"I hate Etna." I walked down the hallway towards my room drying off my hair with my towel; I had taken my shower for the day to get rid of the stink of training and Etna decided to cut the hot water while I was the only one in there…everything felt a bit too numb for my liking. It took me too long to get use to the temperature of the water so now I was the only one who was still up; how late did it get?
"Woosh!" What was that? I looked around for a moment in confusion, "Min, min, min!" Again? I followed the noise to see someone sneaking into Laharl's bedroom. I followed her and crouched at the steps as she braced herself against a wall, "Wumph!" I took a closer look and saw she was dressed in almost all white with bits of blue ribbon; her hair was long and blonde while her face gave off a sense of innocence and peacefulness, but her most noticeable quality was the small white wings on her back; was she an angel? She gave a relieved sigh, obviously oblivious to my presence, "Phew…looks like I made it in without being seen." No you didn't, "What do they call those guys in the human world? Oh, yes…Ninjas…I always wanted to be one." Not doing a great job at it so far, "Maybe I have potential! Nin nin!" No you don't, "But still, is it alright for me to be doing this? The angels all say demons are evil, but are they really?" Etna is, Laharl…definitely, "It doesn't seem fair to judge someone based on rumors alone." I guess I should wake Laharl, seems he's got a visitor. I stood up and walked past the girl who was lost in her own little world as she talked; she seems like kind of an airhead. I nudged the prince and he opened his eyes before sitting up and looking at me.
"What do you want?"
"You've got a visitor." I said pointing to the corner where you could still hear the girl talking.
"A visitor?" Laharl hoped out of his bed and walked over to her.
"Can't kill strangers…hmmm, can't kill acquaintances either…which means…ooohhh…" How in the hell did she get to that point?
"Who are you, and why are you in my room talking to yourself?" Laharl demanded. She turned around in surprise and gave out a scream as she smacked Laharl back towards me, "Oww! What the heck did you do that for!?"
"Oh. I'm sorry. You scared me so I accidentally…" She trailed off before giving us a through look over.
"Hmph, so who are you?" Laharl asked.
"Me? Nice to meet you. I'm an assassin?"
"…I don't believe it." I said bluntly; no one that stupid can be an assassin.
"Oops, I wasn't supposed to say that." She said in sudden realization.
"You're pretty dense aren't you?" Laharl said less as a question and more as a statement.
"My! How rude, calling somebody you just met dense!"
"I think an assassin who tries to kill someone in his sleep is a lot ruder." He had a point.
"…You're right, I apologize." She apologized!?
"…What?"
"It looks like I failed this time, I'll be leaving now." She gave a small bow to both of us, "I'll be back again. Please take care." With that she sped down the hall and out of our reach.
"H-Hey! Wait!" Laharl called out, "Someone, get in here!" The door opened and both Etna and Nina came in looking tired and groggy eyed.
"What happened?" Nina asked with a yawn.
"It's the middle of the night…ohh, did you have a nightmare." Etna asked the prince in a mocking tone .
"No, you fool! An assassin has infiltrated the castle!" Laharl replied in frustration.
"Huh?"
"An assassin!?" Nina said looking a little frightened.
"What happened to the prinnies that were supposed to be on patrol!? I was lucky he heard something happening or I might be dead!"
"Honestly, you probably would have been fine." I added.
"Shut it!" Laharl yelled back, "The point stands that the guard should be doing their jobs! What happened Etna?"
"They've partied themselves to sleep." Etna replied rubbing the gunk out of her eyes.
"Those idiots! I'm gonna smack 'em! Wake them up now!" He turned to me, "And you two get ready, we've got an assassin to track down!"
"So what's the budget this time?" I asked the armory owner. She gave a wicked snicker as she pulled out a line of equipment.
"Lucky for you Laharl put a call in with the dark assembly and improved what we carry. So now you have a better selection of weaponry."
"Really?" I looked over the weaponry and was amazed by the shinning blade and elegant shield at the end of the line, "Wow! What is that!?"
"That's the longsword, truly a well-made piece of equipment."
