Honestly, while rereading this chapter I could have written so many scenes in different ways that would have increased this fic's ratting to MA...could be Omake chapters in the future, but don't count on that.
Luther and Tusk dreamt away into a familiar void, engulfed by a friendly gold mist as they huddled around the silver flame that was his Hamon, in his odd time here he noted the automatic nature his breathing technique took on, quite the opposite of his outside world experience. Hamon was always hard to maintain properly there, but here, no matter how much the man consciously tried, no amount of effort forced him to breathe normally, almost as if that was completely needed to maintain his position. He didn't mind it all, if not for the constant attraction of Monsters like flies to honey, the man would have made an effort to turn that technique into an instinctual habit.
Even now it's helping me keep an important promise. Chambers turned to the multitudes of figures latched on to him.
The Angels were a pleasant and unexpected comfort in this world, enveloping him in their warmth…and luscious bodies, together they went through an interesting experience, using his dreams to manifest sweet illusions of grassy fields. A lone tree to lean against and rest and a starry night sky, which admittedly he wanted to sit back and admire instead of dealing with the Harpy mess, the peace spread like a lullaby being cast over the lands that could put anyone to sleep, but he was already asleep and the beings residing here had no need for rest.
It was a weird feeling, for once he was exhausted, both mentally and physically but he was slowly being refilled with energy from his outward rest. His thoughts became clear. They were away from any trouble, and physical needs were satisfied, and all that was left to pass the time was to admire the view above to converse. Luther observed and mused on the changes in the scenery, trying his hands at probing for more knowledge about their imprisonment or their life beforehand, but the only responses he got were uncomfortable silence or their own questions about him, questions he rather not answer. Ultimately, he concluded that it was unnecessary stress for both of them, and so turned their attention to the present and the fireflies dancing in tall grasses.
"Don't mistake me, I did want to stop her, in fact, I would have if it weren't for…" Luther paused, his mind recalled to the fairly recent battle between the Fake Hero and the Harpy Queen, he could hear their whispers converse with his own thoughts. "She was fighting him harder than expected, and frankly, I almost thought he'd lose, but somehow ended up doing the seemingly impossible, how in the world did he endure that much pain and weakness?" As he uneasily asked, Tusk, turned uncomfortably in its slumber, its small frame held by gentle hands of one the angelic beings, it nestled closely to them.
Their answer was quick and concise, well most of them were, some divulged into nervous and frantic rambling attempting to explain everything in a single breath, but he already got most of the idea. "Wait, wait, wait. You actually helped him…? I know you can move your eyes around, but it is not much you can do while inside the blade, can you?" Chambers couldn't exactly wrap his head around what possible aid could the angels provide to the injured boy, the news they gave to him gave him a nice surprise if a bit of a shock.
"It's possible for you to just give energy like that ?" One of the golden figures nodded, a tiny orb of darkness that was slowly being torn apart by her form was in her hand, she let the ball of dark energy drop onto the man's chest, it was quickly and greedily devoured by his silver flames. The man shuddered as a strange sting of pleasure and power ran through him. His attention was caught by another figure manifesting, a crude image of their prison, something appeared to be drawn by a child.
In the place of the creepy eyes the blade normally possessed was replaced by a simple drawing of a frown which glanced around, and then tiny legs sprouted out of the hilt, its cartoonish form ran back and forth like a crab defending its territory, all that it was lacking were pincer. Then a tiny figure of Luka lying flat on his face appeared reaching out for the blade. Angel Halo ran into his hand and the legs and frown disappeared seemingly satisfied.
"You can even move around?" Luther's eyebrow raised in surprise, thoughts crossed on the sealing blade's design, it had no feature which suggested it could be possible, in fact, he strictly remembers that not even happening once in canon, "Guess the original world is further slipping from my grasp…more and more differences are popping up, though this one isn't exactly that bad, I think…" He quietly mused away from their superior hearing. It was barely even a whisper and more of an internal monologue. Another crude image appeared, one of Luka standing over a Harpy with freakish emerald eyes shining through the shade and aura of a similar color wrapping around him like armor, multiple question marks were dotted over the drawing.
"Curious…so that wasn't your doing?" They nodded at his question as the man observed the drawing, staring at it intently. Something didn't sit right with him, Luka's alert and jumpy behavior was clearly explainable if he took into account the threat of constant rape and being brutally beaten by a Queen, yet the sudden jump of power for the fake hero was not. "Do you recognize it, is anything you know about?"
This power increase, Luka had these before in the original story, though they were of Angelic origin… Chambers noted the bewilderment he was feeling from them that wasn't much dissimilar from his own as some of their appendages frantically shifted their positions on his body, almost like a confused child tugging on a parent's clothes to ask about something they had no knowledge of. If they don't know it, then it isn't his Angel's powers, that's a very clear deduction one can make. Though that begs the question, what is it? Can't be dark energy either, I bet at least one of them would be able to recognize it right off the bat, and last time I checked Luka didn't have any Monster ancestry. IT most certainly isn't anything learned, and all of the possibilities of inherited power are out then…unless…could it come from his Human side?
"Well if you want to know as well, then I can guess both of us are in the dark about this." He concluded, shaking his head. "If it's helping him, does it really matter? Sure, I'm curious as you all are, but is it really our business to poke into this mess if you don't even know a single detail. The best we could probably do is encourage this development, let him figure out a way to consciously use whatever it is." Their response seemed to be mostly unanimous agreement, although some only did so reluctantly, the image of Luka beating the Harpy Queen changed - portraying a small drawing of the pint-sized hero holding up Angel Halo and studying it inquisitively with the words "Are you alive?" written in a thought bubble. Another critical piece of information that Chambers took in
"Ah, he knows or at least suspects something is up." Luther nonchalantly shrugged, confusing some of the Angels as to his lack of shock. "Not surprising at all, I knew he might eventually come to question it, more so if you literally moved back into his hand…" His face scrunched up, mind wandering to the deep vault that was his entire memory fishing out an interesting file. "It was you, wasn't it? That fight with the bee Monster, me and Alice saw the blade being knocked away far from his grasp, there was no way for anyone his size can grab it from that far away, much less with a hefty load on top of him. So you moved back into his hand, sneaky…" He let himself chuckle lightly at his own guess and concluding in his thoughts that their movement capabilities solved the issue of Monsters getting smart and ridding him of Luka's only good weapon. Although he admitted that Luka knowing that Angel Halo was alive caused other problems – no innocent kid would want to wield a sword that still had living souls inside of it, still conscious, still suffering…at least not easily.
It could demoralize him…
The main figure standing atop of his stomach nodded frantically, her abdomen shifted slightly in shape and color, another image appearing, this one was of a miniature version of Luther appearing to answer Luka's question with a simple yes, their message was clear as the night sky above them to him.
"Haa…I'm not sure about that…" Chambers frowned, his eyebrows furrowed together as he scratched his nape, the response was almost immediate questioning and accusations all filled with the desire for him to clarify his reasoning, they were certainly not going to let him avoid such an important topic. "Alright, alright, damn! I'll explain, just quiet down please." He massaged his temple in an attempt to rid himself of the migraine, many different voices ringed on his ears, and they all stopped at the behest of his request.
"Okay, right…not exactly sure if this would be good for him." Luther flinched, there it was again, he could compare to a tiny kid screeching at their parents for not being the candy that they wanted, the man had no choice other than to push through it at this point. "Oh come on! You all know he is a bit sensitive to such matters, fully knowing that you're here and have been suffering in silence for who knows how many years while he was carelessly swing your prison around might help just break him, or at least discourage him as if the multitudes of Monsters harassing and trying to sexually assault him aren't enough !"
"I'm sorry, but it can get taxing…one could even begin questioning why the hell do they even want to help this world heal if there exist people that have committed such cruel acts like imprisoning you all for eternity." Maybe what he said was out of heart, or perhaps just attempt to guilt-trip them, he couldn't quite answer that question to himself, either way, it left a bit of bitter taste in his mouth, one he grew quite familiar with. "We both have seen it and know his idealism has cracks, he can doubt himself, and there is no need to pressure with such information, he already has enough from his grandiose task ahead of him." The voices stopped in his head into a guilty dead silence, the golden light that their forms were dulled slightly, he could almost say that it was worse compared to the constant questioning.
"Let me take this burden alone, so he doesn't have to, I could even tell him later when we feel he is ready…can you at least tell me, is there a more complex reason or than having somebody else acknowledge your existence…?" It was a feeling he sympathized with, during his isolation, despite being alive, walking through the city, or working in his job he never truly felt like he existed, his surroundings certainly didn't help it either, it was either formal or basic interactions with people, never anything meaningful.
Days, months passed like it was nothing, he was just another number amongst the crowds, another cog in a meaningless machine. Not that he minded, he was never one to seek personal greatness, but having friends and family reach out to you was always a nice thing to experience, shame no one did after a while, shame he didn't reach to them when he had the chance. The difference between him and them was that they didn't have a choice in the matter. I'm a real rotten bastard, aren't I?
Luther would have laughed were not for his company lighting up to their usual brightness, multiples of their gas like bodies mashing into one another mixing, separating, two pictures appeared, one showing both Luka and Luther in a trance-like state with auras surrounding, the other was them in dark void speaking to them. The innocent cartoonish smiles made him cynically chuckle until he fully realized what they wanted.
"Woah, woah! You want me to teach him Hamon?" He nearly jumped up, waving his arms around in refusal that confused them. They crossed their arms, and pushed that idea further into his head, forcing him to process. "Look, yeah…maybe it would be better if he got to know you by directly speaking, but..." The man bit his tongue, there was clear staring in the face of their "solution", if Luka had these sessions there was not a single shred out a doubt that they would figure out his lineage, and he wagered that having direct contact would result in a more gruesome outcome, besides the other reasons…
"Not sure if he can even learn it, I'm not a simple human." If it wasn't for the circumstances he would have laughed over how ironic the statement sound. He had been the epitome of an ordinary human, living in a plain world with no magic or supernatural, but now at this point he wasn't quite sure, the ability to have Hamon and a Stand certainly made him stand out from the rest of his kind. "Hmmm…"
They were skeptical of his given reason, the lack of confidence didn't help convince them either, an angelic figure on his side pointed to a bright flame burning in his chest as the message was instantly translated. "Hamon is the complete connection of the soul and body?" It was a lecture of their own observations, as spiritual beings, they had certain proficiency when it came to matters of the soul, and seeing the connection be fully established, something that doesn't occur with humans was simple."
"Shouldn't the soul already be connected to the body?" Luther inquired, they shook their heads in response, more whispers filled with knowledge came, of matters that Human ears shouldn't be graced with, the complexities of the soul and its relationship with body and energy, heavily simplified for his inexperienced mortal mind. "Ah, so that's how it is, the soul is practically the source of magic and life however it doesn't necessarily mean a full union. Hamon breathing probably enables the body the ability to actually connect with, and the aura radiated is a consequence." The Stand user concluded, huffing to himself, he had admitted that they had him on this point.
"If Hamon works that way, then…because Luka clearly has a body and soul that are disconnected he should be able to use it as well…" The concept of the soul was cemented into this world, it was something most living or even non-living creatures possessed, but to think that a technique that was supposed to exist in another world works in this one was a bit far-fetched to him.
Then again, this might not even be Hamon that I'm using…
Another reason was given, this one was more of an altruistic nature, they displayed the fake hero's previous fight, and how most of his body was damaged in some minor or major way showing a cartoon skeleton being cracked open like an egg. Luther grimaced at the depiction of the crying boy. The word Hamon appeared along with an aura appeared around Luka as the cracks sealed and his signature smile returned.
Healing…they want him to learn some healing, can't say I don't blame them, but he'll have that later with his mediation skill, it's pointless, however, they don't know that and...Luther's signature frown returned. That skill is of an angelic origin…why does this have to be so hard? Can't I get a single break? Well, this is a break, if actual breaks were stressful and nerve-wracking. You'll think later on it Luther, somewhere away from anyone that can read your thoughts.
Shaking himself awake from his ponderings, he turned his attention back to the angel figures, he could interpret their message from first glance "Is that enough or is there something else wrong?" He breathed out a sigh as he submerged himself back into the waters that were contemplation.
