Chapter 12
Between my wet lips and the bleeding shoulder, I knew instantly what I had done. I'd bitten off a chunk of my best friend's younger brother. Normally, a person who just had a chunk of themselves eaten by their co-worker would scream or at the very least, be astonishingly confused but not Eden. He rambled to himself for a little bit as I tried to snap him out of his daze.
Once he regained his senses he turned his attention to Kai, who announced without any reservation or hesitation. "The capital is under attack!" he shouted.
I took a look at the store and noticed that it was now completely vacant. It was a complete mess, with charred boxes lying everywhere. There were pikes of ice too. Everywhere. While I examined the room, Eden got to his feet, which were slightly burned, he didn't even have any shoes on.
"Eden?" I called to him worriedly. He ignored me completely, whether or not he did it on purpose was beyond me.
Kai took a step back to open a path for Eden. As he stepped back one of the monsters that were rampaging outside appeared at the front of the door. It's pitch black frame towered over Eden and Kai, it's muscular build was so big it couldn't even fit the store's door frame. The creature growled in a low tone.
Eden met the creatures growl with an intense glare. If looks could kill, the creature would've died ten times over. I tried getting to my feet, but my body felt glued to the floor. I remembered what had happened before I fell unconscious. How I attacked Luck only to be impaled by him in less than a second.
I felt utterly pathetic at my own powerlessness. My body refused to cooperate with me, my legs just refused to let me get up. I was fine physically. Thanks to Eden's blood, my injuries were healed rather quickly. Mentally, emotionally it was a different matter entirely. A deep seated fear kept me in place.
An instinctive fear that all creatures feel whenever they come across something they recognise as stronger than them. To me, the creature that was playing the role of the predator was not the towering aberration that could rip my body in half with a single swing. To me, the creature- the person who felt like a true predator, was the eleven-year-old Eden Connor.
"Get back, Kai." He commanded in a low voice.
Like me, Kai knew not to talk back let alone question whatever Eden had in mind. His fear was visible in the beads of sweat streaking down his face.
When Eden decided that Kai was far enough, he grasped the air like he was holding something. A pool of water emerged from Eden's closed fist, it flowed around his body like a serpent coiling around it's next meal.
"This should do nicely." He murmured.
"GRAA!!!" The monster snapped.
It raised it's hand in the air to strike. My heart jumped in my chest. I knew that if Eden didn't move, he'd die. Arrogance aside I never expected him to be suicidal or so completely stupid that he'd fight a monster that was obviously stronger than him.
"Eden don't!"
My warnings fell on deaf ears. The water that coiled around Eden wrapped itself around the monster covering it's entire body in it's moisture. With a snap of a finger, Eden froze the monster in place. I was stunned. At a complete loss for words in fact. I couldn't understand what happened, how the boy who spent the past three years of his life chasing after me could be so strong boggled me.
More than that, witnessing his power first hand made me feel….. excited.
***
It's been less than twenty four hours since Eden nearly died at the hands of a monster he'd never even heard of. He survived the confrontation by the skin of his teeth thanks to Ginevra. Unfortunately for him however he couldn't celebrate surviving the battle. After returning to the capital he realized how he'd foiled a date plan with his long-time crush.
Moments after that he got into a fight with his adoptive mother and sister leading to him leaving home. As he left, a shocking realisation was brought to him. His biological mother was still alive. This information was brought to him by a complete stranger in the form of a worn out letter. The very next morning, he was betrayed by his employer who then went on to impale his crush in front of him and started an invasion on his home town using the same monster that almost killed him in Plaas.
Long story short; it had been a very, very, taxing few hours for Eden. He'd done a good job of hiding his distress, or at the very least he'd made an effort to avoid it but his psyche couldn't take anymore. His slightly burned feet, which were now bare, splashed into the pool of water that was beneath him. He sauntered across the chaotic streets, his blood pooled over his shoulder to his shirt and finally the ground.
The screams that echoed across the capital were deafening on all accounts but to Eden they were annoying. They distracted him from his main objective; Luck Valentine. His treacherous employer that single handedly threw the capital into utter turmoil. To silence the screams he needed to silence the cause of them. The cause was the dozens of monsters that wrought havoc across the capital.
His mind reached a conclusion, before he could get his hands on Luck he had to stop the monsters running amok in the capital.
"Alright then." He concluded.
The tattoo in his left hand glowed like an excited child. He clenched his hands together.
