy thing (yes, Isekai Quartet is canon as far as I'm concerned) had grown up. Instead of the psychotic little girl he'd originally encountered, the woman before him was tall, kept her blonde hair in a ponytail, and was clad in a white and black variant of Pandora's Actor's uniform. She was still flat chested though, not that anyone was stupid enough to tease her about it. She had also become a demon thanks to Demiurge 'investing' in her. Her horns, however, were hidden under her military cap.

"Magnolia has been secured sir," Tanya said with a vicious gleam in her eyes. "The local mages put up a decent fight, but only the S-Class Mages were able to defeat our soldiers. You should've seen them breaking down in tears when Gildarts Clive gave up his life so they could escape! Their despair was delicious. The pink haired one wouldn't stop screaming at us while his comrades dragged him away."

She certainly enjoys crushing her enemies.

"The pink haired one is Natsu Dragneel and I want him alive," the Dark Lord commanded. "His unique biology makes him invaluable to the Immortal Empire andI want him for Jigsaw's experiments."

"As you wish, my lord. He's particularly attached to another S-Class Mage, Lucy Heartfilia," Tanya replied with a wicked grin. "I'll see about capturing her to use as bait."

"I have no doubt that you will succeed," Lucifer stated as he began to march back down the hill and into town. "Did we take any prisoners?"

"Ah, yes. Prince Malice has locked the prisoner's up in the Caldia Cathedral. He's been interrogating them personally," Tanya looked slightly uncomfortable now. "Mostly, he's only been interrogating the females."

Oh, for fuck's sake.

"Of course, he has," Lucifer sighed, resisting the urge to facepalm. "Go about your duties, General. I will see to my wayward son."

"As you decree, my lord."

With that, the two parted ways. It wasn't long before he was stalking through the doors of the Caldia Cathedral. There were corpses nailed to the doors of the front entrance, possibly as a warning to other potential rebels, but more likely because Mal got bored and decided to get creative. Speaking if whom, in the middle of the cathedral's grand hall was the prince himself, seated on a makeshift throne made of coffins and bones while surrounded by women clad in slave collars, chains, and nothing else. As Lucifer approached, he noted the S-Class Mage Kagura of Mermaid Heel as nude as the rest and down on her knees in front of Mal with her head bobbing between his legs. The Dark Lord decided to ignore the sucking sounds.

"Would you care to explain what's happening here?" Lucifer inquired with a stern glare directed at his son. "Slavery and rape are illegal in the Eternal Empire, which you represent. So for your sake you better have a good explanation."

Do you have any idea how troublesome it would be to cover this up?

"What can I say? The ladies love me! No slavery or rape involved!" Mal smirked as he snapped his fingers, prompting Kagura to end her sucking as she backed away from him and another girl started massaging his shoulders. "All I did was interrogate them a little, fuck with their heads, and the incubus racial abilities I inherited from mom did the rest. The were begging me to dick e'm down by the time I was done."

"Master, please let me serve you," Kagura whispered as she began pawing at the Immortal Emperor. "I'll make you feel-"

FILTHY HUMAN!

Lucifer responded by kicking her in the face and sending her unconscious form to the other side of the hall. Luckily for Kagura, she lost conciousness the moment his boot connected with her face so she never registered any of the pain.

"Well, that was rude," Mal chuckled.

"You're lucky I didn't kill her," Lucifer hissed before directing a glare at his son. Mal wisely decided that now was the time to stop being flippant.

"Look, I was being serious earlier," Mal said as removed himself from his throne and approached his father. "You told me try to improve on my racial abilities to compensate for lack of my magic. So, I was experimenting with my incubus pheromones, shit was more powerful than I thought it would be, then bam! I get a bunch of mind broken sex-crazed nymphomaniacs who'll do whatever I want as long as I fuck e'm. I mean, this isn't what I was going for, but I sure as shit ain't gonna complain about the results."

Father and son stared at each other for a few moments until Lucifer sighed and, began massaging his forehead.

"They can't be allowed back into the public, you'll have to take them with you to Sinner's Sanctum when we return to Burzgoth," Lucifer decided before summoning a [Gate]. "Now come with me. We have work to do."

"What's going on, dad?" Mal inquired as he followed his father to the [Gate].

"Your brother has managed to force Fiore's royal family to surrender. We are going to Crocus to formalize the treaty with King Toma E. Fiore and Princess Hisui E. Fiore."

"A princess? Is she hot?"

Lucifer glared at his son.

"Just kidding. Just kidding."

The duo passed through the [Gate] and found themselves in a ruined throne room. In the middle of the room was a long table. On one side of it were the king and princess of Fiore while on the other side were Prince Hades Dracul and Princess Desdemona Dracul. The Dark Lord's children immediately stood from their seats and kneeled to their father. Toma was glaring down at the table, refusing to look at the Immortal Emperor, while Hisui barely noticed him as she was too focused on attempting to keep herself from bawling her eyes out.

"Father," they both greeted simultaneously.

"Rise, my children," Lucifer said as made his way towards the empty throne that had been dragged to the head of the table. "You could stand to be more respectful like your siblings," he added quietly so that only Mal could hear him.

"Whatever," Mal simply shrugged in response.

"Are there any problems with the treaty, Hades?" Lucifer asked as he down sat on the throne, much to Toma's displeasure. Hades and Desdemona returned to their seats once their father took his seat. Mal began to pace back and forth directly behind Toma and Hisui while staring unblinkingly at the duo, delighting in their discomfort.

"Just one, father," his most obedient child responded. "There was an amendment added to the treaty that I know you didn't approve of. It states that following the surrender of the Royal Family of Fiore, all mages who are acting on behalf of the government as part of the resistance movement will be offered amnesty if they lay down their arms within three months of the surrender's announcement. Furthermore, the Eternal Empire will give priority to any mages that aren't members of dark guilds to become full members of the Imperial Adventurer's Guild."

