Chapter Text
An ancient golden dragon and an ex-assassin butler turned to look at the red head who was currently fearing for his life. “Aigoo, what an unlucky punk,” the old dragon shook his head at Cale. “More lemon tea young master? It seems your tea has gotten cold.” Ron locked eyes with his young master as he freshly squeezed a lemon half that appeared in his hand into a cup. He then offered the teacup to his young master, just as a proper butler would do.
Cale almost gagged at the sour smell that invaded his senses and displayed a grimacing smile as he accepted it and choked down a small gulp his stoic look failing to mask the wince. “Delightful” He not so casually turned away from the looming butler and back to the children sitting in his lap.
The countess was sitting in the back of the room with her husband and two children, tears welling in her eyes as she realized that she was included in the list of parental figures in Cale’s mind. The child who acted out for attention after losing his mother. The child who hid from his new family. The child who had drowned his sorrows in alcohol to avoid the truth that he thought he didn’t belong. This child acknowledged her as a person to consult in raising his adopted dragon children. She couldn’t wait to meet them face to face. How she wished she had the strength to reach out to him before.
A sulking Deruth could be seen next to her. Two grandfather figures and a mother figure, yet his own father didn’t make the list. How could I have ignored him Jour? What can I do now? Is it too late? He had seen in the few screens with his child that he had friends and was enjoying his time (If you call arson “enjoying his time” then yes Deruth, he had a grand old time ><).
The box flew up from the table where it had been left discarded and ended up in Pendrick’s hands. All eyes on him made him anxious so he immediately pulled out a piece of paper and attempted to read it. Not such a promising idea for the skittish elf.
[How does Cale not meet a dragon?]
Pendrick nearly passed out. He already knew that the red head had two dragons with him and was able to witness the first meeting of the two, which was the best moment of his life but now he finds out that he meets even more? He had to cling to this monstrous individual somehow. To be blessed by the Gods to have the luck to meet multiple dragons. It was the dream of all elves.
“Hooray!! No more arson!!” A drunk? Bud stands up giving a round of applause to the red head before realizing what the question implies. There have been at least four answer choices and they had only been introduced to two dragons which by process of elimination (he can do math??) that leaves at least one more dragon with a possible two. Right?? “I need more to drink…” He sulked down into his seat as Cage offered a glass and a bottle to which he smiled, grabbed the bottle, and chugged.
[ a) In their pajamas wanting to beat him up ]
“What a fashionable choice” The elves scrambled to compliment every possible choice as only one of the options would not be a dragon. Yet it seemed that the first choice might not be it already. Majestic individuals such as 1000-year-old dragons who protect the continent would most definitely not go out of their way to beat up alcoholic trash, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Everyone had heard rumors about the trash and his behavior when drunk so it wouldn’t be a surprise for someone, even a dragon, to retaliate and beat him up.
Obante trembled in fear and bowed his head to the ground, refusing to lift it.
Rasheel felt an odd shiver that made him startle from his wonderful sleep. He looked up, saw no problems, and proceeded to go back to his dreams hoping the next time he woke up, he would be sleeping on his premium pillows that he had gathered in a soft nest back at his cave.
[ b) Wanting to write his biography ]
“Writing the biography of an alcoholic arsonist. What a ridiculous dragon!” The crown prince couldn’t help blurting out. He quickly covered his mouth and side eyed the known ancient dragon in the room who gave an annoyed huff and did not retaliate. He was still getting over the ancient dragon and baby dragon that accompanied said arsonist. Are dragons really all that? He wondered. What is it about that trash that draws in so many individuals? He already had two dragons, the mercenary king of the eastern continent, the young guard by his side, the ex-princess of the Breck Kingdom, and the blue haired individuals who seemed quite strong. Even he himself, the crown prince was dancing to the red-head’s whims. How many more will this guy attract?
[ c) Covered in blood ]
-It’s okay human. I am happy you found me.-
[ d) Trying to kill him ]
-Who would dare hurt our human??? We must destroy them. Hit them in the back before they can hit us. Human if you are hurt I will destroy the world and then myself, so you better not die.-
“It’s fine, they are just trying to kill me. It’s obvious that they don’t succeed because I already have the strongest existence by my side.” Cale calmed the child who made his head ring. Even though the black dragon was revealed to the room, he still chose to shout in his mind rather than aloud.
