_ _ _Lizardmen Chieftain Pov_ _ _
(First the orcs... and now this...)
I had been speaking to my daughter about the coming orc army while sitting upon my throne. Their numbers were roughly two hundred thousand, an army that was twenty times our own. It was then that it happened: one of my men rushed in, screaming about an intruder who wished for an audience with me. It wasn't long before the intruder arrived.
Our "guest" stood before me now, my guards and daughter at the ready, but I knew they stood little chance if things turned violent. The being before me was more than likely an ogre, and a powerful one at that. Their black horn and blue hair made them stand out in the subterranean environment, and yet something was definitely off about them. Honestly, I wasn't one hundred percent sure they were an ogre to being with, mainly because they seemed slightly different from what I was used to.
It wasn't this blue‑haired individual that I was truly worried about however, yes, they were incredibly powerful, and yet my attention was centred fully on the ogre's shadow. The others that were currently present hadn't detected it; not even my daughter had sensed it, but I had. There was something there, something contained in that dark silhouette. I didn't know what it was, but I could tell it was both massive and extraordinarily powerful.
"Forgive me for the rough reception," I breathed, not allowing my true emotions to show outwardly as the visitor came to a stop in the middle of the chamber. "We're not exactly in a favourable situation, and so I cannot spare much hospitality."
"Don't trouble yourself. I entered uninvited after all," the intruder muttered, his face completely calm despite my guards pointing their weapons at him. "I am an envoy, here on behalf of my lord and the young miss to deliver a message."
(The other one hasn't revealed themselves yet, and I'm sure they know I can sense them.) I thought while giving a single nod to my subordinates and guards to stand down.
Deciding not to say anything about the one in the shadow for now, I let out a cautious breath, and asked, "Very well then, what is the message?"
"An alliance," the blue‑haired ogre responded bluntly.
Before I could ask what he meant, he continued. "My master is known as Rimuru Tempest, and the young miss, the lord's adopted daughter, is known as Suu Tempest." He paused for a second, letting us all absorb that piece of information, before finishing with the most surprising news. "They have both recently received a request from the dryads. They have sworn that they will defeat the orc army."
"A request from the dryads?! Truly?" My eyes widened, and from the look of shock on everyone else's faces, I wasn't the only one who was completely taken aback by the sudden reveal.
(Why? Why would the dryads join forces with some unknown faction?) I paused for a second, thinking it over. It didn't take me long to realise that it actually made sense to some degree. (Considering the danger the orc army poses, I suppose it shouldn't be too shocking that the forest guardians are taking action to find a solution.)
"Additionally, the dryads have informed us that this orc army is being led by an orc lord," the ogre hummed, his gaze steady and firm. "You may wish to keep that in mind as we move forward."
Before I could respond, one of my men scoffed loudly. "Do you truly expect us to be foolish enough to believe such words?!"
"I have never heard of this Rimuru or his so‑called daughter. If I had to guess, you're probably just putting up a front," he growled mockingly. "You and your masters are probably just too pathetic to survive the orcs on your own; you should just admit that you're here to beg for our help instead of spouting such obvious lies!"
"Silence at once!" I demanded, but the fool could not hold his tongue.
"But sir! He is clearly here to belittle our cla-" He went to argue but suddenly stopped, his mouth clamping shut.
His words had not been cut off by me or the ogre; no, they were silenced when an ominous aura began to fill the room. It was dark and suffocatingly dense; it moved with a steady calmness that filled me with a kind of dread I'd never experienced before. It was like seeing your death slowly walking toward you, yet being unable to do anything about it.
I wanted to say something, but it was far too late, my words of warning died in my throat as a deep, rumbling voice spoke up. "Sssuch arrogance, mussst all you lizardsss be ssso disssrespectful."
All of a sudden the ogre's shadow expanded rapidly, growing to cover nearly a quarter of the chamber floor before anyone could react. It rippled for a second, shifting like water, before something gigantic emerged from its dark depths. The one who had misspoken could only stare up in pure terror as a set of predatory eyes looked down upon him, all while the throne room was plunged into a deathly silence.
What now towered above the poor fool was a serpent of immense size that radiated an overwhelming yet steady hostility, and it wasn't just any kind of serpent mind you. While I had never seen one before, and I never thought I would, I knew exactly what this creature was. It was slightly different from the legends I had heard from my late grandfather, one of the few lizardmen who had ever come across one in our long history, but there was no doubt in my mind. In the end, there was only one thing that this massive serpent, which was only partially emerged from the inky darkness, could possibly be.
"A greater scaled basilisk..." I muttered, the words slipping out and causing several fearful gasps in response.
My daughter, standing off to my side, took a slight step back, her eyes glued to the behemoth before us as she stuttered, "W‑what? Are... are y‑you sure, father?"
Before they could all process that revelation, however, I watched as dark purple smoke began to gather in the creature's maw. Immediately my blood ran cold; it wasn't hard for me to figure out what that gas was after all. Knowing that if I didn't act now the one who had spoken would soon face an agonising fate, I stood up from my throne abruptly.
"Wait!" The word cut through the air, pulling the attention of everyone in the room to me. "Please forgive him, he is young and ignorant."
I did not regret stepping in; it was a chief's duty to protect his people after all. However, when those dark amber eyes turned to me, I felt a shiver run down my spine. I knew it could kill me; I knew that if it wanted to, if it ended up deciding that we were enemies, it could kill everyone in this room and there wouldn't be a thing that I could do about it. I was, however, thankful that it at least seemed willing to listen to me as I stepped forward ever so slightly.
(So this is what it feels like to stare into the eyes of a legendary beast.) I thought without averting my gaze from the basilisk. Fortunately, it wouldn't be long before the tense atmosphere broke.
"Very well. I will ressstrain myssself only once... however," the massive serpent spoke with a low, rumbling intensity after a moment of contemplation. "I do sssuggest that you teach your underlingsss not to allow their pride to blind them, mossst would not be merciful enough to forgive sssuch wordsss after all."
"I agree with my companion. While we do not wish to cause trouble, we will not tolerate those who speak such disrespect toward the lord and the young miss," the ogre mused, his expression dangerously calm.
"I understand. I'll make sure to instruct them properly at a later date," I hummed as I sat back on my throne.
(Well, that's one crisis averted...) I sighed internally as I turned my attention to the great serpent still present in the room.
"May I ask why you remained hidden up until this point?"
"My apologiesss for that. I sssimply believed it would be for the bessst to keep mysself out of sssight so as not to callsss unnecessssary fear," he explained simply, his tone far less aggressive now.
(That's understandable I suppose...) I thought, glancing around at the nervous, fearful, and even somewhat awe struck expressions on my subordinates.
"Do you serve the one known as Rimuru as well?" I asked curiously.
"No, I do not," came the immediate answer. "While I am at the lord'sss ssservice if he were to require sssomething of me, my loyaltiesss lay eternally and sssolely to my lady."
"The one known as Suu Tempest?"
"Yesss. Lady Suu is my one and only master," he spoke while actively making sure not to hiss when saying her name. "Ssshe granted me the name Zeref, and I evolved into what I am now."
"I suppose I should introduce myself as well," the ogre muttered calmly. "My lord gave me the name Souei. I was once an ogre; however, after being named I evolved into a kijin."
Another round of surprised gasps followed their introductions. (If this is all true, then... this encounter may truly be the salvation that we saw desperately need...)
_ _ _Suu Pov_ _ _
You know, I was really starting to get sick of ending up face‑first in the dirt. I mean, seriously, how hard is it to learn how to use my wings properly? I'm literally a phoenix of all things after all; this should come naturally, and yet here I was, lying face‑first on the ground. It was made even more embarrassing by the loud laughter coming from above.
"Stop laughing at me!" I yelled in frustration, my face turning bright red.
"Sorry." Rimuru chuckled, clearly not sorry in the slightest. "I just didn't expect you to have this much trouble getting the hang of this."
"Says the person with a literal supercomputer in their brain that helps them do everything," I grumbled as I picked myself up.
"Fair enough." He shrugged, although the amused grin on his face didn't vanish, a fact that only served to further irritate me.
"I'll definitely get it this time," I huffed, spreading my wings.
"And since when did you become so competitive?" he hummed teasingly, which only made my face a darker shade of red.
"S‑shut up..."
I wouldn't admit it out loud, but he had a point. Glaring up at him, I couldn't help the feeling of irritation that continued to grow in my chest. I don't exactly know when the change truly happened, but I had indeed noticed my thoughts becoming more and more competitive for a while now. It probably started around the time I began training with Hakurou, if I'm being honest.
Anyway, I shook those thoughts away and focused entirely on the task at hand, determined not to make a fool of myself again. Of course, the chance of me actually getting it perfectly right this time was rather low.
(I can do this, I can do this.) I thought, trying to centre myself.
"Remember, it's all about balanc-huh?" Rimuru tried to instruct me but stopped when he noticed something.
"Hmmm?" Confused, I glanced to where he was looking and saw someone approaching.
"Sorry for the interruption," Kaijin muttered apologetically as he walked toward us.
"Nah, it's fine," Rimuru mused as he landed. "What's up, Kaijin?"
"Well, I came to inform Lady Suu that the little projects she had us working on for a while now are all ready for her to come over and inspect."
"Really?!" I perked up at that, my eyes flashing with excitement.
"That's right; those two kittens of yours are already there waiting," he chuckled at my enthusiasm.
Rimuru also seemed curious and was quick to ask, "This should be interesting, mind if I tag along as well?"
"I wouldn't dare tell you not to, my lord." The dwarf nodded with a smile.
(They're really done... I can't wait to see them.)
(((A/N. Sorry if there are any stupid mistakes in this, I'm currently pretty tired as my sleeping pattern has been all over the damn place recently. Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave a review if you can be bothered.)))