"How much Hell is that?"
"One thousand two hundred."
"And how much is my budget?"
"Six hundred."…So he's limiting me, "Be lucky that he was willing to double how much you get to spend." Yeah, I feel SO lucky.
"…Fine…I'll take the sword breaker and the witch's staff. As for armor…I think I'll stick with what I have right now."
"Okay, would you like to pick up a few recovery items while you're here?" Recovery?
"You mean like potions and ethers?"
"Hahahahahahaha! No, we're not giving you any drugs! Just basic sugary foods and beverages."…How does that heal anything?
"Fine, I'll take five mint gum and five unopened drinks." I replied reading from the catalog. They were twenty hell a piece so it made it was my best option…guess I should get this stuff to Nina. I walked towards the courtyard and looked to see Nina sitting under the dead tree nearby; it was her favorite place to sit, she spent everyday under there…all day by the smell of things…suck it up Owen. I approached the tree and felt a twig snap under my boot.
"Huh? Owen?" Nina said looking over at me as I approached her.
"Here." I replied tossing the staff to her and sitting down.
"…Thanks."
"Sure." I sat next to her as we just waited in silence, waiting for one of us to end it.
"…It's been about a week now right?"
"Um…yeah, about a week. I'm still not use to the rationed meals and Etna's daily pranks but the training is getting easier…don't tell Etna that though. She'll double down on the intensity."
"Don't worry…I don't want more work either." I chuckled as she gave a small giggle.
"…So why do you think you can do magic?"
"I'm not sure…there was this strange power welling up in my body as I watched you fight…the next thing I know I'm pointing my staff out and screaming the first thing that came to mind." So…something instinctive?
"Well…you helped me out so…thanks."
"…Glad to help."
"I mean I probably could have taken them out myself but I'm glad you helped."
"Oh…I'm sorry."
"No! I really appreciate what you did! I swear!" Geez, I wasn't good at this.
"You really suck at this whole complimenting others thing." I jumped to my feet and looked to see Etna had crouched down next to where I was sitting.
"What are you doing here!?"
"I was going to ask you that. You know the prince will be really steamed if he finds out you two were slacking off." She had a point.
"Alright, let's head over. You ready Nina?" I reached my hand out and she stood up on her own.
"Yep, let's go."
"I-I-It's freezing here!" Etna complained as she clutched her body and shivered in the biting cold wind.
"W-Wear something more covering then." I replied as we walked through the Frozen River. Apparently that stupid assassin had gone through the gate and ended up here.
"Like you're one to talk mister quick shiver." Damn, I thought I stopped that; she had a point though; it was like we were walking through Jack Frost's body and being hit by old man winter at the same time while Mother Nature stood by and laughed. I looked over at Nina to see she had bundled her cloak into an almost swaddled like fashion. Surprisingly Laharl seemed unfazed by the cold, he even yawned in boredom as we walked; go lucky punk…I can't even feel my feet and he's bored. As we walked I could hear muffled groaning and moaning all around us; were we in a haunted graveyard or a frozen lake? Suddenly Laharl came to a stop drawing his blade.
"You zombies sure suck at surprise attacks." The snow began to rise and out of it zombies stood with their arms held out towards us. I drew my sword and shield as they approached and watched as Etna took out her spear and Nina gripped her staff. They shuffled closer and I took a swing at one of them cleaving his head from his body; it fell into the snow and I took a step back as the body approached and picked up its head, he slammed his head down on his neck and let go as the head reattached.
"Gross." I said as its neck snapped the head back into place.
"They're zombies you moron!" Laharl yelled at me, "They can just reattach their body parts."
"So what should we do?"
"Burn them to the bone!" Etna said pushing Nina forward.
"Eh, m-me!?" Nina asked in surprise.
"Just hit them with some fire, you'll be fine."
"B-B-But I can barely use fire three times! I don't think I can-"
"Just do it already!" Laharl yelled at her and she jumped before swinging her staff forward and taking a deep breath.
"…Fire!" A zombie was engulfed in flame and began screaming as it was turned to ash; effective.
