Chapter 1: New World
Hell, a place where evil souls were sent and condemned to an eternity of suffering, as punishment for their crimes during their mortal life. This howling abyss was home to all kinds of beings, from mythological monsters such as Trolls, Ogres or Oni, to fallen Gods and Demons of all kinds. Among the billions of different creatures that inhabited Hell, one name made even the most bold and reckless God tremble: Almodeus, the demon of fear. This agglomeration of negative energy was born from the darkest depths of reality with the birth of the first terror and, from that moment on, he did nothing but bring terror and destruction, annihilating anyone who dared to stand in his way, all in the name of one simple desire: happiness. Some described him as a monster, others as a demon, even as a sadistic and murderous madman, but he was much worse, once you meet him, death was no longer a condemnation, but a salvation. Despite these less than praiseworthy premises, Almodeus still managed to find love, had a daughter and created a stable empire not based solely on terror. The demon had changed, he was no longer a blind killing machine, he was now a loving father and a devoted husband, for many this might seem like a weakness, but to these many it would be advisable to remember that the only reason why they were not yet trapped in an eternity of torment is precisely thanks to these above-mentioned weaknesses. Even if busy with a family, Almodeus still remained a being completely undefeated, incapable of knowing such a term, therefore nothing had changed in practice, hell was still at his mercy and nothing could question this fact...or maybe not?
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In a cemetery, located in an unknown place, two figures hidden by a black cloak came before what appeared to be an altar.
A third figure, masked by a red cloak and with a few gold embroidery on the sleeves, stood in front of the altar and opened a dirty book, with a brown cover and no title.
"We are gathered here to begin the ritual that will grant us control not only over the kingdom of Ashen, but also over the empire of Nexia and everything beyond the mountains of the Freliord! The entire world will be ours! And the Theocracy will not be able to stop us!"
Said the figure with the red cloak as he flipped through the pages of the book.
"Oh my followers! Thanks to 10 years of hard work and many sacrifices, we have finally managed to recover the last page of the DämonFinsterer! The one that tells of the spell to obtain the Absolute power! The preparations are complete, only the finishing touch is missing, a double sacrifice! Advance my faithful ones! Today we will rewrite history!"
He continued, extracting, with his old and wrinkled hands, a staff from under the altar, and then pointing it at the two men with the black cloak, visibly amazed.
"Do not think of this as a betrayal, you will live again in a new world... a better world!"
The man hidden by the red cloak finished before throwing a beam of crimson light against the floor in front of the two adepts, making a symbol, similar to a pentagram, appear at their feet. As it was composed, the symbol began to change, obtaining the shape of a red A inscribed in a circle, much to the surprise of the figure in red.
"What? The symbol is different from the one in the book! It's not the voice of the universe! Where did I go wrong? What am I summoning?"
The masked man shouted in confusion, before the symbol began to absorb the energy of the two adepts, and then generated a blinding light that began to engulf everything around.
Fear has been unleashed, the world as you knew it will no longer exist, now it belongs to him.
~the voice of the universe~
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A cool breeze entered from the small opening in the center of the glass in front of a tall figure, intent on observing the leaves of the trees outside as they move as one.
It would be a beautiful sight, all in all, if it weren't for the fact that he, Almodeus, demon of fear and undisputed ruler of one of the richest cities in hell, shouldn't be able to see such a panorama by looking out from the A-shaped glass positioned on the top floor of his base of operations, the Fear Tower.
"Do you see what I'm seeing, N2?"
The demon asked the little robotic subordinate, trying to understand what was happening.
"Unfortunately, yes, my lord! This is not Golden City, it doesn't even look like hell anymore! What...what does it mean?"
The little robot asked, visibly shaken. Honestly speaking, not even Almodeus knew exactly what had happened, why he was there and who had sent him there. What he knew for sure was that he couldn't show doubts, a good leader should always be able to inspire his soldiers, just as he should be able to reassure them in the darkest moments.
"N2! Go check out the rest of the tower, I want a detailed report on the conditions of the structure and gather all available Elites here! Also send scouts to search the area!"
The demon thundered.
The first thing to do now is to understand where we are and how we are doing, then we'll think about how we got here and why...
Almodeus thought to himself, trying to understand this strange situation.
"Right away, sir!"
N2 replied, standing to attention and then running out of his office.
Almodeus sat down at his desk and sighed, finally alone with his thoughts. He had traveled through the dimensions more than once, but he never imagined that one day his entire tower would be dragged into another world with him.
