NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3: The Father of All Devils
Game
Thinking
"Talking"
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naruto's legs blurred as he leaped from tree to tree in the dead of the night, his feet not making a sound. From an outside perspective, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The untrained eye wouldn't even have realized anyone was in the forest. Well, the very untrained eye, as the small group of Yokai trying to imitate him weren't nearly as stealthy. That's not to say that they were loud or clumsy, but they couldn't even come close to the skill Naruto displayed, honed from years as a ninja.
The blood-red sky shone above them, as the underworld's sky found a way to glow even in the dead of night. Naruto cast a glance back to ensure the group of Yokai was keeping up, as he traveled at around half of his max speed. The group consisted of Yasaka, the Yokai elder he'd met in the forest, and 3 Yokai guards. He wasn't sure if they were the same ones he met in the forest, as all the guards looked the same. Is that racist? Maybe, but Naruto wasn't ashamed about being unable to tell one bird's beak from the other.
Naruto glanced up as their destination came into view. A huge castle, towering hundreds of feet over the forest. It was one of the most beautiful buildings Naruto had ever seen, but that was to be expected. After all, it belonged to one of the oldest devil families alive. Naruto's trained eyes scanned the building from its position, which was thousands of feet away, as he looked for the best place to break in through.
To understand why Naruto and a small group of elite Yokai were trying to break into the home of Zekram Bael, the oldest living devil, we have to first look back at the day before.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quest Alert!
[Sub-Quest]: Underworld's Sage
Difficulty: [LEGENDARY]
Purify all the energy in the underworld.
Rewards:
[Underworld-Sage] Title (Only useable in the underworld)
25 Attribute Points
Increased Reputation with ?
Increased Reputation with ?
Increased Reputation with ?
Increased Reputation with Yasaka
Increased Reputation with the West Yokai Faction
+100,000 Coins
Unlock the [Shop] system.
Failure:
Decreased Reputation with Yasaka
Decreased Reputation with West Yokai Faction
Decreased Reputation with ?
"Purify all the energy in the underworld? I don't mean to doubt you Kami-sama, especially after what we all just witnessed you do, but that sounds insane!" Yasaka shouted at him in a panic, and Naruto nearly burst out laughing at her face. She was torn between thinking he was insane and wanting to profess her newfound love and adoration for him, with one eye staring at him like he was crazy and the other one with a heart-shaped pupil.
She wasn't the only one staring at him like he was crazy, as the various Yokai officials sitting at the bottom of the stares were displaying a wide range of emotions. Some looked shocked, some looked excited, and one looked like he just shit his pants.
"Insane? Probably." Naruto hummed. A lot of what he'd done throughout his life was insane, but he was the most unpredictable ninja for a reason.
"Kami-sama," Yasaka said softly, having taken a moment to calm down, "I've seen firsthand how powerful you are, but the underworld is huge, it makes the Kyoto Leylines look like a speck of dust compared to all the energy in it. Also, the energy there is even worse than it was here, contaminated by the constant violence. A large portion of the Great War and all of the devil's Civil War took place in the underworld."
"Yasaka, do you know why I was able to purify the Leyline's here so easily?" Naruto asked, suddenly feeling like he was a teacher. Did Iruka always feel this way?
"Um, because you're the all-powerful super-sexy Yokai God?"
Naruto blushed slightly and resisted the urge to facepalm, "No, no, definitely not that. It's because this building is the central point of the Leylines, where all the energy flows. All the energy in the city will eventually pass through here, so by purifying the energy here, it'll flow throughout the city and purify everything."
+50 Affection with Yasaka (Obsessively Loved)
Yasaka's eyes suddenly lit up, "You're so smart, Kami-sama! If we go to the central point of the underworld, you can purify the energy there, and it'll flow throughout the underworld!"
"Yup!" Naruto said with his iconic bright smile, ignoring the subsequent affection he gained with Yasaka as he did.
"Now, can someone show me a good ramen stand? We can start planning after that." Naruto said, nearly jumping in excitement at the prospect of getting a good bowl of ramen.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naruto never got his ramen. The entire city ended up being in chaos as the inhabitants felt their newfound purified energy, and all the shops were closed for the celebration that followed.
Whatever, I'll get some ramen tomorrow.
Naruto crept closer to the large wall surrounding the Bael castle, and in a single leap cleared it, landing in the garden awaiting him on the other side.
Luckily for them, Yasaka knew an entrance into the underworld that was unguarded, and from there, it wasn't difficult for Naruto to find where the majority of the energy around them was being funneled from. Of course, they needed to be stealthy, as he doubted the house owner would take kindly to them breaking in.
Naruto waited for a moment as Yasaka and the other Yokai followed his lead, scaling the wall and falling in behind him.
"I should've realized this was where the central point of the underworld's energy was," Yasaka whispered behind him, "Zekram Bael made a big deal of building his estate on the original Lucifer's grave. It's no surprise that the underworld's energy is passing through here."
I have no idea who you're talking about, and I can't ask, since I'm supposed to know everything.
Naruto sighed as he pushed Yasaka's words to the side, then jumped in surprise as a voice spoke loudly behind him.
"Hey, what are you guys doing here!" Naruto spun around and saw a short man in a gardener outfit staring at them.
How did I not notice this guy? I must be more tired than I thought. I really need some ramen.
"We're, um, new hires?" Naruto said, trying his best to sound serious. Hopefully that worked, or else he'd have to knock out the poor worker.
"You're arriving in the middle of the night?" The devil answered, not sounding convinced.
"You're working in the middle of the night?" Naruto deadpanned.
"Fair enough." The devil answered, nodding at him.
Persuasion Check
[Rolling…]
[God's Luck] has added +20 to your roll!
20!
Check success!
"I look forward to working with you." The devil said, nodding at them kindly and then going back to the hedge he was clipping.
"Amazing, you have such a way with words, Kami-sama!" Yasaka whispered, stars in her eyes.
I can't believe that worked. This game is broken.
Naruto headed to the large set of double doors on one end of the garden and opened them slightly to pass through. The group of Yokai followed him, and Naruto continued deeper into the castle, following the flow of the energy through the floor. Naruto, being the stealthy experienced ninja he was, managed to avoid being seen by any of the butlers, maids, and guards who were active in the building. He couldn't say the same for the group of Yokai. He regretted letting them tag along.
Naruto stopped the first few times and talked his way out of the situation, making up terrible excuses that they believed completely, but after an hour was fed up and started stealthy knocking out anyone who spotted the Yokai.
Finally, after nearly an hour and a half, they reached a locked basement door. Naruto estimated that he could've made it here in about 5 minutes if he didn't have to babysit the group following him.
The door was covered in layers upon layers of magic circles, and Yasaka's shoulders drooped.
"Can you do it from out here, Kami-sama? These circles are way too complex for me to decipher. This magic is beyond ancient. As expected from Zekram. I doubt there's any magician in the world that could break through these locks." Yasaka explained.
"What? If it's locked, we just gotta bust in." Naruto said, looking at her like she was stupid. He turned to the door and cupped his hands, forming a Rasengan in his palm. The Yokai looked at him in awe as the technique spun in his hand. He pressed it up to the door, and a moment later the door burst apart into a pile of rocks.
Naruto stepped in, and the in-awe Yokai followed him a moment later. In the center of the room was a large tomb, completely bare of any writing. Naruto walked up and placed his hand on it, feeling a compact orb of energy in the middle. Naruto could feel the dark and poisonous energy radiating from it.
Tomb of [The First Devil: Lucifer]
"Lucifer," Yasaka breathed out quietly next to him, "The father of all devils. The energy is so dark, so full of hatred, even I can feel it."
The father of all devils? I guess that's why all the energy seems to be flowing through this tomb. They're all connected to him. Naruto mused.
"Never thought I'd see someone break in here. Impressive." Naruto felt a chill fall down his spine at the deep voice behind him, and spun around.
I missed the gardener earlier because I wasn't focused, but I was listening as intently as I could this time. This guy really slipped in here without me noticing. Naruto realized.
A tall man was standing at the door they'd entered, his head covered in gray hair. He had a gray beard and mustache that framed his face, and his body was muscular. He looked like a professional athlete mixed with an old man.
Zekram Bael:
[Secret Devil King]
Lvl: 925
STR: ?
DEX: ?
CON: ?
INT: ?
WIS: ?
CHA: ?
LUK: ?
Skills: ?
Perks: ?
Debuffs: ?
Zekram Bael is the oldest living devil, and the secret ruler of-*!^@$%$!)#$@
"Neat trick you've got there. Is that magic? Or maybe a sacred gear?" The man inquired, raising his eyebrow at Naruto.
Looks like theres some strong people in this world after all.
Naruto frowned as the screen displaying Zekram's profile abruptly disappeared. He shifted into a fighting stance.
"Be careful," He said in warning towards the Yokai, "This guy is dangerous."
The other Yokai shifted into their fighting stances, tensed and ready to fight at the drop of a hat, while Zekram chuckled, looking totally relaxed.
"You sure you want to fight? You look like the talking type." Zekram said, boring his eyes into Naruto's.
Naruto tensed, "You'd be right. I'd much rather talk it out, we just came to discuss the treatment of Yokai in the underworld. We're not here to cause any trouble."
Naruto stared into Zekram's eyes, lying to see if the man really could break through his gamer system.
Persuasion Check
[Rolling…]
[God's Luck] has added +20 to your roll!
20!
Check suc-!^#*$&
"That's a powerful ability you have there. I almost believed you for a second.." Zekram said, his mouth smiling widely at Naruto but his eyes not doing the same.
As if. You didn't believe me for a second.
"I do hope you have some more interesting tricks up your sleeve, or this won't be much of a fight," Zekram said. He flickered his eyes towards one of the Yokai guards, and suddenly a large hole appeared in his chest. His body crumpled to the floor.
I couldn't even see his attack. Good thing I'm not reliant on this game system, or I'd be in big trouble.
Naruto wasted no time, flashing forward and appearing right in front of Zekram, his first flying towards his nose. Zekram easily leaned his head back, letting Naruto's fist fly up in front of him, and then tilted his head sideways as said fist changed direction midair. Zekram's leg twisted at an abnormal angle and was suddenly raised in front of him, his foot pressed on Naruto's chest. He slammed his foot into Naruto's chest while his other hand swatted away Yasaka, sending her hurling into the Yokai elder. Naruto's body flew into the wall and Zekram tensed to start a follow-up attack, but then abruptly stood stiff.
"Did… did you just turn yourself into a piece of wood?" Zekram said, staring incredulously at the block of wood where Naruto once was.
Deception Check
[Rolling…]
[God's Luck] has added +20 to your roll!
20!
Check success!
Zekram Bael would never admit what happened next to anyone. Having his focus split during a fight was something he was used to. It was trivially easy for someone as experienced as he was to attack Naruto, fend off Yasaka, and form 3 orbs with the Power of Destruction behind the Yokai elder and guards at the same time. However, for just a singular second, Zekram Bael's focus broke as he stared at the piece of wood. It was the first time in Zekram's long life that he felt genuine confusion.
His opponent, who had an interesting ability he'd never seen before, was shaping up to be genuinely tough. He expected as much, considering he managed to break into the room containing Lucifer's tomb. He was looking forward to their long battle, one that would destroy much of his estate. A small price to pay for the thrill he'd receive from the fight, and for the story he'd share for years to come. Instead, his opponent turned into a piece of wood.
Zekram was old. Very old. Zekram was experienced. Very experienced. Zekram was smart. Very smart. In no world, should Zekram Bael ever be fooled by such a simple trick, and yet he was.
His attention split, his mind confused at his opponent's sudden change, Zekram didn't negate his opponent's ability.
And so, Zekram Bael, the oldest living devil, who fought in countless battles and led countless armies, was completely convinced Naruto turned himself into a piece of wood. This caused him to completely miss Naruto's next attack.
"One Thousand Years of Death." Zekram heard a voice whisper and barely had time to look back. He would never forget the look on Naruto's face for the rest of his life. His eyes looked deadly serious, though Zekram realized he wasn't looking at him. He was looking through him, as if Zekram was already dead.
Zekram Bael, in all his thousands of years of living, had never felt such pain. He'd been tortured hundreds of times, by hundreds of different people from various races and factions, but none of it could compare to the pain Zekram felt when Naruto's fingers stabbed into his ass.
Zekram didn't remember what happened next. He remembered leaping up, breaking straight through the ceiling, and then nothing more. He would later be told by his secretary that he went to every doctor he knew in an attempt to ease the pain, and would eventually be helped by Ajuka Beelzebub.
"That was amazing, Kami-sama!" A voice shouted excitedly behind Naruto, and he turned to see Yasaka bouncing up and down excitedly, "You beat him! You just beat Zekram Bael! You really are all powerful, and super sexy!"
"Don't be excited," Naruto said, his voice filled with despair, "No one deserves to feel that technique. I know firsthand how painful it is… I shouldn't have done that, but I had to. He killed…"
Naruto glanced over at the Yokai guard lying on the ground with a hole in his chest and realized he didn't actually know his name.
"Ah, Kami-sama…"
"He died honorably. We'll have a grand funeral for him." Naruto cut Yasaka off.
"No, Kami-sama, he's-" The Yokai Elder tried to say.
"It was my foolishness that killed him. I should've been more careful. I could've saved him." Naruto said, clenching his hand tightly.
"Kami-sama, don't feel bad. He's really not-" A Yokai guard spoke up, but was cut off.
"No, please. I'll remember him for the rest of my life. A weight of guilt that'll never leave my shoulders. This must be how Sasuke felt." Naruto said, staring down.
"Kami-sama, please listen, he's still-"
"No, Yasaka, I can't-"
"He's alive, Kami-sama." Yasaka said loudly, cutting him off.
"What?" Naruto said, looking at the guard's body. He looked pretty dead to him, with the hole in his chest and all.
"Yeah, Zekram seems to find you interesting, Kami-sama. He wouldn't really kill any of us since we're with you. He missed all his vitals. I thought you realized that since we'd probably all be dead if he was fighting seriously." Yasaka said. She swished her tail, and a green flow of energy flowed off her tail. It shot over to the downed Yokai guard, and his body glowed in a green light. The hole in his chest started to knit itself closed, and the guard coughed as he sat up.
"Oh… great. I knew that, of course." Naruto said, coughing into his hand awkwardly, suddenly feeling very embarrassed.
Persuasion Check
[Rolling…]
[God's Luck] has added +20 to your roll!
20!
Check success!
"Yes, of course Kami-sama." Yasaka said, conveniently forgetting the last few minutes of conversation, which showed that Naruto clearly did not know that.
Naruto pushed his embarrassment to the side and approached the tomb again. They were here for a reason after all. He placed his hand on the tomb and felt the orb of darkness inside of it. He silently leaped onto the top of the tomb and sat down in a meditative pose. The Yokai watched quietly as he entered Sage mode.
This is going to be difficult.
Naruto's body glowed a bright yellow as he forced his chakra into the sphere of dark energy. He nearly recoiled as he felt the energy gnaw at his chakra, drowning out the light in an instant. He took a new approach, allowing the energy from the orb to flow into him instead. Outwardly, the Yokai saw Naruto sitting completely still in a meditative stance, but on the inside, the situation was much different.
Naruto felt the energy lash out inside of him, attacking his chakra directly. It was suffocating. He felt the pain, the rage, and the flurry of hatred that flowed from the orb. Naruto desperately slammed his chakra into the dark energy, feeling himself becoming consumed by the energy. The energy forcefully ate away at Naruto's chakra, and the glow around his body started to change, becoming a dark black aura around him. The energy flowed throughout his body, and unknown to Naruto his hair shifted to a dark black, until there was just a singular tip of yellow hair remaining.
"Kami-sama?" Yasaka asked, concerned about the changes happening, but her words never reached him.
…
…
…
Do you think I'm going to give in that easily? I'm Naruto Uzumaki, dammit! I've never given up before, and I'm not going to now!
A flurry of light burst from Naruto as he fought against the energy, his pure determination pushing his chakra forward. His hand changed back to a bright yellow, and his aura was once again consumed with light. His chakra shone brighter than ever before, burning away the energy.
Yasaka watched as Naruto's body glowed, becoming even brighter than it had been in Kyoto, his aura flaring out like heat off the sun. Her eyes were wide, stars filling them, as she watched in awe. It was a sight she would never forget.
Naruto slammed his hands into the tomb, breaking his meditative stance. His chakra flowed in, and slowly overpowered the orb of darkness. He felt the energy become more pure, changing from a black ball of pure hatred to a white orb of love and kindness.
Yasaka swore she saw a white light shining out from inside the tomb.
He finally pulled back, sweat dripping down his face from the strain. He pushed himself off the tomb, Yasaka reaching out to steady him as he stumbled slightly.
He looked up and saw all the Yokai looking at him in amazement, before they broke out into loud cheers, apparently forgetting they were supposed to be being stealthy in their excitement.
+500 Affection with Yasaka (Obsessively Worshiped)
+500 Obedience with Yasaka (Worshiped)
+500 Obedience with the West Youkai Faction (Worshiped)
+500 Reputation with the West Youkai Faction (Worshiped)
I need to look more into this reputation system. How high can it even go?
Quest Complete!
[Sub-Quest]: Underworld's Sage
Difficulty: [LEGENDARY]
Purify all the energy in the underworld.
Rewards:
[Underworld-Sage] Title (Only useable in the underworld)
25 Attribute Points
+100 Reputation with Sirzechs
+250 Reputation with Ajuka Beelzebub
+500 Reputation with Zekram Bael
Increased Reputation with Yasaka
Increased Reputation with the West Yokai Faction
+100,000 Coins
Unlock the [Shop] system.
Failure:
Decreased Reputation with Yasaka
Decreased Reputation with West Yokai Faction
Decreased Reputation with Zekram Bael
Yasaka opened her mouth excitedly, but Naruto held up a hand for her to stop, "Can we do the celebrating later? I'm exhausted, I just want some sleep right now… and some ramen."
I'll deal with all that quest stuff later. I'm too tired to think.
Yasaka nodded, and they hurried out of the Bael castle and started the trek back to Kyoto.
What Naruto didn't notice in his exhaustion was the small change that happened to the tomb. A small change that would change the trajectory of this world forever. The tomb of Lucifer, The First Devil, now read:
Tomb of [The Strongest Angel: Lucifer]
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While Naruto was headed back to Kyoto, the impact of his actions was being felt. The underworld was slowly becoming purified, with the dark pools of energy becoming lighter, and the sky slowly becoming less red. The change in energy affected all types of inhabitants in the underworld, from low-ranking reincarnated devils to the Maou themselves. However, there is one individual whose life changed the most. One devil whose actions, spurned by the change, would change the trajectory of the world forever.
In a corner of the underworld, there was a small home. It belonged to an unimportant noble, bought for the sole purpose of being used by his son while he worked in the capital. His son, a boy only 5 years of age, wasn't old enough to realize what happened to his caretaker. She told him that she just dyed her hair, and he believed her.
His caretaker did not dye her hair, and would never have the chance to. She was killed, her body buried in a nearby forest, and her life quietly replaced by a young black-haired catgirl with huge tits.
In a different world, Kuroka would stay playing the role of this boy's caretaker for years. She would lay low, unable to leave the underworld, until the devil's bloodlust for Yokai was sated and Sirzechs lifted the ban on Yokai leaving the underworld.
In a different world, Kuroka would be too afraid to save her sister, Shirone, from her imprisonment. She would quietly ignore the situation as Shirone was set to be executed, and then saved by Sirzechs under the condition of becoming a devil in his sister's peerage.
In a different world, Shirone would rot in a prison cell until Sirzechs saved her. She would suppress her emotions, with the only one she felt being hatred at her sister for killing her master. For starting the Yokai massacre. For abandoning her.
In a different world, Shirone would change her name to Koneko Toujou and go live in the human world with Rias Gremory.
But this was not a different world.
Kuroka felt the energy around her change. She felt it change from the normal darkness to a bright light. She felt the hatred be replaced by love. She felt her power grow, and her fear about using it disappear.
She didn't know how the change happened, but something deep inside of her drew her towards someone. Someone she didn't yet know. A thread of energy leading towards someone she had never met, but knew she needed to.
But before that, she had some unfinished business to attend to.
In this world, Kuroka felt confident with her newfound power and left the small home in the middle of the night. She headed towards the Gremory estate, a single thought in her mind.
I'm coming to save you, Shirone.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naruto sighed and rubbed his forehead as he stared at his new quest.
Quest Alert!
[Sub-Quest]: Sister's Savior
Difficulty: [EPIC]
Save the Nekoshou sisters, Shirone and Kuroka, from execution.
Rewards:
[Nekoshou Savior] Title
10 Attribute Points
Increased Reputation with Shirone
Increased Reputation with Kuroka
Increased Reputation with Yasaka
Increased Reputation with the West Yokai Faction
Failure:
Immediate failure of the [Youkai God] quest.
Who the hell are Shrione and Kuroka?
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN: Thanks for reading! Up until chapter 13 is currently available at Patreon.com/Koyon !
Naruto Uzumaki:
[Sage]
Lvl: 500
STR: 762
DEX: 725
CON: 450
INT: 120
WIS: 750
CHA: 999
LUK: 0
Skills: None
Perks: [Martial Arts], [You're a Wizard, Naruto], [Ladies Man], [God's Luck]
Debuffs: [Confusion], [Bad Timing]
Naurto Uzumaki is a Hero from another world, who has been reborn with the power of the Gamer system! His goal is to save the Youkai and see his friends again.
Alert! You have [Quest] rewards available!
(Changes will be coming to Naruto's stats soon)