Recently, I have observed that I was fainting a lot without my consent. My consciousness should be ashamed for leaving without notice. It was proving to be a hindrance. I was well prepared to offer my other leg to be snapped by Peach-san but my vigilance was wasted.

"Your highness..."

A faint female voice whispered close to my ear causing me to clamp the warmth left by her breath.

"Your highness..."

There was a short silence after that and a gush of whispers had risen in a wave. None of what they were saying was clear until one coherent in diction yet had a dense point surfaced above the ocean of confusing undertones.

Why must I deal with stupid every single day?

The voice belonged to the man who always referred to me as "nephew" in my mind. The other voices disappeared to give way for him.

"You will be the greatest sacrifice that the world will make and the worst loss that the world will have. Do not fret for we will be with you...we have always been ever since you were born," he spoke.

"Please stop speaking nonsense," I deadpanned. Even in my sleep, I was haunted by irrational people.

"You are life's greatest gift and death's greatest offering. You are the flower of death that will bloom life," he added.

"And you people are the flower of wisdom that utters complete folly. Thank you for your foresight," I replied.

"You will understand soon...You will discover what you really are..." he responded.

I was saved from any more meaningless talk by a gentle shake to my form. Familiar faces were staring from above. The hole made by the conjoining heads was then filled by more heads of children from the cave where Wye Fye had rested in complete quietude. May she rest in pa—peace.

"Are you okay Lucian?" Sevor asked and was meaning to cup my cheek but was slapped by Caleb who was lifting my upper body from the ground. There was a rope of tension tying us all together. Was Garmir still alive?

The werewolf was holding my body possessively and was not enjoying the cave people's presence.

"Of course he's okay, I'll break his other leg if he isn't," Slade grumbled which only aggravated Caleb even further.

The slits in his eyes sharpened and he released a growl at Slade and the others causing the children to scramble away in fear and the twins to take a defensive stance. The tension which I had awoken to became even thicker. Crowley and Ziru did not like Slade's way of speaking and stood in front to put a barrier between us.

"I will stay here and guard from behind," Kox spoke which snapped a vein on Crowley's forehead.

"Come here you little shit!"

The hanuman huffed and crossed his arms over his chest to confront the twins.

"Don't come any closer. We will fight for His Highness with our life," Crowley threatened.

"Why are you so mean to my onii-chan? He has been through a lot!"
Ziru protested and pouted.

"So he really is from ancient royalty. His crown is legitimate," Sevor commented and was deep in thought.

"I prefer not to acknowledge my past," I finally intervened. "Do not worry about Slade, he is only a mere idiot but he has a good heart," I told them.

Sevor placed a warning hand on his twin's chest because he was ready to lash out at the trigger of my words.

"We mean no harm to the Prince. We came out from our residence out of worry for his well-being and tracked his scent with the help of the werewolf children," Sevor explained.

The said children peeked out from their hiding spots and my body became even more relaxed at the scenery of innocent, worried, and curious eyes watching the scenes unfold.

"I see," I murmured and gently squeezed Caleb's tensed shoulder.

Seeing that there was no need to be so wary of the caravan, Caleb hid his fangs but maintained his glare and tight hold on me.

"I won't forget that you kidnapped my mate you bastard," Caleb huffed.

Sevor tilted his head in question but waved the attempt to clarify something.

My eyes wandered to look for the two children who were missing in this reunion and Peach-san who was ever so glowing.

"Rui and Buck?" I asked.

Ziru chuckled. "Rui ran away and Buck went after him."

"And..." Before I could manage to build up my question, Kox answered.

"He's there somewhere. The trinity is who he is. He would never be able to deny the feelings of the parts of what complete him."

They weren't just mere parts.

They were individual people who had dreams of their own.

If they were really there, why couldn't Peach-san remember me?

"We should leave before any more disgusting giants come up. Remember that we have to reach Black Crystal Mountain and reconcile with Lucius," Caleb reminded us.

"When do we depart? We can ta—"

"Who the fuck told you that any of you are coming?" Caleb asked in complete shock and disbelief. Sevor pursed his lips and Slade was fuming.

Those words caused the children to whine and one fairy child who was no less than four years old came out and latched herself to me.

"Noooo! I want to come! I'll go wherever Lucian-onii will go!"

Her bravery against Caleb hit the fire of protest to all of the other children who then swarmed us.

In the end, Caleb wasn't able to fight off the children's vigor and naive wailing. A flash of nostalgia was seen on his face and for a brief moment— I saw him smile.

"Conall...Claude..." he whispered.

The children cheered in victory from Caleb's unresponsiveness which snapped Caleb's chain of deep thoughts. I patted his head and he looked at me with reassurance.

"Sorry, I just remembered some folks."

The twins gathered everyone and Crowley and Ziru were readying to look for the other missing children who were Buck and Rui. I decided to come along with them with the help of Caleb's accommodating back. We found Buck reaching up to a tree where Rui was shyly hiding in. The usually grouchy child was all flustered while Buck was wooing him from below.

"Rui! Boo! Why won't you come down? What's wrong?" Buck worriedly called out.

"Go away, Buck!"

"Children these days are so shameless..." Crowley chuckled in amusement.

"I think adults brought more shame to the world," Ziru retorted teasingly which shut Crowley in agreement.

"For once, I agree with you warugaki."

"This is so painful to watch," Ziru sighed.

"Will you give them a hand Ziru?" I requested and Caleb and Crowley snickered.

"With..." Ziru made his archer stance and light sparkled in his grasp in a form of a bow. "Pleasure," he ended and shot a bright arrow towards the branch where Rui was clinging on. The branch snapped and Rui shrieked.

"Boo!" Buck panicked and immediately caught Rui's body.

All the panic vanished once Buck realized that he finally had Rui in his arms.

"I finally caught you. Will you go home with me now?" He asked in a sweet and caring tone.

"Oh, Linda..." Crowley chuckled with embarrassment while Ziru fanned his face.

Rui's face was on a verge of exploding. "Wh-what?"

Buck grinned widely. "I really miss you. Don't leave me again okay?" Buck asked with his eyes shimmering with tears.

With that teary-eyed face, Rui was immediately won over.

"Okay..."

"Promise?" Buck persisted.

"I promise so...don't cry because of me, promise?"

Buck sniffled and nodded enthusiastically. "I promise! Let the skies shed the tears for us right?"

"Yeah...now put me down."

Caleb whistled and snatched their attention. With the realization that they had an audience, Buck almost bloomed with flowers, and Rui was drowned in even more embarrassment. Rui's tail hooked to the soil and he jumped off from Buck's arms.

"Onii-chan!" Buck greeted and rushed towards me to give me a warm hug from behind Caleb.

"Really smooth there Rui, puberty came early," Crowley teased.

"Shut up hairy fucktard," Rui snapped. "Anyway...you guys are going now, right? Good, I don't want to see your ugly faces anymore. Being with you people is a pain in the arse. Fuck off. Drop-dead."

"As much as we want to miss you back, we're traveling buddies now," Ziru explained. There was a flash of surprise and smile on Rui's face but he broke it in a millisecond with a cough.

"What a pain," he snorted.

We went back to where the others were and Slade was already transformed into his dragon form with the children enjoying their places on his spiky back. Sevor was waiting for us patiently while Slade continuously released hot steam of air through his nostrils from impatience.

"Ready to go?" Sevor asked.

"Yeah!" Ziru and Buck cheered before racing towards Slade.

"Welcome to the family," Slade spoke with much delight in Caleb's distaste.

"Lucian and I are making our own family," he muttered.

Kox coughed as if he knew something in advance.

I tilted my head. "I don't mind this family Caleb."

Caleb froze and Crowley was trying his best to hold his snicker.

