"Alright, I'm ready. Let's go to iliasport!" Luka declared after contemplating.
'Gods, for a nice, merciful goddess she sure has a big ego...'
"Hmm... If it's a port town, there should be a lot of foreign delicacies gathered from all over. I'm getting excited. Let's go!" Alice happily agreed.
"Right right... hey L/N, is your village on Sentora?" Luka asked in a curious tone.
"Like I said before Luka, I cannot remember anything about my village aside from a few core memories." I simply answer
(Time skip)
After some more time walking, I felt someone approaching. I quickly hid, as Alice once again disappears from sight, causing Luka draw his sword in preparation.
Soon a monster who had the upper body of a women and the lower body of a leech like creature with a giant tentacled, toothless mouth open under her waist.
I stood there in utter shock and disgust (the women was to stunned to speak-) i suppress the urge to gag and look away trying to not pay attention to the battle.
Soon I hear the familiar sound of the monster being sealed and I walk out
"Finally finished?" Alice said in a bored tobe as she reappeared
"Yeah...don't you think I've gotten pretty good L/N...L/N" Luka exclaimed before looking at my darkened face with concern.
"What happened to yo-" Alice started before I raise my hand, stopping her.
"I. Don't. Want. To. Talk. About. It." I firmly say before walking down the path without another word. Luka and Alice share a look before following me.
(Time Skip)
That night as we set up camp, Luka told us the story of Heinrich the hero. He sounded like a great man, fighting even though all odds were against him.
"And that's how Heinrich defeated the monster lord, and brought peace to the world... and everyone lived happily ever after" Luka concluded.
"...What do you mean everyone lived 'happily ever after', you idiot, I'm a monster. Did you really think I'd enjoy a story about a human killing a monster lord? Do you want me to tell a story about a monster killing a human king??" Alice said in distaste, still eating her dinner.
I ate silently thinking about the story, 'the monster lord, she must be the strongest of all the monsters'; my mind wonders to a certain swordswoman, blocking out their conversation.
'Granberia, the heavenly knight of fire, she was extremely strong and her title means that there are other heavenly knights of different elements, perhaps she is a subordinate of the current monster lord...?'
I wonder until Alice says something that catches my attention.
"Well...Heinrich defeating that old monster lord is indeed worthy of some praise, she only cared about destruction and chaos. Perhaps being defeated by a hero was brought about by herself." Alice acknowledged
'interesting'. "Brought down by her own mistakes... that's a cutting remark." Luka observed.
"Trying to rule by power is a savage act. You should expect some savagery back" Alice remarked.
"That's right, I wonder what the current monster lord is like... What do you think L/N?" Luka asked me.
"I don't know, I've never met her" I answer simply. Alice looks at me momentarily before looking away.
"If she declared a full-scale war on humans... I guess she's a villain after all? I wonder if the slaughter of Remina was by her instruction as well... she must be a horrible person after all, don't you think Alice?" Luka questioned.
'Full-scale war? So far I've seen nothing close to resembling a war and the slaughter of Remina? There's still to much I don't know...' I sigh before turning to Alice
"...Who knows" She simply said looking at the sky with a neutral expression
She looked...hurt in a way
"Maybe the monster lord just lost her way...whether humans are worthy of mercy..." Alice started
"Alice, do you know the monster lord!? Don't tell me... you've seen her!?" Luka inquired excitedly
"Yes...I know the monster lord. She may even be closer to you than you think..." Alice said neutrally
'...Wait a goddamn minute'
Suddenly all the dots started connecting a little to good
'The way Alice spoke about the monster lord and the way she looked hurt by what Luka said not to mention Granberia kneeling to her and the ominious message...this bitch'
I sit there with a traumatized expressionrethinking my life choices
"To me? But I grew up in the country side. I've only seen my first monster just recently too." Luka said in confusion
'Oh you dumbass, I literally come from a different world knowing nothing and I figured it out'
"Alipheese the first, give me strength, idiot. Well, changing the topic..." Alice insulted before standing up.
I snap out of my self-loathing and traumatizing revelation and also get up
"It's time for more training. Seeing your pathetic fight dissapointed me. If you tried to fight the monster lord like that it would be akin to a child fighting a dragon." She flatly declared
'Usually being trained by the enemy is suicide but for some reason I'm not to worried about it...All I can do is watch and hope my gut is right."
"She's right. I realized that you prefer to tank hits so you can counter them which is stupid considering how small you are and how agile you can be so tonight we will focus on dodging" I declare
"Come" as we walk to a clearing
I stand a bit away from Luka and unstrap my katana sheaths and put them against a tree
I go back to my original position and assume a martial arts stance
"Draw your sword and try to hit me while avoiding my attacks" I say
"What! But...I might hurt you" Luka says as he hesitates to draw Angel Halo.
I start snickering and soon full-blown cackling as Alice and Luka look on confused and slightly disturbed
"Thank you for worrying about me! But trust me..." I say as I suddenly jump forward and strike Luka with an open palm causing him to fall and roll a few feet away from me
"The only person you need to worry about is yourself!" I yell with a chaotic grin on my face and charge towards him
"Dodge!" I yell as I strike him before he rolls to the right and stands up with his sword in front of him.
