Overlord - The Beast of the Apocalypse

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Chapter 3

Overlord POV

I watched as Swarm began replicating himself, until there was another much smaller cloud of black dust. I opened my mouth and waited until the entire smaller cloud of dust had completely entered my mouth and traveled throughout my head and torso.

Hmm. Now my throat is dry. I'm going to have to find something to drink. This was my emergency back up plan, on the off chance that I was dealt a severe wound in battle, Swarm would devour the weapon before it did any permanent damage, while healing the wound. I suppose most people would be disgusted by having millions of tiny organisms flying down their throat, but I didn't really care. It was a means to an end, nothing more. Swarm would be able to destroy anything that punctured my head or torso, because regenerating you brain or heart is very hard to do, and it takes a lot of mana.

The chances that someone would actually be able to hurt me seriously, were astronomical. From my calculations it would be just about impossible for that to happen. But I am taking no chances. As soon as you think you are safe, and nothing can touch you, you are killed. It is always like that. I thought that I was undefeatable, and so I used my power recklessly to further the Gods plans. And once I thought nothing could happen, they convinced me to help them with a massive undertaking that took much of my strength, before attacking and sealing me while I was recovering.

It would happen to them too. They thought that I was sealed and that there was nothing to worry about. They thought they were safe, and that would be their downfall. Once you thought you were safe, you stopped looking for the attack that would kill you. Only when you constantly feared an attack, were you ready for it when it came. Fear is a useless emotion, that I do not feel, but I compensate by remaining in a constant state of awareness. I review my plans hundreds of times, from every possible angle. I leave nothing to chance. I control everything that happens. Control. That is the only true way to come out on top. You must control the outcome and bend the world to your desires. Everything that resists.....Is disposable.

I dismissed the rest of Swarm, sending him back to guard the Inner Sanctum, as I prepared to return to Solomon. Sebastian should have gathered the other Pillars by now, and I had to decide who to take with me. I would need a mixture of people good at information gathering, close combat, and large scale magical attacks. If I used them right, I would be able to destroy entire armies with ease.

Hmm. I walked into the throne room and sat down after glancing around. They were all here. All of my Pillars. My Perfect Creations. They were all on one knee(well at least those who had knees) and had their heads bowed. I wonder how long they have been like this, staying like statues, not daring to move for fear they offend me, and I ignore them. That is their greatest fear, that I will grow bored and leave them. They would rather I kill them in a fit of anger, then leave them, because at least they would die feeling that they had served a purpose. Well, I would not leave them, they were my creations, and an important part of my plan.

Well, I already decided that Sebastian would be coming. Now who should I choose. There is:

Septimus - The Pillar of Information and Assassinations.He is in charge of the my numerous spies as well as removing any troublesome opponents in silence. Septimus is a tall lich, or undead skeleton, who can turn his body to mist or melt into the shadows. In battle his job is removing troublesome commanders, and relaying information to me.

Septimus looks like this http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=166295

Niverna - Pillar of the 21st ring, Niverna is a demoness who commands lightning and thunder. She rejoices in death and is very effective at long range and area of effect spells. She is relatively weak in close combat for a Pillar, but compared to everyone else she is still quite effective.

Niverna looks like this: http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=559920

Giganta - The Pillar of the 20th ring. She has two forms and one of them is an enorous giant. She is the tank of a battle, since her skin is almost impenetrable and she has a tendency to spontaneously combust. In her giant form she is over 200 feet tall and immensely powerful. Her smaller demon form, is almost as strong and boasts an almost perfect control of fire.

Giganta's giant form: http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=177271

Giganta's Demon Form: http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=184512

Diablo - The Pillar of the 19th ring. He is in charge of the harsh mountain ranges. He is a faceless formless individual who can absorb the life essence of everyone around him. He inhabits a strange combination of armor and robes, to keep his shape. He is a close combat fighter who immensely strong and can kill virtually any living being by touch, but is weak against golems and the undead. He also possess a large amount of dark magic, which he uses freely.

Diablo looks like this: http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=509945

Lamar - The Pillar in charge of the 15-18th rings. He is a male lamia with a lust for women. Despite his length which is around 50ft, he is deceptively quick and is unmatched in water, where he swims like a snake. His tail is deceptively strong as he can wrap it around and shatter enormous trees or golems. He is a close combat fighter who excels with light and fast movement, using only light weapons. He also boasts control of water.

Lamar looks like this: http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=120721

Dimitri - The Pillar in charge of research, experimentation and torture, most of which he combines to form.....interesting results. Dimitri is in charge of extracting information from prisoners and finding the newest and best ways to use magic to manipulate the growth of things, and people. Dimitri specializes in traps and the use of his altered pets who he can summon at will. He is rather weak, physically but has superb knowledge and understanding of magic and the nature of existence. Dimitri is an undead demon who is highly intelligent.

Dimitri looks like this: http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=530751

Morgis - The Pillar in charge of the 10th-14th rings. He is a fifteen foot tall minotaur who is not very smart, and has no magic. He makes up for this with enormous strength and determination, allowing him to plow through enemies like water. When he falls into a rage, his strength doubles and he fights without care until all the enemies are dead, his strength runs out, or the I order him to stop.

Morgis looks like this: http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=522229

Shakira - The Pillar in charge of the 6th-10th rings. She is a mixture of Demon and Ice spirit or Yukki-Onna. She is a rather silent type and tends to keep to herself. She can manipulate ice freely and is an all around fighter, who is strong in both close combat and magic, but excels only in ice magic.

Shakira looks like this: http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=416687

Feren - The Pillar in charge of the 5th and 4th rings. He is a 30 foot tall humanoid wolf, with a body made out of plants and trees, except for his wolf head(Think Groot with a wolf's head). Feren can control plants and trees, as well as having a body that can grow replacement limbs extremely fast. His plant body is immensely strong and he has unlimited stamina but is weak to fire.

Feren looks like this: http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=447622

Minerva - The Pillar in charge of rings 1-3. She is a tomboyish, bloodthirsty, Medusa, whose snake-hair is deadly, a single bite means death, to any human. Minerva excels in bloody swordplay and is a fast close-combat expert. Her speed makes up for any difference in strength, and she can summon and control any snakes, as well as turn people to stone with a single touch.

Minerva looks like this: http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=567839

Hmm. If I took all of them I could just wipe the Moravian Empire off the face of the planet. But that would draw to much attention. If I have to destroy the Moravian Empire I need to make it seem natural. Perhaps I will manipulate the Dark Elves and the Zarian Kingdom into attacking the Moravian Empire from both sides, at the same time.

That will not draw any serious attention, and will allow me to operate from the shadows. So besides Sebastian and some Battle Maids, I think I'll take Septimus, Dimitri, Minerva, and Shakira. Niverna will probably be annoyed, but I need her to take care of things here while I am gone.

This is a good selection. I have Sebastian, and Minerva for close combat, with Dimitri as a portable army with his ability to summon his experiments, and Septimus to do any shadowy buisness, while Shakira will be the jack-of-all-trades, who helps where she is needed.

Yes. That is a good team. I will take care of any magic usage along with Dimitri. Hmm. I almost forgot, I will have to create a human form, to be able to travel peacefully, without arousing suspicion. Now to inform them of the changes. I have kept them waiting long enough.

"As some of you are aware, We have recieved information that leads us to believe that we have found Harak's sealing place under the Moravian Empire. Obviously, no major actions can be taken until this information so, I will be traveling to the Moravian Empire to verify this information."

Oh. It seems that that was a suprise. Most of them look angry and nervous all at the same time.

"M-Master. You may destroy me for daring to speak in your presence, but I must insist you take guards. I will not allow you to leave without adequate protection. I will take my own life in penance for this outburst, but please take some of us with you."

I listened as Niverna spoke. Her voice was trembling, as if she was so scared of my anger that death was far preferable. Well, she speaks out of loyalty so I will not punish her.

