Chapter 60: The growth
「... Since when...」Adela mumbled before bursting out in rage.「Since when did you betray me, you pathetic hero?」
「Betray? Ryan chan is mine. He was never on your side to begin with.」Kibadios smirked. 「You understand why he went along with your plan, right? It's all so that we can get you to voluntarily enter this barrier. The Octagram Holy Wall, one of the barriers that only individuals possessing
「...」Adela ground her teeth while gripping her hands tightly.
「However, since it is truly an isolated space, the reverse is also true: nothing can get out of this barrier… including your soul, which has been transferred into that homunculus body.」Kibadios calmly revealed Adela's only weakness at the moment. Knowing that she would be vulnerable, her father, Adeus had explicitly warned her before; yet, the arrogant Astral merely ignored his concern. After all, since she had Ryan on her side, there was no risk to her whatsoever. 「... Is that what you were counting on? That if, by any small chance, you were to be defeated despite the huge advantage you possess inside this barrier, Ryan simply had to dispel it, allowing your soul to escape unharmed? In that scenario, the only outcome for our "fateful encounter" here would either be your total victory or at least, a "draw", with you able to successfully retreat. But too bad for you, now, it's me who enjoy the advantage that you thought you had: Either I win, or Ryan chan would dispel the barrier the moment you are to become victorious, allowing me to summon HaoS to settle our fight. Why don't we bet on what would the outcome of our battle would be?」
「Ha...Haha… Hahaha!」The Astral maniacally laughed. 「Even if a miracle exists and you can kill off this homunculus body of mine, trapping my soul within this barrier, so what? You'll have that failure of a hero maintain this barrier continuously for the rest of his life, just to trap me in here? I thought you're a realistic individual, Zaeryn. At least your previous reincarnation was. Maybe having been betrayed by those who you trust the most and helplessly witnessing those who you love suffered in agony and perished had broken your mind? Doesn't matter though. I guess this round, the outcome would be a draw then. But remember, I'll come back for you, my dear Zaeryn. By the time I finish with you, you'll be wishing you had stayed dead.」
「Ho?」Kibadios smirked at her obvious taunts. 「I don't need Ryan chan to maintain the barrier indefinitely… he can't even maintain it for more than 20 minutes, let alone "forever." However, as long as your soul cannot escape this space, I have a way to trap it within me.」
「What?」Adela's attitude quickly changed.
「You see, if I can
「... That's ridiculous.」Her eyes were twitching. 「... Doing so means you can't be summoning HaoS ever again since the moment HaoS is summoned is the moment… your hold on my soul would be broken...」Despite the brave face she was showing, Adela had suddenly understood the high stake situation she was now in.
「Yes.」nodded Kibadios. 「But I don't really need to summon HaoS often though, do I? To be honest, the only time I would ever need HaoS' assistance is if you Astrals come after me… And this is the interesting part, Adela. If you were one of the Enneads and learned that the soul of a member of the Astral had been trapped by HaoS within the reincarnation of Zaeryn, what would you do?」
「...」
「Sent out a rescue mission right away? Battling and forcing this current incarnation of Zaeryn to summon HaoS, therefore, break the soul of that Astral free?」Kibadios grinned. 「No, no, of course not. They will not care if your soul is suffering within me. The Enneads will simply elect not to touch me. Of course, they will keep tabs on my movements and activities, but remember, HaoS is a primordial spirit. Its mere existence can shake the balance of the world that you Astrals have carefully crafted. If trading your petty soul for the guarantee that I would never summon HaoS again, they'll be gladly choose that option. Since you have discovered my existence, that means sooner or later, the Enneads would have too. That's why, it's important that I
「Ha… All of that scenario rests on the premise that you can fight and win against me in this barrier.」The brief hint of panic on her face had disappeared after she quickly analyzed the situation.「But how can you, when for all intent and purposes, only the Holy Element can actually work in here?」
「I would never choose to fight a battle with no chance of winning… you know that right?」Kibadios raised his arm and grabbed onto the newly conjured scythe. Though, unlike the past dark shadow scythes, this scythe was pure white, a faint Holy aura could be felt emitting from it. 「Ryan chan had told you I killed the hero named Corey right? But I guess he did not tell you I devoured him whole and gained the control of the Holy element?」
「...I have to admit.」Adela pulled out her twin turquoise colored chakrams, then let them go. Yet, the two weapons were still floating and rotating around her. 「I have completely underestimated you, Zaeryn. Nonetheless, gaining access to the Holy element does not mean you can defeat me, who was born with it… Besides, it's not just me who you have to worry about.」The Astral pointed toward Ryan.「I was preparing them as backup to protect him, allowing that shitty hero to maintain this barrier as I crush you… but now, since my plan had crumbled...」Adela snapped her fingers, signalling for 3 more men to come out, surrounding Ryan and Yuusei.
「I'll just have them kill him and getting rid of this barrier altogether.」
「... They are "Dolls", aren't they?」Since he knew that just like Yllaner and her previous incarnation, Sylvia, Adela specialized in supporting roles so he was expecting she would bring other powerful assistants with her. However, this was just simply too many: within the barrier, there stood five Dolls, all possessing power that rivalled either Thomas or Amber while outside, there were three that could stand toe to toe against Ryan.
「I see you still have such sharp eyes, Zaeryn.」grinned the Astral. 「Let's see if your precious demihuman kid outside can do anything against those three Dolls out there.」
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「Yuusei chan, watch out to your left!!!」Ryan screamed out but it was still too late as one of the three Dolls swiftly thrust his staff straight into the mutant's side. The impact threw the boy a few meters to the side and left him with a broken rib. Despite the pain, the boy tried to stand up though before he could, he crossed his arms and raised them up above his head, blocking a downward strike from another Doll's large staff. The tremendous force caused his knee to give up and collapsed onto the ground. Blood and sweat slowly blurred his eyes. His strength started to fade. He noticed the other doll was now approaching him, intending to finish the job while the third Doll leisurely walked toward Ryan with his sword in hand. Before meeting these individuals, Yuusei was proud of his raw strength and speed since thanks to them, he was able to live and survive in the wild for years after his mother died. He could easily take care of any of the slave hunters and their associated adventurers that came after him, only to be caught when he unwittingly fell into their trap. However, right now, every power he possessed was inadequate. Unlike those A rank adventurers, these people seemed to be on a league of their own.
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「You think you can handle anyone who will be coming after Ryan?」
「...」The mutant thought for a few seconds. 「Yuusei will try. Yuusei strong.」He looked at his master determinedly with his big black eyes.
「The enemies will probably also be as strong as you are though… probably stronger.」Kibadios warned.「And most likely they'll have numbers on their side. How do you think you can deal with them?」
「Keep punching and kicking?」
「Hopefully it'd work.」Kibadios laughed as he patted the mutant's head. 「I mean, this is a huge gamble but there's nothing I can do. The moment Ryan chan trapped me inside the barrier, you're on your own… Just try your best, Yuusei. You're my secret weapon so I know you're strong… you're probably stronger than even Ryan right now considering you're a hybrid… Too bad you're not in your grown up form. If you are, your strength and speed probably would at least triple.」
「... Yuusei can't.」The mutant was saddened.
「Don't worry. If you can't, then you can't. It's not like I can force you to grow up overnight though.」Kibadios leaned close to the mutant's face, causing the usually expressionless boy to blush. 「I wonder why you're not growing up though… Hmmm.」
「...Yuusei… dont know.」He lied.
「Oh well, that's fine.」Kibadios stretched his arm. 「This fight against Adela is a long shot anyways. Just try your best. Once we're done with this, whether successful or not, I'll let you go free to live your life. With this Orcan mineral, I'm sure you can keep your miasma under control. I have even thought about it, if they allow you, it's best that you join the Hyakki Yagyo since most of their members are mutants so you should probably feel right at home… That's why we have been trying our best to not harm those 3 people from the mercenary group so that hopefully, there's no problem for you joining them.」
「... Yuusei wants to stay with master!」
「...」Kibadios looked at the boy, who had grown so attached to him during their short time together. 「There are still a lot of things I have yet to tell you… It's not like I don't allow you to stay with me, Yuusei chan. However, the path I walk will eventually lead you to a life that is even more miserable than when you're trapped in that slave market. It's bad enough I pulled those three into it...」
「Yuusei still wants to...」
「Fine. I'm actually a selfish bastard.」Kibadios deviously grinned.「I will not turn away anyone who's willing to serve me. Just get stronger, Yuusei, and be of use to me!」
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「Yuusei cannot lose...」The boy muttered under his breath, though . The Doll's powerful weapon was still pressing the mutant downward as the other walked ever closer to him. He knew if he did not somehow find more power to deal with these people, he would soon be killed. Not only that, Ryan nii chan, who his master had tasked him to protect would undoubtedly be in danger. This whole well crafted plan of his master would come to naught, all because the mutant was weak. He has never been afraid of death before, yet, somehow, his heart began to tremble at the thought of dying, since that meant he could never feel his master's touch anymore. He could not afford to let his master down. His master, who pulled him up from the deep abyss and granted him a new life. His master, who provided him with the warm touch that he had never experienced since his infancy. His master, who believed and trusted in his power. He wanted to be of use to his master, for that was now the meaning of his life; however, even if he were to muster all of his strength, he could not break free from the Doll's strike, let alone dreaming of taking on and defeating all three.
