“Uncle!”
Somani hugged Hambara. We were next to the bridge leading into Cervita—the place where we had designated as our reunion point.
“Happy to see you, kid,” Hambara said with a cracking, weak voice.
Cough, cough
Unlike Somani, where I had healed his injuries throughout the journey, Hambara was bandaged from top to bottom. The bandages were red from blood, a few fingers were missing, and his face was pale with dark spots under his eyes. The man looked a step away from death.
“Uncle… you’re—“
“Not now, come.”
Hambara led us a short way from the city, where no one was around. He shushed Somani whenever he tried to speak.
“This is important, kid, so focus with me.”
Hambara lowered himself so he could be at eye level with Somani.
“I’m… I’m a spy, kid.”
“…a spy?”
Somani was more confused than surprised.
“Yes, I come from a faraway kingdom, one led by dwarves. I had been sent here to gather information on Cervita until you came, and that was when I changed my mind. Somani, you’re a prodigy more important than my mission here, and with our, no, my latest failure… we need to escape the empire before they catch us.”
Somani stared at the adventurer, stunned and unable to mutter a single word. I, too, didn’t know what to think. This reveal… it was unexpected.
“…What about mom?” Somani broke the silence after a while.
“Unfortunately, we can’t risk entering the city. I—“
“Then I refuse.”
Somani turned his back on the man and started heading towards Cervita.
“Somani! I~cough, cough~sto~cough.”
Hambara went into a coughing fit. He bent before kneeling on one hand as blood started to come out with each cough.
At first, Somani ignored the man, but soon, worry overcame anger, and he turned back.
‘Granpa, we have to help him!’
I couldn’t agree more. Although Hambara looked more like an uncertain variable now, he was still better than any other option we had.
I used biomancy, but this time, I didn’t manage to heal or microscopically examine his injuries
The man raised his hand.
“Stop~cough~don’t~cough~heal.”
I didn’t know why the man didn’t want my healing, although I knew why I couldn’t heal or observe the man’s injuries: his will—or what I had theorised as will—denied me access.
After a while, Hambara stopped coughing. He was now breathing heavily.
“Uncle! Why did you stop me from healing you?!”
“You… you have to preserve~Cough~your Mana for the teleportation scroll.”
Teleportation scroll?
“I said won’t be leaving without my mother!”
Somani crossed his arms.
Hambara stared at Somani’s enraged face with a calm expression.
“I’ll risk it—“
“Yes!”
“—But on one condition.”
Hambara raised a finger.
“I want to speak to the demon residing within you.”
“…”
‘Act confused, Somani! Don’t tell him about my existence!’ I shouted into Somani’s mind.
How did he know?
I almost took control of Somani before deciding against it—the man had figured out my existence somehow, and taking control might confirm it to him.
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That’s if he hasn’t already confirmed it.
But then, Somani spoke, stunning me and Hambara at the same time.
“Grandpa is not a demon!”
“So, there’s really a demon inside of~cough~ya.”
Stupid kid!
I took control of Somani before he could reveal more.
“How did you find out, Hambara?” I asked the man.
I was getting better at understanding human expressions, as I wouldn’t have seen that flash of fear that came across Hambara’s face before he reined it in.
So he really can sense when I can take control.
“Demon, I know how your kind works: benefits. I’ll tell you how I figured out about your presence, but only if you help us.”
I didn’t know that much about what a demon was. From Kamos’s and Somani’s memories, they were creatures mentioned in stories as strong beings that would harm people.
No, Kamos seems to believe that they’re fictional, unlike Somani.
I decided to play into being a demon as it seemed to have instilled a sense of fear into Hambara, and fear usually weakened creatures.
“Help you?” I kept it short, not wanting to say anything more than necessary, because with my lack of knowledge, that might reveal something.
“Yes, help me. I need to recover Somani’s mother, but I believe that strong enforcers might bar our way. Help me recover the kid’s mother, and I’ll tell you how I discovered your presence.”
