Chapter 2: Why We Fight

Chapter 2:
Why We Fight

 

“WHOA, GADHIO, you have a kid??”

“No, I… Listen, Hallom, didn’t I tell you to not call me Daddy?” Gadhio gently patted the girl’s head as he spoke. He seemed so at ease, so familiar with her that they certainly looked like father and daughter, whatever their actual connection was.

“Daddy is my daddy. Besides, Mommy agreed!” Hallom puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

Gadhio stood there smiling wryly to himself when a red-haired woman in her thirties approached the door. “Welcome home, Gadhio,” she said.

“Oh, hi, Kleyna.”

Flum figured this must be his wife.

“C’mon, just let her call you Daddy.”

“I can’t. It wouldn’t be right to Sohma.”

“Sohma…and Tia too, right? Gah. Sometimes you’re too faithful for your own good, you know.”

“Can we talk about this later? We have a guest.”

“Ah, I see.” Kleyna finally took notice of Flum’s presence. “Sorry for discussing such heavy matters before you. How rude of me. You wouldn’t happen to be Flum, would you? Gadhio’s told me so much about you and how talented you are.”

Flum blushed at the sudden compliment but accepted it graciously. She’d grown a lot since her days of completely zeroed out stats and no grasp of the Cavalier Arts to speak of.

“Anyway, this is no place to sit around and chat. Please, come inside. Will you take her to the parlor, Gadhio?”

“Right. We’ve got a lot to discuss, so I’d appreciate it if you could give us some privacy.”

“Aaah, that kind of conversation. Gotcha.”

Hallom pouted. “Awww, but I wanted to play with Daddy!”

Gadhio hefted the girl up and passed her over to Kleyna. The girl looked to be around six, maybe seven years old. She couldn’t have been light, and yet Kleyna handled her with ease. Flum noticed scars on Kleyna’s arms—marks of someone who used to live as an adventurer, maybe? Perhaps she and Gadhio were old friends.

“Right, right. Daddy will play with you a bit later, so why don’t you play with Mommy for a while.”

“I’m bored of playing with Mommy. I want Daddy!!!”

Kleyna lifted the squirming child up and over her shoulder even as she continued to protest. Holding the girl in place seemed easy enough for her as they both disappeared farther into the house. Flum, still in shock over what she’d just witnessed stared blankly at the now-empty doorway.

“C’mon, Flum.”

“R-right!”

Flum had to follow at a slow jog just to keep up with Gadhio’s impressive stride.

 

***

 

Expensive-looking paintings and a large chandelier adorned the parlor’s walls and ceiling. A gasp of surprise escaped Flum’s lips as she sat on the perfectly padded sofa. Everywhere she looked were signs of extravagant wealth, verging on excess at some points. Nothing in the room seemed to match the Gadhio she knew.

Gadhio let out a sigh and sat down across from Flum. “I was supposed to just get you up to speed about the church and hand off some gear.”

“Gear?”

“There’s a lot of gear we’ve acquired over the years out in the storehouse. Some of it is cursed, so I figured it might be of use to you.”

“You’re just going to give it to me?”

“It’s of no use to me.”

“Thank you! I’m more than happy to take it off your hands.”

The majority of adventurers tended to simply throw away cursed gear or, in cases where the curse was particularly extreme, auction them off as curiosities. She’d seen some of these items during her market runs, but so far, nothing really caught her eye. Meanwhile, the equipment she was currently wearing had been dug out of a pile of corpses, so she was more than happy to accept Gadhio’s offer.

“But that’ll have to wait until later. I’m sure you’re wondering about who that girl back there was.”

“Of course I am.”

After all, he was living with a woman who clearly wasn’t his wife and a young girl he insisted wasn’t his daughter. Flum’s head felt like it might burst from all the bizarre explanations running through her mind.

“Kleyna is Sohma’s wife. Sohma was a good friend of mine, and Hallom is their child. He died fighting a monster six years ago.”

The pieces began to fall into place for Flum. Assuming Hallom was seven years old or so, that’d mean Gadhio was the only father she really knew. That explained why she called him Daddy, but Kleyna…what about her?

“Was Sohma a strong warrior like you?”

“Even stronger. He was our team leader.”

“You were on a team?”

“Sohma, Kleyna, Tia, Jaine, Louh, and me. Three S-Rank and three A-Rank adventurers. We prided ourselves on never losing a battle, no matter who we found ourselves up against. Pure arrogance on our part.”

That was hardly arrogance. With three S-Rank adventurers on the team, they were stronger than pretty much anyone else around.

“In fact, we built this house for the six of us.”

“Wow, you were all so close that you even lived together?”

“We just loved each other’s company. Tia and I had just recently gotten married. We were in the prime of our lives.” A sad look overtook Gadhio’s face as he gazed down at the table in front of him.

“You were married?”

“Well, Sohma and Kleyna got hitched, so I figured I might as well be, too. Tia died only a short while after I vowed to protect her with my heart and soul. I was a feckless coward.” His voice was filled with anger and resentment.

“I’m guessing they don’t live here anymore… What happened?”

“Six years ago, we took on a mission to slay a dragon. We joked on the way there about how it’d be a cakewalk. We’d be back home in the capital in no time. Hallom was still so young—not even one at the time—so Kleyna stayed home. But the creature we ran into was no ordinary dragon.” Gadhio took a deep breath as the memories came flooding back. His voice grew strained. “It was a creature with a helix where its face should have been.”

“You fought against a monster possessed by an Origin core six years ago??” Flum couldn’t stop herself from blurting out.

Gadhio responded with a grave nod. “We never even saw it strike. Jaine and Louh died instantly, but Sohma fought on even as his body was pulped inside his armor. Tia took the hit that was meant for me. It pierced right through her heart. I was the only one to walk away.”

Even six years later, the pain was clearly still fresh. Flum doubted Gadhio would ever forgive himself as long as he lived.

“I ran for my life. My peers called me a coward the moment I set foot in the capital again. They weren’t wrong, of course. I was a coward. What else would you call someone who left their friends and wife behind to save themselves?” Gadhio clenched his jaw and squeezed his hand into a tight fist. “I made my way back to the place we were attacked to at least try to make things right with a proper burial, but all I found was Sohma’s armor and sword. I never had a chance to bring my wife home.”

The regret in his voice was palpable.

“I devoted myself to the sword to ensure I would never again commit such a sin. As long as I wear Sohma’s armor and wield his sword, I will remember how low I sank and remember to go no lower. It doesn’t lessen the pain, but my feelings don’t figure into it.”

Flum was at a loss for words. She’d only known Gadhio for about six months. What could she even say? Her mind raced.

“No matter what your past may hold, you’re still a hero to me, Gadhio. I could never think of you as a coward!”

Her words were harmless but pointless. Flum was annoyed at herself for not being able to come up with anything more meaningful, but even so, Gadhio’s expression softened slightly, as if her intent had gotten through just the same. He began to look like his normal self.

“You’re really too kind, kiddo.”

“No, I just…”

“Anyway, enough of this sob story. We have other things to discuss.”

“About the church, right? Is there more than what we already talked about?”

“Correct. There are a few more things I learned back at the Cathedral. I should have told you right after our battle, but I wasn’t in the best condition to assemble a coherent sentence at the time. I needed time to collect my thoughts.”

Gadhio had been targeted by the eye-swarm because of the intel he gathered on the Children when he snuck into the Cathedral. It was pretty impressive that he still remembered the details of what he found, considering the circumstances.

“I don’t have the full story, but apparently there are three research teams working with these cores.”

“I heard from Ottilie that there were multiple teams, and only one’s responsible for the Spiral Children,” Flum said.

Gadhio nodded. “Within the church, that team is referred to as the ‘Children,’ due to the nature of their work. ‘Necromancy’ and ‘Chimera’ are the other two.”

“The names alone creep me out.” Flum felt a chill run up her spine.

