ushernet Village Jille (5) (Final)
Village Jille (5) (Final)
POV: Anthony Edward Stark.
It was an ordinary morning. I had woken up early, as usual. After all, DS, that crazy guy, woke up at four in the morning and always started the stream at that hour.
I couldn't lose to a kid half my age. After all, I had my pride.
I even went back to working out. I couldn't afford to be out of shape, not now that I knew the world was much more dangerous than I expected.
Keeping my body in shape was just the first step, along with technology and everything I could find and do to defend myself...
I thought about Pepper, Rhodey, and even DS, who, whether he liked it or not, I could consider a friend at this point.
...Defend ourselves, then.
"Haaa..." I sighed as I took a break from building the armor I was designing, a prototype for now, Mark zero.
"Gods, mutants, aliens... hero..."
Who would have thought I could be surprised after discovering the stream? I didn't think it could be possible, what could be more surprising than a phone that connects infinite worlds?...
My universe being a comic book was one of those things, I won't lie.
I wasn't a big fan of the multiverse theory before, but DS had given me enough evidence since the first day I met him, this being just another bomb he had dropped.
My uncle being a traitor had even been a small thing in the midst of all this, not that it hurt any less, but still, less surprising...
...I needed to visit him in his cell, by the way. It's been a while since I talked to him, hasn't it? Must be kind of lonely.
Of course, I knew he watched the stream, even without being able to comment anything, since DS had silenced him after he had a fit upon discovering that he had sent the information about his possible betrayal to me.
The only reason DS didn't ban him was because he needed every viewer at that time. Now that was no longer necessary, but I'm sure he didn't even remember Obie at this point.
I cracked my neck as I stretched and went back to watching the stream on the holographic screen.
After the general update the stream had, it wasn't just DS who gained new features and updates, the viewers did too. The way we could watch the stream being one of those updates.
Before, viewers could only watch the stream like a normal video on the phone, now there were more options. Well, at least theoretically.
The way I was watching was the only one unlocked at the moment, which was like a hologram, a 3D movie, so to speak. It made everything much more immersive, I really felt like I was there with DS, exploring a totally new world.
Too bad DS was poor and didn't have enough SP to buy the other viewing options. The one I wanted the most was:
-//-
[Reality 4D (Safe): 1,000,000,000 SP!]
-//-
I wanted this viewing option for a simple reason, it was simply amazing.
Reality 4D was the advanced version of the hologram model, much, much more advanced.
It would be like I was there with DS, walking beside him, feeling the environment beside him, rain, sun, magic in the air, everything.
It would be amazing to be able to experience that, I won't lie, to explore completely new worlds, participate in what DS participated in. The new environments, the magic in the air, a complete simulation of everything DS experienced.
But it was ridiculously expensive, one billion SP!
Even more so since the conversion of SP for me, or in my world, in this case, was one to five.
That is, five billion dollars. That was a lot of money even for me, so unfortunately, it was still something for the future or in case someone much richer than me shows up in the (CHAT), which I thought was unlikely.
I shook my head, pushing these thoughts to the back of my great mind and returning to watch the broadcast.
It was funny to see DS getting scolded by his "girlfriends," Saya and Ruby, for not sleeping.
I'll definitely have popcorn to watch what's going to happen when DS goes to Red's world, or Red meets Saya, it's going to be quite a spectacle.
I just watched as usual, seeing the interactions while relaxing, occasionally returning to work on the armor.
I briefly stopped welding the inside of the armor when DS's new companion, Dylan, started talking.
He knew a lot of information about something that would be considered useless, and by the way his eyes shone, it involved some kind of magic.
I wasn't a big fan of magic, preferring something I could really understand like physics, but I wouldn't mind having that kind of magic, a mental library maybe? Or is he connected to the knowledge of that Order of Guides he had mentioned before?
DS seemed to recognize him too, maybe he's someone important to the world DS was in?
Time went on, the broadcast reaching a calm point, just a car ride in the Humvee, until DS slammed the brakes, surprised by something.
It didn't take long to find out why he seemed surprised. A whole village of people controlled by the mind would do that, an army behind you, surrounding your exit? That would definitely do that.
So as always, DS had one of his brilliant ideas, go to the village and use it as a fort, instead of trying to run.
Really a genius!
I don't think I had enough sarcasm in my body to say that phrase out loud.
I admit it was funny to see him act while pushing the Humvee, even though the situation didn't seem good, I had a few laughs.
After that, things got serious, really serious.
Because it was revealed that all this was some kind of plan by the goblins, a race that was supposed to be dumb until now? No.
Because it was revealed that what controlled the people in the village was a strange magic tattoo? No.
Because it was revealed that the creepy blood-red symbols on the walls of the village were a kind of magic that steals everything from your body? No.
But because DS, Devas, had gotten scared, not fearful or apprehensive, but really scared of something.
In the almost four months I watched the stream, following DS, I had seen various emotions on the guy's face.
Relief, happiness, sadness, anger, concern, stress (a lot of that last one). Virtually all emotions, but I had never seen him get scared.
Even when he ran from the mimic, even when Saya almost died, even when he discovered this trap in the village, the orange dots, the controlled people and the red ones, the enemies behind him.
But when he read about the ingredients of that tattoo that controlled people, when he got to the part about the monsters' blood, he muttered a name.
"Crimson..." I unconsciously murmured, right after hearing the name come out of DS's lips, a shiver running down my spine for some unknown reason, which only made me even more nervous.
I swallowed hard, my throat drying for some reason.
I didn't know what that name represented, but I was sure of something.
If just a mere mention of it made DS scared, I really wouldn't like what that name represented...
[...]
POV: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
Things had gotten pretty ugly quickly...
I absentmindedly stroked my beard as I watched Devas's broadcast. Minerva and Severus were beside me, the three phones together creating a larger setup, a much bigger screen for us to watch the stream.
"An Empire, but in the form of runic matrix, or in this case, Mystic Symbols..." I murmured, letting my thoughts flow out, while my mind raced.
This was bad, very bad... I couldn't imagine the havoc something like this could wreak in our world. What Tom could do if he got his hands on it...
Especially since something seemed to have scared Devas; one of the ingredients, or several, seemed to be something Devas recognized.
And the way he muttered "Crimson" in fear, it shouldn't be anything good...
I tapped my fingers on the table slowly, the tapping echoing through the room as Severus, Minerva, and I watched the stream.
I felt apprehensive when Devas invaded the village, after blowing up the wall, especially when, for a moment, he considered running over the villagers with the car.
But it was just a concern in vain, as Devas sighed while sending the car into his VoidBag.
Choosing the riskier path, just because the other would put the lives of the villagers at risk... I let a smile appear on my old face.
I wish Devas had studied at Hogwarts; he would definitely be a Gryffindor. It would have been fun times to have him in the castle.
The next events couldn't help but bring a playful smile to my face.
He could have neutralized the villagers in various ways, but boxing gloves? Truly a Gryffindor's choice.
Severus seemed to agree with me, even though he didn't show it much; I could see a slight smile on his perpetually stoic face.
"I'm glad Devas didn't study at Hogwarts; he would certainly be one of yours, Minerva." He said, pointing to the matron of Gryffindor who seemed horrified at the thought.
"Having someone like Devas in Gryffindor would be worse than the Weasley twins..." She commented briefly before her face turned slightly pale, and she started to murmur.
"Harry is probably watching the stream... I'll need to ban boxing gloves, I won't..." She sighed, looking a few years older with just that sigh.
I shook my head amused.
"Relax, Minerva, Harry is a mature person; he won't misbehave." I sang, not believing a word of what I was saying. Harry would definitely cause some trouble, probably with Severus or the Malfoy heir.
Minerva snorted through her nose, clearly not believing my words.
I could also see Severus's look seeming amused, before he made a face as if he were constipated and sighed in the same way Minerva had sighed before.
Probably realizing that it would be something from Harry in the future.
Funny how he seemed to dislike the boy at first, but now he treated him like a little brother or a younger cousin.
