Auren and the others stare at the giant moth and its mysterious rider, cloaked in an ornate yet slightly ripped and withered dark grey robe.
"Who the hell is that? I thought this island was uninhabited?!" Konrad asks.
Ging... what kind of mess did you lead me to?! If this turns out badly... I swear...
The cloaked person slowly walks up to the group, Auren not shrinking back, holding Eternity in his hand, developing a strong urge to simply cut apart the stranger so arrogantly approaching him.
However, he remains calm, and his Aura shows no sign of aggression, panic, or confusion.
As the person stops directly in front of the group, he removes his hood, revealing a human-like but distinctly foreign appearance.
His face vaguely resembles that of a human, but with an additional third eye on his forehead, his skin is completely grey, his hair purple, and multiple small horns are visible on his forehead and head, poking out of his hair.
"Demon!" Neffi yells, immediately moving to attack.
No!
"STOP!" Auren yells immediately, raising his hand.
"Sorry about that... stranger," Auren says. "We are not used to your... appearance... can you understand me?" he asks, trying to come across as peaceful.
The demon stares at Auren, hatred in his eyes, yet he doesn't outright attack or make any move either.
"Humans... you... puny humans...!" he whispers in a strange accent, his face twisting in disgust as he speaks the words, keeping the group immediately on edge, Konrad and Goreinu shaking just from hearing his voice.
While Auren remains perfectly calm, he's also surprised.
What is this... his voice alone... gives me the creeps. Is that really a demon... no, they don't exist, Neffi is obviously wrong. He resembles the stereotype, though.
"Why are you not kneeling?! You are standing before your superior!" He briefly releases his Aura, which is, without a doubt, strong, but actually pales in comparison to Auren's, being only slightly stronger than Vanessa's.
What is this?!
Auren turns around and winks, sheathing Eternity and kneeling on the ground, reluctantly followed by the others.
"We are sorry for intruding," Auren replies. "We are just peaceful explorers."
"Peaceful explorers?! Peaceful explorers?!" The demon repeats twice, his face full of anger. You destroyed everything. Killed my pet snakes, killed my experiments, and now you destroyed the only thing that could ever bring me back!"
"I am in charge of this island! I've been exiled here for an eternity! Do you even realize what you have done?! HUH?!" he asks with a raised voice.
"No," Auren replies honestly. "Please... tell us who you are."
"I am the Gatekeeper in charge of this island... though it's also the place of my exile... you... Illegal invaders, why should I answer your questions and requests?! How dare you come here without permission from the Gatekeepers!" the demon yells.
A Gatekeeper?!
"A magical beast..." Auren instantly realizes, muttering the words slowly. "Wait, what do you mean by 'without permission'? I am well aware that a traveler requires the acknowledgment of the Gatekeepers when trying to enter the Dark Continent, but this is an island... inside Lake Mobius. We neither require permission nor should a Gatekeeper be in charge here."
"You... for puny humans, you people seem to be special and know some things... but you are wrong! This is outside the zone designated for humans. Outside, I say! It's closer to the Dark Continent than the human zone!" he argues. "It's just common sense! You humans broke the law!"
This Gatekeeper... is neither smart nor influential. He got rattled by such a small point? He's already running out of arguments and is obviously just making things up.
"We are sorry," Auren says, looking back and glaring at Konrad, only to see that he is already wearing his conjured glasses, smiling softly, and at the same time shaking his head.
So he's lying indeed.
Auren slowly shuffles back on his knees so he is next to the others, always within sight of Konrad.
"We are just human explorers. Can you please have mercy on us? We didn't mean to offend you," Auren pleads.
"NO! You ruined everything. EVERYTHING! I needed to evolve this species of wolves, and the only thing I was granted was that tree, whose fruits can facilitate their evolution! I've been slowly but surely breeding them for generations... and the youngest wolves have finally reached a visible change and now possess an acceptable physique and a slight affinity for Nen. Nen at birth was no longer a pipedream... but now... now!!"
He paces in front of the still kneeling group and continues talking, looking at the destroyed tear in rage and horror.
"It took 10 fruits to awaken them at some point, and by now, a single one was enough! Just a hundred more years, ten generations, and I could have succeeded! How will you compensate me?! You better be prepared, or I'll kill you right now!" the Gatekeeper explains, his purple eyes now bloodshot, purple veins visible at the sides.
"Please... just give us a chance," Auren pretends to beg. "We may be able to help... please tell us more details. We just need to regrow a new tree?"
"Idiot, stupid human!" the Gatekeeper curses. "As if you could simply regrow these trees. It will take hundreds of years to regrow the Revals Tree! Maybe it will be impossible here... the resources required for that.... I also can't leave and somehow obtain a new sapling! You ruined it all!"
"Did you fly over the island?" Auren asks. "Did you see our camp?"
