7 Chapter 7
When I arrived at the location where the shadows apparently came from, instead of the open portal into a hidden realm I expected, I saw an unsettlingly large pool of still warm blood that almost reached my ankles.
Despite the sheer amount of blood, there was not a single mangled corpse or lost limb to be seen anywhere. No, the only thing here was a half dead child in the middle of the blood pool.
The kid, who looked to be around the same age as my sister, had the fairest skin that mortal eyes had ever seen. Her short silver-blond hair, even more elegant than the moon itself, combined with those two large deep pink eyes adorning her precious face managed to move my heart.
She was truly a beauti- I took a glance at her torn skirt. There was a bulge there... that's a shame.
Anyways, the still bleeding hole in his chest means that this was not the time to ponder about my own sexuality right now.
This was the time to ponder about the benefits of helping the dying kid. On one hand, his admittedly beautiful appearance, the mass of shadows, the pool of blood, the fact that he was still alive even with that hole in his chest and meant that was likely an innocent young MC who was hunted down by an evil sect because of his powerful innate bloodline or spiritual root. On the other hand, he could be an MC.
...I need more information.
"So…just to be sure, did someone try to steal your Dao Bones and then left you here to die?"
Unfortunately, he is too weak to answer.
"I can try to heal him if you want." Kuroka offers while trying to appear apathetic, or maybe she is truly being apathetic. It is hard to be sure with a femme fatale like her.
Now, saving the kid's life not only would make me appear magnanimous and merciful before my Dao Companion, but it also would put him on my debt.... but he is likely an MC.
Shaking my head, I take a vial of Phoenix Tears from my pocket and pour its content over his wound in a single fluid motion because I am not that big of an asshole to let a child about as young as my sister die before my eyes. It is not like doing so will hurt my wallet anyways; producing the medicine merely requires a time-consuming ritual and a little bit of Phenex blood, the process itself is fairly simple and straightforward, something that my clan likes to hide from the outside world in order to inflate the prices as much as we can afford to.
Calling the phoenix tears anything less than a miracle is a disservice to the very concept of healing; they are rebirth given liquid form. When the first drop touched the bleeding wound, a nameless song began to play; there was no sound, but everyone felt the melody in their soul. In less than an instant, the wound burned with flames of different colors and temperatures before disappearing as if the fire had consumed it. And maybe it did; it was hard to be sure with conceptual medicine.
In less than a blink, the kid was as healthy as an effeminate scrawny child could be.
Suddenly Kuroka grabs my shoulder before I can take a single step in the kid's direction, which proves to be the right decision as the pool of blood surrounding him starts turning as he slowly gets on his feet.
Beasts made of shadows begin to crawl out from a pool of darkness. The contrast between the kid's phantasmagoric white skin and the black that surrounding him is almost awe-inspiring and to make things even worse he seems to be still unconscious.
Yeah, he's definitively an MC.
Woah, the little trap is certainly packing more than I expected. How should we handle this?
"I'm fairly confident in my ability to deal with him on my own. Prepare yourself to be impressed by my peerless divine arts."
"You know, I still need you alive to make kitties, so try to be careful."
"Are you being a tsundere?" Although I am caught off guard, I still offer her the sweetest smile imaginable. "If so, do not worry, you have my love already."
"I'm literally offering you hot sweating impregnation sex on daily basis, how the hell can I be considered a tsundere?" She sounds offended, but I am not hearing a no.
I'm kinda tempted to point out that Kuroka still refuses to hold hands whenever we watch a movie together and that she always tries to avoid making eye contact when we get touchy with each other, but I am interrupted by an strange sensation in my right arm, or rather, the utter lack of sensations in the area where my right arm should be.
It is only when the shadow beasts start giggling in a childish manner as they fight over my missing limb that I realize they attacked me while I was distracted.
From an objective point of view, I only have myself to blame for this injury since the book was clear about always been alert when an army of eldritch shadow abominations was less than a hundred meters away from me. Personally, I blame the army of eldritch shadow abominations currently feasting on my arm.
"You're two thousand years too early to try to bully this young master."
Although this kid possessed a forbidden power that he clearly cannot properly control, he is still young and inexperienced. There is no doubt that I'm at least two big realms above him.
