Asura turned the fabric between his massive fingers, admiring its surface and texture with a hint of awe in his eyes. The simple shirt possessed a strangeness he couldn't quite fathom. It was self-repairing, the faint shimmer of an enchantment weaving through its threads, and impervious to the touch of residual fire.
They must've made some sort of memory bank with an enchantment… Using the mana to lay out a frame and it seems to remember how the structure used to be before its damaged and returns to that state. He thought, his gaze tracing the intricate weave. The Ogres built, they crafted, they forged. But the humans... they innovated. When Judex Divinum said he made them in his image... Asura trailed off, a flicker of admiration. He wasn't kidding. It would take far longer for a Cyclops to conceive such a design.
Asura shook his head, breaking free from the captivating puzzle of his shirt. "That should be it for the report." The old man's voice spoke with a declarative snap, marking the end of the briefing. "Time to get to work." Then, with a simple, crisp turn, he marched across the room and through the door. The heavy door closed behind him, leaving a vacuum filled with unspoken expectation. Get to it.
But before anyone could so much as shift in their seats, a low, guttural rumble shattered the silence. Wain's face lost all color. "Oh, please don't tell me..." he whispered, dread washing over him. The sound rippled through the room, unmistakable. Wain knew it all too well. Only one person could produce such a noise. Like thick mud being stirred, like something clawing its way out of the grave.
Asura, oblivious, rose from his seat. "I'm hungry," He declared, a wide, eager grin stretching across his face. His focus narrowed to a single destination as he started toward the door, the kitchen. "Where do you think you're going?" He challenged with narrow eyes trained on the ogre.
"Food? Duh," he replied, as if stating the obvious. "Nope." She objected, already expecting the answer. "We start now." Mel declared with the same snap. "There is no time for messing around. You can have lunch when we get back." Asura's grin vanished. He crossed his arms, a deep scowl settling on his features. The battle of wills had begun. He sat down with a loud thump, his face set in a stubborn, unyielding mask.
Mel groaned, a wave of exasperation washing over her. It's getting really old having to babysit this overgrown tantrum-throwing ogre... I thought Ogres were respectable warriors who never yielded in battle, she mocked, imitating Asura's tone. Nope, just cry babies who throw a fit every time you tell them no...
Mel seized Asura's shirt, the thick fabric resisting under her grip as she yanked with all her strength. He didn't make it easy. Feet planted, body unmoving, he let her struggle, a boulder refusing to be moved. Still, inch by inch, she dragged his dead weight toward the cathedral's main doors as Wain and Ash trailed behind.
Wain couldn't help but shake his head at Asura's pathetic stubbornness. He tried to reason with the ogre, pleading for him to yield, but the ogre refused to budge.
As they reached the towering wooden doors, Mel didn't hesitate. With a sharp kick, she sent them slamming open, the crash echoing through the air. A spark of mischief flickered in her eyes. Without warning, she shoved Asura forward, right toward the stone steps waiting just beyond. "Wait-!" He cried out as she released. Yet, it was too late.
The ogre lurched forward, momentum carrying him straight down the stone steps. Each heavy thump echoed through the cathedral's front steps, a rhythmic percussion of limbs and impact. Then, with a final, bone-rattling crash, his back slammed against the unyielding concrete.
"That hurt..." he managed through a groan. Mel rolled her eyes. "You can fight Minotaurs, take bullets to the head, be hit with a sword and a holy fist from someone the Archknights don't like to deal with, but you can't take a hit from falling down the stairs?" Annoyance tinged her voice as she descended the stairs, her eyes fixed on him with clear disbelief.
"Well, it hurt my feelings," Asura muttered, his voice tinged with sarcasm. "You deserved every one of those feelings being hurt." Mel snapped back. "Quit throwing tantrums like a child, and maybe you will be treated like an adult." Before Asura could retort, a blinding light caught his attention. He looked up, his eyes widening in awe. The sun, a blazing orb of fire, hung in the vast blue sky. The sight was overwhelming, one he had longed for since he had arrived. "BEHOLD! THE SUN!" he roared, throwing his arms wide in a gesture of worship.
