...
Cassandra and Emily quietly sat away from the circles of knights gathered around campfires.
"Mother... Emily still doesn't understand them. She doesn't understand their language..." Emily said, both disappointed at not learning and slightly angry at having to learn another language in the first place.
Cassandra didn't seemed to care, simply saying, "We will learn in time Emily. You'll begin to make connections and come to understand their grammar... For now, relax. The main goal is to find whatever these men slaughter anyways. Having them in our pocket as allies or servants is just a convenient gain we could have while eating..."
"Speaking of eating... Emily wants to prey on a man again... Should Emily attempt to kill one of their wounded?"
It hasn't been a week and she's already tempted... Cassandra sighed, "I'll spoil you this once Emily. Just stay here and I'll take someone who's almost dead... With any luck I might even assimilate their memories and learn their language..."
Emily smiled, "Righto~! Emily'll practice her singing in the meanwhile~!"
Cassandra chose to ignore the second part of Emily's sentence as she wandered around the large encampment. She was honestly surprised at how civilized these barbarians could be, when they weren't trying to hack apart and butcher the nearest moving thing, and their mages were certainly fascinating... Human Mages weren't something you saw everyday. Perhaps this... subspecies? Subtype? Whatever one might classify these strange humans as, possessed a greater affinity for magic. Perhaps they simply evolved to grow stronger over time, instead of sucking up to Ilias and her "Blessed" Heroes to do all the work for them and staying weak like Sentora's humans.
I do wonder though... Where did they come from? How on Earth did they stay out of this continent's affairs for so long? Surely humans couldn't have evolved at two separate places at once and remained mostly similar to each other in terms of basic biology... Unless Ilias lied and covered up the truth about Humanity's creation as well... Cassandra mused, soon picking up on a scent coming from a tent. It appeared some wounded and unconscious knights were lying around on cots, resting up from their wounds and injuries. The fresh wounds seemed to have been inflicted mostly by the local Monster-Girls, though she did note faint scars that didn't match most common monster-girls... More evidence that the blood she tasted did indeed belong to a previously unheard of creature...
She simply looked around, noting none of the men were really paying attention, and just walked over nearby two isolated injured knights, dragging them off and then well... Cassandra lived up to the name of a fearsome and ruthless monster like always with one of the men... Though it wasn't really ruthless. Or fearsome for that matter. Just picking off some already near-dead men to feed herself and her daughter... She'd be sure to at least make sure the remaining man couldn't think or scream anymore however. The last thing she needed was Emily's sadism getting the both of them chased out and stuck back to square one.
Soon assimilating the brain of the man, Cassandra noted that the language seemed to correlate a lot with how the ancient mamono and humans spoke. She never did read up on the history of Sentora's language and how it evolved, since it was stupid to even care about it when that hag Ilias herself spoke in the same language as everyone else instead of stubbornly sticking to what people said in the old times.
Well, until now anyways, where it seemed these humans had a language and writing system similar to said ancients.
Disregarding her temporary tangent there, Cassandra soon returned with Emily, giving her the body of the man.
"Aw. He's already unconscious? Can he even feel anything at this point?" Emily said, disappointed.
"Be grateful I'm even willing to take this chance Emily. Be quick about finishing him off and make sure to dispose of the body far away from here," Cassandra said strictly.
"Ye-Yes Mother, thank you Mother..." Emily stuttered, before going in to feast.
When all was said and done, the two had their meals, and decided that their next human meal would probably be in the next village these knights attacked. This time was too risky for Cassandra's tastes.
"Now, Emily, do you remember any lessons on how the Ancient Mamono and Humans spoke?" Cassandra said, deciding she may as well teach Emily something about the Legion's Language now that she knew it from that man's brain.
"Uhm... Emily sort of remembers? Wasn't really important. It changed over time, and that's about it," Emily answered, unsure of why her mother was bringing this up.
"Well... It was more important than even I thought it was. Let me teach you a few things..." Cassandra said, beginning to teach Emily...
...
In time, one of the Legionnaires noted the weird Red Slime and Yellow Squid talking in their language.