I run towards him again and push away his sword leaving him open. I quickly twist my body to deliver a high kick
"Duck!"
He barely ducks in time and rolls back
"Good!" I praise as I run towards him again before bending down into a crouch and sweeping his legs from underneath him causing him to fall flat on his back
"Why are you staying in one place. Run around you opponent. Go on the attack don't stay on the offensive" I say as I pull him up
"Again, but try to run around me, if I see you just standing there again ill knock you flat on your ass got it" I say as I get ready
"Now!" I yell and Luka immediately runs towards me and slashes horizontally. I duck underneath him and try to sweep him off his feet again. Only for him to jump away and run behind me. I turn to face right before he yells
"DEMON DECAPITATION"
He suddenly appears infront of ne slashing at my neck
I quickly bend backwards narrowly avoiding the slash with both my feet still on the ground. I firmly plant my hands on the grass and kick straight up underneath his chin, sending him flying up slightly and falling back
I stand up straight and look at him as he groans and rubs his chin
"Impressive! You learned from your mistakes and managed to catch me off guard. That's improvement" I say as I lift him on his feet
Alice approaches us and stares at me slightly disturbed
"...Are you really human or do you just not have a spine" she breathes out
I snicker
"Yes Alice, I'm just very flexible, it's not a big deal" I answer
She shakes her head and looks toward Luka
"I will now teach you a new technique, let's begin" she says and instructs Luka into a stance
"You do that. I'm going to sleep. Night" I say and walk back to camp
I jump on a tree and and use my coat as a makeshift blanket and get comfortable
Freya soon joins me on her own branch and I slowly drift of to sleep
(Time Skip)
"Ilias!?" Was the first thing I heard in the morning
I groan and muster up the strength to glare down at Luka
"As usual, you're so noisy in the morning." Alice complained
"Ahh...ilias...thank you for giving me a this revelation!" Luka prayed, as I jump down from my tree
"Praying right as you get up...You're like some old man." Alice mocked
"Even young people give their gratitude to ilias. Do you want to pray with me? Alice? L/N?" Luka offered
"Ha. That's a laugh. I'm a monster. Why in the Founder's name would I pray to your goddess!?" Alice scathing remarked
"I want nothing to do with your goddess" I say, grumpy from the rude awaking
I suddenly feel the air warp above us and I look up to see nothing
'what'
I ignore it and we eat breakfast and set out for iliasport
(Time Skip)
Along the way, we passed through another forest
"This is a muggy forest..." Luka commented, looking at the woods around us
"In these kinds of places, a lot of tropical monsters ate likely to appear. Watch where you're going" Alice warned, disappearing
Before I could react and hide though, a monster appeared before us
She looked like a giant flower with two female torsos with no arms growing at her center.
"Perfect...it's time for me to be pollinated...Hey...will you mate with me...? Oh and a girl too...it must be my lucky day..." The plant monster drawled, looking at both me and Luka seductively
I smell something overwhelmingly sweet and immediately cover my mouth and nose with my left hand while I use my right to draw out one katana
"I can't do that..." Luka weakly said as he slightly swayed
'Must be the fragrance, then I'll take control this time'
Before the monster could respond, I rush her. Cutting of part of her flower to not cause any permanent damage
"Luka! Snap out of it!" I yell causing Luka to snap out of the trance
He immediately executed his new technique, blurring forward in a quick thrust. Inflicting a heavy wound on the monster. I follow by twisting by body and deliver a high kick to one of her heads, stunning her.
Luka finishes her with one last slash before she dissolves into a flower
"Fuu...that was pretty good!" Luka commented about his preformance
"You only did so well because L/N was assisting you...for some reason" Alice deadpanned, looking at me for an explanation.
I sigh
"I can't really feel the air moving because of the thick trees surrounding us, it blocks most of the vibrations so be the time it gets to me its a lot smaller than it should so I mistake it for an animal or something." I explain as we walk down the path
After a while, I sense another small vibration near us and hide away as Alice disappears.
The monster reveals itself, she had a strange insect like body with many wriggling appendages coming out her her sides.
"A Roper huh..." Luka recognized
"It's been a long time since I last has a delicious treat..." The roper commented, licking her lips
"Gah! Like I would let you eat me!" He shouted as he took a fighting stance
I closed my eyes and turned the other way
'I might just jump off a cliff'
Soon the battle ended and Luka sealed her into a tiny...tentacle thing...I want to step on it
"Phew...that was a dangerous opponent" Luka sighed on relief
"If you took to long to finish her off she would have taken her time eating you." Alice agreed
"It would be unfortunate, but I'd sit and watch. Due to my own reasons, I won't give special support to a human." Alice reminded
"Don't worry, if things get to that point I'll intervene" I assure
"L/N..." Luka said in a moved tone before taking a deep breath
"Alright, let's go! Once we're out of here we should be at a vibrant port!" Luka declared
"Filled with seafood specialties...hehe, I look forward to it." Alice agreed in a satisfied tone
We start moving again toward the port
'Maybe...maybe this world isn't as bad as I thought'