In his realm, the sun was a distant memory, a blurry image of warmth and light. His people lived in the depths of the earth, in caves and caverns, their world illuminated by the glow of volcanic activity. This blue sky, these white, puffy clouds, were alien to him.
He stared directly at the sun, his eyes wide with wonder. Then, a moment later, he screamed. "AAaaaahhhhhhh! That shit bright!" He recoiled, his hands flying to his eyes, rubbing frantically. Black splotches danced across his vision. A searing headache pounded in his skull. "Man, that freaking hurts!" He cried out.
Mel burst into laughter, tears streaming down her face. "You are such... an idiot." Even Ash couldn't suppress a smile as the ogre writhed in agony. "Dude, you can't look at it like that. It's the sun, you know?" Wain stated as he shook his head, a mixture of disbelief and amusement in his eyes.
"How the hell was I supposed to know that, man?" He asked, briefly looking up at his friend. "We ain't got no sun in my realm." As his vision slowly cleared, he turned his gaze back to the sky.
The vibrant blue, dotted with soft clouds, was a striking contrast to the black and gray skies of his own realm, which only shifted in hue depending on the volcanic eruptions below. The clouds were a brilliant white, casting sharp shadows over the town below. "Even shadows are weird here. So distinct... Sharp."
"Yeah… they-" Wain paused, watching Asura dust himself off after rising from the steps. The mention of shadows had caught his attention, and his gaze instinctively searched for one that was missing. He looked up at the sky, his brow furrowing as if the absence of something in the sky might explain it.
There, he found the sun, perched steadily in the sky, traveling along its usual path toward the west. I'm losing it... I thought the sun was missing for a moment... Wain thought, confusion creeping in. But that just makes this even weirder... Where is Asura's shadow? Wain's mind spun as he observed the shadows cast on the concrete beneath each member's feet
Mel had one. Ash had one. His own shadow stretched out clearly. He lifted his foot, looking down at the black splotch cast by the sun. But when his gaze fell on Asura's feet, the ground was empty. No shadow. It was as if the sun itself ignored Asura's existence. No trace of him was left on the concrete. "How is that possible?" Wain muttered, about to voice his confusion when Mel cut him off.
"You heard the old man," Mel said, her voice firm as she glanced at the group. "Wain and Asura will take downtown, and Ash and I will cover the north." She shot a glare at Wain. "Call me if you find anything, Wain."
"O- okay," Wain stammered, a bit caught off guard by the sudden change in focus.
The ogre frowned, his gaze narrowing at the mention of a phone. He absentmindedly patted his pockets, almost expecting one to appear out of thin air. All he found was lint. He dug deeper, his fingers searching frantically as if the phone might suddenly materialize. But the emptiness inside his pockets was unsettling, like he was missing something important—something that had never truly existed in the first place. "How come I don't have a phone...?" he asked, directed at no one in particular.
"You haven't earned one." Mel curtly answered. Asura opened his mouth to retort, but he faltered as Mel shot him a sharp glare. "Cause any more trouble," she warned, her finger pointed at him with chilling finality, "And I will make sure you never get one, either."
She held her finger outstretched, the silence between them stretching longer than necessary. Asura shifted uncomfortably, squirming under the weight of her gaze, before finally muttering, "Fine..." With that, the group broke apart, each heading toward their designated areas. Wain and Asura headed downtown while the other two headed north.
As they walked, Asura's eyes scanned the surroundings. "What a beautiful day," he remarked, more to himself than anyone else. "Beautiful sky, beautiful sun... not so beautiful buildings." The boarded-up windows and doors of the nearby buildings told the story of an abandoned place, long deserted.
Their rotting wood and deep gouges from monster attacks left Asura doubting that any one would choose to stay long. Some buildings seemed to barely cling to life, their windows dark and empty, while others were little more than crumbling husks, their walls sagging and splintered, as if one more gust of wind might send them collapsing into dust.
"I thought you guys fixed this place up? That whole insurance thing you've got going on isn't a scam, is it?" Asura asked, his voice laced with suspicion. "We don't scam people," Wain replied, his tone steady but edged with a hint of defensiveness.
