And...we are done, have a good read.
A soft pleasant choir of birds and insects sounded out through the open meadow outside of the walls of Iliasburg as the very peculiar group of adventures walked out of the gates. The course hadn't been decided yet due to the obviously loud protest of the monstrous companion over the purple-haired boy choice. There were several destinations marked on his map, his particular choice had upset the lamia accompanying him which caused a certain contrast to the peaceful environment to be made manifest.
"You idiot!" Alice's shout sounded more like a banshee shriek of sheer annoyance and frustration, causing a hefty amount of headache to both of the males present along with the evacuation of scared critters. "This is a dragon, vampire, and lamia we are talking about here, are you suicidal, marching off into death like that without a second thought?"
"Chu…" A soft whimper came from the ghostly shape of Tusk huddled within one of Luther's coat pockets, steering and shaking deeper into the clothing's fabric, trying to muffle out the monster's outbursts. I know buddy, just hold on I'll think of something…
"I will win or die trying, regardless of what happens, these bandits have been bothering the people and as a hero, I can't let that keep happening." Luka responded with a strange glint of determination lingering which only made her groan.
Luther couldn't let this continue any longer, his nails were spinning hidden underneath his sleeves, not only was he feeling the frustration but his stand, his soul was whimpering in pain making it even worse, the link only amplified his frustration, he needed to do something, anything otherwise the choice to put one his of his nails in his head would start to seem nice. He knew of the true identities of the bandits, there was nothing else but kids hiding there yet he couldn't outright say that without earning more suspicion from Alice or Luka, or even the new factor of Ilias' presence he was aware of. If only there was some way to do this discreetly…
He could try to sow doubts into them…
"Haven't you thought about the information you got skeptically? I would imagine that would be the first thing on your mind given the finicky details." This piqued the interest of the arguing duo, they slowed down their march and turned to him Luka had a curious countenance all while Alice looked cynical of his thought.
"Don't tell me you think going there is a good idea?" The lamia grimaced as she stared Chambers down. "Such reckless behaviors I'd expect from Luka, but from you?"
"Hey!" Luka's exclamation was quickly dismissed by the Monster Lord. Overall even if Luther didn't succeed in convincing Alice at least had managed to quell her down to the sweet sound of admittedly relative silence, he could even clearly hear his thoughts again.
"What I think is that it is highly unlikely that these powerful monsters have gathered together in this continent, moreover such great beings resorting to banditry? What are the odds of that? And even if that was the case, wouldn't agree that it would more than just rumors surrounding this issue?" The older man's explanation stuck with them for a moment, it was a worthy thing to consider, the mere possibility was plausible after all, the hand that fed them this information didn't exactly look trustworthy, even lying about the oppression she faced from the humans in Iliasburg.
"Hmm," The purple lamia hummed along to a tune that only she could hear, the notable silence her pondering provided a small reprieve to the nearby animals and her companion.
"Can it be that it's some random bandits that are just pretending to be monsters to look scarier?" The fake hero eagerly offered an idea; it seemed like a very obvious conclusion given the current trail of thought, he heard many folk tales that involved some sort of trickery of this nature even told some to the young children of his home village, those were always fun stories where the hero managed eventually succeed and move on regardless of deceit employed.
"That might be the case." The Monster Lord admitted. "There have been many cases where ordinary humans masqueraded as strong monsters for their own benefit, Monsters as well. Fear, a rather common tactic used by almost everyone. "
"Is that so?" Luka cautiously asked.
"Yes, it's not a very rare happening but for that to continue is another story, however, if there are actually powerful monsters hidden within the mountain ridge…what would happen then? You're still taking a risk." She warned, but her disposition was quieter than the previous shrieking and throwing insults. Luther was satisfied with the newfound mercy given to his ears, sparing him from the harrowing sound that can only be described as a married couple arguing.
"Chumimi~in" As if thanking him Tusk trilled on happily as it floated by, one issue was solved, many more awaited him…
"Then nothing changes, I will still have to fight," Luka concluded, although his steps and movement were a bit lighter now with a good likelihood of not having to face such strong foes established in his mind. "Why do you care so much?"
Alice turned away from Luka, observing the surrounding land covered by lush grass and flowers adorning it, her tone shifted into a more commanding one. "It's simple, you get beaten by a monster and my amusement ends, and there is nothing more about it…"
Luther sarcastically nodded his head along all while a disheartened Luka blankly stared into the road, eventually leading into the mountain, the hideout of the bandits that have been causing so much trouble. Luka had to stop them whoever they were, it was his duty…a duty that reminded him that he shouldn't let his losses bring him down.
"Speaking about defeat, this will surely happen if you keep fighting as you do. I noticed that you really don't want to kill your enemy, so you don't utilize your abilities." It was true, and Alice knew much better than anyone else could, after all, she had trained him, at first she thought that his half swings and subtle hesitation stemmed from inexperience and because of the fact that they sparred, but the more she observed the more she knew, he was holding back what little strength he had.
"Yeah…that may be true…" The boy admitted, killing monsters only contradicted what his dream was supposed to be, somewhere in his mind lingered a thought that she might help him deal with this issue if only to extend her amusement, if it was the case it would be much appreciated.
"Then…I will lend you this sword." Just like her travel guide, a sword manifested as if being pulled out of thin air. Victory bells rang in the fake hero's mind until he saw its horrible appearance…
"Ew…what is that?" Luka and Luther finished in unison as they stared at the unholy sword.
To call this an abomination of an attempt to make a statue a sword would be a disservice to all weapons that existed, exist, and will exist around the entire universe in Luther's mind. It looked even more horrible seeing firsthand. The weapon, if it could be called that, was straight out of a Lovecraft novel with even the dark metallic material used to make this being creepy in its own right. It had many blood-red eyes adorned at its hilt, core, and top of the eldritch sword that seemed to faintly follow their movement, the strange ringed blade on top of them was only the only place that looked to be sharp and the most notable feature of all – the small statues depicting angels that were almost melted into the blade and the unbalanced guard making it more of a blunt instrument than a real sword coupled with an aura which gently brushed against their fight or flight instincts.
A question lingered for Luther How the hell does it even fit inside its sheath?
"Chu!" His stand hid behind his shoulders holding on to him for dear life. Chamber's couldn't blame the stand's fear, its appearance and aura wasn't the worst thing about it, no…that would be the sensation Luther felt within the blade, that thing was alive…
"Angel Halo…The only sword of its kind in the world, it's very valuable." She proudly announced as she displayed it closer to them who accordingly backed away from the abhorrent statue of a sword.
"It's definitely unique, no person in their right mind would ever think of making such a thing," Luther remarked. His eyes etched into it, seemingly expecting it to jump the lamia's hands and attack him, his fear was in all its obviousness unfounded despite its bizarre alive state never in its existence did the blade ever attack or act on its own will in the original story, so truth he had nothing to be uneasy about.
