Chapter XXI: Mortality

A Chapter by Oran

2:40 AM, R.W.T.

Nothing but a path surrounded by canopy trees leading to the top of Mount Madre. Droplets of rain hit the ground, gradually building into a heavy rain. A small, glowing entity faintly gives off a golden light that seemingly brightens part of the forest that covers the mount, like the way it did years ago when Osiris found him. It was sprinting and charging recklessly towards the flat peak of the mountain, towards the only thing that could probably give him meaning....

2:30 AM, R.W.T.

After quickly changing from white robes to his Demon Hunting gear, (Light-body armor, a bandoleer for frost shells, and a diagonal sheathe), Credo came knocking then bursting into Anna's door.

"Anna, have you seen-"

His words stopped short when he saw the pinkish skin on Anna's naked body, censored only by her arms that she used to cover her mostly flat chest. Her face was furious, yet red as [1]Marceline's Axe-Bass, signifying that she's more embarrassed than angered. Such a look prompted Credo to just shut up and close the door.

"Sorry!", he said running away like it was nothing.

"Did you see how small those cups were?", Lina asks him, "They're like mosquito bites or something!"

"I don't wanna hear it!"

The two slow their pace once they were almost at Nash's room. Credo knocks on the door, taking care not to barge in before given permission.

"Nash, you there?"

"Yeah, come in!", the half-Elf cheerfully chants.

Credo opens the door, only to shut it back again as he is caught in the same predicament.

Unfortunately he only caught a glimpse, so I can't elaborate what her bare skin looked like. Too bad for you, dear reader; unless you're a girl, with which I am very sorry if I offended you with these rash adjectives.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to walk around naked!", he yells.

"But I'm in my own room."

"So you're saying you're okay with me seeing you naked in your own room?"

"What! Why would I be okay with being seen naked? In my own room, even!"

"Damn it, Nash!", he walks out, wordlessly.

Once he's nearly out of sight, she opens then peaks from the door with the swell of her D-cup breasts peaking with her. "He's so cute when he's fidgeting", she thinks to herself as she goes back inside.

"Those things were so huge I bet they could-" Lina's erratic trail of thought about Nash's cups stops in its tracks when Credo glares at her. "Um... let's go ask Eve if she's seen Solis", she suggests instead.

"That's what I thought."

Moments later, they find themselves in front of Mea's door. He was about to knock, but then he hears her soft, wet, moaning voice.

"Watashi no Sora-kun.... suki... daisuki...."

"What the..." He presses the lobe of his ear onto the door to hear what's going on inside. Lina does the same.

"Sora... kun. Ike... motto, motto... oki... Ahh... KYAA.... ahnn... Sora... Sora!"

"What the hell is she-"

"Sora... Sora! Watashi ga iku! Onee-chan ga iku! Sora!"

"What did she just say?", Lina backs away from the door.

"If it's direct translation, she said... she came", Credo moves back to stop listening.

"Then who the hell is Sora?"

"I don't know", Credo's face was surprisingly a little tense. "But she borrowed a book from Nash earlier, 'Aki-Sora'"

"Wait.... Is she doing what I think she's doing...."

"Let's go look for Solis." Credo regains his composure.

"Yeah, let's do that."

Once they were out of the inn, they looked all around town. Everyone was asleep except for the nightwatchmen on top of the towers that surround Quinholm, so the pair make their way toward the main gate to ask the guards. They told him that Solis kept insisting on going out with a dark cat. They said he even threatened to disintegrate them on the spot, so they let him go.

"Did he say where he was going?"

"No, but his cat was trying to calm him down. Said something about not going to the peak of Mount Madre", he explains, scratching his head.

"Open the gate; I'm going after him."

The guard signals one of his men to pull the trigger that opens the steel gate.

"Be careful, sir", the guard warns him, "Stone Talons don't usually hunt in packs, but when they do, a flock of them could bring down a full grown [2]Appanoth."

"We'll manage."

"Credo!", said a familiar voice coming from afar. It was none other than Anna along with Nashor and Mea. All three of them run toward him to say, "We can't find Solis."

