Chapter 5: Always Watching You
...
High above the world, a lone woman sat upon a marble throne inside a luxurious gold-and-white throne room. The woman was a breathtaking beauty with long golden-blonde hair that flowed past her waist, sky-blue eyes, and flawless white skin. She wore a white gown that clung to her body, doing little to hide her breathtaking figure as the fabric hugged her curves and accentuated her chest rather than concealing it.
Just seeing her would've made one think they were seeing an angel, which wasn't that far off because behind her back was a pair of white wings.
She was no human. She was the Goddess Ilias. And she—
Can it, author! This is about me, so if anyone is going to introduce my amazing self in this story, it is going to be me.
Hello, my worshippers. Tis I, The Divine Light Goddess, Ilias. Consider yourself blessed to hear me recounting my events. Yes, yes, applaud and cheer for joy as you bask in my radiance, oh ho ho, but let's get back on topic.
I sat upon my throne at the highest point of my realm, Heaven, where my castles stood, carrying out my divine duties of governing my followers and blessing heroes so they could purge those disgusting monsters from the world. My world. And finally, my most difficult and irritating task was making sure the barrier from the other side of the world was running smoothly. Now, after a long week of such exhausting work, I was finally free to relax and enjoy some much-deserved me time, and no, that's not what I call pleasing myself.
Moving on, I relaxed in my seat, enjoying a meal an angel servant had prepared for me. It was fancy wine and cheese. I took a sip from my glass. As a goddess, I couldn't exactly get drunk like mortals, but the taste was still pleasant. I smiled faintly at the sensation of the drink going down my throat while I swirled my glass around.
"Ahh…" I sighed, already bored, and glanced at the floating silver mirror before me. It didn't reflect my beautiful face. It could, but that wasn't its true purpose.
The mirror was a magical device created by an angel researcher I had imprisoned long ago for breaking my laws. It allowed me to observe the lower world without using my omniscience. With it I could observe whatever I wanted, but I mostly used it for entertainment or to check up on a certain someone.
Right now it was showing me a pyramid in a wide-open desert. With a flick of my hand, the mirror shifted scenes. It was a small village in the Natalia continent, lesser in population and resources compared to Iliasville but still functional. Farmers worked their fields while merchants argued over prices. Peaceful, but boring. I waved my hand again, and the image changed to a farmer desperately praying for rain. "Ugh." I rolled my eyes.
If I answered every prayer like that, there wouldn't be a single dry patch left in the world. Another swipe showed two men arguing over stolen chickens. "This is too dull…" I muttered, taking another sip of wine.
That's how my days usually were. Relaxing. Listening to prayers. Blessing heroes. Watching the same repetitive nonsense over and over again. I kept swiping my hands, trying to find something worth my notice. That's when the mirror showed me something that instantly ruined my mood.
One of my blessed heroes getting pinned beneath a slug monster girl.
"Hehe, I'm going to wring you dry, Mr. Hero. Even if your semen tastes horrible, I'm too hungry to care." The slug monster girl gave a lecherous smile.
The creature ground herself against him, violating him without resistance. And that pathetic excuse of a hero? He wasn't even fighting back. His face twisted in disgusting pleasure and ecstasy.
My eye twitched madly.
CRACK!
I became so mad with anger that I shattered the glass in my hand without thinking. Wine dripped down my fingers, but I didn't care as I immediately swiped the scene away. "Disgusting," I sneered.
If you didn't know before, I loath monsters. I've hated them since the days of yore. I hate what they do to my followers. How they reduce them to pathetic degenerates. And it's not just the monsters. Humans are just as bad. I am revolted by how easily their wills crumble with just a simple touch. "Tch… Idiots all of them. My commandments could not have been more simple."
I wanted them all dead. Every single one of them. If it weren't for the promise I made back then, I would've wiped them out myself. But doing that would bring back that thing, and I had no intention of restarting that war when I worked so hard to end up the victor.
I wiped my hair back to calm myself. "They will all pay." My fingers curled tightly as a smirk spread across my lips.
After all, I had already taken care of the last Monster Lord. If anything, she had done me a favor by giving her life willingly. Unfortunately, her daughter still lived and was currently being trained and raised under Tamamo.
"That vile fox…" I frowned slightly.