[ e) Covered in dirt ]
“This is the state of the dragon… Right?”
“What type of crazy dragons is this guy meeting… Are all dragons like this?”
-Human! I want to meet all the dragons… Except for the killing one. I can show them our home and we can have dinner with Goldie Gramps! Good chef Beacrox can cook, and we can share our adventures! Do you think the other dragons are as socially awkward as Gramps? If so it will be annoying to teach them manners. But don’t worry human, leave it to me…-
Cale tried to drown out the prattling voice as he heard the elder dragon breathe out a sigh that sounded a lot like the words “Unlucky bastard.”
“My last years of life and I am suddenly surrounded by other dragons.” Eruhaben glared over at the red head who looked away before seeing that the glare was softened by hope. It won’t be too bad; the little kid is a bit much and maybe I’ll get to see Olienne again. Though the green dragon was not in the room. He had also realized that he was not mentioned in the answers as the little kid was. He counted the other dragons present and all of them would meet the presumed dragon slayer. “Aigoo, my poor life.”
Pendrick, who was on the verge of a mental breakdown at the possibility of finding out the identity of a new dragon did not know what to answer. He had heard a snippet of the black dragon’s past and knew that the dragon covered in blood was the same as the happily purring dragon sitting on the red-head’s lap. He also knew that Eruhaben-nim’s meeting was not mentioned which left too many options.
He did not want to disrespect any of the dragon-nims in the room but also dreaded picking the wrong answer. So, he picked the answer that he would dread being true the most. “The answer is.. uh- it’s D…” His voice got quieter as he finished his sentence and his conscious nearly drifted off.
[Ding Correct!! Congrats!! Playing a future clip! ☆ *: . ｡ . o( ≧▽≦ )o . ｡ .:* ☆ ]
The crown prince of the Roan Kingdom sat back in his chair and breathed a frustrated sigh. This bastard is going to be the death of me. Yet contrary to his thoughts, a smile grew on his face because he had collaborated with that bastard before. He was a crazy but good bastard and seemed to be wrapped up in the future ongoings of the kingdom.
[ It was at that moment.
– Human! In the sky above the palace! ]
“And what might our dear young master be doing in the palace?” Alberu felt as though he had to get a quip in on this bastard who kept flipping common sense left and right.
“Of course, I must be there to see the face of the glorious sun of the kingdom” Cale was not to be left behind and they stared at each other with false smiles of respect.
-human, we should show that smile to the white guy! I’m sure it will make him upset! Maybe we can hit him in the back again instead of destroying a city-
Cale immediately frowned and looked away as the prince settled into his seat, happy that he won the staring contest.
[ Cale heard Raon’s shocked voice.
A majestic voice filled his head at that moment as well.
– Hmm. Are you Cale Henituse?
It was an unfamiliar voice.
– I am Dodori’s mother.
As Cale slowly started to open his mouth… ]
“Mom, do we get to see the hero?!?” An excited pink haired individual was clutching to the muddy pants of his curious mother. She knew that her son had gone off looking for some hero or other, but she hated heroes and what they left behind.
Yet she was extremely curious about this individual who was sitting calmly with a dragon on his lap being the center of every question asked in this weird room that limited their powers. She saw that he would eventually be surrounded by countless powerful individuals and would collect ancient powers that could somehow speak to him. What an interesting person. He also seemed like a decent parent to the dragon child and cared for him almost as much as she cared for her own son who had been gazing at the red head with eyes of adoration since the works ‘super rock’ had been on the screen. They had yet to see the power in use, but it was obviously something like the legend of his favorite hero.
The two dragons settled in to watch and the mother came to a realization as she viewed herself and her child. A cough of embarrassment was heard as she understood who options b) and e) were pertaining to.
[ – Human! There seems to be a Dragon in the sky outside the barrier protecting the palace!
There was a dome-shaped magic barrier above the Roan palace.
