Chapter 2: Belphegor

 

When he opened his eyes, he realized he had a new body, and through many years, he slowly grew from a tiny chimera fetus into the humanoid half-vampire and half-dragon he was now.

The first thing he saw when he finally managed to open his eyes, breathe, and move a bit were strange holographic windows, showcasing what seemed to be his actual power.

He was amazed to see the power he contained, but after discovering through the memories inserted into his mind about Vampires and Dragons, he realized that it was rather obvious that his power would be this high, as such races were usually born as strong, if not stronger than him!

He also discovered he was a "Lesser" being, it seemed that he had not managed to properly develop in this place, and had ended becoming Lesser, meaning that he needed to develop and perhaps even evolve to become a "True" Vampire Dragon, or perhaps even become an Elder Vampire Dragon…

But what was evolution? What were the Universal Origin Records? It was all confusing to Chaos, he could barely make some conclusions himself, but before he could even do anything else, the voice of a being in front of him surprised him. He was still adjusting his enhanced supernatural senses, so he was surprised about this entity, which he had not completely detected in time.

"Happy birthday!" it said, with the voice of an old man around his forties.

Chaos raised his head as he glanced in front of him, what greeted his sight was… a floating skull!

"Eh?" asked Chaos in confusion, he remembered that the skeleton that always spoke to him wasn't like this, in fact, this guy over here had a completely different tone of voice.

He remembered the one that called itself an Elder Lich to have a more serious and cracking voice, but this little floating skull covered with will-o-wisps seemed to have a gentler voice.

And where is the Elder Lich?

"Hello…" said Chaos rather shyly, this was perhaps the first time he was speaking after years of being confined inside that giant flask.

"Oho! My lord, you've finally been born! It is a pleasure to see you look so… healthy! And well, quite grotesque! Hmm! Just like Master Ainz wanted!"

"Who are you? Who is Ainz? And why are you calling me Lord?" asked Chaos being direct, he suddenly realized he knew the speech this skull was talking about, even though he was never taught how to speak this language, perhaps this was due to the memories he had acquired while developing inside the flask.

The skull's empty eyes flashed with blue flames, as Chaos could swear he saw a creepy smile beneath that expressionless skull face!

"Hehe! I am glad you ask, my Lord! My name is Belphegor, and I am my Master's Ainz most loyal subordinate! And you're Master Ainz's son!" said the floating skull.

Chaos glanced at Belphegor with a bit of surprise, although his face was so stiff and expressionless that he seemed to be dead… And to an extent as a half-vampire, he was!

"I see… So where is Ainz, my father? And why would he be my father?" asked Chaos.

"Oho! My lord, you know how to talk so eloquently! I see that you're just as talented as Master Ainz said you were going to be! Oh! And yes, Master Ainz is your father because he created you! He gave away a pile of his very bones to be used as yours too! So his bones live on your body now, my lord," said Belphegor.

Chaos didn't know what to say, as Belphegor spoke, he began to inspect the place… unlike he remembered, it seemed that everything was filled with even more dust than before, the boiling cauldrons were empty and dry, and many of the flasks and other chemical and magical items he saw were all broken and abandoned…

Chaos couldn't help but question what had happened here, but Belphegor had another thing to say before he could even ask him anything.

"This… must be abrupt to say. But I know that Master Ainz might have wanted it to be like that… You see, my Lord… Master Ainz had passed away five years ago," sighed Belphegor.

Chaos was left paralyzed.

Just when he was feeling excited about having a father… he was now dead, deader than he was already before.

"He's… dead? But wasn't he already dead?" asked Chaos.

"Hmm… T-This is… hard to take, I know. But Master Ainz gave away his existence to save you, my Lord…" said Belphegor, as Chaos noticed his blue flames beginning to turn down… he felt down and sad.

"How?" asked Chaos, feeling a sudden burst of emotions entering his cold and undead heart. Even if he never spoke with this Elder Lich, he still remembered his words and how he constantly spoke to him while he slept, he was always cheerful and gentle too, and always treated Chaos like his most beloved treasure… Although he felt strange at first, he slowly grew fond of this Elder Lich, and had been looking forward to one day speak to him and live at his side whenever he was to wake up…

But… it seemed that it was too late.

Belphegor braced himself to reveal Chaos the cause of death of his Master, the Elder Lich Ainz, to Chaos.

"Master Ainz gave away all of his power and created a powerful Nether Barrier that protected his castle from the Crusade that had invaded the planet. They had come to hunt him down after he offended several major powers of the Galaxy and stole the remains of the graves of the Vampires and Dragons to create you… After the barrier was set, the Crusade of Heralds of Light, contracted by the Supreme Entity of Brightness was not able to destroy it, and they resigned to ravage his weakened body, annihilating his soul, and fragmenting it into pieces… After that, they sealed these pieces and decided to retreat, most likely waiting until the barrier was to be set off… which had happened two days ago…" sighed Belphegor.

This information hit Chaos like a truck.

He felt like he skipped a beat.

Why? Why did this man… gave away all he had for him?

He had done nothing for this Elder Lich… yet… he gave away everything for him?

Chaos gripped his fists, feeling bitterness all over his heart. His face was expressionless so he couldn't even show his emotions, he couldn't even shed a tear, even though he wanted.

"I see… I am sorry for your loss," muttered Chaos, it was a dull response, but it was the only thing he could say at this moment.

Belphegor noticed that within Chaos' expressionless face, many emotions were boiling inside of his heart and soul, he could clearly see such things as he had different senses than mortals as an Undead.

"My lord… please cheer up!" said Belphegor, extending flaming arms and patting Chaos' shoulders, they didn't burn.

Chaos glanced at the floating skull once more...

"My lord, Master Ainz would never have wanted to see you like this! He gave away his existence so you could live and do as you pleased! He wanted to… see you happy! So please, don't feel like this, there is an entire life ahead of you. For now… let's make sure that you live up to how Master wanted it to be, a fulfilling life!" said Belphegor, he seemed to exude more life than any person he had ever met on his previous life, yet he was an Undead…

For a moment, Chaos slightly smiled. It was such a slight smile it was barely noticeable… but Belphegor noticed it.

"You're right… (I had been given a new opportunity in life… even in such a situation, I cannot waste it by feeling regret and sorrow… I have to keep going, and live to my father's expectations…)" said Chaos, as he thought about what he needed to do.

"Belphegor, I want to learn more, would you help me learn more about the world and who were the ones that took father's life?" asked Chaos.

"OH! Yes, of course! But first… I believe you must eat, my lord," said Belphegor.

"Eat? Ah…" Chaos said as he noticed that his stomach began to rumble like a wild beast, and his throat felt incredibly sore, craving for blood.

"Yes! And I got the perfect meal for you waiting outside! Since the barrier disappeared that a lot of tribes of Orcs had begun to march here, most likely with bad intentions! Would you like to taste?" asked Belphegor.

"Orcs… Sure thing," said Chaos.