"Hey... Is it just me, or are they talking in our language?" he mused to one of his friends.
"Eh? They do speak in our language now? That was damn fast. Maybe Red over there has some sort of super-learning ability or adaptation, like some of the monsters back at home. She certainly seems smart, and who knows if she ate one of ours or not when Centurion Archon duelled her."
"Hmph, none of my concern what Archon did. As far as I'm concerned, he got his ass kicked biting off more than he could chew. Just as long as she keeps in mind that she isn't our boss then I'm fine with letting her and the tiny squid follow us."
"Why don't we get to know them anyways if they're speaking our language? Might as well get to know 'em. Never did know a sentient monster before that didn't want to rip my face off."
The Legionnaires looked at each other, thinking about it, before deciding to make room for the two around the campfire.
...
"And that should conclude our lesson for today. Did you understand all of that?" Cassandra said, looking at Emily expectantly.
"Yeah... Emily thinks she does. It's confusing though..."
"Well, it would be too for me if not for the fact I just ate and assimilated one of them... So, don't worry. Take your time," Cassandra said, patting Emily on the head.
"Hey! Red! Yellow! Over here," a voice called out to them, alerting the two to a knight calling them, "Come on over. Go ahead and take a rest near the campfire."
Cassandra felt slightly irritated and degraded at just being called "Red," but she did concede that she never did really introduce herself to them. Besides, now might be a good time to collect information from them concerning her true goals...
So, the two did come nearby, taking a seat near the others.
"Greetings, Knights, I am Cassandra Nereneid, and this is my daughter Emily. It's a pleasure to meet you," Cassandra said, hoping silently that she didn't botch anything up.
"Nice to meet you, Ca-san-dra-ner-en-eyed. Jeez... Ca-san-dra-ner-en-eyed, long name you have there, seems hard to pronounce. Mind if I just call you Cassie? And when did you learn to speak our language anyways?"
Cassandra decisively did not like being called "Cassie," but chose to ignore it. She didn't want to make a bad impression on them just yet. And as for language... Well obviously she can't say that she learned it by eating one of their own... "I simply have a keen ear and eye. I don't think I've quite mastered how to speak your language fluently."
Technically true. She didn't feel comfortable speaking that low or pronouncing each syllable with as much emphasis, but she already knew a majority of it.
"Oh, I see, I see. You're oddly smart for a fleshy red slime. Where did you learn to make that human lure?"
"Human lure? This isn't a lure, this is my real body. And I'm not a slime, I'm an amoeba..." She wondered just how much they were getting wrong about her if they legitimately thought her human parts were just some lure...
"Ooooh... Well, what about the yellow squid near you, Emily, I think she's called?"
"My daughter? She's a scylla. What about it?"
The Legionnaire simply hummed in thought, before wondering, "Wait, daughter? You two barely look alike in your true forms according to Centurion Archon..."
Cassandra made sure to note that. Archon is probably that major tincan who stabbed her in... that area, back in their duel. She supposed she was right when assuming that he held some form of power over the other legionnaires.
"I have many different genes collected from my prey and inherited from my mother and ancestors. It just so happened the Scylla genes dominated when I was pregnant with her, so she became a scylla."
"Huh... I see then..."
It grew quiet for a bit as the other knights began to eat their food, before Cassandra decided to ask her own questions.
"So... Who are you? Why are you here, waging a war? Not that I mind, but... I've never heard or seen your civilization before now..."
"Eh?... That? We're the Legion. We conquered our land, so we sought out a new land to wage war against. We truly adore and love war... The idea of battling and killing in glorious battle, the pride gained from your conquests and achievements, the sweet embrace of death in a grand, final battle... That is what all true warriors strive for! To fight on, in the name of Lord Zenith, in the name of our Gods, until we fall in fair combat and enter the Hall of Valor in Valhalla..."
"I see..." Cassandra thought on that, thinking about it. It certainly explained their bloodthirsty nature, though how they came to be like that was a question in of itself... And one that she'd have to wait to ask about.
