Chapter 63 - The Torments Suffered
The half-wolf and Elf looked back in surprise, seeing the half-dragon's terrified reaction, and somehow thought of the same answer:
"He did it." They shouted in unison as they pointed at the green bird.
The horned girl knelt on the ground next to the shopping bags. "How am I supposed to pay for that door!?" She wondered, bringing her hand to the floor as well, while an expression of tension plagued her pretty face.
Nathalia, worried, crouched down beside the half-dragon. "It's okay... Luke will pay for you, after all, he's the one who broke it."
"ME!? I don't even have a coffin to drop dead in, let alone pay for a door made of eucalyptus."
Then the man and the girl looked at Nathalia, both with forgiving glances.
"Sigh... okay, I'll pay." The Elf replied, crossing her arms. She was still angry with Luke, but she didn't feel it would be fair for Luke to use his entire month's salary to pay for such an expensive door.
The half-wolf took the door and just slid it into place, so they could momentarily have privacy. The hotel room was huge, almost the size of an actual apartment.
Although the bed was right next to the entrance door, further on, there was a living room with a small bookcase and even a kitchen at the far left end of the room.
The half-dragon began to pick up some fruits and produce that she dropped as she dropped the bag on the floor, and while doing so, questioned:
"To what do I owe the honor of your presence?"
"Before I can thank you for saving my life, I need you to tell me about everything. Especially about the demon."
The girl walked to the kitchen, carrying the bags, spread them out on the countertop near the sink, and turned to look at the pair of Class-E Adventurers.
"I knew you would ask for that. Well... Can you leave us alone, Nat?" smiling, she inquired. "If you want, you can take Koven with you."
Soon after, Nathalia took the green bird in her arms carefully, and Luke opened the door for her to leave. The Elf was not angry or stressed because she understood that even though she was a noblewoman, there were matters that she would be better off not knowing about or getting involved in.
Meanwhile, the half-dragon began to take things out of the paper bags. When Luke approached, she even quietly offered a piece of bread, which the man gladly accepted.
"Have you heard the story of The Calamity?"
"Talk about the one about the heroes from hundreds of years ago?"
She raised her eyebrows. "Oh! That's the one. Well... You do know that most of the Dungeons that exist, came into existence after that series of oppressive events, right? Scholars dub this exponential growth as: Irruption Flow."
"And this is related to the demons?"
"The Irruption Flow is not only related to demons, but also to everything we know today, because it is kind of a supernatural event that can change the world quickly."
"So, from what I could understand, this thing that spawned the Dungeons? No... there would be no way, according to the story I heard, there were already Dungeons before The Calamity."
"Yes, according to various historical accounts, they already existed yes, however, what if The Calamity wasn't the first Irruption Flow?"
The half-wolf just stood waiting for her to continue talking because he understood too little about all this to say that it was impossible.
"There are monoliths with inscriptions from thousands of years ago that indicate conjunction, or rather an irruption, where monsters from another reality enter ours.
"Are you meaning to say that the demons are these monsters?"
"There is no way to know if they are or not, because everyone refuses to answer questions, but for all we know, demons are merely humans influenced by an energy or something."
"Chaos?" Luke tried to integrate.
The half-dragon once again looked surprised; however, this time, she acted the first time and decided to inquire about it.
"What do you know about Chaos? How do you know him?"
"Nathalia and I had a mission that ended up leading to a confrontation against his followers a few weeks ago.
"Tell me more." The girl ordered, now stopping licking the food she had bought at the nearby grocery store.
Then Luke briefly summarized all the strange situations that had occurred since they joined the Guild, including the Mission for Zion, the Guild Master.
The half-wolf told of the Superior Goblins they found outside the Guild, also of the Class-D Spiders they found on the second floor, which generally only appear as Class-E and F Monsters. As well as, he also told of the murder of the man he rescued and the consequences that the search for the killer caused and where the clues led him.
"We went to The Dark, which is a place in the suburbs of the harbor and we found a phrase there that mentioned the name Chaos."
Luke told everything, from how he defeated the creature that emerged from a barrel with remains of a Kobold to the confrontation against the Chaos Followers, where he had to kill most of them.
At the end of it all, he didn't hesitate to make a deal with something, which he hinted was Chaos himself, because he proposed a deal to her.
After hearing the whole story, the half-dragon pondered and reflected for a while, making it uncomfortable that he was the only one to share, even though the girl was so mysterious.
Although his instincts did not indicate that she was a threat, Luke felt it was a mistake to hand over so much information on a platter as he did.
However, after some, she finally broke the silence:
"Your deal with Chaos is worthless, because there is no such thing as someone called Chaos."
"What do you mean? They don't worship a person called Chaos?"
"Do you know the Flak Kingdom? There, they don't worship Gods like most religions elsewhere, they worship the Sun, believing faithfully that this celestial body is actually an entity."
"Are you saying that the Chaos Followers are the same thing?"
"Same thing? Huh!" The half-dragon smiled wryly. "No... The Chaos Followers are influenced by something bigger and existing, just as the demons are also commanded by another. And if both are present in the same city, I fear there is something pretty big going on in Vasconcelos."
"And we are in the middle of this whole mess..." Luke said after bringing his right hand to his lips.
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