Somnia stood beside Archie, watching as the Wild Men she’d just ordered to fight Shuten Douji now fought against Zelos’ mental control over them. Shuten Douji, blessedly, remained incapacitated, though his eyes glowed a deep red in contrast to the Wild Man’s green.
“What should we do?” Archie questioned. He was in his battle stance with Lochness at his side.
While the Hovering Hand controlled her, it’d stated that the Wild Men “belonged” to Somnia. Even though she wouldn’t have used that wording, she found it impossible to argue the Hovering Hand’s logic. She indeed decided their Fates and was indeed the current leader of the Wild Men. Perhaps that was why she was so bothered by the sight before her.
I never gave Zelos permission to control my Wild Men.
Somnia was responsible for them now. She’d helped them evolve and encouraged them to take control of their destinies. Zelos didn’t have a right to undo her progress.
The Hovering Hand corrected her thoughts.
I didn’t encourage them to get stronger. I ordered them to get stronger. I allowed them to live, and I told them to grow their civilization.
“What are you doing?!” Somnia shouted. The Wild Men, who continued to struggle against Zelos’ mental manipulation, shakily turned to face her, awkwardly stretching and contorting to heed the words of their leader. “I did not give you permission to fall victim to this cheap trick. You are my Wild Men, no? Stand tall and fight!”
The Wild Men continued to struggle against invisible weight, the weaker ones having a far tougher time than the stronger ones like General Denk and his closest allies. Across the board, however, Somnia noticed the lights in their eyes slowly begin to flicker. Again, the flickering was more prevalent in the stronger Wild Men than the weaker, but she recognized it for what it was – an attempt at warding off Zelos’ control.
“Yes!” Somnia roared. “This is what I want to see out of my Wild Men! Impress your God Queen!”
While the Wild Men continued to fight, Archie slowly rose from his battle stance. Beside him, Lochness switched to her bipedal form, slowly approaching the downed Shuten Douji.
“Yeah,” Archie snickered. “You’ve all got this! God Queen Somnia’s the best!”
Somnia didn’t acknowledge him. The Hovering Hand had its wants, and she was forced to oblige. If it wanted to be “God Queen Somnia”, she’d let it. So what if it was cringy? It got the Wild Men to fight better against Zelos now than they had before! The way she saw it, it was like a Cont–
“Let’s go God Queen, let’s go!” Archie cheered
“Shut up!” Somnia shout-whispered, now fully snapped out of her Hovering Hand state. “See, now I lost my focus!”
“Come on, Somnia! It gets the people going! You’ve just gotta play–”
“W-We are… Wild M-Men!” General Denk shouted from behind him. His voice was joined by a sea of others, each of them strained through the intense mental battle they continued to fight. “We fight! We evolve! For our God Queen! For our people!”
“See?” Archie smiled.
Somnia, whose cheeks were undoubtedly redder than Shuten Douji’s eyes by now, gave Archie a dirty look. “I’m not fighting Shuten Douji again,” She said, again refusing to acknowledge his comments about “God Queen Somnia”. “You can take care of him. I have Wild Men to look after.”
“Aww, don’t be like that!”
***
Thanks to my brand new outlook on [ELEMENTAL MANIPULATION], I didn’t need to run through the forest. Instead, I zipped through trees like a rocket by using Fire-Attuned Aura to propel myself forward. It wasn’t nearly as taxing on my aura reserves as I imagined it would’ve been, though that was likely due to my increased [Auric Stamina]. I’d received a Level Scroll about a minute into my trip to the Wild Man Colony, and my stats were as follows.
LEVEL 126
UTILIZATION PERCENTAGE: APPROXIMATELY (25.2% of 500)
HP: 115
STR: 120
STM: 115
A-STR: 140
A-STM: 140
I decided to go to the Wild Man Colony because it seemed the most out-of-the-way. It made sense Zelos would be hiding there, orchestrating his moves out of view where he couldn’t easily be caught. The fact that Yugo knew that as well was concerning, and I’d be getting an answer about that from him the next time I saw him. In the meantime, I needed to focus on my current situation.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
There was a swarm of Oni chasing behind me, gaining on me with each passing second, Ibaraki being the most notable of them all. They hadn’t attacked me, thankfully, but the red glow in their eyes indicated that Zelos was in control of them. There was something about that fact, that they were under his control and chasing me, that resonated. It made this all real. Zelos was here, he knew I was here, and we were going to interact. This wasn’t a dream or a distant goal. This was something that was about to happen. Not in the future, but now.
You chose this road, now walk it.
Archie’s words played in my mind as I considered the reality of my current situation. There was no turning back here.
I’m not strong enough to fight Zelos…
The Horsemen, all four of them, trained me to fight. Just because I’d learned one new style – that I was nowhere near perfect with –, doesn’t mean I’m suddenly on par with the Horsemen. I was going to walk this road, and this road led to my inevitable death. Even if I lost my mind and gave myself fully over to Fallen Star, I’d still lose. Zelos used to control Fallen Star like a puppet for damn near my entire life, and as much as I hated it, that wasn’t going to change today.
