Chapter 48 - Bared Chests and Veiled Hearts
Luka found himself getting little sleep during the night. The sight of the scorpion girl getting executed burned into his mind as he replayed the fight in his head. He felt that her death was a failure on his part. That if he had been faster with his own sword he could have sealed her and let her go without the need to kill her.
Will or Sara might still have killed her. His friend had done it before when he stomped the roper. While with Sara he supposed that as princess she did have the authority to act as she did. He could… accept it to some degree but he didn't like it. A hero was supposed to save people, not kill monsters.
That's what his father did…
The hero rolled over to his side. The sun was peeking up over the horizon, faintly illuminating the tent's interior. That meant he'd have to get up soon continue on their journey to Safaru. They were close and by the end of the day he'd been facing the Earth Spirit Gnome.
Sylph had made her excitement known many times. The Wind Spirit clearly over thrilled to be reunited with her friend. Luka was mildly concerned about having two spirits in his head, and hoped that Gnome wasn't as hyperactive as Sylph.
"I'm not that bad!" Sylph protested, crossing her arms and pouting in his mind. "If I wasn't here you'd be bored and lonely all the time! That'd be terrible!"
Luka could help but softly laugh at the mental image of the tiny fairy. She certainly made life interesting if nothing else. Reluctantly he rose from his bedroll, and left his tent.
He was greeted by the sight of Will and Sara being trained by Yao, as always. The pair of royals going through their motions, achieving some degree of synchronization. His gaze lingered on the blonde princess. She wore little because of the heat, leaving much of her form bare. Sweat rolled down her toned physique as she exerted herself. Her bound chest shaking with every move, like it was trying to burst free from its fabric prison.
Luka blushed as his mind was filled with lustful thoughts.
His feelings on Sara were… mixed. She'd openly declared her plan to marry Granberia on a few occasions, yet her and Luka had something of a relationship together. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The princess didn't treat it as a romance but she had some slight affection towards him. Not to the same degree Will or Alice treated each other, or even how Yao treated him. She didn't even care about the kitsune flirting with him. It was like he was being treated as a source of stress relief…
Which he was, really. Sara had said as much in Sabasa.
He wanted to dislike their arrangement more than he actually did. It felt improper for a hero to be acting like that, but he never said no to her advances. If he was being honest with himself… he enjoyed it. He enjoyed it a lot.
His eyes wandered down Sara's body and lingered on her shorts clinging to her shapely posterior.
There was something that he didn't quite understand though. Despite all the times they'd been together she insisted that she was still a virgin. She was saving herself for Granberia, and apparently all the alternative stuff they'd been doing didn't count. It didn't make much sense to him but she was more knowledgeable about that type of stuff than he was. She even had a book on it; a training manual for young ladies.
He did wonder though if that made him a virgin too. It was a strange thought but if Sara could claim she was one then it only made sense that he was too…
Luka's gaze shifted to Yao as insidious, heretical ideas began to fill his mind. If he could sleep with Sara and have it not be considered real sex, then the same standard could apply to Yao.
Maybe I should bring that up to her some time. She'd probably laugh it off as a weird idea but if she says yes-
He vigorously shook his head, trying to dislodge that line of thought. He began to busy himself by moving to the fire to make breakfast for everyone. Something to do to distract himself.
"Why are you getting so caught up in this?" Sylph interjected. "You're being silly. If it's pleasurable why lie to yourself that it isn't? Why are you trying to find some loophole to a problem that only you care about?"
Luka frowned as he worked to relight the fire. Sylph was an airhead most of the time but she had her moments of insight. He would have ignored the questions if not for the fact that she was in his head. It was tough to pretend she wasn't there.
Because it's against Ilias' commandments to have intercourse with a monster. He eventually replied as if that explained everything. It was a subject he didn't like to think about. He found it uncomfortable, especially since he couldn't really explain himself. He just had hang ups. Something he only rare admitted to himself before suppressing the thought.
"Uh-huh," Sylph hummed in disbelief. The fairy silently judging him.
He pretended not to notice her tone as he heated up a pan and prepped food.