"Yeah, he's going up that mountain according to them."

"What's he gonna-", Anna gets interrupted by Nash yet again.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go already!", Nash enthusiastically hollers, and pulls Anna by the arm.

"Hey, wait!", Rylai appears and catches up with her partner.

Anna and Nash went ahead, but Mea stops Credo for a while.

She mischievously whispers into his ear, "I'm sorry about earlier, but you're gonna have to take responsibility and keep what you heard a secret...."

A witty smile forms from his lips. "I'll keep the melody of your lewd moans locked deep within my heart", he replies in a cool manner then sprints off toward the gate with Lina.

"Damn Harem Kings", Lux remarks silently.

I knew it! He's even gonna steal our main character's future love interest now! Damn Harem Kings!

"Where are you guys going?", Lanette suddenly appears from out of the blue, rubbing her eyes. Seems like she just woke up from a power nap.

"Oh, hey.... you....", Mea tries to remember her name... but she can't. "Um... could you watch over our stuff while we're out?"

"Oh, okay."

"Thanks", she dashes through the gate after Lux jumped on her shoulder.

"Be safe!"

A few clicks and clacks and the trigger ends its function, and the gate shuts from behind the four of them. Before they knew it, the rain already started pouring.

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Solis ran into a couple of Stygians, but he was able to take care of them quickly with Grace. For some reason, a lot of them were blocking the path that leads to the peak. Effortlessly, he hacks his way through the Demonic beings, tearing to shreds anything that stood in his way. Something... there was something very important he had to get to, but he couldn't tell what it was. It was irking him to get to the top quickly, almost like it's drawing him in. Tenenbaum could feel it too, and even though she's quite reluctant with going toward it, it feels like they'll find answers when they get there.

"Watch out!" Before the edge of a halberd hits Solis in the face, Tenenbaum blasts the attacker with dark energy. Solis follows through and burns it with a burst of light on his weapon. He thought it'd be more efficient if he used this type of attack instead of directly tapping into the Sun's power.

"Thanks", Solis continues galloping, but then he sees more Stygians crawling from behind them.

"Don't stop! We're almost there!", Tenenbaum tells him.

Solis nods and devotes all his strength to get there. The wet ground splashes under his feet and Tenenbaum's paws as they can almost see the topmost part of the mountain. But there was also something else on top. Standing on a stone table used for blood compact with arms crossed, long coat fluttering with the wind that blows on Mount Madre, and hair every bit as graying and aging, as it used to be when Solis first laid eyes on it.

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"He's gotta be around here somewhere", Anna looks around.

"Why don't we split up and search for him?", Nash suggests.

"Bad idea", Mea pulls up her hood as she notices the rain getting harder.

"Whoa!"

Credo's reflexes react along with his voice when a bloodthirsty corpse came bursting from the bushes, causing him to quickly draw his Gunblade before the Stygian could cut his head off. He forms a dense layer of ice on the fist of his free hand and uppercuts the damn thing on the jaw, making its head fly away to[3]Neverland and the rest of its body fall on the thorny bushes.

"Look, more of 'em", Anna sets up her bow while Rylai forms a hammer from her tail.

"Where the hell do these guys come from!", Eve releases Dante and Virgil. Wow, haven't used that noun for a while.

"I don't know but it looks like they wanna play", Lux sparks herself up.

Nash shifts into a different phylum and turns into a red snake that almost looks like a miniature [2]Raviente, then starts ravaging the Stygians. All four of them begin to clash against the many corpses that are reassembled and reanimated by demonic magic.

But wait, I think I see something else that's interesting emerging from the trees.

Lycomedes.

Looks like we're about to witness quite a brawl.

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Petrified.

Solis was completely petrified. No doubt about it. The dark clouds makes Solis' luscious golden hair look like that dying lantern when you play Amnesia. His face was dirty from the rotten blood of the slain corpses. Tenenbaum stood by his side, both antennae looking so distraught.

