The Godking's Legacy Page 34

  “Pervert…,” Puppers said under his breath, but I could still hear him anyways. I’m in a good mood though, so I won’t do anything bad to him. I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that because I’m such a magnanimous person.

  Right when I finished my hot chocolate, Durandal strode back into the room, holding Ilya by one of her legs. She was face down on the ground, looking like a dead deer. A streak of blood and tears marked the path the two had taken back into the room. Durandal unceremoniously tossed Ilya onto the bed. She bounced off and fell to the ground, but she didn’t make a sound. She wasn’t dead, right? That would be pretty bad, especially since Rogath is still out there.

  “Durandal!” Ah, I missed saying his name so much. “Durandal, look. Durandal! It’s Puppers.”

  “Puppers?” Durandal looked at Puppers, who lowered his head and looked to the side. “Gae Bulg…? Is that you?”

  “No. I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Puppers said. “Must be someone similar.”

  “It really is you, Gae,” Durandal said and blinked. “What happened to the old spearman? Why’s Lucia calling you Puppers?” Durandal looked at me with a strange expression on his face. Did I do well? Head pats? Please?

  Puppers sighed. “The old man died of old age. I was passed down to Lan, one of the princes of the Ravenwood Empire. Lan decided to hunt Lucia and died in the process. So now I’m here.”

  “…I see,” Durandal said. He patted my head and rubbed my ears. “She beat you, huh? Just like in the past, my master’s greater than yours.” Durandal smiled at me before looking around. “Where’s your weapon body?”

  Puppers sighed, rolled over, and crawled under the bed.

  “I made him into my socks!” I pointed at the cute little paw prints on my socks. “See?”

  “You … turned Gae Bulg into a sock spirit?” Durandal asked. His face paled. “Then what that demon girl was saying—”

  “Ilya?”

  “Yes, Ilya. She said you disrespected the duke in front of the emperor of the demons. Was that true?”

  “He deserved it! Bastard stole my divine beast corpse.”

  “Divine beast corpse?” Durandal asked. His brow furrowed as he sat down, shoving Ilya’s unmoving body out of the way. “You sound like you have quite the story to tell.”

  “Mm! I beat things up, drained their cores, cut off their penises, and met Ilya. Then I beat divine things up, cut off their penises, and sold them to perverts in the capital. I decided to visit Ilya’s home, then consumed all the divine beast cores and became a divine warrior. Then there was a party, and now you’re back! Praise me!”

  “Wait!” Ilya shouted. So she wasn’t dead. “How come ‘met Ilya’ comes right after ‘cut off their penises’!? That doesn’t make any sense!”

  “It makes sense chronologically.” Right? I didn’t miss anything at all in that story. Wow, maybe I should’ve been a bard.

  ***

  Lucia…, Lucia’s surpassed me. She went above and beyond my expectations: unlocking a path with a prefix, becoming a divine warrior, beating me in a fair duel and forcibly holding me down and tying me up and throwing me into a bed. Wait, why’s she doing this? These weren’t the terms we agreed to during the duel! “Lucia!?”

  “Hmm?” Lucia sat on the bed and tilted her head to the side.

  Don’t act stupid! “Untie me, please.”

  “But you’ll run away,” Lucia said and blinked.

  “Yes! Which is why you shouldn’t do this in the first place!” I’m a weapon spirit! I’m meant for combat, not…, not bed stuff!

  “Huh? Do what?” Lucia asked with a smile. Her tail twitched a few times as she sat on her ankles and rested her hands on her knees. Her eyes twinkled. “Say? Aren’t you hot wearing all those clothes after sparring? I can help you with that.”

  Desperate times call for desperate measures. Retreat into mini-DalDal!

  “Eh!? Durandal!? Where’d you go?” Lucia grabbed at the fallen ropes on the bed, her head swiveling from side to side. She paused and sniffed the air before frowning. She grabbed my weapon body and held it in front of her face. It was almost as if she could see me inside. “That’s not fair!”

  “Uh, Lucia,” Puppers—I mean Gae—said. “Don’t you know anything about weapon spirits? Namely, the weapon part of their name? We’re meant for fighting.”

