Overlord: Blue Citadel Alternate

『Message』

"Vertum-Sama," Silva's voice rang in the back of the ArchMirage's head as an abrupt ping.

The being turned his head lightly as he walked along the path behind the adventurers who were leading his way. "Eh? Huh... What is it, Silva?"

"There has been an unusual spike of increased activity in the Cemetery, it is likely the event has begun. What are your orders?" Cautious, she didn't know if her Supreme Leader wanted them to quell the dead, even though she was aware of his stance.

"Hm... Standby. Do you know the cause?" The Dragon was curious if it had anything to do with the boy that had been taken. He could smell the solution within the cemetery amongst all of the dead present.

It seemed the woman had splashed some of the reagent onto their attacker.

"An unknown individual wearing a cloak entered the cemetery with what appeared to be a young man over their shoulders. Their approximate strength is unknown." The vampire informed with a very matter a fact tone.

"Ah... This can be used in my favor, I will control situation." The Dragon grinned subtly as their backs remained to him. It was likely whoever the person was pulling the strings in that cemetery, was not going to end the boys life, but use them for some sort of ritual. He had no idea what kind of ritual it might be however.

Vertum started to lag behind, his gaze moving back towards the cemetery as he could smell even more undead rising. It was becoming unusual even more so than late. Giving the two adventurers a quick glance, he came to a complete halt.

After a few seconds, the two chattering members of the Swords of Darkness paused themselves and shifted to glance over towards him. "Everything okay, Vertum-dono?"

"Everything is just ducky..." He said this with a smile as he turned around on his heel, walking in the general direction of the cemetery.

"Ducky?" Ninya blinked seeing the quick brisk walk he was using, "Where are you going?" She asked sporadically before following behind him.

"Head back to the pavilion, protect the girls, don't let anyone enter their room." He didn't answer her question, but he was definitely in a rush and seemed intent on going somewhere.

"What's going on...?" Ninya lowered her head slightly as Peter was jogging after them to keep up. Her lips were parted and her big blue eyes weren't leaving the dragonoid as she walked beside him at a quick pace.

"Activity within the Cemetery is becoming abnormal. I need you to return to the Pavilion with your friends." His eyes looked over the pale female in men's clothes before suddenly vanishing from sight, using silent teleportation magic.

Ninya pursed her lips and stopped in her tracks seeing him vanish before her eyes. The man could teleport, there had been no means for him to flying around them outside the City.

"Where'd he go?" Peter asked as he walked right on up beside her, looking about.

Ninya brought a hand up and loosely tangled her knuckles in her short brown hair. "I think he went to the cemetery, but why now? Why didn't he go earlier?"

Peter scratched the side of his head, "He didn't want us to come with him probably..."

"If his focus isn't on protecting us, it is likely we'd end up only getting in his way." Peter explained with a light sigh, knowing very well how much weaker they were to him, but even then his imagination was dwarfed by the true power of the Dragon. "Though I am sure we could manage against Zombies..."

Ninya smiled faintly to him before looking in the direction of which Vertum had gone in. "He, uh... He wants us to protect the pavilion," she briefly fumbled her words.

Peter nodded to this and the two of them rushed off to where they were expected to go.

『Message』

"Silva," Vertum spoke as he appeared directly in front of the cemetery gates.

Her voice sung out, "Yes, Vertum-sama?"

"Did you see where the boy was taken? He is my main target." Vertum folded one of his hands behind his back, "His talent will be mine."

"Ah, yes. This boy that you speak of, was taken to the Moussalem. It appears some sort ritual is taking place. Be wary, Vertum-sama." Silva informed her Master, knowing very well as long as they kept watching, they'd be able to appear at a moment's notice to reinforce his position.

Vertum's eyes flickered to a guard who came rushing over to him.

"You can't be here!" The man shouted looking over Vertum, who despite being of human height, seemed rather imposing from a glance. "Get the adventu--"

"It'll be fine," Vertum cut the man off as he reached into his item box and pulled out what appeared to be a military cleaver. It was a weapon with higher destructive power than an axe and had a length of a sword. It's face was six inches wide and about than an inch thick at its thickest. The blade itself was about three feet long, and had a menacing notch at the end of it.

It was made of what looked like Adamantite, or another dark metallic material, with a golden hilt. There were golden Japanese characters lining the very center of wedge shaped blade.

"Where did..." Before the Guard could finish speaking, Vertum disappeared again. "You go...?" Turning around, he narrowed his eyes on the back of the unidentified Vertum's back.

He was on the other side of the gate already!

"You can't go in there!" The Guard shouted after him, running up to the gate as masses of zombies and undead creatures were encroaching on the gate.

He watched idly, wide eyed, as the man raised the cleaver over his head and brought it down on zombie after zombie. He tore each one apart, the normal slow attacks of the weapon being nonexistent as he moved it with ease.

Vertum was a monster without even using his full strength or showing his true colors. As he made his way further into the crowded cemetery, he began swinging the weapon, knocking and destroying numerous monsters that could hardly be considered adversaries.

He was going directly for the mausoleum, nothing was going to stand in his way, not for too long. Skeletons, zombies and other creatures of fairly low undead tier seemed to be the only hostiles.

