Chapter 89

Illegal Entry

“What the heck Yuki!" shouted Nell . "Would it kill you to be just a bit more considerate!?”

"Yeah, yeah, enough of that . Come on, I said sorry already, didn't I? Plus, I did warn you before I lifted off . "

"Warn me? Warn me!? All you did was tell me to be quiet if I didn't want the guards to notice us! How the heck was I supposed to know what you were going to just suddenly take off!?"

Fine . I admit it, your honour, I'm guilty . Spooking the poor girl had been a part of an overarching fiendish plot all along .

"Right, so I'd love to keep talking about how innocent I am, but it looks like we've got a few guards headed our way . " Although I had admitted to my guilt internally, I had no intention of letting the hero catch on . "How about we put this whole being nicer to you thing on hold for a bit and come back to it later?”

The hero had leaned in while scolding me to express her anger . In fact, she had leaned so far in that her face was uncomfortably close despite the fact that I had started bending myself backwards .

I mentioned something she was likely to pay attention to while pointing at the area behind her in order to get her off me . Of course, while it was a convenient excuse, it wasn't actually a lie by any means . I could hear the rustling of armour as it rapidly closed in on our location; it was obvious that the soldiers in charge of security had overheard us . My ears were only one of the two sources of information I had on hand . The other, my map, was much more reliable . It had filled itself in when I looked down upon the city from above, and now it was telling me that we had a number of hostiles incoming .

Speaking of my map, it was now capable of much more than it was when I first obtained it; I had long activated the function that allowed it to display any and all enemy signatures, even those outside the dungeon's territory . Its sole limitation was that it only functioned if the area in question was one I had filled in already .

Only recently had I discovered how the map worked . It apparently functioned by sending out signals that would run into magical particles in the air to obtain data on the terrain and any potential threats . In other words, it worked much in the same manner as the echolocation dolphins use . The sonars one would find on modern Japanese fishing boats and warships also made for a good comparison .

The reason I needed to use DP to activate the ability was because doing so actually led to alterations within my body . Purchasing the feature had changed the way I interacted with magical particles . Wait a second, that totally makes me something along the lines of an artificially modified human, not that I'm human, but y'know, whatever . Either way, I'm basically a Sho*cker Combatman . Maybe I should start doing that whole "Yee" thing . [1]

"Tsk," Nell clicked her tongue in annoyance . "Fine . This way, Yuki, follow me . "

God damn Nell . Stop with the tongue-clicking . Talk about unladylike .

Fortunately, my excuse had worked, and Nell had finally gotten off my back, so I placed a hand on my chest, heaved a sigh of relief, and set out after her .

***

The pitter-pattering sound our feet made as they moved across the stone-paved street almost seemed to disappear as they reached the buildings that lined it . They just vanished .

And it wasn't because our steps blended in with the noise of the citizens enjoying their night lives . For that sound was nowhere to be heard . The streets were empty, devoid of noise . Our footsteps almost seemed to be sucked into a soundless void .

"Man, it sure is quiet . " I couldn't help but voice an opinion of our surroundings as I made note of them . It wasn't late enough into the night for the streets to be as empty as they were . There should have, by all means, been people wandering about and slowly making their way home from taverns and the like . Yet, it was deathly silent . The whole atmosphere the place gave off was dull and lacking in life . Man, this place is way bigger than… Alfyro…? Or whatever the place Lefi and I visited was called, but god damn is it empty . The lack of people is making it seem all desolate and shit .

"It used to be really lively around here, even at this time of day," said Nell . "But everyone's probably holed themselves in at home because of how dangerous it's been to stay outside lately . "

"Yeah, sounds about right . I wouldn't be surprised if the guards started cutting down everyone they saw out this late . "

I had only been in the city for a matter of moments, so I naturally hadn't seen it happen and there was a chance that it never had or would happen, and that my mind was simply stuck in a rut because of all its biases . But I felt as if the guards had most likely already murdered citizens in cold blood on false, completely bullshit charges just because they saw them wandering the streets at night .

