Chapter 7: Irreconcilable Conflict and the Prodigal Son
Chiia and I snuck through the underbrush, the sounds of clashing steel and angry growls growing louder with every step. Our luggage begins to weigh us down, so I entrust what I'm carrying to Chiia before continuing onward. Cover near the battle is limited, so I climb up and jump from tree to tree until it comes into view.
Below, knights in full armor clash with every manner of beast, from Direwolves to massive insects. A giant spider knocks a knight off his horse and closes in to deal the final blow, while a centipede gorges itself on a white-robed man. The insignia on his sleeve marks him a member of the Church that attacked me earlier, so needless to say, I decided to take a "wait and see" approach to the whole matter.
Behind the horde of monsters stands a single man in black robes, laughing maniacally as the church members fall one by one. The more I look at this, the more it seems to be an ambush of sorts-- there's a lot of weak, uneducated acolytes who are being mowed down like flies, and the few paladins the church sent to train them are already besieged or dead. All that's left is a small group of people in acolyte robes, being led by a young woman.
She's not the type you'd expect to stand out in battle, not even 170cm tall and bestowed a voluptuous body that'd make Carlton boy's high-class prostitutes shudder in envy. Her blonde hair is braided so as to stay out of the battle, and her blue eyes contain nothing but bravery and the resolution to die. Even I'm impressed by the way she shields the other three acolytes with her body, despite being only slightly stronger than a normal human and relying on her staff to cast the few spells it was enchanted with.
Her actions seem to have attracted the black-robed man's attention as well, and the monsters stand down and surround her, savoring the act of toying with their food. The three acolytes behind her are all trembling, eyes darting around as if they aim to escape. One can't take the pressure any longer, and dashes towards an opening, leaving his companions behind. He smiles in relief as he breaks the circle, but I know how short-lived that reaction will be.
The panther-like monster I detected earlier jumps down from the tree, taking down the running acolyte in a single pounce. Soon, screams fill the air as it bites his neck, before slowly dying out. The black-robed man seems pleased by this, taking the opportunity to gloat.
"Heh, seems like your own friend wanted to abandon you to your deaths while he alone escaped. Little lady in front, do you really want to keep protecting those two? They're no different than he was. Even now they're looking around, wondering how they can use you as a distraction to escape."
There's tears in her eyes just from that. Despite the bravery she showed, this woman is rather pure, isn't she?
"No… I don't believe you! We're all devouts of the Church of Humanity, ready to lay down our lives against a filthy demon like you!"
I barely manage to suppress a sigh after hearing that. The woman seems quite compassionate to others, but that doesn't expand beyond her own kind, huh? Well, regardless, she seems interesting. I wonder if I can reverse the brainwashing the Church put her through… What the hell, I'll save her. Probably. And not just because my new memories find her attractive.
"Heheh, is that so? Alright, you two in the back… Whoever kills her is free to go."
"""..."""
"David… What are you doing… you can't actually believe him!"
A young man behind her pulls a dagger uncertainty, looking at the other acolyte with an air of hesitation. She's trembling, but eventually reaches for her own dagger.
"Kiera… I'm sorry… But I can't die… Not… not like this."
The two advance to attack her, not wanting to be the first but fearing to be the last. The woman they're attacking… Kiera, they said her name was, can't hold back the tears any longer, but turns around again to face the man in black.
"I can't imagine how cruel you are to plan something like this, but I won't give you the satisfaction of succeeding". With her back to the acolytes, she gestures to the base of her skull. "Here. Just make it quick… please… If you do this, at least one of you can live. I… I won't… blame you."
Huh… So there are still some humans like this. Willing to sacrifice themselves for others, selflessly. She's a far cry from that rich brat I ate.
Her dying speech pauses the acolytes' forward steps, and the girl hesitates while the man presses on, intending to kill Kiera. I was about to intervene, but at that moment, the demon man orders two Direwolves to pounce out, killing the two acolytes behind her, dragging their bodies away as they return to the encirclement.
"Heh, this is really all humanity amounts to, isn't it, girl? Turning on their own at the slightest thought. You're the type of human I could've gotten along with. I could have, but you're already too far gone… With the Church's teaching, you'll never see my kind as better than the dirt you tread on. I'm sorry, but you have to die here… may we meet in better circumstance in the next life."
An orb of shadow gathers in his hand, elongating into a spear, and he winds back to throw it. I guess that's my cue for a timely entrance.
I leap out from a distant tree, launching myself into the circle of monsters and landing right at her side.
[Ward: Magic] [Ward: Shield]
Before anyone can react, I'm sustaining two wards with an outstretched arm, while the other casually goes around Kiera and rests on her shoulder. The shadow spear crashes into the wards moments later, leaving a black smoke that dissipates amongst the ripples in the ward.
"Hey, Mr. Demon man, hasn't this gone far enough? I mean, this doesn't look like the Church's 'purification' unit, I'm pretty sure you just attacked some ordinary acolytes out for training. I get where you're coming from, I do, but collateral damage like this is just going to make them attack more demi and demon villages."
""...""
Surprisingly, Kiera is the first one to muster up a response. "Who… Who are you, and why? You should just escape on your own, this demon is too powerful!"