"Whoa, no need to get all defensive, bud," Asura shot back. "I'm just wondering why this place is still a shithole." Wain sighed, glancing at the crumbling buildings around them. Asura's comments weren't entirely unfounded, but it wasn't their fault. The old man did what he could, but with the orders and restrictions from higher-ups, they were always limited. "We aren't given enough materials to put those reinforced pillars in everyone's houses or businesses," Wain explained. "We have to pick and choose… and unfortunately, some people get left out."
"That nun mentioned you guys were in exile." Asura raised an eyebrow. "Does that have something to do with it?" Wain hesitated, caught off guard by the question. He paused for a moment, weighing whether he should say more to the ogre at his side. "Yeah," he replied softly.
Asura's curiosity was piqued. "What the hell did you guys do to get exiled?" Wain sighed, shifting his bag. "We aren't all exiled... Just the Captain and Sarah." Asura's brows furrowed in confusion. "Well, what did that old fart do? Is he a serial killer in disguise? A lunatic priest that rebelled? A tyrannical dictator forcing his will on others, destroying—"
"No! No! Quit with your ridiculous fantasies, dude," Wain interjected quickly, shaking his head. "Honestly... I don't know either, but it wasn't anything that bad, or he wouldn't still be a Paladin."
Asura's grin spread wider. "You don't know that. The Temple could be in on it! Hiding their twisted mistakes by locking him here! If they killed him, maybe his old followers would rise up!" Wain rolled his eyes, unamused by the ogre's irrational fantasies."Dude, seriously... That's ridiculous."
Asura smirked, his gaze drifting ahead. "I know, but it's fun to think about. You never know who someone really is," the ogre paused. "One day, the old man could be someone completely different than you think." The words hung in the air, carrying an unsettling weight as his tone darkened, hinting at something far deeper lurking beneath his casual words. Wain furrowed his brow, studying Asura's blank expression as the ogre stared off into the distance. "You—"
"Doubt it would be the old man, though." Asura continued, cutting him off. "He's too stuck up to drop his justice. If I had to guess, it's the Temple that doesn't like his justice." As they continued walking, Asura suddenly veered off down a different road. Wain stopped in his tracks, watching the ogre with a skeptical frown. "Do you even know where you're going?" He asked as the ogre walked farther away. "Nope," Asura answered casually.
"Well, it's not that way," Wain stated, cracking a smirk. "Quit wandering, dude." Wain reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, worn brown book, along with a silver coin that gleamed faintly in the dim light. He flipped through the pages, the soft rustle of paper filling the silence until he paused at a particular page, his fingers tracing the words. "What's that?" Asura asked, eyeing the objects curiously.
"It's how we find what we're looking for." Wain's voice was steady, almost detached, as if this was a routine matter. Wain muttered something under his breath as his eyes scanned the page, then read aloud, "All evil is made manifest before Judex Divinum. Through Azraeus, the wicked flames of evil's life are brought forth, that they may be revealed unto the light."
Asura raised an eyebrow. Before he could ask more, the silver coin in Wain's hand began to vibrate, the motion rapid and erratic. It hummed in the air with a low, unsettling frequency. Asura's eyes widened with curiosity. "What's happening?" he asked, his voice laced with confusion.
Without warning, the coin disintegrated, vanishing between Wain's fingers as if it had never been there. He stared into his empty palm. Asura whirled around, eyes scanning their surroundings, but everything remained unchanged. He stood still for a moment, waiting for any sign, any shift—yet all that greeted him was an unsettling silence. Was that a new magic trick Wain wanted to try out? Asura wondered, a skeptical thought flashing through his mind as he glanced back at his friend. "What the hell was that?" Asura asked, still unsettled.
"A tracking incantation," Wain replied, his tone casual, as though the bizarre event was nothing unusual. Asura blinked, pursing his lips. "What's up with the coin?" He asked as he waited for him to pull out another."Since I don't have any mana, I use coins infused with holy mana," Wain explained, his voice hiding a subtle hint of embarrassment. "Silver holds it well, so we made coins out of it to make incantations easier for me to use."
