Author's Note:
Finally! Another chapter is out! Like before, this one has been in my mind for a long time, but my ADHD made it almost impossible to focus on writing for any period of time.
Anyway, before we get into the chapter, I would like to address two bits of criticism that I received since the last chapter update. One was through a review, while the other was literally someone joining my Discord server to leave me criticism and then bail out. And, while I do try to respect everyone's opinions, that won't stop me from having the opinion that some of you are morons.
For the review, which you should be able to see in the Reviews section of this story on WebNovel, they once again pointed out the fact that Kevin was nerfed. They also pointed out how everything is seeming like an "angstwank" and an excuse to rip on the MC. Let's all point and laugh at the idiot who can't understand that this was a direct result of him trying to weasel out of a part of his punishment, just like what would happen to anybody trying to escape the final judgment of a higher being.
Next, we have the bozo who commented then dipped out of my discord server. I've forgotten most of their gripes by now, but one thing that stuck with me was them pointing out how Kevin is just as bad, if not worse, than the women who sexually abused him, with the way that he treats the people around him and tortures the monsters who attack him.
To this, I say: WELL DUH! Not every MC has the ability to rise above their psychological trauma. There's a reason why the phrase "Break the Cycle" is used to encourage people in those circumstances: Because it's so easy to fall into the same habits you were subjected to! Kevin isn't that goody-two-shoes character who took the initiative to rise above his abusers and try to make a better future. He's the MC whose psychological and emotional scars caused him to become just as bad as, if not worse than, his abusers, and a massive hypocrite.
But, for anyone who has actually paid attention up until now, you would notice that he is slowly getting better now that Sylph is with him. It isn't an instant "Wow! I suddenly see the error of my ways!" scenario that some stories have, where the trauma is magically resolved. If you want something like that, go watch a children's show and stop wasting everyone's time with your unrealistic views of the world
Anyway...with that rant out of the way...
DISCORD LINK: http s:// discor d.gg/3CB azz8 C4H
THE STORY! THE ON STORY! WITH THE ON! STORY!
***
{Later that evening - On the way to Sabasa Castle}
The journey back to the castle was both silent and tense. This was to be expected, though, as almost nobody had a reason to be happy. Sure, Kevin was guaranteed to receive a diabetes-inducing amount of chocolate, and Sara had obtained the Dragon Seal that she'd come out to the Pyramid for in the first place, but the negative aspects far outweighed the positive ones.
Alice practically had a cloud hanging over her head from the depressive spiral she was sinking into, lost in thoughts of all the foods she wouldn't be allowed to eat for the foreseeable future; Sara was nervously carrying the still-unconscious form of her sealed ancestor, her eyes darting toward the only male in their group every few minutes to make sure he wasn't going to snap again and try to finish the job (Not that she had a snowball's chance in hell to successfully fight back.); Kevin was walking ahead of everyone, trying hard to focus on the future chocolate he would receive and not the overwhelming desire to turn around and finish what he started with Sphinx; and finally, a whole crowd of monsters who'd been left homeless trailed behind them, whom Sara had invited to follow them back to the castle in hopes of them finding a new home.
She had been overwhelmed by guilt at the fact that Kevin probably wouldn't have come to the Pyramid in the first place if not for her, so the offer was her way of trying to make up for it. Since their leader wasn't exactly in a state where she could advise them on whether to accept or decline, the monsters decided to follow them until Sphinx woke up.
Funnily enough, said Queen Class monster had regained consciousness around the halfway point, but was determined to maintain the façade of still being knocked out. The glares both Kevin and Alice had directed toward her the moment she had cracked her eyes open were enough to convince her that continuing to play the part of the sleeping, sealed lion cub was in her best interest. She wouldn't put it past the boy to punt her across the desert at the first sign of movement.
Throughout the entire trip, there were only two highlights that actually brought some measure of comfort to the Eevee boy. The first of which, was the message he received from the System:
[Congratulations!]
[Due to defeating a Boss Type monster in possession of an Element you have not absorbed yet; you have unlocked the full power of Rock Type Energy and Ground Type Energy!]
[New Evolutions Added: Obsideon and Terrareon.]
Two more evolutions had been unlocked, so that was one bright side of Sphinx pissing him off to the point where he tried to kill her. More Moves and Type advantages were always a plus.
Sylph was actually the source of the other piece of good news. While her host had been doing his best to submerge his mind in happy thoughts, she had come across a bit of information in his memories that, when paired with the recent battle, would most likely raise his mood, if only a little bit.
***
{A few hours ago}
'Hey Kevin! I got something that might make you feel better!'
'...'
'Come on! I know you can hear me!'
*sigh* 'Fine. What is it?'
'Weeeelllll...you know how in your fight with Sphinx, you used your Vaporeon form for the first time since the 'downgrade?''
'...Yeah?"
'I just thought you'd be happier with the fact that it's still a male form instead of female. After all, I was looking through your memories and came across a funny bit of trivia about Vaporeons being the most compatible Pokemon for humans in terms of breeding.'
'...'
'...'
'You know what, Sylph? Sometimes I'm really glad you're here to put things into perspective for me.'
'I love you too!'
'...And you've ruined it.'
***
{The Present}
Just thinking of that post about Vaporeons that he'd read a few years ago was enough to send shivers of dread from his ears to the tip of his tail. He didn't even want to consider how the Being would turn that piece of cursed literature into a personality trait for his Vaporeon form if it was a female, or what the anatomical changes would be.
Leave it to Sylph to show him how even after having a metaphorical - and somewhat physical - target placed on his back for all draconic monsters, things could still get worse. If she'd been on the outside at that moment, he would've at least patted her on the head.
The teenager was drawn out of his introspection by the sight of the city surrounding Sabasa Castle appearing over the horizon. The sun had been down for about an hour at that point, so it was hard to miss with all of the torches lighting up the streets and windows.
This was also fortunate, as there were less people around to gawk at the large group of monsters making their way toward the castle. Sure, they were spotted by the odd merchant and homeless person, and the locals were much more tolerant of monsters than those of a place like San Ilia (minus the priest at the Church of Ilias), but there was a very high likelihood for Kevin to send anyone who even slightly slowed him down through several walls, with how irritated he still was.
They might have been stopped at the castle's gates by the guards stationed there, if it wasn't for the fact that the crown princess was one of the people leading the group. Their heartfelt greetings toward the previously-missing woman were cut off, however, by said woman gesturing for them to keep their mouths shut. A few side glances toward her less-than-happy companions were all the men needed to know that now was not the time to boisterously welcome her back.
This trend continued until they had finally reached the throne room, in which the King sat patiently, having been informed of their arrival the moment they entered the city.
"Young traveler," the seated man nodded in acknowledgement to Kevin. "I see that you have saved the princess. As King of Sabasa, I-"
He was interrupted by Kevin holding up one of his hands in the universal sign for 'stop talking.' "I'm cutting you off there before you say something to piss me off even further. I have nothing against you, but your daughter and ancestor-" he paused to glare at said duo standing off to the side, the latter still held by the former. "-have completely depleted all of my patience and tolerance for probably the next few days.
"So, here's how this is is gonna go: I'm going to give you a summary of the situation, leave, and if I don't get my reward within the next three days, everyone in this room will learn the true meaning of the word 'torture.' Okay?"
Needless to say, almost every monster and human present felt a shiver of dread travel down their spine at this declaration. The only exception was Alice, but she was too busy wallowing in her depression to dedicate more than half of her attention to the world around her.
Knowing when to trust his instincts, which were currently telling him to agree with the possibly-homicidal child, the King nodded. "Your terms are fair. Please proceed."
Kevin didn't hesitate to start ranting. "Let's start with this morning. I flew out to the Pyramid, which took me a few hours, and found your daughter standing out in front of it. Turns out, she wasn't kidnapped and just has horrible handwriting. I tried to take her back, but she promised to double my reward if I would help her make it through the dragon seal trial. By the way, that means you need to double whatever amount of chocolate you have already prepared for me."
Before he could continue, Sara spoke up. "Is that really what you asked of my father? You could've asked for wealth, a title, or even my hand in marriage, but all you asked for was chocolate?" For some reason, she felt incredibly offended that her worth in the eyes of this teenager was roughly that of a candy bar.
Said teenager glared at her. "Shut up or I'll replace all of the bones in your arms and legs."
Despite the nonsensical nature of the threat, the princess had seen the boy do much more terrible and confusing things earlier that day. She was also more than a little put off by the way he avoided stating what he would replace the bones WITH. So, she immediately took a step back and lowered her head.
"Now that the peanut gallery is out of the way," Kevin grumbled before getting back on topic. "I took your daughter through the Pyramid, allowed her to fight whatever monsters we encountered, and then drove said monsters away when they inevitably beat her ass like a drum. She then proceeded to tell me how she was taking the trial to be able to marry a dragonkin that she hasn't met in years, and who probably doesn't even remember her existence. You should probably talk to her about that, by the way.
"We finally got to the Sphinx, who gave the little idiot a series of riddles. After somehow scraping together enough brain cells to pass the final test, Sphinx not only gave your daughter the Dragon Seal, but me as well, in some misguided attempt at thanking me for helping her descendent through the trials. The seal had a bad reaction with my body, which I won't reveal right now, and that bitch -" he pauses to point at the small lion cub. "had the audacity to tell me she had no way of removing it.
