A Hero's Burden 1
The city of New Whitehall had just suffered through hours of protracted battle between the Empire and the Republic, followed by the titanic clash between two demonic Overlords. Their respective otherworldly minions wrought havoc on both sides and against each other, further adding to the chaos, death and destruction. That all ended abruptly when Nagnamors Armageddon destroyed himself, Liusolra, and a significant chunk of the city in an instant, causing the lesser demons to disappear along with their leaders. When the dust finally settled, a rough estimate placed the survivors on both sides sowhere between a third and a quarter of their original strength, leaving them essentially annihilated. Over half of the city was either reduced to ash, in the process of becoming ash, or in ruins.
As if that wasnt enough excitent for one day, both sides were then made keenly aware of two more unexpected revelations. The first one was that a Hero of Chaos was not only present at the scene, but had also directly confronted the Hero of the Hamr in a Clash of Fate. The second was that this unknown intruder then proceeded to triumphed over the Empires rising star in a flawless victory.
The victorious Hero, however, collapsed imdiately after accomplishing that monuntal feat. Given the situation, the surviving nine n and won that witnessed Keiras duel did the only thing they could think of - they retreated. They had no idea what sort of attention the flashy showdown between the catgirl and that human would attract, so they collectively decided to imdiately leave the scene and seek out the remnants of the Republics chain of command. They departed the ash-filled desert and navigated their way through the burning wreckage of the city while carrying the unconscious Decanus, their fallen comrades belongings, as well as the body of the fallen Hero.
That last one didnt exactly sit well with all of them, of course. However, they had to begrudgingly agree that simply leaving him in that wasteland was not the right thing to do. Even if he was an enemy, even if he killed their friends, even if he was the only one they could bla for Keiras condition, he was still a Hero. A man chosen by a Goddess was worthy of respect, regardless of any mortal sins or cris he may have committed. Even then, nurous religious teachings dictated that such things were absolved with ones death, and urged others not to hold grudges towards those no longer of this world.
The living did not have the right to judge the souls of the dead.
Eventually, the ntally and physically exhausted troops managed to reunite with Sys group, and then with what was left of the 2nd and 3rd Republic Legions. Bernards body and cursed warhamr were respectfully handed over to the higher-ups so they could do with them as they saw fit. Hilda and Keira were quickly taken to a large warehouse that had been converted to a field hospital so that their conditions could be closely monitored.
And monitoring their Decanus was pretty much the only thing the soldiers and conscripts under her command could do. The military dics at the scene had declared that her condition appeared to be stable, but they could not help her in the slightest. Much like the Berserker, the beastkin would have to be treated with a wait and see approach.
That being the case, Keira was then moved to a nearby, relatively undamaged house where she was given her own private room. Once there, her squad did the only thing they could - they waited, and they prayed. At first their prayers were said aloud, but as the hours rolled on, they were gradually overco by a grim, heavy silence, broken up only by the muffled shouts and noises coming from outside.
Hnnn
And then, after five excruciating hours, she finally showed signs of waking up.
Dec? Dec! Guys, shes waking up! yelled Mikey with a stupid grin on his face.
At the human Rogues words, the other 10 people in the room quickly surrounded the catgirls bed, while a dozen or so more started gathering outside the room. They watched with awe and relief as the beastkins yellow eyes fluttered open. Her glazed-over look passed over them, until it focused on a particular elven Warriors face.
Sy Sy? she uttered in a low whisper. Is that you?
Yes! Im right here, Dec! he responded enthusiastically, moving closer to her side.
I Nnngh, she groaned. Your your
What? What is it?
The elf knelt down to her bedside, putting his ear closer to her mouth so he could hear her better.
Your breath reeks.
... Huh?
I said your breath stinks, she repeated, louder this ti. Slls like sothing crawled inside your mouth, died, ca back to life, farted and then died again.
Sy and several others could no longer contain their joy and threw themselves at Keiras upper body, hugging her from all sides while shouting things like Dec, Youre okay! and Im so glad! The ones standing outside wanted to rush in as well, but the room was far too cramped for that, so they would have to wait for their turn while cheering loudly.
Aaargh!
That was until one of them suddenly let out a painful scream, putting an abrupt end to their celebration. He backed away from the Decanus while clutching his hand, which seed to be bleeding heavily from three long cuts. Sensing an ominous aura coming from their commanding officer, the others imdiately left her personal space. A passing glance revealed that the cause for said injury was the catgirl herself, as evidenced by the bloodied retractable claws on her right hand.
