Chapter 186: B4 — 56. Ending A Hard Night

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1. Selvaria (Our Cosplay Loving Leviathan!)

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Water embraced Selvaria, growing to her monstrous size while reentering the ocean to beat her tail, distancing herself from shore as fast as possible; a blast of electricity followed her, absorbed by her scales and resistances.

Rising out of the sea, she grinned at the advancing Hydra; she was bigger than him, yet he kept growing heads of various elemental types.

“C’mon!”  She goaded, motioning for him to enter the water, and of course, the dumb thing almost tripped, taking the first step into the bay while carrying a ton of debris with it.

“That’s it!” she roared, colossal rumbles making her own heart quiver with monstrous delight.  “Give me delicious XP…”

Moving to grapple with it, she forced a smile as its fangs came down across her body, water slopping all over the land in their struggle; it was strong enough to be like a kitten, having a little bite to him, yet her thick scales acted like a sock as she rolled around with it in the bay.

Teeth chomping down on the heads, she couldn’t help but coo at the flavors that graced her rough tongue; every new appendage was like killing a monster—she’d found the ultimate EXP farm!

Eat your heart out, Rachel!  I’m catching up!  I’ll show Cahira, Scarlet, and Galatea how strong I’ve become, and they’ll praise me, and I’ll be a superstar!  Oh, maybe I can get my own acting job as a super badass monster in Hollywood!

Lost in her own internal daydreams, there was the itching scratch at the back of her mind that there was some moral dilemma she should be facing—eating another transformed human—but for the life of her, she couldn’t really think about it with so much experience and proficiencies rising all at once.

Mmhmmm…  So good—it’s like spicy curry!  Ohh, cold with berries… ice cream?

A flood of elements ran down her shimmering turquoise spikes and black scales.  Fire licked the ocean surface, chunks of ice, the poison that sadly killed the fleeing sea life—she ate that one quickly; plus, it had a sriracha flavor, which she liked—time didn’t really matter; right now, she was on the grind!

She looked cooler in black; of course, sometimes she liked to change her scales to white and gold, but it depended on the situation.  If someone was filming her, she was sure to go viral—she was amazing—and if she could change colors, she’d look even more awesome!

When talking to her new best friends, one being Scarlet, she proposed her concerns about her appearance; sure, she was a giant monster now, yet that also came with some cosplay issues.  If she wanted to be a vampire, well… she’d be a vampire Leviathan.  If she wanted to be a witch… the same.  As a base human, she could pull off all sorts of amazing outfits and cosplay, now… not so much.

Scarlet suggested she could start by trying to put points into her appearance—camo stuff; nothing big—and that was a good option that allowed her to pull off a ton of clothing styles; it didn’t help the Leviathan base.

Although, Sevlaria did have a lot of other benefits, such as being able to be a mature, sexy woman or a petite cute little girl by altering the amount of water in her Pool, which let her pull off some incredible things she couldn’t before.

She blinked as his teeth sank into her head, teeth struggling to get through her fabulous, and might add, frightening eyes.  Rude…  Obviously, I super boosted my vulnerable organs first.  I don’t want to be a one-eyed woman!

Scales now weaker than her organs, such as her eyes, Selvaria pried the mouth away to chomp down on it, wicked teeth dripping poison as she licked her lips and continued to chow down on the fiend.

Now in the water, her Seawater Pool was filling up like crazy, so no matter how much damage he did, her defenses were at their peak, allowing her to basically turn him into an all-you-can-eat buffet.  He looked so much stronger than he turned out to be, but that could be because each head had its own level.

Grabbing one of the heads to pull him around to look into his snarling flaming mouth, she grinned.  “Hmm…  Tell me, do you fight with your brothers over food?  I bet you do because you’re the strongest—ack—bad Hydra!  Don’t breathe fire on my face!”  Chomp.

“Mmgmm…  You do give the most EXP, and why are you losing heads…  No…  You can’t be running out of power.  I need my EXP farm!”

