Wait! I'm not a Demigod, I'm a Gamer!

Chepter 34: Slave

"Please...help me..." Hearing those words, Yuuya's attack faltered just enough for the beast to open its mouth in an attempt to bite him. Seeing him zoned out, Gunter yells in a loud voice, "Yuuya! Look out!" Said man manages to snap out of it and use his wind magic to push away from those dangerous jaws, his jacket wasn't so lucky as a piece of the fabric was ripped. Yuuya slides a few feet away from the creature, a confused expression on his face. "What was that just now? It sounded like a woman's voice calling out inside my head..." He stares curiously at the beast, seeing it roaring at him, ready to send another round of spikes. Yuuya flashes over to his friends, using his light magic to create a barrier from the onslaught of spikes. "Yuuya!" Everyone shouts happily, relief flooding into their bones. They all try to group hug him, but Yuuya slips out of their grasps, going over to where Gunter was standing. "Mr. Gunter, what else can you tell me about the Sacred Beasts? What or who were they?" Gunter gives him a questioning look, wondering what could spark the disguised beast-man into asking such questions in the middle of a fight. "Not much I'm afraid. All I know is that they were rulers of the monsters, their job was to keep the monster population under control. When the Demigod Wars broke out, they had joined the kitsunes' side. Most of them were contracted with the king while a couple were with someone else. The records were lost to time. Why are you asking?" Yuuya doesn't answer and goes to the entrance, concentrating on the barrier as the beast charged at them before its head bounced off the shield. It roars in anger and tries pounding its head on the shield several times, making Yuuya grunt in effort as he tries to keep it steady, everyone watching him worriedly. With the beast so close, Yuuya uses his appraisal skill. His eyes widen when he sees a dark red-violet collar around the beast's neck, almost like a shackle. "It can't be..." Yuuya thinks fearfully and looks back at Gunter, "Is there such a thing as slave contracts in this time?" Gunter's face turns into one of shock, answering slowly, "Yes...Slave contracts exist, but they require a ritual and the more powerful the monster or person is, the harder it is to control." Yuuya clicks his tongue quietly as he turns his attention back on the beast with a look of pity. "I was afraid of that..." Slave contracts, a dark magic spell that allows the caster to control its victim both physically and mentally without any worry of disobedience. The stronger the victim in both magic and physical strength, the harder it is to control it. In Rise of Farstar, Yuuya has seen other players use this spell on monsters, but they could only hold it for a couple of minutes, the game had a limit after all. Knowing that the beast is very strong, Yuuya figures that the caster must also be fairly strong to keep this long of a hold. "We can't afford to wait for the spell to end. For all I know, this is the work of a magic item..." A sudden idea pops into his head as he looks down at his chest, right where the necklace of Garuda lays under his shirt. He pulls it out, the silver pendant having the head of a bird that resembles an eagle with a pair of garnets for eyes, as a plan forms in his head. A sudden cracking sound makes everyone jump except for the disguised beast-man. "Yu-Yuuya? We should move right?" Sam asks in a scared tone, gripping onto Yuuya's sleeve. Damian tries to lead them away from the growling beast as more cracks appear on the barrier, "Yeah, let's go." Yuuya snaps his head up and moves away from them, standing in between them and the beast. "Yuuya?" "We should move now while we still have a chance." Callian and Brutus calls out, not liking what Yuuya has in store. "You guys go, I have to help her." Everyone's jaws drop except for Gunter and try to pull Yuuya away from the entrance, the cracks on the shield growing bigger. "Are you crazy? You almost died, in fact you did!" "Don't do this Yuuya." "This is beyond stupidity." As the Solarclouds yell at the stubborn man, Sam and Damian are pulling the disguised beast-man the hardest. "Yuuya this is crazy! How are you going to save that thing!?" Sam pleads as he pulls with no luck. "Why would you even save it!? That thing killed people!" Yuuya had enough and roughly pulls his arms out of their grasps, giving them a light glare. "That 'thing' is in trouble. It's been cursed with a slave contract. I even heard her voice calling out for help...I believe she is a victim." His friends look hurt as Yuuya continues to glare at them before his eyes soften while