LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 034
Henry brandished his mystical wings amidst the black inferno that was enveloping the entirety of the cliff. Though he was immune and impervious to flames, the heat was beginning to pull on his ire and so was the blaze that was obtrusive to her sight. With a single huge beat of his wings, he extinguished most of the dark flames, enough for him to breathe in the fresh air and enjoy the chill breeze of the light snowy weather.
Where did that damn bitch go?
It was the first thing Henry did. He looked around, searching for Rayne.
When I find her, I will—
His vengeful vow came to a sudden halt when he shuddered and frowned after catching the pungent smell of the charred carcasses of the Aragnias. It snapped him out of a strange stupor. He was finally registering the sight around him that was the remaining black flames and the devastation caused by his Inferno Breath. The vast patch of grass was now just a field of blackness.
I-I did this…?
Henry looked around some more as the colour of his hide reverted back to his usual dark red and the veins stopped glowing. Everywhere he looked, there were only the remnants of an unbridled fire. The memories of the last few hours came tipping back into his mind. He was fully aware of his actions. He had absolute control over his body but not his emotions.
He remembered how angry and furious he was. He remembered the apathy he had for everything else but the girl, Rayne, who enthralled him. He remembered all the destruction he wrought just to get that girl. He remembered the people he hurt in order to get to her.
Oh god… Just how many have I killed…? Am I a murderer now? But they are not humans. Does that still count as murder?
Henry strained his mind, digging through his memory to find how many lives he had taken.
….None. I didn’t kill anyone. They were just… hurt. Yeah… hurt.
He had no way to verify this but somehow, he understood he did not kill anyone. Not directly, at least.
Just what the hell was that… I was extremely emotional and impulsive, more so than usual… That girl said she wasn’t the perpetrator. But who else could it be?
He dug deeper into his memories, trying to find the reason for that state he was in and he didn’t dig too deep before he arrived at the obvious answer.
I should have known… Demonic… They even called me a Demon. I should not have eaten that Demon’s Murux Core. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Why the fuck did I ate it? Have you learned nothing from the fiction you have consumed, Henry?
Though he reprimanded himself severely, he knew he would just do the same thing again even if time was rewinded. The promise of strength and power was just too much to resist and the Demon’s Murux Core was the greatest he had ever consumed. He felt so much stronger after he consumed the Demon’s heart. The rapid healing factor was an incredible benefit, one that he was extremely grateful for. If he didn’t have it, he reckoned he would still be in the plains, recovering from his fall injuries while being surrounded by predators trying to get a bite of him.
What to do now…
Henry mulled in his heart, looking around once more. He could simply fly away and he felt like he owed the Zeras an explanation for his behaviour. They didn’t try to harm him before he attacked them. In fact, they were admonishing Rayne’s deeds. They did not approve of her actions at all. He knew that then but he attacked them all the same.
Should I go down and apologise and explain everything? Hmm… What if they used that chance to rope me into their internal strife or something? Is it even my fault to begin with?
Before Henry could come to a conclusion, he felt an overwhelming presence bearing down on his body and also his very soul. Strangely enough, the presence felt incredibly familiar but he just couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He wasn’t frightened or daunted by the oppressive presence as he didn’t feel any animosity from it.
“You gave me a good scare, Henry,” said a feminine voice.
Ironically, Henry leapt away from the voice in shock, startled. “What the fuck!?” he cried. He turned his gaze to the voice and found a girl with long amber hair in a maroon sundress, sitting on a boulder while hugging her knees.
“I thought I was going to lose you, Henry. Had you been consumed by the darkness, I would have regretted choosing you.”
“Choosing me? W-who are you?” he asked.
“You don’t remember… Well, of course, you don’t. It was a very overwhelming and traumatic experience for you.”
Though Henry’s memory drew a blank on the girl’s identity, he quickly came up with a guess by referencing the cliches he knew very well. “Are you the goddess who’s responsible for my current circumstances?”
The girl raised her brows. “Oh, you remember?”
“Not everything but I do remember the fictional crap I have consumed in my old life. This is the cliche after all.”
The girl giggled. “You are absolutely right about that. My name is Nadea and I am the Dragon God of Arbitration.”
Henry scoffed. “Well, what are the fucking odds of that… Can things get any banaler?”
“It will but then again, fiction is the product of reality's inspiration. Say, you truly don’t remember?”
“Remember what?”
“How you came to be… a Dragon?”
“I truly don’t, Nadea. Will you be telling me or will you conceal the truth from me and only reveal it when the so-called appropriate time comes?”
Nadea tittered. “Oh, I can tell you right now but… I’m afraid you might go insane. As I said, it was a very—”
“Overwhelming and traumatic, I know. But I don’t care. The uncertainties have been eating away at my mind for quite some time now and I certainly won’t be having a good night's sleep if I don’t get my answer when it’s so close to me right now.”
Nadea smiled sorrowfully. “I doubt you can sleep at all if you knew.”
“I don’t care. If it’s an ugly truth, then I rather have it than keep living on in the sweet lie. So, tell me already, damn it!”
She chuckled. “Very well. I’ll tell you but if your mind can’t handle it, I’ll be erasing this moment, this part of your memory.”
“Do what you will then if that's the case. Quit stalling now.”
“Alright, then. To start off, you died, Henry.”
Henry snorted. “I know that much. That is the template.”
“You died from a stray bullet.”
