Chapter 4: A paradoxical meeting
"Pops, watch out! It's coming towards you!"
Indeed, it is. With obsidian-colored skin, six powerful clawed legs supporting the muscular body of a beast, a long tail with a cluster of tentacles on the tip, an upper body of a horned woman with blond hair on top, some spikes coming out of its back, and lethal arcs of electricity running across its body. Luka admitted he felt intimidated by simply looking at the chimera.
[RAMPAGE]
And as the 6,000 kilograms of pure muscle and violence came rushing towards him with its attack all charged up, he has a feeling he would need to use everything he had if he wishes to survive this encounter.
Besides, Luka doesn't think a living, walking instrument of war is something he could talk down.
Quickly checking behind him one last time to make sure his son is truly capable of defending himself, he saw the sharply dressed boy easily weaving and dodging any collateral damage coming his way.
Letting out a relief sigh, Luka turns his attention back towards The Giganto Weapon and rushes forward with burning determination in his eyes.
It wants to fight so bad? Fine. The fake hero will give it a fight it will never forget!
"Salamander, ignite my soul!"
'Give them hell! Young man!'
[DEATH SWORD : CHAOS STAR!]
His righteous anger at the chimera was fed into the flame of his sword as Luka proceeds to meet its charge head-on. Of course, in a contest of strength he knew he stood no chance, but overpowering the chimera was never his intention.
Slashing his flaming partner in quick succession, Luka momentarily halted Its movement; even as brief as it was, the fake hero uses the opportunity and jumps over The Giganto Weapon, giving him full access to unleash the rest of his technique on its unguarded back.
The chimera did not hiss or grunt in pain as its face remained emotionless, but even so, he could still see the damage he had done by the visible burn marks on its body.
Running circles around it, he was about to unleash another technique before The Giganto Weapon let out a terrifying roar that shook the area.
[Disrupting Roar!]
Luka almost falters, giving the monster plenty of times to finish him before he remembers who is behind him and powered through the fear instilled upon him by the roar.
"Undine, guide my steps." Calling out to the Water Spirit, Luka felt the world slow down as he entered the flow.
A slight tilt of his head saves it from decapitation via a pair of giant claws; a twist mid-air prevents him from burning alive as she threw flames that easily melted the stone pillar behind him. A perfectly timed parry gave him the openings to hammer the chimera from the side.
[Serene Demon Sword!]
Its legs barely buckle under the effect of Angel Halo, despite the sword sealing its power the more attack he landed. And as he executed attack after attack, he began to realize just how long of a fight this was going to be.
With its thick hides dampening his blows, as well as its large pool of vitality, Luka would need to hit The Giganto Weapon with everything he has in order to seal it.
'Everything I have...'
At this, he was reminded of the last technique taught to him by Alice.
'Maybe if I use that one...'
'The lack of time and practice will be your obstacle...' Undine reminds him.
'And yet, that hasn't stopped our contractor before!' Laugh Salamander.
'Oh! I know~! Why don't we see if our future godson can help us out?' Sylph suggested.
'...!?' Understanding the danger of that idea, Gnome immediately voted against it.
'I'm not asking my son to help me fight a war machine.' He agrees.
After another close call, the fake hero took a deep breath and sprinted forward.
"Sylph! Gnome!" Now armed with all four Spirits, he makes his way through the Chimeras' deadly attacks.
Weaves to the right.
CRASH!
Parry the claws downward.
CRACK!
Ran across the walls to avoid the shockwaves.
BOOM!
Blocked the hits.
BAM!
Steady his footings.
SWOOSH!
Checks on Damian once more.
"I'm fine, pops!"
Again, and again... until he could seal the Chimera.
...
...
...
Gasping for air, the fake hero didn't have the energy to celebrate when his opponent finally fell to the ground.
"Hahh... haah... finally..."
