A/N: NEW CHAPTER YAY!

He unsheathed his machete, and leapt forward.

The Queen dodged, kicking off into the air. She flew up into the sky. Was she running away?

Jason took aim with his machete. However, before he could toss it, she sped down from the heavens, falling like a meteor. She crashed into him with a vicious kick. The hit would have have liquified a normal man, but all it did to Jason was send him sprawling.

The Queen wasn't done however. As she landed, she sped forwards, diving into him. Jason was flung into a tree, snapping it in two.

He rolled across the ground, quickly skidding to a stop. He grabbed for his machete, only to realize it wasn't there. Looking up, he saw it on the ground in front of the Harpy Queen. She seemed to inspect it for a second, before shooting towards him once more.

Jason dodged left, and dashed for his machete. He got about halfway to it when the Queen slammed into his side, flinging him into the air again.

He smashed into the side of a hill with enough force to simulate a small explosion. Dirt was thrown everywhere.

Jason was getting mad. This wasn't how things were supposed to go! He was supposed to win!

Quickly, he jumped from the crater. He saw the Queen diving towrds him once more. She was going faster than anything else Jason had ever seen.

But... Perhaps he could use that to his advantage.

As she hurtled towards him, nearing the speed of sound, time seemed to slow. Jason stood there, nearly motionless.

And then, he jumped out of the way. The Queen was going too fast to change directions, and crashed into the hill.

He was on her before the dust had even begun to settle. He punched, kicked, headbutted, and otherwise bludgeoned her.

She tried to headbutt him, but he grabbed her by the hair, and slammed her head into the ground. Once, twice, three times. He tried for a fourth, but was sent tumbling when something crashed into him.

Furiously, he turned his head to see who dared to interrupt the fight, fully prepared to rip someone in two. His eyes widened when he saw who it was.

The dragon woman stood beside the Queen, a cold glare fixed onto his form.

If he'd still had a beating heart, it would've stopped.

*LINEBREAK*

Granberia was angry. When she arrived at the village, she didn't expect to see any dismembered harpies. Unfortunately, that is exactly what she witnessed. Of course, she'd seen death before, but this was just... Too much. How could any being be so ruthless? To her, it seemed like something that Ilias, that bitch, would do. Was he a follower? It was certainly possible.

As she rushed towards the sounds of battle, she reflected on the events of the past day.

As soon as her wrist was healed, she began to chase after him. Finding him was easier than expected. He wasn't exactly... Subtle. She questioned a few people in happiness village, and they pointed her in the right direction.

As she drew closer, she could hear the Harpy Queen's groans of pain.

With a substantial amount of force, Granberia punched the brute, knocking him away.

"No more running." She said.

*LINEBREAK*

There was an itch at the back of Jason's mind, and he swore that he heard a distant: "OH FUCK!" from somewhere.

He couldn't fight them both. He knew that much.So, with an unaudible sigh, he turned, and sprinted away.

"I SAID NO RUNNING!" Roared the Dragon woman.

With a speed that Jason clearly didn't expect, she crashed into him. He dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, idly noticing that she'd just severed his spinal chord. The Dragon woman was a blur, tearing into him with her sword, quickly reducing him into simple meaty chunks.

There was no way to fight her off, and Jason soon succumbed to unconciousness.

Unfortunately for her, Granberia didn't completely destroy the body.

*LINEBREAK*

...

...

...

Where the hell am I?

It was dark, and I couldn't hear anything. I tried to move, but there was some resistance. It was odd, as if I was covered by some durable cloth.

That was just a guess though. I wasn't sure what was on me because I STILL COULDN'T FEEL THINGS.

I punched through whatever was keeping me held down. Light flooded my vision as I caught sight of my surroundings.

I was underwater. The thing keeping me restrained was a bag.

...

What?

Quickly, I tore it to ribbons, exposing more of myself to the water.

When I saw myself, I sighed. I was in several pieces. Most of my upper torso and arms had healed. However, everything below the ribs were still just pieces of flesh.

"FUCK!" I exclaimed angrily. This was going to take a while.

So for hours, I laid under the water, waiting for my body to stop being a shitty jigsaw puzzle.

The sun had nearly set by the time I was whole again.