"Oh, I'm just a traveling prodigal son, name's Del. Nice to meet you, Kiera." I execute a perfectly timed noble's bow before continuing "As for why, I saw a bunch of monsters attacking someone and wanted to intervene, and when I realized it what a beautiful woman in danger, I couldn't help myself and jumped over without a second thought. Always wanted to try rescuing a damsel in distress like the stories."
As I give out some ridiculous backstory, both Kiera and the demon man have identical expressions on their face. Hopefully I'm not overdoing it too much, but then again, that'd be entertaining too. Surprisingly, the two begin to speak in unison despite their differences.
""...""
""You're an idiot.""
"See! Right there, human and demon agreed! We're not all that different after all, so we should just put this thing to bed and not kill one another."
"... I'm still going to kill you. Your stupidity just means there'll be two bodies instead of one."
"Shame, and here I thought we could be friends."
The man is a low-ranked Magus Apprentice and we should be on equal ground, but thanks to my metabolism feeding the Mana Core, the amount of mana we gather can't even be compared. I casually place my hand on the ward surrounding us, before…
[ Firestorm ]
With us as the center, wreaths of flame lash out into the surrounding, quickly taking the surrounding monsters' lives. It's more controlled than the last time I used it, so the mana I've stored away in the core isn't even depleted, but the destruction is no less impressive. Kiera is staring with her mouth agape, but she doesn't seem too steady on her feet with her prior injuries. I'll have to wrap this up quick.
I draw the shortsword at my side and scan for the demon's lifesigns. Sure enough, he got away from the firestorm and is about to make a run for it. I sprint and jump over the burnt carcasses, then dash towards my target and pounce like a animal, severing his head in one blow. With the last blow, his body reverts to his true form, becoming a batlike monster with long wings and talons. Perfect for assimilation, but now's not the time.
Kiera breathes a sigh of relief as I walk out of the smoke, falling to her knees as strength leaves her body. I rush forward to catch her before she embraces the ground, then carry her unconscious body over to where Chiia is waiting. This is one of the times I'm glad Chiia can't talk yet, because knowing that sassy birdbrain, she'd surely ask me if I've taken up kidnapping young maidens.
"Chiia, watch over her for a bit, I'm going to scavenge the battle's aftermath."
"Kuu~~"
"... No eating her, okay?"
"Che~."
…
Gathering everything of value from the battle turned out to be a (disappointingly) short process. Most of the belongings had been incinerated, so what remained was on the outskirts or weaponry and armor too unwieldy to take with us. I managed to find a medium-sized tent and camping supplies, plus some books on deities and holy magic. There's also "Teachings of the Humanitarian Goddess", which judging from how their members tend to act, won't be terribly high on my reading list.
Other than that, I salvaged a few days worth of food and a few outfits worth of church garb. Wonder if I'll ever have the opportunity to impersonate anyone?
The real haul was the demon I had killed-- he turned out to be a member of the Bloodbat Clan, so in addition to a pair of wings and talons, I'll also be able to use fangs to extract blood. I assimilated his Mana core too, so even if there's a bit of interference with the human one, I'll be able to use Demonic Arts and taming spells from here on out. Plus, he even has some experience with shadow magic.
There's enough differences between my two Mana Cores that I've had the AI Core run comparisons to simulate a method of fusing them. It probably won't be successful for a while, but I'll see a massive rise in my power when it's done.
As I return to the clearing where Chiia and Kiera are waiting, I'm met with a white horse, sniffing the air and stumbling forward in the same direction as me. Perhaps it's her mount? Speaking of which, I wonder if that girl's woken up yet?
That was when a scream punctuated the silent forest.
Status Update:
Name: Del
Status: Human Form (Del)
Classes: Immortal Chimera I, Apprentice Mage I
Cores: Central, AI, Sensory, Archive, Mana, Demon, Synthesis (dormant), Nanofab (dormant)
Titles: [Remnant of an Era] [The Soulless] [Prodigal Son]
Money & Notable Items:
600 Gold, 4 Silvers, 6 Coppers
Trunk of intact armor and weapons
Trunk of magic and meditation books
Trunk of noble's clothing and accessories
Tent and Camping Supplies
Weapons & Equipment:
Noble's Robes
Ceremonial Shortsword
Steel Daggers (5)
Spell Schools:
Fire: [Fireball] [Torrential Flame] [Firestorm]
Shadow: [Shadow Spear] [Shadow Stealth]
Space: [Gravity Field]
Ward: [Ward: Sound] [Ward: Curse] [Ward: Shield] [Ward: Magic]
Taming: [Calm Monster] [Subdue Monster]
Contract: [Contract: Monster]
Racial Abilities:
Chimeric: [Acquire] [Assimilate] [Morph] [Modify] [Regenerate]
Cores: [Overclock] [Combat Assist]
Racial Traits:
Beast: [Claws] [Fangs] [Bat Wings] [Talons]
Eyes: [Nightvision]
Demon: [Vampiric Fangs]
Available Forms: Bandit, Young Nun, Direwolf, Mountain Bear, Werewolf, Del, Bloodbat
Companions: Chiia
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone