Legendary Katar Asphalt (II)

The only remaining was Styrd, who couldn't get up, Phil, Cathy, Moca, and Tart. They were all motionless and quiet, unsure what to do or say.

It wasn't until Moca spoke up, clapping his hand in respect towards me. "Young mistress, you did a fabulous job." Moca came over, bowed at me gracefully. "Truly, I have learned another aspect of how torture could be used."

I flinched. The thought of teaching Moca another torture method wasn't something that I wanted, in which I kind of had a sick feeling that he was going to use such a method later on.

"Young mistress, we should leave and go back home."

"Yea…." The words barely escaped my lips. He had a point; there was no point in staying here any longer. Plus, it seemed to stay here any longer would leave a bad aftertaste in my mouth, so I listened.

"Please…." Orska coughed, gulping for air. "Why? Why have you taken it away?" Orska gazed at me lifelessly,

"Because of your arrogance.��� I stated with emphasis, "Styrd, come along.." And with that, I left.

The moment I stepped out, they were thousands of Orcs waiting outside for something important to happen. My guess was that Orska had planned to come out with the hero and cheer them up with the news, but when they saw me coming out, they stood in place silently.

I didn't say anything, and instead, the Orcs split ways for me to pass. Styrd quickly walked behind me, scared that I might do something to him, so he didn't fall behind. Moca and Tart were walking right next to me, proudly as if nothing was wrong. Phil and Cathy were walking behind; Cathy was so engrossed with her weapon that she barely noticed her surroundings.

We walked towards the edge of the city to spread out my wings and leave this wretched place. Just being here a bit longer made me want to smash the city like Godzilla. My tail flicked back and forth from irritation, staring out into the distance, I got ready for the others to board.

"Um���" Styrd eventually spoke, his voice was low, but I still caught it.

"Yes?" I swung my large head towards him, causing him to jerk backward.

"Why do you want me to follow?"

My cheek twitches at his answer, staring at him dumbfoundedly. Everyone was silent in his question.

"Are you stupid?" Tart started with a haughty tone of his voice. He was the first one to speak in annoyance. "I thought you understood the whole situation by now." He folded his arm in front of him.

"That is?"

"This Orc is an idiot!" Tart threw up his hand, annoyed at how slow Stryd was. "How did you not understand what just happened? Young mistress was kind enough to stand up for you!" He was getting angry that Stryd wasn't getting it quickly.

Stryd was still confused, making me wonder if all Orc's were a bit slow in the head. Some of the Orcs didn't seem muscle driven, but that didn't mean they weren't.

"Look, it's simple. You're not going to be welcomed here anytime soon, after what that blind Orc just pulled off." Tart replied without censoring anything back. He did have a way with words, and it stung. "You're an outcast now."

When Tart stated the word outcast, Styrd's shoulder slumped, becoming smaller in size than usual.

"I knew….that….they didn't like me." Styrd words were a whisper. "I was just hoping that they would accept me for who I was."

"Young Orc," Moca came up from behind Styrd, startling him. "You must understand this. Being accepted into a group that doesn't like you is difficult. You don't have to prove to them anything, nor attempt to make them like you. They will take advantage of your kindness and stomp all over it like dirt."

Even I was listening in on their conversation, nodding my head in agreement. There was no point in trying to make someone like you, especially trying to prove that you are useful. It just was a waste of time, and I could already see that it took too much effort to change one person's mind.

"Then what must I do?"

"Move away from such a negative environment and start anew, but this time fortify your self-confidence and the way you think." Moca sternly stated, but his words had a fatherly tone to it. He raised up his hand and tapped his finger on the side of his head. "It all starts in mind. The change isn't simple, but the more positive your thoughts are, the better and happier you become."

Tart was silent. He, too, was listening to Moca's words as if it was his own. There was something special in how Moca spoke that made anybody want to listen to what he had to say.

What was a bit strange, though, was hearing all this from Moca. He was a high-level monster that could shapeshift into humans and knew many ways to torture his opponent. It made me wonder how in the world his mind worked. Such thoughts just didn't seem to fit at all. Maybe it was just me, but monsters this day and age seemed more human than humans themselves.