「Yuusei wants… Yuusei wants to make Master proud!!!」screamed out the mutant, his black eyes glared unblinkingly at the Doll right front of him as blood started to drip down from his eye slit.
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「Mama!」The young toddler awkwardly walked to his mother, his tiny hand held tightly onto several wild flowers he had just picked from the meadow close to his home. 「Look! Flowa!」
His innocent grin, though, soon disappeared as he saw his mother's face slowly turned pale as he approached. 「Ma?」
「Get away from me!」She screamed while pushing the kid onto the side. 「Your face… It looked just like him... Why are you turning into him?」The rabbitwoman held up her hands to her face as she cried, leaving her child dumbfounded.
「Mama... 」The toddler also burst out crying. 「Sowwiee!!! Please dont cry!!」
His scream brought the woman back to reality as she realized what she had done. The miasma had started to corrode her mind and she knew it. But with her son still merely a few months old, she had to stay with him. She wanted to stay with him.
「I'm sorry… I'm sorry, my child!」She embraced the boy despite knowing the miasma would affect her. 「Please don't cry! That's mama's fault!」
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Turning into father? The dirty mutant looked down into the clear surface of a pond inside the forest he was staying after he had murdered his mother, his own reflection looking back at him. Can't turn into father… Can't grow up… He was shaking, remembering the dreadful look his mother was giving him. Can't.
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「Yuusei don't care anymore...」The mutant started to push up against the Doll's staff. After a few seconds of deliberation that he felt like lasting hours, he had made up his mind「Yuusei will be useful to Master!!!」He screamed as the aura around him started to change while his muscles began to grow. Soon enough, his baggy clothes became tight since the boy had suddenly grown into a full fledged adult, matching his own age. His wavy hair had straightened up while his small fluffy rabbit tail had completely disappeared.
「... Is that...」Ryan was surprised at Yuusei's transformation. 「Is that his "human form"? Actually, since he's half ogre, that'd be his ogre form.」He concluded.
The man that Yuusei had grown into stood tall, almost a half a head taller than either Ryan or his master. Although he did not appear too muscular like when Gon turned into his adult self to deal with Pitou, the mutant's strength had certainly increased to the point that the Doll could no longer keep him down. His Nen was now oozing out from his body, causing all of the three Dolls to take notice.
「Activate skill.」said the mutant. 「
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Yuusei's grown up, ogre form. See comment for picture
Thanks to syakiyusansyaki, Skeb: https://skeb.jp/@syakiyusansyaki, Pixiv ID: 28326319. I actually modified their drawing a bit because his eyes drawn by them were not what I had in mind lol
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Further Racial information: (I did post this in my AO3 account but I dont think I have posted it here)
Beastman:
Lifespan: 40-150 years
Beastman is one of the most diverse races in Esthar. It is made up of more than 20 sub-races, such as: rabbit, lion, mermaid/merman, werewolf… They ranked 2nd in terms of total population and can be found living in almost all geographic locations, similar to humans. Many consider races such as Lizardmen and Skaern part of the Beastman race; however, that may not be the case since according to Zaeryn's classification, one of the most distinctive characteristic of the Beastman race is the fact that they have three forms that they can morph into: human-looking form, half-human, half-beast form, and lastly, full-beast form. Beastman usually called themselves the Anima race, a term popularized by Zaeryn 10000 years ago because he has always been a fcking weeb and Beastman race reminded him of +Anima manga.
Yves:
Lifespan: 70-100 years
Yves is one of the rarest races in Esthar. Their distinct characteristic is that they all possessed four eyes: two normal eyes and two smaller eyes located on top of their normal eyes on their forehead. Their eyes can help them see the flow of Haki and discern any weakness in their opponent's attack. Therefore, members of the Yves race tend to be excellent fighters. Unfortunately, they are being hunted down for their eyes. This caused their population to significantly reduce to only about 10000 individuals.