3/26/54
ALEXANDER GALDUR
“Just us, huh?”
Across the battle torn arena, four figures stood, ready to do battle. Well, two of them were, Max and I were ready to throw in the towel. The only reason I had made it here was because I stuck to the sidelines and only fought people who I saw were about to go down. Turns out, I can end up one of the final contestants if that blonde-haired girl doesn't consistently hunt me down.
The way Max got here was he had made a fortress to fend off those who came after him. Taking him out wasn’t the most difficult thing to do, but why try to walk through a mind field and get past dangerous preparations when you could just beat the person next to you into submission? Either way, Max and I both knew we were fighting out of our weight class—quite literally; the other person besides Deimos was the woman in metal armor.
I was ready to hop out of the arena at the first sign of danger because, unlike Max and his runes, I was running at half my light magic, and the dark magic was fighting to fight. If I bottomed out on light magic, I knew there was nothing I could do to stop my dark magic from running rampant.
Instead of fighting, I knew I needed a way to survive in the storm-to-come. Looking around, I almost missed when, instead of going after the knight, Deimos rushed towards Max. His body blurred as four new Deimoses ran out of him. They all started dancing around each other, weaving through one another until it was impossible to tell who the original was.
Max was taken aback by the assault, but he recovered soon enough and activated a couple of runes around him. Black tentacles of streaming ink gushed from the ground, twisting and turning through the air. They went to slam into the many Deimoses, but were easily dodged because of how telegraphed the attacks were.
Attacking Deimos was only one purpose of the assault, however.
Erupting from the sudden force, the traps were set off. Spikes shot through the air, ink quickly forming spheres in the air that would capture imaginary foes. One trap set off another, and now Deimos had to rush to get to Max before he was caught in this avalanche of ink . All five Deimoses reached Max, every one of them leaping high into the air with their batons ready to beat down on their friend.
A nervous smile flashed across Max’s face, and he swung his arm to stretch towards Deimos. A rune on his palm erupted with a tentacle that swiped at each Deimos in one horizontal sweep. It passed through all five, each of them fizzling out of existence as soon as the attack landed.
The look on Max’s face would’ve been quite amusing if I didn’t have the same expression. Shimmering from where the all Deimoses originated from, one last Deimos appeared. His body appeared patch by patch as he fully came into existence. With the smuggest smile I’ve seen from him, he grinned, “So, ready for the real fight?”
Max was still stunned by the illusions, and he could only stutter out a confused jumble of words, perfectly fitting the situation. I would’ve kept watching the show, except the other top dog made themselves known to me.
“Do not take your eyes off the battle. Prepare yourself!”
With that warning in place, the person clad in knight-like armor readied their weapons as they materialized in a flash of light. With a classic a classic knight's shield and a longsword equipped, she rushed at me, her shield covering her left side while her sword was ready to defend her other half. With well-practiced footwork, she glided across the arena, meeting me as I waited for her arrival.
Of course, despite me standing here and acting confident, I was still ready to turn tail. She was wearing full plate, medieval knight’s armor, and my method of attacking was punching quickly. This was a losing battle from the get go, and the only possible way I could win this was by tiring her out. That would be nice, right? Tiring out a well-trained knight while I was a malnourished kid with half his usable magic missing and the other half sure to get me killed on sight.
Really, the only logical way I could do this was running away. And so I did. Turning the other way to run, completely abandoning boxing and fighting for the most part, I sprinted as quickly as I could away. She was clearly not expecting the spinelessness of my tactics as she angrily shouted, “Get back here, coward!”
As she sprinted after, kept up with me, and yelled at me with things along the lines of "get back here," I turned things up a notch by using a quick burst of light to speed away. From there, I ran straight towards where I saw Deimos helping Max up after he most likely beat him to the ground, and sliding between the two, I rapidly spouted, “Hey, could you take care of that for me? Thanks!”
He startled and jumped back as I rolled from my slide back into a sprint, and when he noticed the person following me, he exclaimed, “What the fuck!?”
He jumped out of the way, diving to the side, and Max just fell on his ass from the impromptu jump scare. Sadly, Deimos and the knight did not end up fighting, and she was still chasing after me. Knowing I couldn’t win a battle of attrition now, I slowed down, and she caught up quickly enough. I waited for a sign that she was about to attack while I kept my back to her, and she yelled, “I have you now!”