"I then spent the next half hour or so destroying the Pyramid, which at this point I can say can be counted as a bunch of ruins, and trying to kill her. My companion convinced me to spare her, which is why she is currently sealed instead of in multiple pieces scattered around the desert. And finally, your daughter convinced the remaining monsters to follow us back here. They're your problem now.
"Any questions before I leave you morons alone? No? Then I'm out. Come on Alice," he concluded, turning to leave with the gloomy Monster Lord following a few feet behind him.
Nobody said a word for a solid ten minutes after the boy left. The monsters waited for his magical signature to completely vacate the castle grounds before heaving a collective sigh of relief. The future of their living arrangements may currently be hanging in the balance, but everyone would agree that anything would be better than being subjected to the wrath of that...demon again.
***
{Later That Night - The Dream Room}
The calming aura of the Dream Room was working overtime on the Eevee from the very moment he entered. Conversing with the King and bringing all of the events of the day back up had the same effect as reopening a wound that hadn't fully healed yet, and no amount of effort by either himself or Sylph had been able to completely quell the raging inferno of anger in his heart before he could fall asleep.
He found himself reverting to a method of release he hadn't used in years: laying face down on the bed and screaming as many curse words, in as many combinations he could think of, into his pillow. The nature of the Dream Room allowed all of the sound to be muffled by the impossibly-soft pillow, but that didn't make either of the room's other occupants feel any less worried.
Neither Ilias nor Sylph spoke as they did their best to sooth the poor Eevee. The former sat on the edge of the bed and soothingly rubbed his back, her expression a mixture of anger and pity, while the latter perched herself on his shoulder and gently hummed a calming tune into his ear. They'd come to a silent agreement that neither should talk before the boy was sufficiently calmed down, so they resorted to quietly consoling him.
It wasn't until an hour later that he finally stopped shouting. Turning his head to the side, he grumbled. "This fucking sucks."
"It does, indeed," Ilias agreed, not stopping her ministrations. "Even though draconic monsters are some of the rarest, due to their relatively low population, they are also the strongest and most persistent when pursuing a potential mate."
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to say something to make me feel better?"
Instead of the Light Spirit answering, her tiny sister flew around to reply instead. "Counterpoint: would you actually accept any comforting words we could give you?"
"...I hate it when you're right," the boy groaned.
Once again, Sylph was proving that she wasn't just an airhead. She was actually both intelligent and wise, the reason for which could be attributed to her domain of Wind. After all, there was very little in this world that the wind could not touch, and thus there was hardly anything she didn't know or have second-hand experience with. Her ditzy and hyperactive mannerisms were more prevalent most of the time because acting as the 'wise ancient spirit' was too constraining to her, which impeded her domain of Freedom.
"Uuuuuugh," the Eevee moaned, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed to sit next to Ilias. "Please tell me you know some way to remove this thing?" he asked the angelic woman, gesturing to the mark on his hand.
She shook her head negatively. "Unfortunately, no. If it were some kind of Light magic that was attached to your soul, I might've had a solution, but this is Dark magic. It's completely imprinted on your physical body, so there's nothing I can do."
Kevin sulked. "I thought you might say that, but figured I might as well give it a shot."
"There is someone who MIGHT know of a way to get rid of it, though," Ilias continued, causing the boy's head to turn toward her so fast he might've gotten whiplash if they were in the real world. "There is one monster who's been around for so long that she knows just about every spell and seal in existence."
A twinkle of hope flashed in the teenager's eyes. "Are you serious?"
"As serious as a heart attack," the Spirit of Light nodded. "Though I hate her with a fiery passion that burns like the sun, desperate times call for desperate measures. Luckily, you've already met her."
Sylph, who had moved to sit on the boy's desk when he'd changed position, suddenly understood who her sister was referring to. "You're talking about Tamamo, aren't you?"
"Indeed. She's been around since the age of the first Monster Lord. If there's anyone who could help you remove the seal, it's her," Ilias concluded.
Kevin's mind wandered back to the time when he was retrieving Poseidon's Bell. Tamamo was one of the few monsters he actually liked. She had a good sense of humor, knew when to accept rejection, and understood his intense desire to mutilate those who messed with his food. If ever there was someone he would hang out with, it would be her.
In the end, he released a sigh. "At least it's someone tolerable. At least, by my standards," he shrugged. "Any idea where she is?"
"Last time I talked with Deeny, she said that Tamamo lives in a village in the Noah Region," Sylph stated. "She's apparently lived there for thousands of years, and only really leaves due to the orders of the Monster Lord, or if she's REEEEEEAAAAAALLy bored."
