121 Riveria

Lyze pushed the tent flap aside as he entered Riveria's resting place. Around her sat her elf attendants whom looked up sharply as he went in, some giving him not too kind glares as he approached the elf princess. She was lying down on a futon and a wet rag had been placed over her red face as she breathed heavily.

Lyze was made to stop his advance as a tall male elf with glasses stepped in his way and glared down at him.

"What business do you have here?" Kalos demanded in an icy voice.

"Nothing that concerns you." Lyze said. "If we are going to have her up and fighting, my treatment will get the job done better and faster than the lot of you put together."

"And you think you haven't done enough already?" Kalos gestured to the elf. "She's in this state because of YOU. It's your heathen powers that has caused all this chaos...and now you expect us to trust you to heal her with those same abilities?"

"...Step aside." Lyze said.

"I think you should see yourself out." Kalos put a forceful hand on Lyze's shoulder. "We are not in need of anymore of your 'favours'."

Lyze's hand shot up and clasped around Kalos's wrist. The elf's eyes widened as he suddenly felt a vice grip nearly grinding his bones to powder and the sheer agony was so great, he could not even scream out in pain and was instead forced to his knees. Lyze leaned forward, the aura around him going cold.

"We are in the Dungeon. There is no time for you to play your petty games here." Lyze said. "You will step out of my way and let me do my job...or I incinerate you right here before I reach her."

"You can pretend to be anything you want human." Kalos said through gritted teeth. "A friend, a brother or an adventurer. But you know what you really are? A monster."

"A monster with no qualms about doing the monstrous things for the greater good." Lyze twisted Kalos's wrist up to the point where everybody could hear the creaking of his bones. "The lot of you can stuff your elven pride up where the sun doesn't shine. Your putrid jealousy does not take away from the reality I live by, nor does it serve any good for the princess whom you proclaim to love and revere. Now get out of my way."

Lyze threw Kalos aside and the elf collapsed to the ground squeezing his wrist in desperate attempt to alleviate the pain. The elven women surrounding Riveria gave the approaching boy wary and defiant glances, but backed off as he reach the green haired elf.

Lyze's expression softened as he knelt by Riveria's head. He placed a calloused hand on her face and from his hand shone forth a warm golden light. It illuminated the tent with a soft luminescence as Riveria's breathing became more measured and the redness of her face faded away as her normal, beautiful pale skin returned. After a few moments, jade green eyes flickered open to meet the face of the blindfolded boy sitting over her.

She frowned in confusion, having expected her usual attendants to be by her side whenever she woke up, before she remembered all that had happened before and she shot up into a seating position. She met the relieved faces of her attendants who were huddled in the back of the tent for some reason. She looked around to see Kalos collapsed on the floor, his face screwed up in anguish as he gripped his wrist and sent hateful glares towards Lyze.

"...What happened?" Riveria asked before she grabbed Lyze's arm. "That man! Is he...?"

"Gone." Lyze answered. "I cannot guarantee he will stay away from us...but for now we can expect to not see him anymore."

"I knew we couldn't trust him." Riveria said before her eyes widened. She'd just noticed that Lyze's upper body was completely bare...and the hideous scar on his stomach drew her ire and her concerns. "Lyze! What...did HE do this to you?" She said as she laid her fingers on the old wound.

"Don't worry about me Riveria." Lyze said, giving her a soft smile in appreciation for her concern. "I'm fine now, and I feel no pain."

"Lyze, that is a killing wound!"

"I've had many killing wounds in the past." Lyze said as he pointed to the scar over his heart. "See this one? I'd say one would be more concerned over this old scar.. but I'm here aren't I?"

"It does not make me any less worried!" Riveria chastised him. "How are you living like this?! No child should bear such horrors, such cruelty. Yet you just take it in stride! What is wrong with you Lyze? Can you not see that this is abnormal? That this is not just something you should accept?"

"Of course I do." He answered. "But realistically, what can anybody do about it huh? The guy practically beat all of you with an arm. Even after I released all of my powers, it still wasn't enough to defeat him."

"Indeed. That was truly some great power you wielded back there." Riveria muttered as she looked back and forth between her hands and him. "There is no doubt about it...your magic is far greater than mine, far more powerful. I'd always believed that hard work was what brought results and not just born talent...now it seems all so wrong."

"Not exactly. I'd say it's a mixture of both." Lyze said. "When I joined the Familia, I was definitely weaker in magic than you. All I had was my talent, but it was hard work that helped me grow stronger."

"It was only over a month ago though." Riveria said. "In that short time, you've come all this way...not to mention all those forms of power you take which clearly amplify your magic even more."

"Enough about me." Lyze said as he laid a hand on her arm. "Are you okay?"

"...I feel fine." Riveria said before she took a glance at Kalos. She then looked back to Lyze, immediately suspicious. "Explain."

"He stepped in my way, pompously defaming me. If I hadn't used a little forceful persuasion, you'd still be stuck with migraines."

Riveria scowled and twisted his ear, making him wince.

"What have I told you about abusing your powers Lyze? How many times must I drill it into your head?!" She said, driving her knuckles into his skull as he pulled free of her. She then sighed and looked at the elves around her. "Out. I wish to speak with Lyze alone."

"But my Lady, we don't think-" Began one of her attendants but was promptly cut off.

"I did not ask for your thoughts, I asked you to leave. Get out." Riveria said before she looked back at Kalos. "Go drink a potion or something Kalos. As unjustified as his actions are, I've told you several times to stop prodding him. Away with you!"

"...Yes, Lady Riveria." Kalos said through gritted teeth as he left the tent, the other elves following him.

As they passed Lyze on their way out, they gave Lyze wide berths but one decided not to. Vira stopped by, wringing her fingers and looking at Lyze hesitantly.

"Something wrong Vira?" Lyze asked the nervous purple-haired elf.

"I-I don't blame you." Vira said. "I don't believe you're a monster. You're a good person Lyze. I know that...I'm sorry about what they say to you."

Lyze was taken aback at her statement. It was clear to him that Vira was perhaps the only elf beside Riveria that did not see him as an abomination...he certainly did enjoy her company. But he never contemplated exactly how she thought of him...and now it seemed she came out with it.

"Thank you Vira. Your words are kind." He smiled at her. "Out of all the elves of the Loki Familia, you are the only one I have considered a genuine friend. It elates me that the good thoughts are mutual."

"Mhm." Vira nodded before she bowed to Riveria. "I'm happy to see you are well Lady Riveria."

"Your sentiments are duly appreciated Vira." Riveria said. "Now please, go."

Vira nodded before she left the tent and closed the flap behind her leaving Lyze alone with the elf in their. He twiddled his thumbs as he pondered over what he should say to her before she grabbed his hand.

"Lyze. I have been having troubles lately." Riveria said. "And they began when you joined the Familia."

"I know I've caused you a lot of worry and pain since I joined." Lyze said. "And I'm sorry for that. I just-"

"Not that kind of trouble." Riveria said. "Although it is nice to get an apology for those as well. But no, I've been having personal troubles...here." Riveria placed a hand over her heart.

Lyze raised his brow at her, bewildered at her actions. Anybody could misconstrue her words for the wrong intentions but those possibilities were instantly removed from his mind as they were literally impossible and immoral...unbefitting of someone of Riveria's sincerity. So he was genuinely stumped as to what she meant.

"Have I hurt your feelings in any way?" He asked her.

"No." She said. "Ever since you joined the Familia, I have had this growing urge in me regarding you."

"...What kind of urge?"

"To protect you." She said. "In all honesty Lyze...I barely know you. I know where you came from but I don't know who you are. I am yet to explore the depths of your character because it has been too short a time that we've known each other...and yet somehow I feel like I've known you always. And I feel this obligation to protect you always. I grow worried whenever I see any of you in danger.., but when it comes to you specifically, my heart practically lurches out of my chest. And I just can't control it, like it's something I am meant to do. No matter how much I search within myself for an answer, none comes to me. Do you have any insight?"

"I am equally as confused as you are." Lyze said before his face turned down. "You're not the only one that has been battling with their heart recently."

"What do you mean?"

"When I accepted Loki's blessing, I merely saw you all as a means to an end. Stepping stones on my path to a greater level of power necessary to reach my objective, to fulfil my goal...It was during that process that my master told me it was inevitable I would form bonds with you all. I vehemently denied it, fully convinced all that would matter to me would be my ambitions to free myself from this life of pain and anguish." Lyze sighed. "But now I find the thought of even one of you, even Kalos as much as I hate him, of even one of you getting hurt or dying as a horrible scenario. Some specific individuals garner the worst reactions out of me. If any of them got hurt...I think I would go mad."

"...Ais." Riveria said knowingly.

