My Lewd Symbiote System

Kelan took Linda's car and hit the road. It was almost an hour's drive, which somewhat frustrated Kelan since he wasn't used to sitting in one position for that long without moving.

"Dammit, I don't know why these stupid laws were made to stop speedsters from running in the city. What do they have against speedsters?" Kelan muttered, gritting his teeth.

{Haha, actually it's a necessary law in a functioning society. Imagine a speedster going full speed and crashing into someone, what do you think would happen?}

"I see…" Kelan's eyes widened in shock.

{Yeah, there'd be pieces of innocent denizens flying through the air. The person might survive if they're a supe too, but there are tons of normal folks walking around. Even a low-level supe could die from that.}

"That's true."

It didn't take long before Kelan arrived at his destination. Just as Mystro had predicted, it wasn't exactly a dirty slum but it was definitely a step below where a typical middle-class person would live.

He alighted from the car and headed to the block number Monica had given him. It didn't take long before he found it: a lone concrete building, fenced round with barbed wire like a pig farm. As he got closer, Kelan noticed a few goats running around the compound.

"Is this really the place?" he muttered, entering through a nearly detached, makeshift gate. The moment he stepped inside, the goats began to bleat at him loudly while sneezing at the same time.

"Oh, I'm not here to turn you guys into broth. But I gotta say, you would make one hell of a stew," Kelan said mischievously, walking toward the building while the goats kept bleating.

Suddenly, the front door swung open and a tall woman with long hair cascading down her back stepped outside. She was statuesque, slightly busty, with full eyebrows that gave her a confident edge, matching her honey-brown eyes perfectly.

Kelan halted mid-step, taking in her appearance. She looked familiar—but at the same time, like an entirely different person.

"Who are you? What do you want?" the woman asked, gripping a club, the confidence in her eyes undeniable.

"Monica? Is that you?" Kelan spoke, causing her to lower the club with a puzzled expression.

"Kelan?" she responded in disbelief.

"Yes, it's me!" Kelan exclaimed, still stunned by how drastically Monica had changed. Jaden hadn't been exaggerating when she said Monica looked like a model now.

"Oh my goodness! Kelan, you look completely different!" Monica cried, rushing over to hug him. Her momentum nearly knocked him off balance, but Kelan held firm, hugging her back and lifting her slightly off the ground as if they were old friends—despite never being close before in the past.

{Lifting your friend's girlfriend from her butt is diabolical.}

Kelan gently lowered her. Her smile hadn't faded.

"You look like a whole different person," Kelan said, adjusting his clothes.

"Same goes for you. I remember you were always looking rough and tattered—and honestly? Pretty ugly. I wasn't even sure it was you, which is why I grabbed the club," Monica said with a teasing smirk.

"Come inside, Kelan," she added, gesturing him in.

Kelan nodded and followed her. Monica opened the door and let him inside. They stepped into the living room. It was modestly arranged—couches, a TV and the usual living room stuff. Kelan also noticed Monica's photo frames on the wall—but none of Jacob's. Given what he knew about them, Kelan immediately sensed something more serious was going on.

He sat down on a couch opposite Monica, who turned on a light that bathed the living room in warm illumination.

"So," Kelan began, "what exactly happened between you and Jacob?"

"It's a long story I couldn't tell you over the phone," Monica said, pausing briefly. "After the war, when Jacob saw his parents die in front of him… he changed."

"Changed how?" Kelan leaned forward.

"He started waking up in the middle of the night, talking to himself about being weak. Then he got into drugs. We burned through our savings quickly. That's partly why he called you after the war—for help. You lent him money, which we appreciated. But the real problem started after that," Monica said, standing up. She went to her room and returned with something that looked like a photo frame—facing away from Kelan.

"After you helped, he kept using drugs and blew through the money. He couldn't borrow more since you weren't reachable and Tina said she didn't know where you went. I quit adventuring to take care of him. But then he started calling me names—said I looked like an ogre. That's why I lost all that muscle mass. Still, his condition kept getting worse. He began smashing things at home… and one day, he laid hands on me," Monica said, turning the frame toward Kelan.

Kelan's eyes widened. The photo showed Monica—slightly muscular and covered in bruises, with handprints across her skin.

"Jacob did this?"

"Yes," Monica said softly. "It was a side-effect of the drugs. I forgave him, even after everything. He apologized for days. But then… a few days later, he said he wanted to break up. I asked why—he said he needed to get stronger. I supported him and told him I'd wait. But he still insisted we part ways because he didn't know how long he'd be gone."

Kelan listened in silence, unable to believe what he was hearing.

'Even if Jacob wanted to get stronger, I don't see why he'd break up with Monica.'

{He probably couldn't forgive himself. Maybe he believed Monica deserved better. Honestly, hearing this, I'd say she's a good person.}

"I'm sorry for everything that happened. I apologize on behalf—" Kelan stopped mid-sentence as he noticed several empty beer bottles beside Monica.

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