Point-of-View: Argent Stryker
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"Damn it, it’s not enough!" I exclaid in frustration as I flung away the healing Magic Item, which wasn’t having any further effect on dad no matter how many tis I used it.
I already knew that it wouldn’t, but still...but still!
We’d landed several kiloters to the southwest of the capital, still a bit far from the nearest town, which is Cusch Town. His heartbeat is so weak, and it’s gradually getting weaker, even after healing.
When I first saw him in the dungeon, I definitely saw a couple of puncture wounds on his skin, the type caused by needles...it’s like that guard told , he was poisoned. Whatever the case, his condition isn’t improving, and while he has occasionally regained consciousness, it barely last for more than a handful of seconds at a ti.
"Here...let try sothing. I don’t know if it will work, but it’s the only thing I can think of...," Trailed off Izzy, as she walked over.
After we landed, she’d been pretty quiet, but she’s been acting relatively normal after I started to panic over the healing failing to work.
"What is it?" I asked her, calming down slightly as I moved aside.
"For Monsters like , our durability and effective immortality is due to our Negative Energy, the equivalent of what Mana is to humans and Demi-Humans. But to us, it’s more than just a simple energy source for our powers, it also effectively serves as our life force.
It makes our bodies stronger and keeps up from aging once we reach our pri...I could try pouring a bit of my Negative Energy into your father’s body. However...I have no idea what kind of effect it will have, it could make things worse," She inford .
"If we do nothing, he’ll probably be dead in a matter of hours in his current condition, maybe even sooner...alright, go for it. Do it bit by bit, to avoid overwhelming him," I replied with a nod.
"Okay," She responded, before placing her hands on his chest, a glow emanating as she poured her energy into him.
The glow faded after a couple of seconds, as she paused before doing it again. My eyes then widened as I felt a glimr of hope rising inside , as his expression began to ease, his breathing growing less labored and harsh.
His shoulders relaxed as his breathing got smoother, the tension in his face slowly but surely disappearing...she then moved away, taking her hands off.
"What’s wrong? Why did you stop?" I asked her.
"It felt like that was the limit of how much he could handle...it was like filling a balloon with water, if I poured too much, the vessel would burst. At least, that’s the feeling I got towards the end. After all, humans don’t naturally possess Negative Energy, it’s a completely foreign substance to a human body," She replied with a shake of her head.
"Oh, okay...thanks a lot, Izzy, I’m so grateful for this," I smiled as a sense of relief washed over , the murky, clouded feeling in my head starting to clear.
He’s still in a pretty weak state, but he’s stable now. And with my worries sowhat alleviated, I finally got a proper look at her expression...she was putting on a brave face, but...but she’s in a lot of pain.
I sat down beside her and put my arm around her shoulder, lightly pushing her head towards my arm and letting her lean on .
"Um...what are you doing?" She inquired in bemusent.
"It just...it just seed like you needed this. How are you holding up?" I asked her in response.
"Oh, I’m...I’m fine, I was a bit shocked, but I’m-..."
"Hey, you can talk to ...if you’d rather not, that’s fine, but bottling it up inside might make you feel worse. So, um, what I’m trying to say is...if you feel like you want to talk about it, I’m here for you," I replied assuringly.
"I...I-I just...," She trailed off as her voice cracked with a sob, "I already knew that all the other Demons were captured by the humans, I knew that. But...but seeing her like that, being used like a tool by them, it...it hurt so much. I...I couldn’t bear it..."
"You called her sister, you must have been close to her," I responded as she buried her face against my arm.
"Yeah...my big sis Lucy. Well, her official title was the Demon General of Joy, Lucifer. She’s my half-sister, we’re both the daughters of Satan, the Demon Lord of Apathy. We had different mothers, but we were still really close. I loved her so much..."
"I see...like I promised you, we’ll return to the capital. We’ll save her and kill everyone who made her suffer, I’ll be by your side the whole ti," I promised her.
"I...I don’t know if I can. Not right now, anyway...she’s much more powerful than I am, and even if that wasn’t the case, I don’t think I can fight her. I was told that I have the potential to surpass every Demon and Dragon King, but...for the last two hundred years until I t you, I was down in the Labyrinth, just idly letting ti pass by.
For decades, I was miserable thinking about her and the other Demons who were captured...eventually, I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I buried it down deep inside, and spent my days in lethargy. When those humans tried to enslave before you saved from them, the rage I’d buried began to resurface, but the rest of what I’d felt remained buried. And today, seeing her like that...it all ca flooding back, everything I suppressed.
I should have gone to save all of them a long ti ago, they’ve been suffering all this ti and I did nothing...it’s not just big sis Lucy, I want to save all of them. But...but I’m just not strong enough, if they’re all being controlled like she is, I can’t fight them," She muttered dejectedly, her shoulders slumping.
"Well, in that case...you’ll just have to get stronger, as will I. Hm, maybe if we can find your mother, the Plasma Dragon King, you could have soone who’ll be able to train you," I suggested after a brief pause as I mulled it over.
"That’s not a bad idea, except that I have no clue where she might be. After all, I’ve never even t her," She pointed out with a frown.
"Hm...I’m sure we’ll figure sothing out. Maybe if we go to the very bottom of the Obsidian Labyrinth and fight the Demonic Grade Monster at the fiftieth floor, that might work as good training for you," I replied optimistically.
"Maybe...I don’t know, I feel like that won’t be enough, Demons and Dragons Kings are more powerful than most other so-called Demonic Grade Monsters. And even if I get strong enough to defeat the Demons, that might not be enough to free them from the control they’re under," She responded as she snuggled up to , having cald down.
"That armor Lucifer was wearing, with the glowing orbs all over it, that has to be what’s controlling her. She looked like she was in a lot of pain when she tried to take it off, but if we destroy it, it could free her," I remarked as I recalled what happened.
"We have to be sure though...what if destroying the armor kills her or sothing? No...we’ll have to find whoever’s controlling her and beat the answers out of them," She muttered after thinking it over.
"Sounds like a plan...but like you said, we’ll first need to get stronger. It seed like I’d reached the limit of how much more powerful I could get by eating Monsters, but...maybe that’s because I need to eat stronger Monsters. I ate plenty of Catastrophic Grades while we were in the Labyrinth, so maybe I need to eat so Demonic Grades now," I mused thoughtfully.
"You can eat parts of ...I’ll regenerate right away, after all," She suggested, as she held up her arm towards my mouth.
"Absolutely not, there’s no way I’m eating you. Maybe just a little bite though," I smirked teasingly, as I playfully nipped at her forearm.
"Heh, that kinda tickles," She giggled, before adding, "Thank you, Argent...I’m really glad I t you."
Holy crap, that just made feel incredibly happy...the fact that she doesn’t lie makes it all the better.
"The feeling’s mutual, Izzy. I know today was tough, seeing soone you love suffering like that...but I’m sure that seeing you gave her so hope, she was able to resist the control on her after seeing you, I’m sure that wasn’t easy," I pointed out.
"Yeah, I’ll save her no matter what...I won’t let anyone hurt those that I love. That includes you too, of course...I love you," She remarked with a determined look on her face, before adding, "Okay, you said you wanted to get your father to the nearest town for dical attention, right? Let’s get going."
Huh?
H-hold on, back up a second...what did she just say?
Huh? Huh?? HUH!?!?!?!?
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