sighing, "Look, I have to try. I can tell she's suffering. If I can't break the curse then I'll..." He gulps sadly as he looks to the ground, "Then I'll end her..." He finishes in a whisper. Gunter steps forward and put his hand on Yuuya's shoulder, making him look up. Gunter gives him a hard look, searching for something inside the man, "Yuuya, before I let you go, please tell me you have a plan." Yuuya's eyes shines as he feels relief over someone trusting him. He pulls out his Garuda necklace as his confidence grew, "Yes sir. This necklace has the power to block out any and all mind manipulation magic. It's very powerful. I just need to get this onto her and it should remove the slave contract curse." Gunter nods but still isn't fully satisfied with his answer. "And how will you be able to get close enough?" The beast roars, gaining their attention as it bashes its head even harder against the barrier. Even though the cracks kept growing, the barrier refuses to give in. Yuuya looks back at the Guildmaster, his eyes pleading the older man. "I'll go all out." Gunter raises his eyebrows and whispers quietly, "Are you sure son? There are other people nearby who will be able to see you." Yuuya nods with a serious look, "People's lives are at stake. This is not the time to be worrying over my identity." Yuuya slightly scolds, a small smile appearing on his face. Gunter smiles back and takes a step back. "Alright son, do what you gotta do. We'll be rooting for you." Everyone stares at the Guildmaster as if the man had gone crazy. "Sir! Are you seriously letting him go!? To his death!" Solarclouds started yelling and screaming at the man while Sam and Damian go over to Yuuya, uneasy looks on their faces. "Yuuya, please don't do this...I-we can't loose you too." Sam pleads as Damian stares at him sadly. Yuuya smiles at them and pulls them into a comforting hug. "It'll be okay. I promise I'll be back. Promise me you guys will stay down until it's over." Both men nod, unable to voice their answers as they squeeze him tightly. The sound of breaking draws their attention, the beast had managed to break through the barrier.
Yuuya pushes his friends to the side as he quickly holds a tooth from the bottom and top of the beast's jaw to keep it open, stopping it from biting down. "Urgh! G-go! Now!" Everyone quickly exits the building as Yuuya uses his strength to open its jaw wider, trying to escape his predicament. The beast swings his head behind it, sending him flying into the fountain, the piece of decoration crumbling into small pieces as his body crashes into it. "Oof! That's gonna leave a mark-yip!" He moves to the side in time before a large scaly foot stomps right where he was lying. They move in sort of a waltz style as Yuuya continues to dodge and weave as the beast stomps and bites at him, missing him every time. The whole time, Yuuya tries to find an opening to get the pendant close to it, sadly, the beast would simply ducks its head and roar at him before trying to bite him again. "Oh come on! I can't get this stupid necklace on her!" A tail whip sends him to the other side of the area, forcing Yuuya to catch himself lest he crashes into another building. The beast roars at him as magic circles appear around it, the voice sounding louder in his head, almost as a weak scream, "Please...help me! I...don't want...to hurt you...Kill me!" Yuuya frowns at the sound of defeat in her tone. With a serious look, Yuuya yells out, "Hey! I don't know if you can hear me, but if you're in there-don't give up! You have to keep fighting, you're a Scared Beast right?" The beast growls, surprisingly, none of the magic circles fired any spikes at him, giving the disguised beast-man hope. "You're one of the strongest beings in this world, you rule over monsters, and you helped the kitsunes fight in the war! You can't give up! You say you don't want to hurt anyone then try! Fight against the curse!" The magic circles slowly disappear, the beast's growling stops, almost whimpering now. Unfortunately, the salve collar around its neck tightens as black lightning shocks the beast, forcing a pained roar out of it. Suddenly, twice as many magic circles appear around it, points of the spikes peaking out. Yuuya's eyes widen in shock before his gaze turns angry. He roughly takes off his ruined jacket and throws it to the side, his left clenching hard on the Garuda pendant. "It's okay, I'm not going anywhere." He stops pouring mana into his amulet, his ears and tail popping up. The Solarclouds gasp in shock as they see the transformation, questions popping up in their heads. Yuuya's eyes glow brightly with such determination, "I'm gonna save you."