Sick. Wet. Exhausted. And worst of all: Lost. Grace felt a thousand times heavier on his right hand. Even Kirin, that hung on his back, was almost enough to pull him down to the cold, hard surface of Mount Madre's peak.

Why? Because the owner's right on front of him.

"I see you've been taking care of Kirin for me, kid."

His voice, his hair, and even the tiny wrinkles on his face looked exactly the same as Osiris Luno's, but the Slayer knew all too well that it isn't the same person. He had no idea what to say. Ask him why he left? Ask him where he's been? Or ask him why the hell he feels like this? No. He's just pissed-off.Very pissed-off.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be!", he snaps.

"That's rude", Luno reproaches... if it really is him. "'Yan ba ang tinuro ko sa'yo?"

"Stop toying with me!", his left hand unsheathes the blue blade then points it at him. "You really think I'm falling for any of this? I haven't seen Luno for years! Why would you come and lead me here now! This just another one of your tricks, isn't it!"

"Losing our temper here, aren't we?"

"No! Shut up! Just shut up and tell me why I'm still here!", he senselessly rants.

Tenenbaum tugs his pants. "He's playing with us."

"Don't listen to that damn cat. Why don't we just talk about this in orderly fashion and come into a better resolution?", he proudly insists.

Solis has had enough.

"Go to hell..."

His entire body beacons with light. From his core to the very ends of his capillaries, he becomes enveloped with magical energy. The kid's skin is brushed with the radiance of the sun. He's Awakened his power, even though he just found out he was an Elemental in the past few days. That's what happens when little kids throw fits.

He throws himself towards the source of his tantrums with one of the blades glistening from the light that glows intensely from his chest. The two swords were held sideways, both edges wanting to taste the blood of its target. Solis didn't care anymore. He wasn't thinking. Everything that he's done was building to this, but this wasn't what he was expecting nor was it enough to keep him satisfied. That's why he's mad. He swings the blade on his left first, but it was completely blocked by a great black sword infused by Demonic magic.

"Hmm... You got a trick up your sleeve", Luno crudely remarks.

Solis pulls back and tries to hit him with the other sword, only to be blocked by the huge sword again. Where'd it come from anyway?

[4]"So, you're looking to play, huh?" He smirks at Solis, irritating the kid even more.

Solis pulls back once more while his enemy recovers and holds the huge weapon with two hands.

"Let's put what you've learned to the test!"

A pair of swords, azure and golden, and a jet black claymore were striking each other with utmost phantasm. It's like a sparkling Death-match Light Show.

Why do students and teachers always end up killing each other?

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"You again!", Mea sees Lycomedes emerge.

"Miss me?", he smirks.

"I've had just about enough of-", Credo prevents her from moving forward with his sword.

"Where's the kid?", Credo demands.

"Beats me", he shrugs.

"Then get out of our way..."

"Nope", Lycomedes replies by conjuring a blood red aura that emanates throughout his armor.

"Are you sure about that?", he c***s his Gunblade.

Lycomedes demonstrates an evil laugh then taunts him, "Sure as Hell!"

Credo drags his Gunblade through the rain and toward Lycomedes while he conjures his own sword from his hands. Before he could reach him, a small party of Stygians and Acolytes suddenly come out of nowhere and try to block him.

"Outta the way!", he fiercely howls.

Just as soon as one of them was about to take a swing at him, he takes his left arm and slams the ground with his fist, creating solid ice that crystallize his enemies. He then regains his momentum from running while chopping through the frozen ice sculptures in front of him. Once he's close enough his Gunblade struck against Lycomedes' sword almost instantly, and they begin testing each other's steel.

"Impressive", Lycomedes remarks, still swinging his blade.

"Don't flatter me", Credo keeps up with the rhythm.

While he's busy with the boss monster, the rest of them were up against a never-ending brigade of Stygians that kept on respawning just like during a boss fight.

In the midst of all this, Mea was thinking to herself.

"Solis, what are you doing?"

