《Death God's Descent (DROPPED)》 Prologue: The beginning of the end... Of boredom. The land is a boundless white plane, where no imperfections exist. For miles upon miles, the eternal flat white plane stretched on. The ground is covered by a faint white mist, walking on the ground would give the illusion of walking on clouds. There exists only a single mansion in this endless space. A brick house, with a garden in the front and back, is surrounded by an iron fence supported by marble bricks. It was a strange sight to behold; nowhere else in the endless expanse would one see grass, let alone the perfect lush green grass that inhabited the gardens. The interior was heavily decorated with drapes, chandeliers and other riches. The entire mansion was beautiful and extravagant. Although the building seemed to be built by wealthiest of men, no room was unnecessarily large. The bedrooms had a single large bed, desk and cupboard, the living room only consisted of a few couches facing each other and coffee table, and even the mostly used studies were only big enough to house a writing desk and a few bookshelves. No wasted space whatsoever. Elegant, efficient, and yet maintains a luxurious atmosphere. The biggest room would be the main hall that separated the east and west wing, and even that was only as big as the stairs that led to the upper floors. (Although the stairs were pretty damn big.) "Haaaaahhhhhhhhh" the man sighed while falling back into the couch, sinking further into the softness it presented. He looked to be in his mid-late 20s. He was a rather pale man, not to the point of unhealthy, with long silver hair. Although he wasn''t the most handsome man one could ever lay eyes upon, he was still rather good-looking. His facial features were well defined and his blood red eyes held a fierce yet gentle feel to them. His body was well packed into his muscular frame, although not too much as to give off a monstrous look. "...That''s the 34th time you sighed today. Not to count the 254 sighs you sighed yesterday. If something''s bothering you, Mlithru, you should go ahead and just tell me. We''ve known each other for a long time" said the woman facing him in the lounge. She looked similarly aged to the person she spoke. Unlike the man however, who was only decently handsome, the woman was the depiction of a goddess. Beautiful slender facial features with lustrous silver eyes, which complemented her shining golden hair. An hourglass figure with the right curves in all the right places. "In fact you could even say we''ve known each other since the beginning of time" she continued while giving him a smirk. That''s right, she wasn''t just a depiction of a goddess, she was a goddess, and not just any goddess. She was the goddess the governed life itself. "I''ve just been feeling bored lately, Alaria" replied the man. "Like really, REALLY, bored." he continued as he lifted his feet and rested them on the coffee table. "Maybe if you hadn''t created the Soul Spheres all the eons ago, then you''d have more to do today?" she replied while glaring at the feet on the table. She elegantly picked up her teacup that was resting on the table and threw it at Mlithru. The cup soared though the air, and just as the cup and its contents were about to splatter the man, the cup dissipated only mere inches away from his body. An old experienced looking butler promptly walks to Alaria and hands her a new cup with fresh tea already inside. "Thank you, Lynus " she says while giving him a single nod of approval. " Why are you so obsessed on cleanliness? We don''t shed skin like mortals so there is no dust and the only dirt exists outside which I haven''t been." "Call it obsession if you like but I''d like to think of it as compassion for good habits. " Alaria says while giving Mlithru a smile. "Anyways, the Soul Spheres aren''t a problem, they''ve provided me with enough entertainment over the eons. " says Mlithru while thinking of all the fun he had watching mortals who dealt with mana for the first time. Mana. What a strange thing he had somehow created for the mortals. Long ago mortals could not see nor sense mana at all. It wasn''t until Mlithru created Soul Spheres and amassed a large amount of souls in the centre of each world did mortals begin to feel the effects of "Mana". As the god that governed death, Mlithru always had control over the energies that souls produced. To lessen the tedium of his work, Mlithru made the souls of each world flow in a stream and amass at the centre of the world where he could easily collect them. Due to the large quantity of souls, mortals began to feel the effects, and over generations, began to grow more sensitive to the "mana" and began manipulating them for their magic. Over time they gave the name "Mana" to the spiritual energies and called the Soul Streams "Mana Streams" instead. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Why don''t you make another demon invasion and summon another clueless mortal to become a hero? That''s always fun. " says Alaria grinning at the idea. "Nah, Faeha always ruins the ending with her foresight. Plus, even if she doesn''t, they all live out the interesting part of their lives in a few years. I don''t know about you, but watching the gossip of the heroes'' harem after he marries them all gets dull rather quickly. " "Not my fault you get bored and ask me for the ending before it occurs" says a voice from the entrance to the lounge. There entered a young teenage girl with long purple hair and purple eyes to match. She had a shapely figure and a cute face, not beautiful like Alaria, her face had its own unique charm being cute. She was Faeha, the Goddess of Fate. Although all Gods and Goddesses were omnipotent and omniscient, Faeha had the ability to delve into greater detail than others and could even change some things if necessary. Faeha walked over to the couch before sitting herself next to Alaria, placing a plate of cake onto the table, before slowing picking away at it. A few moments of silence went by as Faeha ate her cake, Alaria mulling over Mlithru''s boredom and Mlithru himself rather embarrassed by the truth that Faeha mentioned. After the brief moment of silence, Alaria opened her mouth. "Why don''t you go check up on the Soul Spheres? " "The Soul Spheres are pretty much self-efficient and the very few hiccups are handled by my subordinates. " "Y''know there''s a saying among human mortals and it goes "If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself"?" "Do it yourself huh... " Mlithru repeated as he pondered the idea. Suddenly he bolted up straight sitting in a perfect posture as an idea formed in his head. "That''s it! I just gotta do it myself! " he yelled, his voice filled with excitement. "What if I descended into the mortal realm? Sealing my powers and exploring the realm wouldn''t be a bad idea. I''ll find a world I''m unfamiliar with and begin anew as an adventurer! " Mlithru looked towards the other Beings to see what they thought of the idea. Alaria was mulling over the idea and Faeha had dropped the spoon and her mouth was agape in shock, yet one could see the sheer excitement swelling up in her eyes. A few moments went by before Faeha yelled "That''s a great idea! With your descent, the interference of a god would make it difficult to tell the outcome of the future! It''ll be the first time I''ll be watching the events as they unfold! " "I guess it''ll be a new form of entertai-, I mean, it''ll be interesting to see how you live your life as a mortal." sai Alaria " I''m not so sure what you were about to say and what you said are any different but yes, it''ll be a new experience at least. " Mlithru breathed out as he cocked an eyebrow at Alaria. "Then it''s decided, we will pick from a pool of worlds with your preferred preferences, seal your powers and prepare for the Death Gods Descent" Important Message Okay. First a thank you for reading this fiction. I''m still new to all this, so there''ll be a lot of edits and changes being made. Now the IMPORTANT STUFF. Removing colours from speech, they did not turn out as pretty as I''d like. :( The next chapter will be a horrible chapter, whose sole purpose is to introduce the other gods. Who may or may not even show up later in the story. So here''s a list of gods and a tiny description of personality if you want to skip the next chapter. Next thing. I NEED your help. I can''t find a writing app (I write on my iPhone) and "Notes" is really, REALLY shit. Also I need help with names. I''m not creative enough to come up with names for characters and places so help me come up with some. If you see this message around a month from now, know that I will keep checking this thread for names. Need names for: Thank you for your time. Prologue 2: End of the Beginning Eight beings gathered in the dining hall within a mansion, holding a meeting. Some might find it strange, why would a dining hall exist in a mansion of immortal beings? True, they did not need to eat to sustain themselves, but the pleasures and allure of freshly prepared cuisine was something even the gods could not escape. All gods and goddesses were present, all but one. Mlithru. The eight beings sat facing each other on the round table, their faces shrouded in the darkness. A single candle lights the area from the middle of the table. One can only make out the basic facial features of those gathered around the table. From the outlines of their bodies and faces, one could make out 5 females and 3 males. The entire hall was silent, nobody spoke, and nobody made a sound. The atmosphere was tense as the beings looked at one another. Finally one of the men clears his throat and speaks. "Why in the damned are we in the dark?! And why are we huddled around a single candle?!" "It''s for the atmosphere. Doesn''t it look cool to be the puppeteer hiding in the shadows, controlling everything from the darkness?" spoke a clear feminine voice. "ATMOSPHERE!? I feel like some 3rd rate generic villain who doesn''t even have a face to match his voice to! Aren''t we here to discuss something important like, I dunno, Mlithru being the first god to leave his post!?" "Both of you shut it, and somebody get the lights" speaks the familiar voice of Alaria. Instantly, the entire room is lit up, candles and chandeliers set ablaze as they provide light to the entire room. The once obscured beings are brought to life by the array of colours they adorn. Each wearing different coloured clothing that matched their styles and hair. The man who spoke up earlier was Orden, God of Order. He was a very uptight person, keeping to his schedule and always out to set things straight. Literally. He would actually check every painting he came across to make sure they weren''t crooked. A neat freak who wanted everything to be perfect. Always going for utmost efficiency. Over his extremely masculine body, he wore a full set of plate armour, which radiated a small glow when light shone on it. That and it looked it was made out of mirrors. His face was very rugged with his dirty blonde hair spiking out backwards and a short beard that covered the lower half of his face. That coupled with his tanned body, made him look like an old and experienced adventurer. The woman, that spoke second, was Kaena, Goddess of Chaos. She was always energetic and full of energy. Kaena always caused trouble wherever and whenever she wanted, Much to the dismay of the other godly beings. Although most of the time, the trouble occurred as an aftermath to the things she did on a whim. Mischief without malice. Opposite to her demeanour, she had a very shapely body and a sharp and cold face that would belong to a brooding noble duchess. She wore a black dress that revealed much more skin than any normal dress should. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Did he really decide to go to the mortal realm? I mean, it really isn''t all that great. I''ve visited so many times and it''s always just as boring." comments one of the gods. He was Garnum, God of Fire. He looked to be a kid who was no older than 16 years of age. His fiery red hair was short and spiked all over his head. His body was what you''d expect from a young boy but was slightly more muscular and a lot more tanned. Garnum wore a loose orange tank top coupled with baggy red shorts. Garnum held a very fiery attitude, fighting whoever he wanted and the most prone to sudden outbursts of rage. "Wouldn''t you agree, Aliya?" He asks as he turns towards a similarly aged girl. "..." The girl being questioned was Aliya, Goddess of Water. She looked to be a young girl at the age of 12 with a small body to match. Her long flowing blue hair reached her knees and was not styled in any particular way. She had big blue eyes and looked like a cute child any parent would be proud of. Aliya wore a frilly dress which gave her a gothic Lolita kind of look. Minus the gothic, as the dress was mostly blue. Often quiet, Aliya rarely spoke when not needing to and liked to keep to herself for most parts of her life. "Maybe you''re tired of the mortal realm because you visited them so often Garnum." suggests Aidres, Goddess of Nature. Aidress was a tall slender looking woman looking about 22. She had green hair which was braided and hung over her shoulder. She commonly wore a green blouse and skirt with brown trimmings along the edges. Aidres was always very true to herself, often speaking her mind and commenting on things she disagreed with. This would sometimes get her into fights with Garnum but it never stopped her from doing what she thought was right. (Flat as a board but even I wouldn''t want to say that to her face.) "Then what about you, Hoein?" Garnum asks turning to the last not introduced character at the table. "I agree with Aliya" answers Hoein, God of Air. "But she didn''t say anything?" retorts Garnum. "Exactly. No comment." responds Hoein. Hoein often was without comment. Never taking a side but never opposing another. He kept balance and alway pointed out the pros and cons to any ideas presented to him if need be. He is often seen wearing a white robe with blue trimmings. His head is bald and he grew a long white beard that reached base his neck. "Actually, we aren''t here to talk about Mlithru''s idea. We''re here to observe his first day and see if he needs help adjusting." says Alaria, finally deciding to speak. "You mean..." starts Orden. "He''s gone already" states Faeha. Chapter 1: Welcome to the land of the Living Mlithru PoV I awake in the middle of a forest, surrounded by trees. Sitting up, I begin to get myself accustomed to this new body I was in. Looking at my hands, I begin to flex the muscles in my fingers, opening and closing them, feeling their touch as I do. Satisfied I get up and begin to jumping and running on the spot, getting a feel for mylegs, before bending forward and back and sided to side. After some more stretching, I think that I''ve gotten the hang of the body and start to recall the terms and conditions I''m now living under. Earlier Alaria, Faeha and I worked together to seal my powers. Limiting my connection to spiritual energy or "Mana", we were able to limit my range of influence to about one metre from my body. But that wasn''t enough. After the range was restricted, we began work on my Mana reserves. It was no easy task sealing the "Mana Pool" of such a strong soul, but after hours of hard work, we were able to limit the pool to a human achievable size. If that human was naturally gifted and had centuries of training then sure, it was achievable. For equipment, I created a replica of the black robe he always wore, but tweaked it to be easier to move around in and gave it a self-repairing enchantment. I''m not too fond of the idea of wasting time shopping for clothes if I could create a robe that is always pristine, never dirty nor ripped. My weapon was a single black katana made from my godly essence. The katana was 5 feet long from the end of the hilt to the tip of the blade and the hilt was wrapped with a silver cloth. I bound the blade to my soul and made the blade indestructible, these two advantages were the only difference between this katana and any run of the mill katana. I chose the katana because of its slick blade and since the material it was made of was so light, I should be able to swing the sword endlessly without tire even in a mortal body. It''s shape made it a horrible tool for casting magic and the curse I placed on the blade made it so using the sword as a conduit would increase mana usage rather than lowering it. I also set a condition that would lift all the seals from my soul and return me to godhood immediately. The condition was the death of my body. If I was to ever died, my soul would ascend once more and I made sure it would be instantaneous so I could kill whoever "killed" me. Of course I could make the mortal body a bomb but there may be situations where I might not want to create a giant hole in the earth. So that''s why I decided it would be best just to ascend to godhood and decide after "dying". Going through everything in my mind once more, I decided it''d be best if I began to explore my surroundings, maybe try and find civilisation. I was certain that as long as I got outside of the forest, I would be able to find a road that would lead me to a town or city. I was sure that I had placed this body in a forest close to a city, away from prying eyes but not stranded in the middle of nowhere. Maybe Faeha was right and I should have checked which way to go before I got started. Faeha had warned me that the others could not help me no matter how hard things got. But I wanted as little information about this world as I could get. Where would the charm of adventure be if I knew exactly where I was going and what I would be facing? So I decided I would take a quick glance at the world to find a forest near a city or town to place my body. I took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh air and smell of plant matter that lingered within it, while I wondered in no particular direction. The sounds of trees rustling in the wind combined with the lively chirping of various birds gave the forest life. As a god, I knew about all these experiences but this was actually the first time I experienced it firsthand. It has only been a few hours since I''ve been in this world and I''m already enjoying myself. I couldn''t help but smile to myself as I wandered the forest and immerse myself in my surroundings walking through the forest. As I walked further, I felt a small rumble in my stomach and an unpleasant feeling of emptiness from within. Ohhhh this must be hunger, what a rather unpleasant feeling this is. Although I limited the information I had on this world, I wasn''t dumb enough to not gather information to be a mortal being. I know that a body needed food to live and I intend to live. I continued in the direction I''ve been wandering, but this time made sure to pay close attention to not make too much sound and kept my eyes out for any animals. Before long, I came across what seemed to be a deer, only it had 4 eyes instead of the normal 2 you''d expect from deer. The deer was also white with green marking on its front and hind legs. It was currently grazing on the grass in an opening in the forest, lowering its head to eat the grass. Drawing my katana, I slowly crept as silently as I could towards the deer. When he was at the edge of the clearing, about 5 metres away, I gathered the strength in my legs and dashed towards the deer, reaching it in a split second. As I reached it I swung my katana at its neck, cutting off its head in one fell swoop before the poor creature had realised what had happened. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Standing straight up, I couldn''t help but be surprised at the speed which I reached just by putting all the strength my legs could muster into a single dash. I guess humanoids aren''t a top predator for no reason. Whether it was elves, dwarves, demons or humans, they were all top of the food chain in their respective ecosystems. I guess with such extreme agility, there won''t be many beasts that could defeat a trained human. Looking at the dead deer, I knew I would have to skin it before cutting meat from bone. Using the best of my knowledge from watching all the heroes I summoned, I slowly began to skin the deer. Although a lot of meat was left still attached to the skin, I felt rather proud of my first skinning. After gathering some sticks and branches, I returned to the opening and began to build a small campfire, lighting the wood by infusing mana into a stick I was holding. I then used my katana to sharpen the ends on the larger branches, skewering the meat on one end and sticking the other end into the ground. After the meat was done, I began eating the meat, indulging my taste buds in the fragrant meat. Although it wasn''t as extravagant as the food I normally had, I would not trade away the meat I was eating right now for anything else in the realms. This was the first time I had to work for my food, the first time I cooked food and also the first time I satisfied hunger. I sat there enjoying the afterglow of the food and feeling for an hour before deciding it was time to resume my adventure. As the sun was setting, I hear the sounds of metal clashing metal off in the distance. This situation instantly reminded me of how Faeha would help me introduce Heroes into the world they were summoned to. She would arrange for a merchant to be held up by bandits and for the guards to be able to hold out till the hero reached them. I thought she couldn''t interact with this world? I guess she wasn''t explaining herself correctly and she meant she couldn''t interact with the world much. Although the event came a little later than I would like, I still had to thank Faeha for arranging someone to help me find a town. As I wandered closer and closer to the clearing ahead, the sound of clashing metal sounded louder and fiercer, the clanging sounding out more often. Shit, I thought to myself one of the people fighting is getting desperate. Breaking into a sprint, I began to run towards the sound. As I broke through the clearing, I saw a woman in a blouse and long pants, standing over a fallen younger woman who was wearing a dress. The standing woman had her sword pointed at the throat of the fallen one. My body kicking into overdrive, I ran and knocked the lady back whilst taking up a defensive posture, defending the fallen girl. Before I sealed myself and came to this world, I had used my powers to study different styles of combat to prepare myself for a more physical based combat style. "Drop your sword and tell me why you are attacking this lady" I said as I began to survey the rest of my surroundings. That''s when I noticed that what the woman in the blouse wasn''t holding a sword, it was a metal rod typically used for sparring. The metal rod was heavier than wooden swords and used by novices to get them accustomed to the weight of a real sword. To the side of the girls was a group of male knights who were watching the spar, mouths agape as they looked at me with shocked and judging eyes. "..." -Sparring women "..." -Mlithru "..." -Other knights "..." -Mlithru Immortal Realm "..." -Alaria "kek" -Faeha "..." -Orden "..." -Kaena "..." -Garnum "...errrr" -Aliya "..." -Aidres "..." -Hoein Mortal Realm "... Sorry?" -Mlithru Chapter 2: First Contact Alexandra Dalton POV I''m standing in front the strange man who had barged in on my spar with me and my sister, Christi. Recalling how he had burst into our camp site, I couldn''t help but snicker. Although we were quite surprised when he came out of the forest, the other Knights and I quickly regained our composure, drawing our weapons and demanding him to disarm himself. Although he was quite compliant, sheathing his blade and allowing us to cuff him, we couldn''t let our guard down for a single moment. There aren¡¯t many people who would not be compliant when surrounded by a group of knights. Standing in front of him, I get a good look at him for the first time. I was so caught up in the moment earlier, I didn''t really pay much attention to him and focused on his body overall. Examining him and observing him in case he had decided to attack me or Christi behind him. He is wearing a rather extravagant black robe that was lined with intricate designs and had silver trimmings that contrasted the black and matched the colour of his hair. I''m unable to clearly see his face however as he is currently slumped on the ground, muttering something about being a laughing stock to "the others". Others? As I realised the implications of the word I quickly draw my sword and rest the tip on his shoulder, threatening to chop his head off if he wasn''t cooperative. "Where are the others?" -Alexandra "Huh? Only I came here." -Mlithru As my words snapped him out of his own little world of self-pity, he turned to me and answered my question. As I look at his face closely I couldn''t help but to slightly blush at his handsome features and blood red eyes. I can''t be side-tracked right now! Refocusing myself, I begin interrogations again. "You mentioned others, where are they?" -Alexandra "Like I said, not here." -Mlithru "If they''re not here then where are they!?" -Alexandra "If they aren''t here, then obviously they''re somewhere else!" -Mlithru "Then where is this somewhere else!?" -Alexandra "Not here!" -Mlithru I retract my earlier blush, I''m seriously going to kill this idiot if he keeps up this stupid charade. Let''s try a different approach. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "So it''s safe to say they can''t attack us right now?" -Alexandra "I guess? Why would they attack you?" -Mlithru "I don''t know? Because your bandits" -Alexandra His face changes to an inquisitive look as he stares at me, looks at himself and returns his gaze to me. "Do I really look like a bandit?" -Mlithru "... Point taken." -Alexandra "Did you really take me for a bandit?" -Mlithru "I don''t know, you just kind of showed up and wanted our weapons!" -Alexandra "I wanted you to drop your weapons, what else do I do if I want to peacefully stop a fight?" -Mlithru ¡°Ummmm¡± ¡°Not to mention, you were standing over the other girl and looked like you were going to kill her. How was I supposed to know it was a spar?¡± -Mlithru "I guess it could have looked misleading if- Wait! I''m the one asking questions here, not you!" -Alexandra "Then ask me a question instead of answering them" -Mlithru If I just swing my sword right now, to the left... Just one simple swing. No one would judge. I could just say he was a bandit. Just one little swing. "*Cough* *Cough* Okay then, why did you attack me?" -Alexandra "I only shoved you, looked like you were attacking the girl." -Mlithru Fair point, he could of stabbed me instead of shove me and he didn''t attack Christi who was lying at his feet. "Why are you here then? This place is a known hotspot for magical beasts and unless you have a real reason, everyone stays away from this place." -Alexandra "I wanted to ...explore the forest." -Mlithru He hesitated. I swear he hesitated. I''m definitely not looking for an excuse to stab him. But since he didn''t stab me earlier, I''ll [try] to not stab him. "You''re lying. Why are you really here?" -Alexandra "I have no real reason to be here; I was just wandering and ended up here. That''s the truth." -Mlithru Damn, he told the tru- I mean, looks like it''s the truth. But I can''t just free him. He was ridiculously fast when he jumped in front of Christi and who knows if he''ll just attack us. Bandit or not, it''s best to take him back and find out more. But we can''t do that, father said that the strange light we saw earlier must be investigated immediately and I need all my men to wander through the forest so I can''t send him back with an escort. Weighing my options, I decide its best to bring him along and hope that I won''t have headache dealing with him or chop his head off to stop the headaches. Chapter 3: History Lesson Mlithru PoV Five Knights, a robed man, 2 girls and I are sitting around a campfire, waiting for a pair of Knights to prepare dinner. Apparently it was decided that I''d tag along with the group since I didn''t know my way out of the forest and that travelling alone would be too dangerous. I have no choice but to agree to both statements since I didn''t even know where the city is or how powerful the creatures are on this planet. Looking past the flame, I spot the amusing interrogator and her sister as she instructs her on her form and mistakes from the spar earlier. The interrogator is a rather slender female with blonde hair and emerald green eyes, she wears a blouse and leather pants. Her sister looks to be only a year or two younger but seems rather developed with a large bust and wide hips. Her hair is a fiery red and is very unruly compared to her sister¡¯s smooth hair. She is wearing a nice dress which doesn''t quite fit the activity she is undergoing. An older looking knight approaches me and places himself on the log I''m sitting on, handing to me what looks like a bowl of stewed meat and potatoes. He has a weathered face with a vertical scar on his left cheek and another down his bald head. Looking to be 40-50 years old, the older knight carries himself with dignity and vigour unbefitting of his age. "Hi there, name''s Jor Thebson" he declares as he holds out a hand for me to shake. "I''m...". I begin but then hesitate as a come to a realisation of sorts. Wait a second. What should I be called? My name was something I had from the beginning of my existence. Whether by choice of not, there are many worlds that worship me as their God and many religions have sprouted with my name as the centrepiece. In this world full of unknown variables, who¡¯s to say that no one will know the name Mlithru. Well if I used Mlithru and came across someone with an understanding of the name, I could simply chalk it up to coincidence. Hmmmm... I think it''ll be best to take on a different name, just to avoid any future complications that may arise. But now the problem is, I need a new name... "Uhhhh Theun." -Mlithru "No family name?" -Jor "Uhhhh no...?" -Theun "One of the Lost Demon Clan then, huh? You must have suffered greatly from the war, hang in there." -Jor "Uhhhh yea... Did you take part in the war?" I ask, trying to pry information without making it seem that I know nothing of the world. "Mhmm, I was a part of the first men sent to the frontlines. After the demon refugees came flooding in from the east, me and my friends were the first to go support the Demon''s frontline against the Flaming Legion. Some great men died during the war. Demons or Humans, Elves or Dwarves, many people lost their loved ones. I got out lucky with just a few scars. Hell, even the king has more scars on his arm than I have on my entire body." -Jor "Must have been tough losing friends." -Theun "Yea, but it''s a thing of the past. You can get over a lot of things with 25 years to cope. But my loss is relatively minuscule compared to the Lost Demon Clan, to not even know who your family is and whether they''re alive or not." -Jor The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon."Yeah...." -Theun Hmmmm.... From what I''ve gathered; 25 years ago,the Flaming Legion invaded from the Demon''s land to the East. The refugees made it here to the Human''s land where they were sheltered. Demons who lost their families and were no longer affiliated with a clan, are called Lost Demon Clan. The Humans went to join the Demons in the frontline. Elves and Dwarves joined the fray and the war was won after years of conflict. "So then, if I may ask, who are you guys?" -Theun "Us guys...? Oh you mean everyone here, hahaha. We are the Royal Guard here to protect the princesses in case of danger. Don''t underestimate the young ones here. They don''t look it, but they''re some of the strongest Knights of Sanctium. Little Kelion over there is a Mage and practicing under the Archmage Queen herself" -Jor "Princesses? Archmage Queen?" -Theun I look to the sister duo sitting across from me. They''re princesses? I understand the Christi girl but that Alexandra just doesn''t seem to be princess material. "You must really not concern yourself with politics if you don''t even know something so simple." -Jor "I uhhh haven''t been in the country for long." -Theun "Really now..." Jor says as he shoots me a questioning look. All the past hesitations has built doubt in my words. I can''t blame him since I practically paused every time he asked me something. It wouldn''t take a genius to see that I wasn''t being a hundred percent honest. Despite his appearance, it would seem he isn''t just a muscle head and he''s picking up something amidst with me. "I returned to the East under the care of some friends after the war, only arrived recently and I''ve been wondering this forest for the better part of that time." I say giving him a smile. I gamble that the East is at least inhabitable after the war and it isn''t strange for Demons to return there. Seeing his questioning look slowly lift as he runs the scenario through his head, I sigh in relief in my mind. "The Archmage Queen was part of the king''s party when he ventured to defeat the Devil Lord. After the war, the king married many wives and the Archmage was one of them. She was promptly named the Archmage Queen by the citizens of Sanctium. She is also Christi''s mother, while Sandra''s mother is the Elven Queen of Hunt." I can only assume that Sandra is what Jor calls Ms Interrogator Princess. Now that he mentions it, I do see that Alexandra''s ears are slightly longer and pointed compared to others. I guess it''s a half blood thing with elves and humans. "Well you better get some rest." Jor says as he lifts himself from the log. "We''re heading deeper into the forest and it''ll only get more dangerous. It''s nothing we can''t handle but it''s better to be ready. I''m sorry, but we''re going to have to take your weapon. Y''know, just in case you slit our throats during the night.