A World With/Out Home

Chapter 8: A Midnight Escape before the Dawn. (Part 4)

Kyle sent a message to Maila and the children in the Garden via Valandus. It read that he wouldn't be coming back for the next few days as he worked with Lillia to improve herself. Time was of the essence and they needed to spend every waking minute forcing themselves if they wanted a chance. At the beginning Lillia was still apprehensive. When it came down to it, even the Captain as well as other experts of the Hero's armour couldn't help her improve, but as she saw Kyle scamper desperately trying to find all the resources he could, she couldn't help but feel somewhat inspired. A warmth that she hadn't felt before spread inside her, no one, not even Maila had ever gone so far for her. She also knew however that Kyle would have done it for any of the children in the Garden. That's how much he cared.

Two days passed quickly. On occasion the members of the Advanced Scouting Party would visit and see their progress or lend a few words. Valandus even brought a few letters of encouragement from Maila and the children. Though he had collected them from Melissa and not Maila herself. So far however, Kyle and Lillia hadn't achieved much.

Lillia stood in the Hero's armour with the helmet tucked beneath her arm. Like that she was over two metres tall, the armour being so thick the figure of the slim girl couldn't be seen. A touch of sweat remained on her face and seeing so Kyle handed her a towel.

She sighed as she wiped herself, "I'm still nowhere near what Jana was. At this rate we won't make it."

Kyle scratched his head in thought. He had poured himself over everything he could get his hands on about the Hero's Armour and what it did. Although he couldn't access everything he had a general concept of how it worked. The armour itself was like its own living construct and had its own mana veins and pathways. These paths connected with the user and forcibly made them stronger on all facets. Normal humans wouldn't be able to handle the burden, but those with bodies like the Hero Candidates acclimated to the change putting it to the best usage.

Lillia continued to berate herself, "If I could just focus a little bit more on controlling the mana flow then I think I can stop the blowback from changing stances. That should make me at least a bit faster." She looked down to see Kyle's frown and threw the towel back at him, "Hey don't look like that. You already gave me some really good advice. Even though you can't use it, you're actually surprisingly intuitive when it comes to magic. Who knows you could make a good career out of it when I'm gone." Lillia immediately regrated her choice of words and looked away, "Sorry I should try to stay positive."

The Eternal Hero's Armour was complex and even the best engineers, technicians, and magicians couldn't understand its make. It was something left behind by someone far greater than they could comprehend. For Kyle it was much the same but by going back over the years of previous Heroes he had gathered some data that helped Lillia form a deeper connection to the armour. Those changes however didn't help her become much faster or stronger.

Lillia clenched her fist, "I wonder what Jana would do in my place or even Talia."

Kyle looked up at her curiously, "Talia the Hero before Jana?"

"Yeah, she was always like an older sister to us. Strong as she was kind. Jana and I got to watch her train a few times and were there when she passed. I think that's where Jana got her fighting style from, though hers was quite a bit more energetic," she smiled softly in reminiscence.

"Wait...," Kyle suddenly realised what he had been doing wrong. "Lillia get out of the armour."

"Um sure." With a heavy breath the armour started to fall apart and crumple to the ground until Lillia stood without it, becoming a bit shorter than Kyle. The young man had to struggle not to avert his eyes and remain composed, pretending he wasn't perturbed by Lillia's clothing. Being inside the armour it could be a bit too snug and currently to counter that she was wearing a tight fitting leotard, exposing the curves of her body far more than usual. Becoming embarrassed would only make it worse for the both of them so Kyle endured.

Kyle walked to the training gear against the wall and took out a small concussive bomb, "Think fast!" He threw it directly at her. The small orb briefly flashed before exploding into a puff of smock releasing a dull shock.

Lillia as surprised as she was, reacted quickly raising her hand in defence. As the smoke cleared she stood frowning, a small shimmer of light reflecting a wall in front of her.

"What was that for?" she huffed.

Kyle didn't stop and threw several more towards her.

"Hey!" she jumped away in reply blocking some with her barrier and sending the others away with magic. "Stop it, you're wasting them!"

"Am I?" Kyle smiled slightly enjoying himself. He at least had decent aim when he threw things. "Let's up this a little."

"Wait not that one!" Lillia panicked as Kyle hefted a small portable cannon. He fired. Lillia clapped her hands together and the air became frighteningly cold as a wall of ice split between them. A moment later it shattered as the explosive payload crashed against the wall. "I said stop!" She pointed her hands towards him and gestured violently as the shrapnel of ice flew around him, knocking the cannon from his hands. Then with a sudden lift Kyle felt his body float upwards and dragged through the air away from the pile of equipment until he landed roughly besides Lillia's feet.

"I give!" he raised his hands in surrender.

"Were you trying to kill me?" Lillia knitted her brow angrily. "Without any armour I could have died and you're even worse off."

Kyle pushed himself off the ground, "Sorry I didn't think it would be that powerful but I think I made my point."

"That being?" as angry as she was she also knew Kyle wasn't someone who did things for no reason.

"When you protected yourself you didn't try to dodge or run and when you came after me you didn't charge at me did you?"

"Of course not. I'm not particularly strong or fast," Lillia folded her arms.

"Exactly but what you're good at is magic. I haven't seen anyone use it as well as you did."

"That's because you haven't seen many battles," she blushed a little. "But yeah I'm probably as good as any high ranking magician."

"Then why don't you fight like one?"

"What do you mean? Didn't I just-.... Oh." Lillia realised.

"Everyone has been chasing that image of the Eternal Hero in their minds but that's not you. You're not someone who's going to charge in head first swinging a sword, so why act like that?" Kyle grasped her shoulders. "You're not the Eternal Hero you're Lillia."

For a moment Lillia said nothing and stared at him wide eyed. Then as her lips curled she began to laugh and laugh till even tears began to flow. The entire time she had the idea of what the Hero was, what he should be and these came from those she saw before her, her brothers and sisters who were already gone but she wasn't them.

"You're right," she wiped her eyes. "I'll show them. I'll show them all, the Captain, Valandus, Reina, Pelmont and even those damn demons. I'll show them a Hero that will make them shake in their boots."

"Good," Kyle smiled. "But... do demons wear boots?" A sudden smack caused him to bow his head, "Hey!"

"Don't just break the moment like that," Lillia smiled wholeheartedly. "We have work to do." She had to wonder. If Kyle had never come, then would she have ever realised her mistake or would she have died? There were others like her, those who shared her purple hair and even back then they always fought the same way, the way they were taught, the way the Eternal Hero once fought. Her purple haired sisters were also the ones who lasted the shortest but now she would change that. Her eyes turned to the feminine boy beside her, delicate even more than she was, yet bursting with a masculinity that was hard to describe. Even if it was just a few weeks longer she wanted to stay beside him.