C96: Pity
Overall Word count = 1414 on 6/10/2024
Author here, I just have a small announcement but I have entered a small state where I consider writing this book to be a chore/hassel. So the word count will decrease to like how it is now with around 1k-1.5k words.
It mostly has to do with me writing 2 chapters recently that were so word intensive in a row and that just tired me out and drained my creative juices now I just don't outright feel like writing. Yet I do want to finish this story and continue it past the danmachi world. I have never forgotten my original goal.
I just don't want to take a hiatus or anything like that as i've read plenty of stories that seem to have died b/c the authors went on hiatus here on WN. This is why i settled for smaller word counts instead of pushing myself to do my regular work of 1.5k -3k word chapters
Overall the chapters will feel a bit slower as I focus more on a single situation at a time, look forward to 'hopefully' a good fight next chapter. I promise to at least return to my normal work during the danmachi finale I have set up. Im sure to give everyone a few surprises since I had only been able to think of a conclusion recently and it got me excited to write but until then, it will be a bit slow.
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Axel woke up the next day, feeling fully refreshed. All his soul fragments had fully recovered and thanks to Serenity's 'desirable' actions, he can now resist her poison and many other powerful ones with just his natural poison resistance. He is certain that if he had some sort of percentage indicator then it would inform him that he is not too far off from outright gaining a full poison immunity.
Axel looks over to Serenity who is lying up against his chest, feeling his breathing. He decided to accept her feelings for him and take her back Orario with him once the next trial is over and he gains safe passage. She has not done to him at all throughout the rest of the day and the entire night they were together. Of course other than feed him poison, but she couldn't help that just as Axel could help but absorb her poison once his gluttony fully recovered.
Serenity didn't suffer from the loss of poison as she just made more and Axel didn't suffer from the poison as he already became resistant to it. Even though her poison is the combination of multiple ones which means that he gained resistance to those types as well. Thankfully he suffered those extra effects when he fell asleep after the fight which is the reason he didn't suffer when they were sharing 'skinship'
His hand moves to stroke her cute face and move her hair to the side as it is in covering her eyes. His actions rouse her awake, though she still possesses the same dreamy expression on her face, a happy smile and heart like eyes. He noticed that her expression became like this after a certain point in their 'communion'.
It gives him the impression that she has fully surrendered herself to him. He was a bit worried that she had put herself under the belief/illusion that she had made this whole situation up. Thankfully, he was able to get her to call him by his name which she proceeded to moan throughout the night.
"Good morning my love" Serenity's gentle voice sounds out into the bedroom. He strokes her cheek again as his silent response to her greeting. Part of their extracurricular activities, he instilled the idea that she was his lover and not servant. After all, a servant can be used and discarded but not a lover. Anyone that does otherwise is likely insane or didn't actually love them like that person loved them. He can only pity any person who is in such a fruitless and vain relationship.
Serenity still leans into his touch with loving adoration. But his next words disappoint her, "I have to get up Serenity, I still have the last trial after breakfast" She puffs up her cheeks into a pout. Yet she almost can't help but jump out of bed at his next words.
"Once the trial is finished, ill take you to my home where you can settle down and live with me" he can naturally tell what Serenity is thinking but her pouting expression was too cute and thus he held her in place so she didn't escape. He locks lips with her but not before saying, "You can't leave just yet. Who told you to be so cute?" He asks a rhetoric questions before they kiss.
His words cause her to blush but she slowly gets used to his love as he has been verbally teasing her the whole night. At first she had seriously attempted to answer him but that only resulted in her losing her mind. He slowly corrected her behavior to understand sarcasm and jokes. The punishment was too deadly for her and soon enough she stopped responding to all of his words and learned to judge them more depending on the situation.
Axel slowly shifts to hover over her as they are lip-locked when a knock resounds on the door. "Dear Guest, will you be having breakfast or continue to skip over food for the day?" A servant voice is heard from outside the room. Axel growls a bit as he was just getting into the mood again but nevertheless, he is quite hungry as the previous trials had drained him of stamina. He gets up and slowly gets changed. "Ill be out in a moment" "Understood"
Serenity remains curled up in the sheets as she looks over the edge of the bed where the remnant shreds of her leggings remain. Throughout the night, Axel had showered her with admiration for her fit body. In their lust-filled mind, he had torn the rest of her clothes to shreds and now she remains naked and locked under the covers.
"Let's go, ill bring you to the hallway where I met the heavily cloaked assassin (Makuru). Serenity nods and with the covers over her body, she hugs Axel before he teleports them both away. He hoped that by bringing her to that intersection, Serenity could have snuck off to her room to change. Yet it seems his plains are for naught as Zayd the Base (black skinned uber skinny with white skull mask) is 'resting' in the same area that Makuru was when Axel met him. The anorexic assassin looks at the duo before Serenity just blows raspberries at him before running off to her room. Axel could almost see a dust trail in the direction she went.
(A+ in agility go nyoom)
Axel has a bit of a staredown with the skinny assassin before they tilt their head up, His head positioning trailing along the ceiling. His vision soon stops at a certain spot. The assassin rubs his chin with interest before he looks at Axel with a strange look that is hidden behind its mask.
"Tell me, great beast, what was her expression like when you broke her? I haven't seen such beautiful innocence since the little one was materialized in flesh" Zayd breaks the silence and Axel feels a bit of disgust at the interest of the assassin for his fellows. Axel was informed that there are 3 legends of the Shalzard, yet amongst those, one is one hundred. Axel can tell a bit due to his Stein/soul abilities that Serenity is not the part of the strange cohort that this skinny one (Zayd), the muscular one (Gozuru), Cloaked one (Makuru), The female assassin (Asako) and the little one (little Hassan). Axel knows they are all connected, he didn't immediately make this connection but when he was ambushed, he began to use his soul sense which was why he was not surprised too much when Zayd showed up to read the scroll from his hands.
As such, after his initial layer of disgust, he looks to Zayd with a look of pity. Pity that Zayd, nor the rest of his troupe will ever know peace in their current state. The assassin is surprised by the expression upon Axel's face, he seems trembles in fear or hatred over that type of expression.
"Why do you look at me so?"
Axel doesnt offer an immediate answer, instead his shades begin to appear, one by one. Each one takes up a post on each side of him. Alternating their positions.
Migi, Talion, Asura, a miniature Radahn, Neferpitou [1], Stein, Kratos. Each one takes their place at his side. They all possess some variance of intellect and understanding as they all stare at the assassin. The previous trembling is amplified as Zayd begins to yell out.
"Why do you look at me like that"
"Because I….we understand you. You and the rest we have met so far are like you. There is already so many of…me here. Yet there will be a few more…Which is why im sorry that you had to break apart so many times. Your fate is much worse than mine. I hope you enjoy your life." As he finishes his speech, all his shades disappear back into his body and he teleports back to his room.
It is time for breakfast before he has his next match.
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[1] I'm sorry I overlooked her during the reminiscence last chapter but she took the least amount of damage since it was only the talion shade projection Pitou that was destroyed, so it was a shared damage. Afterall, Pitou was the source of Axel's nen, he couldn't lose his nen so that fragment was injured the least.