Story: I'm a Daemon, so what?
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 86: Interlude - Eastern Empire
There are up to 15 chapters ahead at [email protected]/theogbasilisk
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- Kagali -
As Kagali surveyed the monsters that Misha had tamed, a smile crept up on her face. They were in one of their many bases scattered throughout the Western Nations, protected by powerful barriers that masked their location from any prying eyes.
In front of her, beasts of all kinds prowled in their cages.
Lesser and Medium Dragons snarled and snapped at the air, their fiery eyes glowing in the dim light. Horn Bears stamped their massive paws, their sharp tusks glinting menacingly. Chimeras, with their three heads, paced back and forth, while Grave Lizards and Poison Lizards hissed and flicked their forked tongues, the air around them thick with the scent of their venom.
Misha had used a combination of powerful drugs, relentless conditioning and Magic to bring these beasts to heel, forging a force that Kagali herself would have been hesitant to face in her prime.
The sheer might of this force was staggering, even the most seasoned warriors would think twice before challenging them. Kagali marveled at the thought that these creatures would soon be unleashed on Ruberious, that too only to serve as distractions.
She turned to her side, her gaze falling on Tear, who stood beside her with a mischievous grin. "This is quite something, is it not, Tear?"
Tear giggled, her voice bubbling with excitement. "Hehe~ yup! Those mean Demon Lords are not gonna have fun!"
Kagali nodded. "Come, let us check on the other experiments."
This particular facility was one of Yuuki's prized assets, where his various experiments were conducted in utmost secrecy.
Vega, the brute, had been subjected to countless tests and experiments here, though he remained unaware of the location of this facility due to Yuuki's tampering.
Vega was not aware of many things when it came to Cerberus, this facility was one such thing. Vega was always an unpredictable ally due to his nature, so Yuuki was very careful with the information he shared with Vega.
Her brow creased as she thought back to the mysterious circumstances around Vega's death.
No one spotted the killer, the crowd was thoroughly questioned, yet not a single person knew what had happened.
Kagali's leading theory was that Vega got on the bad side of someone and they took offense, but without more information Kagali could not say much. She could only hope that whoever was behind Vega's demise would not get in the way of their plan.
Damrada himself had said not to worry about the person behind Vega's death, only that it may have been an old friend who he had not seen in a long time. And that the killer likely would not take further action.
Kagali knew she was getting increasingly desperate, she lacked too much information and so she had to compromise, taking Damrada's word was one such compromise as she did not wish to alienate him now. He still commanded significant resources within Cerberus that she was incapable of taking away due to his influence.
Kagali sighed at her current circumstances.
"Something the matter, President?" Tear asked, her tone light but laced with genuine concern.
Kagali shook her head. "Nothing you can help with."
Tear shrugged her shoulders. "I'm here if ya need me!"
Kagali felt her lips curl up at Tear's support. Tear was the only one of her friends she had, Laplace may or may not be alive and it was tearing at her.
When did everything go so wrong?
She shook her head, there was no purpose in dwelling on those thoughts any longer.
As they continued their inspection, they were suddenly interrupted. "Miss Kagali!" A man hurried toward them, panting heavily from exertion. He was one of the many nameless subordinates that served Cerberus.
Kagali raised an eyebrow, her voice cool and commanding. "What is it?"
The man struggled to catch his breath before delivering his message. "W-We have received word from some of our spies… information about Demon Lord Felix White."
Her eyes narrowed. "What information?"
The man straightened, his composure slowly returning. "Our spy reported that The Dungeon was temporarily evacuated recently due to a fight that took place on the lower floors."
Kagali waited, her patience wearing thin. "And?"
The man gulped, clearly nervous about what he was about to say. "The fight… it was between the Storm Dragon and Felix White. According to our spy, the result was… a draw."
Kagali's breath caught in her throat. "What?!" She whispered, her disbelief mirrored in Tear's wide eyes.
She knew that Felix White was powerful, stronger than her in her prime. He had managed to defeat Footman and make Tear run for the hills after all. But to challenge a True Dragon? That was unheard of… the only ones she could think of that were capable of such a thing were the first Demon Lord, Guy Crimson, and Milim Nava, The Destroyer.
"Was there any more information?" She asked.
The man quickly shook his head.
"Leave us then."
The man bowed and practically sprinted away.
"This may complicate things." She mumbled.
"Will it really?" Tear asked, her tone uncharacteristically serious. "We were never planning to challenge the Demon Lord directly. That's what the Masked Hero is for, right? And she actually managed to defeat Veldora and seal him away. Not to mention Veldora should still be weakened after being unsealed so recently."