"Nina, watch out!" Out of the corner of my eye I caught a zombie getting too close and pushed Nina to the side taking a swing at the zombie cleaving in by the torso.
"Fire!" Both parts were consumed in fire and reduced to ash that was absorbed into the snow turning it grey, "Whew…I'm a little winded."
"That was only twice." Etna said, "You're such a lightweight."
"Sorry…I'm just not used to using magic." Nina replied panting. Reaching into my pocket I took out one of the unopened drinks and handed it to Nina; she took small sips and sighed after each drink before standing back up and taking a deep breath.
"Hurry up!" Laharl yelled and I looked around to see zombies were surrounding us; damn, I wasn't paying enough attention.
"…Mega Fire!" A ring of fire shot up around us consuming all of the zombies and as it died down nothing was left, not even piles of ash. I turned to congratulate Nina and was shocked to see her slumped to the ground and panting heavily.
"Nina! Are you okay?" I asked crouching next to her. She looked over at me before taking another breath and standing up.
"I'm…fine…that was just a bit more then I think I can do."…Even so she was still able to pull off such a powerful move…it was more than I could do…that feels weird to say.
"Well she's burned out." Etna said poking Nina's face, "Anymore and she could collapse and freeze to death."…I'd rather not see her die.
"Just head back to the castle Nina, we can handle this." I said and she shook her head.
"N-No, I'm fine." She said standing up and downing the rest of the drink, "I want to keep going."…what…what was with this girl?
"Whatever, let's just keep moving." Laharl cut in and started walking forward as we all followed. I kept my eyes glued on Nina as we walked on and my mind raced about her conviction to keep moving...damn it.
"There she is!" Laharl yelled as we finally caught up to the girl; she turned around in surprise.
"This is the assassin!?" Etna asked in surprise.
"She doesn't look like an assassin." Nina added.
"Do I at least look like a ninja?" The girl asked and Nina shook her head, "Aww…"
"I think you have bigger problems then that right now." I added.
"I was expecting somebody more menacing." Etna said, "She looks like she can't even kill a bug."
"Just shut up and capture her!" Laharl demanded and we stepped forward. She pulled out a strange wand and began waving it around as she chanted.
"Prima Pretty Prippanica! Mighty warriors protect me!" A magic portal opened up and a group of different demons stepped out; warriors, wizards, bowmen…zombies again?
"That's angelic language." Etna pointed out, "She must be from Celestia! Prince, she's an angel!"
"I don't care if she's an angel or a demon. Even if they're a god anyone that opposes me will suffer a painful death." Laharl said confidently as he swung at the girl. A warrior swept in and blocked his attack forcing Laharl to step back as the girl ran away, "Damn, get out of my way you peons!" He raised his blade and it began to spark wildly, "WIND CUTTER!" He swung down cleaving the entire wave of enemies apart leaving nothing behind…not even snow.
"Woah…that was amazing!" I said actually impressed by the amount of power he summoned…compared to everyone here I'm at the bottom of the food chain…why am I so weak here…no, I refuse to be outdone by a brat, an evil punk girl, and a cowardice girl!
"Are you okay? Your face looks like it's turning inside out with how intensely you're frowning." Etna pointed out.
"I'm fine. " I responded drawing my blade, "I'll take the rest of them!" Rushing forward I swung at one of the warriors; he blocked my attack and pushed me back taking a swing so I blocked his attack with my shield and thrust under piercing his stomach and pushing him into the ground. Pulling my blade out I swung at the mage behind me taking him out and felt something pierce my side I looked over to see a zombie had dug its claw into my side; quickly moving swinging my foot I kicked the zombie dislodging it from my side and gripped my blade cutting the zombie in half vertically. Ow…that stings more than I expected; I looked down to see the wound was a darkened puncture…but it wasn't leaking blood…was I really a demon?
"Are you okay?" Nina asked approaching me, "…You aren't bleeding, good."
