^^ Masked Oni, Masked Oni Monarch ^^

— James —

The city in front of me was teeming with humans, like a Small Metropolis. It reminded me of Rome in every way; the people, who almost all had some variation of Greek or Italian features, with a few who had Northern European features mixed in, the architecture, white sandstone blasted or cut into slabs with ceramic tiles for roofs, and even the language, which was apparently Latin, though only for the multitude of priests. Everyone else spoke plain English, which seemed very odd to me.

Jerrod, who was my guide, pointed out a few key features to me as we escorted the Saint and Benjamin Waylon towards the Vatican, the heart of their little 'religion'. The red light district in particular surprised me, being in this city, but he seemed confused by my confusion, and apparently it wasn't against the church to visit brothels.

I hummed, confused. "So these people call themselves Christian, but they are not, in fact, Christians, just a weird copy of them with several of the Ten Commandments missing? Adultery, Murder, love thy neighbor, 'he who holds another man's chains is, to that man, Satan,' all that is gone, huh?"

He tilted his head, and then shrugged helplessly. "I honestly don't know. I just know magic is illegal here unless you're a priest or you have a license, and the Priests are pretty much all snakes."

Benjamin, who had until now been vowed to silence by my presence, sat up on his horse, frowning. "Now hold a moment! The priests are not-"

"In my experience? Yes, they are. They're hateful little beasts who have one and all fallen prey to the Sin of Wrath, hating and fearing anyone that isn't human like a little herd of sheep looking at a different herd and being too stupid to know they're not here to eat them." Jerrod snorted, unconcerned with Benjamin's Rebuttal.

(After he'd woken up, after I punched him off the mountain, Benjamin had demanded a rematch with my apprentices, and Jerrod, who had just leveled up and even evolved into a Purple Dragon, proceeded to beat him into the dirt in ten seconds flat, alone, and with his Seal intact. It was a sound defeat, despite their equal levels, (475,) and a boost to Jerrod's confidence, which I hesitantly encouraged. A little confidence was alright.)

The guards at the front gates to the inner portion of the city halted us, and I saw that the interior was all one building complex. "Ahh, So this is the Vatican now... not as impressive as the Sistine Chapel, but ah well." I shrugged, looking at Benjamin and the Saint. "This is your stop, Lady Saint, you are welcome back any time you like, and I expect you, Benjamin Waylon, to clear up the misunderstanding of you attacking my student while he returned to you your idiot of a hero?" I raised an eyebrow at Benjamin severely.

He snorted softly. "I made no mistake. He's a Dragon who entered the city under false premises, and has done so numerous times."

"And?" I asked calmly.

"And that's illegal. Very illegal." He followed up.

"Is that so?" I smirked.

"Yes!" He growled.

"Get over yourself. I currently sense hundreds of monsters, in the interior of the Vatican alone, and I'm not counting the ones in chains." I snorted.

He flinched and looked at the Vatican, then back at me. "That's impossible; the gates keep out monsters." He said with a sense of pious finality.

"I've walked in a number of times, and even gone to mass. The gates are fake, monsters are an entirely different Evolutionary Path than Demons, and your religion is a tyrannical criminal organization overrun at the highest levels by interior corruption and the most basic of fault, as well as several of your Cardinals are Demons in disguise, feeding you lies to weaken the human race to make you easier to break in the next so-called 'Holy War'. Surprise!" Jerrod harshly kicked his metaphorical teeth in with a dead-pan expression.

I nodded and turned my horse away, towards the district where all the slave auctions were. "Now that you've shaken his religious beliefs so needlessly, let's be off, Jerrod, there's Slaves to free."

The Saint looked at me, and grinned. "I'll come with, actually; I'm not looking forward to greeting the Hero again. As my future Fiancé, he thinks he owns me, and it's so very droll."

"As you like, I've done my duties and returned you, where you go after that is your business." I nodded.