Ilias crossed her arms and pouted. "She also has a tendency of using some kind of magic to un-baptize any Heroes she comes across."
That earned a tilt of the head from both Kevin and Sylph. "That's actually possible?" the boy questioned.
"APPARENTLY!" the winged woman shouted, throwing her hands up in frustration. "I've been trying to find out HOW for the last five hundred years, but all of my angels come up with nothing!"
"Hmmm...:" Kevin hummed and nodded. "If she could discover a way to remove the blessing of a Spirit, then getting rid of the Dragon Seal should be relatively easy for her."
"Why are you ignoring my suffering!?" Ilias dramatically exclaimed before flopping backward on the bed and rolling around in a vague approximation of a child's temper tantrum.
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "When did this conversation shift from my problems to yours?"
"Yeah!" Sylph shouted, shaking her fist at the self-proclaimed goddess. "Save your whining for when YOU need to be cheered up!"
There was a beat of silence before all three of them lost their composure. Kevin started lightly chuckling, Ilias' laughter was slightly louder, and Sylph was in the midst of collapsing in a fit of giggles.
The rest of the night was spent with them talking about anything other than the previous day's issues. They tossed a ball back and forth, told jokes, and ribbed each other over the smallest things; the aura of the Dream Room allowing them to leave all of their cares and troubles for later.
***
{The Next Day - Kevin and Alice's Room at an Inn}
With his strong desire to NOT have to deal with the bullshit of the outside world for as long as possible, Kevin had deliberately extended how long he and Sylph remained in the Dream Room. He didn't fully wake up until noon, but even then he remained curled around the small Spirit, refusing to leave his Bag of Bedding.
One would think that Alice might have tried to wake him up, but that would be incorrect. Instead, she had snuck out of the room and teleported back to her own castle back in Hellgondo. Her goal? To eat as much food as she could physically handle before her travel companions woke up.
You see, the Monster Lord had gained an epiphany upon returning to the waking world: the diet she was inevitably going to be subjected to technically didn't start until Kevin officially set the limits. So, keeping that in mind, she gorged herself on everything from fruits and vegetables; to meats from land, sea, and sky; to cakes and sweets from all over the world. Nothing was off the table for her bottomless stomach.
To make sure Kevin didn't suspect anything, she left a note telling him that she had gone back to her castle to tell her chefs to start preparing the chocolate she owed him; and she did do that, but only dedicated half of the kitchen staff to the task. She also wrote that she didn't plan to return until the three day time limit he'd given the king had expired.
When he finally decided to leave the protection of his backpack and face the real world the first thing he found was the note. In the end, he was actually relieved that Alice would be gone for a while. He hadn't been kidding last night when he'd stated that Sara and Sphinx had exhausted all his patience for the next few days. Now that the calming effects of the Dream Room were no longer there to keep him calm, he didn't trust himself to interact with ANY monster.
Sylph, obviously, was the exception, as her connection to his soul made it so he literally couldn't get legitimately mad at her, or vice versa. After all, hurting each other would just hurt themselves in the end.
"You know..." Sylph stated, lying lazily on his back as he walked around the room in his Eevee form. "We could just stay here and not go anywhere. Just you and me during the day, with Ilias joining us at night. It'll be like a slumber party!"
It only took a moment of thought before Kevin agreed. "Vee evevee vee veeve (Sounds good to me.)"
They eventually hashed out a plan to spend the next few days relaxing, as they hadn't had many opportunities to do so. The small Spirit also suggested that Kevin remain in his feral form, or forms if he decided to evolve, for the duration. When asked why, she said "It's easier to cuddle and play games together like this," which he couldn't exactly disagree with. So, he conceded without a second thought.
Like that, their small vacation together began.
***
{Author' Note}
So! I finally got a new chapter out! I find it funny that it's coming out on April Fool's day, and some people might think getting a notification that it is updated is a joke, but meh.
Also, I added a bit of lore that can be used as an excuse to continue the story in the same direction! After gaining Gnome, Kevin will have an actual reason to go to the Noah reason and get Undine before heading to the Gold region. I came up with the idea for Tamamo likely knowing how to remove the seal because A) she is the oldest monster on the planet that is still roaming around, and B) she knows enough about every kind of magic that it wouldn't be a stretch to conclude she knows about this.
I also added her knowing a way to Un-Baptize Heroes because I know that she is exactly the kind of monster to start doing so the moment she learned how. So, I retroactively gave her the secret. Where she learned how? Well, that's a story for later.
Anyway...
DISCORD LINK: http s:// discor d.gg/3CB azz8 C4H
As always, comment on the paragraphs and the chapter itself. Try not to be a dick, memes are appreciated, and correct my grammar so I can fix it for future readers!
See you later!