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Solis was almost out of breath. He's been expending all his energy by relentlessly attacking the symbol of his disappointment. The two blades in his hands weren't dancing as gracefully as Osiris had taught him before; rather, it was repeating the same unbalanced move over and over again. His arms grew numb from exhaustion and the bright light from his core that signified his Elemental power has already gone from faint to dim.

Tenenbaum has been trying to keep the equilibrium of his mana and her raw power in check. She's been trying to keep it balanced since after Solis Awakened, but it seems the charges between their bodies have been slowly increasing in difference. It's dead in the night, after all, and the sun only brightens the world through the moon. A disadvantage, if you will, for a Solar Elemental.

"You really think you can beat me, Solidad?"

"JUST SHUT UP AND DIE ALREADY!"

"That's not a very nice thing to say for an honorable opponent, is it, Solis?", he calmly lectures.

"YOU LEFT ME ALONE WITH MY CAT!", he strikes and gets blocked again, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT WAS FOR US!", another strike that leads to no avail.

Luno shoves him back, causing him to lose balance and fall on his back and splash against the puddle. Don't worry; he's fine. Look, see, he's pivoting himself up with Grace.

"Let me ask you this, then. Why exactly do you trust that girl? The only person you've ever trusted that much was me."

"So...", he breathlessly answers. "Osiris- You never taught me to try to trust other people", he coughs. "So what... if I did?"

"So, tell me, what have you gained so far?"

Solis falls silent. Everything that's happened up to now. What has really gained? He's been blindly letting this girl lead him from place to place even though he knows that she started with him with a lie. He's not even sure if anything she said actually makes sense. It might even be just a goddamn Chuunibyou delusion made-up by a 8th-grader! Why the hell does he even put up with risking his life to save the world? He doesn't even give a damn about the world! What's up with all this? He hasn't even fallen in love with her yet he'd go this far for her! What's the factor that assembles this messed-up equation? Wait... [5]why am I even asking you all these questions!

"Because I promised."

"What did you say?"

"KASI NANGAKO AKO!"

He musters up all his strength into one last shot. It wasn't much of a shot, actually. Just a desperate attempt to express his anger, thinking it could rid him of all his troubles. Desperate; I can already see where this ends.

The edge of both swords were equally 19x10(-13) meters away from Luno's neck, but before it could hit, he felt a throbbing sting that grew from the left of his torso.The cold iron steel that ran through his abdomen and poked through his back dripped firmly with fresh blood. His eyes widen from the horrible sensation as both hands give-in and drop Grace and Kirin.

"Well, this is embarrassing...", Luno breaks the suspenseful silence with the kid's blood sputtered all over his face. "You promised, huh? Look where it's gotten you now, kid!", he spitefully chants.

Solis couldn't answer. He couldn't even display a smart-a*s gesture before dropping dead like an animal, all because of the agonizing pain that he never knew he could feel. He feels the blade slowly being pulled away from him, ripping itself from his flesh and tearing its way from his vessels. The light on his chest has been long gone along with his resistance against gravity.

Two seconds before he heavily crashes, he saw Osiris' hand reach out. Solis tried to take it, but the only thing it was reaching for was the sparkling gold amulet that hung on his neck. Luno grabs it and snaps the chord, leaving Solis to fall on his back against the puddle that ran red with his blood. All he could see now was red. Red in his hands. Red in the sky. Red in his eyes.

How could it all end this way? Dying under the black skies; rainfall dropping on your unconscious body; drenched in your own blood; tormented by an unbearable pain; pretty much f*cked-up everything at such an early age. And worst of all, it's all because of your father. You'd want to blame him for the things that made your life miserable, but how could you? Better off dead from the start, aren't we?

Why live a life in the first place?

Oh, I'll tell you why....

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1. Marceline, a character from Adventure Time, is a vampire who carries around an axe with bass strings.

2. Apanoth and Raviente are both monsters from the Monster Hunter series.

3. Neverland is the place where Peter Pan lives.

4. Quote by Dante from Devil May Cry 4.

5. Quoted from the fish head reporter from Spongebob Squarepants.

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