Tamamo was cunning and equally dangerous. While I could eliminate the girl now, there was no doubt in my mind Tamamo would already have something up her sleeve. I was wary of the golden fox because she was the only one who had bypassed the seal meant to imprison the first Monster Lord and her cohorts. She was a major obstacle in my plans, so it was to keep my distance for now.
"Even doing nothing, that bitch gives me a headache." I rubbed my temple. That fox would get what was coming to her soon. "As for that child… she'll one day be an obstacle too." I muttered.
I didn't know what she could be because every monster lord had varying abilities that made it difficult to find much similarity between them in power and magical prowess. It's why they were so difficult to fight. Not a single one of them was the same. Not to mention I still had my promise preventing me and my armies from handling her ourselves.
I had plans to bypass that, but I would still like Alipheese Fateburn to die before I start my war so that she doesn't get in the way.
Fortunately, I already had the perfect solution. "Luka." A smile formed on my face at the thought of my favorite human.
He was the child of one of my strongest creations and a descendant of the legendary hero, Heinrich. With his massive potential and the spirits he would eventually make a contract with, he would grow strong enough to kill the next Monster Lord for me.
After his mother's death, I had been keeping an eye on him for years. I aimed to guide and shape him into the hero destined to kill the Monster Lord. At first, I was surprised that she had a child with a human, but I had to admit he had grown a little on me.
Wanting to see how he was doing, I waved my hand again. The mirror shifted to Luka's room. "…It's empty?" I blinked, confused.
That wasn't right. It was night. He should have been asleep. "Is his mirror broken?" I squinted my eyes at the cracked mirror. Frowning, I began searching all over Iliasville. House by house. Street by street. But I found nothing.
"Where could that stupid boy be…?" I began to grow frantic in my search of him as I looked outside the village for his whereabouts.
I wasn't too worried about his safety. Years ago I had placed a special curse that would activate in the likely event he were to die or wind up caught by a monster girl. So again, I wasn't worried about his life. Still, it did irk me somewhat that he was doing something stupid.
I soon found him. "Is he… punching a boulder?" I raised an eyebrow.
"…Why is he even doing that?" I leaned forward slightly, watching as he dragged the rock, wrote something down, and continued on with his strange exercises. "So he's… training?"
I knew Luka was hardworking. It was one of his best qualities, but this was different. For one, why do this here and now instead of in the village?
Something was off, but I couldn't quite place my finger on it. I've watched that boy for years, so I know his habits. He's naive, selfless, and kind… but the person I'm seeing now doesn't feel the same. He was more confident, relaxed, and motivated as well as a bit reckless. "What has gotten into him…?"
He should know better than to wander into a forest at night. Even in my continent, monsters weren't nonexistent. I should've done something in this moment. I should've gone down personally and chastised him for doing something so stupid, but I held myself back. Instead, I kept watching to see what he would do.
He did odd exercises. Jumping, sprinting, and pushing himself in ways I didn't know existed before. I had to admit, some of it looked intriguing and made me want to give it a try out of curiosity. Then came push-ups. Then there was an exercise called a plank, which looked utterly miserable based on his facial expression. By the end, he was drenched in sweat.
During it, he was thrilled with his progress as he wrote everything down in his journal. "…He's gotten more handsome," I muttered quietly. The newfound confidence did so much, and I was liking it.
Thereafter, he went to the ground and wrote something in the dirt with a stick. "5x + 7 = 27?" I tapped my chin.
To me, that was basic, but Luka shouldn't know that. He never cared about math beyond the basics, so how did he even know about it? "Could Promestein have taught him?" No. She wasn't anywhere near the village. So how—
Before I could finish the thought, he solved it. In under a minute.
"…How cute." I couldn't help it. The look on his face when he answered the problem was absolutely adorable, but he didn't stop there. He kept going, doing problem after problem. Algebra. Geometry. And he solved them all effortlessly. He performed so well that even I found myself cheering with joy.
When that was over, he sat down and began meditating. That's when I saw something that made my jaw drop. Golden bright flames gathered in his hands. It was light!
"He's using that power!?" I shot up from my throne, gripping the armrests. "Already!?" That wasn't supposed to happen. Not yet! "Did the ring break?" No. It was still there. If it had broken, he would've died instantly.
My mind raced to find an answer until it did. "…So he's leaking it out."
