“He’s an interesting subject, sir,” the Doctor reports to the figure. “Unfortunately, I only got the shadows’ partial control over him--his rage. I’m afraid I have no clue as to what kind of shadow fiends he will attract.”
“Interesting, I’ll see what I can do with that,” the figure exclaims with that same deadly tune in his voice.
“David, are you all right?!” Hamon asks as the guard shoves David back into the cell.
“Those bastards! Whatever they did to David was far worse than what they did to us,” Adoa shouts with anger.
“I was afraid they would do this,” Nikud mumbles to herself.
“What do you mean?” Adoa yells. “What did they do?” He demands an answer.
Nikud ignores him. “Put him on the bed!” she orders.
Puzzled, Hamon and Adoa lift the weak David onto the bed. Nikud removes David’s shirt.
“What are you doing?” Hamon asks.
“As I thought, they forced David to unlock shadow nature,” Nikud remarks with a worried look as she recognizes signs of shadow nature in David’s skin.
“How do you know?” Adoa asks.
“I’ve seen humans that have already fallen to darkness before,” Nikud explains. “That’s the reason they would die, with or without our clan’s help. Fortunately, it seems as though David managed to resist it. Otherwise they wouldn’t have brought him back.”
“Why didn’t they just finish the job then?” Adoa asks.
“That, elf, I do not know,” Nikud responds with a worried look.
“Where am I?” David mumbles to himself.
“David! You’re finally awake! It’s been eight hours!” Hamon exclaims, smiling with relief.
“I knew a warrior like you wouldn’t give in to the likes of them!” Adoa adds.
“Wait, where’s Nikud?” David asks.
“Right here,” Nikud murmurs.
Looking up, David sees Nikud licking his head.
“Look, you were heating up! I was doing it for your own good!” Nikud explains, blushing.
David releases a sigh of relief. “Ah, thanks, Nikud. I felt like I was going to die in that room,” David admits, panting as he struggles to sit up.
“Woah, easy, tough guy. Any normal human would have died from hours of that treatment. Don’t beat yourself up,” Nikud assures David.
A few days pass uneventfully. David, Nikud, Hamon, and Adoa are left to sit in their cell, talking every once and a while to pass the time.
David feels different though, struggling to stay sane with the shadow nature now trying to take control of his body. It takes a lot of David’s effort to keep the shadows at bay and not fall into his rage.
“I’ve seen this before. Most humans that receive shadow nature don’t even last 24 hours. On the other hand, I know you are stronger than any human I’ve ever seen,” Nikud tells David.
“Shadow nature? Is that one demon known as the Doctor the reason I have it?” David asks.
“Actually, no. Were you wounded by the demon stalker that took you?” Nikud asks.
“Yes, why?”
“Well that’s when you received the shadow nature then. You are officially the only human I’ve met that has survived this long with shadow nature in their body,” Nikud states.
“Oh, I know another,” David comments.
“Who?”
“My leader and friend, Ron. He was also wounded by the demon stalker that attacked us. If I’ve survived this long with shadow nature, then he most likely has too,” David declares with a serious face.
“Mmm, I need you to cooperate with me for a second,” Nikud commands as she starts to exert pressure on David’s shoulders with her palms.
“What are you doing?” David asks in surprise.
“The shadow nature takes a while to get used to, so for now you need to be relaxed,” Nikud explains. David hesitates, surprised. “Look, I’m doing this to help you! Be grateful!” Nikud snaps with a pout.
“Ok, ok, sorry,” David groans.
“Nikud’s hands start to glow with a strange aura. It doesn’t appear to be the power of a nature. She applies this aura around David’s back.
“Wow, his muscles are huge,” Nikud thinks to herself. “Wait, what am I thinking?! Stop it, Nikud! You are doing this simply to help him!”
“Well, I don’t really get it, but thank you, Nikud! I’m actually feeling a little better already!” David admits with a grin.
“W-Well, that’s good,” Nikud murmurs. “Um, actually, there is one other thing I can to to help you,” she suddenly adds.
“Oh yeah? Well go ahead. I trust you,” David responds as he turns his back to Nikud.
Nikud starts to massage David again. However, while doing so, she suddenly turns her head to where Hamon and Adoa are sitting and silently signals them to hold David down.
“What? What are you-” Hamon asks, then suddenly smiles.
“What? What did she-?” Adoa starts to ask.
“Oh yeah, Adoa! She held me down with such force! I can’t believe she did that,” Hamon states aloud while silently pointing toward David with a wink.
“Oh, I gotcha. So how did she hold you down?” Adoa blatantly responds as he and Hamon slowly start to walk toward David.
“Well, it was an interesting technique, I’ll tell you that,” Hamon answers.
“What are those idiots doing?!” Nikud thinks to herself with a sigh. “Oh, come on! Just do it!” Nikud blurts out.
“Do what?” David asks with a confused look on his face. He turns to see Hamon and Adoa standing before him. Before David can say anything Adoa and Hamon suddenly tackle David, holding him down on the ground face first. “Guys! What are you doing?” David’s confused, muffled voice demands.
“Just hold him still. This will only take a few seconds,” Nikud orders, suddenly breathing in and out in a concentrated manner. She then whispers a chant before striking David’s back with her palm. A wave of her aura pierces through David’s back.
“Ouch! What the hell?” David yells as Nikud strikes him six more times.
“Sorry, David, just doing what Nikud said,” Hamon exclaims with a shrug as he and Adoa release David.
“Oh, man, my back hurts now. What did you do?” David mumbles tiredly, looking up at Nikud.
“That should calm the shadow nature down. Trust me--it will help--my will power has numbing properties,” Nikud replies with a sassy stare.
“Well, I’m fairly confused, but now that you mention it, I do feel a little calm,” David agrees as he stands up.
“Anyone else just realize that David towers above us?” Hamon points out with a slightly worried look.
“Haha, you pin me down and you don’t even ponder what would happen next?” David jokes.
“If you do anything to Hamon...” Adoa warns.
“Haha, it was a joke, but I will say that you guys need to work on your acting!” David teases with a laugh. “But anyways, thank you, Nikud. I don’t know what would’ve happened to me if you hadn’t been here.”
“W-What? W-Well glad to help,” Nikud replies demurely.
After some time, the cell door finally opens. The figure David remembered from the torture strolls in.
“Hello again! My name to you is simply the Warden, and from this point on... you are mine!” the figure exclaims with that same demented laugh.
The four prisoners are herded into a hallway, leading up to a door. “Oh, you thought you were done fighting?! You haven’t seen anything yet!” the Warden remarks, pausing at the door. “Meet your new enemies!” the Warden shouts as he opens the door.
David and the others are shoved into a cafeteria-like room full of prisoners of many races. They all stare at the new prisoners being shoved in.
“Aye look! A fresh batch of newbi
es!” a bunch of reptions remark, surrounding the group.
“Look, no hard feelings, but we really don’t like new competition!” one of the reptions shouts.
“So, let’s just get the fighting over with now!” another one taunts.
“What do they mean!” Hamon asks.
Adoa goes to cover Hamon. “These bastards wanna fight, huh!” Adoa exclaims, bringing his fists up.
“We have been brought to the Prisoner’s Arena,” Nikud explains under her breath. “They want to kill us before we have a chance to rise in status here.”
Three reptions suddenly charge ahead of the others, too impatient to wait for the signal. “These guys don’t look so tough!” one yells as they charge the newcomers.
Nikud suddenly pounces on one of the early attackers, pinning it to the floor. Before it can even react Nikud claws its face out.
The other two creatures head for Hamon and Adoa. One dives for Hamon but Hamon suddenly jumps straight up in the air. The confused reption looks up at him.
“Over here, bastard!”
The reption looks back down to see Adoa’s fist. Adoa clobbers the reption, sending it flying back to the group.
The last of the three aims for Adoa.
“Aw, buddy, making the same mistake as your friend?” Adoa remarks with a smirk.
The confused reption suddenly receives a kick to the head. “Come on, people always forget the younger brother,” Hamon says with a pout as he sticks the landing.
“Idiots. I just knew that they were dangerous,” one of the remaining reptions grumbles.
“Damn, you guys are good,” David compliments his friends.
“Well, thank you, but let’s not celebrate just yet,” Adoa calls out as the remaining seven start to attack.
Nikud tries to pounce on one, but the others force her back with wild kicks. Adoa and Hamon also have trouble. The reptions won’t give them enough room to fight together. They force David, Nikud, Adoa and Hamon into a corner.
David starts to feel strange, like he’s being overwhelmed. “I-I- can’t let them hurt my friends. I have to
protect... Nikud!” David chants in his head. David screams a loud war cry at the top of his lungs.
Everyone turns to David, but he is no longer standing in the corner where he was just moments ago. Instead, David suddenly appears behind all seven reptions. Before the seven can even react, David unleashes a punch covered in immense shadows due to his sudden rage. The blow instantly crushes all seven of the reptions.
The entire room goes silent, the other prisoners watching with slight interest. Then idle chatter resumes, as if nothing happened.
“David--hello, David?” Hamon says, trying to get David’s attention. David is unresponsive, breathing slowly, desperately trying to calm down.
“Those damn guards... they wanted that to happen,” Adoa grumbles, his fists clenched in frustration.
“I don’t know what happened. I felt like I had no control of my body. Yet at the same time I felt more powerful than I could comprehend,” David mumbles as he holds his hand to his face, his body trembling.
“I see that your theory was right, doctor,” the Warden states.
“Yes, it turns out this human’s shadow nature is awakened by rage,” the Doctor replies.
“Let us continue to push him off the edge then,” the Warden remarks.
A guard suddenly sprints toward the two demons. “Sirs, we have a situation!” A demon stalker stumbles into the room as the guard finishes its sentence.
“What in the Nine Hells happened to you?” the Doctor asks as he examines the demon stalker’s injury.
“I-I ran into the same human that I couldn’t capture before. He had a strange weapon. Its shout inflicted this damn wound upon me,” the demon stalker groans as it holds its jaw.
“What an interesting weapon...” the Doctor ponders. “It won’t let you regenerate like normal. The attack must have been infused with some intense nature.”