“Team Necromancy has been working on using spiral cores to raise the dead as front-line soldiers. Dafydd Chalmas is their leader.”

“I think I remember Ottilie telling me something about researchers named Dafydd and Echidna going in and out of the Cathedral…”

“Echidna oversees team Chimera. Each team also has a cardinal assigned to it.”

“Those are the ones who report directly to the pope, right? I remember hearing there were around five of them.”

“Cardinal Talchi Kanswolker manages the church land and buildings. He’s also in charge of the Necromancy project.”

“So he’s pulling double duty? I guess they must be running short of hands.”

“He’s likely just an observer, not a manager. Researchers tend to get carried away—take how Ink was handled, for example. I doubt the church authorized that.”

All other evidence of human experiments had been handled with the utmost secrecy. No matter how useless Ink may have been to Mother, if the church was involved, there was no way they would have been as careless about handing her off to Flum as Mother had.

“I guess anyone conducting that kind of research must be a messed-up individual,” Flum said.

“I’d say the church is the most messed-up of them all, considering they’re the ones commissioning the research in the first place. Anyway, let’s get back on track. Team Chimera is studying the use of cores to transform creatures into monsters.”

“Sounds like they’re coming at it from a bunch of different directions. Do you know which cardinal’s in charge of Chimera?”

“Slowanach Seity. He oversees church personnel.”

“So another cardinal playing dual roles. And do you know who’s responsible for the Children project?”

“The records mentioned a Mich Smithee and Farmo Fimio. From what I’ve learned, Farmo is the head of the department that oversees healing.”

“Sounds like they’re all big players. I wonder if this Mich Smithee person is Mother?”

“It’s pretty likely. Besides the utility of taking on an alter-ego for a clandestine operation, it sounds like the person was intent on actually playing the role.”

“We only spoke briefly, but he was definitely an odd one. Now we know his name, it’ll be easier to track him down.”

“Correct. I plan on shadowing Mich Smithee. Losing their base of operations is sure to have stirred up the hornets’ nest.”

That was definitely true. Though there was still one point that Flum couldn’t quite get over. “Do…do you think that the creature that attacked you six years ago was part of the Chimera project?”

“They’re the only ones using monsters like that.”

So Chimera had been active outside the capital at least six years ago, if not longer. It was no great leap to infer that the Anichidey complex must have been theirs, too.

“Are you saying we should take Chimera out first?” Gadhio asked.

Flum gave a firm nod. She could only imagine the hatred Gadhio must have felt toward them. They took away not only his friends but his beloved wife as well.

“It’s true that I have a personal grudge with Chimera I mean to settle, no matter the cost, but the Children or Necromancy programs are equally guilty in my eyes.” Gadhio’s voice took on a low and menacing tone. “In the end, we’ll crush them all. I’ve dedicated my entire being to this end.”

He was already a skilled adventurer back when he was working with the rest of his teammates, but it was clear Gadhio had improved greatly since then. For six years, he’d poured his blood, sweat, and tears into getting to where he was now.

All for hate.

With no target to focus his anger on, he’d turned that hate into his strength. Now that he’d finally found his enemy, everything he’d kept bottled up was looking for a way out.

“And what about you, Flum?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m still not sure about what their endgame is, but it seems likely the church sent you on the great journey because of your unique ability to destroy Origin cores. They probably aren’t done with you yet.”

“That’s what I’ve been thinking, too.”

Not only was the church still after her power, but so was the so-called spirit of Origin…whatever that was. When the facility in Anichidey was abandoned over a decade ago, Flum had been just a little girl living an unremarkable life in her small village. And yet, she’d found her name in the facility’s notes. If they’d been fixated on her for that long, it was doubtful they’d give up so easily.

“I see that you’re willing to fight them one way or another,” Gadhio said. “But are you really prepared to take on such fanatics?”

The look on his face was grave, but the kindness behind his words showed through. Flum had only recently uncovered her true power. Combat took its toll not only on the body but on the spirit itself. Gadhio worried that Flum’s new, harsh reality would break her down with time.

