Chapter 57: A Hero’s Welcome.
As expected, the Excursion didn’t immediately resolve itself once we’d killed the queen. Leaving us plenty of time to march ourselves right back to Paris.
The trip had been blessedly uneventful, as we made our way down the sheer cliffs and slopes to the rolling hills at the foot of the mountains. There was that awkward, preternatural silence hanging over every single stone we passed, but that nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Yep.
That whole, mountains-erupting-in-multicolored-fire-with-ghostly-faces business wasn't anything too alarming. After all, things had worked out as well I could have hoped for.
The kaiju was dead. Its offspring had been exterminated and the area had been cleaned of radiation in an afternoon. Our group had singlehandedly undone decades, possibly centuries of grief and hardship in a matter of hours.
I mean, sure. [Unstable Reality] and the aftereffects had been spooky, but it had all worked out in the end.
'Though Charlie doesn't seem to think so.'
Indeed, the otherwise stalwart youth who had braved monsters without batting an eye looked utterly shell-shocked as we made our way towards the valleys down bellow. His eyes wide open as his head swiveled in place in a manner that was very akin to that of a perturbed penguin, after two of their buddies were picked off by sea lions.
That was, the right response. I supposed.
The logical response to a, frankly, disturbing series of events.
Yet I couldn't bring myself to feel the same way.
Everything that had happened up on that mountain had, technically, been a chaotic mess outside of my control. But I couldn't shake the feeling that it was right. That all the pieces had somehow managed to fall into place.
It was... as if a thousand little pieces of me had conspired to assist me from the sidelines. So that I wasn't in direct control, while also steering events into a direction that was beneficial to me.
I clapped my hands together then. Finally chancing upon a halfway decent comparison.
"You know what it's like? It's like a grenade. I threw the Psy in a certain direction and it undid all the monsters in that direction. Only, this was more controlled. Like a shaped demolition charge used for mining or for tearing down decrepit buildings. Yes, the outcome was somewhat random, but I was still ultimately in control to some degree. Does that make sense?"
"Not in the slightest." Borislav answered. His eyes so weary that he looked as if he were about to collapse from exhaustion.
Monique only gave me a look, but that gaze spoke volumes by itself.
Oddly enough, it was Charlie who spoke up soon thereafter.
"Look man. Sully. I don't care what kind of comparison you use. Fancy words are not for me. Actions, are for me. And right now, things... things..."
He gulped audibly.
"Things have more or less worked out. Just, try not to let the dead back out into the world. Okay?"
"Okay." I assured him. "I'm sorry about this. I, should have paid more attention to your feelings. I'll be more careful from now on."
"Don't be sorry." Slab interrupted. "We've done good work today. We've saved more lives by ourselves than millions of old-world soldiers and weapons systems put together. Now is not the time to be squeamish. This, hesitation. This fearmongering, only serves to hold us back from total victory. It might even keep us from using our powers to the fullest whenever the..."
He hesitated. Biting his lip.
"Whenever going all-out becomes necessary. Me and Charlie will work to remedy his fears through training. This fear will pass."
Charlie said nothing out loud. Though his mind quickly went through a fair few colorful descriptors of Slab's parentage. Slab should have been able to read those thoughts as well, but he chose to stay silent as we continued our descent.
From there we travelled back the way we came. Past unnaturally tall trees and endless fields filled with wild flowers.
“You know guys, there’s a village down below. A little under a kilometer beneath the earth. They don’t have too many people but I’d bet they could use a blast of [Insight].”
“That sounds like a good idea.” Slab agreed. “We could also take the time to rest. Lugging around the trophy for this long is taking a toll on us.”
The trophy in question was the head of the Luminescent Queen. Warped and mutated beyond what it once was. Still, it remained the very large head of a very large kaiju, meaning that just about anyone in this world would recognize the people carrying the bloody thing as a certifiable champion of good.
It was apparently such a big deal that Slab and Dusty had fought with the rest of us tooth and nail in order to keep it. Meaning I’d been forced to force feed Psy into Charlie and Monique through [Team Spirit] so that we could keep the (Gnome)ing decomposing corpse afloat via a mixture of gravity manipulation and a [Force Wall] placed underneath it. From there, Dusty and Slab took turns pulling it with a rope they’d bought from Peachy.
They’d stubbornly persisted in doing so all the way down from the mountains too, which did end up impressing me to a certain degree.
‘Though its still a waste of time. I could share my memories with the people we come across to prove what we did. Its not like the absence of radiation or giant mutant fireflies is going to remain unnoticed for very long either. People would find out, one way or the other. The more important factor is giving people we come across that extra oomph in power. Their lives might very well depend on it moving forward. Its not like we’ll be sticking around after all.’
Symbols were all well and good to rouse a populace, but there was a time and place for them. More specifically, a time and place where giving people hope wouldn’t result in some of those people getting killed. That remained my biggest gripe with this whole endeavor. The chances that a few youths might become too overeager and push past the borders we’d secured.
That train of thought led me to the siblings once more.
To how Dusty and Slab had practically been salivating when they'd first met me. To how I hadn't really been a person in their eyes. Merely another tool to chase their own personal glory and prosecute their clan's war on all kaiju. Not that I wasn't thankful or anything. Their support had meant everything back then. When I was beside myself with self-hatred. If it weren't for their determination, I might not be here at all.
'And that leads me back to Dusty herself. She's been... awfully different around me these past few days. Though that same block keeps me from digging deeper. Does she still see me as a tool? Or is it something more?'
It was a riddle, wrapped in an enigma.
On the one hand, she constantly thought about bringing me home and showing me off as the savior she and Slab had managed to find. In those fantasies, I was little more than a prize poodle for her to parade in front of Glossy and all the other girls that had bullied her growing up.
On the other hand, she did sometimes act awfully, cute. Though her innermost feelings would drift back to her home. To the giant mosquitoes, and to their matron. To what I would do to them. To how I would shower her in glory. Then she'd go back to thinking about how all her doubters would react when she waltzed into the village with me.
'Perhaps that's it.' I mused. 'No matter what might be growing between us, it all comes back to the kaiju. The mission comes first and any infatuations that follow come a distant second.'
Not that I could blame her.
I had already been informed on the state of the Blood Queen of course, but there were other horrors to contend with as well. The Endless Serpent whose body went over and under the Baltic Sea, with its head resting along the shores of Norway and the Great Minotaur hunting along the shores of the Mediterranean came to mind as the biggest concerns right then and there.
Her world was, to put it nicely, (Gnome)d up beyond all comprehension.
That kind of mindset might very well be normal out here. If not downright healthy.
'Though I do wonder if you can really call that living. What with the constant fear of being eaten alive and having some giant bug lay eggs in your chest cavity.'
I shivered at the images my brain had conjured up. Recalling my first few encounters with centipedes, and the way their insectile legs had skittered loudly across the cavern walls. How different kinds of bugs had fought each other for territory, even down there in the darkness.
My brows furrowed then. My mind wondering if the same thing was possible with bugs of this size.
What would happen if the other Devourers noticed that one of their number had been slain? Would any of them be keen on claiming western Europe for themselves? The kaiju equivalent of a power-vacuum in a food-chain?
I tried to use [Insight] then. But all I got back was load of nonsense. Images of children in white suits raining down from the sky. Surrounded on all sides by mewling, braying faces in the clouds and other, less appealing monsters covered head to toe in strips of black leather. With buzzsaws in place of hands for added effect.
None of those visions made any kind of sense.
'Damn it. My future sight keeps acting up at the worst times.'
My worries kept plaguing me all the way down to the village I’d sensed. We’d accessed it through a hidden bunker covered up with mossy stones and shrubbery. After that, it was only a matter of following the still largely intact road to a bastion. A gateway filled with barricades and now-inert turrets some five hundred metres below the earth.
‘Open the gates! I’m a Telepath and we’ve brought the head of the Luminescent Queen!’ I [Messaged].
And oh boy. Did that make them react.
I was carried, yes, carried, the rest of the way on two burly men’s shoulders. Their scarred faces beaming with some of the brightest smiles I’d ever seen. Laughing and hooting as they pumped their fists in the air. Their captain, an older looking woman with a missing eye was walking ahead of us. She hadn’t stopped crying since seeing the head.
“I…I just can’t believe its really happening.” She managed. Blowing her nose on a woolen handkerchief.
“My sons, they went out with a party from Lyon. With Shepherd Phillip. They were going to lure away the Parade. To keep it from flooding our homes with radiation. The…” She blew her nose again.
“The Shepherd told us it was a doomed mission. That we’d only succeed if we sent people to their deaths. He only took volunteers.”
She turned around, feeling her way through the darkness while her brown braid swayed in the air. Casting long shadows under the light of a makeshift torch whose flame was replaced by bioluminescent algae.
Her eyes found the head once more and tears started streaming down her eyes once more.
“I can’t believe we finally managed it. I can’t believe you managed it.”
“Its only the start.” Slab declared. Throwing his chest out as he did so. “We will kill the others as well. All in due time. The people must know about what is coming though. More dangers lurk around the corner. Invaders will be coming into our world soon. Everyone must prepare.”
“And that we will.” She nodded. “But not tonight. Tonight, we celebrate! It’s a new day! A new France! A new surface opened before us! We mustn’t lose track of that.”
The village was, in truth, little more than a hovel in a cave. The houses, for lack of a better word, were openings dug into the walls and re-enforced with stone columns around the doors with another one inside the homes themselves. Those doors were curtains of leather, and the domiciles they blocked off were composed of three or four circular chambers interconnected to a main reception space.
Each one would house up to twelve members of the same family. Three or more generations sharing a space that even I, as a student, would find too small and uncomfortable for myself.
Strings of microorganisms made colonies along the ceiling, the chemical-light they produced being the greatest source of illumination for the villagers. Small pools lined some sections as well. All of them filled with the same bioluminescent algae the one-eyed woman had used to traverse the tunnels.
It was a setting suffused with darkness, where every scrap of light was cherished and nurtured.
Yet no one seemed bothered by this way of life. Quite the opposite they felt, content, with their lot. With the little that they managed to keep safe from roaming monsters.
With our arrival, that contentment turned into rapturous joy. I had at least three pairs of arms hugging me at any given time. By body creaking under the pressure of genetically-modified muscles as I was passed around so that more people could get their word of thanks in.
“You guys are the best!”
“Glory to the heroes!”
“A toast! A toast! Bring the good wine! The good wine I said!”
“NOOOOO!!!” Slab had to dive. Literally dive, through the air to keep a recently filled cup from my hands.
“This Shepherd does not drink!” He roared, with enough force to deafen any hapless idiot in his path.
“What!? How dare you keep good drink and company from…”
“I’m a Shepherd too!” He clarified, letting a couple of [Messages] fly.
The confused servers looked at him, then at each other. Then they shrugged.
“Well, he does look rather small. Best not chance it.”
“If another Shepherd says so, it must be true.”
We, or rather, they, partied like the world was ending, instead of starting anew.
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Mushroom booze swirling around cups carved from solid bone and going into eager mouths or splashing onto fur cloaks.
I sat back to watch them go. Going over the new changes on my status.
Abilities Converging:
[Heart Attack] 5 Has been undone. 15 Ability Points Gained.
[Drown] 5 Has been undone. 15 Ability Points Gained.
[Indigestion] 5 Has been undone. 15 Ability Points Gained.
[Total Organ Failure III] 1 has been formed. 1 Ability point consumed.
44 Ability Points Remaining.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
[Total Organ Failure III]
Standard Combination of [Heart Attack] / [Drown] / [Indigestion]
Grants the User the ability to attack enemies within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives.
Affected Targets will experience a surge of disruptive Psy directed into their cardiovascular, respiratory and digestive systems, or their equivalents in creatures that do not posses these systems. This effect scales with current ability level.
Creatures that fail to resist one effect will have the potency of the other effects doubled.
The potency of all these effects increases by 200% every five levels.
These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
I’d had 68 points to work with, once the two additional levels were taken into account. I’d used them to bring the brand new [Total Organ Failure III] to level 8. Which had left 33 points to work with. Originally, I’d wanted to increase my range with them. Maybe shore up some of my interface abilities. The problem with that line of logic was that Anezka was, well, dead. She didn’t pose a problem anymore. Nor Randall for that matter. Which meant that I didn’t really need more juice on the interface abilities or more range to handle tough issues from a safe distance.
I was, good. On that front at least.
That’s when I took stock of my priorities and went over what I wanted, instead of what I needed. And what I wanted was another set of abilities that I could merge together soon. I was already looking to merge [Mental Bolt] with the new combination so that didn’t need more help. They were both at high levels and I felt like I’d gotten a good grip on their functions.
No. That would have been a waste.
Instead, I looked to the few hums I hadn’t been able to level. [Hum of Discord] and [Hum of Mist]. I had no idea what the former did, while I was fairly certain the latter was supposed to help with stealth. Problem was, I wasn’t able to get working correctly. At least, not yet.
So, I brought them both to five, leaving me five extra ability points to spend.
Name:
Solomon Carter
Psy:
27, 232 / 193, 545
Type:
Telepath III Level 145
Abilities:
[Solomon’s Inescapable Domination X] 18 / [Solomon’s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 / [Solomon’s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Solomon’s Calamitous Insight VII] 19 / [Delirium III] 6 / [Warp the Veil II] 10 / [Psionic Conjuration III] 8 / [Total Organ Failure III] 8 / [Sense Thoughts] 14 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 7 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Team Spirit] 4 / [Team Resilience] 3 / [Team Momentum] 2 / [Team Doctrine] 4 / [Imposing Presence] 1 / [Alluring Presence] 4 / [Mask] 1 / [Hidden Danger] 1 / [Muffle] 1 / [Flash] 1 / [Persistent Message] 1 / [Mark Target] 2 / [Sobriety] 1 / [Hum of Attack] 5 / [Hum of Striding] 5 / [Hum of Defence] 5 / [Hum of Harmony] 3 / [Hum of Discord] 5 / [Hum of Cleansing] 6 / [Hum of Mist] 5 / [Painful Gaze] 1 / [Cleansing Gaze] 1 / [Entrancing Gaze] 3 / [Degrading Gaze] 1 / [Psionic Jinx] 1 / [Psionic Hex] 1 / [Psionic Curse] 5 / [Blind] 1 / [Deafen] 1 / [Anosmia] 1
Ability Points:
5
‘Hmn… decisions, decisions. Do I go for another level in [Hide]? Or do I wait for more training and level the sensory deprivation abilities instead? No. I haven’t had a chance to try all of them out yet. There’s still the possibility that I could train them up naturally.’
Maybe I’d get some inspiration after using [Insight]?
Turns out no. It wasn't that easy.
Using the power on the villagers, after warning them of course, only gave me more of a reputation. All the ones lacking a Type became Enhancers at a stroke. Every. Single. One.
Those that had been Espers prior to my arrival either gained Enhancer or Shifter as a new Type. Strangely enough, there were only three Projectors among the new crop. With only one Telepath. A bubbly girl with bright red cheeks stained with freckles and flowing blond hair tied back in a ponytail.
That, was weird. Very weird. Up till now, people I blasted had gained new Types at fairly even rates, with Telepaths being slightly more common than the other Types overall.
‘Maybe it has something to do with genetic predispositions?’ I wondered. Recalling how certain populations back home had been perceived as more likely to develop into Shifters or Enhancers.
The studies behind the theories were mostly bogus then. Not fit enough to publish in any reputable journals. I certainly hadn’t believed that was the case. I still didn’t.