The beast roars and all the spikes fired, Yuuya uses his light and wind magic to speed past through all the spikes, getting closer to the withering beast. He jumps up, using his water magic to splash the beast before freezing it in place. The beast growls dangerously, unable to roar, as Yuuya lands on its back with the pendant in his hand. "Alright, this won't take a minute." He tries to put the necklace on it, but its neck is too big and the necklace won't work if it's not on. "Crap!" The beast manages to break through the ice and starts to shake itself, trying to get both the ice and beast-man off. Yuuya holds on, but sadly when the beast started to shake, he lost his grip on the necklace, making it fly off. "No!" He makes the mistake of trying to reach for it, letting one of his hands go, allowing the beast to seize the opportunity and buck him off. He goes flying and when he looks back, he sees the world upside down...and more spikes coming straight at him. He manages to use his light magic to block the majority of the spikes, his right shoulder and left leg weren't protected all the way and got some deep cuts. Yuuya simply grunts and uses his wind magic to soften the landing, his leg burning from the wound. Unfortunately, he doesn't get the chance to heal his wounds before he uses his earth magic to block more spikes by creating a tall thick wall, he can feel the wall cracking from the sheer force of the spikes. His eyes widen when the wall turned from a dark brown to a light gray, he ducks in time when several spikes broke through the wall. He keeps the spikes from impaling him as he searches for the necklace by using light magic and earth magic, trying to desperately stay out of her sight, her Medusa Stare spell going off like crazy. He finally finds the pendant under a broken picture frame, "Yes!" And then the beast smashes its head through his shields, nearly biting his head off. Yuuya backs off, using his speed skill to gain some distance between them, and uses his dark magic to lift up the debris all around them and slams them down on the beast, burying it. The beast roars as Yuuya slowly walks over to it, "It's okay, I'm gonna help you, it won't be long. It's okay." He tries to soothe it as he gets closer. The beast's eyes suddenly glow bright red and roars very loudly, so loud that all the debris, buildings, and Yuuya are being flung back, clearing the entire area. Yuuya grunts as he lifts a random beam off of his chest, his head bleeding slightly as his vision swims, but doesn't let it hold him down. The beast growls, more magic circles appearing practically everywhere, making the beast-man sigh. "Well this is great..." He sarcastically say as he pulls out the necklace, looking at it tiredly. He takes a deep breath and stares back at the beast with a serious expression, "Listen to me, you can't give up! You have to fight, okay!? Don't give up." A black space appears near him, allowing him to pull out another weapon. The beast growls as he holds onto a duranium whip called Dominion, a magic weapon that can extend infinitely and will never break. Yuuya holds the handle tightly, preparing himself for the next part, "You have to hold on! I'm coming to get you!" The beast roars, but only half of the magic circles activate, giving Yuuya a chance to escape. He uses his wind magic to go up into the air, narrowly missing all the spikes coming from above and below. A few spikes manage to cut him, but never actually stabbing him, only adding more cuts to the count. He uses his dark magic and fire magic to encase himself in a bubble, creating the perfect cover and shield. The beast roars and summons more spikes at the giant dark fire ball. The moment the spikes hit, the ball explodes that creates a large dark cloud, impairing its vision. The beast roars in anger, missing the shadowed figure in the air. Yuuya jumps out of the dark cloud, swinging his arm that's holding the whip, wrapping around the beast's neck. The creature roars as Yuuya swings around, going underneath it and flipping up onto her back once again. The beast roars and tries to buck him, Yuuya had already anticipated this and wrapped the whip around him and tying it so he is stuck on her back. "Whoa!" He yells as the beast tries to harder in bucking him, going on all fours to raise her back legs, reminding the beast-man of being in the rodeo. The beast crashes into several buildings, trying to rub the beast-man off, and jumping up high in the air, its efforts futile as both Yuuya and his whip held on. The whole time, Yuuya tries to put the necklace on it before deciding he had enough. "Alright that's it!" He uses his nature and dark magic to create vines and a dark swamp to hold the beast in its place. The vines gripping on to her body as her feet sink into the gloom. Her roar is cut off when a few vines wrap around her snout. With the vines and dark swamp pulling her down, the beast falls on its belly, grunting at the impact. She breathes heavily as Yuuya rubs her scales carefully, a sadden look on his face. "It'll be okay, everything will be fine." A thought crosses his mind and his face grimaces. While still stroking her scales, he raises the pendant up above his head as he closes his eyes, "I'm sorry, but this will hurt." That was the only warning he gave before bringing his arm down hard, hard enough to stab the pendant through the tough scales on her head. The beast screams through the bounds, scratching at the ground desperately as black lightning courses through it. Yuuya yells as he digs the pendant deeper, praying the magic item would work, "C'mon! Work!" Blood gushes out of the wound, splattering on Yuuya's hands and face. The pain becomes too much so the beast snaps the vines around its snout to roar. Magic circles appear randomly and fire everywhere, its target uncertain. One spike is somehow able to make a deep cut into his side, but that doesn't stun the beast-man, he simply digs the pendant a bit deeper. The thing that stuns the beast-man is when the beast manages to snap off more of the vines around its body, making the beast-man lose his balance, his right leg going into her mouth...as she snaps down. He screams from the bottom of his lungs, his scream is loud enough to be heard throughout the entire capital. With tears going down his face, he punches her snout to get her to let go, but that only makes her bite down harder, it's a miracle that his leg is still attached. Seeing his punching not working, he focuses back on the necklace, he had let go earlier. He grips onto the necklace and starts pouring mana into the pendant. "Garuda! Help us!" He screams, the pendant glows, the garnet eyes blowing the brightest. Red lightning courses from the pendant to the mark on the beast's neck, causing black lightning to appear. The beast roars, finally letting go of Yuuya's leg. The different colored sparks clashed until only the red one remained, the mark on her neck cracking before finally breaking away, turning to dust. Her eyes turn from blood red to a deep blue before rolling to the back of her skull. She collapses onto the ground which knocks Yuuya off and crashes onto the ground hard, grunting from the impact.
Earlier when Yuuya transformed into his true form, Gunter, Sam, Damian, and Solarclouds had rushed to another building, still keeping an eye on the scene. The Solarclouds stare in shock as Yuuya charges at the beast, their jaws opening and closing as they look between the fight and the other members of Orion's Pax. "What the-how did-why is he-what the fuck is going on!?" Callian finally shouts out, his eyes still not believing what he just witnessed. Sam and Damian don't look away, but Damian answers, "Yuuya's a beast-man and he's been using a magic item to disguise himself as a human." The rest of the Solarclouds look at the pair, confusion still in their eyes. "He's a what!?" "That's impossible!" "He can use several magic types, he can't be a beast-man!" "There's no magic item in the world that can change one's race and for so long." Gunter raises his hand to silence their questions and comments, "Enough! What they say is true. Yuuya is indeed not human, however, we believe he is the kitsune from the prophecy." He notices Hawkcolt moving debris out of the way, coughing slightly into his hand. "Farrimond!" He yells, praying his friend won't notice Yuuya's new form. Sadly, life does not go his way, Hawkcolt looks over, his eyes widening at the scene. He sees Yuuya dodging all the attacks...with his ears and tail out. The man could not believe what he was witnessing, unconsciously grabbing onto his sword's hilt before he hears his men groaning as they try to climb out of the rubble. His surprise momentarily forgotten, his attention on his knights. "Sergeant! You alright?" The man nods as he pulls a couple of knights alongside him. A few hands reach over the Commander's, surprising him to see Gunter and his adventurers help pull the other knights out, even his own son is helping lift off a piece of lumbar off of a knight's leg. "Commander, is there anyone else under there?" Gunter asks while searching around with his eyes. Hawkcolt's face grows serious as he answers, "No, most of my knights were in charge evacuating the civilians. We were trying to draw the Scared Beast away from here without success...We lost some people." Gunter puts his hand on the commander's shoulder, trying to provide some form of comfort to the stoic man. A loud roar is their only warning before a strong invisible force pushes everyone away, they scream as they fly into some of the buildings. Most of them groan as they try to regain their senses, unsure what just happened. Sam and Damian recover first and see Yuuya standing across from the beast, his body littered with cuts and blood, the head wound concerning them the most. They hear their friend speak in a confident tone, "Listen to me, you can't give up! You have to fight, okay!? Don't give up." Sam and Damian are stun over the beast-man's words, how hard he's trying to save the destructive beast despite all the casualties she caused. They watch in worry as Yuuya continues with his assault with a strange whip in his hands, nearly shouting when they lost sight of him in the dark cloud he produced. As they watch, the rest of the group groan and finally recover from the massive shockwave they felt earlier and join Sam and Damian by the sidelines, the rest of the knights taking notice of Yuuya's true form. "What the fuck? Is that a beast-man?" "What the hell is a beast-man doing here?" "Hey isn't that beast-man look familiar?" "Maybe they'll both kill each other..." Hawkcolt narrows his eyes as he watches the scene, still not understanding how he missed Yuuya's true identity, and looks over at his son. He sees Damian watching the fight not in anger or betrayal, rather in fear and worry. The commander's eyes widen as he puts two and two together: His son knew the truth already. They hear Yuuya scream loudly as the beast chomps on his leg, wincing sympathetically as Sam and Damian move to try to get to their friend. Gunter and the Solarclouds barely manage to catch them before they get past the rubble. "Yuuya!" "Shit Yuuya!" They scream as they try to wrestle out of their grips. The group watch as black and red lightning surround the beast and beast-man before the sound of shattering echoes in their ears, they gasp as the beast falls to the ground, Yuuya flying off its back.
