A (Rouge) Monsterphilia
"H-H-HELLO! My name is Lefiya Viridis! Pleased to meet you!" I stood in front of a short, oranged haired girl. The two of us were standing outside of the Twilight Manor. "I-I've been instructed by L-Loki to take care of you today! W-W-Would you like to go to Monsterphilia with me?!" The girl was blushing the hardest I've ever seen anyone in the world blush and she was using her staff to hide behind. It doesn't work very well but I'll be damned if it isn't cute.
"Lefiya, don't make it sound like an order." Next to the young elf were two Amazonian twins who I was already familiar with. Tiona, the younger of the two with short hair, was currently stretching and chastising the shy elf. "You're gonna make it seem like we don't wanna hang out with Newbie." I knew that Amazons usually wore quite revealing clothing, but seeing Tiona's general state of undress next to Lefiya's pink fluffy dress that covered most of her body was quite the contrast. Lady Tione was no different.
"His name is Viole, Tiona." Tione, the older of the two, said as she gave her younger sister a chop on the head. The fact that the two of them are level five makes that simple action pretty scary. "But I am sorry, Viole. We didn't interrupt any plans you had today, did we?"
"Nah. The most I've had planned was to go into the dungeon, but Loki's banning me from going in till I get a weapon." I found that quite strange. From what I had heard, Loki seemed like a very gung-ho type of goddess. Being fine with her children taking risks as long as they turned out fine. Guess things must have changed in twenty years.
"But aren't you lucky. Having three cute girls go on a date with you~" Tiona grew a scary smirk as she entangled herself around my arm. "Tehee."
"I suppose. It's a pleasure to spend the day with you three." That clearly wasn't the answer she expected, because she pouted but continued on hugging me anyway.
"L-Let's just go to the show!" Lefiya's blush deepened as she began to practically run towards the arena in town.
"Woah! Wait for us!" And I was dragged behind two level fives.
Today is Monsterphilia. A special festival held once a year by the Ganesha Familia. They hold a special show in the Orario Arena to tame monsters in front of a crowd. Vendor's use this day to sell food and weapons, a pretty nice festival in my opinion. Though it would be great if I could enjoy it.
After being dragged into the arena and being placed in a seat between Lefiya and Tiona, I got to see a man almost get eaten alive. This is kinda fucked. The man cut off the monster Boar's horn and the monster suddenly became docile. "Amazing! These Tamers really know how to handle them!" Lefiya seemed quite excited to see the show. But I was impressed myself as well, to see people be able to get rid of their fear and fight not to kill a monster, but tame it was amazing.
"Hm." I was so attached to the show that I failed to notice that the twins were looking somewhere else. Only noticing when Lefiya turned in the same direction. "Something wrong?" The three of them were looking at a man in a mask, who I recognized to be Ganesha, talking to two guards in his own chamber.
"Looks like it..." Tione stood up suddenly. "Lefiya, Tiona. Lets go check it out. Viole, you should stay here."
"Huh? For what? I'm sure it's nothing that serious." Tione hesitated for a second before sighing and nodding her head.
"Stick close to Lefiya." Said elf flinched at the implication but nodded nonetheless.
SSS
"Oh, what are you guys doin here?" Loki stood outside the entrance of the arena, stuffing her mouth with multiple snacks from nearby vendors. "Did you guys notice the missing monsters too?"
"Missing monsters?!" I yelled before Tiona slapped a hand over my mouth. "Sorry... but what?! Shouldn't we-" Loki opened her eyes and glared at me for a second. "I-I mean you guys do something?" Scary.
"Don't worry, I already got Ais taking care of it." Loki pointed into the sky with an empty food stick just as Ais jumped off the roof of the arena and flew into the town.
"Cool..."
"Miss Ais!" Lefiya ran after the woman along with Tiona and Tione. I was about to follow before Loki grabbed me by the color of my coat. Choking me for a second.
"Where do you think you're going? It's quite dangerous out there, you know." Loki's voice was devoid of the humorous tone that it normally carried. "You're just a level one so sit down and wait."
"Hey, I'm an adventurer too. They might need help! I'm sure they'll be fine but I wa-need to make sure!" I only knew these people for about a week, sure but...I couldn't let my world become die again. Not- RED, GREEN, BLACK, RED RED RED RED RED RED RED REdReDrEDErEDEReDrEDREdReDRED "Loki, please let me go help." Loki stepped back for a second, shocked by something.