The truth was that any reason he could give is an excuse, a façade that the true reason even from himself, it took a while to piece it together with indirect help from his newfound acquaintances. In all honesty, he would have tried to teach Luka Hamon regardless of whether or not he could learn it, after all, he made a promise to aid him and he needs him to be as strong as possible, it wouldn't even be a question. Luther hated to admit it, guilty was his spirit for it was selfishness, that pesky demon on his shoulder keeping it from being revealed, it revolved around a simple detail – Hamon was one of the few advantages he had over this world, it was a secret, to reveal it would risk it all vanishing away from his grasp. He would tread into unknown territory…
"Fine, I'll tell you, anything I say won't leave this place anyway." Chambers laughed inwardly as he kept a stoic front, he couldn't believe what he was thinking. Simple human fears and desire were keeping him from improving his own situation, to let Luka prevent his own pain, it was pathetic…yet maybe he deserve to be a bit selfish in this world, besides Luka had his meda-…no that would be something to think on later, now he had the chance to lay out his feelings, he only hoped they could understand. "Please understand, Hamon is one of the few things I have left for myself like the Spin, as much as I know nobody else knows about them, how they fully work…I…I want it to stay that way. I don't have anything else, this bag – last possessions, family - gone, my friends - I lie to them, and it's only a matter of time until they figure me out…I can only hope I'll be ready for that with my powers."
Their answer was immediate, they weren't shocked screeching, or angry chastisement, but understanding and quiet questions as their forms messaged his body. It all sunk him deeper into guilt as one inquiry particularly stuck with him "It's not that I don't trust Luka!" Luther exclaimed, disturbing the peace, he then buried his face into his hands out of shame. "I don't trust this world, neither do I trust myself, you know what that technique does, could it all just end up backfiring in some unforeseen way?" All he got was silence out them, damning silence that forced him to think.
"Alright, you know what? I'll do it, just later, when I sort out whatever…" He gestured to his head, tapping it a couple of times. "This is…" Light around became brighter, nearly blinding him. "Consider it a genuine promise made to you and him, just give me more time to train in return." The thin lines of golden mist, wrapped around him tighter, constricting him, the multiple angels pulled into a giant hug.
"Hehe…" Chambers awkwardly chuckled as he returned some of the embraces, till they eventually released him. The first signs began to appear, as sunlight reached them shining right into his retinas only to be blocked by one of the figures. They all knew it was time to end their session. "Thank you, it has truly been a pleasant and thoughtful rest." He admitted, compared to previous times sleeping, this one was the most comfortable and relaxed state he was in, not a thing he ever imagined to experience here, but he was thankful nonetheless.
Luther felt the pull to reality, the figures said their goodbyes, some gave him another embrace others offered a simple wave as he vanished away piece by piece.
"Farewell, until we meet again." He smiled at them before the world turned dark.
Another day, more problems to deal with…as always…Eyes opened, real light flooded into his corneas as he blankly stared at the hardwood ceiling of a guest room kindly offered up to him and Luka to sleep in. Luther's other senses followed quickly as he blinked, sensations of touch, smell, and hearing were made available to him. He didn't feel any drowsiness stirring; his brain was going at the same speed since he left his dreams behind, and he would even say he was rested and relaxed, were it not for something that made him freeze up completely, kicking him directly into overdrive.
What the f-
It didn't take much for him to process through the sudden shock in his alert state of mind, it was the only dread that kept him from acting the extra weight laying on him, his slight lack of clothes and…
"Sweet, so sweet and warm!" Crazed lust-filled mutterings being whispered into his ear, the feeling of someone light embracing him rubbing against his own entire body, soft feathers, the saliva and drool running down his neck from his no doubt from the culprit's rubbing her face against it as she sucked on it. Chambers, uttering an untold amount of curses he looked to the one on top of him...
Are you fucking kidding me? Can't I get one break without anything awful happening afterward? Luther first spotted the familiar patch of chestnut brown hair and a certain blue-collar, which belonged to the very first harpy that they met, the one he blew a hole in. Out of everyone possible, why her? She seemed to pay no mind to his subtle movements or the fact he grew as stiff as a board, continuing to utter incoherent, barely stringed together sentences, shaking with excitement. The wings wrapped around him were softer than the mattress and blanket, so soft he would have gone back to sleep were it not for the circumstances. His face scrunched up, noticing how unkempt her hair was, but most importantly the heart-shaped eyes staring back at him and drool dripping down from her chin unto his face. In but one moment he immediately realized it, remembering his unfortunate encounter with Alice in Iliasburg.
This complete lack of control, transfixed state…just like Alice back then was. But unlike the previous time, before him wasn't an unstoppable demi-god of a Monster that he had no hope of beating, just a simple Harpy he could lift with his most basic unenhanced strength. There wasn't any fear or despair shrouding him, nothing except anger.
"Get off!" Luther growled in frustration and put Angel Halo on the wooden floor. Leaning forward he took her by surprise grabbing her shoulders and pushing her down on the other side of the bed, their position was swapped however her lust hadn't changed at all, perhaps even intensifying further as mist coming from her hot breaths hit his face.
Just like Alice…but why?
"Oh~ you're awake, good~!" Despite his hold her wings moved to envelop his body, pulling him closer to her with what little strength she possessed. The harpy appeared to regain some clarity for a second, gaining some sense of the environment before delving back into arousal. "A change in position? How thoughtful, we're closer now~ this is so much better, come here!" She leaned her head forward, puckering her lips, they were merely an inch apart, but he halted in more progress her kiss instead landing on his neck love bite covered neck, she sucked on it pulling him further into her soft embrace.
"Damn it! Stay still!" Luther commanded, but to no avail, his refusal wasn't reaching her, there was only one option left for him, he pushed her back down with all of the might he could muster up, pulling himself away from her leaving only a thin line of saliva between his neck and her mouth.
"No! Please, let me taste that sweet energy!" She whimpered struggling in his grasp, her tongue outstretched trying to lick his body as her feathered appendages tried to hold Luther closer. The man knew what caused this, signs and effects all pointed to a technique with a most unfortunate side-effect.
Okay, it's fairly obvious why she is like this, Hamon, that damned ability, if only you weren't so useful, but how did it cause her to react if I wasn't usin-….shit Luther's grimace deepened as his brain paced toward the only single possible conclusion to his trail of thought, all surrounding the session he had. Really? Really!? So my body was just freely leaking out that stuff for any Monster to smell, even when I was asleep? He shook his head from the stupid thought. Of course, it would be leaking out, being inside of Angel Halo doesn't help the fact that my body exists in the real world or that I'm using Hamon to connect to, in fact, it should have been obvious from the start. Using that in the middle of the village with many Monsters nearby…Luther, you beautiful idiot, you're lucky that only one showed up to assault you.
His grip tightened, she nuzzled into his chest muttering about his wonderful scent and how she should stay here with her forever. Words, which would have been sweet if they didn't come out the mouth of his potential rapist. Though, why the hell did have to be her of all people that found me here, maybe I could…
Nope, nope, you can't kill her, even hurting her would only make everything Luka fought and bled for worthless, that Queen would surely act up if I did that. Alice went to normal eventually, right? No Hamon, nothing to get charmed by…He glanced at his unwanted wake-up call appearing as lustful as ever, admittedly even in his current situation he felt guilt for even considering such an option. She was as much of a victim of circumstance just as he was. Doubt she ever wants to even touch me after our whole debacle, well, perhaps out of spite and cruelty only, and not so lovingly tender. I can just hold her off, until either some friendly face shows up or she gets a grip.
"Why won't you let me? Oh, I get it~ you want something more…" The Harpy said, nearly pleading for any positive response to her 'advances'. She moved on to bargaining, suddenly opening up her legs making his hips fall onto hers, she giggled into his ear and whispered. "Go ahead, plow me into the ground, and make me yours, but just let me kiss you once."
He sucked in a breath as they exchanged intense stares, an untold amount of time passed, he didn't have the luxury to count. The constant giddy giggles echoing through the room giving him an uneasy feeling, it sounded so innocent, so inviting, that was what unsettled him most, he knew he was able to affect the behavior of Monster in such a manner, the "encounters'' with Alice and that Lamia child was proof enough.
"Please…Please, say something at least." She begged him as the hears in her eyes slowly faded, but no matter what else she said, no matter how she rubbed or messaged his body Luther kept his stoic, but admittedly flushed expression.
"So…sweet…" His assailant's voice grew weaker, the amount of lust and arousal behind decreasing every syllable, eventually wearing out completely replaced by tired drowsiness, her body went limp in his hold, senses returned to their proper state, but dulled to the point of her not noticing she was in a precarious position with a man she hates. "Uhg…what a nice dream…"
With closed eyes she nuzzled closer to the warmth, completely unaware of who was holding her, that was until. "Huh? What! Why are you so close to me? Get away!" She shrieked as she finally started in the face of Luther, her mind fully intact. The man abided by her request pushing her off the bed, massaging his temples from her loud screaming.
"Ha! The nerve, you call me disgusting, but here I find you taking advantage of me sleeping!" She hollered, her exclamation stunning Luther for a moment before rage started to boil in his heart, he stood up towering over the small frame, the angry expression on his face immediately making her regret, she took a step back but found she could put no amount of distance between them.
"Listen here! I was the one who woke up with you fucking slobbering on my neck and you accuse me of trying to rape you, how do you take yourself seriously? "He said, practically seething with murderous intent, pulled on his shirt to display the many hickeys on his neck, so graciously delivered by his accuser. The Harpy flinched as the man unconsciously made a strangling motion with his hands, though the sight in front of her confused her to no end, there were no other people here, not even a single indication of another life around them and she heard of he immediately skipped out on the festival, meaning there was no else that could have done this to him as if it wasn't enough, the sheer amount of drool on her neck was also suspect.
"I- I" However there was one thing she knew for sure if he took another step forward this would be the end for her.
But…he didn't, instead, turning his back and taking a deep breath, she could even hear him counting up to ten multiple times. Luther palmed his face messaging it gently to alleviate any frustrations he could. The Harpy stood still, afraid to make any kind of movement.
"Right, I suppose we both, in a way, share the blame, with my carelessness and you being where you are not supposed to be." It made her even more stressed, with how quickly his tone changed from rage-filled to cold, apathetic, still, his words piqued her interest, all she wanted was to answer and to escape, if only one desire could be satisfied then she was fine with it at this point.
"My healing powers have a sort of unfortunate side effect, it makes my scent stronger…and that sometimes makes Monsters like you go a bit crazy, so much so you might not even be aware of what you're doing." He explained, careless gauging her reaction which was pure silence as she processed the information.
"What did I do?" It was a simple question, but nonetheless, based on what she is already she knew she wouldn't like the answer. The very moment she came through the door, it felt as though the world blurred, became blissful
"Hmm…" Luther shrugged, seeing how much squirmed in anticipation, he decided to get as much indirect revenge as he could from her. "Well, not much different from what you Monsters usually do with Humans, though to be exact. " His mannerisms were left cold and robotic despite his attempt at appearing whimsical. "You were quite desperate, latching on to me, trying to kiss me, I do specifically remember what requested, 'to make you mine, giving me full permission to plow y-"
"Okay, heard enough! I don't care about that or why your scent is so messed up!" She quickly interrupted, cheeks blushing red with anger and embarrassment. " Seriously…why flowers?" The harpy whispered to herself.
"Then what the hell do you want from me, there is most likely a reason you came here and got affected by my powers." Chambers decided to take a direct approach, the faster he was done with this the faster he could walk through the door and deal with his other more concerning problems.
"How?" She quietly growled out, her hatred seeping through.
"How what?" Luther asked for clarification shooting a glare back.
"How did you two bastard managed to convince the Queen not gut you on the spot, let alone somehow unify them both villages, do you know awful it was to wait for that damned festival, do you know how much I was mocked, and the Queen let it happen!" She couldn't help but yell directly at him, indeed, she was only let off with a warning by both the chief and queen, but that only intensified the mockery she received from her more annoying sisters. The fact that Queen refused to heal didn't help the matter either. The Harpy doubted she had the power to do it, but if she could she would
"Don't be surprised about this, though I don't why you didn't ask your Queen, she would have given you the answer." Luther drawled on rubbing his eyes as adrenaline faded out his system, he was no way near being on peaceful enough terms to relax, yet he supposed him quickly indulging in her curiosity before setting off. Tusk was still somehow asleep within. "The reasons for this unification are simple, besides it being a peaceful outcome, your village would acquire access to trade in return for giving security to people here, and…you would get to keep men you've kidnapped as well as get some occasionally sent to you, a beneficial agreement for both settlements, don't you think?"
"I know you and that boy attacked several harpies to get to my Queen. You broke through my wing, damn it! How can she just ignore that!?" She waved her wings around frantically in a fit of rage, nearly lifting off and pointing one of her talons at him. "What did you do?"
"Some important decisions require sacrifices, besides, haven't you noticed the exhausted state your ruler is in, who do you think caused that? You were certainly right about her being furious…" The stand remarked.