Types were often hereditary, but for whole populations to be affected….
‘Ah. Wait. These people’s ancestors all genetically modified themselves for fun before the world ended.’ I recalled.
Indeed, even now, the descendants surrounding me looked all looked like computer-generated supermodels. Aesthetically pleasing to the point where it became uncanny.
I was being hugged all over again before I knew it. Showered in praise and adulations.
Slab and Monique were being celebrated too, but the group surrounding me was consumed by a different kind of fervor altogether.
They all looked, well, drunk. Or perhaps high. Their faces and hearts pushed to the very limits of human emotion. All of it coming from the events that had transpired. The monster we’d slain.
‘What have their lives been like, if this is how they react? What have they endured until now?’
Curiously, I began to feel a familiar connection going from me to them and back to me again. Much as I did back in Austin with the survivors there.
I searched my lake, feeling around within myself to isolate the right string. Or strings, as it turned out.
Several were reacting. All passives.
If I had to describe the feeling, it would be similar to the boost in confidence that came from being slightly buzzed. Only, it was a feeling I was choosing to project outwards.
That wasn’t the only cause of course. These people were absolutely thrilled to have me here and most would have liked nothing better than having me around for longer. A few of the girls closer to my age were even whispering with family members in the privacy of their own homes. Discussing how this might be accomplished.
‘They have to know I’m listening, right? Then again, this is a small little village, and no one here has had much contact with Telepaths prior to our arrival.’
Turns out I was wrong about that though. Focusing on their plans revealed that they were fully aware that I was probably listening. They just didn’t give a (Gnome).
The thoughts and impressions I got back were.... well. They might have been flattering to some. But they were too similar to those of Dusty. That is, all these people revered me, but not quite as a person. No, it was closer to reverence and awe for what I was. For what I had done and for what I could do for them.
Yet, it was hard to put into words how uneasy it made me feel.
It wasn't anything like the usual bouts of adoration I would feel for Thunder Fist. Neither was it anything close to what I would call love. It was more like, greed. Like the feeling a loan shark might have gotten after their mark dug themselves into a hole.
I might still have been flattered, if I didn't know what was going on inside their minds.
Since I did know, all it did was make me supremely uncomfortable.
'Jeez. And I thought Dusty and Slab were bad when it came to this. I feel so awkward it actually hurts.'
Three different damsels came out of their homes afterwards, pushing past the crowd to surround me and embrace me in, gentler ways. Bringing me over to sit on a bench and pressing themselves against me. Whispering sweet nothings in my ears. In all honestly, I was flattered, but the blatant way they chose to go about it made me more than a little uneasy. A trepidation that was doubled by the fact that half the crowd seemed to be in on it but chose not to disperse regardless.
“Tell us about the Parade again Sully! Were there a lot of them?”
“Yes.” I managed. Somehow getting the words out despite the rather distracting softness.
Another one, a blonde whose name I didn’t know, took things further and sat on my lap as she brought her body even closer to mine. A closer inspection revealed she’d been the only one to become a Telepath, where her previous Type had been Projector.
Before, I might have been nervous about the attention, if I didn't know what they were thinking. The old me would have even been a little bit happy, if truth be told. I could just about imagine Henry, Vince and Luigi heckling me from a few yards away. Urging me on as they swayed drunkenly from side to side.
Now I was panicking.
Not because she wasn’t beautiful or kind or anything of the sort. In fact, every single human in this world had gotten the Monsanto treatment ahead of time and it showed. Being more perfectly sculpted than marble statues.
No, I was nervous because she was crushing my (Gnome)ing legs.
Like Dusty, she didn’t have an ounce of excess fat on her.
What she did have, were muscles. A lot of them. Probably denser bones as well. Couple that with how freakishly tall everyone here was and my legs were begging for mercy.
“Oh, Sully. Tell me more about the queen. Please? Did she fight back? How did you deal with the radiation?”
“Cherub helped us.” I squeaked. Channeling my hums to strengthen my legs and hopefully keep my bones from shattering. Buddy's own abilities either not kicking in for some reason or being woefully inadequate.
