Chapter 14

EPILOGUE A Cyberpunk Blade and Demon Lord One man was about to leave Shinjuku City. He hid his blond hair beneath his hood, a naked rusty blade in his hand. It was night. The sky was unusually clear, and moonlight shone over the ancient road before him, as if to bless his travels. The time was ripe for departure. Just as he began his new journey as a hero… “Wait.” …a voice from behind stopped him. He turned around to find a woman—someone he recognized. She looked as sharp as ever, albeit a bit tired. “Feeling any better?” he asked. “Yes, though my injuries weren’t all that severe to begin with. I just left the hospital.” “So why are you here?” “Why? Thanks to you and that stupid Aethernet Overlord, the director is missing, and look where that’s put me. I had too many enemies in the company; I couldn’t stay there.” “And?” “I’m telling you to take responsibility for what’s happened to me!” “Responsibility…? Look, none of that’s my fault. I’m about to leave for Akihabara or Yokohama, maybe even past the mountains to Nagoya. Not sure what I’ll do after that.” “Well, that’s perfect, then. I’ll go with you. And you can’t refuse.” “Sure, whatever. By the way, what’s that thing in your hand? Is that a…bunny?” “It’s my Ishimary plushie. Three’s a crowd, yes?” The man let out an awkward laugh and walked off. The woman yelled after him, and with that, they journeyed into the bitter cold. Takahashi was in a small, dark room, surrounded by machines of all sizes. She was looking at multiple holodisplays, investigating the details of the recent incident. IHMI had been awfully quiet about it all. Their CEO had mysteriously disappeared, and yet the company did nothing. It was as though someone had been silently waiting for Marcus to disappear; the same day Veltol defeated him, he was dismissed from his position, and a new director was immediately installed in his place. The chaotic city had gone back to its normal everyday as if nothing had happened. No one in Shinjuku realized what had transpired in the underground. “The new director had the entire aethernet talking, even affected IHMI stock. But the whole thing blew over in an instant. Took less than a day before my massive hacking scheme was written off as a string of random crimes. Man, people eat this stuff up way too fast.” The commotion died down with similar swiftness. And the only ordinary person in the whole wide web who’d noticed was Takahashi. “Someone, maybe even a group of people, might be pulling the strings behind the scenes… But why didn’t they just move to another city they’d conquered during the City Wars if there’s not enough aether lines here? I get that it’d cost money to move factories and HQ, but what did they have to lose? …It’s also super sus that an immortal like Marcus not only led the Immortal Hunt but came up with the idea in the first place…” Takahashi muttered to herself while chugging down her meal replacement drink. “Yeah, right. Now I’m sounding like a conspiracy nutjob. Eh, at least things are getting interesting around here, thanks to Mister Demon Lord Sir. So that’s pretty cool.” She smirked. The hacker then giggled like a child who’d just come up with a new prank. In another place, in another time. Someone took notice of the king’s awakening. The wheel of fate, which had been stopped for five hundred years, was finally set back in motion. Let’s talk about what happened next to Veltol and Machina. They had something to do once the incident was over: move house. Nothing particularly exciting, but it was very much needed considering their previous home had been blown to smithereens. They moved to the building where Ejyu used to live. Once they gave him a proper burial, the now empty apartment was theirs. A normal person wouldn’t enjoy staying in a place where someone had died, but well, what was a haunted house between two immortal darklings? If anything, they’d moved there just for the cheaper rent. Takahashi, who’d helped them land their new place, had told them: “I am never visiting you guys, got it?” It was spacious and comfortable. The only problem was the annoying procedure needed to get to the thirteenth floor, but that was nothing considering they were getting a place in such a luxurious building for dirt cheap. Veltol and Machina retraced their steps after the battle with Marcus but didn’t find Gram nor Kinohara anywhere. Veltol wanted to thank Gram, but he understood why he’d disappear without a word. He was certain he would meet him again someday. Veltol, Machina, and Takahashi discussed what to do about the Immortal Furnace and decided, at Veltol’s suggestion, not to make it public. As Demon Lord, he didn’t object to standing on the corpses of his compatriots. In any case, the Furnace would eventually cease to function once Marcus’s soul had burned up. Veltol considered this city to be part of the world he would one day conquer, and he therefore had no intention of letting it end so quickly. It would be part of his duty as Demon Lord to keep it going. He had left his own personal throne chamber and was now on the balcony looking down at the city nightscape. The sky was covered in thick clouds, so no stars were visible. The ground, however, seemed like the starry sky, with the buildings’ aircraft warning lights, the ground vehicles’ taillights, and the countless vivid aether neon signs signaling the bustling life on the surface. “This city’s not so bad after all.” His whisper dissolved into the cold air. The surface’s glittering stars were yet another result of the life burning beneath the city. And Veltol had no regrets. He left any remaining hint of sorrow outside and went back into his room when someone knocked at the door. “Come in,” he said. Machina entered with her hair tied up. She was wearing an apron and had a big smile on her face, humming a song of her own creation. “Lord Veltol! Lord Veltol!” “What is it?” “Would you mind having curry for dinner tonight?” “That’s fine.” “I once made curry only for it to explode, pot and all. However! Today is the day I’ll make you my very own special curry! Yes…with love as the secret ingredient…” “Sorry, I didn’t catch that last part; you were mumbling… But sure, that sounds delicious.” “Yes, sir! I’ll give it my all!” “You’re rather peppy today.” “I sure am!” “Did something good happen?” “No, nothing special. This perfectly ordinary occasion just…has me over the moon.” Finally reunited after five hundred years, they now felt the same way. “Have you started making any plans?” she asked Veltol. “Well…” He put his finger on his chin and thought about the future. “…I’d like to make some progress on my plan to take over the world, but…” He looked to his desk. There was a game pad connected to a PDA. “…I am the Demon Lord Veltol, after all. First I must grace the people with my glorious presence.”