Adjudicus/Stories
Adjudicus witness his uncle Oghir become the Lord of Shadow. To defeat Oghir, he has the silver-haired witch bestow him with the power of the curse, which he manages to control through willpower. He vows to one day become the new Lord.
Thin Fiend: I told you not to touch anything... Adjudicus.
Adjudicus: My apologies, Uncle- I mean, Lord Oghir!
Oghir: All you'll find here is the books from Belsidia, as you can already tell from your rummaging, I'm sure.
Adjudicus: Yes, but... Uncle- ah, Lord Oghir-
Oghir: Enough. Call me what you will.
Adjudicus: Then... Uncle, I actually came looking for you. I wanted to continue our discussion from the other day.
Oghir: ...Didn't your father scold you for wasting your time conversing with me?
Adjudicus: Father is easily placated. It's nothing a good spar with him shouldn't fix.
Adjudicus: Besides, he should be busy planning the next military campaign. They're going to be searching for the Lord's Vessel.
Adjudicus: Do you think... Father and Grandfather intend to birth a new Lord of Shadow?
Oghir: I highly doubt it.
Oghir: To do so would thrust Pandemonium into war... Your grandfather would doubtless lose his position- if not his life.
Adjudicus: Then why bother with this campaign?
Oghir: To discourage any potential rebellion, I imagine.
Oghir: They'll be able to increase the number of daemons in the army under the pretense of being chosen by the vessel...
Oghir: Not that anyone will believe that for a moment, of course. But your grandfather will relish their envy all the same.
Oghir: ...Perhaps I shouldn't stand idly by while he puts his plans in motion.
Oghir: Pay my muttering no heed. In any case, I assume you wish to continue the lecture from the other day.
Adjudicus: Yes- about the history of currency from other worlds.
Oghir: Ah, I believe we left off with how specific precious metals actually determined the value of money. But the most fascinating part is-
Fiend Soldier: Pl-please wait, Lord Adjudicus!
Adjudicus: Out of the way!
Fiend Soldier: Y-you cannot pass! The ritual is well underway-
Adjudicus: Graaaah! Don't do this, Grandfather!
Adjudicus: There must be some sort of mistake! Uncle would never plot a rebellion!
Adjudicus: Uncle! Uncleee!
Archduke: Be a good boy and stay out of this, Adjudicus. I will avenge your father's death now...
Oghir: Father... Please... listen to me...
Oghir: I only-
Archduke: Silence!
Archduke: Enough lies! Do not disgrace yourself any further with more treachery.
Archduke: I knew you were always envious of your brother... But to murder him over it?
Oghir: What...
Archduke: He was the epitome of brilliance and beauty. He should have been the one to end it all.
Archduke: He WOULD have been the one...
Archduke: And yet why is it that you live while he does not.
Oghir: ...Father?
Archduke: We are similar, Oghir. We burn with hatred for the fools of the world... and smolder with envy for those possessed of radiance and beauty.
Archduke: Hahaha... You know I speak true. You and I are the same!
Archduke: Perhaps there is no other more fit to be Lord of Shadow than you...
Adjudicus: Uncle!
Archduke: Agh... Ah... *choke*
Oghir: It is as you say.
Oghir: I can hear them... I can hear the voices... of all those wretched and weak like us.
Adjudicus: ...Uncle?
Oghir: Let us dream together... as one.
Adjudicus: The Lord of Shadow was born that day.
Adjudicus: Swallowed by misery and hatred, he quietly began his conquest.
Adjudicus: He crushed the Champion... and betrayed the fiends.
--- Silver-Haired Woman: Thanks for agreeing to this, but... are you sure you want to go through with it?
Adjudicus: If I am to face my uncle- the Lord of Shadow... I require the same power.
Adjudicus: Do it. Bestow upon me that cursed power.
Silver-Haired Woman: O darkness that dwells within all creation, ever in eternal lamentation... Rise, and be given form.
Adjudicus: Guh... Agh!
Adjudicus: AAAGHH!
Adjudicus: So this... is the true form... of the curse!
Adjudicus: You were the voices... my uncle heard!
Adjudicus: RAAAHH!
Silver-Haired Woman: You restrained the curse through willpower alone...
