Chapter 28: The meaning of existence
「Kibadios! What happened here??」Kyles, one of the first people that arrived at the site where the battle between Ryujin and Jayden occurred, hurriedly ran toward the hybrid. 「Where's Ryujin?」Following him, of course, was the princess Yllaner. Though soon afterward, almost everyone else that was present at the cave finally has made their way here. All except for Adela.
「We were able to reseal Ryujin into this cube here.」Kibadios lied as he presented a bright cube filled with energy in front of everyone, which he had just prepared a few moments ago. 「Actually, it was Jayden who performed the sealing ritual. I only helped.」
「Jayden Stringer!」Thomas screamed at the exhausted Prime Minister, who just sat silently leaning against a large boulder. 「How dare you risk the lives of the people like that? This could have gone horribly wrong! In the end, you still could not defeat it. If you were unable to seal the primal dragon again, do you realize what catastrophe would have befallen the Maeg Kingdom? 」
「... But I did manage to seal it again… did I not?」Jayden faintly replied. It's a miracle he could still talk with all his fatal injuries only half healed.
「Jayden Stringer. You are under arrest by the authority of the royal decree!」A voice loudly announced. Suddenly surrounding the disgraced Prime Minister were several men dressed in black, their faces were fully covered with a plain white mask, their armbands bore the symbol of the royal crest. Are they like the Anbu of this kingdom? Kibadios thought. A man, dressed in a full regalia of the king of Maeg, soon walked next to the Prime Minister, his eyes looking at the injured man with empathy and sadness.
「Lance… So your men were able to rescue you from your cell?」Jayden smiled at his childhood friend.
「Do you even have to ask? You should know full well that there were numerous resistance groups within the palace that would spring to action the moment you left the capital to rescue me and restore the royal power. It was all within your calculation, wasnt it?」
「... I wonder...」Replied Jayden while being detained by the Anbu-looking men. 「It's all over now. I have lost… everything.」
「... So… It was impossible, wasnt it? Your plan to resurrect Reena… It was all in vane?」
The new king asked Jayden but silence was the only reply he ever got. Soon enough, the heroes were arranged by Lance to come back to the City of Falas for a briefing that would explain everything that had happened. Meanwhile, the fake seal cube was taken by another Anbu for safe keeping. Of course they could not return it to the cave since it was destroyed when the real seal was broken. Kibadios wondered where they would take it to and whether they would ever discover the seal was a fake, but at this point, there was nothing he could do. On the way back to Falas, Ryan constantly bombarded Kibadios with countless apologies for not able to stay with his master when the cave collapsed.
「Yeah, Ryan, Yllaner, and that maid that followed Jayden, what's her name...」
「Adela.」Kibadios reminded Kyles.
「Yes, Adela! We were transported to the same location when the space within the cave compressed and collapsed. When we saw Ryujin and the intense battle it had with you guys from afar, we tried our best to quickly come to you but by the time we got there, it was all over.」
「That girl was with you guys?」
「Yes!」Ryan nodded. 「Though she quickly disappeared once we arrived at your location, Kibadios sama.」
「Apparently from what Jayden told me, she was the reason why he tried to resurrect Ryujin.」said Kibadios.
「What? Really?」Surprised Ryan.
「That makes sense why she disappeared soon after.」Yllaner nodded.
「Yeah.」
And so, the groups finally made it back to the city of Falas by the time the sun disappeared behind the western mountain ranges. Lance, the new king of Maeg, was supposed to brief the heroes about the whole affair concerning Jayden, but he elected to let all the groups back to their own cottages and rest for the night. After all, everyone was exhausted from the journey. Once arriving at their room after saying goodbye to Kyles and Yllaner, a familiar face eagerly greeted Kibadios.
「Zaeryn sama!」Ryuu giddily shouted, his reptilian tail was wagging as if he was a canine instead.
「Who are you?」Ryan swiftly leapt in front of his master while holding out his sword defensively.
「Wait, who ARE you??」Ryuu frowned. 「Zaeryn sama, why is there a lowlife hero coming with you here? He's the Astrals' pawn!」
「Who are you calling Zaeryn?」Ryan pointed his sword at the dragonoid man. 「Kibadios sama, please be careful! He's clearly dangerous.」
Ahh… Man, I did not have time to explain to Ryan about Ryujin yet…
「Both of you, put away your weapons!」ordered Kibadios. 「Dont worry about him, Ryan. He is an acquaintance of mine. And Ryuu, Ryan kun here is a slave that I acquired some time ago. Even though he's a hero, he is no Astrals' pawn. He's my toy!」... I think… Kibadios demonstrated his ownership over the hero as he pulled the hero backward into his embrace, his hand held onto the young hero's chin to forcibly turn his mouth around for a passionate kiss. Once the kiss ended a few seconds later, Kibadios hand had already found its way down in front of Ryan's hardening bulge and gave it a few gropes right in front of Ryuu's surprised gaze.
