"I'm exhausted..." Asura thought as he returned to his room with Wain by his side. Asura's anger had yet to subside, but he figured it was best to let it go. It could have ended badly if he pushed any further with the old man. "I don't want to jam my thumb in the wound deeper..." Otherwise, he would certainly deserve the title... demon.
Although Asura never liked to back down from a fight, pursuing one would've caused irreparable damage. Surely, if he fought, the children would be alone once again... He needed to avoid this at all costs. His new friends were also enjoyable to be around. "It's been a long time since friends like this were around..."
Ash was a pain in his ass, but overall, their presence did bring joy to him. Being alone was rough... for several years, he sat alone with just a television. Scrolling, clicking, watching, repeating... He had watched every film, show, documentary, game show, news, and sport ever made under the sun. "Twice! No! Maybe three times? I lost count after the rewatches began."
The boredom got to him. It felt like it was eating away at his soul. His taste in film deteriorated to watching even the worst movies created.
"Pumpkin Vampire..."
"Pumpkin what?"
"Nothing."
He craved social interaction, but Asura had been locked in his realm... alone for so long. "Now? I have friends. People he can converse with daily." Asura didn't want to lose them so soon after just acquiring them. "Sure, they try to kill him occasionally, but what are friends for if not to try and take your life?" He would never admit this to anyone, especially not Wain. Wain might tease him for saying such a thing.
Wain walked with Asura down the halls in silence.
"I'm sorry."
Wain turned to Asura, taking in his gloomy face.
"What?'
"I'm sorry..."
"For what?"
"I don't know... everyone was pissed off back there and depressed after. I know you all cared for her, but I was just angry the whole time yelling..."
"Oh... don't worry about it, dude. Sarah has just been around for... well, ever. Way before I arrived here, at least. I know the old man was close to her. Supposedly in the past, she was the only one here with him before the team and the chef or other nuns."
"Do you think the old man is mad at me?"
"I think so, but maybe we should calm down on this rampaging thing. You can enjoy a good fight, but like Mel said, we are a team. You can't just keep running off like you do. What would you have done if Lily got intercepted before reaching us? She might've died, you know."
"You're right... It's just been a long time since I have dealt with people."
Wain watched as Asura's eyes became clouded with deep regret. He couldn't help but feel as if those words had deeper meaning.
"What happened to the Ogres?"
Asura glanced over his shoulder at Wain, giving a simple reply that shook him to his core.
"All of them are dead..."
He had never heard of an entire race dying off... If what he said was true, then that meant the Ogre realm was empty. An entire realm was unpopulated... lacking God's creation. The thought of that made his heart stop. "What could have killed off all the Ogres? What was strong enough to wipe out an entire race? Is Asura the sole survivor?" No wonder the human race doesn't have records of any encounters with the Ogre race in the last hundred years... Only one remained now. The last ogre was before him.
"What happen-"
Asura shook his head... "Tired eyes," Wain thought. They were plagued by a different type of exhaustion. It was not exhaustion from working or fighting. Rather, it was from what they recalled, what they witnessed in the past. Eyes that told a story, a sorrow-filled one, as if all the happiness was stripped from them.
"Do not ask today. Maybe another day..."
"Wh-... okay."
Wain stopped at the door. He tried to lighten the mood with a joke,
"Man, you reek like a bunch of animals died in your hoodie. Did you poop yourself like that lady at the gas station?"
Asura mustered a slight smile that curved the sides of his lips.
"That bad, huh?"
"Yeah, it's bad. You really need to wash your clothes and take a shower."
"Guess I will go wash up in the laundry room, and I'll be back."
Wain stopped before entering their room,
"Dude, I am going to trust you on this. Please do not do anything else. For the sake of today, nothing else, dude."
Asura held up his hands in defense, pleading,
"Alright, alright, man. I won't do anything."
"Promise?"
"I promise, I'll just wash up and come back."
Asura pulled his clothes off as he walked down into the laundry room. He reached the machine and crouched down to fill it with his clothes.
"Should be just like them in shows..."
The ogre watched the inside of the machine fill with water and begin to spin. A deep, long sigh escaped Asura's mouth as he wrapped his arms around his legs. Resting his head against his knees, the ogre watched the clothes tumble around in the soapy liquid. They tumbled, and tumbled, and tumbled until the clothes turned... red. A crimson, thick color spread over his clothes, and the fabric seemed to twist into a face.
"YOU DID THIS! YOU CAUSED OUR DEATH!"
A voice screamed out, coming from the washer.
Asura fell back, crawling away as he watched in horror. The hands and face of a goblin child pressed up against the glass, pounding away. It struggled to keep itself out of the red water building up around it. The goblin spat blood from its mouth, trying to gasp desperately for air in between each spin. Drenched in the crimson liquid, it was hard to make features out, but Asura found the face familiar.