"I saw your filthy, mismatched, pathetic base. I mostly sleep and only fly around every few weeks. You humans are filthy... constantly trying to invade and expand. You deserve what happened to you. Your camp is just like you!"
"Didn't you notice the trees?" Auren asks. "We have a strong Nen user who can grow trees."
Just apple trees to be precise... but perhaps that calms him down.
"I saw them... he grew trees there indeed," the Gatekeeper realizes. "The former humans did nothing to that island, so I left them alone... they were also imbeciles with no Aura... perhaps you can... no! A puny human could never regrow the mighty Revals Tree; it's useless!"
"Perhaps there is another way?" Leira suggests. "You just need to... speed up the development of these wolves, so that new offspring are born with the ability to use Nen, right?"
"How do you know?" the Gatekeeper asks, visibly confused.
Because... you just said so a few minutes ago. Is this guy stupid?
"And you can't leave until you've succeeded?" Auren confirms, now sounding more aggressive.
"Yes! Thanks to you, I'm stuck here! Forever!" he yells.
"Were you exiled, and this is your punishment? To breed a new species of wolf capable of using Nen since birth? What if you never succeed, or the task turns out to be impossible?" Auren questions him.
"Then I'm doomed to remain here... for eternity!" The Gatekeeper replies, his head shaking in rage.
"Won't the other Gatekeepers come looking for you? You could simply leave the island and go somewhere else," Auren suggests.
"Why would I do that?! I need to return, I must return! Are you stupid? This is the only way...!" the Gatekeeper explains. "Where would I even go? Your filthy human world? No!"
Interesting... so nobody will ever miss you... quite sad for you... but for us...
Looking more and more desperate as he walks back and forth, the Gatekeeper suddenly stops, and his eyes almost pop out as he looks at Auren.
"Now that I look at it... that egg you're carrying on your bag. I can sense it... could it be?! Give it to me right now, human! I may let you all live if you hand it over to me. NOW!"
That's it....
Not hesitating in the slightest, Auren suddenly gets up, unleashes his full Aura, draws Eternity, and cuts at the Gatekeeper in one smooth motion with his black and white blade.
In a single Iai-technique, Lidor's specialty, the Gatekeeper's legs are severed at his upper thighs.
Auren immediately follows up, cutting off both of his arms and leaving him completely limbless before he can even scream and realize what happened.
His scream follows a second later as he violently crashes onto the ground, all of his limbs gone before he even hits the floor.
The giant moth nearby immediately charges at the group, flapping its wings, gathering Aura, and sending spores flying at them.
"Meteor Straight!" Vanessa roars, striking not once, but twice at the moth, releasing a one-two combo. Without much of a delay, two meteor fists appear behind her and shoot straight at the moth.
Immediately, the dust is blown away, and the moth struggles to fly straight as the two projectiles crash into its body, causing it to make a strange sound Auren has never heard before and is unable to describe.
Neffi and Eren also attack with their respective Hatsus, performing them at lightning speed, one from the left, one from the right, the sharp clothes and tentacles slicing and stabbing into the moth's body respectively. Struggling to keep flying, the moth desperately flaps its wings.
The counterpart to Limitless Waters... a Transmutation Hatsu that, instead of mimicking water, lets me mimic absolute frost. Still using Water as the core, to keep my oath, but with a clear emphasis on cold Aura... add to that Emission and...!
Biting Cold!
Auren, done with the Gatekeeper, gathers his Aura and blows a tremendous amount of cold Aura toward the moth, freezing its wings and causing it to crash down right next to the limbless Gatekeeper, who is finally howling in pain.
"Aaaaah You... you... human... inbredsss.....I'll kill you!" he yells, flailing on the ground, looking incredibly pathetic, yet still demonstrating an incredible amount of hatred.
"Secure the moth," Auren orders his shocked friends. Despite their shock, they spring into action to support him. "Congratulations, Leira, you just got a new pet."
"I'll take good care of it, Auren... excellent decision-making," Leira replies, smiling, satisfied. "This island... is ours!"
"You are so cold, Auren!" Goreinu says, though he is smiling while saying it. "That Gatekeeper is such an idiot; no wonder he got exiled. Even apes are probably smarter."
"Apes?! Apes?! I'll kill you?! Do you know who I am? Everyone will die if the others know about this!" The Gatekeeper threatens.
"Yes... and as you explained to us so foolishly... they'll never find out," Auren says, shrugging.
"I... no... no! Don't kill me, I can teach you secrets. Please! Save me!" he begs, the roles now completely reversed.
"It turns out... the things I've talked to Feitan about... just in jest, of course, may actually find a use," Auren says, his eyes turning cold, holding Eternity in one hand while his other hand activates Azure Restoration.
"No... no!" the demon yells.
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A/N: Always thankful for Power Stones, Comments, and Reviews. Thank you for reading!
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