The Great Dullahan: I did? XD. Nonetheless, thanks for telling me, I'll fix it right away. I was going to give chrome to Luka and Frederika to Naruto though, you know, cause it would be funny with his fear of ghost and all.
Lucian Naruto: I don't mind. and I don't think it can be a spoiler cause I already finished MGQ several times xD. As for my opinion, well, let's just say promestein'd live to see the endgame and saw how everything was actually in Ilias's control since the start. I don't think she'd be angry. Sure, she'd be shocked, but in the end, she'd realize that all of her smartness, all of her IQ, it came from one being and that is Ilias.
she'd be shocked, but in the end, she'd realize that she's a being created by Ilias. As for her reaction, she probably would only close her eyes for a small second and say 'good game'.
gaby11: Thanks gab!
dragun95: Hahaha, so true. Although for me, the chimera is a lot cuter than Nomu in my eyes. though it probably mostly because the chimera is a 'female' while nomu is a male. XD
ZobbleStone: Thanks for the input! ^~^
Chapter 13, Cursed Style
START!
"I'm honestly starting to get annoyed at your morning prayer, Luka"
Yawning, Naruto who slept on top of a tree stretched his hands like some feline on the branch of the said tree. All the while, Alice who slept by winding her tail around the tree bark gave the Hero-in-training stink eyes for a small second.
Then again, of course, she would…
For monsters like them, mornings were never something they spent on something as trivial as praying. For them, morning start with breakfast, followed by hard training, and finished with a bath to freshen their body.
To them, that's the usual morning routine.
"What…? I thought you told me Ilias slipped back then, right? So, I'm sending her prayers so she could feel better and to tell her I'm alright without being baptized"
"…"
Hearing this, Naruto hummed.
Here he thought Luka was joking when he seemed to believe his stupid lie. Oh well, good for him then. Though of course, not for Ilias who now has a believer who believes that she had slipped on a poor eagle and destroyed her own church with her fall.
Pfft…
"Oh… Is that so? Then continue, tell Ilias that I also feel sorry for her"
"Of course!"
Seemingly happy, Luka continues his prayer with a new drive. Unknown to him, by sending Ilias a prayer with his name on the sentence, he could make the goddess angry.
Very angry indeed…
"He's getting stronger… but he's still stupid, Naruto"
Alice said after she slithered upward until she sat beside him, eyes lazily staring at the praying Hero.
"Step by step, sis… step by step"
Naruto nodded sagely with a small smile, amused at his student's antic, but in the end, know that even the most useless person can change as long as they have the drive to better himself.
And Luka has more than enough drive to change himself.
Oh well…
"I'm going to look for a few rabbits… start the fire after you finished your morning pray, Luka"
Popped a few bones in his neck, Naruto stretched a little after he jumped off from the tree where he slept last night. A few meters away from him, Luka nodded in agreement.
Rabbit stew for breakfast… sounds nice.
"As for me, I'm going to take a bath. Make sure everything's ready by the time I finished"
Alice said lazily as she slithered away in the direction of the nearest water source. Behind her, Naruto can only sweat dropped, seeing Alice's movement looks slightly sluggish.
That's what happen when she got no semen after she drained him for a few days consistently.
Her body is sulking.
So funny…
-Later-
"So… you're telling me that a storm happens every time a ship tries to cross? Then how did you reach this continent?"
Walking through the road, the Hero party is currently talking with each other, with Naruto just finishing his explanation to Luka that no ship can cross to Sentora region because of the strange storm that keeps happening.
Of course, he is not telling the boy about the penetrator…
"I can fly, duh. I don't need a ship to cross… though of course, I'm really hoping that I can cross with a ship this time. I never had the luxury to ride one, after all"
Naruto said nonchalantly, ignoring Luka's face that turned into that of horror after he heard his explanation.
"B-But… then how can we cross? Are you going to carry me, teacher?"
Here, Naruto laughed loudly for a few seconds. And after a few seconds passed, his expression becomes blank as he stares at Luka.
"No… try to finish this problem by yourself this time. I'm a person who treat his promise seriously, and yet, I saved you even after I told you I won't help no matter what happen"
Of course, he's talking about Luka's epic failure fight with Granberia.
Sure, he planned it to happen and would've to help Luka no matter what. Because let's just be honest here, Luka is nothing to Granberia with his current weak body and mind.
Expecting the boy to win is far too much and basically impossible…
But a promise is a promise.
"I… I guess you're right"
Righteous and honorable.
To Luka, that is what Naruto represents. Despite sometimes being too blunt and seemingly uncaring about what other people think about him, Naruto never really offend people and was pretty civil and chill to anyone he met, unlike his sister.
