Lina, the following day.
Lina was sitting in the dining hall with Janica and her not-boyfriend Liam, staring blankly at the ticking, brass, and steel contraption encased in Liam's chest, replacing his heart. The delicious food in front of her that she dreamed of back when she was still lost in that desert perpetually set to nighttime was failing to draw her attention.
"...next iteration of the mechanical heart should be ready by next week, even though it's still not a complete product. I'm pretty sure we need to find a more malleable material for..."
"...and maybe we could try a combination of Shards for the energy source, instead of only using a Fire one?"
Liam and Janica were enthusiastically discussing their latest project in front of Lina, who, even though she understood the language they used, couldn't understand what they were saying.
"Sorry, but is that a heart?" She finally blurted out, unable to let go of the ticking contraption in Liam's chest. The latter looked down and moistened his lips, before nodding.
"Yeah, but it has been hastily made, so don't judge me—" He grimaced when Janica elbowed him in the waist, "—don't judge us too harshly. We're working on a new one right now, thanks to your brother's support."
"My brother?" She repeated once again. It wasn't the first time they mentioned Glenn, but each time she couldn't believe her ears.
Janica nodded in turn, "Yeah, it's his house that we're using right now, and his workshop too. Liam would be in a much worse condition if not for Sir Glenn's help."
Lina blinked, "Sir? Why do you keep calling him Sir? And what about that stupid nickname—the Devil's Hand? That sounds so lame!"
Liam and Janica gasped in consternation, both shaking their heads frantically.
"No, but do you not know who your brother is?" Janica heaved in disbelief.
Lina shook her head hesitantly, "Why, is...is he a celebrity or something now?"
Liam scoffed and rubbed his forehead, incredulous, "Celebrity...He's past this point now, and more of an urban legend." He laughed and quickly added, "Even though we know he's real, every time we hear of his feats, the less we can believe them."
Janica nodded in agreement, "Yeah, just look at that journal! I didn't even know there was a war, but your brother was already a part of it! He left what, a month ago?"
"A month and a half," corrected Liam. Janica stuck out her tongue at him, who rolled his eyes in response. Lina rubbed her temples, her eyebrows deeply creased. She took the journal Janica handed to her, stopping for a moment when she realized that the words weren't written in English, and yet she could still understand them.
'...What's this magical fuckery...Whatever I'll take it,' She decided not to dwell on it and quickly read up the news.
'Hmm, it appears that your brother is a force to be recognized, Milady. It is reassuring to know you have such a powerful individual protecting you—beside me, of course.'
Lina gritted her teeth and kept on reading while ignoring the polite-sounding voice. It wasn't a real voice, anyway, and it was going to disappear soon. She had human contact, now, after all. Her eyes widened as she read up on the title.
“The new heroes of the Eastern Front! Citizens, rejoice to learn that Munirp has repelled an assault from the Land Beyond the Dark Wall, all thanks to your new heroes standing in place of the pillars of the previous era!”
She flipped the pages hurriedly, finding an entire page dedicated to Glenn...and his teammates?
"He even has a team...?" Lina muttered in awe.
Liam nodded as he shoved a steak in his mouth, "Yeah, they're all really cool. Sahro probably is the coolest of them."
Janica grunted in disagreement, "No, Sir Glenn is! And after him is Milena and Liara on equal footing!"
Liam paused and looked at her dubiously, "Which put Sahro and Javier where exactly?"
Janica puffed her chest out, "After the ladies, of course!" She looked away and blushed, "...But the Devil's Hand still stands on top."
Liam rolled his eyes and shook his head, ignoring her. The latter glanced at him and sighed discreetly. Lina watched with wide eyes, unable to believe what she was hearing. She tried to dismiss the shock, but it only hit her dead in the face once she read the page dedicated to "Glenn — The Devil's Hand".
"Fixer Glenn — better known under the name of the Devil's Hand, single-handedly destroyed thousands and thousands of Munirp's enemies. Filthy orcs and undead were left helpless in front of his incredible might, his spells sowing ruins in the enemy ranks, and his sword cutting down their commanders easily! Soldiers present that day all swear by his name and his team, saying that they took care of half the battlefield by themselves! Let it be known that the Devil's Hand is also one of the youngest Magi of the Magi Brotherhood history, achieving the Fourth Circle by 22 years of age! Citizens, be proud of such a brave, courageous young man! He's a true hero! Now, about his teammates..."
Lina lifted her eyes from the journal, letting it go slowly. She leaned back in her chair, her face empty of any emotions. She suddenly slammed her forehead on the table, startling both Janica and Liam.