"Be careful." After a second, she waved me off before turning back to walk up to a vendor. "Don't die, okay?"
"I don't plan on it." With that sentence, I ran after my fellow familia members. When I caught up to them, I found them in a large square in town just as Ais had cut down three monsters simultaneously. Amazing! That's the power of a level five for you! "Man, I guess I had no reason to be worried."
Lefiya was the first to notice me, as she too was out of breath. "It looks like we can just leave this to..." Lefiya trailed off as the ground beneath us began to shake. "What?"
Shoot out of the ground was a large green snake. "WHAT THE HELL?! Tiona and Tione rushed in front of the two of us, shielding us from the strange monster that was slowly erupting out of the ground.
"Tiona and I will fight this monster. Lefiya, keep Viole safe!" Finishing her orders with a smirk on her face, Tione and Tiona rush towards the snake monster. Their attacks create massive craters, it seems like it doesn't do any damage to the monster. How? The two of them are level 5?! They could easily level buildings yet this thing acted like they were flies!
"Viole, please step back. I will start casting now." The shy elf that I met today had disappeared. Now, she was a confident member of one of the strongest Familia in all of Orario. I did as I was instructed and Lefiya put her hands in front of her and began to chant. "Unleash a streak of light, bow and arrow of the holy tree. Thou art a master of the bow..." Lefiya began to glow and the air around her began to feel light. So this is real chanting. "Fire, O elven archer. Make your arrow strike true!" Just as her spell was about to fire, the monster's head turns to look directly at her.
To the right! My instincts took hold as I felt a strange presence coming close to Lefiya's right. "Lefiya, watch out!" Just as I push the elf out of the way, a vine comes out of the ground and whips me in the stomach. "GUEH?!" The force of the vine sends me hurtling into a close by building, colliding with it and falling into a vendor's stall that was right under it. "egh!" Blood spewed out of my mouth in a disgusting amount. I...
"VIOLE!" The last thing I saw before everything got hazy was Lefiya running towards me. "VI-"
SSS
"Abby..." My vision was obstructed by something. I couldn't tell what, but I was being held in the air by something. I could only see through my left eye, and I was staring at the unconscious body laying near me. It was a small, blond girl. Lying in a pile of fallen wheat stained with blood. "Abby..." My sister was lying unconscious in front of me and there was nothing I could do!
I could smell blood and ash. Everything was burning... our house. Our crops. Mom and Dad. Everything was dyed red. Whether it was blood or fire, it was red red red red! "What a waste. And here I thought the Reaper would have gotten stronger over the years." A deep and distorted voice echoed through this carnage. That was when it pieced together. I was being held up by the head. This person...this disgusting piece of shit! "But I must say, this did feel quite amazing! KYAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"You...let me go! I'll KILL you!" The killer laughed once more, before kicking my little sister into another pile of wheat. "ABBY!"
"Tell me, Viole." The monstrosity placed a fist on my chest. Not to hit me, but as if readying for something. "Can you? Do you think that you're special?!" A loud sound echoed through my body as my consciousness began to fall once more.
"I'll kill you!▂▂▃▃▄▄▅"
SSS
When I opened my eyes, the snake had opened its head, revealing it to be a flower monster with two mouths. Oh. I'm dead. But just as it was going to take a bite out of my head, Ais fell from the sky and sliced the monster in two. "Viole. Are you okay?"
"Ais..." She bent down and helped me sit up. I noticed how damaged my body got from the attack. My stomach had a large whip wound, my body was covered in scratches from the wooden stall breaking and I had dried blood in my mouth. "Thanks for saving me."
"I'm glad you're fine." Suddenly, the ground shook and three more flower monsters sprouted from the ground. "Wait here" Ais flew into the sky and attempted to stab the monster, only for her rapiar to break.
"Viole!" My attention turned to Lefiya, who had ran towards me. "Viole, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Mostly." I was able to stand up. Before I fell forward, Lefiya caught me. "Thanks. Are you okay? You didn't get hurt did you?"
"N-No! Thank you." She must have realised what she had done, because she started to let go of me before tightening her grip again. "S-Sorry! I'm not used to touching people!"