"WHEREGH WERGH YOU!"
Asura rubbed his eyes. He was either finally losing it or the exhaustion was getting to him. Removing his hands from his face, Asura found the child's face, and the blood was no longer present as if it were never there. However, the face was burned into his thoughts, and their accusations echoed in his mind. As the clothes tumbled repeatedly, the ogre stared intently as if he could still see the child within.
"I should take a shower, wake myself up."
Asura patted his knee and stood up. The ogre walked down the hallway to a large room filled with showers. Turning on a nearby one, he waited as icy water rained down on his skin. "Refreshing..." For an hour, he sat with his head resting against the wall.
After the shower, Asura grabbed his clothes and headed back to the room. Surprisingly, their washers were two-in-one machines. Holy mana could be used for menial tasks, he supposed after witnessing the golden rune within glowing. "Warm and Cozy," he thought as he pressed the warm shirt against his body, embracing the warmth.
Asura quietly opened the door, trying his best not to wake up the snoring Wain. Sprawled out on his bed, the human snored loudly. Asura couldn't help but chuckle a little. He snored like an old man... "He should get that checked out..." Jumping into his bed, Asura was finally ready to sleep away today and embrace a new one.
"What a stressful and somewhat fun day. Fighting the Minotaurs was fun, but the thrill of fighting them didn't last long. It became really boring quickly as the stupid bulls charged blindly at me. Meh, at least I can look forward to Malachi."
Malachi loomed over Asura like a dangling treat held before a dog. The thought of properly getting his hands on the cultist was thrilling for Asura. "When I finally get my hands on that rat! Ohohoho, I'll rip his spine from his back and beat him with it." He had managed to barely escape his grasp every encounter. "What was up with that Faerie, though?"
There has never been a tree race... only the elves, the faeries, the nymphs, but no tree-kin that remained sentient by itself... "Why did it want to die? Also, what was up with the face in the bathroom? A goblin child's face?" Being the only one remaining in his realm for so long, Asura began to forget what they looked like. "Why did it blame me?" Asura never killed any goblins, well, none he could remember. Trying to remember the past, Asura's head began to throb once more.
"Shit... man."
The headache overwhelmed Asura as if a barrier was placed within his mind. He tried to push further...
"SHIT!"
Asura gripped his skull as the pain intensified. His fingernails began digging into his flesh as his grip tightened. Asura coughed out,
"Wh-what the h-hell is th-that?..."
The exhaustion built up over the day reached its peak, now it was something he could no longer power through. Panting, tired, and comfortable, Asura stared at the ceiling, praying not to have another nightmare as his eyes grew heavy. Sunshine and rainbows, please! Sunshine and rainbows...
-------------------------------------------------------------
Opening his eyes, Asura was met with a blinding white room that stretched for miles. There was nothing, nothing for what seemed to go on for eternity.
"Did I die? Wow, what a shitty way to go... in my sleep? Really? Where is the fun in that? Couldn't it have been a crazy battle? Maybe to a legendary shadow, one of Orthos' knights?! Would have been sick! Damn... So this is heaven?"
Asura stood uncertain about whether the place had a solid floor. Would he fall through if he took a step? He paused and waited. After mustering up his courage, he took a step. It was solid.
"Hello?"
His words echoed, repeating several times as they grew quieter while traveling away from him.
"Damn. This place is huge!"
As he walked around while looking up, Asura was mesmerized by such a flawless place. There were no blemishes, no stains, nothing but the white box around him. Hours went by as he continued to walk around the barren room. With no end in sight, he stopped to look behind him. Did he even move from where he started? Was the step he took even real?
"This is dum-"
Something wet grabbed his foot. Asura looked down to find the source of the wetness. Suddenly, the once pure white floor was replaced with a thick crimson liquid.
Asura reached down to touch the liquid to see if his suspicions were true. As he touched the liquid, a hand reached from the thin layer of blood beneath him. Grabbing his wrist, the hand-pulled with all its might, attempting to take Asura with it into the depths below. Trying to free himself, Asura attempted to pry the hand from his wrist.
"Holy shit, you are strong."
Its grip didn't budge as it pulled him downward, trying to take it wherever it came from. Asura pressed his other arms against the floor, which slightly submerged in the crimson liquid around as he pressed against it. He groaned as he struggled to fight against the absurdly strong hand.
"Just what the hell-"
Thousands of other hands erupted from the red liquid, thrashing, grabbing, clawing...
