Hmmm. We're getting close to the Mamono Realm. I can see the energy surrounding the area. These past couple of days have been uneventful. Which is great. Gives Lily more time to train without interruptions. She has been showing fast progress, no surprise. But we'll see when it counts as we fight the Demon Lord. I make Crime Dancer stop close to the edge and we get off. Lily stands in front of the field. Even from here, I can feel the influence. I need to get the cross from my bag.
"So we're finally here." Lily faces me. "Thank you, Raziel. I've learned so much in our time together. You can head back to your village. I can handle it from here."
"..." I know I put it somewhere in here.
"It's not that I don't believe in your strength. In fact, you've proven yourself to be the most intelligent human I know. But Pendragon is on a whole other level, that not even the most powerful mamono could defeat. I care about you and others expect your return. Don't worry, I'll handle it. Personally." She cracks her knuckles. I wrap the cross around my neck. Let's see if I'm missing anything else. "Hey! Did you hear anything I said!?"
"Hmm? Oh yeah. I heard you. Now if I listened, that is a different story." She pouts and crosses her arms. "I appreciate the concern, however-"
"Once you made up your mind, not even the Chief God herself can stop you." I smile.
"It's like you know me or something. That's not all though." I jump back on Crime Dancer. "I don't leave my traveling partner behind." She sighs and smiles back.
"Stubborn as always, partner." She hops on. She wraps her arms around my chest and lays her head on my back. "Thank you." She says softly. With determination, we head inside.
Thanks to the cross, it helps block out any influence. It doesn't last forever, but it should be enough for the inevitable fights. We are in a forest of some sort. The moon is glowing red in the night sky. Seems the energy is causing a change in how the ecosystem develops. The trunks of the trees are black like tar. With the leaves shining blue, for some reason. The shrubbery is glowing violet. What the hell is going on around here?
"Beautiful, isn't it? All the glow from the vegetation is actually infused with mana. Think of it like another form of photosynthesis." Lily explains.
"Huh. It always fascinates me how life can develop in any environment. Does that mean if I give my semen to the plants, will it become pregnant?" I ask. She laughs.
"Yeah. Just like if I fuck a tree, I'll get pregnant." I guess that was a dumb question. "Watch out!" I reel Crime Dancer to stop and vines attack in front of us. Had we kept moving forward, that would've definitely hit. More vines appear behind.
"Let's fucking go!" I command the horse to sprint with those vines chasing behind. "What are those things!?"
"Vegetation is trying to take our mana! Even we avoid flying over the swamp!" What kind of fucking logic is that? There's an opening ahead and those things are closing the gap! Almost there…! A vine manages to grab Crime Dancer's leg and we fall onto the clearing. I quickly stand and pull out Ol' Reliable to shoot the vine. Crime Dancer trots towards us. The vegetation retreats back to the swamp.
"Phew. That was close." I check for any injuries and missing supplies. "Everything is in check." Me and Lily hop back on.
"Have I ever told you how amazing you can be?" She says.
"No, but keep going." I smile. Moments like these remind me of my time with him.
"Despite being extremely hot, you can be extremely cold to anybody not acquainted with. That sexy body is being wasted not getting fucked by anyone. Oh! Your bags have a unique charm to them."
"All right, all right. You can stop." I give her an inch and she takes the entire fucking continent. "Though when you say it out loud, it's a miracle that anyone would put up with me. I admit to having those character flaws. Which makes me wonder how me and Ad even became that close?"
"...For someone who is intelligent, you can be dense sometimes." Dense? Me? That's the first time somebody insulted my intelligence. "You're the kind of person that cares enough to risk your life to save those close to you, even when you're not Chosen. That's why people care." She tightens the grip. I can feel her tears damping my back.
"...Now it's my turn. I don't want to have any regrets if something happens to us." She stays silent. "You can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but you mean well. A sex freak for sure, but respects other's boundaries. And you would risk your life to travel with a human to take down the Demon Lord for your people. You remind me so much of Adonai, it's actually pretty uncanny...That's why I love you, Lily." There. Now I've said it.
"I love you too. As my traveling partner. " We both laugh. I can feel our spirit rising. That's the idea. I don't want us being distracted with unnecessary feelings during the fight. We need to put our focus on the goal!
We are getting closer to see the giant castle where the Demon Lord resides. The color is onyx, which means it's made out of obsidian. I make Crime Dancer slow down as I notice the many archers and guards around the perimeter. Talk about overkill on the defense, but it has stood that long for a reason.
"Now what are we going to do? It's suicide to just rush in there." I get my equipment ready for anything.
"Don't worry. I got this." Lily flies close towards the entrance. I hope she knows what she's doing. Those guards have their weapons aimed at her. She is talking with them and then points at me. There's doubt on their faces but nod and step aside. Lily flies back. "We can go through."
"That simple?"
"Yup. Benefit of having an ex obsessed with you." She winks. She calls that a benefit? More like a nuisance to me.
We pass the gate with everyone glaring at us. We're now in the lion's den, as some older fucker kept saying. There's a peculiar noise coming from the castle. Like a loud boom and thumping sounds, but going on a beat as if it's playing a song. Is there a fight going on? We hop off and walk to the front door. Before we even knock, it slowly opens and a monster steps outside.
She towers over us. I'd say about 217 centimeters. She has long red hair with black tips that reaches all the way to the floor and it looks like a cape. She wears a black and red breastplate and a white loincloth with her bulge visible. It's the Demon Lord. She's definitely a warrior with how built her body is. Her glowing orange eyes are scanning every inch of her body.