What could have happened? Could it be a Shockwave experiment? Although it makes little sense in theory, for now it is the only practical explanation possible.
An hour later, while trying to gather his thoughts, Almodeus noticed N2 crossing the entrance followed by his other robotic subordinates, they positioned themselves in front of the desk and bowed before him, bowing their heads in a sign of absolute submission.
"T-They are all the Elites present in the tower my lord, unfortunately I have bad news, except for these, only 20 thousand A.L bots have been transported to this world and w-we are unable to produce more!"
The demon opened his eyes in surprise, he couldn't believe n2's words.
Only 20 thousand A.L bots? That's not even 1 hundredth of my entire army!
The A.L bots were a robotic race born from the fusion of metal with the same dark ink that composed Almodeus himself. These creatures had an independent hive mind and insect-like behaviors, they needed an incubation period at birth and saw every other of their kind as a brother. Almodeus was their absolute ruler and their loyalty to him was unquestionable.
The fact that I only have 20 thousand of them forces me to be extremely cautious with my choices, every A.L bot counts, even the most novice and inexperienced.
The demon sighed, the morning had only begun five minutes ago and he was already in a mess of problems.
"Given the small number, I think we should divide the tasks differently than usual, let's start with..."
Almodeus moved his gaze towards his subordinates, starting from the left. He stared at a tall and massive robot, covered in scars from head to toe.
"Hardshell! You are the largest and strongest of your species, but you remain only a soldier, you will have to learn to manage an army and give orders, not just receive them, am I clear?"
At those words, the drone raised its head and stared at its master with a look full of respect.
"It will be done sir! All in the name of the Absolute Almodeus!"
The loyalty of an A.L bot was unquestionable, the same was true for their admiration, Almodeus knew it well, it was not uncommon for these robots to worship him even for stupid things.
"Very good, good spirit! The next one will be..."
He moved his gaze to the robot next to Hardshell. This one was a little shorter than the previous one, had 4 arms and held in one of them a sort of golden Halberd, called Divine Annihilator.
"Smaug! You are one of the most valiant warriors of my empire and of the entire hive. You too, like Hardshell, will have to learn to be a leader, leading your brothers to victory with the least amount of losses and waste, am I clear?"
Like Hardshell, Smaug also looked up and observed his leader, his determination visible in his cold robotic eyes, a will so strong that it surprised even Almodeus himself, fear in person.
"All to bring you to glory, oh my Absolute lord!"
If the loyalty of an A.L bot was indisputable, for Smaug this certainty was also valid for the sense of duty.
"Your determination is admirable, as usual..."
Almodeus commented, and then moved his gaze to the third robot, who was already staring at him, ready to answer the question that the demon had wanted to ask him since all this mess had started. Given the intelligence of the subject in question, Almodeus knew that he had already foreseen the development of their discussion from the beginning.
"Shockwave! The most intelligent of your kind, nicknamed the scientist. You will continue to create weapons for my army, but... in addition to that, you will have to study the biology of this world and understand if we can use it to our advantage, is that clear?"
Shockwave stood up, with his usual cold gaze, made even colder by his bionic left eye.
"Yes my lord, but first I would like to confirm that I am not the architect of our presence in this new world, everything we see around us is not the work of an invention of mine or a malfunction of it"
As I suspected, Shockwave had already understood my intenzioni and he immediately got the stone out of his shoe, typical of a genius like him.
"So, would you be able to bring us home?"
Almodeus asked, knowing that if anyone could do it, it was definitely Shockwave. That robot had invented objects that were light years more complex than the humans of the old world, or organics as the A.L bots call them, could ever aspire to even imagine.
"Unfortunately I'm not sure, the tower has not suffered any structural damage since arriving in this dimension. The problem could arise when trying to bring the entire structure back to the original world, I'll have to do some tests, I'll keep you updated..."
In addition to his gaze, Shockwave also had a cold way of speaking, it was understandable given that he could only feel 1% of each emotion, yet ironically he was also the only one of the Elite A.L bots to have a
Who knows if SHE was also transported to this world, her brute strength and destructive power would be of great use to compensate for the lack of troops.
Almodeus reasoned, then moving on to examine the drones in the center. One of them, dressed in a white suit and hat, looked up and stood at attention.
"I await your orders, sir!"
Marco Morello Makeshift, Morello for friends, one of the best soldiers of the A.L bot army, as well as an excellent general, was not as strong as Hardshell or Smaug, but his adaptability skills made him perfect for the command.