"If I might ask, who is Lord Zenith? Who are your Gods?..." Cassandra questioned, figuring they probably weren't really gods. Ilias would be a God. Alipheese the First would be a God. But she doubted the gods of this Legion were truly divine.
"Lord Zenith is the strongest man on Earth," the Legionnaire said with perhaps some of the most awe and admiration Cassandra saw anyone have in their lifetime, "He was the one to slay Ymir and his brothers, and the first to truly hold the Legion's undying loyalty since Caesar himself. He is the greatest among us all..."
Well, that might be impressive if I knew who Ymir even was... Cassandra thought with slight contempt. "Strongest Man" her ass, that title belonged to Heinrich, as much she hated the Legendary Hero.
"I see... Mind telling me some of your history? I'm quite interested now..." Cassandra then said, figuring it couldn't hurt to pass the time by learning more and more about these people, and maybe she'd even learn more about where they came from while they talked.
...
The Legionnaires couldn't help but admit that Cassie was a bit weird. She had a really long name, and seemed oddly interested in their tales and history.
Well, maybe she was just naturally like that. Who was to say these weird local monsters didn't have their nerds and eccentrics too?
"Well... I guess I can tell you about the tale of the Mad Hero Bellerophon...
"Bellerophon was perhaps one of the greatest heroes among his time. He fought high and low, over the mountains and under the seas, up in the skies of the Acropolis and down in the disgusting depths of the Necropolis. He was like Caesar in a sense, and unified our people against the threat of the monsters... Well, the monsters that were in our land anyways. He scoured through the Palace of Winds, defeating the ghastly Egotistical Countess and Envious Chancellor that haunted its ruins, he drove off Grendal's raids, and so much more..."
Cassandra again, failed to see why that was so special. She knew nothing of why this was so important or so awe-inspiring.
"Then, he came to his downfall... He led his soldiers through Amourian's Forest Labyrinth, through Pyrove's Burning Trials, through the Traitor's Stone Towers, but alas... His downfall came when the Demon Deatheye inspired hysteria and panic among his soldiers at the Shadow Temple... His people broken again from fear and paranoia, and refusing to follow the man they once praised as a God, Bellerophon fled into the jungles, taking a cult of fanatics with him... They say to this day, even hundreds of years after his downfall, he's alive... but not in the way he once was. They say he became so controlled and broken by his grief and fear of what was to happen to his people, that Deatheye turned him into a monster!... And to this day, we believe he dwells in the jungle, ruling over a false, broken legion of madmen and fanatics, a puppet to chaos puppeting a Mad Tyrant of the Jungle..."
Cassandra nodded. She decided it was relatively fascinating, and quite amusing... Especially the part about becoming a monster. It was a fitting fate for anyone who tried exterminating them. Now if only that happened to Heinrich... "An interesting story... Shall I tell one of my family in return?"
The Legionnaires chuckled and nodded, "Sure, go on and tell us."
Cassandra cleared her throat, and spoke, "This heralds back to a thousand years before us, when the Dark Mistress still walked the Earth and the Beelzebubs' Island still floated in the seas. Long ago, there was a creation of the Dark Goddess, known as Chronodia Nereneid, the founder and progenitor of me and my daughter's clan. She was said to be as beautiful as can be, with a heart as black as a New Moon. She was one of the Dark Mistress' favorite creations, besides the Six Great Ancestors of course. In fact, she was to be the Second Monster Lord and ruler of all mamono once Alipheese the First either chose to rest from her godly duties or vanished... But, then the Goddess Ilias and her angels chose to wage war against mamono. They fought back, obviously, resulting in a long, enduring cycle of bloodshed, destruction, slavery, and genocide between mamono and angels, with humans caught in the middle."
"Naturally, my Clan gave everything they had to help our Goddess out in the war, and how it tore us down. We were once the mightiest and rightful heirs to the Monster Lord's Throne, our Goddess' Favorites! But, in the end, all that was left was Chronodia, and a single family line where all future generations of Nereneid are descended from. The last family line went into hiding to preserve our bloodline and claim to the throne, while Chronodia kept fighting on, leading her forces against the Heavens, only to fall in the end by Seraph Micaela's hands... or so they say and assume. Perhaps she's merely sealed... Ilias is known for lying after all to anyone who knows a thing about her true nature."