"So, if I go with Berry. I can start anew?" Styrd asked. He was slowly brightening up at the thought of starting anew, but at the same time, very worried about the sudden change. It wasn't simply just to up and leave everything behind. "Nobody will make fun of me for who I am?" He asked, hopefully.

I could tell that was something that has been bothering him for a very long time. "Yes," I replied, catching their attention. "And it's better that way that we leave this horrible place." Squatting down, I allowed for all of them to get on.

Tart, Moca, and Phil were the first three to hop on without any trouble. They scaled on my back as if it was nothing. Cathy wasn't quite sure if she wanted to get on or not. She had that look that stated that she didn't like the thought of flying. Eventually, she climbed up, sitting next to Phil, not complaining a single bit. I had to hand it to her, she wasn't the bitchy princess type, or it would've been worse.

Stryd, on the other hand, was hesitating from getting on. This was a big decision in his life, and it was something that no one can make for him. Even if I ordered him to get on, he would've been reluctant. It didn't take long for Styrd to make a decision. He breathed in deeply and let it all out. Then straightening his back, he held up his head as high as he could.

It was pleasing to see the decision that he had made. I could tell it all from his body language, and when he took that first step, his eyes were filled with dedication. His hand reached out and grabbed onto the side of my leg to climb onto my back. He scaled upwards and sat down.

All of a sudden, I felt a wash of power erupted around my body from his contact. A blast of energy and wind went outwards, knocking every Orc who was watching backward. Waves upon waves of powerful magical energy shot forward and into Styrd's hand. He flinched as his eyes became wide. He panicked, unable to comprehend what was going on.

A bright light appeared in front of him. Stryd covered his eyes, trying to not get blinded. The light shifted and contorted, pulling magical energy from my very core. My muscle tensed, and my belly glowed with fire.

The Legendary Katar Asphalt appeared and formed. The light dimmed down, allowing everyone to see. When they looked towards us, everyone was surprised that the Legendary weapon appeared in front of Stryd. Even Stryd wasn't sure what to do with the legendary weapon floating in front of him.

All the power that I had used to summon the Legendary weapon made me tired, but I still had enough energy to fly. What was confusing about everything was that I didn't want the legendary weapon to suddenly appear; it just happened on its own.

Once again, I sighed at my inability to control my magic the way I wanted. This was getting old fast, and I was getting tired of being surprised by myself.

"W-w-what?" Stryd asked, unsure what to do with the weapon in front of him. He wanted to reach out and touch it but was afraid that it would reject him like last time.

Words flowed out of my mouth without realizing it. "You have been chosen." My voice spoke powerfully that everyone could hear. It had the strange omnipresent voice that didn't seem anything like mine at all. It almost sounded like it was someone else.

"Chosen? Me?" Stryd squeaked. "I was rejected the first t-t-time."

"You were not ready to wield it." Getting up, I opened up my wings, ready to take flight. "But, your resolution to change was the step you needed for Asphalt to accept you." With a pump of my wings, a flurry of wind pushed out.

The Orcs who were half on the ground from the magical wave were tumbling around, even more, making it difficult for them to get up.

"Really?" Stryd asked. He pinched himself, making sure he wasn't dreaming."

"Yes," I lifted up off the ground, hovering a good height up above the ground. I felt the power start to leave me, bringing me back to my old self. It was strange having a strange presence wash over me, but I shook it off. The beat of my wings took us higher and higher until we were a good two stories high. Then I saw Orska, stumbling out of the temple with the help of the maids. "Orska!" I shouted.

Orska flinched, and then he shivered. Knowing full well that I wasn't pleased to see him outside.

"The Hero you are looking for is born!" I shouted, "But, for your crimes, Orska, and your people shall be left fending for yourself against the Titan!"

The Orcs that heard my words gasped, others panicked, some even desperately cried out in plea, trying to get up at the same time, but failing. I knew what I did was spiteful, but it wasn't my choice in what Stryd would do from here on out. Honestly, I didn't give two cents about the Orcs. If they died from the Titan's attack, then so be it.