"No, wait! Wait, you can't leave, please, I am supposed to deliver you to the Pope, so he can ask you to bless the Hero's Party." Benjamin asked swiftly, shaking off Jerrod's words.

"Hmm... the Pope, you say?... nah, not interested." I nudged my horse forward, and he cut me off. "You play a dangerous game, Benjamin Waylon." I frowned.

He cleared his throat. "I know. But in order for you to be allowed in the city, you need his permission. Otherwise the guards are within their rights to attack and arrest you. Or attempt to, and likely die. I'd rather they didn't, so there's your options."

"Mm. First of all: they won't even know I'm here, so they won't attack me or die. Second of all: I'm powerful enough to fight them without killing them or even touching them. My Third and final point: I'll do as I please, Benjamin. Don't get cute." I raised an eyebrow.

He crossed his arms stubbornly. "I'll get as cute as I like, you're in my city, and you're not King here."

"That can change, Benjamin..." I growled softly, and his face blanched.

"Now now, none of that! I'll escort them, and then we can meet the Pope in the morning, after he's rested! I'm sure it's far too late in the evening for an audience with the Pope?" Lady Maria smiled companionably, riding in between us rudely.

Benjamin slowly looked up at the noon sun, and back to her, and then to my clearly irritated face. "Yes... right, I suppose you're correct. I bow to your wisdom, Lady Rosanna." He bowed a bit in the saddle sarcastically.

"You'd better, I just saved the city!" She hissed at him sharply, and started her horse off towards where we were headed as he flinched. "Off we go!"

Jerrod and I followed her, riding on either side like a hired escort, to subvert suspicion. She attracted all the attention, in her shiny golden armor, though Jerrod, dressed ostensibly in a shimmering purple wizard's robe, was not one to be outshone for long. His vanity was something I would have to try to work on, but it seemed deeply, deeply rooted.

"Thank you." I hummed, as we rode, and she smiled over her shoulder at me, deigning not to answer.

The quarter of the city dedicated to auctions wasn't all about slaves, of course; their economy was also in the sale of magical items and potions that had been deemed suitable by the Church for sale. Towards the back, though, it transitioned quite suddenly into a gated and fenced-in section, the wall of blessed metal easily about twenty meters tall.

I glanced around at the cages, and refrained from simply ripping the cages open as I saw the sorry state of the people within. "Jerrod, cast a Mass Healing on this quarter." I demanded, standing still.

He cleared his throat. "Master, I don't have the strength necessary-"

I wordlessly unleashed all of my Aura, every ounce of it, into a single mote of black flame over my left hand, my right hand writing a mantra to keep the feeling of the Aura present enough for him to use it.

He nodded slowly, and wrote a small magic circle in the air, showing a silver badge to a guard who immediately perked up, and then relaxed at the sight of the license. He slowly placed the circle over the black flame, where it stayed, and looked at Lady Maria. "If you'd like to add your own healing spell? Mine are more geared towards monsters, but there are human slaves here as well."

She sighed, and shook her head. "That's a bad idea. Healing them will just make them more expensive, and also it will prompt the more lascivious of these buyers to buy more, if you make the weak ones suddenly brimming with vitality."

I looked at her slowly. "I intend to buy them all. Today."

She blinked in shock, and then nodded slowly, casting a magical circle over her hand that pulsed gold, hesitantly placing it over Jerrod's Purple one.

"Good. Now go halt all the auctions, and tell them all that you've got a buyer who is willing to buy every single one of their stock, and has the money to do so." I nodded, and they darted off together, sprinting like the wind.

I held on to the spell, understanding Maria's point; if I healed them all before the auction was finalized, I was only making it harder on these people, and harder to buy them.

After a moment, I sensed the spells starting to try to fade, so I pushed both spells into the flame in my hand, and then crushed them in my Fist, absorbing them and essentially 'eating' the spell, as a Sphinx that could gain the powers of the things or people that I bit or ate.

