MVR Round 2 P3

Musing

Long ago, there existed a nation called Iaia, in which the land prospered, crops and resources provided from an unknown pit at the centre of the land known only as the Dungeon. For many years, the people of Iaia lived off of the Dungeon's fruits, for which life energy emanated from the pits to sustain the various crops growing on the surface.

However, one day, the Dungeon stopped supplying the nation with its energy, and soon the nation of Iaia suffered a large widespread famine. Crops would not grow, leading to a decline in food and medicine. Water was not purified, causing a widespread epidemic to plague the land. Because Iaia was secluded from the rest of the world, with little to no connection to the outside, the people of Iaia suffered for years, until one day, a group of seers and priests came together to pray to the gods for salvation and repentance.

For months on end, the priests came together and prayed to the gods, until one day, the goddess Demeter, along with her disciple, Paladin Koloth descended from the heavens to warn the mortals of the true nature of the Dungeon. The Dungeon was a massive labyrinth created in ancient times to house monsters, and as monsters died, their souls would ascend the Dungeon to the surface. However, due to the monsters being impure, they are unable to enter heaven, and so, instead, spread to the surface of the land, their life energy supplying the world through bountiful harvest. Over time, as the nation of Iaia continued using this resource, their numbers continued to climb, but the deaths of the monsters did not, causing a deficit in the life energy supplied to the land. To continue to live, the people of Iaia must descend the Dungeons to kill monsters.

Praising Demeter, the numerous people of Iaia swore their allegiance to the goddess, begging for her to stay and watch over their nation. Taken aback by the sincerity of the mortals, as well as feeling satisfied with the increase in her followers, Demeter decided to stay and watch over the people, tasking Koloth with establishing a Folia Level System after his fellow Paladin, Folianon, the Paladin of Harvest and blessing the mortals with the power to become stronger, and wield magic. Equipping the mortals with a means to fight monsters, soon, many became trained to become the first adventurers of Iaia.

However, as Demeter continued being worshipped, the other gods in the heavens were not happy with the attention Demeter was getting, and decided to descend to the mortal realm themselves to also obtain followers. Realizing the potential for another divine war, Koloth suggested the creation of Legions, groups of humans would choose the deity they want to worship, and the deity may choose those who would be fit to be their followers.

Soon, Legions began to form, with the big three, Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades, Legions being the strongest, and some Legions being smaller than others due to the certain deities being less prominent than others. And for many years, adventurers of these Legions would descend the Dungeon to hunt and kill monsters, becoming stronger and establishing a trade system for monster shards to validate their contributions to the land.

The gods would return to heaven, with the Legions continuing to frequent the Dungeons and to become stronger, until the nation of Iaia prospered by these adventurers. The day Demeter and Paladin Koloth had come down from the heavens became mere folk tales, after centuries of prosperity, and with this, the rise of adventurer legends soon dominated the scribes, such as Leonidas Swallowtail of the Hades Legion, being the only Level 12 adventurer in existence, and Alexander Rosewald of the Aphrodite Legion, the greatest swordsman in the entire land.

R4

Flashback

I trudged across the streets, my overcoat dragging across the floor, as the townsfolk of Iaia avoided me like the plague. There was a certain level of hierarchy in this land, which was what I learned in my two months of staying here.

When I warped into this land, I fell into the back of an alley, and within seconds, I was frisked by a bunch of homeless people. Upon seeing I had nothing on me, they beat me to a pulp in frustration. I roamed the area to get acquainted, before I set this entire nation on fire.

But before I could summon my devilish flames, those black flames that I had used to torch Leah's world, I was picked up by a boy, no older than 16. He had his hand outstretched to me.

"Hey. You look like you're in a rough spot. Are you hungry? Do you need something to eat?"

"Huh?"

I stared at the boy, who's face shone like an angel in the filth of the poor sector I ended up in.

"The name is Michael Flock. I uh, well. I'm trying to be an adventurer. Anyway, I serve the Vala Legion as its captain."

I stood up and smacked his hand away. There was no need to be friendly with these townsfolk. I didn't need this. I didn't need love.

After all, the last time I had given into love, I ended it. The only way I knew how. Ever since I destroyed Leah's home world, I went on a rampage. I could never trust myself to be in this spot again. After what I had done to Felix, it was pretty obvious what kind of scum I was. And there was nothing I could do about it, other than to keep playing the villain.

