Lassus Animus - Part 1

"Everyone alright?"

"Nyaa, we're good to go," Maera mewled quietly. She was as healthy as ever, but the droop of her tone and her eyelids alike showed just how much she was yearning for a catnap.

"Ready and rawring!" Mithra agreed, a little more chipper than her twin sister.

"Never better," Vallya crooned, blue flames circling her waist in a mirror of how Vallya herself was hovering protectively around the group.

"I have nearly returned to full functionality, Creator John." Aclysia stood stoically before the others, her shield raised, but her sword drooping. Her right arm was partially severed, bits and pieces of the marble showing through the large section that a pincer had crushed out of it. She showed no real signs of pain in the aftermath, but her arm was clearly not as reliable or steady as it should have been. She was putting on a brave face as a mini-boss resembling a mutated lobster emerged from the lake ahead of them, but despite her words, the wound wasn't much smaller than when it had been given to her.

"At ease, Aclysia." The words were gentle, but held the authority of a command. Aclysia remained frozen for a heartbeat, but when she felt John's fingers settling on the wrist of her sword arm, she reluctantly lowered her guard.

Vallya and the Nekos surged forward to meet the oncoming mini-boss and keep it out of range. While blue flames and a surging storm of red and white magical claws pelted the overgrown crustacean's outer shell, John stayed with Aclysia. He didn't miss the slight frown that twisted her lips, nor the way her eyes lingered on the gradually reforming segment of her arm.

"You did exceptionally well, Aclysia," John comforted, his fingers gliding over her skin, avoiding the wound itself. "By the time they finish with this creature, we'll have made it the full eight hours."

John let his eyes linger on the wound as he spoke, a blend of fascination and concern settled on his features. The interior of her body might have looked beautiful, if it hadn't been unnerving to see it exposed like that. The marble that made up her inner structure now glistened and sparkled with magical light, as if glitter and stardust had been mixed into the original structure. Her body seemed to have absorbed and altered itself due to either the amount or the power of the materials that Aclysia had consumed.

"I'm unsure of how much my efforts contributed. But I appreciate your intentions, Creator John." Aclysia looked over her equipment, then back at the ongoing fight. "I understand now why Vallya was growing impatient before. My fighting style is quite slow and awkward compared to theirs."

Vallya was weaving between claw strikes and the occasional bite attempt flawlessly, not losing so much as a hair from her tails as she zipped and weaved along, all while pummeling their foe with a barrage of pink and blue fireballs. Maera and Mithra were taking advantage of the creature's lost focus, taking free reign over its lower section, every blow they landed strong enough to shatter bits of its purple exoskeleton.

"Your fighting style is more defensive than theirs, so maybe slower, but it's far from awkward. Honestly, you've improved a lot faster with your swordsmanship than I did."

"I probably picked up one too many bad ideas from games..."

"Perhaps. It is still impressive to see them 'cutting loose'. I did not realize your allies were so strong," Aclysia noted.

"Maybe I should have let you see them really go all out before I let you eat all those enchanting materials," John mused. "You're a lot stronger now, so you can track what they're doing. Before, all you'd have seen of Vallya was a blur. I don't get weakened nearly as much as I used to by Reincarnation, but I still catch little glimpses of it after a reset."

"I have been meaning to ask—why do you use this 'Reincarnation' technique of yours if it causes you to become weaker, Creator John? I have not witnessed a similar method by the others, nor have you advised me to do so."

"Right, uh, it's unique to me, so it's not something anybody else really has to worry about. It's part of the powers Gaia gave me. Or maybe Dike? I was never clear on how much each of them helped," John explained. "I have to 'reset' myself every now and then, otherwise I hit a hard limit on how much stronger I can get. It's fine most of the time, and I get a few other bonuses to offset the lost stats—like Completion XP from dungeons so I don't fall behind the others—but it does leave me a little ****. That's why even when we're not preparing for a war, I usually do it right before a lot of training."

"I see. Why do you believe that Gaia would-" Aclysia stopped herself short as the mini-boss impacted the wall not far from where they were standing, showering them in rubble. "-would have given you that ability?"

"I don't really know," John admitted. The two of them walked away from the site of the boss' crash landing almost casually, stepping out of fighting distance again while Maera, Mithra, and Vallya pummeled the creature mercilessly. "There are a lot of late-bloomers, but none of them break the rules of the Abyss like I seem to. I don't know why she gave me my powers. Maybe she sees something in me that I haven't figured out yet, or maybe it was just random chance. I assume she has a plan, but I'll be damned if I know what it is."

"There are many theological questions, to be sure. But I was not referring to all of your abilities, only your Reincarnation," Aclysia clarified.

"What do you mean?"

"The rest of your abilities make you stronger. This one, however, makes you weaker. You even pointed out that you require additional bonuses to compensate," Aclysia said. "Have you found a limit to how powerful the others can grow?"

"No, I don't think so," John drawled slowly, trying to figure out where Aclysia was heading with this. "In fact, I seem to be running into more and more people that are completely out of my league. And as far as I'm aware, they're still growing."

"I see," Aclysia murmured. John expected her to continue, but the silence reigned for several seconds, interrupted only by the dungeon completion notifications that arose. John dismissed them without even bothering to read the level-up messages or the reward screen, eyes never leaving the artificial woman before him.

"Do you think you might have an idea yourself?" John's question was as innocent as could be, but it seemed to startle the ivory-haired woman.

"I do not think I know your abilities any better than you, Creator John," Aclysia mumbled hastily. "I apologize if I gave you that impression. I simply noticed the difference in how it functions compared to your other abilities, now that I'm seeing it in person, and was curious."

"It's not a bad observation," John said, tilting his head from side-to-side. "I just haven't had much luck figuring out the meaning behind it all. I still don't even fully understand how abilities like Purify work; they seem to break their own rules text on occasion. I don't think I'm going to be the one to crack the motivations of a goddess."

The Dungeon Barrier around them faded away around the time that the others rejoined them. Maera and Mithra were still bouncing slightly on the balls of their feet, but with the final enemy vanquished, their enthusiasm was already noticeably beginning to wane. Vallya was shimmering from the coating of sweat she'd worked up, both through the night and from that last mini-boss, but she was smiling as brightly as when they'd begun.

"No problems tonight, Master! Even kept my cool when they tried to disarm our protector," Vallya noted, floating lower until her heels touched down quietly on the forest floor next to Aclysia. "How are you doing, by the way?"

"My structure is repairing itself rapidly. I believe I would have regained full integrity well before the final enemy of our next dungeon, if we were not already out of time," Aclysia droned evenly. "But I appreciate your concern for my well-being."

"Of course! You're not the only protector here, y'know. Star Guardian isn't just a title. I'm the original defender for this place; just because you picked up a shield doesn't mean I can start slacking. You got that, everyone? As long as I'm here, you've got nothing to worry about!"

Vallya threw a V-sign as she struck a confident pose to reinforce her words. Aclysia gave no reaction except a nod of quiet gratitude. The Nekos didn't react at all; they were both curling up under a tree, so eager for a nap they decided to take it outside rather than wait to return home. Vallya pouted for a moment, but her disappointment faded when she noticed the broad smile on John's face.

"Geez, at least someone appreciates a little morale boost around here," Vallya complained. She rolled her eyes as she turned toward the deeper section of the forest, lifting into the air once again.

"Vallya," John called before she could get too far. "I really do appreciate you. You've been doing great these past few days. I'm proud of you."

Vallya turned her neck enough to look back at them, and for a moment, she looked to be caught off-guard. Genuine astonishment colored her features for the briefest of flickers. Then it was swiftly hidden away, buried beneath familiar confidence.

"Nice of you to say. Just don't sound so surprised next time. A Star Guardian always aims to impress." Vallya gave him a wink, then she was gone, vanishing into the trees even more swiftly now.

"I fear I do not fully understand all of your creations yet, Creator John," Aclysia murmured, eyes still locked on the shadows of the forest. Her gaze was a little too pinpoint to simply be staring at the spot that Vallya had last been, but all John could make out were shadows and swaying leaves.

"You and me both, Aclysia," John sighed. "Come on. The Nekos know how to get themselves home, we can leave them here for now. If we delay any longer I'll be late to the manor, and the Lady herself help me if I keep Kim waiting two days in a row…"

"The Lady herself will not be able to help you if you continue this delay, Moira Brighton!"

Kim's voice rang out with the authoritative tone of a general commanding her army. It was a poor match for the annoyed, almost pouty look on her face. Moira did her best to ignore the Slayer's irksome impatience, but John didn't miss the twitch at the corner of her mouth, nor the way her eye twitched slightly as she did her best to continue.

"Currently, our best approach seems to be sending my father ahead with a small contingent of the Order's forces. If all goes well, based on the location she indicated, they should be able to rendezvous with Adantia inside of three days, and have her back up to full strength well before we arrive at the front. Do you have any questions?"

"None that would change the mission," John muttered. He held the tablet Tricia had delivered a little closer, inspecting the scribbled planning lines more closely. "Besides, if you thought I had any valuable input, I assume you'd have called me for this?"

"I may think your training regimen rather foolish, but I would prefer to interrupt it and cloud your thoughts as little as possible," Moira grumbled. "Lady knows how well that went for us yesterday. But yes, I suppose it's true that if I believed there were better options, I might have been more diligent in seeking them out…"

"Then I see no reason to delay any further."

"At last, something we can agree on," Kim groaned, continuing her rapid pacing around the perimeter of the room. Etriyya smirked broadly at the Slayer's interjection, but was obedient and disciplined enough to remain silent herself.

"Ahem," John growled, "it's not as though there are many other options. Adantia is going to need the full might of the Order to get her back in fighting shape. And she's still our best shot at winning this war, whether she screwed up or not."

"If only what she did was as minor as having 'screwed up'," Moira said, the words coming out through clenched teeth. "But I fear you are right all the same. I'll order my father and our best healers to depart at once. That only leaves us with the matter of Julianna."

"Yeah. Have you actually had the chance to speak with her, then?"

"Late last night, yes," Moira confirmed. "She and the Forgotten Legion arrived in Springfield shortly after midnight. I formally invited her to join us at the manor today."

"Should we wait for her?" The word 'wait' alone was enough to elicit a growl from Kim, but the two ignored the frustrated sound.

"No. Julianna agreed to join us once I convinced her it was worth her time to make the trip, but the trip was long, and they weren't exactly packing light," Moira explained. "They weren't intending to return, and it sounds as if they took everything with them when they left, other than the buildings themselves. She will need time to get her followers in order and settled back in. They may also come into conflict with mages, if anyone's thought to take refuge in their former homes after their departure. I left instructions with the guards to stand by in this room to alert us between dungeons if she arrives. They'll keep her in a waiting room until then."

"Sounds good to me," John said. "I appreciate you letting me know. I'll make sure not to jump between dungeons without a breather. But now I think we'd better get a move on before Kim explodes."

"I do not explode. I slay," Kim hissed. "So give me something to slay, before I decide you're a fine practice dummy, John Newman!"

John waited until they had started the first dungeon proper to explain that he'd recently Reincarnated, and they were going to be going up against weaker enemies for a while. Kim was visibly irritated, but she seemed to understand that even the lowest level dungeons were still a faster way for her to improve than normal training. Oddly, Etriyya was the one most upset about it. Three dungeons in, as her sword cleaved a satyr in two with hardly a tug of resistance, her annoyance was powerful enough to be felt in every movement of her body.

"Rotten bastards barely put up a fight. You could piss off to have a wank mid-fight and they'd still be lucky to land a hit," Ettriya grumbled, making a rather bored looking swing with her left arm to cave in the face of another one approaching from her left side.

"They still give experience. It's less, but they're also a hell of a lot faster to kill. It evens out more than you'd think." John stayed by Etriyya's side, his hands resting at his hips while his blade dueled two of the creatures on its own, taking the opportunity to practice using the Rune of Puppetteering while he had few other uses for the mana.

"I don't just need to get stronger, I need to work on my magic!"

"That's exactly what I'm doing. Learning new stuff all the time," John mused as his sword whirled, blocking two strikes and delivering a fatal cut in the same motion. "Like the fact that I really can't move the sword any faster with my mind than with my hand. Might be tied to Intelligence or Wisdom? But I can move it so freely that it's still better. Lacks a lot of momentum and **** though."

"That hardly counts as an offensive spell. You're training your swordsmanship, if anything," Etriyya berated. Three of the satyrs approached, devilish-looking pitchforks in hand; she barely even seemed to break her stride as she cleaved her way through them. "I have no need to practice my Order incantations; I memorized them decades ago, and I've no hope of advancing enough to learn the greater evocations with what little time we have. Even if I did, the same issue would persist. What would I learn in using a nuclear bomb to eradicate a mouse infestation?!"

Etriyya effortlessly guarded herself from the approaching Satyrs. She parried the first two weapons as they came at her, then slammed her shield into the third so hard it shattered on contact, each prong breaking off, then a large section of the weapon's shaft itself.

"The same thing you'd learn using it against a training dummy?" John suggested. He kept his eyes forward as they spoke, focusing on the next wave of enemies ahead, trusting Etriyya not to let one of the goat-men sneak past her guard behind him.

"Exactly the point," Etriyya huffed.

"I don't really understand why the target being able to put up a good fight matters." John rolled his eyes, though he refocused his gaze when he lost control of the blade for a moment and one of the Satyrs started to charge him. "What type of spell are you trying to master, anyway?"