I knew that the letter Devas sent to him had something to do with this change; I remember it as if it were yesterday, the face Severus made when he read the letter.
I had never seen the man look so scared in the years I had known him. His face had turned so white that I wouldn't be surprised if someone mistook him for one of the ghosts of the castle at that moment.
I wish I knew what was written in that letter; too bad Severus burned it after reading it, and he vehemently refused to disclose the contents of the letter.
A shame, really, a shame...
[...]
POV: Harry James Potter.
I was lying on my bed in the Gryffindor dormitories, watching the stream.
"I wonder if the twins could get boxing gloves for me..." I murmured softly, yet Ron heard my words.
"Boxing gloves?" He asked, lifting his head, taking his eyes off the wizard's chessboard and the game he was playing with Seamus. "Aren't those accessories Muggles use in one of their sports?"
I sighed lightly as I nodded that he was right.
I wasn't very friendly with the guy, as he seemed to want to be my friend only because of my "Boy Who Lived" fame. But I wouldn't be rude by not responding to him.
"Uh?" He said wisely, before returning his attention to the wizard's chessboard.
I shook my head amused before returning to watch the stream; a thought wandered through my mind.
How many days of detention would I get for punching Malfoy in the groin with the gloves?...
Probably a lot, especially since Professor Snape was still mad at me for asking him what kind of conditioner he used to get his hair like that, in front of the whole class.
"Puff!" I chuckled at the memory before sighing and returning to watch the stream.
I'll leave the plan to punch Malfoy for later then. I don't think Devas or Dumbledore would approve either...
A shame, really, a shame...
[...]
POV: Sally Jackson.
"Mom! Can I take boxing lessons?" My little fish asked excitedly as he pointed to the cellphone screen, where we were watching Devas's broadcast...
I sighed as I massaged my forehead.
I could already feel the stress piling up even more. Ignoring the fact that Percy, my dear, had been expelled from yet another school, now I would have to worry about him punching other kids... even more than before.
I had also received an unexpected visit from a wheelchair-bound man a few days ago.
I thought it might be some kind of collector, some debt that Gabe had, but no, not after he introduced himself as Chiron of all things...
"I'm running out of time..." I whispered, softly. I thought I would have more time with my baby before being forced to send him to Camp Half-Blood, but I guess it was my selfishness...
I must have muttered louder than I thought, or Percy's demigod senses were getting stronger, since my dear baby heard me even from the other side of the couch.
"No time for what, Mom?... Is it about me getting expelled again?..."
I could see his hesitation in asking, probably thinking that I was mad at him.
"Of course not, my baby, come here." I opened my arms, calling him for a hug, and he ran without hesitation, hugging me.
"Mom, it's just a lot on my mind, don't worry about it, okay?" I kissed the top of his head, his hair, while he nodded slightly, not taking his eyes off the cellphone.
I had found a faraway school to send him, Yancy Academy, a boarding school a bit far, it should buy him some more time...
I sighed again, this time a fearful sigh, as I hugged my baby, pulling him closer to me, fearing he could disappear at any second...
I don't know how long I had stayed like this, even ignoring the stream, where Devas was fighting, I only snapped back to reality when I heard the words that signaled the beginning of a battle.
"A goblin army is approaching from the west!"
My eyes widened slightly before I turned my face, quickly looking at the cellphone just in time to see Devas running to the village gates, toward the army.
It wasn't a large army, from what I could see when Devas opened the Minimap, there should be around a thousand goblins, maybe a little more. If what Percy's father told me was true, which it probably was, an average demigod would destroy this army, if not one, two would be enough...
But Devas wasn't a demigod, was he?...
I didn't hesitate to send him a message to run, seeing his hesitation. I wasn't the only one, practically all the "key" members of the (CHAT) were doing the same, after all, we knew Devas's capabilities well.
Even though at this point he was many times stronger than a human, he still couldn't go head-to-head with an army.
He knew that too. I could see the hesitation in Devas's eyes, he knew it was better to run... until he saw a message, a message that came from my dear baby...
