บท 56: Chapter 11 - No masks
If anything could be said about that decisive night, calm would fit the best. The blood was spilled, and yet not a soul had been awakened from their dreams. For a brief moment, no monsters or troops would besiege Buranikka.
But not everyone was blessed by gentle stars. Keyaruga, the man, the hero, and the avenger, strolled through the empty streets with the demi-human girl on his back. He was far from his usual straight posture. There was little to no power in his steps. Despite this, he moved as if his life depended on it.
"Haa… Haa… Ha-ha…" Although his breath was far from its usual temperance, the healer managed to find some strength for a short laugh.
"You smile again, Master Keyaruga." Setsuna couldn't help but notice. Unfortunately, even if she did enjoy the lad's company, the girl realized that she was too much of a burden for her weakened savior. "Let go. You struggle."
"No… No, you must rest. You…" But before the conqueror of all odds could finish, the she-wolf jumped off him. He tried holding her, but despite all the efforts, the man almost fell.
"Setsuna's turn." The girl said, supporting Keyaruga by his shoulder. There was so much strain on him, the lad found nothing better to do...
"Th… Thanks." ...than accept the help. He had never been so close to death — even when fighting Bloodbringer, he never made such obvious and self-destructive errors as overconfidence. Yet there he was, barely standing after nearly dying. But still… "Gramgrim…" That raid was worth it. Even for that single piece of news.
"Funny word." The huntress responded with no mirth in her voice.
"Yeah. I think… We've eradicated the vermin here. But there's more. Hakuo… is ready to send his elite troops after Eve. I will be there, Setsuna. I will not let anyone harm her. Even… if I'll have to butcher the entire army all on my own."
"No." Staring into Keyaruga's fiery eyes, the ice warrior stated. "Not on your own."
…
At the same time, the home the two challengers strived toward buzzed with greenish light. There were sparks of magic, much paler than what the Hero of Healing could conjure, and yet it was a true power of restoration indeed.
"Yes, Evy. You're doing great." Freia said, looking at the queen-to-be casting the blank emerald sphere. It throbbed and ripped, far from reaching a stable form. And in the end, the spell burst into nothing.
"Ugh, I can't!" Obviously, the maiden was dissatisfied with her lack of immediate progress. "Come on, you know I just don't have that skill on me. It's just useless." The black-winged girl lamented, crouching in the corner. But from the other's point of view, she was just too impatient.
"Actually, when it comes to the support incantations, there are no limits. I'm too unfit for healing, you know? The only thing you need is a week of practice, I promise." The pink-haired magician assured Eve. "If you're wondering, you're progressing much faster than I ever did."
"Yeah… All right, I'll try." The kokuyoku scion said with a burst of enthusiasm. All she needed was some shaping proficiency and time. If only for the perks of shifting the body processes at will.
In the meantime, Freia walked toward the door. She walked past Kelly without even needing to cover her nose. Another small victory for the kidnapped princess. Yes, she waited for Keyaruga, her chest was bursting with anxiety and anticipation. She would even call for her heat vision from time to time, but alas — even if the hero was among the hundreds of sparks around her, the sorceress had no way of telling. And yet, she waited. Just like Setsuna would usually do.
The girl was restless — walking from one side of the shack to another, creaking her teeth, and even finding herself on the verge of crying. Ironically, Eve had finally embraced her true focus, whereas her teacher couldn't calm down. Every passing moment was tormenting. And when the caster spotted a green cape in the distance, she just couldn't hold herself back from rushing toward the healer.
"Keyaruga! KEYARUGA! Keya…" Alas, all the enthusiasm had faded, barely did the girl approach the hero. Held by Setsuna, mangled and weak, he seemed to be dying. No, there was not a single wound under the holes in his attire, and yet… "No… No, please… Setty, we need to get him inside!" Freia snarled, resting Keyaruga's left arm on her back. The huntress didn't mind, she remained silent even when she spotted her friend struggling.
"Ugh… Freia?" The lad was on the verge of collapsing. Yet, through the sheer force of will, he remained conscious. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you. Listen, we… have killed them all. For now… we won… And there's… a knife I have… A gift for you… From…" He spoke of the one and only trophy he got from Kailia — a curved dagger in the form of a crawling snake. It rested in the voluminous bag on the back of his waist.
"Please, don't talk now." Freia said, trying to sustain at least a semblance of calmness. His frail voice, bloody clothes, wheezing breath — so many things reminded the princess of her grave sin. But she would persevere. The girl would even bash the door, walk by Kelly and put her man at their improvised bed.
"Hey, what's going on?" Eve wondered, dispelling her greenish sphere. "Eh? What, you're both covered in blood? Of course, what else would you expect of this maniac?" The heir of the black-wing tribe demonstrated no compassion, for she didn't even comprehend the terrific state in which the hero returned.
In the end, Freia rose above the unconscious body. There was little that could be done to help Keyaruga outside of just letting him rest. But she could not bear Eve's impudence anymore.
"Enough! Ever since he'd taken you, the only thing you do is humiliating him! Can't you see Keyaruga was injured, protecting you?" The magician said that with her fists clenched. "Do you even feel… any compassion?"
"How scary! In case you forgot, I didn't ask him to guard me! I warned him not to get involved with me! And more than everything — it was he who told me to stay here!" Eve snarled at the princess, without any trace of empathy toward the man. "All you ever do is fucki-!.. AUCH!!!" So was it surprising that Freia slapped the maiden with all she had?
"Shut up already!" The sorceress exclaimed, as she grabbed the confused black-haired girl by the neck. "I thought you were joking! I thought you would stop! But even now, even when he almost got killed just so you could live!.. Even now you still make fun of him!" Freia snarled, and her sapphire eyes started covering with red cracks. "Say it! SAY, HOW MUCH DO YOU HATE HIM, SO I CAN PUMMEL YOU!!!" And finally, Freia started to scream. It was just beyond her — how could this child be so ungrateful? How could she berate the man who risked his own life to save hers?
"I… I…'"
"WHAT `YOU`?! YOU THINK IT'S ABOUT YOU?! ALL OF THIS?! YOU…" Ultimately, that hysterical tantrum was broken by Setsuna. The girl just put her hand on the princess' shoulder, turned her around, and hugged her tightly. "A-A-A-A-A-A-A!!!" Could there be something other than loud sobbing? At the end of the day, Freia remained a scared child, afraid of losing her new family. She already lost one, so was it unusual for her to fall into disarray out of the simple fact that her man got a slightly more severe beating this time around?
"Go away. Or undress him." Setsuna said, still holding the crying girl. Her ice-cold temper allowed her to withstand such stressful situations with relative ease. But her disposition toward Eve barely differed from Freia's. "What? Clothes sticky, dirty, dangerous now. Do it or go."
"Ugh…" In the end, one thing was clear for Eve Reese. If Keyaruga was in better shape, he would shrug her unhealthy attitude off like some sort of hard-to-get play. But the same would not suffice for Freia and Setsuna. "They love you, bas… Haa… Undress, of course." Ultimately, the girl, whose ascension was not tied to that single hero, crouched above the man. So vulnerable, he looked more dead than alive. The sorceress still cried behind Eve's back, and the ice warrior watched her every move. She felt pressure, both from without and within, and yet, there she was. Tattered cape, breached vest, belt with numerous consumables, knives, and ingredients, both for cooking and potion brewing, leather bracers, and finally — the brownish shirt with a wide hole in it — the black-winged adolescent was careful in taking it all, but the fresh blood on these things and her own embarrassment made the kokuyoku scion slightly tremble.
"I… I think it's enough." Eve said, leaving only boots and trousers. She had enough of Keyaruga's manhood in the morning, after all. Setsuna remained silent, yet her bottomless aquamarine eyes continued to radiate that same coldness. "Freia… Setsuna… I'm so sorry." In the end, the heir to the black-wing decided to apologize. Such a small act, and yet…
…
Sunlight breached through the broken glass, its gentle rays descended upon the hero's face. Keyaruga quickly opened his eyes and looked nervously on both sides before jumping off the hay bed.
"Good morning." The concerned voice reached his ears. Eve, clad in her dress of black and purple (although, admittedly, much more presentable after being washed), stood in the corner, pointing at his regular attire, lying next to him. "You… should get dressed." She pointed, touching the fact that the only thing the healer was covered with was the long night shirt and the cracked blue amulet hanging off his neck.
"Hmm. All right." And so, the lad started to get dressed. Of course, Eve had turned her back on him, just to not traumatize her sight with the hero's manhood. Still, even despite that little inconvenience…
"You haven't asked anything about the other two." …the kokuyoku scion couldn't help but notice one simple fact.
"They're outside. Setsuna is teaching Freia how to handle a knife I brought. I know you're listening, Setsuna. Glad you're doing fine." The lad stated, noticing the she-wolf's oversensitive ears tingling to his words. Maybe I'm over relying on my jade eye? Well, it doesn't matter. "I'm almost set, you can face me now."
"Listen…" Upon hearing that, Eve's eyes met the man's. He was yet to put on the vest and the cape, but at least his body was covered. While he looked disinterested, the maiden literally radiated anxiety. "We've cleaned your stuff. And we tried to fix it too. Freia even repaired that enchantment on your green rag... Ugh, look, that's not what I wanted to say!"
"Heh, and yet, you did." Keyaruga chuckled, examining his leather vest. After all, while the holes were sewn, he had no doubt that the material would tear if left untreated. This, though, would have to wait. "What's wrong, Eve?"
"You almost died. You protect me, and all I ever do is being mean to you!" The girl admitted with a shaky voice. The healer was not actually surprised to hear it, or, rather, he showed no signs of it.
"It's because of Freia, right?" What he did show, however, was the unnatural force of insight and fast thinking.
"N-no. I decided to apologize all on my own!" The maiden assured, although without her usual bravery. "Do you… accept it?"