¡± "Its fine, I understand." I reply. It isn''t an unreasonable request and I''ve been provided my own tent. It''s supposedly Alexandra''s but she decided to sleep with her sister and lend me this tent. The trip is planned to take one day going somewhere, then two days to return to the kingdom. I enter the tent and close it behind me, wrapping myself in the covers and going to sleep. Chapter 4: No take backs Theun POV I wake up satisfied with the happenings of last night. Who knew my first time could be so wondrous? I bask in the afterglow as I feel the blood rushing through my veins, towards my relaxed muscles. Oh, what a feeling. Sleeping, what a wonderful feeling it is. Well, technically there is no feeling and the waking up part is what feels good, but I digress. The feeling of your mental and physical fatigue lifted from your body, feeling refreshed and anew. I sit up and stretch my muscles a bit before leaving my tent. I''m greeted with the sight of Alexandra training with a rod. Going through the forms, I see that she has practiced them many times. When she cycles through the forms, I''ve noticed that her body is exactly as it was the cycle before. The position of her hands and feet and the distance between them are perfectly identical to what they were earlier. Each strike was fast and accurate, each transition smooth and flowing. She is keeping her balance and adjusting her centre with each movement. I admire her determination as I look to the East and see that the sun has barely risen. After her training is done, Alexandra looks towards me with evident surprise on her face. "Mornin'' Princess" I say with a smile. "My name¡¯s Alexandra Dalton. Just call me Sandra like everyone else." "Why not Alexandra?" "It sounds too much like my father''s name, Alex. Can you believe he named me with such a tomboyish name?" Seems to fit you just fine. But Alex Dalton Huh? Sounds familiar, but then again, everything sounds familiar when you hear everything. "You¡¯re up early, did I wake you?" She seems to have cooled off since our "interrogation" yesterday. She doesn''t seem to want to lob my head off and is rather calm compared to how she was yesterday. "Oh no, I don''t normally sleep much (or at all), so I woke up early. You seem to have mastered the forms of your style. That''s very impressive." -Theun "Thank you. But forms can only get you so far; to master a style you need to fully understand the meaning and use of each form and adapt to every scenario. Using the forms as a guide and not a rule, you need to be able to change. I am still far from becoming a Master of my Father''s art." "Oh? The King made that style?" "Yes, it''s an amalgamation of the techniques he learnt when he travelled the continent to defeat the Devil Lord and his Generals. The style itself is no secret but my father doesn''t bother teaching just anyone, so only a few people know it." "Mhmmm... Is that why you and your sister are here for? Experience?" "Well yes and no. Originally I planned to head out by myself and stick along the edge of the forest, but my father insisted on a few guards. Then my sister wanted to come along for the fun of it and more guards were forced upon my small group." I give her a wry smile as I gaze at the numerous tents sheltering the Knights that are here with her. "So what''s the no part for?" "Yesterday morning we saw a strange beam of light coming from further in the forest. Apparently it could be seen all the way back in Sanctium, so I received orders from my father to take our group further in and investigate. Since the light didn''t come from very deep in the forest, the Royal Guards and I should be able to make it there safely and investigate. Reinforcements would take a full day to reach us right now and if there isn''t much danger then we might as well journey ourselves." I''m pretty sure I caused that light when I came to this world but its better that I don''t say anything about that. "Aren''t you a little too trusting of me? Telling me your plans and all?" "We you don''t seem like a bad guy. You charged in headfirst to save someone you didn''t know and endangered yourself to protect her. Not many people would do that even if they weren''t evil." "Hmmm, I''ll take that as a compliment. If it helps you, I believe the light came from that direction." I say as I point towards the direction I came. Hopefully no one realises this. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "Yes I believe it did. Anyways, since you are up, would you like to spar with me? Using rods, of course. You seem well trained to reach my sister yesterday, considering the distance." Hmmm... Apparently my dash yesterday isn''t considered average for a normal civilian, but rather of a trained individual''s. Sandra also seems to have some history when it comes to combat, so it''s safe to assume she would be stronger than your run of the mill villager. It''ll be a good idea to gauge her strength to see what humans are capable of. "If you would have me." I pick up the rod lying on the ground and grip it with both my hands. Readying myself, I adjust my feet to stand firm and place the rod between me and Sandra. I eye her carefully, watching for signs of an attack. Third Person Pointing the tip of the rod to the ground, Sandra lunges towards Theun and swings the rod in an uppercut fashion from her left to right. The rod carries considerable force and impacts with Theun''s as he deflects it towards the sky in hopes of disarming Sandra. Realising his intentions, Sandra kicks herself off the ground and tries to plant a kick on Theun''s chest as she follows the momentum of the sword into the air. The kick is blocked by Theun as he jumps to join Sandra midair shooting out his leg to her stomach. As she is adjusting her body, Sandra is surprised to see Theun before her is kicked by him, sending her down towards the ground. She manages to land on her feet but is immediately slashed by Theun. Rolling forward, Sandra sweeps at his feet with the rod in hopes of toppling him. Theun dodges backwards and the two are both on their feet facing each other once again. The second round begins, as Theun launches himself towards Sandra. Sandra is able to the block the attack but is disarmed by a quick strike on her forearm before she could even react. Following through with the movement, Theun uses the momentum by jumping and twisting his body to kick Sandra. Unarmed, Sandra raises her arms and blocks the attack with them but staggers backwards in the process. Taking the opening in his staggering opponent, Theun continues forward and sweeps his legs into hers, causing Sandra to fall onto the ground. Sandra is looking up at Theun as he approaches her lying on the ground. His clothes are unblemished and his breathing, steady. Meanwhile, she''s breathing in heavy gasps and she''s got a footprint on her blouse. She''s been defeated, rather pathetically in fact, but she can''t help but to admire the man before her. He looks about her age, 23. Maybe a year or two older at most. A demon''s and a human''s physical body is practically identical, with demons only having an advantage in mana control. True he might have a bit more strength than she did with Enhancement Magic but that wasn''t what defeated her. Pure skill and adaptability did. Everything Theun did seem planned and calculated. When he deflected the first attack, he knew the rod would be flung upwards. When she went along with the blade, he adapted. Instead of attacking the unarmed opponent he had planned to, he adjusted to attack where the blade would¡¯ve been flung. He was living the moment, adjusting to conform to the events around him. Yet he was always one step ahead, planning his next move and anticipating his opponent''s. Battle experience was what she needed and this spar further proved that point. She looked up at Theun as he held his hand out to help her up. His silver hair glistening in the rising sun. His deep red eyes only reflecting her. She couldn''t stop herself from blushing as she took his warm hands and was helped to her feet. Hopefully this time, she won''t have to take her blush back. Chapter 5: Practice makes perfect Theun POV After everyone woke up and had their share of breakfast; we all help pack the campsite. Gathering everything into several neat piles of blankets, covers and poles, the Knights make way for Kelion as he walks over to the pile. He retrieves a strange square disk that is attached to a slot on his belt. The strange disk is covered in runes and gives off a slight hue in his hands. Kelion places the risk the centre of the piles and steps back as all the camping gear is absorbed into it. I find this whole thing quite amusing as I would just put everything into my own separate dimension but then again, I''m not really what someone would call the norm. Kelion walks towards the disk which flies up and attaches itself to the slot on his belt with a satisfying click. "That''s quite the trinket." I comment as I eye the disk. "Oh the Storage Disks? Yes, they are simply remarkable! Although just a prototype, it works miracles and is at the forefront of adventuring technology. The innovative use of runes and enchantments are astonishing and only someone as great as the Archmage Queen could come up with such wondrous designs. The possibilities are endless! Using this disk and closely examining the runes, I can only glimpse at the magnificence that the Queen holds. Her beauty is a blessing of Alaria. Her intellect rivals the greatest minds of history. The world shall mourn the day that the Retriever of Souls, Mlithru, returns her soul to the planes above!" -Kelion Good thing I didn''t use my real name then, huh? The disk is called a Storage Disk, made by a combination of runes and enchantments. So far that''s all I know from this guy''s rant. "Does it have a weakness? A downside?" -Theun "... shall be a great addition to the Angels, NAY, the GODS above. Her greatness shall be known throughout the realms as she ascends the Realm of Mortals and inherits her rightful place among the gods! She will..." -Kelion He''s still going. He really is still going. Plus there are no angels, just maids and butlers. "He''ll come out of his reverie sooner or later. Only my mother can snap him out of his nonsense preaching state. If you really need him, just give him an almighty slap in the face." I hear a female voice behind me and I turn to face Christina Dalton. Called Christi by the others, Christina is the daughter of the Archmage Queen whom Kelion over here won''t shut up about. "I believe we haven''t been formally introduced. I am Christina Dalton, 3rd Princess of Sanctium. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you" -Christina "Theun of Lost Demon Clans. Pleasure to meet you too" -Theun "You were asking about the weakness of the Storage Disks right? You see, how they are attached to his waist? That''s because they have a rather... "volatile" reaction when the runes are broken. The contents burst outwards so they are kept against the slot, keeping the user safe if they do shoot outwards. But my mother is working on that flaw right now." -Christina "Thank you for the explanation. Do you mind if I ask whether or not you''re of a Demon heritage?" I ask as I turn away from Kelion and look Christi in her eyes. She has the same red coloured eyes as I do, although they are of a lighter shade. "Yes, I am. My mother was born in Xanthius and moved here during the war. She met my father a few years later and they''ve been together since. There aren''t many people with red eyes that aren''t related to demons" -Christina "Just making sure. I wouldn''t want to make myself out to be a fool by going with presumptions." -Theun "A smart thing to do." -Christina "Indeed." -Theun "..." -Christina "..." -Theun "... her smile melts the coldest hearts and her beauty the undoing of man. Oh what I would give to spend a night wi-" -Kelion *SLAP* Oh, there''s that almighty slap she mentioned. Hmmm, looks like he''s out. He really did choose a bad time to comment on the queen in that particular manner, but at least he broke the awkward silence. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "If you''ll excuse me, I have to tie this guy up so we can depart." -Christina "Oh please, go right ahead" -Theun I wonder what she meant by that. Examining Christi and Kelion, I see Jor come over and throw Kelion over his shoulder. Carrying him like a dead game seems natural, so I don''t think this is the first time Kelion has found himself in this sort of predicament. Kelion is tied in a way to stop his arms and legs from flailing about since he''s unconscious. I get up and join the group as they finish their departure preparations. The walk deeper into the forest was rather uneventful. We encounter no monsters or magical beasts during the trek and according to the Knights, it was rather strange. I myself didn''t run into anything when I was wandering yesterday, but I guess I simply got lucky. As we hike towards the area where the "Strange Light" appeared, we stumble across a clearing where a dead deer laid with its haphazardly skinned fur tossed beside it. To me, this sight simply meant we were on the right direction. I did walk in a straight line yesterday, with little to no deviation. To the Knights however, this was a sign of something far more concerning. "Would you look at that..." -Jor "A dead deer?" -Theun "Well yeah. What else?" -Jor "I don''t know? What''s so interesting about the deer?" -Theun "Are you blind or retarded? The damned thing has 4 eyes and its fur is white!" -Jor "Ohhhhhh, you''re right." -Theun "I really don''t know what to make of you." -Jor "You two stop chit chatting. Everyone, to arms. Kelion, search the environment for anything suspicious. Who or whatever killed this Eldeer might still be around." -Sandra Everyone readies their weapon and the peaceful mood is shattered instantly. The Knights have their eyes peeled and are scanning the area for the slightest movement. I sense Kelion shooting out bursts of mana to detect other sources of mana. I don''t know why they''re making such a big deal over a dead deer but this isn''t the right time to ask. "No signs of anything besides us." -Kelion "Guards, secure the area. Kelion, determine the time of death then keep your sensors up. try to achieve ten metres out of the clearing. We are going to examine the body." -Sandra Kelion walks to the corpse and lifts his hands towards it. Standing beside him, I can sense the mana flowing out of his hands and towards the deer before returning to him with information. "Around afternoon yesterday." He says as he gets up and resumes pulsing his mana outwards. "So... What''s so special about this deer?" -Theun "They don''t have Eldeer in Xanthius?" -Sandra "They do, mother talked about hunting one during the Hero party." -Christina "I never really paid attention to monster biology..." -Theun "Hahhhhh... Special deer that are born with the ability to interact with mana can become Eldeer. They absorb mana for about a hundred years and undergo a transformation that makes them look like this. The Eldeer has Enhanced sight with its 4 eyes, incredible agility with cells empowered by mana and an ability to detect anything within 5 metres of its body. They are incredibly rare since they are just normal deer until they evolve, so they are normally hunted without realisation. We can find its approximate time of death by sensing the amount of mana remaining in the body." -Christina "They can detect anything within 5 metres... Is that why Sandra told Kelion to extend his sensors to 10 metres outside the clearing?" -Theun "Yes, if something can kill an Eldeer then it has to be extremely fast. A 10 metre leeway can help save the lives of the soldiers here." -Sandra "Something? Couldn''t the killer be person?" -Theun "No, it''s impossible. There are no wounds on the deer besides the cut to the neck, which means no projectiles were used. Besides, no projectile known to man can outpace an Eldeer let alone an actual person." -Sandra "But isn''t the Eldeer skinned?" -Theun "I thought that at first but, looking closely at the skill level of the skinning, or lack of, I''d say this was done by an evolved beast with a perverted sense of humour. There is meat and fur everywhere. Bits of meat stuck to the fur and fur stuck to the meat." -Sandra H-hey! I-I tried my best okay!? D: Chapter 6: Meet (some of) the Family Theun POV "How about magicians? A wind blade could cut through the Eldeer''s neck." -Theun "Indeed, but an Eldeer''s mana sense is even greater than its presence sense, it could detect someone gathering mana 15 metres away from itself. Why are you so adamant about the killer being a intelligent?" -Sandra "It''s... nothing. I just have a