Part 1.
“Is it the first time you are hearing the name?” he asked from beyond the barrier. It had been the same for him when Hordin first said it. She had been called many names over the years, ‘The Cursed One’, ‘The Dark Mistress’, ‘Hero Maker’, ‘Demon Bane’, ‘The Master’, ‘The Sow’, to name just a few. The names all varied based upon who was saying them. The fact was, she had proven singularly important enough to be a part of Alex’s God-mandated curriculum of the world. She had been a member of the first Hero’s party, the only still living member, and had even trained the second Hero, in preparation to defeat the next Demon Lord, though she had refused his offer to join the party. Since then, she had remained primarily in isolation in the deep dark forest of the world, doing only knows what. When she did venture beyond her borders, it was usually to meet with high-ranking persons, informing them of potential disasters or to give guidance on international matters from a third party’s perspective.
In other words, she was extremely well educated and incredibly influential when her advice was sought, this made her loved by the innocents and hated by the corrupt. This was of course only an assumption formulated by Alex when reading over the information on her. Any other information regarding her was, for all he could tell, nonexistent, as not even the god realm had any information on her past or appearance. So, at this time, her had no idea who he was speaking to on the other side of the barrier, based upon how long she had been around, he assumed she was either Elf or of the Draconic Race, as no other species lived nearly as long, aside from something like a Vampire, but that was simply not likely.
“Cant’ say it is all that original.” Her voice shot back. It was curt, voicing her displeasure at being taken away from her studies and to the border of her territory, even if it was her decision to go in the first place. “I think the most interesting name was… ‘Child Eater’ or was it, ‘Devourer’? I can’t remember, it was so long ago.” Her voice was slightly more playful, but still contained a sense of annoyance. “Now, mind telling me why you are trying to trespass?”
“To start, the trespassing was accidental. My face found the border before my eyes did.” he said, rubbing his nose. “Second, I have come to meet you. Advice given to me by the leader of the Faustus Principality.”
“Why would that child send you to me?”
“The best advice he could give me after summoning me.” Bringing up his status as a summoned person was the only way he could think to take the conversation to get her to open the barrier. Coupled with the fact that he wasn’t necessarily the most subtle person and was honest to a fault, both of which proved to be major hurdles for him when he first transplanted from America to Japan. He just assumed that is was better to come out clean and clear, instead of trying to keep any cards close to his chest.
“Why would Hordin summon someone?” If she was curt before, she was irate now, but was doing everything she could to mask it.
“Something about the Emperor being the Demon Lord.” The gasps could be heard from all around. Only Hanz was stoically silent as usual.
“I haven’t heard anything about this matter.” Her answer was fast and was a mix of concern and disbelief.
“Can’t imagine you would. It is probably the most hushed whisper of the century. Which leaves me with many doubts about its validity.” What I said was true. If something like the Demon Lord had returned, why was there not more preparation, why was no one talking about it? I understand the need for not wanting to incite panic in the masses, but not preparing for the worst was an even bigger crime. The question of how Gods would believe this information was due to their sources. Gods were forbidden from interacting with the world physically, due to some ridiculous order coming down from on high a millennia ago. This meant that all their information came from their believers and the prayers that they said. The largest church just so happens to be located in the Imperial Capital of Agerdoria. With the stories coming out of the capital currently, it would be no wonder that the commoners would think that a new Demon Lord had risen and was in the capital.
This warning just so happened to have been shared around through the church, until it reached the church in Faustus, who then petitioned the prince to summon a Hero. Leading for me to show up, summoned as investigator, judge and executioner, no jury needed.
“I am simply investigating the possibility of this being the case. However, I am new to this world, so it was advised to come see you to get a better understanding of what I could be up against.” It was my turn to speak in a matter of fact, almost cocky manner.
“So, Faustus told you that this was the case, based upon the words of clergymen who just happen to say their Gods sent them a message to summon a Hero?” Her tone was keeping step with mine. The disbelief in her voice was palpable.
“Well… I’ll admit, that is how I got summoned, but not where I heard this from. I did spend the last year with Vathsvala, and occasional visits from the rest of them too.” I barely had the time to finish my sentence when the sound of cracking shattering glass was heard. Before our eyes, it was like reality was shattering, seeing chunks of the forest around us breaking and falling to the floor before disappearing into specks of light, then all together vanishing completely.
