Arc 2 Chapter 3: Meeting with the heroes (3)

Sub-Title: Luck and Divine Intervention

 (??? POV)

Hmm… it should be around here somewhere. Where is it?

I kept looking at the surrounding area. I was currently in the western island of Camelot. It was a very beautiful place that was filled with exotic life. Right now though, I couldn’t really focus on nature since I had a mission to complete.

“There.”

I finally found it. It was a cave that was carved into the mountain. Actually, it’s better to say, it’s the door that lead to our main branch. This area was under Prince Richard’s supervision, but after losing contact with him a couple of weeks ago, I was sent to confirm the situation. I guess they were really done in. I walked into the cave and to my surprise, the entire place was… clean. It’s as if it was only vacated. Hmm… that’s strange. I kept walking into the cave. Slowly, a story began to unfold. I looked at each room. One, room had two crosses placed on the ground. I then patted the ground and noticed some tracks. They were old, but still visible.

Hmm… three sets of footsteps came in, one came out. I looked at the haystack that made a makeshift bed. I see… it was a girl who infiltrated. The fools must have tried to rape her, and instead got done in… really, men are so weak.

I followed the girl’s tracks into the base. No crosses, but it does seem as if several bodies laid here. I see, so the crosses means death. I kept walking through until I reached a huge cavern. Several crosses could be seen everywhere, even in the ceiling. For some strange reason, I felt a chill as I noticed several areas of the ground were uneven. I shook the feeling away and kept going. This time, the tracks increased by a huge amount.

It seems the girl gained companions… but, the tracks seemed to be allies. Traitor’s maybe?

Their tracks seemed to lead away into a lower level of the place. I followed it until I came to a hallway. I could smell… a foul odor. I kept going and noticed a cell room. The smell was worse in here and I saw an assortment of crosses, though these were color blue while a couple of original crosses could be seen outside the cells.

I see… the group must have had families here. Based on the tracks, the girl must have set them free… wait.

I look around and noticed that the girl’s tracks could not be seen. I analyzed further, and noticed that two tracks appeared. What the fuck? Normally, I don’t curse… but I do when I’m really surprised. I tried to think of a possible explanation, but I need to focus.

I’ll think about this later.

I quickly made my back to confirm the tracks. Yep... no one moved. So how in the world did two tracks appear? This is getting complicated. I shook my head of these thoughts and followed the girl’s path. This time, it seems she was accompanied by other people. Unlike before, they seemed to have killed a lot as crosses lined up the entire hallway. They were all placed in formations… that part really scares me. That means, even when they were surrounded, they just killed anyone they saw. What’s more scary is the fact that the two people who suddenly appeared were the ones responsible. They must be strong. I kept following and soon, I saw the familiar testudo formation of the empire. I guess the previous ones were bandits or mercenaries. Then, I noticed that two sets of tracks walked from the empires side while the girl was the one who approached them. I noticed that they were the footprints of the prince and his aide. I also noticed that one part showed that the prince was kneeling, a sign of defeat. I see… so they lost. But no crosses… that means, he’s alive. I then followed the proceedings of what happened and sure enough, as I exited the tunnel, the tracks led back to Camelot.

This is not good… they have the prince in custody… but, I wonder. How did he lose? He’s one of the best fighters in the empire, surely the kingdom does not have anyone as powerful as him.

I kept pondering about this. Then I heard loud explosions on the distance. I looked to the sky and saw fire of unimaginable proportion lighting the sky in radiant blue flames. I couldn’t help but shiver… yet, now I was curious. Something told me that I had to see and inform this to the Empire. I quickly made my way towards the blue sky. It took me a couple of hours before I finally made it to some kind of compound. At first, you could hardly tell it was there. Being a Beastkin though, I had the rare ability of tearing through any illusions that’s set in place. It was a highly militaristic compound. Knights with strange outfits and weapons could be seen everywhere. Towers also lined the walls, and small thin wires were placed in between each tower. Truly formidable. I’m an assassin mage though. There’s no way I could be done in by these.

“Let’s see. [Cloak].”

I should be invisible now. Next.

“[Whisper].”

I tried punching one of the tress. Perfect, no noise. With this, preparations are complete. I have to find what caused those blue fire. I also need to know, who these people are. I know for a fact that they can’t be the kingdoms. I began to slowly creep through the shrubs. Looking at the wall, as I got closer, it looked… really strong. I wonder what it’s…

“WHO’S THERE?!”

I almost made a noise as I instantly stopped. Two of the knights appeared, thought their armor, unlike the others who had brown and grey armor, were instead wearing green and brown leather armor. There was a couple of leaves attached to them too, making them even more camouflaged with the environment.

“What is it Takeshi?”

A female voice could be heard. Good, if push comes to shove, I can take her as a hostage. One of the knights looked to where I was. I instantly sucked in my breath.

“I… I thought I heard someone. Maybe it’s my imagination.”

“Mou… you shouldn’t scare me like that you know.”

“Ah… yeah. My bad Claire.”

Without another word the two went back into the jungle and immediately disappeared. They’re… good… too good. I didn’t even sense them? Just what are these knights capable of doing? I couldn’t help but panic a bit. Maybe I should go back… no. I’m already here. I have to see this through. But, what if I get caught. Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve had the best record in the empire. Are you going to tarnish your name? True… but. But. Those were the only questions that filled my mind. But, if I could just find enough information. I could probably bring back some useful information to the empire. I would then be highly praised. Yeah, let’s do this. I took a deep breath.

“I swear someone’s here.”

I shivered a bit as one of the knights returned. This time, he was pointing his weapon in front of him. I wonder what it is. It looked strange and clunky as a spear.

“Didn’t you hear that?”

The girl looked around. She then sighed and grabbed the man’s ears.

“Listen, you’re being too paranoid. Look, there’s nothing here.”

Without warning her spear began bursting with flames. I felt several things fly past me as loud sounds came from her weapon.

“See. Nothing. Now come on. We don’t want to be late on reporting our patrol.”

“Sigh… I guess you’re right.”

They soon left as I stood there, sweat pouring from my head. Ha… ha… ahahhaha… I quietly laughed to myself. I think… I almost died. Just what luck do I have? I plopped to the ground as if my legs lost their will to move. Just what are they?

____________________________________________________________________________

A couple of minutes passed before I finally had the strength (The will) to move again. I’ve come this far. I might as well see it through. I did my best to make no sounds at all. The knights were very perceptive to a dangerous degree. I used magic to fly across the wall.

“What was that?”

As soon as I landed, I jumped into a nearby crate. All of a sudden a mouse ran past.

“Hmm… just another rat. We really need to clean this place more.”

I didn’t stick to listen to their conversation. I slowly moved through the base. It was nothing I’ve seen before. Elegant looking houses could be seen and seemed to emit mana. That is something that shouldn’t be possible. Also, I noticed that this wasn’t just a military compound. It’s also like a town. Houses, some shop looking places with weird signs. I wonder what language that is. Aside from the military looking buildings, it was really like a small town. The only difference is, everyone seems to be soldiers. Even the ones who weren’t wearing armor, they still carried some sort of weapon on their side. This means that they were all likely to be professional soldiers. This… this doesn’t look good for the empire.

“Everyone, please plug your ears. Testing is commencing again.”

Everyone began plugging their ears. I also followed suit and followed their gaze. Soon, distant explosions could be heard followed by blue fire on the sky above us. That’s it. That’s where I need to go. I slowly snaked my way through, using every shadow and crates I could find. I almost got caught… like, at every corner. Through some sheer luck though, I managed to get away. Soon, I was on a path that led to a mountain. I climbed it and as soon as I made the peak, I saw something incredible. Long metallic tubes could be seen. They looked beautiful… but at the same time, I felt… danger from them. I wonder why. A somewhat musky odor could be smelled. It’s almost like… burnt wood. I then noticed that there was a platform. A group of people could be seen. But a person among them seemed to have the most presence. It was a girl with red hair. For some strange reason, my gaze was stuck on her. I could also tell that she had red eyes. Eyes that were filled with a sharp gaze… she’s looking at me. I blinked. She was definitely looking where I am. But, I’m invisible right now. Plus, I did my best to make no sound. There’s no way… She began waving at me to go down. SHE DOES SEE ME! I began panicking. I need to get out of here, I turned around…

“Hello, dear guest.”

… And stood face to face with a maid. Wait? How the hell does she see me? She kept smiling, but for some strange reason, I could feel some type of soft bloodlust.

“I do hope that dear guest simply wants to meet with master. If he was doing something else, then it could be a problem.”

Her cute sounding voice and smiling appearance did not match her persona who was now wielding two knives in her hands. If it came to this!

“[Summon: Set 1].”

Four dolls appeared in front of me. They were wooden dolls dressed in armor. They carried a sword and shield and were actually good in fighting. Well, their fighting can only be compared to their owners.

“Ara… is Mr. Guest sama going to fight. Well, I hope you don’t regret it.”

I felt a chill. Hundreds of missions I’ve been sent to, it is only now that I feel like this. Why do I feel as if I’ve strayed into a den of vipers? No matter. I will get out of this.

“[Fireball].”

I instantly sent out several fireballs towards her. Following that, my four puppets made a dash for her. Then, the chills hit me once more. The fireballs were cut into pieces and my dolls were instantly incapacitated. I stood there in shock as the girl didn’t even move from her spot.

“Comparing to Lily Sama’s interdimensional training, this is pretty much nothing. I see what she meant by, my common sense would never be the same. Oh well. This is all for the sake of serving Bryan sama”

I blinked as I watch what appeared to be a maiden in love. Just who are these people? She instantly shook herself and began to walk over to me. I… I’m not done yet.

“[Mist].”

A heavy fog appeared around us. I then grasped her location. I GOT YOU!

“[Ice Pike].”

I felt several ice shards emerge from the ground. I then heard it hit flesh.

I GOT HER!

I dispelled the mist and looked towards the spikes. There’s… no body? No… its, a sack of flour? Then where…

“Surrender yourself, otherwise you’ll regret it.”

I felt fear as I looked at my neck. A knife was already being held there as I felt the presence of the cold blade. I… lost.

_________________________________________________________________________________

(Bryan POV)

“What’s going on?”

Yuusuke looked towards me.

“Nothing. It’s just that, a new guest has arrived and a maid has gone to get him.”

“Oh… Anyway, back to our conversation. Bryan, we cannot use those things. I know that the empire is probably using something dangerous, but we shouldn’t delegate ourselves to their level.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Oh, and you think you can win this war without my cannons, Heroes?”

I looked at every one of their faces. They all looked at the ground. Really, saying something but contributing nothing. That’s the type of attitude that I hate. Then again, they were just kids. Fighting for a while in this world… well, even that tends to make you confuse. Speaking of which, the hero Cynthia isn’t here anymore. She must have went back to rest.

“Ok, say that I agree. What then? I know that you all are obligated to fight against the demons, but what about humans. Have you had experience in killing your fellow humans?”

“We… we’ve killed bandits before”

“Oh. Bandits. You think you can do the same thing to soldiers?”

“W… what do you mean?”

I looked at them all. They really don’t know what true war is. The war between humans.

“Are you prepared to kill a soldier, one who is only doing their job, just so they can protect their own family?”

I let that line stay in the air for a while. I could see Sara shifting where she was standing. She knows fully well what I was trying to say.

“I… I…”

Yuusuke looked like he was about to say something, but soon quieted down. Jayden and Horie also wanted to say something, but couldn’t bring themselves to talk. I guess, they were now just realizing the concept of the word war. What it truly means to kill another person. Not a demon which we really don’t know about, but a human being. One that we can fully understand as we live in their shoes.

“In my time… I’ve killed many people. In my world, resources are limited. Plus, we were always under attack by monsters. Monsters that could potentially kill many people before it itself is killed. That’s why, I’ve learned. Always make sure to go all out. That’s because, as soon as you finish killing those monsters, other people would come to finish what the monsters started. All just to preserve their own lives.”

“BUT STILL. This is a different world Bryan, with its own rules. Your world… You’re Earth. It’s different from ours, but I can say that your ideals are just too…”

“… Even so. How else am I supposed to react then? This is the only response I can think off that works.”

I… I know that I might be a little emotional right now, but I honestly don’t know how else to act. Is my way of thinking really wrong? Should I not use these cannons? Then how are we supposed to fight back? Isn’t power needed to check power? All these thoughts kept flashing through my mind.

“Think of another way Bryan. As far as I know, this could really bring the destruction of this world. Personally, even the gods may not like it.”

“Hmm… I think its fine.”

A new voice arrived. It was Frey. She was wearing a plain shirt with dark blue jeans. On her hip, a sword could be seen.

“Hey Frey.”

She then came up behind me and hugged me.

“No wonder, so you were here. I tried going to your room but it was lock. They then told me that you all went to the artillery site, so I made my way here.”

“So, is there anything you want?”

“No… I just wanted to see you.”

“… Don’t think that I’ll forgive you for what you did.”

“Ehh… I wonder what you mean.”

She gave an innocent look which only served to irritate me. I then looked towards the heroes.

“F-F-F-F-F-REYA S-A-A-A-AM-A!!!”

“Ah.”

Oh… I forgot that the heroes usually get to meet with Freyja since she’s the guardian deity.

“Nice to see you again heroes.”

“Bbubuububututut…. What… what are you doing here?”

She shrugged.

“I was summoned. Now, I’m currently helping out my new master.”

She then stared at me. The heroes followed suit. I could only shrugged.

“Couldn’t help it. I tried to summon someone else, but instead she appeared.”

“Hidoi… even I have feelings you know.”

She began doing fake tears as she slumped to the floor like a mistress in distress. The heroes began looking at her the same way Artura and Marlana did.

“Is she really the one we met a long time ago?”

“I remember her as graceful? Was that all an act?”

“Yeah, pretty much. I really don’t care about appearances, but you heroes were really interesting. To think you were all chun…”

[To those who don’t know that she’s going to say. The word is Chunnibyou]

“AHHHH!!”

The three heroes began screaming at the top of their lungs.

“Anyway, I think its fine using these cannons. It would honestly end the war faster.”

“But Freya Sama. Isn’t a war suppose honorable? Isn’t that your principle? Using these guns can only make this war… brutal. Honor would no longer be a part of it. Plus, it would make killing humans easy and…”

“Yuusuke. War is never meant to be honorable. Haven’t you learned that in the fight against the demons?”

“But, they were demons. They’re…”

“So. What if they are demons? They fight just like you right?”

“Ah…”

They froze for a second, but Freyja kept going.

“Plus, you misidentify me hero. For one, although I believe in honor, that is only in duels. Duels, are meant to be honorable. Wars, on the other hand, is all about perseverance and preservation. Those who live are the winners. Those who die are the losers. In war, there is no such thing as victory or defeat. There is only survival.”

“A half ass explanation like that. Come on Freya, you could do better than that”

Everyone blinked as a new voice appeared. In front of them, a man with an eye patch could be seen. He had a face that seemed to scream trouble maker, yet his aura was rather… calming.

“Brother?”

We all looked at the man. Brother? Wait? Then that means…

“Loki?”

I found myself saying his name. He smiled.

“It’s nice to see you again Bryan.”

Before he even finishes, the three heroes immediately took combat positions.

“What are you doing here, God of the Demons?”

They began showing unimaginable amount of bloodthirst. Loki laughed.

“How cute. Anyway, as for me being here. Freya… what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Frey was already sneaking towards the door. She then turned around stiffly.

“Ahh… well, um… you know. Just… looking at how this world became?”

Loki raised his hands to his face.

“You came to this world to have fun, isn’t that right. You who was entrusted the job of guarding the fountain of youth, you instead ran away and came to this world.”

Freya began to shrink.

“I know that guarding the fountain is tough, and it’s always boring, but as a warrior of Valhalla, don’t you have any shame?”

“But brother… you know I don’t…”

“Yes, yes. I know you also don’t like guarding duty, but that’s no excuse. You’re supposed to be a goddess, so act like one.”

“Eh… but.”

“Also, you failed to categorize the warriors again. Furthermore…”

This conversation kept going on and on. Soon, Loki had Freya in a corner weeping and crying about not wanting to go back to the heavens.

“Sigh… honestly, how did she turn out like this? Actually, I don’t even have to answer that one. It’s all because of Thor, always doting on her and giving her leeway. The bro-con.”

“Um…”

The hero party was no longer emitting any bloodlust. Instead, they gave a pitying gaze towards Freya and a somewhat… respectable gaze towards Loki.

“Um… Loki Sama. We… ah… are you really Loki, the god of tricks?”

“God of tricks? Well, I am sort of a trickster, but there’s a time and place for that.”

He then looked towards me.

“And right now sure isn’t that time. Oye, Bryan. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Huh?”

Wait, what did I do? He then pointed at the cannons.

“You’re not actually planning on engulfing the world in fire are you?”

“…”

“Although everything Freya said was correct, there is one thing that must always happen in the wars in ‘this’ world. That is, equality. You think the Empire could even withstand the power you’re currently holding?”

“Yes.”

“… oye, you’re not bringing you world’s logic with you right?”

“I…”

Before I could respond, he placed a finger on my mouth.

“Listen… I know that you’ve always used your brute strength to survive. But, it’s different now. First of all, you’re army is practically enough to win this entire war by itself. You should realize at least that much. Second of all, you don’t even know you’re being chained to your own ideals.”

He began giving me a warm smile.

“You’re in the world of Terra now. A place you’ve never even thought existed. Look at the sky. Do you see the how clear it is?”

I nodded.

“How about the world’s geography, don’t you think it’s beautiful?”

I nodded.

“The city. Don’t you want to see how others look like?”

I couldn’t help but nod again in agreement.

“So instead of journeying around the world, to see new things. Why-are-you-still-here?”

Huh. I’ve… never thought about that.

“I… I don’t know.”

“Yes you do… You do know. Deep down, you know what’s keeping you here. Just think about it. Why are you still here?”

I… I know why. I just… I don’t want to accept it. But…

“… it’s… it’s because I want to protect the people.”

He nodded.

“Yes… I know it’s a good cause, but that is the logic you’ve brought from your old world. Use brute strength to protect the people. Any means possible to achieve your goal. You’re a soldier, I know that. But to the gods, you’re someone important who deserves a break. That’s why, live the way you want. Of course, now that you’ve entered this war, you’ll have to finish it… but promise me that after this, you’ll live more for yourself… alright.”

I couldn’t help but take in his words. I’ve been… living for the people. He’s right, I haven’t been living for myself. Why did I start all of this? Because it’s fun? No… I realized it now. It’s because I was programmed to save the people. I mean, it’s good to save the people, but what about me. What have I done for myself? Really… it took Loki just to show me my own contradiction. I sighed. For some strange reason, I feel… calm now.

“Alright… thanks Loki. You’ve made me realize something important.”

He smiled.

“Now about those cannons?”

Yuusuke decided to barge in.

“Ahh… well, I won’t take away what Bryan already built. But, I will restrict it.”

He snapped his finger.

“You only have ten of those shells to use. Everything else has been turned into a fragmented rock shell. And don’t worry, your enemy is not what it seems. True, they found something quite annoying… but”

He looked at the soldiers gathering around them.

“I think you have it covered.”

And just as he appeared, he was gone.

“FOOD’S READY, IT’S TIME TO… eh, what’s wrong with you guys?”

Lily walked into the room which was filled with silence, while a constant whimper on the corner could be heard. As for me, I kept thinking to myself. I… need to change. I also need to learn… to learn about this world. That’s why, after this war, I’m going to learn about the world and live my life the fullest.

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Author Notes:

So... Finally had the time to make a chapter. Sorry it's taking a while, but schools been getting me. I did this chapter sort of as a celebration for my recent success in my test. Ya, you can tell I'm very happy.

Now, about this chapter. Since I was out of the loop for a while, I had to reread everything to familiarize myself. I then found out that I was leading my story away from my original objective. That's why, I'm hoping this chapter will bring me back to original outline. This one is over 4000 words. I know a lot. I was like, why couldn't i do this for my essay lol... anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the content.

P.S. The meeting section is done. Now I can do a time skip and get he ball rolling, HUUZZAH

P.S.S. To those who would complain about me nerfing the artillery. I mean, come on. It's not that bad. He still has an overpowered army, so nerfing those guns would be fine.

P.S.S.S. For now, I'm done with character developments. You can tell I did so much better on the action sequence of this story than the character development lol, I was actually having headaches on the last parts of this chap.

Last P.S. My finals are wednesday and thursday. After that, I should be free. So start expecting faster chapters... if schedule is correct.