<Update!
Transferable Legendary Healing Effect (temporary) Learned!
Magic Circle Inscription Learned!
Healing Magic Learned!
Class: White Mage Gained!
Holy Affinity, (4th Form) Gained!
Demonic Affinity, (1st Form) Gained!>
<Update!
Holy Affinity, Demon Affinity, and Ur can Merge to create the Aura of the Silver Titan? Y/N?>

'Sure.' I shrugged.

<Wonderful!>

The two young ones returned, with a small crowd of owners behind them. They saw me with no magic in my hand and visibly relaxed, before leading me into a large meeting room full of couches, lounges, and a few stray hookah. "Master, these people are the owners of all the Slave Markets Caravans. As far as we can tell, 96% of the slaves in this quarter are their companies' property." Jerrod explained calmly, as I sat on the biggest couch, facing the group imperiously.

"Good. I'm buying all your slaves. All of them. I have for trade Spirit Elixirs, a single one of which is worth in excess of 750,000 gold, due to the advent of two Hero's, and two Demon Kings, which means countries will soon be buying up your stock of Elixirs like water, paying full price and emptying their treasuries to do so. As such, it is right now a buyers' market. Now, can we do business, or are you unable to handle moneys of that magnitude? I have several normal Elixirs as well, each appraised as worth 50-175,000 gold pieces, if you'd prefer smaller amounts in greater quantity." I stayed as professional as I could, thinking of this as a business transaction as hard as possible so I didn't Murder these men.

They gasped and talked amongst themselves about the Two Demon Kings and two Heroes, and I nodded. "Ah? Right, that wasn't public knowledge. Well, you know now, and you have control over that information; if you wish to spread it to raise the price of your Elixirs when you resell them, or keep quiet and hoard them for yourselves, it's none of my business. Now, can we do business?" I asked sternly.

One of them stepped forward, shaking his head. "I deal only in gold and silver, not trade."

"I have some of that, as well, about 500,000 gold pieces." I shrugged.

He blinked slowly, and sat down on a couch. "Well then yes, we can do business."

One after another, they each professed an intention to do business, and soon only one was standing, a heavily-scarred man with a silver cross hanging from his neck. "I am curious... where do you intend to place all these slaves? There are close to 200,000 slaves currently in this market."

"I own an Abandoned City. 200,000 is only the beginning." I waved a hand dismissively.

He nodded slowly. "On the coast of the Monster Lands, then?"

"Yes." I answered honestly, and he relaxed; the evasive air I'd been giving off must've been putting him on edge.

"Alright... then yes, I will also sell, for fair price." He nodded, and sat down.

"Good. Jerrod?" I looked at him.

He nodded and began leading them off, one by one, to go through their books, decide upon prices, and finalize a bill, before bringing them all back, and handing me a sheaf of papers. The numbers present were ridiculous, but we had enough to cover it, so I nodded and produced the appropriate gold or potions from my Hidden Pocket.

It was a nifty little thing, granted after Hallox had killed that pesky little Demon Lord with his stupid little barrier... 'did I learn that barrier when I tasted his blood?' I asked the Voice, curious.

<Yes, all his abilities were transferred.>

I paid them all, and nodded. "Alright, Jerrod, let's go and heal them all up, and send them off a few at a time, yes?"

He smiled and bowed to the group of Slave Merchant Kings. "Thank you for your business, and your patience. Please work with us again in the future."

"We never did get your name, Sir? Only your Clerks?" One of them asked me, placing his hand on my shoulder companionably.

Without my bidding, a thick silver blanket of aura filled the room, completely knocking everyone inside unconscious, including Maria and Jerrod. I reigned it in, sighing, and dragged them out of the room, pouring some water on their faces.

"Wake up, you little brats." I sighed again, as they gasped their way to consciousness like dying fish.

Jerrod smoothed his hair back slowly, and laughed to himself. "You are still growing, aren't you, Master?"

