HERA
"All Demons are incredibly skilled at disguising themselves as Mortals"
"….The fuck does that mean" I ask myself as I read a passage out of the book I borrowed from Mary
Sighing and putting down the book I look around the small cabin, it's been a few weeks since I moved in with Little Jesse
The Cabin was in the shape of a Rectangle, most of the space was taken up by the Hall. The Cabin had two rooms, one of which was Willa's former Alchemy station that I am repurposing for Little Jesse
I soon Spot Little Jesse crawling around
Swiftly picking him up I say incredulously "Aren't you a Newborn? How do you keep getting out? And why are you already crawling?" (ᵕ—ᴗ—)
Maybe it's a demon thing? I think to myself as I begin poking the child's….no my child's cheek
I change Jesse and put him back in his crib
Maybe he's bored? I know I'll tell him about my epic adventures!
"Do you want to hear a story Little Jesse?" I ask still poking his cheek
My boy responds by grabbing my finger and giggling
"I'll take that as a yes" ( ⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝)
"I'll tell you how I became the most Famous Adventurer in all of Donum!"
"The year was 5021 A.S. I was 22 and had just become a Transcendent Swordmaster! One of the Youngest ever actually! And I was traveling back home to Braven with my Childhood friends and Adventuring Comrades, Mary Thompson a eccentric bookworm who was a 7th Stage Grandmaster Wind Magician and Xeon Telum a Arrogant Youngmaster who had somehow become a Grandmaster Archer" I speak full of Enthusiasm
"We were returning home early from our adventures because a war had broken out between our Kingdom of Grandis….or is it empire now? Anyways the King of Grandis, Molen Grandis the Ancient had declared war on Laetitia the Kingdom of the Elves because his Elven Concubine who just so happened to be a Princess had a affair with one of his Sons…..though I forgot which one as he has a great many."
"Anyways because of this Xeon, being of Noble blood was called to war. And as his friends Me and Mary refused to let him go alone."
"We planned on heading to Braven before regrouping with Xeon's father. But as we arrived in Braven we learned of some deeply unsettling news. King Molen had sent his Royal Guard to enlist the Great Dragon Maugon of Fire in his war, The Dragon refused so the King ordered his Royal Guard to forcefully Enlist the Dragon, fully confident in the abilities of his Royal Guard. But his confidence was misplaced, as they failed miserably and all perished."
"Not only that but their actions had enraged the Dragon, leading him to destroy many towns and villages in the Kingdom. This was terrible news for the war effort and even worse, the Dragon was heading towards Braven next. In fact he was only a few hours away when we arrived."
"The City was in chaos as the people either took what they could before fleeing or locked themselves in their homes. Even most of the Guard had fled besides a few brave men and a few who didn't mind dying"
"Though I wouldn't blame them. You see a Dragon is a near unkillable being comparable to the Mythical Arch-Angels and Arch-Demons. They have massive mana reserves incomparable to a human that has reached transcendence. Because of this Dragons have overwhelming defensive capabilities most mortals can never pierce, combined with their incredible offensive capabilities and you get the most powerful creatures in all of Donum."
"I will admit, even I who had become a Transcendent was scared that day. And I'm a bit ashamed to say but I along with Mary attempted to convince Xeon to give up on our home. But Xeon would have none of it, for he had a plan! A Ancient Artifact passed down for generations in the Telum family. A Longsword the color of Ebony imbued with a Angels Authority of Nullification. The blade was named Irritatus and it could cut through Mana like it was nothing."
"But even with such a blade no one but me could face such a creature in battle, not even Mary or Xeon."
I continue my story with rising excitement
"And what a battle it was, I fought the Dragon for several hours on a Mountain visible from Braven. And even with the distance, the city would have been destroyed by our clashes had it not been for Mary's magic. The Dragon was truly a fearsome creature, his breath was so hot I would have turned to ash in seconds had I been hit directly, his teeth were sharper than any sword I had ever faced just being grazed by one almost severed my left arm, and the power of his claws! With a single swipe he caused one side of the Mountain we were fighting on to collapse! Had it not been for Xeon constantly harassing him with arrows I would have died a dozen times over!"
I reach the climax, my voice full of Nostalgia, Excitement, and satisfaction
"But I did not, instead I managed to slay the beast! And I became the first Dragon Slayer in almost 1200 years!"
Putting my right hand on my hip, and pushing back my hair with my left I did my best to look cool in front of my child (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)
And Little Jesse as if to cheer began to giggle
After a few minutes of basking in my own glory I continued
"Not long after the war ended in a truce, with the King returning his concubine to Laetitia and signing a ten year non-aggression pact. Because of this Me, Mary, and Xeon did not end up fighting in the war."
I then become bitter as I speak "And as for the Dragons corpse, The King decided to take 75% of it including the Invaluable Dragon Heart."Graciously" rewarding us with the remaining 25%"
ᕙ( ᗒᗣᗕ )ᕗ
I swear I would have tried to kill him if Mary and Xeon hadn't thankfully stopped me.
Not even I could have taken on Two Transcendent's with one arm
"Anyways I also had to return Irritatus to Xeon which was a bit of a bummer bu-"
Before I could continue I was interrupted by fierce knocking on the door
Who the hell?
Giving little Jesse a kiss on the forehead, I go to check the door
Opening the door I see Mary with blood shot eyes and messy hair
"Mary?"
Instead of answering she gives me a slap
"What the hell?!" I say annoyed but unfazed
"You asshole! Why did you tell me you were pregnant if you were just adopting a kid?!"
"I didn't!"
"You said you we're going on maternity leave!"
"So?!"
"Maternity leave is a break to give birth Idiot!"
"….Oh….sorry….that's my bad"
"You!….You!….ugh"
Mary decides to calm herself down
After a few minutes of standing there awkwardly
I ask "Do you….want to come inside?"
Mary doesn't reply and instead nods her head
Showing her inside, you sit her in the hall and start brewing tea
"…..So where is this child?" Mary asks quietly
"I-I just put him to sleep, so you can't meet him now"
"I see"
As I hand Mary a cup of tea I say "You must have spoke to Xeon"
"Yes"
"I apologize again, I did not mean to deceive you" at least about that, I think to myself with a guilty expression
"…. It's fine I overreacted"
The two of you once again fall into a awkward silence
"I heard from Xeon you destroyed my gift."
"I-It wasn't on purpose" I reply
"Why would you even wear something so valuable on a mission?"
"I really liked it….And didn't want to take it off"
"Sigh You at least could have told me, I could have gotten it repaired"
"….. I didn't want to disappoint you"
"I see"
After some more silence, Mary gets up looking away from you "A-Anyways I should probably get back soon, I have work tomorrow"
"Do you want me too walk you back?"
"N-No I'm fine. See you soon Hera" Mary says with a smile
I smile back a little relieved "Yes, see you soon Mary
MARY: ( ⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝)