Chapter 12

Kimiko's Pov

She did not want to waste more time than it already was. She dodged the wild swing. She dodged another. And then without wasting a second, capitalized on the opening. She flashed on its side and crouched a little to get a perfect angle to its head. She clenched her hands and moved it behind her. Using a skill.

[Flaming Pheonix...

Her fist burst into flame with a visage of a Phoenix appearing behind it, powering her fist strength by imbuing it with explosive power of the flame as well as the holy attribute of the flame. She took a step forward and swirled her hands at the monster to give the fist, a momentum and dived her hands into curved radius right to the helmet towards the ground. The ground supporting her forward feet gave away into a crater by the force behind her punch. The monster was then slammed into the ground.

...Burst!!]

Then the world rumbled. The resulting force created a massive depression on the ground. A giant, swirling tornado of flames rose into the air above. The buildings that had survived the fall as well as the remains of pillar near the clashing duo had atomized by the force of the punch only. The combat maids were creating barriers to surround the injured Adventurers. However, all of them were thinking the same thing.

'Aiiii It's too much Mistress! You will bury us all alive as well!!'

But they didn't have to worry because the flames that were swirling above had just created a hole at the top. Exposing the whole world, a pillar of flames. With the explosiveness of the Flames added with the holy attribute of the Phoenix, she was sure that the monster would be almost dead or close to it. But the truth was that she just wanted to clobber someone up after that whole debacle. She will have to punish Lara though.

"Fufufu--"

Lara just felt a shiver down her back despite being a golem.

'....I feel like I will be in trouble soon.....'

The Adventurers were in shock. Especially, Isaac who had once witnessed the might of High level Adventurer. He himself was a certified A-rank Adventurer, but mostly stuck with books as his hobby. Therefore, one could say that he was more of a bookworm than an Adventurer.

'My Gods! Is this the might of the leader of the hidden organization?'

Kimiko seemed to have a small smile on her face.

'Ah that felt refreshing.'

As she was thinking that the monster had cracks all over its armor.

'It seems that even though it is [Legendary Tier], the malice may have eroded it. Time is irrelevant when it comes to Legendary Tier weapons. They can survive even hundreds of thousands of years without wear or tear. It could be due to the conflicting nature? Maybe the armor was made by some blessed metals? That could be the reason why it is weak. After all, holy and malice do not go well together due to their conflicting nature.'

She then heard something at the side. She looked and found that the Nekomata was conscious. She struggling very fiercely, burning her VIT. Even the maids were straining to keep her bound. But before she could do anything the monster again screamed with a distorted voice, as if more and more people were joining up inside the monster. She could see the red streams of malice all being steadily absorbed by the Monster. It was repairing itself as well.

"GGgooOOooddDDDdss"

And attacked her.

Theta Pov

Many days passed and Mira could say that she was enjoying her time with the group. They were all like a closely knitted family. There was no discrimination between able and disabled children in the group. She even did not feel unwelcomed for even a bit. They cared for her just like her brother used to do. But seeing the unity and love shown among each other, it felt as if they knew each other way before they met at the camps.

'How strange.'

At dinner time, she was dining with them as she asked Will.

"Did all of you know each other? You know, before the camp."

Will stopped eating. He was frowning a bit. One of the girls kicked him from behind. He first looked surprised.

"Owww......Ah yes. In fact, we knew each other all our life. You see, Mira, all of us were abandoned as a baby. From there we all grew up together, shared things together, played together and did lots of things. You could say that we are practically a family."

The others in the group nodded as they smiled in melancholy. Mira was now uncomfortable.

'They knew each other so well. Is it fine for me to intrude in it?'

As she was thinking that, she felt someone patting her head. She looked up to see Will who was gently smiling at her. He said innocently.

"Don't for even a minute think that you are an outcast. The Gods gave us this life to live as we like. Not brood. Besides you look cuter when you smile."

Mira just kept her hands on her face. No doubt she was blushing a bit after being complimented by someone other than his brother. Even the other girls seemed to twitch their eyes while the boys sighed. They all were thinking the same thing.

'Ah, such a smooth talker. But too bad, he is too innocent.'

When the dinner concluded, she ran to her room still blushing.

'Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.'

She could feel her heart racing a bit.