Henry clutched at his chest upon feeling a throb. “A stray bullet? From what and who?”
Nadea sighed. “The Demons invaded your former world, your home world. And yes, the Demon that you fought, defeated, and consumed its heart.”
The memories from before came surging back and Henry fell on his belly as he clutched his head with his forelimbs. He could hear the screech of the Demons and the blazing of guns in the fainting background.
“It’s a very stupid and bold thing to do, by the way. Eating the Demon’s Murux Heart, I mean. If you didn't have a trace of divinity in you, you would have been taken over by it. But thanks to me, you got off with just having intense mood swings. Well, you can keep eating them as long as you don’t eat too much in a single serving.”
Henry glared.
“In just a month’s time, the entirety of your former world was overwhelmed by the Demons. The military of your old world fought desperately but to no avail. You were a soldier, conscripted. You died on your first tour at the hands of your fellow soldiers because they couldn’t aim for shit.”
“W-what about my family? What happened to them?”
“Dead, most likely. You weren’t able to establish any contact with them.”
Henry grimaced, clutching his head tighter as those painful memories surged back into his head. After taking a few deep breaths, letting the agony simmer, Henry continued with his inquiries. “How did I become what I am now?”
“I was watching over your world, trying my damndest to find a solution to save your old world but the Muruxius count of your old world is too low.”
“What does that mean? The Muruxius count is too low to be saved?”
“The density of Murux. If it’s high, I could turn the humans into… superhumans, enhanced humans, augmented ones, mutants, mages, hunters, or whatever you want to call them. But I couldn’t because the Muruxius count is too low.”
“Aren’t you a god? Can’t you intervene or is this a cliche again?”
Nadea laughed. “It’s always the same stupid question but somehow no one could think of the answer.”
“Yeah, we’re all kinds of stupid.”
“I’m merely projecting a very small part of me unto you and you already felt overwhelmed and oppressed by it. Now imagine what would happen to the world if I meddled directly in the mortal world. I would destroy the world faster than the Demons could. My intervention would be pointless. That’s why we gods, the Divines, appoint champions, emissaries, in our stead. They are representatives of our name, purpose, integrity, and honour.”
“You conscripted me?”
“It was a mutual agreement.”
“Why me? What makes me special?”
“Your Muruxius count, Henry.” The answer came immediately from the Nadea’s lips. “For a magic-less world, your Muruxius count is astonishingly high, but only in your body. Unfortunately, your life came to an end before you could awaken your potential. I refuse to let an excellent specimen like you go to waste, which is why I chose you."
“And I agreed?”
“It was a mutual agreement. You were in anguish and despair. I gave you a purpose. You wanted retribution and I gave you the means. I made you into my champion and my apostle, giving you life. I sent you to this world to allow you to adapt to your new… biology and physiology. In return, you would do my bidding and that is to cull these Demons.”
“So… these past few weeks are just something of a trial run?”
“It’s more of a tutorial than a trial-run. This place won't disappear once you are out of the tutorial phase, so you can be at ease about that.”
Henry was silent. He was just staring at the ground with a blank expression.
“Henry? Are you alright?”
“I still don’t remember,” he said. “But I recall tiny bits. The Demons killed my family and destroyed my old world… How could I be alright?”
“Well, you’re not losing your shit, so that’s something. As long as you don’t go on a mindless rampage, I count that as being alright.”
Henry stared at Nadea and narrowed his gaze. “Why do you appear in front of me now of all times? Does this mean I'm ready?”
“Not quite but time waits for no one. It's a little premature but it’s time for your first assignment.”
“I’m ready.”
“I know you will have reservations about this and— Wait, what did you say?”
“I said I’m ready.”
“That was… unexpected. Are you always this gullible?”
“It’s not gullibility. I love this world in spite of the few shortcomings, but I love this world all the same. I don’t want to see it be ruined like my old world. The sooner I can take care of the Demons, the better off I will be with my mind. Besides, consider this payment the second opportunity you have provided me.”
“I see…” Nadea giggled. “I appreciate your enthusiasm but this assignment will be taking place in another world.”
Henry blinked. “Say what now?”
“You will be going to another world.”
“Why don’t you find another champion in that world instead of coveting a champion from a different world?”
“You are my champion. I’m not coveting you. I’m assigning you your first official task as my champion. And the power of a god, even if it’s just a small amount, cannot be given without careful consideration or scrutiny. This world you will be going to, falls under my governance, temporarily at least. So as my champion, you are obligated to feel responsible for that world too.”
Henry scoffed in disbelief. “Can I at least know what kind of world I will be diving into?”
“This world you will be going to is a place quite like the twenty-first century world you are familiar with but with a whole lot of variations and deviations.”
Henry was mildly speechless. “...So it’s Earth?”
“It’s Earth but not quite Earth. You’ll see my meaning when you get there.”
“What of this world then? What happens if the Demons come attacking when I’m gone?”
“You have the Kivus, Lavans, Zeras, and Augrus here. And don’t underestimate the native creatures and monsters of this world. You have yet to see what they are really capable of.”
Henry was able to breathe easily after knowing this.
“But the world you will be going to has no means of defence against the Demons, which is why you will be going there in the first place. So, I ask you again, Henry, are you ready?”
“To hunt the bastards who destroyed my old world, I will always be ready. But I do have one question."
"That is?"
"Will I be going in this form?” Henry motioned at himself.
Nadea tittered. “Of course, not, Henry.”