Just outside that barrier… There was a Dragon in the sky. ]
Hahhh… Another sigh came from a tired crown prince who wished that more of the chaos the red-headed bane-of-his-existence and seemingly-best-conspirator-he-could-hope-for would be outside of his kingdom. Dragons were known to be especially strong and could wipe out an entire kingdom. And now they just barge into the palace whenever the red head is involved. Should he remove his place privileges? Wait he has dragons, so couldn’t he enter whenever he wants anyways… This bastard.
[ Cale did not expect Dodori to come back so soon.
Dodori and Dodori’s mom were both up there.
– But there are three of them!
“…Hmm?” ]
Cale really did not understand. Why am I the one who is expecting them? Why do I want dragons to come meet me? Do my plans to send off the main character not work?? What did I do wrong? The frown plastered to his face was ignored by Raon as he prattled on in his mind about how he can’t wait to introduce himself to the other dragons and how they seemed ‘friendlier’ than the socially awkward golden dragon they had just met. He did chance a glance in their direction as the blue-eyed dragon had pointed out and immediately regretted it as he heard two more voices.
- You’re finally looking at me? You have the Guardian’s power don’t you?? Boulders are the best. Can I join your party? I always wanted to be with a hero. Ahem… You may already have a dragon, but I have more experience as that dragon is my hoobae. I am great and mighty at 13 years of age and have seen much of the world. Just trust me! I will turn you into the greatest hero in human history!
~ It appears you have found us. It is a pleasure to meet you Cale Henituse, it seems we might see more of each other in the future ~
Hahhhh… Was The Birth of a Hero wrong about dragons? Why are they so… Cale glanced at the chubby faced dragon in his lap, the ancient dragon who was shaking his head, the pink haired child who was looking at him with awe and the dragon who looked like she just came from a muddy field. Are dragons majestic? Or was Nelan Barrow just partial to them? If so, who was he?
[ – One more seems to have suddenly appeared!
He heard Dodori’s mom’s voice.
– …Oh, are there others you invited aside from my son and me?
‘No, there aren’t.’ ]
“Why? Why me?” This time Cale voiced his grievances and received countless judging stares sent in his direction.
[ Cale wanted to respond.
However, he could not do so.
He suddenly heard a sloth-like voice in his head.
– Wow~ there’s all sorts of weirdos gathered here. Hoooo, there are three Dragons as well. I’ve never seen this before. You were looking for me?
The slightly thuggish voice added on.
– Didn’t you send the Dark Elves to look for me? They’ve been so damn loud. Do you want to die?
The Dragon that Mayor Obante had seen in the past.
– How dare you make it so loud that I wake up from my slumber? How dare a mere human do that? Do you want me to fuck you up? ]
Dodori’s mother and Eruhaben both glanced over at the dragon who had just woken up again after hearing his own voice. The parents in the room collectively glared stealthily at the brutish dragon while he was being harassed lectured? in his mind by multiple dragons.
(Eru) ~ It sounds like you are the one who wants to be beaten to a pulp ~
(Raon) -How dare you talk to our human like that? I will destroy everything if you put a finger on our human!! –
(Dodo) - I won’t let you harm our young master super rock!! I’m going to become a hero and join his party…
What is wrong with these dragons? It’s not even me… yet? I’ll just ignore the elementals. Rasheel then promised himself to fortify his cave threefold from the elementals that may want to sneak in. And avoid these weird dragons who seem to want to stand up for a single human. He may be interesting, but he can’t be all that.
[ … ]
[ ‘…Is he crazy?’
Cale had wondered how the Dragon would come to find him.
‘Wait right there. You need to be punished for waking this great and mighty Dragon’s slumber. Human. I will personally walk over to you, so you better wait right there.’
That was what the Dragon had said.
“…He really is walking over to me.”
The Dragon was walking in the air as if there was a carpet in front of it. The man was taking large steps as he stomped forward.
“He easily destroyed the magic barrier!”
‘Yes. He’s stomping over here after breaking it.’ ]
“Wow… Way to point out the obvious.” Bud cackled, spilling his drink which his best friend luckily saw coming and dodged.