"Y-you, y- you didn't?" The harpy barely stuttered out, her previous impression of their strength was shattered, she took several steps back feeling relieved that he didn't follow after, the house's door was right behind her, all she needed to escape was a simple step outside, she had no reason to worry.
"Yes we did fight her, Luka barely managed to win..." Luther trailed off, frowning as he remembered the painful scene that occurred yesterday, at the very least he could be glad that it was over and that Luka was probably fine. "And your wing? There is nothing to be angry about anymore, look." He pointed to the wing he punctured through with his steel balls. The hole was gone, perfectly healed back and with feathers starting to regrow. "Thanks to my energy that was leaking off of me that little hole has been patched. Bet you won't have to wait a long time for it to heal back fully."
She looked at her wing, then back at him, then to her wing, frantically swinging her head back and forth to a point of dizziness before stopping, the sheer disbelief never leaving her face. "Th-that doesn't change the humiliation I've been through…" The Harpy responded, although she swore she saw his unmoving face twitch a bit, a chill went down her spine.
"Maybe if you didn't try to kidnap a defenseless child you wouldn't have been ridiculed, where's your Monster pride?" A maliciously innocent smirk appeared on his countenance, its constant twitching promising her pain.
"I needed a mate, what choice did I have?" She paced her back against the door, acting as a barrier separating him from the outside freedom.
"Well, I don't know, you Monsters claim to be stronger than Humans so it would be pretty easy to fly and grab another more suitable candidate, some who could actually understand your reasoning behind their kidnapping." He offered a suggestion that was already way past its due while attempting to sidestep out into the house entrance.
"Hoo…is that so?" She pretended to ponder on what he proposed. "All of my sisters are either pregnant or have children." The winged Monster clarified further, a vicious smirk appearing on her countenance. "If you're so adamant about me choosing a different target, going so much as to stop me, then own up to what you suggest, give yourself to me, at least enough for a child…"
Luther's knuckles tightened as he didn't spare a glance at her, avoiding her like she was some crazed lunatic with no real sense of reality, he didn't, he couldn't understand what was going on through the winged Monster's head that she justify her offer, let alone consider making to him, the one who made her life more miserable. That's her way of personal payback…at worst she wants to 'make me mad with pleasure', break me, at best this is teasing with a side of some form of fulfillment, "making me contradict myself", or she actually means what she says…
As he was about to answer the door opened, mourning sunshine illuminating the barely lit up room. They both turned to see the individual who interrupted their conversation, his monstrous assailant shrinking away from the sight. Familiar soul-piercing emerald eyes scanned through the interior and stared back at them.
It was the Harpy Queen.
"That's enough, you may leave."
Luther in all honesty couldn't believe the turnaround in his predicament, being pulled away from the most uncomfortable moment by none other than the ruler of the subject annoying him. If only it didn't happen at all, then none of this might be necessary. Putting on the last piece of clothing – his coat, he turned to the regal Monster, a more comfortable presence, he dared to think if he could forgive her for the fight against his friend. Light shined from a door left open leading to the free from the confines of the house.
As the man peered at her elegant half-illuminated form right in front of him, he clicked his tongue and bit his lip. She appeared exhausted, admittedly less compared to yesterday, yet he saw the bags under her eyes and the softly frustrated gaze. There were so many things he wanted to say, to ask, many of them constantly shifting and changing in tone to a better approach, but he could never find a right way to start and he didn't need to.
"Honestly, such determination I could admire if it was put in the right direction." She sighed as she remarked on her subject's behavior, shaking her head. "Oh well, at least she stopped you from using that…Hamon, I believe you called it?" The Queen took a small pause, nonetheless, the short length every second felt long and torturous to Luther as single thought went through his head, the fact that somebody was listening in to his conversation brought no sense of peace to him.
"Do you know how annoying it was trying to subdue all of my subjects affected by you? A whole lot driven mad with lust left searching for you. They're all asleep now." She stated, watching him guiltily avert his eyes away from her. "You're lucky that only one got by me, otherwise a swarm of my people wouldn't be easy to get rid of once they latch onto you, still with that scent of yours you'd make a good mate for them..."
"I…uh…" Luther swallowed the lump in his throat as he stared dead straight at her, he felt goosebumps creep up his back just imagining the horrible situation he could have been in were it not for this woman, he silently prayed she didn't try to take any "repayment", his previous problem could become more dangerous than the last. "Right, sor-"
"No need to apologize, as far as I can tell none of this was intentional, it's hard to stay mad at the man who helped mend both of these villages together." Her words eased him, he visibly relaxed from the tension in the room being released. She then did something which surprised him most, something which never quite expected from royalty.
The Harpy Queen gave a short bow. "Thank you, you and your friend helped my village and Happiness Village greatly, warding off my kin were the least I could do in return, although I would have done so regardless as it is my duty as Queen to keep the peace."
"Hmm, glad to be of use, despite the trouble we caused." Luther picked up Angel Halo, hoisting it up to his shoulder, he couldn't' wholeheartedly admit to the contempt inside of him, over the physical trauma she committed against Luka. "Your appreciation is noted, will that be all?" The stand user walked to the very entrance, standing over the doorsill.
"There is one last thing. My initial reason for coming here was to apologize." She admitted, her head hanging low, Luther's form froze in anticipation and surprise. "I've acted too rashly, jumping to conclusions and attacking while you wanted nothing more than a peaceful outcome, even attempting to minimize the damage caused to my people, my behavior was unbefitting of my status. You may not show it now, but I have seen the hatred in your eyes, I pity the one who might come to face it. Because of me, your friend had to bear the brunt of the anger." The Harpy Queen paused, sarcastically laughing to herself. "Even in that regard I'm a failure, beaten by a Human, never thought I'd see the day come…"
Luther was left awestruck, the shock managing to pierce through his constant stone-cold gaze as his hand left the door frame, bit by bit he could feel his slight loathing for her vanishing as she admitted to the mistake of her actions. His trail of thoughts became clear, less biased, the certain realization was open to him. "No, you acted accordingly as a guardian to your people." In hindsight, he could understand it. "In your perspective we were nothing but invaders who have attacked your people, threatening their 'spoils'. That, I cannot blame you for."
"Yet you must have seen me in the same light, after I'm the one who allowed the raids to happen in the first place, in spite of that both of you tried to negotiate." She pointed it out.
"Let's go outside, this place is getting too dull for my tastes." Luther stepped back out house gesturing to her to come with him, she obliged taking his side as they strolled through the makeshift pathways made into the dirt. Nature-filled scenery, becoming a sight of sore eyes were it not for them still getting used to the bright blue sky, the clouds like hands stretched across the endless blue, sparing them from sunlight. Luther took a minute in his stride to glance around, it seemed most were left to recover after their celebration, while some had the decency to go to bed, others were unfortunately left to lie on the ground, to be picked up by some kind soul.
"Both parties viewed each other negatively. It's only natural that a fight broke out." His gaze turned to the children playing around in the fields, both Monster and Human, not surprised that children would have the easiest time establishing some connection. "I'm not particularly peeved at that, what I'm furious about is what exactly you did to my friend." Luther turned back to her, the shame on her face could have been read by even a blind person. "Appreciate the effort, but it's not me you're supposed to apologize to."
"I know, and already have, just felt it was necessary to do the same to you." She clarified and she couldn't help but smile at the sight of her people getting along with the human.
"That's good, and I take it then you've met him before me, must have woken up earlier" He mused, searching for any sign of his pint-sized companion and the Monster Lord.
"Yes I did, curiously, your friend, Luka, was completely fine, he should have been stuck here recovering for at least a week, till I could heal him properly, though I imagine that technique of yours had an effect on it." The regal Monster mentioned, at the far reaches of their vision they spotted the vague shapes colors of Alice and Luka, they appear to be discussing with a woman who handed them a large glass jar filled with honey.
"No, I haven't taught it to him yet, given it's the side-effects you have experienced second hand through your subjects. In the end, it would only make him a bigger target." He stayed silent for a bit, thinking on whether or not it was worth revealing that small bit of information. "He was actually healed by another friend, Alice."
"Alice…yes, I've met her before… you're traveling with quite an interesting woman." She carefully noted gauging his reaction, a sweet floral scent hitting their noses as they passed by the flowers.
"Come now, don't pretend, we both know who she really is." They both stopped in their tracks, facing one another as the wind rustled the trees nearby, nature's peaceful beauty was on full display contrasting the small tension between them.
…
Soon a soft graceful giggle interrupted the silence. "My point still stands, to think the Monster Lord would take an interest in such a boy, given time he would become quite the formidable 'hero'. "
"You've noticed that so easily." Luther was quick to note, if he was being frank, he'd admit it didn't seem that way when taken at face value, at most, he wagered people assumed, from their simple observations and interactions, Luka was simply a plaything, a toy to Alice with seeing the amount of teasing and belittling he had to endure.
But what person spends their time training them, painstakingly ironing out their mistakes, to make them improve…that's a bit too much effort for just a plaything, maybe not for Alice's standards Chambers had already concluded in his talks with him that Luka was too much of a hopeful and loveable individual to play around with so easily. I've seen her eyes, how much she enjoys training him, not just for simple kicks, but also pride, it's not so hard to see why. Every victory that Luka has is another indirect success for Alice, his mentor…He grumbled.
"How could I not?" The royal Monster asked once again, taking the moment to look at him once she got no response. Her eyebrows raised, seeing Luther walk with her with a blank expression, as if his mind was left wandering into the very skies above them, stuck in his own world of thought. "After all when I first went for a simple visit I was greeted with the sight of her wrapped around him, almost…protecting him." She smiled, her guess proved true as she uttered words that broke out his ponderings. "I was lucky not to be spotted, for I fear that may have provoked her further wrath."
"Huh? What?" Luther's feet slammed against the ground as he came to a screeching halt, his current company laughed at his baffled reaction, he stumbled in response before getting his thoughts straight. "I mean…that's pleasant to know, never imagined that would happen with the strange relationship they've got now. She rather be dead than caught hugging him like that."
"Being hurt or wounded tends to bring the concern out of even the most distant close ones, that way you may see if they truly care about you, a lesson I learned a long time ago." She trailed off, nothing but sad nostalgia and regret hanging off her voice, but almost as quickly as it came it vanished. "It has been a pleasant chat, your friends are no doubt waiting for you by the looks of it, don't let me keep you here…I have some matters to attend to…"
Chambers saw his companions stare right at him, Luka was easy to spot on the account of his purple hair and excitedly waving over to the man. "Likewise, farewell."
"Until we meet again." She nodded, turning back and heading deeper into Happiness Village. He watched her leave, bitter thoughts appeared like waves softly washing over the sandy beach.
There won't be another time most likely if either I succeed or fail…Luther remembered how the children played, the serenity that heavily contrasted yesterday's tensions, different like night and day, yet in spite of how well they seemed, he knew it was ultimately temporary, flames no matter how peaceful die out without fuel. Wish there could be some way to help them, but at this point, their troubles aren't my concerns now, I must move forward for everyone's sake.
"Oi Luther!" A speeding purple blur entered his vision, rushing at him, before he could react it slammed into him, wrapping its short arms around his chest. Luther barely kept his feet on the ground from the force. Innocent blue eyes met his own as he looked down, the ever-giddy eyes that belonged to Luka.
"Hey! Warm me a little before you come charging in, almost knocked me down!" Luther exclaimed jumping lightly, his limbs remaining stiff as he hesitated to return the sudden embrace, much like a cold stone pillar. "What's all this about?"
"We made it, we won!" Luka stated in a whisper before jumping up and down in celebration, Luther even felt his feet lift off the ground at this boy's strength. The fake hero displayed no sign of fatigue or injury, just a beaming smile and a cheery infectious demeanor that filled the stoic man's heart with somber joy. The victory he may have achieved may have been bitter-sweet in the long run, but he'd be damned if he couldn't enjoy it just for the moment.
"Yeah, we did." Luther forced out a smile through his frown and returned the embrace, wrapping one arm around the boy's shoulders and earning a hearty chuckle. The nerves that plagued him during that night were gone. There was nothing more he could do now, most importantly he was relieved to see his friend and world's future savior be safe and sound, not a sign of his previous fragile state.
"And so the sleeping king finally awakens, reunited with his dear prince." Alice remarked, faking a dreamy tone while fashioning her signature smirk. "Seriously, do we need to sing you songs of ancient times to wake you up, just like the old fairy tales dictate?"
"Hello, Alice." He let go of Luka handing back Angel Halo to its wielder, any resemblance of happiness vanishing from his face, but there was an air of mischief still surrounding him with certain knowledge still freshly clinging to his mind, but he saved it for later, not that he wasn't sure if Luka was aware what Alice did. It was just that he doubted his chances of survival. "I'm sorry that my older body is unable to keep up with a Monster and a hyperactive hero in terms of energy, though I'm grateful that you regard me as a king."
"Older body can't keep up with a Monster and a hyperactive hero? I didn't realize you were an old man, you have certainly failed to give me that impression." She clicked with her tongue, her ever-attentive suspicious gaze felt like it was undressing him down to the bone. "Forgive me for not noticing earlier… geezer." Alice's casually spat venom like always, although whatever insult or teasing she could muster up against him never reached his soul, only earning disappointed sighs from him.
"Could you two please stop, it's only just morning and after such an important achievement!" Luka pouted as he complained, though it failed to overpower the ever-present smile on his face, he sheathed the cursed blade back into its scabbard. "Alice, weren't you the first one to suggest checking up on him, why are you so frustrated?"
"Are you siding against me here, right after I took the time to heal you?" Alice replied in faux shock and feeling of betrayal, if she was being honest she was in no surprise that Luka brought that little piece of information up. "Listen, idiot, I suggested that purely for us to stop wasting our time here, we've done what you wanted to do, celebrate on the road." She huffed, fiddling with the jar of honey in her hands. Her pint-sized apprentice seemed to want to respond before being interrupted.
"Look, can you blame a guy for wanting to sleep a bit longer in a proper bed for the first time in a long while?" The spin user said in his final word on the matter, it was easy to spot the sudden guilty expression from Luka, his monstrous companion was a little more subtle. "Besides, there was a perfectly valid reason for my delay in coming here."
"You mean your little chit-chat with the Queen, how did that stop you from meeting us?" The Monster Lord inquired
"Yeah, what were you talking about anyway?" Luka chimed in. Luther was now flanked with questions he had no desire in answering.
"No, I wasn't stopped by the Queen, but rather I woke up to a random Harpy on top of me, who decided that my neck was her personal chew-toy." Luther groaned, pulling down on his coat revealing the myriad of love bites and hickeys on his neck, their curiosity turned to various degrees of shock, from Luka's flustered gaping to Alice's ever so slightly raised eyebrows. "As you can see my wake-up call was quite eventful." As he recalled the even goosebumps crawled up his back and he shook.
Alice had not answered, she remained quiet, suspiciously humming to herself her gaze still remaining trained on him. Luka's shoulders slumped, his enthusiasm diminishing. "Sorry for not being there, we should've just stayed with you…"
"No, no it's fine. You needed more healing after the beating you've received, who am I to deny that?" Luther frowned upon seeing Luka slightly flinch. "Nevertheless Alice is right, we shouldn't dally on for too long, it was pleasant while it lasted, but we should probably leave." He proposed to venture forth to whatever their next destination would be, an idea his monstrous companion already
"I was kind of hoping for a bigger send-off." Luka disappointedly admitted, looking back toward the village, which still appeared mostly empty save for the children or few adults stumbling about, yet simply being reminded of the festival that occurred brought him back to his usual giddiness, it was one more step to success after all.
"What more do you want, we got what we came here for, you got your 'hero's' glory and saved a village, while I…" She held the jar of honey close to her chest, grinning in an almost child-like thrill. Just as Luka took his first step being a hero, she took her own in her adventure to taste the world. "If you really want it, good luck with that. Most of both villages are either asleep or hungover. You didn't miss much, besides their regional food."
"I'm guessing you sampled some of it, while we were both asleep." The pint-sized hero mused, pulling out his map and deciding to take the lead, with his companions unconsciously following after, feelings of slight satisfaction in their hearts and uncertainty of what's to come.
Luka and Luther were met with a Cheshire-cat smirk from Alice. "Define 'sample'. "
"At least you're self-aware about it." Luther remarked shaking his head, he took the time and silence to compose himself and look on to the close future. What remained of it, too many details and subjects left for him to carefully manage: Luka's origin now held an even bigger risk if it ever were uncovered, his own outsider identity, the truth of his powers, and their consequence of using them.
It's so easy to tell she is still suspicious of me, if not, then simply curious about my powers, one simple conversation would not deter someone like her. She is most likely going to look through her personal library or swallow her pride and ask Tamamo about them, and when she finds there is nothing relating to them…I'm going to have a bad time, let's hope she trusts me enough or I'm strong enough to hold my ground at that point.
Serene forest life surrounded the diverse group of travelers as they took direct routes and paths leading to their next visit, Enrika village, a settlement known for its isolationism so much that no ordinary travelers knew of its exact location, just some merchants. In the meantime, they had small talk of observations about their surroundings. Already passing by Iliasburg, there was no need to restock yet. The villagers were more than happy to spare some of their own goods to them. From calm wind brushing against their forms to the blinding rays of the sun warming them, it was a wonderful day…
Shit, shit, shit, oh fuck no…this is bad. All the more, a day that existed to mock Luther's stressed mind. Indeed no amount of beautiful scenery or distracting conversations brought him out of his panic, it was a wonder he wasn't shaking or twitching during his walk or just break down in nervous maniacal laughter. Almost hilarious really, I can't catch a single break without anything awful happening. He stifled the urge to burst out hopelessly laughing in despair. I can't believe this hasn't even crossed me, you promised yourself not to let Angel Halo know about Luka's identity, guess what now idiot? We're going to Enrika, guess who's there? That's right- Micaela, one of Ilias' very first personal creations, somebody who didn't even bother to change her fucking name!
All those plans going down the drain already, they're going to start suspecting things, like why is one of the main generals of Heaven on the Mortal Plane? Why does she know Luka's parents and what significance does it have? Oh…everything is so fucked. Luther slowed down in his pace, strolling behind the group. He lightly slapped his cheeks, taking a deep breath while slowly counting. Calm down, this isn't the time or place to freak out, don't let this world get to you…
Let's just ignore Enrika and go straight to Ilias Po- wait! No, can't! The man scowled, having finished most of their path to Enrika. There was no real way for him to convince them to go Ilias Port without drawing further curiosity from his companions, he perfectly understood – it was an erratic choice, a choice that needed a proper explanation. Not being able to answer the question he would no doubt get would draw further suspicion and fail to convince them at all, their curiosity and simple convenience would dissuade them from anything he had to offer. Simple Hitchens's razor – what is presented without evidence could be dismissed without evidence.
Then, if that isn't an option, those Angels will see Micaela, nothing to stop them without compromising my own position…maybe then, I should prepare for the consequences, you've lied your way out problems, this won't be anything different, just a large loss...and possible death on your hands...nothing too big… Luther's prayers were answered as neither of his group noticed him lacking behind or his hectic breathing. Alright, Angel Halo – suspicious, nothing too instant of an effect, I can lie easily as in their eyes I'm just a mortal with fancy tricks. A mortal that shouldn't know any happening in Heaven, but then they'll just be interested in Luka even more.
He frowned as he remembered the promise he gave to them during his last session, if he were to remain in good standing he had to fulfill it. But fulfilling it would mean Luka and they meet, a single question, a single mention of that name combined with the fact Micaela herself knew his parents, it makes a decent link for them, a justification for revenge…damn it! Can't focus! Really wish I could just avoid the situation altogether!
"Chu…" Luther glanced around hearing a soft cooing noise he had grown quickly familiar with. "Chu!" Tusk's soft sound turned into a fierce yelp in his ear making him stumble slightly, a tone of voice quite suited to someone who was woken up, his stand had likely sensed its user was distressed. It hugged close to his chin, whispering words of encouragement that cleared his stress like rays of sunshine breaking through a relentless storm.
Okay, maybe I should take this a bit easier, I'm looking way too far into this, sure, them seeing Micaela is most likely inevitable at this point, but! It'd be best to see how they react to it first, a few simple interactions with them gives you no right to act like a prophet and guess behavior, at least not to this extent, wait and see…Luther reached for Tusk's small head and patted it, gently rubbing against the back of its ears, the stand cooed tapped his shoulder, pointing to his friends. Thanks, Tusk…you're the best thing that's ever happened to me here.
To Tusk's suggestion, Luther opened up his ears more to the environment, finally tuning into his companion's conversation.
"Come on, Alice, have a little faith in me here…" Luka's juvenile voice was the first one he heard, after so much time Luther could say he had such a distinct pitch tone. It could bring for a speech that called for hope. Luther quickly picked up speed in his stride, going back to his previous position to hear more clearly.
"Do I need to remind you how wounded you were?" Alice was quick with her cutting response, making Luka wince and promptly shut up. "If it weren't for me you'd be left injured or worse dead, from that internal bleeding I found."
"Right…sorry…" The fake hero's apology was barely a whisper, it sounded tired and vapid, opposite of his regular being, full of optimistic energy. "Thanks for that, why did you heal me anyway?" He forced out before biting his tongue in regret.
Alice ever so slightly froze up, turning to Luka, a deep frown on her face. "Don't mistake my actions for kindness, I have no time to waste sitting around in some village waiting for you to recover, we both have our goals for traveling and if you hold me down some way or be defeated then expect me to leave…" She finished with that, leaving behind a setting silence that failed to entertain any of the group members. None of them were happy after such a painful reminder. It was finally interrupted by a conflicted sigh coming from the Monster Lord. "All you have to do is not lose and I keep traveling and training with you, and so comes the question, why are you always charging into danger like that? I refuse to believe you're that suicidally selfless, there must be some ounce of self-preservation in that numb skull of yours."
"It still ended up completely fine, because of all of us." Luka said, mustering up some determination and courage to meet her gaze defiantly, they had already seen two example of coexistence due to their efforts, he was alive and his dream was fulfilled by another bit, and the boy wasn't going to let her take the joy away from him.
"Somehow, it didn't end in disaster as mind-boggling as it is…" Alice muttered, in spite of how nice the conclusion was, her mind couldn't grasp how it managed to happen, the circumstances which led to the discussion should have made the chances realistically improbable.
"There were plenty of good reasons for them to unify, at least temporarily, simple logic was the deciding factor there." Luther suddenly voiced his opinion, startling them slightly, he heard their little quiet remarks of how they nearly forgot he was there, something which he didn't blame them for.
"Except you forget the previous contempt both the villages no doubt had for each other, or at least one side of the conflict due to the constant kidnapping, those idiotic teachings of Ilias and Human rejection for the harpies, it didn't help when you attacked some of their kin and the Queen no less!" She carefully pointed out, most of the night yesterday filled with pointless arguments were proof enough that her point was valid.
"You're being too pessimistic about it Alice." Luka asserted. "What about Iliasburg, they accepted those Monsters even when they have done bad stuff to the city, aren't you able to accept that some can move past their hatred?"
"That was different, we already talked about this, they were children and what damage they did can't possibly compare to the kidnappings…" The purple lamia replied, gritting her teeth. An entire village was under threat of extinction, she had expected more push back, more anger out of them rather than what she saw, then again, perhaps it was a mistake to think otherwise from the gutless cowards that hid when their loved ones were being stolen from them.
"What matters most is that it did happen, not why it happened, so what? Some people acted in ways you never expected them to, big deal…that happens all the time, means your world view isn't so correct." Chambers drawled out, his nonchalant shrugging causing the lamia scowl. "Hmm, if it makes you feel any better, we had a great play in the circumstance in making those discussions even possible, considering how much the villagers relied on us and how clear we made it out that our desire wasn't a violent conflict."
"If what you described is correct, without us those poor villagers were surrounded by harpies, having no real means to defend themselves. " Luka enthusiastically agreed, but then frowned at the possible implications.
"And so they were forced to comply, set aside their anger, and rationally strike a deal." Luther finished off his argument. Luka looked slightly worse off, some deep dread setting in at hearing such cynical conclusion, that this peace was made not on the inhabitant's own volition, while Alice processed it fully.
Oh, dear Ilias here it comes…A shiver of apprehension went down the pint-sized hero's back as he saw her signature smirk that meant he was about to hearsay either tease him or say something horrible.
"Huh, first Iliasburg, then Happiness Village, really like forcing your world view on others, don't you? Alice asked in a sing-song voice, which drilled on Luka's hearing. "There is no denying it now, you really are a barbarian. " She twirled her fingers around his face, amused by his squirming; however, she knew she could make squirm more. "One could say a bully…hero…"
What followed after were a loud groan and a number of sentences which stumbled over themselves, barely ending in mere single words as the fake hero's fuses broke. "I…no..would…not.." He buried his red face flushed from embracement into his hands to muffle his small scream which made Alice smile
Maybe it would have been better if I kept my mouth shut, poor guy… Luther shook his head in sympathy. Tusk flew over the broken boy's shoulder, leaning its head against his neck.
"Why do you do this to him?" He figured it would have been better to get an answer to what seemed to him as unrelenting verbal torture, to some extent he was glad that such simple words didn't cut into him anymore. Constant teasing combined with the stress he was already feeling – he didn't like the outcome one bit.
"Cause it's fun~ I have to find some way to make this journey entertaining." Alice explained, still grinning from Luka's constant lamenting." Besides, teasing you is like poking a stone wall, a waste of time and effort."
Luka returned mostly to normal after a while in the peace that surrounded them. Alice was left satisfied as if she had fulfilled some sort of daily quota over how much she could indirectly make the young boy's life as miserable as possible while Luther was much more relaxed, the recent display of embarrassment staying dominant in his mind, retracing their conversation over and over again, a detail quite unsettling stuck with him.
"Those Monster children…back in Iliasburg." He brought up, catching his companions' attention. "If what I assume is right it's hard to believe that they were just alone in some forest by their parents, not saying what they did was right, but did they have any other choices regarding how ordinary Humans were afraid of them?" They both stopped and turned to him with uncomfortable expressions, he immediately regretted bringing it up, but a nagging feeling of curiosity never went away when he thought about it. It was there like always, taunting him, forcing him to indulge in it, but it was too late to reconsider now.
Luka was the first one to open his mouth.
"Maybe, the parents didn't willingly leave them be…" The fake hero added his thoughts only beginning to realize how morbid it sounded, even more silence followed when he hit such a touchy topic. They all knew the pain of losing an important parent, whether it be a mother or father. The pain burned deep within a person's soul and for a long time. "I- I mean, I had my village to help me." Luka croaked out. "But they had nothing."
"Monsters are more resilient and independent than humans, naturally so they don't need to rely on others as much." The monstrous companion explained, there was no hint of smugness or sense of superiority within her, it nearly seemed automatic. "The instincts necessary for survival – breeding, feeding, or fighting are ingrained deep into their minds, some species take advantage of this and leave behind many offspring easily. "Alice recalled the knowledge she had learned while studying tirelessly in her archives to become a proper ruler. "Given the right situation, we grow up quite quickly, even without parents."
"Alice…" Luka tried to say but was cut off.
"While their circumstances may be unfavorable and gloomy, it shouldn't be much of a problem for them." She paused staring into the road that led to Enrika, that mysterious secluded settlement, a minuscule knowing smile crossed her lips. "Though we don't have much time for me to enlighten you on such things, it seems you'll have company soon."
"Huh, Oh…right!" Luka immediately perked up, his hand immediately gripping his sword's handle drawing it out of its scabbard, admittedly slightly nervous of what's to come.
"Good luck." It didn't take long for Alice to vanish in front of his eyes.
"Ready?" The older man asked, shoving his hands deep behind his large coat, his reassuring presence taking up the space that Alice left behind, a company he found that he preferred more, he took awkward silence over teasing any day.
"Yes, wonder what Monster are we going to encounter next?" He nervously replied, balancing on his toes. "I just hope we can convince them not to attack us."
"Judging how our previous encounters went? Sorry Luka but I'm a bit doubtful they'll just let us pass untouched, at least not without paying a certain 'price'. "
"Well, you don't know if you don't try." Luka's beamed at his companion who casually shrugged, face still remaining unmoving, positivity returned to the fake hero just like it was taken away. Luka and Luther were quick to notice a change in atmosphere, how the trees stopped rustling or the birds no longer were singing, they weren't as alone anymore.
The sound of fallen branches breaking, hard steps hitting against the ground at a frantic pace was enough to confirm their assumption. In mere moments a figure emerged from the thick forest surrounding it, it was an elf with a dark complexion wearing silk green straps for clothing, a sword loosely hanging off her belt. She stood confidently and pointed her palm as if challenging them to step closer, both of them would be completely willing to oblige.
"You stepped close enough, go back whence you came. This is a place man must not approach." The dark elf proclaimed, remaining unwavering despite being outnumbered as she drew her sword which turned out to be blunt-edged.
"Why aren't humans allowed?" The fake hero inquired, puzzled at the arbitrary imposition, looking for a rational reason he'd forgo the time and mental pain he spent traveling here.
"Because they're human." She stated, her grip on her sword tightened once she saw their disapproval.
"Is that so?" Luther shot a thoughtful glare at her, with the way he kept his hands hidden underneath his clothing and his frown unnerved her like he was readying to strike at any moment without warning. She fiddled with her sword, prepared to raise it to defend against any bladed weapon he was most likely hiding.
…
"Oh, well then Luka, let's go, this place is clearly unwelcoming to us, I doubt we'll find anything of note." The brewing tension in the atmosphere immediately dropped as he said that, casually turning his back to them and walking steps away to hide his amused smirk. He couldn't pass up an easy opportunity to steer clear of Enrika.
"Huh!?" Both of the Elf and Luka were equally bewildered at his change in attitude that happened at the drop of a hat, admittedly, there was some relief on her part, the most threatening-looking one of the duo was unwilling to fight. Luther turned to both of them, his solemn aura turning into something more casual.
"What, is it so surprising I want nothing to do with a town that's so clearly against humans?" The stand user shook his head, he offered the elven creature a fake smile. "So this is how Monsters must feel, certainly unpleasant…" They failed to notice the bit of sarcasm dripping from his tone of voice.
"Hey, wait! You can't just decide like that!" The pint-sized hero objected, quickly rushing over to his side to question his friend, before that, Luka spotted how awkward the Monster felt. "Uh…wait a minute, I and my friend here will discuss the finer details and then leave, please just wait a moment!" He shouted over to the dark elf.
"Um…Luther mind explaining to me why we're turning back?" Luka started, pulling on Luther's coat to bring his ears down to his level and whisper to them, he cautiously glanced for any possible sneak attack.
"Didn't I make it obvious, besides, what are you going to do? Fight?" Luther whispered back to the fake hero whose face scrunched up, he never did enjoy the moments where the young boy was saddened or frustrated, it seemed highly unlike him.
"I know it might be uncomfortable…but I can't allow such discrimination to happen, if Monsters and Humans both act in such a way coexistence would never be possible." Luka vehemently pointed out, still keeping his voice down, he saw how guilty Luther appeared yet ultimately knew it wasn't enough to convince him. "What about Alice don't you think she'll get angry since this entire journey 'would be a waste of time' if we left, she might even leave us…" He took an uneasy glance at Angel Halo, one of the very things that would be taken away from most likely alongside any possibility to get stronger.
"There is most likely more reason for them not wanting Humans going further in, we might be biting off more than we chew." Luther placed his hand firmly on the boy's shoulder. "Think about this, an entire village against us if we get past her."
"Is that what's all about, you don't want me getting hurt?" Luka got no response from him, instead, Luther turned away in shame. "That fight with the Harpy Queen, I don't really remember much of what happened …but I know you're weren't able to help me…don't worry about it, that wasn't your fault. I'll be fine and you'll be able to be by my side now."
Oh dear, I don't know what's more fucked? Lying to that Lamia girl or Luka's misinterpreting me? Though, some part of it I feel is true. Luther couldn't look back, he didn't dare to look back at the risk of his shell breaking and the self-disgust would come pouring out his very soul. Every comfort that his friend tried to give him, like a helping hand to save him from drowning in the ocean, yet only ironically sank him deeper. This is for the best if I-
"Well, well, well…seems some vagabonds have come wandering into our territory." A different voice interrupted his train of thought, this one sounded haughty and arrogant. It didn't belong to anyone he recognized, they both saw another dark elf dressed in a revealing regal black dress casually strolling into the dirt pathway, further hindering any progress to the mysterious village. "For your own sake, I suggest you turn around and go."
"Unless…you two think yourself above the common worm, hmm~?" The new elf hummed, her eyes daring them to come closer and find out what she had in store for them, they could both hear something wet and slippery slapping against the ground and it came from her from below her dress. Extra appendages no doubt, a feature Monsters possessed quite often.
"Can you not antagonize them, please? I was just beginning to 'convince' them nicely to leave." The other guardian interjected, growling through her teeth as she tapped the blunt of her blade on her friend's shoulder in frustration.
"Come now, it's good to have little fun, what's the harm? It's not like they'll beat us together." She smirked wrapping her arm around the dark elf's neck and pulling her closer. "Furthermore, they'd make nice slaves, no?" She pointed at Luka "Look at that little boy, he looks like a cute doll…" then pointed to Luther. "Tall, nice looking, seems easy to break too." A giggle emerged from her lips.
She is trying to rile us up or scares us into leaving, regardless it's intentional, otherwise, her "whispering" wouldn't be audible…Luther firmly gripped Luka's shoulder, fully knowing how easy it was to anger his friend, the scowl on his face said the entire story he needed to hear. "She is doing this on purpose. Calm down, no need to get hasty." He placated him.
"They're slavers." It was a simple statement from the boy, but one that held so much seething disgust. Having heard and seen many people go missing without any explanation in his lifetime, the very thought of them enslaving Humans, tormenting them for their own enjoyment, or selling them off made his sword hand itchy for action. If not him and Luther, then somebody else, he had to stop them as his very obligation to be a hero ordered him to. "After hearing that do you still turn away and let them go?" Luka asked, giving his partner food for thought. "Because I'll fight both of them."
"We have orders to secure the parameters, not to go around doing whatever you want in case you forgot." The elf swordswoman curtly responded to her friend's suggestions, before her voice turned quiet. "Too many Humans go missing and people start asking questions, get angry and violent. We can't take them back, she won't let us."
"Just selling them after we're finished shouldn't be too hard, how many villages are out there in short supply of males?" Her friend asked, hiding away her entertained expression behind a fan. "Need I remind you that we are also low on funds? Two birds with one stone – we get to fulfill our duties without any suspicion and we get some gold on the side."
"Well, when you put it like that…"
Luka was itching to spring himself free from his companion's firm but friendly grasp and charge forward to teach the two elves a lesson, it took the utmost amount of willpower to not just start swinging Angel Halo around at them, the fake hero glanced at Chambers who looked conflicted.
Why the hell does this world have to be so fucking horrible? Slavers, really? Guess I shouldn't be so surprised…what to do? What to do? We could leave, a further risk with Angel Halo is averted, however, I doubt Luka would back down or Alice would like my decision without any proper explanation…or…Luther turned his eyes to the knife-eared Monsters. I could stay and fight, but then there is no doubt we continue into Enrika once Alice shows up, nothing I could do to convince her, and Luka's curiosity is another beast to argue against whatever I do put myself at risk in one manner or another.
"Chu." The stand user heard Tusk's complaint wailing on him, like knives stabbing into his brain.
A fierce scowl appeared on his face, his steel balls began to spin faster. Yeah fuck this, how many people have been enslaved and sold off by them already, how many more will if we ignore this. Consequences be damned, I'm not letting a bunch of slavers run free with no repercussions just for the sake of my own comfort.
"Slavers huh?" The older man loudly exclaimed his question, catching their attention, however, he spoke again before any of them took pleasure from his discomfort. "Not sure if I like the idea of my own kind being enslaved and sold off like cattle." Luther crossed gazes with his pint-sized friend, they both shared a nod.
"Hoo…what are you going to do about it?" The haughty elf stepped forward, revealing her twisted challenging grin that promised them torment. Several tentacles hidden underneath her dress emerged, swinging around in a wild pattern. Her friend sighed and took the tense moment to try to circle them, pointing her sword at whichever one was closer.
"Alright Luka, let's go take out some trash, shall we?" Luther cracking his knuckles released a determined Luka, both of them had the same expression, one of righteous vindication, neither we're willing to let them be. Even if it was temporary they will not let another human be enslaved by these elves. Through simple gestures, they agreed on who to attack
"A world of coexistence can't possibly exist with Monsters like you, such vile actions… as a hero, I can't allow them!" The fake hero confidently declared finally drawing out his cursed sword for all to see, he would never admit openly for the sake of not feeling selfish, but he was feeling giddy. Not only finally being able to act out his dreams to strike down evil and defend the weak, but also to properly fight alongside his friend. Luka wasn't going to let this become a thing he'll regret.
Luka launched himself toward the dark-skinned elf, swinging for her neck. Both of their eyes winded from the sheer distance traveled from one leap. As he predicted, despite his speed his blade was met with her own to stop his sudden assault, the fake hero pushed with his strength on regardless forcing her to backpedal to gain some distance away. There will be no hesitation in this bout.
"Now, you know I cannot let you do that." The haughty elf behind him said, her slithering slimy tentacles lashing against the ground, however, he dared not to look behind him for even a moment, dealing with that one was now Luther's responsibility.
She smiled as tentacles went to reach for him, fully convinced she could capture him easily with his current lack of attention, yet a voice called out to her, depriving her the satisfaction of enveloping the purple-haired boy in her corrupting reach.
"Hey, catch!" Her head swung to meet the fierce expression of Luther, in his hands, there was a steel ball rotating seemingly by itself, the very subtle movements in his arm and hand were obvious as she retreated her tentacles immediately, the man threw the steel ball it rocketed forward with extreme speed, cutting and bending the air around it. She tried to dodge but it was too fast and ended up slamming into the mass of purple flesh defending her.
The ball stayed spinning, pushing further into her extra appendages, she gritted her teeth as she felt some of them be torn off and vanish into energy, the projectile's momentum ceased and as if the laws of physics finally imposed itself it followed its trajectory with the last push bouncing back into Luther's hand. "You're dealing with me, so as long as I'm here you're not touching a single strand of his hair."
Luka smiled as he heard that declaration, but quickly focused on his opponent who still was caught off guard by his abilities, he carefully observed the weapon she was holding. As I thought, that sword is a faint, meant to get an opening, it isn't going to cut anything, not even butter, what can I do with that?
"You're a good swordsman, that was a Cursed Sword technique, wasn't it?" She asked carefully watching his stance for any sign of an attack. Luka cautiously slashed at her, meeting her sword again and shoving further back.
"That." He pointed his sword at her neck. "Is a question you're going to have to answer yourself."
Just as I do mine, her sword may be a fake, but it's a lot more predictable and bearable than any pleasure attack she could dish out. His boots kicked up mud as he charged once more, he forcibly clashed blades, the black metal of Angel Halo slamming into simple steel, wearing it down bit by bit as he relentlessly hammered on the weapon. Force her on the defense, she uses that old club to defend herself and I corner her, or she leaves herself open, either way, this should be a losing battle for her. Remember, no hesitation and no opening.
Luka slid his sword on her dull blade, he pushed and swiped to the right, forcing her arms to do the same and leave a clear opening. His aim was her chest, the closest part of the body he could get to. The fake hero thrust his blade forward, she barely managed to dodge, her shoulder knocking into the tree with the prison blade slicing her side. Luka followed after by flicking his weapon right.
Why is this human so strong, he is pushing back like it's nothing, damn it Elisia you've done it now! Having no space to back off and faced with an abomination of a sword heading her way she was left with no other choice other than to rise to the challenge, the elf pushed through her strange fatigue and raised a defense.
Their blades clashed, their expressions met, she saw the fierceness hidden within his soul straight through his pupils, and it unnerved her. She wasn't fighting a simple doll as her friend put it, there was deep ambition that burned like a flame inside the fighter in front of her, and ambition she had never seen a Human or Monster, one that threatened to burn all that stood in its way. It wasn't like before where he looked like a simple village boy dressed in basic armor, easy to tease and corrupt with pleasure, no, that boy changed into some warrior of a long-forgotten age. His choice of a sword didn't help soothe her either. And I'm already tired, what in the name of the Creator is happening? It's as if that thing took away my energy.
"Quite a weapon you have there." She huffed out between her sharp breaths. "Besides its ghastly appearance I couldn't help but notice that it doesn't cut exactly, normally I should be spilling blood right now, instead I just feel tired." The elf made her observation hoping to get an answer before his next assault.
"It seals people instead of killing them, any wound dealt with it will drain and seal your energy until you take on a… harmless version of yourself." He explained calmly, a slight reassuring smile crossed before turning into a frown which sent shivers down her spine. "A form where you wouldn't be able to hurt or enslave anyone!"
"Gah!" Before she could react, he pressed the blade against her chest and shoved her into the tree behind her, her back crashed against hard bark and food. Her feet lost ground footing and she stumbled back. In an attempt to drop safely and roll away she dropped her sword to let her hands cushion the fall, but her forearms and palms slipped from the wet grass and she fell flat on her rear.
Luka was standing above her aiming the blade at her heart, yet she found no mockery in his stance, just the same determination. The knife-eared monster took in the tense silence, in that moment of peace she knew that she never stood a chance since the very beginning. Negotiation wasn't possible at this point, going out kicking and screaming would be pointless based on how easily he threw around.
She laid her head down as the blade fell, her only now hope was that there was no deceit in his words.
Several slimy tentacles fell to the ground and vanished as the one who they belonged to barely avoided an incoming steel ball, she had no clue as to why they were strange and powerful for what were simple throwing weapons, neither did she care much as it seemed to be the only thing the man was capable of. Two she counted, he had two steel balls with him, but no matter how many tentacles it cut through she could always summon more and it didn't hit her reserves much.
"It seems you still have spirit within you, I'll take great pleasure breaking what's left." She taunted, she got no reaction, however, not even a twitch, just the same chilling frown, and a judgmental glare, almost depriving her of any pleasure from depreciating him. No amount of coaxing could get a response from him since the very start of their battle, he barely said anything or got angrier and more emotive than he was already. It was unlike many other encounters with Humans, usually simple mockery was enough to get them going, make their emotions overpower rationality, instead, anger worked in tandem with logic.
He was beginning to get trickier as their struggle went on with projectiles being thrown in winding angles, luring her into a corner, where she would have no space to run. Dangerous as he might be this is getting annoying. I cannot wait to get my hands on him, ridding him of that stoic cover will be worth the trouble.
The steel ball thrown rebounded against the ground and back into Luther's hand, he kept a distance, only throwing one at a time to keep the other ball with him just in case she decided to charge – an easy opening he could exploit. Damn, who would have thought that moving targets are so much harder to hit when they're not heading in a single direction? Those tentacles aren't helping either, too much flesh to breakthrough.
Spin inside his hands and steel balls intensified for a moment, he felt Tusk at the back of his mind encourage him, but he shook his head. Sorry, Tusk, you can't increase the charge that would probably blow a hole through her abdomen. Chambers' sighed at his stand's Confusion. That part of the soul that was most innocent, it desperately wanted justice, to see the elf before him fall through any means necessary for her crimes against humanity. The feeling is mutual of course. She might be a slaver, yet for Luka's sake I'm not going to kill them, don't need another death on my hands however deserving they may be.
"You're fighting us, and for what? Just because I sold a couple of your kind, I helped them fulfill a more useful purpose there than they would have their entire lives." The elven mage imperiously proclaimed. a spark of a flame, a flicker of light came from her left hand. "So what if they came kicking and screaming? They got used to eventually and came to find loving families, my kind services are essential for Monsters you self-righteous worm! Stop looking at me like that!" Small embers became a wave of flames, with a growl she threw it in a downward motion.
Luther charged his with energy legs and dashed under it shocking his opponent, whatever part of the little wall of flames that caught him was extinguished from the sudden acceleration, he lobbed a steel ball aimed right at her face, her tentacles that quickly sprung action were forced to take the brunt of the damage. Magical Fire ragged behind them, quickly burning up the grass and filling the air with smoke, however it starved out before it could spread without any proper energy to fuel it.
She is fast, but not fast enough, might need to act more offensively. Two steel balls should do it perfectly, one to halt her tentacles and the other to hopefully knock her out. The stand user let his weapon bounce back into his hand before gaining distance.
"You…" She glared at him, power sparked through the elf's body as her appendages that were ripped off were replaced with even more, he wasn't even sure if she still had legs underneath her dress, the pressure emanated increased as the seconds passed by.
"Could you kindly sit still for once, I would greatly appreciate it." The tentacle elf was left seething, the battle kept repeating, she tried to grab him, he dodged and threw his steel ball and some of her tentacles suffered as a result, an endless cycle that only benefited him if it continued. "No words? I'll make you squeal like a pig that you are." She dashed at him, multiple tendrils waiting to envelop and break him.
Luther sidestepped and backpedaled, his reply was an angled pitch of cold metal that was casually intercepted by a mass of writhing flesh as he expected it to happen, and so he reluctantly threw the second one at her head.
"Ha! Sneaky bastard, you thought you can pull off something so simple." Much to his surprise the writhing mass of tentacles spread out even further acting as a shield against his attacks, unlike his previous attempts there were many more tear down, he noticed how thin the upper layer protecting was while circling her. Luther dared to feel hope that it might just pierce and knock her unconscious.
Oh, no. Luther froze, the first ball was gripped by her purple appendages that refused to let return to him once its unnatural momentum ceased while the second one tore through the mass of flesh, but she shifted her head for it to miss completely…all while a grin became present on her face
"No more tricks and no more of those steel balls. It's just you and me" She passed the steel ball to her hand, clutching it tightly in some vain attempt to crush it after realizing the futility of such an action, her grin widened. A small step forward towards him became a charge as she summoned more tentacles and tendrils that surrounded him. Chambers snapped out of his awestruck daze and tried to move, but he was too late.
"Guh!" Her writhing mass of tentacles constricted every part of his body, squeezing, tightening, and slathering his body in slime, she sadistically cackled seeing him fruitlessly struggle in her grasp as she let her extra appendages play around him causing mild pain and pleasure.
"Oh, your resistance makes all the more satisfying~ squeal for me you pig, squeal for your future masters because our time here will be long and hard." The elf giggled, rubbing her tentacles against his crotch, beginning to pull down his pants. He couldn't resist it anyway, barely managing to even slide and inch away from their stationary position, a change in position all because of one mistake of underestimating his opponent.
Rat, pig, worm, bastard, leech, and any other demeaning unoriginal insult she threw at him he didn't waver a single bit, her painful stimulation which was only starting to get worse didn't either despite how much she wanted to change that unyielding glare which stared into her very soul, judging her every vile action she had committed. He didn't speak, just followed a methodical breathing pattern to keep himself calm while he was facing his failure.
First time I have an actual fight against someone and screw it up, of course…His arms and legs went, his shoulders dropped, the judgmental glare became more hopeless as her appendages reached below his underwear, whether he suffered Critical Ecstasy or not he didn't find out, but what more could he do? He tried resisting and breaking free of her hold as hard as he could, trying to bite, kick or writhe around, yet all it did was all the more to satisfy his opponent's sadism, making her grip tightened even harder. Even if he did escape his weapons were scattered about, the only way to get out would require lethality. Negative thoughts couldn't help but creep up at him at the worst time possible. You always screw it all up, don't you, this world isn't any different. Maybe I'll wait for Luka, let him return the favor. Rely on others, that usually helps for a while right? It's only your entire life's experience backing that fact up, what does it matter if I win, I still fail anyway. Angel Halo, Luka's identity, and Micaela, it all will end up badly just because I showed up. I even indirectly made Luka, the hero of the world, doubt himself. Perhaps the only thing I can salvage here is my pride and dignity, beat her myself, but with the way this battle is now, there is no hope of escape. I lost here.
With the way, things are going there is no hope of escape. I lo- He bitterly repeated in his mind not being able to finish it, blankly staring into the sky, silently wishing anybody up there could smite him out his current and potential misery.
"Chumimi~in!" Tusk interjected into his mindless wishes, his spark of resolve in this dark world that promised him despair, he was reminded that it will always be there with him no matter how much he plunges further into the abyss.
Gritting his teeth he found the strength to once again stare down at his adversary, a Monster both in a real and a metaphorical sense. Luther growled, which seemed to amuse her further, it was easy to say why he despised her. Someone who ripped away the ultimate freedom that any human possessed, broke them for her own enjoyment and benefit without so much as a second thought. He didn't care if it was her way of life or culture. If his hope for a better future was still dim inside of his heart, then he will let spite and hatred be his guide, just this once…
I stopped Granberia's own sword swing with but a palm of my hand! Spin surged throughout his body, slowly building up in frequency and strength. He swayed back forth in her grasp trying to pry his hands free. This is bitch is nothing compared to her or the Spin, she can't hold me.
"Still fighting I see, no matter I guess I – what!? I- I can't move my tentacles!" The elf mage frantically glanced around her as pressure began to surround her. She found a bizarre star and moon pattern spreading across her skin and appendages, it originated from none other than the man she was holding captive. Soon enough the rest of her body froze, becoming simple toys of her assailant. "You! What did you do to my body!?"She shrieked into his ear, she couldn't move a single inch, yet she felt him perfectly and slowly get his arms out of her writhing mass of flesh. This level of helplessness was terrifying.
"From what you told me yourself, you thrive off of breaking men, turning their bodies and minds into simple playthings." He vaguely answered; his voice was monotone and vengeful, colder than usual. The knife-eared Monster dared not to look him in the eye for fear of what she might uncover lurking underneath. "And so I thought to do the same to you – your body is mine to control."