feeling about it, that''s all." -Theun There has to be something to prove my humanity. There''s something I''m forgetting... The fire! That could help prove the Eldeer was hunted by an intelligent being. Originally, when I left the clearing yesterday, I put out the fire and buried it in some dirt to prevent embers from setting a forest fire. Now... Where was the campfire? I walk around while carefully inspecting the ground under me before I find a small amount of ash mixed with dirt. Kicking away at the top layer, I find some burnt twigs and branches. "Oh my... What''s this? I believe I''ve found traces of fire! Would you look at that" -Theun "Fire?" -Sandra Christi and Sandra join me and inspect my "Find". "Hmmm.,, There really was a fire here. Maybe you''re "feeling" was spot on after all, Theun." -Christi "I guess so." -Theun "But really. I''ve only ever heard of a single man hunting an Eldeer, and that was father. The Blessings of the Divines gave him an advantage over other men though. To think someone out there could kill an Eldeer like father..." -Sandra Yes! Humanity restored! I feel slightly better now that they don''t think I am some sort of animal. "But, all the more reason this someone should learn to skin an animal. The handiwork here is utterly miserable." -Christi *Glass Shatters* "Well, at least we have the hide to sell. To think the idiot left it behind. Even this shoddy lump of fur could have a man live luxuriously for a month. How should we split it?" -Jor "Well, considering we don''t have credit for the kill, I say we split it among everyone present." -Sandra Not only have I been insulted, I''ve been robbed too. I should have kept the hide, but how was I to know it was some sort of special deer? At least I have some starting funds so I won''t be without shelter or food for a few days. Considering I get a share of the gold. "Now that the mystery of the dead Eldeer is solved, we should continue forward. Honestly, I''m glad that my hypothesis of the killer being a perverted beast was wrong. At least you can talk an intelligent individual out of a fight." -Sandra Sandra proceeds to take a palm sized circular disk from her belt and hold it facing upwards in her hands. The small gold trinket has several glowing green veins that originate from an emerald green crystal in the middle. The device emits strong amounts of mana up and outwards for a few moments before a face appears floating above the crystal. I can''t make out much of the face because the display flickers constantly and everything is green. I do however; make out some distinct features such as shoulder length hair, a short beard, strong jawline and a definitive nose. "Hello father." -Sandra "Sandra! How is the investigation going dear?" -Alex "Father, we found a corpse of an Eldeer and evidence points to it being slain by a single person, I think it''s best if you send some men to investigate the forest immediately and find anyone to bring in for questioning." -Sandra "Mhmmm... I understand but before anything else. I need to speak with you about something." -Alex "Yes?" -Sandra "Why can''t you call me daddy? Calling me father seems too cold don''t you think? Daddy wants sweet little Sandra back, before she grew so cold. *Sob Sob*" -Alex Stolen novel; please report."Oh grow up. I''m a princess; I need to act the part. And you''re the king! At the very least act like one when you appear to the public." -Sandra "Did you hear that, Alice? Sandra is being mean again. *Sob*" -Alex "Yes, yes dear. Sandra honey, do be careful in the forest. I''ll take care of your father. Is Christina there?" -Alice? "Yes, I am" -Christi "Your mother said that if you call, tell you to make sure Kelion doesn''t run his mouth too much and that she is sorry she couldn''t be here for the call." -Alice? "I''ll be sure to keep Kelion in line. Also, tell mother it''s alright. I understand she is busy." -Christi "Okay, take care now you two." -Alice? "Yes mother." -Sandra "Yes Aunt Alice" -Christi "Bye my little sweethearts *Sob*" -Alex "Goodbye father" -Sandra "Bye Daddy" -Christi The display flickers once more before it is completely turned off. The other knights and I were snickering throughout the conversation but I decide to straighten my face out before Sandra can catch on to that. Sandra seems to be very upfront and wears her heart on her sleeve. She is rather serious with the whole princess appearance though. Christi on the other hand is rather prim and proper, except when it came to her doting father. "That¡¯s enough laughing. We should head out. Kelion, drop the presence sense to 5 metres around us." -Sandra By the time we reached the area where the light originated from, the sun had already begun to set. The sky is has begun its transition to night and a few bright stars can be seen in the afternoon sky. The clearing where I woke up is as I left it, but that is a problem. On the ground is a perfect circle of burnt grass, the grass in the centre is untouched and has a perfect shape of a man. Sandra seems to be in deep thought about something, so I avoid interrupting her thoughts and go sit on a tree root nearby. Seeing their leader preoccupied, the knights take it upon themselves to start setting up camp. Being cautious not to disturb the strange burn marks on the ground, the knights set up camp away from the marks. Within minutes, the campsite is set up and dinner preparations are being made. It seems that we are to investigate tomorrow morning and depending on results, head back midday or stay another day here. The trip back to the capital should take 2 days and after that, we will walk our separate ways after I get a share of the Eldeer money. I have no idea how money works in this world but that''s a problem for when I can study the economy in the city. During dinner, I try to speak to Sandra about her findings on the burn marks. Walking towards her, I see her look up to me and recoil back in surprise. Making an excuse like she needed to speak privately to her sister, Sandra walks away and leaves me to myself. She seems to be avoiding me whenever I try to talk to her. I don''t really know why this is but its best to leave her be and wait for her to speak to me. Sandra POV Hmmmm... It''s decided. I need to confront Theun about this. I can''t dawdle any longer. Tomorrow morning I will talk to Theun and get an answer from him. That''s the only way I can settle these thoughts I have. I pray to the Divines this goes well. Might take a few weeks break for reasons ;) Chapter 7: Suspicion I was joking about the whole break thing. Australians can''t afford fallout :( Theun POV As I sleep in my tent, I wake up to the sound of rustling leaves and breaking branches. I sit up straight and concentrate on the sounds that I hear. I can feel the mana circulating in my body gather around my ears as I concentrate and listen to my environment. Strange... I recall a similar feeling when I attacked the Eldeer but back then it was in my legs. I guess my control of mana has allowed me to empower the cells within me with mana, similar to an Eldeer. Enhancing my senses and physical abilities is quite the advantage over other people. Demons, if I recall correctly, have an inborn ability to manipulate mana which allows them to empower their muscles similar to how I empower my cells. Although it would seem that their ability is slightly weaker than mine, since I was able to kill the Eldeer effortlessly. The mana in my ears is giving me a whole new sensation I''ve never felt before, granted I''ve only been mortal for 2 days. Closing my eyes, I could somehow "see" what I heard and sense how far away everything is. A few more snapping of branches confirms my thoughts and I get out of my tent. I head straight to Sandra and Christi''s tent and stop outside. "There is something approaching us from the north. I believe it''s a large pack of wolves around 20 in size." I whisper into the tent. It isn''t too late and I hope that the sisters aren''t asleep already. Some rustling within the tent is all I hear before Sandra bursts out of the tent. She eyes me cautiously but it feels more like a glare than anything else. I ignore her antics and proceed to inform everyone else, making sure not to cause too much of a stir. It takes each knight less than a minute to edit their tent fully prepared for combat. I stand to the side and ready my blade while everyone else forms a semi-circle around Christi and Kelion. "My mana sense is reacting; they have a mediocre sized mana pool so expect they''re most likely Silver Fangs. The leader is a bit under double of the rest." -Kelion "Alright, this shouldn''t be too difficult to handle. Kelion, put up a barrier, you''re in charge of defence. We''re going to give Christi a try at shooting live targets, don''t let any of them get to our sides. Theun, do you want to join the formation?" -Sandra "I''m fine thanks, I can handle myself." -Theun Just as I finish my sentence, a large wolf jumps into the clearing. The wolf is 3 metres long and it''s head is at the right height to simply rip someone''s neck out. Its fur is a silver colour and gives off a metallic sheen in the night. It bares its sharp canines at us as it growls and glares directly at me. One by one, more wolves appear, but they are smaller than the first and their fur, less metallic. The alpha lifts its head into the air and howls, signalling the initiation of the fight. All the wolves begin to assault the formation, while the alpha stalks his way towards me. Sandra POV The alpha howls and immediately the pack of wolves begin to attack us. The Royal Guard stand their ground, shields raised. They knock each wolf back with the shield in their left hand and strike with the sword in their right whenever they can. The large pack guarantees that no one can let their guard down since there are at least 2 wolves for every guard. The metallic fur of Silver Fangs act like thin layers of metal, guarding its body against slices but is relatively weak against stabs. As a swordsman, I don''t have a shield, so I rely on the barrier and dodging to land strikes on the wolves. Silver Fangs aren''t much trouble unless you are completely outnumbered and the Royal Guards¡¯ training further tips the scale to our favour. As the pack thins down, I get more chances to glimpse at Theun who is fighting the alpha. Normally the alpha is the problem in a fight with Silver Fangs, it is generally twice as strong and its fur, three times as hard. However, I see several wounds on its back and belly where blood is constantly leaking. A shadow looms over me and I realise I''ve been too complacent. A flaming trail appears and the Silver Fang is knocked back, fur slightly charred. I turn to Christi and thank her with a nod before I resume fighting the rest of the wolves. Theun POV I see that the Knights have held their ground against the wolves and are about to finish up. Deciding it''s time I killed the beast, I slash at its head a few times when it lunges at me again. I could have easily killed the beast earlier but refrained from doing so to not arouse suspicion. "Wow, this is a lot of Fang fur. Boys, get out your knives and skin the beasts. We''re having Silver Fang tonight!" -Jor "Woohoo!" -Knights "Quite the fight you had there, Theun. Surprised you didn''t get hurt at all." -Jor "I''ve been training myself to travel alone. I''ve killed some beasts on my way to Sanctium." -Theun "I see. You''ve got a good arm; maybe you should join the military. Work for the nation and the pay is good too. Who knows, maybe one day you''ll be a part of the Royal Guard like us." -Jor "I''ll consider it actually. I need the money if I want to be self-sufficient. I don¡¯t have much left on me." -Theun "Atta boy. Quite lucky to be with us and get a share of the Eldeer, aren¡¯t you. Now skin the damn thing and share us some quality meat." -Jor "I uhhh... didn''t bring a knife with me." -Theun "No knife? Here, take my spare. It''s always useful to have a knife if you''re travelling abroad on your own." -Jor "Thanks..." -Theun "After you''re done with the beast, bring the meat over and we can have a chat as we eat" -Jor Jor turns and leaves me to my kill. "Hahhhhh... I''m never going to hear the end of this" I think to myself as I begin to skin the beast. I make sure to stay close to the skin this time, which is easier with a knife than a katana. After I''m done I use the knife to further peel away some left over fur. At least it''s an improvement over the Eldeer, right? Just ignore all the looks everyone''s giving you, you''re doing fine. I wake up to the sounds of shuffling outside and decide to investigate what is going on. The sun hasn''t risen just yet but I can see its rays beginning to peak over through the trees. I spot Sandra, Christi and Jor standing around the burn marks discussing something. I¡¯m not so rude as to listen into their conversation with mana enhancements, so I just approach them normally. Christi spots me and a surprised expression is evident on her face, but she quickly regains her composure and informs the other two of my presence. Sandra looks up deep in thought as I make my way to the group. "Did you find something?" -Theun "Maybe... we need confirmation though." -Sandra "Anything I can do to help?" -Theun "No... Not yet. Just sit over there and let me discuss this further with Christina and Jor." -Sandra "Okay?" -Theun I don''t quite understand what''s going on but I have a feeling that it''ll be troublesome. I look up to the sky and let my eyes stare off into the distance. It''s been a relatively eventful first few days and I have enjoyed myself. Although I do wish for a few calm days once I¡¯m in the city to focus on information gathering, I don''t think I''d change anything if I could. The group seems to have finish discussing whatever they''ve been discussing and make their way to me. "Theun of the Lost Demon Clans, you are hereby under arrest for involvement in suspicious activities that may or may not affect the city of Sanctium negatively. You are to be arrested to be brought before the king for interrogation. I hope you will follow peacefully and do not cause a scene." -Sandra "Eh?" -Theun Sandra POV This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Discussing the idea that Theun was the cause of the flash of light with Jor and Christi, they agreed that the coincidences I''ve listed do seem too coincidental. The trip from our camp to this site took about 14 hours, Theun appeared 15 hours after the flash and considering he stopped to cook and eat the Eldeer, the timing seems too perfect. The direction he came from further proves my theory, the direction he came from leads through the Eldeer clearing and straight to this place. Plotting the three points on a map would make a perfect line from our camp to this place through the Eldeer clearing. How adamant he was that the Eldeer killer was a person, his "finding" of the buried campfire and battle prowess when he fought the Alpha Silver fang without breaking a sweat. Everything that''s happened so far are like pieces of a puzzle and they all seem to fall in place when Theun is the culprit of the light. He honestly doesn''t seem to be a bad guy, all I can do is hope that he''ll come along peacefully and this whole thing can be resolved after an audience with father. I know it''s a farfetched goal but it''s what I hope for. My allegiance is to my kingdom and not some gut feeling I have about an individual, if he acts against Sanctium, I will cut him down. Theun moves his hands towards his sword; I reach for my sword while Christi begins a chant for . Jor on the other hand seems to ignore the action and stands still. But before Christ or I can complete our actions, Theun unties the string attaching the sheath to his belt and raises both hands towards us to allow him to be tied. So far, so good. All that''s left is a two day journey back to Sanctium. Two Days Later The journey concluded without a hitch, arriving as the sun set over the horizon. It can be considered lucky for us not to encounter any beasts in the Aviri Forest; all I can say is Goddess Faeha must be watching over us and keeping beasts away. That or we''ve been blessed by Goddess Aidres, but either is fine by me if they were true. I asked Jor about why he didn''t reach for his blade when Theun reached for his own. "He just doesn¡¯t seem like that kind of boy." was all I got, and when I asked how he was so sure, "Experience. When you''re as old I am, you tend to receive a few perks with age." is all he said. Jor even went as far as to spend time with Theun in case he was bored while he was cuffed. I wish I could be as trusting as Jor but my duty dictates otherwise. I contacted father earlier today and asked for an escort to the palace. I specifically asked for a simple carriage for Theun, Christi, Jor and I while the rest of the knights walked back on their own. I didn''t want to attract too much attention and if Theun is indeed innocent, I