Freezing winds of the dark night sky hit the faces of three people, nine thousand feet above the ground, riding a four-wheeler car-sized Flamy Eagle that looked much weaker than just moments ago.
"Ha Ha Ha!" The white-haired old man on the back of the eagle moaned in pain while the handsome black-haired youth aggressively pressed both his hands against the old man's chest, golden light seeping out from them.
A beautiful white-haired girl lay by the old man's side, wrapping her warm arms around his face in a tight embrace, trying her hardest to comfort him with her body heat.
Johan's hand flinched, fingers curling on their own. He clenched his hand, recovering his momentum.
'So, the clones died…' a wild smirk appeared on his lips, hardening the gravitational bubble hiding their presence.
Johan's mind wandered back.
"Perfect clone!!" Johan ran, Marino on his shoulders. He had already known the bodily structure and Aether signature of both Kirin and Sebastian since childhood.
Reengineering them was easy. As a healer, he had seen the insides of their bodies a million times.
Blue veins appeared on his forehead. He pressed his temples hard, with full force, as if trying to crush his eyes. Then—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Lights flickered. His body flinched out of existence, replaced in the same instant with someone identical. He teleported. Suddenly, two more figures also manifested by his side, out of thin air.
A dark alleyway, filled with rubble from Radhaan's attack, at the first street of Vexeley.
Three people—Johan, Sebastian, and Kirin.
Sebastian stared at his surroundings with an open mouth, like a retard.
Kirin looked around with puzzled eyes, noticing the paralyzed Sebastian.
She instantly put two and two together.
Before anyone could say anything, Johan instantly yelled, "Sebastian! Release all of the Aether in your body, now."
Sebastian, still a vegetable, couldn't do anything besides trust Johan, so he complied. Releasing Aether didn't require much effort— even retards could piss themselves.
But Kirin's eyes widened to their limit.
"You used some kind of powers of the Divine Tree, right? If we're trying to run away from Radhaan, Sebastian's Aether will scream to him that we're here!" she remarked through sharp eyes, unsure if Johan had lost his mind.
Johan just smiled calmly toward her.
Sebastian had already begun releasing his Aether, but before it could even leave his body, it was violently sucked into Johan's, the black slime suit getting darker and thicker.
"Gravitational Bubble!" he yelled.
Suddenly, a dense, purple energy surrounded all three of them.
'...That's gravity… manipulation?' Kirin's pupils dilated, rubbing her eyes as if she were in one of Radhaan's illusions.
Then she thought of a wild possibility.
"Can you copy all abilities with just their Aether signature!?" she asked through a trembling jaw.
Sebastian still couldn't talk but stared at Johan's face in bewilderment, as if mentally confirming his suspicions that Johan was a devil worshipper.
"No… not really. The God Tree owns the domain of time and space. Anyone with powers related to them is just borrowing that domain… so I guess with enough gravitational Aether, I can also freely control these laws…" Johan said as his mouth twitched unnaturally, not wanting Melodis to be suspicious of his source of information.
Kirin breathed a sigh of relief, not sure why. Being able to copy all powers would be too bizarre.
With that, they soared high into the sky, carrying Sebastian.
Melodis grew in size, also covered in the gravitational bubble. He spread his wings wide, flying as fast as he could.
'That man was dangerous… he had a contract with him… Dante… that Radhaan— even if I was at full power, he could've killed me easily…' Melodis thought in horror, praising Johan in his heart.
He had managed to escape so easily from destined death.
"...Johan, Melodis is tired. We have to take a break." Kirin's hesitant voice immediately brought Johan back to the present.
"I know, but we can't. We have to go to the Crimson Empire! Only there are we safe enough. In the central continent, everyone is after us…" Johan said calmly, still releasing electric currents into Sebastian's body.
"Melodis can't cross the sea like this!" Kirin stood up in an instant, grabbing the collar of Johan's black slime suit.
Johan's eyes widened, but she didn't stop there.
"Honestly… I'm really disappointed in you… My brother was immoral, a cheater, a pervert, and even evil, but… he was not a coward!"
Johan's breathing grew ragged, but he replied in a firm tone, "Trying to survive is not cowardly, it's smart. What are you even talking about? You also noticed it, right? The clones I made were equal in strength to us…
They got massacred… we couldn't have won, no matter what. The Crimson Empire is our only option. It's a peaceful, neutral nation."
'And the dungeon where the Doomsday Trial will appear is also there… I need the contract with the Great Spirit… to save Sebastian…' he added to himself.
"Our family is about to die!" She pushed him down from her grip. He fell harshly on Melodis' back.
Johan's lips parted, but he stayed quiet.
Her voice grew louder.
"Theo, Diana, Acier, Daniel, Julie, Selene— and all our branch families. The entirety of House Matilda. My family. Your family. You'll let them all die just because you're not man enough to be a patriarch?
Johan… My brother would never abandon his loved ones, no matter how he treated the outsiders! Even when he was like an ant— and now, even with all that power… you're still…
Are you even Johan!?" Kirin bit her red lips, regretting the words the moment they left her mouth.
(A.N. = Julie is the adoptive daughter of Kirin. Kirin raised her, taught her, and treated her like her real daughter in House Matilda. She is currently classmates with Selene and Leor at the Imperial Academy. In the game, she eventually became a member of the hero's party and died in a character development arc. Kirin and Johan spoiled her—opposite of how Johan treated Selene—which made Selene jealous inside. In a fight, Selene hesitated to save her, and she died, teaching an important lesson to the main heroine.)
Johan's pupils dilated. He tightly clutched the flesh of Melodis as if trying to tear it off, his expression dazed.
"...I, I will save them…" He couldn't speak— it was as if his tongue was nailed to his mouth.
Thousands of memories—
Carrying Julie on his shoulders, Kirin and Acier by his side. In front sat Theo and Diana with little Daniel in their arms, everyone laughing, eating. Sebastian still standing by his side with a stoic expression, as Selene played with his sharp mustache.
"Then go back!! Rush into the base! Let's kill all those motherfuckers!!" Her voice turned into a roar, hitting close to Johan's ears, her breath hot against his skin.
She sighed. 'It's still Johan…'
[Rewards credited: The Maskless Sin]
(Allows its user to change his or others' appearance at a genetic level)
The robotic voice came like the devil's whisper—quiet, but loud enough to make hearts bleed.
"Wait!" Johan spoke through a clenched jaw, startling Kirin, her expression immediately turning ugly.
"Now, first listen to me… I will definitely save them. But we can't just rush. I have to get used to my new powers. We have to stabilize Sebastian. And you and Kirin need to rest too!
We can't stop here. We'll have to fly ourselves if Melodis gets too tired… but we have to cross the ocean today. Escape to the Crimson Empire and rejuvenate…" Johan said it all in one breath, panting hard afterward.
"...But."
"Just one week. We will attack with a plan in just one week. I promise I will save them, no matter what!" Johan spoke through gritted teeth.
[Quest 5: Your Daughter Call Me Daddy – Triggered]
Johan's eyes widened, biting his lips hard at the name.