"Wow, are you okay?" Janica exclaimed as she shot to her feet, "I knew you needed more rest! Let me accompany you back to—"
Lina lifted her hand with a groan, "No, leave me be. I'm just...it's too much for me to handle. Since when did my brother become a nationally recognized hero? This doesn't make any sense..."
Liam gobbled down a handful of cherry tomatoes and shrugged, "I mean, even a year ago he saved my life..." His face darkened, "...Before condemning it."
Janica paused and stared down at Liam, before slapping him. Lina looked up in dismay, wondering what was going on.
"Liam, I forbid you to say that!" She almost shouted, her face flushed red with anger, "I—I can't believe that after everything he has done for you, you're still feeling like this—"
Liam opened his mouth to retort but restrained himself in the end and sighed, "...Sorry, it's just...I can't help but think I would still have my heart had it not been for him."
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Janica snorted, "Would you rather die, or lose your heart to that insane Baron and..." She blushed, "...Find me?"
Liam turned away, refusing to cross her eyes, "...The second option does sound better."
Lina blinked, "Wait, are you guys not dating?"
Janica and Liam flinched, almost jumping from their seats.
"What?! No—ah, of course not, haha!"
"No, what—what makes you say that?!?"
Lina rubbed her eyes, the corner of her lips curving upward slightly. It was...fun, to see these two idiots refusing to admit the truth. It reminded her of...before.
Back when she lived on Earth, back when she finally had turned the page on...him. Her small grin disappeared and her expression darkened.
'Milady, these two primates seem oblivious that they want to reproduce together. I'd advise confiscating their clothes and sending them together in a private room for—' The voice suddenly said in a very serious tone, startling Lina and provoking a deep red blush on her cheek. She shook her head and sighed deeply, the weight on her heart lifting off slightly.
"This...this is so much to handle," Lina said as she looked at the ornamented ceiling. Liam eventually recovered from his shyness, his cheeks slightly less red, and turned to Lina.
"Listen, trust me when I say that you'll get used to it. One day, I was getting my ass beaten up every day by a whole kitchen, and the other I become a thrall, forcing me to rip my own heart out. Life is insane here."
Lina snapped toward him and opened her mouth widely, "What the—You did what?"
Janica was about to reply for Liam but the sound of the main hall's door opening interrupted them. Lina looked to the side, her heart tightening with sudden worry. It was easy to talk with Liam and Janica, they were around his age after all, but what about other people? Wouldn't they consider her to be weird, since she came from another world? Because this place was certainly not Earth, she was sure of it now. If there even was a shred of doubt before, anyway.
Wait, no, it's not like they knew about it. Only...Only Glenn would be aware since he also came from Earth. Lina chewed on her cheeks, worried. Glenn...what did he go through to become this nonsensical hero he was now?
Janica stood up and glanced at the others, "Let me see who it is, perhaps it's my delivery."
She trailed off without waiting, only to stop at the threshold of the dining hall with a gasp. Liam shot up on his feet, clenching his teeth together while reaching for something in his back. A pale, slightly tanned hand patted Janica's shoulder and pushed her to the side gently.
----------------------------------------
Back in the present.
Glenn stumbled out of the Cleaner's Office, emotionless. His hands were hanging loosely by his side, strengthless and dripping with blood. He had yet to clean himself from the recent carnage he made in the Ink Dunes, carnage that lasted for days and days. The twin moons were hanging in the sky, casting their cold moonlight over him in a judgmental manner.
Veil patted him on the back and sighed, "I know it isn't going to help you feel better, but Sir Exan has an excellent reputation. I'm sure you will be able to find Fixer Milena again in the future, and healed, as a bonus."
Glenn slowly turned his head to look at the man wrapped in bandages, his eyes a bottomless pit. His throat and lips were dry as he used Mana Sight on Veil shamelessly, staring him up and down. Veil took a step back, surprised.
"...I believe that is quite rude of you, Fixer Glenn, but I'll forgive you in consideration of your circumstances—"
"Fifth Circle, and a Divinity user for sure," Glenn interrupted him with a dry voice, "...And yet you were unable to stop some mindless beast from critically injuring my friend."
Veil frowned, "Ossivas are amongst the stealthiest creatures known to man, even I—"
"I KNOW!" Glenn slammed his fist against the Cleaner's Office wall, his teeth gritted, "I'm not accusing you...But damn it, if even you, with your current strength, can't protect everyone, how..." He trailed off while staring at the ground, his dry eyes failing to accumulate any more tears, "...How am I supposed to do it?"