"Regardless, my family line came back in later on to claim the throne, only to find a usurper family known as the Fateburns had been chosen to rule... And we have never gotten the throne since then. My family: the Nereneids, and the usurpers that took our throne: the Fateburns... We have never gotten along. And we will never stop fighting to reclaim what should rightfully be ours..."
The Legionnaires hummed, intrigued greatly, "Fascinating... I wish you luck in reclaiming that throne. You seem like the ruler-type."
Cassandra was startled for a bit. She had never been told that before from anyone but Ran and Emily... She supposed it came partly from her lack of explaining the policies each side had, but still... It was nice having someone tell her that she could take the throne...
"... But, enough of reflecting on the past. I should focus on the future and claim the throne now instead of wishing that we had it long ago. Tell me... Who is this 'Deatheye?' It sounds like a powerful monster according to your story..."
The Legionnaire whistled as he threw a few logs into the fire. "Deatheye... We call her the Mistress of Nightmares. She's supposedly among the last of her kind, and created multiple beings like her... Who they were, we don't know anymore. Maybe Vaal does... But he rarely speaks about things he considers useless or not important to current events. She's gone by many names... As Polyphemus... As Umbra... And many more. Vaal says she's either some sort of mutant apoptosis, a manifestation of chaos, or some sort of an entity from beyond our universe lured and set lose into the world through chaos. There's many things we don't understand about the things he summons... But Deatheye seems to be the most persistent and stubborn of them all. Probably not the strongest... That probably belongs either to the weird Adral-something apoptosis that destroyed Xibalba a while back, or the weird girl with purple and blonde hair that wanted to play around for a bit before leaving."
"But, truth be told, they were more dangerous once and then they're gone and never pose a threat to us again. Deatheye never seems to have left us alone, though she's been trapped and sealed in the Shadow Temple for some time now... They say her mere presence recreates and animates the dead. Not in a magic way like Necromancy, but by... doing something, to the victim's mind and soul before twisting them into horrible creature, writhing in that miserable existence in between life and death. They say it's not the good kind of undeath either, like being a lich or sentient zombie, they say it's that awful, agonizing state of being in your final death throes, but for all eternity, while some sort of demon puppets and amasses you and countless others into a crypt where the Sun never shines... Where even we and Death Mountain's monsters refuse to go into. Hell, most of us refuse to accept that it's real... but something tells me good ol' Julius didn't nail Deatheye's coffin in well enough to keep her trapped... Something tells me that demon's coming back, and when she does... All hell will break loose, and her Nightmares will be unleashed... and I doubt there's going to be an awakening... They say that even to this exact minute, if you go deep enough into the Shadow Temple, you'll hear her drumbeat... One... two... three, four! One... two... three, four! One... two... three, four!"
Cassandra thought on that. Certainly a macabre tale... But maybe that's all just myth and superstition. Just as how most commoner monsters believed that even the lowliest angel could beat the Monster Lord, she was sure that this tale about this... "Deatheye," was all exaggerations and paranoia taken to an extreme, assuming that this supposed "demon" even existed.
"Well... If we're sharing apocalypse stories, then let me tell one..." Cassandra said, remembering hearing about the Pirate Queen Selene and her untimely demise by the Calamity Box's "Treasure."
"There was a Great Pirate Queen, Selene, who had never lost a battle, and could charm most men to her side with her 'carrot.' She was renowned for her skill in battle, as well as the treasures she stole and gained. No one, not even the Monster Lord's Navy, could corner and capture her for good. She wound up taking so much treasure, that she had to put some of her hoard into a cave somewhere with Poseidon's Bell... Yet, she fell in the end due to her own greed and foolishness."
"For she took the Calamity Box, a treasure said to contain something linked to the Dark Goddess herself, and dismissed it as mere treasure. Oh, yes, the most valuable and priceless of all treasures in the Mamono Civilizations, but still... it was just treasure."
"But, in the end, she was wrong, and in her foolishness and greed, she unleashed the Beelzebubs, a race of highly reproductive and evil demon flies linked to Alipheese the First herself along with the ancient race of Pabilsags. The Calamity Box was indeed linked to Alipheese the First... But hardly in the way she or most humans knew. It was a trap, a seal meant to contain the traitorous race of monster-girls who turned against their creator in a bid to conquer the world... The Dark Goddess sank their island, and sealed all of them within the box for their insolence, and cast the box away to never be seen or used again. How many Beelzebubs she unleashed is unknown... But she supposedly committed suicide by trapping herself and everyone on the ship with an artifact known as the Jewel of the Rotten World. And so, the foolish human died to her own arrogance and greed, taking her remaining treasure, crew, and some say even the Purple Orb with her... As for how I know this... Well, anyone with a keen eye and contacts would be able to learn the truth behind history... And anyone with knowledge on sealing magic would know that inevitably, the Beelzebubs will break free, and with only one man, they'll breed an army to storm the world within a matter of days..."
A Legionnaire chuckled, "You see that as a good thing they're sealed. To us, that's bad. An army that can replace its numbers in a matter of days? What joy! It'll be a battle like no other before! Countless deaths, glorious combat! It would be something to truly be loved and held dear. Such a pity that we do not have time for mere myths and tales... Then again, to delay combat is to delay honor and valor."
"And, what if they're stronger than you think they are? What if one alone can crush you like an ant?" Cassandra countered.
He smiled, "Then all the more reason to grow stronger... That would be evidence to support that that there are always greater powers and heights to achieve... The concept of perfection is a false broken one, no matter how you think about it."
The Nereneid simply sighed, shaking her head. Human stupidity... Always a factor, no matter how different the people or culture might be, it just so happens to manifest and take different forms.
"Heh... Well, how about another story before stopping? The little one over there looks bored," a Legionnaire said, pointing out Emily looking extremely drowsy and already falling asleep on Cassandra's shoulder.
Cassandra saw no harm in it, and simply agreed, letting him tell one more tale before carrying Emily off to bed and going to sleep.
"They tell tales of a monster, high up in Death Mountain... They say entire Legions go into its cave, and never come out... Nobody knows what it looks like. Nobody has ever left. All we know is that there's something in Death Mountain, and it kills everything that enters its domain... We call that place the 'Devil's Cavern.' If you ever come to our land, into Death Mountain, then by Lord Zenith, don't go there. You got me? Don't go to that place. Only death is consistent around in that hellhole..."
The Legionnaire hummed, before going on, "Well... I guess it's kind of a lie when I say nobody knows what it looks like. I hear Big Bjorn once went in, and stayed in there for weeks on end, before finally coming back out. Problem is, the man never speaks. At all. Judging from the marks and bruises on him though, we guessed that whatever's in that cave was big."
Cassandra blinked. "Big... Bjorn? And what do you call that thing in the cave? Surely you must have a name for it..." These people were already fairly bulky and tall by normal human standards. What the hell was considered "Big" by their standards?
"One of our most prominent fighters in the arena. Bjorn lives up in an isolated mountain to do his training and fighting, so we don't hear from him often. As for whatever's in the Devil's Cavern... Well, we call it the Laestrygonian."
These people have an arena? And how come they can pronounce Lae-Stry-Gonian but they can't pronounce my name?... But I admit, such a creature capable of inspiring such fear... It must be a monster... And I'll be certain that it's one of the first things I consume... Cassandra thought with mild irritation, before shrugging. "Interesting tales... Well, I think my daughter needs to go to bed now. I'll see you all tomorrow."
"See ya 'round!" the Legionnaires kept on talking and cooking more food as Cassandra left with Emily, the Mother slowly coming to understand the ideals and history of these humans more and more...
...
A farmer wandered around the ashen fields of his village, weary and tired.
"Daughter? Rebecca? Where are you two?" he said, sifting through the wreckage and burnt ruins of his neighbors' old homes. "Rebecca? Anyone? Come on... Please answer me..."
He sighed upon seeing the remains of the former village trader. It was a pitiful and saddening sight, even now...
