Chapter 1: A Most Reasonable Development
September 9th, 1349
Tingen City, Awwa County, Loen Kingdom
…
-Megose Beaumont-
For one Megose Beaumont, life has taken a strange turn ever since her aunt introduced her to Lanevus. Her usually slow-paced life seemed to have become a whirlwind.
What began as simple courtship soon drew her into plans and promises she barely had time to question. There was talk of engagement, of a shared future, of her family finally rising above their modest means. Even her relatives, cautious as they were, started to believe, enough to consider putting their entire savings into Lanevus' steel business.
Then, just as suddenly he appeared, he vanished. His identity as a known fraud came to light soon after.
Her aunt was naturally shocked and appalled, more so when Megose proved to be the most affected by the incident, evident in the bump upon her stomach.
A clear sign of the life growing within her.
….
At this moment, Megose was in her room—in the Eastern Suburbs of Tingen—a canvas before her and a paintbrush in hand. With a tender smile, she rubbed her belly while gazing at the painting before her.
It was a baby.
What would unnerve anyone who laid eyes upon the painting, however, were the flowing, curtained shadows draping over the baby's form.
For Megose, though, he was beautiful beyond words.
"Do you like it, my baby boy?" Her gentle voice echoed through the empty room, her gaze resting on her belly.
After a few seconds of silence, Megose's lips curled upward and she giggled, saying, "Don't worry, my child, you'll grow beautiful hair in no time."
Her eyes drifted back to the painting, staring into those shadowed eyes filled with a depth that did not belong to a baby. Yet Megose felt neither fear nor disgust.
For he was her baby boy—
"My dear Amadeus." The young mother smiled radiantly as she seemed to answer the question posed by her baby. "I was just thinking about how much I love you, and how I'll spoil you."
Receiving no response, Megose didn't panic. Instead, a mischievous smile appeared on her lips. She parted them to speak, but then a thought bloomed and involuntarily spilled forth—
"I-I, dear Amadeus, I want to visit Zouteland Street." Megose said, looking ashamed and guilty. "Sorry, my baby… even though Mama is supposed to care for you…"
Her words trailed off, as though interrupted, listening to her baby 'speak'. After a moment, a bright, tearful smile illuminated her face.
"Truly, I am blessed to have you, dear Amadeus."
…..
Zouteland Street, Blackthorn Security Company
"Miss Megose?" A youthful voice called out to her the moment she stepped into the spacious reception hall.
Her thoughts, which were scattered ever since she had left her home, suddenly snapped back into place, her vacant green eyes regaining their former luster.
Megose blinked once, then twice, her gaze settling on the two black-haired young men before her. One was the scholarly youth, Klein Moretti, if she recalled correctly from her visit with her aunt. The other was a handsome, green-eyed young man she was meeting for the very first time…
"Leonard Mitchell?" The young blonde-haired woman tilted her head in mild confusion after hearing the answer from her baby.
"Y-You know me, Miss Megose?" the green-eyed young man, Leonard, asked in surprise.
Megose shook her head, then nodded. "My baby—" She paused, her gaze snapping to Mr. Moretti in confusion as she repeated the words spoken by her child, "Oh? Is everything snapping into place now? Why, when you were a Seer, did you 'forget' to activate your Spirit Vision? The answer is simple: You may not look directly at God.'"
Only after speaking did Megose notice the expressions of terror on the two men before her, both frozen in place. Once again, confusion washed over her, and so she asked the only one who would answer without reservation. "Amadeus, can you explain to Mama what's going on?" She gently rubbed her protruding belly.
….
"Eh?" Her expression stiffened at the unexpected response. "Y-you're ready to be born?"
Her words snapped the two men out of their terror, yet she paid them no heed, focusing all her attention on her baby boy. "Is there anything you need, Amadeus? Should I call for the doctors?"
"…"
Megose's gaze snapped to the only other figure in the reception hall now—Leonard Mitchell—who was wearing a stiff smile. "My child said, 'Pallez, it would be in your best interest not to interrupt my birth, unless you want a certain Monocle-Wearing Weirdo to make his appearance here. Don't think I lack the means to recite his Honorific Name.'"
After finishing her words, the pregnant woman opened her mouth at her son's request, ignoring the young man who stared at her in confusion, his head tilting slightly to the side.
….
-Leonard Mitchell-
Hey Old Man! Are you really not going to help me now? That's the Child of an Evil God! Or are you actually afraid of the monocle-wearing weirdo he mentioned? The Midnight Poet cursed inwardly, panic surging as he saw Megose's protruding belly rapidly deflate as thick blood, intermingled with flesh, spilled uncontrollably from her mouth.