***
The morning passed quickly as they packed up and left, continuing on their journey. The mood was fairly somber because of the previous night's events, so they traveled in silence. No monsters attacked them nor did they see any over the course of the day.
By the time the sun was setting the expansive ruins of Safaru were in sight. It was agreed that they would rest the night and in the morning Luka would enter the ruins to find Gnome. There wasn't much for the rest of them to do. Will figured they'd be leaving the place before noon.
***
The next day Will watched as Luka strode off into the ruins proper, while everyone else waited on the border. It was a fairly large city filled with half-buried sandstone houses. The streets littered with columns and other stone structures ravaged by the passage of time.
Will couldn't help but worry. He knew Luka would succeed, but that didn't mean he liked watching him go off by himself. It was necessary, though. They both had to gain experience in their own ways, and it wouldn't help Luka if he was coddled the whole time. It did give Will some comfort though, that they were getting one step closer to their goal; get the Four Spirits and have Luka master their power.
The Canadian sat in the shade of a partially collapsed wall. In the meantime, there was nothing more to do than wait. He'd taken most of his armour off to stay cool.
"Growing lax in your training, I see," Yao lightheartedly chided him as she approached, striding along the sandstone surface with fox-like grace. "You have time to practice but instead you decide to sit in the shade."
"Damn right I do," he immediately replied. "I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts, before we go back to marching through that desert."
The kitsune softly chuckled, crossing her arms beneath her modest chest. "I'll let it pass. Just this once though."
"It's appreciated," he replied with a faint smile. He was thankful to be sitting on solid ground rather than the sand dunes, even if it was uncomfortable. At least a hard stone ground couldn't get into his clothing or backpack.
Sara lazily made her way over to the two of them, taking a sip of water as she did so. Like the day before she wore only a loose undershirt and shorts in order to keep cool. The heat was too great to wear armour. "I hope he's back soon," she began. "I can't wait to start getting out of here. There's a reason no one except nomads live this deep in the desert."
"You and me both. I hate the heat and we've already spent enough time just traveling here," Will remarked in annoyance. "I wish there was some way we could speed up the journey."
"Alice and I won't teleport you around if that's what you're asking," Yao remarked, glancing between the two monster blooded humans. "If we must rush ourselves though then we could simply run. We could easily halve our travel time if you did that."
"What? Just run across the desert all day?" Will asked in disbelief.
"Yes," Yao simply replied. "Luka won't be able to keep up so he'd have to be carried by someone. A burden I will gladly carry," she added with a smirk.
Will chuckled and shook his head. "Of course you will."
"I think he might protest it," Sara added as she leaned back against the shaded wall.
He glanced over to Alice, about to gesture that she come join them when his senses were nearly overwhelmed. Standing beside her was a woman with green scales clad in black armour with a regal purple cape flowing in the wind behind her, as was her short fiery red hair. In her clawed hands was a large machete-like sword nearly as long as she was tall.
The aura of power that surrounded her was like staring into the Sun. It nearly burned him to look at her, yet averting his eyes did little to ease the overwhelming and evermounting sense of awe and terror. She radiated power in almost visible waves, like a translucent fire burned around her.
When he first saw her in Iliasburg he didn't truly comprehend the strength she possessed. It was like he was blind, but now that he could see, it terrified him. The only time he'd felt that way before was when Yao reveal how much power she kept concealed from him and Sara back at Sabasa.
Sara had a similar reaction to Will, openly gawking at the dragon swordsman as she slowly slid down the wall.
"My Lord," Granberia began as she knelt in front of Alice, head bowed low, "I must protest your decision to allow Luka to seek Gnome. He already has Sylph aiding him. Another would only make him more of a threat than he already is"
"I gave you your orders before and I expect you to follow them," Alice sternly reparminded her knight. "I have my own reasons for allowing Luka to seek the spirits. I will leave it at that."
"My Lord, surely you must reconsider," Granberia stood up as she implored Alice. "He'd use the Four Spirits against you. Why do you expect him to act any differently from any other hero?"
"I have heard your protest and it is rejected," Alice firmly stated. She stared hard at Granberia for several seconds in silence, until at last the swordswoman shallowly nodded her head.