Veil looked away in silence, leaving some space for Glenn. Diamanes and Nelg were both silent too, one because he didn't know what to say, and the other because he didn't have the strength to speak either.
At that moment, in an incredibly rare occurrence that hopefully won't happen again, a terrifying silence reigned in Glenn's head.
"...I believe Fixer Sahro and Liara headed off to a nearby inn to relieve the stress of the battle, you probably should do the same," Veil said as he tightened his bandages. He turned back to the Cleaner's Office but stopped at the threshold, "...Oh, and for what it's worth, it was a pleasure fighting alongside you, Fixer Glenn."
Glenn snorted wryly, "...Likewise."
He turned around and strolled away in the XIVth district's streets, Towsblade. The city was eerily silent aside from the random clangs of machinery and releases of steam clouds. A few signs indicated the nearby inn, which he dragged his feet toward. He walked past a drunk and knocked him to the side accidentally.
"Hey', ya' wan' a piece of..." The drunk's face paled as he stared up at Glenn, "...me?"
Glenn didn't even spare him a glance, his left, purple arm exuding an ominous energy that was starting to surround his entire body. The drunk collapsed on the floor, looking at his trembling hands as he soiled his pants. Glenn continued on his way, his knuckles whitening from how tight he was clenching his fists.
"Failure..." He muttered through his teeth, "...I failed again. Damn it..."
He crouched and slammed the back of his head against a wall, closing his eyes to try and force the tears back.
The moons were especially bright that night.
Glenn sat there, alone with his thoughts. He couldn't feel Diamanes' presence, nor Nelg's.
He would be the only one to fight these demons.
He couldn't tell exactly how much time he spent there in that dark street, listening to the sound of hissing steam and creaking gears.
But the longer he sat, the worse he was feeling.
Loath. Guilt. Hatred.
Despair.
Sadness.
...Regret.
“...I can't believe I was having fun fighting with my friends' lives at stake...” Glenn sneered at himself dejectedly, “...Every time...Every time I get complacent in this cursed world..." He clenched his fists even tighter and bit his lower lip until it bled, “...No, it's not this damn world's fault, it's mine for being too weak, dammit.... ! ”
"If I could have just..." He closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, "...been better, Milena wouldn't have been hurt. And maybe Javier wouldn't have betrayed us. Shit...!" He spat out through a sob.
Glenn cried silently for a moment until he eventually exhaled a deep, exhausted sigh. He gazed up at the twin moons in the sky, unperturbed and unbothered.
"...Wouldn't it be great if I could just...give up?" Glenn muttered as he glanced down at his hands. The first was of a deep purple and looked nothing like a human's, and the other was covered in blood and closing wounds, leftover traces of the battle. The only similarity between the two hands was that they were both shaking like leaves.
Glenn watched as he failed to stop them from trembling, even by clenching them tightly. Even his own body was refusing to listen to him.
"...Why me, huh...?" He asked no one in particular, staring at the sky barely visible through the clouds of steam the city was constantly emitting. His eyes widened slightly when a falling star crossed the sky, shooting past the moons and toward the horizon. It wasn't particularly bright, nor was it incredibly large or fast. It was the plainest, most common shooting star, and yet...
It burned with everything it had, shooting for the horizon with everything it had. Glenn knew there was nothing behind that shooting star, that it was just a rock that entered the atmosphere and was burning off as it fell, but still...this shooting star, even though it was shooting toward its ruin, was still accelerating, never stopping or slowing down.
It just kept going.
Glenn's Mana suddenly surged outward, covering him with a raging layer of deep blue energy, exploding with everything it had and pushing back against the ominous purple hue that had been constantly surrounding him. Glenn slowly pushed himself off the ground, casting a quick Aqua Mundare to get rid of all the gore left over his body. A flick of his finger sent away his bloody Lightweaver suit, replacing it with the black Imoogi one.
Glenn brushed his hair back and wiped the tears off his face, his eyes burning with raging determination. He adjusted the position of his tie, his lips curved upward in a devilish grin. The moonlight wrapped around his black suit, crowning him in white as he rose once more. For that was who he was, wasn't he? The one who kept on failing, again, and again, and again...
Only to rise once more to the challenge.
"...Self-loathing is certainly not going to help me in this damned situation," he muttered through his grin, "...But anger?"
A laugh escaped from his mouth as he glanced one last time at the sky, the shooting star gone, "...That is certainly going to push me forward."
He shook his head and slapped his thighs, "Now, where the hell was that damned inn...?"