A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger...
The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge,
but the mouth of the fool gushes folly...
I walked through the halls of the Libra Department with the girls following behind me, the four of us being led by Anna to the Laboratory to meet with the Egg Collector. I looked at my phone and scrolled through the Dark Lord section of my system, noticing there was an Index for the Monsters I meet and obtain.
"What's that?" Effie asked with innocent curiosity, holding onto my arm as she peeked around me to look at my phone.
"It's a Monster Index...there's one for Relics, Skills, Equipment, even for the facilities installed around the Dark Lord Zone...what the heck. There's so much more into being a Judge for God than I thought," I answered, marvelling at how much went into being both Messiah and Dark Lord.
"Laneret did tell me that Dark Lords equally as complex as the Angels like Arch. Micheal or even Messenger Gabriel. I'm somewhat glad Floria decided to help you," Anna said, swiping through data upon the translucent screen on her clipboard.
"Yeah, me too..." I said, turning off my screen and slipping my hands into my pockets.
The five of us soon reached the Laboratory, the metal doors sliding open for us to enter through. Once we were inside, the doors closed with a metallic bang, slightly scaring Effie, Fleur, and Luciel and causing them to hold onto one another.
Inside, monster incubators sat along the walls as if they were just placed there, multiple electronic equipment in perfect position leaving optimal room for various movement, even combat if needed. Watching over the eggs was a woman with dark colored hair in a low ponytail, wearing a black lab coat with a Dark Lord insignia on the back of her coat.
"She...kinda looks normal..? Who is she?" Luciel asked, slowly creeping forward with caution, her hands holding onto my jacket.
"No idea...it's my first time seeing her as well," I said quietly, keeping my eyes upon the scientist ahead.
"It's about time you made it, Lord Nox. I was starting to think you were going to skip out on this Event today," The woman said as she turned around, looking at me with a light smile, taking a sip of her morning coffee.
"Huh? Naju? You're the Monster Breeder? How? You were just with me last year studying under the forensic field," Anna said with genuine shock, physically pausing from the surprising revelation.
Naju smiled at Anna and exhaled softly, walking toward her and placing her hand upon her arm. "Just as you were led to Genesis for your duties, I was led to Ragnarok for my purpose but we serve under the same God...just two different roads with two distinct persons."
"Yeah, but..." Anna began, closing her eyes and letting out a quiet exhale before letting herself be happy for her best friend. "Alright...I understand. This is just going to take some getting used to."
Naju nodded at Anna then looked at the rest of us with a welcoming smile, giving all of us a light bow. "Hello everyone, my name is Naju Hachiman and I am what is known as a Trader, specifically for Monsters. Using the DNA of various monsters, we are able to create and incubate them using those pods there."
We looked over at the Monster Incubators, noticing eggs of various colors and patterns upon them. There were five incubators, and two incubators with a special royal pattern eggs inside, seven incubators in total: Five Normal, Two Special.
"Since you're here, allow me to give you a run down. I am an Egg Collector or Monster Breeder, my purpose is to supply Dark Lords with monsters to protect Dark Lord Zones and to Judge those unrepentant," Naju began, walking over to the incubators and set her mug on the table.
"You'll get a choice between five random normal monsters ranking from One, being the weakest, and Five being the strongest normal monster, or one of the two Special Grade Monsters. However, the Special Grade monsters are harder to control," Naju continued, wiping the clear glass clean of any smudges upon its surface.
"Why's that?" Effie asked curiously, wandering toward the incubators with Looni at her side.
"They are purified Laments, demons who repented, but can still be easily influenced due to their overexposure to a Devil Stone. There are 13 Special Grades, but I could only recover two. The other 11 are still wandering out somewhere," Naju said, stepping back so Effie could observe the Eggs closer.
I walked closer to the incubators as well, looking at each Egg and studied each one intensely to remember each Type of Monster within. Knowing the dangers of the Special Grades, I knew to not take my chances with them just yet since I was still learning myself.
"Alright...I guess I'll stick with the five normal eggs for right now. It's still rather early in my own journey as a Dark Lord and I'd rather play it safe," I said, turning my gaze over to Naju.
Naju nodded at my decision then made her way toward the pods and pressed a button to open the doors. The took all five normal eggs out of their pods then walked over toward the Hatchery near the back of the lab, the five of us following behind her to witness the hatching of the eggs.
Naju set down the five eggs into their own hatching pods, each egg rumbling and shaking as they were ready to hatch after months of perfect nurturing. The first egg, a Green Egg with a slimy exterior, began to glow brightly and hatch into a Green Slime.
The second, a Red Feathery Egg, hatched into a Red Winged Harpy, her screeching call echoing through the lab. The third egg, similar to the Red Feathery Egg, had fiery properties to its outside and hatched into a radiant Pheonix Girl.
"Whoa...a Rank 5 already on the first batch," Naju marvelled, looking up at the Phoenix Girl with sparkling eyes.
"Onto the last two...let's see what else I got," I said, looking to the last to eggs on the far right.
The fourth egg, a Floral Egg, shone a green light before hatching into a beautiful Nymph Girl, a rose blooming beneath her to take upon her Alarune Form. The final egg, a white egg with blood bleeding through its shell, began to slowly hatch, the shell bursting open and revealing a young girl.
"Huh..?" Naju asked in disbelief, wiping her eyes to make sure she was seeing the final "monster" correctly.
Anna glanced over at Naju, raising an eyebrow and rubbing the back of her neck with awkward confusion. "Uhh...did you take the correct DNA? That's a human girl.."
"A...young one at that. She's younger than Daisy!" Fleur exclaimed, taking a startled step back as the girl opened her eyes slowly.
The young girl grunted softly and rubbed her eyes gently, slowly looking up to see where she was. Her eyes were a beautiful scarlet red and her hair an ivory white. She wore a white dress with a black cloak around her body, tiny bat wings fluttering behind her.
She looked up at me first, immediately recognizing the Rebirth Energy flowing within my body and her eyes lit up with wonder. "Pa..pa..."
"Wha—" Luciel gasped, a wild blush forming on her face and her hands covering her mouth from what the young girl called me.
I stared at the young girl with a mix of awe and confusion, but it wasn't her calling me Papa that sent confusion through my brain. It was the fact that the young girl had a conscious and enough intelligence to speak, more intelligence than the humanoid beasts like my Harpy or even Nymph Girl.
I walked over to the young girl, taking one knee in front of her and locked eyes with her, her smile brightening as I got closer to her. I reached over toward her, placing my hand on her head and gently rubbed her head. "I'm not old enough to be your father...I'm only 20."
"Papa! Papa!" The young girl eagerly repeated, as if it were the only word she knew. She propelled herself toward me with a big flap of her wings, throwing herself into me and nuzzled my cheek.
I grunted softly as I held onto her, looking down at her and let out a soft sigh then stood up with her in my arms. "Well, I guess I'm a father now at the ripe age of 20..."
"I mean, technically you were a dad when the first egg arrived," Naju said, clearing her throat and looked around casually.
I rolled my eyes at Naju's comment then looked over at the girls, noticing the difference in each one's reaction to me holding the young girl in my arms. Effie had a giddy expression on her face, practically waiting to burst with excitement. Fleur was in a state of confusion and awe, just as I was, her gaze flicking between me and the girl.
Luciel was the most surprised of them all, her heart thumping quickly inside her chest as she stared at me and the young girl. She walked over to me and the girl, reaching toward her and gently stroking her hair, a smile forming on her face as she heard her giggle.
"I think she likes you," I said, watching as Luciel interacted with the girl, a warm smile tugging at my lips.
Luciel hummed softly, a maternal gaze slowly forming in her face as she gently stroked the girls cheek. She looked up at me, locking eyes with me. "You think so..?"
I nodded in response, meeting her gaze and exhaled softly. "Monsters are usually uneasy around people they don't trust, but she's completely relaxed...it's safe to assume she likes you..."
The air around me and Luciel began to soften, the once thick atmosphere within the laboratory becoming lighter as we became lost in each other's eyes. Our moment of peace became short as a distant explosion sounded, coming from the Virgo Department.
"What in the world? It's 10 AM, who could be fighting already?" Naju asked, looking down at her watch and sighed softly. "And here I was hoping for a calm visit while I was here..."
"This does give us a perfect chance to test out the new monsters. I would like to see Ragnarok's power in action more closely for my studies," Anna said, turning her gaze toward the other four hatchlings.