"What the-"
Thrashing around like fish in water, the blood splattered everywhere as they reached out towards him. Grabbing his other arms, Asura struggled to fight back as their hands began to dig into his skin. He roared in agony as their fingers sunk deeper into his flesh. He couldn't tell if he was being pulled down or if the crimson liquid was rising, but slowly, he began to be consumed by the red liquid.
"LET GO- LET GO OF ME!"
Asura pulled with all his might, trying to fight back, but it was useless. His strength couldn't compare to theirs. Whatever it was, it was winning. Asura gasped as he struggled. Before the liquid rose above his mouth, he was left with one final thought. "This is it. I really am dead... Fuck, guess I'm headed to hell..."
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Gasping for air Asura abruptly woke up with rapid breaths. Witnessing Asuras jolt upright, Wain became worried as the monster jumped out of bed. Frantically, the ogre backed away, confused by his surroundings. His eyes were unfocused, rapidly darting right to left repeatedly.
"Woah, woah, what's up, man? You good?"
With wild eyes, Asura scanned his surroundings. His eyes refocused. "I'm back... Oh man, he was still alive!" Asura thought to himself. The ogre laughed nervously as he patted his body down to assure himself that he had returned,
"I'M ALIVE!"
Wain's concerns grew as Asura began to shout with joy. It was as if Asura had endured and survived something unexpected... Wain stood frozen, watching the ogre's bizarre behavior.
"You good dude?"
Asura glanced at Wain and then back to his bed.
"Yeah, I'm good... very good. Never better."
This response did not reassure Wain. In fact, it only made him even more worried. Asura was standing in the middle of the room, staring at his bed. Wain watched as Asura poked his bed cautiously as if it would suddenly jump out and bite him.
"Bro-"
A loud thud exploded as the door suddenly shot open and slammed into the wall. Ash barged into the room right after, interrupting the two of them,
"The captain wants to talk again. Get ready."
"Hello to you too..."
"Dude, are you really okay?"
"Yeah, just uh... nightmare, you know?"
"Shut up and get ready, you two! We have wasted enough time with this demon's antics."
Both Wain and Asura groaned in unison.
"Fuck you too, bud. Being racist has to be your motto man."
Ash rolled his eyes. Asura and Wain looked at one another with dread. They both knew that they would have to deal with the aftermath of last night. There was no avoiding it any longer. Their fate was sealed. Asura watched as Wain grabbed his bag from the foot of his bed. Nodding at each other, they both acknowledged they were in this together. Brothers for life!
As Asura walked into the classroom, he immediately pointed at Wain,
"It was Wain's fault, he didn't watch me."
Wain was flabbergasted, speechless, baffled, betrayed! He could only watch as Asura shifted the blame onto him.
"What the hell, man?"
"I am kidding... slightly."
Asura prepared himself for the worst. He could feel the old man's eyes lingering on him,
"Look, man I am-"
"So, what happened during your fight last night? Mel gave me a recap of the information on Jormungandr. I need to know what happened with you and Malachi."
Asura stood quietly, analyzing the situation. The old man's face looked uninterested in Asura's words, as if more pressing matters needed to be discussed.
"I uh- wait... um, I need to apologize for how I behaved last night..."
"Apology accepted."
"Wait, no, that wasn't."
"It's fine, Asura... You didn't do anything wrong. I would have acted just the same if I had found out."
"Yeah, but like I blew up a building, started some crap here..."
"And blew my car door off, yes I know."
"And you aren't mad?"
The old man laughed as he stroked his beard,
"Oh, don't misunderstand me. I am furious with you. Do it again, and I will send you to hell with a recommendation letter. However, you also saved Lily again, caught the traitor, and stopped Malachi. You prove yourself time and time again... Now take a seat so we can get through this report."
Everyone took the seats they had claimed previously.
"How did you know I fought Malachi? He was long gone before Mel showed up?"
A wide grin spread across the old man's face. Asura shifted anxiously.
"I told you we knew what you'd be up to. You did not think I would fully trust a monster now, would you? We always have you under surveillance, so keep that in mind if you try to plan something sinister."
Asura crossed his arms and tilted his head.
"Nah, I didn't think you'd trust me, but now I'm curious why you are. Why did you keep me around and not kill me when we met? I am a monster, after all, or a demon by your shi-... dumb standards. An ogre shows up on your front doorstep, and you keep him around? Idiotic if you ask me."
The old man laughed,
"Finally, using your head for things other than headbutting and causing trouble. I let you live because monsters cannot normally enter a cathedral. An enchantment prevents demonic mana from entering."
"Quotidian..."
"...From what the temple knows, every monster has quotidian mana, and yet you can just stroll inside without a care in the world. We now know it's because you lack mana, but the entire situation is strange. To be summoned with a ritual, mana is needed. It is how cultists link their ritual to a monster that allows passage. So, how did you get summoned? We don't know. If we figure it out, it may provide useful information to prevent summoning in general. Everything we know about you is abnormal."
"Thanks?"
"To be honest, forgive me if I am being rude, but we are using you. You have been useful in helping find and stop monsters. Not only did you help us find out Jormungandr is their goal, but you were also the reason we now know monsters lurking in the human realm right under our noses. We also found out a vampire was pretty close to us."
"To be fair, the temple probably knows about it already."
Furrowing his brow, the old man was perplexed upon hearing this,
"What do you mean?"
"Do you really think that a vampire and a business run by the Succubi race would have lasted this long in the human realm if they did not know? The Temple is in on it. At least, that's what I heard from my aunt. She said she made a deal, a business deal."
Ash became infuriated,
"YOU DARE ACCUSE THE TEMPLE OF-"
Slamming his fist against the desk, he stopped Ash before he could continue. Ash turned to plead with the old man, but he raised a hand up, stopping him,
"What type of deal is it?"
"I don't know. I don't snoop that much... I do know they both get something out of it, though."
Contemplating this revelation, the old man could only ponder what else The Temple was hiding from him.
"This is why we let you live and trusted you. Even now, we are finding out something new about ourselves."
Asura was annoyed that he was being used and tracked, but what could he do?
"Well, as long as I get to fight, I don't care what happens... to answer your earlier question, Malachi showed up. He had some snake chick and the lion lady. I beat their ass... my bad. Malachi and the snake lady ran away. I tore the lion lady in half, but I don't know where she went."
"Snake lady?"
"Oh yeah, A Naga. Well, more specifically, a Gorgon."
Wain's head snapped to look at Asura,
"A Gorgon?!"
"Yeah, a GoRgOn. Why are you so surprised?"
"Are those not high-ranking noble dragons?"
"Uh, I guess? Not really, though. If it's not a dragon, it's not high in rank in the nobility of dragons. Damn, bas- Jerks don't care about anyone but themselves. Wyverns? Treated like crap."
Asura paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.
"Lastly, they had a tree guy."
The old man looked up from a book laid on his desk,
"A tree guy?"
"Yeah, I have no clue what it was, but it had Faerie quotidian mana. They were feeding him corpses. I assume they were using it as some sort of medium to open a gate for Jormungandr. Damn, worm... Man, I suck at this no cursing thing..."
"Are not a majority of the Faeries plant-like creatures?"
Upon hearing this, Asura's eyes went wide with shock,
"Um, no? What a stupid question, there's the faeries, the elves, the nymphs. Like the dudes with pointy ears, ever heard of them?"
"In books, yes, but the Faerie race has always been tree kin, carnivorous plants, and fungus monsters. A few exceptions are those with butterfly wings."
Asura was even more speechless.
"No... They have never been those. They can make the trees come to life and stuff. That's like their thing, but the faeries are definitely not just tree people. They are pale, human-like people with pointed ears and tall and long bodies..."
Wain shrugged,
"We've never seen elves, faeries, or the nymphs then."
"Where the hell are the elves then? Elves loved to interact with people... If humans haven't seen them, then what the hell are those tree things?" Asura thought to himself. Faeries bring them to life with mana, and they feed off it, meaning they must stay near their creator. They loved to brag about their creation. "There is no way the fey wouldn't brag about this to the humans. There's no way they haven't seen any of them..."
The old man sighed as he paced for a moment, processing what Asura had said. As he looked outside the window, the old man furrowed his brow.
"I have contacted the main cathedral overlooking ours. They should be dispatching a few paladins to help soon. In the meantime, we need to figure out where Malachi will show up before his next ritual takes place. He's trying to collect blood and a lot of it, far more than what is necessary for a normal monster summoning.
The evidence supports Jormungandr's awakening... You all will go to the town to see if you can find out where Sarah was supposed to meet them. Wain and Asura will go downtown. Mel and Ash will take the north side."
Asura slumped in his chair, crying out,
"Boooorrriinnnggggg, can I wait this one out? You guys can find him, and I will wait here. This whole searching and investigating stuff ain't my thing. I do the punching."
Just by the snap of the old man's fingers, Asura's chest burst into fire. The rune underneath his shirt glowed brightly as a fire emerged on his skin. Mana coursed over his body, causing an itchy feeling to erupt all over his chest. Then, from the hole around his neck, smoke leaked out, covering his vision as it swirled around his head.
Asura began to swat at the smoke to disperse it, but his attempts were futile as the smoke continuously poured out from within. The smoke filled his lungs, causing the ogre to erupt in a fit of coughs.
"Alright, alright, I'll help. Damn, geezer. Stop this"