Chapter 28: Monster (2)
Alucard… No… Ren simply stared blankly up into the clear night starry sky… Up at the bright moon and its fullness, nothing but the sound of the wind and the odd crickets soothing his ears. A flood of emotions overcame him as he could not help but show hints of tears as he softly chuckled to himself.
The moon was exactly like that when he first set foot into this new reality… One that was full and round, yet, the one he peered up at now did not bear the same beauty…
One month… It meant that it had only been one month since he was known by that name… Ren... one month since he was at home playing video games to millions of people with no care in the world. And In that month, he felt like he had done and gone through years of struggles and turmoils… It was to the point that he no longer felt like who he once was.
"One month huh…" He could not help but mumble to himself and hear his new voice that was much deeper than that of his original self.
He slightly smiled to himself as he looked more closely at the hypnotizing moon, but that smile was only to fool himself into a false sense of happiness. The more his mind wandered, the more that smile began to fade away.
<< I've never actually liked you! I just had to put up with you okay! I'm fucking out… >>
<< I'm sorry bro… I… I just had to… >>
<< Don't call me mother! You're a devil! Those red eyes are proof! I should have gotten rid of you while I had the chance! You're the reason my life is so miserable!! >>
Multiple sounds from various faces he had almost forgotten about played into his mind… And there did he remember his definition of a monster…
Ren was lost in the moon's radiance, it was like he was stuck in a bubble in his head disconnected from the outside world.
"Monsters… Monsters are not those who kill and torture for fun… Not those who run organizations that prey on the weak… And not those that sell slaves and do human trafficking… No, not at all, at least those make their intentions known… The true monsters are those who betray and hurt their family, dear friends, and loved ones, especially at a time when they were only trying to help or needed them most. Yes… They're all monsters… Every last one of them… And I am now one of them…"
More than anyone, Ren knew full well what it meant to be on the receiving end of that… And now, he had become that person he hated most all unbeknownst to him in the name of survival.
Flashes of the crying Petra and her last dying words played over and over in his mind… That along with, far more importantly, the crying and screaming Luck who's arms were stuck into his own fangs, the taste of his blood and flesh still fresh on the tip of his tongue.
As he looked up, his eyes began to show hints of red that obscured his vision. Thus, he instinctively raised his hands and wiped his eyes, snapping himself back slightly from his own bubble.
And as he looked back at his own hands, he saw one glaring thing. Blood… He was crying blood… He could not help but chuckle at himself once again. It was a reminder of who he now was, or who he was all along.
"I really am a monster… Inside and outside… I can't even cry like a normal person… What's the point of living if I am a person no one wants to be around… Maybe Spaz chat… Those imaginary friends were the only things keeping me sane and alive..."
"Maybe I am the reason everyone is pushed away from me… Maybe I am the reason I am so hated… Hell, for the longest time, I even hated myself… I hated myself until I got over it and redirected all of my rage and frustration their way… Maybe… Just maybe…" He took a rather long pause thinking deeply to himself, sinking deeper into his own thoughts and depression before he continued what he had to say. "Maybe... It's not their fau—"
"My… My Lord… Are… Are you okay?"
"L-Luck!?" Ren's eyes grew wide and his mouth instinctively opened out of pure shock and disbelief. He was so lost in his own mind to even feel his small little imprints climbing over his body.
There on his chest stood that small naked purple-haired fairy, heavily panting with spatters of his own blood all over his naked body, his right arm still barely attached, blood quickly trickling from it to his own armour underneath.
"My Lord… Please… Are you still hurt… P-please talk to me…" Luck slowly trodded the bumpy landscape of his lord's armour, inching ever closer to his open mouth.
Ren stared closely at him, too focused and shaken to even move let alone speak.
"Here… Don't you worry about anything... I understand you need blood… Please have this…" Luck softly smiled a shaky smile, hovering his ripped arm over his lord's mouth as his blood slowly trickled over his fangs and down his throat, Ren's eye growing even wider and his mind going into more turmoil than he could ever remember in a very long time.
'What's happening… How is this real… I thought he would surely run away in fear or hate me after what I did… Why… Why is he doing this!? What's going on!? Is this because he's a programmed NPC!?'
Ren honestly did not know how to feel, but his dominant emotion was oddly… Happiness…
"M-my lord… Do you need more…" Luck spoke once again, snapping some sense back into Ren's mind.
"O-oh, I'm fine… Thanks for that, you didn't need to go through all that…" Ren immediately waved Luck off telling him to stop before he slowly sat up, Luck now firmly on his lap.
"Oh! My lord! I'm so happy you're okay!" Luck smiled brightly, sparks and shimmers of light floating all around him which further increased Ren's disbelief.
"Hey, Luck, can't you just heal yourself or something?" Ren asked seemingly somewhat casually.
"Oh, yes! I can! But, I just wanted to make sure that I was bleeding enough for you to go back to normal…" He somewhat shyly responded, firing fairy dust-up in the sky for half a minute until he was fully healed.
Ren blinked a few times before taking a deep breath. His soul began to settle down and his mind was slowly coming back to normal. It seemed like Luck's NPC tendencies for loyalty saved him, there was no other explanation for why a man like him could even exist.
'I guess I just worried over nothing… What the hell was I even thinking? Was I reverting back to that same snowflake I was before? I wouldn't survive a day thinking like that!' He softly laughed at himself.' I can't believe I almost thought my mother and that bitch were the good guys… How down bad was I…' He felt his non-existent stomach-turning and a sudden, strong urge to puke, that was when he came to an abrupt realization. Why… Why was I like that… Did… Did I really see Luck as… a friend...'
Alucard slowly stood up and Luck reflexively began flying behind him. He stretched his body slightly and gazed upon the entire battlefield and the two corpses, one of which he had eaten beyond recognition when he was frenzied…
"It seems like there's a lot for us to clean up right Luck?"
"Y-yes! Of course!"
"But, first, let's get all our things from the other cave. There might be other people sent here to investigate these people's deaths after a while… Plus, we've gotten strong enough hunting here.. it's about time we moved out of this place and expand our narrow view of the world... Follow me…" Alucard casually walked away from the battlefield and back into the dark forest, Luck following moderately close behind.
That was when Alucard suddenly stopped… Odd silence grew all around them and nothing could be heard other than the howling wind, Luck was caught off guard and instinctively stiffened up unbeknownst to Alucard… That was when the thick atmosphere was cut by Alucard's words that almost seemed out of character in Luck's eyes.
"Hey… Luck… I'm really sorry for what I did… I wasn't myself and I should have been more careful… That… That is what happens when I lose too much blood… I had no idea it would be that bad at the time but now I sure do… Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate all the help and it truly means a lot. Hope you're okay."
Luck was not able to see his lord's face, but just from his tone and mannerisms, it was safe to say he wore a genuine smile of care and relief.
"Thank you so much my lord! It really means so much to me to see you care! Like I said before, I don't hold anything against you… I'm certain that the circumstances forced you into that situation. I should thank you for all of your trust in me..."
Luck could not help but feel slightly warm inside as he smiled to himself. But, that was when suddenly, an unforeseenwave of odd pain ravaged his entire system and he began to see things that were not there... His eyes grew wide and unsettled as he stared at his lord's back. He immediately clenched his left hand on his now accelerating, heavily beating heart and his fully healed right arm that still bore dry remnants of his own blood on it was out in front of him spread out wide as he deeply inspected it and rubbed it around his entire body like he was making sure his flesh and limbs were intact.
That was when a small grunt was heard coming out of Luck's previously heavy breathing mouth followed up by two loud slaps and a heavy shake to his head, readjusting his wide, shaky eyes to something more serious and casual.
"Hey Luck, what was that sound? You good?"
"O-oh! Yes! I'm fine my lord! Lead the way!" He answered in his usual, cheerful, upbeat tone.
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I'm so sorry for the lack of uploads. I hope it wasn't too long and that you haven't forgotten about me. I had an entire month of exams and needed all the time to study. But, guess what! I just graduated high school and it's summer so I have all the time to write! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Please vote if you haven't already! Thank you so much for all your patience and for those who voted all these days that I did not even post! <3