AN: Slightly late update today. Fibromyalgia flare-ups is to blame. But I still managed to update on the weekend, so that's something! Anyway, hope you enjoy reading~
Chapter 34:
It was with Killia's assistance that Samuel made his way through the portal and back to the Pocket Netherworld. Finding himself in the all too familiar environment was immediately comforting.
For a time, as he laid captive in that tent at the Lost Encampment, he thought he would never see the Pocket Netherworld again.
The main bridge was surprisingly crowded with Prinnies, with other Rebels, and with Panchos. They all stopped what they were doing to turn to look at them, and as Samuel look back at them in turn, he promptly realised that the faces of the Rebels were all those he had helped himself recently.
They all felt the need to repay him.
"Everyone, thank you for your help," Samuel said, truly sincere in his gratitude.
"How are you feeling?" Panchos was the one to ask.
Samuel subconsciously pressed his hand against his side, hoping to hide the blood stains through the white bandages. "Other than the old injuries being agitated, I got away relatively unscathed."
That reassured the crowd and there was a notable sigh of relief. An abrupt silence fell over everyone, however, when Seraphina appeared. She appeared stoic, her expression completely unreadable as she stood before them.
"I wish to talk to Samuel," she said simply.
Samuel looked at Seraphina for a moment before he nodded his head. It was a conversation that could not be delayed. He turned his head to his right, toward Killia, and placed a hand on his arm. "It's alright. It'll only take a moment."
Killia looked subtly reluctant but nodded his head regardless. "Alright, but not too long. We need to have someone to look at your injuries."
"I know, I know," Samuel returned.
It took more energy than he would like to admit to pry himself from Killia's arms to follow Seraphina down the steps from the main bridge and somewhere they could speak in private. Eventually, they found a quiet corner of the Pocket Netherworld and Seraphina paused in her steps. She kept her back toward him, silently taking a moment to consider her words.
Finally, Seraphina turned to face him and drew in a deep breath. "This is not an easy for me to say, but…I must apologise."
That absolutely killed her to say, but he was not going to comment on that.
"I see," Samuel murmured. "So, your maids, they did it for you. Why?"
"They did it because you were coming between Sir Killia and I."
That was one of the reasons the maids have given him before, so he was not surprised by the response.
"So, they got rid of the competition." One hell of a way to do it. "And that wasn't your suggestion?"
Seraphina scowled at him. "Of course, it wasn't."
Samuel stared at her with narrow eyes.
Seraphina's scowl dissipated into an expression of guilt. "I-I may have mentioned in in jest, but I was merely joking. If I had wanted to get rid of you, I would have done it far sooner. And if a different manner."
He supposed that was true. And he was certain that she had plenty of ideas floating around in that head of hers.
"I figured as much," Samuel said. He shook his head, however, unable to stop himself from scowling. "This was too much. Handing me over to Void was a sure-fire way to devastate Killia."
"I could never do anything that would actually hurt Sir Killia," Seraphina quickly exclaimed.
Samuel nodded. "I know."
Still, that did not explain why they seemed so…chummy with the Lost Soldiers when they handed him over to them. They obviously had been communicating with them long before they got to him.
"…There is another reason," Seraphina admitted.
"Oh?"
"They did it for the award money."
Samuel must admit he was not expecting that. "The money? Surely, three-hundred-million HL would be pocket change for someone like you."
Seraphina did not respond, simply closed her eyes, and drew in a deep breath, as if attempting to find peace within herself.
"Gorgeous is the richest Netherworld in the Netherverse, right?"
"Not anymore."
Samuel blinked. "What? What happened?"
"My father spent all of our money on fortifying Gorgeous' security and defences." Seraphina suddenly looked jovial, almost delusional. "I'm completely broke."
"What?"
Seraphina pouted as she planted her hands on her hips. "I won't repeat myself. Unfortunately, it's true. However, the one consolation is that I have integrated my Pocket Netherworld with Gorgeous, making a powerful weapon and craft that will take us directly to Void Dark's fortress."
"Is that so? So, that's what Killia meant that the Pocket Netherworld has been incorporated into Gorgeous." He hadn't noticed a changed, honestly.
Void's fortress…
That…was a good thing, he supposed. They were one step closer to ending this brutal war. He hoped they were ready. Samuel better hurry up and heal so that his Overload Skill would be at its most advantageous for everyone.
As much as Seraphina infuriated him, they truly would be lost without her resources. He supposed he should show some gratitude. But in a way that she would not take advantage of or won't come back to bite him in the ass.
