Harbingers of Change

Chapter 18

Ramiris, a buzzing ball of agitation, fitted around Momonga's office. Arms crossed, she stared at the Overlord who remained seated and calmly observed her antics with an air of detached amusement. There was no one else in the room beside them at the moment, their audience limited to the stacks of reports and maps that promised conquest.

"You promised that you would avoid unnecessary slaughter," Ramiris ranted, her voice high and tight with fury. "But there are already over a million corpses in the warehouses and the numbers are growing daily!"

"We have eliminated only five percent of the captured population," Momonga countered calmly. "Humanity is far from endangered. Ninety-nine percent of Falmuth's citizens remain alive."

"Argh, it's like arguing with Milim!" she stomped her foot in the air. "The Temma war isn't that far off. Boss, you have to slow it down."

"The annexation of Falmuth will be completed. Only then will we avoid conflicts with humans, securing peace for at least a few years if not decades. We only eliminate criminals and resisting forces," Momonga firmly stated.

The small Demon Lord let out a frustrated groan and hovered in front of Momonga, her buzzing wings finally still. "Fine… I'll expand the fifth floor even more. What are you planning to do with the corpses anyway? And don't tell me it's a secret. According to Albedo, my rank is now equal to that of a floor guardian."

"Creating deadmen and providing bodies for summoned demons. Anything else you are concerned about?" Momonga asked dryly.

Ramiris' eccentricities weren't bothersome but sometimes she was too bold for her own good, and likely would've faced danger had she used her current tone while others were present.

"Rubedo! She is too dangerous. Do you even realize what she is? If you lose control over her, she will destroy everything," Ramiris' tone darkened, betraying her fear of the void creature.

"Yes, I am well aware," Momonga assured her. "And I know she will never betray me. We share a bond of sorts. I cannot explain it, but trust me, I know she will stay loyal."

He himself had only become aware of the connection after Rubedo taught him how to use the void to peer into the souls of others. In a sense, she felt like the sister he never had, and their bond was different from the one he shared with his guild members. It was as if they were destined to be close, though the reason remained shrouded in mystery even for him.

"Boss, you are plain crazy, you know that?" Ramiris mumbled, her worry etched on her face. "Veldanava would've never permitted her to be in the physical realm. I don't even know what Guy would do if he found out," she continued grumbling.

"Does Guy pose a threat to Tempest?" Momonga inquired, knowing Ramiris wouldn't try to hide the truth in this moment of vulnerability.

"I don't know," she admitted. "He wouldn't want the world to be destroyed. But while Milim and I are here, I doubt he'll do anything crazy. We're on friendly terms."

"Let's hope it stays that way," Momonga sighed, allowing a sliver of his mental fatigue to show. "The last thing I need is to deal with another conflict." For a fledgling nation, Tempest already had two wars under its belt, and its undead ruler yearned for a period of peace to address internal issues and build a proper, covert army, especially with the looming threat of the angel attack not being far off. He had no idea how powerful the heavens truly were.

"Me too boss, me too," Ramiris echoed his sentiment. "But hey, you can always become a Demon Lord yourself."

"I am keeping that option in mind," he conceded, "but for now I will refrain from making such declarations."

Becoming a Demon Lord was bound to invite more complications into his life, and it would be an unwelcome addition to his already full plate.

<X>

Hinata slowly stretched her fingers, which were blue from lack of circulation. The only benefit of the bone-chilling cold was that it dampened the horrible smell, the ever-pervasive stench that she couldn't escape. At first, when her captors still interrogated her, she would be forcefully washed with pressurized cold water to be somewhat presentable. But those visits had ceased long ago. Time had become a meaningless concept to her, but she estimated months, perhaps even years, had passed since her imprisonment

Her clothing was soaked with all the sweat and dirt she naturally produced despite the cold, not to mention they were stiff with the layer of blood that clung to her body, from when she had expunged it while parting with the sword. The meager scraps she was fed barely sustained her, and the only way to relieve herself was with a bucket that sat within arm's reach, emptied at irregular intervals - usually every few days at best.

But the worst part was the loneliness and the relentless light of her surroundings, blurring day and night together as time became naught in an unending, monotonous haze. All Hinata had for herself were her thoughts and the terrible nightmares of the void that plagued her whenever she slept out of sheer exhaustion. The chains binding her wrists and ankles constantly kept her at a very low energy level, which only intensified her drowsiness.

In this prolonged solitude, she had come to a few revelations about herself and the situation she was in. First, Hinata knew with certainty that she would steer clear of the accursed void no matter what, contemplating that immortality might be the sole means to elude its clutches definitively. Second, she recognized that the one who had saved her from the void was, paradoxically, her jailor and enemy - the very entity who had pitted the void against her in the first place. Knowing that it was none other than Momonga who held the key to her survival, Hinata had no choice but to abandon what she was and what she stood for. Once a champion for humanity, she now embraced a new crusade: her own survival. But a daunting obstacle overlooked her path - she knew that the undead monster harbored no empathy for her plight, and she had irreparably severed ties and burned the only bridge with the one being that did.

There was only one solution that would satisfy her, or rather, she had no option but to become so strong that Momonga would willingly want to ally with her. Only then could she possibly stand against, or perhaps even with, the void.