  “But you’re just a sock,” Lucia said. I still find it quite humorous how Gae was turned into a sock spirit. Back then, in the days of the Godking, Gae and I were always compared as the two strongest weapon spirits out there. But Gae’s been reduced to a mere house pet, and I am now weaker than the master I serve. Far, far weaker, but that’s a good thing. A spirit can only grow as strong as their owner. Before, I was limited to the peak of spirit warrior due to Roland failing to surpass the wall to divine warrior. But now, I can pass that wall. It’s a bit sad when I think about it. Even Roland lost to the passing of time.

  “Yes, you reduced me to a mere sock spirit, but what I’m about to tell you, you should engrave into your memory,” Pup—Gae said. “Spirits are created from seeds found in nature. We’re grown by our owner’s qi. But seeds have a double meaning—if Durandal gives you his seed, he’ll die.”

  “If Durandal gives me his seed…, he’ll die,” Lucia said and furrowed her brow. She gasped. “You can’t be serious!”

  He’s not. It’s a complete lie. I never expected my old rival to bail me out of this situation. Is this what it means to be brothers in suffering?

  “I’m dead serious,” Gae said. “Unless he breaks through to the legendary realm, he’ll definitely die if he engages in the activities you want to engage him in. I don’t know why he didn’t want to tell you it himself; maybe he thought you wouldn’t believe him.”

  “Gae Bulg is right. I have to break through to the realm of legendary warriors before, uh, yeah. And to do that, you have to break through the legendary realm first. Only then can I grow stronger. My strength increases with yours.” I still have to absorb a lot of her qi to advance to the divine realm and undergo a period of refinement. When Roland first became a warrior, I awakened. When he became a spirit warrior, I unlocked the ability to manipulate my weight. When I become a divine weapon spirit, what will I gain?

  “No way,” Lucia said and collapsed onto her knees. “My happiness! It was right there!” She ground her teeth together and made strange chattering noises before standing up. She cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted, “Ilya!”

  A few seconds later, that spoiled demon walked into the room. She sighed and asked, “More hot chocolate?”

  “Yes, please,” Lucia said, her face returning to normal. A moment later, she stiffened when Ilya handed her a steaming cup. “Wait! That wasn’t what I called you here for. Are there any divine beasts near the Godking’s Brawl? I need to consume their cores. For my future offspring, I have to do everything I can to become a legendary warrior.”

  Now probably wouldn’t be a good time to tell her weapon spirits are sterile, huh? And disregarding that, weapon spirits are beings of logic. We have no emotions; our purpose is to defeat the enemy and teach our masters. Strange, why did I recall a time where Lucia was trying to comfort me as I cried? …That didn’t happen. I’m a weapon spirit, dammit, and I’m going to be the best one there is.

  “For your future offspring?” Ilya asked and furrowed her brow. “I don’t get it. Why do you have to be—guah!?”

  Gae flying tackled Ilya to the ground. “Not one more word out of you,” Gae said with a growl. “I live in Lucia’s socks and she never takes them off. If your question causes me to witness something I never want to witness, then there will be a reckoning involving your head on a pike.”

  “Lucia!” Ilya struggled on the ground. “Why are all your spirits so violent!? What happened to Puppers? He was cute and tame before Durandal came along! I knew he was a bad influence; someone that taught you couldn’t have been a good person!”

  “Hey. I’m a very good
and law-abiding non-citizen of your country,” Lucia said and puffed her chest out. “Oh, didn’t you say you wanted to learn about my past? Once you hear it, you’ll definitely see how good of a person I am.” Lucia reached over and tugged on Puppers, lifting him off Ilya with one hand and tossing him aside like a dirty tissue. “Here.” She patted the spot beside her on the bed. “I’ll tell you all about myself.”

  I feel like Lucia’s been sidetracked. What happened to finding out about divine beasts near the Godking’s Brawl? What is the Godking’s Brawl anyway? Well, as long as she’s not trying to tie me to the bed, I’m not complaining. For now, I’ll do my best to breakthrough to a divine spirit.

  ***

  “Mm, where do I start?” Lucia asked and tilted her head.