I start the fight by clapping my hands.
The loud and explosive sound waves gave way to a torrent of flames that immediately began to devour the dark pool of corrupted blood as if it were oil of the highest quality.
''Waltz of the vermillion bird. Third dance.''
A pair of fiery wings flare up behind my back, their lack of physical form makes them useless for either flying or attacking. It doesn't matter because their reason to be is to dance in my stead.
The flames move to the beat of the melody whistled by the wind, burning to their fullest with excitement. This is their first and last show, something they want to enjoy.
Calling this an attack would be a mistake. While the shadows were getting burned by the dancing fire, the truth is that this technique is something more akin to a ritual than an actual fighting move.
Malicious jaws darker than the night move at blinding speeds in an attempt to devour my head, but they soon realize that that air in the surrounding is already too hot for them to take a bite of my body and step back.
Tendrils made of black take the form of arrows and spears before being shot at me, but it is already too late. I am finally ready to attack, and they feel it.
Countless eyes begin to appear on the shadow, but before they can perform any secret technique a powerful gale of fire hits them, burning them to a crisp.
The kid is now defenseless, something that I take full advantage of to perform one last technique.
I slap him.
"Arrgh." And just like that, the kid is now healed and fully conscious, just as planned.
Hitting him with one of my strongest moves from the get-go was the right choice.
"Where? Where am I? Valerie? VALERIE? WHERE IS SHE? I... hurt you? I didn't mean to attack you, I am sorry, I am sorry, I'm sorry..."
It would be cruel to blame the young and powerful MC for suffering a panic attack moment after awakening a dangerous power too strong for them to control. That said, I still need to calm them down, so I follow my Young Master's instincts to deal with this predicament.
I slap my problems away once again.
Kuroka rolls her eyes but doesn't say anything since the kid actually stopped his mad rantings.
"You still haven't answered this young master's question. What is the name of this person who is courting death so much?"
Startled by the sudden slap, or maybe because of my cold and commanding voice, the crying kid instantly straights his back.
"Ga- gasper Vl-aadi."
"This young master is known as the greatest genius to ever bless the Netherworld, Riser Phenex". I gently grab Kuroka's hand for a moment. "And this is my dear Dao companion, Kuroka."
She put my hand away and smiles reassuringly at the scared lost kid. ''Nyace to meet you.''
That pun hurt me more than the fight itself, but it's cute when Kuroka is one telling it.
"Did those men tried to steal your innate bloodline or tried to kill you because of your divine ancestor? I must admit, even this young master is somewhat impressed by it."
"He means tha-"
"Oh, I don't have a Sacred Gear. Well, I think I do now, but that isn't reason why they tried to kill me." Gasper explains. "My best friend, Valerie, and I were trying to escape from our home because they…were not very nice. They found us and just as they were about to catch us, my shadow suddenly started moving and then…I attacked you. SORRY, SORRY, SORRY."
Kuroka raises an eyebrow inquisitively as she starts to look at Gasper in a new light, and not necessarily a positive one.
"Did you just understand him?" She asks in a mix of disbelief and annoyance.
"Valerie speaks like that every now and then. You get used to it." He shrugs before remembering his previous panic attack. "Wait, VALERIE. They captured her, I have to help her. But I can't do anything, but I have to do something."
I slap him again.
At this point, it would be accurate to call myself an expert at dealing with panicking people even if I only keep doing it because it's fun.
"Plea-ase, help me-me to saaaavee Valerie." Gasper falls on his knees and begs me with a quivering voice.
But that isn't enough to convince a Young Master.
"Oh, you are asking a big favor from me. What can you offer me in exchange?"
The kid doesn't bother to raise his head.
"Everything." He states in a voice filled bit fear and despair. "My soul, my body and my strength."
"Everything? Ummmm, that is nowhere near to be enough." Kuroka both frowns and sighs in relief at my words.
"But-but Valerie-" Tears cover his pink eyes as he tries to find something to say, but I don't give him the opportunity to speak up.