“You spent a year in the god realm?” There was no hostility this time, only wonder and intrigue. The speaker was a cocoa skinned elf, she had long ears, sneaking out from under her ghost-white hair that reached down to just above her butt. She had a generous helping of cleavage, piercing bronze eyes shielded by long eyelashes that matched the rest of her hair. She was wearing a heavy long cloak; through its part a long green dress could be seen. It was longer in the front and the back, with a large split running up the sides, reminiscent of a cheongsam or qipao. The split allowed for easy movement if needed, but honestly it was probably to allow freedom for her wide hips which where only slightly visible, just enough to spark the imagination.
“I’ll admit. Not what I expected when they said you were a witch…” He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, they were tracing up and down the black lines on her skin, their paths were sporadic, yet that only added to the beauty of them. He wasn’t sure how long he was staring; it was only after a harsh “ahem” came from Lili did he return to his senses. “Yes… Sorry, lost in thought. You were asking?”
Alex was no stranger to being the butt of the joke, and often used it as a way of settling the air around him when things were tense, this however was not the intention this time. He had genuinely been distracted by her figure. This world had its share of beautiful women, even the simple commoner would have passed as an attractive person back on Earth, with a plethora of followers on social media, but the person in from him now, the word beauty did her a disservice. He shook the thesaurus in his brain trying to come up with the right word, alluring, dazzling, gorgeous, lovely, stunning, none of them seemed to truly describe her appearance. He simply settled on the idea of exquisitely elegant, yet even that seemed to fall short.
“I asked about your time in the gods realm.” Her temper seemed to have returned, if only slightly.
“Ah. Yes… I do have a question, would you mind if was talked about this inside, it does seem to be getting late.”
She returned his question with a hard stare, trying to measure the person he was before acquiescing to his request for admittance to her domain. Not even the second hero had been allowed to enter her territory, being required to camp out on the border of it, left to practice her lessons until it was time for a new one. In fact, no man had ever set foot beyond this border, and she had every intent to maintain that record.
“Come with me. Do no say a word until we arrive and keep your eyes forward.” The entire entourage with her was shocked at what she had just said. “There is something about him that I need to know, and I don’t intend to stand her all night.” Whether this was the whole truth or not, only she knew.
Alex and Lili, who had been extremely quiet this entire time, a key part of her character so far, stepped forward together, but before the first step came down, the Tanned Elf said, “I can only permit one man to enter though, the other stays out.” Just then chains of light struck out from the ground, and encased Alex’s shadow. A small cry could be heard, and a hand seemed to try to come out of the ground, before being swallowed back into the shadows.
“Is he going to be, okay?” Alex asked.
“Just some slight discomfort. It will last until the barrier is back in place.” She then turned and began walking away.
“Sorry my dude.” Alex said, following after. “I promise to share with you what I can later.”
----------------------------------------
Part 2.
The trip to the small village was uneventful, and Alex found it rather simple to keep his eyes focused. In fact he found it more difficult to take his eyes off of the woman in front of him. He wasn’t gawking at her like some little school boy in heat, though he did remember just how different a new younger body was, rather than the older more in control body he had left behind. He old love life had become anything but stagnant, but the new body, with hormones of a younger male were, far more energetic, coupled with the fact that he retained his memories and tastes of his older more mature self, his mind wandered far and wide. He of course always remained the gentleman on the outside.
After arriving, they were led by the group to a large house, it was easily the biggest in the village. It was made of wood and stone, had a low sloped roof, a large bay window on the front. It had a wooden staircase that led up to the front door, as it was constructed on an area that was elevated overlooking the rest of the village, and was equipped with a large balcony in the front, that wrapped around to the side.
“Comfortable living for someone in the middle of nowhere.” Alex blurted.
“If you are going to spend a lot of time some place, it is best to get comfortable. We have had many years to do addons.” There was a slight sound of pride in her voice as she spoke. “Now come inside, we have things to talk about.”
Entering the house nearly took Alex back home. Immediately there was the feeling of cool moving air inside the house, a welcome change from the dank air of the outside forest. Another thing he noticed upon entering the home, there was a genkan at the front door. The shoes of the other elves that had entered before him were already neatly lined up and turned to face the door. The fact that something like this would show up now showed just how much she had learned during her time with the other two, picking up on the stories of their culture. Lili had already gone about removing her shoes before he could remove his slippers, taking note that she already knew what to do. “I didn’t realize just how similar the cultures where.” After removing their shoes, and straightening out there socks, the continued on into the main part of the house.