Kagali nodded slowly, considering Tear's words. "You're right. The plan remains unchanged."
Their strategy had always been to discreetly gain control of the Masked Hero while Granbell created a diversion. They had no intention of confronting Felix White or Rimuru Tempest head-on. Granbell would deal with the goddess Luminous, ensuring that the major players were occupied while they carried out their true objectives.
In the end it didn't matter that Felix White had managed to fight Veldora, even a weakened Veldora was a threat to take seriously. Chronoa had managed to seal a full power Veldora, something far more impressive.
Not to mention the spy's information could be wrong, it could be information deliberately spread to make Felix White look more powerful in the eyes of the public. The Daemon seemed to have an inflated ego, it would make sense that he wished to spread his "legend" and gain the worship and fear of the people.
"If that guy really got that strong in such a short period of time, then he'd be a real monster." Tear mumbled, her playful demeanor giving way to genuine concern.
"Indeed he would. He is not even one of those ancient Primordials yet he has already grown so powerful."
Even she would be nervous against a Primordial in her prime, even without a vessel, such was the might those ancient Daemons commanded.
"If he truly had managed to fight even a weakened Veldora to a draw then few can hope to match him." Kagali said.
She sighed. "Come, there is no use further thinking about this, the plan remains unchanged."
Granbell had already made his arrangements, the Guardian of the West was also prepared to offer his help.
While Rimuru Tempest was busy with his Council meeting, they would attack. Granbell still maintained some control over the Five Elders of the Council of the West, so he had arranged for the meeting to be attacked as well, partially to further distract Rimuru Tempest from their true targets. Felix White should not be within the bounds of Ruberious, teleportation from his territory all the way to Ruberious was unheard of, and so he would be helpless to help his ally.
The ones attacking the Council meeting would be Yuuki's Magic Inquisitor experiments, each of them were powerful, when they are all together even in her prime she would need to be very careful in a fight against them.
Kagali and Tear walked into the room where the Magic Inquisitors were being stored.
The room was dimly lit, with six large tanks lined up against the wall, each filled with a sedative that kept the Inquisitors in a state of unconsciousness. Each was carefully bound with a mental domination spell allowing her to control them.
Ordinarily she wouldn't have been able to exert enough power to control such powerful beings in her weak vessel, however she managed to bind the six before they became vessels to the power they now held.
Yuuki had not wished to hold their leash as he would not be available most times, however she would be available, and so she became the jailor of the Magic Inquisitors.
She carefully ran a hand along the glass of one of the tanks as her lips curled upwards. "Yes, they will do very nicely."
Even a Demon Lord like Rimuru Tempest would struggle against six Magic Inquisitors of this strength, she would have likely been defeated by such a number.
Magic Inquisitors were originally an experiment of the Kingdom of Ingrassia meant to give Humans access to magicules of their own, rather than merely making use of what was in the atmosphere.
Humans would absorb the Monster Factor of various Monsters and become strengthened due to the Factor inside of them. Their bodies would generally become ten times stronger with skin tougher than steel. Of course there were physical and mental strains when taking in the Factor of something distinctly Non Human.
Many became more beast than man, giving in to the foreign instincts that flooded their minds, only those of supreme willpower could truly take control of the power they were granted.
Due to this Ingrassia set their sights on incorporating more spiritual aspects into their Inquisitors. They never got far in this direction as the scientists involved in the experiment failed to understand how Daemons truly incarnated in this world, thus they continued to fail.
Yuuki never had that issue, and so the experiments moved forward under his direction.
Now, in front of her lay six Magic Inquisitors that had once been Human. Now, however, they were distinctly more. They had taken in the Factors of more demonic aligned Monsters and then been used as vessels for Daemons.
It had taken much experimenting to find Daemons compatible with the bodies, however they eventually succeeded and incarnated the Daemons inside the vessels.
All of these Daemons were merely Lesser Daemons or Greater Daemons. Due to this, they had practically zero ego, allowing the Human ego within the body to come out on top in the ego battle, giving the Magic Inquisitors the powers of the Daemons, but with a physical body to exert the entirety of that might.
In the case of the Greater Daemons, she had personally dominated them with a Domination Orb that Laplace had powered, giving her control over the Greater Daemons. She then forcefully suppressed their egos.
Lesser Daemons were weak. However, due to their incarnation, multiple evolved into Greater Daemons. In the case of the Greater Daemons that were summoned, they grew more powerful. A single one of them had even evolved into an Arch Daemon.
Each Magic Inquisitor was, at the minimum, a Special-A Rank. These six had gone even further beyond that level due to Yuuki's experiments.
Now, each was a bonafide Disaster Class being, and she retained control over each one of them. She could never allow the seals placed on them to break for fear of them seeking revenge. She was far too weak to take even a single one of them on at this point, and Tear would struggle against more than two of them at once.
During these moments, she missed Laplace. His overwhelming strength was always a comfort.
"The Boss really did something crazy here, huh?" Tear chippered excitedly.
Kagali nodded. No normal man would experiment on others like Yuuki had, but the results showed. The ends did justify the means in this case.
Even with Vega's loss they still remained powerful thanks to the foundation Yuuki had built up.
She felt a vicious smirk form on her face as she thought of Felix White's fate. Once she had the Masked Hero in her possession, the countdown for the Usurper of Black's death would begin. Her Domination Orb would be more than enough to enslave the comatose Heroine, even Milim Nava had been dominated by it, and had only been freed due to Clayman's own demise she suspected.
"Soon Tear… soon."
Tear nodded. "We'll avenge the Boss, don't ya worry!"
She clenched her fists and nodded.
- Tatsuya Kondou -
"Hand me those papers." He ordered his assistant.
The Dark Elf maid he had acquired due to Clayman's demise nodded.
Eva was once Clayman's maid. Now she served as his assistant, completely controlled by his Dominion Bullet.
Under Emperor Rudra's orders, he traveled to Jistav and placed both Clayman and Eva under his control long ago. The Emperor wished to weaken the Great Jura Forest, and Clayman was a sufficient enough resource to accomplish that goal.
The entire attack on Tempest happened due to Kondou nudging Clayman in that direction, and it was why Clayman was getting more and more reckless as time went on. Clayman was already a man that sought power more than anything else, however he was wise enough not to be reckless about it before.
Of course, that situation did not go the way he wished it to. Instead, it led to the birth of two new Demon Lords, so he cut his losses and acquired Eva.
Eva was powerful in her own right. She was strong enough to be a powerful Imperial Guardian, and her technique was excellent. She would prove to be a useful asset to him and Emperor Rudra.
Eva handed him the papers without a word as he read through the information his subordinates had managed to gather on the circumstances going on in the West.
"It seems that they are recovering from the attack well enough." He mumbled to himself.
He was Tatsuya Kondou, a former lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and now the Commander of the Imperial Guardians. He had many duties placed on his shoulders. His primary goal was to gather information on anything and everything so that the Emperor knew all about the state of the world.
He was not someone from this world, originally, he had been a humble pilot of the Great Japan Conquering Empire back in his original world. The history of his original world was rich, from stories about the ancient Bandit King who founded the first Empire, to the legendary figures of history that changed the world around them after the Bandit King.
In comparison he was someone of minor relevance.
He was a disciple of a renowned swordsman, Gensei Araki, who was the head of the Hazy Lifestream Style of swordsmanship.
His original world was far weaker than this world, however, there were still various supernatural beings. The strongest of his original world could be compared to an Enlightened of this world.
The main way of growing in power in that world was through absorbing the little energy there was in the environment and refining your body with that energy.
He had delivered important information to his superior before embarking on a suicide mission to buy time for his comrades to escape, more specifically, a kamikaze attack, before he could perish though he fell through a crack in Space and Time.
He appeared in the Eastern Empire decades ago, specifically, he appeared in the Emperor's garden while the Emperor was there.
He immediately felt some sort of kinship with the Emperor; the Emperor himself said it was fate that he appeared before him, and so Kondou began serving his new liege.
Emperor Rudra personally tended to his wounds, gave him the rank of First Lieutenant, and offered him a place in the esteemed Imperial Guardians, the strongest of the Eastern Empire.
He agreed and was determined to grow powerful to be of use to his Emperor. It didn't take long for him to become a Saint and surpass even the ancient beings that were in the Single Digits. Eventually, he took his place as Number 001 of the Single Digits, assuming leadership of the Imperial Guardians.
He then established an intelligence network to gather more information for his Emperor, and he has been doing so to this very day. Now, he had a comprehensive network of spies that extended even into the Western Nations.
He knew much about what was going on in the Western Nations thanks to this. Such as the death of Mariabell Rosso and Yuuki Kagurazaka. Though both of their deaths were made public, the important thing that he knew was that Granbell Rosso had gone off the radar.
Granbell was planning something, and it was Kondou's duty to keep an eye on his Emperor's traitorous student.
Yuuki Kagurazaka's death did not come as a surprise. Kondou knew that he had been buttering up to the Rosso and making use of their influence to conduct illegal otherworlder summonings. Many of the otherworlders in the Empire were products of Yuuki's summonings.