"Sorry, birdie. I think I understand what happened. I passed out, Freia overreacted, and now we've come to this." The man contemplated while sorting out his inventory. This helped him concentrate. "Honestly, what makes you think your simple distrust can be considered `mean` even in the slightest?" The red-haired lad wondered with a vile grin on his face.
"Sounds like you know a thing or two about cruelty. Especially with how you tossed and turned when sleeping. Care to elaborate?" And although he disliked hearing the question as an answer for the inquiry of his own, Keyaruga did come up with something.
"Sure. But for a price." The hero said with his head bent toward a shoulder.
"No, I will not do this with you!" Was he expecting such a reaction? Certainly. That was worth a satisfied snivel.
"How sad. Now, about my price. I actually want you to tell me, what made you so good at Phasian?" Just as the last word left Keyaruga's tongue, the girl froze for a moment.
"Is… that's it? There's a hitch somewhere! You can't…" Right before Eve could say something rude, she silenced herself with both hands. The Hero of Healing looked genuinely amused by her. In the end, the kokuyoku scion decided to give it a try. "I'm sorry… My mom. She had always spoken in this language with me. She said, I'd need it someday to unite Tenanulic with humans. She learned it all by herself and even spent money on tutors for me. Dad would often tell us it was useless. That the only good human is a dead one. The funny thing is, it wasn't humans who took everything from us. Are you satisfied now?" The black-haired girl finished her small, tragic tale. What could go wrong?
"Not really, seeing you've spurned my affection."
"Utwashi (screw you)!"
Well, this. Although, that time around, Keyaruga presented it as a joke and not as a bold attempt to get his way with an overconfident girl.
"All right, all right." So when the time to drop the mask had come, the lad was willing to do so with barely to no hesitation. "You see, Eve, I've been walking this earth for eighteen years now."
"You said you were fourteen!"
"I thought you didn't believe me. Well, either way, four of those years have been… Fucking awful. Stupidly gruesome, painful, tormenting, sad, lonely, excruciating, tantalizing…
"Like, really bad?"
"Yeah. Something like that. Either way, now that I'm back in control, I want revenge on my enemies. Blade, the Hero of Sword and Bullet, the Hero of Cannon. They're damn monsters, cruel bastards that deserve nothing less than a painful death, watching their innards slowly being ripped out of them, along with all that remains of their perverted dignity. I don't tell it to you because I want sympathy, only to warn you — soon, very soon, Blade will be there. Do you understand?"
There he was. A bruised, maimed kid whose wounds were still fresh. Someone craving for retribution just as a means of reclaiming agency in his broken life. Eve was far from understanding the burden of the man's hardships, but, even if she knew him only for two days, she couldn't help but notice an inconsistency.
"If you're all about vengeance, why have these two followed you? Setsuna, Freia — they love you; you love them too!" The black-winged heir concluded, making the lad gaze toward the broken amulet. With the jewel shattered, it was useless, not worth even trying to sell. But he just couldn't bring himself to throw it away.
"They're… just tools. My toys." Keyaruga admonished. Was that even the truth? A way to convince Eve? Or himself?
"Liar. Setsuna told me how you saved her and her village! And the recipe. And today's night. You don't go as far just for `toys`!" Eve confronted the man in his own game, armed with stories told to her by the she-wolf herself. A part of preparations well done. So much so that Keyaruga could only shrug in response. "I only want to hear the truth. Why protect me? Why would you think about usurping your kingdom? How does that apply to all of this? I just don't get it!"
"Purpose. A place in the world. There are people I value, and there is one I need to save no matter what. Without them and without the future that lies beyond, my revenge is meaningless." The healer admitted. He knew how much was there to be lost in a blind pursuit of retribution, so given a chance, he sought to benefit from it as much as he could. "Yesterday, I messed up. But even so, me and Setsuna have killed around sixty fuckers, and be damned sure, there will be more. Hundreds, maybe thousands."
"Gulp… I… I know I swore to survive, but at such a high price? You did it for me, I get it… But it's just so wrong."
"No, little girl. This is how the world is right now. This is normal. Whether you accept it or not is your choice. I can only give you my strength, and the only thing I ask is not to question me. For you, for ones who died for your sake. So, will you follow us? I promise, we will avenge your comrades, your family, and friends. Then, we'll fix this broken world together." Having unleashed his powerful speech, Keyaruga rose and approached the girl. Practically two heads shorter, she looked comically small near the hero. But even so, there was a mark of dignity on her face. And that's why he extended his arm to the queen-to-be.
"You leave me no choice, do you? I accept your offer, Keyaruga!" And she took his hand.
"You will not regret it, Eve Reese." The healer promised valiantly, kissing the back of her palm.
"I already do… dummy." She did not stop it, and the man saw it as progress in their further relationships. But alas, anything beyond this act of nobility remained a matter of the future. As for now...
"You can come in, girls! I know you've been listening! We're leaving this shack!"
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