"Until I'm dead, Student, as should you." I nodded, and helped them up. "Now let's get to work. We've got three more cities to get to before nightfall."

Maria gasped softly. "You're going to do this all at once? All Four Capitals?"

"Yes?" I answered, slightly confused. "What's the point, otherwise? Hallox and Zoken are currently disrupting the Slave Caravans in our continent, while Jerrod's Skeleton army is also roaming and patrolling the borders. Some will get through, I'm sure, but eventually people will realize it's safer to take ships, rather than caravans through our lands." I explained, and looked up at the biggest cage. "Now... what in all of the gods' creations is this? He's beautiful!"

A large red face with three eyes, two massive straight horns on top of his head, and two smaller ones in between, bared his teeth at me slowly, revealing a combination of long tusks and fangs. He was humanoid, standing on two feet, but his arms were like a gorillas, hanging all the way to his knees, while his legs were relatively short, and a long tail twitched around on the ground animatedly like a cat's.

"That's a Masked Oni, Master, the strongest breed of Ogre that exists, the 13th evolution... and that's a Monarch, behind him, the Legendary Monster... How did you get captured?" He asked the smaller one, who was almost entirely human-like, except for the fur and three-eyed red mask-like face and tail.

"I lost a duel to their Caravan Master. The prize was my clan and I, versus him and his entire caravan." The smaller one spoke softly, with a legitimately regal air to him.

I glanced at their statuses, and raised an eyebrow. "You're Level 450, and he's Level 398, how in the hell did a caravan master beat you?" I asked incredulously.

"A battle of wits was the only fair Avenue. He beat me in Shogi-Chess." He blinked all three eyes, one by one, and responded casually.

I rubbed my face slowly, and shook my head. "Incredible. Alright, well, I respect your sense of Honor, at least... where are the rest of your Clan? An Ogre Clan, yes?"

He nodded, and pointed a clawed hand at the cage across from his, where a small number of skinny, malnourished ogres and one Kijin all laid in a pile.

"Alright, well, I've just bought your contracts, so you'll all be coming to my clan, the ogres of Treaty Lake. Or you can take one of the villages I've built for all the slaves I'm taking today." I explained as Jerrod undid the locks.

He tilted his head slowly. "A Sphinx, buying slaves..."

"It's better than starting a war to free you all. I am going to every capital, after this one, and simply buying all their slaves, and bringing you all home." I shrugged.

He nodded. "That is wise. War is a wasteful thing, but often necessary, when money or honor is taken. We will join you." He nudged the other, much bigger creature, and walked towards us.

I gripped his shoulder as he exited the cage, and cast the new Legendary Healing on him, as well as the other one, and Jerrod disappeared with them. He returned a few minutes later, as I was healing the other ogres, and took them back as well, all at once.

The entire market was nearly deserted, by the time we were done, and I realized all day had passed. It was nearly dusk, and we were still on the first city. "I suppose this will be a several-day project... oh well." I shrugged, and continued healing the slaves, as Lady Maria worked by my side to do the same.

In the end, we had a group of humans, in the center of the market, and Jerrod looked at me, confused. "Where should we take them?" He asked.

"The new Fort on the coast, they'll be alright there. I imagine fisherman is a distinct improvement over Slave." I nodded.

He cleared his throat softly. "And the women? They were likely meant for brothels or bed warmers, before we bought them."

"The port city and villages will take good care of them, and keep them safe, no? If you have any concerns, we'll deal with it, but we have three more cities to visit in the next three days, so get it dealt with soon, please." I sighed.

He nodded. "I will, Master. Alright, everyone, I can take about thirty at a time, so don't worry about being separated, you're all going to the same place!" He called to the crowd, and began teleporting small chunks of the crowd away, whittling it down to nothing.

I stood in the abandoned slave market, and smiled. "Now that is a beautiful view." I commented, and Maria chuckled, agreeing quietly.