"She and I have so much in common Riveria. She confides in me every opportunity she gets...I feel like I see myself in her. And the thought of her getting hurt or something happening to her hurts me just as if I were the one it was happening to." Lyze sighed and looked up at the elf. "I love her Riveria. I can say that with full confidence. It is not my naivete of age blinding me nor any kind of illusion...every time I say that to myself, I feel my heart agreeing with me....When I was fighting my master, I was certain he was going to kill me. As I fought, all I could think of was the connections I'd made with you. But mostly, it was the promise I'd made to both her and Lili. I swore I would protect them both...and that gave me the drive to fight even harder, because there was no way I was abandoning them."

"...You are so self-aware and mature for your age." Riveria said wistfully. "I didn't have even half the self-conscience you do even when I was a young adult. The fact you can even recognise that is incredible." Riveria gripped his hand. "But remember the kind of lives we are leading Lyze. Death is an easily available consequence in our line of work. As prodigal and great you are, even you won't be able to protect them always. You have to accept that so both you and they can grow."

"I understand that." Lyze said. "It doesn't make my turmoil any easier...nor can I give you an answer as to why you feel the way you do. Lately, nothing of my life has made any sense."

"If you think that, then how do you suppose WE feel?" Riveria snorted. "But you must let go. Holding on to people that tightly will only suffocate them...you relationships could be frayed."

"Better than losing them altogether." Lyze said as he stood up. "The last time I did not watch myself, I lost the person I loved most of all...never again Riveria." The boy said as he turned away from her, his fists clenched as she heard the buried anguish in his voice. "Never again."

"...Lyze. What is your goal?" Riveria asked. "I've skirted around it many times but with all these happenings, I cannot stave off important questions like that. What are you aiming for?"

"To find someone beloved to me...and to bring them home." Lyze said as he turned around. "I don't know why I have this effect on you Riveria. But simply, my presence alone has changed the personality of many people around me. My mere nature induces change to my environment. I can change the atmosphere simply with the mood I am in Riveria. That's how little effort it takes on my end to have an effect on my surroundings."

Lyze began walking away. Riveria paused, wondering whether or not she should tell him about the nightmares she was plagued with. But upon questioning it, she ridiculed herself. What could Lyze tell her about a person she was dreaming of that even she didn't know the identity of?

"What are you going to do now Lyze?" Riveria asked.

"I'm going to stop holding back." He answered as he opened the tent flap. "I'm going to slaughter every monster in my path and we're going to make it out of this expedition alive. No more disturbances, no more hinderances. I'm taking the gloves off and I'm breaking all the chains I've welded onto myself...you haven't even begun to see what I'm capable of." He exited the tent with those last words, leaving Riveria alone with her thoughts.

"I think I've already seen much of what you can truly do." She said to her self as she put the back of her hand to her forehead. "...Are the three of us truly the strongest in our Familia anymore? For some reason, I highly doubt it."

---

When Lyze entered his own tent to get some sleep, he found Ais sitting in a foetal position on top of his covers. She looked at him with tearful eyes and her mouth wobbled as she barely supressed her sobs.

Lyze slapped himself internally as he forgot completely about her, and the kind of experience his near death would once again have on her. Ais's forlorn behaviour only seemed to increase as she saw the scar on his stomach and she drew her bare feet closer to her, her toes wringing as she clasped her legs tighter, fixing him with an accusatory look.

"Look Ais." Lyze said gently to her as he opened his arms out. "I'm here aren't I? I'm alive and well. I've not left you."

"But you nearly did!" She cried. "Again! You promised!"

"I promised I wouldn't leave you Ais." He said as he came closer to her. He gently pried her hands from her legs and held them in his own. "And I haven't left you. I'm still with you and I will always be with you Ais."

"But it's not fair." She said looking down. "Why does this keep happening to you? Why aren't you sad? Why am I sad for you but you aren't sad for yourself?"

"Because being sad about it will not get me through it." He said as he held her hands together. "To get through my problems, I have to hold those dear to me very close...and I must keep them in mind all the way through my troubles. Do you know what I was thinking of when I was fighting with my master?"

Ais shook her head. "No."

"I was thinking about you." He smiled.

"Me?"

"Yes. All the way through, I could help but be afraid of dying because it meant that I would not keep my promise to you if I died. I could not bear your sad face...because when you cry Ais, it hurts me just as it hurts you." He reached with his thumb and wiped her tears away. "I know it's hard for you to cope with, or perhaps understand. But please don't cry."

"...You're afraid of me crying?" She asked.

"Your tears are my fears." Lyze said to her. "I can bear the sharpest blade, the hottest fire, the heaviest hammer...but I cannot bear your sadness. For both our sake's Ais, don't cry. Instead be happy, happy that we're still alive and together in an environment where so many have lost their lives because they lamented their shortcomings instead of holding steadfast and moving forwards."

"So we must be stronger?" She raised her brow.

"No. Not stronger." He let go of her hands. "We must be better."

"What's the difference?"

"The difference is that not only do we avoid making the mistake, but we learn from it as well. That was the reason my master came in the first place, because I was not learning. I was only growing stronger but I was not learning from the mistakes I was making along the way. I was holding back in fear of making the mistake instead of learning to make sure that I could still exert the same power without repeating the error."

"Your master is cruel." She said. "Horrible. He shouldn't be someone to listen to."

"There is no question about it that he is cruel." Lyze admitted. "But he is a warrior who has been through his own ordeals. If nothing else, that is something worth listening to him over. But still...I hope to never see him again after this." He then gave her the most reassuring smile he could muster. "So please cheer up Ais...and let's push through this together, just like we promised. Okay?"

He held up his pinky for her to hook with hers. Ais looked down at it before she surprised him by pushing it aside and placing herself in his personal space. His brain froze as he felt her plant her lips on his own and kiss him deeply. Through it, he could feel her desperate need for connection, affection, the sheer fear of losing him. This was not a kiss to convey feelings but one she was using to seek a physical comfort.

He lamented her innocence and the fact she couldn't understand what she was doing, but he allowed her to continue until she was satisfied and she pulled away from him.

"I told you Ais. You can't do that. It's not right." He chided her gently.

"Aki said it was right." Ais pleaded. "You're my hero Lyze...you know that right?"

"Yes Ais, I know. But please, this is the LAST time this happens okay. You will understand one day why this is wrong...don't do it again please."

"...Okay." She said sadly as she looked down. "I don't understand, Aki said you should kiss the ones important to you...am I not important to you Lyze?...Do you...dislike me?"

"Of course not!" He exclaimed. "You are more important to me than you realize. Aki is just an idiot and you shouldn't listen to her. But kissing is something that children should not do. Only adults can do it, okay? It's a 'grown-up' thing that not even Aki herself is allowed to do. Which makes her a hypocrite, so don't listen to her."

"What's a hypocrite?"

"A very bad person."

"But Aki is not a bad person." Ais reasoned.

"...Have you forgotten the slugs?"

"...Forget it." Ais's face turned a little sickened. "She is a bad person."

"Good. I'm glad you understand." Lyze smiled again, though this time, Ais felt a little unsettled by the sight of it. "Now lie down and I will join you shortly. I have a little something to take care of quickly."

"Yes Lyze." Ais lay down and pulled his covers over herself. She watched as he left the tent, wondering what had him in such a dark mood all of a sudden.

---

Lyze exited his tent and momentarily looked out over the precipice. They had camped above the cliff, with sentries keeping guard over the edge to spear any monsters that tried to climb up to them. Lyze had also used earth magic to turn some rocks into sharp stakes which he drove into the ground on the other side of the camp so that the monsters could not come around and attack them.

They had lost a significant amount of time that Lyze had afforded them with his work in the upper floors. But tomorrow he was going to earn it all back, of that he swore upon.

He squared his shoulders and briskly marched over to one of the smaller tents belonging to the second string party (of which his tent was also one amongst) and burst into one of them

A cat-girl yelped as she turned around, halfway through dressing for bed as she stared boggle-eyed at him.

"Lyze!" She cried. "You don't just burst into a girl's tent like this. You don't want to grow up being called a perv-"

She was cut off as a hand grasped her head and began to squeeze tightly as her hands scrabbled at his, mewing in terror as a could aura leaked out of him.

"You've been filling Ais's head with nonsense and you've been causing me a lot of embarrassing moments. I shouldn't even have to be telling you these things...but you've done this one too many times and now it is time I punished you properly!"

Aki's eyes dilated over and over again as she gibbered in terror as Lyze's free hand flexed its fingers...

.

.

.

A few minutes later, Lyze walked out of the tent back to his own, leaving Aki on her stomach, pouting in pain with tears in her eyes as a throbbing red handprint burned angrily on her backside.

"...I was only trying to help." She mewled helplessly.

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