"I have a feeling I know who added that to the treaty," Lucifer smirked as he directed his gaze towards his daughter. Desdemona met his gaze with a look of fierce determination, but even she could not hide how nervous she was in anticipation of his response. "… I see no reason to revoke this change. It will encourage the resisting mages to stop fighting. Their concern for their precious nakama will hinder them now that that the war is officially over. Some fight because they feel that they have no choice. Others among them have concerns beyond that. For example, we had two S -Class Mages, Levy and Gajeel Redfox, surrender the other day during the battle on Tenrou Island because the woman was about to give birth right there on the battlefield."

"Did they survive? Did the child survive?" Toma demanded as he stood in his seat and glared at the Dark Lord, though that glare quickly wilted under Lucifer's soulless gaze. Honestly, it wasn't any of Toma's business, but he felt obligated to ask after their assistance against the dragons back during the Grand Magic Games and he was grateful to them and all the other mages who'd been involved.

"If you ever raise you voice at me again, I'll cut out your tongue and make you eat it," Lucifer sneered. "But yes, I've been told the couple and their newborn twins are alive and their needs are being fulfilled at a refugee camp. Now, unless there's anything else, I believe you have a treaty to sign."

"And what will become of my daughter and I?" Toma inquired, careful not to raise his voice lest Lucifer make good on his threat.

"Your family will administer this region in the name of the Immortal Emperor," Hades responded. "As long as you are loyal and ensure our laws are obeyed, you and your people will be able to go about their lives normally. Those who resist, however, will be shown no mercy."

Toma grit his teeth at this, be ultimately relented and signed the treaty.

"A wise decision sir," Desdemona said as she and her family rose from their seats, except for Mal who had never sat down to begin with. "I know it feels wrong right now, but in time you will see that you've done the right thing for your people."

Just as they were about to leave, a shaky voice called out to them.

"W-why?"

"You'll have to be more specific," Lucifer replied disinterestedly as he turned to see that Hisui had risen to her feet, her entire body shaking, and her fists clenched as the tears she fought back this entire time now streamed freely down her cheeks.

"So many dead! So much suffering! We never did anything to you! WHY!? WHY DID YOU DO THIS!?" Hisui screamed, openly weeping.

There was a tense silence for a few moments as the Dynasty of Darkness stared at the girl and Toma feared that the Immortal Emperor might murder his only daughter right there and then.

"… Because we can," Lucifer replied with a cold smile.

"Because you're weak," Hades added.

"Because what the fuck are you gonna do about it?" Mal laughed as he grabbed Hisui by the back of her head and held a blade to her throat.

"Because it's what our family does," Desdemona sighed, a hint of sadness creeping into her voice.

"Let her go, Malice," Lucifer commanded as he turned and continued to walk out of the room. "Given the progress we've made today, I'm willing to overlook the outburst of a naïve child." Mal cackled in response and removed his dagger from her throat, though he took care to 'accidentally' leave a small cut on her cheek.

Hades quickly made to follow their father out, not even sparing the humans a glance.

Desdemona made swift and apologetic bow to the former king and princess before she too left the room.

The last to leave was Mal who gave the pair an evil grin as he departed.

"Welcome to the Eternal Empire, bitches!"

I never expected this story to get as many follows and favorites as it did. I thought I'd get maybe a hundred or so if I was lucky, it was my first story after all. As I write this, I have 1473 Favorites and 1558 Follows. Where the hell did that come from? The point is, those of you who have followed this story from the beginning, you're awesome. Everyone else who so much as bothered to read this? You're awesome.

Time really does fly though. One day you're an angsty little edgelord and then you're a somewhat functional adult. I was finally able to finish this because I finally got off that godawful 4am schedule at work. I CAN FINALLY LIVE LIFE WITHOUT BEING EXHAUSTED! If I'm ever to make a sequel to this story, it would probably focus on Hades, Malice, and/or Desdemona and would likely be a crossover. But honestly, I wanna move away from Overlord for a bit and have some fun with some less serious ideas.

So, I have a question for you all: Which of these stories sound interesting to you?

(DBZ) A Psychopath is Reborn as Cell: A completely amoral criminal is reborn as Cell at the beginning of the Cell Saga after receiving the death penalty. Goals are to survive and stay stronger than the good guys so he can indulge in his own selfish desires. He also wants to kill Goku, partially for bragging rights and also partially because the voice in his head that sounds suspiciously like Dr. Gero won't shut up until he does.

(Star Wars) The Sith Gamer: A juvenile nihilist is reborn in Star Wars with a system that allows him to upgrade his abilities by earning points. So, he decides to treat the galaxy as his personal playground, completely screw up the Clone Wars, troll the Republic, and be as annoying as possible to both the Jedi and Palpatine. After all, if nothing matters, why not do whatever you want?

(Invincible x BNHA Crossover) Reborn a Viltrumite Hero: A nerdy soldier dies in the line of duty and is reborn as a Viltrumite tasked with infiltrating and taking over the world. But since he's a good person, he REALLY doesn't want to take over the world. When he arrives and find All Might he thinks: "Oh, cool it's BNHA! Wait, why is Tatsumaki from One Punch Man here? Is that Cecil from Invincible? Why are the aliens from Independence Day invading? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?" Story starts years before the birth of Izuku Midoriya. Main character's goals are to earn the trust of Earth's heroes and eventually revealing the truth about the Viltrumites and the threat they pose. As you can probably tell, this would be a very AU My Hero Academia.

Leave a review or PM me if you want to give me your opinion. If anyone else wants to take a shot at these, feel free. It's not like I own any of this.

Thanks for reading everyone.