If one of you tries to grope my boobs again, I swear to whatever God is listening that I will slice the offending appendage off and then ram it down your throat.
She spoke with a voice dripping with bloodlust while her sharp, predatory glare caused everyone present to break out in a cold sweat.
Are we clear?!
Yes, Maam!
Good. Now then. Sy - where are we?
Were back at base, Maam. Whats left of it, anyway.
And how long was I out?
Its been about five and a half hours since you lost consciousness. Maam.
... And the VIP?
Safe and sound, though she still hasnt woken up. Everyone else managed to make it back without suffering additional casualties.
Keiras eyes and ears drooped visibly when the ntion of casualties showed up. No matter how strict or scary she seed out in the field, she still cared about the lives of each and every soldier in her charge.
Thank you, Sy. What about the Empire?
Theyve been real quiet ever since the, uh, Overlord situation. I dont think they have the balls to co after us, with everything that happened, and our side isnt exactly willing to go at it either. Especially not since the whole Clash of Fate thing
Oh Right, of course. I guess that makes sense
An awkward silence descended upon the group until Mikey decided to address the sphinx in the room.
So Dec Maam. You were a Hero all this ti?
Keira averted her eyes out of guilt and gripped the edges of the old blankets she was covered with.
Yeah
Initially the human Rogue wanted to question her why she didnt just challenge Bernard if she was a Hero herself. If she had done that, then surely Holt and the others would still be alive, right? However, once he cooled off and talked things over with the rest of the squad, he began to understand that this was not the case. If she had rushed headfirst into that fight without properly studying her opponent, then the one being turned into salt would be her. And once she was out of the way, that guy would have pumled the rest of them into dust. It wasnt fair to put the bla for those threes deaths onto her shoulders. Sacrifices had to be made for the good of the whole, even if she never intended for them to die.
Besides, even if those guys had known ahead of ti things would turn out that way, they would have probably accepted their fate with smiles on their faces.
So whats it like? he asked instead. Being a Hero, I an?
... Uhm Theres nothing special about it, really, she answered nervously.
But Heroes get those unbeatable divine Skills dont they?
Uh, I dont know what sort of Skills others get, but being the chosen Hero of Chaos is Its a liability.
A liability? How do you an?
... Rember when my hair caught fire earlier this morning?
You an when you ssed up starting a campfire?
I didnt ss up. It caught fire all on its own.
It did?
One of those divine Skills you ntioned? It causes random things to happen around every now and then. If it isnt making my head do a torch impersonation, it might instead turn pink. Or Id get teleported 20 ters straight up in the air and break my leg when I land. Maybe Ill even transform into a potted plant for 10 seconds for no discernible reason. Sure, sotis its helpful and amplifies my attacks or replenishes my vitality, but even then I cant really take advantage of it. Because I have no control over it whatsoever I cant even turn it off! I never know when I might just get struck by lightning and die on the spot one day! Its terrifying!
The squad fell silent as they could only imagine the ntal strain sothing like that must place on a person. That wasnt to say that death couldnt randomly sneak up on a person anyway, but that Skill sounded unexpectedly sinister. It was like having soone remind them every minute of every day that not only could they win the death lottery at any mont, but they had extra tickets to it, too.
Is Is that why you havent told us, Maam? asked Sy. Or anyone, for that matter?
... No. I an, if it was just that, then I could deal with it. But the other Skill is even worse. At least the most that first one could do is hurt personally. The other one, though It causes disasters to happen around everywhere I go.
Surely youre exaggerating, Maam.
Dont talk to about exaggerating! she snapped suddenly. I an, just look at my track record! I finally find myself a new ho - a war breaks out. I go to fight in said war - I suddenly have to play call-girl to so demon-loving stranger that, frankly, scares the crap out of ! Fuck, I had to turn five innocent dryads into weapons of mass destruction! Do you even realize how ludicrous that sounds?! How crazy the very idea of that is?!
