From ahead in their direction the ground erupted, in earth and dust. The pair braced themselves and covered their eyes from the dust.
In a motion of swirl the dust was dispersed. Dropping his arms, Gull looked to see five figures standing a few meters from them—the lizardmen and their king in front holding his silver trident in hand.
Erinot had a knowing unconcerned expression on his face. Both him and the king locked eyes, one's gaze tenser than the other's.
[ONE OF THE FIVE GREAT FORCES OF
THE SACRED FOREST]
[Lizard King Murk; Ruler Of The
Underground]
The opposing forces stood at a standstill assessing one another for a time. The stares and silence in the air shifted.
"Erinot…"
The king's voice rumbled with distrust eyeing the Persudo.
"You're different… You've slipped even further, and become a demon?" The king discerned rather easily; those eyes and even that aura—though he possessed great control to suppress it, this still wasn't enough to fool the king.
"What else to expect. No matter. Why have you walked the grounds of my territory? Your parasites; as promised I would be lenient to, but not you. And furthermore, these Orcs… They didn't concern me, but now that you seem to have relations with them, I cannot ignore this."
"We mean no such harm."
Gull was first forward with a reply, claiming innocence for him and his new found company, Erinot.
Murk growled, taking offense to the Orc's words. Either he was simply minded, or being manipulated, Murk wasn't sure which was the case, but either way that reply was a half-baked dismissal.
"Gull. This is a matter for me alone… For your people's sake."
Erinot made his stance clear to Gull, unable to look his way.
Gull understood, stepping back and there by removing himself from the situation.
"Wise decision," King Murk was quick to remake. "The Persudo should stand alone."
"You shall be asked once again. Why do you dare—"
In the midst of making his judgement a familiar voice forced his attention away—Kigaru. With his trident in hand, he leapt from a tree, using his built up momentum he went for the attack against Gull. The Orc reacted in time, defending the strike to his head, with his forearm, as he swatted Kigaru away.
Gull gripped his forearm, gushing blood from the three points wounds created. Erinot stared in shock and surprise as the Lizardmen. Erinot snarled, on the verge of going on the assault…
"I'M FINE!!"
Gull's words carried through the air, breaking the forming anticipation, and preventing Erinot and the Lizardmen from attacking due to fear and uncertainty.
Accompanied by that, King Murk swapped his attention to Kigaru.
"Kigaru! You were warned not to leave the underground!" Murk scolded the unruly lizardman that paid him no attention.
"I simply came to help." The lizardman puffed out his chest, his head tilted high.
"I'm Kigaru, the most talented of the Lizardmen. Some even say I'm a prodigy," He proclaimed confidently, brandishing his trident at Erinot. "Persudo Erinot, consider your evil reign, done. I Kigaru, prodigy of the Lizardmen shall put an end to you."
Kigaru went for his next attack, only to be stopped by two of the other lizardmen, shift from their post behind their king, getting right into his way.
"Father!"
Kigaru called out, looking behind at the king, astonished, half way to start complaining.
"Don't father me, Kigaru!" Murk replied firmly. "Lower your weapon and return home immediately. That's an order."
Kigaru remained silent, turning his head back to Gull and Erinot, his grip around his trident a little tighter; such eyes and stance he was edging himself to make another move.
"Hmph."
Begrudgingly, Kigaru lowered his weapon.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief; still on edge, but felt a bit of breathing room amongst each other.
This lasted for a short while, as they heard loud stomping heading their way. Arriving at the scene, stood General Nudge along with a few other Orcs, alerted by the Lizardmen blaring arrival.
"Lord Gull?!"
General Nudge hurried to his side, panic quivering in his eyes.
"Just a flesh wound. Nothing to get about," Gull replied, his tone soft and gentle.
Gull's eyes met Nudge's, calm and controlled. He rested a hand on the general's shoulder. Giving the Lizardmen one last look, Nudge stepped back peacefully, head bowed.