My gaze sharpened. He figured it out on his own. I didn't expect that to happen so early… and yet there he was, manipulating light. It wasn't much compared to mine, but it was much more potent than the likes of my lower-ranking subordinates, that's for sure. "It's just like hers." It reminded me far too much of Lucifina.
His potential had just skyrocketed. I didn't know whether to be pleased or concerned… but my curiosity won. With this, he'll step into a whole different level.
I watched. The more I watched, the more impressed I became. "Oh my…" I leaned back into my throne, a smile forming. "You truly are a prodigy." He shaped it, controlled it, experimented with it in ways even my angels wouldn't have thought of.
As blown away as I was, Luka was very silly when it came to using his powers. At one point, he started chanting some ridiculous rhyme for some reason and then started laughing. "...Is he alright in the head?" Was there a joke I didn't understand there, and who is Sinestro? He didn't sound like a decent man to me.
Still, despite his confusing act, I didn't deign to turn my head away. I wanted to see more of what he could learn with light. I was too enthralled to see what he would do. I kept watching him learn and fail until he decided to call it a night and go back to the village. I kept watch until he went to bed in his own home.
The mirror faded. I leaned back in my throne, resting my head against my hand, a pleased smile spreading across my lips. "I knew I made the right choice, making you my champion."
Things had just become a lot more interesting. And I would be watching… every step of the way.
...
Third day of my Isekai, I woke up feeling awesome and full of strength again. I jumped out of bed with a cheerful smile. "Buenos días!" I laughed as I did some light stretching and, just because I could, did a standing backflip. "Whoo!"
In my past life, I would've broken my neck trying that, but now I felt like I could do almost anything. "Hell yeah!" I pumped my fist in the air.
I've done and learned so much yesterday, both physically and magically. To sum it up, I was basically a Yellow Lantern. "Sinestro, eat your heart out." I chuckled at my joke before focusing again on the surge of strength in my body.
It was the same as yesterday morning. That part was weird. I felt like an absolute unit during the day, but when evening came, it all disappeared. In fact, I actually felt weaker than normal during that fight with Simon and the other guard.
At first I thought this was permanent, but here I was again, feeling that same flow of power in my veins.
"I wonder why…" I clenched my fist, basking in the strength in it. I instinctively knew that if I did the same exercise as yesterday, I would surpass it easily.
I grabbed my journal and began writing. Whatever was going on, I was going to figure it out. With my smart noggin, I already had a few ideas forming. I was starting to notice the patterns, but I needed more proof before I could be sure.
Setting the journal down, I raised my palm and closed my eyes. "Come out…" I muttered, forming a fist as I searched inward.
I felt it. The light and the comforting warmth that came with it. When I opened my eyes, a golden flame formed in my palm, spreading a comforting heat through my hand.
"Whoa…what?" I looked at what's in my hand.
Compared to last night, the flame was bigger, brighter, and warmer, almost searing hot, but it didn't hurt.
"Heh, awesome!" I grinned. My suspicion about why I felt stronger in the morning and weaker at night was starting to make sense. Things were slowly clicking.
Another thing, I found out I didn't have to sit down and meditate to bring out my power. Just standing still and focusing was enough. This experience made me question whether I could use my healing factor in the same way. If I could heal mid-fight without stopping… that would be a huge advantage. I could probably fight indefinitely. I could test that later. No rush.
After all, I was going back to the forest.
I took a shower, made myself another great breakfast, and, before leaving, checked myself in the cracked mirror. I really needed to replace that thing. Looking at my reflection, I frowned. My hair… Yeah, I hadn't mentioned it before, but it looked kind of plain. The color was nice, but the style… yeah, it wasn't doing it for me. It was lacking.
'Are there even barbers in this world?' I ran my fingers through my hair. I knew there weren't any in Iliasville. People just used scissors. No fades. No lineups. No, nothing. Oh, the humanity."
"What am I going to do with this?" I messed with it, but without gel, there wasn't much I could do. That's when I got an idea. I checked my drawer and found a brown string. "Bingo."
Heading back to the mirror, I tied my hair back and gave myself a look-over. "Much better." Yeah, I definitely look cooler now.
Satisfied, I headed out to the training grounds. I met with the other students who were happy to see me minus Kem. A few of the students complimented the new look. I thanked them and went straight to Simon. "Hey, Simon," I waved to him.