“I’m not being reactive here. I have my own motivations.” Flum’s voice was steady and firm. She didn’t think of herself as “strong,” really. Rather, she considered herself capable of fighting as long and hard as she needed to simply because she had someone there to support her and someone to come back to. “I have Milkit, and I plan to live here in this city, together with her. That’s why I fight. I may not be as powerful as you, Gadhio, but I’m still prepared to give it my all.”

“This Milkit’s quite important to you, huh? Maybe even…” Gadhio paused for a moment before cutting himself short. “No, there’s no need to put a label on it. I’m just glad to know where you stand.”

“Right. So please remember that I’m here for you whenever you need it, Gadhio.”

Gadhio’s expression softened into a smile to match Flum’s. “I’ll be taking you up on that.”

 

***

 

After finishing their business in the parlor, Gadhio led Flum to the storehouse. The polished stone hallway glimmered beneath their feet, lined with vases, flowers, and busts. Each of the decorative doors she passed looked like works of art in their own right. Each individual item looked more expensive than Flum’s entire house.

They took a flight of stairs into the basement, where Gadhio opened a door and led Flum into a room full of wooden mannequins dressed in leather and plate armor, dresses, and robes of all manners and sizes. Up on the shelves were helmets, tiaras, gauntlets, boots, brooches, and other defensive equipment. A glass case was filled with neatly arranged accessories. The wall was covered in a wide variety of weapons, including single- and dual-handed swords, spears, hammers, maces, staffs, and bows.

Flum casually cast Scan and quickly realized that all the equipment was Legendary and Epic tier. The equipment in this room alone was worth more than the entire manor upstairs.

“This is absolutely amazing…”

“I know I should just get rid of it all, since it’s not doing me any good, but there are just too many memories for me to let go.”

Flum hazarded a guess that some of the equipment in the room had once been used by Gadhio’s friends and wife. Alas, the equipment that would really be useful to her wasn’t to be found in this room but in the one beyond.

The two moved into a smaller storeroom where all the cursed equipment had been carelessly dumped. The coppery tang of blood stung Flum’s nostrils as she knelt to examine the pile, spotting a steel gauntlet covered in blood. There were several other items like it in the heap.

“Louh had a thing for collecting stuff like this. All weird equipment, really.”

“He must’ve been a pretty interesting guy.”

Gadhio looked off wistfully into the distance. “We all told him to toss them out. Who would’ve thought that the day would come where it came in handy?”

Flum reached out toward the pile and cast Scan on each and every piece, feeling the stains that their previous owners left, even hearing the faint echoes of voices from days long past as she went through them.

Finally, she stopped at a helmet.

“Find something you like?”

“Your friend certainly acquired an impressive collection.”

“You seem to be conflicted, though.”

“I mean, if I’m going to take something, I can’t help but think that it should be an Epic tier. It’s… You’re really okay with me taking something like that, right?”

“The higher the tier, the stronger the curse becomes. And the stronger it is, the less use it is to me.”

“Well, that’s good, then.”

“So, just anything Epic tier?”

“No, not quite. I was thinking about this helmet, but…”

Flum showed the sharp-angled metal helmet to Gadhio. It was pitch-black and marked with purple streaks.

“The bizarre shape of it would really cut down on my peripheral vision. It’s not just cursed. There’s something else going on with it.”

She clanked the face guard open and shut several times.

“That’s true. Perhaps it was only meant for use as a decorative piece but wound up cursed anyway. It wouldn’t be so bad if you could just sense your enemy’s presence, of course.”

“I can’t really do that quite yet.”

If she could increase her Perception, then she could locate her foes without relying on her eyes, like Gadhio could do. But as it was, the helmet was of little use to Flum, so she set it back down. She could practically feel the hate radiating from it, but she ignored it and continued her casual inspection of the equipment.

“Hmm, now this…”

Flum held up a leather belt.

