Lord Joyde The Madman: Heylo, everybody! How are you all doing?
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Alright, the amount of comments on the last two chapters has me up and running!
Which means extra chapters for you guys and girls! Very Happy [https://forum.royalroadl.com/images/smilies/biggrin.png]
Anyways, here comes the next chapter of EUPHORIA! I sincerely hope that you enjoy, let us begin!
Oh, and by the way... Chaos does not fucking equal Evil.
I will flay anyone that spouts such vile heresy out of their mouths... alive.
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Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
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Sometime later... - Leonardo Da Vinci Airport - Leonardo's Point Of View...
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"Mmmmm! MAN! Does it feel good to be back or not!" Tyrone exclaimed as he stretched his sore limbs, something which many of the group mimicked within seconds."It does. I missed Rome." My neck cracked as I leaped out of the private jet which had flown us back home.
"W-WHOAH!" Oh.. right, there are people nearby so I maybe shouldn't be doing superhuman sh-you know what? Fuck it."Mislav, you're first on my order of business. Get over here and I'll fly you to Rome?"
"U-uh, s-sir?!" A flight attendant was apparently creeped out by my actions, shivering in confusion and fear as I turned around to look at her. A single whiff of her scent confirmed a plethora of cleaning products, mainly focused on her hair..."Huh, guess hybrids really do make up most of the population."
Now that, seemed to shock her enough to drop the documents she was carrying, eyes wide and afraid. She tried to mutter something out but I just ignored her, causing her to fall onto her knees in pure horror as my two vampire queens leaped down onto the ground next to me. Belle took one look at me before snorting."What? If you can do it, so can we."
"I literally didn't say a single thing." Was my reply as our jet finally released the extensive ladder, connecting it to the ground."A-ah, finally us mortals can leave the confines of this machine as well." Hui Jun jokingly said as he tapped Mislav on the shoulder, the divine cultivator decidedly sealing away a good portion of his power so that the golden energy leaking from his body normally does not startle the *typical commnoners*."Oh please, we both could've leaped down had we wanted to."
"True, but neither of us is insane enough to do it." Hui replied, much to Mislavs approval."Quite, quite!"
"Cliche, now get your sorry arse down here so I can fly you to the Vatican." I said with a massive sigh as the people around us began takin pictures. Oh who even cares? Espers are already a thing and my recent destruction of Tokyo should have more than woken up the people of the world when it comes to superpowers.
Suddenly, a massive crash could be heard from inside of the jet."ARGH! FOR FUCKS SAKE, SOMEONE COME HELP ME CARRY THIS PILE OF SH-.. she can hear me, can't she?"
Yomi's anger leaked from my body, sending several unsaid death threats to my cousin. Thankfully, only he was able to feel her massive KI."A-ah, how about we do the heavy lifting, master?"
Maxima and his Cyborg boyfriend easily lifted Yomi's coffin, bringing it outside with incredible grace."See, if all men were like this, the world would not have any problems!" Yomi exclaimed with a tone of arrogance.
I snorted."Thats sexist, babe." To which she responded with a humph."Its not sexist, its MANLY! Something which the men of this age have forgotten, apparently!"
"Woah.. what a hottie... SEVERAL HOTTIES!"
"Oh my gosh, are they actors?!"
"That would explain all the drama..."
"Bro. Bro we need that guy in our club, bro."
"I know what you mean, bro."
"I bet he's got a tasty ****, bro!"
Okay, that last one made me vomit a bit in my mouth, but I guess I should have expected as much when the bloody sex-bot, the sculpted cyborg and Yomi's brother, all of whom are incredibly beautiful men, left the confines of my jet."Aaah, so this is Rome? I've always wanted to visit this place."
Suburo spoke with what appeared to be a heavenly tone as the many people around us gazed on, totally seduced by his appearace. I looked away in disgust."Mislav!"
"A-ah, right away, young master!" The slavic man approached me hurriedly as I took hold of one of his hands and created a gravity barrier around us."Hui Jun, Belle, Anna and Maxima. I want you to focus on getting Yomi's coffin to the Zatara mansion safely. Tyrone and SK-42, you know what you need to do. Momori, you are free to do whatever for now. I'll call you when I need you but if you feel like it, you can follow Tyrone and 42 as a bodyguard... not that they need it."
My cousin shrugged."Ya sure, I'll do that then." He walked over to the robot ninja and the man in question, all of which then nodded towards each other and went on their merry way."Alright, you ready?" I asked Mislav, to which the man responded in an uncertain tone."I think its impossible to be ready for this... but are you sure you want to use your powers in broad daylight like this, young master?"
"Powers?"
"Wait, what?"
"Huh?"
Deciding not to answer him verbally, I crouch for a moment as I channel my power around my legs, preparing for a massive leap.