Hmm…
"…You know," Samuel began, "if you need money, I hear that a certain owner of a certain magazine has collected quite the fortune, though has hidden it. If you manage to find that fortune, and take over that certain magazine, I'm sure you can recoup your loses rather quickly."
Seraphina stared at him openly for a moment before she cracked a bit of a smile. "Why, Samuel, that's positively demonic."
"Only by half," Samuel joked in response.
Seraphina laughed but quickly caught herself, flushing a like pink. "Th-this doesn't make us comrades or anything."
Samuel nodded. "Absolutely not. We're still disdainful rivals."
"As the way things should be." Seraphina placed her hands on her hips as a scowl suddenly made its way upon her features. "Now, if you excuse me, I must deal with a certain little group of underlings."
She then turned on her heel and stalked away, not bothering to wait for a response from Samuel. Not that he had anything else to say to her. He still had a lot of questions, true, but he was also tired and a tad sore. He kinda just wanted to get his bandages changed so he could take a nap or something.
He was sure that Seraphina was more than efficient at disciplining her own servants.
As he turned around to make his way back to the main bridge, the sight of Killia with Christo approaching made him pause. Instead waiting for the two to reach him.
"Is everything all right?" Killia immediately asked.
Samuel nodded. "Yeah, it's been worked out. Seraphina is going to take care of her maids responsible. It has nothing to do with me."
"Alright," Killia said. "Red Magnus explained to us what had happened. It's safe to say that Seraphina is not happy."
No, she definitely was not.
"It's good that it's all sorted," Christo said before he narrowed his eyes in Samuel's direction. "Now, let me see those injuries of yours."
With the hospital close by, Samuel dutifully nodded his head and followed Christo into a ward. He promptly slipped his vest from his shoulders and sat down on the edge of the bed. He aided Christo in peeling off the bandages, noting in mild alarm the red stains on the white dressings.
An exasperated sigh from Christo indicated to Samuel that he was not pleased.
"Ah, reopened?"
"Indeed," Christo muttered. "This will take a moment."
Samuel dutifully sat still as Christo used several healing spells and after a few minutes, wound a fresh set of bandages around his stomach and torso. The dressings were restricting, but he must admit that he felt better with them on.
"Alright, done," Christo announced. "This time, I recommend the security of your room."
That sounded good to Samuel, too.
… … … … …
Samuel found himself startled from a dreamless sleep, though he did not immediately know what or why pulled him into consciousness. He lifted his head up off of his pillow and peered drowsily through the darkness of his room. His gaze soon flickered toward a figure standing by his bed and he unconsciously winced.
"Easy, it's just me," a familiar voice soothed.
"Killia?" Samuel murmured, still drowsy, but conscious enough to sense that something was troubling the other man. "Are you all right?"
"I'm all right," Killia immediately answered. "I was just checking in on you."
Samuel's vision gradually began to clear, and he sat up in bed. Instead of attempting to reassure Killia, he looked up at him with a sense of guilt. "I'm sorry. I scared you again today, didn't I?"
Killia became silent as he looked into his eyes, his own honey golden eyes conveying several conflicting emotions. Several of which Samuel could not quite put his finger on. Yet, it became crystal clear when Killia's shoulders sagged forward, and he held out his hand in front of him.
"…You could have been lost. Again. All because…"
Samuel silently slipped out of bed and to his feet. In one fluent motion, he stepped toward Killia and raised his arms, wrapping them around his neck. "…I know," he murmured as he pressed his body against his, hoping that their physical closeness would offer the other some comfort.
Killia responded just as quickly; one arm around his waist as his entangled his fingers of his other through Samuel's hair.
"I know," Samuel said again, nuzzling his cheek against Killia's shoulder. "That wasn't your fault."
It was his. Probably. He could have handled that differently if he had known it was just petty jealousy that fuelled those maids, and not maliciousness against the Rebel Army. At the time he did not know that. How could he? He could not take the chance that they were traitors. They certainly were more than happy to work with the Lost and to hand him over to them.
But…jealousy. Petty jealousy.
That was what fuelled Killia's and Void's so-called rivalry, wasn't it? Void being jealous of Killia? With Killia being chosen by Goldion to inherit the Ultimate Demon Fist Technique and with Lieze choosing to spend time with him over her own twin brother.
Jealousy. Killia had already lost so much to the jealousy of another.
Samuel promised himself that he would never let his own jealousy ever hurt Killia.
If Killia loved another…he would be content with loving him from afar.
He had to be.
… … … … …
Samuel sat in a highbacked chair on the main bridge, negated there due to his injuries. Healing was what he needed to do, above all else.
They were planning on storming Void's fortress soon. But Samuel was worried. Naraka was still out there, somewhere. His arm may have been severely broken, but his tongue was as sharp and vile as his blade.
He needed to be dealt with, too.
That was why he took to the main bridge without complaint, and promptly sat himself down in front of the reports monitor, hoping to figure out a possible location of where Naraka could be hiding.
"I'm not talking to you, plip."
A rather cross sounding Usalia pulled Samuel from his work. He lifted his head up and pivoted his chair to look down from the bridge to the communal area before the water fountain. Where Usalia and Seraphina stood, and appeared to be…arguing?
"C-come now, I was simply joking," Seraphina insisted.
"I don't believe you, plip."
That angry stubbornness. That was very uncharacteristic of Usalia.
"What's going on?" Samuel asked, his attention directly toward Christo who stood before the maps and atlases. "I thought we've established that Seraphina wasn't to blame for what happened."
Christo looked over at him, completely unbothered. "Oh, something occurred on Gorgeous, you could say. And Usalia isn't very happy with Seraphina."
Samuel blinked before he narrowed his eyes slightly, suspicion creeping in. "…Does it have something to do with Killia?"
"You could say that."
"Breaking up Killia and Samuel, will be like breaking up my parents!" Usalia exclaimed loudly and suddenly. "And I won't allow that, plip!"
A silence seemed to fall over the entirety of the Pocket Netherworld.
…Pardon? Did she just-?
"D-don't be difficult, child," Seraphina scolded in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. "Wouldn't Sir Killia and I make better parents for you?"
Usalia folded her arms angerly across her chest, stuck her nose in the air, and turned her back on Seraphina. "Nope. I've made up my mind, plip."
He…remembered Usalia saying something like that before. How she found comfort being with both Samuel and Killia. Watching the two of them reminded her of her parents.
Samuel pushed up from his chair and walked down the stairs. "Usalia, can you give me a hand with something? I want to make curry for everyone who helped me the other day as a thank you for all their help."
Usalia immediately whirled around and nodded her head. "Of course, plip."
Samuel smiled at Usalia and the two of them turned in the direction of the much beloved curry kitchen. As they walked, however, Samuel could not help but look over his shoulder, toward Seraphina. And he stuck his tongue out at her, leaving her bristling wildly behind them.
Petty? Maybe. Just a bit of revenge.
The kitchen was empty, leaving just the two of them to cook whatever they pleased. And it gave Samuel the privacy needed to speak with Usalia. To get some information on what happened on Gorgeous as Killia seemed reluctant to talk about it.
In fact, all he would say to him was "we'll talk about after you've healed".
And after what he had overheard just moments ago, he was incredibly suspicious.
"Usalia, I noticed that you haven't been very happy with Seraphina lately," Samuel began. "Is something wrong? Did something happen on Gorgeous?"
Usalia stood upon a stool as she began to chop up some carrots. "Seraphina tried to pretend that she and Killia were engaged, plip."
"…What?"
"Uh huh." She carried on, undaunted. "Then, then her father was about to betray us to Void, but Seraphina was about to disobey him, but only if Killia married her. Of course, she was joking, but was she really, plip?"
"M-marry…?" Samuel spluttered, a strange, heated feeling of anger mixed with jealousy and protectiveness rushing through him. He glanced up from Usalia and over the kitchenette, immediately catching sight of a certain demon.
He slammed his hands atop of the counter, barely even disturbing Usalia, and leaned across the kitchenette. "Killia! Get over here!"
Killia snapped his head up, beyond startled, and immediately looked over in his direction. Eyes wide in confused. "Wh-what?" he spluttered.
"There was one specific thing I told you not to do when you went to Gorgeous," Samuel practically seethed.
Killia blinked. He sighed, deadpanned as he wandered toward the kitchenette. "Y-yes, and I didn't."
Samuel stared at him with slightly narrowed eyes. He then huffed and grabbed a knife, angrily chopping at some vegetables. "The sheer audacity of that woman. When were you going to tell me?"
Killia rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I was going to mention it when we got back, but then this thing of the maids happened, and I knew you two weren't on the best terms…"
"Honestly," Samuel pouted. "I'd preferred if you were handed over to Void. At least I know I could get you back from Void."
"Samuel, Seraphina's not that bad…"
"Am I wrong?"
"Well, I didn't say that…"
Usalia suddenly grabbed her ears and dragged them over her eyes and face and broke out into an intense giggle fit. "You're just like them, plip…"