Kondou guessed that Yuuki had sent the otherworders to build a life in the Eastern Empire so he could make use of them later down the line. Many of the otherworlders in the Composite Division, also known as the Mixed Corps, felt indebted to Yuuki after all.
Kondou tapped his finger on the desk as he considered the reasons why Yuuki may have been killed alongside Granbell's granddaughter.
He did not buy the reasons that Ruberious had announced to the public, as it would have been too convenient. He knew that the Moderate Harlequin Alliance served Yuuki thanks to his control over Clayman, them being responsible for his death made no sense.
He considered the events that had happened before Yuuki's death. It was blatant that Yuuki had pissed someone off and had him killed.
The one event that stuck out in Kondou's mind was the attack on the Tempest Founding Festival.
Perhaps Yuuki had been involved in it and had been killed by Demon Lord Rimuru for his offense? Yuuki was a man hungry for power, and he had stepped on many toes.
Kondou shook his head. He didn't have all the information, and without that, he couldn't come to a logical conclusion.
Previously, he had informed the Emperor about the attack on the Jura Tempest Federation in case the Emperor wished to take advantage of it. However, the Emperor rejected it, stating that an attack of that scale wouldn't do enough damage for an invasion to be worth it at this point.
Internally, he agreed with the Emperor, especially with the information they recently discovered.
He turned to Eva. "How are the Divisions doing?"
Eva looked at him with her dead eyes. "Everything is proceeding as planned, the otherworlders are growing more powerful, and the military is expanding. The Armored Division is learning to properly make use of the magitanks and the airships, while the Magic Beast Division is focusing on mastering their powers."
The Armored Division was led by General Calgurio, number 012 of the Imperial Guardians.
The Armored Division specializes in making use of otherworlder technology. Seven hundred thousand soldiers had even undergone experiments to further strengthen themselves, allowing them to go up to a week without food or water.
"The Magic Beast Division is eager for battle." Eva informed.
Kondou nodded. The Magic Beast Division was the pinnacle of the Empire's biotechnological advancements, commanded by the number 014 of the Single Digits, Gradim.
Utilizing DNA analysis derived from otherworlder technology, the Empire had succeeded in nurturing and raising Magic Beasts known as Battle Chimeras, powerful creatures with immense destructive potential.
These beasts were not merely wild monsters but were engineered for war, each a product of meticulous genetic crafting. Their riders, chosen from a select pool of warriors, had powers awakened within them that were once the domain of ancient champions. The very DNA of champions from ages long gone had been imbued into these beasts.
This awakening was not left to chance. It was a calculated process, the result of rigorous experimentation and manipulation of genetic material.
The division was filled with lab-grown soldiers created by the fusion of Magic and knowledge from another world. Each beast knight, paired with their battle chimera, was a force to be reckoned with, with their combined strength often surpassing standard measurements. Despite the division's relatively small size of 30,000 members, it was one of the most elite and deadly forces in the Empire.
The Magic Beasts, combined with their riders, made for formidable foes. In dire circumstances, the riders could even fuse with their Magic Beasts. However, only approximately 1% would survive this process properly.
The rest would all be various levels of failures.
The leader of this division was also fairly powerful. He had to be for his place in the Imperial Guardians. He was the brother of the former Demon Lord Carrion, and was rather eager for revenge, which the Empire had used to gain his loyalty.
Eva went on to talk about the division he was most interested in. "A hierarchy is slowly being developed in the Composite Division."
The Composite Division was Emperor Rudra's personal experiment. He placed many powerful otherworlders and similarly powerful figures in one division with no clear hierarchy and let them go wild.
They were a rag-tag group as it was now, but Emperor Rudra felt they had the potential to grow into the Eastern Empire's most powerful division.
Various experiments were also included in the Composite Division, such as the Magic Inquisitors of Ingrasssia. He had long since known about the experiments the Kingdom of Ingrassia was conducting and informed the Empire's own scientists about it. They managed to create successful experiments soon enough who had joined the Composite Division.
"Who has taken command of the Composite Division." He asked.
"Mai Furuki has assumed leadership while Arios serves as her reluctant second in command."
He raised a brow. "She managed to make Arios submit?"
Eva nodded. "She defeated him in combat."
He nodded. "I see."
Mai Furuki had a powerful spatial Unique Skill that would assist in the invasion.
The plan was for the Composite Division to invade Demon Lord Felix's lands along with some Imperial Guardians through Mai's Unique Skill.
If Mai's abilities were insufficient, then the Scorch Dragon Velgrynd would assist.
The first wave would merely be the start of the war. The Emperor wished for those in the Composite Division to face utter defeat and misery in the hopes that those who pushed forward would Awaken into Saints.