I could clearly see, the moment he read the message my son sent, he seemed in pain, as if he had taken a blow, a punch.
I could see his eyes change, little by little, his hesitation decreasing until it disappeared, then turning into something else...
Anger.
At himself, I could perceive, for hesitating, for faltering, but mainly, at the army marching in front of him.
I felt a shiver down my spine when he put on his armor and jumped from the watchtower he was on, which increased even more when he started walking towards the army, alone...
"Wow..." I heard my baby murmur, still in my arms.
I looked down, and I could see that Percy practically had stars in his eyes, amazed.
Damn, why did you have to raise the bar so much, Devas?...
[...]
POV: Ruby Rose.
"Three Line Formation: Three Thousand Worlds!"
I could hear someone screaming like a fangirl; I only realized it was me when Yang covered my mouth with her hand, muffling my scream.
Still, I continued. I was sure I had stars in my eyes at this point, watching Devas shoot at the army with dozens of weapons.
So that's why he was training this! I had wondered why; I thought it might be just control training, but it was a special attack!! Like the ones the team had trained, like the one I had trained with Weiss!
I only realized at this moment that Yang was still with her hand covering my mouth. Without hesitation, I licked her hand, making Yang recoil with a disgusted face.
Smiling triumphantly, I turned my gaze back to the battle.
The weapons didn't stop for a second, as if dozens of men and women were shooting with them, as if there was an army behind Devas helping him.
I could feel my body trembling with excitement. Could I somehow imitate this?! I really wanted to try something like this; I knew I wouldn't be able to do it alone, even with my speed.
It would be impossible; I wasn't that fast to shoot with so many weapons, but Blake had clones, Weiss had her weird glyphs, maybe we could come up with something before the Vytal Festival.
There were still a few months left; we could use the trip to Forever Fall as a "vacation" to plan! Maybe ask for help from Team JNPR!... But Jaune still had the bully problem... I hate bullies...
I pouted a little with my thoughts, but I never took my eyes off the fight, the weapons, Devas.
He, at this moment, was like one of the heroes from the stories I read, standing up against evil, even alone, helping everyone, protecting the defenseless, fighting for justice, but...
I sighed aloud when I saw the goblin in purple clothes appear behind Devas and attack him with a strange, powerful magic, strong enough like an explosion of dozens of fire dust cartridges.
It was as I already knew, as Blake had told me at the beginning of the year when we met during initiation...
I felt relieved when Devas managed to defend himself using his shield (Porta), only to feel my stomach sink when he was thrown towards the army, right in the middle of it.
The real world wasn't like a fairy tale.
[...]
POV: ???
What was this? Some kind of promotional stream? A new game? A movie?
I sighed, leaning back in my chair and checking the time. It was still a long wait for the release of the online game I was anticipating. I had time to kill before I had to leave home and go buy it (unfortunately).
I could already feel my reluctance growing. I really didn't want to leave home, especially since it would be a five, damn, hours journey to get the game.
Sighing again, I turned my eyes back to my computer screen, where the "protagonist" of this trailer was fighting against an army of goblins on top of a container, the ones you find in ports, on ships.
The graphics were excellent, to the point of being so realistic that I was questioning... Was this not real? It was?
I shrugged and went back to munching on my snack.
Of course, it wasn't real, but they were good graphics. I'll watch for a while before heading out... Unfortunately.
[...]
POV: Saya Takagi.
Watching this was almost torture.
Why did he have to stay and help those people in that damn village!? Why couldn't he just leave like any normal person would!?
"Saya," my mom said beside me. "Stop biting your nails; at this point, you'll end up hurting your finger."
She was sitting on the couch, next to the bed in the room, along with my dad and Rei-san and Komuro-kun's parents and Officer Matsushima.
"Don't neglect your training either, daughter, control yourself, don't let your mana run wild," my dad said, his deep voice echoing through the room. "You have the most mana among all of us, so you need to control it better."
I sighed as I pulled my fingers out of my mouth.
I needed to calm down too. It wasn't good for me to lose control of my mana like this, as my dad said.
Even though the Pylon protected the island, hiding it effectively from the zombies, it still wasn't good for me to have the habit of losing control of my mana. I needed to keep it calm, hidden, even when stressed.
Especially since we found out that zombies are attracted to mana, running towards me whenever I stepped outside the island, outside the Pylon barrier.
Especially after we found out that the zombies seemed to evolve every month...
...emitting their own corrupted mana.
I took a deep breath, calming myself, regaining control of my mana, keeping it contained within my body, without letting it leak.
I turned my attention back to the people in the house, momentarily shifting my focus from the battle.
Saeko-senpai, who was a little behind me, standing next to the bed, looked distressed. She bit her lips hard as she gripped the handle of her katana, as if wanting to fight alongside Devas.
Even though I couldn't fight, I wished to help too...
Komuro-kun wasn't much different; I could see his clenched fists, now white with the force he was squeezing them.
Shizuka-sensei and Alice-chan were a bit better, but not much.
Alice-chan sat on the busty nurse's lap, both looking pale as they watched the battle, frightened as the fight unfolded.
I wasn't much different.
Rei, who was sitting beside me on the bed. She, like everyone else, looked distressed. She bit her lip, almost drawing blood, and her hands trembled slightly, one holding the other.
Lastly, Kohta-kun.
The chubby guy was in the corner with his girlfriend, Asami-san.
He seemed to have the best reaction of all, just watching silently while comforting his girlfriend, who looked scared and worried.
But I knew he wasn't better than everyone else. He and Devas were close; I had seen them talking several times, laughing and drinking, the three of them, Komuro-kun, Devas, and Kohta-kun.
I could see his trembling hands, even as he tried to hide them, putting on a strong front in front of Asami-san, his anxious gaze.
Speaking of Asami-san.
I still couldn't believe she accepted his dating proposal, but they seemed happy together, with her hugging him like a plushie...
Damn! I wasn't jealous of her just because the guy I liked was from another world and couldn't be here... Just because Devas was fighting and risking his life, and I could do nothing but watch...
...I felt useless.
I hugged the cockroach plushie to my chest and pulled my knees up, hugging them too...
"Idiot..." I returned my gaze to the battle, only to see Devas being pushed and thrown into the middle of the army.
I widened my eyes and sighed,
I could feel my blood draining from my face, and my body starting to sweat cold.
At the same time, I felt the small control I had over my mana disappear, letting it run wild.
The goblin stopped running, realizing that DS would catch up to him, the weapons firing towards the goblin.
Interestingly, only low-caliber weapons... DS had run out of bullets?
With no other option, he flew upward, hoping DS wouldn't catch him. Big mistake.
As if it were solid, DS stepped on the air, jumping a second time, surprising the goblin, who seemed alarmed.
"Three..."
At the same time, I could see the slime hook covering his arm and launching towards the goblin, sticking to his chest, covering practically his entire torso.
DS didn't waste time and pulled the bald goblin close, at the same time, an axe appeared in his free hand, the left one, ready to decapitate the little green monster... who strangely, was smiling.
A cruel, vengeful, and triumphant smile.
Even before the goblin opened his mouth, I knew something was wrong...
[...]
POV: Ruby Rose.
"YOU LOSE, TERRARIAN!"
When I heard those words, I felt my heart sink, a sense of foreboding creeping in.
Before Devas's axe could sever the goblin mage's head, he raised his right hand, pointing it at Devas.
Within his green hand, a small purple ball pulsed, as if trying to break free.
I realized it was dangerous when I noticed the goblin's hand being wounded and rapidly healing.
Wounded by the energy within the magic...
...Magic that the goblin launched toward Devas, toward his arm holding the axe.
Before the magic could explode, the goblin teleported away while laughing, tauntingly saying as his body vanished.
"It wasn't five seconds..."
Then, the magic exploded, hurling Devas to the ground swiftly.
I felt my chest tighten even more each time he rolled on the ground, the impact leaving his body increasingly battered.
He only stopped when he hit the metal, colliding with the bank door, his shield.
When I saw the state of his body, time seemed to stand still.