'And it only took a total of 9 Earth Rumbling Decapitations, 3 Death Sword Chaos Stars, 2 Serene Demon Swords, and 7 Meditations~' Sylph happily reminds him.
'All things consider... You did a good job fighting an ancient war machine...' Undine complimented his efforts.
'Thanks, couldn't have done it without you girls.' The fake hero thought gratefully.
"You good, pops?" His son asks, patting him on the back.
He let out a tired laugh.
"I'm alright... just give me a se-" Before he could continue, a loud robotic voice came from the defeated Chimera.
"WARNING! LARGE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE HAS BEEN TAKEN DURING COMBAT!"
"ENTERING CRISIS MODE! ALL DAMAGE WILL BE HEAL ONCE DONE!"
"Huh!?"
"That's not good..."
"BEGIN REGENERATION!"
[REGENERATION]
Having announced that, the war machine then promptly went to 'crisis mode' as it's called. Damian thought it should just be call 'resting' instead, since the Chimera literally looks like it went asleep.
His father stood up from his spot. "Alright... one more hit should do it!"
As he readies himself, Damian let out a suggestion.
"Want me to just turn it off?"
Luka went still. "...You can do that?"
The boy shrugged. "Probably not when it was active, but now that the Chimera is on low energy, I should be able to bypass its magic defense."
Placing Angel Halo on his back, Luka went over and gave him a pat on his shoulder excitedly.
"My son is talented in magic!? I'm so proud of you!"
Ah, he should have expected that...
Damian turns away from him. "C'mon pops. It's nothing much..."
=0=
Once they make sure that The Giganto Weapon is completely deactivated, the duo continues on their way to find the Heavenly Knights.
"...Hey pops," Damian calls out to him.
"Yeah, what is it?"
"We might need to change the plan a little."
"How so?" The fake hero raises an eyebrow.
The boy gestures behind them, "It took a bit to put that Chimera down; by that time, I'm sure the rest of my stepsiblings have already met up with their moms."
'That's true...' He thought, estimating the time in his head. 'That fight probably took at least 20 minutes of our time.'
"Alright then, have any idea you want to share?"
Damian smiled, a certain gleam in his eyes. "Just one."
=0=
Sure enough, the next place they ended up getting to is a large room meant for combat. And right in the middle of the room, posing menacingly at them were none other than The Heavenly Knight of Wind, Alma Elma herself.
"Welcome, Luka-boy~! Took your sweet time coming here, huh?"
"Alma Elma, I'm here to put an end to the conflict between Humans and Monsters!"
The Succubus laughs, "Such a big ambition you got there~ And you think you can do this all by yourself~?"
"Of course not! If I want to make a world like the one in my dream, then I'd need you and the rest of the Heavenly Knights to support my cause. And the first step to that is you girls agreeing to cease harassing humans!"
She shook her finger mockingly, "That's well and all, Luka-boy~ But if you truly wish for me and the rest of my coworkers to support you..."
With an excited smirk, Alma Elma brought her arms wide to her sides, the pressure of her power oozing into the air.
"You would have to prove your strength to all of us by defeating us in a fight~!"
"I thought so..." The fake hero let out a sigh. "It seems I couldn't just use my words to convince you girls; then I accept your challenge!"
"How bold~! Then, allow me to make the first move~" She prepared herself for the thrills awaiting her in this fight when Luka brought a hand in front of him.
"But before that, I need to find the rest of my future kids first."
The Succubus pauses at that.
"Pardon~?"
Luka awkwardly gestures next to him. "Well, I can't really fight you girls at my best when I have to look over them, so I need to make sure they're all safe first, you know?"
"..." She looked to where he's pointing and saw Damian.
"..." He just drily stares at the Heavenly Knight.
"So," Luka claps his hand. Now he's all the way across the room. "I'll be on my way now; please wait for me, alright?"
"Hold on a-"
"No time. See you later, Alma Elma!" Luka quickly rushed ahead.
...
...
...