"Alright, but how does it work?" Asura pressed, his curiosity piqued. Before Wain could answer, a small orb materialized in front of the ogre, hovering just above eye level. It flickered with a radiant golden light, its glow pulsing softly like a heartbeat. Without thinking, Asura reached out and poked it. The orb wobbled in the air, a strange, almost playful ripple spreading through it at his touch. "Dude, quit poking it," Wain warned, a slight irritation in his voice.
Asura's eyes were fixed on the orb, watching it shimmer. "How does it work?" he asked again, undeterred. Wain sighed and crossed his arms. "We just follow it around. Normally, it wouldn't flicker like this, but apparently there's not enough…" He paused, "quotidian mana?" Wain looked to Asura for confirmation. The ogre nodded in satisfaction. "Yup. That's the word."
"There's not enough quotidian mana nearby for it to track properly," Wain explained, his gaze fixed on the orb. His mind wandered briefly to the Malachi's spell placed on the factory. "Normally, it would guide us straight to the source, but right now, it's more like a dog sniffing around for a scent. It's just searching aimlessly."
"Huh…" Asura raised an eyebrow. "Weird." They continued down the road, the luminous orb leading them onward. Every so often, the orb paused at intersections, hovering uncertainly, as if it were a bewildered hound sniffing for a lost scent. "It's like a wisp!" Asura exclaimed, suddenly struck by the comparison. "A wisp? Like the fairy tale creature?" Wain asked, unsure if he was following.
"Ah…" Asura scratched his head, glancing at Wain. "I guess you haven't seen one. They're only native to the Shadow Realm," he replied. "So they exist?" Wain asked, curiosity flickering in his eyes. "Definitely," Asura replied with a nod. "They aren't aggressive or anything, so humans probably never see them. No reason for the cultists to bring in a harmless little floating ball of light that tickles you..." Asura paused, his eyes suddenly scanning the streets. "Wait, there are people out!"
Asura took notice of people walking down the streets, though it could barely be called walking. Most of them were running, their faces pale with fear as they scrambled to get away from the presence of a monster. Oblivious to their fear, Asura watched with fascination. It was exciting for the ogre to watch the daily lives of human residents. "Do normal people live like those people on the reality shows?" Asura asked, his eyes fixed on the fleeing. "You know, the ones who whine about their 'hard lives,' even though they're house is huge!"
"You mean The Daily Life of A Celebrity?" Wain asked, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Yeah!" Asura's face lit up. "I love that show!" Wain laughed, shaking his head. "No, it's nothing like that show." He replied. "Really?" Asura frowned, his shoulders slumping to his side. "Really," Wain confirmed. "Nothing like it at all, dude." Asura didn't seem crushed by the news. Instead, he straightened up, walking with exaggerated confidence like he was the star of his own reality show. "Do they live like those bush people, then?"
Wain blinked in confusion. "Sorry, we don't live like them either." He answered with a shake of his head. "What about Horading Like A Dragon?" Asura continued, exposing his plethora of knowledge on human television. Wain snorted. "Television isn't real, dude. Sure, some people are hoarders, but that's the one percent they show. Most people are normal, and the shows just exaggerate or make up a lot of stuff."
"What about Redneck Stunts?" Asura pressed, clearly intrigued. Wain chuckled. "Honestly... I'll give you that one. There are a ton of fails on the internet." Asura grinned as he finally found the one. "Wicked!"
He turned back to Wain, eager to continue talking about one of his favorite shows, but Wain's attention had shifted. Wain watched the orb closely, waiting for any sudden movements or changes. If it lost its target, it could cause more problems, especially if the mana disappeared.
Asura watched him for a moment before speaking up again. "Is that thing searching for fragments of quotidian mana left behind? Like the lingering scent or residue from monsters?" He poked its light once more. "Yeah, but it's hard to track," Wain replied, his voice still focused on the orb. "Quotidian mana doesn't linger long unless it's been heavily exposed. Cultists are aware of it, so they bathe in griffin oil to remove it."
"That makes sense," Asura said, nodding thoughtfully. "It does?" Wain glanced at him, surprised. "Yeah," Asura replied. "Griffin oil is used by every hunter to mask their scent. The coating on their fur is nearly untrackable. Ultimate predators in the sky." Asura scratched his chin. "But why do rituals produce mana? Ain't it a human doing it?"