"Luka, good morning." He looked at my hair. "Huh, did you do something with your hair?" I nodded, and he asked why.
I shrugged and said, "I just felt like a new look." After all… I wasn't the same Luka anymore. "What do you think?"
"It looks great, but another note, how are you feeling? Yesterday ended pretty badly."
I grimaced. "Yeah, not one of my best moments, but I'm great, no. Let's go again, and this time add two more people."
Simon blinked. "I don't know about that, Luka. You're sure."
"Absolutely." I replied.
Simon chuckled before turning to the group. He announced we'd be doing individual spars… except for me and two others. He pointed at Kem and another student. "You two. You're with me. We'll be facing Luka three on one."
Hearing that, they were stunned, looking back at Simon and me.
We grabbed our blunt steel swords and took our stances. Waiting for the signal, I steadied my breathing. The clouds parted above, and sunlight poured down onto me. Warmth spread through my body again—stronger, heavier. My muscles tightened, almost swelling slightly.
I felt powerful.
The signal was given, and we rushed each other.
At first, coordinating against Simon and two others was tricky. Simon had to keep track of both them and me, while they struggled to match our pace. But my strength, sharper mind, and instincts carried me through. I pushed them back one after another, forcing them to react instead of attack.
This went on for a long while until Simon had to call in another student to balance things out somewhat. It didn't help. I still won.
We kept it up before finally taking a break.
I sat on the ground in meditation to heal myself; that's when I sensed someone walking closer to me and opened my eyes to see one of the students. He was a friendly guy, one whom canon Luka was on pretty good terms with. "Wow, Luka, you're a complete monster with the sword. What's your secret?"
I scratched my neck awkwardly. "You're pretty decent too, guy."
"I guess, but not as good as you. I don't think I can ever keep up with you." He chuckled, swinging his blade through the air. "Like, how do you even do those moves?"
"I guess I'm just skilled," I mumbled. Truth was, I didn't like the praise.
These abilities… they weren't mine. They belonged to the original Luka. I was just some guy using his body. The thought that I might've overwritten him, killed him in a way, left a bad taste in my mouth.
"That's chicken shit!" Kem scoffed who was nearby shouted at me. "Don't get cocky just because you can swing a sword!"
"C'mon, Kem, don't start now." The guy replied.
"Like it's not true." He pointed his finger at me. "You think we're just your training dummies, don't you, you prick?"
I merely shrugged in return. I didn't care what he said about me. I was an adult and he was just a kid, but that just seemed to piss him off more. "Don't you ignore me!"
"Stop being a jerk, Kem." The guy stepped in for me. "You're just jealous because Lukas is our golden boy." He told him, and things escalated quickly from there. Kem went to grab the guy, but I stepped in to stop him. "Alright, let's just all calm down." Was all I got to say before feeling my collar getting gripped.
"What, you want some too, Luka!" He cocked his fist back.
I grabbed his wrist. " This has gone far enough" I tightened my grip just enough to make my point. He winced as his hand slipped free. "Don't do something you'll regret. Just stop, man."
Unfortunately, he didn't want to listen and swung at me. The punch made its way to me, but it looked so slow to me.
I slapped his punch aside like it was nothing and shoved him back with the other hand with enough force to send him back a meter from us. I was hoping by doing this he'd get the picture and stand down. I really didn't want to hurt him. The other students saw this and laughed at how Kem was on his butt. Before I was about to tell them to stop, but Kem got back up and rushed me.
"Ah, Dios mío." I sighed before raising my hand.
*SMACK.*
A loud slap rang across the training field as Kem was sent reeling back from my hit. I had slapped him across the face hard, and now there was a bruise across his cheek. I held back as much as possible not to seriously injure him, but it was still painful.
"Whoa, that's got to hurt." One of the students said.
"He smacked him so hard. How was that even a slap." Another voiced.
"I don't ever want to get on his bad side. Scary." A much bigger boy shivered.
Rolling my eyes, I looked down at Kem and asked, "There, you happy?"
"...!" Kem looked back at me speechless as he held his hurt cheek.
Seeing this, I sighed. "Kem, look, I think we've had enough. Let's just stop right now. I don't want to continue this." I went to him to help him up, but only to be met with my hand getting slapped away.
"Don't screw with me, you bastard." He snarled at me as he got himself back up. No doubt to try his luck again because he reached for a loose wooden sword.
