Aria
The next two or so decades pass by rather peacefully as I slaughter bugs every day through my Death Spirits while reading. A lovely pastime if I do say so myself.
I also occasionally go to take magic lessons from Zero, Zwei, and En. With my skill in death magic having increased enough for me to make a small army of undead bugs that I also send after the other bugs.
Because one can never have too many servants to fight for you while you’re reading.
Never.
I also learn to coat my body in death energy, the same that I always do with my soul energy. And as it turns out, coating my body in death energy instead of soul energy raises my physical strength just as much. With the effects of the two being stackable at the same time.
The only downside is that I have a nearly infinite amount of death energy, but I have a limited amount of soul energy. What with my own body producing death energy just from every wound I take.
Which means the death energy physical enhancement is even more important.
Not that I use it much, considering how I hunt nowadays.
And this world is probably my number one favorite place to hunt in. Because I can hunt throughout the entire world without a single person bothering me.
No one ever comes down to the surface after all. With the exception of the occasional group of people at the start who would come in full body suits. But when some of my Death Spirits looked at them, they quickly fled. Probably because guns and bodysuits don’t make a good mix.
And a lot of my Death Spirits have guns on them.
Albeit energy rifles that shoot off some of the death energy I gave them.
Since getting actual bullets for each of my Death Spirits would be a financial pain in the ass. And even if I did make Little Blue go through that pain – I certainly wouldn’t bother with it myself – I’d still have to distribute the bullets to each of the Death Spirits.
Which is even more annoying.
Speaking of Little Blue, she’s been staying away as well. But I’m sure there’s a lot of paperwork built up that I’m going to have to deal with the moment I step onto that ship.
I let out a sigh at that thought as I lie atop a massive tree on a lounge chair wearing a random tank top and shorts with my ebook reader held in front of my face.
Well, that’s a problem for future me.
So long as I stay on the surface, I don’t have to deal with paperwork.
And the poison has long since lost any sort of effect on me. I don’t even feel so much as a tickle anymore.
Meanwhile I think Leone has been doing mercenary work for the company up in the cities above the clouds ever since we got here. Which reminds me that she is, in fact, a part of our company.
Not just my tag-a-long.
Anyways, I-
My thoughts come to an abrupt halt as I hear a loud dinging sound echoing in my head before a Universal System Notification plays out across my vision. Leaving me dumbfoundedly dropping my ebook reader onto my chest as my hands just stay frozen above me and my gaze stares at the notification.
I stare rather blankly at the notification, completely unmoving for at least five seconds. Only to eventually snap out of it when my terminal starts going haywire at the sheer number of messages I’m receiving at once. Not to mention some calls.
But, oddly enough, when I answer the first call – that being from Shirogane – the very first and only thing he says to me is a simple, “Please don’t get involved in this.”
And he’s not the only one. Because one after another, friend after friend, acquaintance after acquaintance. They all call, and they all say things along those lines.
That’s not all either, as most of the messages say the same thing.
I eventually find myself staring rather dumbfoundedly at my terminal before slowly lifting my gaze to find the knights that I know have been guarding me appearing mere meters in front of my lounge chair.
“Your Highness, please stay out of the following conflict,” the commander of the knights states.
Then he vanishes along with the other knights as well without another word.
Leaving me staring straight ahead, still dumbfounded.
The hell?
And if that’s not bizarre enough, I begin to get word from my Death Spirits about some oddities appearing all across the planet. Oddities in the forms of strange bits of black and purple mist appearing before forming even stranger creatures. Creatures that attack everything in sight and are rather rabid in behavior.
Are these those… fallen demon things?
The creatures look like short humanoids who are crawling around on their hands and feet instead of standing on two legs. They have skin that ranges from gray to pitch black, with pitch black eyes and filthy black claws.
Meanwhile everything they cut with their claws seems to grow sick.
Huh.
One of the fallen demon things approaches me, making me begin to reach for my gun.
Only for it to pass right on by without bothering me.
Double huh.
I continue staring at the fallen demons that are now popping up around the planet for several seconds before eventually sighing, rubbing my temples for a few moments, and lying back down on the lounge chair. Grabbing my ebook reader and putting it into my pocket in the process.
Yeah, I’m just gonna take a nap.
Before I do that, I go ahead and order the Death Spirits and undead to attack the fallen demons too.
Because more targets are nice.
Especially when I find that they do count for deaths towards my purpose.
And with that, my eyes droop closed, and I fall asleep.
A single VR discussion across the Universe
While Aria is asleep
“It’s finally happened,” Amatsuraki, the Silver Emperor and ruling Emperor of the Eternal Dynasty declares from his place standing at one point around the large round table. A table meant to seat all of the Nine Grands, despite only five of the seats being filled. “The next cycle has begun.”
“It occurred exactly as predicted,” Isabella de la Vega, the Archmage ruling over the Arcadian Society, states with a grimace on her face. “One hundred thousand years after the birth of the thirteenth Demon King.” Her grimace grows deeper. “And it couldn’t be at a worse time either.”
“Just give up on trying to pester Lady Death,” Raja Singh Amunet, the Pharaoh of the Rex Dynasty of the Dead, says with a blank look on his face despite the death energy and killing intent radiating out of him as he looks at the archmage. “Or it will be war.”
Isabella sends him a disgruntled look as she barks back, “Even I know not to focus on a potential problem when a certain problem is born.”
“Does that mean you will be rescinding the contracted hits on Aria?” Leopold da Silva, the reigning Emperor of the Grand Silvanian Empire, asks with a look of surprise on his face that mirrors Raja’s.
Isabella just snorts at that and says, “As if those hits were accomplishing anything anyways. I’ve got more important things to deal with for now.” She crosses her arms under her chest. “Death won’t grow into a threat for tens of thousands of years at the minimum.”
“Know that if you begin targeting our Lady again, the Rex Dynasty will declare war on the Arcadian Society and ban you from all Gates across the universe,” Raja continues, still without an ounce of emotion on his face.
Before Isabella can respond, another flash appears in the room, following which Lucilla Crimson appears. The ruling Empress of the Crimson Empire. And the moment she appears, she states as if she had heard their conversation, “The Crimson Empire will also declare war on anyone who targets our royal family.”
When Isabella turns to glare at Lucilla, the empress just continues, “Who targets my daughter.”
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