"There is no need to end your own life. I was planning on taking guards from the beginning. Sebastian, Septimus, Shakira, Dimitri, and Minerva will accompany me. We will be posing as a rich noble and his demon slaves. I will assume a human form and play the noble. We will leave tomorrow morning, and meet with our contact in the Moravian Empire, via teleportation. Niverna. You will be in charge while I am gone, keep this place running in an orderly fashion. The rest of you should take care of your area's and prepare for a possible war. Are there any problems?.........No. Then Good. You are dismissed. And I must say that I am appreciative of your constant hard work and labor. You are slowly helping me bring my plans to fruition. Thank You."

I probably didn't have to add that last part. But the looks on their faces were rather..... appealing. Besides, with this their productivity should rise. Hmm. I suppose it is time to meet with Septimus and Dimitri, to obtain detailed information about the Moravian Empire. I rose off of the throne and had Solomon transfer me to the torture room, before contacting Sebastian with a telepathic link and ordering him to bring Septimus and Dimitri to Solomon's torture room.

It was time to personally gain some information about the Moravian Empire. I believe that Septimus relays information to the best of his abiliy, but no relay is comparable to seeing something for yourself.

Solomon could transport me anywhere I wanted in the castle instantly, but since I trusted no one completely, the Inner Sanctum was beyond his control. I waited patiently for Sebastian, Dimitri, and Septimus to come to the torture room.

It was not long before thier quick footsteps sounded in the hallway. I watched as they bowed after entering the room.

"I have reviewed all the information we possess about the Moravian Empire, and while it is very thorough, it lacks a few details currently needed for our trip. Septimus, I assume you aquired a source of information, once Sharil reported with that information."

Septimus's skeletal form bowed it's head, leaving shadowy traces of mists floating through the air.

"You are correct. My Lord. I immediately had a family of peasants, kidnapped and brought here by one of our couriers. It was easy to ransack their home and blame it on bandits. They are currently sealed within a cell in Solomon's prison. They have food delivered three times a day by Solomon, but are cut off from any contact with any people."

Hmm. I suppose a peasant family would provide the most knowledge on who passes through on their way to the city, and what they look and act like. Yes. That is good. Very Good.

"Sebastian. What is tonight's meal?"

Sebastian is in charge of my personal service, and the upkeep of the castle, so that obviously includes my meals. I must say Sebastian has some very good cooks. He is what people call the perfect butler. I created him to serve me, but somwhere along the way, he began influencing the way I eat, and what I eat.

I now eat like a sophisticated King. Sebastian serves me on a solid mithril platter, with intricate silverware, a gold plate, a delicate wine glass, and of course an immaculate napkin. I have no idea when I began to follow his mealtime instructions, but sometime along the way, I became a civilized person.......At least when it came to mealtime.

The currency system on all of the continents works the exact same way. 100 copper coins equals a silver coin. 100 silver coins equals a gold coin. 100 gold coins equals a mithril coin. 100 mithril coins equals a black mithril coin. 100 black mithril coins equals a gold mithril coin. Now most countries do not use anything past a gold, and occasional mithril coin. Black mithril is extremely rare, and gold mithril is legendary.

"Tonight, you will be having a lava-beast steak, with a truffle sauce. The side dish will be an exquisite salad, made with plants from the 5th ring. The drink will be a 450,000 year old red wine. Specifically, the rare Astrominia variety. It is a happy occassion that we have found a clue to Master Harak's wherabouts, so I decided your meal should be a small celebration. I have authorized the cooks, to prepare something special for the other Pillars too."

"Very Good Sebastian. I look forward to the meal. Have it served here in about an hour. Dimitri, I will want to see your latest information extraction method, as well as some older more reliable ones. Just in case the experiment fails. Septimus, have the prisoners brought here in an hour. Until that time I will be working on creating a believable human appearence. I will see you all then."

With that I turned and walked out of the room. My stomach growled for a second before I quieted it. Sebastian really is the perfect butler. The meals he coordinates, and has the cooks prepare, are legendary and always perfect.

