Karnage: Sorry I haven't written anything in a while, aside from having my tonsils swollen, gf thought it would be a good time to have a fight, and now here we are. I'm glad I decided to right this fic, it takes my mind off of things and I can submerge in my own little world. Anyway without further delay heres chapter 15 of the second Volume-
V2 Chapter 15-
Currently Sol and the Great Water Hydra were moving at a steady pace towards Earthernvale, tied to it's back was Sol's pod as he sat on top of the Hydra's main head urging her onward. The Great Water Hydra happily complied and pulled along the wreckage which wasn't hard at all for it to do with it's S-Rank strength and it's enormous size.
As they moved, Sol continued to tell her about Serpent Falls and the many kinds of other serpent beasts there; he told her about the battle between the Gods and himself. The Hydra was incomparably excited as it listened to these stories. Sol could see the longing in her eyes and laughed as he stroked the top of her head.
In no time at all they had appeared in front of the gates of Earthernvale, the soldiers were less scared now than earlier before and seemed not to be too surprised anymore. First he left a terrible emerald colored S-Rank beast outside, Second he carried two similarly terrifying ones inside the city and now he's bringing a third.
They just opened the gates and not put up any fuss, they understood if Sol wanted to destroy them it would be as easy as saying a few words to the beasts beneath him, even a single one would do. They also believed that Sol wasn't any simpler than the beasts he brought with him and seemed even more dangerous as the beasts lowered their heads to him.
Still, it's not like they weren't affected at all as they're breathes were cold and they were extremely quiet as if afraid of disturbing both the young man and his fearsome looking companion. What made them even more shocked, was how Sol would look warmly at the Hydra and rub it's head. Was he not treating such a fearsome and cruel looking beast as a child? This made them shiver in their boots as they wondered what sort of creatures this young man had encountered to me so desensitized to an S-rank's presence.
The Hydra drew quite a lot of stares as it waddled it's way up the mountain, most of the citizens couldn't help but gape in surprise and awe as the rest quaked in fear. They had not see the twins Basilisk when Sol entered the first time because they had used element compression and weren't noticeable; however this Hydra did not possess element compression like Dark, Light or Poison affinity holders and was seen in all it's terrifying glory.
The Hydra ignored the humans as it was engrossed in Sol's stories and after a short while, they had already gotten passed Nightmaster Duke's mansion and made their way through the gates there onward to the Royal Family's Area.
This also drew quite a bit of stares and the Guardians positioned in the courtyard couldn't help but clench their weapons fearfully. Shortly afterward the Royal Family came running out and after noticing the Hydra their jaws dropped to the floor as they saw the beast that they told stories about at their front door. This Hydra was very famous in Earthernvale and an existence which made them shudder, many children were told it would eat them if they behaved naughtily and such stories were undoubtedly passed down.
Salina's pretty bright red eyes landed on the Hydra as her mouth formed an "O" shape.
[So huge...] -Salina
Regius stared at the Hydra with bright stars in his eyes as he looked at the colossal beast in awe, he then shifted his gaze at Sol and beamed with reverence.
[Uwaa! Big brother is riding on such a beast!] -Regius
Liore's jaw dropped and seemed to be in a daze as she stared at the huge creature.
(How exactly did he get this powerful so quickly?) -Liore
Liore's thoughts were interrupted by a calm and excited voice.
[Oh my! That looks like quite a thrill!] -Sophia
Despite Sophia's words that sounded rather calm, one could see several sweat bubbles on her forehead.
The Queens said nothing but the expressions on their faces were the same as those around them.
The Hydra dropped the wreckage there and then accompanied by Sol it passed back down the mountain completely ignoring everyone else but the young man. Sol spoke to the Hydra and gave it some advice about Serpent Falls regarding the best spots to hunt and then bid it farewell, The Hydra nodded it's head and brought it down for a few rubs as it's gentle gaze landed on Sol before dashing off into the direction of the Bloodmana Wasp Hive that once existed.
Sol waved at the departing Hydra and then headed back up the mountain to go check out the wreckage.
**
When he returned, he saw the Royal Family still looking at the wreckage but couldn't make heads or tails. Seeing the arrival of Sol, the Former King and the King moved over to ask a few questions.
[Sol! Was that not the Hydra that lived in the lake we retrieved you from?] -Former King
The Former King looked at Sol as his gaze revealed a questioning look, Sol smiled happily and replied-
[*Nod* Turns out she's my sister...her brother and I are from the same Familia! She's heading home now to go see him] -Sol
(Familia?...Sister?) -Former King & King
Both father and son had the same exact thoughts, they both knew what a Familia was but had never heard of a human joining one before. They gazed at Sol with a bit of confusion but understood that it wasn't a lie based on what they had seen so far. They had personally seen his affinity with Serpent Type Beasts and it could not be doubted; though it was still a bit hard to digest.
The King still couldn't help but ask-
[You...A Familia?] -King
Sol didn't hide anything as he had planned to talk to them to about several different things, one being the ring he found with the 3rd Queen's symbol, about Claire/Lunar, about that his new home and how he would most likely return there in the future. Sol couldn't see himself living in Earthernvale anymore and the twins hated it here because of the low mana density and weak beings that couldn't give them a thrill.
[Yeah..eheh. However, let's talk at the dinner table! There are a few things we need to discuss] -Sol
The two nodded and after having the wreckage moved into the Royal Vault with the help of a few mages, Sol followed the Royal Family into the banquet.
**
Within the Great Colosseum of Earthernvale situated in the heart of the mountain, hidden away from the outside view; there was a grand ball room. It's luxurious appearance seemed almost like an unattainable dream, the interior adorned with the most beautiful and precious gems unearthed and dug out from Earthernvale itself which represented it's richness.
Red, Blue, Golden, Violet and many other different colored gems were placed on the ceiling, the walls, and even the furniture. The support posts were made of gold and diamonds, and were patterned to match with it's surroundings. This place was without a doubt the most beautiful place in Earthernvale. From the curtains to the rugs, there was not a place that didn't sparkle; there was no need for lights as the gems glowed and gave off a bright light of many different colors adding to it's surreal presence.
Inside this ballroom were several different types of tables, at the very back was the Royal Family's dining table which stood at the most noticeable place on top of a platform purposefully raised higher than everyone else. This table was elegantly designed, similarly adorned with jewels and carried the symbol of Earthernvale on the table cloth and it's matching counter-parts.
Naturally, seated at this table was the Royal Family; with the King seated as the head. The Former King sat on the King's right side with Regius, Nightmaster Duke and Dorian who had only just heard the reason for the celebration, he was quite excited to see Sol although he would never admit it to himself. On his left side was Lieren, the 2nd Queen followed by the 3rd Queen Salira and 1st Queen Sophenia. Naturally their daughters, the princesses sat beside them.
The second set of tables were for the nobles of Earthernvale and the prominent families, which were mainly comprised of the warriors and mages from the Scout Brigade who possessed such a status.
The third set of tables were for the commoners of Earthernvale who by their own means and prestige climbed up to a notable position. An example being rich merchants or renowned blacksmiths who paved their own way and deserved their seat at this place.
The Great Colosseum was separated in two parts, one which was the luxurious dining room and the other was a ball room which was within view of the luxurious dining room, albeit a bit far away. The Great Colloseum was indeed worthy of it's name as the size of it was no joke, it had took up a great amount of the interior of the mountain and was enchanted with runic space magic on a grander scale than a runic ring as faint symbols could be seen in unsuspecting spots.
The ballroom was separated in two parts, the first being the designated nobles area, an elegant ballroom where several musicians with proud expressions played slow and enchanting music which rich instruments as they performed perfectly in sync.
This room was undoubtedly for the Royal Family and the most outstanding noble families, however these rules were not enforced and commoners were welcomed. The butlers and maids within this room were dressed in the most magnificent uniformed robes and they either possessed mesmerizing charm or a high degree beauty.
This area was popular for the young rich and prominent couples who wished to enjoy their company alone as they danced to slow music and even commoners were welcomed to join with their loved ones. These segregation rules were not set in stone and Earthernvale did not possess many tyrannical noble families. Some were indeed quite proud but they were in the minority and the trouble made by them was very minor and could be ignored as they themselves would never cross the line.
The second area of the ballroom was the designated commoner area where the prominent commoners would marry into other flourishing commoner families to increase their wealth and power. Within this area the music was much different as they enjoyed a faster pace music with heavy drums and was more suitable for people without high and mighty status and carried a more vibrant atmosphere.
Naturally the commoner area was more popular with the younger generation and wealthy young men and women who wished to gather in an environment and make friends, and even lovers while leaving their parents to mingle and make connections with other families. Discrimination against status was something that was not allowed, because of the dire straights humanity was encouraged to reproduce as much as possible and if a noble wanted to marry a commoner or vice versa, it wasn't dissuaded or looked down upon.
When Sol had his argument with the 3rd Queen, the three nobles present were part of the minority who would readily boast of their status. No one ever took them seriously because only their words were sharp and they would never use underhanded methods or seek revenge for petty grievances.
Surprisingly, even prominent nobles came to this area to enjoy the free and wild environment, some who may have seen a commoner they took a liking to would also come here. It was the ball room of choice for the younger generation of all standings. Some who had lived a sheltered life also came here to enjoy the contrast in living and meet different kinds of people.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Even as all of this was going on, the main guest still had not arrived. All of the people who came here came to thank their savior and make ties with him if possible, many of which who had seen him as he rode the Hydra up and down the mountain and had roughly heard the details of his deeds at the main gate of Earthernvale from other sources.
A few beautiful noble young ladies would check their appearance on any reflecting surface they could find from time to time, it had become obvious that they were looking around to catch sight of the hero as they heard rumors of his strength and his unparalleled handsome and wild features.
Their pretty bright eyes flashed and looked around subtly, a tinge of red on their faces; many of the girls were told by their parents to make a connection with Sol if they could. Whether it was friendship or romance, any would be fine and the girls complied obediently as their parents would never force anything on them and this request was indeed reasonable towards a daughter of a flourishing house.
For some of the more confident and bold girls, even if their parents had not told them anything they probably would have done it anyway. Sol was like the hero they had heard about in stories and Earthenvale had never possessed such a terrifying individual. Aside from handsome features, there was just something about a powerful man that lived by his own strength that could attract women.
It was the same feeling a man got when he encountered a beautiful woman with a frighteningly powerful will who is independent, yet still shows her insecurities to her man. Men want to be needed by women, the same way women want to be protected by men. It had always been that way since the beginning and these were natural standards that couldn't be changed no matter how much time passed.
This was the natural way of things, and the natural order of man and woman.
Some proud commoner girls who did not think they would lose out to noble girls puffed up their chests with pride and blinked their pretty eyes seductively catching quite a few stares from a few young masters of many varying status. A few young masters couldn't control themselves and threw a few lustful glances which were quickly dispersed as they did not want to be caught.
The chatter and joyous laughs of the people gathering here filled the grand hall and produced quite a scene. Every single person had been dressed elegantly and the smell of delicious food wafted around lightly enough for one to smell and become overcome with hunger, the musicians from both the nobles and commoner designated areas played together in unison as they ate, conversed and drank merrily.
Suddenly-
*Crank*
The sound of the main door opening caught the attention of every single person present as the music stopped playing and everyone shifted their gazes toward the door, naturally they wanted to see who would dare show up so late and so rudely without an introduction. However, the Royal Family wasn't surprised and their expressions seemed to say "it's expected".
As the door opened, a silhouette walked in with a mysterious smile on his face. His golden emerald hair that reached his lower back glittered as it flowed freely behind him. A handsome and dashing face that seemed to be chiseled by the hands of the Gods, fierce eyes that gave off a wild but proud demeanor. His aura which carried a hypnotizing feel to it came flowing in full bloom as it flooded the halls.
His double pupils seemed to take the breathe away of the people present as it possessed an overpowering wild look yet retained an alluring charm filled with intelligence; a slit between them could be seen giving off a serpentine feeling.
His clothes were made of a material these people had never seen before, it was a type of black leather mixed with another material with a texture similar to seude from Earth. Though it was mainly black in color, there were gold and emerald colored stripes that made it match Sol's natural features. On the chest part of this divine elegant leather wear, was a symbol of a golden serpent bathed in an emerald glow of light coiled around a descending golden meteor.
On top of this extremely stylish black leather garment that seemed to be made of priceless materials, Sol wore his spoils of war; the mantle he had claimed from the Silver Armored King. The sort of mantle which was fit for a ruler. It was already black in color and matched this new set of clothes Sol wore completely, the gems that were engraved in it matched perfectly with the gold and emerald lines on the stylish black leather garments.
In his right hand, a golden cane with a serpent head made of gold and other precious gems that were exquisitely designed, in his left arm a golden goblet sparkled ceaselessly. On his left ear, a single serpent earring made of pure gold could be seen and on his wrists golden bangles with serpent designs.
If one looked close enough, they would discover a terrifying thing. On the jewelry Sol wore, three tiny serpents which were almost invisible to the eye were coiled around them. It seemed they enjoyed having something to wrap around instead of freely swaying around while they coiled around Sol.
Now with these "supports" they could fall asleep and no matter what Sol did they wouldn't be shaken up too much or have to fix their positions every time. Of them all, Hydreas was especially ecstatic about this new "upgrade", because out of the three Soul Beasts Hydreas was the worse at element compression and was fairly new to it causing her to slide off quite a few times; much to Sol's humor.