Unfortunately, her mind was pulled out of its preoccupied thoughts as her dinner began losing size and strength to struggle against her grip; she wanted it to be a monster fight but quickly realized she was just too good.

Hehe…  Man, if I’m in the water, it’s no fun…  I’m basically invincibl—

A shiver ran through her frame, claws digging into the 3rd to last choking Hydra head upon recalling the horrific crustacean she’d faced in the Legend’s Quest; if it hadn’t been for Anthony and Scarlet, she would have died.

Sobering up a little, she suddenly wondered if one of these heads had a sort of status effect that affected her mind because she hadn’t started thinking like this until eating the heads she tore off.  Still, her stomach was endless; her appetite wasn’t ‘filled’ per se, but she was ‘satiated.’

“Humph…  Huh?”

In surprise, she watched the Hydra swiftly shrink into a draconic man that now sat in her big hand—naked—and having a naked man in her hand was not something she wanted as he stirred, the collar around his neck shattering.

Swiftly finding a big floating piece of debris nearby, she carefully placed him on the wood, unsure what to expect, and reverted to her smaller form.  Scanning the furious sea, it took longer than she expected to find a blanket that had been blown into the water.

Tail propelling her out of the water with the item, she heard the man give a start behind the wall between them.  “W-Who’s there!  I…  I don’t…  Remember…”

Not peeking around the side of the half intact wooden wall on the floating piece of a second-story building, Selvaria waved her hand to him.  “Hey!  No need for a fright!  Uh…  maybe?  You good—I have a blanket—eh, it’s wet, though…”

“I…  Who are you?”

“Selvaria…  Umm, a super cool heroine…  Who are you?”

“I don’t know…  I can’t…  It’s so quiet.”

“Hmm?  I don’t know…  Wind is pretty loud, and I don’t expect this place to last long above water…  Uh…  Mind taking the blanket?”

“Umm, yeah…  I don’t feel cold, though.”

“You’re naked!”

“Oh…  I am.”

Selvaria tapped her feet as she waited, cheeks slightly red until he pulled on it, and she let go.  “Tell me when you’re covered.”

“... Done.  Selvaria…  Why are we here…  What happened to the city…  To me?”

Inching her head around the corner, she saw his bright yellow eyes widen in shock upon seeing her.  “Uh…  Woah, you’re…”

“Cute.  Beautiful.  Scary pretty?”

“Not… human… like me?”

“Humph.  I prefer my, umm…  So…”

Anxiety began to take over as the battle calmed down; her vision moved over his bare red-scaled shoulders and more human-like face; he held his blanket around his biceps.  What are you, an embarrassed maiden, holding the blanket like that…

Silence followed as they stared at each other, the man blinking a few times until a wave rocked them a little, forcing Selvaria out of hiding.

“Oh…  You have a tail, too?”

“Yeah…  Mine’s cooler, though…  Not that yours isn’t…  Just saying.”

He laughed, showing his shiny white fangs.  “You’re pretty funny, Selvaria!  Umm…  So, can you tell me a bit about what happened?”

A little less embarrassed after he seemed friendly enough and innocent, she motioned him to the only corner left so they could get out of the wind’s path.  “What do you remember?”

Sitting down and letting his blanket slide down to his waist to bundle in his lap, he took a deep breath and shook his head.  “I don’t…  I had so many voices in my head.  I think…  I had some kind of problem… because I was in a hospital, but they’d never tell me why I was there.”

Voices in his head like that Split show?

“The voices are gone?”

“Yeah…  It was like I was in a haze…”  he muttered, gripping his head and wincing while thinking back.  “So many people were pulling me in so many ways…  I can’t remember much, but when I changed into this…  Someone kept hurting me…  It was so painful.  I couldn’t think, and then…  I don’t know…”

He looked around at the devastated area of the shore that they could see through the veil of rain, tears welling up in his eyes.  “Did…  Did I do this?  I know…  I know I could be a little violent at times, but…  Did I hurt anyone?”