The grotesque sight sent a chill down his spine, making his scalp tingle and the hairs on his neck stand on end.
'…The situation might not be as bad as you think,' The familiar calm, aged voice echoed within Leonard's mind, unconsciously giving him a fragile sense of stability.
Leonard was about to ask what he meant, but the old man—Pallez, he remembered Megose, or rather the Evil God's Spawn, calling him—spoke again before he could form the question.
'Don't you find it strange? Even if this woman has been strengthened so she could carry the Spawn of a God, how is she still fine? Why isn't she mutating despite being corrupted by an Evil God? And why is the Evil Spawn giving me a warning?'
Leonard's eyes flickered with confusion at the barrage of questions before widening the next moment. The Evil God's Spawn is… protecting Megose?
'So it seems to be the case. A truly intriguing situation,' The Old Man mused, mused, sounding utterly unconcerned, a complete contrast to how the Midnight Poet was feeling.
Still, the Old Man's words calmed him somewhat—
'Don't look.'
The Old Man abruptly interrupted his thoughts, and reflexively, Leonard lowered his head.
'As he said before, You may not look directly at God.' The words instantly filled the young man with dread, as they could only mean the Spawn had descended. 'It would be best to warn that colleague of yours, as well as your Captain. They are about to enter.'
Without the slightest hesitation, Leonard shouted, "Klein! Captain! Don't look! The Evil God's Spawn has descended!"
….
Moments ago, in a building less than one hundred meters from Blackthorn Security.
-Ince Zangwill-
…
"Megose Beaumont, confused yet guided by a sense of reassurance she could not explain, followed the subtle suggestions planted within her thoughts. Though the past days had been filled with odd lapses, inexplicable impulses, and conversations she could not later recall clearly, she attributed them to pregnancy and exhaustion. Unaware of the Beyonder world, she failed to notice the density of coincidences surrounding her.
Thus, when the urge to visit Zouteland Street arose, she did not resist. She trusted it as a mother trusts instinct."
….
The Gatekeepers lips curled up as he once again read through his script, making sure this horrifying quill did not change his story.
He turned the page.
…
"At Blackthorn Security Company, events would proceed smoothly. Dunn Smith would make a single, critical misjudgment. Saint Selena's ashes would be taken out prematurely, provoking the reaction of the deity's spawn.
Amid chaos and sacrifice, the ashes would be separated from their guardians.
Ince Zangwill would retrieve them."
….
He read the passage once more, habitually searching for inconsistencies, illogical leaps, or excessive coincidences that might provoke backlash. Everything was within acceptable parameters. The narrative tension was reasonable, and the motivations were sound.
The story was moving in the direction he planned. Yes there had been some unexpected things that cropped up, mainly as a result of Klein Moretti. But at the end of the day, a mere Sequence 8 wouldn't be able to make waves that could capsize the boat.
Just as he was about to turn the page, it flipped back on its own. Without warning, several paragraphs above twisted, blurred, and were violently scratched over, black lines crossing them out in a frenzy. The whole final section of the script was erased!
"How?!" Ince Zangwill's expression finally broke. His face twisted in shock as he stepped forward. "What are you doing?!"
….
"Unbelievable! The Evil God's spawn's maturity far exceeds prior estimations. The birth of the Son of the Evil God is beginning ahead of schedule. Megose Beaumont suddenly demonstrated behavior that deviated from the established script. Rather than being guided solely by implanted impulses, she exhibited an inexplicable clarity, voluntarily helping in the Spawn's descent."
….
"Conversely, Ince Zangwill felt his pride damaged by the fact that a mere mortal woman had outwitted him; a sudden surge of anger rose within him at the thought. At that moment, a bold idea took shape as he realised that all his plans could unravel should the Nighthawks be defeated and Tingen destroyed by the descent of the Spawn.
Kill! Kill the Evil God's Spawn and grab St. Selena's Ashes when the Nighthawk's guards are low!"
….
"The birth continued, but it was no longer flawless.
Although the Evil God's Spawn descended ahead of schedule, this haste came at a cost. Its abilities were significantly weaker than the average Demigod."
….
"Although Megose Beaumont survived longer than predicted under the corruption of the True Creator, that is no longer the case. Under the influence of the descendant of Death characteristic in her body and the corruption, her body began to mutate. In this state, she was unable to tell the difference between friend and foe.
It was naturally a reasonable development for her to attack the Evil Spawn who posed the most danger to her continued existence in this situation."
….
"Dunn Smith entered the reception hall with Saint Selena's Ashes the instant the Evil Spawn descended. With the Evil Spawn weaker than the usual Demigod, its effectiveness was several times higher than usual."
….
….