Hinata always had been a fighter, a survivor, regardless of the world she found herself in. Her father, a reckless gambler, had led their family into financial ruin. When he had pushed them to the brink, Hinata took matters into her own hands. In her early teens, she murdered him for the life insurance payout. Her weak-willed mother, who had constantly refused to leave the man, witnessed the act and suffered an emotional breakdown that ultimately led her to join a cult, making things even worse. When Hinata found out her mother was willing to give her away to an older, influential cult member, she resolved to also extinguish the woman's pathetic life and orphan herself at the age of fifteen. But she was whisked away to another world before she could enact her plan. No summonings, no fancy magic circles, and no reincarnations, just a sudden shift into a realm beyond her understanding.

Her first encounter with humans in this world was with three bandits who had tried to rape her and then sell her to slavery. With newfound abilities, fueled by sheer desperation, she killed the trio with nothing but a knife that had found its way to her hand. For a while, she was on her own, surviving the harsh world and working as a wandering, homeless mercenary for hire. That was until she met Shizue, a woman who became a mother figure and provided a safe and stable home to her for the first time in her life. And now, that woman was part of a monster. A monster she had denounced, even when a helping hand was extended to her.

Hinata's attention was gradually brought back to the present moment when a bug-like creature entered her cell and dropped a bowl of food in front of her, spilling part of it upon the filthy floor. Her hunger was too great to bother with things like sanitation, so she quickly scooped up every piece and devoured every last drop of what was probably a mishmash of old leftovers of various dishes.

'Reduced to being a chained animal,' she thought bitterly. 'Why the hell did I ever trust Luminous? No, I would have picked up that sword on my own to spread her influence… Would I have cared about that power if I didn't want to be on her good side?'

There were no answers to those questions. But one thing was clear, vengeance against Luminous consumed her thoughts. She wondered if she was merely a stubborn tool, discarded for not crawling into the vampiric Demon Lord's bed. Luminous had been quite open about her desires, after all. With Hinata's dismissive attitude toward women, her fate may have been sealed and her death sentence signed since the very beginning.

A tool, a toy, an object, that's all she had ever been to others. Maybe it would've been better to become Luminous' lover, then she wouldn't be in this hell. Or perhaps this was her destiny all along. Who knows if the ancient vampire was even capable of love?

'If I want to survive, I need to become stronger… far stronger. I need to meet Momonga on equal terms and form an alliance to ensure I never go back there.' As she consumed the last remnants of the edible material, shoving aside the bowl, something deep inside her finally snapped. She vowed to rise above her chains, above her captors, and above even the sword that made her this way. Her desire to be more grew with each breath she took. The frigid environment, the constant draining - none of it mattered. She would become something more no matter the cost. Survival became her singular purpose, her only purpose.

How long she spent in this trance-like state, Hinata couldn't tell. Her body protested, demanding food and sleep, but she had already made up her mind. Nothing would stop her. No, not until her goal was reached.

In the secluded cell, Hinata's resolve burned brighter than ever. She would claw her way to strength, defy fate, and force her adversaries into submission. She would do anything to rid the void that loomed over her, and her hunger for power consumed her. She would emerge from this darkness as something formidable. She would rise, not as a tool or a pawn, but as a force to be reckoned with. An immortal force.

Acknowledged. Target Hinata Sakaguchi's evolution into a divine human has started.

A wave of euphoria washed over as she felt her body transform, power surging through her veins. She could barely comprehend herself and her surroundings, but the otherwordly sensation she now experienced all but confirmed that her longed-for evolution had finally begun.

Yet, the elation was cruelly short-lived. The accursed chains, like vultures, swooped in and immediately began siphoning away the excess energy. They tightened, constructing her, crushing her back to her previous state. The promise of ascension slipped through her fingers like sand.

Target Hinata Sakaguchi's evolution into a divine human has started.

The Voice of the World started anew, and once more, she felt the dizzying heights of power - the intoxicating rush that whispered of godhood. But it was a mirage, a tantalizing illusion, and with it she felt the despair of this power being taken away. Her goal, which was so close, was getting denied. She could not even stop it.

Target Hinata Sakaguchi's evolution into a divine human has started.

The proclamation was repeated, almost mocking her. The euphoria she felt with each power rise faded, leaving her with only ever-growing despair. Trapped in another hell of her making, all Hinata could do was suffer through it. The chains clung to her, their cold links branding her skin.

Target Hinata Sakaguchi's evolution into a divine human has started.

Target Hinata Sakaguchi's evolution into a divine human has started.

Denied. Denied again. How long would she endure? How many iterations of hope and heartbreak awaited her? Hinata couldn't say, but even this would be something she would claw her way out of. She had no choice; refusing to relent would mean resigning to a fate worse than death. Her resolve solidified further - a diamond forged in suffering. This cycle would be broken, this endless loop would yield to her will. It had to… it had to…

Target Hinata Sakaguchi's evolution into a divine human has started.

Target Hinata Sakaguchi's evolution into a divine human has started.

Target Hinata Sakaguchi's evolution into a divine human has started.

Editing by aidan_lo and Zprotu.

Proofreading by Zprotu, Lightflan, Sluethen, Malguis, aidan_lo, Thea, Cay, x4x, and Cakeeight.

AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (https://discord.gg/WmGKVU3XG2) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader (gives access to chapters months ahead of regular readers).