บท 2: 2. Child of Utu
" You are a demigod, a child of one of the Sumerian Gods."
"A demigod?" Levana asked just to make sure she heard right. She could accept that monsters existed, she could accept that the man before her was immortal but she? A demigod? That was another story. Though she felt that the man was telling the truth, she couldn't help but reject the idea that she was a demigod. She should know herself best, right?
" Yes, I can feel it in you. The divine ichor in your veins... You should be able to feel it too, we demigods could always sense each other. I myself am a son of Anu. I wonder who your godly parent is." Once again, Levana Kaer couldn't help but feel that Hanok had spoken the truth so she kept her mouth shut and continued listening.
" Now, unlike the Greeks, our gods are very inactive and generally don't care about what we demigods do. We could be plotting a rebellion and they would only notice it when we poke them with our sharp sticks. In fact, a group of demigods once tried that. Their rebellion ended in a sweep of a hand from Lord Anu." Seeing Levana's expression, Hanok gestured for her to speak.
" Wait, wait. Greeks?" She asked.
" Of all the things I have said so far, you question the fact that I mentioned greeks?"
"I- well... The greek gods are very popular and well known..." Levana said sheepishly as she made random gestures with her hands before wincing as her back began throbbing again.
" Fair enough. Just to inform you, all the religions on Earth exist in some way or another. As long as you have clear enough sight, you will be able to see... them." Levana nodded along seeing the serious expression Hanok had.
" The plus side of having inactive gods is that it is very difficult to incur the wrath of our gods. However, their inattentiveness means that most of the gods will not claim us or give us signs that we are their children. So... do you have any powers?" Hanok said as he scanned her body as if to find any inhuman traits that a demigod might have.
" Well... I can tell when people are speaking the truth?" Levana said enthusiastically while trying to hide her embarrassment from being scrutinised so closely by the man.
" Do you mean that you can sense lies or do you actually sense the truth?" The man whose facial expression hadn't changed at all since Levana met him raised an eyebrow.
" Um... I sense the truth... I think..." Levana closed her eyes to imagine all the times she had been lied to.
(Flashback Levana's Pov)
" Hey, give my ball back! You said one week, it has been 2 weeks!" I shouted at the boy to who I had lent my ball.
" Ah, sorry Levana. I lost it." Waves of anger exploded throughout my body as I heard the boy's lie. I shivered a little at the intense emotion roiling in my mind. For a second I contemplated hitting the boy but quickly pushed the emotion down. Letting out a sigh and pulling out a strained smile I told the boy that I forgave him. I shivered again as I watched the boy walk away without even nodding to me.
( End of Flashback. Back to 3rd person.)
" Um... Actually, I do both. I can sense when people are telling the truth and when they lie." Levana said, not mentioning the intense anger that plagues her whenever she DOES hear someone lie nor the immense sense of respect that she feels whenever someone speaks the truth. Though she was grateful that she had this... ability... they often messed with her emotional state and caused problems.
" Both? Interesting. Any other powers? Lie detecting isn't usually an ability that Sumerian demigods get." Hanok who was now standing up stared right into her eyes with a slight intensity in his gaze.
" I-I don't know?" Levana spoke hastily as the man walked closer to her.
" Anger."
" Huh?!" Levana's eyes widened as she heard THAT word.
" Let your anger flow, strong emotions usually cause demigod powers to show themselves. Or..." Suddenly, a sword appeared in Hanok's right hand. He then swung at the girl.
Immediately, the girl's eyes opened wide like saucers and began glowing yellowish gold. Immediately, the world seemed to slow from Levana's perspective. Her right hand began glowing as she raised her hand at Hanok. At the same time, she reached for her knife with her left.
However, before these things could happen, she closed her glowing eyes from fear. Instantly, Levana heard a very distinct whooshing sound. The sound of a sword cutting through the air. Next, she felt the edge of cold steel on her neck.
" Interesting." She heard the man speak not a second after attempting to attack her. Still scared, she opened her eyes. The glow in her eyes had been snuffed out, leaving her regular green pupils. Her hand glowed a dim and unstable light. Her shaking left hand was frozen only halfway to her knife.
" W-w-what the fuck is wrong with you!" Levana yelled at the man who had already put away his blade, causing it to disappear. There was a clear tremble in her voice that gave away her fear.
" I just took the most efficient way to determine who your godly parent is, daughter of the sun. Your father is Lord Utu, also known as Lord Shamash." The confidence in the man's voice surprised Levana. After all, he had said that he was guessing or at least implied so.
" Who?" Levana, like most people, had no idea who Utu or Shamash was. The Sumerian gods were just far less iconic than the other more well-known religions.
" Lord Utu is the Sumerian god of the sun, Justice, kindness and generosity. The light that you emitted just before is an ability that most children of Utu get. The ability to emit a very specific wavelength of light at varying intensities." The man said.
" I... see. Either way, you shouldn't just attack people like that." Levana said while pouting. Her pounding heart had already started to return to its regular pace.
" Why should I not?"
" Huh?" Having heard the strange question, Levana couldn't help but get confused.
" Do you have a good reason as to why I shouldn't use the most efficient way to obtain results and as you said 'attack people like that'?" The man said calmly, as if unaffected by Levana's apparent anger at being attacked randomly.
" I... I mean isn't it just logic? It is logical not to attack someone for no reason!" She raised her voice a little as she got annoyed.
" Is it? Perhaps it is your logic that you are referencing. Besides, I did not attack you for no reason. I explicitly told you why I attacked you and that is to elicit a reaction from you to find out what your abilities are. In fact, that one attack gave me a lot of information on your personality and combat instincts.
For one, you seem to be what people call an adrenaline junky or a battle maniac. You had a smirk when you realised you were being attacked. Your combat instincts were good as well. You reached for a weapon, attempted to blind me with the sunlight you didn't know you had and kept your eyes on me despite being surprised.
Yet, for some reason, you decided to close your eyes and cower the moment you saw the blade get too close to you. It seems you have some complexes to work out." For the first time since the two met, Hanok smiled. He got up while the speechless Levana simply stared at him.
" Get some rest, dinner is at 8 o'clock. I will get someone to bring you your food. As I said before, I am a teacher. Think about what you want to learn while you rest." Hanok gestured at the clock on the wall and left the room after.
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