Harbingers of Change

Chapter 7

Standing by her master's side, Kagali worked on fusing a massive pile of corpses into a singular being amidst the howling arctic winds of the former fifth floor, now called the storage floor. Lord Momonga had learned [Birthday] from her and was creating a new body for his trusted attendant, Diablo, who was with them, giving specifics for an optimal body for an extremely strong demonic possession.

The plan was to utilize the one point six million human bodies and create a few thousand Deadman bodies for such a purpose, given that deathmen had high magicule counts fitting for demonic possession. Most required only a few hundred corpses to be suitable for use by archdemons, with a rare few, including her new body, requiring thousands to create. Kagali was well aware that Diablo had suggested making the remaining three unnamed primordials Momonga's servants, and her master had agreed to this frankly ludicrous idea, and that meant even more bodies had to be used.

If it was anyone else, the very idea of taming a monster like a primordial demon, one of the oldest entities in existence and a god-like individual with enough power to topple entire alliances in an instant, would be the height of insanity, but Kagali was well aware of her master's ludicrous power.

But such musings were for her superiors to handle, not hers. Her current goal was to create a perfect body for herself as promised by her masters. She had already performed the initial fusion and created a body that was close to her current appearance, but that wasn't even remotely enough. She fully intended to create absolute perfection: a form she would be delighted to look upon in the mirror, a body she once thought lost to time.

Thus, from making sure the blonde hair was in perfect color, to having no irregularities in the large purple eyes, everything needed to be checked at least twice once created. She went over every centimeter of the new form and reshaped how she fit. Every muscle, every curve, they needed to be perfect. Her deadman form surely would rival the unmatched beauties like Albedo and Shalltear in appearance with how much effort she was putting into the work.

She worked without hurry, taking her time with every transfiguration. It took an artist's eye to ensure the form was perfectly symmetrical and not overlook such simple things as breast shape when the body was upright, not lying down on the cold stone slabs, a mistake she had seen happen in the past.

Contrary to her, Lord Momonga worked with mechanical precision besides her, creating identical body after body with generally symmetric features, not giving much thought to smaller details. He did call her over to check if there weren't any abnormalities, but thus far the Overlord had not botched a single Deadman, a feat even she couldn't claim with her centuries of experience using it.

Finally, after a few hours of work, her form was done, and she could leave it to rest in an atmospheric capsule, made by the scientific department to house inactive deadman bodies for as long as necessary. The demon summoning and taming was set aside for a later date when no other pressing matters were present to complicate things, and thus the bodies would rest in their preservation tubes for the time being.

Somehow, having a long backlog of things that needed to be resolved was the standard modus operandi for Tempest if you were part of the upper echelons, no matter who or where you were. She herself still had plenty to do in regards to magic research and managing the Free Guild after this, given that her former employer was nowhere to be seen. The Falmuth region was only now starting to show the first signs of stability as the humans begrudgingly accepted that they would serve under the monsters who had defeated them. Demon Lord Leon had decided to become Tempest's enemy on his own accord for reasons unknown as well.

This fact delighted Kagali, as she wanted the detested man to meet a gruesome or humiliating end, preferably by her hands for the blow he had dealt to her, but if that wasn't possible, she would settle for her masters delivering the killing blow as a compromise.

But thoughts of revenge were secondary compared to the task at hand. Her workday would likely only end when her master decided it was time to rest, and considering she just received the grand prize she had been wanting for centuries, Kagali couldn't dream of complaining about such an arrangement.

It did make time tick slower when Diablo swapped bodies and proudly showed off his upgraded self and dragged things on, boasting even more raw power than before according to her analysis magic. But no matter how long time seemed to drag on, at the end of the day, she was with the new body in her quarters.

Joined by Tear, Kagali was ready to swap bodies. The one last thing was to strip and lay down on the floor so that the old homunculus form didn't fall with a thud and could be easily disposed of, perhaps to be used later. She heard Pandora wanted to study them, so it's likely the homunculus would be sent there.

Finding a comfortable position on the floor, Kagali took a long breath and shifted her soul towards her new form. The first heartbeat. The first breath. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up. Like removing a suffocating mask for the first time in centuries, all her energies could now be housed in her new form, flowing and pushing and pulling in the likes she hadn't felt in so long.

"Boss, you alright?" Tear inquired, watching Kagali slowly stand up and stretch every part of her new body.

"This is… how I missed the sense of having power. Tear, prepare a bath, I want to treat myself tonight," Kagali responded with a delighted smile, internally leaping for joy.

The bath would only be the first step. After that, she would apply aromatic oils, and comb her luscious hair to perfection. Never again would she hate her reflection. The delight of seeing herself as a beauty unmatched by her previous forms was a sensation words couldn't describe, a form inhumanely beautiful that was the pride of the elves back in the day.

Tear soon departed, letting her enjoy her new form in solitude. She stared back at the smiling form with a narcissistic glee, wishing to reach through the cold surface of the mirror and give her reflection gentle strokes for how beautiful it was.

'I finally am whole again. And this time, no one will take this away from me. My master is a man of his word and will let me grow in his shadow.'

Kagali slowly stroked her cheeks, and her neck and offered gentle touches to her shoulders. Clad in nothing more than a thin semi-transparent nightgown as she enjoyed the sensation of her touch, shivering from glee. The only one she would ever need.

As she treated her new form with the care it deserved, a surprise visitor came into her living space. Lord Momonga's right hand, Albedo, waltzed in as if she owned the place.

"Congratulations are in order it seems." Albedo purred as she walked around Kagali and stared at her up and down with a critical eye.

"Thank you, Lady Albedo, I couldn't be any happier about the reward I received." She replied slightly tensing up under the intense scrutiny of her superior.

"It seems you have outdone yourself. I wonder for whose eyes have you made yourself such a beautiful woman." There was a tint of suspicion in the succubus' voice, something that usually didn't bode well for the one this suspicion was aimed towards, Kagali knew.

"Myself, my lady. I think it would be blasphemous to waste Lord Momonga's kindness and not make myself the best version I can be." Kagali nervously gulped at the sight of Albedo narrowing her eyes.

"You and my beloved had spent some time together lately. Such a good servant you are. I have watched you, Kagali; you are a smart and ambitious woman. Tell me, do you think I would not notice if any woman tried to join the ranks of Momonga's consorts?"

"I-I had no such intentions!" Kagali responded to the accusation louder than intended, shivering with nervousness.

"I see, so you made this new body just to look at yourself in the mirror?" Albedo stepped closer, invading her personal space.

"Yes." The succubus was a very dangerous enemy to make, and one wrong word could make her just that.

In her long life, she had never thought of anyone in a romantic way or even considered such a thing as marriage for political gain. And why would she? Stuck in an ugly male body, Kagali was unable to leave it and swap it for anything else even after her father's passing. The sadistic monster had made sure she wouldn't be able to undo the damage he had done to her material flesh, forever cursed to be as he envisioned as the ideal prince, except he even botched that.

Such a cruel fate was the reason she had spent her life in solitude as a demon lord, interacting with only a chosen few such as her created deadmen. But even beyond that, she had never lusted after anyone. Leon, for all his beauty, had invoked nothing but envy and hatred within her cold heart, slaughtering her in an instant when she attempted to disfigure the man.

Worst of all, Albedo was right to suspect such a motive. From a logical standpoint, trying to join Lord Momonga's harem would be something most women would strive for, if nothing else than for the immense power such a position provided. Even becoming a concubine to the second most sought-after man, Lord Peroroncino, was a career move a woman would hardly overlook in her position, giving them unprecedented clout compared to most other mortal women.

'I need to make sure she doesn't suspect I would ever try anything like this. I should have known that making a beautiful form would raise suspicion. How careless of me.'

"Lady Albedo, I assure you I had no intention to strive for such a position, nor I think I could ever compare to the likes of you," Kagali backed away from the demoness.

"Flattery… then explain to me why you wouldn't? And don't think you can lie to me," Albedo took another step forward.

Their dance of intimidation and retreat continued until Kagali bumped into the wall with her back, forcing her to continue. "Because I never had thought of such things. I'm sure you know my story. Someone as diligent as you would not have overlooked it when going over all that I have reported. I wouldn't deny Lord Momonga's advances should they ever occur, but I won't aim for the position of his consort either. I know my place very well as a former enemy of Nazarick, a person to be used and suspected so long as I live. This form was created to recreate my old material body from before my reign as a demon lord in the past, to regain access to my old powers my former homunculus body was incapable of, for the sake of our masters."

The answer did seem to satisfy the unrelenting guardian overseer, and she finally backed off, letting Kagali sigh in relief.

"I will be watching you," Albedo warned her before leaving.

'I should have been more mindful of how my change could be perceived. I can't afford to be this careless if I ever hope to rise in ranks and enjoy a position of any prestige.'

<X>

Guy did his best to hide his amusement at the fact that Velzard's curiosity got the better of her and that she had decided to join in the meeting with Milim.

Both were sitting in one of the guest rooms, which had wooden furniture instead of the one made out of unbreakable ice, atypical of the frozen wasteland.

{ Milim, it seems you have forgotten about me. No visits, not even calls. } He contacted the fellow demon lord through the ring all of the Ten Great Demon Lords had.

{ Don't be like that. You know I've been busy. Did you want something? } Milim replied.

{ You could come over for a chat. I am about to issue Walpurgis on behalf of Luminous and Leon. Mind filling me in on what is going on in Tempest? }

{ Sure, I'll be over in a minute. }

{ Great. I'll order Mizeri to create a portal… } His voice trailed off as Milim popped into the room via teleportation. A feat she had never done before. He had tried and failed to teach her the convenient ability multiple times in the past, but at some point gave up realizing that Milim was beyond the ability to be taught for one reason or another despite her near-omnipotent lineage.

The girl in front of him indeed was his old friend, albeit looking a tiny bit older and dressed a lot more conservatively than usual, sporting a modestly cut pink dress with long sleeves and long white socks. Perhaps she had chosen to take a different material form while in Tempest?

"Hey Guy, oh, auntie is here as well." Milim's tone suddenly grew colder and more menacing, half-snarling.

"So, my brother told you. I would prefer it if you didn't call me that." Velzard responded with equal coldness as both glared at each other, auras flaring.

"You have learned teleportation?" Guy tried to divert the attention away from their familiar relationship before the two made a crater in place of his castle, he was already struggling to hold back Milim's and Velzard's auras from annihilating the palace and everyone within it.

"Turns out it wasn't that hard," Milim replied while glancing at Guy, disappointed with him.

'He knew about my origins and didn't say anything. Some friend you are.' Milim deduced Guy must have known and hid the fact that she was related to true dragons from her, likely because of Velzard's relationship with him.

In the past, she simply thought Velzard was disinterested in having any sort of relationship with her. She believed it was due to her aunt not caring about anything besides Guy, which was understandable since most immortals desired some sort of immortal consort to fill their infinite lives. However, after remembering how hostile Velzard was after the departure of her parents, Milim suspected there was more to it. Velzard didn't like her for some unknown reason, one she was now interested in learning.

"So, mind filling me in on what's going on in Tempest?" Guy motioned for her to take a seat as he summoned a row of demonic maids with a clap of his hands.

All sorts of delicacies were laid out on the table in front of Milim. In the past, this alone was a good reason to visit, to feast upon the goodies, but after getting used to Tempest's cuisine, there was nothing Guy's servant staff could offer that was even a bit impressive anymore.

She did pick up a glass of juice out of politeness, but there wasn't any eagerness behind her actions she normally would've had.

"Not much really. Veldora and his friends are building a nation, and I'm helping. Uncle likes having me around unlike some others." Milim glared at Velzard, who was sitting beside Guy, staring daggers at her.

"I have heard some more interesting retelling of events. Luminous was not amused that your new friends destroyed her nation and took away her toy." Guy casually picked up a knife and a fork, helping himself to a piece of juicy elder dragon steak.

"Do you know where she is hiding? I might drop by to say hi," Milim asked, putting down her glass.

"No, but I'm sure you two can catch up during Walpurgis. Speaking of which, I will be hosting the event, and we're starting in forty days," Guy stated.

"I might invite a friend or two. I hope you don't mind. A lot of people want to have a friendly chat with Luminous and Leon. Did you know he tried to kidnap some of my friends?" Milim grabbed a piece of pie and bit into it. It was a far cry from what Shuna or Nazarick's head chef made but tasty nonetheless.

"So I heard. I'm sure we'll be able to talk things out. I also heard you and other Demon Lords are friends with the leader of Tempest, Momonga was his name I believe?" Guy felt that Milim had changed. She was hiding something, and that meant her testimony couldn't be trusted anymore, not like in the past. He still preferred not to step on her toes as per their agreement to not mess with each other's business, but she had changed from the completely honest friend he had made in the past.

"Frey and Carrion visit often enough for trade deals. I don't care much about those. It's boring stuff anyway. Ramiris is there too, but she does nothing besides eating and reading manga with me," Milim casually commented.

After learning to navigate the minefield that was conversations with Buku, misguiding Guy was a piece of cake. Pandora's lessons also helped in the matter. Her adoptive brother had instructed her how to bend the truth just enough for the lies to come off as natural, to wrap a grain of truth in endless lies to keep up the guise of honesty.

'A shame you were never my friend. But now I have people I need to protect, even from you. I hope that bitch Velzard is worth it.' Milim couldn't help but hate the Ice Empress for multiple reasons. Her abandonment was one thing, but Velzard also had been cruel towards Veldora and killed him for having fun and enjoying life, and she was now endlessly grateful to her uncle for accepting her with open arms when no other true dragon had.

"Good to hear you're all getting along. Don't forget about Clayman, you can't just leave him out of the fun you know," Guy commented with a chuckle.

"I think he had visited a time or two. You know I can't be bothered to follow what the new demon lords are doing, they come and go every few centuries," Milim waved her hand dismissively.

'She's always been a bad liar. Momonga controls at least a few of them. The question is, who of the younger generation is under his control, and why are both Milim and Ramiris covering it up? The fact that Veldora has revealed to Milim her origins is troubling.'

"He is your neighbor. You should be informed of what he is doing. So, about the people you plan to invite, how many of your friends plan to declare themselves Demon Lords?" Guy continued questioning her.

"Not sure. They mostly want to deal with Luminous since she attacked them first. I suggested Momonga become one since he is strong enough, but he wants to talk with you first. Something about making sure his declaration doesn't cause more conflicts amidst the existing council. He has his hands full with Falmuth, he doesn't want more hassle with new wars." Milim continued to freely share the information that she was supposed to drop anyway, as planned out with Pandora and Momonga earlier.

"In that case, we will figure everything out during Walpurgis," Guy stated as he bit into the steak.

"Milim, be a dear and say hello to my brother. Tell him I might pay a visit soon." Velzard spoke up, voice freezing cold.

"Sure, we'll have one big family reunion," Milim responded with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, not even close.

'That is just what I need: three dragons trying to kill one another.' Once Milim departed, he'd have to have a talk with Velzard and probably make unreasonable promises to keep her at bay and not compromise the grand plan to keep the world's status quo. But for now, he still had to play a host and catch up with his old friend.

Editing by aidan_lo.

Proofreading by Clagan, aidan_lo, FantasyTroll, NugegtLover, shynavyseal, Gil, and Sluethen.

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