Kapitel 45: Chapter 40: A Visitor From The Sea
After dealing with Cronin who illegally mined obsidian. The group started to party at the hotel and Ash booked it so they won't get any annoying people around.
"Wow, did you just really rent the whole hotel?" Dan's eyes were sparkling. Even if they were famous, they weren't that rich.
"Paparazzi and all kinds of boisterous fans are quite annoying." Ash explained and he shrugged. Besides, he could buy Siesta whole in cash if he wanted to and it won't make a dent.
His finances were connected with the Nearls, Silverashes, and the twin empresses. He is the richest guy in Terra even without their assets combined.
"Ash, thank you very much once again for saving me and helping Siesta. This will never be forgotten." Ceylon bowed at him.
"You already thanked us enough, just once is good. Or I'll have to take something as payment. I'm a businessman after all." He chuckled.
"Sir, I'll do anything you want. It is the least I could do. It's my shame as her bodyguard to let her get captured." Schwarz practically begged him.
"That's right, we can't exactly do nothing in exchange for saving Siesta." Ceylon rubbed her chin and was thinking of something to do.
"It's fine really, what can you give me anyways? Not to be rude or something. But I can't imagine I would want anything from you guys." He shrugged.
"That is true... Then." Ceylon looked around for any other person in his group that could need her help or something. Then she noticed Adele and remembered that the caprinae is a top level researcher.
"Ash! Can I come with you to Paradiso and help professor Adele? She's one of the very best in originium and catastrophe research." She desired to be an assistant because she would learn a lot from her.
"Hmmm, Adele doesn't really have an assistant. You can go ask her, if she agrees. Tell her I approve." He nodded and Ceylon merrily went to Adele so they could iron out the deal.
"Um, sir. I know that Ceylon-sama doesn't need me in Paradiso. But can I wish to go with her if Dr. Adele approves?" Schwarz looked like a beaten puppy.
"Of course you can, but why do you want to?" He squinted his eyes in interest. She kind of looked like Margaret and Zofia when Schwarz asked to be with Ceylon.
"I... Ceylon-sama is my sister in all but blood Ash... When I was six years old, my family of merchants got tricked in Rim Billiton." Schwarz was at peace with it already, but it still put a frown on her face.
"They were tasked with mining originium disguised as gems. I got infected because I took one of them. My parents were outraged and were about to confront the perpetrators. But we were ambushed and they got killed." She looked passive.
"I was sold into a slave and was turned into a child mercenary. Until Ceylon-sama's father was to be my target. He captured me instead and gave me another life here in Siesta. I was only 12 then, and Ceylon-sama is just 3." She smiled.
"I respect the mayor very much, but Ceylon-sama would need me. She's very idealistic, I don't want her to be exposed that much to the cruel realities of Terra." She looked at him with a serious face on.
"Hmm, you know that you'll go on missions if you're there right? Ceylon can just research, but I'll use you well." He smirked and Schwarz nodded immediately.
"That is no problem... My crossbow and expertise is at your disposal." Schwarz didn't have any problems with it and he shrugged.
"Okay, then. If Herman agrees to send off Ceylon, then you'll come with her. Not as her bodyguard, but her big sister yeah?" He smiled and patted her head, rubbing her ears a bit.
"A-ahh, yes." She didn't expect it and purred. Schwarz then backed off a bit, blushing in embarrassment.
"Haha, go and follow Ceylon. Adele's fine, but she might get influenced by Lappland or something." He gestured for her to go.
"Thank you very much!" She ran off to Ceylon just like a quick cat and he thought they had a good relationship.
"Now, I guess the barbecue is stable. I need a little time for myself." He went to the balcony and opened up a cold one.
"What should be next in our itinerary? Hmmm... Ahh, I should check Laurentina's cells. I still have her samples. The seaborne huh?" He frowned.
Ash then shook his head and thought it was still far. The Aegirians would hold them off for now and Iberia's inquisition was there too.
"We'll just prep here on land for now. Stabilize the countries first to unite them against a bigger threat. Laterano looks like a good place to establish a UN and Geneva convention." Ash was starting to make plans.
"Hah, why did this have to be that complicated. First is my kin who are in Yan. Then the bloody ass monsters from the sea. Even Sharknado would be better." He rubbed his temples.
While drinking, he noticed someone coming. "Hmm, you really feel familiar." He didn't turn around and just kept on drinking and looking at the festival that was continued.
"I see, it seems it is true that you have one of my comrades." He craned his neck and saw a woman that was similar to Laurentina.
Though she had a huge ass sword and was wearing a pointy hat. Her pants also had an inner thigh window that he thought was weird. (pic)
"Your name, miss?" He raised his can of beer to her and she stared at him for a minute. "Skadi... Can you please show me my comrade?"
"Laurentina? She isn't in good shape Skadi." He sighed and Skadi frowned heavily.
"Why?" She wasn't good with interactions and was succinct with her words.
"When we found her, she got infected by tons of originium in her spine. Replacing her cerebrospinal fluid. In all accounts, she should be dead. But she wasn't. She had severe psychosis though." He sighed.
"Show me?" She was worried and he called Margaret to send Specter to them. She was resting most of the time to recuperate whenever her expertise isn't needed.
After waiting for a little bit, with the two of them not speaking to each other. The crazy nun arrived and she just gave Skadi a passing look.
"My lord, what is it that you need from me? Do I need to give salvation unto the peasants?" She grinned like a maniac and Skadi frowned heavily.
Her heart sank and there was a pit in her stomach upon seeing one of her only remaining comrades like that.
"Laurentina... Can't you remember me? Squad leader Gladiia and I were with you when we defeated Ishar-mla." Skadi furrowed her brows.
"Hmmm? Are you a follower of my lord?" Specter just tilted her head and Ash patted her. "Yeah, kind of. She just wanted to meet up with you." He nodded at Skadi.
"Y-yes... That is so." Skadi had a strained smile and Specter walked up to her. "Then why do you feel so forlorn? Do not worry, the lord will give you immense happiness." She smiled and clapped happily upon seeing another believer.
"You're correct, I am sure that will be the case." Skadi could only agree and Ash told Specter to enjoy the food and festivities.
After she left, Skadi looked at her go and she wobbled a bit right after. Ash helped support her and Skadi had a complicated look on her face.
"I managed to talk to her real self once. But her alter ego is most likely taking over for now in order to protect her mind. We've been seeing improvements, but I have no idea when she'll return." Ash sighed.
"T-thank you... I... I need to sit down for a bit." Skadi sat down and was going to have a breakdown.
There were only a handful of them left. And the first one she sees after surfacing to the ground is a deranged lunatic. It made her chest hurt to see her like that.
Ash created a bench from the nearby stone and he sat down with her. He gave her a cold glass of strawberry milk and sighed.
"Any news of other comrades of yours? I heard about the seaborne from someone. I'm going to prepare Terra to fight them." Ash looked at her red eyes and she blinked.
"It's... It will be a waste of time. Only my kind can fight them. They adapt endlessly and are even stronger than the races here on land." She appreciated his words, but it was useless.
"Are you sure about that? I don't know about you, but if Laurentina was able to be a part of the group who took down Ishar-mla. Then I have a couple of people with me that are much stronger than her." He smiled cheekily.
"Really? I can't seem to believe that." She was surprised, but she quickly returned to her blank expression.
"Do you not trust me? You'll see eventually. Besides, you'll be going with us right?" He snorted.
"Yes, can I? I will take care of her... I don't know if there are more out there... But any one of them that's alive, I would like to meet up with and regroup." Skadi looked sad.
He had experience with Narcissa's blank expression all the time. And she was stewing in a dark place for sure.
"I'm sure there are more out there. Do not fret, just like my kin. And if there is none more, Laurentina will recover. She is stable, her body is fighting the originium in her body fiercely." He assured her.
"Is it true? She would recover?" Skadi looked at him hopefully and he nodded. "I've already given her suppressants for originium. Though its efficacy is much lower due to the abyssal hunter's special physique."
"Special?" Skadi tilted her head. "Yeah, your bodies attack foreign matter fiercely. Must be because of your seaborne blood." He was pretty sure it was due to that.
But he noticed that Skadi froze and she started trembling. "S-seaborne? We're part seaborne?" She started hyperventilating.
Her mind was getting filled by visions of the monsters from the abyss. When her comrades got torn to pieces. And they were related to them.
"I'm a seaborne?" She was having a panic attack and Ash quickly used his energy to manipulate her brain and rubbed her head and back while hugging her tightly.
"Shhh, shh. You didn't know? It's fine, it's okay. You're not one of them." He frowned. It seems that she isn't quite a volunteer to be one of the abyssal hunters.
"Am I? A monster?" Skadi started to tear up and was remembering her comrades that died. She is having a flare up of PTSD.
"Shh, shut up. You don't want to kill people left and right. You're just an unfortunate soldier. Even if you are, the difference is you aren't crazy about turning people into seaborne." He sighed and kept on caressing her hair softly.
Skadi just stayed quiet for a bit and he saw that she was also carrying a harp with her. "Let me have this for a second." He started checking its tune.
He started playing Peaceful Sleep and Skadi stared at him while he played her harp.
Every pluck of the string resonates inside of her ears and body. Carrying the intent of making Skadi relax and feel safe.
"You know... We communicate our feelings with music." She could feel the intent in it and was surprised that a land dweller can make such soulful music.
"Then, what did you feel?" He patted her head and she stared at his eyes. "Peace and security... But if you keep touching me like this, I can't guarantee your safety from the calamity I might bring." She furrowed her brows.
"Oh please, the seaborne attacking? You have no idea how many weapons of war are in my head." He had a smug smile on his face.
She chuckled at that and thought that was really inappropriate. "Really? What kind?" She didn't believe him and thought that Aegir would definitely beat them in weapons and technology.
"I can erase entire countries with a snap of my finger if I wanted to. The seaborne can adapt? Can they adapt against millions of degrees of heat and shockwaves that can level entire cities in an instant?" Ash snorted.
They already have some stocks of enriched uranium for fuel rods. Nuclear reactors are on the way to replace originite prime. And it would just need a couple of changes to make pretty clean hydrogen fusion bombs.
Forget seaborne, he doubts that even ancient Feranmuts would survive a dozen megaton payload to the face like the castle bravo nuclear test.
"That can't be real." She raised a brow and he snorted. "I'll show you then. Excuse me for a bit." He still can't transfer memories well and he had to stick their foreheads together.
Skadi was about to push him away from embarrassment. But she suddenly saw a vision right inside her head.
A sudden spark in the dark, then a fireball that encompassed a few kilometers. Heat waves travelled everywhere and made anything that can ignite burst into flames for dozens of kilometers away.
The clouds parted in the sky and the bright explosion was blinding, heaven and earth was ablaze.
The shockwave then toppled anything in its path and it looked like the end of the world.
"W-what was that?" Skadi shuddered and couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. She can only imagine what would happen if that was detonated smack dab in the middle of a large city.
"That, dear Skadi. Is humanity's greatest weapon, for now that is. I'd say that kinetic bombardments from space using titanic asteroids are much more apocalyptic. But I digress." He shrugged.
"And you have one of those?" She gulped nervously. "No, not yet. But I can make it in probably a few days. It's not that complicated."
"O-okay, I believe you now." Skadi immediately lost all her thoughts about being a calamity. Ishar-mla would've been toast with that bomb. And everything nearby too even if it was underwater.
"See? You think you're gonna bring a calamity. That's quite cute. I can destroy Terra and turn it into a burning planet in days if I wanted to. Tectonic plates are the easiest ones to use as well." He thought about it.
Narcissa and him can just disturb tectonic plates and cause worldwide disasters that have never been seen in Terra. Tsunamis hit the coasts everywhere. Volcanoes erupting, the ground splitting.
"So shut up and none of that I'm a bringer of calamity bullshit. I can cause damage that you cannot even try to imagine." He bopped her nose and chuckled.
"Alright... Thanks." She smiled a bit and she did feel better.
"Call me Ash, Laurentina would be happy if she wakes up with you by her side, wouldn't it?" He stood up and gave her his hand.
Skadi's eyes shone a bit as she teared up. It was the very first time that someone offered her help and she didn't think it would be useless.
"Un, she would. Me too, I would love to be with her when Laurentina returns." Skadi had a smile on her face.
"Good, you can have a genuine smile after all. Come on, let's go and enjoy the festival. Siesta's a place to have a vacation after all." He pulled her with him.
She looked at his large hand and didn't mind their physical contact. "Squad leader Gladiia. I think I found a friend here on the surface..." She whispered silently and prayed for her squad leader's soul.
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Thank you for reading everyone, ciao.
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