CHAPTER 2: Fleeting Escape
◇ 1 Cress is like the mascot here XD
Part of me was obliterated, that was something I have feared for long. And to have a way to take care of us, is already within my expectations but to be this early in implementing it. Something must've happened, Or made them rush.
Anyways, I was planning to hide Cress safely by merging his core to the Blade of my single sided sword. I know this may sound forceful, but this sword is the only that could take that instant blast without breaking is the only part of me that can survive a total obliteration. I know this because the handle I had left on my previous body survived.
I was thinking of giving this sword as a present to Cress in the future, but I think now is the right time to do so. Pulling out the blade piece out of my chest, I then tightly hugged Cress and kissed him on the forehead, before proceeding with the procedure only I can do.
"Sorry Cress, please forgive me"(Flûgel)
Having casted a spell that could make Cress unconscious during the operation, I carefully grabbed his Core by thrusting my hand into his chest and as I brought it outside his ‘flesh’, his flesh became liquid and fell into the ground as if a water had lost its container. The clothes I had hand knitted to fit his body, fell into the ground along with the water, and was left as it is. I don't have the time to recover them as of now, so I just clicked my tongue as I ran away.
Now with his core safely in my hands, I brought it closer to the blade and poured my own magic to start the process. The blade itself had no handle, as it was just a blade, and it was about 9inches in length and 1.5 in width, in other words a broken blade.
His core merged slowly into the blade as I ran around the trees, jumping from branches to another. It was surprisingly taking a lot longer than the previous attempts I had done with the monster cores commonly found here. Feeling as if time were moving fast, I accidentally poured too much magic. I was hastily performing it, and as a result of that, I made a big mistake that could endanger cress later on.
I was aiming for a partial merge, which is reversible later on if the danger subsides, but looking at my hands, his core had fully merged with the blade itself. Still there is no time to regret failures as we are being chased. I tightly hugged the blade(Cress) and silently hid it inside my chest. At least this way, Cress can survive even if it's a margin’s worth, I'm willing to take all i can and bet on it.
I still have a lot to teach this guy after all. Feeling the loss of my other half, my body regressed from its pristine 30 year old appearance and turned into a 20 year old man.
My special ability doesn't just create a replica, more like an atomic copy of myself, but it takes matter from me and divides it into two equal parts.
Not just that but my strength is halved now that I lost my other me. Regaining the mass I lost will take a while, but it is not impossible.
Eliminating Cress’s presence and hiding him in the form of my trusty partner, I had activated a spell that could hide my presence and hid myself underneath the roots of the trees as I made myself as small as a squirrel.
Well, in fact I had morphed back to my original form, a gooey slime the size of like a cat. though for this occasion I had made myself just a little bit smaller not just to hide from the pursuers but also to be able to carry Cress in case of an emergency.
As I just did so, a couple of presence came but passed over our heads without noticing us. They were a team as strong as the man who obliterated my other half, or even stronger at that.
"Sire. The target has gone off radar, what should we do?"
"Don't falter, it is our duty to fulfill our lord’s wish and be a part of his strength. Such simple problem will be of no use for us, patrol the whole area"
What seems to be the squad leader stopped before ordering his entire crew. Several skills, devices, and even traces of magic were used to scan the area in depth. But they were ineffective against my spell that masks not only my presence but also mimics the presence of the environment.
Of course this has a cost, our species has a finite amount of magic, and that magic correlates to our overall mass. So my only grace here is how long I will survive until I run out of mass.
Who knows.
As someone who had lived for 200 years, I have the knowledge and techniques to back up that claim. But just as human innovation evolves, so do their crafts. My magic was, sadly enough, pretty inefficient in terms of magic consumption, as such I could only perform simple tasks, unlike a special someone who could do such a thing without even risking his own mass, and indefinitely at that.
In the past I had lived alone in the Forest, I had developed several self derived magic that had decent albeit inefficient magic use, that makes do of my abilities.