The appearance of all these things made the Royal Family look dumb-founded, they knew Sol was having new clothes made as beast skins wasn't appropriate.
**
The clothes Sol wore, surprisingly, were designed by Maria. He had discovered her talent for designing when he had seen an article of clothing she had created in her spare time once and knew she was quite skilled. When Sol asked about it, she told him that she used it as practice for medical knowledge and to help with her fear of pushing needles through skin.
As a nurse, obviously this was a big issue and she had gotten over the fear after time and no longer needed to sow anything; Maria however, noticed she had actually quite liked creating clothing and designing anything at all. Being asked by Sol to create his own clothes made her beam in joy as she smiled ear to ear and readily agreed. However, once she saw the precious materials her had become pale beyond comparison as she stared at them with a heart-breaking expression.
Naturally the cause of this was the materials that were used to create it, they were all provided by Sol from the beasts he had killed during his time at Serpent Falls. Sol had encountered quite a few beasts with rich and beautiful fur or elegant leather and made it a habit to start to collecting them.
The startling thing for her though, was the fact that she could feel several different powerful auras that lingered off the beast skins. Not only did she feel like she was unworthy of cutting it, but she felt like she couldn't and she was absolutely right. To her, it was like trying to pierce steel with a toothpick.
Naturally Maria had to have Sol help make holes and cut where needed because she obviously could not do it herself as the beasts were S-Ranks and Peak S-Ranks. While she had been doing this, she couldn't help but think about the materials in front of her which made her blood run cold. She thought about the beasts that possessed them and then she threw curious gazes at Sol, the one who killed them.
As Maria gazed deeply at the beast skins, she discovered a story. A story about Sol's battles against these creatures and her face became solemn. She felt like she had come to an understanding of Sol's nature and his overbearing power. She used these emotions as a driving force, picked up a quill and began drawing as these beast skins became a story which then became the muse for her creation.
She spent quite a lot of brain power and had finally created something which she deemed worthy for Sol to wear. She engraved the feelings which described Sol and his battles the most into the clothing, when one looked at this black leather armor that was custom made several thoughts came to mind.
(Overbearing, Proud, Valiant, Ruthless, Heroic and even a bit of villainry...The Qualities of a King)- Maria
Though it was a bit contradictory, these were indeed her true thoughts on the matter as she gazed at the beast skins which carried a brutal story about Sol's survival. Sol was extremely happy with it, it was the first time he had ever decided to have clothes made for him and was quite pleased to see how it turned out.
This wasn't the standard clothes a noble would wear, but seemed to be the cross between a battle armor and a luxurious robe and had it's own particular charm. Sol wouldn't know this now, but this particular style of armor he wore would become the popular style in Earthernvale as soon as he left. Maria, with Sol's help, after spending almost six hours had finally created this masterpiece and felt like she had awoken a hidden talent.
**
The entire Grand Hall had become silent after seeing the dashing figure that confidently strolled towards the Royal Family. The rich red rug with golden linings guided his way, with every step that was well balanced his ramrod posture only deepened his overbearing and hypnotic aura. A satisfied devilish grin plastered on his face that made him look like the epitome of mischief, this boyish charm made him seem like a rogue general with a grand humor as his power was not contested.
Suddenly the eyes of the people shifted behind Sol, a small figure dressed in a lavish white dress popped out from behind him while clutching Sol's arms. What caught their attention was the little girl's pretty pale face which had a tinge of pink on her cheeks, although immature, she was undoubtedly the most beautiful girl within the room and drew almost all the stares.
As the crowd saw this little girl, they couldn't help but gasp as her beauty seemed too unreal. Sol and the little girl seemed to fit perfectly as they threw a few words at each other in a hushed tone and let out stifled laughs. The little girl's right arm interlocked with Sol's left arm and on her pretty mischievous face she had a similar devilish grin that made the two look like brother and sister.
She had long white hair, with a few strands of emerald that gave off a bright golden luster. Her eyes were pure gold and gave off a bright gleam, very much like Sol before he acquired his Poison Affinity. The pretty little girl had stolen the breathes of everyone who saw her and made quite a few young ladies green with envy as she had the spot some of them yearned for.
She similarly wore beautiful golden bangles with serpent designs that matched Sol's and a few other accessories that Sol had acquired through his robbery. The jewelry that they wore were obviously custom made and naturally the materials were provided by Sol as they were melted and recreated to his liking.
The people present thought that the little girl's beauty was out of this world, and her two cute tiny protruding canines only served to deepen their belief.
This little girl was.....
(Karnage: Sorry if you can't figure it out, then you can only blame yourself and you deserve to see this lol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FmZ3pXSiKc)