don''t want to parade him in cuffs to the palace. We meet the carriage driver outside the city and ride it towards the palace. There are several checkpoints along the way but we are quickly allowed in when they saw Christi and I. Arriving at the palace steps, I look up at the several towers and archways that make up a large portion of the palace. The black marble steps and pillar bases contrast the white that makes up a majority of the walls. Unique designs are seen on the base of each pillar, documenting every milestone father accomplished to defeat the Devils. Past the pillars are four large statues of the Hero and the 3 members of his party, although they are the King and his Queens now. The first is father when he was younger, and his beard yet to grow as prominent as it is now. His hair is of medium length hair is combed backwards with a few strands falling into his face. His mouth is curved into a smirk and his jawline is as obvious as it is today. His hands are placed on a sword that is stood in the ground, and some fingers even have rings on them. The level of detail seen in the statue is astounding, the hair is realistic and the facial features are spot on. Next is mother, Elven Queen of Hunt is what people call her. She has long straight hair that is held back with a headband. Her long elf ears poke through the hair and has several earring attached to them. She has thin eyebrows and a fierce look on her face as the statue is depicting her with a bow drawn and ready to fire. Overall, mother looks completely as she does now since she is an elf and does not age as humans do. Her slim body is slightly exaggerated however because I don''t think mother has ever had that large of a bust. After mother is Christi''s mother, Aunt Rusaria, Archmage Queen. She has long and unruly hair that spikes outwards in most areas. The statue''s eyes are close as it depicts Aunt Rusaria casting a spell. One hand on a staff that is lifted slightly above her head, the statue makes Aunt Rusaria look very mystical and powerful. Her mouth is slightly open into indicate a chant; her beautiful lips are parted and reveal a set of perfect teeth. Aunt Rusaria always disliked this statue because it doesn''t show her eyes which are a defining characteristic of her. Aunt''s eyes are special because they are not only red, which indicates her heritage; they also appear to be cross slit. The cross in her eyes doesn''t appear in Christi however but Auntie says it''s just something she hasn''t obtained just yet. The last statue is of Aunt Lena, Kayden''s mother and Life Giving Queen. She was called this because of her excellence in healing abilities during the war, saving many lives. Aunt Lena has long hair that is tied into a bun on the back of her head. Her face is more rounded than most and she gives a very cheerful vibe with her lard round eyes. She is by far the shapeliest of the queens, with a very large bust and wide hips. Her large eyes are closed and her hands are clasped together in front of her chest in a praying pose. I turn back and see Theun staring dumbfounded at the various statues that are on display. I can understand his sentiments as they really do look lifelike and to be able to see the Hero''s party in such a grand display is rather breathtaking. I tell him to hurry up and move along since father is waiting for our arrival. When I told father about my apprehension of Theun, he demanded to speak with the man who may be responsible for such a display of magic. It certainly is a powerful spell if one can see it from here when it originated from the Aviri Forest. We arrive at the door to the Throne Hall which is guarded by two knights. I tell one of them to enter, to tell my father that we''ve arrived and would like to seek an audience. The knight quickly disappears behind the door and returns moments later telling us its fine to enter. We enter the large hall and proceed down the carpet until we are I front of the stairs that lead to the throne. Sitting there is father with my mother and aunts beside him and my brother, Kayden, besides his mother. I give a slight bow while Christi curtsies and Jor gets on his knee, Theun is standing there gawking at the King and Queens. I understand he is new to the city and all but it is common courtesy to kneel before a king, and standing there with his mouth agape like that is very rude. I was about to chastise him but realise that father himself is returning that look to Theun. Before I can say anything though, father dismisses everyone in the Throne Hall except the Queens. I don''t quite understand what''s going on but I agree and leave with everyone else. Since they''re original Hero''s Party, it''s safe to assume they can handle anything if a fight were break out. Third Person In the Throne Hall of a Kingdom stands two men staring at each other with mouths agape and wide eyed stares. One is the King of the country and the other a God on vacation. Several moments pass and the restless Queens whisper among themselves. Who was this young man? Why did their husband dismiss everyone else? And why has the (idiot) King forgotten about his etiquette? Surely a King shouldn''t have a look like that on his face. Questions form in their mind before the silence is broken by the king. "W-What are you d-doing here?" -King Alex Dalton "What are YOU doing here?" -Theun "You sent me here to save this world and lead the inhabitants to a peaceful future, Milord Mlithru! I thought that being a king would be the best course of action" -Alex "HUH!?" -Queens If you are reading this, then you probably realised this chapter is twice as long as the rest. Well originally I was going to release this chapter the day after the last one, until someone *cough*Xorasta*cough* said my chapters are too short. So yeah... In your face. Jokes aside. The chapters are short because I wanted to keep only one plot point per chapter. If you guys want longer chapters, just say so in the comments. Release will be as it is, random and spontaneous, so don''t worry about longer chapters meaning longer wait. Chapter 8: Cure for cancer Sorry for the late release, the chapter got deleted and I had to rewrite it a couple of times Third Person Change is inevitable. Everything that exists will change if allowed time. All living things, in every plane of existence, is bound by the form of change we call growth. Whether growth is accepted or not, its idea embraced or discarded; growth will occur to every man and every woman, every child and every parent. The young grow old, the childish grow mature. Friends grow close and lovers, apart. Chicks grow into chickens and ducklings into ducks. The never ending love of a couple can grow too. The concept of undying affection for one another may not change but the relationship itself will grow different. He didn''t know she poops back then and she didn''t know what to think of that. Now they know every little detail about each other and live happily ever after. Narrator digresses. Growth and change are inevitable yet, the man kneeling before Theun seems to have not changed at all. Indeed he does look much older and his appearance, much more mature. His attitude, however, seems to be as childish and he seems as dense as the day Theun plucked him off his world and put him in this one. Giving him more time might be able to cure him of his childish tendencies but being able to retain such tendencies after 25 years is a miracle in itself. Theun POV When Faeha told me to research this world more deeply; I told her that the charm of adventure was in the discovery. I bet she is laughing her head off about my "discovery". To see things never seen before and to learn of things anew, that was what I wanted. The fewer the connections I had with a world, the better the experience was what I believed. Sure, I might encounter someone who worships Mlithru as a god but that was fine if they didn''t know who I was. However, the man kneeling before me knows exactly who I am and to make matters worse, he rules the country I am currently in. He can so easily spread the news of my arrival in this world and my presence will be known to the neighbouring countries within the week. I won''t be able to walk the streets without a disguise and my freedom would be non-existent. "If I may be so rude to ask, why has Lord Mlithru come to our world" -Rusaria Why indeed... I understand that I will need to give them an answer but telling the people who worship you that you''re on vacation isn''t something I would like to do. Call it the pride of a god if you like but I rather they see me as a serious God instead of a powerful man. Running away would be easy but that wouldn''t solve anything. In fact, running away might result in Alex alerting the nation that there is a god running around among them. The only thing left is to convince them I''m here on official business. Alex mentioned that he was following my orders from the time we met 30 years ago, so telling him I''m here to reward 30 years of service seems reasonable. I can only hope that he doesn''t ask for something too difficult. If anything, I could try to contact Faeha to help me, but that is a last resort. "I''m here to reward you for your services over the years Alex. I would also like to travel the world and see how much you''ve changed it. I would like my presence unknown to the rest of the world, so please do keep quiet about this. Now, if there is anything you want Alex, simply ask me now." -Theun "After all that you''ve given me, I''m ashamed to ask for more but I must. 25 years ago, the Devil Lord planned to curse me during our battle. Alice intercepted his curse and took it onto herself. The Devil Lord was distracted with channelling his curse, I was able to kill him before he completed it. Alice seemed weaken and her mana was never the same afterwards. She told me that not being able to use her mana was a small sacrifice to save the world from the Flaming Legion, but recently her health has been declining and even Lena can''t see anything wrong with her. If it isn''t too much to ask, I would like to ask you to heal Alice." "I am currently under some restrictions to visit this world, so I cannot guarantee her a cure. However, if it need be, I will ask Alaria to cure her. Let me check your condition first, Alice. Come, lie down before me." Alice does as she is told and lies between me and the others. I might not have any experience in healing, but hearing what Alex said about the curse and her mana disruptions, I believe that this curse may be related to the soul. When it comes to matters relating to the soul, no one besides Alaria can compare to me. I place my hand in front her chest and begin to channel mana into her body and find the source of corruption. As I guessed, the corruption is taking hold in her soul and is eating away at her from the inside. With my knowledge of the soul, removing the cancerous mana running amok in her soul is only a matter of time. I believe that if any magician in this world has knowledge on soul magic, they''d easily cure Alice as well but if I recall correctly, soul magic is a forbidden art here. "I believe that I can cure Miss Alice of her illness, but it is a slow and arduous process. I hope no one disturbs me or her until i am done. I don''t want any of you to interfere no matter what happens, unless you want to kill her." -Theun I begin by placing my hand her chest. I do hear a few fussy gasps and shuffling of feet, especially from the king, but I ignore them and pour mana into her body. I hear a loud crash comes from the door behind me, but I ignore it and continue to work on Alice. I hear several footsteps enter the hall followed by a few gasps. I hazard a look and turn to see a group of people that include Sandra, Christi, Kayden and Jor, along with a group of blue robed men and women. Sandra is glaring at me menacingly with pure white fury burning in her eyes, while she has one hand raised and pointing at me. Her hands clearly shaking, as she struggles to contain the rage within her body, as she looks at me; over her mother and a hand on her breast. "GET AWAY FROM MY MOMMY!" -Sandra If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.Sandra POV Even though I left Theun alone with my parents and aunts, the Hero''s Party, I still feel uncomfortable. Theun has shown exceptional battle prowess, it doesn''t necessarily mean he''s just a warrior. The brilliant beam of light that came from the Aviri Forest was most likely caused by him and I''ve never heard of anyone capable of doing something like that, let alone a warrior with no magical talents. I suspect Theun is hiding his strength; for what reason, I cannot say. I understand that the Hero''s Party should be able to deal with anything they are faced with, but that was 25 years ago. These days, I rarely see father or mother do anything out of the ordinary paperwork. Aunt Lena still heals the occasional sick people and Aunt Rusaria still teaches magic to the exceptionally gifted. As insurance, I gather 5 court mages and instruct 4 of them to ready their most powerful and accurate spells, I wouldn¡¯t want a misfire and accidentally hit someone on our side. The fifth Mage is instructed to observe the situation with his and tell us what is happening within the hall. If Theun does intend to attack, the plan is we barge in and fire our spells at him to assist the Hero''s Party. The Mage tells us that there are 5 figures in the room, 4 in a line and another in front of them. I assume that the outlier is Theun and tell the Mage to focus on the outlier. If he starts to gather mana, we''ll enter the hall and examine the situation. Moments later, the Mage tells us that someone from the Royal family side has left the others and is between Theun and the others. The action is slow however so I assume they deliberately walked between Theun and the others. Before I can formulate a theory of the situation, the Mage tells out to inform us that Theun has begun pouring mana into the person before. Thinking its best to barge in before it''s too late; I kick down the door to the throne hall and run into the large room. Before Theun is Father and Aunts, all on their knees and mother is lying in front of Theun. Her eyes are closed and she does not react to our intrusion in anyway. To make matters worse, I see that Theun is currently fondling my mother. "GET AWAY FROM MY MOMMY!" -Sandra Theun POV Before I can even begin to explain the situation, I see 5 small bolts of mana fly towards me with a sixth one failing behind them. 3 of them are coated in fire, while the others contain water, earth and air mana within them. The bolts of energy are dispersed as a blue dome made of hexagonal shapes coalesces around Alice and I. Turning my head I see Rusaria wielding a staff in both her hands. The king has gotten off his knee as well and places himself between us and Sandra''s group. "Just what do you think you''re doing here?" -Alex "What are YOU doing here?" -Sandra "..." ¨CRusaria and Lena "..." -Theun "We are curing Alice so please, calm down and lower your weapons." -Rusaria Sandra shoots me a look before she slowly sheathes her sword and lets out a sigh of relief. I don''t make a guess as to why she is relieved however, as I can''t even try comprehending the mind of humans. Her father is a prime example of how humans are incredibly complex yet simple creatures. I return to concentrating on Alice and feel the threads of mortality that binds her soul to her body unravel. Third Person Theun slowly lifts his hand away from Alice, and within his grasp is a teal coloured globe with ominous purple splotches here and there. This is the soul of the woman before him, the soul of Alice Dalton. Originally a soul is pure green and gains a blue hue as it matures. The more blue the soul is, the older and more mature the soul. The purple that is contained in this soul however, is the malignant mana that is eating away at it, fuelling its growth as it consumes the entire soul. Everyone present has their eyes glued to the beautiful orb as Theun lifts it up and continues to work on removing the cancer within it. For the next couple of hours, Theun continues to slowly dissect the soul of the purple mana as he cures Alice of this curse. Every few moments, a small purple area will grey out and the teal colour, slowly restored. No interruptions are made throughout the operation, a blessing for Alice since her soul is currently exposed to the world. Theun sighs in relief and slowly lowers the orb back into Alice''s body. When the orb gets within a few centimetres of her body, thin white threads lash out and attach themselves to the soul. The white threads slowly pull at the orb until they completely envelop it in white before absorbing it back into the body. For a few minutes, everyone watches Alice in bated breath as she lies on the ground. No one dares to raise their voice; the atmosphere is a peaceful yet ominous silence. The quiet is interrupted as Alice takes a deep breath of air before shooting up into a seated position. ¡°Are you okay mother?