“Please dragon-nim. That barrier costs quite a bit to make and keep. It is not meant to stop a great and mighty existence.” Alberu chanted like a mantra as he bowed in the direction of the sleepy dragon. His eyes were tearing up as he saw that Cale had no care for the barrier. His glare burned into the red head’s back.
[…]
[ He could hear the voice of the Dragon as it glared at him.
– Hmph! You showed up! How dare you wake me up?
‘It does seem that way. He really seemed to have been sleeping.’
The Dragon had walked over.
He was barefoot.
He was also wearing pajamas.
On his side was a long and comfortable looking pillow. ]
Cale had given up on caring about the dragon and his pajamas, he was much more interested in the long and comfortable looking pillow that the dragon had clutched in his hands even as he was threatening to beat up the red head (he had already forgotten that the red head to be beaten up was in fact himself).
“Hey.” Cale called out to the dragon who was none too pleased. “Where did you get that pillow?”
Other than the party members who knew Cale and the ones who gave up on understanding the arsonist (read Alberu), the rest of the room was staring in shock at the re-heads audacity of speaking informally to a literal dragon who had threatened to “fuck him up.”
The dragon called out was beside himself hearing the bastard who dares to threaten his sleep call out to him but quickly remedied his expression due to the memory of a time not too long ago, (like 5 minutes) where he had a cacophony of voices attacking his skull.
When hearing the question, he answered, his chest puffing with pride “I made it myself.” Rasheel had loved sleep almost as much as he loved his attribute and winning. He was always searching for more comfortable ways to sleep. Looking at the bags under the pale human’s eyes, he believed that this individual was asking to improve his sleep quality and decided to let him down lightly which was not at all influenced by the scary elder dragons who looked ready to ‘turn him to dust’ or stab him with a dirt covered hoe.
Cale simply nodded, thinking that he wanted to ‘visit’ this angry dragon to discuss bedding options. It was obvious that the thuggish dragon loved his sleep.
-Human, you are smiling like you do with the crown prince, are we going to loot the dragon? I am interested in visiting his lair. Since he has likes sleeping will his cave be filled with pillows like Goldie’s is filled with gold?
Cale imagined the haven that Raon described in his mind and decided that he most definitely has to go to that dragon’s home.
Rasheel could feel shivers down his back and wondered if the room was cursed to make it uncomfortable to sleep. He also disliked the smile that the kid was sending him.
Tasha, who had been watching the exchange with eyes of disbelief was startled to see the box of questions floating right in front of her line of sight.
As the box was wiggling back and forth no matter how she turned her head, she figured it was time for a new question.
[Which item is a not God’s divine item?]
“Is it no longer about the young master?” Rosalyn asked the quiet Choi Han and Lock who were sitting next to her in a small huddle, attempting to stick to their little group.
“With the way these questions have gone, I’m certain that Cale-nim has something to do with this question” Choi Han responded remembering the arson questions. He hoped that he could see his liege doing something not illegal for once but did not expect much from the red head after travelling with him and his other companions.
[ a) A book
b) A compact mirror
c) A watering can
d) A crown ]
As the question was asked about divine items, the room turned towards the Sun God twins and the excommunicated drunk, then all eyes turned to the saint to avoid locking eyes with the ex-priestess who was currently chugging a bottle of wine praising that she could not heard a certain ‘bastard’s’ voice.
Jack knowing only the scriptures of the Sun God mentioning a sword, ‘The Condemnation of the Sun’ that had been lost for many years, had no idea which item would not be the divine item. Under the scrutiny of the crowd, he stood up, thinking hard on what the answer could be. Wracking his brain , he found nothing and started to panic. Attempting to give an answer he stuttered out, “It uhm… Mi-ght be.. I… Uhmm…” words escaped him as he waved his hands and shrunk down. In his panic, he backed up and tripped over his chair, caught in the lap of his sister.
“It feels like a trick question, but it can only be C… Right?” Hannah announces in an attempt to save her kind brother who would never want to give the wrong answer but would still give an answer to not let anyone down. Unlike herself, he really was a saintly individual and she would give everything for him. Not to mention, she only voiced the thoughts of the entire room.
[ Zzzt Wrong answer. (|lI. ࡇ .) The correct answer is d. Showing a scene from the past. ]
“What type of divine item is a watering can? What God would think hey, you know what would be a good divine artifact? Sword? No, too obvious. A book? Nope can’t be. A watering can? Of course!!” All of the denizens of the room agreed with Bud’s tirade except for a woman standing in the far dark corner next to two other hooded individuals who had so far avoided scrutiny from the rest of the room.
For some reason, Cotton truly felt as if her God was sad and crying. Could he… Yeah.. He would… Cotton heaved out a sigh of annoyance knowing that it was her God, the God of War at that, who caused the room to be full of confusion. She decided to take a page out of Cage’s book and cursed her lord who made her a priestess for such an absurd decision.
[ The black swamp was gone, but there was still a bit of black liquid remaining. ]
“We are back to the swamp?” Choi Han asked. “Cale-nim, what did you do while we were away?”
Cale thought about his excursions while the three were gone. It was nice to just have Beacrox cooking meals for him. The wolf children were a bit of an annoyance, but they are in the village now, so they are no problem. “I went for a swim,” in the ocean to obtain an ancient power, “saw a cave,” where I found the dying whale, “went to visit Harris Village,” where I dropped off the wolf children so they would stop following me around like puppies, “and went for a walk in the Forest of Darkness.”
“Where you happened to come across a swamp of dead mana that you just happened to have the means to blow up?” Rosalyn asked in a sickly-sweet voice, a grin stretching across her face at all of the omitted information that they may soon find out.
“Yes. That seems to be it.” Cale did not hear or chose to ignore the sarcasm in her voice as he nodded with a small smile as he turned back to the screen playing.
[ “It is in the shape of a dragon.”
There was a block of black mud, looking like a clay dragon, remaining the size of an adult dragon. He also found a white crown where it seemed like the dragon’s head would have been.
It was the ancient power. ]
“So, a crown is an ancient power, and a watering can is a divine artifact… and a lump of black mud is shaped like a dragon.” Jopis, who was quietly drinking tea, was astonished on what was happening in the world that went on without her as she was locked up by her sister. The puppy in her lap gave a yip of agreement. Jopis stroked the puppy’s back and sipped her tea, considering joining the alcoholics as they had calmed down for the moment.
[ “Can I do as I please?”
The Black Dragon responded to him.
“Don’t ask such obvious questions.”
“Thanks.” ]
Tasha cooed at the adorable exchange that the stoic young master and newly freed dragon. Mary, who was next to her, stared with wide eyes at the place where they would find dragon bones. She knew it would probably be too much to ask but she dearly wished to experiment with controlling those bones.
[ Cale did not notice the Black Dragon flinching as he headed toward the dragon-shaped black mud. He would probably find the dragon’s bones if he got rid of this mud.
‘If I get this and the magic power…’
What a jackpot.
Cale started to smile, and his palm started to itch with excitement. ]
“What’s he supposed to do with a bunch of bones, display them in his home?” Glen asked. Finally voicing his opinion while covering Bud’s mouth to prevent any comments from the crazy guy asking for a death sentence.
Jack looked questioningly at the far corner from himself and observed the individuals that his instincts told him to remove. They had yet to do anything, and violence seemed prohibited in the room so there was no need to follow his instincts. For some reason he had a feeling that there might be a necromancer somewhere in that corner who could make full use of the bones that the young master had found.
While they had gone extinct, there was still a chance that the red-headed noble from the Roan Kingdom would find them as he had the others. He had always believed what the church had told him yet for the first time, he questioned his beliefs. Those people who his instincts told him were bad, dirty, evil, didn’t seem such. The saint of the Sun God Church believed that those people couldn’t be too bad if they ended up in this room.
Deruth who heard the comment had not been informed of his child’s attainment of dragon bones sincerely doubted that it would be for a display at the Henituse manner, but it did seem that his child would have a manor and a castle to himself so decorating it with the bones would be possible. He started sulking again at the thought that his child, Jour’s child did not want to be with his family. Well, he did want to be with his family. Deruth glanced over at the group surrounding the red head, not exactly with him but in his orbit. So many individuals whose lives he had touched, it seems his original family had finally lost him. “Cale…” Deruth choked out but nothing else followed as the name was left unheard.