-Amadeus Beaumont-
"Does the Church of Evernight's teachings not teach one to 'Love your neighbour as yourself'?" Cradled in his mother's arm while being restrained by Saint Selena's Ashes, Amadeus felt these were the perfect first words of his new life.
"…."
The tense reception hall instantly fell silent.
"Amadeus, dear?" His pure golden eyes—contrasting his shadowy appearance—locked onto his mother's green ones, which flickered between vacant aggression and boundless maternal warmth. Each time the former surfaced, it was swiftly drowned out.
The Madness of Motherhood overwhelmed the unreasonable thought 0-08 attempted to plant within Megose. Yet even so, it could not halt the physical mutations beginning to erupt.
"Hah~ I hope you won't hold my manipulation of your mind against me when you're purified, Mother." Before she could respond, Amadeus' golden eyes shone brilliantly as he looked at her, radiant purity pouring forth from his Mystical Eyes of Purity that were elevated to the Mythical tier under the influence of Absolute Territory.
All foreign influences that did not belong to her true self were stripped away, whether it was the Madness Wavelength used to oppose 0-08, the corruption of the True Creator, or the characteristics of a descendant of Death.
Step! Step! Step!
The sound of footsteps closing in on the building reached Amadeus' ears. He looked at his mother, who appeared dazed after having all corruption purged at once. After a brief moment of thought, he touched her, gently knocking her unconscious.
"Rest for a while, mother."
Before Megose could fall, Amadeus transformed into a Black Knight, catching her in his left arm. His body was no longer that of a curtained, shadowy infant, but a three-meter-tall giant encased in cold black armor born of Degeneration. Two deep red lights burned where his eyes should have been. In his right hand manifested a black greatsword, likewise forged from the oppressive power of Degeneration, capable of corroding flesh and extinguishing souls.
"…What do you plan to do?" The Captain of the Tingen Nighthawks, Dunn Smith, spoke up, having withdrawn Saint Selena's Ashes moments earlier when Amadeus purified his mother.
Amadeus glanced toward the three Nighthawks—who could now look upon him without fear of corruption—causing them to stiffen. The dark red glow that served as his eyes lingered on Klein with particular interest before turning away.
"From your lack of aggression, may I take it as a sign that you wish to hear of our Lord and Saviour, my Great Father, the Lord that Created Everything; the Lord who Reigns Behind the Curtain of Shadows—"
Amadeus' proselytising—much to the luck of the Nighthawks— came to an abrupt halt as the building's doors slammed open.
Bang!
Dozens—countless—souls and spirits burst through the entrance, surging toward him with feral aggression.
"Present your souls as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Father." The Black Knight swung his greatsword, and though he possessed the power to obliterate them instantly, he held back significantly against these souls who were mere pawns.
Boom!
A shockwave erupted from the casual swing, obliterating the entrance of the Blackthorn Security building. Ince Zangwill, who had just arrived, would have been sent flying along with the spirits if not for his shadow erupting to restrain him in place.
"Ugh!" Blood spewed from the Gatekeeper's lips, the hazy, irrational madness to kill that filled his single functioning eye dissipating.
Madness Wavelength. Madness of the Seven Sins and Madness of Humanity, as Amadeus termed the specific wavelength he inflicted upon Ince Zangwill the moment Megose entered Zouteland Street. One wavelength served to influence and erode emotions; the other prevented him from completely losing control before he could be captured.
With his knowledge of the story, Amadeus knew Ince Zangwill would not be far from the fray. Thus, with Madness Wavelength elevated to the Legendary tier under Absolute Territory, he encoded precise parameters determining who would be affected.
"I finally have you where I want you, rat." Amadeus ruthlessly swung his greatsword at former Nighthawks legs.
"AAAAAARGH!!!" A guttural, heart-wrenching scream tore from the Gatekeeper's throat.
"Keep it down, would you? Mother is resting."
Amadeus dematerialised his sword and reached toward Ince Zangwill's face. To the horror of the man—and the Nighthawks behind him—where the former Archbishop's mouth had been was now only smooth, featureless skin.
Through the application of Flesh and Blood Magic, his mouth no longer existed.
"Come now, 'an eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand'. 'Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed'. 'The LORD giveth and the LORD taketh.'" Amadeus' blood-red eyes burned with manic fervour. "As the Son of God who carries His Divinity and Blessing—
"Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own?"
+++
A/N: All for the Amber Lord—wrong setting cough!—True Creator!
When you're Father is too busy rapping, it's only a reasonable development for the Son to step and create new teachings in His place. Wonder if anyone noticed how I gave him gold eyes just to mess around: Sasrir's hair/features and Ancient Sun God's eyes.
Alt title for the story: I Inherited My Dad's Insanity And All I Got Was This Lousy Cult