Interlude 6: Dark Deal

Morgalla and I found ourselves in a rather precarious situation.

You see...I found the base if you could even call it that with ease. Ranathar was a rather small and quant country, but even so, not a shred of life was in sight when I took us there. The only solid structure was a high tower overgrown with moss, similar in size to one the New York's buildings. It was most likely quite deep below the surface as well.

Mad Scientist Okaran was an individual that was always on my mind. He was the father of the Monster Girl Builder that birthed my minion, Protoform Epsilon into this world, and a genius of this primitive age.

Even now, I am fascinated by what he could do without the modern knowledge of technology. Though, that would all change very soon if I did nothing. While I respected a man of his caliber with his smarts and desire to delve into the unknown, there was only room for one grand experimenter in this world.

“Not going to answer, little hero? I could tell you where any rare beast-kin is in return for your compliance. All you need to do is tell me how you make something as magnificent as…. What did you call it again?”

“...”

“Oh, right! I remember now. A Railgun. Everything about it intrigues me, forcing my brain to tremble. I want to know—no—I need to. If you won’t tell me, I’m sure your fragmented memory will suffice when I dump it into a new vessel and bind it to my command.”

“Why do you need this information anyway, Okaran? Have you not used every human and beast-kin in this country to fuel your thirst? Even if the Destroyer informed you how it was created, you wouldn't have even a soul to use it on.”

Morgala tried to make an argument while she was bolted by metal clasps to an iron table while being upside down. I was in the same boat.

We got in through here pretty easily, but something akin to a magic jammer cut me off from using any Skills. To make matters worse, the moment Epsilon walked in, she fell into a mind-controlled-like trance and refused to lend me even a single weapon from her stomach of infinite storage. I assumed it stemmed from some hidden override Okaran built in to prevent rebellion. 

That was actually the reason we got captured so easily. With Morgala and I restricted from using our abilities, Epsilon turned on us and knocked each of us out with a single punch. Even my armor didn't stand a chance against my souped-up girl! We awoke to find ourselves in a dimly lit room with tables holding tables of test tubes, graduated cylinders, and corpses. Typical scientist supplies, no real surprise there. We were bolted to the kind of tables one would conduct surgery on (which had most likely occurred in the past).

A tall man with glasses, a mix of green and black hair greeted us when we awoke. He had pale skin and stern black eyes. His entire body was covered up in black clothing as if to hide a secret or two from any onlookers.

Epsilon stood at his side, telling him about everything I had stored inside of her, much to his delight and my own dismay. That was when he discovered my weapons of mass destruction and was eager to figure out how I made them since it was beyond Epsilon’s comprehension to explain it, herself.

Orakan had threatened me with a lobotomy, being shoved into the body of an animal or female beast-kin, as well as killing me in about thirty different ways. The most recent one was that of a slow, slow dip into a vat of acid, which did not sound very appealing.

I didn’t say a word, while Morgala, our resident dark goddess, pleaded for our freedom. She could easily escape by either dying or removing the golden scanner that was over her right eye. For a dark goddess, she acted rather selflessly in this situation. I guess I must have been really vital to their control of the continents of this world as well as the planned war against Heaven.

Okaran responded to Morgala with deadeyes and a creepy smile. “My goddess, you may be right that all my experiments are either out in the world or deceased, but that is no reason to cease my great work! I was already planning on leaving Ranthar soon in search of a new testing ground. These artifacts are so very interesting! They are divine, there is just no way I can let a tool that can instantly eviscerate a dragon or ogre slip through my grasp. I will do anything and everything to get this man, or Destroyer as you called him to tell me how to make them!”

He really liked to ramble, but I could understand where he was coming from. If I found someone who knew about something that I couldn't comprehend until I learned it myself, I would force them to tell me every little detail until they passed out from exhaustion and then some. I thirsted for knowledge, just like him. We would both use any means necessary.

Still...I could not give up my precious tools to this man who would most likely kill or experiment on us even if I were to tell him.

“How did you take control of my Epsilon?” I said with a firm stare, making sure to keep his eyes locked with my own.