I limped away.

"The world doesn't work like that." I muttered, as Flock turned to me.

"I'm sorry?"

"I said, the world doesn't work like the way you think it does. Just because you're nice and do good deeds, does not mean the world will treat you kindly in return. It never does."

I extended my finger to Flock.

"You'll get screwed over for being kind."

Flock pursed his lips as he stood up.

"Then that's a risk I'm willing to take. No one deserves to live like this."

The next few days, Flock brought me into the Vala Legion.

"This is Samael. I uh, found him in the alley and he looked like he needed a home."

The other Legion members, five in total looked me up and down. They were initially distrusting of me, but eventually warmed up to me.

During those months, I learned to live under the same roof as them in an abandoned church.

Serah, a Level 1 Supporter Type, taught me how to do chores, since I wasn't an adventurer.

"Don't!" She shouted at me, as I paused.

"Don't mix the whites with the colours."

"Why not? They're the same-"

"The white colours won't stay the same."

Serah took the clothes away from me and gave me a stern look. I hesitated, as I looked away.

"Sorry." I muttered, as Serah giggled under her breath.

"It's okay."

My heart began to beat faster. Some kind of warm feeling spread inside me, something that I hadn't felt in a long time.

"Serah, you seem quite familiar with Samael here!" Trace said, as she put her arm around Serah. Trace was kind of like Serah's older sister. A Level 3 heavy sword user.

Trace waved at me, as the rest of the Legion filed in for the morning.

"Good to see you, Samael!"

I awkwardly waved back.

Of all my time, venturing the universes on my rampage, I had never had this feeling before. It was strange, but for once in my life, I felt like...

I had a place to belong.

That day, Flock took me to the adventurer's guild.

"You want me to be an adventurer?" I asked.

"Of course!" Flock said. "Everybody wants to be one. After all, being an adventurer is the first step to being a hero!"

I narrowed my eyes.

"A hero, huh."

"Yup." Flock replied, as he gazed at the large building at the centre of the nation. The Dungeon.

"Heroes are born from adventurers. My goal is to become a hero, just like Alexander Rosewald. So I can make Vala proud."

"You're not going to be a hero." I replied.

Flock laughed. "Ever so cynical, Sammy."

"Don't call me Sammy. I'm just saying. No one likes the Vala Legion. We're practically nobodies even in the divine hierarchy. Heroes come from those who push past their limits, almost all of them come from the Big Three. Or the Aphrodite Legion. Bottom feeders like us have no place."

We went to the adventurer's guild and the lady inspected me.

"Name?"

"Samael."

"Just Samael?"

"Yeah."

The lady had me fill out a bunch of stuff.

Flock noticed I left a lot of it blank.

"Hm? You didn't go to school or anything? No nursery? No birthdate?"

"No. All of that information's been gone ever since I went nomad."

Flock put his hand on my shoulder.

"Well, now you do have a place, Sammy."

Another rush filled me. It felt irritating, but for some reason, it seemed to warm me up. In a pleasant way. And I didn't understand why.

"Okay. Now place your hand here." The lady instructed.

I hesitated.

"Why?"

"It's to gage out your power. I want to see how powerful you are in comparison to the Folia Adventurer Metric."

"Folia Adventurer Metric? Like the Levels?"

Flock nodded. "Yeah. Most people start out as Level 1. But that all depends on how strong the adventurer is. I mean, Leonidas Swallowtail of the Hades Legion is the strongest adventurer in existence, and he started out as Level 3. Which was ridiculous. He's Level 12 now."

"I see."

I put my hand on a wooden plate, as the lady began adjusting it, runes appearing.

"This device will assess your maximum power, and will assign you a Level and a rank." She said. Her voice seemed bored out of her mind, like she had done this a million times.

CLASS: Sorcerer, Spell-based Mage.

"Nice!" Flock said, pumping his fist.

"A mage! That would be so useful in our party!"

The device continued clicking and clacking when suddenly, it stopped.

The lady turned back to the device and paused, taking off her glasses.

"Umm, Miss Bethel? What's going on? You don't look so good." Flock asked.

Bethel stared at the device, which began to smoke and pop.

