Chapter 134: Keep It Together, Ira
It had been a month since Ira killed the Behemoth and the group of Higher Races. In that time, Lyra was found to be in a state of comatose and even with the healing of Valkyries she didnt wake up immediately but after some time she showed signs of recovering.
Lyra opened her eyes and found she was inside of a tent. Memories began coming back to her in fragments and she vaguely recalled what happened. She climbed out of the bed and exited only to be met with the sight of a mountainous corpse that was being stripped away by the Dark Elves. Not too far from her were corpses of dragons that were placed in a huge pile that more Dark Elves were busy dismantling.
So youre awake. Casey approached Lyra with no sign of hostility.
...Are they all dead? Lyra asked.
Do you mean the rest of your group? If so, Ira killed all of them, Casey answered.
Lyra sighed before she remembered something, Wheres Ustia?
She didnt appear with the others so Im not sure. Casey gestured for Lyra to follow as they moved through the encampment.
The other countries were under the impression that the Behemoths corpse would be split between them but the Valkyries werent of a similar mind. In their eyes, Ira killed it and just about everything else that appeared so they had no claim to it. Seeing as he was currently absent, they took it for themselves and planned on taking it back to the Dark Elf Empire where they would take up residence. It was hard for everyone else to swallow their greed but the Valkyries werent giving them a choice.
The Dark Elves were quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with just the armor that could be made from Behemoths Leather and Dragon Scales. In addition to that, Charles was working on dangerous and experimental methods to increase their power. Plus, one couldnt forget the inhuman training regiment that was the current standard. Lastly, they sat on a huge vein of Godsteel which produced powerful weapons even without someone having the divinity to properly wield them. With the Valkyries preparing to take up residence in the Underground City it was hard not to say that they were the strongest nation on the continent. It was hard to believe but the Dark Elf Empire which was the named as the weakest had its fortunes reversed.
Casey and Lyra eventually stopped and Lyra blinked rapidly in surprise. There was a little girl with pitch black hair, soft yellow eyes, and small dimples in her cheeks playing in the sand. Standing near her was Avery, she was practicing her swordsmanship with the Godsteel sword.
Avery, Casey called out.
Avery was about to sheathe her sword when she saw Lyra and a hostile intent appeared in her eyes. She took a step and a burst of flame propelled her forward before she stopped the sword at Lyras neck.
Tell me why shouldnt I kill you? Avery asked coldly as heat began rising from her sword.
Avery, you know very well what took place, Casey stated clearly but she didnt make any moves to disarm Avery.
The fact that you werent in control of your own body has nothing to do with me. The reason Ira isnt here is due to how easily Gicae controlled your mind. Averys voice was laced with anger until a small hand tugged on the hem of her shirt.
Im hungry, Mum, Raveria said cutely.
Raveria looked to be four or five years old which was truly frightening. She was speeding up her own aging process and it was unknown why. Avery guessed that Raveria mightve thought being an adult was synonymous with being able to protect her family. She ate twice as much as usual and would use her abilities as much as she could in order to grow them. Still, Avery noticed that Raveria was troubled as the little girl would often randomly cry in total silence which made it clear she missed Ira.
Avery hesitated before sheathing her sword and picking Raveria up, Come on.
As they walked toward a tent, Lyra could see Avery feeding her daughter flames from the palm of her hand.
His daughter? Lyra finally asked.
Yes. Its only been a few months since she was born. Casey responded as they continued moving.
Along the way, Casey filled her in on the little details such as Iras unknown whereabouts and his display of power. When they finally stopped, it was in front of the Behemoths body. Surprisingly, the more than half of the corpse was already bone. The most problematic area was the blood which was collected in hundreds of airtight metal barrels before Avery dried out the rest of the body with fire. From there, the Valkyries cut large sections of its skin off and they fell below where the Dark Elves would deal with them. The bones were no different and Lauren was getting used to the Blood Sword by cutting the huge bones. Occasionally, Avery would also join her and cleave through the skeletal remains of the Behemoth.
Lauren spotted them and flew down to meet with Lyra. She landed and wiped the sweat off of her brow before speaking, Now that youre awake, we could use your help with finding Ira.
Lyra pondered for a moment before responding, ...There is an island far from this continent but it wouldnt take long for you to fly to. It may be selfish of me but I would like you to search for Ustia once you arrive there. She can lead you to where we showed Ira the Storm Wall. Its hard to tell it apart but there are a few landmarks which might help.
Lauren and Casey shared a brief glance before the former nodded.
Ill be the one to go, Lauren said.
Inside of Iras mind, there was a city, a city that didnt make any sense. There were pathways that led to nowhere, houses stacked atop each in a spiral pattern, and sinkholes in the middle of walkways. Hundreds of people that looked like Ira traversed the crooked and nonsensical city with ease. Each one of them had a number on the back of their hands and they each had some destination.
In a large building with no doors or windows, a man sat in a large leather chair with his legs propped on a desk. He wore a long black fur coat and black pants but opted not to wear a shirt or a pair of shoes. It was none other than Ira and his number seemed to be six. Across from him sat two other Iras with another painting in the corner of the room.
So? How is it? Ira Six asked.
Its...as expected.There havent been many Iras who could refuse it. One of them answered.
Good. Then well celebrate. Ira Six reached out and a wooden box appeared out of thin air.
He placed it on the table and then opened it to exposed a box of muffins, sweet buns, and cookies.
Hey, Seventy-two. Are you done with it yet? Ira Six asked as they stuffed their mouths with pastries.
Give me a fucking second. Ira Seventy-Two waved his hand as he added a few final touches.
After a few moments, he sighed and took a step back. At once, all eyes in the room turned toward the painting and they all let out a sigh as if they were unworthy of seeing such a thing. It was a hyper-realistic portrait of a woman with raven-colored hair holding a black-haired young girl next to her, but the strangest part was the fact they were missing faces.
Beautiful. Ira Six and the other Iras used their imagination to fill in the missing face.
Yep. Ira Seventy-two nodded.
As Iras mind repaired itself...some parts of him were more combative due to his nature. So it was reasonable segments of his mind split into different parts on their own.
In the center of the city, there was an extremely large pit with hundreds of Iras gathered around it.
Guys, just think rationally for a second! An Ira tied to a pole shouted.
Hes defective. One of the Iras carrying him shook their head.
Wait, no. Listen, if we just tried to solve this with logic and rationale wed get further than we are now. The rational Ira tried to explain.
Tch. Throw him away before he breaks something. They reached the edge of the pit and tossed Rational Ira in without a second thought. He fell into the endless darkness of the pit but then a pair of red eyes emerged and began to rise.
All of a sudden, a horned beast covered in black mist burst from the pit with open jaws and ate Rational Ira before falling back into the pit.
The Iras spectating sighed before going back to what they were doing while the ones who carried the victim were talking amongst themselves.
What are they doing up there? I know theyre fixing Ira but theyre messing up and adding shit that doesnt belong. Hell, theyre even fixing parts that were never broken.
Dont ask me, were just supposed to remove the excess parts and mind our business.
Ha! Someone laughed but everyone just looked at him strangely.
You dont get it? ItsYou said mind and were the mind so I just thought...You know because the funny part was
...We get it, An Ira said.
Oh...Ok...Ehem. He cleared his throat as they continued to stare at him.
You sure hes not defective?
The Ira scratched his head awkwardly as he chuckled but their expressions didnt change.
Guys? You know Im not defective, right? He asked.
They formed a semi-circle around him and took a few steps as they closed him. Just when the tension rose to its maximum they burst out laughing.
Were just messing with you. Ira patted him on the back.
Ah! You guys are assholes. Ira joined in on the laugh.
Heads up, we got another one. An Ira interrupted.
Im Ira, youre Ira, were all Ira. Since were all the same person it must be hard to communicate right? A young man who resembled Ira but was covered in spots of black mist was carried over to the disposal pit.
What the hell are you talking about? A different Ira asked.
Nothing The Spotted Ira shook his head before continuing, ...By the way, have you guys seen...Avery?
All of the Iras gathered around opened their eyes widely as if they couldnt believe the words coming out of his mouth.
Throw him in! Someone shouted as they lifted him into the air.
Wait! Guys! The Spotted Ira cackled like a maniac as the desire for anarchy filled his eyes, What about Raveria? Have you seen little Ria? I wonder how big shes gotten. Just thinking about it makes me want to see them. Since I cant Ill just say their names. Raveria, Avery, Raveria, Avery, Raveria. I think I can make a catchy song out of it. Does anyone want to sing along?
Throw him now! They carried the Spotted Ira to the edge and violently tossed him in.
Aveeeery! His voice echoed as he dropped into the pit below them.
Suddenly, the city began to shake heavily and a giant locked door appeared in the sky. Then, something began banging on the door as if it wanted to be released. The entire city went silent as something tried to force its way out of the iron door. Deformations resembling fists appeared on the metal and warped it but it remained steadfast under the assault. After a few minutes, the assault died down and the Iras were motionless.
Hey! Dont all of you have something to do?! Ira One asked as he appeared in the sky next to the door.
He reached his hands out and grabbed the air before pulling it together in front of the door as if he was closing a curtain. Strangely enough, the fabric Iras mind contorted around the door and hidden it as if it didnt exist.
The Iras went back to what they were doing as Ira One dropped his shoulders in exhaustion. Things were becoming more hectic and unstable as they continued to work on repairing what once was.
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