Chapter 2...
Finally. It took me longer than expected, so I doubled the length of the chapter.
The reason it takes a long time to write something is that I enjoy reading more than writing and despite the recent quarantine my school has decided to double our current large workload. So I have that to deal with...
There are some things that changed, so keeps these things in mind.
Thoughts are expressed through italics now and are more prominent. Bold words are actions or thoughts that carry a lot of weight to them, these will not be common.
Warning: there is some gore in this chapter.
Please note that gore will not be featured a lot in this story, besides combat wounds and something similar, this most likely a one-time case.
Thank you for your support, reviews will be answered at the end.
Fear
Fear is an intense emotion that's caused by awareness or anticipation of a real or perceived danger. It is an instinct that tells you to look around, to protect yourself.
That was what emotion Luther was feeling when he realized that something had grasped his leg, a tentacle. It slowly registered to him what was happening. As he was having an internal monologue someone had taken advantage of his state of mind, some Monster had chosen him as prey.
Luther, you oblivious fool! How did I begin to think it was a good idea to lose track of my surroundings, especially in this place! Luther chastised himself. It angered him, both the inconvenience of the monster appearing and the fact that he had got caught off guard.
But…this does not make any sense. There is not a monster nearby the village, other than the slime girl in the story, what the hell is happening? Chambers glanced at the purple tentacle slowly taking hold of his leg. It confused him for a moment. Shouldn't this monster have already pulled me in by now?
Then the realization hit him, this thing hasn't noticed his alert state. He was glad that his leg wasn't bouncing from the anxiety and fear, if it was he would have been someone's dinner already. The man began to shift through his pockets, even through the content of his bag hoping to find any sharp object he can use to cut himself free. Making sure he wasn't making any sudden movements that might alert his assaulter he looked around his surroundings to find a sharp object.
Seriously? I have nothing! Luther grimaced, he couldn't believe it…he could have escaped. Ran away from this being, if he had a knife, one simple knife, a simple tool he should have brought! But then again what is it really his fault…? That he didn't predict he would have to face a rape demon ever in his life. Chambers knew he was running out of time, the monster appendage was already stretching in an attempt to pull him in. He stifled his breath and offered a figurative prayer to no one in particular.
In an instant the tentacle pulled him, another appendage quickly followed and grabbed his other leg. The considerable force had slammed him into the ground, causing his body to ache in pain, his form to spasm in an attempt to grip something solid enough to hold on to.
Come on! Grab onto something! His arms swayed around, nails biting and tearing into the rocks and sticks, which were torn from the ground with him. The force of the motion was too much for them. Useless, useless, USELESS!
Luther turned his head with a frightful look on his face, what he saw shook him to the core. It wasn't any regular tentacle monster, but a roper - twisted and horrifying monstrosity of plant fiber and flesh. A creature that wouldn't live in any ecosystem under normal circumstance, but of divine interference. He would have cursed the name of the Goddess that came up with its foul existence if he wasn't preoccupied with its attempt to devour him.
"Kekekeke Oh finally a meal. ~ I have been waiting for someone to come along for a long time, you know~?" The Monster cackled sadistically, she had a wide lipless smile on her face that only matched the likes of Ilias in terms of creepiness.
"Although I would have preferred the boy over you, the children always scream the best! ~"The Roper complained as she giggled. Whether she was trying to mess with him or she actually meant it, he didn't care, it disgusted him nonetheless.
Yes! Luther had managed to get a solid grip on a tree temporarily halting the roper. Unfortunately, the man's success didn't last long, as the Roper simply pulled him harder, his meaningless attempts only proved to entertain his twisted assailant.
"Yes! Yes! ~struggle more! ~" She moaned out.
He was quite close to her. The air around Luther grew cold with realization. The emotion, the fear he was feeling was slowly being replaced by something else. The dark that the light of consciousness ironically pushed out of instinct, yet it slipped through the formed cracks. Gone was the near paralyzing fear and frustration, entered hatred and primal fear. A fear which motivated to do something, to hurt, to damage someone, anything to survive. Chambers' left arm pulsed with heat. He felt something shift, crawl underneath his arm's skin once more.
Nononono, NO! I'm not going to die now! After everything that just happened, after I just got out of that torturous hell hole! I absolutely refuse! You'll be damned if you expect me to not have the audacity to kick and scream while I'm being dragged into death. Luther sneered at the Roper and the soullessness of his eyes changed.
It was an average day for the Roper, sitting in the middle of nowhere, waiting for prey to come by. For you see, she preferred a more subtle approach, got the best reactions out of them. They always resisted and feared her most that way, and her long tentacles were perfect for the job. Shame they rarely did anything, but when they do, it's always a moment to savor.
She was broke out her daydreaming when she heard the commotion going on between a purple-haired boy and a slime girl, she only barely saw it through the foliage, but it looked like the slime had already taken him. It frustrated her. How dare she! A low-level monster caught prey, but here I am with nothing...
Being forced to witness a potential human she could have eaten be taken by an ordinary slime girl made her multiple appendages twisted and tangled, just by thinking about it all. She considered doing something until a stranger intervened, he literally jumped in and surprised both of the Monsters, but this 'heroic' bravado was broken as soon as the individual stood still frozen. She was forced to stifle her laughter. Is this his first meeting with a monster? Is he so easily broken?
Those thoughts were thrown out as the man stoically walked towards the pitiful slime and pulled the boy out. Maybe, this day isn't going to be boring... she was going to see that despicable slime kick the bucket or at least get beat up. After a couple of moments, she saw the same slime girl, missing some chunks of her body and rushing with ridiculous speed out of the bushes, completely ignoring her.
The Roper looked onward and saw the purple-haired boy run off into the direction of that damned temple, but the man stayed and appeared to be deep in thought. She sighed, she would have preferred that boy over the man as her prey, not only did he smell better; she had also preferred a certain taste. Nevertheless, she couldn't complain, after all, she hadn't eaten in a while and beggars can't be choosers.
