Chapter 38: Prologue
「Still no information on that bastard, huh?」Reuk asked the hybrid as he nonchalantly styled the visibly annoyed Fire Spirit's hair. Being restricted to exist only within the void inside the hybrid's mind, Reuk was extremely bored after having devoured all of the manga and anime that the hybrid had watched during his life back on Earth.
「No. Rowan and Maia have been going around the capital to gather more informations regarding Desmond, though nothing has come up. He must have escaped when he learned of Corey's death before the capitol got decimated, knowing that we may come after him in the future.」
「I guess there's nothing we can do.」Reuk sighed.
「Is this Desmond the one who destroyed your party?」The primordial spirit curiously asked.
「...Yes. Ryan, Sophia, and I… we all fell into this trap.」The elven archer frowned. Although he has been acting as a carefree spirit living inside Kibadios, his hatred for the monk did not wane one bit. 「Because of him, both Sophia and I were killed. The experience left Ryan devastated...」Reuk shot a questionable look at the hybrid 「Your master there helped him recovered somewhat, though I'm still mad at how he took advantage of Ryan's shattered spirit at the time.」
「Ha. Nothing you can do, Reuk kun」Kibadios laughed audibly.
「I know!」pouted the archer. 「Speaking of Ryan, how is he holding up? He just lost us not too long ago and now, Kyles is also...」
「Not too well. Since Kyles did not show any improvement and responses to any treatment, Ryan has been feeling dejected lately… I've barely gottten any chance to pin him down and give him a good fuck for the last two months now since he always comes back late at night and leaves early to attend for Kyles.」
「...」Reuk gave the hybrid no reply, though he was fairly amused at the slow changes that the hybrid was going through. The old Kibadios would have just fucked Ryan whenever he liked without caring about what the hero has been going through. After all, Ryan was supposed to be nothing but a sex slave whose sole purpose was to serve the hybrid's every need. I wonder if he notices it himself , the elf thought.
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「You're leaving?」Asked Kibadios after a soft kiss on the cheek gently awoke the sleeping hybrid in the middle of the conversation between him and Reuk.
「Sorry to have woken you up, Master. And yes, I need to check on my brother. I bet princess Yllaner has been up all knight as usual so I need to be there to relieve her from watching over Kyles.」
「... You have to also take care of yourself, Ryan. You've lost weight.」reminded the hybrid while looking at the hero's naked body as he put on his shirt.
「No need to worry, Kibadios sama!」Ryan reassured his master with a forced smile and pounded his chest loudly.「I'm a hero after all. Though I'm sorry. Because of me, we have not been able to go to your village yet.」
「It's fine. I've waited for more than a year, waiting for another few months is nothing. Let's just hope that Kyles would recover.」Kibadios sat up, slowly turned aside the dragonoid who was still clinging tightly onto his master while sleeping. His gaze pierced sharply at the hero, then continued「Though, not that I'd like to see it happens but if he forever remains in that comatose state, would you be able to leave his side and come with me?」
「... I will come with you, master!」Answered Ryan after a few seconds of hesitation. 「I've been asking myself the same question ever since the incident and I have already come to the conclusion that I could never leave your side.」The hero, after finished getting dressed, leaned onto the hybrid and gave him a long, tender french kiss then lustfully slurped in the string of saliva once he broke off their kiss.「After all, I belong to you, Kibadios sama. I'm forever your property so I'll go wherever you go.」
「I see.」Kibadios simply nodded.
「I'll check back with you and the group during lunch time.」
「Okay.」
Ryan gently closed the door behind him and walked out the building they were staying at. It was still early in the morning, with the sun barely rising above the far off eastern hills. The first rays of light had just started to penetrate through the thick mist that enveloped the capital region. Given the early time, there were not many people on the street. Ryan could see a few scattered groups of merchants begin to unload their goods at the far off market. Their loud voices echoed throughout the street, which were often interrupted by the chirping sounds of a few flocks of birds flying overhead. In merely a few months, Lorian, the capital of Maeg, has sprung back to life. Of course, there were still piles of fallen rubbles laying around the once devastated city but compared to a few months ago, the city had transformed at an incredible speed. All thanks to the well-oil governmental machinery left behind by Prime Minister Stringer and its incredibly shrewd, newly crowned king. Lance Atkinsor, in fact, possessed an unparalleled talent that rivaled even his best friend, the former prime minister. He fully understood that once tragedy befell a nation and weakened it, external forces would race to extend their influence over such a nation through perceived aids. Instead of trying to fend off such meddling, Lance has allowed other nations to help rebuild Lorian. He especially pitted the Oracle against the powerful rising city state of Uruk: Since Uruk was founded by a demon lord, it has traditionally struggled to gain more recognition from the surrounding nations. Among the few friendly nations that it had, only Maeg, under Jayden Stringer's leadership, has normalized all diplomatic ties with it. That was why Uruk had spared no expense trying to help Maeg to rebuild its capital and King Lance to stabilize his nascent rule. Lady Gilga of Uruk had sent an unbroken line of supplies and manpower to Lorian ever since she left the capital a few weeks after the incident. For her, this was the perfect opportunity to gain more influence within the country. Although Lance, on the surface, gratefully accepted the help that seemingly came with no string attached; he perfectly knew there was never a free lunch. The new king purposefully exaggerated Uruk's help and involvement in the rebuilding of Lorian to the Oracle and its representatives. Just like Lance predicted, the Oracle quickly sent endless streams of craftsmen and builders to aid the Kingdom, fearing that if it did not extend its help, Maeg would soon be spiraling away from its sphere of influence. By carefully threading the needles and balancing the outside forces, Lance ensured that no one party would gain an outsized influence while his rule would be further cemented by showing the citizens how he was able to rebuild the capital at an incredible speed. Any dissenting voices against Lance from the unruly nobles soon dissipated as high-rise buildings started to appear once again in Lorian. The construction time was greatly reduced through runecraft brought forth by Uruk and mage-builders provided by the Oracle. Within the first week of reconstruction, the royal guesthouse was erected and finished, allowing the hybrid's group to take residency within ever since. Soon enough, the palace finished construction within the first months, along with the crucial marketplace and rows of residential housing.
「Haachoooo!!! Argh… I forgot my jacket back at the guesthouse.」Ryan mumbled to himself as he strided through the back alley that was a shortcut toward the palace, where Kyles rested.
「Bless you, boy!」A familiar feminine voice called out to the hero.
「Thanks?」Replied the hero as he turned around to take a look at whoever that just spoke. His eyes soon widened in shock as he saw Adela stood right behind him, dressed in a dark, hooded cloak. 「Adela! What are you doing here?」Ryan quickly reached to his sword.
「... I see… 」Her eyes were glowing strangely as she studied the hero from head to bottom. 「Why did I not check you out before with my <Eyes of Horus>!」she blamed herself before closed in further toward Ryan. Before he could strike her, Adela had already placed her hand in front of his face, reciting some spell. A magic circle soon formed at where her hand was but soon broke into pieces once she stopped mumbling. Ryan suddenly stopped his movement, then fell down to his knee, his hand quickly covered his mouth as if he was trying not to vomit.
「... What… What did you do to me? These memories… 」
「Welcome back, Ryan the hero!」Adela cheerfully clapped her hands. 「I merely dispelled the hypnotic charm that has been clouding your mind, placed on you by that hybrid, Kibadios. What? Why are you vomiting? Did he "take advantage" of you while you're under his influence?」Adela leered down at the confused hero. Through her skill, she knew Ryan had the incubus crest on his body and she all knew too well what it meant. Though she could not see his face, she knew the teenager must have been horrified as he remembered everything that the hybrid has done to him.
「Kibadios… sam...」Ryan stopped short of adding the respectful suffix like he always did when referring to his master, his face quickly turned as pale as a ghost.「KIBADIOS! How dare you!」Ryan's scream echoed through the empty alleyway while the Astral smiled in satisfaction. Zaeryn… I'm coming for you .