Inside he found all manner of things that amazed him. There were small black boxes running around the house, with moving brushes cleaning for any dirt that may have snuck in on them. There were small tubes in the ceiling, inside these tubes were moss, that when supplied with mana, gave off a glow. The more mana that was applied meant the brighter the light that was produced, and on the wall near where they had entered, there was a switch that could control the supply of mana to the foliage above them. The main section of the house was fairly open, revealing an area in the back that was furnished with sofas and seats for relaxed lounging, a fireplace and bookshelf that scaled the wall. Closer to where they stood was a large wooden table, big enough to comfortably accommodate eight people, and a had a clear view of the kitchen, equipped with a stove-top, a sink with faucet, and a large chest next to it.
For Alex, for anyone really, it was a lot to take in, but for different reasons. For Lili it was like stepping into a new world, it was equipped with things that no one had even dreamed of and was an exciting new experience. For Alex, it was like stepping back into the comforts of home, and made his heart heavy. He began to question whether what he was feeling was indeed homesickness.
“Well… your reaction tells me you are from Japan.” It was a clear-cut response, void of any emotion. She had no doubt used the response to gauge whether or not what he had told her was true. If he didn’t know what any of these things were, he would have no doubt had a look like Lili, one of wonder and amazement. Instead Alex’s face showed surprise, but also the pain of missing a place he could not return to.
“So, you could tell huh.” He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed about showing that side of himself.
“It isn’t a bad thing. It means you were honest. It is a good start.” She pulled a chair out from under the table and took a seat. Two of the elves that had entered the home with us each took a spot standing next to her. “Please sit, we have plenty to talk about.”
Not wanting to wear out the welcome. He followed suit, guiding Lili to a chair and getting her comfortable before sitting down himself. “What do you wish to know first?” His tone was a match for any modern Japanese businessman. A skill he acquired after many long hours sitting down with clients and program managers at his tech firm. It was an uphill battle in the early days, but after years of hard work, he had been given his own team to lead, and eventually an entire section was under him. At first not many of his kouhai knew how to handle him. His management style was very different than any other bosses they had had previously. It was a perfect blend of East meets West, and they grew to love him. That was back in a world where the worst that could happen to him was be written up or fired, but here and now, he was in a world where magic existed and being fired meant something dramatically different. It also wasn’t just him he was talking for, but for the small creature next to him, who was for the most part defenseless.
“I guess a summary of what led you up to here for starters.” It was hard to gauge her interest level by her tone and body language. So, he just told her everything he could, in as much detail as possible. He didn’t really see a point in leaving anything out. First and foremost, what he needed was her trust, and keeping secrets or altering the story in any way would only lead to possible gaps or inaccuracies that could prove fatal later.
After a decent amount of time recanting his tail, he finished. “And that about sums it up.” Her look was pensive, no doubt trying to disseminate what was fact from fiction, no doubt some of it seemed unbelievable. Especially the parts concerning the Forest Queen and one particular vampire.
“You said the Vampire’s name was Clavis?” she asked after a long minute of silence.
“Clavis Braun Sith. He was a True Vampire.” He responded.
“You verified it with you inspect ability?”
“Yes.”
She was quiet again. Her eyes focused coldly on Alex’s. As if trying to catch any possible give away that he was telling a lie. After a bit, she said, “The inspect me. Tell me what you see.”
“Ah about that… I already did. Frankly… you look really good for being six hun…”
“That is enough.” She said cutting him off.
“You said that you destroyed his heart, the vampire, Clavis’ heart?”
“Yes. It seemed to do the trick. Otherwise, we may be dead.”
“What about his core?” Her voice was coy, as if she already knew the answer and was already judging him for not knowing any better.
“What core? That different from his heart?” He looked completely puzzled and embarrassed.
“Yes.” It was the longest yes of Alex’s life. Though how was he to know that vampires had more than just a heart. That wasn’t in the lore of Earthen Vampires. “Spawn of the Dark God all have cores in their bodies. They uniquely located, meaning no two creatures, even of the same species, are the same. It has been one of the things that has made defeating them so difficult. While destroying his heart may have momentarily incapacitated him, he is far from dead. He will no doubt recover shortly.”
“Will he go on the hunt for revenge now?” He asked her in a worried voice.
“Probably, but it is nothing to worry about. He couldn’t break into this barrier if he had a thousand years to try. You are safe here.” Her response gave him the relief to relax his shoulders and couldn’t help but give Lili a big smile of reassurance. “Why would you even pick a fight with a True Vampire anyway. That was just dumb.” Her curt addition stung his heart a bit.
“Guess it was… I wanted to test myself. I mean, it was on accident first of all, we never intended to go in the cave, it just though it was the better option considering what I saw.” The memory alone was enough to drive down his mood. “I can deal with things that are physical. I should have been serious from the start with Clavis, it was my fault I was injured, and Lili was in danger. But… if I had come up against that, we would both no doubt be dead now.”
“Probably. Even I would have trouble with that. Shadow Lords are not something you would normally see just around. They are spy and assassins for the Dark God, and by proxy the Demon Lord. If he is here, it seems I am being watched.” She looked up to Alex, her face did not hide the worry in her voice. “Now you are too, more than likely.”
“Well truth is, I was never really the hiding kind of guy. But I have also never been against an opponent I couldn’t fight.” His tone matched hers.
“Are you saying you have never lost a fight?” she forced a playful tone.
“Nah… I’ve had my ass kicked enough times to count. This is different though. Those times, my opponent was just better, but I could still put up a fight. This… this is… How do you fight something like a shadow?”
“With magic.” It was an absolute answer. There was no room for discussion on it.
“Then I’m boned.” He said, raising his right arm with his left and then letting it flop down. “I have abilities that use up my mana, just like anyone else. But… I don’t have any ability to manipulate mana. Hence, I could reattach the arm, but It is essentially a dead limb. If it stays like this much longer, I will have to take it off anyway. A rotting limb would be a death sentence.” His tone now was somber. Again he was feeling weak, even more so than when he lost Royden. He had come here thinking is bases were covered with his ability, why hadn’t he thought of opponents that were incorporeal?
“Well, I guess first thing is first.” She got from her chair, and strode over to Alex, resting a hand on his right arm. “We need to get you studying magic.” A light shown between their skin, and a slight burning tingly sensation was felt in his arm.
“I can feel that!?” he said with shock. “How?”
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Simple.” she said, brushing her hands and wearing a grin from ear to ear. “I poured some of my mana into you. Now that your arm has mana, it will naturally do the rest to restore itself.” She crossed back over across the table. “Starting tomorrow I will train you to use mana.” She then peered over at Lili, “And you, missy. We will train you in control. That way, you can help him when he is being dumb.” She gave a big smile in their direction.
That night they all ate together, and Alex and Lili shared a spare bedroom that was made up for them. Tomorrow would start a bout of training for the two of them.
----------------------------------------
Part 3.
Alex woke the next morning, the sun was beaming through the window above them, filling the room with a gentle glow. Looking to his little companion who was beginning to wake, probably sensing him waking. Her hair was a mess, a big fluffy poofy mess. Alex couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her cotton swab-like afro, jiggle at the movement of her head.
“Good morning little one? A bit of bed head there?” he said through the most genuine smile he could remember making in a long time.
She didn’t respond to his comment. Instead, she crawled close to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and began rubbing her face against my cheek. She grew so forceful in this, it even caused Alex to fall back into the bed where she continued to affectionately rub against him.
“Come on, come on. I love you too.” He said, grabbing her small body and attempting to make some distance. “We have to get ready for the day.” The two of them got out of bed, and pursed through their luggage, finding extra articles of clothing. “Now let’s get to the shower.”
Included inside this wonderous home of modern conveniences where indoor bathrooms with running water, including tubs, toilets, and sinks, with options for cold and hot water. While the castle life with servants was nice, being able to take a hot shower, or be able to use a proper toilet was a commodity that he didn’t realize he would miss so much.
They came to the door of the bathroom, the first area was a dry room that was used mainly for changing clothes or washing hands or face. Lili entered the room first and when Alex attempted to follow, he felt her two tiny hands pushing against him.
“Huh? What’s wrong?” he asked her.
“No. I bathe myself.” she responded.
“But…” he cut himself off. He hadn’t thought about it because of her size, but she was older than she appeared.
Back home he had always bathed with Hina, up until she was around six or seven years old, then he stopped and now even Sumire only occasionally bathed with her. It wasn’t uncommon for families to bathe together in the early years of their child’s life. For the obvious reason of teaching children to bathe properly and to check and make sure they were doing it. Once they could do so sufficiently, in normal families, parents and children usually stopped bathing together, for obvious reasons. It was something that a westerner like Alex spent the first year trying to get comfortable with, as the idea wasn’t widely popular in the West. By the time that Hina was old enough to bathe herself properly, he did find that he missed the closeness that it brought them. It was hard to have secrets from family when you were naked, the belief behind the tradition. Nonetheless, he gave her the privacy she deserved.
Now, before him was a fifteen-year-old girl, inside the body that looked like it was six years old. He hadn’t even second guessed them getting in together and him washing her back, just like a father would to their small child. But she wasn’t his child, and mentally she was obviously older.
“Okay. You go first. If you need anything I am right outside.” he said, giving her a wink. She blushed, then promptly shut the door. “Kids.” He sighed.
After the two had cleaned themselves and they were dressed. They went into the main room, there on the long dinning table was a selection of breakfast items. The options included steamed white grain, served in a small bowl, a murky colored soup with white balls and green leaves, smelly sticky beans, the grilled carcass of a local fish, and some pickled fruit. The portions weren’t large, but all together they were a well-balanced meal.
“Where did you get the fish?” The thought of someone fishing in the dark river to the north gave him the willies.
“We have a farm just aways from here. We are able to maintain the population and control the size of the fish.” Said one of the blond elves on her way back into the kitchen area. Her answer calmed his nerves, and allowed him to dig into the food in front of him.
The sticky beans, an obvious attempt to recreate natto, were something he had trouble stomaching. Even after a decade in Japan, every time natto showed up on the table, he had to take a deep breath and prepare himself. How both his wife and daughter liked the stuff was a wonder to him. Lili on the other hand, poured it over her rice, mixed it up and began to chow down like a pro. “Just how similar are these cultures?” he mentally screamed.
They were not even half way through their meal when a half awake tanned-skin elf, in thin linen, sporting a bed head that came in close second to Lili’s, sauntered over the to table. She looked up, or at least he thought she did based on the movement of her beck. “Yo.” She said, in an extremely casual fashion. That was it, just a “yo.”
“Morning.” Alex responded, shocked at the person before them. Last night she had been a fearless, calculating businesswoman. However, if you had told someone just walking in that, they would have questioned your sanity. She reminded him of a useless hikikomori, coming down after a weeklong binge of eroge and anime, to join the family for an early meal. “Long night for you?” she asked her gently, not sure what kind of response he would receive.
A mug was placed in front of her, and in it a dark liquid was added, followed by a white creamer and finally a large helping on white granules. Alex fought against the urge to say the age-old line, asking someone if they wanted coffee with their sugar. Thankfully he won against his fatherly instincts. “You even have coffee. You have worked hard to recreate earthen comforts.” His tone was grateful.
“I had plenty of time to talk to the two of them.” She said. “I had more to talk about with Taishi, since he was older. Homura spent more time in the Beast Continent, since they were the ones that found him. He had more influence over there, and we weren’t together long.” She was talking about the first two Heros.
“Hayashi Homura and Yamamoto Taishi, Hero one and two.” Alex interjected.
“So, you know about them then.” She asked. Her voice was tender, the emotion that the names brought back was caked on her face.
“Not much. There was surprising little information on them in the god realm.” He paused for a second, taking a sip of the water that had been set alongside his food. “It appears in the god realm, it matters less on who you are, and more about what you are. I know their exploits which made them famous, but apart from my own assumptions of them based upon certain things I was told, I don’t know anything about who they were.” He gave her a long stare, not one of malice, but a clear indication that he wished to know more about his predecessors. He didn’t think it was necessarily important information for his mission, but more to sake his own curiosity as a love of history.
“Well… I guess as your new teacher, it is only proper that I educate you.” She took a sip from her mug, her eyes were staring beyond the two sitting across from her, focused on the past. After a moment she spoke up. “Homura wasn’t summoned by the people living here. He was the first summoning, and it was the one who created the spell that pulled him to this world. His name was…” she paused and looked away, like she was racking her brain. “Forgive me, I seem to have lost the name. But anyway, he was summoned, and while you and Taishi share the fact that you appeared on this continent in the world of Humes, Homura was found wandering the forests of the Beast Continent. Which may have been a blessing, since their cultures were already fairly similar, it was relatively easy for him to adapt. But…” she paused again; guilt showed on her face. “He was only a boy. He was thirteen according to the earliest records by the Kimmimonian priests. Since he was titled as a Hero, he was immediately taken into the royal family and betrothed to the princess. Delegations were sent around the world, announcing the arrival of a Hero. It was after that, that the battles in the war against the Demon… against the Demon Lord seemed to escalate. He was trained under a joint taskforce of the greatest warriors in the world. When he was fifteen, he set off to collect the allies and materials he needed to win the war.” She paused and took another sip.