Selvaria’s head tilted to the side.  Were all those heads I ate different personalities, and I killed all of them…  Woah…  Crazy.  So, all that EXP started to go away when I finished the final ones, and then they took out the puppet master?  Talk about good timing!

She studied the confused and anxious man, trying to make sense of his life after so much of it had apparently disappeared; in a way, she’d been eating his memories, and the various emotional temperaments likely had specific elements attached to them.

“Umm…  I don’t know how to say this, but you’re a Hydra—oh, and you can speak English!”

“I, well… I lived in Greece…  I…  Yeah, I am a Hydra.  I don’t know how I know that, but…  When I think about it, I can’t deny it.  How did I turn into a Hydra?”

“Mmgm…  Buddy, that’s a long story,” Selvaria hissed, folding her arms under her bust.  “We’ll be here for hours if we go through all of that, and I need to go help out my friends.  So…  let me speak real slow and clear to tell you what I think.  Can ya listen?  By the way, Hydra really suits you!”

“Yeah, uh…  Thanks?  Please, tell me—just, please make it easy for me to understand…  I feel so lightheaded and weak.”

Leaning back, the dots started connecting in Selvaria’s head.  “So, you probably had a ton of personalities—like a real disorder; I understand, I had brain stuff too that The Oscillation fixed—when a ton of people changed, I became a Leviathan, and you’re a Hydra.  We’re monsters!”

“Erm… more voices than personalities… I think—I don’t know.  A Hydra… I’m a monster…”

“I’m an awesome monster; I beat up bad guys and get to do all sorts of cool stuff with my new friends!  I got a sweet baby seal, and my mom can do all the things she’s always wanted—I do need to call her—hmm, it’s so hard to find a time we can both connect.”

“Selvaria…”

“Hmm?”

“Did I hurt people?”

“Oh, most definitely!  I mean, you were like this monster dog these Cuba warlords were using to gobble people up.”

His face turned white, and he lurched to the side, throwing up.  “I…  I ate people…”

“Mmh… yeah, not good, Man, but on the bright side, I’ve cured your problem!  Aren’t I amazing?!”

“What?”

“Mhm!  When you turned into a Hydra, I guess all of those heads were your different voices, and I ate them!  You were delicious, by the way, and gave me so much food.  If you ever start hearing voices again—oh, I’ll give you my number, and you can call for me to come eat your extra heads again!  Deal?”

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“I ate people, though…  How can I go on living after…”  He hacked, tears leaking out of his eyes.

“Yeah… you kind of did, and I don’t know exactly if you were in control, or whatever—I mean, the collar bimbo lady probably had something to do with it—but you should feel responsible for the pain and suffering you did cause…  You should try to make up for it by helping people!”

Fingers tightening in his lap, he gave her a confused look.  “Shouldn’t I be killed?”

“No!”  Selvaria flatly denied, anger flashing through her eyes while thinking back to Isla de la Juventud and June’s execution.  “You can’t help anyone if you’re dead!  You should live to make people happy… not cry.  Be a good monster.  I’m a good role model!  Look at what I’m doing, liberating Cuba and stuff.  Monsters aren’t evil; it’s all about who you are on the inside!”

I’m so good at speeches!  Talk-no-Jutsu wins again!  If only those people would have listened to me about June…  She was so sweet after I knocked some sense into her.

“How can I forgive myself, though…”

“Easy!  If you’ve made someone smile that day and improved their life, you’re forgiven for another day!  Shine like a beacon for those that need help, and look cool while doing it.  If you need someone to talk to, you can call me, and we’ll tell stories about the awesome stuff we’ve done that week.  Monsters stick together.  Right?  Just remember to call me if you ever start hearing those voices again!”

A somber chuckle shook his chest.  “You’re so positive, Selvaria…  I want to make people happy, and…  It feels so peaceful to not have so many voices in my head…”

Tears gathering in his eyes, he laughed and cried.  “I’ve never felt so free and horrible at the same time…  I…”

“Hey…  I’m here for you,”  Selvaria mumbled, her heart going out to the broken man as she scooted closer to pat his scaled shoulder.  “Live in the present, not the past…  Find a new purpose and show people how much you can shine like a flame!”

“I’ll…  I’ll do my best…”

“And if you hear those voices?!”

“Hehe…  I’ll call you immediately.”

“Good!  I think I know a great guy that can help you get back on the straight and narrow.  Ohan is good at that kind of stuff.  I think you’re ready to go meet some new people—oh, what’s your name?”

“I… don’t remember.  It’s been so long since I’ve just… been me.  I have so many blank places in my memory.”

“Don’t worry, Lil Sis will get you all shaped up and in order!  A name… name…  Ooh, Wilkin…  No, Luther’s a pretty strong name!”

“Luther…  I can use that… I guess.”

Selvaria looked him up and down; he was probably in his mid to late twenties, and from his serpent yellow eyes, various red scaly skin that moved to smooth like her own, he wasn’t a terrible looker.  She wasn’t interested in him at all but could see him catching some girls’ eye; Luther would do alright, and Ohan could figure something out.

“Okay!  So, wrap that blanket tight because I’ll swim you to the shore.  I think the battle’s over…  Ooh, yup, you see all those helicopters shining lights.  Looks like we’re good!”

Transforming into her Leviathan State upon entering the choppy waters, Selvaria swam him to shore and followed Ohan’s scent to a parking lot; however, they didn’t stay long as they got a transmission from apparently the Knights Templar.

Galatea cheered with her as they celebrated their victory with fish; Selvaria couldn’t wait to meet up with the Lunar Hare—she always thought it was Templar Knights, but whatever—and excitement grew upon learning they were going to meet the real Legend of Jeanne d'Arc!

Images of the legendary figure across the various anime and manga she’d read flashed across her mind on their journey, and after checking up on everyone, Selvaria retired to the kitchen with some pencils and paper from Tom to draw her new dream home in peace as her little seal watched from the air.

The various events and discoveries molded around her brain while passively pondering how she should spend all her new points; she was sure everyone else was thinking about it.

Vash had something to do with Noah—Southeastern Warlord—involving a personal Quest or something, going south to help take care of the mushroom man; at first, it sounded interesting, but considering all the other stuff going on, she decided to try and convince Chaira to fund her dreams.

The big muscular lion Warlord and his Siren girlfriend stayed behind—at least she guessed she was his girlfriend by how close the woman stuck to the man—yet had some kind of business with Rachel.

Their return instantly calmed the panicking masses at the stadium and would have joined if not being needed to keep people pacified; both had been fascinated by Zippy, the baby Dragon Turtle, and who wouldn’t be by the fantastic floating island.

Fiona remained with Izzy, Edel, Benedict, and Grace to support the military and lion dude instill order, meaning she didn’t have one of her anime buddies to talk to or the little Fairy to sing one of her soothing songs.

Of course, when she introduced Luther to Ohan, he was a little resistant at first, but she knew he couldn’t resist helping someone and soon took him to another room to get cleaned up and better grasp his needs.

As it turned out, according to him, the voices were more a product of psychosis rather than his DID, but he’d need to go to a professional to get an accurate assessment.

Cahira was practically bouncing on her toes with all the rewards she’d gotten from the completion of this long quest chain she’d been on involving the liberation of Cuba; she was no longer a broke busty red-headed pirate lady but a laughing rich busty red-headed pirate lady.

Selvaria wondered if she could get her to invest in an underwater base for her, maybe with a teleporter, so her mother could move in; sadly, the unabashed Pirate Queen said she would spend it all on herself.

Maria jumped aboard with some woman and her brother; it took a ton of the Unicorn’s remaining energy to break the curses and links on her, but Maria just recharged with her little solar flower in the end.

All thoughts vanished when she learned her new friends had been transported away to fight some insane outerversal Hell Lord in the Seventh Circle of Hell—armies everywhere—and with the Fallen Deity Izanami, the accursed Lucifer, and a war-hungry Amaymon.