As a history major, I just knew that such an act was normal in the case that a city came under the jurisdiction of an armed force intent on overthrowing some sort of ruler .

"I heard about how bad everything was already, but seeing it for myself really makes it hit home," said the hero . "Wait, what's that you're wearing, Yuki? And when the heck did you even put it on?"

"What, this?" I smirked as I pointed to the mask I had stuck to my face . "It's nothing special . I just, y'know, figured it'd be a good idea not to show my face to the church's agents . I'm kinda a demon lord, so I'm thinking the church is probably one of my natural enemies or something like that . "

The mask was awesome . It had slits for eyes, with a decoration under each . The left eye rested atop a star, and the right a teardrop . The mask's mouth was twisted into a wide, happy grin . And though it seemed to resemble a clown more so than anything else, it gave off a sinister aura nonetheless . [2]

I had actually acquired the mask quite a while ago . I'd spent a good bit of time browsing the catalogue for disguises, and this just happened to be the item that caught my eye . It was so badass that I couldn't help but grab it and stash it into my storage the moment I saw it . It was a bit hard to see things in front of me while I wore it, but it couldn't be helped . I needed a disguise, after all . Okay fine, yes, I'll admit that's bullshit . I'm just wearing it because of how fucking cool it is . It's not like I'm wrong though . They won't remember your face if all they see is your badass mask . God damn, that was so smart I should use one of my fingers to give myself a tap on the head .

"I'm not really sure if there's any real point in wearing a mask…" said the hero, hesitantly . "And are you really sure everything will be okay? I'll get into a lot of trouble if they find out I brought a demon lord back with me…"

"…And I really can't help you force your way inside our HQ, no matter what you say . That's just not something I can compromise on, so you might just have to settle for staying outside, okay?"

"Yeah, I get it . No worries . Chill," I said . I was planning to do something else while you sat around and met with people anyway . Hell, I'd probably end up following my own agenda even if I was let in .

There was no need for me to keep pace with the church and its forces . All I wanted was to overthrow the prince and have the church take credit . That was it . All other details were more or less inconsequential . The only reason I had accompanied Nell as far as I had was in order to gather intel—the only thing I needed from the church . Eh . Whatever . Either way, I'm probably just going to end up sitting around until I see out what the church is up to and then figure out where to go with the rest of my plan from there .

“You’re not making me feel like this is any less of a bad idea…" The hero spoke rather anxiously as she stopped in front of a run-down building situated in an alleyway . "But either way, we’re here . ”

At a glance, it looked like some sort of store, one that was so worn out it was barely functional . Without hesitation or worry that she'd arrived at the wrong place, Nell gave the door a series of patterned knocks . A muffled male voice responded to her shortly after .

“Terminus,” he said .

“Assemble,” she replied .

A small panel above the doorknock opened by sliding to the side . There was hand extending from it . It was open with its palm facing upwards .

"Your sigil . "

The hero pulled out the seal she'd used back when Lefi and I needed to enter the human city we visited a short while ago and handed it over . The man pulled it inside and went silent as if examining it .

The silence persisted for a few, uncomfortable moments .

"We have been awaiting your return, my lady . " His tone completely changed by the next time he raised his voice . "We are overjoyed to see that you are still in good health . I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but I must ask you to stand by momentarily while I seek a member of our organization that recognizes you before I may allow you inside . Unfortunately, the rules are the rules, and they must be abided . "

I sensed the man leave the door without waiting for a response .

"Holy shit, that was awesome," I muttered, impressed . "You guys totally just made the church look like some sort of sinister secret society . "

"…I'm pretty sure that's the type of impression you're supposed to keep to yourself," said Nell, peeved .

Yeah, I know . My b, my b .

"Nell! You're back!"

The rickety, half-rotted door was slammed open with such force that I thought it was about to fly off its hinges . A single woman dashed out from inside and leapt onto the hero with an overly energetic hug .

"It's great to see you again too, Carlotta . " Nell returned her hug and affectionately wrapped her arms around the woman's waist .