「Haahhaaa… Mas...ter」Ryan moaned while enjoying his master's hands caressing his crotch. 「But… he's dangerous… I… hahaaa」
「It's fine, Ryan kun!」Maia interrupted the hero 「He's also serving our Master.」
「Well, just not sexually.」added the hybrid while releasing Ryan from his arms.
「S….S….Sexually???」Ryuu's face was already bright red from the display of eroticism in front of him, erupted with embarrassment once he pictured the obscene imagery of him being in Ryan's position. 「Of … Of course not! I'm not worthy enough to be with Zaeryn sama! No no no!!!」Ryuu calmed down for a bit, then turned to the three slaves, with a special attention directed at the hero. 「And for a matter of fact, none of you guys are worthy enough to be with Zaeryn sama either!」
「Enough, Ryuu kun!」
「... Yes, Zaeryn sama...」The dragon begrudgingly backed down. Having been scolded by the hybrid, Ryuu's fins on his head whimpered down.
「But who is he? And why is he keep calling Kibadios 'Zaeryn sama'? Doesnt he know that name is forbidden?」asked Ryan.
「... Because I am Zaeryn… or at least, I was.」Kibadios grimly said. 「and this young dragonoid man in front of you is the creature you called "Ryuujin".」
「... What?」Ryan's jaw dropped
「Master, I bet you're tired. Why don't you go ahead and take a bath.」Rowan suggested. 「I'll fill Ryan in the details.」
「... Okay.」Kibadios nodded, pulled Maia with him and headed to the bathroom. This was almost a routine for the three slaves that served the hybrid: whenever he was to take a bath, one of his slaves would strip down naked and help wash his back by first dousing their bodies in soap water then sliding their own bodies against the hybrids. Needless to say, most of the time, "taking a bath" would mean "let's fuck." Yet, today was different. The hybrid only took a few gropes at Maia's perky breasts and curvy ass before the two quickly rinsed themselves with water and got out of the bathroom. After all, Kibadios knew he had a lot to explain to his three loyal slaves. He had put it off for a while now, ever since he acquired Rowan and Maia but now, with the inclusion of Ryuu in the group, he felt like he did owe his slaves some decent explanation. What they would choose to do after hearing his story, though, worried the hybrid.
「Did you tell Ryan what happened back then?」
「Yes, master!」Rowan nodded.
「... I can see you have a lot of questions, Ryan.」Kibadios looked into his slave's confused eyes. 「Save that for later. The two of you and Nu here should take a bath first. I promise I'll explain anything. I will tell you about my past… and my purpose.」
Both nodded and took Nu with them into the bath before Kibadios turned to Ryuu.
「By the way, Ryuu kun, from now on, call me Kibadios. It seems like my past name had become somewhat of a taboo word now, calling me Zaeryn would just bring unwanted attention to us.」
「Sure, Za… Kibadios sama!」 obeyed Ryuu. 「... I have been meaning to ask… all the three low-life humans here are your slaves?」The dragon pointed at Maia, who was dutifully drying her master's hair.
「Yes, Ryuu dono!」Maia answered before her master could. 「Rowan and I, and even our village, were saved by Kibadios sama. Ever since then, we have promised to serve him however he wishes. Same with Ryan, who Kibadios sama saved from the goblins' torments.」
「Goblins? Aren't they like weak creatures or did that change after my thousand years sleeping within the seal? How come he was caught by such lowly creatures?」
「He was tricked by one of his ex-party member.」explained the girl.
「I see! So now you three are faithfully serving Zae...Kibadios sama?」Ryuu nodded, then added. 「Not that you three deserve to serve him .」
Maia simply nodded with a smile. Before long, both of the boys and the slime have finished washing themselves. Once they had come out, with their hairs still fully wet, Kibadios ordered his three slaves to stand in front of him while Ryuu sat on the chair not too far from where Kibadios' group stood.
「Ryan, I have asked you before, but I want ask you again: what do you know about the Astrals?」
「They are the gods that created this world and protected its balance for millennia?」Ryan hesitantly answered.
「Tsk!」Ryuu was visibly annoyed at the answer.
「Calm down, Ryuu-kun.」
「Yes, Kibadios sama.」
「Now, if that was what you have been believed for your whole life, then I'll tell you my side of the story.」Kibadios briefly sighed. This, for the hybrid, would be the moment of truth: would his self-professed loyal slaves stick with him or would they leave his side, all would be clear after he has told them his story. He knew, though, if they ever refused to be on his side, the only option he had was to eliminate them before they could alert the Astral. 「Like you all knew, I am a world traveler. However, unlike most others, instead of being transported, I was reborned as a baby in this world after my demise back on Earth.」
「Yes, as a half orge and half incubus?」Ryan was surprised since all of them have already known this part of the hybrid's backstory.
「No. This was not my first reincarnation.」Kibadios looked at his hand. 「This was my third. During my first reincarnation, I was reborn as a pure-bred monster, or what you would have called a demihuman: I was born as a Tengu.」
「TENGU?」Ryan shouted, which jolted both Rowan and Maia. 「They were the legendary race that rebelled against the Astral and were exterminated during the holy war, along with the second demon emperor Zaeryn?」
「You filthy human! Shut your mouth! How dared you disrespected Zaeryn sama!」Ryuu was pissed but his outburst was stopped by Kibadios' signal
「... Yes, I was born a Tengu, more than 10000 years ago, under the name Zaeryn.」Kibadios nodded. His nonchalant admission shocked the hero while the other two villagers, although were not too familiar with the legends of the past, still could still understand its implication. 「During the first 100 years, I lived and fought for the Astrals, for I was tricked by them into believing their stories. Just like you, I was led to believe that they were the guardians of this world and I was one of their chosen representatives. Since I was reincarnated into a powerful and long-live race and the fact that I wanted to live my life to the fullest and not have any regrets as I did back on earth, soon enough, I was as strong as an Astral. As gullible as I was, I helped them set up the Suikoden system, in which 108 individuals would be granted the
「Yes, Master.」Ryan nodded. 「The Grand Chief resides at the Divine Oracle. He is in charge of overlooking the Holy Runes.」
「The Holy Runes and The Star of Destiny, classifying the stronger heroes into 36 Heavenly Spirits and the weaker heroes into 72 Earthly Fiends, the strongest of the 36 Heavenly Spirits are called the Six Heroes… All of that! All of the fundamentals of the heroic system that supported this world since then was devised by me!」Kibadios continued. 「... and at one point, I was so proud of that. I continued on with my duty as the Grand Chief for a few hundreds years until the emergence of the demon emperor began to throw the world off balance. The world back then, was just as it is now, filled with individuals who claimed themselves to be demon lords. But for the longest time, no demon lords were able to dominate others. Until the appearance of Kadesha, the fallen Astral.」
「... What? The first demon emperor, Kadesha, was an Astral?」
「... So you know of her, huh?」Kibadios looked at Ryan. 「Yes, though she was no mere Astral… She was part of the Ennead, rulers of the Astral and the Modun realm. In fact, she was one of the strongest Astrals ever existed. That was, until she betrayed them, left the Realm of Modun and joined the ranks of the demon lords. With her power, it was understandable that she could easily bring all the demon lords into her camp. For the Astrals, that was unacceptable but there was nothing they could do…」
「Why? Aren't the Astrals supposed to be the strongest beings in Esthar? Can't they just deal with her?」Rowan innocently asked.
「You see, Astrals, in their original bodies, are extremely strong. But the immortality provided by the Realm of Modun had another effect on those cowards: they began to fear death. If their own bodies ventured out of the Realm of Modun, there is a chance they can be killed. Thus, since time immemorial, the Astrals have always been using Homunculi as their vessels when they wanted to come into this world. And that's their disadvantage: by using homunculi, they cannot exercise their full power in Esthar.」Kibadios explained. 「They could not directly deal with Kadesha… at least, they were not willing to. And so, it was I, along with the current Six Heroes of that generation, were tasked with the mission: to defeat Kadesha. Knowing that our strength was insufficient, they let me borrow HaoS, the Primordial Fire Spirit. 」Kibadios suddenly stopped and laughed. 「That was their mistake! They gave me the very power that they feared! Hahahaaa!!! But anyways, I digressed. Once I received HaoS, the holy quest to deal with the first Demon Emperor started. Like any RPG, it was arduous. We lost many friends and comrades along the way. But finally, in the end, the four of us: Sylvia, Aspen, that bitch Adela, and I, were able to kill Kadesha」
「Wait, Adela?」Maia interrupted Kibadios' story.
「Yes, she's the very same Adela that was with the Prime Minister. She's an Astral and her body is merely a lifeless homunculus.」Kibadios nodded, then continued. 「Anyways, in that joyous moment, when others were celebrating her death, only I paid attention to the words of her dying breath... To this moment, I could still vividly remember… She was neither begging for her life or cursing her own mortality in anguish. Instead she was smiling at me and prophetically warned me of my unimpeded doom under the hands of the Astrals and that she would leave the world in my hand… I should have known better.」Kibadios gripped his hand tightly in frustration as he remembered his past mistakes. 「Or maybe, on some levels, I did know better since I refused the Astrals' offer to have the four of us join their ranks. Sylvia and I decided instead to live and start our family here in Esthar.」
「Was it Sylvia's face that looks like Princess Yllaner?」Rowan asked.
「More than just lookalike, I know that Yllaner is Sylvia's reincarnation. 」
「... She was your… wife?」Maia hesitantly asked with a tiny hint of jealousy.
「Yes. Though that was in the past.」Kibadios shrugged. Maybe Kibadios was indeed still holding some feelings for Yllaner, but he knew better that Yllaner, despite being Sylvia's reincarnation, was not Sylvia herself. After all, Katara did not hit on Korra although she's Aang's reincarnation, the hybrid often told himself.
「What about Adela and Aspen?」Rowan asked.
「...Aspen and Adela also got married, though it was more of a political marriage than anything. After all, Aspen was the strongest hero and Adela was a heroic princess, the people… at least, the human yearned for them to get married since it signified the unions of their strongest representatives. Aspen had to give up the girl he loved for Adela, just because he believed what he was doing was the best course for humanity. As his best friend, I should have talked him out of it… I should have...」
「So both Adela and Aspen chose to become the Astrals?」Ryan asked.
「Yes, and Adela's father, the King of Eberus. In fact, I have always believed Adela was an addon. She was not that strong, compared to Aspen and her father. After they left Esthar, I became concerned about Kadesha's warning and began to look into the ruin of her castles in secret for clues.」Kibadios gave his three slaves a devious smile as he leaned into them.「Guess what I found? It took awhile but I finally discovered the secrets that the Astrals have been hiding. I found out the reason why Kadesha betrayed the Astrals. As a matter of fact, I uncovered the very meaning of life for every resident of this world.」
「What do you mean?」Ryan asked shakenly, afraid of the answer his master was going to give them.
「Have you ever pondered about the meanings of life? Why were you born? What was your purpose in life? The answer, my dear Ryan kun, was that your life, and for that matter, all the lives in this world of Esthar, exist with the sole purpose: to ultimately become mere fertilizers for the Yggdrasil, the very holy tree of life that grants immortality for the Astrals in Modun. Every 5000 years or so, the Astrals would commence their "Harvest Festival" in which they would cleanse the world and kill off more than 95% of the world's population. The souls they collected during the event would be fed to Yggdrasil, ensuring its survival. Hahaha, even the big bad Thanos would stop at 50%, while the Astrals would exterminate every lives in Esthar to near extinction.」
「... No way」
「That's horrible...」
「How can that be?」
「Are you doubting Kibadios-sama's word, you filthy human?」Ryuu angrily shouted.
「No, of course not!」Ryan protested at the accusation. 「But, just ...」
「It's shocking isnt it? To learn that you, your comrades, your countrymen, and your descendants, are merely livestocks that the Astrals raise in order to nourish their Yggdrasil.」Kibadios shrugged. 「But think about it, how much do you know about the past? Why, has this world been existing for hundreds of millennia, yet, the technology would not advance any further? That's because civilization collapses once every 5000 years, setting the world's progress back. Just like how the Bronze Age Collapse brought forth chaos on Earth, the Astral's "Harvest Festival" sow unimaginable chaos here, in Esthar.」Kibadios raised his hand and caressed Ryan's pale face. For the first time, the hero desperately wanted the story that his master told him was a lie since if it was true, then he and Kyles, and other heroes were nothing but tools for the devils. 「Ryan, why do you think the Astral loved the heroes system that I proposed to keep the world in balance?」
「I… I dont know...」
「That's because the constant battles between heroes and demon lords, between humans and demihumans, between nation states... all these struggles and conflicts helped to advance the power of individuals living in Esthar and in the end, the stronger the livestocks and fertilizers, the stronger Yggdrasil would grow.」Explained the hybrid. 「That's why, instead of getting rid of the demon lords altogether, the Astral prefers to maintain the balance instead. That way, neither the forces of "good" or "evil" would become complacent and grow weaker over time.」
「... I am sorry, Kibadios sama!」Tears almost escaped Ryan's eyes. 「I have always been proud of my
「Was!」Kibadios stressed, then pulled the confused hero into his lap.「You're now my property! MY loyal slave! Aren't you?」
「Of course, master!」Ryan nodded.
「So, the reason Kadesha turned against her own kind was because...」said Rowan
「Yes, she was sick of the atrocity the Astrals committed. By the time I learned the truth about her, it was too late.」
「... But then, what happened next?」Maia wanted to know more about her master's story.
Kibadios turned to Maia. As he gazed at her, he began to tell her and the two other slaves what transpired next. Horrors filled their eyes and tears rolled down their cheeks while the hybrid continued to tell them the story of his past, how he became known as the second demon emperor, the leader of the rebellion against the Astrals, and how he was betrayed by Adela and Aspen. How Adela tortured him and initiated the "Harvest Festival," forcing him to watch as his brethrens were killed off. How the Astrals turned nation states against nation states, encouraging humans to kill demihumans and even other humans. The whole world, within a few years after his imprisonment, had completely collapsed as hatred and despair enveloped the very land he spent hundreds of years to protect…
「And so, my second reincarnation as a demihuman conceived in a laboratory was brief. That lasted probably only a few months, until an accidental explosion ended my life there. I was not even old enough to gain access to HaoS and my other Spirits that locked inside myself.」Kibadios continued after a brief break. 「And I have told you guys about my current reincarnation, how my village was attacked by the very commander that was in charge of the laboratory during my second reincarnation. How, as an infant, I was let loose down the Kidan River. Soon after, I met the two of you.」The hybrid pointed at Maia and Rowan. 「Then Ryan here. As of now, like I have explained before, I want to take out my revenge on that commander first before I can take on the Astrals.」
「How can we deal with the Astrals? Aren't they immortal?」asked Maia.
「I have my plans.」Kibadios glanced at Ryuu, the only individual who would probably know what the plan was. 「But like I said, I am still too weak compared to the Astrals. If I ever face one, the only way I can come out on top was to fuse with HaoS. But then, I know my current self does not have the power to contain HaoS power within myself for long… I would most likely be incinerated after 10 minutes. Summoning HaoS is merely a contingent plan.」
The hybrid finally stood up. As he faced his three slaves, with a demanding voice, he again wanted to confirm their loyalty. 「Now that you have known about my past, would you still stay with me and be my subservient slaves, or would you rebel and inform the Astrals about my existence?」
Without hesitation, the three knelt down onto the floor. 「「「Of course we would stay with you, Master! We are forever yours!」」」
「Please, Kibadios sama… If you don't hate me for being a hero, a tool of the Astrals, I'd like to serve you for the rest of my life. 」
「GOOD!!」Kibadios loudly exclaimed then honestly confessed.「Had any of you dare to betray me, I'd have ended you here and now! After all, 'I'd rather betray the world then let the world betray me.' 」
「Kibadios sama! How can we trust their words!」Ryuu protested.
「How?」Kibadios smiled. 「It's easy. Strip for me, Maia, Ryan, Rowan!」Following their master's command, their clothes quickly fell onto the ground, revealing their bare skins and the incubus crest that they all bore. 「They have been branded with my incubus crest. This is a low level slave crest. Although I cannot compel them to follow my commands, I can know when they lie to me. Since they did not feel any pain when they profess their loyalty to me, I know they did not lie to me.」
「... I see...」The dragonoid suddenly remembered 「... Would I need a crest like that too, Kibadios sama?」
「Hm...」The hybrid studied Ryuu, then smiled. 「Do you know how an incubus crest forms?」
「No?」
「By having sex with an incubus, of course!」
「...huh? Se…. Sex?」Again, the innocent Ryuu's face was bright red.
「Hahaha!」Kibadios patted the dragonoid man. 「Dont worry. I dont need to cast a crest on you.」
「But, then, Kibadios sama would always be suspicious of me and my loyalty.」
「Hm, We will find a way.」Kibadios scratched his head. 「If you're uncomfortable with the idea of sex, I can't really force it on you. Especially since you're Ryuujin's grandson. I raised and treated Ryuujin like my son… that would make you my great-grandson?」Kibadios shuddered.
That night, as Ryuu sat silently on the roof of the inn on top of the hybrid's room, he could clearly hear the unending moans coming from Rowan, Ryan, and Maia's mouth as Kibadios fucked them senselessly. Somehow, he was jealous of the attention the hybrid has been given to his three slaves.
「... But I dont mind being Zaeryn sama's possession.」Ryuu muttered, his arms held tightly onto the slime monster. 「I just dont think I deserve to be with Zaeryn sama… but then neither do those filthy humans! Do you get what I'm saying, Nu?」
「Chii?」was the only response he got from the little monster.