Gate: Thus the Brotherhood of Steel Lyon's Pride Fought in Their Land
Chapter Thirty - Six - Megumin
Maternal instincts were something that she wasn't sure she would ever really have. Sure, she cared for her sister, she cared for her parents, and she loved Kazuma, but actual maternal instincts were difficult at best. How could she even begin contemplating the idea of having them? She had more or less looked out for herself for so long that it was something that she was just not sure of. Her mother had told her that she was certain that she would be an excellent mother. But then again she was sure that was just her mother talking.
Besides, she was certain that there was some kind of rule, or law, that said that mothers had to tell their children that they would be good parents. Because every mother in the Crimson Demon Clan had told their children that they would make excellent parents. There were several that she knew couldn't care for a stray cat let alone actually be a parent. Her decision changed upon seeing the little girl. She was dark haired, and Aqua had healed her horribly disfigured face. It had been the kind of thing that nightmares would be made of. The entire left side of her face had been burned so badly that it resembled melted wax.
She'd seen the kind of injury before, outside of Axel, when she traveled from her home in Crimson Demon Clan to Axel itself. She'd come across a woman that had burned herself horribly. She had done so because she so strongly wanted to ensure that bandits would not want her. She'd been openly friendly enough, but Megumin had seen the kind of suffering she had. It wasn't just the pitied stares from those around her, but it looked incredibly difficult for her to move. Anytime that her skin seemed to pull taunt it appeared to deeply hurt her.
She seemed to suffer regardless of how she moved and acted, and she could tell that this same little girl would have the same problem. But Aqua had healed her. She'd done so in such a way that the girl would not suffer a bit for it. She admired her friend just a bit. Still what drew her to this girl was how she looked. Her features were similar to that of Kazuma's. She was a little chubbier, but then she likely was only about three years old.
"Megumin, what are you doing?" Darkness asked as she walked toward her, "You've been studying this child for some time."
Megumin gave her a small smile, "I just got to thinking about what it would be like," she said as she looked at the little girl, "You know, to actually have a baby. I'm not even sure if that's something that both Kazuma and I really want."
She touched her belly, "I mean it's obviously going to happen at some point," she said before looking back at the little girl, "I just didn't think that I really wanted a kid before, you know?"
Darkness studied her for a moment, "Has seeing this child changed your mind?"
She nodded, "She has some of Kazuma's features, and I just thought about what it would be like to have a little girl that had both of our features," she said as she looked at the sleeping child, "I mean I know that it's silly. We're adventurers, and that means that we constantly are getting into dangerous situations. It's not like we can just drop everything and have children."
Darkness smiled at her, "Kazuma is someone who is loyal, mostly, and and works harder than most when it comes to getting what he wants," she said as she studied the child, "However, he has gained enough wealth back in Axel that he will not need to work forever. Sure, I am certain that he will need to face the demon lord at some point. If for no other reason than to quiet Aqua. That said, he has repeatedly spoken of having a simple life. I believe that having children fall into that category for him."
Megumin gave her another smile, and then she looked toward Kazuma, "And do you think that he would be opposed to taking one of these children?"
Darkness touched her shoulder, "Megumin, I do not mean to pry, but these children have been abused for well over two centuries. They have suffered to the point that their sanity is likely very questionable. I do not think that they would be able to live as normal people for some time."
Megumin nodded, "I know," she replied as she looked at the sleeping girl, "But maybe it will just take someone helping them, and looking after them. I mean, maybe they just need someone to connect to, right?"
Darkness shook her head, "I fear that it will be far more than that," she replied as she studied the child, "They will need the help of expert priests and priestesses that can restore their minds. Someone with Aqua's abilities, but better control and a bit more wisdom."
"HEY!" Aqua shouted, "I SAVED THEM ALL!"
Darkness looked toward her, "Yes, you did, but their minds are still lost. Despite your great power there is no way to easily restore what has been lost. This is something that I believe you are quite sure of, correct?"
Aqua seemed to grow quiet for a moment, "I mean sure," she replied as she stepped closer, "Healing a mind is more difficult, but it's not impossible, especially for an archpriest like me."
Megumin studied her, "Aqua, you've got the delicacy of a giant toad when it comes to fine work," she replied as she studied her, "Sure, I have no room to talk, but I specialize in a destructive magic that is meant to blow things to pieces."
After a moment she finally nodded, and then she looked back at the kids, "I'm sure that I could do it though," she said as she looked at them, "I mean I'm sure that I could heal each of their minds. I'm just not sure if I could get their minds into the right bodies."
It was about as close as anyone could expect Aqua to admitting that she couldn't do something. Megumin wasn't going to attempt to get her to admit that she likely didn't have the fine control to pull off healing their minds and restoring their sanity. After all, as far as she was concerned Aqua had done more than enough. Her helping the children by simply healing their potentially fatal injuries and illnesses was a wonderful starting place.
"I suppose we could take them all to Arcanletia," Aqua replied, "My followers are there, and of course the church there actually has a lot of experience in healing people who had been driven insane by external forces."
"Wait, are you saying that some of the followers there are the way they are because they were insane to begin with?" Kazuma said as he looked at her, "I mean if that is the case then it really explains a lot."
"My followers aren't insane!" she shouted at him, "My followers are all completely sane, and all of them are amazing! Do you hear me, they're devoted and amazing!"
Megumin cleared her throat, "Aqua," she said keeping her voice even, "Your followers are pushy, demanding, and exceptionally outspoken. They attempt to get someone to convert to their religion the moment they walk into their town. Their devotion to you is bordering on fanatical. Yes, I would say that several of your followers hamper on being insane."
She could see the way that Aqua was crinkling her nose that she was about to start crying. It had become a telltale sign of hers. When her nose crinkled she would cry. When her eyes widened she would start a rant about how something was unfair, and when she balled up her fists that was when she was about to fly off the handle and start a fight that she had no business starting. Kazuma had actually taken far more than his own fair share of abuse from her antics, and somehow he still found the grace to let it slide.
She had once thought that he was simply unmotivated, but after observing her for so long she realized that he was practically a saint when it came to his patience and understanding toward the blue haired goddess. He treated her like a friend, not a deity, and despite the fact that she claimed to want to be worshiped and adored she seemed to enjoy being treated like just one of them.
"The portal to your world is still closed, right?"
She looked toward Paladin Jefferson, "Yes, that's right," she said, still finding it bizarre that Aqua was actually able to translate their language in real time for them. It proved that she wasn't useless, but it seemed fairly trivial in the grand scheme of things, "The portal is still closed, but it should be opening in the next two months."
She saw Paladin Jefferson nodding, "How often does it open, exactly?"
She looked at Kazuma who rubbed his chin, "According to what we read from the creator of it the portal opens once every six months, and only for those that a high enough level. So, luckily it opened for all of us," he stated as he looked at them, "I'm not sure if it will do the same for the children, but I suppose that we could open it and simply walk them through."
She could see the way that Paladin Jefferson was looking at the children and then at them, "And the world you come from, is there a lot of turmoil?"
Darkness was the one to speak up the quickest, "There is a terrible Demon Lord," she said as she spoke her eyes sparkling, "It is rumored that his power rivals even the greatest powers in the land. He captures unexpecting crusaders and takes them to his dark palace to do unspeakable things to them!"
She could see how she was panting, and suddenly she understood exactly where Kazuma got off calling her a masochist. She looked like she was getting an intense amount of pleasure just from the thought of having the Demon King take her and do unspeakable things to her. But then again she pretty much wanted the same thing for most of the Demon King's generals. The exceptions had been Wiz and Sylvia. Wiz was because the shopkeeper actually seemed to be a decent and good person. Which was exactly not what Darkness wanted.
Sylvia was because she had no interest in Darkness at all. Instead she had fallen in love with Kazuma. That still bothered her. The general for the demon king had fallen in love with her Kazuma. Not only that, but she was certain that if she had a chance she would have let Kazuma experience everything with her. The fact that he had been slightly hesitant after finding out that she had male genitalia was perhaps the only saving grace for Megumin.
If it came down to a contest of who had a better body then there was really no contest. Sylvia had her beat in looks. She was tall, beautiful, and carried herself in a truly seductive way. It was more than enough to bother her greatly. She wasn't even sure where to begin to describe how seeing her had made her feel. The moment she confessed her feelings toward Kazuma it had been the memory of Sylvia that made her go ahead and do it. She finally had a chance to beat that damned chimera at something.
She could be with him, and she could experience him in a way that Syliva never would have. She could have a family with him. She could give him children, live a life with him, and become someone that wanted to be with him as his equal and his wife. Sylvia might have wanted to do all of that, but she would never be able to. She wanted to believe that she didn't have the ability. Of course that was before she died. There could have been the possibility if she lived that she would have absorbed someone suitable to give her the ability.