Oh, well…Her extra appendages stretched out on the ground hiding in the tall grass, slowly moving forward toward their target. The Roper's tentacles were longer than that of her sisters, which along with her style of hunting had been constantly ridiculed, she despised them for this and never forgave their mockery. Every single prey she dissolved was a victory against them and she's about to put another trophy on the figurative wall.
The Roper managed to wrap around his leg, she smiled seeing his reaction. His desperate searching for something to get him out of this situation before it was too late had given her entertainment. She had given him hope and now she would give him despair. She pulled him by the legs. The unfortunate man swayed his arms around in desperation and grabbed anything he got his hands on. It made her cackle. He certainly got some fire within him.
He even latched onto a tree to stop her, how amusing, but ultimately useless, his efforts had almost aroused her. He hade even managed to make her moan. There was one thing certain. I'm going to eat him nice and slow~.
The Monster finally managed to get a good look at his face. She had expected to see a terrified look on his eyes like that of a rabbit caught by a predator, instead, she saw a cornered wolf ready to strike out at his enemy.
She could have sworn she saw dark fire brewing in his eyes.
Luther continued his fight for survival, despite that he was already at arm's length with the roper, he desperately tried to kick, punch and scream, but the monster merely wrapped her tentacles around his body and shoved one in his mouth, which was a mistake. Chambers bit down on the slimy appendage hard.
"You bastard! " The monster slapped the man with amazing strength, causing Chambers to spit out the Monster blood from the tentacle.
This physical hit caused a chain reaction of events rather unfortunate to the Monster. The monstrous appendage she used to hit the scarred man let go of his left arm, which began to surge in invisible energy. Although, the man had no time to analyze what exactly was happening, the blow from the Roper made Luther recoil swinging his arm downwards.
The hand cleanly swiped through the Roper. His adversary froze, her appendages fully relaxing, letting the man drop to the ground and hastily crawl away from her. Luther's breathing was erratic, his lungs taking any opportunity to take in more air. Still remaining in a fight or flight state he frantically glanced around, yet the fight was over, the only thing left for him now was to flee. However, as he looked back at the Monster, she just stayed there frozen solid, until a part of her face started to droop down revealing a horrifying conclusion to this conflict.
The Roper's skin tore away showing muscle tissue, blood vessels, along with the blood that gushed out. It all stained the grass and dirt a crimson color. Her face revealed several parts of her skull, the entirety of her teeth were visible, as well as the upper part of her jaw. Her heart popped out and threatened to fall on the ground, hanging loosely by several veins and arteries. The entire Monster turned into a macabre flesh statue that looked like it had been made by a disturbed murderer.
Luther's breathing started to slow down as his ever-shaking body used up the last bit of his generated adrenaline. Chambers looked to his now dead adversary, his vision began to clear. Eyes widened at the unsettling scene before him, the now-dead Roper girl, and the adrenaline was replaced with dread.
Oh dear god…I did this, me… The realization hit him. He had killed someone… no, butchered would be the right word for what he had done. No matter how many times he closed his eyes or looked away the image of the disfigured corpse of the monster stayed in his mind, showing the permanence of his actions. The man's throat tightened, his stomach churned. I think… I think I'm going to be sick.
His mouth opened, but no words came out, the inner turmoil within him preoccupied his thoughts. All he could do now was stare at his left arm, the thing that caused this. Then it came, the disgust, he could no longer bear it, his body tried to fight the bile, but it was too much. The digested breakfast he had, spewed out of his mouth, covering the ground near him. Though his burning throat was agonizing, it was fairly short, but felt like a century had passed.
It's okay, it's okay she deserves this... Luther's mind tried to make an excuse but found he could not.
No! This type of thinking can get you down a dark road Luther. You will end up even worse than her! He shook his head, at even conceiving the thought of excusing a murder. Chamber's knew that killing this Monster had probably spared her future victims' lives, but what right did he have to sentence someone, regardless of their crimes, to death, let alone perform the deed himself? He didn't know how he would be able to look at himself in the mirror.
This…This isn't just a story… The body and blood had been too real for him. Any part of Chamber's thoughts that this world was going to follow the plotlines of the game were banished. These people -Monsters, Humans, or Angels were living, breathing creatures, not characters in some game.
He did not know how long he lingered there, motionless, agonizing moments passed by one by one.
Another fucking memory to burn a hole in my heart, huh? Luther deeply sighed as he found the strength to shakily stand upright. Truth is, he had no qualms with assaulting the Monster to get away. He felt he was quite justified in doing in so, believing in self-defense to a certain extent, but killing someone in self-defense was another moral beast in its entirety. A beast he hadn't expected to tackle within his life, and wishes to not tackle again.
While still nauseous, Luther had recovered some capability to think rational thoughts. The very first ones that came to his mind were: 'How did I even do that?' 'Can I do it again?' and 'Can I stop myself from doing it?'
Chambers couldn't bring himself to examine the damage he did yet, instead, he looked at the rest of the environment. Maybe he could get some insight into what exactly happened. He found himself drawn to the ground he had been dragged through.
The Outsider found pulled grass, rocks lodged out the dirt, tree bark, clumps of dirt, and something more, something intriguing. He found strange spherical deformations in the ground, these deformations stretched out from an origin point. Remembering the way he was dragged by the Roper wasn't pleasant, but served to remind him that he was touching that exact spot with his left arm…
His left arm, curiously the rash had only gotten worse since he sliced the Monster in half, it took a conscious effort not to start furiously scratching his arm to the bone. Which was suspect…the rash only appeared when he touched the thing in his house. Or maybe he was just being paranoid? The shifting feeling underneath his arm, the deformities on the ground, the corpse lying behind him, and the manner of its mutilation, there was one thing he knew for certain - something had happened to his arm. He would be a fool to think otherwise.
