Blood & Brimstone - Agrat Route 1.0
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A dating sim played on your browser, eventually. By Shinieris |
It was a Sunday, like every other day. It could also be a Thursday, a Friday, or a Monday.
Thankfully, it didn’t really matter, as this was not Earth.
This was actually the Grand Palace of the Great Emperor of the Demon Realm, Samyaza.
Therefore, it wouldn’t matter what day of the week it was.
But just to make it easier, let’s all agree on calling it a Sunday.
On this particular Sunday, the palace was filled with people.
Ahem, demons I mean.
And witches, and vampires, and dragons… well, all kinds of creatures.
Except for unicorns, they were always with the fairies.
Those fairies hate these demons.
In this particular hall, a brown-haired human woman, easily misunderstood as a human child, stood regally in her fineries.
She is Anastasia – family name long discarded.
Despite looking like a cute middle school girl in a gothic Lolita cosplay, she is very much an adult woman.
Anastasia, family name long discarded, is the new Witch Queen.
Anastasia, family name long discarded, is one of the Ten Councillors of the Demon Realm.
She is to this date, over six centuries old.
Today, she, like every other demons/creatures in this Audience Hall in the Grand Palace of the Great Emperor of the Demon Realm, gathered due to the summons of the Great Emperor himself.
Suddenly, the giant door of the Grand Hall slammed shut.
In front of it was a woman of Asian descent with large fox ears and a bushy fox tail.
She yawned slightly, not caring at all that all eyes were on her.
She was after all, stylishly late.
That was just said to be polite.
She was actually late by two days, despite the fact that she could fly.
Anastasia knew of her, of course.
Her name was Ching Mi, known otherwise as the Beastial Lady.
One of Ten Councillors of the Demon Realm, holding the same rank as Anastasia.
Unlike Anastasia, whose powers were reliant on curses and the spirits, Ching Mi’s power was the ability to borrow aspects of her familiars.
It wasn’t unusual for the Beastial Lady to be seen with an eagle’s wings or a tiger’s claws.
This time she appeared wearing the aspects of her fox familiar.
Anastasia’s train of thought was interrupted by the heavy footsteps on the marble staircase behind the throne.
She thus quickly positioned herself in front of the crowd and knelt in submission.
Just like the other councilors.
On her left, were the Beastial Lady Ching Mi, The Vampire Lord Dimitri, the Mother of Monsters Yaksun, The Angel of Divination Naamah, Mistress of Illusion Agrat and The Lord of Fury Garrol.
On her right were the Spectre King Ilsu Al-Nash, The Dragon Lord Shen Wu and The Lord of Fire Arua.
The positions made no difference; they were all equal in the eyes of their emperor.
Though they themselves didn’t think so.
Of this, the Dragon Lord Shen Wu, believed himself to be the most powerful of all.
Of course, everyone else thought the same of themselves.
Anastasia wasn’t any different, she truly believed that with her powers, she could obliterate Shen Wu if only she was given the chance.
“Raise your heads, my loyal subjects.”
Loyal? No, far from it.
They actually knelt out of fear.
It had nothing to do with loyalty.
Anastasia raised her head to look at the face of her master, the Emperor of the Demon Realm, Samyaza.
He looked old and frail, though that was debatable.
In Anastasia’s memory, the Emperor had always looked that old.
Anastasia’s mother, whose name Anastasia herself had long forgotten, once remarked that the Emperor had always had that appearance.
Some believed that he didn’t actually age, and that this appearance was all an illusion, but Anastasia didn’t care about that.
His power was real, and that was all that mattered.
Anastasia knew this, because she had seen her mother, the one who taught her magic, turned to ashes with just one glare from the Emperor.
Anastasia’s mother was part of a rebel faction that wanted to assassinate the Emperor.
The Emperor then revived her just enough to question her, and Anastasia’s mother made just one request in exchange for the information, “Please don’t kill my daughter.”
The Emperor agreed, before he scattered her ashes and proceeded to bring down the whole rebel forces.
After that, the Emperor adopted Anastasia.
But in reality, neither of them had any feelings of love towards each other.
They had hardly seen each other anyhow.
They saw each other even less after the Emperor granted her the title of Witch Queen and gave her the position of councilor.