“It was during that journey when he came to Elvoria, well the new christened Elhwadden. That is where I met him. Though he left first, going before the Great Tree and claiming her gift, the Iron Bark, and the Flower of Dawn. He only came back after his journey to the western island, simply called the Dragon’s Nest. I remember seeing it, the Hero, and the princess astride the great red dragon, Brephis. It was upon his return I was… gifted… to him.” She swallowed hard, then took another sip. “After this, we went to dwarves where they crafted his sword. What was its name...?”
“Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi” Alex interrupted. His voice was strained.
“Yes. Kusanagi, it was a beautiful sword with a long curved blade that shined like moonlight. He was rather gallant astride his dragon and blade in hand.” She was wearing a pained smile when she talked, though he couldn’t be sure if it was for what she had said, or for what was about to come next. “Then we all flew south. Homura, Yayoi, the Fox Priestess.” The name caused Lili to perk up. No doubt she would have been well known in her homeland, and if she was in fact part of the royal family, they were related, even if they were generations apart. “Nasha, our dwarven ranger. She was… interesting company. There was Aledine, he was a warrior from the Sandsea, and had joined with Homura during his training, and lastly me.” She went for another sip, only to find the mug empty, and put it off to the side before continuing.
“We cross the sea between Idaris and Andorius, flying south to the Imperial Capital. We were going to raise the moral of the army before the planned invasion of the Dark Continent. We were given a warm welcome on our arrival, a parade and even a grand banquet in the palace. The plan was to take out at weeks end, but that night our enemy hit us.” She put her fingers across her mouth, as if what she was about to say, she was trying to keep secret. But she continued, “That night, the capital was besieged by the largest force that was ever assembled. It should have been no surprise, the Demon Lord was an accomplished military leader, known for scoring many victories in the past. He had plenty of time to build up his forces, and train them in secret, so even with the prolonged war against the world, he still had the forces to spare.” She regripped her empty mug so tightly it could have broken.
“The fighting was brutal, and the dead were everywhere. They had surrounded the city on all sides, only leaving the north empty, which lead to the river and provided no hope of escape. Not that escape would have mattered, if the capital fell, then all would have been lost, there were no other armies to send, this was the entire coalition, and we were fighting a losing battle. The dragon Brephis came crashing down from the sky and destroyed an entire city block, Nasha was riding her at the time. Aledine was lost while holding the south gate, which saw the worst of the fighting. It had actually gotten to a point where the enemy broke into the walls around the gate, just to avoid him, but even he couldn’t stand being surrounded. I did all I could to keep the enemy back and out of the central square. I had thought everything was over when Malphos, the enemy’s dragon that had struck down Brephis flew overhead, readying a breath that would have easily destroyed my puny barrier.”
One of the elves came up behind her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, and pouring more of the dark liquid in her mug. After the time it took to properly season her drink she started back.
“I thought we were done, Homura was exhausted, I was too weak to make a difference and Yayoi was nearly out of mana. But it was Yayoi, the shinning light of the world. She could think of no other way to save us, so she cast a spell. The spell of Life.” She paused and looked right into Alex’s eyes. “The fact that you are from another world, which according to Homura and Taishi, does not contain magic, you have no way of knowing this… Life magic isn’t fair. For Life magic to work, it requires sacrifice, generally it is 1:1, but Yayoi broke the rules that day. In tears she dropped to her knees and began praying. Homura was at first to focus on the battle to notice, but he quickly understood what was happening. It took five trained soldiers to hold him down as she cast the spell.” Slurp. “Her last words to me where, ‘Look after him for me.’ Then she was swallowed by the light, and the howls of Homura could be heard well over the sound of battle. Her sacrifice brought back every ally that had fallen on the battlefield. Brephis quickly returned the favor, destroying Malphos, and the Demon Army, even Demons get tired, had to fight against a new resurrected and invigorated allied army. The fight was over, the allies’ efforts were redoubled, and the Demons that could retreated back. There were a lot of happy people all throughout the city, rejoicing at the victory. But Homura, he never took his eyes off that spot.”
She stood up and moved over to the bay window, forcing Lili and Alex to turn their heads. “Later he informed me, the night before the final battle, when I tried to offer myself to him.” She raised her hand up to her face, and her body shook. Her voice was shaky. “All I wanted to do was comfort him, he was in so much sorrow, so much grief. He was so different than the man that had flown in to Agerdoria.” She brushed her eyes and reaffirmed herself. “He wore a brave face for all of us, but in secret, when he thought no one was looking, he would let it out… It was that night I learned that it wasn’t just her life she sacrificed, it was their child’s too. Yayoi had been pregnant with the first and only mixed species in the world. But, to ensure one future, she sacrificed another. It is the only reason that I could come up with as to why her spell was so strong.”
She strode across the room and stopped before Alex looking him in the eyes. “Homura never returned after that battle. No one really knows exactly what happened in the last fight, since it was Homura and him alone, but we know it was over because the citadel came crashing down. Aledine, Nasha and I only just escaped with our lives.” It had been a warning to not underestimate the forces that he would have to fight, ever. He read it loud and clear, he had realized that when he fought Clavis. He knew he was strong, but he wasn’t strongest, yet. Something he was determined to achieve.
“As for Tashi…”
“Sorry, I think one story is enough for now.” He said, with an arm around Lili, who was now crying her eyes out. Surely the tale of the sacrifice of a national hero was a big deal, but maybe more, the fact that that very hero was pregnant with the only known hybrid to exist. The Royal family could have at some point possibly been lead by a hafu. “Now I really wonder how close the cultures were. A Hafu in Kimmimonia.”
“I understand. I’ll get myself ready. I will be training be training you starting today. Aururia will be training Lili in control.” She said before walking towards the back.
----------------------------------------
Part 4.
It was midday when they started. Lili had put up a bit of a fuss that she was not going to be with Alex for the lesson, but considering the level of control she was at, it was deemed that it should be done well outside the village. So, Aururia dragged her off, kicking and screaming.
Evona came out onto the balcony, she was wearing loose light fitting clothing, showing off a lot of her skin. Something that proved to be a big distraction for Alex.
“Um… I guess it is hot out here.” He told her, trying to be polite about it.
“Does my skin bother you?” she said shortly.
“Not the skin itself. And not that it bothers me….” He thought for a second on how exactly to say to her that she was a very beautiful woman, and that he found her to be extremely attractive, so he was incredibly distracted by her appearance. Alex, of course not being the subtle type, simply decided to come out and say it. “I think you are very beautiful. In fact, among all the women I have seen so far, you outdo them many times over. There, now you know. It isn’t that it bothers me, but that… it makes me bothered.” He was blushing, not something that happens to him often.
Now, she was blushing. When was the last time that someone had commented her appearance, especially a man. She was at a loss for words, and the two of them just sat there, doing their best to not stare at each other like two idiots trying to decide who was going to get off the see saw first. If one got off at the bottom, it was going to send the other plummeting to the ground, something that foul schoolyard bullies would do to helpless children on playground.
After a long, long minute of awkward silence, she cleared her throat. “For we will set that aside.” She made a hand gesture, as if she was picking up an invisible box and setting off to the side. “We will focus on your mana for now.” She adjusted her seat, pulling slightly closer to Alex, and placing two hands on his right arm, one on the forearm, near the wrist and the other on his right tricep. There was a warm tingly sensation that started at his wrist and travel up his arm till it got to his tricep, then exited out where her hand was.
“Okay... I feel that.” He said surprised. It was the same as last night, but much stronger.
“Good, what I did was send someone of my mana inside you, stirring up your mana, it traveled along your mana network, until it reached where my hand was, and exited.” She said, patting his arm like he was a good boy. “Now one more time, focus on the sensation, and don’t stop when I do.”
She continued her effort, this time using more mana and causing the sensation to be even more apparent. He closed his eyes, attempting to eliminate any sort of distraction that would hinder his effort. He followed along in his mind, imagining the mana moving along a network, kind of like the nervous network in his arm. Whether or not that was really the case didn’t matter, it allowed him to focus and visualize it. When the sensation neared where it exited last time, he focused harder, and as he felt the sensation leave out his body, he imagined sending it rushing back down his arm as if he was trying to push it out of his hand. “ARGH….” He cried, but nothing. Once the sensation was gone, it was gone, there was no cascade down his limb.
“Didn’t work. I thought and visualized, but once your mana exited, nothing.” He said, feeling the frustration that every beginner feels when they hit that first hurdle. He was a fighter though, having trained in multiple forms of martial arts, he knew this sensation and new that there were ways to beat it. You could either go through it, with rigorous training and effort, or you could try to look at it in a different way, to see if there was a different solution to the problem you faced. His usual solution was option one, but that didn’t usually work outside of martial arts.