[ Paaat!
The shield appeared in front of Cale and a whirlwind started to roar in each of his hands. The whirlwinds were as large as possible and wind started to form underneath Cale’s feet as well.
Swooooooooooooosh.
It was the moment the Sound of the Wind gathered together.
The black mud shot quickly toward Cale as if it wanted to swallow him. ]
~That had scared me human. Be more careful. You are still very weak~
Roan’s comment in Cale’s mind was ignored as per usual. The red- head offered a huff of agreement and passed a cookie to the child sitting in his lap next to On and Hong who were pawing at his legs and meowing for some reason or other. Cale just offered them cookies as well.
[ It was at that moment that Cale heard the voice of the ancient power’s owner. This was also not a location-based ancient power, but one left behind by someone.
– Do you know what it means to dominate?
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The cold voice that seemed to pierce through his skin made Cale’s heart run wild.
And then Cale’s body suddenly shot forward.
Bang! Bang!
The whirlwinds in his hands shot out like arrows. The whirlwinds cut through the black mud to create a path.
Cale quickly walked through that path.
The shield and the wings prevented the black mud from landing on Cale.
– Dominating is to take away everything, even the enemy’s breath.
Boom. Boom.
His heart beat madly every time he heard the voice.
It was like he was fearful of the voice. ]
“You? Afraid of something?? Really dongsaeng, if you are not afraid of the repercussions of destroying property or stealing, what could you possibly be afraid of?” Alberu let slip a quip under his breath, astonished the red head felt fear for anything other than losing his so called ‘slacker-life’ he did nothing to attain.
[ “Ugh.”
Cale bit down on his lips because of his heart’s wild beating.
Swooooooosh-
The whirlwind arrows cut through the black mud again. Cale continued to hear the owner of the ancient power’s dominating voice in his mind.
– Do you know what the easiest way to take away your enemy’s breath is?
Swiiiiiiish, swiiiiiish.
Whirlwinds continued to pour out of Cale’s hands to clear the way for him. Cale was surrounded by the black mud, making him become covered in darkness.
However, Cale had to continue to walk down the path created by the whirlwinds.
He then heard the voice again.
– Fear is the answer.
Cale started to smile. Fear?
Cale had overcome all sorts of fears.
He needed to do so because he wanted to live. He wanted to live a happier and more peaceful life than anyone else. ]
Cale nodded with a smile on his face, that’s right. A happy peaceful slacker-life, I’ll take the children for a trip, or maybe I’ll leave that to Hans and just relax. Have a small garden, rest for the rest of my days.
~Yes Human! Let’s live happily!! As a f-f- family~ Raon stuttered out and got pets from Cale in response.
“That’s right Nya!”
“We are going to have a peaceful life Nyaa!” The cat children chimed in with smiles as they rubbed against Cale’s chest asking for pets as well.
“Mmmhmm” Cale hummed out. Slacker-life isn’t too far now. Just have to visit a dragon’s layer for new bedding, save a burning jungle and stop the war… Maybe a bit too much, I’ll just leave it to Choi Han then. There are plenty of dragons to help anyway.
[ Humans already lived a life full of dread and fear about the mysterious future.
A combined whirlwind that was bigger than any of the other whirlwinds previously shot out of Cale’s hand to continue to create a path.
Roooooooooar!
It was much stronger than before.
“Bullshit.”
Domination? Fear? Cale didn’t care about that. All he cared about was how it would benefit him.
Cale quickly walked through the path he created. He then heard the voice again.
– Muhahaha. You are right. It is bullshit. You already know.
‘Found it.’
Cale could see the White Dragon’s skull, as well as the white crown on its head.
Cale reached out toward the crown and his fingertips touched the tip of jewel on the crown.
– Use it well!
A bright light shot out of the crown and made the black mud disappear. At the same time, the crown flew toward Cale. He closed his eyes only to hear a different and refreshing voice.
– Sometimes, even bluffing can save your life. Muhahaahhahaha!