Demon Lord Felix had powerful subordinates and a powerful military, which was why he was selected as the target of invasion for the Composite Division. The Emperor felt that he could give the surviving members of the Composite Division the push to awaken.
Once the first wave was done, the true fight would start. There was a chance of Demon Lord Felix underestimating their forces due to the strength of the Composite Division which would be a plus as the Demon Lord would least expect their true attack.
It didn't matter if they lost some members of the Composite Division. Otherworlders were fairly common in the Eastern Empire since they recruited them fairly. The Emperor always valued quality far more than quantity, which was the entire reason the Emperor wished for more Saints.
To conquer the world, the Eastern Empire would need enough power to destroy the opposition.
The initial attack on Veldora centuries ago was a plan of the Emperor to awaken more Saints. In fact, why else would the Emperor order a mortal army to take down a True Dragon?
Veldora may be the weakest but a True Dragon was a True Dragon. Sadly, almost the entire force sent to Veldora was wiped out, resulting in only losses for the Eastern Empire, not a single Awakening.
They were able to recuperate their numbers fairly easily due to the large population of otherworlders.
The Empire had a policy of protecting otherworlders and gathered them in its capital from all over the world. Those otherworlders would be given the option to establish a new life here or serve in the military and work their way up through the rankings. While one was more preferable than the other, otherworlders leaving offspring was still a boon, as those offspring would be more powerful than the norm. Born as Demi-Material Lifeforms, capable of holding an internal energy capacity similar to otherworlders if weaker, unlike the Humans of this world who were forced to use the magicules in the atmosphere.
Most chose to join the military once they found out that despite their power, they were nothing when compared to the stronger members of the Imperial Guardians.
Every single being wanted to feel powerful, to have some form of security in their lives. For the otherworlders who had been ripped from their homes, they needed more power to feel safe, and so they would join the military, it was only natural.
Many Imperial Guardians were otherworlders who had trained rigorously to get to their place. They were those who believed that power was everything in this world. Nationality and morals did not matter to them as long as they were strong.
Once they joined the Imperial Guardians, they would be gifted with status and power, and each member would be rewarded with Legendary Equipment, as well as a ranking equivalent to that of a senior officer.
To climb the ranks, an Imperial Guardian could challenge a higher number. If they defeated them, then they would rise to the position of the one they defeated. If they lost, however, the one who was challenged could kill the challenger.
There was a reason why the Imperial Guardians were considered the most powerful force in the Eastern Empire, they were each in constant competition with one another.
The Marshall was the only position greater than that of the Imperial Guardians. It was a sole position that was created for a single being by the Emperor, the Scorch Dragon Velgrynd who still served as the Marshall to this day.
Now the Eastern Empire had a little over a ten thousand otherworlders in the Capital alone. Less than 10% did not awaken a Unique Skill, and so they lived peacefully, and then a little over 10% awakened a combat-oriented Unique Skill.
After some training, those otherworlders tended to join the Imperial Guardians.
Thanks to this, the Eastern Empire had only grown more powerful throughout the centuries.
Power that would be put to use soon, as his Emperor had finally ordered supplies to be gathered, supplies for war.
Rations, water, ammunition, etc. They were all being gathered in preparation to invade the Kingdoms outside their borders, primarily Tempest, Azeroth and some allied nations.
Originally, the Emperor would have wished to wait more. However, the information that Demon Lord Felix managed to fight Veldora to a draw concerned the Emperor. Even if there were reports of Veldora being weakened after being unsealed.
Veldora's true power was still far beneath the Emperor's power. However, how long had the Daemon been around?
In such a short period of time, a Daemon had managed to gain power comparable to those in legend, a True Dragon, even a weakened one. And the Emperor wished to get rid of this threat once and for all before he grew enough to become a thorn in his side. The Emperor had never even heard of that Daemon before, meaning he was likely someone irrelevant in the Daemon Realm or he was a newly born Daemon.
Even Guy Crimson recognized Felix White, which only heightened the Emperor's sense of urgency regarding the Daemon.
Kondou of course agreed with Emperor Rudra's plan.
It would still take some months to gather all the supplies needed for war. The high-level fighters could charge ahead, of course, but this war had multiple goals.
One of them was to use their armies as the first round of attack. Most members of the armies would die, Kondou had no doubt about that. However, a few members had the potential for Sainthood. The Emperor wished to nurture this potential in war in the hopes that they would evolve, so they needed to wait until all the proper supplies were gathered for the military.
However, he needed more information. Tatsuya Kondou hated not being in the know, and Azeroth had annoyingly good safety measures when it came to spies.
"Call Gadra over." He ordered Eva.
Eva bowed before quickly leaving the room.