This sounded like a good deal to me. The kid would get his mother, and I’d figure out how Hambara had found out about me.
Plus, Somani is hearing us now. He’d never listen to me if I refused.
“I agree, but you’ll tell me how you discovered me first.”
Hambara shook his head.
“That won’t work, and you know it. How about this: I’ll tell you one of the two ways that I discovered you, and the second way will be left until we finish this deal. Sounds good?”
“Deal.”
“I actually discovered you through your mannerisms. We… humans usually have facial expressions, and unlike Somani, you barely used those. Another thing, whenever you used Somani’s body, you’d call me using my first name, while Somani would call me uncle. Of course, the main thing that led me to this conclusion is…”
Hambara blinked at me with a small smile.
I tried to recoup the smile, but noticed Hambara’s hand slowly reached for his sword.
He had to stop as he started coughing.
I still have too much to learn.
***
In the end, we decided to postpone entering the city until I healed Hambara’s wounds, which would at least take two days.
As we camped under the moonlight, Hambara and Somani kept to themselves, not talking to each other.
The campfire reflected in Somani’s eye as I tried to read his facial expression. Although I knew what the kid was feeling—sadness and anger, I still tried to compare it to his facial expression, which hinted at sadness more than anger.
Why can’t I deceive humans?
I thought, frustrated at being discovered earlier today.
Hambara had caught me by seeing a weird behavioural trait, something that would’ve completely crossed my mind hadn’t he shared it.
‘…Grandpa?’
‘Yes, Somani?’
A surge of happiness went through Somani and…
A small smile… I understand!
Since birth, I had had emotions. To understand them better, I had to compare them to my experiences and to the two truths I knew: Good to the All or Bad to the All.
Emotions are the same.
When a human got a positive emotion, like happiness, they expressed it through expressions, behaviour, and action. Whenever they had negative emotions. Like anger, they did the same.
I, too, had been doing that, albeit not through expressions, but through behaviour. Make me angry, and I'd kill you. Obey me, I allowed you to exist, like Somani.
I just have to understand how to express emotions humanely, and know where and when.
My mood immediately improved at that discovery. Although I had made a mistake by revealing a part of the truth to Hambara, I still gained something important in return: experience.
But then…
‘Grandpa, are you really… Grandpa?’
What is it now?!
The kid was sad and angry, so how did that end in him doubting me?
‘Yes, Hambara… why do you say that?’
For some reason, fear and content both increased. Tears started to well up inside Somani’s eyes.
How paradoxical.
‘No… It’s nothing. I’m sorry for doubting you, Grandpa.’
‘Don’t worry, kid. That stunt earlier with Hambara… it was to save your mother.’
Happy.
Confidence.
‘Yes, Grandpa. We’ll save Mom!’
‘Of course. Now sit next to Hambara.’
It wasn’t that I wanted Somani to force a conversation with Hambara. I ordered him to sit next to the spy because I had just finished regenerating my film and core’s Mana, so the third healing session was in order.
“Is… is this you, Somani?”
“Yes, uncle.”
After that, Hambara allowed me to heal him.
***
It took us two days of continuous healing to return Hambara to prime form. It would’ve taken much more if his injuries had to do with organs and other complex tissue, but thankfully, with my new [Heal] skill, we got it done in no time.
Hambara heaved a sigh as we passed the southern gate without getting apprehended. I, too, felt joy. Although I was getting strong fast, I couldn’t possibly defeat Hambara, no matter how strong he thought I was, so him being unable to defeat the enforcers meant I didn’t stand a chance against them.
Opening the house’s door, I felt the spike of happiness in Somani, but then…
“Close the door, gentlemen. I… I have something to ask of you.”
It’s the magus!
Hambara didn’t wait for the man to explain himself.
I didn’t even manage to see the sword draw, only the Mana crescent that followed.
A spherical orange sphere appeared around the magus, then…
Boov!