My monsters let out their calls, each one ready to be deployed for battle. I looked at my monsters as well, seeing their determined gazes and feeling the determined Spirit of my Slime. I smiled at them then looked at the young girl in my arms.
"Scarlet...are you ready to see your siblings in action?" I asked, giving her a warm smile.
Scarlet nodded excitedly, holding onto me tightly as she got ready to join me on the journey to the Virgo Department. "Mmm! Mmm! Yes!"
I chuckled softly at her then glanced over at the girls, gesturing for them to follow me out of the Laboratory. The three followed behind with my monsters, each of us marching toward the Virgo Department to put my monsters on their first test.
Ava and Peter maneuvered around the Virgo Courtyard quickly, evading each Lightning Trap placed around the area, each trap releasing an electric explosion when they neared one. Peter dashed toward the table and leaped on top of it, propelling himself into the air and shifting his weapon into his Polaris Rod.
With a fierce swing, he casted a line around the courtyard, using his hook to slam into each trap within its path and destroyed the invisible traps before they could explode. "Ava, now! It's you chance to take out Choice Specs down there!"
Ava skidded forward and turned her gaze to the left, where Seven stood with his daggers ready for her approach. Ava smirked at him then her body became a golden light, allowing her to dash toward him at light speeds. "This is it! You're finished!"
Eurydice teleported in front of her path and repelled her away with a burst of shadow energy then dashed toward her with her own dagger drawn. "Not so fast, Sheep! You've still gotta deal with me!"
Ava rolled backwards along the ground before teleporting out of the way of Eurydice's shadow slash, reappearing above her with a radiant slash of her own. Eurydice rolled out of the way of her attack then teleported above her with an axe kick, sending Ava crashing to the ground.
Ava landed onto one knee, jamming her dagger into the ground and chanted a quick prayer. "Heavenly Shower!"
The clouds began to peer open, a volley of holy ways of light crashing down onto Eurydice's body in numbers, catching her by surprise and sending her crashing onto the ground. Peter and Seven guarded themselves from the rushing smoke and debris, the high winds slightly pushing them backwards.
The dust began to settle, both Ava and Eurydice rising to their feet and wiping the sweat from their foreheads. Preparing to dash toward one another, a loud snap halted them in their steps, both of them turning toward the source.
Peter and Seven turned as well, all four of them noticing my squad sitting at the table with me sitting on top and Scarlet hanging on behind me, staring at the four with her scarlet gaze. Goosebumps began to crawl along Seven and Eurydice's skin while Peter and Ava were relieved to see me.
"Peter, Ava, you've done well. You two should go to Andrew now. I'll take it from here," I said, giving the two of them a soft smile.
Peter and Ava looked at each other with soft pants, nodding at one another before running off toward the Virgo Department. Eurydice and Seven watched as the two retreated then looked back at me as I snapped my fingers again.
"In two hours, the first Blessing will become available. Virgo's Blessing, Healing Protection. That Blessings gives those who receives it Regeneration, Immunity to most ailments, and reduced damage from Dark Lord Mana Attacks," I said, looking up at the Virgo Department's Holy Logo.
"You just let them go so you could face us four on two? How noble of you, Lord Nox. Honestly," Eurydice said with harsh sarcasm, sheathing her dagger and summoned her rifle back into her hand. "However, I do love a little danger while fighting."
I rose my hand, shutting down any assumption she might have then snapped my fingers, summoning my Slime onto the battle field, red and blue energies pulsing around his body. "You won't be fighting any of us just yet. We are still learning as well. So for now, you'll be facing off against my Slime."
Seven grunted softly at the green gelatin monster, stepping back and taking out his high tech device to scan the green beast before him. "Careful, Eurydice. That's a monster...even if it's the lowest class, monsters scale to their Master."
〘Monster: Slime〙
〘Index No.: 1〙
〘Ranking: 1 Star〙
〘Ability: Impervious Regen - Physical〙
〘Ability Desc.: Rebounds physical and ammunition attacks back to attacker, heals any damage taken from physical or ammunition attacks.〙
'What the hell..? That is the weakest monster..? Impervious to all physical attacks and ammunition..?' Seven thought to himself, turning toward Eurydice to give her the warning.
Eurydice scoffed at the slime before her and rose her gun to take down the Slime, her eyes glowing with anger from my apparent audacity. "You dare make a mockery of me by summoning a single Slime?! I'll show you who you're messing with!"
"Wait, Eurydice! Don't—" Seven began, trying to warn his partner of the dangers of attacking.
Eurydice began firing a volley of bullets at the Slime, a few bullets piercing through his body while others were deflected back toward Eurydice at twice the speed. Eurydice's eyes widened with disbelief as she noticed the bullets flying back toward her, her body becoming black smoke to avoid behind shot by her own ammunition.
Eurydice watched as my Slime began to regenerate his body naturally, her words not coming out as she was too stunned to speak. 'What...was that..? It deflected my bullets like nothing..'
"Shocking isn't it? The Pawns of the Monster World, yet the ones with the most defensive usages when used correctly. Impervious Regen, only found on Slimes and a skill Dark Lords can learn. You all never stood a chance, but with a Blessing, you just might," I said, chuckling softly at their faces of disbelief.
Effie wrote down notes about the Slime, planning to learn as much as she could about Monsters in the future. Fleur recorded the data for Anna using her sunglasses, adjusting her lens for a clearer shot. Luciel decided to hold Scarlet for a bit while I was focused on my battle against Eurydice and Seven.
"Now that I have your full attention, this is how things will go from here. There are three other monsters deployed around here, acting upon their own accord plus Leona, who is still roaming around. Manage to defeat them all, you can skip right to the Main Department," I began, getting up from the table and walking behind my Slime and crouched down.
"However, if they defeat you either here in the Virgo Department or in the Sagittarius Department, you either have the option to repent or return to your safe haven for the day. You're defeated until the next day," I finished, standing up straight and slipped my hands into my pockets.
"So that's why there was an Event called Egg Collector...it was to further set up your Zone. What's your end goal here? I know it has something to do with Lady Bethel," Seven questioned, demanding answers with a strong tone in his voice.
"It's more than that. This judgement is for the entire institution, not just for one person. If you can not handle the weight of judgement, your safe havens are right there for you to hide in," I shrugged, turning around to walk toward the table and sat back down on top of it.
Eurydice's eye twitched with slight annoyance as she let out a frustrated chuckle, making her rifle disappear and summoned her scythe. "Hide? Death hides from no one! Not even that slime!"
"Jelly, you're free to strike however you please," I ordered, snapping my fingers and allowing my Slime complete free will.
Jelly's body flashed red as he swapped to Attack Mode then he began gliding his way toward Eurydice, leaping toward her for a blunt strike. Eurydice watched as the Slime struck her, but she took no damage from the attack then slashed down at it with her scythe, the blade cutting the slime in two.
Jelly was cleaved in half, his body regenerating into two Slimes and went back to charging her with attacks. Eurydice grunted as she sliced wildly, cutting Jelly into smaller pieces but his body continued to regenerate into more versions of himself, each one his original size.
"Aah, I forgot to tell you, Slimes also have Attack and Defense Mode. In Attack Mode, Slime's ability changes to Split Regen. When destroyed whether with blunt, bladed, or ammo attacks, his body regenerates into clones of himself," I called out to Eurydice, chuckling softly at her struggle against my Rank 1 Slime.
"It's like no matter what she does, Jelly only regenerates more. Is this infinite?" Effie asked, looking up at me with curiosity.
"Yes, Slime can regenerate infinitely as long as his core isn't destroyed. In Attack Mode, his core can be harmed which is why Slimes developed Split Regen," I answered, looking down at Effie and glanced at the notes she jotted down in her book.
Seven stood idle as he watched Jelly swarm at Eurydice like gelatin wasps, each clone of Jelly working together to pin her down to the ground by her legs. Jelly began to release his slime, covering her skin with green substances that cancelled out her energy points within her legs, leaving her unable to teleport away.
"Urgh..! Seven, do something! I'm trapped!" Eurydice called out, struggling to move her legs as if she was caught in quick sand.
Seven could do nothing but watch in horror and disbelief as he was witnessing The Perfect Slime, a slime that evolved with perfect abilities to deal with any situation. He turned his gaze toward me, noticing I was busy chatting with the girls and Scarlet, not even worried about my Slime's condition.