"This…ah…" Luka could only agree as he cautiously watched the blade move in his companion's hands, no matter how the boy looked at it the thing only confirmed its existence as nothing but a pure evil object. There was no way he could wield this confidently, without either looking like a villain or expecting the weapon itself to attack him. "This thing…"
"What are you waiting for? Take it; use this sword from now on." Alice cackled, all too willing to enjoy their squirming reactions to such a cursed blade. She had to admit to herself that the sword she was holding wasn't much of a looker, but it could be intimidating and she would be damned if it didn't do its job correctly.
"No way…it's so creepy…" The fake hero protested that her mocking laugh had only unsettled him more.
"But it has those angels you humans love embedded right in the handle…I thought you'd be happy!" She replied in a sickly sweet voice and a teasing smirk on her face sending shivers down the purple-haired boy's spine that were colder than the air around them.
Luther was mute at this point- his grey orbs still jabbed into Angel Halo. He remained unmoving, his stand had yet again hidden in his coat pocket, as a gentle breeze flowed into his face and Alice continued torturing Luka, only wrestling with the morbid curiosity conjured within him, a desire to simply hold it and see how it feels. The man truthfully didn't expect much else than an unpleasant and uncomfortable feeling from it, much like what he was feeling right now.
"Those angels look like they're being tortured…" Luka morbidly remarked, shaking his head and dismissing the mere suggestion that he would be happy with this.
"Whatever, just take it." She sighed, it almost looked like the poor boy was about to have a heart attack if she continued any further, so she held the sword in front of Luka.
"Can I hold it for a bit?" The stand user-requested slowly reaching out with his hand toward the pommel, Alice raised an eyebrow at this behavior but obliged anyway.
"Eh?! You w-want to hold it?" Luka exclaimed in surprise.
The older man ignored him, as soon as his hand wrapped around the hilt a soft echoing moan was released from the sword for them to hear, the weapon was surprisingly light in fact it barely felt like he was holding something in spite of its large and disfigured appearance, he lightly swung it around getting a better feel for the thing. He felt Tusk shiver and gave him an alarming feeling that he should let go of it, but kept his grip on the eldritch sword.
"W-wait, did I just hear it moan?! Did you not hear that?" The fake hero worriedly asked Alice and Luther.
"Well, that's to be expected. The sword was refined from 666 melted angels, after all." She casually explained the main reasons why the blade looked so repulsive…truly a terrifying amount of dedication and resources were put into this weapon and thankfully none of that included her own kind's sacrifice.
"I hate how you say that so matter-of-factly" Luka deeply frowned before glancing at Luther who appeared to be completely petrified while holding Angel Halo, a soft glow surrounding his hands.
"Luther…" The fake hero called out to him but got no response from his stone-faced friend…
Since the very last day, Luther could feel the energy coming off of beings, granted he could only sense the amount of power said being and even that could be given, but with the right amount of intuition, he could tell apart the lingering soul in the midst of a city, a squirrel hiding the trees, his own companion accompanying him. Of course, there was a large difference between all of them, not exactly a feat to be proud of.
He didn't know why he was drawn to it until he actually held it.
Angel Halo was different from them all…he could immediately it tell apart, there was something very unique with its energy signature that even with his burned sixth sense he could differentiate it easily from the rest of the world, precisely because it both lacked and had a signature almost as if it was a gap, a black hole between the energy that tried to eat away and erode anything it touched. That is what unsettled him, that is what he sensed first, but after holding it in his hands, he felt an extremely faint presence lurking behind the veil that was "the gap".
This presence tried to reach out to him, desperately so, and his curiosity carried him to do so as well, reaching out with his own energy, the manifestation of the life force that was Hamon. Admittedly it was a ballsy move to channel it without warning in front of Alice and Tusk's own suggestion seemed to tell him to stay away from the unholy sword.
He should have listened, he should have listened to the alarm bells going off in his mind…but instead, he decided to do the reckless thing and it ended up in an eerily similar place to where he went after interacting with a particular anomaly.
Luther was silently floating in the pitch-black void, as expected his stand still remained by him still resting inside of his long coat, a bright silver flame softly burned in his chest bringing with it an incomparable warmth within his body, a warmth very familiar to the man, in the end, one cannot forget the feeling of their life force heating him and running through their veins. There wasn't much fear to dwell as he stared into the abyss, this time he wasn't unequipped and the silver light that shines from his body eased his soul.
Though even with these reliefs what unsettled him most was that he wasn't alone, there was something with him, he not only felt it but heard moans and shrieks of pain that edged closer to him at an alarming rate, a cold breeze of gust that drew only closer to him, and then he saw it…the golden mist of an unrecognizable constantly shifting shape of appendages: feathered wings, elegant but still wispy arms and legs moving towards as if it was a maelstrom. Chambers tried to escape from it, but it was too fast, it caught up with the man as soon as it spotted him surrounding him within the eye of the golden storm that was its shapeless form. The stand user felt it tug at him from all sides trying to claw its way into him.
He twisted and writhed against the harrowing wind trying to move even an inch away from it, but it proved fruitless, the strange mist's hold on his was unshakable, laying him flat on his back as it swirled around him. The noises from the strange being intruded on his mind.
Luther cried as he heard all it all clearly from the hushed and pained whispers to the blood-curdling screams and howls begging for one thing: for it all to end, to be released from the torment inflicted upon them, he could feel their frustrations, grudges, regrets, anger, and sadness well up inside of him one by one, he couldn't take this for much longer.
"Stop this, please! I can't help you!" He hopelessly pleaded, struggling underneath its grasp.
The mist reached and brushed against the flame and aura coming from his body, in an instance, the whispers of anguish vanished, they remained, and yet he felt no more pain from them, he was left there with them sobbing in blissful silence, silence and warmth they haven't felt in an eternity. Luther felt misty shapes tightly wrap around his energy and body as if almost comforting him, the maelstrom changed into a pleasant stream surging through one point into another. There were hundreds of apologies being said in a moment and even a hundred more begging him to stay all while wrapping him around in their giant embrace.
"Chu." Tusk cooed softly, the presence within Angel Halo reached into Luther's coat and gently pulled it out, floating it around for a bit before placing it on the man's chest, the stand stared curiously at the strange anomaly.
"Thank you…" He whispered out, the stream of foreign thoughts was calmer, it no longer overwhelmed him. It was obvious what this being that surrounded him was, it's only a logical conclusion, considering the circumstances of the sword's birth, was the culmination of the hundreds of angels forced to be forever stuck in the blade, its only purpose existence is to be a weapon, crying out in anguish for what could possibly be an eternity. But that pain was silenced, by none other than a being they saw as inferior in their lives, the irony wasn't lost by most of them…Luther and they remained floating in endless void together, he felt them brush against his body as if straddling him.
