Symbiotic Ascension : A Progression Fantasy Adventure

Lucian rubbed his hands together and grinned widely. "That's a good thing done! I'll take care of the clean-up; do not worry about it, Count Glenn."

Glenn chortled and rolled his eyes. "Sure, thank you for that, Crown Prince."

The two exchanged an amused look before shaking their hands. Lucian was done interrogating Talor Rosenborn and Vander Sorenas, and he'd just finished listening to the gist of it from Milena. The conclusion was that Talor was pretty much guilty of nothing aside from helping Glenn and friends, while Vander is still under suspicion of cooperating with a traitor to the Crown. His fate will depend on the investigation from the Royal Inquisitors, who will scour his mind in search of truths and secrets. The General was pale at that idea but had resolved himself to go through it.

This was the best, if not the only way to prove his innocence. Glenn shared a sliver of sympathy to the man, who soon will have every little nook and cranny of his private life exposed for dozens to pick through.

'Thankfully, I'll never be in that position. I don't really see myself fighting against the Crown and Lucian,' thought Glenn.

'Yet,' Diamanes corrected. 'There's a throne with letters Glenn and Diamanes written on it waiting for us. It just needs you to reach the Eighth Circle so you can pummel that so-called King!'

Glenn chuckled at the entity's nonsense and glanced at Milena discreetly. She was discussing something with Talor Rosenborn, scowling.

"Whatever you had planned with the Sorenas, give it up," she said. The young lady poked her finger in his chest, the nobleman staring with wide eyes and a hanging jaw. "It is my stuff to clean up, and I won't have some random outsider try and take everything my mother owned. Even if she was a traitor and fond of vampires, she's still..." She grimaced in distaste, "Of my blood. Oh, and call off that nonsensical marriage."

Talor gulped and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "Wait, so you really are the Milena Dela Luna? Or Milena of Sorenas, like the late Duchess used to say?"

Milena blinked. "Are you stupid?"

The Rosenborn shook his head and giggled in awe. "No, I... I wasn't expecting you to be such a wonderful individual, Lady Milena. I was expecting someone more in the lines of..." he glanced at Glenn and Sahro, "the famous Devil's Hand and the Black Swordsman."

Milena found herself lacking words for an instant before eventually forcing out a few words.

"Thank you for the compliment, Sir Rosenborn," she replied politely, obeying the rules of nobility. Talor bowed slightly, and the corner of his lips lifted in interest.

"Now that I am proven wrong, I must admit that I wish to court you from the bottom of my heart, Lady Milena."

The woman looked him up and down judgementally, glanced at her friends, and shook her head. "I refuse."

Talor's shoulders drooped, and he sighed. "Very well. I shall convey your refusal clearly to my House. Nonetheless, I bid you good luck and strength in the trying times coming for House Sorenas."

Milena smirked and turned away. "House Sorenas will have to do without me. I'll take what's mine and return to my family, the Dela Luna. Farewell, Sir Rosenborn. May Onnea be with you."

"And with you." Talor bowed and left the room, his boots echoing on the marble ground. Lucian passed his hand around Glenn's shoulder and laughed freely.

"I have to say, every time I leave you be, you just go and shake the world, huh? Can't say I blame you. You did us a big service by unearthing these mosquitoes."

Glenn pushed him away to Milena and Sahro, whose eyes widened at the sight. "Oh no, no, don't thank me. I just came in late as support. Milena and Sahro did all the work; I simply came in and caved a few heads in."

Lucian grunted in understanding and instead went to grab both Sahro and Milena's shoulders. "Thank you very much for getting rid of these vampires, Count Sahro, Countess Milena." He lifted a finger and interrupted himself. "I know your proper title should be Young Lady of Dela Luna, or Sorenas, but since you earned a title for yourself with your participation in the destruction of the Thorn's Church's Pope, I hope you'll accept this... change in status."

Milena blinked in confusion. "I'm a Countess? And Sahro, too? Wait, I heard you say that about Glenn, too! What is this all about?"

Liara hid a laugh behind her hand as Glenn raised a bemused eyebrow. "What, did no one tell you?"

It took a good part of the night, lots of food and as much spirits to get everyone up to date with everything that had been going on. Milena's eyes had almost bulged out before she exploded in laughter upon learning about the title her friends had been rewarded, as well as the irony of receiving the Mortelli Estate.

Glenn and Lucian made quite a few salacious jokes about Sahro when they heard him being molested by the Duchess of Sorenas, even if they did restrain themselves when they realized it soured Milena's mood. A bad joke was good when not abused, and the wound might have been a little too fresh for the poor woman. Liara's cheeks did flush completely red when Milena admitted to almost succumbing to the sweet sorcery of Count Adrastos and almost joined in the most decadent orgy in human—no, vampire history.