There wasn't gonna be another time to say this; so before anything could go wrong again Erinot spoke up.
"For–" Erinot gritted his teeth, his whole body twitching. He shook his head and took a breath. "For—For-Forgive my disrespect!"
Those words came out a long stifled breath of pain. Erinot shut his eyes, unable to directly look at the king.
King Murk's eyes made a micro shift of intent, he nor his soldiers were sure what they were hearing.
"Hm Hm… HAAA HA HA HA HA!!"
Kigaru boldly laughed, breaking the tension and swapping all attention over to him.
"This is the feared Persudo?! I suppose if I was born a few years back, none of this dram—"
Bringing a quick stop to his son's rant, King Murk whacked him over the head with his trident. The King then proceeded to grab his mouth, planning to hold it shut himself until this was all over.
Erinot let out an exasperated breath, however he wasn't too bothered since the attention came off him following what he just said. Despite that, he soon once again had the stage to himself.
"The matter as to why I am here is important… to ensure a future meeting between the Orcs and the Great Demon Lord goes well… though I took the initiative without his direct orders."
.....
....
...
..
.
Silence hung for a weighted second as the words settled. Both the Orcs and Lizardmen seemed to skim over the rest of the message, their minds snagging on their core, world-shaking words: 'Great Demon Lord.'
The Orc's faces frozen in stunned shock, eyes widening as they stared at Erinot, minds blank, realizing the implications of his words.
The Lizardmen, meanwhile, all had their eyes wide and mouths agape, trembling faintly.
"Demon Lord? Demon Lord? Demon King? Close enough. Could it be him? No, no, no, no... Impossible, he died. Could it be the 7th? Or... He had returned."
All these thoughts flashed into the King's Murk's head, he didn't know what to say or believe, did it even matter. If the Persudo's words are true then an even bigger issue is at hand.
"Our luck..."
Murk mumbled.
His son tried to say a few words, a muffled curiosity bubbling—bug King Murk's grip was firm and unyielding, turning the attempt into nothing more than incoherent, damp mumbles of broken words.
"Who is this lord you serve?" King Murk inquired, striking Erinot with a discerning gaze.
In spite of the panic, the overall situation came to be very appealing, favouring Erinot.
"Your worry can be dismissed, he's not what you expect of his title. Now that you'll listen, I hope you'll turn a blind eye to my presence for the time being… until my Lord finishes his business here."
"Would this lord happen to be the Demon Cryptid; Phantom King?" Murk inquired, seeking confirmation of his suspicion.
"Hm? Lucktan?..." Erinot mumbled back, his diplomatic tone dropping for a moment.
"I'd never serve him," Erinot grumbled, "this lord goes by Imuru, an upcoming ruler, with the talent and power to match. Since you're here I can make a suggestion, why not join us in our meeting? With this lord the prospect of the Sacred Forest becoming a dominant power like once before is highly likely."
King Murk's flickered to the ground, lingering, in careful thought and consideration. "Imuru…"
"This 'Demon Lord' you're now an ally of his?..."
Erinot nodded to confirm initially, but of course decided to sweeten it even further. "You'll find, Collon sees him as a great friend, and a monster Ennom at his side—"
"Enough!"
King Murk interjected, hearing what he needed to.
"It is decided. If Collon has ties with this lord, then I almost must. Ah, wretche! How long have they been speaking? You'll be left behind at this rate. What of the other Great Forces? Cat Daughter, Necromancer King, Kitsune Highest, what moves had they made so far with the new lord? Offers, dealings?..."
The king went on a long tangent that made him seem paranoid… or, rather competitive to a foil.
"I—I am unsure of wider details, but I am certain of Collon's relationship," Erinot replied, taken aback by the King's tangent.
"If you wish to join, you're welcome. You can join us in two days."
"Ow. I intend to," King Murk replied, his stern composure regained, releasing his son from his grasp.