Which I could really perform some right now, but I am in a pinch so I can’t. Also, even if I were to fight them or surprise attack them, there is almost a guaranteed 90% chance that they will look for Cress after they have done me in.
I don't know how they did it, but if ‘that person' has appeared then I'm in trouble. No it's just me, the entire monster's zoology is at stake.
To summon such a monster of their own, just what are they thinking of utilizing it for?
To fight and end their life long war?
To eradicate the existence of monsters?
I'm not so sure, but whatever it is, it is bad news. I mean, mega bad news.
I sigh at my own self, as I watch their feet vanish and reappear from my sight. Truly, they have gotten stronger and more dangerous.
Just what had happened while I was gone?
◇
"Leader we found no traces of their escape but we found some of their residue" (Follower1)
"don't worry, in time we will… Catch them sooner or later "(leader)
He looked at his left hand, holding the bottom part of a broken sword that was once a part of Flûgel. The man, so called the leader, cast a spell onto the blade as it glowed a reddish color. The spell was done by using a necklace that hung on his neck, more like the spell was created through the use of that necklace.
“ It acts just like a compass, red if none and blue is correct. “
The leader proclaimed, Spinning the blade in the tip of his finger. As it spun around, it made several blue flickers in the same direction. The leader smiled, masked under as he hid his face with a hood. But it is, unbeknownst to them this was also being used right back at them.
For sure that will be a Story for another time, sooner or later that is.
"Sir, we have retrieved the relic he had hidden under their hut" (follower2)
"Good job, now. All units retreat, our job here for now is done. Let them squirm for now, in time they will meet their end at our blades "(Leader)
" " As you command!" " (Follower1&2)
The night was slowly settling, and as dawn arrived their traces were gone hours after. The hut was burnt in flames and the crops that Flûgel planted himself were trampled into nothingness, eventually becoming fertilizers.
The aura that someone lived here, had ended.
◇
A week has passed since that night, Cress has properly reformed himself from the blade itself as its core. A transparent liquid poured out from the broken side of the blade, eventually forming his own appearance. It was bubbling as if it was boiling, but there wasn't any heat to begin with. I feared that his appearance may change due to my mistake.
Unfortunately, because of that mistake, his 15 year old appearance regressed back into 11l. Still it was fine as it meant that Cress was now easier to carry. To operate that suddenly means that I had to completely remove Cress's flesh and merge his core into the sword itself. I suspected his appearance age regression was also from the loss of his flesh from the before mentioned operation.
"Welcome back, and sorry about that" (Flûgel)
"..."(Cress)
"Now-now, don't be such a kuudere. I'm really sorry, but it is what it is. If you hate me then that's fine, I forced it into you after all " (Flûgel)
As if confirmation, Cress kicked my knee which made me kneel from losing my balance. This kid is really impressive, I thought to myself as I laughed silently. Anyways, our home is now probably in tatters so there is absolutely no point in going back now.
"Sorry Cress, I think we may need to live on the road for now" (Flûgel)
I removed my vest and used it to cover Cress's body. His body has no genitalia or whatsoever, so if someone were to see Cress in his naked form they might scream, or in the worst case scenario report it to the authorities.
At that point I will move out and eliminate them if necessary, we need to live after all, we don’t have the choice.
Cress cheeks pouted and puffed like a chipmunk filled with nuts. Honestly, it fits him so I have no reason to complain. Just seeing him make these emotions is food for myself, and I enjoy his growth too.
As a guardian… No, as a parent. This kid is basically my child, even though we are siblings. Ironic isn't it? I never knew the world was such a wide place~ Anyways, I began by recovering my mass to regain my original strength and size. From matter and to mana.
I ate several twigs of trees to recover some part of my mass, seeing this Cress also copied me and ate the twigs that had fallen on the ground.
I laughed internally as Cress had a moment of confusion where to bite or even how to chew. We never had the chance to eat anything after all as we don't need food to sustain ourselves. So, I did an exaggerated bite with a wide mouth and made him copy it. He looked at the twig in his hand and back at me, before doing the same exaggerated bite I just did.
