Chapter 302: Rumbling in the Deep
-----Ilfa's POV
Not only am I wracking my head over what Fabian said this morning, but now there's problems down in the dungeon? I honestly just want to figure out what Fabian meant by that, but I felt the sudden urge to just retreat from that room. I don't know why seeing them hold hands while saying all those things set me off, but I guess I can figure that out later.
I make my way to the dungeon's entrance to meet up with Tarifa and her men, trying to clear my thoughts on that matter.
Tarifa: "Sister!"
Ilfa: "What's going on?"
Tarifa: "That brat's trying to escape."
Ilfa: "He's should still under my magic's effects, right?"
Tarifa: "Yes."
I put a spell on the brat, altering his senses to make him go around in circles down there. It's quite useful in these kind of situations, as the magic lasts indefinitely until I remove it. But if he figures out that it's all just an illusion, then the magic is broken. Of course I came prepared and casted multiple layers of this magic, trying to trick his brain in thinking he's escaped, but in reality he'll still be going around in circles.
Tarifa: "Sister?"
Ilfa: "Monitor him. Do not send anyone down there, and notify me if anything changes."
Tarifa: "Wouldn't he pose a threat with this upcoming war?"
Ilfa: "I'll handle him if it comes to that. I'm sure you can deal with some humans, right?"
Tarifa: "Understood."
Even from all the way up here, I can still feel that brat's power. He's definitely not the weakling he was before when we first took him, and with that much power it's quite intimidating to be honest. But the fact that he hasn't even broken out of my illusion magic tells me all that I need to know. He's still just a boy, flailing around with his magic, it shouldn't be a problem. I would leave Tarifa to handle this, but I really want a distraction from Fabian at this point. What does he mean by "like?"
...
After leaving Tarifa with the supervision of that boy, I return to my quarters, laying down as I stare up at the ceiling.
(Fabian: "-I liked you.")
His words repeat in my head as I only feel more and more confused the more I think about it. He liked that I almost killed him several times? What is up with that? I jokingly called him a masochist, but I honestly think he is one if he's spouting such ridiculous claims like that. I'm glad Rina has fixed that brain of his, how could someone like being treated like that?
Suddenly, a sharp pain assaulted my chest, causing me to sit up and quickly examine myself. There aren't any injuries there which left me at a loss on what that pain was just now. Could it be that the brat's trying to break through my illusion? But if that's the case then I would've felt that in my head, not my chest...
Ilfa: "Strange..."
I lay back down after confirming my body's okay, letting out a deep sigh. I should just go down and just ask Fabian myself, that's the most logical thing to do... So then why am I not going? Why am I running away, looking for excuses?
Ilfa: "...Hahh~"
As I thought, if I'm doing nothing, I'll just be stuck thinking about it and getting nowhere. I need to cool my head.
...
I end up leaving the castle, stretching out my wings as I soar high above everything. Looking around, I'm quite proud of what I've accomplished. Strong beings such as dragons and giants have come to join me, all the way down to the small orcs and goblins. It's nice to see all of these different species all working together. To think I was alone back then...
It all started with Tarifa, my first companion, and my first friend. Some would say that it's cheating to just create a friend, but that's really all I could do. I needed someone that understood me, someone that doesn't immediately run in fear. Then came the dark elves. It might've started hostile with me forcing my way into their lives, but I'm happy with the way things have become. They're all getting along nicely now and even laughing together, something that I never saw before. And seeing them happy, brought me joy that I never knew I could feel. Then it all snowballed from there. The spiders soon joined as they're close allies with the dark elves, and soon enough I was seen as some kind of leader among them all, even though it all started with me just wanting friends. And now, I'm the leader among all these races. It wasn't what I signed up for when I punished the humans as I still have no idea how I'm managing everyone. All I wanted was to help my newly found friends.
But it wasn't all happy times. When I saw the humans trying to take out the spiders that have become part of my family, it pissed me off. Most of my life, and even now, I always wonder why humans want to be so dominating, killing anything that doesn't look like them. Why do they think it's okay to expand and take over someone else's land? They call us monsters as if that's an excuse to do such things. Quite hypocritical if you ask me. Shouldn't the ones terrorizing other people's lands be called the monsters?
Which is why meeting Fabian was such a pleasant surprise. Sure it might have started out a bit shaky, but it didn't take long for him to open up and begin to understand me and my kind. He even stopped calling us monsters and just refers me by my name. It's honestly...
Ilfa: "No!"
I came out here to not think about that! Why is he in my head so much today? And that pain in my chest assaulting me once again...
I end up picking up the pace, flying over to one of the walls as I look out over the vast forest. I still can't feel any humans, but I honestly wish they were here. At least then I could distract my brain and just focus on fighting. Maybe even snagging a few humans for later. Just then, that same pain stung my chest once more as I continue to fly above the wall. It's the third time now, and I know it's nothing serious. But whatever this is... It's quite overwhelming despite no wound showing up.
-----Leon's POV
Leon: "This is fucking ridiculous..."
I've been wandering around these halls for god knows how long. I've even tried just going straight as I can, but somehow I just end up back where I was with cells filled with blood and pieces of monsters scattered around. How can I go in one direction but end up wrapping back to where I was previously?
I try to break down the walls and the roof, but nothing budges no matter how hard I try. It's like I'm trapped in an impenetrable maze, lost in trying to figure out where the exit is. And I know for a fact there's an exit since there were monsters coming down before, they must've come from somewhere.
Spirits: "Why haven't you escaped yet? Do you wish to mock us?"
Leon: "What? Can't you see that I'm trying?"
Spirits: "If you're unable to free yourself from such a simple place, then we'll terminate your contract."
Leon: "Terminate?"
Spirits: "Yes. Your life would be null."
This isn't fair. So what, they aren't pleased with my efforts and are now threatening to kill me? I shouldn't have made this stupid contract... But that black haired demon... In the heat of the moment, I sought power that could help me take my revenge, torturing and killing her. But now that I've cleared my head a little, I've realized how stupid of a decision that was.
Spirits: "So? What will it be?"
Leon: "Give me more time. You expect me to understand how to control this power at the very start?"
Spirits: "Lucien understood quite quickly. I expected you to be the same."
Wait... These guys formed a contract with Lucien? So that's the reason why Lucien was so powerful and never aging. To think Lucien held these spirits in check for so long... Meanwhile I'm already being threatened on the first day.
Leon: "I'm trying my best. Just give me some time to figure all of this out."
Spirits: "...Very well."
Hearing their words washed away all the tension in my body as I let out a sigh of relief. Such scary spirits... But they must've chosen me for a reason. They can only make a contract with one person at a time, and with Lucien gone, I'm likely the next best person for it. But that still leaves me with this problem... How do I even get out of here?
Knowing that brute force won't work and running around will just lead me back to square one, I end up looking around, inspecting the walls and cells for any clues. I know some places have secret doorways that are disguised as walls, we have a few like that back in the castle, so maybe it's the same for this place. I also try and search the bodies of the monsters; or what's left of them that is, for anything that might be useful, like a key or something. But after searching around, I couldn't find any keys, which leaves me to search around, looking for a hidden exit of sorts.
Weekly Power Status
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