บท 1: Hero Without a Legend
Child of Shadow
Chapter 1 - Hero Without a Legend
By theMadLad
A staunch old man with an overbearing yet paradoxically laid back demeanor stood at the cusp of a hill, overlooking the sea with two ravens on his shoulders. He had white hair that flowed into a strange long beard that held nothing but faint stubble at the stache.
He was not alone, as there was a young girl by his side who seemed to be no older than 17. She was adorned in tight white and black armor that accentuated her rather plump and endowed figure, along with the motif of wings hanging off her ears and connecting to her flowing white hair that was tied together with a pink bow.
"Lord Odin, why did we suddenly stop here? We were supposed to be having a meeting at the Otherworld, so why are we at the Red Sea?!" The girl cried out with a confused tone. She was a valkyrie for the Norse Chief God, Odin, the Allfather and this was only her fourth time leaving Asgard after being appointed as Odin's secretary.
When she was first assigned as the personal secretary of Odin, she was ecstatic—all her efforts had finally bore fruit, the countless hours studying magic and… missing out on her youth and the b-bullying from her peers were worth it!
But no, she was less of a secretary and more of a maid, and to top it all off…
"Geez, Rossweisse calm down—acting this way is why your years single is the same as your years alive! You think I would rather be here than the Oppai-Pub?!"
…he was a relentless pervert.
Rossweisse was about to angrily retort from his words but was interrupted by Odin before she could speak.
"—But, there is a reason why we are here." Odin spoke with a more serious tone that contrasted to his previously jovial speech as he brought his hand up to adjust his monocle.
The monocle was a piece of jewelry attached to his left eye after he had sacrificed it to Mímisbrunnr in exchange for the ability to see into the unseen.
He continued to fiddle with it in quiet as Rossweisse started to grow nervous the longer Odin stayed silent, she rarely ever saw Odin seem so serious outside of important meetings… so she couldn't help but hesitantly ask, "Lord Odin what's going on?"
Odin glanced at her in suspense for a few moments before finally shifting his face to a smirk, "…You'll see in a moment."
Rossweisse pouted.
A moment later, a flash of blinding light appeared at their side, it was a beacon of warmth and power that could only have been compared to the sun. The feeling remained briefly before instantly fading away and in its place stood a man that seemed perfectly normal, as if the overwhelming presence just prior was an illusion.
But Rossweisse could feel that the power radiating in that brief moment from the man… eclipsed even Odin beside her, causing her heart to leap from her throat.
The man had eyes that were as radiant as the sunlight, with soft white skin contrasted by curly bright blonde hair and well defined muscles adorned by a green mantle.
Odin groaned as the man appeared, bringing his hands to his eyes in mock pain, "Ugh, Lugh did you have to teleport here so brightly—it hurt my eyes!"
Rossweisse's brows jumped to her forehead as she realized the identity of the person beside them as Lugh, the Celtic God of Light, and the leader of the Celtic Pantheon that resided in the Overworld.
Lugh was briefly speechless from Odin's feigned pain before deciding just to chuckle along in humor, "What eyes? I only see one, maybe you should get it checked out before accusing me."
Odin snorted in response as Rossweisse watched on in exasperation, before deciding to chastise Odin, "—Mou! Lord Odin, you shouldn't speak to him that way, you are supposed to be representing our Pantheon!"
Odin waved her off dismissively with a grunt, causing Rossweisse to give a strained smile as she turned to Lugh with a bow, "I apologize for Lord Odin, Lord Lugh. I am the Valkyrie Rossweisse—" Odin then cut her off with a laugh, "—A Valkyrie that can't even find any heroes to bring into Valhalla… much less a boyfriend."
"—Urk! Lord Odin—!" Rossweisse flinched as her face glowed red in shame, before she quickly began yelling in anger in response to the cruel arrows of speech that he ruthlessly shot towards her insecurities, causing her to quickly devolve into a screaming match with Odin as Lugh watched on speechlessly from the side.
After a few minutes she finally calmed down enough to realize her unprofessional outburst of emotion in front of an amused Lugh and started to apologize profusely to him in embarrassment, all the while Odin laughed out loud in the background.
