CHAPTER 48 - [Dragon Heart, activated.]
(Time ago.)
Kei has many things that characterize him physically, but they are merely aesthetic, like his eyes, his cute face, or even his hair, but there is one word that defines Kei perfectly: Empathy.
"Excuse me, sir."
In his past life, Kei approached a homeless man he saw searching for food in a trash bin and offered him a hamburger, a hamburger that Kei really wanted to eat because he was very hungry, but he preferred to give it to that homeless man because he needed it more than he did. After all, Kei can easily get food at home, but the homeless man doesn't know if he will be able to eat today or tomorrow... Or at least that's Kei's way of thinking.
"Are you hungry? Take it, please."
"Eh? Can I have it?"
"Sure, with confidence. I guarantee it's delicious," Kei said, smiling.
The homeless man took it and returned the smile to Kei.
"Thank you very much, young man."
"You're welcome. Have a nice afternoon."
Cris took him by the arm and pulled him towards him.
"We're going to be late for the movie."
"That's right. Goodbye, sir."
They walked away from him towards some girls.
That day, Cris invited him to the movies because his friends wanted to get closer to Kei, but Kei thought they only invited him out of pity. He wanted to decline the invitation because he didn't want to bother Cris on his supposed date with his friends, but since Cris was going to pay for the movie ticket and food, he accepted without hesitation because Cris used Kei's weakness: free things.
Two beautiful girls accompanied them, but Kei kept his distance from them because he thought they were interested in Cris and he didn't want to bother them, contrary to what they wanted, as they wanted to get closer to Kei.
"Weren't you starving? You said you were very hungry, Kei."
"I am hungry, but not that much. Don't worry, Cris."
Kei Edna is a boy who is too empathetic with people. He even saved a woman from being hit by a bus without thinking twice, without caring about risking his life, and as a consequence, he died and was summoned to another world.
Kei Edna is too empathetic, but that empathy can cost him his life... Again.
•
•
Kei is a guy who is willing to sacrifice his own happiness for others. Whenever he can, he helps. He doesn't consider himself a hero, but he's not a villain either.
Kei is a kind and good guy. A guy who doesn't deserve to suffer... But unfortunately, he's suffering now... And a lot.
"P-puta madre (fuck)...
Kei was on his knees in front of Nero, quite injured and exhausted, disappointing Nero who was practically unscathed.
"Is that all you can do?!" she shouted.
He tried to get up from the ground, but Nero hit Kei's stomach with her knee.
Kei vomited blood, and Nero immediately tried to decapitate him to end this fight, but Kei wasn't willing to give up yet, despite being in such a fatal state.
Kei jumped, narrowly avoiding the sword, and kicked Nero's sword.
Nero released the sword and went flying, giving Kei a couple of seconds.
Kei landed and moved away from her. He tried to regain some energy.
He had wounds all over his body, and his right eye was destroyed.
He could barely stand, and Nero was unscathed.
A pretty unfavorable scenario for Kei Molfer, and worst of all, it hasn't even been 5 minutes since they started fighting.
"It's only been 3 minutes, Kei Molfer. Can't you take it anymore? Pathetic," she said.
Kei's legs began to tremble, and he was about to fall to the ground, but he managed to maintain his balance and clicked his tongue.
"M-mierda. Shit..."
"Disappointing. It's my fault for expecting too much from a human," Nero said.
"Fufu. You're human too," Kei replied.
"What did you say?"
"You called that your human form, not your demonic form. What? Are you ashamed of being a demon?"
"Huh? Well, this is my human form, the human identity I use. It's not worth using my true form with a human, you're not worthy. You're only worthy of me killing you with this shitty appearance like humans have," Nero replied.
"What a bullshit logic, with all the eagerness to offend."
"Tsk. I'm tired of this," Nero said.
Nero's right arm turned red. It turned into a Slime tentacle.
"Let's finish this!"
She grabbed Kei's body, and he tried to lift his sword.
He didn't have the strength to do it... There's nothing he can do. Kei's strength has decayed too much, and now he can't even lift a sword.
Realizing that this might be his end, instead of pleading for his life or trying to reason with Nero to forgive him, he worried about the welfare of the students and his sister.
He cared more about other people than himself, even in his last moments of life.
An idiot or a good person? A bit of both.
"Hey... The students didn't do anything wrong... Please don't hurt them. I beg you," Kei said.
Nero thought about it for a few seconds and smiled.
"You didn't try to escape or surrender... You earned my respect. I won't kill them... for now," Nero said.
Nero jumped with Kei, and they started spinning in the sky. That was a big jump. You could see the entire forest from above... A fall from that height is fatal, and more considering that thanks to the spins that Nero is doing, spins that are increasing in speed, the impact force multiplies every second.
If Kei hits the ground, he will definitely die and only his remains will be scattered all over the place. Kei knows this perfectly, but instead of being terrified of being close to death, he is...smiling.
"Goodbye, Kei!"
He began to descend rapidly while still spinning.
Nero is sure that Kei will definitely die, but Kei has a trick up his sleeve.
A final trick he hasn't shown Nero yet.
His special magic...
"Resistance Magic..."
Kei's entire body is surrounded by small red rays.
"80%."
•
•
Meanwhile, Mei played with her classmates on the beach as if nothing was happening. Kei, while fighting against Nero, put up a soundproof field so that no one would come to his aid. He realized the incredible power of Nero and understood that no one would be able to defeat her. If anyone helped him, they would only be condemning the others to die in vain, including Drin, who didn't know the severity of the situation as Kei hadn't told her anything since asking her to stay and watch Mei.
Kei fought alone because he knew perfectly well that no one, including Drin, would be able to defeat Nero.
Drin came to this conclusion as she was the only one who saw Kei and Nero in the sky, falling while both were spinning, tears filling her eyes.
"No, darling," was all she could think, shocked as she saw Kei in a lamentable state.
Meanwhile, all the others were having fun... until an explosion interrupted their enjoyment.
In the forest where Kei was fighting, a gust of wind toppled dozens, hundreds of trees. And the culprit? The massive explosion caused by Nero impacting Kei against the ground, causing an explosion like that of a bomb.
The gust of wind was heading towards them, but fortunately a teacher reacted in time.
"Ice magic!"
A huge ice barrier appeared in front of a teacher, and the students quickly approached her for protection.
The trees that were sent flying by the explosion crashed against the barrier, slowly destroying it, but the barrier regenerated thanks to the magical energy of the teacher.
The teacher was working too hard to maintain it, but was able to resist, and thanks to that, the students were not harmed.
"What's happening?" asked Mei, frightened, as Kei had not returned yet.
"A magical explosion! A monster is nearby! We must get out of here!" exclaimed the teacher.
"Wait, Kei isn't here, we have to find him!"
The wind weakened and dissipated completely.
The teacher sighed, realizing that the worst had passed, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"We don't have time. We have to go."
"I won't leave without my..."
The teacher punched Mei in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her, and then struck her in the head, intending to knock her unconscious. Mei didn't protect her body with magic, as she never expected such an attack.
"I'm sorry, Mei."
Mei fell unconscious to the ground, and the teacher carried her in her arms.
"Let's go!"
The students and teachers began to flee, except for Drin and Grisia, who simply stood frozen, worried about Kei.
"A rank S monster, maybe even SS... a demon?" the teacher thought to herself as she escaped with the students.
They didn't realize that Grisia stayed on the beach because no one imagined that someone as proud as Grisia would stay to look for Kei, a man. That mistake would cost Kei dearly.
"Kei..."
"Darling..." thought Drin.
Ignoring what Kei asked of her, Drin ran into the forest... or what was left of it.
Seeing her running, Grisia decided to follow her, thinking that she would lead her to Kei.
"Kei, I hope you're okay," Grisia said, trying not to cry.
•
•
Nero was smiling excitedly, as she never expected to see something like what she was seeing.
"Wow... What did you do?"
Nero was watching as Kei slowly rose from the ground. He was in a huge hole left by the explosion... He survived Nero's attack, something impossible to imagine for Nero herself, who never thought that could happen.
"My special magic... Resistance magic... It allows me to withstand powerful attacks and survive."
Kei's whole body was surrounded by small red rays. His eyes turned red as blood... He looked... incredible.
He looked cool and powerful, but that cool appearance didn't mean he was okay.
His eye regenerated and some of his wounds disappeared... But he was still seriously injured.
Resistance magic allows him to withstand powerful attacks, but that only increases his resilience, it doesn't help him become more powerful, and that means the situation hasn't changed, Nero still has the advantage.
"I still don't fully control it... But let me introduce you to my new power. Kei Red mode."