"Rebecca! Come on, don't do this to me... Goddess Ilias, please don't do this to me..." he said in between tears, straining with all of his might to lift the wreckage out of the way.
But, he saw nothing but dust, and ashes, swept away by the winds...
In time, the farmer sat down, twisting and wringing his hat out in fear and worry. He hoped to Ilias almighty that his family was safe... He was out of the town the other day to sell his crops.
He never thought his parting words with his wife would be an argument. He had thought that by the time he got back, he could talk to her, sort things out and make up, he never— He never thought that...
He staggered up to his feet, and kept on searching, praying to the Goddess that his family was safe, that even if he had to lose everything, they were still fine...
Yet, in despair, he soon finally came to the conclusion that all hope was lost—
His family was gone. His farm was gone. His neighbors were gone. His entire hometown and community were gone to the winds...
A faint, ghastly white figure came into his sights, carrying the butchered and burnt corpses somewhere...
The Farmer, with nothing to live for, followed the ghost, and came to a mass grave.
That horrid, haunting entity soon placed the corpses in individual graves, closing their eyes and then burying them.
"Who are you? Where's my family!?" the Farmer shouted, attempting to remain brave in the face of the entity.
The Ghost turned, and he saw what was under that glimmering, bright shawl.
A gaunt skull, with two pulsating, rotting eyeballs just barely kept inside their sockets. Dried, pruned flesh, stretched across its face, teeth jutting out from its mouth to form a complete, uneven row of teeth fitting in perfectly with one another in unison. A long, flowing beard, floating up in the air much like a drowned victim.
As for what else was under its shawl, it was impossible to tell.
The Ghost seemed to ignore his question, simply drifting off.
Outraged, the farmer followed it, intending to force it to answer him what had happened, and why this happened.
Only to come to the Ghost drifting solemnly over two particular bodies, one barely breathing.
"Re-Rebecca! Lizzy!" the Farmer quickly dropped to his knees, trying to see if they were alive.
The Wife, Rebecca, was dead, but his daughter wasn't...
"Pl-Please! Help her!" the Farmer begged, looking up at the ghost.
The ghost looked at her, and simply closed her eyes, holding up a finger to its mouth in a "Ssssh..." motion.
The Farmer remained silent, focusing solely on his daughter, ignoring everything else. Yet as time went on, he could not help but notice the ghost was only digging one grave, and that, by some miracle of Ilias Almighty, his daughter's breathing got more and more stable and consistent.
In time, the Ghost drifted over to his wife's corpse, and prepared to carry her to her grave, when the Farmer got in between the two.
"Wa-wait... At least let me bury her... Let me do her one last good thing before I say goodbye to her forever..."
The Ghost paused, and nodded in sympathetic silence.
The Farmer's face was stained in tears and mud by the time he was finally done laying his long-time lover and partner to rest forever.
Yet, as that horrid ordeal was completed, he swore, for a moment, that he saw his wife's peaceful, serene face give him one last kiss before bidding him goodbye until he too, died.
And, that was all he needed to keep going on with his daughter, even if they had nothing left.
He looked at the Ghost to thank him, yet, as he looked to where that Ghost once was...
There was nothing, but a serene mass of graves, given a true, proper burial...
Author's Notes:
Hello again everyone. Back with a smaller than usual chapter, but I guess it's better than nothing. I also decided to remove the previous sidestory, since I've then had a few changes in the plot and history of things and that sidestory was sort of unimportant anyways.
Anyways, I believe I have one review to answer...
Fish on Land: It really is. I think if I have any more scenes that really push the rating I'll boot this story up to an M-Rating. It was fun to write though, and people seemed to like it, so maybe a similar scene will pop up soon and that's when I decide to change the rating. Glad to see you liked it though!
Heh, nice to see someone get both easter eggs at once. I knew Morrigan was an easy one, but I didn't expect many to get the Pure White Devil. Nice.
It'll be seen soon enough once he gets there.
As for love... Well, different cultures see things in different lights.
Well, with that all said and done, that's all I have to say and show! So, without further ado, I will see you all later!
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