Ever so slowly Luther shifted his view to the mangled corpse of his adversary, flinching at the mere sight of it. It wasn't the scene of this that caused him pain, but the idea, that he was capable of this destruction. He remembered the sensation of it, his hand cut through her with no resistance, like swiping through the air. The way all of it occurred brought some vague memories of a story he read through, though he wasn't completely sure of it.
It can't be it, can it?
Suddenly, he heard a loud bang as if something had hit the ground.
The sudden crash had caused the man to enter an alert state; he wasn't going to go down without a fight. Except that there was nothing, no one around, he was safe…Then he realized - Alice had just crashed. Luther was hesitating, should he go to Alice and meet Luka again? It was a part of his plan after all…but this was it, there was no going back from that.
There is no better option I can think of right now… The man cautiously glancing at his left arm walked toward the crash site, finding no better alternative for his plan. He needed some security in this world, something his 'hand' likely won't provide, and even if it did he doesn't want to kill anybody… not again.
Chambers made it to the clearing and saw his purple-haired acquaintance looking over the knocked out monster lord. It wasn't that hard to find them, he already had a general idea of their location from the sound. That…and the trashed trees were an obvious clue that he was going the right way.
Even distracted Luka had managed to notice the stranger he met not a long while ago. He looked shaken… then, Luka realized something related to his savior and the Monster that he found, something quite likely. Does he hate monsters?
Luther looked intently at Alice's laying body. Seeing her in real life was very different in a way Luther found it hard to describe, his eyes went up and down scanning her alien form - the purple skin and tribal tattoos, glorious pure white hair, pointy ears, most obviously her snake lower half of her body, the scales that neatly melded together somehow both looked rough and smooth at the same time. All of this made up her unique appearance, which the stranger ultimately admitted was very beautiful in its own way.
"You're not going to do anything to her?" Luka innocently asked. The concern was quite evident on his face, seeing how Luther was staring at the lamia with a frown had almost confirmed his thoughts.
"No, of course not, I don't have any reason to harm her," Luther responded, somewhat confused as to why the boy assumed any harmful intent from him. That wasn't good for his plans, was it his mannerism, the probably creepy staring? He knew he wasn't exactly known for his bright smiles or happy disposition. Even if he wanted to do something he couldn't, his face refused to put on such a façade.
"Luther Chamber, in case you forgot, it's Luka, right? Not the most pleasant way to meet again, is it?" The stranger's expression slightly softened as he shot some glances at Alice. Luka realized his savior did seem to harbor anything negative against the monstrous species, at least not enough to consider killing someone that's in a vulnerable position.
"Yeah, it's nice to meet you again, even in this way..."
"Oh! What should I do? I have to go to my baptism, but I can't just leave her here." The hero apprentice suddenly asked the man before him, this surprised Luther. He didn't expect to get any choice in the matter. Of course, he knew his response already, lest he incurs the wrath of the monster lord herself, he doubted even his hand would help him in that situation if he even knew how or wanted to use it.
"If you want to know the answer to that question, ask yourself this. 'What kind of a hero would leave someone in their time of need'?", it was slight manipulation on his part, but it pushed Luka into the direction he needed to go.
"You're right! I can't just leave someone behind because of my own selfishness" At his indirect question, Luka's resolve and the decision were reinforced. If he wanted to be a true hero he would help people regardless if they were a Monster or Human, even if it cost him his life... The purple-haired boy quickly rushed to Alice's side to check her vitals.
As soon as Luka got close, Alice opened her amber eyes, and looking directly at the fake hero she immediately got up. It was bizarre to see her move for Luther, despite how impractical her body looked, she moved perfectly and "stood up" without much issue, just like one would stand up with their legs. But he composed himself, he wasn't going to be caught gawking or raising any eyebrows today.
"Where am I?" Alice bluntly asked without much warning, staring directly at the purple-haired hero.
"Eh..?" Her sudden question managed to surprise Luka. That was fast, she just got up and is already interrogating me.
"I said. Where am I?" The monster lord rudely asked again, glaring both at Luka and the currently silent Luther.
"Err…You're close to Ilias village," Luka answered honestly, he was slightly taken aback that he did so quickly. Perhaps this was simply fear he was feeling, this Monster seemed powerful after all, his answer served to earn a sigh of relief from Luther.
"I was blown to such a place. That damn girl…what crazy strength…" Alice dejectedly mumbled which managed to only confuse Luka as to who this girl was referring to, unfortunately, he did not have time to dwell on that.
"Anyway, who are you, both of you?" Ignoring the confused state of the boy's mind she directed the question to both of the males in the vicinity.
"Luther Chambers." Luther introduced himself offering her no more or less than she asked, figuring that it could encourage Luka to answer truthfully, so he can avoid the "pleasantry" of being hypnotized.
That would put him in a bit of a corner, he couldn't cover his eyes before she used her magic glare, else he risked being extremely suspicious, and actually being controlled could lead to some nasty consequences. If he somehow manages to slip words he shouldn't have said, say something he shouldn't have then either Alice or Ilias herself may kill him for knowing too much. I'm gambling with my life here…
"I'm the hero apprentice Luka, from the nearby Ilias village." The purple-haired boy responded with minor confidence he got from his savior near him, he felt relieved he wasn't alone in this situation with this rude Monster.
"A hero's apprentice…So you haven't been baptized yet? You do smell pretty delicious." She smacked her lips sending a shiver down Luka's spine.
"Speaking of smell…" She moved closer to Luther's face, surprising and forcing him to lean back from her sudden proximity which only made her lean forward, their noses practically touching. Please don't fucking tell me I'm more of a Monster magnet than Luka, that would be ridiculous, he's the Nephilim! I'm just an ordinary human, there's nothing interesting about me.