Luther freed both of his arms all while she remained frozen, holding him in the air. "It might be true what you said, that I'm a self-righteous leech…a mindless worm…" His arms moved at an agonizingly slow pace toward her. "However I have lived long enough to know what makes a person evil."
As much she feared she caught a glimpse of what was behind those grey orbs of his, eerie dark blue flames encompassed his pupils, it was both maddening and serene to look at, the intent behind them was clear. "Evil only cares about itself, it's the mark of one who would bring another to ruin and dare to not show remorse."
"Even bastards like me, loathe seeing it exist." Luther finished, his hands immediately sped forward gripping and throttling her neck, compressing her blood vessel and depriving her of proper oxygen. She gazed at him in fear no part of her body responded to the hectic desire to move, to push him off, and she couldn't help but stare into those cold killer eyes that gleamed sunlight, but he paid no attention and continued maintaining an outwardly stoic expression. "Let me teach you a certain lesson."
"ghug-hg!" She barely choked out, the elf wanted to scream but it would be quickly silenced by his hands. They fell backward on the grassy ground, not because of her but through her strangler's will.
Her vision began to darken, but no matter how light her head felt, the horror of being choked to death was still present. Tears rolled down on her cheeks and poured onto his hands, yet he remained still like a stone statue. "Feel that futile desperation, how weak and pitiful you are now, desperate for anything, anyone to save you. That how your victims felt as you 'helped' them 'fulfill a more useful purpose,' do you understand?"
She nodded desperately, hoping her answer would make him let go and reconsider killing her, alas the opposite happened, his grip tightened even more and soon she went unconscious. Luther felt her energy signature start to flicker on and off slowly, it was so close to him he could even distinguish its depraved nature from the rest of the environment. He carefully let go, as his Spin energy faded the tentacles loosened and vanished, same with the slime covering.
Getting back up and pulling up his pants he noticed how hard and fast he was breathing, he wagered perhaps he had held his breath in for too long and then went back to pick up his steel balls and pop them back into their holster, he took a good moment to observe the unconscious elf, glancing over her pale form.
Well, at least her energy is stable…Built-up rage and hatred started to vanish as she was no longer a threat to him. Rational and conscious thought finally took over, and the realization hit him like a train heading at full speed. "Holy shit…I just nearly choked someone to death…oh fuck, I need to relax." No wonder his heart was beating so fast and the adrenaline was pumping through his veins.
My hands around her throat, her entire life was all in my hands, ready to either be spared or … Luther glanced at his shaking palms and shook his head, turning far away from the lying body of the elf. To hold another life so brazenly feels so wrong.
"That was certainly…something." He heard a voice call out to him from behind, a voice that belonged to the last person he wanted to meet – Alice, who curiously remarked on his actions. Luther refused to turn around, not yet, he wasn't ready to face the Lord of a Monster he nearly killed." Such a strange way of getting across a message, cruel but very effective, I wager she'd at least think twice before resorting to slavery."
"Alice I-"
"No need to explain, this was a battle between you and that dark elf, however, you decided to approach it matters not to me, though I'm glad you decided to spare her life." Alice interjected in an understanding tone, he turned and saw that her facial expression didn't match it all. It was one that gave the message "I'll be watching you" to the man. "You're an interesting man, Luther, like some sort of puzzle I can't quite figure out, one that keeps surprising me at every corner, and here I thought Luka was the only barbarian among you…"
"Right, about Luka." Luther reluctantly turned to the unconscious body with a sullen expression.
"Whether you want to tell him or not, it's your business." She told him, before smirking." Although I suppose the news of his oh so dear friend strangling a monster to near-death wouldn't be so uplifting, hmm?"
"Hey, Luther, Alice I'm finished, the elf ran away after I sealed her!" Luka's loud high-pitched speech echoed through the forest, plain to hear for both of them, a purple blur followed after the sound quickly and speeding through open clearing. He stopped before he could knock into either of his companions. Alice continued smirking, a little bit of pride shining off of that facial expression at the boy's presence, while Luther uncomfortably froze up.
"Ah…so you're back, I have to commend you for not getting hit once and cornering her, it seems the lessons I drilled into your skull are getting through to you" She allowed one bit of praise to pass by, but not before grounding his achievements in realism. "Granted it was just a low-level Monster, more powerful foes no doubt await you up north."
Luka nodded and then curiously turned his attention to the stiff Luther but before glancing at the dark elf mage lying on the ground, he heard slow raspy breathing from her. "And I see you've beaten, completely unscathed. I wish I could have seen you fight." The fake hero smiled brightly at his older companion who barely so much as moved or reacted. "Um, are you alright? You seem a little out here."
"Yeah, I'm completely fine, just thinking that's all." Chambers nervously chuckled, the uncertainty of his sentence failed to convince the boy completely of his stability.
"Chu…" The stand user felt a familiar course through once more, this one uncorrupted by negative emotions, he stood a little prouder in front of the boy trying his best to flash a kind smile to him.
Thanks, Tusk, I owe you a debt I'm afraid I'll never repay, but do I really need to? Tusk cooed softly and leaned against his cheek.
"The feelings are mutual Luka, I would have loved to see you fight." He placed a hand on his shoulder and forced out a smile while embracing the sheer positivity that his very soul was sharing with him. "Unfortunately we both had issues to deal with, speaking of which, I suggest you go seal that one up quickly before she wakes up."
Luka obliged his request, quickly running over to the unconscious monster and drawing out Angel Halo and raising it to strike, he stopped to observe her form. A frown appeared on his face that vanished quickly with a shake of the head.
"What are you waiting for, do it already, we don't have all day," Alice complained, it was the last bit of encouragement needed to plunge the sword into the elf's heart, she disappeared in a bright flash with her power tearing itself apart and being flung across the world, all that was left behind was a tiny version of the Monster that could fit in the palm of his hand, still sleeping. The purple-haired boy carefully picked her up like a doll and placed her somewhere hidden, in a bush.
"There isn't anything here left for us, let's go, unless you numbskulls have forgotten already we don't know the exact location Enrika." She pointed out, they would likely be left wandering several hours before they even find it and they all knew this well. "The sooner we go, the sooner we can finally head toward our main route, no more detours." The Monster Lord's demanding in a threatening tone, which promised them great pain if they were to disobey, Luka and Luther suffered collective goosebumps
"Ehehe, L- let's just go f-find Enrika." Luka stuttered out and stood up putting the sword back in its scabbard, deciding to take the pathway they were already on.
"For your sake there better be some delicacies there I can sample." Her last words before departure sent an incomprehensible amount of shivers down his spine, he felt dread of what the future held for him with such a woman following along on his journey.
One hour is all it took to find Enrika after going through several winding dirt roads, some even ending in dead ends. It was a small village in a clearing, perfectly hidden away by the wildlife and fauna. The forest seemed to get denser the closer they got to it, at times appearing like a maze, one that couldn't have been created naturally without any outside assistance. Intuition, scent, and energy-sensing are what guided them along the confusing trek.
Despite its size, the quality of the architecture there was comparable to that of Iliasburg, the mossy stone being used to create brilliant works of art as well stable and strong housing, properly paved streets that interlaced with the nature around them that fit its strange serene atmosphere. One could almost sit by a tree and fall asleep in it. It would have all appeared to be a well-off enchanting town, were it not for a critical detail – emptiness, there was not a single soul in sight.
"They couldn't have made this any harder to find…" Alice remarked, frustrated by the roundabout path she had to take to get there, she curiously observed her surroundings, sniffing the air a little. "So I was correct, still, we came all the way here to see a dead town."
Not a dead town, people are still hiding here, I can sense them. Did they know prior that we would come here, or did somebody notify them? Luther blankly stared at his twitching hands, the sensation of choking the elf still present on his mind, his trail of thoughts was like the routes he took to get here, mostly ending in dead ends or awful conclusions. Still, whether or not either assumption is true doesn't matter, Micaela will appear and Angel Halo would have some interesting questions left to ponder and a larger bread crumb trail to follow…I failed, I should have been more aware and taken the direct route to Iliasport.
"Chu." Tusk appeared and floated above his shoulder, the blue featureless dots, which acted as its eyes, in spite of their lack of detail it held infectious hope in them, forcing itself into Luther's mindscape.
The world doesn't always give you what you want, you have just had to make the best of it, like always…Chambers gripped his hands together and made them stop shaking. Keep moving, you can deal with those mistakes.
Luka shivered at Alice's implication as he looked around, but soon straightened himself out, several problems came to mind. "Wait, what do you mean you were correct?" Luka asked Alice to clarify but before she could say anything back foreign footsteps caught their attention. It was a woman, her appearance and presence were heavenly, bearing some uncanny resemblance to the Goddess of Light and standing out the strange serenity of the settlement, she was dressed in green dress and had flowing blond hair, blue eyes, and a stern expression that showed disapproval as she gazed at them. The woman walked closer before pausing at her pace and staring intently at the emptiness in-between Luther and Alice.
Micaela, a Seraphim of Heaven. It took a while for Luther to directly look at her, anxiety and fear gnawing on his mind, he didn't doubt that the Angels inside Angel Halo could immediately recognize one of their great generals, not even a name had to be uttered for them to know, just her very appearance was likely enough. He peeked at her face, one that continued to stare, squinting in…confusion?
The Stand user was left bemused about what could have caused this encounter to change. He glanced around trying to pinpoint the exact spot she was looking, an action he wasn't even hiding, eventually finding it…Tusk, she i- is looking right at Tusk…it couldn't be anything different, but how? Why can she see it?
Tusk jumped in surprise as Luther remained frozen, the little stand met her puzzled gaze innocently, tilting its head before snuggling into its panicked user who didn't react to the contact. The woman began to move forward again, her steps were more careful and methodical than before, this time staring at Luther with suspicion.
Chambers' shoulders slumped as he dismissed his stand back into his soul. Oh nonononono, this is going to be even more awful than I originally thought. Now Micaela might just expose Tusk's existence, great! Another secret is at risk… Luther forced himself to meet her gaze, she could easily read the desperation from his eyes, he ever so subtlety shook his head and put a finger on his lip hoping she'd understand his non-verbal plea for her to keep silent, her answer was a small nod though her expression remained inquisitive as she glanced at her other company.
"You…don't appear to be merchants…or ordinary travelers…" She was the first one to break the silence. No introduction or greeting, just a simple observation, coupled with her strange presence that gave Luka a pause.
"Th-that's right, we heard about this village from a shopkeeper in Iliasburg." The pint-sized hero awkwardly replied, feeling discomfort from the woman's strange mannerism or rather lack of.
"Please go away…" She requested, her aloofness making Luka hit a wall in terms of being able to properly respond. "Other than merchants who trade things we need, we don't allow anyone else in the village."
"No way, really?" Luka frowned, but however he expressed his disappointment it didn't faze the stoic woman before him in the slightest, his usual innocent charm wasn't ineffective against her. Alice had no reason to inquire reasons for such isolationism, the pieces were all there – it was an elf village, keeping themselves secluded and hidden was just another method of survival, she probably wouldn't be finding any new delicacies to sample given the general attitude of its inhabitants. Luther didn't care, all he wanted to was leave as soon as possible.
"You may take offense at our prohibition, but this is how we've lived for a long time." She offered a simple explanation. "If you're a sensible traveler, please leave us alone." The same request was given, yet this one held a more threatening undertone.
Luka glanced around the village, finding nothing more than an empty peaceful town, no villain to stop here, he wouldn't benefit from disregarding her request. "I understand, sorry for troubling you." He bowed before, turning to leave afterward, but he was stopped.
"That ring! Could you be Luka!?" She exclaimed once she spotted the ring on his hand, Luka froze at the mention of his name coming from the lips of a complete stranger.
"Eh…? That's right…" He slowly turned around, his movements sluggish and confused and the previous impression he would find nothing interesting completely thrown out. The woman suddenly hugged the boy who stayed stiff at her embrace before letting him go, keeping her hands on his shoulders. Luka's cheeks flushed, he stuttered on his words in sheer befuddlement.
"You're really Luka, aren't you, you've grown so big since the last time I saw you…" She smiled, running her fingers through the pint-sized hero's hair, her image of a cold guardian of a serene village melting in an instant in the boy's eyes.
Alice also seemed intrigued as to the stranger's knowledge and affection displayed. "Who might you be? How do you know him exactly" It was easy for her to tell these were the questions her small companion was going to ask but was too preoccupied with his surprise
"Ah, it is rude of me to not introduce myself…" The blond woman glanced down at Luka. "You'll likely don't even remember me. My name is Micaela…" She paused, hesitating on how to exactly answer, her face melancholic. "I knew Luka's father and mother quite well, we were…friends."