"Therefore, you must become more than you already are. I expect you to become at least one million times more valuable while you are under my wings." In a magnanimous gesture, I extend my arm and offer him a small chess piece. "Rise and stand proud, you're now my Junior Brother. I won't allow anything less than excellency from you."
It is a pawn made of an unknown material, an impressive carved figure shining like the sunset in the human world. While offering my only mutated piece to someone who accidentalky ate my arm is a big gamble, I decide to put my faith in the love that the heavens have for this MC.
Gasper looks confused, his face still covered with snot and tears, yet he grabs the offered piece with as much resolution as a crying cowardly weak kid is capable of mustering, which isn't a lot all things considered, but there would be time to work on that in the future.
Now, I only have one important question left.
"Hey, Junior Brother."
"Boss?"
"Call me Senior Brother, we are now part of the same sect. Why are you wearing a skirt?"
"Why wouldn't I be wearing a skirt?" He appears confused by the question.
...
"Fair enough, I guess."
Nobody that has lived with a person like Revive for an extended period of time would ever think about kink-shaming someone because of their unique tastes or lifestyle, especially when they have yet to send me a video capable of making me wish there would be therapists in the Underworld.
Anyways, by kidnap- rescuing his childhood friend from the vampires, I will make Gasper completely loyal to me. Due to their relationship, I won't need to worry about rule 33 with this Junior Brother.}
...
Rule 33:
MCs are well known for their lecherous temperament.
Take full advantage of them being horny bastards. Just remember to be especially cautious if you are a particularly good-looking young master.
...
Gasper Vladi is likely the best possible type of MC that I could have invited into my peerage since he seems like the kind of MC who would avoid creating a harem for themselves because of their puppy crush on a single heroine. His archetype was the typical shy, gloomy and soft-spoken MC who was fearful of his own power to the point where they would actively, sometimes unconsciously, try to suppress it out of fear of hurting those close to them.
The love interest of this kind of MC was usually an energetic childhood friend with powers or personalities complementary to theirs. The childhood friend would be the ying to the MC's yang, the ice to their fire, the holy healing light to their army of cannibal shadows abominations. She would also be worthy of recruiting.
Oh, the mission to earn his undying loyalty will be dangerous, but the possible benefits outweigh the risks by a wide margin. Who cares if I become the vampires' sworn enemy for stealing two children from them? Vampires suck anyways.
"Since rescuing your friend will require us to be cunning and stealthy, I shall teach you one of my peerless breathing techniques that will allow you to hide your life force. First: Breathe and let your Qi flow through your meridians."
Gasper slowly raises hand.
"Bos- Senior brother, what is a meridian?"
This Junior has so much to learn.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What is a dragon?
The most common answer to that question that most beings with connections to the supernatural would agree on is "Dragons are power made flesh."
Funny enough, dragons themselves will, more often than not, disagree with such a notion. Not because of a secret humbleness they obviously do not possess, but due to their immensurable greed and arrogance.
When asked that question, a proper dragon would offer the same answer without fail: "I AM A DRAGON."
That said, there are some dragons who will go a step beyond and roar to the world the only truth they know: "I am THE ONLY dragon."
We commonly use the title evil dragon to refer to them.
...Unless their power surpasses common sense. In that case, we usually call them either heavenly dragon or dragon gods depending on how strong they are.
Fortunately, there are only four known dragons that are considered strong enough to hold those titles.
…
Everytime the creature flapped those black wings capable of over the sun as if they were the night itself, the air summited to them and allowed him to fly despite his sheer size.
When the sunlight dared to touch his scales, the entire world trembled upon seeing his figure despite not knowing his name or fully understanding his might.
His mismatched eyes look down at the world, not because he personally despised its weakness, but merely due to the lack of anything worthy of his attention in sight.
''Crommy, have you found it yet?''
''Call me that again and I shall invert your ribcage.''
Just because he had accepted the old bat's job offer, it didn't mean that he wouldn't kill him in the spot if he were to test his very limited patience more than he should. In fact, the dragon would have done so had it not been for the fact that the coward bat was talking to him through a phone, meaning that they were not on the same continent at the moment.
Whatever, Crom Cruach would take care of things here and then demand his payment. Hopefully this mission wouldn't bore him to death.