They only times they would meet would be during a meeting, which would only happen once every half a decade.
In Anastasia’s eyes, the Emperor wasn’t her father; he was merely the one who fed her after killing her mother.
Everything else was Anastasia’s own efforts.
“As you all well know, I have reigned over the Demon Realm for many millenias. The burden of the crown is started to wear on me after so long.”
Nobody said anything, but inside, everyone groaned.
The Emperor had said this so many times, they were already getting tired of hearing it.
How could this time be any different?
“As such, I have decided to pass on the mantle of leadership of the Demon Realm to the most worthy of you.”
Everyone perked up. This is something new, was what everyone thought.
“Well, despite saying that. I haven’t decided myself who will be my successor. So I’ve thought about it, and decided that, whoever is able to unseat me from this throne, will become the new Emperor, and by that, all should follow him.”
Just then, something rushed forth in the shape of smoke, intending to cut down the Emperor.
Of course, none of the councilors did anything to stop them.
Their duties never included protecting the Emperor.
It wasn’t any surprise when they saw the smoke flashed and disappeared as if there was never anything there.
“Although I said that, I never said it will be that easy, Dimitri.”
The Vampire Lord Dimitri took one step forward and knelt with his forehead touching the floor.
“Please forgive my subordinate’s impetuousness, Your Majesty. I did not expect him to act so suddenly.”
“Although I applaud his courage, I’m annoyed of his stupidity. But let’s put that aside for now. Raise your head, Dimitri.”
“I thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty.”
“From what I can see, all of you councilors are about equal in might. Dimitri…”
“Your Majesty.”
“Your mastery of life and death is astounding. The ability to turn a living creature into a loyal brethren is extremely powerful. The ability to deny death is undoubtedly amazing. “
“Shen Wu…”
“Your Majesty.”
“Your magic is one of a kind, the ability to call forth lighting from the skies, to bring calamity from the power of ocean waves or earthquakes, to curse those who displease you and to reward those who please you with powerful blessings. Instead of calling you a demon, you should be called a god instead.”
“I thank you for your praise, Your Majesty.”
“Arua. You who were born from the fire stepped on by Moses. You who creates fire out of nothing. You who destroy with fire. You who will not die under the nourishment of fire. Who can touch you without being burned?
The Lord of Fire bowed.
“Ching Mi. Beautiful, wild, uncontrollable Ching Mi. How many times have you been late to a meeting so far, Ching Mi?”
“Erhm… that…”
“Regardless, your power over beasts, and your ability to mimic beasts. It is a power that can turn the tide of battle in an instant.”
“Haha, thanks.”
“Yaksun, mother of monsters. Without you, the behemoths, the gigants and the leviathans couldn’t have been born. You, who single-handedly populated the demon realm from the day of its discovery. You alone are indispensible. Who can bring themselves to kill their own mother?”
Plenty, actually, Anastasia thought.
“Garrol, my dear old friend. How many times has it been that we fought side by side? How many times had we protected each other’s backs? How many times had you attempted to sink your axe into my neck?”
“Countless times, Your Majesty.”
“Agrat. Seductive Agrat. Born of human parents, learned magic from the fallen angels and fell into hell by your own hands. Your mastery of illusion is truly mesmerizing. I am still in awe of that time when you trapped me inside an illusion that was as expansive as the world. Yet all you wanted for that trouble was the opportunity to sit on my throne for five minutes without being turned into ashes. You audacity truly amazes me.”
Agrat smiled, creating rainbows, sparkles and fairy dust, until the Emperor dispelled the illusion with a sweep of his hand.
“Naamah. Once a fallen angel, a princess, a queen, a goddess and now a demon. Once, you were even a compatriot of mine, a fellow Watcher. You are the one single torn in my side that I had failed to remove time and time again. For you who can see the future with absolute accuracy, there is nothing to fear. Not even from me. If there is a way, I really want to kill you with my own hands.”
“The feeling is mutual, Garbage.”
“Ilsu Al-Nash. A being created from the holy fire. A being of shadows and darkness. Your power to appear and disappear at will is truly fearsome. Faced by the shadows itself, who will be able to defend against you?”
