Re:START/If {Book 1.0}
Chapter 52: Toward (Part 04)
Two pairs of footsteps above the ground level rise, stepping on short grasses and peat soils. So slow, until it can be calculated according to rhythm. The moist surface of the road is pebble rocks that feel quiet, with lush trees that look quiet on both sides. Dew still dripped from the green foliage, the thick fog became a barrier to the distance of view and the occasional bird's voice rang out between the twigs and branches.
In the jungle setting that lies between the Luke Family Mansion and the coastal town, a young man of black hair walks through the path up a hill. He was wearing a white shirt that was wrapped in a pitch-black robe, his eyes drowned and occasionally looked at the woman who was following behind.
The blonde hair of the woman was tied in two to the front of her chest, slightly wavy and her pounding queen made the stranger who saw her certainly did not think that the woman had become a mother. She wore a simple white dress that was up to calf long, had long sleeves with the ends widened and loose. On top of the dress was a green vest fringed toska to her knees tied with a red cloth belt on her waist. On the young woman's ears were green crystal earrings, and on her right arm she wore an ivory-white bracelet with unique carvings.
The two men were Mavis and Odo, they both departed from the Mansion in the early hours of the morning before sunrise. Although they deliberately left early, until the sun started to rise they both still did not make it to the city for some reason.
Stepping her feet carefully, the young woman seemed to have trouble walking uphill with the black Mary Janes she wore. He limped, stepped slowly and made the young man who was walking in front of him stare flat with a little anxiety.
“Why did Mommy really come? Last Mbak Fiola was very anxious and to the point of wanting to come too, loh.”
“Of course!” The woman stared intently, then sullenly said, “So you intend to leave Mother, right? Until we leave early this morning .... When the Shieal bring them to the gate, you also make them an excuse so that the mother does not come! You know, your nature is so bad! If you're a boy, don't pull your words!”
Odo only showed a flat expression, reluctant to serve the word because he felt time would be wasted even more. Walking up to the woman who was standing on the ground not too slanted, Odo knelt his back and offered his back. Mavis was at a glance stunned, remembering the figure of Dart as a young man who often offered such a sling as well.
“What's up?” Odo looked back, stared lightly and said, “Let's go up, we can get there during the day, you know. Mother also does not feel at home if long in the forest like this, ‘kan?”
Mavis immediately leaned over and hugged her son from behind, wrapped her arms around the young man's neck and said, “It's your fault you're not on a horse and are walking instead.”
Odo immediately folded his hands back and raised his mother. While stepping foot, he reasoned, “Mother knows, if I leave alone, half an hour has arrived.”
“You mean this Mother is a burden?”
Odo at a glance put on a flat expression while looking forward, sighed he chose not to argue and said, “Have ..”.
The atmosphere became a little quiet, only the occasional animal noises and thick fog filled their journey. Odo's pace was faster than before because there was no need to wait anymore, Mavis' weight seemed not to burden the young man's footsteps and continued to climb the hilly road that was getting steeper. From walking, the young man with black hair began to run with wide strides despite the steep and uphill road.
The Mavis who was carried around was surprised, what Odo used to run was one of Luke's step techniques called the Wind Steps, it was a lower version of the God Steps. The technique is only in the form of concentrating Mana in the legs and strengthening the calf and thigh muscles, then maximizing body balance so that it can walk unhindered on various terrains.
“Hmm?” Mavis felt that something was strange because after they climbed the hill, her son did not take the main road and instead went into the forest. Closing his lips to the ears of the young man who was carrying him while running, Mavis asked, “Is this really the direction? Why not just take the main road, Odo?”
“I want to hunt first, find free materials for the store.”
“Eh? Hunting what?”
“Of course monsters ...”
“Once, yes.”
Mavis felt a little strange in her mind and in the end did not ban her son at all. The blonde woman felt it was dangerous. But when he understood himself also joining the young man, he only let out a light sigh and fell silent. The conversation paused for a moment, the wind that was blowing slowly carried the fog away from the hills and made the visibility wider. Mavis tightly hugged the young man who was carrying her, looking at her gloomily with a sad face. During her nearly nine years as a mother, she never really understood her son.
Up to one of the peaks of the hilly area, Odo walked towards the cliff face directly to face with the expanse of forest below. A misty sight filled the trees, like an early ocean when viewed from higher ground. Following that, Mavis glimpsed and felt a warmth in her mind.
“Odo ..”
“Hmm?”
“Why do you accept me as your mother? Although already know about it ..”
“I asked back .... Why does Mother still accept me as your son? I'm indirectly a creature that makes you— Many people on this land suffer.”
Mavis pensively asked such a question, he understood that it was like that that was their motivation to stay together. Needing each other to fill hearts and feelings, that was the kind of thing that was in the minds of the two of them. Looping tightly his arms around his son's neck, Mavis tightly clenched and whispered, “Thank you, my son.”
“Not to thank, this is appropriate. No doubt I am your son, once conceived by you. Anyway ..., there's something else to worry about, right?”
“Hmm?” Mavis loosened her embrace, slightly raised her face and from behind placed her chin over Odo's right shoulder. In a slightly surprised tone, the woman asked, “What is it, my son?”
“Dad ...” Odo glanced a little, then in a serious tone asked, “If Dad finds out about our secret, isn't it serious? It's the same as Mother cornering Mother's own sister, ‘kan?”
“You were very rude, yes.” At a glance Mavis glanced flatly. Sighing and looking back at the misty forest scene, she softly said, “Ayunda doesn't mind that .... We are willing to share Dart's love, because our souls are already in one body. For Homunculus like us it is like that mindset .., competing in an unproductive way we will not do.”
“While you two don't mind, but what about Dad? Not ... Dad married the real Mavis because he loved her? This may sound cruel, but Mother is not loved. Not the Proten that Dart Luke loves.”
“Since the beginning ... Dart doesn't have that kind of feeling.”
Mavis put on a sad face, really brooding about the nature and feelings of Dart Luke. During an adventure together as the Devil Exterminator and playing the role of Mavis in more than a decade, the blonde woman never felt the love of the man. Dart does give a very abundant affection to his wife until it looks like sincere love, but it is all just an excuse for Dart Luke to stay alive and be himself. Guilt and responsibility for the woman named Mavis that makes the man feel like he still wants to live in the world.
“Your father .., Dart Luke, married Ayunda out of guilt. Did you ever hear that before you married your father, the real Mavis was mentally disabled?”
“Kor less .... In the archive report there are some listed about personality disorders.”
“Your father feels based on that. Because of the Angel Manifestation magic used during the Great War, Ayunda's personality was damaged and some of her emotions instead entered the Dart. The result ..., the temperamental man turned a little soft and could understand the suffering of the weak.”
Odo briefly fell silent, staring at the flat expanse of the forest that was still foggy under the slightly overcast sky. On the horizon the sunlight began to be seen, a little dim but getting stronger. Odo understood the possibility of Mavis' words, understood a little why Dart Luke tended to always fulfill his wife's request as difficult as it was to the extent of frustration and willing to sacrifice many things. The real proof of this is the Luke Scientia library, which cost a lot of money to make and the Astral World Expedition.
“Beautiful flowers are always thorny,” murmured Odo.
“Hmm? You say something, my son?”
“No ...”
Odo turned around from the cliff, at first glance wearing a gloomy expression and walked back while still holding his mother. The young man's footsteps were slower than before, Mavis looked at her son's face from the side with a glance of astonishment at the young man's silence.
“Why? Did it bother you?”
“Not .... It's just, you guys are great .... Maybe I'm not the type who is willing to share love like you.”