So, I climbed out of the lake, and took stock of my surroundings. I was in a clearing, on the shore of a lake (as previously mentioned.).

How did I get here? Why was I in a bag? Why was I in pieces in a bag? These were all very important questions, I felt. This was the second time I've woken up injured with no explanation as to why, and that, in my opinion, is pretty concerning, to say the least.

Come to think of it, last time this happened, I was accused of something I had no recollection of...

Holy shit.

HOLY SHIT!

What did I do?

WHAT THE FUCK DID I DO?!

Something must have happened, otherwise I wouldn't have been chopped up and thrown into a lake. I must've done something terrible.

With an angry roar, I tore into everything around me. Trees, plants, dirt, and animals, none of which were spared from my wrath. What happened?! Why couldn't I remember? WHY COULDN'T I FUCKING REMEMBER?!

I'd worked myself up into a frenzy, smashing up everything in sight.

"THIS IS BULLSHIT!" I screamed. "FUCKING BULLSHIT!"

Why was I even here in the first place?! What took me from my home, and brought me here? Would I ever go home again?

Would I ever see my family again?

I dropped to my knees, and screamed to the heavens. It was a primal, savage roar, filled with anger. All my pent up emotions had suddenly decided to burst. What resulted was a cacophony of sound that was enraged, yes, but also deeply frustrated, and soul-crushingly depressed.

Eventually, most of the anger was replaced with a deep longing. It was longing for my old life. My family, my friends, my house, everything.

I crumpled to the ground, violent sobs racking my body. I knew I'd probably never see anyone else from my old life again. I felt a sense of loneliness stronger than I'd ever experienced, which brought about a new wave of sobs.

I don't know how long I laid there. It could have been minutes, hours, or even days. I was oblivious to everything around me. I was just exhausted. I closed my eyes. Who cared if something happened when I slept. I certainly didn't.

*LINEBREAK*

The cupid she'd sent to spy on the creature had returned. That was odd. She hadn't ordered her to come back. Something must have happened then.

"E-excuse me, Lady Ilias?" The cupid asked, nervously fidgeting under the goddess' intense gaze.

"Speak." Ilias said sternly.

"T-t-the man you sent me to watch, well..." The cupid trailed off.

"Well, what is it?" Ilias asked, annoyed. "What reason could you possibly have to disturb me?"

"W-well, you told me to report back whenever something happened." Stated the cupid.

Had she said that? She didn't quite remember. After all, she had been preoccupied with watching Luka.

"Get on with it, then. Don't waste my time." Ilias said.

"S-so, After observing him, I think that he'd be useful to you. He has the ability to regenerate, and he's a brutal fighter. However... He has some... Quirks." The cupid said.

"What do you mean?" Ilias asked, still annoyed, but partly intrigued.

"Well, he sometimes lapses into... Another person. This other personality doesn't speak, and is seemingly more powerful than his talkative counterpart. However, the silent one seems to have some plan that the other doesn't know about." The cupid explained, becoming slightly less nervous.

"Anything else?" Ilias asked.

"The one that talks seems to have had a mental breakdown of sorts. He's upset about something, but I dunno what it is." The cupid finished.

Ilias smiled. It was a fake smile, but it was one she had to use every now and then when her servant's morale was low.

"You've done well." Ilias said.

"R-really?" The cupid asked, stars practically in her eyes.

"Yes. I have no further orders for now." Ilias said.

Quickly, the Cupid left, much happier than before.

Ilias sighed to herself.

"Maybe I'll visit him in his dreams." She thought. "I'll get him onto my side."

With that decision made, she opened a scrying spell, spotting the rotten man almost immediately. He was already asleep, so she didn't need to wait.

Without any further distractions, she made her way into his mind.

*LINEBREAK*

It was dark. I couldn't see anything. Was this a dream?

"Oh, brave hero..." An angelic voice rang out. Who was that?

A bright light enveloped my vision. It wasn't threatning, or anything like that. It was warm, and comforting.

"Fear not, for I have been watching over you." The voice said. The voice was soft, yet firm.

"W-who are you?" I asked, confused.

A figure descended from the light. It was graceful, elegant, and beautiful. It was...

Oh. It was Ilias. She sounded so nice, but was definitely evil. I knew that much.

But what if she wasn't, though?

I sighed. Maybe giving her a chance wouldn't be so bad.

"Tell me, what troubles you?" She asked. "What is it that makes a warrior such as yourself cry?"

...

How the fuck do I answer that? Do I lie? Would she believe me?

Eh, I'll tell most of the truth.

"I am... Stranded from my family. They are in a place I cannot reach." I said.

Ilias nodded sympathetically.

"That is a shame." She said. "Though, I might be able to help both of you."

"Both? What are you talking about?" I asked, incredulous.

"You don't know? Well, there is another soul in your body." Ilias explained

"W-what?!" I nearly screamed. Why didn't I know this? That sounded important.

Maybe that was the cause of my memory gaps.

"I could help the both of you." She repeated. "But to do that, you'd need to help me."

She was bullshitting me. She wouldn't help me. She'd dispose me as soon as she could.

But what if she wasn't lying?

...

Would she be truthful? I don't know, I never got to play more than ten minutes of the game.

Well, truthful or not, I had no choice to believe her. I couldn't enlist Alice's help. That ship had long since sailed.

"I'm listening, my goddess." I said. I winced internally when I said that. I was religious (not gonna talk about that here), but she was most definitely not part of that.

Ilias smiled. It was a radiant one, so brilliant in its beauty that I almost couldn't look away.

"You must travel onwards to Sentora. There is a blasphemous cult within the desert that worships monsters. Purge them from this earth, so they can no longer spread their filth." She commanded.

"I shall do as you wish." I said. "But, if it wouldn't be so rude of me, I would like to inquire about their exact location."

"Very well." Ilias said. "They live near the ancient pyramids of Sabasa. Every night, they chant demonic incantations, screaming for all to hear. If you travel by darkness, you'll surely hear them."

"Thank you, my goddess." I said.

"Now, go forth, brave hero! Go forth and cleanse these heathens from the face of the world!" She urged.

Slowly, she faded away, until only darkness remained.

*LINEBREAK*

Ilias smirked to herself as she left the man's mind. Finally, she had someone who could take care of her more minor problems. She couldn't use angels, of course, because she had to keep up appearances. The man would just be passed off as a psychopath, or some crazy religious guy who lives alone in the woods, something like that. Perhaps he could convince Luka that monsters are evil? Oh, she'd reward him for that.

Honestly, she didn't expect him to actually agree. He didn't seem to worship her, but she couldn't know for sure. In her impossibly long life, she'd learned how to read human emotions quite easily. However, she just couldn't tell anything about how he felt. He lacked a mask in the dream world (His face itself was just downright blasphemy.), but his face betrayed no emotion. He lacked any sort of body language as well. The only time she got any emotion out of him was when she mentioned the other soul within his body. He was shocked. It was apparent that he had no idea what she was talking about.

But why didn't he know? It seemed odd that he wouldn't be aware. Having another soul in your body probably came with a slew of noticable side-affects. And yet, he had no clue.

Ah, but this didn't matter. He was her pawn, and he'd do as he was told. Of course, she'd be nice with him. She had an image to protect, of course. Maybe she'd actually help him, if he was obedient.

As she ascended back to her realm, she realized something.

"Did I not get his name?" She thought.

*LINEBREAK*

The past few days had been downright awful for Luka.

The bandit situation had been handled decently. None of the kids were hurt, and they managed to get along with everyone in Iliasburg. It was a really good outcome, all things considered.

Things quickly changed for the worse after he went to happiness village, though.

After hearing of the village's troubles, he decided to confront the harpy queen herself. After all, he couldn't stand by as such injustices were being carried out. He was a hero, and it was his job to protect the innocent! Alice had also wanted to go to the harpy village, for some reason.

When they got there, Luka could instantly tell that something was off. The atmosphere was cold, and he could practically feel the residents' fear. He spotted a few gaurds, but they didn't react to his presence. Their expressions were just... Distant. They had the 1000 yard stare, and they had it bad.

Just what happened? Why were they so horrified? Neverending questions filled Luka's mind.

Eventually, they found a tree house that looked fancier. Outside of it, were two more shell-shocked guards.

"What happened here?" Luka asked, curious about the whole situation.

The guard's eyes snapped onto him, looking him over. When she determined that he wasn't any threat, she visibly sagged.