As he got closer, the horde seemed to wane off. Soon he was soon greeted by the stone structure that had been made into a Necromancer's lair. Coming to a stop, his vibrant eyes rested on a female form exiting the front door dr.a.p.ed in a hooded black mantle.

"You must've been the one who took the boy," Vertum spoke casually as he watched her lower the hood she had over her head. A wide smile across her lips as she took a gander at the man.

"Oh? Haha, are you here to beg for his safe return?" She giggled aloud, almost manically.

"No, I'm here to thank you..." His eyes rested on the face of the mausoleum before drifting back to her face. She looked exactly like her brother who had been absorbed.

She laughed aloud as she smiled wider than before, contorting her entire face as she did so, to the point that her eyes were smiling. "Hohoho, did someone get on your bad side?"

Vertum didn't answer the question, but kept a subtle smile of his own apparent.

Raising a brow at his silence, her smile vanished. "Why else are you here?"

"To destroy the Necromancer, save the city, make a name for myself." Vertum planned on killing the woman anyways, that or dominating over her mind. "You aren't perhaps related to a certain late member of the Black SCripture are you?"

She went to open her mouth and then paused, reevaluating the words he used, finding that he referred to the member of the scripture as deceased. "Are you saying my brother is dead?"

Excitement had retaken her face. It was clear she wasn't upset by the news, rather, she was extremely delighted to hear that her brother was dead and gone. Oh how she hated being compared to him by her parents and everyone else.

"Wait..." Still met with silence she narrowed her eyes on him, "Did you fight the scripture?"

"I wiped all but one of them out, since they were of course... Absent." Rolling his jaw, Vertum stepped forward causing the blonde haired pale skinned woman to back up against the door.

"Running won't save you girl," Vertum yawned evidently, "Swearing fealty or dying is your only set of choices." With the gruesome flesh and gore of undead decorating his weapon, he raised it at the ready.

Vertum's eyes became dragon like, scales appearing on his face along the bridge of his nose.

Clementine was hardly ignorant of the changes as she kept her eyes glued on the man. What would swearing fealty to this man even mean? If his words were true and he killed her former colleagues, then he was a monster just like the Extra-Seat. It also meant he could protect her, she was a refugee after all, causing all this ruckus in order to create a distraction to escape from the Scripture sent to end her.

"Asking for marriage so quickly, hehe..." She took in a deep breath, straightening herself out as she drew and held her sais in her hands loosely now. "Would you protect me if I did...?"

"We'd have to do something about that bloodl.u.s.t however," Vertum c.o.c.ked his head to the side. She wasn't stable, he could see this with the glimmer of her eyes and how she was l.i.c.k.i.n.g the end of one of her weapons.

The corner of her lip twitched, "and you plan on doing that how exactly, big man?"

In a split second he appeared standing a few inches away from her. This immediately caused the girl to tense, having assumed he was some sort of lightweight warrior of some kind with some dragon lineage.

"Wh-Who are you!?" Her bright red eyes widened as he shifted her mantle aside slightly, revealing her scantily clad armor covered in rank plaques from various, likely deceased, Adventurers.

"Hm... I am the Dragon Emperor of Vilisyrteria, Vertum." His eyes shifted toward her face.

"Heh, Oh? My name is Clementine..." She licked her lips, seemingly entertained.

"But it seems you're too far gone." Seeing her armor decorated in trophies made from the belongings of Adventurers, it made him sick. Immediately thinking back to the villagers and the Swords of Darkness, he saw that she was no worth the risk.

Again her excitement drained from her face, but he was too close for her to move and he was faster than her by default.

Just as she went to use her martial art skills and stab him in the eyes at close range, the military cleaver was thrusted through her uncovered abdomen, snagging and tearing her internal organs, pulling them through her back with the notch on the end of the blade.

Her head started nodding as if she was going to fall asleep, her mouth was gaping open, her eyes just looking at him with this disbelief, at the fact in which he had just sentenced her to death.

"So sorry..." He said as her head fell to his shoulder blade, she was still alive, but only barely. "You'll be remembered. Oh, My Darling Clementine, if there is a purpose for you... You might just return," lodging the end of the blade into the door, he removed his grasp on the hilt.

He had over a dozen blades just like it, they were disposable mid-rank weapons.

Her hands slowly let go of her sais, letting them fall to the ground. Blood trickling down from her lips, she couldn't remove her eyes from his face even as her life force was leaving her.

"Until then..." Vertum smiled a bit more, but still faintly. Without much hesitation, he rested his hand on her cheek in a brief c.a.r.e.s.s, before grasping her head and twisting it, a sickening snap of her neck ending her life near-instantly. "I bid you adieu."

Letting her body hang upon the door, he stepped back before pulling it open and stepping in.

Wearing black cloaked robes and equipped with staves, unidentified men stood crowded around the young human boy wearing a crown of silvery threads adorned with gems.

The Crown of Wisdom, an object he was capable of identifying due to knowledge absorbed by others. A small chuckle emitting from his lips.

"Who dares disturb my ritual I worked five years to complete!?" A voice of a madman spoke aloud, soon showing his red cloak and golden amulet, was a sickly pale man with a black orb tucked under his arm.