The boost made it so that the weight was merely oppressive. Rather than outright hazardous.
‘Holy cow! Now wonder Dusty and Slab did so well in the Tutorial! They could have killed half the things in there without having powers! What the (Gnome) is this!? Come on woman! Aren’t you a Telepath now? Read my mind! Actually, (Gnome) that. Read my face! You’re killing me here!’
“Who’s Cherub?” She asked coquettishly. Her lips treacherously close to my ear.
“An Intruder I summoned.” I answered. More annoyed than pleased.
“What’s an Intruder?”
I looked at her. Then at the others.
They too were expectantly waiting for an answer.
'Well isn't that the million dollar question?'
I wanted to say something along the lines of: 'How the (Gnome) should I know?' But I felt like that might not serve to put them at ease. After all, a haunted mountain might not be much better than an irradiated one.
“Its like, a spirit. A being made of thoughts and emotions that I, we, can bring from beyond the veil. Right, it sounds like nonsense when I say it out loud. Imagine a non-physical life-form. One that attaches itself to physical stuff in our world. Its like that. Actually, no. I realize that doesn’t make much sense either. Here, I’ll share my memories.”
I flexed [Suppression]. Bringing them in on the secret.
I caught glimpses of their own memories as I shared mine.
Suffice it to say, the throbbing in my legs was the last thing on my mind after that. Glimpses of lifetimes spent underground entering my psyche and settling in alongside my own worries.
'I mean, holy (Gnome). That (Gnome) was dark as (Gnome). I’ve known people who tried to kill themselves who didn’t have it this bad.'
I felt that resonance again. The passives reacting to my new feelings. In the ways they wanted to perceive me. What they wanted me to be.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Imposing Presence] 1 has grown to [Imposing Presence] 4
Ability Evolving: [Alluring Presence] 4 has grown to [Alluring Presence] 5
The new power erupted from me like a wave. Exacerbating the fervor of the hungry crowd.
It went into them and back into me.
Abilities Converging:
[Imposing Presence] 4 Has been undone. 10 Ability Points Gained.
[Alluring Presence] 5 Has been undone. 15 Ability Points Gained.
[Charming Presence II] 1 has been formed. 1 Ability point consumed.
24 Ability Points Remaining.
[Charming Presence II]
Standard Combination of [Imposing Presence] / [Alluring Presence]
Grants the User the ability to passively influence living creatures within 10% of the current range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives.
Affected creatures will slowly experience a slight improvement to baseline mood and contentment and will associate these feelings with the User. This effect will fade if the creature moves away from the range of the ability. Mood improves at a rate of +1% per minute per current ability level. This effect cannot exceed a +5% boost per current ability level for creatures of the same Tier.
Affected creatures will be less inclined to attack the User and more receptive to diplomacy at a rate of +2% per second per current ability level. This effect cannot exceed a +10% boost per current ability level for creatures of the same Tier.
This ability cannot affect a creature above the User’s Tier. The potency of this ability has no limits for creatures below the User’s current Tier.
The potency of all these effects increases by 100% every five levels. Not surpassing the Tier-related restrictions.
These effects cannot be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
My eyes scanned the new screen over and over again. A smile crept onto my face.
The blond beauty mistook it for something else, but I was beyond caring.
‘This is it! The legendary superpower all the best heroes have! Talk-no-Jutsu! With this, I could talk down criminals without having to control them. I could make villains see reason and turn aways from their dastardly ways!’
Better yet, it would give me an extra layer of security when fighting monsters. Granted it didn’t sound like much when I already had [Domination]; but it was a passive and wouldn’t cost me a thing in any case.
‘Although…’
There was that little issue of morality. That is, how it would affect people near me outside of combat. Obviously, I wouldn’t hesitate to use it in a fight. But, what would this do to the others back in the Warehouse?
‘It’s something that needs to be discussed. I never imagined the effects would be so drastic so its likely no one else has given these abilities a second look. Better to talk this out in a group meeting and decide where to go from there.’
