Duality

-----Mai's

I've been making my presence as small as possible, but just from looking from Yui's old place in Inasdale, this place sure has changed a lot.

Hordes of many different species gathered around the streets, even dragon folk seemed to also be moving around the place. The humans are still here, at least some of them, but from the looks of it, they're being used as some sort of labor force. I would like to see more, but I can sense quite a few powerful individual towards the castle, and I don't want to risk my presence being felt if I go too close.

Mai: "..."

I guess I can just return with the information I have now, but I feel like that'll just worry Yui even more. I'd like to at least make sure her brother is alive if I'm to give any news. I could just mask my mana and be completely undetectable from mana-sense, but that would mean for me to expose myself physically and not hide under my invisibility magic. Wait, but wouldn't that be even more suspicious? I sometimes forget that everything in this world requires mana... Ah, screw it.

I end up revealing myself, also limiting the output of mana to that of an average orc. Of course I won't be able to use invisibility magic in this state which forces me to go on foot. Not that I'm too worried as I can just instantly teleport if worse comes to worse.

Kaede: "Find anything?"

As soon as I stepped out in the open, I jump at the sudden voice in my head. Talk about timing.

Mai: "I'd rather not say until I investigate further."

Kaede: "What do you mean?"

Mai: "Just give me some time."

I begin walking through the streets as I see many eyes glaring my way. There's demi-humans walking around, so surprisingly I don't look too out of place here, but it would've helped if I had horns or something growing out of my head. Despite that, they leave me be for the most part, and the ones that chose to try and approach me, I just increased my mana output just enough to scare them off before bringing it back down.

But I have to say. The last time I saw this many different species together like this, must've been before when the last demon king was defeated. Since then, many clans scattered, forming their own territories and strongholds, so seeing this really makes me feel like something big had just taken place. Well of course something big did happen since Inasdale is no longer a human country, but to think that I'm possibly seeing the rise of a new demon king. It's honestly quite exciting. The last time this happened was centuries ago.

I continue walking through the streets, aiming towards the castle. I've been using mana sense while doing so as I do pick up groups of humans here and there, but none that I'm overly familiar with. Wait... I do actually sense Kaede's teacher to the west, but no one else that I know. I guess I can mention that when I return to the others, but for now I'd like to find Fabian, or more importantly, the new demon king.

After quite a bit of time walking through the streets, I finally get in range to sense parts of the castle, but due to how many powerful individuals are around, I'd likely be spotted if I go any further. So instead, I try and work my way around the perimeter of the castle's ground, making sure to stay clear from the notable figures, and soon enough, I do find a weakness on the eastern side of the castle grounds. But surprisingly, upon entering the eastern side of the grounds, Fabian's aura entered my range, but not only that, there was an absurdly powerful presence with him. I can't see with my eyes, but my gut feeling tells me he's in some kind of hostage all the way up in that castle. I take a mental note of that presence as that could be the demon king. It's not as powerful as I remember the last demon king, but it's definitely a contender. And to think Fabian is living with such a thing... I'm surprised he's alive being in there. Oh! Actually there's another presence in their as well, but it's so outclassed by the other that I almost didn't even feel it. 

Hmmm. I'm so curious though. I really want to see this new demon king. I haven't scanned the whole castle, so I'm just so curious to see if there's anyone in there that can rival that individual's presence. It didn't take long for my curiosity to get the better of me as I quickly decided to use invisibility magic and float up there, but in doing so, I've raised my mana output quite highly. I quickly shoot forward, heading straight to the castle where Fabian's presence can be felt, and just when I reached the castle window, I quickly take a peek. I know this is stupid of me, but I just want to see what's happening, and also I'm very curious who's presence this is. But instead of seeing a hostage situation like I imagined, what was happening in front of my eyes caught me completely off guard.

First off, the presence I felt was coming from a demon, but that demon was just sleeping on a bed. Not to mention Fabian is on the bed as well, and talking to a dark elf over food? Or at least trying to speak with each other as I can already tell they both don't know the other's language...

Mai: "What the hell is happening?"

-----Fabian's POV

I honestly found it quite enjoyable eating with Rina. Ilfa feeds off of... well- me. So it's honestly a breath of fresh air to see someone smile as they eat. Not to mention how great it is to actually eat with with someone else, it makes eating this delicious food even more enjoyable. I bet Rina wasn't expecting to eat this food as she likely put all this effort in to impress Ilfa for her mistakes. Hmmm.

Fabian: "Did. You. Make. This?"

I do my best to gesture out the words with my hands, making cutting motions for the word "make" while pointing to her and the food. She looked puzzled as to what I just said, so I repeated myself once more and I could see the exact moment when she understood what I meant.

Rina: "Yes!"

She quickly picked up on the basic human language, like yes, no, sorry, thank you. But I found it unbelievably cute to see hear her try and pronounce these words. Makes me realize why Ilfa called me cute when I tried to speak in the elven language...

Fabian: "ㄒ卄卂几Ҝ ㄚㄖㄩ."

She smiles at me as I give my thanks, and from the looks of it, I finally said it right. I already had a hunch that she did cook this for me, but now it makes me wonder if she was the one cooking for me all this time. I thought it was all Ilfa before, but the taste of this meat and how it's prepared, it's really familiar to what I have been having. I want to ask Rina that, but I think that's a bit too complicated right now. I guess Ilfa is the only one I know who speaks both languages so maybe I could ask her questions and maybe learn the language bit by bit. Speaking of which, Ilfa seems to be sleeping peacefully as Rina follows my gaze to Ilfa.

Rina: "Ilfa 卂几ᗪ Fabian... 匚ㄥㄖ丂乇?

It was then that Rina gave me a look as she then starts to gesture, pointing at both Ilfa and I before bringing her hands together. I understand now what she's saying, but I guess I should repeat it in my own language for her.

Fabian: "Close?"

I then put my hands together like she did as I say that, hoping that we got this right. But then the question sank in my brain as I finally process it. I guess in a sense we are close, but not in the way that I think, and potentially Rina as well.

Fabian: "No."

And for some reason, Rina looked surprised as her silver eyes sparkled in the light. It might not be as vibrant as Ilfa's, but seeing eyes like Rina's sure gives off a whole different vibe. But now that we're more or less finished eating, I figured she'd want to leave, so I'm quite surprised to see her stick around. It was then that she looked down at my legs, pointing at them.

Rina: "ㄚㄖㄩ尺 ㄥ乇Ꮆ丂... 山卄卂ㄒ 卄卂卩卩乇几乇ᗪ?"

I'm not sure how to explain it, but I guess I can technically "show" her. I then conjured up a small bit of flame magic, just enough to demonstrate as I move my now fiery hand down to my legs.

Fabian: "Fire. Burn. Escaped."

I did my best to gesture with my arms, but I guess it would be tricky to understand the word "escape." But surprisingly, Rina seemed to have caught on to what I meant. This whole situation makes me wonder the reason why Rina stayed back here with me. Could it be simply that she wants to understand my language? If that's the case, then I'll do my best to understand hers as well.

But before I could continue to say anything further, she gently moved her hands to my knees. thanks to the fresh, new skin underneath, I barely feel any pain now when she touches it, but I find it sweet that she's being mindful.

Rina: "ᗪㄖ乇丂 丨ㄒ 卄ㄩ尺ㄒ?"

Fabian: "No. It's okay now."

It was quite easy to tell what she said to me when she looked up at me with upturned eyes. But what I didn't expect next was for her to conjure up some magic of her own. She summoned what looked to be water from her hands before moving her hands on top of my legs. I was expecting this water-like magic to be cold, but it felt surprisingly warm as she it spreads over my entire legs, including my ankles which began to throb a little when the water made contact.

Rina: "丨'ㄥㄥ 爪卂Ҝ乇 丨ㄒ 乃乇ㄒㄒ乇尺."

Then after about a minute, the water slowly seeped into my legs as the warmth of my legs increased before slowly subsiding. My leg's still looked to be burnt in some patches that I haven't picked off, but I can tell that she did something to them.

Ilfa: "Fufu~ You two seem to be hitting it off."

Both Rina and I quickly turned our heads to see Ilfa cheekily grinning at us as she continues to rest her head on the pillow.