Before I realized it, a silvery light shone in the dormitory, illuminating the entire room.
I didn't realize that this light came from my eyes, the silver color matching that of my pupils...
...After all, I had fainted, tears streaming down my face.
[...]
POV: Grongir Xnas.
I fell to the ground, my body exhausted from using so much mana... but it was done.
Finally, that damned Terrarian was dead!
I got up, looking in the direction where he had fallen, his lifeless body lying there.
He had collided with his giant shield, the same shield that managed to block the most potent magic I could muster.
Looking closer, the state of his corpse was gruesome.
He had lost almost his entire left arm, leaving only a stump near the shoulder.
His armor on the same side, the left, was in tatters, melted, the metal merging with the charred skin.
His ribs were partially exposed, the bones a dark color, partially charred by the heat of the explosion and mana.
I couldn't see his face, hidden by the partially melted helmet, but I had no doubt it was as ugly as the rest of his body.
"What a freaking monster!" I said aloud, my comrades behind me agreeing.
How did we not have information on this guy?
We knew about all the platinum-ranked contractors and above, how did we have no information on him?
This bastard was clearly at least a platinum rank!
Even without using those ridiculous potions—I had never seen potions like that before—he still regenerated at a ridiculous speed.
Even with enough poison to paralyze over a hundred men, he could still move.
His body seemed to not tire, even after hours of battle, he still had the breath to almost kill me... If I hadn't listened to my master's advice and counted the seconds between teleports, I would have died.
I sighed... relieved. It was over.
I looked around, seeing my surviving brothers, and grimaced...
... Less than a hundred.
This hadn't been a victory; the only reason we had won was luck... luck that the Terrarian's companion, the archer, had run out of mana, stopping his restraints on me...
More than a thousand brothers dead... I'll bury them later, with honors, after all, they had-
I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, my eyes widening in fear when I heard something amid the noise of the rain, coming from behind me...
... A laugh.
I turned alarmed, looking in the direction of the Terrarian's corpse... that was moving.
How... how was he not dead...?
I quickly raised my hand, creating another mana sphere... or at least trying.
I felt my body grow dizzy, the lack of mana catching up to me... This made no sense, why didn't the orb...!
I clutched my chest quickly, the necklace, where the orb should be, the orb containing the mana and vitality of a year of the Terrarians... that wasn't there.
When I realized what had happened, I felt one emotion, only one emotion...
... Pure and utter dread.
[...]
POV: Devas Asura.
Pain... everything hurt: my bones, my organs, my flesh, my muscles, my skin... everything hurt. But... strangely, I felt joyful.
I felt joyful with the pain, the pain was good, for one reason only... if I was feeling pain, I wasn't dead... If I wasn't dead... I had won this damn battle.
For hours, I had been fighting for hours, to the point where I could see the moon behind the storm clouds covering the sky.
My potions were running out, leaving only two.
My bullets had run out, leaving only low-caliber bullets.
My swords, axes, and spears had been destroyed, leaving only the halberd and some random weapons.
The headache was killing me, the pain in my whole body was killing me.
If I looked even remotely like I felt, I must have looked horrible... But I had won this damn fight.
I ignored the pain in my body and leaned on the ground, using my only arm to lift myself, slowly, an inch at a time.
The whole time, without realizing it, I was laughing... probably because of the concussion I must have, or the stress had driven me insane.
When I rose, I felt my body stagger, my body trying to stay whole and failing, almost falling like a house of cards.
I looked at the goblin, Grongir, in the distance with my only eye, my right eye, since the left had gone blind, or disappeared, I didn't know...
... He looked scared, horrified as he stared at me; the army behind him wasn't any different.
I must have looked terrible, for even the goblins to make that face when they saw me... but it didn't matter.
I sent my helmet back to the inventory, or what was left of my helmet, exposing my face.
Feeling the cold drops of rain falling on my melted skin was a strange sensation. I didn't feel much besides pain, but it was like tickling.
I brought my hand to my mouth, or what was supposed to be my mouth, since my lips were stuck together, and used two fingers to part them; this small amount of pain wasn't much compared to the rest.
When I managed to open my mouth, I said nothing; I couldn't. I simply showed my tongue, what I held on my tongue...
... The purple orb.
Before the magic exploded, I had managed to bite into this orb, tear it from Grongir's necklace, before being sent flying.
I must have lost some teeth in this little stunt, but it was better than being dead...
Without hesitation, I brought a potion to my lips, leaving only one in my inventory, and drank it, at the same time swallowing the orb.
Grongir looked at me as if I were crazy, which at this point, wasn't too far from the truth.
I had just swallowed enough mana and vitality to make me explode... but I trusted that I could endure... that my body would adapt to it.
In the first moments, I felt nothing, no change.
Then the pain stopped; I almost passed out when it happened, barely managing to hold on.
I felt my whole body regenerate.
My wounded organs healed. More resilient.
My bones recovered, returning to their places. Harder, more tempered.
My flesh grew back. Stronger.
My muscles grew, interweaving like a steel mesh, stronger than ever.
My veins, my blood, my skin, everything... Including my left eye and arm.
I thought they wouldn't regenerate; the human body didn't have that capability, to create bones, regenerate limbs... but it seemed that with enough vitality and mana, everything was possible.
The first of the two to come back was my vision, the hole where my left eye used to be closing, the eye growing back at an incredible speed.
Next, and lastly, my arm, which grew as if time were reversing, first the skeleton, my bones, then flesh, muscle, veins, and finally, skin.
I was as good as new, no pain, no fatigue... the only tiredness being mental...
... Being wounded so many times caused that... I really wasn't made for combat, am I?
Right after, when my body finished healing, when vitality had no more place to go, the pain returned.
My body filled with more vitality and mana than it could bear, started to break and rebuild from the inside.
It was as if my blood had turned into magma, the veins it flowed through turned into plastic straws.
My muscles ached as they were broken and rebuilt, my flesh burned, as if being stung by thousands of fire ants.
My bones felt like damn hot iron bars, my headache had increased even more...
I didn't know if it was my merit, enduring the pain without going insane, or if it was my title's merit, after all, madness was a kind of mental alteration.
But I resisted, without breaking, as my body adapted, evolved to survive what was happening to it.
I really just wanted to pass out, sleep for a long time... but I couldn't, right?... Even with my confused thoughts, I still had a job to finish...
I only remembered that I was still on the battlefield when I heard Grongir's voice.
... After all, I still had goblins to kill...
[...]
POV: Narrator (3rd Person).
"Who... no... what are you?" the goblin took a step back, frightened.
"How did you not die?! How are you still alive, Terrarian?!" The goblin looked horrified at the man walking slowly towards him.
His voice trembled slightly, whether out of fear or something else, the goblin couldn't tell. Muffled by the rain, it was practically impossible for the man to hear it, especially given the distance between them.
But even at this distance, even with the rain, the human seemed to hear.
He didn't stop, his slow steps continuing, but his mouth opened to respond to the goblin.
"Terrarian..." A simple word, but it seemed to echo across the plain, the mana overloaded in his body making his voice reach further, even though his tone was low.
"Tell me... Grongir, can you imagine a world without mana?" The human asked, momentarily halting his steps.
The goblin didn't respond; he felt it wasn't a question for him. No, the man was just talking to himself.
The human didn't wait for an answer and continued speaking, turning his gaze to his arms where his veins glowed faintly as mana and vitality flowed through his body.
"A world where nothing magical can exist?"
Impossible, the goblin knew that.
It was impossible for life to exist without mana, impossible for a soul to exist without mana, and without a soul, there would be no body.
But the human seemed to disagree.
"A world where life is just a chance, a coincidence, on top of a coincidence, on top of a coincidence."
The human continued monologuing, his disturbed mental state, his body focused on survival.
His brain distracting itself from the pain.
"A world where life is just a miserable chance, without divine interference..."
The human laughed, his laughter echoing across the battlefield, sending shivers down the rest of the army.
"I would know, after all, I had confirmation... A world without gods..." His voice seemed bitter and joyful at the same time.
As if something inside him adored this affirmation, but at the same time, hated it.
"So... how can a race survive in this world? How could anything survive in this world?" The human turned his gaze back to the goblin.
The goblin froze, all his instincts agreeing on one thing: Run.
But the goblin remained there, frozen.
"It's a simple answer, actually. Evolution, adaptation..."
The human started walking slowly again, his steps slightly burning the ground, leaving scorched footprints in the grass.
His armor long gone from his body, his only clothing being blood-stained black pants.
"Millions and millions of years of evolution, of adaptation. A coincidence, on top of a coincidence... A chance..."
With each word, vapor came out of his mouth. Both from the hot air leaving his body and the enormous amount of oxygen he was breathing.
"Among all the coincidences, one stood out... a specific primate had risen above the others, a species surpassing the rest..."
A chance within a chance...
"These primates evolved, built civilizations, populated the entire world... Then... they started trying to explain the phenomena... What was god? Gods?"
A world without gods...
"A world without gods... how could something be explained by that, if they didn't even exist?"
If they didn't exist, if nothing supernatural existed... why not create them themselves?
"So... why not create their own gods?"
The goblin seemed horrified by what the man was saying, horrified by his words.
The (CHAT) of the stream, which had recovered from the shock of seeing the human "die," wasn't much different... after all, the human had never shown this to them before...
... A part of his stats.
The human stopped, as if reading something.
"Divine Anathema..."
Divine Anathema... Something embedded in his race...
... A racial trait.
"In my world, there were no gods, so we created them... Created our own gods... When they were no longer needed... Like everything before, we killed them..."
One of the three traits that existed in his race... Gods were not necessary... no more.
-//-
[Divine Anathema - Rank C]:
Description: In your world, there were no gods, so you created your own, when no longer needed, you killed them...
Could a mortal kill an immortal?...
Could something non-divine kill the divine?...
Could a human kill a god?...
Function: Moderate increase in hostility from Divine beings. Moderately increases effectiveness against the Divine. Moderately reduces effectiveness of attacks received from Divine enemies.
-//-
The human continued, talking to himself at this point, as he walked.
With each step forward, the army took a step back.
"And they continued, evolving, adapting... until they reached a point where they were the apex predator of the planet... until they reached a point where they dominated the planet..."
The goblin swallowed hard. Unbelievable words, coming from a fairy tale, but something told him that everything the man was saying was true... that he hadn't lied about anything...
"So, they continued, now, nature adapting to them, the world around them adapting to them..."
The human continued walking until he stopped, the army less than a hundred meters in front of him.
"So... what would happen if someone of that race... somehow appeared in a world where mana... magic... the supernatural was real?"
Out of his reality... a Foreigner.
"An apex species... falling to the bottom..."
A predator, now prey...
"Someone without a soul... but now containing one..."
What came first? The soul, or the body?...
The soul, for everyone, the soul... Except for the human...
Not his body molded by his soul, but his soul molded based on his body.
"What would happen if this happened... how would his body react... how would the entire history contained within his species react..."
His soul, like his body, would adapt... His will to return to the top, growing...
... An exponential evolution.
The man, again, stared at the goblin.
The human, looking at something fantastical, a species that was strange to him, in a world that was strange to him.
"You ask me what I am, Grongir... I can answer you..."
The human continued there, standing, his face calm, deceiving about his turbulent emotions inside his body.
But for the goblin, this face was something horrible, an omen...
After all, why would the man tell all this? Even in his disturbed mental state, he knew that the goblin was his enemy... that he could escape, use this information against him somehow...
But the human wouldn't let them escape...
... A horrible omen...
"My name is Devas, pleasure to meet you, Grongir, the goblin..."
Then he smiled, as if introducing himself to a friend, a sweet smile, a beautiful smile...
"As for my race, it's just one..."
A salvation smile, which only served to make the goblin feel even more terrified, trapped, inside a cage, with a monster staring at him.
"I am, always have been, and always will be..."
... A death omen.
"Human."
Then the human moved.
"A goblin army has been defeated!"