Their mental exchange finished, Granberia bowed her head. "I apologize for disrupting you, my Lord. I will consider the matter settled."
"Good, now quit bothering me," Alice waved her away.
"I will my Lord, though," Granberia glanced to the cowering pair, her stare lingering on Will, "I wish to speak with your consort."
"You may do so," Alice shrugged as she crossed her arms. Her expression was neutral as she looked to Will, unmoved by the terror on his face. He would have felt betrayed by her indifference if he weren't overwhelmed by fear.
The Heavenly Knight strode towards Will and Sara, sword resting on her shoulder, and looked down upon them, unimpressed with their reaction. "Yao, have you gone soft? I've seen kitsune handle themselves better than these two."
Yao's mouth quirked into a smirk. "It appears so. I believe this can serve as a valuable lesson," the kitsune declared as she looked down at her students. "William, Sara, cease your cowering. If Granberia were an opponent you would be dead. You must learn to stand in the face of overwhelming power or you will perish."
They remained unmoved for a few moments, expressions contorted into base, primal fear, keeping their rears firmly planted to the ground and their lips quivered in abject terror.
Yao was unimpressed. "If you do not stand up then I shall stop training you and leave you to suffer the fate that you've chosen. Make your decision, quickly."
The threat spurred a reaction from the pair. Sara managing to come to her senses first as she suppressed her fight or flight instincts and pushed herself off the ground. Her cheeks were flushed red.
Will couldn't help but find the entire situation embarrassing, like he was a misbehaving child being disciplined in public. Yao making such a big deal out of their reactions… but she was right. It was like he was physically stunned by Granberia's mere presence, and he knew he'd be facing enemies as strong, if not stronger, than her.
His instincts still screamed at him to turn tail and run from the Heavenly Knight, but he forced himself to ignore them. He wasn't a weak human anymore. He had to be something more. If he couldn't even stand up at the sight of Granberia then he might as well go back to Ilias Village and wait to die.
It was an anticlimactic action. He stood as well, finding his footing and managing to meet the gaze of Granberia. He did find the height difference somewhat amusing, which certainly helped his nerves. There was no doubting her power but he was over a foot taller than her. Even Sara herself had several inches on Granberia.
Yao smirked with satisfaction. "Good, I haven't misjudged either of your potential. So, since you're done embarrassing yourselves," she turned to the Heavenly Knight, motioning for her to proceed. "Granberia, you may."
"I still remember you from Iliasburg," she looked up at Will. "It was the first time in years I've ever been taken by surprise, much less knocked over by anyone less than the Monster Lord herself or other Knights. In that moment I was shocked and for a moment hoped that perhaps I was finally going to meet a worthy opponent," she frowned at the memory. "I was disappointed when that wasn't the case."
"Is there a reason you're telling me this?" he nervously asked, wondering where she was going with that. "Did you want an apology?"
"No," Granberia shook her head, "it merely served as a reminder that I can be taken off guard. Clearly I had been too reliant on reading the wind and flow, and neglecting my other senses."
"You're… welcome?" Will sheepishly replied. He found the entire situation surreal.
"I'd hoped I could test myself against you in that regard, but," the redhead looked him over, "it appears I'm too late. I can sense you as easily as any other. A shame. If you become strong enough to marry our Lord I'll insist on sparring. I won't be holding my breath though."
Granberia shifted her attention to Sara, causing her to freeze up and her blush to intensify. "The offer is open to you too, your Highness. A descendant of the Sphinx taught by Yao would be a welcome challenge."
Yao's smirk only grew as she puffed her chest out. Her numerous tails raising and falling through the air behind her, as if she were wagging them. "You honour me with such praise. When the time comes they won't disappoint, I know it."
"I'd expect nothing less," the swordswoman remarked. "I have other duties to attend-"
"G-Granberia!" Sara blurt out, catching the knight off guard with the interruption. She took a step forward as she wrung her gloved hands in front of her chest, causing Granberia to look up at her in confusion. "I-I love you!"
The knight's mouth hung open in surprise as she took a step back. "Wha-"
"I want to marry you!" she fidgeted with her glove for a second before pulling it off, revealing a dragon-like symbol engraved on the back of her hand. "I even took the Dragon Seal Test!"