"It's fine. I should be able to walk now." To make sure, Lefiya let go of me while keeping her hands near my waist. After I was able to stand for more than ten seconds, she relaxed and looked back at the battle with me. Things were not looking good. Nothing that the twins or Ais did could do any real damage. Hmm. Physical damage doesn't do anything and it becomes aggressive towards magic. 1 plus 1 equals 2. "Lefiya, I've got a plan. The monsters probably only takes damage to magic but it'll be dangerous since they become aggressive when they sense it." Lefiya became more and more nervous as I explained the situation. "So I'll be a distraction. My magic lasts a while, so it should chase after me while you chant."
"But, you'll be in danger! You're already injured!"
"I'll be fine." I begin to stretch my arms and legs, ignoring the pain. "Don't worry okay? Just chant and believe in me, Lefiya. Just as how I believe in you." Lefiya hesitated before sighing and nodding her head.
"I'll trust you. Please be safe." I give her a thumbs up and begin to sprint to the edge of the square.
"Give me the strength to devour my enemies!" The three monsters snapped their heads at me, ignoring the three level fives currently pummeling them. "Force Eater!" Black matter clung to my arms and turned them into monstrous gauntlets just as the three monsters began to fly at me. Here we go! I ran around the square, jumping over and under the stalls. Lucky enough to miss most of their attacks. "Lefiya, any time now!"
"She's almost done!" Tiona responded. I could feel their eyes on me. Just as I could feel her magic getting done, the monsters snapped their attention to her. Dammit! They go after the amount of magic! "You won't get near her!" Two of the monsters were being held back by the three of them, but the third one slipped through Tiona's guard.
"Not on my watch!" I used one of the broken vendors as a boost and jumped over Lefiya, finding the monster just below me. I won't let it end like this again! Words entered my mind as my body did what they told me. I wind my arm back as the dark matter begins to shape around it, like a pile bunker. "Rouge..." I punch straight into the top of the monster's head. "Bringer!" The monster's body bounces back just as the rest of the gang successfully pushes their one monster back.
"Wynn Fimbulvetr!" Lefiya's spell shoots out white mist and Ais pulls me out of the way. The view of the monsters being frozen alive was pretty nice, especially since Mind Down was beginning to take hold of my body.
"Good job...guys."
SSS
Trickster
I was royally pissed. The bitch sitting across from me, enjoying a glass of wine, was the one who planned the whole monster escape today. But given the fact that I knew about it beforehand pissed me off even more. "Did you really need to cause such a mess just to meddle with some kid you're interested in? Well, Lady Freya?" I'll be the first to admit my voice had way more venom than I expected, but I was not going to take it back.
"Why are you so angry? I thought that you agreed to play along." My nails were beginning to dig into my hand. "Besides, no harm was done thanks to your Familia. Correct?"
"You bitch!" I couldn't stop myself from standing from my chair "Sure, no one got killed but my- I mean Viole got seriously injured! Three ribs were broken, his right arm was shattered and he was inflicted with mind down! He coulda-"
"Are you sure that you are not allowing your feelings for your old favorite to affect your judgment?" I really wanted to throw my glass at Freya's shit eating grin. "However, I did not think that he could have gotten so injured by normal monsters. What a disappointment." You...
"Normal monsters?! I'd hardly count those disgusting snake monstrosities as normal monsters. The twins didn't even know what species it was and they've been to the fiftieth floor."
"What? There were no monsters like that in Ganesha's monster collection. I assure you, I had nothing to do with that." Freya did indeed look surprised at the news. "Then that boy...Ottar may have been correct..."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, just a theory. It has nothing to do with this." She didn't seem to be lying so I let it go and fell into my chair once more.
"So what the hell were those monsters..." God more wine is looking really nice right now. "But you owe Viole three million vallis anyway. He would not have gotten hurt if not for you letting the monsters out."
Freya stood up from the table that the two of us sat at and sighed. "Very well, but don't you think that you are handling him with too much care. He will never achieve his goal if you keep him hidden and weak."
"You don't know if that's his goal." Freya giggled, a sound that really pissed me off. She turned around and got to the door before looking over her shoulder to me.
"He is capped. You know that they all share the same fate."
"No, not him..." Freya was already gone. "I won't let him. He won't end up like Angra... he won't." He won't. I'll make sure of it. I'll protect him for you, Angra. I promise!