  “Childhood.” Everyone’s personality stems a little from their childhood. I want to know what happened to create such a whimsical creature like Lucia. She should’ve been super spoiled as the illegitimate daughter of the beast king, right? “Tell me about your parents.”

  “My parents, eh?” Lucia hummed and rubbed her chin. “Well, they were pretty poor farmers working the fields in a land that was terrible for growing things on. I had a lot of siblings, and I was the youngest and weakest of the bunch. So when winter came around and there wasn’t enough food to feed everyone, they sold me to some slave traders. I was about three or four when that happened?”

  “Eh?” Huh? Lucia’s not really a liar even though she can fall pretty hard into denial sometimes. But it feels like she’s really telling the truth. Wait a minute. “But you have a family name.”

  “Oh, yeah. I made that up,” Lucia said and nodded. “It sounds nice, doesn’t it?”

  You can’t just make up a family name! “So you’re not a noble?”

  Lucia puffed her chest out. “If you believe, you can be anything you want.”

  …Surely she must’ve had a fortuitous encounter after becoming a slave, right? Well, of course, she met Durandal. But something earlier than that. “Then what happened after you were sold, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “I was sold to a human noble to accompany his daughter. I learned how to fight there. I was pretty good with the mace if I may say so myself.” Lucia nodded.

  Mace? Wasn’t Durandal a sword? “So he treated you well then, like family. That’s—”

  “Nah, I was still a slave,” Lucia said, cutting off my words. “I had to cook and clean and do laundry and all that. And whenever I messed up, I’d be whipped a few times. That’s why I’m so tough today.” She gave me a thumbs up and a smile. …She’s a lot more cheerful now that Durandal’s back. I guess his presence isn’t all negative.

  “What family was it?” Somehow, I can’t see Lucia as a slave. How could someone enslave such a carefree person? It makes me angry just thinking about it. I’m going to teach that family a lesson if I see them at the Godking’s Brawl.

  “Eh…, I don’t remember,” Lucia said and tilted her head. “They fell into poverty and had to sell me to the army when I was about nine. I guess I’m pretty unlucky to own, huh?”

  “A beastkin in the human army?” Aren’t they seriously mistreated? No human in the army would treat a beastkin as an ally considering they’re training to fight demons and fae. “How long were you in there?”

  Lucia scratched her head and furrowed her brow. “A little over a decade?” she asked. Then she stiffened. “I mean, a few years! I’m young, dammit!” She cleared her throat. “It wasn’t too bad if you disregard the lack of food, sleeping on the floor with a thin blanket, and being treated worse than dirt. Anyways, I signed up for Prince Bryant’s excursion to a rumored Godking’s treasure trove and found Durandal. Due to a freak accident, the prince and everyone with him, except for me, died.”

  “You mean, you killed him, right?” Puppers asked.

  “Shut up, Puppers, you weren’t there. What would you know? Think before you slander me,” Lucia said, smacking the wolfkin’s snout. She wrinkled her nose. “Go sit in a corner, face the wall, and reflect on your actions.”

  Puppers sighed, stood up, and followed Lucia’s instructions. Good. I didn’t like him tackling and threatening me at all. I’m not even sure why he did it! “So before you found Durandal, what were you? A spirit warrior?” If I recall correctly, the news of that human prince’s death came out around two years ago along with the bounty for Durandal’s owner. Reaching divine warrior in two years would be reasonable.

  “No,” Lucia said. “I didn’t even know spirit warriors existed. I knew about the existence of warriors, but I was still a normal person until Durandal taught me about qi.”

  I thought I was a genius, almost reaching the sixth circle by the age of fourteen. But Lucia reached the realm of divine warrior in two years! What the heck!?

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Lucia asked. She beamed. “I’m amazing, aren’t I? C’mon, say it. You’re amazing, Lucia.”

  “…You’re very special.” I’ve lived with my father, eating the best kinds of foods and drinking the best types of potions to boost my magical aptitude. We live in an area of highly concentrated mana which makes developing circles two times easier compared to the outside. I started training at the age of four with proper guidance and insight from many magicians with at least seven circles. If Lucia had the same environment, or even a slightly less poor one, while growing up, would she be as strong as Cain?