“It must have been shadow nature then. I didn’t think my prey would develop his own technique so quickly,” the demon stalker struggles to explain. The Warden lets out his demented laugh.
“I think a prophecy is soon to be written,” the Warden suggests.
“Who would have thought that a human would be a Homathreas,” the Doctor ponders.
“We must prepare for war,” the Warden declares as he gazes upon David. Pure evil shines from his eyes.
Chapter Eleven
The Elves’ City of Malros
I look around. “I’m back to my old home? Was that all a dream?” I ask myself. Suddenly, a door opens to reveal a lady.
“Wake up, Ron,” the lady calls out.
“Scarlet?” I mumble before I wake up from the dream. “Oh, that’s right, we made it to the elves’ city. I wonder how Joshua and Rose are doing?” I think as I sit up. “Damn I’m sore,” I mumble, rubbing my arm. “But man, why did I dream of that...” I wonder. Then I hear a knock at the door.
“Um, um, sir. Are you awake?” a faint voice asks.
“Um, yes... come in.” The door creaks open to reveal a small elf girl standing at the doorway. “Do you need something?” I ask the elf.
“Oh, um, K-King Terashi said that I would be your servant and guide from this point on,” the elf says. She starts to squirm a little, raising her arm to slightly cover her face.
“You look scared... is something wrong?” I point out.
“Ah, u-um no. I’m sorry--it’s just that... I’ve never seen a human before,” she explains. At this I can’t help but laugh a little.
“W-what’s so funny?” she mutters with a little pout.
“Oh, forgive me. It’s just that I’m still getting used to the fact that most people don’t know what a human is,” I explain with a smile. The girl eases up upon hearing this.
“What do you mean, sir?” the girl asks.
“Well, I’m not of this world, I’m from Amaria,” I proudly declare.
“Amaria, what’s that?” the girl asks.
“Well, Amaria is the world that I grew up in. It’s a world full of humans just like me,” I explain, pointing at myself. “It has many cities, most covering a vast desert. There are also large forests like the one outside of this city. There are usually no clouds. Unlike Amaria, this world seems to have a lot of clouds all the time.”
“Wow, that sounds amazing!” the girl exclaims. Her once fearful eyes now shine with amazement.
“It is. I personally think that this world of Sarrus is pretty amazing too! I mean there are so many different things to discover!” I declare with a grin. “But anyways, did you need something?”
“Well since I’m now your servant, I’m supposed to help you with multiple things. If you want I can help you get ready,” she offers as she starts to remove my blankets.
“W-W-Wait, I’m not wearing anything!” I quickly explain. I manage to grab her arm before she removes my blanket, which would have revealed my... lower body. Her small, innocent face turns a shade of red I didn’t even know existed.
“I-I-I’m terribly sorry sir!” she exclaims as she runs out of the room. “I-I’ll wait out here!”
After I get dressed I exit the room.
“Again, I am so sorry for what just happened. P-P-Please don’t hit me,” the girl begs as she covers her face. Now that I take a closer look, her face is a little bruised, and her clothes are dirtied.
“Whoa, don’t worry, I won’t hit you. If anything, that was a little funny,” I assure her with a little chuckle.
“Y-You’re not going to hit me?” she asks.
“Of course not! So, stop covering that face of yours!” I exclaim.
“W-Well... ok then,” she mumbles as she lowers her hands. As she does this I reach out and wipe the dirt from her face with my sleeve.
“S-Sir what are you doing!? You are getting dirt on your sleeve!” she protests.
“What? This old thing? It’s been through a lot. A little dirt is nothing,” I reply with a smile. “Oh, but I do have a question,” I add.
“Oh, please ask me anything sir,” the girl assures me.
“Do you know where my friends are?”
“Mmm, I don’t know who your friends are, but if they came with you last night then they should be in the dining hall,” she explains as she beckons me to follow her. She leads me down a large hallway filled with pictures and portraits.
“Jeez, if I was still an immature kid I’d burst into laughter with just a glance at those ears,” I think cheerfully to myself as I glimpse some of the old portraits. Soon we reach the dining hall.
“Good morning, sir!” Joshua calls out to me. “You must try this elf food! It’s very good!”
When she sees Joshua, the servant girl cowers behind me.
“Don’t worry. Even though he looks scary, he’s actually very kind,” I assure her. She steps out from behind me, though she still looks a little nervous.
“Please sit down, sir. I’ll get your meal,” she offers as she walks off through a doorway. She soon comes back with a plate full of what seems to be some kind of pastry, a oddly-shaped fruit, and butter.
“At least I recognize the butter,” I think to myself. “Wow! This is really good!” I say after I bite into the pastry.
“Isn’t it!? Beats eating plants all the time! But don’t tell Rose I said that,” Joshua whispers.
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” I reply with a smile. “This is very good! Did you make this?” I ask the elf girl.
“W-Well yes... I usually take care of anything that guests need,” the girl answers.
“That sounds like a lot of work?” I point out.
“The palace doesn’t usually have that many guests. Do not worry sir, it’s nothing I can’t handle,” the girl states as she begins to sweep the floor.
“So how was your sleep, sir?” Joshua asks.
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