If it weren't for the instantaneous bone half sphere I had formed in front of Somani using 4BP at once, we would’ve been heavily injured by the blast.
Hambara didn’t wait for the magus or the explosion to settle; he surged forward like an arrow, disappearing into the dust cloud.
Have they discovered us?
Without awaiting my orders, Somani rushed into the house.
At the end of the corridor…
“No!”
Hambara and magus were nowhere to be seen, except for a hole in the wall that led to another hole in the neighbouring building.
The living room was unrecognisable. With half the ceiling having fallen and rubble everywhere.
“Mom!”
Argh.
A weak sound.
It came from under the fallen roof.
Somani rushed, finding his mother under a pile of rubble, or half of her. The other half was buried under the roof.
“Honey,” the woman spoke weakly, her face was white from dust and rubble powder. She reached for her son’s hand, squeezing it.
“Don’t cry… I’m fine,” Laressa said.
“I’ll save you! I promise!”
Somani tried to lift the roof, but failed miserably.
‘Grandpa! I’ll do whatever you want. Just save my mom, pleeeease.’
I debated whether to take control of Somani’s body and escape while we still had time, but…
Seeing Somani’s crying eyes, I felt sad and angry, and I acted upon that anger.
‘Of course, kid!’
I activated [Hive Mind] and used 4BP to create my most complex creation to date.
Mana shot from Somani’s core and my film, intertwining, combining, and knotting into the most complex shape I had made to date.
First, I made a bone lever the thickness of an adult leg with a pyramidal turning axis at its midst, then I connected tendons to the ground using a strong cellular connection.
The tendons were connected to a muscle that looked just like the arm muscle—it had two heads. The second head was connected to the upper lever.
Constrict!
The muscle bulged like a balloon, lowering the lever and turning it on its axis.
The lever’s other side impacted against the fallen ceiling’s highest point, then… it slowly started lifting it.
Somani, Laressa, and even I stared in wonder as the mechanism somehow worked, but then…
Crk!
A crack formed in the ceiling, then another.
I’m putting too much pressure on a single small point.
I created a disk around the lever’s contact point with the ceiling, increasing the area of pressure.
That seemed to work, but just as the ceiling was high enough to release Laressa, a muscle strip broke.
I fixed the problem immediately, adding more muscle strips, but then the bone started to crack; I condensed it.
Problems continued to pop up now and then, but finally, and just before my Mana was fully drained, we managed to extract Somani’s mother.
Although her lower half was bloodied and broken, that didn’t stop her or Somani from hugging each other.
“M-mom. I’ll never allow harm to—“
I saw a distortion in the air and acted without thinking.
Taking control of Somani’s body, I threw him to the left.
A blade, a cold steel one, went through Laressa’s open mouth before exiting from the other side.
Six humans suddenly appeared in the room.
Three wore the same attire as the legionnaires I had seen, and the other three wore different attire.
One was short, had brown hair and thick glasses. He seemed scared under his metal helmet that shone with a faint green light—Mana.
The second was tall, wore all black, and had the darkest and palest hair and skin I had seen on a human. He didn’t wear any armour, although I could sense some faint Mana coming off his clothes. This one’s expression was calm and composed, almost indifferent.
The third was neither tall nor short. His hair was receding, while his stomach looked ready to tear the button of his coat. He had a wide smile on his face.
“Impressive. Managing to create all of this flesh out of thin air… You do really have [Biomancy], huh, monster?” The fat guy said.
I scanned my surroundings.
The legionnaires were circling me, while the three unique humans stood in front of me.
I used [Identify].
Légionnaire, Lv. ???
Légionnaire, Lv. ???
Légionnaire, Lv. ???
Cubical Divinator, Lv. ??
Fate Detective, Lv. ???
??, Lv. ???
I can’t even see the tall one’s class.
At this moment, and without Mana, I realised that it was the end… the end of Somani, but then…
“MOM!”
Somani has awakened the unique class: [Primus Magus]