Chapter 24: The Hangover
[Ugh... My head what happened?] - Rose
[T-This is!] - Rose
Holding my pounding head as consciousness slowly returned to me I looked at my surroundings only to be surprised at what I saw. The room I was in was familiar to me, in fact it was somewhere I had thought I would never see again. My apartment bedroom.
[Big Sis! Breakfast is ready!] - Familiar Voice
[Don't tell me you're still in bed!] - Familiar Voice
Still reeling from the throbbing pain coming from my brain I slowly made my way to the too small door, opening it onto a hallway clearly not meant for me. Making my way towards the kitchen and the familiar humming emanating from it I caught myself on the wall as my dizziness got the better of me.
[Oh? Big Sis is that you? Go ahead and wash up first. Breakfast is just about done.] - Familiar Voice
Ignoring the instructions coming from the voice I knew but couldn't place I continued on to the kitchen. A pretty red head with visible freckles on her exposed neck was facing away from me as I hesitantly reached for her shoulder. I hesitated for a moment before finally making the decision to grab her shoulder and turn the familiar person to face me.
Horror. If I had to describe what I was seeing in one word that would be it. Backing away from the "person" I had turned around I felt a overwhelming mixture of disgust and fear. Where the face I had expected to see was supposed to be was instead a blank void of tight skin covering "her" face.
[What's wrong Big Sis? You look sick.] - Faceless Monster
[W-What are you? Why do you sound like her?!?] - Rose
[w̴̡̧̲̦̝̮͙̄͂͛̓̉͆̂̌̆̚͘͝ͅH̴̡̡̻͎͈̝̏̾̓̽̀̓͌̓͆̂͛̕̚͝4̵̢͍̙͕̮̲̖͖͙̮̥̮̪̋̀͐́͗͗͑͛̓̂̇̑͋̕͜ͅṪ̵̻̦̦̦̤̾̾̓̌̈͘ ̵̞̺̘͕̈́̔̽̃̆̃̽͊̈́̕͝͝͠d̵̟̪̞̾͘͝0̷͉̲̫̹̱̟̼̼̥̆͐͊̌̅͊̌͐̅̌̕͝ ̴̛͔̫̥̆́̈́̌y̵̜̹̿̈͘͜o̵͎̦͓̘͚͓̘͍̓͌̊͛̈́͜Ǘ̴̫͕̍͒̓͑͐̈̑͐̄͘ ̸̛̜͆̄͆̉ṁ̴͔͓͍̰̱̉̐ͅË̴̛̛̺̱̗͇̙̣͖̪̹͓́̑͛̉͊͋̄̎́͌̓̊ͅͅȃ̵͍͔͈͕̻̩̫̬̘͓͚̝̪͈̃̓͂͊̈́̉̅̈́̈́n̷̝͖̤̣͈̩͕̜̆̍͌͊̉̀̇̋͑͌͑͌͛̕͝.̷̭͇̗̮̹̦̋́̽́̅͐́̋̆̉̂͛͑͛͠.̵̫̱̤̻̼̩̒́͑̅̽̒͘̕̕͝.̴̧̣͚̜͎̜͚̣͕͒͌͐̀͐͊̈́̍͝͝.̸̨͚̤̮͕͍̖͔̺̑́͒̈́.̶̝͎̦̫̺͎͙̹̻̘̿̿̐̑̑̒̂̄̋̀̍̽̍ ̵͈̜͙̜̗̜̼͇͕̼̫̈́̂̉̉̈́͌̃̄̅̅8̸̯̱͒͛͊̓̊̍̒̽̌͐̒̉̚͝1̸̨̹̗̮̙̱́͑͗̋̉̍̿̓͒͐̈́̈͘͠͠ͅG̷̢͓̟͚̙̥͍͐̾͒̈͜ ̴̭̩̿̽͂̂̌̐͒̅͆͐̚̚͝5̵̢̠̟̯̏i̸͚̔̓͐̈͠S̵̢̛͔̳͇͍͎̠̮̯̪̈́͒͐̑̅̉͋̔͑̋͂͘͝͝ͅt̴̝̲̻͗̎̅͂3̵̬̳͍̜͍̤͙͕̜͈͊͗͋̔̐̚͜͝R̸̩̗̫͙̩̰̮̓̍̒̚͜?̴̢͙͎̥͒̀͌́̓̀̓͋̕͝] - Faceless Monster
It's voice grew more distorted as I pressed my hands against my ears at it's approach. I was well and truly terrified now, whatever this "thing" was it was clear that it wasn't happy that it had been found out and I wasn't going to wait for it to do whatever it wanted. I turned quickly to leave only to find that behind me was now a black void that was slowly spreading towards us.
