Chapter 4: A God's Oversight
ELSEWHERE IN A BRIGHTLY LIT CAVE FILLED WITH BOOKS AND SKELETONS.
Sitting on a throne made of bones and endless night obsidian, a red-haired man with cat ears, golden eyes, and dressed in a pink bathrobe yawned as he pet the fluffy white cat in his lap.
The Book Keeper, he was called, and despite his shaggy experience, casual demeanor, and cat in his lap occasionally firing laser beams at skellie cats that got too close to its master, he wielded power that was more than divine.
“I wonder what Junith is doing.” The man muttered to himself, scratching his stubble as he opened up a blue one-way portal to spy on the catgirl in stylized black armor with golden skull pauldrons, the woman slashing away at the tides of grotesque voidlings with a blue flaming bonesword. “Seems about right.”
The Book Keeper was about to close the portal when his attention was turned to a blip on a screen that raised his brow.
[Superior One, an abnormality has occurred]
“Hm?” The Book Keeper raised his brow as his white feline familiar climbed his pink bathrobe to drape itself on his broad shoulders. “Bring it up D.”
[Of course Superior One.]
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH WHHHHHHHY AM I STILLLLLLL SINNNNKINNNG?!!!!! A voice boomed, flooding the interior of the cave with the distressed high-pitched inner thoughts bouncing off of the cave.
“Huh… well that’s new.” The Book Keeper said, his head cocking to the side with his familiar Schroedinger doing the same. “I was wondering what… D what was this soul’s name again?”
[Hiroyuki Sawano.]
“Wait, the composer? Bragi’s avatar?”
[No relation to the Earth Prime God of music]
“Ah. Hm. Who was this one’s sponsor?”
[You, Superior One.]
“Oh…” The Book Keeper leaned forward, squinting his cat-shaped pupils. “Wait. Is he a rubber duck?”
[Yes Superior One, his shell is composed of hyper enchanted polyvinyl chloride.]
“Mhm. Wasn't he sent to kill a demon lord running amok about two thousand years ago?”
[Two thousand two hundred and fourteen days, fifty-two hours, forty-nine minutes and-]
“Ok, I get it. Where's the demon lord now?”
[One moment Superior One… triangulating Demon Lord Barbaroll]
“Meow!” Schroedinger cried, snuggling up to its master.
[Analyst complete. Target inquiry is Deceased]
“Deceased?” The Book Keeper frowned, opening a system screen and flipping through translucent pages to locate the file. “Cause of death…… old age?”
[That is correct Superior One.]
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The Book Keeper scratched the back of his head.
“Well… mission complete?” The red-haired cat man scratched his feline that purred. “Bring him back D.”
[ERROR. Unfortunately, I cannot comply with your request, Superior One.]
The Book Keeper narrowed his eyes as the woman in white materialized. She was a white-haired catwoman, clad in leather with red tattoos adorning her translucent skin.
“What? Explain why not.”
[This soul has integrated with the world’s mana distribution system. Removing the target forcefully from the world system would have a shock effect across the entire planet. Additionally, with the interference required, it would ignite a rallying cry to the void beings to descend on the planet.]
The Book Keeper turned his gaze to the paladin tearing her way through swarms of viscous monstrosities before his eyes shifted to the rubber duck being torn out of the embrace of his slime by a pack of spinelings, an apt name for the creatures given their length and white bone-like features.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! STOP EATING ME! OW! OWOWOWOW! SLIMY! SLIMY SAVE ME!
“Interesting…” The Book Keeper said, his thoughts turning with a smile. “Let's see what I can do with our friend.”
*****
HIRO
-27HP
-3HP
-49HP
-18HP
-7HP
-30HP
-54HP
-33HP
-26HP
-12HP
-29HP
-30HP
-13HP
STOP STOP STOP! STOP! THAT HURTS!
Of course. I finally acquired a sliver of freedom and now I'm being torn apart by unknown monsters in the dark no doubt sent by Adam to spite me!
-24HP
But… I guess on the flip side I'll finally be free of this accursed existence….
-17HP
Ah… sweet oblivion. I can already see the light.
-3HP
Wait. See? I can't even squeak?!
Suddenly I could feel myself rising, going up. My entire being seeming to stretch as I rapidly rose with my assailants still affixed to me.
Oddly, my body felt like I was in a vice, a ball of putty in someone's hands that was squeezing me in all directions. I could feel my core, my shell, my very being tremble as I was exposed to the rapid change in water pressure and my body began to force out what air was inside my body.
-1872 HP
Without Slimey to take the brunt of the weight, I quickly compressed, my body flattened, the sound leaving my squeaker being a squeak in the water as I became a yellow ball around my core.
*Plop*
With a light sound, I broke the water’s tension. Popping out of the water to hit the surface of the green sludge.
Home. My domain. Except now instead of being a rubber duck I was a yellow ball, floating with the tide.
Great. I'm a ball.
Slimey joined me a moment later, our connection letting me know that my servant was with me. That I wasn’t alone.
The green and wounded monster slinked it's way towards me to wrap itself around me. The loyal creature ready to protect me with what little remained of its little green body.
I'm sorry buddy. I sent to Slimey. Although just a monster, Slimey was mine and all I had. And it had suffered. Making me feel bad.
It wiggled in response, with no thoughts on its mind other than Protect! Protect! Protect! A loyal servant.
And then it happened, a strange popping sound. My body suddenly uncompressing as my HP ticked up, my body unfolding and repairing itself, regenerating me back to my rubber duck form.
“Squeak.” My body let out, shooting black water out of my squeaker that hit the nearby wall, melting the acid-resistant stone surface.
Huh?
The water I let out had melted the wall, dripping down, bubbling the surface and slinking into the walkway where it did the same, releasing a black odor in the process of melting the age-old structure.
HUH?! WHY DO I SPIT ACID?! WHEN COULD I SPIT ACID?!
I prepared myself to activate Squirt Water. To see, test if it was related to the skill or if I was just spitting the sludge below me.
But why was the acid black when the sewer sludge was green?
I prepared to fire off another water spurt, but just as I was on the precipice of testing, my new friends returned.
Twelve of them to be exact.
The slimes had entered my domain.