The Lost Lord Ch. 23

Note: No sex again this chapter, even though I meant to write a scene with Rainer and Lauren. sorry 'bout that. I should estimate that this story should take five to six more chapters, excluding any epilogues. I'll try to narrow that down, because I dislike writing a long drawn out battle. I'm hungry, anybody want some Tanta meat?

The Lost Lord Ch. 23

"So... Sister, this is what you were hiding down here. I am honestly surprised. However, it pisses me off more than anything that you were planning to wield these weapons against me..." The voice did indeed sound pissed, it spoke in a tone resembling a snake's hiss and a dog's bark. This voice belonged to Arazra, and he was speaking to his sister, Sitri.

Sitri was sprawled on the ground, half dead from Arazra's attacks. It was no fallacy to say that Arazra was the strongest of the previous Lord of Lust's children, Sitri hated to acknowledge that. However, the truth was before her, in the form of Arazra's bloody weapon coated in her lifeblood.

Arazra continued his speech riddled with emotional comments, "These... Soul weapons you compiled. I cannot believe that you managed to hide the presence of such powerful weapons. I wonder how many souls were reaped to make these."

In a vault that Sitri maintained under the sixth terrace of the Capitol of Lust, there was a cache of weapons forged with human souls. Very much like the ink Reginald used to make his tattoos, human souls were added in the process of making these weapons, creating unique and powerful weapons of various types. Human souls are finicky things, many times when forging a weapon, the desired finish was not created and the soul created a different magical effect. Sometimes these effects can be extremely beneficial, sometimes not. Though not all souls head towards the forging of a weapon, many demons would go to great lengths in capturing and keeping a soul weapons for a collection or personal use. The Aspect of Death weapons could be considered soul weapons, though much more powerful versions of them. Asmodea's sword she stole from the human world could also be considered a soul weapon, though created by the bond the weapon had with its human wielder over the years.

Also, even if the forge went well, not every time was a soul weapon successfully created. Sometimes, the weapon broke in various ways, due to the stress the soul put on it.

To sum it up, soul weapons are rare, and the fact that Sitri managed to stockpile this amount without anyone finding out, except those that she told, is an amazing feat.

"You bastard... I was trying to seal this place, so that not even you can open it up. Only the true Lord of Lust would be able to, and that's not you." Sputtered Sitri, as she tasted blood in her mouth.

Arazra stood still for several long seconds and then closed his eyes. He turned towards Sitri and raised his bloodied sword. Arazra slashed it down on Sitri's neck.

Sitri closed her eyes, awaiting imminent death.

"The reason why I don't kill you for that impudent statement, is that you are my sister. And I care about my siblings, even if they are deluded by a false lord." Arazra had stopped his sword at Sitri's neck by just a few millimeters. "You there, bind her and take her back to the main encampment. No harm will come to my precious, but arrogant, sister or I will have your heads."

Six tenth district soldiers followed Arazra's orders. Turning away, Arazra investigated the soul weapons.

Considering the value and rarity of the weapons, the amount was quite vast. Though to others who did not realize that, would consider the vault lacking in its features. In actual fact, the soul weapons numbered only five. Five very powerful weapons.

"Let's see... First up is this, Sitri calls it the 'Needler'." The weapon in question was like a long, rigid, and metallic spike. It had a green hue, a yellow hilt, and a small nub that acted as a guard. The Needler, if seen from a distance, could be considered a sword, though it was devoid of any edges, so the ways to kill were only with whacking people with the blunt conicular edge or stabbing with its lethal point. As for the particular enchantment it carried, the Needler had the ability to pierce anything in existence, almost anything.

"Next is the 'Swallower'. Really?" This particular weapon also resembled a sword, a curved saber at that. It also had a blue leather strapped hilt with a diamond guard. This weapon had an extremely unique feature where its point opened up to the sides into a dragon's mouth. Its enchantment had the ability to "eat" objects and spit them out at high speeds.

Arazra picked up a hook like weapon next. "The 'Gutter'... How interesting." The Gutter resembled an enlarged fishhook with a thrice-tined tip. It had no guard and its hilt was wrapped in white bandages. The Gutter had the ability to home in on various organs and take them out with surgical precision, perfect for assassination.