I quickly put in as many points as I could. Brining the ability to level 9 and giving me 7 points left over to spend. Then I turned off the passive. Momentarily severing the connection between myself and the string behind my eyes.
‘Now that I think of it, it might be better if we don’t make use of these sorts of abilities in public settings. I can already see several situations where this could lead to awkward conversations.’
I felt a warm, wet touch on me cheek at that moment. Realizing that the blond girl had kissed me. I turned to her.
‘That’s odd. I haven’t had this ability for a full minute yet and it’s already turned off. There shouldn’t be any feelings coming from it.’
I coughed lightly into my hand and clarified the situation before any misunderstandings arose.
“You’ve seen my memories now.” I spoke. “You know I can’t stay. You know I can’t control where I end up. Not until the Tutorial finishes anyway. This won’t lead to anything.”
She grinned mischievously.
“That’s fine. I’m not expecting the literal savior of humanity to stay cooped up here like a mouse. I was hoping that you’d be able to stay for… a little bit longer. Yet it would seem fate has other plans. You’ve got places to be. Titans to slay.”
A cheer went up around the crowd.
“This doesn’t have to be serious. I’d like it to be, but I understand the road you need to walk. My own grandfather was a Shepherd. Philip of Lyon. He lived his life for others. Moving through communities to the best of his abilities and helping wherever he could. This village wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the missions he led. Neither would Paris for that matter.”
He cheery smile turned melancholic.
“He fought and fought until it killed him. Never giving up until the end. You…”
She turned to stare at me. Her icy blue eyes almost the same shade as mine.
“You made his dream come true. All of our dreams.”
“That’s right!”
“Whooo!”
“Glory to the Shepherds!”
'No.' I thought. 'I'm not like those guys at all. I just happened to be strong enough to do something about it.'
I mean, I would have helped anyways. If I found myself in a position to help. But this felt wrong.
It felt like I was being wanted, but for the wrong reasons. Moreover, it reminded me of Dusty and how potent her feelings were. That, and how they differed from what I would have called love.
'Dammit. Dammit it all. Why does my stomach refuse to settle? This would have been so much simpler if I wasn't able to read minds. I don't want to feel this queasiness.'
She ignored the background noise. Locked on to me throughout.
“Consider this a small reward. Just this once. Just you and me.”
“Hey!” A nearby brunette cut in. Slapping the back of the blonde’s head.
“Sorry, sorry. You and me and, anyone who fancies rewarding you too.”
The crowd roared in agreement. As if this was some bizarre dating show and they the audience.
I held my breath, considering.
On the one hand, this was a, tempting offer. On the other hand...
I searched for Dusty's mind. Trying to locate her among the fervor.
I found her next to Slab. Congratulating him on his five new... friends.
Huh.
What's more, she was thinking back to Glossy. That girl from back home. Fantasizing about the kind of face she would make when I made my debut. When Dusty rose to the top of the political ladder in the clan. In the nation as a whole.
Dusty hungered for that future like an entire pack of starving coyotes eyeing a baby piglet. Her neurons relishing the imagined surprise on her rival's face. The authority that came from successfully slaying a kaiju.
'I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised. This is their culture and their world. The kind of feelings I'm used to wouldn't really play a role here. But still... I... it makes me feel so... '
I sighed.
That was fine. I guessed. Not like anything changed.
Then I looked back to the girls currently surrounding me. Taking in their, generous proportions, as well as their, evident enthusiasm.
I called upon [Insight] one more time. Just in case. And didn't see any bad outcomes.
Then I tensed. Wrestling with the ill-feelings I had about this whole ordeal.
'Not right now.' I thought soberly. 'Not before talking to Dusty and clarifying this whole messy tangle of emotions. Even if I don't quite reciprocate whatever is going on. We should talk it out first. This has gone on long enough. If I want to say something, I need to say it now.'
"Sorry girls." I said apologetically. "Not tonight. There are still things I need to do."