BXBX NOVEL Chapter 129: The Fallen
[The Beastkin Goddess of battle, Ishtar, has sided with you and is amused by your actions]
[You have received the blessing of battle]
[The goddess of beastkin Luna has sided with you and wants to see more of your future choices!]
[You have received the blessing of beastkin]
The two voices were quite thick with a strange accent that reminded him of Yumiko when he first met her, or Saki.
Ryuji realised the two goddesses themselves gave the announcements and thus pressed his hands together and gave them at least the respect they deserved for supporting him.
\'Thank you, beautiful beastkin goddesses. I will do my best.\'
[Flirting with two goddesses has increased your charm slightly]
After that announcement, he stopped, feeling that if they wanted to communicate, then they would; however, the next moment, a thick voice, a male, sounded, and it seemed full of hate and anger, causing Ryuji to frown.
[The human god of war and goddess of peace denounce your existence. Their curse and hatred are fixated upon you]
\'Fuck you!\' Ryuji thought instantly. The next moment, lightning crackled in the distance, and the skies began to turn dark.
However, he didn\'t take it back and huffed, snorting at the pathetic and petty egos of the two gods.
[The goddess of Light Seeks to start a crusade against you. However, Serena, the goddess of darkness, stopped her from doing so.]
[Please take care that the apostles of Lumina shall attack you on sight should they discover your identity!]
***
"Damn... So much drama for me just waking up from my long sleep." Ryuji muttered he didn\'t feel evil or like something the gods should fear. Instead, he no longer felt the head-splitting ache he endured or the strange voices and whispers because they fused with him in that darkness a few moments ago.
\'Let\'s see Alicia, she seemed to be worried.\'
Even when Ryuji had closed his eyes in the darkness, he would know when and what the changes were occurring and sensed his power flood into her soul, heart, and body.
Because of that, he found Alicia in an instant, kneeling in the darkness, wrapped in a dark cloth. She cried inside, her body trembling.
\'What\'s wrong with her?\'
Ryuji focused as he stepped towards her, ignoring the rest of the surroundings. He gently lifted a finger and brushed her shoulder, only to gasp when Alicia\'s beautiful face appeared, but he noticed the change instantly.
Her lovely fair skin and green hair vanished, and her aura changed. Now transformed into another existence which sat before him, she finally noticed his presence.
"R-Ryuji.... Ryuji.... at first, I was okay... but, then I thought about mother and realised that mother would never accept me, she would banish me... I... I have become a disgusting and ugly fallen!"
"Alicia..." Ryuji knelt on one knee and reached out to her. He knew, somehow, this related to his changes, from the glowing of her eye with the green runes like an emerald.
"Ryuji... why is there so much magic... what are you!?"
\'She can sense the amount... my powers...\' Ryuji didn\'t deny he was a demon, a being filled with immense magical power, but he found it clear that Alicia couldn\'t see this before, so then it must be included with her changes.
\'Whatever...\'
"I am a demon, or at least half of me is," Ryuji admitted his existence no longer needed to be hidden. Because, while his demonic soul helped, his essence was the most crucial, and he was part human as well. He didn\'t want to lie to someone he could feel a connection with. Her eyes trembled, glowing for a moment before she lowered her face.
"And... this marking and my changes, are they because of you?" Ryuji gazed into her, noting that the strange marking on her pelvis with a deep green colour and the glowing green runes inside her eyes were indeed something linked to him; however, the moment he nodded, Alicia jumped at him and attacked him.
"You liar! Damn, monster! You manipulated me and made these changes to me! Curse you! Mother will abandon me! What should I do?
She said all men were wolves!" Alicia cried in tears while Ryuji allowed her to hit him. The changes in his body made even her most fierce punch feel like a soft tap.
"Fight back! Since you are a demon, then you must have some plans! Why, why couldn\'t you leave me out of them? I cannot go home like this... The fallen, the fallen are the shame of my family!" Her voice cried out. However, Ryuji ignored her fury and sighed.
"Calm down," He commanded, instantly noticing her punches ceased, and he reached for her arms. However, instead of grabbing her arms, he wrapped his arms around her back and held her against his solid chest, "Forgive me, Alicia." His deep tone and the words vibrated through the air, her long brown ears trembling as she seemed weak to his voice.
"Eh?"
_emp _yr.
Alicia felt confused. Her chest throbbing as she panted out of breath, the feelings of confusion, worry, stress, and fear all mixed along with the strange warmth seeping into her from Ryuji\'s chest.
The huge blood-red crystal from his demon lord form is now just a small star-shaped gem in the centre of his chest. It emitted a light and soft rhythm of beating energy which Alicia couldn\'t recognise.
Slowly, as Ryuji allowed her time to calm down, he reached up with a hand and brushed her soft cheek, realising the changes hurt her deeply; he couldn\'t accept her hopeless and tear-stained face.
Alicia soon blushed at his touch. She instinctively leaned against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
"Your mother won\'t abandon you. She would love you no matter how you changed, not as long as you were her daughter," Ryuji stated clearly, seeing Alicia lift her eyes towards him. "No matter how long it takes to fix any issues, I won\'t let you face this thing alone. Should anyone demean your beautiful brown skin, I will flay them alive."
Alicia couldn\'t believe the man\'s confident gaze and words but felt a small stream of emotions pass over her heart and soothe her aches.
\'His heartbeat, why does his words and heartbeat feel so comforting?\'
"I can\'t just believe you... Now that I am so different, who would love an elf that lost the blessing of the world tree?"
"Then I will corrupt the world tree itself!" Ryuji stated firmly.
Alicia froze; the world tree was equal to or surpassed the gods to elves... his words were treason, yet why... why did it feel so sweet to her, better than honied words about her beauty or how fair and fabulous she was?
"You have not changed...." Ryuji sighed, noting her silence and reaching forward with both fingers.
Alicia shivered, closing her eyes, thinking he would be disappointed with her appearance and body, which seemed uglier because her original blessings were lost.
"To me, you are one of the most graceful and beautiful women I\'ve ever met. Your vulgar exterior was created to protect this fragile and lovely interior... What an adorable woman you are, Alicia."
Alicia\'s eyes trembled, feeling the rough thumbs of his brush past her cheeks to remove the tearstains while his fingers traced down to her full, pale red lips.
"The marks and tattoos are pleasing and look wonderful to me."
Though she felt her heart racing, the elf didn\'t respond as the room became silent. However, she no longer pushed away at him slightly. Instead, her arms wrapped around his back as she looked upset; instead of watching Ryuji in the darkness with her glowing eyes, she seemed to find a sense of peace or comfort.
Ryuji didn\'t take advantage of her.
His embrace and touch were purely platonic as he whispered again, "I won\'t let you face it alone."
"Can I believe you?" Though Alicia felt doubt, her body and mind became more secure while in his arms, she knew there was no use crying about her changes anymore. It was too late to go back and now her only path seemed to be Ryuji....
Alicia took a deep breath, before looking into his eyes, her eyes filled with tears. "You, you have to take responsibility! Otherwise... I won\'t let you have a moment of peace!"
However, Ryuji didn\'t blame her transformation since it shattered the faith and image of her previous self. Instead, his warm lips pressed down and lingered on top of hers, a soft, affectionate peck, something he wished gave her reassurance.
"Humm?! R-Ryuji!" She moaned and whimpered when his kiss ended, her eyes drooping along with her lovely ears.
"What?"
"Will you be able to love me one day, even though I am no longer the same elf as before?"
"Can you stand by me, with these changes, even when my people fire their arrows at me in disgust and hatred?"
Ryuji didn\'t rush an answer; watching her earnest eyes, he took a deep breath.
"I swear I will." Before sealing her lips once again, a short but mutual kiss with the sound of their lips sucking each other echoing in the dark room,
Their two bodies lingered against one another, Ryuji\'s hands remaining on her soft curves, noticing that her body seemed to have improved from her previous modest size... especially in the chest area as he pulled away.
"Then..." Alicia whispered, her red cheeks visible to Ryuji in this darkness, thanks to his eyesight. "Then, if I must fall, I will fall for you." Her words, a slightly mischievous, play on her becoming a fallen and speaking of Ryuji falling for her in the future, despite her figure.
This fall related to her heritage of being a high elf and becoming a fallen, however... Because her knowledge wasn\'t complete, the princess didn\'t understand that she didn\'t become a fallen. Instead, she became something similar to the fallen but also held the same reverence in their tribe as a high elf... and because of her bloodline, she became an even more unique existence.
A High Dark Elf.
Though the two didn\'t love each other, there was enough affection and feelings to surpass the constraints of a friendship.