"How strange…I don't even know how to describe it," Alice remarked and mumbled something, a barely heard whisper. Chamber had only managed to hear the word 'floral', which perplexed him, although even in such a state he didn't miss Luka slowly backing away from Alice and him.
This was the only thought that popped into his head after the closed faced encounter. She has no sense of personal space… on second thought I don't even know why expected anything else.
"Sorry, I don't have time for this, the baptism! I have to get there in time before it's too late!" The hero apprentice yelled out as he attempted to run away.
"Stop." The lamia ordered. Luka was immediately stopped by Alice reaching out and coiling her snake tail around Luka's body while keeping a close eye on his supposed companion.
"Ahh, I understand your situation now. Today is Ilias' birthday, so you're to receive your baptism." The monster lord cleverly presumed in a condescending tone.
This reminded Luther of the whole baptism concept and got him thinking. I never really did get the whole plot point about Luka being depressed for getting baptized. Can't he just do it the next year? Or is it just a cultural thing and you can only receive baptism exactly when you come of age?
He sighed. Questions, questions…questions that are absolutely useless to me…
"That's right, so could please let go of me?" The young hero asked in a pleading tone while also looking directly at Luther, hoping for him to do something, but only saw him slowly shaking his head.
"Ilias baptism…How foolish." The monster dismissed Luka.
"Foolish!?" The purple-haired boy repeated the word in disbelief. It had left a sour taste in his mouth.
"Whatever…Just …Just let me go, alright?" He demanded with a bitter tone, before calming down.
She stared into his eyes, huffed, and after a couple of moments spoke up again.
"Why did you not kill me when I was unconscious?" She curiously questioned, glancing at the boy in her grasp and the man near her. After a couple of silent seconds, Luther decided to respond.
"I'm sorry if I'm not the type of person to go around killing people randomly." Chambers deadpanned with a slight winced once he realized the inner implication of what he just said, earning an annoyed look from Alice. Besides, she could probably kill me in her sleep.
"Ex-exactly, I didn't know if you were good or bad…There is no way I could just kill you like that," Luka replied, it was strange that this girl had suspected such a thing from him when he hadn't even conceived such an idea.
"Ho… You don't see all Monsters as enemies." She inquired further, the hint of doubt and slight interest stained her voice.
"Certainly there are people who do…" Luka acknowledged before being interrupted. He wasn't a complete fool on such a subject, after all, the closest example for this was the village he lived in. Growing up there, despite different people being there, the fear and hatred for monsters was still present from what he personally heard and witnessed.
"But you want to be a hero. IF you're someone who doesn't treat Monsters as an enemy, why would you become a hero, whose goal is to kill the Monster Lord? Is it for fame? Ambition? Or...?" The snake girl pushed on with her barrage of questions, she was sure this boy in spite of his innocent appearance had to have some selfish agenda.
"Oh, I don't want to be that kind of hero. I don't even hate the Monster Lord. I just want to stop her from doing evil things." Luka explained, confident in his answer, his resolve was admirable, albeit childish.
His response had made Alice's eye twitch, she had expected something different, even for him to lie, but she heard no falsehoods in his voice.
This boy was really this naïve, this fact frustrated her, she had even forgotten that Luther existed at this moment.
"What?" She questioned Luka; her annoyance was clearly evident in her tone.
"I don't want to kill Monsters or even the Monster Lord. I want a world where man and Monster can coexist peacefully! If the Monster Lord gets in the way, then I'll just have to defeat her…that's what I swore to myself!" The fake hero declared.
The lamia took a long look at the boy, her face shifted to a more neutral expression. "You're an idiot." She bluntly stated, no words could describe what Luther felt at the sight of the purple-haired boy's resolve vanishing like air out of a punctured balloon. The scene was almost comedic, all it took was three words to crack Luka.
"Guh…W-why am I an idiot!? I just want man and Mo-Monster to…" Luka tried to keep up the confidence of his beliefs, but he was shut down.
"Believing in an immature view of world peace, with everyone living in harmony with no issues…What is that but idiotic?" The snake girl argued her words cut the boy deep that he found no will to say something back.
"A child doesn't understand the world he's living in…Monsters living hand-in-hand with humans? When are you going to wake up from your dreaming?" The Monster chided the boy, feigning gentleness.
"But I…" Luka tried to intervene.
"I understand…you still have the mind of a child." Alice sighed as she slowly started to release the fake hero from her snake form.
"Just go…Little boy." She mocked him and lightly patted him on the head, akin to petting a dog.
"Wh..What do you know!? You idiot!" Red-faced Luka swatted her hand away and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.
After such a childish outburst Alice could only look at Luther, who was giving her a soulless glare. Even after a close up with him she never did notice how empty his eyes were, coupled with his judgmental stare managed to disturb her, first the strange smell and now this, just what was this man? Before the chance of asking came, she already saw the stranger run past her and after the naïve boy she shooed away, most likely to console him. This day is going to be more interesting than she thought…
Is it me or was this whole ordeal worse than I remembered happening in the story? It was definitely harsher, was it? It didn't take long for Luther to decide to chase after Luka. Seeing him get chastised wasn't very fun when you were part of that conversation and not behind a computer screen, besides, he didn't exactly feel safe staying in the same place with Alice alone. He was more comfortable when Luka was around, even if it was a false sense of security, he currently was unable to stop her if she tried anything.
That is if she wanted to do anything to him, he saw how she looked at him with curiosity and…uncertainty, quite contrary to Luka, where she was confident and partly amused. Although I suppose that's the normal Monster's reaction to the boy's presence, that's maybe part of his 'Monster magnet' charm, at least that would get the attention off of me.