Cale could feel another power wrapping around his heart.
Boom, boom.
His heart was beating wildly. He could immediately tell what this power was.
Cale’s expression turned iffy.
“…What the hell is this?”]
“Language” The countess said, a glare on her face as she stared down her stepson. She did not want to leave a bad impression after being thought of as a proper role model and decided to start now in adjusting the red-heads mentality and word choice around the children.
“Ahhh, of course,” Cale responded, “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you moth-Countess.”
Violan sat in dismay at almost being called mother but was happy to have gotten a reply from the child who used to hide from his family in his room. How much had the child grown without them even realizing it? What fear and pain he had been tormented by while they played a happy family. She firmed her resolve to be a good parent from here on. She will be the one reaching out, she won’t allow the child to feel alone in his own home ever again.
The sparkle in the countess’s eyes scared Cale so he looked away to see the box fly over to its new victim.
Ron was surprised to receive the box of questions and benignly smiled ignoring the box to serve his young master another cup of tea.
“Here you are young master. My son is planning to make you a snack in the next few questions, is there anything you or the children would like in particular?”
Cale was frightened by the butler’s smile and feigned ignorance of the box that was circling his head. As he had already eaten plenty of cookies and slices of apple pie that Raon had pulled out of his special pouch, he was not hungry in the least. A glance at the chef who was serenely sharpening his blade on the side made him lose his appetite further.
“I believe we are fine Ron. Thank you… I’m sure whatever Beacrox makes will be delicious as always.” Cale panicked halfway and caved, the children could always eat the extra snacks, they were still too thin anyway.
The others in the room did not share the same sentiment as the red head, they rather thought that Cale seemed much skinnier than he had looked in the past and an extra meal would do him well.
After ignoring the incessant flying box for a few minutes, it finally spat out a paper directly in the former assassins face. “Oh ho ho. It seems that the owner of the room is impatient.” (If looks could kill, the writer would be dead).
[ Which is not a catch phase of Cale’s ancient powers? ]
a) Are you trying to sacrifice yourself?
b) Can I eat it?
c) Let’s xxxx them up!
d) Chaos! Destruction!
e) *maniacal laughter* ]
No wonder the unlucky bastard is crazy. Eruhaben thought, with a bunch of maniacs chatting in your head, it’s hard not to end up like them at some point.
“Well, we know the maniacal laughter,” Many shuddered at the reminder of the red head standing in a sea of fire raining down gold. “Is there any others you can share with us young master.”
Cale felt an underlying threat in the voice of the butler who looked poised to kill anyone who didn’t answer him properly. He wracked his brain as the ancient powers had not talked much, “The glutto- Ahem- the shield power is always hungry?” He recalled how it almost seemed as if the priestess’s grudge had not been from starving but from not being able to speak, she was so chatty.
“Anything else?” Ron’s stern look made Cale flinch as he shook his head.
“They don’t really talk much, at least not right now.” Cale rambled out an answer for fear that his neck might be slit if he didn’t. “The glut- shield likes food, the cheap- fire of destruction likes money, the thei- sound of the wind doesn’t talk much, and the cry- vitality of the heart… cries?”
Then names came out quite convoluted and all the nicknames were cut off and replaced by a proper name. It seemed the last of fell short.
“Were the ancients such.. colorful individuals?” Bassen asked his mother as he watched Cale spoiling his adopted children with jealousy.
“It seems they were” The countess responded with an encouraging smile towards the middle child who always strived to be his best to help his brother. Even Lily the youngest was glancing over at the eldest and his calm demeanor as he played with the cats and dragon. Violan could see the longing in both of her children’s eyes and decided that once they got out of here, they would spend some quality time as a family. Maybe they could teach the eldest better manners and limit the need for arson with discussions. Or just let him wreak havoc, it’s not like the Henituse’s could not afford the damages.
“I suppose it will have to be a guess then,” Ron gave up on getting more information out of the terrified Cale as he could see that there was no more information to gain from further questioning. “Ho ho. It seems like it is up to this old man to make the decision.” No one in the room bothered to interrupt or answer for the benignly smiling old man.