That's when I felt something in me shift. When Kem had rejected my help earlier… Something about it had irked me. It offended me. Deeply. I didn't know why, but I lost all patience with this boy after he pulled that shit.
My face darkened as my face tightened. "Stop." I said simply, and with that single word, Kem immediately ceased. The air grew heavy, so heavy that Kem was forced to drop to his knees along with the training weapon. A pressure hung in the air as the ground trembled slightly.
"Haaaa… haaaa… haaa." Kem beathing was labored, his body shivering in fear.
"You... will... stop. Now." It wasn't a question. It was an order. Kem barely managed to raise his head to look up at me, and what he saw horrified him.
My right eye was glowing a bright gold blaze, causing Kem to cry and piss himself at the same time. He wasn't the only one feeling this. Everyone around us were feeling the same thin, struggling to breathe or stranding up.
Kem stuttered as he tried to apologize. "I–I–I'm sorry—"
"Sorry, what?" I growled and that got a peep from the little boy.
"I'm sorry, sir!" He yelled, planting his head on the ground.
The pressure vanished instantly, and so did the light show in my right eye. I blinked. 'What the hell was that?' I held my head, looking around confusedly. What did I just do? Looking down, I see Kem crying on the floor. "Holy shit," I kneeled down. "Kem, I'm so sorry."
Kem immediately moved away from me. "Don't touch me, you freak!" He scrambled to turn around and ran away.
I didn't see much of Kem the rest of the day. He headed off home. What's worse is that some of the students who watched us kept their distance from me after that. Seriously, what the hell did I just do? It was like a blur. I remember being calm one moment and then letting loose all of a sudden like some bully. Why did I do that. I'm not that type of person.
The rest of the day passed in training. I destroyed every dummy we had until Simon told me to stop before I broke all of them and left none for the rest. He gave me the rest of the day off while he arranged tougher equipment.
Instead of resting, I ran around the village to get my exercise. I was doing what I couldn't yesterday. By lunchtime, I'd done around forty-seven laps. I was drenched from head to toe in sweat. "I think that's about enough." I took off my shirt and went home.
On my way, I got a few looks and whispers from the village girls. Apparently, they have taken a shine to my new hairstyle. Some had even approached me, but I paid them no mind. 'Yeah… no.' I might look fourteen, but mentally I was twenty-one, and a lot of these girls were around Lukas' age. That wasn't happening. I know I said I wanted a harem, but I didn't want this.
Sadly, these girls with their childhood crushes weren't making it easy for me to go home and kept pestering me. That was annoying. "Leave me alone." I slammed the door shut and closed the blinds. A chorus of disappointed noises was heard as I went to take a shower.
…
After showering, I made a quick salad and wrote in my journal while eating. Based on my runs, I estimated my speed at around 37 mph.
That was way faster than Usain Bolt. "Holy shit…" I placed the fork down. I was much faster than I had anticipated, that's for sure.
That afternoon, I sparred again. But just like yesterday, when the sun began to set, my strength disappeared. 'Not again!' I gritted my teeth as I struggled to keep up with Simon and the other guard.
I tried to keep track of their movements, but it was easier said than done, and in the end I got hit in the chest and dropped hard. "Damn it… not again…" I stood up. I was so slow now. What the hell.
"Luka, you alright?" Simon asked.
"I'm fine," I said, getting back up. "Again."
We continued, but I was struggling now. The strength was gone. But I was fine with that. I was still learning only the hard way. It was also necessary for me to get used to this. This seemed to me like this was going to be a daily occurrence, so I had to get used to it because I was bound to run into situations like this in the future.
"HYAA…?" I dodged an incoming blow from the soldier as I went to Simon and swung my sword at him. It made contact, but he blocked with his sword. I gritted my teeth as we battled for dominance, but I was barely handling my own.
We fought until nightfall.
Later, back in the forest, I healed myself through meditation prior to sneaking out, so I was feeling great. Not the same as I did during the day, but good enough. One thing I learned about meditation was that I could heal without having to sit down, but my eyes needed to remain closed, and I had to stand still too.
"At least I don't have to sit down anymore." While it had its drawbacks, I could still work with this. Setting my stuff down, I gaze around the area I had visited yesterday. I cracked my knuckles. "Let's get to work."
...
..
.