Kent uses his water spear to fire a stream of water at the weird, smoke cloud-like substance that has now infested Hedgie's tavern. The substance shrivels away when the water comes in contact with it. Kent sets the butt end of his spear on the ground and sighs exhausted.
"Hah, how long have I been at this?" He asked but got no response. He turned his head to one of the tables where Alisa was currently sitting with her head facing the ground. She had been completely still and silent for the past hour and a half that he's been cleaning up.
A few times he tried to get her to help but she never budged an inch and even if she did it just made this stuff stick to her so Kent' decided that it'd be better to just do it himself.
As exhausting as that was.
Kent stared at Alisa for a second longer before getting back to work though the girl's current state was still bothering him.
'Was what mother said about her relationship with that person really that big? Was it her real mother or sister or something? Man, this is really way out of my depth.' Kent thought deeply as he continued to clean up for a few more minutes before deciding to take a break.
He sent his water spear away and plopped down next to Alisa. "Mother's been gone for a while. You think that she's found Mo and that woman yet?" Alisa didn't speak to answer she just slightly shrugged her shoulders.
"That's fair. I mean, we have no idea where she'd be keeping them anyway. For all we know mother's probably on her way back now."
"...the lighthouse..." Alisa spoke under her breath just barely audible.
"What?" Kent leaned in closer to try to hear the girl better.
"Francis Aeouli stays in that lighthouse off the coast. She probably took Mo over there." The girl spoke a bit louder so that Kent could hear her.
"Really? Is she the lighthouse keeper or something?"
"Her father was until he died so technically she inherited it and she kind of keeps it running but she mainly uses it for alchemy and stuff."
"Hmm, mother did call her the alchemist so I should've guessed as much. You seem to know a lot about this woman." Alisa nodded.
"She was my idol." She said in a sorrowful voice.
"An idol, huh?" Kent questioned in a curious tone.
"Yes, an Idol." Alisa suddenly snapped. "She was my angel! She's the reason that I got into alchemy! She's the reason that I've been able to deal with everything in my life up to this point but now it feels like all of that was a lie!" Alisa turned to face Kent with tears of frustration in her eyes.
"Do you know what it's like to idolize somebody like that? To literally live your life by the words that they said in passing like some sort of religious practice only to suddenly find out that they're twisted? That they get a kick out of messing with people and mentally torturing them like she did to mom!? Do you understand at all what I feel right now?!" Alisa seemed to be asking but from what Kent saw on her face she was begging for some sort of understanding.
"I...don't know that feeling." Kent said in an apologetic tone that made Alisa feel only more upset. She went to snap at him again but Kent lifted his hand, similarly to how Alix does, as a sign for her to wait.
"I don't know that feeling because the only people that I've looked up to were criminals. I've never worshiped the heroes, the knights, or the dragon-slaying warriors that the other kids my age liked. I worshiped pirates of all things."
"Plunderers and villains that run around proud of the bounties on their heads. Every ill act that they've ever committed they wear around their necks like trophies to be proud of. I've never had a good influence in my life. I just glorified the bad ones because they were all I knew. So, I don't understand where you're coming from." Alisa hung on Kent's every word when he suddenly locked eyes with her.
"What I do know is that despite anything that those monsters have done on the seas I am not them. Despite all of the stories that I've heard from the mouths of these people seemingly not aware of how terrible they actually are I'm still proud enough to call myself one! Even if a few of them will never see me as a real pirate because I refuse to harm people that can't fight or that I go out of my way to help people just because I feel like it..." Kent paused for a second as he took a breath to calm down.
"I know that I am Kent Tyrio. The magic pirate captain of the Tyrant Storm pirates." Alisa's eyes shined as Kent finished his big speech to her. The tears that she had been trying to hold in came bursting out as a wave of relief washed over her entire body. She sniffled and wiped the tears away but they kept coming out.
"Aw, did big bro make you feel better, sis?" Kent asked in a joking voice. Alisa shook her head.
"No." She sniffled a bit before continuing. "I'm just crying because my big brother is a terrible pirate!" She mocked as tears were still falling out of her eyes.
"Wow, hitting me with a low blow while you're crying? What a terrible person you are Alice." Kent placed a comforting hand on Alisa's head as she continued to cry.
"Wow, this place has terrible service!" A voice announced from the entrance gaining Kent and Alisa's attention. "I mean, we've been here for, what ten minutes? Yet here we stand waiting for this tear jerker of a scene to end just so that we can finally have a nice meal." Standing at the door was none other than an orc with a scar on his face being followed by his gaggle of criminals.
