Chapter 3: The Half-Fiend and the Strongest Struggle Part 2

Foreword: Huge thank you to Ratten for your review! I think saving the world together, nearly dying in the process many times then going off together on a three month long trek while one has to carry the other on their back the entire trip, helps grow a certain level of trust. Of course their relationship isn't perfect in a couple ways, trust can also be a fickle thing which they still need to work on in ways and I hope to show some of this in this chapter.

Will the author kill Fremy off? Will Atro not try and kill Fremy nearly every chapter he is in? Probably not. Find out anyway this time on… the script says to read the title but it's a super long title so i'm just going to roll the film. Okay I am being told there is no film, this is a fanfiction and the author is actually just going insane, welp, start the story then!

Story start: Fremy could only nod her head at the threats she heard from Atro. She despaired she had let her guard down and now she was forced to do whatever this monster wanted.

Atro who never broke his threatening hold over Fremy, began to speak, his voice still low and harsh, "I know one of you is a fiend in disguise, it is obvious, I have dozens of ways to detect even the smallest fiend there is no way I would not know. Now I am ninety-percent sure that the boy is the fiend, he is currently working inside on a project, I could easily walk up to him and kill him while he is distracted, you have clearly seen how just a moment of weakness can be lethal. I am ninety-percent sure it is Adlet but if I am wrong you better speak up now!"

Fremy tried to bite back her emotions and say in the calmest, coldest voice she could muster, "you are wrong, I am the fiend, it is impossible for Adlet to be the fiend, your target is me not Adlet." Fremy had no idea what he was talking about but knew such a famous fiend hunter would probably have any number of ways to detect fiends and that her state of being is unique such that she registers as human and fiend, she is not sure how he concluded Adlet was a fiend but that didn't matter at this point.

Atro looked at her with rage in his eyes and said with venom, "why?"

Fremy quickly tried to make something up, "to observe the strong…"

But she was cut off by Atros near snarling reply, "no! Not why are you spying on him, not why your here. Why? Why are you giving yourself up, what is the point, if you were the fiend you would have no reason to expose yourself to certain death. So why?"

Fremy held nothing back and said "Because he is Adlet, despite my whole life as both human and fiend, I was loved by neither. After defeating the demon god I would have nothing left and die, until Adlet came. I protect Adlet not because he is a fiend but because he was the only one who trusted me, who protected me, who loved me, even when all of it was put to doubt and his life crumbled before him, even when I did horrible things to him like killing his sister, he still chose to love me, he is no fiend, he is Adlet Mayer, the strongest man in the world!"

Atro laughed, "A demon in love, will wonders never cease." He then said in a much colder voice, "Any last words Half-Fiend?"

Fremy wasn't ready, she wasn't ready to die yet. All she could think about was Adlet's smile, his laughter and his boisterous claims of his status as the world's strongest man. Fremy released in each of those memories she was there frowning or staring blankly at him, Fremy asked herself "how many times did he tell you that he would protect you, that he would support you, that he would be there for you, that he would love you? When did you do the same?" Fremy then found what she had to say. Her emotions at the point couldn't be contained and tears freely flowed from her eyes as she said to Atro, "I never told Adlet this, so please tell him, that I love him and I am sorry for never showing it!" Fremy closed her eyes. The rainfall had picked up and thunder boomed in the background as Atro moved suddenly. And like that, Fremy no longer felt a needle to her neck and she said, "Wha-What?"

Atro calmly said as he looked out at the storm and not at her anymore, "tell Adlet yourself."

Fremy asked confused and now sobbing but trying to recompose herself, "so it was all a test, you were never going to kill me?"

Atro replied, "Now don't misunderstand me , I would have killed you without hesitation if you answered wrong, if you had said Adlet was the fiend and protected yourself,I would have seen no reason to let you live."

Fremy now began to grasp his actual plan said, "so you were trying to figure out if the girl Adlet loved, actually loved and cared for him since I had not been very expressive with my feelings you couldn't tell if I loved Adlet or if I was just using him, is that right?"