Luther!" Chambers heard a familiar boyish voice ring through the back of his mind, a possible anchor to reality? He felt Tusk agree with his assessment, he could leave now. He had to leave, there was a world that he had returned to, if he was just standing there with the sword in his hand in reality, who knows how much time has passed in the real world? The man knew he couldn't stay within this strange pocket reality no matter the amount of pity he felt towards this collection of beings, the sheer isolation these beings faced was safe to say, terrifying. Speaking from his own experience the two years he had spent alone drinking were torturous enough if they had to experience that for all of the eternity…then it was a fate worse than death, a fate he eased, but he had no choice other than to return. And so he focused and reached for it within his thoughts despite the number of protests he heard and a tighter grip on him.
"I'm sorry." The man regretfully apologized to which their response was a torrent of questions and pleading. "I can't stay here, please forgive me…"
"Luther!" The voice of Luka called to him as he felt his body forcibly shook, the light-flooded back into his empty grey eyes, and looked to his real surrounding area. He was still in a meadow, a rather sunny sky shined in eyes as a gentle wind kept his presence in the world stable within his mind.
The man was standing where he was previously; he hadn't moved a single inch from his original position, the very first thing that caught his glance was Angel Halo still remaining in his hands, shocked he nearly jumped and dropped the blade on the grassy ground taking several steps back from it. That thing was definitely alive. They were alive still trapped within the sword appearing fully conscious, damned to forever lurk inside of it hopelessly awaiting freedom, a fate he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. He could end it all, destroy Angel Halo, if he was even able to, and release the trapped souls…
"Hey, watch it! You can't go carelessly throwing around such a weapon like that!" Alice counseled as she picked up the sealing sword from the meadow's grass before curiously observing an almost frightened state. Luther banished the impulsive thoughts that told him to destroy the unholy sword.
This was too emotional for him. He needed to think logically about this, it was necessary if not for the sake of keeping up appearance then for the sake of keeping the only that can defeat angels in their hands and not lost to oblivion. They will have to bear this existence for a bit longer for the sake of the fate of this world, I truly am sorry…
"Chu." Tusk sadly expressed as it appeared by Luther's side, he could feel dread and disappointment emanating from it, his own dread and disappointment, but he shook it off. This has to be done if only for a short while, I can only hope I haven't earned their spite because of this…
"Is everything alright? What's wrong?" Luther looked to the origin of the noise, the full realization that he was outside of the blade and surrounded by his traveling dawn on him as he looked to Alice's and Luka's concerned and curious expressions.
"I'm f-fine, I'm fine, honestly. I just zoned out for a moment…" He muttered although he doubted whether his quivering tone managed to convince them as their worried look remained, they still remained skeptical by the looks of it.
"Are you sure, you look a bit disturbed?" Luka commented seeing Luther's gaze which held something else than its usual emptiness, he was anxious, but what was the reason? The sword he held caused, that seemed too much of stretch for the boy.
"No, it's fine…maybe I didn't sleep well enough." Chambers forced out a nervous chuckle, maybe it was just him, but he couldn't afford to tell him the very true nature of that abomination of a sword, it was however likely that the fourth presence, Ilias, near them knew from the beginning that sealing sword was a torturous prison for the angels containing in it and hadn't cared at all. His deceitful display had managed to relax them if only a little the suspicion and worry in the air lingered.
"If you say so..." Her gaze stayed on the stand user a bit too long for his liking before turning to the young boy and handing him the eldritch sword. "Now then, use this and you will be able to fight to your fullest."
Luka reluctantly grabbed and cautiously shifted Angel Halo around, it surprisingly handled much lighter than his own iron sword, he was perplexed, to say the least. "I don't understand, how will this make me fight better? What's so special about it besides looking creepy?
"Listen up. Because the angels' grudges are hammered into the sword, it holds their curse. It eats away the magic of whatever it slashes, making it hard for the opponent to maintain their form." Alice calmly explained, earning a confused look from the fake hero, as he stared into the eyes of the sword.
"…don't get it…"
"You idiot." She heaved a sigh and proceeded to take on a condescending tone. "If you beat a monster, they won't be able to hold their form. They won't die, they'll just temporarily be made harmless."
"This blade can? Seal monsters?" Luka gawked at the unholy sword, who would have thought that such sinister looking weapon could end up having such a comparatively benevolent effect when compared to normal equipment around the world, truly it must be one of kind and something that can help achieve his dream without any need for bloodshed, the very thing he so desperately needed and it was handed to him by none other than Alice…
He could be forgiven if felt the least bit doubtful of this gift, why would she just give this to him? This only helps him or is just keep her little "game" playing for as long as possible, was he that entertaining? Was his stumbling about in front of monsters amusing for her?
Luther stiffened as he felt a presence worming its way through the ground slowly getting near them, the man reached for the holsters underneath, his coat touching the cold steel of the balls and channeling The Spin into them. As the metal spheres spun in the loose holster Chamber noted that he had gotten quite exceptional, whether this was his stand's influence or just him getting used to the pacing form of energy remained an unimportant question in his mind, regardless of what it was he was thankful of Tusk's help and company. His sudden preparation didn't go unnoticed by Alice who sensed the alien energy coursing through his hands which were hidden away from them she was confused until…
"Ah… good timing, give it a try." She said to the boy with a smile on her face as the ground began to buckle and shake, she understood why the older man had prepared his strange technique, a monster was about to ambush them, it was a perfect moment to display the power of Angel Halo to the doubtful boy. She admitted that it was quite perceptive of the man to notice the subtle rumbling of the earth before she did, implying he wasn't listening to them all too well dozing off like he always was did, well perhaps that wasn't the right assessment...maybe the man was watching his surroundings, would make sense to her given his background.
"Well, I'll hide now. Make sure to give the sword a try." She suggested before vanishing leaving only Luther and Luka to deal with a small earthquake underneath them as the mysterious monster hidden under the soil tunneled through it.
"Get ready," Luther commanded stepping away from the battle that he presumed would occur, being confident that his traveling partner had what it took to beat the monster currently underground.
"…" The purple-haired regained clarity and exhaled heavily gently dropping the backpack off his shoulders, it was the same song and dance he should probably get used to by now, every time she ran off a monster appeared, and guessing what happened many times before there was most likely no reason he will be able to reason with them, he had to fight, a stray thought wondered how he would screw up this time…
The earth rumbled once, this time a crack appeared in the road just ahead of them, it rapidly grew larger before more of the ground was unearthed spewing out of the quickly forming hole. A short amount of time passed as the enemy monster was revealed popping out of the earthy veil that she hid under. It was a worm girl.
