Adam: [So where are we going?]
After walking along the road for a few hours, I finally remembered that I didn't actually know where we were going.
Raya: [We are moving south to a city called Celestia because I have a contact there. It's where I was originally planning on going before I decided to stay with you and Charlotte in Guileva.]
After a brief pause, I realized I still didn't understand.
Adam: [What do you mean by 'contact'?]
Raya stopped walking and turned around to face me.
Raya: [In case you've forgotten, there are still many people who want me and you dead. This guy I know will shelter us as we gain allies and information... Probably.]
Adam: [Oh, convenient...]
Raya shot me a look when I said that but turned to continue down the road rather than deal with my attitude.
Man, I kind of wished she yelled at me instead.
We continued walking in silence for a few hours when I spotted something interesting.
Adam: [Tracks.]
Raya: [They look big. We have enough food for now so there is no reason to risk fighting something of that size.]
But these weren't just any tracks. I knew these tracks. They were the same tracks that Mau had showed me not too long ago. Moreover, I could tell that these tracks were fresh, so the earth bison had only been here minutes ago.
Adam: [It's an earth bison. And it's close.]
How ironic is it that I find the earth bison after everyone died on a quest to hunt it just a few days ago? I'll fucking pulverize that piece of shit.
I took off in the direction that the tracks pointed while activating concealment and detection to the highest level. Raya shouted something as I ran but I didn't hear what she said. I'd apologize later.
With augmented legs, I sped through the forest like a blur. It wasn't hard to track such a huge monster, so I managed to find it after just a few minutes. It was bigger than I imagined, with an almost comically oversized head and giant curly horns sticking out from where its eyes should have been.
Adam: [Over here, you oversized cow.]
It raised its head from the bush it had been munching on and appraised me. I knew that this was stupid. I knew that the dead would never see this. But for my fallen comrades, I'd fuck up this cow.
Bison: [moo]
Then it charged at me head-first. I too charged directly at it. I didn't care if my bones broke, I'd beat it head on.
Muscle enhancement, bone strengthening, blood replication.
I threw a punch at the bison as we collided. But because the bison was several times my size, my arm exploded and I was flung into the air.
Adam: [YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE SO FUCKING DEAD! FREELY AND FUCKING VICIOUSLY] –RIVERS OF BLOOD
Using the overwhelming amount of blood that I had lost in the initial collision, I summoned a river of blood that would cut through the earth bison dozens of times per second. My right arm was now useless, so I pulled out more blood to puppeteer it into a fist. I sacrificed even more blood to conjure a blood sword then grabbed one end of the blood river with my right arm while wrapping the other end around the monster's neck. With a strong yank, I launched myself towards the bison and used the momentum to drive the blood sword into the base of its skull.
The bison bucked and flailed around in an attempt to throw me off, forcing me to let go of the blood sword. I used blood as if it were reins and held on like a deranged cowboy. I knew it would take more than a single stab to the neck to kill this beast, but I could feel my head getting light from anemia.
Adam: [YOU HAVING FUN NOW! AHAHAHA! YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD!] –BURST
I gripped the sword that I had stuck in the bison's neck and exploded it entirely, piercing through the bison's brain a multitude of times. The earth bison collapsed to the floor, shaking the ground and throwing dust into the air. Naturally, I fell with it, though I landed a few feet from its thick skull.
Breathing heavily, I got up and glanced back at the dead bison to make sure it was fully killed. Just to be sure, I punched its nose. Pulling my remaining arm back, I punched it again. Then again.
Again.
Rip out its horn.
Again.
Ehehe-- It hurts, doesn't it?
Cut its face into pieces.
Again.
Kick it. Stomp on it.
Again.
Look at yourself, you freak. So stupid.
Again.
You're disgusting.
Again and again and AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN–
???: [I have no reason to keep a servant that won't listen to my commands.]
Raya… She looked upset as she walked towards me. Then, she stopped a few feet in front of me and sighed with her hands on her hips.
Raya: [I'm assuming that some earth bison is tangentially related to the reason the Golden Wings died and you're not just doing this for fun. Do you have a plan here? Are you going to exterminate every earth bison in the region? Or are you just throwing a tantrum like an insolent child?]
Raya's words struck straight into me. I couldn't do anything but look down in shame. Killing the bison didn't do anything to dull the pain. Looking at my newly mangled arm, thoughts of turning back on my sense of pain surfaced in my head. But that wouldn't help either. Nothing could ease this pain, not even more pain.
She pulled a handkerchief out and wiped some of the blood off my face. Then, looking down at the completely blood soaked cloth, she frowned at the futility of her gesture.
Raya: [Go clean yourself off and fix your arm. I'll set up camp and butcher… what's left of this bison.]
The bison had gotten completely mangled after my tantrum. Its head was almost completely gone, it's body was covered in deep gashes, and blood carpeted the entire clearing red. I honestly couldn't tell whether the blood was mostly mine or the bison's.
My whole body was in excruciating pain; I just couldn't feel it. As I walked towards the faraway sounds of rushing water, another chunk of arm fell to the floor with a disgusting splat.
The technique of stuffing extra blood into my arm to create a stronger impact worked well, too well perhaps. The backfire left much to be desired, but I didn't particularly care for it. Arms could be regrown with a bit of time.
Luckily, the river was closer than I had initially thought. By the time I got there, most of the bleeding had stopped. I stumbled into the water, resisting the urge to let the current carry me away.
At some point when I was bathing I heard some rustling in the bushes, but when I checked, there was nothing there. Nothing even came up on my Detection. Oh well, since it didn't attack me, it was probably nothing.
No matter what I did, the blood wouldn't completely wash away from my clothing. After scrubbing for a while I gave up and set it on a rock as I waited for it to dry.
Adam: [This body of mine. It looks… unnatural.]
After spotting my reflection, I assessed my body for the first time in a while.
Though I was supposed to be about 8, my body looked nothing like the average 8-year-old's. I was much taller than I should've been and had a disgusting amount of muscle for my age. There was also the matter of the giant scars that completely covered my body. On my chest, where the mannequin stabbed me; all over my legs, where lacerations appeared upon shattering; on my left arm, which was used to take the brunt of several heavy attacks; and finally my right arm, which had been mangled by my stupid choices just today. There were also many smaller scars that I'd gotten when training and large stretch marks on many of my joints. I doubted that many of these would ever fully heal.
Whenever I turned off my pain nullification, a dull ache would completely fill my body as if it were begging me to take some rest.
Pax: [I'm sorry Adam.]
Ahaha~ You're a funny guy, Pax.
- - - - - - -
After a few weeks of uneventful journeying, we finally made it to our destination. The bison meat ended up lasting long enough for us with some supplementation from wild vegetation.
Adam: [So this is Celestia?]
Our ragged, dirty, and bloody selves stood before the greatest magical labyrinth city in the world.
Beyond the towering city walls, houses stood upon floating rocks held up by strange gravitation magic that glowed purple. The buildings twisted in unnatural directions as people walked sideways and upside down against common sense. And at the center of it all stood an enormous castle atop a floating chunk of rock.
Raya: [Let's go.]