"The 'Miner'." The Miner obviously resembled a pickaxe, though with a much more extravagant and elaborate design. The entire weapon was on conjoined piece of metal all forged together since its beginning. It had a platinum gilded tessellation design from the bottom all the way to both tips of the pick. It would be more correct to say that the Miner was more of a polearm than an actual pickaxe. This weapon's enchantment was completely unrelated to its design and name- the metal could change its properties and conduct various elemental attacks when in contact with another object, living or not.

"And finally, the 'Ravager'. I like this one." It would be safe to say that this weapon began at its hilt, which had leather straps covering it. The weapon currently had no guard, and the metal was colored a faint green like the Needler. This weapon had the ability to transform itself into any weapon it wished, provided it had enough matter to make the transformation. Right now, the Ravager looked like a scimitar, though if the wielder wished, and practiced enough, they could turn the weapon from a scimitar into a war hammer or spear.

"These will provide an exceptional resource for my army... Perfect for those strong enough to wield it in my new lands." Commented Arazra as he admired the craftsmanship before him.

If used by the right people, these weapons could massacre many soldiers. Even so, Arazra knew he should not rely on them, war is an unpredictable mess after all. If he was not careful, he could still lose.

"My lord!" A soldier walked in and bowed.

"Speak."

"Yes, sir! The Harpy army has penetrated the line we set before them with unpredictable speed. And we have now been informed that Huracan has turned traitor and sided itself with the pretender." The soldier quivered in fear, knowing full well that his leader could and would kill him any time he wished.

"A perfect example of war. Speaking of which, I should give these weapons to them..."

-

"It can certainly be as unpredictable as God himself, who creates and changes to on his whims."

"I can do without your random bits of philosophy, Emiel. What are your intentions? All of a sudden, you show up, claim you're the leader of Huracan, and say you want to turn against Arazra and fight for our lord. What are you after?" Demanded Caetorum.

Currently, the two incubi were fighting various soldiers of Arazra's army in close proximity of each other.

"Can it not be the same as your reason? To serve the young lord? To be honest, I don't really know myself!" Shouted Emiel over the sounds of war as he stabbed a demon with a pike made of concrete. Emiel was fully utilizing his earth magic in order to decimate every enemy soldier that passed him.

Caetorum was currently dueling a stronger enemy, though of course not as strong as him, with his rapier and parrying blade. A quick riposte and Caetorum's rapier found its way into the enemy's neck. "It can, though I would still elect not to believe you. However, it is true that you cannot go back now, thus I will elect to believe you for now."

In order to show his sincerity, Emiel volunteered to fight on the sixth terrace walls and give out orders to his fellow turncoats of Huracan. One would think that a leader, who never shows himself, of a mysterious mercenary force would have trouble commanding his forces. Yet thanks to a secret code, every single member of Huracan knew when they were given orders by a superior and followed them without hesitation.

Numerous Huracan soldiers immediately turned on their comrades, stabbing some in the back and some in the front. Some elected to wait until they were in a safer position until they turned on their allies. Some immediately went berserk and slashed at every soldier of Arazra's in sight. One, when he found he could not escape safely, blew himself up using a strong magical spell popularly called 'Infernal Combustion.'

Nevertheless, the results were as desired. Great confusion erupted among Arazra's army, many could no longer tell friend from foe and went on a rampage until their candle was ceased. Statistically, thanks to Huracan's defection and the resulting aftermath, almost a sixth of Arazra's troops were eliminated. It was a complete success tactically, something Arazra never expected.

"And I assume you heard about my little encounter with Xizaen?"

"Yes, I am greatly surprised to hear that our lord performed such a complex and powerful spell. Considering he has no experience or training in magic, the only explanation there is is this: He is the true Lord of Lust. Only a Ruler of Sin could perform a feat like that." As Caetorum swiped away three more enemy soldiers with the air pressure from his swing, Caetorum asked loudly, "Are there any others who might betray Arazra?"

"None that I am aware of. Remember, I've been living in the capitol this entire time, running a peaceful restaurant." Sighed Emiel, seemingly bored as he launched a pair of Black Steps soldiers from the ground and down the sixth terrace walls.

"Hrm, we're being overrun." Glancing off to the side, Caetorum sensed three powerful presences. Most likely enemy commanders, maybe even the black demon siblings? "We should retreat immediately, Emiel. We will soon be in a disadvantageous position. I can sense three strong foes a distance back, but they are closing in on us.

"Right then, I guess I'll fly out. Want me to carry you?" Cautiously asked Emiel.

Normally when demons said this, it was used to mock the person the phrase was intended for. Caetorum could tell that Emiel was not being mocking him. "Don't bother, I'm more than capable at escapes. Despite my blindness, I am fairly good at climbing and running."

With those words, both Emiel and Caetorum made their escape towards the seventh terrace along with the rest of the defenders.

As for the three newcomers...

"Aw! They ran away! I wanted to have fun with my new weapon Arazra so graciously gave me."

"As did I, Arazra found a small cache of powerful soul weapons. We would be distraught if we were not given the chance to kill with them."

"Do not worry, us three, as well as our other two brothers, will have plenty of chances to erase the calamity known as life with these gifts."

So said Arazra's final and ultimate trump card- The five forms of War.

Like how Death separated his scythe into seven aspects, War separated himself into five aspects.

Into Rebellion, the defiant war. Into Genocide, the merciless war. Into Desperation, the tenacious war. Into Serenity, the hidden war. And into End, the one who will bring the war of the end times.

How Arazra managed to recruit them, is a secret that would astonish many of the Seven Circles and even Heaven, and it is a secret none would wish to hear.

Even so, not all of the five had the same agenda, at least not the same one as Arazra. They did not even have the same agenda together.

-

"Oh shit... THAT'S a Yew Spirit? What in the fu-" SLAM!

A loud crash disrupted Rainer's thoughts, as a vine slammed down on what was his position.

Rainer recalled what Zazie said about the Yew spirit, 'A Yew Spirit is a tree birthed from an amalgamation of various parts of other trees. Think of it as necromancy for plants. It has a mind of its own and only listens to the orders of its master and the ones its master tells it to follow.'

"YEA, like I'll be able to get through it without it killing me!" Rainer wasn't worried about the sounds revealing his location, as many soldiers have been forced to go near or towards the tree itself, and suffer an attempt on their life thanks to the tree. Hearing one or even ten crashes from the tree's limbs wouldn't alarm anyone unless they were consecutive.

Rainer could see the object of his mission. Lauren was resting due to a deep sleep in a small alcove just inside its trunk. Thankfully, she seemed well fed and strangely enough, very clean for a prisoner of war.

"Let's see, [Hierophant], huh? So how does it work?" Rainer held up the tarot card in question Zazie had given him and waved it in the air as if holding up a ticket at a raffle. "C'mon, Zazie cannot honestly expect me to know how to use this off the top of my head. Hell, what even is a Tarnhelm?"

With that final word, the card was sucked into a small, dense hole. Right after the card was sucked in, something came out of the hole with a soft howl. Once the process was complete, Rainer found himself holding onto a heavy metal helmet. The helmet in question resembled a dome cap, with a conicular point. It had small feathers on both sides of the helmet where a person's ears would be. On the helmet's outside was an intricate design that showed the transformation of a man into a dragon and then back into the man.

"It doesn't look all that special... Wait! How am I even supposed to find out whom to transform into?" Rainer mumbled to himself, somewhat frustrated.

Convenience and luck always seem to wriggle their way into the scene.

Rainer observed, from behind another portable building, a demon covered in a cultist's apparel, a long purple robe with a pointed hood. He was carrying a plate of food, most likely for Lauren when she woke up. The demon removed his hood revealing a man with similar purple skin and bull-like horns. He stroked the tree several times while whispering calm words to the tree. The tree seemed to relish the attention, wiggling like a dog.

Rainer stared and investigated the purple demon from top to bottom and even into his presence. Rainer could sense Lust, so the purple demon was a normal demon of this circle.

The tree was obviously not attacking the demon, so thanks to his good timing, Rainer knew who to transform into. Hoping that the helmet would do its job, Rainer placed the cap on his head and imagined the purple demon with all his might from clothes to horns. A silent cyclone of various colors of light rained down on Rainer's position, turning his armor and skin into an exact replica of the purple demon. However, as Rainer could only imagine the demon's outside appearance, Rainer could only transform his appearance into what he saw, thus giving an incomplete transformation for anything below the robe. Despite that, Rainer noticed that even the feeling of his body and soul seemed different, as if he literally was the purple demon. Was this the result of peering into the purple demon's entire being?

Waiting until the purple demon left, the transformed Rainer made his move, cautiously walking towards the Yew Spirit. Pleading silently with all his heart, Rainer walked towards Lauren who had yet to wake up.

'So far so good.'

The tree remained still, seemingly uninterested in Rainer, despite being transformed into the demon that was giving it so much attention.

Breaking into a brisk pace, Rainer finally reached Lauren after several anxious and slow minutes.

Rainer cradled Lauren in his arms, looking her over for anything unusual. Rainer was too oblivious to see two creeping hands behind him.

They grabbed Rainer and pulled him closer to Lauren, straight into her bust. "You know... Despite how you act, you can actually be a fairly sweet guy, even if you resemble that creepy priest from before." The creepy hands and slurred voice belonged only to Lauren.

Initially shocked, Rainer recoiled in surprise; his lack of concentration dispelled the transformation effect. Though in less than three seconds he realized that the hand and voice belonged to Lauren. "Holy shit... That scared me, really."

"You also don't seem like the type of guy who gets scared easily. You seriously came all this way just to rescue me? Did anyone else come with you?"

"No, I came by myself. I really hate having people get themselves hurt in a battle I barely know anything about. This whole war in general included."

Lauren coughed, spitting up a small globule of blood. "I see, then why didn't you refuse to leave Earth in the first place?" She inquired.

Rainer sighed and looked up, thoughtfully, "Well, first, I didn't know that something of this magnitude would ever happen. It's kinda hard to comprehend, no matter how many times I rationalize the situation in my mind. And second, I wasn't really being a 'useful member of society,' all I did was live off my parent's will. So I guess I was desperate in a way, trying to find something that would make me matter. And I guess being a Lord of Lust was too attractive of an offer, damn demons always know how to get in your head... Ha ha."

"Rainer, I think you matter more than you believe. I had the pleasure of speaking with the other contender for the throne, Arazra. He spoke with a silver tongue and words of honey, and logically speaking, everything he said was quite true. However, I could tell that he wasn't all that sane back in his mind. He's someone who will someday get drunk off power and over extend himself and the Land of Lust should he attain the throne."

"So? That doesn't necessarily mean I'm the only choice for the job."

"I'm getting to that, hush. All demons and demonic entities have lived in a life immersed with Sin their entire life, practically bathing in it. Even the humanoid races are no different considering they live in the Circles of Sin." Lauren took a deep breath and gazed into Rainer's eyes. "You are completely different. You are a human who turned into a demon. As far as I can tell, there has been no successful human-demon metamorphosis. You are the first success. I believe, that as a being that has not lived a life immersed in Sin, will bring a welcome change to the circles. I can't fathom the exact reasons why the previous lord chose you out of all the humans, but he wouldn't have done so without carefully evaluating you all the way down to your soul... Which I might add is very warm." As Lauren said this, she hugged Rainer tightly, pushing her voluptuous chest into Rainer's body.

Rainer still didn't sound convinced, but he was at least happy with Lauren's words. "Whether I'm the rightful person for the job or not doesn't matter anymore. I've been forced in this position, I might as well go for the gold. We need to get you out of here first."

Suddenly, cold and calculating voice reached both Rainer and Lauren's ears, "So someone did come to rescue the wench. Arazra was right, apparently the witch is quite an important trump card of the pretender after all."

The way the voice said that, made it seem as if he did not know Rainer was the supposed pretender he was talking about. Keeping that secret to himself, Rainer stood up with Lauren on his shoulder. "How did you know this was going to happen?"

The voice spoke again, this time revealing itself to be the purple demon that had approached the tree earlier. "It's quite obvious, even a youngling would understand. If the witch is so important, then of course the pretender would send someone, and yes he did." The purple demon frowned upon seeing that the Yew Spirit was not attacking Rainer. "I know not how you managed to beguile the Yew Spirit, considering I set who it would let pass. Though it does not matter now. You will drop the witch and remove all of your gear lest you receive a body full of arrows."