“Everyone hates Paskel.” Says the tall, muscled man, smiling down at me from his side of the table. I think it’s meant to be charming, but… no. He’s mostly elvish, though the thick hair on his arms and chest suggests that his bloodline lies with another species.
“I’d be more than happy helping you deal with him. The man’s poison has hurt far too many, he’s truly a scourge on Frey. It’ll be best for us all if he disappears.”
We’ve secured a small space in the forest far enough from our base that I feel comfortable having him here. The tables and chairs have been supplied by Red, who arranged everything for us. Apparently, the man made contact with one of our scouting teams asking to meet with our leader.
“Right, right.” I say doubtfully as I tap my fingers out in an impatient rhythm. “So, you’ll betray your King to help us attack your ally?”
“Ah, that’s what you don’t understand, miss…?”
“Kyra Baker.” I say.
“Miss Baker. I’m simply called Warren.” He says, showing his bright white teeth again. “You see, Loekan doesn’t mind a little competition between us. It makes us stronger, in fact. He’s quite confident that you’ll come to our side eventually, and so am I.
“So, a little game like this isn’t going to be any trouble for anyone but Paskel.”
“Is that so?” I ask, continuing to tap out the same rhythm as I think, sceptical of his response. “So how is it that you propose to assist us?”
“I can get you into the city.” He declares with a wide smile. “That’s the only place you’ll be able to catch Paskel unaware. The bastard is as good at running as he is with his poisons.”
“The city? Are you mad?” I ask, not bothering to hide my surprise. “We can’t fight a whole city filled with gremlins? We’d be surrounded in minutes…”
“If you tried it without my help, yes.” He says, reaching a hand across the table to reach for mine. I quickly flick his hand away, and he sits back as if nothing happened. “I can get you into the city and I can give you the time you need to kill Paskel and escape.”
“You’d do all of this to see him dead?” I ask. “Did he piss in your soup or something?”
“He killed my wife.” Warren growls. His voice deepening as his eyes glow bright with rage. “She was a proud and beautiful woman, much like you. She would’ve gutted that coward in an open fight, but it wasn’t a fight at all.
“The coward poisoned her, the healers could do nothing to help her. Whatever poison he used was so powerful and insidious that it was beyond their Skills. She died slowly in my arms, and I had to watch as she slipped away from me.
“I will avenge her, Paskel will die for what he has done.” He growls, his eyes afire for a moment longer before he calms down again.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to lose myself.” He says, adjusting his already perfect clothes, and fixing his posture.
“It’s fine. I can understand why you’d be angry.” I say, calming my own breathing. I can imagine the same, my lovers poisoned, dying as I can do nothing to save them. It’s even more important that we see Paskel dead before he get’s the chance to do anything too serious to me and mine.
“Thank you.” He says, his expression momentarily frail before he masks the pain again. His motivations certainly seem genuine, but I can’t afford to take the risk of trusting him so easily.
“I need to take a moment to discuss things. Would you mind waiting here?” I ask, and he nods accepting the offer and taking a few bites of the food we’ve set out on the table. He trusts us not to poison him? Or he trusts that no poison would kill him?
I leave him behind at the table, leaving him to pour his own tea. It’s not really much of a tea party, but I do think we’ve given him rather nice pleasantries considering the circumstances.
Red is in charge of the guards holding the perimeter, while Eshya and Vii stand as part of that defence. I start a quiet discussion with them, detailing everything that Warren has offered, while sending the same to a group chat.
I make it clear not to say anything aloud that shouldn’t be overheard.
Kyra – What do you guys think?
Tkarn – Don’t trust him. He hates Paskel, but he’s one of Loekan’s favourites. He’s not going to let you get away. He’s not going to let me get away.
Kyra – That thing about his wife?
Tkarn – It could be true, but I haven’t heard of it before. He’s probably trying to trick you.
Kyra – He’s a good actor then.
I’m tempted to turn back and look at him. I don’t, of course. I don’t want to give him any hints of my thoughts.
Tkarn – Don’t trust him.
Kyra – Alright, alright. Let’s assume he’s lying to get me to trust him and lower my guard. For what purpose? A trap?
Red – Obviously it’s a trap. He wants to draw us into the city and capture us. Likely while getting rid of his competition at the same time.
Kyra – Ah, so we go into the city, kill Paskel, then get surrounded by Warren’s forces? It’s a decent plan, I guess.
Nel – Has he found out about our plan? Is that why he’s come here with perfect timing?
Kyra – He hasn’t directly mentioned it, but his timing is a little too suspicious.
Eshya – What will he do if we refuse his offer? Should we just kill him.
Red – Either we accept his offer, or we kill him.
Kyra – What’s there to gain from accepting his offer? What’s the danger of killing him?
Nel – He wouldn’t be here without a plan. He has to have some way of escaping, that and if he doesn’t come back, it’ll alarm his people.
Kyra – I could kill him before he has a chance to escape, and wouldn’t it help us if the gremlins are a bit upset? They might be out here trying to attack us rather than defending the city.
Red – I’d accept his offer.
Kyra – Red? Explain.
Red – We don’t have any easy way into the city at the moment, a dozen different means, but none of them will get us in quickly. As it is we won’t have much time to kill Paskel and his minions.
Red – So we do things his way. He’ll let us in, get us to kill his rival, then surround us when we’re weakened. If we work around his plan, we can turn his trap into our trap.
Kyra – I see. Anyone else have thoughts on the matter?
Nel – We’ll need to adjust our own plans after this.
Eshya – I have nothing to add.
Red – Be careful. Don’t let on that we have our own counter plans when you speak with him.
Tkarn – Thank you for believing me.
Vii – We’re being sneaky, and plotting around his plots? This sounds fun.
I close the group chat and return to my side of the table, across from Warren, who licks his lips nervously. Is that an act, or is it genuine?
Whatever the case, we have our plans.
“You can get us into the city?” I ask, shuffling uncomfortably on the chair. It’s a little too hard, made from wood that’s much too mana dense, it feels like splinters cutting through my armour into my arse. I mean, I can suppress the feeling, but that doesn’t make it suddenly comfortable.
“I’ll get you into the city.” He replies, a smile brightening his expression.
“How soon?”
“Whenever you need it.” He replies happily. “I just…”
“What is it?”
“Are you going personally?” He asks, “No don’t say, I don’t need to know. Just be careful Paskel is a dangerous one, I wouldn’t want you to get hurt because of him.”
“Two days from now. I’ll expect the gates to open.” I say. Our preparations should be ready by tomorrow night, but it’s almost guaranteed that something is going to go wrong and delay us. We’re moving too fast as it is. We’re not a well-trained military group, not yet at least.
“Agreed.” He says, “Two days from now at this hour. I’ll have my men on guard at the gates, they’ll let you in.”
I nod, short and sharp.
“Do you mind exchanging messages?” he asks, “It would do us well to keep in contact, and I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better.”
“Just in case something comes up and we need to change the timing of our attack.” I say, sending a few simple pleasantries over the message system.
With that, he turns and leaves, but not without a few backward glances and an awkward wave.
I’ve just told my enemy exactly when I’m planning to attack, and I’m letting him walk out of my grasp alive. I don’t like this.
If our plotting fails us, then will I look back at this moment with regret?
I have to hope that everything will work out, it’s not as if we haven’t thought things through. We are being careful, but this is all still one big bet.
Red has her soldiers lift the table and chairs, carrying them with us back to our base. When we get back, we fill up a small room with our conversations, revising plans and considering how we might be countered. How we might fall into a death trap, and what we can do if we end up in that situation.
We plot into the night, working on our plans. Red rounds up the conversation at the end sounding almost like a teacher as she pokes holes through the worst of our ideas and tapes everything together into something simple enough to be useable.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“That was bothersome.” I grumble as we head back up through the ruins.
“It may make things easier for us.” Nel says, sounding rather uncertain.
“Or much worse.” I say, thinking of everything that could go wrong. Considering the enemy now knows when we’re going to attack, things could go very wrong. It’s not that we don’t have countermeasures just for that reason, but it’s still not something that I can feel calm about.
“We’ll get through it fine.” Eshya says, stretching her arms out as she smiles, her joints popping.