[w̸̡̖̬͖͚͕͍̲̥̗͎͈̱̳͌͐́H̸̢̅̀͊͗͌̀̀͋̀͑̌3̴̛̭̍̀̿͗̈́̔̈́̚͝r̴̼̮̯̍̎̄͆̑̚Ḛ̸̢̛͇̙͔̲̳̉͛͂̾͐̽̑̽͊̒̅͒̈́̚?̷̨͕̫̖͓̙̟̱͎̾͒̓̀̒̈́̄̈́́͝ ̴͖̤͚̲̘͇̏̽́W̴̢͔̖̞̣͚͖̑̿h̵̦͊̐͂͌̀̂̀͋͊̇̇̎̈Ě̸͖̱̱̳̭͚̲̟̣̥͔̼̟̲̚͠͝Ȓ̸̙̱̪̖̼̲̬3̵̡͚͗̀͛͐̄̑̓̚͝?̶̧̛̼̜̀̿̒́́̎̄̔͂̈́̏́́͛ ̴͙̯̳͙̬͓̟͉͉͖͚̊̈́̉͆͝A̸̢͕̤͙͈͐̏j̴͎͙͚̜̿̅̈́͌͘͜o̵̘̟̬͉͌̅̊͒̈̕͝0̴̲͇̯̬̪͓͇̞̐̽͗̒̾̔̓͌ḱ̷̗̯a̷̧̹̜̪̣̗͉̭̙̼͇̱͕̞̒͌̋͆̒̚ͅj̷̧̅͐Ķ̸̨̖̻̹͓̫̬̻͕̜̊ḑ̶͈̻̎̅̽̇̍̅̕k̷̼̻͋́̌̀̂́̿̑̏̓͊͜ȧ̸̟͎̘͚̰̻͍͍̱̥̀͗́̍̑̂̈́͗̑͗̕̚?̷̧̟̥̩̫̻͓̈͘ͅ ̶̡͓͇̲͉̤̥̫̝̯̻͈͎̈́̑̃͒͘d̴̲̭͔̝̻̥̱̙̣̝̞̞̩̈͊̾͑͑͗͊͌͌͜a̵̞͙̪͔͈̥͎͍̳͊̓͂͑̿̌̽̿͐͘̕͜͝K̶̛͉̹̲̳̈́f̷̨̝̗̭̖̺͔̬͗́̕d̸̨̡̢̛̹͍͉͔̳̭̠̰͎͉̋̍̈́́̊̒̚̕̚͝͝4̶̼̺̟̮͈̰̖̈́̾̋͌̅̃̐̔̚͝n̶̹̭̖͕͍̮̈́̿͌̾ͅl̶̡͖̦̻̦͚̺̩̗̟̃́͐͊͊̈́̎̇͛͋͊̏̕͠?̴̨̙̟͖̫̘̞͇̘̯̔͒̈́̀ ̶̜͛D̷̡̞̖̮̦͖̼̞̺̦͍̫̘͙̃́̅̑͂̈́͑̍͑͒͋͆̄̚͝Ā̴̧͉̥̫̪͎̪͔̯̼̗̱̙̜͈̌͒̔̊͗̓͑͐̎f̸̼̥̪̤̱̖̺̩̂̑̏̽͊̾̒̔͝3̵̡̬̫̣̺̬̼̫̒̾́͒́̑̐͛̚k̶̡̨̥̣̻̥͕̝̤̼̙̥͊́̎́̒a̸̧̨̞̬̲̫͍̩̞̳̳͓͆̎̿͌́̏̐̚l̴̡̛̗̤̜̮͉̟̇̑̏̆͒̉͆̓̋̋̈̃̋f̴̧̡̝̦̪̭̪̮͉͈̰̜̓͂̀̀̇̍J̸̛̘͔̻̠̫̜̲̤̜̫͗͂͗̈̄̏̇̄͘͘͜͠͝d̴̹̭͚͍͕̖̞̱̈́̎̂̓̎͗̐̆͝ͅ7̵̢̺̝̜͖̲̼̲̯̹͆̓͆͛̔̎͐?̵̜̲͓̥͎̯̩͎͙̥̩̔̌] - Faceless Monster
It's words that had once been clear started to come out as complete gibberish as it continued to approach me slowly, it's movements becoming more and more jerky and sudden. I felt the blackness behind me closing in and closed my eyes to wait for the end. Only... It didn't come.