Atro a little surprised and a little proud, said, "Your right, impressive deduction. I have nothing against you and while your fiendish nature is certainly annoying and upsetting, I was far more worried about Adlet, he is a good man, strong willed, smart, resourceful and reliable, however he isn't the greatest judge of character."

Fremy remembered Adlet's fondness of a certain white haired bunny girl and nodded her head.

Atro sighed and said, "the boy carries you on his back for three months after yall had saved the world together and he still isn't sure of your feelings. Most couples at you kid's age would be screwing like rabbits, yet you two probably haven't even kissed before."

Fremy blushed and looked away from the old man and said in an indignant voice that all but confirmed his statement, "shut up, it isn't your business, you have meddled enough."

Atro stood up and moved for the door, at this point Fremy regained feeling in her limbs. Atro stopped and said to Fremy, "before I go, I trust you won't mention are conversation with Adlet." He smiled as he said this but Fremy could see poking out of his coat intentionally were a couple of metal objects, likely needles.

Fremy sighed and said, "I give you my word, Adlet will not learn of this conversation."

Atro smiled wider and said, "good now Adlet will probably come out any minute to show you something." And with that Atro opened the door and went inside.

Just as he said, only five minutes later Adlet came out of the doorway, drenched in sweat from hours of hard work. Adlet said excitedly, "Fremy I have something to show you!"

Fremy said nothing and gestured for Adlet to pick her up. Adlet scooped her up in his arms and took her inside. There in the middle of the forge Fremy saw a wheeled device she had not seen before and thus she said to Adlet, "what is it?"

Adlet still smiling said, "it is a fairly uncommon device so I am not surprised you don't know if it. It is called a wheeled chair. Put simply it is a chair on wheels though it is fairly complex in execution. In essence it can be used to push someone around while that person sits down and with a little effort that person can move the device on their own using their arms. You need not crawl anymore or have to be carried on my back to go somewhere! What do you think?" Adlet looked expectantly at Fremy.

Fremy looked at Adlet, successfully held back the desire to cry, smiled and said, "I didn't think such a thing was possible, thank you Adlet."

Adlet stared at Fremy's smiled shocked, he wasn't sure how to react. He was glad, ecstatic that she liked it and was happy, but he never expected she would react like that. He just expected her to look at it, possibly cry a little as she had done much lately, and hug Adlet saying nothing. Adlet shook his head and sat Fremy in her wheeled chair. The two would spend the rest of the day practicing how to get in and out of it, how to move it by oneself, including stopping and turning. Fremy found the device comfortable, easy to use and required little effort to move and stop. Fremy was surprised Adlet was not a full time inventor or scientist, a large amount of work and care went into making the device so easy to use. Eventually Fremy was capable of going anywhere in the compound by herself. The entire time Fremy shined a smile brighter than anything Adlet had seen which filled him with an incredible feeling of happiness and warmth, Fremy's ability to live and act had increased dramatically from a simple chair on wheels.

When they finished and ate dinner it was late. Atro came to the pair and said, "If the storm clears up by tomorrow then you can go to the village only five miles from the base of the mountain. We need some more materials for the boy's new project. If you are staying here for some time you will also want to acquaint yourself with the village."

Fremy shot a worried look at Adlet to which Adlet smiled and said, "there is nothing to worry about, you have the strongest man in the world in your corner!"

Atro coughed loudly then said, "anyway on that, I already sent a message to the leader of the village, the guards won't give you any trouble unless they want trouble from me, and I have a little bit of a reputation. It likely won't prevent any harassment from the villagers but if it gets bad the guards will likely step in." Atro gave a little smile, and stood up and left the room.

Fremy smiled now understanding just a little more the intentions of the strange old fiend hunter. Adlet however, was confused and unsure as to why his master would help Fremy, then try and kill her. Adlet sighed and vowed to think about it later.

Fremy and Adlet, feeling the cold set in, went to bed.

