Chapter 154 - Learning about the Nature Elves
Raw…
Astonishment.
RAW ASTONISHMENT.
That was what floated around inside Nico's head as he beheld an entire race of Abnormals called Nature Elves kneeling before him. His eyes had bulged wide open, his pupils shrunken into dots whilst his jaw had fallen open. One could say that the shock coursing through him like blood through veins had completely robbed him of any ability to think, move or even breathe. The guy looked so far out of his element that, if any of his fellow Spec Ops saw him now, they would wonder if he was even the same person still. Though, someone like Neptune would probably burst into laughter at seeing his face, since she'd likely link it to the look of someone who'd been roasted by a meme of some sort and yell out 'got him!' or something.
Just… how the hell was he supposed to take this?
The teen could only stand before these creatures kneeling towards him, rooted to the spot that he stood on, completely unable to respond to the genuine reverence of which he was being showered with by these Nature Elves. Despite that, some form of mental ability ran back into his mind to retake control… even if it only resulted in his ability to think his thoughts coming back. Even then though, his thoughts remained influenced by his shock as his throat felt like it had been gripped by a viper, coiling around it and keeping his ability to speak sealed away. His eyes could never leave their forms, nor could he regain any more mental clarity than he already had as Nico remained glued to his spot.
So… yeah, one could say that he looked completely stupefied.
The previous question which had been uttered inside his mind once again did so, bringing his shocked thoughts into order slightly… only to throw them into chaos once again. These beings… these Abnormals, creatures of which he had been brought up to think that they were the enemy of humanity, and that they had been trying to wipe the human race off the map. These creatures of which he had killed countless times before in cold blood… and sometimes it wasn't just killing either, since he also used them to sate his hunger, and by extension satisfy his ever-ravenous Ghoul side. He had killed, he had eaten… he had maimed, shredded and torn such creatures to pieces like a hungry animal, he couldn't even remember the number of kills he had under his belt anymore. Not only that, but at the first sign of these creatures, Nico would have just gutted them on the spot for trying to attack him, as they usually did. If they hadn't attacked him, then he'd well… it depended on the circumstances, but generally he didn't have much of a positive opinion about them. If one were to have died before him, Nico in the past would have doubted he'd even bat an eyelash. Heck, he'd likely finish it off himself and then reap the spoils for his Ghoul side…
It was the same for the other Agents too, not just Spec Ops ones. Generally, Agents and adventurers do not have much of a fondness towards Monsters, especially not Abnormal ones. Friends, families and lovers had been lost to these creatures whenever they attack after all, so the idea of befriending an Abnormal wasn't something which would be considered by any of them. Hell, Spec Ops Agents had even more reason to despise Abnormals, as the… 'saner' Agents sometimes had parts of them, hidden deep within themselves so one would have to stretch their awareness to notice them, which would wish that there weren't any Abnormals at all. They would much rather prefer just normal monsters to fight, for they were much easier to handle in comparison. At least then they were moderately respected for their work, but reality wasn't that kind. Though, eventually those parts of them vanish into the winds and become replaced with a rather… primal mentality.
To survive another day, you have to fight.
That was what pretty much EVERY Spec Ops learns early on into their career, which then turns them from weak ass bitches into hardcore combat veterans. Their hearts would harden, their minds focused solely on their tasks while slowly but surely tossing away everything that wasn't relevant to their jobs. They would slowly lose the desire for any of the simpler pleasures in life, becoming more like machines than actual people who wouldn't rest until they were either dead, or devoured by their enemies. They would thus, end up exactly like the monsters that they fight. To fight a monster, one would either need a monster of their own or become one themselves. To most, this process would be considered a 'daunting' one…
… But to Nico? He didn't need to have this process done to him, nor did it happen to him. He already considered himself a monster thanks to his Ghoul side, he had the mentality already, so honestly being a Spec Ops Agent perfectly fit him. If anything, one could say that it was the only place he actually COULD go, a place where he felt like he could belong to something. Compa's house was great don't get him wrong, it was like a wonderful slice of heaven in the midst of the hell that he considered his life. A small garden of eden in a world filled with hellish nightmares… that was what he considered that place, as well as the inhabitants within it.
As a result, the possibility of Abnormals who would rather converse instead of fight… Abnormls who used their brains instead of their brawns… it never occurred to him that such creatures could exist until now. Now that it was happening, Nico honestly felt more conflicted over himself than he'd ever been in the past. Conflicted on what to believe, what to do… he didn't even know anymore. The one thing he DID know, was that he would like to get some answers, answers to some questions he harboured. Questions which also had to do with his hidden conflict if one thought about it. He'd put those other worries to the back of his mind for the time being…
Finally, those thoughts served to clear away the cobwebs spreading through his mind and allowed him the ability to speak once more. "You all… you guys don't need to bow to me." He tried to say with a straight face, although if one paid attention to his voice and recalled how he normally acted, they'd easily be able to tell the difference. Nevertheless, he continued. "I mean, you don't have to bow to me so dramatic-like like this."
His words however, quickly got the attention of one of the Elves, and when they did, Nico soon found himself feeling like he had committed a grave sin when he saw the indignant look on that Elf's face. "That will not do, we Nature Elves always honor our debs, the huge debt we are in to you being one such debt." As she spoke, the redhead tried to think of who this person was, he had been s stunned that momentarily, he had forgotten the names of some of these Nature Elves. Soon however, he recalled this one being the Granny Qing Ye that He Lin spoke of. From the looks of things, it seemed that this Nature Elf held dominance over the majority due to her age, therefore her words likely held a lot of weight to them. Looking at the stunned face of the Spec Ops Agent, she continued to speak with gratitude flooding from her voice. "Young man, if you require anything at all, you are free to tell us. As long as it is within our power, we will do our best to repay you."
Again with the gratitude…! Nico didn't know what to make of this, and for a while, the teen remained silent as his eyes shone with complicated emotions. Just as his mind nearly reached the point of snapping which would result in him fainting…
'Nico, perhaps we CAN use this gratitude to our advantage. Remember why we saved He Lin in the first place?'
Biko's words came thundering to the rescue, snapping the teen out of his funk as his lone eye widened in realization. ''Yeah… I do remember! Thanks, Biko, I was about to lose it there…' the teen mentally replied to his Demon Persona, before he took a deep breath and calmed down. Looking back to the old and likely knowledgeable Nature Elf, Nico reached for his Mask and began unstrapping it, slowly lowering it from his face before dismissing it into his void storage. Opening his closed eyes, Nico didn't notice several of the younger, almost teenage, female Nature Elves get lost in looking into his eyes as he focused entirely on Qing Ye. "Then, if its no trouble to you or your people… I only saved He Lin because he could get me some answers to some questions I have."
"Questions?"
When hearing that, the Nature Elves each looked at Nico in a mix of different expressions, although each of them could spawn from the main expression of confusion. What kind of questions would lead a human, and a Spec Ops Agent at that, to this humble village? They must be of great importance for him to come here. As he sensed their curiosity building, Nico mentally gulped as he began preparing himself for what could happen. Afterwards, his mouth opened, and he began to slowly speak, his words etched with caution yet with no less emotion poured into them. "Originally, I was one of those evil humans your kind seems to despise. I HATED Abnormals due to what they have done to us, since they've been attacking us for over 500 years. In fact, right now I still dislike Abnormals immensely for the trouble they've caused us the last 500 years, However… recent events have caused me to question my ideals, questions I never thought needed any answers until recently when some... disturbing revelations were brought to my attention. But, in all that time I never heard anything about your kind. From what little I learned today, I… I wanted to learn more about your kind. Reserve my judgement for once and try and see your side of things. Therefore, what I would like is... well, to talk is all."