“Ah, about that ...” Mavis smiled at a glance, then with a hint of seductive intent she said, “Say you weren't too sensitive about something like this? But it turns out to be interested as well. If you were in a situation like Mother, what would you do, my son?”
The young man's footsteps came to a halt, the look in his eyes turned blank and it again made Mavis anxious. Shaking her body over Odo's sling, the blonde woman asked, “Odo? You're all right? If tired Mother will go down ..”
“I'll kill him.”
“Ah?” Mavis.
“If I love someone and have a rival, I will definitely kill that rival and by all means will definitely get that someone I love.”
“Odo ..?” Mavis was stunned, her body was trembling hearing that and did not know what to say with the answer.
“You said ...”
“Did I say something?”
“Not ...”
“Hmmm ...”
The young man set foot again and Mavis fell silent. In his son's arms, the blonde woman grew increasingly anxious. Something like damage or personality disorder is scary, especially for the blonde woman who has seen her sister experience it firsthand. It was almost the same as death, an array of broken and changed souls.
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Arriving in front of the cave above the hilly area, the two of them stopped and Odo dropped Mavis from his sling. It was one of the monster nests the young man had never explored, with the cave entrance five meters higher and wide enough. Staring flat into the dark and damp place, Odo immediately stepped forward.
“Mother want to wait here or come?” ask Odo while glancing at him.
Mavis stepped in, then firmly replied, “Certainly come along! The cave is a monster's nest, isn't it? Do you want to find their crystals?”
Odo did not answer that question. The young man put his hand into the robe, then took out a Gladius from the storage dimension that was on the black robe he was wearing. Taking a deep breath and regulating the body information, the young man changed his abilities from Magus to Swordman. The atmosphere around him instantly changed, his muscles tightened and his body briefly seemed to grow a little stocky.
“Odo ..?” Mavis's footsteps came to a halt, stunned to see such a faint change in posture.
“I'll do it quickly, Mother is here only.”
Odo mounted the horses, lowered the position of the body by extending both legs to the side and bending the knees. A deep blue aura started to come out from his body, radiating thinly and his hair started to choppy due to the energy pressure radiating from the surface of his skin. Concentrating the aura at one point in the chest, Odo took a deep breath and channeled the aura into the throat. Then —
“KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”
A roar was shot into the cave, making the wall of the place shake and even breaking some stalactites on the ceiling. It was like the roar of a dragon, so jarring and to the point that the birds around the cave flew over to hear the sound. The roar echoed in the cave to the deepest part, completely disturbing the sleeping inhabitants.
Mavis trembled, stepping back due to the intimidation and provocation the young man gave to the cave-dwelling creatures. Shortly after the sound echoes disappeared, the rumbling sounds from inside the cave replaced and the monsters began to be seen. It was not the Goblins, Ogres, or Orcs who made up the majority of the monsters in the wild, but a flock of Minotaurs who galloped with their two legs while carrying weapons like mace and boulders.
Minotaurus is a type of bull-headed humanoid monster, has two legs to stand, a large body and very muscular, and on the head of the bull there are two large horns that indicate their might. Minotaurs were low-sense and savage creatures, but they had enough intelligence to group and make weapons out of tree trunks and rocks. Unlike the Goblins who were little familiar with the concept of clothing or body armor, the Minotaurs did not think of it and relied solely on their hard bodies and muscles for defense.
Odo observed, visually counting their numbers and making sure that the Minotaurs were no more than twenty. He took off the horses and changed the ability of his body from Swordman back to Magus. But when he saw that there was one of them mutating, the young man immediately broke his decision to attack.
The monotaurus mutated to the Advanced Stage, where its body underwent significant changes and gained magic power that was even stronger than a trained magician. Unlike the herd which is mostly brown and black and has red eyeballs, the Mutated Minotaurus has snow-white fur and its eyes glow green.