“So it speaks! That’s a good first step.” He put his hand to his chin and walked close to me as if inspecting a piece of artwork. “Hmm...that is the armor from Eternal, but those augments are not something from this world…”

“Will you answer my question, already?” I pestered.

He looked at my upside-down face with disinterest but responded nonetheless. “I have a Skill that imprints a command onto anything I make. Of course, the device that I gave to Eternal would have a way for me to control my creations, and this one…,” he looked towards Epsilon who stood emotionless at his side. “...is a goldmine. The Skills and races you gave her fascinate me to no end! My calculations never thought of a combination like that. This will help my future endeavors greatly.”

He pulled away from me and adjusted his steel-framed glasses. “Your stats are nothing special, but I am glad to see that we have similar hobbies. Your brain chemistry is not much different from my own.”

So his glasses had the same kind of scanning ability as my helmet and holo-arm piece. It's a shame I can’t use either as of now with how I am bound…

He says we are similar in mind, but I wonder how true that really is. I might be a manipulator, but this man seems on a whole new level. I guess I should have prepared for him more. What a folly.

“You sure have a lot on your mind; tell you what: You teach me how to make these wonderful constructs and in return, I will not only give you my grimoire of the beast-kin which contains every combination of them to date, but I will also teach you how to upgrade and augment your own beast-kin. I’m sure you have made progress...but I know there is something you lack.” He slicked back his hair and laughed. “I can give all that to you.”

What? Why with the change of heart?

Okaran sunk into the dark chair behind him and smirked. “You are probably wondering why I changed my approach—I can see it all over your face. So what do you say? I know you might be wary after all my despicable suggestions, but let me assure you—no harm will come your way as long as you stay out of mine.”

“...”

He stood up and started to pace back and forth in front of us. “While I do plan on killing that snake, Eternal, with my own two hands...I also want to usurp the throne from Abaddon which comes first.” He stopped and locked his hungry eyes with my own. “If you can help me with this, then I will surely not need to set my sights on you for quite some time. Good deal, no?”

He did make a fair point and I also don’t see myself escaping this while he has Epsilon in his grasp. It really was a good deal…

I looked over to Morgala, not exactly seeking her approval, but more to gauge her reaction.

Her expression was lukewarm, but it allowed me to make up my mind.

“Fine, Orakan. You have yourself a deal,” I said with as much vitality as I can muster under these circumstances.

I can tell him how to make the weapons, I just need to make sure he can’t get his hands on the creatures that powered them.

His eyes grew wide as well as his smile which broke into a terrifying grin. He clasped his hands together. “Splendid! Well once I get what I want, I have no problem setting you two and the creation free. Now...shall we get started?”

Sometime later...

“You didn’t have to give in so easily. I would have thought you had a plan, Ivorn.”

Real name, huh? Guess we spent enough time together now.

We soared through the air on my flying creation with Epsilon playing away on her game behind us. The wind was a pain and it was pretty cloudy, but I had experienced much much worse.

We were on our way back to Estonia, the former dwelling of the Gargoyle King and a haven for the most talented human and dwarven craftsmen. It was our base of operations at the moment.

I had put a big commission into motion and wanted to see it through.

“I did what I needed to do to keep all my creations as well as leave a way to keep an eye on him.”

Morgala tilted her head in confusion. She must have not understood. “Are you saying this was a positive outcome for you?”

I nodded along, keeping my eyes on the sky ahead. It helped me steer when I was completely focused. I also loved the feel of touching a metal pirate steering wheel. You could say we were even in a flying pirate ship.

“Something like that. The weapon I did leave with him and explained how I made a tracking device in it as well as a camera that will latch onto whatever he uses it to make. At least we can track his development that way.”

“But this is only a temporary solution, right, My Lord?” Epsilon asked while refusing to even look up from her game.

Since when was she listening in?

Morgala crossed her arms and said, “I was thinking the same thing as the child. Even if you have a way to track him and keep watch, you will still need to confront him in the end. He did say he would kill Eternal, which seems even an impossible feat to us gods, but with the firepower, I have seen you create—it just might work.”