Nelg added a "You should have joined in!" that made them all laugh, except Milena, who threw a fork at the mocking doppelgänger. Laughter filled most of the night, while a drunken stupor filled the rest as the rowdy bunch emptied the Sorenas' cellars. The Royal Inquisitors acted as their chaperones, watching over the Crown Prince and his friends as they partied through the night.

There was one incident that did make Glenn's eyebrows wiggle in worry even after the event.

"Glenn, Brother Glenn, I need to talk to you," slurred Lucian as he grabbed Glenn and dragged him to a balcony. The twin moons still hung high in the sky, proudly shining their pale lights over the world.

"How's it goin', Lucian?" Glenn laughed, struggling to keep himself standing. He had to admit, it was pleasant to allow himself to drink this way. A little unfortunate it took so much, but at least he could get rid of the stupor with a simple spell if he so wished. And there was no chance he would cause a mess that would propel him into the Thorn's Church's prison to be tortured for months.

A very unpleasant memory that failed to ruin his good mood. Lucian sighed heavily and used a spell, getting rid of all the alcohol in his system. Glenn's eyebrows creased in confusion, soon turning in disappointment and annoyance as the Prince inflicted him with the same fate.

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"Man, I'll have to drink it all again now!" he complained.

Lucian smiled apologetically and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry. I'll make it up for you."

Glenn paused as he saw the expression on his friend's face. "What's wrong, Lucian?"

"There has been some... developments outside of King's Rise." He leaned on the balcony's guard rail, his eyes lost in the distance. "With the disappearance of the Dark Wall, who revealed himself to be a dragon, of all things, our situation with the Celestial Gods has changed tremendously. Before, we could lean on that massive chain of mountains to protect our retreat. Now... Not so much."

"I can imagine that," said Glenn with a frown. "Yet I can't understand how it's related to us."

Lucian grabbed the balcony's ledge and pressed his forehead against the cold stone. "You must know about the Pale District, right? The place where all the Pale Sons live, in the Sewers."

Glenn straightened up, alert. "I- I do, yeah. I've had a few..." he grimaced, "I hesitate to say 'friends,' but that's certainly the right way to call them." His face darkened, and he leaned next to Lucian. "Josh fell to Corruption, and I was forced to put him down myself, while Javier betrayed us and took a Seed of Darkness for himself while taking control of an ancient mechanical Colossus. Ah, did I mention he fought against Exan?"

Lucian pressed his lips together. "I've heard as much, yes. The reports of our information sources have been a little too thorough, and I apologize for that."

Glenn shrugged and tried to get rid of that heavy feeling in his chest. "No matter. I would have shared that story before had you asked for it."

"I'm glad to hear that," Lucian smiled. "Now, the matter that's problematic is that every Pale Sons have somewhat covertly moved to the Ink Dunes for no apparent reasons."

Glenn looked at Lucian in incomprehension. "What do you mean they moved there? There's nowhere to move to, it's a desert!"

Lucian raised his hands to the sky in mimicked confusion. "Your guess is as good as mine! One day, they were sitting in their shanties, despairing at life and refusing to try and rise or get better like the Black Heirs, and the other, they just ran away! Packed everything, every newborns, every old coots, and gone like the wind!"

"That's... that's weird for sure," Glenn muttered.

"Anyway," Lucian took a swig from a bottle he'd brought with him, "I wanted to share that to you privately. I thought it was best to speak to the leader, you know? Do what you will of that information, of course."

Glenn took the bottle from Lucian and took a huge gulp. He almost wiped his mouth with his sleeve but remembered he still wore the extremely custom-tailored clothes. In conclusion, he contented himself with a backhanded Mundare and a heavy sigh.

"Why the hell would Javier's people move to the Ink Dunes?" He asked as he looked at the moons, lost. "The only thing waiting for them there is Javier's body and a metric ton of sand and problems..."

"Javier's body?" Diamanes questioned aloud. Lucian flinched at the sound of his voice and looked with mixed fear and curiosity at the purple left hand, which continued undeterred. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but we never saw his body before, did we?"

Glenn clenched his teeth and almost insulted the entity living in his palm. "Of course we didn't! Don't you remember Exan shooting a building-sized bullet into the W.O.R.M.? It literally disintegrated the fucking thing! There was nothing left."

"Or so it seems, yeah," Diamanes stated plainly. "I mean, just follow the Holywood's rule! If there're no bodies, that means he's still kicking! Perhaps that would explain why the Pale Sons are going to the Ink Dunes! Maybe they're using Javier as a beacon of some sort?"