Luckily she is here with us. She is a hothead, but she knows how to do her job.
Almodeus thought, and then began to give orders.
"For now, limit yourself to organizing the troops into teams and then carefully evaluate their training, we have few soldiers, we must make them count!"
Morello had the complete trust of his monarch, even though he sometimes had an over the top and too harsh behavior, he always completed the tasks without ever sparing himself.
"It will be done sir! I'll dictate my report in less than an hour!"
As Morello turned to leave, Almodeus moved his gaze to the robot next to him, dressed in brown and having a humanoid build like his previous brother.
"How can I serve you, my lord?"
Asked the robot, as he stood up. His name was Sergio, in addition to being in close friendship with Morello, he was a former general and an excellent businessman, a very rare quality, as well as the most brilliant mind of the Fear Tower, on par with Almodeus himself and his wife C.
"Sergio, you will have to help me manage any kingdoms and cities that we will found or subjugate"
Although he still knew nothing about this world, Almodeus ruled out a priori that there was no dominant race, he perceived an amount of terror equal, if not even greater, than that which was present in the old dimension.
"Of course my lord! Leave it to me, I will try to discover the currency of this world and all the secrets of its economy"
Sergio replied, also ready to get involved.
"Very well, obviously you will not have to do everything alone, Conrad will also give you a hand, were his tormentors transported here with him?"
Almodeus's right hand, covered in the usual red glow, moved to the robot next to Sergio. He was the same size as Morello, but wore a green raincoat and a hat of the same color.
"Of course! The Hive's biological weapon prototypes, also known as Tyrants by the names of Mr. X, Mr. Y and Mr. Z, have been brought to this world and are already operational."
Conrad may not be great at fighting, but he is an excellent detective and with the support of three bodyguards he always manages to find the information he needs.
Almodeus reasoned, mentally complimenting his private detective.
"If you allow me, Absolute Almodeus, I'm already getting to work trying to better understand the place and geography among us."
He answered the robot, preparing to work.
It could actually be a good idea...
"I think it's a great idea Conrad! Give your report to N2 when you're done"
And that's it, now let's move on to our communications expert, Soundwave. Unlike the other A.L bots, he's the one who looks the most like a machine. Normally the A.L bots look human given their exoskeleton, but he was rebuilt from head to toe after his accident, so much so that he can't show his face because it deforms and therefore hides it under a screen that he uses to communicate.
Almodeus thought, taking some time to think about his next move.
"Soundwave! Restore the communication system in case it's damaged, we have an autonomous network, this should allow us to use remote communications and messages even if the technology of this universe were to be backwards"
Soundwave stood up and nodded, then left the room. Meanwhile, Almodeus moved on to the latest Elite A.L bot, Cortex.
"Cortex! Stand up!"
The black-haired, white-shirted robot obeyed the order, staring at his master, waiting for commands.
"I know you're retired, but circumstances force me to call you out of retirement, old man."
His expression was confident, the robot already knew what the demon was going to say before the words even left his mouth.
"Of course, Lord Almodeus! I understand perfectly!"
Cortex lowered his head in respect, then returned to his knees, awaiting future directives.
"Very well! I hope you understand your purpose! We're in code red right now, so I expect maximum effort from everyone, am I clear?"
Almodeus turned the chair he was sitting in towards the window, his back to his subordinates, still hearing them stand up and slap their chests.
"Yes sir! We will do our best for the Absolute Overlord!"
As expected, everyone agrees, perfect, one less problem.
Almodeus smiled, before turning to his closest subordinate.
"N2, you will stay here at the tower and give me a hand to manage everything, if there is a problem let me know, clear?"
Almodeus left eye remained straight on the horizon, while the right one moved towards the little robot. He had always had this disturbing ability
"Of course master! It will be done! In this regard... there is someone who would like to speak with you"
At those words, the office door opened and two figures that Almodeus knew very well entered. One was about six feet tall, slim and with long red hair, the other was much taller than the previous one, but had the same color of hair, however tied in a ponytail.
"C! Almodea! I'm glad to see you"
Almodeus immediately approached the two figures, the smaller one was his beloved wife, a sinner named C. The other, instead, was his beloved eighteen-year-old daughter and future heir, Almodea.
"Dear, N2 has already told us everything, we didn't want to disturb while you were sorting out things with the others... do we happen to know when we'll be home?"
Asked C, not hiding anxiety in his words.
"Calm down mommy! Daddy will already have everything under control! Right, daddy?"