"'Red mode'? Ridiculous name. Couldn't you think of something better?"
"I think it's perfect. When I use this power, the pain disappears a little and my energy returns. Although it has side effects, that's why I don't like to use it."
He got into a stance, as if he were holding a sword, but...
"Now, let's continue... huh?"
He realized he didn't have his sword.
"And my sword?"
"You mean this one?"
Nero picked up Kei's sword from the ground.
"I'm surprised it didn't fly away. This sword is special, isn't it? Interesting."
"Um, h-hey, c-can I have it back, please?"
"The form you use is called 'Perfect magic control.' When you are able to control that power, you activate a special magic. There are different special magics. Resistance magic. Defensive magic. Offensive magic. Speed magic. There is also a legendary magic called 'Time magic.' You're interesting, Kei... Unfortunately, now you will die."
Nero took a leap and headed towards Kei. He, realizing his inevitable end, simply smiled, to at least leave this world with a smile.
Drin and Grisia arrived in time to witness the attack... But they don't have time to help Kei.
"Goodbye."
Nero pierced Kei's chest with the false Dragon sword.
She destroyed Kei's heart... Kei and Drin know perfectly well what that means.
Kei simply kept smiling, while his eyes filled with tears.
"Kei!"
Grisia started to cry... Drin returned to her human form. She was crying and furious at the same time, for not being able to help Kei in this fight.
"Darling!!"
Nero simply smiled victoriously.
"If your heart is destroyed, you can't use magic. You can't use healing magic. It was fun while it lasted, Kei. Goodbye."
•
•
(Pov- Kei.)
Well, well... I feel cold... I'm dying... Everything moves in slow motion... Nero is smiling... I lost again... I guess I don't have what it takes to be a protagonist. I'm a loser... I'm sorry, Zius... I failed you. Girls, take care of yourselves... I'll miss you... Mother, father, Mei... Thank you for taking care of me... Maids... Classmates... Teachers... Thank you for everything... Luna, I don't know who you really are, but thank you for keeping my secret... Charlotte, Bandia, thank you for saving me.
This is it for me...
"Kei!"
"Darling!!"
Drin...
I slowly turn my head to look at her... She's crying... I'm sorry, Drin... I'm sorry... I didn't make it... I'm a failure... An idiot... Grisia, thank you for being my friend... Thank you for your friendship... Mei, you remind me too much of Nia... Thank you for taking care of your foolish brother... You're the one I'll miss the most.
Goodbye everyone... Goodbye.
[Divine power unlocked. "Dragon Heart" activated.]
"Kei, if you accept this power, there's a possibility that you might change or die. There's also a possibility that this power might accept you completely. Do you accept to use it?"
What? Is Zius talking to me? What's going on?
"You have 5 seconds left to live. No response. Emergency activation. 50% of total power, activated."
What...? My consciousness... Everything fades away... I'm sleepy... Very sleepy... Sleep...
•
•
"Drin, now it's your turn, traitor!" Nero shouted upon realizing Drin's presence.
But before Nero could attempt to run towards Drin, two enormous Dragon wings emerged from Kei's back and struck Nero.
Nero, who did not expect this attack at all, went flying and Kei roared.
His eyes turned black and his pupils were red.
All his wounds disappeared completely, as if nothing had happened to him.
Kei was unharmed.
"K-Kei?"
Drin and Grisia were confused... Grisia, surprised by Kei's supposed death, completely ignored that Kei's cat had turned into a woman.
She knew that had happened, but she didn't have time to ask Drin why she turned into a woman.
"Darling..."
Kei went towards Nero and began hitting her with his fists, which were surrounded by fire.
Kei wasn't speaking. He just roared. He seemed like a stray dog defending his food.
He seemed like someone savage and evil... No, not just seemed, he was.
"He's lost control," Drin said upon realizing the situation.
"Control?" Grisia said, confused.
"His magical power is out of control... His body is suffering damage... He doesn't accept his magical power... If he continues like this, he will die."
Nero tried to defend herself, but none of her attacks hurt Kei, scaring Nero due to the unexpected change that Kei underwent.
Nero hit him mercilessly, but nothing hurt Kei.
Kei placed his hand on Nero's face and crushed her head against the ground.
"What happened to you?! You're not supposed to be able to use magic!"
Kei removed the sword from his chest and his wound disappeared.
He used healing magic, something impossible for someone without a heart, but Kei could use it. Why? Because his heart regenerated... Or rather, because his heart underwent a transformation too.
"Impossible!"
Kei kept hitting Nero and she was melting. She may have said that she didn't have the same weaknesses as Slimes, but Kei's attacks were working.
"Impossible! My human form! What are you doing?!"
Nero couldn't maintain her human form and turned into a Slime.
"No!"
And before she could be hit again, Kei fell to his knees and began vomiting black blood.
"Shit! What's going on?! This doesn't make sense!" Nero said, terrified.
Nero, leaving her pride aside, tried to escape, but an ice barrier appeared in front of her, preventing her escape.
A barrier created by Kei himself.
"N-no."
Kei roared and took Nero with his hands.
Nero's body began to freeze.
"No! This isn't supposed to happen!"
Nero froze completely and Kei began to laugh maniacally.
He left Nero on the ground, and not satisfied with that, began to destroy the forest, or at least what was left of it.
Drin couldn't take it anymore and ran towards him, to calm him down and bring her Kei back.
"Darling, stop it! You've already won!"
Drin ran towards him.
"Please, come back! You'll die if you continue like this!"
Upon seeing her, Kei smiled diabolically and ran towards her, with the intention of killing her.
A being who only wants to see others suffer.
"Kei, come back!"
Kei attempted to hit her, and Drin didn't try to dodge the attack because she knows perfectly well that her Kei would never harm her. She firmly believes that her Kei is still in there, inside that monster, and she is willing to risk her own life to bring Kei back.
"Darling!"
Kei stopped before hitting her.
It worked. Kei's consciousness returned when he saw Drin crying.
"D-Drin...?"
Drin hugged Kei tightly while still crying.
"Please come back to normal! I don't want to lose you!"
"Normal...?"
Nero unfroze, and instead of escaping, she attempted to attack Kei from behind, taking the form of a sword.
Kei, who felt her presence, reacted in time and caught Nero with his hands.
"H-how?!"
Kei used Nero like clay and started shaping her.
He shaped her into a sphere and smiled.
"You're a Slime, after all. My hands are burning, but you can't melt my hands. I'm protecting my hands with ice magic, the second weakness of Slimes."
Kei took a deep breath and threw Nero into the air.
He raised both hands and smiled.
"Drin... Thanks for the help... By the way, Grisia found us. Explain the situation to her later."
Kei started creating a huge fireball.
Ice began to appear in the fireball.
The fireball now has one half of fire and one half of ice.
"I'll use all my magic on this... Infernal Sphere! Winter Sphere! Explosive combination!"
Kei threw the sphere at Nero.
In the air, Nero watched the sphere and cursed Kei with all her strength.
"Desmolfer will kill you, bastard...!! Desmolfer, I failed you... I'm sorry."
The sphere hit her. Upon impact, the ice completely froze her in less than 0.001 seconds, and the fire caused a massive explosion that melted and evaporated Nero. It was a huge explosion. No one would survive that, let alone a Slime.
Satisfied with the result, Kei crossed his arms.
"I did it... Drin, do you remember the cliche of the protagonist who's about to die? That just happened. I don't know what..."
Kei fell silent for several seconds, worrying Drin, as Kei remained still and said nothing.
"D-darling?"
His wings disappeared, and his eyes returned to normal.
Kei started vomiting blood and deactivated his red mode. He returned to normal... But his body suffered the side effects of his red mode. His arms and legs exploded.
"Darling!"
"Kei!"
Drin and Grisia tried to help him by applying healing magic.
"Drin... Take me away... I don't want Mei to see me like this... Grisia... Trust in... Drin..."
Kei passed out, and Drin carried him in her arms.
"I need your help. Come with me."
"Y-yes."
Meanwhile, in Godfer, Fravi was looking at a photo of Kei. She was blushing and horny... Yes, blushing and horny.
She was in her room... And in her room, she had pictures of Kei. Drawings of Kei. Plushies that looked like Kei. And even a huge pillow shaped like Kei and identical to Kei.
A true Kei addict.
"Why didn't you die, Kei?! I want your soul now! I want you to be mine only! I don't want others to have you!"
And yes, Kei became Zius's replacement for Fravi.
(Author's note: Leave comments, that inspires me to keep writing. Remember, one comment = one chapter. Also, I have a personal challenge. For every comment I receive, I will do 20 push-ups and 10 sit-ups. :3)