I kept my eyes on the darkening horizon. The sun was slowly taking a dive, signaling the near end of the day. “Orakan is someone I can not defeat as I am now. He outsmarted and outwitted me at every turn of our confrontation before presenting me with an option with no outs that I would have to take.” I glanced back to Morgala who held the grimoire of the beast-kin as well as research notes on them. “He wisely used the one thing in the world I really wanted as a bargaining chip and sweetened the deal by confirming I wouldn't have to deal with him for some time. I must say, I am impressed at his intellect.”

“That’s saying something coming from you,” Morgala mused while she too gazed at the shadowy sky. “We can save him for later. Just get stronger and create more and more outlandish creations. Abaddon might be taken out for us so that only leaves a few generals to finish off.”

“Yes, Chaos Ghost Dragon Albeor, Deep Sea Leviathan Shabraz, and Sand Emperor Muramora,” Epsilon commented. “The climate for all of them is quite different from what Okaran’s information network said.”

I stopped steering and turned around to face the small girl in a swimsuit and mage robe, sitting on the floor in sandals with her handheld game. “What do you mean?”

“When the Mad Scientist overruled my controls, my mind was plugged directly into his information network. I felt like I was part of a large nexus—a big brain. Like Theta, Okaran has many creations out in the world. He sees what they see and can control them in any way he sees fit. Each of them relays information back to him via this information hive mind that most likely stems from a Skill that has to do with his massive brain.” Epsilon’s tone was cold and devoid of most emotions. That’s how it usually was, more or less, but this time she seemed more serious, refusing to make eye contact with me, her master. She sounded smarter too.

She must have been rather troubled by losing control of herself and slipped back into the same kind of attitude she had after her birth: to obey and serve and that was all.

Sure that was fine, but I wanted my servants to be lively and entertaining. I couldn't have someone as cute as her, give me the cold shoulder 24/7.

“So how did you come across that information, then?” Morgala asked.

“There were many of his creations stationed in each of the countries of the three I mentioned. The moment I thought about them, the information just flowed from their mind into my own. I would call it a sharing between the mind of siblings.”

Morgala placed a slender hand on her chin and gazed off into the distance. I set my eyes back on the sky ahead. We still had a few hours to go.

“I see… Well, it can't be helped then. He has eyes everywhere...He might even be listening now…”

A cold shiver bombarded every bone in my body. I looked back at the young Epsilon, someone that was created by something the Mad Scientist made. She is right.

Epsilon paused her game and looked up at me with a hollow smile. “No need to worry, My Lord, Lady Morgala—I have severed four of the five sensual connections with the nexus. It is the case that he can see through my eyes, but that is all.”

I was unsure if I should trust her answer or not. After all, he could be in control of her at this very moment…

Then again, she made the effort to look somewhat happy when she wanted to assure us, proving that she was indeed trying to express herself, even if only bit by bit. That was something Okaran never intended for.

I couldn't be a hundred percent sure and therefore I decided to act more cautious about what I said around her. “I trust you,” I lied with a smile. “Let’s show that man that none of us will be controlled.”

Epsilon pulled down her hood, revealing her multi-colored antennas and hair before giving off a faint smile. So cute! She then looked back down at her game as if nothing had happened.

I delved back into my mind while I kept my eye on the sky. There was so much that I didn’t know about in this world even after everything I established.

Morgala told me once that the Chaos Ghost Dragon Albior had the power to manipulate fate itself. That was a reason alone for giving him a general status. My first thought when I received this info was "So, fate is a real concept." If I could acquire a Skill like that for myself, then taking on the gods would be a cinch. 

One of the new propositions Morgala brought me was assisting her with invading the land of the gods, Heaven. Some more generals needed to die or I needed to get stronger before I could get what I needed to make it happen, but it seemed very likely that I would really be able to trespass into the realm of the gods.

If anyone could assist me with what needed to be done, it would be him. Be it from either his cooperation or by absorbing his power with the newest creation I made.

“When we get back, Epsilon, I want to release Sigma. Our next target might be a great source of strength for her.”

“Understood, My Lord.”

While some of the girls had rather useless abilities, I had used some of the DNA from Theta, my chimera creation to complete my very first living weapon, a symbiote. Theta might have been able to copy the level of a target she consumed, but Sigma could do so much more.

While keeping my eyes on the skyline, I spoke up with a grin. “Morgala...I know where we should head next.”