After that brief affair was finally over, Lugh turned towards Odin with a raised brow and sarcastic tone, "So, is there a reason we are meeting in the Red Sea between Asia and Africa instead of the Otherworld like it was planned in the Celtic Sea?"
Lugh was indeed a bit frustrated with Odin's sudden antics that caused him to unexpectedly change up plans and embarrass himself in front of the other Celtic Gods.
But, he has known Odin for a long time, and knew that he wouldn't do something so abrupt without good reason—Odin was a God of Wisdom for a reason after all.
He didn't have such a small EQ.
"Heh, can't you tell?" Odin spoke with a smirk as he looked towards Lugh while Rossweisse stared in confusion.
"…I did notice." Lugh responded as he looked deeper into the Sea where a large storm seemed to be going on.
"I guess you didn't notice enough!" Odin responded with a laugh as he threw Lugh's earlier words back at him, "I suppose your eyes aren't good enough!"
Lugh's eyes twitched at his words but Odin ignored him, instead choosing to turn to both of his ravens that were resting at his shoulder, "You know what to do, get—get!" He yelled as he smacked his two ravens off his shoulders.
Lugh and Rossweisse had black lines on their faces as they watched Odin scold his twin familiars, Huginn and Muninn, and forced them to head towards the large storm in the distance.
Odin then sighed in satisfaction as he watched the ravens take off, almost instantaneously crossing the distance between them and the storm.
Odin then tapped his disguised Gungnir that was in the form of a small walking stick onto the ground, before leaning back to sit as a wooden chair sprouted from the dirt beneath him to form a seat.
He then brought his hands in front of him and then gave off a small wave as a myriad of runes briefly appeared before forming into a small mirror that displayed the perspectives of the two ravens.
Lugh and Rossweisse quickly leaned over the seat from behind to get a better look. The ravens were hovering outside the storm, which seemed to have a curtain of water and wind that made visibility impossible—however the real problem was that they were unable to easily pierce the storm's veil.
"…"
"…Allow me." Lugh sighed as he brought up a finger before pointing it at the direction of the storm and sending a shining ray of light towards its veil. The light traveled instantaneously and effortlessly punctured the storm that not even Odin's twin ravens could navigate.
Rossweisse watched in amazement at seeing Lugh's power, easily identifying the casual attack as something that could decimate even an Ultimate-Class being.
The display of power affirmed in her mind that he truly deserved a title among the Top Ten Strongest Beings in the World, out of everyone from her own pantheon she believed perhaps only Thor could soundly defeat him.
She was then quickly drawn back to the viewing mirror as the voice of a young man yelled out from it, "—Who the fuck?!"
Normally Rossweisse with her status as a Valkyrie would have been slightly offended at someone insulting a God, but any complaints were drowned out by what was visible on the screen.
Within the storm, the only visibility was from the rays of light that were allowed in after the storm's curtain was punctured by Lugh's attack. There inside, the twin ravens swooped down revealing the visage of a monsterous being floating within the sea, with its size seeming to rival the storm itself.
The sea monster was covered in barbed spikes that rested upon thick plated bones of armor layered over the skin on its body—which only further complemented its menacing presence through its jagged tail and bladed fins that it wielded as weapons of death.
It was a fearsome creature belonging to a different, more dangerous age of long ago.
The sea seemed to be one with the monster as the water would answer its command in tidal waves that covered the horizon along with the wind which would generate tornadoes freely from its billowing roars.
Rossweisse gasped at the grotesque might of the sea monster, fearful of ever facing such a thing in battle, "Lord Odin, how could such a thing be wandering here so freely?!"
Odin though only seemed to ignore her panicked cries and instead simply glanced at Lugh, "…Looks familiar doesn't it?"
Lugh momentarily watched the beast split the ocean with far off eyes before speaking, "…the Curruid."
Rossweisse was confused, she recognized the name but was unable to believe that she was actually seeing it for herself. The Curruid was a legendary sea monster known to have belonged to the Celtics. But, it was said to have been slain thousands of years ago in a confrontation against another sea monster called the Coinchenn.
