Chapter 68: Adapt and Overcome

Climbing mountains isn't easy. At the very least, that was the thought going through Thomas's mind as every muscle in his body screamed in protest after two solid hours of climbing.

Exhibiting none of the fatigue Thomas was showing, Caenis had enough leeway to turn around, clinging to the mountain face with just the tips of her fingers as she asked, "Are you good? Pushing yourself to overcome your limits is commendable, but doing so at the risk of life and limb is just retarded."

With Caenis positioned above him, Thomas should have been enjoying the view. He did, at first, but now he was thoroughly focused on not falling, a possibility that seemed increasingly likely due to his bloodied, numb, and virtually frozen fingertips.

Fortunately, while the condition of his hands and fingers wasn't pretty, Thomas didn't have trouble clinging to the mountain. His muscles were continuously cramping, but his desire not to fall had caused the Magical Energy veiling his body to develop an 'adhesive' quality.

Within the power structure of the Nasuverse, there was a concept known as Thaumaturgical Attributes or, more commonly, Sorcery Traits. Virtually every Magus possessed one, generally tied to their lineage, and it was one of the components that determined their affinity with various types of Magecraft.

As vessels containing Holy Grails, Illya and Miyu possessed the 'Wish-Granting' Sorcery Trait. Due to her nature as an impossible existence and her association with the Einzbern Family, Chloe actually had two. The first was the Einzbern Family's hereditary 'Flow and Transfer of Power,' while the second was a completely unique Trait that allowed her to 'Actualize a Desired Outcome.' This was what allowed her to teleport and, to a lesser extent, the reason she was able to get away with teasing people without serious repercussions.

Before teaching Thomas anything, Chloe had Ruby help her conduct a ritual to determine his Sorcery Trait. While it was possible to learn and practice any form of Magecraft, focusing on the Thaumaturgical System most suited to your Trait saved significant time and effort. Fortunately, while the notion of Sorcery Traits was too 'modern' to be encompassed by Chiron's Wisdom of Divine Gift, the course he set Thomas on was the one most suited to his Trait: Adaptation.

As the name suggested, the Adaptation Sorcery Trait gave Thomas the rather 'enviable' ability to apply various properties to his Magical Energy. So long as he had a clear image or desired it strongly enough, he could make his Magical Energy burn like flames, use it to freeze objects, and, now that his life was on the line, it was what allowed him to cling to the Mountain like Spiderman.

After taking a moment to collect himself, Thomas looked up to meet Caenis's gaze, a stubborn look on his face as he said, "I can keep going. I'm just not used to having my arms and legs positioned like this. I keep getting a cramp in my thighs..."

Though he was able to adhere to the mountain, Thomas was forced to stay in a 'frog-like' posture while climbing. As his size implied, he wasn't the most flexible person in the world. Thus, his inner thighs felt like they had become solid as he did his best to remain relatively flat against the mountain's face.

Nodding her head, Caenis said, "Once we've settled down somewhere, we'll focus on increasing your flexibility. Despite his size, Heracles could do the splits and cross his feet behind his head. Instead of focusing on the size of your dick and pure aesthetics, you should prioritize balance and ensuring you have a full range of motion."

Before Thomas could adopt a wry smile or exhale an awkward laugh, Caenis donned one of her characteristically wolfish grins as she teased, "Not that I mind you having a big dick. I'm a woman who can appreciate a good challenge."

Punctuating her words, Caenis snapped her teeth before turning around to continue her ascent. Thomas eventually followed suit, but not before Atalanta, still nestled in his jacket, whispered, "Now isn't the best time to be aroused..."

Exhaling an awkward chuckle, Thomas resisted the urge to look down as he replied, "You're not wrong..." before ignoring his body's objections and continuing his ascent...

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After four excruciating hours of climbing, Thomas finally reached the plateau supporting the Drum Castle and its estate. Unfortunately, except for Zoro, who likely wandered someplace completely random, he was the last to arrive. Lucy and Astolfo had managed to remain hidden for several hours, but the arrival of Chloe and Illya had kicked off the battle to claim the castle nearly an hour before Thomas's arrival.

Hearing no sounds of conflict and seeing numerous bodies littering the area, most still alive, Thomas exhaled a tired sigh and allowed himself to fall face-first into the snow. This prompted Atalanta to wriggle out of his jacket, but instead of getting off of him, she took a moment to stretch her body before looking around while seated atop his back.

Voicing what Thomas already surmised, Caenis remarked, "It looks like the party has already come to an end. Guess those two brats got caught coming up over the ledge. Not too surprising, considering they wear pink and red outfits."

Since he was something of a cat person in his previous life, Thomas did his best not to disturb Atalanta, raising his without moving the rest of his body as he replied, "Well, it wasn't like there was anyone truly powerful in this castle. Wapol's Devil Fruit is pretty dangerous, but he's a complete joke in terms of combat sense and strength. The same can be said for his Ministers. I mean, one of them literally uses boxing gloves covered in afro hair as a weapon..."

Realizing that she was preventing Thomas from rising, Atalanta eventually dismounted him, her usually expressionless face carrying an undertone of embarrassment as she avoided Caenis's mocking gaze.

Rising to his feet, Thomas took a moment to wipe away the snow from his face and body before suggesting, "We should head inside. I imagine Lucy and the others are waiting for us."

Though she nodded in affirmation, Caenis passed her steely gaze over the soldiers collapsed in the snow, asking, "And what about these clowns? It's like -50 degrees up here. If we leave them lying in the snow, there's a good chance they'll die from exposure or frostbite."

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While she didn't give two shits about the people lying in the snow, Caenis knew that Thomas, Astolfo, and Illya would feel guilty if they simply froze to death. The former had killed before and was prepared to kill again, but he also clung to his 'humanity.' Astolfo and Illya were simply too 'innocent' to kill people willfully, so Caenis decided to remind Thomas of the guards' mortality before they went inside and left the men to their fates.

Matching Caenis's expectations, a conflicted frown developed across Thomas's face as he looked around. Most of Wapol's men only obeyed him out of fear, but it didn't change the fact they had willfully persecuted their people at his behest. If they had stood up to the man and rebelled alongside Dalton, Wapol's reign would have ended years ago.

Deciding it would be best to leave the men's fates to the people they had persecuted, Thomas exhaled an exasperated sigh through his nose before looking to Caenis and adopting a wry smile. However, before he could ask for help, she rolled her eyes and started to walk off, saying, "Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't have mentioned it if I didn't expect you to ask for help. Now, why don't you take the little kitten and head into the castle before she catches a cold? I'll take care of these morons."

Following Caenis's departure with his eyes, an unabashedly affectionate look developed across Thomas's face. She could be brash and incredibly harsh with her words, but Caenis was ultimately a considerate person, at least toward those she cared about. Of course, she would never admit to caring about others, but that was actually one of the things that made her so endearing...at least to Thomas. There was a reason his 'Top-10 Waifus' included several Tsunderes...

Demonstrating her own appeal, Atalanta gently tugged Thomas's sleeve, a paradoxically expressionless yet 'insistent' look on her face as she said, "Let's go inside..."

Unable to resist, Thomas extended his hand to caress Atalanta's head, his smile broadening as he replied, "Sure..." before asking, "Want me to carry you the rest of the way?"

Understanding that Thomas's question was more of a 'personal request,' Atalanta briefly hesitated before nodding in affirmation. The moment she did so, Thomas picked her up in a princess carry, cradling her snugly in his arms as he approached the remarkably beautiful Drum Castle. It was like something straight out of a Disney/Dreamworks movie, and, for the briefest of moments, Thomas couldn't help thinking about claiming it for himself...

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While Thomas was slowly making his way over to the Throne Room, its former owner, an obese man with dark violet hair and a cylinder-shaped jaw formed from tin, was groveling on his hands and knees, tears and snot streaming down his face as he begged, "Please! If you spare my life, I...I'll make each of you my Queens! We can rule the Drum Kingdom together...!"

Though she usually politely refused such requests, Illya had a rare look of disgust when she heard Wapol's plea. This was still fairly polite compared to Chloe's reaction, however, as she promptly fired a condensed blast of Magical Energy into Wapol's face, a contemptuous look on her face as she said, "Not even in your dreams, you disgusting hippo."

Despite being severely beaten and bloodied, Wapol managed to preserve his consciousness, stating, "I...I am the King of Drum Kingdom. If you kill me, the World Government won't remain silent. The only way you can get out of this without being hunted for the rest of your lives is if you beg for forgiveness and work with me. With your power-"

Unable to stomach Wapol's continuous, completely asinine attempts to try and leverage the situation in his favor, Astolfo abruptly exclaimed, "I can't take this anymore! This guy is driving me crazy...!"

Though it was completely overkill, Astolfo surprised everyone present by activating one of her Noble Phantasms, a giant black hunting horn called La Black Luna. It was an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm that, when blown, produced a sound comparable to a dragon's roar, a giant bird's cry, and the neighing of a divine horse all at once. It wasn't useful against other Heroic Spirits due to its C-Ranking, but it caused chaos and disorder in the minds of ordinary people while also depriving them of their ability to hear.

Before anyone could stop her, Astolfo took a deep breath before blowing into her horn with enough force to puff out her cheeks. As she did so, a visible 'column' of sound emerged from the end of the horn, crashing into Wapol with the force of a railway car. He opened his mouth in an attempt to eat the pressurized wave of sound, but the only thing he accomplished was giving it easier access to the interior of his body, pulverizing it from the inside.

Having exhausted more than half of her Magical Energy, Astolfo allowed her horn to disappear, exhaling a tired sigh before crossing her arms and saying, "That ought to teach him a lesson..."

With Wapol collapsed on the ground, bleeding from his eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and several other parts of his body, Lucy, Illya, and Chloe stared at Astolfo with mouths agape. The former had no idea what a Noble Phantasm was, but she could tell Astolfo had just done something utterly ridiculous. However, instead of mulling over it or asking for an explanation, she shattered the growing tensions by bursting out laughing...

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(A/N: Evaporation of Reason strikes again xD...)

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