In the dining table though, Will looked confused.

"Was it something I said?"

All of them sighed in disappointment. Will was even more confused.

"What?"

Before he began coughing violently. All the children surrounded him in a worried manner. Will had closed his mouth while coughing. One could see trails of bloods trickling down his fingers.

"Damn...It's too soon."

He cleaned it up before looking at the worried gazes of his family. All of them were silent. One of the girls eventually asked.

"Really Will? What was the true reason why you let Mira join us? You know it will hurt her even more than us when the time comes."

Will sighed. For a minute or two an uncomfortable silence rose. Then Will finally said.

"......After what they had done to us, I gained a strange ability. I could sense something the dark, ugly emotions of people. That girl Mira, she is so innocent yet there is something truly nauseating trying to corrupt her. I failed...to protect all of yours 'innocence'. But I wish to- no want to protect her from it."

Will looked down in shame. But he could not hear the jeers he thought he would get. Instead he was hugged by everyone. One of the boys said.

"You always tried to selflessly protect us with the best of your ability. Who are we to deny your wish?"

"You guys....."

Will's eyes watered. Sonia said.

"Besides, she is a part of our family as well. She is as close to us as you are to us."

Then a hug ensured. A simple gesture but it felt somehow liberating.

Kimiko Pov

Kimiko frowned as she yet again inflicted yet another heavy wound. But the aura of malice surrounding it seemed to be supporting it by mending the armor. But Kimiko could see that the armor was about to break from the conflicting nature between it and the aura. Kimiko tried to probe it, maybe expecting some intelligent conversation but it seemed to utter only one word.

"GGgooOOooddDDDdss"

Kimiko sighed and asked as if to confirm something.

"What is it? Did the Gods screw you over as well?"

For the first time the monster stopped and looked at her. She was still a bit miffed over the earlier fiasco.

"I asked if those damned Gods screwed you, too?"

The figure hesitated for the first time. It seemed to have retained some intelligence as well. It knew that it could never beat Kimiko. Then it asked her in guttural voice.

"WwhattT AAabBout YYou?"

Kimiko just shrugged and crossed her arms.

"I just hate them from the bottom of my heart. I don't want to have anything to do with them. That's it."

The monster looked at her, trying to sense if she was lying or not. But it could not find even a shred of lie in her tone and stance. And her eyes, they bore a certain emotion, loathing. The monster replied,

"NnootT GgooOddS BuT sSOmeTHiNgg cLOose Tto It?"

It seemed to be confused as well.

Then a message popped up.

[Eleazar the Vengeful is requesting an Astral Communication. Would you permit it? Y/N]

Meh, she had nothing to lose so why not? Besides she might get some useful information. She accepted it. Then the time slowed down to a crawl. Astral realm was a kind of pseudo space constructed by two or more than two people to communicate with each other. However, it was only possible for someone who was spiritual by nature like spirits. At least one person should have such nature to establish a link so that the receptionist can enter the realm. The realm could be anything; after all it was the power of imagination that built it. Just like those summoned in pocket dimension, time would slow down here and no one could hurt each other in this realm.

Then she closed her eyes and opened again to find herself in vast open space where she could see the blue sky with strips of clouds spread all over the horizon. She was floating and she could see half destroyed building sticking out of what looked like the water because it rippled whenever she moved her leg and she could see the reflection of those buildings below.

"Quite interesting, isn't it? Unknown warrior."

She looked back to see a huge man, no demon with a pair of huge curved horns coming out of his forehead. He was at least 10-foot-high and his build was extremely similar to the monster. His face looked like those of Elves but it was pale like corpse. His body wasn't beefed like other demons. He seemed tame, his aura wasn't as malevolent as some demons she had encountered. Though she looked down at his reflection she could see that behind him there were uncountable numbers of people looking at her. Old, young, male, female, beastmen, sea folks, every kind of people were there. The man spoke again.

"We all thought you would be comfortable with the figure of someone you have fought so here I am."

Kimiko got straight to the point.

"So what did you call me for?"

"Nah, just for chatting. After all, spending years with these people does make me want to have a conversation with a normal person for once."

Kimiko raised one of her eyebrow.

"Hmmm, I am not 'normal' by definition, you know."

"A minor thing, I digress. Come have a seat."

And poof.

Two chairs appeared out of nowhere. One was big, the other was small. Kimiko sat on the small chair enjoying the view of the blue sky. So did the Demon. After a minute, a curious Kimiko asked.

"So what's a demon doing in Atlantis? Plotting something?"

The demon just chuckled as if that kind of question he was waiting for to be asked.

"Well, I just pursued knowledge whereas my kin pursued strength. After all a prince must be someone who has the strength to lead but alas I had none as the thirst of knowledge was too great. Eventually, I committed a taboo known to Demon kind."

As he sipped on a sake which appeared out of nowhere. She got herself a cola then.

"A taboo of drinking the blood of the Chaos God from the source itself. I wanted to be stronger, to not be discriminated as a bookworm, so I drank it. My father somehow got me to exile, not killed for my crime. There I met a travelling companion. A Nekomata who had the same thirst for power as I did for knowledge. We eventually travelled to Atlantis. It was a Kingdom that pursued knowledge. A steadfast kingdom that never discriminated even if you were a Demon like me. It was a place where I found a home."

Then he sighed in melancholy.

"I got married to a girl, the 2nd princess of Atlantis to be exact. We both felt like we were made for each other. Can you imagine? An exiled Demon prince marries a Princess of humans' race. Though it was strange how we, the demons, never hated the people of Atlantis like we hate the entire human race. Maybe it was because they were logical and rational unlike the religious fanatics and zealots. A year passed peacefully and for our anniversary I got my Nekomata companion, who was a general by then, to travel with me to hunt for a dangerous beast as a gift for my wife. I had worn my Legendary Tier armor and weapon for the first time after I got it as wedding gift from my Father-in-law."

Suddenly, his atmosphere changed from gentle to fierce. The cup in his hand shattered.

"When we returned, all hell was unleashed."

He then sighed sadly.

"There was something odd about that day. The winds were calm and the animals were silent. We saw the kingdom before us. But before we could enter Atlantis a dome appeared to cover all of it. I felt something akin to prickling, as if something much more powerful than Holy element was used. There is only one thing that is more powerful and holier than [Holy element]."

Kimiko replied.

"Divine."

The man nodded.

Theta Pov

She was still flustered by what Will had said. From that day onward she just stopped talking with him in childish anger. Whenever he tried to talk to her she just ignored him and pouted to the other side. Even Will was confused. Eventually he asked Sonia.

"Hey Sonia, what did I do that Mira is avoiding me?"

Sonia just sighed and said sarcastically.

"Well why don't you ask her yourself?"

"Really? Thanks!"

Then he ran away. Sonia was dumbfounded.

"Wait, you dumb brick!!"

But he was already gone. Sonia felt as if she had done something bad.

Will eventually found Mira drawing sketches. He appeared from behind looking at the sketches of ... himself?

"Hey Mira, Watcha' doin'?"

Mira shrieked.

"Eekkkkkk! Don't scare me like that!"

"But otherwise you would avoid me!"

"That's because you said something stupid!"

"Huh? What did I say?"

Mira seemed to be fidgeting and embarrassed.

"You....um....said that....I ...am cute."

"Huh? What's wrong with calling a cute person, cute?"

Ugh...She just stopped responding. It was official.

'He is as dumb as a brick.'

Time passed, everyday new topics seemed to be included in the studies. Topics like how to blend in the crowd, how to walk silently, how to train your senses were also being included. How to combat people as well as weak spots of things were being drilled to their head. Mira was getting really suspicious about this all whereas Will and the others looked more and more grim each day. They did not have the same energy as they had when they were all at the start of the year. It was already almost a year. The caretakers were looking at them and talking about something that sounded like 'Graduation Day' and looked at them in pity.

Then at the last day of the year they were announcing that they will all perform a Graduation Exam the next day and they will have to be ready.

Kimiko Pov

"But still I am not too sure whether it was some kind of divine intervention or not. I was in rage when huge Goliath appeared inside the dome we could not break and started to destroy everything. It was more than 1 km tall. It spewed out cold air so chilling that even I could feel even though I was few kilometers away from the Atlantis. It destroyed the kingdom before disappearing. Nothing was left of the kingdom. Everything froze solid before getting destroyed by even the tiniest shake."

Kimiko looked at her cola.