“And last, my daughter Anastasia…”
Anastasia shivered at being called ‘daughter’ by the man who killed and tortured her mother.
“You had always been a truly exceptional child. No matter what adversities I threw at you, you always found a way to come on top. Now, you are truly a force to be reckoned with. But I bet, despite all this success, that single thought still remains in the back of your mind, is it not? About how I killed your mother, revived her, killed her again, and revived her again repeatedly in front of your eyes?”
Anastasia couldn’t help but feel rage.
The muscles of her cheek ticked many times in a second.
Her brows creased as she tried to control herself.
Her face red from her attempt to bottle her anger.
“Do you still remember? How your mother begged for her life, dear daughter? Do you still remember how I defiled her corpse?”
“DIE YOU BASTARD!!!”
Anastasia leaped towards the Emperor.
She had in her right hand, a spear of light that bathed the whole hall in holy light, incinerating lower class vampires upon contact.
In her left, a shield of light, to block the power of the Emperor’s gaze.
She raised the spear of light while chanting,
“I am the queen of magic. I command the forces of light to grant me strength. In my name, I curse you to a century of agony and torment. In my fury so shall your soul be scorched. Thus is my will. Burn for all eternity!”
Anastasia threw the spear of light as her shield of light flickered from the constant attack of the Emperor’s gaze.
The spear of light struck true.
The Emperor tried to block if with his hand but the spear of light simply pierced his hand, stabbing itself deeper.
As the shaft of the spear disappeared even deeper into the Emperor’s figure.
Anastasia grin in triumph.
She had researched this magic for decades.
All to bring down the Emperor.
Suddenly she fell to the floor.
She tried to move her body, but something was stopping her.
A kind of pressure that made her body felt as heavy as lead.
As if to make matters worse, a metallic boot stepped on the back of her head.
The boot pressed her head into the floor, crushing the marble under her face.
It was all she could do to protect her head with a diamond skin spell.
“Dear daughter, if it really was that easy, don’t you think your mother would have succeeded?”
“You bastard… how…”
“How I’m still alive and kicking? Well, you had the right idea. Spear of light against a demon would work, even if that demon is the demon emperor. But you failed to understand one single fact.”
The Emperor stabbed the crushed tip of spear onto the floor.
“This is your error, dear daughter. With light this fragile, did you seriously think anyone would die from it? Have you even tested it on any demon before?”
Of course not.
Anastasia didn’t want anyone to see her secretly developed technique.
Anastasia was also not the kind to kidnap anyone just for experimentation.
“So will you plead for your life like your mother did, my dear daughter?”
“I will kill you, bastard.”
“Very good reply. I’m glad you still have the will to defy me.”
Suddenly Anastasia was kicked to the floor.
At the same time, the Emperor returned to his seat.
“For such an entertaining performance, Anastasia, allow me to give you a reward.”
To all in the room, except for the subordinates of the Witch Queen, a resounding ‘not fair’ atmosphere could be felt.
Well, what did they expect?
Who said anything about demons being fair?
Who would expect demons to be fair after all?
“Your power right now is still very much inadequate, dear daughter. But there may be a way for you to become strong enough to defeat me.”
Everyone in the hall strained their ears to listen at the following words.
“In the human realm, there is a computer game called The Roman Life. In it is an entity, called the Virgin Mary. While all parts of this game is make-believe and has no basis in reality, the Virgin Mary is a real existence. She is capable of granting blessings that carries over to the real life. With her blessing, it is very possible for you to gain enough power to kill me.”
Those who heard it had different expressions. The hall quickly filled with whispers.
A game? Something like football?
What is a football? The last time I was there, archery was the only game allowed by law.
I think it’s the machine that calculates navigations and solve arithmetic problems.
How is that a game? Arithmetic is incredibly boring.
No, you idiots. You’re a century behind. Modern computers are used to encrypt secret codes and the bigger ones are used to help in research. They can even launch rockets!
What’s a rocket?
So they walk into the computer to play football?
But the name is Roman Life, maybe they engage in theological philosophy?
How is that a game?
Anastasia, who was doubled over on the floor as she cast healing magic on her ribs decided:
She will go to the human world, enter the computer, play this football game and meet the Virgin Mary.
In that order.
*Thank you for those who encouraged me. All feedbacks are very much appreciated. Constructive criticisms help me write better. Praises helps me right faster, significantly. Thank you for reading.
**For info on the rest of my stories, please go here
***I still need more ideas for the next serial of The Half-Lilin. Please give me your opinions here
Blood & Brimstone - Agrat Route 2.0
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Correction, it has already spilled over. A dating sim played on your browser, eventually. By Shinieris |
“I am Myra of Thantos, who seeks to enter the human realm?”
A beautiful woman in long purple dress appeared from the darkness of the void between worlds.
She had a bluish long hair that reached her bottom and a smile that bordered on a grin.
She had in her hands a 2 meter-long straight staff with a large blue jewel at one end.
“I am the Witch Queen Anastasia. I seek unrestricted passage in the human world.”
A cute girl about the age of 14 in gothic lolita cosplay answered.
She was the Witch Queen Anastasia, one of the 10 Councillors of the Demon Realm.
“What is your purpose, Witch Queen Anastasia?”
“To find the power that will grant me the strength to overthrow the Demon Emperor Samyaza.”
“Very well, you shall be granted access to the human world, but the price will be for your power to be reduced to the level you had when you were 16 years old. Do you accept?”
“16? Isn’t that too much of a handicap? I only started learning magic when I was 12!”
“That is not my problem. The other lords were also given equally harsh penalties. I don’t see why I should be giving you any special treatment, Witch Queen.”
“The other lords?”
“Yup! You’re the last of the demon lords to enter the human world actually. Took your sweet time healing, I bet.”
“Damned it, I’m late! Fine, I’ll accept your penalty. Just let me in immediately!”
“Great! Have a safe trip, you’ll need it. Hihihi.”
Then with a flash, the void world that served as the border between the demon world and the human world disappeared, replaced by a view of the night sky and an unfamiliar town.
It was a small town, with probably around 2,000 homes.
Through research in the demon realm, she knew the town’s name was Twin Lakes, due to the two connecting lakes on other side of the town.
However, that really shouldn’t be her focus right now.
“Uwaaah!!! That damned fake witch! Why am I in the air?!!!”
Quickly she summoned the spirits of wind to carry her up, but...
“Why are they not responding?!!!” Anastasia cried as she crashed into the tiled roof of a random house.
“What the hellllll?!!!”
A woman about 20 years old screamed.
She looked at the hole in her roof and the girl who fell on her butt into her room.
“Owieee...”
“Look here, missy. Don’t you know it’s bad manners to enter another person’s home through the roof? Is this a new form of harrassment? Is it not enough that the boy next door kept making that horrible screeching with his violin? Or how the damned couple in unit 311 kept mating like wild animals for the whole night when I haven’t been getting any for the past half a year? And who’s gonna pay for all the repairs? Plus, I have to deliver my manuscript tomorrow, how will I work with a hole in my ceiling? You better have a quick solu-“
“Sleep.” Anastasia pressed her forefinger against the woman’s forehead.
The woman slapped her hand away before planting her adult foot onto Anastasia’s lovely loli face.
“If you think telling me to go to sleep will make me want to go to sleep, you got another thing coming, little girl. Now tell me your parent’s phone number before I give you a spanking!”
Anastasia used her telekinesis to pull a random item from around the room.
“Guah!” a table lamp smashed against the left side of the woman’s head.
Anastasia used her powers again.
“Buh!” a table fan smashed against the woman’s back.
And she used her powers again and again.
“Gyah!” pencils and pens stabbed the woman’s back.
“Iyaa!” gold fishes from the woman’s aquarium flew and slapped against her face.
“Cooooolddd!!!” ice from the woman’s fridge flew into her clothes.
“Aiya!” a book hit her head from behind.
“Oya!” her laptop hit her head from behind.
“Aita!!!” a laser printer hit her head from behind.
“Kaahhh!!!” a whole desk smashed against the woman’s back, finally ending her torment.
No, the woman only fainted, not dead.
Manga artists are strangely resilient.
“Huff, huff. Scary... humans are surprisingly tough.”
Anastasia said as she left the woman’s home.
“Alright! Let’s go enter a computer!”
Meanwhile, about a half a mile away, in a house by the Eastern Lake...
“Sammy, Sammy, I found her again!” a sweet female voice exclaimed as she kicked the door open.
“Maria, would you please enter like any normal girl?”
A boy who was studying at the desk in that room complained without looking back.
It had become so routine that the boy removed the locking mechanism on his door.
He had gotten tired of having to replace it every few days.
“Oh poo! Opening doors is for wimps. Anyway, I met her again! Virgin Mary! I met her again!”
The 14 year old girl spoke excitedly.
“Why am I not surprised?”
Sammy said as he pushed his math homework aside and turned his swivel chair around.
“So what did you ask for this time?”
He asked as he swept his short brown hair to the left side of his head.
“Magic!”
Her eyes sparkled.
“So what have you burned so far other than the kitchen?”
“Oh you! I’ve told you the fire was an accident. But Virgin Mary didn’t actually give me any magical power.”
“Oh, that’s a shocker. I thought she fulfill all wishes? Are you sure you didn’t meet a fake one?”
“Geez! What do you think I am? I’ve met her four times including this one, you know? She just told me my body isn’t suitable for magic.”
“So what did you ask for instead?”
Maria held out her hand, in her hand was bracelet of some kind.
“I asked for good luck. Here, good luck on your exam next week.”
“That’s strange.”
Sammy took the charm.
“For you to give me a gift... are you sure you’re not sick?”
“You, it’s not like I wanted to do it, you know! Humph!”
Maria turned around and left the room, without bothering to close the door she just kicked open.
The Roman Life... it is a revolutionary virtual reality game, created by a local game company and released for free to the areas covering Twin Lakes, South Selkie and Fellows River.
Players may engage in unlimited interaction in an expansive world that covers the whole of Italian Peninsular during the age of the Roman Republic.
As players they may choose to become either a roman, etruscan or barbarian.
After a short tutorial, players are released into a world so expansive and so unlimited in its scope that players may become anything they wish to be.
While some may choose to become part of the Roman Legionaries, a shopkeeper or even a bandit, some others chose to live a quiet life in the countryside as farmers or adventurers.
The possibilities are endless.
Rumours say that a certain figure called the Virgin Mary have made an appearance in the game.
The Virgin Mary supposedly could grant minor wishes if met in the game and that wish will be carried over into real life.
Pegasus Entertainment Inc. the company that made the game denied the rumour and informed the public that they had not programmed a character called ‘The Virgin Mary’.
It is said that an average person has a 40% chance of meeting the Virgin Mary once.
10% chance to meet the Virgin Mary twice.
Anyone who could meet the Virgin Mary thrice would be either extremely lucky or actually lying.
Considering the number of people who have met her, one has to wonder, is she really just a rumour?
The Roman Life is played via a bulky machine which transfers a person’s consciousness into the virtual world.
Because of its high price, the machines can only be accessed at and maintained by a dedication VR center.
It is currently in closed beta.
“Good morning.”
Anastasia said to a middle aged woman who was watering her garden.
“Good morning, young lady. I haven’t met you here before, did you just moved in?”
The old lady replied kindly.
“I’m just visiting... umm, would you tell me where I can find a computer?”
Anastasia asked timidly, as she has not been to the human realm ever since her mother took her into the demon realm centuries ago.
“A computer?”
Anastasia nodded.
“Why, a computer shop of course.”
The old lady looked puzzled.
“Where is a computer shop?”
Anastasia asked.
She looked awfully cute asking such naive questions in her gothloli costume.
“Oh my, you must really be new here. Just walk along this road, turn left at the third junction and go straight along Ivy Road. You’ll get to the commercial district eventually. I think Old John’s son runs a computer store there.”
“Thank you very much.”
Anastasia said with a bow.
Once at the computer store...
“Excuse me, I’d like to enter a computer.”
Anastasia asked one of the shop assistant.
“Enter... a computer?”
The shop assistant asked back with a confused expression.
“Yes, I’d like to enter a computer.”
Anastasia nodded cutely.
The shop assistant, a guy in his mid-20s felt like an arrow from Cupid had struck his heart at the girl’s cuteness.