As the sun was about to set, we took our time together and I taught Cress on how to chew properly and swallow them. Just in case I scanned his belly, and as I had expected it wasn't being dissolved at all. Honestly, aren't I supposed to be the one to replenish my mass?
I assisted Cress on his digestion and as the sun and moon exchanged places, Cress soon learned how to digest food easily. While he was doing so, I lit up a small campfire with flame magic around a dead piece of wood which made us comfy under the cold and dark night.
Luckily our pursuers had left us alone so that's good, but we do not have the leeway to be relaxed now that our necks are being hunted. Cress on the other hand had fallen asleep peacefully on the fallen tree trunk where he had been sitting.
I checked the digestion process in case, and surprisingly he had dissolved it all by himself without my help other than my teachings on how to activate his innate species ability. Just in case, I had prepared a couple of spells, as well as optimizing my body composition. Roughly half of my visible mass is 80% of my total mass, which is my current skin.
My insides are hollow and full of air. I feel pathetic now that I think about it, the shape I have to take is extremely un-efficient and thanks to me losing almost half my mass I have to take such disadvantageous methods to trick the eye.
I tampered with Cress's core, which is now the blade and gave it a few features to help this newcomer adapt to this world. For now, I will leave for him to discover soon.
I don't want to spoil him of course.
Now, what was Cress's Special ability? I haven't checked it out, but I dont have the tools necessary to verify this but maybe in the future I will look into it. Maybe it wasn't just me that they were after, but also my equipment huh? It has the ability to look at my species Unique powers after all.
It isn't just like the adventurers card that shows a limited number of skills, no. Our abilities are by itself, unique, so it requires a special medium to scan ourselves. After all, I had only met 4 of my own in the time I had lived alongside humans in over half a century.
One was a mage specialized in Partial Spell Casting, One was a builder, and the other two were adventurers.
They all had different abilities to one another, and so forth where they are currently is a mystery. A mage, a builder or maybe a craftsman related ability, we do not need to procreate nor live alongside them, as such we are scattered around the world without a proper place.
Enough of that. Time seemed irrelevant as I watched the sky move fast and the sun exchange with the moon, rising up in a new morning. Just after, Cress had woken up healthy as he yawned and rubbed his face as one would expect from a child.
"Good morning Cress. Did you have a nice sleep?"(Flûgel)
"Umu"(Cress)
"I’m glad to hear it now. I and little Cress will arrive at a nearby village. Don't do anything without my permission okay?"(Flûgel)
"Hai~"(Cress)
"Good, climb up my back "(Flûgel)
I assisted Cress getting on my back as I carried him towards the village I found out kilometers away from our current position.
"Don't fall off okay?"(Flûgel)
I warned Cress as I began to walk. Along the way, the rogue animal foot track became wider and harder to walk on.
Until it reached the space to accommodate about 5 persons side by side. I went onto the road and walked onwards. It was a smooth ride for Cress so naturally this kid eventually fell asleep, I don't care anyways as this helps me manage somehow.
Scattered are several carcasses of monsters, Animals and even what seems like body parts of a humanoid lying down in some part of the road. It concerns me, would that village be safe?
I'm not so sure, just in case an event like that happens I had stored a couple of silver coins inside of my body and my old identification card. Well if it's still accepted, that is, it has been a while since I went out.2 (No :D)
20 mins into the walk, the outline of the village was visible from the horizon. The trees were cut at their trunk, somewhat acting as a wall that could slow down any attacker, and a tall, high wooden barricade accompanied by several watchtowers with men in it.
Well I can't blame them since this Forest is not just any ordinary forest, it's a forest that contains several strong monsters which could annihilate even a country if left unattended. Which is why so much protection is understandable. As we approached the village, I met several adventures who were fully geared up
Among them, there were several stronger adventurers with light equipment on them. It had several grooves and small plates which made it easier to move on as if it were cloth, and paired with the defense and mobility, makes this armor scary in warfare. This is the current technology of humans, I'm impressed.