Mealtime, is one of the only pleasures I allow myself. It is simply too good to resist. Anyway, I walked quickly to the throne room before entering the portal to the Inner Sanctum. My bedroom was right next to the other throne room, so I entered and sat on the luxurious bed, before staring into the giant mirror that almost the entire wall.

Hmm. There are many problems with my current form, that must be changed. First of all I am over 9 feet tall, have silver skin and claws. Okay. So how about shrink my form to about 7 and a half feet, turn my skin pale, and grow hair. Yes, that should be a good start. Hmm. For a merchant I should either be skinny or fat. I think I will go for a skinny form with compact muscles. Hmm. Perhaps I will, have long hair that hangs down to my shoulder blades. I flexed my mana pool and began making the changes to my body. My skin and bones cracked as my body shifted becoming smaller and changing color. My claws shrunk back into my hands, and hair grew rapidly and fell down over my shoulders. I gazed into the mirror and shrugged my new shoulders. I suppose that it will do.

The Overlord's Human Form: http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=348769

Hmm. I have another half an hour until I need to be at the torture room. I hope that I can obtain some useful information that will help lead to Harak's release. No. I do not hope, I create and take. I will force them to reveal the information I seek. And once he is free, Harak will be an excellent addition to the plan. Harak is one of the Greater Gods after all. Hmm. Maybe I should explain the ranking system of Gods.

All Gods are placed in one of three categories. There are the Minor Gods, the Lesser Gods, and the Greater Gods. The Minor Gods are the most common, technically they do not even qualify as Gods, they are so weak. The Minor Gods are the spirits of every river, Mountain, and forest in the world. They make up the majority of the beings called Gods, but they have relatively little power. Even at my current strength, I could wipe them all out of existence, although it would take almost all of my power. The real problem occurs with the Lesser and Greater Gods.

The Lesser Gods are beings who gain power from worship. The more they are worshipped, the stronger they get. There are a couple thousand of them, but they are still weaker than I am. With my current strength I could probably kill most of them, before I ran out of power. However the real problem are the Greater Gods.

The Greater Gods were the first 11 beings after me to come into existence. Harak, Eris, and Irenia were three of them, but they were defeated by the other eight. They are immensely strong and at my current level I can only fight one at a time, together all eleven of them could rival my strength at full power. However; Since three of them would not fight me, they had to resort to exhausting me, and using the combined power of all the Minor and Lesser Gods to seal me.

That is how powerful each of the Greater Gods is. It took all of the Lesser and Minor Gods together to equal three Greater Gods power. That is why I am so cautious. I cannot risk being discovered and defeated. That is not an option. I will wait and I will plan. I can allow nothing to distract me. I will triumph in the end. That is a fact, not a hope or a dream.

Oh, it is time for supper. Ah, I can't wait. Sebastian's meals are really something to look forward to. I quickly left my bedroom and walked back to the portal. As soon as I entered the castle, I had Solomon teleport me to the torture room.

I took a quick glance around before sitting on the throne-like seat, in front of a clean table that faced the wall with the prisoners, hanging in their chains. It was a rather muscular man, a rather plain woman, and two children. The older child was probably about twelve years old while the younger was a girl around nine years old. They were all naked with their hands chained above their heads.

Septimus stood on one side of them while Dimitri stood on the other. Dimitri was nearly shaking with glee. I suppose that this is the first time he has been given humans to experiment on. Huh, he really is a mad-scientist type of person after all. Whatever. If he extracts the information I need, then he can have whoever is still alive to exeriment on.

"P-Please Help us."

The little girl squeaked out, as she stared at me with pleading eyes. It was a look that would have torn at the heart of even the coldest human b*stard alive. I ignored it. I could really care less about humans and what happened to them. They were the primary creation of the Greater Gods, and they were the great project I had helped create, only to be betrayed while I was exhausted.

I had absolutely no qualms about using and destroying humans, even children. In the end, they were nothing but a reminder of my foolish trust and betrayal. Oh, Sebastian just came in. I watched as Sebastian placed the mithril platter on the table before whipping off the top to reveal the steaming meal.