The ground shook heavily as I leaped into the air, causing the much of the crowd to fall onto their asses as I reached for the clouds and blasted my way through the skies. A thousand screams and incomprehensible yells thundered behind me as I did this, making me doubt my actions...
But only for the briefest of moments.
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A few minutes later... - The Vatican - Leonardo's Point Of View...
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We landed upon what seemed to be a form of helipad... yet without the usual giant H-sign that marks such a location, which has made me conclude that it is people that land in this place instead. The ground is unnaturally soft for what appeared to be concrete and I can sense a great magnitude of mana flowing from somewhere beneath the place."Ahh, you can sense it, can't you?"
Mislav interrupted my thoughts as he caught me staring at the ground."What is it? This amount of mana is just plain ridiculous. Not even Yomi has this much."
"What you are feeling rushing beneath your feet is called a Ley-line. Like a blood vessel of the world, it is a place where the raw mana of Gaia is close to the surface, allowing it to be used by people." He explains to me with a very wise tone. However, this revelation made me cringe."Does that not mean that if Gaia breaks free of her prison, The Vatican would be one of the first places to go boom?"
"Honestly, when she breaks free, I firmly believe that we are all fucked anyways, regardless of when and where we are." Ah. Makes sense.
Mislav shook his head, grasping a pained forehead with an unsteady hand."I.. have to go find some people. Please, do look around. This part of the Vatican is invisible to the normal populus, so feel free to act as you wish."
"Not that I ever do otherwise but thanks for the tip." He laughed at my antics as we walked through a narrow passageway and into the gigantic, etched halls of this place. Each wall was plastered with imagery, glowing runes and holy paintings of all kinds. Everything from the Virgin Mary to what seemed to be a copy of the Image Of Edessa, which I swore appeared to be staring right at me.
Bloody Christ, sometimes I wonder what the true story of Jesus sounds like."Mr. Silvester!"
An older mans voice echoed somewhere behind me as I continued inspecting the many works of art around me, not paying the voice any heed as someone elses name was called. However, that same old mans hand suddenly grasped my shoulder."Boy! How dare you ignore me? Especailly when you are already late to the practice!"
"Huh?" I stared at the man in utter confusion as he grabbed my right hand and began dragging me away like some sort of child."Don't you HUH me, boy! Now come, we have no time for whatever you were doing here! Your duel with Mr. David is about to start. Which reminds me, did you bring your sword?"
"Sword?" I mean, I guess I could use Caede-NO WAIT, what the fuck is going on?"Oh God dammit all! When will you youths learn to be more diligent?! Fine, we'll get you a new one."
Ah, fuck it. This seems to be interesting so I guess I'll just play along for now."Uh, thank you, sir."
He promptly ignored me as he continued to drag me by the hand and into what seemed to be an illusiory wall. Once we passed through it, we entered a small arena of sorts, with a myriad of people, all of whom were dressed in monastic clothing, were seated upon very artistic chairs of varying designs. All of them involved the christian cross one way or the other, take from that what you will.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
"Mr. David! Your foe has finally arrived. Please, arm and present yourself in the arena while I get this fool a sword." I snorted at the old man, thankfully avoiding his attention as he kicked open a chest and rummaged through what appeared to be several different weapons."Uhh sir, that isn-"
"Mr. David! You avoided this battle the last time by saying how your opponent is not actually him. Are you sure you wish to lie like that again!?" The old man, now obviously some kind of teacher, yelled while face first in the chest."Uhh... no, sir."
I did my best to bite back my amusement and the people around me noticed, the students all eyeing the professor and David, who appeared to be a rather muscled eighteen year old boy, each with a grin upon their faces."Ah, this one will do!"
Taking the sword he gave me without even looking at it, I leaped down the hole and lessened my fall via gravity."Whoah! He just jumped down twelve meters without even flinching!"
"Dunno who the guy actually is but he seems strong! Guess David won't be getting off easy, this time." Such compliments, from people I don't even know.
Taking a look at David, I quickly asked him."So I obviously have no idea how this works. Could you give a short explanation before we begin? Also, I'm not a swordsman, so go easy on me, alright?"
He swallowed down hard and nodded."Swords are dull but still metal. Before the fight, we bow to each other. Drawing blood equals loss for the offender. Victory is given to the one who manages to subdue his opponent." He spoke in hushed whispers, sentence by sentence as we each took a stance.
I felt the handle of my blade. It appeared to be a recently reforged crusaders sword, left dull since it no longer served any proper purpose."Fighters! On your guard." The old man called out and we nodded towards each other.
David made a curt bow towards me and I quickly mimicked him as best I could."BEGIN!"
To my surprise, David proved to be quite quick on his feet, as he was already upon me by the time I registered the old mans voice."Urh!" Grunting unchracteristically as I deflected his blow with relative ease, I soon found myself striking thin air downwards, striking the cut-stone ground and breaking it. David, who was about to slam the back of my head with the hilt of his sword, paused after seeing what my swing did to the marble below."Holy shit!" He exclaimed and quickly backed away.
Granted, marble isn't exactly hard to break, but you'd still need a hammer and a decent swing to break through it. I did it with a sword. A dull sword. Just imagine what I can do to his bones.
Not that I'm going to."Whats the matter? Scared?" I could not contain my laughter anymore as I merrily rushed towards him, causing the boy to make a panicked lunge."HOLY FUCK HES GOING TO IMPALE HIM!"
"SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!" The students above screeched in terror and the old man quickly cast a spell on himself, causing him to levitate as he rushed to stop us. However, before anything else could happen, I simply caught the sword with my left hand and pulled it out of Davids hands.
Thus, by disarming him, I earned victory."... you win." He condeded within seconds of realizing that he no longer held his sword, exhaling rapidly as the panic began to ease."Heh, good fight."
"Yeah.. I guess. You really aren't a swordsman, are you? I mean, what kind of stance was that? Its like you willingly opened yourself to enemy attacks." He and the other students visibly cringed because of this and I just shrugged."Well, I did warn you, didn't I?"
"Mr Silvester! Though this was indeed a victory for you, your reckless stance and actions here make it the same as a loss!" The old man started to berate me as I decided to end the charade and lifted the old man into the air with both hands, my sword clanking on the ground as I threw it aside."Listen here, you old fool. Do you know what this Silvester person looks like? Because I sure as hell don't."
The old man blinked, stopping his struggling as he took a closer look at my face."You aren't Silvester!" He exclaimed in shock, causing everyone else to burst out laughing."Actually sir, I've been up here since the start of the class... you just didn't see me for some reason and just left the classroom without even calling out to see if I'm here."
Another boy, the same age as David, raised his hand from the stadium above."Oh well.. No harm done." I put the old man down as I turned towards David."Now, I may not be a swordsman, but you are certainly no fighter. The second you realized that I was a foe whose physical strength is much higher than yours, you panicked and lost control of yourself, allowing me to make use of the situation as you had, ahem, left yourself full of openings."
David had the decency to rub the back of his head in shame."You're right... I'll do my best to improve, sir!" I chuckled at the boys antics and promptly leaped out of the stadium."Master! Master Leonardo! Oh dammit all, where did he go!?" Mislavs voice echoed from the hallway.
I waved the students and the crazy old man goodbye."Well, looks like I'm needed elsewhere. See you."
Walking back into the hallways, I notice Mislav hurriedly rushing through several illusiory walls and doors alike in search of me. I waited for a bit longer, just watching him in amusement. There was a nun whom he apparently brought with him who noticed me and landed a dissapproving, yet also mischevious smile once she realized who I was.
Eventually, after another minute of laughter, I called out."Mislav! I'm over here."
"AH MASTER! Where did you go?!" He exclaimed in panic as he rushed towards me."I was dragged into a duel by an eccentric old man." I replied as I pointed behind myself and towards the classroom I just left. Mislavs eyes grew wide and horror plastered itself upon his face."O-oh no.. did.. did you ki.. are any of the students still alive?"
I blinked in confusion and then sighed out loudly."I didn't do anything to them, Mislav. It was a simple misunderstanding."
He breathed out, sending a pulse which seemed to seek out living beings and visibly relaxing as he realized that all of the students were alive and well."You are being rather cheery today, aren't you?" Yomi's curious tone echoed within my mind as I tilted my head in confusion."I am? I guess I am."
Just to be perfectly clear; Mislavs worry is perfectly valid here...
I thought you'd kill everyone too, but didn't say anything since the situation seemed to be progressing in an almost... unnatural way for you, father.
"I see... Thats... great. Anyways, I want you to meet someone. This is Sister Ascenza, a master theologian working for the Vatican. With the True Pope's approval, I have managed to procure her aid in your quest to seek out the shattered pieces of The Living Crusade." Shrugging, I extended a hand towards the seemingly plain woman."Hi. My name is Leonardo, its a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise, wielder of The Living Crusade. Tell me, how is Eadom doing these days?" Oh, so she does know a thing or two. Her expression hardened once she saw mine twist and change into a rather bloodthirsty one."Hes dead. I am the only one here now."
Her eyes went wide in shock, mouth agape in wordless terror as I let out a merry laugh and turned towards Mislav, who appeared to be contemplating suicide at the moment for whatever reason."Anyways, what exactly do you mean by *True Pope*, Mislav?"
He rolled his eyes in amusement, his previous aura of depression dissipating as quickly as it formed."Nothing much. Just that the Pope who talks to the populace and the real man wearing those clothes are two very different people. The public one is just a puppet, our true leader is hidden within the confines of The Vatican."