"So a [Frost Giant]."

The demon seemed to be confused.

"A [Frost Giant]?"

Kimiko nodded.

"One of the five Guardians of the World. To be more precise, the lap dog of Gods. One of the only two known Guardians. Myths stated that there are 3 more unknown out there, one is Frost Giant, the ancestor of all Giants and the other is Bahamut, the Dragon of Justice."

The Demon narrowed his eyes before sighing.

"I recall, we had the summoning crystal of Bahamut, didn't we? But it seems all our efforts would have come to waste. A beast such as that is bound to be over Lvl 700."

He sighed.

"Thank you warrior for giving me a closure. I never knew the name of the beast, the one who destroyed our kingdom."

Kimiko asked.

"Not to be rude but what happened after the attack on Atlantis?"

The Demon closed his eyes before replying.

"After Atlantis was destroyed, several reports said that similar creature appeared on every important city affiliated with Atlantis, destroying them all completely. Refugees flooded and at last even we were targeted. We had just taken refuge on an abandoned underground city. We salvaged all the resources we could before rebuilding it. But then the giant arrived. It found our way of hiding amusing before covering the entire region with ice. We only had resources to build, not eat. The soil? Unfertile. Our magic? The ice above drained our magic. It remnant formed the Magic crystal. We died slowly and in agonizing way. I was the last one. I made a coffin for each of our citizens and now you know the results."

Kimiko nodded and was contemplating on how to say.

"Ask what you must warrior. I can feel that our time is about to end."

"Then how did you.... meet the eye thing?"

The Demon looked surprised.

"Oh that! I .... honestly don't know. I only thought of it as an amalgamation of our desire. Truthfully when we demons are born, we have this nagging feeling in our head. The constant need for murder of sentient beings. That desire grew even tenser when I drank the blood of Progenitor. That nagging feeling manifested itself when I was the last one alive. When I wanted nothing more than to kill the thing responsible for the destruction of the kingdom. It promised all of us that it would grant our wish in exchange for our servitude in its bidding. We.....all accepted it."

Before shaking his head.

"Now that there is no reason to harm more innocent, let's just say that we found our peace."

Kimiko was confused.

"Why? Don't you want revenge? You all died in an agonizing way."

"Yes but we all understand it is futile. No matter how much we train or kill we can never reach those levels. So why harm the innocents? We can only ask of you that if you ever found it, give it hell."

"Why me?"

"Because I can feel it, in my guts that you are burdened with a destiny so grand that you don't have to look for trouble because the trouble will find you."

Kimiko sagged a little before nodding and she felt the world collapsing. When she blinked once she was face to face with the Demon in front of her 50 m away. After blinking again, she could see people, the refugees, behind the Demon. All of them were smiling at her before her vision turned white and she found herself back to the real world.

'It was informative to say the least.'

Then she saw the monster in front of her was collapsing, the malice oozing out of it was being swept away by unknown force. Dispersing. But she could hear the whisper of the Demon.

"Be careful of the Nekomata. He is vicious as well as cruel but he was my first friend. He still resents his situation more than us and can manifest without our help. He had sired many descendants outside the city so luckily some of them escaped the apocalypse. He had eyes on your companion for quite some time and I worry she is one of his kin. He will try to do anything to gain her body. If you want hear my advice kill your friend because she is no match for him. He, despite weakened, has plethora of ways to break her mind. It is quite possible that even she does not know that he is invading her."

Kimiko sighed and nodded.

And the malice present inside the bones disappeared completely, leaving the husk of an armor and weapon behind. It was in bad condition now that she looked at it. It seemed to be crafted using one of the rare Mythological Tier material known as Orichalcum which was blessed as well. If the armor had not been tainted by the malice, then surely it would have been one of the strongest Legendary Tier armor.

'Then now onto the other problem.'

She, the Nekomata, had stopped thrashing and struggling for some time.

The Adventurers were in awe. They just saw that 'he' had been pummeling the monster repeatedly before the monster stopped for some time and got destroyed. The height of 'his' power in their mind reached even further. Even the Elf was giving 'him' respect.

'To even defeat the monster that kept on regenerating without doing anything! What a terrifying person.'

One of the Adventurers eventually asked.

"Is there a vacancy left?"

She ignored him.