Chambers knew that Alice was most likely behind him, following or perhaps even ahead of him. Either way, it didn't matter, he would meet her at Luka's house. How would he proceed there, will it go just as badly? Thankfully there was one good thing that happened to him, there was a clear dirt road leading him to his destination, but it was longer than the visual novel made out to be. He had to pat past Luther on the back for joining the high school track team. Otherwise, he would be a gasping mess on the ground right now.
Speaking about my body condition, goddamn! This rash is killing me. He was lucky he didn't break down in front of Alice and Luka and start furiously scratching his arm off. It really made him think that something was wrong with his arm, despite his intense urge to scratch his arm looked perfectly fine and the heat that pulsed out of his arm was unquestionably higher than his own body temperature. It felt like there was something living there, under his skin. Whatever it was, if it was even there or just delusion, was it any way related to him "slashing" the Roper in half? If that proved true, should he be grateful or concerned?
If that was the case, he had some ideas of what might have been, but he had neither the time nor the resources to actually test them out. Well, perhaps one idea was of easy access. As stupid as it sounded to him it could be true, after all, he was in a world where one of the main species' primary way of feeding themselves is draining their victims lives through their balls, which was an even more ridiculous concept. Unfortunately, reality doesn't have to follow the feeling of realism, especially not here.
Luther had managed to reach Ilias village in a fairly fast fashion. Ilias village was everything you would expect from a peaceful village in a fantasy setting: clear sunny sky not obscured by the trees, men and women going about their daily life working the fields, managing life stock among other activities, children running out and playing in vast fields. It felt peaceful and quiet compared to the bustling noise of his home city. I can hear the stereotypical happy town music playing in the background, just by looking at all of this.
The only disturbance of this peaceful aura was a distinguished purple blur rushing into a house and slamming the door shut, the stranger already knew who this was. Guess he was pretty shaken up by the whole debacle with Alice...
Luka felt frustrated, depressed, disappointed – his attempt at helping someone ended up with him being chastised for his hopes and dreams for coexistence, and because of that he was late for his baptism, the chance to meet his Goddess, Ilias, and be officially proclaimed a hero was ruined. A once in a lifetime opportunity squandered. This was what he got, his reward…
Of course, this was not going to stop him, he may have not gotten Ilias blessing because of a certain minor conflict, but if he was going to stop because of that, then he wasn't worth the title of a hero, a true hero. In Luka's mind the title of a true hero was built on the foundation of self-sacrifice, the capability to give away benefits and comfort so that others may live peacefully. If he wasn't able to brush this off, then he would be crushed, later on he would fail.
Loud knocks on the door broke Luka out of his thoughts, allowing him to compose himself. Who was behind the door? He didn't know the answer to that, but it definitely wasn't Betty, the knocks on the door were loud and heavy-handed. Perhaps it was one of the other villagers. Did his distressing behavior worry them?
He felt guilty; they were all expecting him to receive Ilias blessing and become a great hero, but here he was, sitting in his house and musing about his failure. He couldn't disappoint them, as bad as it felt he had to pretend and lie that he had received baptism. He would still go out and had spoken to the Goddess directly, so that had to amount to something, right?
Preparing himself he opened the door, what he found behind it both relieved and confused him. It wasn't one of the fellow villagers, but Luther, his savior from that slime Monster, awkwardly staring at him with cold dead eyes. Luka didn't have to come up with an explanation for his disheartened state, after all, he saw everything that unfolded with that strong looking Monster, which he was glad, but how did he know he lived here? Did he follow him and if so, why?
"Sorry if this is all of a sudden, may I come in?" Chambers asked politely, which seemed to be unnatural for the man given his unflinching facial expression.
"Sure…" Luka nodded and let the stranger into his house. He was hoping to get some answers out of the man now that they were in a more comfortable place and time frame, neither of them had much pressure put on them as far as he knew and Luther had seemed to be friendly so far, disregarding his appearance and neutral countenance.
As they both moved away from the closed door and looked back they saw a familiar snake-like figure emerge from a dark corner of Luka's house. Wide-eyed Luka gawked in surprise at the unexpected visitor who had an amused grin at the boy's reaction.
Luther could only stare in surprise. Damn… I didn't think she'd be that fast, I didn't even notice anyone was there.
"Ho- how did y-you?" Luka managed to stammer out before being rudely interrupted.
"How did I get here so fast? Well, that's easy to explain, you're both pathetically slow." Alice smugly stated, causing a slight nearly unnoticeable twitch in Luka's eye. After a couple of seconds the boy composed himself.
"How did you find my house?" The boy asked and paused looking at Luther as well.
"As convenient as it sounds, I just saw you run into your house just as I entered the village," Luther responded truthfully and continued passively observe the interactions between Luka and Alice, their conversation went on normally with Luka instinctively avoiding Monster lords powerful stare. They both seemly forgotten he existed, either by choice or by necessity in Luka's case, he couldn't help but keep his eyes on the Monster in front of him.
"Why did you come here?" The question finally came.
"Well…I was just interested, among other things…" She shot a suspicious glance at the third party, who had suddenly gotten quiet. Luther only raised a brow at that. What's up with her? Did I do something wrong?
"Besides that, there is something I want to confirm." Alice continued acting as if she hadn't done anything at all.
"Eh..?" Luka's confusion was genuine, the same Monster that had compared him to the likeness of a child for his beliefs was now suddenly interested in something relating to him. He had no idea how to respond to her change in attitude, so he decided to push that aside.
"Anyway, this isn't good. I can't let my neighbors see a Monster in my house." Luka worried, pointlessly hoping that this Monster would just go away.
"Why are you here anyway? I'm already depressed that I couldn't receive my baptism…If you came here to make fun of me more…" Luka had begun to suspect that this change in outlook might just be dishonesty just to agitate him.
"Hah…hearing that was one of the reasons I came. So, Ilias didn't appear for baptism." A strange smile appeared on her face which served to only peeve the short boy further.
"I owed her for giving me so many wounds…" She gestured at certain parts of her body, which on closer inspection had several cuts and bruises that were already fading from her form.
"Goddess that created the world…how stupid." Alice resentfully remarked, the desire to take revenge was clearly evident in her tone of voice.
"Eh…? What do you mean?" Luka stopped for a moment, his mind connecting the dots until the realization hit him.
"You… what did you do?" The boy muttered out his voice coated in confusion and slight fear.
The Monster lord's smile changed into a serious gaze at the moment, Luther and Luka felt the air around them grow cold. Luther closed his eyes anticipating the moment where she would use her mind-control if Luka refused.
"Food." It was simple demand that seemingly created an echo across the purple-haired boy's house.
"Huh?" Luka was puzzled with her sudden request. Did she seriously just snuck into his house avoiding his neighbors just to ask for food?
"Give me some food. Make yourself useful." She continued with her demand, like a pompous royal dealing with an unruly servant.
"…" Luka paused, lamenting the current happening of his life. First, he almost loses to a slime. Then, he wakes up a Monster who only chastised him, leading to him failing to show up to his baptism. Finally, the same monster showed up to his house with a demand for him to feed her! What did I ever do to deserve this?
"I guess I have no choice." Luka gave in, he knew he couldn't do anything about her, despite the fact he couldn't gauge her strength, and she had emanated an aura of power that demanded respect, something that no one should oppose. He reached into his travel bag and pulled out a dried piece of meat.
"Dried meat." Luka presented the piece of dried meat to the monster, his voice being as dry as the piece of jerky he was holding.
"Dried meat..." Alice repeated back in disappointment, the boy had not even managed to not reach her already low expectations.
"You make me sick…Oh well. I'm tired…I'll just have it as an appetizer I guess." Sighing, she took the piece of meat out of his hand and chewed with an unhappy look on her face, but the expression lightened once she savored the taste.
"Hmm…It's not too bad after all. The seasoning and spices were done well…it complements the meat." Alice complimented.
"Really? I practiced how to cook in preparation for my journey. I'll need to know how to cook for when I set up camp… …though I wasn't able to become a hero." Luka explained letting his shoulders drop, questioning if any of the skills he learned were even worth it.
"Hmm…oh well. I guess I'm fine with just the appetizer. I guess the main dish won't be necessary." A noticeable lip smack rang out across the interior. Making Luther inwardly cringe. Hearing this first-hand for the man was awful, especially after nearly escaping death at hands of a sadistic monster.
"Eh…? Main dish?" Luka muttered, there was momentary confusion within him until a shiver went down his spine, he finally understood what she had meant.
"So why else did you come here? Are you going to make fun of me for not becoming a hero?" The boy accused, slowly preparing himself for another verbal assault.
"Hrm…I guess I said too much earlier. You just sounded so childish…I couldn't help myself, that's why I wanted to clear the air on something." Despite Luka's expectations the monster didn't gloat or make fun of him for his idealism, she was completely serious.
"I've traveled around the world and seen plenty of things. While your childishness is idiotic…It is a good thing." Alice complimented, her expression making it unclear whether she actually meant it or not.
"….."The purple-haired hero stared at her in dead silence.
"What? I'm comforting you. What's with that face?" The lamia irritably glared at the eroge protagonist, clearly offended by his unresponsive state.
"Eh? C…Comforting?" Luka wasn't exactly sure if calling him childish again should be comforting in any way.
"Anyway, what are going to do after this? Surely you aren't going to give up on your journey." Alice inquired.
"Just as planned, I am going to defeat the monster lord. Even if I'm not a hero, I'll still leave." The boy declared, despite surprising confidence in his voice there was an air of slight unease surrounding him.
"Hahaha…that's good. In fact, I'm little interested in you…" It wasn't a lie. There are many things that made Luka interesting: his mindset, while naïve was fresh compared to thinking and hatred of Humans and even Monsters, and most obviously he has a strange presence. It was faint, but something was there and it definitely intrigued her.
"Interested? ...in me?" Luka questioned, he didn't know how to react to such a powerful Monster like her being interested in him, it could mean bad things.
"That's right. You're interesting. You're able to say such a ridiculous thing as 'I want Monsters and Humans to coexist' so confidently. "Alice affirmed her interest.
"It's isn't ridiculous. I'll truly make it happen! I'll definitely show you it can be done!" Luka proclaimed, there was no way he was going to let her stifle his desire to see his ideal come to fruition any further.
"Hahaha…How long can you hold on to that belief? I'll follow you on your journey to watch when that delusion wears off." The Monster Lord taunted, clearly amused by his sureness, something that will most likely whittle away in time in this cruel world she was sure. Although a part of her hoped it wouldn't, as it was a fascinating possibility.
"Eh? On my journey?" This was not something he was expecting out of her, the only question he had was why? Where had all this interest come from?
"I was going to travel the world, I might as well travel around with you." The lamia explained.
"…Do whatever you want, even if I said no, I wouldn't be able to drive you off, would I?" Realizing there was no way he could drive her off, let alone escape, he surrendered.
"Ah, that wouldn't be possible. With your power, there's no way you would be able to drive me off." Alice agreed.
"…." Luka thought about his situation, regardless of the circumstances he was glad he had some company, every hero needed one or more, besides a journey alone isn't much of a satisfying journey.
"If I may interrupt…that journey of yours may I tag along as well?" Luther finally decided to step into the conversation that was hijacked by Alice.
"Uhh…" Luka was slightly stunned, what's with this day? What's next, his mother was secretly an angel? Sure Luther might have saved him, but ultimately he was a stranger that was asking such a thing out of the blue. He wasn't sure, unlike the Monster, he had a choice in the matter and his suddenness was off-putting.
Luther grimaced as he looked at their reactions. Alice was staring at him suspiciously while Luka was deep in thought. He blamed neither of them, he did after all seem rather closed off…Alright bad start already, let's try something.