Odo immediately turned towards Mavis and shouldered her to flee. “Eh?” Mavis was shocked as she was carried on her left shoulder like an item by the young man. Not caring about it, Odo immediately used throwing magic and jumped high to immediately climb up the trees. He hid himself among the leaves, then immediately moved away by jumping from the branch of the tree to another tree.
Feeling already far enough away from the cave where the Minotaurs were wrathful, Odo stopped under one of the oak trees and lowered Mavis from his shoulders. At a glance the young man's breath was slightly breathless, he had previously not had time to regulate breathing when blurred.
Looking towards Mavis who was leaning against the tree trunk, Odo asked, “Is Mommy okay?”
“Ta-Tadi! Isn't that the White Bull?! W-Why does an Upper Intermediate Level Monster seem to be in an area like this ..?”
“Now, I don't know either.”
“Then why did you come to the cave?!”
“Relax, Mother ...” Odo looked slightly flat and felt that his mother's reaction was excessive. Inhaling the air and regulating breathing, the young man in black hair replied, “I found the cave while going back and forth to the city. When I first saw the cave there was just an ordinary Minotaurus, which like I had never seen before.”
“What ... do you want to take the Minotaurus monster crystal?” ask Mavis worriedly.
“Not their crystal I was after, but what was inside their cave. Mother should have also noticed it, the magic radiance inside there was very powerful. Most likely inside the cave is a pool of magic nectar or magic crystals.”
Mavis. He was panicked before and did not feel it clearly, but there was a different magic beam from The White Bull that came with the Minotaurs. With a hesitant voice and a fleeting disapproval, the blonde woman was actually, “Not that you already have many magic crystals?”
“Most of which I have a fire attribute.”
Odo raised the right-handed Gladius, then began carving runes using the luminous lettering technique on the sword's opening. He wrote more than fifteen ancient letters, with his left hand as if he were left-handed.
Slightly glancing towards Mavis, the young man again said, “I need another attribute like water or something. Well, let's hope my guess is correct and inside there's a magic nectar pool.”
Mavis was at a glance stunned to see her son easily implant a rune on a sword and create a magic tool in such a manner. Shaking her head and understanding that it was not the time to feel that way, the blonde-haired woman walked up to Odo and held onto his shoulder.
“A-Do you want to fight that monster alone? You know, my son! Such a monster could only be defeated after deploying more than one knight squad! If you need crystals in that cave, we'd better go back first and call—!”
“It's no use.”
“Eh?” Mavis was shocked to hear the stern words, she trembled to see Odo's serious expression focused on writing runes on his sword.
“Time can be wasted. The reason I came here was just because I stopped by, all the way down to get the crystals. Just a distraction, Mommy.”
“Odo ..” Mavis raised her hand from the young man, stepped back trembling and weaved her fingers with a pale face.
“Do not worry ...” Finished implanting the rune, the young man turned his head with a thin smile and said, “Did Mother forget? I'm the one who has defeated the Black Dragon, the white bull monster or whatever I can defeat. Mother just wait here, later when it is finished I will return .... After all, instead of Mommy can also face powerful monsters?”
“But! Still such a monster—!”
Odo thrust his sword into the ground and slightly took a light breath. It made Mavis flinch and tremble even more. Immediately removing the black robe worn, the young man in black hair walked towards Mavis and put the robe on him.
“Day wait here only .... If it has been half an hour more, Mother can go to the cave. But be careful, yes. There could be monsters other than Minotaurus around here.”
Odo turned around after putting on the robe. Taking the Gladius that was stuck on the ground, the young man activated his magic core at a minimum level and channeled the Mana on his weapon. The sword opening glimmered blue, then instantly dimmed and the surface of the sword eye trembled at supersonic speed. The sound was like a chainsaw, rubbing against the air into a sword that could cut through bones and flesh easily.
“I'll be back.”
“Hmmm ...”
Odo instantly used thrower magic and leapt quickly forward, passing through the trees and darting to where the Minotaurs had been before.
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