 

Name: Leather Belt of Wailing Agony

Tier: Epic

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Endurance by 363]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Agility by 212]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Perception by 749]

[This equipment removes its wearer’s resistance to poison]

[This equipment increases its wearer’s sense of pain]

 

Though it had quite the foreboding name, it looked like a normal dark, double-notched leather belt. Flum wondered for a moment if the color came from the blood of many victims, but it smelled completely normal, which ruled out that theory.

Judging by its thickness and length, it wasn’t for holding up pants. It seemed to be a decorative accessory, meant to wrap around your torso. She figured she could probably include it as a part of her daily wear, though she did worry about whether it would start screaming at socially inappropriate moments.

Well, she’d cross that bridge when she came to it.

“Are you sure you’re okay with it? The enchantment says it increases your sense of pain.” Gadhio watched Flum with a keen eye as she wrapped the belt around her torso.

Suddenly, she punched the stone floor with her fist. Blood pooled in her hand, and she felt the blow travel up through her bones. In seconds, her wounds closed, leaving her looking just as she did at the start.

“Hurts less than it used to. Reversal rules.”

Gadhio furrowed his brow at the sight of Flum hurting herself so casually. “Pain is meant to tell you when to stop. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I know. Besides, it’s not like I don’t feel any pain. In fact, I probably overdid it there.”

Gadhio remained concerned. Flum tended to intentionally put herself in harm’s way in a fight, an inevitable consequence of her Reversal ability, which required her to make physical contact with her target. Some might even consider that devil-may-care fighting style a tactical asset. Most people went into combat expecting their opponents to treat their bodies like the precious resources they were.

He could only hope this enchantment wouldn’t make her already bad tendencies worse.

 

Name: Cackling Slayer’s Damascus Gauntlet

Tier: Epic

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Strength by 1,312]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Magic by 674]

[This equipment lowers its wearer’s Perception by 377]

While Gadhio worried to himself, Flum picked up another piece of equipment: an angular gauntlet with spikes jutting out all the way down to the fingertips. Like most of the others, it was black. She wondered if the metal had gone black out of its deep-seated hatred for humanity, much like her Souleater blade had.

She was currently using a blood-stained steel gauntlet, but there was just no way she could keep it in the face of Epic equipment like this. Flum was a little sad to see it go, considering it was one of the first pieces of equipment she found after meeting Milkit, but it also seemed a bit odd to be sentimental about a blood-stained gauntlet.

As he pondered what to do with her unused equipment, Gadhio chimed in with a recommendation.

“Is that cursed, too? If you don’t need it anymore, you can just leave it here.”

“I’ll take you up on that!”

Flum whispered a word of thanks to the gauntlet that had seen her through so much before placing it on top of the pile of cursed equipment. She then took her two new pieces of Epic gear and looked them over.

The belt and gauntlet disappeared in a burst of light, and the symbol on the back of her hand gave off a gentle glow. Pulling up her shirt, she noticed a similar mark located just underneath her navel.

So now she had four items equipped and altering her stats.

 

Strength: 2,036

Magic: 1,267

Endurance: 1,572

Agility: 1,164

Perception: 1,315

 

With a total stat value of 7,354, this put her firmly among the mid-range, A-Rank adventurers. Quite an impressive change compared to where she’d been when Jean first sold her off.

Flum felt lighter on her feet, with more magic coursing through her, and as if all of her senses were finely honed.

“I’ll be taking these two then.”

“Sure thing. I’ve gotta admit, it must be pretty handy to be able to reverse negative status effects. Cursed equipment tends to inflict greater penalties than the bonuses offered by their non-cursed equivalents, so that must be a great boon for you.”

“It has its pros and cons.” Most people could improve their stats with continuous training, but Flum wasn’t so lucky. Put another way, this meant that she was so weak that, without the equipment she relied on, even an F-Rank monster could wipe her out. “I guess it’s convenient that I don’t really need to work at it to become more powerful.”

“Alas, the real world isn’t quite so simple.”

“I wish it were. It’s not like it hurts anyone.”

Gadhio let out a good-natured snort at this. “You could say that again.”

His voice carried a tinge of sadness.