“Argh” Groaning as I stir awake, I felt my head on something soft, my eyelids heavy as I heard a gasp.
“Tell the leaders she’s waking up!” A young female's voice ran out as I heard footsteps running about. As my eyes flicker open, I see a wooden roof above me as well as sensing a presence in the room. I felt a shock from them and knew they had just checked my level. I heard a whimper and turning my head I saw a young blue haired teenage girl grabbing her head and kneeling.
“*cough* You…shouldn’t *cough* do that.” Grabbing my own head and slowly sitting up, I look at the girl who had suffered from System backlash from trying to check my level before turning my eyes to the room. A basic room with the bed that I sat on, and a table with some left over red liquid in them. Swirling my tongue around my mouth, I could taste healing potion. It was weak, very weak, like the ones I would’ve had back when I had been level 20.
Rubbing my eyes, I remembered the fight that I had with Arabell. If it wasn’t for being immune to Lunar magic, the fight would’ve gone badly for me. Because I had attempted to dodge her attacks and avoid being bound by those chains, Arabell had believed that her magic would work fine. Not only that, but the Primordial Darkness I had used with Noctilucence mana had been far more powerful than I thought.
When I wasn’t in my normal monster form I had to use 85% of my strength to deal damage to her, and in my monster form I had used about 50%, the only problem is that my regeneration stops and even if I exit my monster form it’ll be slow afterwards. Well, it wasn’t the only problem, I can’t use magic and now I’ve learnt I can’t use my Domain during my monster form. Sighing, I also knew that Arabell wasn’t used to fighting others, she seemed to have treated me as just yet again another monster.
An inexperienced mage that tried to fight against me, though she was beyond the Crossroads she still held an advantage in all forms of fighting, but she held back initially. It seems she had wanted to bring me to the Sisterhood alive. If it wasn’t for that and luring her into a false sense of security, I wouldn’t have been able to gain the advantage when I had revealed my immunity to her Lunar magic. Shaking my head, I also had another thought, that she had been sent here on purpose, to make me stronger. But that doesn’t explain why Astraea had appeared, if it had been planned then surely they would’ve seen her as a tool to throw away, right?
Not wanting to be surrounded by the humans, especially it was that councilwoman from that night, I saw my bag, along with the two I had ripped off that Blessed last night and dug around in mine and pulled out a higher grade healing potion and one of the medicinal drinks I had received back when my leg had been Regrown. Downing the healing potion first, I then down the medicinal drink to deal with the muscle pain all around my body.
Shivering at the horrid taste, I see the girl looking at me with curiosity. Picking up my bags, I mutter a thanks to her before heading towards the door.
“Ah, w-wait! The lead-”
“Tell them thanks too.” As I grabbed the handle to the room, the girl spoke again.
“S-she will be here soon!” Opening the door, I walked out as her voice rang out. “They want to see you!” Hearing her fumble to get up, I flash step to another door and open it, the daylight hitting me in the face. Looking around I could see I was in Crater. Strange, why would the humans help me? Huh, something doesn’t seem right.
Turning to the girl who was peeking around the corner looking at me, I frowned slowly as I spoke.
“Why would you humans help me?”
The girl’s face turned into an angry frown as she stomped her foot down. “I’m not a human!”
Hearing that, I raised an eyebrow.
Level 4 Monster, Maddy
“Hybrid?”
“Yes!”
“You’re slaves to the humans again?” I felt an anger roil inside.
“N-no! We live here!”
Raising an eyebrow, I looked around the house before stepping out of the house and jumping into the air. Looking around, I could see young people walking around either seemingly buying stuff or making things. I couldn’t see a sign of anyone being forced to do anything, in fact most looked happy.
Making my way back to the house, the girl, Maddy, looked at me with some awe while waiting at the front door.
“Y-you can fly?!”
“No, it’s more like walking in air.” Moving back into the house, I sit down and pull out a few pouches. Handing Maddy one, she took it with some hesitation.
“Snacks, made by me.”
She opens the pouch and takes out a piece of dried seasoned meat. Eating it, I watch as her eyes widen and she starts eating the dried meat quickly. Shaking my head slightly, I understood why. They likely didn’t eat anything close to this type of food, probably plain monster meat and bread at most.
“So who are the leaders?” Interested to know exactly what has happened, I rest my hand on my chin and smile slightly.
“They’re not really leaders, but everyone calls them the leaders. There are three more but no one knows where they went.” Maddy took another bite of the meat before looking at the pouch with some sadness. Handing her another pouch, her smile brightened as she opened it and ate some more.
I already had a feeling on who these leaders were, but I asked her anyway. “Who are they?”
“Two of them are here, their names are Sally and Grey, both of them very strong. They were there watching last night, when you fought against that girl and they said the fight was too dangerous to get close to, even for them at level 32.” So Sally and Grey saw me fight last night? And they’re as I expected. “They went and got you and seemed really shocked. They asked us to look after you and give you healing potions, you were really hurt you know and the healing potions didn’t do anything. But after some rest your wounds healed really fast!”
“Those healing potions are too weak to work on me. Who are the other three leaders?” Asking with a small smile, I had been curious as to who these other three are.
“One of them is you, Alisha.” Hearing a voice behind me, I turn and see a very familiar face standing there, emerging from the shadows. With messy violet hair and a child-like appearance, Grey appeared as Maddy quickly stood. Grey shook his head and turned to her. “You know we don’t like you guys doing that.”
“S-sorry!” Maddy sat back but didn’t relax, seemingly on edge as she looked at Grey with respect on her face. I didn’t understand why as my eyes turned back to Grey.
“It’s been a while, Grey.” Smiling at him, he narrowed his eyes and looked at me closely.
“Is it really you?” Grey seemed cautious but I could see anticipation behind his eyes. “We can’t tell, the System doesn’t show your name or level.”
“Mm. Sally, you and I entered Cerberus’s Domain, where our lives changed and where we found a chance to become stronger. I conquered it yesterday.” I saw I had eight days left so I knew I had only been out for a day.
“I-it’s really you?!” Grey looked shocked and happy, a smile creeping onto his face. He walked over to me and looked me up and down. “You’ve changed so much!”
“Mm, evolution does that.”
“What happened? You, Olivia and Elizabeth have been gone for so long!”
“I’ll explain when Sally is around, is she here as well?”
“Ah. She’s fighting to protect the city…Your fight yesterday lured monsters here, though we’re holding it’s not looking good. The wall where you slammed that person crumbled overnight and the monsters want to enter through it.”
Grey’s smile disappeared as a serious expression replaced it. Pursing my lips, I knew it was my fault and I stood up.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Alright, I could go for a stretch. Lets go deal with them and get Sally. I’m eager to catch up with you guys again. Come Maddy.” Maddy looked surprised.
“N-no, I’m oka- Ah!” Wrapping my arm around her waist, I do the same to Grey who looked surprised and exiting the house carrying the two, I step into the air and quickly find the newly made hole in the wall.
“Y-you can fly?! Is your wind magic this good?”
“Ah, no, it’s more like I’m stepping in the air.” As I say this, I walk quickly over where the hole is and land on the wall near it. Looking outwards, I frown slightly. There were hundreds of monsters trying to fight their way in, with it being night time they were much more aggressive. I saw Sally down near the hole, oblivious to my presence, fighting fiercely with a sword and shield. I could see she was heavily injured but I knew that only served to empower her and her Blood Magic.
“T-there are so many of them.” Hearing fear in Maddy’s voice, I could understand why. A sea of monsters viciously trying to fight their way in was a sight that caused anyone to feel fear. I could only imagine what a monster tide would look like, I knew that this sight paled in comparison to those.
Closing my eyes, I release a pulse of moonlight as I visualise only Artemis. This really had to be my best ability against a tide of monsters. Controlling the mana required for each monster, I ensured that the strikes would kill a level 40 without problems and as I raised my hand and opened my eyes a giant magic circle appeared above the tide of monsters.
Ignoring Grey’s shout of shock and Maddy’s shout of ‘amazing’, I flicked my hand down. I wouldn’t be able to pull this off in normal situations, my spell casting would be interrupted or another stronger than me could disrupt the magic circle. With a smile, I release the spell as I watch hundreds of silver beams strike down with no noise, no recoil or even damage to the earth. I had improved in my spellcasting as I felt only about 70% of my mana being depleted.
“Phew, I love this spell.” Nodding in satisfaction as the light fades, I saw nothing remained alive.
“W-what was that?!” Turning to look at Grey, I saw his eyes wide in either fear or excitement, most likely both.
“Starfall, my strongest magic to clear out weaker monsters like this. It’s full of openings and can be disrupted easily by other spellcasters or if I’m undefended while casting it.”
“B-but that’s so powerful! A-alisha, what level are you?!”
“Mm? Oh, Level 100.”
“L-level 100?!” Grey had been nothing but shocked this entire time. Giggling, I reach over and ruffle his hair.
“It’s a long story. Shall we go down and meet with Sally? She seems to be unsure on what to do.” Looking from afar, I could see Sally looking around in confusion, as did all of the other Hybrids. I had noticed one aspect about the Hybrids. None of them had monster traits, not a single one, they looked human.
Scoping up a still shocked Grey and a Maddy who still wore a face of awe, I once again stepped into the air and made my way to Sally. I could see she was already telling people what to do and seeing the dead bodies of those who hadn’t made it, I just shook my head.
As I landed, others around me looked at me in shock, as if questioning if I had really come down from the sky or just jumped over. Putting Grey and Maddy down, I saw Sally look over our way before walking over.
“So, you’re awake.”
“I am. Here, take these and hand them out to those wounded.” Handing her a bag of strong healing potions, Sally took one look inside before nodding and handing them out. Helping her, I passed out the healing potions as I felt people looking at me. Feeling shocks, I shook my head and decided not to warn them, perhaps they would learn not to randomly check everyone.
After helping those who were badly wounded, I watched as Grey worked with others to bring those who had died in. I felt guilty at this sight, after all it was my fight that caused them to be in this position, but as Master said this is also how the world works. I either had to fight like that or die, and the choice had been very easy for me to make.
“Who let the worker in?!” Hearing a rather annoyed voice behind me, I turn to see a rather muscular boy looking at Maddy with some annoyance. I could see her slightly panicking.
“I did. Is there a problem?” Turning to the boy, I found his name to be Bart, a level 24 monster, meaning he had yet to awaken his monster side.
Looking at me with an annoyed expression, I saw him suddenly wince in pain as his nose started bleeding. I felt a shock at the same time and knew he had tried to check my level. He shakes his head in a panic.
“N-no, nothing, Madam.”
Seeing him walk away rubbing his head, I turn to Maddy. “Worker?”
“Oh, there are two types here. Workers and hunters. Hunters are seen as the providers and workers are seen as the supporters. Don’t mind him, hunters actually care for us workers and get worried too quickly, he doesn’t mean anything bad.”
I had forgotten how hard the Hybrids had it before. It seems most looked out for each other now. Looking around, I saw most had moved back into the city and seeing Sally and Grey coming towards us I smiled lightly.
“All done?”
Sally just gives me a nod while Grey spoke. “We have to make sure we have people on guard in case more come in.”
“Ah, I’ve got a solution to that.” Digging around in my bag, I pull out a Greater Blessed Orb of Salus. “It’s about ten times bigger and stronger than the one we had at the plateau.”
Sally wordlessly takes the orb while Grey looks at it in surprise.
“Had?”
Turning to Maddy who spoke up, I smiled. “Mm, I’ll have to explain everything. Shall we go and talk?”
“I’ll activate this. Grey, take her to my house.” Sally walks off and watching her go I couldn’t help but smile happily. She’s still the same, a monotone voice and expressionless face but I could tell from her eyes she was happy to see me.
“Come with me. Maddy, you may return to your duties.”
“Oh.” Maddy looked sad for a moment before I giggled.