“Hmm… lets try this.” she said, repositioning herself in front of Alex, taking a seat between his legs. “Just place your hands here.” She said while taking his hands and placing them on her waist. She had chosen option two, and that included Alex placing his hands on her waist, and feeling the mana in her body, and then attempting to look for the motion in his. Imagine two kids with stethoscopes playing doctor and listening to each other’s breathing and heartbeats. In this case, no stethoscope and instead of breathing and heartbeats, it was feeling the rhythm of her natural mana current.
Alex was feeling really bothered now and was hoping that she didn’t back up anymore. “Damn the lack of control of a young body.” Was all he could think.
“Now, close your eyes, and feel for it. If you focus, if you time your breath with mine, you should begin to feel it.” She placed her hands on his and squeeze them closer to her skin. It was soft, incredibly so, and warm, he was fighting the urge to squeeze his fingers into it. When he had thought of training, this was not was he was expecting. His thoughts became wild images, and his urges grew, and the more he had to fight them. Soon he was imagining himself fighting himself, the two of them going twirling down a long dark tunnel, spinning around and around as they fought for control. Till eventually there they were gone, they had fallen so far into the black hole, that there was nothing left of them. In fact, all that was in his mind was blackness. He felt himself fumble around, the ground looked wet, when he touched it made ripples, but there was no water there. He looked back, nothing but blackness. When he turned around there was a small girl sitting in the distance, peering into what looked like screens.
She was young, she had pearl white skin, and long golden hair. She was small, easily confused for a child. She sat there curled up in the fetal position, with her head tucked behind her knees. She was slowly rocking back and forth, and a faint sobbing could be heard, even at this distance.
He slowly walked over to her and got down on a knee next to her. “He sweety, you, okay?” She lifted her head and turned towards him. There were tears that had filled up her eyes, giving her pale green eyes a glossy overcoat. He looked her over, she was wearing a dirty rag for a dress, and her skin had bruises and blemishes all over, with her feet and hands caked in dirt or soot of some kind. She was the most pathetic image one could imagine, which made the fact that she was an elf, a species known for being fair and beautiful, all the worse.
“What happened to you?” he asked with great concern. She shook her head and pointed to the large collar around her neck. When he didn’t understand, she opened her mouth and a rune on the collar ignited, causing her to wince in pain. The message was quickly received, and he immediately leapt forward, wrapping her in his arms as a way to comfort her. “I understand now.”
He struggled silently to himself as to what to do. How did he even get here? He was supposed to be training to recognize mana. He looked around, as if he was expecting some kind of guardian to just show up out of nowhere, or maybe a guide for him to go on to the next stage. “Fat chance…” was all he could think. He looked back at the girl, the only sound allowed to escape from her seemed to be the sobbing sound she made.
“I wonder if this will work.” He said, placing a hand on the collar. First, she pushed back at him, terrified that he would remove it and the curse, which was unknown to him, that it would unleash. “It is okay, I am just going to get rid of the collar.” He tried to reassure her. The more he tried, the harder she struggled against him. But she was a small frail child, and he was an adult male, their sizes and strength were too far apart. He eventually had both hands on the collar and then, [Destroy], and nothing.
She shrieked in horror, expecting to be wracked with every possible sensation that had been building up over the last six hundred years, but nothing. No, the collar was still there, still functioning. She turned and began pounding on Alex’s chest, punishing him for doing something so incredibly stupid.
He on the other hand didn’t understand what was wrong. He could obviously touch the collar, so it had to be made of matter, why didn’t his ability work. He used [Inspect] on himself, his magic pool hadn’t drained, which meant the skill had never activated. Then next was the collar.
“Collar of Eternal Punishment: Any bound by this collar will have their sense of touch stripped from them. If the collar should ever be removed, all the built up sensations will return at once. The longer the collar is on, the more the sensations build. Advised to not use the collar for longer than one week, as it may drive the wearer insane.”
What he read shocked him and caused his stomach to plummet. What kind of sick bastard would put this on a child, what did this child do that would cause someone to want to punish them so badly.
He followed up by using his ability on the child. “Name: Evona, Age: 683”. The fact that it was Evona he could piece together in his head, the fact that she was nearing seven hundred years old, he knew already. But, what was on her, that he hadn’t seen on the other Evona was, “Title: Demon Lord’s Child.” What did that even mean? The Demon Lord was an elf? Questions were building in his head, much faster than he could formulate logical answers for.
He looked down at the small child, tears still pouring form her eyes, and soft sobs echoing in the otherwise empty chamber. It didn’t matter what it said, there was no way that she could be evil, right?