So, it is not really surprising that the blonde takes his promises very seriously.
"Glad you understand"
The three continue their journey in a nice silence after that, with Alice would sometimes stop to take some mushroom to eat after Naruto told her whether it was poisonous or not.
As for Luka, he's watching their interaction with a calm gaze.
There's this nice and warm chemistry between the two, something that made him smile a little…
.
..
..
"Hey, Naruto… uh, how do you know Granberia, if I may ask?"
Luka said after a few minutes of silence. And hearing the question, Naruto raises one of his eyebrows considerably…
"Ho? You're curious about that?"
"O-Of course! Graberia is like… one of the strongest monsters who vowed loyalty to the Monster Lord! So, I was like, very shocked when you actually knew her"
Here, Naruto let out a small hum, ignoring the sight of his sister that puffed her chest in pride from the edge of his eyes.
Pfft… just a small compliment and she got all puffed up like some kind of rooster.
So cute.
"Well…" The blonde started "… Me and Granberia is an old acquaintance. We actually grew up together and grow strong together, you could even call us rivals and it wouldn't be wrong"
Naruto said, not really trying to cover up anything. He now knows that Luka is just too stupid that even with so many clues in front of him, he cannot piece the puzzle together like a normal person.
So yeah, he doesn't think he needs to cover up his relationship with Granberia.
"Woah… that's just… woah"
Luka said with an amazed look on his face.
He knew Naruto was impressive, but he didn't know that Naruto is the rival of that Granberia. Granberia who despite being a monster is someone who holds such power in swordsmanship that every swordsman he met actually wanted to clash their blade at least once with her.
"So… who's the stronger one between you two?"
Luka asked, and here, Naruto closed his eyes for a few seconds. And after said few seconds passed, he opened his eyes once again…
"In swordsmanship, we're about equal. But overall, I'm stronger than her"
Now don't get him wrong.
Granberia is a genius when it comes to the sword. She even defeated her race's elder with nothing but an iron sword in her hands when she was but a five-year-old dragonling. And when she's older and heard the information about the monster lord who invited every single strong and confident monster to become her knight, she stepped forward and defeated many under her sword.
She is one of the four among several thousand monsters that wanted the status of Heavenly Knight. Though, for her back then, she just wanted nothing but to clash her blade against other monsters to test her limit.
She's a genius… one that might not come again even after thousands of years passed.
But he's still stronger than her, that's all.
"Wow, Naruto. you might even be as strong as the monster lord then!"
"Hmm… maybe"
Naruto was quick to deflect that trap statement.
Trap, simply because the monster lord herself is currently walking beside him and narrowing her eyes as if daring him to agree that he was stronger than her right in front of her face.
Well… he is stronger than Alice.
He's just not stupid enough that he would say that near her, that's all.
Annoyed Alice is not something he wants to see right now.
"I have a lot of catch up needed to do then"
Luka said with determination shining in his eyes. Naruto is a human, taken care of and trained by a monster or not, Naruto is still a human.
And yet… he fought equally with a monster as strong as Granberia.
"Don't aim too high… walk before you run. If you want to be strong, do it step by step cause there's no shortcut to power without a price"
"Yes! I understand teacher!"
Taking out a note from his pocket, Luka quickly noted down the words said by the blonde, ignoring Naruto himself who stared at him as if he had another head popped from his shoulder.
What's with the note…?
Oh well.
-Later-
"Oh, the smell of the sea is pretty nice here. Naruto, do they have some kind of nice food here…?"
Alice said in her human form the moment the party reached Iliasport while her hand held Naruto's like a couple. A few men sent the blonde jealous looks while vice-versa with the women.
But uncaring of this, Alice's eyes watched around left and right, trying and failing to find a restaurant where they can eat this port town specialty.
Here, Naruto gave her his answer…
"I don't think so. The storm makes the people cannot export their things and also make them cannot import anything they need. So, I'm pretty sure that there will be no open restaurant around here"
"Aww… that suck"
Alice deflated and let out a small pout, not happy after she heard what her brother have said.
Sure, there's nothing that says this Iliasport have some kind of specialty foods that they can call their own in her history book. But the book itself is 500 years old, so she was hoping that the people already developed some kind of nice food in the last five hundred years.
But to think she can't even check because of her own subordinate…
"I'm going to punish her"
Alma Elma.
Narrowing her eyes, Alice sent a pout toward the direction of the sky for a few seconds, annoyed at her wind Heavenly Knight.
"Don't be like that, she's just doing her job. Plus, she is not breaking any rule"
Naruto defended the Queen of succubus, not knowing that Alice's plan to punish Alma Elma is not only because of the storm but also because she smelled the Succubus's scent on him the very first day he summoned her.
She might have approved of Naruto's relationship with her subordinates, but it doesn't mean she must hold back her jealousy.
That and this is a different matter altogether.
"I'll still punish her"
"Okaaaay…?"
Not knowing what make his sister so annoyed, Naruto in the end merely shrugged off his shoulders. Whatever Alice might try to throw at Alma Elma, the succubus is strong enough to handle it, he's sure of it.
"Anyway, let's look for an inn while we wait for Luka"
The purple-haired Hero has started going around the town, talking to the people to ask whether there is some way to get past the sea.
He might succeed, or he might not.
Whichever it is, Naruto is honestly rather uncaring about such a thing.
He's Luka's teacher, after all, not his babysitter.
"Sure… I do hope the inn gonna have some specialty foods though"
"…"
Heard the words muttered by his sister under her breath, Naruto merely shook his head. He's still amused at her usual glutton self…
Don't change Alice… don't change.
.
..
..
"She ripped us off"
Angry-looking Alice said the moment she and Naruto entered their room in the inn. Her form returned to its lamia form as she took her seat on the bed while folding her arms angrily.
"Well… I can't fault her. With the state of the town, it is not a surprise that she took advantage of us, travelers. Plus, it's just a few more coins, Alice, don't be angry"
Naruto said calmly as he took the seat beside his sister and placed his head on her lap, where she starts to caress his scalp as gently as she could as her pout disappears from her face.
But still…
Huff
"She's still taking advantage of us. And that few coins can be used to buy a few plates of food, Naruto"
As his sister started to complain about the inn owner who ripped them off, Naruto can only roll his eyes.
Now, you might ask, just what happened? Well, you see, this inn's room they rented is a little bit too expensive, and the worst part of it, it doesn't even include a meal to eat.
The latter part is what actually makes Alice angry.
"Sure, sure… let's just eat some fried starfishes when we reach Sentora region. I tried it, and it was pretty tasty, so I'm sure you'll like it, Alice"
"Fufufu~ now that's sound like a plan, Naru~"
The monster lord's tail wag the moment she heard what Naruto have said, all the while, Naruto himself merely let out a small smile as he closes his eyes to feel the warmth of Alice's hand caressing his head.
And thus, with this position, Naruto fell into a short nap.
Let's see what kind of information Luka will get once he wakes up.
-Later-
"So… a pirate treasure?"
A few hours later, Naruto, Alice, and Luka stood in a clearing a few yards away from Iliasport, orange painted the sky as the night's coming.
And in the middle of the clearing, Luka is panting with Angel Halo in his hands.
He's trying to copy the technique that Naruto showed him a few minutes ago.
"Y-Yes… it is one among captain Selene's treasures, the storm bell. It is said whoever put the bell in their ship, even in the middle of the fiercest storm, the ship won't even shake"
"Hmm… interesting, pretty sure I read something like that"
Here, Naruto called upon his magic and summoned a rather thick and old-looking book. And wasting no time, he flipped the papers until he reached the end of the book, where he then closed the book back and return it to his private space.
"Nope, not that book… but I guess we've got our destination for tomorrow, Luka. You've got the direction, right?"
"Of course… it is west from the port. I don't think it will be hard to find something like cave or ruin in that direction"
"Good"
Here, Naruto closed his eyes for a few seconds even as Alice took the seat beside him with a pointed look on her face. Though of course, he already knew what she was going to say…
He can sense the presence of that woman in the west direction too, after all.
"Are you sure we're going to west tomorrow, brother?"
His sister said with a rather low voice so Luka doesn't hear what she said. Fortunately for her, the boy is too focused on his training that he didn't hear it.
"Honestly… I'm not sure"
Naruto said in response with his own mutter, arms folded on his chest.
"Tamamo is too much to handle for Luka… Alma Elma's too in that matter. But the fact Alma Elma is staying near the sea to keep making storm and Tamamo staying in the west to guard something, it means the rumor about that bell is true"
The Queen Harpy, Granberia, Tamamo-no-Mae, and Alma Elma.
It is as if destiny or fate itself wanted Luka to meet those powerhouses despite the boy's yet to have any power to fight them. And sure, he can help him… but how many times does he need to help the boy?
One or two times might be okay, but if he kept helping the boy, his self-confidence might take a hit and it's not something that Naruto really wants.
"Oi Luka! Train harder! If by tomorrow you haven't mastered that technique, forget about our journey to search that bell!"