Maam, not for nothing, but arent those good things? asked Mikey. I an if it wasnt for-
Dont you fucking say it! she wailed at him with tears welling up in her eyes. Youre not the one that had to lie to innocent children and mislead them into causing a massacre! Youre not the one who has to worry whether their re existence might destroy everything they hold dear! Youre not the one who had this fucking vortex of stupidity, and shit, and-and-and-and mayhem forced upon them by a God who just wanted to watch soone dance for his fucking entertainnt!
The furious catgirl bit her lip and buried her face in her legs, weeping uncontrollably while the rest of the unit watched on with heavy hearts.
Its not fair! she shouted in between sobs. Teresas Hero got two fucking instant-kill moves!
There was not a single thing any of them could say or do as they began to realize the enormous burden this 16 year old girl had been shouldering all this ti.
And what did I get?! *Hic! Hic! Hic!* A life where I will never, ever find peace, *Hic!* no matter how hard I *Hic* try!
Like an overthrowing dam that had burst open, a veritable flood of complaints and resentnt gushed forth, seemingly without end.
And why ?! *Hic!* Of all people on this fucking planet, why in the shit did that *Hic! Hic!* asshole have to torture ?!
Thats the question everyone asks when things arent going their way.
A tallic voice from the open doorway suddenly filled the room.
Why ? Why did this happen? What did I do to deserve this?
The one-ard Fizzy strode inside while asking those rhetorical questions.
The answer to all of those is really simple.
She flicked a golden coin with her thumb. It spun around on the air and landed on the bed with a soft thud, squarely in front of the curled up beastkin. Keira looked up from her knees and stared at the bitterly smiling mithril golem with puffy eyes.
There is no reason. Its just *Hic!* the luck of the draw, said the catgirl with a shaky, quiet voice.
Thats right, confird Fizzy. However, its up to us to figure out what to do with the reality the flows of chaos have presented us with. We are the ones who decide whether our fortune is good or bad.
The golem walked up to the side of the bed and smiled radiantly at the much-too-young Hero.
So, what say you, o Chosen of Chaos? Will you just roll with the punches, or fight back against your fate?
... Neither, muttered Keira. She then looked up to stare down at the golem with a weak smile as she tried to put up a tough front.
Im gonna make fate my bitch.
Haha! There you go! cheered the Paladin.
*THUD*
Oooof!
The catgirl let out a rather uncoly voice at the sudden, much-too-heavy pat on the back. Seemingly oblivious that she might have injured a sick person, Fizzy just kept on smiling.
Youre getting the hang of this Hero of Chaos thing already!
Of course, this whole performance was rely an act, and not a very original one either. Thanks to Keiras overly lodramatic outburst, Fizzy was able to easily learn that not only was Boxxy awake, but also determined the shapeshifters intentions. Picking out what seed to be the right mont, the two of them then played out this little scene that was a direct adaptation of Fizzy and Boxxys first eting with the God of Unpredictability himself.
And it seed to have the desired effect, as the surrounding n and won relaxed significantly when they saw Keira visibly perk up a bit.
Unfortunately for the Mimic, while its acting skills and Fizzys assist may have sohow placated the ones around them, there was a much bigger issue at hand. Mainly the fact that it never intended to publicly reveal Keira as the Hero of Chaos. Sure, that unexpected Clash of Fate announcent may have spilled the beans, but all Boxxy needed to do was eliminate the witnesses and bla their deaths on the enemy VIP. With nobody to dispute Keira and Fizzys story, the two of them could co up with any number of explanations regarding the identity of said Hero, and Republic officials would have little choice than to believe them. Not only that, but it would also be able to claim that guys Demonbane hamr and corpse for itself.
But thats when Her Divine Bitchiness had to interfere and ruin everything. Boxxy wasnt sure what Arms and Hugo were going to do to her, but it hoped that it would be sothing terrible and ntally scarring. Indeed, considering that the Goddess of Childrens Card Gas had demanded that fiends assistance, it wasnt hard to deduce that Teresa was probably getting railed from behind at that very mont.
However, fantasies of godly punishnt aside, the damage was already done, and the cat was out of the bag. Sothing made abundantly clear by the female elf poking her head through the doorfra. The li-green hair, mismatched blue-and-green eyes and uniform identical to that of Silus Underwood made her imdiately recognizable as one Primus Cecilia Underwood, no relation.
All of you - out, she commanded in a stern voice. I need to debrief miss Morgana imdiately.