"Luka-boy really just left me hanging... I didn't expect that one."
"You'll get used to it now that I'm here..."
"Hmm~?"
Alma Elma laughed to herself as she saw him.
Now she knew who's the father of those future kids from before.
'I guess he's one of them too~'
"That's a pretty good mask you got there, boy~! Did you make it yourself~?" Tilting her head to the side, she pokes and prods to see what happens.
"Mask?" At this, the magician also tilts his head.
She found it curious how it's the exact opposite way from hers.
"What do you prefer calling it then~?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about~"
"Oh, really~?" The Succubus' eyes started glowing.
...There, she could see it hidden underneath a veil of-
BZZZ!
Alma Elma flinched as her magic fizzled out and died.
"As I was saying, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"..."
"..."
The Heavenly Knight slowly approaches the sharply dressed boy.
Now face to face, the two nonchalant souls quietly examined one another. It only took her a bit of time to realize he's a lot like her in some regards.
His casual stance, affable expression, and the subtle hints of magic in the air around him.
...An act then?
"What are you afraid of~?"
"I'm not." There's some force behind that.
"See~? Now I'm even more concerned~!"
He scoffs. "Don't pretend. You don't even know my name."
"Hmm... Luka Junior~?"
"No."
"So... Luka-boy Junior~?"
"I hate you."
"At least you're more honest now~"
The boy raised an eyebrow at that. "What are you-!?"
His disguise is gone.
Bright crimson tattoo ran across his forehead like a fiery crown. Twin ivory horns grew from the side of his head. His dark blue eyes changed to a deep red, and his ears grew a bit sharper than before.
The second he realizes it; he immediately places the spell back on himself.
"..."
"..."
The Heavenly Knight, in an act that proves she truly earned her title, had figured out how to dispel his disguises and done it faster than he could have reacted.
It was only for a second, but...
His dread rises as her eyes widen. Her carefree attitude disappears as genuine shock shows on her face.
"You saw me..." The boy let out a bittersweet chuckle.
=0=
Lazarus loathes his existence.
Not sarcastically, like a snarky person would say, or overdramatically, like a petulant child would after a minor inconvenience, or jokingly, like someone with a self-depreciating humor would say.
He held no other emotion in his heart other than acceptance as he reaffirmed it.
Lazarus loathes his existence.
He did it so easily, as if it were second nature.
It wasn't as though he was always like this. Nay, he used to cherish the life he was given. The opportunities to experience, learn, and bask in the wild ride that is life.
So many friends he could have made, so many spells he could have mastered, so many wonderful memories he could have had...
The carefully crafted story his godmother and her associates had told him had done a commendable job in keeping him from the truth. Like a cloth wrapped tightly around his eyes, blinding him with a beautiful lie.
That is... until it all came crumbling down.
No matter how hard someone tries to bury the hatchet, the blood of the one struck by it would not disappear so easily. The stain was there; there were small but so many, and it will still flow freely.
Enough for even the blinded boy to notice.
Enough for him to forcefully tear the bindings away.
Enough for him to keep his eyes wide open despite the burning truth.
It hurts when he realizes how fake everything has always been.
It hurts when the ones he had trusted turn out to be in on it.
It hurts when hundreds of apologies to the one who had suffered more than anyone else amount to nothing in the end.
The damage had already been done; the wound was too deep for a simple patch.
It wasn't meant to be.
He wasn't meant to be.
There used to be a lingering sense of bitterness behind that. Years of contemplation and acceptance got rid of it.
Lazarus loathed his existence, for it was the result of a failed attempt to make the world a better place for everyone.
Because it wasn't meant to be.
Because it's an unexpected, unwanted outcome at the tragic end of a grand adventure.
Because it came at the cost of his father's happiness.
His father, who, despite everything, still manages to love a mistake like him.
Lazarus Morningstar loathes his existence.
And he's going to do everything in his power to prevent this mistake from ever happening.
END OF CHAPTER