Unlike last night it was no longer a difficult task for the two to get in bed and soon they were under the covers, in their same nightly attire, huddling for warmth under the constant sound of rain and thunder.

After a little bit Fremy said to Adlet, "I want to talk to you about something."

Adlet could only make a shocked huh as his reply. As Fremy started talking Adlet swiftly found his head moved from leaning on Fremy's shoulder to being pressed into Fremy's chest.

Fremy said to the very flustered Adlet, "I love you."

Adlet was surprised and tried to speak but was cut off by Fremy. Fremy continued, "I love you Adlet, and I am sorry. I am not trying to seduce you, I just…" Fremy gave Adlet's head a brief but tight squeeze with her arms, further squishing him between her two modest mounds. Fremy continued, "I realised today, how unfair I have been, how cold I have been. Adlet, you have done nothing but be kind to be, care for me, protect me, when I couldn't do anything you did it for me. I couldn't and still can't see the value in all the effort that you put to care for me, to make me happy, yet you made the effort anyway and you even gave me the ability to move on my own again. Yet, until today I never thanked you for anything you did, I never smiled. I was too busy thinking of my own misery, my own bleak future as a worthless burden and I never stopped to think about everything you did for me all the time. I am sorry, I haven't been loving, I haven't been sweet or cute, I hadn't even said I love you until now. Since the earliest days of our relationship you admitted your feelings and even when they were rightfully under the most doubt you never abandoned them or went back on them. I can only promise from now on I will make up for my past mistakes, I will earn your affection instead of receiving for free."

Adlet took some time to process how to respond to all of that. A part of him wanted to say that she was wrong that she was just fine and she shouldn't worry about it, he loved her no matter what. But in truth he liked her being more open with her feelings, being honest and showing him affection. Adlet realised that he had really wanted her to say those words and hadn't realised it until she had. While Adlet was no fan of Fremy insulting herself, he didn't think now was the time to scold her or address that problem.

Adlet lifted his head, with no small amount of reluctance, off of Fremy's chest and said with a smile, "Do your best! I believe in you Fremy!"

Fremy blushed at his response and pressed her head into his shoulder to try and smother her many emotions.

The pair soon fell asleep once again having moved forward somewhat in their relationship under the sound of rainfall and in Adlet's old room.

Both would wonder why their relationship evolved so strangely, a normal couple would likely be doing far more in the bed yet neither was truly aware of why but neither was ready for such a development. Adlet could not bring himself to do anything as he somewhere deep still feared that Fremy would leave her and was afraid to do something that would cause her to leave him. Fremy for her part was inexperienced and was afraid that inexperience would cause him to find her less, she was afraid that he would leave her if she was unsatisfying. Both had experienced the ordeal that was losing those you loved the most, the closer they grew, the more that ordeal haunted them, and the fear that for some reason, somehow, they would lose their newfound form of happiness, was ever present in their hearts. Yet neither of them doubted the sincerity of the other, Fremy believed Adlet would fail to admit her errors and faults and that would be what would separate them, Adlet believed something Fremy did not say or communicate would create separation. As such, their mutual fear of losing each other would serve as a barricade and a motivator to grow further.

To be continued in Chapter 4: The Strongest Man, The Half-Fiend and the Strongest Conversation

Afterword: So to warn, the next chapter will be a fair bit of just talking, not that that isn't most of this story in the first place but this chapter especially its end, sets up some issues that we will get to see if they are able to talk through.

An error on my part, that I think still works: So I learned through the Rokka No Yuusha discord that Adlet did not, at least in the part the books cover, kill Atro Spiker. Apparently he had only forced him into a position that he would have been killed should they have continued. Now does this ruin my story, I choose to think it doesn't. While never specifically stated, Atro Spiker seems to be an extreme enough man to make his capstone, graduation project involve having to actually kill him before moving on to become a brave, which would just be one of the many reasons no one besides Adlet had graduated from his teaching.

Till next time!