Glenn and Lucian stared at Diamanes until the latter grunted in annoyance. "I don't know, alright? I'm just trying to find explanations for whatever bullshit we're going to be shoved into next."

"Sigh..." Glenn purged out his anger and annoyance and clenched his left hand. "Thanks for trying, Diamanes. I think we won't know until we return to the Ink Dunes and try to figure out what's happening there."

"Talking about that..." started Lucian. Glenn raised an authoritative finger, irasce.

"Don't tell me we need to go back there now. I'll kill you if you do, I swear. Unless it can wait."

Lucian opened and closed his mouth hesitantly. "Uhh, it can... wait, maybe? We also found Mortelli's traces. He's been noticed in the company of a Celestial God officer. My best bet is that he took refuse in the enemy's base. After all, he's still a valuable combatant, has a shit ton of information on Munirp, and the ex-Commodore of the Wolves Order."

Glenn's hand tightened on the guard rail's ledge, crushing the stone under his fingers. His Mana rumbled out as illusions of stars appeared around him, his muscles tensing up at the simple mention of the name. The one who led Redan to lose everything he owned, his honor, and even later, his life, was still running free. As if it wasn't enough, he'd condemned Liara and Nelg to literal torture, while Glenn almost ended up as a vessel for the big bad God in the sky, Epinos.

"Alright, I'm leaving tomorrow," swore Glenn, a pair of burning stars in his purple eyes. "Pack up, Lucian, we got a war to fight."

"Aaannnd that's where I'm stopping you, Glenn." He said with an apologetic expression. "I can't let you guys go for now. Considering you contributed even further to Munirp's prosperity by getting rid of the vampires, there's a good chance your rewards will be upgraded. You still won't become a Duke, but I'm sure something can be done. Also..." He grabbed Glenn's shoulder in all seriousness. "You need to rest, brother."

Glenn almost rebuked him but stopped himself at the last second. He looked at the balcony he had almost destroyed and shook his head. He took a few steps back and collapsed on a nearby sofa, leaning his head back against the backrest.

"Maybe I do..." he whispered. He listened to the laughter coming from what once was the prestigious banquet hall of the Sorenas' estate and was now their place to mess in with his group. Liara's crystalline laughter as Sahro and Milena slurred a loud song together echoed through the hallways, Nelg cheering them on. Pebble suddenly phased into reality to jump on Glenn's knees, happy and excited. Even the pets had been part of the cheery mood, messing around and playing with everyone.

"No, we deserve to rest," Glenn decided. "It feels like we're just fighting every day. I... I can't say I hate it because there's something so great in cleaning out King's Rise from all the filth I somehow keep on finding, but..." He leaned on his closed fist, looking at Lucian, who was silently listening. "What's the point of it all if I can't enjoy some time with my friends, with my family? I found my mother in Satidipug, yet I could only spend a single day with her in my house before this whole mess landed on our laps."

"That's the fate of heroes," Lucian laughed dejectedly.

Glenn shook his head. "Hero isn't the right term. I can't say I'm a hero after I've killed so many and got that much blood on my hands. Heroes are people who are supposed to be looked up to, not monsters who only act as their desires bid them to."

"Perhaps you're right, Big Bro." Lucian went and grabbed the alcohol bottle back from Glenn. "But then, you do have to realize plenty are looking up to you. Children who are hoping to become as legendary as you are." He made a wide, broad motion as if presenting a newspaper title. "The Devil's Hand and Friends Save the Day Again. Do you know how many times that title appeared in the newspaper?"

Glenn groaned and waved away dismissively. "I don't know, and I don't want to know." He grabbed the alcohol bottle and practically emptied it down his throat.

Lucian shrugged. "I won't force you. What I will do, though..." He approached Glenn wickedly as he glanced back to the banquet hall's closed doors. "Is ask about you and Miss Liara? How is it going? Did you ask her out yet?"

Glenn spat out all the wine in his mouth on Lucian, his eyes wide open. "W- what? How do you know about that—" His lips sealed shut as he saw the malicious smile on Lucian's face.

"Oh, I didn't know, but now I do!" Lucian rubbed his hands together as he used a quick Mundare to clean himself from the wine. "And I have to admit, this changes things a little. To think I can finally repay my Big Brother! Just trust me, this will be done in no time!"

Glenn hid his face in his hands as he followed Lucian back to the banquet hall, sighing heavily. Diamanes was laughing wickedly, the sound of his laughter echoing in the empty hallways.

Despite all that, Glenn couldn't help it. As he returned to the cheery mood of the party, a bottle shoved at him by Nelg and another by Sahro, there was only one thing he could do.

He smiled.