"Guess that was a little too sudden…I haven't even explained myself and barely even know me, except my name." The man nervously chuckled.
"Indeed…" The monster stated. Luther felt like her gaze pierced him down to his soul, whatever discomfort he was feeling he forced it down.
"To start, I come from Sentora, from a long line of minor adventures and I'm somewhat of a wanderer myself, but my presence here isn't exactly my doing. For you see a storm hit a ship I was traveling on and ended up sinking it with me barely surviving with some of my belongings. Now I just wander this continent." Chambers weaved together a lie, it wasn't the most impressive one he had come up with in his life, the ability to create falsehoods became common practice when living a tough childhood.
He breathed a sigh of relief when Alice and Luka appeared to have been satisfied with his explanation, although he knew the lamia in question still held strange suspicion of him if eased a little bit. Well mother, guess you were useful for one thing.
"So… you're stuck here?" Luka asked.
"Yes… I don't have any means to go back, so I am asking for help, you are going to Sentora, I swear I will repay in some way!" Luther mentally slapped himself once he uttered those last words. Damn it! Why did I say that? How the hell I'm going to repay him, I have nothing!
"N-No it's ok-"Luka had only managed to stutter out before being interrupted by Alice. Before that, he did realize something. That's why he was so hesitant to tell me anything, it wasn't exactly a good situation to be in.
"So then Luka, what will it be? Will you help this poor man out or will you leave him here to rot on this continent?" The Monster Lord asked, teasing grin on her face. This was merely but the beginning of multiple tests to come in the fake hero's journey if he managed to survive that long.
"I will help you! What's a hero if he doesn't help those in need?" Luka declared. Despite the scary frown the stranger carried, Luther proved himself to be a more pleasant individual than Alice, he hasn't tried to crush his dreams or make fun of them. Besides, he did help him with the slime, as embarrassing as that encounter was.
"Thank you…" Chambers relaxed, his plan worked, but this was only the start, who knows what might happen. Though he could still enjoy this small victory in the sea of losses.
"Then it's settled, I'm alright with you two following me and I'll prove to you that my conviction is real!" Luka pointed at Alice, who had a challenging smirk on her face. Even if it was temporary Luther's company did serve to ease Luka of Alice's presence.
"Anyway, what's your name, I never did ask." The fake hero lowered his hand.
"Alipheese Fateburn, but I'll allow you to call me Alice." Alice straightened upright towering over Luka as if she was a noblewomen standing proudly at the mere mention of her name.
"Alice… that doesn't really fit you…" Luka continued to ramble unaware that he was publicly proclaiming his thoughts, Alice's snake half twitched and tightened, imaging the sensation of choking the boy for his offense.
"Alice, huh? Sounds noble…" At Luther's words, the lamia's tail relaxed.
"You should really watch what you say… an unreasonable Monster might have strangled you for saying such a thing." The Monster warned Luka with an unnerving smile on her face.
"Ack! Sorry…" The boy swallowed a lump in his throat, she heard everything he said and obviously wasn't pleased by it.
"Well then…shall we head out?" Luka asked the group, he had a more confident look, assuring himself that he will complete his quest. He has to…
"Alice, can you go out the back door? If the villagers see you there will be chaos. We can meet back up once we're outside the village." The boy requested.
"That's fine, causing a commotion would give me a headache anyway. I'll wait outside the village." The lamia complied.
"Well then…I'm heading out, mother." With Luther already leaving, Luka sorrowfully wished his last goodbyes to the house that was once hers.
"Before leaving I should say goodbye to the village, It will be a long time before they see me again…" The purple-haired hero explained, getting a knowing nod from the man beside him.
"If you want to, you can follow me, but you can just wait here." He further added.
"I'll be fine with waiting… this is more personal to you, so I won't intrude," Chamber responded, part of him truly meant it and part of him wanted some time away from Luka's or Alice's eyes. There was something he needed to test.
As ridiculous as it might have been If Luther was correct, he wouldn't be completely defenseless if he got separated from them someway. That would end badly, well depending on one's opinion, certainly not Luther's. His sole goal was to get back to his own world…somehow. It does not hurt to have precautions.
Huh? He already left. The stranger looked to the side. The space his ally occupied was vacant, leaving him some ample opportunity.
He grabbed a rock from the nearby road and sneakily shuffled. Hugging a nearby wall he made sure he was in an area where no one could see him.
He gripped the jagged stone, his fingers squeezing and feeling the coerce surface. The protrusions not sharp enough to cut him, but enough to cause mild discomfort. This was it, the thing that would determine if he was completely dependent on his new allies or not. He had nothing against them, but you can't always rely on others, can you? You might find yourself in an unpleasant situation.
Spin.
The word riverbed within his mind like an echo in a mountain field, but the rock as if mocking remained still.
The unmoving stone didn't frustrate him. He has already prepared himself for this outcome, and there was only disappointment. Although he wasn't about to give up. It's not just going to work if you just say spin your mind like that. That's not how the world works. If that was the case I would be happily at home with my family…
Luther frowned at the rock he was holding. So much so as any passerby observing would assume he would be plotting the assassination of every pebble in the world. Okay…Okay, how did Johnny do this?
Right! He imagined a leaf spinning in the wind. With this, he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.
Step one. The man tuned out his surroundings, only paying mind to the soft breeze blowing around him and tickling his skin. He imagined a small wind similar to the breeze in front of him, visualizing it.
Step two. The rock he was holding wasn't exactly a light leaf, but he just had to trick himself. Pay no attention to the discomfort. There is no stone…only foliage.
Step three. Chambers slowly released the strong grip he had on the leaf, leaving free air to spin in reaction to wind.
He opened his eyes, rock remained in the same position it was originally, not moving a single inch. Guess it's too good to be true.
Luther knew this wasn't exactly possible, what were the odds that power from a manga could be used in another universe completely unrelated to it – slim to none. Though, it didn't explain the more than the unpleasant encounter with the Roper… he could try again, no harm came to him from this, he still had time. Luther had one idea left of how to use it.
Closing his eyes, Luther discarded the leaf analogy, instead, he focused on the memory of the very thing that brought him here…the damned sphere. As unpleasant as it was he scrounge up images of it. The ball of unnatural light with rings that looked so innocent, beautiful even, yet he knew the true nature of it.
Strangely it could be compared to the spin itself- beautiful, yet dangerous. He mused.
Chambers imagined it in his hands, floating and posing no threat to him.
He was fine, there was no threat. I'm okay, I'm okay. My arms are not breaking…
There… a sensation that couldn't fully be described as just movement hovered gently across his hand, a sensation that felt as if it was a part of him, yet at the same time outside. It felt like there was a small thread resonating and connecting between him and the object he was holding.
He felt it all, and now he saw it. The rock that once refused to move was now spinning on one of its axes, smoothly gliding along with his hand. Luther found it hard to believe this was happening; he was using a mystical technique of an Italian executioner family. I did it! I can't believe this! Finally, something good is happening to me...
At this point Luther couldn't help but smile, even let out a mad chuckle a bit, despite the rapid movement in his joyful state the spinning rock remained stable, almost magnetized to his hand. This ability could mean a lot or little, depending on how far I'm able to use it...
Now the main problem now is, how do I stop it? The stone in his hand continued to spin and it showed no sign of stopping. Luther slowly clamped his hand around it, distancing his focus away from the rotation.
His attempt worked, the impossibly graceful movement of the object in question had stopped, along with the sensation he felt. The thread was cut off and he didn't miss a single detail of its absence. Now, that is certainly very interesting...although I probably should get going otherwise they just might leave here.
Drawing out a long breath, he inconspicuously leaned off the wall and put the stone in his bag. Clearly satisfied with his results he strolled on the same dirt road where he had picked up the rock, unaware of his own smiling face.
"Oh good you're here, I thought you left me." Luther turning saw the familiar purple hair of a certain eroge protagonist.
"Of course, I told you I would wait." Chambers assured his new ally. "I assume you already finished your business here."
"Mhm, I can't believe I'm already heading out, although I will miss them…" Luka deflated, trying to seem as small as possible.
"No one can scorn you for that, moreover you'll be able to meet them again, prove them proud eventually." Chamber's words put the boy at ease affirming his decision.
"Yeah, you're right! Besides I'm not traveling alone, I have you by my side." Luther noted the lack of mention of Alice. Ah right… at the very start, they're not very friendly to each other, I can't really blame him. Alice didn't exactly make a good first impression with Luka.
"Shall we?" The man gestured towards the road leading out of the village.
"Let's go!" The young hero proclaimed at the start of their journey.
"Something good happened? You seem pleased with yourself" Luka inquired at his companion's sudden change in demeanor. Luther stopped for a moment touching his face and feeling the unconscious smile.
"Guess it d-"
"Took you long enough! What were you doing anyway?" Appearing out of thin air a frowning Alice interrupts Luther.
"I had to say goodbye to everyone, I can't just leave unannounced."
"Fine, let's just go already…" Luka's response appeared to calm the Monster's frustration, only getting a simple nod of understanding.
With that, they were off on their adventure…
Ilias POV
Her plan was already coming along just nicely, even with the inclusion of HER and that man nothing would change, she was sure of it.
Alice will fall at the hands of Luka and he will join her side when the time comes for recreation of the world.
And what of that man? Luther, she believed the name was… his soul was certainly interesting, nothing that could be compared to her or even her angels' power, but certainly more powerful than the average human, not much to be proud of.
A strong worm is still a worm.
What's more interesting was what was happening within that soul?
She is a Goddess, as old as the universe itself, she is capable of looking at the world in ways even her creations can't comprehend.
So when she looked into his soul, she saw it.
A pathetic parasite shifting, crawling around...it was aware of her gaze.
It was aware of her…
She didn't want to believe what she saw.
It was a small spark that shined for a moment, enough to almost avert her attention.
A spark that challenged her...
Oh… how much did she want to tear that man apart. Rip out the thing out that DARED to challenge her, a Goddess!
But she didn't…
The host will die and so shall the parasite. Either by the Monsters he will face or he will be consumed by the parasite itself.
She just had to wait…
Author's notes: Pretty ominous...
I wonder what's the parasite? Eh... it's obvious those who do know.
Anyway yes, Luther will be using the Spin. For those who don't know it is a technique mainly used by both of the protagonists in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run which is the seventh part. I would recommend it, it's pretty good and you don't exactly have to read the previous parts to understand it as it simply references them as easter eggs of sorts.
For those who do know I will be adding somethings to it, but not a lot.
I don't exactly think this earns enough to categorize it into a crossover, I will not be adding JoJo characters.
Reviews:
-For those who are interested, I thank you again for the support.
-Kapellan23: While yes I do agree with your assessment that the status quo in MGQ will make humans disappear and possibly kill off monsters as well. I don't think I was that harsh with Ilias. We both know she is not very sane in the plot of MGQ, she still had her plan to become a god of light and dark wipeout monsters. Yes, Luka's and Heinrich's betrayal pushed her to destroy humanity and create a new species entirely. That is not the main point here. The main point is that is what Luther thought of Ilias, not me. Given he is a rather negative individual and is mostly aware of the plot, I'm very certain he would not appreciate her instability. Then again maybe this is my fault for not portraying that better.
-doomquer: Nope, no gravity powers. Sorry to disappoint and for my fucked up schedule.
Thank you for reading, have a nice day!
P.S Cover art might be made for this story, asked a friend he would like to do it and he said yes. Also thinking of looking at chapter 1 to fix some things.