  “Thanks,” Lucia said and patted my head while smiling. “Then after I became Durandal’s master, I did some training and eventually met you.”

  “Wait, you just skipped over some really important things. Like, why was Durandal not around? And why are you so afraid of poison in your food?” Those are the things I’m really curious about.

  Lucia exhaled and crossed her arms over her chest. “While I was traveling with Durandal, we met someone named Snow Flopsy.” Why does that name sound so familiar? “We traveled together for months, but Snow suddenly betrayed me one day by poisoning my food. Durandal did something to remove the poison, but he fell unconscious.”

  “Flopsy…, like the Flopsy Gang kind of Flopsy?” The one that’s been causing trouble for my father? “Is Snow a beautiful rabbitkin woman? My dad said the leader of the Flopsy Gang took control of some baronies via seduction.”

  “No! Snow’s a cross-dressing male! But the next time I see him, I’ll turn him into a female!”

  “Well, you might see him a lot sooner than expected,” a voice said from behind us. My father appeared in the doorway with a scowl on his face. “I apologize for eavesdropping. I was just passing by when I heard something about Snow. She’s going to represent Marquis Strous in the Godking’s Brawl. She’s even caught the eye of the second prince.”

  “Snow’s a he!” Lucia shouted.

  My father shrugged. “I’m just reporting what I’ve heard from my informants.” He stared at Lucia. “You have to defeat him at the Godking’s Brawl; the marquis is aiming for my position of duke.”

  “I’ll beat him up easily, don’t worry,” Lucia said.

  “I hope that’s the case,” my father said with a nod. “But he should know of your existence since the marquis attended Ilya’s banquet. He might have some unpleasant surprises prepared for you.”

  “Schemes will always lose to overwhelming strength!” Lucia said.

  My father nodded. “It’s not much, but take these.” He tossed over three dark orbs. Divine beast cores? “Think of it as an investment. And here, I brought you some hot chocolate as well.”

  “Yes! I’ll do my best,” Lucia said and received the steaming mug. Why did she look more excited over the chocolate than the cores?

  18

  “Hey, Durandal.”

  “Yes, Lucia?”

  “Nothing, I just wanted to hear your voice.” Ah, it’s so nice having Durandal back. “What are you rolling your eyes for, Ilya? You got a problem? Huh?”

  “No, it’s nothing,” Ilya said and shook her head. She looked at he
r dad who was sitting beside her. “Do you see what I mean now?”

  “A little,” her dad said. He leaned back into the plush seats of the carriage and smiled at me. “Did you finish absorbing those cores I gave you?”

  “Yup, it took about an hour.” He should’ve given me more. They technically grow on trees, don’t they? If I redefine a tree to mean divine beast, that is. What’s really surprising is hot chocolate actually does grow on trees! It’s amazing. “Durandal’s made it to divine warrior, and even Puppers became a divine sock.” My feet are constantly in heaven. It’s amazing. I need to make some divine underwear spirits. I wonder if I’ll find any during the competition.

  Durandal turned his head. Hey, don’t look away from me! “What took you so long to become a divine spirit, Gae?”

  “I spend more time dead than alive when I’m around Lucia,” Puppers said and lowered his head. That’s right, look away! This is called establishing dominance amongst beastkin. It works on demons and humans too. “I … don’t want to talk about it.”

  The carriage jolted, and I almost spilled my hot chocolate. It continued to jolt, bouncing us up and down. And I really did spill my chocolate. “Why the heck is this road so bumpy!?”

  “It’s the boundary line separating human and demon territory,” Ilya’s dad said. “It means we’re getting close to our destination.”

  “That doesn’t explain why it’s such a crappy road.” Now that I spilled my drink, I only have eighty-three gallons left in my interspacial ring. I have to ration it carefully or I’ll run out in a week!

  “No one wants to maintain it,” Ilya’s dad said and shrugged. Or at least I think he shrugged. Everyone was bouncing around too much to tell. “The demons think of it as the humans’ responsibility, and the humans think of it as ours. Thus, it remains in its war-torn state.”