Slowly I opened my eyes again but instantly I regretted doing so as the "thing" was now directly in front of my eyes, it's eyeless face seeming to be staring at mine.
[.̵̡̧͙̗̜͙̲̱̉̐͘.̵̼̜͖̝̱͖̀̑̀͊̈́͊̏̿̈͋̐͝͠.̴̢̧̲̬͇̙͙͔̖͚̏.̵̯̀̀́̉́̄͘.̶͎̠̰̮͓̊̈͗͌̔͌̽̋̀̎̈́́̔̚ͅ.̷͔̹̱͉̟̪͒̂.̵̧̯̮̾̓͊͗̆̒̅̉̌͝T̵͓̻̹̳͓̠̚͜ḩ̴͙̭̖͛̓͛͂3̴̢̡̰͉͚̠̪̥͇͖͓͇̤̠̣̂͛̋͊̎͊̔̅́̕ ̵̨̟͇̘͚̹̲̘̐͗̎̊̍̐̒̐̌̕͝͠p̶̢̰̠̼̥̿̅̓͐̌͂͛r̵̖̺͊́̾͜0̷̡͇͓̥̀̋̏p̶̗͉̝͆͒͊̅̌͝͠͝H̵̱͉̥̰̪̼̦̃̏̐̈́ẻ̸̛̖̤͈̜̲̮̫̓͐͂̓̾s̴̞͙͔̒͌̊͑̋͗̇̒͆̕̚̚1̴̜̍̅́̈́̾͗͊̈́͒z̶̬͕̻̙̔̾̎͗̀̾͂͘̕͝͝͠͠͠3̷̗͖̣̺̖̺̬͇̙̟̎̅̎̂͛̆̅̀̿̄̽͆͆̈̂͜D̶̗̓ ̸͈̔͐͆̿͆͊̈́̐̿̑̈́͋̓̕͝t̴̡̨̠̥̬̳̲͎̤̄͑͒̓̽͛̽̿̉͜͠I̸̩̫͖͎̣͖͍͖͈̺͓̰̗̳͒̌͌̈͊̈́̈́͊̑͠ḿ̷̛̺̬̙̰̘̅̄̀̏̍̔̃̈̋́̕̕͝3̶͉̟̞̭͇̳̠̘͔͓̗͍̯̠́͐ͅ ̶̢̢̛̲̭̰̳̯͈͇̟̈́̀̉̅͛̐̿͑͠͠ͅi̸̫̤̪͍̤̳̝͍̬̗͔̘̘͌́̕5̷̳̪͈͈̼͆ ̵̡̖̞̜̯̝̲̟̙̻͓̺͉̯͌̒̋́̆̏̈́͠ų̶̛̬͑͜P̴̢̰̯̤̰̤̻̟̯̌͂́̚̚0̷̟̲̀̽ņ̶̢̮͚̜̫̯̌̾̑͘ ̵̧̺̪̟̤͈̫̏̃͂͗̀̽̅̆̇͂̈́̈̈͝͝ͅú̵͇͕̣͗͂̾͐̽͗̈̏̂̕͝s̷͈̲͓̦͉̥̣͒̑̈́̂̒̓̀͌͂́̕͜͠.̷̧̲̖̮̪͈͚̲͉͓̫̟̻̳̦̑͌̽̓̿̎̔̿͛̚͝͠͝͝ ̵̭̲̼̹͉͙̉̽͗͆̈́̑̃̀́̔̏̈́̎̕͝Y̷̨̨̖̩̳̟̫͉͙͚̣͇̆̈̀͐0̶̮̳͎̺̣̠̓̂͋̊̍ͅu̴̢̳̞͛̐̎̅̈́̆́̈́̓̅̉̕r̷̢̖̲̝̘̘͒͗̔̌̉̎̐͐͝ͅ ̷̢̠̟̣̙̬͓̬̻̻̹̋R̸̛̙͇̻̯̫̬̝̊́̐̑̇̐̾͐͒̓̇̀͒͂0̵̨͌̏̽̂̽́̽͝͝l̴̥̪̙̫̝̝̘̬̙̖̖̥͓̈́̀́̋̒̓͑̋̿̊̈E̶̢̟̹̝̤̦̜̠̱̬̳̤͊̾̍̇͐̊̓́̓̀͂̍͘̚̚ ̵̯̗̍̒̈́̃̊́̄͛̓̕͘̚͠͝͝w̶̛͔͔̞͖̗̮̽̇̅͘͘I̶̜̯͖̫̟͎̅̀̿͋͒͗̂̔̊̇̽̎̄͆͠L̶̨̨͖̟̤̬͕̬̩̼̟̦̣̍͐̽̈́͝l̶̛̲͇̱̹̖̺͑̑̌̓͑̽̑͆͠͝ ̷̢̥̮͈̝̥̳̼̙̻̯̤̐́͆̀͛̍̍͒̓͘͘ḅ̸̛̰͎͎͚̘̭͙͖̠̝̃͑̑̈́̇͆͐͂́̒̑3̴͖͕͚̬̯̫͇̹̦͙̠͇̙̪̿̀͆̔͒̑̌̐͑̈͘͝͠ ̸̢̛͖̬̳̬̀͛̆̎̐̿̄̈́͒͝͝͝͠͠ͅt̶̢̨̖̝̬͇̑̅́̃̉͛H̴̨̛͉̥͚͙̾̊͝e̸̢̨̟̘̯̻̳̩̩̞̘͉͕̍̑͛ ̸̼̤̭͈̲͈͎̘̤̩͇͖̹̚͜ͅm̷̧̝̞͕̝̠͓̖͉̉̏̒ͅ0̶̢̨̮͙̠͈̺̜͙͉̠͓̫͛̓̾̓̂̏̓5̵̨̧̛̫̮̬̣͕̼̀̓t̵̨͔͍̩̻͔̜̺͓̖̽̀͋̂̀͜͠ ̵̡̯͔̻͈̹̬̇͗̇͐̄͆͆̕i̶̖̤̞̤̝͗̏͋ͅṃ̸̨̨͍̖̩͙̹̤̟̘̹̜̃̆̊̒̂͜P̸̡͖͇͍̝̻̦̹̦̫̥͓̤̐̏̈́̅̐̽͂̓̈̚͜0̶̢̢͖͚͙͚͖͓̠̞͍͖͐͜r̶͔͕̺̩͇͙̟̼̮͔̱̱͂̌̕ţ̶̧̺̜̱̦̩̼͎̯̹̹͐̒͋͋̾͂́̆̈̏́͜͠Ā̵̲̝͉́͊̆́̔̊͜N̶̦̝̘͇̲̞̯̠̰͔̙̈̑͘t̵̡̬̘͖͙͖̙̳̹͙̒̉͆͛͜ ̴̧͎̩͙̈͊͂͐̀̔͐b̸͕̭̀̓̒̋͋̿͐̓̒̄̊̅̀͌̕Ữ̸̫̩̻̝͔͇̹͍̥͚̘͇̥̤͛͊̅̕͜4̷̢̧̥̠̬̭̥̥͈̱̳̭̰͎̃̿ ̵̟͔̟̝̭̪̥͂́̊̎Ñ̵͇̜̲͕̜̙̪̂͋̇̉͐͛̕͝0̵̙̺̖̀̀̓͊̈́̄͊̆͑̀͗͒͗̕t̷̡̠̫̽͒̇́̂ ̵̗̪̤̬̬̂͝A̴̡̡͇̺̣̻̭͉̿̀̀͘͘͜s̷̱̭̤̺̗̙̾̈́̏̃̄͛͠͠ ̴͈̥̮͑̈́̂͗̾̄̈́͛̌͗͐̃̈́̚Ŷ̴̩̭̠̪̹̪̹̠̞̳͔͔̺͈̫̐̇̈̈́̔̎̀̽̌͘0̸̧̛̛̗͙̦̿̈́͐̊̔̋̂̍̔͆̒͊ủ̴̧̡͔͙̭̦̱̋̕͜ ̴͈͉͕͕̯̻̭̠̫̈͐̽͜͝ͅa̴̙̒̑́͛͑̏̈́͐̉̈̑͗̚͘͝R̵̗̎̆̉̊̔̓͝3̷̡̨̜̝͙̖̰͇͕̖̼̹͉̝̰̒̈́̋̉̿̽͘̕.̶͈̖̳̱͓͎͔͇̘̭̯̻̾͊̊̽̀] - Faceless Monster
Instantly everything went black as I struggled to remember where I'd heard that familiar, distorted, phrase.