Yuuya groans as he tries to breathe, the pain in his leg almost becoming too much for him. With the little amount of strength he possesses, he manages to raise his hand out and cast his healing spell, the pain vanishing slowly over time, allowing him to breathe a bit easier. He looks up, the beast still unconscious. Yuuya grunts as he carefully sits up, most of his wounds still bleeding, but the worst of it healed. He wobbles over to the beast, gently placing his hand on her snout. "Hey, you okay?" He feels her breathing, but his mind grows more worried the longer she remains unconscious. "Please let her be okay...Please." As if hearing his prayers, the beast opens her eyes slowly, blinking as she tries to regain her surroundings. Her eyes focuses on him, a wave of fear flows through her for a split second as she speaks to him through her mind, "Who...are you? What...happened...to me?" Her voice sounded groggy as if she woke up from a bad dream. Yuuya smiles as he pets her soothingly, "I'm Yuuya. You're safe now, I removed the slave contract. You're free." His words take a minute to register before she moves to stand up, forcing Yuuya to take a few steps back. "Free? I'm...free?" She asks hesitantly, almost afraid this was a dream. Yuuya smiles wider at her, his tail wagging slightly, "Yes. You're free. You can live your life now." She looks around, her eyes growing sad at the carnage, knowing full well it was from her doing. "I did this...didn't I? I'm...so sorry." She bows her head in shame, making Yuuya sad too. He limps up to her and touches her leg softly, "It's not your fault. Whoever put that slave contract on you is the one. They forced you to do this." She leans her snout to him, allowing him to hug her. "Despite what you say...this was caused by my power..." Yuuya simply rubs her scales, trying to provide as much comfort as he can. "There's nothing I can say that will change her mind. I hope this helps at least." They stay in that position for a while until a rush of footsteps come at them along with a loud voice saying, "Freeze!" Yuuya looks up in shock as he sees they are surrounded by knights, each of them holding their swords out at them. The beast whimpers as she tries to lower her body closer to the ground. Yuuya raises his arms out acting like a shield. "Wait! Don't hurt her! She's okay now, I destroyed the slave contract. She's free now." Hawkcolt points his sword at Yuuya, his eyes cold as he glares at them. "Silence beast! I have no intention of taking the word of a savage." Yuuya sees his friends stare at him concern, a few knights restraining them. Seeing the knights coming closer, he looks over behind him, staring into the blue eyes of the beast. His heart growing heavy as he sees sorrow and fear in those clear blues. He quickly turns around all the way and holds his hands out in front of him, taking everyone including the beast by surprise. "What are you doing!?" The commander yells as a giant magic circle appears under the beast. She looks under in shock before looking back up at him, her eyes widening as she sees the beast-man giving her a sad smile. "Go and live your life. I'll handle the rest." A bright light envelops the beast before she disappears from sight. The knights gasp in shock as Yuuya puts his hands down, never having seen anything like this before. Yuuya turns around, the smile still on his face. "Okay, I'll accept my punishment..." As he says this, his vision swims before his eyes roll up, exhaustion finally catching up to the beast-man. He collapses face first on the ground as Sam and Damian struggle against the knights' holds. "Yuuya!" They scream, barely noticing the Solarclouds also having done the same and were also trying to break free. Hawkcolt walks over to the beast-man, raising his sword above him, "I will never allow your kind to come near our people nor my son." Just before he could bring his sword down, a body collides into him, nearly knocking him off balance. "Leave him alone!" Sam shouts, struggling to bring the man down. Hawkcolt grunts, confused over how the man escaped from his knights restraints. Before he could knock the man off, a punch is sent his way, knocking him on his butt. He stares up in shock as he holds his chin, his son having been the culprit. "Stay the fuck