Silver-Haired Woman: You must actually be able to command it... Unlike Oghir, who could not.
Silver-Haired Woman: Still, I hope there is a future where the both of you can walk the same path...
Adjudicus: I will take this curse... and its power... and use it to the bitter end!
Adjudicus: So come, daemons and all! I am ready!
Adjudicus: I won't become like you.
Adjudicus: I will show you what a true Lord should be.
While in the middle of an alliance meeting, Adjudicus receives news of an uprising. Alk and Nimbus are assigned to watch over him as he goes to handle it. Once matters are settled, Adjudicus gives a report to Lilith and Estariel, surprising them when he leaves with a smile.
Lilith: ...Very well, we shall have the humans and the fiends live just beyond the Silver Woods, but on opposite sides. Does that sound acceptable?
Adjudicus: I have no objections.
Estariel: Neither do I.
Lilith: Could I just confirm one more time... Are you certain we should have the beastmen live apart from the fields?
Lilith: Your people and theirs have established rapport in a considerably short amount of time-
Adjudicus: That is why they must be separated. Collusion breeds rebellion.
Adjudicus: They bond over a shared bitterness towards humanity... Bonds forged only from the hatred will never last.
Fiend: Lord Adjudicus!
Fiend: P-pardon the intrusion, but there is a situation which requires your attention-
Adjudicus: Enough. Speak.
Fiend: Remnants of the Lord of Shadow's army are instigating an uprising. Daemons have been spotted in a village to the north.
Adjudicus: ...It appears that we needn't have worried about the beastmen.
Estariel: Do you need assistance? The warriors of the Silver Woods can be mobilized at a moment's notice.
Adjudicus: Not for a matter of this degree. I will handle this myself.
Lilith: Adjudicus!
Lilith: Allow me to send at least an escort- to observe and report back to me. Is that an agreeable enough pretense?
Adjudicus: ...It is a reasonable precaution. Do what you must.
Adjudicus: ...2 stronger units, and less than 10 regular soldiers. As far as uprisings go, this is pathetic.
Adjudicus: Alk. Nimbus. We hit them hard and fast.
Nimbus: Okay, hold it right there.
Alk: Aren't we only supposed to be scouting? That's why we left the rest of your troops behind... and I got glared at super hard when we left...
Adjudicus: If we brought them over, they'd simply wipe out the village.
Alk: Wipe... out?! But how could they do that to their own people?
Adjudicus: Their shared blood only serves as an offense to their pride.
Adjudicus: It is one of the reasons why they chose to defy their Lord and join with me instead.
Nimbus: So in other words, bad blood's still bad blood even when it's shared.
Adjudicus: For 50 years, the Lord of Shadow bolstered the ranks of daemons, weakening the army's strength in the process...
Adjudicus: To my soldiers, the daemons are sullied beings, as well as the source of years of resentment.
Adjudicus: There might be a curse wielder among them. If pushed into a corner...
Alk: I know what to do.
Alk: But it won't come to that if we finish this quick and clean.
Alk: And I know we can pull it off if we try.
Nimbus: Full disclaimer though. If things go south, it's a free for all.
Alk: I mean, that's fair, but...
Adjudicus: Let's go.
Adjudicus: This is our chance, take them now! Cursebringer!
Adjudicus: I take it you are the curse wielder here.
Curse Wielder: *sob* Damn it... Damn you!
Adjudicus: Surrender. Daemons are no longer able to regenerate. You have no hope of victory left.
Curse Wielder: Lord Oghir, the time has come for me to join you...
Alk: Oh, no-
Curse Wielder: O ever- encompassing darkness, grant me one last wish! Take my flesh as sacrifice-
Curse Wielder: Ahhh! Ah... I'm... alive?
Adjudicus: Your Lord is no more.
Adjudicus: Neither is the darkness you yearn for. All that's left is the painful, burning light...
Adjudicus: But if you yet feel hope in your heart for a better tomorrow...
Adjudicus: Take my hand.
Curse Wielder: Why... The daemons, they...
Adjudicus: Curses are but one power the dead leave behind. There are other things they can entrust to the living.
Adjudicus: You, however, are still alive.
Adjudicus: Your power may yet be useful. Join me, if you wish.