There, at last he had gotten it out. He finally managed to express what had been building up in his chest all this time, but never quite got out. Part of him just scolded him for not getting to the point sooner, something he absolutely LOATHED when others did it to him, now he felt like a bit of a hypocrite for doing the exact same thing as them. There MUST have been times when he did this before as well, but that wasn't as important right now. A lot of his repressed emotions, anger, frustration, confusion, anxiety and doubt, got put into that speech just now, and more than once the teen found himself temporarily at a loss for words to say next. However, he had done it without too much of an issue, and by the time he had finished the teen felt like he had lost a lot of the weight on his shoulders. Like a huge burden had been lifted, causing his shoulders to feel looser than they had ever been in a long time. With his peace said, Nico waited for the Nature Elves response, all but expecting it to be thrown aside like part of him still believed they would.
That part of him soon got obliterated from existence when the Nature Elf Qing Ye, after snapping herself out of a momentary stupor, gave a small, but bright smile which seemed to light up the entire village. Even though it would be quite close to morning at this point. A small part of her had thought that his young man be wanting to take one of their cores or worse, have one of them for supper to gain the benefits associated with eating their kind, just like the rest of humanity. She could see that there was a desire for power in his eyes too, but more than that, there was conflict. Conflict over ideals, she realized now that she heard his speech. Something like this… in all her years, Qing Ye hadn't thought she'd encounter a human who would question things which have been set in stone for so long now, putting aside his personal qualms in order to gain answers.
It caused many of her worries to fade away faster than a kangaroo. "Such a request… it will be easy for us to grant. Please, follow me, I will take you to my home, there we can talk it out as much as you please." She suggested, smiling softly with a motherly glint in her eyes. A glint Nico recognized from his own adoptive mother. It made hating this species all the harder for him, but for the first time… he didn't mind that as much.
Regardless, Nico nodded his head, gratitude filling his gaze as he gave his response. "Your help would be much appreciated, Mrs Qing Le. Thank you." He stated, gratefully. Geez, if any of his fellow Agents saw this right now, they'd look at him like he had gone full on psycho for being so forthcoming with an Abnormal. Though, honestly if Nico looked inside himself, the number of fucks he would give would be… zero. He wanted his answers, and to get answers one had to either force it out of his opponents or be cordial with them. Normally he would have went for the former but considering the circumstances… the latter option seemed to be the better choice, something that surprised him.
As a result, Nico slowly stepped forwards, trailing after the old Nature Elf whilst the assembled crowd parted ways for them. Not even then did he notice the looks some of the female Nature Elves gave him as he was led into the pure little world of the Nature Elves.
Purity.
That was pretty much all Nico could think of as he got lead by Qing Ye through the small village that housed a race of merely 100 Abnor-no, Nature Elves. Whilst he walked, the teen could only shake his head in a vehement manner when that word started rearing its ugly head again. Honestly at this point, Nico could no longer see them as something so degrading no more. Instead, the redhead didn't know what to think anymore, not with what he had seen of this small little place. A place which carried a purity that Nico had NEVER seen before in all his travels across Gamindustri for missions and such.
'I'm surprised you didn't ask for some sort of Nature Spirit Core or another reward from these Abnormals Nico. It could have advanced our cause significantly were we to have obtained one...'
'NOT OFTEN WE AGREE ON SOMETHING YA DAMN BOOKWORM, BUT WHAT THE HELL KING?! WHY'D YA PASS UP ON A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY LIKE THAT?!'
'Because right now we need something else much more than just a mere power boost: information. Unlike what people might think, I'm not exactly BLINDED by the powers that I hold, I can see when it is important for such things and when its nor. Right now is one of the latter, this is my chance to learn more about the world around me... a world I feel like I've been in this whole time yet have remained completely ignorant to.' Nico replied when his alternate personas questioned him on his intentions. Biko of course remained the calm and collected one, and on the opposite side his Ghoul Persona felt like he would be blowing a gasket right now. Once again, they did their roles of logic and instinct personified pretty much perfectly.
Then again, neither were wrong with their opinions, given how much he desired to become stronger to ensure his comrades survived the future trials. Ordinarily he wouldn't have even HESITATED to ask for such things, but considering the recent events like the trials of Zelretch and the recent revelations he'd witnessed, Nico felt it necessary to stock up on more information. The pen is mightier than the sword, that expression could be considered true here, alongside the fact that it wasn't time to start fighting, but the time to start talking. Words he had said to Noire so long ago now, and look how she had turned out...
The space itself looked to be a quarter of a small town in terms of size, like Mojang Village for example. Just big enough to fit a small number of residents such as the 100 Nature Elves. Their houses looked to have come in the form of great trees, very much like the treehouses young children play within the interiors of their family's yards. Those trees looked fresh, ripe with life as if they had neve tasted anything to do with the corruption that mankind had brought into existence, leaving them to be the purest trees Nico had ever seen. Not only that, but the grass and flowers served as seats for the residents, no signs of man-made materials or damaging constructs in sight.
This world… Nico had never beheld something so pure in his life, thus it left him awestruck.
Glancing behind her as she walked, Qing Ye noticed the look on the young human's face, and a small knowing smile formed as a result. "Are you curious about something, young man?" she questioned him, getting his attention. "I you would like,, I can listen to your recent thoughts."
"Well… what can I say…?" the teen replied, still completely dumbstruck by what he had seen. "This place…. This Village, everything I've seen so far… its just so breath-taking." He admitted, and surprisingly he found himself doing so quite easily. When he admonished himself for saying that, he felt even worse inside. "This… This place is just so breath-taking… I've honestly never seen anything like it…" the male muttered at the end, and even then he felt like those words were a severe understatement to describe his current feelings right now.
Even though he did that, the older Nature Elf heard his remarks, and her smile broadened in pleasure. "Your words warm this old heart of mine, sir. You have a point, thanks to the actions of humans, there are very few places untouched by their greed in some shape or form. This is one of the few places which remain pure…" a tint of sadness entered the woman's tone after saying this though. "Our original homeland was another… before it was destroyed by zealous humans wanting to take us for themselves."
Hearing this, Nico felt a familiar surge of anger start to surge through his veins, causing his hands to clench to fists though no other sign got made. In his mind though, the teen could imagine very well what the fate of the Nature Elves would have been if those humans had indeed captured all of them, just from what he had heard from Gelmudo at the auction. He could imagine them being treated as merely slaves, or worse pigs to be fattened up before being slaughtered. It would be even worse for the females, since they'd likely be forced into sexual relations just to breed more Nature Elves for them to use. And when they were no longer able to do that… yeah, let's not go there, Nico could feel the purity of the rage inside of him as it increased the more he thought about it. Any more and his DPU powers would have reacted on his surroundings.
Still, he couldn't help the sick feeling in his stomach. Thanks to humaniy's hatred of Abnormals, along with their own greed, this race seemed to have born a heavy burden, and looked to be on the verge of going extinct. As a result of such a fate, they should have a huge hatred for humans that Nico would have been able to sense with his powers. It was only natural, and if he were honest completely understandable. He wouldn't have blamed them in the slightest, but neither would he have let them kill him if they tried to, that was not how the law of the jungle worked.
Yet, whenever he passed by some of the Nature Elves since they had returned to their normal routines, no matter how many he met at once each of them welcomed him with open arms. For some strange reason, the teenage girls and even some of the older looking adult female Elves went as far as to hug him, a seemingly innocent gesture. Although to him, hugs were the greatest thing ever, even better than what he had been told sex was like. Thus, he had almost automatically returned the hugs, and when he dd that he swore he heard some squealing from somewhere but didn't pay much attention to that, thanks to his internal disbelief. From the very start, Nico had only sensed some minor caution, but shortly afterwards that caution pretty much vanished from their minds!