As the Oni began to roar behind me, either due to Zelos’ influence or in an attempt to fight against it, a new voice sounded in my mind.
“FEAR. WHAT A PITIABLE EMOTION.”
His voice wasn’t as vitriolic as I’d assumed it would’ve been. To my own shock, I felt a bit disappointed by that.
“I don’t like it any more than you do. It pisses me off! But when I think about facing him… It brings me back to that day… I can’t unsee it. Limos and Thanatos may have been the ones who orchestrated it, but Ares and Zelos are the ones who forced me to do it.”
As I continued on my path out of the forest, I thought about everything Zelos had ever made me do. Manipulate my body and force me to kill my mother. Force me to execute innocent people after I’d gotten close to them. Belittle me on an almost daily basis and treat me like I was nothing. He wouldn’t get away with that. I wouldn’t let him.
“WHAT YOU ARE FEELING IS NOT FEAR. YOU ARE NOT AFRAID OF ZELOS. YOU NEVER HAVE BEEN. YOU HAVE NOT BEEN AFRAID OF THE FALLEN STAR CULT, NOR HAVE YOU BEEN AFRAID OF THE HORSEMEN. ON THE CONTRARY, YOU HAVE DESIRED THEIR HEADS FROM THE MOMENT OF MY AWAKENING.”
The Oni were closing the distance on me, now, with Ibaraki being so close that he could shoot a few weak aura blasts in my direction. I managed to parry them, but it hurt like hell due to the Oni Prince’s high level. I ignored the pain, though. They weren’t my target. I smiled as the exit to the forest finally entered view, almost as wide as I’d smiled the day I left the Fallen Star Cult.
I’M NOT AFRAID. I’M EXCITED. I’VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS DAY FOR YEARS. I WAS SLOPPY WHEN I LEFT THE FALLEN STAR CULT. I LEFT TOO MANY ALIVE, AND I WASN’T ABLE TO BRING ANY OF THE HORSEMEN WITH ME. TODAY, FATE HAS BLESSED ME WITH A CHANCE TO FIX THIS MISTAKE.
As Fallen Star’s voice infiltrated my mind more deeply and thoroughly than it ever had, something occurred to me. Something terrifying. Something that I couldn’t afford to give a second thought, lest I lose my nerve and therefore my ability to face Zelos.
Those weren’t Fallen Star’s words. They were mine.
They came out in his voice, but they were my feelings. I’d noticed it earlier today, but this was the most blatant it’d ever been. This wasn’t Fallen Star telling me how to feel or trying to influence me like he had in Saikou. Right now, in this moment, there was no difference between what Fallen Star said, and what I felt, and denying that fact would be–
A Level Scroll appeared in my hand, suddenly and without prompting. I hadn’t gotten into a fight, and I knew that parrying Ibaraki’s blasts wasn’t enough to Level me even if he was that strong. Yet, I had no choice but to acknowledge that as fact. Especially considering how much I had Leveled. As Fallen Star read the contents of the Level Scroll, only one thought prevailed in my mind.
Why hasn’t Fallen Star acknowledged any of this?
LEVEL INCREASED
126 > 146
UTILIZATION PERCENTAGE: APPROXIMATELY (29.2% of 500)
HP: 135
STR: 140
STM: 135
A-STR: 160
A-STM: 160
I told Archie that I had no choice but to embrace Fallen Star in order to achieve the goals I set out for myself. That remained true, but now a new question emerged; What happens if I overdo it? I was down to one arm and three fingers due to Fallen Star, yet I was stronger than I’d ever imagined myself being. This question deserved far more attention, but my present circumstance took precedence.
The forest exit was just ahead. Ibaraki and the Oni with him were right behind me, and I needed to be cautious with how much aura I used now. This was it. The moment I’d been waiting for. The second chance I’d been dreaming of.
“ZELOS!” I roared.
And there he was. Sitting at the edge of the deep crater overlooking Wild Man Colony. He didn’t even turn to face me. He was too focused on the center of the crater, looking down at the black-haired man with half of his head missing. An even deeper fury filled me at the sight, an anger I channeled into my aura. I brought my fist back, charging a [WRAITH STRIKE] and loading it with all of the aura my body allowed me to channel. I combined every Elemental Attunement I could think of, uncaring what effect it would have on my body so long as it took Zelos–
Zelos raised a dismissive hand and summoned a single Shining Arrow. It stabbed me through the stomach, detonating before I could remove it. I fell to the ground, bleeding profusely from the hole in my stomach.
“I’m not here to fight you, Fallen Star,” Zelos said. He didn’t even turn to face me. He just did what he always did. What was most convenient for him. He made me get up, despite my injuries, and made me sit beside him. As I struggled against his control with every bit of power in my body, Zelos pointed at Yugo.
“I’m here to tell you about this world and your place in it.”