I see. Anyways, Ascenza seems to have woken up from her trance of horror and, with a hand on her chest to stabilize herself, she asked."Could.. could you summon the blade? I wish to see what form it has taken with you."
Shrugging and promptly extending my right hand, I made blood burst out of my palm and forge itself into my beloved sword. Its Jerusalem Cross of a hilt, the eternally magmatically hot blade, the crimson crystal radiating essence... It was all too errily reminiscent of an a certain Archangels sword."Hehehehehhehehehehehehehehee..." A spree of laughter echoed throughout these hallowed halls as all three of us turned our heads to the left, exposing the fact that one of the pictures staring right at me was none other than Archangel Michael, laughing madly at me.
I felt the cringe rising up from deep within me as the nun's eyes went wide again."Remarkable! This has never happened before... to have the angel's image react to the sword by merely summoning it, your connection to the blade must be immense."
"Yeah, I guess it is. Not that I ever had a chance to test it, anyways." Was my rather deadpanned reply as Mislav rubbed the back of his head in awkwardness."Please forgive master Leonardo's antics, Lady Ascenza. He has only found out about the true world a mere... few weeks ago."
"You were a normal person until the blade chose you?" She asked with with widening eyes, if such a thing were even possible at this point, causing me to nod."Well, not exactly the blade itself, but yes. The swords awakening was also my own, in a way."
"Though you were connected to me much sooner..." I let out a massive sigh as I replied to Yomi's dissatisfied voice."You want me to say how my introduction to the *true world* was by the hands of a psychopathic nine-tailed fox? Or perhaps I should say the real truth and blurt out my connection to Chaos?... Yomi dear, I'm only saying things in a way which will benefit me the most and saying how I was awakened due to a divine blade choosing me as its wielder is bound to get me some allies, at least."
"Hmph! Sorry for not being good enough, dear." She replied, causing my eyebrow to twitch."I can't wait for the day you are finally resurrected, Yomi. Because when that day comes, I am going to skullfuck you to the point where you won't be able to comprehend the fact that you are even alive again."
"Nmhn!" Yomi yelped, sending the image of a heavily blushing woman to my mind, causing me to snort."Uhh, are you alright, boy? You've been changing emotions rather rapidly in the last few seconds." The nun asked me with a curious glance, causing me to sigh.
Grats dad, you broke mom.
Also, thats kinky...
Why yes, yes it is."I'm fine. Just talking to the voices in my head... anyways, do you have a phone number?"
She blinked at me, quirking an eyebrow before replying."Uhh.. okay then. And yes, I do." She took out a rather expensive, newly-bought nokia and we exchanged numbers."Right. Whenever you get a new lead for me to follow, do give me a call, miss Ascenza."
Just as I was about to put my phone back into my pocket, someone decided to call me. A quick look back onto it revealed that the caller was none other than good ole' Tyrone."Yo man, whats up?"
"Boss! These fucking paparazzi are blocking our way back to base and your pops boys can't do shit to stop them from asking about your little play earlier. The fucking police ain't helping either..." Tyrone exclaimed in anger as a hundred different voices echoed from the other side."HUH? DA FUCK DO YOU WANT? HUH?.. No- No I don't fucking know or care about the fucking robots sexual prefferen-wait, why the fuck are you even asking me, HE IS RIGHT FUCKING THERE!?"
I laughed at the situation and replied."Alright, tell them I'll be there in a few minutes. That should get them off your neck. Turn on your GPS so I can see where you are right now, alright?"
"Sure boss-HEY FUCK YOU MAN, NO TOUCHING-, and uh, could you hurry? These guys are giving me all the creepy feels... I fucking hate reporters." As do all mafia men and women, Tyrone. As do we all.
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Don't mind me guys and girls! I'm just a line break...
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And that's it for this chapter of EUPHORIA!
I hope you liked it.
As a side note, two new reviews hit the story! One is from Deathic, which I am thankfull for. Man, if you are reading this, thank you for the morale boost! Very Happy [https://forum.royalroadl.com/images/smilies/biggrin.png]
But the other review I got as I was typing this down is just... well - One reason for this might be the overuse of cliches. Author keeps introducing more and more cliches with each chapter making it oversaturated. By the end of chapter 47 it has almost everything, to name a few: magic, qi and cultivation, essence, soul magic, beastmen, vampires, werewolves, undead, ninjas, assassins, personal AI, nano-machines, possessed weapons, weapon absorption and materialization, stealing of memories, list goes on (probably by the chapter 100 we will have dragons or some enchanted flying transportation). The thing is that some of these do not mix well (feels out of place), like magic and qi, or magic and nano-machines, western fantasy and eastern fantasy elements. -
As you may be able to imagine, this is the reaction I had while reading this review = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkk9DI-8el4
XD
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Anyways, read and review! And Good Morning/Day/Night to you all! ADIOS FOR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!