“This old man will choose D then, in hopes that these voices are not the cause of my young master’s.. hobby” The smile he sent Cale’s way made him sink further into the chair and chug the rest of the sour tea that had been cooling in his hand. No escaping the ex-assassin’s eyes.
[Ding Correct!! ♡⸜ ( ˶ ˃ ᵕ ˂ ˶ ) ⸝ ♡ Playing a future clip! ]
“Ho ho ho. Seems this old man still has it.” Ron smiled and walked over to stand beside his young master who did everything in his power to avoid his gaze, even hiding behind the children.
[ ‘Cale, I did it! I brought him with me as well!’
‘I’m here! I’m sorry. Soooooob. I was so scared! But I’m not scared now!’
‘Chaos, destruction, anger! I plan on destroying everything! I am a Wind Elemental who has been hiding his powers!’
The gust of wind that the three Wind Elementals had brought over was full of On’s fog. ]
“So, the voices are still in your head, they just aren’t ancient powers” Bud stated plainly as he listened to the chunni wind elemental’s exclamation.
“Since when have you been able to hear elemental’s voices?” Tasha spoke up for once to the individual at the center of the room. The other elves and dark elves wondered the same thing. The young master had not seemed to have an elemental affinity, only an affinity to nature itself thanks to his ancient powers. Even elves could only contract with and hear the voice of one elemental, yet here was the young master once again twisting all known logic able to hear the voices of three.
“I’m not sure. I most definitely do not now, nor do I wish to in the future.” Cale openly answered a scowl adorned on his face once again at the thought of crazy wind elementals bugging him. They would only be useful if he could turn their voices off.
Rasheel sneezed. Was someone talking about him?
[ Fog instantly covered everyone’s sights.
The black knight watched as Cale disappeared into the fog.
She also saw Hannah and Jack smiling. Raon had said the following to the twins earlier. ]
Gasps were heard around the room about the state of the Holy Maiden. To have black, shriveled veins, there was only one reason. She had become a necromancer. Yet the Holy Saint was still with her and could be seen using his powers. It shouldn’t be possible.
Mary watched in awe that there was someone else like her, someone who would become like her. As much as she didn’t want to be alone, she hoped that that piece of the future would change. No human should have to bear the burden of dark mana flowing through their veins.
[ ‘The human is asking for your help in order to escape! Ah, he said that if there is an enemy that is difficult for the two of you to handle, step in front of the human and give him a sign!’
Cale watched the fog cover everything except their allies and started to speak.
“We only have one goal from here on.”
All of the allies looked toward him.
“We are going to escape from here without a single person dying.” ]
“Wow… You look really cool right there” Bud stated, he suddenly wasn’t so worried about working for this weird guy anymore. Arsonist tendencies? Fine, whatever. Voices in his head? Sure, why not? At least he’s got charisma and will save his people. All of them. He has the true makings of a leader even if he is a bit of a cuckoo.
Choi Han and Cale’s other party members saw the scene of the injured elves and mercenaries, people they had never met before and heard Cale’s loft goal to save them all. They smiled and raised their heads with pride that they followed such a kind individual.
Cale nodded his head. Of course, no one should die. But why am I the one saving them? Where is everyone else? He lamented that he may have to wait even longer for his slacker life. He just doesn’t want to witness anymore death.
[ The gazes looking at him changed.
Every gaze looked energetic.
It was not just because of their determination.
Shaaaaa-
There was a light surrounding them.
This light of healing surrounded the Elves and the mercenaries. Light came pouring out of Saint Jack’s sleeves.
The fog concealed that light as well.
“Meeeeeow.”
The silver Kitten revealed herself from the fog at that moment.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“Aaaaah!”
The allies could hear the enemies’ screams. Cale placed On on his shoulders and started to speak again.
His voice was swift and firm.
Now it was a fight against time.
“Arms assassins behind the Dark Elf battalion are currently being attacked. The ones attacking them are our allies, the Molan household. We will gather with them and escape.”
However, there was a mountain they needed to cross in order to gather with the Molan household.
They had to get past the Dark Elf battalion and the potential Vampire’s forces. ]