"This... has never happened before. Please excuse me." She said, as she got up and hurried into the back, as adventurers in the guild turned around to look at us.

I knew this was bound to happen. I didn't need to hide my power. If the secret went out, I might as well just destroy this place and move on to the next. As usual.

That's how it usually goes.

I always think I have a place. But it never works out.

That day with Leah and Felix, was the last straw. It was the final reminder I had that in the end of it all, as long as I was an Astral, I would always be considered a monster. But I would rather be that, than to deal with my life in my real body.

The door creaked open, as an elderly woman beckoned me.

"Samael. Come with me."

I followed her as Flock insisted on coming along.

Bethel put her hand on his arm.

"Are you sure you want to hear this?" She asked.

Flock nodded, determined. "Sammy is one of us."

We sat down on the couch, as the old lady regarded me critically.

"Samael. Sorcerer class adventurer."

"Yeah."

"Bethel tells me the power gage box malfunctioned and was destroyed upon assessing your power."

Flock stared at me.

"What? Does that mean Sammy is super strong?"

The old woman closed her eyes.

"It could be. But in our many years of working in this guild and recruiting new adventurers, the box has never reacted to an adventurer in this way. The closest was by the legend himself, Leonidas Swallowtail, which caused the box to vibrate. But in your case, Samael, it exploded. So instead, I will be the one to assess the fullest extent of your abilities. Come to me."

The woman stretched her hands and laid them on my face, as I felt something leave me, entering her. Like a portion of my power was now linked to hers.

The old lady was calm at first, but suddenly, began to sweat. Sweat and sweat as her face went from expressionless to shocked.

Bethel instantly got up and unsheathed her sword, as Flock stumbled back in a panic.

"No. Bethel. Sheathe your weapon." The lady ordered, as Bethel reluctantly put it back.

The lady removed her hands as she ordered us to sit.

"Why have you come here, Samael?"

The mood turned tense, as Bethel kept her distance.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

The lady looked at me, sternly.

"Why are you here."

"I don't understand-"

"Why have you decided now of all times to destroy our land?"

Flock stared at me in horror.

"What... no. This is a mistake. You are mistaken. Sammy would never-"

Yes. I would. I knew this was going to happen. I knew it all along.

My many months spent in the Vala Legion. I thought I had a place to belong, but like all the other worlds I had been in, something would happen, forcing me out. After what happened with Leah, I gave up, and just decided to skip that noise, and go straight to the destruction.

But this place, Iaia. I wanted to give it a shot, and the same thing.

The same fucking thing was happening again.

The woman stood up.

"There is nothing I can do or say. If you want to destroy this land, there is nothing I can do to stop you."

Bethel rushed to the lady's side.

"What is he?" She said, as Flock stood at the door, his knees trembling.

I faced the three people in the room, as the woman lifted a finger and pointed it to me.

"The Prophecy from Guren."

Bethel's eyes widened.

"No..."

Flock stumbled. "What is this prophecy? What are you guys talking about?"

The old woman poured a drink and downed it.

"This world is ruled by humans and monsters. That is what we believed for the longest time, and that the monsters followed no leader. Until the emergence of Lilith, the First Demon Lord, the first widespread destruction, an immense horde of monsters that terrorized the land. Then, a few centuries later, it was discovered that Lilith was not the only Demon Lord to exist. Then came Naamah, the first widespread solar drought, where the lands were plagued with fire. Then centuries after that, came the existence of Baphomet, the first widespread plague of violence, where humans all across the world went into war."

"Now, centuries later, the prophets of Guren predicted a fourth."

The woman pointed at me.

"The Fourth Demon Lord of Iaia, would appear in this world, and bring it upon catastrophe. And now, I fear, that this prediction has come true.

"Standing before us, is one of the six Demon Lords of Iaia."

"Demon Lord Samael."

Sweat raced down the back of my neck.

It was all over.

I calmly brushed my hand.

"I guess that's that then. Umbral Py-"

"EVEN SO." Flock shouted, as he stood between us. I gasped, as all I could see was Flock's armour.

"Sammy is my friend. He is part of our Legion. I don't care if he even is a Demon Lord. He's one of us."

Flock turned to me, as he smiled. Emotion welling up inside me.

"He's family."