away from him!" He grabs his sword as Sam rushes over to Yuuya, lifting his upper body up as he desperately tries to shake him awake, "Yuuya, Yuuya! Wake up! C'mon!" A couple of knights go over to their commander's side helping him back up onto his feet while the rest surround the group, staying a few feet away as Damian swings his sword at them. "Fuck off! Don't you dare touch him!" The Solarclouds finally got out of the knights' holds and rush over to the group. Damian ready his sword as he sees them coming, but grows shock when they simply turn their backs, trying to shield them. "Get away from them!" "Yeah, this kid saved us!" "Don't hurt him!" Damian blinks at them before steeling his eyes as he points his sword at his father, almost daring him to come closer. "Stand down!" "Why are you even protecting that thing?" "Put your weapons down or we will use force!" Gunter walks over, his face going stoic. Hawkcolt looks over at him and shouts, "Guildmaster! Control your adventurers now!" Gunter stands for a bit, making everyone stand on edge, until he turns to look at the commander, revealing his anger. "No. You are not laying one hand on any of my adventurers." He strides over to the group, standing by their sides as he crosses his arms, "Including Yuuya. He's one of us." Hawkcolt could only grit his teeth in frustration and picks his sword up again. "I won't warn again: Stand. Down. Now." He empathizes, his mana slowly beginning to leak out. Before things became too violent, a voice is heard overhead everyone's heads, "Commander Hawkcolt and Guildmaster Livingtinstone, I order you to stand down." They all look up and see a bird flying above them, circling them. It opens its beak and the same voice, a voice that resembles the queen, speaks again, "Commander Hawkcolt and Guildmaster Livingtinstone, I order you to stand down and to come to the castle. We shall put Orion's Pax on trial there. I repeat, bring Orion's Pax to the castle." Everyone looks at each other, unsure on their next move. Gunter is the first to sigh and put his arms down, "Fine." He looks over at the Solarclouds and Sam and Damian. "Everyone, put your weapons down." They begin to argue, but Gunter raises a hand to silence them, "It'll be better for everyone if we comply." Sam and Damian don't look convince, still staying stiff by Yuuya's side. Gunter leans over to look at them. "If you want him to live, surrender now." Sam and Damian share a look before staring at Yuuya's unconscious face, his breathing coming out heavy as his wounds are still affecting him even while he sleeps. Sam uses one hand to remove his necklace while still holding onto the beast-man. He carefully puts the necklace on and says, "Hermes." The necklace glows along with all the wounds on his body. The blood scattered all over him slowly fade from existence, the wounds closing up, leaving behind his tattered clothes. Sam sighs, moving a strand of red hair out of Yuuya's face. Damian watches the entire scene with concerned eyes before he snaps his head forward when he hears a cough. Gunter eyes sadden as he tries again, "Son, drop the sword. Yuuya needs you." Damian narrows his eyes, sneaking a glance behind him, Sam wearing a concerned look as well. Yuuya's unconscious face draws his attention, making himself face grow more sad and worried. Damian sighs and drops his sword, moving closer to the pair behind him while raising his hands up. "Fine, but if you hurt him, I'll fuckin burn you all." Seeing all the adventurers surrender, the knights close in, slamming everyone to the ground as they cuff them behind their backs. A few shout in disagreement while others accept their fate quietly. Damian grunts as he feels cold metal slap on his wrists and neck, his mana being cut off. "Oof! Don't touch him!" Sam loudly shouts as he too is being cuffed, watching with scared eyes as a pair of knights hover over the beast-man, uncertain if they should even touch the sleeping man. "Cuff him too, make sure he can't move when he wakes up. I want his magic locked up." Yuuya is cuffed in the same fashion with the one difference that his legs were also bound. Once everyone is on their feet, Yuuya being on stretcher, they all march through the wreckage of the battle and head to the castle. Their fates uncertain.