'…Perhaps… what Gelmudo said… may have some truth to it after all…'
Biko's words triggered a flashback in his mind. Remembering what that man had said, despite the situation, made Nico think that as well. Gelmudo may be a bastard in Nico's eyes, but perhaps he knew what he had been talking about with this sensing ability these guys apparently have. Although, Nico didn't get why they apparently thought he was a 'good person', the purity in these creatures slowly but surely caused his guard to slowly drop. Whenever Nico saw displays of this purity, the redhead felt something inside of him clench and twist in on itself uncomfortably.
Something like this, again, had been practically UNPRECEDENTED in Nico's lifetime. Even if he were to face a foe way mightier than himself such as Okada or Mundus, his gaze would never cower. Hell, Nico had fought tons and tons of different Abnormals in his lifetime, including Ghouls, and these Abnormals each had their own powers which they used to varying levels of effectiveness against him. Most of those times however, Nico came out on top, proving to himself that HE would be the top predator in this 'jungle' called Gamindustri. However, the clear purity in every one of these Nature Elves emerald eyes made him not dare to look them straight in the eyes...
This kind of race ought to receive the utmost protection of the Goddesses, the CPUs whatever. But, they don't, instead they get the exact opposite. Such a revelation nearly made Nico's lips twist into an ugly snarl of fury and confusion. Why do they have to bear such a cruel, unfair fate... No, Nico knew that answer just from looking at their constitutions, no matter how much he tried to deny it for the first time in ages.
Because of humanity's evil and greed...
And because they were weak.
Eventually, Nico and Qing Ye arrived at the latter's apparent home: a rather small-looking tree but still large enough to afford her a nice view of the surrounding village. The tree itself had a set of leaves shaped into staircases which, surprisingly, allowed one to climb on them. Stairs which spiralled around the tree itself like a double helix. Something which Nico discovered for himself as they made their way up it and entered the treehouse within.
The treehouse's interior looked to be quite spacious, with very few actual belongings. There was a simple mat made from straw on the centre of the room, with two cushions made from leaves on either side. There weren't any windows, but the walls looked to be bare anyways, while the entrance to the room had a curtain of vines similar to the ones barring the passageway to this little world. Some sections of the room had these nice little pots filled with rich, life-filled soil which fed several flowers that the teen failed to recognize.
Walking into a place like this, the redhead teen honestly felt like a serpent invading a divine garden as Qing Ye sat down on one of the leafy cushions, prompting him to do the same. She did offer to have some tea prepared for him, but Nico decided top politely refrain since he wanted to get to the point.
"Alright then…" Qing Ye began, smiling softly as she sat in a Japanese sitting position with her hands resting over each other on her lap. An aura of serene calmness appeared over her, radiating from her body like an aura of tranquillity, pretty much taking Nico's breath away with one simple glance. "What is it you would like to know then, young man? I will answer any questions you deem necessary."
After hearing those words, Nico took a moment to try and collect himself, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs in his mind. Once he did that, the teen thought of which question to ask first, since in his mind there were so many. Soon however, one question DID come to mind, one which would answer a LOT of the others in that noggin of his, thus Nico opened his mouth and asked. "Um, well the first question would be: what is the truth behind this ability to see into souls? I heard about it before I helped your patriarch come here, and was wondering what its about exactly…"
Qing Ye's eyes widened in a show of surprise and bewilderment, but no signs of deceit from what Nico could sense (even when he discreetly used the mind reading powers of the Shingan Ring hidden beneath his right glove) for a brief second, before understanding lit up in her eyes like flames on a warm, gentle candle. "Ah, I see what you mean. We of the Nature Elves were blessed by nature itself. All four Seasons bestowed upon us the strongest kind of purity there is. Because of that purity, we are able to see into the hearts and souls of any who enter our gaze."
'… Fascinating, this ability feels similar to our ow ability to sense dark and negative emotions. Ours is seemingly much more dangerous in comparison because it takes a mind well in tune with those emotions and a strong willpower to keep under control, just like with every aspect of the Demonic Arts. In comparison, this ability seems to look into the people down to every fibre of their beings, showing the eyes of the wielder just who they truly are without any masks to hide. Its.. so similar to us, that its actually mildly alarming.'