Twirling around to meet her, I used another little burst of energy to duck down and shove my hand against her visor. Using her surprise by the sudden attack, I activated my magic, feeling a flashbang appear right on the other side of her helmet. With a release of the building-up energy, it burst to life, and before she could react in any other way, she yelped at the intense light that suddenly flashed before her eyes. Still, in the middle of a swing, however, the attack lost its aim. It swung down, losing direction and control, and I suddenly felt something shear its way through my back.
With a bone-chilling noise, her sword ripped through flesh as it missed my spine but still met my ribs by the feel of it. The very painful, horrible feel of it. The sensation hurt. It hurt a lot. It hurt so much that I might just pass out.
----------------------------------------
With a yell, I woke up, the sensation of having a blade sink through muscle and carve up bone still haunting my nerves. They screamed in pain, and I screamed with them, the very sensation of something touching them making me cringe and curl up. The pain lasted for what felt like forever, but it couldn’t have been too long when I felt a familiar warmth suddenly spreading through me.
It was a soothing, relaxing heat that made the pain melt away. Worries and troubles were drowned out as a calmness filled me. Opening my eyes past the pain-induced tears, I saw a face filled with deep worry, her hands cupped together to hold the orange and green flame. It danced in her palm, flickering as its light lit up the room.
The person holding it had beautiful, green eyes, troubled and afraid. Not afraid for whoever they belonged to, however. They were worried for me, and I felt a warmth in my heart that wanted to reassure them that I was okay. I still felt the pain, but it was only a dull ache now. The phantom of the original that had possessed me for however long was gone, drowned out by the kindness from my friend.
Anna, her skin noticeably shining with sweat from what I could only guess was from a day of hard work putting people back together, asked. “Are you okay?”
“I-uh, I-I’m fine. I’m alright now. Thank you.” I responded, trying to ease her worries.
Despite the attempt, her concern was clear across her face. She leaned in closer, examining me closely and asked again, “Are you sure?”
“Really, I’m okay. It doesn’t even hurt anymore; I’m better, okay?” I tried once more to reassure her.
She looked like she was about to say something, but before she could, the curtains were pulled back, letting the light from the setting sun pour through the gap. The flame she held in her hands shrunk and died from its magic suddenly being cut off. From the pulled back curtains, Deimos and Max ran through to see me. Deimos spoke first, “Lucas! You’re up! Are you okay? How do you feel?”
Before I could manage to utter an answer, Max followed with his own questions, “Y-yeah! Does anything hurt? Do you need anything?”
“I’m alright! Okay? Look, I’m fine. I can’t even feel it anymore.” I lied a little to assure them I was fine.
Looking at each other, they asked together, “Are you sure?”
“Why does everybody keep saying that? Seriously, I’m fine.” I repeated, “Look, I’ll get up and- ack!” I tried to get up, but as soon as I got to sit up, a brief flare of pain ripped through my nerves. The three immediately went to catch me and help me in case I went to collapse, but I kept their hands at bay, “It’s alright, it’s alright. Just, uh, a brief flare up. I’m still okay.”
That last part was more meant for me as I tried to stand up. Carefully, I got up and waited a moment for the queasiness that came from nowhere to disappear. Taking deep breaths, I took testing steps forward, finally getting back into the swing of things. Turning around, I saw myself in the mirror, and I realized what all their fuss was about.
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Jagged and ugly, discolored and paler than normal, I saw past the bloody and torn DME issued gear and looked at the long white scar etched into my back, curving all the way down from the right shoulder blade to the side of my stomach. It barely missed my spine, instead, judging by the size, it dipped deep into my body.
Now, I have plenty of scars. Numerous cuts marked my skin from the terrorist attack from the ARO, and while those were nasty, they faded with time. All the little scars I got from my time on the streets were innumerable, but they were all small and unimportant.
This, however, made it feel like I was four again, and I could feel something inside me stir. It was deep, deep down, but the bad memories all came flooding back. Even with therapy, nothing could make it better, and the bitterness, anger, sadness, grief, and darkness surged forth, an ever consuming hatred that felt like it could eat the world whole.