It vexes me on how much craftsmanship was poured into that kind of ridiculously high end armor that would give any country a run for their money. Anyways, just as I was about to enter the village, two women around the age of 24 or so came close to us and greeted me.
"Oh hello, haven't seen your face around here. Are you returning or did you get lost?"
"Hey lin, look he's carrying a sleeping girl don't be noisy"
"Now that you mention it, why is a weak looking guy like you able to come out of that Forest carrying a little girl? "(Lin)
"Sir, I think we may need to talk with you for a moment "
(Just as I have expected, humans are so noisy with other people's business. I just can't get over this, sigh. Let's play along with them, I don't want to sleep another day outside after all and I don't want Cress to suffer too)
We were guided through a small room inside of the village, it looks like an old storehouse that was repurposed to an interrogation room about 3 meters in width/length and 3.5 meters in height.
Luckily enough, they didn't take away Cress and left it to me to take care of. Cress was still wearing my vest when we came, but he was given a change of clothes when we entered. It was a one piece girls would wear in summer. Of course I'm the one who changed the clothes for Cress so he's fine. It's fine, right?3(Pedo :/)
"So we say, anyway. Mister, did you know that there is currently a strong monster lurking in the Forest recently?"
A man, perhaps the leader of this operation, spoke to me. He is also wearing those high end lightweight armor, and his weapon was a huge sledgehammer enough to crush one's skull without any difficulty.
(Monster? Is it me? Are those so called strong monsters, me?)
"No sir" (Flûgel)
"Hmm. Then why are you carrying a girl? I expect you to have an explanation right?"
"It is a long story but I was living inside of the forest until one day I found this little kid on the outskirts of my place. From there on I took care of her up until now. But what is this Monster you called?"(Flûgel)
"Took care, huh. Alright. I can understand, there are several safe spots within the forest and after all we haven't even recorded much of the topography so any settlements outside of our control are nonexistent. Alright you are free, for the little girl we will give you two a small room to live in for now. I can't let any danger befall you two once we are gone, so these two girls will be accompanying you two and safeguard the village. Enter "
"Hello mister, sorry about a moment ago. You probably already met me, but I'm lin! "(Lin)
"Sorry I forgot to introduce myself a while ago. My name's Cathy, nice to meet you " (Cathy)
And so they said. Oops, where are my manners?
"Ah me too, sorry for my blunder. My name is Flûgel and this is.."(Flûgel)
"Cress… nice.. to meet.. you"(Cress)
That's good enough, I said to myself as I patted Cress's head with a warm smile plastered on my face.The two women went kya-kya as they jumped like bunnies towards Cress who was still sleepy but managed to greet them even if it's hard for him.
They patted his head like I did and pinched his cheeks as if it was marshmallow. Just as they finished, Cress's cheeks were puffy and he went 'humph' as he covered his face into my clothes.
I whispered a small laugh as I scratched the back of my head.
"That's good to know, my name is Haku, feel free to talk to me. I need to know as much as I can about the inside of the forest before our excursion." (Haku)
He mentioned, parallel the two women named Lin and Cathy who saluted and sat in the corner of the room. Huh, they seemed well disciplined, impressing i say so myself.
Most of the day passed on inside the small room, it was getting stuffy so I went and requested them to tour around Cress for a moment as I and the leader discussed information about the location and what not.
The monsters were, gladly enough, not me. I thanked them for that. It was apparently a huge draconic monster with titan-like characteristics. It was an orc that had gained the blood of a dragon and went through a special evolution, which granted it the dragon's ability.
Funnily enough, I had taught them the topography but I had never seen a dragon's den. It is somewhat like their home or so, it is roughly located on top of cliffs or deep inside caves. But I, as the one who had lived the longest in the Forest, had never once recollected seeing one in my entire time inside.
Even so, this really concerns me as one, it was possible that the orc managed to defeat a dragon or two, it was artificially created. About the latter, if it was true then what we have just gone into was worse than the assassins that were after our lives a week ago.
Something, even I will have a hard time fighting against.
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