Not much of a looker, that one is, probably for the best. Luther winced, there were monsters that were unappealing to the eye, some downright disgusting in his opinion and now he had a firsthand example, albeit this was rather tame compared to the many horrors that will no doubt curse his eyes. She was mostly a just large worm, her species name described it all, and only part of her that was humanoid was her very most top half up from her naked breasts, which hung from her chest without a smidge of shame, and he dare say pride in actuality, to her autumn haired head. Her case wasn't being aided by the fact she was also covered in slime and dirt.
"Oh? Travelers? Can you let me wring some semen from you?" She asked.
"No way! Ilias forbids that!" The fake hero refused. readjusting his grip on the unholy blade as he hesitantly glanced from it to the monster before him; he wasn't completely ready to take Alice word on its effect yet.
"No thanks, please find someone else who would be willing to do so." Luther's own refusal followed quickly.
"Find someone else?" She scoffed, her composed countenance turning into a wicked grin. "I guess I'll have to force you~"
"I won't let you!" The fake hero declared, running ahead of his swing from the light blade not matching the force of his charge, the worm monster tried to wriggle away with her slim body, but ended being nicked by the blade, no blood came out, the wound had barely even appeared seeming like a spectral version of itself. Luther could feel Angel Halo reach and contact the monster's power, draining it away from her if only a little, a perplexing experience seeing his little companion casually swing around the black hole of energy.
"What the…What is that sword?" She hastily slithered away as she looked in horror at the eldritch weapon and then at her spectral cut. "From my wound…my power is…draining…"
"It works?" Luka moved away from the monster as he observed the damage, a mere glimpse of it served to ease Luka in spite of its appearance he felt the blade slice her flesh. The worm girl shook off her shock, however.
"I'll coil around you and squeeze!" She had exclaimed her intent, rushing to her target, nimbly dancing around the fake hero's guard and coiling the boy with her sticky worm body, Luka groaned as held onto him tightly.
Luther felt a twitch in his left arm he had undone one of the metal buttons holding the rotating steel ball, without his own awareness he had stoically stepped forward toward feeling the soft urging on coming off his stand, but before he could even think to even intervene…
"No need to help, I can do this by myself!" He pleaded for the man to stop in his tracks, he wanted to at least win one fight alone, a fight to which he had already been given a gift to help fight to his fullest, he couldn't squander this opportunity so easily.
"Are you sure about that? This just makes things easier." She laughed as she squeezed the boy, feeling from top to bottom and smothering the purple-haired boy in her bosom. "Do you like my sticky body, I'll squeeze you till your empty~"
The fake hero groaned from the contact of the worm girls "embrace", he was still blessed enough to keep his pants on so it was nothing very serious that would threaten him immediately, but he had to escape both for the sake of winning and for his pride. Luka intensely writhed against her trying to achieve any amount of leeway or at least get one of his hands free. Come on! I can do this, she can't hold me forever!
"Ahh!" Mustering all of his strength he surprisingly threw the worm monster off of him down onto the ground where she was forced to slowly slither up from her compromised position. allowing time to pick up Angel Halo this time more confidently.
"~And we were just starting to get to good part~" She complained in a sing-song voice, but that didn't matter as her opponent jumped from balms of his feet, his stance appeared more that of a monster than human, the moment the boy moved he vanished from her sight only to reappear not even a second later directly slashing at her neck and landing behind her. The worm girl groaned as she felt more of her energy being drained away.
It's over, she's running dry… Luther remarked seeing the energy be voided by the eldritch blade, truly Luka didn't need his help, it had appeared the boy could handle himself quite fine in this… perverted display of a battle, the purple-haired hero was just lacking something that could help him finish the fight faster…as even after The fake hero's major blow with Angel Halo the worm girl still remained in steadfast although appearing to have a flash of regret show through before turning into spite.
"Th-this isn't over." She spoke, her voice filled with much frustration, all Luka could feel now was her slide through the gap between his legs, showing her in his stressed groin area letting her tongue poke around, he moaned but despite the pleasure, he was feeling his grip remained on his new sword. It was time to strike, she had her attack, now it was time for his, and all is fair in love and war…
"Take this!" Luka convinced of the unholy sword's power he braced and plunged the sword right into her chest as she was coming up from his legs, with any normal weapon it would've been a fatal wound, but instead it was the last sealing strike the boy needed. Her body froze as the energy used to move even the slightest vanished.
"What… is this?! Kyaa!" The worm monster screamed out as her body evaporated into the air, seeing her energy, and most of her presence be devoured by the blade was in the least bit unsettling for Chambers, terrifying he was being truthful to himself. The power of Angel displayed in its entirety with Luka and possibly Alice being none the wiser, was this the manifestation of dread and grudges the angels were feeling for all these years, a devouring hunger? In spite of these morbid questions, it relieved him that the unholy sword did appear to be sated, calmed, for now…
"Eh…What happened?" As the fake hero caught his breath, he snapped and looked around worried for the life of the monster he just fought, his worries continued until he saw something small wriggling on the ground.
"An earthworm…"
"Yes, it is…" Luther walked to Luka's side as they watched the confused earthworm.
"Do you get it now? That monster from before turned into that. "She explained letting the smallest of smiles grace her cheeks. "Totally unharmed…just left harmless."
"Hmm… I get it now." Luka grinned taking a closer look at the sealed worm monster, in its current state it had lost all of the threat she posed to any other travelers only able to do damage to the decomposed remains of plants or dead animals, and evidently, she knew it herself, accepting defeat she dug into the ground fleeing from her victorious opponent, it was still disappointing that he had to fight her and reduce to such a state.
"It appears giving that sword to you paid off, you actually won by yourself this time. I'm nearly impressed, if not for the fact that it was just a worm girl." Alice slyly mused as her minuscule smile changed into a smirk.
Luka blinked and exhaled through his nose as he covered his hands, softly muttering to himself, then as quickly as his lament came it vanished leaving only a small trace of it behind the boy's happy countenance. . "Yeah, this sword is amazing, but it's still rather sad..."
"Indeed that thing certainly is something…" Luther remarked almost seeming sarcastic with his comment, even if weren't for the encounter he had with the angelic spirits trapped within the blade he could still call the literal reduction of the monsters into pixel and simple earthworm weird and a bit disturbing.
"Now you're speaking in a different tune I knew once you saw its power you'd be singing its praises… "She glanced at the hole the now earthworm dug, while they remained alive it still was rather disheartening to see her subordinates get reduced to such pathetic beings.
"And besides that, it's better than dying. She's still a monster, so even with that appearance she won't die so easily." Yet even with that, she had complete confidence that the monster will survive, if not the higher power that monster possessed over the regular earthworm then her ability to hide underground will give her time needed to recover if she could recover…
"If she gets her power from others, she'll be able to return to her original form." The purple lamia finished her short explanation.