"You knew my mom?" Luka broke out of his daze, cheeks still red. "Can yo-"
"Yes…I did." Micaela interrupted before shaking her head, determination flooding back into her as she remembered her self-appointed purpose. She grasped Luka's hands, holding them softly. "But now, please turn back, you'll find nothing of note here. I'm sure we'll be able to talk later, please…"
"I understand." Luka turned his attention slightly to his companions, Luther continued to stare at the ground, his expression was one he was familiar with, only seeing it briefly on some occasions, one of anxiety, and inner turmoil. Though she didn't have much, Alice was just as surprised as he was. her curiosity barely being sated, like her, he also wanted to know more, to speak to someone who knew his family. "Alright, I'll come again when the time comes." He squeezed with his hands back before being let go and turned to leave, part of his heart still screaming at him to stay, but he ignored it.
"Before you go, I'd like to speak to your silent friend here…privately." She pointed at Luther who met her gaze once more. he knew it was coming eventually. The serene atmosphere took a more serious tone, Alice's curiosity and Luka's puzzlement increased tenfold, for what reason was their silent giant needed? "It will only be for one moment."
Luka tried to interject, seeing as to how his friend truly seemed uncomfortable in her presence. "I'm sorry but-"
"No, it's fine Luka, I'll go." Luther interrupted, stepping forward and patting his friend on the back, as much as he wished to simply run away as fast as possible from a situation that appeared to be a slowly approaching guillotine blade moving to execute him. The man gave a forced smile to his travel companions as he took the Seraphim's side. "If you hear me scream, you know what to do." He joked while awkwardly laughing, not really knowing sure why, perhaps. It failed to ease the tenseness. none of them laughed with him, only making them look strangely at him and frustrating Micaela.
"Duly noted." Alice deadpanned and Luka nervously forced out his laughter.
"This is not an interrogation." The hidden Seraphim clarify crossing her arms. "Whether or not you want to indulge in my request is entirely up to you, though I'd prefer if you didn't jest about such things, making a fool of yourself may just convince me to do so." She backed a fair distance, nearly turning a corner, clearly inviting him to follow.
"Okay, I admit it, that was a bad time to make a joke, it completely ruined the mood here. "Luther acknowledged, his fake smile immediately disappearing, changing his demeanor to one that was serious. "Look it'll be alright, just a certain important private matter I have to deal with that doesn't concern you. I'm sorry if it offends you, but I have some secrets to keep." His companions reluctantly accepted him and let him go with the blond woman.
Micaela and Luther stood behind one of the houses deeper into the settlement, he peered around spotting one or more elves minding their business, either stopping by to look at them for a bit or completely ignoring them, it was quieter than he liked it to be, or maybe it was the lack of Luka and Alice at his side that was nerve-wracking, the man gathered his willpower and gazed at his company – an undeniable beautiful woman could kill him in an instant, a theme he found would be quite common in this world. He knew what she wanted an explanation, to see his stand close up, curiosity often got the best of even non-mortals.
"Here you go, Tusk." Chambers sucked in a breath and manifested Tusk, who had been holding back it the entire time before her letting it glide above his hands. Tusk looked up and met the Seraphim with its innocent beady eyes glimmering with starlight.
"Chu?" The Stand curiously cooed and flew over to Micaela who hesitantly let it fall on her open palm. She poked it with her fingers as if expecting it to suddenly bite them, but instead the small spirit nuzzled its head into her thumb, making her face flush red at the innocent sign of affection. Luther then heard what he never expected to hear from such a frightening woman, a high-pitched squeal.
Congratulations Tusk, you've charmed yet another Angel…Stunned, he scratched his cheek, brushing away the sensation of a finger gently rubbing against it, whatever contact Tusk felt he did as well. Soon enough the Seraphim squeezed the stand close to her chest, hugging it, a bright expression on her face. The poor being was left helpless as it was thrown around from side to side, swinging.
"Chu. Chu!" The stand exclaimed, its user didn't know whether it originated from joy or pain, neither did he know the exact word to describe what he was feeling, but brought great discomfort.
Luther felt immense pressure grip his body, almost completely pushing out the air in his lungs, he shook. "Hey, hey! Watch it that's a part of my soul, not a doll." The man warned, breathing a sigh of relief once the strong grasp vanished as well as seemingly any danger that the blond beauty might pose to him.
"A part of your very soul?" Micaela looked up at him. Tusk still gladly nestled in her arms, she held it up to its user's face as one would with a child, playing with it. "But it's so innocent and adorable, and you're so…"
"Dead inside?" He finished, his expression remaining unflinching, guilt appeared on her face, but he held up his hands before she could say anything. "Don't worry, I get that a lot, though you're right, there is practically no resemblance between us."
"Apologizes for being brash there." The Seraphim bowed after she composed herself and let go of Tusk. It flew to the man's shoulder and lazily laid on it prompting more inward exclamations of cuteness. "Still, a part of your soul? Humans always seemed to find a way to impress me in the end… to think of a method to project your spiritual side." She mused. "I assume I was never meant to see based on how your reaction was, care to explain?"
The Stand user opened his mouth, and then closed it, pausing to think of something that didn't reveal any crucial information, he was alone and cornered, perhaps it was simply his paranoid mind, but there was nothing stopping her from forcing it out of him, so he conceded. "Only other people that can 'project their spirit' can see them or…"
"Or?" He noticed how guarded her stance and tone got, the slightly uncomfortable twitch in her hands, she no doubts assumed that he already knew of her identity and it wouldn't be a false assumption either, although on entirely different reasons she would have a much harder time from revealing.
"Ghosts, spirits, other beings of that nature are fully capable of seeing them." Luther finished and Micaela visibly relaxed. "Considering you knew nothing of my powers from a first glance I'm guessing you're the latter, not much of a surprise, you're living in a Monster village."
"Correct, I am no ordinary Human." She leaned off the wall, deciding to take the initiative to begin walking back to Enrika's entrance, where Alice and Luka were left waiting." I'd prefer what we discussed here would not leave this village, if you will oblige in my request." There it was, that subtle threatening undertone, his Stand must have heard it as well as it released a pleading coo of mercy over his shoulder that didn't fail to soften her heart.
"It's obvious we both have secrets to keep, my lips are sealed…" The man promised before wincing, this was another he mindlessly made, though he hoped he could keep this one quite easily. "One more thing, I have a question of my own. It might sound weird, but does this village have slavers or trade slaves?"
Micaela stopped and her face scrunched up in confusion but offered a responsible answer. "No, we don't allow it. It would deter trade from passing merchants and most likely draw suspicion. That is the last thing we want here."
"Good, because two of Enrika's guards that stopped us seem to think otherwise, one swordswoman and the other a pale elf that uses tentacles if those descriptions ring any bells" Luther quickly explained, already spotting his companions. "We managed to overhear that little bit of information from them, I'm sure most of my friends would be willing to say the same. You'll find the perpetrators either in a sealed state or unconscious somewhere in a bush."
"I see, hmm, that is certainly a cause for concern, thank you for telling me this." Any small sign of hostility and suspicion in her seemed to vanish, the man hadn't made himself out to be a threat even if she fully couldn't trust him there was good intent behind his action, and besides, what villain could possess such an innocent-looking soul? However it may be undeniable she had much to ponder left to ponder on his words and how to properly proceed, so she said her farewells.
"That'll be it, please send my regards to Luka and…watch over him, he doesn't have anyone left."
Luther solemnly nodded and said his goodbyes, to him the request was predictable, though nonetheless still held a melancholic touch to it, he had a hard time imagining being in the boy's, destined for something greater yet had everything close taken away, it was unfair. After his own father's death, he still had other family members left to guide him. He really does have no one, besides the villagers in Ilias Village, but I doubt it's much of a replacement for family. It's a wonder how he turned out half as optimist as he is now, a bloody miracle. And what now? He has a Monster that constantly enjoys tormenting him and an emotionally mute wall as his companions, he really did get the short end of the stick.
I promise Micaela, for as long as this journey lasts I'll be his guide and guardian.
"Chu…" Tusk interjected, and his thoughts wander on his circumstances
To think it turned out well like this, still jarring… It gave him hope that his other problems wouldn't be as horrible to deal with, however that small sliver of doubt still clung to him and refused to let go, all he had were mere speculations, not the truth, but if there was a chance then maybe he had something to look forward to today.
Luther's notes: Stands
Manifestations of willpower and soul, it is a guardian that will always stay by your side. Different from magic, their shape manifests naturally. Often or not taking humanoid forms with powers reflecting the user's personality, desires, or pasts, one could determine a core feature of a Stand user by interpreting the powers of a Stand to their worldviews or history. One's self-destructive rage can turn into a gladiator that stores a flesh-eating virus inside the bulbs on its knuckles or a desire to be above the world and rule it turns into the ability to universally stop time. Due to the spiritual nature of Stands revolving around a person's psychology, it isn't an exact science when even compared to magic, often being able to mutate and change by themselves, frequently during life-changing epiphanies or outside sources such as using a Stand Arrow a multiple times.
The rules of Stands are very flexible and can change from person to person, yet the general traits of a Stand are: 1) Stands can only be seen or interacted with by other Stands or spiritual beings unless the user or the Stand in question willing allows such an interaction. 2) Stands can only go a certain distance from their user, this distance may heavily vary. 3) Stands are bound to a user and require willpower to maintain, any attempt at the infringement of this rule will either result from something as simple as a lack of control to more serious issues such as the Stand attacking and killing its user.
The origins of a Stand may differ, which end up influencing the general strength of their abilities. It can be completely natural, an individual can simply be born with one or more impressively develop it themselves either through the dedication of a craft or sheer willpower and desire. Most commonly a Stand is acquired through the use of an aforementioned Stand Arrow (of which shamefully I have no amount in my possession), this process is dangerous as no matter where the future user is stuck a life culling energy spreads through the body testing their resolve and will to live. The third and by far the strangest method is using something anomalous. They're obviously the most diverse, ranging from either geographical locations with bizarre properties such as the moving Devil's Palm or Walleyes in Morioh, to divine items like Jesus Christ's corpse parts.
Curiously this power only seems to originate from Humans, so far in my observations, no Monster or Angel was capable of manifesting a Stand, and the only exception for Monsters is if they have direct ancestry with a Stand using Humans or are in actuality hybrids. For the case of Angels, it is completely understandable, they're already spiritual beings, there is not much more power left to draw out. Now I'm not completely sure as to why Monsters are incapable, but it appears to be that there is a key component in their soul missing. Perhaps it is the lack in their soul that Humans possess…
Though the powers of Stand users vary heavily both in complexity, sheer power, and control. All accomplished users share a single ability, a likely consequence of constantly using Stands. They possess a sort of supernatural willpower that allows them to ignore wounds, resist charm spells, or any other mind-altering effects more than non-users.
Unlike my previous ventures studying such subjects has ultimately proved fruitless, admittedly, I haven't made many new discoveries, reinterring to what I already have knowledge of. If my efforts are met with nothing, I may just need to cancel my projects regarding stands and focus my attention on more important research.
Reviews:
-temuller3: Are you satisfied now, cause this took a while for me to write. Besides, there will be more in-depth Omakes later than simply alternative scenarios, like entire side-stories that run with the main plot, which I admit maybe is a little too ambitious.
-THE GREAT AARON: Thanks, the Omake, was admittedly a bit of a spur-of-moment decision to write after looking through my outlines of previous stories and concepts.
-mario986: Generally with most stories I write I can't help but mix a lot of aspects together, maybe it's just me taking unconsciously taking inspiration from my own life, there is neither too much suffering nor happiness there, a periodic mix of both. On the topic of canon main characters, from my small discussions with other writers, I can say people usually read fanfics for the canon characters, to see more of them, not for OCs until they've actually read about them. Turning characters (Unless they're already meant to be a bit of a joke like Amira), especially main characters into simple jokes is wasteful and may just end up deterring people away from your story. Still in this story, Luther is the main character, though I'll be damned as a fanfic writer if I don't let him share the spotlight with the canon main character.
-AcausalTrilby: Ah, Persona, that Omake in hindsight shouldn't have been much of a surprise considering JoJo's Bizarre Adventure inspired the Persona series. Originally I intended Luka's ultimate persona to be Tyr, the Norse and Germanic god of War, though your suggestion is certainly a very good one and doesn't really require much explanation on the author's part.
-LastTrialofHumanity: Stimulate your tails. ;-)
Thank you for the support and I'll see you next Chapter.
