CHAPTER 390

HEART OVER PREJUDICE

Lucky was currently sitting slumped in the corner of a massive platform, her head covered in the glistening droplets of sweat. She wore barely anything, merely covering her chest and crotch, the rest of her body hanging out in the open. Because of her, most of the guys currently working on the platform, constructing the venue, didn’t dare take their shirts off despite the fact they were steaming.

She gulped down ale as though it were water, refreshing herself somewhat before wiping her forehead with a tower, jumping up, stretching slightly. Looking around, she nodded in satisfaction; though it was being rushed, it was also starting to take a proper shape. Hundreds of people were racing about the platform hanging above the fortress, each too busy to pay attention to anything but their own tasks.

Deciding to take a quick lunch break, she heaved off the edge of the platform, skillfully landing on top of one of the towers before scaling the walls and slithering into the shadows, weaving through the streets and rises until she’d come in front of a simple-looking, one-story brick house that seemed strangely out of place, as it appeared newly built.

Walking inside, she didn’t pay attention to much else as she walked over toward the kitchen, taking out a skinned rabbit from her void treasure and placing it on top of the counter, whipping out a knife right after and preparing to cut.

“Were you ever planning on telling me?”

"Eeeah!" Lucky released a startled cry as she dropped the knife, spinning on her heel quickly and facing the source of the voice from behind her. Alison stood leaning against the windowpane, her whole figure slumped and downcast, as though she was drenched in the rain. Her eyes appeared bloodshot as if she were crying, her lips faintly crimson, cheeks rosy. "Holy fuck Ally! You scared the living crap out of me!" Lucky exclaimed, sighing out in relief and bending over to pick up a knife, patting her chest a few times to calm her beating heart.

“Were you?” Alison asked again, her voice low and dry.

“... what are you talking about?” Lucky asked, turning around once more as she put the knife away.

“Your ‘Master’,” Alison smiled dryly. “What was this? A mission? Was that all it was to you all this while? Just another order that you had no choice but to comply to? Or was it your idea that your ‘Master’ just went along with? Or was it Hannah’s?”

“... Ally--”

"Don't lie to me anymore!!!" Alison suddenly cried out loudly, slamming her fist against the windowpane and breaking it into pieces as the house faintly shook. "I-I trusted you!! I gave you my heart!! Ha ha, it must have been hilarious for you lot," she suddenly cracked into laughter, corners of her eyes growing teary once more. "Or was it annoying? What was the plan anyway? To shadow me, learn all you can from me, and then kill me?"

“...” Lucky remained silent, her expression turning mellow. She didn’t know how she found out, though it hardly mattered at this point. She felt a part of her heart crack, as she’d never seen Alison quite so distraught. “I’ve thought about it,” Lucky said. “Though, our meeting was truly accidental. And my ‘Master’... hardly had much to say about you, or what to do with you.”

“...” Alison remained silent, listening while grinding her teeth.

“He told me to do whatever I wanted,” Lucky continued, lowering her head, avoiding Alison’s eyes. “I’ve thought about what to do countless times... but... I could never settle on one thing. So... like a coward, I just went along with the flow.”

“....”

"I'm sorry," Lucky said, sighing and finally lifting her head up, meeting Alison's eyes. "For all the things I didn't know, I did know I never wanted to hurt you."

“... I know you must take me for a fool,” Alison said after a short silence. “A naive little girl that is easy to manipulate. And... perhaps, indeed, I am. But I... I chose to trust you. To believe in you. I should have known better, though. You’re just like Hannah... bending yourself over to his whims.”

"... you are naive, and you are a fool," Lucky suddenly smiled, chuckling faintly. "You barely knew a thing about me, yet you chose to tell me your Sect is guarded by an Origin Dragon, who the Void Cult is, and a plethora of other things. Truth be told... you will never know how touched I was by your trust and faith in me. Which, well, only made things quite a lot worse."

“... were you ever even planning on telling me? Or would you have killed me when I wasn’t looking, so that I would never know?”

“... I could never kill you,” Lucky smiled weakly, tilting her head and sitting up on the counter. “That much I know. As for telling you... I would have, one day. What day? Some day...”

“... you knew Hannah,” Alison said. “You knew her all along. Did the two of you laugh behind my back? It must have been quite fun, no? And... no wonder you didn’t fear the Empyrean when you faced him. I believed you to be a fearless, invincible kind... yet, all along you were just another filthy coward. Ha ha ha... I’m pathetic...”

“... you aren’t pathetic, Ally,” Lucky said, steeling her heart and will. “If anything, you are the best out of us all. If the world had more people like you in it... it wouldn’t be a shithole it is today. You’ve won me over with everything you chastised about yourself, and those parts of you are the ones I want you to keep until you die. The world already has enough of cowards like me, enough of cynics like the Empyrean and Hannah, and enough of madmen like the rest of them. It’s people like you that we lack. Graceful. Trusting. Forgiving. Kind. Willing to see the best in everyone and everything. None of those things make you pathetic, Ally. They make you far better than the rest of us combined.”

“... liar,” Alison scoffed. “Do you really expect me to ever again believe a word you say? I-I... I should kill you... r-right now...” she added toward the end, somewhat meekly and awkwardly.

“... I can’t give you my life, not just yet, at least,” Lucky smiled painfully, shaking her head for a moment. “However, if I’m alive by the end of it all, it is yours for the taking.”

“... h-humph, as if I want your life...” Alison mumbled, looking away.

“...” Lucky slumped into silence as well, not knowing what to say. She didn’t dare look up from the floor, too terrified she might find Alison gone... or, worse, still there, staring at her hatefully. The usually cold and indifferent being who could stare down everyone else found herself weak and meek, compliant to the fears of her heart.

“... was... was any... any of it real?” Alison asked, causing Lucky to look up once more. “Or... did you just lie to befriend me?”

“... of course it was all real,” Lucky chuckled lightly. “Though, I don’t know if you can find it in your heart to believe me again...”

“... it’s unfair.”

“Hm?”

“All of this... it’s unfair!” Alison exclaimed, tears slowly streaming down her cheeks. “You... Hannah... bringing me here... showing me all of this... making me doubt everything... it’s unfair!!”

“Yeah, it’s unfair.” Lucky nodded. “You don’t deserve this...”

“... why did he bring me here?” Alison suddenly asked. “Was it really because he wanted me here, or because he wanted to instigate something with the Grounds?”

“... you’ll have to ask him that,” Lucky replied, smiling faintly. “All I know is that, before you arrived, he told everyone that should anything happen to you... he’d strip them buck naked and have them do terribly agile dancing in the public square while everyone else laughed and jeered and threw rotten vegetables at them.”

“... e-e-eh... w-what...” Alison mumbled, her eyes jerking wide open.

“Ha ha ha, he’s quite an insane one,” Lucky laughed at her reaction, leaping off the counter. “You might have realized it... but, not a single person in this fortress, save for perhaps you, is terrified of him. At most, they’re afraid he’s going to do something weird... but never that he is going to harm them.”

“...”

“The world can make anything it wants out of him,” she said, slowly walking up to Alison, stopping right before reaching her. “But, perhaps, by now, you have realized it as well. The world is wrong.”

“... h-humph... y-you said you weren’t in love with him!” Alison exclaimed awkwardly, turning away. “But you clearly are! Humph, serves you well, seeing him get married to another girl...”

“How can I be in love with him?” Lucky smiled weakly, pulling her somewhat longer hair behind her ears.

“Hm?”

"... when I'm in love with you."

“....” a moment of stillness and emptiness surfaced between the two as the time came to a halt. Lucky’s eyes shimmered in faint silver, her body silently quivering. Standing opposite of her, Alison remained seemingly expressionless, her lips slightly parted, still seated on top of the counter.

There was something tantalizing about the moment; faint traces of light broke past the window, folding over Alison's silhouette and blasting against Lucky's tall, muscular figure. Yet, despite being nearly a whole head taller than Alison, even when the latter sat on top of the pane, she seemed incredibly small right there.

Suddenly, as though the wind blew against her back, Alison heaved off the pane and jumped forward, pulling herself on top of her toes and wrapping her quivering arms around Lucky's neck, dragging her head down, folding her fingers together. The latter soon felt a soft and sweet sensation pressing against her lips, a pair of shaking hands hanging onto her neck, caressing it gently. She reached out with her arms unconsciously and wrapped them around Alison's back, pulling slightly further down and closing her eyes, embracing it all. The pain. The shock. The sweetness. The joy.

Alison felt a strong pull from aback helping her hold up, pressed against her ever-tightly yet ever-gently. It was awkward, she knew inside her heart, cursing herself out, yet Lucky didn't seem to mind. It was serene and sincere, and it was silent. She felt safe, cradled inside of those arms; far safer than she ever did back home. Their kiss lasted but for a few seconds before Alison pulled slightly back, her eyelashes fluttering above her flushed cheeks. Her sky-blue eyes shimmered as they stared at Lucky's, the pair that was just there, right in front of her. Dark as the night... yet clearer than the open field at noon. Without even thinking about it, she pushed forward once more, cradling their lips together yet again. She enjoyed the tingling sensation, the fiery feeling inside her chest, and the faint smell of alcohol coming from Lucky's breath. It made her slightly dizzy and weak, yet at the same time, it gave her the sort of courage she would have to gather for a long time. Lowering her head as their lips parted, she bit her lower one and steeled her heart.

“... you... you can never... ever... ever... ever again... ever... lie to me...”

“...”

“... and... you can never, ever, ever... ever hurt me like this... ever again...”

“A-and... you can never make fun of me again--”

"As if." Lucky interrupted, causing Alison to grumble and pout as she looked up; her heart froze for a moment as she saw Lucky's wide, warm, honest and innocent smile. In that moment, Alison thought, she was the most beautiful person she'd ever seen in her life. "As a matter of fact, I'll start right now: we have a lot of work to do on that kissing of yours, so just shut up and keep at it."

“L-l--LUCKY!!!” her cry echoed out yet remained within the four, enclosed walls, inside a moment that was theirs to forever behold.