Chapter 80: Unnatural Entities

Jiaoying stays submerged under the water for a scarily long time.

She lets the blood wash out of her mouth and skin, but she cannot forget the taste.

It was nauseating.

Jiaoying rose above the water only when it felt like her lungs were going to burst.

She wiped the water out of her face with her hands and stared awkwardly at the two other people in the tub with her.

In hindsight, treating this like a swimming pool may have been a bit odd of her.

“…Sorry. It’s a big bathtub.” She huffs.

Yari tilts her head. “Is it? I thought it was on the smaller side when Father had it installed.”

“Oh, that’s right. You’re royalty.” Solomon grumbles.

Yari pinches his ear. “I’m sorry. Did you say something, Prince of Ashes?”

“I’ve been living in a boys’ dormitory for the past ten years, so I think I have a bit of wiggle room to talk about nobles and their useless pomposity.”

“I like nice things. What can I say?” Yari shrugs nonchalantly.

“Are we just going to sit here and pretend that nothing has happened..?”

Jiaoying’s voice was as quiet as a church mouse. Her gaze never lifted from the water around her, which was muddy with the color of Solomon’s blood.

“Honestly… no.” Solomon finally said.

Jiaoying prepared herself for the inevitable onslaught of questions. And the horror that would arise from revelation.

“I lied to you when I said I wasn’t going to remember any of this tomorrow.”

Jiaoying feels a vein bulge in her forehead.

She lashes out under the water and kicks Solomon in the leg. “You rat, is that still all you can think about?!”

Solomon laughs at the assault as if his joke is the funniest thing that has ever been told.

“Can you take something seriously for once? I literally just ripped your heart out mere moments ago!”

“I would have given it to you if you had only asked.”

“Your flirting does not amuse!”

Jiaoying’s red face indicated that she was clearly not unaffected. Or perhaps she was just angry.

Solomon thought that she was beautiful either way.

Jiaoying’s frown deepened as she stared at Solomon’s chest.

She had known for a long time now that something was very different about him.

She had watched him in team exercises. Even when he had gotten injured, Jiaoying could see him walking around later without so much as a limp.

He went to the nurse like everyone else. But once, Jiaoying had asked the nurse about the treatment he received and was told that he only took bandages.

With everything that she knew about Solomon, she wasn’t willing to rule out the possibility that his ability to shift gave him a heightened ability to heal.

But Jiaoying no longer believed that covered it. What kind of creature could regrow its heart?

“…You seem to have questions.” Solomon says.

“As if you don’t?”

“I do not want to force you. It was enough for me to know that you are well again.”

Jiaoying turns away while pushing her hair behind her ear. “…I feel the same about you.”

Both fell into a silence shortly after, their smiles strangely content.

Yari rolls her eyes.

“One of you speak up. I yearn for an end to all of this secrecy.”

Yari poked Solomon in the stomach. “Actually, you go first.”

“Why me?”

“Because if you go first, Jiaoying will feel less bad about the nature of her own existence since you’re both very unnatural entities.”

Solomon and Jiaoying stared at her, then turned to stare at each other.

“…”

“…”

“…I am a Deathless.”

Jiaoying starts to kick him again. “One more joke, and I swear-”

Solomon sighs and climbs out of the water.

Jiaoying and Yari rake their gazes across his form for all five of the seconds that it remains uncovered.

However, when a black substance floods out of his pores and begins to take on a more sinister shape, their gazes change into something less craven.

“W-What..?”

“Ohh… so that’s what it looks like.” Yari mused. “Very… spiky.”

The elf climbs out of the water to begin poking Solomon in his armor. Her eyes light up with interest.

“Why does your helmet have so many eyes?”

“I would like to eat intimidation… but they do help me to see in the dark.”

“Interesting…” Yari bends over. “And can you see out of the ones in your chest and hands as well?”

“If I concentrate.”

“Fascinating…”

Yari stood up again and stared at Solomon’s helmet. “I like the horns. Very imposing.”

Solomon smiles sheepishly.

“Why are you two acting as if this is completely normal?!”

Jiaoying stands up in the bath and points a trembling finger at Solomon. “You… how old are you really?!”

“I turned twenty-two not long ago.”

Yari frowns at him. “Why would you not say anything? It is my understanding that human celebrations of birth are quite important.”

“Not to me. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of-”

“Can we PLEASE focus!” Jiaoying felt like she was going insane.

Solomon removed his armor and got back onto the tub with Yari.

Before he had even fully sat back down, he was already talking.

His story came out smoothly, despite this being his first time telling another person about what he was.

The only bit that was slightly difficult to talk about was Rena. As a result, he chose to speed through that part.

He also omitted to tell her about the true nature of the Athanatoi and their plans for the world.

His intention was not to conceal the information from her forever. He just figured that there was no need to overwhelm her with everything so soon.

“I think that just about covers it… Your turn.”

Solomon had been talking for so long that they had already moved out of the bath.

Currently, the three of them sat on Yari’s sofa as they shared another bottle of wine.

Jiaoying hadn’t managed to take so much as a single sip in light of all that she had learned.

Her mind was drowning in questions.

“I… don’t even really know where to begin.” She muttered. “I have so much I want to ask-”

“No.” Yari places her hand over Jiaoying’s mouth.

“Mmh?!”

“Solomon was honest. Now it is your turn. You can pelt each other with questions later.”

Jiaoying does not miss the slightly inquisitive look on Solomon’s face.

Just the same, Solomon cannot help but notice that the way she looks at him has changed again.

Jiaoying averts her gaze and stares into her wine glass.

She starts to tell Solomon a story. One about a girl from a poor Barony who was sent to a foreign academy to hopefully attain some worth or notoriety.

But the girl had no aptitude for magic or talent at swordsmanship.

The only reason she was allowed to come to the academy in the first place was that the dean owed her father a favor.

Included in that favor was the demand that the dean help his daughter survive and gain some worth.

With the girl’s poor physical condition and lack of talent, the Dean quickly hit a wall.

And so, he turned to the ingenious woman whom he had recently brought back to live with him.

The woman and the young girl met frequently. They discussed many things and conducted tests to make the body stronger.

They were largely unsuccessful in their efforts, but they did come to know more about each other.

The girl learned that the woman was a very rare dual mage. An enchanter and a contractor.

As if lightning had struck, a realization lit up the girl’s brain. That was what she needed. A Greater Being.

But Greater Beings are not found, they are the ones who find. And they do not look for swordsmen.

The woman explained all of this to the girl, and she was crestfallen. She could not help but fear that her luck was on the verge of running out.

She was correct.

On the very next exam, she was grievously wounded.

As she lay dying in a forest with no one around her, she witnessed her life flash before her eyes.

She felt angry. Angry with herself for being so weak. Angry with her parents for not loving her despite her weakness. Angry with her classmates for her murder.

On the verge of death, the young girl projected more anger than an army of over 100 grown men.

And the world responded in kind.

“When she first appeared above me… I almost thought she was a god. She was powerful and savage. Exactly how I always wanted people to see me.” Jiaoying laughs halfheartedly at her embarrassing words.

“When she offered to save me, I didn’t really hesitate. We formed the contract in a pool of my own blood.”

Solomon raises his brow. “But what did you bind her to?”

Jiaoying swallows a mouthful of wine.

Sighing, she turns her head and shows him Solomon the flower-shaped tattoo on her neck.

“…Fury was bound into my very own body. And she’s been making my life hell ever since.”

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