Something tried to release from my grip, something bad. Something reacted with a volatility I’ve only felt a few times in the past, and it took all my strength to hold it back. It must’ve shown because Max put his hand on my shoulder and asked, “Are you okay?”
Grabbing his hand with a grip tighter than I knew I had, I looked up at him with a want to rip apart the first thing I could. He had to have been able to see it in my expression because of how fearful he looked. The sight of my friend trembling in terror only served to poke the hornets’ nest.
Afraid. They’re all afraid of you.
And they should be.
We’re the monster that they should fear.
It only lasted a second because then the sight of my friend afraid of me woke me from my stupor. Letting his hand go, now I was the one worriedly asking, “Max! Are you okay? Sorry, I-I’m sorry. I-I… I don’t know what came over me.”
He rubbed at his wrist, but he still looked me in the eye and spoke, “Y-yeah, I’m fine! Sorry, I sh-shouldn’t have just touched you like that. I- S-sorry…”
Hearing him speak that last line so quietly and fearfully made something inside me crack just a little. It hurts being like this. I never wanted to be like this. I never asked for this. But that won’t change anything. You don’t get what you want. You have to take what you want. You have to take what you want, and what I want right now is to be a good friend. So I will be.
Thankfully interrupting this awkward atmosphere I created, someone new walked through the curtains. Being 6’6” and pure muscle, the woman who strode in here was strength incarnate. She had tawny skin, marred with scars that etched her skin, and her intimidating frame came from her sheer size and musculature. She was muscular enough that I couldn’t tell whether her large bust was from fat or muscle.
Her gray hair and steel eyes contrasted her skin beautifully, and with that calm and collected yet piercing and intimidating gaze combined with her frame, she was more handsome than most guys. She wore the same trainee clothes I did, and when she spoke, I recognized her immediately, “Hello. You’re Lucas, right?”
“You’re that knight, aren’t you?” I asked, remembering her voice as she rushed at me in that armor.
Her face lit up, an unexpected grin stretching across her face, “Heh, yes. I am that ‘knight’ as you called me. My name is Sarah Knight, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Many thoughts raced through my mind at that moment. “A pleasure to meet you?” How? She put a scar on me that would make Freddy Krueger jealous! On a different note besides angry, Sarah Knight? She has to be joking! What are the chances! A person with the last name Knight with that kind of magic? It’s... unbelievable, to say the least!
Trying to think of what to say next, to suppress my laughter, I tried to divert my attention from her name, “Now, about what happened earlier.”
Her smile disappeared as she progressed the conversation, “Yes, about that. I’d first like to apologize for my carelessness. I got ahead of myself, and despite being blinded at the moment, literally and figuratively, I still should’ve taken more care with my actions. As an apology, I will pay off any costs that came from this incident.”
“... Huh?”
Stunned, I could only imagine how much this much would cost, and I immediately forgave Sarah for the accident. Expressing my gratitude, I was about to thank her, but Anna spoke up before I could, “Wait, Sarah, you’re the one who did this to Lucas?”
“Huh? Anna? You’re here?” Sarah realized as she noticed the other people in the room. She then proceeded to address Anna’s question, “Yes, I was the one who did it.” She then went and gave a brief explanation on the events that transpired my hospitalization.
“Oh! So that’s why you came in here along with Lucas with your eyes like that!” Anna said as she put the pieces together.
Though, now that left me with a question, “Wait, what happened to your eyes?”
Sarah focused on me and replied, “When you went to blind me, the distance between my eyes and the light as well as your attack's intensity caused flash blindness. I had to get my eyes healed while I was here.”
“Wait, so you’re covering my costs as well as your own? How can you afford that?” I fussed over her now-huge debts.
“Hm? Oh, I can cover the costs. Don’t worry, my family is doing quite well for itself.” She shot down my worries.
“Hm, if you say so…” I conceded. I did feel kind of bad that she had to take care of all that, but I wasn’t really one to be concerned about other peoples financial situations. This was just more money I didn’t need to worry about, and that, in the end, was what really mattered.
Of course, I wasn’t about to just let myself fall into someone else’s debt. I didn’t want to worry about owing favors to anyone, “Thanks for taking care of the costs, but it doesn’t sit right with me to just let you do this for me. Is there something I could do to make it up to you?”