This was the quickest method, usually, a higher rank monster or even a human with large amounts of magical power could restore the form of the unfortunately sealed, a continuous low stream of power could also work if only taking a bit more time and a lot more effort, though not all monsters were charitable toward someone other than their kind when it came to breaking seals. And then there was the much more likely possibility for the worm girl – the poor man's version - absorbing the lingering energy in the air, although it took a long time, worse depending on the monster's strength it might not even be possible, this…was the power of Angel Halo.
"I see…I hope she reflects on her actions in the meantime" Luka solemnly grabbed his traveling equipment and hosted on his back. To that Alice only shook her head scoffed.
"Rather than reflect, her hatred will probably just increase." The very idea that her naïve companion had was stupid, a person, be it monster or human needed a reason to change, and being beaten by some random boy with a sealing blade isn't enough motivation to just change something about yourself that was essential to your survival, finding a human willing to give semen was as likely as finding a needle in a haystack, especially on this continent…
"…" An awkward silence passed by the peculiar group and a stray thought hit the boy while sheathing Angel Halo and packing up his previous iron sword in his bag.
"What would happen if I used this sword on a human, of course, I don't want to do that," Luka asked, from the direct demonstration of its sealing power he knew that Monsters would most likely turn into animals or any other creature they're similar to, but unlike Monsters, Humans didn't have many similarities regarding traits with animals or plants, he couldn't imagine a human turning into a worm or fly.
"Even if it's a human, it can seal them. They probably turn into a child or a dwarf. Since the sword is made out of angels, it will show its true power when fighting against them, too." Alice casually explained.
Luther shivered as he swore he could sense the blade try to reach out for him the moment the topic of Angel Halo interacting with humans was brought up. They can see outside...
"Why would I fight an angel?" The purple-haired hero got no response other than a cough from his older companion. "Anyways, thank you for this gift, I feel I can fight fully now, without any worries…"
"Use it well." The Monster Lord said, to which Luka nodded enthusiastically nodded, however, there was a smidge of melancholy hidden in his blue orbs.
"We should probably move on, by the looks of it the sun's going to set soon enough." Chambers suggested walking forward on their path, nearing evening sunlight hit the eyes of the group as the sun was slowly nearing. He did wonder though, time passed a lot faster than he expected, in the game, the side quests could have been completed in two days he reckoned, but just being inside the city and traveling there nearly took an entire day of patience, this world intended on staying realistic…as realistic a magical world where magic and semen drinking species existed…yet in spite of that time still made sense here.
"Eh? It's already evening? How long did we stay there?" The fake hero exclaimed shocked from the passage of time and stilled himself following, the Monster Lord saw an opportunity and seized it.
"I don't know, maybe you should ask yourself, Mr. Sleepy head. In fact, you might as well dream up a journey while you're at it, you'd probably have better luck there." She humorously remarked, her open wry grin was visible in all its glory.
"Hey! You know full well why I was more tired than usual!" Luka furiously shot back, it was enough that he was forced to suffer through the humiliation Alice had put him through and then another thing to face her sarcastic contempt for something that was her fault.
"Hoo…perhaps it's your fault for being so drained from such a simple technique, then please tell me how you can possibly think of getting to the Monster Lord's castle if you're so sensitive, I should do this more often so you would be prepared and I would be fed, a mutual benefit, wouldn't you agree?" Alice teasingly asked.
"Huh?! W-what!? I-"
However next to the conversation between the Fake Hero and the Monster Lord continued Luther muted it out into the background, but a small genuine smile did grace his lips that moment in spite of all that's happened. Truly it was much more pleasant to hear their bickering rather the Lamia's banshee-like screeching, he found it strangely funny even…The man could safely say even with this short period of time that this wasn't uncommon, Alice's teasing and Luka's sputtering and attempts at wit were what gave life to what once was an awkward and silent atmosphere. Though in spite of how early in this journey he could feel the faintest glimmers of a bond forming between the two. Luka was evidently more relaxed with how open he was with some of his emotions and Alice's teasing always had the tiniest hint of concern for the boy and of course one couldn't miss the open worry she displayed when the hero made what would seem like an idiotic decision.
The evening was nearing and it would soon be time to camp, and Luther took it for what it was, an opportunity for him to get stronger, large or small progress every little ounce of potential, so much of it lied buried within Tusk, he could squeeze out of himself mattered in this rather inhospitable place. For all, he cared about returning and for the sake of this world and his own fate, this was the least he could do…
Time flew quickly during their camp events, the sharpening of skill was ever slowly becoming routine for the two males, a constant flurry of blades and barrage of steel proved to be beneficial for practice if a bit monotone and costly as night time befell them faster than expected. They were forced to rest yet the same as Luther, sleep did not come for the resident fake hero. He was wide awake, his mind too preoccupied with his own thoughts, doubts, and the familiar sound of his older companions steel balls hitting against various objects. So Luther was still training?
Luka doubted whether he could fall asleep again, feeling well-rested with the mix of nightly insomnia and his blasted curiosity he was forced to move, being careful not to wake his monstrous tormentor, the boy had enough of her teasing and he wasn't blind to see that there was an obvious reason for Luther's nighttime training, such reclusiveness implied secrecy, a theme quite prevalent in him, annoyingly so if he were more brutally honest.
The fake hero walked further into the forest just near the mountain ridge, Angel Halo in hand, the colder breeze was less welcoming than usual, strangely enough, the sound of the unique weapons faded more the closer he got until eventually dying down, yet the purple-haired boy still knew where to go from the general direction and a certain indescribable feeling that he was going the right way. Luka finally was graced with the sight of his travel companion training, his curiosity encouraging him to hide away however untrustworthy it might have been.
Luka saw Luther standing in a small clearing, basking in wispy silver light as if meditating. It was definitely a sight as if Chamber's entire presence was extended far beyond his body, he could confidently see that this was some form of energy, though it didn't fail to resemble any type of magic in its passive form.
"Come on, I can do this…" He heard him say seeing him take a battle stance, one fist close to his chest, and the other stretched away from him while his eyes were closed, Luka observed that whatever Luther was using it didn't seem to be anything similar to his so-called "Spin", it was serene…too serene for Luther…
"My heart resonates!" This time Luther's silver energy flared out more aggressively as the man took a deep breath, the boy could have sworn he saw it turn bright gold for a moment. Chambers' hands trembled and it appeared as though he lit his very hands-on fire.
"The heat's enough to burn! The beat of my blood is razor-sharp!" His words were inspiring and uncharacteristically passionate, golden melded together with silver creating a royal torrent of energy as sparks flew around his body, which seemed to be focused on his fist near his chest.
"Sunlight Yellow Overdrive!" Luka gawked at the leap of power he felt, the torrent within his travel mate's hand surged as he raised his arm to strike before…vanishing into nothingness, leaving only coldness with the man. Luka was shocked- all this power and it had just disappeared, had Luther made a mistake?