The werewolf trembled and I heard a small whine behind his throat.

"Bu-Bu-but..."

"What's the matter? Don't you want to be a part of this family?"

Caleb gently put me down before shifting into Fenris who twirled around dramatically. The wolf started reasoning out with me in his whining voice which just came out as barks and woofs. I petted his head and he started weeping. He threw out a tantrum and rolled all over the place like a child.

"I understand your concern Fenris," I assured him as I watched the wolf revolve around, creating a mist of dust.

"Please take care of us," I deadpanned and bowed my head at Sevor.

The other werewolf children seemed to see Caleb as their new leader and followed his example.

"Oh Barbara," Crowley sighed exasperatedly and swiped his face down.

Once Fenris finished sulking, Caleb took over and we got on Slade's back. The clear skies began to darken before we could depart and an impending storm made Sevor cancel the flight. We began our journey by foot with our voyage being noisier, eventful, and...pleasant.

"I'll maul them and then dig their face off and then I'll bury them and pee on their graves," Caleb grumbled and then snickered to himself after reciting his plans. "I'll show them..."

"Please stop violating the twins in your mind. I am sure they do not appreciate being killed several times," I sighed.

"I won't let them take you away from me. Their fists will meet my piss."

"How manly," I drawled.

Rain began to drop from the skies and we had to endure the icy feeling jabbing our skin numb. Caleb wasn't at all affected by the cold along with the other werewolves. He became my warming blanket and the children who can manage the freezing weather helped the younger ones who were shivering to survive. Kox's book wasn't at all soaked and pages never ceased to turn. Crowley carried the exhausted Ziru, Buck and Rui were holding hands as they were at peace with the rain and the twins led the way as they argued.

Contrary to what everyone would think about Slade, he wasn't a complete dimwit. He had a sharper sense of direction compared to his brother.

As the rain lifted, the birds started to chirp, animals came out from their hiding, and the sun became the cue for resuming the activeness of every being in the forest. With this caravan filled with children, monsters seemed to think that they could cause easy mayhem but the twins finished them off before they could even try harming a single strand of hair on them. With just a powerful and dominant red glare from Slade, Sevor, and Caleb, the caravan safely maneuvered through the forest. We arrived at the cabin where I met Squawkey-san.

"We should camp here. Lucian, you can rest inside the cabin," Sevor told me.

"I am fine," I assured them.

Now that I think of it, I don't have a broken leg. Because I hardened my body, it mended the broken bone on its own. I was sure that Caleb realized that as well but he never complained of having me ride his back all day.

"Don't push yourself too hard," Sevor softly reprimanded.

"I'll just do my hardest to pull myself then."

"Your smartass mouth is just as ugly as your ass," Slade snorted.

Caleb was once again riled up for another fight and Sevor had to intervene.

"Slade did not mean that. Lucian has a beautiful luscious butt," he tried.

He tried.

He really really tried to make it better.

"What. Did. You. Say?"

Caleb's body released a surge of electricity and Sevor backed away.

Slade who was the father of all imbeciles stepped forward to take Caleb on.

"What I mean to say is that he has a healthy bouncy b—"

The force coming out from Caleb strengthened and Crowley was seen dying slowly in the background from laughter.

With another weakening attempt to calm the dominant werewolf, Sevor decided to open his mouth again.

"The mounds of healthy flesh are pinkish and glow—"

A river of tormenting electricity flowed out of Caleb and shot the twins away.

Thankfully, Kox intervened by drawing the electric current into his book and allowed me to prick Caleb to sleep. We ended up inside the cabin and the wolf awakened with a pout.

Sevor entered and Caleb wrapped his arms around my waist with a killing glare of a possessive beast.

"Dinner is already prepared. Come and join us."

"I'll hunt for our food Lucian. We don't have to join them," Caleb grumbled.

"Are you too prideful to eat from their cooking Caleb?" I asked him. He blushed and shook his head in denial.