“Hmm, no. I should be fine. If you really want to make it up to me, then can you just let me do this?” Sarah pressed.
Still worrying, I left it alone. It wouldn’t do anyone any good continuing to go on about this. Instead, I turned to Anna and asked, “When can I be discharged?”
She looked surprised by the sudden attention on her, “Oh? Oh! You can leave now if you’d like, but you shouldn’t do anything too strenuous. No getting yourself hurt. Again.”
That last part was so sharp it cut down to the bone. The carved up, sword-slashed bone. Okay, that’s enough of that line of thought. Limping towards the exit, I asked, “Hey, Deimos, Max, could you make sure I don’t collapse on my way back to the dorm?”
Seeing me limping, Sarah made a decision.
“Wh-What the fuck are you doing!?”
I yelped and shouted as Sarah picked me up and princess carried me out of the medbay, “This is my fault too, so it’s only right that I take responsibility. Could you tell me where you live?”
“No! No, this I can do on my own! Put me down!” I complained as she ignored me. Some strange sound came from behind us, and I could see Max, Deimos, and Anna all following behind, snickering and laughing at my unfortunate position.
How dare.
Grumbling to myself and just settling into her muscular arms, I let myself be carried as I tried to shrink into my captor to avoid the stares of the people in the halls. This was mortifying. If I don’t get shit about this from someone during training, I’ll be amazed.
… Wait!
“Wait! We’re still in the DME issued training gear! We have to head back to get out of these things.” I conveyed my realization.
Looking down at myself, then her, then Deimos and Max, she spun around on her heel, dropped me off in Deimos’s arms, and walked to the women's' changing rooms. Deimos, somehow keeping up despite not being all that muscular while carrying me, was right behind her with Max behind him and Anna taking up the rear. I assumed she was following us just to ensure we all made it to where we needed to be. Though, didn't she have work?
After changing and being carried away by Deimos and Sarah, I just about gave up on any resistance while most everyone watched in amusement. At this point, I was starting to recognize a lot of the faces on my way to the dorms, and with all the memorable things that have happened in the past few days involving me, I knew people remembered me. There were gonna be some weird rumors soon, I could feel it.
We made it back to the dorms without any other incident, Max leaving to go to wherever he lived while Sarah carried me still, but before we could all split, Anna spoke up, “Hey, why don’t you all come in. I was actually just getting off work, and I’ve played Diablo VI with two of you. Plus, I know Deimos knows and likes the Diablo series because we've talked about it once when Lucas was hospitalized. So, I was thinking, with four players, we could all play together?”
Surprised by the invite, but also quite happy, I hesitated long enough for Sarah and Deimos to both agree to it. By then, I would be attracting attention to myself if I said no, so I just went along with it.
We all went into her place, she got the system setup and running, and we all started playing it. At one point, I asked out of curiosity from my spot on the floor, “So, Anna, how do you and Sarah know each other?”
Anna took a moment to remember as she sat on that comfy-looking bean bag chair, “Hm? That? We met when she was hospitalized. Now that I think about it, it was only a few days after I met you.”
“Really? How did you end up in the hospital?” I asked, now talking to Sarah who was sitting on the couch next to Deimos.
“It was Sunday the twenty-first. A monster outbreak occurred on the edge of the city, and I just happened to be walking around with my family then. We were caught in the middle of it, and while fighting to get out of there and to help anyone we could, I was injured. Because of the hospitals getting too full, and the fact that I was a trainee, I was taken to the DME’s medical bay where Anna and I became friends.” Sarah responded, “On a different note, how did you meet Anna?”
“The same as you actually. Deimos was ambushed by an ARO member, and I helped him take her down.” I retold, excluding any parts about theft of some sausages beforehand.
“Really? That’s quite impressive. As well as being brave and honorable. You are something, Lucas.” She praised me as her in-game crusader character just unlocked a new skill.
Deimos chimed in, “Wait, I knew I remembered you from somewhere! You’re part of the Knight family.”
“Wait, the Knight family?” I asked, confused at the sudden mention of her—comedic—last name.Deimos nodded, eyes suddenly glued on me with a worried and knowing look, “Yes. The Knight family. They’re a group of famous and successful bounty hunters. They specialize in hunting down ARO members and evil magicians. Dark magicians specifically.”