The soldiers acknowledged her orders with a few dispirited yes-maams and filed out of the room. The Primus and Fizzy flashed each other mutually knowing looks as the golem passed by the officer. Once everyone was out, she closed the door behind them and walked up to the foot of the bed. She crossed her arms in front of her nonexistent chest and raised an eyebrow at the slightly unstable catgirl.
So. Hero of Chaos, huh?
Y-yes, Maam.
How, why and where. Explain. she demanded.
The, uhm after my parents were killed, I *sniffle* had to fend for myself and-
Think fast.
The elf suddenly tossed a small tal ball at the catgirl.
Woah!
Keira fumbled about a bit but managed to catch it without issue.
*Clink*
The ball then let out a small tallic sound-
*Bzzzzzzt*
-followed imdiately by a rather potent electric current, which was transmitted to the catgirl through her hands.
Hargarflurburgurgle!
Keira let out a series of unflattering noises as a result of the sudden shock coursing through her. After a second or so of making her shake and spasm while causing her hair to stand on end, the orb ran out of juice and fell out of her still trembling hands.
What the fuck was that?! she scread in an incredulous tone.
... Damn. And I was so sure you were the Sandman in disguise.
You what?! How does that make any sense?! I an, look at ! How could I possibly pass for soone that fucking huge?!
You could do it if you were a shapeshifter.
There were a few brief monts where the only sound heard was that of Keiras heavy breaths and gnashing teeth.
... So did I pass your test?.
I, uh Yes.
Fizzys Shock Ball was loaded with enough juice to easily knock out even the toughest of shapeshifters. The golem had guaranteed that it wouldnt kill Keira and would at most leave her at half HP, sothing Cecilia had tested on another soldier with similar vitality to what the catgirl had on record. However, she was warned not to to do anything weird to her suspect while she was still unconscious, as it could jeopardize her condition. Therefore, she had to wait until Keira had awoken before running this little test.
And now that she had, she had to begrudgingly accept that the pint-sized-Paladin was right, and that her ad-hoc theory regarding the Sandmans identity was wrong.
Im, uh, sorry for springing this-
Damn right youre sorry!
Keira sprang to her feet and tossed the now-inert tal ball straight at the Priestesss face.
Hey!
The elf barely managed to duck under it, causing the object to slam hard against the wooden door, then fall to the floor with another heavy thud. Taking it as a signal that sothing had gone wrong, a trio of fully ard guards burst through the door in the next instant, with several more visible through the door fra.
No! Nononono! Stand down! Down, I say! Cecilia spoke frantically while flailing her hands around. Im fine! Were fine! Nothing to worry about! Nothing at all! Were all good, okay? Yeah, all good, right? Ahah! Ahahaha! Ahahaha *Ahem* Thank you, Optio. That will be all.
The guards gave each other a few questioning looks, but decided that if the person herself said she was okay, then thats all there was to it. They then promptly left the room and closed the door behind them. Cecilia then awkwardly turned around to face Keira, who had stood up on top of her bed in the commotion, shoulders still shaking with fury. The beastkin didnt seem to care or even realize that she was in her undergarnts, either.
Uhm, miss Morgana, I would appreciate it if you didnt try to assault your s-s-superior officer in the future
Fuck you, ca the cold, angry response.
... Okay, I earned that. Once again, I am truly sorry for putting you through all that so suddenly. It was not my intention to hurt you - just to be sure we didnt have a monster in my midst.
I dont care! growled the catgirl. Ive enough shit to deal with as it is! Prosecute , boil , I dont care which, but either leave right now or - I swear to Bob - I will make you, you crazy cunt-waffle!
Clearly not used to such a violent confrontation, Cecilia had no idea what to do. Unlike Silus, she lacked the people skills to properly control and calm down an upset adventurer. She was an analyst first, a Priest second and an amateur sculptor third, none of which were suited to this type of situation.
Th-then I will leave, she consented. Ive clearly overstepped my boundaries. Please dont think too badly of . Whether you like it or not, you will probably be seeing more of in the future.
As if! Why would I ever have to-?!
Keira ended her biting remarks abruptly and blinked a few seconds in surprise.
Wheres mister Underwood? Shouldnt he be here for this?
Silus, he We were evacuating headquarters when those demons sent a stray ice fragnt flying towards us. He saw it coming. I didnt. He pushed out of the way and he didnt make it.
...