Calm down, calm down, she’s under aged. I’ll go to jail, he thought.
He coughed as he wiped his mind clean of any dirty thoughts towards this exotic-looking girl.
“Do you actually mean you want to buy a computer?”
“No, I don’t want to buy it. I don’t have this world’s money. I just want to enter it.”
This world’s money? Enter a computer? Is she a foreigner and mixed up her vocabulary?
He thought as he tried to understand what she was trying to say.
Is she saying she wants to test it or borrow it?
“I want to play football!”
Anastasia said loudly, as if that magically made everything a whole lot clearer.
“Ohh, if it’s football, you came to the wrong place, sweetie. There’s a football field right next to the school along Wisteria Road. They have girls playing football there too.”
“Can I enter the computer from there?”
“Umm... maybe?”
What’s with this entering computer thing? Is it an internet slang?
“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”
Anastasia bowed and left.
At the football field...
“Good morning! I’d like to play football.”
Anastasia greeted a bunch of girls kicking a ball.
“Oh, sure. Have you ever played before?”
An older girl wearing a stretchy blue shirt with the number ‘1’ sewn on the back and a smaller ‘1’ on the front replied.
‘Thomas’ was sewn above the number ‘1’ on the back of the girl’s shirt.
Anastasia assumed the girl’s name to be ‘Thomas’.
Strange how someone would name their daughter ‘Thomas’. In my days it was a boy’s name.
“No, I’ve never played before. Is that a problem?”
She answered innocently.
“No, no need to worry. We’re all just playing for fun here.”
Then the Thomas girl called another girl who had her hair in twintails.
“Remy, do you want another girl in your team? She never played, by the way.”
“I don’t mind, but... are you really going to play in that?”
Remy asked, referring to Anastasia’s gothic lolita black dress.
“I can’t?”
Anastasia asked innocently.
Remy and ‘Thomas’ looked at each other.
“Oh hell, if you don’t care about it being dirty, more power to you.”
Remy then pointed at the goal post behind ‘Thomas’.
“That is the enemy’s side.”
And Remy pointed at the goal post behind herself.
“That is our side.”
“Hey, hey, who are you calling an enemy?”
‘Thomas’ rebuked.
“Shut it, enemy number one!”
Then to Anastasia, she said,
“The point of the game is to kick the ball into the enemy’s goal post while preventing them from kicking the ball into our own goal post. You can use your head, your chest, your knees or any part of your legs. You must never touch the ball with your hands, okay?”
Anastasia nodded repeatedly.
“Good, my name is Remy, by the way.”
Remy smiled.
“And I’m Melissa, call me Lisa.”
‘Thomas’ added.
“Unn, I’m called Anastasia. Nice to meet you.”
“Anastasia is too long, I’ll just call you Anna. Alright, your position is Left Defense. Steal any balls that come your way and pass it to our team.”
“Our team?”
Anastasia, nicknamed ‘Anna’ tilted her head to the left.
“Hey, Team Remy, make some noise!”
Remy yelled, to the cheer of six girls on the pitch.
“That’s our team. So shall we get back to trashing Lisa's Team?”
Anastasia nodded and followed behind Remy.
“Unn, I’ll do my best to enter the computer!”
About an hour later, the game ended.
Anastasia bungled through the game for the first 10 minutes.
But she quickly learned how to play and from then on she kept stealing balls and passing it to Remy.
She quickly became known as ‘The Devil of Left Field’.
The game ended in overwhelming victory for Team Remy.
“Thanks, Anna. You’ve played well today. Let’s play again next weekend, okay?”
Remy high-fived the confused Anna, whose gothloli dress was covered in dust and pieces of grass and left with the others.
Both Team Remy and Team Lisa waved her goodbye and left the field, leaving Anastasia alone.
Anastasia was still no closer to entering a computer.
Anastasia was having so much fun she forgot to ask them about it.
Anastasia wondered if she had just wasted the whole morning.
Anastasia wondered if she had made a horrible mistake.
*Thanks for reading. As always, your comments, whether good or bad are very appreciated. Do minimize the bad, though, my heart probably won't be able to take it.
**Watch out for the next chapter of Felicia's Second Life within the next few days.