[Ow! I feel even worse now...] - Rose
Holding my head for what felt like the second time that day I vaguely felt like something important had just happened. Something about a dream? Shaking my head to dispel that weird thought I shakily rose from my way too small sleeping bag.
[My head feels like elephants had a frat party in it... Ow ow ow ow...] - Rose
[Ah you're awake. Hold on a moment and I'll have dinner ready. You're gonna need it after what you've been through...] - Manic Blade
I turned towards the voice and noticed that infuriating old man preparing something next to a firepit. Immediately after I noticed the dark sky beyond him and the light drizzle of rain slowly falling upon the forest.
[Ow ow ow... how long have I been out?] - Rose
[Oh about 3 days or so.] - Manic Blade
[Wait what?!? Why are you being so nonchalant about that?!? Isn't that serious?!] - Rose
[I wouldn't get so worked up if I were you, you're body is starving after so long without a meal and you don't want to hurt yourself.] - Manic Blade
His lack of concern at my extended sleep schedule irked me somewhat but I let it go when I realized that he was correct as "another" wave of dizziness wracked my body. Wait another? I felt like this sensation had happened several times but my memory failed me as to when it had happened. Feeling weak I decided to ignore that strange feeling and shakily made my way to the fireside before flopping onto the ground near the blessed heat. I didn't realize it before now but I was freezing cold, my body was sluggish as a result.
[What happened to me and why do I feel so sluggish?] - Rose
[As for what happened to you we will talk about that after we get some food into you. As far as why you are feeling sluggish it's because it's cold.] - Manic Blade
[Huh? Why would that matter?] - Rose
His matter of fact tone as to why I felt so slow confused me but even more than that his look afterwards that nearly screamed, "What is this idiot asking?" confused me more.
[What do you mean why? You're a lamia.] - Manic Blade
[Okay? And?] - Rose
Something must have been also slowing my thoughts because I couldn't for the life of me figure out why he seemed to think the answer was obvious and his increasingly infuriating looks that telegraphed his thoughts were pissing me off now.
[Are you kidding me? Hasn't your family ever talked with you about what happens to lamia in cold weather? Hell haven't you ever been in cold weather before?] - Manic Blade
[No damn it! I lived between a fucking jungle and desert for basically all my life! Now what the shit is wrong with me?] - Rose
[You're cold blooded. All lamia are.] - Manic Blade
[Huh?] - Rose
After snapping at him for expecting me to know what was going on I was floored a moment later at the simplicity of the answer. It was then that I realized that if I had slowed down and thought for a second it would have been obvious that I was cold blooded, I mean I'm mostly a gigantic snake afterall. Embarrassment quickly overtook me as my anger faded completely.
[O-Oh umm, t-that makes sense... yeah...] - Rose
[Tch! Dinner will be done soon so just stay close to the fire to warm up.] - Manic Blade
Muttering something about stupid kids and their parents not preparing them for the world the old immortal turned back to continue working on the food.