"It's not that! They could have poisoned the food!"

I want to eat Slade's cooking.

"I assure you that despite my twin's violent tendencies he will not resort to poison to get back to someone. He's not that smart."

I ruffled Caleb's hair. "Let us go eat Caleb. Do you not like children?"

Caleb's wild expression deterred and he lowered his gaze in thought.

"Let us go, okay?" I persisted and pulled the sulking werewolf up.

Sevor smiled and walked out and we followed him.

Two fairies flew towards Caleb and me and pulled us to our spots.

"Follow us!" They giggled.

They sat me beside Sevor and Caleb was seated next to me in which he did not favor at all.

"I'll sit in between!" He protested.

"Caleb, please behave."

I placed the meat that was cooked for me on Caleb's leaf and Caleb transferred all the mushrooms and vegetables on my own while glaring at Sevor who was pretending not to notice.

"Caleb, kindly stop the brutality on Sevor in your mind, or else no cuddles."

At those words, Caleb whined and I found Sevor scowling nicely? I never thought that was possible.

Slade was done serving food and the man sat in front of me. Caleb growled at him like it was his instinct to bite his head off and Slade didn't back down.

"MY CLAW IS BIGGER THAN YOUR FLUFFY ONES WOLF. WATCH WHO YOU'RE CHALLENGING."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING FLUFFY YOU OVERGROWN LIZARD. I CAN TAKE YOU ON ANY TIME."

I ate the tasty mushroom while watching the two squabble about who was the strongest.

"Do you want more tomatoes, Lucian?" Sevor asked me.

"Yes please," I answered and he gave me his portion.

"OH, YOU THINK YOU CAN BURN ME? HA! LET'S SEE WHO GETS TOASTED FIRST."

"QUIT TALKING AND SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT."

"OH I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT I GOT BUT THE QUESTION IS—DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SHOW?"

Slade stood up from those words and began to remove his pants.

"We're talking about length and width now? You think your mbolo is big?"

Caleb rose from the grass and straightened up. "I don't think it's big, I KNOW it."

"Smettila (stop it)," Sevor demanded. "This is ridiculous. There are children here."

"Let em watch!" the two men snarled in unison.

Buck was cheering for Caleb and Rui was cheering for Slade and I was chewing on my celery while trying to comprehend why they hated each other so much.

They finally made a move and Caleb was the first to tackle Slade to the ground. The children surrounded them thus blocking my view and Sevor squeezed inside of the crowd to stop the fight but later on, he was in it as well.

I caught the sight of someone in the trees but ignored it as I finished my food. When it passed my peripheral vision again, I stood up with my leaf still half-full and approached the trees. The sound of the brawl and the cheering of the children started to fade as I went farther away from my companions. The silhouette kept dashing from one tree to another and I continued to follow it.

It finally stopped at one point and I generously offered my food.

"Would you like some celery?"

"You're that person," the man said.

"Yes, I am," I replied not knowing what he meant. The mere sound of his voice tickled my stomach.

"You're that person who I need to kill to stop myself from sinning..."

"Indeed," I agreed. He did mention that.

"Nephew, run! Have you no sense of danger?!"

The caped man twisted around and launched towards me. In a blink of the moment, a blue feather fell in between our faces and a winged armored man clashed weapons against him. A bright light consumed the darkness for a short while and the reaper jumped back. The hood of his cape slipped off his head and he stretched his neck to the left as he looked down at us in annoyance.

"Please attack me again," I requested monotonously. "Your dissatisfied face is nice to look at."

The armored individual turned his head to stare at me but he was wearing a mask.

"You're really—"

The reaper cut him off and engaged him in another sword clashing while the newcomer was almost at the same speed as him.

With one last clang of metal, the two flipped in opposite directions. The winged man pointed his sword towards Peach-san.

"Shinigami, your behavior towards my charge is unforgivable."
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A/N: sorry for the delay.