Biko couldn't have been any more right, Nico mused to himself as he stared at the Nature Elf, positively astounded by what he had heard. He sensed no deceit in her words, no lies or any misleading, all of it looked to be the absolute truth. Now, Nico himself was someone who could see though people's facades, he prided himself on looking behind their 'masks' to see what they truly felt deep down inside. It was a skill he used constantly, like when he had read the letter written by his comrades a while back, he had quickly figured out that there would be more to it than just training, but he'd have to meet with them if he wanted to find out more. 'Wait, that sounded kinda… weird, wrong even…' the male thought to himself, feeling a sense of distain welling up inside him at how… nosy those thoughts had sounded. Still, the point was he was an excellent example of someone who saw past facades, but this ability to look into one's soul… it seemed to be even deeper than what he could do, and the only thing he could compare it to would be Soul Edge's Akuma No Me.
Even so, learning about this ability… it sounded quite amazing in his eyes. If these Nature Elves were hunted just because of this ability…
"I see… so that's how the ability works…" the redhead used, crossing his arms under his chest while cupping his chin in a thoughtful manner. With that information catalogued inside his head for future pondering, Nico decided to ask his next question. "Though, that hardly explains why the Nature Elves like me so much, cause I'm no saint. I've killed a LOT of people to get the title 'Black Reaper' among others, enough so that I could be considered the exact OPPOSITE of good."
At this Qing Ye rolled her eyes, a small chuckle escaping her lips as if she had expected him to say something like that. "It is only natural for you to deny it, but deep down you are a good person at heart. My Patriarch saw it in you, our people saw it in you, and I too can see it. You will see for yourself one day, young man, trust me. I know it will come." She told him, though Nico had to resist the urge to snort at her words.
He was NOT a good person, period. No, he was the exact OPPOSITE, in his mind.
Still though, this ability of theirs… he could foresee it causing a LOT of problems for these beings, that was for certain. "Was that ability why you were hunted? I heard something about your kind being a 'delicacy' according to a lot of folk…" he questioned further, trailing off to suppress his Ghoul Side's surges of instinctual desire. It was a creature bound by its instincts after all, of course it would still want to sample some off that flesh.
At this, Qing Ye's features saddened as she looked down towards her hands. Her eyes shone with remorse though, Nico could see it as clear as day as would anyone, before she responded in confirmation. "You would be correct, mostly. Our ability to look into souls got grossly exaggerated by the humans when they first heard of us, and we were seen as a threat to their survival like most other creatures in this world. 'Demons who can manipulate masses of innocents' and 'abominations who have the hearts of mortals under their thumbs' were some descriptions. However, they also discovered that by consuming our flesh, their own bodies would gain incredible benefits from us, I'm sure you've heard of them, yes?"
Nico nodded solemnly, he felt terrible discussing all this for some reason, but he ignored it for the time being. "Yeah, from what I heard of you, I got the impression that it included ailment immunities, lifespan prolonging, using blood too develop tablets with healing properties, among other things…" he recalled, furrowing his brows, looking up from his contemplation towards the older Nature Elf. "Though my sources were a tad… biased, in their opinions."
"It would only be natural for them to desire us; evil people tend to be that way." Qing Ye nodded in response, her brows furrowing as creases appeared over her forehead. Nico could sense agitation beginning to rise within her, alongside that gradually rising sorrow. "Our bodies do indeed have those benefits when we are… eaten, your source was not wrong. Those Benefits are included when one harvests us for their own purposes, and many powerful warriors got their powers boosted from using our kind as stepping stones. In addition, if one got a hand on our royal bloodline, not only would these powers become even more effective, but additional ones would become available especially if they have our Royal Nature Spirit Cores. But, what most people do not know about us anymore, was the fact that originally were not… from this place."
For a moment, the woman became silent, and in that moment part of Nico wondered if she would have stopped there. He could certainly sense the hesitation in her voice building up to that moment, which caused him to frown internally. Seemed like there was something she wanted to say… but was hesitating about revealing it for some reason. Why was that? That was the question his inner self asked the rest of the being called Nico. Eventually though, the older Nature Elf gave him the answer she had, although it would NOT be what Nico had expected. "No, it would be more accurate to say that we are otherworlders."
…
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…
…
'…Okay, WHAT?!' Cue a surprised look from Nico as a soft gasp escaped his mouth. Did she say what he thought she said? Otherworlders? The FUCK?! Did she mean that her and the other Nature Elves aren't exactly native to Gamindustri?! That was what it sounded like to the male, and if he were frank then the teen honestly couldn't be completely be shocked by this information. However, it still caused him to be surprised yet, hearing that something like this had been a thing. It also provoked some questions about the… other Abnormals in this world, questions revolving around the Abnormals' origins.
Seemed like Qing Ye had deduced his thoughts from his expressions, judging by how she sighed in acknowledgement just now. "Yes, it's expected of you to react that way. None but myself and the oldest members of our kind know this however, for it is something we do not like to recall. Originally, we came here from our home planet Darkya, to escape the hunters which constantly sought our kind out for our Nature Spirit Cores, as well as our bodies. We escaped from slavery, from death, all the way to this backwater planet and hoped that, as the centuries pass, we would have gotten a clean start. For a time, we actually DID have a little peace, with our kind remaining relatively isolated from the world around us and thus, allowing us to focus on mending our wounds. We even managed to build a place to call our homeland... Sadly, that was not to be, and now, we are limited to the 100 in this village."
…Ouch. Nico felt a wince coming on yet couldn't stop it from appearing over his features. So, if he was thinking this correctly, then these creatures had been trying to escape being hunted by countless races from other worlds, thus being forced out of their original home world of… 'Darkya' as she called it. Hearing that, it just began making him want to rip the ones who hunted them to little tiny pieces, especially when he recllled the faces of the Nature Elves especially the ones whom hugged him. He couldn't help but think of them like the girls in his party… therefore, imagining what those Nature Elves could have gone through made him think about what would have happened to his comrades…. So yeah, Nico got more than a little bit pissed.
Still, it DID point to an answer to one of his questions, and when he spoke again Nico had to force his tone to remain civil and level. "So… that must mean that when you killed humans, instead of them being innocent people they were really for…"
"Self-defence, yes." Qing Ye replied, pretty much confirming his thoughts right then and there. "Because of what we are though, we couldn't risk explaining our side of the story, especially considering humans wouldn't have listened to us, us being 'Abnormals' in their eyes. Their eyes were already clouded with hatred and lust for the benefits our kind brings, making communication between us impossible, and as a result, our only option had been to hide away from them. Several years ago, however, we were found and reduced to the state you see us in now. Even at this current time, many of us worry we will be found once more… since we cannot fight back."
Chapter end
Alright guys, new chappie.
In this one, I wanted to show you all that, whilst highly prominent, Demons are not the only beings which exist in the Devildimension. There are countless other races out there, which gives rise to plenty of potential options for the future of this series. These Nature Elves being from another world may sound like some sort of isekai bullshit, but it is not I assure you. This is also showing you parts of where these Abnormals have originated too, but trust me there is still more to come.
Also, to anyone who thinks that Nico should have asked for more power and all that shit, remember this: power without knowledge will just end up causing more problems than it solves, as Nico says in this chapter actually. He's been looking for ways to gain strength so quickly up till this point, that now his power outweighs the vast knowledge inside his brain. That's not good, so he is simply using this opportunity to, in some ways practice what he preached to Noire way back when, and LEARN. Ask the questions which weren't ever asked before, instead were put to the side in favour for the blade and shield.
Anyways, hope you have enjoyed the fic, review when possible, and i'll see you next chapter
Peace Out!