Gadra was an ancient archmage who had been serving the Eastern Empire for centuries.
Gadra was one of the people responsible for initiating an era of advancement within the Eastern Empire. He was a man who desired all kinds of knowledge, even non magical knowledge.
Gadra made use of the knowledge otherworlders brought to this world to further advance technology in the Eastern Empire, he was responsible for creating weapons that were keyed into certain Spells allowing normal soldiers to fire off powerful Spells.
Gadra's advancements were used by the Armored Division in particular, the tanks, airships, guns, and other weapons were all created due to Gadra's intervention. In fact, Gadra had impacted each military division in some way or another.
Due to Gadra's various contributions to the Eastern Empire, he was a man Kondou could respect, if not trust. Gadra was also one of the Emperor's friends and an advisor.
However, Gadra's contributions did not blind Kondou to Gadra's true reasons for his loyalty to the Eastern Empire. Gadra served the Emperor because their interests aligned. If their interests were to ever divert from each other, then Kondou did not doubt that Gadra would betray the Empire. However, that did not mean Kondou was unwilling to make use of Gadra.
Ordinarily, Kondou could not truly command Gadra to do anything. However, Gadra was a man who was often led around by his curiosity, Kondou merely had to get Gadra interested in Demon Lord Felix and Demon Lord Rimuru so that he would gather more information for him.
It didn't take long for him to sense Eva and Gadra's presence appearing outside his office. Without even waiting for a knock, he said, "Come in."
The door opened, and Gadra, followed by Eva, promptly entered.
Kondou could feel Gadra's power leaking off of him as Gadra hadn't even bothered to conceal it. Gadra was well within the realms of a Saint as he was now.
"Tatsuya Kondou… what could the infamous shadow of the Empire want with me?" Gadra questioned.
Kondou looked up at Gadra. "I merely have a task for you."
Gadra raised a brow in interest. "Does it involve this invasion that the Emperor has ordered preparations to be made for?"
He nodded. "It does."
Gadra sighed. "Very well, I will at the very least hear you out, seeing as this is my best chance to get revenge on the goddess Luminous."
Kondou smiled hearing Gadra's words.
In the ancient past, the goddess Luminous, or rather the Demon Lord Luminous, had crossed Gadra. According to the information Kondou had gathered, two dear friends of Gadra's were killed due to the machinations of the Demon Lord's subordinates.
Ever since then Gadra had wanted the Seven Luminaries dead, though it seemed as if someone had beaten Gadra to the punch, not that Gadra seemed to care.
"I wish for you to gather more information on Tempest and Azeroth." Kondou said.
"Your spies failed?" Gadra questioned.
Kondou shook his head. "They have provided me with basic information. However, Azeroth kills them all the moment they are discovered. Tempest is similar to this. I have information, but I would like more."
Gadra looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. "Very well, I am rather interested in The Dungeon in Tempest. I am sure that Azeroth also contains some mysteries, seeing as it was once the Kingdom of the Elven Princess."
Kondou grunted. "Feel free to take those students of yours with you. Perhaps they will prove useful."
Gadra nodded. "Very well, if that is all I will be leaving."
Kondou nodded and turned away as Gadra teleported away.
- Gadra -
As he teleported away from Kondou's office, he thought back to the message he had received from his apprentice, Sasha.
She had apparently begun serving Demon Lord Felix White, and had invited him to meet with her boss, simply saying that he would not be disappointed.
Sasha had not specified why exactly he would not be disappointed, but he didn't blame his student for that, keeping such messages vague was often for the best.
Sasha was a bright student that he had taken. Both she and Razen had made a name for themselves in the Western Nations. Razen followed a similar path to him as he became a Majin, while Sasha reached Enlightenment in the midst of her research.
Sasha's offer to visit aligned with Kondou's request quite well, he wanted him to spy on those two Kingdoms, so he might as well see his student while he is at it.
He was personally quite interested in Tempest. He was able to learn that The Dungeon was created using the Spirit Queen's ability. That very same ability had been spoken of in legends. It was said that Ramiris became a god within her domain, and Gadra was quite interested in learning the truth about that statement.
Though he was somewhat… fearful of venturing into Tempest, he had been part of the initial attack force on the Storm Dragon Veldora ages ago. He knew full well the power that a True Dragon could wield.
Now, that very same Storm Dragon had been revived and served as the Guardian Protector of Tempest in a similar fashion to how the Scorch Dragon served as the Guardian Protector of the Eastern Empire.
Now, they were preparing to go to war against the nation of that very same Storm Dragon, the Storm Dragon that killed hundreds of thousands of imperial soldiers in the past with but a breath.