Wain shrugged slightly, continuing to observe the orb. "Because of the blood of humans," he said, pausing as if trying to find the right words. "We don't fully understand how it works, but blood... it holds a lot of power. Some theorize that it's tied to the soul itself." Wain continued, his voice low as he maintained his focus on the orb. "When humans sacrifice others, it turns the blood into quotidian mana. That mana opens a portal for monsters to come through."
He furrowed his brow, glancing briefly at Asura. "It's like when monsters eat humans—they consume the blood, and it's converted into mana." As if summoned by the word consume, Asura's stomach let out a thunderous rumble, a primal roar demanding sustenance. The sound ripped through the air, startling Wain, whose face flushed crimson.
Clearly disturbed by the recurring noise, he glanced at Asura. The ogre had already parted his lips, poised to request food, but his words died in his throat as something else caught his attention.
A woman had appeared before them, standing with her arms crossed. Her gaze was unwavering, sharp as she fixed her stare on them both. The air between them shifted, tension thickening. Asura froze, sensing the sudden change in atmosphere. "Oh boy... This should be fun." Asura recognized the type immediately: short hair, red leather jacket, mom jeans. "A Karen in its natural habitat..." he thought, recalling countless online videos.
Wain and Asura waited for her to speak, a decision they instantly regretted. Her deep, raspy, smoker's voice, thick with disgust, self-righteousness, and arrogance, sent a shiver down their spines. "What are your kind doing here?" she demanded. Wain remained silent, expecting Asura to blurt out something foolish. Instead, the ogre appeared genuinely confused.
The woman's eyes, one fixed, the other drifting erratically, added to the unsettling tableau. Wain knew engagement would be futile, but he felt compelled to speak. "Ma'am, the ogre is under our control. Please, do not fear—" He cautiously stated before being interrupted. "I'm not talking about him." She snapped with venom. "What?" Wain blinked, finding her single, focused eye trained on him, seemingly unperturbed by the four-armed monsters beside him.
"Me?" He asked. She scoffed as if the question were absurd. "Yeah, you. We don't like your people around here." Wain was stunned. He glanced at Asura, who stood gaping, equally speechless by the blatant racism. "What do you mean, 'your people'?" He asked with a bewildered stare. She huffed. "You know what I mean." Without another word, she stormed past them. "Filthy priests. You all need to get out of this town. You kill more than you save. Nothing more than a nuisance, taxing us and imposing laws no one likes."
Wain watched as she marched away, his mind reeling. "What the hell did she mean by that?" He asked. He knew their reputation was poor in this town, plagued by an unusual concentration of cultists. The captain had never understood the attraction, but it made their lives miserable. Cultists arrived in droves, and like moths to a flame, they were met with resistance, only to be replaced by more. This town was a magnet for them.
Shaking his head, Wain decided to refocus on the mission and to push the thought aside. They need to find the cultists and, hopefully, Malachi. Yet, they were met with silence as the orb continued its pursuit. There was nothing it seemed to grasp onto.
After what felt like an eternity, Asura, his patience frayed, began kicking a discarded can. "This is taking forever!" he declared, his voice a low grumble. With a sudden burst of frustration, he slammed his foot against the dented metal, sending it skittering across the pavement. "I NEED FOOD!" he growled. "Dude... it's been like five minutes..." Wain replied.
Just as another groan threatened to escape Asura's lips, his gaze snagged on a sight that banished all thoughts of boredom: an ice cream shop. A surge of pure, unadulterated joy coursed through him, and he bounced on the balls of his feet, utterly captivated. Unlike the pristine shops he'd seen on television, this one was run-down, stained yellow, with crack glass that made him question its status.
He briefly wondered if it was closed, but then saw someone behind the counter and a customer entering. It was open! Asura's excitement was hard to ignore, Wain watched as the ogre gestured wildly with his three free hands, his arms flailing in an enthusiastic plea. "Gimme that shit." The ogre demanded. Wain glared. "No." He stated, trying to harden his resolve. I won't break.
Asura's gaze shifted from the enticing shop to Wain, then back again, the expression on his face mirroring that of a child denied a coveted toy. He folded his arms across his chest, and, as if a sudden realization had struck him, he dramatically plopped down onto the sidewalk, launching into a full-blown tantrum.
Wain watched, incredulous, as the formidable ogre, the one who fearlessly confronted any adversary, devolved into a full-blown tantrum in the middle of the street. "What are you doing?" he questioned, his voice laced with disbelief. Asura met his gaze with unwavering determination. "I ain't moving till I get it," he declared, his tone brooking no argument.
Wain was speechless. Is he serious? Is this really happening? The orb they were following flickered, a subtle sign of instability that sent a wave of panic through Wain. He was tempted to abandon Asura to his childish antics, but the image of Mel's disapproving face flashed before his eyes, her voice echoing in his ears, reprimanding him for his lack of supervision.
With an internal groan, Wain conceded defeat. He opened his wallet, the worn leather creaking in protest, and extracted the last twenty-dollar bill. The sight of his now-empty wallet deepened his gloom. I need a paycheck, and soon. Asura snatched the bill with the swiftness of a ravenous goblin, a triumphant grin spreading across his face. He scurried towards the ice cream shop, his eagerness mirroring that of a child with newfound treasure.
Wain watched him go, burying his face in his hands. How am I supposed to accomplish anything with a giant toddler in tow? he lamented. Why me? After a silent prayer for patience, he waited for the ogre's return. Then, after a few short minutes, Asura emerged from the shop, his face radiant with happiness, a bucket of chocolate ice cream clutched in one hand and a cone of mint chocolate chip in another.
Wain stared in horror. How much ice cream did that twenty buy? "Uh… how much change did you get?" he inquired tentatively. Asura, his mouth full of mint chocolate chip, froze. "Change?" he mumbled, his expression blank.
Wain's shoulders slumped. All his money, gone again. Oblivious to Wain's despair, Asura strutted off, proudly devouring his spoils. What a great day, he thought to himself. Wain trailed behind, his spirits as heavy as his empty wallet.
"You good? Wanna wrestle?" Asura asked between licks. "Why would I want to wrestle?" Wain cried out in exasperation. Asura merely shrugged and demolished the remaining ice cream cone with astonishing speed. In his culture, the act of wrestling held deep significance, a primal way to express emotions. He simply wished to extend a bit of goodwill, an attempt to mend any rifts the ice cream may have created.
With nonchalant ease, he popped open the tub of chocolate ice cream, discarding the lid. Three spoons in hand, he attacked the contents with a fervor that bordered on savage. Wain watched, mesmerized by the sheer intensity of Asura's consumption. "Chocolate is the greatest invention ever!" Asura declared, his voice thick with delight.
His joy, however, was short-lived. He reached the bottom of the tub with alarming speed. All gone. His face fell, the fleeting happiness replaced by a mask of disappointment. Well, not all the ice cream was gone; remnants clung to his face like a sugary mask. He remedied this with a thorough licking, and his spirits were momentarily lifted. But this, too, was fleeting, and soon, the last remnants of the frozen treat vanished.
"Damn it… gone again," he lamented. All that remained was the empty tub, now a useless vessel. What to do… what to do… he mused before casually tossing it aside. It rolled across the sidewalk and came to rest in someone's neatly manicured lawn. Wain shook his head in disbelief, prepared to scold the monster for its careless littering.
Before he could utter a word, Asura's small form crashed to the ground, his limbs contorting in a grotesque dance of agony. "Aghh!" The cry tore from his throat, raw and guttural, as he writhed on the concrete. "What poison is this?!" Asura slammed his head against the pavement. "HELP ME!" He cried out, a desperate plea to free himself from the mind-numbing agony.
The sight of the fearsome ogre reduced to a whimpering, writhing mess broke Wain. He doubled over, tears streaming down his face. "It's… a brain freeze," he managed to gasp between fits of laughter. "It's what you deserve." Asura, still in pain, managed to raise two middle fingers, his face contorted in a grimace.
After a few agonizing minutes, the icy grip on his brain subsided, and he slowly rose to his feet. He shook his head, attempting to dislodge the lingering pain. "How awful… how could such a delectable substance be so easily consumed, yet have such wicked consequences?" he lamented.
"You evil, brown, sticky, delicious treat!" he declared, shaking his fist at the sky.