Adjudicus: Or continue to drown in your curse and die. It is your choice.
Curse Wielder: Ah... *sob* Ahhhh...
Lilith: ...I see. You quelled the rebellion yourself.
Adjudicus: Exactly as stated in the written report.
Lilith: If I may broach another subject... Have you heard the news? There's been an influx of fiends joining the residential area.
Adjudicus: I have heard. So the doors are open to all refugees.
Lilith: They are indeed. I made sure of it.
Lilith: ...That's all from me. Thank you for your report.
Lilith: I trust the escorts I assigned were satisfactory, Adjudicus?
Adjudicus: Heh. Very much so.
Adjudicus: You chose your allies well, Lilith Stratos.
Lilith: I don't believe it. Was that a smile on his face?
Adjudicus arrives in Starview Village, converses with Alk, then requests to join him on his journey. Afterward, Alk upholds his promise and introduces him to Claw and Albert to discuss reform.
Alk: Rah!
Alk: Nothing worth doing is ever easy, huh?
Alk: But I'll never get stronger at this rate-
Adjudicus: So this is Starview Village.
Alk: Adjudicus?
Adjudicus: ...This is good. Is this what you offer to royal visitors?
Alk: N-no, uh... It's a pretty basic meal, to be honest. Easy to make.
Adjudicus: Make? Did you make this?
Adjudicus: You are full of surprises. I should know better than to underestimate your repertoire of skills.
Alk: Cooking's not THAT big of a deal... It's mostly in the ingredients you pick-
ALk: Ah... But you probably never had that luxury...
Adjudicus: Indeed. You are very astute.
Adjudicus: I hail from a barren place, far different from other worlds...
Alk: You... knew about Stella and them, right?
Alk: The ones you called the Overlords... How much do you know about them?
Adjudicus: There was once a war- a great war. Worlds collided, chaos reigned... All to determine who would become the ruler.
Adjudicus: The Overlords emerged victorious, and all the worlds belong to them. They created the Star Goddess and the Purger...
Adjudicus: And banished the fiends who lost to Pandemonium.
Adjudicus: ...There are no records of this history. I learned all from that woman.
Alk: The other Stella...
Adjudicus: One thing is for certain: the Overlords exist. Not as an ancient legend or vanished civilization... But as a real, current threat.
Adjudicus: Alk. What do you intend to do?
Alk: Whatever I can to stop them. My mind's been made up about this for a while now.
Alk: I'm not sure how much help I'll be, but you can count on me giving it my all.
Alk: ...Not that we can do anything but wait at the moment.
Adjudicus: Then our paths are the same.
Alk: Huh?
Adjudicus: I will also do all I can, so that my people may have a future.
Adjudicus: Take me with you on your journey.
Adjudicus: Is this agreeable?
Alk: I mean, I'm fine with it, but maybe we should grab Stella and Light's opinions-
Adjudicus: Why? I am asking you. Not the goddess. Not the Purger. You.
Alk: In that case... Welcome aboard! I couldn't ask for a more capable ally.
Alk: Thanks, Adjudicus.
Alk: But make sure you give Stella and Light a proper heads-up, okay?
Adjudicus: Understood.
Adjudicus: First, however, I'd like to have a promise fulfilled.
Alk: Promise? Oh, you mean-
Alk: Morning, Stella. You doing good today?
Stella: Good morning. I am. What are claw, Albert, and Adjudicus doing?
Alk: Seems like Lilith's world is running out of living spaces again.
Alk: I figured Claw and Albert would be ones with the best advice, and well... They've been at it since early morning.
Alk: Discussing a whole bunch of stuff like how to get along with humans and where to migrate to.
Claw: Yo! Morning, Stella! Have you met this guy? He's real interesting!
Claw: We hit it off, then he suddenly started talking about economics. Value of currency and all that!
Adjudicus: There must be worlds out there that operate on credit. Employment would be more stable in such a system.
Albert: Hm... The authorities in charge wouldn't be for it though... A forced implementation would likewise be out of question.
Claw: Well, what about-
Alk: Yeah... I've got no clue what they're saying.
Alk: But... I've got a good feeling everything will work out.
Stella: ...Yes, I think so too.