"What!? But this technique is hard!"
From the clearing, a voice of disbelief from Luka can be heard.
Heard this, Naruto merely let out a small huff, uncaring of the boy's plea.
Tamamo rarely come out of her house, and when she did, she would always bring her aides with her and rarely fight by herself if the enemy is someone rather weak.
With luck, Luka will fight against Tamamo's aides and not the Kitsune Queen herself.
"I don't care! Master it or no journey for tomorrow, that's final!"
"I…. I will try my best!"
"Don't try! Do it!"
"Y-Yes!"
As the boy who wants to be a Hero gain another burst of determination, Naruto nodded to himself. Though a few seconds later, his eyes went to the direction of the sky with a narrowing gaze.
He felt something…
"Sis… you feel that?"
He whispered to Alice that merely stared at him with confused looking eyes once she heard his question.
"Feel what? I don't feel anything"
"I see…"
Right hand on his chin, Naruto's mind went for miles as he thinks about the 'something' he felt just now. It's already gone…
Is it Ilias?
Michaela did say the Goddess has some kind of omnipresence ability, after all.
Such a sly move, Ilias.
Sensing another wave of that 'something' once again, Naruto smirked to himself. And after he did, he raise his right hand to the sky and did a rude middle finger for a few seconds.
Eat that, you stupid goddess.
-Somewhere else-
Anger.
For the first time since her clash with the Alipheese the first, Ilias the Goddess of creation face turn red just like that of tomato. And on the side of her forehead, several veins of anger can be seen.
In front of her, a floating screen can be seen, showing the image of Naruto who's giving her a middle finger.
"Dead… you're so going to be dead under me, Naruto"
With a face befitting of a 'monster', Ilias growled lowly under her breath.
Two times.
This is the second time this Naruto offend a Goddess like her with his rudeness. Of course, in the first time alone, he hit her, an unforgivable sin that would've turned him into ashes if not for his immunity to her thunder of judgment.
"G-Goddess Ilias… how can he notice your omnipresence, if I may ask?"
Eden said from the chair a few meters away from her. She's still reading the book of life just in case there's some more information about Naruto that she could glean from the book.
Though for the last few days, she's having no luck whatsoever.
"…"
From her throne, Ilias merely kept her silence.
She doesn't know… for all intent, she doesn't know anything about this Naruto prior to his offensive hit toward her cheek. And for that alone, he is a dangerous being in her eyes.
And yet, the current monster lord and her subordinates knew him, as if they grew up with him…
Something…
Someone great… greater than her is covering the blonde's past, present, and future from her eyes. Something that renders her from reading him.
The worst part is, she now cannot even read anyone close to him, including her own champion, Luka.
Clench
"I don't know… but I want him dead… no… I want him captured"
As her mind began to get clear, Ilias started to calm herself.
The blonde is a perfect being… he cannot die, that's the truth she knew about the perfect being, the being she wishes to become if given the chance.
And thus, she will need to change her plan about this Naruto.
When the time comes, she will attack him, chain him with the heavenly chains that can render anything and anyone weak and powerless.
And then…
And then…
This Naruto will wish he dies instead.
-With Naruto-
Shivers
"Woah… that's one cold air, for sure"
Naruto said to himself as he entered his room with Alice in tow after he shivered for a brief second.
Turned his head to the window, and he saw it open. And knowing it must be the reason for his shiver, he walked to it and closed the window.
Huff
"This is better…"
"Stop dilly dallying, you idiot. Come here before I pull you by force"
Just turned his body, Naruto sweat dropped when he saw his sister already laying on the bed with one of her hands raising the blanket for him to enter, her eyes glaring at him with annoyance, daring him to waste more of her time.
She's so tsundere.
"Okay, okay… I'm just gonna take off my clothes first"
With a snap of his fingers, Naruto took off all of his clothes down to his pants, leaving him in nothing but a pair of boxers.
Once he did, Naruto climbed the bed and enter the blanket, where his sister then quickly wrapped her tail around his whole body and pull him into a rather forceful embrace with his face in the middle of her big pair of bosoms.
Looking up, Naruto sweatdropped, seeing Alice's cheeks already turning red.
"You're that hungry already…?"
"S-Shut up"
Rolled his eyes, Naruto merely brace himself for another night of sex with Alice.
Phew
She's so gluttonous, both for food and sex.
.
..
-Tomorrow-
"Alright… are you ready, Luka?"
Right outside the Iliasport, Naruto asked Luka after he made sure that the boy already mastered the technique he taught him yesterday.