Granberia's eyes widened as she let out a cry of shock. "What?!" she repeated herself, completely flustered and face turning red. "Y-you can't just show that to a dragon! Th-that's like proposing!"
Sara took another step forward, and grasping Granberia's free hand with her own. The knight frantically looking between the seal and Sara's blue eyes. Her blush only grew when she realized she was nearly on eye level with Sara's chest. "It- it is, I don't expect you to say yes today, but I won't stop training until I can prove myself worthy and make you my bride!"
The princess stood there holding the dragon's hand, blushing profusely, heart beating hard in her chest, staring down into Granberia's golden eyes. Silence reigned for several seconds as Granberia attempted to process the declaration, mind frazzled from the sudden proposal.
A moment later she teleported away, leaving Sara clutching the air in front of her. She didn't move until she let out a sigh and turned back to Will and Yao. She was too nervous to outright smile but she looked very pleased with herself, the corners of her mouth quirked ever so slightly.
Will had watched the entire exchange with amusement and no small part glee. The dominating aura the dragon swordswoman had projected was replace in his mind by the sight of her utterly flustered and bewildered.
"A valuable lesson indeed," Yao softly chuckled in approval.
"You cut through her defenses and went straight for her heart. That's pretty impressive," Will remarked, shooting her a half-hearted thumbs up.
Sara didn't say anything, only nodding and humming in acknowledgment as she sat back down, face beet red. With the Heavenly Knight gone they all returned to waiting for Luka to return.
***
It didn't take long for the hero to return. He was covered in mud, but victorious in eliciting the aid of Gnome.
The short Earth Spirit silently stared at the assembled group, her half-lidded green concentric eyes lazily looking them over. She was almost completely covered head to toe in a green and brown outfit, with a twin tailed hat atop her long brown hair that gave her the appearance of a drab jester. A high collar covered her mouth, leaving only her nose and eyes exposed.
She was absolutely tiny, shorter than even Luka, only coming up to his chin.
"Gnomey introduce yourself! Don't be shy!" Sylph cheerfully declared as she buzzed around her friend's head, waving her arms in excitement.
Gnome remained quiet for a second before deftly backhanding Sylph, sending the fairy tumbling through the air.
"Hey," she whined as she righted herself, and flew back to Gnome's face, "I don't like that game, remember!"
Gnome's expression didn't change but she radiated a sense of satisfaction.
Luka sighed in exasperation and placatingly raised his hands. "Please don't fight with each other. I don't want you two acting like that while you're in my mind… or dreams too. The headache would be terrible."
Will thought the Earth Spirit was absolutely adorable, but recalled that she was fairly shy and reserved, so refrained from saying that. "Well," he clapped his hands together, "that's two down, two to go. Now we've gotta backtrack through the desert all the way to the coast."
"And we're going to be running the entire way," Sara added in resignation. "If it means we can get out of this heat faster it'll be worth it."
"Uh, I won't be able to keep up with everyone," Luka added, looking up from the two spirits.
"If you were actually using Sylph's power correctly you might be able too," Alice snidely remarked as she crossed her arms. "Remember the mantra I taught you? 'Move like the wind, with the strength of the earth, heart calm and flowing like water, with attacks holding the blazing power of fire.' Follow the first part already."
"I've been trying to, but so far all I can do is summon a sphere of wind. And those last two parts don't even apply," Luka defended himself.
"It's not my fault!" Sylph cried out, flying over top of Luka's head. "He's the one ignoring the wind. He can hear it but he isn't listening."
"I'll figured it out… eventually," Luka muttered with a sigh.
"I know you will," Yao interjected, "as for keeping up, I'll gladly carry you the entire time. I'll wrap you up in my tails and hold you in my arms. It'd be fun," she brushed a tail against him.
He shivered at the touch, and looked between Will and Sara. "Uh-"
"I'm not carrying you, man," Will cut him off before he could even ask. He wasn't against the idea. He was only saying no as a favor to Yao, figuring it was a good idea to keep his teacher and future sister-in-law happy.
Sara hummed in thought. "I will but I expect you to return the favor."