"A few incantations passed down through the MacGabhann lines for generations." There was a tension to Etriyya's voice as she spoke, a resentment, or so it sounded. "Ones I can't just go looking for a tutor for. I need to understand them the way I do the Order's incantations, if I'm to have a chance."

"Rather grim outlook," John replied dourly to the last words. He could understand the rest to an extent, even if he disagreed. A small part of him wanted to encourage her to reach out to her family, but the mere idea of meddling in her past again filled his mouth with sickly-sweet bile.

"We're in a rather grim situation. And we can't all go off like hotheads, trusting that we're just so goddamn special we'll make it through fine." The tension grew, the anger became more heated, but now it didn't seem to be pointed at old family ties.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to seem rash, I-"

"Wha? Oh, you daft- never mind," Etriyya huffed. John didn't look, but he heard the clanking of a gauntlet being flippantly waved in his direction. "I'm not talking about you. Well, not just you, leastways. Don't worry about it; I'd rather strip off in front of you again than take another dive into my clan's history with you."

"I... think we can probably skip over both of those."

"See? Moira's wrong, you can learn!"

This time, John did turn, and he met her grin with a withering glare. Etriyya just laughed, and then turned her attention away as Kim and Moira together gutted the last cluster of satyrs, unleashing the mini-boss.

"Lady Warden, Lady Julianna arrived while you were gone. And she's growing quite impatient. Would you like us to-" The knight that had been waiting at attention started speaking before the real world had fully returned, her hand slapping against her chest with a formal, well-rehearsed gesture. Yet she hadn’t even finished her question before the answer began, Moira's reaction coming as swiftly as her interjection.

"Send her in," Moira ordered, jerking her chin toward her subordinate. "Tell her to be prepared for combat when she arrives. If you think it's going to take her more than a few minutes, return and inform us."

"I don't think that will be necessary, Lady Warden," the woman murmured, a little less formally, and with a little more of her nerves seeping through. "Lady Julianna has been rather restless since we escorted her to the waiting room. We were beginning to worry we might need to bring in knights to restrain her."

"At ease, Knight Hutchinson. Julianna can be frightening, but she has more tact than most." Despite her words, Moira's brows came together. The redhead's eyes traveled along the elegant wallpaper, tracing the path to the waiting room nearby. "She's probably irritable, and skeptical of all this on top of it, but she isn't going to start a fight over being riled up. Go and fetch her for us. And do it quickly, so that I don't have to listen to your knees knocking any more, soldier!"

"Yes, Lady Warden!" The knight didn't look particularly convinced of Julianna's harmlessness. All the same, Moira's shift in tone made it clear which woman she needed to fear more. She scuttled out of the room as quickly as her legs could carry her, clanking all the way.

"So, we gonna discuss what to tell her if she asks questions?" Etriyya asked, glancing around in search of an answer. "Soon as she gets one of these 'level ups', she's probably gonna be more than a bit curious. Probably gonna be a little shocking no matter how much detail you gave her last night, Lady Warden."

"These are John's abilities," Moira answered simply. "John is the one who best understands them, and the one who has the most to lose by making public their extent. We will allow him to handle any of Julianna's curiosities, it is as simple as that."

"As long as we make it clear that it's not really useful to mages far stronger than us, I don't imagine-" John was interrupted before he could finish the elaboration. The door clattered as it was swung open with an air of authority, revealing an imposing silhouette. Julianna Balventia's eyes scanned the room as she approached, and she showed no signs of looking impressed by what she saw. John had only met Julianna a handful of times, all of them well over a year ago now, but she could've been lifted directly from his memories for all that seemed to have changed.

While nowhere near as towering as Sophia, Julianna's head nearly brushed the door's frame as she entered, and she was easily the tallest person in the room. Her armor looked like metal, but it hardly resembled the thick plate of the Order or John's personal gear. It was a deep, crimson red, and it molded to her body like a second skin, stretching and flexing as she walked and hardly making a sound from the movement, with only the most vital of areas covered by thicker, more traditional-looking armor. A massive gem jutted out from the center of her chest, a purple one the size of John's fist, glimmering in the light with each strut of her long legs.

"Lady Brighton, Lady Moon," Julianna intoned, nodding at each of them, before her eyes turned to John. There was nothing but cold evaluation in her gaze. "And you as well, John Newman. I will bear no false pleasantries. My soldiers have been convinced to return to this city by absurd events that I am still **** to believe in their entirety. Now I have been convinced to journey to this manor by the words of your Warden, rather than attend to my men. I pray that you have not wasted my time, and that we will not waste any more of it with overindulgent conversation."

John could feel Kim's wicked smile spread.