Still the thought of the chimera made her irritable. She didn't want to be that way. She didn't want to feel irritable. What she wanted to was focus on how to get these children out of this place and get them to somewhere that they could thrive. She looked back at Darkness and saw that she was still lost to the thoughts of being captured by the devil king's army. Her friend was undoubtedly considering the various ways she would be tortured and information would be taken from her. She didn't like to make anyone feel ashamed of their preferences or desires.
Darkness became a crusader because she wanted to help people, and she also became one because she loved the idea of torture and humiliation. She craved both of those things, and she couldn't fault her friend for her desires. She could fault her if her desires caused them to be unable to fulfill a quest though. Rushing ahead and attempting to get a monster they were after to face her in single combat was certainly something she could fault Darkness for. It was something she had done more than a few times.
She had taken her love of humiliation and torture to the point that sometimes it was the only thing on her mind. She looked toward Paladin Jefferson and she could see how he was confused. She cleared her throat, "I know how it sounds, but the city we come from is Axel," she said as she looked at him, "And it is far away from the Devil King's castle. The city is pretty safe. Honestly, if we were to take them there they would likely be about as safe as they would be on the other side of the gate."
"What is the devil king?" he asked after a few moments, and she watched as Aqua's eyes lit up, "He's the king of all of the demons and devils in our world!" she exclaimed as she walked toward him, "Kazuma is fated to beat him so that I can get back to being a goddess and not stuck on the planet anymore! So the sooner we can get back the sooner he can beat the devil king, and the sooner I can go back to handling reincarnations and the such!"
Kazuma walked toward him, "Yeah, I don't know much about him personally, but we've face a few of his generals and they're pretty bad news. They were incredibly strong, and most of them had the power to level entire cities with ease. For the most part they leave Axel alone because it is simply too far from the Devil King's castle to be a nuance, and also because there is a group of Aqua's followers between Axel and his castle. From what I've seen he doesn't want to mess with that group of crazy."
"My followers aren't CRAZY!"
Everyone looked toward her and Aqua didn't get the hint that she was being dramatic and a little bit too extra. Instead she looked mad as a hornet. She stood there her nostrils flaring as she stared straight at Kazuma. Megumin watched as the goddess of water looked like she was caught between crying and attacking. Sure, they'd been picking on her followers a little bit, but at the same time they hadn't said anything that was untrue. Everyone in Arcanletia was pretty fanatical. They earned their place as being referred to as crazy.
She moved toward Aqua and watched as her eyes began to water, "I can't understand why you're all so mean to my faithful followers!" she cried, her voice wavering, "They love me, and they love my teachings!"
Megumin looked at her, and she watched as Aqua finally looked toward her, "Tell them Megumin! Tell them that my followers aren't crazy!"
Megumin looked toward Paladin Jefferson, "I know that you heard this before, but really her followers are a little bit too fanatical in their devotion toward her," she replied as she looked at Aqua, "I know that it sounds like we're just picking on them, or on her, but it's really not the case. They flock toward anyone entering their town attempting to get them to join the Axis Religion, and they demand that they do so before they have a chance to leave."
She looked at Aqua, "I know that you don't want to hear it, but yes, your followers are a little insane. They're not bad people, not really, but they are a bit too insane and a bit too unstable."
Aqua still looked as if she was going to cry. She sighed and shook her head, "I get it Aqua," she said as she finally stopped shaking her head, "I get how you want to promote them, and say that they're perfect, but the reason you're as powerful as you are is because they are as fanatical as they are. A goddess' power is channeled by the quality of faith her followers hare, right?"
Aqua nodded, "Uh huh," she replied, while sniffling, "That's right."
Megumin nodded, "Then it means for you to be powerful, with a much smaller group than Eris, that you need to have followers that are going out of their way to recruit and follow your teachings," she replied, "So their being fanatical and overly devoted works for you. At least in the sense that they want to follow you. It gives you power, and allows you to be as strong as you are."
Aqua finally stopped crying, and instead she seemed to think for a moment. Then that moment seemed to become a moment of true clarity, "Wait, so the reason that Arcanletia hasn't been attacked is because the Devil King is scared of my followers?!"
"Yes!" Megumin, Kazuma, and Darkness all answered at once.
"Aqua, your followers are bad enough that Wiz doesn't want to go there alone," she replied as she looked at her, "And Wiz is one of the most powerful spell casters I've ever met. I honestly think that she could have stopped the Devil King on her own if she had really tried. The only reason she didn't was that she didn't want to die. She wanted to keep on living, and so she chose to become a lich."
She could see the way that Aqua was looking at her. The look was one that promised that she wasn't happy in the slightest. She shook her head and looked back toward Kazuma. Since the two of them moved forward in their relationship the way she felt had begun to become different. The closest that she could think of was that she must feel the way her mother felt. That she felt like she was a wife. A wife that wanted to become a mother.]
Eris help her because she wanted to become a mother. She wanted to ensure that she was doing things the right way to help the children that she and Kazuma would bring into the world. She looked at the children again. She then looked at Paladin Jefferson who was studying her for a moment, "This Devil King, how big is his army?"
Megumin studied him for a moment, "Actually, no one really knows for sure," she said as she looked at him, "We know that he commands all demons, but that's about it. He has about eight generals, and we've defeated three of them that I know of for certain,"
Kazuma nodded, "We have beaten three of them, and I've finally made enough money to live a fairly decent life in Axel. Of course in order to protect that life I'm sure that I'm going to eventually be pulled into fighting him," he said as he looked at Paladin Jefferson, "I suppose that it won't be helped."
He noticed how Paladin Jefferson seemed to be considering things, "Is there a way of keeping the gate to your world open for longer periods of time?"
Megumin shook her head, "Not that we're aware of," she replied as she looked at him, "The one that created it usually tended to skip a lot of steps. I think that he ultimately created this gateway because he was contracted to do it. It's a chance that someone wanted to escape from the world we were on. If that's the case then he likely created this gateway, and made it to their specifications."
She watched as Paladin Jefferson rubbed his chin, "So, he followed their orders, made the gateway, but didn't make it so that it could be kept open for long periods of time?"
She shrugged, "I don't know for sure," she replied as she shrugged, "I mean it may be possible, but he didn't leave any real notes over it. Actually, I'm fairly certain that he never really left any notes over any of his work. Kazuma, did he leave very many notes over anything else?"
She saw him shrug, "I mean he left pretty detailed notes on the Mobile Base Destroyer," he replied as he looked at her, "Although he didn't seem to really put much thought into it. He didn't even put an off switch or button on it. In truth I have a feeling that he left a lot of what he did. Everything he did seemed to have a lot of skipped steps."
Megumin nodded and looked at Paladin Jefferson, "Yes," she replied as she looked at her, "He didn't seem to really put a lot of thought into things. More or less he seemed to go about everything with a sort of half-hearted notion. I don't think that he really ever put a lot of thought into anything he did."
She shrugged, "However, there's a possibility that we could have some of the magic users on this side see if they could possibly figure out a way of keeping it open."
Lelei moved toward her, "Depending on how he layered his spells it could be possible," she said as she looked toward Paladin Jefferson, "I could look into how he set it up. If at all possible I might be able to deconstruct how he created it."
She nodded, "Actually, my mentor could help with that. Additionally, if we could figure out how the Gate itself works we might be able to apply the same principle to their gateway," she said as she shrugged, "I believe that there was someone studying how the gate itself worked. If that is the case we can ask them to share their research. At the very least they should be able to point us in the correct direction."
Megumin watched as he nodded, "Very well," he replied as he stood there, "Once we cross the gate again we will get their help. If at all possible we will attempt to keep the gateway between your world," he said as he pointed toward her and Kazuma, "And the world on the other side of the gate. Additionally, I think that if we can keep it open then we may help in stopping this devil king."
He noticed that Aqua was looking toward him, "Wait, you would bring your army, with its advanced weapons, into that world and defeat the Devil King?" she asked, her expression excited, "As in you will come in and use your bombs and guns on his army and level them, all of them? And of course you'd drop a couple of those really strong bombs on his castle right? The kind that turned this world into a horribly irritated wasteland?"
Megumin looked at her, "Aqua, we don't want them to bring the kind of weapons into our world that would turn it into this kind of wasteland," she said as she looked at her, "I mean I don't want the Crimson Demon Clan's home to be wiped off of the face of the planet, again."
She shivered as she looked at Aqua, "I mean, really, we can't allow that to happen there."
Kazuma nodded, "Normally, I'm all for doing something that's easy, but the idea of turning Axel into a smoking wasteland doesn't really sound good to me," he said as he looked at her, "I'd rather have to take time and keep the world from becoming a dead husk. I mean, what good is it to defeat the Devil King if there's not a world left over."
Megumin noticed that she looked irritated. She could see Aqua starting to pout again, "Maybe there could be a nice compromise," she replied as she looked at Aqua, "Could there be a way to do a smaller scale attack?"
Paladin Jefferson studied her, "Maybe we can make an arrangement, but before we get to that point, We're going to finish moving these children to the airport."