The guard let out a shuddery breath, looking like she hadn't slept in a few days.

"I...It killed so many. Most of our town guard is dead." She said, her voice shaking.

"Who? Who did it?" Luka asked, concerned.

"S-s-some kind of creature. It was merciless, and brutal... There was so much blood... Oh gods..." The guard rasped, on the verge of sobbing.

"H-hey! It's okay now." Luka said, attempting to comfort her.

"Y-yeah." She said with a small smile. "At least it's dead now."

Luka raised his eyebrows. So the creature was dead. That sounded good, but what was it? Every question that was answered just brought about even more questions!

Either way, he had a job to do.

Finding the queen was pretty easy. He asked the guard for help, and she pointed him straight to her.

The queen Harpy was heavily injured. Bandages were wrapped around the top of her head, and around her torso. They were soaked wit blood.

He (politely) asked her about Happiness village's men.

"...The harpies were a dying race. We needed to breed so we could ensure our species' future." She explained. "Drastic measures had to be taken."

"But you took them all..." Luka trailed off.

So, after a day of trying to convince the Harpy Queen, he decided to get the towns to meet.

The Harpies, still affected by the recent slaughter, were either unable or unwilling to put up a fight. They were going to just let the men go, but someone had an idea. They suggested that the two villages combine into one. Everyone seemed happy with that idea, so they went through with it.

It made Luka really happy to see coexistence such as this. Surely, if it could happen here, it could happen anywhere else, right?

Still though, what killed so many harpies? Alice also seemed concerned about that. It made sense, in Luka's opinion. Alice was a monster, after all.

"By the way, what did the creature look like?" She asked the queen.

When the queen explained what it was, Luka's eyes widened.

He'd already viewed the masked man as a scumbag, but this was just... Unspeakable. The queen spared no detail as she told the story of what happened, all the way to the end. Luka was enraged at the man's actions, and felt a little happy when she proudly declared that the fiend was dead. Alice looked a little worried, though.

"What did you do with the body?" She asked.

"We threw his remains into a bag, and tossed it into the lake." The Harpy Queen responded. She even went as far as to give them directions to it.

Abruptly, Alice got up, and started slithering there. Luka followed, calling after her.

Why was she going to the lake? The Queen said the body had been in pieces, so he was obviously very dead.

However, when he got to the Lake, his heart stopped.

The bag was on the shore, torn open, and empty.

*LINEBREAK*

After I'd woken up, I quickly made my way back onto the main road, taking care to completely bypass any villages.

Walking by myself was a lot less boring then I originally thought it'd be. Nature wasn't something I could experience often in my old life, so it was nice to be able to do that.

After many hours of walking along the road, I noticed a side path. The plants in that direction looked gorgeous, so I figured "what the hell", and decided to take a detour.

I gazed silently at the lush foliage, trying my hardest not to step on anything. On the side of the road, there were a few flowers. I had no idea what they were, but they looked beautiful. They were a rich purple, and looked healthy. I took a moment to admire them, and then moved on.

It was such a wonderful place, but I had ro move on. There was more path ahead, after all.

After a lot of mindless shambling, I came upon a woman. She had dark skin, and pointed ears. So, obviously, she was a dark elf. And, oh boy, she didn't look happy to see me.

"Turn back, abomination. Your kind must not tread further upon the path." She said.

I, of course, did not do that.

"I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request." I quipped.

The dark elf was silent for a moment, before responding with: "What?"

"It means no." I deadpanned.

"I will never allow a zombie to pass by me." She said.

I sighed angrily. This shit was getting old.

"For the last fucking time, I AM NOT A ZOMBIE!" I roared.

"You're rotting." She said. "Of course you're a zombie."

Fuck this.

In one swift motion, I picked her up, and tossed her into the woods.

I sighed, calming myself. That throw shouldn't have been enough to kill her, but it would stun her for a minute or so. I walked forwards, further into the path.

I picked up the pace, wanting to be gone before the dark elf caught up with me. I didn't want to kill her, but I would, if I had to.

A/N: So that one was pretty long, at a little over four thousand words. There were a lot of linebreaks in this one, it seems. I wanted so badly to make it to five thousand, but I felt like the chapter should end here.

So, next time, our hero messes about in Enrika. This should be good.