1130. To Be Pierced - 1187. Would You Cuddle With a Thrombosis?

“Sir Raoul.” (Orth).

“Mister Raoul.” (Thras).

“What?” (Thras).

Another day, another night spent with these two. They were not children anymore. Orth and Thras were in their late twenties, but their height and a Healer’s innocence made them appear far younger than they were.

The campfire flickered, casting shadows along a cave wall, which danced jubilantly as the two giggled amongst each other.

“Get this! Healers are supposed to be birds, but how come we can’t fly like them?” (Orth).

“Are chickens the same as Healers?” (Thras).

“What kind of nonsense are you two on about again?”

“Hmhmhm~” (Orth).

“Ehehehe!” (Thras).

Rarely was there a moment when they weren’t trying to rouse Raoul’s attention. It felt like they needed to call his name once every minute. Raoul believed it was to get under his skin, the same way Cer had desperately tried to steal his attention.

He was a cold person that barely entertained their antics. Though, there were a few times when he was caught off guard, which would leave the two smiling from ear to ear. He never understood why. They were humans, yet he kept them around. Now that they were Healers, Raoul had an obligation to send them to Inflow Direct where they would inevitably part ways.

“Mister Raoul. How long until we make it to Inflow Direct?” (Orth).

“Months?” (Thras).

“A week. We will take the Relay Site in the next town over, and we’ll make a brief stop at the 6th Branch. We’ll be relying on them to move across Brandar. Should be no problems getting you into Atlas.”

“All that land, and not a single settlement across Brandar?” (Orth).

“Is it that dangerous?” (Thras).

“Brandar’s known for its monsters. On the scale alone, it’s worse than the First Night. Can’t compare it to the Second Night. Imagine an entire region swept by Dungeon monster. They started building a wall around Atlas.”

“It’ll be safe to live in?” (Orth).

“Lots of new opportunities for life if people can manage to live there.” (Thras).

“I doubt Atelier-controlled nations will become the paradise you’re thinking.”

“Don’t be so down!”

Orth giggled and tugged on his shirt.

“Have faith! It’s a lot better than living amongst monsters!”

“Right!? And Raoul! You never answered our question! Are chickens the same as birds even though they cannot fly?”

The absurdity of their question threw Raoul into a state of deep contemplation. With a hand secured beneath his chin, he pondered on the riddle behind it as he watched the shadows on the wall.

Eventually, he arrived at a single answer.

“The chicken is defective as a bird, but they have their place. Happy?”

“You think so too?” (Orth).

“Yeah… Defective. Do you think chickens get sad when they watch birds fly?” (Thras).

I didn’t know what they were talking about at the time. Looking back, it was so clear to me that they were afraid of the Healer’s Suppression. A choice as simple as picking one direction over the other had to be relegated to me or they would be trapped in place. They were ambitious. But they wanted to be free more than anything else.

The question came to me one day. Do Healers choose to become Healers? And if not, are there Healers who come to despise themselves? If so… how would they convey how they felt?

The shadows along the walls shifted. The chaotic imagery cycled through various creatures as the twins held out their hands to create shadow puppets. Eventually, the two held out a stick, and their leaves cast what resembled a school of fish.

“Mister Raoul. What do you think about the fishies?” (Orth).

“The ones that live near the coral reefs!” (Thras).

“Aquatids?”

“Nope! Just fish!” (Orth).

“Floating… swimming… They’re not bound to the ground. Birds have to rest eventually. But fish can just keep swimming.” (Thras).

Their hands met with Raoul’s from underneath the covers they shared. It was not the first time the twins had talked about fishes. The Lighthouse that Raoul had found them in was located on the southwestern coastline of Emvita. Along that coast was a large coral reef called the Great Aurora Reef, known for its enormous scale and aquatic diversity.

More than that, there was a city located in the center of the reef called Aqualight, housing well over several million Aquatids. Though this number could not be confirmed since little else was known about this city. In all likelihood, it was a nation rather than a mere city given its population.

In any case, it was a symbol of freedom to Orth and Thras.

“Raoul. Do you think it’s silly?” (Orth).

“Is it wrong?” (Thras).

“Do what you want. Think what you want. My job is to transport you back to Inflow Direct.”

Despite his cold dismissal, the two fondly smiled as they curled by his side. His presence was far warmer than the fire they shared. To them, Raoul’s presence was the only thing that mattered. He was their savior, an anchor, and the one person who could not be broken by their misfortune.

However, that was obviously far from the truth.

… I could have done better. I treated them like strays. I didn’t want them to get attached in fear of them becoming like Cer. If they kept latching onto me, then they’d follow me to their deaths. I wanted to get off my hands as soon as possible. But I did not hate them. I was thankful for their company. I grew to love them like family.

Raoul’s greatest mistake was his inability to stay by their side. It had been what destroyed his sisters. And, before he knew it, the twins. If he had learned how to love them, then perhaps they would have never approached Act X in the first place…

… Or sent into the Leviathan.

* * *

“… Significance and indifference. No one to hold this child.”

“Unwanted and abandoned. How can we help you today?”

< [Polycephalatic Scream] >

Air was sucked in to the maw of the bird. Its chest expanded until it grew to twice the size of its entire body. Then, it released a deafening scream that caused Raoul’s body to shudder.

Metal fragments flew in every direction like shrapnel. Cer, Ber and Res actiavated their electric fields to catch the metal. Without this, even Ber and Res would have been severely damaged by this attack.

The sound, however, released a shockwave that caused strips of Raoul’s flesh to peel. She held on and anchored herself by stabbing the blade into the ground.

Morale:

-15

Its morale had deceased. Bullets hailed across the battlefield, striking Res, Ber and Raoul to maintain their HP. Meanwhile, Abigail applied [Healing] magic to herself as she endured the scream, blood trickling from her ears.

“GO RAOUL!” Cer, in an instant, appeared beneath the bird and shut its jaw with an uppercut.

A pulse of electricity caused countless metal scraps to begin levitating in place. Then, they fell back into the ground like bullets as she somersaulted into the air and sent an axe kick onto the bird’s head.

Ber did not waste this opening. She grabbed Raoul by the arm, spun several times, and hurled Raoul using her momentum. The blade entered the chest of the bird, and she could once again feel the human innards within this creature. Its warmth, the fresh blood… she could even sense the faint heartbeats vibrating through her sword.

“I should never have left you… I should never have allowed you to depart on that expedition. You were still young as Healers. I was a fool to let you go.”

“Stab us…”

“Make you feel better.”

“Like the cruelty.”

“Do you want a turn to stab us too?”

“Make you feel better?”

“You were devastated.”

< [To Be Pierced] >

Raoul knew exactly what they meant by this, and her heart nearly stopped beating. Cer let out a hoarse scream as she deflected half a dozen spears. Then, after Raoul retrieved her weapon from the bird, Cer dealt the finishing blow.

Bird | HP:

Zodiygotmortem | HP:

8,000,000

Morale:

-5

“You don’t owe anyone that favor. No one has that power over you. Nor the right to hurt you. I destroyed myself when they told me you were thrown onto the Leviathan. I wanted to burn this world down. I brought the City of Spades to its knees. I did that, because I…

…”

Raoul stabbed it one last time as the bird was reduced to a black liquid.

“Love. We nearly did the same. If Raoul didn’t find you, then forget the City of Spades. Scarlet Logic wouldn’t exist!”

Indeed. Cer would have joined Raoul’s warpath if it meant bringing back the twins. Res and Ber shared the same sentiments, and through this, the morale of the twins steadily increased.

Morale: