The King's Game - Seven Calamities Arc (Part 2)

Chapter 29: Lust & Sloth

"You late Newgate." Grand Master said mockingly as Newgate took a seat at the table.

"Do not provoke him sorcerer, we do not need pointless fighting right now." Neo Vega said without even removing his attention from the small cube in his hands.

Newgate slammed his fist on the table, "I do not need a maggot such as yourself defending me Vega!"

Grand Master started laughing, "Looks like somebody's been poking the poor little orc. What's wrong big guy? Your little group of milk drinkers mess up a robbery?"

Newgate let out a primal roar, his blood still boiling from Stain escaping. Newgate punched towards Grand Master's face, yet Grand Master calmly raised a hand creating a barrier around him. Newgate's fist collided with the barrier, visibly cracking it; which in turn changed Grand Master's cocky expression to a mixture of awe and shock.

"Oh it sure is lively in here. Please do continue, the scent of these raw emotions are enough to drive me crazy; in the good way that is." –The female who had just entered the room said with a wink.

"And who exactly are you; and the kid lingering in the back?" Neo Vega asked the lady as Newgate withdrew his fist and sat down in his seat.

"Already trying to court me are you?" The female said as she stepped up to Neo Vega, tracing a finger along his chest, "I'm afraid it's going to have to wait for another time. My name is Gisel- Ginorixia, but I suppose you few care more about my title than my name right? I am the latest edition to the calamities, the Calamity of Lust."

"So the Calamity of Lust has finally awakened and chosen its host, so who is the pipsqueak in the back?" Grand Master asked as a tiny glowing orb appeared on his finger, which he then flung towards the person in the dark recesses of the room.

"What's this light? It's so annoying, would you mind taking it away?" The young man said as he half covered his face from the light.

"Come on sweetie, we were told to introduce ourselves to everybody." Ginorixia said to the young man.

"So troublesome, I just wanted to carry on living my life day by day." The young man said as he stood up and walked towards the table, where he took a seat, "Calamity of Sloth, names aren't important right?"

The others watched as the young man placed his head down on the table and went to sleep.

"Sloth really suits him." Grand Master said before bursting into an uncontrollable laughter.

"I see there are still two empty seats, does that mean not all the calamities have awoken yet?" Ginorixia asked as she too took a seat at the table.

"No with this all the calamities have awoken, and we are getting closer to the day we leave the shadows and show these powers that hunger to control all life forms our power. To reset the balance is our job." A bellowing voice spoke from the shadows.

"Where is Shadow anyway? I need to deliver a message to him." Newgate said to nobody in particular.

"I'm not interested in that, you dumb orc. Master said all the calamities have awoken yet I haven't met Gluttony. So Master, where is Gluttony?"

Newgate bit back his rage out of respect for their master, who was now present. Noticing this, Grand Master gave Newgate a smug smile which would have caused Newgate to lose it, had their Master not begun to speak.

"Do not concern yourself with Gluttony. There is an important task I have entrusted to Gluttony. You will meet in the near future; for now, I ask that you be patient Grand Master."

"Newgate, I believe you said that you are looking for Shadow." The voice from the shadows said.

"Yes Master, one of my men asked to get into contact with Shadow as a reward for bring me a man who is the target of my current rage. So I was hoping to pass the message to him at the meeting, but he isn't here."

"I will pass the message on to him on your behalf, as he is currently meeting with another person of great importance. Should I send him to the Wolfthorn Sanctuary once he returns?"

"I would greatly appreciate it Master."

"Right, now that all minor matters have been dealt with, let us move on the real reason I have called for this meeting." The voice from the shadows said.

Deep beneath the Capital in his underground lab, the scrawny man was face to face with a man shrouded in black.

"What is it you want? And how did you get in here? Only I should be able to transverse these depths." The scrawny man said as he held up a vial of blueish-purple liquid defensively.

The man shrouded in black stepped forward, "Quite the form you have taken Arcokiq, it seems we are both hiding things from the past."

The scrawny man recoiled from the shock, then his expression turned to anger, "How do you know that name? Only one mortal knew that name and his life force disappear over 12 krosts ago."

The man shrouded in black pulled back his mask, showing the scrawny man what laid beneath.

"It cannot be; your life force disappeared and even now I cannot sense it at all. Just how are you standing before me?"

The man shrouded in black pulled his mask back down before he spoke, "It's as you say; 12 krosts ago I died. I died trying to help a man I had become good friends with, but it ended with me being stabbed through the chest by a bandit and being kicked off a cliff into a ravine. It was there that I was saved by a being called Null, and now I'm known as Shadow, the Phantom Paradox."

"The Calamity of Pride. Heh; a fitting name if you ask me." The scrawny man placed the vial down on his desk and offered Shadow a seat, "So why have you come to see me old friend?"

"I know you not going to like this, especially after what happened when you helped Niarajuel; but I need to enter the demon realm and speak to the Demon King."

The scrawny man clenched his fist, "You ask a tall favour old friend, you know I am still wanted by the demon clan. Therefore, I cannot send you if that is what you were hoping for; however, I am aware of a secret portal that leads to the demon realm. Whether it still remains open is another story entirely, but it is your best bet."

"It's better than nothing. I'm sorry for asking this of you, but I had no other option."

"In order to find the portal you have to go to a small village called the Weeping Shore, it will take you 4 prytorsts to get there if you head straight north from the Capital. At midnight head to the pier and you will find a small shack floating on the side of it, there you will meet a ghost called Gallo. It's the only way to get to the demon realm, but you won't be able to return to this realm unless Arazach himself opens a new portal for you."

"Then I best get on my way if I am to make the journey there and back in time. Thank you old friend."

The scrawny man still wanted to say something, but before he could Shadow vanished from existence before his very eyes.

"Please be safe; Arazach is a cruel beast."