About an hour later I found myself happily consuming my third rabbit as well as a literal mountain of greens. I wasn't super fond of greens even in my last life but in this one I found them to be even worse tasting than before. Fortunately my extreme hunger overrode my distaste for vegetables and I cleaned my "plate" several times. The food, paired with the heat from the fire, had made me recover most of my faculties and I had since realized that cold weather did indeed slow my ability to think on top of just generally slowing me down.
The old man, patient through the entire eating process, finally seemed like he'd had enough waiting and started talking while I continued to munch on what was left of a thigh piece.
[Okay now that you've got food in you and are warmed by the fire I think it's time to talk to you about the full reason behind my training you, as well as what happened to you last time we had a training session.] - Manic Blade
[<Gulp!> O-Okay.] - Rose
[Hah... Well whatever, it's good enough. Gods damn kids... never listen to their...] - Manic Blade
Swallowing the mouthful I had just taken I laid the rest of what was left to the side while licking my fingers. The look he gave me while I continued to focus on my meal would've killed someone if it was capable of it. His mumbling afterward drove home his irritation.
[Ahem! Anyway the reason I decided to train you is...] - Manic Blade
[...is?] - Rose
[You're the new Demon Lord.] - Manic Blade
[Okay? Wait really?!?] - Rose
[Huh? Why are you surprised? You've seen your status haven't you?] - Manic Blade
[W-Well yeah but I thought it was like a metaphor or something... I mean Karen's status says she's a god afterall!] - Rose
[.............are you sure you're okay?] - Manic Blade
Fidgeting under the look of pure exasperation on the face of the immortal I felt my face heating up in embarrassment. I mean sure it says that I'm a Demon God but... Wait Demon God? Is there a difference between that and a Demon Lord?
[Question.] - Rose
[Hah.... go ahead....] - Manic Blade
[My status says I'm a Demon God, is there a difference between that and a Demon Lord.] - Rose
[Your status says what?] - Manic Blade
[It says that I'm something called the Demon Dragon God... Why? Is that a problem?] - Rose
[....hmm... that's strange...] - Manic Blade
Mumbling to himself as he stood up and started pacing I attempted to ask him questions several times but all I got back was silence as the old man continued to pace while in deep thought. The little bits of information I could hear from him were all scattered and made no sense, something about methods and not visible. Seeming to have come to some kind of conclusion he abruptly turned and made his way back to his sitting log next to the fire.
[Okay so what I will tell you is that I've never heard of someone being a Demon God, honestly I had originally thought you were either a reincarnation of the prior Demon Lord or his successor. It's why I was so harsh on you immediately after kidnapping you.] - Manic Blade
[If you thought I might be a reincarnation of him why am I still alive? From your story I would've figured you'd kill me on sight in that case.] - Rose
[Hahaha! You're the first person I've ever seen that was either stupid or brave enough to ask why someone DIDN'T kill them!] - Manic Blade
[H-Hey! That's not...] - Rose
[It's fine it's fine... Well to answer your question it's because I determined that you had nothing to do with the previous Demon Lord. In fact your true status of being this... Demon God or whatever basically guarantee's that you aren't connected.] - Manic Blade
[O-Oh...] - Rose
[Don't get me wrong I was still tempted to kill you regardless but I can't force another family to go through the same thing as I did on a possibility that you'll do harm later on.] - Manic Blade
[O-Okay but that doesn't explain why I was unconscious for three days right?] - Rose
[Oh I guess you are right. I got so caught up with your unexpected reveal that I nearly forgot.] - Manic Blade
Pausing before looking at me with serious eyes that made me gulp nervously the old man stared at me for a few seconds before speaking.
[You attacked me. In fact if I wasn't expecting you to do so you would have easily killed me.] - Manic Blade
[Wha?!? R-Really? I don't.... ow!] - Rose
Thinking back to before I lost consciousness I vaguely recalled a foggy scene of me choking the old immortal and after that the only thing I remember is immense pain before everything went dark. Holding my head from the instant headache when I tried to recall my last few minutes after the last training session I backed off immediately and let the memory fade back into my brain.
[W-What happened? Why did I attack you?] - Rose
[Why? Because I antagonized you of course...] - Manic Blade