“Yep, yep.” Vii nods happily. “We’ll all make it through. Just another adventure, just another fight to add to the records.”
I can only nod, refusing to give voice to the thousand negative thoughts running through my head. The millions of things that could go wrong. I slowly feed those worries into the cold fires burning inside me, the rage eats it all up with a simple promise.
I will have vengeance.
If Warren does something to harm us. I will see him dead.
If Paskel attacks again before we get the chance to go after him. I will see that he suffers for it.
If I lose someone I love. I will tear this entire world apart and see that everyone responsible suffers.
The thought is strangely calming, especially now that I’ve done everything that I can to prepare for this coming battle. All that is left, waiting for our preparations to come to fruition, and when the time comes, I’m going to make sure my enemies regret ever crossing me.
“Kyra.” Nel says, pulling at my arm. “I’ve taken care of things while you were away. I’ve dealt with the trading. I’ve helped with setting up the funerals. I’ve met with people, and I… I’ve done so much…”
She leans into me, feeling frail in my arms.
“Thank you.” I whisper, gripping her shoulder tight.
“I want more than this.” She whispers… straightening herself before shaking her head. “Sorry, I know we’re all doing our best. It’s just… a bother.”
None of us can fully relax for the rest of the trip, and even after cleaning ourselves up and settling in for dinner, the atmosphere is still dreadfully heavy.
The longer the silence continues, the more awkward it feels.
“Everything should be calm again shortly.” I say, poking at the meal before me. “We just have to get through this battle.”
“Then the battle after it.” Eshya says with a laugh and a smile.
“And the battle after that.” Nel says with a long sigh, poking at her own meal. “One more after that, and another, and another.”
Her breathing grows faster as she clenches her fists. I reach out to hold her hand, and she grips mine tightly.
“I can wait. I can be patient.” She says. “But I work so hard, and still everything is the same as it was back then.”
“Back then?”
“On that backwater planet we crashed onto.” She whispers. “We’re still fighting for our lives everyday, it’s not getting better.”
“Nel.” I slide from my chair over to her side, and hold her close. She clutches desperately at me as she hides her face in my shoulder.
“I’m sorry.” She says, her voice breaking. “I’m fine. I just… Just a moment.”
“It’ll be okay.” Eshya steps around the table to join us, but her expression of sympathy shows none of the same stress. This coming battle, this war, it doesn’t bother her like it does Nel. I’m not even sure if she’s as anxious as I am about it.
“Everything is going to be fine.” Vii says, trying to cheer things up as she hops over to us. “This is just the tough part. Things will get easier when we’re stronger, later on.”
“I don’t think it will.” Nel replies, her fingers gripping me so tight that it hurts, even with the difference in our mana. “Fighting the Unified States? Surviving in that dungeon? Things are never going to be calm.”
“We’ll find our moments.” I say.
“Will we?” She asks. “How much time have we properly spent together so far? Are we…? What even is our relationship to one another?”
“Well…” Eshya begins but she’s quickly shut down.
“I barely even know any of you.” She says, practically crying as she pushes me away “It’s been a month? Less? I don’t even know. We barely have any time to actually get to know each other, we’re always running around doing something else. I… I just don’t want to be alone anymore.”
“Nel.” I say her name firmly, quieting her. “I’m sorry for leaving you here, but I know you. I do. I know that family means everything to you, and that you want lots of little kids when we get the chance. I know that your scared to return to the rest of your family after all that we’ve been through. I know you, Nel.”
“Wait, kids?” Vii asks, standing stiffly to the side of us.
“Yes, kids. A whole school full of kids, no?” I ask Nel.
“I… maybe not that many.” Nel says, her breathing coming under control as she sits on the side of her bed.
“So long as I get to teach them how to fight.” Eshya says, stepping up. “I don’t want our kids to grow up weak like the other students here.”
“I think we can all teach them something.” I say. “I just want to hire some nannies to take care of the smelly diapers.”
“We’d need to trust them.” Nel says shaking her head firmly. “And I don’t want to have them brought up without us being around because we’re off fighting a war. We have to be there for them as a family.”
“So, we’ll set ourselves up safely and take a few decades off.” I say, laughing at how ridiculous it sounds. “Get back to taking over the universe afterwards.”
“I… thanks.” Nel says, her breathing calming down. “It’s a nice dream.”
“We’ll make it real.”
“It sounds like fun.” Eshya says, nodding. “So long as I still get to take some time off to go hunting.”
“Am I…?” Adler speaks up, clutching her tea cup from her side of the table.
“Of course.” I say, “You’re joining us too aren’t you?”
“I… Kids?” Her eyes open wide as she stares down into her cup anxiously.
“I’ll find some people to help you with all your duties.” I tell Nel. “I’ve left far too much to you, and I know that you still need more help with managing things.”
“Thank you.” She says, leaning against my shoulder as she finally relaxes a little, though there’s still some uncertainty in her expression. A fear that I haven’t fully expelled.
“Eshya, you’re excited for the coming battle, aren’t you?” I ask, following Nel’s eyes.
“I mean… yeah.” She replies, looking away. “I know it’s leaving all of you over anxious, so I’m not trying to be too enthusiastic, but this is what I was born for.”
“What you were born for?” Vii asks, nervously hoping up onto the bed beside us.
“I was born to fight.” Eshya says. “So this kind of thing is thrilling. This time I’m not going to hold everyone back. I’m a proper liquid stage warrior, and I can really fight now. I want to see how far I can take it.”
“Just don’t get yourself killed.” Nel grumbles from my side.
“I’ll try.” Eshya replies. “I’ll keep all of you girls alive while I’m at it. Fighting is great, it really is, but I do need all of you. Without you girls to ground me, I’d probably be no better than an omega beast, throwing myself into every battle without slowing down.”
“Is that so?” I ask, taking a moment to look at her. I never really got that feeling from her before, except when she was in one of her moods. She certainly enjoys fighting, but she likes dancing too. Then again, she never really shines when we’re in class, or with others. It’s always when we’re fighting or messing about.
“There’s nothing else I’m really living for.” She replies with a shrug. “I’m happy with this balance. Love and battle, battle and love.”
“So, it’s all sex and fighting?” I ask, snorting at her.
“And some snuggling in-between.” She replies, fake pouting.
“I’m happy just following along.” Vii says cheerfully, bouncing in place.
“You’re more than following along.” I say. “You’re a part of this too, even if you’re secretive about a few things.”
“Yay.” She says uncharacteristically quietly. “Sorry about all the secrets and stuff. It’s just… Kind of important.”
“Just don’t leave us.” Nel says the words before I can.
“What about you, Adler?” I ask, as she awkwardly stands a little further away from the rest of us.
“Ah?!” She jumps, looking between us. “Kids are cute, I… I’m okay with kids.”
Eshya chuckles quietly, dragging her over to the bed we’re sitting on.
“I’m afraid.” Nel whispers. “Things are meant to be different. We should have more time, we should know everything there is to know about each other. Is everything really okay with us?”
“It will be, so long as you stay with me.” I say, pulling her tighter and kissing her. I hold her tight, before turning to the others. “So long as you all stay with me, everything will be fine.”
“You think I’d leave?” Eshya says with a laugh, touching at the back of my neck.
“I… have nowhere else to go.” Adler whispers.
“Until the end.” Vii says.
I reach out for them, feeling for their warmth. Desperate to hold them close, to make them happy. To keep them here by my side, so that they’ll never leave.
Whether it’s falling in love or building an empire.
We’re only just past the starting line, and I hope that we can keep going on forever.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Skills & Stats
~Mana Form:
Current mana density: 2013 units
~Mana distribution:
Defence: 94/94%
Offense: 0/68%
Mana sense: 0/96%
Recovery: 0/44%
Gluttony: 0/34%
Misc.: 0/44%
Efficiency: 94/100%
~Favourited Skills:
-Chip Shredder
-Multi-mind
-Tag
-Mana surge movement
-Reactive defence
-Fire burst punch
-Annihilation magic
-Charged casting (Annihilation)
-Mana form flow fixer
-Branching magic
-Swimming
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
//Author Note
More chapters available
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“Everyone hates Paskel.” Says the tall, muscled man, smiling down at me from his side of the table. I think it’s meant to be charming, but… no. He’s mostly elvish, though the thick hair on his arms and chest suggests that his bloodline lies with another species.
“I’d be more than happy helping you deal with him. The man’s poison has hurt far too many, he’s truly a scourge on Frey. It’ll be best for us all if he disappears.”
We’ve secured a small space in the forest far enough from our base that I feel comfortable having him here. The tables and chairs have been supplied by Red, who arranged everything for us. Apparently, the man made contact with one of our scouting teams asking to meet with our leader.
“Right, right.” I say doubtfully as I tap my fingers out in an impatient rhythm. “So, you’ll betray your King to help us attack your ally?”
“Ah, that’s what you don’t understand, miss…?”
“Kyra Baker.” I say.
“Miss Baker. I’m simply called Warren.” He says, showing his bright white teeth again. “You see, Loekan doesn’t mind a little competition between us. It makes us stronger, in fact. He’s quite confident that you’ll come to our side eventually, and so am I.
“So, a little game like this isn’t going to be any trouble for anyone but Paskel.”
“Is that so?” I ask, continuing to tap out the same rhythm as I think, sceptical of his response. “So how is it that you propose to assist us?”
“I can get you into the city.” He declares with a wide smile. “That’s the only place you’ll be able to catch Paskel unaware. The bastard is as good at running as he is with his poisons.”
“The city? Are you mad?” I ask, not bothering to hide my surprise. “We can’t fight a whole city filled with gremlins? We’d be surrounded in minutes…”
“If you tried it without my help, yes.” He says, reaching a hand across the table to reach for mine. I quickly flick his hand away, and he sits back as if nothing happened. “I can get you into the city and I can give you the time you need to kill Paskel and escape.”
“You’d do all of this to see him dead?” I ask. “Did he piss in your soup or something?”
“He killed my wife.” Warren growls. His voice deepening as his eyes glow bright with rage. “She was a proud and beautiful woman, much like you. She would’ve gutted that coward in an open fight, but it wasn’t a fight at all.
“The coward poisoned her, the healers could do nothing to help her. Whatever poison he used was so powerful and insidious that it was beyond their Skills. She died slowly in my arms, and I had to watch as she slipped away from me.
“I will avenge her, Paskel will die for what he has done.” He growls, his eyes afire for a moment longer before he calms down again.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to lose myself.” He says, adjusting his already perfect clothes, and fixing his posture.
“It’s fine. I can understand why you’d be angry.” I say, calming my own breathing. I can imagine the same, my lovers poisoned, dying as I can do nothing to save them. It’s even more important that we see Paskel dead before he get’s the chance to do anything too serious to me and mine.
“Thank you.” He says, his expression momentarily frail before he masks the pain again. His motivations certainly seem genuine, but I can’t afford to take the risk of trusting him so easily.
“I need to take a moment to discuss things. Would you mind waiting here?” I ask, and he nods accepting the offer and taking a few bites of the food we’ve set out on the table. He trusts us not to poison him? Or he trusts that no poison would kill him?
I leave him behind at the table, leaving him to pour his own tea. It’s not really much of a tea party, but I do think we’ve given him rather nice pleasantries considering the circumstances.
Red is in charge of the guards holding the perimeter, while Eshya and Vii stand as part of that defence. I start a quiet discussion with them, detailing everything that Warren has offered, while sending the same to a group chat.
I make it clear not to say anything aloud that shouldn’t be overheard.
Kyra – What do you guys think?
Tkarn – Don’t trust him. He hates Paskel, but he’s one of Loekan’s favourites. He’s not going to let you get away. He’s not going to let me get away.
Kyra – That thing about his wife?
Tkarn – It could be true, but I haven’t heard of it before. He’s probably trying to trick you.
Kyra – He’s a good actor then.
I’m tempted to turn back and look at him. I don’t, of course. I don’t want to give him any hints of my thoughts.
Tkarn – Don’t trust him.
Kyra – Alright, alright. Let’s assume he’s lying to get me to trust him and lower my guard. For what purpose? A trap?
Red – Obviously it’s a trap. He wants to draw us into the city and capture us. Likely while getting rid of his competition at the same time.
Kyra – Ah, so we go into the city, kill Paskel, then get surrounded by Warren’s forces? It’s a decent plan, I guess.
Nel – Has he found out about our plan? Is that why he’s come here with perfect timing?
Kyra – He hasn’t directly mentioned it, but his timing is a little too suspicious.
Eshya – What will he do if we refuse his offer? Should we just kill him.
Red – Either we accept his offer, or we kill him.
Kyra – What’s there to gain from accepting his offer? What’s the danger of killing him?
Nel – He wouldn’t be here without a plan. He has to have some way of escaping, that and if he doesn’t come back, it’ll alarm his people.
Kyra – I could kill him before he has a chance to escape, and wouldn’t it help us if the gremlins are a bit upset? They might be out here trying to attack us rather than defending the city.
Red – I’d accept his offer.
Kyra – Red? Explain.
Red – We don’t have any easy way into the city at the moment, a dozen different means, but none of them will get us in quickly. As it is we won’t have much time to kill Paskel and his minions.
Red – So we do things his way. He’ll let us in, get us to kill his rival, then surround us when we’re weakened. If we work around his plan, we can turn his trap into our trap.
Kyra – I see. Anyone else have thoughts on the matter?
Nel – We’ll need to adjust our own plans after this.
Eshya – I have nothing to add.
Red – Be careful. Don’t let on that we have our own counter plans when you speak with him.
Tkarn – Thank you for believing me.
Vii – We’re being sneaky, and plotting around his plots? This sounds fun.
I close the group chat and return to my side of the table, across from Warren, who licks his lips nervously. Is that an act, or is it genuine?
Whatever the case, we have our plans.
“You can get us into the city?” I ask, shuffling uncomfortably on the chair. It’s a little too hard, made from wood that’s much too mana dense, it feels like splinters cutting through my armour into my arse. I mean, I can suppress the feeling, but that doesn’t make it suddenly comfortable.
“I’ll get you into the city.” He replies, a smile brightening his expression.
“How soon?”
“Whenever you need it.” He replies happily. “I just…”
“What is it?”
“Are you going personally?” He asks, “No don’t say, I don’t need to know. Just be careful Paskel is a dangerous one, I wouldn’t want you to get hurt because of him.”
“Two days from now. I’ll expect the gates to open.” I say. Our preparations should be ready by tomorrow night, but it’s almost guaranteed that something is going to go wrong and delay us. We’re moving too fast as it is. We’re not a well-trained military group, not yet at least.
“Agreed.” He says, “Two days from now at this hour. I’ll have my men on guard at the gates, they’ll let you in.”
I nod, short and sharp.
“Do you mind exchanging messages?” he asks, “It would do us well to keep in contact, and I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better.”
“Just in case something comes up and we need to change the timing of our attack.” I say, sending a few simple pleasantries over the message system.
With that, he turns and leaves, but not without a few backward glances and an awkward wave.
I’ve just told my enemy exactly when I’m planning to attack, and I’m letting him walk out of my grasp alive. I don’t like this.
If our plotting fails us, then will I look back at this moment with regret?
I have to hope that everything will work out, it’s not as if we haven’t thought things through. We are being careful, but this is all still one big bet.
Red has her soldiers lift the table and chairs, carrying them with us back to our base. When we get back, we fill up a small room with our conversations, revising plans and considering how we might be countered. How we might fall into a death trap, and what we can do if we end up in that situation.
We plot into the night, working on our plans. Red rounds up the conversation at the end sounding almost like a teacher as she pokes holes through the worst of our ideas and tapes everything together into something simple enough to be useable.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“That was bothersome.” I grumble as we head back up through the ruins.
“It may make things easier for us.” Nel says, sounding rather uncertain.
“Or much worse.” I say, thinking of everything that could go wrong. Considering the enemy now knows when we’re going to attack, things could go very wrong. It’s not that we don’t have countermeasures just for that reason, but it’s still not something that I can feel calm about.
“We’ll get through it fine.” Eshya says, stretching her arms out as she smiles, her joints popping.
“Yep, yep.” Vii nods happily. “We’ll all make it through. Just another adventure, just another fight to add to the records.”
I can only nod, refusing to give voice to the thousand negative thoughts running through my head. The millions of things that could go wrong. I slowly feed those worries into the cold fires burning inside me, the rage eats it all up with a simple promise.
I will have vengeance.
If Warren does something to harm us. I will see him dead.
If Paskel attacks again before we get the chance to go after him. I will see that he suffers for it.
If I lose someone I love. I will tear this entire world apart and see that everyone responsible suffers.
The thought is strangely calming, especially now that I’ve done everything that I can to prepare for this coming battle. All that is left, waiting for our preparations to come to fruition, and when the time comes, I’m going to make sure my enemies regret ever crossing me.
“Kyra.” Nel says, pulling at my arm. “I’ve taken care of things while you were away. I’ve dealt with the trading. I’ve helped with setting up the funerals. I’ve met with people, and I… I’ve done so much…”
She leans into me, feeling frail in my arms.
“Thank you.” I whisper, gripping her shoulder tight.
“I want more than this.” She whispers… straightening herself before shaking her head. “Sorry, I know we’re all doing our best. It’s just… a bother.”
None of us can fully relax for the rest of the trip, and even after cleaning ourselves up and settling in for dinner, the atmosphere is still dreadfully heavy.
The longer the silence continues, the more awkward it feels.
“Everything should be calm again shortly.” I say, poking at the meal before me. “We just have to get through this battle.”
“Then the battle after it.” Eshya says with a laugh and a smile.
“And the battle after that.” Nel says with a long sigh, poking at her own meal. “One more after that, and another, and another.”
Her breathing grows faster as she clenches her fists. I reach out to hold her hand, and she grips mine tightly.
“I can wait. I can be patient.” She says. “But I work so hard, and still everything is the same as it was back then.”
“Back then?”
“On that backwater planet we crashed onto.” She whispers. “We’re still fighting for our lives everyday, it’s not getting better.”
“Nel.” I slide from my chair over to her side, and hold her close. She clutches desperately at me as she hides her face in my shoulder.
“I’m sorry.” She says, her voice breaking. “I’m fine. I just… Just a moment.”
“It’ll be okay.” Eshya steps around the table to join us, but her expression of sympathy shows none of the same stress. This coming battle, this war, it doesn’t bother her like it does Nel. I’m not even sure if she’s as anxious as I am about it.
“Everything is going to be fine.” Vii says, trying to cheer things up as she hops over to us. “This is just the tough part. Things will get easier when we’re stronger, later on.”
“I don’t think it will.” Nel replies, her fingers gripping me so tight that it hurts, even with the difference in our mana. “Fighting the Unified States? Surviving in that dungeon? Things are never going to be calm.”
“We’ll find our moments.” I say.
“Will we?” She asks. “How much time have we properly spent together so far? Are we…? What even is our relationship to one another?”
“Well…” Eshya begins but she’s quickly shut down.
“I barely even know any of you.” She says, practically crying as she pushes me away “It’s been a month? Less? I don’t even know. We barely have any time to actually get to know each other, we’re always running around doing something else. I… I just don’t want to be alone anymore.”
“Nel.” I say her name firmly, quieting her. “I’m sorry for leaving you here, but I know you. I do. I know that family means everything to you, and that you want lots of little kids when we get the chance. I know that your scared to return to the rest of your family after all that we’ve been through. I know you, Nel.”
“Wait, kids?” Vii asks, standing stiffly to the side of us.
“Yes, kids. A whole school full of kids, no?” I ask Nel.
“I… maybe not that many.” Nel says, her breathing coming under control as she sits on the side of her bed.
“So long as I get to teach them how to fight.” Eshya says, stepping up. “I don’t want our kids to grow up weak like the other students here.”
“I think we can all teach them something.” I say. “I just want to hire some nannies to take care of the smelly diapers.”
“We’d need to trust them.” Nel says shaking her head firmly. “And I don’t want to have them brought up without us being around because we’re off fighting a war. We have to be there for them as a family.”
“So, we’ll set ourselves up safely and take a few decades off.” I say, laughing at how ridiculous it sounds. “Get back to taking over the universe afterwards.”
“I… thanks.” Nel says, her breathing calming down. “It’s a nice dream.”
“We’ll make it real.”
“It sounds like fun.” Eshya says, nodding. “So long as I still get to take some time off to go hunting.”
“Am I…?” Adler speaks up, clutching her tea cup from her side of the table.
“Of course.” I say, “You’re joining us too aren’t you?”
“I… Kids?” Her eyes open wide as she stares down into her cup anxiously.
“I’ll find some people to help you with all your duties.” I tell Nel. “I’ve left far too much to you, and I know that you still need more help with managing things.”
“Thank you.” She says, leaning against my shoulder as she finally relaxes a little, though there’s still some uncertainty in her expression. A fear that I haven’t fully expelled.
“Eshya, you’re excited for the coming battle, aren’t you?” I ask, following Nel’s eyes.
“I mean… yeah.” She replies, looking away. “I know it’s leaving all of you over anxious, so I’m not trying to be too enthusiastic, but this is what I was born for.”
“What you were born for?” Vii asks, nervously hoping up onto the bed beside us.
“I was born to fight.” Eshya says. “So this kind of thing is thrilling. This time I’m not going to hold everyone back. I’m a proper liquid stage warrior, and I can really fight now. I want to see how far I can take it.”
“Just don’t get yourself killed.” Nel grumbles from my side.
“I’ll try.” Eshya replies. “I’ll keep all of you girls alive while I’m at it. Fighting is great, it really is, but I do need all of you. Without you girls to ground me, I’d probably be no better than an omega beast, throwing myself into every battle without slowing down.”
“Is that so?” I ask, taking a moment to look at her. I never really got that feeling from her before, except when she was in one of her moods. She certainly enjoys fighting, but she likes dancing too. Then again, she never really shines when we’re in class, or with others. It’s always when we’re fighting or messing about.
“There’s nothing else I’m really living for.” She replies with a shrug. “I’m happy with this balance. Love and battle, battle and love.”
“So, it’s all sex and fighting?” I ask, snorting at her.
“And some snuggling in-between.” She replies, fake pouting.
“I’m happy just following along.” Vii says cheerfully, bouncing in place.
“You’re more than following along.” I say. “You’re a part of this too, even if you’re secretive about a few things.”
“Yay.” She says uncharacteristically quietly. “Sorry about all the secrets and stuff. It’s just… Kind of important.”
“Just don’t leave us.” Nel says the words before I can.
“What about you, Adler?” I ask, as she awkwardly stands a little further away from the rest of us.
“Ah?!” She jumps, looking between us. “Kids are cute, I… I’m okay with kids.”
Eshya chuckles quietly, dragging her over to the bed we’re sitting on.
“I’m afraid.” Nel whispers. “Things are meant to be different. We should have more time, we should know everything there is to know about each other. Is everything really okay with us?”
“It will be, so long as you stay with me.” I say, pulling her tighter and kissing her. I hold her tight, before turning to the others. “So long as you all stay with me, everything will be fine.”
“You think I’d leave?” Eshya says with a laugh, touching at the back of my neck.
“I… have nowhere else to go.” Adler whispers.
“Until the end.” Vii says.
I reach out for them, feeling for their warmth. Desperate to hold them close, to make them happy. To keep them here by my side, so that they’ll never leave.
Whether it’s falling in love or building an empire.
We’re only just past the starting line, and I hope that we can keep going on forever.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Skills & Stats
~Mana Form:
Current mana density: 2013 units
~Mana distribution:
Defence: 94/94%
Offense: 0/68%
Mana sense: 0/96%
Recovery: 0/44%
Gluttony: 0/34%
Misc.: 0/44%
Efficiency: 94/100%
~Favourited Skills:
-Chip Shredder
-Multi-mind
-Tag
-Mana surge movement
-Reactive defence
-Fire burst punch
-Annihilation magic
-Charged casting (Annihilation)
-Mana form flow fixer
-Branching magic
-Swimming
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
//Author Note
More chapters available
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