#it happened with Zero Mikhail and even in some ways the intoners and their disciples

[asteriuszenith]

Sometimes I think about how nier and drakengard for all its dark humor and story has a very heartfelt message about loneliness and despair and the importance of bonds with others despite how flawed you are through it all.

[definesanity]

Zero, Mikhail, and other Disciples x Zero’s Disciple reader platonic hcs! S/O is Zero’s one and only Disciple, born not really for combat, but more bc Zero needed someone for chores like laundry, cooking, etc. S/O is a sweet and kind individual, really preferring not to fight especially against innocents, but they do know their way around a sword. They mainly do chores like cleaning blood off clothes, cooking for the party, and other things, so they’re like a servant. S/O also plays music for fun and will do song requests if asked, so, I headcanon S/O plays something like the guitar, not the electric kind, so they play songs around the campfire like Empty Tone or Song of the Ancients and their voice is angelic. Out of all the Disciples, S/O might be the most normal.

As a treat, sure, apologies if it is bad tho ;-;

When it came to Disciples, Zero never imagined getting one herself. After all, she's perfectly confident on her own, rather than needing the help of some kind of bird.

Of course, she ate her words. And now, has you.

Instead of battle, you were mostly helping with Zero in everyday tasks. Since, while she would never say it out loud, she's a bit shit at doing it.

For a long while, there was her, and then there was Mikhail.

You... had mixed thoughts on the dragon. On one hand, Micheal was arrogant, but very steadfast. On the other, Mikhail could grow to be more wiser than his previous incarnation, no matter how much Zero belittled him.

Living in that small house, helping Zero live... she didn't grow to like you or anything, like those scenes in the books, but definitely had something of a soft spot for you.

Then Mikhail pissed himself, and the journey began.

----------

Dito was the first, and wasn't a huge fan of you.

"I mean, Z. Sure, you're a good fighter, but do you really need like, cannon fodder?" he asked nonchalantly.

He then had to duck a swipe from the Original Intoner's blade.

"Right, you idiots, gonna be honest: I do not want to hear any sorta bitching from either of you. I like having my ears not being plagued by arguments."

You gave a small cough, looking away. "Sorry, Zero..."

"Ugh. Not you, dipshit, I'm talking about Dito trying to start some shit."

"...Oh!"

Dito gave a whistle, walking along and ignoring the warning.

Zero turned to you. "If you end up like him one day, I'm gonna rip off your head."

You gave a salute at that. "D-Duly noted."

-----------------

Decadus was less annoying than Dito was, but still had his... quirks.

Decadus was a masochist, this you knew, and did not mind. Even had their quirks, after all. But, he always seemed to think you were... well, secretly very powerful.

You, ah, weren't. You had enough strength to carry the weapons of the Intoner and Dito, but beyond that? Noodle arms.

Still, beyond his fascination with pain, he is a nice person, at the end of the day.

------------------

Octa, however, is a different bag altogether.

Again, like with Decadus, he's a nice enough person, always sitting down and giving you an audience if you were to play an instrument.

The main problem is that, while he can somehow keep it in his pants, he definitely can't get his mind out of the international sewer system.

It's... a struggle. But, you're determined in many things. Stubborn, maybe.

Peel back that pervert, and you get an old man who seemed genuinely sorry about what had happened to Three.

It's... sad.

And you felt empathy.

-------------

Near the end of the journey, Cent had joined. He was very... light-handed with himself.

He carried himself loftly, but you knew it was a farce.

You never got to know the guy, before the end.

When they had returned to their natural forms, as mere pigeons, you looked at Zero.

"Why haven't you...?" you began.

Zero just rolled her eyes, and gestured you to follow her. "...You're my Disciple. So I feel kildly responsible for your ass."

Still, at the end of it all... she was head-strong.

But you knew what she meant.

You cared for everyone. It was your nature. Your design.

Zero had never intended to do so again, not after Indigo had betrayed Rose...

But God fucking damn it.

You happened. Her one and now only Disciple.

And being honest? She didn't regret it.

For once, in her un-dead life as a goddess.

[some-creep]

CREEP RANKS: The intoners by what war crime they’ve committed or at least what I can remember them doing.

I will use a random list I found on Wikipedia that is 100% accurate in order to see which intoner has committed the MOST war crimes. The winner will be sent to federal prison and await execution. I don’t really know what most of these things mean which makes me the expert on making these calls. My rule is law, after all. Anyway, here’s the list we’re going to pretend to be following:

Willful killing, or causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health Torture or inhumane treatment Unlawful wanton destruction or appropriation of property Forcing a prisoner of war o serve in the forces of a hostile power Depriving a prisoner of war of a fair trial Unlawful deportation, confinement or transfer Taking hostages Directing attacks against civilians Directing attacks against humanitarian workers or UN peacekeepers Killing a surrendered combatant Misusing a flag of truce Settlement of occupied territory Deportation of inhabitants of occupied territory Using poison weapons Using civilians as shields Using child soldiers Firing upon a combat medic with clear insignia.

Two: Has Two actually committed any war crimes? I don’t think so. Let’s go through the list. She doesn’t seem particularly into torture. She wasn’t really going out of her way to kill combatants. Monsters probably don’t count. I’m not going to count them because the game doesn’t. No POWs, no hostages, no poison, no killing of unarmed civilians… I mean Cent wanted to basically make child soldiers for her but she wasn’t on board with that idea. I think she moves into that underground shrine or whatever that was. Did she kick people out? If so that’s a war crime since she is being stationed there for like… combat reasons. But other than that I don’t think she’s really done that much. In fact, she’s personally taking care of war orphans. Sentence: A better, more wholesome game than this.

Five: Five is pretty shitty, but like, in a selfish way. She’s too self serving to commit THAT many war crimes.  She’s definitely into willful killing and causing great suffering, also torture and inhumane treatment as we know from the DLC. While I think she would do a lot of these things if given the chance, she’s also too lazy to go out of her way to do any of these things unless they directly and immediately benefit whatever arbitrary thing she wants right now. And, like, mood. Sure she would use civilians as human shields if it helped her in the moment, and she would use poison weapons if it seemed fun, and she would take hostages if she could play with them but she never does because it never comes up.  This isn’t a ranking of what would they do it’s a ranking of what they actually did so Five takes a shockingly low place on this list. Sentence: The all you can eat buffet is closed down for good and you’re out of batteries for your vibrator.

One: I don’t pay a lot of attention to anything One does despite her central role in the narrative. But I do know that One basically moved into an area and decided this is mine now and took over like. All of Europe but upside down. So I think we can give her deportation of inhabitants of occupied territory and settlement of occupied territory. She’s also into killing but maybe less needlessly so so maybe we don’t give her that one maybe her killing was the normal amount of war killing. It’s harder to judge intoners as they are all literally one woman armies so they do a LOT of killing. Sentence: Watching all 9 hours of this game and trying to remember every little thing that happened. Wait One could actually do that shit nevermind.

Three: Three literally kills civilians for fun torture purposes to build soldiers. I love her. So we’ve got, willful killing and great suffering, torture and inhumane treatment, presumably taking hostages as that’s how she got soldiers to experiment on, directing attacks against civilians, and using poison weapons if we blame her for the forest being all fucked up which why wouldn’t we. Despite being actually the lazy intoner she’s done like, way worse war crimes it seems. Good for her. Crimes so horrible even her disciple fucked off. Sentence: Transferred to Doki Doki Literature Club to live out eternity in an endless loop of going insane and killing yourself in front of that boy you like.

Four: This list was basically inspired by Four herself. Thank you Four. Mostly because one of the only war crimes we know was “killing a surrendering combatant”. Which Four absolutely fucking does. And I love it. Also according to DoD1, Elves are neutral? Which means they weren’t enemies to begin with. Which means they were probably civilians despite being pirates. Four says its bad to kill civilians but that’s basically what she was doing. Four doesn’t think any of what she’s doing is a war crime since it’s for One, but she’s also in the going out of her way to cause havoc during battle because killing is fun boat. Sentence: Four was personally judged in the Nuremberg trials.

Zero: In a shocking turn of events that surprises no one Zero checks basically every goddamn box. She definitely enjoys herself some willful killing. She’s always destroying shit beyond a reasonable level. Forcing a POW to serve in the forces of a hostile power? The disciples, hello. Do they get a say? No. Too bad. No fair trial. Taking hostages? “I kill my sisters, I take their men.” In the prologue Zero talks about how she hasn’t killed any medics yet but would be willing to. She also says she’d kill women, children, and the elderly if they stood in her way. We have direct canon confirmation she’d do these things, not just inferences. Mikhail is basically a child soldier as he is a baby who is very traumatized by all of the things that they are doing. She fakes surrender to kill Four. I’m pretty sure she has a lot of those soldiers running in fear but she kills them anyway so we can check off killing a surrendered combatant. I can’t be bothered to look up all the weapon effects but one of those is probably a poison effect. And I’m sure at least one of those is a three edged blade, which goes against the Geneva convention or something. Zero is the ultimate war criminal. Sentence: Dooming humanity to extinction for all of her horrible actions.

[loyalflutist]

Who Said That? (F!Byleth x Edelgard)

Rating: General Audience Archive Warning: N/A Words: 2,214 Summary:  Byleth becomes extremely confused when there are two people who share the same, exact voice as Edelgard...

A/N: Since Tara Platt also voices Zero (Drakengard 3) and Mitsuru (Persona 3), just threw the idea in about Edeleth bumping into them. It’s comedy, so nothing too serious! Hope you enjoy this! I enjoyed writing this. 

--

Supernatural wasn’t exactly something Byleth had thought long and hard about. In a country full of monsters and magical voodoos, nothing could shake the foundations of reality for her, save it for the occasional ghost stories. The same could be said for the Adrestian Empire’s noble. There was nothing that would falter the rising emperor. With the two together, they were a fearsome storm to deal with.

“FUCK!”

Byleth smashed her nose against a wooden pole from shock. She backed away from the solid object by a couple of steps, one hand covering the rattled cartilage. Tears prickled from the professor’s slanted eyes as she silently mumbled her anguish. Edelgard, who stood nearby at the weapon shop, rushed to her girlfriend’s aid. The student hovered her hands over Byleth’s scrunched face.

“Are you okay?” Concern dripped from her words; Edelgard eyes were fixated on the concealed nose. “You didn’t break anything, did you?”

The professor suppressed more of her incomprehensible grumbles. She slowly shook her head and removed her hand. Byleth’s fingertips brushed the skin beneath her throbbing nose. No blood. For an audible collision with the wooden stick, she must have been blessed by the heavens above to retain her nose’s structure. Edelgard felt her shoulders slump. The white-haired’s lips formed a small smile as she retracted her hands.

“You should be more careful.”

“I will.”

Hm, wasn’t there something that she also wanted to say…? Byleth stoic facial features hardened, her brows furrowed. Her girlfriend had an imaginary question mark pop up from the top of her head at the odd reaction.

“Professor, is there something on my face?” Byleth shook her head. The student frowned in return. “Okay… so what is it?”

“I’ve never heard of a noble curse as loudly as you.”

Edelgard’s eyes temporarily widened. “You must have been mistaken. You know I would never curse.”

“I don’t think I could have mistaken your voice.”

Tension began to formulate as the two shot glares at each other. One from disappointment, one from frustration. This is what happens when you pit a stubborn individual against another similarly stubborn individual. It didn’t help that they were both in a romantic relationship either. Two of them were clearly not going to budge from their position.

Civilians in the background could not help but steal a glance at their direction. In the middle of the marketplace, it was rare to find arguments and fights break out, especially the fact that this was on monastery’s ground. Security guards from the front entrance felt their eyes narrow as Byleth and Edelgard engaged in a verbal warfare.

“They’re fighting again?” Linhardt stifled a yawn as he and Caspar walked from the fish market. In their hands, they held a bag destined for an upcoming lunch. The short male glanced over his shoulder as his friend remarked, “I’m still surprised they didn’t break up.”

“Hey,” Caspar playfully smacked his knuckles on the magus’s shoulder. “Lover’s quarrel. It shows just how close they are to each other.”

“…you think we can ever achieve something like that together?”

“Did you say something?”

Linhardt shook his head, his expression sparing no emotion. “It’s nothing.”

“Oh, really?” The grappler clicked his tongue. “Now you’re making me even more curious!”

“Not telling you…”

“Come on, Linhardt!”

As the two boys began their own set of argument (more like one-sided), Edelgard huffed back at the marketplace. The white-haired rested her hand on her forehead and shook her head.

“This is ridiculous, Professor. I can’t believe you can’t believe in me!”

“I would believe in you if you would stop lying.”

“How could you say that?!”

“Aren’t you two the biggest dumbasses I’ve ever seen.”

Oh, that did it! Byleth fumed and raised her finger up; the brick-like expression she wore faltered. How dare Edelgard curse again! That— wait a minute…

Byleth’s mouth opened, but no words came out, and her pointer drooped. That voice… It was clearly Edelgard’s. However, her furious girlfriend was standing right in front of her, lips sealed. Although the princess would like to demand an apology, that wasn’t the first thing that popped to mind. Instead, she too was frozen in her spot. The two females, like a robot, turned their head to the speaker.

It was an alluring woman. The pink flower blossomed from one eye, her white attire and hair matching it with elegance, save it for the black ribbon and markings on her foreign clothes. When Byleth’s and Edelgard’s eyes shifted over to the weapon on her waist, it was unlike anything they’ve ever seen in Fodlan. Clearly, this arrogant woman was not from this country.

“…excuse me?”

Edelgard was the first one to speak up, albeit quieter than normal. To the stranger’s amusement, she possessed the same tonality as hers. A smirk flashed through the 19-year-old as her prosthetic left hand motioned on the side.

“I said, ‘ You’re both the biggest dumbasses I’ve ever seen.’ ”

“I’m not sure what you are trying to get at by insulting us.”

“I wouldn’t be saying anything if you chickenshits weren’t making so much fucking ruckus.”

“Are we THAT bothersome that you had to say something?”

“It’s already fucking loud enough here. If you both don’t shut up, I’m gonna stab my eardrums with a fork.”

The frustration and irritation that was once placed on her professor shifted its course. Edelgard had marched right up to the taller female no older than by one year. It was a bit comedic seeing the height difference between the two. (Unfortunately, Edelgard is still the short one.) Hands bunched into fists, the axe-wielder flung her status at the foul-mouthed woman.

“I hope you understand that this is no way to speak to a princess from the Adrestian Empire.”

“Uh… sure,” the other white-haired rolled her eyes. “Not like I care. Royal or not, we’re all the fucking same.”

That was something the noble agreed with, ironically. Regardless, Edelgard furthered her defense. She needs to disperse the growing crowd that began to surround the three figures. A huff came from her direction.

“I suggest that you leave us alone, and I want you to apologize to my professor.”

“Professor?”

Byleth felt a chill run down her spine. That sharp gaze from the stranger was not uncommon, but it clenched her soul in a tight grip. Emotional reactions were something she had difficulty expressing. In this case, the teal-haired shuddered and allowed fear to creep into her eyes. There was also the voice from the taller female… That voice was literally the same as Edelgard’s. It was like watching Edelgard argue with herself! Another shudder reverberated through her spinal cord.

‘ This has to be a dream. ‘

Sensing the discomfort from the older woman, the stranger could not help but burst into a fit of laughter. Edelgard leapt an inch off the ground as a result. How funny for the newcomer! What kind of situation was she subjected to now? As if being thrust into this world without Mikhail, the Intoners, and their Disciples wasn’t enough, now she had to deal with this nonsense?

“This is so fucking stupid.”

The other female eventually approached Byleth. Sweat flew out of the teacher’s head as they stood in close proximity. Maybe it was a little too close… Byleth felt the taller woman stare down at her by a few centimeters.

“…”

Yep, she’s nothing like her Edelgard.

“Sorry about it.”

“?!”

That… was rather tame. Truth be told, Byleth had expected the opposite. The stranger blinked. Then, she placed a hand on her hip, the corner of her lips twitched.

“Look, asshole, just because I seem like a bitch doesn’t mean I don’t know when to apologize.”

“…”

“…”

Without warning, Byleth felt a strong grip around her face. The professor’s chin tilted upward from the foreigner’s action. Her cheeks were somewhat squished, her heart raced as the other’s lips twitched once more. That glower was clearly not going away any time soon.

“A fucking rock has more expression than you…”

“…”

Someone just had to say it. It was a common remark that many individuals, including some of her own students, dare say. However, no one dared to blurt it out in front of her face. It was heartless! Byleth and Jeralt made it clear to the three Houses that she simply lacks the ability to freely express her emotions. Even after diving into a romantic relationship with the Black Eagle’s house leader, Byleth struggled to put forth anything more than disappointment, surprise, and content. She was still a budding plant. The fact that this outsider threw the fact at her face felt more like a punch than a gentle jab.

‘ I thought I got better… ‘

The ex-mercenary realized that she had held her breath after the woman released her hold. Byleth rubbed the affected area. She may have not much to say out loud, but Edelgard has plenty to say in her stead. The youngster immediately ran up to her girlfriend’s side once the newcomer turned her back to them. Edelgard is one of the three individuals that could read beyond Byleth’s blank expression. A single gaze into the teacher’s hues said plenty.

“You have a lot of nerves saying that to Byleth.”

“Just speaking the truth.”

“Who exactly are you?” This time, it was Byleth who spoke up. She placed a hand on Edelgard’s shoulder the instant the student cracked open her lips; the teal-haired continued. “Is there a reason why you came here?”

The sword-wielder stopped in her track. Ah— now this woman is getting it. Cutting right past the prattles. Had she responded with another topic in mind, she would have left the teacher and student hanging. Then, without turning around, she said,

“Zero.”

“…Zero?”

“Yep. That’s my name.” Zero, the Intoner, reverted her attention to the two again. “I got lost. Don’t know where the hell I am, don’t know why the hell I’m here.”

Byleth blinked. Before she could say anything, Edelgard cut her off.

“Well, this is something you don’t hear every day.”

“?”

Edelgard is certainly speaking her mind out today, isn’t she? The ex-mercenary glanced. So far, the noble instinctively hugged her teacher’s arm like a child. Edelgard felt Byleth’s eyes on her and returned the favor. Wait a second… There was someone who possessed the same tonality and spoke out loud. As for her teacher, it’s the very same stare that she had given to the girl earlier! The Adrestian Empire’s princess tightened her hold.

‘ Are we seriously going to do this again? ‘

The noble mentally groaned and peered at Zero. She could theorize that it derived from the newcomer. Of course, it wasn’t Zero who spoke. First, it would be strange to make a left-field remark after her short explanation. Second, this woman whipped her head to the side. These actions are not from one that had spoken.

“The hell?” Zero grumbled. She scanned the crowd that had formed around them. “I already thought this kid sharing the same voice as mine was already confusing this idiotic teacher.”

Lo and behold, another woman broke through the civilians. Although her outfit was less flamboyant than Zero’s, the air of an authoritative figure that rivals that of Edelgard’s emitted from the newcomer. The red-head flicked strands of her hair over her shoulder. Just like Zero’s, she too possesses sharp eyes. However, unlike the 19-year-old, her manner of speech and poise struck closer to Byleth’s girlfriend’s personality.

“It seems like there are two individuals who share the same voice as me.”

“No shit.”

“It appears so…”

Byleth felt sweat fly out of her head as she caught the three observing each other. Then, in a small voice, she asked,

“Who are you?”

The female in the white blouse temporarily closed her eyes and chuckled. “How rude of me. I am Mitsuru. It appears that I too am lost.”

And so the teal-haired had no choice but to take on this side quest to send them back to their world. How did they arrive in Fodlan? Both Edelgard and Byleth had no idea. The only description they’ve acquired was a black portal that sucked them in and spat them back out in less than a minute. Nonetheless, they had to convince Rhea and Seteth about their new guests and provide hospitality to their new neighbors. Zero and Mitsuru were grateful for their courteous nature.

Edelgard and the members of the three Houses befriended the two newcomers into the Black Eagles. Despite their first impressions with each other, they quickly got to know each other. Their differences may vary, but they shared various similarities with one another. Even Zero, whose sole mission was to destroy her sisters, used this chance to think back upon an experience that was never gifted to her doorstep. (Though she wouldn’t admit it to their face.)

As for Byleth, it was simply another responsibility tacked to her job. The problem is, she can’t differentiate who’s voice is who in the monastery. Plenty of migraines accompanied her in the following days. It doesn't seem like it'll go away either until she finds a solution to this supernatural phenomena.

At least she can pick out Zero’s… she knew that Edelgard wasn’t the type to curse like a sailor at two in the morning.

[homogrimoire-archive]

The Remnant Branches

CH. 2 - Vile Toxic Intent

Part 4: The Power of a Goddess's Voice

Tyrian and Co. arrive in the Cathedral City. Will he show just how mighty his Goddess is, show how much he loves her?

After a day of rest, they finally arrived at the Cathedral City. That meant Tyrian had two more days left. In that time, he gained sparse knowledge on shades, and even more sparse information on magic. He only hoped his gracious Goddess would accept his measly offering. At the very least, he had fun killing in her name. The followers of the Intoners were the followers of false goddesses. Killing them only proved that his Goddess was the true Goddess.

“Pretty place. Can’t wait for it to be stained red!” Tyrian shouted.

“Good idea stupid, let everyone know where we are.” Zero berated as a group of guards zeroed in on their location.

“Whoops.” he chuckled.

“Well, it’s nothing you and I can’t handle, Lady Zero. The rest of you though… good luck.” Cent commented.

“Fun fact!” Dito mimicked. “Shut the fuck up.”

“Now, now, let’s not fight each other. Lady Zero has it hard enough as is.” Decadus said in attempts to diffuse the two.

“I’ve got something hard that will make her life easier.” Octa offered.

“All of you shut it and start killing.” she ordered.

Guard after guard, monster after monster, all fell to that merry band of killers. Guard after guard, monster after monster, all fell to that bleary band of killers. Guard after guard, monster after monster, all fell to that band of killers.

“Huh. Never thought I’d say this, but all this killing is getting kinda boring.” Tyrian said as he gutted a man, and moved to behead another.

“Quit complaining and get used to it.” Zero told him as she came out of her Intoner mode, a dead cerberus at her feet in the center of the arena.

“I’m getting tired. Are we there yet Zero?” Mikhail asked.

“We’ll get there when we get there.”

“How big is this goddamn city anyways, Z?” Dito questioned. He drove his sword into a monster, causing its guts to spill out. He looked at the gross display with delight.

“How the hell would I know? I just sense my sister, and follow that.”

“More magic, hmm?” Tyrian asked.

“No shit it’s magic. And before you even ask, I already told you. Magic just is. You don’t question it.”

“Magic just is.” Tyrian mumbled. “You don’t question it.” he mocked further.

“Oh, look at you, my dear sister! You’ve got a harem of men, and you’re not sharing? Naughty, naughty.” said a voice out of nowhere.

“Five.” Zero said, unhappy that her slutty, slutty sister was here.

“No hello? You wound me, Zero. Can you kiss it to make it feel better? Pleeeeeease?” she said seductively in a way only she could do

“No.”

“I can give you more than a kiss, if you’d like.” Octa suggested lewdly.

“Ooh, I like him already. Can I have him Zero? I’m just itching for some stimulation” Five suggested back lewdly.

“Whatever. Octa, take care of her.” Zero ordered.

“Oh at once my Lady!” He said as Five began her Song. “Quickened Puppets of Antiquity! The raging demon’s deathly gaze, The army of heretics that rejects the natural cycle, Render into ash the powers of reason and order!I, Octa, summon thee in my name! Armisael, invade!” He shouted as her Song reached its zenith.

Looking back, the group saw the area encased with a magical barrier. Inside, The Quickened Puppets of Antiquity ran rampant.

“That’s not creepy at all.” Cent comments.

“Be happy you’re not fighting them. Come on. We’ve got more killing to do.” Zero she said as a wave of enemies engaged them. Soon, they happened upon another clearing.

“Hi, Zero.”

“Four.”

“Please Zero, we don’t have to fight. I know that you don’t want to either. Just come back to us. We can live happily, together, just like we used to!”

“Well, I have to fight.”

“If that’s how it’s gonna be,”

“Oooh, this is the infamous Virgin Intoner.” Dito gasped. “I am so fighting her.”

“Then I’m sorryyy!” she screamed as she began her song.

“Grand Light of Antiquity! The great power made manifest, The great ceremony of glorious arrival, Burn into thine eyes the punishing lance of divine retribution!” He shouted to the sky. “I, Dito, summon thee in my name! Phanuel, arise!” The area flooded with water, and became encased by a magical barrier. From outside, the rest of the group moved forward once more.

“How the hell?” Tyrian wondered in awe.

“It’s the power of a Disciple. We can summon an angel, though it is best that we only do it under the most dire circumstances.” Decadus explained.

“And let me guess, the reason is magic?”

“See, you’re starting to get it now.” Zero told him.

More foes, more foes. More killing, more killing. More monotony, more monotony.

This time, they find themselves in an area with lots of small buildings when the waves of enemies end for the time being. They hear the distinctive clink of scissors.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Behind them, is Three.

“Hello, Zero” she said, emphasizing the “o” in hello and zero.

“Everyone’s favorite bag of insanity, Three. Hmm? Nice hair.” Zero said, noticing that her hair was in a braid.

“Sane and insane, it is all the same. Nothing is everything, and everything is nothing. It’s all different too, just like my hair. Same and different, different and same. Oh, and thanks” Clink. Clink. “You.” Clink. She abruptly stops to point a pair of scissors at Decadus. “I will experiment with you first.” She pointed the other pair at Tyrian. “You with the tail, I’ll experiment with you later.” she smiled. Clink. Clink. Clink. “Ha ha ha ha.” Clink. Clink. Clink. “Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.”

Clink. Clink. Clink. “HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!” Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink.

“Nngnh, so enticing.” Decadus groaned as he stepped up to summon his angel. “Impenetrable Shield of Antiquity! The rare power granted to our own, The stout citadel that protects us, Cast your blighted sins upon these very skies! I, Decadus, summon thee in my name! Armaros, uphold! And please, Lady Three, don’t hold back.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it!”

The group witnessed The Impenetrable Shield of Antiquity rise into the sky. They could just make out Three and Decadus fighting as they flew threw the air.

“She seems fun.” Tyrian smiled

“Figures you would say that.” Cent states.

“You know, it’s a joke, idiot.”

“Got me there, I am just an idiot. And what does an idiot like me know.”

“Shut up and get back to killing already.” Zero chastised as a horde of enemies appeared..

They cease their bickering, and continue on. Engage. Kill. Engage. Kill. Engage. Kill. Kill. Engage. Blood, blood, blood. The wave of foes comes to an end again. Another Intoner appears.

“Let me guess,―” Tyrian begins.

“Lady Two.” Cent interrupts. He walks towards her, as if drawn to her by an unknown power.

“Cent?” She says. For a moment, her eyes clear and she notices who he is. It is a short lived moment. Her eyes quickly return to their foggy state.

“What happened to you?” Cent questions.

“She couldn’t handle The Flower’s power. It broke her, and there’s no way of fixing her.”

“I’ll― I’ll take care of her then. It’s the least I can do for her.”

She begins to cry softly, The Song begins.

“Great Fist of Antiquity! The blood-wind storms that slash through fate, The steely hand that has sworn allegiance, Cross the countless swarms of writing dead! I, Cent, summon thee in my name!”

Her soft cry had turned into a wail that would make even a banshee shudder.

“Egregori, dance!”

The look back to see an ocean of blue made without water. Within the barrier are two giants. They see one toppel, though they do not see what has made it fall. They can only assume it was the might of an Intoner.

“So, just us three.” Tyrian states.

“It’ll be zero soon enough.” says a voice Tyrian recognizes. They attempt to dodge the set of daggers that flew their way. One scrapes Tyrian, and another scrapes Zero. She yelps as it cuts her.

“Dragonbone… Who the hell are you, bitch?!” Zero shouts at the woman.

“Miss Goodwitch, soooo nice to see you again. A shame your death won’t be permanent!” He lunges towards her, but is forced to deal with the deadly daggers sent his way. Three of the five are sent after Zero, and Tyrian sees this as an opportunity to attack. Glynda uses the remaining two to block his blades, and back steps to dodge his tail. She recalls the other daggers, and lets Zero and Mikhail escape to One and Gabriel.

“Tch. You just had to show up and make things difficult, didn’t you?” she said, annoyed with him.

“Well I can’t defy the will of my Goddess, now can I?” he retorts with a smile. “Buut, I think I would have loved to show up and ruin your day anyways.”

“Figures.” she states.

She sends a flurry of daggers his way. They move with great speed, but Tyrian is able to deflect them with his blades. They are sent flying back, but are swiftly redirected. Again and again, she commands the daggers to attack, and Tyrian manages to deflect or dodge them. All the while, he gets closer and closer to Glynda.

“Can’t you be any more fun to fight? I’ve been soooo bored lately.” Tyrian complains as he sends a dagger flying back to Glynda, but she orders it to miss and assault Tyrian again.

“No.” she says sternly.

“I guess I have to do allll the heavy lifting then.”

With a wild look in his eyes, he charges at her without regard for the damage to his aura. When he finally closes in on her, he begins his chaos of attacks. With his semblance active, he aims to kill. But despite the fury of his attacks, Glynda was quick with her own semblance and the dragonbone daggers, blocking or deflecting the slashes. With a burst of strength, she sent him flying back with her semblance, undoubtedly costing her a good amount of aura.

Quickly, she used the daggers as steps to position herself in the air, out of his reach. From her vantage point, she could see all the wreckage she could use. There, she commanded the large rocks, broken weapons, and other materials into a field of deadly debris. Looking down onto Tyrian, she began her barrage, sending the remnants of battle flying towards him like a rain of rubble.

“Oh now this is fun! Hahahaa!” he screamed as it all flew towards him. With extreme precision, he did his best to dodge the projectiles, while also using them to propel himself closer and closer to Glynda. All he could think about was ripping her to shreds and sending her back to Ozpin. That would surely please his Goddess.

The debris had run out, leaving him with a shred of aura, but he was now right in front of her defenseless face. He could see the fear in her eyes in that split second it took for her to react, if she could. He knew he would have sweet dreams in the coming days. However, he was wrong. She was not defenseless. A dagger stabbed him in the back, breaking his aura and piercing him, sending him crashing down onto the ground below. A wayward, broken spear impaled his leg, while two more daggers stabbed his arms, pinning him to the ground.

“YOU FUCKING WHORE!” he screamed in agony as he forces himself up, the weapons still embedded in him. “I WILL NOT LOSE! MY GODDESS DEMANDS IT!” he still screams as he lurches towards her. “I, WILL NOT, LET, HER DOWN! I, WILL, NOT, LET, HER, DOWN! I, WILL―” He feels something lodge itself in his throat that stops him from finishing his sentence. He doesn’t feel the pain of it. He wants to go on, needs to go on, but his body finally refuses. He falls to his knees.

“Tell her we send our regards.” he hears. He can just make out the sound of The Song before his vision finally fades to white.

-

Tyrian awakes with a gasp as he clutches his throat. The Song rings in his ears before it soon fades away. He looks around, and sees that Watts is there.

“Good. You’re awake. Her grace demands that you see her at once. As the doctor around here, I suggest you begin praying for her mercy.” he recommends. “You’re mental health is already questionable enough as it is.” He recommends. In that moment, as Watts takes his leave, Tyrian almost wishes he had really died. At least then, he would not have to face having failed her.

As he walks to her throne room where she awaits, he prays and prays for her gracious mercy, prays she will forgive him, prays she will still see use for him. He stands before the imposing door, honored to be in her presence once more, but so terrified of having to face her as a failure. He knocks on the door.

“Come in, Tyrian.” she orders. Her voice is laced with a hint of rage. Meekly, He shuffles in.

“My goddess.” he says as he falls to his knees before her in reverence and terror.

“Why have you returned so soon?” she inquires. She cocks her head to rest on the palm of her hand.

“My Queen, I― I―”

“Quit stuttering.” She commanded. He dares to look up, and sees that she is frowning at him. It hurts somehow.

“I ran into one of Ozpin’s underlings, the Goodwitch woman.”

“And you fought her, and lost.” she said, her voice becoming slightly louder.

“Yes, I lost.” he said, his voice deflating.

“That wasn’t a question for you to answer.”

“Of course. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sure you are. You let me down.” she calmly tells him. “Tell me Tyrian, what did you do?”

“I did what you wanted me to. I―”

“No. You let me down. Let me ask you again. What, did you do?”

“I, I let you down.” he said, his voice cracking. Having to say that hurt more than any stab wound.

“Yes. That’s what you did. You let me down.” She pauses to let her words linger in the air. “Now leave me. I don’t want your pathetic tears to stain the rug. Write a report and hand it over to Watts when you finish. I’ll let you know if I still need you.”

“Yes, my queen.” he barely whispers. He gets up, and makes his way out. He feels her cold, cruel gaze linger on him as he walks towards the door. Once he closes it behind him, he feels the warm tears stream down his face, and his breathing quickens.

If I still need you. You let me down. If I still need you. You let me down. I let you down. Repeats in his head over and over again. Every word is a knife to the chest. Except a knife to the chest hurts less. Despite feeling weak, his body shakes, and whimpers and sobs escape his mouth.

He knows that all he can do is pray to his goddess that she may see use in him. And if she doesn’t… Tyrian laughs at the thought. He laughs, and laughs, and laughs, cries, and cries, and cries. All he can ever be certain of, is that he loves his Goddess.

[jessielefey]

Drakengard is kinda like the Legend Of Zelda, if everyone was just the absolute worst. A bunch of terrible people make multiple generations worth of terrible selfish choices, which eventually leads to them apocalypsing their own planet (with an invasion of giant flying cannibal babies, no that makes no more sense in context welcome to Taro's batshit storytelling), which leads to them accidentally apocalypsing *our* literal actual earth, thanks to Japan also making a terrible catastrophic unnecessary choice, and humanity going extinct because of a cascade failure of unforeseen circumstances in the only game in the whole series that feels like an actual heartbreaking tragedy instead of some kind of black farce, and being replaced by a culture built from the remains of the robots we built to help us fix it. Who then also frigging extinction eventing *themselves* in yet another series of terrible unnecessary catastrophic choices.

It'd be really depressing if it wasn't so funny, but Taro is very good at keeping it bleakly hilarious. Most games have a very Metal Gear if it was Berserk feel. Even nier, the actual tragic earnest one, has an entire running joke about stupid side quests where the characters all but berate you the player directly for boring them with pointless filler quests. The writing really is unfairly good for what's basically a series of sadistic acid-fueled shitposts in computer game form.

Drakengard 3 is Taro at his most pure, like, unhinged Rick And Morty. I won't tell you the whole plot, because there's a full forth wall break about halfway through that near drives Zero to an existential crisis before she remembers she's Zero and doesn't give a fuck, which is amazing. But your protagonist is Zero, the Princess Zelda of the story, if Zelda had the mouth of Trevor Belmont, the fighting skills of She-ra, the sex drive of a Witcher, and the personality of Rocket Raccoon if Marvel let him fuck. She's got a little literal-baby dragon as a sidekick for Reasons, who like baby Groot both is and is not the adult dragon partner Zero started out with who died earlier. They are trying to kill all Zero's sisters (who are less sisters and more like, um, if Pink Diamond could've split herself into horcruxes that became their own individual gems, instead of becoming Rose Quartz). Zero and her sisters are called Intoners, which is kinda like being bardic mages amped up to divine levels. In order to keep their magic intact, for Yoko Taro without someone telling him no Reasons, they each have a sex slave/soul mate/familiar. (But don't worry, it's... it's the least sexy sex focused plot I've ever seen; nothing happens on screen and it's blown into such like vaudeville camp levels as Zero goes around collecting the boys like a tsundere pokemon trainer that if I found out Taro is ace and just finds sex hilarious as a concept I would not be shocked).

Here's Mikhail and Zero.

If Eda gave this exact speech at some point, I wouldn't even blink.

And here's Octa's introduction. He's basically Gruncle Stan if Disney let him say and do the fuck. He is a pervy pervy old man, but in a way that's actually funny for a once, I think because the advances are welcomed. YMMV tho, he is the least favourite of the Disciples in fandom so far as I can tell, and I get why.

If you're bored and you just wanna explore Drakengard 3, this is my favourite let's player's playthrough. He's played the whole series so he's really good at pointing out references and explaining inter-game connections.

And tangentially this screenshot LP of the first game is legitimately an iconic and historically significant piece of web 1.0 meme culture and early let's plays, and also single-handedly the funniest shit I have ever read. I will literally sometimes do live readings of it, in a way I only ever do with it and the lolcat bible, because it's even funnier read out loud. If you want to actually get into the Drakengard franchise, starting here and reading this dude's LPs of the games in release order is still how I recommend people do it, and the LP series itself starts making its own meta-lore and I'm a sucker for that meta nonsense. It's very long though, ymmv depending on how well/fast you can read what's basically doorstop novels.

I just had a long thought train that eventually derailed itself on 'King is related to Michael the dragon from Drakengard 3". And now I want Eda and Zero to hang out. The profanity dropped would be such that the fabric of reality starts to unravel like the fuck episode of South Park. Eda could have a good night with one of the bird boys. Given her previous taste in husbands, Octa obviously.

And I'm choosing to make all that your problem now, enjoy!

I don't know a ton about Drakengard, but now I wanna know more 'cause Eda is really fun to imagine interacting with various characters. She just has such a distinct personality.

[viitrus]

So I’ve recently read the DOD3 Story Side ( translated it from french to english for Juli & I to understand from a site that has all the DOD/Nier material) so here is what is important to note:

1.  As you all know, the sisters are born from different parts of Zero and are different aspects of her. The people used for their faces are just random ass people that she’s killed or made an acquaintance with, leaving me to wonder why the Flower didn’t choose people closer to home. Possibly to bond or invoke emotion seems a bit far fetched because The Flower appeared to her with the intentions of her destroying the world. It had to have known that she didn’t trust or care about others easily.     - The intoners were born being about 3-4 years old! This explains why she is called Sister instead of ‘ Mother ’. A maternal bond was not established between the ‘newborns’ and Zero, making that concept non-existent to them ( what I’m saying is that they are at the age to register their mothers so to call Zero their mother wouldn’t make sense to them ).    - The Disciples weren’t born from Zero thinking about any particular person ( she’s likely killed & fucked too many men to actually begin to even close in on a particular face). She just thought of an age range for these men and then they were born. However, Octa is the mystery of the bunch because Zero imagined a 20 year old man for him, but when she saw him, he was old. Either he fucked something up or The Flower did. 

2. The events of Utahime Five are likely not canon for the most part. In Story Side, there are two things worth mentioning: 1st: Two, Three, Four, and Five were all in a flower and One was looking on. It didn’t mention the man with the Faerie, it didn’t mention a battle. There was just One looking at the rest of her sisters succumb to the Flower. This is when the Disciples were born from four doves nearby. They stopped whatever was happening with the sisters and thus became theirs. 2nd: There is no mention of One & Gabriella becoming the first Pact. That title is given to Zero, from her pact with the Flower to save Mikhail.     - This kind of reinforces & refutes my personal headcanon about pacts needing to mean something. Caim & Angelus’ pact means something because Caim is important to the army. He was likely meant to lead after the war. Him losing his voice means that his only way to lead now is by cutting all that he sees down. Arioch with Undine & Salamander is important because of her ‘love’ of children. She can never bring another life into this world because she no longer has the means to do such. Leonard & the Faerie: Leonard can’t see the objects of his lusts anymore. Verdelet & the petrified Dragon, Seere & Golem, Inuart & Legna all give up something important to them or important to others. It is a SACRIFICE. The question remains however, is what does age regression have to do with Zero? Is it a metaphor for strength or was it meant to torment her because she is back to the age she was at when she was in the brothel? 

3. THE POWERS OF THE FLOWER ARE VERY DEMONIC SOUNDING IN THIS MEDIA. From the feelings of desperation that Five has to keep living ( she literally BEGS to stay alive & she does, but it’s not as a beautiful blonde. She is decayed. She has maggots in her. She is nothing lovely ) to the mutation of the Soldiers from Two’s song. Nothing is lovely about it.      - The way Two shuts herself down is similar to someone trying to face demon possession as well. She stops feeding her body so the hold that this thing has on her weakens too. Her hysterical behavior within the game is her trying to gain some footing on the Flower as it has always been something she tried to fight. She knew her powers were not for good.         - Speaking of Two, it is likely that she wanted Cent to live on by becoming a Disciple for Zero. It would be the only way that he could remain alive as they all believed that she wanted the power for herself. Cent both breaks and fulfills this promise following the fight with Dito by becoming a dove again. 

4. ONE IS ABLE TO SUMMON THE OTHER SISTERS’ ANGELS BECAUSE SHE COMBINES INTELLIGENCE AND WILL POWER. These are the two things needed to harness the magic of the Flower, and control it. It is likely that Zero can also use the other angels, but prefers not to because she doesn’t want to rely on it more than she has to. 

If you all want to know more, I’m willing to answer more about it, but these are the things I found interesting about the sisters. The Cult of The Watchers is mentioned briefly here as well, and a bit more about the Goddess system in DOD1. 

[irafatum-a]

I finished Zero’s DLC: Intoner of Truth

Out of all the sisters, Zero dispatches enemies the fastest. She’s very swift and her attack power is strong, don’t even get me started on leveling her up to max. Don’t even try.

Even with her battle prowess and strength, she complained a lot about ‘why aren’t they dying faster?!’ and something about her being ‘out of shape’ if they aren’t dead already. She’s so impatient!

A lot of her idle animations consist of her jutting her hip and placing a hand on it, or a variation of one foot in front and tipped up, arms elegantly out stretched with one holding the sword, and her hip out. Basically she does A LOT of seductive posing. 

Zero does a lot of taunting in fights, especially with warnings of ‘leave me alone or die’, which of course no one listens too. If fights go on too long she starts getting irritated, and only berates her enemies more. 

She insists that she does not have much time left, but that merely could be her paranoia and fear at her first attempts to stop the flower. Her first try made the sisters, so, much of her assumptions after that are pessimistic.

Micheal just-so-happened to cross paths with Zero, and being as she is quick on her feet, decides to attract his attention with insults and attempts to boss him around. Then he tried killing her with fireballs -- spoiler; it didn’t work.

Whenever she reminisces on Micheal, she is often said to be smiling or sounds extremely amused. But because this bitch is tsundere to the max, she refuses to acknowledge it. And when people challenge her on it she says ‘Shut up’. As if that wins the argument.

During campsite scenes, Zero’s idle animations are again with hand on hip, but she also as a sitting animation similar to Four: her forehead is to her knees, her hands clasp just at the ankles, a very submissive posture. When she is facing the Disciples, she goes into a ‘thinking’ animation; one arm bent to hold her chin like shes thinking, with the other arm holding the one holding her chin. 

Zero’s a bit of a troll; Dito asks if he can inquire anything about dragons to her, and she happily agrees, but when he starts asking questions she ends with ‘I don’t know’, and at first, it seems genuine. Until Dito can’t get words out and she responds with ‘I don’t know’ to pretty much everything. She’s a little shithead. 

Throughout the DLC Zero insists that Micheal wasn’t very smart, and that she was taking advantage of his curiosity of humans and kindness to fill her own goals. Whether this is a truth or a lie isn’t certain, it most likely could be both. And yet during the mountain mission you see Micheal literally fool Zero, and she’s hella pissed about it.

She really hates jumping platforms. Actually, she hates pretty much anything she deems as ‘not important’ or ‘getting in the way’. Zero is an impatient woman to the MAX, she HATES when things don’t happen. She wants some IMMEDIATE SATISFACTION. 

Between the two of them, they fuck with each other a lot. Zero complains and Micheal goes on weird narrative story-telling rants, which is immediately interrupted with her ‘ no one gives a shit’. 

Not being alone seems to be a theme with Zero and Micheal; they both experience great loss in varying degrees, Micheal more than Zero, and even if they give lip to one another and snark, it’s clear they enjoyed one another’s company. No matter how much she denies it, Zero does miss him. 

She is extremely cocky and arrogant when it comes to her manipulating others, and thinks no one can really turn that around on her. Zero you are just a shithead, you know that?

Her attacks are very graceful and consist of a lot of spins, twirls and so fourth. They pack a punch on impact. Also I noticed rose petals erupt from her during her attacks, with streaks of pink light following.  ( note: all the sisters seem to have their color-coded lights and rose petals around them during attacks )

Intoner Mode is initiated with her scream, unfortunately this scream is also used with the other sisters ( sometimes its weird ), but it is Zero’s. And it sounds intense and bloodthirsty. 

Zero holds Micheal in high regard when it comes to raising Mikhail, she won’t even call him by his name until he is worthy. She tells decadus ‘Someday’. 

Did I mention she’s a fucking troll? Because she’s a damn troll.

Apparently it’s alright to ask about Micheal to an extent; she talks about him to the Disciples and then Accord(s). 

When experiencing vulnerable emotions, like fright, Zero doubles-down on her tsundere. Micheal can pick-up on her attempts to act tough, and calls her out on it. Only for her to tell him to ‘SHUT UP’. 

During the battle against him, Zero is extremely reluctant. She claims this is merely her being startled and came out of no where, but you can tell in her voice she has no interest in harming him. It makes her wary, which calls into question if she was actually using all her strength. Micheal is a powerful dragon, and when it was done she didn’t even sound tired or like she’d done anything at all.

When he is injured by her attacks, she is quick to ask if he’s alright, albeit hesitantly, letting down her guard when she thinks she’s overdone it. 

Accord(s) point out that Zero smiles more after meeting Micheal, and that she essentially trusts him. Instead she insists that she does not trust him throughout the entire dlc, saying that he is merely too dumb to lie to her. And he sticks to his word so religiously that no matter what he will do what she asks. But its clear she does trust him to an extent and is merely lying. 

Thinking about it makes her sad too, and all the fun times they had together weighs her heart. She comments she’ll be dead soon, and they can see each other again. 

Moral of the story? That even tiny angry cutie patooties get the feels when they find their best friend. No one likes being alone; not big strong dragons or murderous psychopaths like Zero. EVERYBODY NEEDS THEIR SOMEBODY! I’m so hurt by this dlc oh my god. 

[homogrimoire-archive]

The Remnant Branches

CH. 2 - Vile Toxic Intent

Part 3: Tyrian "Helping Children" Callows

Tyrian sees that he has been transported into another world, and makes the best of the situation.

“Hey Z, who’s this nutcase?” Dito asked.

“Don’t know. He doesn’t seem so bad though.” she shrugged as an arm flew into the air. Dito stared at it in amazement as rusted wires and rancid fluids spurted out of it.

“Yeah, fun fact! People don’t have tails. I say we get your sword and go. He’s giving me the heebie-jeebies.” Cent shuddered.

“Hold on, I think he could be useful. I’m getting tired of having to do all the killing around here, and he seems like he likes killing.”

“I agree with Lady Zero. The more people we have, the less energy she wastes by killing soldiers and monsters, and the more energy she can use to kill her sisters.”

“It’s settled then. Hey, scorpion tail! You good now?” Zero shouted as she walked towards him. He let out a huff as he drove in the sword one last time.

“I’m, good now.” he huffed. “I’m very good now!” He let out a loud cackle into the sky.

“You done? I don’t have all day.” She was starting to get annoyed.

“Yes. I’m much better now.” He said as he handed the sword back to her.

“Good. Let’s cut to the chase. I’m on my way to kill my sisters. They call themselves goddesses, so why don't you join me and help me kill them in the name of your goddess?” she offered. She saw him jump at the opportunity, then hesitate for a moment.

“Suuure,” he began, “but on one condition! You tell me about magic! One of my objectives is to learn about magic, so help me with that, and I’ll help you out. Deal?”

“Ugh. Deal.” Zero replied. “Now hurry up. I’m not going to sit around and baby you. We’ve got Intoners to kill.”

-

“Zero, why are we going after One first? Wouldn’t it be better to start with a weaker Intoner?” the young dragon asked.

“Never thought I’d agree with the big baby, but are you sure it’s best to go after One first?” Dito asked.

“Yeah. I’m sure. Once she’s out of the way, taking down the rest of them will be a piece of cake.” She explained. “Would you rather things get easier, or harder as we go?”

“I usually prefer it when its hard, but I suppose tha t this isn’t one of those times. But if you’d like, we could have a hard time right now.” Octa winked at Zero as she decapitated a man.

“I don’t know, does it seem like a good time Octa?” she said as a man fell to his knees to beg for mercy. His pleas fell on deaf ears.

“Hmm, that’s not a no.” he beamed.

“Ugh, why can’t you guys just focus on killing, like him?” she berated as she referred to Tyrian tearing through a group of soldiers in the distance. His laughter was somewhat annoying after a while, but at least he killed, killed, and killed some more.

“Cause he’s literally insane, Z. The guy voluntarily follows a self-proclaimed goddess.” Dito said, exasperated.

“That, and frankly I just don’t trust him. Heh, I mean, I have impeccable judgement, so if I don’t trust him, he just shouldn’t be trusted.” Cent reasoned.

“I don’t know. I think he’s alright. He has a tail, like me! Hey Zero, watch this!” Mikhail shouted, and proceeded to slice a horde of monsters with the tip of his tail. “Did you see Zero? Did you see? I learned that from watching him.”

“He’s not that annoying, he’s a good influence on Mikhail, and he’s good at killing. Can't say all that that about the rest of you, can I? Hey, dummy, go and get some more pointers from him.” she barked at him.

“Yes Zero!” the dragon said happily as he flew to study the tailed murderer.

“But you can say we have an amazing time fucking.” Octa stated.

“... Fine. You guys are good for sex, I guess.” Zero admitted. “Goddamnit, now I’m horny.We’re fucking right now. I don’t give a damn where we are.”

“I guess we can help with that.” Dito sneered.

“Oh ho ho! you know you can count me in anytime, my lady!” Octa exclaimed excitedly.

“I guess I’ll have to join in then. Someone with my unparalleled skills simply needs to be there. But uh, shouldn't we take care of the soldiers first?” Cent asked.

“Mmm, I think they’ll be busy.” She said as they paused to look at the reinforcements heading towards Tyrian. “Hey, hold on, where’s Decadus?”

“Hell if I know.” Cent shrugged.

“I say we start without him.” Octa urged.

“Knowing that freak, he’s probably trying to get stabbed by the new freak in town.” Dito joked, looking at the bloodbath behind them as he began to take off his shirt. “Wait, holy shit. He actually is.” Among the soldiers, Dito could just make out the huge freak.

“You better be fucking joking.” She sighed. She went to look in the distance to see that Decadus was indeed among the soldiers. “Fuck it. If he dies, he dies. That’s on him.” At least the dragon was getting better at killing.

“I knew he was a freak, but damn, he really is on a whole other level of freak.” Dito remarked.

“Fun fact, did you know that a scorpion’s poison can kill a grown man in mere hours, even a big guy like Decadus? Food for thought.” Cent commented.

“Can you two shut up so we can start fucking already?” she demanded to know. While Octa was already undressed and having fun, the other two were barely removing their underwear. Despite missing a man, it was a good time, perhaps even better than usual. All they knew was they they would have to try fucking in the middle of battle more often.

-

“Hey! Hey mister! I’m here! I’m here so I can learn to get better at fighting!” Mikhail exclaimed as he flew closer.

“Oh how wonderful, a pupil!” he yelled joyously as he slashed the chest of one man, the stomach of another, and poisoned a third. However, that fact that he was stabbed in his throat meant he would die from the wound before the poison. “Give me a ride, would you?” he said as he jumped onto Mikhail’s back. “Thank you.”

“Are you gonna give me some pointers? I don’t really like killing, but I’ll do it if it makes Zero’s life easier.” Mikhail explained.

“Well that won’t do. If you don’t like killing, then you shouldn’t be killing. I guess I’ll be taking my leave then.” Tyrian said, readying to jump back into the fray.

“No, wait, wait! I like killing! I like killing if Zero they’re Zero’s enemies! I love killing them! Grr! Kill!” he growled.

“Alright. Good enough. The trick to being a good killer is to love killing. You have to love all the pain and death and suffering you’re creating!” Tyrian explained to the youngling. “Torch those fools below us, would you?” The dragon followed the order, incinerating the many soldiers and monsters.

“Aah, hear that? Smell that? See that? If you wanna help your friend, wanna be a good killer, love that.”

“But couldn’t we have just talked to them instead? I’m sure we could have solved things peacefully.” Mikhail said somewhat sadly. Tyrian laughed at the suggestion.

“Talk? To your enemy? How are you even still alive? Listen kid, why don’t you land down there real quick and talk to them.”

“Really? You’ll let me try to talk to them? Zero never lets me try that.”

“Sure. Gooo right ahead. See what happens.” Tyrian cackled sinisterly as the naive dragon descended.

“Umm, hello. I― ow, stop that!” he said as soldiers stabbed at his thick scales with their puny weaponry. “Hey, I just want to talk with you. Ow, stop that! That kinda hurts!” Mikhail whined.

“Why isn’t it even slowing down?!” One soldier demanded to know.

“Stab it enough and it’ll die eventually!” another responded.

“Kill the traitor intoner’s dragon! Filthy beast!” insulted a man stabbing at the dragon’s feet.

“Hey, that’s not nice! Ow. Listen, I just wanna talk to you! We can solve this peacefully! Ow!”

“Kill, kill, kill!”

“Die, die, die!”

“Perish, perish, perish!”

“Shut up and listen to me!” Mikhail roared, flapping his wings angrily. The powerful gust sent the men flying back.

“Attack!” screamed the soldiers as they rushed back towards the dragon.

“They’re not going to listen, are they?” Mikhail asked himself, though he knew the answer. Tyrian laughed in response.

“See? See why I like killing? You get to rid the world of people who don’t listen to reason! You get to make them suffer! Now, if you want some real pointers, treat your whole body as a weapon, because it is! Crush them! Burn them! Poison them! Bite their throats out! Kill them!” Tyrian giggled maniacally as he jumped back down to spill even more blood. “Killl, alll yourr enemies! And loooove it!”

Soldier upon soldier, monster upon monster. The bodies piled high. Blood was freed from its prison and flowed as it pleased. Smoke bellowed out from the newborn pyre. A song without the power of a flower could be heard. And yet the enemies still ran towards the visage of death. Soon, the last wave arrived. It was composed of humans enhanced by magic, and monsters made of magic. It was a sight that would bring hope to the followers of the Intoner sisters. It would soon become a sight that would inspire despair in them. Only a single man lay alive amongst the order of slaughter.

“Ooh, looks like someone’s still hanging on.” Tyrian cooed.

“Nngh, so, much, pain.” he moaned.

“Huh? Wait! That’s Decadus! Waahhh! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Mikhail profusely apologized as he headed towards the suffering disciple.

“So much, delectable pain, uhmmn…” he groaned.

“You know, you’re not supposed to like it.” Tyrian told him.

“Hurry, put him on my back! We’ll take him back to Zero!” Mikhail told Tyrian.

“I say we just put him out of his misery.”

“Nghnn, to deny me the suffering of life… so cruel.” he moaned again.

Tyrian was taken aback by the disciple’s desire to suffer. It was so illogical to him. It went against everything he knew. People hated to suffer, and feared death, which is why he loved to make them suffer and die. But this guy, it didn’t matter. Whether or not he was suffering, he was getting what he wanted. There wasn’t a way he could truly hurt. It was plain wrong to Tyrian, disgusting even, and he didn’t know how to react to it. So he just did what the dragon asked of him and they made their way towards Zero.

“Don’t worry Decadus! Zero will fix you up!”

“Must she?” he complained.

“Is he alright?” Tyrian asked.

“What? Is he alright? Look at him! Poisoned, burned, broken bones probably, and cuts everywhere! Of course he isn’t alright!” Mikahil stated.

“No, is he alright, like, in the head? Cause, uhh...” Tyrian looked back at the suffering man who enjoyed suffering, and therefore wasn’t really suffering in his eyes.

“Well, probably not. I mean, it was preeeetty crazy back there, so I’m sure he hit his head a few times. Just hang in there Dacadus, we’ll be there soon!”

“Please, nngh, take your time.” he lewdly groaned again. To the joy of Mikhail, they found Zero and the other disciples soon. They were resting peacefully.

“Zeroooooo! Zeroooooooooo!” he yelled as he neared them. Being in the frantic state he was in, he loudly crashed into a nearby rock face. Tyrian managed to jump off in time. Decadus, however… “Waaahhhhh! I’m sorry! I’m sorry again!”

“Can’t ever have a goddam peaceful fucking moment can I?” she sighed. “What!?” she turned to look at a very beat up Decadus, moaning in pleasurable pain. “Oh fucking fuck! Just fucking die next time, god!”

“Guuhhh. So cruel...”

“Eew look! The bone is sticking out!” Dito exclaimed as he giddily ran towards the body. “Ohh, gross!! You can see the bone marrow! And look at this vein! God that’s disgusting! Man this cut goes deeeep! Holy shit, this burn!” he gasped with excitement, like a kid getting free candy.

“The big guy, is there something wrong with him, or…” Tyrian wasn’t sure how else to describe it, so he just motioned vaguely with his hands.

“I ask myself that everyday. Every. Single. Fucking. Day. Alright, out of the way shorty.” She pushed Dito out of the way as he was poking at a wound with a stick.

“Hey!” Dito shouted. Zero ignored his cry.

“Pay attention scorpion. You wanted magic, here it is.”

She began to vocalize ever so softly, and began a dance. Her lower body remained stationary as her upper body danced odd movements. A glow began to envelop his body as the flower in her eye began to glow. Soon, her movements quickened and her voice became louder. The glow became so intense it was blinding. When the glow faded, and the song and dance stopped, and a healed Decadus was what they saw.

“Thank you, Lady Zero...” he said rather sadly. She lifted a leg, and kicked him in the dick, sending him flying into the wall of rock. The rest of the guys looked in horror, clutching their own dick through their clothing in fear.

“Fucking do that again! I fucking dare you! Goddamn disciple...” she grumbled.

“Understood, ghhhnn, Lady Zero.” he cried. He looked like a kicked puppy that liked being kicked.

“I didn’t get to look at the poison wound on his back...” Dito lamented.

“At least we still have our dicks in one piece.” Tyrian said as he looked at Decadus in horror.