Ah, that smell is heavenly. It is like perfection on a plate. I waited a moment while Sebastian arranged the silverware and napkin, before opening a wine bottle and pouring it into the glass.

"Thank You Sebastian. Dimitri, you may begin the extraction. If you are successful, then you may take the ones still alive and use them for whatever experiments you wish to conduct."

"T-Thank You My Lord!"

I watched as Dimitri bowed quickly, a gigantic smile on his face. Hmm. He really does enjoy his experiments doesn't he. I watched while Dimitri set a crystal orb on the table.

"This will replay the portions of his memories that you wish to see. I will weaken his mental barrier, and all you have to do is watch the orb. Just think of any particular scene and it will be shown to you."

"Very Well."

Hmm. That is an interesting object, that Dimitri has thought up. I take the knife and begin cutting the steak into small square pieces, as Dimitri begins his work, sending the man's screams of pain throughout the room. I take a bite of the steak as I watch images begin to flash by on the orb. Ah, this steak is cooked perfectly. It is just a tad pink, and not burnt at all. From what the orb is showing, the man was born into a poor family, most of whom were killed in a bandit attack. However; instead of despairing he began working hard, and slowly worked his way up in the village.

I stopped it to take a deep drink of the wine. It was perfect. They say wine gets better with age, and after 450,000 years, it is damn near good enough to kill you. I started the images again, as I patted my lips with the napkin, removing all traces of food and liquid, while ignoring the screaming and begging of the man's family.

So according to these images, he became one of the leaders of the village and married his childhood sweetheart. I guess that that is the woman. I continued to eat my meal, leaving all the screaming and crying as a backround sound. Hmm. The image just stopped. I guess the man is getting used to the pain.

"Dimitri. He is recreating his mental barriers. Hang his wife in front of him. That should cause sufficient mental trauma. You may have the children when they are both dead. I have almost all of the information I need."

"Immediately my Lord. May I take the adult's corpses when you are finished?"

"Yes, they are of no current use to me. Sebastian I must say that this meal is incredible. Good work."

"Thank You, My Lord."

I watched as the woman was taken down from her chains and Septimus placed a rope around her neck, and looped it over a metal beam that stretched all the way across the ceiling.

"NO! NO! PLEASE! I'll TELL YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW!"

"Mommy!"

"Mother!"

I ignored her family's desperate pleas. Why should I care? This way, I took the information I needed and Dimitri got the corpses and living specimens. Waste not ,want not. This way, I would be able to use their lives with maximum efficency, nothing would be wasted. If anything they should be grateful that their lives are being used in part of my master plan.

I finished my steak and began eating the salad, while Septimus hauled her body off the ground, leaving her choking and gasping in mid-air. I patted my lips with the napkin once more, cleaning off the specks of food. Ah, there we go. I watched the rest of his life play out on the orb.

He married her and had two children. They were leading a relatively happy life, until the night when people broke into their house and kidnapped them. And that was the story of his life up until this point. Aww. How sad. His perfect life was ruined by me. I don't give a sh*t. Their lives are meaningless.

Hmm. Well I got all the information I needed. Now I know what the merchants who passed through acted and dressed like. Now that I have a reliable view of how to blend in, I only need to make the trip.

I finished eating the salad and watched as the family sobbed, as the woman stopped twitching and hung there lifelessly. I drank the rest of the wine before standing.

"The meal was delicious as always Sebastian. Septimus, drop the woman's corpse and break the man's neck. Dimitri, you may take the children and the corpses back to you labratory. They are yours to do whatever you please with, as long as it does not endager any of our lives or holdings. I have gained all the information I need. We will leave early tomorrow."

WIth that I watched as Septimus broke the man's neck killing him, and Dimitri placed metal collars, attatched to chains around the children's necks. Perhaps, he would turn them into a new form of demon, or maybe they would end up as food for his other experiments. Whatever. I turned and left the room, returning to the portal to the Inner Sanctum. Now it was time to and contact Sharil. The lucky little Shadwalker who had discovered Harak's location. It was time to start moving.

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