"Lilian Frostfaith." She speaks in a menacing deep voice. She clears her throat. "My apologies. Had a couple barrels before you arrived. Your visit caught me by surprise." She speaks to her sweetly. She notices me and her mood changes. "Who are you?" She says to me in an intimidating tone. She must notice I have my hands ready to put an arrow in between her eyes.
Lily holds my arm. "He's just a human I met along my travels. He wishes to serve under you. I've seen him in battle and let me tell you, he's one hell of a sharpshooter and tactician." I don't know what she has planned, but I'm going to end this! I quickly shoot that no normal human would react. Keyword being human, cause she catches it mere inches from her face.
"...Impressive. You're indeed the Lord I want to serve under." I kneel.
I can see the shock on Lily's face. The Demon Lord smirks. "Hahaha! I like you. I've yet to meet someone who has big balls to shoot me point blank. I was going to test you, but that won't be necessary." She throws the arrow on the ground in front of me.
"S-See? He's a little loose with his hands." Lily is trying to reassure her.
"It's not a problem. We need cold blooded subjects who won't hesitate to kill." Oh I won't hesitate alright. I just need an opening and you'll only be a forgotten memory. "Where are my manners? Come inside." She motions us to follow her.
Inside, it's extremely hot with how many monsters are dancing to the beat of this alien sound. It's so loud that my body vibrates to the music. There's also colored lights blinking rapidly by a crystal ball hanging from the ceiling. All this chaos is nauseating. "What is this infernal scene?" I ask.
"This is a new thing called a DJ. Those lights are called disco balls. Pretty awesome, right?" The Demon Lord says. How the hell could she hear me clearly with all this noise? "I'll go and freshen up. In the meantime, enjoy the party! Lily~! Come along with me. I'll get someone to make you something nice." She grabs her arm and pulls her away!
"W-Wait!" I try to catch up, but everyone is getting in my damn way! Ugh. This is why I hate parties. They go to the second floor.
"Oh yeah. EVERYBODY! LISTEN UP!" The Demon Lord shouts. The music stops and they all look at her. "I'd like to announce the return of my girl Lilian!" The crowd cheers. "She also brought a human man that wants to join us. Please show him how we celebrate around here!" The monsters stare at me with a mischievous smile. Lily has a worried look. I nod that it will be fine. Don't want to blow our cover. Both of them disappear by going further up. What I assume to be the 'DJ' plays a song.
TheFatRat - Electrified
"Ooooh. You look very delicious~!" A vampire from my flank says. I elbow her stomach and throw a smoke bomb on the ground. The smoke covers the whole room. I quickly move out of the way, before they start tackling each other.
"I got him!"
"Ouch! Bitch! That's my leg!"
"Girls! Just wait until it clears! He can't escape from us!" I shoot that disco ball thing, extinguishing their only source of light!
"Great. Now we can't see him!"
"You're a bitch! Sniff him out!"
"...I found you!"
"The fuck is your problem!?" The monsters start fighting each other. Good thing I left my cloak and shirt scattered around the floor. Due to the fighting, it causes an all out brawl. I have the layout memorized and I will sneak my w-what's that cold sensation on my right leg?
"I GOT HIM!" I get pulled back to where I started! A strange light shines above me, as if the God Chief is currently judging me!
"This is the man who wants to join us?"
"He's all wimpy and fragile, poor thing.
"I bet he has never met a woman in life. His bags are charming, though~!"
"More like a TRUE woman. He must be so pent up~. :("
"Hey? Where's your wedding ring?" I nervously pocket my hands.
"Hahaha! He's single!" They all laugh mockingly.
A slime tackles me to the ground. "Time for you to experience the real deal." She says while binding me.
I've been a fool. This is why the Chosen are sent into this treacherous journey. What could possibly a lone human could do against them? The reason I got this far was because of Lily. I was so blinded with revenge, I didn't consider this possibility. Did I truly convince myself that I would fight the Demon Lord one on one like those fantasy stories? How childish. All I did was throw my life away for my own selfish desires. I'm sorry everyone. This is where my tale ends.
.
It's hopeless, Ad. We keep losing people and for what? An endless bloodshed just to wake up another day in this forsaken world?
Because it's worth it. If it's so hopeless, why are you still here? We fight because it's worth living in this damned world. The grief, loss, happiness and love. That's what we want others to experience. That's why you must keep on living. This isn't about them. It's about people like us because only we can achieve those goals for them to have this conversation we're having right now.
…Okay.
If the time comes when you're feeling like that again and I'm not around, remember to shout and let it all out! Be consumed by the raw emotions!
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The slime gets startled by my roar, that she loosens her grip. I take advantage and get her off of me. I shoot the light source, bathing the room in darkness once more.
"The hell!? Where di-AUGH!"
"What's going on? AAAAH!"
I kick, flail, elbow and punch anything that my body makes contact with. I must look like a wild animal. But I don't care. I will fight for everyone's worth! I don't know how long I go on, but eventually another light illuminates. The floor is littered with unconscious bodies, while I'm standing in the middle. Panting like a mad dog. I glare at the DJ who is shocked by the scene before her and runs away.
"Rngh!" Great. Adrenaline is wearing off and I feel the toll of my rage. But I must keep moving. I limply take the stairs. Why must they be so long? Eventually, I reach the grandiose hallway. Where the Demon Lord and Lily rush to me. I can't keep standing. I fall to the ground.
"Wow! You sure found a keeper!" Those were the last words I heard from the Lord, before exhaustion takes over me.