But as she was contemplating the beast's origins, Rossweisse managed to notice as she got a closer look that someone was actually fighting the beast!
There was a curtain of shadows sticking to the inner walls of the storm that seemed to freely shape into different weapons such as spears and other blades before attempting to stab and lance into the creature. The shadows were also devouring any direct attacks from the monster before smoothly redirecting them back.
One of the ravens swooped down low and maneuvered through the storm until it reached the figure of a young boy. Both Lugh and Rossweisse widened their eyes in amazement as they realized how young the boy seemed to be, at most, only 15-years-old!
Although his fighting prowess seemed to be inhibited by the rays of light that were piercing through the storm, he was by no means less deadly, if anything his technique seemed to become more fierce to make up for it.
The boy had black hair with stark red eyes and was shrouded in a green cloak that rested over a pitch black bodysuit, he also held a small lance that seemed to perfectly fit his size.
He made battle with the Curruid through intense, almost supernatural focus and legendary skill, his lance seemed to shoot out hundreds of times in an instant, impacting the monster with explosions of force.
He would also effortlessly evade the monster's attacks, jumping between areas of the sea, freely walking onto the water and even diving into the shadows before reappearing elsewhere around the monster.
The boy fought like a demon forged for battle, with systematically placed runes dispersing tornadoes and frightening attacks compounded by his fighting spirit.
The weapons made of shadows would also take advantage of any feigns left by the boy to strike brief openings left by the monster—slowly draining it of its life through death by a thousand cuts.
Rossweisse felt her breaths become heavy as her loins started to trickle at the sight. This was what she was always looking for! …A Hero.
Her hero, she blushed—feeling shame as her face began to redden at the thought.
Meanwhile, Odin and Lugh began to discuss the sight of the battle, ignoring Rossweisse as she squirmed with her hands covering her face while stuck in her own little world.
"Those skills with the spear—they are perhaps among the greatest in the world, along with his fighting awareness, battling spirit, and magical prowess… this boy is likely the most prodigious fighter of this era." Lugh murmured to himself in praise as he continued, "…and those shadows, a sacred gear?"
Odin nodded in response, "It's called Night Reflection, just a normal sacred gear but that only makes it even more so impressive from just how far he has been able to push it in spite of that."
"…You seem to know a lot about this boy, who is he?" Lugh replied, he was curious about why Odin thought this boy was so important that he interrupted their meeting for him.
"Look at him yourself, doesn't he seem familiar to you?" Odin spoke with an amused tone, watching as Lugh's face seemed to come into an intense focus, peering deeper into the boy before realization dawned on his face as it was slowly filled with complicated emotions.
"…Connla." Lugh spoke with both pride and regret. Similar to both Vishnu and the Biblical God who were known to have incarnated into humanity with vessels known as Rama and Jesus respectively, Lugh had once done the same.
He had incarnated as a young boy who was born Sétanta, and in life slayed a fierce hound belonging to a man named Culann. To repay the man, he took the hound's place until a replacement could be found, which gave him the name he would later be known for in legend, Cú Chulainn.
As Cú Chulainn he had lived the fierce and adventurous life of a hero, training under a warrior-queen, meeting great friends that would die for one another, seducing countless maidens, and finally perishing in battle against an army on his lonesome shortly before tying his intestines to a nearby rock just so he could die on his feet.
But he had one great regret over all others—he had killed his only son, Connla… and it was all his fault.
Although Cú Chulainn may not have technically been Lugh, Lugh was definitely Cú Chulainn, as Lugh had inherited all of Cú Chulainn's memories and experiences after his death.
So, to see Connla's reincarnation begin his own legend, he was filled with mixed emotions, but the one he felt above all others… was relief.
Although his human incarnation's son may have had his life cut short through his own hand, and died as a hero without a legend.
…Maybe this time, the world could see the boy that he remembered gave him his fiercest fight, his prodigy son who had forced the legendary Cú Chulainn into a corner through superior skill alone, eventually forcing him to unleash his spear's greatest technique just to survive.
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Author's Notes
New story, DxD this time again! Yay! Hope you enjoyed it, give me your thoughts and leave a like.
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