"Damn it, how will I ever…" Luther silenced himself as he adjusted his posture for a moment before finally turning to Luka's hiding spot. "You can come out now; I know you're in there."
"How did you-" Surprised the fake hero stepped out from behind the tree, he continued to stare there flabbergasted at glowing Luther, who kept on a serious yet more relaxed appearance. It was easy to sense Luka hiding after all the weapon he carried was just a huge target sign for the man if it wasn't for Luka's obvious large energy signature, the only that troubled him was that he was caught and Angel Halo's presence near him.
"Chumimi~in" His trusted stand came to his side to comfort him, he had been using it for a while now, this night, and its sensing capabilities haven't increased nor dulled in the time being.
The relatively frosty wind died down to a more subtle atmosphere that softly rustled the trees' branches and leaves around them
Luka had many questions relating to the circumstances of their meeting, and as much as he wanted to know how Chambers figured out his hiding place there was a topic very important that he would like to know, related to this nighttime escapade. Thinking about it, this conversation may help him ease back to sleep. "Do you do this often? Ah- S-sorry if I'm being blunt"
The man narrowed his gaze and looked around feeling for any trace of their divine stalker, she was yet another being quite easy to sense- it seemed all that power had a drawback. Same as before he started the late practice he noted the lack of Ilias energy anywhere around him even with Luka being added to the situation, but what did that mean for him? Could he be more open with Luka, did he want to be more open with Luka?
"Yes, and I've done it during the first night traveling with you." There was no point in not disclosing this small form of information, especially if without the watchful eye of the goddess of light. "I would prefer if we kept this just between us, this is nothing serious – just me training; besides we don't exactly need another person stalking the nights. Speaking of which, what's keeping you up?"
"Well, I-"Frankly Luka hadn't anticipated being asked that despite how obvious such a pick for a first question might be, or perhaps he didn't want to answer it…regardless of that, his friends answer had saddened him, to sacrifice physical well-being for just bit of strength was concerning like he was preparing for something… it made Luka feel even worse than he already did, like wasn't training enough…before he could answer his friend's inquiry he needed some reassurance.
"Luther, are we friends?" He wanted to know this, no… he needed to know this – his friends thought of their bond even if it's a small one so that he could obtain some small comfort on this night.
The older man was slightly taken aback by this as he hadn't expected anything personal, at least not this soon. This question bore the marks of an emotional revelation and this melancholy that hung around the fake hero added to this, Luther knew he needed to tread carefully here…Don't get attached.
"Well considering we help each other out in our most trying times, fighting monsters together, I can definitely say we're friends. So you can tell me what worries you, or not…since it's not really my business to pry." Chambers offered a small friendly gesture to Luka.
"It's just I-"Luka sighed, his shoulders slumped down. "I don't know about this anymore, about this journey, and being a hero, can I do it, and am I even worthy of it? These thoughts slowly crept up to me, and I don't think I could take it a moment longer without revealing them, so please hear me out."
The air stilled around them as the melancholy spread throughout the atmosphere from Luka's doubts, Luther was speechless he couldn't have expected such a thing to occur within such a hopeful and idealistic boy even within the span of the entire journey, something was very wrong…nonetheless Luka continued.
"A hero is supposed to save and help those in need, but I've done nothing but be saved by someone else, how am I supposed to be a hero if I am the one in need, the one that needs constant help, am I too weak?" The fake hero's sounded more as though he addressed this question to himself, truly it seemed the boy had the uncanny ability to
"No, you're not…you beat that worm girl without any of my help." Luther softly answered hoping that conversation doesn't devolve into the more self-deprecating territory.
"With a gift, the previous fights: with the slime, slug, that mandragora and Granberia, if weren't for you… it would have been the end for me." Luka pulled the unholy sword of its sheath solemnly gazing into it, the very thing that could have been interpreted as a symbol of the purple-haired boy's own ideology. "And because of that, I don't deserve this, you're much stronger than me, you should be the one to carry such a weapon, not me."
The older man's unflinching cold gaze turned to one of sympathy as he lowered himself to meet Luka's eyes, so he was the one responsible for the boy's doubts…this conversation felt worse by the second, was he strong, stronger than Luka? Ha. It couldn't be any further truth, couldn't be the truth, Luther was weak, all of his power meant nothing if the will behind it was lacking more so after this revelation. To think his presence in this world could have caused this…it was unbelievable…he knew that he would've stayed away from Luka as much as possible, for he didn't deserve this, such doubts should be reserved for bastards like him, not bastions of hope within this dark world.
"Do you truly believe that?" Luther turned his back, he knew what he had to do, some encouragement was necessary.
"Yes, I do…" If his senses weren't too dulled and he wasn't trying to do anything about these feelings of doubt then Luka's sorrowful voice would simply break his heart. The spin master unholstered one of his steel balls holding it out for his friend to see and spinning it.
"Then fight me." Luther quietly requested, in truth, this was the last thing he wanted to do, he wasn't a hard-headed barbarian, but a lesson needed to be taught.
"H-huh? I can't do that! You're my friend!" Luka vehemently refused, shocked that Luther could even consider such a thing, a reaction that Luther himself expected regardless, the man continued.
"Fight me, so I can show you that I am not as strong as you think." Luther Chambers paused gauging his friend's reaction; it was one of strong disbelief, evidently, he needed to be more convincing. "You're much stronger than you think, you're getting stronger, those previous losses can't be blamed solely on you: You didn't have any real preparation when you fought the slime girl, the slug girl was immune to your attacks, the mandragora paralyzed you and well…even with intense training I doubt you'd be able to beat Granberia, thousands have tried…I was barely standing when I stopped one of her attacks, you think I'd have any better luck against her? Regardless even as a young child, you're growing exponentially, more than I am."
"You're just telling me this to make me feel better about myself." Luka dismissing the argument he sadly shook his head looking away from his traveling companion.
"Chumini…" Tusk gloomily cooed, the older man felt its and his companion's despair but pushed through it.
"Need I provide examples? With Alice's help, you had managed to learn and put to practice a monster's technique in a matter of a day something which shouldn't be possible for Humans to achieve, at least not at your pace and you're constantly improving your basic fighting skills to make up for the time you lost learning from flawed sources. The thing that kept you from winning was some gimmick or in Granberia's case overwhelming power. My point is- you can do this, more so than any other person on this continent, you just have to keep believing, it's all just a matter of time for you. "
As Luther spoke nearing almost to a passionate speech, the small stand floated nearby and snuggled up close to the fake hero's neck earning a slight shiver from him as it tried to comfort the boy as much as possible. Quiet forest atmosphere dominated the conversation as they didn't speak to each other instead soaking in silence and thoughts that lingered
…
"I…thank you…" Luka took a moment to absorb all of this. There was a myriad of emotion swelling within him, most prominently happiness. His friend believed in him, the weight on his chest, his doubt was being relieved, the light of hope returned to the boy's orbs, although there was some problem, a frustration that manifested as he listened to poor choice of words.
"Also I am not a child…"
"Really? I haven't asked actually, how old are you even?" There was a slight grin on the older man's face as they stayed away from the touchy topic for a bit, besides he was rather curious as to Luka's exact age.
"18." The fake hero grumbled, he heard this so many times before, and even people in his own village made these types of mistakes. Seriously what was with people misjudging his age, was it his height? Most likely his height…that was never a feature of pride for him, although it did make it easier to sneak into a place, not that he would ever do so…
18…Chambers had made sure not to gawk lest he utterly ruin this moment between, but to say he was flabbergasted wouldn't be far of the mark, he had expected him to be younger with not only Luka's height a being factor in his false conclusion, but also his very youthful appearance that added to it seemed very strange in the grand scheme of things. People generally had developed at least some prominent masculine or feminine traits, yet Luka was very boyish.
There has to be a reason for this, there is no way someone can look that young while being 18 unless it's a genetic condition or a syndrome, yet he appears a fully capable human, stronger even compared to the others in this universe. It could be his unique angelic heritage that is slowing down his aging… His eyes were drawn to Luka's keepsake ring. Or that ring… it's the thing keeping his true powers sealed for all this and the rest of the journey, and only I'm the only one that knows its true purpose here…speaking of which could it be the very thing responsible for his slow physical development? I could see how literally locking up half your very being could lead to very serious consequences such as stunting your growth like this.
His hand instinctively reached for the ring on the fake hero's hand and stopped himself before the boy could notice. No! I've seen what that light energy could do him- tear apart his body, it's not worth your morbid curiosity, and what about Lucina? You'll ruin everything she tried to do to keep him safe. How the hell did I even consider such a thing?
"That's still a young age." He sighed pushing out the self-disgust that welled up inside of him, there was still some more he needed to say, something that needed to be done with so he could bear this life a little easier. "You do have something over me already - courage."
"Courage..." Luka repeated the world, trying to pin its very meaning to himself, memories of his escapades turned to static.
"You're a very courageous person Luka, charging at Granberia like that, where others would run. The truth is- am no different, I was afraid of her and I hid like a coward while you were there fighting at her, no better than the ones running away or letting her take over Iliasburg." Luther heaved a sigh as he sat down leaning into a tree in all honesty it was one of his lesser regrets but still hurt nonetheless.
"But I was scared as well and you still saved me." Luka protested his friend's praise as well as his sudden self-deprecation.
"To be brave is to act in spite of fear, and your actions have inspired me to act as well, but I don't think I'll ever match you like that." Luther didn't mention that seeing what was his only friend in this world, who found it in his heart to help him, died at the hands of his inability, would've shattered what little remained of his composure and drive to escape. "It still boggles me, really… you act a bit like a martyr."
"I am not a martyr, I don't want to die." The boy immediately responded raising his arms up in feign defense, his expression slightly scared at the mere thought of it. As much as he denied it Chambers already picked up on a strange sense of determination the boy oozed out during threatening situations and his outsider perspective helped play into this.
"It's alright, deny or not, I am not going to change you or judge, that would be inconsiderate of me considering you helped me. And also because…" The older man eyed at his stand who had found its home on the hero's head laying on top of it, Luka's eyes lit up slightly, he smothered to urge to chuckle at the scene as he remembered the words that his father told him. With a deep breath, he forced out these words.
"My father once told me that a person is like a road. Their personality, identity, their very being is a road that they travel on as they live with many stray paths, often leading to dead-ends and in the end, you may find who you really are…beneath the masks we often wear…or maybe not." Afterward, Luther muttered something incomprehensible while glancing away with a longing painfully nostalgic expression, even returning home wouldn't do him any good in relieving this.
"That is an interesting way of describing life. And everyone has a different road, right? Because it's the only way I can think of that this could apply for everybody." Luka hummed attempting to connect his companion's previous statement about the change, yet before he could even start pondering Luther answered quickly.
"Yes, my road is much different from your road or anyone else for that matter, for me trying to change you would be the same as leading you astray in this analogy, lead you out of your own path and it to mine where will you find nothing but a dead-end, make you into some false imitation instead of what you should be. While it can be encouraged, change must happen on the person's own realization and discretion, though generally, it's good to be the best individual you can be, as cliché as it sounds." He huffed at the last part, granted it was a more simplified version, but it displayed the general idea rather well in his own opinion, however it wasn't easy to be the best you can be and his example would be none other but himself.
"The best I can be...so is my path to be a hero? " Luka nervously asked, despite the overall simple explanation, there were indeed certain complications that bothered the boy, specifically the part of the failure to reach oneself, did it mean he wasn't to be what he wanted, but then he said
"I don't know, you tell me…" It was not his responsibility to see the future, despite his knowledge of the world's story, neither was it to decide someone's fate, he was but a simple man with special tricks, not a seer or some god, but in his words lied encouragement to search for the answer deep within and from the fake hero's soul searching gaze he could tell that it had succeeded.
"Being a hero is the best I can be for this world, with or without Ilias's blessing, in fact, it's been my dream to bring peace between Monsters and Humans. I haven't had the best life." He shortly paused while glancing at his mother's ring. "But… I can't give up, I realize this…I have to make sure no one needlessly suffers, no matter what."
"So that's your answer…" Luther scanned through Luka's behavior, even if the boy didn't admit to it his actions and words oozed the idea of martyrdom, he finally stood up. "Well if you ever decided to become a martyr we will need to make sure you don't have to needlessly go sacrifice yourself, if you're strong enough there wouldn't be any need for one."
"I said am…" Luka paused for a moment before staring at him with a bemused expression. "You're not telling me that you want to train now?"
"Why not? That's what I've been doing before, besides I don't feel that tired.." Despite his assumption, the man yawned casually, stretching his arms.
"Neither am I…" Their prolonged dialogue didn't tire him out as much as he had expected. In fact, it was the opposite, he was even more excited with Luther reaffirming his hope and the prospect of training together with his friend for the first time.
"Will you teach me something new? You told me to build myself up in order to achieve my dreams and while Alice has been a good teacher despite well…her own doubts, I hope that you can help do so as well." Luther stiffened at the sight of Luka's absolutely beaming smile and puppy eyes, it was hard to say no to the boy.
"Maybe, I'll think of something…" The older man mentally slapped himself for blurting that out and the practically jumping reaction he got only served to increase the regret of his poor choice of words the only relief he had was that no one was watching them.