"How?" he tilted his head.
"I'll think of something by tonight," she replied with smirk.
Luka sheepishly laughed, appearing like he was already regretting his decision, even though he was already blushing.
***
Will and Sara were able to make excellent time with their enhanced strength, setting the pace that Yao and Alice easily kept up with, while Luka was bridal carried by the princess the entire time. It was an amusing sight. When they stopped for the night Luka had been dragged into Sara's tent without much protest.
Despite the desert's scorching heat, Will found that he was handling the exertion surprisingly well. He was uncomfortable but never felt like he was at risk of heat stroke or exhaustion. It was human levels of endurance cranked up to an impossible degree. It served as further evidence that he wasn't quite human anymore.
And he loved it.
They'd traveled more than double the distance in a single day then they had previously when walking. It took them over a week to reach the ruins of Safaru, but it'd only take them a few days to get back then pass Sabasa going south. Their destination was Witch Hunt Village.
A small backwards place that hated witches and mages so much the villagers renamed the place in honour of their witch hunts. A former victim of such oppression managed to take over the town and used her position of power to twist the citizens into monsters. Will recalled the woman's name was Lily, or something like that. The cruel experiments and torture being performed by the town's insane lord had to be stopped, but Will also wanted to deprive Promestein of a supporter before the outbreak of war.
It was a secluded town, not important enough for Granberia or Tamamo to handle compared to the other targets they could go after. That meant it'd be up to them to sort it out, Alice and Yao agreeing with the line of reasoning.
Will shuddered at the thought. The things that went on there were horrifying enough in the game and he didn't want to imagine how grotesque the monsters would actually look. He didn't have to though. He knew he'd be seeing the twisted tentacle 'worm' monsters soon enough in person.
***
They continued traveling at their breakneck pace for a few more days, quickly passing by Sabasa as they headed south. The climate eventually grew more temperate, leaving the scorching deserts far behind them as they traveled through wooded areas. The road they took was less traveled down, likely because people had been warned away from visiting Witch Hunt Village or even going near it.
It was a reclusive place. The type of village that hated outsiders with a passion and anyone that failed to conform to social norms, however arbitrary that may be defined. Before even setting foot into the village it'd already struck a nerve with Luka. The short hero scowling in anger as they approached the gates. A small earthen wall surrounded the place. It provided little practical defense, but forced the residents to leave through the gate if they wanted to escape.
"Sabasa's university is nearly on par with Grangold's, yet this place prides itself on hunting down and killing mages," Sara shook her head in disgust. "I'm glad you heard about this place, Will. It means we can put an end to this barbarity."
The Canadian had heard about the place from the one eyed shopkeeper in Sabasa, giving him leeway in how he presented his meta-knowledge to Sara and Luka. He couldn't tell them the full extent of the horrors perpetuated there, but it was enough to rile them both up.
"We have to put an end to it. What they do here is unforgivable," Luka nearly growled, resting his hand on his sword.
You don't know the half of it. Will thought.
He was a bit anxious to get into another fight. He'd been training and sparring every day, but the scorpion girl was the last monster that attacked them. It was another chance to gain experience.
"Alice, Yao," Luka glanced back to the two monsters disguised as humans, "I don't expect either of you to get involved. This is a conflict between humans."
"I wasn't planning to in the first place. It's your business if you want to get involved," Alice remarked with a shrug as she crossed her arms, keeping a neutral expression on her face. "I'll leave it to you three to sort out. The village falls under Sara's authority anyway."
"If I didn't let you handle this yourselves then I'd be coddling you," Yao replied.
"No surprise there," Will stated.
Luka took point as Will and Sara followed close behind him, with Yao and Alice lazily trailing behind them. They crossed the threshold of the gate and the oppression aura of the place was already weighing on them.
Will wasn't sure if he'd ever gotten a sense for what evil actually felt like, but staring into the town, the large manor in the center of it all, he was sure that he knew now. It reminded him of the haunted mansion Luka had braved a while back.
Except now, I'm going to follow him into the breach. Will thought with grim determination, steeling himself for the conflict to come regardless.
With a roll of his shoulders, he prepared to bring civilization to these barbaric screwheads.