The glomper in question was quite the hottie . She had a great figure and a beautiful face that seemed to belay an air of intelligence . I couldn't exactly put my finger on why, but she also gave off the impression that she was the type to bear an indomitable will .

Her armour looked pretty much exactly like Nell's . It was of a light design, and when combined with the sword at her waist, made her look like some sort of paladin or holy knight; she was definitely associated with the church . I'm guessing she's probably one of the ones Nell was talking about when she mentioned that there was a group she was supposed to meet up with and whatnot .

"They told me that you went MIA! I was so worried!" exclaimed Glomper McGlompface as she showered the hero with all the affection of an elder sister . "The capital's security has gotten a lot stricter . We haven't been able to communicate with any of our agents on the outside lately . Good job making it in!"

"I'm really sorry for all the worry I've caused you," said Nell .

"Don't worry about it, it's not your fault! All that matters to me is that you're safe!" The other knight immediately came to the hero's defence . "It's all the higher-ups' fault for giving you those ridiculous orders . "

Ridiculous orders…? Oh, she must be talking about how Nell was sent over to my place .

…

…

…Wait a second . "Ridiculous orders?" Bullshit! All she did when she came over was hang around in the hot spring, kick back, and relax before heading straight home!

"By the way," said Nell . "There's someone I want to introduce you to, Carlotta . "

"There is…?"

Only after Nell's mention did the other knight finally notice me . She let go of Nell and directed a sharp gaze in my direction . She was clearly on guard . Seeing her like that immediately reminded me of a classic Japanese trope . I honestly can't help but imagine her saying the good old "Kh… Kill me" line after suffering a defeat at the hands of someone with indecent intentions . God damn, I'm a fucking degenerate . [3]

“He’s one of my new… party members," said Nell . "I happened to meet him a while back, and we've been sticking together basically ever since . I brought him along because I thought he might be able to lend us a hand . He's really strong, and pretty trustworthy too . "

"Nice to meet you," I said as I lightly waved in the holy knight's direction . "The name's Wye . "

"Are you really sure we can trust him…?" asked the knight . "That mask he's wearing is making him look really suspicious…"

"I-I'm sure," said Nell . "I know the mask is kinda weird, but he's a real good person…"

What was that? If you got something to say about this badass mask, then say it to my face goddamit!

***

TL Notes

[1] Kamen Rider reference . Not sure this localizes any better, but basically there's an army of altered human specimens who only ever say "Yee . "

[2] Hunter X Hunter Hisoka reference . Similar things are seen in other media as well . (Heavyarms' mask from Gundam, etc)

[3] Japanese porn trope that's leaked into mainstream media .

Editor's note (Joker):

Hey, guys! Joker here . Finally back with Yuki and the hero, and it seems they've met up with where the church guys are, so we'll see what the plan is next time . Of course, according to our resident Demon Lord, it doesn't seem to matter to him one way or the other . The prince better see what's good for him when Yuki comes a'callin' and surrender right away, but somehow I doubt that's going to happen . All right, getting to my letter sack, I can see that we have 5 letter, so big thanks to

HONEYBEE, JokerNoticedMe (Yes indeed I did), ~Fran Fan, kx,

and

Zehd Cashew .

Also, just letting everyone know, if I reply to you and you reply back asking another question, I can't reply to that one because WordPress or whatever deals with the comment section doesn't allow 4 or more replies for some dumb reason . So for example,

kx

asked what my ideal party would be for fighting a demon lord/king, and when I asked for elaboration, he replied with that answer . But I can't reply to that, so I'll answer it here . I'd probably have two tanks, three healers, couple of melee DPS, couple of magic DPS, ranged physical DPS, and EVERY SOLDIER FROM EVERY KINGDOM IN THAT WORLD . Seriously, we're going up against the big bad . The fuck you thinking about, sending a small party . Send ALL OF THE PEOPLE . So that'll wrap this up . It's getting a bit rambly, and I've got a dentist appointment in the morning . Yay… . See y'all in the next chapter!