The boy is a quick learner, that's for sure.
"Yeah, I bought a few spices to cook too just this morning"
When Naruto and Alice still sleeping, that is.
For some reason, both of them woke up rather late today. Though not really in the mood to ask, he decided not to and just went to the market to buy some spices and a few more things to cook just in case they didn't reach their destination and must stay in the wild for the night.
"…"
Wordlessly, Naruto let out a small grin and nodded.
And seeing this, Luka took the first step forward and behind him, Naruto and his sister start to follow. He's now already rather used to this unofficial leader position a little.
Only when it comes to Hero things though.
When it comes to other things, Naruto is the leader of this strange party of theirs, he cannot and won't refute it. Not only because he respects Naruto a lot, but because Alice also scares him sometimes.
Lamia is a high-rank monster race, that alone makes him fear her if he can be honest.
.
..
..
"Oh, Luka. Do you want to hear the history of the technique I taught you yesterday?"
Naruto asked in the middle of the road while watching his sister gobbling some of the snacks they took from the inn just this morning.
Not far from him, Luka blinked his eyes, confused.
"Uh… sure. I don't mind, but does it have any use?"
Here, instead of Naruto who answer Luka's question, it was Alice…
"Owf couwce, yoh idhiot"
Though her words are kinda muffled because of the food still in her mouth. And with a gulp, Alice swallowed said food as easily as a snake swallowing a big bull.
Something that made Luka shivered for a small second.
"As the next swordsman of cursed sword style, you must take pride in every technique you have. If you don't, not only it would disrespect Naruto and Granberia who are the masters of cursed sword style, but you'll also disrespect all of the monsters who use it"
"C-C-Cursed sword style…?"
As Luka shuttered and shocked beyond words after he learn the truth about the technique taught to him yesterday, his eyes widen.
Here, Naruto nodded.
"Of course, I was adopted by monster after all. Did you really think I would know Hero techniques, Luka?"
He knew that…
But he thought the technique is just that, a normal technique. Though before he can even say anything, Naruto already continues his words.
"Then again, why should you care about cursed techniques or Hero techniques? I mean, you're going to use those to become a Hero in the end"
"T-That's true, I guess"
Here, Naruto let out a cat-eating canary smile.
"Glad you understand. Now, let me explain the history of the technique I taught to you last night"
By the end of Naruto's words, Luka basically turns into a stone as he keeps walking forward with a shocked and disbelieving shock on his face.
The technique...
"I-It was used to kill hundreds of humans?"
"Yep! And don't mind the number. Cursed style or Hero style, by the end of it, all of them was created to kill and nothing else. Same end, different users, that's all there is"
For a small second, Luka opened his mouth as if to defend the Heroes.
But in the end, he closed back his mouth as he cannot find anything to refute Naruto's words. For all intent, all sword technique was created to kill the enemy, even the Heroes technique was created to kill monsters.
"Plus, you want coexistent happen, right? So, you shouldn't refuse monster style just because it is not Hero style"
"Alright, alright… I understand, teacher"
With a small sigh coming out his lips, Luka gave up trying to make his teacher see the reasons. Just as he said before, his teacher is right, he cannot be racist if he really wanted coexistence to happen.
It's pretty hard to become a Hero… a true Hero, that is.
"Good. Keep open your mind and heart if you really want your dream become reality and not just that… a dream"
Naruto nodded sagely despite his cat-eating canary grin.
Why he's smiling so largely, you ask?
It's because he's sensing that mysterious thing that he knew belonged to Ilias's ability, omnipresence, once again. And no, that's not the only thing he sensed from it.
He also sensed a spark of killing intent a little bit.
Ooooh~
The goddess is angry~
Raising his right hand high to the sky, Naruto did another middle finger. One that makes him cackle inside his mind the moment the killing intent return with vengeance.
"My dear son… you're playing a dangerous game right now"
Came a worried voice of his mother from the depth of his mind. And hearing this, Naruto's smile turns into that of a gentle one…
'It is alright mother. Ilias would've come down if she really can. Or at the very least, sent down a few thunders at me… this anger of hers, it's not something that could be easily contained'
The fact the goddess doesn't do it means she can't… or perhaps she's biding her time for something much bigger to hit him with as even her famous thunder was rendered useless before his durable body.
Hmm… so interesting~
Looking up, Naruto let out a cooky smile and mouthed something.
I'll wait to see what's your next plan, Ilias
Didn't realize that I let this story sat for a whole month xD
But then again, I was writing the other story of mine.
anyway...
love it?
hate it?
as usual, tell me in the review section. and that's all from me today.
Ciao~z