Becoming the Dark Lord

Luke saw someone walking toward them with a clumsy sway, a woman carrying a short-handled axe.

Triss.

Someone he had met during one of the artifact challenges, long before he ever found Eleanor.

“I can’t believe it. It’s you,” she said, recognizing him too.

“Well, Triss. Looks like you didn’t die after all,” he said.

She rested the axe on one shoulder and, with her other hand, pulled a bottle from a ring and drank. She was drunk.

“If I remember right,” she said, letting out a small belch, “I owed you a favor. And I tried to pay it back. But I never found any of those names you gave me.”

“It’s fine. I found them.”

His group watched the exchange in silence.

“Who is this?” Charlie asked.

“Everyone, this is Triss. We had a little adventure together once during an artifact challenge,” he said.

“Nice to meet you,” Eleanor said.

The rest of the group introduced themselves as well.

“So you found your people. I still owe you one.”

“Almost all of them. There’s still one missing. But you can pay me back right now. There’s someone we want to find on this island. First, though, we need to check a tavern.”

“I just came from a tavern. I don’t mind going back,” she said.

The group followed the barbarian woman while they traded updates about everything that had happened over the past few weeks. Triss had never gone to the Citadel. She had stayed out at sea with her crew.

“Randall and Doug are somewhere on this island too. You should see them,” she said as they entered the tavern. Then she glanced at Luke. “And what’s with the eyepatch? Hiding that blue eye of yours?”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

They explained Jack’s situation. Meanwhile, Jack, Layla, and Evangeline stayed outside looking for his father, since he was not in the tavern, and Layla wanted to find her own father too.

I hope Angie’s here.

Only Luke, Eleanor, and Charlie went in with Triss.

“I hope this helps me repay at least some of what I owe you,” Triss said.

A drink was brought to the table. The island was like the others. It had been abandoned, but it was later discovered and turned into a temporary home or base for the people of the Sunken Realms.

“And what kind of favors... did Master Luke do for you?” Charlie asked.

“Master?” Triss said, confused. “He asked for my help finding you all. At the time, he didn’t even have a ship. I took the job after he gave me a few artifacts.”

Triss slammed her mug down on the table.

“I want another drink!” she shouted.

“Either way, I appreciate it,” Luke said.

Triss had already arranged for one of her men to take Jack to an important merchant on the island, a man famous for trading in information. For the right price, he would tell you what he knew. Supposedly he had a huge information network, maybe even magical communication items.

“Luther will help find your friend’s father. If the man’s on the island, then consider him found. That bastard probably even knows when each of us takes a piss,” Triss said.

“Luther?” Luke asked. “I met a Luther once.”

“If he was polite, offered you something, talked business, and didn’t try to kill you, then yeah, that was probably him. That’s how he does business and gathers information,” Triss said.

“Maybe it was.”

“And what about the Beacon challenge?” Eleanor asked. “You said you and your crew were planning to enter the haunted city.”

Triss took a long pull from the bottle.

“Taking a single ship in there is suicide, from what I’ve heard. I got here a day ago. I’ve been gathering information and looking for another ship to partner with. Two ships going in together is safer.”

Finding Jack’s father was the reason they were there, but they also wanted information about the Beacon area. With an island only three hours away, it was obvious the people there would know things about the place, the Beacons, and the challenges tied to them.

“Beacon 2 was hard enough to reach. More dangerous than the Beacon itself,” Eleanor said. “So I’m guessing reaching Beacon 3 inside that city won’t be easy either, even if it’s not at the bottom of the ocean.”

“You’d be right,” Triss said.

Charlie had gone quiet for some reason.

“The rumors I’ve heard about that city make my skin crawl,” Triss said.

“Like what?” Luke asked.

“Well... that you can’t trust what you see or hear. And worse things too. Sometimes fear becomes real.”

“Becomes real? What do you mean?”

“I was told that...”

Then suddenly someone arrived at the table wearing a smile.

“I think I found my father,” Jack said.

***

They were walking through the island’s forest. A stone road cut through it like an old street. There were countless stone buildings around them, some used as shops, some as homes, some as bases for different groups. You could not just settle anywhere. These places already had owners. Not everyone cared about the challenges, so over the months people had started building a fragment of society there.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

A geyser burst from the ground, soaking everyone. They were common on that island. Charlie kept walking as if she had not even noticed the spray, drawing glances from everyone around with her beauty. She wore simple clothes: a dark purple skirt with her storage item attached at the waist, and a black top that looked almost like a corset. It had a strong pirate feel to it. She had gotten it from the dungeon when she cleared Beacon 1 with Anne and Erza. Simple-looking on the surface, but it was armor.

“That top really emphasizes Charlie’s chest. Is that what you’re staring at?” Artemis asked.

No. I’m watching the way she’s walking. Charlie’s being strange. Quiet.

Luke glanced up. Even with clouds overhead, the sun was still there.

It’s probably the irritation on her skin from the sunlight.

For him, walking under it meant nothing. But his wife was a vampire.

“You okay, Charlie? Want to put on armor that covers you more?”

“I’m fine,” she answered shortly.

“I still can’t believe we found my father this fast,” Jack said.

The group was headed for what looked like an inn. The merchant named Luther had given them the information, and by sheer luck Jack’s father had asked the same man about his son at some point too.

“It’s really weird that your father is also named Jack,” Evangeline said.

“Yeah, I know,” he replied. “My mother hates that name. She used to say calling me by it reminded her of the hell she lived through.”

“You have a... peculiar family, Jack,” Eleanor said.

Layla had returned to the ship after giving the merchant her own father’s name. When they arrived at the tavern, they were greeted by a very fat man. He sat in a chair reading a book.

“What do you want? I’ve got rooms, but no parties,” he said. “And I only take gold. No food, no trinkets. Just the good old sound of coins.”

“I came to see a man named Jack. He’s my father,” Jack said.

The man lowered the book. “If you came here planning to kill him, know this: the penalty for causing trouble in a civilized area is death. Not by me, of course. There’s an army of idiots on this island just dying to kill some bastards and earn experience points.”

“We’re not that kind of people,” Eleanor said.

The man rubbed his fingers together in the universal sign for money. “And the coins?”

“But I just want to see my father.”

“And I just want coins.”

Jack looked at Luke.

“Fine...” Luke pulled a gold coin from his pocket dimension and tossed it to the man.

The man caught it and bit down on it.

“Real gold. Old too. Found buried somewhere, wasn’t it?”

“Something like that. How can you tell?”

The man popped the coin into his mouth and swallowed.

“H-he just ate the gold or am I insane?” Evangeline asked.

“Old Dutch here has a rank skill that lets his stomach store things,” Triss said.

“And you weren’t supposed to tell them that. I like seeing people’s faces when I pull that trick.”

“You’ve been bragging for years that your belly’s full of gold whenever you get drunk,” she said.

“And you’ve been filling yours with alcohol for as long as I’ve known you, Triss,” he shot back.

The two of them had known each other since before the event. While Triss talked with the innkeeper, the others went up to Jack’s father’s room and found it empty.

“I lost my father!”

“Calm down. His things are still here, aren’t they?” Eleanor said. “He’ll come back.”

The room was full of liquor bottles.

“Let’s wait for him outside,” Eleanor said.

The others went on ahead. Charlie stayed behind with Luke. She pulled off her corset top, soaked through, and changed into a simple black shirt.

“Finished changing?” Luke asked.

“I am.”

“Good. Let’s—”

She was standing in the corner, staring at him.

“What is it, Charlie? You’re acting strange.”

“Who is Triss?” she asked, arms crossed as she looked at him.

Luke blinked. “Hm? What do you mean, who is Triss?”

“H-how did you meet her?” she asked.

“Charlie... I’m not following. We just talked to Triss.”

“You and her seemed awfully friendly,” she said, pouting now, still with her arms folded.

Luke paused for a second, thinking it through.

Jealousy? No way. But... why else?

“I already told you, Charlie. I met her during a challenge. She had a ship. I needed that ship.”

“And then you got all friendly with her. She’s very pretty, Master Luke. Exotic pretty. A-and she talked to you like she knew you.”

“Nothing happened between us. I swear. When I got close to her, it was because I was trying to find you.”

That last part seemed to take the fight out of her.

“You... really do like me, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

Charlie started tying her hair back.

“P-prove it.”

“What?”

“P-prove... that you love me,” she said, still fixing her hair.

Damn. Even doing something as simple as tying her hair up, she looks beautiful.

“You’re getting spoiled lately,” he said, pulling her in by the waist.

“W-what are you doing?”

He bit her lightly on the neck.

“Mmh... you marked me...”

“Yeah. See? You’re mine.”

Her face turned bright red. Then he kissed her, quick and warm.

“Now stop being jealous, dummy. We need to go.”

Misunderstanding solved. Still, I didn’t know Charlie... got jealous.

***

For about two hours, the group waited outside the inn. Triss had already returned to her ship. They had agreed to meet with both crews again at nightfall. She was interested in clearing Beacon 3 and already had information about the haunted city. That would be extremely useful for Luke and his group.

“I still can’t believe it was that easy to find out where your father is,” Eleanor said.

“All I had to do was say his name. I got lucky the merchant had seen one of the movies he acted in. And... my father tends to stand out wherever he goes. He likes showing off because of his acting days.”

“A retired actor?” Luke asked. “I know you were some kind of child star on kids’ shows, but what kind of movies did your father do?”

“You know... a few films here and there. Small roles,” Jack said nervously. “I don’t like talking about my father’s work, Luke. It’s indirectly tied to lust. He was the exact opposite of what the Goddess of Kindness would consider an ideal man. My father drank, slept around, and committed what might be humanity’s greatest sin.”

“Wait... don’t tell me his name was on one of those infamous Hollywood party lists,” Artemis asked.

“What? No. He just... got divorced. More than once. From my mother.”

“Ah. Right,” Luke said.

In Jack’s religion, marriage and family were sacred, and divorce was practically the devil itself.

“A man should love only one woman and have many children with her,” Jack said.

“I like that idea,” Charlie said.

“And all those many children should grow up worshiping the Goddess of Kindness?” Luke asked.

“Exactly. We should worship her and spread her word.”

“It’s a cult,” Luke said.

A staggering man came walking toward them with a bottle in hand.

Jack’s eyes went wide. “Dad. It’s really you. I finally found you!”

The healer ran to him.

“Jack? Is that really you?” the man said, rubbing his eyes. “Or am I still too drunk?”

Jack raised his wand, and it glowed.

“Not anymore, Dad.”

The healer had purified his father’s system, instantly sobering him up.

“Damn, Jack. It really is you,” the man said.

But Luke did not stay where he was. He rushed straight toward Jack’s father.

“Holy shit,” he said, staring at him. “I’m a huge fan of your work.”

Fun fact: there are two cute artworks of a jealous Charlie waiting over in that other place.