The Midnight Leave: What It Means to Be Human

When it opened its eyes and awoke from a much-needed slumber, the Chimera found itself in yet another dungeon. However, there were no longer the bars of a cage surrounding it; instead, a magic circle glowed beneath it, weakening it to the point that it was barely capable of movement. It had no chance of escaping in its state.

MY APOLOGIES, the Demon Chernos spoke in the mind of the Chimera, I STATED THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO FREE YOU, BUT WE HAVE ENDED UP TRAPPED WITHIN ANOTHER DUNGEON.

I do not blame you, the Chimera’s mind replied, while its eyes scanned the area to find nothing else but darkened earth surrounding it. These damned Humans are tenacious…

REGARDLESS, WE HAD A DEAL AND I WILL MAKE SURE TO HONOR IT. IF NOT FOR YOUR COOPERATION, I WOULD HAVE BEEN EJECTED FROM THIS WORLD BEFORE GETTING A CHANCE TO SEARCH FOR THE ‘GATES.’ THOSE OBSTACLES MAY HAVE PROVEN THEMSELVES MORE STUBBORN, BUT THEY OUR STILL NO MATCH FOR OUR COMBINED POWERS.

I have no qualms about continuing to work with you, Chernos. Especially if it means getting back at those Humans… But there is currently no way out, as we are currently impaired on top of being restrained.

Upon further observation of their surroundings, they noticed particular minerals sprinkled within the darkened earth. They emitted a particular glow, as if they were reflecting the light of the sun in spite of no such light being present underground.

I SEE… SO THAT’S WHAT THEY CALL ‘ORICHALCUM.’ I CAN SENSE THE LAW OF PURITY’S INFLUENCE RADIATING FROM THOSE ORES.

The ‘Law of Purity?’ The Chimera inquired.

FOR THOSE OF THIS WORLD, THE LAWS OF NATURE ARE METAPHYSICAL CONSTRUCTS SHAPING THEIR REALITY. FOR THOSE OF MY ILK, HOWEVER, THERE ARE ACTUAL ENTITIES THAT REPRESENT AND ENFORCE THOSE LAWS. THE LAW OF PURITY, KNOWN AS THE ‘INFERNO OF PURGATORY’ IN THE REALM I’M FROM, IS NOT OF THIS WORLD BUT ITS POWER HAS INFLUENCED THE EARTH HERE, IT SEEMS. HOW INTRIGUING…

Based on how you described them, they sound like ‘Deities.’

The Demon dismissed the Chimera’s comment, putting focus back on their surroundings as it changed the subject.

THOSE HUMANS SURE ARE SHREWD… RESTRAINING OUR MOVEMENTS WITH MAGIC WHILE ALSO SURROUNDING US WITH METALS THAT RESTRICT OUR INFLUENCE; THEY TRIED TO ACCOUNT FOR EVERYTHING. HOWEVER, THE QUESTION IS WHY THEY WENT THROUGH ALL OF THIS TROUBLE IN THE FIRST PLACE, RATHER THAN KILLING US OUTRIGHT.

This time, it was actually the Chimera that held information that the Demon lacked.

It has something to do with the experiments that their King has been pushing. Something about separating a spirit from its vessel…

I UNDERSTAND, Chernos interrupted the Chimera, BUT WE’LL HAVE TO DISCUSS IT ANOTHER TIME. SOMEONE APPROACHES…

With the Chimera’s mind silenced, the echoes of footsteps both gradually increased in volume and decreased in distance. Then, the chamber was suddenly illuminated by candles lined along the walls, lighting up one after another as a figure drew near the Supernatural duo. Of course, even at a distance and without the light, their Mutant eyes already recognized the figure of the King of Slayers, Demetrius Demkil, as well as the fact that he was armed and prepared for a battle.

DO NOT SPEAK A WORD TO THIS MAN, the Demon warned. I SHALL HANDLE ANY COMMUNICATION WITH HIM, IF AT ALL. IT’S BEST THAT WE FOOL HIM INTO THINKING THAT ONLY ONE IS IN POSSESSION OF THIS BODY, FOR NOW.

The Chimera agreed without a response, keeping its eyes on the King as he stopped to stand before them.

“Do you have a name?” The King of Demkil asked the Chimera, who chose to remain silent. “Well, I suppose not. There’s no point in Monsters having names, now is there? Still, I must address you as something… Ah, I’ll think of it later.”

King Demetrius proceeded to pace around them with his black and silver mantle lightly billowing behind him, showing no concern as he knew that they were unable to strike him, as long as he was outside of the magic circle they were stuck within.

“I can assume that you at least understand what I’m saying to you, since my Slayers that encountered you reported that you could speak our language. If you have enough intelligence for that, then you may have already figured out why you were brought here.”

Still, no response from the Chimera, or the Demon within it. Though, the King didn’t seem to mind whether or not they spoke to him.

“I’ll make it simple, just in case…”

Then, he stopped pacing as he stood before the Mutant again, pulling his sword, still sheathed, from his waist and resting its tip against the ground as he held the pommel like it was a cane.

“My Slayers also reported that you were capable of transforming. I want you to show me.”

The King tapped the tip of his scabbard against the ground twice, and then the magic circle underneath the Chimera began to extend until he was also within it. This, of course, allowed the First Tier to move more freely as it regained only some of its strength, but it was enough for the beast to lunge at the man as soon as it got the chance! However, its claws only managed to tear through the mantle that King Demetrius discarded while he moved away from its pounce. As the Chimera turned back to the King, he drew his sword and tossed aside the sheath, preparing himself for another attack.

The Chimera didn’t attack again, at least not immediately; it watched its target carefully, uncertain of how he was able to move away so swiftly. In turn, the King held up his guard, awaiting the Monster’s next attack while showing no intention of going on the offensive himself. Eventually, the Chimera ran out of patience and attacked again, attempting to swipe away the sword from King Demetrius’s hands. However, not only did the King’s grip proved to be stronger than expected, but the beast’s claw was also deflected!

Usually, that wouldn’t be much of a surprise; the Chimera and Demon both had already learned that they couldn’t underestimate Humans, as they witnessed firsthand how their persistence could grant them more strength, both physically and spiritually. They were able to assess how much difficulty they would have with their prey by examining the quality of their aura. Therein lied the problem: they couldn’t read the King’s aura at all.

That didn’t mean he had no aura like “Axis Demkil,” but rather that the Supernatural duo couldn’t properly measure his aura. Usually, the quality of one’s aura depends on its area of effect and the strength of its influence, which would gauge how many could be affected and by how much. For example, the most charismatic person would have an aura large enough to encompass however many allies, and effective enough to boost all of their morale with words alone. For the average person, the aura is a thin layer outlining their physical form.

The auras of the previous Slayers that Chernos and the Chimera faced seemed weak at first, but increased in potency as the battle went on. However, as the King continued to parry the Mutant’s claws effortlessly, it didn’t seem as if there had been any increase in his aura since his arrival. In fact, it didn’t seem as if he was utilizing his aura at all, even while defending himself. That’s when the Monsters realized how dangerous their foe truly was.

“Have you started to realize it, yet?” The King asked the Chimera during their standoff. “I’ve been suppressing my power to be even with your own. You see, I have the unique ability to control the effectiveness of my aura. I can strengthen and weaken it at my leisure, without it having a huge effect on my stamina. In other words, you won’t succeed in escaping from this place without transforming.”

The Chimera showed no reaction to King Demetrius’s words, and in spite of them, along with its own realization, it continued to swing at him to no avail. When its claws swung high, he repelled them, and when its fangs aimed for his legs, he jumped away to avoid them and rolled across the ground to get behind the beast. Then, its draconic tail blew out smoke to disorient the King.

“Clever, but it’s no use!”

Then, the aura of the King of Slayers suddenly surged when he swung his blade, not only blowing away the smoke with the force behind it, but that same force managed to also knock the Chimera off its feet! Of course, it was able to recover quickly enough to scramble back onto its feet, which only proved that the King still held back.

“Did you think I was bluffing? I meant it when I said you won’t succeed without transforming. I’ll show you again.”

Then, he suddenly took the offensive by charging at the Chimera while restraining his aura again. As soon as he closed the distance, the Chimera planned to breathe fire on him as retaliation, but then his aura suddenly escalated yet again, and he once again swung his blade to amputate one of the beast’s legs from its body. Once again, the Chimera fell, and this time it wasn’t able to recover as quickly.

“There you have it. Do you understand now? You will show me your transformation, unless you have resigned yourself to your death in this place. Even so, I won’t allow it until after I’ve seen what I’ve come here to see. Now, hurry up.”

The King started pacing around the Chimera as he waited for its next move, while it continued to struggle with its injury. Within its mind, unbeknownst to King Demetrius, the Chimera and the Demon plotted.

It seems that we have no choice but to transform now, Chernos. It will take too long to heal otherwise, and I don’t see this man leaving us alone again. With our full power, we’ll be able to overwhelm him!

YOU FORGET THAT THE EARTH SURROUNDING US RESTRICTS OUR INFLUENCE…

Even so, the Chimera insisted, this man was correct when he said that we wouldn’t be able to escape as we are! Aside from that, I doubt our transformation is all he wishes to see, so he’ll continue holding himself back! We can take advantage of this!

Chernos took some time to consider their options before responding. After a long pause, the Demon finally agreed.

THEN, SO BE IT.