Kent stood up from his seat and eyed the group with suspicion. "I'm assuming that you're Djinns, party of shit? We've got a table for you in the back next to the dumpsters if you'll just wait one moment."
"Ohoho, this kid's a little jokester!" Karic laughed. "Why didn't you tell us Edmund?" At the announcing of his name Edmund came from the back and stood next to Karic. Kent frowned as he noticed that the man's injuries seemed to be mostly healed.
"I just forgot to mention it. Oh, but wait until you see the bit where he crawls on the ground in pain from my knives in his back. That ones a real crowd pleaser!" Kent's eyes narrowed as the danger of the current situation dawned upon him. He was in no shape to fight all of these guys alone and even if Alisa helped they would still be at a disadvantage.
It was not a good situation for them. Edmund saw that Kent was worried and smirked. "Look at that, the jester's having performance anxiety! Well, we can't be having that on such an important day like this. What should we do guys?"
"I'd say we give him a bit of space to work, let him try to impress us one at a time." Joana suggested.
"No no, we should all go at the same time so that he doesn't have to worry about if he'll be good enough for the next person." Leroy countered.
"Why not just let in his little sister as well? Then he may feel a bit more comfortable with his act." Narie tossed her opinion onto the pile.
"Ooh, I like that one! And we can take the pig back after we're done with them!" Karic nodded as he thought more about Narie's plan. "Alright, Narie's suggestion is the one we're going for!"
"Yes, sir!" The Djinns shouted in unison then charged at the two before them. Kent looked at Alisa again. She met his eyes and nodded with determination. It was as though she was saying, "I'll have your back no matter what, Tyrant!"
However, Kent knew better than that after what he had experience just earlier on this very day. What she was likely actually saying was, "You can probably handle them alone, right? I mean, I'll help where I can but don't expect too much." Kent sighed to himself as he was now felt sure that he was right about the girl's thoughts.
"Just do whatever you can, Alice. I'll be the vanguard on this one...again." Kent charged toward the Djinns that were on their way to meet him. At least that was the plan, when suddenly...
"AHH!" The Djinns turned around to see Edmund, who was in the back of the rush, laying on the ground in pain. "Who the hell-" Edmund went to pick himself up when a foot stomped onto his back hard, keeping him down. Following the foot up, the other's in the room saw none other than Eric standing on top of Edmund with a sword sheathed to his side.
"I'm the hell!" He proudly proclaimed. "And I brought some back up with me! To even the odds a bit!" As though it were summoned forth by Eric's words a fog rolled into the tavern and engulfed the interior. The Djinns stood looking around in shock when they suddenly noticed that Leroy disappeared.
"Wait, what happened to-AH!" Joana began when she became the next to be taken. Narie's eyes opened wide as she grabbed Karic's arm.
"It's a mystic! We need to be-AAHH!" Then she too was snatched by the fog, leaving Karic standing alone. Though that was only for a second as a big bodied man appeared from the fog.
"I hear that you're a criminal." The man said. He then reached to his back and drew a giant sword, gesturing it at Karic threateningly. "Just the type of person for a knight to deal with!" Colson swept his great sword through the fog with one arm clearing a circle around him and Karic.
Karic was very confused by the sudden intrusion of more people but that didn't matter right now. He readied his bow and stood facing his would be opponent. "Then let's do this! Man to man!" Colson's brow twitched and rage boiled within his stomach.
"I'm not that old!"
Alisa and Kent were still standing side by side as the fog set in. Eric appeared through the fog in front of them being followed by two people that Alisa recognized quite well.
"Nasak? Denver! What are you two doing here?"
"Why was my name a question?" Nasak asked slightly offended.
"Eric informed us that you were like a sad pup that was lost on its own so he came and got us to help you." Denver similied...if that's a word.
"It's been a while, Nasak. Still as pint sized as ever I see." Kent insulted but Nasak took no offense. Instead he put his fist to his chest and smiled.
"I'm glad to see you again, cap! We both are! Right, Den?" Nasak slapped Denver's back hard but the boy didn't make a single sound or movement.
"I am filled with the refreshing feeling the thousand spring showers watering the plants after a horrid winter!" A single tear fell from Denver's eye making Kent feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Okay~ Well, at least the playing field's a bit more even now, just like lil bro said! Five to five!"
"Actually, we have an advantage! I brought three people with me!" Eric corrected. Kent nodded slightly.
"Okay, that's even better! That means that two of you can team up on someone! And I don't want to hear any winces or teeth clicking! You all need to be able to do this if you want to be able to protect the things that you like!" The four younger kids nodded making Kent feel much more comfortable with the situation.
"Denver, I assume you can control this fog at will?"
"You would be correct as always captain."
"Good, then set up the match-ups based on my words. Can you do that?"
"Undoubtedly. Though I should inform you that our other comrade has already opted to fight the largest fighter, being the Orc in the front. So, that should be taken care of."
"Cool. Then, I'll set up the other fights based on what mother told me. Everyone, ready?"
"Yes, Sir!!" They answered and just like that the battle of Kent's makeshift crew slash pig protection unit has begun!
...
Mo shivers as he lays on the cold, metal table with a brightly shinning crystal beaming down on him. He was being constricted by a combination of metal binds and the strange feeling of weakness that took over him whenever that syringe entered his body.
He was trying to squirm to freedom but had not nearly enough strength to free himself. 'Shit!' He exclaimed to himself. 'I hope Lexi didn't come down here. She'd never be able to handle all of the stuff that this crazy woman does.' Mo eyed the woman in question while she was on the other side of the small, messy room.
This seemed to be her actual alchemy lab as could be told by the cauldron, the flasks, and the ever hanging sent of burnt herbs. Mo had no idea what this woman wanted from him or why she kept extracting his ether, while saying things like...
"Another test to run!" or "It seems very similar but I need a bit more to confirm it?" He was also getting concerned as the woman seemed to be getting more passionate the closer she got to figuring out whatever it was that she's trying to figure out.
"EUREKA!!" Mo jumped as Francis shouted. "It's true! It's true! It's true! You're another one like her! Oh, I'm so happy that I've discovered another one!" Francis danced over to Mo as she relished in the glory of her great discovery. "I bet, Venrui would be colored delightful to hear about this!"
Francis noticed that Mo seemed to be confused. "What is it creature? Do you not understand the reason behind my excitement?" Mo kept staring at the woman and slowly shook his head.
"Well, that's simple!" She moved her face very close to Mo. So close that her cheek was almost touching his scales. "I've just confirmed that you are another mysterious creature, just like the one that Alix calls Nuka!" Mo's face was still confused.
"Oh dear! Do you not know what you are?" Mo shook his head again prompting Francis to gasp dramatically. "How could this be?! Don't you worry Po, I will tell you what you are! And the answer isn't just an extremely cute and delectable looking fishy!" Francis walked a bit away and grabbed a vial off of a nearby table.
"You have this sort of ether within you." Francis showcased the space-like ether to Mo. "Nuka has it as well. Now, through my many years of research I have determined that you two somehow have pure mana mixed in with your ether! Making you more than just a normal monster! This mana being within you is similar to that of how it flows within demons which is why I have decided to give your type of creature the name..." Francis paused for dramatic effect.
"...Demon Beasts!" Mo lay unmoving. Not nearly as excited as the woman was about the naming of her research subjects.
"Now, I know what you're thinking. Why Demon Beasts of all things? Why not Demon Monsters or Demonic Creatures, why Demon Beasts specifically?"
Mo was not wondering this at all. 'I'm actually wondering when yer gonna stop yappin?'
"Well..." Francis continued to do what Mo called yappin. "Of the different, things that I've discovered about your race I've come to the conclusion that the only monster's that can come to possess this unique ether are in the Beast category. Hence, Demon Beasts! Now, that may sound strange with only two subjects but what if I told you that there have been sightings of your kind all over Pesin?"
"Now, I have not seen this personally but I have a reliable source feeding me information about this that seems to be proving the hypothesis correct! All that's left to see is if all of them can transform like Nuka and we'll have a very interesting..." Francis became more giddy than a child on their birthday as she spoke on the subject of Demon Beasts.
Meanwhile, Mo was deep in thought not listening anymore as he was contemplating what this meant for him. He was a Demon Beast? How would that even happen? Is it some sort of infection that only targets Beast category monsters or is it something that they were born with? The only way to get any real answers was to listen to this crazy shut-in ramble or wait to ask the bird.
Mo turned his attention back to Francis who had now completely forgotten that she was telling Mo all of this information.
"With this research, the ring will take back all that they said and will want to let me in! Haha, but I won't let them toy with me like that! No, I'm better than that! I'm better than them! THEY DON'T DERSERVE ME ANYMORE BECAUSE I AM AMAZING!!"
...
'I guess I'll go with the bird.'