¡± -Sandra ¡°Aww, what happened to mommy?¡± -Alice Sandra¡¯s face transitions to a bright red colour as she recalls her sudden outburst earlier, apparently her mother wasn¡¯t as out of it as she had originally thought. However, Sandra is relieved that her mother appears to be fine. ¡°How are you feeling Alice?¡± -Lena ¡°I''m fine Lena. Besides being a little tired, I feel rather well. I can even cast some spells again.¡± -Alice Alice opens the her hands and a small torrent of wind appears above her palm, ¡°You should refrain from using mana for a while and focus on resting for now. Don¡¯t exert yourself too much for the coming weeks.¡± -Theun ¡°Thank you.¡± -Alice ¡°Thank you, Mi-¡° -Alex *SLAP* Before Alex can finish his sentence, he is slapped by Alice. She is grinning at him but her eyes reveal a sense of hostility. Alex is dumbfounded for a few moments, not knowing why his wife just slapped him. He looks to his other wives but they also show some hostility in their eyes. He finally realises his blunder and remembers that Theun told him that he wanted to roam the world incognito. ¡°Why did Aunt Alice slap daddy?¡± -Christi ¡°He was being inappropriate dear.¡± -Rusaria Chapter 9: Breakfast and Meeting I''M ALIVE! No, I didn''t die. No, this fiction didn''t die. Been really busy and didn''t write much. I''ve got two more chapters coming in and hopefully they''d be done by the end of the week. Hopefully that could make up for the lack of chapters. None in two weeks, 3 in one? Sandra POV Theun was invited to stay with us until he is ready for his journey throughout the continent. Despite his young looks, father said that Theun is an acquaintance of his during the war and was invited here to cure mother. The large beam of light days earlier was an experimental teleportation technique and is far too dangerous for public use. Aunt Rusaria said that she is currently looking into teleportation and understands the risks associated with it. Aunt Lena said that mother''s condition was worsening by the day and Theun was forced to take the risk and teleport closer to the capital. Funnily enough, Theun didn''t say a word at all after curing mother. I guess it must really have taken a toll on him to cleanse the strange orb thing of corruption. Yesterday was a rather busy day for him, so I do understand his need of rest, but he really needs to speak up when someone asks him a question. He must have told everyone about the conditions of his arrival, otherwise they wouldn''t be the ones answering my questions. Theun should have been resting in one of the guest bedrooms, I hope I get to meet him at breakfast so I can apologise for all the misunderstandings and redeem myself for the trouble I caused. Looking out the window, I see that the sun has already risen above the horizon. Well, this is rather embarrassing. I was hoping to apologise to Theun when I met him at breakfast but I''m going to be late myself. I grab a blouse from the several in my cupboard and a matching pair of pants. Although I don''t stress over my image as much as other women, I do still care what others may think of me and wear well-tailored clothes fit for royalty. I am a princess of a country and I need to make sure I hold that image as well. I may not dress in pretty dresses and wear makeup; I still make sure I uphold a sense of nobility and elegance with my mannerism and clothing I wear. As I enter the dining hall, I see everyone was already seated and about to begin. I join them and sit next to mother; she seems very happy and a lot more energetic. I''m glad she isn''t sick anymore but to be honest I didn''t even know of the curse until yesterday, neither did Christi nor Kayden. I guess the curse was kept a secret between our parents to not worry us. Theun is sitting facing father at the end of the table, although I don''t particularly agree with that. Theun is a good friend of father and curing mother from the curse is no small feat, but father is the king and he should sit at the end of the table as etiquette demands. Since it is a private breakfast, I guess I''ll keep my peace, but in public I think it''s best for father to act like the king he is. Even Theun is showing much more polish in the way he eats compared to father. Theun POV From the peripheral vision of my eyes, I see that everyone is looking at me, their eyes full of curiosity. Although I don''t acknowledge it with my actions, I know for certain that they have their eyes on me. Some are taking glimpses, while others are straight up evaluating me. Christi and her mother are openly discussing my appearance and demon-like features with no regards to my own feelings of the matter. I understand the children''s curiosity in my ageless appearance since I am their father''s "friend" and I can understand the sentiments of the adults with a god sitting before them. I truly do. It is rather unsettling however and I wish they could just stop. Alex is the much more relaxed than the rest of his family in this situation and makes idle chatter with me as we eat. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The conversation consisted mostly of me asking him questions on the world as a whole and him answering those questions. It seemed more like an interview really, but I guess there isn''t much I''d be able to talk to him about anyway. Honestly though, what would you talk to an omnipotent being about? How was your day watching over the souls of the dead? He is also keeping my identity a secret from his children, so I doubt he could freely speak his mind even if he did want to ask about my life before my descent. I do catch some information however, that when paired with what I remember, gave me a better understanding of the continent I am on. I know for a fact that the Dwarven mountain cities are to the North and run from East to West. To the West lies the Demon Country, separated by a vast plain. The borders are full of villages that are inhabited by both Humans and Demons. A great forest lies to the South and is home to many Elven people who live in several treetop cities. After breakfast, I was invited into the Alex''s study with his wives. Since it''s just us here, I can only assume that we are going to talk about something involving my real identity. "Lord Mlithru? Lord Theun? Ummm." -Alex "Call me Theun, Alex. The sooner you can say my name without hesitation the better. I don''t want you accidentally calling me by Mlithru one day." -Theun "Yes. Umm, I wish to discuss this journey you want to undergo. Is there anything you need or anything you wish us to prepare for you?" -Alex "If I may, you said that your current state is weakened as a precaution for your descent. So we were wondering if you needed an escort throughout your journey." -Alice I did say that I my powers were limited yesterday, but I wouldn¡¯t call myself weak. From what I gathered, I am rather well off compared to normal populace. The Royal Guard said that they were the finest knights of the kingdom, but I believe I would be able to hold myself if I fought them all at once. "I don''t think that will be necessary. No matter what the circumstance, I believe I''m capable of handling it." -Theun "We were also wondering if there was anything else you needed to begin your journey. We will gladly provide for you, milord." -Rusaria I am NOT about to ask them for money. As much as I''ll need it, I won''t resort to asking for money from people. As a god, I have an image to uphold and asking believers of your faith for donations isn¡¯t going to help. "There isn''t anything that comes to mind. If I ever need your assistance, then I will tell you." -Theun "Alright. If there is ever anything at all, you are welcome to ask us." -Alice "Thank you. Is there anything else you''d like to discuss? I''d rather keep these sorts of secretive meetings to a minimum." -Theun "Nothing else comes to mind." -Lena "Actually, there is something else I''d like to ask. A personal question really." -Rusaria "Yes Rusaria?" -Theun "What is your body made of? And is it made in your exact image? Also, does the demon race have any relation to you?" ¨CRusaria Acting as I remember her to be. Rusaria always was the scholarly type and would not hesitate when it came to obtaining knowledge. I remember she once caused the entire Hero¡¯s Party trouble by running recklessly through an ancient dungeon, just to see the carvings on the other end. "Uhhhhhh... Well. The body is made of flesh and bone. Yes I do look like this, that''s how Alex knew it was me. And "Demons" were made in my image when I dabbled in creation." -Theun "So we, Demons, are the children of Mlithru?" -Rusaria "I wouldn¡¯t have thought about it that way, but I guess you are my creations." "How about Elves?" -Alice "Or Hu-" -Lena "HUMANS!?" -Alex "..." -Theun "..." -Alice "..." -Lena "..." -Rusaria "What? I''m curious too." -Alex "Humans are Alaria''s, Elves are Aidres'' and Dwarves are Garnum''s. He thought it''d be funny to have a race of full grown men his size." -Theun "..." -Everyone "Yes, it''s true. Garnum truly had no intention in creating meaningful life, all he wanted really was to sate his curiosity and pestered Alaria to help him" -Theun The bewilderment is apparent on the faces of everyone present. Dwarves were created as some sort of joke to a higher being; a moment of mere curiosity sprouted the existence of a race of intelligent, thinking, feeling people. "Well, the Child God of Fire really is quite childish." -Alice "Yes, with the boundless energy of children to match. At the very least, Aliya is the quiet type and keeps to herself. I¡¯ll give you a word of advice. Try to keep the whole Dwarven people are a joke thing a secret. I have seen many planets where the Dwarves fought the other races to prove their worth" -Theun "We''ll keep that in mind." -Alex "Now, if there isn''t anything else, I plan on visiting your capital and seeing the sights." -Theun "Of course sir." -Everyone Chapter 10: The Marketplace Third Person The sun looms over the city of Sanctum, shining it''s brilliant light onto the citizens below. Currently walking towards the City Square is a man wearing a luxurious black robe with gold trimmings and a hooded figure wearing a brown cloak. The sunlight reflects off the man¡¯s robe, giving everyone a better look at the depth of the meticulous designs. On his waist is a katana, sheathed in black scabbard. The deep black colour reflects no light, as if it is an empty void that consumes all. A rather ominous impression is given by the sword. If it wasn¡¯t for the handsome man and his gentle aura, people might have felt panicked. The scabbard itself is of a simple design with no real engravings or carvings. It is more rectangular than most scabbards but that is its only defining trait. The katana is just as simple, with a rectangular guard and gold pommel. The hilt is wrapped in a black cloth with gold edges, haphazardly wrapped around and tied to the hilt. A loose strand hangs from the katana, but it doesn¡¯t diminish the overall aesthetics of the blade. Besides the man walks a hooded figure covering most of their face and body. Judging from the several locks of blonde hair that emerge from the hood and slender figure, it is rather easy to draw the conclusion that the figure is a female. There is a protrusion in the cloak, signifying some sort of weapon is hanging from her waist. As secretive as the lady was being, everyone who walks by could pretty much guess who it was. Unbeknownst to Alexandra, her identity has been long discovered and the citizens only act ignorant to the fact. Ever since Alexandra was a child, she preferred the more functional use of a shirt and a pair of pants over the appearance of a dress. Sandra would ¡°sneak¡± out of the palace and visit the city often, wearing throwing a cloak over her normal clothes and considering herself incognito. Dressing up in her signature blouse and leather pants as often as she did, it didn¡¯t take long for the citizens of Sanctium, to guess who was under the cloak. In fact, the guards of the palace often turned a blind eye to her ¡°sneaking¡± out when she was younger. Of course there were guards and such secretly tailing her, but that stopped when she started training the sword with her father. She the soon became strongest among the knights and her parents decided she could visit the city on her own. "So, why are you coming with me again?" -Theun "Mother said that it would be best for someone to guide you around the city. We wouldn''t want you to get lost." -Sandra "Ahuh. She didn''t think I¡¯ll ask for directions back to the palace?" -Theun "It''s easy to ask for directions somewhere, but whether the one you''re asking is telling the truth is a different matter. They could easily guide you into an isolated street and rob you blind. Considering the fancy clothes you always wear, I wouldn''t be surprised if they stole those too." -Sandra "People get their clothes stolen around here?" -Theun "Not that I''m aware of, but you can never be too safe. As a child, I would sometimes sneak out and visit the city. Not once did I run into trouble but that was many years ago. There¡¯s been an increase in lately, people are having things stolen from them thrice as much as last year.¡± -Sandra ¡°Wow, that¡¯s quite the increase.¡± -Theun ¡°Yes it is. A total of nine people this year alone.¡± -Sandra ¡°¡­¡± -Theun ¡°Also, here are the coins for the Eldeer leather." -Sanra Sandra unties a pouch of coins on her belt and hands it to Theun. The pouch is a simple leather pouch, dyed a deep black colour to suit Theun''s clothes. Theun receives the pouch with a smile and weighs it in his hands with curiosity. "This is quite the amount of coins; did everyone else get this much?" -Theun "No, all the coins we got for selling the skin are there." -Sandra "What? Wasn''t this supposed to be split among everyone?" -Theun "That was when we didn''t know who skinned the Eldeer. Now that we do, it''s only obvious you receive the money. Also, you might want to practice skinning animals, the price of the hide went down quite a lot because of your handiwork." -Sandra "You don''t have to bring that up so much. Why is the pouch black?" -Theun "Well, I noticed you didn''t have a coin pouch on you when we met, I assumed you forgot to bring money in your rush to get here. So I took the liberty of buying a simple black leather pouch for you using your money. Is there anywhere you want to go in particular?" -Sandra "Thank you. I think I''ll head to the marketplace for now and see from there." -Theun The gates of Sanctium face East and entering the city, travellers would be facing West. Straight ahead is the City Square, which acts as the centre of the city. Here lies a fountain and many of the city''s facilities. Buildings for the Adventures Guild, Auction House and Training Arena take up most of the space. Several Inns are also built here as it is where travellers and adventurers tend to gather. Heading further West is the Palace and Cloud District, where many manors and mansions house the wealthiest of the city. Heading North from the Square leads to the Financial District. This is where shops are normally built and produce is bought. South of the Square is the Residential District where most of the population lives. The uneven ground of the city means that the gates and City square are even to the plains, the Cloud District slightly elevated with the palace at the highest point and the Residential and Financial District slightly lower than the City Square. Sandra leads Theun through the City Square and they proceed to the Financial District. Unbeknownst to them, a shadow is lurking within the dark alleyways. This hooded figure has just spotted something of interest, a man with clothes fit for a king, carrying a large sack of coins his companion gave him. The shadow saw the exchange earlier and their eyes glimmered at the way he weighed the pouch, surely it was filled to the brim with coins... You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. A few minutes of walking later, Theun and Sandra arrive at Financial District¡¯s Marketplace. From what Theun had found out about the plaza, the Marketplace is a large plaza with designated lots where adventurers can set up small vendors to sell their loot. A permit must first be received from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, which contains a designated lot and the days the adventurer is allowed to vacate it. Adventurers are allowed to sell whatever they want as long as it is legal in the city they are in. Selling an illegal item will result in punishment from the city¡¯s official and the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Depending on the severity of the offense, the punishment might range from a fine to life imprisonment. Theun makes a note on how each vendor has made sure to stay within the boundaries of their