He would be lying if he said he wasn't hesitant, but the Eastern Empire had a True Dragon of its own. This upcoming invasion would be a full-on invasion, unlike the attack on Veldora in the past.
Some of the Single Digits would be participating, and the Emperor had even said that he would be deploying Velgrynd at some point, which eased Gadra's worries drastically.
The Scorch Dragon had completely defeated Veldora in the past. After all, she could surely still handle him now.
However, not everyone knew that the legendary Scorch Dragon Velgrynd was, in fact, the Marshall and had always been the Marshall.
In the eyes of the public and most military officers, the Marshall was a position that was given to someone the Emperor had chosen, the Marshall acted as the Emperor's eyes and ears within the Empire and was given the highest honor possible.
However in reality there had only ever been one Marshall, Velgrynd. Since not many knew that there were those who were reluctant to face Tempest as Veldora resided there.
The Scorch Dragon was known as a protector of the Eastern Empire, not an attacker so no one expected her to assist in the invasion and take out Veldora.
Due to this, some wished to wait until Veldora disappeared, while others were confident that mere weapons would be enough to defeat Veldora. Some wished to avoid Tempest entirely to not draw the Storm Dragon's wrath.
Fools, the lot of them.
To think mere mortal weaponry could harm the supreme existences that were True Dragons… one had to be a true fool to believe that.
However, he doesn't care about the foolishness of the Emperor's minions; his sole objective is to get revenge for his dear friends Adalman and Albert.
The Seven Luminaries had arranged their death due to their jealousy; Gadra had no doubt that both Adalman and Albert would have become Saints by now if they were allowed to live.
Some time back, he had read an article that had come from the Western Nations, an article that detailed the crimes of the Seven Luminaries, as well as stating that they had all been killed.
Gadra refused to believe that, however. At the very least, the scheming Gran would still be alive. As long as a single one of those wretches still breathed, he would continue striving for revenge, which is the least his friends deserved.
The Emperor had promised him his revenge in return for his cooperation in further growing the Eastern Empire. It was about time he delivered on that promise.
The Western Holy Church was also quite weak when compared to the past. One of their strongest fighters, Hinata Sakaguchi, had taken a leave of absence, something he wished to take advantage of.
He wished they could just ignore Tempest and Azeroth and just directly attack the Western Nations, but he knew there was a process to such things. The Empire would need to get through Tempest and Azeroth first before his revenge, so he would do his duty and assist the Empire with its goals, all so Gran would die.
He shook his head. He could make more plans for his revenge later, for now, he had a mission to focus on. He would remain distracted if he solely focused on his revenge. He knew very well that something like that was not healthy.
He considered the details of the mission Kondou assigned him. He needed to investigate both Azeroth and Tempest and then report the details he discovered.
His students would prove useful on this mission. While he goes to Azeroth to discreetly investigate their forces and perhaps visit Sasha, they can begin investigating Tempest until he meets up with them.
He was hesitant to visit Sasha, she did serve Demon Lord Felix. It had crossed his mind that perhaps the meeting with her was merely a trap set by the Demon Lord to capture him.
Sasha would have known that he was the Court Mage for the Eastern Empire. Perhaps the Demon Lord wished to make use of the information he possessed. He and Sasha had not seen each other for ages, more than enough time for her to change from the lovely girl she once was.
He would have to consider his options.
As he made his way to the portion of the palace dedicated to the Composite Division he ran into someone he did not wish to see.
"Gadra, what a surprise." The man spoke down arrogantly.
Gadra took in the appearance of the man in front of him. He was a one-eyed man with an eye patch covering his other eye, he was fairly skinny however Gadra knew very well what sort of power was held by the man in front of him.
"General Calgurio." Gadra greeted.
The General was an Enlightened and had been given God Grade Equipment by the Emperor himself due to his position in the military. All of that combined made Calgurio someone worthy of respect, at least strength-wise.
"It is a surprise to see you in this wing of the palace, Gadra." Calgurio said.
Gadra nodded. "I am merely picking up my apprentices for something."
Calgurio nodded. "I see. I will not hold you up then. Good day, Gadra."
With that, Calgurio walked past him without a second thought.
Calgurio was once someone Gadra could consider a friend. However, once Calgurio got his hands on some of the otherworlder weapons, he got it in his head that Magic was meaningless. That his Armored Division was supreme in the Eastern Empire.
With the Magi Tech that Gadra had helped create, Calgurio and his Armored Division rose to new heights. However, in the process, Magic became less and less respected as there were now weapons that could do the same as a Spell.