"Yes!" This was the happiest he had ever seen the fake hero, how awful that he must bring that joy down, he wasn't even sure if Luka was capable of learning anything from him, Hamon and The Spin weren't exactly from this world and it most likely entailed the possibility of Luka using them nigh impossible. That was the reason he was keeping it hidden, it would draw even more suspicion right?
No…not that's right. Deep down Chambers knew the real reason, it was the only thing he had over this world, and if somebody else could learn and use it, it led to a bad omen. It was likely that Hamon could exist in this universe. Ghosts, souls, life force, and many other monsters directly pointed to the existence of the spiritual world for living beings and this technique was part of that in general, so the likelihood wasn't as improbable as he thought. Regardless of what he thought he already made the promise, if he wasn't going to fulfill now then later, away from prying eyes.
"Hold on there, no reason to get excited, for now, we'll just improve on what you already have." The older man tried to calm Luka down.
"Oh…" The joy he was feeling was replaced by disappointment.
"Improving what you have is just as good as learning something, might not be as interesting, but it's worthwhile." He doubted whether anything he said could offset this dissatisfaction, but it was worth a try nonetheless.
"You're a noble soul and that reflects in the way you fight, and sadly it's for the worst." However a noble spirit Luka may have had translated poorly within fights, many of the mistakes that Alice and He attributed were intentional
"What do you mean by that?"
"Noble enough to show mercy to your enemies, you hesitate, even if they have intentions to hurt you when you yourself avoid hurting them as much as you can and it impacts your fighting. It's nice but…" Luther walked closer to the boy looming over him, however much he didn't want to try to teach the boy. "Do you think you can keep doing it, with monsters no doubt getting stronger as you move up north?"
"What are you suggesting I do? I can't just kill them." The fake hero looked up to his friend, Tusk still hanging on to his head.
"And you don't have to. You can fight to your fullest with Angel Halo without any consequences." He paused for a moment.
"You have to fight like your life depends on it and chances are that's generally the case, don't stand still and wait till the enemy attacks that will only increase the likelihood of you getting grabbed, which is the most dangerous position you can be when it comes to monsters, instead try to maneuver and corner them. When you have them cornered go on the offensive, give them no chance of recovery." His usually cold tone of voice was terrifying in this context for the fake hero.
"Isn't that bit too ruthless and aggressive?" Luka asked, everything that Luther advised went against the hero's general nature, he couldn't imagine himself mercilessly beating down on his opponent without even the littlest regard of their safety, it didn't seem right…
"You have to realize that you're fighting beings that are often superior in speed and strength, beings that most likely will do worse things to you than you can ever muster up the wickedness to even consider, and you need any advantage you can get. It's a kill or be killed situation, yet you have something that can offset this. Angel Halo, with that you can fight without fear or regret of killing somebody." Chambers couldn't believe the words that spewed out his own mouth, but it was necessary for the sake of this world's fate and his own chance of escape that his companion would be more active when it comes to fighting.
"You want to achieve your dream? Be fierce Luka..." Ferocity wasn't a trait very familiar to the boy, but the older man saw the potential the hero's determination possessed, a potential that could be tempered for Luka's and his own good.
"Whether you decide to take my advice to heart, I have your back regardless."
"I, wow…didn't think you would be that serious about this…have you ever had to fight like that?" Luka asked his traveling companion whose frown deepened.
"Yes…I did, trust me when you travel around as much as I do, it becomes natural." Luther lied as he turned away from the fake hero to look at his spinning nails. The nails that he could turn into bullets or buzz saws, if he could find it in himself to use it against someone, images of their first victim fell to his mind each time he considered it, no matter how vile his enemy he could never imagine cutting them up into ribbons or riddling them with holes.
"Chu…" He heard the tired comforting murmur of his stand; it helped a small bit to ease his disgust.
"Do you regret it?" Knowing his friend had killed was a bit unsettling, but then again his words implied self-defense on his part and Luther didn't seem to be some killer.
"Of course I do, that's not an easy thing to get over however we shouldn't dally about for too long, how about training in something we can both agree on? Dodging and moving…and moreover, I need some target practice." He flashed a wry smile towards his younger companion who could only lament his decision to stay awake.
"Oh no…"
Luther's notes: Humans
Humans...there is not really much I can say about them, compared to Monsters, Angels, and other oddities in this world such as magic they are pretty mundane in comparison. As far as I've researched their mental faculties appear to be similar to our own, yet the issue stems from their physical capabilities. Their origin is unquestionable and appears to follow my world's religious belief of divinely guided evolution in this case instead of it being Yahweh or any other deity it's Ilias because she was incapable of mutating the existing life forms to her liking she was forced to use the much slower method of manipulating the soul to achieve what she wanted. This interference of the natural process may have caused unforeseen or in her case intended consequences of making them on average weaker than their equivalent on earth, the only ones being an exception to this rule are heroes, those that possess a monstrous or angelic bloodline.
With further studies, I have confirmed my suspicions that the Human genome has been tampered with even further by none other than Alice the I with small traces of dark energy still lingering within parts of their DNA. Specifically, regarding nervous system response to pleasure…Critical Ecstasy, truth is it exists within every conscious living being Monster, Angel, except it, is not as severe as Human's reaction to, a weakness that boggled my mind, there was no chance of it being natural with how adaptation works, in fact with how often Humans are prey it's supposed to be quite opposite. And my assumption was correct, this weakness wasn't natural within humanity, it was engineered.
It turns my existence here is even more alien than I first expected…
However, if I'm feeling a bit malicious regarding the gods of this world, monsters, and angels, I have a choice to stop this from continuing. With my knowledge of genetic manipulation and the much more superior tools, I have at my disposal I can surgically remove this little quirk from them without any of them noticing, which I do admit is absolutely disturbing, but nonetheless…
It would be a fun side project…
A/N: Well I hope you had a good time reading it, I had intended this chapter 6 however that would've taken up about 20k words which are about 2.5 times my normal word count. Anyway had a fun time writing this, I felt I could've projected Luka's doubts in the earlier chapters better, but I didn't want to make it too obvious.
Poor guy is going to get pelted with steel.
So far everything is fine...*me ignoring the screams coming from the eldritch blade* everything is fine...
Also depending on how I'm feeling, I might write a DXD one shot I had in my idea folder...
Reviews:
-Guest: Yes, it can be hilarious sometimes, but this isn't exactly a comedy or crack fanfiction so it wouldn't be believable if Luther or really any of the main cast did that, besides Luka in his own unique way.
-doomquer: You got that right, the guy's backstory isn't exactly sunshine and rainbows, but most of the point of his journey is to get better, let his old self out a little bit... And regarding Luka, I have some degree of development for him in the future, some of you might already guess as to what traits Luka will be acquiring.
To those that I haven't answered, I've most likely replied with a PM.
Thank you for the support, I'll see you next chapter.