“She can come along, I don’t plan to stay for long, I need to do one more thing here, but it won’t take me much time. Plus I’m sure she’ll enjoy my stories.”
Maddy looked confused for a moment before Grey just shrugged, instead turning excited but trying to contain it. Grey leads me through the streets and looking around I saw this town seemed to run well. One thing I noticed was that while there seemed to be shopkeepers, they didn’t take any form of payment, instead just handling items like cloth, food or help to those that approached them, regardless of their level.
They all looked rather well, but there seemed to be something wrong. While they seemed to be happier, well fed and healthier, there seemed to be a sense of no direction from any of them. Some of the Hybrids seemed to be following the same path as always while others looked lost. It’s like they had no goal, nothing to actually strive for but to survive, even their clothing was nothing but basic shirts and pants, making my clothing stand out even though it’s pretty common in Vale.
We arrive at a fairly normal house and Grey leads us into a dining room with a simple table. Sitting down, Grey asked me about Elizabeth and I obliged him. I told him that she was okay and told him about what she was doing. A golden light shines from the floor after a few minutes and realising this to be the Orb of Salus, I knew Sally had finished. And sure enough she arrived after a few minutes.
Sally looks at me as I stand and smile back at her. “So you’ve finally returned.” Speaking calmly, Sally gives me a nod.
“Mm, not for long. I have about eight days left.”
“Eight days? What do you mean?” Turning to Grey who seemed confused, I shook my head.
“It’s complicated and a very long story. For now.” I pulled both Sally and Grey into a hug, both seemed to not expect such an action. “It’s good to see you both again.”
***
As I sat with Sally, Grey and Maddy, who I had taken a liking to because of how she had stood up and spoken to me earlier, I told them about everything that happened from when Olivia, Elizabeth and I had left Crater Hell. I made coffee for them to help give them some energy and also gave Sally and Grey the stat increasing food that I had prepared for them, while I gave Maddy some more dried meat. I was a bit worried that if I gave her stat increasing food it would harm her, since she hadn’t even gone through body strengthening yet.
They listened in shock when I explained where I had been sent and how far away the three of us were now, and as I’m explaining the first time Aubrey and I had started to dive into the Tomb of Lilith I saw Sally trying not to sleep and knew she was exhausted, the same went with the other two though not as severely as Sally.
“We can speak once you guys get some rest. With that orb down and me in the area you don’t have to worry. I still have something to do but it’s just in the slums.”
“You’re not going away after, are you?” Sally, who had been sitting in the chair next to me, had lost the expressionless face while a slightly worried one replaced it.
“No, I’ll still be here, but my time is limited. I’ll fill you in on why once I’m done with everything. Go rest.” Smiling at them, I saw Sally nod as she stood.
“I’ve missed you, Alisha.” Saying that, she smiled slightly before heading further into the house.
“Maddy, I’ll walk you back to your house.” Grey stood as well. “It’s been good to see you again, Alisha. Once you’re back we’ll let you know what has happened.”
“T-thanks Miss Alisha.” Seeing those two off, I sat at the table in Sally’s house for a bit longer. I had expected them to be a bit more emotional, though perhaps I had simply expected more of an emotional reunion. Then again, they had thought me to be dead in the past yet I had returned after a few weeks, so perhaps they had thought I would return at some point this time too. But they did seem to be relieved I had returned.
I looked at the rewards I had yet to claim through the System. The Underworld, Cerberus’s Domain and now from killing Arabell. Deciding to put it off until I returned to Vale, I got up and left a few pouches of snacks on the table for Sally. Leaving the house, I step into the air and before long I’m standing in front of the building that Arabell had been waiting in front of for me.
I had sensed it before, but due to her presence I couldn’t focus on it but now I could sense something that called out to me. Two sources of energy, one Lunar and one Darkness. I knew the Lunar one would likely be the tampering that Celestia’s followers had done. Breathing out, I stepped into the building that all of us Hybrids hated to our core. One of the dozens we had hatred for, the Breeding facility.