Those who truly believed that Magi Tech was superior to Magic were fools in Gadra's eyes. Unfortunately, most of the upper echelon of the Eastern Empire was filled with fools, and so due to Calgurio's efforts, the Magic Division that Gadra once led was shut down, halting the innovation of Magic so those funds could be transferred elsewhere.
Since then, he and Calgurio had a rather strained relationship. The Emperor didn't bother with the courtly politics either so Gadra could not rely on him.
Gadra sighed and continued forward towards the Composite Division's wing of the palace. He could not teleport there due to the regulations in place that even he the Court Mage could not override.
It didn't take long for him to arrive at the executive building of the Composite Division where the executives tended to be.
As he entered through the doors he was greeted.
"Master Gadra." Mai greeted.
Gadra smiled seeing the promising young woman who had taken command over this unruly division.
Mai Furuki was a beautiful young woman who had joined the Eastern Empire some time back.
"Mai." He nodded with a small smile. In the past he had taught Mai some things here and there, he knew her story and he couldn't help but sympathize with the young woman.
She was brought to this world against her will like all otherworlders, however unlike most she wished to return to her original world. She had a sick and dying brother and wished to attempt to see him once more, and perhaps attempt to cure him with the Magic from this world.
Mai had focused extensively on Healing Magic to fulfill this ambition of hers, however 2 or so years back she had returned to him for more combat oriented training.
Now she was a formidable young woman who was one of the best Magicians he knew of, her talent could not be understated when it came to Spatial Manipulation. Her Unique Skill gave her a truly monstrous affinity for the Spatial Element.
"What brings you here?" Mai questioned.
"I wished to see Shinji, Mark, and Shin. I have a mission that I would like them to come along with me on."
Mai nodded. "Very well, I have no need for them at the moment. As long as they return before the invasion begins I am willing to lend them to you."
Gadra clapped. "Wonderful."
Mai escorted him to the waiting room before leaving. Before long he heard a knock on the door.
"Come in."
In came 3 of his most recent students, each had made names for themselves becoming Imperial Guardians.
Shinji bowed. "Master Gadra."
Shinji was once a university student in his home world, Japan. He was dressed in a long white lab coat that he wore as remembrance for his original world.
"Master Gadra." Mark greeted.
Mark was a brown-haired, muscular man in his mid-twenties, from a country known as the United States of America.
Finally Shin merely nodded at him. Shin dressed in familiar garbs to the Scorch Dragon Velgrynd, he called it a chinese robe. His hair was braided and ran down his back quite elegantly if you asked him.
"Hello you three. I will get straight to the point, I have a mission I would like for you three to come with me on, Mai has already cleared it."
Each of the men before him were powerful figures in their own right, each had well respected positions in the military and had full mastery over their Unique Skills allowing them to become true monsters on the battlefield. He had trained each of them to the best of his ability as long as they told him about their worlds.
Shinji gave him a carefree nod. "Sure, I don't mind as long as the boss lady is fine with it."
"Haha, Mai got really scary all of a sudden!" Mark laughed.
"Indeed, her commitment to her training is admirable." Shin quietly spoke.
He laughed along with his students. "Indeed, her commitment to becoming more powerful was quite interesting, even I couldn't help but assist her. It seems she has found something to fight for."
Perhaps it was a clue about how to return to her brother.
She had grown through the ranks of the Imperial Guardians, becoming number 016, an extremely high rank to reach in such a short period of time.
Spatial Manipulation was a truly powerful tool in creative hands, slicing Space apart at the seams could cause catastrophic damage.
"If you are all willing then I will inform you about the details, I want you three to explore and investigate a certain Dungeon while I investigate something else."
Shinji raised a brow. "Not giving us details huh? Well that's fine, it sounds like easy work and I want to relax!"
"You're still as lazy as ever." Gadra laughed.
"Who will we report our findings to, and how will we be doing so?" Shin interrupted.
He tossed a ring to each of them. These were made with the assistance of Velgrynd herself, meant to bypass barriers and contact the being with the admin ring directly.
"Use those, someone on the other end will record your findings." He said, keeping the identity of Kondou secret.
Shinji yawned. "Sure sure, so where are we going?"
Gadra smirked. "Tempest."
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I am highly motivated by your guys' reviews and likes, so do that! I'll probably keep writing or something.
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Author's Note: Sup everyone, this chapter we get to learn a bit more about the long hinted at end game enemies, the Eastern Empire.
Hopefully it was easy to understand the various military divisions of the Eastern Empire, I didn't want to do this in the middle of a fight or anything since that would ruin the vibe.
This chapter is merely set up for the future invasion, but these characters will be important later on. And also Kagali is still coping.
Anyways thanks for reading, peace.
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.