"Now, Water Titan."
All the water around the capital gathered around the boy like a whirlwind hurricane. It swirled around him in an enchanting dance as he continued walking around the streets. His feet took him it the direction of the desperate screams. He'd arrive at the source, find the cause and freeze it in place. He continued this process like a dazed zombie for a full minute.
In two minutes, he stopped four monsters. In four, he stopped eight. In five he, stopped ten. Everywhere he went, the water that surrounded him followed. Wherever he went there was a sudden stop in volatile screams. In some areas there were cheers of joy, in others there were confused, frightful stares. The civilians were stuck between feeling grateful to their saviour or fretful at the sight of a child stopping so many monsters by himself.
The knights that fought the monsters were thankful to the boy who stopped the monsters that threatened the capital. Those who were familiar with magic were awestruck at how he controlled such a vast volume of water. None of them heard him chant any incantations, he didn't. They all wondered when he'd run out of mana, he wouldn't.
The confusion caused by the sudden invasion was replaced by the awe the people felt when they witnessed Eden. Of course the boy in question was unaware of this. Rather, he didn't care. The only thing that mattered to him was finding Luck Valentine, anything that happened in between was no more than a side quest.
Twenty minutes passed and the entire central capital had been cleared up completely. The chaos didn't even have enough time to spread out to the outskirts of the capital, where Eden's family was. Whether or not that information had a part to play in Eden's determination was a question that even he himself struggled to answer.
When he finished encasing the last monster in ice Eden came to realise two things. One; nobody died during the monsters' rampage. Two; Luck wasn't in any of the places he'd been. His exhausted mind pondered, it wondered about Luck's location. The water that enveloped Eden focused itself to his feet. In a single burst, the pressurized water flung Eden to the air. From his bird's the view he assessed the capital, scanning for any disturbances that he overlooked.
He caught a glimpse of a huge puff of black smoke that was slowly climbing up towards the air. The smoke emanated from one of the largest buildings in the city. The home of the royal family, and the place that Eden had once infiltrated for unspecified reasons. He gathered the water to his feet once again and used it to propel himself to the palace.
The closer he got to the palace the more his ears rung with the sound of clanging metal, accompanied by violent roars. On the outer gates of the palace he found the commander of the knights locked in a fierce battle with a largely built figure. The figure boasted huge biceps, a long beard that reached all the way to his chest and horns protruding out of it's head.
Eden recognised this figure, though the last time he saw the figure, it was that of a normal old man not a beast that rampaged in the city. It was the figure of Luck Valentine. While Eden worked to clear out the capital, Luck marched his way to the palace.
"Haargh!!" Ginevra roared.
The clash between Ginevra and Luck Valentine was a spectacle to behold. The commander of the knights, renowned for her exceptional skill, faced off against the treacherous employer who had unleashed chaos upon the capital.
Ginevra's sword sliced through the air with precision, aiming for Luck's imposing figure. Her movements were fluid, honed from years of battle experience. However, Luck's transformation into a behemoth of a man granted him formidable strength.
With a swipe of his massive hand, Luck sent Ginevra flying across the courtyard. She crashed into a nearby stone pillar, the impact sending shockwaves through the ground. The commander swiftly regained her footing, her determination unwavering.
"You've gone mad, Luck!" Ginevra shouted, charging forward with renewed ferocity. "Why!? Why do this!?"
Luck's laughter boomed, echoing off the palace walls. "I already told you. It's for revenge!"
Their blades clashed, sparks flying as steel met steel. Ginevra's sword danced with deadly precision, but Luck's brute strength kept her at bay. The battle raged on, the two combatants exchanging blows that shook the palace foundations.
Eden watched from his aerial vantage point, his eyes locked onto Luck. A burning determination fuelled his descent toward the fray.
As he landed, the water surrounding him surged forward, forming a protective barrier between Ginevra and Luck. The commander took advantage of the reprieve, retreating to reassess her strategy.
Luck, however, remained unfazed. His gaze locked onto Eden, a malevolent grin spreading across his face.
"You continue to impress kid. Here I thought you were dead."
Eden's response was a cold stare that bore into Luck's soul. He strode towards Luck, a miniature title wave followed close behind him. Ginevra looked on as Eden sauntered to Luck. The sight filled her with a new found determination. Eden took one firm step merely three metres away from Luck and the water reacted in kind to the Water God's will.
The wave flung itself towards Luck with great fury.
"Now, ignite! Fire Fist!" Luck chanted.
In an instant, Luck's fists caught on fire. He used the fists to punch away at the water, steam emerged with each swing. Once the fog cleared, Luck found Ginevra and Eden standing side by side to each other, both burning with murderous intent.
Deep down, Ginevra argued the idea of letting Eden fight considering what had happened the previous day. One look into Eden's eyes quickly dismissed the idea. She knew that asking him to back out of the fight now would be an insult to Eden's resolve.
"Think you can keep up?" Ginevra asked, giving Eden one final chance to step back.
"I want to know why he did what he did." Eden growled. His fists tightened and the water coiled itself around his arms like armour.
"Very well then." Ginevra said in resignation.
Luck's grin grew ever so violent. His heart fluttered with excitement when he thought about fighting the commander of Ester's knights and the Water God. But his overconfidence proved to be a weakness. He blinked only once and lost sight of both Eden and Ginevra. They'd completely disappeared.
Where did they-!?
"Goah!!?" Luck coughed.
He found himself coughing blood. His gut suddenly felt cold, painful and wet all at once. When he looked down he caught a glimpse of Eden running his hand deep into his gut. The boy didn't impale him, be he punched him with so much force he felt like he was being stabbed.
Eden twisted his hand while it was still in contact with Luck's gut, the water that enveloped it begun rotating violently. The swirling water pushed Luck into the palace walls, the impact caused a large cloud of dust.
"Damn...brat!" Luck cursed.
Ginevra denied him whatever reprieve the dust cloud granted. She released a flurry of strikes on Luck, ones that were too fast for the human eye to follow. Luck lifted his arms to block but his forearms suffered the blows instead.
With a burst of speed Ginevra leapt back then sprang forward with a deadly swing of her sword. Luck jumped in the air to dodge. His foot was grabbed just as quickly as he jumped. His entire body was brought down with an incredible amount of force, enough to break the ground apart as Luck slammed against it.
Without missing a beat, Ginevra impaled Luck's chest. She aimed carefully so not to hit his heart, running it clean through his chest into the ground. She'd immobilized him expertly. Eden followed suit, freezing Luck's arms in place.
"You're done, Luck." Ginevra declared.
Luck coughed up blood as his laughed. "Looks that way doesn-…"
"Why?"
Eden's question cut off Luck's speech.
"A brat through and through aren't you. This is the third time I'm saying this. I did it for revenge."
"Revenge? Against who?"
Luck scoffed. "Against the monstrosity in the Tribal Territory. The Cannibal King."
Ginevra's gripped her sword tighter, pressing it deeper into Luck's chest. "You really are insane."
"You'd go crazy too if you saw the things I saw. The things that man did....to secure his reign over those lands….are unforgivable."
"You attacked my home." Eden began. "Stabbed your employee, started an invasion in the capital city of an entire country, all cause of some vendetta!?"
"That's right. Pretty straightforward isn't it?"
Luck took one last look at Eden. His body began to crumble from his feet up. A startled Ginevra jumped away from him, leaving Eden to converse with Luck.
"My time's up it seems."
"Yeah…it is."
"Got anymore questions you wanna ask me, or are you satisfied with my answer."
Eden's eyes furrowed slightly. "Honestly it still doesn't make any sense to me, but that doesn't matter. Wait, there is one thing."
"Shoot."
"You claim that this was all for revenge against the man in the Tribal Territory, whoever that may be, but why attack the capital? Wouldn't it be smarter to attack the Tribal Territory directly?"
"He's untouchable there that's why. If I could lure him out of there then I could kill him."
Eden thought to himself before asking. "Reiya?"
"You catch on quick."
"Sorry to disappoint but your plan isn't gonna work out."
"Tends to happen when you die halfway through a plan."
By then, Luck's body had crumbled all the way up to his lower intestine. With a little more time his body would crumble completely. Before that could happen however, Luck's mind burned with one final question. One that popped into his head like it was inserted in by someone else.
"One more thing before I clock out kid."
"What." Eden said coldly.
"When exactly..." his eyes glowed as the words left his mouth. "Do you plan on finding Eren?"
"How do you know about..."
Luck plastered a condescending smirk as the last of his body crumbled. His remains were carried by the air.
"Eren...."
Eden lost consciousness before he could finish his sentence.