"Don't worry, I'm fine." I replied brushing her off, "I can do this." Getting back up I rushed towards the group of zombies and began slicing them apart as quickly as I could; if I can slice them into pieces then they won't have a chance to reform at all, "Let's see how you handle this!" I sliced, hacked and diced with everything I had going full throttle to turn the zombies into diced bits of meat; when I stopped I looked to see the zombie was in tiny pieces that flailed around…what was with these zombies?
"Let's get moving before they reform." Laharl said walking past me into the harsh weather. I…guess I can count this as a victory…ewww.
"Finally!" We had finally caught up to the angel and we had managed to back her into a corner; she had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide anymore, "You can't escape!" Laharl yelled, "I'm proud to call myself the most persistent demon in the netherworld."
"Is that so?" The angel asked, "Wow…that's really something." Is she mocking him? I honestly can't tell from her face.
"Are you trying to make a fool of me?"
"Nope, I think that's the way she is." Etna said.
"Now it's my turn to show off a little." The angel said pulling out that strange wand again, "But I'll have to use the item the seraph gave me. So I can only do it once. Are you ready? Here I go!" Suddenly a strange wind picked up and surrounded the girl, "Durian Dragon Dranyago! Dragon, come forth!"
"Wait, did she say-" Before I could finish I was interrupted by a mighty roar that caused me to step back in shock and worry. What stood before us was a giant, mighty and powerful dragon large enough to consider the four of us just a snack, "This seems a little unfair in retrospect."
"Can we even handle this prince!?" Etna asked.
"We don't have much of a choice in the matter." Laharl responded with a heavy sigh pulling out his blade as we all did the same with our weapons. The dragon slammed its head down and I leapt backwards as debris began to fly everywhere as it whipped its head around in an attempt to grab all of us. I looked behind me to see Nina had gone farther back and was charging up her magic. I can't let her have all the glory! Dashing forward I plunged my blade into the dragon's skin and it swung its head up dragging me along with it; I flailed around before slamming my back onto the top of its head and pulled my blade out taking swings at its face.
"Damn, it's made of stronger skin than I expected." I looked at my blade to see it was taken down to its hilt, "Cheap piece of metal." I tossed the weapon into the snow and tried punching the skin feeling my fist almost shatter in pain, "…owwwwwww."
"Hey! Get off you moron!" I looked up to see Laharl was in the sky with his blade prepped to strike. I moved over and slid down the side of the dragon plopping into the cold snow…next time I'm packing a scarf. I watched as Laharl plummeted at the dragon slashing through its body, "Blade Rush!" When he landed on in the snow I looked to see the dragon was missing its wings; whoa. I watched as the dragon reeled its head and blasted a line of fire at Laharl. Out of the flames Laharl's blade came flying at me and stuck into the ground in front of me; I looked back when the flames died to see Laharl struggling to stand up, "Damn, that thing is more resilient than I expected. Owen, take it out!" I nodded and pulled his blade out of the ground and swung at the dragon's leg as fast as I could; I looked to see I hadn't even scratched the dragon…damn! How can I take this thing out if I'm this weak, "Are you stupid!? Use a skill!" A skill…I've got it! I backed up and reeled my blade back setting my eyes on its head before dashing forward.
"Blade Rush!" I felt my body go supersonic as I flew at the dragon and slashed through it; when I landed back on the ground I looked to see the dragons head fall from its body; take that you overgrown lizard! The dragon opened its mouth and a blast of fire came flying at me; damn, it must have used the last of its strength!
"Mega Ice!" A blast of cold ice consumed the fire turning it into a thick fog; when it cleared I looked over to see Nina was looking exhausted, "Good…you're okay…" She saved me…again…damn it, I feel useless again!
"Wow…you defeated my dragon." The angel said in surprise.
"You've made a lot of trouble for me." Laharl said looking extra mad, "I don't know who hired you but I'm going to make sure you regret you tried to assassinate the great Laharl…not that you'll have much time left!"
"Is he going to kill her!?" Nina asked looking worried.
"She did try to kill him." I pointed out.
"Yeah, as far as I can tell it's pretty fair." Etna chimed in.
"And where were you during the fight?"
"I'm not stupid enough to risk my life against a dragon."
"You have got to be the worst person I've ever met."
"Meh, don't really care."
"That's obvious! And stop turning off the hot water when I take a shower!"
"Um…excuse me, but…" We turned our heads to see the angel was talking, "Why would I want to assassinate you?"…Was she serious…did she have short term memory loss like that stupid fish!?
"Huh?" Laharl asked in shocked confusion.
"I am angel trainee Flonne. I'm here under order of the seraph to assassinate the overlord, King Krichevskoy."
"Who's that?" I asked Etna.
"The prince's dad."
"His father?" Nina said, "I didn't think he had a father."
"Well, not anymore. The king died choking on a black pretzel."
"…I think that's the worst way for a ruler to go."
"It was actually very common in old times." Nina said, "Many royalty were either killed by their food or by poison." I think I'd be scared to eat if I were ever king.
"You're here to kill my old man?" Laharl asked.
"You're old man?" Flonne asked back, "That means you're the king's son?"
"Doesn't anyone in Clelestia read the newspaper?" Etna asked.
"You came all the way from Celestia for nothing." Laharl said, "My old man is dead already. He died two years ago." Suddenly Flone started to tier up to everyone's surprise, "Why are you crying!?
"Your father passed away, right? It must be very sad."
"Then why are YOU crying?" Etna asked.
"She must be an over emotional girl." I said taking a step back, "That or bi-polar."
"Well, you'll never get to see him again." Flonne said, "When I think about that it makes me sad." Oh god, she is over emotional.
"Are you crazy!?" Laharl asked, "You came here to assassinate him right? Why are you sad?"
"Are you not sad?"
"Me? I don't have that emotion."
"That's not true. When you lose someone or something important to you, you cry, don't you? You're heart aches, doesn't it?" That's only if you have something you care about though…what reason is there to cry when you have nothing you truly care about? I looked over to see Nina clutching her hand near her heart with a sad look in her eyes.
"I don't understand a word your saying."
"How come?"
"Because I'm a demon."
"Demons don't have sadness?"
"E-Exactly! I've never experienced such an emotion in my entire life!" Was that…?
"If that's true, then does that mean demon don't know love? Sadness is only possible because of love."
"You're right, demons have no love, either!"
"That's…that's just too sad." Love…it's an emotion that's not needed. All it does is make you feel hurt, it weakens you…more than you already are…I don't need it…my parents didn't need it, why do I?
"…Love…" I looked over at Nina to see she was deep in thought, "It doesn't work one way." !?...whatever.
"What's love good for!? I don't need it…" Lahal said sounding unsure of himself; he clenched his fist tightly, "Demons like me don't need that kind of crap!"
"If that's true, then demons are a real threat to Celestia!" Flonne said, "Since I can't complete my mission my new goal is to learn the true nature of demons." Was she serious, "I must know for certain whether or not demons are capable of love…and if necessary…I will carry out my mission with a new target!" Was she going to assassinate the prince!? She's insane! He's going to kill her here then!
"Hmhmhmhmhm…hahahahahahaha!" Oh no, "Alright! Be my guest! I shall burn a true vision of horror into that empty head of yours!" I slammed my hand into my face in disbelief, he seriously recruited an angel as one of his vassals…what was wrong with this kid…and why was I stuck with him!?
"This is going to get a lot more hectic isn't it?" I asked and Nina nodded.
"It looks like it…maybe it won't be so bad."
"She'll just be preaching words that go in one ear and out the other."
"Really?"
"Yep, don't need love, friends, or anything like that…all it does is slow me down."
"…Are you sure about that? Maybe you'd be stronger if you found something to use your strength for." Those words...
"…Maybe you have a point…but there is nothing I love…not in this world and certainly not in my own."
"…I can understand that…at least to a degree." I looked at Nina but she refused to look back at me…
"Come on you two!" We both looked to see Laharl had opened a portal home, "We're heading back to the castle!" We followed behind but I kept my eyes on Nina; what did she mean by that…and where did she hear those words?