Not only that, they totally kicked that super baddy’s ass, and now France had her in custody.

Selvaria was scared about what might happen to Scarlet’s mom, and she didn’t exactly know all the complicated circumstances surrounding the woman, but Selvaria loved her mother and knew Scarlet must, as well; Adele had done such terrible things—enough where she deserved to die—yet apparently it was more convoluted than she was just evil, and if it was her mom, she’d want the chance of redemption.

When they finally met Rachel and Scarlet, Selvaria was disappointed they’d just missed the Saint, yet it was then she learned the whole story about Adele, which made her stomach sick, and it brought back memories of what she was doing when she was seventeen.  If this had been her mother, how would she react?

Since 17-years-old, Adele had been receiving visions that always came true, showing the destruction of the entire multiverse, and it was only by following the path these dreams sent her that utter annihilation could be averted.

She didn’t enjoy the heinous acts she committed or the people she associated with—she was trapped in her own nightmare—and only tried to protect her daughter from the coming apocalypse.  Essentially, she’d been groomed and brainwashed since she was a teenager to the point of marrying who she was told, taking the jobs the visions directed, and naming her daughter after this Reaper of Salvation.

 Selvaria hoped with Scarlet this vision not coming to pass exactly as she’d seen might bring a little doubt into the indoctrinated woman to see she was being manipulated; in fact, as Rachel theorized, she may already question the motives yet the fear of the alternative—especially after the power she’d witnessed.

Adele might believe Scarlet was in danger at this point if she didn’t comply.  It was a challenging position to put yourself in when dealing with an immortal 8th-dimensional entity, and coming out with any positive solution seemed impossible.

It hurt Scarlet to hear Rachel say it, but the girl understood she was trying to curb her expectations; a price always had to be paid, be it the mob mentality of the masses or the verdict of judges that could never truly understand her position, her mother’s chances weren’t good.

Adele had sacrificed everything for this cause, and if it turned out to be false, Rachel questioned if anyone could have the strength of will to overcome that horrifying revelation; all she had left was Scarlet, and she knew her daughter utterly abhorred what she felt was her only option.

Ending the night on a low note from the price they’d paid on this adventure, Selvaria retired to the kitchen as the others tried to sleep, morning coming; Galatea slept on a cushioned chair nearby, and to her surprise, Cahira went in a few hours into the morning.

“Mmgm-haaaa…”

“Can’t sleep?”

“Aye…  Ah, what be this ya craftin’?”

“Umm…  It’s just the underwater base I want to make…  Look, I even put a place for your ships—you know, like if they can eventually go underwater and stuff like Zippy.  I also wanted to have a space teleport for the moon base and your eventual spaceships…  I don’t know…  Just trying to distract myself, I guess.”

“Hmm…  No, I like the design.  Keep at it, Lass!” she grinned, ruffling her hair.  “If ya keep refinin’ it, maybe I’ll take a closer look; it gotta be mobile an’ quick… hehe, in case we run inta hot waters and gotta be movin’ the operation!”

“Didn’t you say Zippy was the big base?”

“Aye, he be a good portable fortress on wings, but a Pirate always be needin’ a secret place on the low, and if ya find a good crafter ta bring in on the project…  I’ll see how the funds be lookin’.  I be nabbin’ a plenty o’ resources to spend on somethin’ big and be needin’ some inspiration.  Hehe, ya seem to have it in spades, mi Lass!”

Smiling at the compliment, Selvaria swiftly nodded.  “Mhm!  I’ll make it even better—just give me a little time!”

“A spaceport ya be thinkin’?”

“A ginormous one for a huge mothership to even dock!”

“Hehe, I like a girl that dreams big…  Let me know when ya got something worked out!”  she finished, waving on the way out as her First Mate smiled at her in the doorway and ushered her back to bed like a babysitter.

A crafter…  I gotta find an awesome one…  A Legendary one!  A crafter that can build the biggest and coolest things like a spacesuit and superweapons I can use in my Leviathan form!  Hmm…  Where to find them, though…  Tom should know!

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