Almodea commented, nudging her mother. She had always been an energetic girl, a little perverse and with few friends outside the family, but she wasn't bad. However, it was inadvisable to make her angry.
"Excuse me... can I come in?"
A cold and dark voice said. Almodeus looked up and noticed a tall woman, over three meters, approaching them. She had white skin, was wearing dark pants and a black jacket, which covered a gray top that left part of her toned stomach exposed.
"Of course! Come in Hirashi! You're part of the family too"
Almodea wasn't entirely wrong, Hirashi had been living with them for months now, she had quickly become a sort of adoptive sister for Almodea and a second daughter for C, even Almodeus didn't mind having her around, even if he had spent relatively little time together. Hirashi was essentially the opposite of Almodea, she was cold and stoic just like her adoptive father, aka Shockwave.
"Hirashi, do you know anything about your mother? Was she brought here too?"
The demon asked, the ultimate goal was to know if Nikusa, Hirashi's mother and Shockwave's girlfriend, was there with them. Nikusa was an extremely powerful entity of chaos, second only to Almodeus, her strength would have been useful to compensate for the lack of soldiers.
"Unfortunately not, I can't sense her, my mother Nikusa might not have been brought here with us..."
Hirashi's tone was emotionless, as usual, but it was visible to see a slight feeling making its way into his heart. A sort of desperation.
"Hirashi..."
Almodea put his hand on her elbow, trying to console her, however it was her father who continued.
"We will find a solution, but we need your help, you may not be as powerful as your mother, but you are not too far from her in terms of power"
The demon's statement was true, Hirashi probably ranked second only to him at that moment, her strength even surpassed Almodea's, as she was still young and inexperienced.
"Yes, thank you sir..."
Hirashi replied, calming down slightly.
"Just call me informally, you're part of the family now!"
Hirashi smiled at that statement, a simple and light smile, but rare as a gem. It was more common to see a child being born than Hirashi smiling.
"C, why don't you take Hirashi to get something in the kitchen? I need to talk to our daughter in private for a moment"
Almodeus asked his wife, who nodded and took Hirashi by the hand, leading her out of the room. The demon observed the scene, then turned to his daughter, with a serious look.
"Almodea..."
The demon sat down on the armchair and put a hand on the girl's shoulder, to indicate that he was about to tell her something serious.
"We don't know if there are weapons in this world that can hurt us, other than angelic or blessed ones, you are immortal, that's a fact, but I don't want you to suffer or make mistakes that you might regret for the rest of your life..."
One thing that was certain about Almodeus was that he loved his daughter more than anything else in the world, he would give his own immortal life for her, he didn't want this world to prove her happiness or ruin her adolescence.
"Yes, Dad! I'll be careful! I promise!"
Almodea smiled, with the usual innocent look that hid her famous perversion.
"Good girl!"
Almodeus smiled in turn, giving her a few loving pats on the head.
"Would you like to assist me while I try to understand where we are?"
Almodeus didn't wait for an answer and turned to the desk, then generated what looks like a normal crow, except that the feathers are a mix of black and crimson red.
"Yes! I'm really curious! I love it when you use spy crows!"
Almodea smiled at her father and stood to his right. Even in the old world, the two enjoyed observing people's misfortunes with the crows, it was something Almodea enjoyed doing since she was little.
I still can't believe she just turned 18, it seemed like yesterday she was still a little inkblot!
Almodeus thought, almost touched by the fact that his daughter was already a teenager and almost a young woman. He would never have denied that he had spoiled her and that Almodea was childish and immature, but he loved her precisely because she was happy being herself.
Once the crow was generated, it was released from the opening in the middle of the glass window behind the desk. A yellow eye with a black pupil popped out from Almodeus' top hat and began to project a red beam of light that showed a clear image of what the crow was seeing, as if it were some sort of camera.
"Well Almodea, let's see where we've ended up!"
Almodeus commented, starting to maneuver the crow, making it move away from the Fear Tower.
"Yeah! I'm so curious, do you think there are humans here? It would be fun to meet some! Maybe there are dragons and elves! I want a dragon!"
Almodea commented, sunny as usual. However, her father knew that he had to be very careful not to make her angry, under that smile hid a ruthless monster, who would destroy anything that dared to cross her.
"Now we see it little spot! It would be interesting to be able to study species not present in our world or see how two specimens of the same race differ between the two dimensions"
Almodeus commented, using the term
I will make her smile, regardless of who or what we meet along the way: allies, enemies, Kings, Gods, everyone in this world will learn to know the name of Almodeus, demon of fear!