lots, creating makeshift streets for people to walk along. The perks of the marketplace is the cheap items for sale and the revenue it brings to the city. The marketplace is known to have cheaper wares than the actual stores in the Financial District, however they do not guarantee quality and satisfaction. The marketplace is normally filled with people who are low on coins or desperate, others would normally go to actual stores to buy their gear. It¡¯s not to say that all the items on sale are all junk, it just requires a trained eye to spot the flaws in the items. Some items are sold at the marketplace in desperation for coins and can be very well maintained. Another positive is that other adventurers can barter and trade item for item. The city benefits from the Marketplace because the money received from selling permits is split between the Guild and the City. Theun POV Walking along the pathways made by the vendors, I see that everyone has kept to their lot and refrained from crossing the boundaries that are set. It¡¯s quite the sight, really, to see such organisation in a large group of people. In fact, adventurers with certain types of items seem to gather into separate sections of the marketplace. It really makes it convenient for someone to find certain things they are looking for. Organising a large group of people is no easy feat, and the fact that each adventurer has taken it upon themselves to abide the rules and go out of their way to vacate certain lots really says something about the community. My goal for today is to get a grasp on the economy of this world and understand how many coins is needed to sustain myself for a week. From there, I intend to find a means of income and begin to save up for the journey ahead. From what I know, the money I received from Sandra is not a small amount. With it I should be able to afford a backpack and camping set for myself. The pack isn¡¯t really necessary since I intend to borrow one of the Storage Disks from Rusaria, but it still is convenient to have in the scenario that the Disk breaks. Browsing through the equipment section of the marketplace, it wasn¡¯t long until I came across a simple leather backpack. Its size and weight is reasonable but it does have a fairly large amount of pockets and sections to separate your loot and is in great condition. Asking the vendor about it, he said that it was his own backpack and he was selling it for a larger one. I look around the pack and see that there are no holes or loose seams that would warrant a discount. The price is 20 silver coins which seems reasonable enough. When I walked by the vendors earlier, I made a mental note of the cost of their backpacks and found that on average, a single pack would cost around 17 silver coins. 20 silver coins for this pack might not be too expensive since it is in a good condition compared to those I came across. I continue throughout the Marketplace for the next hour looking for a suitable camping set. Apparently a camping set is rare to find since most people tend to keep theirs until it is in tatters, at which point they throw it away instead of keeping it to sell at a marketplace where no one would buy a wrecked set. Sandra is with me and only stops every so often to browse the wares of some stores. When I told her that she could leave to shop on her own, she denied the request and told me it was her ¡°duty¡± to follow me and she is quite fond of my company. According to her, I am much more mature than those she speaks with and certain wisdom is found in my words. Her family is often busy and the only people she speaks to often is her siblings and the Royal Guard. Christi is intelligent but she often has nothing to talk to Sandra about and Kayden is much like his father and often childish; the knights aren¡¯t much better as they don¡¯t have much in common to talk to Sandra. I try to be as accommodating as I can to Sandra and we talk about many topics before I realise we are reaching the end of the Marketplace. Just as I was about to turn and continue the other way, a low ragged voice stops my steps. ¡°You there¡­ Young man. Destiny has led you to me. At the ends of the Market where no one goes, you wander and arrive before me. A clear sign that this is more than it seems. Come sit and let this old one tell you of your future¡­¡± (???) Theres a horrible truth to this chapter that I''m sure you all noticed. There were NO JOKES! D: Also, tell me if there are typos. I need to fix them if there are. Chapter 11: Monologuing Theun POV "Come in and sit, young one. Let this old granny have a look." -??? "Before I enter, I think it introductions are in order. I am Theun¡± -Theun "Oh, why of course. Pardon my impoliteness. My name is Melissa Gressel, you can call me Granny Mel" -Melissa "You''re the famous fortune teller that helped dad during the war. From what I remember, you retired shortly after." -Sandra "Indeed I did, Princess Alexandra. I only began fortune telling again today." -Melissa "How do you know it''s me? Did you foresee my arrival here? Is that why you''re in such an obscure location?" -Sandra "Sadly, no. I don''t use my gift much after retirement but when I did use it last week, I found that my ability was weakened. I see jumbled images in place of clear sights and in a much more obscured way. I thought it might have been because I was related to my granddaughter, that I couldn''t see future. I wanted to make sure by setting up a shop and see if my gift would work on others, maybe earn a few coins as well." -Melissa "I see, you still haven''t told me how you knew I was the princess." -Sandra "Well, as old and senile as I am, I will always be able to find you in a crowd. Your cloak once hid your identity. But once people found out, it became a symbol of your identity instead. Also, using the name Sandra isn''t as cunning as you believe." -Melissa Sandra is in a state of shock and disbelief at the revelation that she was found out. Her ruse had long been uncovered unbeknownst to her. "People...?" -Sandra "Yes, almost, if not, everyone in the financial districts knows of your little escapades." -Melissa The final nail on the coffin leaves Sandra slumped on the ground, mouth agape. Being found out was a large blow to her pride but what was worse was the fact that she didn''t know and continued to "sneak" out of the palace. The entire time she visited the financial district, she thought she was incognito when fact was everyone knew exactly who she was and, in a way, played her for a fool. The old lady urges me into the little tent she erected in her lot. I help Sandra up and get her into the tent. Beside from being a deep purple colour, the tent is just like any other tent I''ve seen. The interior is dimly lit by a small magic candle that emits a light by does not burn. A low table is placed in the centre of the tent with small cushions to sit on either side. Placing Sandra on one of the cushions to the side, I sit in front of the table facing Granny Mel. "Rest your hand on this small cushion and look at my eyes." -Melissa Granny Mel gives me simple instructions to follow and begins to trace her fingers along the crevices of my hand as she stares into my eyes. I can feel her eyes attempting to pierce my body and peer at my soul, a futile attempt however. I never really cared much for the seers of worlds and how Faeha had given them their power, but from what I''m experiencing, she seems to have given them a way to inspect souls and tap into her powers of Fate. Granny Mel¡¯s attempt to see the future has been tampered with ever since my arrival to this world. Her ability to tap into the powers controlled by Faeha cannot help her if Faeha herself has trouble seeing the future. After a few minutes of prodding and staring, she finally gives a reluctant sigh and retracts her hand. "It would seem my gift has really been taken away. Not only did I not see your future, all i saw was an empty space. I guess there really is no other way." -Melissa "How much do I pay for your services?" -Theun "Hmmmm? No, no, no, young one. I could not help you in anyway, so please keep your coins." -Melissa Seeing her dejected form and sorrowful look in her eyes, I can tell that her loss of foresight isn''t the only problem she is facing. She had retired long ago and ceased her activities as a seer for the people. Why suddenly try to read fortunes again? What brought a retired old woman out of her home and compelled her to sell her services again? "Did something happen to your granddaughter?" -Theun "Excuse me?" -Melissa "You appear rather distraught for the loss of a gift you abandoned. You said you didn''t use your abilities often, so losing it shouldn''t be of great impact. You also said you used it on your granddaughter, so I''m wondering if she is in some trouble." -Theun "M-My youngest granddaughter, she''s been kidnapped. We received a letter last week with her earrings, saying if we don''t bring 150 gold pieces to them in 2 weeks¡¯ time, they''ll harm her. They also said that if they see the authorities around us, they''ll kill Emma." -Melissa Hearing this, Sandra snaps out of her state of depression and jolts upright, fiery rage burning in her eyes. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Where are they?" -Sandra "We don''t know. All we do know is that if we tie a red ribbon to our doorknob in the farm, they will find us." -Melissa "We should set an ambush and arrest these scumbags" -Sandra "NO! I can''t do it. Emma would be in danger. I''d rather sell my farm then to let them touch a single hair of hers." -Melisssa I can see Sandra fuming at the thought, but Granny Mel is right. If we set up an ambush and they show up without the girl, we won''t have the money to show them. It''s better to give them the money and arrest them once they return Emma. Tracking them once we see them should be easy enough with a bit of magic and arresting them can be done with just Sandra and I. "I think we pay them. Before you get angry at me Sandra, listen to my reasons. If we pay them and they give back Emma, we can attack them without them having a hostage. If they don''t give Emma back, we can still follow them and attack them while they are complacent. If they didn''t bring Emma, they would just lead us to her if we trail them. Not giving them the money may lead to altercations, they might fight with a hostage, they may retaliate since we didn''t show proof of the money, or they might not have Emma with them and we won''t know her location. It''s in everyone''s best interest if we simply pay first." -Theun "As much as I hate giving the scoundrels what they want, what you say is true. Miss Melissa, we will return to the palace and get the money. You still have my father¡¯s gratitude for the war, I''m sure he''d be glad to help." -Sandra "Thank you." -Melissa "It''s alright. We''ll be back in a while. Please hold on until then." -Sandra ??? POV "I''m sure they were somewhere here." -??? Searching through the crowd of people in the marketplace, I try to spot the couple I was following. If I had kept a closer eye on them I wouldn''t have lost them so easily. So much for being a great hunter. THERE! My tracking skills never disappoint. Wait that tent. "Why were they- no it doesn''t matter. All that matters is the coin. Okay, act casual. Casual." -??? Bump "Sorry sir, I was in a rush" -??? "That''s alright..." -Money Bags "Are you okay?¡± ¨CHoodie 2 "I''m fine, thank you. Success" -??? "Excuse me?" -Money Bags "Nothing sir, have a nice day" -??? ¡°¡­¡± -Money Bags Quickly leave, quickly... Turning a few corners and entering an alley, I turn to see no one is following me. Okay looks clear. Let''s see just how much coins I got this time... "BY THE NINES! Who in their right mind carries this much coins! With this much coins, he must be filthy rich. Maybe I should follow him to his house and steal those clothes. Damn..." -??? This along with all the other coins should be enough to save Emma. Alright let''s head to Granny''s tent. Maybe Granny personally knows the two... Welp, she doesn''t need to know where the money comes from does she. Walking back through the way I came, I quickly reach the trademark purple tent that belongs to Granny. She sure has a secluded lot this time around, so much for the world renowned seer. Opening the purple tent, I walk in to see Granny packing her things. Did she finally give up on the whole future seeing thing? "Hi, Granny" -??? "Desi! You wouldn''t believe who just came in!" -Melissa Oh boy¡­ This doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s going in the right direction. "The First Princess, Alexandra! She said she¡¯ll personally help us rescue Emma. She just left and will be back by the evening to help us." -Melissa "Shit!" -Desilla "That''s not very nice" -??? I turn to around to see Money Bags and Hoo- Princess Alexandra at the opening of the tent. "I''m so busted aren''t I? How did you even find me?¡± -Desilla ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t have noticed if you didn¡¯t congratulate yourself right after stealing my pouch. Also, screaming ¡°By the nines¡± so loudly helps.¡± -Money Bags ¡°You did what!?¡± -Melissa ¡°Desperate times call for desperate measures?¡± -Desilla ¡°I don¡¯t blame you, but you¡¯re going to have to make amends for what you did. I assume the spike in theft is your doing?¡± -Princess Alexandra ¡°Yes¡­.¡± -Desilla Chapter 12: Kidnappers Happy Holidays!? Simply Dialogue "I think there are more pressing matters right now Sandra. We can punish Ms Desi after we deal with the kidnapping matter. In any case, her hand was forced by the kidnappers and that must account for something." -Theun "Alright Theun, but I expect her to return the money she stole in full with a formal apology. No less." -Sandra "Fair enough, but before we return the coins to their rightful owners; I thought we could use this opportunity to our advantage." -Theun "How do you mean?" -Sandra "Well, since the amount of money required for the ransom is already here, I thought we could borrow the money and use it as bait for the kidnappers. It''s getting dark and we can''t guarantee we can make it in time today. We wouldn''t want to keep Ms Emma held by those kidnappers longer than we can help it." -Theun "As much as I detest the idea of using stolen property, you have a point. But know that you and the thief are responsible for the money. If we lose it, don''t think I wouldn''t sell your clothes to repay the victims." -Sandra "Well then, we¡¯ll just have to succeed then won''t we?" -Theun ¡°Don¡¯t I get a say in all this? This is my sister you¡¯re talking about.¡± -Desi ¡°My apologies, do you have a suggestion of your own?¡± -Theun ¡°No, just wanted to have my voice heard.¡± -Desi ¡°¡­Alright then.¡± -Theun "Any ideas, wise guy?" -Desi "You and your grandmother should signal the kidnappers first. Sandra and I will be nearby to help you if anything goes wrong. At this point the kidnappers can do one of four things. Take you directly to your sister, take you to a place to exchange the money with your sister, not take you anywhere at all and demand the money or they''ll just try to steal from you now that they know you have the money." -Theun "So what should we do if they try to steal from us?" -Desi "Best to just let them take the money, I want you to consider safety above everything else. We can follow them if they take the money and run but we won''t be able to help if you''re hurt." -Theun "We¡¯ll be sure to keep that in mind" -Melissa "Alright, all that''s left to do is wait." -Sandra Third Person(ish) A man stumbles along the trees beside a road, having trouble navigating the roots in the dark environment. The sun has set behind the horizon, making the late afternoon dark. He trips a few times but presses forward diligently to reach the goal intended. His large bulky frame makes his journey difficult as he is constantly running into things in the dark. He was put in charge of scouting the house of the girl he and his brother kidnapped, looking for the sign agreed on on the ransom letter. A towel or something similar wrapped around the door handle is the signal that they had the money to pay the ransom. He continues to stumble along, keeping himself unseen by hiding among the trees, at last he sees the farmhouse on the opposite side of the road and with the little ambient lights from the candles inside, he spots a small handkerchief on the doorknob. "No way... They really did it..." -??? His eyes light up at the thought of the profit to be made and his heart beats with glee. No time to waste, he thinks to himself and immediately starts running back to his hideout to inform his brother. Just as he turns to leave, he remembers that he needs to write the details of the ransom trade on a piece of paper. Wrapping the paper around an arrow, he notches his bow and aims for the farmhouse door. Hopefully this works, he thinks as he releases the tension on the bow. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Thunk The arrow lodges itself on the farmhouse door and the man waits for a reaction. Soon enough a woman opens the door, cautiously peaking outside. The old lady sees the arrow and retrieves it into the house. The man is satisfied with the result and begins to head back to his hideout, his mind wanders at the possible things he could do with the money he''s about to receive, a clear joy apparent on his face. Reaching the hideout, he knocks on the door with five quick knocks followed by two slow knocks. This knock was a code to let his brother know that it was indeed him on the other side. The door is opened by a skinny man, a polar opposite to himself. "They gave the signal; I sent them a note telling them to meet us outside the city in 2 hours." -Muscle-napper "Excellent, with this we can live luxuriously for the next month or we could live normally for the next 3." -Skinny-napper "Well obviously we go for the first one; we can always kidnap another girl." -Muscle-napper "Right you are. Now before we return the girl, why don''t we have a little fun with her? After all, she''s been quite the handful this past week." -Skinny-napper "I''m not so sure about this, we don''t want to draw too much attention to ourselves. I say just give her back and be done with it. No harm, no foul." -Muscle-napper "Nonsense, I know you secretly have been thinking about it too. Just this once brother, what harm is there? You''ve got to admit she had this coming." Skinny-napper The large man thinks back to the last week, indeed the restless girl has given him quite the time. He knew that kidnapping someone cakes with some risks and troubles but this first attempt really was problematic. The girl made him question whether the ransom money was enough for the trouble he went through. The more he thinks about the past week, the more he feels that having some fun wouldn''t be so bad. Besides, there probably wouldn''t be another hostage as pretty as this girl. "Y''know, maybe you''re right. I wouldn''t mind teaching that damn girl her place. Maybe she might learn to be respectful to her captives from now on." -Muscle-napper "Kekekeke, maybe. But we wouldn''t know unless we kidnap her again." -Skinny-napper "You wouldn''t." -Muscle-napper "Maybe." -Skinny-napper "Whatever the case, we have a deadline to meet. Let''s go get this done with." Muscle-napper Within a small room with nothing but a bed, lies a purple haired girl. Her clothes are nice and clean for someone held in captivity and she appears to be healthy enough. However, for the past week she has been kept in this room and only allowed to leave when she needed the bathroom. The small confined space has really gotten to the her and she yearns to be outside once again. A loud bang is heard as two men burst into the room. These men are her captives, the skinny older brother and the muscle-head younger brother. The captives moves maliciously towards the her, a mischievous grin on their face. "What do you want!? No, get away from me. No~!" -Emma Writer Update: Don''t read if you don''t really care. Good News. Decided not to take this story out back to put it down. Bad News. Going to put it down for a while to focus on education stuff. Good News. Going to put illustrations into this story. Bad News. Not any time soon because I''m not good enough yet. Chapter 13: Kidnappers II Dear Reader: I hope you can read through the entire chapter. Love Author. Theun POV Thunk Hiding in the barn besides the main house, I hear a sound on the home door. I signal at Sandra to come towards the barn door as we both peak out to see an arrow lodged in the door to Desi''s home. I spot a small note tied to the arrow and can only assume that it came from the kidnappers. Melissa opens the door and retrieves the arrow, soon after we see it and takes it into her home. Looking at the way the arrow was lodged into the door, I can tell that it came from the forest opposite the road. Stretching my senses as far as I could, I scan the area around us, just to catch a presence leaving my range. Knowing that he was probably going back to base, I leave the barn with Sandra and walk towards the farmhouse. Inside the house, Melissa and Desi are sitting at the kitchen table as Melissa reads the note on the arrow. She sees us enter and hands us the note. "Meet us at the docks near the cargo houses outside Sanctium. If you aren''t alone or with your other granddaughter, don''t expect us to coop work with you. My brother and me will bring her to you." There wasn''t much we could do instead of going with their demands so it was decided that we would go to the warehouses as stated. The only difference was we went at an earlier time than what the kidnappers wanted. -------------------------------------------------------- We arrive early at the rendezvous point that was assigned by the kidnappers. I kept my sense up and made sure that they weren''t nearby spying us throughout the trip here. To be extra safe, I told Desi and her grandmother to arrive a bit earlier to the site so that I could signal them our hiding spot. Seeing a gap between two warehouses, I take Sandra there and hide in the dark alley. It was about an hour since we received the arrow so it may take some time before anything really happens, but I still keep sending my environment just in case. Thirty minutes before the designated time, Desi and Melissa arrives. I still didn''t sense the kidnappers so I decided to let Desi and her grandmother know where we were by throwing a rock to get their attention, then waving at them. Around the time of the meeting, I sense the presence of 3 people heading to the area. As stated on the arrow, two kidnappers show up, one a large bulky man while the other is a small skinny man. Between them is Emma, held by her arms. Looking at her, she is the splitting image of Desilla, she has a small slim figure and purple hair while Desi had a deeper blue tinge to hers. Her facial features are similar as well, as both sisters have kind soft eyes with slim eyebrows. Observing her carefully, I see that her breath is exasperated and she has trouble standing on her own. I can tell that something must have happened and can only hope she wasn''t harmed too badly. Sandra doesn''t take long to pick up on this and I can see her reach for her sword. I grab her wrist and look firmly into her eyes, telling her to calm down. The kidnappers stand 10 metres away from Desi and are 20 metres away from where we are hiding. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. "Hand over my granddaughter!" I hear Melissa exclaim. "Why don''t you hand over the money!" -Muscle-napper "How do we know you''ll let her go!?" -Melissa "How do WE know you''ll give us the money!?" -Muscle-napper "How do we solve this problem!?" -Melissa "How do I know!?" -Muscle-napper "All this shouting is hurting my throat!" -Melissa "Same as me, old lady!" -Muscle-napper "Anyways, just let go of my sister and let her walk halfway over! I''ll throw you the money when she reaches halfway!" -Desi "Fair enough! If you trick us, I won''t hesitate to shoot!" -Skinny-napper "Okay! -Desi "Alright!" -Skinny-napper After agreeing to the terms, the kidnappers let go of Emma but she immediately falls to her knees. It''s quite obvious that she has no strength in her legs. "What''d you do to my sister!?!?" -Desi "We didn''t do much! She''s just clumsy!" -Skinny-napper "If you so much as touched her, I''ll hunt you down! What now!?" -Desi "I don''t know! How about throwing the money towards that warehouse over there and we''ll go get it while you get your sister!?" The small man exclaims as he raises his hand and points towards us. No way.... "Uhhhh... Sure!" -Desi "Okay! In three, two, one! Go!" -Muscle-napper Desi throws the pouch of gold as close as she could to us and starts running to Emma with her grandmother. The kidnappers, oblivious to the trap, start running towards us. I tell Sandra to take care of the skinnier man while I take charge of the bigger one. The two brothers are so dead set on getting their hands on the gold that they don''t even imagine a scenario with an ambush waiting for them. As they near us, I jump out towards the burly man and punch him right on the chin, infusing mana into my fist to deliver a heavier blow. He takes the full brunt of the attack, his head thrown back in an almost unnatural manner. I could almost hear his brain rattling inside his skull. It was obvious he wouldn''t come to in a while. Sandra is less elegant with the skinny man and throws a punch right into his gut. The kidnapper hunches down, as a bit of blood is spat out of his mouth but Sandra wasn''t done just yet. As he bends to hold his stomach, Sandra uses both her hands to grab onto the man¡¯s head before she uses her knee to break his nose. Unable to take any more beatings, the man simply falls flat on his face. Sandra and I run over to the rest and see Desi kneeling next to her sister and shaking her out of her dazed state. Melissa is standing next to her granddaughters and I can see she is on the verge of tears. "Emma! Emma! Snap out of it. How are you feeling? What did they do to you!?" -Desi "I... They... Haah-... Hahh-... So much... Tickling... Haah... Can''t... Breathe..." -Emma "..." -Everyone Okay. Some of you may remember that the description of this novel once said something along the lines of "Won''t contain "Serious" topics such as Rape and Betrayal.". I intend to hold true to that statement. I removed it from the description as it didn''t really look right. I also removed it in timing with the joke from the previous chapter. Anyways, I put that thingy at the top because the last thing I want is for people to drop this novel with a bad taste in their mouth. I can understand dropping it because its boring (lets be honest, I''m on the Lower tier of writers on this site.) but dropping it over a deliberate misunderstanding doesn''t sit well with me. Chapter 14: I want you... Passed the interview. Hooray~ Also, hope you guys like the cover picture. Bonus points if you can find out where it''s from. Third Person "What do you have to say for yourselves, HUH!? I should have you hung for what you did to the poor girl!" Yells the judge, intimidating both the kidnappers. After their capture a few days earlier, the kidnappers were brought to prison and confined until their trial. They were found to be Billy and Danny Satcher, run-of-the-mill smallI time adventurers who have made no name for themselves. Billy was the younger brother and a muscle head whilst the older brother, Danny, acted as the brains to their team. Curious as to how violators of the law were punished, I asked Sandra how this Country''s justice system worked, to which she promptly gave me a short explanation believing that I thought was different to the way Demons resolved crime. She explained that criminals were brought before a judge with evidence; the judge will then decide whether they were innocent and the punishment they incur if they weren''t; this could range from fines to Guild Service to death. We are sitting in the courthouse, which is a small hall with a large podium on one end that faces two smaller podiums and rows of benches. Sitting behind the large podium was the judge, facing Emma and the kidnappers behind separate podiums; Sandra, Melissa and I sat on one of the benches.The kidnappers tremble before the overwhelming man bearing down on them from his pedestal. The judge looked to be in his 60s but despite his age, is heavily muscular and bulky; an intimidating individual. There is nothing but heavy breaths and guttural stutters as the two kidnappers try to form words to speak, sweat dripping from the pores of their skin. A small female voice speaks up in the room causing the two brothers to jolt and turn to the speaker. "May I speak?" Emma says to the judge from below his podium, looking up with her soft, round eyes. The judge turns to her and his angry visage seems to melt away leaving a kind, though very muscular, grandfather image. "Of course you can dear." -Judge "Thank you. I know that what Billy and Danny did were wrong and they should be punished and taught a lesson." -Emma "Indeed." -Judge "However, I think they deserve a second chance." -Emma The judge cocks an eyebrow at what Emma says and continues to look at her waiting for an explanation. Desilla however, slams her hands on the bench and yells at Emma. "What are you saying Emma!? They kidnapped you! Why would you defend them after what they put you through an-an-and "tortured" you!?" -Desi "Torture? I didn''t read about this in the report..." -Judge "Torture is a relative term in this case sir. As the victim, I can tell you it isn''t aww extreme as it may sound and that it''s better off ignored." -Emma "Very well then..." -Judge "Anyways, Desi, I know they kidnapped me and that they should be punished but I also know they aren''t bad people. When I was scared on the first night and didn''t want to eat, they bought me a very pretty dress to cheer me up. When I didn''t want to eat the food they bought, they went out and bought me better food too. They always did what I asked as long as I didn''t take it too far. Even after the trouble I put them through, they didn''t harm me at all. Kind of." -Emma "Really..." -Desi "Yes. I know they aren''t the best people, but everyone makes mistakes. I think if they were given a chance, they will become great adventurers that will work to better improve our kingdom." -Emma If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it."Miss Emma..." -Kidnappers The two kidnappers tear up as they listen to what Emma has to say about their time together. The judge seems sceptical as he watches the events unfold. Turning back to Emma, he asks her whether she is truly sure about the kidnappers and if she truly believed in their potential to become upstanding citizens; to which she nodded vehemently. "Very well then. Danny and Billy Satcher, in accordance to Miss Gressel''s wishes, you will receive a lenient punishment for your crimes this time. You will work for the Adventurer''s Guild for the next 6 months, receiving a very minimum wage instead of rewards for your quests." -Judge "Thank you. Thank you so much" -Kidnappers "However! If you two are caught so much as leering a girl, I''ll make sure to personally assign the worst punishment for you two." The judge looks sinisterly at the two brothers before dismissing them from the courthouse. A group of knights gather the two, who willingly proceed to the Adventurers guild; not before stopping by Emma for an exchange of words. "Thank you Miss Emma." -Danny "Thank you little miss." -Billy "It''s alright. Thanks for taking care of me, even as a kidnapper. I hope you two can have a bright future as law abiding adventurers." -Emma Billy''s and Danny''s faces are painted a scarlet red as they see the sincere and caring smile that Emma gives them. "W-we didn''t do it for you. We just... uhhh" -Billy "We just wanted to make sure we got the money." -Danny "Yea!" -Billy "Whatever you say." -Emma The knights nudge the kidnappers forward, ushering them to keep moving; Emma smiles kindly at the two as they leave the courthouse in chains. Since all formal procedures were done, I decided to invite the Gressel family to a restaurant in celebration for ending this odd chapter in their lives. Despite their appearances, Emma and Desi are voracious eater who appear to endlessly devour their food; at least Emma displays some table manners compared to her sister''s barbaric actions. I enjoy the rowdy atmosphere of the sisters, how it greatly contrasts the formal meals I''ve had; whether in the God''s Realm or the Palace. Parting ways with the Gressel family, Sandra and I made our way back to the Palace; the sun has set over the horizon and the streets were alight with magical street lamps. The origin of Mana is the Soul Sphere that lies at the core of the earth and the streams that flow to it; a creation I made as a convenient method to collect souls. The dense streams of souls imbued mystical energy into the atmosphere which were absorbed into the living things of the planet. I never thought of the impact it would have on the people that inhabited these worlds and I never would of known the extent to which they could adapt to this newfound source of energy. I''m amazed in the way the usage of Mana has evolved since the creation of the Soul Spheres. Entering the Palace, I part ways with Sandra in the foyer and shuffle my way to my room. Feeling the genuine fatigue in my body, I fall into my bed; eyes staring at the ceiling before I hear a knock on my door. Contemplating whether I should simply ignore the knock or not, I decided it''d be best to answer the door. I open the white wooden door to Christina. She is wearing a silky purple nightgown that flows from her shoulders in an extremely alluring manner. She looks up at me with her red demon eyes before speaking. "I want you..." -Christina