Hearing the sad news, the catgirl sat back down on her bed and once again hugged her knees.
Im sorry, offered Cecilia.
... Have I ntioned how much I hate this fucking war?
Funny. I was thinking the sa thing. Excuse .
The elf wiped a few tears out of the corners of her eyes and promptly made her way out.
Could you call Fizzy up for , please? I dont think I should be alone.
Cecilia instantly wanted to make a comnt about how she should be the one to comfort Keira. After all, who better to console the Hero of Chaos than a Priestess who was an Apostle of Chaos? However, even she wasnt dense enough to realize that she was probably the last person Keira wanted to speak with right now. What the beastkin needed was not spiritual guidance, but a friends shoulder to cry on.
And right now, in that room, there was no Hero of Chaos. Just a distraught girl at her wits end.
Of course. Ill be sure to let her know.
The young miss Underwood left the room with a heavy step, ordering the soldiers still waiting outside to disperse. About half a minute later, Fizzy entered the room, closed the door, walked up to the bed and sat next to Keira, her abnormal weight causing the old bed to creak ominously. Boxxy did one more scan of the room and its imdiate surroundings using its Mana Locator Gland and confird there were no eavesdroppers around.
Its clear, it said in a calm monotone. Good work earlier.
The golem smiled happily after being praised.
Thanks.
Hows your arm?
Her smile disappeared as she looked down at the torn-up remains of her left shoulder.
Its a lost cause. I picked up as many pieces of it as I could find, but repairing it is impossible.
What about the shield gauntlet?
Perfectly intact. Not a scratch on it, actually.
It was about what one would expect from a magic item of Artifact quality. Treasures like those had the rather ominous habit of outliving their users.
Oh. Thats sothing I guess.
Yeah.
Good to see you didnt turn back.
... Yeah.
Fizzy had always been secretly afraid that being separated from the source of her curse would once again trap her in that uselessly fleshy body. It was a concern that nagged at her in the back of her mind, so she was quite relieved to find out it was nothing to worry about.
So What can we do to fix up your arm?
Needless to say, Boxxy wanted its prized shiny restored to mint condition ASAP. Probably even more than the golem herself did.
I need to make a new one from scratch and attach it. The problem is I lack the tools, materials, and expertise to do it, and I wont find any of those around here. Or in Azurvale. Or anywhere outside of Horkensafts state-of-the-art golem foundries, for that matter.
Damn. Guess well need to visit that place sooner than expected.
Yeah By the way, howd you pass the shock test?
Keira raised her arm and showed the back of her hand to Fizzy. The catgirls tanned skin peeled off all on its own to reveal a black, rubbery substance directly underneath.
I grew a layer of Bouncewood underneath my skin.
The Mimic MLG hidden inside the monsters body was able to easily detect the spherical device inside Cecilias pocket, so it had prepared accordingly. Boxxy had co up with this particular transformation in order to shield itself from its elental weakness, but it wasnt sothing that it could perform instantly. It would probably reach that point with practice, but for the mont it still needed a few seconds to completely insulate itself.
Woah, thats brilliant! shout-whispered Fizzy in astonishnt. I never wouldve thought of that! Does that an youre immune to electricity now?!
Not immune, highly resistant, it corrected her. This layer absorbs only about two thirds of the damage, and electric shocks still hurt like hell, but at least it keeps from losing control of my body.
It was a bit regrettable that it would still take damage from lightning-based Spells and electricity-discharging devices, but it couldnt be helped. After all, a monster completely overcoming its Bane was impossible, even for this particular box-shaped nexus of absurdity. Even doing this much was already a monuntal achievent in and of itself, as evidenced by how easily it passed that surprise trial earlier.
However, it still had one small gripe about it.
You knew shed use that thing on , right?
Oh yeah, confird Fizzy. She straight up told what she wanted to do, otherwise I couldnt have configured it correctly.
Wasnt your configuration a bit much, though? You didnt hold back at all!
Couldnt be helped. If I went easy on you, she would have probably connected the dots anyway.
Okay, fair enough. But how did you know I could bear sothing of that magnitude?
Boxxys ability to grow a subdermal layer Bouncewood was sothing that Fizzy shouldnt have been aware of. Indeed, the golem herself admitted she hadnt even considered that possibility until just monts ago.
I didnt, admitted Fizzy with a goofy smile. I just had faith in you.
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